USA > Massachusetts > The history of Massachusetts, the colonial period. 1492-1692 v. I > Part 16
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 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42
1 Winthrop, 2. 366-7. 3 Rev. in N. E. Justified, 20, 44, . in Force, Vol. 4.
' Story on the Const., 1. 4; Thur- loe's State Papers, 5, 81, in Hazard, 1. 602; Chalmers, Ann., 676-7; Wheaton's R., 8. 574-88, and El. Int. Law, c. 4 § 1-5; Jefferson's Corr., 4. 478; Peters's R., 6. 515, &c.
+ Camden's Ann., ed. Hearne,
1717, p. 360.
" Chalmers, Ann., 6; Parl. De- bates, 1620-1, 250.
180
TRANSFER OF THE CHARTER.
CHAP. tional Law affirm, that "actual possession and actual occu- VII. pancy, alone confer a legitimate claim to property and 1629. sovereignty."1 Upon this ground, therefore, neither Eng- land nor any other European nation could lawfully claim the soil of Massachusetts, as at that date, save the settle- ment at Plymouth, the country was occupied only by the Indians.
Again : - It was held as an axiom then, that "an Eng- lishman could not divest himself of the character of subject ; he could not say, I will be no longer an Englishman ; whithersoever he emigrated, he still owed allegiance to the crown and obedience to the laws of his country ; because the weakness of his childhood had been protected by them."2 But, referring again to writers upon International Law, Vattel and others affirm that, "If the sovereign, or the greater part of the nation, will allow but one religion ni the state, those who believe and profess another religion have a right to withdraw, and to take with them their fami- lies and effects. For, they cannot be supposed to have subjected themselves to the authority of men, in affairs of conscience." 3
In the light of this position, it may be contended that the Puritans, as debarred liberty of conscience by the hierarchy and the crown, had an undoubted right to withdraw from the realm; and, as the territory of Massachusetts was then a "vacuum domicilium," occupied by the aborigines alone, they had a right to settle here, especially with the consent of the natives. Upon strictly legal grounds, therefore, if our premises are correct, it follows as a necessary and unavoidable corollary, that the Puritans would have been . justified in leaving England, and settling in America, with-
1 Grotius, lib., 2. c. 2; Vattel, c. 18, § 208. See also Story on the Const., 1. 4 ; Haliburton's Rule and Misrule, 127 ; Winthrop, 2. 224, &c.
Chalmers, Ann., 15, 675 ; Hutch- inson, 1. 87.
3 Law of Nations, c. 19, § 223. Sec also Hutchinson, 1. 230-1.
181
TRANSFER OF THE CHARTER.
out any charter from the king. But such a course would CHAP. have been attended with manifest difficulties. However. questionable the claim based upon the fortuitous circum-
VII. 1629. stance of prior discovery, as it accorded with the conven- tional usage of the age, that claim was allowed, and there- fore could not be slighted without bringing the emigrants into open collision with the crown, which might have resulted in their expulsion from the country by an armed force, as the Dutch were afterwards compelled to relinquish their settlement at New Netherlands. Hence a charter was deemed necessary to foreclose these evils; and hence one reason why that instrument was deemed of such value, - because, under its sanction, their right to the soil, was legalized and established.1 That charter, however, could not deprive the colonists of their natural rights, for these were inalienably theirs. In the estimation of the grantees, it chiefly constituted a connecting link between them and their native land, guaranteeing the encouragement and protection of their Prince; and, as it further conferred full powers of government, it was accepted and cherished through weal and through woe.
With the Puritans, the idea extensively prevailed, not only among the masses, but among some of the nobility and principal commoners of the realm, that those who left England, and emigrated to America, were at full liberty to establish such government as they chose; and, like the primitive Greek colonies, " to form a new state, as fully, to all intents and purposes, as if they had been in a state of nature, and were making their first entrance into civil- ized society."2 They looked upon their plantations abroad, as scions from the parent stock, transplanted to a new
1 Chalmers, Ann., 677 ; Belknap's lib. 10, § 20; Story on the Const., 1. N. H., 1. 13. 51; Chalmers, 682.
2 Hutchinson, 1. 45; Robertson,
16
-
182
TRANSFER OF THE CHARTER.
CHAP. clime, sending down roots, and forming a body and branches VII. of their own.
Hence the origin of the proposition for the transfer of the charter. The leaders in the Puritan ranks were expe- rienced statesmen, and skilful diplomatists. The discipline of persecution had developed their minds, and strengthened their purposes. With the theology and politics of their day they were familiarly conversant ; and, uniting prudence with firmness, zeal with energy, and resolution with cour- age, they were looking forward to a higher freedom, both civil and religious, than had been hitherto enjoyed in the land of their birth. This freedom, in its broadest form, may have been imperfectly shadowed forth to their minds ; but it was sufficiently understood to render its possession an object of earnest desire and ardent pursuit.
It was in accordance with these views that the present step was taken. The Charter was their own. It had been obtained at great cost, and was designed for their benefit. There was no provision in the instrument itself prohibiting its removal to America. Its integrity was not destroyed thereby. And the most that can be said of the movement, viewing it aside from its political consequences, is, that it transferred the place of holding the meetings of the Com- pany from London to Boston.1
Before the meeting at which this transfer was agreed to, some "General Considerations for the Plantation in New England," were drawn up and circulated ;2 and at Aug. 26, Cambridge, an agreement was subscribed by twelve gen- 1629. tlemen, to the effect that if, " before the last of September, the government and patent of the plantation were legally transferred, to remain with the emigrants, they, with such of their families as were to go with them, would, by the
Bancroft, U. S .; Everett's Ora- Coll., 27-32; N. E. Gen. Reg., 6. tions, 214.
2 Chron. Mass., ch. 13; Hutch. 209.
183
TRANSFER OF THE CHARTER.
first of March, 1630, embark to inhabit and continue in CHAP. New England." 1
VII. 1629.
The transfer of the charter, therefore, was, in one sense, a foregone conclusion. It must either be consented to by the Company, or many of its most influential members would withdraw from it their patronage. Accordingly, when the Aug. 28, court convened, the question of transfer, by the erection 1629. of hands, was emphatically, and with but little opposition, decided in the affirmative.2 Yet, to answer the ends of the law, and to obviate the technical objection that the charter created a corporation within the realm, a portion of the members of the Company, who purposed to remain in Eng- land, were organized into a board of trade; and with them was left the management of all affairs relating to the inte- rests of the Company, so far as it was connected with the source from which the charter was derived. 3
As this transfer was to blend into one the Company and the Colony, which had before been distinct; and as Mr. Cradock had been hitherto Governor of the Company, and Mr. Endicott the Governor or Superintendent of the Colony, and the charter contemplated but one person as the head of the Company, and its chief executive magistrate, a new choice of officers was judged to be necessary, and a meeting was held for that purpose. 4
Connected with the Company was one, destined to exert a powerful influence upon its prosperity under the new arrangement, and to him attention was instinctively turned as the candidate for the office both of Governor of the Company, and Governor of the Colony. John Winthrop,
Oet. 20. 1629.
4 1 Chron. Mass., ch. 14; Hutch. Coll., 25-6.
2 Chron. Mass., 88.
3 Chron. Mass. ; Hutch. Coll., 100-03; Mass. Rec's., vol. 1 .; Felt's " Who was the First Governor," 14. " The account given by Lediard, 518-19, of the settlement of this col-
ony, is amusingly erroneous. He speaks of Mr. Cradock's settling in person at Salem, with Mr. Endicott as his Deputy ; and the former grow- ing old, and the latter being unfit for his post, a man of greater qual- ity,-Mr. Winthrop,-was chosen, in his place, &c.
184
JOHN WINTHROP.
CHAP. a native of Groton, in Suffolk,1 the son and the grandson of VII. gentlemen of the legal profession, and the worthy descend-
1629. ant of a family remarkable for its attachment to the re- formed religion, was the one whom nature and providence, as well as his associates, seem to have selected for this weighty and responsible trust. Bred as a lawyer, at the early age of eighteen he was commissioned a justice of the peace. Conspicuous for his virtues, he was exemplary as a Christian, and impartial as a magistrate ; blending sweet- ness with dignity, - the suaviter in modo with the fortiter in re. Accustomed from youth to an easy and familiar intercourse with persons of refinement and intelligence ; associating with the worthiest of the commoners and nobil- ity of the realm ; conversant with theology as well as with law; possessed of a comfortable estate of at least £600 income ; eminent for his liberality, and distinguished for his hospitality ; he was now in the maturity of his powers, and the vigor of his years, having just turned forty, a period when, if ever, the character of the man is devel- oped, and the full energies of his being are brought into activity.
Mr. Winthrop was the master spirit of the Company. Dignified, yet unassuming ; learned, yet no pedant ; saga- cious, yet not crafty ; benevolent in his impulses ; cordial in his sympathies ; ardent in his affections ; attractive in his manners ; mildly conservative, and moderately ambitions ;- he was the man for the colony, every way elaborated and perfected for its purposes ; and he enjoys the distinguished honor of being the first Governor chosen by the freemen of the Colony within its limits under the charter after its transfer ; and the first who was head both of the Company and the Colony established by that instrument.
1 For sketches of the life of this Moore's Gov's. of Mass .; Winthrop's eminent man, see Mather, Mag., 1. Journal ; Eliot's and Allen's Biog. 108-20 ; Belknap's Am. Biog. ; Dict's.
185
HIS ASSOCIATES.
Of his associates, Thomas Dudley, the Deputy Governor CHAP. of the Colony, a native of Northamptonshire, and for some
1020.
VII. time the Steward of the noble family of the House of Lin- coln ; Sir Richard Saltonstall, a native of Yorkshire, the founder of Watertown, and a patentce of Connecticut ; Isaac Johnson, of Rutlandshire, the husband of the Lady Arbella, daughter of the Earl of Lincoln ; John Humphrey, of Dorsetshire, a lawyer, and the brother-in-law of John- son ; William Coddington, of Lincolnshire, for seven years a prominent merchant in Boston, and one of the fathers of Rhode Island; Simon Bradstreet, also of Lincolnshire, the son-in-law of Dudley, the Nestor of New England, and sometime Governor of the colony ; and others, of kindred views. ; 1-these were all persons of influence, respectability, and honor. All had been subjected to the rigors of a like discipline. The Massachusetts Colony was by no means the emunctory of the realm.2 It comprised many of its choicest spirits; men of the noblest views ; to whom New England became especially dear, because of its associations with Old England, the home of their infancy and the sepulchre of their fathers. These men, with a vision penetrating beyond the present moment ; with a fore- thought embracing the interests of their posterity as well as their own ; anticipating, to some extent, the Common- wealth founded by their arduous labors, purposed, on these shores, to realize their aspirations in erecting a colony of " the best," in which the doctrines they had espoused, and the principles they cherished, might be practically applied to Church and to State.
Fortunate was it for New England that it was settled by such men. Fortunate was it for our country, that its foun-
1 For sketches of the lives of and on Coddington, see his Demon- these gentlemen, see Hutchinson, stration, pp. 7, 9, 13.
Young, Savage on Winthrop, &c .; ' Thornton's " Landing," p. 70.
16*
-
186
NEW ENGLAND FORTUNATELY SETTLED.
CHAP. dations were laid at a comparatively advanced stage in the VII. history of civilization; that it was exempted from the
1629. necessity of learning, by the experience of centuries, those lessons of political wisdom which are usually among the latest fruits of national development. Our fathers brought with them to these shores the accumulated blessings of the land of their birth -the most favored region, next to America, now on the globe. They brought with them, from Old England, that strong and unconquerable love of . freedom, which characterizes the inhabitants of this and of the mother clime ; that bold spirit of inquiry, which has contributed so much to the greatness of both ; and that invincible energy, which has borne the banner of St. George, and the Stars of our Union, into every quarter of the globe, and even to the most distant and apparently inaccessible regions of the North. But especially did they bring with them the spirit of religious freedom; and it is this, which has given to our country its present commanding position ; it is this, which will win for it the proudest, the most durable, and imperishable laurels.
Whether, as has been suggested,1 the courage of some of the Company failed them as the hour of departure drew near, or whether sickness in their families,2 or other as probable causes, precluded so early a removal, before the sailing of the fleet which was to conduct hither Gov. Win- throp and his associates, a new Deputy Governor was cho- sen, and several changes were made in the board of Assist- ants.3 The enterprise before all was indeed hazardous ; one which exposed them to inevitable dangers, and une- volved sufferings. No Hesperian isles, laden with the
1 Hutchinson, 1. 24. 8 Chron. Mass., 125-7; Hub- 2 Humphrey's Lett. to Winthrop, bard, 124.
in 3 M. H. Coll., 9. 233. There is a good notice of John Humfrey in Lewis's Lynn, 115, et seq.
- --
187
VESSELS FOR THE VOYAGE.
riches of tropical fruitage, allured them to scenes of luxu- CHIAP VII. rious indulgence. No fabled Elysium,
1629.
Nor Sheba's groves, nor Sharon's fields,
bloomed for them upon the rock-bound coast of New Eng- land. No Paphian magnificence or Castilian grandeur, could be found in the log hut, or the temporary booth. " The Pleasures, Profits, and Honors of this World, set forth in their most glorious splendor and magnitude by the alluring lady of Delight, proferring pleasant embraces, could not entice, with her Syren Songs, these soldiers of Christ, whose aims were elevated by him many millions above that brave warrior Ulysses."1 "For myself," says the younger Winthrop, " I have seen so much of the vanity of the world, that I esteem no more of the diversities of countries, than as so many inns, whereof the traveller that hath lodged in the best, or in the meanest, findeth no difference when he cometh to his journey's end. I shall call that my country where I may most glorify God, and enjoy the presence of my dearest friends."2
As several hundred persons were to embark with Gov- ernor Winthrop, cleven vessels were provided for their con- veyance: - the Arbella, formerly the Eagle, of three hun- dred and fifty tons, the Admiral of the fleet, commanded by Capt. Peter Milborne ; the Talbot, the Vice Admiral, commanded by Capt. Thomas Beecher ; the Ambrose and the Jewel, the Rear Admiral and Captain, owned by Mr. Cradock, and commanded by Capts. John Lowe, and Nich- olas Hurlston ; and the Charles, the Mayflower, the Will- iam and Francis, the Hopewell, the Whale, the Success, and the Trial. The first four, then at Cowes, were the principal vessels, and were to sail in company, -the rest
1 Johnson, in 2 M. H. Coll., 2. 75.
2 In Winthrop's Jour., 1. 432.
----------
188
THE DORCHESTER EMIGRATION.
CHAP. following after.1 The whole fleet was "filled with passen- VII. gers of all occupations, skilled in all kinds of faculties, needful for the planting of a new colony ; " who set forth, " some from the west of England, but the greatest number came from about London, though Southampton was the rendezvous where they took ship."2
Two other vessels set out for New England before the departure of this fleet. The first, the Lyon, commanded by Capt. William Peirse, sailed from Bristol with eighty Feb., passengers, in February, and arrived at Salem in May ; and 1629-30. is probably the vessel alluded to by Gov. Bradford, which contained several of the Leyden Church.3 The second, the Mary and John, of four hundred tons, Capt. Squeb, Mar. 20, Master, sailed from Plymouth, March 20th, and arrived at May 30, Nantasket the last of May, bringing the Revs. John
1629-30. 1630. Warham, and John Maverick, and about one hundred and forty others, "godly families and people" from Devonshire, Dorsetshire, and Somersetshire ; - among whom were Ros- siter, Ludlow, and young Roger Clap, afterwards conspic- uous as a military officer. Ten of these passengers, obtain- ing a boat of the "old planters," went in her to Watertown, to scek a place of settlement; but eventually the whole company went to Mattapan, and laid the foundation of Dor- chester, though many of them subsequently removed to Connecticut.4
Mar 29,
1630. Finally, the fleet under Gov. Winthrop was ready for its departure. Mr. Cotton had preached his farewell sermon ;5
1 Chron. Mass., 83, 92, 93, 99, Chronol .; Trumbull's Ct., 1. 23 ; 101, 127, 137; Winthrop, 1. 2-3 ; Hist. Dorch'r., 18; Hist. Chas'n., 40. Hubbard, 128-9; Hutchinson, 1. 24; Johnson, in 2 M. H. Coll., 2 79; Coddington's Demonstration, 13. 2 Hubbard, 133.
3 Winthrop, 1. 29; Bradford, in Prince; Dudley's Lett., ed. 1696.
+ Savage on Winthrop, 1. 33, 442; Mather, 1. 309; Clap, in Chron. Mass., c. 18; Prince, N. E.
5 Chron. Mass., 126; Scottow's Narr. ; N. E. Gen. Reg., 2. 151, 318. - Coddington, Demonstration, 13, says this sermon of Mr. Cotton, and the work known as the Planter's Plea, were published by John Hum- phrey, the agent of the Mass. Co., " to satisfy the godly minded of our removal out of England."
-
189
DEPARTURE OF WINTHROP'S FLEET.
Mr. Winthrop had given his farewell feast,1 and had CHAP. taken leave of his amiable wife.2 On the 7th of April, VII. the " Humble Request of the Governor and Company " was Apr. 7. 1830.
signed : - a document breathing the purest Christian spirit, designed as a valedictory to England, and a pathetic appeal for the sympathy and prayers of the friends they were leav- ing.3 The next day the Arbella and her consorts set sail ; Apr. 8. and three days later, passing Scilly, and laying their course Apr. 11. W. S. W., they stood off into the ocean, and were soon out of sight of land.4
The tedium of the voyage, to Gov. Winthrop, was reliev- ed by the preparation of his "Model of Christian Char- ity," 5 and the entries in his Journal ; and to the passengers, by the exercises of religion, and the care of their families ; and, after a cold and tempestuous passage of sixty-one days,6 the Arbella came in sight of Cape Anne, and on the June 11. following day was near Naumkeag. Discharging two sig- Jun. 12. nal guns, a skiff was sent to the Lyon, then in the harbor ; in about an hour Mr. Isaac Allerton visited them ; Capt. Peirse, the Palinurus of the Bay, came soon after; and at two o'clock, P. M., Mr. Endicott, Mr. Skelton, and Capt. Levett arrived." These, at their return, were accompanied by the Assistants, and the Captain of the Arbella, with other "gentlemen and gentlewomen," part of whom slept on shore. The passengers, in the meantime, landed for refreshment, and regaled themselves with, strawberries, then in their prime; an Indian chief visited the vessel, and remained over night; and the next day, Masconomo, the Sagamore of Agawam, paid them a visit. At two o'clock Jun. 13.
1 Mather, Mag., 1. 69; Hubbard, Hazard, 1. 305-7; Mather, 1. 69-70; 125; Johnson, in 2 M. H. Coll., Coddington's Demonstration, 13. 2. 75.
2 Letters, in his Jour. vol. 1.
3 Mass. Planters, ed. 1696, 1-5; Chron. Mass., 295-9 ; Hubbard, 126-8; Hutchinson, 1. App. 1;
4 Winthrop, Jour., 1. 6-10.
5 Sce 3 M. H. Coll., 7. 31, et seq.
6 Reckoning from Ap. 11, the day on which they cleared the coast.
7 Savage on Winthrop, 1. 30.
190
ARRIVAL AT SALEM.
CHAP. the Jewel was descried; on the following day the Arbella VII. and the Jewel "warped " into the harbor ; and before night Jun. 14. most of the company were set ashore, being saluted by 1630. the Captain of the Arbella with "five pieces" as they de- Jun. 18. parted. The Ambrose arrived on the 18th of June; the July 1. Mayflower and the Whale on the 1st of July ; the Talbot
July 3.
July 2. on the 2d ; the Hopewell, and the William and Francis on the 3d ; the Trial and the Charles on the 5th; and the July 5. July 6. Success on the 6th ; and the 8th was observed as a day of July 8. thanksgiving.1
Seventeen ships, bringing about fifteen hundred passen- gers in all, arrived in the Bay and at Plymouth this year.2 The settlements then established within the limits of the Massachusetts Colony, were at Wessagusset, now Wey- mouth, where Weston's Colony was first planted, and where a few of Gorges' Colony seem to have remained, who were probably joined by others before this time ; 3 at Nantasket, where were several "old planters," some of whom had re- moved thither from Plymouth ; 1 at Mount Wollaston, where the remnant of Wollaston's Company resided ; 2 at Matta- pan, where Warham and his companions had fixed their abode ; 3 at Salem, where was the largest town ; at Mistick, where servants of Mr. Cradock resided ; 4 at Lynn, where Ingalls and others had pitched their tents;5 at Charles- town, which, next to Salem, was probably the largest town in the colony ; and at Winisimet, now Chelsea, where we hear of a few planters in 1626.6 On Noddle's Island, now East Boston, lived the " hospitable Maverick," entrenched
1 Winthrop, 1. 28-34; Hubbard, 130-2.
? Dudley's Lett., 12, ed. 1696 ; Morton's Mem., 83 ; Chron. Mass., 310-11, Prince, N. E. Chron .; Drake's Boston, 88.
3 Winthrop, J. 52, 111; and Prince and Holmes.
+ Drake's Hist. Bos'n., 41.
5 Savage, on Winthrop, 1. 52.
6 Hutchinson, 1. 37 ; Hist. Dorch.
ester, 9. See also 2 M. II. C., 2, 86.
" Frothingham's Chas'n., 89-93.
8 Lewis's Lynn, 60.
9 Hutchinson, 1. 15.
1
191
CONDITION OF THE SETTLEMENTS.
in his fort, upon which " four murtherers" were mounted ; 1 CHAP. Thompson had moved to the island now occupied by the VII. Farm School; 2 and the eccentric Blackstone, an Episcopal 1630. clergyman, fond of retirement, and devoted to study, was the sole occupant of Shawmut, now Boston ; but he subse- quently removed to the banks of the stream which bears his name, and there died in peace, a few weeks before the break- ing out of Philip's war, during which his house and his library were consumed.3
Such, two centuries and a quarter ago, was the condition of a State now peopled by a million of human beings ! The average yearly increase of inhabitants during this period, has been four thousand five hundred souls. The Indians then outnumbered the colonists; but the red-race has since dwindled to a handfull. The "pale-face " has subdued the country to his dominion, and metamorphosed it from a wilderness into a beautiful garden. Flocks and herds have taken the place of the wolf and the deer ; and the tassels of the maize, the waving grass, and the varied productions of agricultural labor, open their ripening fruits to the sun upon grounds once hidden even from the hunter by "tan- gled thickets, and gnarled oaks, and enormous hemlocks, in thick array, standing as if in defiance of the genial influ- ences of the sky." 4
"Where peeped the hut, the palace towers ; Where skimmed the bark, the war-ship lowers; Joy gaily carols where was silence rude ; And cultured thousands throng the solitude."
The new comers, however, on landing at Salem, found not the colony in a flourishing condition. Above eighty had
1 Johnson, in 2 M. H. Coll., 2. $ 2 M. H. Coll., 10. 170-3; 86; Josselyn, in 3 M. H. Coll., 3. Bliss's Rehoboth, 2-14.
220. 4 J. Q. Adams, in 3 M. H. Coll.,
2 Johnson, in 2 M. H. Coll., 2. 9. 199. 86; Hubbard's N. Eng.
192
LANDING AT CHARLESTOWN.
CHAP. died the previous winter; the survivors were wasted by VII. sickness, and had scarce corn and bread enough for a fort-
1630. night's supply ; and, there being no food to spare, the remainder of a body of one hundred and eighty servants, sent over in 1628, and in 1629, whose transportation had cost the Company from £16 to £20 cach, were liberated, and left to shift for themselves, - some wandering to Ply- mouth, some scattering to other plantations, and many returning to England.1
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.