USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Dover > Narrative history : a history of Dover, Massachusetts, as a precinct, parish, district, and town > Part 6
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Although widely scattered, theirs was not the isolated life of the farmers of to-day in the Dakotas or Nebraska,
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HISTORY OF DOVER
who, coming from many lands and climes, have nothing in common in history or ancestry.
The people of the Springfield Parish were largely descended from the early settlers in Dedham ; and, whenever they met, they had a common past to talk about.
In their isolation the life of the women was blessed through the handicraft of the age, which really added to their comfort, intelligence, and contentment. In this respect they were better off than the women of the pioneer homes of to-day, where the sound of the spin- ning-wheel is never heard, and where the stockings and clothes, together with other articles, are purchased ready-made.
Some of the houses built by the early settlers are still standing,-as the Glassett house, 1748; the Arnold Wight house, 1755 ; the George E. Chickering house, I 769. The first houses were built on hill-tops to avoid the gloom of the forest, and universally faced the south, no matter which way the road ran, with roofs slanting in the rear to within a few feet of the ground. If painted at all, red was used. Previous to the Revo- lution, houses were seldom painted white, and the diamond-shaped® window-pane was almost universal. The large chimney in the center of the house was con- spicuous, and usually furnished three fireplaces in as many rooms on the first floor. Every window on the south side of the house was a sun-dial, and by means of a "noon mark" told twelve o'clock with the accuracy of a chronometer.
The sleeping-rooms were without means of heating ; and in sickness, or when a guest was present in winter,
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the warming-pan, a shallow brass pan with a heavy cover, was brought into use. The beds were of feathers, and rested on a sack of straw. The bedstead was of maple, and was corded with a small rope stretched crosswise, which held the bedstead firmly together. The bedstead and the chest of drawers were the most important articles of furniture in every house.
The kitchen was one of large dimensions, whose fire- place was furnished with andirons, crane, pothooks and trammels ; while the shovel, tongs, poker, and bellows were at hand. The wooden settle, of which there are some fine specimens in town, stood near the fireplace. The brick oven was a much-used contrivance, and when heated with fagots furnished a complete system for baking. Here were baked the pumpkin pies, the Indian puddings, the brown bread, and pork and beans which have made New England famous. In kindling the fire the tinder-box was often brought into use, a spark being struck with a flint-and-steel, and a bit of the tinder lighted, which in turn kindled a bit of wood which had previously been tipped with brimstone. At bedtime the embers were carefully covered with ashes, and usually kept until morning ; but, when the fire was lost and the tinder was damp, somebody had to go to the nearest house to get a live coal, which was carried with a pair of tongs.
There was no carpet on the floor of the " best room," but numerous braided rugs of a variety of colors, a table, and high-backed, splint-bottomed chairs. The simple furniture in these early homes was all brought over from England, many pieces of which, made of choice wood, are still in existence in the homes of those descended from these settlers.
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Wooden bowls, plates, and spoons were used, with pewter platters and porringers. The introduction of tea and coffee, which was drunk from cups and sau- cers, banished the porringer. When first introduced, crockery plates were objected to because it was thought they dulled the knives.
The kitchen was usually furnished with two spinning- wheels, a small one for flax and a large one for wool, on which was spun the linen thread and woollen yarn which by means of hand-looms was woven into cloth. Once a year the itinerant tailoress and shoemaker visited the home to make up a year's supply of clothes and shoes. Around the kitchen were hung, in early autumn, a year's supply of fragrant herbs, dried apples, red pep- pers, and selected ears of seed-corn, together with a supply of crookneck squashes, which sometimes kept in sound condition during the entire year ; and an abun- dant supply of cranberries were at hand.
The cheese-press was placed in a little room adjoining the kitchen ; and there was made the wholesome cheese, which, taken from the press, was placed upon shelves, and daily turned and buttered. In those days no butcher made triweekly rounds; and the farmer had little fresh meat except at pig-killing, or when a lamb, or calf, or steer was slaughtered.
An exchange of meat was often made with a neigh- bor, and in this way the supply was extended over a large part of the year. Much rye and cornbread and many vegetables were eaten. Potatoes were very spar- ingly partaken of at first, as they were thought to be poisonous. The few left over in the spring were care- fully buried lest they should be eaten by a horse or
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cow. Apple-sauce, sometimes called apple-butter, which was made by boiling unfermented cider down almost to a syrup, in which the pared and quartered apples were placed, together with some quinces for flavoring, made a very appetizing preserve. As the early houses had no underpinning, when winter approached they were banked up with leaves, sawdust, or earth, for warmth and protection to the roots, fruit, cider, and other articles which were stored in the cellar.
The early settlers did not cultivate a great variety of fruit. Their apple and pear trees, some specimens of which are still standing, were grown from seeds brought over from England. The thrifty farmer made ample provision for housing his stock and protecting his hay, wagons, and farming tools in large and well-kept barns and sheds, which were often in better repair than the house, and were the admiration of foreigners. In those days there was no application of science to agriculture, no special adaptation of the plant to the soil.
In haying-time the farmer commenced to mow with his scythe by four o'clock in the morning. The grass was all spread, turned, and raked by hand. The fields were broken up and the sward turned under by means of a wooden or wrought-iron plough, which was made by the town blacksmith. The ground was pulverized for planting by means of cross-ploughing and the use of the toothed harrow, which is now used only in seeding. All hoeing was done by hand, and the farmer was given to hilling rather than to level culture.
Travel was largely on horseback; and many now in middle life can remember the horse-blocks, which were placed at convenient points in town to assist in mount-
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HISTORY OF DOVER
ing and dismounting from the saddle or the pillion hung across the horse's back.
The price of farm products fluctuated greatly accord- ing to local abundance or scarcity. As the price of commodities was very low, there was little money with which to purchase anything more than the bare neces- saries ; of life. Farmers' families had an abundance of everything which could be grown or produced, but there was little bought for the household. Wild game was plentiful. A record made in the winter of 1752-53 says " plenty of pigeons." In the spring there was an abundance of fish in the Charles River. The wild pigeon has become almost extinct, while thirty years ago flocks of fifty or more were seen feeding on the blueberries in swamps. Wages were very low: farm hands were paid from thirty-three to fifty cents a day, while well-grown lads received from four to five dollars a month. Men often labored a day for a " sheep's head and pluck." Milk sold for two cents a quart, and butter for thirteen cents a pound. Apples were worth twelve and a half cents a bushel. The use of a yoke of oxen for a day was twenty-five cents. Shoes cost sixty cents a pair to make, and board was one dollar a week.
We often read of the bundle handkerchief as though it was an institution peculiar to Salem. It was com- monly used in Dover early in the present century. It was doubtless originally introduced into Salem, like blue china and preserved ginger, through the East India trade. As its name indicates, the bundle handkerchief was used for enclosing all sorts of things, and came into daily use in neighborhood visits, in shopping, and for all purposes for which travelling-bags are now employed.
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These handkerchiefs were made of a variety of material, - silk and linen for visiting purposes, while for ordi- nary use they were made of remnants of various kinds.
The boys labored with their fathers on the farm with- out compensation until they reached their majority ; and the girls assisted their mother in the housework, which, in addition to the ordinary work of to-day, embraced every form of spinning and weaving cotton, wool, and flax, knitting, tailoring, making men's underclothing, quilts, comforters, dyeing, making of soap, candles, yeast, browning of coffee, drying of fruit and vegetables, and pickling and salting of meats.
The monotony of the farm-life for boys and girls was broken only by a few months of the most elementary schooling in the winter season, they having earned the privilege of going to school by doing " chores" in the morning and again at evening.
There was no effort made to furnish amusement for the children. On the contrary, they were taught, as soon as they were able, to work. Later they were entertained with stories of Moll Pitcher, an uncanny woman of Salem, who was supposed once in a while to travel through this region. In the early fall the boys trapped the rabbit and partridge, and later, in company with their fathers and elder brothers, fished for pickerel through the ice.
When the snow lay hard and smooth on the highway, or deep and crusted in the fields, was the time for moonlight slides. Then the boys and girls on impro- vised sleds coasted down the steepest hills.
During the winter months singing-schools were held in the schoolhouse, and spelling-schools also, where the
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HISTORY OF DOVER
best spellers chose their sides, and all stood up in rivalry to spell each other down.
In the fall, under the harvest moon, frequent husking- parties were given, where in shed or barn the merry huskers, with the girls of the neighborhood, carried out in spirit Whittier's huskers' song : -
" Heap high the farmer's wintry hoard, Heap high the golden corn ; No richer gift has Autumn poured From out her lavish horn.
" Let earth withhold her goodly root, Let mildew blight the rye, Give to the worm the orchard's fruit, The wheatfield to the fly :
" But let the good old crop adorn The hills our fathers trod ;
Still let us, for his golden corn, Send up our thanks to God."
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CHAPTER VII.
COLONIAL CONTESTS.
EARLY MILITARY ORGANIZATION - LOUISBURG - CROWN POINT - REPEAL OF THE STAMP ACT-SONS OF LIB- ERTY - BOSTON TEA-PARTY - COMMITTEE APPOINTED TO SEE THAT NO TEA WAS DRUNK IN THE SPRINGFIELD PARISH - VOTE NOT TO PURCHASE IMPORTED ARTICLES - COMMITTEE OF CORRESPONDENCE - TORIES.
" My country, 't is of thee, Sweet land of liberty,- Of thee I sing : Land where my fathers died,
Land of the pilgrims' pride, From every mountain side Let freedom ring !"
As Dover was only a parish in Dedham, and unrecog- nized in any official records, it is impossible to make its history as complete as that of an incorporated town ; yet we have made as full a record as possible of the noble part our fathers bore in the colonial contests and in the great struggle for American independence.
The children in our public schools will find in this local history the successive steps for independence, which are referred to in their school histories as the work of a few leaders, participated in by their own ancestors in the Dedham town-meeting.
While the French were striving to gain supremacy in New England, their Indian allies were constantly engaged in petty border wars on the frontier, surprising
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HISTORY OF DOVER
lonely hamlets, slaughtering many women and children, and torturing to death many fighting-men.
To meet the dangers to which they were exposed, a militia was maintained for many years. Sometimes the residents of several parishes united to form a company. Such an organization existed in West Dedham as late as 1754, and the following residents of the Springfield Parish were members of the company under Capt. Joseph Richards : -
John Jones, Ensign. John Chickering, Sergeant. Hezekiah Allen, Jr., Oliver Bacon, Corporals.
Privates.
Jonathan Bullard, Ezra Gay,
John Draper, Jr.,
Daniel Whiting,
Samuel Chickering,
Jonathan Whiting, Jr., Lemuel Richards,
William Whiting,
Nathaniel Wilson,
Ebenezer Battle, John Griggs,
Thomas Draper,
Daniel Chickering,
Joseph Draper,
Joseph Draper, Jr.,
Eliphalet Chickering, Ralph Day,
Thomas Richards,
Josiah Fisher, Joshua Ellis,
Hezekiah Allen,
John Battle,
Jonathan Whiting, Jonathan Battle,
John Mason, Richard Bacon, Eleazer Allen,
James Draper,
Jonathan Battle, Jr.,
Samuel Metcalf,
Timothy Guy, Ephraim Bacon,
Joseph Chickering.
A Dedham company probably took part at Louisburg in 1758, as the records of the Second Parish (Norwood) show that five residents of that parish, in addition to the minister, the Rev. Mr. Balch, who was a chaplain, were officers in a company. Among so many officers there must have been some privates. All the Dedham parishes were doubtless represented in the signal vic- tory at Louisburg, but the names of soldiers cannot
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be given. In the contest at Crown Point, N.Y., in 1755, Daniel Whiting and Timothy Guy took part in Capt. William Bacon's company. Others were engaged at different times and places as follows : Timothy Ellis, Lemuel Richards, David Cleaveland, Hezekiah Gay, Thomas Larrabee, and Ephraim Richards.
We must remember that the people were now poor, that they had little more than the necessities and lesser comforts of life. They were engaged in clearing and subduing lands, and not in those trades which create wealth. They were making it possible for the colony to grow and flourish. There was not a man in all New England who would be considered rich in England. Burke in 1763 said, "Some of the most considerable provinces of America, such, for instance, as Massachu- setts Bay and Connecticut, have not in each of them two men who can afford at a distance from their estates to spend a thousand pounds a year," and, as an argu- ment against the thought of their representation, said, " How can these provinces be represented at Westmin- ster ?" Dr. Franklin testified in 1766, " In my opinion there is not gold and silver enough in the colonies to pay the stamp duty for one year." The colonies were forced to trade with England to such an extent that Burke said, "The north provinces import from Great Britain ten times more than they send in return to us." This occasioned shortness in gold and silver, and most of the trade consequently among individuals was by barter. Massachusetts, with a population of two hun- dred and forty thousand, less than half the present population of Boston, expended during the French and Indian War on her own account four hundred and
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ninety thousand pounds sterling, which burdened the colony with debt.
After the close of the French and Indian War, in 1765, a new difficulty arose. The war had added greatly to the expenses of the government in Great Britain ; and, as America had shared in the benefit, the British government thought she should share also in the expense, forgetting that the Americans had contributed in their way and had debts also to pay. The province of Massachusetts furnished nearly thirty thousand sol- diers and seamen, and it is said that one year in particu- lar every fifth man was engaged in war. This being true, a place so near Boston as the Springfield Parish must have been represented by a goodly number of men,- more than those whose names have been recorded.
To meet the expenses of the small force which was kept up in America as defence against the Indians, the English government in 1764 passed the famous Stamp Act. The enforcement of this law caused great wrath in Dedham. Samuel Dexter, Esq., represented the town in the General Court ; and he received the follow- ing instructions from a committee of seven chosen by the town, of which committee Col. John Jones, of the Springfield Parish, was a prominent member : -
To SAMUEL DEXTER, EsQ. :
Sir :- The freeholders and other inhabitants of the town of Dedham, greatly alarmed at the late burdens which the Parlia- ment of Great Britain has laid upon the colonies, particularly at the tax imposed on us by the Stamp Act, so called, and being desirous by all regular and legal methods to do what lies in our power to prevent the difficulties in which we shall be involved by
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COLONIAL CONTESTS
the operation of the said Act, if the same should take place in this province, do now instruct you that, while you appear at and represent this town in the Great and General Court, you do by no means join in any public measures for countenancing and assist- ing in the execution of the said Act.
It being the sense of the town that our rights as British sub- jects, which are founded in those that are common to all mankind, are by this Act greatly infringed upon, and that our invaluable charter rights are also thereby in a great measure violated, and not being sensible that this province has by any disloyal or un- worthy conduct forfeited the privileges it enjoyed, we do there- fore, in justice to ourselves and our posterity, direct you that you be not wanting in your endeavor in the General Assembly to have these rights in direct terms asserted and vindicated, which being left on record will be a testimony for us, in future genera- tions, that we did not tamely acquiesce in the loss of our liberty. To do this we think it our duty; and we desire thus in the way of our duty to trust in the good providence of God, which often has and we hope will again appear for our relief, however dark the prospect may appear.
As we have an unquestionable right to give you the foregoing instructions, so, we doubt not, you will consider it as your duty to pay all due attention thereto and strictly observe the same. All other matters we leave to your prudence, trusting you will always act as you judge most for the interests of the province in general and of this town in particular.
The news of the repeal of the Stamp Act in May, 1766, was an occasion of great rejoicing, and in few places more so than in Dedham. A committee of the Sons of Liberty, of which Col. Ebenezer Battle, of the Springfield Parish, was a prominent member, was chosen to erect the famous Pillar of Liberty ; and his name is still read on the granite base, as it stands on the Dedham church green.
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HISTORY OF DOVER
Barre, one of the members of Parliament who spoke against the Stamp Act, referred to the agitators in America as the "sons of liberty." This phrase was taken up and adopted as the name of a powerful organ- ization, the members of which agreed to buy no British goods. The Sons of Liberty had a large membership in the Springfield Parish. Toryism was severely de- nounced, and citizens showing any sympathy with Great Britain were waited on by delegates of the Sons of Liberty.
Col. John Jones held a commission as justice under the King. As the Sons of Liberty in Boston com- pelled Oliver, the stamp collector, to resign his office under the Liberty Tree, so the Sons of Liberty here in 1774, under a spreading tree which is still standing, requested Col. John Jones to resign his commission as a magistrate to King George. He did not think it best to refuse to comply with this pressing invitation ; and it is said, to Colonel Jones's great credit, that in after years he became a loyal supporter of the new govern- ment. He had two sons who served in the Revolution. His oldest son, John Jones, Jr., died in the Revolution- ary service at Crown Point, July 4, 1776.
At a town-meeting held March 5, 1770, at the Ded- ham First Parish meeting-house, it was voted "that as the duty on tea furnishes so large a sum towards ye maintenance and support of an almost innumerable mul- titude who live upon the fruits of the honest industry of the inhabitants, from the odious Commissioners of the Customs down to the dirty informers that are employed by them, therefore we will not make use of any foreign tea, nor allow the consumption of it in our respective
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WILLIAMS' TAVERN.
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families till such time as, the duty being first taken off, this town shall by some future vote grant an indulgence to such persons to drink tea as have not virtue enough to leave off the use forever." Dea. Ralph Day, of this parish, was one of the committee of five who were appointed to see that the foregoing vote was complied with.
But the crisis came when the King sent vessels to Boston laden with tea. Residents of this parish at- tended that great meeting of seven thousand people which was held December 16, 1773, in Faneuil Hall, and adjourned to the Old South Meeting-house for more room. At the close of that memorable meeting Timothy Guy was one of those who gave the war- whoop, and then proceeded to Griffin's Wharf, where they took possession of the three tea ships, and emptied their entire cargo into the sea.
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" Oh, ne'er was mingled such a draught, In palace hall or arbor, As freemen brewed and tyrants quaffed That night in Boston Harbor."
Dover thus shares in the honor of having taken part in the Boston Tea-party, which was one of the most momentous and far-reaching events of the troubled times before war was openly declared.
The morning after the Tea-party John Adams wrote in his diary : "Last night three cargoes of Bohea tea were emptied into the sea. This morning a man-of-war sails. This is the most magnificent movement of all. There was a dignity, a majesty, sublimity, in this last effort of the patriots that I greatly admire. The people
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should never rise without doing something to be remem- bered,- something notable and striking. This destruc- tion of the tea is so bold, so daring, so firm, so intrepid and inflexible, and it must have so important conse- quences and so lasting, that I cannot but consider it as an epoch in history."
December 5, 1774, the town voted "that we do further engage that we will not drink, nor suffer any in our families to drink, any kind of India tea till we have a full redress of all the grievances enumerated in the Association Agreement " ; and, as members of a com- mittee of thirteen who were to carry out this vote, Dea. Ralph Day, Capt. Ebenezer Battle, and Lieut. Ebenezer Newell were chosen from the Springfield Parish.
This committee of inspection were instructed to endeavor to find out whether any of the inhabitants pre- sumed to violate the foregoing engagement, and, if any were found acting contrary thereto, to post up their names in some public place in each parish, as enemies of the welfare of America.
At the Boston town-meeting in November, 1772, Samuel Adams introduced an order that "a committee of correspondence be appointed, to state the rights of the colonists of this province in particular, as men, as Christians, and as subjects, and also request of each town a few communications of their sentiments on the subject." To meet the requirements of this vote, at a Dedham town-meeting held December 27, 1773, a com- mittee of correspondence was chosen, "to join with other towns in such measures as might be proper, salutary, and effectual for the redress of our grievance and liberties."
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Dea. Ralph Day, of this parish, was one of a commit- tee of four who, as delegates to the convention held September 15, 1774, adopted the celebrated Suffolk resolutions. It must not be imagined that the people were all loyal. There were Tories among them, yet Toryism was not permitted; and, when an outspoken Tory carried provisions to the British quartered in Boston, a company of indignant citizens waited on him, and in the words of the leader said : " Zounds ! have you been feeding the British? If we hear any more of this, we will pull your house down from over your head."
On the morning of the battle of Bunker Hill, as Solomon Richards was hastening towards Boston, he met a man who denied there had been an engagement. At this point another man rode up who contradicted the statement. Mr. Richards took the man a prisoner, bound him upon his horse, and carried him to the house of his father-in-law, at the Peacock Tavern, Jamaica Plain, where he was detained until the truth could be ascertained. In the meantime a body of soldiers arrived and demanded the Tory, that they might hang him during their halt. Mr. Richards insisted that the prisoner should have a trial. The well known patri- otism of Mr. Richards, together with that of his father- in-law, saved the man from the gallows, but not from thirty-nine lashes ordered by the court. Twelve mem- bers of the Richards family, eight of whom were brothers, took part in the Revolution.
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