USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Medford > History of the town of Medford, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, from its first settlement, in 1630, to the present time, 1855 > Part 46
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Sept. 3, 1752. - The Protestants in England adopted the 1st 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 Dudley 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 scattered through the colonies. One thousand of the wretched and proscribed sufferers were distributed in Massachusetts. Eight of them were cared for in Medford. They staid a long time; and the kindness of our people reconciled them to their lot. The family of Le Bosquet was one that re- mained here.
May 10, 1756. - " Voted that the money gathered on Thanks- giving-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."
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HISTORY OF MEDFORD.
1758. - Rev. Ebenezer Turell wrote his first will, in which he gave the house he purchased of John Giles to the church in Med- ford, " 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 bridegroom. Jan. 4, 1759, he married a man, and ealled him " a ranger."
1759. - The first time of using the silver baptismal basin was Sept. 9, 1759, when Benjamin, son of Benjamin Francis, was bap- tized. The last baptism in the second meeting-house was of Rhoda, daughter of Moses Tufts, Feb. 4, 1770. The first in the new meet- ing-house was Lydia, daughter of Samuel Teel, March 18, 1770.
Nov. 24, 1759. - The name of Mead occurs for the first time in the Medford records.
1760. - The word dollar occurs in the Medford records for the first time.
1760. - A certain clergyman said to an Indian, "I am sorry to see you drink rum." The Indian replied, " Yes, we Indians do drink rum ; but we do not make it."
1761. - The first record of any vote of thanks in Medford 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 eightpenee.
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, 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.
1770. - The engraving of the house in which the writer of this history was born is placed at the end of this volume, as his signature.
March 26, 1770. - " Last Tuesday, Henry Lloyd, Esq., set out on a journey to New York, Philadelphia, and the southern colo- nies ; and it was observed that the gentleman'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."
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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 eightpence.
1772. - Medford chose bread-weighers. It would be a wise law that should re-establish, through the State, such officers, who would protect the poor against imposition in this all-important article of daily food. Such officers in Europe are deemed indispensable.
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, discon- tinued 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 head-quarters 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 have been discovered recently.
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 Charles- town.
1775. - Major Andrew McClary, of Colonel Stark's regiment, 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, laying 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 Hamp- shire, stopped in Medford through the night, and marched early for Winter Hill on the morning of the 17th.
February, 1776. - While the British troops held possession of Boston, an English officer, in disguise, left the town, and came to Medford to see a friend who was dangerously ill; and, although he came under cover of the night, the Americans in Charlestown sus- pected 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 dis- turbed, because he was engaged at a sitting of the " Vigilance Com- mittee "! " Good Heavens !" he exclaimed to himself, " here I am
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HISTORY OF MEDFORD.
in the lion's mouth." Rallying from this surprise, he told the ser- vant to " go and ask Mr. Hall to step here a moment." 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 adjoining room ; and, if I was suspected of harboring a British officer, I 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 dic ; 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 dis- tinction 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, thank- ing his generous enemy as the saviour of his life.
Jan. 4, 1779. - Our town-record reads thus : "Mr. Jonathan 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." How Mr. Blacksmith Foster could get along with his work in those days without charcoal, we do not see ; and why this municipal interdict, we do not know.
Where the town-pump now stands, in the market-place, there was a small pond, whose edges were covered with a growth of small flags ; and there are persons now living, whose fathers have told them that wild ducks were shot in that pond.
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 judg- ment 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
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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.
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 Cornwallis 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 imflammable 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 Medford.
1785. - " Aunt Jenny" Watts, of Medford, carried baked pud- dings and beans, on horseback, in market-baskets, to Cambridge College twice each week, and would retail her load only to under- graduates ! She sold the best of articles, at the lowest prices, and was almost overwhelmed with customers. She said she was the beanefactor of the college, and had no desire to make the young men mealy-mouthed or pudding-headed.
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 after- wards. 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 ser- mon, 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, 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."
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HISTORY OF MEDFORD.
The introductory service concluded, the plight of vows was made, the union declared, and the benediction pronounced ; and then the whole party journeyed back together, rejoicing in the poetry ap- pended to the great event.
Thomas Brooks
Medford was represented in the General Court by a conscien- tious and trustworthy man, who had fallen into the habit of sleeping after dinner. Sleep he must, and sleep he would. Medford had petitioned the Legislature for a grant of certain rights touching the fishery in Mystic River. This gentleman had presented the petition ; and the day was fixed for its consideration by the house. That day had arrived ; and the Medford representative was all alive to the question, and had prepared his speech for the decisive moment, in defence of the petition. Two sessions were held that day ; and the Medford fisheries were to come up immediately after dinner ! How, then, could our representative get his nap? He went to his seat in the house at a very early moment ; and soon his next neighbor came and sat beside him. It now occurred to him that he might safely secure a short nap, by asking his neighbor to wake him when the subject of Medford fisheries was called up. His friendly neighbor promised to do so: therefore Medford went to sleep. The house soon came to order; and it was then proposed to pass another bill first, because no debate would be needed upon it. The bill was for the suppression of houses of ill-fame. It was not debated; and the vote upon it was about to be taken, when our representative's next neighbor thought that his friend would like to vote on the occasion, and therefore awoke him suddenly. He had hardly got his eyes and wits fairly open before the speaker cried out, in the usual phrase, "Is the house ready for the question ?" Medford sprang upon his feet in an instant, exclaiming, " Mr. Speaker ! I must ask the attention of the house for a few moments to some remarks on this important and interesting question ; because, Mr. Speaker, many of my constituents get their living by this very business." A roar of laughter burst from every quarter of the house. The Medford representative stood aghast in raw wonder. As soon as quiet could be restored, the speaker said to him, " Do you know what the question before the house is?" " Why, yes : it's fishing in Mystic River, ain't it ?" Another peal of laughter convulsed the assembly.
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. They accordingly purchased " the green velvet one," which some of us, who preached our first sermon from it, remember with all the distinctness that people remember the time when they had " that great fever."
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HISTORICAL ITEMS.
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.
1794. - Joseph Kidder, son of Deacon Samuel Kidder, strayed from home into the woods back of Pasture Hill. He was three years old ; and, being weary, he fell asleep under an apple-tree, and there slept till the next day. It was in July, and the weather very clear. The disappearance of the child created great alarm ; and many inhabitants spent the night in traversing the woods, searching the clay-pits, and dredging the river. During the fore- noon, he was found near where he slept, " his head filled with dew, and his locks with drops of the night."
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.
1798. - A " deer reeve " chosen in Medford. For what ?
1800. - About this time, the " Ohio fever " prevailed ; and some from Medford emigrated to that western land of promise. They have prospered greatly. A member of the United States Senate, and a member of the United States House of Representatives, at the present time, are Ohio children from the oldest Medford stock.
Several years ago, two Medford gentlemen were speaking of a young man, who was acting the sorry part of spendthrift and libertine. One of the gentlemen said, " Oh ! he is sowing his wild oats." "Yes," replied the other; " and the fool don't know they'll all come up again."
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.
The first " clerk of the market " chosen, March 2, 1801.
1804. - During the first part of Rev. Dr. Osgood's ministry, 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.
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 Worcester, 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 com- petition reduced it to twenty-five.
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HISTORY OF MEDFORD.
1808. - In the public school, an assistant teacher is provided 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 Charlestown. 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. Jonathan Brooks's land, was within thirty feet of the river, and was small in circum- ference, 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 explo- rations. 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. The effect of that injury continues to this day.
1809. - 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, beck- oned 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 Med- ford 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
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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.
Dec. 10, 1816. - The town of BROOKS, in Hancock County, Maine, containing 13,744 acres, was named in honor of the go- vernor.
Every town rejoices in some euphonious local names. Medford has Sodom, Ram-head, Labor in Vain, No Man's Friend, Hardscrabble.
A minister was asked if he would attend an evening meeting for religious worship. He answered, "No: I have no opinion of religion got by candle-light."
The first time any meeting-house in Medford had been heated by a stove was Dec. 18, 1820.
1822. - The delta of trees, within the triangular fence, which is in the public road, at the junction of High and Grove Streets, near the Lowell Railroad Station, in West Medford, was planted by the Hon. Peter C. Brooks in 1822; and the fence was built at his expense.
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 en- trance 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 ampu- tation 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 distributed 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 syna- gogue 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 members of the party. Rural dresses and schoolboy man- ners gave zest to the occasion ; while dancing on the grass allowed all to join, The coming home in procession, or in carts, gave the last touch to the jubilant scene.
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HISTORY OF MEDFORD.
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 with- out one, its owner shall pay $10.
1830. - Voted to have the bell rung at twelve, M., and nine, P.M.
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 is now owned by Mr. Frederick Brad- lee, 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.
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