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 147
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The valuation of the town is about $800,000. Town debt about $25,000. The majority of the voters are Republicans in politics.
The present (1878) town officers are : Town clerk ( pro tem. ), Ezra Towne ; selectmen, Dudley Bradstreet, Salmon D. Hood, and Ariel H. Gould ; assessors, M. B. Perkins, D. Bradstreet, and S. D. Hood ; overseers of the poor, D. Bradstreet, J. H. Potter, and I. M. Wood- bury.
Topsfield covers an area of about 8,000 acres. well divided into tillage, meadow, pasture, and woodland. Pritchard's Pond, of ninety- three acres, which has been stocked with bass fish by the town, lies partly in Topsfield. There is no other natural sheet of water worth mentioning. Around the level plain on which the village is situated, there are several prominent eminences, which are known as Bear, Lake's, Pingree's, Town, and Great Hill. The Ipswich River flows between Lake's, Pingree's, and Town Hill, and, meandering through the lowlands, passes onward to the ocean. The view from Pingree's (sometimes called " River" ) Hill is one of the most picturesque and beautiful that can be found in New England.
WENHAM.
Six miles north of Salem, on the county road to Ipswich, lies the charming little farming hamlet of Wenham, nestling in its lovely dell on the farther shore of the great pond, which is now dignified by the title of lake, and bears the name of the town within which its major portion lies. " In Enon, near to Salem, because there was much water there," was the quaintly appropriate text of pious Hugh Peters's first sermon in this then blooming wilderness, the first preached within the limits of the town ; and by this name, Enon, the place was called, until, on "ye 10th day of ye third month, Anno 1643," the General Court of Elections, held at Boston, ordered " that Enon shall be called Wenham. Wenham is granted to be a town, and hath liberty to send a deputy. A true copy, as appears of record examined. Isaac Addington, Secretary."
This was the date of incorporation of the town. The name was undoubtedly derived from a town in Suffolk, in the mother country, near Ipswich, consisting of two parishes, known as Great and Little Wenham respectively. The early settlers were, many of them, natives of these parishes. Although the town was not incorporated until 1643, there had been settlers within its borders as early as 1639, and possi- bly prior to that date. It was the first township to secede from its ancient mother, Salem, and to declare its independence. The terri- tory embraced within its limits belonged to the Agawam tribe of Indians, then settled upon the Ipswich River, and was purchased of them for the nominal sum of £4 16s.
The first mention made of the place is in connection with a tragedy enacted on the borders of its placid lake. John Hoddy, appar- ently a quiet and inoffensive countryman, while travelling on the king's highway, near the Beverly bounds, was attacked and foully murdered by a highwayman, one John Williams, who expected to secure a large sum of money which his victim was supposed to have in his possession, but was disappointed in finding actually nothing. The murderer is said to have been seized by Hoddy's faithful dog, and held until he was apprehended by the neighboring farmers. He was sentenced and executed in Boston. This murder was the first com- mitted among the European population of the Bay Colony.
Nov. 5, 1639, the Legislature passed an Act, that "whereas the inhabitants of Salem have agreed to plant a village near the ryver, which runneth to Ipswich, it is ordered, that all the land near their bounds, between Salem and said ryver, not belonging to any other town or person, by any former grant, shall belong to said village."
The present town lies between Hamilton on the north and Beverly on the south, with Manchester on its castern and Danvers and Tops- field on its western borders. Its territory is six and one-half miles in length, and varies in breadth from one-half a mile to two and one- fourth miles, containing an arca of 5,400 acres. Its general topog- raphy is charming in the extreme. The surface, for the greater part, is level ; in many places low and swampy. Lord's Hill, in " Egypt," is the most commanding elevation, affording a superb vista of the bay and ocean, and the surrounding country for miles in extent. Moul- ton's Hill, a smaller eminence at the head of Cedar Pond, gives a charming view of quiet landscape, diversified by hill and dale, pond and streamlet. The quiet waters of the great pond placidly ripple at the feet of the observer, while far to the northward stretches the vast swamp, shrouded in its dense and sombre foliage.
.The sturdy range of hills on the eastern and northern borders guard the little hamlet from the wild fury of the winds sweeping across from Salem Harbor and the Bay. Fifteen hnudred acres of the town's territory is low and swampy. The Great Swamp on the north, which extends beyond the boundaries into Topsfield and Hamilton, contains in itself upwards of 2,000 acres of unbroken wilderness. The waters of this swamp are drained by the Ipswich River, which flows through its northern portion. The ponds, of which there are five within the limits of the town, cover, in the aggregate, some 400 acres. Of these the far-famed Wenham Lake, or great pond, contains in itself an area of 320 acres, 100 of which lie within the town of Beverly. Its shores slope gracefully down to the water's edge, and its margin is composed of clean gravel and sand. In shape it is irregular, being at
one point almost divided into two equal parts, by the inward projec- tion of its shores. Its average depth is fifty feet, and its outlet is thirty-four feet above the flow of the tide in the Ipswich River. Its source of supply is believed to be hidden springs, as no streams flow into it, although it has an abundant water-shed from its high shores. Its waters are chiefly remarkable for their great purity. Wenham Lake ice has won for itself an enviable fame, even in the uttermost parts of the earth : in far-away Calcutta, on the hot plains of Africa, and in the tropical countries of our own continent. Blocks two feet in thickness have been cut from this lake, so transparent that a news- paper has been clearly read through their entire thickness. On the northern side of this pond was formerly "Peters's Pulpit," a little con- ical hill, from whose crest Hugh Peters preached that first sermon, more than 240 years ago. The town at one time offered this hill to the First Church in Salem, as a spot on which to erect a suitable memorial to the memory of their former pastor ; but the offer was not accepted, and the hill was transferred to the ice company, who removed it to erect their ice-houses on its site. It is now entirely obliterated. On the west of Wenham Lake, and connected with it, is Cedar Pond, containing about twenty acres. It is almost enveloped in dense woods. The project was formed many years ago. by some Salem gentlemen, of digging a canal from this pond to its larger neighbor, and erecting upon it a large factory. The canal was dug, but the hoped-for power was not forthcoming, and the design had to be abandoned. Muddy Pond, also containing about twenty acres, lies on the southerly side of the Great Swamp. Pleasant Pond, a lovely sheet of water covering thirty acres, is so hemmed in by sur- rounding hills and woods as to be entirely concealed, until one comes out suddenly upon its banks. A little kuoll on its eastern shore affords one of the prettiest views in the town, taking in, as it does, the lake and swamp, the fertile hills and dales of Topsfield and Mid- dleton, and to the southward the spires of Beverly and Salem. On the south-east lies the town ; beyond it the farms of Hamilton ; while the Ipswich hills terminate the vista on the north. Joseph P. Cook was drowned in this pond, Dec. 10, 1856, while skating. Coy's Pond, a long, narrow sheet of water, containing about the same area as Pleasant, lies in the casterly part of the town, and is connected with a series of lakes, in Chebacco Parish, which have their outlet to the sea in Essex.
Miles River, the principal stream in the town, rises in a swamp in the northern part of Beverly. It flows first through the eastern part of Wenham, thence turning to the west through the Neck, till it again strikes the Beverly line. It receives a branch here from the east, and afterwards the stream which forms the outlet of Wenham Lake. Turning again to the north. it flows through the town a little to the cast of the village, and pursues its course through Hamilton to the Ipswich River. Its current is sluggish, and falls but a few fect in its course of four or five miles through the town. Although offering no great advantages of water power, yet in the ancient days, at two places, where there is a slight fall, there was a saw and a grist mill, which have long since passed away. Thus Feb. 22, 1686-87, men- tion is made in the ancient records of Lieut. Dodge's saw-mill, and of a grant to Ensign Fairfield to erect a corn-mill below the site of Dodge's mill, which the former did not improve, and which was re-granted to John Dodge for the same purpose. Thomas Fiske was granted permission to increase the water power of the present Coy's Pond, anciently called Pleasant, for the benefit of this mill. Wenham, although not possessing any remarkable natural facilities for wealth, has a fine, fertile soil, and an exceedingly healthful situa- tion. It is remarkable for its quiet rural beauty.
The carly records, prior to 1642, are not well preserved ; the carli- est now extant is a grant of twenty acres of land to the town, one- half by Mr. Smith on one side of the meeting-house, and one-half by Mr. John Fisk on the other side of it. This grant was made March 2, 1642, and appears to have been divided into two-acre lots, which were given to settlers ou condition of their building dwellings upon them. In case any should desire to remove from the village, they
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HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.
were required to offer their places for sale first to the "Plantation." This scheme was entered into for the purpose of encouraging settlers, and to form a village about the centre of the town. By this vote, it appears that there was a meeting-house prior to the one erected and completed in 1663. It is supposed to have stood upon the eminence near the house of Henry Tarr.
November, 1643, the town voted, that no inhabitant should intro- duce anyone into the town, without the consent of the selectmen, under a penalty of five shillings per week for every week such person remained. ' This remained in force for many years, and from time to time persons not regularly approved " were warned to re- move to the place from whence they came."
There appears to have been a large tract of land held in common by the town, and the records for many years are filled with grants from this land to new settlers. When any property was sold, the town was always to have the first offer of it.
The original corporators alone appear to have had the right to hold office or to vote. Subsequently new-comers were made towns- men by a vote of the town, who reserved the right of conferring citi- zenship upon such persons as they saw fit. Every person who wished to become a freeman was obliged to be a member of some Congregational Church. None but freemen could become citizens. This regulation continued in force until 1664, when it was modified by a royal order to allow all persons to become freemen who could obtain clergymen's certificates of their being sound in doctrine and correct in conduct. They were obliged to bind themselves by what was known as the freeman's oath. May 14, 1634, the form as de- scribed was as follows : "I, A. B., being by God's providence an inhabitant and freeman within the jurisdiction of this Commonwealth, do freely acknowledge myself to be subject to the government there- of; and, therefore, do swear, by the great aud dreadful name of the everlasting God, that I will be true and faithful to the same, and will accordingly yield assistance and support thereunto, with my person and estate, as in equity Iam bound ; and I will also endeavor to maintain and preserve all the libertics and privileges thereof, submitting myself to the wholesome laws and orders made and established by the same. And farther, that I will not plot nor practise any evil against it, nor consent to any that shall so do, but will truly discover and reveal the same to lawful authority, now here established, for the specdy pre- venting thereof. Moreover, I do solemnly bind myself in sight of God, that when I shall be called to give my voice touching any such matter of this State, wherein freemen are to deal, I will give my vote and suffrage, as I shall judge in my own conscience may best conduce to the public weal of the body, without respect of persons or favor of any man ; so help me God in the Lord Jesus Christ."
Now church members were obliged to take the residents' oath, which resembled the above, but omitted the final clause.
Dec. 4, 1644, William Fiske was chosen " Clarke of ye writts," an office probably similar to the present town clerk. Phinchas Fiske was the first constable, Ezdras Reade, the first grand juryman, and Charles Gott and John Fisk appear on the records as the first " cellect- men."
Among the carliest settlers of the town were Phincas Fisk, William Fisk, John Fisk, Richard Dodge, Charles Gott, Austin Kilham, Rich- ard Goldsmith, Thomas White, John Abby, Robert Harris, Joseph Batchelder, Ezdras Reade, James Moulton, John Fairfield, Richard Hutton, Robert Gowing, Richard Kimball, Edward Wallron, and Christopher Young. The lineal descendants of these families are still living in Wenham.
In 1643 William Fisk was granted leave to keep an ordinary, or inn, and in 1646 he was licensed "to sell wine and strong water," which privileges were subsequently transferred to Phineas Fisk. As early as 1644, a highway was laid out by the State through Wen- ham to Ipswich. In the same year, the town voted, "that those, who have any lott in ye Neck, have libertie from the town to inclose in a common field with a straight fence from ye right hand of ye bridge unto ye river by Richard Dodge's, . provided a common highway be left ont." That portion of the town had thus carly been settled, and acquired its present name. The country appears to have been a wilderness at this time, and the early settlers were obliged to guard themselves from its manifold dangers. Nov. 28, 1644, a bounty of twenty shillings is offered for every wolf killed ; and in 1650, Rob- crt Gowing is fined £10 for selling a gun to an Indian. One-half of this fine was remitted by the General Court upon the humble petition of the offender. In 1656, the Rev. Mr. Fisk, pastor of the little com- munity, with a majority of the church, removed to Chelmsford. The town was much weakened by this exodus. Those who were left, how-
ever, acted with spirit and energy. In 1663, Josselyn, in the account of his second voyage to New England, says : " Wenham is an inland town, very well watered, lying between Salem and Ipswich; con- sisteth most of men of judgment in re rustica, and well stored with cattle."
The records of the town contain little of importance during these years. "Sab., May 18, 1673, Richard Goldsmith was killed by light- ning at the house of the Rev. Mr. Newman (lately deceased), while the Rev. Mr. Higginson, of Salem, was present. Mr. HI. had but just returned from meeting, where he had supplied the pulpit. While he was sitting engaged in conversation, the lightning passed through the room, killing Mr. Goldsmith and a dog lying under his chair."
In 1675 came the bloody King Philip's War. Five of the men of Wenham were in the expedition against the Pcquots and Narragan- setts. Mark Batchelder, one of the five, was killed in the fearful as- sault on the fort. John Fisk, a sore wounded soldier of Wenham in this war, was granted leave to keep a public house in return for his services, with freedom from county rates, and to sell drink free of " imports or excises." This struggle appears to have borne heavily upon the town, for in this same year it was excused from paying its share of the rate for the support of Harvard College. During this period, the " Mason claim" to all the lands lying between Salem and the Merrimac River, under a patent of several years previous to Sir Ferdinand Gorges and Capt. Mason, was pressed, to the great an- noyance of the towns-people. Several attempts were made by the heirs of Mason to plant colonies in this territory. The claim involved every man's title to his estate, and caused great excitement. A con- vention was held at Ipswich, to which Wenham sent a delegation. A petition to the king was drawn up, setting forth that the inhabitants had purchased their lands of the Massachusetts Bay Company, and of the Indians, and that they had been in uninterrupted and undisputed possession for more than fifty years, and praying His Majesty's favor, that the claim might be fairly tried in a legal way. Thomas Fisk, Walter Fairfield, and Thomas Patch, of Wenham, signed this petition in behalf of their towns-people. The controversy continued for more than one hundred years, but was subsequently settled, and the original colonists were left in undisturbed possession. Subsequent to 1675, there were frequent disputes about boundaries, particularly that bc- tween Salem and Beverly. This was subsequently settled in favor of Wenham, and the two other towns were obliged to pay £5 and costs cach for their infringements on her territory.
In the Andros revolution of 1688, the people of Wenham appear to have taken an active interest; and, on the happy termination of that struggle, a public town-meeting of thanksgiving was held May 6, 1689. With the advent of the old French War, the town felt called upon to provide better means of protection ; and, Oct. 30, 1691, it was voted to construct a fort for the shelter of the women and children in times of danger. Several years prior to this, a company of train- band soldiery had been formed, and in 1683, by order of the General Court, Thomas Fisk was made captain ; Charles Gott, lieutenant ; and William Fisk, ensign, of the first company in Wenham. In 1692, Walter Fairfield was elected representative, and was allowed two shil- lings per day while attending the Colonial Assembly.
In 1700, although the original soil appears to have been purchased from the Indians, and one family still holds its farm by a deed from its aboriginal owner, signed with an arrow as his mark, certain Indians, named Samuel English, Joseph English, and John Umpee, " heirs of Moschanomett, late sagamore, lay claim and challenge to the soil of our township." The matter was referred to a committee and was amicably settled by the payment of £4 16s. raised by a tax. March 6, 1704-05, it was voted to divide the common lands held by the town, in equitable proportions among the proprietors. The swamp and other lands were thus divided. The former being divided into nine different lots, and again subdivided among the companies of persons who drew them.
Wenham contributed her share of men and money for the early wars of the eighteenth century. In the French war of 1756 to 1763, quite a large number of Wenham men enlisted in Col. Ichabod Plaisted's regiment, of which the Rev. Mr. Swain, of Wenham church, was chaplain. After the reduction of Acadia, several of the inhab- itants of that ill-fated elysium found their way to Wenham, and there are frequent mentions of them as " neutral French " or the "French family " in the records. They are supposed to have occupied the place now known as Herrick's Corner. The " French neutrals " were finally disposed of, Dcc. 20, 1762, to Dr. Putnam, of Danvers. Wen ham, in common with its sister towns, opposed the plan of a general union of the Colonies, broached July 4, 1754. In 1768, Benjamin Fair-
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HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.
field was appointed a delegate to the Provincial Convention at Fanenil Hall. The town took a patriotic stand with its neighbors early in the struggle for independence. A committee was appointed May 19, 1773, to take into consideration the pamphlet of the Boston Committee of Correspondence. They reported in favor of manifesting the readi- ness of the town to join with the town of Boston and others, in all constitutional methods to preserve their civil and religious liberties inviolate. The report was unanimously accepted. In September, 1774, Benjamin Fairfield was chosen to attend the General Court at Salem, with instructions to "join in forming a provincial Congress if need be." It was also voted to raise fifteen minute-men. Besides these, the town furnished for service throughout the war 115 men, making 130 in all. Large sums of money were also raised for the support of the army in the field.
In 1781 Mr. Stephen Dodge was chosen a representative to the convention at Concord to assist in framing a constitution for the State. May 19, 1780, in common with other towns, Wenham was visited by the dark day. The phenomenon appears to have been the same here as elsewhere. In 1786 Wenham petitioned the General Court for liberty to erect a bridge over Beverly Ferry, and appears to have taken the initiative in that enterprise, and in 1787 the town chose two agents, Capt. John Gardiner and Capt. Richard Dodge, to represent it in the matter before the General Court. The petition was granted, and, in 1788, the bridge was opened for travel. In the War of 1812, although opposing the policy which inaugurated it, Wenham did what it could to sustain the honor of the country in the field, both with men and money.
In 1820 Wenham favored the revision of the State Constitution. In 1825 it was voted that it was inexpedient that any licenses should be granted for the sale of ardent liquors in the town. In 1842 it again took strong ground against the sale of liquor within its limits.
In 1854 the present town hall was built; prior to this date meet- ings had been held in the meeting-house and vestry. The cost of the new building was $5,000.
At the call to arms in 1861, to save the nation, the sons of Wenham nobly responded and did brave service in the field: 130 men from this town served in the war in the different arms of the service, 27 of whom gave their lives in the struggle. Within the past year the town has voted to erect a suitable memorial to the memory of the fallen. The memorial is of granite, quarried in Mason, N. H., and is of very tasteful design. It is twenty-four feet in height, and is surmounted by the figure of a soldier. The whole cost, exclusive of the founda- tion, is $1,500.
The First Congregational Church in Wenham was organized through the efforts of Mr. John Fiske, the former assistant of Mr. Peters in his ministerial labors at Salem, and the teacher of the first grammar school in that town. He became the first pastor and remained in its ministry for twelve years. He was also a physician, and was warmly beloved by his people. " 18th of ye Sth month 1644" is the date of the first church meeting in Wenham. Mr. Fiske must have preached there for several years prior to this, and probably resided there; for his son Moses is recorded as born at Wenham in 1642. After his removal to Chelmsford, in 1656, he remained in the pastorate for twenty years, until his death, in 1676, at the age of seventy-five.
The Rev. Antipas Newman succeeded Mr. Fiske. During his pas- torate, the second meeting-house was built, in 1663, in accordance with a vote of the town in 1660. The size of the new house was twenty-four feet square and twelve feet stud. The old house was sold to partly defray the cost of the new, and in addition £80 3s. 8d. was raised by rate. Mr. Gerrish, the third pastor, settled in Wenham May 31, 1673 ; he was ordained pastor Jan. 13, 1674, and remained in the ministry until his death, Jan. 6, 1720. Seats were assigned in the meeting-house by a special committee chosen for the purpose. Special deference was paid to members of the train band, officers, &e., in the seating. The people of Ipswich worshipped for a time with this church, and were assigned seats in the west gallery and the body of the house, on their paying their proportionate share of the expense. In 1714, fourteen church members and seventeen families were dis- missed to form a new church at Ipswich Hamlet, now Hamilton. Nine hundred and eighty-seven persons were baptized, two hundred and thirty-six owned the covenant, and two hundred and thirteen were admitted to full communion during Mr. Gerrish's pastorate. The present meeting-house was dedicated Dee. 20, 1843, the sermon being preached by the Rev. Daniel Mansfield, then pastor. It is the fourth house of worship occupied by the society. Its predecessor was built about the year 1748. It was fifty-two feet long, forty-two wide, and twenty-four feet.stud. It originally had a steeple and bell, but in 1759 it was voted to pull down the steeple to save the house. In 1771, however, another steeple was built. It was blown down in the great gale of 1815, and its place was supplied by a square tower. This house was used for more than ninety-five years, when it gave way to the new one in October, 1843. The present house stands in the rear of the site of the ancient edifice. The church is now in a flour- ishing and prosperous condition. The present pastor is the Rev. John M. Hart, ordained Dec. 11, 1878.
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