USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Medford > History of the town of Medford, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, from its first settlement in 1630 to 1855 > Part 31
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LAWYERS.
The number of lawyers practising in Medford has not been large. Office business has been the chief source of emolument. Hon. Timothy Bigelow came from Groton, to reside in Medford, in 1808. He stood eminent at the bar, and had a large practice. He died May, 1821, aged fifty-four.
Abner Bartlett, Esq., was one of the most noted and respected lawyers of the town. He was born in Plym- outh, and graduated at Harvard College in 1799. Hc preferred not to appear as an advocate before a jury. As a representative, legal adviser, town-officer, and justice of the peace, he was as faithful to duty as the needle to the pole. He died Sept. 3, 1850, aged seventy-four.
Jonathan Porter, Esq, born in Medford, devoted the
Suding Hakk 1780-1868.
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HISTORY OF MEDFORD.
energies of a strong mind and a ripe scholarship to the science of law.
George D. Porter, Esq., also a native of Medford, and a graduate of Harvard College, entered upon the legal pro- fession with much promise, but failing in health, practised but a short time before his death.
Charles Russell, Esq., practised here for several years, and filled many important offices in town. He died in 1878.
John Q. A. Griffin, Esq., was a resident of Medford for several years. He stood eminent at the bar, and was hon- ored in the community.
Sanford B. Perry, Esq., practised here from 1845 to 1856, and then moved to Chicago.
Lawyers now in practice, residing here, are : Thomas S. Harlow, Daniel A. Gleason, Benjamin F. Hayes, Baxter E. Perry, Fred H. Kidder, Charles F. Paige, Rosewell B. Lawrence, William B. Lawrence, William P. Martin, M. H. Swett, Christopher G. Plunkett, George J. Tufts, J. H. Wolff, O. P. Shannon, Howard D. Nash, D. Edwin Con- ery, and William E. Boynton.
AUTHORS.
Medford has been prolific in authors. We give below some of their names, but cannot record their various pro- ductions for want of space. Suffice it to say, that some of them have written works of great merit, which have been widely circulated and appreciated. Among these writers we may name Mrs. Lydia Maria Child, noticed elsewhere in these pages ; Rev. John Pierpont, Rev. Charles Brooks, Mrs. Jane Turell, and Samuel Hall. We give the sub- joined list : Rev. Ebenezer Turell, Mrs. Jane Turell, Rev. David Osgood, Samuel Hall, Esq., Rev. John Pierpont, Rev. Andrew Bigelow, Rev. Convers Francis, Mrs. Lydia M. Child, Rev. Hosea Ballou, D.D., Rev. Charles Brooks, Rev. William H. Furness, Rev. Edward B. Hall, Rev. Caleb Stetson, Rev. Nathaniel Hall, Miss Louisa J. Cut- ter, Judge James G. Swan, Mrs. Susannah Rawson, Mrs. Maria Gowen Brooks, Nathaniel H. Bishop, R. P. Hallo- well.
PUBLIC CHARACTERS.
Medford has furnished its share of public characters, who have done it honor; and they include a governor, lieutenant-governor, councillors, senators, representatives,
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HISTORY OF MEDFORD.
a tax-commissioner, a State treasurer, a president of the Senate, clergymen, physicians, lawyers, authors, two pro- fessórs of colleges, a mayor of Boston, a mayor of Lynn, a United-States marshal, a paymaster in the army, mili- tary commanders in the army and navy of the United States, a commissioner to the Paris Universal Exposition, and a judge.
We may be allowed to signalize our ladies who have been called to public stations. Three have represented the country as wives of ministers at the Court of St. James ; and another has written and published more per- haps than any other woman in the United States.
Maria Gowen Brooks.
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HISTORY OF MEDFORD.
CHAPTER XV.
FIRE-DEPARTMENT.
THE first action of the town in relation to fires, of which we have any knowledge, was in 1760. On the 12th of May, in that year, the town voted that two fire-hooks be provided for the use of the town.
Three years later the town voted to raise £26. 13s. 4d. for procuring a fire-engine, if the rest of the sum neces- sary could be obtained by subscription ; and Hon. Isaac Royal, Stephen Hall, Esq., and Capt. Seth Blodget were made a committee to get the subscriptions, and purchase the machine.
Their efforts were successful ; and an engine, called the " Grasshopper," was purchased, and stationed near the market, where it remained until 1799, when it was re- moved to the " West End," another having been purchased at that time to take its place at the Centre. For many years these two machines were deemed sufficient for all the purposes to which they were devoted.
March II, 1765 : For the first time, nine fire-wards and twelve engine-men were appointed by vote of the town. The Medford Amicable Fire Society was organized in 1785, and had for its motto, " Amicis nobisque." So far as is now known, it was the first firemen's organization ever formed in the town. They solemnly bound themselves to be governed by the "regulations" which they adopted. These regulations embraced all the common provisions for choice of officers and transaction of business which such an association would require. The third regulation pro- vided that each member should keep constantly in good order, hanging up in some convenient place in his dwelling- house, two leather buckets, of convenient size, in which should be two bags and one screw-key, -each bag meas- uring one yard and three-quarters in length, and three- quarters of a yard in breadth. If the bags or buckets of
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HISTORY OF MEDFORD.
any member should be found to be out of place at any quar- terly inspection, he was to pay a fine of twenty-five cents for each article so out of place. It was provided that the number of its members should not exceed twenty-four ; that they were to meet three times a year, for the transac- tion of business, and once a year to dine together.
They were to have their buckets and bags marked dis- tinctly with the owner's name ; and an important regula- tion of the society was set forth in these words : -
" At the alarm of fire, each member shall immediately repair, with his bags, buckets, etc., to the place where it happens; and, if the house or property of any member be in danger, every member shall resort thither, and use his utmost endeavors, under the direction of the member in danger, if present, - otherwise according to his own judgment, - to secure all his goods and effects, under penalty of what the society may determine. And if there shall not be any property of a member in danger, then each member, at the request of any other person in immediate danger, will consider himself obliged to assist such person, in the same manner as though such person belonged to the society.
" Candidates must be proposed three months before election; and three votes in the negative prevent membership."
This society was not subject to any town provision or regulation, but was strictly a volunteer organization, the members of which were, first of all, to assist each other.
For good and sufficient excuses, the fines imposed for absence from roll-call and from active duty could be remit- ted ; but we see, by records of the society still existing, how real and strong the ground of excuse had to be. On one occasion, in 1794, the society voted that Gen. Brooks might be excused from duty, when he was actually out of town, engaged in his profession as a physician.
Everything found in the old records of this society is evidence of the zeal and devotion of its members to the excellent work in which they were engaged. They paid all the expenses of carrying forward their enterprise. They asked the town for no remuneration, and even the annual dinner was provided at their own expense.
The gradually improved facilities for the extinguish- ment of fires, provided by the town, relieved the Society from its responsibilities ; and in 1849 it held its last annual meeting, and practically disbanded.
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HISTORY OF MEDFORD.
THE MEDFORD HOOK-AND-LADDER COMPANY.
In the year 1829, the Legislature of the Commonwealth having passed an Act authorizing the town of Medford to appoint a company of hook-and-laddermen, at a meeting of the selectmen, held July 6 of that year, a committee was appointed to form such a company.
The action of the committee was approved by the town authorities, and the constitution and by-laws recommended by the committee were adopted by the company, with the approval of the selectmen.
The Hook-and-Ladder Company has now been in exist- ence as an organization for more than fifty-six years, and throughout that period has rendered faithful and efficient service at fires. It has always been a popular branch of the fire-department ; and, from first to last, we find the names of some of the most respectable citizens of the town enrolled in its membership.
OTHER FIRE-COMPANIES, STEAM FIRE-ENGINES, ETC.
March 3, 1828: "Voted that the selectmen be a com- mittee to examine and consider the necessity of procuring a new engine for the west part of the town.'
1828: The first record of the organization of a new engine company was made on this date. 1831, the town voted to give a supper each year to the firemen; but this did not embrace the Hook-and-Ladder Company. Nov. 14, 1836: Voted to purchase a new engine.
1839: The town voted to petition the Legislature for an act of incorporation for their fire-department. This petition suggested to the Legislature the importance of considering the whole subject; and accordingly they re- constructed the laws, and on the 9th of April the pres- ent law was passed. The next day they authorized the town of Medford to organize a fire-department, according to their petition, and the act was as follows :-
"AN ACT TO ESTABLISH A FIRE-DEPARTMENT IN THE TOWN OF MEDFORD.
" Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives, in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as fol- lows : -
" The selectmen of the town of Medford are hereby authorized to establish a fire-department in said town, in the manner, and according
.
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HISTORY OF MEDFORD.
to the provisions, prescribed in an Act to regulate fire-departments, passed on the 9th of April, 1839; and the said fire-department when so established, and the several members thereof, and all the officers and companies appointed by them, and the said town of Medford, and the inhabitants thereof, shall be subject to all the duties and liabilities, and be entitled to all the privileges and exemptions, specified in said Act, so far as the same relate to them respectively."
The rules and regulations were drawn up, and the ninth section provided that the act establishing the fire-depart- ment should not take effect until it was "accepted and approved by the inhabitants of the town." It was approved by the town, and the present fire-department organized in due form.
March 7, 1842: The chief engineer made his first annual report.
Nov. 6, 1850 : The town voted that large cisterns should be sunk in the ground in various parts of the town, and be filled with water, to be used only in case of fire.
Every provision of hose, fire-hooks, ladders, etc., which the department required, was made by the town.
In 1840 was published a pamphlet, entitled "State Laws and Town Ordinances respecting the Fire-Department of the Town of Medford." It contained the Act of the Gen- eral Court of April 9, 1839; also the Act of April 17, 1837, "to prevent bonfires, and false alarms of fire;" also "ex- tracts from the Revised Statutes, chapter 18;" also "an ordinance for preventing and extinguishing fires, and estab- lishing a fire-department in the town of Medford, passed by the board of engineers, April 25, 1840;" also further "extracts from the Revised Statutes, chapter 58." "Ap- proved by the town, April 29, 1840."
The ordinance passed by the board of engineers had the approval of every well-disposed citizen in Medford. A brief abstract is as follows :-
Fines for carrying fire openly in the streets, from two dollars to twenty dollars ; for allowing to remain any defective chimney, deposit of ashes, etc., five dollars to twenty dollars ; chimney set on fire at improper times, two dollars. Engineers shall remove combustible materials where dangerously placed. The engineers shall choose a chief engineer and officers, control the engines, and make all due regulations ; engineers shall repair to the place of fire immediately, and take all the steps necessary to extinguish the fire and secure property. There shall be hook, ladder, hose, sail, and engine car- riages. The chief engineer shall have full command, and make an annual report to the town. No one shall be a member of the fire- department under eighteen years of age ; nor under twenty-one, unless
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HISTORY OF MEDFORD.
by request of parents. First Tuesday of May, each company shall choose officers. Duties of several officers specified. Engines, after a fire, shall be cleaned; and, once in two months, the companies ex- ercised. Duties of firemen, to protect life and save property. Badges to be worn. Disobedient members dismissed. Duties of citizens who are present at a fire. Officers of a company may be discharged. When buildings, not on fire, shall be demolished. The ordinance closes with the following twenty-first section: " The members of the several companies shall not assemble in the houses intrusted to their care, except for the purpose of taking the engine or apparatus on the
New Engine-House.
alarm of fire, or for drill and exercise, and of returning the same to the house, and taking the necessary care of said apparatus after its return."
Any citizen of Medford, whose memory goes back thirty years, will call to mind the volunteer fire-associations of that time. They were composed largely of the active young men of the town, some forty or fifty being usually attached to each engine. The members were willing to serve without pay, and were held together by a lively esprit de corps, and a thorough love for the service. There
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HISTORY OF MEDFORD.
332
were three engine-companies in the town, - the "Gov. Brooks," the "Gen. Jackson," and the "Washington," - these being the names given to the excellent hand-engines belonging to the town. A strong but good-natured rivalry existed between the companies : each felt bound to main- tain the superiority of its own "machine," and every fire witnessed a friendly contest between them. It was a happy day for any company when it had succeeded in " washing" the tub of its rival.
In 1862 the town purchased a steam fire-engine. The volunteer associations were disbanded, the old machines sold, and the fire-department was put on a more compact and effective footing. The members have ever since been paid, including the hose-companies, whose apparatus is kept in buildings conveniently located in different parts of the town.
In 1880 the town erected a large engine-house at the corner of Main and South Streets. The building is of brick, substantially built, and of handsome architectural proportions. The basement affords convenient accommo- dations for the steam fire-engine, the hook-and-ladder car- riage, and a hose-carriage, with the draught-horses used in the service. The tower is utilized for the storage of hose, and the upper rooms of the building are appropri- ated to the use of the fire-companies.
The following table shows the names of all those who have been engineers in the Medford Fire-Department, and the years in which they served : -
Benjamin R. Teel, 1852-53.
Henry Taylor, 1852.
Anthony Waterman, 1852-54.
William H. Floyd, 1852.
Judah Loring, 1855-56.
Albert H. Butters, 1855.
John J. Beaty, 1855.
John Brown, 1855-61.
Joseph P. Hall, 1855-61, 1863-65.
Charles R. Drew, 1856-58.
William B. Thomas, 1857-62, 1 884-85.
David Simpson, 1857.
Alexander S. Symmes, 1858-66.
Almon Black, 1859, 1861-65, 1869. Benjamin H. Samson, 1862-73. F. E. Foster, 1863-64.
George L. Barr, 1865-71, 1873. Alvah N. Cotton, 1866-68, 1871-72.
Moses C. Vinal, 1866-67, 1869.
Luther F. Brooks, 1867-73.
Daniel W. Lawrence, 1868.
Gordon Hayden, 1870-72. P. R. Litchfield, 1870, 1872-73.
Thomas O. Hill, 1874-77, 1883.
H. H. D. Cushing, 1873-74. D. K. Richardson, 1873-82, 1883. William J. Floyd, 1874-76. Albert A. Samson, 1874-80, 1883. J. H. Whitney, 1875, 1882. James P. Samson, 1876-81.
George W. Means, 1881-82, 1884- 85.
L. H. Lovering, 1884-85.
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HISTORY OF MEDFORD.
BOARD OF HEALTH.
Medford elected a Board of Health, for the first time, in 1872. Up to that time the selectmen performed the duties that now devolve on those officers. Under the laws of the Commonwealth, they have the entire charge of the sanitary interests of the town. Their names, with the years they have served, are as follows : -
Pearl Martin, from 1872, every year until 1886, inclusive.
John H. Hooper, 1872-75, 1877. Charles Russell, 1872.
George W. W. Saville, 1873-75, 1877.
B. R. Teel, 1879-82. George M. Nichols, 1879, 1881.
C. E. Sanborn, 1878.
Charles Cummings, 1877-80.
Dr. J. L. Coffin, 1882-86. Dr. James E. Cleaves, 1884-86.
WATER-SUPPLY.
The question of water-supply was agitated in the town of Medford as early as 1866, but no action of a decisive character was taken until three years later ; yet the feeling in this direction was so strong, that it resulted in secur- ing an Act of the Legislature in 1867, incorporating the Spot Pond Water Company, made up of three gentlemen from each of the three towns of Malden, Melrose, and Medford, with the end in view of saving the pond for the use in those towns, if within any reasonable time they should desire, as municipalities, to utilize its waters ; the right being reserved to the three towns, in the Act of In- corporation, to purchase the franchise and corporate prop- erty. The members of the corporation representing the town of Medford were James O. Curtis, Charles V. Bemis, and Benjamin F. Hayes.
In March, 1869, the town appointed E. Boynton, jun., Elizur Wright, R. P. Hallowell, F. E. Foster, and Henry L. Stearns, as a committee on the matter of a water- supply for the town, from the Mystic Water-works. In September of the same year, they made the following report: -
REPORT OF COMMITTEE.
That, while the article under which we were appointed contem- plated the introduction of water from the Mystic Works, they have taken the liberty to investigate also the feasibility, and comparative cost, of supplying the town from Spot Pond, in conjunction with Mal- den and Melrose. The committee, through its chairman, waited upon the chairman of the Mystic Water-works, and learned of him that
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HISTORY OF MEDFORD.
contracts had been made with Chelsea, Somerville, and Boston, based upon the following agreement, with slight alterations : viz., The towns and cities supplied are to lay and maintain all the pipes, stop- gates, meters, hydrants, and every thing connected with the distribu- tion of the water, and guarantee the City of Charlestown, free from any expenses for repairs, for three years, paying twenty-eight dollars for each three hundred and fifty inhabitants, as compensation for such number of hydrants as they may see fit to introduce.
Water-rates are to be charged the same as now fixed in Charles- town, with the privilege of raising them above Charlestown rates in certain contingencies ; Charlestown to collect the water-rents, and to pay to these towns and cities fifteen per cent on amounts less than $20,000, and from $20,000 to $30,000 twenty per cent, less the amount of charge for hydrants and other incidental expenses. At the last annual town-meeting, it was voted to accept the Act to authorize the town of Medford to procure a supply of water ; which Act simply au- thorized Charlestown to supply Medford with water, upon such terms as might be agreed upon between said city and town, and therefore conferred no special privileges upon the town. Hence, in negotiating with Charlestown, we should be placed on the same footing as the other purchasing towns and cities; and the chairman of the [Charles- town] Water Board stated, that, if any arrangement were made, it would conform in general terms to the contract made with Somerville. The cost of laying the pipes would, of course, be the same, whether we took the water from Charlestown or Spot Pond, inasmuch as the quantity and size of the pipe would be the same in either case. In reference to taking the water from Spot Pond, the following facts should be stated : -
The pond, when full, covers 296 acres, and has a water-shed of about 1,100 acres ; the level is 143.53 feet above Medford marsh, or high tide.
The average daily supply of water for 217 days was, in 1838, 1,800,000 gallons ; the minimum, 1,600.000 gallons ; and the maximum, 2,900,000 gallons. At present the right to take the water is vested in the "Spot Pond Water Company," composed of three persons from each of the towns of Malden, Medford, and Melrose, incorporated in 1867; the Act being found in chap. 208 of the Acts and Resolves of that year. In this Act, sect. 8 provides " that the towns of Mel- rose, Malden, and Medford, or any two of them in case the remain- ing town declines to participate in said purchase, may at any time with- in fifteen years from the time this Act takes effect, purchase the fran- chise of said corporation, and all its corporate property, by paying for all expenditures, and ten per cent interest." Under this Act, it is understood that no expenditure has been made, and therefore nothing will have to be paid, by the towns. Malden has already voted to pur- chase the franchise, and Melrose will undoubtedly concur; so that it becomes necessary that Medford take action also in concurrence, in order to reserve the rights she now has in the Act above-named.
From Mr. Norman, an eminent hydraulic engineer and contract- or, we have the following estimates of cost of pipes, hydrants, and cut-offs, laid for a distance of eight miles through our streets, but not including cost of rock excavation : viz., 4,000 feet 12-inch pipe, 5,000 feet Io-inch, 3,000 feet 8-inch, 15,000 feet 6-inch, 20,000 feet 4-inch, all to be of cement, with sheet-iron basis, at not exceeding $65,000. In
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HISTORY OF MEDFORD.
addition to this, the town would have to pay its fair proportion for an enlarged main pipe from the outlet to our line near Malden, which would be about $6,000, and also our equitable proportion of any dam- ages to property, whether of mill-owners or others.
From these statements it would appear, -
Ist, That if the town should vote to take water from Charlestown, we should be obliged to expend from $75,000 to $ 100,000, and receive scarcely any thing, as the fifteen per cent on our water-rents would but little more than pay for the use of hydrants.
2d, That if water is taken from Spot Pond, the cost will not be greatly above that of taking it from Charlestown, and the town will receive all the water-rents.
3d, That if the town should vote to purchase the franchise of the Spot-Pond Corporation, it does not oblige us to proceed at once to introduce the water; but, after the main-pipes are laid to Malden, we should be expected to pay our equitable proportion of their increased size.
4th, That there is danger that, unless the town takes some action in reference to this matter at once, we may lose the privilege of obtaining it from either Spot Pond or Charlestown, at some future time, when the necessities of the town would require it.
5th, The expense to the town of introducing water would not be less than $75,000, and might reach $100,000, provided we should lay nine or ten miles of pipe.
In conclusion, your Committee would recommend, -
Ist, That a committee of seven be appointed to make careful examination in reference to the wants of the town in regard to water, and obtain definite propositions from responsible contractors as to the cost of introducing it, to be submitted to the town at the town meet- ing in November next.
2d, That the town unite with the towns of Malden and Melrose, or either of them, in purchasing the franchise of the Spot-Pond Water Company, under the provisions of the eighth section of chap. 208 of the Acts of 1867.
All of which is respectfully submitted.
For the Committee,
E. BOYNTON, JUN., Chairman. (Signed)
At this same meeting, Messrs. D. A. Gleason, B. F. Hayes, and D. W. Wilcox were appointed a Board of Water Commissioners, and they were authorized to pur- chase the franchise of the Spot-Pond Water Company, in connection with Malden and Melrose or either of them. They were also instructed "to contract for the construc- tion of all works necessary for the introduction of a supply of pure water from Spot Pond into Medford, and for con- ducting the same throughout such streets as in their judgment may be expedient, or as they may be hereafter directed by the town. In January, 1870, the Commission- ers made a partial report to the town, stating that they had purchased the franchise of the Water Company, at a
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total expense of $741, Medford's share being $247; and that it was the opinion of the majority of the Board that an independent route, by way of Forest Street, was for the best interests of the town.
Messrs. Shedd & Sawyer, civil engineers, were employed to make a general survey; and they made an extended report to the town at that time. In April of the same year, Mr. Wilcox resigned from the Board, and Mr. James O. Curtis was elected for the balance of the term. On May 24, 1870, a contract was made between B. F. Hayes, J. O. Curtis, and D. A. Gleason, in behalf of the town, and George H. Norman.
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