USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Essex > History of the town of Essex : from 1634 to 1868 > Part 25
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47
1814. The amount of school money expended by the town for Chebacco this year was as follows : North district, $158.52; Falls, $124.13; Thompson's Island, $48.73; South $41; East, $40,17; Hog Island, $27,77; Total, $440,32. August 10th. The Second Church and Parish, having 35
274
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
[CHAP. 5.
extended a call to settle with them in the ministry to Mr. Robert Crowell of Salem, who had supplied their pulpit, the great part of the year after Mr. Holt left them, he is this day ordained as their pastor. The council for ordi- nation assembled in the house of George Choate, Esq., the same in which the council for the settlement of Mr. Cleave- land had convened sixty-seven years before. The services of the occasion, were as follows : Introductory prayer by Rev. Mr. Thurston of Manchester; sermon by Rev. Mr. Abbot of Beverly, ordaining prayer by Rev. Mr. Holt of Ep- ping, N. H .; charge by Rev. Dr. Dana of this town; right- hand of fellowship by Rev. Mr. Kimball of this town, and concluding prayer, by Rev. Mr. Emerson of Beverly. Dr. Hopkins of Salem was moderator, and Rev. Mr. Kimball, scribe. The council was composed of eleven churches- eleven ministers and ten delegates. Dr. Worcester of Sa- lem, the pastor of the candidate, was present, and would have preached the sermon, but for a mistake that had been made, then too late to be corrected. The council objected to a condition in the call of the parish, viz., that the contract between the parish and the minister might be dissolved at the option of either party, after having given six months' notice of such an intention. The objection was, that such a condition would naturally tend to invite a separation, and make the ministerial relation of short continuance. But the relation has continued more than forty years, and no inconvenience has resulted from the condition. The officers of the church since this ordination have been as follows : Deacons, Nathan Burnham, Samuel Burnham, (1821), David Choate (1828), Francis Burnham (1834); Treasurer, Samuel Burnham (1821); Clerks, David Choate (1823), Caleb Cogswell (1863).
September 14th. The town vote that the Committee of Safety superintend military affairs, and purchase what is needed. They also vote this year, that the drafted men, who by themselves or substitutes have been in actual ser- vice, shall have wages made up by the town, with govern-
·
275
CELEBRATION OF PEACE.
1800-1819.]
ment pay, to fifteen dollars a month, as long as they con- tinue in service.
British frigates are seen from our hills in the bay, and not far from our islands. But there is no report of their landing, and consequently no " Ipswich fright."
1815. February 17th, peace is proclaimed, and our lit- tle community take measures for the due celebration of the occasion. An address on peace is to be delivered in the afternoon, and a supper provided in the evening. The pastor of the Congregational Church is invited to give the address. The Light Infantry Company is under arms, commanded by Capt. Joseph Choate, and in due form, they escort the speaker from his house to the church, and back again, after the services. The entertainment in the eve- ning is provided by John and James Perkins, whose house opposite the church, is brilliantly illuminated. A numer- ous company sit down at their tables, and peace and good- will crown the social board.
May. The first Sabbath-school is commenced among us in the Congregational Church .* The only teacher, for the first few months, is the pastor. The school is opened at the ringing of the first bell in the morning, and the hour spent in a general exercise, consisting of the rehearsal of passages of Scripture, and remarks by the teacher. In the Autumn, the school is arranged in classes, with a teacher for each class, the pastor acting as superintendent.
October 19. Dea. Stephen Choate, died of a cancer. He was a son of Thomas and Elizabeth Choate, was born on Hog Island, 1727, and baptized November 5th, of the same year. In 1757, he married Mary, daughter of David Low, who died in 1768. In 1765, he was chosen Deacon of the Fourth Church. In 1770 he married Elizabeth Potter (a widow), who died in 1814. He had nine chil- dren by his first wife, and four by his second. He was frequently employed in town business .; was feoffee of the
* A less formal beginning of a Sabbath-school had been made in the Autumn of 1814 by the pastor, as is well recollected by aged persons, some of whom attended.
276
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
[CHAP. 5.
Grammar School; on the Committee of Correspondence and Inspection in the Revolution ; Justice of the Sessions Court; Representative from 1776 to 1779 inclusive; a Member of the Senate from 1781 to 1803, inclusive. He removed his relation from the church here, to the South Church, in 1783. "He so improved the honors of this world, as to render himself more influential in adorning the religion of his Savior."
1816, June 12th. About this time the weather was more remarkable for the degree of cold prevailing, than was probably ever before experienced at this season of the year. The snow fell more than once, and ice was seen one- fourth of an inch thick. In Williamstown, Vt., the snow on the 8th inst. was twelve inches deep. It was seen on the neighboring mountains for several days. "Great coats and mittens," says a letter from that quarter, "are almost as generally worn as in January, and fire is indispensable." There was frost every month of the year, and the corn crop here was wholly cut off. Corn was sold at two dol- lars per bushel.
In the Autumn of this year, a debating society was formed, which met weekly and continued till all the cus- tomary questions before such bodies were fully discussed and decided. The physician and minister of the parish, John and James Perkins, Capt. Joseph and Col. J. P. Choate, Dr. Asa Story, afterwards of Manchester, the late Jonathan Story, Esq., and several others were members of the club.
1817. Graduated at the Dartmouth College Medical School, Asa Story. He was the son of Capt. Jonathan Story, and was born July 20, 1794. He was fitted for col- lege at Atkinson Academy, N. H., and entered Dartmouth College in 1813, but at the close of his Sophomore year was compelled to leave on account of disease of the eyes. Not long after, he began the study of medicine in his na- tive place with Dr. Thomas Sewall. He also studied for a time with Dr. Shattuck of Boston, and attended the usual courses of medical lectures at Hanover, N. H., in
·
277
DR. ASA STORY.
1800-1819.]
1816 and 1817. Entering upon the practice of his pro- fession in Wenham, he removed after a short time to Fred- eric City, Md. After a residence of a year or two there, he returned to this State, and commenced practice at Man- chester, in 1820. There he spent his life, continuing in the active duties of his profession until a week before his death. He died February 11, 1860, of consumption of the blood. He was a faithful, kind, and skillful physician. A man of extreme diffidence which was never fully over- come, his worth was not immediately appreciated by strangers. But as a neighbor and citizen, he was very highly esteemed by his fellow-townsmen. To the welfare of the town where his professional life was spent, he con- tributed his full share of time, influence, and means. For a long time, he served on the school committee, with great credit. He was also, during the larger part of his resi- . dence in Manchester, a member of the Orthodox Congre- gational Church and Society. To all benevolent causes he gave liberally. He was married April 22, 1823, to Miss Eliza B. Farnham, of Newbury, who, with several children, survived him.
The new road to Manchester is opened this year. The Court of Sessions meet at Manchester to consider and de- cide on the necessity and expediency of such a road. Much opposition is made to it by Ipswich town. One of the Court, Dr. Parker Cleaveland of Byfield, passing through this place to Manchester, invites the pastor to accompany him. On entering the woods by the old road, the naked rocks and ledges are so prominent that there is no other way of safety for man or carriage, but for the Doctor to hold up the chaise with both hands, while the minister leads the horse, and this for the space of about a mile. This argument in favor of a new road is so sen- sibly felt by the Doctor, that he gives his decision before reaching the court; the woods re-echo and confirm it, and Ipswich has no argument, in the hearing, of sufficient power to overturn it.
278
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
· [CHAP. 5.
1818. Graduated at Harvard College, George Choate. He was the son of George Choate, Esq., and was born November 7, 1796. In the winter of 1810, he began the study of Latin under the tuition of the late Rev. Dr. Wil- liam Cogswell, then master of the North District School. There was much opposition made to the teaching of " the dead languages," at that time, but such was the popularity and influence of Dr. Cogswell that all objection was over- ruled. He subsequently spent one year at Byfield, and one at Atkinson Academy, and entered College in 1814. After graduation, Mr. Choate was for two years master of- the " Feoffees' Latin School" in Ipswich, and during the same time was engaged in the study of medicine with the late Dr. Thomas Manning. Two years more were spent in the office of the late Dr. George C. Shattuck of Boston. In 1822 he received the degree of M. D. at the Massachu- setts Medical College, and the same year entered upon the practice of his profession in Salem. For several years Dr. Choate has been president of the Essex South District Medical Society, and president of the Salem Athenæum. He has also represented the city of Salem on its board of aldermen, and in the Legislature of the State. In 1825, Dr. Choate was married to Miss Margaret M., daughter of Capt. Samuel Hodges. His four sons are graduates of Harvard College. The eldest is a physician and superin- tendent of the State Lunatic Hospital at Taunton. The other three are in the practice of law.
CHEBACCO PARISH BECOMES THE TOWN OF ESSEX.
1819. The movement for the separation of this parish from the town of Ipswich appears to have begun towards the close of the year 1817. At a meeting of the Second Parish, held December 23d of that year, a committee con- sisting of George Choate, Esq., William Cogswell, Jr., Col. John P. Choate, John Dexter, Capt. Jonathan Story, 4th, Joseph Story, William Lufkin, Capt. Winthrop Low, and
·
279
INCORPORATION OF ESSEX.
1800-1819.]
Nathan Choate, were appointed " to petition the Legisla- ture of the Commonwealth, as early as may be, to be in- corporated into a town, bounded by the limits of Chebacco, and to draw our proportion of property belonging to the town, and whatever else they may think proper to ask for in said petition : provided that the other religious society in Chebacco shall unite with us in the petition, and obligate themselves to pay their proportion of the expenses."
On the 5th of January, 1818, a " meeting of the inhabit- ants of Chebacco ward, in the town of Ipswich, was held at the North meeting-house in said ward,"-George Choate, Esq., chairman, and Joseph Story, clerk-at which the following votes were passed :
" 1. That the freeholders and other inhabitants of this ward unite in petition- ing the Legislature to be incorporated into a town, bounded by the limits of Che- bacco. 2. That the petition presented to this meeting be accepted with such alter- ations as their committee and attorneys see fit to make. 3. That the following persons serve as a committee to give the petition a general circulation and to carry the same into effect, viz: George Choate, Esq., Nathan Choate, Capt. Nathaniel Burnham, Capt. Jonathan Story, 4th, Jacob Story, Elias Andrews, William Cogswell, Jr., Joseph Story, John Dexter, Capt. Winthrop Low, Col. John P. Choate, Capt. Francis Burnham, William Lufkin, Capt. John Butler, Capt. James Perkins, Dr. Thomas Sewall, and Jacob Burnham. 4. That this commit- tee be authorized to employ one or more attorneys, as they shall think necessary, and to fix on a name for the town, provided an act of incorporation is obtained."
This committee met at the house of Capt. James Perkins, on the Sth of the same month, organized by the choice of George Choate, Esq., chairman, and Joseph Story, clerk, and selected a sub-committee, consisting of George Choate, Esq., Mr. William Cogswell, Jr., Capt. Winthrop Low, Mr. Nathan Choate, Capt. Jonathan Story, 4th, Mr. Elias Andrews and Mr. John Dexter, to carry the petition to the Legislature . and attend, all or a part, as they shall think necessary, to effect the object of said petition. The petition which was presented to the Senate, January 21st, was as follows :
" To the honorable Senate and the honorable House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, in General Court assembled :
" The petition of the subscribers hereof, inhabitants of the Second Parish of Ipswich in the county of Essex, humbly shews, that whereas the town of
280
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
[CHAP. 5.
Ipswich in said county of Essex, in said Commonwealth, is very extensive, being upwards of fifteen miles in length on the travelling road ; and that the Second Parish thereof, is a compact parish in the south part of said town, the southern part of which is upwards of seven miles from the court house in said town, which is the usual place of doing town business, the roads being very bad, especially in the spring of the year, at the usual time of doing town business, which makes it extremely inconvenient and almost impracticable to attend town meetings ; and that there reside within the limits of said parish upwards of two hundred and fifty ratable polls, upwards of two hundred of which are voters, and that their average travel is about five and a half miles to said court house, which makes upwards of twenty-two hundred miles travel to attend each of the several town meetings, which must necessarily be held in the course of every year :
" Therefore your petitioners pray that they may be set off from said town of Ipswich, and be incorporated into a separate town by the limits of said parish, with all the inhabitants within said limits, and their estates, with all the privileges of a town ; and that they may hold their proportion of all the town's property which is now held in common, and their proportion of the money arising from their Grammar school lands, a part of which lies within said limits ; and that they may not be held to pay any part of the money voted to be hired or voted to be raised and assessed in said town of Ipswich on the first day of January current for the purpose of purchasing a new and expensive establishment, to consist of a farm and new buildings, for the con- venience and support of their paupers ; and that the remaining burdens of the town may be equalized between the two incorporations in such manner as shall be just and reasonable ; and that said Second Parish may be authorized to tax all the lands within said limits to help defray parish charges. And as in duty bound will ever pray. DANIEL Low, and 205 others.
January, A. D. 1818.
" The town of Ipswich having been officially notified of this action of the parish, on the 6th of April, appointed a committee, consisting of Hon. John ITeard, John Choate Esq., Capt. Joseph Farley, Asa Andrews Esq., and Nathaniel Lord, Esq., to take the petition into consideration and report. In accordance with the report of this committee, which was accepted on the 20th of April, the town voted, That John Choate, Esq., Asa Andrews Esq., and Capt Joseph Farley be a committee to examine the records and evidence and all facts, and draft a remonstrance to lay before the town for their appro- bation at the adjournment of this meeting, and that they be agents of the town to present said remonstrance, and use all reasonable means to prevent the granting the prayer of the petition of Daniel Low and others before the Legislature of this Commonwealth, and to hear proposals from the petition- ers, and treat with them on the subject of their petition. Voted, That one- third part of the town meetings be holden in future in the parish of Che- bacco, or the Second Parish, whenever a majority of the said parish request it."
281
REMONSTRANCE OF IPSWICH.
1800-1819.]
On the 14th of May the remonstrance drafted by this committee was accepted by the town. It was as follows :
" To the honorable the Senate and House of Representatives of the Com- monwealth of Massachusetts in the General Court to be assembled at Boston on the last Wednesday of May, A. D. 1818. The remonstrance of the in- habitants of the town of Ipswich in the county of Essex against the petition of Daniel Low and others, inhabitants of the Second Parish in said town, pray- ing to be set off as a separate town, respectfully represents :
" That your remonstrants notice one grievance only in said petition as the cause of the petitioners' desire to be set off as a separate town, to wit : the traveling to attend town meetings, to which we must observe, that there always has been, and now is, a disposition on our part to accommodate them, as will appear by several votes of the town, offering them their share and pro- portion of town meetings to be held in that parish, but we have good reason to believe that the real reasons are not named in their petition, to wit : to , avoid the burthens, which they are under obligations to bear, in common with the rest of the town. And as a proof of this assertion, there appears to have been a fixed determination on their part to obtain from the town large ex- penditures on their roads and bridges, far beyond their due proportion, in that part of the town, to pave the way for an advantageous separation on their part, and the town of Ipswich have indulged them far beyond any other part of the town, in this respect. And now with these large sums secured to them in roads and bridges, they ask to be set off and to have their full proportion of the property held in common, and to be exempted from moneys voted by the town and for their benefit. We therefore beg leave to state, that in the early settlement of Ipswich its nearness to the sea induced the in- habitants to attempt commerce and the fisheries, which condensed to the centre of the town a considerable population and buildings, but on settlement of other places commerce and the fisheries declined, and the buildings become of small value about the body of the town, and a greater proportion of poor than in the other parts, whereas in the Second Parish the buildings are of greater value, and much more productive property, less poor in proportion to the whole number, nearer a good market, fuel within their own limits, and if a separation takes place, burthens, now legally belonging to the petitioners, placed on the residue of the town. Your remonstrants therefore most sol- emnly protest against a separation, unless an indemnity or equivalent is given by them for the large sums of money expended and drawn from us by artifice, and expended in that section of the town ; and they pay a sum of money for the support of the large number of paupers, which will be left as a great burthen on us. We protest against their drawing or holding any of the prop- erty held in common, against their having any of the moneys arising from the donations to the Grammar school, as the conditions under which the gifts and grants were made are such as are out of the powers of the Legislature to alter, and such as might become void if turned from the source for which it was 36
282
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
[CHAP. 5.
granted and given. We also must insist on their paying their proportion of all monies voted to be assessed by said inhabitants before their incorporation, as well as all debts due from the town; and we with confidence believe the Legislature will never interfere with the solemn contract and engagement made by said inhabitants of said parish, when they were made a parish, ' not to tax for ministerial or parochial charges any lands or buildings belonging to the inhabitants of the other parishes.' All which is with great respect submitted."
The opposition of Ipswich proved unavailing, however, and the town of Essex was incorporated in accordance with the following act of the Legislature, approved by the Governor, February 5th, of this year.
" Commonwealth of Massachusetts. In the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and nineteen. An Act to incorporate the Second Parish in Ipswich into a Town by the name of Essex.
"SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in Gen- eral Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, that all the part of the town of Ipswich in the county of Essex called the Second Parish in Ipswich within the boundaries herein after mentioned, together with the inhabitants thereof, be and the same is incorporated into a town by the name of Essex, and invested with all the powers, privileges and immunities, and subject to all the duties and requisitions to which towns in this Commonwealth are by law entitled or subjected, the said town of Essex being bounded and described as follows, viz .: Beginning at the north-westerly corner of William Cogswell's land, at a small stone bridge at the head of Choate's Brook, so called, thence running south-westerly on the boundary of said Second Parish to Hamilton line, thence running on a different corner easterly and southerly by said Hamilton line till it comes to Manchester line, thence running easterly by said Manchester line to a heap of stones to Gloucester line, thence by said Gloucester line to the sea. Then beginning again at the bounds first mentioned, and running down said brook to the creek, so called, thence continuing down said creek to the river, thence down the channel of said river on the north side of Hog Island to the sea.
" SECT. 2. Be it further enacted, that the said town of Ipswich shall have, hold and enjoy to their own use and benefit forever, the court-house situated in said town, the powder-house with the military stores therein, the Grammar school-house with the lands, hereditaments, rent and profits heretofore received and belonging to said Grammar school, and also the farm with the buildings, stock and utensils and all their other personal property thereon and thereto belonging, lately purchased by said town of Ipswich for a public poor-house.
"SECT. 3. Be it further enacted, that the said town of Essex shall pay to the treasurer of the said town of Ipswich, within the term of six months, their propor- tion of the debt due by and from said town of Ipswich and outstanding at the pass- ing of this act, in the proportion of thirty-one cents per dollar on the whole amount thereof, which amount shall be ascertained by a committee of three persons from each of the said towns; and in case of their disagreement, then to be ascertained by three referees to be appointed by the Circuit Court of Common Pleas for said county of Essex. And said town of Ipswich shall pay to, or set off with, said town of Essex the sum of twenty-two hundred and seventy dollars.
" SECT. 4. Be it further enacted, that the said towns of Ipswich and Essex shall respectively support and maintain all such as now are, or hereafter may be, inhabit- ants of the said towns respectively, or who were born in or have a derivative settle-
283
ACT OF INCORPORATION.
1800-1819.]
ment through any person born in or deriving settlement from any ancestor, and are or may become chargeable as paupers according to the laws of this Commonwealth, and who have not gained settlement elsewhere.
"SECT. 5. Be it further enacted, that all taxes assessed and not collected at the time of passing of this act, shall be collected in the same manner and paid to the treas- urer of the town of Ipswich as if the separation of said town had not taken place.
"SECT. 6. Be it further enacted, that the agreement between the said town of Ipswich and the said Second Parish, made on the twenty-first day of December, in the year of our Lord one thousand and seven hundred and fifteen, be and remain as before the separation, and unaffected hereby in any respect whatever.
"SECT. 7. Be it further enacted, that any justice of the peace for the said county of Essex, is hereby authorized to issue his warrant directed to any freeholder in the said town of Essex, requiring him to warn the inhabitants thereof to meet at such time and place as may be appointed in said warrant, for the choice of all such town officers as towns are by law required to choose at their annual meetings.
" The foregoing is a true copy of an attested copy of the act of incorporation of the town of Essex. Attest, JOSEPH STORY, Town Clerk."
The agreement referred to in section six, has reference to the boundary line between Chebacco and the rest of Ipswich. Some dispute had arisen respecting this in 1715, and on the 6th of December of that year the inhabitants of Chebacco appointed Lieut. Nathaniel Goodhue and Mr. Thomas Choate a committee "to petition the General Court for a confirmation of the limits of the district of Chebacco, according to our ever since our first be- ing set off from the town of Ipswich and to make a settle- ment of bounds with such committee as may be appointed by said town of Ipswich." The town having been served with a copy of this petition " in compliance therewith and to prevent any further charge or trouble to said precinct of Chebacco " appointed a committee to confer with the Chebacco committee. This joint committee reported in favor of the same boundaries which had been established by the town in 1681,t and having made report to the town, at a meeting held March 10, 1716, it was “ voted that the foregoing settlement of the lines of Chebacco Precinct be confirmed." The matter was again laid be- fore the General Court however, by some of the inhabit- ants of the Hamlet who were still dissatisfied; and that body on the 29th of November 1716, confirmed the settle- ment of the boundary which the town had made, " except-
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.