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 125

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 125

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On the 10th of July, 1706, Joseph Kilborn, Sr., and Jeremiah Nel- son, both of Rowley, were killed by the Indians in Dunstable ; and on the 5th of August following, John Pickard, of Rowley, having been wounded by the Indians, died at Billerica.

Duncan Stewart, or, as written in the town records, Dunkin Stew- ard, died here in 1717, at the remarkable age of 100 years. He and his sons carried on the business of ship-building for many years, and were succeeded in the business by Edward Saunders of Scituate. The vessels were then built at the landing uear the present railway station. Subsequently the vessels, averaging from thirty to fifty tons, were built near the dwelling-houses of the contractors and drawn by oxen to the river. The largest one ever thus constructed was of ninety tons, and named "The Country's Wonder." It was built on Rowley Common, by Capt. Nathaniel Perley, and drawn by more than one hundred yoke of oxen one mile and a half to the margin of the Rowley River.

The town voted, in 1720, to build a new school-house, " 26 fect by 20 & 8 feet post." Mr. Richard Gyle was then, and had been for sev- eral years, the school-master. He died February 22d of the ensuing year, and was succeeded by Mr. Samuel Payson, who continued to teach the town school until the end of 1741.

The fifth-settled minister was the Rev. Jedediah Jewett, a native of the town, and a graduate of Harvard College in 1726. He was ordained as colleague of Mr. Payson, Nov. 19, 1729, and continued in the ministry until his death, May 8, 1774.

That part of the town called " New Rowley," now Georgetown, was incorporated as the Second Parish, Oct. 31, 1731. A church was organized here Oct. 4, 1732, and, on the 20th of the same month, the Rev. James Chandler, born 1706 (Harvard College, 1728), was ordained pastor. A meeting-house had already been erected. Mr. Chandler had a long and successful ministry, which closed with his life, April 19, 1789. In 1769, a new meeting-house was erected, the Rev. George Whitefield preaching the dedicatory sermon.

The first officers of the new parish, chosen Oct. 5, 1731, were John Spofford, moderator, Jonathan Boynton, clerk, John Spofford, Jere- miah Chaplin, Benjamin Plumer, William Searle, Aaron Pingree, assessors, and Jonathan Thurston and Samuel Johnson, collectors.

In 1736, the First Parish was visited by the throat-distemper, by which no less than seventy-two children died, causing lamentation in almost every family. Richard Clark, and one of his children, died this year of the small-pox.

In the old French War, Rowley made a noble record. In the expedition under Pepperrell, against Louisburg, the following men were lost from this town : James Jewett was killed by a cannon-ball ; Moses Platts was mortally wounded ; and Moses Davis, Jr., John Platts, Humphrey Woodbury, Joseph Saunders, Samuel Smith, and Richard Harris, were lost. In 1754, nine men at least, from Rowley, served on the eastern frontier. In the year following, a company under command of Thomas Gage, was in service at Lake George. Fourteen of the unfortunate Acadians, French neutrals, were this year billeted upon the town; viz. : Peter Dupee, his wife, and two children, one of which died here ; Bezaleel Leblong (Le Blanc), his wife, and three children (Mrs. Leblong died here) ; Charles Lower and wife, aged about twenty-seven years, and one child. In 1763, the town granted £13 6s. Sd. to assist them in returning to their home.

In 1756, Capt. John Pearson, of Rowley, raised a company here to serve at Fort Edward. In the year following there were three mili- tary companies in town : Capt. John Northend's company, of 65 men ; Capt. John Pearson's cavalry, of 45 men, and Capt. Richard Thurs- ton's train-band, of 55 men. There were also on the alarm-list 62 men. Among those from Rowley present in the massacre at Fort William Henry, August 9th of this year, were Jonathan Bailey,

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HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

Joseph Poor, and Jedediah Stickney. In the following year, Lieut. Col. Thomas Gage was at Lake George ; and, on the 20th of July, David Payson was killed there by the Indians. The town, this year, furnished 52 men for the service. In 1760, a large number of Rowley men enlisted for the service, under Capt. Joseph Smith and other commanders. Capt. Smith, Peirce Bayley, William Bailey, and San- uel Spiller died in the service.

A third meeting-house, with spire, was completed in 1749. It was sixty feet long, and forty-two feet wide. In 1754 a Baptist society was formed in the West, or Second, Parish.

The earliest mode of travelling to church here was on foot or on horseback. The old stone horse-block, from which the ladies mounted, is still occasionally seen. In 1755 the town had two chaises, and seven chairs, on which a tax was laid. The four-wheeled carriage came into use much later ; the stage-coach being the first of the kind employed. Mr. John Stavers, in 1761, commeneed running a curricle of two wheels, and carrying, besides himself, two passengers and the mail, from Portsmouth through Rowley to Boston. The fare one way was 13s. 6d., or about $3. In 1774 a four-horse and four-wheeled carriage passed much more rapidly over the same route. Ezra Lunt was the proprietor.

In 1762, " the parish voted that those who had learned the art of singing may have liberty to sit in the frout gallery. They did not take the liberty." The hynins were still " deaconed off," line by line, to the congregation. In 1780 " the parish requested Jonathan Chaplin Jr & Lient. Spafford to assist Deacon Daniel Spafford in Raising the tune in the meeting-house."

Five years later, " the parish desire the singers, both male & female, to sit in the gallery and will allow them to sing once on each Lord's day without reading by the Deacon."

About 1790 the practice of lining out the psalms was discontinued, and the choir permanently established.

The number of inhabitants was, by the incorrect census of 1765, 1,477 ; of whom 22 were colored people. In 1776, the number of in- habitants was 1,678. Dummer Academy, founded by the Hon. Wil- liam Dummer, was opened at Byfield in 1763. It is the oldest academy in the State.

The selectmen in 1771 were Thomas Lancaster, Stephen Mighill, David Nelson, Francis Pingree, and Thomas Gage. They made the following interesting exhibit, in respect to the material condition of the town : Ratable polls, 369 ; polls not rated, 39; dwelling-houses, 239 ; workshops, including tan-houses, 16 ; mills, 6 ; servants, 8 ; acres in tillage, 1,079 ; bushels of corn, 15,259 ; acres of English mowing, 847 ; tons of English hay, 608 ; acres of fresh meadow, 1,025 ; tons of fresh hay, 898 ; acres of salt marsh. 1,829 ; tons of salt hay, 1, 643 ; acres of pasturage, 5,280 ; cows it will keep, 1,596 ; barrels of cider, 1,391 ; horses, 210 ; oxen, 296 ; cows, 868 ; sheep, 1,633 ; swinc, 364 ; money at interest, £2,481; stock in trade, £421; income of real estate, £2,660.

It appears from this that the raising of sheep was then considered profitable, that English hay was limited in quantity, that the potato crop was not worth mentioning, and that apples, for which the town is still noted, were abundant. The servants were colored persons held in bondage.

In the great struggle for independence, Rowley evinced an ardent and steady patriotism. In 1765 it instructed its representative, Humphrey Hobson, to oppose the infamous Stamp Act, passed Janu- ary 10th of that year. The town chose a committee, March 17, 1770, to devise measures for preventing the importation of British manu- factures.

In its instructions to Mr. Hobson, its representative, the town de- clared, Feb. 3, 1773. itself ready to do everything it could " to restore, defend, and preserve inviolate, all our rights, civil and religions." It voted Jan. 11, 1775. to grant £40 for the relief of the suffering in- habitants of Boston. It also made provision for the enlistment of minute-men. The Second Parish voted in February, "to raise minute men according to the advice of the Provincial Congress." On the arrival of the news of the battle of Lexington, Capt. Thomas Mighill and Capt. Edward Payson marched immediately, with their respec- tive companies, for Boston. On the 8th of May following, Col. Daniel Spofford, Dr. Nathaniel Cogswell, Samuel Harriman, and Samuel Northend were appointed a committee of correspondence.

Nathaniel Mighill, Esq., was chosen May 29th, to represent the town in the Provincial Congress, with whose resolves it voted to comply.

On the 22d of May, 1776. the town voted that in case the colonies are declared by Congress independent of Great Britain, "we, the in-

habitants of the town of Rowley, do solemnly engage that with our lives and fortunes we will support them in the measure."

For the War of the Revolution Rowley furnished three captains, Thomas Mighill, Benjamin Adams, and Edward Payson : nine lieuten- ants, Amos Bailey, Mark Creasey, Daniel Dresser, Thomas Green. Thomas Pike, Benjamin Stickney, Moses Scott, John Tenney, and Rufus Wheeler ; and about 448 privates,-that is, about fifty men per annum for the eight years of the contest.

In August, 1777, the spire of the meeting-honse was struck by lightning ; but the powder which the town had stored in the church was not ignited.

The Rev. Ebenezer Bradford, born in Canterbury, Conn., 1746 (Princeton College, 1773), succeeded Mr. Jewett in the pastorate, and was installed here Aug. 4, 1782. He continued to serve the church, which at the time of his settlement consisted of eighty-three members, faithfully until his death, which took place Jan. 3, 1801. He was an eloquent preacher, and educated several young men for the ministry. On his tombstone it is said that, his " labors in the vineyard of the Lord were eminently blessed."

A remarkable north-easterly storm occurred on the 4th of December, 1786, during which the tide arose to an unusual height, and most of the salt hay was set afloat and lost. The Rev. Ebenezer Bradford gives the following account of a singular preservation of two men, Samuel Pulsifer and Samnel Elwell, both of Rowley, who were then engaged in digging clams on the flats in Plum Island River, between Plum Island and Hog Island in Chebacco : "They left the elam ground and came to their hut on Hog Island, expecting to spend the night ; but a snow-storm coming on very rapidly, eaused them to change their purpose and endeavor, at low water, to get themselves off the island. They soon got lost in going over the marshes and creeks. After wandering about some time. they found a stack of salt hay, in which they dug a hole and encamped for the night. In the morning, to their utter astonishment. they found the tide had risen so high, that they were obliged to leave their hole and repair to the top of the staek. They were deprived of all hope, save a faint expectation that their weight would keep the stack from moving off the staddle ; but a cake of ice soon struck the staek and set it afloat. The winds blew and the sea raged around them, while the heavens were darkened with the falling snow. The land disappeared, they knew not their course, and eould discern nothing but the world of waters, agitated by a tremen- dous storm. Their stack at times went directly forward, and at others whirled around like a top, threatening every moment to break in pieces. Ou a sudden they felt the stack, on which they had thus far been preserved, separating under them. At this instant another stack of hay, large and unshattered, came along side of them, on which they had sufficient strength to leap. In this dangerous situation they passed about two hours, exposed to the cold, snow, and water, which continu- ally dashed upon them, by which time they became almost stupefied and began to feel sleepy. They were driven into Smith's Cove in Ipswich, between three and four miles from the spot where the tide first set them adrift. Here, hoping and despairing by turns, they lay some time, the stack being prevented from gaining the land by cakes of ice. . After a while they perceived that the wind and the tide were again carrying them out to sea. Pulsifer immediately threw himself upon the ice. and bid the other follow him ; Elwell was much stupefied with the cold ; but after some delay, got on to a cake of floating ice, and succeeded in reaching the shore. Pulsifer got so near the land that he could touch the bottom with his feet; but his legs were so benumbed with cold, that he could not put one before the other, and for a while thought he must perish within a rod of the shore. At last he bethought himself of putting his legs forward one after the other with his hands and gained the shore in safety.

" The thought of being on land onee more re-invigorated their almost exhausted faculties, and they ran a few rods, when to their dismay they found they were on an uninhabited island, instead of the main, as they had supposed. To venture into the water to gain the main, would be immediate death, and to tarry on the island was wholly im- practicable. At last they found a stack of dry hay, in which they secured themselves as well as they could and halloed for help. Pul- sifer espied a man on the main and they called more vigorously ; but the man soon passed out of sight. Despair settled into their very hearts and death seemed to be their inevitable portion. About three- quarters of an hour after this, Major Charles Smith of Ipswich, with his two sons, came within sight of the island, in search of some strayed sheep. One of the sons saw a man on top of a stack, swing- ing his hat and crying for help. The major, knowing the ground. went immediately on to the island over a causeway, covered with

HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

359

about three feet of water and brought off the distressed men, whom he took to his house and provided with everything necessary ; and on Thursday following, they returned to their homes."

For the suppression of the rebellion under Capt. Daniel Shays, Rowley furnished twenty-four men, who were enlisted by Lieut. Ezekiel Bailey, and served under Capt. Francis, of Beverly.

In his "Gazetteer," 1797, Dr. J. Morse says : " Near Rowley's bounds with Newbury, some specimens of black lead have been discovered." This was perhaps the harbinger of the gold and silver mines recently discovered on the other side of the line in Newbury.

The number of inhabitants in 1800 was 1,557, 500 of whom resided in the West Parish, now Georgetown. The number of colored people was 16; in 1820, 15; in 1830, 2; in 1850, 6; in 1860, 1; in 1875, none. Slavery existed here only in its mildest forin, and eeased en- tirely after the Revolution.

The Rev. David Tullar, born in Simsbury, Conn., Sept. 22, 1749 (Yale College, 1774), was installed as the successor of Mr. Bradford Dee. 7, 1803, and dismissed Oet. 17, 1810. He subsequently preached in Linebrook, and died in Sheffield, Aug. 23, 1839.

A post-office was established in 1804, and James Smith was ap- pointed post-master. His son, Edward Smith, succeeded him.

An Act was passed by the Legislature, March 4, 1809, that " no person or persons whatever be allowed to take by seincs any bass, shad, alewives, or other fish in Parker River, Rowley River, the Falls River and streams and brooks running into said Falls River, except- ing within that part of Parker River more than seventy rods below the falls, by John Lee's manufactory." The fine for transgressing was to be not less than five nor more than twenty dollars. Mr. Lee had come from England and established the first woollen-mill on that river.

The eighth settled minister of the First Parish was the Rev. James W. Tucker, a man of an excellent spirit and of refined taste. He was born in Danbury, Conn., in 1787 (Yale College, 1807), and was ordained here June 24, 1812, his salary being $600 per annum, with a "settlement " of $500. He was dismissed June 24, 1817, and died at Springfield, N. J., Feb. 11, 1819,

For the war of 1812 the town furnished thirty-one men, to whom it paid $349.72, which was in addition to what they received from the government.

The Rev. Willard Holbrook, born in Uxbridge, Apr. 7, 1792 (Brown University, 1814), was ordained as the successor of Mr. Tucker, with a salary of $600 per annum, July 22, 1818. At that time the church consisted of eighty-four members. He was dis- inissed May 12, 1840, and subsequently supplied the church in Line- brook.

A Baptist Church was organized in Rowley, Nov. 17, 1830. The Rev. Caleb Clark was the preacher from September, 1831, to May, 1832; the Rev. Jeremiah Chaplin, D. D., from October, 1833, to April, 1836. The Rev. A. W. Carr preached here from 1851 to 1858.

By the introduction of tanning and the manufacture of boots and shoes, into the Second Parish, it had become so prosperous that in 1836 a bank, with a capital of $100,000, was established for facili- tating business ; and on the 21st of April, 1838, it was incorporated, with the most of Rowley's part of Byfield, as the town of George- town.

On the 5th of September, 1839, the citizens of Rowley observed, by appropriate ceremonies and an address, the second eentennial anniversary of the incorporation of the town. The ecclesiastieal address, by the Rev. James Bradford, together with the history of Rowley, by Thomas Gage, was published in a handsome volume of 484 pages, during the course of the year following. To these inval- uable productions the present writer is indebted for many of the materials for this sketch of the town.

The great event of the year following was the opening through the town of the Eastern Railroad. A train of cars passed from Ips- wich through Rowley to Newburyport, on the 17th of July ; since which time the people here have enjoyed all needed facilities for travel, trade, and transportation.

The suecessor of Mr. Holbrook was the Rev. John Pike, installed as pastor here Nov. 18, 1840. After a successful ministry he was dismissed, Jan. 5, 1869, and still resides in Rowley. He delivered the election sermon in 1858.

A military company, ealled Poor's Rifle Guards, with J. Scott Todd captain, was organized here July 26, 1855.

For the War of the Rebellion the town furnished its full quota of men, and evinced the same patriotie spirit as in the old Revolu- tionary War.

During the year ending May 1, 1865, Rowley manufactured 5,650 pairs of boots and 26,310 pairs of shoes. The capital employed was $51,716, and the number of employees, 76. The number of bushels of shell-fish taken was 7,304, valued at $3,527, and the number of hands employed six months in the business was 15. There were 132 farms, embracing 10,085 aeres, and employing 159 persons. The number of horses was 152; of milch cows, 378; and the number of gallons of milk sold was 7,273, valued at $1,306.20. The woodland was estimated at 2,000} aeres ; and the number of apple-trees eulti- vated for their fruit was 11,568 ; of pear-trees, 756.

The Rev. Lyman H. Blake was installed over the Congregational Church, Nov. 9, 1869, and after a successful ministry was dismissed April 27, 1874. The Rev. William R. Joyslin succeeded him, and was installed Dec. 2, of the same year. He was dismissed

The Rev. J. H. B. Headley became acting pastor in 1876.

Rowley is the birth-place of many men of note, and as many as eighty of her sons have been graduates of colleges.

Spencer Phips, son of Dr. David Bennet, was born here June 6, 1785 (Harvard College, 1703), and died April 4, 1757. On being adopted by his uncle, Sir William Phips, he took the name of Spen- eer Phips. He was many years a councillor, and was lieutenant-gov- ernor from 1731 to 1757. His son David (Harvard College, 1741), a loyalist, went to Halifax in 1776, and died at Bath, Eng., in 1811, aged 87 years.

Rev. Jacob Bailey, a noted loyalist, was born here Apr. 16, 1731 (Harvard University, 1755), and died at Annapolis, N. S., where he had been rector of St. Luke's Church, July 26, 1808. His journal, with a memoir, has been published by the Rev. W. S. Bartlett.

Samuel Tenney, M. D., was born in Byfield, Nov. 27, 1748 (Har- vard College, 1772), and was employed in dressing the wounded at the battle of Bunker Hill. In 1800 he became member of Congress. He was a good scholar and writer, and died in Exeter, N. H., Feb. 6, 1816. He married Tabitha, daughter of Samuel Gilman, of Exeter, who wrote " Female Quixotism," one of the carliest American novels.

The Rev. John Smith, D. D., was born here Dec. 21, 1752, and graduated at Dartmouth College in 1773. He was professor of lan- guages in his alma mater, from 1778 to his death, April 30, 1809. He published a Hebrew, a Greek, and a Latin grammar, and was for some time pastor of the college church. A memoir of Dr. Smith was published by his widow, Mrs. Susan Smith, in 1843. She died in 1845, at the advanced age of 82 years.

Hon. Jeremiah Nelson, born here about 1778 (Dartmouth College, 1790), was a member of Congress, 1805-07, and 1815-23. He was highly respected, and died in Newburyport, in 1838, aged 60 years.

Moses P. Payson was graduated at Dartmouth College, 1793, and became president of the State senate of New Hampshire.

Parker Cleaveland (Harvard College, 1799) became a professor in Bowdoin College.

Jonathan Cogswell (Harvard College, 1806) was professor at East Windsor, Conn.

The Rev. Jeremiah Chaplin, D. D., was a native of Rowley, hay- ing been born here Jan. 2, 1776. He graduated at Brown Univer- sity, in 1799, and was for three years tutor there. From 1802 to 1818 he was pastor of the Baptist Church in Danvers, and from 1820 to 1832, president of Waterville College. He subsequently preached in Rowley and other places, and died in Hamilton, N. Y., in May, 1841.

Alfred W. Pike (Dartmouth College, 1815) attained eminence as an instructor.

Richard S. Spofford, M. D. (Harvard College, 1816), was long the leading physician in Newburyport.

The Rev. Joseph Torrey, D. D., was born in Rowley, Feb. 2, 1797, and graduated at Dartmouth College in 1816. He was minister at Royalton, Vt., from 1819 to 1827, professor of Greek and Latin in the University thenee till 1842, after which he was professor of intel- lectual and moral philosophy till his death, which occurred Nov. 26, 1867. He was president of the University from 1863 to 1865. He was the editor of Neander's "Church History," and of some other works.

Rev. Milton P. Braman (Harvard College, 1819) was settled in Danvers, and attained distinction as a elergyman.

SALEM.

CHAPTER I.

HISTORICAL SKETCH OF SALEM FROM THE FIRST SETTLEMENT TO THE ADOPTION OF A CITY CHARTER.

The history of ancient Salem forms one of the most interesting chapters in the history of the settlement of this continent. The early settlers came hither, not attracted by a mild and even climate, where with little exertion the various products of the earth could be ob- tained ; not as to a land flowing with milk and honey, and rich in all those natural advantages that more favored elimes offer to the so- journers within their borders ; but with the knowledge that on the bleak and rock-bound shores of their newly chosen home they must endure hardship and privation and suffering, and a constant and never-ceasing contest and strife for their very existence. Driven from their home in England by religious persecution and oppression, these sturdy and courageous men sought to establish in a new world a haven of refuge for themselves, and for all others whom a desire to worship God according to the dictates of their conscience, free from religious bigotry and intolerance, might lead to join them. No desire to amass large fortunes, no expectation of a life of ease and comfort, no dreams of conquest, or of political power and renown, brought the founders of Salem across the ocean to establish on these shores the germ of a new State and nation ; but, actuated by a nobler ambition, impelled by an inborn love of liberty and freedom, undaunted by perils and afflictions, and unflinching in the face of adversity, they sought in a foreign clime that relief from persecution which was denied them in their native land. Few communities can boast a nobler origin as to the motives and character of their founders.

Roger Conant, with his companions, came to Salem, then called Naumkeag, in 1626. They had previously settled at Cape Ann, and engaged in a planting, fishing, and trading enterprise ; but, being unsuccessful in their venture, they removed to Salem, and established here a plantation, receiving encouragement from the company in Eng- land, which had obtained a charter or indenture for this place, under date of Jan. 1, 1623, old style, or Jan. 12, 1624, new style. The original indenture over the signature of Lord Sheffield is now in the possession of the Essex Institute.

Among those who came with Conant were John Lyford, John Wood- bury, John Balch, Peter Palfray, Richard Norman and son, William Al- len, and Walter Knight. The Rev. John White, of Dorchester, a famous Puritan divine, who was deeply interested in the settlement at Cape Ann, hoping to secure there a retreat for such of his countrymen as were subject to severe trials because, while adhering to the govern- ment of the national church, they could not approve of what they deemed its faults, and who "grieved in his spirit " when the Cape was abandoned, wrote to Conant urging him and his associates not to forsake Naunikeag, and encouraging them to expect a patent for their better protection. Many of them, however, became discontented with their new abode ; and it required much reasoning and persuasion to prevent them from accompanying their pastor, Mr. Lyford, to Virginia. Mr. Conant says, writing of the settlement of Naumkeag, that "in the infancy thereof, it was in great ha-sard of being deserted. I was a meanes, through grace assisting me, to stop the flight of those few that then were heere with me, and that by my viter deniall to goc away with them who would have gone either for England or mostly for Virginia, but thereupon stayed to the hassard of our lives." In spite of discouragement and discontent among his companions, and the fear of hostilities from the surrounding Indians, Conant and many of his followers remained " the sentinels of Puritanism on the Bay of Massachusetts."

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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 125

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