USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Essex > History of the town of Essex : from 1634 to 1868 > Part 43
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HISTORY OF ESSEX.
upon the heathen's mind as well as some belief that even an American knows how to run. An instance of this same Chebacco boy's native persistence of character in very early childhood, may as well be mentioned, perhaps. When a number of boys much older and larger than himself, were one day at play in the yard, they suddenly all had occasion to go out of the yard, and because the gate would not easily open, they all climbed over except the boy in question. It excelled his power, but he was “not to be beat," and perceiving an opening under the gate, where one would hardly say a kitten could go, he rubbed his way under about as qnick as the rest went over. " Well, master Tom," said a venerable lady looking on, " you'll do sonething yet in the world." As a comment upon this prognostication, the Rev. Dr. Cook, himself, a distinguished Methodist clergyman, remarked to the writer a few years since, "Sir, we consider the Rev. Mr. Sewall as the Summerfield of America.
GEOLOGY OF ESSEX.
The geological character of Essex is deserving of no- tice. Sienite is the leading element, though President Hitchcock's map exhibits Alluvium in the northern part of the town. Traces of paint deposits have been discov- ered in at least two different localities, one in the large pasture commonly called White's Hill, and the other in the woodlands. From an out-cropping in a wood-lot be- longing to the heirs of the late Zaccheus Burnham, a quan- tity was taken near the surface, some years since, which upon being sifted merely, was used for the first painting of Mr. Burnham's house. It lasted well and it is believed that the usual manufacturing processes would show it to be a paint of good, it may be, superior quality. But this is not the only mineral to be found in Essex. The Mass- achusetts Society for the promotion of Agriculture, in their published " Transactions " for 1861, New Series, Vol. I. Part III. pp. 309, 310, discourse as follows : "Allusion
447
A WALK ABOUT TOWN.
has before been made to limestone in Newbury, and it may be added that iron gives evidence of being present to some extent. There is a deposit of iron, it is believed, of great purity in the town of Essex. No exploration has been yet made, but the effect upon the magnetic needle, is without a precedent, as it is confidently believed; viz .: such as to deflect the needle seventy-two degrees in a distance of four rods. The deposit must therefore be greatly concentrated. It may indeed prove to be a com- bination of minerals of very little value, as is sometimes found to be the case, and still produce all that effect upon the needle above described. Its power, however, exceeds that which was found by Dr. Hitchcock, at Canaan Moun- tain, Connecticut, and which he describes in Silliman's Sci- entific Journal, but which deflected the needle only fifty or fifty-two degrees in a distance of ten rods, but which he nevertheless supposed to be iron ore of sufficient purity to pay well for exploring. This deposit of iron, if it be one, is to be met with in a "Walk" less than half a mile from the dwelling-house formerly owned and occupied by the late Asa Burnham.
DESCRIPTION OF SCENERY BY A VISITOR.
A distinguished clergyman, after preaching here in June, this year (1867), took a Monday morning walk . about our town, and as is common, saw so much more than native residents ever do see, that no apology will be made for an extract of his " correspondence of the Traveler," as published in that paper of June 20th :
" Do you desire to see a beautiful town, and people living in peace and primitive simplicity ? Why, then, leave your dusty sanctum, your scissors and your pigeon-holes, and come down to old Chebacco for a day or two. You will find the venerable descendants of the original Pilgrims,-Cogswell, Burnham, Low, Choate, et alias, inhabiting the very grounds which those good men received from England's King-bearing their names, their linea- ments ; thinking their thoughts, sustaining their principles, and realizing to some extent their expectations.
"It would do your soul and body good to see these hardy men of Essex ; to taste their hospitality ; to observe their thrift and industry, and to hear
448
HISTORY OF ESSEX.
the stories which they tell of daring exploits on the deep, or of the olden times. Or if you love the Summer breeze and Summer beauty, if you love to gaze on scenery, varied picturesque, enchanting, ascend with me "White's Hill," above the village, on a rosy morning. Turn your eye around from the towers and trees of distant Ipswich, inland to quiet Rowley, thence over hills of deepest green to the silver shimmering of the beautiful Chebacco, as it winds along the vales beneath you ; see it gleam among the foliage of the village at your feet and now dotted with sail, go sparkling in the early beam of day, to mingle gently with the waters of the ocean.
The spot where the Chebacco first meets your eye, reminds you of " that vale in whose bosom the bright waters meet ;" and at the confluence of this beautiful river, with the ocean just before you, rises the rounded form of Hog Island, birth-place of Rufus Choate. . . . But come and see the boats we build. None stauncher, trimmer, fleeter, breast the waves of ocean. Mr. Cooper, in the " Pilot," has honored us in making Capt. Barnstable commander of the never-to-be-forgotten Ariel, hail from " old Chebacco," and Capt. Kane had the good sense to sail to the North Pole in timber put together on the Chebacco river.
" Our natural curiosity par excellence, is " Martin's Rock," a mass of cloven granite blocks piled fantastically, no mortal can divine just how or when. On this grotesque aggregation of rock, which rises some dozen feet upon the summit of a rocky knoll, the late Winthrop Low, Esq., erected a liberty pole, fastening it with iron clamps and spikes into the solid base.
" But do not understand me to say that our dear old town, though beau- tiful, is perfect. We want a railroad, we intend to have one; we want a town-house and town-clock, a high school, public library, hotel and a bank ; we want more charity, less scandal, and less rum, and more than this, we want and ask and invite you, Mr. Traveler, as I said in the beginning, to leave your dusty cabinet, your musty books and papers, and the hubbub of the '' Hub,' a day or so, and come and breathe the invigorating atmosphere and see the beauties of the well turned, quiet rolling ' Hub' of old Cape Ann."
EFFORTS FOR A RAILROAD.
The fact that a railroad is upon the programme of facili- ties which old Chebacco is still wanting, is not wholly voluntary on the part of the people of the town. And as we cannot ride in a car, we continue our walk, though we find we cannot go far in any direction without crossing some one of the lines already surveyed and even staked out for a railroad within the last few years.
It it sometimes said reproachfully, that Essex, the very namesake of the county, is the only town in the county,
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A WALK ABOUT TOWN.
still without that grand facility. If there were no abso- lute necessity for a road, it surely would be no reproach to do without it. No town or other corporation ought to lay out a hundred and fifty or two hundred thousand dol- lars merely for the sake of being in the fashion. But Essex is environed on nearly every side by high land. You can go to neither Ipswich, Gloucester, Salem, Beverly, or Wenham Depot, without encountering hills, rising in some parts of their ascent, as rapidly for short distances as the Simplon over the Alps, or the Holy-head road in North Wales ; at least we are told so.
The first effort made for obtaining railroad facilities for Essex, was in the Autumn of 1844, at the time when the Eastern Railroad Company were contemplating a branch to Gloucester. The then president of the road, stated to a committee from Essex, that if the corporation could be satisfied that a road from Gloucester through Essex would pay them a certain per cent., such a road would be built without any doubt. The statistics were collected, and a stronger case was made out than he had contemplated ; so much so, that he caused a scientific survey of the road to be made in June, 1845. Probably a stronger ease was made in favor of the present route; at any rate the road was never built, and that phantom ship went on to the rocks a total loss.
Essex moved again in 1848, by petitioning the Legislature to charter a rail- road from a point near the center of Essex, over Foster's bridge to the Eastern Railroad, at or near the twenty-second mile post from Boston, the distance from said bridge, being 3,7% miles. A hearing of the petitioners was had before a Legislative Committee on the 13th of March, and a charter was ob- tained, but no patronage ever smiled upon that enterprise, and it was still-born.
In 1850 again, a company in Boston explored the great Chebacco, or Essex Pond, with a view to the ice trade, and determined to construct a rail- road from that beautiful sheet of water to Wenham depot. Such a road could have been continued from the pond to the center of Essex, by our citi- zens alone. Some important member of the Boston company, however, seceded, as we were told, and all those prospects melted away before the ice melted that Spring in the pond.
Nothing disheartened, however, the Essex friends of a road rallied once more in the Winter of 1865-6. Having before us the example of Rock- port and several towns in the western part of the State, a town meeting was called for the purpose of asking leave of the Legislature to use the town's credit to the amount of $50,000. This sum indeed had been voted by the town in anticipation of the law, and with great if not with perfcet unanimity. The town's action was somewhat premature, although that alone interposed no serious difficulty. Before a new meeting could be ealled, however, for 57
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HISTORY OF ESSEX.
the purpose of complying strictly with the terms of the charter, local inter- ests antagonized, and upon that rock, this last ship, like that of 1845, went to picees, a total loss. Upon such a state of facts, moralists must moralize ; we have no heart to. Possibly some future Nelson may point out a " cause and cure." Oh, come the day ! for many who desire to see it, have already died without the sight.
TOWN BURYING - GROUND.
Notwithstanding most of the recent interments have been made in the Spring Street Cemetery, yet family con- siderations still lead to the occasional occupation of the old burying-ground. A recent walk has brought us to the fresh grave of John Dexter, late of Manchester but for- merly of this town; and as the following sketch contains much of historical value generally, we offer no apology for inserting it, as published in the Salem Gazette of the 15th of October, 1867 :
" John Dexter, the subject of this sketch, was born in Malden, in this State, February 16, 1776. He was the son of William Dexter, a farmer, of German descent. He worked on his father's farm when there were no bridges connecting Boston with Charlestown, and it took two days to get a load of hay from the farm to Boston and back again, with the team, having to go round through Cambridge and over the neck. Having a step-mother who was severe with him, he left his father's house at the age of fifteen years, to learn a cooper's trade of Captain Pitchard, of Medford, with whom he worked till about the age of nineteen years, when he went on a voyage to the West Indies as a cooper. He next went a voyage to France, as mate of a vessel. On his return from this voyage he married Judith W. Sawyer, of Gloucester, and established himself as a small trader in Essex, then a portion of Ipswich, called 'Chebacco Parish.' Mr. Dexter soon identified himself with the people he settled among, by engaging in the boat building and clam business. His first vessel was of that description called ' Chebacco Boats,' of eighteen or twenty tons burthen, with two masts, pink stern,-that is, sharp at both ends, but designed to sail only one way,-a kind of craft much used for fish- ing in those days, along our coast and the shores of Maine, which gave em- ployment to many men and boys, and rendered Wood Island, Damaris Cove, Frenchman's Bay, and Mount Desert, familiar places. He afterwards built many boats, schooners and brigs, some of which he employed in fishing and commercial trade. He engaged largely in the ' bait business,' giving employ- ment sometimes to a hundred men in digging the clams, shocking, packing and marketing. His sales were made in Gloucester, Marblehead, Boston, Cape Cod and elsewhere. That Bank in Essex probably never discounted more freely, than while Mr. Dexter was one of the Directors.
451
MR. JOHN DEXTER.
" Mr. Dexter being fully identified with the interests of Essex gave his in- fluence on the side of all enterprises started for the benefit of the place. At this time communication between Essex and Manchester was by the way of the ' Old Road,' as it is now called, a crooked, hilly road, as may be easily conceived by those who have never traveled over it, by the names given to some places on that road, viz: the ' Ram's Horn,' ' Steep Pitch,' &c. Hay from Essex to Manchester in those days was teamed around through Hamil- ton, Wenham and Beverly. Mr. Dexter, in his frequent journeys to Salem, Marblehead, Boston, and elsewhere, in the course of his business, traveled over this old road, and knowing from his acquaintance with the woods lying between Essex and Manchester, in the pursuit of timber for his vessels, that a better way could be had, he earnestly advocated a new road from Essex to Manchester, at a time when the economical policy of the county was to re- quire the towns in which new roads were located to build them at the expense of such towns, which policy naturally caused the strong opposition of those who would not derive any immediate benefit from such road. Mr. Dexter's party prevailed, however, and he spent many days in looking out the best line for the road, and in carrying the surveyor's chain through ' Cedar Swamp.' The road was built, and now affords one of the most pleasant drives in the county, as many of our summer residents from Boston know and appreciate. Over this road now runs a daily coach from Essex to Manchester, and a large amount of heavy teaming of materials for vessel-building is carried. He was a large stockholder in the Essex Mill Corporation, a company that dammed the ' Chebacco River,' at the causeway in Essex, and erected a saw-mill and grist-mill, and run a carding machine ; for at that time the manufacture of cloth was done in families, and farmers raised their own wool, and having their carding done by machinery was thought to be a great advancement in the arts. One incident of the building of this dam, it may not be out of place to mention here. The owners of marsh, above the dam, fearing that their crop of hay would be greatly diminished or spoiled in consequence of the water being kept back on the marsh, sued the corporation for damage ; but before the case came to trial, they were satisfied that the crop had in- ercased rather than diminished. They therefore withdrew their case from court.
" Mr. Dexter, like many others who have prospered in business, had a de- sire for farming, and in 1836 he gave over his business in Essex (where he had been thirty-eight years) to a son, and bought a farm in Danvers, where he lived about eight years, only four of which, however, he spent on his farm.
" In politics Mr. Dexter was republican, having in early life been a repub- lican of the " old school," afterwards a whig during the existence of that party, and since a republican of the ' Lincoln school.' He voted for Presi- dent Lincoln, and was a firm supporter of his administration and policy du- ring the war of the rebellion and since. At the time of Mr. Dexter's de- cease he was living in Manchester with his fourth wife. As I said before, he married in 1798 Judith W. Sawyer, of Gloucester, who died in 1815. By
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HISTORY OF ESSEX.
this wife were born all his children, eight in number, three only of whom survive him, one son and two daughters. In 1816 he married Mrs. Sarah Hooper, of Manchester, who lived but a few months. She died in June, 1816, suddenly. He married for his third wife Miss Eliza Elwell, of Glou- cester, in 1818, who died in 1842, while they lived in Danvers. Believing in the declaration of Scripture, that, 'it is not good that the man should be alone' he in 1844 married Mrs. Mahala L. Byer, of Manchester, a lady much younger than himself, but a person well calculated to render his home pleasant in the decline of life. Having been liberal with his means in assist- ing his children in business, he deliberately made his will many years since, by which he made specific and liberal provision for his widow, free from the restrictions so frequently imposed in such cases. Having lived a life of tem- perate habits, in the true meaning of that term, he enjoyed good health and lively spirits, and at last died from mere exhaustion of the system, having for thirty-three days taken only cold water, with a little wine or cider a few times. Being nearly free from pain, having the full exercise of his reason, with the power of speech to the last, and being constantly attended by his wife or some of his children, his departure from this life could not be contemplated under more agreeable circumstances. He died with hopes full of immortal- ity, fully resigned to the will of God, on the morning of October 2d, aged 91 years, 7 months and 16 days, and was buried in Essex on the 5th, among the graves of two of his wives and his deceased children.
REV. JOHN WISE.
As you enter this ancient burying ground, the most ele- vated object that strikes the eye, is a monument of sand- stone, supported by four granite pillars, near the center of the cemetery and which covers the grave of Mr. Wise. The life of this great man, minister, patriot and statesman, is fully delineated elsewhere, and by many writers. And yet to walk over the fields of the town and among its monuments, without stopping to wipe the dust from Mr. Wise's stone, would almost be one of those sins that are not to be forgiven.
The first man in America ever known to oppose the idea of TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION sleeps in the grave of the Rev. John Wise, of Chebacco. For this he was imprisoned, as all the world know, by Sir Edmund Andros, and with other Ipswich men had $5,000 to pay in money as a part of the penalty.
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A WALK ABOUT TOWN.
Of the public life and acts of Mr. Wise, however, it is not proposed here to say much. The reading world know what his life was and what his acts were, almost "by heart." But a reference to the heretofore published vol- ume of the present History, gives us a hint at that por- tion of his life, which would be likely to escape the notice of Allen & Sprague, and other biographers. It is admit- ted that drapery, even tradition if the world pleases, are terms sometimes applied to sketches of the obscurer por- tions of a man's life ; but the ivy clings not more closely to the oak, than the description and embellishment in this case, gather about the real and substantial part of the narrative, and indeed throughout this work .*
BISHOP'S GRAVE.
In the fourth range of Chebacco wood-lots, number two hundred and eighty-five, as found upon the Com- moners' book, is a spot made memorable by the fact of its containing " Bishop's grave." The lot of land belongs to the heirs of the late Jonathan Story, Esq., and lies not far from half-way between the great pond and the road to Manchester. The history of the man buried there, is ob- scure, but by no means traditionary as the terni is often understood. As stated verbally by the late Col. David Story, to the writer and a few others, while at the grave a few years since, this Mr. Bishop, then residing in the south part of the town, was away from home one evening making a call on a distant neighbor. On leaving the neighbor's house, it being intensely dark, he lost his way. We hardly need to be told that search was made, but un- availingly. The body was found the next Spring, on the spot where the head and foot stone lic, and was buried by order of the Selectmen of the town. Col. Story fixed the time at about the year 1770, although he did not claim to be accurate.
* Since it has been decided to publish the two volumes of our History in one, the insertion of a farther sketch of Rev. Mr. Wise, beconies unnecessary.
Appendix.
I.
RECORD OF MARRIAGES
SOLEMNIZED BY REV. JOHN CLEAVELAND, DURING THE LAST TEN YEARS OF HIS LIFE.
1790, Jan. 7. Jonathan Perkins and Dorcas Haskell, both of Ipswich. May 27. Francis Burnham, 3d, and Anna Goodhue, both of Ipswich.
Nov. 22. Solomon Burnham and Elizabeth Kirby, both of Ipswich.
1791, Feb. 12. William Cogswell, 3d, and Mary Smith, both of Ipswich.
Mar. 3. Mark Burnham, Jr., and Margaret Burnham, both of Ipswich.
Mar. 26. Nathaniel Holmes and Susannah Story, both of Ipswich.
Apr. 21. Thomas Lee and Ruth Allen, both of Manchester.
Apr. 21. Arthur Dennis and Lucy Burnham, both of Ipswich.
July 28. Joseph Cogswell, Jr., and Hannah Burnham, both of Ipswich.
Aug. 25. Ezekiel Allen and Mary Procter, both of Manchester.
Sept. 8. _ Nathan Story, Jr., and Joanna Foster, both of Ipswich.
Sept. 14. Caleb Burnham and Jemima Pulsifer, both of Ipswich.
Oct. 6. Thomas Baker and Mary Choate, both of Ipswich.
Dec. 25. John Emerton and Ruth Rust, both of Ipswich.
1792, Jan. 8. Josiah Poland and Mehitable Lufkin, both of Ipswich Mar. 11.
At Manchester (there being no settled minister there) the Rev. Thomas Worcester of Salisbury, N. H., and Deborah Lee of Manchester.
Mar. 17. Isaac Allen, and Joanna Burnham, both of Ipswich.
Mar. 20. John Edwards, Jr., and Bethiah Foster, both of Manchester.
Apr. 19. Benjamin Patch, Jr., and Martha Low, both of Ipswich.
June 26. John Andrews, 3d, and Susannah Andrews, both of Ipswich.
Sept. 20. David Lull and Miriam Emerson, both of Ipswich.
Sept. 22. Dr. Nathan Jaques and Anna Patch, both of Ipswich.
Nov. 27. Joshua Burnham and Lucy Andrews, both of Ipswich.
Dec. 7. William Linneken of Cushing, and Mehitable Foster of Ipswich.
Dec. 13. Levi Andrews and Hannah Lufkin, both of Ipswich.
1793, Jan. 3. Robert Burnham and Eunice Emmerton, both of Ipswich.
Jan. 10. Samuel Smith and Hannah Choate, both of Ipswich.
Feb. 21. Samuel Low and Elizabeth Giddings, both of Ipswich.
May 1. Titus Nedson and E-ther Story, both of Ipswich.
July 8. Thomas Holmes and Elizabeth Story, both of Ipswich.
July 18. John Osmont Craft of Manchester, and Susanna Low of Ipswich.
Oct. 20. Grover Burnham and Martha Story, both of Ipswich.
Nov. 7. James McKinley, and Joanna Burnham, both of Ipswich.
Nov. 28. + Isaac Story, Jr., and Susanna Burnham, both of Ipswich.
Nov. 30. Samuel Giddings and Martha Goodhue, both of Ipswich.
Dec. 12. Winthrop Burnham and Mary Cogswell, both of Ipswich.
1794, Feb. 20. Nathaniel Cogswell and Eunice Low, both of Ipswich.
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APPENDIX.
1794, Mar. 19. Thomas Burnham (now the 4th) and Ruth Cavies, both of Ipswich.
Apr. 10. Nathan Choate and Mary Perkins, both of Ipswich.
May 13. Adoniram Haskell of Gloucester, and Ruth Perkins of Ipswich.
Sept. 7. Solomon Choate, Jr., and Lucy Choate both of Ipswich.
Oct. 2. Jonathan Burnham and Sukey Burnham both of Ipswich.
Oct. 2. William Spiller.and Anna Poland, both of Ipswich.
Nov. 21. Jeremiah Choate of Londonderry, N. H., and Mary Story of Ipswich.
Nov. 30. Zebulon Foster and Polly Story, both of Ipswich.
1795, Jan. 1. Abraham Channel and Elizabeth Cleaveland, both of Ipswich.
Feb. 19. « Michael Story and Betsey Goodhue, both of Ipswich.
Mar. 29. Capt. William Allen and Sally Edwards, both of Manchester.
Sept. 10. Benjamin Jones and Sarah Hasham, both of Manchester.
Nov. 14. Ezra Burnham and Anna Burnham, both of Ipswich.
Dec. 31. Benjamin Procter and Susanna Low, both of Ipswich.
1796, Jan. 4. David Burnham, 3d, and Rachel Choate, both of Ipswich.
Apr. 28. Joshua Burnham, and Anna Andrews, both of Ipswich.
May 21. Nehemiah Dodge and Sarah Low, both of Ipswich.
Oct. 20. Henry Clemant of Weare, N. H., and Mrs. Mary Treadwell of Ipswich.
Oct. 27. Eleazar Andrews and Molly Andrews, both of Ipswich.
Nov. 10. Westley Burnham, 3d, and Hannah Story, both of Ipswich.
1797, Jan. 19. . Henry Witham of Gloucester, and Lois Story of Ipswich.
Mar. 23. Caleb Andrews and Molly Burnham, both of Ipswich.
Mar. 28.
David Andrews, Jr., and Susanna Burnham, both of Ipswich.
Apr. 23. Abraham Hobbs, 3d, of Topsfield, and Polly Story, of Ipswich.
June 27. William Lakeman, 3d, and Susanna Brown, both of Ipswich.
July 30. Moses Andrews and Sarah Andrews, both of Ipswich.
Nov. 2. Mark Andrews and Polly Ross, both of Ipswich.
Nov. 7.
Robert Rust and Miriam Lufkin, both of Ipswich.
Nov. 8.
Nathaniel Rust, Jr., and Kate Henderson, both of Ipswich.
Nov. 21.
James Brown of Manchester, and Sarah Story of Ipswich.
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