USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Newbury > Ould Newbury: historical and biographical sketches > Part 16
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Be it therefore enacted that the Commissary-General with Messieurs William Coombs, Michael Hodge, & William Bartlett of Newbury- port in the County of Essex, merchants, be, and hereby are invested with full powers and authority to erect & build two small wooden light houses on the north end of Plumb Island aforesaid, and in the position above described, convenient for fixing proper lights thereon : provided the expense of erecting & building the said light houses shall not exceed the sum of £300 lawful money; & provided the said light houses be so constructed as whenever the said bar should shift, the said light houses be moved so as always to be kept in the position aforesaid.
And be it further enacted That the expense of building the said light houses shall be defrayed out of the monies which shall be received into the Treasury of the Commonwealth for the year 1788
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on account of duties imposed for the purpose of supporting & main- taining the several light houses in this Commonwealth not before appro- priated.
And be it further enacted, that when the light houses aforesaid shall be completed the Commissary General provide suitable lights to be placed therein, & maintain them in the same manner & out of the same funds as other public lights of this Commonwealth are provided and maintained ; and the Commissary General is hereby directed & enjoined to provide for the keeping the said light houses at all times in the posi- tion above described.
Provided nevertheless, That nothing in this Act shall oblige the Com- missary General to advance any money for the support of the Lights to be erected as aforesaid, until the debts previously contracted for the support of the public lights be first discharged out of the funds appro- priated therefor; but if any person or persons will advance money for the support of the said lights to be erected as aforesaid, the Commissary General is directed to charge the money so advanced to the said funds (Chapter 21, Acts of 1787).
Jan. 22, 1789, the General Court
Resolved that there be allowed & paid out of the treasury of this commonwealth to ye keeper of the light houses on Plumb Island for ye time being £66 per annum from & after the fifteenth day of February, 1789.
Seven days later the General Court,
Resolved that there be allowed & paid out of the Publick Treasury to William Coombs, Michael Hodge & William Bartlett, a committee appointed by a law of this Commonwealth passed Nov. 16, 1787, to build two wooden light houses on the north end of Plumb Island, the sum of £266, 4 shillings, 10 pence, being in full for their expenses for erecting & building the said light houses, The same to be paid out of the fund & in the manner already provided by law for this purpose.
June 10, 1790, the General Court passed the following
Act for granting to the United States of America the several public light houses within this commonwealth. Be it enacted, That there be & hereby are granted unto the United States of America ... the two light houses situate on the north end of Plumb Island in the county of Essex, together with the lands & tenements thereunto belonging, the property of this Commonwealth, with the jurisdiction of the same. . . .
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Also the four following buoys at the mouth of the Merrimack River, one on the Hum-sands, another on the Sunken Rocks, another on the Gangway Rocks. and the fourth on the Half-Tide Rocks. ...
Provided Nevertheless, That if the United States shall at any time hereafter neglect to keep lighted and in repair any one or more of the Light-houses aforesaid, then the grant of such Light House or Light houses so neglected shall be void & of no effect.
Provided also ... That if the United States shall at any time here- after make any compensation to any one of the United States for the cession of any lighthouse heretofore, or which may be hereafter, made to the United States, that then like compensation be made to this Com- monwealth by the United States for the cession of the lighthouses afore- said in proportion to their respective values.
PLUM ISLAND LIGHT-HOUSE.
The appointment of Abner Lowell, of Newburyport, as light-keeper was made by Washington, and sent to the senate for confirmation March 10, 1790. Mr. Lowell entered upon his duties immediately after his appointment, and served as light-keeper for nearly twenty years. He was succeeded by his son Lewis Lowell, who held the position until 1823, and then by his grandson Joseph Lowell, who continued in the same line of service for fourteen years, so that three genera- tions of the Lowell family, father, son, and grandson, held the office of light-keeper at Plum Island for forty-seven years.
In order to establish the rights and privileges of the United States in and to the land under and adjoining the light-houses, the legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts passed a general law ceding jurisdiction, as follows : -
Jurisdiction is hereby ceded to the United States over any tracts of land within this commonwealth, whether upland or covered by tide
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water, the title to which has heretofore been acquired by the United. States for the purpose of erecting or maintaining light houses, beacon lights, range lights, light-keepers dwellings or any signals for navigators & over any tracts of land, whether upland or covered by tide water, to which the United States shall acquire title from this Commonwealth. Such Jurisdiction is hereby ceded subject to the provisions of Chapter 233, Acts of 1871 (Chapter 383, Acts of 1874).
Aug. 8, 1856, one of these light-houses was destroyed by fire, and the other was rebuilt and provided with new lanterns. A movable light was then placed in range with the stationary
PLUM ISLAND HOTEL.
one, to mark the shifting channel at the mouth of the Merri- mack River, and was maintained by the federal government until 1890, when it was discontinued. The half-tone print on the preceding page gives a view of the light-house now standing.
The Plum Island Turnpike and Bridge Corporation was organized the latter part of December in the year 1804. Subscribers to the capital stock met Jan. 19, 1805, and ap- pointed a committee to examine and lay out a route for the proposed turnpike. The following year the General Court passed " An Act to establish Plum Island Turnpike and Bridge Corporation." Leonard Smith, Ebenezer Stocker, Moses Brown, William Bartlett, David Coffin, Jonathan Gage, and John Greenleaf, and their associates, were made a cor-
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poration for the purpose of laying and making a turnpike road from the northeast end of Rolfe's Lane in the town of New- bury to a point on Plum Island about one mile north of Sandy beach, so called, and building a bridge across Plum Island River, etc. (Chapter 41, Acts of 1806).
This act of incorporation was accepted by the stockholders March 14, 1806, and the turnpike and bridge were com- menced and completed during the summer of that year. The hotel was probably built in the year following. Benjamin Clifford, who was apparently the first landlord, entered upon his duties March 26, 1808. After passing through various
FLAT-IRON POINT .- "JOPPA."
vicissitudes of good and bad fortune, during which both bridge and turnpike were seriously injured by severe storms and frequently rendered wholly impassable, the stock of the corporation was purchased by a few individuals, and some years later the company was reorganized. Under the man- agement of the Amesbury, Haverhill & Lawrence Street Railway Company, it now provides convenient and commodi- ous horse-cars for the transportation of visitors to and from the island during the summer months.
The turnpike begins only a few rods below the pictur- esque collection of moss-covered houses and quaint little shops on the river bank, known by the name of "Joppa." That locality, like its ancient namesake, has been inhabited
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by fishermen from time immemorial. As early as 1640, sturgeon were there packed and pickled for the European market, at a later date mackerel and cod were brought from the sea and dried upon fish-flakes, and now large quantities of
EC NEAL & CO
PLEASANT ST
CLAM HOUSES .- "JOPPA."
clams are taken daily from the flats in that neighborhood, and made ready for shipment to the far west.
From the foot of Rolfe's Lane (now South Green Street) the turnpike stretches away across the marshes to Plum Island, two miles distant.
PLUM ISLAND RIVER AND MARSHES.
A convenient bridge spans the narrow river that separates these marshes from the sand-hills beyond ; and innumerable cone-shaped hay-ricks are scattered here and there, far as the eye can reach, "along these low green prairies of the sea."
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" The shining tide steals softly up Across the wide green splendor, Creek swelling creek, then all at once The marshes make surrender.
And all day long the summer sea Creams murmuring up the shingle : And all day long the airs of earth With airs of heaven mingle."
PLUM ISLAND BEACH.
In summer the island is a favorite resort of pleasure parties, and the sandy beach, washed by the waters of the Atlantic, resounds with shouts of joy and laughter. Young and old gather there for rest and recreation ; and, when at night the shadows begin to lengthen and the stars appear one by one in the blue vault above, the songs of youth and beauty fill the air and mingle with the murmur of the sea.
In winter, the view from these low and desolate sand- hills is often grand and majestic. When a fierce storm is raging, the waves dash furiously on the beach, and the strong east wind blows the spray far inland. At such a time wrecks are cast upon the shore with terrible loss of life. Almost every season brings one or more of these disasters ; but the most memorable one occurred Dec. 24, 1839, when the brig " Pocahontas " was lost, and all on board perished.
DEER ISLAND.
Among the papers and public documents on file at the state house in Boston is the following petition : -
To the honorable Generall Court now assembled at Boston the 25th of May, 1655.
The humble petition of Joseph Sweete humbly Sheweth
That yor petitioner being one yt a long time had Lyved in Newbury, and by Reason of the multitude of Inhabitants yt have crowded in there, and thereby the accommodations ye town has had to dispose of, he has had littell or no land given him, when the Selectmen have been sensible of, and therefore have granted hym Right to an Iland lying In Merri- mack Ryer, being not above 6 or 8 Rod from Nuberry Shore and Caled Deare Iland, which is not above six acres of Land.
Yor poore petitioner humbly prays this honorable court would be pleased to confirm ye grant of ye said Deare Iland to yor petitioner.
And he shall pray, &c.
The signature of this petition is missing, and there is no indorsement upon it stating when it was received by the General Court or how it was disposed of. In the absence of the petitioner, it was possibly overlooked, or withdrawn for want of support. If the selectmen of Newbury granted the island to Joseph Sweete, as stated in his petition, no record of that fact can now be found.
The first mention of Deer Island in the records of the colony of Massachusetts Bay is under date of May 15, 1672, and is as follows : -
In answer to the petition of the inhabitants of Salisbury, as also that of Mr George Carrs, it is ordered that Deare Island & Eagle Island, petitioned for as to the propriety, remajne the countrys, the timber & trees to be for Georg Carr for the vse of the bridg, till this Court take further order; the herbage of them, wth liberty to cutt downe brush &
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underwood to make pasture for sheepe, to be to & for the vse of the sajd towne of Salisbury.
At a town meeting held in Salisbury May 16, 1682, it was voted " that the town doth wth all thankfullness accept of ye bell weh is presented unto them by Mr. George Hewes. And ye town in way of gratuity & manifestation of their thank- fullness & respect to ye sª Mr. Hewes do for ye prsent give unto him all their right yt they have in Deare Iland accord- ing to ye grant of ye Gen" Court."
At the same meeting the town "ordered that Mr. Brad- bury shall write a note to Mr. Hewes to deliver ye bell to goodman Norton & Sam" Getchell & Nath" & Jnº Easman & goodman Collins to be brought down to ye meeting house."
George Hewes died intestate previous to 1698. His son Solomon Hewes, of Portsmouth, gave a deed of the island to John Stevens, of Portsmouth, March 17, 1698 (Essex Regis- try of Deeds, book 13, page 300).
John Stevens, of Salisbury, conveyed it to Thomas Merrill, of Newbury, Jan. II, 1706-7 (book 21, page 93).
Thomas Merrill, of Salisbury, sold it to Thomas Bartlett, of Newbury, April 25, 1727 (book 83, page 286).
Thomas Bartlett died intestate, and administration was granted May 9, 1744. In the division of his real estate, this island was assigned to his daughter Sarah Bartlett.
Sarah Bartlett, of Newbury, conveyed to her brother Enoch Bartlett, of Newbury, tanner, " the island called Deer Island in Merrimack River," Aug. 28, 1746 (book 91, page 121).
Feb. 16, 1753, Enoch Bartlett sold to Matthias Plant "the island called Deer Island opposite to said Plant's homestead, containing seven acres " (book 153, page 252). The Rev. Matthias Plant died April 2, 1753. His will, dated Feb. 25, 1750-I, and proved May 7, 1753, gave to his wife Lydia all his real estate. She died Oct. 8, 1753. Her will, dated Sept. 29, 1753, and proved Oct. 22, 1753, gave to her " cousin Thomas Bartlett, Junior, Deer Island lying in Merrimack River."
Thomas Bartlett married Hannah Moody, Nov. 18, 1718.
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His will, dated Feb. 27, 1767, and proved May 28, 1771, mentions his wife Hannah and children, Cutting Bartlett, Edmand Bartlett, Abigail Pettingal, Judith Cook, Mary Somerby, Sarah Coffin, Hannah Bartlett, Lydia Bartlett, Elizabeth Bartlett, Thomas Bartlett, and Parker Bartlett. To his sons, Thomas and Parker, is devised "all my estate that I have given them deeds of in my life time, and also all the rest of my estate, whether real or personal, they to pay for the support of my wife " and, also, a certain specific sum to daughters Lydia and Elizabeth Bartlett.
Thomas Bartlett, son of Thomas and Hannah (Moody) Bartlett, was born Feb. 2, 1734. In his will, dated Oct. 25, 1781, and proved March 13, 1782, he gave to his "wife Hannah all my estate, both real and personal." Their only child, Nehemiah Bartlett, was born Sept. 20, 1764.
Nehemiah Bartlett sold to Dudley Atkins Tyng and others Dec. 13, 1791, "a certain island lying in Merrimack River in the town of Newbury, commonly called Deer Island, con- taining five acres formerly the property of Thomas Bartlett, deceased " (book 155, page 14).
Dudley Atkins Tyng and others, by deed dated March 5, 1792, conveyed it to the proprietors of the Essex-Merrimack bridge (book 155, page 14).
Under chapter three hundred and nine of the acts of the legislature of 1868 the bridge was made free, and laid out as a public highway by the county commissioners. April 5, 1870, the proprietors of the bridge sold the island to Green- leaf Dodge; and he conveyed it to Abby W. Dodge April 21, 1870. Abby W. Dodge, of Newburyport, widow, sold the property to Richard S. Spofford, of Newburyport, Oct. I, 1874.
Mr. Spofford, who by the last-mentioned conveyance came into possession of Deer Island, was a lineal descendant of John Spofford, who settled in Rowley previous to 1643.
Colonel Daniel Spofford, fourth in descent from John Spof- ford, was born in Rowley in April, 1721, and married Judith Follensby in 1741. He was at the battle of Lexington, and
DEER ISLAND.
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afterward had command of a regiment in the Revolutionary War.
His youngest son, Amos Spofford, born Sept. 20, 1751, was the first regular physician permanently settled in the second parish of Rowley. He married Irene Dole, daughter of Captain Moses and Ruth (Peabody) Dole, by whom he had eight sons and three daughters.
His fourth son, Richard Smith Spofford, was born May 24, 1787. He graduated at Harvard College in 1812, and com- menced the practice of medicine in Newburyport in 1816. He married Mrs. Frances Maria (Mills) Lord. For more than fifty years he was one of the leading physicians of the town, displaying great skill and sagacity in the diagnosis of disease and alleviating suffering by judicious medical advice. He died Jan. 19, 1872, leaving two children (Richard S. Spofford, Jr., and Frances H. Spofford) and a step-daughter (Mrs. Georgiana Hall, a daughter of Mrs. Spofford by a previous marriage).
Richard S. Spofford, Jr., was born in Newburyport Feb. 15, 1833. He was educated in the public schools of the town and at Dummer Academy, Byfield. He read law in the office of Hon. Caleb Cushing, and was admitted to practice in the United States circuit court at Washington in 1856, and the year following was made a member of the bar in Essex county and in Suffolk county, Massachusetts.
He was three times elected representative to the General Court from Newburyport, in 1857, 1858, and 1865.
He married, Dec. 19, 1865, Miss Harriet Elizabeth, daugh- ter of Colonel Joseph N. and Sarah Prescott.
He was deeply interested in the work and ritual of the Masonic Fraternity, and was made a Mason in St. John's Lodge, Newburyport, Aug. 25, 1854. He became a Knight Templar in the Newburyport Encampment Aug. 21, 1856 ; and Nov. 21, 1862, he was advanced to membership in the Supreme Council of the Inspectors General of the thirty-third degree.
He was associated with Hon. Caleb Cushing as a law partner in Washington for a time, and afterward with Charles
RESIDENCE OF MRS. HARRIET PRESCOTT SPOFFORD.
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W. Tuttle, Esq., in Boston. During the last few years of his life he was the attorney and solicitor of the Galveston, Harrisburg & San Antonio Railway Company, which now forms a part of the Southern Pacific railway system.
In 1884, he was a candidate for congress in the seventh Massachusetts district. He made a strong and vigorous canvass ; but his political friends were in a minority in the district, and he failed to receive the number of votes neces- sary to secure his election. On account of ill-health he did not feel able to renew the contest in 1886. He died Aug. 1 I, 1888, and was buried in Oak Hill Cemetery, Newburyport.
His love and appreciation of this picturesque spot, where he lived for many years, find recognition in the following lines inscribed to " R. S. S. at Deer Island on the Merrimac," by John G. Whittier : -
" Make, for he loved thee well, our Merrimac, From wave and shore a low and long lament For him whose last look sought thee, as he went The unknown way from which no step comes back. And ye, O ancient pine-trees, at whose feet He watched in life the sunset's reddening glow, Let the soft south wind through your needles blow A fitting requiem tenderly and sweet ! No fonder lover of all lovely things Shall walk where once he walked, no smile more glad Greet friends than his who friends in all men had, Whose pleasant memory to that island clings, Where a dear mourner in the home he left Of love's sweet solace cannot be bereft."
The island covers an area of nearly seven acres. The easterly end is low, and often submerged by the flowing tide ; but the westerly shore is bold and rocky, and fringed with pine and fir trees. The Essex-Merrimack bridge, suspended by heavy chains, connects it with Newburyport. Formerly, a picturesque structure, built of wood and partly covered, extended from the island to the Salisbury shore; but that has been removed and replaced by an iron bridge of modern construction.
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The dwelling house, with its gambrel roof and broad piazzas, half hidden in the shrubbery, has an air of comfort and seclusion ; and from its western windows the inmates look out upon a broad and extended view of the river and the picturesque hills beyond. The staircase is broad and quaint, and the spacious hall above, extending through the house from front to rear, gives it a stately appearance. It was the residence of the toll-gatherer when the island was the property of the bridge corporation, and at one time was occupied as a tavern for the accommodation of travellers. Under the charge of Mr. Ebenezer Pearson as landlord, it became a noted resort for pleasure-seekers. A delightful spot in summer and a famous rendezvous for sleighing parties in winter, it was especially attractive when a supper or a dance closed the festivities of the day.
On the evening of Dec. 19, 1816, Major Elijah P. Good- ridge, of Bangor, Me., passed the tavern shortly before nine o'clock, and crossed the bridge on his way to Newburyport. On the road now known as Moseley Avenue, near the brow of the hill, he was assaulted, according to his statement, by three men, thrown from his horse, beaten, wounded in the hand by a pistol-shot, and then robbed of a large sum of money, and left senseless on the ground. Upon his recovery he made his way back to the island, and told an incoherent story about the crime that had been committed. The affair caused a great furor of excitement. Mr. Pearson, the inn- keeper, was arrested as being in some way connected with the robbery ; but in the absence of satisfactory proof he was acquitted. Several other persons were afterward ac- cused, and brought to trial. Daniel Webster was engaged as counsel for a number of the defendants. The testimony of Goodridge on the witness-stand was so incredible and contradictory that verdicts of "not guilty " were rendered. Gradually, public opinion was aroused, and the pretended robbery was denounced as a fraud. In order to escape from financial embarrassment, and at the same time ac- count for the loss of his personal property, it is said that Major Goodridge devised this scheme and carried it into
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effect, firing the pistol with his own hand, and afterward throwing it into the river. He soon after disappeared from public view, and is said to have died in seclusion in one of the Southern States.
The old tavern stood close to the public highway that crosses the island; but, when the property came into the possession of Mr. Spofford, the house was removed to a more retired spot a few rods distant, and entirely remodeled within and without.
In this attractive and picturesque old house Mrs. Spofford still receives and entertains her kindred and friends. Under its sheltering roof most of her stories and poems have been prepared for publication, and there she still finds time and opportunity for recreation and employment congenial to her tastes.
BARTLETT'S COVE.
On the westerly bank of the Merrimack River, just above the Essex Merrimack Bridge, the family of Richard Bart- lett, Sr., settled at a very early date. They came to New England in 1635, probably in company with Rev. Thomas Parker and others from Wiltshire, England, in the ship " Mary and John." The name of John Bartlett, eldest son of Rich- ard Bartlett, appears in the list of passengers by that vessel.
Richard Bartlett, Sr., brought with him from England a copy of the Breeches Bible, which has been carefully pre- served in the family, and was exhibited by Miss Elizabeth G. Hoyt, of Chelsea, Mass., at the celebration of the two hun- dred and fiftieth anniversary of the settlement of Newbury, June 10, 1885.
Mr. John Ward Dean has given a very minute and interest- ing description of this Bible in the Genealogical Register for April, 1886; and in the same number may be found a care- fully prepared article on " Newbury and the Bartlett Family," by John Coffin Jones Brown, Esq.
From the original written records in this old Bible, and the additional information supplied by the publication referred to above, it is evident that the children of Richard Bartlett, Sr., at the time of his emigration to America, were as follows : -
Joane. born Jan. 29, 1610. John, born Nov. 9, 1613. Thomas, born Jan. 22, 1615. Richard, born Oct. 31, 1621. Christopher, born Feb. 25, 1623. Anne, born Feb. 26, 1625.
Richard Bartlett, Sr., died May 20, 1647. There has been some doubt whether he came to New England with his sons
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in 1635 ; but the discovery of his nuncupative will and the inventory of his personal estate, now for the first time pub- lished, will set these doubts at rest. Both the will and inven- tory are exceedingly interesting, and throw considerable light upon the history of those early days. The will expressly states that the testator gave to his son John "the greate bible," undoubtedly the one exhibited at the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the settlement of Newbury ; and the items of the inventory are of sufficient historical importance to warrant their publication in full, with the appraised values affixed.
In the Essex Registry of Deeds, Ipswich Series, book I, pages 26 (89) and 26 (91) are the following records : -
The testimony of William Titcombe & Anthony Somersby concerning the last will & testament of Richard Bartlett sen'r, of Newbury, de- ceased, the 20th of May : 1647 : aboute a month before he deceased, we being with him, & two of his sons being present, he being very ill, & had bene weake all the spring, finding in himselfe that he was not like to continew, he desired us to take notice what his mind was concerning that small estate he had, how he would dispose of it: as for his sonn John Bartlett he had don for him more than for the rest of his children, and at that tyme did not dispose any to him. To his sonne Christopher Bartlett he did bequeath the debt which latly he had borrowed of him, which was five bushells of wheate, if so be it should please the Lord to take him away at this sickness, or ells if he should lye longe vissitted, his necessity would require that he should pay it againe. To his daugh- ter Johan, wife of William Titcombe, he bequeathed one pair of new shoes for herselfe, & her four daughters each one a pair of shoes; & all the rest of his goods & chattells that were not disposed of he be- queathed wholy to his sonne Richard Bartlett, whom he made his sole heir & executor. I, Anthony Somersby, the next day persuaded him to give something to his son John Bartlett, his answer was, that he had been with his sonne Richard Bartlett this twelve month, & all that he had was to little for to give him, seing he had bene weake & ill & could doe little but lay upon his sonnes charges, besides, sd he, if I should lye longe sick I shall be chargable to Richard & not to any of the rest, and for John I have done more formerly, yet I will give him ye warming pan, and vpon his sonns request he gave him a great bible : this he Spake being in perfect memory, and so continued to the last breath.
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