USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > Boston > The memorial history of Boston : including Suffolk County, Massachusetts. 1630-1880, Vol. IV > Part 82
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bury Almshouse, subsequently enlarged and re- fitted ; and in 1881 the girls of that class were also placed in a neighboring building. Charles- town, Dorchester, and Brighton, as separate municipalities, each had formerly their respec- tive almshouses. That of the first, built in 1849, is still occupied for the poor only ; and the buildings used for this purpose in Dorches- ter and Brighton are now occupied for other purposes.
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650
THE MEMORIAL HISTORY OF BOSTON.
Hospital and (9) House of Correction at South Boston. To these may be added the City Hospital on Harrison Avenue for ordinary curable diseases not contagious, under the care of a separate Board of Trustees, chosen in the same manner, begun in 1861 and opened for patients in 1864.
A large and convenient building designated as the Charity Bureau, on Chardon Street, the origin of which is narrated hereafter, is occupied by the overseers of the poor, the city physician, and several charitable associa- tions or agencies. The city Temporary Home, under the care of the over- seers, adjoins this building, and there meals are given to poor persons, and women and children are temporarily cared for. At the Lodge for Way- farers, near by, on Hawkins Street, also under the care of this Board, casual persons in need are received on due examination, and provided with a bath, a neat bed, and a meal, for which they are required to perform a certain amount of labor.
The overseers of the poor were originally, and until 1864, chosen annu- ally by the people, and after the act of 1735 one in each ward. In 1864 an act was passed providing for the choice of four each year by the city council, without regard to locality, for periods of three years; but the same powers, except by the change referred to in 1823, have been exercised by the same number of persons, and the early dignity of the office and the character of its incumbents were restored by this change in the mode of choice. None of the officials who have administered the affairs of the town or city have, for the greater part of its existence, deserved better the grati- tude and good opinion of their fellow-citizens. The poor we have always with us, and they have been faithfully cared for by those who have adminis- tered the charity of its citizens, both that provided by law and levied upon the ready or reluctant tax-payer, and that of the cheerful giver, voluntarily bestowed.
Rules to determine the settlement of paupers, -that is to say, the town or other organization by which they should be supported, - were from time to time established, and provision made for the determination of disputes in reference to this subject. In 1659 it was enacted "that where any person with his family, or in case he hath no family, shall be resident in any town or peculiar of this jurisdiction for more than three months, without notice given to such person or persons, . . . that the town is not willing that they should remain as an inhabitant amongst them; " or if they remained after such notice, without an application by the select- men to the next county court for relief, such person or persons should be provided for by that place. The county courts were to determine com- plaints of this nature, subject to an appeal to the Court of Assistants. If no place was so liable, the pauper was to be supported at the expense of the county by such town thereof as the county court should designate. In 1675 this provision was modified in cases where the sufferers had been " forced from their habitations through the present calamity of the war;"1
1 With King Philip.
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651
THE CHARITIES OF BOSTON, ETC.
and the burden of their support, "where necessity requires, by reason of inability of relations," etc., was thrown upon " the publick treasury." 1
Mª Januar Boston Van. 19th In9 .- Receives into the stone House on Hu that Aus! Mary Vaintelara who is a tranger fin a buffering bound sion, John Jeollay (Klatu" Hart Darf of e Borton
Samt Partridge One ofy Povereeau ofy Pour
As early as 1767 it was provided that the cost of removing poor per- sons not settled in Massachusetts but in some other province or colony, if not paid by themselves, should be borne by the province ; 2 and in 1794, by a general act in regard to the " Relief and support, employment and removal of the Poor," provision was made for the removal of poor persons having no lawful settlement in the State, or their support at the expense of the Commonwealth.3
The laws in regard to the settlement of poor persons have led to much controversy and litigation. The natural tendency of the pauper class to the largest cities and towns has made it for the interest of Boston to op- pose the easy acquisition of a settlement; but the course of legislation has tended to facilitate it. The early records of towns contain frequent evidence of the caution with which their officers endeavored to prevent new possible burdens upon their treasuries.4 One of the early modes of obtaining a settlement was by a residence for a certain period, - first three, and afterward twelve months, without warning; and new comers were promptly and habitually warned, in a manner which seems most in- hospitable. This measure was designed to protect the town from possible future liability.
1 Ancient Charters, p. 174.
2 Ibid., p. 663.
3 Statute, 1793, c. 59. The rules of settlement have varied at different periods, becoming much more complicated and stringent than the simple provision of 1639; but where these have not des-
ignated the place obliged to support the pauper, his support, since this act at least, has been derived from the Commonwealth; and this dis- tinction has created the two classes of State paupers and town paupers.
4 [See Vol. I. p. 229 .- ED.]
652
THE MEMORIAL HISTORY OF BOSTON.
The citizens of Boston watched with careful scrutiny those who came to reside among them.1 None were permitted to remain without their assent, given sometimes upon assurance that the burden of supporting the new comer and his family would not fall upon the community. To protect the town he was warned out and reported to the Board of Quarter Sessions.2 A volume still preserved in the city records contains " A list of severall ppsons returned to ye countie courts at severall times, not admitted nor aproved of by ye Selectmen of Boston to be inhabitants of ye towne." Another comprises a number of the bonds given to protect the town from risk of expenditure for the support of new inhabitants.3 As Hubbard says, in reference to religious persecution : -
"The inhabitants of the place having purchased the country for themselves, they accounted it an unreasonable injury for any one to come presumptuously without license or allowance to live amongst them; ... and theretofore thought themselves bound to hold out the sharp against any one that should attempt, without leave, to thrust themselves amongst them, which renders them that obstinately and wilfully would do so felones de se, like them that will break into a man's dwelling-house whether he will or no."
This feature of New England life deserves more attention than it has yet received. It is referred to here in connection with the system for the sup-
1 "From about 1713, it was the custom of the overseers with one or more of His Majesty's justices, accompanied by a constable, to walk through the different parts of the town, observ- ing the condition of the people for themselves, sometimes making an appointment to go at night. At the same time it was the duty of the constables to keep a good lookout that no strangers were allowed to gain a settlement by lack of being warned out, and that none of the inhabitants were idle or unthrifty. After the visits, when necessary, the Justices and Over- seers sat as a Court to pass upon what they had observed, or what had been reported to them.
"'Extracts from Minutes and Votes - 1702 and 1703: At a Prosession of the Overseers of the Poor, July 21, 1702, Goody Crease, her circumstances Enquired into. . Esther Sigsworth and her three daughters' are reported not to imploy themselves in an Honest Imploy answerable to their way of liveing, and that they Entertain in their House Company dancing at night. William Gowers his Circumstances Considered. Upon Enformation that a boy of Goody Kitchens lives disorderly that case was enquired into. Henry Adams his condition was consulted.'"
Report of Constable, 1703.
""' Thare is, in Bill's hons in black hors lane, widdow Grees & her darter in law and her one darter, -her name is Mary Grees. It is said by soum of her neighbors that said Mary will stand at the door and call in Saillors as they pass by.
" ' There lives in the hous that was old Stars his darter ruth harden & his grand darter ruth harden. It is reported by sum that know the grand darter that she seldom works at all, and when she does it is only at making of lace.
" 'Sum say that manger Arnell, in black hors lane, lives a rude, ldle life.
"""There lives neer Mr. Increase Mathers widow Clark and her darter, and Tanzen Kents darter. It is reported that they live Idle and keep bad order.' " -- Annual Report of the Overseers of the Poor, 1876, pp. 42, 43.
The following document found among the papers of the Overseers of the Poor furnishes evidence of the medical skill of their officers as well as of their efforts to secure the repayment of expenses incurred by the town : -
BOSTON, ffeb. 16, 1703-4.
Whereas the town of Boston hath expended upon me the underwritten (considerably) in order to curing me of a cancer, I do hereby promis and ingage to pay to the Treas- urer of the town of Boston, in behalfe of said town, the sun of five pounds currt money of New England as soon as it shall pleas God to inable me therto, and not to before.
FRANCIS THRASHER, The mark of
ROBT. CALEF, JOHN # LATTANY.
2 Ancient Charters, pp. 174, 251.
8 The following is a copy of the first bond in the volume : -
" Witnesse these presents, that I, Edward Creeke of Boston, doe binde myself, my executors & administratª, to Thomas Brattle, Treasurer of this towne, and his succesers in that office, in the penall sume of fortie pounds, that Ben- jamine Walter or any of his ffamily shall not be chargeable to this towne duringe his or any of their abode therein.
" Witnesse my hand, the 7th day of Aug., 1679, " BENJA. WALTER. EDWARD CREEKE." The last bears date Oct. 9, 1700.
There were provisions also for the removal or banishment of the intruder from the town. See Ancient Charters, pp. 252, 662, 674.
653
THE CHARITIES OF BOSTON, ETC.
port of the poor. They were cared for faithfully and tenderly, but great caution was exerted in admitting to the number of the townsmen those for whose benefit the risk of this burden was assumed. The obligation as- sumed by these sponsors was not lost sight of, as the following copy of a letter from the beginning of the volume already quoted may show: -
BOSTON, 3 May, 1692.
James Barbor, - the Reson of these few Lines are to acquaint you that your father, John Barbor, is come to Boston, and being by the Selectmen of Boston Demanded to give a Reson thereof, he saith you have not been kind to him, but macketh him worcke two or three miles abrode, which is burdensoum to him, and more than he can do in his old age ; the select of Boston do Require you as you will keep your Coui- nant which you maid with them 27 Octob. 90, To come and Tacke Caire of your ffather, or ealse you may expect wee shall prossecute the Law upon you.
These Lines are by order of the Selectmen of Boston.
JOSEPH BRIDGHAM, Record".
A coppy of a
Letter to James Barbor.
The modern system of charity, which invokes for each applicant for re- lief the special attention and care of some voluntary moral and friendly sponsor, has brought us back in another form to the plan which our ances- tors adopted as a matter of business caution.
On the " 28th 6 mo. 1654," " Itt is ordered yt, upon the Security of Hugh Willms, Mary Hayle is admitted to reside with us, the sayd Wil- liams ingaging y' she shall not be chargeable to the towne." Three years after, Mr. Samuel Cole was most sharply reminded that, whereas he had " intertained Elizabeth Knap1 into his house contrary to the order of ye towne, and ye sª Elizabeth yett remaynes in this towne; itt is ordered yt in case ye s" Elizabeth proove to bee chargeable to ye towne, such charges bee required of Mr. Cole from time to time as first receiving her." And the very next month " Derman Mahoone is fined twenty shillings for inter- taining two Irish women contrary to an order of yª towne in y' case pro- vided; & is to quitt his house of them forthw" att his perill." 2 .
1 Was this, perchance, Elizabeth Knap the a prosecution for blasphemy, and lived there in "Ventriloqua " of Groton, referred to in Increase privacy till 17So, in the house of one of his fol- lowers named Cooper, in a retired place. Mather's Remarkable Providences ? [See Vol II. p. 159 .- ED.]
2 One of the cases arising in the courts un- der these provisions of law records a history which might have furnished a subject for a tale by Hawthorne or a poem by Whittier, and illustrates curiously the religious as well as the social history and habits of the time.
A controversy arose between the towns of Newbury and Harvard as to expenses incurred in the support of a pauper who was a grand- daughter of Shadrach Ireland, a teacher of cer- tain peculiar doctrines in religion. Ireland fled from Charlestown in 1760 to Harvard, to avoid
He occupied a chamber in Cooper's house, from which a string connected with a clapper passed into the room occupied by the family, and when any person approached the house the string was pulled to give him notice. He had also a place in the barn to which he occasionally retired for greater privacy, and was not called by his proper name, but sometimes " brother," " uncle," "Uncle Jewett," or "the man." Some- time after he had resided there a back lean-to was erected, in which he worked at his business of cabinet-making, and a cellar under it was con- nected by stairs with his chamber, so that he
654
THE MEMORIAL HISTORY OF BOSTON.
In 1876 a commission of three persons was appointed by the mayor, under an order of the city council, to consider and report upon the treat- ment of the poor, and to ascertain what changes, if any, were desirable in reference to their relief, maintenance, and employment. This commission submitted a report in 1878, containing statements and information in regard to the manner and cost of poor-relief. They pointed out what seemed to them to be the defects in the existing system, - the want of information on important points, and the large expenditure incurred, - and recom- mended various changes.1
could go down unobserved. He never ate with the family, but alone in his chamber ; and when he happened to be out of the house and a stranger was there, some one of the family was sent to tell him that he might come in privately. He often went to the house of one Willard, a neighbor and one of his followers, but always in the eve- ning, and on approaching the house made a sig- nal, on which some one would go out to him, and if only members of the family were in the house he would go in. His followers used to visit him, and he would converse with them and exhort them.
After he had resided there ten or twelve years he purchased a parcel of land from Willard, on which his followers built ·him a house, where he resided during the remainder of his life, still keeping his true name a secret, and seeing no persons except his followers.
The court were of opinion that no settlement was acquired by such concealed residence with- out warning, and remarked that "if a person should conceal himself in a cave like some of King Charles's judges, the town being ignorant of it, could not warn him to depart, and ought not to be charged for his support." See the case of Newbury v. Harvard, in 6 Pickering's Reports, p. I.
1 These were as follows : -
I. That all public agencies for the relief of the poor, both adults and children, at the ex- pense of the city, should be placed under the supervision and control of one responsible body, - the Overseers of the Poor, - except .
2. That the City Hospital, the Lunatic Hos- pital, if retained, and the proposed institution for inebriates, if established, should be under the control and management of one board of trustees, subject to the provisions recommended as to investigating the cases aided, and obtain- ing compensation whenever authorized by law.
3. That additional powers for the permanent aid and care of children should be obtained, and that they should be kept in smaller numbers and establishments, on the "family system," and instructed and trained to labor, or placed in families.
4. That out-door relief from funds raised by
taxation should be administered by the over- seers in strict conformity with the law, under rules substantially refusing such relief, -(a) to all adults, not incapacitated for labor, whose destitu- tion is caused by their own intemperance, crime, or other fault, of which the overseers must judge; (b) who have for a short and fixed period re- quired such aid to an amount exceeding some fixed and moderate sum; (c) even for this pe- riod, unless in the opinion of the overseers clearly advisable and not injurious; (d) and even to those who are unable to labor, except in cases where humanity requires temporary aid to those suffering from disease or accident, or where deserving persons, particularly the aged, may be partially and economically provided for without disturbing their family relations, or im- pairing the self-respect and self-dependence of those around them.
5. That when such aid is refused, however, in-door relief should be always given; but to persons able to labor, only on the performance of such labor, in some suitable place, and in an almshouse to others.
6. Provided that the income of trust-funds, given for charitable purposes, should be used, subject to the limitations imposed by the do- nors, for cases which require relaxation of these rules.
7. That compensation by labor should be re- quired in all cases, as far as practicable, for in or out-door relief.
8. That the overseers should be required to investigate and record the facts in regard to all persons aided as poor in or out of any institu- tion, to take the necessary steps to obtain com- pensation for the relief afforded, - (a) from rela- tives, (6) other places, (c) or the State; and to enforce the laws in regard to vagrancy in cases coming under their official notice.
9. That the persons receiving in-door relief should be separated and classified according to age, sex, character, and condition of body.
10. That the necessary means and authority should be provided for requiring labor from all those who are assisted for any length of time and are able to work, and for setting at hard labor, under restraint in a house of industry,
655
THE CHARITIES OF BOSTON, ETC.
Since that date one of these recommendations - a provision for casuals - has been successfully adopted. An excellent establishment called the Lodge for Wayfarers, on Hawkins Street, has been provided, where the wan- dering poor are received, examined, cleansed, fed, kept in order, and made to work. Continued and increased efforts have been made to classify the poor and provide employment for them. The organization of the Associ- ated Charities has aided to bring public and private agencies for relief into closer union. Poor persons, however, in and out of a public institution are under the care and management of different boards, and when they pass under the roof of a public building, although separated in locality from criminals, they are still with them under the care of the same board.
The expenditures of Boston for the poor are believed to exceed the average of those in other cities and towns in this State or elsewhere.1 On the whole, public and private charities are more carefully and wisely ad- ministered; but the faithful efforts which have caused this improvement are still demanded.2
those who fall within the provisions of law as to vagrancy or misconduct themselves, under the care of the overseers.
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II. That provision should be made for the temporary care of casual paupers, or the wan- dering poor, in some establishment where they will be cleansed, fed, kept in order, isolated, and made to work, and means adopted for register- ing, identifying, and tracing them if necessary.
12. That provision should be made, in order to assist both public and private almoners of charity, for the collection and registration and communication of information in regard to all means, public and private, of aiding the poor and destitute ; and, in regard to the person aided, with a view to securing the systematic co-opera- tion of all officers required, and of all private persons desirous to give such aid, in directing it to those really needy and deserving, in the most effective and economical manner.
13. That all officials charged with the expen- diture of public moneys for the poor should be required to keep their accounts and make their reports so as to show as far as possible the causes of pauperism, its increase or diminution, and the effect of the system, adopted in its management, on the persons aided or the pub- lic expenditure, and the actual cost for the va- rious leading items of the actual maintenance of the poor. Report of the Commission on the Treatment of the Poor, City Doc. 36, of 1878, P. 38.
1 The average cost of the full support of a pauper for a year was as follows : -
In the rest of
In Boston
the State
1374
$204. 12
$126.57
IS75
204.81
155.71
1876
166.06
142.31
1877
167.90
134 41
It is not so easy to compare the cost of partial support or out-door relief. Full support is a definite subject of comparison, but partial sup- port may be greater or less; so that it does not appear whether the average cost was for a greater or less amount of average relief in or out of Boston. The following would seem to indicate a smaller average cost per person aided in the city: -
Number of persons receiving partial support dur- ing the year ending March 31, 1876, by the city of Boston . . 18,339
Vagrants partially supported by Boston 1,952
Lodgers at police stations . 60.803 .
81.094
Cost of partial support $105,586.23
Overseers' salaries and miscellaneous expenses 22,569.23
$123,155.46
Less amount reimbursed by State and town .
30,576.02
Net cost of partial support $97,579,44
The State, outside of Boston and not including said city, gave partial support to (persons) . . 47,649
The State, outside of Boston and not including said city, also gave partial support to (vagrants) 146,934
Total number receiving partial support 194,633
Net cost of partial support afforded to the above 194,633 persons. $491,387.79 2 One great want is a more thorough, com- plete, and accurate collection of the statistics both of public and private charity, from which the causes of pauperism may be deduced, and the amount and modes of relief given, and its distribution, be gathered. A certain reluctance is sometimes manifested on the part of excellent persons to give this information .*
Our ancestors early recognized the impor- tance of some public control over gifts for pub-
* See p. 669.
656
THE MEMORIAL HISTORY OF BOSTON.
II. FUNDS OR CONTRIBUTIONS INTRUSTED TO PUBLIC OFFICERS. - The citizens of Boston manifested at an early period their "good affec- tion to the plantation and the propagation thereof," by contributions in- trusted to the public authorities for "poor families, . .. and other public and necessary occasions."
The earliest provision of this character for the poor of Boston, of which there is any authentic record, is in the will of Stephen Winthrop,1 dated May 3, 1658.
William Paddy's legacy of " fifteene pounds " is the first to appear upon the records of the town under the date of "29, 9, 58" (Nov. 29, 1658). Between that date and 1697 many others are specified or alluded to, such as different legacies, " with severall other gifts that were given for the erect- ing of an Allmshouse." The town seems to have relied upon its citizens for voluntary contributions for these purposes, although the "inhabitants " did not hesitate to levy a " benevolence " if it became necessary, since we find them voting in 1684, when "the workehouse" was " yet unfinished, . .. in regard that many that have subscribed their free contribution toward it have not paid, and others have refused to contribute at all," that "the Committee be impowered to make a rate upon the estates of them y' refuse to contrib- ute at all, and put into the said rate the subscriptione of those yt have not paid." And in the act of 1735, already referred to, the town is " authorized to make purchases and receive donations for endowing the said worke- house to the value of three thousand pounds per annum; . . . the several donations to be always applied according to the will of the Donors."
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