USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Gloucester > Memorial of the celebration of the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the incorporation of the town of Gloucester, Mass. August, 1892 > Part 26
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28
The yachtsmen did not have as much fun at Gloucester as did the lands- men, and the grand illumination had the splendor all washed out of it. But, on the whole, Gloucester had a great time, and will ever point with pride to its two hundred and fiftieth anniversary. - Lynn Item.
The trip [of the Eighth Regiment] to Gloucester, contrary to most expec- tations, was very agreeable and greatly enjoyed by the regiment. The arrangements were very complete, and everything passed off very smoothly ; even the dinner, which usually is a great disappointment, was on this occa- sion of the best, well served, in good variety and excellent quality. Every- where the boys went they were the subject of most hospitable treatment, and the first instance is to be heard of their abusing the hospitality offered. The boys of the Lynn companies are unanimous in praise of the manner they were treated on this occasion, which is the first of their many trips of escort duty in other cities on which they have not been roasted. Success and prosperity to old Gloucester ! - Lynn Item.
Gloucester's big celebration is over at last. It was one which reflected the greatest credit on the city on the Cape. - Newburyport News.
Owing to delays on the part of the railroad company, caused by the large number of trains, the boys did not arrive home until after midnight, being compelled to wait at the depot in Gloucester from 7.30 until eleven o'clock. This made it somewhat unpleasant, but they made the best of it.
A large number of the townspeople, outside the firemen and Red Men, have visited Gloucester this week, and they have been well repaid for the trip. It is seldom that a city the size of Gloucester has excelled, or will excel, the celebration just finished. It is seldom that a city has a set of officials, from Mayor Andrews down, who have equalled, or will equal, those of Gloucester in hospitality and attention to their invited guests. It was not only an occa- sion of pleasure and enjoyment, but it was an occasion where every man made a special effort to add to the good name always borne by Gloucester for hospitality and good cheer. That they succeeded is well known to all who were fortunate enough to be guests.
The selectmen of Ipswich will long remember the occasion with pleasure,
OLD GLOUCESTER HOUSES, MIDDLE STREET,
Rev. John Rogers, about 1775.
Rev. Samuel Chandler, about 1752.
Broome Tavern, about 1763. Site of Whipping Post, last used 1780.
317
OF THE TOWN OF GLOUCESTER, MASS.
and with the people of our own town unite with those of the civilized world in wishing the best success to Gloucester, her people, and her enterprises. May the pages upon which shall be recorded her history in the future be as free from spot or blemish as is her history of the past. - Ipswich Chronicle.
CAPE ANN AND BEVERLY.
EARLY FAMILY TIES DEEPEN THE INTEREST BETWEEN THESE PLACES.
The two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the organized settlement of old Cape Ann reminds us that one of the earliest titles of the first settlement of Beverly was " Cape Ann Side," and that earlier than that, Roger Conant, John Woodbury, John Balch, and others of the first permanent settlers of Beverly, had a fishing settlement at Cape Ann for three years or more, when they removed to Salem and made the first settlement there, and held it until Governor Endicott and company came in 1628, when they all merged in together and constituted the permanent settlement of old Naumkeag.
Beverly has also continued to have more or less of social and business associations with the settlement of the Cape, and in this connection we can but remember that the Beverly Citizen has especial reason for interest in the coming event, Mr. Allen, the proprietor, and Mr. Dudley, his chief of staff, with their families, having had their homes and family and business associa- tions there long enough to feel not a little identified in sentiment with such an occasion as we now write of. And further than that, our other Beverly newspaper, the Times, also has some reason for interest in the occasion, Mr. Bates having family connections, both present and past, among the honored and worthy citizens of the Cape. His great-grandfather, Major William Homans, one of the most prominent and loyal patriots of the Revolution, had a daughter Betsey who married Capt. James Collins, of Gloucester, an enterprising shipmaster, who, on an India voyage in the ship " Winthrop and Mary," was never heard from after leaving Sumatra about 1800. He left a son, James Albert, also a shipmaster, who left the sea, and lived after that at Griggsville, Ill., and died there a few years ago, leaving a daughter, wife of a clergyman, and at least one other child.
Another daughter of Major Homans was Phebe, who married Daniel Rogers, whose son George H. Rogers was one of the most enterprising and successful of the merchants of Gloucester ; while Nancy, sister of George, one of the worthiest of her race, married Eben Marsh of Boston, and left a son, George J. Marsh, the capable and trusted treasurer of the Cape Ann Savings Bank. Charles, the brother of George, settled in Beverly, where his daughter Anna is one of our bright and successful school teachers. William, Jr., son of Major Homans, is well represented in Gloucester at the present day by his eldest son, William Albert, and by his son of the same name, who is some- what prominent in public and business affairs ; while among the enterprising
318
TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTIETHI ANNIVERSARY
and public spirited citizens of to-day in Gloucester, Frank W. Homans, another son of William, Jr., is in the front rank.
And while we are on the press, it might not come amiss here to remember the Gloucester Democrat, established in that city by Charles W. Woodbury, of Beverly, after 1833, where his brother-in-law, Robert Rantoul, Jr., began his distinguished and political career, representing Gloucester from 1835 to 1838, returning home to Beverly in 1839, and continuing his brilliant career until his comparatively early death while in Congress in 1852.
Beverly emigrants to Cape Ann from its earliest days aided much in pro- moting its progress and prosperity, but there is not now time to give their records. The Trasks had several representative men among these emigrants, and it adds interest to the occasion of which we write now that one of the most talented of them, Rev. J. L. R. Trask, D. D., of Springfield, is to deliver the anniversary oration. - Beverly Citizen.
A GREAT RACE.
There have been few races which were sailed under such unfavorable weather conditions as those of the " Fishermen's Race " at Gloucester last week. The spectators who witnessed the daring fight of the swift schooners through the tossing waters of Cape Ann last Friday, needed no nautical knowledge to teach them that the race was in some degree a hazardous one. Yet it may be doubted whether the contest was more exciting than the one which is now proposed, and which may possibly be witnessed during the present year. It has been suggested that the fishing schooners of the world might be invited to participate in a grand ocean race from Cape Ann to some point in the English Channel and back again, and that the time for the contest be set at some date in November, when the fishing fleet is for the most part idle. Already several Gloucester schooners have been entered, under the proviso that an adequate purse will be offered the winner, and if the race should be held, it is quite probable that two or more fishermen from this port will compete.
The idea of such a race is almost novel to the present generation, although tentative suggestions as to a transatlantic race have been made from time to time. British yachtsmen, for instance, have in the past found some consolation for their defeats in these waters in the suggestion that American yachts would fare badly in a race against British competitors under ocean weather conditions. If this belief is justified, it would not affect the American yachtsmen much, as our yachts are confessedly built for racing off shore, rather than in mid ocean, and are planned and designed with an eye to exist- ing needs ; but there are several "flyers " of American design among the fishing fleet of New England, and such designers as the late Mr. Burgess have not felt it beneath their dignity to draw the lines of fast fishing schooners as well as those of racing yachts. If the proposed race should be held, and
319
OF THE TOWN OF GLOUCESTER, MASS.
foreign vessels should compete, there would still be good reason to expect the victory of an American boat, under equal conditions.
It is in this latter clause, however, that the uncertainty of such a race might be most evident. In a race off shore the vessels are usually not far apart and share the same weather. In an ocean race they would probably become separated and would, perhaps, meet with quite different winds. One vessel might have advantageous winds throughout her trip while a competitor might be far less fortunate. In an ocean race it is probable that the element of chance would be far greater than in a spin of ten or twenty miles. Still, the test would be in many respects a fair one, and would unquestionably attract general interest, if the race could be arranged. - Boston Daily Advertiser.
Gloucester's celebration of her two hundred and fiftieth anniversary, last week, was a brilliant success. The efficient committee had made elaborate arrangements, with such careful attention to details, that all went on smoothly and without a jar. The great procession of Thursday was a magnificent affair, and the thousands upon thousands who had come from far and near to witness the show were more than satisfied. Gloucester has achieved a noble history in the past, her present condition is grand, and her future is bright. All honor to the eighteenth city (in point of incorporation as a city) of the Old Bay State. - Salem Register.
The celebration of the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of Gloucester, last week, was finely carried out by the local authorities, with the assistance of invited guests The addresses and the poems were worthy of the occasion which called them forth, and the picturesque old city by the sea was honored by her sons from all portions of the Union, who returned to their old home, which has sent forth so many brave and adventurous spirits. - Arcadian Recorder.
There was one anniversary which the Gloucester celebrators forgot to celebrate last week. It was just two hundred years ago - 1692 - that the Cape Ann air was supposed to be full of flying witches, who were bewitching the atmosphere. A silver button fired from a gun was sometimes efficacious as a remedy for the visitation. Whittier's "Garrison of Cape Ann " is founded upon one of these traditions. - Boston Traveler.
Gloucester had rather bad weather this week, but it did not dampen the spirits of her enterprising citizens very much, and the celebration of the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary was made a great success. Gloucester's sons are too hardy to let a little thing like a rainstorm interfere with their plans. They are used to braving the waters, with all their dangers, and this kind has no terror for them. - Newburyport News.
320
TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY
The following pleasant incident in the experience of the Finance Commit- tee a day or two ago is but one of the many pleasing episodes. A message was brought them that one of our most venerated ladies in town wished to see some one of the Finance Committee ; so acting upon this, a call was made at the house of Mrs. Nancy Friend, on Main Street, and both Mrs. Friend and her daughter, Mrs. Abby Davis, made generous subscriptions towards the anniversary fund, but best of all was the word of kindly sympathy and good cheer which accompanied the generous gifts.
Mrs. Friend is eighty-eight years of age, enjoying the best health, and she is looking forward to these anniversary days with the brightest anticipa- tions. Gloucester women by birth, they realize how much the occasion means, in gathering together of the bright memories of the past, the pleasant reunions of the present, and the large anticipations for the future. - Daily Times.
The old historic bell on the Riverdale Church ought to give out no un- certain notes during the anniversary celebration. This bell originally hung in the spire of the First Parish Church at Sandy Bay, and was the target of a barge from an enemy's cruiser during the War of 1812, when the church was twice struck. The bell had given the alarms to arouse the patriotic sons of Sandy Bay, and tradition asserts that the commander of the barge had his gun heavily loaded and instructed his men to silence its warning notes, and that the gun was discharged with such force as to knock the stern out of the barge, sinking her. By all means, let the old bell ring out its gladsome notes during the anniversary. - Cape Ann Advertiser.
THE RAILROAD ACCOMMODATIONS
Furnished by the Boston & Maine Railroad on Thursday were entirely inade- quate for the transportation of the immense crowds which desired to visit Gloucester and unite in the festivities. Only the earliest trains in either direction were on time, the trains being so long and crowded that it was im- possible for the engines to draw them at more than half speed.
Station Master Taft had a large force of extra assistants, among whom was Station Master Lefavour of Salem, but the best efforts of the men could not cope with the influx. At one time four trains were hung up in the ledge, waiting the clearing of the track.
The first two extras arrived nearly on time, and the train due here at 9.31 was the first one seriously late, it not arriving till nearly 10.30 o'clock. It contained fifteen cars, and was closely followed by two others.
On account of the insufficient yard room, the trains previously arriving delayed the regular train till nearly eleven o'clock, but most of the passengers left the cars above the Washington Street crossing and walked down the track.
OLD HOUSES, CAPE ANN.
Babson House, Pigeon Cove, erected 1698. Parsons House, Western Avenue, erected about 1713.
The Castle, Pigeon Cove, erected about 1700. Samuel Parsons House, Western Avenue, erected about 1690.
321
OF THE TOWN OF GLOUCESTER, MASS.
So great was the crowd on the noon train that it was an hour late, thus losing the right to the road for its return at 1.25 o'clock. The shower caused so many people to desire to start for home that a special train was made up for Beverly, which left at 2.30, drawn by two engines and containing sixteen cars. Other trains were made up as fast as possible, but all the regular trains and previously arranged specials were from two to four hours late, the time of trains in both directions being interfered with.
It is reported that over forty thousand tickets to Gloucester were sold up to Wednesday night, and nearly an equal number must have been brought here Thursday. The labors of the railroad officials were increased by the large crowd brought by steamer, many of whom preferred to return by rail on account of the storm.
Most of the crowds for the return trip had been taken care of by ten o'clock in the evening, however, except Ipswich and Lynn delegations, for whom special arrangements had been made, and who were on their way home considerably before midnight.
Notwithstanding the immense number of passengers transported, every down train left hundreds of passengers standing on the platforms at the various stations, unable to get on board the cars, who were sorely disap- pointed at the insufficient accommodations and their inability to reach this city. - Local Press.
GLOUCESTER LIFE.
Once arrived at East Gloucester and settled in the roomy quarters of the " Delphine," I note the activity which is spreading all through this city of fish, and which presages a great celebration. The city of Gloucester is to celebrate its quarter-millennial in ten days, and in order that such Bostonians as will spend the eventful three days here may not be without sufficient knowledge of the data which make up the history of Cape Ann, I have turned myself into an antiquary, and will recite the tale of two and a half centuries. In England there is a quaint and picturesque cathedral town which the old Saxons used to call " Gloucestre," from the ancient words meaning the " castle of Glaw"; but I prefer to believe that the name arose from an older British phrase, "Glaw Caer," i. e., " The Beautiful City." If the old English town deserved this name, still more does the American city by the sea require such an appellation. But it was not always called thus : it had as many different names before the Plymouth settlers came here as a Spanish princess royal.
Wher Champlain came here in 1605 he called it, " Cap aux Isles," L.cause h Jaw the islands now called Straitsmouth, Thacher's, and Milk Island ; and he called the harbor "Le Beauport," and the beautiful
322
TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTIETHI ANNIVERSARY
bay well deserved the compliment. Subsequently, in 1614, that roving bearer of a numerous name, John Smith, saw these same islands, and, desirous of giving the world an object lesson in his biography, he called them the " Three Turks' Heads" in memory of three Mussul- mans whom he had shortened by a few inches in single combat. Then he named the cape back of them " Tragabigzanda " to commemorate the fact that he had won the heart of the Princess of Trebizonda, a combination of heads and heart that was not altogether commendable. A few of the settlers fondly believed that " Tragabigzanda " was the Indian name of the locality, but it is abundantly proved that the aborigines named the cape "Wingaersheek." Then came Prince Charles and wiped out the entire proceedings, calling the spot " Cape Anne," in honor of his mother, Anne of Denmark, and so it remains to this day. The Indians probably found the place too bleak for comfort, and seem never to have had a permanent settlement here, although vast piles of clam shells still attest the fact that they periodically came to Annisquam, to Russ Island, and to Coffin's Beach. There were other voyagers who came.to these shores after Capt. John Smith's day, but I need not dwell upon Gosnold and Pring, and Thomas Morton of " Merrymount," and the men from Dorchester who tried to found a fishing station here and failed, Mr. White, at the close of the attempt, commenting on the " ill-choice of the place for fishing " !- that same place being now the largest fishing port of the world.
In 1642, in the month of May, there came a set of determined men from Plymouth, and the General Court granted them " a planta- tion " here, which, as many of the men had come from the English city, was called " Gloucester." How sturdily American the city is, may be seen from the fact that the descendants of the original settlers still are the most prominent citizens. The names of Parsons, Sargent, Brown, Day, Wonson, Babson (the historian of Gloucester is John J. Babson), Bray, Tarr, Haskell, Eveleth, Robinson, Stevens, Somes, Rowe, Coffin, Witham, and others may be found prominent to-day as centuries ago in the city records. But there is a certain preponder- ance of numbers in some of these families now, and the stranger is safe in calling everybody "Tarr," and if that fails, addressing him as "Won- son." It was a mysterious, out-of-the-way plantation in the seventeenth century, and one can read in an early account of the place that "lions have been seen at Cape Anne," a remarkable fact which I recommend to zoologists, who must not forget, however, that New England rum was sold " at Cape Anne " at. the same epoch. The names of the localities on the Cape have changed as little as the names of the resi-
1
-
GLOUCESTER SCENERY. H. W. Spooner.
323
OF THE TOWN OF GLOUCESTER, MASS.
dents. In the harbor are " Five-pound Island " and " Ten-pound Island," and there they were in 1644, for William Vinson received a grant of the first then, and the second was set apart for the pasturing of rams, the ancient Glosterian believing in the poetical injunction - " Butt me no butts ! "
Thacher's Island was called so from 1635, although then itreceived the name of "Thacher's Woe," for Anthony Thacher's ship went down August 14 in that year, on Crackwood's Ledge, and all his children were drowned, as well as the entire family of Rev. John Avery (com- memorated by Avery's Rock not far away), and all the crew. Nor was this the only " woe " on the cape, for just across Gloucester Harbor (in the old days this was called part of the cape) is "Norman's Woe," a most dangerous reef, whose name puzzles the historians. It is certain that a certain Richard Norman dwelt in Essex before 1682, and that he departed on a voyage from which he never returned, but it is not quite certain that he was shipwrecked on this reef. There have been, however, enough wrecks there to justify Longfellow's poem, although I do not find a " Hesperus " among the schooners that went to pieces there. The " Rebecca Ann " was wrecked there a long while ago, but there was no "skipper's daughter" in the case, and the name is scarcely romantic enough to poetize over.
The " cut" or canal, which unites Massachusetts and Ipswich bays, is almost as old as the town, which was made thereby into what Mrs. Malaprop would call " a dissolute island," a name which, unfor- tunately, is somewhat applicable in modern times. But the antiquarian may find the largest number of traces of the olden days towards Annis- quam, and on Russ Island he may discern the traces of the old colonial road to Boston. The late Mr. E. M. Chamberlin often took me to the traces of this road and we even discovered the cellar hole of the old tavern which at one time furnished the weary colonial traveller with spirituous comfort. One odd relic of this road is a gate in a fence, far away from any house ; this gate is required to be " kept open forever," for he convenience of travellers to the city ; the road is gone, but the gate and the legal restriction remain.
I fancy that the old cellar could tell many tales of revelry if it could speak, for those were the days of hard drinking, when the Gloucester citizens were obliged to curb the expenses of their select- men in the matter of punches and grog, the days when every schooner was baptized by breaking a bottle of rum over the bows at the launch- ing. And this was the birthplace of the schooner, too, for when the new-rigged craft which Capt. Andrew Robinson had built in 1713 was
324
TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY
launched a bystander cried, " Oh, how she schoons !" (schooning being to skip along as a flat stone skimmed on the surface of the water) and the captain accepted the name of " schooner " as a good omen for his new boat, and by this name all of her successors have gone.
Of course the old plantation was a Puritan stronghold at first, and Rev. Dr. Blynman, who came the first year from Plymouth, was of the orthodox faith, but there seem to have been dissensions enough, as indeed there were throughout the whole religious world of New England in the early days. The Puritans, while fighting Rome with cordial and united animosity, reserved the divine right of quarrelling among themselves, and poor Dr. Blynman had but a sorry time of it. His successor's salary was sixty pounds a year. but this was to be paid in food and articles of produce, such as " Indian corn, pease, barley, fish, mackerel, beef or pork," and the parishioners at times took such advantage of the trade that a commission was appointed to see that the article given were not unfit " to pass from man to man " At a later period (in 1767) Rev. John Wyeth had a still more unpleasant experience, for the opponents to his pastorate occasionally fired musket balls into his house because he had not the prim dignity which they associated with clerical comportment in those formal days. A little later there began here a new creed, which was destined to spread over a large part of the country. Rev. John Murray came to Gloucester, in 1774, at the invitation of the Sargent family, and in their house, in that year, was planted the first seed of Universalism in America. Of course, in spite of a blameless and charitable life, the rancor of religious hatred reached him, and even personal violence and mob law were threatened. The preacher who first taught the Methodist creed in Gloucester received a like welcome, and the tangle of religious quarrelling and ecclesiastic law suits extends from the advent of Dr. Blynman, at the foundation of the town, to very recent times.
Gloucester, however, was not so badly tainted with the persecution of witches as its neighbor, Salem, a little further down the coast. Yet it did not escape the madness altogether. Abigail Somes, a daughter of one of the early settlers, was taken to Boston on the awful charge, but was finally allowed to go. Ann Dolliver, wife of Capt. William Dolliver of Gloucester, was accused, but also escaped death. Witch- finders were called to Gloucester, and sent four women to prison, but none of them were hanged. Ghosts of Frenchmen and Indians were sent to this city by witches, as Cotton Mather tells in his " Magnalia," but the most peculiar case of all was connected with the siege of Louis- burg. There were several Gloucester soldiers in the victorious army
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.