USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Newbury > Ould Newbury: historical and biographical sketches > Part 37
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The house in which Whitefield died is still standing on the easterly side of School Street, Newburyport, only a few rods distant from the house where William Lloyd Garrison was born. Extensive alterations and repairs were made upon it in 1872. The broad hall where the people gathered to listen, and the staircase on which Whitefield stood the night before his death, have yielded to the demands of modern civiliza- tion. Two narrow halls, two modern stairways, and two doors opening to the street have taken the place of the former spacious entrance. These, with other changes made at an earlier date, have transformed the old parsonage into a tenement-house convenient for two families.
PARKER RIVER BRIDGE.
Soon after the incorporation of the town of Newbury a ferry was established for the transportation of passengers across the Parker River from Newbury Neck to the settle- ment at the Lower Green. Oct. 17, 1649, the General Court granted " the petition of Samu : Plum", ferryman of Newbury, for to ha' 2ª p passing", for their transportation " (Massa- chusetts Colony Records, volume 2, page 283).
Nov. 20, 1650, the town of Newbury granted to John Poore twenty-two acres of upland on the " great neck " in consequence of "his being so remote from meeting and difficulty in coming over the ferry and for his satisfaction."
How long Mr. Plummer remained in charge of the ferry is uncertain. In the spring of 1664 he asked for additional compensation for his services ; and May 18, 1664, the Gen- eral Court passed the following order : -
In ansr to the petition of Samuel Plummer, fferyman, of Newbery, humbly shewing that, by a country highway & bridge,* set forth & erected vp the riuer by ye County Court of Ipswich for ye bennefit of ye country, his inheritance & trade is much weakened & endamaged, & humbly desiring this Court to mak such due reparation to him, in con- sideration thereof, as in their wisdomes they shall see meet, the Court Judgeth it meete to order & enable the peticoner henceforth to take one penny more than formerly for the passage of each person, & each beast that he shall transport ouer that ferry, & that he is & shall be discharged of all rates that are or shallbe made in reference to the bridg & high- way mentioned in his petition, so long as he shall duely attend ye ferry .- Massachusetts Colony Records, volume 4, Part ii., page 103.
In 1734, an effort was made to induce the town of New- bury to consent to the building of a bridge over the Parker
* See sketch of Thorlay's bridge, page 204.
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River at or near the place where Samuel Plummer had estab- lished the ferry nearly a century before. The following vote was passed and entered upon the records : -
At a Legal meeting of ye Towne of Newbury May ye 7th 1734,
We do hereby ... grant liberty to have a Bridge built over Parker River at Old Town (so called), provided it may be built & maintained without being a charge unto this Towne of Newbury, and allso provided that it be made a Bridge for coaches and carts, etc., to pass over upon and There be left convenient and sufficient roome for gundelose loaded with hay for to go up or Downe Said River under said Bridge, allso that all persons either with coaches, carts, etc., or with Horses, or on feet, shall have free liberty to pass & repas on said Bridge as in any Highwayes, & allso provided that there be a Bridge built as aforesaid within ten years next ensuing ye date hereof.
This read & considered, and then put to vote by the Moderator; and it passed on ye afirmative, none discenting.
The bridge, however, was not built until nearly twenty-five years after the above vote was passed. Meanwhile strong and persistent efforts were made to raise the money neces- sary to defray the cost of the proposed structure.
At a meeting of the Inhabitants of the Town of Newbury, held Janu- ary ye 18, 1749, it was put to vote whether the town are willing there should be a Bridge over the river Parker, alias Oldtown River, in this Town at ye ferry Place, Provided it be Done without any Charge to the Town either for the Building or Supporting the same, & it passed on ye affaimative vote that Mr Daniel Farnam prefer a Petition to ye General Court for a Lottery to Build said Bridge. Provided the Petition be Preferred without Cost to the Town, this was voted on ye affaimve.
The General Court, Jan. 29, 1750-51, passed the following act, entitled : -
An act for raising the sum of twelve hundred pounds by lottery, for building and maintaining a bridge over the river Parker, in the town of Newbury, at the place called Oldtown ferry.
Whereas the building a bridge over the river Parker, in the town of Newbury, in the county of Essex, at the place called Oldtown Ferry, will be of public service ; and whereas the town of Newbury have, by Mr. Daniel Farnham, their agent, applied to this court for liberty to raise the sum of twelve hundred pounds, by lottery, for building and
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maintaining a bridge over said river, at the ferry place aforesaid, under the direction of perso is to be appointed by this government,-
Be it therefore enacted by the Lieutenant-Governor, Council, and House of Representatives,
That Thomas Berry, John Greenleaf. Joseph Gerrish, and Joseph Atkins, Esquires, and the said Daniel Farnham, or any three of them, be and hereby are allowed and impowered to set up and carry on a lottery, within the said town of Newbury, amounting to such a sum as, by drawing ten per cent. out of each prize, they may thereby raise the sum of twelve hundred pounds, to be applied, by them or any three of them, towards building and maintaining a good and sufficient bridge at the place aforesaid, and for defraying the necessary charges of the
PARKER RIVER BRIDGE.
lottery aforesaid ; and that the said Thomas Berry, John Greenleaf, Joseph Gerrish, Joseph Atkins, Daniel Farnham, or any three of them, be and hereby are empowered to make all necessary rules for the regu- lar proceeding therein, and shall be sworn to the faithful discharge of their trust aforesaid, and be answerable to the purchasers and drawers of the tickets for any deficiency or misconduct ; and that the money so raised shall be applied to the uses and purposes aforesaid (Acts and Re- solves of the Province of Massachusetts Bay, volume 3, page 538).
With the funds raised by this lottery the bridge was built in the year 1758 under the supervision of Mr. Ralph Cross. It was eight hundred and seventy feet long, twenty-six feet wide, with nine piers and eight wooden arches.
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PARKER RIVER BRIDGE
April 28, 1760, an act providing for another lottery to raise £600 additional for defraying the charges already incurred in building the bridge was passed by the General Court. The preamble to this act states, on the repre- sentation of Daniel Farnham, Esq., one of the persons ap- pointed to carry on the lottery, that the bridge is nearly completed, that the cost of the same exceeds the sum raised by the lottery previously authorized, and that an additional sum is needed to complete the work. It further states that, inasmuch as Thomas Berry, one of the persons named in the act passed by the General Court Jan. 29, 1750-51, had died since the passage of that act, and John Greenleaf, Joseph Gerrish, and Joseph Atkins, Esquires, are unable, on account of age and sickness, to conduct the lottery and attend to the duties for which they were appointed, therefore
Be it enacted by the Governor, Council, and House of Representa- tives, that Caleb Cushing, Esq., Joseph Gerrish, Jun'r, Esq., William Atkins, Esq., and Mr. Patrick Tracey, merchant, together with the aforesaid Daniel Farnham, Esq., or any three of them, are hereby em- powered to set up and carry on a lottery within the town of Newbury, and may thereby raise the sum of six hundred pounds for defraying the charges already incurred in building the bridge, and for the manage- ment and prosecution of the lotteries, and apply the residue, if any there be, to the maintaining and repairing of the bridge, as occasion shall require (Acts and Resolves of the Province of Massachusetts Bay, volume 4, page 326).
In the warrant for the annual meeting of the town of New- bury, dated March 2, 1761, article fourth reads as follows : -
To know wether the town will take the unsold Ticketts of Newbury Lottery, No. 4, for Building & maintaining the bridge at Old Town, if any should be unsold at the time of Drawing. And what the town will do to Promote & forward the drawing of said Lottery.
The records do not state what action was taken when this article was reached in the regular order of business. Prob- ably the tickets were disposed of by persons directly inter- ested in the construction of the bridge ; and the town, in its
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corporate capacity, was not called upon to render any pecun- iary assistance.
April 21, 1761, the Lords of Trade in London wrote to Governor Bernard at Boston, New England, substantially as follows : -
Between February and April, 1760, several laws were passed provid- ing for the construction of ferries, roads, &c., by lotteries, " which is a mode of raising money that in our opinion ought not to be counte- nanced, and hardly to be admitted into practice upon the most pressing exigency of the state, more especially in the Colonys, where the forms of Government may not admit of those regulations and checks which are necessary to prevent fraud and abuse in a matter so peculiarly liable to them." We cannot therefore but disapprove these laws upon gen- eral principles; but, when we consider the unguarded and loose manner in which they are framed, the objections are so many and so strong that We should have thought to have laid them before his Majesty for His Majesty's disapprobation were we not restrained by the consideration that the purposes for which they were passed having been carried into full execution, some inconveniences might attend disannulling them ; but it is our duty to desire that you will not for the future give your assent to any laws of the like nature.
Notwithstanding the objections urged by the Lords of Trade, the General Court, Feb. 24, 1763, passed “ An act for the continuation of the lottery for raising a further sum for maintaining the bridge over the River Parker." By the provisions of this act the persons named in the act ap- proved April 28, 1760, were authorized and empowered to continue the lottery under the same regulations and restric- tions in order to raise the sum of $300 to defray the charges incurred in the building of the bridge, etc. (Acts and Resolves of the Province of Massachusetts Bay, volume 4, page 615).
Subsequently an act for raising the sum of £3,200 by means of a lottery, for building a hall for the students of Harvard College to dwell in, was passed by the General Court, but was not consented to by Governor Bernard until he had submitted it to the Lords of Trade and obtained their consent to the same. In their reply they state that " they are still of the opinion that lotteries in the American Colo-
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nies ought not to be countenanced, and are fully convinced that the too frequent practice of such a mode of raising money will be introductive of great mischief ; yet, in con- sideration of the general propriety and utility of the service to be provided for by the bill submitted for approval, we have no objection to your passing it into a law, desiring at the same time that it may be understood that such a permis- sion shall not be drawn into precedent in any other case whatever."
The managers of the lottery having expended all the money that had been raised for the purpose of building the bridge over the Parker River, it became necessary a few years later to provide funds to meet the cost of some needed repairs. The General Court therefore enacted, June 30, 1768, " that a toll gate shall be erected and a suitable person appointed to receive fees from every person who shall pass over the bridge." The act also fixed the rates of toll, author- ized the court of general sessions for the county of Essex to appoint one or more trustees to receive of the keeper of the bridge the money collected, and provided that the bridge should be " free for all persons travelling to or from the place or places of publick worship on Lord's Days." The powers and privileges granted by this act " continued in force for ten years and no longer " (Acts and Resolves of the Province of Massachusetts Bay, volume 4, page 1030).
At the July term of the court of general sessions, held at Salem in 1768, Jonathan Poore was appointed toll-gatherer ; and Daniel Farnham, Esq., William Atkins, Esq., and Cap- tain Patrick Tracy were appointed trustees. Notwithstand- ing the limitations and restrictions named in the act above referred to, the bridge remained under the care and control of the court for nearly sixty years.
In 1784, it was rebuilt ; and at the December term, held in Salem in 1785, Moses Hoyt gave bond, with sureties, to the county treasurer " for the faithful discharge of his duties as trustee of the great bridge over Parker River." He evi- dently served as trustee for more than ten years. In 1796, at the April term of the court, he rendered an account of his
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receipts and expenditures, from which it appears that the revenue from the bridge was, at that date, barely sufficient to meet the annual expenses.
Feb. 13, 1798, the General Court passed "An act for establishing a toll for the purpose of repairing and maintain- ing the great bridge over the River Parker, in the town of Newbury, and county of Essex." By the provisions of this act toll was to be collected from the first day of May to the last day of October in each year, but no toll was to be de- manded on the Lord's Day. The court of general sessions was authorized to appoint a suitable person to receive the toll and superintend the repairing of the bridge. The act also provided " that Jonathan Poor, Daniel Hale, Amos Hale, Samuel Plumer, John Thurston, Benjamin Thurston, Mark Plumer, David Plumer, Stephen Poor, and Simeon Plummer, and their families, or the occupants of their estates contigu- ous to said Bridge, and their Minister and Physician, be, and hereby are, exempted from paying the toll required by this law, so long as they shall keep in good repair, in the judg- ment of the Trustee of said Bridge, the whole of the abut- ment of said Bridge, from the South shore to the first arch, including the Caps and railing."
In 1827, extensive repairs were needed in order to make the bridge safe for travellers; and on the third day of March of that year the General Court passed "an act to incorporate certain persons for the purpose of building or repairing a Bridge over Parker River, in the town of New- bury, in the County of Essex."
David Plummer, Daniel Plummer, Samuel Newman, David Dole, Richard Jaques, Enoch Plummer, Joseph Farley, Samuel Poor, John M. Plummer, William Dole, Thomas Moody, and other persons associated with them were made a corporation, by this act, under the name of the Parker River Bridge Corporation. The corporation was authorized to repair or rebuild the bridge, with good and sufficient ma- terials, "over the River Parker at a place formerly called and known by the name of ' Old town ferry.'" The bridge, when completed, to have not less than six open arches, " one
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PARKER RIVER BRIDGE
of said arches to be at least forty-five feet wide for the con- venience and accommodation of the boating on said river." It was also provided that the corporation should have the right to collect toll for the full term of fifty years ; " but all persons going to, or returning from, public worship or mili- tary duty," were to be allowed to pass over the bridge free, and the General Court reserved to itself the privilege of regulating the rate of toll after the expiration of fifteen years.
Under this act of incorporation a company was organized, and a committee appointed to make the necessary repairs. During the following summer the work was completed ; and the bridge, under the supervision and control of the Parker River Bridge Corporation, was maintained as a toll-bridge until the year 1850, when the rights and privileges of the corporation were surrendered to the Commonwealth.
In 1851, petitions, signed by Daniel Plummer and others, in behalf of the inhabitants of Newbury, and Micajah Lunt and others, in behalf of the proprietors of Parker River bridge, were presented to the General Court, praying that the county commissioners might be authorized to repair or rebuild the bridge at the public expense.
In the warrant, calling a meeting of the legal voters of the town of Newbury, dated Feb. 1, 1851, one of the articles reads as follows : -
To see what action the town will take on an order of notice from the General Court on petition of Micajah Lunt and Samuel Poor, committee of the proprietors of Parker River bridge.
Feb. 8, 1851, the town, on motion of J. Little, Esq., " voted that the Hon. Caleb Cushing be requested to prefer to the Legislature the passage of a law authorizing the County Commissioners to accept of toll bridges, connecting public roads, when surrendered by the proprietors and of public benefit."
During the severe storm, which occurred in the month of April, 1851, when the light-house on Minot's ledge, at the entrance to Boston Harbor, was destroyed, the tide rose to a
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great height in Parker River, and three of the wooden arches near the centre of the bridge were lifted from their founda- tions and floated some distance up the stream.
May 24, 1851, the General Court passed an act authoriz- ing the county commissioners " to construct a bridge over Parker river, in the town of Newbury, at or near where the Parker river bridge, so called, lately stood ; the expense to be assessed upon such parties as they may have a right to direct to pay the same." In the second section of this act the Commonwealth relinquished to the County of Essex all rights surrendered, or to be surrendered to it, by the stockholders of the Parker River bridge.
At a meeting of the legal voters of the town of Newbury, held Aug. 6, 1851, on motion of Asa Adams, " a committee was chosen to oppose the building of a bridge over the Parker River until the town can have a hearing before the Legisla- ture." The committee consisted of Messrs. David S. Cald- well, Daniel Noyes, and Isaac Adams; and they were authorized to employ counsel, should they deem it expedient to do so.
This remonstrance on the part of some of the inhabitants of Newbury delayed the work of reconstruction for several months ; but during the summer and autumn of 1853 the bridge was completed, and in October of that year the county commissioners issued an order directing the town of Newbury " to pay the expense of building the bridge over the river Parker at old town."
In the warrant, signed by the selectmen of Newbury Dec. 12, 1853, calling upon the inhabitants of the town to meet for the transaction of important business, the second and third articles of the warrant read as follows : ----
Article Second,- To see if the town will choose a Committee to appear before the Hon. County Commissioner's Court, to be holden at Salem the last Tuesday of the present month, to show cause why they should not pay for the construction of Oldtown bridge, so called, as ordered by the said Commissioners. If said committee be chosen, then
Article Third,-To see if the town will instruct said Committee to relinquish all right or claim to establish a toll on said bridge.
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At the town meeting held Dec. 19, 1853, " it was voted that a committee of three be chosen to appear before the County Commissioners on Tuesday, the 27th inst.," to show cause why the town should not be called upon to pay for the construction of the bridge over Parker River ; and this committee, consisting of Captain Richard Adams, Ebenezer Little, and William W. Perkins, were authorized to relin- quish all right to establish toll over said bridge.
At the hearing held December 27 an agreement was reached by which the county assumed the entire cost of rebuilding the bridge, and the town of Newbury was required to pay all subsequent charges for repairs. In compliance with this agreement the bridge was made free for the accom- modation of the public, and ever since that date it has been maintained and controlled by the town of Newbury.
HOUSE BUILT BY COL. MOSES LITTLE IN 1748.
COLONEL MOSES LITTLE.
The house at Turkey Hill now owned and occupied by Mr. John Gardner Little was built, in 1748, by Colonel Moses Little, a descendant of George Little, who settled in Newbury in 1640. The principal facts and incidents related in the following sketch are taken from the genealogy of the family prepared by George Thomas Little, A. M., and pub- lished in 1882.
The frequent transfers of land to and from George Little, who was a tailor by trade, indicate that he was also deeply interested in agriculture and a large owner of real estate. His son, Moses Little, born March 15, 1657, lived and died in the old homestead in Newbury not far from "trayneing green," on the road leading to the mill on Little river. His grandson, Moses Little, born Feb. 26, 1691, married, Feb. 12, 1716, Sarah, daughter of Sergeant Stephen and Deborah Jaques, and lived in the same place until about the year 1730, when he bought, of his uncle Joseph, the Turkey Hill farm and removed his family thither.
Colonel Moses Little, son of the last-named Moses Little and Sarah, his wife, was born May 8, 1724, in the old home- stead, but subsequently lived with his parents, after their removal, at Turkey Hill. He married, June 5, 1743, Abigail, daughter of Joshua Bailey, when he was only nineteen years of age. His wife was a sister of General Jacob Bailey, a distinguished officer of the French and Revolutionary wars.
In 1748, he built a house for his own use a few rods in a northerly direction from his father's residence, and there lived until his death. The house is still standing; and the details of its cost, in his own handwriting, have been care- fully preserved, and are still in the possession of his de- scendants.
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He was for several years surveyor of the King's woods, and acquired by grant and purchase large tracts of land in Vermont and New Hampshire, and at one time was the owner of the greater part of what is now Androscoggin County in the State of Maine.
Nov. 5, 1767, his father conveyed to him, in consideration of his payment of various sums of money, amounting to £1,300, to his brothers and sisters, one hundred acres of land in Newbury, with the buildings thereon ; "also sixty acres of land with the buildings thereon where my said son Moses now lives "; also four acres at Brown's Garden, so called ; and all other lands and interests therein, wherever the same may be, excepting five acres of land in Bradford, bought of David Pearson (Essex Deeds, book 131, page 222).
At the breaking out of the War of the Revolution, Moses Little, Jr., was over fifty years of age; but, at the first news of the battle of Lexington, he marched with a company of Newbury men to the headquarters of the army at Cambridge. He was placed in command of a regiment raised. in the northern part of Essex County.
" At the battle of Bunker Hill he led three of his com- panies across Charlestown Neck, under a severe fire from the British batteries and ships-of-war, reached the scene of action before the first charge of the enemy, and was present through- out the entire engagement. His men were posted in differ- ent places,- a part at the redoubt, a part at the breastwork, and some at the rail fence. A fourth company came upon the hill after the battle began." In this engagement forty of his regiment were killed or wounded.
The names of the officers and privates who enlisted in 1775 to serve for eight months, under Colonel Moses Little, in the company commanded by Captain Jacob Gerrish, are as follows : -
Jacob Gerrish, Capt. Silas Adams, Lieut. Amos Atkinson, Lieut. Nath'l Pearson, Sergt. Stephen Lunt, Sergt.
Wm. Searl, Sergt.
Nath'l Adams, Sergt. Jacob Hale, Corp.
Wm. Morgaridge, Corp. Eliphalet Kilburn, Corp.
COLONEL MOSES LITTLE
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Joseph Carr, Corp.
Benj. Newman, Drum & Fife.
John Kenney, Drum & Fife.
Privates.
Enoch Adams,
Mark Anthony,
Peter Ordway,
Edward Deverish Burke,
Moses Pettengill,
John Burbank,
Samuel Place,
Jacob Chizamore.
Benj. Poor,
Benj. Beedle,
Amos Poor,
John Currier,
Eliphalet Poor,
Jedediah Currier,
Joseph Rogers,
William Currier,
Richard Rolfe,
Benj. Carr,
Moses Rollins,
John Choat,
Stephen Smith,
Eben Choat.
John Sawyer,
John Cheney,
Absalom Thorla.
Enoch Flood,
Joshua Tappan .*
Wm. Flood,
Daniel Goodridge, Oliver Goodridge, John Lunt,
Annis Merrill,
Christopher Merrill,
Richard Martin,
Colonel Moses Little was officer of the day when Washing- ton took command of the army, and subsequently became personally acquainted with his commander-in-chief. " He went with the army to New York after the evacuation of Boston, and was present at the disastrous battle of Long Island. He held command of Fort Greene, near the centre of the American line, before the engagement, and during it was stationed at the Flatbush Pass. He also took part in the battle of Harlem Heights, but did not accompany his men in the retreat through New Jersey, being detained by sickness at Peekskill. During the winter he was in com- mand of an important encampment at the latter place, but in the spring of 1777 was forced to return home on account of ill-health. Two years later he declined for the same reason the commission of brigadier-general and the command of an expedition raised by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to dislodge the enemy from their position on the Penobscot."
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