USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Milton > The history of Milton, Mass., 1640 to 1877 > Part 14
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THE HOLBROOK HOUSE.
The mansion now owned by Mrs. Francis Cunningham was erected by Dr. Amos Holbrook in 1801, who purchased the land of the Babcock heirs. William Badcock, son of Enoch, bought land of the Joseph Belcher heirs on the highway from the bridge over the hill about the time that Jeremiah Smith and Governor Hutchinson purchased of the same parties.
At the decease of William Badcock, son of William, and his widow, which occurred in March, 1807 (the first service in Mil- ton attended by Rev. Dr. Gile being at her funeral), the real estate was divided among his heirs. Mrs. Glover, wife of Dr. Samuel K. Glover, took the Stanley house, built by Wm. Bad- cock, and the land now owned by Capt. Faucon. Mrs. John Swift took the land running from the Stanley house to the Whitney house, and also the land on which now stands the house of Miss Elizabeth Swift. Mrs. Paine sold her portion to General Whitney. The portion of Bathsheba, another daugh- ter, was above the Hutchinson place; this was sold by her sis- ters, before the mother's death, to Dr. Holbrook, on which his house was built.
BUILT BY
DR.HOLBROOK ON
MILTONHILL IN
1800
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MILTON HILL.
The Holbrook house, built with a view to tasteful archi- tecture, will stand the test of a searching comparison with similar work of our day. Situated on nearly the highest portion of Milton Hill, and commanding an unobstructed view of the harbor, islands, and vapory ocean, and, westerly, of the valleys and the whole range of the Blue Hills, the stately mansion was considered the best in Milton. The spacious halls and stairs, and the large square rooms, give the interior an airy and homelike aspect. The mantles and fire- frames retain their original tracing in stucco, or composition, sharp and delicate, resembling fine carving.
An Italian artist was occupied for a whole year in the fresco-work, some of which is seen to-day in bright and well- defined colors. Portions of the walls and ceilings, especially in halls and parlors, touched up in the same colors, are as light and artistic in hue and tracery as when the designer left them.
The sideboard of Dr. Holbrook retains its place in the dining- room; on the sideboard stands a timepiece, made in England for Governor Hutchinson in 1750 ; while in almost every room is seen some article, ornamental or useful, formerly belonging to the Holbrook family.
A bed of lilies, originally set out by Dr. Holbrook, still affords an annual supply of delicate flowers. Trees and shrubs in every part of the estate perpetuate the memory of the aris- tocratie doctor.
A picture of the house, and of the lower and upper halls, with the stair-ways, is seen on the opposite page.
The estate of Dr. Holbrook adjoined that of Governor Hutch- inson.
GOVERNOR THOMAS HUTCHINSON.
The distinguished governor of Massachusetts who resided here has given this place a celebrity claiming a minute history and description of the house and locality.
In 1827 the Boston Light Infantry marched out to Milton and camped on the open grounds in front of the house. They were elegantly entertained by Barney Smith after his wonted hospitality. Their object was to secure an engraving of the old Hutchinson house, a part of which was about to be torn down. For this purpose they brought with them Mr. John R. Penniman, the best designer and painter in Boston, who made a draft of the house, which has come down to our times.
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HISTORY OF MILTON.
Several years ago there appeared in the papers of the day an article entitled "The Hutchinson House," under the nom-de- plume "Shade of Kitchmakin." This proved to be a full and graphic history of this famous house, and of the men and women who have figured there from the time of Governor Hutchinson's purchase to the day of writing, from the terse and entertaining pen of Edmund J. Baker. And this readable paper, embodying facts and incidents valuable in the history of this town, which, if lost in the ephemeral literature of the day, can never be replaced except by the writer of the same, is here inserted in full from the original manuscript : ----
" The" Hutchinson House.
" The first day of April, 1634, when the General Court con- firmed to Israel Stoughton the grant to erect a corn-mill and build a wier upon Neponset river, was the birthday of the village now known as Milton Lower Mills. Up to that time no house existed, and no planting had been done; the Indians alone laid claim to Unquity, which signified the region at the head of tide-water of the Neponset. This was their winter home, from which they went in the spring to the salt-water for their fish, and to the plains to raise their corn ; and in the fall and winter they traced the river to its tributaries in search of game and furs.
" This simple mill was the nucleus around which slowly grew up a manufacturing business. The powder-mill, which was erected in 1674, to afford means for the early settlers to suc- cessfully combat King Philip, was a great enterprise for those early days, and brought to the neighborhood the family of Everdens, who manufactured powder here for eighty-three years.
" The owners of the mill did not live here, as a general thing, and they employed but few operatives, and those were persons in such humble life that they have not left even a gravestone to tell us who they were. At the end of the first century this village, then a mere hamlet, had about six or eight houses. One for the miller stood where the house long owned by the Leeds family now stands. The one occupied by Everden, the powder- maker, stood where Henry L. Pierce's brick mill now stands. One connected with the mill, on the south side of the river, stood where the railroad crosses the street. One connected with the paper-mill is still standing, and occupied by Dr. Ware, but has been removed a few feet in a north-easterly direction. The house now stands built by Mr. William Badcock on the landing.
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MILTON HILL.
Probably these constituted nearly all the houses then in the village ; dwellings located on the surrounding farms were few and far between.
"About the beginning of the second century a change took place in the history of Unquity, which had assumed the name of Neponset, and the social element began to predominate over the industrial element. Jonathan Belcher, the Governor of the Province, bought land and prepared to build a house on the Rowe estate. The Provincial treasurer, Wm. Foye, built the house lately occupied by Mr. Samuel Littlefield. Col. Joseph Gooch built the house now for many years in the Churchill family ; and Thomas Hutchinson, in 1743, built the house now for many years in the Russell family.
" The settlement of these families in the neighborhood changed the character of the place, and instead of being noticed as the Neponset Mill, and the place where Eliot preached to the Indians at Unquity, it became widely known as a place of taste, literary acquirements, and refined society. Although last in the order of settlement, Governor Hutchinson soon became first in rank, and gave a prominent character to the society of Milton Hill. He was born in Boston, 1711, graduated at Har- vard, 1727, was a Representative from Boston when twenty-six years old, and continued nine years, and a selectman at twenty- seven. At twenty-nine he was sent to England upon public business relating to the currency.
" He was one of the Council in 1750; in 1760 he was raised from Judge of Probate to Lieutenant Governor; in 1770 he was appointed Governor by the Crown, which office he held till he embarked for England in May, 1774.
"Governor Hutchinson's history of Massachusetts has won for him a name that will never fade. He was an orator and an accomplished gentleman. Although always holding public office, either by election by the people or by appointment of the Crown, he found leisure to cultivate his rural tastes, and spent much time in laboring with his men in setting out and grafting trees, and in attending to the routine of farming and cultivating fruits. The row of sycamore trees which graced both sides of the street as you pass over Milton Hill was the work of his hands. Laboring with the hoe and shovel he assisted the men to set them there, and all who remember them before the blight of 1840 will bear testimony to his taste. A few still remain ; but the most have died out within the last thirty years, and elms and other ornamental trees, under Miss Russell's care, have taken their place. With the aristocratic style which belonged to the offices of the crown, Governor Hutchinson blended the
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HISTORY OF MILTON.
dignity of the scholar and the gentleman, and had the happy faculty of making himself respected and beloved by all his neighbors.
" The King's Chapel in Boston was his stated place of worship, but while at his country-seat he usually attended church at Milton, but going to Boston on Sunday occasionally. One pleasant Sabbath afternoon, as he was returning in his carriage, he found himself stopped by the village tithingman with his long black wand. The tithingman was an Irishman of wit, and some standing in society, who had been elected as a joke. He accosted the Governor : 'Your Excellence, it is my business when people travel on the Sabbath to know where they have been and where they are going.' To this the Governor replied: ' Friend Smith, I have been to Boston, and attended my own church both parts of the day, and have heard two very fine ser- mons.' To this Smith responded, 'Faith, sir, the best thing you can do is to go home and make a good use of them.' He owned most of the land on the street for nearly half a mile from Milton bridge, and gave to the public enough from his land to convert a narrow street into the present street of ample dimensions.
" When the committee who came from Boston to request to have the tea removed [which was then at the wharf in Boston] had returned to the city, Gov. Hutchinson immediately walked down to the village to learn the state of affairs in regard to the landing of the tea from some of his most gracious neighbors. All they could tell him was that the people in Boston said it should not be landed ; but what would be the result they could form no idea. He wished, if it was in his power, to prevent it ; that no rash act should be committed by himself or the inhabitants of Boston. A special messenger in the night informed him that the tea was destroyed. Early the next morning he called again upon those whose information he had sought the evening before and expressed his regrets that they had not told him of the course that was to be taken that he might have ordered the vessels below the Castle until the matter could be more satis- factorily disposed of. He soon found that his usefulness was at an end, and that he could not serve both crown and people, and determined to leave the country in whose service he had spent so much time, and many personal friends with whom he was connected by so many ties. When his arrangements were completed he walked through the village bidding a good- by, shaking hands, and exchanging many kind parting words with his neighbors of both political parties. He walked down the lower road [now Adams street]. Soon after his carriage
GOV HUTCHINSON HOUSE
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MILTON HILL.
came along and took him to Dorchester Point, now South Bos- ton, where a barge came from the Castle and took him across, and there he remained until he sailed for England. Soon after Governor Hutchinson left the country the estate on Mil- ton Hill passed into the hands of Mr. Samuel Broome, an Eng- lishman by birth, and a merchant of Boston. Mr. Broome lived in the house but a short time, and it does not appear that he made any alterations in the house or added to the social posi- tion of Milton Hill.
"The next inhabitant of the Hutchinson house was the Hon. James Warren, a native of Plymouth, and a descendant of the first comers. He was of a very respectable family, and gradu- ated at Harvard in 1745. He took such a decided stand in favor of the Colonies against the mother country that, at a con- vention in Plymouth County in 1774, he was chosen President, and was several times a member of the Provincial Congress ; and when Gen. Joseph Warren was killed, at Bunker Hill, Mr. James Warren was chosen in the place made vacant by his death as President of the Provincial Congress. He married a sister of James Otis, Jr., who was so deeply interested in the revolutionary struggle. She was a woman of uncommon intel- lectual powers. She published a history of the American War in three volumes. Mercy Warren is a name that awakens admira- tion even in our day. While they occupied the house it was the resort of patriots and men of learning from all parts of the coun- try. When Mr. Warren returned to Plymouth he sold his farm in Milton to different parties. The mansion, and all the land south-east of the Canton road, were sold to Patrick Jeffrey, and the forty-two acres, with no building upon them, between the Canton road and Neponset river, were sold to Jacob Gill and Edward H. Robbins.
"Madam Haley,1 the widow of an opulent and highly respect- able merchant in London, came to look after the business of her husband, which had suffered much during the war, and brought with her Patrick Jeffrey, as a steward or agent. The property she brought with her, and what she collected here, made her very wealthy. She spent her money freely for what gratified her taste or satisfied her ambition. Tradition tells us that she gave five hundred dollars for the privilege of being the first one to ride over Charlestown bridge at its grand open- ing. She headed the procession on that occasion in her phae- ton, drawn by four white horses. The story has come down to
1 She was sister of John Wilkes, the celebrated English politician, and had the peculiar tooth which marked the Wilkes family.
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HISTORY OF MILTON.
us that a countryman called at her residence 1 and wished to see her. He sent up his name, and in due time Madam Haley appeared in her spacious drawing-room, magnificently furnished, in a fashionable dress, and announced herself as Madam Haley, and wished to know the object of his call. He stated in a few words that he had heard so much of her that he had a strong desire to see her. In a very pleasant and dignified manner she inquired what he had heard that so excited his curiosity. He replied, ' That she was so rich, lived in such style, did so much good, and was so homely !' She answered, 'Now you see me, what do you think about it?'-'I swear I believe they are all true !'
" This Madam Haley married her steward; but a good steward made an uncongenial husband, and she went back to London, and Jeffrey 2 purchased the Hutchinson mansion. He was Scotch by birth, and inherited many of the peculiarities of his race. He had the furniture, library, paintings, plate, relics and ornaments that had graced the mansion of his wife's first husband while an alderman and a mayor of London.3
" With his two house-keepers and retinue of servants he kept up a magnificent style of living. Dr. Jarvis, the leading politi- cian, Robert Hollowell, and the late Governor Eustis, were members of the club that dined with him weekly, in the style of an aristocratic dinner of the clubs of London and Dublin of that day. The dinner was prolonged, the pipes evaporated in smoke, and choice wines disappeared. After the company were seated in their carriages, they were driven to the front door, and summoned Mr. Jeffrey to the door to drink a parting glass, as they sat in their carriages.
"Soon after his death his furniture was sold at auction, and the rare paintings, valuable books, statuary, unique furniture, philosophical instruments, and a great variety of curiosities extended the auction for three days ; and it was visited by all classes, and all found something to suit their case and meet their wants. Those three days were gala days for Milton Hill, and more mementos, from valuable to worthless, were dis- tributed in those three days than were ever distributed in the same length of time, from any one source, since the settlement of the country. At this day there is hardly an ancient family
1 This occurred at her Boston house, as she did not occupy her residence in Milton.
2 Patrick Jeffrey was brother of the celebrated Judge Jeffrey, of Scotland.
3 Mrs. Harris, daughter of Dr. Holbrook, has in her possession a silver card-case pre- sented her by Mr. Jeffrey, which bears the Wilkes coat-of-arms.
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MILTON HILL.
in Milton that does not retain some memento of old Jeffrey. A timepiece1 was sold at that auction, which was made in Eng- land for Governor Hutchinson, and went into the possession of the late Dr. Holbrook, and at Dr. Holbrook's death it sold for ninety-five dollars, while, if stripped of its associations, it would not have been worth fifteen dollars.
"A few years before Mr. Jeffrey's death he mortgaged his home- stead of forty-four acres, and several pieces of outland and marsh, for $7,333, and shortly after his death, in 1812, his admin- istrator sold the equity for $540 to Barney Smith.
"George A. Otis, a connection of Mr. Smith's, occupied the house for a short time, until Mr. Smith and his family returned from Europe and took possession of the estate. Mr. Smith had been an importer of English goods. His store, connected with his house, stood at the corner of State and Devonshire streets, Boston, but they had been taken down to widen Devonshire street.
" Mr. Smith had not been long in occupation of the place before he began to improve it. He erected the large piazza now stand- ing, and removed the two small, inconvenient wings which were built with the house, and erected the two commodious ones now standing, and built a long, circular shed near the north-west corner of the house. These improvements converted a house of ordinary appearance into an imposing structure, for those days. The exten- sive business acquaintance of Mr. Smith, and the hospitality which always abounded in his mansion, drew a large circle of acquaintances around him, which made it a point of interest, to which many travellers of distinction resorted, where they were magnificently entertained.
" Mr. Smith was of medium size, of fine form, with light com- plexion, and a profusion of silky hair of the purest white ; his usual dress was a blue broadcloth with bright buttons, and a buff vest. His manners were graceful and pleasant. His kind feelings and ample means prompted him to do so much for the benefit of the community around him, and particularly to his neighbors less fortunate than himself, both in health and sick- ness, that he was universally beloved and respected while living, and his death, which occurred in 1828, was a public loss to the neighborhood.
" To make a settlement of the estate of Mr. Smith it was nec- essary that his real estate should be sold under the hammer, and in 1829 it was knocked down to Mrs. Lydia Smith Russell, the ac- complished daughter of Barney Smith, and wife of the late Hon.
1 The old clock has now got back to Milton, and is in possession of Mrs. Francis Cunningham, who now owns the Dr. Holbrook estate.
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HISTORY OF MILTON.
Jonathan Russell, for $12,300. They were the next occupants of the estate. Mr. Russell had lived a brilliant life, commencing as a lawyer in Providence, then a foreign consul, a minister to several European courts, and Commissioner with John Q. Adams, Henry Clay, Albert Gallatin, and Mr. Bayard, of New York, to ne- gotiate the treaty of peace between the United States and Great Britain, which was ratified in 1815. His health was much impaired before he took up his residence on Milton Hill, and it continued gradually to fail until his death, in 1833. His remains were buried on the estate, directly opposite the house, but were afterwards removed to Forest Hills. Mrs. Rus- sell,1 an accomplished lady of rare attainments, did not suffer the character of the house for hospitality and sociability to de- generate, while, with her daughter, she occupied the estate till her death, in 1859. She improved the place by setting out the elms on both sides of the street where the sycamores set out by Governor Hutchinson, some hundred years before, had died, and the house, by making a new and convenient entrance on the south side, which added much to its general appearance and its comfort. Since her death the estate has been in the occupation of her children, and they are too well and favorably known to the present generation to be included in this sketch." - Shade of Kitchmakin.
Closing events of Governor Hutchinson's Public Life.
On the evening of the 26th of August, 1765, the populace of Boston, exasperated beyond endurance, and almost wrought into frenzy, by the Stamp Act, surrounded the house of the Lieutenant Governor, suffered the family to escape, but de- stroyed whatever they could lay hands on. Costly furniture, valuable pictures, and statuary were demolished, the library and manuscripts were burned or thrown into the street, among the
1 Fredrika Bremer, the Swedish authoress, engaged to visit the Russells on Milton Hill, Dec., 1849, and pass Christmas with them. In her "Homes of the New World," Vol. I, p. 134, she thus refers to the Russell family : -
" Among the visitors whom I have seen and who have interested me are a Mrs. Rus- sell and her daughter Ida. Ida was born in Sweden, where her father was charge d'af- faires many years ago, and although she left the country as a child she has retained an affection for Sweden and the Swedes. She is a handsome and agreeable young lady. Her mother looks like goodness itself.
"' I cannot promise you much that is entertaining,' said she, in inviting me to her house, ' but I will nurse you ! '
"I could not but embrace her for this motherly good-will; but ah ! that which I need is not continually ranging and flitting about from house to house, but to be quiet for a while. I promised, nevertheless, to go to them (they live in the country, some miles on the other side of Boston) on Christmas-eve, which they will keep in a Northern fashion, with Christmas pine-twigs, Christmas-candles, and Christmas-boxes, and, as I perceive, great ceremony. But more than all the Christmas-candles and the Christmas-boxes do I need - a little rest.
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HISTORY OF MILTON.
Jonathan Russell, for $12.00 "Thấy viên Thọ 1 53 7 901 påme 53 the estate. Mr. Russell haveda 10010 10 0 102108- lawyer in Providence, th European courts, and Co Clay, Albert Gallatin, and Mb Trong gotiate the treaty of pea Britain, which was rat impaired before he to hotel- 0mio and it continued grad His remains were buri af on Que ramos house, but were afterwa do i pored to sell,1 an accomplished lady of sare jofall the character of the hot generate, while, with her mane hier, she her death, in 1859. Sh novosel she of elms on both sides of the Governor Hutchinson, choro butolsed roce the house, by making south side, which add. its comfort. Since in well with occupation of her children and buy deu boy sell known to the present generalum or ho @ low & in - Shade of Kitchmaki
Closing events of ! spor 2runscorps .
On the evening of the Boston, exasperated into frenzy, by the £ Lieutenant Governor. stroyed whatever the valuable pictures, and manuscripts were bur
1 Fredrika Bremer, the Sw Hill, Dec., 1849, and pass Ch Vol. I, p. 134, she thus refers ml
" Among the visitors whon sell and her daughter Ida. I( faires many years ago, and a affection for Sweden and the Her mother looks like goodne "' I cannot promise you house, ' but I will nurse you ! " I could not but emhrace is not continually ranging an while. I promised, neverthe the other side of Boston) on ( with Christmas pine-twigs, Clit great ceremony. But more 1 need - a little rest.
Matchnison
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MILTON HILL.
latter were the unpublished manuscripts of the Massachusetts History, which by good fortune were recovered.
All the articles saved from this vandal onslaught were re- moved to Milton, and from this time the Governor confined his residence to Milton Hill.
It is very manifest that he was greatly attached to his suburban home and to his Milton neighbors, with whom he was a favorite. He mingled with them in social life, and worshipped with them in the same church. After reaching England he writes to his son at Milton, who still remained in the Milton house, apprizing him that he had " shipped for his Milton garden a parcel of cuttings of much finer gooseberries than ever he saw in N. E." He also, in the same letter, expresses anxiety about his pear orchard, and requests his son to " have stocks that failed last year regrafted." In another letter he says : -
I can with good truth assure you that I had rather live at Milton than at Kew, and had rather see Peggy and Tommy and -- playing about me than the Princess Charlotte Prince Augustus or and I have no doubt that your sister is of the same mind:
Again he writes Feb. 22, 1775 : ---
MY DEAR SON. - I hope peace and order will return to you before the summer, and that I shall return before winter. If there is a prospect of my being serviceable I would return in my public character, which I have no doubt I may do if I choose. If the prejudices of the people continue and my friends think it most advisable I would endeavor to be content with a private station, in such a case the more obscure the more eligible.
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