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 129
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HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.
nies declare them independent of the Kingdom of Great Britain we will solemnly engage with our lives and fortunes to support them in the measure."
After the Revolution. - The War of the Revolution having been brought to a successful termination, the inhabitants of Salem turned their attention to the avocations of peace. Commerce flourished here with unexampled prosperity, and the white sails of Salem's ships were unfurled in every port in the known world, and carricd the fame and name of Salem to the uttermost parts of the earth. During the war with Great Britain in 1812, a large number of privateers were fitted out from Salem, and the inhabitants were several times alarmed by reported arrivals of vessels of the enemy. The commerce of Salem is treated more at length in a succeeding chapter.
From the close of the Revolutionary War until the adoption of the city charter, in 1836, no very notable event marked the history of Salem. The calm and placid stream flows quietly along unnoticed, while the brawling and dangerous rapid fixes our attention. History is little else than the record of disasters. War and turmoil, rebel- lion and riot, and their results, fill the larger part of the pages of history. Happy is the town whose record is short, because it is a record of peace and prosperity.
City Government. - As early as the year 1805 the subject of a city form of government was seriously considered, but the project took no definite shape until Jan. 29, 1836, on which day a town-meeting was called, upon petition of Joseph Peabody and others, to ascertain the sense of the town in relation to a city charter, the Hon. Leverett Saltonstall presiding. A committee of three persons was chosen from ' each ward, on motion of E. H. Derby, who, together with the select- men, were to constitute a committee to consider and report upon the expediency of a change in the form of government.
Correspondence was had by the committee with gentlemen in other cities ; and on the 15th of February they reported in favor of the change, and the meeting adopted a resolve "that it is expedient to adopt a city form of government." The selectmen were instructed to petition the General Court in behalf of the town for an Act of incor- poration as a city, and a committee was appointed to draft a city charter. This committee consisted of Messrs. Leverett Saltonstall, Nathaniel Silsbee, Jr., Perley Putnam, Nathaniel J. Lord, Benjamin Merrill, Nathaniel L. Rogers, and Joseph G. Waters; and fifteen hundred copies of their report were printed and distributed forthwith. At a meeting of the committee on February 20th, it was voted that a charter for the city be obtained as soon as may be.
The Act " to establish the city of Salem " was approved March 23, 1836, by Edward Everett, governor of the Commonwealth. War- rants were now issued for a town-meeting to be held April 4, 1836. This meeting was held in the town hall, the Hon. Benjamin Merrill presiding ; 802 votes were cast, of which 617 were for the charter, and 185 against it.
This action closed the history of the town of Salem,-a history extending over two centuries, and replete in its earlier years with stirring events and honorable actions, and making a record of which any town might be justly proud.
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CHAPTER II.
SKETCH OF SALEM SINCE THE ADOPTION OF A CITY CHARTER.
Salem was the second eity incorporated in the Commonwealth, the Act granting a city charter being dated March 23, 1836. Boston was incorporated Feb. 22, 1822 ; and Lowell, April 1, 1836. The charter of Salem was modelled after that of Boston. It provided for a city government, to consist of a mayor, six aldermen, and twenty-four common couneilmen. The only change in this respect that has since been made has been the addition of one member to the board of aldermen. This was done by statute of 1878. The city charter having been accepted April 4, 1836, the selectmen issued their war- rants for an election of mayor and members of the city council on the twenty-fifth day of April, 1836. At this election 1,104 votes were cast for mayor, of which the Hon. Leverett Salton- stall received 752 votes, and was elected. Perley Putnam had 260 votes, George Peabody 56, and David Putnam 36. Samuel Holman, Jr., George Peabody, Henry Whipple, David Pingrce, John Waters, and Oliver Parsons were chosen to constitute the board of alder- men.
The organization of the new city government took place on Monday, May 9, 1836, at ten o'clock, in the Tabernacle Church. Prayer was offered by the Rev. Dr. Brazer, and David Cummins administered the oath of office to the mayor-elect. Mayor Saltonstall delivered his inaugural address, and at its close the two boards retired to rooms in the court-house, formerly used as a town hall. John Glen King was chosen president, and Nathaniel Cleaves clerk of the common council. Joseph Cloutman was elected city clerk, and the new goverment was ready to commence its labors. The city council continued to hold its sessions at the court-house until the present city hall was ready for occupancy.
City Hall. - On the third day of April, 1837, Mayor Saltonstall, with Aldermen Peabody and Parsons, and Councilmen Putnam, Rogers, Shepard, and Russell, were appointed a committee to report what measures were expedient to be taken to provide suitable accommoda- tions for the city council and officers of the city ; and May 19, 1837, they reported that it was expedient to erect a city hall on Court, now Washington Street. A committee of five was appointed to superintend its erection ; and on the 24th of May, 1838, the mayor, as chairman of the committee, reported that the city hall was ready to be occupied, and Thursday, May 31, the first meeting of the city council was held therein, Mayor Saltonstall delivering an address upon the occasion. The cost of the city hall, completed and furnished, together with the land, was $22,878.69, which sum was wholly paid from the surplus revenue hereafter referred to. The city hall was enlarged, in 1876, during the administration of Mayor Williams, who delivered a dedicatory address May 8, 1876. The cost of the improve- ment was abont $24,000; and, as enlarged, it will doubtless supply the needs of the city for many years to come.
The city hall has this noteworthy fact connected with its history : It is the only building that has been, or probably ever will be, built in Salem with surplus revene returned by the United States govern- ment, because the coffers of the nation were full to overflowing. The income from customs duties and the sales of publie lands so far ex- ceeded the estimates that the secretary of the treasury found his. receipts to be $40,000,000 in excess of his needs ; and that sum was, by Act of Congress, distributed among the States, which, in turn, made a distribution among the cities and towns. Salem's share of this surplus revenue was $33,843.49.
City Seal. - An abiding place having thus been provided for the city officials, attention was turned to procuring an appropriate muni- cipal seal ; and March 11, 1839, an ordinance was adopted, providing for the seal as at present used by the city. The design was adopted substantially as drawn by Mr. George Peabody, then a member of the board of aldermen ; and the ordinance before-mentioned provided that the following be the device of the scal of the city, to wit : In the centre thereof a shield, bearing upon it a ship under full sail, approaching a coast designated by the costume of the person standing upon it, and by the trees near him, as a portion of the East Indies ; beneath the shield, this motto : "Divitis Indic usque ad. ultimum sinum," signifying " To the farthest port of the rich East ; " and above the shield, a dove, bear- ing an olive-branch in her mouth. In the circumference encircling the shield, the words " Salem condita, A. D. 1626," " Civitatis regimine donata, A. D. 1836." The engraver, Mr. Stott, of Boston, substi- tuted a female for the male figure intended by the ordinance, appar- ently without authority from any one. The seal of a city should be characteristic and unique, so that it could not fitly be borne by any other city ; for it is an enduring link between the past and the futurc. It should bear upon its face an epitome of the city's history. The seal of Salem seems to meet the conditions of an historic work. It fitly typifies and commemorates that commercial enterprise that dur- ing the first half of this century gave Salem a peculiar distinction among the cities of the earth, and carried the fame of her merchants, as well as the flag of the country, into unknown seas .*
Mayors. - A brief notice of the men who have been assigned the positions of mayor and of president of the lower branch of the city government will be of interest, as indicating the character of the municipal government of Salem.
Leverett Saltonstall was the first mayor, serving from May 9, 1836, to Dec. 5, 1838, when he resigned to take the seat in Congress to which he had been elected, and where he served until 1843. He was born in Haverhill, June 13, 1783, and graduated at Harvard in 1802. He was a member of both branches of the State Legislature, and Pres- ident of the Senate in 1831. Harvard conferred upon him the degree
* For a full account of the proceedings on the adoption of the city seal, see an article by Robert S. Rantoul, Esq., in Historical Collections of Essex Institute, Vol. VIII., page 3.
HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.
369
of LL. D. in 1838. He was an active member of the American Academy of Arts and Seiences, and of the Massachusetts Historieal Society. He was a distinguished lawyer, a graceful and pleasing orator, and a man universally respected and beloved. He died May 8, 1845.
Stephen C. Phillips was mayor from Dec. 5, 1838, to 1842. He was born in Salem, Nov. 1, 1801, and graduated at Harvard in 1819. From 1824 to 1829 he was a representative to the General Court; in 1830-31, a member of the State Senate ; and 1832-33, again in the House. He was a representative to Congress from 1834 to 1838, and in 1848 and 1849 Frce Soil candidate for governor. Mr. Phillips was deeply interested in the cause of education, and on his retirement from the office of mayor he gave the whole of his salary to the city for the benefit of the public schools. He was lost by the burning of the steamer " Montreal" on the St. Lawrence River, June 26, 1857.
Stephen P. Webb served as mayor in 1842, '43, and '44, and again in 1860, '61, and '62. He was born in Salem, and graduated at Har- vard in 1824. He was mayor of San Francisco during the stirring times of the vigilance eomurittee, and was eity elerk in Salem from 1863 to 1871.
Joseph S. Cabot was mayor four years, -from 1845 to 1848. He was born in Salem, Oct. 8, 1796, and died June 29, 1874. In 1829 he was chosen president of the Asiatic Bank, and continued in that office till .his death, with brief intervals, when he was bank commis- sioner. He was greatly interested in horticulture, and was president of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society. He was also president of the Salem Savings Bank, and of the Harmony Grove Cemetery Cor- poration.
Nathaniel Silsbee, Jr., was mayor four years, - in 1849-50, and again in 1858-59. He was born in Salem, and graduated at Harvard in 1824. He was for many years Treasurer of Harvard College.
David Pingrce served as mayor in 1851. He was born in George- town, in 1795, and died in Salem, Mareh 31, 1863. He was a mer- chant, president of the Naumkeag Bank from its organization in 1831 ; and president of the Naumkeag Cotton Company from its estab- lishment till his death.
Charles W. Uphanı was mayor in 1852. Born in St. John, N. B., May 4, 1802, he graduated at Harvard in 1821. Ile was set- tled over the First Church in Salem from 1824 to 1844. He was a member of the thirty-third Congress 1853-55, and a representative to the General Court in 1849, 1859, and 1860; a member of the State Senate in 1850, 1857, and 1858, - the last two years being president of that body. Mr. Upham is quite celebrated as an author, - the " History of Salem Witchcraft," and " Life of Timothy Pickering " being among his most recent productions. He was at various times editor of the "Christian Register " and " Christian Review." His death oc- curred June 15, 1875.
Asahel Huntington served as mayor in 1853. He was born in Topsfield, July 23, 1798, and graduated at Yale in 1819. He was county and district attorney, appointed first in 1830. In 1845 he re- signed as district attorney ; but in 1847 he was again elected to that office, and served till 1851, when he was appointed clerk of the courts for Essex County, which office he held till his death. He was twice a representative to the General Court, and was president of the Essex Institute. He was greatly interested in the cause of temperance. He died Sept. 5, 1870.
Joseph Andrews served as mayor in 1854-55. He was born in Salem in 1809, and died Feb. 8, 1869. He was captain of the Salen Light Infantry and brigadier-general of the State militia, which position he held in 1861, at the opening of the Rebellion. He com- manded at Fort Warren, in Boston harbor, and had charge of the State troops seut to that station prior to their departure for the seat of war, and until it eeased to be used for that purpose. He was a bank official.
William S. Messervy was mayor in 1856-57. He was born in Salem Aug. 26, 1812. Appointed as territorial secretary of New Mexico in 1853, he was at one time the aeting-governor.
Stephen G. Wheatland served as mayor in 1863-64. He was born in Newton, Aug. 11, 1824, and graduated at Harvard in 1844. He served as representative to the General Court for several years, and is a lawyer by profession.
Joseph B. F. Osgood was mayor in 1865. He was born in Salem July 1, 1823, and graduated at Harvard in 1846. He has served in both branches of the State Legislature, and is the present judge of the first district court of Essex County, having been appointed on the establishment of the court in 1874.
David Roberts served as mayor in 1866-67, resigning on aeeount
of a disagreement with his board of aldermen, Sept. 26, 1867. He is a lawyer, has served in the lower branch of the State Legislature, and is the author of a book on Admiralty Law and Practice. He was born in April 5, 1804.
William Cogswell was elected mayor, Sept. 26, 1867, on the res- ignation of Mayor Roberts, and served in 1868-69, and again in 1873-74. He was born in Bradford, Aug. 23, 1838, and graduated at the Harvard Law School. He entered the War of the Rebellion as eaptain in the 2d Mass. Regiment, and rose to the rank of brevet brigadier-general. He was with Sherman during his memorable mareh through Georgia. In 1870-71 he was a representative to the General Court. A lawyer by profession, he now holds the office of State inspector of fish.
Nathaniel Brown was mayor in 1870-71. He was born in Salem, Mareh 18, 1827, and was a captain in the merehaut serviee for many years. He is president of the Salem Marine Society, and delivered the address on the centennial anniversary of the incorporation of that society in 1871.
Samuel Calley served as mayor in 1872. He was born in Salem, April 13, 1821, and is by trade a house-painter. He served as repre- sentative iu the General Court iu 1870 and 1871.
Henry L. Williams served as mayor in 1875-76. He was born in Salem, July 23, 1815. He is president of the National Exchange Bank, and was for a long time a director in the Eastern Railroad.
Henry K. Oliver was mayor in 1877, '78, and '79. He was born in Beverly, Nov. 24, 1800, and graduated at Harvard in 1818. Hc was adjutant-general from 1844 to 1848, and was State treasurer during the war, from 1861 to 1866. He has been interested in the labor question, and was chief of the State bureau of labor for several years. He has served as mayor of Lawrenee and as agent of the State board of education. At the Philadelphia exhibition in 1876, he was one of the judges of musical instruments. He was a member of the first common council of Salem. Mr. Oliver was a teacher by profession, and taught many years in Salem, being the first teacher of the English High School. He was afterwards agent of the Atlantic Cotton Mills at Lawrence.
Presidents of the Common Council. - John Glen King was presi- dent of the common council in 1836-37. He was born March 19, 1787, and died July 26, 1857. He graduated at Harvard in 1807, and was one of that corps of scholars who gave the type and charac- ter to the Essex bar. He was a member of both branches of the State Legislature, and one of the founders of the Essex Historical Society.
Richard S. Rogers was president in 1838. He was born iu 1790, and was an active merchant in the firm of N. L. Rogers & Bros., who were pioneers in the United States of the Zanzibar and New Holland trades. For many years, down to 1842, they were engaged in foreign commeree with the East Indies, and were among the most distinguished merchants of Salem, He died at Salem, June 11, 1873.
John Russell was president in 1839-40-41. He was born in Boston in 1779, and was an apprentice in the office of the "Columbian Centi- ncl." He served as colonel of the Salem Artillery Regiment ; was president of the Salem Charitable Mechanic Association, a representa- tive to the General Court, and cashier and president of the Bank of General Interest. He died in Salem, April 12, 1853.
Joshua H. Ward was president in 1842-43-44. He resigned Sept. 2, 1844, on his appointment as judge of the court of common pleas. He was born in Salem, July 8, 1808, and graduated at Harvard in 1829. He was the youngest judge upon the bench, being ouly thirty- six at the time of his appointment. He left a lucrative practice to take the seat, and won the respect and esteem of all who had oeeasiou to attend the courts. He served repeatedly in the lower branch of the State Legislature, and died at Salem, June 5, 1848.
David Putnam was chosen president on the resignation of Judge Ward, Sept. 5, 1844, and served during the remainder of the year. He was born in Danvers, in 1780, was a dry-goods merchant, and brigadier-general in the State militia. He died in Salem, May 15, 1866.
Joseph G. Sprague was president iu 1845-46-47. He was born in Danvers in 1786, and was for twenty years the cashier of the Naum- keag Bank. He died Dec. 1, 1852.
Jonathan C. Perkins was president in 1848. He was born at Ipswich, Nov. 21, 1809, and graduated at Amherst College in 1832. He was State senator in 1849, and was appointed a justiee of the court of common pleas in 1848, which position he held till the abolition of the court in 1859. For several years he was the city solicitor. Hc was one of the trustees of Amherst College. He edited aud annotated
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HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.
several valuable legal works. His death occurred at Salem, Dec. 12, 1877.
Benjamin Wheatland was president in 1849-50-51. He was born in Salem in May, 1801, and graduated at Harvard in 1819. He was agent of the Newmarket Manufacturing Company for many years, and died in Salem, Dec. 28, 1854.
John Whipple was president in 1852-53. He was born in Hamil- ton, and died Ang. 6, 1876, at the age of seventy-five years. He was a manufacturer of furniture, and represented Salem in the lower branch of the Legislature.
Daniel Potter was president in 1854-55. He was born in Ipswich, March 24, 1800, and was by trade a blacksmith. He has been a repre- sentative to General Court, and for many years a deputy sheriff for Essex County, having served continuously in the latter office since 1855.
John Webster was president in 1856. He was born in Salem, Sept. 10, 1804, and was in early years a master mariner, making voyages to Zanzibar and other ports. He is now treasurer of the Newmarket Manufacturing Company.
William C. Endicott was president in 1857. He was born in Salem, Nov. 19, 1826, and graduated at Harvard in 1847. He was appointed one of the justices of the supreme judicial court in 1873, and is now upon the bench. He was for several years the city solicitor. He takes an active interest in science and literature.
Stephen B. Ives was president in 1858. He was born in Salem, April 12, 1801, and was a bookseller and publisher. He has served in the lower branch of the Legislature, and has always taken an active part in municipal affairs.
Henry L. Williams was president in 1859, and mayor in 1875-76. James H. Battis was president in 1860. He was born in Salem, Dec. 10, 1819, and is a manufacturer of cigars. He has been storekeeper at the Salem custom-house.
Stephen G. Wheatland was president in 1861-62, and mayor in 1863-64.
William G. Choate was president in 1863-64. He was born in Salem, Aug. 30, 1830, and graduated at Harvard in 1852. He was assistant attorney-general of Massachusetts. He has practised law in New York City since 1865, and was appointed Judge of the United States Court for the Southern District of New York in 1878.
Gilbert L. Streeter was president in 1865, and again in 1870-71-72. He was born in Salem April 30, 1823, and is the editor of the Salem " Observer," and an officer in the First National Bank.
Charles S. Osgood was president in 1866-67-68 and '69. He was born in Salem March 13, 1839. He served in the board of aldermen two years, and in the common council seven years. He was deputy collector of the port of Salem from 1864 to 1873 ; and represented Salem in the Massachusetts House of Representatives for six years, from 1874 to 1879, inclusive.
William M. Hill was president from 1873 to Jan. 14, 1875, when he resigned to accept the position of city marshal, which office he held until 1877, when he was appointed on the State Detective Force. He was born in Salem Aug. 16, 1831, and is by trade a currier.
George W. Williams was chosen president on the resignation of Mr. Hill, Jan. 14, 1875, and held the position during the remainder of the year. He was born in Salem, Oct. 2, 1839.
George H. Hill was president in 1876. He was born in Salem July 14, 1842, and is in the drug business.
Arthur L. Huntington was president in 1877-78. He was born in Salem Aug. 12, 1848, and graduated at Harvard in 1870. He is a member of the Essex bar.
Such is a brief history of the men who have been prominent in the government of Salem since its organization as a city. It includes the names of many who have attained great eminence in their different walks in life, and the name of no one appears there who has not striven to increase the prosperity and add to the material welfare of the city. The years from the adoption of the city charter to the open- ing of the War of the Rebellion in 1861 were quiet and uneventful years in the history of Salem. During that period the commercial prosperity of the city, already declining, continued to decrease, and her ships engaged in foreign commerce were mostly entered and cleared at the great commercial cities. The opening of the Eastern Railroad to Boston Aug. 27, 1838, and the increased facilities for travel, have tended to concentrate business at the great centres of trade, and Salem no longer holds her place as one of the principal cities engaged in foreign commerce. Other avenues of business have been opened, however, which will be noticed more at length in a succeeding chapter.
Salem in the Civil War. - We have seen in the preceding chapter that, during the War of the Revolution, the people of Salem, in town- meeting assembled, declared themselves ready to support the cause of freedom "with our lives and fortunes," and that upon her soil the first blood of that contest was shed. When, nearly a century later, civil war hung like a black and angry cloud over the nation, and threatened to rend it asunder, Salem again took a prominent and honorable part in the defence of the national honor and life. The complete history of Salem in the civil war would contain a record of the movements of every regiment, battalion, and unattached company from Massachusetts, and a description of the cruises of many of the war vessels of the government. On the 16th of January, 1861, Gov. John A. Andrew issued the order which caused the non-combatants to leave the ranks of our militia organizations and their places to be filled by those who were willing to enter upon active service in defence of their country.
The Salem Light Infantry, on Monday evening, April 9, 1861, gave an exhibition drill and ball at Mechanic Hall, at which Gov. Andrew was present. At the close of the drill, he addressed the company, expressing the pleasure he had derived from witnessing the brilliant and beautiful exhibition. He closed by saying that he hoped there would be no occasion for their services in the field ; but, if duty called, he had no doubt that they would promptly rally to the defence of the starry flag, under which their fathers had marched to battle. The governor did not realize that the catastrophe he dreaded was so near at hand. Within the week, on the morning of Friday, April 12, Fort Sumter was fired on, and the loyal men in the North sprang to arms. On the 15th of April, President Lincoln issued a proclamation calling for 75,000 men to march to the defence of the country; and on Thursday, the 18th of April, but little more than a week from the evening of the ball, the brave men who danced there to the soft and melodious music of the waltz, followed the stirring and martial strains of the band, to defend with their lives, if need be, the insult to the national flag that floated from the battlements of Sumter.
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