USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > Winthrop > The history of Winthrop, Massachusetts ; 1630-1952 > Part 9
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as they were largely non-residents. However, it was an impor-
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tant matter in the sense that the original holdings were broken up into smaller lots and thus the number of property owners was increased. Anne Hutchinson, a woman of admirable char- acter and one who won the respect and devotion of practically all of Boston by her ministrations to the sick, had the misfortune of possessing religious convictions which differed from those held by men in authority. The matter was comparatively slight. Established ministers preached that the piety of a man was evidenced by his outward conduct in matters of speech, dress, walk, hair-fashions and other points of behavior. Anne Hutchin- son simply held that this was not necessarily correct for a hypo- crite could easily pretend to spiritual grace by conforming to established conduct and manners. The resulting controversy got out of hand and for the sake of the peace of Boston, the Gen- eral Court banished the leaders of Anne Hutchinson's party and disenfranchised other members. Disenfranchisement was seri- ous punishment in the period for it meant the loss of the right to bear arms, as well as virtual excommunication-for in those days the state was the church and the church was the state.
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Chapter Five COLONIAL DEVELOPMENT OF WINTHROP
PROBABLY the most distinguished of the early permanent residents of Winthrop as distinguished from summer visitors and part-time residents, was Deane Winthrop, whose name is now indelibly attached to the oldest house in town.
The Deane Winthrop house, which is on Shirley Street, just in from Fort Banks, was, as mentioned, built by Captain William Pierce. The date cannot be fixed too definitely. Probably it was built about 1639, possibly as early as 1637 but certainly no later than 1640, for the famed mariner died in 1641 fighting the Spaniards in the West Indies on a private venture of his own. Spain probably considered him a pirate but the line between peaceful merchant seamen and pirates was not too carefully drawn in those days and no questions were asked.
The fact that the house is still standing after more than 300 years attests the excellence of its construction. It is likely that Captain Pierce brought over much of the materials in his ship, the Lion, or the more famous Mayflower, which he also com- manded. The frame especially was imported for it is of oak and the details of its fabrication seem to be beyond the ability of local artisans of the time. There were good carpenters in Boston in the first decade of settlement doubtless, but they had neither the tools nor the time to work great oak beams, sills and posts the way these were produced.
On the contrary, some of the floor boards and some of the siding, which has been exposed during repairs, are of amazingly wide pine boards. Thus it is likely that these parts of the build- ing were locally produced from the tremendous pumpkin pines which once graced the vicinity. Some of these pines were well over 100 feet in height and boards were cut from them all of a yard wide, sometimes 40 inches, although such are exceptional. The chimney, which is noteworthy for its majestic proportions, is made of brick of different size and composition from those burned locally ; thus they too likely enough were imported. The mortar used is still strong and shows no sign of disintegration from age; possibly it was made right on the Winthrop beaches
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for some settlers burned clam shells to make lime-and very good lime it was.
Deane Winthrop, who was born at Groton, England, March 16, 1623, remained at school in England until 1635. From that year, until his death in 1704, he claimed Boston as his residence although he spent some time in other parts of New England, such as Ipswich, Mass., New London, Connecticut, and Groton, Mass. -being one of the founders of that town. However, ever since 1634, his father, Governor Winthrop, had held a tract of land at Pullen Poynte for him, and in 1647, Deane Winthrop inherited all of Governor Winthrop's lands at Winthrop.
First of all, Deane Winthrop lived in the small house which his father had built on Crystal Cove on the south side of Great Head. From accounts of the times, Crystal Cove deserved its name then, having a sand and gravel bottom, not mud, and being filled by tidal water which was literally clear as crystal. It was here that he set up the first "telegraph station" for he could see both Boston across the harbor and out over the ocean for many miles. Whenever a ship came up over the horizon he would hoist a bush to a tall pole and thus inform Boston that a ship was ap- proaching the harbor.
He married Sara, daughter of the Reverend Jose Glover, and step-daughter of The Reverend Henry Dunster, president of Harvard College. By this marriage, he became the father of nine children. His second wife, Martha, widow of Captain John Mellows, survived him, dying in 1716.
Deane Winthrop, unlike some of his brothers, who were very active leaders in politics, did not care for public toil and trouble but was content to live quietly on his Winthrop farm. For the most part, his days did pass peacefully but now and then there were visitors and sports. For one instance, on the night of November 28, 1682, in the midst of a blinding snowstorm, a ship commanded by a Captain Horton was dashed ashore at or near Great Head. Thirteen of the ship's company were drowned, four who did get ashore, froze to death while cowering in the snow but six managed to make their way to the Deane Winthrop House, all in a pitiful condition, their clothing frozen to their bodies and their lives nearly extinct. However, before the Winthrop fireplace they soon thawed out and they were soon revived by the generous hospitality of Deane Winthrop. The ship was a total loss and very little of her cargo was saved, including some $1,000 in silver. It is reported even now that once in a while an age blackened silver coin is found on the beach.
In 1687, the famed jurist, Samuel Sewall, he of the diary, bought Hog Island, known as Orient Heights today, and leased it to Jeremiah Belcher, the founder of the present Belcher fami-
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lies in Winthrop. Sewall thus became a neighbor of Deane Win- throp and the two visited each other on occasions, although be- cause of Winthrop's advanced age, the Judge did most of the visiting. Like all families in Winthrop at the time, they traveled by water if at all possible, sailing up and down the tidal creeks and across the harbor to the city. It was much easier so, than to take the rough and weary roundabout way by road.
The families lived very well, as for example, on October 1, 1697, the jurist's diary records a luncheon of "bread and butter, honey, curds and cream. For dinner, very good roast lamb, turkey, fowl and apple pie. After dinner sang the 121 Psalm. A glass of spirits ... stood upon a joint stool, which Simon W. (Willard) jogging it, fell down and broke all to shivers. I said it was a lively emblem of our fragility and mortality .... "
Again Sewall's diary records, July 11, 1699, " ... went with (the Reverend) Mr. Willard to Mr. Deane Winthrop's, now 77 years old. Between one and two Mr. Willard married Atherton Haugh and Mercy Winthrop. ... Gave very good advice and exhortation ; especially most solemnly charged them not to neglect family prayer. Between three and four, Major General Fitz-John and Mr. Adam Winthrop came ... Sang a Psalm together. I set St. David's tune; sang part of two Psalms, and concluded with the last four verses of the 115. When Mr. Willard asked Mr. Winthrop's consent to the marriage, he also complimented me respecting Atherton Haugh. I said I was glad he had found so good a family and so good a wife, and after when I saw the bridegroom and the bride together after the wedding, I prayed God to bless them, and give them such an offspring wherein the names of Haugh and Winthrop should flourish. ... The wind was against us going home so 'twas nine o'clock before we landed. Were four hours on the passage. ... "
By 1702 Deane Winthrop had outlived all his brothers and most of his children. His last act of public service was as a mem- ber of a committee to lay out and to limit the "highways" between Pullin Point Neck and the County Road at Winnisimett. These "highways" were of course mere rutted cart tracks, through pastures, mowings and orchards and at every farm was blocked by a gate to keep cattle from straying. Drivers had to stop, open the gates, drive through, and then stop and shut the gates behind them.
The committee's report gives a graphic picture of the "high- ways". It reads in part: " ... We ... do ... judge it the most convenient way, and which will be the least damage to those persons through whose land the ways runs, and therefore do by our joint agreement determine: that the way shall begin at the Waterside on the east side of Joseph Bill's House, and run
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through the said Bill's ground over the Plain, then into James Bill's land by the head of The Little Swamp, and by another little swamp lying on the easterly side, from thence northerly by a round pond and in Joseph Bill's ground and so through the land of Joseph Bill to a little gate on said Joseph Bill's hill, by Mr. Winthrop's and through the said gate into Mr. Winthrop's ground, down to a rock in the brook, and from thence to the gate in the parting line between Mr. Winthrop's land and Major Townsend's farm, and so through said gate on the southerly side of said hill to the end of said hill, where the way runs onto the beach. .. . "
The "Little Swamp" and the "another little swamp" were both filled in when Pauline Street and the area adjacent to the old Winthrop Center railroad station were built. The section on the lands of Deane Winthrop was of course, the beginning of the present Revere Street.
Deane Winthrop died on his birthday, March 16, 1703-04, (O.S.) at the age of 81. Of his nine children, only one son and three daughters survived him. He was buried at the old church on Beach Street, Revere-at the time the only churchyard in the vicinity.
The property passed for several years successively down through his children and grandchildren and their issue until it was acquired by Governor James Bowdoin through a mortgage transaction. In 1790, at Bowdoin's death, his daughter, Eliza- beth, Lady Temple, wife of Sir John Temple, became the owner. Lady Temple willed the property to her daughter, Elizabeth Temple Winthrop, wife of Tyndal Winthrop, son of Governor John Winthrop of Connecticut. Thus after about a century, the property once again came back to the Winthrops. Elizabeth later married the Reverend Benjamin Tappan, minister of the Winthrop Church at Charlestown. Upon her death, the estate was bought by Deacon David Floyd. The Floyd family had been residents of Rumney Marsh since 1630 odd but were established in Winthrop also by this purchase in 1854-although the Deacon had lived in the house for years before he purchased it. All of his family were born in the old house, including his seven sons, all of whom were more than six feet tall. This was a famous family as for instance upon one occasion when the Deacon went to the State House to speak in protest against some invasion of private rights by the State, a newspaper printed an account and said, "he stood there (at the hearing) backed by 48 feet of Floyds."
It was due to the Floyds, in fact, that the old house is still standing, unlike early buildings which have vanished. A nephew of the Deacon's, David Floyd, in 1906 managed to acquire the
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property again for the Winthrop Improvement and Historical Association as a permanent historical monument. The Associa- tion at first leased the property but eventually was able to pur- chase it outright. Thanks to this group, the house was repaired and it is now safely protected against time and the weather and although 300 years old and more should continue for many years to come-one of the oldest houses in Greater Boston.
To return to the development of Winthrop, beginning in 1638, Winthrop's first real estate speculator went to work. He was Richard Tuttle, or Tuttell, a business man of Boston. Within two years, his assiduous purchasing of available parcels became so noticeable that it was feared by some in Boston that his acqui- sition of land in Winthrop, in Revere and elsewhere would pre- clude the proper development of the areas. So it was agreed upon at the 1639 session of the General Court that the sale of any of the allotments at Pullen Poynte and Rumney Marsh must be passed by the General Court if the title was to be valid.
It happened at this time that Dorothie Bill, relict of John Bill, who came to Boston about 1638, was living at the home of her brother, the same Richard Tuttle. She had a son, James, who was very active in purchasing land at Winthrop. Just what the connection between James Bill and Richard Tuttle, or where the necessary capital came from, was never made clear but it is a fact that by 1671, James Bill owned almost all of what is now Winthrop; his neighbor, Deane Winthrop, owning what Bill did not. In addition this James Bill, probably the most important inhabitant of early Winthrop, from the economic point of view, owned considerable other property elsewhere, including wharves, fishing vessels, two negro slaves, several houses, cattle, sheep and swine, and, in Winthrop, 80 acres of arable land and 170 acres of pasture.
This holding in Winthrop he gave by an indenture just before his death to his four sons, James, Jr., Jonathan, Joseph and Joshua, reserving a life interest. It is likely that these sons were already established in Winthrop and living in the several houses on the Bill Farms. These houses certainly included : the Gibbons House, previously mentioned, at the foot of Thornton Hill, the Whittemore house near the water at what is now the foot of Sargent Street, and the Oliver house in the northerly part of the town.
James Bill, Sr., died very soon after thus arranging for the disposition of his property, although son Joshua managed to pre- decease him at that. Thus three sons divided most of Winthrop among themselves.
James Bill, Jr., took the land south of present Madison Ave- nue and Jefferson Street and east of Bellevue Avenue to the
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1637. Deane Winthrop House built by Captain William Pierce of Mayflower fame. Soon thereafter this was acquired by Gov. John Winthrop for his son Deane who lived there most of his life until his death in 1704. Now owned by the Winthrop Improvement and Historical Association and occupied by the custodians Mr. and Mrs. Louis Cobb. This view taken about 1900.
1637. The "Bill House" which until 1926 stood on the east side of Beal St. at about the present number 29. Said to have been built by the Rev. John Oliver about 1637 and acquired by James Bill about 1645. Here was taught "Read'g & Write'g & Arithmetick" to twenty-two pupils in 1779 when occupied by John "Tuksbery."
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creek at the foot of Washington Avenue-Lewis Lake now. This included the Major Gibbons house and farm buildings at Thorn- ton Park to be.
Jonathan took the land west of Sargent Street and Somerset Avenue and up to about Hermon Street and thence out to Crooked Lane, which was then the name for the present Belle Isle Inlet. He thus obtained the Oliver House, and shortly it became known as the Bill House, which stood on Beal Street until about 20 years ago. Efforts were made to preserve it, but they collapsed and the building was torn down as a fire menace.
Joseph took a wedge of land between Sargent Street, Belle- vue Avenue and the waterfront, which included the house near the shore, which ultimately became known as the Whittemore House. He also took a large parcel east of Jonathan's land and north of the Town Hall site, the area including the present Fort Banks area.
The marsh land between Winthrop, Revere and Orient Heights was divided equally between the three.
The division can be visioned by assuming that the lands of the three converged at the old center of the town. The present Methodist Church is built on what was part of James' property ; the present Town Hall is on Joseph's land; and the Baptist Church is on that of Jonathan, probably. The property lines as given on a plan made by William Johnson in 1690, as shown on a modern map of Winthrop, illustrate this.
The old Bill House, now but a memory, could have been preserved like the Deane Winthrop House had there been suffi- cient interest. The old building, which endured for just about 300 years, certainly played an important part in the history of the town : perhaps because the Bills and successive owners were more active than those who lived in or owned the Deane Winthrop House. The house was probably built about or before 1639 by the Reverend John Oliver, whose grant included much of the area from Beal Street down to Belle Isle Inlet, including the little cove in the creek near what was the Pleasant Street Station. This cove was known for many years as Oliver's but later was called "schooner dock" because schooners used to come in at high tide, tie up to the bank of the creek and then rest in the mud until ready to sail out again at an appropriate high tide.
James Bill, previously mentioned, purchased the house from the Oliver heirs in 1666 but through a mortgage transaction, the Bill family lost the house to James Pitts of Boston, son-in-law of Governor Bowdoin. He was the father of Lindall Pitts who later inherited the property. During all these years, it is prob- able the house was leased by John Tewksbury and, later by his sons, John, James and Andrew. John Tewksbury, Jr., eventually
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purchased the old house from the Pitts heirs, thus bringing it back into the Bill family, for his wife was Anna Bill, daughter of Jonathan Bill 2nd. The Tewksbury family continued to own the house until about the opening of the present century when it was sold to a Mrs. Hanley. After her death the house was un- occupied and went to such ruin that it had to be torn down.
Thus briefly traced, the early permanent settlement of Win- throp was made by two outstanding families; those of Deane Winthrop and James Bill. So far as is known, the Winthrop family ceased to have any interest in the town after the death of Deane Winthrop and the settlement of his estate-but the Bill family continued active for many years. The Bill name died out in due course but it was continued through intermarriage with three other families who came to Winthrop at an early date -the Floyds, Belchers and Tewksburys. These three families, whose name still continues in Winthrop, had a way of absorbing other families, as they did the Bills, besides marrying each other's sons and daughters. It must be remembered that Win- throp in the beginning was a very small farming town and it continued as such, despite its nearness to Boston, within the mem- ory of men still living.
The coming of the Tewksburys to the Bill House and of the Floyds from Rumney Marsh to the Deane Winthrop House has been described. The Belchers came into town when Joseph Belcher married Hannah Bill. He built a house where Sunnyside Avenue is today. His home became known as the "Parliament" because it was a frequent meeting place for the Bills, Tewksburys and the Floyds to talk over political matters. Belcher, who had the title of "Ensign" from his active service in the French and Indian wars, was an older man than most of his contemporaries and far more widely experienced, having traveled far. Thus he was something of a local leader.
The only exceptions to this relatively exclusive family settle- ment of Winthrop were the families of Deacon John Chamber- lain and of Benjamin Whittemore.
Deacon Chamberlain, so called because he was the first deacon of the church at Rumney Marsh, had been active and prominent in Revere for many years when in 1733 he purchased the James Bill farm and with it the old house of Major Gibbons. His daughter Susanna, married John Sargent of Malden and they, living at the Gibbons house, raised daughters, one of whom, Mary, married James Tewksbury, another, Susanna, married Samuel Floyd, and a third, Elizabeth, married David Belcher. Thus the Floyds, Belchers and Tewksburys continued their reign.
The Whittemores came into Winthrop and occupied the Jo- seph Bill house on what is now Johnson Avenue and lived there
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WINTHROP IN 1690
THEN CALLED "PULLEN POYNT"
ALMOST ENTIRELY THEN OWNED BY THE BILL FAMILY AND BY DEANE WINTHROP
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1952
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some quarter of a century. A large family was raised and one daughter married a Floyd but no record of any Whittemore, other than this one, is to be found after 1760.
During the entire 18th century, as the name of Bill gradually vanished, the town came into the entire possession of the Belchers, Floyds and Tewksburys. Thus there was practically no growth in the town-to-be during that century ; just the natural increase of the three families, which, relatively, was consider- able-for those were the days of big families. Real estate trans- actions were almost nil, being simply the recording of titles upon the death of elder people who bequeathed their property to their children variously. And this condition continued to be dominant into the 19th century too. This is evident in the census taken at Pullen Point in 1840, nearly two centuries after James Bill came to Winthrop.
That census showed a population of 156, of which number 142 were descendants of James Bill, although not of his name. There were 31 families, some of which were then not Floyds, Belchers or Tewksburys but the three families accounted for 29 of the 31 families. Of this number 15 were Tewksburys with 79 members-or more than half of the total population; 9 were Belchers with 40 members; and 5 were Floyds with 23 members. Out of the total population of 156, the three old families thus accounted for 142 persons. Of course today, the situation is very different. Even proportionately the three old names are vanish- ing as more and more people move into town from East Boston, Chelsea, Revere and elsewhere.
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Chapter Six POINT SHIRLEY
WHILE the main section of Winthrop was developing as has been described, what is now Point Shirley was not inactive but for the sake of clarity, the growth of this distinctly separate part of the town has been kept until this point.
To modern eyes, accustomed to travel by railroad and by autos and planes, the Point is the most remote part of Winthrop -a barren waste of sand and rock, were it not tightly packed with houses. In the 17th century, the situation was exactly re- versed for then most travel was by water and the Point and adjacent Deer Island were not only easily accessible from all points by water but were also the gateway to the harbor itself. Land at the Point was considered the most valuable of all. Then too, because of its sandy and rocky character, the Point was with- out trees or even heavy growth of bushes. Hence there was no need of felling thick forests in order to clear the land-as was the case elsewhere. Certainly Governor Winthrop considered the Point as the most valuable part of the area for when the allot- ments were made as described, he took the Point and Cottage Hill for his own. No other man had more influence and power than did this first Governor of Boston so he must have considered Point Shirley choice indeed.
Another feature which made the Point desirable, was the adjacent marsh land. These marsh and water properties not only afforded a private way by boat into the harbor and hence to Bos- ton but they also provided fish and in season, water fowl. Then, perhaps more important, the marshes, whatever the season may have been for upland hay, gave a heavy and certain crop of marsh hay which found a ready market amongst the farmers of the time-although today scarcely if ever used. Finally, the ocean beaches not only gave clams and other shellfish but pro- vided heavy crops of kelp and other seaweeds which were highly regarded as fertilizers for the rather poor soil of the farms. In fact, just as many farms at Rumney Marsh included a section of woodland in Saugus for firewood, so did the same deeds give the farmers the right to gather kelp for fertilizer on Revere Beach. Marsh and beach property really was valuable then.
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However, for the first century of its existence, nothing of importance occurred at the Point, save for the ordinary round of agricultural affairs and incidents concerned with the heavy shipping which passed through the Gut or passed between Deer and Long Islands. The Point, like the rest of Winthrop, was remote and secluded from the world, although it lay within sight of Boston itself across two or three miles of sheltered water.
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