USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Newbury > Ould Newbury: historical and biographical sketches > Part 45
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In 1823, he was in command of the ship " Rising Empire," owned by William Bartlet, Esq., of Newburyport, when the vessel was wrecked off the coast of South America, near the
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mouth of the river La Plata. The captain and crew, with the exception of one man, after twenty-four hours' exposure in an open boat, reached the shore in safety.
Captain Wheelwright, on his arrival at Buenos Ayres, made known his destitute condition to a gentleman of that city, and was soon after offered a situation as supercargo of a vessel about to sail for Valparaiso. He accepted the posi- tion ; and after a long and tedious voyage of four or five months around Cape Horn he arrived at the port designated. Having a desire to inform himself in regard to the business facilities and commercial advantages of the west coast of South America, he extended his travels to Guayaquil, the sea- port of Colombia, where he decided to remain and give his time and attention to the development of the foreign and domestic trade in that locality. In 1825, he was appointed United States consul at that port. Three years later, he left his business, then in a thriving and prosperous condition, in the hands of his partner, and went, by way of the Isthmus of Panama, to his home in Newburyport, from which he had been absent six years.
He married, in that town, Feb. 10, 1829, Martha Gerrish, daughter of Edmund Bartlet, Esq. A few weeks later he embarked with his wife on a sailing packet from New York, bound to Carthagena, and continued his journey in a small schooner to Chagres and thence up the river, exposed to the heat and glare of the tropical sun, and across the Isthmus of Panama on mule back, and then down the coast in a leaky boat to Guayaquil.
After a few days of rest Mr. Wheelwright resumed his business cares and duties, but found to his dismay that nearly all his property had been lost, during his absence, through the negligence and mismanagement of his partner. Surprised, but not discouraged, by this unexpected dis- covery, he resolved to transfer his residence to Valparaiso and there endeavor to improve his shattered fortune. He purchased of his brother-in-law in New York a small vessel, which he named "Fourth of July," and ordered her to be sent to him on the west coast of South America. He took
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WILLIAM WHEELWRIGHT
command of this vessel immediately after her arrival at Val- paraiso, and was soon engaged in a lucrative business, trans- porting specie and bullion from port to port along the coast.
In 1835, he commenced his great task of establishing a line of steamers between the republics of Peru and Chili and the Isthmus of Panama. " This was an undertaking of much
WILLIAM WHEELWRIGHT.
difficulty. There were prejudices to be overcome, capital to be raised, and negotiations necessary to be carried out,- all of which required great skill and patience." He went to England in 1837, and in 1838 the Pacific Steam Navigation Company was formed with a capital of £250,000 ; and two steamers, each of seven hundred tons register, were built in
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1840 and ordered to proceed through the straits of Magellan to the ports of Valparaiso and Callao.
After the arrival of these steamers on the Pacific coast the difficulty of procuring coal and the impossibility of pro- viding for unexpected repairs, occasioned by an untoward accident, were embarrassing in the extreme ; but these obsta- cles were ultimately surmounted, and steam communication was established with Europe by way of the Isthmus of Panama.
Mr. Wheelwright next turned his attention to the improve- ment of harbors and to the construction of wharves and light-houses for the better accommodation and protection of commerce. In order to facilitate the communication between the sea-coast and the mining district, he built the first South American railroad from Caldera to Copiapò, and afterward extended it nearly forty miles into the interior in the direc- tion of the Andes.
In 1841, he purchased, for the use of his father, mother, and sisters, a dwelling-house on High Street in Newburyport, Mass., which remained in the family for many years .*
Soon after this date he became interested in a plan to unite Valparaiso and Buenos Ayres by a railway over the mountain range that separates Chili from the Argentine Republic. He organized a staff of engineers to survey the line. The work was completed in 1859; but the Chilian government, to whom the project was submitted, considered the difficulties too great to be successfully overcome, and the enterprise was abandoned.
* This house was built by Ebenezer Stocker on land purchased of Dorcas Noyes, widow of Silas Noyes, as stated on page 134 of this book.
The conveyances from Ebenezer Stocker to William Wheelwright, and subsequently to his sister Elizabeth, are as follows: -
Oct. 31, 1808, Ebenezer Stocker to Isaac Adams (Essex Deeds, book 185, page 200).
March 11, 1809, Isaac Adams to Thomas Carter (Essex Deeds, book 186, page 24).
April 24, 1824, Thomas Carter to Caroline Smith Gomez (Essex Deeds, book 237, page HIS).
Nov. 13, 1826, Stephen H. Gomez and Caroline S. Gomez to Ann Adams, widow (Essex Deeds, book 243, page 194).
John Wheelwright, son of Abraham Wheelwright, married his cousin, Ann Adams, widow.
In the month of April, 1841, John Wheelwright and Ann, his wife, then of Brooklyn, N. Y., sold this estate to William Wheelwright, and gave a deed of the same to " Anna Wheelwright, mother of the said William Wheelwright " (book 328, page 177).
March 4, 1842, Ebenezer Wheelwright and wife Anna conveyed the land with the buildings thereon to their daughters Elizabeth and Susan Wheelwright (sisters of William Wheelwright).
Susan Wheelwright died March 24, 1860. In her will dated March 31, 1848, and proved the first Tuesday in May, 1850, she devised all her real estate to her sister Elizabeth.
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WILLIAM WHEELWRIGHT
In 1860, he resolved to visit the Argentine Republic and secure, if possible, the right to build there a road that should ultimately connect the Atlantic with the Pacific coast. After three years of patient and persistent labor he suc- ceeded in obtaining from the government grants of land and certain privileges in regard to the importation of materials that ultimately led to the construction of the Grand Central Railroad between the port of Rosario on the Parana River and Cordova, the capital of the province of that name. The extension of this great work in the immediate future will accomplish the object for which Mr. Wheelwright labored earnestly and zealously for more than ten years.
His last important enterprise was the building of the rail- way connecting the port of Ensenada with Buenos Ayres. In spite of serious obstacles and innumerable delays the successful completion of this work was celebrated with great enthusiasm at Ensenada Dec. 31, 1872.
In the month of May, 1873, ill health and the infirmities of age induced Mr. Wheelwright to take passage on a mail steamer bound to England. He was invigorated somewhat by the voyage, but continued to decline after his arrival in London, and died Sept. 26, 1873, surrounded by his family and some of his most intimate friends. His body was taken to Newburyport and buried in Oak Hill cemetery.
His will, dated June 17, 1871, and proved the third Tues- day in November, 1873, directed that his estate, after the payment of certain debts and legacies, should be divided into nine equal parts.
Two of said nine equal parts (of my estate) I give, devise and bequeath to Caleb Cushing, formerly of Newburyport, now of Wash- ington, Robert Codman of Boston, Massachusetts, Eben F. Stone of said Newburyport, Charles G. Wood, formerly of Newburyport,; now of Boston, William B. Atkinson of Newburyport, and the Mayor of Newburyport, for the time being, and to their successors as hereinafter provided, but in trust nevertheless and upon the trusts and for the purposes more fully to be set forth in detailed directions to be drawn up by me hereafter, having for their object to benefit my native city in providing a fund, the income of which shall be applied
HOME FOR AGED FEMALES.
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WILLIAM WHEELWRIGHT
to the assistance of such Protestant young men of the city of New- buryport, as the said Trustees shall consider deserving and merito- rious, in obtaining a scientific education. But in case by any accident I should omit or neglect to prepare such detailed directions I do now provide in general that the Mayor of the said city of Newburyport for the time being shall always be ex-officio one of the said board of trus- tees, and as the others die or resign or decline their trusts, their places shall be filled by a vote of the other members of the board, from time to time, and that the fund may be used in the erection and endowment of a scientific school in said city, provided that no more than fifty thousand dollars shall be expended upon the buildings for that purpose, or if the fund is inadequate in the judgment of the trustees for the purpose above named it may be allowed in whole or in part to accumulate until a sufficient sum be obtained, or if it is better in the judgment of the said trustees the whole or any part of the income may be applied to the assistance and education of Protestant young men of that city as aforementioned, and in general the fund shall be conducted and used by the said trustees in such manner as in their judgment and full discretion shall best accomplish the purpose which I have in view. But in case I shall prepare the detailed directions above referred to, all the foregoing provisions shall be subordinate to the said detailed directions.
The bequest to the trustees above named now amounts to the sum of $375,000. The annual income is expended in the payment of tuition and certain other expenses of students from Newburyport attending the Institute of Tech- nology in Boston.
William and Martha G. (Bartlet) Wheelwright had three children, namely : -
Maria Augusta, born in Valparaiso, Chili, Oct. 18. 1831.
Marian, born in Valparaiso, Chili, Oct. 18, 1833.
William, born in Newburyport, May 29, 1840.
Marian died in Newburyport, Dec. 18, 1835, and William died at Kew, near London, England, Oct. 18, 1862.
Maria Augusta Wheelwright married, in St. George's Church, in Hanover Square, London, England, in 1854, Mr. Paul Krell, of the Duchy of Mecklenburg, Schwerin, Germany.
After the death of her father the house and land on High Street, in Newburyport, then owned by Miss Elizabeth
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Wheelwright, was conveyed to Mrs. Krell by deed dated June 1, 1874 (Essex Deeds, book 906, page 4).
Maria Augusta (Wheelwright) Krell died at Oatlands Park, near London, Feb. 1I, 1886. In her will, dated Feb. 22, 1877, and proved the third Monday in May, 1886, she devised the above described property to her husband.
May 17, 1886, Paul Carl Luis Emil Krell, of Roslyn House, Oatlands Park, in the county of Surrey, in the King- dom of Great Britain, conveyed to Martha G. Wheelwright, of Newburyport, widow, for her life, and after her death to the Society for the Aid of Aged and Indigent Females of Newburyport, the land and buildings conveyed by Elizabeth Wheelwright to Maria Augusta Krell, June 1, 1874 ; also orchard and pasture land formerly belonging to Sarah and Rufus Wills (book 1181, page 138).
Mrs. Martha G. (Bartlet) Wheelwright died in Newbury- port Aug. 30, 1888, aged eighty-four ; and the house that she occupied at the time of her decease passed into the posses- sion of the Society for the Relief of Aged Females, and has since been maintained as a home where women in destitute circumstances are provided with shelter and support.
HANNAH F. GOULD.
Zaccheus Gould, of Bovingdon, in the parish of Hemel Hempsted, county of Hertford, England, was born about the year 1589, and came to New England between the years 1636 and 1638. He settled in that part of Ipswich, Mass., which was afterward through his efforts set off into a sepa- rate town under the name of Topsfield, and died there about 1670.
Benjamin Gould, a descendant of the fifth generation, was born in Topsfield May 15, 1751. At the beginning of the Revolutionary War he marched from Topsfield with thirty minute men, and participated in the fight at Lexington April 19, 1775. He received a bullet-wound, which left a conspic- uous scar on his cheek for the remainder of his life. Some verses suggested by this incident were written by his daugh- ter, Hannah F. Gould, entitled " The Scar of Lexington."
Benjamin Gould was made a captain in the Continental Army, and was subsequently engaged in the battles of White Plains, Bennington, and Stillwater, and had command of the main guard at West Point when Arnold fled and André was captured. July 19, 1781, he married Grizzel Apthorp, daughter of Gershom and Hannah Flagg, and commenced housekeeping in Lancaster, Mass. The children by this marriage were : -
John Flagg, born June 26, 1782 ; died in Mexico April 21, 1828. Grizzel Flagg, born Feb. 3, 1784; married Harvey Casey. Esther, born Oct. 3, 1785 ; married Henry W. Fuller. Benjamin Apthorp, born June 15, 1787 ; died Oct. 24, 1859. Hannah Flagg, born Sept. 3, 1789; died Sept. 5, 1865.
Rebecca, Sarah, and Mary, born in 1790 ; died in infancy. Elizabeth, born July 17, 1791 ; married Antonio Rapallo, of New York. Gershom Flagg, born in 1793 : died Jan. 17, 1840.
RESIDENCE OF HANNAH F. GOULD.
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HANNAH F. GOULD
Benjamin Gould removed from Lancaster, Mass., to New- buryport with his wife and children some time during the year 1800. On the twelfth day of April of the same year Samuel Clement and Joseph Clement of Newburyport, yeomen, sold to John Pearson, of Newburyport, merchant, for $423.33, a lot of land bounded on the north by land of Moses Coffin, on the east by land of the grantee, on the south by land of John Lee and Widow Couch, and on the west by Charter Street. No buildings were mentioned in the conveyance (Essex Deeds, book 169, page 260). Although Charter Street was evidently in existence at this date, it was probably only a private way. Coffin, in his History of Newbury, and Mrs. E. Vale Smith, in her History of Newburyport, both state that Charter Street was laid out and accepted by the town in 1805.
Nov. 20, 1810, John Pearson sold this land (no buildings mentioned), for $1,182.75, to John F. Gould, bricklayer, of Newburyport (book 192, page 105). The house now stand- ing on this land was undoubtedly built by Mr. Gould soon after he came into possession of the property. Financial difficulties compelled him to submit to a sale of both house and land to David Peabody. This deed was dated Aug. 20, 1813, and the estate was sold subject to a mortgage of $2,050 to Dr. Micajah Sawyer, recorded in book 202, page 132.
June 13, 1815, at sheriff's sale, Benjamin A. Gould, of Boston, bought the property, subject to the mortgage from David Peabody to Micajah Sawyer, for $2,100 (book 206, page 217). Notwithstanding the changes in ownership, Ben- jamin Gould with his family remained in the house ; and his son, Benjamin Apthorp, born in Lancaster June 15, 1787, and graduated at Harvard in 1814, used his first earnings to purchase the house where his father, mother, and sisters lived. He retained the title to the property until his death. He was for many years the principal of the Boston Latin School, but was obliged to relinquish teaching on account of ill health. He married, Dec. 2, 1823, Lucretia D., daugh- ter of Nathaniel and Lucretia D. Goddard. After two years spent in foreign travel he returned to Boston, and devoted
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his time and attention to the East India importing business. He died Oct. 24, 1859.
The heirs to his estate retained the property until the decease of Miss Hannah F. Gould, who was the last survivor of the family in Newburyport. Dec. 4, 1865, the house with the land under and adjoining the same was sold to Susan W. and Sophronia and Anna B. Balch, of Brighton, Mass. The deed of conveyance is recorded in book 696, page 193.
May 20, 1880, the property was sold to its present owner, Mrs. Lucy A. Snow, widow of the late Dr. George W. Snow.
Hannah Flagg Gould, born in Lancaster, Mass., Sept. 3, 1789, came to Newburyport with her father in 1800; lived for more than fifty years in the house (No. 13 Charter Street) built by her brother, John Flagg Gould; and died there, unmarried, Sept. 5, 1865. She was buried in the family lot at the New Hill burying ground by the side of her father, mother, and one brother.
She was a frequent contributor to periodical literature, and published her first volume of poems in 1832, a second in 1836, and a third in 1841 ; also a collection of prose sketches entitled, " Gathered Leaves," in 1846 ; and at a later date a volume of original and selected poems under the title of " The Diosma."
In some brilliant "jeu d'esprit" verses, written for the entertainment of a few personal friends, and not intended for publication, she pictured, in a sportive vein, the peculiarities and characteristics of some of the beaux of that day. Since her death these "Epitaphs " have been printed and widely circulated. The one relating to Caleb Cushing is often quoted : -
Lie aside all ye dead. For in the next bed Reposes the body of Cushing : He has crowded his way Through the world, as they say. And even though dead will be pushing.
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HANNAH F. GOULD
Cushing's reply was equally witty and effective : -
Here lies one whose wit Without wounding could hit,- As green grow the grasses above her ; She has sent every beau to the regions below And now she's gone there for a lover.
Among her more serious poems there is one, suggested by a casual incident at Plum Island, that is worthy of a place at the close of this brief sketch of her life. It is entitled " A Name in the Sand," and reads as follows : -
Alone I walked the ocean strand ; A pearly shell was in my hand : I stooped and wrote upon the sand My name, the year, the day. As onward from the spot I passed. One lingering look behind I cast : A wave came rolling high and fast, And washed my lines away.
And so, methought, 'twill shortly be With every mark on earth from me. A wave of dark oblivion's sea Will sweep across the place Where I have trod the sandy shore Of time, and been to be no more, Of me - my day - the name I bore, To leave nor track, nor trace.
And yet, with Him, who counts the sands, And holds the waters in his hands, I know a lasting record stands Inscribed against my name, Of all this mortal part has wrought, Of all this thinking soul has thought, And from these fleeting moments caught For glory or for shame.
CALEB CUSHING.
On the westerly side of High Street, a few rods below the head of Federal Street, stands the house that Caleb Cushing owned and occupied at the time of his death. It was built at the beginning of the present century by Richard Pike, who bought, Jan. 16, 1810, five acres of land of Wood- bridge G. Hunt, of Newburyport, for $5,000 (Essex Deeds, book 188, page 127); also, between three and four acres adjoining the same on High Street, Newburyport, of Na- thaniel Carter (book 194, page 171).
Richard Pike died June 2, 1827, leaving a widow, Mary Pike, and children as follows : -
Martha Pike, who married Roger S. Howard March 22, 1832. Sarah Jane Pike, who married Samuel B. Stone May 30, 1831. Rev. John Pike, who married Deborah Adams Aug. 11, 1841. Mary Boardman Pike, who married Bezer Latham July 28, 1852. Elizabeth Ann Pike, who married Isaac H. Boardman Nov. 28, 1843.
The inventory of his estate mentions " dwelling-house with about twelve acres of land on High Street, in Newbury, appraised at $5,000." "Dwelling-house and small lot of land on High Street, lately owned by Martha Pike (the first wife of Richard Pike), deceased, appraised at $800."
Oct. 1I, 1833, Samuel B. Stone and wife, Sarah Jane Stone, conveyed their interest in this property to Roger S. Howard and Martha Pike Howard, his wife, and Mary Boardman Pike. This deed is recorded in book 273, page 83.
Mr. Howard, with his wife and other members of the family, occupied the house until June 1, 1846, when it was sold to Solomon Haskell (book 410, page 271). April 27, 1849, Solomon Haskell sold the land, with the buildings thereon, to Caleb Cushing, of Newburyport (book 410, page
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238) ; and the same day Roger S. Howard, of Thetford, Vt., and Martha P. Howard, his wife, by separate deeds conveyed to Caleb Cushing all their right and title to the property (book 410, page 239, and book 413, page 281).
This house and land, with other estates in Newbury, were annexed in 1851 to the town of Newburyport. Among the distinguished citizens who have lived within the limits of these two towns since the first settlement at Parker River, none have occupied more important or more honorable posi- tions in public life than Mr. Cushing. He was born in a house recently standing in East Salisbury, Mass., near the junction of the semi-circular road, sometimes called Mudnock Road, with the old highway " leading to the mill " and to the town of Amesbury. He was a lineal descendant of Matthew Cushing, who was born in England in 1589, and sailed from Gravesend, April 26, 1638, in the ship " Diligent," of Ips- wich, and arrived in Boston August 10 of that year. Mat- thew Cushing settled in Hingham, where he died Sept. 30, 1660. John Cushing, born in England in 1627, was a son of Matthew Cushing, and came to America with his father. He settled first at Hingham, but soon removed to Scituate. Rev. Caleb Cushing, born in Scituate in 1672, was a son of John Cushing. He came to Salisbury in May, 1696, and was ordained minister of the First Parish Nov. 9, 1698 .* He died Jan. 25, 1752, in the eightieth year of his age, and fifty-sixth of his ministry.
Caleb, son of Rev. Caleb Cushing, was born in Salisbury Oct. 10, 1703.
Benjamin, son of Caleb, was born in Salisbury Jan. 19, 1739.
John Newmarch Cushing, son of Benjamin, was born in Salisbury May 18, 1779.
John Newmarch Cushing married Lydia Dow, of Salisbury, April 1, 1799. The children by this marriage were : -
Caleb, born in Salisbury Jan. 17, 1800 ; died in Newburyport Jan. 2. 1879. Lydia, born in Newburyport Aug. 13, 1805 : died in Newburyport April 21, 1851.
* "Mr. Syms preacht ye ordination Sermon and gave ye right hand of fellowship. Mr. Cotton gave ye charge and wth ym Mr. Rolf and Mr. Clark Imposed hands." This was recorded by Rev. Caleb Cushing in the records of the First Church at Salisbury, Mass.
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CALEB CUSHING.
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CALEB CUSHING
Captain Cushing was an active and enterprising ship-mas- ter, deeply interested in commercial affairs. He removed with his wife and son Caleb to Newburyport in 1802. His wife, Lydia Dow Cushing, died Nov. 6, 1810, and he mar- ried, Jan. 29, 1815, Elizabeth, daughter of Nicholas and Mary Perkins. The children by this second marriage were as follows : -
Mary Anna, born March 4, 1816; died Aug. 31, 1831. Philip Johnson, born Dec. 11, 1818: died Sept. 29, 1846. John Newmarch, born Oct. 20, 1820.
William, born Aug. 10, 1823 ; died Oct. 16, 1875.
Sarah, born Aug. 10. 1823 : died May 9. 1826.
Elizabeth, born in July, 1826: died Sept. 19, 1828.
Caleb Cushing was fitted for college by Michael Walsh, a famous teacher of that day, who kept a private school in Newburyport. He entered Harvard in 1813, and graduated in the summer of 1817. Four years later, he was admitted to practice as attorney in the court of common pleas. He opened an office, and began his professional career in New- buryport. Nov. 23, 1824, he was married, by Rev. John Andrews, pastor of the First Religious Society in Newbury- port, to Caroline Elizabeth, daughter of Judge Samuel S. Wilde of the supreme judicial court of Massachusetts. She died Aug. 28, 1832, leaving no issue. Mr. Cushing did not marry again.
Prominent in his profession as a lawyer, he was also deeply interested in public affairs, and was a frequent contributor to the newspapers and periodicals of the day. In 1833 and 1834, he represented Newburyport in the legislature. In November, r834, he was elected representative to congress and subsequently re-elected three times in succession to the same office. At the close of his fourth term, in May, 1843, he was appointed commissioner to China and envoy extraordi- nary and minister plenipotentiary of the United States to the court of that empire.
After his return to Newburyport from this mission, he was again elected a member of the legislature of Massachusetts. In January, 1847, he organized the only regiment that went
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from Massachusetts to participate in the Mexican War. He was elected colonel of the regiment, and in April of that year he was commissioned brigadier-general.
At the close of the war he returned to Newburyport, and in 1849 bought the house and land formerly owned and occupied by Richard Pike, as stated in the conveyances referred to on pages 664 and 665.
In 1851, he was again a member of the legislature, and was instrumental in securing the passage of an act incorporating and establishing the city of Newburyport. The inhabitants of the new municipality, appreciating his services and recog- nizing his pre-eminent ability, unanimously elected him the first mayor of the city.
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