USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > Dorchester > History of the town of Dorchester, Massachusetts > Part 32
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* Palmer's Nonconformist's Memorial, vol. 2, p. 388.
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three years, without receiving the customary degree. Before leaving College, however, young Wiswall seems to have been engaged in teaching school in Dorchester. In the Town Records, under date of 8 Feb., 1655, is an agreement between the Select- men and Thomas Wiswall, that his son Ichabod, then about 18 years of age, should be the teacher of the school for three years.
The following is a copy of the contract, signed by Ichabod Wiswall, and by Edward Breck in the name of the rest of the Selectmen.
" First, that Ichabod, wth the Consent . of his Father, shall from the 7th of March next Ensuinge, vnto the end of three full years from thence be compleate and ended, instructe and teach in a free Schoole in Dorchester all such Cheldren as by the Inhabitants shall be Committed vnto his Care, in English, Latine and Greeke as from time to time the Cheldren shall be Capable, and allso instruct them in writinge as hee shall be able; wch is to be vnder- stood such Cheldren as are so fare entred all redie to knowe there Leters and to spell some what; and also prouided the schoole howse from time to time be kept in good order and comfortable for a man to abide in, both in somer and in Winter, by providing Fire seasonably, so that it may neather be preiudiciall to master nor Scholar- and in cause of palpable neglect and matter of Complaint, and not reformed, it shall not binde the mr to Endanger his health.
" Secondly, that the Selectmen of Dorchester shall, from yeare to yeare, every yeare paye or cause to be paid vnto Icabod or his Father by his Assignment the full somme of Twentie Five Pounds, two thirdes in wheate, pease, or barley, marchantable, and one thirde in Indian, att or be- fore the first of March, dueringe the three yeares, yearly,
1
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at price Currant, wch is to be understoode the price wch the generall Court shall from time to time appoint."
Annexed is a fac-simile of the signature of Mr. Wiswall; that of Mr. Breck we have not taken.
JEabod moi watt
It is not known how long Mr. W. taught the school ; probably some three or four years. Mr. Pole succeeded him.
In 1676, Mr. Wiswall was ordained pastor of the church in Duxbury, and in addition to his regular parochial duties, was for many years a teacher of the public school in that town. Soon after his set- tlement he married Priscilla Pabodie, by whom he had seven children; among them, Hannah, born in 1681, who married Rev. John Robinson, a successor to her father as minister at Duxbury; and Peleg, born in 1683 (H. C. 1702), who married Elizabeth Rogers, of Ipswich. Peleg was a school-master in Boston.
Rev. Mr. Wiswall was an agent for the Plymouth Colony in 1689, and went to England to obtain for it a new charter. The coincidence is singular, that another son of Dorchester, also a clergyman, about two years his junior, was at the same time acting as an agent for the Massachusetts colony, and endeavoring to obtain a charter to unite Massa- chusetts, Maine and Plymouth in one colony. Mr. Wiswall did the best in his power to obtain a dis- tinct charter for Plymouth, while both parties were laboring to subvert the contemplated union with New York. Exerting themselves each to carry out the express objects and wishes of their constituents
54
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HISTORY OF DORCHESTER.
-those objects being in some respects at variance --- it was natural to suppose there might have been a collision between them. This appears to have been the case. The animosity manifested, however, was of a temporary nature. Eventually, matters were amicably settled. Plymouth was joined to Massa- chusetts, a component part of which it has ever since remained. Those who were "wont to trot after the Bay horse," as Wiswall expressed it, were satisfied, having fully accomplished their purposes, and the diplomatists returned to their homes, Ma- ther having punningly uttered a hope that the " weazel " would " be content in his den."
Mr. Wiswall, after his return, ministered accep- tably to his people for many years. He is said to have been " nearly a faultless man," and to have stood " very high in the estimation of the whole Plymouth Colony, for his talents, piety, and incor- ruptible integrity." The General Court of Massa- chusetts voted him $60 for his services, and, after ,his death, 300 acres of land were assigned to his son Peleg, on petition, for the efforts of his father in the cause of the Province.
He died in Duxbury, and was buried in the sec- ond burial ground in that ancient town, his monu- ment bearing the following inscription : - " HERE LYETH BURIED YE BODY OF YE REVEREND MR ICHA- BOD WISWALL, DECP JULY YE 23, ANNO 1700, IN THE 63' YEAR OF HIS AGE." "This stone," says Win- sor, " the oldest in the yard, is still perfectly legible, and free from moss-emblematic of the good man's purity, whose remains lie buried beneath." " His
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HISTORY OF DORCHESTER.
death was ' accounted a great loss to the country.'"* (See Winsor's Hist. Duxbury, pp. 107-9, 112-15, 180-4; Jackson's Hist. Newton, pp. 453, '4.)
WILLIAM POLE, an early settler in Dorchester, after tarrying here a few years, went to Taunton, where his sister Elizabeth had, in the year 1637, effected what was called " the Tetiquet purchase," which included what is now Taunton and the ad- joining towns of Raynham and Berkley.
The name of William Pole stands the eighth in the order of those who were the first and an- cient purchasers. On the 4th of December, 1638, he was made a freeman of Plymouth Colony. In 1643, his name occurs the second on the list for Taunton "of those able to bear Arms in new Ply- mouth." t
He returned to Dorchester, it seems, as early as 1659, teaching successively till 1668. Some- times he was elected by a vote of the town, and at other times by William Pole the Selectmen. In the year 1661, " the Selectmen did covenant " with him, and promised him £25 for his services that year. In 1666, there were " agita- tions about a school-master," and a committee, con- sisting of Mr. Richard Mather, Lieut. Hopestill Fos- ter and John Minot, were chosen to procure a mas- ter, while at the same time, "it was voted that Mr.
* Fairfield's MS. Journal, quoted by Rev. T. M. Harris, in his Hist. of Dorchester, Mass. Hist. Coll., 1st Series, vol. 9, p. 180.
+ Hist. and Gen. Reg., vol. 4, p. 258. Emery's Ministry of Taun- ton, vol. 1, pp. 18, 20, 37, 46.
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HISTORY OF DORCHESTER.
Pole should go on in keeping school until another master be provided." In 1667, the same committee were empowered " to agree with such a man as they shall judge meet, not exceeding £40 a year." Mr. Pole continued with them, at the desire of the town, till another could be obtained, a school-master hav- ing long " been endeavored after." In 1669, " Sir Atherton " succeeded him.
In addition to Mr. Pole's services as a school- master, it may be mentioned that "he was Clerk of ye Writs & Register of Births, Deaths & Mar- riages in Dorchester about 10 years." (For further particulars of William Pole, see ante, p. 96.) The inscription, from the top of the entablature over his tomb, is there given. The following is from under- neath, at the head of the grave.
" Here lieth buried ye body of Mr. William Poole aged 81 years who died ye 25th of February in
ye yere 1674."
At the foot, a coat of arms of the family is en- graved in outline.
During Mr. Pole's administration (in 1665), the town voted, that "the new impression of Mr. Ma- ther's catechism should be paid for out of the town rate; and so the books to become the town's "-the said work to be disposed of, to each family, accord- ing to the direction of the Elders, with the Select- men and Deacon Capen. The town paid Anthony Fisher £4 10s. for printing the catechism. Where
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HISTORY OF DORCHESTER.
can a copy of this work now be found ? * The cele- brated Cotton Mather, in his life of Rev. Richard Mather, his grandfather, says : " He published cate- chisms, a lesser and a larger, so well formed that a Luther himself would not have been ashamed of being a learner from them." (Magnalia, 1, 454.)
HOPE ATHERTON, son of Maj. Humphrey Ather- ton, was born in Dorchester, where he was baptized 30th Aug. 1646. He graduated at Harvard College, 1665, and taught the school in his native town in
* Since writing the above, we have been favored with a sight of this rare book, a duodecimo of 124 pages - the only copy that we have heard of in this country, after extensive inquiry. It is in possession of J. W. Thornton, Esq., of Boston. The title-page reads thus :-
A | CATECHISME | or, | The Grounds and Princi | ples of Christian Religion, set | forth by way of Question | and Answer. | Wherein the summe of the Doctrine of | Religion is comprised, familiarly opened, | and clearly confirmed from the | Holy Scriptures. | By RICHARD MA- THER, Teacher to the | Church at Dorchester in New England.
Hold fast the form of sound words which thou hast heard of me | in faith and love, which is in Christ Jesus. 2 Tim. 1, 13.
When for the time ye ought to be Teachers, ye have need that | one teach you again the first principles of the Oracles of God, | and are be- come such as have need of Milke, and not of strong | meat. Heb. 5, 12.
London. | Printed for John Rothwell, and are to be sold at | his shop at the signe of the Sunne and Foun | taine in Paul's Church yard neer the little | North-gate. 1650.
The following, recommendatory of the work, is from the address "to the reader," by Rev. John Cotton and Rev. John Wilson, of Boston. " Wherein," say they, " you shall find the summe of the Doctrine of the Christian Religion, with pithy solidity and orderly dexterity digest- ed together, and with clear evidence of truth confirmed from the holy scriptures : and both with such familiar plainnesse of savory language, as (by the blessing of Christ) the simple-honest-hearted Reader may be informed and established in the highest truths, and the most intelligent may be refreshed and comforted," &c.
¡ He is twice called Hopestill on the Suffolk Probate Records. On the College catalogue his name is latinized Sperantius.
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HISTORY OF DORCHESTER.
1668 and 1669 .* Consideration, £25, " to be paid him in such Marchantable pay as ye towne vsually pay Rates & towne charges in ;" -- " what Hope Affer fon Children come out of
other Towns, he shall have ye benefitt of them."+ In 1669, he was to have £30. On the 8th of June of the same year, it was voted by the town, to dis- miss Mr. Atherton from his engagement to the school by the 29th of September following, "or sooner, if the town by their Committee can provide a supply for the school." This action was taken in accordance with a desire expressed by " brethren & friends living at or near the town of Hadley," that Mr. A. should enter " the public work of the Min- istry with them." In 1670, Hatfield was incorpo- rated as a distinct town, having been previously a part of Hadley. Mr. Atherton accepted a call ten- dered him by the people of Hatfield to become their first minister, and on the 25th of November, 1670, they voted to build him a suitable house, and to give him a salary of £60 a year, " two thirds to be paid in good merchantable wheat, and one third in pork, with this provision : ' If our crops fall so short that we cannot pay in kind, then we are to pay in the next best pay we have.' "
Rev. Hope Atherton married Sarah, daughter of Lieut. John Hollister, of Wethersfield, Conn., in 1674. She had by Mr. Atherton three children.
* The above signature bears date 8: 1 : 1668 -- 9.
t Extract from the treaty with him on the Town Records.
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HISTORY OF DORCHESTER.
Soon after the death of Mr. Atherton, probably in 1679, his widow married Timothy Baker, of North- ampton, a man of distinction in that town. She was his second wife. By this connection Mr. Baker had five children (the first child being born in Feb- ruary, .1680-81), one of whom was the celebrated Capt. Thomas Baker, who married Christine Otis, of Dover, N. H. (See Genealogical Register, vol. 5, p. 189-196.)
Mr. Atherton accompanied Capt. Turner, in 1676, as chaplain, in the expedition against the Indians, in the neighborhood of Greenfield, which resulted in the celebrated " Falls Fight."
Rev. John Taylor, of Deerfield, in an edition of " Williams's Redeemed Captive " (1793), closes his account of the " Fight" with a brief narrative of Mr. A. " In this action," he says, " was the Rev. Mr. Atherton, minister of Hatfield. The following is the substance of a paragraph which he delivered to his people the sabbath after his return :- In the hurry and confusion of the retreat,' says Mr. Ath- erton, 'I was separated from the army. The night following, I wandered up and down among the dwelling places of the enemy, but none of them dis- covered me. The next day I tendered myself to them a prisoner, for no way of escape appeared, and I had been a long time without food; but, notwith- standing I offered myself to them, yet they accepted not the offer. When I spake to them they answer- ed not, and when I moved towards them they fled. Finding they would not accept of me as a prisoner, · I determined to take the course of the river, and, if
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HISTORY OF DORCHESTER.
possible, find the way home; and, after several days of hunger, fatigue and danger, I reached Hatfield.'"
" There were various conjectures at the time," says Mr. Taylor, "relative to this strange conduct of the Indians [in avoiding Mr. Atherton]. The most probable one was, that it arose from some of their religious superstitions. They supposed he was the Englishman's God."
Mr. Atherton never recovered from the effects of these severe sufferings and exposures. He died June 8th, 1677, leaving an only son, Joseph, who was living in 1736.
JOHN FOSTER, son of Capt. Hopestill and Mary Foster, was born in Dorchester about 1648 ; graduat- ed at Harvard College in 1667; commenced teaching school, it is thought, Oct. of 1669, at £25 per annum. In article fourth of his agreement, it was " granted as a liberty to ye Master, if he see it meete, for to go once in a fortnight to a lectuer." His salary in 1670 was £30. On the 23d of December, 1672, it was agreed that Mr. Foster " shall teach such lattin schollars as shall Come to his fathers hous one wholl yeer next ensueing from the first of January next, and to instruct and give out Coppies to such as come to him to learne to writte "- " for his paines to haue £10." A fac-simile of his
Jola Lostex.
signature to this agreement is here given. In 1674, his " recompence " for teaching grammar scholars in English, Latin and writing, " at ye schole-house," was £30. The same year the General Court granted
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HISTORY OF DORCHESTER.
permission to establish a printing press in Boston. One was set up by Mr. Foster in 1675 or '6. This was the first printing house in Boston ; now there are about eighty in that city. Mr. F. is known to have been the author of an almanac for 1675, also for 1680; and author and printer of almanacs for the years 1676, '78, '79, '81, the latter being the year of his decease. Among other works, he print- ed Increase Mather's Exhortation to the Inhabitants of New England (" Are to be sold over against the Dove "), 4to. 1676; Hubbard's Election Sermon, delivered 3d May, 1676, 4to., 1676; I. Mather's Brief History of the Warre with the Indians, &c., 4to. ; A relation of the Troubles of New England from the Indians, &c., by I. Mather, 4to., 1677; Hubbard's Narration of the Troubles with the In- dians, &c., 4to., 1677; Rev. John Eliot's Harmony of the Gospels, 4to., 1678; Increase Mather's Ser- mon "preached to the Second Church in Boston in New England, March 17, 1679-80, when that Church did solemnly and explicitly Renew their Covenant with God, and one with another; " also, Samuel Willard's Discourse, preached the same day, after that Church had "renewed their Covenant." The two discourses, which were probably among the last works printed by Mr. Foster, are bound to- gether. The preface, by Increase Mather, is dated April 19th, 1680. These books are all in quarto form, and several of them are in the possession of Mr. S. G. Drake, to whom we are partly indebted for the above information relative to Mr. Foster.
Blake, in his Annals (p. 29), states that Mr. Fos-
55
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HISTORY OF DORCHESTER.
ter " made the then Seal or Arms of ye Colony, namely an Indian with a Bow & Arrow, &c." Dr. Pierce says (Address at opening of Town Hall, Brookline, 1845, p. 20) " the device is " " ascribed to " " John Hull," the mint master. In regard to this, it may be said that the original silver seal of the Massachusetts Company, in England, was sent over to Gov. Endicott in the year 1629. It was in use until the accession of Gov. Andros in 1686, which was about five years after the decease of Mr. Foster. The seal was probably restored in 1689, after the deposition of Andros, and laid by in 1692, when the Province seal, under the second charter, was substituted. In 1775, the Colony seal was adopted; and in 1780, our present State seal. The five seals, by way of distinction, may be designated as the " first charter," " usurpation," " second char- ter," the "revolution," and " constitution " seals.
It seems to be a mistake, therefore, to suppose that either of the persons above mentioned "made " or " devised " the first seal. Engravings of it certainly were formed, on blocks or plates, for printing, and it would be natural enough for the mint master and the printer, especially the latter, to have an over- sight in their production. The impressions of the seal on the public documents, were variable in their size, and it is not improbable that both Hull and Foster may have designed or manufactured, in wood or metal, different sized models of it .*
* See Felt's Historical Account of the Massachusetts Currency, pp. 247, 248, 252 ; Drake's History of Boston, folio edition, p. 840 ; pages 244 and 245 of this work.
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HISTORY OF DORCHESTER.
Mr. Foster died September 9th, 1681, aged 33. Thomas Tileston, of Dorchester, and Rev. Joseph Capen, of Topsfield, wrote elegies 'upon his death. These are printed entire in Simonds's History of South Boston. A portion only of the latter poem has been introduced into this work. The fol- lowing is a poetical version of the Latin inscription on Mr. Foster's grave-stone. The inscription is given on page 245.
" Foster, while living, starry orbs explor'd, Dying, beyond their radiant sphere he soar'd ; And, still admiring the Creator's plan, Learns the wide scope of highest heaven to scan. Me, too, may Christ by his rich grace prepare To follow, and be reunited there."
THOMAS's Hist. of Printing, vol. 1, p. 277.
JAMES MINOT, who taught in 1675, '77, "78, '79, '80, was born in Dorchester 14th (Farmer says 18th) September, 1653. He was the son of Capt. John and Lydia (Butler) Minot, and grandson of Elder George Minot, who settled at what is now Neponset Village about 1630. Elder George was born in England, Aug. 4th, 1594, and was the son of Thos. Minot, Esq., of Saffron Walden, Essex, England.
James, the subject of this notice, graduated at Harvard College in 1675. "He studied divinity and physic," and by the combination made himself more efficient to minister to the general wants of the people. In June, 1680, the town " voted that if Mr. Minot can be procured to preach once a fortnight (his year beginning in January last and to end next January) that he should have twenty pounds, half
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HISTORY OF DORCHESTER.
money and half other pay." Probably Rev. Mr. Flint, the pastor, was in feeble health at this time, for he died on the 16th of September following.
After relinquishing the school in Dorchester, Mr. M. " removed to Concord, where he was employed as a teacher and physician. In 1685, he was hired to preach in Stow, 'for 12s. 6d. per day, one half cash and one half Indian corn ; ' and again in 1686, for 'what older towns had given their ministers- £13 for 13 sabbaths.' In 1692, he had another application to preach there, which he declined. Re- linquishing the profession soon after, he was appoint- ed Justice of the Peace, in 1692, and a captain of the militia, then offices of much distinction. He represented the town several years in General Court, was much employed in various public trusts, and distinguished himself for his talents and excellent character."
He married Rebecca, daughter of Capt. Timothy Wheeler, of Concord, by whom he had ten children. Many distinguished individuals in our country de- scended from them. Mrs. Minot died on the 23d of September, 1734, aged 68. He deceased September 20th, 1735, aged 83 years .*
The accompanying fac-sim- James Minott
ile of his name is from the original in the second volume of the Town Re- cords, date 12th May, 1677.
* See a copy of the inscriptions on their grave-stones at Concord, in N. E. Hist. and Gen. Reg., vol. 1, p. 173, '4, in connection with a gene alogy of the family, from which the above extract concerning Mr. Minot is taken.
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HISTORY OF DORCHESTER.
WILLIAM DENISON taught the school in 1681- to have £20 and " his accommodation for diet ;" the next year to have twenty shillings more in money ; in 1683 he taught part of the year. He was a son of Edward Denison ; was born in Roxbury, 18th Sep- tember, 1664; graduated at Harvard College, 1681; married Dorothy, daughter of Thomas Weld, of Rox- bury, 12th May, 1686. He was made a freeman in 1690 ; was a representative to the General Court for twenty years, and died in Roxbury, 22d of March, 1718, aged 54 years .* The an- William Dinifon. nexed is his fac-simile, 1681.
Mr. D. belonged to a family of note. His grand- father William, one of the early settlers of Roxbury, was a freeman in 1632, and a representative in 1653. His son Daniel was a representative many years ; an assistant; a speaker of the House; afterwards a major general. Edward, the second son of William, and the father of the subject of this notice, married Elizabeth Weld in 1641; was a representative in 1652 and '55. He died April 26, 1668. George, the third son of William, and brother of Edward, was distinguished in the war with king Philip.
The following in relation to the " possession " of Edward, the father of William (the teacher), is from the early records of Roxbury.
" Edward Denison to have a piece of marsh and upland called Pine island, being fower accres, more or lesse, upon the riuer that leades to Dorchester tide-mill +-south-east, north and west compassed
* See Ellis's Hist. Roxbury.
t This was " Clap's mill," so called, referred to on page 113.
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HISTORY OF DORCHESTER.
with a creeke, and upon the marsh lately Thomas Robinsons, south."
JOHN WILLIAMS, son of Dea. Samuel, and grand- son of Robert, of Roxbury, was born in Roxbury, 10th December, 1664. The maiden name of his mother was Theoda Park. She was a daughter of Dea. William Park, a person of distinction in the town of Roxbury. Through the aid and influence of this worthy man, his grandson, John Williams, was enabled to obtain a college education. He graduat- ed at Harvard College in 1683, and in the subse- quent year became a teacher in the Dorchester school. His signature to
the contracts for keeping
school in 1684 and in 1685,
John viliams
are on record. The fac-simile is from the one of the latter date. In the month of May, 1686, he was ordained as the first minister in Deerfield. This town, at that time a frontier settlement, was con- tinually exposed to the attacks of the savages. Mr. Williams, with an undaunted spirit, took his lot with the people. Soon after his settlement he mar- ried Eunice Mather, of Northampton, who was a daughter of Rev. Eleazer Mather, and grand-daugh- ter of Rev. Richard Mather, of Dorchester. On her mother's side she was a grand-daughter of Rev. John Warham, also of Dorchester.
Rev. Mr. Williams had by his wife Eunice nine children, three of whom were afterwards ministers of the gospel, viz .: Eleazer, who was ordained at Mansfield, Ct .; Stephen, ordained at Long Meadow,
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HISTORY OF DORCHESTER.
Mass .; Warham, ordained at Watertown, west pre- cinct, now Waltham.
The whole of Mr. Williams's family, then living, with the exception of Eleazer-nine in number- were taken captive by the French and Indians, in Deerfield, 29th February, 1703-4 .* The two young- est sons were murdered by them on the spot; the mother shared the same fate a few days afterwards.
A full account of the taking of Deerfield, and of the privations and awful sufferings that attended this unfortunate family in their journey through the wilderness to Canada, is feelingly narrated by Mr. Williams in his book entitled, "The Redeemed Captive returning to Zion," to which the reader is referred.
His captivity continued a year and nine months, during which time every artifice was used to bring the members of the family under the dominion of popery, but without success, except in one instance. His daughter Eunice was left among the Indians, · when he was redeemed in 1706,7 and no sums of money could procure her redemption. She was at that time ten years of age. Soon after this she for- got the English language, and in her habits became an Indian, one of whom she married. It is said the Rev. Eleazer Williams, of " Dauphin " notoriety, is her great grandson. She died in Canada at the ad- vanced age of 90 years.
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