USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Concord > The history of Concord, Massachusetts > Part 8
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There was also a small barn for the storage of corn, which was set upon posts to protect the contents from squirrels and rats, and loosely boarded to let in the air. Not far away was a shed for beaver pelts, which the sparks informed us at the beaver dam Mr. Willard traded in.
Approaching the premises, Mr. Willard saw and hast- ened to meet us, accompanied by two large Kentish mas- tiffs ; and as we grasped the hand of this well-known merchant of the Musketequid region we felt as we had heard that he was much of a man.
And here it may be in place to relate a little of his his- tory. Simon Willard came to America from Kent county, England, and was at Cambridge, Massachusetts, as early as 1634. While in this country he formed an acquaintance with Rev. Peter Bulkeley and joined with him in the pur- chase of the tract of territory now Concord, going there as a colonist and becoming a prominent and potential factor in its settlement. Mr. Willard was a man of affairs as well as a person of means, being versed in matters of both a civic and military character. About 1660, he went to Lan- caster, and in 1672, to Groton, and in these townships there are still traditions, and records, and ancient land- marks showing the impress of his personality. In that dart of the town of Harvard, once Lancaster, near the
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northern border, is still pointed out the site of a garrison house which he erected ; and in the town of Ayer, formerly a part of Groton, is a large land tract once his property.
On May 21, 1658, Simon Willard had conveyed to him five hundred acres of land "on the south side of a river that runneth from Nashua to Merrimack between Lan- caster and Groton, and in satisfaction of a debt of £44 due from John, Sagamore of Pawtucket."
The land was laid out in 1659, by Thomas Noyes, and is situated in the present town of Ayer, about Nonacoicus brook.
Major Willard commanded forces in King Philip's war, and was long identified with the Massachusetts Bay Colony militia in times of peace. He married for his first wife Mercy Sharp, and for his second and third, two sisters of President Dunster of Harvard college, and he had seven- teen children, descendants of whom are widely scattered throughout the land. The old Willard house at Concord was standing, it is stated, until the last quarter century, when it was destroyed by fire.
It was situated at the foot of Nashawtuc and the site is now marked by a tablet, not far from the first south bridge.
As we walked to the house, Mr. Willard said some very pleasant things about our late host, Goodman Wheeler, and about the Concord families generally, who, he said had come to a strange country for conscience sake : and as we reached the doorstep he said if we would remain over the coming Sunday, which would be the next day, he would take us to meeting, where we could see them in their wor- ship.
Here was an opportunity of observing still another phase of the settlers' life, and of hearing a sermon from the Rev. Peter Bulkeley, so we gladly accepted the invitation ; whereupon Mr. Willard, who had waited for our answer, pulled the latch string and we walked in, meeting Madam Willard in the entry way.
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It is unnecessary to give a detailed description of Major Willard's house, for it was modest, considering the com- petency of its owner, and although more capacious, yet in other respects not unlike many others of the period. We will, however, describe the average farm house of the times, though in doing so we may subject ourselves to adverse critcism by running counter to pet theories of log cabins, of gambrel roofed manor houses with picturesque accompaniments, and various architectural features suggest- ive of ghosts, goblins, and witch lore.
The early frame houses were rectangular in shape and of a severe simplicity. In about the middle was a large chim- ney having several flues, which afforded a fireplace to each room. There was usually a commodious cellar which sel- don "froze" it being a part of the farmer's fall work to "bank it up ;" and so even was its temperature that veget- ables kept in it the year round.
The larger of these houses commonly contained four square rooms on the ground floor, and the smaller ones at least two : and to the latter was often attached an ell or a "lean-to" containing the kitchen. The roof was either gambrel or gable, the latter being the more common. The fireplaces were amply large enough to contain four foot sticks; and the hearths which were made sometimes of stone and sometimes of brick extended well out into the room. Beside the fireplace in the kitchen was a brick oven.
The floors were made of the widest boards obtainable, and as they shrank and became worn, large seams and knots were visible. The framework was massive, a large beam extending across the top of the rooms, with stout, upright timbers at each corner supporting the roof plates, while above all, directly under the saddle boards, was a tri- angular "king piece" large enough for the sill of a modern house.
Inside the outer boarding thick upright plank were sometimes placed, to make a bullet-proof protection in case
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of Indian attack. Sometimes, for greater security bricks were used instead of plank, especially in garrison houses, and occasionally there was a projection of the upper story over the lower one, in which were small port holes.
Such were the houses of the seventeenth century. Here and there might have been a miniature manor house, where some attempt was made at architectural display, as in the case of some well-to-do squire, whose official position, to- gether with an income of a hundred pounds a year invested in mortgages, gave him some personal prominence; but such instances were rare, and we have nowhere found in the Concord colony anything indicative of a desire for undue display in architecture; nor should we expect it. The characteristics of the times were the natural outgrowth of a reaction from the vain glory of mere externals. Character was the test of personal worth. Scholarship and cul- ture found easy combination in Massachusetts with that rugged manual labor which wrenched from a sterile envi- ronment some of the world's best results. If the Bulke- leys, and Flints, and Bloods, and some others were, after the standard of the times, men of means, we may believe that they used their means wisely and for the common weal, rather than for the establishment of great estates; and so it was that their garrison houses were their castles ; their sanc- tuaries were their manor houses; and that the sites of these are to the present generation more impressive by far than would be the remains of
"High raised battlements or labored mounds,
Thick walls or moated gate."
THE FIRST PROTHICUAL CONGRESS
MASSACHUSETTS
IH THE WESTHIG-HOUOG NN: THỐT- MAY
CALLER INGENIER TO MANTAIN THE RIGHTS OF THE PEOPLE THIS COMPRESS
HAR THATS MEASURES DECLARED THE WAY · VON THE WAR OF THE REVOLUTION
TABLET AT FIRST PARISH MEETING HOUSE.
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CHAPTER XI.
Domestic Products - Reminiscent Effect of Madam Willard's Dutch cheese - Conversation upon Colo- nial Drinking Customs - Clerk of the Writs - Legal Fees - Furnishings of Early Farm Houses ; Lighting Appliances, Table Ware, Fireplace Uten- sils, Room Decorations - Class Distinctions.
A LTHOUGH we have abstained from giving a detailed description of the Willard house let us suppose that we examined the inside so far as to note the use and furnishing of some of the rooms.
We first went to the cellar, and there found such pro- duce as by mid October had been placed in store for the winter. There were carrots, parsnips, onions and cabbages, but no potatoes, turnips taking their place. Several small cider casks were in sight, which showed that the New Eng- land beverage of later times was not wholly unknown even then. We were informed, however, on this subject, that but little cider was used at that time, partly because apple trees were not abundant, and partly because the means of its manufacture were limited. Some people, we were told, made it by pounding the fruit in a wooden mortar, and pressing the juice out through a basket; all of which indi- cate how hard the human family will work to obtain what it ought not to have. There were several well filled meat tubs, and a barrel of soft soap, the latter of which, Mrs. Willard said, was made of clear beef tallow and lye of her own leaching.
There was an absence of dairy products, which, as we shall presently notice, were upstairs, except a number of unusually large firkins filled with butter, which the Major
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said was soon to be shipped to England in exchange for a Durham cow, which he was intending to import in order to improve his stock.
But what attracted our attention as much as anything were the great arches at the chimney base, which indicated the immense brickwork in the building. We could now understand how so many large fireplaces could be afforded ; for the two arches that formed the foundation of the chim- ney were rooms of themselves. They were furnished with shelves like a pantry. Upon the shelves were sundry jars of conserve, jelly and sause, also several brown cream pots, the contents of some of which, Madam Willard in- formed us, were pickles, "hog's head cheese," and mince meat prepared especially for "company pies." On the stone floor of one of the arches we noticed several jugs and a couple of demijohns, reminding us of modern "bottled goods," so called. We thought best to make no inquiries concerning these, so passed them silently by and went up stairs. We first visited the garret, this we found to be a place of storage, in which among other things were the fol- lowing articles : A beehive, cranberry rake, and sausage filler, some candle moulds, an old footstove, a warming pan, a pair of steelyards, a large breadtrough (used for mixing sausage meat), a pair of snowshoes, a bunch of birch brooms, a flax hatchel, a lot of butternuts, a bag of dried mullein stalks, a cow bell, and an old tin lantern full of small holes to let the light out. There was also a pillow bier filled with feathers, several bunches of sage, betony, and summer savory, a pair of sheep shears, an old cheese basket, and a box of hogs' bristles for waxed ends.
From the garret we descended to the room used for dairy products. By this time Madam Willard had joined us, and as we stood admiring some yellow butter which had just been taken from a "dash churn" and made into balls, she pointed with pride to her cheeses. As the cheeses varied in appearance we ventured to ask the difference whereupon she replied, "There is a name for each kind
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there is the "new milk," the "skim milk," and the "four meal" cheese ; those in the corner are the "sage" cheeses, and that half one on the table is a "Dutch" cheese.
As the Dutch cheese with its snowy whiteness had slightly crumbled, we tasted it; instantly a strange feeling came over us, and our mind became reminiscent. That slight morsel had proved to us like the evening bells to the poet Moore, which, as he expresed it, brought to mind
"His home and youth and that sweet time When first he heard their tuneful chime."
For an instant we stood gazing at those simple frag- ments, mutely wondering how they could occasion such mischief; for mischief surely it was to be sent so summa- rily into the great kingdom of the past, from which return- ing we could take nothing away. But in that kingdom we evidently were, for spread before us were its rarest treas- ures. There was another old farmhouse with its "lean-to" roof, and the cows and the pasture bars; there were the lilacs and the lilies by the garden wall; the broad, low, stone door step ; the smiling supper table, so delightful to the eye of the hungry school boy; the thick, golden ginger-bread, and the Dutch cheese that mother made.
As we stood reflecting upon the curious predicament in which we so suddenly found ourselves, it occurred to us that here was a mental mirage, when by the simple suggest- iveness it may be of a sight, a sound, an odor or a taste, memory casts upon the screen of our perceptive faculties experiences and scenes long vanished. Wordsworth may have felt the same when he said :
"To me the meanest flower that blows can give Thoughts that do often lie too deep for tears."
So inappreciable was the time occupied by all this, that Madam Willard hardly noticed anything unusual, and just then, a call came from below summoning her to the turn- stile to talk with Mercy Miles of "Nine Acres" about a
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marriage that was to take place at her house. Surely, thought we, this is an opportune circumstance, for we can again taste of the cheese; we did so, but to no purpose ; the enchantment was gone; and we were left to content ourselves with recalling another verse of Wordsworth where he said :
"The thoughts of our past years in me doth breed Perpetual benedictions . Which neither restlessness nor mad endeavor, Nor man nor boy, Nor all that is at enmity with joy Can utterly abolish or destroy."
Finding that we could no longer revel in our own early history, we wished we could have followed our hostess to the turnstile, as by so doing we might have been invited to the wedding; but at that moment she returned, saying smilingly, that the couple whose intentions had been pub- lished the preceding Sunday were to be united in matri- mony the next week by Mr. Flint, whom the Court had appointed to join persons in marriage, and that we were invited to be present.
Greatly pleased at being the recipients of so great a priv- ilege, for this was another scene we had much desired to witness among the settlers, we forgot the mirage and went down stairs, where we were met by Major Willard with a glass of cordial, saying as he offered it that it was an extra brand. It was with no little embarrassment that we ex- cused ourselves, being a total abstainer, for we were fearful of being misunderstood; but out apprehensions proved groundless, for Mr. Willard informed us that he appre- ciated our position, and considered it the correct one to take where it was possible; "but," said he, "The Concord climate requires sperit."
He then took occasion to inform us about the drinking habits of the community. Before doing this, however, the doughty Major dashed off a beaker to our health, say- ing, as he smacked his lips and set the decanter on the
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dresser, that what he had just drunk was pure liquor from old Kent, and that he considered it superior to any other in the colony, not excepting a cordial that he once drank at a consociation of clergymen held in Boston at the Gov- ernor's house, at which the Mathers were present. A regard for our health having been thus expressed, the Major continued his dissertation on alcoholic liquors by as- suring us that in addition to the climatic requirements, there were certain times and occasions when "sperit"' was very essential, as at raisings, huskings, log rollings, and apple bees ; also, in haying, hoeing, harvesting, and getting up wood. It was a sine qua non at military elections, and training days, and ordination occasions ; at funerals, wed- dings, and house warmings; when sheep were to be sheared, hogs to be slaughtered, or any extra work to be done. Travelers and teamsters he thought should have it, and those who watched with the sick, and sat up with "copses," but especially was it to be used in winter to keep the cold out, and in summer to keep it in. "The only trouble," said the Major, "is that some abuse it, and that good sperit is so scurce." He informed us that fermented liquors were more commonly used than the distilled, be- cause the latter were more expensive and limited in quan- tity, while the former were within reach of every one. The beer was made from malted barley. The process of malting was to cover the grain with a few inches of earth for a few days, until it was well sprouted, and then remove it to the mash tub.
At the close of our conversation on the subject of col- onial drinking customs, we came to the conclusion that there were in those times many deplorable instances of gross drunkenness ; that alcohol was as destructive then as it is now, and that the same stock excuses were made for the use of it.
Conversation now turned upon desultory subjects, when the Major was summoned to the "beaver house" to ap-
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praise some pelts just brought from Nashoba by Nepanet, which he wanted to exchange for a kettle and some beads.
Being left to ourselves we looked around, and seeing on the table a worn book upon whose cover was written "Town Book," we quickly opened it. Here indeed was a source of information most desirable ; for in addition to the minutes of public meetings, was a list of births, deaths, and marriages, down to 1654, which Simon Willard had entered as "Clark of the Writs." And here it may be observed, that in addition to the duty of recording and returning to the colonial authorities the vital statistics of the township, Mr. Willard was empowered to "end small causes" or to "hold court ;" his jurisdiction amounting to that of a mini- ature municipal court or trial justice ; and thus judicially empowered he could issue writs, order "mesne process," and make petty decrees, having for fees as follows : re- plevin, 2d .; attachment, 3d .; bonds, 4d. On Mr. Wil- lard's return from the beaver house, dinner was in readiness, and we entered the large "room of all work" or the "living room" and sat down to a meal which did ample justice to the large heartedness of our host.
It may be proper here to describe the dinner and its appurtenances, in order that we may note any difference between the way of living in the home of the average set- tler and that of the more well-to-do trader or merchant.
The table was set in what was known as the "living room." In this room was the occasional use of the flax and spinning wheel ; and the "picking over" of small farm produce, as cranberries or beans on a winter evening or wet day; and where apples and pumpkins were sliced and strung for dry- ing ; where also the family usually sat, and the loom was sometimes "set up," and the itinerant shoemaker "whipped the cat," in his usual round of repairing. Above the table which had leaves was the clumsy "candle beam," con- structed by the crossing of two slim scantlings, and an attaching of them by a perpendicular one to the beam in
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the ceiling, making a fixture for lighting purposes corres- ponding to the modern chandelier.
We noticed that the candles in the beam sockets were of an olive color, and, on subsequent examination, we dis- covered by their fragrance that the material was in part bayberry tallow. The chairs about the table had high backs, and were similar in every way to the specimens of old furniture seen sometimes in modern houses, and which are said to have been brought to this country by "two brothers" (seldom more than three) in the "Mayflower" or "Ajax" or "Kingfisher," ships of quite too small tonnage for bulky cargoes. These particular chairs were said to have come over in the ship "Confidence" from Southhamp- ton, John Jobson master, of CC tons burden. As there was an utter absence of "stools" and "forms" such as we had seen at Timothy Wheeler's, we inferred that chairs were indicative of "forehandedness." On the "dresser" shelves also were many such articles as are exhibited at the present day as souvenirs of the colonial period.
Among the articles on the lower shelf was a set of metal- lic plates or a "charger of pewter," as it was called ; a "milk ewer," "sugar basin," "butter boat" and "pickle boat," all brightly burnished. On the middle shelf there was a "mint stand," a "pottle" for milk holding a couple of quarts or thereabouts, also a "losset," "twifflers," two dainty "wine tasters," and a coarse glass decanter. The upper shelf contained a row of "beakers" (later called tum- blers, perhaps because of the tumbling sometimes caused by their contents), and a few "caudle spoons."
We did not care to inquire what were the contents of the demijohns and jugs in the closet under the dresser shelves, so can give no certain information concernnig them ; but we inferred, from what we had seen in the cel- lar arch, that here were the middle means for the easy distribution of such "schnapps," "cordials," and "strong water" as the Willards made use of.
The fireplace furnishings were, likewise, in strong con-
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trast with those at the Wheeler farmhouse ; those being wholly of plain iron, while these were ornamental. The dogirons, shovel and tongs were surrmounted by brass, and brightly polished, showing fidelity in the hired help. In- stead of the usual "lug bar" up the chimney there was a "crane," the first, it was said, that came into Concord; and above the fireplace was a long "clavel," over which was a string of peppers and "braids" of choice seed corn. In one corner of the room, the most remote from the smoke of the fireplace, and upon wooden pegs in the corner post, were the sword and leathern belt which Simon Willard wore when he "exercised the train band ;" and hard by these, against the wall, in a plain, pine frame, unpainted, was the commission from the King of England making him major in the Bay Colony militia, a commission of much distinction and recently obtained. This was the only attempt at mural decoration, with the exception of a small picture of the martyrdom of John Rogers and a pro- fil of Parson Peter Bulkeley.
Such was the furnishing of Major Willard's "living room." It was simple and for the most part serviceable. But although there was nothing sumptuous for style or substance, we could detect as we thought, on the part both of Mr. Willard and his wife, a faint consciousness of mild gentility, insomuch that we half concluded that the New England colonists, notwithstanding their avowed aversion to all class distinctions of the Old World, had much respect to rank, and some small desire for modest display. But lest our conclusion be an untenable one, and based on superficial observation, we hitched up to the hearth's edge to hear from the sparks, dinner being not quite ready, and Madam Willard and a servant being engaged remov- ing the food from the brick oven.
It was well that we did so, for the sparks informed us that human nature is usually the same everywhere in spite of all attempts to suppress it, and that the Willards on account of their modesty only partially represented the
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colonial families of wealth in their style of living. In fact these oracles of the fireside informed us that the principles of caste were slightly recognized in every New England community, whether of the village, hamlet, or crossroads. But money was not alone the basis of distinction ; it was position as well. The selectmen had prominent seats assigned them in the places of worship, as did other con- spicuous personages, while the poor people and the ser- vants took seats in the rear, or occupied benches in the gallery, thus making the colonial meeting house a "house of lords" as well as a "house of commons."
Madam Willard had directed the servant to "set the chairs up," so we left the sparks and sat down to the table, the servants sitting at one at the same time in the kitchen, it not being necessary for them to serve since there was no hot drink and all the eatables were on the table.
The Major in doing the honors of the table helped us most bountifully, believing, perhaps, as did all of his ilk, that brawn is born of good living. The first course, or "meat vittles," as they called it, consisted of a juicy roast from a beeve fattened on the upland pasturage of the Musketequid, and a plump piece of pickled salmon taken the April previous at the "lower meadow falls," with a mint sauce additionally seasoned with savory and thyme.
For desert, we had hot rye cakes mixed with fresh but- termilk, marmalade that smacked of wild river grapes, and sweet conserve which consisted of successive layers of sugar and rose leaves, but the crowning piece was the pumpkin pie; and here there was such an exhibition of old-time cooking as we had heard spoken of but had never before tasted.
CHAPTER XII
Talk at Nashawtuc- Fire of Candle Wood - Nantatucket - Municipal management at Muskete- quid - Division of Concord into "quarters" - Limits and Inhabitants - Committee on rules regu- lating Highways and Bridges - Location of Home- steads - Early Roads.
D INNER over, and a little post prandial conversa- tion, we repaired to a sunny slope at Nashawtuc, and there, seated on a log, talked until the slant shadows of the hillside extended far beyond the river confluence at "Egg Rock," and the evening meadow mist enabled us to trace the windings of the Musketequid far down towards Punkattassett.
During the latter part of the afternoon the wind blew from the east, making the atmosphere damp and chilly, and as Mr. Willard had with him a "flint, steel and tinder box," which articles he stated he seldom went without, being much in the woods engaged in surveying, we con- cluded to start a fire. At once suiting the action to the thought we gathered some light kindling, and placing about it a little dry moss, a spark was struck and the material was ablaze. The fire was the more agreeable because we hoped to obtain from the sparks some information additional to what Mr. Willard might give, for we felt that perhaps the Major would hesitate to speak freely of events and matters in which he himself had been a chief actor.
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