USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Municipal history of Essex County in Massachusetts, Volume I > Part 48
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Captain Edward Tomlins built the first mill in Lynn, it being on Strawberry Brook, near the junction of Boston and Franklin streets.
Timothy Tomlins was a Representative in thirteen sessions of the General Court. From him the pine forest known as Tomlin's Swamp took its name.
Captain Nathaniel Turner was a Representative to the first seven sessions of the General Court. He was made a captain of the militia in 1633 and in 1636-7 had a command in several expeditions in the Pequot war. At one time he owned Sagamore Hill, which he sold to Edward Holyoke. His name is perpetuated in Turner's Falls. His later days were spent in New Haven; he was lost at sea while on a voy- age to England in 1647.
Of the fifty-three heads of families who arrived in 1630, the greater part were farmers; they occupied from 10 to 200 acres of land each. In the agreement that had been made with the. Council, each person who advanced £50 was to receive an allotment of 200 acres of land, and each person who came at his own expense should receive 50 acres. They brought with them a large stock of horned cattle, sheep, goats and swine. Most of this stock was pastured in Nahant, and a rail fence from ocean to harbor across the beach, which now constitutes Nahant road, served to keep out the wolves and to keep the cattle secured. As a further protection against the wolves, which were very numerous, a great many wolf pits were dug around Lynn, some of which are still extant.
In 1631, provisions became very scarce. Wheat sold for 14 shil- lings a bushel ($3.11), Indian corn from Virginia, 11 shillings ($2.44), and a good cow was valued at 25 pounds ($111.11). It is shown that there was great apprehension of invasion by the Indians, because on April 12, it was ordered "that every Captain shall traine his companie
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on saterday in every week." That there was reason for this alarm is shown by the record that one hundred Tarratines attacked the village of Aggawam (now Ipswich), wounded Wonohaquam and Montowompate, killed seven Indians and captured Wenuchus, the wife of Montowam- pate, who was visiting in that village at the time. She was held for ransom, and in a few months was returned to her home in Lynn, but this incident must have occasioned great excitement among these set- tlers. In October, Governor Winthrop passed through Lynn and the note : "A plentiful crop," appears in his Journal of Oct. 28.
In 1632 Rev. Stephen Bachiler and family arrived in Boston, after a tempestuous voyage, being 88 days from London. He immediately came to Lynn and formed the First Church here, which was the fifth church in the colony, and had a membership of eight persons. Rev. Bachiler was 71 years of age at the time he came here, and one of his first duties was to baptize Thomas Newhall, the first white child to be born in Lynn, and also to baptize Stephen Hussey, who was born the same week. Gov. Winthrop entered in his Journal under date of August 2d, "This week they had in barley and oats at Saugus about 20 acres good corn, and sown with the plough." In 1633, William Wood left the settlement August 15, to return to London. As to the health of the plantation, he makes this record: "Out of that towne from whence I came, in three years and a half, there died but three." The first corn mill in the settlement was built this year along Strawberry Brook.
Late in the Fall of 1633, smallpox broke out among the Indians and Wonohaquam, Sagamore of Winnisimit, and Montowampate, Saga- more of the Saugus, and many other Indians, died. They were succeed- ed by their brother, Wenepoykin, as Sagamore.
In 1634 the House of Representatives for the Colony assembled May 14. Eight towns were represented by three delegates each. This action was taken, in order that the settlements might not be depleted of their men at the time of the meeting of the General Court, because In- dian outbreaks were threatening. The three representatives from greater Lynn were Captain Turner, Edward Tomlins and Thomas Willis. Also in this year, the Hon. John Humphrey, who was one of the original proprietors of the Colony, and its first Deputy Governor, arrived, accom- panied by his wife, Lady Susan, who was the daughter of the Earl of Lincoln. They arrived at Salem in July on the "Panther," and went to reside on his farm at Swampscott. Timothy Tomlins was appointed overseer of the "powder and shott, and all other ammunition in the Saugus plantation," according to James R. Newhall.
About thirty new families came to this plantation in 1635, among whom was Philip Kertland, the first shoemaker of record. Money was so scarce that brass farthings were prohibited, and musket bullets were ordered to pass for farthings.
The names of the heads of families arriving in 1635 we give as
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presented in Lewis and Newhall's History of Lynn, where the family history is set forth with considerable detail.
Abraham Belknap, James Boutwell, Edmund Bridges, Edward Bur- cham, George Burtt, Henry Collins, Timothy Cooper, John Cooper, Jen- kin Davis, John Deacon, Edmund Farrington, Joseph Floyd, Christopher Foster, George Fraile, Edmund Freeman, Dennis Greere, Nathaniel Handforth, Richard Johnson, Philip Kertland, Thomas Laighton, Fran- cis Lightfoot,, Richard Longley, Thomas Marshall (Capt.), Thomas Parker, John Pierson, John Pool, Nicholas Potter, Oliver Purchis, Rich- ard Sadler, Thomas Townsend.
Doubtless the names thus far presented do not comprise all who had come to the Third Plantation during the years 1629 to 1635 inclu- sive, yet in the list here presented there were the elements of construc- tive citizenship that not only placed this settlement at the head of those in this immediate section, which later comprised Essex county, but there were those who went out into the surrounding country, even to the distance of hundreds of miles, to establish settlements and towns.
The Virginia Colonists established in 1619 the House of Burgesses, which gave the form of Representative Government to the world. The Pilgrims, by misadventure, arrived at Cape Cod instead of the North- ern part of Virginia, in 1620. They landed where they had no rights of Charter and where no government existed; therefore they wrote for themselves a Charter and formed for themselves a Government pledged to enact only such laws as were just and equal. Thus did the May- flower Compact proclaim justice and equality in government to the world.
The Colony of the Massachusetts Bay in New England, duly char- tered and approved by King and Council, after due deliberation brought its Charter to the new world, and thus took the great step in Indepen- dence in Government. The people of the Colony elected their Governor and their Representatives to the General Court, and so breathed the air of a greater liberty than had ever before swelled the bosoms and reddened the blood of man.
Thus did the Cavalier, the Pilgrim and the Puritan contribute to that structure which we call liberty and self-government. Then did Greater Lynn feel the throb of that progress and prosperity which is founded on those impulses that create homes.
"THE TOWN SAUGUST IS NOW LIN"
The function of town government became operative in the Colony of the Massachusetts Bay in New England when, on March third, 1636, the Great and General Court decreed that each town should have the power to regulate its own affairs. While the date of 1830 seems usually accepted as that of the incorporation of the town, yet its affairs were in the hands of the General Court until the passage of the above-men- tioned act. The vital part of the provision consisted in authorizing
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each town to choose a number of "prudential men" not to exceed seven in number, to order their municipal concerns. The right to set fines on offenders, not to exceed twenty shillings, was of secondary con- sideration and designed largely as a matter of convenience, to avoid long trips to court to settle small matters. The action of March third was the legal authorization of those officers so necessary to carry on the affairs of towns, and now usually called selectmen. Lynn (Saugus) elected seven men to serve in this capacity and continued to do so until the year 1755, when the number was reduced to three. The term of service was only three months in the beginning. Tything men were also chosen, one for each ten families, "to observe their conduct and report any violation of public order."
The year 1636 was important for greater Lynn, yet some of the incidents that gave zest to life at that time seem much out of focus now. Historic values change with years or periods. Events of thrill- ing and vital interest then appear now as mere incidents viewed through the perspective of centuries. Also, things at that time scarcely mention- ed stand out now like the writing of destiny.
The wolf pits dug in 1630 were a vital necessity at the time. Those which remain are now a reminder of the exigences of that stern period of peril and privation. Yet the Pine Tree coinage, for which the dies were so quietly made in Lynn, marks an epoch in the progress of liberty. In 1636 the Quarterly Court was established at Salem for the benefit of that and adjoining towns, and Captain Na- thaniel Turner and Mr. John Humphrey were among those selected by the Court to assist the Magistrate. The licensing of Mr. Timothy Tomlins "to draw wine for the town of Saugus" and also "to keep a house of intertainment," indicated something of the growth of the town. Mr. John Humphrey built a wind-mill on the easterly mound of Saga- more hill, and Capt. Nathaniel Turner was appointed one of a valuation committee in preparation for a tax levy on the several plantations. Mr. John Humphrey and Captain Nathaniel Turner were appointed by the Court to lay out the bounds of Ipswich. So there was plenty of work for busy men to do.
The affairs of the Rev. Stephen Bachiler having culminated in his removal from town in February, there came from England in June, 1636, the Rev. Samuel Whiting, who was installed pastor of the First Church at Saugus (Lynn), the 8th of November. This church was composed of only six members, besides the minister, even after the council had remained here two days to complete the organization. Among other things, the Rev. Samuel Whiting brought with him the first fruit trees to be brought to this town. (Woodbury, "Historical Priorities in Lynn"). Was it prophetic of the fruit of his labors, which endure to the present day ?
Trouble with the Pequot Indians resulted in the expedition against
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them. Governor Henry Vane ordered out four companies of Volun- teers in August, 1636, and they proceeded against the Indians at Block Island, where they destroyed considerable property and killed one In- dian, and later at New London, where more damage was inflicted. Cap- tain Nathaniel Turner commanded one of the companies of volunteers. The expedition returned in September, but the trouble was only de- layed. In April, 1637, it became necessary to send another expedition against the Pequots, and the soldiers from Massachusetts and Con- necticut, with Indian allies, proceeded against them, attacked Sassacus, the Pequot Sachem, and killed about 700 of his followers, thus breaking his power. Toward this campaign, known as the Pequot War, the quota of Boston was 26, Saugus (Lynn) 21, Cambridge 19, Salem 18, and smaller numbers from the remaining ten towns from the Colony. The Lynn troops did not arrive in time to take part in the massacre, accord- ing to Lewis and Newhall. Indian troubles and antinomian disturb- ances caused the churches to call a fast, June 20th. Three days later Governor Winthrop visited Lynn, and was escorted by the inhabitants to Salem, returning at night, on account of the extreme heat, which caused many deaths. John Humphrey and Edward Howe were members of the Quarterly Courts; the tax for Lynn was £28.16 in a total levy of £400. Corn was legal tender at 5 shillings the bushel.
The first burial in the Old Burying Ground at the west end of the Common, according to James R. Newhall, took place in 1637, being the remains of John Bancroft, ancestor of George Bancroft, the historian. In this year also a committee, consisting of Daniel Howe, Richard Walker and Henry Collins, was chosen to divide the lands. The land suitable for cultivation was divided; and the woodlands were held as common property until sixty-nine years later. This was not the first allotment of lands to be made, for to cite one case, the General Court allotted 500 acres to Mr. John Humphrey in Swampscott in 1633, al- though he had not arrived in the Colony, but was active in managing its affairs in England.
The Pequot war and other threatened disturbances caused the Colonists to organize for more adequate defence, and in 1638 the or- ganization now known as the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company was formed in Boston. Daniel Howe, William Ballard, Joseph Hewes, Richard Walker, Edward Tomlins and Nathaniel Turner were members of the company from Lynn, and Daniel Howe was chosen lieutenant. The organization has always been popular with Lynn men, and many have been members of it.
An earthquake caused considerable damage to property and alarni to people on June first, and lasted about four minutes, and was followed by less severe shocks during the succeeding weeks. The division of lands was accomplished in 1638, but only a part of the records are available. To the Right Honorable, the Lord Brook was allotted eight
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hundred acres, which was the largest grant. To Mr. Thomas Willis and to Mr. Edward Holyoke were allotted 500 acres each. Edward Holyoke was also authorized to manage the estate for Lord Brook. Saddler's Rock, a landmark to the present time, was allotted to Richard Sadler, in addition to his 200 acres. Lewis and Newhall present the names of 102 persons to whom land was allotted, this being a list taken from the original Town Book of Records by Andrew Mansfield, town re- corder, March 10, 1660.
The establishment of a ferry across the Saugus river between Needham's and Ballard's Landings and the building of a bridge across the same river at the Boston street (road) crossing were important accomplishments of the year 1639. This matter was under the juris- diction of the Colony, and the Court granted to Garret Spencer "the ferry at Linn for two years." The fare was fixed at 2 pence for a single person to the farthest place, and one penny for each additional person. To the nearest place the fare was one penny, thus indicating that there were two stopping places on each passage. The Court allow- ed the town for the building of the bridge over the Saugus river the sum of £50, and an additional sum of fifty shillings yearly for keeping it in repair. The building of bridges in the settlement days followed the building of roads. Travel in the early days of the settlement was a serious undertaking. A tradition is recorded in Felt's Annals that certain persons traveling between Salem and Boston were four days on the road, and the following Sunday thanks were returned at the church service for their safe delivery from the perils and hardships of the journey. Traveling by land between Boston and Salem, it was neces- sary to ford the Saugus river at a point near the present location of Pranker's mills at Saugus Center.
The old map reproduced bearing notations by Governor Winthrop, and now in the British Museum, was evidently drawn in 1633-4. It shows the trail lines radiating from Lynn, one to Salem, another to Ipswich and yet another to Medford, which would have been along the line of land travel to Boston. The building of the bridge over the Saugus river, in 1639, on the Boston road, determines where the heav- iest travel flowed between Salem, Lynn and Boston. The establish- ment of settlements and towns was for a long time only in places easy of access by water communication. Until 1803, Boston street remained the great thoroughfare between Boston and Salem and points farther east. Then the opening of the turnpike between Boston and Salem somewhat changed the tide of travel. The turnpike was opened Sep- tember 22, 1803, as a "toll road." It cost $189,000 and was to become the property of the Commonwealth "when the proprietors shall have received the whole cost, plus twelve per cent. interest." The same year the Lynn Hotel was built, and was for many years the relay station, where horses were changed on the stage lines running through Lynn.
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Lynn was never the scene of Indian hostilities, although frequently disturbed by Indian alarms. Andover and Haverhill were the nearest points to feel the ravages of Indian warfare directed against the white settlers, but this town was always ready to contribute its quota toward the common defense. The reported determination of the Indians in 1642 to exterminate the English caused great alarm among all the set- tlers of the Colony. The General Court established a code of signals to be observed "for the better direction of watch and alarums." In ad- dition to the "county alarum," the Court ordered that "One musket dis- charged shall be an alarum to all the sentinels at the severall quarters of each towne, who shall answer said alarum by going and awakening the several houses within their quarters, by crying 'Arme! Arme!'" Then followed directions as to conducting the defense. Lynn was so much disturbed by the general apprehension that two block houses were built, one for the soldiers and one, about forty feet long, for a place of safety for the women and children. These houses were built, not at the present center of the city, or on High Rock, as might have been expected under the present geographical lines, but on Vinegar Hill, within the limits of Saugus and near Walnut street, the site of which now belongs to the Lynn Historical Society. In the same year the Court ordered that every house should aid in the "breeding of salt peeter", and its enforcement in Lynn was placed in the hands of Sergeant Tomlins. Three years later a renewal of the alarms caused a provision to be made for drilling all the boys between ten and sixteen years of age in the use of "small arms, half-pikes, bows and arrows." (See Massachusetts Rec- ords, II, p. 99). Thus was preparedness a cardinal virtue in the Colony.
Volumes have been written concerning the history of Lynn, and each passing year gives new contributions to the recorded annals of the town and city. The participation of Lynn in the Indian wars has been exhaustively studied by George H. Martin, A.M., Litt.D., and his re- search has been preserved in the archives and published in the Register of the Lynn Historical Society. Fortunately, Lynn was not a frontier town, and did not suffer directly from Indian warfare, nor does it pos- sess the scene of battles in any of the wars within its borders. While Lynn participated in all the Colonial wars, yet her part in the French and Indian War, that war which drove the French from American soil and made possible the American revolution (which could never have been successful with frontiers to guard against two nations,) has never been exhaustively written.
To the late Honorable Howard K. Sanderson we are indebted for the publication of his exhaustive study of the participation of Lynn in the American Revolution. His research shows that the city has 196 known graves of Revolutionary soldiers, the largest number recorded in any city, and that with a population of 465 polls in 1774, Lynn furnished 483 soldiers. The records of the church at Lynnfield show that the first
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death to occur in the American Revolution was that of Joseph Newhall of Lynn, on March 9, 1775, resulting from exposure at the encounter at the North Bridge, Salem, the 26th of the previous February; this being the first armed resistance which the British encountered. A part of Arnold's forces marched through Lynn on the expedition to Canada. The War of 1812 came closer to the doors of Lynn than any other, for the encounter between the "Chesapeake" and the "Shannon" took place off the shores of Nahant, and at times the ships came within less than a mile of the shore. It is also cited by Woodbury that the "Constitution"
was built by Edmund Hart of Lynn at his shipyard in Boston where Constitution Wharf is now located. ("Historical Priorities in Lynn," Woodbury.) He further calls attention to the fact that it was Captain Joseph Floyd of Lynn, a pump maker, who devised the "Quaker guns" at the Charlestown Navy Yard. The Mexican War, the Civil War, the Spanish-American War and the World War drew heavily from the re- sources of Lynn.
Settlement extension, or the establishing of new towns, early proved attractive to the pioneers of Greater Lynn. In 1636, Rev. Stephen Bachiler, having removed from Lynn, went first to Ipswich, from which place he, with some of his friends, went on foot, in the very severe win- ter of 1637, to Yarmouth, a distance of about one hundred miles. It was his intention, we are told, to plant a town and build a church. Un- foreseen difficulties prevented him from doing this, but in 1639 he and his son-in-law, Christopher Hussey, sold their possessions in Newbury and removed, with 14 others, mostly from Lynn, to Hampton, New Hamp- shire, where they built a town and formally established a church. In 1637 permission having been obtained from the Plymouth Colony, a large num- ber of people removed from Lynn and commenced the settlement of Sand- wich. Settlements were begun by Lynn people in 1639 at Yarmouth and at Barnstable. In 1638 Nathaniel Turner "removed with others to Quilipeake, where a new settlement was begun and called New Haven." He gave his name to Turner's Falls, and in 1640 he purchased the tract which is now Stamford, Connecticut. He was also, with others, largely interested in the purchase of land on both sides of the Delaware river, which was intended for development. About 1640 there was an extensive movement to settle towns on Long Island. In this migration Captain Daniel Howe appears quite prominently. Some difficulty was experi- enced with the Dutch, but eventually Southampton and several other towns were founded. In 1733 Lynn people settled Amherst, New Hamp- shire. On March 13, 1638, Lynn was granted "six miles into the coun- try." This land was called Lynn End for many years, and constitutes the present town of Lynnfield. September 9, 1639, a tract of land four miles square was added to the territory of Lynn. This was settled and became known as Lynn Village, until it was set off March 17, 1653, as a separate town and called Reading. It now comprises the towns of Reading, North
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Reading and Wakefield. This tract was purchased from the Indians for £10.16, and the deed was signed by Sagamore George, his sister Abegaile, and several other Indians.
Therefore we find that in the days of its pioneer struggles, Lynn was the parent town of Sandwich, Yarmouth, Barnstable, Massachusetts ; Amherst and Hampton, New Hampshire; New Haven and possibly Stam- ford, Connecticut; Southampton, Gravesend, Jamaica, Hempstead and Oyster Bay on Long Island. By separation Lynn was the parent town of Reading (now divided into Reading, North Reading and Wakefield) in 1653; Lynnfield, which was set off in 1814, Saugus in 1815, Swampscott in 1852 and Nahant in 1853. Doubtless there are many other towns be- sides the eighteen mentioned that owe allegiance to Lynn in the same way.
Of the various industries associated with the early days of Lynn, none became of more immediate importance than the establishing of the iron works. In 1642 Mr. Robert Bridges took some iron ore from the bog near the Saugus river to England, and in London he formed the "Company of Undertakers for the Iron Works." Eleven men of wealth in and around London financed the undertaking, and advanced the sun of one thousand pounds for the beginning. Land was bought of Thomas Hudson, and a foundry erected near the present site of Pranker's Mills in Saugus.
John Winthrop, Jr., was connected with the enterprise. Sev- eral came from England to engage in the work, and the village that sprang up around the iron works was called Hammersmith, from the village in England from which the workmen came. For several years the history of Lynn contains much pertaining to the matters of the iron works. Richard Leader was the general agent for the company and Joseph Jenks was the superintendent. He was an able and important man in the Colony, for he superintended the affairs at the iron works, made the first dies for coining money, received in 1654 the order from Boston for "an Ingine to carry water in case of fire"-the first fire en- gine in this country-took out the first patent to be issued on this side of the water, produced a scythe of such a design that the length of for- mer scythes was doubled, and made improvements in the machinery of his industry that materially increased its efficiency. At his foundry was cast the first iron kettle in America, which is preserved at the Lynn Public Library. He was a widower when he came to this country, and married Elizabeth -, who died in July, 1679. He had two sons born in England: Joseph, Jr., resided some time in Lynn. He removed to Pawtucket, where he built a forge, which was destroyed by the Indians. In 1681 he was an assistant in the government of Rhode Island, and he had a son, Joseph Jenks, who was Governor of Rhode Island from 1727 to 1732.
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