USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > Boston > Walks & talks about historic Boston > Part 9
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Walks and Talks About Historic Boston.
to Holland and Governor of Massachusetts from 1823 to 1825. dying while in office, at the age of 71. One of his distinguished visitors at this old mansion, was General Lafayette, in 1824, who was then in America as the guest of the nation. They were old companions in the army, and the occasion was one of great joy and enthusiasm to these old veterans. The Governor gave a grand banquet in honor of Lafayette. There were between 30 and 40 guests, the Gov- ernor taking his position at the head of the table, with General. Lafayette on his right and General Dearborn on his left. Ex-Governor Brooks, second on his right and the Lieutenant Governor and the Council, the Military Staff and other guests on either side.
After Governor Eustis's death, his wife, a most elegant and accomplished woman, who survived him many years. would suffer none of his' things to be moved from their accustomed places. His cane and tobacco box occupied their usual corner of the hall, just as they were wont to do forty years before, and as though the arrival of the master of the house was momentarily expected. In 1867, soon after the death of Mrs. Eustis, the famous old estate was cut up into house lots and the old mansion was moved 20 or 30 feet from its original foundations. The Shirley-Eustis house and grounds now include 12,000 square feet of land.
The Old Province House
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This famous old building stood nearly opposite the Old South Church. In its day it was the most elegant and cost- ly house erected in Boston since the founding of the town by John Winthrop. It was built by Peter Sargeant in 1679 for his residence. He came from London and became a very wealthy man. After his death it was occupied by his widow until 1715. The next year the Provincial Legisla- ture voted to purchase the mansion and the heirs of Mr. Sargent passed the deed to the Treasurer of the Province, the Treasurer of the County of Suffolk and the Treasurer of the Town of Boston. At this time it was a most magnifi- cent building. No pains or expense was spared to make it not only elegant but spacious and convenient.
It stood somewhat back on its ample lot, and had the most pleasant and agreeable surroundings of any house in the town. This stately building fronted on that part of Washington Street (formerly known as Marlborough Street) opposite the head of Milk Street, with a handsome lawn in front, ornamented with large trees which shaded the house and added much to its imposing appearance. The house was built of brick, three stories in height, with a high roof and lofty cupola, the whole being surmounted by the figure of an Indian Chief, with a drawn bow and arrow, the handi- work of Deacon Shem Drowne of the North End, who made the grasshopper vane for the cupola of Faneuil Hall. The house was approached over a stone pavement and a high flight of massive stone steps and through a magnificent doorway which would compare favorably with those of the palaces of Europe. From the balcony over the generous entrance, the viceroys of the Province were accustomed to harangue the people or read proclamations. During the time of the Provincial Government, after its purchase, it was used by the Governors, but after the expulsion of the British from Boston in 1776, it was converted into accom- modations for officers in the transaction of public business. Much has been written of the days when it was the resi- dence of the Royal Governors. It was the social centre of the town, where routs and balls were held, where often gathered gay cavaliers in satin and velvet, and fair women resplendent in brocade and damask. One writer says: "The wise, the witty, gay and learned, the leaders in authority, in thought and in fashion, the flower of the old Provincial life, trouped in full tide through the wainscotted and tapes-
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tried rooms, and up the grand old winding staircase, with its carved balustrade and square landing places, to do honor to the hospitality of the martial Shute, the courtly Burnet, the gallant Pownal or the haughty Bernard When Pownal arrived in 1757, as Royal Governor of the Province, opposi- tion to the British Crown had divided the citizens into rival factions and the loyalists flocked to the Province House, where they held a miniature Court."
The same writer whom we have already quoted says: "The supporters of the Governor in gold lace, scarlet coats and powdered wigs loitered on the level lawn in front of the Governor's residence and smiled contemptuously on the soberly clad patriots, who muttered maledictions upon Pownal and lavish expenditures as they passed by."
Bernard succeeded Pownal and had a stormy administra- tion of nine years, for they were the days of the "Writs of Assistance." the "Stamp Act" and the introduction of Brit- ish redcoats to overawe the Colonists.
In 1775, Sir William Howe occupied the Province House, and once again it was the scene of social splendor. Minuets were danced there during the winter of 1775-1776, and many fair Tory maidens of Boston felt highly honored to be part- ners of Earl Percy, General Burgoyne, Sir Henry Clinton and the noble host, Sir William Howe. The young bloods made a brilliant appearance with their white, blue and scar- let coats, lavishly trimmed with gold and silver lace, em- broidered waistcoats, with gold kneebands, white silk stock- ings and high heeled shoes with great gold buckles.
Sir William Howe gave a grand ball a few weeks before he and his army sailed away from Boston. It was a mas- querade ball and was attended by officers of the British army and the leading Royalists of Boston. There was distress in Boston among the poor at this time owing to the siege, and a general gloom was over the town, for the lines of Wash- ington were tightly drawn. Sir William Howe thought he could hide this condition of things by a grand festivity. Hawthorne in his "Tales of the Province House" gives us quite a full description of this affair. The Americans were to be held up to ridicule by one group, who were dressed up in old regimental costumes, which looked as if they might have been worn in the old wars, they were so weather worn and shabby. The American Generals, George Wash- ington, Gates, Lee, Putnam and other officers of the patriot
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army, were absurdly represented. As one said, "they looked more like scarecrows than anything else." An interview be- tween these warriors and the elegantly attired and pompous British commander caused great merriment. While this burlesque was in progress a parade of citizens passed by the house with muffled drums and wailing trumpets, which so annoyed Sir William Howe that he went out and ordered it to disperse. Another feature of this last British ball in Boston was the representation of the Puritan Governors. Winthrop, Endicott, Vane, Dudley, Haynes, Bellingham and Leverett, coming down the grand staircase. Some thought it was a plot, but it was only a part of a very stupid play. Other Governors also appeared and the later ultra Royal Governors, and last the figure of General Howe, about to leave the Province. Howe, in a state of great excitement. clenching his hands, stamping his feet and cursing as he passed out. In less than one month from that time he really passed out of that house, never to return, and, prob- ably in the same frame of mind as had been depicted in caricature. When the Governor left the house that morn- ing in March, the key of the house was given to Esther Dudley, the housekeeper, who remained there several years and faithful in her adherence to the King. She always thought the British would return and recapture the Colony, and it is said she often climbed to the cupola, searching for a British fleet coming up the harbor or for an army of Red- coats. But the people of the town felt differently and their by-word was, "When the golden Indian on the Province House shall shoot his arrow, then look for the Royal Gov- ernor again." That Indian figure which stood on the cu- pola is now in the possession of the Massachusetts His- torical Society.
When the British troops and their Tory supporters sailed away from Boston the great social glory of the Old Prov- ince House forever departed. The State of Massachusetts used the building until the completion of the new State House on Beacon Hill.
In 1796, the Province House was sold to John Peck, but the bargain fell through on account of the inability of the purchaser to make payments and in 1799 the whole estate was reconveyed to the State and subsequently was granted by the State to the Massachusetts General Hospital. whose Trustees, in 1817, leased it to David Greenough, Esq., for
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the term of ninety-nine years. Subsequent to this last date this aristocratic and splendid old mansion was put to nearly all sorts of purposes. Its stately trees were cut down soon after the property was leased to Mr. Greenough. Then a row of brick houses and stores was built upon the line of the street, excluding the house from view until ap- proached through a narrow archway leading to the front door, and to the houses which had been erected in the rear of the Estate.
In 1851 the whole building was changed in appearance: the interior having been remodelled for the purpose of accommodating a company of vocalists, and it was at this time that the outside was covered with a coat of yellow mastice. At half-past five o'clock one October morning, the Province House was destroyed by fire, leaving only the walls standing. A part of the old wall forms one side of the present Old South Theatre Building. The fire, which originated in the upper story, was supposed to be the work of an incendiary. For some years prior to its destruction it was used as a place of entertainment.
There may be some old Bostonians living today who will remember the old Minstrel Company, known as "Morris Brothers Pell and Trowbridge," and the crowded audiences in the little hall of the Old Province House. Extensive and complete repairs were made and the Boston Tavern is on the old site. Province Street and Court from School Street to Bromfield Street were originally avenues leading to the stables of the Old Province House.
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THE OLD FEATHER STORE
To many old citizens of Boston, this old building, built in 1680, was a familiar landmark. It stood in Dock Square, on the corner of North Street and Market Square, and was built by Thomas Stanbury to replace a building destroyed by fire in 1679. For those days, that fire was as great as that of 1872. The fire started on North Street and raged
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DAUGIV MEDICINES
THOMAS HOLLIS
C
The Feather Store, Corner North Street
for 12 hours and levelled every building from Blackstone Street to Liberty Square and caused a loss of $1,000,000.
This old building, because of its many gables and the pro- jecting upper stories and its almost triangular shape, con- forming to the lot of land on which it stood was often called the "Cocked Hat." Simpson Brothers did an extensive business in feathers there, hence the name of "Feather Store." The old building was demolished in 1860.
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"From Historic Prints-published by the State Street Trust Company."
Bowdoin Square was at one time a very aristocratic sec- tion of the city. The cut represents the Bulfinch House, and dates back to 1715. It was built by Dr. Thomas Bulfinch, on land given to him by his wife's father, John Coleman, a
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Bulfinch House, Bowdoin Square
well-known and wealthy Boston Merchant. Charles Bul- finch, the architect of the State House and many other nota- ble buildings in the town, was a grandson of Dr. Bulfinch and was born in this house in 1763. A granite structure, known as the Coolidge Building, now occupies the site of the old house.
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On a bronze tablet on the front of a brown stone build- ing on Beacon Street, near the State House, may be read the following words:
Here stood the residence of John Hancock A prominent and patriotic merchant of Boston The first signer of the Declaration of Independence and First Governor of Massachusetts under the State Constitution
John Hancock House
This splendid old mansion, which many of the older Bostonians will remember, was a rare specimen of colonial architecture, and well fitted of itself, and by its situation, to be the official dwelling of the Governors of this Com- monwealth, as was proposed a few years previous to its demolition. Up to the middle of the last century, it stood practically as left by Hancock, and many of the furnishings and appointments were of his time. The house was built in 1737 by Thomas Hancock, a wealthy Boston bookseller,
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and occupied by him until his death in 1764. It was con- sidered the finest house of the colonial period in Boston. It was built of stone, and the original indenture "or speci- fication for the work, is still in existence.
Hancock imported from London, the window glass and wall paper for his new house, and trees and shrubs for his new gardens which would surround the house. All the seeds that were purchased, however, save the asparrow grass, refused to thrive in America. The Hancock House was located, approximately, in the centre of a square, bounded by Beacon Street in front, Derne Street in the rear. Joy Street on the right, and Bowdoin Street on the left."
John Hancock
Dorothy Quincy Hancock
Hancock's cows once browsed happily, where now rises the State House, with its glittering dome. "When Thomas Hancock conceived the idea of building a home for himself in the outskirts of the town, the good people of Salem marveled at the man's desire to get so far out in the fields." The house overlooked the Common, "the cow pasture." The main part of the house had a frontage of 58 feet. There was an east wing, presumably of wood, which was used by John Hancock as a ball room. This wing was
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removed to Allen Street in 1818. The principal features of the facade, were the broad front door at the head of a flight of stone steps, garnished with pillars, and an orna- mental door head, and the ornamental central window over it.
The high gambrel roof with dormer windows showed a carved balcony railing, enclosing its upper portion. The interior comprised a nobly paneled hall, having a broad staircase, with carved and twisted balusters, which divided the house in the middle, and extended through on both stories, from front to rear.
On the landing, part way up the staircase, was a circular headed window looking out upon the garden, with a broad and capacious window seat. On the entrance floor at the right of the hall, was the great dining room, sixteen by twenty-five feet, elaborately paneled from floor to ceiling. Until the widening of Beacon Street, the house stood well back from the street, on ground elevated above it. At that time the mansion had two large wings, the one on the east. containing, as we have already said, a large and spacious ball room.
The west wing was appropriated to the kitchen and other domestic purposes. Beyond the west wing was the coacli house and the stables. The gardens and fruit tree nurs- eries were still further in the rear, extending up the side of the then existing Beacon Hill, now covered by the annex to the State House. John Hancock seems to have been a great favorite with his wealthy uncle, who bequeathed to him the handsome sum of fifty thousand pounds sterling, and upon the death of Lydia Hancock, the widow of Thomas, this elegant and stately mansion became the property of John Hancock.
Hancock was a most active and prominent figure in the Revolutionary period and notwithstanding his great wealth he threw himself heart and soul into that great struggle for freedom, and in those days this old mansion witnessed many scenes of turmoil and festivity. During the occupa- tion of Boston by the British in 1775-1776, some of the British soldiers considered the property of so famous a rebel, as common spoil, and they broke into the house and stole many articles of value. It should be said to the credit of General Gage, the British Commander, that as soon as he heard of this wanton act he sent a guard to protect the
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property and prevent further depredations. It was well known that at this time there was no love lost between Gage and Hancock. It is possible that when General Gage first came to the Province he had been entertained by Han- cock in this almost royal mansion. If so, he must have retained a pleasant and most agreeable memory of Madame Dorothy Quincy Hancock, the bright and charming host- ess. The house was occupied during the greater part of the siege of Boston by Lord Percy of the British Regulars. General Clinton also occupied the house a portion of the time during the siege, and after the battle of Bunker Hill it was used as a hospital for the redcoats wounded in that fight. When the siege was raised and Hancock returned to his home he was still the lavish and generous entertainer and nearly all of the great men of that day sat around his board and partook of his hospitality.
Count D'Estaing, the French Naval Commander, and his officers, made a call upon the Hancocks, which was in the nature of a "surprise party," but Dorothy Q. was equal to the occasion. There is no doubt but that "the new Han- cocks were a gay set and they gave receptions and balls without number to the aristocracy of the town, and many a noted Bostonian passed back and forth through the door- way of this old and stately mansion. Here the genial and noble Lafayette was entertained. After the war when John Hancock became the Governor of the State, the official ceremonies at 'Uncle Tom's House' were more numerous. and courtly than anything of this kind since that time. Here Washington, the first President of the United States, paid that solemn 'return call' to the first Governor of Massachusetts in 1789."
One of the last and hardest fights which Hancock made as Governor was for state sovereignty. In September, 1793, only a month before he died, he said to the Legisla- ture, "I have in this case done no more than my duty, as a servant of the people. I never did and I never will deceive them while I have life and strength in their service."
Three weeks later the city was shocked by the news that "Governor Hancock is dead." A great military parade that was in preparation on the Common immediately broke up. His remains laid in state for one week in the hall of his mansion on Beacon Street. Thousands of people, rich and poor, some from a long distance, gazed upon the face of
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the patriot who fought so valiantly for their rights, and braved the wrath of an angry King and Parliament, know- ing that if the cause of Liberty failed in America, he and his compatriot, Samuel Adams, would meet the doom of traitors. His funeral took place October 14, 1793, and was a most imposing one, being a mile and a half long, with a large military escort. The procession starting from the Hancock House on Beacon Street, crossed the Common to Boylston Street, down Boylston Street to the Liberty Pole, on the corner of Washington and Essex Streets, thence to the Old State House around which they passed into Court Street, into Tremont Street to the Granary Burying Ground. As the procession moved from Court Street to the Burying Ground, minute guns continued firing. When John Hancock was laid to rest the military fired three vol- leys over his grave.
Samuel Adams succeeded John Hancock as Governor of the Commonwealth and at the opening of the General Court in January said: "It having pleased the Supreme Being since your last meeting, in His holy Providence to remove from this transitory life, our late excellent Gov- ernor Hancock, the multitude of his surviving fellow citi- zens, who have often given strong testimonials of their approbation of his important services, while they drop a tear, may certainly profit by the reflection of his virtues and patriotic example."
For over sixty years after the death of Hancock it was one of the finest and best preserved relics of Revolu- tionary times to be found in Boston or elsewhere, and viewed with great interest by the thousands who annually made pilgrimages to this historic town. In 1859 a measure was reported to the Legislature by an influential commit- tee, proposing the purchase of the house by the state, for the Governor's house, but the project failed. About that time there was a scheme to remove and re-erect the house in another location, but that project also failed. There was great regret among all classes of citizens at the de- struction of this famous house. Had some of them shown a little more zeal and earnestness it might have been stand- ing today. "The old material was sold to relic hunters and others of a more practical turn of mind, for whatever price could be obtained for it. Among the purchasers was the late Moses Kimball. who secured among other souvenirs,
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the front door of the old mansion, pieces of the ornamental balustrade, which surrounded a little portico above the door, and some lantern holders. Years later, these mementoes came into the possession of the Bostonian Society. The door is a massive affair of its kind, built of hard wood and strongly panelled by a workman who knew his craft well. The library lock on the inside indicates that Governor Hancock, as well as his uncle Thomas Hancock, who built the house, were more or less apprehensive of intruders at a time when such visitors would not be welcome." This famous door no longer swings in its honored place but re- poses quietly in the basement of the Old State House.
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The Stamp Act, 1765:1766
This "Stamp Act" to raise sixty thousand pounds was the prelude to the American Revolution, which cost England one hundred million pounds and the loss of her American Col- onies. When young George the Third ascended the English throne in 1760, William Pitt, then at the head of the Min- istry, went to St. James Palace and presented a sketch of an address to be made by the Monarch at a meeting of the Privy Council. The minister was politely informed that a speech was already prepared, and that every preliminary was ar- ranged. Pitt then perceived what many had already suspect- ed, that the Earl of Bute, an especial favorite of the young King's mother, was to be the leading spirit of his administra- tion. The pride of the great statesman was touched and he left the royal presence with clouded brow.
Bute came to the English Court as a needy adventurer and was utterly lacking in the qualities which make a statesman, but the young King chose him as his counsellor and guide, instead of the wise and sagacious Pitt, who had done so much for the glory of England during the reign which had just closed. Like Rehoboam, George "forsook the counsel which the old men gave him, and took counsel with the young men that were brought up with him, that stood before him." It was the bad counsel of his advisers that led King George to pursue the arbitrary course towards the American Colonies and that finally led to the dismemberment of the British Em- pire, and the independence of the Americans. The people at home and in the Colonies had a high regard for Pitt, and the King lost, at the very beginning of his reign, much of their favor by his ill advised course. Bute counselled the King to bring the American Colonies into absolute subjection, by force, if necessary, and also to change or abrogate their Charters. Acting under Bute's advice the King sent agents over the sea to travel in the Colonies, collect information about the char- acter and temper of the people, and bring together other facts and conclusions that would enable the ministry to judge what regulations and alterations might be safely made. Those
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agents performed their work in a very superficial manner and their erroneous conclusions led to trouble. The Colonists penetrated through their thin disguise as travelers. They knew that a movement was on foot to annul the Royal Char- ters, and the determination of King George and his ministers to force upon them an odious system of taxation. Writs of
The Liberty Tree
assistance were granted to officers of customs, giving them power to enter the stores and houses of the people in pursuit of their vocation. The Colonists rose en masse to resist this measure. The cherished theory of English liberties was that "Every man's house was his castle," which the meanest dep- uty, of a deputy's deputy, might not enter at will. Massachu- setts, and especially Boston, was looked upon by the King and his ministers as the head centre of Sedition, so it was here that the infamous units were first issued.
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