USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Salem > Ryal Side from early days of Salem colony > Part 6
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John Friend was the builder and original owner of the cornmill, but did not operate it for many years. He was granted one hundred acres of land at Manchester and lived there at the time of his death in 1655.
Lawrence Leach, a selectman, who lived near Folly Hill, bargained with Mr. Friend for the mill for forty pounds, paid ten pounds on account, and operated the mill until he died in 1662, intestate.
In the inventory of the estate of John Friend, taken February 6, 1654/5, the mill property is included in the Friend estate, and in the inventory of the estate of Lawrence Leach, taken in 1662, by John Porter and Jacob Barney, the mill is mentioned as a part of the Leach estate.
A subsequent deed from the Friend heirs shows, how- ever, that Mr. Leach never possessed the title to the mill. His statement that he 'did owe thirty pounds for the corn mill' was proved in court at Salem, June 25, 1662, and it appears that the existence of this debt 'troubled him.' After Mr. Leach's death, it appears that the possession of the house and lot fell to William
I Salem Town Records, volume I, page 175.
AT THE HEAD OF BASS RIVER
The small point of land was the first landing place of the Salem Ferry. The Path of the old Planters following the line of willow trees was the first travelled way on the 'Cape Ann Side of Bass River,' 1635
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THE OLD CORNMILL
King, who, on November 8, 1662,1 sold to John Leach, son of Lawrence Leach, 'All yt parcell of land yt was some time in ye possession of John Friend deceased on wch sd Friend built one dwelling house situated and being next to Basse River on the one side & running along by ye ld of sd William King on ye other side being about 2 acres.'
John Leach by this purchase became the grantee of the house and lot, but not of the mill. The title to the mill being still in the heirs of John Friend after the death of Lawrence Leach, it was not until September 7, 1665,2 that Samuel Friend, executor of the will of John Friend, made to John Leach a conveyance of the title to the property:
This bill witnesseth that I Samuel Friend of Manchester have bargained and sold to Lawrence Leach of Salem, now decd the mill & mill house standing in Basse River with all the appurtenances thereof together with two acres of land ajoining thereto and 20 acres a little distance of all on Ryalls neck side & there being noe bill of sale made till now doe hereby grant & confirn this sale aforesaid unto John Leach same unto Lawrence Leach aforsd & to his heirs & exec- utors forever.
SAMUEL FRIEND.
Witness, ROGER CONANT.
The twenty-acre lot had no connection with the mill property, as this was formerly the Bulfinch lot,3 con- veyed to John Friend by Nathaniel Felton in 1658,4 but
I Essex Registry of Deeds, book 4, leaf 48.
2 Essex Registry of Deeds, book 5, leaf 109.
3 Northern Avenue and Hillside Avenue traverse the Bulfinch Lot.
4 Essex Registry of Deeds, book 5, leaf 109.
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the mill and homestead lot were within the original con- fines of the King lands and the deeds from William King and Samuel Friend gave to John Leach title to both.
Mr. Leach also possessed a ten-acre lot near his mill site, lying on the east side of the river and formerly a part of the land of Henry Herrick, called 'Bushnell's lot,' on the northern portion of which stand the southern ends of the buildings of the United Shoe Machinery Corporation, and through which land Mill Street was laid out, November 20, 1657, and also Elliott Street, from the mill to Cabot Street, was located in 1808. The Bushnell lot Mr. Leach considered as a part of his mill property.
September 2, 1669,' John Leach conveyed to John Dodge, Jr., for 'ye sume of £250, All those parcells of land now belonging to my mill site-to say I0 acres on Beverly side called Bushnells lott & 2 acres on the other side of the river in Salem side be it more or less with the dwelling house thereon with all the fruit trees, fences and appurtenances with the mills ... being bounded sotherly with ye land of Osmund Trask, eastward on Edmund Grover, northward on Henry Herrick senior.'
As Lawrence Leach had expressed a desire that his wife, Elizabeth, should have all his estate at his death, she, upon payment of seventeen pounds and ten shillings to her by her son, John, consented to the sale of this property to John Dodge, Jr., on November 26, 1670.2
John Dodge, Jr., owned and operated the mill for at least thirty years. October 12, 1702,3 he conveyed to
" Essex Registry of Deeds, book 3, leaf 68.
2 Essex Registry of Deeds, book 3, leaf III.
3 Essex Registry of Deeds, book 16, leaf 146.
ELEVATOR.
D
THE OLD CORNMILL
Built by John Friend about 1647 The schooner is the Island City, which brought the corn from Long Island
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THE OLD CORNMILL
his son-in-law, Ebenezer Woodberry, for the sum of two hundred pounds, 'All my Grist Mills alias Corn Mills, standing & being in the Township of Salem together with about 3,1/2 acres of land, 2 acres in Salem bounded North and West by land of ye widow King, East & South by ye mill river. Other 1,1/2 acres in Beverly bounded by sd Mill river, South partly by my own marsh & partly land of Moses Gage & East by salt marsh belonging to the Traskes. All sd mill & lands with ye rivers, streams, water courses, waters, utensils and appurtenances, John Dodge Jr. October 12, 1702, Ist year of ye Reign of our Sovereign, Ladey Queen Ann ye Ist of England, Scotland & Ireland, Queen.'
Mr. Woodberry worked as a miller before he pur- chased the property and continued the mill until his death, in 1714, intestate. In the inventory of his estate, taken December 3, 1714, there is shown; 'To grist Mills and one dwelling hous & barn standing in the Township of Salem with about three acres & one half of Land Lving partly in Salem aforesd and partly in ye Town- ship of Beverly.'
This portion of the estate was appraised at two hundred and eighty pounds.
In the division of the estate, which was made in fourteen parts, part number I 'consists of Two old Grist mills situate on Bass river'; number 2, '2 acres of the homestead land'; number 3, 'one old dwelling house standing nigh the Grist Mills.'
Parts I and 2 were assigned to a son, Ebenezer, and part 3, to a son, Nathaniel.
From this date there appears to be no record of the
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ownership of the cornmill property for several years, and it appears to be the last instance where the exist- ence of the old Friend house is mentioned.
In the return, made to the Probate Court by his widow, of the estate of Ebenezer Woodberry, Jr., 'who in the Providence of God was lost at sea,' no mention is made of the mill and there appears to be no record of conveyance from him as grantor prior to his death.
Dr. Israel Woodberry appears as the next owner of the cornmill, but no record can be found showing him to be a grantee or devisee. Israel Woodberry was a physician, a successful farmer, and a town record of 1792 shows him to have been at that time possessed of a considerable estate, real and personal.
The house, which now stands at the junction of Mckay and Elliott Streets, in the middle part of the eighteenth century was possessed by Dr. Woodberry and William Woodberry, who occupied the western and eastern parts respectively. The latter conveyed his part to Elisha Woodberry, September 5, 1767," at whose death, February 19, 1796, it was assigned to his son, Joseph, in the division of Elisha's estate, November 9, I797.
Dr. Woodberry owned and operated the mill until he sold the entire property, except the eastern half of the dwelling-house, on July 17, 1797,2 to Thomas Davis, Jr., gentleman, for the sum of $2850, 'Two Grist mills, called Woodberry's Mills, with mill dam, flumes, timber, also all the mill privilege of the stream and the waters
I Essex Registry of Deeds, book 148, leaf 240.
2 Essex Registry of Deeds, book 162, leaf 210.
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THE OLD CORNMILL
thereof. Also about 2,1/2 acres on the northwest side of the highway with the West 1/2 of the dwelling house.'
This sale was the result of a public auction which was advertised in the 'Salem Gazette,' in the issues of May 26 and June 8, 1797:
To be Sold at Public Vendue on Wednesday the 21st day of June next, at 2 o'clock, P.M. TWO GRIST MILLS under one roof, situated in the upper Parish in Beverly - Also one half of a dwelling house near said mills, and about 2,72 acres of land. The Conditions will be made known at the time and place of sale, which will be at the above Dwelling House. For particulars, apply to Israel Woodbery on the premises. Beverly, May 9, 1797.
Hannah Woodberry, wife of Joseph Woodberry, de- ceased, having sold the eastern half of the house to Thomas Davis, Jr., he thus possessed the entire Wood- berry property until he died, July 17, 1840, intestate, and in the division of his estate the property was as- signed to his children and grandchildren, and by them the title was conveyed to Aaron Dodge, April 28, 1848, by several deeds.
Mr. Dodge, who was an industrious and respected citizen, lived here and was the miller for at least twenty- five years. There are a number of men now living in Beverly who well remember the trim and well-placed lines of the white schooner, Island City, loaded with corn from Long Island, floating gracefully upon the waters of Bass River in the early seventies. Mr. Dodge by various purchases, added about sixteen acres of land to his estate and enlarged his orchard by setting out
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many new trees, improving in various ways the general environment of his property.
February 13, 1871,' he became grantor to Israel W. Dodge for 'All the several lots of land in Beverly with the dwelling house, barns, Mills &c., which were con- veyed to me from the following parties, dated and re- corded as follows: Charles Davis et al, April 28, 1848; William Endicott, Guardian, April 28, 1848, Wells Standley, November 6, 1844; Ezra A. Stone, December I, 1854; James Stone, February 22, 1855; Heirs of Suzanna Standley, April 19, 1856; Wells Standley, Guardian, April, 19, 1856. Meaning to convey the Mill privileges and all other privileges thereto belonging.'
The mill was operated under the ownership of Mr. Dodge for several years, but he sold a part of the estate on the north side of Elliott Street, house, barn, and about twenty-three acres of land, to George Tufts, June 14, 1873.2
Israel W. Dodge was the last owner of the mill who used it for the purpose for which it was originally estab- lished, which was about two and one quarter centuries prior to the time of his ownership. The mill was used for a short time for grinding old rubber, and the building was burned, June 4, 1889.
Peter E. Clark became possessed of the water priv- ilege, which he released to the City of Beverly when al- terations and improvements in the public highway be- came necessary at that place.
In former years, on account of the natural attractive-
I Essex Registry of Deeds, book 817, leaf 67.
2 Essex Registry of Deeds, book 883, leaf 206.
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THE OLD CORNMILL
ness of this locality, artists found considerable interest and enjoyment in sketching the landscape; it was a favorite haunt of the boys of the town for swimming, fishing, and other features of recreation, and the people would picnic in the clean and shady grove on the 'little hill neare mr ffrends mill.'
MILL STREET
'A HIGHWAY FROM THE MILL AND MEETING HOUSE'
OF the highways which led from the common road (Cabot Street) in the early days of the Salem Colony, there were perhaps none which was more in use or af- forded to the early inhabitants so much convenience as the way known as Mill Street.
The laying-out of this way was the result of a differ- ence between two of the earliest settlers and their neigh- bors, living on the eastern and western side of Bass River, the leaders in the controversy being William King and Roger Haskell.
King and his neighbors lived on the west side of the river, on lands in the Ryal Side district; Haskell and his neighbors lived on the east side. Haskell's lands covered a considerable acreage in the vicinity of what are now Colon and Heather Streets, and he resided in this vicinity.
The cornmill on Bass River had been running for about ten years, and, at the time of the dispute, was owned and operated by Lawrence Leach. Just what the point of difference was between King and Haskell, as to the laying-out of the way, does not appear in the records, but it is evident that the location, as finally determined by the town, if not entirely satisfactory to both, must have been regarded as a general public bene- fit.
It has been written that the first meeting house was
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MILL STREET
situated in the vicinity of what is now Gloucester Crossing, and by the manner in which the record is made, it appears to indicate this, for the question to decide was concerning a 'way from the meeting house on Cape an syde to Lawrence Leach his mill.'
While there is no record or other evidence showing land having been given, purchased, or set apart for the erection of a meeting house in this locality, it is not un- reasonable to assume that a meeting house was main- tained there, nor difficult to understand why there should have been one. At this early period, a meeting house was understood to be a general place of assembly and was used for civic, military, and religious purposes as well as a rendezvous for the people in time of danger. At this time, the larger number of people living on the Cape Ann Side of Bass River occupied the northern lands.
The meeting house was either erected by the Town of Salem or by the inhabitants themselves, as the date of entry in the Salem town record referring to the meeting house was about ten years prior to the incorporation of the Town of Beverly.
Prior to the laying-out of the way known as Mill Street, travel was as inconvenient to the people living on the westerly side who wanted to go to the meeting house as it was to those living on the easterly side to go to the cornmill. King could easily go to the cornmill, as his lane ran directly to it. This lane is still traceable, as it follows the wall which runs parallel with Pierson Street. To get to the meeting house, however, he and his neighbors had to go around the head of the river and
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through the path of the Old Planters to the common road (Cabot Street), a distance of about two miles. On the other hand, Haskell and his neighbors had to travel the reverse of this route to get to the cornmill.
Draper's Lane, which is a part of the location of Beckford Street, and including Dock Lane, ran directly from the common road to Draper's Point. The point took its name by reason of an acre of land being granted to Nicholas Draper by the Town of Salem in 1636,1 and which was afterward sold to Henry Skerry by the town in 1642 2 for twelve shillings. It became the public landing-place of the Salem ferry when the 'hie way to draps poynt' was authorized by the Town of Salem, March 12, 1648/9:3 'Ordered that the highway be brought from Edmond Grovers through Jonathan Porters and mr Garfords ground if the gen'll Court shall consent thereto.'
On May 2, 1649,4 the General Court concurred: 'The petition of Salem for removeall of the high way and landing place from the head of the Basse Ryver to Drapers Point is granted.'
The changing of the landing-place at the head of Bass River to Draper's Point was undoubtedly made neces- sary by the construction of the dam in the river by John Friend to secure water-power for his mill, and, incident- ally, this is the best indication in the records of the ap- proximate time of the establishment of the cornmill.
Draper's Lane had been a public ferry way about
I Salem Town Records, volume 1, page 102.
2 Salem Town Records, volume I, page 114.
3 Salem Town Records, volume I, page 157.
4 Records of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, volume 2, page 265.
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MILL STREET
eight years prior to the time that the dispute between King and Haskell engaged the attention of the Salem Selectmen, September 14, 1657:
Whereas there is a difference betwixt Wm. King & other neighbors and Roger Haskell about a highway to the mill and meeting house it is ordered that Jacob Barney and Jef- ferie Massey shall view the said way and make retorne thereof to the selectmen at their meeting, warning the plaintiffe & diffents to meete with the said Jacob Barney & Jefferie Massey the last day of this instant month at the mill by neine of the clock of the same day.
The result of the decision of this committee is indi- cated by the action of the Selectmen, November 20, 1657:1
It is ordered that the way from the meeting house on Cape an syde to Lawrence Leach his mill shall be directlie in the countrie way to Edmond grovers and from thence to the way lying betwixt the said grovers land & land of Osmonde Traske & soe forward through the land of henerie herricke.
Draper's Lane ran through the lands of Edmund Grover, thence through the lands of Osmand Trask, thence through the lands of Gervas Garford to Nicholas Draper's one-acre lot at the point.
Henry Herrick owned all the land from what is now the intersection of Beckford and Cabot Streets, north- west, to a point about what is now Mason Street, thence westerly to the river, taking in the land west of Edmund Grover to the land where the drop-forge plant now stands. That portion of his land which was his 'english field' is now traversed by Grant, Simon, and Ropes Streets.
I Salem Town Records, volume 1, page 205.
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The lot of land on the northern corner of Beckford and Cabot Streets, Henry Herrick sold to Andrew Elli- ott, May 27, 1668,' and a portion of the stone wall marking the northern boundary is standing at this time. Elliott lived here for many years, and the town gate, which the Town of Beverly maintained at this point, was always referred to as 'Andrew Elliott's gate.'
Edmund Grover owned a five-acre lot in the angle formed by Mill and Beckford Streets which is now traversed by Gage Street. The southern boundary of his lot is marked by a stone wall, still in place, running from Beckford Street to the railroad.
Lying west of the Grover lot was a ten-acre lot which was the southern portion of Henry Herrick's land and comprised all the land lying between the southern frontage of the main buildings of the United Shoe Ma- chinery Corporation and the river. This lot was sold by Mr. Herrick to John Leach about 1668, but no con- veyance is recorded. This was called 'Bushnells lott.' It was probably a grant to John Bushnell in 1636.
September 2, 1669,2 Mr. Leach sold the lot to John Dodge, Jr. While John Dodge owned this lot, he main- tained a cow house there and used the field as a pasture for his cattle. Osmand Trask planted corn in his own field adjoining, through which Elliott Street now runs, and by the records it appears that Dodge's cattle, hav- ing invaded the cornfield, Trask brought suit:
Osman Trask vs. John Dodge Jr. trespass in corn, March 1671, Verdict for defendant .... Benjamin Balch & Zacharie
x Essex Registry of Deeds, book 3, leaf 38.
? Essex Registry of Deeds, book 3, leaf 69.
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MILL STREET
Herrick, being desired by Osmund Trask some time the past summer to view the damage done in his Indian corn appraised it at twenty bushels. Also that Trask had John Dodges cattle in pound at the same time.I
On the north was the remaining land of Henry Her- rick, about a ten-acre field, which he possessed at the time of his death, March, 1670/1. In his will proved March 28, 1671, there was devised to his son, Benjamin, ' the pasture land called my english field wch joyneth on the east syde to Andrew Elliott, lying between the countrye high way & the mill river,' the land 'to re- maine in the hands of my sonne Henry to improve untill Benjamin be 21 years of age and in case he dye before he be 21 years of age I give the sayd land to my sonne Henry.'
On the north of the 'english field' was the land of William Dodge. The Boston and Maine Railroad, run- ning due north and south, now divides these two fields, and on the westerly portion of each stand the main buildings of the United Shoe Machinery Corporation.
In the early part of the nineteenth century, Osman Gage became possessed of land in the 'Bushnell lott,' a part of which he sold to Benjamin Elliott, October 16, 1832.2 Mr. Elliott afterward erected a house on this land, which stood until the land was purchased by the United Shoe Machinery Corporation. This was the only house ever erected on Mill Street in the 'Bushnell lott.'
That part of Mill Street from the Boston and Maine Railroad to Elliott Street was discontinued by vote of
I Records of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County.
2 Essex Registry of Deeds, book 267, leaf 95.
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the City Council of Beverly, May 18, 1903, and, until this portion was terminated, 'the way from the meeting house on Cape an syde to Lawrence Leach his mill' was a public highway for two hundred and forty-six years. It was 'ye high way that leads to ye grist mill.'
1
BENJAMIN ELLIOTT HOUSE
Erected about 1835 It stood on Mill Street in the Bushnell Lot
LANDS OF JOHN BACHELOR
JOHN BACHELOR, SR., was of Canterbury, England, and by occupation was a tailor. His name is found in the list of those sailing from Sandwich in 1637. He came with his brother, Joseph, and family. Joseph settled in Wenham, but John came to Salem and settled at Ryal Side. His name first appears in the Salem Town Rec- ords, April 15, 1639:1 'John Bachelor desires to be an inhabitant & is admitted & desires accommodation.'
He was made a freeman, November 13, 1640,2 and had secured a grant of land the previous year, November 20, 1639:3 'Granted to John Bachelor 20 acres of ground neare unto that wch was formerly layd out to Mr. Bishop.'
Mr. Bachelor settled and built his house in what are now the golf grounds on Elliott Street, and he found for neighbors John Marston, John Scudder, and Abraham Warren, who had shortly preceded him. He had two sons and three daughters that lived to maturity, Joseph, Mary, Abigail, Hannah, and John.
With no improved land or equipment beyond a few rude implements, he set about establishing a homestead and providing a living for his family. He was a poor man, but his determination to conquer the wilderness was recognized and encouraged by the people of the township, which is shown in the town records of October
I Salem Town Records, volume I, page 86.
2 Salem Town Records, volume I, page 86.
3 Salem Town Records, volume 1, page 93.
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29, 1644: ' 'At a meeting of the Elders and Townsmen They considered that the poorest man or at least hee that was most in want was John Bachelor & therefore they have disposed of the second Cow unto him wch was given by Mr. Andrews of London.'
Governor Winthrop, in his Journal, under date of August, 1643, states that 'Mr Richard Andrews, an haberdasher in Cheapside, London, a godly man, and who had been a benefactor to this country having 500 pounds due to him from the governor and company of Plymouth, gave it to this colony to be laid out in cattle and other course of trade for the poor.'
From time to time Mr. Bachelor was given smaller pieces of land and marsh adjacent to his granted lands and was given privileges in the common lands, southerly from his house to Stoney Cove on the Danvers River.
On April 20, 1656,2 he, with his neighbors, Marston and Scudder, was given a small piece of land lying by the water-side, before their houses.
February 8, 1650:3 'John Bachelor making request for libertie to fence in a little neck of land to save a pcell of marsh of his on Ryalls neck his request is granted pvided he leave bars in the midst of it for any to cart down to the water and resigne the land to the towne when they shall demand it.' This marsh land was on the north side of the large point of land near Stoney Cove and was referred to in the grant to Henry Skerry, April 27, 1654. 'Granted to Henry Skerry all that up-
I Salem Town Records, volume I, page 138.
2 Salem Town Records, volume I, page 143.
3 Salem Town Records, volume I, page 167.
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LANDS OF JOHN BACHELOR
land lying within the fence of John Bachelor that doth fence in his salt marsh pvided it must lye in comon when the cropp is taken of ffrom it.'
Mr. Bachelor's name is mentioned in connection with a petition for laying out one of the earliest ways in the locality, being one of the six parties interested in laying out the way from the head of Bass River to the Woole- stone River, May 11, 1657," when a committee was ap- pointed to 'determyne a Certaine Difference depending betwixt William King John Batchellor Nicholas Hea- ward &c, on the one ptye & Ensign Dixie Josiah Roots & Samuel Corning on the oth(er) ptie concerning a drift way from the head of bass river into Royalls neck.'
He occupied for several years the house and lands of his neighbor, John Scudder, as a tenant, and finally bought the property of Mr. Scudder, who had moved to Long Island, New York.
May 31, 1665,2 John Scudder, currier, conveyed to John Bachelor, tailor: 'Dwelling house and grounds lying on Ryall Neck in Bass River in Salem together with all & singular ye outhouses, edifices, buildings, yards, orchards, ... uplands, woods, ... & appurtenances whatsoever formerly in possession of sd John Scudder & now in ye occupation and tenure of sd John Bachelor - lying and being on both sides of ye river aforesaid. - John Scudder.'
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