USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Wenham > Notes on Wenham history, 1643-1943 > Part 7
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The Deposition of Josiah Sweet of Wenham of Lawfull age testifieth and saith "yt he was at yee House of M' Timº Patches; of sd on or abought yee 20h of Feb", 1766 and there was Mr Jacob Dodge, with a General Note for Each propriator of ye East End of wenham; to subscribe money to defray yee Charge they had ben at, in Building thair School House and thare Came in M" Peter dodge, Mr Ja- cob Dodge present ye Note to ye sª peter Dodge; for him to subscribe, and ye sª peter tuck ye pen and subscribed, ye Sum I am not so sure of, but M' Jacob sed to m' peter ye propriators Vote is, yt if any man Does not subscribe two thirds of what he would be taxed his nam should be Crosed out and he should have no right in ye School House; and if you Do not subscribe more, I will take ye pen and Crose you ought, with it m" peter asked for a knife, I Gave him mine, he tuck ye knife an rubed out what he had subscribed, and then tuck ye pen and sub- scribed as it now stands on ye Note; and I Conceived of it then as I Do now, yt it was one pound Sixteen Shill- ings, and further this Deponant saith not
Josiah Swett3"
school house for teaching the children, by the space of one year together, then the foregoing alienation shall be void, and the title shall revert to sd Daniel Fisk and his heirs and as- signs."-E. R. D., Vol. 84: 36.
3 Josiah Swett was the son-in-law of Skipper Dodge, who lived at Wenham Neck.
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Notes on Wenham History, 1643-1943
School Committee. The schools which were supported by the town were administered by the Selectmen up to the year 1772. After that date, a school committee was yearly elected to conduct the schools-to outline the courses of study, to hire the teachers and fix their compensation.
Grammar Schools. A period of high prices marked the years just before the Revolution, and small towns like Wenham found it difficult to support higher schools than those teaching reading, writing and cyphering; it had become a practise for the General Court to allot land grants to such small towns to enable them to establish grammar schools, the additional revenue from the sale of these lands making this possible.
Wenham should have a grammar school, and took steps to procure one of these grants by appointing in 1734 Wil- liam Fairfield to present a petition for such a grant. This petition was unsuccessful. The town must, on account of its population at this time, find some means of meeting this obligation.
However bad the conditions financially, two important levies were met each year by the town-the minister's salary and the schools. Wenham, with New England shrewdness, accomplished both by one stroke. They con- ferred with Mr. Swain, whose salary was so inadequate, and offered him three hundred pounds in the depreciated currency to teach a grammar school a part of the year, thus securing a master at a small price and increasing the minister's salary. One appropriation accomplished both from the standpoint of the town.
SOCIAL LIFE IN THE 18TH CENTURY
In the absence of any diary of a Wenham person of this period from which to catch a glimpse of the social life of the town, more or less isolated, since transporta- tion continues to be difficult, we may assume that visits to and fro of neighbors were limited to walking distance, except for special occasions.
The great event of the week was the trip to Salem, where special shopping was done, beyond the capacity of the local stores. There was no cash practically, and shopping was done by barter. The fine collection of account books of this century, in the Historical House, gives an excellent idea of prices and commodities, and of the trading. One took a dozen eggs to market and brought home the quart of molasses needed.
The church was the center of social activity for some, the tavern for others.
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TRANSPORTATION
The appropriations for road repair and road building in Wenham have always been generous, particularly those years when the town had very limited available funds. However generous the appropriations in proportion to the town's finances, they were too small to build good roads. To offset the poor conditions of the winding country roads, and to make more direct communication between impor- tant cities, the Legislature chartered private companies, with power to build roads, between certain points, and to collect tolls. These roads, turnpikes they were called, started in Boston and radiated from there in a straight line to important cities. The turnpike which was of in- terest to Wenham was the Newburyport Turnpike, which shot a straight line, over hill, brook and ravine to its des- tination, Newburyport.
The coming or building of this turnpike isolated still more our little town. Wenham had never been a stopping place for the stages, being just the wrong distance for meals or lodging, but the passing through each day was an event.1 No longer did the through stage to Portland, or the private chaise clatter through the country town. No longer did these symbols of the outer world, before and beyond it, stir the imagination of its inhabitants.
1 The old four-horse stage coach was an important factor in town life. When the horn tooted all was hum and bustle. The horses generally came in on the full run and drew up in front of the old tavern, where the foaming horses were exchanged for a fresh team. While this was being done, the travelers who wished, had an opportunity to visit the bar-well supplied with the various kinds of liquors-West Indies rum predominating .- Reminiscences of Aaron Lee in "From the Atlantic to the Pa- cific."
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AGRICULTURE
Eighteenth Century. During this century little change was made in agricultural methods. More produce was raised, as more time could be given to raising crops, in place of clearing land to be made ready for crops. Since this was a century of wars, special emphasis was placed on the duty of each town to supply requisitions for the armies. The weather seemed against big harvests. Farm- ers were discouraged repeatedly by drought and frost. On these occasions the people would petition the Court to ap- point a fast. Another menace to the farmer was appear- ing in 1749, when the Governor was desired to "apoint a fast for the extreme drought, and great increase of in- sects."-Holyoke Diary.
During this century, marketing opportunities were in- creased in Salem, Lynn and more remote Boston.
1777. War time has necessitated regulations of food and rationing throughout our history. As grain was scarce, it was enacted that no wheat, corn, rye or oats shall be dis- tilled into spirits, no cider made into brandy.
Provisions were supplied to the army by a definite levy upon each town. Wenham in 1780 was required to supply a large quota of beef and corn. Apparently the three farms from which the town secured this levy were the larg- est in town, those of Richard Dodge, Abraham Dodge, and Jonathan Porter.
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FIRST QUARTER OF THE 19TH CENTURY WAR OF 1812
The nineteenth century opened in somewhat of a tur- moil; the new-born democracy was torn by conflicting opinions ; the men who had ventured their lives and their property to free this land from the tyranny of a foreign government found themselves in the tangle of the politics of a democracy, and they did not like it. "If all govern, who shall be governed," exclaimed George Cabot, rich merchant of Beverly, an echo of the same sentiment of Cotton Mather in the seventeenth century.
The opposing parties were well represented in Wenham by two leaders, Timothy Pickering and Daniel Killam. That group of people who represented the most rabid Fed- eralist was called the Essex Junto; these men believed in a government of the aristocracy - the wealthy Alex- ander Hamilton was the leader and Timothy Pickering his close follower; these men believed in democracy, a sort of limited democracy, using it when there was need of manpower, but for governing they believed only men of birth and education suitable. George Cabot's defini- tion of democracy was their belief, "democracy in its natural operation is the government of the worst."
The members of the Essex Junto were violently opposed to the War of 1812; the embargo of Jefferson hit at the very source of their wealth, and so it was natural that this group united in opposing the war - and so bitterly that they even advocated secession from the dearly bought Union. Timothy Pickering, a most earnest spokesman of this Essex Junto, found loyal support among his fellow townsmen in Wenham. Here was no wealthy group, but a citizenry of well-to-do farmers, English at heart, with a traditional deference to aristocracy. Timothy Pickering was a Federalist, because he believed in the logic of the party, not because of his condition in life, for he was al- ways a poor man. Public service was his life and his personal ambition was to secure for himself and his fam-
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ily the tranquility of farm life and the enjoyment of agri- cultural pursuits.
Some of the letters1 which he wrote to his family in Wenham illustrate the consistency of his life, in avoiding all that was sham or show. After describing his Christ- mas with the family of Nellie Custis Lewis at Mount Ver- non, he writes a word of caution to his two daughters, who were to spend the winter in Salem. ". . . Guard against colds, so often ending fatally to females in particular, ow- ing to the preposterous dresses for company and assem- blies, - amusements which had better be abandoned, if they cannot be attended, but in the dress of summer, at the extreme hazard of life and health." A little later he writes to his son Henry, who desired to arrange for his sisters to take music lessons - "There is no excuse for such indulgence, unless the parent is rich in wealth and the daughters in time, for your sisters have no time, for their mental improvement is invaluable, time to your sisters is above all price."
Opposing the views of Timothy Pickering in Wenham was Dr. Daniel Killam, another clear thinker. The argu- ments of these men as they met in town life make an in- teresting interlude to the erroneous belief that following the Revolution there was a united democracy in our town. We are told of town meetings where there was bitter de- bate, and the voters adjourned to the tavern to listen to the arguments of these two leaders, sometimes lasting for hours.
That the disunity and unpopular War of 1812 did not occasion secession of Massachusetts, at the Hartford Con- vention, is a tribute to the conservative elements of Essex county.
The coast towns were then as now - 1943 - exposed to the danger of attacks from the enemy on the sea, and then, as now, precautions were taken to resist such at- tacks.
The story is told of Colonel Porter of Wenham, who commanded the Ipswich regiment. He had told the Gen- eral of his brigade that in four hours he could get his men under arms if needed; this seemed impossible, but shortly
1 Life of Timothy Pickering-C. Upham; v. IV p. 199-
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after an alarm did come and Colonel Porter proved it was no idle boast, for in just one hour the Wenham company were assembled for the march to Salem with only one member absent, an accomplishment that our own State Guards in 1943 would find it hard to surpass, with all the aids of telephone and automobile.
The War of 1812 was a most unpopular war in Wen- ham; the enforcement of Jefferson's Embargo Act was re- garded as a direct assault upon New England prosperity, and so Wenham prosperity. They did not like religious toleration, French influence; they did not like Jefferson or any part of his democracy. However, Wenham men did go to the Front, and were represented on both land and sea in this unpopular contest. Volunteers were few, and Wenham was forced to hire men to fill its quota. This was a period of great want, and the town shared with its citizens the effects of the embargo and the extra- ordinary taxes. The pastor, Rev. Rufus Anderson, dur- ing the period 1809-1814, several times relinquished a por- tion of his meagre salary "for the benefit of those in need."2
However, during all this period, the town made and in some way collected taxes for the regular appropriations for church and school, for the poor and the highways.
Timothy Pickering was chosen by the town a delegate to meet in Convention to consult upon "the present awful and alarming situation in our country . . . and of adopt- ing all constitutional measures for the rest oration of peace and free commerce, upon which the well being of this Commonwealth essentially depends."
Feeling ran high in the County; Wenham was trans- ferred to the South Essex District when the state in 1814 redistricted, for choice of Congressman ; by this Act Wen- ham, formerly in the North Essex District, was trans- ferred to the South, which was a sort of stronghold of the Democratic party. Wenham might be counted on to vote the Federalist ticket, partly on account of their resent- ment to the Embargo, and partly because of their loyalty to Timothy Pickering. This transfer, of course, was a move to save the District to the Federal party.
2 W. T. R. Ms. copy- p. 198, 246.
HAT-UNIFORM OF CAPT. NICHOLAS DODGE 2nd Reg. of Infantry-2nd Brigade-2nd Div. of Militia- 1811-1818
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Each side exhausted their vocabulary in vituperation in their oratory. Timothy Pickering was elected with a good majority from his town. In his honor, a public dinner was given in Salem. From a contemporary diary,4 we learn that he "was escorted from his home in Wenham, by a cavalcade of one hundred and fifty - riding through Beverly. The opposing party, to show their disapproval, had the temerity to form an effigy of Pickering and burn it in public, both inconsistent with democratic principles."
While in the ninth Congress, Timothy Pickering wrote frequently to the family in Wenham, constantly irked by the delays of Congress. He writes, "The want of efficiency and energy in every department of the government, sick- ens the heart of every reflecting man. The thoughts of the persons in power seem to be chiefly engrossed in the contemplation of the means of maintaining it. People at a distance fancy that the wisdom of the nation is now col- lected in Washington, but were they to take a near view, they would pronounce it an assemblage of folly."3
Timothy Pickering's service to the Nation in the early days of the Republic is well known, and needs no repeti- tion. His residence in our town is not as well known, since it was the most tranquil part of his long life.
Beside the hard labor on the farm, which he conducted along the most advanced methods of the day, he took an active part in the town's affairs. , He served as Moderator at town meetings, on town committees, and in the affairs of the Church, where he occupied the seat of honor, as befitted his position.
After Timothy Pickering returned to New England, he rented a farm in Danvers, hoping to carry out his dream of cultivating the land. This farm did not prove adapted to his needs, and finally the farm in Wenham, formerly a part of the Samuel Smith grant, seemed to meet his needs and was purchased. It would be interesting to know what the house, now so gracious a dwelling, was like, at that time.
Timothy Pickering had great contempt for anything like fashion and display. When his prosperous son Henry,
4 Diary of Archelaus Putnam-May 28, 1808-D. H. C. v. 64. 3 Ibid-p. 101.
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visiting him one evening in Wenham, expressed the desire to make some alterations in the house to give it a better appearance, his father, the next day, wrote him declining this offer. "I have now a better house than any farmer in the country occupies - consider how superior to Mr. Blanchard's - for me to change the arrangment of my house without necessity, is utterly incompatible with my poverty. It is the rage, for a conformity to fashion, which brings distress to families, and makes larders lean. If that end of the house were to be burnt, without injury to the other part, we should be comfortable." The house was not remodelled.
Again later this same son, who had become a prosperous merchant, wished to secure for his father all the comforts and luxuries of life, which he enjoyed, and wished to settle an annuity upon him, writes, "I have long thought - that you are wearing out a life of inestimable value, in pursuits - which are incompatible with your age. I propose that you should either relinquish your farm en- tirely, or else that you should procure a tenant, who would conduct it in a manner to please you. I know your fond- ness for rural life, and I should not deprive you of that pleasure. I only ask you to desist from labor, and it is my determination to obtain for you a suitable annuity."
Timothy Pickering would not comply with this offer of his son. He had the same love of land which had domi- nated the early colonists, and wanted the independence of tilling his own acres.
It was, however, finally decided in later years-1820- to remove his family to Salem, where they could be per- manently established, and that the farm should be put in the charge of a tenant, allowing Mr. Pickering accommo- dations in the house and a share in the conduct of the farm. This arrangement continued until his death; he spent the week days at the farm and returned to Salem for Sundays. Arrangements were made for him to ride back and forth, but he more often walked. Many people in the last century have recalled meeting him, then eighty years of age, coming into Salem from Wenham, without the least appearance of fatigue.
Aftermath of the War of 1812. The loss of the ship-
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ping industry was a challenge to the men who had so pro- fitably carried it on. By the treaty of Ghent, the Essex Junto gradually faded into the Republican party. These men, who had so long been leaders, continued to show their powers of leadership; they were most resourceful in find- ing outlets for their capital. By securing a protective tar- iff, they turned their capital into industry, and as a result, Massachusetts emerged from the depression, following this war, an industrial state, in place of its former position as a maritime state.
Wenham was little affected by this new turn; it had not sufficient waterpower to induce mills to come here, as had Lowell and Lawrence, and remained an agricultural town, though it did not escape the search for suitable conditions of manufacturing. Manassah Cutler writes in his diary, July 24, 1800, "At Wenham, to assist Col. Burnham in taking the level of a Pond (Cedar) to Wenham Pond-to set up a manufactory." Later, August 23, "Mr. Blanch- ard invited me to dine, but was prevented. Went with him and Mr. Johonet of Baltimore to see Mr. Burnham's canal opened from a pond in Wenham, north-west of the Great Pond." Apparently this experiment was not a suc- cess, since there are no further records of a "manufac- tory."
SOME NOTES ON THE CIVIL WAR IN WENHAM
Slaves. From the earliest colonial days, slaves have formed a part, though only a small part, of the labor on the farms and in the homes of Wenham people. Shipped with the cargoes of rum and molasses from the Barbadoes were frequently a few colored people, who found ready purchasers.
The labor shortage was ever acute.1 English settlers who came over with indentured servants were soon in need of labor, as these indentured servants worked out their time and in turn became land-holders. As early as 1637, Hugh Peters writes to John Winthrop, "We have heard of a dividence of women and children in the Bay (Pequot captives ) and would be glad of a share, a young woman or a girle or a boye.2 I wrote too for some boyes from the Bermuads." Perhaps the Indian he secured was not the comfort anticipated, for we read in the Colonial records that his Indian Hope "was whipped for running away and drunkenness."3 Hugh Peters seemed frequently in need of a servant, for in September he again writes to a former servant, "my wife desires to send Hanna, that was her mayd, now in Charlestown, to ask if she would dwell with us, for truly we are so destitute, having now but an Indian, we know not what to do."4
Gradually well-to-do families kept, as a matter of neces- sity, one to three slaves as they could get them, and thus assure themselves of labor.
At Wenham Neck, the Dodges, descendants of pioneer Richard, owned slaves as they owned real estate. They bought5 them of their neighbors, they willed" them to
1 In 1630, on account of food shortage, 180 servants were given liberty, entailing a heavy loss.
2 Hugh Peter by Eleanor Peters.
3 Col. R. 1:11.
4 Mass. Hist. Col. 4th series-vol. 6.
5 1722-William Dodge from Hilton, boy Pompey-5 years old for £30 .- 1731-Vital records-record this Pompey was killed being run over by a cart-age 14-
6 1703 Richard2 Dodge wills to sons-Richard3 "negro man
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their children and rented7 them for labor. This general ownership of slaves in this section accounts for the tradi- tional slave burying ground at Wenham Neck, the un- fenced and unmarked burial place, in the midst of their owners' land, of these negro slaves.
The price of slaves varied, probably based on their po- tential value. In 1739 in the inventory of Barnabas Dodge, his negro man was valued at £110; in 1750, Jacob Dodge bought of Edward Waldron his negro man Arche- laus for £320.
Slaves were owned in other parts of the town. Jona- than Porter owned the well-known Pompey Black, who was for some years employed as sexton. When Massachu- setts became an anti-slavery state, and Pompey was in- formed he was free to go, he replied, as he "had worked hard to earn this property, and now I will remain and help spend it." This Pompey outlived his first master, was inherited by the son, Tyler Porter, and then descended to Dr. John Porter. He was ninety years old when he died in 1839. The widow Cue and John Gott also owned slaves which are recorded.
There were benches in the meeting house reserved for the slaves. In the year 1754 the census records sixteen slaves. Ten years later there were thirty-one and six negroes in addition.
While Wenham citizens owned slaves their sentiments were entirely anti-slavery. As their individual sentiments became merged in the policy of the State, it was an easy transition for the North to get a distorted view of the slavery in the South, and become Abolitionists. "Slavery became the symbol of all sectional differences; abolition- ists and their politicians magnified the intent and condi- tions, and made it the single object of their reform effort."
Civil War. When President Lincoln called for volun- teers, the men of Wenham responded loyally. As the war proceeded, great demands were made on the manpower; the town paid bounties to those who would enlist, and in 1 Mingo"; Daniel3 "my negro boy"; Richard4 Dodge wills to son Richard5 "negro man Hempstead"; to wife Mary-negro woman Silve and child-Probate -- 353 :140,335.
7 From a stray leaf in Account book of Skipper Dodge- "For labor of Jack & Zip"
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addition voted to reimburse the families of volunteers, in accordance with an Act of the Legislature. The town also had a relief committee, to aid volunteers and their fami- lies by private subscriptions. In every way the town stood behind the men in the armed forces who represented the town. The first year and a half the town paid $4350 in bounties to volunteers. In 1863 thirty-four families were assisted by the town to the amount of $2200, and as late as 1866 twenty-seven families were paid $1470.60.
Every experience of this war on land and sea was the experience of some Wenham man; every great battle was also the experience of some Wenham man.8 During the struggle, one hundred and thirty Wenham men were in the service, either on land or sea. The pastor of the church, Rev. John Sewall, was in the service as chaplain.
During the five long years that the huge armies battled back and forth, Wenham town itself was the scene of much military activity, as here in Wenham was one of the three military camps in the Salem District. Camp Lander as it was called was a permanent camp from 1862-1865 for the accommodation of troops during the organization pe- riod.
Camp Lander. The camp occupied fourteen acres, part of which is now Pingree Field. This tract was rented to the Government by the owner, Andrew Dodge, previ- ously owned in the eighteenth century by the Gardner- Winthrop families.
The Post was named Camp Lander in honor of Brig. Gen. C. W. Lander9 of Salem, one of the first to volun- teer, who after brilliant service as an officer died in March, 1862, a hero to his native city, Salem, which thus honored him, by naming the Post "Camp Lander."
Since the Adjutant General makes no mention of the establishment of this Camp, or gives any financial account
8 The school children of forty years ago, were told many of these experiences by the Civil war Veterans, who yearly visited the schools, during Memorial Day exercises, and retold their experiences-
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