USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Brookline > Proceedings of the Brookline Historical Society at the annual meeting > Part 14
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In that house preaching was heard from different ministers, then called "New Lights." Father Grafton and a colored Baptist preacher sometimes preached there. All the family had been members or attendants upon worship at the First Parish Church, but the " New Lights " caused a secession of many of the people, some of whom joined the Baptists and
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some the Congregationalists. Captain Corey's two sons, Elijah and Timothy, joined the Baptists, and became deacons of the church founded in this town in 1828.
Deacon Timothy built the house next to the Brighton line early in the last century, in which he resided until he built the stone house in 1843. The old house is still standing in a changed and improved condition and has since that date been the home of his son, Timothy 3d, and of his family and heirs.
After the death of his mother Elizabeth Griggs Corey, Timothy 2d tore down the old house purchased by his father from the Winchester heirs, and built upon its site the stone house now standing. That was in the days of the Miller excitement so called, about the coming of the end of world. A friend came along during the erection of the stone house and said to Deacon Corey, "Don't you know that the world is soon to come to an end, and you are building a stone house ?" The good deacon's reply was : " Well, neighbor, if the world is soon to come to an end I might as well invest in a stone house as in anything else." Mary, the widow of Deacon Timothy, the daughter of Caleb Gardner of Brook- line, lived in the stone house, with her maiden daughters until her death at an advanced age. The stone house is still standing and occupied by the 4th Timothy, and by others ; he has no children, nor have his brothers, so that the name of Corey in that line is likely to become extinct. Next to the stone house this side, was the house built for the family of Elijah Corey, Jr., later occupied by the late F. Henry Corey for many years, who sold it to the late Ransom F. Evans, which was taken down in 1904, and a modern house erected upon its site.
The mansion house built by Deacon Elijah Corey in 1826, upon the hill just beyond Beacon street, was occupied by him until his death. His first wife Polly Leeds died in that house in 1827, and in 1829 he married the widow of Captain Robert S. Davis, mother of the late Samuel C., Robert S., and Gen. P. Stearns Davis of Brookline. Deacon Corey died in that house in 1859, aged 86 years. His funeral
DEACON TIMOTHY COREY HOUSE BUILT ABOUT 1806.
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took place at the Brookline Baptist Church, and his body was placed in the Corey tomb in the Walnut Street Cemetery. His widow continued to reside in the house until her death which took place fifteen years or more later, when by the provisions of Deacon Corey's will, the house and place became the property of his daughter Elizabeth, wife of Rev. Barnas Sears, D.D., and at her death it went to her children among whom was Captain William B. Sears, a citizen of Brookline and a member of this Society. The house was occupied by Captain Sears for some years, and later was sold to the West End Land Co. After the sale, the house was demolished and the land connected with it was laid out in house lots and placed upon the market.
The old house was built upon a ledgy hill, and the lawn, which sloped to the street in front with its curved driveway and shade trees, was made by blasting and removing the stones, which were used in building the causeway on the opposite side of the street for a private road up the side of Corey Hill. In that house lived Elijah Corey, Jr., in 1829, when his daughter Elizabeth Augusta was born, who in 1853 became the wife and companion of him who now addresses you, upon many of his voyages to foreign lands.
The Coreys of Brookline for three generations have been shrewd, practical farmers and men of character and standing in the town. Elijah, Timothy, and Elijah, Jr., were projectors and original members of the Brookline Baptist Church, and the two first named were of its original list of deacons. All through their lives they not only desired the upbuilding of their church, but of the denomination at home and abroad.
Deacon Elijah was a trustee of the Newton Theological Seminary, and a liberal giver to it. Mixed with his practical common sense was a noticeable streak of humor which some- times found its way to the surface in course of conversation. Some years before his death, in 1855 I think, the writer called upon him at his home and enjoyed a pleasing and interesting conversation in the course of which he said : " You have been a great traveller, I hear!" That with some qualifi- cation having been assented to, he further said, "and so have I ; I have been once as far as Providence !"
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The next house to Elijah Corey's in the corner of Beacon and Washington streets was built some sixty years ago by the late Moses Withington on land purchased by his uncle, Deacon Corey. Mr. Withington, after occupying it a few years, sold it to Mr. Walter Lawton and built another house for himself on land adjoining, where he resided to the end of his life. In 1863 the corner house was sold to Oliver Edwards, who occupied it until his death, when it was sold to Francis Hunnewell, who sold it to James Stevenson, and he in turn sold it to the West End Land Co. just prior to the widening of Beacon street. The house was then moved up Washington street to a new foundation opposite the Timothy Corey place, where it now stands on land owned by the Eben D. Jordan heirs, and is still in use as a dwelling.
THE EARLY HISTORY OF THE OLIVER WHYTE HOUSE and place upon the north side of Washington street, later owned by the Coreys, Bartletts and Jordans, was fully described by our member Mr. Charles F. White, in his papers on " John White of Muddy River." A few words, however, upon its later history seem necessary to round out the account of that locality down to 1865, and the present time.
In the old house Deacon Elijah Corey celebrated his marriage with Polly Leeds, in it his children were born and he and they continued to reside until his mansion house on the opposite side of the street already described, was completed, and they moved into it in 1826-7.
In 1843 Deacon Corey sold the house and forty acres of land running up to the top of Corey Hill to James Bartlett for $10,000, which was considered a large price for the old house and farm. Mr. Bartlett lived on the place until his death thirty years or more later, reared, and supported his children and family by dint of hard labor and close economy, from its products. After his death the place was sold to the late Eben D. Jordan of Boston as an investment, at the reported price of $115,000. That was in the 70s, and a few years later the farm with other lands added by purchase by Mr. Jordan, were laid out into streets and lots, new buildings
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possibly the immediate incentive for the town of Brook- line to vote in 1795 to assume one-half the expenses, after enjoying the protection of the engine and its company for eight years. .
The general direction of fire-fighting was under "fire- wards," so called, elected by the town at the annual town meetings in March.
In 1788, Brookline elected Col. Aspinwall and Lieut. Croft, and in 1870 Willard Y. Gross, Thos. S. Pettengill, Patrick H. Cusick, and Henry M. Hall qualified for the office. Many well known citizens served in the position in the years inter- vening.
The functions and duties of firewards were set forth in the Laws of 1791 as follows :-
" Firewards shall have for a distinguishing badge of their office a staff of five feet long, painted red, and headed with a bright brass spire, six inches long.
" On notice of a fire, they shall immediately repair to the place (taking their badges with them), and vigorously exert themselves to extinguish and prevent the spreading of the fire, and for the pulling down or blowing up of any house, or any other services relating thereto as they may be directed by two or three of the chief civil or military officers of the town, to put a stop to the fire, and in re- moving household stuff, goods and merchandise out of any dwell- ing houses, store-houses, or other buildings actually on fire, or in danger thereof, in appointing guards to secure and take care of the same and to suppress all tumults and disorders -and due obedience is required to be yielded to them and each of them for that service on penalty of 40s.
" NOTE .- Persons who embezzle, carry away or conceal goods at such a time, and do not restore them, or give notice thereof to the owner, shall be deemed thieves and punished as such."
That the badges of office probably saw hard service we may gather from an item in the records of the early part of the last century covering the expense of "repainting the fire- staffs."
Miss Woods wrote in her " Historical Sketches" :-
" The first engine-house of the Punch Bowl Village company was a little building 10 x 14, situated for several years at what is now the junction of Walnut street and Village lane. It was later moved to
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the lot between Walnut and High streets, the present site of Quinlan's carriage shop, and was standing there as late as 1820. This company was called 'The Vigilant,' and consisted of Jere- miah Lyon, Isaac Davis, Lemuel Foster, William H. Brown, Jerathmeel Davenport, James Leeds, Reuben Hunting, Reuben Smith, Silas Snow, Robert S. Davis, Senr. Caleb Clark, Moses Jones, Edward Hall, Samuel Slack, (?) Whiting."
The new wagon purchased by vote of the town in 1797 must have been for the old engine first mentioned, in 1787 - at least nothing is intimated to the contrary - but this engine, so called, was probably little more than a box, equipped with force-pumps and a brake for working them. The water had to be brought in buckets and poured into the box, from which the pumps forced it through a pipe attached to the body of the engine, as the use of hose was not then introduced.
But the old machine was well built, and was worth $30 in 1828, when it was sold, and a new fire-engine, built by Thayer, was purchased for $400 ..
The purchase price for the new engine was raised by popu- lar subscription, the citizens of Brookline contributing $325 and those of Roxbury $150; and it was the intention of the subscribers that the engine should be for the use and benefit of both towns, without reserving claim of individual interest. . The balance of the amount subscribed, with the $30 received from the sale of the old machine, was expended in building a new engine-house, which was located over the brook where Washington street crossed it, approximately where B. W. Neal's store now stands.
With a new engine and a new house, the company attached to the Roxbury and Brookline Engine, the "Norfolk" as it was named, organized in 1829; and with this company the real story of the Brookline fire department begins, although for some years later the " Norfolk " was listed as " No. 7" of the Roxbury department at Punch Bowl Village.
The " Norfolk" was not a suction engine, although it did use hose in place of the old style pipe, and in April, 1829, Brookline appropriated $50 for the purpose of aiding jointly with Roxbury in providing buckets and hose.
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The Engine Company in those days had as prominent a place in the community as a social factor as it did as a fire-fighting organization, and the old "Vigilants " and "Norfolks" no doubt assembled more often in the hospitable tap room of the old Punch Bowl Tavern nearby, than they did in the engine- house, in which there was room enough only to run the engine out and in.
The Engine Company was to its members what libraries, reading rooms, lectures, clubs, lodges, and historical societies are to us today, and, if we could only refer to them, the old account books of the Punch Bowl would give us many inter- esting side-lights on the doings of the organization attached to the Roxbury and Brookline Engine. The old tavern at the fork of the roads from Boston to Cambridge, Watertown, and Sherborn attracted the wayfarers from all directions, both going and coming, who stopped for rest and refreshment for man and beast. Although the strictly local patronage was not great in volume, it was no doubt constant, and the mem- bers of the Engine Company, individually or collectively, were ever welcome guests. The heart of the genial landlord must have been saddened by the sudden change in policy, brought about by some unexplained cause but of sufficient influence to bring about this action by the Engine Company, recorded under date of April 6, 1829 :-
" Voted, that the custom heretofore in practice of giving enter- tainments be abolished."
In the same year another vote was recorded which is cer- tainly unique : -
" Voted, That on cloudy days when the sun at its setting cannot be seen, that its setting be determined by time as given by J. Davenport's clock and the Farmer's Almanack."
This certainly was a most complete confession of faith in things terrestial, with the assumption that things celestial must accommodate themselves thereto.
Mr. Davenport, or "Jerry " as he was universally known, was a most popular resident of the Village. He was thoroughly identified with all local interests, and later held responsible town offices, being a Selectman for a number of years.
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The records of the " Norfolk " Engine Company begin with the year 1829, and three volumes of manuscript now pre- served in the Town Clerk's office give us the details of the Fire Department history to the year 1865.
Next to the engine itself, it would seem from reading these volumes that the most important factor in the company's equipment for fire-fighting was the company's constitution and by-laws. No less than a dozen formidable compositions are spread at length on the records, to say nothing of revi- sions, amendments, and repeals.
The companies usually organized or. re-organized annually, and in only a very few instances does a newly organized company consider the constitution of its predecessors good enough to be adopted without change.
The first constitution recorded, was approved by the Select- men of Roxbury in 1831, with the following preamble : -
" We, the subscribers, impressed with a sense of duty we owe to ourselves and the public to take every possible measure to pro- tect ourselves and them from the alarming ravages made by fire, do for that purpose form a company to be attached to the Roxbury and Brookline Engine, etc.
" Article I. That the company shall be distinguished by the name of the Norfolk Engine Company."
The following articles specify the duties of the officers, and the obligations and privileges of the members, Article XI., perhaps, being the most interesting.
" Article XI. Any person who may wish to become a member of the company must be proposed by some member of the company, and may be balloted for, and if a majority of the members present vote in his favor he shall be entitled to all the privileges of the company by signing the by-laws and paying to the treasurer the sum of one dollar."
Eighty or more signatures are subscribed to this first record of organization in 1829-1830, among which we select Lemuel Foster, Caleb Clark, Jeremiah Davenport, Moses Jones, William H. Brown, Silas Snow, Jeremiah Lyon, John G. Stearns, Clark Haynes, Stephen S. C. Jones, Thomas Seaverns, Henry S. Ward, Daniel L. Perry, Franklin Gerry, Abraham H. Lambert, and Moses Withington.
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Miss Woods gives an account of a contest between the new "Norfolk " company and the other companies in the Roxbury department, and probably this is what is referred to in the company's records, which read as follows : -
'" 1829, Oct. 4. The company met at two o'clock, thence repaired to Wait's Mill to meet the Roxbury engines under the direction of the Fire Department for exercise and improvement, and returned at sun-setting."
" Voted, That the thanks of the Company be presented to Mr. Davenport for his kind and protecting attention to the company at the exhibition and trial of power."
In 1831, the Punch Bowl department was augmented by a new piece of apparatus, a much needed hook and ladder. This piece of apparatus did not much resemble the fine three- horse truck of 1903, but the company voted to purchase a ladder and case at a cost of $8.25, and that it be located in front of the Punch Bowl Tavern stable, also a fire hook at a reasonable cost ; and it was made the duty of every member to forbid any person taking out the ladder except at fires. A committee of two from the company, and one from the people at large, was also appointed "to procure a sucktion and bell for the engine."
In 1832 the company voted to sell a collar and hames, and appropriate the proceeds for the treasurer to purchase a trunk large enough to hold the records and bills. The bills have disappeared, but the records are still preserved by reason of this thoughtfulness. In 1832 the Brookline mem- bers petitioned the Selectmen for a remission of poll taxes in consideration of their services as firemen. In 1833 the important item of record was the fire at Mr. G. F. Thayer's schoolhouse. In 1834, the company began to feel that the little house was no longer adequate to the needs of the department, and in February of that year a committee was appointed " to petition the Selectmen to enlarge the house and have a kettle." This kettle was probably to be used in preparing the ever popular chowders which were always a principal feature of the company's hospitalities.
Perhaps the Selectmen did not give the petition sufficient consideration, perhaps the kettle was not large enough, per-
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haps there were other reasons, but the resignations followed each other rapidly, without any applications to correspond to keep up the membership, and finally, in June, 1834, the records read : -
" Voted, to disband ourselves from the company ; accordingly Clark Haynes, Moses B. McIntosh, Stephen S. C. Jones, Charles N. Ford, Samuel Craft, Jr. and Henry May left the company."
A new company organized without delay, adopted a con- stitution, but kept no records, until it also disbanded in April, 1835.
E. W. Stone, Reuben Hunting, and Isaac Thayer formu- lated a new constitution, and it was approved by Charles Stearns, Jr., Daniel Sanderson, and Abijah W. Goddard, Selectmen of Brookline.
This 1835 company, while still "distinguished " by the name of the Norfolk Engine Company, ignored the previous interest of the town of Roxbury as part owner of the engine, and adopted a " Constitution of the Engine Company attached to the Brookline Engine." This 1835 company chose Isaac Thayer foreman, Caleb Clark assistant foreman, and Elisha Stone clerk; and these officers were instructed "to wait on the gentlemen in Roxbury who were the year past attached to the volunteer company and request them to become members of the present Brookline company." Elisha Stone was appointed bell-ringer to the company in case of fire.
On Sept. 7th, 1835, there was a fire at Mr. T. H. Perkins' house. At this fire the conduct of one of the firemen from Roxbury was such as to call for very severe condemnation on the part of the Brookline company, and a vote is recorded disapproving of his acts, and instructing the clerk to publish such vote in the Boston newspapers.
In 1836, a committee consisting of Stephen S. C. Jones, Isaac Thayer, and Marshall Stearns, was appointed to make arrangements and issue invitations at their discretion for a supper at the hotel in Brighton. At this supper the com- pany were greatly delighted to receive from James Leeds, Esq., a complimentary letter enclosing a twenty-dollar bill.
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Elisha Stone, clerk of the company, was presumably too, busy with his other duties as Collector of Taxes, Constable, Sexton, Undertaker, Bell-ringer, etc., etc., to give much at- tention or time to writing up the company's records, as only the very briefest notes are entered during his incumbency.
In the next year, 1837, Charles Stearns, Jr., Artemas Newell Samuel A. Robinson, and Seth T. Thayer were among the new names in the company, and David S. Coolidge and Charles W. Tolman were leading hosemen.
The year 1839 marks an epoch in the history of the Brook- line Fire Department. At a town meeting a committee was appointed "to see what the town will do with the fire- engine." This committee reported in substance that the old engine did not answer as a suction engine, that a new engine should be a suction engine so as to be more efficient when a supply of water could be availed of, and that Brookline ought to own an engine independent of Roxbury, because Brookline had the whole expense of maintenance, and had to attend to the fires in both towns.
The town endorsed the recommendations of the committee, and a new engine and apparatus was purchased of W. C. Hunneman & Co. for $900. The disposition of the old "Norfolk" was a matter of time. It was proposed to turn the old tub over to Roxbury, to be kept housed in Punch Bowl Village and manned by "a voluntary company," as an emergency company for both towns. No such company was formed, however, and as the engine was rapidly falling into bad condition, it was finally sold, together with ninety-seven feet of old hose and three hose joints, for $197.40, of which amount $50 was paid to Roxbury, and $147.40 retained by Brookline, in proportion to the original subscriptions in 1828.
In the days of the hand fire-engine, when the ambition of the young men of athletic instincts was to belong to the engine company and "run with the machine," great rivalry existed between different organizations and led to friendly but most spirited contests to be first at the fire and throw water the greatest distance. Whenever or wherever the light or smoke of a fire was discovered by day or by night,
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the boys turned out, manned the rope, and started off for a one, two, three, or five mile run. The Brookline company in one instance, so the record states, ran to Roxbury in res- ponse to an alarm given for the light of the moon rising behind the hill. As an example of this readiness to respond to alarms from a distance, it is recorded that there were about fifteen engines from neighboring towns at a fire in Brookline Village on the morning of May 12, 1845.
The introduction and distribution of water by aqueducts and hydrants, the invention and perfection of the steam fire- engine, together with the establishing of permanent fire de- partments, have brought this spirit of rivalry under almost military training and discipline, and the area to be served by each piece of apparatus is carefully regulated so as to leave no spot unguarded.
With a new "up-to-date " suction engine, and a fresh con- stitution and by-laws, Brookline Engine Company No. I was organized in May, 1839. Among the thirty-nine sig- natures to the agreement or pledge for organization, some of those best known or remembered today are Thomas Seaverns, David S. Coolidge, George W. Stearns, James Bartlett, Samuel Clark, Seth T. Thayer, John Dustin, Augustus T. Newell, Abraham H. Lambert, Charles W. Tolman, William J. Griggs, and Charles Stearns, Jr.
It is interesting to learn from this company's records that the engine was present at a fire of Mr. Pettee's machine- shop in Newton on November 25, 1839, and on December 14 of the same| year also met at a fire of Mr. Foster's black- smith shop in the Village. The Pettee Machine Works of Newton, and the blacksmith shop in the Village (now Nagle's) are still doing business at the old stands.
The social side of engine company life was very pronounced about this time, because there were few fires and the zeal and activity of the members had to seek some outlet. In 1841 Brookline No. I, for the first time recorded, elected a steward, and one George Bell was chosen. Whether there was a a difference of opinion in regard to this matter, for whether the steward's efforts were not conducive to harmony, is not
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known, but evidently something went wrong because on May 20th, 1842, the company voted unanimously to disband.
This gave the constitution framers another chance, and their production is spread on the records with the following preamble :--
" From the acknowledged utility of an institution formed for the benefit of our fellow citizens, we, the undersigned, do form our- selves into an association by the name of Brookline Engine Com- pany No. 1 ; and being aware of the great importance of preserv- ing order and giving method to our proceedings, we by our signa- tures do subject ourselves to the following Laws and Regulations for our government, that we may more effectually fulfill the object of our institution."
Among the signatures to this declaration of principles appear Oliver Whyte, Jr., John W. Blanchard, Charles Trowbridge, Horace Cousens, and Patrick Dillon.
Hugh M. Sanborn was chosen foreman and Oliver Whyte, Jr., clerk.
July 4th, 1842, was a gala day for Brookline Engine Com- pany No. I. At six o'clock in the morning they went to the Baptist meeting-house and worked the engine, then to the rear of Lyceum Hall and worked it again. After returning the engine to the house, they adjourned to the hall, and partook of a breakfast which had been provided through the generosity of friends and which was so highly appreciated by the mem- bers of the company that a card of thanks was published in the Boston papers.
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