USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Brookline > Proceedings of the Brookline Historical Society at the annual meeting > Part 13
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ARTICLE XI.
DUTIES OF THE TREASURER.
The Treasurer shall collect all moneys due the Society, and pay all bills against the Society when approved by the Board of Trustees. He shall keep a full account of receipts and expendi- tures in a book belonging to the Society, which shall always be open to the inspection of the Trustees; and at the annual meeting in January he shall make a written report of all his doings for the year preceding. The Treasurer shall give bonds in such sum, with surety, as the Trustees may fix, for the faithful discharge of his duties.
ARTICLE XII.
DUTIES AND POWERS OF TRUSTEES.
The Board of Trustees shall superintend the prudential and executive business of the Society, authorize all expenditures of
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money, fix all salaries, provide a common seal, receive and act upon all resignations and forfeitures of membership, and see that the by-laws are duly complied with. The Board of Trustees shall have full powers to hire, lease, or arrange for a suitable home for the Society, and to make all necessary rules and regulations required in the premises.
They shall make a report of their doings at the annual meeting of the Society.
They may from time to time appoint such sub-committees from their own number as they deem expedient. .
In case of a vacancy in the office of Clerk or Treasurer they shall have power to choose the same pro tempore till the next meeting of the Society.
ARTICLE XIII. STANDING COMMITTEES.
The President shall annually, in the month of January, appoint four standing committees, as follows :-
Committee on Rooms.
A committee of three members, to be styled the "Committee on Rooms," to which shall be added the President and Clerk of the Society ex-officio, who shall have charge of all arrangements of the rooms (except books, manuscripts, and other objects appro- priate to the library offered as gifts or loans), the hanging of pictures, and the general arrangements of the Society's collection in their department.
Committee on Papers.
A committee of three members, to be styled the " Committee on Papers," who shall have charge of the subjects of papers to be read, or other exercises of a profitable nature, at the monthly meetings of the Society.
Committee on Membership.
A committee of three or more members, to be styled the "Com- mittee on Membership," whose duty it shall be to give information in regard to the purposes of the Society, and increase its mem- bership.
Committee on Library.
A committee of three or more members, to be styled the " Com- mittee on Library," who shall have charge of the arrangements of the library, including acceptance and rejection of books, manu- scripts, and other objects tendered to the library, and the general arrangement of the Society's collections in that department.
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These four committees shall perform their duties as above set forth under the general direction and supervision of the Board of Trustees.
Vacancies that occur in any of these committees during their term of service shall be filled by the President.
ARTICLE XIV. FINANCE . COMMITTEE.
The President shall annually, in the month of January, appoint two members, who, with the President, shall constitute the Com- mittee on Finance, to examine from time to time the books and accounts of the Treasurer, to audit his accounts at the close of the year, and to report upon the expediency of proposed expenditures of money.
ARTICLE XV. AMENDMENTS.
These by-laws may be altered or amended at any regular meeting by a two-thirds vote of the members present, notice of the subject- matter of the proposed alterations or amendments having been given at a previous meeting.
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DEVOTIUN GOCSE
170
PROCEEDINGS
OF THE
BROOKLINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY
AT THE
ANNUAL MEETING, FEBRUARY 8, 1905
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PROCEEDINGS
OF THE
BROOKLINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY
AT THE
ANNUAL MEETING, FEBRUARY 8, 1905
OKLINE
BF
HISTORICAL
SOCIETY
NDED . 1050
TICORPORATED
1001
INCORPORA
Fol
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ATED .A . TOWN
DEVOTION
HOUSE
ABOUT 1080
170
BROOKLINE, MASS. PUBLISHED BY THE SOCIETY MCMV
CONTENTS.
I. PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS
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II. REPORT OF CLERK AND TREASURER 23
III. ADDITIONS TO SOCIETY'S COLLECTIONS, 1901-4 25
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IV. REPORT OF THE NOMINATING COMMITTEE · 27
V. "Two OLD BROOKLINE HOMESTEADS" 29
VI. OFFICERS AND COMMITTEES 61 .
VII. LIST OF MEMBERS . · 63
VIII. CHARTER
· 67 IX. BY-LAWS . 69
21031300
COMMITTEE ON PUBLICATIONS RUFUS G. F. CANDAGE. CHARLES F. READ. EDWARD W. BAKER.
BROOKLINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
FOURTH ANNUAL MEETING.
The fourth annual meeting of the Brookline His- torical Society was held in the G. A. R. Room, Town Hall, Brookline, Mass., on Wednesday, February 8, 1905 (postponed from January 25th), at 8 P. M., in ac- cordance with a notice mailed to every member. President Rufus G. F. Candage was in the chair.
The records of the last annual and monthly meetings were read by the clerk and approved.
The President then read his annual address.
PRESIDENT'S ANNUAL ADDRESS.
Members of the Brookline Historical Society :-
Ladies and Gentlemen,- Another year in the life of our Society has rolled around bringing us together at this our fourth annual meeting. I thank you all for the measure of your interest in the Society's work, and for the helpfulness and support you have given to me personally, as the President in the year past. It is the province of an historical society not only to gather and preserve historical data of the distant past, relating to town and vicinity, but to record events and inci- dents as they pass for those of the future who may desire to consult its records and publications.
In the year 1904, seven papers were read before the Society, and five, including the President's Annual Address, have been printed and circulated among its members and the public.
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Boston. In 1867-8 he was a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives from Plymouth. He married in February, 1867, Miss Mary A. Bradford, daughter of Samuel Bradford of Plymouth.
Mr. Drew removed to Brookline in 1869, where for nearly thirty-five years he resided, as an active, influential and use- ful citizen. He was elected a member of the School Com- mittee in 1872, upon which he served four years. He was elected Water Commissioner in 1873 for two years, and in 1875 for three years. He was chairman of the commission the last three years, and wrote its report recommending to the town the establishment of a permanent Water Board. In 1875 he was elected a Trustee of the Public Library, in which office he continued to serve until his death - several years of which he was chairman of the Board. For four years, from 1880 to 1883 inclusive, he was chairman of the Board of Selectmen, and was again a member of the Board in 1894 and 1895. He was elected Moderator of the annual town meet- ing in 1872, and served in that capacity at many times in fol- lowing years. He served on many important town com- mittees, annual and special. He was Trial Justice of the town for ten years or more, and when the Police Court was established in 1882, the name of which was changed to Muni- cipal Court of Brookline in 1898-he was appointed its chief justice, which office he held until his death. He was also a member and Past Commander of C. L. Chandler Post, No. 143, G. A. R., of Brookline, in the rooms of which we are now assembled. Besides these official positions, he was a member of the Brookline Thursday Club from its formation to the date of his death, and of other organizations, which took up much of his time and thought, and yet, with all these posi- tions and their exacting duties, he found time for reading and study, which made him one of the best informed in general literature that one would be likely to come in contact with in a lifetime.
Many of the members of this Society knew him, some intimately, and others, perhaps, less so, but all who were as- sociated with him, officially, socially, or fraternally, can attest
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to the fact of his having been a faithful town officer, a warm friend and a model citizen.
WILLIAM K. MELCHER
died at his home on Perry street, Brookline, December 24, 1904, aged 89 years and 10 months. He was born in Brunswick, Me., February 13, 1815, came to Brookline in 1844, where he ever after made his home. He was a car- penter and builder by trade, and among the monuments to his industry and skill as a mechanic in Brookline, the most conspicuous is the Town Hall, erected in 1872, which, except the foundation and its stone walls, was his work.
In 1886 he was elected a member of the Brookline Water Board, upon which he served fifteen years, fourteen of which as chairman. When the office of Inspector of Buildings was established in 1889, the well-known ability and integrity of Mr. Melcher suggested him for that position. He was ap- pointed, and filled the place with honor to himself and with satisfaction to the town. A few years ago, age and infirmity caused him to relinquish the position he had so long held, and since that time he lived in retirement, having the esteem and friendship of his neighbors, friends and acquaintances to the close of his life. He had been a member of the Massachusetts Charitable Mechanics' Association for more than fifty years, of the Pine Tree State Club of Boston from its formation, and also of other organizations, including the Masonic order.
At the institution of Beth-horon Lodge of Masons in Brook- line in 1870, he was a charter member and its first Senior Deacon. At the first recorded meeting of the Lodge, Decem- ber 13, 1870, he was one of the eleven members present, and by his death but one other is living at this time.
When Masonic Hall at the corner of Harvard and School streets was being built, in 1875, Mr. Melcher and two other members were appointed a committee to confer and arrange with the builder, the late Oliver Cousens, to fit it for Masonic use, which was done under their supervision, and the Lodge removed to it from Lyceum Hall in the lower village, and
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occupied it as its home for the next quarter of a century. He was an honorary member of the Lodge for some years before his death, at which time, in point of years, he was its senior member. He was a worthy man, and exemplified the char- acter of such by his upright walk through life.
THE DEATHS
in Brookline for the year 1904 were 108, of which 18 were males and 25 were females between the ages of 70 and 80 years, II males and 19 females were between 80 and 90 years, and 2 males and I female were above 90, making 76 of the total 108, or 70 per cent of the whole number. That 70 per cent of all deaths for the year should exceed three score and ten years is a good showing for the town. But, at its longest, life is short, and
L fe is joy, life is pain, Life is toil, life is strain, Life is work, hand and brain, Life's history ! Life's a prize, lost or won, Life goes on - life is done - And ends, as 'twas begun, In mystery !
WASHINGTON STREET FROM SCHOOL AND CYPRESS TO THE BRIGHTON LINE.
This section of Washington street was a part of the Water town road, one of the three ancient and historical roads of Brookline. In 1902 a paper was read before this Society from notes of Martin Kingman, Esq., entitled "Brookline Village, 1865 to 1902, from the Roxbury line to School and Cypress streets." It is now the purpose to continue the- narrative of the places, houses and people upon that street as it existed in 1865, with something of its history before and after that date.
Upon the northerly corner of School and Washington street s stands the Bethany Building, erected in 1844, by the Congregational Society for Church purposes, the first to be erected in town for that denomination ; the land upon which
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it stands having been purchased from the late Mr. Samuel Crafts, who then resided on the opposite side of the street.
The land upon which that building stands and all the land in the centre of the town "lying between the two brooks, next unto Mr. Coulborne's allotment, and so to the other end unto the shortest cutting over beyond the hill towards the North west, containing two hundred and fifty acres, (be it more or less,) bounded on the North by the said fresh brook, on the West by John Cramme and George Baytes, on the South by a fresh brook running between him and Mr. Leveritt, and on the East by Muddy River," was allotted to " Mr. John Cotton, our teacher, Ist of the 9th month 1636." (See Muddy River Records.)
The Congregational Church was dedicated August 20, 1844, the membership then consisting of twenty-eight per- sons. The following May, Rev. Richard S. Storrs, Jr., was called to the pastorate, and in October he was installed. His pastorate was but a little over a year when he accepted a call to the Church of the Pilgrims, Brooklyn, N. Y., where he remained to the end of his life. Other pastors in this building were Rev. Joseph Haven, Rev. J. L. Diman, Rev. C. C. Carpenter, and Rev. C. M. Wines. In 1873 the new church was built on the corner of Marion and Harvard streets and the old edifice was sold to the Methodists.
The Methodists occupied the building for a time, and in it preached the Rev. Mr. Winslow and others, but the under- taking was not a financial success and the place was sold to Mr. James H. Beals, who with others formed what was called the Channing Unitarian Church of Brookline. That, like its predecessor, failed for lack of financial support and the build- ing and lot were sold to the Bethany Sunday School Asso- ciation, connected with and partly supported by the church and society for which it was originally built, and in whose hands it rests at this time.
THE CROFT HOUSES.
Opposite the Bethany Building, on the corner of Cypress and Washington streets, stood until about thirty years ago, when it was removed to Pearl street, where it now stands, a
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gambrel-roofed house, said to have been built before 1740, and in that year occupied by Captain Samuel Croft. After that date for a hundred years or more it was occupied by different families, among which that of Dr. Aspinwall, and lastly by Dr. Stephen Salisbury and family.
The land contained in the Croft places was a part of that allotted to John Cotton, which came into possession of the Sharps and from them to the Crofts. The elder Croft was born in 1700, and died in 1771. He and his son both bore the title of Captain. Captain Croft, the elder, built in 1765, a two- story house on the north side of Washington street, on what is now the Chandler estate. At the time of his father's death the property was owned by Captain Samuel Croft, Jr., whose wife was a Sharp.
In 1814 Capt. Croft died and his wife died some years later. After their death the place was occupied by various parties and later was sold to Mr. John Kendrick, and still later to T. P. Chandler, Esquire. In the old house Miss Hannah Adams, a native of Medfield, Mass .; resided for some years, a woman of literary attainment and a local celebrity of the time. A memoir of her, begun by herself and completed by a friend after her death, is in the Brookline Public Library. After the purchase of the place by Mr. Chandler, the old house was removed to Thayer place where it still stands and does duty as a dwelling and upon the lot where it formerly stood was built in the fifties the house now occupied by his son, Alfred D. Chandler, Esq., a member of this Society.
THE SAMUEL CRAFTS HOUSE,
nearly opposite the Chandler place, was built sixty odd years ago on land which was formely a part of Croft farm, and was built, owned and occupied by Mr. Samuel Crafts until his death in 1856, and by his widow until her death fifteen or twenty years later.
Mr. Crafts was born and lived in his youth in the south- western part of Brookline; afterwards he lived in the house owned by his uncle, Stephen Sharp, until he built the house above described. After the death of his widow, Mr. John W.
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Kennan from Bridgewater bought the place in 1884, and sold the old house to Mr. T. B. Griggs, who removed it to the corner of Washington street and Griggs road, where it still does duty as a dwelling. Mr. Kennan built the fine house · and stable upon the lot, which he occupied until his death in 1899, and are now held by his heirs.
THE DR. WILD HOUSE AND PLACE.
Dr. Charles Wild came to Brookline in 1818, and boarded · with the widow of Capt. Samuel Croft, who conceived a warm friendship for the young doctor, and gave him two acres of land from her farm for a house lot. Dr. Wild was born in Boston in 1793, graduated from Harvard College in 1814, studied medicine and came to Brookline at an opportune time to settle and gain a practice.
He built his house in 1820, married, reared a family and ·became the trusted physician, friend and adviser of the people of the town. For more than forty years he lived and labored in the town, where his presence at social, fraternal and other gatherings was hailed with pleasure. He died in Providence, R. I., in May, 1864, aged 71 years. The late Edward A. Wild, a volunteer in the War of the Rebellion, who rose from captain to a brigadier-general, and Capt. Walter Wild also in the service of his country in that war, were his sons.
After the death of Dr. Wild, the house and place were sold to the late Deacon William Lincoln, who occupied it for some years and then sold it to Mr. Stephen D. Bennett, who oc- cupied it a number of years and then sold it to the late Arthur W. Blake in 1883, and in the heirs of whom the title rests at this time. Its occupants since that time have been Wm. Whitman, Esq., and Mr. Henry A. Young. The house still occupies a commanding position upon the street, is kept in fine repair, has a beautiful lawn in front, and naturally attracts the notice of passers-by.
THE BLAKE PLACE.
The southeastern slope of what is now known as Aspinwall Hill comprises the Blake estate, to which has been added in recent years, a part of the Aspinwall and Moses Jones
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estates. The original estate, except as above stated, was a part of the Croft farm, purchased by Mr. Lewis Tappan, who built the stone house thereon over eighty years ago. Mr. Tappan occupied the place a few years, and upon his removal to New York the house was occupied by Mr. Nathaniel R. Cobb, and later by Henry Robinson, an English gentleman. All its owners and occupants have been men of wealth and taste, but none did more to make it a place of beauty and elegance than its two last, Mr. George Baty Blake, and after his decease his son Arthur W. Blake, also deceased.
Upon this place much care and expense have been ex- pended in the preservation of the native forest trees, in planting others, and in the culture of shrubs and plants, arranged in groups and trimmed to give to the eye a view of grandeur and beauty not elsewhere surpassed in the town.
THE DR. ASPINWALL HOUSE AND HILL
were described in an address before the Society, and pub- lished with its proceedings January 28, 1903, and need no further mention here except to state that the houses lately erected thereon have no special historical interest for the antiquarian or even citizens of modern Brookline. This nar- rative carries us on the south side of Washington street to Beacon, laid out in 1853 and constructed the year following. We will now retrace our steps to the border of the Chandler estate on the north side of Washington street, which, until recent years, has been without change. A large part of the land along that side was of the John Cotton early allotment, and afterwards went to the Sharps, Crofts and Crafts, and later to others, having "the fresh brook " later known as " Tannery Brook " coursing through it on its way to Muddy river.
Next west of the Chandler place, is what was known as the - Candler Cottage, built, owned and occupied until her death by the mother of the late Hon. John W., and Col. Wm. L. Candler, when she came to the town to reside fifty years ago or more. After her death the place was sold to Augustus Kreissman, and later to John M. Graham, the present owner.
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DEACON JOHN ROBINSON HOUSE BUILT IN 1791.
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THE DANA PLACE
stands next in line of western advance, with the house thereon built, owned, and occupied by Mr. Dana, then sold to Daniel W. Russell, and by him sold to its present owner and occu- pant, Mrs. Cornelia M. Crocker. Beyond that, where now stands "The Aspinwall " and " Ambleside," the land of the Martin L. Hall estate stretched across the brook from Har- vard avenue to Washington street. Beyond Park street to the tanneries, stretched the unimproved lands of Thomas H. Bacon, Deacon Thomas Griggs and of his son, Thomas B. Griggs, with but two houses upon that stretch of street, the Griggs houses.
THE GRIGGS PLACES
consisted of a farm extending to Beacon street, with tannery brook and meadow extending through its length. The first of the two houses thereon was the more modern ; was built and occupied by Deacon Griggs until his death, and after that went to his daughter, the late Mrs. Saxe. The other house, much more ancient, built also by the deacon in his younger days, and in which his children were born, afterwards occu- pied by his son Thomas B., stood until a recent period oppo- site of what is now Gardner road, and is now standing farther in the rear upon Griggs road. Other houses now line the Washington and Beacon street fronts of the farm, but all have been of recent construction.
ROBINSON AND WITHINGTON PLACES.
John Robinson and Enos Withington, two young men from Dorchester, came to Brookline about 1790 and started tan- neries, a line of business with which they were familiar. They purchased land of Robert Sharp, which was then a tangled swamp with a brook coursing through it, which became the site of their tanneries and where business in that line was carried on for nearly a century by John, the father, and Samuel A., the son.
Mr. Robinson built his house in 1791, married Mr. With- ington's sister, and settled in life and in the tannery business which he continued to carry on until his death January 13,
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1855, aged 91 years and 6 months. He was succeeded in the business by his son, Samuel A., who also lived to the end of his life in the old house still standing on Fairbanks street and occupied by Edward Sharp, whose wife was a daughter of Samuel A., and grand-daughter of John, the builder of the ancient house.
Mr. Enos Withington built his house near the house of Mr. Robinson in 1794, which is also standing and owned by the Brookline Gas Light Co., and occupied by George M. Stearns and family. Mr. Withington married Patience Leeds of Dor- chester, a sister of Polly Leeds, the first wife of Elijah Corey, Sen., and of James Leeds, whose residence stood upon the present Public Library lot of Brookline. It is said that the Withington and Robinson houses were originally alike, but the latter having undergone changes which have altered its resemblance to the first named. Mr. Withington gave up the business of tanning hides early in life and devoted his energies to farming. He died at the age of seventy-four. The late Deacon Otis Withington of Harvard Church, and the late Moses Withington, honored treasurer of the town for many years, were his sons. The old homestead fell to Otis, the eldest son, who occupied it many years and then sold it to the Gas Company. He consulted his brother Moses about investing the price received. Moses did not like the idea of the property going to strangers, and thought his brother had sold the old homestead for too small a price, and with a twinkle in his eye said, " Otis, I think that the best thing you can invest the money in is to buy back the old house and the lot with it." A little beyond the Withington house was another house and tannery occupied and owned by Mr. James Robinson, a brother of Samuel A., until his removal to West- boro, when it was sold to a Mr. Warren, who continued the business of tanner. The business, however, did not prove profitable, and in consequence the place was sold to the daughter of the late Eben D. Jordan of Boston,and the tannery was given up. The house after that was rented for a time and then sold to parties who tore it down and erected upon the lot the brick buildings now standing thereon.
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ENOS WITHINGTON HOUSE BUILT IN 1794.
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THE COREY ESTATES.
The greater portion of the land beyond Beacon street south- west of the crown of Corey Hill to the Brighton line, was formerly owned by the Corey families of the town. The first of that name to acquire and settle upon it was Timothy, son of Isaac of Weston, who came to Brookline when a young men, married Elizabeth Griggs, and spent the remainder of his days in town. He purchased of the heirs of Isaac Win- chester about 1771, a two-story house which stood upon the present site of the stone house, and land lying on that side of the street, also the Whyte place on the opposite side of the street.
Captain Timothy Corey was in active service in the Revo- lutionary War, and was at the Battle of Lexington, at which time his wife and two children sought shelter in the adjoin- ing woods until the fright and danger from the enemy passing through the town were over. Captain Corey was an indus- trious farmer and a man of note in town and in town affairs. In the beginning of the last century his two sons, Deacons Elijah and Timothy, joined Washington Lodge of Freemasons in Roxbury. One day he said to his son Elijah, " I hear you have joined the Masons, tell me about them." Elijah replied, " If you really would like to know, father, I will propose you for membership." "Elijah, you may do it, for I don't want my sons to know more than I do in that matter." He was proposed, accepted, and became a member of Washington Lodge, and at the time of his death in 1811 he was chaplain of the Lodge, and his funeral was held from the First Parish Church with Masonic honors. His body rests in the Corey tomb in the Walnut Street Cemetery. His widow continued to live in the old house until her death at the age of 92 years, after which it was torn down.
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