USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > Winthrop > The history of Winthrop, Massachusetts ; 1630-1952 > Part 6
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
Under Winthrop's leadership, as is well known, Boston made remarkable strides and became the first city in America. Within a year of his appointment as Governor, he had organized 17 ships' voyages from England and brought over more than a thousand settlers. Within four years, he had led the planting not only of Boston but twenty other towns and villages on the shore of hills around the Bay. Many permanent houses had been built, some roads were laid out and the military defense of the Colony was well prepared.
By 1636, led by Winthrop, Harvard was founded, the first and the greatest of all American universities. Perhaps more important, hardly had the settlers had time to look around them, than Boston Latin School was established, the first "high school" in America. In truth, the Puritans were sober, earnest and in- dustrious people and Winthrop was the leader who could orga- nize their abilities and qualities into accomplishment.
By 1643, so well had Winthrop labored-and his course was not smooth-Boston had 16,000 inhabitants. This is more than all the other colonies in English America at that time lumped together.
Winthrop Town can well be proud of the man for whom it is named. Practically every historian writing of colonial New Eng- land testifies to the man's merit. Reginald W. Jeffery, in his History of the Thirteen Colonies of North America, writes, "John Winthrop's character was of the best, and he is revered as one of the strongest and certainly one of the most lovable of the early settlers in America. He was a thorough Puritan. Like his brethren, he showed humility but unlike so many he was
49
sweet-tempered and moderate. As a man of wealth, of good birth, and of great ability, Winthrop was the most remarkable Puritan statesman in Colonial history."
As a sidelight on John Winthrop, in contrast with formal historical writing, here is an excerpt from a letter written by one of his associates, Thomas Wiggin. "John was a discreet and sober man, wearing plain apparel, drinking plain water ordi- narily, ruling with much mildness, and putting his hand to any ordinary labor with his servants."
John Winthrop died at sixty-one, worn out by a life of hard work, great responsibility, constant anxiety, and many sorrows. Few Boston men have died and left behind such a deep and gen- eral sense of loss. With the Governor in his tomb, were succes- sively buried his son, John Winthrop, Jr., Governor of Connec- ticut also in his time, and Wait Still Winthrop, Chief Justice of Massachusetts.
It would not be fair to John Winthrop to picture him, even in so brief an a accounting as this, as a man of sober business alone. He was that-and few men have displayed such an aware- ness of the responsibilities they carried. He was also a warm, loving and gentle man, a leader our town did well to honor.
Bancroft in his History of the United States makes one of the better characterizations of Winthrop, "It was principally the calm decision of Winthrop which sustained the courage of his companions. His nature was touched by the sweetest sympathies of affection for wife, children, and associates. He was of a sociable nature; his home was his soul's paradise; and works of mercy were the habit of his life. . . ."
This is exemplified in his letters whilst separated from his wife. He had gone before in order to prepare a home for her and their children.
Here are a few examples of letters between John Winthrop and his wife, Margaret. Because of their length, only excerpts can be given. Like great literature, these letters read as fresh and sound, as sincere as if they were written yesterday, not 300 years ago.
John to Margaret: "Being filled with joy of thy love ... I am constrained to ease the burden of my mind by this poor help of my scribbling pen, being sufficiently assured that, although my presence is that which thou desirest, yet in the want therof these lines shall not be unfruitful of comfort unto thee.
Margaret to John: "My most sweet husband, How dearly wel- come thy kind letter was to me I am not able to express. The sweetness of it did so refresh me. What can be more pleasing to a wife than to hear of the welfare of her best beloved, and how
50
he is pleased with her poor endeavours? I blush to hear myself commended, but it is your love that conceives the best and makes all things seem better than they are. ... "
John to Margaret: "My dear wife, Thy sweet letters . .. how welcome they were to me. ... Here where I am I have all out- ward content and most kind entertainment; only the want of thy presence makes me weary of all else, so dear is thy love to me. . . . I have nothing to send thee but my love, neither shall I bring thee anything but myself, which I know will be best welcome. ... "
These first excerpts were from letters written while John was in London and elsewhere on business associated with his practice of the law, and with his activities in organizing the colony in New England. During their long separation, the letters continued, as fully affectionate and as sincere as before.
John to Margaret: " ... And now, my sweet soul ... it goeth very near to my heart ... but I know to whom I have committed thee, even to Him who loves thee much better than any husband can ... who can and, if it be for His glory, will bring us together again with peace and comfort. Oh, how it refresheth my heart to think that I shall yet see again thy sweet face in the land of the living,-that lovely countenance that I have so much de- lighted in and beheld with such great content! . .. I shall not avoid the remembrance of thee, nor the grief for thy absence. Thou hast thy share with me; but I hope the course we have agreed upon will be some ease to us both. Mondays and Fridays, at five of the clock at night, we shall meet in spirit until we meet in person. Yet if all these hopes should fail, blessed be our God that we are assured we shall meet one day, in a better condition. Let that stay and comfort thy heart. Neither can the sea drown thy husband, nor enemies destroy, nor any adversity deprive thee of thy husband or children. Therefore I will only take thee now and my sweet children in my arms, and kiss and embrace you all, and so leave you with my God. Farewell. . "
On November 2, 1631, after more than a year of separation, Margaret Winthrop arrived at Boston together with several of his older children. It was a great day for John Winthrop, yet in his Journal, he simply wrote: "There came in the ship Lyon, the Governor's wife, his eldest son and his wife, and others of his children, with other families, being in all about 60 persons, who all arrived in good health. ... We kept a day of thanksgiving at Boston."
Margaret lived with John at Boston for fifteen years. On June 13, 1647, she fell ill of an "epedemic sickness," which ex- hibited the symptoms of a cold and slight fever. On the 14th
51
she was dead; on the 15th she was buried. For the third time, sorrow struck John Winthrop at his most vulnerable point. He simply wrote in his Journal, though it is clear from his letters as quoted in very small part what he must have felt, these few words: "In this sickness the Governor's wife, daughter of Sir John Tyndal, knight, left this world for a better, being about 56 years of age: a woman of singular virtue, modesty, and piety, and specially honoured and beloved of the country."
52
Chapter Four DISCOVERY AND EARLY SETTLEMENT
AS PREVIOUSLY stated, the first white persons to actually live for part of the year in New England, and by inference, in what is now Winthrop, were fishermen. These hardy adven- turers, probably to the number of 5,000 a year, each Spring left England, France, and Portugal, sailed their cockleshells west- ward and fished all summer. Details lived ashore, made barrels and dried and salted the fish and traded with the Indians. When Fall came, the fishermen sailed home again and had many weird and wonderful tales to tell of the strange lands three thousand miles overseas. Thus, when an official exploring expedition pre- pared to "find" America, it was in the taverns of Bristol, Ply- mouth and similar towns, that information, and perhaps even pilots, were obtained by the "discovers." Of course, it should be realized that these official expeditions were not actually for the purpose of original discovery. Everyone knew there were wealthy lands overseas. These expeditions went out to claim the lands for the Crown and to gather exact information about them. This information was then used by the various corporations and companies which undertook actual settlement.
As also said, it may be that the real discoverers were the Northmen who came, possibly, to New England and certainly to Acadia about 1002. This is fascinating legend but no satisfac- tory proof has yet been found of the business. Also legends exist in Wales and in Ireland, which indicate the possibility that Welsh sailors at one time, and also that Irish sailors at another, visited America. Indeed, it is likely that seafarers along Euro- pean shores were now and then blown out of their course and eventually sighted land, which was some part of the North American continent.
Aside from the fishermen, the shores of New England were neglected. Spain and Portugal had been given the non-Christian world by Rome and these two nations zealously guarded their respective realms. British and French sailors found profitable occupation in what amounted to piracy in taking the laden ves- sels of these two countries, particularly those of Spain. In addi-
53
tion, neither Britain nor France were colonizing nations. What interest they did have in the New World was that of trade.
The first official recognition of New England came in 1602 when Bartholomew Gosnold visited the coast and, while he did not explore it at all, he did take back such glowing reports that the cupidity of other English voyagers was awakened. It was Gosnold's rich cargo of furs and sassafras bark that caused this interest. Here was opportunity for trade.
Captain Martin Pring was sent directly to New England in 1603 for furs and sassafras and then in 1605 Captain George Weymouth was sent to do some exploring-and to pick up what he could by way of furs. Meanwhile, politicians in London had been busy and the Scotchman, James I, thought little of giving the first of several and very confusing "gifts" of tremendous areas to his favorites as well as to companies who made "deals" of one kind or another with those in positions of influence. The first two companies were known as the London Company and the Plymouth Company. The Plymouth Company, being composed of business men, rather than of peers of the realm, as was the London Company, lost no time in attempting colonization. In 1607, the ill-fated Popham colony was founded in Maine.
In 1614, the dismal failure of the first venture was offset by Captain John Smith, who made the first, real exploration of the New England coast between Cape Cod and the Penobscot in Maine. He traded as he explored and reaped a fortune from his private venture with the Indians, bringing back to London 11,000 beaver skins, 100 marten pelts and the same number of otter hides. It was Smith that gave the name of New England to our section of the world and his great interest in the country, as well as his demonstrated profits, inflamed interests in New England to fever pitch.
Misfortune accompanied him on an official voyage there on behalf of the Plymouth Company and the original organization applied for a new and more definite charter and, after some ma- neuvering, obtained a grant of land from the 44th to the 48th parallels of latitude from the Atlantic to the Pacific! Thus 40 Englishmen were given an empire by the scratch of the pen by a Scotch King.
Up to about this point, fishing and trading had been the only motives for interest in New England. Then religion entered the picture and in 1620 the Pilgrims established Plymouth and the Puritans in a few years, founded Salem, Charlestown and, finally, in 1630, Boston. Thus New England came into being.
Of the career of these settlements, of the struggle for em- pire with the French, of the bitter French and Indian Wars, which were in large part a reflection of wars between Britain
54
and France on the soil of bloody Europe, the story of Winthrop has little concern.
The field of this book, from this point on, necessarily nar- rows down, first to Winnesimmit, then to Revere and finally to Winthrop itself.
Probably the first settler in Winnesimmit was the strange character known as Samuel Maverick. Almost nothing is known of Maverick, save for his association with Boston. Where he came from, who he was, and what he had for his principal busi- ness-all these and many more questions are simply matters of conjecture.
At any event, when a very young man (he seems to have been born in 1602) he arrived at what was to be Boston and built himself a house at what is now Chelsea. The site was on the banks of the Mystic River at or near the present location of the United States Marine Hospital. This house, built probably in 1624 and certainly not later than 1625, was fortified, for this was then a wild and savage country in sober fact. It is reported that the Indians did attack Maverick but he gave them such a warm and spirited reception that they never molested him again.
It was at this house that Maverick entertained Governor Winthrop and his party when they came up from Salem into Bos- ton Bay on June 17, 1630. The Maverick House was reported to be still standing in 1660 but nothing is known of it thereafter.
With Samuel Maverick was Elias Maverick, probably a brother. He seems to have lived in the old house with Samuel and he died in Winnesimmet 8 September, 1684. Nothing much is known of this Elias.
To leave Maverick for the moment, there appear to have been other settlers in the Boston area, possibly remnants of the unfortunate colony of Weston and Gorges in Weymouth. One of these was William Blackstone, who built himself a house above what is now Boston Common, probably at about the present Louisburg Square. There, when John Winthrop arrived, he found Blackstone pleasantly seated with an orchard of apple trees. The Puritans apparently approved of Blackstone but he did not like them too well. He sold out in 1635 and went south into the wild- erness and built a cabin in what is now Cumberland, originally a part of Rehoboth. He is said to have remarked as he departed, "I came from England because I did not like the Lord Bishops, but I cannot join with you because I would not be under my Lord Brethren."
Thomas Walford, a blacksmith, was another independent soul. He settled alone in what is now Charlestown, possibly across the Mystic from Maverick. He did not like the Puritans and did not prosper with them, once being fined for "contempt
55
of authority." This fine he paid by collecting the bounty on a wolf. He finally was jailed for debt and, when released, moved up into New Hampshire.
Other settlements were made as at Nantasket by Thomas Gray in 1622, and that of Captain Wollaston, in the present City of Quincy. These have little concern with the North Shore and only one is of interest, that at Wollaston. There, led by Thomas Morton, the settlers enjoyed life in a manner the Pilgrims and Puritans could not approve. The Pilgrims sent Miles Standish to cleanse the place but finally Governor John Endicott came up from Salem in 1628 and so severely lectured the Merrymount folks that they were "convinced of the evil of their ways."
Of all these, however, Maverick was the outstanding citizen. One reason was that Maverick was always at odds with the Puri- tans while, at the same time, he was too energetic and too power- ful to treat lightly. He was a man of great affairs, for the times, promoting fishing, farming, trading with the Indians and, as a merchant, importing cargoes direct from Europe-not England alone. He was withal very hospitable and while the Puritans did not accept his hospitality to any extent, the captains and officers of vessels coming into Boston made free of it and the nights were merry with revelry. Doubtless Maverick was a thorn in the flesh of the good people of Boston.
Then too, Maverick was suspect by the Puritans because of his association with David Thompson. Thompson, a relict of the unfortunate colony Gorges attempted at Weymouth, was ap- pointed his agent by Gorges. Gorges held a sort of title to the Boston area, and much more, and the Puritans lived for many years in fear of being dispossessed by Gorges, and then by his heirs.
Thompson was known to be doing what he could in Gorges' interest and, while he lived peacefully enough in his home on Thompson's Island in the Harbor, yet he was hated by many of the Boston people as the focal point of their fears. Maverick, who probably held titles to his lands in Winnesimmit through Gorges, was a friend and associate of Thompson. Thompson lived quietly but Maverick went away on voyages. He was con- stantly active in many fields and commonly received visitors from England and sent and received his letters independently of Boston. So, it was feared that Maverick, too, was plotting the ousting of the Puritans. Thus, when the Gorges' patent did come into the English courts and the battle dragged its weary way through endless technicalities, Maverick was regarded as an en- emy spy in Boston's very bosom.
Thus in time, as Maverick proved harmless enough, al- though far from being cleared of suspicion, he became the target
56
for various items of abuse by the Boston magistrates. These were trifling matters but probably were intended to give Maver- ick the idea that his company was not appreciated. One ordi- nance against him is of particular interest, since it affected the future Winthrop. The General Court in September, 1635, ordered "That the necks of land betwixt Powderhorne Hill and Pullen Poynte, shall belong to Boston, to be enjoyed by ye in- habitants forever." This order placed, not the present Chelsea, but all of what is now Revere, Orient Heights, Winthrop, and the "isles of Apple, Snake and Deare" in control of Boston. Bos- ton never did question the legality of Maverick's holding in Win- nesimmit but this order served notice that the rest of the penin- sula and appendages thereto were not regarded as his. It was a mere legal gesture but it could have been important subsequently.
Of course to a man of proud spirit and vigorous activities, this petty sniping and hostility exhibited by Boston was most distasteful. So, in 1635-36, Maverick sold his property in Chelsea to Governor Bellingham and removed to Noddles Island; that part of East Boston not then being considered part of Bos- ton. Here he built another house and continued to enlarge his activities. However, Boston, assuming authority it did not possess, ordered Maverick to take up his habitation across the harbor within the town itself. Evidently the magistrates thought it best to keep a close eye upon the suspect.
Maverick, however, being far from a Puritan, did not choose to live cheek by jowl with his neighbors and so sailed away to more congenial surroundings in Virginia. Shortly afterwards, the charter problem was finally adjudged in favor of Boston and with some evident stirring of conscience, the orders affecting Maverick were countermanded and a letter was sent to him in Virginia requesting him to return.
After Samuel Maverick left Winnesimmit, his "brother" Elias continued to reside in the village, building himself a house, where he resided with his father-in-law, William Stidson. This branch of the Mavericks lived in harmony with the Puritans and passed their lives peacefully, so far as is known. Stidson is of particular interest to Winthrop, not alone because he estab- lished the first ferry between Chelsea and Boston, but also be- cause he received one of the original allotments of land at Pullen Poynte.
While there never was any serious Indian trouble in or immediately adjacent to Boston, probably because of the im- poverished condition of the Indians and the rapid increase in strength of the settlers, there was a constant series of legal dif- ficulties with the red skins. Apparently the Puritans took their responsibilities to the Indians seriously and gave them equal
57
treatment in the courts. This may have been one reason why there was no trouble locally, for the Indians were shown that they could expect justice if they could demonstrate misbehavior on the part of the settlers.
For example, it was forbidden to sell arms or ammunition to the Indians. On 4th September, 1632, one Richard Hopkins of Boston sold a musket, a pistol and some ammunition to Saga- more James of Saugus, now Lynn. The Puritan magistrate declared no sale, repossessed the firearms and publicly whipped Hopkins and branded him on the cheek with the Indians as interested spectators. Then in 1633, a smallpox epidemic, as related earlier, swept through the Indian villages. Many set- tlers, including Elias Maverick and his wife, braved the disease to nurse the pestilence-both to the gratitude of the Indians and the good name of the settlers.
Aside from a fondness the Indians had for cow meat in place of venison, which resulted in many petty difficulties, the chief cause of friction between the reds and the whites was that of land titles. Legally, of course, title came down from the King of Great Britain. However, to make doubly sure, espe- cially with the Gorges suits either pending or threatening, it was the common practice for the Puritans to also "buy" their lands from the Indians. While the Indians had a decent respect for the territory held by other tribes, they apparently could not grasp the white idea of a small freehold, such as a farm. Ac- cordingly, for a red coat, a brass kettle, an axe and such things, Indian chiefs, in whom the English chose to consider title rested, would sign a deed by making their mark-or their names if educated-as they were after a fashion eventually.
Thus, the three brothers who succeeded each other in turn as chiefs of the local Massachusetts Indians doubtless sold land to the settlers in heedless fashion. Perhaps they did not know they were selling land; perhaps they considered the gifts as tribute-a sort of rent. However, they were perfectly willing to sell the same land over and over again to anyone who wanted it. Thus the chief Sagamore George doubtless continued the practice of taking what he could obtain of goods in exchange for titles. The business became so very much confused that no one knew what was what; if the Indian titles were of any value at all, which was doubtful, although regarded as worth while as an anchor to windward in case of trouble with the British Crown. In any event, it was finally determined to systematize the part of the business concerning the Indians and in 1685, the heirs of Sagamore George were persuaded to sign a deed, which released forever their interest in all lands "at or near Winnesimmit, Rumney Marsh and Pullen Poynte to such as are
58
entitled to the same by long possession and legal descent from such persons as originally purchased from ye Indian sagamores". This ended the trouble with the Indians and quashed any further legal actions by the Indians who were continually bringing what amounted to nuisance suits over land in the lower courts and even petitioning the Great and General Court itself.
Perhaps at this point, to keep the record clear, since Pullen Poynte did become a part of Boston, it is well to give a very brief account of the establishment of the future city.
Governor Winthrop and his party arrived not at Boston but at Salem on 12 June, 1630. Salem had been previously settled by Endicott. A few days later, Winthrop's party sailed up past Nahant into Boston Harbor and established themselves on the banks of the Charles in what is now Charlestown. Here the drinking water was bad and the party suffered from rattle- snakes and wolves. Across the Charles, as mentioned, William Blackstone was settled and in enjoyment of fair acres and excel- lent springs. We have no record of the exact day when the Puritans crossed the Charles to Shawmut, or Trimont, as Boston was then known, but on 17 September, 1630, the General Court ordered that the name of Trimountain "shall be changed to Boston." The name of Boston was in honor of the city of Boston in Lincolnshire, England, home to many of the settlers.
The first mention of Pullen Poynte in Boston records is the report of an inquest into the sudden death of a William Putnam. He had been on a fishing trip to the Winthrop Shore and was stricken ill. Death overtook him swiftly. The inquest found that death was due to natural causes.
A year later, in 1632, came the previously mentioned order reserving all the wild fowl at Pullen Poynte to Jobe Perkins, a fowler, and forbidding everyone else to hunt or shoot there.
Whether or not Boston actually had legal title to Winnesim- mit is open to question but Boston assumed that such was the case and, since there was no one to dispute them, save possibly Maverick, the writ of possession stood. Possibly the reason of this action became evident in 1634 when the Clerk of the Court of Assistants made this entry in the Book of Possession-a sort of Registry of Deeds :
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.