USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Medford > History of the town of Medford, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, from its first settlement in 1630 to 1855 > Part 14
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" In his relation to his native town, he completely reversed the maxim, that a prophet has no honor in his own country ; for the in- habitants of Medford idolized him. They knew his worth, and fully appreciated it. He was truly their friend and benefactor. He took so deep an interest in all their concerns, let their station in life be ever so humble, that they could always approach him with ease and confidence. They referred to him all their disputes ; and so judicious were his de- cisions, that he had the rare felicity to satisfy all parties, and to recon- cile' them to bonds of amity. It was observed by an eminent lawyer who resided there, that he had no professional business in Medford ; for Gov. Brooks prevented all contentions in the law. In addition to these intrinsic services, he was the grace and the ornament of their social circles, and seemed to fill the measure of their enjoyments."
There are a few illustrative facts known to the contem- poraries of Gov. Brooks which may be added to Dr. Dix- well's biographical notice.
He had a real love of pithy anecdotes, and delighted to tell them ; and, though he was somewhat slow in cracking the shell, the kernel was always found to be sweet. He never voluntarily made his successes in the sick-chamber, or battle-field, or cabinet, a topic of conversation. He was remarkably fond of society, and loved to see the old and young together. In the street, he never passed any acquaintance without a friendly recognition.
He delighted in cultivating fruit ; but, as many of his horticultural experiments were suggested by books, he often found them of small pecuniary profit. In the army, he played chess with his friend Kosciusko, and occasion- ally in Medford enjoyed a social game.
His services on the 19th of April were of great value. Rev. Mr. Foster says, -
"On the morning of the 19th of April, just at sunrise, alarm-guns were fired. The regulars had gone to Concord. I ran directly to Major Brooks, and asked if he were going to Concord, and when. 'Immediately,' was the answer."
With his minute-men he pursued the enemy to their boats at Charlestown. Dr. Ripley says, -
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" As the enemy passed the road from Bedford, they met a body of minute-men, commanded by Major John Brooks. A little below Bed- ford Road there was a sharp action, and several of the British were killed."
Rev. Mr. Foster again says, -
" The enemy faced about suddenly, and fired a volley of musketry upon us. They overshot. The fire was immediately returned, and two British soldiers fell dead in the road near the brook."
Col. Phinney says, -
" A little to the eastward of the village they received a heavy fire from the Reading minute-men, under Capt. John Brooks."
An instance of his zeal, and promptitude of action, was seen in his volunteering to march for the relief of Fort Stanwix (now Rome), at the head of the Mohawk.
" It was besieged August, 1777, by one thousand seven hundred British and Indians, under Col. St. Leger. Gen. Herkimer, advancing to its aid, had been killed, and his troops dispersed. At a council of officers, it was objected to weaken the main army at Saratoga by send- ing away any of the regular troops. Gen. Schuyler, much depressed and excited, said he would 'beat up for volunteers the next day, if he could get men by no other means,' and asked for a brigadier to com- mand them. The next day the drum beat for volunteers, and Lieut .- Col. Brooks volunteered with his regiment."
He considered his efforts at Saratoga as the most effec- tive in his military career. No skill or bravery during the war exceeded his on that occasion. One historian says, -
" On the left of Arnold's detachment, Jackson's regiment of Massa- chusetts, then led by Lieut .- Col. Brooks, was still more successful. It turned the right of the encampment, and carried by storm the works occupied by the German reserve. Lieut. Brayman was killed; and Brooks maintained the ground he had gained. This advantage of the Americans was decisive."
The same author, an eye-witness, further says, -
" The confidence which Washington reposed in him was shown on many occasions, and particularly in calling him to his councils in that terrible moment, when at Newburg, in March, 1783, a conspiracy of some of the officers, excited by the publication of inflammatory anony- mous letters, had well-nigh disgraced the army, and ruined the coun- try. On this occasion, the commander-in-chief, to whom this day was the most anxious of his life, rode up to Col. Brooks with intent to ascertain how the officers stood affected. Finding him, as he expected, to be sound, he requested him to keep his officers within quarter, to prevent them from attending the insurgent meeting. Brooks replied, ' Sir, I have anticipated your wishes, and my orders are given.' Wash-
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ington, with tears in his eyes, took him by the hand, and said, 'COL. BROOKS, THIS IS JUST WHAT I EXPECTED FROM YOU.'"
He was a constant and devout church attendant. The uniformity of his example in this matter had a powerful influence on the people of Medford. He was never ab- sent, morning or afternoon, when he could be present ; and his attention to the preacher was profound. He often made an abstract of the sermon. His favorite moral writer was Paley, and he used to speak of his " Horæ Pauli- næ" as an "unanswerable book." When the controversy between the Calvinists and Unitarians arose, in 1820, he took side with the latter, but never liked the extremes of either sect. For many years he had wished to make a public profession of his faith in Christianity, but had been deterred by the minister's custom of calling upon each candidate to express belief in certain doctrines, some of which doctrines he did not believe. In 1817 he had come to the conclusion that he would announce to Dr. Osgood his convictions, and request him to suppress the objection- able sentence, and thus admit him. The sentence was this : "Sensible of the depravity of the human heart, your own proneness to sin, and inability to that which is good, you promise," etc. He did not believe in man's inability to do that which is good, and therefore he wished this omit- ted. Dr. Osgood knew so well his force of mind, and purity of life, that he yielded to his wishes; and on the 22d of March, 1818, he declared in public his belief in the divine origin of Christianity, and took his seat at the table of the Lord.
He was a delegate to the State Convention of Massa- chusetts for the adoption of the Federal Constitution, in 1787, and was a very influential member of that body. During an earnest and long discussion in regard to bien- nial elections, he spoke with great clearness and force, and said that "no instance had been cited to show that bien- nial elections had proved destructive to the liberties of the people ;" that the Parliaments of Great Britain had been triennial and septennial, "yet life, liberty, and property, it was generally conceded, were nowhere better secured than in Great Britain."
' Two important events marked his administration as Governor of Massachusetts: first, the separation of the District of Maine, in 1820, when it came into line as a
RESIDENCE OF GOV. BROOKS.
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distinct and independent State ; and, second, the revision of the Constitution of the State by the convention which met in November of the same year.
His printed compositions were few. The first public oration delivered by him was printed with this title, "An Oration delivered to the Society of the Cincinnati, in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts : July 4, 1787. By John Brooks, Esq."
When President Monroe visited Boston, in 1817, he said he had " read the inaugural speech of Gov. Brooks with entire approbation ; " and then added, "I am willing to take the principles of that speech as the basis of my administration.'
The closing sickness of the patriot was neither long nor full of pain. He bore it with calm acquiescence, and spoke of it with gratitude, as affording him an opportunity for reviewing his career, and for striking the balance in life's great ledger. He said to his cousin, " My case is beyond physicians. I have received my orders : I am ready to march." The lamp of religion was within him trimmed and burning, and he believed that his life was hid with Christ in God. Never has there died among us a man so widely known, so highly honored, so truly beloved, or so deeply lamented.
The granite pyramid which stands in the old burying- ground has the following inscription : -
" Sacred to the memory of John Brooks, who was born in Medford, in the month of May, 1752, and educated at the town school. He took up arms for his country on the 19th of April, 1775. He commanded the regiment which first entered the enemies' lines at Saratoga, and served with honor to the end of the war. He was appointed Marshal of the District of Massachusetts by President Washington ; and, after filling several important civil and military offices, he was, in the year 1816, chosen Governor of the Commonwealth, and discharged the duties of that station for seven successive years to general acceptance. He was a kind and skilful physician ; a brave and prudent officer ; a wise, firm, and impartial magistrate ; a true patriot, a good citizen, and a faithful friend. In his manners he was a gentleman; in morals, pure ; and in profession and practice, a consistent Christian. He de- parted this life in peace, on the Ist of March, 1825, aged seventy-three. This monument to his honored memory was erected by several of his fellow-citizens and friends, in the year 1838."
Col. Isaac Royal. - As one of the wealthiest citizens of Medford was frightened into Toryism in 1775, it may be fit to give a short notice of the facts, especially as they
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illustrate, by contrast, the deep devotion of the rest of our people to the cause of independence. Abundant evidence exists, that Medford took an early and decisive stand against the oppressions of the Crown, and, when called upon, paid taxes, raised soldiers, and shed blood, in defence of American liberty.
Strong and steady opposers of independence there cer- tainly were in the Colonies; and it therefore required superior wisdom and courage to meet such domestic foes. The patriots were baptized by the royal government with the name of "Rebels," and their doings called " The Fac- tion." A trial-question was brought before the Whigs and Tories in a town-meeting held at Boston in June, when a Tory moved to censure, and then annihilate, the " Com- mittee of Correspondence." The Tory speaker said of the Committee, -
" It is the foulest, subtlest, and most venomous serpent that ever issued from the eggs of sedition. It is the source of the rebellion. I saw the small seed when it was implanted : it was as a grain of mustard. I have watched the plant until it has become a great tree ; the vilest reptiles that crawl upon the earth are concealed at the root ; the foulest birds of the air rest upon its branches. I now would in- duce you to go to work immediately, with axes and hatchets, and cut it down, for a twofold reason, -because it is a pest to society, and lest it be felled suddenly by a stronger arm, and crush its thousands in the fall."
This called forth Samuel Adams, the author and right arm of the Committee ; and with his upright intent, his manly voice, his profound good sense, his irresistible logic, and his New-England heart, he crushed the specious decla- mation of the Tory orator. From Faneuil Hall the crowd went to the Old South Church; and, so far from being censured, the Committee was thanked, and told to go for- ward, whatever the consequences. The weaklings of royal- ty quailed before truth and right, but they did not stop their vituperative tongues. There were no opprobrious epithets in the language which they did not freely bestow on the patriot cause. One said, " The annals of the world have not been deformed with a single instance of so un- natural, so causeless, so wanton, so wicked, a rebellion." The patriot leaders were called " calves, knaves, and fools," " self-interested and profligate men," "the Boston saints." "The merchants form a part of those seditious herds of fools and knaves;" and "the generality of young Bos-
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tonians are bred up hypocrites in religion, and pettifoggers; in law :" such were the words and arguments of the Tories; against the cause of their country. No wonder that such abuse should stir the blood of James Otis and John Adams. The great question was now fairly brought before the country and the world ; and there was left but one course for patriotism to pursue, which was to fight for liberty and independence. Our fathers met the issue, and the great results are now shaking Europe to its very centre.
It is not necessary to say more here to introduce the topic under remark.
Medford had a very small number of Tories, but they should have historical notice at our hands. Curwen says, -
" Of nearly two hundred exiled Royalists who were banished by the government of Massachusetts, more than sixty were graduates of Harvard College. Of the five judges of the Supreme Court of that Province at the commencement of the difficulties, the Hon. William Cushing alone was of patriot principles ; and he was afterwards on the bench of the Supreme Court of the United States."
Our patriot fathers felt that they could not trust those to live among them who were the avowed enemies of free- dom, or the avowed supporters of the Crown. After long patience and ready allowances, the General Court felt called upon, in self-defence, to pass three acts. The first was passed September, 1778, entitled “ An act to prevent the return to this State of certain persons therein named, and others who have left this State, or either of the United States, and joined the enemies thereof." The second was: passed April 30, 1779, and was entitled " An act to confis- cate the estates of certain notorious conspirators against- the government and liberties of the inhabitants of the late Province, now State, of Massachusetts Bay." The third was passed Sept. 30, 1779, and is entitled " An act for con- fiscating the estates of certain persons commonly called absentees."
It is worthy of note that Col. Royal's name does not appear in either of the three lists of proscribed persons, although he was for twenty-two years a member of the Governor's Council. It is apparent that he loved his country and his friends ; and could he have been assured, at the outset, that the United States would secure their independence, and that he should be the undisturbed pos-
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sessor of his beautiful country-seat in Medford, he would probably have taken side with his old friend, Dr. Tufts, and his young friend, Dr. Brooks, and given generously for the cause of freedom. But he was timid, and supposed, as such men generally did, that the entire army and navy of «Great Britain would soon be here to burn, sink, and kill indiscriminately. His valor counselled him to run. But be it recorded, to the honor of the citizens of Medford, he was the only deserter. To carry on his farm after his departure was found to be sometimes difficult ; for " the honest man's scythe refused to cut Tory grass, and his "oxen would not plough Tory ground."
The town of Medford proceeded gently and wisely in taking possession of the estates of Tories and absentees. The order of Court under which they acted was passed April, 1776. We find the following in our records : -
Copy of the return made to the General Court, pursuant to a resolve of the Great and General Court passed last April, the Com- mittee of Safety, etc., of the town of Medford, have proceeded to take into their care the estates of sundry persons who are deemed inimical to the liberties of America, of which the following is a true account ; viz. : -
Of the estate belonging to Joseph Thompson, late of Medford : one piece pasture-land, and one piece marsh, which have been leased to Richard Crees, one year, for £7 4s. A shop, leased to William Gowen for 40s. per annum. Half a dwelling-house, leased to Jonathan Patten, one year, for £6 13s. 4d. Two-seventh parts of the following house and lands, being his share of his mother's thirds, undivided and not leased : a piece of plough-land, half an acre ; a piece mowing-land, one acre ; a wood-lot, four acres ; one-third of half a dwelling-house. 197,650 unburned bricks, 1,886 feet pine boards, taken by the army, for which pay is promised. A pew in our meeting-house, not leased. Thirty-two dozen of tile, sold for £3 4s.
Of the estate belonging to Sir William Pepperell; viz., a pew in our meeting-house, No. 16, not leased.
Of the estate belonging to one Clewly, in Halifax, left in the hands of Ichabod Jones of Boston, his trustee : two pieces of land leased to Paul Wyman, one year, for £10.
JOSHUA SYMONDS, - Committee
SAMUEL KIDDER, STEPHEN HALL, Jun., EBENEZER HALL,
ag .
MEDFORD, Aug. 26, 1776.
Dr. Simon Tufts, that skilful physician and polished gen- tleman, was persuaded to accept the agency of Col. Royal's affairs during an absence which was meant to be short. The breaking-out of hostilities so near to him as Lexing- ton was too much for the colonel's courage, and through
ROYAL HOUSE.
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very fear he started for he knew not where. He arrived safely in Halifax, and there wrote his friend, Dr. Tufts, May, 1775, urging him to become his agent in taking care of his property. This the doctor declined, but afterwards accepted. From Halifax, Col. Royal wrote to Dr. Tufts, under date of March 12, 1776, concerning certain sales of slaves His directions were as follows : -
" Please to sell the following negroes: Stephen and George ; they each cost £60 sterling ; and I would take £50, or even £15, apiece for them. Hagar cost £35 sterling ; but I will take £30 for her. I gave for Mira £35, but will take £25. If Mr. Benjamin Hall will give the $100 for her which he offered, he may have her, it being a good place. As to Betsey, and her daughter Nancy, the former may tarry, or take her freedom, as she may choose ; and Nancy you may put out to some good family by the year."
Col. Royal was then on the eve of departure for England ; and he thus writes to his friend in Medford : -
" I shall leave North America with great reluctance ; but my health and business require it ; and I hope, through the goodness of God, if my life is spared, to be able to return again soon."
In August, 1777, Dr. Tufts had a letter from him, dated Kensington, Eng. Col. Cary, who had married a lady from New York, occupied Col. Royal's house in 1778. The house and farm were rented for two hundred pounds. At a later period, when three gentlemen bought the entire estate on speculation, expecting to realize large fortunes 'by dividing the whole into lots, there was a valuation of the lots, and the sum total was $81,996. A few lots were sold, and the dreams of Crœsus became those of Belisarius.
Col. Royal's opinions and conduct respecting the strug- gles for independence subjected him to suspicion. The Committee of Safety in Medford felt called upon to exam- ine into facts ; and the testimony offered April 9, 1778, was as follows : -
" Several persons were this day examined respecting Col. Royal's political behavior, who declared in substance, as follows : -
" Simon Tufts, Esq., said he knew of nothing said Royal had said or done against the country ; but, on the contrary, he believed him to be a friend of the American cause. That said Royal being in Boston at and before the battle of Lexington, the confusion which that battle occasioned in the country made him afraid, at that time and after- wards, to return home; and that said confusion, which prevailed in Boston, made him afraid to stay there: accordingly he went to Hali-
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fax, and from thence retired back into the country, and afterwards went to England. That, after said battle, said Royal sent him a letter of attorney, entreating him to take care of his estate here; but he (said Tufts) declined it, on account of his own business, and returned back said power. That, some time after, finding said Royal's estate in a wasting condition, he sent to said Royal, informing him that he would undertake the care of it; and some. time after he received a letter from said Royal, enclosing another power for that purpose, dated May 23, 1775 ; upon which he undertook to act as his attorney. That he had since made said Royal no remittances of any of the rents or of the estate (agreeable to a promise he had made to a former Committee). That the State of Rhode Island having sequestered what of said Royal's estate lay within their jurisdiction, he had applied to the General Assembly there, and informed them of the letters he had re- ceived from said Royal, empowering him to take the care of his estate ; and that they, after examination made, delivered the said estate up to him, and he has held it ever since, as attorney aforesaid.
" Mr. Peter Tufts declared, that, about a fortnight before Lexington battle, Col. Royal told him that it would not do for us to resist Great Britain, for they were too strong for us, and would send over ten thousand Russians, who would subdue us ; and that, by his conversa- tion, it appeared to him (the said Tufts) that said Royal was for sur- rendering up all to Great Britain rather than make resistance.
" Mr. Samuel Winship declared, that, on Sunday before said battle, said Royal went in his coach to Boston, and took with him a pair of pistols and a carabine, but for what end he did not know, nor never heard; that at the same time he left in his house two fire-arms, which Mr. Poor, some days after, carried to Watertown.
" Capt. Isaac Hall declared, that, the winter before said battle, he went to settle accounts with said Royal at his house, and that said Royal showed him his arms and accoutrements (which were in very good order), and told him that he determined to stand for his coun- try, etc.
" Mr. Billings said that he heard Capt. Jenks say, that, a day or two before said battle, Col. Royal sent for him, and desired him to go to Salem, and procure him a passage to Antigua in a vessel bound there ; and that he (said Jenks) would have gone, but the battle prevented him."
To this testimony may be added that of Col. Royal him- self. In a letter to Dr. Tufts, dated " Kensington, April 12, 1779," he says,-
"I doubt not you, and Mr. Hall, and the rest of my friends, will do all in your power to procure me liberty from the General Court to return home as soon as my health will admit of."
He vindicated his character against the charge of treach- ery to his country ; and in another letter, dated Aug. 22, 1779, says, -
"When I was in the General Court, I made the public good my aim in every thing that I endeavored to do; which I think every man ought to."
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Mere fright should not be considered as constituting Toryism. A true Tory must have had a force of reason, and sense of right, wholly inconsistent with cowardice. Col. Royal's force of mind was not sufficient to make him a strong enemy of any thing. He is mentioned in Cur- wen's letters; and there Mr. George A. Ward speaks of him thus : -
" Hon. Isaac Royal of Medford was remarked by every one for his timidity. He halted between two opinions respecting the Revolution, until the cannonading at Lexington drove him to Newburyport, and then to Halifax, and, after living some time in retirement, he em- barked for Europe. He was a proscribed refugee; and his estate - since, that of Jacob Tidd, Esq. - was confiscated. He died of small-pox, in England, October, 1781. His bounty laid the first pro- fessorship of law at Cambridge; and a legacy of plate to the first church in Medford shows that his regard for his country was not weakened by distance, nor seared by proscription. He bequeathed more than two thousand acres of land in Granby and Royalton, in Worcester County, for the establishment of the aforesaid professorship. He was for twenty-two years a member of the Council. His virtues and popularity at first saved his estate, as his name was not included with those of his sons-in-law - Sir William Pepperell and George Erving - in the 'Conspirator's Act; ' but on the representation of the select- men of Medford, 'that he went voluntarily to our enemies,' his prop- erty was forfeited, and taken under the Confiscation Act. He made bequests to Medford and Worcester, and legacies to the clergymen. While a member of the House of Representatives, he presented the chandelier which adorns its hall.
" George Erving, Esq., merchant, of Boston, who married one of Col. Royal's daughters, was a refugee included in the 'Conspirator's Act.' He died in London, Jan. 16, 1806, aged seventy.
"Gen. Sir William Pepperell, baronet, was born at Kittery Point, Me., in 1696. He died at Kittery, June 6, 1759.
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