USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Newbury > Ould Newbury: historical and biographical sketches > Part 40
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Previous to this date the eccentricities of Timothy Dexter
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DEXTER HOUSE
were not particularly prominent and had not attracted much public attention. On his return to Newburyport in 1798, he took possession of the house and grounds, purchased of the heirs of Captain Thomas Thomas in the month of August of that year, and proceeded to decorate them in an extravagant and ostentatious manner. Mr. William C. Todd, in his sketch of the life and character of Timothy Dexter, says : -
He laid out the grounds after what he was told was the European style, and had fruits, flowers, and shrubbery of many varieties planted in them. He put minarets on the roof of the house, surmounted with gilt balls, and in front placed rows of columns fifteen feet high,- about forty in all - each having on its top a statue of some distinguished man. Before the door were two lions on each side, with open mouths, to guard the entrance. On the arch, and occupying the most prominent position, were the statues of Washington, Adams, and Jefferson, and to the other statues he gave the names of Bonaparte, Nelson, Franklin, and other heroes, often changing them according to his fancy. In a conspicuous place was a statue of himself with the inscription, " I am the first in the East, the first in the West, and the greatest philosopher in the known world." All these statues were carved in wood by a young ship-carver, Joseph Wilson, who had just come to Newburyport. They were gaudily painted ; and, though having but little merit as works of art, and less as likenesses, gave the house a strange appearance and attracted crowds, whose curiosity deeply gratified the owner, and he freely opened the grounds to them.
Dexter published from time to time in the columns of the Newburyport Herald strange and whimsical communications that served to increase his notoriety. Persuaded in his own mind that he could amuse the public and at the same time gratify his inordinate vanity, he wrote a small book, or pamphlet, called " Pickle for the Knowing Ones," which he printed at his own expense and distributed gratuitously. The fabulous stories with which he filled this little volume were, no doubt, invented for the purpose of magnifying his wealth and imposing upon the credulity of those who were constantly asking " How did Dexter make his money ?"
Timothy Dexter died Oct. 26, 1806. In his will, dated March 1, 1799, and proved Nov. 3, 1806, he made several public bequests, and among them was the sum of $2,000, the
DEXTER HOUSE.
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DEXTER HOUSE
interest to be expended annually for the benefit of the poor of the town of Newburyport. The "rest and residue" of his estate he gave to his son, Samuel Lord Dexter, and his daughter, Nancy Bishop, wife of Abraham Bishop. In case of their decease without issue, "the rest and residue" was devised to his brothers, Nathan Dexter and John Dexter.
Samuel Lord Dexter, the only son of Timothy Dexter, was baptized Oct. 6, 1772, by the Rev. Thomas Cary, pastor of the First Religious Society of Newburyport, and was married to Esther Dexter Jan. 11, 1807, by Rev. John Giles, pastor of the Second Presbyterian Society of Newburyport. He died July 20, 1807, leaving no children ; and his widow married, Nov. 16, 1809, William Rose of Charlestown.
In the registry of deeds at Salem (book 210, page 291), will be found the record, in full, of a marriage contract, made Nov. 14, 1809, between William Rose, of Charlestown, Mass., merchant, and Esther Dexter, of Newburyport, widow, and Nathaniel Knapp, Jr., of Newburyport, merchant, in which the said William and Esther agree to marry each other ; and Esther, being possessed of real estate and also entitled to dower in some lands owned by Samuel Lord Dexter, her late husband, deceased, the said William covenants and agrees to release any interest he may have in said parcels of real estate to the said Nathaniel Knapp, Jr., who is to hold the property for the benefit of the said Esther Dexter.
April 28, 1807, the household furniture belonging to the estate of Timothy Dexter, "and the carved images with the pillars on which they stand," were advertised to be sold at public auction "on Tuesday the 12th of May next" by P. Bagley & Son, auctioneers.
March 8, 1808, the following notice was published in the Newburyport Herald :-
Samuel Richardson informs his friends and the public in general that he has removed from the Hotel on Plum Island to that elegant and spacious House owned by the late Timothy Dexter, High Street, where he has good accommodations for travellers and others who may favor him with their custom.
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Elizabeth Dexter, widow of Timothy Dexter, died July 3, 1809. Soon after her decease the house was rented to Thomas Marshall and afterward to Stephen Marshall, inn- keepers ; and, under their charge, it became a famous place of public resort. At a later date it was leased to Mrs. Hannah Toppan Marshall, who occupied it as a residence and boarding-house until 1852.
Nancy Dexter, only daughter of Timothy Dexter, was born Aug. 16, 1776, and married Abraham Bishop, of New Haven, Conn. This marriage was not a happy one. Husband and wife soon separated ; and, by an arrangement made with Thomas and Stephen Marshall, and afterward with Mrs. Hannah T. Marshall, Mrs. Bishop was provided with board and lodging in the Dexter house, Newburyport, during the remainder of her life. With impaired intellect and confirmed habits of intoxication, she required constant care and atten- tion. She died Sept. 30, 1851, leaving one daughter, Mary Ann Bishop, who married a lawyer of respectability and prominence in New Haven. He was afterward appointed judge of one of the subordinate courts in Connecticut.
Feb. 2, 1852, Mary Ann Clark, of New Haven, Conn., " only child and heir-at-law of Nancy Dexter Bishop," sold to Elbridge G. Kelley the Dexter house "with all the land thereunto belonging for the sum of seven thousand dollars." Dr. Kelley exhibited great skill and taste in the planting of trees and shrubbery and in otherwise improving the house and grounds. With his wife and family, he made it an attractive and pleasant home for more than twenty years. He was mayor of the city of Newburyport in 1871 and 1872 ; and April 30, 1874, he sold the property to Hon. George H. Corliss, of Providence, R. I., the eminent inventor and manu- facturer of stationary engines and pumping machinery.
Mr. Corliss died in Providence Feb. 21, 1888. The house, with the land under and adjoining the same, is now owned by his widow, Mrs. Emily A. Corliss, and occupied by Miss Catherine G. Shaw, sister of Mrs. Corliss.
PEABODY LIBRARY 1852.
PE ABODY, MAS S.
LOWELL-JOHNSON HOUSE.
The sale of the Lowell house on Greenleaf's lane to Patrick Tracy was concluded March 9, 1771. Two weeks later, John Lowell, counsellor-at-law, and Jonathan Jackson, merchant, bought of Elizabeth Stickney about five acres of land on High Street, opposite the head of Olive Street, " bounded northeasterly on the High Street, southeasterly on land of Edmund Bartlett, southwesterly on said Bartlett's land, and northwesterly on land of Joseph Hoyt" (Essex Deeds, book 129, leaf 54).
On one-half this land Mr. Lowell built the large three-story dwelling-house now owned and occupied by Mr. William R. Johnson ; and on the other half of the land Mr. Jackson built the Dexter house, at present owned by Mrs. George H. Corliss, of Providence, R. I.
John Lowell was the only son of Rev. John Lowell, minister of the First Religious Society in Newburyport. He was born June 17, 1743, and graduated at Harvard College in 1760. He was an intimate friend of Jonathan Jackson, who graduated from the same college one year later, in 1761.
John Lowell married Sarah Higginson, daughter of Stephen Higginson, of Salem, Mass. She died May 5, 1772, and he married for his second wife Susan Cabot May 31, 1774.
About the time of his second marriage he built the house designated in this sketch as the Lowell-Johnson house.
Oct. 21, 1778, partition was made of the land owned in common by John Lowell and Jonathan Jackson (see Essex registry of deeds, book 136, leaf 152) ; and the same day John Lowell sold for £10,000 his part of the land on High Street, with the dwelling-house thereon, to Patrick Tracy and removed his family to Boston.
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He was eminent as a lawyer and represented Newburyport in the provincial assembly in 1776. He was a delegate from Boston to the convention that framed the constitution of Massachusetts in 1780 ; and by his efforts secured the adop- tion of the clause, " all men are born free and equal," which, by a subsequent decision of the supreme court, abolished slavery in the State. He was a member of the Continental Congress in 1782-3, and in 1789 was appointed by Washing- ton judge of the United States circuit court for the district of Massachusetts. Harvard gave him the degree of LL. D. in 1792.
He married Sarah Higginson Jan. 3, 1767. The children by this marriage were : -
Anna Cabot, born March 30, 1768: died in December, 1810. John, born Oct. 6, 1769; died March 12, 1840. Sarah Champney, born Jan. 1, 1771 ; died in 1851.
His son John, born 1769, was a noted political writer on the Federalist side. He married Rebecca Amory, and had a son, John Amory Lowell, who was the father of John Lowell, the distinguished judge of the United States court for the district of Massachusetts, who resigned his seat on the bench in 1884.
Sarah (Higginson) Lowell died May 5, 1772, in Newbury- port, aged twenty-seven, and was buried in the Old Hill bury- ing ground, a few rods in a westerly direction from the Hill Street entrance.
Judge Lowell married for his second wife Susan Cabot, daughter of Francis Cabot, May 31, 1774. His children by this marriage were : -
Francis Cabot, born April 7, 1775, for whom the city of Lowell was named, and father of John Lowell, who founded the Lowell Insti- tute, Boston ; died Aug. 10, 1817.
Susan Cabot, born Dec. 28, 1776; married Benjamin Gorham ; died Feb. 26, 1816.
Mrs. Susan (Cabot) Lowell died March 30, 1777 ; and Judge Lowell married, Jan. 27, 1778, for his third wife, Rebecca
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LOWELL-JOHNSON HOUSE
Tyng, widow of James Tyng, of Dunstable, and daughter of James Russell. The children by this marriage were :-
Rebecca Russell, born May 17, 1779; died in 1853.
Charles, born Aug. 15, 1782; father of James Russell Lowell, the poet and minister plenipotentiary from the United States to the Court of St. James.
Elizabeth Cutts, born Dec. 8, 1783 ; died 1864.
Mary, born May 31, 1786; died 1789.
Judge Lowell died in Roxbury May 6, 1802, and his widow died Sept. 15, 1816.
After the house built by Judge Lowell, on High Street, in Newburyport, was sold to Patrick Tracy, it remained in his possession for many years and was occupied by his son, John Tracy, who was born April 19, 1753, and married Margaret Laughton* May 2, 1775. The children of John and Mar- garet Tracy were : -
John, born March 4, 1776: died Nov. 27, 1781.
Henry Laughton, born Sept. 1, 1777 ; died May 26, 1797.
Nathaniel, born June 19, 1779; lost at sea in the year 1800, aged 21. Margaret, born March 22, 1781 ; died June 25, 1843.
Mary, born March 22, 1781 ; married Christopher Bassett. Henrietta, born June 28, 1782 ; married William P. Johnson.
John, born Jan. 2, 1786; died in Matanzas Aug. 28, 1822.
Elizabeth Farris, born Dec. 14, 1791 ; married Henry Loring, of Boston ; she died Aug. 15, 1825 ; he died June 11, 1866.
Catherine De Blois, born Nov. 12, 1794; married George Titcomb in May, 1819; he died Dec. 4, 1863 ; she died March 13, 1875.
In November, 1782, Marquis De Chastellux, one of the forty members of the French Academy, and major-general in the French Army under the Count de Rochambeau, travelling through New England, visited Newburyport. He had with him for companions " Messieurs Lynch, de Montes- quieu, the Baron de Taleyrand and M. de Vaudreuil." In the second volume of his Travels (page 240), is the following account of his reception by Mr. John Tracy : -
The road from Portsmouth to Newbury passes through a barren country. Hampton is the only township you meet with, and there are
* Margaret Laughton was born May 12, 1755, and died Nov. 9. 1806.
LOWELL-JOHNSON HOUSE.
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LOWELL-JOHNSON HOUSE
not such handsome houses there as at Greenland. . .. It was two o'clock when we reached Merimack ferry, and from the shore we saw the open- ings of the harbour, the channel of which passes near the northern extremity of Plumb Island, on which is a small fort, with a few cannon and mortars. ... After passing the ferry in little flat boats, which held only five horses each, we went to Mr. Davenport's inn, where we found a good dinner ready. I had letters from Mr. Wentworth to Mr. John Tracy, the most considerable merchant in the place; but, before I had time to send them, he had heard of my arrival, and, as I was arising from table, entered the room, and very politely invited me to pass the evening with him. He was accompanied by a Colonel, whose name is too difficult for me to write, having never been able to catch the manner of pronouncing it ; but it was something like Wigsteps .* This Colonel remained with me till Mr. Tracy finished his business, when he came with two handsome carriages, well equipped, and conducted me and my Aide de Campe to his country house. This house stands a mile from the town in a very beautiful situation ; but of this I could myself form no judgment, as it was already night. I went, however, by moonlight, to see the garden, which is composed of different terraces. There is likewise a hot house and a number of young trees. The house is very handsome and well finished, and everything breathes that air of magnifi- cence, accompanied with simplicity, which is only to be found amongst merchants. The evening passed rapidly by the aid of agreeable conver- sation and a few glasses of punch. The ladies we found assembled were Mrs. Tracy, her two sisters, and their cousin, Miss Lee. Mrs. Tracy has an agreeable and a sensible countenance, and her manners correspond with her appearance. At ten o'clock an excellent supper was served; we drank good wine. Miss Lee sung, and prevailed on Messieurs de Vaudreuil and Taleyrand to sing also; towards midnight the ladies withdrew, but we continued drinking Maderia and Xery. Mr. Tracy, according to the custom of the country, offered us pipes, which were accepted by M. de Taleyrand, and M. de Montesquieu, the consequence of which was that they became intoxicated and were led home, where they were happy to get to bed. As to myself, I remained perfectly cool, and continued to converse on trade and politics with Mr. Tracy, who interested me greatly with an account of all the vicissitudes of his fortune since the beginning of the war. ... I left Newburyport the 13th at ten in the morning, and often stopped before I lost sight of this pretty little town, for I had great pleasure in enjoying the different aspects it presents. It is in general well built, and is daily increasing in new buildings. The ware houses of the merchants, which are near their own homes, serve by way of ornament, and in point of architecture resemble not a little our own large greenhouses.
* Probably Colonel Edward Wigglesworth.
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This visit of Marquis de Chastellux, in company with Baron de Taleyrand, is often relied upon to prove the statement that Talleyrand, the distinguished minister of foreign affairs in France, was at one time in Newburyport. But there is abundant evidence to show that Baron de Taleyrand and Prince de Talleyrand are not one and the same person. The latter was an ordained priest in the Roman Catholic Church, and in 1788 was made bishop of Autun. At the time Baron de Taleyrand was in Newburyport, Charles Maurice de Talleyrand, then Abbé de Périgord, and afterward Prince
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HALL AND STAIRCASE.
de Talleyrand, was in France attending to his duties as agent-general of the clergy, representing their interests with the government in all that related to the revenue and expend- iture of the Church and the maintenance of its privileges. He did not enter political life until 1792, and was soon com- pelled to seek safety beyond the sea. He arrived in America early in 1794, and remained in this country until the middle of 1796. He passed most of his time in New York and Philadelphia. He visited Boston, however, and went as far East as Machias ; but there is no evidence that he was ever in Newburyport.
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LOWELL-JOHNSON HOUSE
The Baron de Taleyrand, who accompanied Marquis de Chastellux in his travels through New England, was undoubtedly Count Bozon de Périgord, who came to America in 1782 with the Prince de Broglie in the French frigate " Aigle." He appears to have had several titles and was sometimes designated Bozon, or de Talleyrand, or de Péri- gord. Drake in " Landmarks of Boston," page 435, says that he was a brother of Prince Talleyrand, but of this fact there is ņo positive proof.
M. de Montesquieu was a grandson of the author of the " Spirit of the Laws." He was an aid-de-camp to Marquis de Chastellux in 1780 and 1781, and afterward went to France, returning to America in 1782 in the French frigate " Gloire." Viscount de Vaudreuil was a passenger in the same ship.
Monsieur Lynch was born in London in 1755 of Catholic parents, who sent him to France to be educated. He was present at the siege of Yorktown. After his return to Paris, he was made a colonel in the French Army, and in Feb- ruary, 1792, maréchal de camp, and afterward lieutenant- general.
For other interesting facts relating to these distinguished visitors, the reader is referred to the second volume of "The French in America during the War of Independence," by Thomas Balch, translated by Edwin Swift Balch and Elsie Willing Balch, and published in Philadelphia in 1895.
Mr. John Tracy was generous and liberal in the expenditure of his wealth, and entertained many other distinguished guests in his hospitable home. He was an enthusiastic supporter of the colonial government during the Revolutionary War and served in General Sullivan's Army in Rhode Island as aide- de-camp to General Glover. He was chosen vestryman of St. Paul's Church, Newburyport, in 1777, and was annually re-elected to that office until his death, March 1, 1815, with the exception of four years, from 1780 to 1783, inclusive, when he served as senior warden. He was a member of St. John's Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons, in good and regular standing, from 1781 to 1803, when he was made an honorary member.
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In early life he was prosperous ; but, meeting with reverses at the close of the war, he was obliged to retrench in his household expenses, and, after the death of his wife, some years later, he joined with his children in a deed of sale conveying the house in which he lived to Eleazer Johnson.
His father, Patrick Tracy, by his will, dated Oct. 16, 1788, and proved April 3, 1789, gave to his grandchildren, " Henry Laughton Tracy, Nathaniel Tracy, Margaret Tracy, Mary Tracy, Henrietta Tracy, and John Tracy, the children of my son John, and to such other child or children as may be here- after born to him in lawful wedlock, the dwelling-house in which he, my said son John, now lives, together with all my land under and adjoining the same, and all the buildings thereon, all which I purchased of John Lowell, Esq." He appointed his son John and his son's wife, Margaret, trustees, to hold the property, they not being required to account to their children for the income.
John Tracy gave a quitclaim deed of this property, Sept. 15, 1809, to Eleazer Johnson, which is recorded in the Essex registry of deeds, book 188, leaf 126.
John Tracy, Jr., Margaret Tracy, Mary Tracy, William P. Johnson, and Henrietta Johnson, his wife, the same day con- veyed to Eleazer Johnson property described as "being the same which was conveyed our late grandfather, Patrick Tracy, by John Lowell, Esq., by deed dated the twenty-first day of October, A.D. 1778" (book 188, leaf 126).
William Farris, of Newburyport (guardian of Elizabeth Farris Tracy and Catharine Deblois Tracy, children of John Tracy) by virtue of a resolve of the General Court, conveyed two-sixths of above estate to Eleazer Johnson Sept. 5, 181I (book 194, leaf 258).
Eleazer Johnson was born in 1773 and married Sarah Newman in 1797. He was engaged in commercial pursuits, and was at one time president of the Mechanicks' Bank, New- buryport. He died in 1847, and left only one son, Richard Johnson, who was born in 1815.
Richard Johnson married Mrs. Fanny B. Woodbury, of
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LOWELL-JOHNSON HOUSE
Beverly, daughter of Dr. Nathaniel Bradstreet, of New- buryport. He died in 1872, leaving two children, Caroline Elizabeth and William Richard Johnson, both now living in the house designated in this sketch as the Lowell-Johnson house.
NEWBURYPORT MARINE SOCIETY.
On the fifth day of November, 1772, the following persons, viz : - Captains Thomas Jones, William Wyer, Benjamin Rogers, Samuel Newhall, Michael Hodge, and Edward Wigglesworth, met together at the house of Captain Benjamin Rogers, in Newburyport, New England, and agreed to deposit in the hands of Captain Michael Hodge one guinea of the value of twenty-eight shillings, each person, for commenc- ing a fund for charitable purposes to the unfortunate of the Society.
On the thirteenth day of the same month the number of members had increased to twenty, and by-laws were adopted providing that only shipmasters, or those who had served in that capacity, should be elected to membership; that a penalty should be exacted for non-attendance at the regular monthly meetings ; that members, or the widows and chil- dren of members, should receive pecuniary assistance, if needed; and that observations at sea relating to the varia- tions of the needle, soundings, courses and distances, rocks and shoals, and kindred subjects, should be communicated to the society for the benefit and security of navigation.
The first few meetings of the new organization were held at a private house ; but Dec. 2, 1772, it was "Voted that the Society shall meet at Captain William Davenport's or any other Public House as shall be thought convenient by the Society until the twenty-first day of March next." Subse- quent votes prove conclusively that for twenty-five years or more the society was accustomed to meet at the Wolfe Tavern, then under the management of William Davenport, and afterward kept by Anthony and Moses Davenport.
It is probable that the meetings of these old ship-masters were enlivened by bowls of punch and mugs of hard cider, as was the custom in fraternal gatherings in those patriotic
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NEWBURYPORT MARINE SOCIETY
days. There is no mention of this fact upon the records of the society ; but the history of a similar organization in Boston reveals various interesting items like the following : " Punch this evening, Room, candles, and attendance £3. 9s.," and a few months later a bill for "20 suppers, 5 Bot. wine, 2 do cyder and I qt brandy " gives evidence of a more elaborate entertainment. The monthly charges were probably adjusted fairly and equitably in accordance with a vote "that at each meeting, the Room, Fireing, and Candles be paid by the Society, and the Liquors be paid by the members present at each meeting."
The Salem Marine Society was the second organization of the kind in America, and its members were accustomed to assemble at the old Sun Tavern in Salem. Its records show that refreshments of a solid as well as a liquid nature were occasionally, if not regularly, provided.
The Newburyport society was evidently organized upon the same general plan and governed by rules and regulations similar to those adopted by the Marine societies of Boston and Salem. Nov. 13, 1772, a letter of thanks was addressed to Capt. Bartholomew Putnam of Salem "for his kindness in procuring a copy of the Marine laws at Salem, and also for a copy of the by-laws "; and subsequent communications show that all three societies were united and active in their efforts to foster and encourage commerce and render navigation along the coast less difficult and dangerous.
At the second meeting of the Newburyport society it was "Voted that all expenses at meetings shall be paid by each member individually and not by the society "; and Dec. 2, 1772, a committee was appointed to apply to the General Court for an act of incorporation. For some reason unknown this petition, presented in behalf of the society, was not granted, and another committee was appointed for the same purpose in 1773, and still another in 1777. The last com- mittee, consisting of Captain Michael Hodge, Captain James Hudson, and Captain William Coombs, were successful in their efforts, and the following act of incorporation was granted Oct. 13, 1777.
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" An act to incorporate James Hudson, and others therein named, into a society by the name of the Marine Society at Newburyport, in the County of Essex, in the State of Massachusetts (Bay) in New England. Whereas, a considerable number of persons who are or have been masters of ships, or other vessels, have for several years past associated themselves in the town of Newburyport, and the principal end of said Society being to improve the knowledge of this coast, by the several members, upon their arrival from sea, communicating their observations, inwards and outwards, of the variation of the needle, soundings, courses, distances, and all other remarkable things about it, in writing, to be lodged with the Society, for making the navigation more safe; and also to relieve one another and their families, in poverty, or other adverse accidents of life, which they are more particularly liable to, and have for this end raised a considerable common stock ; and the said persons asso- ciated, as aforesaid, finding themselves under difficulties and discourage- ments, in carrying on the said designs without an incorporation; and James Hudson, and others of them having petitioned the great and General Court of this State, in their present session, to be incorporated for the purposes aforesaid ; and their intention appearing laudable and deserving encouragement,-
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