USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Lexington > History of the town of Lexington, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, from its first settlement to 1868, with a genealogical register of Lexington families > Part 2
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CHAPTER XVII.
MUNICIPAL AFFAIRS.
List of Selectmen, page 402. . School Committees, 404. . Assessors, 405 .. Town Clerks, 406. . Town Treasurers, 407. . Committees of Correspon- dence, 407. . Representatives, 408. . Senators and Councillors, 408. . Jus- tices of the Peace, 409. . Graduates from Colleges, 409.
CHAPTER XVIII.
MISCELLANEOUS HISTORY.
Situation of Lexington, page 413. . Its soil and productions, 414. . The Cen- tre Village, 414. . Belfry Hill, 416. . Merriam's Hill, 416. . Hancock Height, 417. . Davis's Hill, 418. . Fiske Hill, 419. . Loring's Hill, 419 .. Mount Independence, 420. . Sanitary condition of Lexington, 421 .. Old and New Style, 422. . The origin of the name of the town, 423 .. Public buildings, 424. . The churches, 424. . The Town Hall, 425 .. Some of the prominent dwellings, 426. . The population of the town at different periods, 437. . Its valuation at different periods, 440. . Slavery in Massachusetts and in Lexington, 440. . Roads, 441. . The Great Bridge, 442. . Manufactures, 442. . Peat, 443. . Paint Mine, 443. . Names of the town streets, 444.
INDEX OF NAMES.
GENEALOGICAL REGISTER OF LEXINGTON FAMILIES.
INDEX TO THE ENGRAVINGS.
PORTRAIT OF REV. JOHN HANCOCK, . . to face title page.
DIAGRAM OF LEXINGTON COMMON IN 1775, . · to face page 173 BATTLE SCENE ON LEXINGTON COMMON IN 1775, DIAGRAM OF CONCORD VILLAGE, &c.
. to face page 182 . page 191
LEXINGTON MONUMENT, . . to face page 217
CONTEMPLATED MONUMENT, . . to face page 219 FOLLEN CHURCH AND RESIDENCE OF DR. FOLLEN, . · to face page 357 · to face page 359 PORTRAIT OF DR. FOLLEN,
PORTRAIT OF MRS. FOLLEN,. . to face page 360
DR. LEWIS'S LATE FEMALE SEMINARY, . to face page 375 LEXINGTON RAILROAD STATION HOUSE, page 415 CHURCH OF THE FIRST PARISH, . . to face page 424 MERRIAM HOUSE, . · ·
. page 426 LATE RESIDENCE OF CHARLES O. WHITMORE, EsQ. . to face page 427 . to face page 428 SUMMER RESIDENCE OF F. B. HAYES, EsQ. CLARKE HOUSE, · to face page 430 . . . . RESIDENCE OF MR. WILLIAM A. TOWER, . to face page 432
· page 433 RESIDENCE OF MR. CHIARLES TIDD, .
COTTAGE OF MR. LUKE C. CHILDS,
. page 434 RESIDENCE OF MR. WARREN DUREN, . page 435
RESIDENCE OF MR. CHARLES HUDSON, 1
· page 436
IN THE GENEALOGY.
PORTRAIT OF JONATHAN HARRINGTON, . · to face page 96 SUMMER RESIDENCE OF MRS. MARIA CARY, . · to face page 102 PORTRAIT OF MR. CHIARLES HUDSON, . to face page 109 PORTRAIT OF COLONEL WILLIAM MUNROE, . to face page 158 OLD MUNROE TAVERN, · to face page 161
OLD PARKER HOUSE, . · page 176 . PORTRAIT OF REV. THEODORE PARKER, . · to face page 1 76
RESIDENCE OF THIE LATE MR. STEPHEN ROBBINS, . to face page 201 RESIDENCE OF THIE LATE MR. ELI ROBBINS, . page 202 PORTRAIT OF REV. CALEB STETSON, · to face page 234
HISTORY OF LEXINGTON.
CHAPTER I.
FROM THE FIRST SETTLEMENT TO THE INCORPORATION AS A TOWN.
The Origin of Towns, and Value of Town-Meetings -Character of the early Settlers of the Province - Puritan Colonies compared with Others - History of Lexington involved in that of Cambridge - The People desire an Increase of Territory - Removal of Rev. Mr. Hooker and his Flock - Shawshine granted to Cambridge - Settlement of Cambridge Farms - Incorporated as a Precinct - Erection of a Meeting-House - The Subscribers' Names - The First Tax Bill - Ministerial Land Purchased - Mr. Estabrook called as their Minister - A House built for Mr. Estabrook - Mr. Estabrook's Ordination and Death - Mr. Hancock settled - Additional Seats in the Meeting provided - Ammunition and School Money asked for-The Common purchased - The Precinct petition to be made a Town - Voted to build a new Meeting-House - Hardships and Privations of the First Settlers -The Prominence of the Religious Idea - Military Titles and Military Men.
THE object of history is to present a picture of the past, so that we may be stimulated to imitate the virtues and shun the vices of those who have gone before us. But as the events which engage our attention are, in a great degree, the results of human actions, we can never understand the philosophy of history without ascertaining the characters and the motives of the prin- cipal actors in the scenes narrated.
As we shall speak of the value and importance of the history of towns, it may be desirable to understand the rise of these little municipalities, which had their origin in Massachusetts ; and which have extended, with some modifications, over a large section of our country. Towns, in the present acceptation of the term, were not established at once, but grew up gradually, out of the wants of the people. As the Charter vested all power
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HISTORY OF LEXINGTON
in the General Court, these plantations or towns could have no powers, except what were expressly granted them by the Court. The Puritans came to this country to enjoy religious privileges, and hence they would naturally settle compactly, so that they could easily convene for public worship, and also be able to sup- port their schools. As all the land was owned by the Colony, no individual or company could lawfully hold any portion of it, except by a grant from the General Court. Such grants were freely made to companies, and were denominated plantations, or townships. They were described by boundaries more or less specific, and were generally designated by some name.
But these towns had no powers beyond that of holding lands, on certain specific conditions, which usually included that of supporting a minister, and maintaining public worship. As the labors and duties of the General Court multiplied, they soon found it necessary, or at least convenient, to devolve certain duties upon the towns. And, as might be expected, situated as they were, in a wilderness, surrounded by savages on whose friendship they could hardly rely, they first required these town- ships to do something for self-defence. As carly as 1630, the General Court made it the duty of the towns to see that all their able-bodied men were supplied with fire-arms ; and where any person, by reason of poverty, could not supply himself, arms were to be furnished by the towns. In 1634, towns were required to maintain a watch of two men by night, and also to provide, at their own expense, a place for the safe-keeping of arms and ammunition ; and to see that all taxes were properly apportioned on the people. They were also empowered, when applied to, either by the employer or the employee, to fix the wages of labor. In 1635, towns were required to provide standard weights and measures ; and, the year following, they were empowered to decide upon the location of houses within their respective limits, and to make certain by-laws in relation to their own affairs, subject to the revision of the Court, and to elect certain officers, such as constables and surveyors of high- ways. In 1637, towns were authorized to restrain swine from running at large within their limits, and to nominate to the Court suitable persons to sell wine and strong water. In 1639, they were empowered to erect posts, in some public place, on which
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TO ITS INCORPORATION AS A TOWN.
the intentions of marriage might be lawfully posted, in case they had no public lecture ; and were required to make returns to the Court of all the births, deaths, and marriages. The office of Selectman, which became one of the most important in the towns, grew up like the towns themselves, from small beginnings. In 1639 it was provided by the Court that towns might choose two or three men to lay out highways ; in 1642 they were spoken of as "selected townsmen," and as men selected to manage the prudential affairs ; and in 1647 as " selectmen." In 1641, the selectmen of towns were fully authorized to lay out town ways and erect town bounds; and in 1646, towns were required to report to the General Court the names of all idle and unprofitable persons within the same, and to perambulate their town lines once in three years.
In this way the General Court, from time to time, as the case seemed to require, enlarged the duties and privileges of towns, and provided, somewhat in detail, for the number and duties of town officers. The manner in which they should hold their elections, has been fully defined by statute. Towns are made municipal corporations, subject to the laws of the State ; and as their duties, obligations and liabilities, as well as their rights and privileges, are the result of long experience, we might naturally conclude that such municipalities are founded in wisdom, and adapted to the wants of the people. And so indeed they have proved. In all our past history, in peace and in war, we have found these organizations exactly suited to the condition, wants and genius of our people. In addition to all the municipal duties and privileges, the towns had all the duties and preroga- tives of parishes. The one, in a good degree, included the other. Towns were, in the absence of other provisions, parishes, though parishes were not always towns. The duties devolved upon towns, and the powers exercised by town officers, especially by the " townsmen," or selectmen, were greater in the early days of our history than they are at present.
History, to be instructive, must not only narrate events, but state the causes which produced them. Our stock of wisdom is not materially increased by being told that an event transpired ; but when we are made acquainted with the causes which brought it about, we have acquired valuable information ; and, from this
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HISTORY OF LEXINGTON
knowledge of the past, we can reason with tolerable certainty to the future. History, therefore, is valuable very much as it presents the manners and customs of the people, the spirit of the age, the principles which prevailed, and the antecedents of events. The nearer the historian comes to the people, the source of all power, the more likely he will be to give us the true philosophy of history. Town histories, which are in demand at this day, are valuable for this very reason. They treat of events comparatively unimportant ; but in gleaning these minute facts, the writer comes near the actors, and walks, as it were, in the midst of society in the age in which the incidents occurred ; and so imbibes their sentiments, and becomes familiar with the character of the people, the motives and springs of action which were in play, and the genius of the age of which he writes.
Primary assemblies, from whose records the town historian must of necessity obtain much of his information, exhibit the real condition and wants of the people more perfectly than any other. As the character of an individual can be best learned by observing his private walks, and noting his daily conduct, so the genius and spirit, the virtues and infirmities of a people are best learned by the transactions of small bodies of men in their primary meetings. It is there that their true characters stand out in full view. The history which reveals the actions and feelings of a town, furnishes more reliable information than can be obtained from the history of a State. A town meeting is a surer exponent of the will of the people, than a legislative assembly, whether State or National.
In a free country like ours, the wants and wishes of the masses, their deep yearnings, and the great throbbings of the public heart, will show themselves in primary assemblies, long before they are perceived in State Legislatures or in Congress ; and when towns speak in unison, their voice must ultimately be heard and heeded by the State. As all reforms begin with the people, knowing what towns have done, we can judge what the State must do.
Town meetings in the early days of our history, were more important than they are at the present day. They were then the great forum where every great question was discussed and
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TO ITS INCORPORATION AS A TOWN.
settled. Town meetings were regarded as all-important by our fathers. Every thing they held dear as Christians or as citizens, was freely discussed and passed upon in these meetings. The building of meeting-houses, the settling of ministers, and even the seating of the congregation, and the leading of the singers, were subjects on which the towns acted. The ordinary powers of towns at this day, such as the building school-houses, and providing for schools, the laying out and maintaining highways, and the support of the poor, were exercised by our fathers. But they went much farther. The raising and equipping of military companies, at times, were exercised by towns. Nor did their jurisdiction stop here. Every political question, however broad, whether it related to the town, province, or nation, was deemed by them a proper theme for town action ; and our town records abound with reports of committees and resolutions passed, which are fraught with wisdom and patriotism.
The American Revolution was inaugurated in these primary assemblies ; and the history of that great political movement may be read in the resolutions and acts of the New England towns. It was in these meetings that the great questions were- debated, the first steps taken, and the solemn pledges given. .It was there that the masses of the people were instructed, their rights defined, and their duties pointed out. It was there that the fires of patriotism were kindled, and the public heart warmed, and the people prepared for the great crisis which was before them. The importance of these primary gatherings at that day, can hardly be overrated.
In the darkest days of the period immediately preceding the breaking out of hostilities, when the Royal Governor had prorogued the Legislature, and refused to order a new election, thus leaving us without a government ; when an armed force occupied the town of Boston to overawe the patriots, and the people had no organized medium of communication with each other -that master-spirit of liberty, SAMUEL ADAMS, who did more than any other man to organize the Revolution, called upon the good people of Boston to assemble in town meeting to consult upon all they held dear as citizens. It was in a Boston town meeting that Committees of Correspondence were suggested and organized ; and it was in pursuance of this proposed organ-
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HISTORY OF LEXINGTON
ization, that the towns throughout the Province held their public meetings, at which Committees of Correspondence were chosen, patriotic resolutions passed, and mutual pledges interchanged, which produced unity of action, created and embodied public sentiment, and so prepared the people for the impending struggle.
No one instrument contributed more to warm the patriot heart or nerve the patriot arm, than these primary meetings of the people. Their effect was felt and acknowledged, not only in the Massachusetts, but in the other Colonies. The influence they exerted was so great and controlling, that the British ministry became alarmed, and Parliament passed a solemn Act forbidding all town meetings throughout the Province, except the Annual Meeting for the choice of town officers. But such was the devotion of the people to these primary meetings, that in the interior they paid no regard to the law, and, in the larger towns, near the headquarters of the Royal Governor, they evaded it by adjourning the Annual Meeting from time to time, so that they might be prepared, almost any day, to hold a legal meeting to deliberate upon public affairs, and adopt measures for the public safety. Regarding the privilege of assembling for deliberation all-important, our fathers actually made the prohibition of town- meetings, one of the prominent charges against Great Britain, and urged it among other inflictions as a reason for resorting to arms. If there is any one thing which has given Faneuil Hall its notoriety, and secured to it the glorious appellation of " The Cradle of Liberty," it is the fact that within its walls the patriots of Boston held their town meetings, and adopted measures which roused the American people, and shook the kingdom of Great Britain to its very centre.
The organization of townships has exerted a controlling influence upon the New England character. In these little democracies the people meet together on the ground of perfect equality, to transact their own business in their own way. The town meetings serve as schools in which the multitudes are trained for the discharge of higher duties in the county, State, and nation. Most of our public men who have filled and adorned the high places in the State and nation, have received some of their first lessons in the mode of doing business, in our
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primary meetings, and in the offices to which our town organiza- tions have given rise. Let no one, then, despise these little gatherings of the people, which have been fraught with so many blessings.
The town historian, therefore, in wading through the records of these meetings, cannot fail to perceive the feelings of the people, and drink in the spirit of the age at its fountain. Next to the fire-side, which we are hardly at liberty to invade, the primary meetings of the people give us the clearest insight into the motives, wants and feelings of the masses of men. Muni- cipal records furnish a sure index to the character of a town and its principal inhabitants. If the people are peaceable, orderly, and law-abiding, these characteristics may be discovered on the local record ; and if the contrary traits pervade the community, the fact can be discovered by the careful observer. The town record is a sort of mirror which reflects the moral and political features of the people; and whoever visits this picture-gallery, and studies the paintings carefully, will be able to delineate the features of the whole group.
Town histories, if faithfully written, will give us the best pictures of real life, and the best insight into the characters of men. They also serve to collect scattered and perishing materials, which would otherwise be lost. And by hearing the traditions of the elderly people, the local historian will glean information which the more public annalist could not obtain ; and by standing side by side with the narrator, he can sift this valuable, though sometimes uncertain species of evidence, and so elicit facts which may prove of great importance. Even in cases where the municipal historian finds no facts of importance, he has rendered a public service by showing that the field is barren, and so saving others from a fruitless search. He has also, as a general thing, more time to trace effects to their remote causes, and so present a more faithful view of the connection between the past and the present, than the general historian can do.
The history of every people or nation bears the impress not only of the master minds of that generation, but of the charac- teristics of the first founders of the State. Every Colony which springs up in any part of the world, will, for many generations
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HISTORY OF LEXINGTON
reflect in a greater or less degree the character of the original emigrants. Young communities, like young persons, are pecu- liarly susceptible of impressions, and early influences brought to bear upon them, are likely to mould their characters, and fashion, in no small degree, their institutions. It becomes important, then, in every history, to recur to the origin of the community whose annals are presented, that we may see, in a proper light, the character of the events recorded, and the causes from which they spring.
Though towns are small communities, the same principles will apply to them. The object of a town history is not merely to collect and preserve a record of the events which have transpired from time to time, but to glance even at the remote . causes, present the character of the inhabitants, and the spirit of the age in which they lived. All our early New England towns were settled by the Puritans - a class of men of marked characters, decided opinions, and fixed purposes. The trying ordeal of persecution through which they had passed in Great Britain, had developed the sterner qualities of their characters, and prepared them for the arduous task of subduing a wilderness and converting it into a fruitful field. They were men inured to hardships, and, being trained in the school of adversity, were prepared to do and to dare. Imbibing the spirit of the Refor- mation, they had learned to examine and judge for themselves. The Catholic bigotry of Mary, and the Protestant intolerance of Elizabeth, served to confirm their faith, increase their zeal, and purify their morals. Nor was the political state of the kingdom less adapted to the development of their political principles. They had seen the same tyranny in the State, that they had witnessed in the Church ; and Monarchy and Episcopacy were equally abhorrent to their feelings. In fact the union of Church and State, brought the intolerance of the one to bear upon them through the enactments of the other, so that the Puritans were the victims of both civil and religions persecution. This two- fold trial implanted in their minds a strong aversion to the Established Church and the hereditary monarchy of their native land. Rather than submit to the intolerance of the one, or the oppression of the other, they voluntarily exiled themselves from the land of their birth, the ties of kindred and the endearments
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TO ITS INCORPORATION AS A TOWN.
of home, to seek a peaceful resting-place in an inhospitable wilderness. The same fortitude which brought them to this country, would not degenerate under the trials and privations they were called to suffer after their arrival.
And though the persecutions they endured in the land of their birth, and the difficulties they encountered in the land of their adoption, would naturally give them a stern, inflexible character, there was behind all this experience, a firm, unwavering faith in the righteousness of their cause, which gave a definiteness of object, and a persistence of purpose, which nothing could shake. The great idea with them was the religious idea. They came to this country that they might worship God according to the dictates of their own consciences. And, though they were not political adventurers, seeking a retreat from the old world in order to build up a mighty empire in the new, yet their own good sense taught them that they could hardly erect religious institutions without a civil government to protect them. But, whatever might have been their original speculations, when they were called to view the subject practically, they soon saw that a church and a commonwealth were so essential to each other, that they could not enjoy the one unmolested without the protecting arm of the other. They accordingly had incorporated into their Charter a provision authorizing them " to make laws and ordi- nances for the good and welfare of said company, and for the government and ordering of the said lands and plantation, and the people inhabiting and to inhabit the same, as to them, from time to time, shall be thought meet, so as such laws and ordi- nances be not repugnant to the laws and statutes of the realm of England."
The free and undisturbed worship of God, which was the primary object which brought them to these shores, was soon associated with free civil institutions ; so that we may say, in fact, that their great object was to establish a holy religion which should bring its solemn sanctions to bear upon the Common- wealth ; and a free Commonwealth, based upon the broad principles of religion - a Commonwealth where Christ should be the acknowledged Head of the Church, and his Gospel the fundamental law of the realm. In all their labors and efforts, this was the great object at which they aimed. In prosperity, 4
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HISTORY OF LEXINGTON
this was the end of their rejoicing, and in adversity, this was their main support. A colony more orderly and moral, more devout and self-sacrificing, never settled in any part of the globe. With an object at once grand and glorious before them, and with a trust in Divine Providence, which subdued both doubt and fear, they were prepared to meet any trial, encounter any obstacle, and endure any suffering, which beset their path. Such was the object of our Puritan fathers, and such the stead- fastness with which they pursued their end.
We do not, however, ascribe immaculate purity to them, or maintain that they were free from infirmities or faults. They were men of like passions with others; and because they were in advance of the age in which they lived, we must not look for absolute perfection, and expect that, because they abounded in the cardinal virtues, they would be free from every defect of character. Their defects were such as grow out of the excess of virtuous principles. Their religion was of a rigid and austere type, and the strength of their faith hardly permitted them to tolerate a dissent from their creed. They were imbued with the spirit of the age ; and the persecutions through which they had passed in their native country, had the effect upon them that persecutions generally have, to confirm their faith rather than increase their charity. Though they had dissented from the Church of Rome, and could not admit the infallibility of the Roman Pontiff, such was the strength of their faith that they cherished the persuasion that sincere Christians would not be permitted to wander materially from the true faith. With such sentiments and feelings, they would naturally look upon heretics as willfully blind, and as enemies, not only of the great object they had in view, but of the cause of Him to whom they had consecrated themselves. This conviction would, of course, lead them to guard, with jealous care, the creed they professed, and to visit with their displeasure, those who dissented from their faith, or preached what they regarded as " another gospel."
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