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 80
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The Mechanics Rifles and Bay State Guards were companies having shorter existence, but popular in their time.
As carly as January, 1861, officers of the 6th Regiment met at Lowell, and, on motion of a Lawrence officer ( Maj. B. Frank Watson), the services of the regiment were tendered to government in case of need, threats of rebellion having startled the patriotic even then. The official order, mustering the regiment on Boston common, was issued April 15, 1861, and, received at night ; the two companies were ready to march early the following day, going to Lowell, thence to Boston, and, via New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore, to Washington. Company I was commanded by Capt. John Pickering, Company F by Capt. B. F. Chadbourne. Lieut. Cate, of Company F, built and took charge of the eight army-ovens in the basement of the Capitol, from which, in the years of the war, immense quantities of bread were supplied to troops. They left Lawrence on a dismal spring day, in a storm of slcet, followed by hundreds to the cars. Their bloody march through Baltimore on the 19th of April; the mortal wounding, and subsequent death in a Baltimore hospital, of a well- known Lawrence volunteer (the first to fall in that first encounter) ; the wounding of others, and peril of all, made this opening dramatic scene in the war one of irresistible influence, electrifying patriots throughout the entire North. Public feeling was stirred to its
depths, excitement was intense, sad and sympathetic interest univer- sal, when Sumner H. Needham, mortally wounded in the streets of Baltimore, lay in city hall, on the 2d and 3d of May following, his lifeless form wrapped in the flag he died defending. The funeral occurred May 3, 1861. The city hall was appropriately draped ; hundreds crowded to the doors, when filled to utmost limit. State and city officials attended. Military and civic organizations formed the imposing procession, marching to solemn dirges, as this first victim to rebellion thus went to his rest. Clergymen of the city joined in the impressive service. The Rev. George S. Weaver, of the Church of the Good Shepherd, preached from the words (Heb. xi. 4) He being dead yet speaketh.
The blood of this martyr proved "the seed of a harvest." The entire section was aroused ; thereafter there was no lack of patriot- ism. Before any system of State aid to families of volunteers had been devised, the city voted and disbursed needed sums. Prompt- ness and patriotic work characterized municipal and individual action. The number of volunteers and soldiers enrolled as of Law- rence was 2,620, counting re-enlistments. The city paid $83, 675 in local bounties, and was exceptionally prompt and liberal in organizing systems of relief for soldiers, sailors, and their families. The Ladies' Soldiers' Aid Society was formed April 7, 1862, and was an efficient auxiliary to the Sanitary and Christian commissions, disbursing, through those societics, and the city missionary, nearly six thousand dollars in money, and large quantities of hospital stores and clothing.
Citizens in public meetings, at the very outset, before more slug- gish communities woke to the emergency, took radical action. In the administrations of mayors, - James K. Barker, in 1861 ; William H. P. Wright, in 1862-63; Alfred J. French, in 1864; and Milton Bonney, in 1865, - the public record was not allowed to be marred by a single tardy response to the nation's call for men or means.
The horrors of rebel prison life were experienced by many. It is believed the record of volunteers, who went forth at their country's call, is a stainless one. Graves of brave men who died that thic country might live, are kept green in the cemeteries of the city, and here, as elsewhere, surviving comrades visit them cach year, laden with flowers, which they tenderly strew upon graves where
"Under the sod and the dew, Waiting the judgment day -"
the martyrs rest from march and strife and battle storm.
Needham Post, No. 49, Grand Army of the Republic, is a flourish- ing organization, succeeding the Needham Army and Navy Union. At spirited " eamp-fires," comrades keep alive memories of struggle and hardship in days of strife, and material and timely aid is given to sick and disabled comrades from an accumulated fund. Lawrence Light Infantry (Company I, 6th Regiment, Capt. Daniel F. Dolan), and the Sherman Cadets (Company K, Gth Regiment, Capt. L. N. Duchesney ) are finely drilled military companies. The headquarters of the 6th Regiment (Col. Melvin Beal), and of the 1st Battalion of Light Artillery (Major George S. Merrill) are established at Law- rence. Some future historian, in space more ample than that allotted here for all the phases of Lawrence life, will do justice to the memory of the brave volunteers who died at posts of peril, and render an elo- quent tribute to the living soldier who risked all for his country, and returned to quiet pursuits, often with wounds and physical weak- ness, the result of long marches and perilous exposure. The allotted pages are full. Our parting with the reader is by the dead soldier's . grave and in the living soldier's presence.
LYNN.
The city of Lynn, though now one of the largest municipalities of Essex County, only represents a fraction of the territory originally settled and bearing this name. It does, however, include most of the points of early settlement, and a large share of what antiquities it has are found within the present incorporation.
The original territory bearing the name of Lynn certainly embraced all that now forms the several townships of Lynnfield, Saugus, Swamp- seott, and Nahant, besides all of the present city. These towns have been successively divided from it. By a supplementary grant, also, made Sept. 9, 1639, the territory now forming Reading, North Read- ing, and Wakefield, was added to the first township, under the name of Lynn Village. It embraced a tract four miles square. But March 17, 1653, the first authorized division of Lynn seems to have been made, resulting in the separation of this same territory, to form a new town, called Reading ; and as nearly as ean now be known, the line of this division coincided closely with the present boundary of Wake- field and Lynnfield.
The time of first settlement of Lynn is fixed by Lewis in his history, partly from, private records, and partly from "Danforth's Almanac," 1647. These agree on the year 1629 as that of first occupation, and there seems no doubt on the point. This was one year later than Salem, and one year earlier than Boston, and places our town among the very oldest of the settlements of Massachusetts. But of what the settlement consisted, we have a less definite idea. So far as can be determined, it was made by five men, with their families, who, arriving at Salem in the spring of 1629, made application to Endicott for a grant of lands, and were given " leave to go where they would." These five were Edmund Ingalls, Francis Ingalls, John Wood, William Wood, and William Dixey. The last-named testified to these facts July 1, 1657.
Coming then to a territory only tenanted by the Indians, these five pioneers found nothing ready, but all things to be supplied. They selected what one of them called "a fayre playne," not half a mile broad, and thereon set up their temporary dwellings. Where this spot was cannot be told : one such may now be pointed out about the crossing of Essex and Empire streets, nearly equidistant from what we know to have been the subsequent homes of these men, and this may have been the place ; but no one will ever know. The sagamores of Saugus, as the Indians here were known, patronized the settlers kindly, and, granting them whatever lands they desired, added the privilege of pasturage on Nahant, which was thus enjoyed for many years, and even, in fact, to this day.
Even in this very small band of emigrants, there was the usual diversity. Edmund Ingalls and John Wood were farmers - men of the soil. William Dixey was a laborer. Francis Ingalls, who alone seems to have had a trade, was a tanner. And William Wood, who had some education, was decidedly literary in his tastes, and wrote a book about the settlement before he had been five years in it. This work, which he published in London in 1634, covered one hundred pages, and was called " New England's Prospect." It was a favorable account of the settlements - one of the best and fairest of that time. It was a creditable thing indeed, and has remained good quotable authority till this day, showing the advantage of having a share of culture, at least, to go with every enterprise.
The settlers did not remain very long on their little plain. Suppos- ing it to have been the place we have indicated, John Wood pushed westward about a mile, and fixed his permanent homestead near the present intersection of Essex and Chestnut streets. William Wood is conjectured to have been his son ; if so, he probably lived with him. At any rate, he had no family of his own then with him, as Aug. 15, 1633, he returned to England, and afterward, Sept. 11, 1635, again repaired to Lynn, then heing but twenty-seven years old, and bringing Elizabeth, his wife, aged twenty-four. At a later date, in 1637, he removed, with another larger colony, and settled at Sandwich, after which we lose sight of him. His father, John Wood, gives no sign of being a man of adventure. He evidently stayed quietly at work on his land, of which he had acquired one hundred aeres in his own right by
the allotment of 1638. He is believed to have been a man of sub- stance and character, since his influence served to impress his name on that section of the town which, even to-day, is known as " Wood- end."
Edmund Ingalls turned to the south-west, and, at a distance also of about a mile, selected a situation remarkable for its undulating surface. Immediately before him lay a small natural pond, known at present as the "Goldfish Pond," and the distance to the farmstead of the Woods was only a mile, or something less. He lived on this estate a number of years, or until 1648, when, riding over the ruinous bridge at what is now East Sangus, horse and man fell through, and the ven- erable settler was drowned. Under a law then existing, his heirs recovered £100 from the General Court for this bereavement and damage. He left many descendants ; and these, with those of his brother, form one of the most worthy families of Lynn at the present day
Francis Ingalls, the tanner, was attraeted by the pleasant streams of water that ran south-eastward from the little plain ; and hence, going in that direction rather less than a mile, he planted his feet where the brook now erosses Burrill Street in Swampscott. Here he not only improved his land, hut established a tannery as well, which was the first one ever undertaken in the country, or, at least, in New England. It is very probable that he carried on this business quite steadily, and others after him; for Lewis assures us that the vats lasted till 1825, when the remnants were taken up, and he himself saw and examined them. This brother also left a large family, of whom many yet remain.
William Dixey, the remaining man of the party, appears not to have located anywhere in a permanent way. Indeed, he did not long remain with the Lynn settlers ; hut having been previously a servant, or em- ployce, of Isaae Johnson, of Salem, he in a few years returned thither, and obtained the keeping of the ferry-boat across the North River. He finally died in Salem in 1690, aged eighty-two.
This will suffice to identify the nucleus of the settlement that after- ward grew so favorably. Around the homestead of each of these three was destined to arise a prosperous and populous neighborhood, doing continual honor in later times to the good judgment of those who at first chose out so fit and comely a location. We will pursue the personal list somewhat further, with a view to exhibit the origin of those families that are now prominent in the place. This will be sufficient ; for there were, of course, many persons found in the settle- ment, from time to time, who soon disappeared, and of whom no present trace remains. Such will not be noticed.
In 1630, the next year after the Woods and Ingallses arrived, a large number of new settlers appeared. Eleven ships had cleared at Southampton, with 1, 700 passengers for New England. It would have been strange, indeed, if none had been received at Lynn. Among those who did come, we remark the following : -
Joseph Armitage, said to have located on North Common Street, between Park and Mall. He was a tailor, and seems not to have held much land ; but he soon interested himself in other things of use, and owned some time after a eorn-mill on Saugus River. Ile also has the distinction of establishing the first publie house in town, which he opened in a capacious dwelling on the western border of the present village of East Saugus, near the head of Lincoln Avenue. It was ealled the Anchor, and remained as an open tavern for two centuries. or more. For these and similar reasons he is to be well remembered, though his family have long since wholly disappeared.
Allen Breed is to be noticed for a different reason. He took up his habitation still further west, and settled near the present crossing of Summer Street and Western Avenue. Being, like most of the others, a farmer, he found the lands of that vicinity highly favorable to his use, and he stayed and ended his days upon them. He must have been ener- getie, since the allotment of 1638 gave him 200 aeres, which was, very likely, in addition to what he had already improved, as was certainly the method of distribution practised more lately. At any rate Mr. Breed was a man of thrift, who, like John Wood, could stamp his
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image on the very neighborhood ; for in his honor, too, has this section borne the name of " Breed's End " from that day to this. His imme- diate family consisted of but four sons ; yet the descendants beyond them became extremely numerous, so that in 1825 there were more of this name in Lynn than of any other, with one single excep- tiou.
George Burrill selected a situation yet more to the west, locating on the western declivity of Tower Hill, not far from the opening of Summer Street. If the family of Allen Breed has been distinguished here for numbers, the descendants of George Burrill have held a lead- ing position in many other important respects. He was one of the richest of the first men, and we may almost reverse this, and say he was the first rich man here. He had but three children ; yet from them descended so able and enterprising a progeny, that the Burrills long went by the name of the royal family of Lynn. The third son of George, named John, had two sons who attained to important dig- nities in the State. The first was also called John, and became, per- haps, the most eminent man in the settlement. He was twenty-two years a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, ten years the highly honored Speaker of the same, two years or more in the Governor's Council, and thirty-one years town clerk of Lynn. His younger brother, Ebenezer, was very eminent at a rather later day, and was generally known as " Hon. Ebenezer." His residence, according to Judge Newhall, was in Swampscott, on the present grounds of Enoch R. Mudge, Esq. Other offspring of George Burrill betrayed the like tendency to elevation, a daughter being the grand- mother of Hon. Timothy Pickering, the friend of Washington. James Burrill. LL. D., of Rhode Island, who was chief justice of the Supreme Court in 1816, and also United States Senator, was another worthy descendant. A limited number of this family still remain in Lynn ; but none seem to keep up the prominence and distinction that belonged to their ancestors.
John Bancroft did not dwell very long in Lynn, dying in 1637 ; yet he left two sons, from whom has sprung a continuous lineage, discov- erable in almost all parts of the old township to-day. The principal seat of the Bancrofts has always been in Lynnfield ; yet one or more branches have passed down, and mingled in the diverse multitude of the city proper, where many of the name may be found. Hon. George Bancroft, the historian, is from this stock. Another, less illustrious, but, perhaps, not less worthy, Thomas F. Bancroft, Esq., of Lynn, fell a victim in the terrible railroad slaughter at Revere, Mass., Aug. 26, 1871.
Thomas Chadwell was a farmer, and set himself down on what is now Summer Street, somewhat to the eastward of the homestead of Allen Breed. His family are yet well represented in the same section, and have always distinguished themselves for patriotic disposition. Harris Chadwell was a lieutenant of militia in 1775, shared in the battle of Lexington, and afterwards. commanded a force of minute- men for home defence. William Chadwell was a deputy-sheriff for Essex about 1830, and performed various difficult and trying duties. Harris O. Chadwell, Esq., still living, has filled a great variety of municipal offices, and been one or more times a member of the Legislature.
Thomas Dexter was also a farmer, and rich. He dwelt in what is now Saugus Centre, where he built a mill, and made other improve- ments. There is a famous story of his buying Nahant from the Indians for a suit of clothes, which may or may not be authentic. At all events his enterprises cost the town many lawsuits, and he was esteemed more active than agreeable. He was concerned in a new settlement at Sandwich in 1637, and finally removed to that place, or some other, and the family wholly disappeared from Lynn.
Samuel Graves has the honor of planting one of the pleasantest villages of Lynn ; namely, that lying on the southerly border of Flax Pond. His homestead was probably just where the village church now stands, at the corner of Chestnut and Maple streets. His liberality is mentioned, he having made a donation to the Colony, in 1635, of £300. From him the village was for two centuries called Gravesend, and this name should never be changed, though latterly an effort has been made to do so.
Adam Hawkes established himself in the north-western part of the township, originating what is now the north ward of Saugus. Per- sonally, he is chiefly known as having owned the land on which the ore for the iron-works was mined. He left several children, from whom have descended an abundant progeny, who are met with in various walks of life in Lynn. Nathan Mortimer Hawkes, Esq., has long been one of the justices of police court, and has filled other im- portant places. Others, residents of the town of Saugus, where the
family has mostly remained, have stood before their fellows in many honorable ways.
Edward Holyoke was another of the early farmers, owning 500 aeres ; besides which, probably, he had all the western side of Saga- more Hill, where Beach, Newhall, and Sagamore streets now run. He died May 4, 1660, and his descendents appear to have all left Lynn very early,none being here now. But they have proved a notable family. Dr. Edward A. Holyoke, of Salem, died March 31, 1830, more than a hundred years of age. The only son of this first Edward, named Elizur, became a very enterprising and useful man. He explored the wilds of the Connecticut River, and from him were named, first, the charming mountain on its east side, and, second, the township in its vicinity. A son of this Elizur was president of Har- vard College. But a retired street in Lynn, with a fine spring near by, are the only mementoes of the first settler.
Thomas Newhall, another farmer, had his possession near the Com- mon, with the entire frontage on the cast side of Federal Street, which was one of the earliest opened ways. The spot of the old homestead can yet be identified. To him were born two sons : John, native of England, and Thomas, whose birth was within a year of arrival, and who was notable as the first white child born in Lynn. This second Thomas was married in 1652, and buried April 1, 1687, hav- ing buried his wife February 22d, preceding. This man, in his not very long life, laid the foundation of the most numerous, and perhaps important, family in Lynn. Certainly, until within a few years, they have exceeded in number every other name among us, if, indeed, they be not thus distinguished even now. They have always been active, thrifty, and aspiring. A few of the more eminent among the deseend- ants may be named here ; but the extensive list cannot be far pursued. Jacob, known as " Landlord Newhall," kept the Armitage Tavern, in Saugus, for many years, entertaining many people of distinction, Washington included. Of his offspring were Benjamin F. Newhall, a learned and wealthy man, who was the historian of his town, and filled many important offices. So was the Rev. Fales II. Newhall, one of the brightest minds in the Methodist connection. In Lynnfield, we remark Hon. Asa T. Newhall, member of the Constitutional Conven- tion of 1820, and Gen. Josiah Newhall, a man of fine cultivation, and noted patron of agricultural science. For the city proper, we have had Hons. Josiah Newhall and Francis S. Newhall, State Senators ; Isaac Newhall, author of a work on the identity of Junius; Hon. Thomas B. Newhall, first justice of police court here ; Hon. James R. New- hall, his successor in that office, and also re-editor of Lewis's History of Lynn, as well as author of many other works.
John Ramsdell is to be named among the first farmers, and as hav- ing founded an extensive family, which still remains.
Edward Richards is similarly remembered. He owned the eastern side of Sagamore Hill, as Edward Holyoke did the western. But his house was on Essex Street, much further to the east. He has worthy progeny in Lynn at the present day.
Edward Tomlins, a carpenter by his calling, and a captain and military man by his taste, was one of the most important men who ever dwelt in Lynn, yet no descendant stands as his memorial here to-day. He six times represented the town in the General Court ; and eight years after his arrival was to be found in the ranks of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company. Lewis asserts that he built the first mill in Lynn, in 1633, and that it stood at the mouth of Strawberry Brook. But Judge Newhall controverts this opinion at length, averring that the Tomlins Mill was on Water Hill, and the other was not built till 1655. Hereafter we shall somewhat farther speak of this matter. Capt. Tomlins is mentioned here in 1643 as clerk of the writs ; but as to his later days little or nothing seems to be known. He had a brother, Timothy, who was a noted man in the settlement ; thirteen times in the General Court, and still commeno- rated in an important water source among the hills, called Tomlius's Swamp.
Thomas Willis should not be passed unnoticed. He settled on the eminence now called Tower Hill, near where the city almshouse at present stands ; the spot was some time known as Willis's Hill, from him. Judge Newhall cannot understand why the hill should have been so named ; but there seems no difficulty about it. Mr. Willis was a man of consequence, to be sent with Capt. Tomlins and Capt. Turner in the first representative delegation to the General Court, in 1634; and in 1638, he had 500 acres of land granted him, being first named on the list, with a larger share than any other, save Edward Holyoke and Edward Howell. The disposition to localize the names of prominent men was very strong in those days ; and there is every probability that Lewis has stated this thing correctly. There is
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ground for the belief that this Thomas was ancestor of John Willis, who was a soldier of the Revolution, and lived on the street now called North Bend. If so, he was, likewise as is understood, of Nathaniel Willis, the publisher, of Boston, and thence of N. P. Willis and " Fanny Fern."
At the close of 1630, the settlement at Lynn (which, however, had not then been so called, but was known as Sangns), contained, proba- bly, not far from one hundred persons. They had located very vari- ously, just as people naturally would who sought the interests of agriculture before all other considerations. As to distance, it was, in a straight line from Francis Ingalls, northwesterly, to Adam Hawkes, nearly six miles ; and this was the greatest expanse of the settlement, unless, possibly, the Bancrofts had then a place at Lynnfield. All the others were nearer together. It will have been noticed that they were almost exclusively farmers ; only a very few tradesmen appear- ing, and no attempt being made to provide any market-place, or create any particular centre for the town. They, like the majority of the early New Englanders, occupied themselves with getting a living, and thought it quite enough if they could succeed. They were exceed- ingly primitive in their arrangements, contenting themselves for some time with honses that were only pits in the earth, six or seven feet deep, lined up with split logs, and roofed with poles covered with bark. Suitable openings were left to admit light and allow the escape of smoke. Afterward, and among the abler class, frame houses came to be built, of which a few have lasted till within a few years. But it is doubtful if there was a good substantial house in Lynn before 1650, or perhaps even later.
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