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 93
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The firm and united action of the Colonies in opposition to this measure of taxation secured its repeal the next year. and the intelli- gence was received with every manifestation of joy and gratitude ; but the passage of a new measure the year following, imposing a tax on tea and other articles, and involving the same principle so obnox- ious in the "Stamp Act," again excited the resentment and hostil- ity of the people. The agitation for organized opposition to this measure was commenced by the adoption of a "Circular Letter" by the General Court, addressed to the Provincial Legislatures of the several Colonies, inviting a general convention of delegates for consultation and co-operation. The adoption of this "Letter" was denounced by the friends of the ministry, as "a measure inflamma- tory in its character, tending to create unwarrantable combinations and to excite unjustifiable opposition to the constitutional authority of Parliament : calculated to revive unhappy divisions between Great Britain and the American Colonies, and the treasonable work of a des- perate faction misrepresenting the opinions and judgment of the peo- ple." The government demanded that the vote adopting the measure " be rescinded," but this was refused by a vote nearly unanimous, there being but 17 yeas in a vote of 109. The citizens of Marble- head were prompt to repel the slanderous charges against the Assem- bly ; and, in town-meeting assembled, they declared it "to be their duty as a people who would not tamely part with their rights and lib- erties, to let the world know their sentiments " in regard to this meas- ure of the General Court, and they voted without a dissenting voice " to return their sincerest thanks to the worthy 92 members of the late Honorable House of Representatives of this Province, for their i.
steady resolution in adhering to the just rights and liberties of the subject, when required to rescind the resolution of a former House relating to the Circular Letter sent to the other Provinces desiring them to join in a dutiful petition to His Majesty." Secretly advised by Gov. Hutchinson that the presence of troops was necessary to en- force the claims and demands of the government, a regiment of sol- diers was landed in Boston. The presence of these soldiers only excited a more determined resistance to the laws and measures of the British government, and when Joshua Orne and John Gallison were clected as representatives to the General Court, their fellow-citizens gave them very clear instructions for the regulation of their political conduct.
They were charged " to exercise their best powers to remove every cause that tended to awe or control the freedom of debate in the House of Representatives : to promote every measure designed to restore the confidence that formerly existed between the colonies and Mother Country : to use their best exertion to refute the misrepresen- tations made against this Province to the government at home : to use all legal measures to have the authors of these calumnies brought to shame and punishment : to resist all demands requiring provision for expenses incurred by bringing troops into this Province, as the cause of Justice has never been impeded nor the civil magistrate deprived of the full and free exercise of his authority : to avoid every act tend- ing to weaken the Union existing between the several British Colo- nies, and to promote every measure calculated to strengthen and in- crease it : to secure the appointment of some man of honor and integ- rity, well acquainted with the interests of the Colonies to act as Provincial Agent, and to be careful that he is provided with such compensation at the public expense as shall be ample to sustain the dignity of his office and render him independent of the favors of the Conrt : that their support must be given to every rational scheme designed to employ the labor of the poor in every part of the Prov- ince in manufactures or in any other way that may be useful to the public : to secure the payment of the Governor's Salary in monthly or quarterly instalments : to oppose any measure designed to impose an Excise duty on spiritous liquors, as the general trade of the Prov- ince will thereby be injured, but failing in this design, seek to exempt all that may be used or consumed in the Fishery : to make a strict inquiry into the conduct of the officers of the Crown and see if the impartial administration has not been greatly obstructed, and the authority of the Prince and the right of the subject, has not been in many cases trampled upon with impunity by high handed offenders through their venality and corruption : not to allow by vote or resolu- tion the claim of any power on earth to levy taxes on the people of this Province for the purposes of revenue except the General Assem- bly of the Province : and finally to embrace every opportunity of manifesting our allegiance to our rightful Sovereign King George the Third : acknowledging the Supreme legislative authority of the Brit- ish Parliament over the whole Empire, except the power of levying taxes on the Province for the purpose of Revenue : and endeavour to wipe off that reproach for disloyalty and disobedience which has been liberally cast upon us by malicious and malevolent persous at the same time vindicating the just rights and privileges of your country from the insults and designs of wicked and arbitrary men."
The duties on all other articles except tea had been repealed ; but the people resolved neither to purchase nor use it while it was bur- dened with the hated tax, and those who were not equal to the patri- otie demands of the hour were denounced as unworthy of respect and confidence.
A chest of the condemned merchandise had been refused transpor- tation by water from Boston, but the purchaser had secured a private conveyance to bring it to the town. The fact was made known on the evening that it was received, and the indignant citizens demanded its removal to Boston on the following day, to which the owner gave a reluctant consent. A person was employed to execute the will of the people, and the contraband package, well covered with patriotic mottoes, was placed on an open wagon, and, having been escorted through the streets by large numbers of men and boys, was finally returned to Boston.
Marblehead, at this time, had nearly sixty merchants engaged in foreign trade, and they assembled at the " Bunch of Grapes Tavern," and signed a non-importation agreement, "to be observed untill the American Revenue Acts should be repealed." Four business firms, however, refused to sign, and they were condemned in the public newspaper as " sordidly preferring their own interest to that of the public good." Resenting the reproaches of their fellow-citizens, they replied indignantly, and a sharp correspondence was continued
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between the two parties for three or four weeks, till finally the pat- riotic merchants again assembled at the same famous tavern, and voted, that "they be looked upon as blindly preferring the chains of slavery to our most valuable inheritance, English Liberty."
Soon after, a town-meeting was held to consider this matter, and voted, " that the determination of the merchants of Marblehead to unite with those of Boston, and the other maritime towns of the Province in an agreement of non-importation was a praiseworthy act and well calculated to sustain the measures of that Assembly which had so gloriously distinguished itself as the watchful guardian of invaluable rights and liberties : that inasmuch as other measures had failed to procure the repeal of the acts complained of, it was the duty of the citizens of the town as friends of their country and as freemen to sustain the merchants of Marblehead, and to prevent by every legal means the importation of British goods into the town, except those not prohibited till a general importation should be per- mitted : that any person wilfully disregarding the agreement of the merchants and the remonstrances of their fellow citizens should be regarded as an enemy to his country, and unworthy of public patron- age or private association : and that the recent lawless act of an ignorant and bloody soldiery in shooting down peaceable citizens in the town of Boston provoked the resentment and indignation of the citizens of this town, and they were ready with their lives and inter- est at all times to support the civil authority of the Province in bring- ing to justice all such high-handed offenders against the wholesome laws of the land." At the same meeting, a committee was appointed "to draw up an agreement against the use of India tea and to present the same to the inhabitants of the town for their signatures," and all per- sons refusing to sign the agreement were to be regarded " as unfriendly to the community," and their names were to be reported for record in the office of the town clerk. The town was faithfully canvassed in obedience to this vote, and the entire adult population signed the agreement, with the exception of " six males and four females."
The few merchants in Marblehead who had refused to sign the " non- importation agreement " respected the wishes of their fellow-citizens so far as to import only such merchandise as was permitted by the terms of the "agreement"; but in Boston, where the royal authority was protected by the bayonets of British soldiers, a few were found engaged in mercantile pursuits who safely defied the public sen- timent of the whole Province. One of these, named McMasters, on one occasion came to Marblehead, but within an hour from the time of his arrival he was served with a written notice, signed by El- bridge Gerry, informing him that his " base conduet" was known to the inhabitants of the town, and a speedy retreat would alone save him from " the just resentment of the people." It was right o'clock in the evening when MeMasters read this significant notice, and he left the town without further delay. During the wars between France and England, the able-bodied men of the town had been organized, under competent military authority, into companies for defence, and some of these had seen active service in expeditions against the ene- my. These companies were formed into a regimental organization, under the command of Jacob Fowle, a distinguished merchant, and, the last time it paraded with him as its commander, was said to have "a thousand men in the ranks and present a handsome appearance." He died before the close of the year, after serving as its commander for eighteen years, and was buried with military honors.
In no place were public measures affecting the trade and govern- ment of the Colonies now watched with greater vigilance than in Mar- blehead ; and acts conflicting in the smallest degree with chartered privileges as well as constitutional rights, and which under other cir- cumstances may have been accepted without opposition, were freely discussed and boldly denounced. Thus, a government measure de- signed to make the, judges of the "Superior Court" independent of colonial appropriations, and to provide for their salaries directly from the treasury of the British Government, provoked a meeting of the citizens ; and in a long series of bold and manly resolutions, they pro- tested most eloquently against this and other political wrongs. Be- fore the close of the meeting, it was resolved, "in response to the invitation of the patriotic citizens of Boston to appoint a Committee of Grievances," and Azor Orne, Elbridge Gerry, Joshua Orne, Thomas Gerry, John Nutt, John Glover, and William Doliber, were chosen as that committee. The sentiments expressed in the resolutions adopted at this meeting excited the fears of a few, and a protest, signed by twenty-nine merchants and prominent citizens of the town, appeared in the columns of the "Salem Gazette," ten days after, in which it was declared that " the charges against the King are rash and inconsiderate ; that not more than twenty persons voted on the prop-
ositions ; that the action did not fairly express the sentiments of the citizens ; and that some of those who voted did not fully realize the danger of the sentiments to which they had subscribed." The action of the meeting was ably defended in a subsequent issue of the paper, and at the adjourned meeting of the town a proposition, that "the re- solves and proceedings of the previous session be confirmed," was passed, with only five dissenting votes.
At this time the first report of the "Committee of Grievances " was submitted, approving a pamphlet entitled the " State of Rights of the Colonies." The committee reported, " that the record of violated rights which it contained was in accordance with the public sentiment of the town, and with a view that every one qualified to vote in town affairs should have a correct understanding of the tendency of these violations in their relations to himself and family, it is recommended that one of these Pamphlets be preserved by the Town Clerk and that it be read annually at the commencement of each March meeting till their grievances are redressed, not only for the purpose mentioned, but to inform posterity (should our rights and liberties be preserved) how much it is indebted to many eminent patriots of the present day ; and also that the names of the Honorable John Hancock, who was Moderator of the meeting which originated the State of Rights ; of the Honorable James Otis, Mr. Adams and Doctor Warren and other members of the committee which reported then, be recorded in the Books of this town as great Supporters of the Rights and Liberties of this Province, and gentlemen who do much honor and service to their country." A circular letter was also adopted, addressed to the citi- zens of Boston, thanking them for their wisdom and courage, " which merits and receives the respect and gratitude of the town of Marble- head," and closes with the eloquent declaration " that a determined resolution to support the Rights confirmed to us by the Great King of the Universe, engages the minds of this people, and we apprehend that all who attempt to infringe upon them are wickedly violating the sacred statutes of Heaven ; and for the honor and glory of our Supreme Benefactor, for our own welfare and the welfare of posterity we desire to use the blessings of Liberty and Property with prudence and thank- fulness, and to defend them with intrepedity and steadiness."
The consignment of cargoes of tea by the East India Company to certain Boston merchants moved the citizens to assemble again in town-meeting ; and opening the meeting with prayer by the Rev. Wil- liam Whitwell, the popular pastor of the " North Church," they again considered their political rights, and recorded a noble protest against this new device of the government and its agents to compel them to accept an article of merchandise universally rejected by the people. An attested copy of these proceedings, as expressing the public sentiment of the town, was directed to be sent to the authorities of Boston, and, nine days after, the tea was taken from the vessels and thrown into the waters of Boston Harbor.
Other subjects, however, had a share of the public attention dur- ing these years of political agitation. The public schools had been under the supervision of the selectmen since the town had first taken action in regard to this important matter ; but finally a commit- tee was chosen, and designated as " School Trustees," with authority to inquire into the condition of the schools, to ascertain the probable number required for the proper education of the youth belonging to the town ; to determine what children should be educated at the pub- lic expense, and to adopt such regulations as may be deemed expe- dient for the government of the schools. At the adjourned meeting it was voted to establish three additional schools, "for the purpose of teaching reading writing and arithmetic," and the sum of £330 was appropriated for educational purposes. A few months after this, the trustees reported, " that in obedience to the vote of the town, three new schools had been established," and the gentlemen selected as teachers were mentioned as ".Messrs Jayne, Phippen and Ashton "; that these schools each contained " about 80 males and nearly as many females," as pupils ; that " Mr. Jayne's school was in good order be- ing accommodated with a suitable room," but that the other schools were so badly crowded as to peril the health of the scholars, and de- feat the educational system contemplated by its friends. A meeting of the legal voters was called to consider the subject, but failing to make the necessary provision for the better accommodations of the public schools, the trustees resigned, and a new board was elected. The public schools, thus neglected, languished ; while private schools in all parts of the town flourished, three having been successfully es- tablished within one year after this unfortunate action of the town. The subject was, however, persistently agitated, till finally a vote was secured appropriating two hundred pounds for the erection of " two school houses." Up to this time, a regulation. had been en-
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HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.
forced, requiring that " children should read from the Testament," as a qualification for admission to the publie schools ; and an investiga- tion made during that year revealed the fact that 122 children, the offspring of the poor, were denied access to the schools by the reg- ulation. The town promptly voted that these, and all other children, whose parents or guardians were unable to provide for the necessary primary education, should be taught at the public expense, and one hundred pounds was appropriated for this special purpose. Thus were the publie primary schools founded, and have continued, with brief interruptions, till the present time, as a part of our system of publie education.
The town clock, which had been procured by private subscription, and had been placed in the tower of the "New Meeting-House," where, under the care of Mr. Nathan Bowen, it had measured time with a fair degree of aeenracy for several years, was not favorably located for the convenience of many of the inhabitants, and an unsuc- cessful effort was made for its removal. A few years after, another clock was purchased and placed in the tower of the Episcopal church.
The First Parish and Church, founded by Walton and organized by Cheever, was now called upon to part with its third pastor. Few of its members remembered the controversy which resulted in his settle- ment and the division of the ancient parish ; and now that John Barn- ard was dead, the universal grief, that found expression in the homes of affluence and poverty alike, was a fitting tribute to the services and worth of a great and good man. When he assumed the duties of his office the place was little more than a fishing village, with a rude and unlettered population, when the misfortunes of a single season often threatened every home with the severest trials of poverty ; while now, the evidences of wealth and refinement were to be seen on every hand, in the midst of a large population honorably and usefully employed. and the wondrous change could be justly attributed to his active influence more than any other inhabitant of the town. To wisely minister to the wants of the poor he studied the seience of medicine, and prac- tised successfully without fee or reward; to develop the resources of the towu he learned the secrets of commercial traffic, and encour- aged his friends and neighbors to engage in enterprises that were prosecuted with great success and profit ; interested in naval architect- ure, he studied its principles and produced models that were the admiration of master shipwrights ; a steady and consistent friend of education, he for many years annually provided for the schooling of two or three children of the poor from his own limited means ; recog- nized as a preacher of learning and eloquence among the churches of New England, he delivered the first " Dudleian lecture " at Cambridge which was ever published ; free from the spirit of intolerance and bigotry, and true to the teachings of the "Golden Rule," the objects of his Christian love and charity were to be found in every walk and condition of life ; of tall and commanding presence, he moved among the people in his daily walks loved and honored by all, and, dying at the ripe age of fourscore years and eight, he was universally lamented by a people he had faithfully served for more than half a century.
At a time when it was said that "more than five thousand " of the population of the town had never been exposed to the contagion of the small-pox, the inhabitants were greatly excited with the intelli- gence that "two persons in one house were recovering from the dreaded disease who had been freely visited by others." The most efficient measures were taken to prevent the spread of the pestilence ; all dogs in the town were ordered to be killed, and the selectmen were authorized to seize whatever buildings might be required for hospital purposes. The prompt and efficient measures taken by the authorities to prevent its spread appear to have been effeetnal ; and soon after, the people of the neighboring towns were officially notified, through the columns of the county newspaper, that those disposed to visit the town could do so safely, as "the disease was confined to the house where it originated, and all other cases had been removed to the back side of the town about a mile from the Market House."
Rejoicing in their escape, this sudden and unexpected visitation was not without its lessons of warning. It had been demonstrated that inoculation was the only reliable measure of precaution, and that eases thus treated, under the direction of competent physicians and the care of experienced nurses, in nearly every instance recovered. At a meeting of the town a propositiou was made to build a hospital for the treatment of cases in this manner, and, although the proposition was defeated as a public measure, consent was voted that a private com- pany may establish such an institution " on Cat Island," providing that the General Court and town of Salem should grant permissiou. Salem readily granted its consent ; and the General Court, in response to a petition numerously signed by citizens of Marblehead, Salem,
and Beverly, granted the requisite authority. An attempt was made to organize a large company, but, proving unsuccessful, Elbridge Gerry, Azor Orne, John Glover and Jonathan Glover, concluded to engage in the enterprise, and purchased the island and necessary ma- terials for the erection of the hospital. Probably no equal number of citizens in the town possessed so large a share of public confidence or exercised a greater personal influence at this time than those namned ; but they were unable to allay the fears or silence the criticism which their action exeited, and a town-meeting voted to " rescind " the vote whereby the consent of the town was given to erect the building. Another meeting was called, at which the proprietors proposed to abandon the contemplated enterprise, providing the town would pur- chase the building materials ; but this proposition was refused, and they then resolved to go ou with their work. A large two-story building was erected, with accommodation for one hundred patients, and Bartholomew Jackson, a skilful and popular physician in the town, was appointed as superintendent. One hundred and three patients soon after entered the hospital for treatment, and in due time were all returned in safety to their homes. A second and third body of patients, each quite as large as the first, and representing some of the most respectable families in the town, were treated with the same re- sult ; and the success of the institution was so well established as to influence the citizens of Saleni to establish another hospital in a differ- ent locality.
The opposition, however, continued to increase, and the " boatman " having violated one of the town regulations for landing patients, an angry crowd drove him from the shore, compelling him to land his passengers at a point remote from the houses; soon after this, the boat was destroyed. At the same time, articles of clothing had been stolen from the island, and the night-watchmen who were em- ployed at the hospital discovered four men in the act of stealing ; the thieves made all haste for their boat, but were so hotly pursued on laud and water as to throw away the greater part of their plunder to facilitate their escape : but their identity was fixed beyond question. The next day the four thieves were secured and taken to Market Square, were each well covered with tar aud feathers, placed in a rude cart, "facing each other," a mob numbering at least one thousand men and boys, with five drums and a fife escorted them to Salem, where a large body of the citizens met the strange procession, and accom- panied it through the streets of that town for an hour or more. The four objects of public indignation, it was said, " preseuted a comie and ludicrous appearance." They returned iu a few hours, and the mob dispersed.
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