Standard history of Essex county, Massachusetts, embracing a history of the county from its first settlement to the present time, with a history and description of its towns and cities. The Most historic county of America., Part 120

Author: Tracy, Cyrus M. (Cyrus Mason), 1824-1891, et al. Edited by H. Wheatland
Publication date: 1878
Publisher: Boston, C. F. Jewett
Number of Pages: 450

USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Standard history of Essex county, Massachusetts, embracing a history of the county from its first settlement to the present time, with a history and description of its towns and cities. The Most historic county of America. > Part 120

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HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY, MASSACIIUSETTS.

istrations of Dudley and Andros. Mr. Bradstreet removed to Ando- ver as early as 1644, and was highly useful in building up the new settlement and giving direction to its affairs. He erected the first mill on the "Cochicewick." He was selectman of Andover from the first record of town officers to 1672, after which he spent much of his time at Salem and Boston.

Mr. Bradstreet was not distinguished for splendid and powerful talents, but for those abilities and qualifications which rendered him eminently useful. He was upright in his dealings and principles, of sound judgment, striet integrity, persevering in business, and sought usefulness rather than popularity. He was one of the fathers of the Massachusetts Colony, and contributed much to its establishment and prosperity. He was a man of fortitude, and suffered much, with the other carly settlers, amid many privations and hardships, discouragements and disappointments. He died at Salem, March 27, 1697, aged ninety-four years.

Of his residence in Andover, it has been generally considered that the house in which Gov. Bradstreet resided is the one now stand- ing at North Andover. Here follows a description of the old man- sion : Not far from the site of the old first meeting-honse is a large, old-fashioned house, the oldest in the town, said to have been built by the governor. It is certain that his son, Dudley Bradstreet, resided in it. The governor's house was destroyed by fire, July 10, 1666, and if the present house was built to supply the place of the first, Mrs. Bradstreet probably lived in the present house for several ycars, as she lived till Sept. 16, 1672, and died in Andover. The size, the solidity of its construction, and its position, certainly tend to strengthen this conclusion. It stands on the old Haverhill and Bos- ton road, within a few feet of the highway, and has a southern aspect. It has two full stories in front, but slopes to a single one in the rear. The rooms on both sides of the front door are high-studded, the floor having been sunk not long since. The doors are small and very low. The walls of some of the rooms are wainscotted, while others are papered in the modern style. The frame of the house is very heavy, with massive old timbers ; and an immense chimney, strongly but- tressed on its four sides, runs up in the centre. On the lawn in front of the house are some beautiful elms, one of which is noted for its unusual size ; the size of the tree, as given in 1830, one foot from the ground, being sixteen and one-half feet in circumference. The ground, falling abruptly from the east side of the honse into a deep hollow, where there is a little brook, rises again into a hill, on the slope of which once stood the meeting-house, not a vestige of which is now left. Opposite its site is the old burying-ground, an irregular lot, sparsely covered with ancient, moss-grown stones, in all positions, straggling, broken, and neglected, and overrun with tall grass and weeds. Some few, including several tombs with horizontal slabs, are more modern and better preserved. The Merrimac is only one and a quarter miles distant, and the "Cochicewick " near by.

Anne Bradstreet, the first wife of Gov. Bradstreet, was the dangh- ter of Gov. Thomas Dudley, born at Northampton, England, in 1612, and well known as the first poetess in this country. She was the most distinguished of the early matrons of our country by her literary powers, for the evidence of which we refer the reader to her poems dedicated to her father, entitled "The Teuth Muse, lately sprung up in America"; London, 1650; another edition in Boston, 1678, and reprinted 1758, "With great Variety of Wit and Learning, full of Delight." But the most interesting and complete edition of her works, in poetry and prose, is that published by Abram E. Cutter, of Charles- town, Mass., 1867, and edited by John Harvard Eilis, pp. 434. Dr. Mather, in his Magnalia, says of her: "Whose poems, divers times printed, have afforded a grateful entertainment unto the ingenious, and a monument for her memory beyond the stateliest marbles."

Manufactures. - North Andover is a lively manufacturing town, as may be seen in the various mills lying on the "Cochicewick " Brook, between "Great Pond," or Lake " Cochicewick," and the Merrimac. The first on the list, after leaving the pond, is Stevens's woollen-mill. In 1813, Nathaniel Stevens, Dr. Joseph Kittridge, and Josiah Mon- roe formed a company, and entered into the manufacture of woollen goods, particularly flannels. During the following year, Mr. Stevens purchased Mr. Monroe's interest in the mills, and in 1828 bought Dr. Kittridge's interest, thus controlling the mills. At the place where the works are now situated was the first grist-mill in the town.

Mr. Stevens became a successful manufacturer, and continued in business up to the time of his death. He was born Oct. 18, 1786, and died March 7, 1865. The business is now conducted by Moses T. Stevens, under the old firm-name of N. Stevens & Sons. They occupy one four-story brick building, 140 by 40 feet; one picker-

house, 60 by 30 feet ; and employ about sixty hands. The mill is run by a forty horse-power steam-engine, and a fifty horse-power water-wheel, and consumes 250,000 pounds of wool yearly, and manufactures 1,500 yards of flannel per week.

An incident occurred in the commencement of Mr. Stevens's early life -about 1816 or 1817 - well worth mentioning here. When he first began business his custom was to place his goods in his wagon in bulk, rather than in bales, and thus sell from place to place, as he found a market. One day, while showing his goods to a Mr. Pea- body, in Boston, Mr. Abbott Lawrence was called in by Mr. Peabody, and his opinion asked as to what he thought of these new American goods. Mr. Lawrence examined them, and, turning to Mr. Stevens, said : "Young man, if you have money to lose, I advise you to save it, and quit making flannel, as we can import them much cheaper than you can make them." Mr. Stevens replied : "Mr. Lawrence, so long as I can get grease to grease my wheels, I shall keep on making them." And he did make them so long as he lived, and his heirs continue the business as heretofore.

Following down the stream a short distance, we come to the machine-shops of Messrs. Davis & Furbur. This firm are among the most prominent and prosperous manufacturers of machinery in the country. They manufacture every variety of woollen and cotton machinery. The history of this establishment is as follows : In the year 1830, two young men, named Sawyer and Phelps, came from Worcester, and, in company with Abraham Marland, started a small machine-shop at Marland Village. After running about three years, they sold the business to Messrs. Charles Barnes, George H. Gilbert, and Parker Richardson. In 1835 Mr. Barnes retired from the bu-i- ness, and removed to Ballardvale, and assisted in starting the woollen mill with John Marland. In 1836 the remaining two partners pur- chased a mill privilege, containing a saw and grist mill, of Mr. Isaac Osgood, at North Andover, and immediately erected a machine-shop. In 1838 Mr. Barnes again united with Messrs. Gilbert and Richard- son, and continued in business till 1841, when the property was sold to Isaac Osgood, who then held possession of the saw and grist mill and machine-shop. In that year, Messrs. George H. Gilbert, Benja- min Gleason, and George L. Davis formed a partnership, and leased the machine works, Mr. Osgood retaining the other mills. In 1846 Mr. Gilbert retired, the firm then continuing as Gleason & Davis t ll 1848, when Mr. Gleason sold his interest in the business to George L. Davis and Charles Furbur, who continued, under the name of Davis & Furbur, till 1853, when they purchased the real estate, hith- erto under a lease. In 1857 Mr. Furbir died, and his interest was sold to John A. Wiley and D. T. Gage, the style of the firm remain- ing the same as before. In 1860 Mr. Gage retired, leaving Messrs. Davis and Wiley sole owners. In 1861 Mr. Joseph M. Stone was admitted a partner, and the present members of the firm are George L. Davis, John A. Wiley, J. M. Stone, George G. Davis, Joseph H. Stone, and James H. Davis.

The following description of the leading buildings used by them my give a little idea of the immense business done by this firm : One four-story brick building, 260 by 50 feet, with an ell attached, 50 by 60 feet ; an engine and boiler room, 30 by 50 feet ; a machine shop, 150 by 40 feet, four stories high ; a factory, 200 by 50 feet, five stories high, three of which are used for a machine-shop, and the other two for card-clothing. They have, also, an iron foundry, 100 by 80 feet, in which they make their own castings ; a pattern-shop, 70 by 40 feet ; and two blacksmith shops, 60 by 60 feet each. These works are located on the main street, but a short distance from the North Andover Depot, on the Boston and Maine Railroad, or the " Machine- Shop Crossing," on the Essex Branch of the Eastern Railroad. These works are run by steam and water of nearly two hundred horse- power.

A short distance below the machine-shops are the North Andover Woollen Mills. These mills were built by Dr. Joseph Kittridge, Eben Sutton, and George Hodges, in or about 1838. Dr. Kittridge soon after sold his interest to the other two partners, and they leased to Messrs. Hodges Brothers. In 1867, an Act of incorporation was obtained from the Legislature, for the following purposes :-

" William Sutton, Eben Sutton, and Moses T. Stevens, their asso- eiates and successors, are hereby made a corporation by the name of the North Andover Mills,' for the purpose of manufacturing wool- len or cotton cloths, or any fabrie wholly or in part of wool, cotton, silk, flax, hemp, or jute, in the town of North Andover ; and for this purpose shall have all the powers and privileges, and be subject to all the duties, restrictions, and liabilities set forth in all general laws which now are, or hereafter may be, in force relating to manufactur-

HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

345

ing corporations," with a capital stoek not exceeding six hundred thousand dollars, divided into shares of one hundred dollars each.

This company occupy a three-story brick building, 150 by 50 feet ; one pieker-house, 30 by 40 feet ; dye and boiler house, 50 by 25 feet ; store-house, 70 by 40 feet. The machinery is driven by a forty-horse- power engine, besides a large twenty-four-foot water-wheel. This firm manufacture about 25,000 yards of flannel per week, consuming 300,000 pounds of wool annually, giving employment to one hundred persons. Connected with these mills are thirty tenement houses.

These mills are now owned and conducted by the heirs of the late Eben Sutton, of Peabody, Gen. Eben Sutton being the manager.

The last mills on the "Cochieewiek Brook" are "Sutton's Mills," near to the mouth of the brook, where it empties into the Merrimae River, and about one hundred feet lower than its source, giving ample power. These works are under the same management as the last-mentioned mills, and consist of the following buildings: One brick mill, 165 by 46 feet; one pieker-house, 40 by 40 feet; one wooden mill-building, 100 by 46 feet ; one dye-house, 50 by 35 feet ; one briek storehouse, 50 by 50 feet ; one stone storehouse, 60 by 40 feet ; and furnish employment for one hundred and thirty hands, manufacturing about 40,000 yards of flannel per week, and consum- ing about 450,000 pounds of wool yearly.

With these mills, the company own forty tenement-houses.

Rebellion .- This town was prompt to respond to the ealls made upon her for men to help erush the Rebellion, and furnished fifteen more than was called for. The first meeting of the town was held May 6, 1861, when it was " voted, to appropriate five thousand dol- lars to uniform and equip a company of volunteers, and to provide aid for their families." The men were to receive fifty cents a day while drilling, and ten dollars a month from date of muster-in until discharged. Messrs. George Davis, Moses T. Stevens, and I. Osgood Loring were a committee, added to assist the selectmen in the dis- bursement of the funds. A company was immediately organized, and drilled, and tendered to the government ; but at that time they thought they had enoughi men, and the men enlisted elsewhere, in different regiments.

July 28, 1862, " Voted, to pay a bounty of two hundred dollars to each volunteer who shall enlist for three years, within twenty days, and be eredited to the town." On the 25th of August following, the bounty was inereased to two hundred and fifty dollars for nine months' men.

March 8, 1864, " Voted, to raise one hundred and twenty-five dol- lars for each reeruit who shall enlist on or before the 15th of June next, to fill our quota," and, on the 20th of June following, the seleetmen were requested "to go on and reeruit as fast as possible."

July 5, 1864, " Voted, to pay the same bounty to each volunteer who shall enlist as a part of the quota of the town, prior to March 5, 1865, under any call of the president."

The town furnished two hundred and seventy-three men for the war, from the list of whom we find the following names of deceased

soldiers, as near as could be found by an examination of the town records and other sources :-

GEORGE H. FARNIIAM,

THOMAS S. PORTER,

Died at Roanoke Island, April 3, 1862. THOMAS RUSSELL,

Died at Hampton Hospital, Va., Apr. 15, 1864, from wounds received at Smithfield, Va.

L. G. PHELPS,

Died at Fortress Monroe, Va., June 4, 1862.

ANSEL BURNHAM,

G. W. RAY,

Died at Andersonville, Sept. 23, 1864.

C. W. BRIDGES,

Died at Natehez, Miss., Sept. 24, 1864.

WALLACE W. RAY, Died at Andersonville, Sept. 25, 1864.

J. A. NEEDHAM,

Died at Newbern, N. C., Dec. 14, 1864.

CHARLES ANGIER,

Died at Newbern, N. C., Dee. 15, 1864.

ABRAM HAYWARD,

Died at Lawrenceville, Va., Oct. 1, 1865.

HARRISON LONGLEY,

Died of disease, at North Andover, May 12, 1867. HENRY L. LOVEJOY,

Died of wounds, Sept. 1, 1867.

ELBRIDGE G. MANNING,

Died at New Orleans, La., May 31, 1869.

J. B. FULLER,

Died at North Andover, of disease, Mar. 27, 1871.

JOSEPH H. FARNHAM,

Died of disease, at North Andover, Jan. 24, 1873.

DANIEL L. PLUMMER, Died of disease, at North Andover, Feb. 4, 1874.

WILLIAM JOHNSON DAMON, Died of disease, at North Andover, Jan. 3, 1875.

G. H. BUTTERFIELD,

Died a prisoner at Florence, S. C.

HENRY W. STEVENS,

CHARLES K. HADLEY,

Died on Steamer " Cambridge," at New Inlet, N. C., Mar. 11, 1864.

Died of disease, at North Andover, Apr. 30, 1877.

Of the whole number who enlisted from North Andover, we find no commissioned officers.

The whole amount of money appropriated and expended by the town on account of the war, exelusive of State aid, was $40,795.10. The amount of money raised and expended by the town in aid of the payment of State aid to the families of volunteers, during the four years of the war, and which was afterwards repaid by the Commonwealth, was as follows: In 1861, $759.82; in 1862, $2,975.99 ; in 1863, $3,981.52; in 1864, $3,219.61; in 1865, $2,000. Total amount, $12,936.94.

The town elerk, during the years of the war, was Hiram Berry ; in 1864-65, Isaae C. Sargent.

Died Nov. 24, 1862. JOIIN BERKLEY,

Died at Washington, D. C., Feb. 13, 1863. OTIS S. MERRILL,

Died at Newbern, N. C., Mar. 2, 1863. CHARLES W. COLE, Died at Newport News, Va., Mar. 3, 1863. ANDREW J. FISH,

Died at New Orleans, La., Apr. 18, 1863. NICHOLAS TUTTLE,

Died at New Orleans, La., Apr. 25, 1863.

MICHAEL HUGHIES,

Died at Batou Rouge, La., May 26, 1863. MARTIN HAYWARD,

Died June, 1863. WILLIAM E. FISII,

Died at Newbern, N. C., June 22, 1863.

C. W. NEEDHAM,

Died at Alexandria, Va., June 30, 1863.

HENRY E. CHASE, Died at Newbern, N. C., July, 1863.

JOHN F. SPOFFORD,

Died at Haines' Bluff, Miss., July 8, 1863. CHARLES LEE FOSTER, Died at New Orleans, La., Aug. 8, 1863. ANSEL PEABODY,

Dled at North Andover, Aug. 19, 1863.

BENJAMIN W. PINGREE,

Died Dee. 14, 1863.

Died at Andersonville Prison, July 22, 1864.

PEABODY.

Peabody, one of the brightest, cheeriest, and most bustling of Essex County manufacturing towns, although one of the youngest in point of age, lies west by north of its ancient mother, Salem, which it closely adjoins. Its territory was originally largely comprised in what was known as the " Middle Precinct," the second of the terri- torial parishes set off from Salem. After the organization of the dis- triet and township of Danvers, it was known as the South Parish of that town, and as such it remained for more that one hundred years. Its ancient history is thus incorporated with that of Danvers. It ap- nears to have early taken the lead in active business pursuits, the at- tention of its people being turned almost from its first settlement, in the old colonial days, to the manufacture of leather ; and the enter- prise, so prospered, that in 1848, of the sixty-one tanneries in Dan- vers, it contained fully nine-tenths. In 1854, steps were taken, look- ing to a separation, and the establishment of an independent township. At this period, all the principal wealth of the two parishes was eentred and invested here, although the North Parish contained a majority of the voters. A petition presented to the Legislature, at this time, asking for an Act to establish the town of South Danvers, naturally excited violent opposition among the brother townsmen of the North Parish, which was at first so far successful that the mnove- ment was voted down. But the matter did not rest here, and a visit of a special committee of the Great and General Court resulted in the reporting of a bill, which was finally passed May 18, 1855, entitled an Act to establish the town of South Danvers, and authorizing that all of the territory within the limits of Danvers, lying southerly of a line beginning at a point at the mouth of Waters River and running up the course of said river to the Sylvan Street bridge and thence north-westerly 500 feet to a milestone on the Newburyport Turnpike, near the house of Jasper Pope, and thence northerly to a point on the Ipswich River, where Noyes's Brook empties into said river, should be hereby incorporated as a town, by the name of South Danvers. The town was obliged, by this Act, to unite for a time with Danvers in the choice of a representative to the General Court. The ancient bounds with Salem remained as before; all of the houses on the northern side of Trask's or Shillaber's Plain, from the "Great Tree " to " Poole's Hollow," being in South Danvers, and all of those upon the southern side remaining in Salem. This line was straightened and improved in 1856, and all of the residents upon the northern side of Boston Street, east of the cemetery, were given to Salem.

The first town-meeting was held June 9, 1855. Lewis Allen, Daniel Taylor, and Nathan H. Poor were chosen as selectmen ; Francis Baker, as treasurer; and Nathan H. Poor, as town clerk, which position the latter has held, with perhaps slight intervals, to the present time (1878). The town retained the name of South Dan- vers until the 13th of April, 1868, when it took the name of Pea- body, in honor of its illustrious citizen and noble benefactor, George Peabody.

Mr. Peabody was born, a poor hoy, in a house, yet standing, ou the northerly side of Washington Street, near "Rock Village,".and adjoining the present Unton glue-factory estate. It is a two-story structure, still in good preservation, and of the old New England style of early architecture, with the low-studded rooms, heavy frame, and the great unsightly beams extending across the centre of the ceil- ings. It is now occupied as a tenement-house. The future hanker came into the world on the 18th of February, 1795. He was a lineal descendant of that ancient family, whose origin Mr. Nehemiah Cleve- land has traced back to the time of Boadie, a king of the primeval race of Britons, who in the year A. D. 61 came to the rescue of his noble queen, Boadicea, when " bleeding from the Roman rods." From the terrible defeat in which she lost her crown and life, he retreated to the Cambrian mountains, from whose fastnesses he swent down upon the low country in frequent forays, and he aud his posterity became the terror of its inhabitants. The name Pea, which signifies moun- tain, was at this time prefixed to " Boadie," meaning man. The name of Peabody appears in the ancient British heraldry, among the Kuights of the Round Table, of the time of King Arthur. Lieut. Francis Pa-

body, as the name was then spelled, emigrated from St. Albans, Hert- fordshire, England, in 1635, and settled in Topsfield, then a portion of Salem Village, in 1667, where he died in 1698. Ilis wife, a daughter of Reginald Foster, is mentioned in " Marmion," and " The Lay of the Last Minstrel." Of his large family, three sons settled in Boxford and two in Topsfield, and from them is said to have descended all the Peabodys in America. A Peabody fell with Wolfe and Montcalm, on the Plains of Abraham; another of the name was at the eanture of Ticonderoga, and with Pepperrell at Louisburg, and participated later in the siege of Boston ; and still another was with the gallant fifteen hundred on the bloody crest of Bunker Hill in '75. Others of the name served with honor throughout the struggle for American Inde-

pendence. Despite his distinguished ancestry, the subject of this sketch came into the world with little beside their glorious example and prestige, and their indomitable will, pluck, and energy for his capital. He began his subsequent prosperous business career as a merchant and banker, in the grocery-store of Capt. Sylvester Proctor, in 1807, when barely twelve years of age. He remained here three years, when he went for a brief period to Thetford, Vt. Returning in 1811, he became a elerk in his brother David's store, in Newbury- port. The great fire in that town, soon after young Peabody's arrivai, broke up David's business, and the future banker was again thrown on his own resources. Hle returned without a dollar, but bearing letters of credit in Boston, given by a Mr. Spaulding, by which he obtained of a Mr. James Reed $2,000 worth of goods, to which cani- tal he in after years ascribed his first start in life. In 1812, he ac- companied his uncle, Gen. John Peabody, to Georgetown, D. C., where the two engaged in husiness together for two years, at the conclusion of which, when only nineteen years of age, he entered into the wholesale drapery business with Mr. Elisha Riggs, the latter fur- nishing the capital, and young Peabody the business talent and enter- prise, as the active partner. In 1815, the house removed to Balti- more, and in 1822, branch houses were established in New York and Philadelphia. In 1830, Mr. Riggs retired, and was succeeded by Samuel Riggs, the style becoming Peabody, Riggs & Co., and the firm taking rank with the leading houses of the country. He subse- quently made several voyages to Europe, and finally left his native land to make his home in London, and commence his career as a banker and broker, Feb. 1, 1837. Like a second Midas, all his en- terprises proved successful, and he speedily amassed a regal fortime. He returned to this country only twice after taking up his abode in England, once in 1856, and again in 1866. Having attained the ob- ject of his life, Mr. Peabody set about devoting his wealth to the wel- fare of his less fortunate brother-men. In 1851 he earned the grati- tude of his countrymen by advancing a large sum to enable the prod- ucts of American industry to be displayed in Crystal Palace, placing them on an equal footing with those of the other nations of the world.

In 1852 he established the Peabody Institute in his native town. On the occasion of the dinner, on the 16th of Jume of that year, at the celebration of the one hundredth anniversary of the severance of the town of Danvers from mother Salem, he sent a sealed letter, to he read with others, which, upon being opened, was found to contain the sentiment, " Education - A debt due from present to future gen- erations "; followed, as an appropriate response, by the announcement of a donation to his fellow-townsmen of the sum of $20,000, for the promotion of knowledge and morality among them; and expressing the desire that it should be devoted to the establishment of a lyceum for the delivery of lectures upon such subjects as may be designated by a committee of the town, and free to all; also for the establish- ment of a free public library, and for the erection of a suitable build- ing, at a cost for land and fixtures not exceeding $7,000, to be located within one-third of a mile of the Presbyterian meeting-house, occupy- ing the spot of that formerly under the pastoral care of the Rev. Mr. Walker, in the South Parish of Danvers. It was also advised, that the inhabitants, by their own act, exclude sectarian theology and political discussions forever from the walls of the institution. These provisious were subsequently carried out, resulting in the establish-

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Standard history of Essex county, Massachusetts, embracing a history of the county from its first settlement to the present time, with a history and description of its towns and cities. The Most historic county of America., Part 120

Author: Tracy, Cyrus M. (Cyrus Mason), 1824-1891, et al. Edited by H. Wheatland Publication date: 1878 Publisher: Boston, C. F. Jewett Number of Pages: 450

Author: Tracy, Cyrus M. (Cyrus Mason), 1824-1891, et al. Edited by H. Wheatland
Publication date: 1878
Publisher: Boston, C. F. Jewett
Number of Pages: 450