USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Medford > History of the town of Medford, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, from its first settlement in 1630 to 1855 > Part 30
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At the conclusion of the first half of the college year 1874-75, Dr. Miner tendered his resignation of the presi- dency of the college.
The Hon. Israel Washburn, jun., was chosen as his suc- cessor ; but he promptly declined the office.
The trustees then determined to make a new departure, and place an alumnus of the college at its head. Accord- ingly, the present incumbent, Rev. Elmer H. Capen, a graduate of the class of 1860, was elected to the vacant chair in March, 1875, and was inaugurated on the second day of June following. This new departure quickened the interest and secured the more active co-operation of the graduates of the college; and this, together with the ability and good judgment that the young president, Rev. Dr. Capen, brought to the discharge of his duties, secured to the college an improved curriculum and increased pros- perity.
The faculty, as originally constituted, consisted of three professors beside the president ; and for many years the entire work of the college was performed by not more than five teachers. The gifts and benefactions of Dr. Walker, designed mainly for the promotion of mathematics and related branches of study, enabled the trustees to
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enlarge the facilities for instruction on the side of science. A professorship of civil engineering was created in 1867; and subsequently the subjects of natural history, physics, and chemistry were each assigned to a separate chair, and placed in charge of eminent specialists. Connected with the several scientific departments, are good working labo- ratories and museums, so that the facilities for scientific instruction are excelled by few colleges in this country.
The only degree given in the beginning as a reward for residence and study in the college was that of bachelor of arts. But the presence of a large number of students who were not prepared to take that course of study in full led to the organization of two additional courses, one leading to the degree of civil engineer, and the other to the degree of bachelor of philosophy.
There are now eleven full courses of electives open to students. From the middle of the junior year, a very large percentage of the student's work is in those lines which he chooses for himself.
The modifications of discipline have been no less impor- tant, either in their character or results. Formerly in all the New-England colleges an elaborate system of rules, enforced by an oversight which often amounted to espi- onage, was thought to be necessary to good order and the proper moral development of young men. In the eyes of the students, the faculty of a college seemed to be little else than a grand court of inquisition for the trial and punishment of offences against discipline. In point of fact, a very large percentage of the time of college offi- cers was spent in that business. At Tufts all this has been changed. Formal rules relating to conduct have been abolished. Men are put entirely upon their honor, and are no longer watched. Since 1875, there has not been a single case of a student summoned before the fac- ulty, or a committee of the faculty, for discipline. Under this policy the gain in the orderly behavior, moral tone, and contentment of students, has been immense.
The whole number of graduates is now over three hun- dred. Of this number, representatives may be found in the principal walks of almost every one of the learned professions.
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This a Goddard
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HISTORY OF MEDFORD.
THE DIVINITY SCHOOL.
Silvanus Packard, by will, directed that the trustees should establish and maintain, out of the rents and profits of his estate, one theological professorship. The Rev. Thomas J. Sawyer, D.D., whose efforts in connection with the establishment of the college have been previously described, was elected Packard professor of theology ; and the Divinity School, with Dr. Sawyer at its head, was organized and opened for the admission of students in 1869. At first one professor was associated with Dr. Saw- yer, and very soon another was added to the faculty. The course of study, at the opening of the school, leading to the degree of bachelor of divinity, was three years. But so large a number of those applying for admission were found to be deficient in elementary training, that the course was lengthened to four years for all except college graduates. To carry out this programme, a fourth teacher was found to be necessary. The faculty, as at present constituted, has continued since 1875. Upwards of fifty students, since the organization of the school, have taken the prescribed course in theology, and received the degree of bachelor of divinity. Of this number nearly one-half are in charge of important parishes in Massachusetts, and others in different parts of the country are occupying some of the most prominent and influential pulpits of the Universalist Church.
EXTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS.
When the present site of the college was selected, the hill was without trees, and almost repulsive in its naked- ness. The erection of the main college building and the first dormitory only served to heighten its wind-swept appearance. But other important buildings have been added; walks and driveways have been laid out ; trees have been planted, and have attained, on the southerly slope, a thick and heavy growth, and are beginning to get a hold upon the northerly side ; the reservoir of the Mys- tic Water Works is established upon the summit of the hill, and, in effect, forms a part of the college grounds : so that in the summer season, there is no more beautiful or attractive spot in the whole region about Boston than College Hill.
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THE GODDARD CHAPEL.
Recently a very important feature has been added to its cluster of buildings by the erection of a stone chapel from funds provided by Mrs. Mary T. Goddard. The style of the edifice is Romanesque, with a genuine Lombardic tower. It is as graceful a piece of architecture as can be found in this part of the country, and is a worthy memorial of the lady, who, with her noble husband, has been so effi- cient a promoter of the origin and growth of the institution.
THE GYMNASIUM.
For many years there has been an urgent desire on the part of the students for a gymnasium. It was demanded as a stimulus and help to them in their athletic sports, and also as a means of recreation, and for the promotion of their health. Mrs. Goddard recognized this need of the students, and with characteristic generosity set about to supply it. Almost immediately on the completion of the chapel in 1883, she communicated to the trustees her pur- pose to build and furnish, at her own expense, a gymna- sium. Her proposition was accepted. The work was entered upon immediately, and the building was completed and thrown open to the students in the autumn of 1884.
THE BARNUM MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY.
Almost from the opening of the college, instruction in the different subjects of natural history has been given by Professor Marshall, who has given himself diligently to the work of collecting specimens which would illustrate his work. A very important and valuable collection had been made in that way. But the college was without special funds which could be applied to this department. In the spring of 1883, the president suggested to the Hon. P. T. Barnum, the propriety of founding a natural-history museum, which should bear his name. The response of Mr. Barnum was almost instantaneous. As soon as he could learn from the president, the amount which would be needful for a suitable beginning to such an enterprise, he made provision for the erection of a building, and a main- tenance fund.
The present museum building is the central portion of
-
CBAANVN FEGIT A
THE BARNUM MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY, TUFTS COLLEGE.
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HISTORY OF MEDFORD.
what is ultimately intended to be a large and imposing structure. It contains laboratories, recitation-rooms, a grand vestibule in which there is a marble bust of the donor, and where the skin of the famous elephant Jumbo, and the skeleton of another elephant, are to be deposited. There is also a large exhibition-hall, fifty feet wide by seventy feet long, filled with cases which contain an ad- mirable collection of mammals, birds, fishes, and reptiles, purchased by Mr. Barnum from Professor Henry A. Ward of Rochester, N.Y. Mr. Barnum's benefactions, up to the present time, amount to upwards of fifty-five thousand dol- lars. But he has other important gifts in contemplation.
ITS EASY AND LIBERAL POLICY.
The college has been distinguished for its liberal policy towards those young men who are obliged, on account of limited means, to struggle for their education. The charge for tuition is one hundred dollars a year. But there are more than thirty scholarships in the gift of the college. By means of these, the tuition may be cancelled for those who prove their worthiness by superior attainments. In addition to these, gratuities are given in cases of need ; so that the instruction is practically free to all men of promise and fidelity, whose circumstances require it.
It is a gratifying fact, that some of the most distin- guished and successful of its graduates are from among those who have enjoyed its pecuniary favors, and who would have found a liberal education impossible without them.
THE LIBRARY.
The library has had, on the whole, a very satisfactory growth. Dr. Ballou's extraordinary love for books led him to bestow particular attention upon its formation. It would be interesting to get an insight into some of the methods which he used in securing contributions to what in his view constituted the core of an institution of learn- ing ; but many Medford people who remember the persist- ency of Dr. Ballou's methods, also his unruffled good nature, will clearly see how it was that in a few short years he brought together from so many different sources so large a collection of books, and laid the foundations of a great library. The interest awakened by him has never flagged. There are now in the possession of the college
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more than twenty thousand bound volumes, many of them rare and of great value, and about nine thousand pam- phlets.
We have given large space to this history of Tufts College, because it is a Medford institution, and because its prosperity is so largely the result of the labors of a Medford man, whose like we shall not see for many years to come. Rev. Hosea Ballou, 2d, D.D., was a great and good man, an excellent citizen, a faithful pastor, a pure- souled Christian ; and, as the first president of Tufts College, an honor to the institution and to the town of Medford.
GODDARD CHAPEL, TUFTS COLLEGE.
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HISTORY OF MEDFORD.
CHAPTER XIV.
CHARITIES.
FEW towns in the old Commonwealth can boast of citi- zens who have shown such regard for the poor, such cheer- fulness in giving money to aid them, and such wisdom in their bequests and donations, as are shown in the acts of Medford's benefactors. Most of them have passed away ; but their works follow them, and their names cannot perish.
The first that deserve special notice are Thomas Secomb and his widow Rebecca. Their gifts were re- garded of so much importance, that a special town-meeting was called for the purpose of taking action upon the in- terests for which they provided ; and it becomes eminently proper that all the provisions of the town, in relation thereto, should be stated in this history.
The gifts of these worthy persons were the beginning of a wisely executed charity, that has already accomplished great good, and which has blessings greater still for un- born generations. The following items from the town records will give the reader a correct idea of the Secomb Charities, and will especially show the great good-heart- edness of Mrs. Secomb, who did not withhold from the poor of the town the benefit of her husband's bequest in their behalf until her own decease, as she might have done legally, but gave it at once, on the death of her hus- band, together with a good round sum from her own estate.
The town officers having been legally apprised of the gifts hereinafter named, the proceedings in the matter were as follows : -
MIDDLESEX SS.
To Mr. Richard Creese, Constable of the Town of Medford : GREETING.
You are hereby required in his Majestys Name, Forthwith to warn the Freeholders & other inhabitants of the Town of Medford Afore-
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said, qualifyed as the Law Directs to Assemble at the Meeting House, in sd Town, on Monday the Tenth Instant, at Two of the Clock in the Afternoon Then & there, to consider of a Donation, left by the Late Mr Thomas Secomb deceasd and of his Widow Miss Rebecca Secomb now Living, and Pass what Notes they may think proper re- lating to the same.
Hereof Fail not & make return of this warrant with your doings thereon at or before said Meeting.
Dated at Medford January ye third day Anno Domi 1774. By order of the Select Men.
RICHARD HALL, Town Clerk.
At A Town Meeting Legally Conven'd, this Ioth of January 1774, Mr. Benjamin Hall Chosen Moderator for sd Meeting.
Voted That Messrs. Benjamin Hall, Willis Hall, Joshua Simonds, Thomas Patten and Ebenezer Brooks Junr being Select Men & overseers of the Poor of sd Town give a Receipt to Miss Rebecca Secomb for the Sum of One Hundred Pounds Sterling (hereafter mentioned) upon the Reception of the Same and Engage in Behalf of this Town that ye interest of the same shall be appropriated to the use of the Poor of the Town of Medford Aforsd and the sd Select Men or overseers or their Successors in sd office shall render an Acco Annually to the sd Town how they have disposed of the same.
Voted That the Select Men wait upon Mrs. Rebecca Secomb and Acquaint her of the gratefull Sense this Town have of the Generous Benefaction of her late Husband Mr. Thomas Secomb Deceased & also of her generous Donation in Addition thereto, and Return her the Thanks of the Town for the same.
Voted Also that the Instrument now read be Recorded upon the Public Records of the Town, and the original be Returned to the sd Mrs. Secomb.
To all People to whom these Presents shall come; Rebeckah Secomb of Medford, in the County of Middlesex and Province of the Massachusetts Bay, in New England, Widow, sends Greeting, -
Know ye, that whereas my late Husband Thomas Secomb Deceased expressed himself in his last Will & Testament as follows viz - In case there shall Remain at my said Wife's Decease unconsumed and undisposed of by her, so much of my Estate Real and personall, ex- clusive of my Dwelling House and Land Adjoining and appurtenances thereto belonging as aforementioned as will Amount to the Sum of One Hundred Thirty three Pounds Six Shillings and Eight Pence, then in such Case and not otherwise, I give to the Selectmen for the time being for the Town of Medford aforesaid, the Sum of one Hun- dred Pounds to be Paid by my Executor in one year next after my said Wife's Decease to be by the Selectmen or overseers of the same Town let out on Lawfull Interest on good Security, and the Interest thereof to be annually Applied to the use of the Poor of said Town of Medford in Money only and that forever, and for no other use whatsoever. And being willing and desirous that the foregoing Clause or Paragraph should be fulfilled, and that the Poor of the Town of Medford aforesaid should sooner reap the Benefitt and Ad- vantage thereof : And as I sincerely hope from a charitable disposi- tion; In Addition thereto - Do hereby Give and Grant to Benjamin
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HISTORY OF MEDFORD.
Hall, Distiller, Willis Hall, Distiller, Joshua Symonds, yeoman, Thomas Patten, Brickmaker, and Ebenezer Brooks, Junr, yeoman, all of Medford & County aforesaid, & Selectmen & Overseers of the Poor of said Town of Medford and to their Successors in said Trust, the sum of Thirty Three Pounds Six Shillings & Eight Pence Law- full Money Amounting in the whole to the Sum of One Hundred Pounds Sterling to be & Remain A Fund or Stock and to be let out upon Interest on the best Security that can be obtained by the Afore- said Selectmen or overseers of the said Town of Medford and their Successors as such; And the interest thereof to be annually Applyed by them to the use of the Poor of the said Town of Medford, and to be Alienated upon no Pretence or Purpose whatever. To Have and to Hold the Aforesaid Sum of One Hundred Pounds Sterling ; to the said Benjamin Hall, Willis Hall, Joshua Symonds, Thomas Pat- ten, and Ebenezer Brooks, Junr Selectmen and Overseers of the Poor of the Town of Medford Aforesaid and to their Successors in said Trust, to and for the Use of the Poor of said Town of Medford as aforementioned and for no other; And in Case the Selectmen afore- said, or their Successors as Selectmen or Overseers of the Poor of the said Town of Medford, or the said Town by any of their Votes or Re- solves should pervert the Design or Intention hereof, by Appropriat- ing, Using, or Improving the aforesaid One Hundred Pounds Ster- ling, or any Part of it or the Interest Thereof to any other use or purpose, than for the Benefitt and advantage of the Poor of the Town of Medford as aforesaid. Then I hereby make null and void this Gift; and give my Heirs at Law, full power to Recall and Re- cover said One Hundred Pounds Sterling of said Town of Medford by A Suit at Law; In Witness whereof and upon the conditions aforementioned. I have hereunto Set my hand and Seal this Third Day of January Anno Domini 1774 and in the fourteenth year of his Majesty's Reign.
(Signed)
[SEAL] REBECCAH SECOMB.
Signed, Sealed & Delivered in Presence of Ebenezer Hall, Timothy Newhall®
- MEDFORD, January ye 14, 1774.
Received of Mrs. Rebeckah Secomb the sum of One Hundred Thirty Three Pounds Six Shillings and Eight Pence, Lawful Money, or One Hundred Pounds Sterling Money of Great Britain, for the Use & Purposes within mentioned and for no other; And we do for our- selves as Select Men & Overseers of the Poor of said Town of Medford, and for our Successors in said Trust engage that the same shall be Appropriated and Applied to that Purpose (the Use of the Poor of said Town of Medford) and not Alienated upon any Account whatever.
Signed by the Selectmen.
The records of the town show that by the charities of Mr. and Mrs. Secomb, the foundation was laid for a perma- nent and growing fund in the interest of the worthy and needy poor of Medford.
Additions to the Secomb Fund. - In the report of the selectmen of the town, made in February, 1865, they ac-
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HISTORY OF MEDFORD.
knowledge the receipt of an additional sum of five hundred dollars, to be added to the Secomb Fund; said sum having been provided for in the will of Dr. Daniel Swan.
In February, 1867, the same town officers reported that Timothy Cotting, Esq., had given the town in 1864 and 1865, thirty dollars to be given to the needy poor, and that at a more recent date he had contributed one thousand dollars, the increase or interest of which was to be distrib- uted among the worthy and needy poor of the town.
A still larger addition to the Secomb Fund was made by the late Dudley Hall, as will be seen by the following from his last will and testament.
" Nov. 3, 1868. To the inhabitants of the town of Medford afore- said, I give and bequeath the sum of three thousand and three hundred dollars, to have and to hold the same to them in their corporate capa- city and their assigns in trust, however, for the following uses and purposes : namely, to account for, pay, divide, and distribute the annual interest and income of said fund to and among the same per- sons to whom the income of the Secomb Legacy is now paid and distributed ; it being my desire that this trust fund be added to said Secomb Fund now amounting, I believe, to seven hundred dollars, to constitute a part of said fund, and that it be managed and controlled by said town in the same manner as the said Secomb Fund is man- aged and controlled, and that the annual interest and income thereof be paid and distributed in the same manner."
And Mr. Hall made another gift to the town for the benefit of the poor.
" To the inhabitants of the said town of Medford, I give and be- queath the sum of five thousand dollars, to have and to hold the same to them in their corporate capacity and their assigns forever, in trust, however, for the following uses and purposes : namely, in trust to divide and pay the annual income and interest thereof, to and for the use and benefit of the deserving poor and needy church-members of the several Protestant religious societies now existing and organized in said Medford. The said annual interest and income shall be divided among the said several religious societies in proportion to the number of church-members belonging to the said respective societies, some time during and in the month of November in each year. The number of said church-members in said several and respective societies must be certified to the town treasurer by the minister and deacons, or parish or other standing committees of the said several and respective societies, on or before the first day of November in each year, in order to entitle the poor church-members of the respective societies afore- said to the benefit of this fund ; and the said treasurer shall then divide the said interest and income among such societies as have so certi- fied to him as aforesaid, in proportion to the number of their respec- tive church-members, and shall pay the amount to which each society is so entitled to the minister and deacons, or parish or other standing committee of the said respective societies, to be by them divided and
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distributed at their discretion, to and among the poor and needy church-members in and belonging to their respective churches ac- cording to the true meaning and intent of this bequest."
Another fund for the benefit of poor females born in Medford was created by Miss Pamelia Simonds, amounting to one thousand and three hundred dollars. In the month of March, 1872, this provision of Miss Simonds's will was, copied into the town records by vote of the town.
SIMONDS FUND.
Extract from the will of Miss Pamelia Simonds, Arti -- cle 20 : -
" All the rest of my property, real, personal and mixed, which may remain unappropriated at the time of my death, I hereby give and bequeath to the overseers of the poor, and their successors in office,. who shall have been chosen in Medford, and who, ex officio, shall hold my said property above mentioned, in trust, distributing annually among the indigent women of the town the interest only of said prop- erty. I strictly confine this gift to females born in Medford."
The town at different times voted to accept the trust: imposed upon it by the aforesaid charities, and formally expressed thanks to the generous donors of the several sums herein named.
Another Gift to the Town in the interest of the town schools was made in 1868 by Mr. George F. Tufts, by. which he conveyed to the town a parcel of land at the in- tersection of Main and Medford Streets, whereon to erect a wooden schoolhouse with slated roof, at a cost of five thousand dollars ; which liberal gift was duly accepted on. the terms proposed by the giver.
BEQUEST IN FAVOR OF THE TOWN LIBRARY.
March 9, 1874. Voted, That the following devise and bequest made by the late Miss Lucy Osgood be accepted.
" I give and bequeath to the town of Medford a large wood-lot comprising forty acres, more or less, which I own in the north-east- ern part of said town; to be used and applied to the increase and maintenance of the town-library, by trustees duly appointed."
PHYSICIANS.
The first physicians appear in Medford as early as 1720, Dr. Oliver Noyes and Dr. Ebenezer Nutting. Dr. Noyes died in 1721, and Dr. Nutting does not again appear in
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HISTORY OF MEDFORD.
the records. Dr. John Bishop appears in the tax-bills of 1726-27. Dr. Simon Tufts was born in Medford, Jan. 31, 1700, and died here, Jan. 31, 1747. He graduated at Har- vard College in 1724, and is called " Doctor " in the town records, May 24, 1724. He is called the "first physician of Medford."
Dr. John Brooks was eminent as a physician in the town and county, and is spoken of elsewhere in this history. Dr. Luther Stearns practised medicine in town for a few years with much success. Dr. Daniel Swan was highly esteemed by the townspeople. A notice of him is given in another place.
Dr. Samuel Gregg located in Medford in 1826, and prac- tised here about fourteen years on the allopathic system, but afterwards became an homoeopathist, and had a very successful practice. Dr. Milton Fuller practised to the : satisfaction of the people.
Dr. J. C. Dorr was a very successful physician here for a quarter of a century. No one as a family physician, if we except Dr. Swan, was ever more beloved than he. Dr. Dorr was an army surgeon for two years in the war of the Rebellion.
Our present physicians are : Charles V. Bemis, James Hedenberg, Pearl Martin, E. L. Warren, George W. Mills, .James E. Cleaves, Walter L. Hall, John L. Coffin, Joseph E. Clark, and E. W. Jones, all of whom enjoy the confi- dence and respect of the people.
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