USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Newbury > Ould Newbury: historical and biographical sketches > Part 22
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BYFIELD PARISH.
William Longfellow, the first of that name who came to America, was born in Horsforth, near Leeds, in York County, England, and baptized at Guiseley Oct. 20, 1650. He was a man of ability and education, but rather improvident in his manner of life, preferring fun and frolic to work and study. He married, Nov. 10, 1676, Anne Sewall, sister of Judge Samuel Sewall and daughter of Henry and Jane (Dummer) Sewall.
Two years later he was living at Newbury Falls, as appears from the following clause in Henry Sewall's will, dated Aug. 17, 1678 :-
I give & bequeath to my Sonne in Law William Longfellow & my daughter Anne his wife, during their naturall life, a tract of Land with the house on it comonly Knowne by the name of the high field, with a parcell of meadow adjoyning thereunto containing about seven or eight acres, being on the east side of the ffalls river, bounded on the south west side with a little brooke & the great river, & the northeast side with a small creeke & stony brooke running into it. Allso an equal part or moyty of my great meadow formerly possessed by Launcelott Granger; And after their decease to the heires of the sajd Anne of her body lawfully begotten or to be begotten, & for want of sajd issue to my sonne Samuel Sewall to enjoy to him and his heires for ever.
This will was not proved until May 24, 1700, ten years after the death of William Longfellow. Meanwhile the house and land had been conveyed by deed from Henry Sewall to his daughter Anne Longfellow.
In 1680, Samuel Sewall, in a letter to his brother, Stephen Sewall, at Bishop Stoke in Hampshire, England, wrote as follows : -
THE LONGFELLOW HOUSE.
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THE LONGFELLOW HOUSE
Bro Longfellow's Father, Willm Longfellow, lives at Horsforth near Leeds in Yorkshire. Tell him Bro. has a son Wm, a fine likely child, a very good piece of land & greatly wants a little stock to manage it, and yt Father hath paid for him upwards of an hundred pounds to get him out of Debt (N. E. Historical and Genealogical Register, volume 24, page 123).
In a letter to his father, Henry Sewall, at Newbury, dated Sept. 10, 1686, he wrote : -
As to Brother Longfellow's business, I have writt you my sence before; viz. that would first understand more certainly the state of his affair, which I have taken care for by Mr. Foxcroft. However, if Brother be persuaded that 'tis his best way to go over this Fall, as is hinted in his Letter, I shall not contradict : because he best knows his own Concerns. Only I cañot give him that Assistance he mentions of £20 or £30. Yet if he be resolved to goe, and have not other accomo- dation, and sister desire it too, I should not be against undertaking for his passage. And am willing to give up the Mortgage for the Principal, without any demand of Interest ; which, pray, Sir, remembering my Love to him and sister, please to signify .*
On page 50 of Sewall's Letter Book is the following letter to " Brother Longfellow " : -
BOSTON, N. E., Augt. 8, 1687.
Loving Brother,- Yours of the 12th of March, datted at Rumsey, came safe to hand, am glad to hear of your good passage and arrival. Thankful to friends for their Kindnes shewed you. I had a son born the 30th of January, a desireable healthy Child to our thinking, but he fell ill and dyed the 26th of July. Brother Stephen hath a little Marga- rett. Our friends att Newberry are well as far as I know. My sister was much refreshed to hear of your Welfare: her Letter to you sent me for Conveyance, I have enclosed In mine. As to the younger children of Wallingford, I understand they are averse to whatt you writt aboutt, and those nott of Age twill be hard for them being So Remote to do anything Legally ; and except they see you make some succesfull prog- ress in what you have begun, I doubt will be backward. I should think your best way will be to gett your own mony in Yorkshire (as you write you are agoing thether), and then lay it outt in whatt may be ad- vantagious to New England, and not hazzard the throwing away your Patrimony in Tedious Doubtful Law Suitts. I would not have you venture upon anything in that kind but what may be very plain and
* Sewall's Letter Book, volume 1, page 38.
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fecible, lest according to the Fable in Æsop catching att a shadow you lose the Body. Give my due remembrance to my relations. Praying God to succeed you in your concerns and to bless your succes, I take leave who am your Loving Brother.
On page 61 of the same volume, under date of Aug. 25, 1687, Judge Sewall acknowledges the receipt of a letter from " brother Longfellow," dated London, June II, and adds inci- dentally, " His father alive and well." The patrimony, there- fore, to which reference is made, was probably due from the estate of a brother who died in England about that time.
After the return of William Longfellow to Newbury he enlisted in the expedition to Quebec, under Sir William Phips, and was drowned at Cape Breton in October, 1690. Judge Sewall in his diary says : --
'Twas Tuesday, the 18th of November, that I heard of the death of Capt. Stephen Greenleaf, Lieut. James Smith and Ensign Wm Long- fellow, Serjt Increase Pilsbury, who with Will Mitchell, Jabez Musgro and four more were drown'd at Cape Britoon on Friday night the last of October.
William Longfellow and Anne (Sewall) Longfellow had six children :-
-
William, born Nov. 25, 1679. Stephen, born Jan. 10, 1681. Anne, born Oct. 3, 1683. Stephen, born Sept. 22, 1685. Elizabeth, born July 3, 1688. Nathan, born Feb. 5, 1690.
April 13, 1692, Henry Sewall, in consideration of the mar- riage shortly to be consummated between Henry Short and Anne (Sewall) Longfellow, widow, conveyed to them during their lives, and after their decease to their children, "the farm lately in the occupation of William Longfellow, called the High Field, together with the dwelling-house, outhouses, &c." (Essex Deeds, book 16, page 21).
May 1I, 1692, Henry Short married Anne (Sewall) Long- fellow, and lived on the farm described above. He had,
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THE LONGFELLOW HOUSE
by this marriage, six children. Henry Short died Oct. 23, 1706. His widow died Dec. 18, 1706.
The title to this property was, by virtue of the deed of con- veyance from Henry Sewall, vested in the surviving children of Anne (Sewall) Longfellow-Short.
Stephen Longfellow (the second of that name), born Sept. 22, 1685, was a locksmith and blacksmith by trade. Jan. 3, 1710-II, he bought of his sister Elizabeth all her right and interest " in land given to said Anne by her father, Henry Sewall, in particular the farm in Newbury known as ye high field " (Essex Deeds, book 23, page 97).
Dec. 17, 1712, he bought of his brother Nathan all his right and interest in the same property (book 37, page 261).
He married, March 25, 1713, Abigail, daughter of Rev. Edward Thompson, of Marshfield, Mass. About this time he built an addition to the house, with a lean-to roof. The addition was removed early in this century, and does not appear in the half-tone print that illustrates this sketch.
Jan. 7, 1714-15, he bought of John Emery and wife Mehitable, daughter of Anne Longfellow, all her right and interest in the house and land previously described (book 42, page 66) ; and Jan. 6, 1725-6, he bought of his half-brother Samuel Short "all that right and interest in the high field farm at Newbury Falls given me by deed and will of my grandfather, Henry Sewall " (book 47, page 119).
In the Letter Book of Samuel Sewall (volume 2, page 172) there is an interesting letter relating to an encumbrance on this property, which reads as follows :-
To Mr. Stephen Longfellow
SEPTR 3, 1724.
Loving Cousin,- I am griev'd to hear that you are still contending in the Law with your Brother and Sister Adams about my honoured Father's Mortgage of Half the High-Field, which must be costly, even to the Overcomer ; Besides the Loss of Brotherly-kindness, which is invaluable. Therefore I earnestly advise and intreat you to leave off this Contention before it be any further medled with ; and to conclude all with a just and Kind Agreement. Praying GOD to do you and yours Good, I am your loving Unkle
SAMUEL SEWALL.
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In the same volume and on the same page is the following letter, on the same subject : -
SEPTR 3, 1724.
Loving Cousins,- I am grieved to hear that you are still contending in the Law with your brother Stephen Longfellow about my honoured Father's Mortgage of Half the High-Field, which must be Costly, even to the overcomer; Besides the Loss of Brotherly-kindness, which is in- valuable. I am confident that I drew the Mortgage, and that no more was intended to be Granted thereby, than Half the High-Field strictly taken, as it was then fenced in; and to take in a Surplusage of Land lying between the Northwesterly end of the High-Field and the Head- Line of my Father's Farm, running from Rattle-Snake Rock to Philp's Brook. And therefore I earnestly advise and intreat you to leave off this Contention before it be any further medled with ; and to conclude all with a just and Kind Agreement. The nearness of Relation pre- cludes me from being a Judge in this Controversy. But, if I should live, and be called to it, I must needs give this evidence in the case. Praying GOD to do Good to you both, and to the numerous Offspring He has Bless'd you with, I remain your loving Unkle
SAMUEL SEWALL.
To Mr. Abraham Adams & Mrs. Anne Adams at Newbury (sent by Brother Moodey)
The advice offered by Judge Sewall was apparently un- heeded, and the case was brought to trial in the month of May following. In his diary, under date of May 14, 1725, he says : -
Mr. Rogers pray'd at the opening of the Court. Judgement against cous. Adams. Cousin Longfellow has his judgment confirm'd against his Bror and sister Adams. With leave of the Court, I declar'd how I understood the Word High Field, who made the mortgage.
Stephen Longfellow died at Newbury Falls (Byfield Parish) Nov. 17, 1764. His son Stephen, born Feb. 7, 1723, grad- uated at Harvard College · in 1742, removed to Falmouth (now Portland), Me., in 1745, and there married, Oct. 19, 1749, Tabitha, daughter of Samuel Bragdon, of York, Me. He died at Gorham, Me., May 1, 1790.
Stephen, the eldest son of Stephen and Tabitha (Bragdon) Longfellow, was born Aug. 3, 1750. He married Patience
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THE LONGFELLOW HOUSE
Young, of York, Me., Dec. 13, 1773, and died May 28, 1824, leaving several children.
The eldest son of Stephen and Patience (Young) Long- fellow, Stephen Longfellow, LL.D., was born March 23, 1776, graduated at Harvard College in 1798, and married Zilpha, eldest daughter of General Peleg Wadsworth, Jan. I, 1 804.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, the poet, second son of Stephen and Zilpha Wadsworth Longfellow, was born in Portland, Me., Feb. 27, 1807. He died in Cambridge March 24, 1882.
Stephen Longfellow, son of William Longfellow and Anne (Sewall), born Sept. 22, 1685, owned and occupied the house and farm at Newbury Falls until his death, Nov. 17, 1764. In his will, dated Oct. 13, 1760, and proved Nov. 26, 1764, he gave to his wife Abigail one-half of the homestead during her life, and to his sons Edward and Samuel, after the pay- ment of certain bequests, all the rest and residue of his estate excepting land adjoining the new plantation in Contoocook, N. H. Abigail, wife of Lieutenant Stephen Longfellow, died Sept. 10, 1778, aged eighty-five.
Dec. 11, 1788, Edward Longfellow gave to his brother Samuel Longfellow a quitclaim deed of twenty rods of land " with the house thereon " (book 152, page 95). On the land remaining in his possession Edward Longfellow built a new house that is still standing near the site of the old homestead.
Samuel Longfellow, born March 4, 1725, married Rebekah Chase about the year 1769. She died Feb. 25, 1788, in the forty-ninth year of her age. For his second wife, he married Martha Chaplin. He occupied the old homestead until his death, Aug. 4, 1800. His will, dated May 30, 1800, and proved Sept. 1, 1800, gave all the rest and residue of his estate to his son Nathan after the payment of certain small legacies.
Nathan Longfellow, born Dec. 26, 1773, married Anna Downer in the year 1799. He died Oct. 26, 1840. In his
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will, dated Dec. 6, 1837, and proved in December, 1840, he gave to his son Joseph the old house with the land under and adjoining the same.
Joseph Longfellow, born July 11, 1810, married Lucretia Fairbanks, of Canton, Mass., May 9, 1841. They have two sons now living : -
Horace F., born Nov. 26, 1846. Charles A., born April 13, 1856.
The house built about 1790 by Edward Longfellow, with the land connected therewith, was purchased of the heirs of the late Edward Longfellow, and now forms a part of the estate of Joseph Longfellow, who still resides there.
The old house once occupied by William and Anne (Sewall) Longfellow was taken down ten or fifteen years ago. The half tone print on page 306 gives a view of the house as it was in 1880.
DUMMER ACADEMY.
Richard Dummer, the first of that name who came to America, was born in the parish of Bishop Stoke, near South- ampton, in England; and, after his arrival in the colony of Massachusetts Bay in 1632, he resided for about two years in Roxbury, when he removed to Boston.
He was interested with Richard Saltonstall, Henry Sewall, and others in the importation of cattle ; and in May, 1635, at the same session and on the same day that Newbury was by the General Court " allowed to be a plantation," a commit- tee was appointed " to set out a farm for Mr Dummer about the Falls of Newbury."
Feb. 11, 1635-6, the town leased to Richard Dummer, for two years, a lot of land on Newbury Neck. About the same time, probably, although there is no date affixed to the record in the Proprietors' Book, the town granted
To M' Richard Dumer an house lot of four acres, be it more or less, two acres whereof is bounded by Mr Easton on the south, by Henry Short on the north, by the Green on the east, & by Mr. Noyes on the west. The other two acres are bounded by the river on the south, by High street on the north, by Mr. Easton on the east, & Henry Short on the west.
The grant to Nicholas Easton, recorded in the same book, confirms the bounds and limits of the four-acre lot described above. It reads as follows : -
To Nicholas Easton an house lot of four acres, be it more or less, two acres whereof is bounded by Mr. Noyes on the south, and by Mr. Dumer on the North, the Green on the east, & Mr. Noyes on the west. The other two acres are bounded by the river on the south, by High Street on the north, Mr. Dumer on the west, & Mr. Noyes on the east.
DUMMER ACADEMY.
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DUMMER ACADEMY
These grants can be easily identified by reference to the plan on page 14, drawn by Daniel Dole, whereon the lots laid out to the first settlers at the Lower Green are properly marked and designated.
Richard Dummer was liberal in his theological views, and was disarmed - " deprived of swords, guns, pistols, shot, and match "- by the General Court Nov. 20, 1637, because of his avowed sympathy with Mrs. Anne Hutchinson and Rev. John Wheelwright.
On the eighteenth day of the eleventh month, 1637, the town ordered
That whereas the full terme of two years is now expired for which terme part of the necke of ground on the south side of the river was the 18th of January, 1635, last lett out to Mr. Dummer that now the towne doth againe take it into their own hands & intend to dispose of it at their pleasure, & that Mr. Dummer shall with all convenient spead be payd all necessary charges attending to former agreement.
A few months later Richard Dummer bought of Thomas Hale a house and land on Merrimack ridge, described as follows : -
October 6, 1638, the Town confirms the sale from Thomas Hale to Richard Dumer of house & land on Merrimack Ridge on both sides. Said Dumer is granted to have all the land betwixt his pailes & Mr. Sewall's fence ranging equally with the pales allready sett up, leaving a watering place for the cattell to drink at the brooke.
In 1640, he gave £100 toward the fund subscribed by a few citizens of Boston and elsewhere to make up the loss that Governor Winthrop had suffered through the unfaithfulness of a bailiff. For this act of liberality and generosity he was highly commended, and received great praise from personal as well as political friends and opponents.
How long he retained this house and land at Parker River is somewhat uncertain. When the new town was laid out in 1646, he probably removed to his farm at Newbury Falls.
Nov. 17, 1673, in consideration of the marriage of his son Richard to Elizabeth, eldest daughter of Captain John Apple-
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ton, of Ipswich, he conveyed to his said son all that portion of the farm, including mansion house, etc., bounded north and northeast and northwesterly by the Newbury or Falls River, also one-third of unenclosed land-about one hun- dred and fifty acres in all - on the south and southwest side of the farm (Ipswich Deeds, book 3, page 290). This estate was purchased in 1801 of descendants of Richard Dummer by Mr. Eben Parsons, brother of Theophilus Par- sons, and is now known as the Fatherland Farm.
April 18, 1679, Richard Dummer, Sr., conveyed to Jere- miah Dummer, of Boston, ninety-five acres of upland and thirteen acres of meadow in Newbury and Rowley " lately laid out, as appears in the Newbury town book." Frances, wife of Richard Dummer, released dower (Ipswich Deeds, book 4, page 291).
Richard Dummer, Sr., died Dec. 14, 1679, at the age of eighty-eight. His will, dated April 3, 1679, and proved April I, 1680, is very brief. One clause reads as follows : -
Having disposed of my lands and the greatest part of my estate, I give and bequeath to my daughter-in-law, Elizabeth Paine, as ffeoffer in trust for the benefit of my wife Frances, one half my now dwelling house during the said Frances life and my share of the Saw Mill during her life.
By his first wife, Mary, he had one son, Shubael, born Feb. 17, 1636. By his second wife, Frances, widow of Rev. Jona- than Burr, he had three sons, Jeremiah, Richard, and Will- iam, and one daughter, Hannah. Shubael graduated at Har- vard in 1656, and was afterward settled as a minister at York, Me. He was killed by the Indians near his own house in 1692. William died before arriving at his majority. Richard owned and managed the farm at the Falls; and Jeremiah, born Sept. 14, 1643, was apprenticed to John Hull, silversmith, in Boston, when quite young, and was afterward judge of the court of common pleas in Suffolk county from 1702 to 1715.
In the division of William Dummer's estate, Nov. 23, 1680, between his three brothers, Shubael, Jeremiah, and Richard,
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DUMMER ACADEMY
the farm, in Newbury, occupied by Benjamin Goodrich, was assigned to Shubael and Jeremiah, and the farm occupied by Duncan Stewart was assigned to Richard (Ipswich Deeds, book 4, page 370).
At a later date Jeremiah undoubtedly purchased additional land in Newbury, but the deeds of conveyance have not been discovered. He married Anna Atwater, daughter of Joshua Atwater, Sr., of Boston.
Nov. 18, 1712, Jeremiah Dummer, of Boston, and his wife Anna, conveyed to William Dummer, of Boston, merchant, son of the above said Jeremiah and Anna, " houses, lands, and farm, &c., in Newbury, more especially the farm, houses, &c., near unto Rowley Mill upon Easton's River, now in the occupation of Philip Woodbridge and Richard Walker, farmers, being four hundred acres, bounded northerly by land of Mr. Sewall and Joshua Boynton, easterly by the Falls River, westerly by the old road, and southerly by Easton's River ; reserving out of the premises an annuity of £20 to the said Jeremiah and his wife " (book 25, page 238).
Jeremiah Dummer died May 24, 1718. He left two sons, Jeremiah and William.
Jeremiah graduated at Harvard College in 1699. He was elected by the General Court, in 1710, commissioner to Eng- land from the province of Massachusetts Bay to assert and defend the rights of the people under the charter granted by the crown. For nearly thirty years he performed the duties of that office with honor to himself and benefit to his con- stituents. He died at Plaistow, England, in 1739.
William Dummer, brother of Jeremiah, and founder of Dummer Academy, was born in Boston in 1677. Soon after completing his education he went to England, and for several years was acting commissioner of the province of Massachu- setts Bay at Plymouth. He returned to Boston in 1712. Judge Sewall in his diary, under date of May 28, 1712, says,
Col. Hutchinson surprises us by bringing Mr William Dumer whom I know not arrived May 27th at Marblehead about 4 weeks passage from Milford Haven.
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November eighteenth of that year he received from his father a deed of the farm at Newbury Falls, as previously stated. It is probable that the mansion house he afterward occupied was built about this time, although there is no evidence to establish the fact beyond a reasonable doubt.
After his marriage he resided in Boston, but during the summer months came with his family to Byfield, and devoted
DUMMER MANSION.
his time and attention to the cultivation of his farm. The old house, which was for many years his summer home, is still standing. It is now a dormitory and boarding-place for pupils connected with the academy. Its steep roof with dormer windows, and the peculiar brick projection on the northwesterly end, built, it is said, for the accommodation of negro slaves, have been allowed to remain undisturbed ; but the tapestried walls and much of the heavy wainscoting of the interior have disappeared.
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DUMMER ACADEMY
William Dummer married, April 26, 1714, Katherine, daughter of Joseph Dudley, who was then governor of the province, and son of Thomas Dudley, one of the early gov- ernors of the colony.
The portrait of Governor Dummer that formerly adorned the parlor of this old mansion house is still in the possession of the trustees of Dummer Academy. It is supposed to have been painted by Robert Feke,* an American artist of some celebrity, who was born at Oyster Bay, L. I., about 1725, and died in Barbadoes, West Indies, about the year 1765. A copy of this portrait, painted by Mr. Frederick P. Vinton, of Boston, in 1886, hangs in the old senate chamber at the state house in Boston.
A portrait of Katherine (Dudley) Dummer, wife of Gov- ernor Dummer, for many years in the possession of a collat- eral branch of the family, was presented by Mrs. Osgood, of West Newbury, in 1822, to the trustees of Dummer Academy, and is still in a good state of preservation. The name of the artist is unknown. Both of these portraits have been reproduced by the half-tone process for the illus- tration of this sketch.
June 15, 1716, Colonel Samuel Shute was appointed gov- ernor, and William Dummer deputy governor, of the province. On the fifth day of October, 1716, they took the oath of office, and entered at once upon the discharge of their duties. An item published in the News Letter, and quoted by Coffin in the History of Newbury, states that in October, 1716, " Governor Shute, being on his way to Portsmouth, was met by the Newbury troop, and by them escorted to the house of Lieut. Governor Dummer, where he passed the night and was finely entertained."
The powers and privileges reserved to the crown in the new charter that had been substituted for the old colonial charter
* His first picture is said to have been painted in 1746. Several of his portraits are in the Bowdoin College collection. His best work, from an artistic point of view, is the portrait of Lady Wanton (wife of Joseph Wanton who was Governor of Rhode Island from 1769 to 1775), that now hangs in the Redwood Library at Newport, R. I. Another interesting and valuable specimen of his artistic skill is the portrait of Rev. John Callender in the rooms of the Rhode Island His- torical Society at Providence.
LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR WILLIAM DUMMER.
KATHERINE (DUDLEY) DUMMER,
WIFE OF LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR WILLIAM DUMMER.
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aroused a strong feeling of dissatisfaction and distrust. The house of deputies insisted upon a strict construction of its provisions, and persistently opposed the adoption of measures that in any way interfered with the rights of the people.
The officers of the crown found it impossible to secure by enactment fixed compensation for their services; and Gov- ernor Shute, after an administration of six years, perplexed and discouraged by the difficulties of the situation, sailed for England Jan. I, 1723, to induce, if possible, the home govern- ment to interfere in his behalf. He remained in England for nearly six years. During his absence William Dummer occu- pied the gubernatorial chair.
Judge Samuel Sewall, a kinsman of Governor Dummer, was at that time a member of the council. In volume 3, page 317, of his Diary, he says : -
Jan'y 2, 1722-3, His Honour the Lt Govr (Dummer) takes the oaths in Council as to the Acts relating to Trade and of his office. After Mr Checkley had prayd the Lt Govr sent for the Deputies - in and made his Speech. When the Representatives were return'd to their own Cham- ber, I stood up and said :
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