USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Haverhill > The story of a New England town; a record of the commemoration, July second and third, 1890 on the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the settlement of Haverhill, Massachusetts > Part 12
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CHESTNUT STREET SCHOOL.
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Before sunset three companies. one other Capt. Joseph Sawyer, another led by Lient. Samuel Clients, and still a third by Capt. Ebenezer Colby, one hundred and five men in all, were on the march. Thrilling events now followed in rapid snecession. In the call for permanent enlistments which Massa- chusetts at once made, Haverhill responded with ninety-four of her sons. Her patriot physician. Dr. James Brickett, who had served in the French War and had rallied the minute men, was made lieutenant-colonel of the Essex County regiment. This regiment formed a part of the immortal detachment under Prescott which threw up the earth works of Bunker Hill, and in the illness of the colour sa conunandel by Brickett. In the engagement that followed, seventy-four HI .. verhill men were in the thick of the fight. of whom twenty-one lost guns, and two -- John Eaton and Simeon Pile - were numbered among the slain. Colonel Brickett, standing close beside General Put- how was wounded early, but undwanted, still devoted himself to the care of the wounded. Tradition says daa while being carried from the till he gave his arms to Joseph Maken.
Wa. to the bitter end became now the only alternative. There is no need of the graces of oratory to adorn the record of this gyand old town in the terrible struggle that followed. The sindest rehearsal of the bare facts would be her noblest eulogy. Doubtless other towns in the Commonwealth are entitled to equal merh, but none surpassed her in patriotic zeal, in patient, suffering endurance, in sublime endeavor. At a meeting warned for the jourpose June 25, 1776, the town voted " that if the Honorable Congress for the safety of the United Colonies should declare them independent of Great Britain. this town do engage with their lives and fortunes to support them in the measure." faithfully was this pledge redeemed. Repeated calls for men were promptly met, the official record showing that throughout the entire war Haverhill was deficient one man only, ju all the chafts that had been made mpon her. The barden of taxation was crushing ; and though all business was completely crippled, it was bome withont a murmur. Private citizens with alacrity offered their money to the town. that her credit might be mnim-
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paited. In September, 1779, the General Court called upon this town for upwards of seventeen thousand pounds of beef. It was quickly furnished. Next year the call was repeated for more than thirty-two thousand. and hardly had this large amount been forwarded, when requisition came for thirteen thousand pounds more, yet no man faltered. Nor should the noble example of women be forgotten. Mothers and daughters infused their own earnest spirit of resistance mto the bosoms of fathers and sons, and not only sustained them with words of lofty cheer and encouragement, but heroically toiled in preparing and sending forward blankets, and shoes, and clothing for the soldiers in the field.
Haverhill men shed lustre upon the annals of the town. William Baker, afterwards captain, employed in a distillery in Boston, gathered from the careless utterance of the British soldiers who resorted there, the secret of Gage's expedition to Concord. and at the peril of his life conanunicated the intelli- gener that made possible the celebrated ride of Paul Revere. Lieutenant Colonel Buckett, afterwards promoted brigadier- general, gallant, unselfish, devoted, by his influence in all the counsels of the town and his services in the field, was the bean il al of an American patriot. He accompanied the vol- unteers that marched under command of Capt. Nathaniel March to reinforce the northern army. Appointed by General Gates to command the detachment that conducted the captured troops of Burgoyne from Saratoga to Boston, he advanced large suas of money from his private purse to defray the expenses of the expedition ; and, shameful to say, for this expenditure he never received from either the State of the General Government, one penny. Hezekiah Smith, whose Tame as the model chap- lain and eloquent preacher ran throughout the army, was in some of the most important battles of the war and cheerfully shared with the humblest soldier the perils of the battle-tield and the privations of the camp and march. James Walker, an en- sign in a Haverhill company, had command of the boats that crossil the stormy Delaware in the ight before the battle of Frenten Capt. Nehemiah Emerson, a descendant of Michael
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Emerson, marching with the minute men, served with dis- tinction through the entire war. Capt. Thomas Cogswell was promoted lieutenant-colonel upon the special commendation of General Washington; not to mention Capt. Nathaniel Marsh and William Greenleaf, Lieutenants Israel Bartlett and Nathaniel Bradley, noble patriots all, and gallant leaders in that illus- trious army to whose heroism and devotion we owe our priceless liberties.
In the brief but alarming insurrection which followed the Revolution, and which threatened the supremacy of law in Massa- chusetts. Haverhill, though suffering from impoverishing taxes, promptly responded to the call from Boston with a quota from her militia. Her most significant response, however, was the address prepared by General Brickett, a rare and statesmanlike document, filled with sentiments of lofty wisdom and patriotism, worthy at this day of the careful study of every citizen.
While the War of the Revolution was still raging the people of massachusetts in 1779 decided in favor of a convention to draft a constitution for the State. Nathaniel Poslee Sargent was the delegate to this convention. A graduate of Harvard in 1750 he was probably the first regularty educated lawyer who partised in Haverhill. As his name indicates, he was of the family of Peaslees which through various representatives had from its earliest history been conspicuously useful in the affairs of Haverhill. His activity throughout the war, his sterling character and sound judgment, carned for him the confidence of all, and ranked him among the most eminent citizens of the town. He was one of the first justices of the Superior Court, when it was reorganized at the outbreak of the Revolution, and held that position until he was made Chief Justice of Massachu- setts in 1790, winning in that station a very high standing for ability and candor. His house stood upon the spot now occupied by the Unitarian Church, and was removed to give place to the first meeting honse erected by that body.
Among the notable incidents of this period was the visit of General Washington, November 1, 1769. he was fitting that the town that had so nobly borne ber part in the great struggl.
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should be thus honored. Soon after his inauguration the Presi- dont resolved upon a visit to New England. His plan was to proceed from Boston along the coast to Portsmouth, returning thence by way of Exeter and Haverhill. Major James Duncan, Jr., of this town commanded the battalion of cavalry which escorted him from Boston to the New Hampshire line. Enthu- siastic preparations were made by our citizens to give the Father of his Country a right royal reception. The excitement had reached the highest pitch, when suddenly joyful expectation was followed by bitterest grief at the report then the route had been changed. Nar-ing their disappointment as lest they could, at half-pot two in the afternoon they were startled by the furious siding of a horseman down Main Street, blowing a trumpet and shouting at intervals, " WASHINGTON IS COMING !" Soon the beloven of every American appeared, riding with Major Jackson in an open carriage drawn by four horses, and preceded by his Secretary Mr. Leat. upon a beautiful charger Refusing privat. hospitalny, the company halted at th Mason's Arn or Harrod's Tavern, that stood on the site of City Hdl. We must not dwell upon the charming episodes of this memorable visit, - the cill upon John White, in the stately mansion, which, though shom of much of its colonial splendor, still stands on Water Street, at Bailey Bartlett's, and his friend's of Revolutionary days. Chaplain Smith ; the paternal kisses imprinted upon the fair brows of sundry little maidens, the memory of which was to be treasured ever afterward by them and their descendants, as a most precious legacy. The President reviewed the militia that were drawn up on the north side of Water Street, inspected the rising industries of the town, notably the dink factory on Kent Street recently started by Samuel Blodgett , walked up Merrimack Street to Washington Square snaned in honor of this visit ), -
" And he said, the landscape sweeping Slowly with his undloved hand, ( litve seen no prospect fairer In this goodly Rastern hand"
Soon after sunrise the next morning, accompanied by a
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reverent throng of citizens who had come forth to do him hom- age, he proceeded to the old ferry on Water Street, and there auidst heartfelt benedictions the beautiful aision was parted from them, henceforth to live in the hearts of hundreds, and to pass into story and into song as among the most cherished memorials of this honored town.
The close of the war found Haveikill terribly impoverished and with all ber former industries comphorly prostrated. The depreciation of the currency made the price of every article in common use something frightful. Shoes were twenty pounds per fair wood thirty-five pounds per cond, mak fifteen shillings per quart, potatoes amety-live shillings the banshel, and those who were fond of that beverage had to pay three pounds twelve hillings for one mug of flip. The word dis ouragement, how- ever, was not spoken. The men of Haverhill began with utmost vigor to repair their shattered fortunes. By 1790 affairs i. cantal am . prop rous appearance. Once more the hammer of the ship-builder re sounded along the braiks of the Merrimack. John White, Benjamin Willis, James Daucan. bahar and son, Isaac Osgood, whose descendants are the present owners of the Orgel Block, by their enterprise revived do trade and com- max. if the town. Receiving by many of long lines of ux- teams the produce of regions farther to the North, they shipped it in their vessels to London, the West ladies and other ports, bringing back from them goods, that in tum they sent into theinterior. Again the wharves of Havethill with the incoming and departure of vessels, presented at ananatol spectacle. The sharp whistle of the steam tug was not heard ; bat, in place of this invention of our times, vessels were ton . I up and down the river by horses, a tow-path being constructed on the north bank of the river from Haverhill to Newburyport. In other respects there were changes : sumptuous dwelling : were beginning to be Frared, and the swine, whose meandering's about the streets had hitherto gi on the village a matie air, were henceforth debarred this privilege.
Eartes. attention was now being given to the public schools. The early aforts of the town in the direction f & location. it.
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must be confessed, were intermittent and tu from liberal. For the first twenty years there was no schoolmaster whatever pro- vidled. When at last he came, there was no school-room for him, other than private houses afforded. Sometimes for long periods the town was altogether without a school, and twice incurred the penalty of fines inflicted by the court for such neglect. This ought not to be wholly attributed to indifference ; for learning, after religion and social order, was the object nearest to the heart of the founders of Massachusetts. The town was poor in those early days; the toil of clearing the wilderness, coupled with the distress of the Indian raids, was all absorbing. When these were ended, there was a make change for the better. More liberal provi ions for the instruction of the young were made : schools were opened in each parish ; a school house was created at the head of Main Street, and the higher branches were taught. In 1789 the first school committee was elected. with instructions to visit the schools quarterly and report to the town meeting. Chosen ammaally thereafter, in watch, care and oversight this committee were the predecessors of our present . therent school board. A vode of regulations for the government of the schools was prepared at this time and salmitted through their chairman, Sont | Walker, of a family hitherto always active in town affairs. His Orher, Nathaniel Walker, we find among the patriot leaders of the Revolution, one of the selectmen of the town, and moderator of some of its most important me tings. His son, Robert Green Walker, whom many of us so well remember, seems to have inherited, from a long line of pubhe-spirited ances- tors, a special faenlty for municipal business. In various posi- tions, as selectman, assessor, surveyor of roads, member of the school committee and of many other important committees, he bored this community until his death ; and speaking from my own carly impressions, I do not hesitate to rank him among the mo. t exact, conscientious, and efficient offeris this, or any town, ever bad. No one can study the code of W. Walker's commit- tee without hearty admiration for the spirit. the intelligence and wisdom infused into this branch of the town's service. It was the prophetic beginning of that we al and devotion to a high ideal
Garlic.
IvianEn GizErre, 1798
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Ujemo this time, with the Waren inmay to postrider. who
nie ! th. . mail on horseback from bleto. of Haverhill t, Concor l. New Hampshire making; av vol ch way in the . e.k. there Was as vet no est loish -i non with the Vill without. In April of 1793 - o mocy of . ertisement The Boston paper : " The Haverhill -02. gehted of stains and cushions au l a g . 2 01 0 Il. energetic Samuel Blaga head of the 1. unei. One trip euch w Y-L Yng toJ. which
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Mined. This work. : its It. nel at ! wMi-, most Le Tipo alete, wie accomplished in 1794. anti deal the Tre ot Kent Street, which for one howhe 15na Et.y Year's had 1 . taheis, became a memor, of tl. . 0 1. Fabel from 1790 to 1:25 . -
.. , perhaps. the To : britt ad in our history. The 1 the town had Tak . wie - Ity two thousand tour inthe . :_ lit. During the siege of boston, wealthy and cuki wo fer. Given thenice franta l. opit. Oble refuge here. In after I . ras pleasant to
ie ist the pisces made clear by former ... . A poll
juin.ber of stately colonial mansions Vel . : of uf elegant
.: 1 . lit. I los itality, and attret I fri i :isitoist be Magneto. President Dwight of Y . it the se, has left this picture et m . i. Ahmed hat day. " The manners of the inhet.Ute in . Me Vert civil
Alice ming. Those of the Last Lespie Me frank. easy uma dret Both the gender. .. mul i le Well Trel gol intelligent. and recommend this is L little to the otom gang comment of a mobil ... .. tl .- church a jung Doc . ing.ogation. well de . i. [
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their deportment." Parson Shaw, the successor of Mr. Barnard in the First Parish, was a typical New England clergyman of that day. His accomplished wife, a sister of Mrs. John Adams, shed far and wide the influence of her dignified and gracious courtesy. Mr. Shaw employed his affluent scholarship in fitting youth for Harvard. Among those who studied under him were John Quincy Adams; William Craneh, who after graduation entered the law office of Judge Sargeant here, and subsequently was made Chief Justice of the Circuit Court of the District of Columbia; Leonard White, son of John White,-refined, modest, scholarly, he lived a long life in Haverhill, represented the district in Con- gr &#: from IS11 to 1811, was universally esteemed by his towns- men, and houored by them with many public trusts.
No record of this period would be complete without refer- ence to two other men, the traditions of whom still linger among us, - Bailey Bartlett and David How. The maternal ancestor of the former wis the infint girl, who was taken from her dead mother, Ruth Johnson, slain in the garden adjoining her dw dling in the terrible Indian raid of 1708. A friend of John Adams, he was a fellow-boarder with him and Samuel Adams in Phila- delphia at the time of the Declaration of Independence. He was a member of the convention that adopted the Constitution of the United States, and of the famous Constitutional Convention of 1820. Ife was a useful member of both branches of the Legis- lature of his own State, and for four years represented the Essex North District in the Congress of the United States. In 1789, in a very complimentary manner, he was appointed by Gov. John Hancock, sheriff of the county, holding the office until his death in 1830. His publie spirit and ardent attachment to Il nethill made him prominently active in everything that would contribute to its prosperity, and since his death his carefully kopt diary has furnished some of the richest materials with which to illumine her history. His memory in these later days is preservel in the last survivor of Ins numerons family, who in a green old age still lingers with us; but specially in the gallant record of his grandson, Gen. William F. Bartlett. himself a son of Haverhill, whose brave deed; and desper ite sounds in our Civil War have become a part of the nation's history.
CITY HOSPITAL.
2
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The latter, David low, then a lad of seventeen, was in the thick of the battle of Bunker Hill. He afterwards enlisted in the Continental Army and was at Harlem Heights and Trenton. Returning to this town, he began business in the basement of a store on Water Street. Hle soon rose to the easy mastery of larger enterprises, for which his eminent basiness qualities fitted him. He built stores for himself on Main Street ; then was active in the erection of the Banister Block, in which he owned two stores, and where his large business was concentrated. He became the most extensive merchant and trader in this region, meeting almost every conceivable want of his times. Exchang- ing leather for shoes, he then manafaccured shoes, and sent them by his own teams to Philadelphia. When wealth accum- Lited he used it lavishly in extensive agricultural operations, which, though they brought no profit to him, have made Haver- hill richer in enamelled fields and fruitful orchards, which sprang into life midler the touch of his hand. If financial disaster over- took him at last, it left no taint upon his integrity. fax to the close of his long life he retained the confidence of his towns- tuen.
The opening of the present century foand the nation plunged in mourning by the death of Washington. The memory of his visit to Haverhill was still so fresh that the grief of her citizens was like that of a personal bereavement By vote of the town, the 22d of February was set apart for commemorative ser- viete to be held in the meeting-house. The eulogy of Rev. Abiel Abbott, the parish minister, and Washington's Farewell Address, profoundly impressive as rest upon that occasion, were printed together and a copy placed with every family in the village.
Attention had already been directed to the unrivalled facili- ties that our beautiful lakes offered, for furnishing the town with an ample supply of the purest water. In 1801, a company was Formed for ilas purpose, and the water of Round Pond was in- troduced. Logs bored through the centres were first used for pipes, and many now living will recall how unsatisfactory was the service. Those rude beginnings, however, voir the germ of
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what subsequently, under the able direction of Mr. James H. Carleton, has developed into our present admirable water system. Nor is this the sum of Mr. Carleton's contributions to his native town. The finely located City Hospital, with its ample grounds, is his generous gift, and worthily honors his humane and kindly heart. In the serene evening of his days, he still is with us, and long may he be spared to enjoy the satisfaction of a well-spent life.
In December, 1805, was published the first code of by-laws adopted by Haverhill. One provision - that " no one should carry fire from one house to another in the compact part of the town except in a covered vessel " - illa trates the straits to which people in those days were sometimes reduced before the inven- tion of friction matches. Another threatened with penalty " any person who should presume to smoke pipe or segar, or have or usa pipe or segar while on fire, in any street or lane m the town." We wonder now if this tabule was ever enforced. Still another interdicted climbing " behind any chaise or carriage pa sing in the town without consent of the owner," -- which must have been particularly distasteful to the average boy.
The war of 1812 was a blow to the prosperity of the town and there was a strong feeling of opposition to it. Haverhill was true, however, to her old traditions of loyalty to the govern- ment. Following the Formal declaration of war, the 19th of June, a town meeting was called, in which it was voted to give ten dollars a month to every man in actand service, in addition to the allowance of the General Government. Subsequently, the town patriotically voted to furnish arms and equipments to all members of the militia ordered out who were unable to pur- chase these for themselves. The number of enlistments from the town during the war was large. The Haverhill Light Infantry, under command of Capt. Sammel W. Duncan, was for a time stationed at South Boston for the defence of the harbor. Then tinc maartial bearing as they marched up State Street, route to their post of duty, elicited enthusiastic expressions of admiration from the crowds that lined the streets. It was de- clared on all sides to be the best discipliard of any of the column teer companies called out
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The close of the war, welcomed throughout the land, was made an occasion of special rejoicing in Haverhill. The Presi- dent's proclamation, announcing the ratification of the treaty by both Great Britain and the United States, reached here February 21st. The following day -- the anniversary of Washington's birth - was, by unanimous vote, consecrated to the commemo- ration of the return of peace. The ardor of grateful homage to the memory of the Father of his Country, mingled with the in- expressible joy that the burdens of an oppressive war had been lifted, combined to make this one of the memorable celebrations in the history of the town. Religious services at the parish church had their place along anh the merry pod of bells, the roar of cannen, the waving of banners and the joyful pro- cession : while the brilliant illumination of stores and private residences in the evening, followed by a display of fireworks from the bridge, fitly closed a day, the varied pageantries of which dwelt leng in the memory of those who witnessed them.
The Haverhill Light Infantry, to which reference has been made, and which doubtless had much to do in the caving the loyal and military spirit that found expression at the outbreak of this second war with Great Britain, was organized in 1810 with the choice of Jesse Harding as captain. Great pride was taken in this organization, and for many years no honors were more dearly prized by Haverhill's spirited young men, than promotion in the Light Infantry. Through the liberal support of the citi- zeus at large, the company was equipped with tents and all the other requisites of a soldier in active service ; and fair ladies contributed to the enthusiasm felt in the community, by the presentation, through Miss Polly bow, h. 1823, of an elegant standard. The organization was maintained with much spirit for many years, holding a high rank among the military com- panies of the Commonwealth. It was disbanded in 1811. Sub- sequently, its successor, the " Hale Guards," under Capt. William Taggut, revived the stirring memories of the old Light Infantry, and played an important part in the early days of the Civil War.
No pages of our history redeec more eredh spon Haverhill
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than those which record her treatment of the poor and infor- tunate. Varions expedients from time to the were tried, the effort being to find the most humane as well economical. The first recorded instance of the exercise of public charity was in 1677, and the subject was one of the early pioneers, Hugh Sher- ratt, then in his ninety-ninth year, upon whom hte's battle had borne too heavily. He was maintained, as were others afterwards, in a private family, the inhabitants annually contributing from their produce, whether grain or meat or butter. the town compen- sating them for the same. In 1820, after thorough discussion, the old na thods were abandoned, and the present town farm was purchased. Judicious additions and improvements have since bech made to land and buildings, so that to-day, under its present careful management, ours is among the best institutions of the kind in the Commonwealth.
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