USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > Boston > The Pilgrims of Boston and their descendants: with an introduction by Hon. Edward Everett, LL. D.; also, inscriptions from the monuments in the Granary burial ground, Tremont street > Part 4
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22
HERE LIES THE BODY OF MRS. LYDIA KNEELAND, THE WIFE OF MR. SOLOMON KNEELAND, SHE DEPARTED THIS LIFE NOVR. 6TH, 1768, AGED 61 YEARS. [D in departed of the same size as small letters. ]
IN MEMORY OF MASTER JOSIAH LANGDON, SON OF DOCT'R JOSIAH & MRS. DOROTHY LANGDON, WHO DEPARTED THIS LIFE JULY 23D, 1793, 15 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AND 13 DAYS. AGED
[The M in Master and S in Son are smaller caps than those in the name ; the let- ters in Master are smaller than those of the other words. Footstone,]
JOSIAH LANGDON, 1793.
HERE LYETH
YE BODY OF
JOHN COWEL,
AGED ABOUT 49 YEARS,
DIED DECEM. YE 3,
1693.
HERE LYES THE BODY OF
MRS. HANNAH COWEL,
WIDDOW OF MR. JOHN COWEL, AGED 73 YEARS,
DEC'D DEO'R YE 7TH 1713.
[Footstone, top broken off, and no inscription. ]
49
INSCRIPTIONS.
[A large stone, one arch at the top, but divides thus below the ornaments.]
HERE LYES YE BODY OF , MRS. ELIZABETH MACCARTY,
WIFE TO MR. THADEUS MACCARTY, AGED 82 YEARS, DIED JUNE YE 7TH, 1723.
[The foregoing is under one arch, and the following is under the other.]
HERE LYES YE BODY OF
MRS. KATHARINE MACCARTY, AGED ABOUT 42 YEARS,
DIED JUNE YE 7TH, 1723.
[All even caps, except the superior letters, and the word about, which is small.]
HERE LYES YE BODY OF
THADEUS MACCARTY,
AGED 65 YEARS AND 6 MONTHS,
DESESED JUNE YE 18, 1705.
[Footstone, at back of headstone,)
MR. THADEUS MACCARTY.
HERE LYETH INTERRED YE BODY OF
CHARLES MACCARTY,
SON TO THADEUS AND ELIZABETH MACCARTY, AGED 18 YEARS, WANTING 7 DAYS, DECEASED YE 25 OF OCTOBER, 1683. [Over top of this inscription, above the D. H., are the words,]
VIVE MEMOR LETHI.
4
50
THE GRANARY BURIAL GROUND.
[Against back of preceding, stands the footstone (broken) of ] RUTH CUTLER.
HERE LYETH BURIED YE BODY OF
ASAPH ELLIOTT,
AGED 35 YEARS, DEPARTED THIS LIFE SEPTEMBER YE 3D, 1685.
HERE LYES YE BODY OF MRS. JANE ELY,
WIFE OF MR. JOHN ELY, AGED 62 YEARS, DEC'D APRIL YE 30TH, 1727.
ELISABETH ARCHER,
WIFE TO JOHN ARCHER, AGED ABOUT 25 YEARS, DEC'D NOV'R YE 8TH, 1721.
A CHILD OF JOHN AND ELIS'TH ARCHER, BORN AND DIED NOV'R YE 3D, 1721.
HERE LIES BURIED THE BODY OF MR. JOHN TURTELL, AGED 29 YEARS, DEC'D DEC'R YE 8TH, 1726.
51
INSCRIPTIONS.
HERE LYES YE BODY OF SARAH, YE WIFE OF JOSEPH URANN, AGED 32 YEARS, 7 MO. DEC'D SEPT. YE 6TH, 1721.
HERE LYES BURIED THE BODY OF
MRS. SARAH URANN,
WIFE TO MR. JOSEPH URANN, AGED 61 YEARS, DIED YE 25 OF MARCH, 1745.
HERE LYES BURIED THE BODY OF MRS. MARY CARTER, AGED 55 YEARS, DIED NOV'R YE 18TH, 1747.
JOSEPH,
SON TO MR. JOSEPH AND MRS. SARAH
PUTNAM,
AGED 3 MONTHS,
DIED FEB'Y YE 19TH, 1741.
SARAH,
DAUGHTER TO
MR. JOSEPH AND MRS. SARAH PUTNAM,
AGED 8 YEARS,
HERE LYES YE BODY OF
ABIGAIL CALLOM,
WIFE TO DANIEL CALLOM, AGED 26 YEARS, DIED JULY YE 31ST, 1721.
52
THE GRANARY BURIAL GROUND.
MARY FITCH,
DAUGHTER TO
JOSEPH AND MARGARET FITOH,
AGED 3
DEC'D FEB. 16, 1739.
JONATHAN FITCH,
SON TO
JOSEPH AND MARGARET FITCH,
AGED 3 MO.
DEO'D JUNE YE 21, 1738.
TOMB No. 61.
EBENEZER NICHERSON, 1810.
THOMAS AND JOHN BRADLEE.
TOMB No. 62.
BENAJAH BRIGHAM AND SEWALL KENDALL'S TOMB.
TOMB No. 64.
WILLIAM PALFREY.
TOMB No. 65.
THE PROPERTY OF THE HEIRS OF
WILLIAM WHEELER AND JAMES SUMNER, ESQ. WHO DIED MARCH 30TH, 1814, AGED 74.
53
INSCRIPTIONS.
HERE LYES YE BODY OF MR. SAMUEL DIX, AGED 30 YEARS, DEC'D JULY 29TH, 1736.
TOMB No. 66.
WILLIAM FARRIS AND JOHN ROULSTON.
IN MEMORY OF THREE CHILDREN OF
MR. JONATHAN AND MRS. ELIZABETH MERRY, VIZ. :
JONATHAN, JUN'R
DIED OCT. 6, 1786, AGED 2 MONTHS.
LUCY, DIED MARCH 2, 1795, AGED 6 YEARS. .
MARY,
DIED MARCH 3, 1795, AGED 2 YEARS.
HAPPY THE BABES, WHO PRIVILEG'D BY FATE, TO SHORTER LABOUR & A LIGHTER WEIGHT ; RECEIVED BUT YESTERDAY THE GIFT OF BREATH, ORDERED TO-MORROW TO RETIRE TO DEATH.
OLD SOUTH.
THE first objects in our city that meet the rising sun, are the spires of our churches, pointing to heaven, and thus silently preaching to the beholder. Of the some one hundred church edifices in the metropolis, many are fine structures, presenting to the eye great varieties of archi- tecture, from the common and unpretending up to the Gothic, the Norman, and the various orders of the Grecian. There is nothing in our goodly city that more arrests the attention of the passing traveller, than these same churches, their number, their variety, their beauty and solidity. During the first of the Seven Years' War, a church-of this then town of Boston of ten thousand inhabitants-that externally ap- peared much as it now does, internally presented a strange scene. The sanctuary was profanely converted into a riding-school for Burgoyne's cavalry. The pulpit and the pews, all hallowed by devotion, had been taken out to light the fires of our enemies, the library of the good pastor being used for kindlings. Hundreds of loads of dirt and gravel were carted into the church, that it might better answer the strange use to which it was put. A box was suspended four feet from the floor, over which fierce horses, driven by furious riders, leaped. The galleries were occupied, not, as now, by those who freely heard the word of God, but by spectators of the games below, and by those who sold liquors and re- freshments, not having a reverence for the sanctuary, nor the fear of the Maine Law before their eyes. The Old South Church, as every body knows, was the centre of this dissipation-a church that has been inti- mately connected with the history of Boston from an early period. At the time alluded to, Mr. Blackstone's farm was converted into the town of Boston, containing " about two thousand dwelling houses, mostly of
55 .
OLD SOUTH.
wood, with scarce any public buildings, but eight or nine churches, the Old State House, and Faneuil Hall." The Old South Church, like the First Church, and the First Baptist, was organized in Charlestown, by seceders from the First Church, who were disaffected with a call ex- tended to Rev. John Davenport. The first meeting-house was erected on the spot where the present one stands, corner of Washington and Milk streets. The site was the gift of Mrs. Norton, widow of Rev. John Norton, who was pastor of the First Church. The first house was erected soon after the church was gathered in 1669. It was built of wood, with a spire, and square pews. The first pastor was Rev. Thomas Thatcher, an eminent divine, a native of Salisbury, England. Besides being an eminent theologian, he was a physician, and published the first medical tract that ever was issued in Massachusetts. His successors were Willard, the eminent divine ; Pemberton, the eloquent pulpit ora- tor ; Sewall, who was known as "Good Dr. Sewall," who was pastor of the church for fifty years, and when his health failed, near the close of his life, was carried into the pulpit, and instructed the people from Sab- bath to Sabbath; Prince, the able divine and learned scholar ; Cumming, Blair, Bacon, Hunt, Eckley, Huntington, the first sole pastor ; the de- voted Wisner; the gifted and short-lived Stearns; and Blagden, who now ministers to this ancient church-fourteen in all, and a succession of uncommonly worthy ministers, whose fame is in the churches, and whose record is on high. The present Old South Church is a substan- tial structure of brick, of a style of architecture that is chaste and be- coming, though not uncommon. It stands, as it has stood for more than a century-it having been erected in the year 1730. The last sermon was preached in the old house, March 2, 1729. The next day it was taken down, when it was found to be so much decayed, that it was thought that the congregation, the day before, had " a very gracious preservation." A curious plan of the lower floor of the present house is before us, under the head " Pues on ye lower flore in ye Metting-House," evidently drawn soon after the building was finished, and the pews sold. From this plan, it appears that the house is eighty-eight feet by sixty-one, and that it is substantially now as it was at the beginning. Formerly, there
1
56
THE GRANARY BURIAL GROUND.
was a high elder's seat directly in front of the pulpit, and a deacon's seat nearly as high. Several of the best pews in the house, according to the custom of the time, were devoted to the accommodation of the aged-a custom that has become obsolete. In this plan, the names of the pew- holders are given, embracing some of the noblest names of the time, such as Governor Belcher, Franklin, Bromfield, Brattle, Winslow, Cotton, Elliot, etc. It will be remembered that the world-renowned Franklin was born under the shadow of this church, on the south side of Milk street, on the spot where now stands a noble block of stores, with this inscription : " The Birth-place of Franklin." The following church re- cord will assist the reader in understanding the disposition of the con- gregation in the new edifice. " At a meeting of the South Church, in their brick meeting-house, August 5, 1730 : Voted, That the deacons be desired to procure some suitable person to take the oversight of the children and servants in the galleries, and take care that good order be maintained in time of divine worship; and that a sufficient reward be allowed for the encouragement of such a person." The Old South Church is a noble structure, situated now in the very heart of the city, though, as its name indicates, at the beginning, at its southern extremity. It is surmounted by one of the loftiest spires in the city. Its bell is large and fine-toned. More eyes are upturned to its clock daily, we ven- ture to say, than to any other timekeeper in New England. Indeed, it is to New England as to the hours, what Boston is as to business. As we enter the house of God, we find the same substantial appearance there as externally. The house is found to be very capacious, and, with its two galleries, will seat, perhaps, more than any other church in the city. The pulpit is very high for these times, and is overshadowed by a sound- ing-board that makes little children fear for the head of the minister. This pulpit is the second in the present house, the first one being what was styled a " tub " pulpit. The organ is a superior instrument, that was procured in London, and it is presided over by one of the leading organ-players in the city. The choir sing with much spirit, and express, to a remarkable degree, the sentiments of the hymns of praise. The whole house has been thoroughly repaired recently at a heavy expense.
57
OLD SOUTH.
The pews, though not built after the modern style, are all the more comfortable ; and it would seem that the owners never thought of the fact that the land beneath them was worth thirty dollars the square foot. Indeed, fill the house with people, and then jam it to occupy every inch of space, as many of our churches are jammed when they are called filled, and it would contain half as many more. Of the present sole pastor of this ancient church, Rev. Dr. Blagden, it is not too much to say, that he eminently fills the place he occupies. He seems to have been formed to preach in the Old South pulpit, and to minister to the Old South con- gregation, as is indicated by the kind Providence that has continued him in his present position for seventeen years, and that promises to continue him until he enters the sanctuary above. Mr. Blagden is a Southerner by birth, was educated at the schools of the North, and was first settled over a Congregational church in the neighboring town of Brighton, when he was transferred to the church in Salem street, in this city, and next to the present scene of his labors. His attainments are of a solid rather than of a showy character, and he has built up for himself a permanent and not an ephemeral reputation. As a preacher, as a pastor, as a ripe scholar, as a Christian gentleman, as a genial companion and friend, he is rarely excelled. Eminently catholic in spirit, while strongly attached to the faith and practice of his own communion-the Orthodox Congre- gational-he is respected and beloved by the whole family of Christ. Mr. Blagden has done something in the way of authorship. He has been called to lecture before the Lowell Institute, and to deliver a num- ber of occasional discourses at home and abroad, on which labors we cannot dwell. In closing this brief notice, it is obvious to remark, that much interest clusters around the Old South Church, or " The Sanctuary of Freedom," as it has been termed, from the patriotic assemblages that were gathered within its walls just previous to the outbreak of the Rev- olution. In this church, Franklin worshipped and was baptized. Here, that prince of preachers, Whitefield, lifted up his voice like a trumpet. In this temple, " our enemies in war and our friends in peace " did that which for a moment saddens our interest. Within these walls the Elec- tion sermons have been delivered annually before "the powers that be,"
58
THE GRANARY BURIAL GROUND.
and multitudes have been educated for the church triumphant in heaven. To the Bostonian, the very name of the " Old South " brings back child- ish recollections, and happy early associations. Before the city had so grown as to extend almost out of town, this was a sort of landmark in the designating of distances; any given locality was about so far from the " Old South," this side or that side of the " Old South," etc., and so on. Indeed, the church is not only a sort of landmark as regards the bearings in our harbor, as considered by the pilots, but is also a point of departure, so to speak, on the land itself. There are few notable lo- calities in the City of Notions, better known than is this venerable and revered pile, and the site it occupies-a silent remembrancer of scenes and events associated with all that is dear to Americans.
REV. L. F.
DR. JOSEPH ECKLEY, D. D.
JOSEPH ECKLEY, D. D., Minister, of Boston, was born in London, Oct. 22, 1750. His father removing to New Jersey about 1767, he was graduated at Princeton College in 1772. He was ordained at Bos- ton, as the successor of Mr. Hunt, over the Old South congregation, Oct. 27, 1729. The Society at this time made use of the King's Chapel, as the Old South Meeting House, after being occupied by the British troops, was not repaired and re-occupied till March 2, 1783. Rev. Joshua Huntington was ordained as colleague pastor, May 18, 1808. Dr. Eckley died, after a short illness, April 30, 1811, aged 60. His wife, a daughter of John Jeffries, survived him, and died in 1825.
During 24 years, he admitted on an average only about five persons a year into the church, but in 1803 and 1804 he made new efforts to promote a revival of religion among his people; the Tuesday evening meeting, amidst much opposition, was established, exerting a most im- portant beneficial influence.
In his religious sentiments, while Dr. Eckley held fast to all the
1
59
OLD SOUTH.
other doctrines of the Evangelical system, he became a Semi-Arian, or Worcesterian, in his views of the person of Christ. He wrote as follows: " My plan respecting the Son of God was very similar to what your brother (Dr. N. Worcester) has now adopted. The common plan of three self-existent persons forming one essence, or Infinite Being, and one of these persons being united to a man, but not in the least humbling himself or suffering, leads to and ends in Socinianism; and though it claims the form of orthodoxy, it is the shadow without the substance ; it eludes inspection ; and I sometimes say to those who are strenuous for this doctrine, that they take away my Lord, and I know not where they place him."
" The orthodoxy (so called) of Waterland, is as repugnant to my reason and views of religion as the heterodoxy of Lardner; and I am at a loss to see that any solid satisfaction, for a person who wishes to find salvation through the death of the Son of God, can be found in either." " I seek for a plan which exalts the personal character of the Son of God in the highest possible degree." He supposed the Son to be derived from the Father, God of God, Light of Light, having a real Divine na- ture, yet being derived, not self-existent and independent.
He published an Essay on the Divine Glory, in the Condemnation of the Ungodly, 1782; at the Artillery Election, 1792; at the Installation of Mr. Evans ; at the Thanksgiving, 1797; before the Asylum, 1802; before the Society for Propagating the Gospel, 1805; at the Installation of Mr. Holley, in 1809; Dudleian Lecture of 1806, 1810 .- Wisner's History of the O. S. Church, 45.
60
THE GRANARY BURIAL GROUND.
REV. JOHN BACON.
Rev. JOHN BACON was born in Canterbury, Conn., and was graduated at the College, in New Jersey, in 1765. After preaching for a time in Somersett County, Maryland, he and Mr. John Hunt were settled as colleague pastors over the Old South Church in Boston, as successors of Mr. Blair, Sept. 25, 1771. His style of preaching was argumentative ; his manner approaching the severe. Difficulties soon sprung up in re- gard to the doctrines of Atonement and of Imputation, and the adminis- tration of Baptism on the Halfway Covenant, which led to the dismis- sion of Mr. Bacon, Feb. 8, 1775. His views seem to be such as now prevail in New England, while his church advocated limited atonement, and the notion of the actual transference of the sins of believers to Christ, and of his obedience to them. Probably the more popular talents of Mr. Hunt had some influence in creating the difficulty.
Mr. Bacon removed to Stockbridge, Berkshire County, where he died October 25, 1820. He was a Magistrate, a Representative, Asso- ciate and Presiding Judge of the Common Pleas, a Member and Presi- dent of the State Senate, and Member of Congress. In his political views, he accorded with the party of Mr. Jefferson. He married the widow of his predecessor, Mr. Cummin. She was the daughter of Ezekiel Goldthwait, Register of Deeds for Suffolk. His son, Ezekiel Bacon, was a distinguished Member of Congress just before the war of 1812. He published a Sermon after his installation, 1772; an answer to Huntington on a Case of Discipline, 1781; Speech on the Courts of United States, 1802; Conjectures on the Prophecies, 1805.
61
INSCRIPTIONS.
"I LAY ME DOWN IN MY MOTHER'S LAP."
Milton.
" THE JUST SHALL BE HAD IN EVERLASTING REMEMBRANCE."
CHEAR'D WITH THIS PLEASING THOUGHT, JEHOVAH'S POWER TO RAISE ME FROM THE DUST, ON HIS UNFAILING PROMISES RELY, AND ALL THE HORRORS OF THE GRAVE DEFY.
HERE LYES THE BODY OF MRS. MARY BROWN,
WIFE OF MR. GAWEN BROWN, DIED MAY 28TH, 1760, AGED 31 YEARS. [NOTE. ] This stone is 42 feet south of the Franklin Monument, and 6 feet west of " GERSHOM FLAGG'S" beautiful Masonic Monument.
HERE LYES BURIED THE BODY OF
MR. SAMUEL PHILLIPS,
AND HIS CHILDREN,
HEIRS OF MOSES BASS. TOMB.
No. 78.
MARTEN SMITH.
62
THE GRANARY BURIAL GROUND.
ARMS. MARY WINSLOW,
DIED AUGUST YE 8TH, 1753, ÆTAT 29. SAMUEL BEMMES, OB'T JUNE 9TH, 1804, Æ. 67.
-
No. 77. COAT OF ARMS.
No. 76.
EDMUND QUINCY, ESQ. FAMILY TOMB.
HERE LYES THE BODY OF MR. DAVID DEMMING, DEO'D MAY YE 4TH, 1725,
AGED 73 YEARS.
HERE LYES THE BODY OF
MRS. MARY DEMMING,
WIFE TO MR. DAVID DEMMING, DEC'D OCT. YE 14TH, 1724, AGED 72 YEARS.
No. 74.
GRAY AND BLAKE.
63
INSCRIPTIONS.
No. 73. JOSHUA BLANCHARD TOMB.
MRS. MARY PHILLIPS, WIFE OF DEACON JOHN PHILLIPS, DYED AUGUST YE 15TH, 1742, AGED 39 YEARS.
No. 35.
ABRAHAM STRONG AND MARY FISK, 1811.
HERE LYES YE BODY OF
MRS. HONORA DEMMING, DEC'D MAY YE 13, 1713, AGED 28 YEARS.
HERE LYES YE BODY OF
MR. SAMUEL DEMMING, DEC'D APRIL YE 22D, 1722, AGED 35 YEARS.
JANE DEMMING,
DEC'D FEB'Y 7, 1715, AGED 3 YEARS 4 MO.
JOHN HOWELL,
DEC'D AUG'T YE 4TH, 1717, AGED 9 WEEKS.
No. 33.
BELKNAP, 1725.
64
THE GRANARY BURIAL GROUND.
No. 32.
WILLIAM GIBBON AND JOHN GIBBON, 1726.
LETITIA BAKER AND ANNE DURVAGE'S.
No. 31.
OLIVER C. WYMAN.
HERE LYES
HERE LYES
THE BODY OF
YE BODY OF
MR. JOSEPH DEMMING,
MRS. HANNAH DEMMING,
WHO DIED THE 22D JANUARY, 1738-9, ÆTATIS 20.
WHO DIED THE 13TH SEPTEMBER, 1742, ETATIS 66.
HERE LYES THE BODY OF 1
MRS. ABIGAIL FOSTER,
WHO DIED 28TH SEPTEMBER, 1739, IN YE 25TH YEAR OF HER AGE.
SILENCE ALLEN, 1726.
No. 28.
REBECCA AND ABIGAIL LAMB.
65
INSCRIPTIONS.
SAMUEL RAND
HERE LYES THE BODY OF MR. ELEAZER DOOLY, AGED 73 YEARS, DEC'D JUNE YE 1, 1735.
-
No. 26. THE TOMB OF THE HEIRS OF THOMAS WALLIS.
JEREMIAH BELKNAP, 1830. MARY BELKNAP, 1832.
THIS STONE WAS PLACED BY THE TRUSTEES OF THE MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL, IN GRATITUDE FOR LONG AND FAITHFUL BENEFACTIONS.
Time with a scythe. -
BENJAMIN HALE
AND
Time with an hour- glass.
ASA HATCH'S TOMB.
No. 24. SAMUEL DILLAWAY'S TOMB, 1790. 5
66
THE GRANARY BURIAL GROUND.
No. 9.
ABIGAIL GRAY'S TOMB.
HERE LYES BURIED
THE BODY OF
MR. ROBERT GUTTERIDGE,
DEC'D NOV. YE 4TH, 1717,
IN THE 74TH YEAR OF HIS AGE.
HERE LYES BURIED
THE BODY OF
MRS. MARY GUTTERIDGE,
WIFE TO MR. ROBERT GUTTERIDGE,
AGED 71 YEARS,
DEC'D DEC. 11, 1735.
MR. JOHN GUTTERIDGE, DEC'D APRIL YE 26TH, 1747, AGED 41 YEARS.
HERE LYES BURIED THE BODY OF
MRS. MARY ANN CLARKE, THE WIFE OF MR. JONATHAN CLARKE, MERCH'T, WHO DEPARTED THIS LIFE, SEPT. 3D, 1747, AGED 36 YEARS.
No. 8.
THE TOMB OF BETHUNE, 1744.
1
TOMB No. 7 .- [No Inscription. ]
No. 38. THE TOMB OF REBECCA AMORY.
-
AMORY.
THE first of this family who settled in America was Jonathan Amory, who came to South Carolina about the year 1686. He was born be- tween 1640 and 1650, in England, in the county of Somerset, where his family had long possessed the estate of St. Ann's and of the pro- perty near Brislington. His elder brother, Thomas, marrying Elizabeth Fitzmaurice, the daughter of Patrick, nineteenth Lord Kerry, and removing into Ireland, his youngest brother, Jonathan, accompanied him, and resided some years in the county of Kerry. He married Re- becca Houston, and went to the West Indies. His wife dying, he removed to Charleston, was chosen Speaker of the Colonial Legislature, and appointed Treasurer of the proprietors. He married again and died in 1699, his second wife, Martha, dying soon after him. His children were: Thomas, born 1682, in Limerick; Ann, who married James Ramsay ; Sarah, who married Governor Arthur Middleton ; a daughter mentioned in her father's will, who married Joseph Croskeys : and, it is believed, another son, the ancestor of the late Judge Johnson, of South Carolina, and his brother, Dr. Joseph Johnson, author of the Traditions of the Revolution.
His son, Thomas, was sent about 1695 to England, to the care of his cousin, Thomas Amory, of the Inner Temple, London, and went to Westminster school. When his father died he was placed in the count- ing-house of Mr. Oursel, a French merchant, in London, who sent him, in
68
THE GRANARY BURIAL GROUND.
the year 1707, as supercargo to the Azores. He established himself in commerce, and in connexion with William White, the wealthiest merchant of the Island, became largely engaged in trade with England, Portugal, and America; was appointed English and Dutch Consul, and accumulated property. His sister, Mrs. Middleton, and his guardian, Mrs. Rhett, wife of Governor William Rhett, wrote him to come over to Carolina, but several years elapsed before he could sufficiently free himself from his affairs to leave the Islands. The 4th of June, 1719, he set sail from Ter- ceira and on the 13th of July reached Boston. His letters and memo- randum books, of which we have a large number, give the particulars of his movements. He passed the following winter in South Carolina, trav- elled in the spring over the Middle Colonies, and, returning to Boston, met Miss Rebecca Holmes, of a family settled partly here,.and partly in South Carolina, and married her in May, 1721. He bought lands at the south end of Boston, hired a counting-house on the Long Wharf, en- gaged in commerce with England, the Azores, and the Carolinas, and died here in June, 1728. His children were : Thomas, born 1722, died 1784; Mary, born 1723, died 1804; Rebecca, born 1725, died 1798; Jonathan, born 1726, died 1797; and John, born 1728, died 1804. Mrs. Amory died 1770, at the age of 70.
1. Thomas Fisher, his eldest son, born in Boston, 1722, graduated at Cambridge 1741. Studied divinity, but never took orders. In 1765, he married Elizabeth, daughter of William Coffin ; purchased the house built by Governor Belcher, at the corner of Harvard and Washington streets, the gardens of which extended to the water, and here resided till his death in 1784. In 1776, at the request of the Selectmen of Boston, one of whom was his brother-in-law, Timothy Newell, and with the sanction of General Howe, he went with his brother, Jonathan Amory, to Dorchester Heights, to request General Washington to per- mit the British troops to retire unmolested, on condition that the place should be left uninjured. The proposal coming from the Selectmen, and not from General Howe, no agreement could be entered into, but the understanding was respected on both sides. His wife's family, the
69
AMORY.
Coffins, were chiefly loyalists, and Mr. Amory was regarded with sus- picion, and passed some time at Watertown. He died the year after the peace. In 1790, Belcher house was burnt in the great fire, and his widow, Mrs. Amory, soon after purchased the house on Franklin Place, now occupied by the family of the late Col. Winchester, and resided there till her death in 1823. Their children were five sons and three daughters, and their portraits by Copley, and hers by Stuart, are still in the family of their descendants.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.