USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Manchester > History of the town of Manchester, Essex County, Massachusetts, 1645-1895 > Part 8
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
In 1758, Capt. Samuel Leach, Josiah Allen, Sen., Benjamin Crowell,3 Robert Bear, Nath. Marsters and James Allen were surprised and slain by Indians at
1 " We hear that a few days ago, the Indians surpriz'd and kill'd at a Place call'd Wiscasset near Sheepscot in the Eastern Parts, one Mr. Hil- ton, his Son, and another Man, and carried another Captive." Boston Gazette, Aug. 11, 1747. This could not have been Capt. Amos Hilton, as Dr. Leach and others have supposed, as he had been dead almost three years when this event occurred. Capt. Amos Hilton was, however, killed by Indians, but not at the time supposed.
2 Some particulars of his remarkable escape, as told by his grand- daughter to Dea. A. E. Low, may be found in Mr. Tappan's narrative. History of Essex County.
3 Dr. Leach gives the name Jacob Crowell.
114
HISTORY OF MANCHESTER.
Casco Bay. Capt. Leach was a man noted for his bravery and great muscular strength. It is said that he could jump from one hogshead into another as they stood in line on the Town Landing. He had several hand-to-hand conflicts with Indians, and had declared that he would never be taken alive.
Another peril and terror of the seas was piracy; the black flag and cross-bones had not disappeared from the Caribbean seas, in the early part of this century.1 A brief and tragic record reads, " Capt. William Babcock was murdered at sea by pirates in 1823." These dreaded outlaws infested the Spanish main, and in their long, low, rakish schooners shot out from the keys and reefs, swooped upon merchant vessels, plundered and murdered, and slipped back to their coverts. Such incidents of adventure and peril formed a large part of the staple of " fo' cas'le yarns " a generation ago.
The fishing business was at its best in the early part of this century. It never fully recovered from the effects of the war of 1812, which drove our ship- ping from the ocean and left it to rot dismantled in coves and creeks, a melancholy monument to a par- alyzed industry. The Assessors' Books for 1808 and 1811 show that Capt. Ezekiel Leach owned the " Jane," fifty-four tons, and the " Active," ninety- nine tons. Tyler Parsons owned one-third of the " Enterprise," ninety-nine tons. Benjamin and Samuel Forster owned a schooner of sixty tons. Maj. Henry Story owned the " Three Brothers,"
1 l'ide the Official Statement of the attack upon the brig " Mexican " of Salem by pirates, and their barbarous treatment of the crew, four of whom are still living (1894) ; Ealem Gazette, Oct. 16, 1832.
115
THE FISHERIES.
seventy-four tons. Ebenezer Tappan owned the sloop " Primrose," twenty-nine tons, and the schooner " Nancy," sixty-eight tons. (This was the vessel run ashore at Mingo's Beach, and fired, by the British, in 1813.) Capt. Abiel Burgess owned and commanded the brig " Alonzo," 130 tons. This vessel once came to the Town Landing, and as the first square-rigged and the largest vessel that had ever been there, excited a good deal of interest. Captain Burgess was also taxed in 1811, for one-half of the ship " Hannibal "; like the " Alonzo," she was employed in the foreign trade.
After 1825, the fishing business greatly declined, and few vessels were built for the trade. In 1835, the fishing and coasting business of the town em- ployed about 1,200 tons. In 1836, there were 150 men engaged in the fisheries, seven fish yards, and ten houses for storage.1 In 1845, there were thir- teen vessels in the cod and mackerel fisheries,2 and the value of the catch was $21,435.
In an address on "The Gloucester Fishermen of Fifty Years Ago," Hon. Wm. H. Wonson, 3d. of Gloucester, said :
" They fitted away generally in March. The first trip was just off Point Ledge, where a fare of haddock would be secured and run to Boston. This would be secured with a
1 Essex Memorial, 1836, p. 162.
2 The mackerel have of late years almost deserted our shores. Mr. Frank Bolles, Land of the Lingering Snou, p. 85, suggests an explanation : " Forests of poles rising from the blue water, marking the fish-traps of the deluded fishermen, whose mackerel fleet has been swept from the sea by this sunken fleet of seine poles." Some old fishermen agree in opinion with the scholarly Secretary of Harvard University.
116
HISTORY OF MANCHESTER.
clam bait. Then an alewife baiting would be taken and a trip made farther off shore. . . . The vessel generally ear- ried six men and a cook, almost without exception a boy ten or twelve years old. The cooking utensils were a Dutch oven, iron pot and iron teakettle. The expenses, including salt and stores, lines, etc., would be about $260. At that time those engaged in fishing were nearly all natives." 1
About this time the increasing cabinet business withdrew most of the inhabitants from a seafaring life, and became for many years the leading industry. Fish houses were left to decay, or were converted into storehouses or barns ; flakes rotted to the ground ; ship-building and boat-building ceased ; and the sea-gulls and fish-hawks wheeling over Town Hill heard the buzz of the saw and the whir of the lathe in place of the creaking of the windlass and the rattle of blocks on the " outward bound." One or two small vessels,? a few dories and fish-traps, alone remain to represent the earliest industry of the town, and its leading industry for more than a hundred years.
The hazards, exploits and hardships of the fisheries have never been fully written. Poets have woven them into their verse,3 sermons have been preached upon them, the columns of newspapers have been full of them ; but they will never be known in all
1 The Fisherman, Gloucester, March, 1895.
2 Owned by the Jones Brothers.
3 " Ah! many a lonely home is found Along the Essex shore,
That cheered the goodman outward bound, And sees his face no more."
O. W. Holmes.
117
THE FISHERIES.
their extent of loss and suffering until the sea shall give up its dead.
With all its dangers and sorrows, however, the sea which has always been the grave of so many lives and so many hopes, has been a nurse of courage and hardihood from the first voyage of the Phoenicians along the shores of the Mediterranean to the latest voyage of exploration to the Arctic seas. It has trained a class of men to deeds of heroic valor and brave endurance, surpassing any that the annals of war can furnish. The inhabitants of Manchester, no doubt, in a former age, have owed much of their pluck, their persistence, their success in life, to the ocean with whose waves they sported from child- hood, and which presented at their very doors a field for their skill and an arena for their prowess.
If the history of its fishery were written, it would unfold many a tale of heroism, of self-sacrifice, of dangerous exploits, of terrible disaster, as well as of determined perseverance in the face of hardships, of successful grappling with difficulties, of patient endurance of suffering ;
" Tales of that awful, pitiless sea,
With all its terror and mystery."
Our bleak New England shore lacks the soft beauty of Southern climes which has so often inspired the artist and poet ; but its rough winds and storm-beaten waves have helped to rear a hardy race that has made its mark in every clime.
118
HISTORY OF MANCHESTER.
APPENDIX.
CAPT. BENJAMIN HILTON'S LOG BOOKS.
The life of the men of Manchester on the seas, a hundred and more years ago, is made to pass before us in vivid reality, as we turn the pages of two old, timeworn volumes, now in the possession of Mr. Benjamin Hilton Russell of Haverhill, Mass., con- taining the nautical record of voyages made from this port to Virginneay, mariland, Fyall, the West Enjees, etc. The paper is stained and yellow with age, some pages are missing and others torn, and blank leaves contain some boyish scribblings ; but the books are still in most parts a legible account of each day's happenings, including nautical reckonings, calculations in trigonometry, diagrams, sailing direc- tions, remarks, vessels spoken, accounts with owners and crew, and such other matters as make up a log- book and journal at sea. The books were evidently carefully kept, and bear marks of a thoughtful and painstaking habit. They represent the intelligence and capacity of the men bred to the ocean in this lit- tle town by the sea.
The names of the vessels mentioned are, "Breat- tany," "Lucy," "Salley," "Louisay," "Patty," 1 "Corr " and " Darbey." The voyages seem to have been in general remarkably uneventful, "smoothe winds " and " smal brezes " predominating. The log
1 A schooner "Patty" is mentioned with other vessels as " carried into the Bermudas and there condemned, in consequences of the British Orders- in-Council," about December, 1794. This was during the war between Eng- land and France, when American vessels were frequently searched and seized by British cruisers on pretence of having on board deserters or carrying contraband-of-war.
119
THE FISHERIES.
is methodically kept, noting each hour the knots run, the course, the wind, latitude and longitude, departure and meridian, with remarks, etc. The pages have usually a running head-line, as " A Log of our Intended Passage, by god's asistance on the good shooner Patty," etc., or, " A Journell of vige Continnered att Sea," etc. One of the books con- tains on a fly-leaf the inscriptions:
" Benjamin Hilton His Book Bought In Salam In the Year of our Lord 1762 the Price 13 Shilens old tenner." Benjamin Hilton His Book the Lord give him grace therein to Look and wen the Bells Do for him towl the [Lord] have marcey one his Soul
Beniamin Hilton
his hand and pean and if the peen had Been Better I Wood mended everey Latter "
The following will give an idea of the daily " Remarks ": -
Sunday the 2d of June 1765 this 24 hours we have head fresh brese of wind to the west word and South word att 3 P M Hour main touping lift gav way and att 6 A M Saw 3 toup Sail vessels bound to the East word and att 10 a m Saw 2 more Bound to the East word and we have Cloudey weather & Rain
freyday the 1st Day of august 1766 this 24 hours Be- gines with a smoule Brese of wind to the South word and East word and fein plesent weather and att 6 P M Caim to anchour in St. meareas and histed out hour Boot and I and Cleaves and Rouberds went on Shouer and att 5 A M went on Shouer after Soum mialk and then after that wentup to the Coustem house after a stiucket for the Last Vige and to meack Repourt and to heir Newes and So forth "
120
HISTORY OF MANCHESTER.
The following appears to be a letter to the owner : - -
January the 8 Day 1769.
Worthy Sir
Imbrss this optunity to Writ to you to Lit you know of my Seaf arjefuell into Noncok I Entered the 27 Day of December and finding mearkets Veareay Low in these peartes molasses gowes by the hhd 2/ and Rum by the hh 2/6 and Rum by the Barrell 2/9 and Corn by the Boush- ell 2/6 and wheet by the Boushell 2/6 and Beanes thier is Nou to be head I Could not hear any Newes. .. . Corn is hurt with the froust iu all the . . . and it is So Soft that I Shant Ship aney till the Last of Janueray and I Dount think that we Cant be atoum Not befor the Last of march.
Besides the name of Benjamin Hilton, those of Isaac Lee, John Driver, Robert Perray, William Tar- ring and John Allen are also found in these books as captains.
An autograph letter from Jeremiah Lee of Marble- head to Skipper John Allen, putting him in com- mand of " the Sch. Derby,"' dated Decem. 4, 1767, is a good specimen of the instructions given by own- ers at that time to captains in their employ, and shows how much responsibility in the matter of sale and exchange of cargoes was often placed in their hands. The only restriction made in this letter is, " Break no Acts of Trade, suffer no man to bring above six pounds of Tobacco."
1 No doubt identical with the " Darbey " above-named.
-
121
THE FISHERIES.
THE BOOK-KEEPING OF THE PERIOD.
[From Leger of Timº Orne Junt of Salem, Anno 1750.]
1750. Capt. John Lee of Manchester, Dr.
Lawfull Money.
April 13. To 111 Galls Rum c 3/8/2 P
£20. 11. 7% £ s. d. 19. 8. 4
May 22. To 11612 Galls Do c34 .
Salem Dec. 27, 1750 This Day Reconed with Timo Orne Jun & settled our account and there Remains Ballance Due to me Two Pounds 12/10/2 Law- full Money (Signed) John Lee Jun- 2. 12. 101/2
42 12 10
1750/1
Janry 3. To 539 foot Boards c 56/ p m .
£1. 10. 2
19. To 1, 1, 7 Turpentine
17.
6
Febry 4. To 200 Seasoned Boards
13. 4
1753 To pd Sam! Orne
4.
8
Janty 19. To Nine pounds 6/ 612 L Money in full as pr Rect 9. 6. 61/2
12 12 21/2
1750 CONTRA
May 24. By 51/2 Qutts Haddock c 10/8
£2.
18. 8
Augt 29. By 66 Qutta Mid fish c 6/8 . 22.
By 35 Qutts Refuse Cod fish c 5/4
9. 6. 8
October By 15 Qutts Mid fish c 6/8
5.
By 15 Qutts pollock c 4/6 3. 7. 6
42 12 10
Decbr 27 By the Above ballance
12 101/2 2
1753
Janry 15 By 23 Qutts Hack & Haddock c 8/8 pr. Qutts p Go Peele 9. 19.
12 12 216
Lawfull Money Cr.
Among the interesting relics of Manchester's palmy days as a seaport, is a well kept copy of Bowditch's "Practical Navigator," First Edition with Copperplates, Printed at Newburyport, 1802 ; the property of Isaac Preston, 1808, afterward of his nephew, Ariel Parish Lee, 1819, "on board Brig fedrick, Capt. Wm. Tuck, Commander, Latt. 40, 24, Long. 49, 54 West. Aged 23 years or there-
122
HISTORY OF MANCHESTER.
abouts higth of 5 feet Nothing all but one inch." The book is now the prized possession of Mr. Lee's daughter, Mrs. Joseph Russell. This book was always at Mr. Lee's elbow, no doubt, in the years of his life at sea, as the Bible, the spiritual "Navi- gator," was in his later life on shore. With these two books in hand, many an old salt in days gone by shaped his course for both earth and heaven.
CHAPTER VII. THE WAR OF 1812.
" Is this the land our fathers loved, The freedom which they toiled to win ? Is this the soil whereon they moved ? Are these the graves they slumber in ? Are we the sons by whom are borne The mantles which the dead have worn ?" Whittier.
CHAPTER VII.
THE WAR OF 1812.
CAUSES OF THE WAR -IMPRESSMENTS - THE EMBARGO - DI- VIDED COUNSELS-THIE WAR CLOUD- "A GLORIOUS VICTORY " - BLOCKADE RUNNING - THE GREAT SEA FIGHTS - RESULTS OF THE WAR - PEACE - HOME INDUSTRIES - "FORGING AHEAD."
T HE causes of the War with Great Britain in 1812-15, were chiefly the impressment of American seamen into the British naval ser- vice,1 and the claim made by Great Britain to the right of search of neutral vessels for the purpose of arresting deserters. These claims were pushed to such an extent, and in so arrogant a manner, and were accompanied by so many flagrant acts of in- justice in the shape of detention of ships on the high seas, false arrests and harsh treatment of seamen accused of being deserters, that the United States finally threw down the gauntlet of war and became involved in a conflict with the greatest naval power in the world, a power which had captured or shut up in port all the other navies of Europe.
The embargo of 18072 had occasioned a great
1 " The practice of impressing seamen from our merchantmen, which had been a ground of complaint from the earliest days of the French Rev- olution, had been resumed on the termination of the peace established by Treaty of Amiens." Wheaton's Elements of International Law, 1855, p. xix. From 1803 to 1810 such impressments had amounted to over 4,000.
2 One of the measures of Jefferson's administration, prohibiting all foreign commerce, with a design of forcing Great Britain into a change of policy.
125
126
HISTORY OF MANCHESTER.
deal of inconvenience and even suffering along the coast ; commerce was paralyzed and business brought almost to a standstill. On September 1 of that year. a meeting was held, and a memorial prepared and sent to Congress, setting forth the loyalty of the town and its distressed condition by reason of the embargo, and the gloomy outlook for the future. As this memorial failed of procuring relief, on Feb. 8, 1809, a petition was adopted to be presented to the Legislature, asking that some action be taken to induce the General Government to afford redress. A series of spirited Resolutions was also adopted at this meeting, and " ordered to be signed by the moderator and Town Clerk and a copy forwarded to the Editor of the Centinel for publication." 1 The following extracts show the difficulties the town had to contend with and the spirit in which they were met :
Gly Resolved That we dispise and will ever hold in con- tempt those Interlopers & Night walkers who have of late broken open our fish houses stores and vessels to gratify their base designs.
7ly That we will ever hold in disdain those pimps & spies so often seen in our streets and that we will take all Lawful and Constitutional measures to bring them to the light and make their works of darkness manifest.
gly Resolved That we view with equal detestation the Idea that the Nation is to be plunged into a war with great Britain, for the purpose of being intangled in an alliance with France.
1 The original paper is on file in the Selectmen's office, signed by Abial Burgess, Moderator, and Delucena L. Bingham, Town Clerk.
127
THE WAR OF 1812.
PETITION TO THE LEGISLATURE.
" To the honorable, the Senate and House of Representa- tives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, in general court assembled.
" The inhabitants of the town of Manchester in legal town meeting assembled, humbly represent that such is their local situation, the soil of the town being in general rocky, broken and barren, they are obliged to repair to the Ocean for the means of subsistance for themselves and families. This invaluable privilege which the God of Nature has afforded them, they have hoped to enjoy unmolested. But the restrictions laid on them in the several Embargo Laws enacted by the Government of the United States, has excited sensations truly painful and distressing to your mem- orialists as well as many others. We have indulged a hope that the government of the United States would not con- tinue to interdiet that commerce on which we have de- pended for our support. Your memorialists do consider that the abandonment of the Ocean, to them is as oppres- sive, distressing and unjust as a prohibition on the produce of the land would be to the farmer. While our brethren in the country enjoy the privilege of cultivating their land and reaping the fruit of their labors, we are under the re- straints which forbid our industry and deprives us of our only means of support. Your memorialists have petitioned Congress for relief, but in vain, now turn their eyes to this honorable body, the more immediate guardians of their con- stitutional rights, praying them to take such measures as in their wisdom they shall conceive best calculated to afford us relief and save us from beggary and starvation.
" Your memorialists pledge themselves as ready at the risk of their property and lives, to support you in any con- stitutional measures you shall adopt for the redress of our grievances, and likewise to prevent an unjust war with Great Britain.
" Your memorialists, as in duty bound, will ever pray. Done in town meeting this Sth of Feb., 1809."
128
HISTORY OF MANCHESTER.
The wars of Napoleon continued to produce dis- astrous results in this country, in the interference with trade and especially with maritime pursuits, and the time was one of much depression and anxi- ety. The country, too, was divided in its counsels, party feeling ran high and political animosities were violent. On July 19, 1812, a county convention was called to meet at Ipswich, to consider " the awful and alarming situation of the country." Wil- liam Tuck, Esq., was delegate from this town. Resolutions were adopted by the convention strongly opposed to the impending war, which was greatly deprecated on the seaboard as likely to destroy the commercial and shipping interests. At the same time, a feeling that the insolence and injustice often displayed by Great Britain could not long be borne by a free and growing people prompted many to patriotic resistance, whatever might be the result. Before the Declaration of War, there was great division of feeling, but when the War was actually begun, when the settlement of the questions at issue was transferred from the council-chamber to the field, all hearts beat in unison, every other sentiment and interest yielded to the overmastering determination to uphold the honor of the nation and to defend the flag.
The first warlike measure. adopted in Manchester was the appointment of a Committee of Safety. These were Maj. Henry Story, John Allen, Andrew Marsters, William Tuck and Samuel Forster. They were instructed to place a watch along the coast, erect flag-staffs and provide flags for signals and
129
THE WAR OF 1812.
alarms. A breastwork was thrown up on Norton's Point,' and the present Powder House built on Powder House Hill. The seaboard was in particular danger from the enemy's cruisers, and was almost wholly unprotected from Salem Harbor to Eastern Point. Petition was made to Government for pow- der and two six-pound cannon, and the people drilled and armed themselves in almost constant ex- pectation of an attack.
The Inspection Roll of "Capt. Joseph Hooper's Company of Foot," May, 1812, is preserved in the Town Archives. The officers' names are given as Joseph Hooper and Daniel Friend; the sergeants, Ebenezer Tappan, Jr., and Amos Knight. The names of men, rank and file, number eighty. The worn and faded sheet, with its carefully filled returns of equipments, is evidence that the inspection of the militia was no mere farce. We can almost see these sturdy men, some of whom survived until a quite recent period, mustered on a bright spring morning, at sound of fife and drum, on the Common, answering to their names, exhibiting their arms and ammunition, going through their simple evolutions in the presence of an admiring crowd of youngsters, and then adjourning when dismissed to the tavern and regaling themselves after the arduous service with cider and flip, captain and men now on a per- fect equality -a part of that citizen soldiery which our country has never found wanting in time of need.
But although the English men-of-war were known
1 Its remains were visible until a few years ago.
130
HISTORY OF MANCHESTER.
to be hovering like birds of prey along the coast, and were occasionally seen in our waters,1 no assault was made or landing effected upon our shore. The nearest approach to anything like an invasion by the enemy's forces, and one that had a somewhat ludi- crous ending, occurred at Kettle Cove. An alarm had been given, " The enemy is landing!" The militia was hastily summoned by beat of drum, the six-pounder mounted in front of the church was loaded with powder and ball, and the martial column bore away for the scene of conflict with the old field-piece in tow. The cannon was planted in a strategic position on Crow Island, and the men and boys, concealed among the rocks and bushes, awaited the approach of the enemy. After some time the boats from the frigate appeared, but seeing the can- non and hearing the strains of fife and drum, sup- posed that a large force was concealed, and judging " discretion " to be the " better part of valor," pru- dently rowed away.
The gallant defenders emerged from their hiding- place as soon as the enemy was fairly out of sight, and ere long were on their homeward way in high glee, with the old cannon and a crowd of noisy boys bringing up the rear. In coming down the " great hill," what was their amazement to find their trusty and only cannon ball quietly reposing by the way- side, where it had rolled from the cannon as it was
1 Rufus Choate " had seen, as a boy, from the Essex hills the Shannon frigate in Ipswich bay." In a conversation with R. H. Dana, Jr., March 27, 1854, " he described beautifully the great frigate, lounging about the bay of a summer afternoon, and standing off to sea at night, proudly scorning the fleet of fishing boats about her."
131
THE WAR OF 1812.
being dragged up the hill. The discovery, however it might have caused a momentary chagrin, was not allowed to diminish the enthusiasm of the victors as they marched proudly back to town, and reported the success of the expedition. No doubt the ruse de guerre accomplished its object, and Manchester was spared an invasion. Many a victory is none the less real because it is bloodless.1
Another still more daring act on the part of some of the men of Manchester is related by Mr. Tappan; it is an instance of very bold blockade-running :
Mr. Ebenezer Tappan, who kept a store on Central Street, believed it possible to evade the enemy's ships, and get some supplies from Boston. His topsail schooner " Nancy " was noted for her sailing qualities, and Captain Jerry Danforth, Nathan Carter, and his son, Benjamin Tappan, were placed in charge. They kept along the shore, entered Boston harbor by Shirley Gut at night ; having secured their cargo, which consisted of flour, sugar, molasses, rum and lumber, they started homeward. All went well until they had passed Baker's Island, and they were congratulating themselves upon the success of their trip, for they were almost home. Suddenly the fog, lifting, disclosed the much dreaded cruiser quite near. A shot from her was a hint to stop, but, as there was a breeze, they kept on their course for Manchester. They could see
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.