USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > Boston > Walks & talks about historic Boston > Part 5
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
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
The Grand Jurors were directed to admonish those who wore apparel too costly for their income, and if they did not heed the warning. to fine them.
In 1630. Samuel Maverick was fined for entertaining strangers.
In 1630. A man was whipped for shooting a fowl on Sunday. In 1631. Philip Ratcliff had his ears cut off for im- piety.
In 1632. Several men and women were whipped for petty crimes.
53
Wl'alks and Talks About Historic Boston.
In 1635. Roger Williams was banished for what was called heresy.
In 1636. Swearing and pow-wowing was punishable by a fine of ten shillings.
In 1637. Rev. Mr. Wheelwright was banished for heresy.
In 1638. Captain Underhill was banished for defama- tion.
In 1638. Several Quakers were hanged for their pro- fession.
In 1639. Stocks were built to punish criminals.
In 1640. Hugh Bewett was banished because he thought he did not sin.
In 1650. The wearing of great boots and silver lace was strictly prohibited.
In 1651. Obadiah Holmes was whipped for being a Baptist.
In 1656. Severe laws passed to punish Quakers.
In 1658. Three men whipped and had their ears cut off because they were Quakers.
In 1660. The observance of Christmas was strictly prohibited.
In 1667. Many persons whipped for being Baptists.
In 1677. Margaret Brewster, a Quakeress, was tied to the tail of a cart and whipped.
In 1692. Giles Corey pressed to death for witchcraft.
In 1698. Kissing was an offence, to be punished by fine (if parties could be caught in the act).
We have already mentioned that "kissing" on the streets was forbidden. It was not even allowable in the case of relatives.
We close this gruesome list of offences and penalties with a little story which bears on this point and has been handed down by a well known historian.
"Almost a hundred years after that law forbidding kiss- ing on the street was passed, its penalty was inflicted upon the Commander of a British man-of-war. The ves- sel arrived in Boston Harbor after a long cruise. As her Commander was going toward his home in that city, he met his wife on the street, hastening to greet him, and in the joy of seeing her, he gave her an affectionate kiss. A stern old Magistrate in a cocked hat and powdered hair in
54
Walks and Talks About Historic Boston.
a queue, who was "learned in the law," seeing the act, caused his immediate arrest. The next morning, after due trial, the Captain was convicted, and the punishment of flogging was administered in a very mild way, but in a public place and causing much merriment. When the vic- tim was about to sail on another cruise, he invited that magistrate and others, whom he understood had approved his punishment, to a complimentary dinner on board of his vessel, as a token of his forgiveness and submission. They gladly accepted the invitation, and when they were all merry with good cheer, and on deck ready to depart, he ordered his boatswain and mate to give the magistrates a flogging. Fach officer was armed with a knotted cat-o- ninetails, and they laid on the blows with strong arms and a good will, driving the astonished guests pell mell over the side of the ship into the boat waiting to receive them. The Captain soon weighed anchor and sailed away, and the law was shortly afterwards repealed."
---
SOUL
LIBERTY
1636_
--
Roger Williams
The Apostle of Religious Toleration
Roger Williams The Apostle of Religious Coleration
James Russell Lowell, one of our great American critics, after a careful study of the early colonial period, says : "Let me premise, that there are two men, above all others, for whom our respect is heightened by their letters,-the Elder John Winthrop and Roger Williams." Said another historian : "He stands out from the somewhat monotonous Puritan decorum *as the mountains of his native Wales stand out from the uniform sweep, of the English coast." He was born in the, year 1600 in a little country village amid the mountains of Wales. After his graduation from Cambridge, England, he entered the ministry. His tolerant ideas on religion brought down upon his head the dis- pleasure of Archbishop Loud. He could not bow down in submission to the ceremonies of the English Church, as then prescribed by law. and he determined to emigrate to America.
Accompanied by his young and beautiful wife he sailed from Bristol, England, arriving in Boston. February 5, 1631. Soon after his arrival he received a call from the church in Salem, to become the associate pastor. "He ac- cepted the invitation, but the civil authorities interfered to prevent his settlement, giving as their reason that Will- iams had refused to join the congregation in Boston, de- claring as his opinion, that the magistrates might not pun- ish a breach of the Sabbath, nor any other offence that was a breach of the first table." Williams maintained that every national church is of a vicious constitution, and that a majority in such churches are unregenerate.
Notwithstanding the opposition of the Puritan leaders, Williams settled in Salem, but the authorities in Boston started such a storm of persecution against him that his stay there was of short duration. He then removed to the more liberal colony of Plymouth, and became assistant to the pastor, Rev. Ralph Smith. While there, he was on the
56
57
Walks and Talks About Historic Boston.
most friendly terms with several Indian chiefs, among them the good Canonicus, the Sachem of the powerful Narragansett tribe, and with the young Miantonomoh. By his kindness and fair dealing, he won their love and confi- dence, which he retained to the very end. He felt and wrote that the Indians were entitled to some compensation for the lands taken from them by the King's patent to the Massachusetts Colony. Said Prof. Diman of Brown Uni- versity at the dedication of the Roger Williams Monument in Providence : "John Eliot has won the name of the Indian Apostle ; but ten years before Eliot preached, Roger Will- iams had consecrated himself to this missionary work; not sent out by a powerful and wealthy Board and followed with the prayers of thousands, but driven forth in exile and selling his house, even, `that he might do the natives good.'" The authorities in Boston summoned him to ap- pear before them and answer to charges which had been formulated against him. He answered the summons, and at the trial exhibited a meek and conciliatory spirit. and while he would not retract his opinions, as they were a matter of conscience with him, he was ready to burn the book which had proved so offensive to them. In July, 1635, the authorities found new grievances against him. He be- came bolder in his opposition to the right of the King to appropriate and grant the land of the Indians without pur- chase, and the right of the civil power to impose faith and worship. He denied the right of the magistrate to inter- meddle, even to restrain a church from heresy and apos- tasy. Such opinions were regarded as monstrous by the Puritans, and unless Williams would recant and take back what he had said. he must be banished from the Colony as speedily as possible. He maintained with great strength his opinion "that there was an absolute and eternal dis- tinction between the spheres of the Civil Government and the Church." He wrote a long letter to his own congrega- tion in favor of the rigid separation of Church and State." The court found that Mr. Williams deserved to be ban- ished from the Colony for holding such doctrine." The sen- tence of banishment was passed September 3, 1635, and read as follows : "Whereas Mr. Roger Williams, one of the Elders of the Church of Salem hath broached and divulged divers newe and dangerous opinions against the authority of magistrates, as also with others of defamation both of
58
Walks aud Talks About Historic Boston.
the magistrates and churches here, and that before any con- viction, and yet maintaineth the same, without any retrac- tion, it is therefore ordered that the said Mr. Williams shall depart out of this jurisdiction within six weeks now next ensuing, which, if he neglects to perform, it shall be lawful for the Governor and two of the magistrates to send him to some place out of their jurisdiction, not to return any more without license from this court."
The friends of Roger Williams were stirred to deepest indignation at this cruel sentence to be executed at such an inclement season of the year. Edward Winslow, ex- Governor of the Plymouth Colony, deeply sympathized with Williams, for he was a kind-hearted, broad-minded Christian man. Twenty leading men of the two colonies determined to go into exile with Williams and share his fate. In deference to the sentiments which had been ex- pressed by the people in favor of Williams, the time of his departure from Massachusetts Bay was deferred until the fol- lowing spring. Williams, regarding this as a concession, promulgated his doctrine with greater force. He proclaimed himself an Anabaptist, one who denies the validity of in- fant baptism, a Baptist of today. This was more than the Puritans could stand and the authorities decided to send the "troubler" back to England. Williams refused to ap- pear before the magistrates and Captain Underhill was sent to Salem in a pinnace in pursuit of Williams with orders to arrest him and put him on board of a vessel bound for England. But Williams had been advised of this order. Governor Winthrop had kindly, but secretly advised him, "to steer his course to the Narragansett Bay and the Indians," and when Captain Underhill went to the house to arrest him, he found only his sorrowing wife and two babes. Williams had been gone three days. Lossing, the historian, gives a vivid picture of Williams' departure. He says : "On a cold winter's night, the moon on the wane, and snow on the ground, he had kissed his wife and chil- dren, and departed in the gloom to seek a refuge with the dark pagans, who were more tolerant than his pale-faced Christian brethren. He went forth alone with a long staff and a scrip thrown over his shoulders. Wild beasts were in his path. Behind him were the treasures of wife and children. Before him, as radiant and as enticing as the Star in the East, gleamed the brilliant luminary of Chris-
59
Walks and Talks About Historic Boston.
tian ethics which was his pole star and guide." Williams made his way to the house of Massasoit, the venerable Sachem of the Wampanoags, where he was warmly wel- comed.
In his old age Roger Williams refers to this experience in his life. "For fourteen weeks he was sorely tost in a bitter season, now knowing what bread or bed did mean. Often in the stormy night he had neither fire or food, nor company ; often he wandered without a guide, and had no house but a hollow tree. But he was not without friends. When he canle to the cabin of the Chief of Pokanoket, he was welcomed by Massasoit; and "the barbarous heart of Canonicus, the Chief of the Narragansetts, loved him as his son to the last gasp." "The ravens," he relates, with gratitude, "fed me in the wilderness." "And in requital for their hospitality, he was ever, through his long life, their friend and benefactor; the apostle of Christianity to them, without hire, without weariness, and without impatience at their idolatry ; the guardian of their rights ; the pacificator, when their rude passions were inflamed; and their unflinch- ing advocate and protector, whenever Europeans attempted an invasion of their soil."
Just as the little colony had begun to build and plant, near the present Martin's Cove, a friendly letter came from Governor Winslow, saying that they were within the jurisdiction of the Plymouth Colony, and as he did not wish to offend the Bay, and desired the undisturbed repose of the exiles, he advised Williams and his little party to pass to the other side of the Seekonk river, where they would have a large country before them and beyond the jurisdiction of both colonies on the coast, and this kind and wise advice was heeded by the settlers. They landed at the mouth of the Moshemic river, and here they founded Providence, so-called in commemoration of God's manifest providence to him in his distress and he dedicated it as a shelter for all those distressed for conscience. The new settlement was at the head of Narragansett Bay, a beautiful green slope with a spring of sparkling water near by. Many leading men of the Bay and Plymouth Colonies flocked to Providence with their families. Williams pur- chased his land of the aged Canonicus. In 1638 others came from the Massachusetts Bay Colony, and from the Chief Miantonomoh they purchased the island of Aquiday,
00
Walks and Talks About Historic Boston.
which was the Indian name for the region and meant "Peacable Isle." "With the way nicely cleared, Williams and his little band of followers then made ready to estab- lish an anomaly in the history of the race-a state that should absolutely ignore any power in the body politic to interfere with the matters that solely concern the individ- ual man and his Maker." Rhode Island, under Williams' leadership, established a purely democratic form of govern- ment. The Christian and forgiving spirit of Roger Will- iams shone out most clearly several years after his banish- ment. It was at the time of the great uprising of the Pequot tribe of Indians in New England. The tribe was ruled by a famous Sachem and Chief named Sassacus. "He was cool, calculating, treacherous, haughty, fierce and malignant, and was the terror of the neighboring tribes. He ruled over twenty-six sagamores, or inferior princes, and his dominion extended from Narragansett Bay to the Hudson river and over Long Island. His bravery won the unbounded admiration of the warriors, of whom almost two thousand were always ready to follow him wherever he might lead. He saw the English growing in power and influence and he determined to exterminate the intruders. By persuasion and menace he tried to induce the Mohegans and Narragansetts to become his allies. The three tribes united could put four thousand men on the war path at one time. The allies of the Pequots captured a Massachusetts trading vessel on Block Island, killing the captain and plundering the vessel. The authorities in Boston deter- mined to punish the Pequots and awe them into quietude." This expedition of the Bay Colonists, although weak in numbers, and badly conducted, did considerable damage to the property of the Indians, and Sassacus swore vengeance on the pale faces and sent ambassadors to the monarch of the Narragansetts, urging him to join in a war of extermi- nation, declaring as a powerful plea, that the two races could not live together in the same land and that the Indians who would soon be the weaker party would be scattered and destroyed like leaves in autumn." A deliv- erer of the colonists appeared in Roger Williams. He heard of the proposed alliance and perceived the danger. Unmindful of the cruel wrongs he had suffered at the hands of the Puritan leaders of Boston, he determined to save them if possible. He hastened on a stormy day, in an
61
Walks and Talks About Historic Boston.
open boat, across Narragansett Bay, to the dwelling of Miantonomoh, near the site of Newport, Rhode Island. He was the acting Sachem of the Narragansetts (for his uncle Canonicus, the Chief, was very old and was revered by them all.) There Williams found fierce ambassadors from Sassacus urging their suit, and at the peril of his life. he opposed them with argument. Finally, Williams pre- vailed. He not only prevented the alliance of the Narra- gansetts and Pequots, but induced the Narragansett Chiefs to go to Boston, where they concluded a treaty of peace and alliance with the colonists, so the Pequots were not only compelled to carry on the war alone, but to fight the Narragansetts also. This one act stamps Roger Williams as a man of sublime courage and of the highest Christian character. "Integrity, undaunted courage, and prompt decision marked all his conduct. Every man of whatever clime, or color, or condition, he regarded as a brother. His opponents confessed that both at Plymouth and at Salem he was respected and beloved as a pious man and an able minister. In all the relations of domestic life, his conduct was most exemplary ; and over his whole course, his piety shed a hallowed lustre." George Bancroft, in his History of the United States, pays this high and truthful tribute to Roger Williams. "At a time when Germany was the bat- tlefield of all Europe in the implacable wars of religion : when France was still to go through the fearful struggle with bigotry : when England was gasping under the des- potism of intolerance, Roger Williams asserted the great doctrine of intellectual liberty. It became his glory to found a state upon that principle and to stamp himself up- on its rising institutions, in characters so deep that the im- press has remained to this day. He was the first person in modern Christendom to assert in its plentitude the doc- trine of the liberty of conscience. Let there be for the name of Roger Williams, at least some humble place among those who have advanced moral science and made themselves the benefactors of mankind."
From an article published in the "Boston American" and written by the Rev. Thomas B. Gregory, concerning Roger Williams, we quote : "When Williams returned from Eng- land with his charter, he wrote the Constitution that has the distinction of being the first Legal Declaration of Lib- erty of Conscience ever adopted in America. Europe, or in
62
Walks and Talks About Historic Boston.
the world. Such is the honor belonging to "little Rhody," -an honor that the proudest empires in the earth might well afford to cherish with deepest satisfaction. The Rev. John Cotton of Boston, pastor of the First Church, who died in 1652, the greatest and most influential personage in his day in Massachusetts, in his discussion with Roger Williams, gave utterance to this statement, "It is wicked for Falsehood to persecute Truth, but it is the sacred duty of Truth to persecute Falsehood." Where is the infallible and unerring wisdom, which shall be able to tell us what is truth and what is falsehood? Roger Williams knew his- tory and knew that the slogan of infallibility is either the cry of fools or the subterfuge of hypocrites, and like the honest man that he was he came back at John Cotton with these words of wisdom: "We have no law among us whereby to punish any one, for only declaring by words their minds and understandings concerning the things and ways of God."
"That answer settled John Cotton and all the other Cot- tons it is to be hoped for all time as far as this country is concerned. Among the men who have made America, an illustrious place must be given to the great-hearted Welsh- man, for there could have been no United States of America as we know it today, without the great principle of relig- ious freedom and that principle was planted here by Roger Williams."
Some Items of Historical Interest First Things
"Boston always exercised great influence with the Colonies. Under the sagacious direction of Winthrop she originated the Colonial Confederation of 1643; she suggested the Congress of the Colonies which adopted the Confederation of 1775 ; during all the War of the Revolution she held a controlling position ; her voice was everywhere heard, her influence every- where felt. Animated by her patriotic spirit, New England furnished more than one-half of that patriotic army which achieved independence, of which Massachusetts, alone, con- tributed nearly one-third.
The first threat of armed resistance was here uttered; the first act of resistance was here done; the first recommenda- tion that Independence be declared was here made; the first blood in the cause was here shed; and the steady valor of our "Minute Men" in what may be called the first battle of the Revolution, the Battle of Bunker Hill, first assured Washing- ton that the cause of American Independence was safe.
Boston established the first church, the first free school and the first college. She also built the first vessel, the first printing press, the first hotel and the first railroad. She started the first temperance movement when Governor Win- throp broke up the custom for everybody to be drinking his neighbor's health. She organized the first abolition move- ment. She originated stump speaking, when the Rev. John Wilson. during the canvas for Governor, addressed the people from a tree in behalf of Winthrop who was elected. She created the first public park, our Boston Common, which we owe to the forecast and wisdom of Governor Winthrop, and this, alone, should make his name dear to every Bostonian." ( Mayor Frederick O. Prince, at the 250th Anniversary of Boston, September 17, 1880.)
The first General Court of Massachusetts met in 1780 and John Hancock was elected Governor. The first newspaper in America was published in Boston, April 24, 1704, and was called "The News Letter." Then followed "The Boston
63
64
Walks and Talks About Historic Boston.
Gazette" in 1709. "The New England Courant," 1721. "The New England Weekly Journal," in 1726. "The Boston Post Boy," in 1734. "The Columbian Sentinel," in 1788.
The "Advertiser" was the first daily paper and its first is- sue was December 16th, 1797.
The first Almanac was published by John Foster in 1679. Potatoes were introduced into Boston by the Scotch in 1720. The first steam locomotive engine was placed on the Wor- cester railroad in 1834. Gas light was first exhibited in the Boylston Museum November 26, 1815. Beacon Street was first known as "the road which led to the Alms House," that institution, in 1,682, being located near the corner of Park and Beacon Streets. It is related that John Hancock, in 1790, while Governor of the State, gave a grand dinner to the chil- dren living at the Alms House.
The California Mining Fever reached Boston September 18, 1848, and a company of 100 men was formed who took passage in the ship "Saltello" December 27, 1848, for the voyage around Cape Horn to San Francisco. This ship was followed by the Barque "Elvira" January 1, 1849, and the ship "Edward Everett," in which 150 men took passage, sailing January 9, 1849. The first gold from California was brought to Boston by Adams Express Company May 10, 1849. In 1850 a lump of gold from California weighing 15 pounds was on exhibition in a window on Washington Street.
September 28, 1850, Jenny Lind, the Swedish Nightingale, sang for the first time in America in Tremont Temple. Dodge, the Hatter, of Boston, paid $625 for first choice of seats. Jenny Lind's successful tour of America was under the man- agement of Phineas T. Barnum, the great American Show- man.
The Federal Constitution was adopted by the State of Mas- sachusetts at the Federal Street Church, on the corner of Fed- eral and Franklin Streets in 1788. The site of the church was directly opposite the present First National Bank Building.
The public spirited citizens of Boston have placed Memorial Tablets in different sections of the city to mark the historical spots, which can be seen in an hour's walk around the town.
On the south-east corner of State and Washington Streets is this tablet.
On this Site Stood the House of Capt. Robert Keane.
65
Walks and Talks About Historic Boston.
He was the Founder and First Commander of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company-1638.
One hundred years later this was the site of the book store of Daniel Henchman, where General Henry Knox of Revolutionary fame served his apprenticship.
At No. 2 State Street a tablet announces an interesting fact. First Store in Boston. On this site stood the house of John Coggan, who here opened The First Shop for the Sale of Merchandise in Boston.
Like all the leading merchants of Colonial days, Mr. Cog- gan lived over his store.
Above No. 28 State Street was the modest home of Rev. John Wilson, marked by this tablet :
Near this Site Stood the Home of Rev. John Wilson, Pastor of the First Church, 1632-1657
Before Devonshire Street was opened from State Street to Dock Square, a narrow lane connected the two points and was called Wilson's Lane, in honor of the ancient clergyman.
Passing down State Street a few steps, on the sidewalk in front of the Merchants Bank Building, an arrow points to a circle in the pavement marking the spot where occurred the Boston Massacre, March 5, 1770.
On 28 State Street where now stands the elegant building of the Merchants' National Bank, is placed this tablet :
On this Site was the Shop of Anthony Stoddard, Linen Draper in 1644. Occupied by Henry Shrimpton, Brazier in 1646. Here in Provincial Days stood the Royal Exchange Tavern. A popular resort until after 1800. From here the first stage coach from
Boston to New York was started by Nicholas Brown, Sepember 7, 1772. "To go once every fourteen days."
1
66
Walks and Talks About Historic Boston.
We cross Washington Street and walk up Court Street and stop before the building of the Old Colony Trust Company, on which is this interesting tablet :
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.