USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Melrose > The history of Melrose, County of Middlesex, Massachusetts > Part 40
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 | Part 43 | Part 44
In the History of Medford, by Charles Brooks, occurs the following concerning the slaves held in our neighboring town by Col. Isaac Royal, who, after leaving the country, wrote to his agent, Dr. Simon Tufts, as follows:
5 Corey, History of Malden, for History of Middlesex County, edited
by Samuel Adams Drake, ISSo, ii, I 25, 6.
4519
MISCELLANEOUS.
Please to sell the following negroes: Stephen and George; they each cost £60 sterling ; and I would take £50, or even £15, apiece for them. Hagar cost £35 sterling; but I will take £30 for her. I gave for Mira £35. but will take £25. If Mr. Benjamin Hall will give $100 for her which he offered, he may have her, it being a good place. As to Betsey, and her daughter Nancy, the former may tarry, or take her freedom, as she may choose; and Nancy you may put out to some good family by the year.
Of Col. Royal, Mr. Brooks says: " As a master he was kind to his slaves, charitable to the poor, and friendly to everybody."
The Malden Records for February 4, 1761, state that the Selectmen paid Solomon Townsend £13,6,8, for bringing up a mulatto child, he agreeing to indemnify the town from any charge "on account of said child so long as it may be made a slave to me or my heirs."
The following notice is a relic of its later days:
Ran away from the Subscriber, on the 3d inst. an indented negro Servant, named Ephraim Pomp, 18 years old, about 5 feet 3 inches high : walked lame; speaks broken by reason of a hair-lip which has been cut and sewed up; wore or carried away a blue cloth coat, a white do, waistcoat, dark colored cloth pantaloons, and a straw hat, All persons are forbid trusting or harboring said Lad, as they would avoid the penalty of the law; and any person that will take up and return said Lad, shall recive a reward of One Cent for their trouble.
Malden, Sept. 13, 1804. BERNARD GREEN.6
REVOLUTIONARY INCIDENTS.
On the 19th of April, 1775, when the British troops left Boston for the purpose of capturing Hancock and Adams, and destroying stores, at Lexington and Concord, two men from Lynn, by the name of Hadley and Wellman, on their way to join our forces "to resist the ministeral troops," stopped at the old Israel Cook house then standing on the easterly corner of Green and Howard streets. This house was built about the year 1730, by Phineas Upham, son of the first Phineas Upham that came to Melrose. He died in 1739, and his widow married Mr. Cook, who kept a store in this house, and who received a license to sell rum as early as 1759, recognizing to the King therefor
in the sum of fro with 2 sureties in the sum of £5 each, conditional 6 Columbian Sentinel, September 15, 1804.
460
HISTORY OF MELROSE.
on his using the license in the house occupied by him and for keeping good rule and order as the law directs.
The first stove ever used in this town was in this house. The two patriots were fired by the spirit of patriotismn, but stopped at this store to refresh themselves with another kind. They went on their way thrilled by two kinds of spirit, rum and patriotism. Both were killed at Lexington.
On the morning after the alarm, the women of this part of the town, fearing that their sons and husbands might suffer for the lack of food
filled the saddle-bags and placed them on Phineas Sprague's horse, the best if not the only means of transportation in those days. Isaac Cook mounted the horse and started for Lexington. On his way, when nearing Lexington, he was shot at by the British, who killed the horse from under him; but Cook, nothing daunted, shouldered the saddle-bags and trudged on, till he found the men, who were much in need of food.
The after history of this old Upham-Cook house is as follows: A few years ago, Henry A. Norris bought the property, and the old house was demolished, when another of our old land- marks became a, thing of the past. Mr. Norris then built many fine houses on this tract of land, and sold many lots, on which the purchasers built their homes; and "Norrisville" sometimes called "Fountainville," on account of the handsome fountain standing in the square, given by Mr. Norris and George M. Dennis, then a resident, has become one of the best residential parts of our city. Mr. Norris also placed the public fountain at the intersection of Avon and Elin Streets; and the private fountain on the lawn of the residence of Rev. Burke F. Leavitt, corner of Green and Avon Streets.
John Edmunds, who bought the old Breeden place on the old road to Saugus, near the Parker place, was a Revolu- tionary patriot. He took pride in relating his war experience. He owned a sword which he obtained in the following manner. While crossing a field to his quarters one day, he was met by a Hessian soldier. They grappled and a most desperate struggle ensued. They fell to the ground, Mr. Edmunds upper- most. The Hessian begged for his life. Mr. Edmunds stripping him of his sword, allowed him to depart, wondering at the same time, what would have been his fate had the Hessian
461
MISCELLANEOUS.
been uppermost when they fell. This sword is now in posses- sion of a descendant living in Milford, Mass.
THE MALDEN BEACON. In the fall of 1778, a sergeant's guard was posted on Wayte's Mount and a beacon erected there for the purpose of warning the country in the event of a descent of the enemy upon the coast.7
In 1868, the late Artemas Barrett contributed a series of Historical Notes to the Malden Messenger. This was a short time before the Melrose Journal was established. In No. 5, Mr. Barrett said:
I have the original order of Major Gen'l Heath, to the Sergt. of the Guard at Malden Beacon : by it I learn there was one in Boston. . . .
HEAD QUARTERS, BOSTON, Sept! 7, 1778.
SIR, You are Detached with Seven men for the purpose of Guarding the Bacon on Malden Hill, and Sitting Fire thereto when the Signal is Given from the Bacon in Boston. You are to keep a Sentinel Day and night by relief at the Bacon, his Duty is to Preserve it from being injured by any Person or Persons- and Constantly to be observing the Bacon in Boston. If He Observes it to be on Fire He is Immedi- ately to Call for you. Upon your own view of it, being Certain that it is on Fire you will immediately Sit fire to your own, but not other- wise, as you will answer for it. You will Inculcate on your Sentinels the greatest Vigilance in Duty and acquaint them that they will be liable to Suffer Death at the Discretion of a court Martial, should they be found absent from or Sleeping on their Post
By order of MAJOR GEN! HEATH JONA POLLARD DAG
Sergt of the Guard at Malden Bacon
It is not known that the bcacon was ever fired. The guard consisted of nine men under the command of Sergeant Jona- than Brown.
ACTION CONCERNING TEA. Malden's action on account of the pernicious measures passed at different times by Great Britain, to raise revenue from the colonies was of the most spirited and emphatic nature. Non-importation leagues were formed, and many votes were passed concerning England's various attempts at enforcement of her acts. Especially emphatic was Malden's action concerning the importation and use of tea. At the annual Town Meeting held on the fateful March 5, 1770, one of the votes passed was as follows:
7 Corey, History of Malden, p. 776.
462
HISTORY OF MELROSE.
That we will not use any foreign Tea, nor countenance ye use of it in our Families, (unless for Sickness) till ye Revenue Acts are repealed.
Again :
At a legal Meeting of the Inhabitants of the Town of Malden the 13th of Decem! 1773 :
Resolved 1. That this Town does cordially & entirely approve of the Resolutions entered into by the town of Boston, & the measures taken by that town relative to the landing of certain Teas, sent by the East India company into the port of Boston, & which are subject to an unjust and unconstitutional duty. . . .
Resolved 3. That as this Town cannot but be of opinion, that the success of the measures now taking by the colonies, to prevent the baneful influence of these acts of parliament, by which we esteem our- selves aggrieved, depends in a great measure upon individuals, there- fore they would express their wishes and desires, that every inhabitant of the town would prevent the consumption of tea in his family, and discourage as much as lies in his power the use of that herb, so long as it shall be subject to the duties laid upon it; and all those persons that shall hereafter be concern'd in buying or selling the same, while subject to duty, shall be esteemed enemies to their country, and treated as such.
This was three days only before the celebrated "tea party," which has been characterized as:
An event which has never yet been so copiously described nor so elaborately considered in its effects as it deserves by the philosophical historian.
It was determined that the tea should not be landed. A company of twenty-five was formed to patrol the streets cach night. Among these watchmen were John Hancock, Henry Knox, Paul Revere and other prominent citizens.
On the evening of the 16th of December, after Samuel Adams. in the excited gathering in the "Old South," had pronounced the fatal words : " This meeting can do nothing more to save the country," and some one in the gallery had cried out " Boston Harbor a tea-pot to- night ! Hurrah for Griffin's Wharf !" a band of men. several of whom were disguised as Indians, proceeded, in an orderly manner, to the wharf, boarded the vessels. and deliberately burst open, with hatchets and axes, three hundred and forty-two chests of tea, and spilled their contents into the waters below. This tea was valued at £18,000.
RECRUITING COMMITTEE. In October, 1779, during the time * Goss, Life of Colonel Paul Revere, pp. 127, 8.
463
MISCELLANEOUS.
when numerous calls were being made for recruits to be raised for the army, one of the meetings called in Malden was as follows:
To take Under Consideration a Letter wrote from Capt Phinehas Stearns Dated Oct. 11, 1779 wrote in Consiquence of A Resolve of Court Dated Octº 9. 1779 for to Raise one Corpral and Eight Privats to march to Clavrack on Hudsons River to Joine our Army.
At this meeting, says Corey, which was adjourned " from the meeting house to M! Charles Hill's West Room," and again to "Cap! William Wait's house in the west Room," Captain William Waite, Lieutenant Bernard Green and Lieutenant John Vinton were chosen a committee to hire the men for three months, and twenty-two hundred pounds were raised for that purpose.
Lieutenant Vinton was the son of Benoni Vinton, who lived in what came to be known as the " Mountain Honse," corner of Vinton and Maple Streets.
OLD CUSTOMS.
In the early days there were various municipal regulations and ordinances that seem to us of today somewhat curious and unnecessary, and which form interesting reading. But it must be remembered that circumstances and surroundings were very different then than what they are now; much that was in force then has either become obsolete, or has now become custom, and no law is requisite. At first men were too busy in felling forests and building homes to erect fences and walls; but it soon became necessary to take action for the care of cattle, sheep and swine; for the cutting of timber, wood, etc. Some of the votes, some of the penalties, some of the oddities of our mother town here follow:
In 1695, the minister received the "Straingers money" in addition to his salary; this was any contribution made by individuals attending meeting, but not belonging to the town:
All the inhabitance of this Town that contrabute to the minestry doe pute thare mony in papers with thare names and some of mony in it and all those that done not contrabute shall pay in thare money quarterly to the deakens and if any man pute in his mony in to the box naked it shall be luked at as Strangers mony and so lowset.
In 1733, a pauper was cared for by the following quaint vote:
464
HISTORY OF MELROSE.
An account of sundery nesecaries provided for Bethiah wilkison by The select men of malden aprill The 9th day 1733.
to one pair of tow sheats £1-10s-o to one pair of Shoos £00-125-0 to one Apron and handarcheif foo-9$ 6 To a Pettycoat and makeing £00-155-00 To two caps and makeing {00-6-o To two cotten and lining shifts {1-10-3 The aforesaid cloathing parchesed by the five pounds money which insign Joseph lynds paid for the yous of the town of malden when chosen constable excepting 2 shillings and 9 penc worth of said things entered by order of the select men.
The records show the rate of taxation in Malden, in 1796 as follows:
Oxen and horses at 3d. per head ; cows, 2 1-2d .; three years old, 2; two yearlings, I penney; sheep £4 the score; plow land and medo, I penny per acre; pasture, 1-2 penny; housing by estimation.
November 25, 1680, the Town made a contribution of £13 5S towards the redemption of Thomas Mitchell of Charlestown, then in the hands of the "Mohammedan pirates of the Medi- terranean; " and in 1686, it was voted
that the mony that was given towards the redemption of Mr Gold he being dead in captivity showed return vnto the Towne for the Townes Vse and not vnto his Widdow.
May 19, 1740,
It was put to vote, to see if the town would allow Mr. Solomon Townsend liberty, on any terms, to pasture a cow, on the burying- place ; and it past in the negative.
March 25, 1742, the selectmen made a rate
of £40 old tenor to answer the payments that may be demanded upon the town for the extirpation of Black birds, Crows, Squirrels, and wharf rats, together with other charges of the town.
The Bi-Centennial Book has an excellent picture of the days of old:
From a statement made by an aged citizen of the old Colony, it ap- pears that seventy years ago [this was written over fifty years ago,] the style of living in the rural districts of New England was exceedingly homely and plain. In winter there was great uniformity of meals; at dinner the first course was a dish of broth, usually called porridge, containing beans, and seasoned with summer savory. The second course was an Indian pudding with sauce. When the good wife arose, while it was yet a great while before day, she set on the big pot,
415
MISCELLANEOUS.
in the yawning cavern of a fire-place; in which pot was placed a substantial Indian pudding, tied up in a stout bag, and left to be boiled and bounced in the seething cauldron till the hungry hour of noon, when it was turned out, red as a cherry from its long concoction. The pudding was followed by a dish of boiled pork and beef, with turnips. Potatoes had not then come into general use. We have heard the late excellent Mr. Nathan Lynde remark, that when, in his boyhood, [he lived in the old homestead on Main Street, corner Goodyear Avenue.] they placed three bushels of potatoes in the cellar of his father [Col. Joseph Lynde,] who was a large farmer, they wondered what they should do with so large a winter stock. Tea, or coffee, or chocolate, were reserved for breakfast on Sabbath mornings. On other morn- ings, and at the evening meals, milk, with toasted brown bread or hasty pudding, was the usual beverage, varied by an occasional mug of cider or beer. Pork and beef also were in order on all occasions of this kind. The Sunday dinner was dispensed with; but immediately after the afternoon service, the festive board was dignified with roasted goose, or turkey, or spare-rib, or stew pie. In the spring and summer, milk, which was scarce in winter, was supplied for supper and break- fast. Fine wheat flour was not in common use.
In general, old and young were furnished with their Sunday suit of clothes, made so faithfully, and of such substantial materials, supplied by the spinning-wheels and looms of the domestic factory, and pre- served with such pious economy, as to last for a life time, and descend to children's children. Few men expected to live long enough after attaining their majority, to wear out a pair of boots, whose leather had been nine years in tanning. The common garb of men was a common doublet, sometimes called a fly-coat, reaching about half way to the thigh ; a striped jacket, and a pair of small clothes. These were made of flannel cloth, pulled, but not sheared, and accompanied with flannel shirts and stockings, with a silk neckerchief to flourish on grand occasions. Shoes and stockings were not worn by the young men, nor by many of the older men, while engaged in farming business. Boys, as soon as they were out of their petticoats, were garbed like their grand-sires, and at once looked little and old. For summer work, loose trousers were worn. No young man ever thought of such effiminacy as the wearing of a great coat. To cap the climax, a broad brimmed hat, looped up in triple cock, surmounted the sturdy frame.
The women, young and old, horrid to relate! wore flarnel gowns in the winter. The young women in the summer wore wrappers; and while about their ordinary business, dispensed with shoes and stock- ings. For bettermost dress, they were usually contented with a single calico gown, though many had another of camlet or poplin. The sleeves came down to the elbows, and were garnished with a ruffle or two, sometimes nine or ten inches deep. Their shoes were made of
466
HISTORY OF MELROSE.
leather or broadcloth, with heels an inch and a half high, and pointed toes, making plenty of work for the corn cutters.
Locomotion. The principal conveyance of families to meetings or visits in those times was by nature's tandem. A walk of five or six miles for such purposes was considered no hardship, by men or women. A forty dollar horse was considered as a prime article; and a rosinante more than nine years old was of no account. A half cord of wood, on one of their clumsy wains, was regarded as a monstrous load. Chaises, on their first appearance, were considered a piece of magnificence betokening great wealth or great pride in the owner. We find a curious illustration of this matter in the Diary of the Rev. Joseph Emerson. Under date of January 24, 1735, the good man says: "Some talk about buying a shay. How much reason have I to watch, and pray, and strive against inordinate affection for the things of the world." January 31 : "Bought a Shay, £27, IOS. The Lord grant it may be a comfort and blessing to my family." [In the tax return ordered by the State in 1753, there were but three " chaises " in Malden, five in Medford, four in Lynn, four in Reading, and none in Chelsea and Stoneham.] These expressions indicate how sensible he was of the great temptations incurred by this important purchase. February 5, he says : "Remarked smiling upon my being drawn in a Shays. The Lord Jesus has the entire government of the church, and to his favor and power I am indebted for such a smile of Providence, so very unexpected." Afterwards, however, his stumbling beast ex- posed this excellent man and his family to so many perils, as to excite in his mind deep misgiving upon the propriety of his indulging in this piece of extravagance. At last, the chaise, causing so much spiritual uneasiness to the possessor, and so much envy to his neighbors, is disposed of, on the fourth of June, to Rev. Mr. White, who, doubtless, in his turn, experienced a similar succession of mental elations, con- flicts, and depressions, in consequence of his purchase.
A Contrast. Though the style of living in the rural districts of New England was thus simple and unostentatious, it is well known that in the few large and wealthy towns, there were families distinguished for the luxury and elegance of their mode of life. The evidence of this is seen in the splendor and costliness of apparel, as indicated by old portraits, and by relics of faded magnificence kept as heir-looms in many families at the present time. This is also indicated by the massive pieces of plate so frequently disposed of in testamentary bequests; and in the elaborate carved work and carpentry which adorned the old mansions of the wealthier class.
Prices. In consequence of the depreciation of the Continental currency, the town, in 1779, passed a sumptuary law regulating the price of various commodities. Among other things, it was fixed :
467
MISCELLANEOUS.
That the price of men's good leather shoes should be £5, 25, 0 ; and women's £3, 125, 0; that W. I. toddy should be 16s a bowl, and New England Rum 12s a bowl. The vote was afterwards reconsidered ; and it was determined that toddy should be 18s a bowl when made with loaf sugar, and 16s when made with brown.
FUNERAL CEREMONIES. A MSS. of Artemas Barrett states that
Crape, scarfs, gloves, rings and hatbands were provided for the mourners which were numerous on such occasions. The body was conveyed to the grave on a bier, and where the distance was long as in going from this part of the town to Malden Old Burying Ground, a distance of three miles, they would have sometimes sixteen Bearers in order to rest each other. They seemed to have a desire for a large funeral, and one would think a jolly one. And Gloves, Rings, Wine and Rum were as necessary to bury a Pauper as a Prince. This practice continued to about the year 1800, and even to within my recollection was it the practice to furnish the Bearers with Rum. If the corpse was a male the men walked first; if a female the women.
CONCERNING SOME OF OUR BIRD NEIGHBORS.
How many citizens of Melrose are aware of the fact that we have in our midst a "Robin Roost," where thousands upon thousands of our familiar visitors gather evening after evening, until the season of migration arrives, for a night's repose, departing for their various haunts each morning? But such is the case. While that indefatigable ornithologist, Bradford Torrey-author of Birds in the Bush, A Rambler's Lease, The Foot-Path Way, etc., was a resident of Melrose, he discovered, what had not been mentioned before (1890) by any ornithol- ogical writer, that robins have a roosting place, in which they congregate nightly, coming from far and near. Another one had been found, but not heralded, a half dozen years before, by William Brewster, in Belmont, Mass. Still another has since been located in Cambridge.
This Melrose roost is situated in the little woods, just south of Bennett's Pond, and not far from the highway of Howard Street. For some time Mr. Torrey had suspected something of the kind, but it was not until after long and keen observa- tion that he felt sure that such was the case, and finally suc- ceeded in locating it. He says:
Every evening, shortly before and after sunset, they were to be seen
468
HISTORY OF MELROSE.
flying, now singly, now by twos and threes, or even by the half dozen, evidently on their way to some rendezvous. I was suspicious of a rather distant hill-top covered with pine-trees; but before I could make it convenient to visit the place at the proper hour, I discovered, quite unexpectedly, that the roost was close by the very road up and down which I had been walking; an isolated piece of swampy wood, a few acres in extent, mostly a dense growth of gray birches and swamp white oaks, but with a sprinkling of maples and other decidu- ous trees. It is bounded on the further side by a wet meadow, and at the eastern end by a little ice-pond, with a dwelling-house and other buildings beside it, all within a stone's throw of the wood.
Mr. Torrey made many visits to this roost, from sunset to dark, counting the arrivals; and although he could see but a portion of the woods, on one occasion he counted 1,533 robins, as they entered; and with the aid of a friend one evening, 2,344 were counted.
As I have said, there was little to be learned by going into the wood after the robins were assembled. Nevertheless I used frequently to intrude upon them, especially as friends or neighbors, who had heard of my " discovery," were desirous to see the show. The prodigious cackling and rustling overhead seemed to make a deep impression upon all such visitors, while, for myself, I should have had no difficulty in crediting the statement had I been told that ten thousand robins were in the tree-tops.
Mr. Torrey concludes this interesting bird story as follows :
What I am told of the Belmont wood is true also of the one in Mel- rose : its shape and situation are such as to make an accurate census impossible, no matter how many enumerators might be employed. It could be surrounded easily enough, but it would be out of the question to divide the space among the different men so that no two of them should count the same birds. At present it can only be said that the robins are numbered by thousands ; in some cases, perhaps, by tens of thousands.
Another curious experience is detailed by this critical bird observer, in the chapter, "A Woodland Intimate," in his A Rambler's Lease. It is about a blue-headed vireo, which he found in one of his many rambles in "Sewall's woods," a favorite resort of his, for the pursuit of bird studies:
Quitting the path suddenly, I walked as rapidly as possible straight up to the nest, a distance of perhaps three rods, giving her no chance to slip off, with the hope of escaping unperceived. The plan worked
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.