USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Melrose > The history of Melrose, County of Middlesex, Massachusetts > Part 11
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EBEN HARNDEN. SAMUEL SPRAGUE.
JOSEPH BARRETT. JACOB BARRETT.
Joseph Barrett died in 1758. His son Joseph, after becom- ing of age, bought the old homestead, built by his grandfather,
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Jonathan, of the other heirs. In 1781, he bought an adjoining estate of John Gould, which was situated on the north side of Porter Street, then Barrett Lane. The old Gould house was enlarged and improved by Joseph Barrett, and it beeame his homestead in which he passed the rest of his days. This was the estate long occupied by the late Charles Porter, and now owned by Albert M. Smith. An uncle of this Joseph, James Barrett, owned a farmi which joined the homestead farm of Joseph, on the east and north side of Porter Street. He sold to James Nichols, and the house was burned a few years ago. It occupied the spot where now stands the fine residence of Eugene H. Moore, known as " The Moorelands." At the death of Joseph his landed property consisted of his home- stead, with thirty-one acres, the old Jonathan Barrett home- stead lot of twenty-one acres, the Pine Hill lot of fourteen acres, and a few other small lots. Among his papers was found the following, which shows that he furnished a man for the Revolution, but probably did not himself enlist.
CAMBRIDGE, Augt. 17. 1781.
Recd of Mr. Joseph Barrett the sum of Twelve Pounds Solid Coine in full for all Accompts, Debts Dues and Demands Against Mr. Joseph Lyonds or Mr. Joseph Barretts Class for Procuring a man for three years' service in the Army.
Recd by me,
BENJ. PERKINS.
Joseph brought up a large family of children on this Barrett Lane homestead. The oldest son was Captain Jonathan Barrett, who was born in 1775, and who made his home in the western part of the town, on a farm that came into his possession in the following manner: It 1699, John Sprague sold the west part of his farm to Deacon John Pratt. It contained eighty acres. The house had been built many years and was the one his grandfather bought of his brother Richard in 1652. It was situated on the south side of what is known as Barrett Mount, about twenty rods west of the corner of Vinton and Foster Streets. Maple Street passes near the site of this old homestead, which was visible until within a few years. After the death of John Pratt, in 1742, the property came into the possession of Isaac Green, who married Mary, the daughter of Pratt. Tradition says that Green demolished the old Sprague house, which had stood a hundred years or more, and used the materials in building what came to be known as the " Moun-
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tain House," corner of Vinton and Maple Streets, recently removed. The farm and new homestead then became the property of Benoni Vinton, who married Mary, the daughter of Isaac Green. She afterwards married Joseph Lynde, and when a widow sold this estate to Captain Jonathan Barrett, in 1806. The homestead was then enlarged, and became one of the finest residences in the north part of Malden. It was around and near this house that was situated what used to be known, eighty or ninety years ago, as " the village;" and here, from different parts of the sparsely settled portion of the town, would congregate the people, for games, social chat and amusements. The nearest house to " the village," other than the two Sprague houses, on Foster Street, was that of John Larrabee, the great-grandfather of the present John Larrabee, who for twenty-one years was our efficient Town Clerk, after- wards one of the Sewer Commissioners, City Treasurer in 1900, and Mayor in 1901-2. The Larrabee farm consisted of twenty-six acres, and was bought of the heirs of Benoni Vinton, in 1805. It extended to Youle Street on the north, and was bounded by Vinton Street on the east. He built his homestead on the corner of Vinton and Otis Streets, which is still standing, and belongs to the heirs of the late Smith W. Nichols.
In an L adjoining his homestead, Captain Barrett, for many years, carried on the shoe manufacturing business; being the first and only one at that time in this part of the town, and which he continued until his death in 1821. The following extract from a printed
Sermon Delivered in Malden, November 25th. 1821. The Lord's Day After the Interment of Capt. Jonathan Barrett, Who Died Novembr 18th, _Et. 46. By .taron Green, A. M. Pastor of the Congregational Society in said Toron. AMlas! my brethren, Capt. Barrett is no more. . . . Yes, my friends, he is gone, and for him, every person of benevo- lence and affection, patience and resignation, candor and humanity, charity and love, will go mourning about the streets, for in him they have lost a brother. Gone is the useful citizen, the affectionate hus- band, the tender parent, the generous friend. Deaf is the ear, that listened with delight to the voice of truth: Cold is the heart that throbbed with sympathy: Closedt he eye that sparkled with joy; the pulse, that beat so often now beats no more. " Rest then, ye pre- cious relic, within thy hospitable gloom. Rest in gentle slumbers, till the last trumpet shall give the welcome signal, and sound aloud
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through all the silent mansions, with this joyful call Arise, shine, for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. "
Mr. Barrett was commissioned Captain of a Company in the First Regiment, First Brigade, Third Division, Massachusetts Militia, by Gov. Caleb Strong, March 28th, 1805.
The shoe manufacturing business established by Capt. Bar- rett, was afterwards carried on by the late George Emerson, and later by others; and, until within a few years, has been one of the few manufacturing businesses that have existed in Mel- rose.
In this old "Mountain House" of Capt. Barrett, was born a large family of children; among them, May 25, 1818, the late Artemas Barrett, to whom this history is indebted for many of its genealogical items connected with its old families. He died Jan. 12, 1897, being nearly seventy-nine years of age. He was a highly respected and honored citizen. He held many town offices, and was a Representative to the General Court in 1861.
At the death of Capt. Jonathan Barrett, the estate passed into the hands of his widow, Mrs. Fanny Barrett, who bought out the heirs, with the exception of her two minor sons, James and Artemas. In 1845, she conveyed the land in front of her house to these two sons, who, in the same year, conveyed the farm portion to Jeremiah Martin, for $10,000, who established, and for many years carried on an extensive nursery business, on a portion of it, the balance being laid out in house lots, and dwellings built thereon. These nursery grounds were sold, after the death of Mr. Martin, and are now covered with many streets and residences. The old mansion house remained in possession of Mrs. Barrett until her death, in 1874. It has since been sold, removed to the corner of Tappan and Sanford Streets, and become a tenement house.
We still have many representatives of the Barrett family among our citizens. Hon. William Emerson Barrett, son of Augustus, who was son of Peter, brother of Capt. Jonathan Barrett, was a member of the Massachusetts Legislature for six years, 1888-1892, five of which he was Speaker of the House of Representatives; and he was Representative for the Seventh District in the 54th and 55th Congresses of the United States.
THE UPHAMS. The name of Upham is an ancient one. It was one of the first to be used as a surname, being found in the English Charter Rolls -which were " registers of royal grants of
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lands, honors, dignities, hereditary offices, liberties," etc. - as early as 1208. It came from an estate that bore that name, such a place being mentioned in the Domesday Book, as belonging to the time of Edward the Confessor (1042-1066); and there are places in England today bearing that name, and in one of them, situated sixty-five miles from London, was born Edward Young, the author of Night Thoughts. The name Upham was probably formed by uniting the Anglo Saxon words up, high, and ham, a home, dwelling or hamlet, meaning thus: "the Home on the Hill." 45
John Upham, the progenitor of all that bear his name in America, was born in Bicton Parish, on the River Otter, in 1597, and came to this country in 1635. He first settled in Wey- mouth, which town he represented several times in the General Court. In 1642, he was appointed one of the Commissioners to treat with the Indians in obtaining a title to the Weymouth territory. He removed to Malden in 1648, where he became one of its leading citizens. As early as 1651 he was one of the Selectmen, an office he held several years. He was several times appointed Commissioner "to settle the lesser legal matters of Weymouth and Malden." He was also deacon of the Church for twenty-four years. The following is the in- scription on his tombstone, which is near the centre of the old Bell Rock Cemetery in Malden:
Here lyes ye Body of John Upham aged 84 yrs Died Febry 25, 1681.
Geçen rozanne
His son, Lieut. Phineas Upham, born in 1635, soon after his parents' arrival in America," was an active officer in King Philip's War. The headquarters of our troops in the Con- necticut Valley, during this war, at this time, was at Hadley. Major Pynchon, not feeling equal to the task of commanding longer, resigned. Captain Samuel Appleton was appointed by the General Court to take his place, and Lieut. Upham of Mal- den was selected to bear through the intervening wilderness the necessary dispatches. Following is the order:
# Mrs. Mary Upham Kelley and Warren Upham, in Upham and Amherst, N. H., 6.
46 " It has also been suggested that the scriptural significance of the name Phinehas 'the peace of God,' may have indicated the feelings of
peace and thankfulness which fol- lowed the safe arrival in America, and so have been given to the first born in the New World." Frank K. Upham, The Descendants of John Upham of Massachusetts, 47.
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Sr Wee have ordered Lt Upham to lead up to you 30 men and do further order that Lt Scill be dismissed home to his family, and his souldjers to make up some of ye companies as yt chiefe Commander shall order and ye above named Lt Upham to be Lt under Capt Wayte. These for Major John Pynchon.
This was dated Sept. 4, 1675. He arrived at his destination on the 12th, and from that time was in active service, conduct- ing many scouting parties and expeditions. At the battle of the Narraganset Fort, Dec. 19, 1675, when one thousand Indian · warriors were slain or wounded, and eighty-six English killed and one hundred and fifty wounded, Lieut. Upham was severely wounded. Of this sanguinary fight the historian, Hubbard, says:
It is hard to say who acquitted themselves best in that day's service either the soldiers for their manlike valour in fighting, or the Com- manders for their wisdom and courage; leading on in the very Face of Death.
After lingering some ten months from the effects of this wound, Lieut. Upham died, in October, 1676, at the age of 41 years. He was highly respected as a citizen, and was eminent in the military service. The Upham Genealogy says of him:
In battle Lieutenant Upham exhibited the character of a brave man and patriot, purchasing with mortal wounds the palm of victory; and the government was not unmindful of his great sacrifice but bore testimony upon the records "to the long and good ser- Pernocas pram vices he did to the country, and the great loss sustained by his friends in his death."
In the Archives at the State House are several documents signed by Lieut. Upham; and in the records of the fall term of the General Court for the same year, 1676, is found the fol- lowing entry:
In answer to the petition of Ruth Upham, widow and relict of the late Lieut. Phineas Upham, the Court judgeth it meet to order that the bills of charge to chirurgeons, doctors and diet, &c., mentioned in the said petition. be payed by the treasurer of the county; and in consideration of the long and good services her husband did for the country, and the great loss the widow sustains by his death, being left with seven small children, and not able to carry on their affairs, for the support of herself and family, do further order the treasurer of the county to pay unto the said widow ten pounds in, or as money.
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HISTORY OF MELROSE.
One of these "seven small children," Phineas, the eldest son, became a prominent citizen of Malden. For fourteen years he was one of the Selectmen; Town Treasurer for several years; deacon of the Church; several times Moderator of the Town Meeting; and for five years Representative to the Gen- eral Court. He died in October, 1720, at the age Phinohas Uphane of 62 years, and was buried in the cemetery at Malden.
It was his oldest son, born June 10, 1682, and bearing the same name, Phineas, a favorite one with the Uphams, who came to Melrose, then North Malden, and settled on Upham Hill, in the year 1703. At the same time it is recorded, that "Phineas Upham and Tamzen Hill were joined in marriage, ye 23d of November, 1703, by Mr Wigglesworth;" and from them have descended all of the many Melrose Uphams, and many others who have gone to other parts of the land, some of whom have become eminent as lawyers, ministers, authors, and statesmen.
Very soon after his marriage he built his homestead, and established his home "in their primitive dwelling on the wooded crest of Upham Hill."
This was situated on what is now the corner of Upham and Highland Streets, where it remained until within a very few years, when it was removed a few rods south and now stands on Waverly Avenue. Some years ago it was enlarged and improved. While it stood on Upham Street, our present Chief Engineer of the Fire Department, A. Wilbur Lynde, made his home therein for a number of years, tilling his farm thereto belonging.
Here Phineas and Tamzen Upham lived, and brought up a large family of seven sons and six daughters.
One of his sons, Jabez, became a doctor and settled in Brook- field, Massachusetts; and concerning him occurs the following sentence in his father's will.
And the reason why I give my son Jabez Upham no more in this my last will, is because I have given him to the value of a hundred pounds in bringing him up to the art of a Doctor or Physician.
Phineas was one of the Selectmen of Malden for several years; two years Assessor, and many years Moderator of the
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Town Meetings. In the year 1707-8 he is mentioned as Ensign Phineas Upham. He died in 1766, at the age of eighty-three years. His wife died two years later, at the same age.
Of the personal appearance of this Phineas, we have the fol- lowing description in Notices of the Life of John Upham, the first inhabitant of New England who bore that name, by Dr. Albert G. Upham, published in 1845:
Mr. John Edmonds, of Malden, an old soldier, now 89 years of age. informs me that when a boy he often saw Phineas Upham. He states that he was of the medium height, his hair abundant, but of a pure white, and his costume that of his times, viz., - breeches, cocked hat, etc. He used to walk about the village with the assistance of an ivory- headed cane. and he had a favorite seat beneath a wide-spreading tree, where he was often seen reposing.
THE OLD AMOS UPHAM HOUSE.
The oldest son of Phineas, born Jan. 14, 1708, was also named Phineas. He died in Malden, July 17, 1738, of the malignant throat distemper which prevailed in that year. Amos, another son of Phineas, born in 1718, succeeded to a portion of his father's acres and the old homestead still stand- ing; and, in turn, his son, also named Amos, born in 1741, came into possession. This Amos and his brother William, were in Capt. Benjamin Blaney's Company, which marched to Water- town "upon the alarm on the Igth of April, 1775, and from thence to resist the minesteral troops."
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It cannot be stated just when this old house was built, but evidently soon after the Phineas Upham house of 1703. Con- cerning this house, Miss Mary Elizabeth Upham, a direct descendant in the ninth generation, wrote the following de- scription in 1890, for the Upham Genealogy; The Descendants of John Upham of Massachusetts :
The original house must have been quite small. A family tradition has taught us that it little more than covered the present cellar, which extends under less than half the building. A huge chimney -with a fire place ten feet long, and as high as the main room of the dwelling - rivaled the house itself in size.
But it was not long before the family outgrew its narrow quarters. Then was the first building supplemented by such additions that it came to be a large, substantial dwelling, thirty feet in length, and two stories high toward the south. On the north the roof sloped nearly to the ground. Later still (and yet so long ago that no one now living remembers it) the sloping roof was raised, so that the house is nearly two stories high on the north, today. In the old garret the original sloping rafters may yet be seen.+7
The front door of the house is away from the street on the south side. Crossing its smooth door-stone we enter a small passage-way from which a few stairs, with two-square landings, lead to the upper floor. At the right a low door-way admits us to a large room, eighteen feet square. presumably the " best room " of the house. Its low wain- scot, and high mantel, the broad beams across the ceiling-but a short distance above our heads-and the long hearth of the primative fire- place-all point to the age of the structure.
On the left of the front entry is another room, much like the first. The center of the house is occupied by the huge chimney, and on the north are the smaller rooms. The oak beams are in many cases
# From an examination of the huge chimney, directly in the cen- tre of the house, and from the fact that "in the old garret the original sloping rafters may yet be seen," and that these are in both parts of the house, and that the large beams over head are in both rooms to the right and left of the chimney, and from the position of the front door directly in the centre, I am led to believe that the original house was the same size as it now appears, and that the enlargement was made, as Miss Upham states, when "the
sloping roof was raised so that the house is nearly two stories high on the north." Be that as it may, it is a most interesting old mansion, and presents the nearest approach to the original appearance of any of the houses of our original settlers, unles an exception is made in the Howard Honse at the corner of Lebanon and Porter streets, which, although not quite as old, does not seem to have had any additions whatever since the day it was built. The Howard house was destroyed in the latter part of the year 1900.
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eighteen inches thick; and the walls are filled in with bricks and clay. The chimney is made of bricks of many sizes, and clay instead of mortar is used. The fire-places have been made smaller within a century, but the original hearths-in some of which square tiles are placed-are still left.
The occupants of this house through the various succeeding genera- tions have all been tillers of the soil, though several have combined with this mechanical trades, as a supplementary occupation. Its pres- ent owner and occupant still carries on the farm, though but few of the original acres remain.
INTERIOR OF THE AMOS UPHAM HOUSE. 48
Amos' son Asa, born April 29, 1785, was the successor in the ownership of this old ancestral homestead; and here, under
48 This is a view of a portion of the south-east room, with its large oaken beams crossing the ceiling. Herein are grouped some of the many interesting heir-looms, still remaining in this old Upham home- stead. Some of these two hundred years of age or more. The fire- place - formerly much larger than now, occupying, with an oven by its side, nearly the whole of the side of the room - with its crane, hooks, andirons, shovel, tongs and bellows;
the two old chairs, one a Winsor; on the mantel-piece, candle-sticks, an old " Black Jug " two hundred years of age, and a pitcher of the "willow-ware " pattern ; on the table a needle-worked picture, old cup and saucer, old school books, a wooden quart water-bottle-it is surmised that this has had some- thing in it stronger than water !- an old English cup, and an Indian stone-hatchet, plowed up on this farm.
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this same roof-tree, he passed a long life, dying in 1869, at the age of eighty-four years.
He could well remember when Malden had but one church, where all the town could worship God, and when that part now Melrose had but one small, rough schoolhouse, with its rough seats and large open fireplace and the school kept only two months in the year, the town very sparsely settled, with its narrow, rough and crooked pathway, travelled only on foot or horseback. ... Mr. Upham was blest with a competence of this world's goods, but with what was far better, good health from the cradle almost to the grave. And what was still better, he has during his long life, travelled in the pathway of virtue and uprightness, and has gone down in his ripe old age to his final resting- place with an unblemished reputation, honored and respected by all who knew him.
And in this homestead a large family of children, of the eighth generation, was born; among them the late Eri, Asa, Orne and Benjamin R. Upham. Orne, born Sept. 25, 1820, succeeded his father as owner of the farm, whereon he spent a long, quiet, unostentatious life as a farmer, dying April 2, 1894, aged seventy-four years; and here in the old mansion, still lives the family of Orne, his widow, Mary E., being the present owner; with her live her two daughters, Esther Norris and Mary Elizabeth, they being of the ninth generation - the latter of whom wrote the description of the old Amos Upham house, quoted in the preceding pages.
Eri Upham and Asa Upham, brothers, born respectively Sept. 7, 1813, and March 31, 1816, lived on Upham Street, near the old homestead, where they passed long lives; Eri dying July 2, 1897, at the age of 84 years, and Asa, Dec. 15, 1899, aged 83 years.
Another brother, Benjamin R., born April 5, 1823, lived for many years in the old Emerson mansion, on the corner of Main and Emerson Streets, where his widow, Rachel E., still lives. He died Nov. 30, 1892, at the age of seventy years. His son Frank Richardson, born Dec. 18, 1852, is at present Chairman of the Board of Assessors of Melrose.
Besides the Uphams already spoken of as having lived in the old homesteads on the original acres of the first Melrose Phineas, he had numerous other descendants who lived in other homesteads on Upham Hill. The Rev. Frederick Upham. D. D., " The Nestor of the M. E. Church," was the son of Samuel Sprague Upham, and was born October 4, 1799, and
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died March 20, 1891, at the age of ninety-two years. He was a very active and influential minister, and presiding elder in the Methodist Episcopal Church. He began his career as preacher at the age of twenty, continuing until within a very few years of his death. His brother, Freeman Upham, born December 7, 1811, for many years had his homestead on Main Street, and until the day of his death, May 25, 1900, was hale and hearty; he walked our streets during his last years with the appearance of a much younger man. One of his sons, Osgood Wright Upham, born May 2, 1835, was a resident of Melrose for many years, but now resides in Keene, N. H.
R
JESSE UPHAM HOUSE.
Another branch of the Upham residents on this hill, and descendants from the original Phineas, was Jesse, son of Timothy, who was born August 29, 1710, and of the fifth generation. Jesse was born March 18, 1745, and died August 23, 1825, at the age of eighty years. Jesse's son, also named Jesse, born November 8, 1775, lived in the orignal Phineas Upham homestead. He died April 5, 1860, aged eighty-five years.
Jesse's son, Joshua Upham, born Dec. 27, 1806, built his house on Upham Street, near Gooch Street. This has now been moved to First Street. Joshua died January 16, 1871, at the age of sixty-four years. His brother George, born October
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4, 1810, lived in his grandfather Jesse's house. Here he dwelt, cultivating these acres, until February 13, 1872, when he died at the age of sixty-two years. His homestead was on the corner of Upham Street and Waverly Avenue, and must have been built at least one hundred and fifty years ago. It has received some additions and changes but is in good condition. It is the only old homestead in Melrose which still retains its old well, with its old-fashioned well-sweep, still in use, and which is the last relic of this primitive mode of drawing water. One cannot see it without at once calling to mind the familiar refrain :
The old oaken bucket, the iron-bound bucket,
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