USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Canton > History of the town of Canton, Norfolk County, Massachusetts > Part 38
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448
HISTORY OF CANTON.
MARTHA CRAFTS, · wife of REV. ZACHARIAH HOWARD, DIED MARCH 11, 1856. Æ 95 yrs. and 8 mos.
"This mortal hath put on immortality."
Mr. Howard was a man of eminent sincerity and uprightness, of a pleasant, social, affectionate disposition, easy and famil- iar in his manners, always ready to perform every good office of morality and religion, and strictly conscientious in the discharge of the duties of his station. He was a very strong man physically. Once, seeing five men attempting to place a large stone in a wall, he asked them to stand aside, and with ease lifted the stone to its proper position. He was ever attentive to the wants of the needy and afflicted. His intercourse with his parishioners was free from that formality which checks every expression of the spontane- ous feelings of the heart. He did not paint religion in the dark and forbidding colors of austerity and sadness. To him it appeared in the smiling attitude of cheerfulness and hope. His piety was deep and sincere, but not ostenta- tious; it was not a sudden glow of rapture, but a calm, serene, and steady habit of the soul. Mr. Howard held a respectable stand as a writer and a scholar. His talents were esteemed more solid than brilliant. In his public discourses he aimed rather at utility than ornament. He was more solicitous to enlighten the understanding than to amuse the fancy. His manner was solemn and impressive. The undisputed doctrines of religion, repentance, faith, love, and obedience constituted the burden of his preaching.1 It has been said by the Hon. Thomas French, who knew him well, that when he saw Mr. Howard in the pulpit, he could not but imagine him to be the original from which Cowper drew his description of the village preacher : -
1 See Appendix XXVII.
7
COMMODORE DOWNES.
449
THE THIRD MINISTER.
" I would express him simple, grave, sincere ; In doctrine uncorrupt ; in language, plain ; And plain in manner, - decent, solemn, chaste ; And natural in gesture; much impress'd Himself, as conscious of his awful charge, And anxious that the flock he feeds May feel it too ; affectionate in look, And tender in address, as well becomes A messenger of grace to guilty men."
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450
HISTORY OF CANTON.
CHAPTER XXX.
JOHN DOWNES.
T HE name of Downes is one of great antiquity in our town. The first of the name was Edward, who came from Ireland. On March II, 1724, he married Ruth, the daughter of James and Abigail (Newton) Puffer; she was born March 16, 1704, and died April 22, 1790. Edward went to housekeeping under Blue Hill ; and in 1727 we find him on the first tax list. On July 18, 1736, " a collection was made for the poor and needy wife and children of Edward Downes, who, having left them and gone to sea," Mr. Dun- bar describes, with a dim recollection of Lamentations float- ing in his memory, " as being worse than a sea-monster, that draws forth its breast to its young."
But his absence at this time was temporary. In 1740 his name appears in the company of Capt. Thomas Phillips, who went, or enlisted to go, in the expedition to Carthagena. Mrs. Downes was spoken of as the wife of Edward in 1742, when John Puffer, Jr., furnished her with " house-room and fire-wood; " and her son Edward was born on February 26 of that year. In 1744 Edward Downes went to the eastward and never returned; one year later his wife was called a widow, and " had neglected to put her children out, and was reduced to great want." In 1751 her daughter Miriam mar- ried the celebrated composer, Jacob French. The closing years of her life were cheered by a legacy from John New- ton, of Milton.
Her son Edward married for his first wife, Meriam Jordan, who was born March 25, 1745, and died March 25, 1777. March 9, 1780, he married Rhoda Billings, and died at Fran-
45I
JOHN DOWNES.
cestown, N. H., March 4, 1800; he was a lieutenant in the War of the Revolution. He had a son Jesse, who was born on the site where the house of Frank M. Ames now stands. April 3, 1764, he married Naomi, daughter of John and Hepzibah (Kenney) Taunt. In 1784 he enlisted as a private in the company of Captain Handley in the Ninth Massachu- setts Regiment.
In a little house, near the corner of Pecunit and Elm streets, on the southerly side of the former street, on the 23d of December, 1784, a son was born to them, who was, by his faithful adherence to duty, his zeal and wisdom displayed in public trusts, his upright and irreproachable character, to become one of the brightest ornaments of the United States Naval Service. As a child in arms he attended the funeral of Preserved Lyon on July 16, 1785, from whom he was descended in the fifth generation.
Though Jesse Downes was a worthy citizen, he was not able to procure for his son as good an education as he would have liked, and when John, the future commodore, was a lad of fourteen years, he was obliged to repair to Boston to seek his fortune. His father was at this time purser's steward on board the " Constitution," and was allowed a waiter ; this position he gave to John. The " Constitution " was com- - manded by Captain Silas Talbot, who had superintended its construction ; it had been his flagship in 1799, during a cruise in the West Indies. Talbot, observing in young Downes evidence of uncommon ability, said to the father, " Downes, [ must have that boy." The boy was transferred to the cap- tain, who gave him opportunities to improve himself in study which young Downes gladly availed himself of. It is related that on one occasion, when it was the duty of the boys to serve a gun, two of them proved unfaithful, and John not only did his own duty, but that of the two delinquents. This incident and the general good conduct of Downes were so pleasing to the commander that at the expiration of the cruise of the " Constitution," in 1802, a midshipman's warrant was offered to him, he having been appointed acting mid- shipman two years before.
452
HISTORY OF CANTON.
In 1803 Midshipman Downes was ordered to the frigate "New York," bound to Tripoli. In a gallant attack made by Lieutenant Porter on the Tripolitan feluccas, Midshipman Downes is mentioned as one of three that particularly distin- guished themselves. During the years 1804-1806 he was on the " Congress," " Constitution," and " Spitfire." In January, 1807, he was appointed lieutenant, and ordered on duty on board the " Wasp." In 1812 he sailed from Delaware Bay in the "Essex," under Commodore Porter; and while cruising in that vessel, on the 29th of April, three ships were sighted. One of these was the " Montezuma," which was soon cap- tured ; but a calm coming on, the other two could not be approached. Lieutenant Downes was despatched to capture them by boarding. As the heavy row-boats drew near, the ships hoisted the English flag and fired several shots. The signal was given for boarding; and when Lieutenant Downes was within a few yards of the gangway, he ordered her to surrender. She thereupon hauled down her colors; some of Downes's men were put on board ; and he made for her com- panion. She also surrendered; and they proved to be the British ships " Georgianna" and " Poltey." Commodore Porter ordered two guns to be placed on the former, and equipping her completely, placed her under command of Lieutenant Downes, with a crew of forty-one men. The vessels pro- ceeded in company a few days, when Downes was ordered on an expedition to Albemarle. A few days after, the " Rose" and " Catherine," two British ships, approached the " Georgi- anna," without the slightest suspicion that she was an enemy. They were captured, and prize crews put on board each. In the afternoon another warlike vessel was discovered, which was at first supposed to be a Spaniard; on getting nearer, she proved to be the " Hector." She was ordered to surrender, but her commander refused; whereupon a shot which did her considerable damage was delivered. By order of Downes, five broadsides were poured into her; whereupon she struck her flag, and a prize crew was put on board. Meanwhile, Porter had captured the " Atlantic," - a ship far superior to the "Georgianna" as a cruiser; and on Downes rejoining
453
JOHN DOWNES.
him, her name was changed to the "Essex," and Downes was placed in command.
The two ships, the " Essex " and the " Essex Junior," sailed October 2 for the Washington Islands; but on the 6th, Cap- tain Porter ordered Lieutenant Downes to make for the Mar- quesas Islands, for the purpose of intercepting a valuable ship, and rejoin him at Nooaheevak, one of the Washington Islands. Nothing material occurred until the junction at the place appointed. At a place called Madison Island Lieuten- ant Downes engaged in a daring battle with the Hippans, thousands in number, while Downes had but a handful of men. The natives assailed him with stones and spears, but he gallantly drove them before him. Here he was wounded ; and in another battle with the Typees, his left leg was broken. In February, 1814, the "Essex" and the "Essex Junior" arrived at Valparaiso; here the "Essex," after a terrible carnage, was captured. At this time Lieutenant Downes was suffering very severely from his wound, and could not walk except by the aid of crutches. In the thickest of the fight, however, he left the " Essex Junior," and pulled through all the terrible fire to the ." Essex," to receive the orders of his commanding officer. He could be of no use on board the " Essex," and after a time was directed to return to his own vessel and defend her, if possible; if not, to destroy her. Lieutenant Downes received from the Secretary of the Navy a highly complimentary letter in relation to his conduct in the Pacific. In September, 1814, he was appointed master commandant, and in October placed in command of the " Epervier." After the war with England, this vessel formed one of Commodore Decatur's squadron in the Mediterranean ; and on June 17, 1815, Downes, while in command, captured the large Algerine frigate "Nashouda." After the bursting of the main-deck gun of the "Guerrière," she ranged ahead out of action, and the Algerine put his helm hard up; and but for the daring and skilful handling of the " Epervier," the Algerine might have escaped. But she finally surrendered, after having received a broadside from the " Epervier," within pistol-shot. Decatur declared that he had never seen ma-
454
HISTORY OF CANTON.
nouvring of a vessel equal to that of the "Epervier." Downes was at once transferred to the command of the " Guerrière," and from her to the " Ontario."
In May, 1817, a naval ball was given 'at Everett's Hall, in Canton, which the invitations announce " will be honored by the attendance of Captain Downs." The committee of arrangements consisted of William Dunbar, Thomas French, Thomas Tolman, Bethuel Drake, William Tucker, and Luther Crane.
In June, 1818, Downes was appointed captain, and was placed in command of the frigate " Macedonian." It was during this cruise that he came near losing his life by as- sassination at Callao. After forcing this port in the face of Cochrane's squadron, he was lying there when the Peruvian frigate " Esmeralda " was cut out by Lord Cochrane. Sus- pecting some collusion between Downes and Cochrane, the soldiery attacked the market-boats of the " Macedonian " and sought the life of Captain Downes, who was at that time in Lima. He only escaped by disguising himself as a monk, begging his way down until within running distance of his boat, there waiting for him in the bay. Then throwing off his disguise, he ran for his life and escaped.
In July, 1831, he was ordered to hoist his flag on board the " Potomac " as commodore of the Pacific squadron. He proceeded by the way of Quallah Batoo (Sumatra) for the purpose of punishing the Malays for their frequent depreda- tions on our commerce, but particularly for their attack on the American ship "Friendship " and the massacre of her crew. That he thoroughly accomplished this is not doubted by any who remember reading the accounts published at the time. He landed his crew, stormed and destroyed the forts, and obliged the Malays to sue for peace and pardon. He met with a very small loss in killed and wounded. The diffi- culty of this undertaking may be better understood when it is remembered that an English squadron at the same place had, only a short time previous, been ignominiously defeated, the ships utterly disabled, and all their crews killed on shore in the attack. In this cruise he circumnavigated the globe,
455
JOHN DOWNES.
and finished, in 1834, his sea service, having been actively engaged therein for thirty-four years and upwards. On shore duty he served thirteen years and eight months, and during this time he was twice commandant at the Charlestown Navy- Yard, and served with distinction on many important courts- martial.
Obedience to superior orders ceases to be a duty the mo- ment those orders endanger life and general safety. Pressing cases like the following may occur where a subaltern is aware of something unknown to his officer, and must act before he has time to explain. The " Army and Naval Journal" tells the story : -
In 1833 the typhoon of the Northern Pacific was not as well understood as it is now, and that sea was little known to our naval vessels. In that year the " Potomac," commanded by Commodore John Downes, was crossing its waters on a cruise around the world.
Reuben R. Pinkham was her third lieutenant, a thorough sailor; born in a Northern whaling port, he had made several voyages to the North Pacific as a whaler, and was compara- tively familiar with that region, where the other officers were strangers. He and Commodore Downes have both been long dead.
The day was drawing to a close; Pinkham had the watch, and the Commodore was walking the deck. The wind, which before was fresh, had increased to a gale; topgallant sails were handed, topsails reefed, and spanker brailed up, when all at once Pinkham gave the order, -
" Man the weather head-braces, weather main-brace, weather maintopsail-brace, lee cross-jack braces !"
" What is that for, Mr. Pinkham? " asked the Commodore.
" We shall have the wind out here in a moment, sir," said Pinkham, stretching his arm out and pointing to the leeward.
With that the Commodore ran over to the lee rail, and looked anxiously out in the direction indicated. Presently he returned and said, -
" I see no signs of it, Mr. Pinkham; let the men leave the braces."
456
HISTORY OF CANTON.
With that a number of the crew dropped the ropes, and Pinkham called out, -
" Keep hold of those braces, every man of you!" when they resumed their grasp.
The Commodore's face flushed with anger to find his direc- tions thus disregarded, and he called out in a peremptory tone, -
" Let the men leave the braces, sir ! "
Again the crew dropped the ropes from their hands, when Pinkham, shaking his trumpet at them, exclaimed, -
" Don't any of you dare to let go of those ropes !"
At that moment the wind did not die away, but stopped, and the sails flapped against the masts. Raising his trumpet to his lips, Pinkham shouted, " Haul taut! Haul off all !" and the ponderous yards swung to a reversed direction.
They had hardly done so when the wind came out from the opposite quarter, and struck the ship like a sledge-ham- mer. She bent before it, but shaking the spray from her bows, dashed forward unharmed.
Commodore Downes said not a word, but rushed into his cabin; and presently the orderly came up to Mr. Pinkham and said the Commodore wished him to send to the first lieu- tenant to relieve him for a few minutes, as he wished to see him in the cabin.
Entering the cabin, Pinkham found the Commodore seated by a table.
" Mr. Pinkham," he exclaimed, " I consider myself indebted to you for my own life and for the lives of all on board this ship. Had you not hauled the yards just when you did, the ship would have gone down stern foremost. But I tell you frankly that had the wind not come out as you predicted, I would have put you under arrest in two minutes."
" Commodore Downes," replied Lieutenant Pinkham, “ I did not intend any disrespect, and I should be sorry if you thought I did; but I have been in these seas before, and am familiar with these sudden changes of wind. I saw undoubtful indications of such change then, and knew that I had no time for explanation."
F
457
JOHN DOWNES.
As a patriot, the zeal and wisdom of Commodore Downes were of great service to his country, while in social life he was a genial and courteous gentleman. His last words were, “ I am ready ; " and one who knew him wrote that he was -
"' Ready' through all life's changing mood, With steadfast heart the brave man stood,
' Ready ' 'mid battle's fiery shower,
'Ready ' in fortune's smiling hour ; And when the last dread summons came,
' Ready ' in his great Captain's name."
Among the earliest recollections of the writer connected with Canton is seeing Commodore Downes pass, with the firm tread of an officer, along our country roads. It was ever his delight to return to the place of his birth, and pass among the scenes of his boyhood, with his surviving relatives, what little leisure he could snatch from the active duties of his position.
Commodore John Downes died Aug. 11, 1854; and his body was deposited in Mount Auburn, and followed to the grave by men distinguished in the service of the State and nation. The Secretary of the Navy " ordered the flags of the navy-yards, stations, and vessels of the United States Navy to be hoisted at half-mast, and a commodore's salute of thirteen guns fired at noon on the day after the receipt of the order." " Of the thousands whose ashes re- pose within the hallowed precincts of that consecrated gar- den, there is not one who in life could more justly lay claim to the character of a gallant officer and an upright man."
An old-fashioned hip-roofed house, which stood nearly opposite the Commodore's birthplace, built about 1810 by Luther and Simeon Crane, was purchased by the Commo- dore. It was situated on a commanding position, and sur- rounded with fine trees. It passed into the possession of Mr. Ebenezer Turner, and was in later years an attractive resort for summer boarders, commonly known as Bartlett's. It was burned June 8, 1882.
458
HISTORY OF CANTON.
CHAPTER XXXI.
INCORPORATION OF CANTON.
T `HE desire to have the town of Stoughton divided did not originate in that part now Canton. In 1782 the pre- cinct now Stoughton voted to take measures to divide the town; and Thomas Crane, Esq., Major Robert Swan, Capt. Jedediah Southworth, Capt. Peter Talbot, and Capt. James Pope were appointed a committee of consultation. It was suggested at one time to call the proposed new town "Free- dom; " but a few days later the name "Danbury " seems to have been preferred. The General Court were, at first, in favor of granting the petition; but a counter petition pre- vented such action.
On the 18th of April, 1782, a town meeting was held, the second article in the warrant for which was "To hear the petition of Benjamin Bird and others praying for a division of the town into two townships."
Mr. Elijah Dunbar in his diary under date of Feb. 3, 1783, writes, " Southworth here about having the Parish set off; self and Southworth walk to Boston and attend General Court." In 1783 a petition was presented by the inhab- itants of the present Stoughton desiring that one third of the town meetings might be held in that part of the town.
The inhabitants of the first precinct, which comprised the territory now Canton, appear as early as 1793 to have dis- cussed in parish meeting the expediency of separating from Stoughton. An article was inserted in the warrant "to see if yt town will vote to set off ye First Parish in Stoughton, as it is now bounded, as a distinct and separate town." The inhabitants appeared to be in favor of the measure; and on
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INCORPORATION OF CANTON.
the 27th of May the parish voted that Nathaniel Fisher, Ben- jamin Gill, Nathan Crane, Capt. Elijah Crane, and Henry Bailey be a committee to present to the General Court their petition that the First Parish may be incorporated as a sepa- rate town. The parish, however, desired that the original petition should be amended, and appointed James Endicott, William Wheeler, Joseph Bemis, and Adam Blackman to attend to the matter. On the 13th of June the petition was presented to the General Court. On the 16th of September the order of notification having been served upon the town, a committee was appointed to appear before the General Court and support the petition. By order of the General Court, passed June 26, 1794, a map of the town of Stoughton was drawn by Nathaniel Fisher, surveyor.
The movement for division progressed slowly. A com- mittee of conference, consisting of sixteen, and a subsequent committee of twenty-three, attempted to harmonize jarring interests. In 1795 the First Parish again appointed a com- mittee to prepare a petition for a division of Stoughton. This committee consisted of Elijah Dunbar, Esq., Col. Na- than Crane, Joseph Bemis, Esq., Col. Benjamin Gill, and Capt. Elijah Crane. They prepared the petition as requested. In it they allege -
"that the town of Stoughton is very singular, being eleven miles in length and about four miles in breadth ; that there is a large body of land lying upon and contiguous to the line between the North and South Parishes, which is and always will be incapable of any valuable improvement, which throws the bulk of the inhabitants of said Parishes at a great distance from each other, - which peculiar circumstance makes it always inconvenient and sometimes impracticable for the inhabitants of either of said Parishes to attend Town meeting as they have been held for some years last past, by reason of the great dis- tance of way, and sometimes impassable roads."
This petition,1 signed by one hundred and forty-three in- habitants of the First Parish, on the personal solicitation of Col. Benjamin Gill was presented to the General Court on
1 See Appendix XXVIII.
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HISTORY OF CANTON.
the IIth of June, 1795, by Col. Nathan Crane, Capt. Elijah Crane, and Col. Benjamin Gill. The second precinct had in the mean time not been idle. It appointed Samuel Talbot, Samuel Shepard, Joseph Richards, and James Pope a com- mittee to do all in their power to prevent the secession of the elder parish. The result was a remonstrance headed by Lemuel Drake, with a following of one hundred and sixty- nine legal voters, which was presented on the 13th of Janu- ary, 1796, to the General Court. Aug. 26, 1796, Hon. Seth Bullard, of Walpole, Judge Bullock, of Rehoboth, and John Hewins, of Sharon, who had been directed by the General Court to repair to the town of Stoughton, to view and con- sider the expediency of dividing it, met the selectmen at the house of Capt. Elijah Crane, innholder, and the matter was discussed vigorously for four days. Their report, made to the General Court on September 3, was favorable to the di- vision. On December 5 of this year another committee was appointed to prepare an Act of Incorporation. This com- mittee consisted of men who had long been prominent in affairs, and whose judgment and experience made them the most influential citizens of what was soon to be the town of Canton, - James Endicott, Esq., Elijah Dunbar, Esq., Col. Benjamin Gill, Joseph Bemis, Esq., Col. Nathan Crane, Capt. Elijah Crane, Capt. William Bent, Deacon Benjamin Tucker, Adam Blackman, and William Wheeler. The original Act of Incorporation, in the handwriting of James Endicott, was completed at the house of Capt. Elijah Crane, on January 9, and does not differ materially from the Act as finally passed. It was read to the parish, and accepted, subject to such alterations and amendments as the committee might deem desirable.
On Dec. 6, 1796, the wisdom of the parish decided that the name of the new town should be Canton. It has been a matter of much conjecture why the town was so called. It has frequently been asked whether this name was petitioned for, and whether it was given to the town on account of the China trade, which was at the time of its incorporation be- coming important? To these questions a negative answer
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INCORPORATION OF CANTON.
must be returned. The naming of the town was the whim of one individual, - a person of such prominence that his opinion had great weight. It is related that when the ques- tion of a name for the new town was discussed, the Hon. Elijah Dunbar said that this town was directly antipodal to Canton in China, and for that reason should be so called. This argument, fallacious as it was, served to convince those who probably had nothing better to offer; and so this name, unmeaning and without any historical associations, was adopted. Again, it may be asked, "Why was the ancient and honorable name of Stoughton not kept by the old and long-established settlement, and some other name given to the second precinct, the comparatively newly settled neigh- borhood?" The answer would appear to be that as the inhabitants in the first precinct were now anxious for the separation, they were willing to sacrifice their honorable name and historic associations for the sake of an independent municipal government. Had the town retained the aborig- inal name Ponkapoag, or had the name of one of the signers to the petition been given to it, or had the town been called "Gridley" or " Sherman," it would have been a worthy trib- ute to the valuable services of our distinguished townsmen. As it is, Canton in Massachusetts must bear its name in common with the Cantons in Arkansas, Connecticut, Dakota, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, two in Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Mon- tana, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.
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