USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Municipal history of Essex County in Massachusetts, Volume I > Part 7
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Another court may be mentioned, to complete the Colonial judicial system so far as it concerned the county. On September 6, 1638, it was ordered "that for avoiding of the countries charge by bringing small charges to the Court of Assistants, that any magistrate in the town
45
ORGANIZATION OF ESSEX COUNTY
where he may hear and determine by his discretion all causes wherein the debt, or trespass, or danger, etc., doth not exceed twenty shillings, and in such town where no magistrate dwells, the General Court shall, from time to time, nominate three men; two thereof shall have like power to hear and determine all such actions under twenty shillings; and if any of the parties shall find themselves grieved with any such end or sentence, they may appeal to the next Quarter Court, or Court of Assistants. And if any person shall bring any such action to the Court of Assistants before he hath endeavored to have it ended at home (as in this order is appointed), he shall lose his action and pay the defendant's costs."
In 1691 a new charter was issued, embracing Massachusetts, Ply- mouth, Maine, Nova Scotia, and the intervening territory, in one govern- ment under the name of the Province of the Massachusetts Bay in New England. This charter reached Boston May 14, 1692, and under its pro- visions the government consisted of a governor, deputy-governor and secretary appointed by the King, and assistants or councilors chosen by the General Court, and a House of Representatives chosen annually by the people. The governor had the power of veto, and all acts and elec- tions by the General Court must be transmitted to England and approved or disallowed by the King.
The first court established under the charter was a special court of Oyer and Terminer, organized by Governor William Phipps, the first gov- ernor of the Province, before any law had been passed authorizing it, for the purpose of trying, chiefly in Essex County, persons charged with witchcraft. June 2, 1692, the governor issued his commission appointing William Stoughton chief justice, and Nathaniel Saltonstall (who declined and was succeeded by Jonathan Curwin), John Richards, Bartholomew Gedney, Wait Winthrop, Samuel Sewall and Peter Sargeant, associate justices; Stephen Sewall, clerk; Thomas Newton, attorney-general; George Corwin, sheriff. The first meeting of this court was held at Salem on June 2, 1692, and its last meeting September 17, following which the court was dissolved. During this time the expense of the court for Essex county was £130, and nineteen persons were tried, con- demned and hanged, and one was pressed to death.
November, 1692, a law was passed establishing Courts of Justices of the Peace, four courts of Quarter Sessions of the Peace for each county, an Inferior Court of Common Pleas for each county, a Superior Court of Judicature for the whole province, and a High Court of Chan- cery for the province. This act, however, was soon dissolved. June, 1697, another was passed, establishing County Courts, which was also disallowed. It appears that the chief business in those days was to plan for the change in the court systems. The Inferior Court of Common Pleas continued until 1782, when the Court of Common Pleas was estab- lished, to be held within each county at specified times and places, with four judges appointed by the Governor from within the county. This
46
ESSEX COUNTY
Lawrence; Southern district, Moody Kimball, Newburyport; County court continued until June, 1811, when an act was passed providing that the commonwealth, except Dukes county and the county of Nantucket, should be divided into six circuits.
The office of county commissioner was first established March 4, 1826. These were to be appointed by the governor, by and with the con- sent of the Council, four persons in each of the counties of Essex, Wor- cester, Middlesex, Suffolk, Norfolk and Nantucket. There were also two persons appointed to act as special county commissioners.
In 1835 it was provided by law that in every county except Suffolk and Nantucket the judge of probate, register of probate, and clerk of the Court of Common Pleas, should be a Board of Examiners. The people were to elect the three county commissioners and two special commis- sioners for a term of three years. This law remained until 1854, when it was provided that commissioners should be elected alternately. The subjoined is a list of the county commissioners serving since the first board in 1828: 1828-33-Asa W. Wildes, of Newburyport; Joseph Winn, of Salem; Stephens Baker, of Ipswich; William B. Breed of Lynn. 1834-John W. Proctor, of South Danvers, in place of William Breed. 1835-37-Moses Newell, of West Newbury, in place of Asa W. Wildes. 1838-40-Asa T. Newhall, of Lynn. 1841-43-Charles Kimball, of Ips- wich; Robert Patten, of Amesbury; William Whipple, of Rockport. 1844-46-Asa W. Wildes, of Newburyport, and Benj. F. Newhall, of Saugus. 1847-49-John I. Baker, of Beverly. 1850-54-Benjamin Mudge of Lynn.
In 1854 the law was so changed that the county commissioners were elected in such manner as to have one member go off the board each year and another chosen by the people for a term of three years. John I. Baker, by lot, drew the first class, Benjamin Mudge the second class, and Asa W. Wildes the third class. At the 1854 election and at sub- sequent elections, the following were chosen as commissioners: 1854, Stephens Baker, of Beverly; 1855, Eben B. Currier, of Lawrence; 1856, George Haskell, of Ipswich; 1857, Stephens Baker; 1858, Eben B. Cur- rier; 1859, Abram D. Wait, of Ipswich; 1860, James Kimball, of Salem; 1861, Jackson B. Swett; 1862, Abram D. Wait; 1863, James Kimball; 1864, Jackson B. Swett; 1865, Abram D. Wait; 1866, James Kimball; 1867, Jackson B. Swett; 1868, Charles P. Preston, of Danvers; 1869, James Kimball; 1870, Jackson B. Swett; 1871, Charles P. Preston; 1872, James Kimball; 1873, Zachariah Graves, of Lynn; 1874, Joseph O. Proc- tor, of Gloucester; 1875, James Kimball; 1876, Zachariah Graves; 1877, Joseph O. Proctor; 1881, John W. Raymond, of Beverly; 1882, Edward B. Bishop, of Haverhill; 1883, George J. L. Colby ; 1884, John W. Ray- mond; 1885, Edward B. Bishop; 1886, David W. Low, of Gloucester, in place of George J. L. Colby ; 1886, John W. Raymond; 1887, George J. L. Colby; 1887, David W. Low; 1888, John W. Raymond; 1889, Ed B.
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ORGANIZATION OF ESSEX COUNTY
Bishop; 1890, David W. Low; 1891, Horace F. Longfellow; 1892, Ed B. Bishop; 1893, John M. Danforth; 1894, Samuel D. Smith; 1895, Ed B. Bishop; 1896, John M. Danforth; 1897, Samuel D. Smith; 1899, Wallace Bates; 1900, E. E. Sawyer; 1901, E. B. Bishop; 1902, Wallace Bates; 1903, E. B. Sawyer; 1904, Ed. B. Bishop; 1905, Wallace Bates; 1906, Moody Kimball; 1907, James C. Poor; 1908, John M. Grosvenor, Jr .; 1909, Moody Kimball; 1910, James C. Poor; 1911, John M. Grosvenor, Jr .; 1912, James C. Poor; 1913, James C. Poor; 1914, John M. Gros- venor, Jr .; 1915, Moody Kimball; 1916, J. C. Poor; 1917, John M. Gros- venor, Jr .; 1918, Moody Kimball; 1919, James C. Poor; 1920, John M. Grosvenor, Jr .; 1921, Benjamin B. Gilman.
The State Constitution was so amended in 1855 that every fifth year thereafter, the register should be chosen by the people for a term of five years. In 1856 a Court of Insolvency was established for each county. This court had a judge and register of probate, hence the offices of judge and register were created. In 1862 the Probate Court was made a court of record. The executive officers of the court in Colonial days up to 1685 were called marshals, except in the very earliest years, when they were styled beadles. The records show that as early as 1634, James Penn was chosen marshal. Under President Dudley he was called provost- marshal; under Andros he was called sheriff; and after Andros, until the province was established, in 1692, he was again called marshal. As nearly as present records show, the marshals of Essex county were: 1663, Samuel Archard; 1670, Henry Sherry; 1685, Robert Lord; 1686, Jeremiah Neals; 1691, John Rogers ; 1692, John Harris.
The sheriff's of the county have been from 1692 to 1886 as follows: 1692, George Corwin; 1696, William Gedney ; 1702, William Wainwright, William Gedney ; 1708, Daniel Denison ; 1710, William Gedney ; 1715, John Denison; 1722, Benjamin Marston; 1746, Robert Hale; 1766, Richard Saltonstall; 1779, Michael Farley; 1792, Bailey Bartlett; 1831, Joseph E. Sprague ; 1852, Frederick Robinson ; 1854, Thomas E. Pason; 1856, James Carey ; 1867, Horatio G. Herrick continued until 1893, when came Samuel A. Johnson to 1921, when the present sheriff, Arthur G. Wells, was elected.
The clerks of the courts were appointed by the courts during the Colonial period. During the provincial time, the clerks of the County Courts and those of the Superior Court of Judicature, and afterwards of the Supreme Judicial Court, were distinct until 1797, and the clerk of the two courts had his office in Boston. The appointments lay with the courts until 1811, when the Governor and Council were made the appoint- ing power. In 1814 the appointment was given to the Supreme Judicial Court. It remained there until 1856, when the law provided that that year and every fifth year thereafter, clerks should be chosen by the people in the several counties. The following is probably a list of the various clerks of the courts in Essex from first to the present time:
48
ESSEX COUNTY
1637, Ralph Fogg; 1647, Henry Bartholomew, Robert Lord; 1653, Elias Stileman; 1658, Hilliard Veren; 1683, Benjamin Gerrish; 1692, Stephen Sewall; 1750, Joseph Bowdich; 1771, William Jeffry; 1774, Joseph Blaney; 1779, Samuel Osgood; 1783, Isaac Osgood; 1795, Thomas Ban- croft; 1797, Samuel Holton; 1798, Thomas Bancroft; 1804, Ichabod Tucker; 1812, Joseph E. Sprague; 1813, Ichabod Tucker; 1828, John Prince, Jr .; 1842, Ebenezer Shillaber; 1852, Asahel Huntington; 1872, Alfred A. Abbott; 1885, Dean Peabody to 1897, when came Edward B. George, serving until 1918, when the present clerk, Archie N. Frost, was elected. The register and clerk's offices were one and the same, until 1715, since which time the offices have been separate.
Up to 1869 the registry of deeds for the whole county was kept at Salem. June 22 that year an act was passed providing that the city of Lawrence and the towns of Andover, North Andover and Methuen should constitute a district for the registry of deeds, under the name of the Northern District of Essex, and that the other towns in the county should constitute the Southern District.
In 1654 the law provided that each county should annually elect a treasurer. With a few changes this office continued the same until 1855, when it was provided that a county treasurer should be chosen that year and every third year thereafter, for the term of three years. Up to 1654, when the treasurers were elected, the treasurer chosen by the General Court was the treasurer of the whole colony. These were as follows : May 13, 1629, George Harwood, chosen in England; December 1, 1629, Samuel Aldsey ; 1632, William Pynchon; 1634, William Codding- ton; 1636, Richard Dummer; 1637, Richard Bellingham; 1640, William Tyng; 1644-54, Richard Russell. The records are silent as to who the treasurers were until 1774, after those above mentioned, but from 1774 to the present the treasurers of Essex County have been as follows : 1774, Michael Farley; 1792, Stephen Choate; 1813, Bailey Bartlett; 1814, Nathaniel Wade; 1852, Daniel Weed; 1853, Allen W. Dodge; 1878, Ed- ward K. Jenkins to 1904, when the present county treasurer, David I. Robinson, was elected.
Prior to 1652 there was but one prison in the colony. May 22 that year, the court ordered one to be built at Ipswich. In September the "Seven men" contracted with Henry Pinder and Thomas Rowell to con- struct such a building. It was to stand near the old watch-house, a site near the First Church, and was to be of the "same hight and wyndes." "There were to be three floors of joist, set thick and well bounded with partition above and below, and sides and ends, stud and stud spaces, and to clapboard the house round and shingle it and to daub its whole wall, all but the gable-ends, and to underpin the house and make doors and hinges, and hang the doors and fit the locks, which said house shall be finished, with all the drawings, iron work for the doors and nails by the 15th of May next." The contract price was fixed at forty pounds.
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ORGANIZATION OF ESSEX COUNTY
The first keeper was Theophilus Wilson, in 1656, when he received as compensation three pounds five shillings per year for each prisoner, and prisoners were to pay their board if able; and if not able, to be kept alive on bread and water. The prisoners were required to work, and the "seven-men" were required to keep on hand hemp and flax for that pur- pose, that they might always have plenty to do. Another prison, or house of correction, was provided in 1684. This was ordered by the Quarterly Court, and the expense was to be paid by the towns that sent juries to Ipswich.
In 1751 the town voted to petition the General Court Sessions "that the late prison be effectually repaired and established as heretofore as a prison and a house of correction." As a result, in 1771 (but not before then) was the prayer answered in the construction of a new jail built on the site of the old one.
In 1809-10 a stone jail was built in Ipswich by the county. Its cost was $27,000; it stood where later was the "County House." In 1866 it was sold to the Eastern Railroad Company, who used it to arch a road- way.
A prison (or, as we say today jail) in Essex County was built in Salem in 1668, near the southwesterly end of the meeting-house, which gives color to the statement that the church was sometimes used for courthouse purposes. The second jail was built in Salem in 1684, near the corner of Federal and St. Peter's streets, and the next jail or prison was built in 1813.
The jail or House of Correction at Lawrence was built in 1853, and with considerable improvements and additions it still serves its purpose. The original cost was $100,000. It is a stone structure, located on Auburn street. It has 116 cells, and can easily care for 180 prisoners. The site cost $3,200.
From all that can now be discovered, the first courts were held and county business in Essex County was transacted in the church, and this continued many years. A courthouse was built in Salem in 1719, which also served and was partly paid for by the incorporation of Salem. It stood on Washington street, near the southern end of the railway tunnel. In this building the General Court met, October 31, 1728; also April 2, and June 25, 1729, by order of Governor Burnet, because he believed that undue influence was exerted in Boston against a grant for his salary.
May 25, 1774, the General Court was adjourned by Governor Gage, to meet at Salem on the 7th of June; and again the Salem town house became historic. The sessions lasted eleven days, during which the court protested against its removal from Boston, and the 17th passed a resolve appointing James Bowdoin, Thomas Cushing, Samuel Adams, John Adams and Robert Treat Paine delegates to the Congress at Phila- delphia, "to consult upon measures for the restoration of harmony be- tween Great Britain and the Colonies." Upon this action, Governor
Essex-4
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ESSEX COUNTY
Gage at once, on the same day, dissolved the court; and so ended, in the old town-house in Salem, which ought to be standing today, the last Gen- eral Court in Massachusetts under a provincial governor.
On Thursday, the 1st of September, writs were issued by the gover- nor for a new court, to convene at Salem on October 5, but were recalled by proclamation. The Assembly met, notwithstanding, and organized with John Hancock, chairman, and Benjamin Lincoln, clerk; and October 7 voted "that the members of foresaid do now resolve themselves into a Provincial Congress, to be joined by such other persons as have been or shall be chosen for that purpose, to take into consideration the dangerous and alarming situation of public affairs in this Province, and to consult and determine on such measures as they shall judge will tend to promote the true interest of His Majesty and the peace, welfare and prosperity of the province." After this action, the Congress adjourned to Concord, where it was more formally organized by the election of, Mr. Hancock, president, and Mr. Lincoln secretary ; and after sessions in Concord and Cambridge finally dissolved. Thus the old town-house again became memorable, and was not only the scene of the last act under the old dis- pensation, but the scene also of the first act under the new.
In 1785, another building was erected for the joint use of the town and county, in the middle of Washington street, nearly opposite the Tabernacle Church, and town meetings were there held until the erection in 1816 of the town-house in Derby Square, which was used until the in- corporation of the city in 1836. In 1841 the present stone courthouse was completed, and in 1861 the handsome brick structure was added; the two buildings now connected, one with the other, still serve the needs of the county.
The second court house in Ipswich was completed in the spring of 1795. Its cost was $7,000, of which the town paid one-half. This served until 1855, when upon the removal of the courts from Ipswich, it was sold to the Methodist society and converted into a chapel. Later it was moved to Depot Square and converted into a business house.
Concerning the courthouse at Lawrence, it may be stated that at first the people of Lawrence were compelled to travel to Salem or New- buryport to attend court and to transact other county business. After the town-house or city hall was built in Lawrence, quarters were provided for the court, then known as the Court of Common Pleas, in the audience hall of such building. Later, sessions were held in Music Hall, but in 1859 the county completed a courthouse there. The Essex Company donated the land, the city provided the foundation, and the Essex county commissioners erected the building. In the great fire of 1859, which burned the United States Hotel, this courthouse was almost ruined, but in 1860 was rebuilt. This served Lawrence until 1900, when through the members of the Essex county bar and the State Legislature, the present building was provided at a cost of $250,000, all told, from beginning to
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ORGANIZATION OF ESSEX COUNTY
completion. Here are ample rooms for all departments of the county's business, including the superior criminal, a superior civil and a probate court, a registry of deeds, a law library, besides numerous offices. The law library is claimed to be one of the best in all New England, with its 13,000 volumes. The structure is fireproof, built of brick with free-stone trimmings.
What is usually known as the Essex County Industrial Farm is one of the most unique experiments ever tried out with a good degree of success in this country. This enterprise was started in the dark days of the late World War, when every available foot of land was being required by the government, in order that enough provisions might be obtained successfully to carry on our part of the conflict-feed our home people and send abroad what we could possibly spare. It was then that the county commissioners of Essex county bethought them- selves to set the some forty or more convicts at work clearing a tract of land near Danvers and making it fit for cultivation. This was ac- complished, and in 1918 there was produced a crop of 450 bushels of potatoes, all the fresh vegetables that could be consumed in the prison camp and an excess for the county jail, a large supply of winter vege- tables including turnips, beets, beans, and buckwheat, and some 3,000 head of cabbage, more than could be used in the camp and in the Salem House of Correction. This crop was secured from land that a few months before was under a heavy underbrush and covered with thousands upon thousands of stones, which these forty county prison- ers had to remove before plowing and planting could proceed.
No inmate is required to go against his will, but once he decides to join the colony, he is expected to "brace up" and make a man of him- self; to conform to the few simple rules as laid down by the county commissioners; and not to leave the immediate vicinity of the camp without permission. These prisoners are chiefly victims of the liquor habit, who have been sentenced to the county jail. Here they are well fed, have excellent beds, and work sufficient to keep them healthy in both body and mind. They also were set at work clearing off grounds, near by the camp, where now stands the great tubercular hospital. This preliminary work was all accomplished by these trusty prisoners, who work without any guard. In the life of the institution, only one man has made his escape. It is good for the men and also good for the county.
Essex County was incorporated in 1643, and has three shire towns - Salem, Lawrence and Newburyport. Its officers at this time include: Judges of Probate and Insolvency, Harry R. Dow, North Andover, and Alden P. White, Salem. Register of Probate and Insolvency, Horace H. Atherton, Jr., Lynn; Sheriff, Arthur G. Wells, Lynn; Clerk of the Courts, Archie N. Frost, Lawrence; County Treasurer, David I. Robinson, Gloucester; Registers of Deeds, Northern district, Moses Marshall,
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ESSEX COUNTY
Commissioners : John M. Grosvenor, Jr., Swampscott; James C. Poor, North Andover; Benjamin B. Gilman, Haverhill. Trial Justices: Albion G. Peirce, Methuen; Culver J. Stone, Andover; Newton P. Fry, North Andover; Moses S. Case, Marblehead; William E. Ludden, Saugus; Walter H. Southwick, Nahant.
Essex County has the following institutions belonging to various State Departments : The Essex County Agricultural School, located at Danvers (Hawthorne postoffice), Fred A. Smith, present director; Trustees-George C. Thurlow, George W. Cressy, Ralph S. Bauer, Justin E. Varney, and the county commissioners.
The State Normal School at Salem was opened in 1854. The pres- ent principal (1921) is J. Asbury Pitman.
The Danvers State Hospital for the Insane has for trustees at this time (1921) : Francis S. Caskins, Jr., Danvers, term expires 1921; Mary Ward Nichols, Danvers, 1922; S. Herbert Wilkins (chairman), Salem, 1923; James F. Ingraham, Jr., Peabody, 1924; Arthur C. Nason, Newburyport, 1925; Katherine Abbott, Manchester, 1926; Samuel Cole (secretary), Beverly, 1927. John B. Macdonald, M. D. is superintendent.
The following shows the valuation of property in Essex County in 1921:
Polls
Property
Amesbury
2,723
$ 9,011,893
Methuen
Polls 4,095
Property 14,639,117
Andover
2,025
9,658,714
Middleton
305
1,070,551
Beverly
5,961
38,539,605
Nahant
495
4,597,237
Boxford
166
896,193
Newbury
480
2,115,755
Danvers
2,713
9,155,522
Newburyport
4,025
13,177,349
Essex
470
1,391,653
North Andover
1,718
9,174,392
Georgetown
515
1,360,651
Peabody
6,358
26,501,199
Gloucester
7,084
29,462,107
Rockport
1,172
4,467,604
Groveland
631
1,506,326
Rowley
359
1,110,884
Hamilton
467
4,163,397
Salem
11,033
46,304,119
Haverhill
15,019
53,770,544
Salisbury
499
1,999,570
Ipswich
1,480
6,785,382
Saugus
2,646
7,983,680
Lawrence
20,053
101,226,232
Swampscott
1,991
14,797,505
Lynn
26,553
106,443,504
Topsfield
280
2,476,756
Lynnfield
414
1,649,932
Wenham
278
2,346,339
Manchester
760
12,802,237
West Newbury
419
1,045,305
Marblehead
2,079
11,839,237
Merrimac
585
1,749,300
Totals
125,851
$555,219,791
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTOR, LENOX TILDEN FOUNDATIONS
OLD NEW ENGLAND GARDEN
CHAPTER V.
TOWN OF SAUGUS.
Saugus is in the extreme southern corner of Essex county, Massa- chusetts. It is almost six miles in length by two and four-tenths mile ; in width. It is bounded on the north by Lynnfield and Wakefield, easter- ly by Lynn city, southerly by Revere, and westerly by Revere, Melrose and Wakefield. It has an area of near thirteen and one-half square miles. Over two miles square are included in the salt marsh at the south end of the township, being separated from Massachusetts Bay only by a narrow strip of land known as Revere Beach. From Boston it is only nine miles. The name Saugus is Indian, meaning "extended," suggested by its broad salt marshes. The Indians called all the territory between Boston on the south and Salem on the north Saugus. What is now called Saugus river was known by the Indians as "Abousett," a much prettier name than Saugus.
The first political status of Saugus is found October 19, 1630, when John Taylor was admitted as a freeman to the General Court. In 1634 Nathaniel Turner, Edward Tomlins and Thomas Willis were representa- tives from Saugus to the first legislature. Not over seven "prudential men" were allowed to be chosen in 1636.
The city of Lynn, as now known, and the towns of Swampscott, Lynnfield, Reading, Wakefield and Nahant, in 1636 were all included within Saugus township. Not liking the Indian name Saugus, and wish- ing a legal change of the name, and thinking of the city of Lynn, Eng- land, they asked the legislature to change the name to Lynn. The peti- tion was granted November 15, 1637, when the shortest bill ever passed, possibly, was made a record-"Saugust is called Lin." The name so re- mained until November 15, 1815, when by a legislative act the present territory was set off from Lynn and received its original name-Saugus. For many years before this, however, it was styled ecclesiastically, "West Parish."
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