USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Salem > Sketches about Salem people > Part 3
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Governor Dudley and to a disturbance of harmony be- tween him and Governor Winthrop.
Almost the first official act of Governor Winthrop after his arrival, excepting the settlement of a dispute between the captain and passengers of the ship Mary and John, was the marriage of John Endecott to Elizabeth Gibson on the 18th of August 1630, in the performance of which ceremony he was assisted by the Rev. John Wilson. Eliza- beth Gibson was formerly of Cambridge, England, and probably came over with Governor Winthrop, and while this marriage appears to have been a happy one there was a great disparity of age between them as he was twenty-five or twenty-six years older than his wife, for on April 13, 1674 in a suit of Sanford v Putnam, she deposed that she was then about the age of sixty years, which would indicate that she was born about 1614; so that at the time of her marriage she was only sixteen, while Endecott was about forty-one. By this marriage there were two children, both sons, John Endecott, Jr., born about 1632, and Dr. Zerubbabel Endecott, born about 1635. John Endecott, Jr., married Elizabeth Houchins and died in 1667 without issue. Dr. Zerubbabel Ende- cott's first wife was Mary Smith, by whom he had thir- teen children, from whom all of the present members of the Endecott family are descended. His first wife died in 1677 and he then married Elizabeth, widow of the Reverend Antipas Newman of Wenham and a daughter of John Winthrop, by whom there were no children. He died in 1684. Governor Endecott and his descendants to the third generation spelled their names "Endecott" but thereafter it has been spelled as at present, "En- dicott."
The following letter from Endecott to Governor Win- throp will give an idea of the condition of the planta- tion at this time, the difficulty of intercourse between dif- ferent parts of it and also some evidence of the courage and pugnacity of Endecott.
Righte Worshipfulle,
I did expect to have been with you in person at the Court and to that end I put to sea yesterday, and was driven back again, the wind being stiffe against us. And there being
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no canoe or boate at Sagust, I must have been constrained to go to Mistick, and thence about to Charles-town, which at this time, I durst not to be so bold, my bodie being at this present in an ill condition to wade, or take cole, and, therefore I desire you to pardon me. Though otherwise, I could not desire it by reason of many occasions and busi- nesses. There are at Mr. Hewson's plantation five or six kine verie ill, and in great danger, I fear they will hardly escape it, whereof twoe are mine and all I have; which are worse than any of the rest. I left mine there this winter to do Mr. Skelton a pleasure to keep his for him herein Salem, that he might have the benefit of their milk. And I understand by Wincoll that they have been ill tended, and he saith almost starved. Besides they have fed on acorns, and they cannot digest them, for they vomitt exceedingly and are so bound in their bodies, that he is fain to rake them, and use his skill to maintain life in them. I have willed him to bee there till he can bring them to some health again if possible. And I have given him malt, to make mashes of licoris, and annisseedes, and long pepper, and such other things as I had, to drench them. I could wish when Man- ning hath recovered his strength that you would free him, for he will never do you or Mr. Hewson service, for when he is well, he was as negligent as the worst of them.
Mr. Skelton, myselfe and the rest of the Congregation desire to be thankful to God and yourselfe, for your benevo- lence to Mr. Haughton's child. The Lord restore it to you. I have prevailed with much adoe with Sir Richard for an old debt here, which he thought was desperate, to contribute it, which I hope I shall make good for the child. I think Mr. Skelton has written to you whom he thinks stands most in neede of contribution of such provisions as you will be pleased to give amongst us, of that which was sent over. The eel-pots you sent for me are made, which I had in my boate, hoping to have brought them with mee. I caused him to make but two for the present; if you like them and his prices (for he worketh for himselfe) you shall have as many as you desire. He selleth them for four shillings apiece. Sir, I desired the rather to have bene at Court, because I heare I am much complained of by Goodman Dexter for striking him. I acknowledge I was too rash in strikeing him, understanding since, it is not lawfull for a justice of peace to strike. But if you had seene the manner of his carriadge, with such daring of mee, with his arms akimbo,
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etc. It would have provoked a very patient man. But I will write noe more of it, but leave it, till we speak before you face to face. Onely thus farre further, that he hath. given out that if I had a purse he would make mee empty it, and if hee cannot have justice here, hee will do wonders in England, and if hee cannot prevail there, hee will try it out with mee here at blowes. Sir, I desire that you will take all into consideration. If it were lawful to try it out at blowes, and hee a fit man for mee to deal with, then you should not hear mee complain-but I hope the Lord hath brought me off from that course.
I thought good further to write what my judgment is for the dismissing of the Court till corne be sett. It will hin- der us that are farre off exceedingly, and further you there. Men's labour is precious here in corne setting time, the plan- tation being yet so weak. I will be with you the Lord assisting me, as soon as conveniently I can. In the mean- while I comitt you to his protection and safe guard that never fails his children, and rest,
Your unfeigned loving friend to command, John Endecott.
Salem, 12th April 1631.
On May 3, 1631 the Court of which Endecott was acting at the time as one of the judges, empanelled a jury to inquire concerning an act of assault complained of by Thomas Dexter against John Endecott, and the jury found for the plaintiff, assessing damages against Endecott in the sum of forty shillings. Dexter was one of the original settlers of Lynn and is said to have bought Nahant from an Indian by the name of Black William for a suit of clothes, which occasioned the town an ex- pensive and troublesome law suit in 1657. His general deportment was overbearing and quarrelsome.
It appears that on March 4, 1632, the court ordered that Dexter should be set in the bilbowes, disfranchised and fined forty shillings for speaking reproachful and seditious words against the government herein established and finding fault with the divers acts of the court. On July 3, 1632, Dexter was bound to his good behaviour until the next General Court and fined for his misde- meanors and insolent carriage and speeches to Simon Bradstreet at his own house.
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ENDECOTT'S ATTITUDE IN RELIGIOUS MATTERS
After the death of Mr. Higginson the Salem church heard of Roger Williams, who was said to be a man of great ability. They invited him to settle with them as teacher with Mr. Skelton. He accepted the call, but at this point Governor Winthrop and the Assistants inter- fered and wrote to Endecott in April as the one princi- pally concerned in his possible settlement, that as Mr. Williams had refused to join with the congregation in Boston for various reasons and especially because they would not make a public declaration of their repentance for having had communion with the Church of England while they lived there, they hoped he would not be re- ceived. This protest held up his ordination in Salem, and he then went to Plymouth where he remained as an assistant to the Reverend Mr. Smith for two years. Roger Williams returned to Salem in November, 1633, and then became assistant to Mr. Skelton, who died the fol- lowing year and whose wife had died in 1631. By his death Endecott lost one who had been his tried friend and spiritual adviser both in England and in Massa- chusetts.
The Court of Assistants came into possession of a treatise written by Williams questioning the right of the king to grant the country to the settlers without their first obtaining it from the Indians, also making many discourteous remarks relative to the king, which the col- onists were fearful might reach the ears of his majesty, whereupon Governor Winthrop wrote to Endecott asking him to exert his influence with his friend Roger Williams to get him to retract his statements, to which Endecott returned a modest and discreet answer.
Soon Williams again began his disturbance at Salem, attacking the right of the colonists to their land, deny- ing the power of the magistrates to administer an oath to an unregenerate man as they would thereby have reli- gious communion with a wicked person, and as the Salem church would not refuse to have communication and con- ferences with other New England churches, he declined to act longer as the pastor of the Salem church for he claimed that such conferences with other churches was.
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anti-Christian. He also would neither pray nor give thanks at meals with his own wife or family because they attended Church. The General Court being afraid he would get the colony into trouble with the home govern- ment determined to arrest him and send him back to England, notice of which coming to Williams' knowledge he escaped in January, 1636, to the territory of the Nar- ragansetts, where he subsequently founded Rhode Island. During all this time Endecott was his friend, although he did not go so far as to join him in many of his extreme and radical views.
In September, 1634, the colony was thrown into con- sternation by the news that the king had granted to two archbishops of the Church of England and to ten others of the council, authority to regulate the plantations in New England; to establish and maintain the Episcopal Church there; to recall its Charter; remove and appoint its Governors; make its laws; hear and decide all legal cases and inflict punishments, even death itself. It was also believed that a new royal governor was secretly on his way to Massachusetts. Such was the universal anxi- ety awakened by this news that the General Court in Jan- uary, 1635, unanimously agreed that if such a governor should come the Colonists ought by force of arms to re- sist his authority and maintain their rights.
Orders were adopted for the erection of fortifications on Castle Island, Boston Harbor and at Charlestown and Dorchester. Captains were authorized to train unskilled men so often as they pleased. Dudley, Winthrop, Haines, Humphrey and Endecott were appointed "to consult, direct and give command for the managing and ordering of any war which might befall for the space of a year next ensuing and till further order should be taken there- in." Arrangements were made for the collection and cus- tody of arms and ammunition and in order to obtain a supply of musket balls they were made legal tender for all debts at the rate of a farthing apiece.
Craddock sent a copy of the order which had been served on him requiring a return of the charter to Eng- land, and the Assistants laid it on the table and declined to act without authority from the General Court. Judg-
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ment declaring the Charter forfeited was rendered in England against Sir Henry Roswell and the others of the original patentees, but the General Court disregarded the decree and fortunately for the colony, the government of Charles I was too much concerned with troubles at home to pay much attention to the resistance in Massa- chusetts. It is very evident, however, that if the Eng- lish government had persisted in carrying out its demands that resistance to the crown would have begun more than a century before the Revolution.
THE RED CROSS INCIDENT
The excitement occasioned by these attacks upon the rights and privileges of Massachusetts caused Endecott to fear that all of their great sacrifices were to be in vain, and his indignation was aroused. With his sword he cut the red cross from the king's colors which belonged to the Salem military company. The act is generally be- lieved to have been instigated by his minister, Roger Williams. The colonists feared that this bold and dar- ing act would be considered not only an insult to the Church of England but to the king himself and they feared that unless some rebuke was administered to Ende- cott that his act would call down upon their heads the vengeance of the British authorities. A warrant was therefore issued to Richard Davenport, the ensign and color bearer of the company, directing him to bring the mutilated colors with him to the next Court. A meeting of all the clergymen of the colony, except Mr. Ward of Ipswich, convened at Boston at the request of the gov- ernor and assistants to consider the matter and Winthrop says that there were two questions discussed, "first: what ought we to do if a general governor should be sent out of England Second, whether it be lawful for us to carry the cross in our banner. To the first question they all agreed that if a general governor were sent we ought not to accept him but defend our lawful possession (if we are able) otherwise to avoid or protract." For the matter of the cross they were divided and so deferred it to another meeting. The General Court referred the mat- ter to a committee which made the following report :-
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"That Endecott had acted in this matter without due authority, that while suspecting such a sign as a mark of idolatry, he should have made exertion for its disuse in other plantations, that he had impliedly charged his associate magistrates with abetting false religion and had exposed the colony to the still greater displeasure of the government of England." It therefore proposed that he be admonished and disqualified from holding public office for one year but at the same time recommended him to charitable consideration; "that he did it out of tender- ness of conscience and not of any evil intention." State politics rendered it necessary for him to be punished in order to appease the resentment of the court party in London, for such a seeming attack on royal authority, but for this there is reason to believe that he would have received applause from the Puritan Colonists rather than blame. It is interesting to note that the matter of the preparation of colors for the troops was referred to the military commissioners, of whom Endecott was one, and at the next General Court they reported establishing uni- form colors for all the military companies, which colors left out the cross concerning which there had been so much commotion. Endecott's open defiance of the royalty of England would have no doubt cost him his life had it not been for the more serious troubles which were besetting the unfortunate King Charles I. As a conse- quence of this decision Endecott was left off the Board of Assistants for a year, at the end of which time he was promptly re-elected. The sword, a plain, unornamented rapier, with which this deed was said to have been done, has been preserved and is now in the possession of one of the family.
In 1635 Marblehead was set off as a plantation but the inhabitants of Salem filed a petition in the General Court in which they claimed that they owned certain land at Marblehead Neck. They were refused a hearing upon the ground that they had neglected to consult the Governor and Assistants concerning the selection of Roger Williams as their pastor. Endecott and the people of Salem were aggrieved as they felt that this had nothing whatever to do with the merits of their claim. They
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thereupon sent letters from the Salem Church to various other churches asking them to confer with their repre- sentatives in the General Court and to persuade them to consider the merits of Salem's claim. At the session of the General Court on the second of September, 1635, the deputies from Salem were sent home with instructions to "fetch satisfaction for their letters sent to the several churches wherein they have exceedingly reproached and villified the magistrates and deputies of the General Court or else the arguments of those who defend the same with the subscription of their names." Endecott was called before the court to answer for the town and defended the act of the Salem Church as regular and just, which dis- pleased the General Court and it was voted by a general erection of hands "That Mr. Endecott should be com- mitted for his contempt in protesting against the pro- ceedings of the Court and upon his submission and full acknowledgment of his offence, he was dismissed."
The deputies from Salem were also forbidden to take their seats and the town was disfranchised until such time as a majority of its freemen should disclaim the letters. Cotton said that the Court viewed the act in the light of treason.
The General Court, however, in March, 1636, decided that it had been proved that Marblehead Neck belonged to Salem. Later, in May, 1636, at a Salem town meet- ing, the question was considered of dividing Marblehead Neck into lots, and a portion of the land, it appears from Mr. Endecott's argument, had been reserved for the erec- tion of a college. This was six months before the Gen- eral Court in October voted four hundred pounds towards the establishment of the college, which two years later became Harvard College on the death of the Reverend John Harvard, who bequeathed to it one-half of his for- tune of £779 17s. 2p. It is interesting to note that the reason Cambridge was selected was because, according to Shepard, the place had been kept clear from the opinions of Ann Hutchinson.
After the departure of Roger Williams, the Salem church was without a settled pastor until December, 1636, when the Reverend Hugh Peter, commonly spoken of
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Hugh Peters, was ordained. He was a most brilliant man, but of rather melancholy disposition and in poor health. His wife died in 1637 and in 1639 he married Mrs. Deliverance Sheffield. For the year prior to her marriage to him she apparently was keeping him in a very uncertain frame of mind, for in 1638 Endecott wrote to Governor Winthrop: "I cannot but acquaint you with my thoughts concerning Mr. Peter, since hee receaued a letter from Mrs. Sheffield, which was yesterday in the eveninge after the fast ; she seeming in her letter to abate of her affeccions towards him and dislikinge to come to Salem uppon such terms as hee had written. I finde that shee begins now to play her parte, and if I mistake not, you will see him as greatly in loue with her (if shee will hold a little) as euer shee was with him; but hee conceals it what hee can as yett. The begininge of the next weeke youe will hear further from him."
Later Peter wrote to Governor Winthrop :- "I do not know whether Mrs. Sh. haue sett mee at liberty or not ; my conclusion is, that if you find I cannot make an hon- orable retreat then I shall desire to advance." She even- tually married him, however, on January 3, 1639. About 1640, after the birth of their only child, Mrs. Peters became of unsound mind, which deprived him of her society for twenty years.
When the king granted to the parliament additional authority some thought it would be a fine idea for the colony to send representatives to parliament to look after their interest and to try to get further favors. Governor Winthrop wrote to the Salem Church asking them to spare their pastor as one of the delegates for this mission, but Endecott opposed it at church meeting, saying; "It would be conceived we sent them begging"-for which he was viciously attacked by John Humphrey, and with such bitterness as to give great offence. The church was not willing to let their pastor go, nor to give a plain denial to the magistrates, and wrote an answer by way of excuse. Later the application was again renewed and finally the Salem church yielded and permitted Hugh Peter to go to England, where he was extremely promi- nent under Cromwell, both as preacher, chaplain and mili-
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tary leader. Upon the restoration he was arrested and executed, so that it would evidently have been well for the Salem pastor if Endecott had been finally successful in his opposition.
IN COMMAND AGAINST THE INDIANS
While Endecott was so repeatedly in controversies of various kinds, he lost none of the public's confidence, as all knew the energy of his character and the integrity of his motives. In 1636, John Oldham had been mur- dered by the Block Island Indians while on a trading voyage, and Governor Vane of Massachusetts sent an ex- pedition in three vessels of ninety men and four captains and the whole under command of Endecott. They sailed on the 24th of August and arrived at Block Island before the end of the month, but found some difficulty in land- ing on account of the surf. They were met by about forty Indians who shot off their arrows at them and fled, but the men being all armed with corslets only one was slightly wounded in the neck. They found two planta- tions and about sixty wigwams. After searching two days unsuccessfully for the Indians they burnt their wigwams, staved their canoes and left the island. They then went to the mouth of the Connecticut to demand of the Pe- quots, the most warlike tribe of the Indians, the mur- derers of Captain Stone of the Plymouth Colony. Here they landed with great difficulty, the shore being high, rugged rock, and they were completely in the power of the Indians, who, however, neglected to use their advan- tage. Messengers passed back and forth explaining why their chiefs did not appear and finally the Indians fled, shooting at the men from the thicket but without harm- ing any of them. Endecott's men then burned the In- dian village and returned to their vessels. On the fol- lowing day they landed on the west side of the river, meet- ing more of the enemy. Here they also burned their wigwams and destroyed their canoes. Being unable to find the Indians who were hiding in the thickets, they finally abandoned their search and returned to Boston, having been away a little less than a month. It appears that during the skirmishes they had killed thirteen of
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the Pequots and wounded forty. While this expedition was not especially successful as the Indians persisted in hiding in the underbrush and thickets where they could not be fought, Endecott was apparently faced with the alternative of either returning home without accomplish- ing anything or of doing what damage he could. He chose the latter course, which undoubtedly aroused the Pequots to still further hostility and the following year another expedition in command of Captain Mason almost totally wiped out the tribe.
GRANT OF THE ORCHARD FARM
On the third of July, 1632, the Court of Assistants granted to Endecott three hundred acres of land called by a translation from its Indian name, "Birchwood," af- terwards known as the Orchard Farm. This is the well known Endecott farm in Danvers which has remained in the family until the present time. The General Court described it as bounded on the South by Cow House River, on the North by the Duck River, on the East by a river leading up to these rivers and called Woolston's River. It was some distance from the place which was afterwards selected for the seat of town government, yet it was the center of population and very easy of access by water. On this farm he lived in a sort of feudal style surrounded by his servants and retainers and on a hill overlooking the country erected his mansion house. In front of it on a southern slope of the hill he planted his far-famed orchard. His usual method of transport- ing himself and family was at first by water and he was often visited by his friends in this way. The inlet be- fore the mansion house had nothing to interrupt it, the passage being open to the bay, and the estate must have been beautifully located as the shores on either side were thickly clothed with woods. From the governor's man- sion house there was a gentle descent to the inlet in which he kept his shallop. Tradition says that on the easterly side of the orchard and garden was a walk from the house to the landing place with plum trees overrun with grape vines on each side of it, and so thick with foliage in its season that a person might walk in this avenue unob-
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served. Near the landing place was a spring of water overshadowed with willows, clear and placid, from which the family was supplied with this cool and refreshing beverage.
While Endecott was not able to spend all of his time at his country home because of his public duties, yet he remained there as much as possible, retiring to this secluded spot for the quiet enjoyment and peaceful culti- vation of his farm. The extent of which he devoted him- self to the growing of trees is indicated by the fact that in 1648 he sold five hundred apple trees of three years' growth, to William Trask for 250 acres of land; in other words two small apple trees were of equal value to one acre of land. It was at this Orchard Farm that he intro- duced for medicinal purposes as well as an ornament to his garden, the white weed or field daisy, which while a thing of beauty to city visitors has certainly been a curse to the farmer. For generations this was known in Essex County as "Endecott weed."
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