USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Quincy > Town annual report of Quincy 1865-1872 > Part 41
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In a word, the power now rests with the inhabitants of the town to declare the board which shall superintend and direct the school, but that board must make it a classical school, and can introduce therein no languages as a study other than Greek and Latin, nor any art or science save by the advice of the council of worthies specified in the deeds.
The supervisors would therefore recommend that the inhabitants of the town of Quincy do, as soon as they conveniently may, con- sider and establish such a permanent provision for the future good government and careful oversight and wise management of this educational establishment, as they in their wisdom may think most calculated to subserve the intent of its founder and promote their own welfare.
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Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
In the year of our Lord, One Thousand Eight Hundred and Twenty-Seven.
An act to incorporate the supervisors of the Adams Temple and School Fund, in Quincy, in the County of Norfolk.
SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- tives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, That, Thomas Greenleaf, Josiah Quincy, Thomas Boylston Adams, Edward Miller, and George W. Beale be and they are hereby consti- tuted, a body politic and corporate, by the name of the Supervisors of the Adams Temple and School Fund, in Quincy, in the County of Norfolk, and that they and their successors, to be appointed in manner as directed by three certain deeds of gift of John Adams, late of Quincy, aforesaid, bearing date the twenty-fifth day of June, the twenty-fifth day of July, and the tenth of August, in the year of our Lord, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-two, granting certain real estate and a library to the inhabitants of said Quincy, upon certain conditions therein expressed, shall continue a body politic and corporate forever, and by the same name may sue and be sued in all actions, and may prosecute the same to final judgment and execution.
SECT. 2. Be it further enacted, That the said supervisors, in con- cert with the Selectmen of the town of Quincy, for the time being, shall have power and authority, and it shall be their duty to carry into effect the intentions of the said donor by any act, which by the said deeds they are authorized and directed to perform, and upon the conditions therein prescribed and accepted by the said town.
SECT. 3. Be it further enacted, That any gift, grant, bequest, or devise, which may hereafter be made to said supervisors for the purposes intended by the said donor, in the deeds of gift, or either of them, shall be valid and effectual to all intents and purposes whatever ; and they and their successors, as aforesaid, are hereby empowered by purchase or operation of law, to take, have, hold,
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use, improve, and manage any estate, real, personal, or mixed, the annual income of which shall not exceed the sum of five thousand dollars, in trust, for the purposes to which the Temple and School Fund is applicable, and for the use and benefit, inso- much as relates to the temple of the Congregational Society at Quincy, and insomuch as relates to the school of the inhabitants of the town of Quincy in their corporate capacity.
SECT. 4. Be it further enacted, That the said supervisors may assemble and meet together as often as they may think it neces- sary for the promotion of their trust, any three of whom shall constitute a board for doing business ; but the concurrence of three, at least, shall be requisite to every act and proceeding what- ever. They may determine the manner of calling meetings ; they may appoint a clerk, an agent, or agents, and other needful officers, and committees ; they may make reasonable rules, regulations, and by-laws, and annex penalties for the breach thereof, not repug- nant to the laws of this Commonwealth ; they may have a common seal, and change the same at their pleasure, and they may do and perform all acts which corporate bodies are by law authorized to do and perform, subject to the conditions prescribed by the said deeds of gift of the said John Adams, and to such as may be pre- scribed by any gift, grant, bequest, or devise, hereafter to be made, and which may enure to them for the purposes, and to the uses in the above-mentioned deeds described.
SECT. 5. Be it further enacted, That the clerk of said corporation shall be sworn to the faithful performance of the duties of his office, and shall have the care and custody of all papers and documents belonging to the said supervisors, and shall faithfully record, in a book kept for that purpose, all their acts and proceedings, and shall certify the same when thereto required, and he may call meetings when thereto directed by the supervisors, and do what- ever else may be incident to said office. And the said supervisors may remove, at their pleasure, the said clerk, and appoint another in his place, and he shall, on demand, deliver to his successor in office, as soon as may be, all the records, papers, and documents in his hands, in good order and condition, and if he shall neglect to do so for thirty days next after such demand, he shall forfeit and pay a fine of fifty dollars, and a further sum of thirty dollars per month for such neglect, afterwards, which said fines, when
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paid, shall enure to the benefit of the Temple and School Fund, to be sued for in any court proper to try the same.
SECT. 6. Be it further enacted, That the Library given to the town of Quincy by the said John Adams shall be and continue under the direction of the supervisors of the Temple and School Fund, with the addition of the settled minister of the Congrega- tional Society, and the settled minister of the Episcopal Society at Quincy, for the time being, and their successors, while they may remain such, respectively to be disposed of according to the con- ditions prescribed in the said deed of gift ; and the proceedings of the said supervisors and settled ministers, in relation to the dis- posal of the said Library, shall be recorded upon their books by their clerk.
SECT. 7. Be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of the said supervisors to cause to be recorded upon their books copies of any proceedings of the inhabitants of the said town of Quincy, and also of the majority of ministers, magistrates, lawyers, and physicians inhabiting said town, made or had in conformity with the conditions expressed in the deeds of gift of the said John Adams.
SECT. 8. Be it further enacted, That the supervisors aforesaid be and they are hereby authorized, upon the erection and establish- ment of the said school, to exercise any authority, and to do and perform any act in relation to the support and maintenance of the same, as trustees forever, which the inhabitants of the town of Quincy may authorize or confer upon them, provided the same be not repugnant to the laws of the Commonwealth.
SECT. 9. Be it further enacted, That the Town Treasurer of the town of Quincy, for the time being, shall also be treasurer of said corporation, and shall be sworn to the faithful perform- ance of the duties of his office, and he shall give bond with sufficient surety or sureties, to be approved by the supervisors and selectmen in such penal sum as they may require, with condition to perform all the duties incumbent on him as treasurer, and he shall render an account of his doings, and exhibit a fair and regular statement of the property and evidences of property in his hands whenever they or the selectmen shall require the same, and shall deliver to his successor in office, as soon as may be, all the books and papers, property and evidences of property, in his hands as
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treasurer of said corporation, in good order and condition, and in case, by reason of death, or other cause, the said Town Treasurer shall fail to perform the duties and comply with the said obliga- tions herein prescribed, the supervisors, together with the select- men, shall be empowered to appoint a treasurer for the time being, subject to the conditions required by this act.
SECT. 10. Be it further enacted, That the services of said super- visors shall always be gratuitously rendered, but the clerk may receive such reasonable compensation for the performance of his duty as the said supervisors may see fit to allow, to be taken from the said Temple and School Fund.
SECT. 11. Be it further enacted, That Thomas Greenleaf, of said Quincy, is hereby authorized to appoint the time and place for holding the first meeting of the said supervisors, and to warn such meeting accordingly.
[FEB. 3, 1827.]
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Know all Men by these Presents, That I, John Adams, of Quincy, in the County of Norfolk, Esquire, in consideration of the veneration I feel for the residence of my ancestors and the place of my nativity, and of the habitual affection I bear to the inhabi- tants with whom I have so happily lived for more than eighty-six years, - and of my sincere desire to promote their happiness, and the instruction of their posterity in religion, morality, and all use- ful arts and sciences, by contributing all in my power for these purposes, do hereby give, and grant, convey, and confirm to the town of Quincy and their successors, forever, the two following tracts of land, viz., my Rocky Pasture, commonly known by the name of the Red Cedar Pasture, or the Centre Rock Pasture, situate near the Grist Mill, and opposite the house of Deacon Elijah Veazie, containing twenty-five acres more or less ; - another tract of land, containing fifty-four acres more or less, commonly known by the name of the Lane's Pasture, or the Mount Ararat Pasture, near the seat of the Hon. Thomas Greenleaf : To HAVE and to HOLD to the said town of Quincy and their successors forever, - upon the conditions and provisos following : - Provided, first, That the selectmen of the town be authorized and empowered to employ a surveyor of respectable character for science and ex- perience in the practice of surveying, to survey both these lots, ascertain their boundaries, and make an accurate plot of each of said tracts, to be recorded in the town books, within a reasonable time. Provided, secondly, That the rent of the herbage of these pastures, together with the profits arising from the sale of wood, fuel of any kind, timber and stone, be strictly applied to the fol- lowing purposes, viz., to be placed at interest in some solid public fund, either of the Commonwealth, or of the United States, and the interest again placed at interest, as it arises, until the amount shall be sufficient, with what the town may grant, other individuals subscribe, or the probable sale of pews produce, to raise a fund for the completing and furnishing of a Temple to be built of stone, to be taken from the premises, for the Public Wor- ship of God, and the public instruction in religion and morality, for the use of the Congregational Society in said town; and next after the completion of said Temple, that all the future rents,
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profits, and emoluments, arising from said land, be applied to the support of a School for the teaching of the Greek and Latin lan- guages, and any other languages, arts and sciences, which a majority of the ministers, magistrates, lawyers, and physicians, inhabiting in the said town, may advise. Provided, thirdly, That if there should be any gross corruption or mismanagement in the care of this in- terest ; or any notorious negligence, or any waste knowingly per- mitted, or connived at by the said town, or by the selectmen thereof, or by any other person, acting under its sanction or authority, and the same shall appear by the judgment of a jury under the direction of the Supreme Judicial Court, the right to the property hereby conveyed shall be forfeited, and shall revert to the oldest male person, at the time living, among my posterity. And I do hereby request my honorable friends, Thomas Green leaf, Josiah Quiney, my son Thomas Boylston Adams, Edward Miller, and George W. Beale, Esquires, to give their advice to the selectmen for the time being concerning the best mode of managing the said estate for the best interest of the town, and for the advance- ment of the objects herein before specified. And I do hereby con- stitute the said Greenleaf, Quiney, Adams, Miller, and Beale, ' during their lives, to be a committee, with authority to appoint an agent, annually, to superintend the lands hereby conveyed, and whose duty it shall be to prosecute all trespasses, of any kind whatsoever, made thereupon, such agent to be paid for his services, by the town, such compensation as the Seleetmen of said town for the time being shall deem reasonable ; and the said Committee shall have authority forever, as any vacancy shall occur in their number by death or by resignation, to fill the same by an election to be made from among the most respectable, intelligent, and active inhabitants of said town. Provided, also, That if the Episcopalian Society of the said town shall at any time hereafter be about to build a Church for the Worship of God, they shall have liberty to take from the land hereby granted as much stone as they may need to use in erecting such church.
In witness whereof, I the said Jolin Adams have hereunto set my hand and seal, this twenty-fifth day of June, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and twenty-two.
JOHN ADAMS. [L. s.]
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Signed, sealed, and delivered in presence of
JOSIAH QUINCY, WILLIAM SMITH SHAW, EDWARD PHILLIPS, JOSIAH QUINCY, Jun.
Norfolk ss. Quincy, 29 June, 1822. Then personally appeared the Honorable John Adams, and acknowledged the above instru- ment, by him subscribed, to be his free act and deed,
Before me, JOSIAH QUINCY,
Justice of the Peace
throughout the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
At a meeting of the inhabitants of the town of Quincy, holden on the 8th day of July, A. D. 1822 :
Voted, That the town accept with gratitude, affection, and re- spect, the very liberal, valuable, and useful donation of the Hon. John Adams, with the restrictions and conditions expressed in the deed of conveyance, this day presented for their consideration.
Voted, That the town will adopt all suitable and proper measures to carry into complete effect the enlarged and laudable views, and benevolent wishes and intentions, of the venerable donor.
Know all Men by these Presents, That I, John Adams, of Quincy, in the County of Norfolk, Esquire, in consideration of the kindness with which my former conveyance, dated the twenty- fifth of June, 1822, has been accepted, and in further consideration of all the motives enumerated in that instrument, and various other causes not necessary to be stated particularly, do hereby give, grant and convey, to the inhabitants of the town of Quincy, in their corporate capacity, and their successors forever, the fol- lowing parcels of land, to wit : First, six acres of Cedar Swamp, in the town of Braintree, in the tract called Hubbard Swamp, which I bought of Capt. Benjamin Beale. Secondly, my Pasture, situated partly in Braintree and partly in Quincy, containing
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seventeen acres and a half, which I bought of Elkanah Thayer .. Thirdly, two pieces of Cedar Swamp, situated in Gardiner's Swamp, so called, one of which I bought of Caleb Faxon, the other of William Thayer, which, when I bought them, I under- stood were in Quincy, but which, I now am informed, are in Braintree. These are all which I know or suspect to belong to me ; but if any other morsel should be found to belong to me in that town, I give it to the town of Quincy. Fourthly, my pasture in Quincy, formerly known by the name of Babel Pasture, con- taining fifty-one acres, more or less, which I bought of the Hon. Cotton Tufts, as executor to the will of Norton Quincy, Esquire. Fifthly, eight acres of land in the town of Quincy, near the meet- ing-house, bounded easterly on the county road, southerly on land of Lemuel Brackett, Esquire, westerly on my own land, as the fence now stands, northerly on my own land by a line to be drawn from the western boundary parallel to the line against Mr. Brackett, so as to include Mr. Hancock's ancient cellar and well : TO HAVE and to HOLD all the foregoing tracts and parcels of land to the inhabitants of the town of Quincy, and their successors forever, in their corporate capacities, upon the conditions following : First, Provided that plots be taken by skilful surveyors, and recorded in the town books, within a reasonable time. Secondly, Provided that these lands shall be managed and con- ducted upon the same principles, under the same conditions, re- strictions, limitations, forfeiture, and supervisors, and the profits applied to the same ends and purposes, with those in the former deed. Thirdly, Provided that when the objects, mentioned in the former deed are obtained, a Stone School House shall be erected over the cellar which was under the house anciently built by the Rev. Mr. John Hancock, the father of John Hancock, that great, generous, disinterested, bountiful benefactor of his country, once President of Congress, and afterwards Governor of this State, to whose great exertions and unlimited sacrifices this nation is so deeply indebted for her independence and present prosperity, who was born in this house ; and which house was afterwards purchased and inhabited by the reverend, learned, ingenuous, and eloquent Lemuel Bryant, pastor of this congregation ; which house was afterwards purchased by and inhabited by an honorable friend of my younger years, Col. Josiah Quincy, and also inhabited by his 3Q
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son, Josiah Quincy, Jun., a friend of my riper years, a brother bar- rister at law, with whom I have been engaged in many arduous contests at the bar, who was as ardent a patriot as any of his age, and, next to James Otis, the greatest orator. Fourthly, That as soon as the funds will be sufficient, a school-master should be pro- cured, learned in the Greek and Roman languages, and, if thought advisable, the Hebrew, not to make learned Hebricians, but to teach such young men as choose to learn it, the Hebrew Alphabet, the rudi- ments of the Hebrew Grammar, and the use of the Hebrew Grammar and Lexicon; that in after life they may pursue the study to what extent they please. But I hope the future masters will not think me too presumptuous, if I advise them to begin their lessons in Greek and Hebrew, by compelling their pupils to take their pens and write, over and over again, copies of the Greek and Hebrew Alphabets, in all their variety of characters, over and over again, until they are perfect masters of those alphabets and characters. This will be as good an exercise in chirography as any they can use, and will stamp those alphabets and characters upon their tender minds and vigorous memories so deeply that the impres- sion will never wear out, and will enable them at any period of their future lives to study those languages to any extent with great ease.
In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal this twenty-fifth day of July, in the year of our Lord, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-two.
JOHN ADAMS. [L. s. ]
Signed, sealed, and delivered in presence of JNO. DAVIS,
I. P. DAVIS, JOSIAH QUINCY,
JOSIAH QUINCY, Jun.
Norfolk ss. Quincy, 27 July, 1822. Personally appeared the Honorable John Adams, and acknowledged the above instrument to be his free act and deed, the same being by him subscribed,
Before JOSIAH QUINCY, Justice of the Peace
throughout the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
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At a legal meeting of the inhabitants of the town of Quincy, August 6th, 1822 :
Voted, That the town accept, with sentiments of profound respect and gratitude, the very valuable present of the Hon. John Adams, of certain parcels of land situated in the towns of Quincy and Braintree, on the conditions expressed in the instrument of conveyance, dated July 25th, 1822, this day offered for their con- sideration, to be managed and conducted upon the same principles, and subject to the same restrictions, limitations, and provisions, as are contained in his deed to the town, dated 25th June, 1822.
Know all Men by these Presents, That I, John Adams, of Quincy, in the County of Norfolk, Esquire, in further consider- ation of the motives and reasons enumerated in my two former deeds, do hereby give, grant, convey, and confirm to the inhabitants of the town of Quincy in their corporate capacity, and their successors, the fragments of my Library, which still remain in my possession, excepting a few that I shall reserve for my consolation in the few days that remain to me, on the following conditions, viz., Condition first, That a catalogue of them be made, recorded in the town books and printed, together with the three deeds, in sufficient numbers to perpetuate the remembrance of them. Condition second, That those books be deposited in an apartment of the building to be hereafter erected for a Greek and Latin School or Academy. Condition third, That these books be placed under the direction of the five gentlemen mentioned in my former deeds as supervisors of the Temple and School Fund, with the addition of the Rev. Mr. Whitney and the successive settled Ministers of the Congregational Society, and also of the future settled Ministers of the Episcopal Society, while they shall remain such. Condition fourth, That none of the books shall ever be sold, exchanged, or lent, or suffered to be removed from the apartments, without a solemn vote of a majority of the superintendents. Condition fifth. The books may be removed to any place the Committee of the town shall direct, or remain where they are, at the pleasure of the Committee of the town ; locked up, and the keys held by the Com- mittee during my life, and the pleasure of my Executors after- wards. Article sixth. I make no condition of this, but submit it to the consideration of the town whether it may be expedient to
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build the Temple on the Hancock lot near the Academy. Nothing would be a higher gratification to me, or more honorable to my memory ; and I could wish that the triangle on which the present Temple stands should be left forever as a common Training Field, and for other accommodations of the inhabitants of the town. Ar- ticle seventh. Though I presume not to dictate to the town, yet it is my wish, that the building of the Academy and the establishment of a classical master should be provided for before the Temple, of which I see no present necessity, and I cannot think that this can ever be construed a deviation from the plan and intention of the donor, notwithstanding anything in the two former deeds ; and if any descendant of mine should ever presume to call it in question, I hereby pronounce him unworthy of me; and I hereby petition all future legislators of the Commonwealth to pass a special law to defeat his impious intentions, and this I think can never be ad- judged an ex post facto law. Article eighth. It is not my inten- tion or desire to make any condition of what follows; but I ask leave to suggest to the town the propriety of applying the income of the Coddington School lands to the uses of this Academy, and to give authority to the superintendents of the Library to apply such parts of it, as they shall judge expedient, to the purchase of books annually to augment and increase this Library. Those books to be kept by themselves in separate alcoves to be denominated the Coddington alcoves. That gentleman's first residence was in this town, and he was an honor to it. He was a man of large and liberal mind. He removed with the excellent Roger Williams to Rhode Island, and became the father, founder, and first Governor of that colony. This will be a proper memorial of respect and gratitude for that very ancient and noble donation.
In testimony whereof I have hereunto put my hand and seal, this tenth day of August, in the year of our Lord, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-two.
JOHN ADAMS. [L. s.]
Signed, sealed, and delivered in presence of JOSIAH QUINCY, WILLIAM SMITH SHAW, JOSIAH QUINCY, Jun.
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Norfolk ss. Quincy, 10 August, 1822. Then personally ap- peared the venerable John Adams above named, and acknowledged the above instrument, by him subscribed, to be his free act and deed.
Before me, JOSIAH QUINCY, Justice of the Peace throughout the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
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NO. 2.
Report of the Finances, Adams Temple and School Fund
QUINCY, Dec. 31, 1870.
Income received from August 5, 1822, to May 5, 1827, $2,402 63 On this day, the supervisors directed the Town Treas- urer to transfer and pay over to the Treasurer of
the Congregational Society at Quincy, this amount, 2,402 63
Income from the fund since May 5, 1827, to the date of this Report Dec. 31, 1870 has been, $35,782 31
CR.
Paid contractor's bill, architect, heating apparatus, gas, etc., making a total cost for the Stone Academy now finished ready for occupancy,
$28,867 99
Balance,
. 6,914 32
Items of property in hands of Town Treasurer,
One registered U. S. Bond,
$5,000 00
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