USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > Boston > Topographical and historical description of Boston > Part 8
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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 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55
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DESCRIPTION OF BOSTON.
of her Children. Her eldest might have been sixteen Years old; the Presbyterians would not baptize her because she had not become a Member [of the Church]."
Such was the appearance of Boston in its earliest days, as given by writers whose statements are the most worthy of reliance. As the town increased in age, in the number of its inhabitants, and in its resources, changes necessarily took place, a description of which will be attempted in succeeding chapters.
CHAPTER III.
ANCIENT DESCRIPTIONS BY ENGLISH WRITERS.
Ancient Description of Boston and its Inhabitants, by Edward Ward, in 1699 ... The High street, four Meeting Houses, Religious Character of the Peo- ple, and Holidays .. . Forbidden Things, and Penalty for Kissing; Drunken- ness and Profanity . . . A Cudgel in the Dark . . . Boston Women in 1699 . .. The old Town Pump . . . Boston Factors Scandalized . . . Purchase of Boston .. . Comments on the Libellous Ward . . . John Dunton's Life and Errors in 1686, Printed in 1705 · · · Daniel Neal's Account of Boston in 1719 . . . Situ- ation of the Town . . . The Bay of Boston . . . The Pier . .. Form of the Town .. . Population · · · Places of Public Worship · · · Polite Conversation, etc., of the People . .. Trade and Commerce . .. Account by Jeremy Dummer, in 1721 · · · Boston in 1787.
IN 1699, a curious and somewhat free-writing Eng- lishman published an account of his "Trip to New England," wherein he gave a very curious description of Boston, which, notwithstanding its ridiculous cockney- ism, will be found to contain some considerable smart- ness, and will certainly give a good idea of the standing our forefathers had in the estimation of those who were more worldly-minded if not less religiously inclined. Mr. Edward Ward, the Londoner, wrote thus of our good old town:
"On the south-west side of Massachusets-Bay, is Boston; whose Name is taken from a Town in Lincoln- shire: And is the Metropolis of all New-England. The Houses in some parts joyn as in London. The Buildings, like their Women, being Neat and Handsome. And
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TOPOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL
their Streets, like the Hearts of the Male Inhabitants, are Paved with Pebble.
"In the Chief, or high Street, there are stately Edi- fices, some of which have cost the owners two or three Thousand Pounds the raising; which, I think, plainly proves Two old Adages true, viz: That a Fool and his Money is soon parted; and, set a Beggar on Horse-back he'll Ride to the Devil; for the Fathers of these Men were Tinkers and Peddlers.
"To the Glory of Religion, and the Credit of the Town, there are four Churches, built with Clap-boards and Shingles, after the Fashion of our Meeting-houses; which are supply'd by four Ministers, to whom some, very justly, have apply'd these Epithites, one a Scholar, the Second a Gentleman, the Third a Dunce, and the Fourth a Clown.
"Their Churches are Independent, every Congrega- tion, or Assembly, in Ecclesiastical Affairs, being dis- tinctly Govern'd by their own Elders and Deacons, who in their Turns set the Psalms; and the former are as busie on Sundays, to excite the People to a Liberal Con- tribution, as our Church-Wardens at Easter and Christ- mas, are with their Dishes, to make a Collection for the Poor.
"Every Stranger is unavoidably forc'd to take this Notice, That in Boston, there are more Religious Zea- lots than Honest-men, more Parsons than Churches, and more Churches than Parishes: For the Town, unlike the People, is subject to no Division.
" The Inhabitants seem very Religious, showing many outward and visible Signs of an inward and Spiritual Grace: But tho' they wear in their Faces the Innocence of Doves, you will find them in their Dealings, as Subtile
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DESCRIPTION OF BOSTON.
as Serpents. Interest is their Faith, Money their God and Large Possessions the only Heaven they covet.
"Election, Commencement, and Training-days, are their only Holy-days; they keep no Saints-Days, nor will they allow the Apostles to be Saints, yet they assume that Sacred Dignity to themselves; and say, in the Title Page of their Psalm-Book, Printed for the Edification of the Saints in Old and New England."
This writer very sorely scandalized not only the clergy and the traders, but also the good women, both young and old, and the people generally. A few more quota- tions from this writer will do.
"If you Kiss a Woman in Publick, tho' offer'd as a Courteous Salutation, if any Information is given to the Select Members, both shall be Whip'd or Fin'd. But the good humor'd Lasses, to make you amends, will Kiss the Kinder in a Corner. A Captain of a Ship who had been a long Voyage, happen'd to meet his Wife, and Kist her in the Street; for which he was Fin'd Ten Shil- lings, and forc'd to pay the Money. Another Inhabitant of the Town was fin'd Ten Shillings for Kissing his own wife in his Garden; and obstinately refusing to pay the Money, endured Twenty Lashes at the Gun. And at this rate one of the delightfulest Customs in the World will in time be quite thrown out of Fashion, to the Old Folk satisfaction, but to the Young ones Lamentattion, who love it as well in New-England, as we do in the Old.
" Every Tenth man is chose as one of the Select, who have power, together, to Regulate and Punish all Disor- ders that happen in their several Neighbour-hoods. The Penalty for Drunkenness, is whipping or a Crown; Curs- ing or Swearing, the same Fine, or to be bor'd thro' the
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TOPOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL
tongue with a hot iron: But get your Select Member into your Company and Treat him, and you may do either without offence; and be as safe as a Parishoner here in a Tavern in the Church-Wardens Company in Sermon-time."
" They are very busie in detecting one another's fail- ings; and he is accounted, by their Church Governers, a Meritorious Christian, that betrays his Neighbour to a Whipping-Post.
" A good cudgel apply'd in the Dark, is an excellent Medicine for a Malignant Spirit. I knew it once Ex- perienced at Boston, with a very good success, upon an Old Rigged Precisian, one of their Select, who used to be more then ordinary vigilant in discovering every little Irregularity in the Neighbourhood; I happening one Night to be pritty Merry with a Friend, opposite to the Zealots dwelling, who got out of his Bed in his Wast- coat and Drawers, to listen at our Window. My Friend having oft been serv'd so, had left unbolted his Cellar Trap-door, as a Pit-fall for Mr. Busie-Body, who step- ping upon it, sunk down with an Outcry like a distressed Mariner in a sinking Pinnace. My Friend having planted a Cudgel ready, run down Stairs, crying Thieves, and belabour'd Old Troublesome very sevearly before he would know him. He crying out I am your Neighbour. You Lye, you Lye, you Rogue, says my Friend, my Neighbours are Honest Men, you are some Thief come to Rob my House. By this time I went down with a Candle, my Friend seeming wonderfully surpriz'd to see 'twas his Neighbour, and one of the Select too, put on a Counterfeit Countenance, and heartily beg'd his Pardon. Away troop'd the Old Fox, Grumbling and Shruging up his Shoulders; and became
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DESCRIPTION OF BOSTON.
afterwards the most Moderate Man in Authority in the whole Town of Boston.
" A little Pains sometimes do good To such Cross Knotty Sticks of Wood. Correction is the best Receipt, To set a Crooked Temper Streight. If such Old Stubborn Boughs can Bend, And from a just Chastisment mend, Fond Parents pray asign a Reason, Why Youth should want it in due Season.
" The Women here, are not at all inferiour in Beauty to the Ladies of London, having rather the Advantage of a better Complexion; but as for the Men, they are gen- erally Meagre; and have got the Hypocritical Knack, like our English Jews, of screwing their Faces, into such Puritanical postures that you would think they were always Praying to themselves, or running melan- choly Mad about some Mistery in the Revelations; so that 'tis rare to see a handsome Man in the Country, for they have all one Cast, but of what Tribe I know not.
" The Gravity and Piety of their looks, are of great Service to these American Christians: It makes strangers that come amongst them, give credit to their Words. And it is a Proverb with those that know them, Who- soever believes a New-England Saint, shall be sure to be Cheated: And he that Knows how to deal with their Traders, may deal with the Devil and fear no Craft.
"I was mightily pleas'd one Morning with a Conten- tion between two Boys at a Pump in Boston, about who should draw their Water first. One Jostled the other from the Handle, and he would fill his Bucket first, because his Master said Prayers and sung Psalms twice a Day in his Family, and the other Master did not. To
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TOPOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL
which the Witty Knave made this reply, Our House stands backward in a Court; if my Master had a Room next the Street, as your Master has, he'd Pray twice to your Masters once, that he wou'd, and therefore I'll fill my pail first, Marry will I, and did accordingly."
This last anecdote evidently refers to the Old Town Pump which in the olden time stood in the middle of Washington street, a few yards north of the head of Court street. If the reader will bear with two more short quotations from this absurd traveller, we will leave him to his former unknown and unappreciated existence. He thus vilified our honest traders and the worthy first settlers of the town:
"Some Years Ago, when the Factors at Boston were credited with large Stocks by our English Merchants, and being backward in their Returns, and more in their Books than they were willing to satisfie, contriv'd this Stratagem to out-wit their Correspondents. As 'tis said, They set Fire to their Ware-houses, after the disposal of their Goods, and Burnt them down to the Ground, pre- tending in their Letters, they were all undone, their Car- gos and Books all destroy'd; and so at once Ballanc'd their Accounts with England."
The last quotation, it will be perceived, is much the worst of his numerous scandalous statements; and it would have been omitted here, as many others of too gross a character for the readers of the present day have been, were it not that it refers so pointedly to the first possession of the peninsula by Europeans. There is no reason whatever for the assertion which follows:
" The Ground upon which Boston (the Metropolis of New-England) stands, was purchas'd from the Natives, by the first English Proprietors, for a Bushel of Wam-
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DESCRIPTION OF BOSTON.
pum-peag and a Bottle of Rum, being of an inconsider- able Value. Therefore the Converted Indians, (who have the use of the Scriptures) cannot blame Esau for selling his Birth-right for a mess of Porrage."
Edward Ward, the author so largely quoted from, was the first of a numerous list of Londoners who have vis- ited New England for the purpose of traducing its in- habitants, and casting ridicule upon its customs and practices. From such persons have been transmitted the false traditions of our ancestry which are met with so frequently by historical inquirers. The good that this class of writers give should be thankfully received, for the false can be easily disproved. The laws alluded to in the above extracts are partly falsifications, and partly exaggerations. The incident at the old town pump was undoubtedly a stretch of the author's imagi- nation. The great fires which had taken place previous to his visit happened during the years 1653, 1676, 1679, 1683, 1690, and 1691; and none of them could be attrib- uted to the causes assigned by him. The four clergy- men alluded to were probably Rev. Benjamin Wads- worth of the First Church, Rev. Cotton Mather of the Second Church (Old North), Rev. Samuel Willard, of the Third Church (Old South), and Rev. Samuel Myles, rector of the Episcopal Church (King's Chapel) ; neither of whom were entitled to be called clowns or dunces, as all of them were gentlemen and scholars.
During the first century of the settlement of the town, many tourists who visited the place have given journals to the public. Among these was John Dunton, a Lon- don bookseller and author, who was here in the year 1686, and who published a book entitled his "Life and Errors," printed in London in 1705. In 1867, letters
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TOPOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL
by this same author, embodying his " Life and Errors," were edited by Wm. H. Whitmore, of Boston, and a small edition of two hundred and ten copies printed for subscribers and others. Several pages of these works are given to pleasant personal reminiscences, and mention of Boston families, written entirely in a different manner from those of Mr. Ward. As these contain very little especially relating to the topography of the town, which is not compiled from Josselyn and other writers, but are more particularly given to allusion to persons, they are passed by at this time.
The following description of the town was written by Daniel Neal, in the year 1719, and shows how much of a change occurred in about twenty years. As it is very nearly cotemporaneous with Bonner's plan of the town, the first printed map of Boston, it may be considered particularly valuable in connection therewith. Speaking of Suffolk county, he says:
"The Capital of this County, and of all New-England is Boston, which according to the exact Calculation of Thomas Brattle, Esq; is 71 Degrees West from Lon- don, Latitude 42 Degrees 24 North, Variation of the Needle, nearest 9 Degrees West. 'Tis pleasantly situated in a Peninsula about four Miles in Compass at the Bottom of a fine Bay, guarded from the Rough- ness of the Ocean by several Rocks appearing above Water; and by above a Dozen Islands, many of which are inhabited, and one called Nottles-Island, within these few years was esteemed worth 2 or 300 l. per Ann. to the Owner Colonel Shrimpton; there is but one common and safe Passage into the Bay, and that not very broad, there being hardly Room for three Ships to come in, board and board at a time, but being once in, there is
An Exact Draught of Bostone harbour witha Survey of most of the Islands about it. JJJJ. ..
Scale of & furlongs, or one mile th
Part of the Continen
Maldin River.
Charlestonone. 2
Podle Island.
Encamp sment
Bostone.
Charly
2
Dorchester neck.
1
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1883,
by A. O. CRANE, in the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.
Reproduced from the original in the British Museum by the Photo. Electro. Co. Boston. 1883.
Hogy Island.
...
und
Snake
Island.
Apple
Island
Pulling point
Deer
Istand.
Island.
2
Spectacle
Island.
xxx:
Nicks male.
Gallops
20
Island
Island.
Long
Island
Georges Juland
2.02
vern!
Island.
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DESCRIPTION OF BOSTON.
Room for the Anchorage of 500 Sail. The most remark- able of these Islands is called Castle-Island, from the Castle that is built in it; it stands about a League from the Town upon the main Channel leading to it, and is so conveniently situated, that no Ship of Burthen can ap- proach the Town without the Hazard of being torn in Pieces by its Cannon." After giving a description of the fortifications upon Castle Island, Mr. Neal proceeds as follows, "But to prevent any possible Surprize from an Enemy, there is a Light-house built on a Rock, ap- pearing above Water about two long Leagues from the Town which in Time of War makes a signal to the Castle, and the Castle to the Town by hoisting and lowering the Union-Flag, so many Times as there are Ships approaching, which if they exceed a certain Num- ber, the Castle fires three Guns to alarm the Town of Boston, and the Governor, if need be, orders a Beacon to be fired, which alarms all the adjacent Countrey; so that unless an Enemy can be supposed to sail by so many Islands and Rocks in a Fog, the Town of Boston must have six or more Hours to prepare for their Re- ception; but supposing they might pass the Castle, there are two Batteries at the North and South Ends of the Town, which command the whole Bay, and make it im- possible for an Enemy's Ship of Burthen to ride there in safety, while the Merchantmen and small Craft may retire up into Charles River, out of reach of their Cannon.
"The Bay of Boston is spacious enough to contain in a manner the Navy of England. The Masts of Ships here, and at proper Seasons of the Year, make a kind of Wood of Trees like that we see upon the River of Thames about Wapping and Limehouse, which may
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TOPOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL
easily be imagined when we consider, that by Computa- tion given in to the Collectors of his Majesty's Customs to the Governor upon the building of the Light-house, it appeared that there was 24000 Ton of Shipping cleared annually.
"At the Bottom of the Bay is a noble Pier, 1800 or 2000 Foot long, with a Row of Ware-houses on the North Side, for the Use of Merchants. The Pier runs so far into the Bay, that Ships of the greatest Burthen may unlade without the Help of Boats or Lighters. From the Head of the Pier you go up the chief Street of the Town, at the Upper End of which is the Town House or Exchange, a fine piece of Building, containing, besides the Walk for the Merchants, the Council Cham- ber, the House of Commons, and another spacious Room for the Sessions of the Courts of Justice. The Exchange is surrounded with Booksellers Shops, which have a good Trade. There are five Printing-Presses in Boston, which are generally full of Work, by which it appears, that Humanity and the Knowledge of Letters flourish more here than in all the other English Plantations put together; for in the City of New-York there is but one Bookseller's Shop, and in the Plantations of Virginia, Maryland, Carolina, Barbadoes, and the Islands, none at all.
"The Town of Boston lies in the Form of a half Moon round the Harbour, the surrounding Shore being high, and affording a very agreeable Prospect. A considera- ble Part of the Peninsula upon which the Town stands, is not yet built upon, as the Reader will observe by the Map [a small plan of the vicinity and harbor 3 1-4 by 3 inches]; but yet there are at present twenty-two Allies, thirty-six Lanes, forty-two Streets, and in all together
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DESCRIPTION OF BOSTON.
about three thousand Houses, several of which for the Beauty of the Buildings may compare with most in the City of London. The Town is well paved, and sev- eral of the Streets as wide and spacious as can be desired."
After computing the number of inhabitants of Boston to be about 20,000, he remarks, "Whence it appears, that the Town is considerably increased within these last tel or twelve Years; for the late ingenious Tho. Brattle, Esq; whose MS. Observations are now before me, says, that in the Year 1708 the Number of Inhabitants did not amount to above 12 or 13,000 Souls. He further adds, that the Militia of the Town consisted then of eight Companies of Foot, of about 150 or 160 in a Com- pany, and one Troop of Horse; but the Inhabitants being since increased above a third Part, their Militia must now amount to near 2000 Men."
Mr. Neal then mentions the places of public worship, ten in number, viz: the Old Church, whereof Rev. Ben- jamin Wadsworth and Rev. Thomas Foxcroft, "Brown- ists," were pastors; the North Church, Doctors Increase and Cotton Mather, pastors; the South Church, Rev. Joseph Sewall and Rev. Thomas Prince, pastors; the Church in Brattle street, Rev. Benjamin Colman and Rev. William Cooper, "Presbyterians," pastors; the New North, Rev. John Webb, pastor, and the New South, Rev. Samuel Checkley, pastor. Besides these were one Episcopal Church, one French, one Anabap- tist, and one congregation of Quakers.
Mr. Neal further remarks, "The Conversation in this Town is as polite as in most of the Cities and Towns in England; many of their Merchants having travelled into Europe; and those that stay at home having the Advan-
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TOPOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL
tage of a free Conversation with Travellers; so that a Gentleman from London would almost think himself at home at Boston, when he observes the Numbers of Peo- ple, their houses, their Furniture, their Tables, their Dress and Conversation, which perhaps is as splendid and showy, as that of the most considerable Tradesmen in London.
"Upon the whole, Boston is the most flourishing Town for Trade and Commerce in the English America; here the Governor commonly resides, the General Court and Assembly meet, the Courts of Judicature sit, and the Affairs of the whole Province are transacted; 'tis the best Port in New-England, from whence 3 or 400 Sail of Ships, Ketches, Brigantines, &c. are laden every Year with Lumber, Beef, Pork, Fish, &c. for several Parts of Europe and America."
In the year 1721 Jeremy Dummer, the Massachusetts agent to England, wrote a similar account of the town, in which the writings of Mr. Neal were largely used.
A good idea of the town as it was in the year 1787, nearly seventy years later than Neal's account, will' be found in the following, published at Philadelphia in the Columbian Magazine:
" Boston, the metropolis of Massachusetts Bay, in New England, is one of the largest and most flourish- ing towns in North America. It is situated upon a peninsula, or rather an island, joined to the continent by an isthmus, or narrow neck of land, half a mile in length, at the bottom of a spacious and noble harbour, defended from the sea by a number of small islands. The length of it is nearly two miles, and the breadth of it half a one; and it is supposed to contain 3000 houses, and 18 or 20,000 inhabitants. At the entrance of the harbour
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DESCRIPTION OF BOSTON.
stands a very good lighthouse; and upon an island, about a league from the town, a considerable castle, mounting near 150 cannon. There are several good batteries about it, and one in particular very strong, built by Mr. Shirley. There are also two batteries in the town, for 16 or 20 guns each, but they are not, I believe, of any force. The buildings in Boston are in general good, the streets are open, spacious and well paved. The country round about it is exceed- ingly delightful; and from a hill, which stands close to the town, where there is a beacon erected to alarm the neighbourhood in case of any surprise, is one of the finest prospects, the most beautifully variegated, and richly grouped, of any, without exception, that I have ever seen.
" The chief public buildings are three churches; thir- teen or fourteen meeting houses; the governor's palace; the court house, or exchange; Faneuil-hall; a linen manufacturing house; a workhouse; a bridewell; a public granary; and a very fine wharf, at least half a mile long, undertaken at the expense of a number of private gentle- men, for the advantage of unloading and loading ves- sels. Most of these buildings are handsome; the church called King's Chapel, is exceedingly elegant, and fitted up in the Corinthian taste. There is also an elegant private concert-room, highly finished, in the Ionic manner.
" Arts and sciences seem to have made a greater pro- gress here, than in any other part of America. The arts are undeniably much forwarder in Massachusetts-bay, than either in Pennsylvania or New York. The public buildings are more elegant; and there is a more general turn for music, painting, and the belles-lettres."
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DESCRIPTION OF BOSTON.
This chapter was commenced with a description of the town, and some of the customs and habits of its res- idents, by an Englishman who had great reluctance to notice any good in our peculiar institutions. It is pro- posed in the next chapter to present a better picture of the same as viewed by another foreign writer, a French- man. These accounts, being cotemporaneous with their dates, give a better idea of Boston as it existed in days that are past than can any traditionary rela- tions.
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CHAPTER IV.
DESCRIPTIONS BY FRENCH WRITERS.
Descriptive Account of Boston by the Abbé Robin in 1781 . . . Appearance of the Town, and the Construction of the Houses . .. Removal of Wooden Houses ··· Number of Houses, Meeting-houses, and Inhabitants .. . Obser- vance of the Sabbath . . . Style of building Religious Edifices . . . Ceremonies of the Quakers . . . Appearance of the Women . . . Attendance at Meetings . . . Situation of Boston . .. Ruins of Charlestown ... Boston Harbor ... Com- merce and Fisheries . . . Rum, Wine and Brandy .. . Exportation of Lumber and Sugar . . . Irish Presbyterians . .. University at Cambridge.
WHEN the Count de Rochambeau was sent in 1780 from France with six thousand men to the assistance of the United States in the war of the revolution, in which he did great service at the siege of Yorktown, he had among his chaplains the Abbé Robin, a person of con- siderable culture and judgment, who in a series of thir- teen letters to a friend, gave a very discriminating account of his travels through the country. Unlike most of the English tourists, who filled their pages with the recital of wonderful adventures among the wild Indian tribes, the Abbé, with a philosophic mind, enter- tained his readers in a much more rational manner, de- scribing objects and matters of considerable interest. From his first letter, dated at Boston, in June, 1781, it appears that his General had been in America some time before he himself landed upon our coast, which at the time of his arrival seems to have been visited by severe storms; for he tells us that "a happy change of wind
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