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 64

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 64

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Besides being rather particular as to who should become citizens of the town, the early settlers were somewhat notional as to what people should say, and how it should be spoken. Dictation in this respect was not confined to Irishmen and negroes, or to men of low estate ; for, in 1717. the celebrated George Whitefield was refused the use of the meeting-house, and warned out of town by the author- ities when informed that he was to speak. On his first visit here. he did not speak; ou his second visit, he was the guest of Dea. Wil- liam White, and preached to a large congregation in the open air, opposite the deacon's house on Mill Street. He read the warning received from the authorities, to the audience, and, instead of com- plying therewith, remarked, " Poor souls ! they shall have another sermon," and appointed another meeting the next morning at sunrise,

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HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY, MASSACIIUSETTS.

which was numerously attended. The spirit of the governing class in the Colony was that of dictation, shown as early as 1652, by an order of the court prohibiting Joseph Peasley and Thomas Macy of Salisbury " from exhorting the people on the Sabbath, in the absence of the minister." Thomas Pike, of that town, arraigned the decision as "against the liberty of the country, both civil and ecclesias- tical," for which utterance he was "disfranchised by the General Court and heavily fined." Puritanically arbitrary as was the role of that carly day, there was a germ of liberal public sentiment which had already attained to healthy and hopeful growth. A petition from various towns was presented to the Court, asking for the remission of Pike's sentence, which was signed by thirty-seven from this town. Although the Court was indignant, and held the petitioners to answer for an offence, it opened the way for deliverance from the arbitrary con- trol of the combined power of Church and State, which sought to gov- ern the people. Pike paid his fine three years after, and was released from the other part of the sentence by humbling himself before the Court. The petitioners from this town were obliged to acknowledge their act as an " offence," to escape giving bonds of £10 cach, and an- swering before the Court. This arbitrary procedure was not many times repeated. Hatred of races and a desire to dictate in modes of worship and utterance were transient elements, and now exist only with the few. Public sentiment, which is law, opens wide the door of welcome and freedom to all races, and guarantees freedom of speech and worship, while the appeal is now being made to add to these privileges that of suffrage without regard to sex. Mary Coffin, dangh- ter of Tristram Coffin, one of the carly settlers, was a " strong-minded woman." Her position in history is that of a representative woman, and the female reformers of to-day may properly point to her as one of their carly leaders. She became a Quakeress in 1701, and led the spiritual concerns of the whole island of Nantucket, where she resided. There is a well-organized Female Suffrage Association in existence in this town at the present time, which is increasing in power; aiming to secure to women all the civil rights which the law accords to men, which is what " suffrage " implies.

'The carly means of communicating with other sections and the performance of mail service were very meagre. Up to 1790 news- papers and letters were carried through the country by persons on horseback called " post-riders." Samnel Bean was the post-rider from Boston to Concord, N. H., accomplishing the trip once a week. A post-office was first established in this town, Jan. 1, 1795, and Jolin Wingate appointed postmaster.

The first stage from Haverhill to Boston was started about 1791, a Mr. Gage being the proprietor. It was a two-horse coach, and was run only when there were a sufficient number of passengers for a load. The journey from here to Boston was then accomplished in about twelve hours. In 1793 a stage commenced running regularly once a week; but soon changed to twice a week, the advertisement being that " The Haverhill stage-coach is complete, with gentcel curtains and cushions, and a pair of able horses for service." In the same year a stage commenced running twice a week from here to Concord, N. II., connecting with the Boston stage. In 1803 a mail stage commenced running between Haverhill and Newburyport, and still continues its regular trips. In 1811 a stage line was established between Haverhill and Salem, and continued till railroad facilities superseded it for passengers and mail service. In March, 1818, the Haverhill and Boston Stage Company was organized, with a capital of $4,200. In 1831 the capital was increased to $28,900, and the name changed to "The Northern and Eastern Stage Company." The mail register of that time embraced the Boston Mail and Accom- modation Stage, Salem stage, Newburyport stage, Lowell and Me- thuen stage, Exeter and Dover stage, and Concord stage. The late Thomas Newcomb, who died in 1878 at the age of ninety-two years, was for many years the agent of the company ; and the Eagle House, established in 1819 by Col. William Brown, became the principal stage hotel. The various lines of stages remained unbroken till the opening of the railroads, when the leading routes were discontinued. Prior to that time a large portion of the expressing and freighting from here to Boston was performed by Rufus Slocomb, who was also proprietor of a hotel on Merrimac Street. Mr. Slocomb had occa- sion to travel much between here and Boston, and sometimes passed over the road on Sunday in the days when tythingmen existed. On one occasion he was stopped by one of these officers, in Andover, who demanded his name. His reply was, "My name is Slo-comb and fast go," at the same time applying the whip to his horse, and was soon out of sight and hearing of the Sunday magistrate.

Protection against fire received attention at an carly day, and a

Fire Club organized Feb. 22, 1768, choosing Cornelius Mansise, Enoch Bartlett, Samnel White, and Isaac Osgood fire-wardens. The members were provided with buckets, ladders and bags for saving property from destruction, and it was thoroughly organized for service and for guarding against theft. The institution was very popular, embracing in its membership the first citizens of the town. The annual supper was for many years regarded as a great social occa- sion. The organization still exists ; but the preservation of its social features embraces its principal practical service.

In 1769 the first fire-engine was purchased by a company formed for that purpose, of which Cornelius Mansise was captain, and Nathaniel Walker, Jr., clark. In 1780 the engine was presented to the town, and the service ultimately became changed from a private enterprise to that of a public service under the direction of the town. The management passed through many stages of organization by which its efficiency was perfected. While the old Tiger Company had an existence, it was its pride, on parade days, to placard the figures, "Feb. 15, 1769," as the date of its first organization, connecting them with the current date of the celebration. The records indicate a re- organization of the fire-department Dee. 20, 1827, the meeting being held at the house of Leonard Whittier, at which time Leonard Whittier was chosen director and Moses George, 4th, clerk.

The first instance of paying firemen for services, with the exception of the allowance of their annual poll-tax, was in 1841, when the steam-mill of Noyes & Dunbar and the house and shop of Lyman Worthen were burnt on Stage Street. At this time the town had ac- cepted the Act of the General Court establishing a fire department. In 1843 increased facilities were added, and in 1848 new engines were procured and the compensation of firemen increased. In 1852 other additions were made to the force. In 1860 there were four companies and a hook and ladder company, all supplied with excellent machines and apparatus for service. Since then there has been an entire change by the introduction of three steamers and a chemical extinguisher for the city proper, with a hand-machine at the Rocks Village and one at Ayer's Village. There is also a hook and ladder and hose company fully equipped for service. Each company is supplied with suitable headquarters and the department is thoroughly ethicient. Augustus McDuffie is the chief engineer, with office at the city hall.

The most notable fires which have occurred were the malicious burning of a large quantity of rails in 1725, the property of the " commoners," which extended to the neighboring forests and con- tinued for many days, destroying much property. This grew out of the land disputes, which were then at their height. On the 22d of January, 1743, the house of Dr. II. Brown, at Holt's Rocks, was burnt, and his daughter, twenty-three years old, and a son of D. Currier, perished in the flames. On Sunday, April 16, 1775, a destruc- tive fire swept all the west side of Main Street, from the present Court Street to the corner on Merrimac Street. Seventeen buildings were burnt, embracing a brick hotel, owned by John White, the stores of Dea. Joseph Dodge and James Duncan, and a distillery. This

was a distressing event, occurring on the eve of the commencement of the Revolutionary struggle, and at a time when most of the able- bodied men of the town were in the military service. Oct. 9, 1827, the house and barn of Daniel Appleton, and the barn of Hon. James H. Duncan, on Main Street, not far from the present Court Street, were destroyed by fire. This was one of the most alarming fires which ever occurred here, threatening to make a general sweep, and required the utmost exertions to arrest its progress. Women took their places in line, passing buckets of water for hours, and it was only by combined energy that it was brought under control. The next fire of magnitude was the burning of Noyes & Dunbar's steam- mill and the currying-shop and house of Lyman Worthen, on Stage Street, which required the services of the fire department for the entire night. In several instances incendiary fires have been set, which have thrown the community into excitement and called for the' exercise of vigilance. These have been mostly confined to the destruction of barns. On the morning of Jan. 1, 1847, the church edifice of the First Parish was entirely destroyed by fire.

On Sunday morning, Nov. 16, 1873, a fire broke ont in Washburn Block, near Washington Square, in rear of the shoe manufactory of Sewell F. Prescott, raging with great fury and extending to the brick shoe manufactories on Washington Street. For a time it threatened to sweep through the entire street, but by the energy of the fire department, with assistance promptly supplied from the city of Lawrence, it was brought under subjection. Thirty-five business firms were burnt ont, and the loss estimated at $150,000. The distressing event in connec- tion with the casualty was the destruction of human life. Two men,

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HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

-Mr. Amos C. Heath, of Bradford. and Mr. Amos George, of Haver- hill,-lost their lives in attempting to save their property. This was the severest fire which has ever happened in Haverhill.

Within a few years a large number of costly edifices have been built, which add much to the architectural beauty of the city. The city hall. built in 1860, is a handsome and commodious structure. Since then have been erected Odd Fellows' Hall, on Main Street, at a cost of $40.000 ; Masonic Temple, on Merrimac Street, a thoroughly- built and handsome structure. erected at an expense of $75,000 or more ; the Hale Library Building, on Summer Street, a pleasant and commodious building. costing about $50,000, and finely adapted for the purposes for which it was designed ; the High School Build- ing, located on Crescent Street, on the site where Harriet Newell was born, the most commanding and expensive educational struct- ure in the city. the cost of which was $125.000. The Currier School Building. on Mount Washington. is the finest public build- ing in that part of the city. Grand Army Hall. recently erected on Merrimac Street, supplies to the "boys in blue " a pleasant centre for fraternal and social purposes. There are also many private resi- dences of a massive and commanding style of architecture which add much to the external beanty of the city.

Another structure, peculiar in its character and attractive in its style of architecture, is " Winnekenni Hall," crected by Dr. James R. Nichols a few years ago, on Mid-lake Hill, an eminence overlook- iug Kenoza Lake. It is of castellated form ; in style, of the medieval period, and is built entirely of grauite, from bowlders found upon the premises. which drifted thither during the glacial period. The struct- nre is 86×36 feet. with walls 24 feet high and two feet thick, with an octagon and a round tower, respectively 44 and 42 feet high ; and near the centre of the building, on the line of the front elevation, is a martel tower.

The eminence is 200 feet above the lake and 320 feet above the sea. The castle is surrounded by an extensive lawn, and adjacent is a deer- park and a lovely grove. interspersed with walks and adorned with fountains and an artificial cascade.

The location is a mile from the city, in the midst of the rural scenes so beautifully described by Whittier in his early poetry, and over- looks the three lakes whose crystal waters sparkle below it. A fine view of old Agamenticus, of grand Monadnock, and many other mountains, is obtained, and in sight are twenty or thirty towns and villages. The castle structure is the summer residence of Dr. Nichols, and was built for the ages. In the future its moss and ivy covered walls will become the memorial marks of the then ancient days. It is one of the most notable and delightful summer residences in the country, and, for uniqueness in style and solidity of construction, is not surpassed in New England.

Attention was carly called to the improvement of the channel of the Merrimac ; and Haverhill. being at the head of sloop navigation, took a lively interest in the matter. Active operations were com- menced as early as 1797. Newburyport subscribed liberally for the enterprisc, operations extending as far as Pawtucket Falls, and an Act of incorporation obtained for a company for " Clearing and Lock- ing the Falls of the Merrimac." The enterprise was superseded by the incorporation of the " Middlesex Canal Company." Embraced in the plan was the purpose of making Haverhill a large manufacturing city, and Newburyport a great commercial centre.

In 1828, the steamer "Merrimac," Capt. William Haseltine, the first steamboat on the river, was built in Haverhill. making its first trip between here and Newburyport, April 8, 1828. The boat was chiefly owned in this town, and ron, thongh irregularly, for several years, but was finally withdrawn. It was originally a sailing vessel, and remodelled.

In June, 1846, the side-wheel steamer " Lawrence," 140 feet long, was built at Newburyport, and intended for river navigation, but proved too large for the service, and was transferred to Connect- icut. The same year a stern-wheel steamer, of the same name, was built at Waterville, Mc .. to run on this river, and once ascended the river as far as the new city of Lawrence. James H. Carleton, James R. Nichols, and others, procured an Act of incorporation of the " Pentucket Navigation Company," in 1848, the object of which was to clear the river and establish steamboat navigation from Newbury- port to Lawrence. The principal impediment was Mitchell's Falls. Nothing was done to open the channel till about the year 1870, when a large appropriation was made by Cougress, through the instrument- ality of Gen. Butler, and an attempt made to cut a navigable channel through Mitchell's Falls, sixty feet wide, and of sufficient depth to admit of the passage of light-draught steamers and for freight barges.

Abont $100,000 were expended, and the work so far accomplished that Gen. Butler and a large party of gentlemen attempted the ascent in 1873, which was only partially successful. Since then much addi- tioual work has been done, under the direction of E. Moody Boynton, of West Newbury, but the work is still incomplete. Steamers of light draught and coal barges have made the passage, and an attempt made to establish a coal mart at Lawrence, but it has not yet become an entire snecess. Those engaged in the enterprise are confident of ultimate practical success. With the agitation of the matter, river navigation has greatly increased. From 1848 to 1854, seven steamers were at different times on the river, successfully ascending as far as this town. In 1862, the steamer " Thurlow Wecd," was the first to ascend the river, as a tng for schooners. Since then, the navigation of the river, by schooners, has greatly increased. and a second tug, the " Mattie Sargent," placed on the river. Steamboats and steam yachts have greatly multiplied within a few years, Messrs. Sargent & Holden, Mr. Henry Vatter, "The Merrimac River Steamboat Naviga- tion and Express Company." Messrs. Crane, and Mr. E. E. Stimpson, having done much to increase the business on the river. During the season of 1878, not less than fifteen steam-yachts, tugs, and steam- boats were in use on the river, doing a large business in conveying passengers and in the tugging service. The receipts of the seven principal boats during that season, for passengers and tugging, was $22.500. The steamer "City of Fredericton." Capt. Stimpson, is of so light draught as to run independent of tides, and will accommodate a thousand passengers. Its introduction has completely revolutionized the navigation of the river, and is destined to work still greater changes. Whatever may be the practical results of opening the chan- nel through Mitchell's Falls. so far as navigation to Lawrence is con- corned, the general effect has been beneficial, and the expenditure compensated for by the stimulus it has given to navigation below, and to the improvement of the river at other points from Newburyport bar to Haverhill. Since the introduction of tug service, in 1862, by placing the "Thurlow Wecd " on the river, the arrivals of vessels here, with freights of coal, Inmber, and lime. have rapidly increased. The flat-bottom steamer "City of Fredericton," placed npon the river in 1878, having demonstrated that one thousand passengers can be floated independent of tides, will tend to make the river, from this point, a great thoroughfare for pleasure excursions to the sea during the jaunting scason.

On the night of Dec. 23, 1867, the quiet of the town was disturbed by the announcement of a murder, perpetrated in connection with a daring attempt at burglary. There were intimations that an attempt was soon to be made to enter one of the banks, aud Mr. Joseph Burnham, one of the police officers, was on the alert for the robbers. While in the fearless and faithful discharge of his duty, he discovered and alarmed the burglars in the Merrimack National Bank, coming in so close con- tact with them that they shot and killed him instantly with a revolver, the ball entering his head. So much was known of the plot that Daniel Murphey, Patrick Daley, whose crack name was "Spnd " Daley, Robert Barrett, and John Hamilton, commonly called " Scott " Hamilton, were arrested and retained in Salem jail for about a year and a half, but were never brought to trial, from supposed lack of evidence to convict them. Daley was subsequently arrested for honse-breaking, and attempt to kill, in Lawrence, for which he was convicted and sentenced to State prison for life.

Another tragical event occurred in Fleet Street, then the centre of the liquor traffic, on the night of Ang. 27, 1870. Barnard B. Carle- ton, son of Amos Carleton, of Plaistow, N. H., twenty-one years old, and George Graham, son of Rufus K. Graham, of Bradford, in pass- ing through the street, were attacked, without provocation, by Burton G. Roberts, Isaac L. Roberts, and John Reynolds, who were partially intoxicated. Carleton was fatally stabbed in the abdomen, dying on the 11th of September following. Andrew Cooney, Jr., another in- offensive young man, who happened to be present, was fatally cut in the back, from the effects of which he died September 1st. The ver- diet of the coroner's inquests fastened the crime upon Burton G. Rob- erts, and the result of his trial was a sentence of seven years in the State prison. Isaac L. Roberts was sentenced to six months in the house of correction. The connection of Reynolds with the affair was not clear cnongh to secure his conviction.

A notable event of a centennial character, was the completion of one hundred years of life by Hon. Moses Wingate, and his entrance npon another century, on the 25th of October, 1869. He received the congratulations of his friends at his residence, and several citizens presented him with a portrait of himself. The day was chiefly given . to these centennial festivities, the Masonic fraternity taking the lead

HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

197

in the demonstrations. He was borne through the streets in a barouche, followed by a long Masonic procession, attracting an im- mense crowd of spectators. He was able to take his seat in the lodge room, and witness the ceremony of making his son, the Rev. Charles Wingate, a Mason. Mr. Wingate was made a Mason in 1803, and was Master in 1813-14. He was for twenty years postmaster, and was much in town office. He was a member of the Constitutional Convention of 1820, and represented the town in the House of Rep- resentatives, and the Senatorial district in the Senate. He was origi- nally a Jeffersonian Democrat, but was a moderate politician. His last vote was given for the re-election of Abraham Lincoln. He died June 5, 1870, aged one hundred years, seven months, and twenty-one days.

Lieut. John Mills, of the United States army, was born in London- derry, Ireland. He entered the army in 1808, but subsequently fixed his home in Haverhill. He enlisted in Rhode Island, in 1808, and was under Gen. Harrison at Tippecanoe. In 1812, he was under Gen. Hull, and was one of the number surrendered to Gen. Brock. He served in the Florida war, and was in the whole Mexican cam- paign. His regiment was afterwards stationed in Texas, where it remained till the breaking out of the rebellion. Convinced that Gen. Twiggs intended to surrender his command to the rebels, two compa- nies of the regiment, accompanied by Maj. Mills, made their escape, marching away under non-commissioned officers, reaching Washington in safety. He was nearly sixty years in the service. In 1865, at the age of seventy-five, he was retired with a lieutenant's commission and pay of the regular service. His death occurred in Bradford, from paralysis, in- 1867, at the age of seventy-seven years.

In the cemetery at Rocks Village is the grave of the "Countess," to which most pleasant reference is made in a poem by Whittier. The interesting young lady to whom this title is given, was Mary Ingalls, daughter of Henry Ingalls, and a relative of the late Moses Wingate. During the French rebellion in Gaudaloupe, a company of ten fled in a vessel, which brought them to Newburyport. Nine of the number settled there, but the tenth, Count Francis Vipart, took up his abode in Rocks Village, where he became acquainted with Miss Ingalls, whose unusual personal and mental attractions captivated him, the result being a marriage, which was the sensation of the hour. The union took place in 1806, and the death of the young bride, from consumption, occurred Jau. 5, 1807, at the age of twenty-one years. Many keepsakes were distributed among the friends of the young bride by the Count, who soon left, it is supposed, for his native land. Referring to the briefness of the union, the poet sweetly says : -

" Ah! life is brief, though love be long; The altar and the bier, The burial hymn and bridal song Were both in one short year !

" Her rest is quiet on the hill, Beneath the loenst's bloom ; Far off her lover sleeps as still Within his sentcheoned tomb.

" What matters whose the hillside grove, Or whose the blazoned stone ? Forever to her western wave Shall whisper blue Garonne ! "

Another of the number, the ancestor of John Poyen, came to Rocks Village with the Count, marrying Sally Elliot, from whom descended the Poyens, of Amesbury.

The death of Joseph Morse, at the age of thirty-seven, occurred under peculiar circumstances, Sept. 26, 1831, the event being pre- ceded by a presentiment of its approach, and the manner of its occur- rence. Mr. Morse was of a nervons temperament, and had been for some time despondent, under the impression that he had " committed the unpardonable sin." A short time previous to his death, he an- nounced to his friends that it had "appeared to him" that he should bleed to death while in the act of raising the draw of Rocks Bridge to allow a vessel to pass. On the morning of his death, he proceeded to perform that aet, but, before he had fairly commenced, he was heard to say, "I am dying !" and at that moment the sailors on board the vessel saw the blood copiously pouring out of his mouth. The physical result may be easily accounted for by the bursting of a dis- cased blood vessel, or by extraordinary excitement, but the presenti- ment, indicating the manner of the event, came through the operation of other forces, and is subject to other laws.

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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 64

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