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 4
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into their canoes and were carried over the falls. On returning, the English were attacked by a large body under Philip, losing thirty- eight of their number, among whom was Capt. Turner, " whose name is perpetuated in that of the beautiful falls near which his corpse was afterwards found."
In the month of July vast numbers of starving Indians surrendered themselves to the colonists ; while others continued to subsist on roots and ground-nuts, by devouring loathsome animals, - such as toads and frogs, - and by chewing the soft inner bark of trees. Hunted through the woods like a wild beast, Philip fled to Mount Hope. The sachem's wife and child having been captured during the pursuit, were ordered by Capt. Church to be sent to Bridgewater, and from thence to Plymouth, where he himself soon after retired, worn out by fatigue and exposure. Urged by the goverment, Church soon prepared for another expedition. Recruiting his own men, as was his custom, and followed by large numbers of volunteers, he found Philip in a swamp near Pocasset. Carne describes it, in his life of Eliot, as "a place well suited to awaken all the terrors of the imagination. It was a fit retreat for a despairing man, being one of those waste and dismal places to which few ever wandered, covered with rank and dense vegetation ; to any eye but that of the savage, it was like the 'valley of the shadow of death'; the cypress and oak trees hung heavy and still over the accursed soil ; the faint gleam of the pools and sluggish lakes on every side, in the starlight, and the howl of the wolf, fit- fully, as if it warned that the hour was nigh." Ou the 12th of August Church arranged his men to surround Philip and prevent his escape. A single shot was heard in the distance, and a ball whistled through the air. Then came an eutire volley, and the battle began. Completely surprised, Philip seized his gun and fled. Running directly towards two of Church's men concealed in ambush, the first levelled his gun, which missed fire; while a ball from the second pierced the sachem's heart. Thus fell King Philip! None braver ever " drew the bow "; but he had often been merciless, and, as Capt. Church remarked, had " caused many an Englishman's body to rot above ground," - so he ordered that " not one of his bones should be buried." Tradition says, his head was cut off and his body quartered ; and many modern writers continue to assert of King Philip's war, that the advance of New England was retarded by it fifty years.
The English commission sent out by Charles II., in 1664, to reduce the Colonies to obedience, having failed in its efforts, the court voted, in 1672, to send new agents to America; but they never came. Massachusetts, the most perverse of all the Colonies, had prospered in commerce and in wealth ; while New Hampshire and Maine, with a portion of the Province of Acadia, were yet within her jurisdiction. Four years later, in 1676, the king sent Edward Randolph to Boston, with full powers to carry out the will of his sovereign. Gov. Lev- erett, without paying much attention to his credentials, or his pro- posals, gave him to understand that his majesty ought not to retrench their liberties which he had agreed to confirm, but leave them to enjoy the same, inasmuch, as without any contribution from the Crown, they had " made so large a plantation in the wilderness." So Randolph returned to England the following year without accomplishing the object of his mission. Pending disputes as to the right of jurisdiction over Maine and New Hampshire, - during which, John Usher, a Bos- ton merchant, purchased the interest of Gorges' heirs, and assigned it to the governor and company of Massachusetts, - the court had deter- mined to send over a royal governor, " wholly supported by his maj- esty," and also a collector for the port of Boston. This office was conferred upon Randolph, who, in December, 1678, again came to Boston, where he was made the object of abuse, and returned to Eng- land " soured by disappointment." He told the king that the " Bos- toneers " were usurpers ; that they were " forming themselves into a commonwealth, neglecting the oath of allegiance, protecting regi- cides," and so forth ; and Charles sent him back to Boston, in 1681, with a royal letter solemnly declaring, that, if all the irregular pro-
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HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.
ceedings of the Colonies in New England were not forthwith attended to by duly authorized agents. "we are fully resolved, in Trinity term next ensuing. to direct our attorney-general to bring a quo warranto in our Court of King's Bench, whereby our charter granted unto you, with all the powers thereof. may be legally evicted and made void."
This kingly summons was sufficiently powerful to meet with a response. Besides, the royalist party in Boston was every day grow- ing stronger. William Stoughton was first appointed one of the new agents to be sent to England, but refused to go ; and Joseph Dudley. with John Richards. finally departed. pledged " not to do or consent to anything that should violate or infringe the liberties and privi- leges " granted by the charter. When the agents arrived in England. they were graciously, but by no means heartily received by his maj- esty, and were told at the hearing that their powers were entirely insufficient. It was a sad day for Massachusetts ; where the farmers talked it over, people pondered it. the merchants discussed it on the exchange, and the clergy made it the burden of their prayers. But, as the first raec of emigrants had nearly all departed, and a new gen- eration had come upon the stage, and among the people there were many who were wearied with these incessaut struggles, which ended, only to be renewed ; and as the population had largely increased, and there were many besides Episcopalians opposed to the ecclesiastical constitution of the Colony, the power of the clergy had become measurably weakened by the infusion of new elements into the relig- ious controversies of the day ; dissensions had arisen even in the churches of Boston ; the party in favor of rigidly adhering to the long established policy of the rulers, at the head of whom were Danforth and Gookin, was daily losing ground ; and those who were inclined to yield to the demands of the king, of whom Bradstreet was the leader, were increasing in strength. It was plainly evident that the king was desirous, not to regulate, but to recall the charter; that Massachusetts must be humbled ; and that matters were to be pushed to the ntmost extremity. When Randolph, who reached England in May, brought before the committee of plantations his articles of " high erimes and misdemeanors " against the Massachusetts Colony, the fate of her charter was sealed. Uuwilling, with their limited powers. to undertake the defence or management of so important a case. the agents returned home and reported the result of their mission. Ran- dolph followed the same week with his quo warranto, and two hun- dred copies of the proceedings in England against the Massachusetts charter, for general distribution. The governor, and a portion of the council were inclined to submit, and accordingly voted " not to eon- tend with his majesty in a course of law." This vote. to which the deputy-governor and other of the assistants objected, was referred to the deputies, who, after a fortnight's consideration and protracted debate, refused consent, and adhered "to their former bills." The people of Boston sustained the deputies; and, at a town meeting, Increase Mather, then president of the college, nurtured in the ancient faith of the Puritans, full of zeal, with a mind "richly fur- nished by study and reflection," - a man who for twenty years exerted a greater influence upon the fortunes of Massachusetts, than any other in the same length of time, - delivered a speech against the surren- der of the charter which was both powerful and effective. "God for- bid," said he, "that we should give away the inheritance of our fathers ! I hope there is not one freeman in Boston that can be guilty of it." The effect of this was irresistible. Many of the people were in tears. And when the question was put to vote, it was unanimously rejected. "It is better." was their conclusion, "if we must die, to die by the hands of others than by our own." Entreaties and remon- strances were of no avail, and the forbearance of the king was in vain solicited. Randolph being "commanded to prosecute the Boston charter," a writ of scire facias was issued in England, April 16, 1684, and before action could be taken upon it by the colonists, the day of graee had passed, and the charter which Winthrop had brought over to America, was adjudged to be conditionally forfeited. This was the
last effective act of Charles II. relative to Massachusetts. His death and that of the charter were nearly contemporary.
The accession of James II. to the English throne took place in Feb- ruary. 1685. As dutiful subjects, his majesty was proclaimed, though " with sorrowful pomp," at the town house in Boston, in the presence of the eight military companies ; and " three volleys of can- non " were discharged on the occasion. But when the Rose frigate arrived in Boston. May 14, 1686, and a commission from King James was presented and read to the General Court, then in session, whereby Joseph Dudley was appointed president of the Colony, the members at onee adjourned ; and it is said "the deputies returned in sadness to their homes." Mr. Dudley did not consider himself a permanent president, but only as appointed to prevent confusion, until the king's pleasure should be known. He was generally regarded with suspi- eion, and was never popular with the people, some of whom took sides with him. however, on account of their great dislike to Ran- dolph, who was shunned by many of the colonists as a sort of "evil genius " of New England. One thing for which Randolph was dis- liked. was his proposition to tax the Plymouth Colony for the support of Episcopal worship in Boston ; and further, that one of its three meeting-houses should be " set apart for the exercise of the religion according to the Church of England"; and that twenty shillings weekly should be pail ont of the contributions of each society to defray the expenses of an Episcopal church. Such a church was gathered, in the same year, with nearly four hundred communicants ; but it is said there is no proof that Randolph's proposition prevailed. For some reason a coolness had grown up between Dudley and Ran- dolph ; and while outsiders were watching the controversy, his majesty's frigate, "Kingfisher," arrived on the coast, and Sir Edmund Andros, glittering in scarlet and lace, landed at Boston, December 20, 1686, as " captain-general and governor-in-chief" of all New England, with companies of soldiers brought from Europe to support his claims. Forthwith he marched to the town house and made a " short speech." At a meeting of the council the next day. "all members of the late government were summoned to meet at Boston on the 30th inst." A surrender of the charters of Rhode Island and Connecticut was de- manded. The new government was organized on the day appointed, and proclamation was made that " all officers, both civil and military, should be continued in their places of trust, and that the laws not repugnant to the laws of England. should be continued and observed during his excellency's pleasure." One of his first acts was to levy a tax of twenty penee on each poll. and one penny in the pound upon " all the late Colonies and Provinces, towards defraying the publie charges of the government." This act caused great excitement, and was deemed oppressive. It was the beginning of trouble. Exeise laws were afterwards passed, and enforced by fines and imprison- ment ; freedom of the press was limited ; no one was allowed to leave the country without permission, lest complaints should reach England, and redress of public grievance be sought. In August, 1687, writs as " many as a cart could hold." were ordered to be issued, whereby, wrote Randolph, " all the inhabitants of Boston will be forced to take new grants aud confirmations of their lands, which will bring in vast profits" to the Crown. Much caution was needed to manage this ; for " what people," it was asked, " that had the spirits of Englishmen could endure this ?" Indian deeds that were sometimes produced as original titles, were pronounced " worth no more than a bear's paw." Even the records of Lynn were declared "not worth a rush." At this stage, the Rev. Increase Mather was sent to England to enlist the king's sympathy ; but his mission proved a failure. Soon after oc- curred the downfall of the Stuarts ; and William of Holland. iu right of his wife, was proclaimed sovereign. News of the revolution in England reached Boston early in 1689, and Andros was soon after imprisoned. He was subsequently released and reealled home to England, where he was summoned before the council, April 17, 1690. On account of some informality, he was soon discharged from cus-
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HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.
tody, and afterwards became governor of Virginia. Randolph was sent to the West Indies, and Dudley, at a later day, sat upon the bench as chief justice of New York.
That King William and his ministers were determined to erect a new government in Massachusetts, to be known as the Province of Massachusetts Bay, became evident. Massachusetts, Plymouth, and Maine were to be united under one jurisdiction, whose officers were to comprise a governor, deputy-governor, and secretary, appointed by the king, and twenty-eight councillors chosen by the people. Each town was authorized to choose two deputies to represent them in the General Court ; rights of citizenship were established, and lib- erty of conscience secured to all but Papists. This Province charter of 1692 differed quite materially from the Colonial charter of 1629. It completely revolutionized the country, and secured the dependence of the Colonies upon the Crown; and on Saturday, May 14, Sir William Phips, the new governor, arrived in Boston. Some of the people submitted reluctantly, but a majority accepted the new gov- ernment, and a day of thanksgiving was appointed on that account.
We must, at this point, leave the history of Massachusetts as such. and turn our attention more directly to Essex County ; but, in con- cluding this part of the work, we will annex the following list of governors, embracing a period from the earliest settlement of the country to the Revolution.
GOVERNORS OF PLYMOUTHI COLONY.
1620 John Carver.
1621 William Bradford.
1633 Edward Winslow.
1634 Thomas Prence.
1635 William Bradford.
1636 Edward Winslow.
1637 William Bradford.
1638 Thomas Prenee.
1639 William Bradford.
1681 Thomas llinekley, who held his place, except during the interruption by Andros, till the union with Massa- chusetts in 1692.
GOVERNORS OF MASSACHUSETTS BAY UNDER THE FIRST CHARTER.
1629 John Endicott.
1649 John Endicott.
1650 Thomas Dudley.
1651 John Endicott.
1654 Richard Bellingham.
1655 Jolin Endicott.
1665 Richard Bellingham.
1673 Jolin Leverett.
1642 John Winthrop.
1644 John Endicott.
1645 Thomas Dudley.
1646 John Winthrop.
1679 Simon Bradstreet, who, with the ex- ception of the administration of Sir Edmund Andros, continned in office till 1692.
GOVERNORS OF MASSACHUSETTS APPOINTED BY THE KING UNDER THE SECOND CHARTER.
1692 May, Sir William Phips.
1694 Nov., Wm. Stoughton, Acting Gov.
1697 May, Earl of Bellomont.
1741 Ang., William Shirley.
1749 Sept., Spencer Phips, A.G.
1753 Ang., William Shirley. 1756 Sept., Spencer Phips, A.G. 1757 April, The Council.
1757 Ang., Thomas Pownal.
1760 June, Thomas IIntchinson, A.G.
1760 Ang., Francis Bernard.
1769 Ang., Thomas Hutchinson, A.G.
1771 March, Thomas Hutchinson. 1774 May, Thomas Gage.
CHAPTER II. INDIANS OF NEW ENGLAND.
BRIEF SKETCH OF THE PRINCIPAL INDIAN NATIONS OF NEW ENGLAND - THE TRIBES OF ESSEX COUNTY - EARLY INDIAN LAND GRANTS - THE LAST OF THE SAGAMORES.
It was our intention to present a somewhat complete narrative of the affairs of the Indians of New England, and more particularly those of Essex County during the last days of activity ; but the materials necessary do not exist in accessible form, and we are com- pelled to satisfy this ambition with a few remarks, such as may be sufficient to give the reader a general knowledge of the extent and character of the latest tribes. The Indian towns, at the time the county began to be settled, were located principally at Haverhill, Newbury, Andover, Ipswich, Lynn, Marblehead, and Salem. But, first of all, let us glance at the nations at large, as they were situ- ated in New England a short time previous to this date. In the carly part of the seventeenth century, the territory was divided among ser- cral tribes or nations, but all speaking the Algonquin tongue, and all forming a part of that once mighty Indian nation which at one time extended their dominions along the coast from Quebee to the Hudson. It was a fragment of the same people who welcomed Cartier on the banks of the St. Lawrence in 1535, - a part of the same people who induced Champlain, the founder of Quebec, to join them in a war against the Five Nations, - an error from which his Colony suffered for more than half a century after his death. The scattering bands of these Indians situated in New England at the date mentioned, are thus described in the unique language of Capt. John Smith, who was among the first Europeans to visit these parts. He says : "The prin- cipal inhabitants I saw at Northward was penobscot, who are in warres with the Terentines, their next northerly neighbors, Southerly, up the rivers, and along the coast, we found Mecadacut, Segocket, Pemmaquid, Nasconcus, Sagadahock, Satquin, Aumngheawgen, and Kennabeca ; to those belong the countries and people Setogato, Pauhuntanuck, Pocopassum, Taughtanakagent, Wabigganns, Nas- saque, Mauherosqueck, Warigwick, Moshoquen, Waccogo, Pashara- nock, &c. To those are allied in confederacy the countries of Aneocisco, Accomintiens, Passataquak, Augawoam, and Naemeck ; all those, for anything I could perceive, differ little in language or anything, though most of them be Sagamos and Lords of them- selves, yet they hold the Bashabes of Pennobscot the chiefe and greatest amongst them. The next is Mattahomt, Totant, Massachu- set, Paconekick, then Cape Cod, by which is Pawinet, the Iles Naw- set and Capawuck, neere which are the shoules of Rocks and sands that stretch themselves into the maine Sea twenty leagues, and very dangerous betwixt the degrees of 40 and 41."
Nearly all of these tribes occupied about the same position for a considerable time after the country was permanently settled by the English, and the writer is of the belief that he or she who shall give to the world, a connected, complete, and reliable narrative of their decline and final extinguishment, will render an imperishable service. The materials for such are rapidly decaying, and the near future will find such a task to be one of the impossibilities.
The foregoing paragraph quoted from Capt. Smith, although some of his Indian names differ orthographically from the modern construc- tion, will indicate the location of the tribes named. To the west of Cape Cod the powerful Narragansetts and Pequots were scattered in well organized bands ; while in the interior, upon the rivers, and on the borders of the lakes, were other strong settlements : the Nipmucks, in the interior of Massachusetts, and New Hampshire, and occupying the valley of the Merrimack, were a thrifty people ; the Norridge- wocks, seated upon the branches of the Kennebec and the lakes, in the northern part of Maine, prospered equally with their neighbors. The
1700 July, William Stonghton, A.G. 1701 July, The Council. 1702 June, Joseph Dudley. 1714-15 Feb., The Council. 1714-15 March, Joseph Dudley. 1715 Nov., William Tailer, A.G. 1716 Oet., Samnel Shnte.
1722-23 Jan., William Dummer, A.G. 1728 July, William Burnet. 1728 Sept., William Dummer, A.G.
1730 June, William Tailer, A.G.
1730 Ang., Jonathan Beleher.
1629 John Winthrop. 1634 Thomas Dudley. 1635 John Ilaynes. 1636 Henry Vane. 1637 John Winthrop. 1640 Thomas Dudley. 1641 Richard Bellingham.
1644 Edward Winslow. 1645 William Bradford. 1657 Thomas Prence. 1673 Josias Winslow.
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HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.
latter were called Abenaquis by the French, and they are remarkable in history for the active services which they rendered the French in their long and finally unsuccessful war with the English.
East of the Penobscot were the Scootucks or Passamaquoddies. inhabiting the Scootuck or St. Croix River, and the shores of the Pas- samaquoddy Bay. In 1614. the Penobscots were one of the most powerful tribes in New England. Their chief held jurisdiction over the tribes in Maine as far as the Saco. They were then led iuto a war with the Tarratines by this chief. The contest lasted for some time. during which the Penobscot leader had many signal triumphs. At last his crafty enemies conducted an expedition into his country with so much secrecy that they were crowned with abundant success. The chief of the Penobscots and his family were put to death. Divisions now arose as to the vacant chieftainship. of which the cun- ning Tarratines took timely advantage and prosecuted a war of exter- mination along the coast of Massachusetts. Hand in hand with this dreadful war came that more dreadful pestilence of which poets have sung and historians written much, but of which we have no authentic records ; but we have the most ample evidences of its existence, for, in 1620, the vast Indian populations from the St. Croix to Cape Cod had become so greatly reduced in numbers that many of the settlements existed only in remembrance.
Capt. Smith informs us that the Indians suffered from a most destructive plague for three successive years, which extended for about two hundred miles along the sea-coast. The results were so terrible that in many places there remained scarcely five out of the hundred of the inhabitants. We are left in total ignorance, or wholly to conjecture. as to the nature of this disease, except in respect of its power for evil; but there are sufficient indications to show that its fearful march did not extend south beyond Cape Cod, aud that it was limited, in its more fatal results. to the tribes of the interior, so that the Pilgrims, in 1620, and for many years thereafter, had but little to fear from the once warlike tribes of the seashore north of Cape Cod.
It was at this period that we find the prosperous settlements in the valley of the Merrimack, around the fruitful falls and rich meadows of that ever-pleasant river. The Merrimack of the day of which we are writing, was a succession of bays from Lake Winnepesaukee to the ocean, a portion of which still remains at Sanboruton and Meredith. " These intervales," says Mr. Potter, "were of very great fertility aud of such ready productiveness as to afford an abundant harvest to the scanty husbandry of the Indian." More than two centuries of culture have hardly decreased their fertility. But the Merrimack had many attractions to draw the native inhabitants along its borders. " Risiug in the White Mountains, at an altitude of six thousand feet above the level of the ocean. its waters find their way to the Atlantic, through the distance of two hundred and fifty miles : of course there are rapids and falls through most of its entire length. These afforded the most ample fishing-grounds to the natives, whereat to spear. and take with dip-net and seine, the myriads of alewives, shad, and salmon, that literally crowded the Merrimack during certain seasous of the year. Then the woods upon its banks were filled with moose, deer, and bears, whilst the ponds and lakes, the sources of its tributaries, were teeming with water-fowl." Along the borders of this river, at points most convenient to Indian wants, the early European explorers found happy Indian settlements. Some one has fitly called this river the very paradise of Indian imagination.
These tribes upon this noble river were the Agawam, Wamesit or Pawtucket, Nashua, Souhegan. Namaoskeag. Peunacook, and Win- nepesaukee. The Agawams occupied the eastern portion of Essex Couuty; extending from "tide-water on the Merrimack, round to Cape Ann." Their whole territory was called Wormesquamsauke, which means the Pleasant Water Place. This long word, under the pressure of early American genius, soon fell to Squamsauke. then to Asquam, and finally to Squam. Several localities iu Essex County
have derived their names from this Indian word, such as Squam. the name of a pleasant harbor. north of Cape Ann, and Swampscott, the pleasant town just east of Lynn.
The Wamesits lived at the forks of the Merrimack and Concord rivers, and upon both banks of the latter. Here all the Indians. for miles in every direction. were in the habit of gathering at certain seasons of the year, especially in the spring and summer, where. at the Pawtucket Falls, near by, was one of the most noted Indiau fishing-stations in New England. They caught and dried their year's stock of shad and salmon. engaged in their usual dances and merry- makings, and then dispersed to their more permanent settlements. Wamesit was co-extensive with the present limits of the city of Lowell. The Indians in this neighborhood were called Pawtuckets frequently, probably from the falls in the river of that name. The word, however, seems, as used by the English, rather to have included all the Indians north of the Merrimack. than only that particular tribe.
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