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 92
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Mr. John Coit was engaged to teach the children "to write and cypher and to read the English language and the Latin tongue," at an annual salary of sixty pounds ; but three months demonstrated his inability to meet the public wants, and Mr. Stephen Sewall became his successor. This gentleman held the position three years, when Mr. Richard Dana accepted the trust, at a salary of eighty pounds, and performed its duties acceptably for eight years. Mr. Samuel Stacey became the successor of Mr. Dana, and after four years of service the admiration of his fellow-eitizens found expression in a vote to present him " fifty pounds over and above his regular salary." The generosity of this gift will be better appreciated when it is stated, that, only the year before, the impoverished condition of the town, resulting from one or two years of unsuccessful business, moved the inhabitants in public meeting to petition the General Court for relief, by an abatement of the public taxes.
The establishment of a grammar school, managed by the best talent to be found in the Province, appears to have been a special object of publie concern at this time, and although a petition to the General Court for a grant of unappropriated publie lands in aid of this wor- thy object did not meet with the favor it deserved, yet the inhabi- tants resolved to sustain it with liberality, in spite of private misfor- tune and public distress.
No form of disease that afflicts humanity excited more dread and horror than small-pox, previous to the discovery of Jenner ; and the intelligence that this form of pestilenec had appeared in some neigh- boring town would secure the public sanetion of the most arbitrary measures for non-intercourse with the afflicted community. As a measure of prevention against its terrible ravages, inoculation had been advised in hospitals located at a distance from inhabited sections of the country ; but so great was the fear of the people, in view of the bare possibility of infection, that public sentiment condemned the proposition as a dangerous and desperate expedient. At one time several persons designed to offer themselves as patients for such treatment in a distant hospital, but a vote of the town threatened banishment for six months against all who should leave the town for such a purpose.
But few of the people had ever been afflieted with the loathsome disease, when intelligenee was received that it had made its appear-
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anee in Boston. A fence was immediately built across the street, near the entrance of the town, with a gate, securely locked, and four men appointed to watch, night and day, with instructions to "restrain strangers from entering the town from Boston," and three months after the guard was increased. During the month of October the rumor spread from house to house that a young girl named Hannah Waters was suffering with symptoms of the disease, and, a public meeting being called, it was voted, that if these suspicions should be confirmed, she was " to be removed from the house of her mother to the house of William Jones," and a committee of five was chosen to assist the selectmen, " with power to remove persons infected from their homes and act in the emergency for the best interests of the town." Their worst fears were realized ; in defiance of gates and locks and guards, the pestilence now knocked at their doors ; and, while many sought safety in flight, those who remained adopted every measure that wisdom or experience could suggest, to provide against the common danger. Nurses attending cases were forbidden "to walk the streets," and all persons were authorized "to kill dogs running at large." But no measure of prevention could stay the rapid march of the pestilence through the town, and all who could claim exemption from the contagion devoted themselves to the care of the sick and the burial of the dead. The stores were elosed and business generally suspended ; all communication with Salem and other county towns was forbidden ; and, finally, but two members of the board of select- men remained to discharge the duties of their official position. Under the warrant of a justice of the peace, a meeting was called, and the vacancies filled, and the justices entreated, by a vote of the town, to assist the authorities in their labors.
For nearly one year the pestilence raged with unabated fury, for it was not till September of the year following that the town was de- clared to be free from the scourge and the inhabitants resumed their usual avocations.
The influence of such men as Barnard and Holyoke was now mani- fest in public affairs, exciting a more general interest in measures of public improvement, and securing the adoption of laws for the better government of the town. It was resolved to build "a Town House where the Goal and Cage now stand," and during the following year the building was finished, being fifty feet long, twenty feet wide, and twenty-three feet stud. The first public meeting was held in the new building Aug. 1, 1728.
A severe and destructive storm at this time made several breaches in the beach at the head of the harbor, and, its entire destruction being threatened, the General Court was petitioned to adopt measures for its protection. This body, however, failed to respond promptly, and the towu finally appropriated two hundred and fifty pounds to make the necessary repairs. During the same year the General Court granted " a sum not exceeding two thirds of 2000 pounds" for the same purpose, and a " sea wall" was built, "about eighty rods in length, six to ten feet wide and six to eight feet high," at an expense of seven hundred and fifty pounds.
A small almshouse had beeu erected near Pond Street, and all per- sons requiring public support were ordered to be removed there ; but the vote excited so much indignation that it was reconsidered at an early day, and the selectmen authorized " to grant relief according to their discretion."
Petitions were presented to the General Court, asking for appropri- ations to repair the fort ; but the appeals were unheeded, and the citi- zens finally instructed a committee to make such repairs at the expense of the town, and one hundred and fifty pounds was appropriated to purchase ammunition.
Town by-laws were adopted at different public meetings, forbidding the removal of ballast from the beach at the head of the harbor, or throwing ballast into the harbor from vessels ; requiring that all chim- ney's should be cleaned once every three months, as a protection against fire ; forbidding " all Negroes, Indians or Mulatto slaves " the privilege of the street> after nine o'clock in the evening ; forbidding " the gambleing game called pitch-penny or any other game in the streets, highways lanes or alleys "; and prohibiting the practice of " sliding down hill on sleds during the winter."
In 1721, the selectmen laid out the highway to the ferry, and, twelve years after, a committee was chosen to meet a similar committee from Sidem, and establish a boundary line between the two places.
In 1721, the province loaned £50,000 to the several towns, and Marblehead received £1,130 of this loan. Trustees were appointed to receive it, and were instructed to loan it to individuals who could fur- nish good security "at not less than six per cent annual interest." The income derived from this loan was two years after appropriated
to Mr. Cheever as a portion of his salary. The trustees retained one hundred pounds of this fund as compensation for their services, but this unauthorized act excited so much controversy and indignation that they finally submitted their claims to arbitration, and were allowed sixty pounds.
In 1727, the Province made another loan of £60,000 in " bills of credit" to the several towns, and the first meeting held in the new town-house in 1728 was to appoint a committee to receive the town's proportion of this loan. Trustees were chosen to take charge of this fund, and they were instructed to loan the money to individuals, " no person to have more than fifty or less than twenty pounds, and bor- rowers to give two good and sufficient sureties."
The duties of town clerk had been performed with fidelity and ability for several years, and yet without reward; but finally the services of this official were recognized as worthy of compensation, and the sum of ten pounds was appropriated for his salary.
Benjamin Boden had filled this important position for a few years when this action took place ; and his knowledge and experience in town affairs was fully appreciated by his fellow-citizens.
The selectmen had performed the duties of assessors from the early history of the town ; but it was finally resolved to create a separate board of officers to discharge this duty, and three assessors were there- fore duly chosen. The number selected did not appear to give geu- eral satisfaction, and at the adjourned meeting it was voted to increase the number to six, and three additional members of the board were chosen. When the choice of the town had been declared, Mr. Boden, the clerk, deliberately walked out of the meeting, taking the town records with him. A messenger was despatched to request his return, but he positively refused to do so, and the citizens, unwilling to pro- ceed without the presence of their accomplished and efficient clerk, voted to adjourn. The difficulty was afterwards compromised by one of the assessors elect declining to serve, and the election of the indig- nant clerk to the vacancy thus created.
Mr. Isaac Mansfield hecame the successor of Mr. Samuel Stacey as school-master, at a salary of seventy-five pounds, and three years after the selectmen were authorized " to treat with Mr. Peter Frye respeet- ing the lower part of the town house to keep a school on such condi- tions as the Seleetmen shall see fit."
The salary of Mr. Mansfield was increased to one hundred pounds, and a few years after reduced to sixty pounds, when he resigned.
Mr. Samuel Ashton became his successor, with an increase of twenty pounds to the salary, and the selectmen were authorized " to employ an Usher during the three winter months " if necessary. This school was located in the upper part of the town-house.
The selectmen at this time recommended Mr. Peter Jayne as a gen- tleman " of soher conversation and well fitted to use and exercise the employment of teacher of children and youth to write and eypher," and, thus commended, he did good service as an educator of youth for sev- eral years in the lower part of the town-house.
A Mr. Williams was also recommended as a teacher, " to keep school in the house of Joseph Roads in the upper part of the town." The private schools of Jayne and Williams flourished from patronage bestowed by those whose means commanded especial attention to the educational wants of their children, and the generous provision fre- quently made by gentlemen of wealth for the education of the promis- ing sons of the poor. The names of Robert Hooper, an eminent merchant, and John Barnard, the distinguished pastor of the First Church, are mentioned as applying a portion of their income to this noble and praiseworthy object.
The large fishing interest of the town, its increasing commerce, and the exposed condition of its harbor, at a time when war was seriously threatened between England and France, moved the inhabitants to take prompt measures for the better protection of the place. An ap- propriation was made by the town "to build a platform and provide carriages for the guns in the fort," and the next year the Province appropriated £550, to strengthen and perfect the defences of the place .. Joshua Orne, Joseph Swett, and Giles Russell were appointed to receive the fund, and, with a view to protect the treasure against the possibility of private embezzlement, it was voted " that the trus- tees deposit the money in one chest, with two different locks and keys, the chest to be left in the charge of one, and the keys to be held by each of the others; and the chest not to be opened except in the presence of all three gentlemen." Orne and Swett declined to serve, and Thomas Gerry and Nathan Bowen were elected to fill the vacancies. A special committee was appointed to receive the fund, and, having done so, for some unexplained reason, refused to transfer it to the trustees. For nearly two years
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it was the subject of contention, when it was finally paid to the town treasurer, with an additional sum of £166, voted by the Province for the same object. A committee of three was appointed to secure the services of a " competent Engineer, to purchase neces- sary materials, and exercise all other powers requisite " for the prompt completion of a fortification of sufficient strength for the protection of the town. War having been declared between England and France, Thomas Gerry was commissioned as the first commander of the forti- fication. During the next year, an additional appropriation of £225 was made by the General Court, for the purchase of cannon and ammunition.
Capt. Gerry proved to be an able and efficient commander, but he was often sadly in want of the necessary means for a successful defence of the place, in case of attack. With the guns badly mounted, the platforms decaying, no military stores, and insufficient ammunition, he earnestly appealed to the town for appropriations to meet his wants, but the destruction of taxable property, the general stagnation of busi- ness, increase of paupers, and heavy taxation denied the aid he solicited.
A petition for aid was prepared and sent to the General Court, in which it was claimed that Marblehead, " as the chief seat of the fisheries, and important as a nursery for seamen had a right to demand the con- sideration and protection of the Provincial government"; that its business was " the basis of a large export trade and largely consumed the productions of the farmer and home manufacturer "; that it " was prosecuted with great uncertainty and risk, especially in time of war, often entailing great loss of life and property, leaving widows and fatherless children dependent on the bounty and charity of their more fortunate neighbors "; that " the French had already captured many fishing vessels belonging to the place"; that "the town was limited in territory, being a little more than two miles square, and so rocky and barren that it was utterly impossible to employ its inhab- itants in agriculture "; that " its harbor was well situated and com- modions for navigation or the fisheries, yet open and easy of access thereby exposing the vessels and other property of the inhabitants to the ravages of the meanest invader."
While the petition did not receive the consideration it deserved, and the old fort was neglected, ignorance by the enemy of its defenceless condition served as a protection to the town, and the war finally closed, permitting the citizens to again pursue their uncertain and hazardous business. A town with narrow streets, crowded with wooden houses, with unsafe chimneys and large open fire-places, in which wood alone was used as fuel for all purposes, was constantly exposed to destruction by fire, and while the utmost vigilance of the entire population was in continual requisition to prevent such a calamity, many of the citizens favored the introduction of improved machinery for its better protec- tion. The question of purchasing a fire-engine now began to be agitated, and a vote was finally passed to make the purchase, but another meeting was soon called, the vote was reconsidered, and the proposition finally defeated. The agitation of the subject continued, however, and for six annual town-meetings the question was warmly discussed, gradually gaining favor, till at last the selectmen were in- structed to purchase " a Fire Engine in London with the necessary pipes and a dozen leather buckets at the expense of the town."
Before this engine was received, Robert Hooper, a wealthy mer- chant, purchased a small engine, and presented it to the town, so that the first fire-engine owned by the town of Marblehead was the gift of a public-spirited citizen. The fire-wards were instructed to organ- ize companies for both engines ; but neither company was to exceed nine men, and members were to be exempt from military duty and public service, as hogreeves, constables, or tythingmen. The regula- tion limiting the number of men was afterwards modified so as to permit an increase of three men " for the larger Engine purchased by the town," and another regulation was adopted, imposing a fine of two shillings for neglect of duty, or absence from meetings, to be divided equally between the town and the company. These regula- tions were again modified, authorizing the fire-wards to exercise their own discretion in relation to the number attached to each engine, and they werc instructed to agree with the members to serve for five years, the men to be exempt from other public duties, as had been specified at a former meeting.
In accordance with these regulations, companies were promptly secured, and the fire department of the town, thus organized, com- menced that long career of usefulness which has distinguished it for more than a century.
A town with large fishing and commercial interests, and with a rapidly increasing population, afforded a ready and profitable market
for the provisions and farm produce of traders from the neighboring towns, and with a view to protect the inhabitants from the impositions of unscrupulous dealers, it was resolved to prepare the lower part of the town-house for a public market. Under the direction of the selectmen, the necessary improvements were made, and Maj. Richard Reed was appointed clerk, and a salary of ten pounds was allowed as a compensation for his services the first year. Suitable rules were adopted for its government, and the regulations of trade by " Hucksters " during market-days.
"In view of the large number of poor and destitute and vagrant and disorderly " in the place, it was voted to erect an almshouse " ou that piece of ground called the negroes' burying place, on the back side thercof and that said house be 111 feet long, 22 feet wide, two stories high and each story to be not over 72 feet with all necessary appartments and accommodations for that use with suitable yards fences &c."
This building was erected at an expense of five hundred pounds, and was located on Back Street, near the head of Pearl Street. The selectinen were instructed to divide the town into five wards, each ward to be under the supervision of a member of the board of overseers. It was also voted "to set apart a portion of the new almshouse, as a house of Correction for the restraint and punishment of criminal offenders."
The careful observer could not fail to notice, at this time, the many evidences of public improvement and individual enterprise which marked it as one of the most thriving towns in the Province, and yet its fisheries and commerce had so often suffered from the calamities of war and the perils of the ocean as to excite, at one time, the earnest protest of the inhabitants against increased taxation by the Province authorities. From this petition, the information is derived that, dur- ing the years 1755 and 1756, eleven fishing vessels, valued at £5,000, with their crews of seventy men and boys, were lost at sea; that, in 1757, an Embargo Act denied them all access to the best markets of the world for the products of their toil and enterprise ; that unsuc- cessful voyages and large losses of cables and anchors in 1758 marked it as a disastrous year for the fishing business ; and that these successive years of misfortune were followed by another, in which eleven vessels, valued at £5,500, were lost, with their crews of seventy men, and eleven boys, leaving thirty-seven widows, and eighty-five fatherless children. By these disasters, it was claimed that more than one-fifth of the whole fishing fleet belonging to the place had been lost, and that their crews represented "nearly one fifth of the rateable polls belonging to the town." These calamities, besides filling homes throughout the town with grief and mourning, and reducing men of substantial fortune to a condition of poverty, imposed additional burdens on the tax-payers; for the numbers demanding support from the town, through its public charities, were so largely increased as to finally require £200 to meet this want, or one-fifth of the whole appropriation.
But there had been years of prosperity preceding these, and a steady improvement in the progress and condition of the town was manifest. During these years, town scales were purchased, and " placed in a situation favorable to those making sales of hay to the inhabitants "; a boundary line was established between Marblehead and Salem ; by-laws were adopted to prevent gaming iu the streets and highways, and compelling house owners to keep their chimneys clean ; provision was made for the erection of a powder-house at the expense of the town ; swine were denied the freedom of the streets, a liberty the hogs had enjoyed from the carliest settlement of the town ; repairs on the highways were made, without special demands for this service by delinquent tax-payers ; an unsuccessful attempt was made "to name the streets, lanes and allies"; the first towu- pump was established in one of the public wells, the town paying a part of the cost ; nine highways were laid out and duly recorded, and Pearl, Pond, and Darling streets are recognized as among the public ways accepted at that time. Among the curious and amusing public acts of the town, was one appropriating thirty shillings " to be spent for a treat to the Constables at the house of Capt. John Stacey," and another directing that "no person shall keep or possess any dog or dog kind, that shall incasure more than twelve inches high from the ground to the top of his shoulders." The penalty for violation of this law was twenty shillings for each offence.
Rapidly recovering from the losses sustained by war and ocean disasters, the town fairly rivalled all others in the Province in the prosecution of commercial enterprises, and the acquisition of wealth and population. Where, fifty years before, there was hardly a family of intelligence and refinement, but few mechanical trades represented,
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and a "rude swearing population," the reproach of religion and mor- ality, now there was a numerous body of enterprising merchants. the owners of more than one hundred saul of fishing vessels, and forty merchant vessels, manned with a thousand seamen, engaged in profitable commerce with England, France, Spain, Portugal, and the West Indies ; every mechanical trade necessary for the comfort and convenience of the inhabitants, largely represented and profitably employed ; stores with full assortments of merchandise, inviting the attention and patronage of purchasers from all the neighboring towns ; public and private schools, superintended by teachers dis- tinguished in their profession ; clergymen, physicians, and lawyers honored and respected by the most eminent men of the day ; well- graded streets and avenues, reaching to the adjoining towns ; private residences that rivalled the most imposing structures of the Province in architecture and design, furnished with taste and elegance ; con- fortable homes for the prudent and industrious ; and a population with comparatively few "to imitate the general rudeness, improvi- dence and intemperance of a former generation."
Patriotism was cherished and honored as a sacred sentiment by the humblest citizen, and it found expression in loyalty to the British throne whenever and wherever the rights and honor of the " Mother Country" were assailed. The sacrifice of commerce and business, and the increased taxation imposed, as a consequence of wars between England and France, were cheerfully accepted and endured, and when William Pepperrell, the Kittery merchant, called for volunteers to follow him to the walls of Louisburg, hundreds of Marblehead fishermen responded to the call, and participated in the glory of that important achievement.
No questions of political importance had engaged the attention of the people up to this time, for the American Colonies, while recog- nized as a portion of the British Empire, had been left in a great de- gree to manage their own affairs, and this had been done without much controversy among those charged with the duty of making laws for the different Provinces.
With a view to seenre a revenue from these prosperous Provinces, the British ministry finally secured the enactment of a law which pro- vided that all important documents and papers authorized by the stat- utes should be written or printed on paper hearing the government stamp, and this law was designated as the " Stamp Act." This "Act " was to be enforced on or after the 1st of November, 1765, and the representatives to the General Court were instructed, at a meeting of the citizens of Marblehead, held in September of that year, "to read- ily join in such dutiful remonstrances and humble petitions to the King and Parliament as shall have a tendency to repeal the Stamp Act and secure the alleviation of the heavy burdens thereby imposed on the British American Colonies : and that you do not give your as- sent to any act of the Assembly that shall imply the willingness of your constituents to submit to any internal taxes that are imposed otherwise, than by the Great and General Court of the Province according to the Constitution of this government."
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