USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Medford > History of the town of Medford, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, from its first settlement in 1630 to 1855 > Part 46
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1749: Some idea of travelling expenses may be ob- tained from the acts of the town relative to their farm on the Piscataqua River. They wished to sell the farm for two thousand pounds (old tenor), and therefore chose Lieut. Stephen Hall, jun., and Capt. Samuel Brooks, to go to Portsmouth, N. H., and settle some claims per- taining to the land; and they voted forty pounds (old tenor) to be given them, to bear the expenses of the journey.
Robert Burns is a name that frequently occurs in the Medford records about the middle of the eighteenth cen- tury.
1750: The various spelling of proper names by the different town-clerks of Medford sometimes makes it dif- ficult to determine how families spelled their own names.
1750 : A gallows and a whipping-post stood near Por- ter's tavern, in Cambridge; and this gave rise to the schoolboy strophe :-
" Cambridge is a famous town, Both for wit and knowledge : Some they whip, and some they hang, And some they send to college."
Sept. 3, 1752: The Protestants in England adopted the Ist of January as the beginning of the year, instead of the 25th of March: and Sept. 3 was changed to Sept. 14.
Jan. 29, 1753 : "Dr. Simon Tufts, and Lucy Tufts his wife, of Medford, gave a quitclaim deed to Thomas Dud- ley, of all their right to the property of their honored father, William Dudley, Esq., of Roxbury."
In 1755 Massachusetts raised a large part of the two thousand troops who were to dislodge the French neutrals in Nova Scotia. Medford furnished its share. These Acadians were conquered, and they and their effects scat- tered through the Colonies. One thousand of the wretched
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and proscribed sufferers were distributed in Massachu- setts. Eight of them were cared for in Medford. They staid a long time, and the kindness of our people recon- ciled them to their lot. The family of Le Bosquet was one that remained here.
May 10, 1756: "Voted that the money gathered on Thanksgiving-days be given to the poor by the deacons." This was the beginning of that excellent custom.
1757 : Stephen Hall gave one hundred pounds (old tenor) for the purchase of a funeral-pall, which should belong to the town. Whereupon, voted that it should be free for the town ; but that " half a dollar shall be paid for its use whenever it goes out of town."
1758: Rev. Ebenezer Turell wrote his first will, in which he gave the house he purchased of John Giles to the church in Medford, "for the use of the ministry for- ever." He afterwards wrote two different wills. The bonds and mortgages owned by him in 1772 amounted to £4,860.
1759: In recording marriages, the Rev. Mr. Turell often designated the trade or profession of the bride- groom. Jan. 4, 1759, he married a man, and called him "a ranger."
1759: The first time of using the silver baptismal basin was Sept. 9, 1759, when Benjamin, son of Benjamin Francis, was baptized. The last baptism in the second meeting-house was of Rhoda, daughter of Moses Tufts, Feb. 4, 1770. The first in the new meeting-house was Lydia, daughter of Samuel Teel, March 18, 1770.
1760 : The word dollar occurs in the Medford records for the first time.
1761 : The first record of any vote of thanks in Med- ford bears date of May 13, 1761, "thanking Mr. Thomas Brooks for his good services as treasurer."
1762 : Wages for a man's labor one day, three shillings and fourpence (lawful money) ; for a man and team, six shillings and eightpence.
Nov. 1, 1763 : The Stamp Act went into operation.
In 1763, there were nine hundred and five full-blooded Indians in the Old Colony.
Sept. 7, 1767 : Voted that the one hundred and three hymns, written by Dr. Watts be used in public worship, in connection with Tate and Brady's version of the Psalms.
Thomas Seccomb was town-clerk for twenty-two years,
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and resigned in 1767. He wrote a very legible hand, spelled his words properly, and was the only person in Medford who seemed to have any care for records, or any thought of posterity in them.
Oct. 13, 1768 : Rev. Edward Brooks preached for Mr. Turell.
Royalton, Worcester County, Mass., was named in honor of Colonel Royal of Medford.
March 26, 1770: "Last Tuesday, Henry Lloyd, Esq., set out on a journey to New York, Philadelphia, and the Southern colonies ; and it was observed that the gentle- man's whole apparel and house furniture were of American manufacture. His clothes, linen, shoes, stockings, boots, gloves, hat, even wig and wig-call, were all manufactured and made up in New England. An example truly worthy of imitation."
May 14, 1772: "Voted that the selectmen give liberty to Mr. Noah Floyd to build a shop on his land before the meeting-house."
1772 : For a day's labor by a man, three shillings and sixpence ; for a man and team, six shillings and eight- pence.
1772 : Medford chose bread-weighers.
1774: An old house, owned and kept as a tavern by Eben. Hills, stood in the market-place. This year, it was purchased by Mr. Jonathan Porter, and kept by him as a tavern and a store, and was a favorite resort for British and Hessian officers during the Revolution. In 1785 Mr. Porter took down the house, discontinued the tavern, and built his private residence and store on the spot, where they continue to this day.
1775 : Before the battle of Bunker Hill, General Stark fixed his headquarters at Medford, in the house built by Mr. Jonathan Wade, near the Medford House, on the east side of the street. After the battle, twenty-five of the general's men, who had been killed, were brought here, and buried in the field about fifty or sixty rods north of Gravelly Bridge. Their bones were found, in 1849, by Mr. John Russell, when digging for a cellar on what is now Water Street. The selectmen took charge of them. In their report to the town, 1848-49, is the following item : " Cash paid Jacob Brooks for burying box of bones, from land of N. H. Bishop, supposed to be the bones of Rev- olutionary soldiers, $2.50."
Medfor June 2. 17.72 this way certify thatI have bought
of damuch Brothe of breiter & of odward Brooks of Medford all the right, Ville & interest that they have, or may have, by any Way as ameans whatsoever in two Niges Women, one named hope & the other named Dirach belonging to the botale of my home parents, Samuel Broths & mary this with late of method desearle, of do healing asquick & discharge the vaid gammel Edward from all kinds of changes, that may In any way or means arrow on the amount of said More & Dinat.
my hand. Thomas Brooks
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HISTORY OF MEDFORD.
1775 : Our patriot fathers cut down those "white-pine trees which his Majesty had reserved for the use of his royal navy," and supplied the American troops with fuel at Cambridge and Charlestown.
1775 : Major Andrew McClary, of Colonel Stark's regi- ment, was a brave and good man. After the battle of Bunker Hill, he rode to Medford to procure bandages for the wounded. After his return, a shot from a frigate, lying where Cragie's Bridge is, passed through his. body. " He leaped a few feet from the ground, pitched forward, and fell dead on his face. He was carried to Medford, and interred with the honors of war." He lies about fifty or sixty rods north of the old burying-ground.
June 16, 1775 : Colonel Dearborn's troops, from New Hampshire, stopped in Medford through the night, and marched for Winter Hill early on the morning of the 17th.
February, 1776: While the British troops held pos- session of Boston, an English officer, in disguise, left the town, and came to Medford to see a friend who was dan- gerously ill; and, although he came under cover of the night, the Americans in Charlestown suspected him, and followed him to Medford. His apprehension and death were almost certain. What to do, or where to fly, he knew not; but to decide speedily was imperative. He knocked at the door of Benjamin Hall, Esq., and asked to see that gentleman in his entry. The servant told him that Mr. Hall could not be disturbed, because he was engaged at a sitting of the "Vigilance Committee " ! "Good heavens!" he exclaimed to himself, "here I am in the lion's mouth." Rallying from this surprise, he told the servant to "go and ask Mr. Hall to step here a mo- ment." She went; and soon Mr. Hall appeared, leaving behind him Joshua Symonds, Samuel Kidder, Stephen Hall, jun., and Ebenezer Hall. The stranger asked an interview alone for an instant. They went together into a side room, when he said to Mr. Hall, "I come to put myself under your protection. I am a British officer. I came to Medford to see a sick friend. I am pursued, and shall be killed if I am caught. I throw myself on your magnanimity." Mr. Hall replied, "You could not have appealed to any man who feels less sympathy with your cause. I go, with all my head and heart and hand, for the freedom of the Colonies, and the 'Vigilance Com- mittee' of this town is this moment in session in an
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adjoining room ; and, if I were suspected of harboring a British officer, should be mobbed. You must leave my house immediately." The officer replied, that he was ready to make any concessions or promises, and was ready to die; but did not wish to be seized by an infuriated soldiery, and hung on the first tree. He therefore only asked to be shielded for a few hours. Mr. Hall now felt that protection to such an unarmed man was an act of magnanimity; and, making the distinction between a private gentleman and a public enemy, he took a candle, and told the officer to follow him. He led him into his garret, and secreted him behind some old boxes, having made him promise to leave the house at midnight. The officer was perfectly happy, wedged in between the bags and barrels of a dusty garret ; and there he lay, in total darkness, till the promised hour, when Mr. Hall showed him the front door ; and he went in safety, thanking his generous enemy as the savior of his life.
Jan. 4, 1779 : Our town-record reads thus : "Mr. Jona- than Patten says he will use his endeavor that Mr. Foster shall not use any more charcoal in the blacksmith-shop near the bridge; and, if he still persists in using charcoal, that he, the said Patten, will desire Mr. Foster to quit the shop."
May 19, 1780: This was the Dark Day. By ten o'clock A.M., it had the appearance of night. Pomp, a negro in Medford, became frightened, and, going to his master, said, "Massa, the day of judgment has come : what shall I do?"-" Why, Pomp, you'd better wash up clean, and put on your Sunday clothes." Pomp, perceiv- ing that his master was not frightened, began to produce proofs. "Massa, it has come ; for the hens are all going to roost."-" Well, Pomp, they show their sense."-" And the tide, massa, in the river, has stopped running." - " Well, Pomp, it always does at high water." - "But, massa, it feels cold; and this darkness grows more and more."-"So much the better, Pomp; for the day of judgment will be all fire and light." - Pomp concluded not to wash up, but wait. This same Pomp, the slave of Thomas Brooks, when he slaughtered hogs, was in the habit, for convenience, of hanging the carcasses, to pre- pare them, on the north limb of the now large black- walnut tree standing in what was then the rear of Mr. Brooks's house. This limb is now (1884) twelve feet
medford October 3. 1777. Reed of mr abigail Brook, nine pounds Twelve Shilling lawfull money in gold (in which I promiseto deliver to M. Edward Brooke; at Halifax in Nova Scotia ( Danger of the Seas Excepted Witney my hand
Malachy faltar
€9.12.0
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HISTORY OF MEDFORD.
from the ground, and nine feet three inches in circum- ference; the tree itself being nineteen feet eight inches round at the base. Pompey was inherited by Thomas Brooks, from his father Samuel, whose will is dated Sept. 6, 1762. He disposes by name of his various slaves, and amongst other valuables, bequeathes to Thomas : "my negro lad Pompey; I also give him my silver-hilted sword."
1781: "New-England money." This epithet is used in the Medford records, for the first time, in 1781, when the town voted to raise one thousand three hundred pounds, to pay interest on their debt.
1781 : When the news of the surrender of Lord Corn- wallis reached Medford, 1781, the inhabitants immediately testified their joy by a bonfire on the top of Pasture Hill. Wood and rags, covered with tar, were the inflammable materials used to express the jubilation.
The first register of deeds in Middlesex County chosen, Dec. 20, 1784. There was but one candidate, - William Winthrop, Esq., - who received seventeen votes in Med- ford.
1785 : "Aunt Jenny " Watts, of Medford, carried baked puddings and beans, on horseback, in market -baskets, to Cambridge College twice each week, and would retail her load only to undergraduates !
Aug. 7, 1786: For the first time, Medford granted liberty of building horse-sheds behind the meeting-house.
Rev. Mr. Osgood boarded many years in the family of Deacon Richard Hall, and a very close intimacy blessed both parties afterwards. On a Sunday, Mrs. Hall was taken ill in church, and her husband went out with her. After some time, the deacon returned. As soon as he had shut the door, Mr. Osgood stopped in his sermon, and said, "Mr. Hall, how is aunt now ?" -" She is better," was the reply.
1789: Thomas Brooks, Esq., acquired great popularity as one of the "marrying justices." One day, while riding on horseback to Woburn, he discovered a party of six young persons - three male, and three female - riding on horseback towards him. He guessed their errand; and they guessed that the cocked hat, bush-wig, and silver buckles approaching them must belong to "the squire." Both parties stopped. The bridegroom announced his wishes, and the squire replied thus : "My young friends,
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we are here in the midst of this lofty forest, upon an unfrequented road, with God's clear sky over us, and his green earth under us. We shall not be disturbed. I propose to solemnize your marriage here : what say you ?" They gladly consented. He told them not to dismount, but to arrange themselves in due order, -the gentlemen on one side, and the ladies on the other. This being done, he placed his horse so as to be directly in front of the bride and bridegroom. Then, taking off his hat, he began his prayer ; and report says that he was "gifted in prayer," and that, on this occasion, "he prayed like an angel." The introductory service concluded, the plight of vows was made, the union declared, and the benediction pro- nounced; and then the whole party journeyed back to- gether, rejoicing in the poetry appended to the great event.
March 5, 1792: Isaac Floyd chosen sexton. This is the first time an officer with this name appears on our records.
Jan. 1, 1794: Voted that the selectmen purchase a new cushion for the pulpit.
May 12, 1794: A new pew in Medford meeting-house sold at auction, at twenty-four pounds. In the same year, good oak wood sold at one pound per cord.
After Sept. 1, 1795, all accounts in Medford were kept in dollars, cents, and mills.
1797: Mrs. Benjamin Hall presented the town with a funeral-pall, suitable to be used at the burial of young persons.
1800: About this time the " Ohio Fever" prevailed ; and some from Medford emigrated to that Western land of promise. They prospered greatly. A member of the United-States Senate, Hon. Benjamin Wade of Ohio, who became so justly renowned in the anti-slavery struggle in Congress, was descended from the oldest Medford stock.
1800 : After this time, "commonable beasts" -i. e., horses, oxen, cows, sheep, and hogs - were not allowed to go at large in the public roads.
1801 : The first " clerk of the market " chosen, March 2, 1801.
1804: During the first part of Rev. Dr. Osgood's minis- try, the number of children baptized, in each year, was about fifteen; which number steadily increased till it reached its maximum, of forty-one, in 1804.
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1805 : Health Committee chosen for the first time .. Does this show the healthiness of the town ?
1805 : The Medford omnibus, named " Governor Brooks," was said to be the first vehicle of the kind built in New England. It was made by Mr. Osgood Bradley, of Worces- ter, Mass. ; and first appeared on its route, Oct. 18, 1836. It cost $650. Eighteen persons could be seated inside, and six outside. It was owned and driven by Mr. Joseph Wyman, of Medford, who began his new business Feb. 16, 1805 ; and, for thirty years, drove daily a public coach between Medford and Boston, without overturning it. The fare was thirty-seven and a half cents for many years, but competition reduced it to twenty-five.
1808 : In the public school, an assistant teacher is pro- vided for the first time.
1808: Digging for hidden money, near the "Rock Landing," was three times repeated by (as is said) Mr. James Francis of Medford, and Mr. James Hall of Charles- town. We remember seeing the three excavations. The first, on the southern brow of Rock Hill, was a hole four feet deep and four feet in diameter, and was enclosed within a small circular furrow dug in the earth. The work was done in the night. The second, in Mr. Jona- than Brooks's land, was within thirty feet of the river, and. was small in circumference, and quite deep. The third. was within ten feet of the river, by the bathing-rock. It disclosed a cave walled up on each side, and arched; its. length about six feet, its width three, and its height three. The rocks were red, and so soft that they were ground and! used in painting Captain Richardson's house. No rocks. of that kind are known in this country. These diggings; were at different times, but no one has ever told what success attended the explorations. Other small trials were. made in the eastern part of the town. Spirits are now .: substituted for witch-hazel.
1808: Snowballing. At this time the boys who lived east of the meeting-house were called maggots, and they who lived west of it were called fag-enders. Between these parties the most furious and unbrotherly battles were fought each winter with snowballs. Snow forts were erected behind the meeting-house; and so high ran the spirit of contest, that the boys from the east procured a small cannon, which they loaded so heavily, that, on its discharge, it burst, and wounded a boy in the face severely.
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1806 : Two representatives to the General Court elected in Medford.
1809: The number of deaths in Medford, between 1774 and 1809, was 701.
1810: Medford had a large choir of volunteer singers, under the faithful Ephraim Bailey. On Sunday, once, the pitch-pipe set the pitch so high that the whole choir broke down. Still, Bailey tried on the second verse, and again broke down. General Brooks could not endure it any longer ; and he rose in his pew, beckoned to Bailey, and said, " Hadn't you better take another pitch ?" Bailey replied, " No, sir : I guess we can get through it."
1811, May 13: "Voted to instruct the representative of Medford in the General Court to oppose the petition of Peter Tufts, praying to be set off to Charlestown." The petition was granted.
1814; The free seats near the pulpit in the meeting- house, which were formerly occupied by aged men and women, were sold, and two pews built in their place.
1815 : Nahant Parties. - At this time, when only a few persons resided at Nahant, it was the custom for families in Medford to join in a party to that beautiful promontory. From ten to twenty chaises would start together; and, reaching Mr. Breed's, the ladies and gentlemen, girls and boys, would proceed to fishing from the rocks and boats. Each one wore the commonest clothes, and the day was passed in all sorts of sports. A fish-dinner was an agreed part of the fare ; and a supper at Lynn Hotel closed the eating of the day. The party rode home by moonlight, and by ten o'clock were tired enough to go to bed.
1815 : About this time the " sheep-fever " prevailed. It was caused by the importation from Spain of a few merino sheep of a breed that country had not previously allowed to leave its shores. The large sheep-owners coveted them, and prices ruled at from four hundred to twelve hundred dollars each. Mr. Nathaniel Hall of Medford paid six hundred dollars for one. A second importation killed the fever, and brought financial ruin to some of its victims.
Dec. 10, 1816 : The town of Brooks, in Hancock County, Me., containing 13,744 acres, was named in honor of the Governor.
The first time any meeting-house in Medford had been heated by a stove was Dec. 18, 1820.
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1825 : Medford has not been a resort for Jews; but it had one who is remembered with interest, - Abraham Touro, eminent for his social and generous qualities. When General Lafayette reached Massachusetts, Mr. Touro offered him his noble horse for his entrance into Boston. On the day of that triumphant entry, Mr. Touro was standing in his chaise, to catch his first sight of the illustrious visitor, when a sudden start of his horse threw him from his place, and broke his leg. The fracture was a very bad one, and the patient grew worse daily. The physicians and surgeons did all they could, and finally assured him that nothing but amputation could save his life. With a Jew's traditionary prejudice against that operation, he firmly answered thus : "No ! I will never go into heaven with one leg."
He left about two hundred thousand dollars ; and dis- tributed it, by will, in legacies varying from five to twenty thousand dollars. He gave much in charity. He left a large sum to keep the synagogue in Newport, R. I., in good repair.
1825 : Parties in the Woods. - Within the first twenty years of this century, it was customary for select parties of girls and boys, in whortleberry-time, to go into the woods near Pine Hill, or at the Bower, and there frolic in true rustic style. A long extempore table was crowded with eatables, which had been contributed by the several mem- bers of the party. Rural dresses and schoolboy manners gave zest to the occasion ; while dancing on the grass al- lowed all to join. The coming home in procession, or in carts, gave the last touch to the jubilant scene.
May 4, 1829, the streets in Medford received their names.
1829: Voted that each owner of a dog shall pay $1.25 annually as a tax : also that each dog shall wear a collar ; and, if found without one, its owner shall pay $ 10.
1830: Voted to have the bell rung at twelve M. and nine P.M.
June 25, 1835: The Boston and Lowell Railroad was opened.
June 27, its first advertisement appeared, as follows :
" The cars will continue to run, till further notice, as at present, viz. : Leave Lowell at 6 A. M. and 12.30 P.M. Leave Boston at 9 A.M. and 5.30 P.M. No baggage can be taken except what belongs to pas- sengers. Allowance to each, forty pounds. As soon as Lu. then cars
.
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can be provided, notice will be given for the transportation of mer- chandise.
" Tickets may be had at the depot, corner of Leverett and Brighton Streets. Price, $ 1.00."
1836 : Mrs. John Fulton, who died this year, aged ninety- five, was one of those who helped to dress the wounds of the soldiers who were in the battle of Bunker Hill. Many of the wounded soldiers were brought to Medford. She was a true patriot, and General Washington honored her with a visit. At that time they had bought a punch-bowl, and the general was the first person who drank out of it. The bowl was afterwards owned by Mr. Frederick Bradlee, of Boston. Mr. John Fulton, of Medford, was cousin to Mr. Robert Fulton, the inventor of steamboats ; and they were once prisoners together. Mrs. Fulton's mother was a Wier, who came over with the " Scotch-Irish " company.
March 3, 1840: Voted to dispense with having a clerk of the market.
Mr. Turell's Portrait. - In "Church Records," vol. iii. p. 104, are the following :
" 1842, July : The church received, from the hand of Dudley Hall, a bequest of the late Turell Tufts, Esq., - two pieces of plate for the communion-table, and a portrait of the Rev. Mr. Turell, one of the former pastors of this church.
" Aug. 7 : At a meeting of the church this day, a letter was read by Dudley Hall, from Samuel Turell Armstrong, requesting the church to transfer to him, during his lifetime, the above-mentioned portrait of Mr. Turell. The church voted unanimously that this re- quest be complied with; and that Dudley Hall, the treasurer, be authorized to deliver the portrait to Mr. Armstrong."
1854 : Captain Duncan Ingraham married the widow of Dr. Simon Tufts, as his second wife, and resided in Med- ford. By his first wife he had a son, named Nathaniel, who endeavored to force back into slavery Cæsar, a Malay. Nathaniel had a son, named Duncan N., who attended our public schools, and is remembered as a boy of spirit and force. He has rendered himself famous by his bold conduct at Smyrna in the rescue of a Hungarian. So popular was his action, that even the working-classes of England united to present to him a valuable chronometer. It bore the following inscription : "Presented to Captain Ingraham, of the United States Navy, by some thousands of the British working-classes, for his noble conduct in rescuing Martin Koszta, the Hungarian refugee, from the Austrian authorities, April, 1854."
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