I ODD Dorchester WiLL'iAM Dana Orcutt ■^^V-- '•"".'•=C-X«^-*^^l*!-'!^ T D O A BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME FROM THE SAGE ENDOWMENT FUND THE GIFT OF 1891 , 1 ..^.X7.J.AS.. Good old Dorchester. A Narrative history oiin 3 1924 028 820 079 DATE D'^' Ag 5 - 3? % •1? /^ ^ 10Vi7l5 s&e.^jM&s5inr" -3 NARRATIVE HISTORY OF QooD Old Dorchester. By WILLIAM DANA ORCUTT. Illustrated with 32 full-page half-tones and several text cuts. Large 8vo, pp. 497. Bound in handsome maroon cloth, $4.00; in white vellum cloth, with gilt top, $5.00. ^ NARRATIVE history of the town of Dorchester, Massachusetts, /^l I has never before been published. The author has gathered together the most important part of the material existing on the subject, and has combined it in such a manner as to make it of interest not only to those famihar with the facts, but also to those who know little of the story, and who are desirous of learning something of the historic spots which surround them. The first three chapters tell the story of the foundation of the town, and its growth during the first two centuries. The fourth chapter describes the church customs, and gives the history of the beginning of each religious denomination in the town ; while Chap- ter V. contains a narrative account of the schools and schoolmasters. The sixth chapter treats of the romantic and interesting history of the "Early Homes" of the town, — the Barnard Capen, the Clapp, the Bridgham, the Pierce, the Minot, the Blake, the Gardner, the Ball Hughes, the Webster, the Withington, the Cummins, the Swan, the Mor- ton Pavilion, the Walter Baker, the Everett, the Taylor, the Newell, and the Codman houses. The seventh chapter continues the narrative from 1 86 1 down to the present time. It relates the part Dorchester took in the War of the Rebellion ; it gives accounts of the Pickwick Club ; of the adoption and significance of the Town Seal ; of the annexation to Boston ; of Capt. Ebenezer Eaton, Flavel Moseley, Dr. John P. Spooner, S. S. Pierce, Samuel Downer, Deacon Ebenezer Clapp, Dr. Erasmus D. Miller, John Pierce Clapp, Marshall P. Wilder, Thomas J. Allen, Hiram W. Blanchard, Mrs. Walter Baker, and Mrs. Lucy Stone ; of the 250th Anniversary Celebration, of the Dorchester Festival, of the Old Dorchester, the Central Athletic, the Dorchester Woman's, and the Codman clubs, and of the Dorchester Historical Society. It closes with a summary showing the growth of the town in every direction. WILL BE SENT POSTPAID ON RECEIPT OF PRICE BY JOHN WILSON & SON, UNIVERSITY PRESS, CAMBRIDGE, MASS. FOR SALE IN BOSTON BY LITTLE, BEOWN, & CO,, 254 'Washington St. GEORGE E. LITTLEFIELD, 67 Oomhill. DAMBELL & UPHAM, Old Oomer Bookstore, ESTES & LAUEIAT, 301 Washington Street, W, B, CLARKE & 00,, 240 Washington Street, Extracts from the Press, Etc. " It appeals to all students of American History." — Bos/on Budget. " Both in matter and manner, the work seems to me to be of a high type. It is full of interesting topics dealt with in an interesting manner. It is a work in which I think you should take great gratification." — Charles Francis Adams. " It is not only an excellent and attractive specimen of bookmaking, but is a volume of great historical value. It is the result of years of painstaking research ; and the author has given this result in a style which is not only attractive to antiquarians, but one which is also fascinating to the general reader." — Boston Advertiser. " Mr. Orcutt has made a book which is not only remarkably entertaining, but a book of large and permanent value, for which he deserves the gratitude of every native and resident of the good old town. It is brought out in most attractive form by the University Press of Cambridge. The paper is of the best, the type large and clear, and there are thirty-two full-page plates, many of them portraits, beside a number of wood engravings." — Boston Transcript. " Mr. Orcutt has compiled a valuable, handsome, and readable volume, which is worthy of the highest praise. More than this, if possible, might be said in behalf of the author, but it is not necessary. For those who are in any way interested in local history the book supplies a place, and covers such a ground that it is well nigh an indispensable work for students ; and general readers will find it more than entertain- ing." — Boston Journal. " Every one interested in the history of New England will be interested in ' Good Old Dorchester.' Mr. Orcutt has been remarkably industrious in securing his material, and has recast it in a most attractive narrative. The volume is not a dry collection of dates and records, but is enlivened with incident and graphic description. It is a worthy memorial of the old town which at last merged its identity in the city of Boston." — J?ev. Samuel J. Barrows, in the Christian Register. " The author has done well to cause the book to be printed in its present form. ... It is unnecessary to hint the importance of a book in design and execution containing so much vital to the historian. ... It gives us pleasure to commend this volume to the favorable attention of the public. The paper, print, and fine margins of the book, coming from the well-known University Press, are all that the most fastidi- ous lover of nice books need desire. It has also a good index. — William B. Trask, Esq., in the N. E. Hist, and Gen. Register. " It is a valuable addition to the histories of our old New England towns, which are becoming so numerous. The present work is prepared on a more popular and literary plan than the ordinary town history; and the material upon such topics as Dorchester churches, Dorchester schools, and early Dorchester homes, is gathered into special chapters in a way that makes the pages most inviting to the ordinary reader. The work is the result of rare industry and enthusiasm, and Mr. Orcutt deserves the thanks, not only of the good people of Dorchester, but of all who are interested in our New England history." — New Englatid Magazine. " I must forward a compliment which comes to you from my sister, a native of Dorchester, who has been living in Germany for the last forty years. On receipt of your history, sent to her by one of her brothers, she writes,: ' You have given me the greatest pleasure I have known for some time in sending me " Good Old Dorchester." I have contented myself this morning with looking over the old familiar faces and portraits, and I promise myself much pleasure in reading the whole book through.' ... All the illustrations in your book are excellent, being as perfect as art can make them." — William C. Codnian. " ' Good Old Dorchester ' is a narrative history, the like of which is seldom pub- lished anywhere. . . . The spirit of the olden times lives and breathes in this story as a part of its vital power. Mr. Orcutt has made the history of an ancient Puritan town interesting. He has put color into his narrative, and caught the tints and hues that our best writers have imparted to it. . . . This volume is to be warmly commended for its admirable literary spirit. It is written by one who knows how to separate the gold from the dross, and who has for the first time pointed out how the narrative _ history of a notable Puritan town may be presented so as to interest both old and young in the narrative. It is a volume which has the note of distinction throughout. Mr. Orcutt has not consciously done a great piece of work, but he has pointed out how town histories may be divested of their usual dulness, and has given us a modest and model volume on one of the great towns of Massachusetts. Mr. Orcutt has made the narrative history of ' Good Old Dorchester ' so real and lifelike that it will be read and enjoyed as no other town history ever written in New England has been read and enjoyed before. The pictures in this volume are a substantial addition to its value. They are good likenesses of the great men whom Dorchester has bred, excel- lent pictures of the homes in which they lived, and curious reproductions of what is notable in New England history. Mr. Orcutt has abstained from all the claptrap that is usually the padding of a New England town history ; and his volume is to be warm- ly commended for its freshness, the picturesque treatment of the subject, and the in- tegrity of the narrative. It is a book that ought to be owned by every reputable citizen of Dorchester. It makes one feel that there was something grand and noble in the lives and homes of our New England fathers, and greatly increases our respect for them." — Boston Herald. " Both the literary and the mechanical contents and execution of this elegant and well-wrought volume are suggestive of the high appreciative estimate of some further attractiveness of interest and dignity which the subject presented for a writer well qualified to deal with it. The affectionate epithet in the title of it is itself suggestive and significant. The writer knew he had a theme to deal with which, in the interest and importance of results, developed from modest and frugal elements, threw back upon those concerned in the first settlement of the town, and in the administration of the rude and primitive affairs incident to a vrilderness planting, claims of gratitude on their posterity. The author of this admirable volume has substantially taken the three words of the town seal, which mean ' piety, learning, and industry,' as his guides in his intelligent tracing of the history of ' Good Old Dorchester ' through the three currents, now strong and earnest, into which were directed the rills opened by the first settlers. The church, the school-house, the mill, and the tilled fields form the central forces which have transformed a section of the original New England wilder- ness to a region of beauty, high prosperity, refined dwelling-places, churches peace- fully dispensing their several forms of religion, cultivated gardens, and busy factories. Our Dorchester claims among us the honor of establishing the first town-meeting and the first free school. It has had its full share of ministers, magistrates, and men of a generous public spirit. These are all faithfully presented and portrayed by the author of this volume. He is candid, impartial, and discriminating in his judgment. He has been at much labor, in his investigations, in gathering and testing traditions, and in preserving for his readers enough of the hue, the spirit, and the speech of the past to offer us a verisimilitude of the now far-off age with the actors in it. Portraits there are of many of the old worthies, and of some of their successors in office and dignities. Many old homes, from the farm-house to some of the bumptious mansions of a few prospered magistrates and merchants of a later period, suggest an aristocratic element which had its day here. The Colonial and the Provincial times are set forth with some distinctive characteristics. Home life, especially of the earliest period, is to be imagined in its elements and pictures from the manifold materials and hints relating to the men and women as they appear and do their parts on the scene. The religious divisions, which have their place in the history of all our older towns, were attended with less acrimony here. The chapter on the schools and their teachers is concise and full of information. A chapter relating to a modern period well connects the new with the old. In many respects we regard this volume as a model in the method of its construction and in the tone and spirit with which it deals with anti- quated and outgrown principles and usages which none the less have their claims on our respect and gratitude." — Dr. George E. Ellis, in the Christian Register. 222 GOOD OLD DOECHESTEE. [1630. For many years tlie singing was done wholly by rote. Certain tunes became traditions in tbe churcbes, and were handed down from generation to generation ; and it was not until the introduction of choirs had begun to take the place of the practice of lining-out, in the latter part of the eighteenth century, that there was much demand for tune- books. " With the choir came the singing-school, which in the New England village became the standard evening recreation, and with the singing-school a constantly widen- ing circle of men and women who could sing more or less accurately and effectively from note." The church orchestra retained a strong hold on the people, but organs were used in Boston as early as 1711. The Second Parish in Dorchester had one soon after its incorporation ; but the First Parish refused to accept the innovation until 1841. In the early colonial days the churches had no stoves ; and the pious worshippers were compelled to sit through these long services with nothing more comfortable than foot-warmers, which were brought from home. In the First Parish, these foot-warmers were given into the charge of " Uncle Daniel " Davenport, the sexton. It was a familiar sight for many years to see Uncle Daniel and his son enter the church on Sunday mornings, and dis- tribute the foot-warmers in , the various pews. Judge Sewall records in his diary instances when the congrega- tion must have suffered greatly from the frigid atmosphere. " The communion bread was frozen pretty hard," he says, " and rattled sadly into the plates." Again he writes : "Extraordinary cold storm of wind and snow. Bread frozen at the Lord's table, yet was very comfortable at- meeting." He refers to an exceedingly cold Sunday, when there was " great coughing " in meeting, in spite of which a new-born baby was brought into the icy church to be baptized, — it being the custom to carry the children to the meeting-house for baptism the first Sunday after they were [Specimen Page and Margins.] Cornell University Library The original of tiiis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924028820079 VIEW FROM MOUNT BOWDOIN. FROM OLD WATER-COLOR. Good Old Dokchestee. a I9arratii)e l^istorp of t\)t Coton. 1630-1893. BY WILLIAM DANA ORCUTT. We may build more splendid habitations, Fill our rooms with paintings and with sculptures. But we cannot Buy with gold the old associations. Longfellow; Golden Milestone. CAMBRIDGE : PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR. Snijn asatlson & Son, ?anilin»itB Press. 1893. K-']^\'hi Copyright, 1891, By William Daha Oecutt. Ea Mu Jatlier, HIRAM ORCUTT, LL.D., TOi&oat ILtfe fias htzn an Inspiring lEiantpIe, THIS WORK 18 AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED. ^^^g ^^s ^ffi I^ ^^a ^=^^i ^^^s ^^^ "^"^ ^s^ c^^^^^» ^^^^^^M ^^^^ ^^^ ^^^^% .JCli^ss::^^^^ >^>^€&5:si>*^ ^^^^'^ifeaiid ^^^^ ^^^^%5^ PREFACE. |HE ancient town of Doechester, Massachu- setts, offers a fruitful field for the his- torical student. It is not possible for one to examine the events which have occurred during the two hundred and sixty-three years of its exist- ence without becoming filled with a desire to become better acquainted with the men whose actions shaped the town as it grew from its small beginning, and who established the noble institutions which will always keep alive the beloved name of " Dorchester." The author of this volume, was impressed with the fact that, in spite of the existence of rich traditions and associations, a large portion of the inhabi- tants of the town had but little knowledge of them. The only complete history of Dorchester, published in 1859 by the Dorchester Antiquarian and His- torical Society, has for some years been out of print. Blake's "Annals," printed in 1846, found a place in the libraries of those especially interested in the Vlll PEEFACE. early records, but was not popularly known among the citizens. Dr. Harris's " Chronological and Topo- graphical Account " of the town, published in 1804, covered but a small portion of the history, as he intended later to issue a comprehensive volume on the subject. The Kecord Commissioners of Boston, in 1879, printed the first volume of the Town Records of Dorchester, — accomplishing an invaluable ser- vice in preserving for posterity these historical doc- uments ; and in 1892 the Rev. Samuel J. Barrows and Mr. William B. Trask performed a like service, in editing the Records of the First Church. To all these earlier publications the author acknowledges his indebtedness. A narrative history of the town, however, has never before been published. The author has attempted to gather together the most important part of the material existing on the subject, and to combine it in such a manner as to make it of in- terest not only to those familiar with the facts, but also to those who know little of the story, and who are desirous of learning something of the historic spots which surround them. To accomplish this, it has been necessary to omit all genealogies ; as these, while of inestimable value to an exhaustive work, are not of interest to the general reader, and do not properly belong to the narration. Mention has been made, however, of the more important of the PEBFACB. IX inhabitants of the town, with a view to show- ing the influence they wielded, and the effect of their labors. Every effort has been made to prevent errors of fact or date from appearing in these pages ; but the author cannot hope to escape the fate of all those who venture to tread in historical paths. In all cases possible, however, the authorities which have been consulted have been verified by comparison. When the history appeared in serial form in the ■' Dorchester Beacon," criticism and additions were invited, with a view to avoid, if possible, misstate- ments or omissions. The author begs to take this opportunity grate- fully to acknowledge the uniform kindness and courtesy with which his requests for information have been received. Without the co-operation of many citizens of the town, the publication of this volume would have been almost impossible. Ac- knowledgment should especially be made to Mr. William B. Trask, who has carefully examined the proof-sheets, making invaluable corrections and sug- gestions ; to Mr. John Wilson, whose advice has been of great value, and to whom the typographical appearance of the book is due ; to Dr. Benjamin Gushing, Mr. William C. Codman, and Mrs. Mary F. Freeman, for untiring efforts in the interests of the work ; and also to others who have generously X PREFACE. contributed their time and labor. Thanks are also due to the House Art Company, to the "New Eng- land Magazine," and to Ticknor & Company, for kind permission to reproduce certain illustrations. With these few words the author presents this volume to his readers. If he has succeeded in making the story of Good Old Doechester more familiar to those interested in her prosperity, his labors have not been in vain. WILLIAM DANA ORCUTT. November, 1893. TABLE OF CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. Page Colonial Times. 1630-1688 . 19 CHAPTER II. Provincial Times. 1689-1783 . 87 CHAPTER III. FkoM THE Revolution to the Rebellion. 1784-1860 . 145 CHAPTER IV. Dorchester Churches 215 CHAPTER V. Dorchester Schools 289 CHAPTER VI. Earlt Dorchester Homes 355 CHAPTER VII. Modern Times. 1861-1893 418 INDEX 483 LIST OF ILLUSTEATIOIS^S. PAGE View feom Mount Bowdoin Frontispiece Half-tone, from an old water-color in the possession of Dr. W. C. B. Fifield. The Swan House 25 Half-tone, from a photograph. Richard Mather 37 Wood-cut, following a photograph taken from the original picture in the collection of the American Antiquarian Society, at Worcester, Mass. The Tuttle House 53 Half-tone, from a photograph. The Blake House 63 Half-tone, from a photograph. The Minot House 75 Wood-cut, from an old engraving. John Eliot 93 Wood-cut, from a photogi-aph of a portrait. William Stoughton 103 Wood-cut, following a portrait now hanging in Memorial Hall, at Cambridge. Old Church, built in 1743 117 Half-tone, from an old engraving in the possession of the Clapp family. Washington at Dorchester Heights 127 Wood-out, from a portrait by Stuart, painted in nine days, in 1806. The Barnard Capen House . 137 Half-tone, from a photograph. xiv LIST OF ILLTJSTEATIONS. Captain John Pekcival 155 Half-tone, from a photograph. The Pierce House 165 Half-tone, from a photograph. The Codman House 175 Half-tone, from a photograph. The Eveeett House 185 Half-tone, from a photograph. The Neponset Eivee, above Mattapan 197 Half-tone, from a photograph. Edward Everett 205 Wood-cut, following a portrait hy G. Stuart Newton. First Parish Church 225 Half-tone, from a photograph. Thaddeus Mason Harris 243 Wood-cut, from a miniature likeness in possession of his daughtero John Codman 261 Half-tone, from a photograph, following original picture now hanging in Second Parish Church. Nathaniel Hall 273 Half-tone, from a photograph. Signatures to School Document in 1641 294 Process-cut, from a photograph of the original document. The Mather School-House 337 Half-tone, from a photograph. The Henry L. Pierce School-House 355 Half-tone, from a photograph. "A Puritan Family," showing the Minot Cradle . . 367 Half-tone, from a photograph. The Ball Hughes House 387 Half-tone, from a water-color. The Taylor House 407 Half tone, from a photograph. Second Parish Church 423 Half-tone, from a photograph. Ebenezer Eaton 441 Half-tone, from a photograph. LIST OP ILLUSTRATIONS. XV 459 Ebenezer Clapp Half-tone, from a photograph. Lucy Stone 473 Half-tone, from a photograph. Ship of the XVIIth Centcry, of the class to which THE " Maey and John " belonged 86 Process-cut, from a map in Dudley's " Arcano del Mare," 1647. Eliot's Chaie 95 Process-cut, from a drawing. Tombstone of Clement Topliff 288 Process-cut, from a photograph. Title-page of Fibst Book Printed in Boston . . , 312 Process-cut, from a photograph. A View of the Watering-Place at Tinian .... 412 Process-cut, from a copper-plate illustration. Lock of Dining-Room Door, Taylor House .... 417 Process-cut, from a drawing. Dorchester Town Seal 429 Wood-cut, from a drawing. John Smith . . . George Minot Israel Stoughton Nathaniel Duncan Thomas Hawkins . John Phillips . . . . 23 Humphrey Atherton 70 . . 27 IJoPESTiLL Foster . 81 . . 27 Roger Clap . . . 92 . . 34 Eichakd Mather . 230 . . 56 John Foster . . . 313 . . 57 GOOD OLD DORCHESTER. A NARRATIVE HISTORY OF THE TOWN. 1630-1893. GOOD OLD DORCHESTER. CHAPTER I. COLONIAL TIMES. 1630-1688. ijHE Puritan movement dates back to the Elizabethan era. Queen Mary had sav- agely persecuted the Reforming element in the Church of England, sending to the stake Archbishop Cranmer, Bishops Ridley and Latimer, and nearly three hundred others, in her endeavor to crush out the rising spirit of free thought. The welcome death of the Bloody Queen, in 1558, had raised a hope in the hearts of the people; but a new danger now presented itself. The English exiles, during their sojourn abroad, had adopted a type of Reformed religion which differed from that used by their own Church, and this they endeavored to force upon the Church of England. Queen Elizabeth favored ceremonial ; while the foreign Reformers put themselves in opposition to everything in the ritual which suggested the Roman Catholic religion. The latter, who came to be known as " Puritans," from the fact that they professed to follow the pure word of God, in opposition to all tra- ditions and human constitutions, thus found little sym- pathy from those in authority. 20 GOOD OLD DOKCHESTBE. [1630. At this time the Prayer-book was reviewed, and the changes then made tended to increase rather than to lessen the ceremonial. This the queen ordered to be -vigorotislj enforced, and the Puritans were compelled to take decisive steps. Some immediately separated from the Church (1566) ; while others sought to devise plans for evading the laws, and still keeping their benefices. By degrees Elizabeth removed the ministers who were known to favor the Puritan movement, until, ia 1583, she was surrounded by those on whom she could depend to carry out her wishes. Archbishop Whitgift, the primate who succeeded Grindal, was a severe disciplinarian, and he applied the subscription list with much more thorough- ness than any of his predecessors. This increased the number of dissenters, but produced conformity in the Church. When it became evident to the Puritans that legislative relief was impossible, they, unwisely, began to write libels against the bishops and the clergy, untU, iu 1593, an act was passed which made Puritanism an offence against the statute law. It was from this date that the emigra^ tion of the Puritans began. " The fundatio perficiens, — the real foundations of Plymouth and Massachusetts," — says Edward Everett, " are to be sought, not in the patent of James or the charter of Charles, with their grant of zones of territory from the Atlantic to the Pacific, but in the stern text of this act of 1593." The accession of James I. to the throne caused the Puritans to entertain expectations of relief. On the con- trary, however, they received no more consideration from him than from his predecessor, and found that they must expect harsh treatment unless they conformed to the laws. The Puritans of Massachusetts, while opposed to the ceremonial of the ancient Church, did not belong to the violent school of the " Separatists," as the more radical of 1630.] COLONIAL TIMES. 21 the Reformers were called. They regarded the established Church of England as a true Church, but found it a burden upon their consciences not to be allowed to worship "after their own light." Soon after Charles I. ascended the throne, they determined to execute the plan which they had meditated for some years. In the New World, they thought, they could, without a formal separation from the Church of England, enjoy the more simple and unos- tentatious forms of worship which were forbidden them in the land of their birth. It was for this purpose, therefore, that in the year 1630 a goodly company of determined men and women, chiefly from the counties of Devon, Dorset, and Somerset, gathered together at Old Plymouth, making preparations to sail with their families and possessions to a land of which they knew so little, and yet from which they hoped so much. Chief among the company, besides the ministers, were Messrs. Clap, Rossiter, Ludlow, Glover, Johnson, Terry, Smith, Gallope, Hull, Stoughton, Cogan, Hill, Southcote, Lovell, Duncan, Pinney, Richards, Way, Williams, and Tilly. Thus quaintly does the ancient chronicler record the beginning of the movement which cost England so many of her best yeomen : — ' ' When many most Godly and Religious People that Dis- sented from y* way of Worship then Established by Law in y' Realm of England, in y^ Reign of King Charles y^ first, being denied y* free exercise of Religion after y* manner they professed according to y° light of God's Word and their own consciences, did under y^ Incouragement of a Charter Granted by y« S* King, Charles, in y^ Fourth^Year of his Reign, A. D. 1628, Remoue themselues & their Families into y* Colony of y' Massachusetts Bay in New-England, that they might Wor- ship God according to y^ light of their own Consciences, without any burthensome Impositions, which was y^ very motive & cause of their coming ; Then it was, that the First Inhabitants of Dorchester came ouer, & were y' first Company 22 GOOD OLD DOEOHESTBK. [1630. or Church Society that arriued here, next to y* Town of Salem who was one year before them." ^ A commoii purpose made these people, who were almost unknown to each other, the closest friends. The Rev. John White, of Trinity Parish, Dorchester, in Dorset, had been the means of persuading them to make this strike for liberty and happiness ; and we can imagine him moving among them, with a word of encouragement for the faint-hearted ones, a bright smile and a firm hand- shake for the stout-hearted, and with a confidence and firmness in his manner which inspired all with faith and courage. This was not the first proof of Mr. White's sympathy with the emigration movement. He had given his assistance and money to the settlers at Plymouth, and had encour- aged the Old Dorchester fishermen in their voyages to American waters. The failure of a settlement he at- tempted at Cape Ann in 1624, under Roger Conant, in order to furnish a trading-post for the fishermen on the coast, only stimulated him to greater efforts; and he threw his whole heart and soul into this new enterprise. Rev. John White has been termed "the Patriarch of Dorchester " by his contemporaries, and " the father of the Massachusetts Colony " by later writers. He sympathized with the Puritans ; but, as he did not regard the ceremonial to be of vital importance, he did not separate from the Church. His moderation, however, made him unpopular with the authorities, and the cavalry of Prince Rupert destroyed his house and carried away his library, forcing him to go to London. He is said to have been a man who was " grave, yet without moroseness, who would willingly contribute his shot of facetiousness on any just occasion." He " had an excellent faculty in the clear and solid interpre- tation of the scriptures," and " had a patriarchal influence both in Old and New England." He was rector of Trinity 1 Blake's Annals of the Town of Dorchester, p. 7 (1846). 16S0.] COLONIAIi TIMES. 23 Parish for over forty years, yet New Dorchester, within whose boundaries the venerable old man never set foot, probably remembers him better than does Old Dorchester, in whose behalf he labored so long; for no stone marks his burial-place. What better monument than that which his own exertions raised for him in the New World ! Feeling that the bond of union must be made as strong as possible, the emigrants met together in the new hospi- tal in Plymouth, and associated themselves into church fellowship, choosing Mr. John Maverick and Mr. John Warham, two well-known preachers, to be their ministers and leaders. The early part of the day was occupied by a farewell sermon by Mr. White, and the latter part in completing arrangements for the voyage. They set sail from Pljrmouth on the 20th day of March, 1630, in the "Mary and John," a ship of four hundred tons' burden, commanded by Captain Squeb. While the voyagers are patiently waiting for the sight of their new home, let us take a glance at the coast toward which they are steering. No one knows who was the dis- coverer of Boston Harbor ; but the first record of it was made in 1614, by Captain John Smith, who sailed that year to America from England, on a voyage of discovery. It was he who gave the coast the name of "New England," sailing up and down with a crew of eight men, exploring the bays and harbors from the Penobscot River to Cape Cod. While on these trips he traded with the Indians, and gave names to the different localities he visited. When he returned to England, he drew a map of the " New England coast," on which there is a bay, with eight small islands in it, and into which a river, named by him the " Charles," jflowed. There is little doubt that this was the Boston Harbor of to-day, including Dorchester Bay ; but the map seems to -+cr (S^^* 24 GOOD OLD DORCHESTER. [1630. show that Smith never entered the Charles River, his knowledge of it, as shown in his writings, ha\dng been acquired from Winslow and others who possessed more accurate information.^ It is unfortunate that we cannot tell who Captain Smith's predecessors were. There is no doubt that the French were in this vicinity before him ; for Smith writes in his account that the French had defeated one of the principal objects of his voyage, by buying furs of the Indians. Then, again. Governor Winthrop says in his Journal that Deputy-Governor Ludlow found two pieces of French money, coined in 1596, when digging a cellar in Dorchester in 1631. While Captain Smith was the first to mention Boston Harbor, we are indebted to Captain Miles Standish for the earliest accurate description of it. One of the first excur- sions made by this militant Pilgrim, together with ten of his sturdy "army," was to explore this harbor; and he brought back such a favorable report that the Pilgrim fathers regretted that they had not settled somewhere on its shores. The Rev. John White, encouraged by the reported suc- cesses of the first colonists, interested prominent persons in London in projecting a new settlement in Massachusetts Bay, and obtained a patent from the king. By the terms of this patent the Colony was to be governed by a court composed of a governor, deputy-governor, and eighteen assistants, whose jurisdiction was to extend from three miles south of the Charles River to three miles north of the Merrimac, and from the Atlantic Ocean to the South Sea. Preparations were made to gather emigrants for a great colony, and a fleet of fourteen vessels was the result. The " Mary and John " was the first of the fleet to arrive, having on board one hundred and forty souls.^ Among the passengers was Captain Roger Clap, to whom we are 1 Prince's AnnaU, p. 128. ^ Savage's Winthrop, p. 368 (1825). THE SWAN HOUSE. 1630.] COLONIAL TIMES. 27 indebted for an interesting and accurate account of what happened to the party .^ Every effort was made to have this company composed of the elements necessary for the formation of a strong community. The two ministers, Maverick and Warham, were selected, not only to take charge of the spiritual welfare of the Plantation, but also to preach the gospel to the Indians. Rosseter ^ and Ludlow, acting in the j^iSrCr^f^p)' ^^T^-ll^off capacity of Assistants, or Directors, of the stockholders, were men of such character and education as might give strength and stability to the Colony. Men such as Henry Wolcott, Thomas Ford, George Dyer, William Gaylord, William Rockwell, and William Phelps had good standing as the older members of 'the party. Captains John Mason and Richard South- cote, and Quartermaster John Smith possessed military experience, and could direct ^_^/ ^V-/r? ■^> ^'^ defences agaiust the In- ~ ■ in-Ct/n (jians. The largest portion of the company naturally con- sisted of young men, such as Israel Stoughton, Roger Clap, George Minot, George Hall, Richard CoUicot, and Nathaniel Duncan, — an active, well-trained element, which did much in effecting the permanent settlement. The voyage, though a long one, was not uncomfortable, and the ship reached " Nantasket Point," the present Hull, on the 30th of May (O. S.), 1630. The landing showed the calm spirit which had taken possession of these emi- grants. One by one they left the " Mary and John ; " and as their feet touched the soil of the New World, each offered a silent prayer of thanksgiving. Then, after all had assembled, they are said^ to have joined in the fol- lowing hymn : — 1 Memoirs of Roger Clap (1630). 2 Programme of the Celebration of the Two Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary of the First Parish of Dorchester. ^ 28 GOOD OLD DORCHESTER. [1630. HYMN. Thou Lord hast beene our sure defence, Our place of ease and rest ; In all times past, yea, so long since. As cannot be exprest. Refresh us with thy mercy soone, And then our joy shaU be : AU times so long as time shall last In heart re Joyce shall we. O let thy worke and power appeare. And on thy servants light : And shew unto thy children deare. Thy glory and thy might. Lord let thy grace and mercy stand On us thy servants thus : Confirme the workes we take in hand, Lord, prosper them to us. It had. been imderstood that the voyagers were to be brought to the Charles River ; but owing either to a misun- derstanding or to perversity on the part of Captain Squeb, they were put ashore on the Point, — "a forlorn wilderness, destitute of any habitation and most other comforts of life." The foUovTing description of the entrance to the harbor, by William Wood, in 1634, justifies Captain Squeb in his unwillingness to enter a channel of which he was totally ignorant : — "It is a fafe and pleafant Harbour within, having but one common and fafe entrance, and that not very broad, there fcarce being roome for 3. Ships to come in board and board at a time, but being once within, there is roome for the anchorage of 500. Ships. "This Harbour is made by a great company of Hands, whofe high Cliffes fhoulder out the boiftrous Seas, yet may eafily deceiue any unfkilfuU Pilote ; prefenting many f aire openings and broad founds, which afford too fhallow waters for 1630.] COLONIAL TIMES. 29 any Ships, though navigable for Boates and fmall pinnaces. The entrance into the great Haven is called Nantafhot ; which , is two leagues from Bojlon ; this place of it self e is a very good Haven, where Ships commonly caft Anchor, untiU Winde and' Tyde ferve them for other places ; from hence they may fayle to the River of Weffagufcus, Naponfet, Charles River, and Mifticke River, on which Rivers bee feated many Townes." * A party of ten, under the command of Captain Southcote, procured a boat, and started up the harbor and Charles River to find a suitable place for a settlement. They first landed on the peninsula which is now known as Charlestown, where they found some Indians, in vrigwams,' and an Englishman named Thomas Walford, who was living in a thatched house. He accompanied them when they continued their expedition up the river to the site of the present Watertown. Here they had a friendly inter- view with the Indians, the old trader acting as interpreter ; and it was decided to make the settlement on this spot. In the mean time those who were left behind had not been idle. Word was received by the exploring party at Watertown that a neck of land had been found, joining a place called by the Indians " Mattapan," which offered a suitable place for the cattle to feed. The settlement was made at Mattapan, therefore, about the first of June (0. S.), 1630. The site selected was near what is now Pleasant and Cottage Streets, on Allen's Plain and Rock Hill, the present Savin Hill. Many of the emigrants were trading men, and at first intended to make Dorchester a place of trade. With this in mind, a fort was built upon Rock Hill, and several pieces of ordnance were placed in position near the water. The channel, however, proved poor, and the landing difficult; so the idea was given up, and Boston and Charlestown became the ports for trade instead. 1 New England's Prospect, p. 2 (1635). 30 GOOD OLD DOEOHESTER. [1630. A month after the settlement of the Dorchester colo- nists, the rest of the fleet, with Governor Winthrop's " Arbella " at the head, arrived at Salem, and decided to settle on a point of land which was called " Charlestovm," in honor of Charles I. They remained here but a short time, however, moving across the river to Shawmut (which means "near the neck"), as the present Boston was then called.! Thus Dorchester was the first settlement in what is now Suffolk County; but it was not until four months later that it received the name by which it is now known. An entry on the Massachusetts Records shows that at "A Court of Assistants holden att Charlton, the 7th of Sep- tember, 1630," it was ordered, that " Trimountaine shalbe called Boston; Mattapan, Dorchester, & the towne vpon Charles Ryver, Waterton." ^ Blake tells us that he never heard why the name " Dorchester " was chosen, " but there was some of Dorset Shire and some of y° Town of Dor- chester that settled here ; and it is very likely it might be in Honour of y' aforesaid Revd. Mr. "White of Dorchester." ^ With this probable derivation, it is interesting to see where Old Dorchester obtained its name. In very remote ages the region thereabouts was inhabited by a clan called " Durotriges." This people was later reduced to the dominion of the Romans by Vespasian, and the spot which was afterwards called Dorchester was known as " Dumovaria," — a name derived from two Celtic words, Bwr, or Dwyr, and Var, which signify "water" and "way." Thus the name meant " water-way," or channel. Later, Vespasian made the town the seat of government for that part of the country, and its name was changed to 1 Shawmut, afterwards called Blaxtan's Neck, and since Boston, was not settled till the spring after by Governor Winthrop and his people. — rBBDiNANDO GoEGBS : Description of New England (1659). ^ Records of Massachusetts, vol. i. p. 75 (1853). « Blake's Annals of the Town of Dorchester, p. 8 (1846). 1630.] COLONIAL TIMES. 31 *' Dorchester." * Here the Romans built fortifications, and near by they erected the largest Roman amphitheatre in England, the circuit of which still remains. In the times of the Saxon kings, the town was a stronghold ; later, it was stormed by the Danes ; and, under a violent Norman governor, one hundred of its one hundred and eighty houses were destroyed. It is now a prosperous city, " whose most honored memorial, in after times," says an American statesman, " will be that it gave origin to this, its American namesake, and impulse to one of the noblest enterprises of transatlantic colonization." The only European whose name has come down to us as a resident of Dorchester, before the arrival of the " Mary and John," is David Thompson. He settled on the island which still bears his name, and there carried on his trade, dealing in furs and fish. Thompson probably left Dorchester soon after the arrival of the first settlers, as no mention is made of him after that date. It is thought that William Trevour preceded Thompson, but nothing authentic is known in regard to his movements. The land which the early settlers had chosen for their abode belonged to the tribe of Indians known as the "Massachusetts," whose chief was Chickataubut. In 1621 he had signed a treaty with the English at Plymouth, and in 1630 further showed his good-will toward the new- comers by consenting to the occupancy of Dorchester. We do not know just what the Indian chief received in return, but it is certain that the transaction was completed on satisfactory terms. It is a severe portrait which the first two years of the Colony present to us. The New England of two hundred and sixty-three years ago did not offer a kindly settlement to the brave emigrants who sought to break into its austerity. The ground had to be cleared before even the ^ History of Dorchester, In the County of Dorset, pp. 61-66. 32 GOOD OLD DOECHESTEE. [1631. rude huts could be reared, and the trees felled before a space could be found to plant the seeds necessary to pre- vent starvation. On the coast the settlers found nothing to break their desolation. Wet meadows and oozy creeks prevented them from going in one direction, while unfordable tide- water rivers interfered with their progress in another. Utterly ignorant of the character of the country, it is not strange that imagination added to the real terrors which surrounded them, and made them feel that safety was not to be found anywhere. " Unearthly cries were sometimes heard in the crackling woods," said Edward Everett in his Fourth of July oration in Dorchester in 1855; "glimpses were caught, at dusk, of animals for which natural history had no names ; and strange foot-marks, which men did not like to speak of, were occasionally seen in the snow." Added to this was the terror of rattle- snakes, with which the country swarmed, and of dangerous animals which prowled about by night. The Indians, too, whose disposition toward the white men was entirely unknown, were a source of anxiety night and day. Rufus Choate strikingly described the early sufferings of the Puritans when he said, — "Do you not think that -whoso could, by adequate descrip- tion, bring before you that winter of the Pilgrims, its brief sunshine, the nights of storm, slow waning, the damp and icy breath, felt to the pillow of the dying ; its destitutions ; its contrast with all their former experience in life ; its utter insulation and loneliness ; its death-beds and burials ; its memories ; its apprehensions ; its hopes ; the counsels of the prudent ; the prayers of the pious ; the occasional cheerful hymn, in which the strong heart threw off its burthen, and asserting its unvanquished nature, went up like a bird of dawn to the skies, — do ye not think that whoso could describe them calmly waiting in that defile, lonelier and darker than Thermo- pylae, for a morning that might never dawn, or might show 1631.] COLONIAX, TIMES. 33 them, when it did, a mightier arm than the Persian raised as in act to strike, would he not sketch a scene of more difficult and rarer heroism? A scene, as Wordsworth has said, ' Melancholy, yea dismal, yet consolatory and full of joy ; ' a scene even better fitted to succor, to exalt, to lead the forlorn hopes of all great causes, till time shall be no more ! " ^ Captain Clap also gives us a vivid picture of the priva- tions and suffering that the people went through : — " Oh y° Hunger that many suffered, and saw no hope in an Eye of Reason to be supplyed, only by Clams, & Muscles, and Fish ; and Bread was so very Scarce, that sometimes y^ very crusts of my Father's Table would have been very Sweet unto me : And when I could have Meal & Water & Salt, boiled together, it was so good, who could wish better? And it was not accounted a strange thing in those Days to Drink water, and to eat Samp or Homine without Butter or Milk. Indeed it would have been a strange thing to see a piece of Roast Beef, Mutton or Veal; tho' it was not long before there was Roast Goat." 2 Again writing of the hardships, Captain Clap says, — "And in those days, in our Straits, though I cannot say God sent a Haven to feed us, as He did the Prophet Elijah, yet this I can say to the Praise of God's Glory, that He sent not only poor, ravenous Indians, which came with their Baskets of Corn, on their Backs to trade with us, which was a good Supply unto many ; but also sent Ships from Holland and from Ireland with Provisions, and Indian Corn from Virginia, to supply the "Wants of his dear Servants in this "Wilderness, both for Food and Rayment.'" It would not have been remarkable if these unexpected privations had made some of the colonists wonder if they had improved their lot ; but Captain Clap again writes : 1 Speech on " Spartan and Puritan Heroism." 2 Blake's Annals of the Town of Dorchester, p. 11 (1846). 8 Memoirs of Captain Eoger Clap, p. 30 (1846). 84 GOOD OLD DOKCHBSTBE. [1632. " I do not remember that ever I did wish in my Heart that I had not come into this Country, or wish myself back again to my Father's House : Yea I was so far from that, that I wished and advised some of my dear Brethren to come hither also; which accordingly one of my Brothers and those two that mar- ried my two Sisters, sold their Means and came thither." ^ Hubbard, in his "General History of New England," p. 198 (1815), makes early reference to Dorchester. He records the following occurrence in the year 1632 : — " One Henry "Wey [Way] of Dorchester, who had gone in a shallop to trade with the eastern Indians the winter before, and was long missing, this summer (1632) it was found that himself and his company were all treacherously killed by the Indians. Another shallop of his, being sent out in the spring to seek after that, was cast away at Agamenticus, and two of the men that were in her were drowned." The year 1633 marked an important epoch in the progress of the Colony; for at this time "it set the ex- ample of that municipal organization which has prevailed throughout New England, and has proved one of the chief sources of its progress." ^ As James Blake quaintly describes it, — ' ' This Year this Plantation began y* Practice of Choosing men, that we now call Selectmen or Townsmen. They Chose 12 this year to order y' Affairs of y° Plantation, who were to have their Monthly Meetings, and their orders being Con- firmed by y^ Plantation were of full force and binding to y^ Inhabitants." •» ^.^ The chronicler does not SK3^^^'ie^f-t/lC(U'C' §r^^® ^^® names of those who served in the capac- ity of selectmen this year, but for 1634 records those of " Mr. Newbury, Mr. Stoughton, Mr. Woolcott, Mr. Duncan, 1 Memoirs of Captain Roger Clap, p. 20 (1846). ^ Edward Everett's Fourth of July Oration, at Dorchester, 1865. 1633.] COLONIAL TIMBS. 35 Goodman Phelps, Mr. Hathorne, Mr. Williams, Go. Minot, Go. Gibbes, & Mr. Smith." i The important order which established this first special town gOYcrnment in New England is dated October 8» 1633, and reads as follows: — " Imprimis it is ordered that. For the generall good and weU ordering of the affayres of the Plantation their shall be every Mooneday before the Court by eight of the Clocke in the morn- ing, and p*sently upon the beating of the drum, a generall meeting of the inhabitants of the Plantation att the meeteing- house, there to settle (and sett downe) such orders as may tend to the generall good as aforesayd : and every man to be bound thereby without gaynesaying or resistance. It is also agreed that there shall be twelve men selected out of the Company that may or the greatest p't of them meete as aforesayd to determiue as aforesayd, yet so as is desired that the most of the Plantation will keepe the meeteing constantly and all that are there although none of the Twelve shall have a free voyce as any of the 12 and that the greate[r] vote both of the 12 and the other shall be of force and efflcasy as aforesayd. And it is likewise ordered that aU things concluded as aforesayd shall stand in force and be obeyed untiH the next monethly meete- ing and afterwardes if it be not contradicted and other wise ordered upon the sayd monethly meete [ing] by the greatest p'te of those that are p*sent as aforesayd." ^ Previous to this action, every order was voted upon by the freemen, and there was a committee to sign land- grants, consisting of two clergymen and deacons. On July 24 a second shipload of eighty passengers arrived from Weymouth, England,^ and settled in Dor- chester, adding much to the strength of the Colony. The assessments made by the Court in October of this year show that Dorchester was the largest or wealthiest town in Massachusetts. While Boston, Roxbury, Newton, 1 Blake's Annals of the Town of Dorchester, p. 13 (1846). 2 Dorchester Town Records, p. 3 (1879). 8 Governor Wlnthrop's Journal, p. 51. 36 GOOD OLD DOECHESTEK. [1635. Watertown, and Charlestown were each taxed £48, and Salem £28, Dorchester was assessed for £80. "In all military musters, or civil assemblies where dignity is regarded," says Prince, "Dorchester used to have the precedence." ^ In September, Captain John Oldham, — who was after- wards killed by the Pequot Indians, — with Samuel Hall and two others, travelled through the wilderness to Con- necticut, to view the country and to trade with the Indians. The flattering accounts which they gave of the country, and also a lack of harmony which unfortunately existed between certain portions of the settlers, influenced many of the inhabitants of Dorchester and Newtown, the present Cambridge, to plan an emigration. The policy of this action was one of the earliest matters to come before the newly created magistrates, and the debate upon the subject was very heated. A majority of the General Court opposed the removal on various grounds, the "pro- catarctical" reason, as Hubbard asserts, being the danger of losing so large a proportion of the people. The arrival of Rev. Richard Mather, the following year, with a goodly following of one hundred persons, who were prepared to take the places of those who desired to leave, influenced the Court to grant permission. In the summer of 1635, therefore, the company departed. They settled in a place called by the Indians " Mattaneang," or " Ouschanka- mang," which they called " Windsor." ^ The emigrating party consisted of about one hundred men, women, and children, including the junior pastor, Mr. Warham, mostly from Dorchester, but a few from Newtown and Watertown. They were fourteen days performing the tedious journey through the wilderness, and on their arrival they settled on the west side of the Connecticut, near the mouth of the Scantio River. Here 1 Prince's Annals, p. 208. ^ Hubbard's Hist, of N. E. (1815). RICHARD MATHER. 1633.] COLONIAIi TIMES. 39 the emigrants were put to great straits: the provisions were nearly exhausted when they arrived ; the crops they raised were small, as most of their time was spent in clear- ing the ground and building rude huts ; the winter came early, and was very severe. The families were reduced to extremity, and they were obliged to live upon " acorns and malt and grains." Their cattle, also, suffered much, and the greater part died.^ Owing to the fact that the Massachusetts Charter was drafted for a trading company instead of an independent government, it provided only for the stockholders; and Edward Rosseter, Roger Ludlow, and John Glover were the only known representatives of this board in the Dorchester Company. It is possible that Henry Wolcott and Thomas Newbery were also stockholders. Thus the great part of the early settlers had no political rights under the charter ; but the Court took immediate steps to extend the privileges of freemanship to all suitable persons. When the first application for this right was made, on October 19, 1630, twenty-four out of the one hundred and eight persons belonged to Dorchester. These twenty-four first Dorchester freemen were : — John Greenoway William Phelps. John Woolridge. [Grenaway]. George Dyer. Bigot [Bagot] Eggleston. Christopher Gibson. John Hoskins. Mr. Ralph Glover. John Benham. Thomas Ford. John Phillips. Mr. Thomas Southcote. Nicolas Upsall. .- William Gaylord Mr. Richard Southcote. Stephen Terry. [Gallard]. Mr. John Maverick. Roger Williams. William Rockwell. Mr. John Warhara. Thomas Lumbert. William Hubbert Henry Wolcott. Thomas Stoughton. [Hulbert]. The following list contains the names of others who were made freemen previous to the date of the Church Records, August 23, 1636:2 — ' Governor Winthrop's Journal, p. 98. 2 Records of First Church, p. v (1891). 3 40 GOOD OLD DOKCHESTER. [1633. Mr. John Branker. Barnard Capen. John Capen. Joshua Carter. Roger Clap. Joseph Clarke. Augustine Clement. Mr. John Cogan. Richard CoUacott [Collicot]. Aaron Cooke. Robert Deeble. Nicholas Denslow. Thomas Dewey. Thomas Dimmock [Dimocke]. Nathaniel Duncan. John Eales [Eeles]. Henry Feakes [Fookes], Walter Filer. Stephen French. Giles Gibbs. Jonathan GUlet. Matthew Grant. Thomas Gunn. Edmund Hart. Thomas Hatch. William Hathorne. John Hayden. Thomas Holcomb. William Hosford [Horsford]. Simon Hoyt. George Hull. John Hull. Thomas Jeffrey. John Leavitt. Thomas Marshall. Captain John Mason. Moses Maverick. George Minot. John Moore. Mr. Thomas Newbery. John Newton. James Parker. Elias Farkman. John Pierce. George Phillips. Eltweed Pomeroy. John Pope. Philip Randall. Thomas Rawlins. William Read. Bray Rossiter. Matthias [Matthew] Sension. John Smith. Henry Smith. Mr. Israel Stoughton. George Strange. Thomas Swift. Thomas Thornton. John Tilley. Joseph Twltchell. Bray Wilkin s. David Wilton. John Witchfield [Whitfield]. Henry Wright. Besides the right of suffrage, the freemen enjoyed ad- vantages in the division of the lands, and were members of the General Court until the representative system began. Some of the Dorchester settlers returned to England,^ the Southcotes among others ; but the numerous arrivals from Europe caused the population of the town to take rapid strides. Great pains were taken to examine into the character and morals of all those who offered them- selves as emigrants to Massachusetts from England, and no one was received who arrived without the proper testimonials.^ Dorchester attracted the attention of authors as early as 1633 ; for Wood, writing at that date, says, in his " New England's Prospect," — ' Prince's Annals, p. 246. ^ Governor Winthrop's Journal, p. 1635.] COLONIAL TIMES. 41 " Sixe miles further to the North, lieth Dorchefler ; which is the greateft Towne in New England; well woodded and watered ; very good arable grounds, and Hay-ground, falre Corne-flelds, and pleafant Gardens, with Kitchin-gardens : In this plantation is a great many Cattle, as Kine, Goats, and Swine. This plantation hath a reasonable Harbour for fhips : here is no Alewife-river, which is a great inconvenience. The inhabitants of this towne, were the flrft that fet upon the trade of fifhing in the Bay, who received fo much fruite of their labours, that they encouraged others to the fame undertaliings." ' In 1654 Jolinson writes, — " The forme of this Towne is almoft lUce a Serpent, turning her head to the North-ward ; over againft Tompfons Ifland, and the Caftle her body and wings being chiefly built on, are filled fomewhat thick of Houfes, onely that one of her Wings is dipt, her Tayle being of fuch a large extent that fhee can hardly draw it after her ; Her Houfes for dwelling are about one hun- dred and forty. Orchards and Gardens full of Fruit-trees, plenty of Corne-Land, although much of it hath been long in tillage, yet hath it ordinarily good crops, the number of Trees are neare upon 1500. Cowes and other Cattell of that kinde about 450." 2 Nine years later, Josselyn, making his second voyage to New England, confirms the statements of the other writers when he says, — ' ' Six miles beyond Braintree ° lyeth Dorchefter, a f rontire Town pleafantly feated, and of large extent into the main land, well watered with two fmall Rivers, her body and wings filled fome- what thick with houfes to the number of two hundred and more, beautified with fair Orchards and Gardens, having alfo plenty of Corn-land, and ftore of Cattle, counted the greateft Town heretofore in New- England, but now gives way to Bofton, it hath a Harbour to the North for Ships."* 1 New England's Prospect, p. 41 (1635). 2 Wonder-working Providence, 1st ed., 4to, p. 41. 8 The present Quincy. * Two Voyages to New-England, p. 160 (1675). 42 GOOD OLD DOECHESTEE. [1636. The year 1636 was unusually eventful. After the de- parture of the Windsor company, Governor Winthrop says : ' ' There was an essay towards gathering a new church m Dorchester (April 1), but as the messengers of the churches convened for the purpose were not satisfied concerning some that were intended members of that foundation, the work was deferred until August 23, when a church was constituted accord- ing to the order of the Gospel, by confession and profession of faith, and Rev. Mr. Richard Mather was chosen teacher." Writing of Dorchester events for this year, Winthrop also records the fact that — " At a court holden at Dorchester this year, it was ordered that every town should keep a watch and be well supplied with ammunition. The constables were directed to warn the watches in their turns, and to make it their care that they should be kept according to the direction of the court. They also were required to take care that the inhabitants were well furnished with arms and ammunition, and kept in a constant state of defence. As these infant settlements were filled and sur- rounded with numerous savages, the people conceived them- selves in danger when they lay down and when they rose up, when they went out and when they came in Then- circum- stances were such, that it was judged necessary for every man to be a soldier." ^ The Pequot Indians had never been friendly with the settlers, and affairs came to a crisis during this year, when Captain Oldham was murdered by the savages on Block Island. In order to prevent further atrocities, four companies were raised, commanded by Captain John Underbill, Captain Nathaniel Turner, Ensign William Jennison, and Ensign Richard Davenport. Governor Endicott was commander-in-chief of the expedition. This was the first serious warfare that occurred after the settle- ment of the Colony, and Dorchester was deeply interested 1 Governor Winthrop's Journal, p. 50. 1636.] COLONIAL TIMES. 43 in tlie event. The Pequots were scattered, and much of their property destroyed, but little good was accomplished. The records for this year show that a military com- pany was permanently organized, with Israel Stoughton in command, Nathaniel Duncan and John Holman serving as lieutenant and ensign, respectively. It is impossible to read the story of this people with- out being impressed with the great amount of commou- sense and practical wisdom they displayed in laying the foundation of the Colony, not only adapting it to their immediate needs, but also, looking far ahead with remark- able foresight, building for succeeding generations. One of the best examples of this is the work of those to whom the duty of keeping the Town Records was in- trusted. The Record Book is not only valuable because of its interest as an authentic account of those early days, but it has been often referred to in order to settle questions concerning appropriations of land, laying out the town and country roads, original grants, mill privileges, assignments, and especially in regard to the boundaries of the town. In 1879, ten years after becoming a part of Boston, the city government, in response to a petition signed by several of Dorchester's most prominent citizens, authorized the Record Commissioners to print the first volume of the " Dorchester Town Records," — thus pre- serving for posterity these most valuable documents. This Record Book begins January 16, 1632, and is the first of any town records in Massachusetts. It contains accounts of the transactions of the plantation and town down to 1720, covering some six hundred and thirty-six pages, of which four are missing. These probably traced the proceedings from the beginning of the settlement. Most of this book is devoted to regulations required for the laying out of the town, and there is little of general historical interest. Entries previous to the year 1636 42 GOOD OLD DOBCHBSTEE. [1636. The year 1636 was unusually eventful. After the de- parture of the Windsor company, Governor Winthrop says : ' ' There was an essay towards gathering a new church in Dorchester (April 1), but as the messengers of the churches convened for the purpose were not satisfied concerning some that were intended members of that foundation, the work was deferred until August 23, when a church was constituted accord- ing to the order of the Gospel, by confession and profession of failh, and Kev. Mr. Richard Mather was chosen teacher." Writing of Dorchester events for this year, Winthrop also records the fact that — "At a court holden at Dorchester this year, it was ordered that every town should keep a watch and be well supplied with ammunition. The constables were directed to warn the watches in then: turns, and to make it their care that they should be kept according to the direction of the court. They also were required to take care that the inhabitants were well furnished with arms and ammunition, and kept in a constant state of defence. As these infant settlements were filled and sur- rounded with numerous savages, the people conceived them- selves in danger when they lay down and when they rose up, when they went out and when they came in Then- chcum- stances were such, that it was judged necessary for every man to be a soldier." ' The Pequot Indians had never been friendly with the settlers, and affairs came to a crisis during this year, when Captain Oldham was murdered by the savages on Block Island. In order to prevent further atrocities, four companies were raised, commanded by Captain John Underbill, Captain Nathaniel Turner, Ensign William Jennison, and Ensign Richard Davenport. Governor Endicott was commander-in-chief of the expedition. This was the first serious warfare that occurred after the settle- ment of the Colony, and Dorchester was deeply interested 1 Governor Winthrop's Journal, p. 5G. 1636.] COLONIAL TIMES. 43 in the event. The Pequots were scattered, and much of their property destroyed, but little good was accomplished. The records for this year show that a military com- pany was permanently organized, with Israel Stoughton in command, Nathaniel Duncan and John Holman serving as lieutenant and ensign, respectively. It is impossible to read the story of this people with- out being impressed with the great amount of common- sense and practical wisdom they displayed in laying the foundation of the Colony, not only adapting it to their immediate needs, but also, looking far ahead with remark- able foresight, building for succeeding generations. One of the best examples of this is the work of those to whom the duty of keeping the Town Records was in- trusted. The Record Book is not only valuable because of its interest as an authentic account of those early days, but it has been often referred to in order to settle questions concerning appropriations of land, laying out the town and country roads, original grants, mill privileges, assignments, and especially in regard to the boundaries of the town. In 1879, ten years after becoming a part of Boston, the city government, in response to a petition signed by several of Dorchester's most prominent citizens, authorized the Record Commissioners to print the first volume of the " Dorchester Town Records," — thus pre- serving for posterity these most valuable documents. This Record Book begins January 16, 1632, and is the first of any town records in Massachusetts. It contains accounts of the transactions of the plantation and town down to 1720, covering some six hundred and thirty-six pages, of which four are missing. These probably traced the proceedings from the beginning of the settlement. Most of this book is devoted to regulations required for the la-jing out of the town, and there is little of general historical interest. Entries previous to the year 1636 44 GOOD OLD DOKCHESTEE. [1636. were probably made by one of the clergymen or deacons, but in that year Nathaniel Duncan, one of the twelve selectmen, was voted ten shillings for copying the orders of the town; and it is likely that he continued to do this until his removal to Boston in 1645. From this time, until 1656, the entries were probably made by Robert Howard, Deacon John Wiswall, and Edward Breck, selectmen of the town. William Blake was chosen recorder, or town clerk, in 1656; and from that time a person was employed especially to keep the Town Records. It is said that a book once existed which con- tained a plot of the town, with lots and the names of grantees from the beginning ; but no trace of it can now be found. It is from the Town Records, also, that we obtain the names of the grantees of Dorchester lands. The follow- ing list includes all the first settlers whose names are found on the Records previous to January, 1636, except those which may have been on the two missing pages. Those mentioned in preceding lists are omitted : — John Allen. Thomas Andrews. • Thomas Bascomb. John Bursley. Bray Clarke. Eobert Elwell. Richard Fry. Joseph Flood. Humphrey Gallop. ~ John Gilbert. John Glover. John Goite [Goyt]. Nathaniel Hall. >■ William Hannum. John Hayden. Mr. Jno. Hill. John Holland. Joseph Holley. John Holman. Mr. Johnson. Richard Jones. Thomas Jones. Thomas Kinnersly [Kimberly]. John Knight. Capt. William Lovell. Roger Ludlow. Thomas Makepeace. Thomas Marshfield. Alexander Miller. John Miller. Edmund Munnings. John Niles. George Phelps. Williams Phelps. Mr. Pincheon. Humphrey Pinney. Andrew Pitcher. William Preston. David Price. George Procter. Widow Purchase. Edward Raynsford. Thomas Richards. Richard Rocket. Hugh Rosseter. Thomas Sanford. William Sumner. Thomas Tileston. Francis Tuthill. Joshua Tuthill. Henry Way. 1636.] COLONIAL TIMES. 45 It is not definitely known by what method the lands were distributed among the first settlers of the town, but it is probable that the private means and the size of the families were taken into consideration. Several of the largest landholders were those who held stock in England under the patent. Each stockholder to the amount of fifty pounds was entitled to an immediate dividend of two hundred acres, a " home lot " in America, and fifty acres for each member of his family. Those who did not possess stock could claim fifty acres for the head of the family, and as much more as the governor and council might award. Fifty acres were to be given to the master for every servant transported to the Colony. Before sailing for America the colonists had determined that for purposes of mutual protection they must build closely together, and this decision was wisely adhered to. A certain amount of territory was laid out into four, six, and eight acre house lots, and larger grants were made elsewhere for farming purposes. The following list of grantees of meadow lands in Dorchester, copied from vol. i. p. 31, of the original Dorchester Records, gives the reader a good idea of the system employed : — The Map of the Meddows beyond the Naponset riuer and how y' is allotted out. 1 Squantoms 15 M' Johnson 6 a. 2 Mr. Hill 6 D. 16 J: Eales 4 a. 3 Jo Phil [ips?] 17 Nich Vpshal 8 a. 4 M' Duncan 4 acres. M' Newbury v hows 5 Marshfeild 5 a 18 Gaping 6 a. [6] George Way 8 acr. 19 Swift 4 a. [7] Hall 4 a. 20 J. Gaping 2 a. [8] J. Knill 2 a. 21 J. Walcot [?] 2 a. [9] E. Galicot 8 a. 22 Jo: Pierce 4 a. 10 M' Purchas 2 a. 23 M' Waru 6 a. 11 M' Richards 12 a. 24 M' Maverick 12 J. Barber 2 a. f Mata- 25 Jos: Holy 4 a. 13 Stev. ffrench 4 a. ■< chuset 26 Tho Jefreys 3 a. 14 M' Hill 5 a. CRook. 27 Roger Glap 3 a. 46 GOOD OLD DOB.CHESTEK. [1637. 28 M' Smith 4 a. 29 C. Gibson 2 a. 30 War. ffiler 6 a. 31 G. Gibbs 4 a. 32 J. 33 N. gillet 4 a. 34 Holland 3 a. 35 M' Hull 4 a. 36 T. J. more 4 a. 37 6 a. [3]8 G. Dyer 4 a. 39 Eales, 2 a. 40 W. Philps 6 a. 41 Hanna 2 a. 42 M' Piney 10 a. 43 Denslow 3 a. 44 Wilton 5 a. 45 Meinot 4 a. 46 Pope 4 a. 47 M'Hathorne 48 Picher 4 [a] 49 Rocket 4 a. [50] Rositer 51 Lumbert 6 a 52 M' Egleston 4 a 53 Hart 4 a 54 M' Branker. 55 T [?] Hull 6 [a] 56 Tenner [?] 6 [a] 57 Brins[mead] 58 H way 59 M' Tery 12 [a] the next wilbe out of order j^ a rock poynting to the M' Way had marsh out other sides of that M' Tery. 60 J. Wichfeild 4 a. 61 M' Hosford 2 a. 62 M' Sention 2 a. 63 J. Hull 6 a. 64 T. Dewis 4 a. 65 T. Holcom 3 a. 66 G. Phillips 5 a. 67 M" Hulbert 6 a. 68 J. Heyden 3 a. 69 Mathews 3 a. 70 Grenway 3 a. 71 M' Holman 72 M' Parker 4 a. 73 Ca[pt.] Mason 6 a. 74 R. Elwel 3 75 W. Rockwel 4 a. -)- aboue M' Roseiter ioyning to him M"' wolcot 14 a. next m"^ wolcot 76 w. Gaylor 6 a. 77 T. Each 2 a. 78 Henery Pooks 8 a. 79 T. Tilestone 3 a. 80 Nuton 2 a. 81 ancient Stoughton 6 a. this runs vp between the highe land & m' Roseiter 82 John Hill 4 a. 83 M Tillie 4 a. 84 Elias Parkman 4 a. 85 El: Pomery 6 a. place M Stoughton 16 a. All the undivided and unallotted land extending from the Blue Hills to the Plymouth line was given in 1637 to the town of Dorchester, the grant being confirmed by the General Court in 1720. This contained over forty thousand acres of land, and was commonly called by the English the land " beyond the Blue Hills," and after 1707 was known as the " New Grant." 1637.] COLONIAX, TIMES. 47 The association known as the " Dorchester Proprietors " were the owners of the wild lands in that territory now comprising the towns of Stoughton, Sharon, and Canton, with the exception of the Ponkapoag Plantation. A later historian says, — " Until late in the seventeenth century these lands were unin- habited ; and to whomsoever they were assigned or sold, such persons became the lawful owners. Thus was established a system of small freeholds, which was to be a distinguishing feature in the landed history of our country. The occupants of these farms paid no annual tribute, as did their ancestors in Old England, to some great proprietor, — some ' Earl of Pun- capog,' as the Rev. Thomas Prince facetiously called himself when a boy, — but were independent. Thus was created a love of freedom, and a capacity of self-government developed, which was in after years to bear a rich and abundant fruit. Massa- poag Brook, or the ' East Branch of the Neponset,' running through the centre of South Canton Village, was the dividing line between the Ponkapoag Plantation and the land of the Dor- chester proprietors. The place where "Washington Street crosses this stream is nearly identical with the spot where the old road from Milton line to Billings' tavern, in Sharon, crossed it, probably as early as 1650. At any rate, this road was in existence long before any lands were laid out in the Dorchester South Precinct, or any person had received his estate in severalty." ^ It will be remembered that Dorchester was chosen by the early settlers on account of the abundant pasturage Great Neck (South Boston) afforded for their cattle. This was for many years the common pasture for the cows of the Colony, and persons were appointed to drive them back and forth each morning and night. New settlers brought cows with them, and at length the Great Neck became too small; so other arrangements had to be made for pasturage. In 1637, therefore, it was ordered that — 1 History of Canton, p. 6 (1893). 48 GOOD OLD DOKCHESTEE. [1638. "All that have Cowe8 shall put them to the Keepers to be kept in the ordinary Cow pasture,^ and none to be put away at the Necke of land or keepe them otherwise about the Towne or from the heard, one payne of 10s. for [such] offending." ^ The General Court passed a law in 1638 concerning tobacco, which caused no little excitement. This law read as follows : — " This Court, finding that since the repealing of the former laws against tobacco, the same is more abused than before, it hath therefore ordered that no man shall take any tobacco in the feilds, except in his iourney, or at meale times, vpon pain of 12d for every offence ; nor shall take any tobacco in (or so near) any dweling house, barne, corne or hay rick, as may likely indanger the fireing thereof, vpon paine of x' for every offence ; nor shall take any tobacco in any inne or comon victualing house, except in a private roome there, so as neither the master of the same house nor any other guests there, shall take offence thereat; w""" if they do, then such gson is fourthw"' to for- beare, vpon paine of 2° 6* for every offence." ^ During the summer of this year, Winthrop tells us, " There come over twenty ships, and at least three thou- sand persons, so as they were forced to look out new plantations." . The Church was called upon to exercise its correcting power this year. " Mr. Ambrose Martin, for calling the Church Covenant a stinking carrion, and a human inven- tion, and saying, he wondered at God's patience, feared it would end in the sharp, and said the ministers did dethrone Christ and set up themselves ; he was fined £10, and counselled to go to Mr. Mather to be instructed." A vote was also passed informing Mr. Thomas Makepeace that " because of his novel disposition, we were weary of him unless he reforme." 1 A large tract of undivided land lying in the vicinity of the Upper Mills. " Dorchester Town Records, p. 22 (1879). 3 Records of Massachusetts, vol. i. p. 241 (1853.) 1639.] COLONIAL TIMES. 49 Before long Thompson's Island proved to be an object of conflict between Dorchester and Boston. This was supposed to have been first occupied by David Thompson, a Scotchman, who was sent over with others to Piscataqua (now Portsmouth) by Gorges and Mason, the year before, to establish a factory at that place; but later evidence goes to prove that William Trevour preceded him. Thompson had become acquainted with this island during a trip to Plymouth, and, leaving Piscataqua, he took up his abode upon it six years before the Bay was settled. After the Colony became fully established, he procured a confirma- tion of his title to the island from the General Court. Among the archives of Salem is found the following curious deposition concerning the island: — I, Saggamore of Aggawam, testify that in the yeare 1619 or thereabouts as I remember, I went in my owne person with Mr. David Thompson, and then he took possession of the Hand before Dorchester, he likeing no other but that because of the smale Riuer, and then no Indians upon it or any "Wigwam or planting, nor hath been by any Endians inhabitted or claymed since, but two years agoe by Harmben, an old Endian of Dorchester. Witness my hand, this 13th of July, before Mr. Greenleafe, 1620/50. Witness, Edmund Greenleafe. Sagamoee"-'— '-'-'^ — ^of Aggawam. In 1635 the General Court granted this island to the inhabitants of the town of Dorchester, and four years later the town voted to lay a tax of £20 upon the propri- etors of this island "for the maintenance of a school in Dorchester." Those who paid rent numbered one hundred and twenty persons, including the principal part of the adult male inhabitants. This, as far as can be ascertained, was the first public provision made for a free school in America by a direct tax or assessment on the inhabitants of the town. ^ 1 See p. 290. 50 GOOD OLD DOBCHESTEE. [1639. When John Thompson, the son of the original occupant, became of age, he sent in a petition to the General Court, asking that the island be granted to him, on the ground of inheritance. This petition was granted, and the property passed out of the hands of Dorchester. The people felt that they had not received justice in the matter, so they in turn sent a petition to the General Court, asking that another island be granted to them to assist in maintaining the free school. The result of this was that a grant of one thousand acres of wild land was given to make up for the loss of the island. In 1639, also, an order was given by the Court to mount guns on Rock Hill. This was undoubtedly what is now called Savin Hill, although some authorities have des- ignated Meeting-House Hill as the site. Savin Hill, however, is much better suited for a fortification, as it commands the mouth of the Neponset, the bay, and the passage to the hill by land. The southerly point of Savin Hill, on the flat rock, would have been an excellent place to locate the artillery. A law passed by the Court this year concerning super- fluities, caused great excitement among the settlers, and soon became famous. It is interesting enough to quote The text : — "Whereas there is much complaint of the excessive wearing of lace, & other superfluities tending to little vse or benefit, but to the nourishing of pride & exhausting of mens estates, & also of evile example to others, it is therefore ordered by this Court, & decreed, that henceforward no person whatsoever shall psume to sell or buy w'^in this.iurisdiction, any manner of lace to bee worne or vsed w"^in o"^ limits. And that no tayF, or any other person whatsoever, shall hereafter set any lace, or points vpon any garments, either linnen, woUen, or any other wearing cloathes whatsoever, & that no gson hearafter shall be imployed in making of any manner of lace, but such as they shall sell tQ such persons as shall & wUl transport the same out 1639.] COLONIAL TIMES. 51 of this iurisdiction, who, in such case, shall have liberty to buy the same : And that hearafter no garment shalbee made w"' short sleeves, whereby the nakedness of the arme may bee discovered in the wearing thereof ; & such as have garments already made w*'^ short sleeves shall not hearafter wear the same, vnless they cover their armes to the wrist, w''' linnen, or otherwise : And that hearafter no person whatsoever shall make any garment for weomen, or any of ther sex, w''' sleeves more than halfe an elle wide in the widest place thereof, & so propor- tionable for biger or smaller persons. "And for psent reformation of iinoderate great sleeves, & some other superfluities, w* may easily bee redressed w^'out much piudice, or the spoile of garments, as iinoderate great breehes, knots of ryban, broad shoulder bands, & rayles, silk rases, double ruffes, & cuffes, etc." ^ The centre of tlie town was first laid out in the vicinity of Pond and Cottage Streets. The first road in the town was that which ran from the meeting-house, on the corner of Cottage, Pleasant, and Pond Streets, to Rock Hill. A part of this road now exists as Pleasant Street, and the remainder as Savin Hill Avenue. Another began at the same place, and ran west to the Five Corners, and east to the Calves' Pasture, now known as Pond Street and Crescent Avenue. This ran northeast from the Five Corners, in the direction of the Great Neck, and had a gate at its entrance ; it is now known as Boston Street. From Pond Street a road curved around by the houses of William T. Andrews and Richard Clapp, which the town voted to discontinue in 1858. It was called Chestnut Street, and on it lived the Rev. Richard Mather, Roger Williams, and others. The present Cottage Street, leading from the meeting-house to the Five Corners, Humphreys Street, and Dudley Street, over which the Dorchester settlers travelled to Roxbury and Boston, were also laid out. The present Stoughton, Hancock, and Pleasant ' Records of Massachusetts, vol. i. p. 274 (1853). 52 GOOD OLD DOECHESTEE. [1639. Streets were formerly a road laid out around Jones's Hill, from which a road led to Stoughton Mill. This is now Adams Street. From this street a road led to the Penny- Ferry, and this is now known as Marsh Street. This arrangement kept the inhabitants closely together, and gave a road around several comparatively small pieces of land. Care was taken to keep the right of way to the sea and to the marshes, so that hay could be easily obtained. A grant made July 5, 1636, concerning this, is important, because it is of earlier date than that which declared of what the riparian rights should consist. The record reads as follows : — " It is graunted to M'. Ludlow, M"^. HUl, and the neighbours that haue lotts with them, that [they] may run a pale downe into the sea at the Corner by M"^. Ludlowes, and an other betweene M'. Hill and John Eales, for the securing the Corne, and saving of much tensing, p'vided they leave stiles and gates for p'sons and cattle, when p'sons are disposed to travell or drive Cattle or swine that way to Clamming." ^ Our present laws on this subject depend on the order passed in 1641. Rock Hill, referred to above, was known as " Rocky Hill " during the first hundred years of the settlement, and later it was called " Old Hill," because it was here that the first inhabitants settled. Joseph Tuttle gave it the modern name of " Savin Hill," when he came into possession of the old Wiswell estate in 1822. This he made into a seaside or country hotel, which was the first hotel of this kind in the vicinity of Boston. The name " Savin " is the scientific name of the red cedar with which this locality was covered. Many of the most distinguished of the early settlers selected Rock Hill, or Savin Hill, as we may now call it, for the location of their residences. One of the most prominent of these was Roger Ludlow, the brother-in-law 1 Dorchester Town Records, p. 19 (1879). THE TUTTLE HOUSE. 1639.] COLONIAL TIMES. 65 of Governor Endicott, and "assistant" of the Massachu- setts Company, who was chosen Deputy-Governor in 1634. When Ludlow arrived in the new country, coming from Old Dorchester, in Dorsetshire, he had already reached middle age, and, as a stockholder in the Massachusetts Company, was possessed of some property. He was chosen " assistant," or director, in London, before the little company of emigrants set sail, and he embarked from Devon on the "Mary and John" with the others. He was a member of the colonial government, and while his extensive duties prevented him from taking active part in the affairs of the Dorchester plantation, he had great influence with the early settlers. His name appears in the Dorchester Records only as a grantee of land. In his religious views, Ludlow belonged to the Puritan school, but was unfortunate in the possession of two char- acteristics which destroyed whatever popularity^ he might have attained, — a violent temper, and an inordinate ambi- tion. His great disappointment in not being elected governor in 1635 caused him to protest the election of Winthrop ; and this so offended the freemen that they left him entirely out of the magistracy. This was more than his proud nature could endure, so he joined the party which emigrated to Windsor, Connecticut, not long after- ward. Here Ludlow at once took a leading part in the affairs, presiding at the first court of magistrates, which was held at Hartford, April 26, 1636. He also served as Deputy-Governor until 1639, when he removed to Fairfield, in the New Haven Colony. Some years later he had a dispute with the government of the Colony concerning the affairs of the Dutch war, and as a result he left New England forever. He is said to have died in Virginia. Ludlow's Dorchester house was built on the south side of the hill on Savin Hill Avenue, at the corner of Bath Avenue, and it was one of the most substantial in the town, — standing until 1730. When the testy 56 GOOD OLD DOECHBSTBK. [1639. Deputy-Governor left Dorchester, he sold his estate to Captain Thomas Hawkins, who from this time seems to have taken a ^^^ /^ / prominent posi- VyyiCUS -i- ifLTyf' /iP>i£ tion in the town. -^ He was one of the freemen of Dorchester, and a member of the artillery company. Captain Hawkins was a ship-builder and navi- gator by profession, and a large landholder in Dorchester. The southerly part of Harrison Square once bore the title of " Captain's Neck," or " Hawkins' Neck ; " and a small stream, which crossed the present Columbia Street, was named " Hawkins' Brook," in his honor. After his death, in 1648, Mrs. Hawkins sold the property to John Gornell ; and thus the Ludlow estate again changed hands. After passing through the possession of the Masons and the Wiswells, it finally fell by inheritance to the children of William Worthington. John Eeles owned property on the north side of the hill. He was one of the first settlers, and also one of the first grantees of the land on Rock Hill. When he removed to Hingham, his land was purchased by Nathaniel Patten, another prominent man among the first inhabitants. His property was on the border of the cove between Savin Hill and Calves' Pasture, and was known as Patten's Cove for many years after his death. As Patten died without children, the land came later into the possession of the Robinson family. Another early grantee of land at Rock Hill was Richard Baker. His property was situated on the west side of the hill, and he built his house on the site of the Tuttle house, reference to which has already been made. The estate passed through the hands of the Wiswells into those of the Tuttles. Colonel Israel Stoughton's house was situated at the northeast corner of Savin Hill Avenue and Pleasant 1641.] COLONIAL TIMES. 67 Street. He had the distinction of building the first mill in New England to grind corn by water. It stood in the Neponset River, where Milton now is. Colonel Stoughton gained his title from his command of the Massachusetts forces during the Pequot "War, and was one of the most prominent of the early inhabitants of Dorchester. He served as representative in 1634, and was the Governor's Assistant for many years. Among other land-owners on Rock Hill the records give the names of John Hill, Tho- ^ A mas Millett, John Phillips, John Wr^VTL. ^^iMxIii Wilson, Richard Leeds, Michael * Willis, Richard Curtice, John Pierce, George Weeks, and John Greenaway.i The old residents have lost none of their pride for their historical inheritance. Edward Everett made reference to the hill in his Fourth of July Oration, delivered at Dorchester in 1855. He said, — " ' Old Hill,' as we called it in the days of my boyhood, more than fifty years ago, (it has lost that venerable name in the progress of refinement, though it has become a half century older.) Notwithstanding the tasteful villas which adorn its base, it exhibits substantially the same grouping of cedars and the same magnificent rocks, and commands the same fine view of the harbor which it did before a single house was built within its precincts. Venerable trees which seemed big to me in my childhood seem but little bigger now, though I can trace the storms of fifty winters on some of their well- recoUected branches." About the year 1641 Mr. Jonathan Burr was invited to settle in Dorchester as Mr. Mather's assistant in the mini- stry. During the preliminaries a heated controversy broke out, similar to one which had previously occurred in Boston, Mr. Burr being on the liberal side. The whole 1 Article on " Old Dorchester," by James H. Stark, Boston Transcript, AprU 2, 1887. 4 58 GOOD OLD DOEOHESTBE. [1642. town was deeply interested in tlie affair, which was finally settled by the decision of the Church " that both sides had cause to be humbled for their failings, for which they were advised to set a day apart for reconciliation." The trouble and controversy which had arisen about wages was finally settled by an order of the Court passed March 15, 1642. This stipulated that common laborers should not receive more than 28d a day, and that from August 25 to October 1 the wages should not exceed 15d a day. Further reduction was made between October 1 and December 1, as the order made it unlawful to receive more than 12d a day. Wages rose again to 15d, between December 1 and January 25. This year was also eventful, owing to the fact that during it the Dorchester settlers built their first ship. The records of 1643 give us a picture of our forefathers which we should be glad to forget. Their actions, though doubtless meant for the welfare of the Colony, appear indefensible at this modern day, and the people seem to have practised the very traits of cruelty and injustice from which they had previously suffered. Miantonimo, one of the most high-minded and honorable of Indian chiefs, fell into the hands of Uncas, the chief of the Mohegans, and through the influence of the Government of the Massachu- setts Colony was killed in cold blood. Samuel Gorton, of Rhode Island, also suffered by the decrees of the fathers. It is difficult to ascertain the nature of his crimes, but they appear to have been those of independence and liberality. He was imprisoned at Charlestown ; and his seven " con- federates " were confined in seven different towns, with irons on their legs. Francis "Weston was the prisoner entrusted to Dorchester for safe keeping. While we find much in the acts of our ancestors with which we cannot sympathize, we can but admit that they displayed a remarkable amount of wisdom and intelligence. This was probably the only country ever colonized which 1643.] COLONIAL TIMES. 59 did not have conquest and greed for its primary object. The methods employed may be stigmatized as cruel and unwarranted, but they were aimed at the malicious and idle, which were always to be found in a new colony. The forefathers themselves may be set down as bigots, fanatics, and persecutors, but we must not judge them by the stan- dards of to-day. Toleration was a word not recognized in those early days ; and when we see the tremendous changes the last hundred years have brought, we can see that the judgment of two hundred and fifty years ago could not consistently be the same as the judgment of to-day. Castle Island, on which fortifications had been erected, became a burden to the town, and in 1643 a vote was passed to give it up, " being weary of the charge of main- taining " it. As this island was nearer Dorchester than the other towns, South Boston then being within its limits, it was natural that the town should pay more for its mainte- nance than Roxbury, Cambridge, and Watertown, which united with Dorchester in fortifying it. The island was first fortified in 1633 with mud walls. Captain Roger Clap tells us that these " stood divers Years." Captain Clap then continues : " First, Capt. Simphins was Commander thereof, and after him Lieut. Monish, for a little space. When the Mud Walls failed, it was built again of Pine Trees and Earth ; and Capt. Davenport was Commander. When that decayed, which was within a little Time, there was a small Castle built with Brick Walls, and had three Rooms in it; a dwelling Room below, a lodging Room over it, the Gun Room over that, wherein stood Six very good Saker Gruns, and over it upon the Top Three lesser Guns." ^ Hubbard relates a curious incident which happened this year. He says : — " On the 18th of January, there were strange sights seen about Castle Island, and the Governour's Island over against it, 1 Memoirs of Captain Roger Clap, p. 38 (1844). 60 GOOD OLD DOECHBSTEK. [1645. in form like a man, that would sometimes cast flames and sparkles of fire. This was seen about eight of the clock in the evening by many. About the same time a voice was heard between Boston and Dorchester upon the water in a dreadful manner, crying out " boy, boy, come away, come away ; ' and then it shifted suddenly from one place to another, a great distance, about twenty times. About fourteen days after, the same voice was heard in the like dreadful manner; divers sober persons were ear witnesses hereof, at both times, on the other side of the town, towards Noddle's Island." This accouiit seems extraordinary, when the well-known sobriety and veracity of our forefathers are called to mind. The year 1645 marks another important era in the early history of the colonists. Six years previously the town had established the first school supported by the people, and now it took another step forward in appoint- ing a special school committee, " which evidently had no precedent in America, but which has been fruitful of results wide-spread and of great importance." ' These "wardens or orlseers of the Schoole," as they were called, consisted of three persons, Mr. Howard, Dea- con Wiswall, and Mr. Atherton being the first to serve in this capacity. In 1645, also, an instrument was adopted called the " Directory." This contained many regulations which the inhabitants bound themselves to observe in conducting their town meetings. Some of these regulations, as Blake tells us, were that, — "Althings should be aforehand prepared by y° Selectmen, that all Votes of Importance should be first drawn in writing and have 2 or 3 distinct Readings, before y° Vote was called for. That every man should haue libertie to speak his mind meekly and without noise ; that no man should speak when another was speaking; that all men would Countenance & 1 William A. Mowry, Ph. D. ; Historical Address at Dorchester Celebra- tion, 1889. 16i6.] COLONIAX, TIMES. 61 Encourage all y* Town Officers in y^ due Execution of their Offices, and not fault or Revile them for doing their Duty, &c."i This Directory was read at the opening at each town meeting, and the regulations were carefully observed. An order was also passed that at all town meetings the select- men were to appoint one of themselves to be moderator. During the same year the sum of ,£250 was raised to build a new meeting-house to take the place of the rude, thatched first meeting-house, which was found insufficient for the growing demands of the Plantation. The settlers are accused not only of indifference in regard to the nefarious slave-trade, but even of aiding and abetting the traffic. While this may be true of indi- viduals, it was certainly not true of the community, as the following extract from the records of the Colony for 1646 will show : — " The Gen'all Co''te, conceiving themselues bound by y° first opportunity to bear witnes against y* haynos & crying sinn of man stealing, as also to pscribe such timely redresse for what is past, & such a law for y" future as may sufficiently deterr all oth's belonging to us to have to do in such vile & most odious courses, iustly abhored of all good & iust men, do order y* y^ negro interpreter, w"" oth" unlawfully taken, be by y' first oportunity (at y° charge of y" country for psent), sent to his native country of G-inny, & a letter w"* him of y* indignation of y' Co''te thereabouts, & iustice hereof, desireing o'' hono'^ed Gov'n' would please put to this order in execution." ^ Rev. John Wilson, Jr., was settled as " coadjutor to Rev. Richard Mather," in 1649. As might be expected from its size and importance, the town of Dorchester is frequently mentioned in the old colonial records. Most of these references relate to the 1 Blake's Annals of the Town of Dorchester, p. 18 (1846). * Records of Massachusetts, vol. li. p. 168 (1853). 62 GOOD OLD DOECHESTEK. [1646. appointment of officers, the mending of roads, the settle- ment of boundaries, and the adjustment of disputes ; but there are some orders of the court which are of special interest. In 1630, March 1, the following entry is found : "M"' Tho: Stoughton, constable of Dorchester, is ffyned v° for takeing vpon him to marry Clem' Briggs and Joane Allen, & to be imprisoned till hee hath pd his ffyne." The claim that intemperance and poverty are connected was evidently believed by the " Court holden att Boston, August 7th, 1632," at which session this order was passed: "It is ordered that the remaind' of M' Aliens stronge water, being estimated aboute 2 gallands, shalbe deliiied into the hands of the deacons of Dorchesf, for the benefitt of the poore there, for his selling of it dyv" tymes to such as were drunke w*'' it, hee knowing thereof." On the 7th of November, 1632, the inhabitants of Boston were granted liberty to take wood from Dorchester Neck for twenty years, but the land was still to remain in the possession of Dorchester. Another entry proved the military importance of the town, for in 1634 it was ordered that " Dorchest' shall haue three peeces of ordinances, to ffortifie themselues withall, one drake & two other peeces, to be hadd from Charlton." During the same year per- mission was granted to the Deputy-Governor " to haue his Indean trayned with the rest of the company at Dorchester, & to shoote at fowle." The Indians living within the limits of the town caused many vexed questions to arise as to the manner in which they should be treated. It is a pleasant duty, however, to record the fact that, with the exception of a few isolated cases, the Dorchester settlers always showed them consideration and kindness. John Eliot, " the Apostle of the Indians," did much to create friendly relations, and he was universally loved and respected. This is evinced by the following letter, which relates to the laying out of the land about Ponkapoag Pond : — THE BLAKE HOUSE. 1646.] COLONIAIi TIMES. 65 To his much honored and respected friend, Major Atherton, at his house in Dorchester, these p'sent Much honored and beloved in the Lord: Though our poore Indians are much molested in most places in their meetings in way of civilities, yet the Lord hath put it into your hearts to suffer us to meet quietly at Ponkipog, for w'' I thank God, and am grateful to yourselfe and all the good people of Dorchester. And now that our meetings may be the more comfortable and pvarable, my request is, y* you would please to further these two motions : first, y* you would please to make an order in your towne, and record it in your Towne record, that you approve and allow y^ Indians of Ponkipog there to sit downe and make a towne and to inioy such accommodations as may be competent to maintain God's ordinances among them another day. My second request is, y* you would appoint fitting men, who may in a fltt season bound and lay out the same, and record y' alsoe. And thus commending you to the Lord, I rest. Yours to serve in the service of Jesus Christ, John Eliot.* In the vsrinter the Indians lived in the woods bordering the Neponset River at the head of navigation, where the fresh and salt water begin to mingle. This place they called Unquety ; and the falls, which furnished them with a great abundance of fish, they named Uncataquissett. The location was that of the present Milton Lower Falls. The Indians undoubtedly depended upon their canoes for transportation to and from their trapping and hunting grounds, which would necessitate but a short carriage around the falls. The Indians remained at Unquety until prevailed upon by the apostle Eliot to settle upon the tract of land at Ponkapoag Pond, which the town of Dorchester so kindly set aside for their use. This grant, already alluded to, included the present towns of Canton and Stoughton. 1 History of Dorchester, p. 187 (1859). 66 GOOD OLD DOECHBSTBK. [16*6. When once settled in their new home, the Indians named themselves the "Ponkapoag" tribe. From year to year their numbers became less and less, until the whole tribe gradually disappeared, leaving the land again in the pos- session of the town. A pilgrimage was made each year to the homes and graves of their ancestors so long as a single pure-blooded Indian remained at Ponkapoag.* Few are aware that it is from a small hill in Dorchester that the name " Massachusetts " is derived. Hutchinson gives us the following interesting information : — "In 1630 the sachem who governed the country around Boston had his seat on a hill near Squantum. It lies in the shape of an Indian arrow-head, which was called in their lan- guage 'Mos.' A hill in the Indian tongue is ' Wachusett.' Hence the great sachem seat was called ' Moswachusett,' from whence the province received the name of ' Massachusetts.' " ^ This hill is on the road leading to Squantum, and bor- dering on Quincy Bay, on the opposite side of the river from Neponset. It is covered with savins, or cedar trees, and is a landmark which may be seen for many miles, in all directions. If looked at from the south, near the mouth of Sachem's Brook, which flows through the planting- ground of Chickataubut, otherwise known as Billings' Plain, or the Massachusetts Fields, it clearly has the appearance of an arrow-head, the shaft of which is formed by the long, narrow strip of marsh which connects it with the mainland. Edmund Quincy and W. Coddington pur- chased this land in 1629, and it was included in a grant of over one thousand acres made to them in 1635 by the town of Boston. It was here that the Indians passed the summer season. 1 Article on "Old Dorchester," by James H. Stark, Boston Transcript, April 2, 1887. 2 History of Massachusetts, vol. i. p. 402. 1652.] COLONIAL TIMES. 67 There is another theory, advanced by Mr. Sylvester Baxter, that it is to the Blue Hills of Milton that the Commonwealth of Massachusetts owes its name. The country about the bay was called by the Indians living hereabout " Massachusetts," a word which, in the Algon- quin tongue, literally means "the great hills place." Thus it was, Mr. Baxter claims, that Massachusetts Bay received its name ; thence the Colony and the Province of Massachusetts Bay, and finally the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The beloved minister, Richard Mather, was given a proof of the regard in which the people held him by a grant, made in 1652, of £100 salary, to be raised by a town rate. While this does not seem a munificent sum to-day, it was a liberal compensation in those times. The generosity of the people did not stop with Mr. Mather's salary, but the same year they took a collection "for y° maintenance of y° President, Fellows, and poor Scholars of Harvard College." A road was laid out from Braintree, the present Quincy, to Roxbury, in 1655, under the direction of Nicholas Clap and William Clarke of Dorchester, and Moses Paine and Gregory Belcher of Braintree. The conditions were as follows : — ' ' First that the Waye shall be f owre Redd Wide from Brantre bounds to Roxbury bounds : secondly beginning neere Hinrye Crane's house, the Way to Lye one the Sowthest side of it in the old Beaten roede waye : and so to a Lowe White oake marked on the same side of the waye and so by the marked trees to the brooke : so from the Brooke the way being Lade in the Winter we agreed to take about a roode wide into Anthony GoUiford's lott wheare the fence Jaterrupts the waye : and so to a marked post to wards John Gill's howse : and from thence to an other marked post against John Gills howse : from thence to a stake in Elder Kingslys yearde and from thence to the mille in the 68 GOOD OLD DOECHESTBE. [1657. olde beaten roede waye : and from the mille to tow grete rockes one the Lower side of the waye att Eobert Spures and Henry Merifields howses end : and from thence to the new f eild by the marked trees in the olde roode waye : and so through the new feld wheare the waye formerly was and from thence by the marked trees one the Left hand to Roxbury bounds :^ of Dorchester Nicholas Clape. William Clarke. of Brantree Moses Paine. GKEGOEr Bellcher." The modem road-builder miglit be a little amused at the labored plans of the committee in charge of the work ; but, at all events, the desired end was accomplished, and the road came to a successful completion. As nearly as can be estimated, this must have been the road which now runs over Milton Hill, from Quincy, to the Lower Mills, and then over Washington Street, in Dorchester, to Roxbury. The General Court established the boundaries between Dorchester and Dedham during the next year. In 1657 the town suffered a great loss in the destruction of the records of births and deaths which had occurred previous to this time. It is said to have been caused by fire, in the burning of Thomas Millet's house. Many of the old laws of the Colony seem utterly absurd and unreasonable to us of this later date. For instance, an attempt to enforce such a law as that passed in 1659, concerning " strangers," would be apt to call forth at least the accusation of inhospitality. This law began by defin- ing what strangers should reside within the jurisdiction, and how they should be licensed, and then went on to state that if any of the townspeople should entertain any sojourner or inmate in his house more than one week with- out first obtaining a license from the selectmen, he would be liable to a fine. It is shown by the records that this law was strictly enforced. 1 Dorchester Town Records, p. 70 (1879). 1659.] COLONIAL TIMES. 69 In 1659, also, the proprietors gave two hundred acres of land, for the use and maintenance of the ministry, " to y* inhabitants of Dorchester on y" northwest side of y' river Neponset, and two hundred to the inhabitants that live on the southeast side of the river." On March 1, 1706, they made another grant of seventy-five acres, to be laid out for the use of those ministers who should be ordained in the land belonging to Dorchester, beyond the Blue Hills ; and another grant of seventy-five acres to the first minister who should settle and remain with the inhabitants for ten con- secutive years. During this same year the colonists were caused no little anxiety by the " trouble in the country and Parliament, rents and divisions in many of the churches, especially in Hartford ; the hand of God against us in the unseasonable wet and rain of last spring ; and the sad face of things in regard of the rising generation." This was indeed trouble enough. The trouble in Parliament did not affect them directly ; the differences in the church at Hartford were soon settled with the assistance of Mr. Mather, and the damage done the crops by the continued inclemency of the weather was in time repaired ; but " the sad face of things in regard of the rising generation " continued to be a thorn in the flesh of the good people for a long time to come. It is a question whether they would consider the state of affairs to-day so vastly ahead of their time if they could look in upon the modern civilization ! The 22d of February, 1660, was observed as a day of humiliation throughout the Colony, because England was " at this time in such an unsettled way of Government, being without Protection and without Parliament, only the power remaining with the army, and they also being divided." ^ The death of Major-General Humphrey Atherton, by accident, in 1661, deprived the Colony of one of its prin- 1 History of Dorchester, p. 189 (1859). 70 GOOD OLD DOECHESTEB. [1661. cipal men. Energetic and firm in character, he proved very useful to his fellow-colonists. An incident illus- trating his great courage and presence of mind is that which occurred when he was sent to Pessacus, an Indian sachem, vnth twenty men, for the purpose of demanding three hundred fathom of wampum, arrears due to the Colony. For some time Pessacus refused to allow him to come into his presence, putting him vJ^^u °^ ^^*^ evasive answers. Finally, ^y^/j'^^>&3/__ however, Atherton led his men to the door of the wigwam, and leaving them outside, entered, pistol in hand. He then seized Pessacus by the hair, and dragged him out from among a large number of his attendants, threatening to kill the first one who attempted to interfere. The accident referred to was a most unexpected and distressing one. Blake tells us that "he was killed by a fall from his Horse at y® S" end of Boston as he was coming homewards (I think in y° evening) his Horse either Running over, or starting at a Cow that lay down in y° way." The following inscription is to be found upon his tomb : — " Here lies our Captain, & Majr. of Svffolk was withall; A Godly Magestrate was he, & Major Generall. Two Troops of Horses with him here came, such worth his loue did crave ; Ten Companies of foot also mourning march'd to his Graue. Let all that Read be sm-e to keep y" Faith as he hath done. With Christ he lines now Crown'd, his name was Humphrey Atherton. He Died y« 16th of Sepr. 1661." During the next year, 1662, Milton was set off from Dorchester, and incorporated as a township ; but Dorchester still retained the land south of the township. The Indian name of Milton, " Unquety," clung to it for many years 1664.] COLONIAX, TIMES. 71 after it became a town. The fact of the setting off is thus recorded in the town records : — "It was voted whether there should be a Committee chosen to consider what may be best to be done both for the Towne of Dorchester and our neighbours at Unquetie, in reference to a township amongst themselves, and the vote was affirmative. At the same time there was chosen for the Committee, William Sumner, John Capen and John Minott." ' The execution of Sir Henry Vane in England, on June 14, caused a great deal of mourning among his old friends and acquaintances in Dorchester and Boston. He was greatly beloved, and was highly respected in the Colony. His punishment, when no proof could be found to sustain the charges brought against him, had considerable weight in preparing the minds of the colonists to resent the in- justice which they suffered later, and which came nearer home. It has been intimated that this may have been the first time that they felt how much they had bettered their condition by removing from the immediate action of cruel and unjust laws. It was in 1664 that the first step was taken that showed how the onward march of events was leading the colonists, and which finally led to the outbreak which brought about the separation from the mother country. During the troubled times in England the colonists had greatly sympathized with Cromwell's party, but were sorely dis- appointed when Charles ascended the throne. These feel- ings, increased no doubt by the fear that the restoration of the Stuart family to the throne might curtail many of the rights and privileges which they had formerly enjoyed, led the people of Dorchester to draw up a petition to the General Court which was very significant. It was undoubtedly drawn up by the Rev. Richard Mather, and is quoted here in part : — 1 Dorchester Town Records, vol. ii. p. 48. 72 GOOD OLD DOKCHESTEK. [1664. "The Petition off the Inhabitants of Dorchester: Humbly sheweth : " First of all That wee doe acknowledge it with all Thankfull- ness to God & to yourselues, as a great mercy, that the Lord was pleased to put it into yor harts, in your late session to expresse & declare. That it is your resolution (god assisting) to beare faith & true Alegianee vnto his majesteye. And to adhere vnto our Patent the dutyes and priuilidges thereof, soe dearly obtained & soe long enjoyed by vndoubted right in the sight of god & men :****** it is our humble request vnto this Honrd Court, That as you haue expressed & declared your resolution to adhere to ye patent & ye priuilidges thereof, for there may be a constancy therein & noe declining from the same, ffor you know how vncomfortable & dishon- rable it would be first to expresse such a resolution as affore mentioned, and aftenvard to act contrary, wch wee hope is farre from your intention. And wee pray god that such a thing may never bee. It is well known how his Royall majesty by letters to this collony doth confirme the said patent & charter, & promiseth that wee shall Injoy all the libertyes & priuilidges granted in & by the same, wch may be a further & great incouragmt to yorselues to adhere to your professed resolution, & to take courage by your authority & wisdome, that all the people within this jurisdiction may also doe the same. * * * It is our Humble request that the liberty of or churches & faithfull ministry in this collony may bee still continued, with- out the imposition of any such Injunction not ordained of god, wch consciences truly tender would be troubled withall, but that as hitherto our churches & ministers haue bine freed from such human inuentions & impositions, soe they may bee still, it being well knowne to the world that to be freed therefrom was one spetiall cause that moued many to remoue from their deare natiue country Into this wilderness, & how lamentable & grieuous it would bee to be here burdened & encombered againe with such matters is easy for any to Judge. ***** We humbly Intreat that the Inhabitants of this collony may not bee vrged & compelled to make any other paymts but what is by patent exspressed ; * * * to impose further 1665.] COLONIAL TIMES. 73 taxes & paiments on the country wch the patent requireth not but freeth vs from, seemeth to bee diflScult vnreesonable if not impossible to bee borne, & therfor we humbly desire it may be preuented." ^ This petition was signed by over one hundred of the inhabitants of Dorchester, and shows that much public spirit was manifested by the people. It is an interesting point to notice that in this document, as in every opposi- tion to the Crown's actions, almost down to the breaking out of the Revolution, the suggestion of separation from the mother country did not enter. England was still " our deare natiue country ; " and all opposition to its laws, oppressive as they were, was prompted by a desire for justice, with no idea of retaliation. That the colonists had great confidence in themselves is shown by the sermon preached by Mr. Mather about this time, on the significant text from Haggai ii. 4 : " Yet now be strong, all ye people of the land, saith the Lord, and work, for I am with you, saith the Lord of hosts." In 1665 Dorchester became fearful from rumors of an invasion by the Dutch. As Captain Clap writes : — "At that time our Works were very weak, and Intelligence came to us that Durother,^ a Dutch Commander of a Squadron of Ships, was in the West-Indies, and did intend to visit us ; whereupon our Battery also was repaired, wherein are Seven good Guns. But in the very Time of this Report in July 1665, God was pleased to send a grievous Storm of Thunder and Lightning, which did some hurt in Boston, and struck dead here at the Castle-Island, that worthy, renowned Captain Richard Davenport ; upon which the General Court in Auy. 10th follow- ing, appointed another Captain in the Room of him that was slain. But behold God wrought for us ; for although Durother intended to come here, yet God by contrary Winds kept him out ; so he went to Newfoundland, and did great spoil there." ^ 1 N. E. Hist. Gen. Register, vol. v. p. 393. ^ Probably De Ruither, a famous Dutch admiral. » Captain Clap's Memoirs, p. 32 (1844). 74 GOOD OLD DOKCHESTEE. [1665. The " other captain " referred to was Captain Clap him- self ; and this appointment compelled him to resign his connection with the town business, in which he had been considerably engaged. The exact boundaries of the town were not fixed for some time after the settlement. The first reference we find is upon the court records of 1632. In March, 1634-35 Dorchester had some difficulty with Boston about the bounds of Mount WoUaston ; and Lieutenant Feakes, Mr. Talcott, Mr. John Woolridge, Ensign Gibbens, and William Phelps, had the matter referred to them.^ In 1636 the committee made a report, which was accepted, establishing the south line of the town on the sea, at some point in Quincy Bay south of S quantum. This gave a large portion of upland and all the salt marsh on the south bank of the Neponset, including nearly the whole south- west side of the harbor, — an extent of ten miles of shore. The text of the report is as follows : — ' ' The bounds of Dorchest' is to run from the outside of M'' Rossiters flferme, nexte the sea, to the ffoote of y^ greate hill, from a mked tree to a second inked tree, in a straight lyne to the topp of the Blue Hills, nexte Naponsett, southe west & by west halfe a poynte west'ly, & all the marshe ground from the south east syde of M"' Newberrys howse, alonge Naponsett Eyver, to M' Stoughtons myll, to lye to Dorchest', & all the rest of the vpland & marshe from M"" Rossiters fferme to the sea, & soe to the mouthe of the ryv"^ beyonde Minotiquid Ryver, runing into A countrie southward & to the west, to lye to Boston, onely excepting such land as they have right to by graunt of the Court formly.''' Robte Feke ■) John Talcott) In 1636 the Court granted Dorchester all the land south of Neponset to the Blue Hills, including the territory of Unquety, the present town of Milton. Twenty-one years 1 Massachusetts Records, vol. i. p. 139 (1853). 2 ibid. p. 162. THE MINOT HOUSE. 1666.] COLOinAI, TIMES. 77 later, as we have seen, tlie town set apart six thousand acres of land at Ponkapoag, at the request of John Eliot, for an Indian reservation; and the territory of the town was diminished six thousand acres more through mistakes of the surveyors. On October 6, 1666, Kitchamakin, the sachem of the Massachusetts Indians, conveyed to the settlers all the land "beyond Neponsit Mill, to the utmost." Some twenty years before, Josias Chickataubut, the predecessor of Kitchamakin, had jdelded his power .to be subordinate to the English, and the conveyance of the land was a contin- uation of the policy then begun. Dorchester originally extended only to the top of the Blue Hill, but these grants greatly enlarged its boundaries. So long as old Josias Chickataubut had lived there had waged a bitter controversy between him and King Philip, of Mount Hope, concerning the boundaries of their respec- tive jurisdictions, and there was danger of more serious trouble than merely words. Josias, however, died before any outbreak occurred ; and the former difficulties were peacefully settled by King Philip and Squamaug, sachem of Ponkapoag, a brother of Josias, the meeting taking place at the house of Captain Hudson, near Wading River. The settlers were not altogether satisfied that the deed given to them by Kitchamakin was full enough ; so they obtained a promise from Wampatuck, his successor, that he would give them a grant of all the land in Dorchester beyond the Blue Hills, with the exception of the Ponka- poag plantation. Within three years he was to give them a complete title. His death prevented this; but Job Ahauton, who had been appointed his attorney, together with Squamaug, carried out the plans of the dead chief, and on December 10, 1666, the deed was consummated. This was the "New Grant," and a rate of £28 was levied on the proprietors to pay for it. It included all the land, not previously granted, lying between the Old Colony line 6 78 GOOD OLD DOKCHESTEE. [1688. and a grant made to Dedham, and covered the territory of the present towns of Canton, Stoughton, Sharon, Foxboro', and a part of Wrentham, — a site thirty-five miles long, and running to within one hundred and sixty rods of the Rhode Island line. The to-wn was formerly bounded by Boston, Roxbury, Dedham, Wrentham, Taunton, Bridgewater, and Braintree. It extended from Dorchester Point, as South Boston was then called, out as far as Fort Independence, which was then known as the " Castle," to within one hundred and sixty rods of the Rhode Island line. Soon, however, the mother town was called upon to contribute some of her territory to her offsprings, and thus gradually lost its dis- tinction of being the largest town in New England. Milton was set off from Dorchester in 1662; a part of Wrentham in 1724 ; Stoughton two years later ; a part of Dedham in 1739; Sharon in 1765; Foxboro' in 1778; Canton in 1797 ; Dorchester Heights in 1804 ; Washington Village in 1855 ; and Hyde Park in 1868. The climax was reached, however, when Dorchester itself was swal- lowed up by Boston in 1870, merging its identity into the commonplace "Sixteenth," afterwards "Twenty-fourth," Ward. In 1668 the people met together and drew lots for the " Twelve Divisions." In 1695 a committee was chosen to lay out the lands unto each proprietor according to a former grant which had been agreed upon by a vote of the proprietors in 1671. Twelve times as much land was proportioned to each proprietor as was already prefixed to each man in a list of a single division left by Captain Breck, and at that time in the keeping of the town clerk ; but it was not until 1698 that the laying out of the land was finished. Although some of these proprietors may have settled upon the land laid out to them, the owners must not be confounded with the actual settlers of the town. In some cases their children moved here and 1669.] COLONIAL TIMES. 79 occupied tlie land, but it is often doubtful whetlier the " proprietor " ever set foot on his possessions in the " New Grant." i On the 22d of April, 1669, the town lost one of its most prominent citizens in the death of Rev. Richard Mather.^ In 1671 Rev. Josiah Flint was ordained pastor of the church, to fill the vacancy caused by his death. The friendly relations which had existed between the Dorchester settlers and King Philip is shown by the fol- lowing letter, which is dated at Mount Hope, May 15, 1672. The letter is also interesting as it shows that Philip at this time dressed after the English fashion : — Philip sachem of mount hope To Capt. Hopestill Foster of Dorchester Sendeth Greeting S' You may please to remember that when I last saw You att Wading riuer You promised me six pounds in goods ; now my request is that you would send me [by] this Indian flue yards of White light cohered serge to make me a coat and a good hoUand shirt redy made ; and a pr of good Indian briches all which I have present need of, therefoer I pray S' faUe not to send them by my Indian and with them the seurall prices of them; and silke & buttens & 7 yards Gal- lownes for trimming : not else att present to trouble you w*** onley the subscription of King Philip Mount hope his Majesty P P y" Ib*^ of May 1672 The war with King Philip in 1675 is said to have been brought about through the killing of a Dorchester Indian named Sassamon. This Sassamon, or Wassausmon as his name really was, had served as private secretary to King Philip, and probably drew up the letter quoted above. He became Christianized, and left Philip in order to preach, 1 History of Canton, p. 3 (1893). ^ gge p. 230. 80 GOOD OLD DOBCHESTEK. [1675. divulging, as some of Philip's followers asserted, many of the king's plans. He was seized by Philip's men on this account and murdered, and his body was thrown into Assawomset Pond. The three Indians who had committed this deed were seized and tried by a jury, half of whom were their own countrymen. The verdict was against them, and they were hanged. They claimed in their own justification that they had a right to execute justice on a traitor in accord- ance with their own customs, and that the English had nothing to do with it. This was the spark which caused the flames to break out at last, but the fire had been smouldering for a long while. The Indians said that " if twenty of their honest Indians proved that an Englishman had wronged them, it was nothing; while if one of their worst Indians testified against any of them, it was sufficient." The Indians further claimed that the English made the Indians drunk, and then cheated them ; and that the English cattle and horses had so increased that they could not keep their corn from injury, never having been accustomed to build fences. The settlers, on the other hand, claimed that everything which had been taken from the Indians had been fairly purchased, and that laws had been framed to protect their interests. The war was about over by the close of 1676 ; but the struggle had been a fearful one, and few families had escaped without the loss of at least one member. Now, however, another affliction seemed imminent. The families in the country had fled to Boston and its vicinity for pro- tection, and left their farms uncultivated. This caused a great scarcity of food, and starvation seemed to stare the people in the face. Early the next year, however, money and provisions were sent to the aid of the helpless settlers from London and Dublin, and this kindly act bridged over the trouble until 1677.] COLONIAL TIMES. 81 the people regained their former position. Drake says, " In this extremity, Dr. Increase Mather did, by his letters, procure a whole shipload of provisions from the charity of his friends in Dublin, and a considerable sum of money, and much clothing, from the like charity of his friends in London, greatly to the relief of the poor people here." ^ Proof that this generous deed was appreciated was shown in 1849, when the descendants of these early settlers sent the U. S. S. " Jamestown " to Ireland, bearing provisions and assistance. That is ^. ^ the kind of reciprocity Jroptshw '-ffo^Xr- which finds universal far vor. During this year death deprived the town of Captain Hopestill Foster. The next few years were tranquil ones, the regular routine of the life of the people being broken only by occasional reprimands administered to a few transgressors. Among these were Robert Spur, who was called before the Church in 1677, accused of the offence " of giving enter- tainment in his house to loose and vain persons ; " Samuel Rigby, who had to answer for "the sin of cursing, excessive drinking, and the neglect of attendance on the public ordinances ; " and John Merrifield, who was sum- moned for committing the sin " of drunkenness, and also for contempt and slighting the power of Christ in his Church." In 1678 John Brown and John Hoppin were ordered to leave the town, "having no settled place of abode," and in 1679 Robert Stiles had to give an account of the "manner in which he spent his time." During the year 1678 the town paid for killing seven wolves, and voted to dispose of the old meeting-house. A church was formed in Milton, it being "done in our meeting-house in Dorchester, because of some opposition that did appear." On June 6 a contribution was made for the relief of the captives which were taken from Hatfield, ' History of Boston. 82 GOOD OLD DOECHESTEK. [1679. amounting to £8 5s 2d. The new meeting-house was used for the first time on November 17, and on the 1st of December Mr. Flint proposed to the Church a day of thanksgiving. The chronicles show that the year 1679 was remarkable chiefly for the activity of the Church in investigating and "making settlement with its members for long-standing sins." In 1680 the town was brought into a state of great ex- citement by the report that Elizabeth, wife of William Morse of Newbury, was a witch. The case was brought before the Court, and the woman pronounced guilty by the jury, but later she was reprieved. John Capen and Jacob Hewins represented Dorchester on the jury. Blake does not refer to the witchcraft trials in his " Annals ; " so we may judge that, while Dorchester was undoubtedly deeply concerned in the events of the time, the town took no direct part in the persecutions. In furnishing the implacable chief justice, William Stoughton, however, Dorchester certainly must have felt that some of the responsibility fell upon their famous townsman. A book published in 1697 by the Rev. John Hale, entitled " A Modest Enquiry into the Nature of Witchcraft," con- tains the following allusion to Dorchester : — "Another that suffered on that account sometime after was a Dorchester woman. Upon the day of her execution, Mr. Thompson, minister at Brantry, and J. P. , her former master, took pains with her to bring her to repentance. She utterly denied her guilt of witchcraft, yet justified God for bringing her to that punishment." On the 16th of September, 1680, Rev. Mr. Flint,i the pastor of the Church, died, after serving his people faith- fully for nine years. John Foster,^ the popular school- master, one of the most valued of the townspeople, died September 9th, the next year. 1 See p. 234. a See p. 312. 1682.] COLONIAL TIMES. 83 Measures were on foot in 1682 to provide means where- with to build a fence around the burjdng ground. A committee was appointed to visit the most influential of the inhabitants, and to solicit financial aid, so that the town rate might be lightened. The result of their endeavors was that Thomas Modsley was appointed "to make and mainetaine a suificient fence against the burieng place for seuen yeares, and to keeps it vp all the tyme, and then to leaue a sufficient fence at the end of the terme." ^ An important event of this same year was the adoption by the town of a set of standard weights. " Weights are p'uided by Constable Elisha Foster," writes the ancient chronicler, " for to be a standard for the towne according as the law requireth ; by which all other weights are to be sized and sealed ; diuers of which are bell fashioned viz : one 56 : one 28 : one 14 : one 7 : one 4 : one 2 : the rest are flat weights and are one pound : one halfe pound : one quarter : one eighth parte : one ounce : as allso one halfe ounce : one quarter of an ounce : one eighth : one 16 part of an ounce." These years just before the dividing line between colo- nial and provincial times were busy ones for the people, and a large amount of property changed hands. It is the record of these transfers which swells the town records during this period, and evidently kept the " town dark " well employed. In 1685 James II. became king of England, and this was the most severe blow the colonists had yet received. His character was too well known in New England to leave any doubt as to the course he would pursue. His choice of advisers from men infamous for their crimes con- firmed their convictions, especially when the villanous Percy Kirke was appointed governor. It would not have been remarkable if a serious break had occurred at this point between the Colony and the mother country, for there 1 Dorchester Town Eecords, p. 265 (1879). 84 GOOD OLD DOKCHESTBB. [1686. was certainly provocation enough. The great diplomacy which they displayed, however, combined with an unusual amount of common-sense, carried them safely over the troubled times which so threatened them with disaster. The town was deprived of one of its most valuable inhabitants, the next year, by the death of Elder James Humfrey. Early in February he had " moved the Church that they would look out and provide themselves another Elder, because he had long been lame, and did look at himself near his departure out of this world." Much to the regret of the people, his last request to be buried in the same tomb with his early companion and friend, the Rev. Richard Mather, could not be complied with, as it was too small, and had been stoned up, so that it was not practicable to open it again. However, the body of the beloved Elder was reverently laid at rest near Mr. Mather's tomb, with a stone bearing the following inscription to mark the place : — " Here lyes Interred y' Body of Mr. James Hmnfrey, one of y® EuUng Elders of Dorchester, who departed this life May 12th, 1686, in y" 78th year of his age. I nclosed within this shrine is precious Dust A nd only waits for th' rising of y' Just, M ost useful! while he liu'd, adorn'd his Station. Euen to old age he Seru'd his Generation, Since his Decease tho't of with Veneration. H ow great a Blessing this Ruling Elder he U nto this Church & Town ; & Pastors Three. Mather he first did by him help Receiue; Flint did he next liis burthen much Relieue ; Renowned Danforth he did assist with skill, E steemed high by all ; Bear fruit untill Yielding to Death his Glorious seat did fill." Deacon James Blake was chosen ruling elder in Mr. Humfrey's place, in spite of his plea that he was "too thick of hearing " to accept the position. 1687.] COLONIAL TIMES. 85 The year 1687 brings us neariy to the close of Colonial Times, which we find overshadowed by clouds of doubt and uncertainty. Sir Edmond Andros was in power, and the town chose no representative to the General Court. The people were discontented under the new government, and did not carry out the orders of the governor and his council with their accustomed obedience and regularity. The prevailing lack of sympathy is shown by the following entry on the Church Records : — ' ' The 3 of May 88 ther was fast in o' towne it is said a pub- lik fast but few towns had notice of it nor had wee but by M"^ Stoughtons enforming y' y" Counsell had determined it ther was none at Rocksbery nor Cambridg nor watertown nor at boston but at y° first Church ther y^ Saboth before they say was apointed a thanksgiving day for y^ queens being w* child : our Saboth was kept as at other times being Sacrament day." ^ The fifty-eight years, whose events have been recorded in the preceding pages, have brought forth a wonderful development in the early settlers. These sturdy emigrants have succeeded in planting a colony in the wilderness, and in creating order out of chaos. All around them other colonies are started; but it is to Dorchester that they look for leadership. It is Dorchester that institutes the first special town meeting; the succeeding year the other settlements follow her example. It is Dorchester that founds the first free public school, and elects the first school committee : from this originated the great system of public education which has ever made Massachusetts famous. These events alone entitle Dorchester to a foremost position as a pioneer of good citizenship. The descendants of the early colonists, who displayed so much wisdom in spite of their restricted opportunities, have reason to feel 1 Records of the First Church of Dorchester, p. 128. GOOD OLD DOKCHESTEK. [1688. proud that the same worthy blood flows through their veins as that which animated their ancestors, more than two hundred and fifty years ago, to establish such valuable institutions. Thus we find the people prepared, by their struggles during the half-century just passed, to take part in the second period of the existence of the town. The Colony is about to become a Province, and the colonists are almost ready to assume the title of provincials. We shall find the transition period full of interest and importance, bring- ing out more forcibly the sterling worth and indomitable courage, perseverance, and intelligence of the people to whom Dorchester owes her foundation. Ship of the XVIIth Century, of the class to which the "Mary and John " belonged. M^< ^^ g^^^^H ^ ■^^ 'tS g ^^^^ S ^ m% /i * ^^ » 'f 1 •\ \i ^ffl:^^^..->'-.i:fL. ^^ i^:^ ^^ CHAPTER II. PROVINCIAL TIMES. 1689-1783. T is to the Town Records that the historical student must turn to find the evidence of the important change which has come over the people. It has been silently and unconsciously accomplished, without the actual knowledge even of the people themselves. Under the date of May, 1689, is the follow- ing entry, which has been called ^ "the bridge from the Colonial to the Provincial period ": — " According to the order of the councill for safety of the people and conservation of the peace, may the 2*, 1689, directed to the Captain and select men of the town of dorchester, — the inhabitants of the town being warned, met together on the 7'-'' instant, may, and made choice of Samuel Clap and Timothy Tilston to convene at boston upon thursday, the ninth instant, at two o'clock afternoon, fully impowrd, then and there, to consult, advise, joyn, and give their assistance with the councill now sitting." The events which called forth the appointment of these representatives were momentous. In April, 1689, a rumor came from Virginia that the Prince of Orange had landed in England the November previous, and this raised the hopes of the inhabitants of Boston to the highest pitch. 1 Eev. Samuel J. Barrows: "Dorchester in the Provincial Period." — Memorial History of Boston, toI. ii. p. 357. 00 GOOD OLD DOECHBSTBE. [1689. Soon the excitement was beyond control. Tar-barrels were ligbted on Beacon Hill, and flags were raised to take their place by day. The people from the country around Boston came flocking to the town, and every one seemed to realize that a great crisis was at hand. A company of Boston soldiery escorted several of the former magistrates through the principal streets, finally stopping at the Town House on King Street, the present State Street. The former magistrates appeared on the balcony, and read a " Declara- tion of the Gentlemen, Merchants and Inhabitants of Boston and the Country adjacent" to the excited crowd in the street. This document is supposed to have been drawn up by Cotton Mather, and rehearsed the oppressive acts of Andros's administration, the illegal appointment of the Dudley Commission, and the wrongful suppression of the Charter. It further hailed with delight the accession of the Prince of Orange to the throne of England, and justified the arrest and imprisonment of " those few ill men which have been (next to our sins) the grand authors of all our miseries." Numerous arrests were made, including Captain George of the frigate "Rose," and Randolph and Chief Justice Dudley. The fort surrendered, and it was agreed that the " Rose " should strike her topmasts and send her sails ashore, thus lying helpless in the stream, under the guns of the fort. The overthrow of the Andros government was accomplished without the loss of a di-op of blood. A provisional government was at once organized under the name of a "Council for the Safety of the People and Conservation of the Peace." The venerable and beloved Simon Bradstreet was appointed president, and a number of the old assistants were called to his aid as a council. It was to this council that Messrs. Clap and Tileston were chosen, as the Dorchester representatives. Fifty-four towns of Massachusetts were represented in the assembly which met after the overthrow of Andros ; 1689.] PKOVINCIAL TIMES. 89 but, although it was clearly the sentiment of the delegates that the ancient Charter might be resumed, all action was suspended under it until it was restored. On May 29, the news reached Boston that "William and Mary had been invested with the crown. In the declaration of the prince to the people of England, he announced that he came in order that " all magistrates who have been unjustly turned out, shall forthwith reas- sume their former Imployments, and the English corpora- tions return to their ancient prescriptions and charters." It was upon this clause that the colonists confidently relied ; but they had been deceived in their expectations. The ministers of the king explained that the clause referred to the English charters, which had been taken away by James, and not to those of the colonies, which violated the Navigation Acts, and threatened the interests of English trade and manufactures. The new regency was not disposed to continue the policy of the late king, but evidently had no idea of allowing the opportunity to slip by for putting a restraint upon colonial independence. Thus the Massachusetts deputies were only able to obtain permission to use the old Charter until a new one could be framed. William made a concession, however, which somewhat lessened the bitterness of the disappointment : the appoint- ment of a governor who would be acceptable to the people was left to the agents of the Colony. One of these agents, Increase Mather, had been sent to England during the critical affairs of the Colony. He had not been successful in procuring a new charter satisfactory to the people, nor in saving the old one ; but his influence was enough to secure the appointment of Sir William Phips as governor of New England. Dorchester was honored in having William Stoughton, one of her most prominent citizens, chosen lieutenant-governor. When Phips was recalled, and there was a delay in the arrival of Bellomont, his 90 GOOD OLD DORCHESTER. [1689. successor, the conduct of affairs largely devolved upon Stoughton. Dr. George E. Ellis, writing of the effect of the changes of this period on Massachusetts, says : — " It might seem as if the transition between the old and the new regime in Massachusetts had been made under such favor- able circumstances, through the familiar personalities of Phips and Stoughton, that the people -would have hardly been con- scious of the change in their form of government. In fact, the change had been so facilitated in this respect that it was very much relieved of a revolutionary or startling character. There was a cheerful effort, in the renewal of the old routine in the towns, to gather up the fragments, and to find the ever excellent solace and security of an excited people in industry. But none the less must the strong and stiff old Stoughton have felt the difference between standing among the foremost, as he had done in the colonial period, in sensitiveness to any reminder of accountability across the water, and being the reluctant repre- sentative here of that foreign dictation and surveillance." ^ The excitement incident to the events already recorded in this chapter had hardly subsided vrhen Dorchester was called upon to furnish a company of soldiers to assist in the English attack on Canada. In response to this demand the town organized a company of seventy-four men, under command of Captain John Withington. A question has been raised as to whether it was possible for so small a town to raise and support so large a company of men. The names here given include volunteers from the present towns of Milton and Stoughton, then within Dorchester's limits ; but even with this in mind, the num- ber is much larger than could have been expected. It is but another proof of the wonderful fortitude of the early settlers, who suffered any sacrifice to support what they considered to be a worthy cause. All doubt as to the 1 The Royal Governors of Massachusetts : Memorial History of Boston, vol. ii. p. 39. 1690.] PROVINCIAL TIMES. 91 actual fact has been removed by the discovery of a com- plete list of the names of the soldiers among the papers of Ebenezer Clap, the son of Nathaniel, who took an active part in town affairs at the time the company was raised. The following list is published in the " History of Dorchester" (1859): — CANADY SOLDIERS. A list of the names of the soldiers under the command of Captain John Withington, Oct. S, 1690. Capt. Job. Withington. Sargt. Ammiel Weeks. Corp. John Poope. Left. George Minott. Sargt. Richard Butt. Corp. Joseph Curtis. Insine Samuel Sumner. Sargt. Samuel Sumner. Corp. George Holmes. Joseph Weeks, Clarke. Joseph Tresoott, Drummer, Ebenezer Sumner. Henry Lyon. Eliab Lyon. Uright Modsley. William Cheney. Peter Galley. Ebenezer Poope. William Sumner. Eleazer Walles. William Cooke. Joseph Long. Thomas Weeks. Thomas Andrews. William Sumner. Samuel Sandras. Corp. Daniel Hensha. WiUiam Blake. John Gulliver. William George. Joseph Atherton. Samuel Triscott. Edward Wiatte. Benieman Hewens. James Swift. Hopstill Sandras. Solomon Clarke. John Lord. Consider Atherton. Jezeniah Sumner. Adam Barr. James Robinson. Cornelius Tilestone. Richard Euins. Samuel Hicks. ^ John Tolman. John Jones. These on bord Capt. B Thomas Kelton. John Morrill. James Morey. Edward Clap. Jehossephat Crabtree. John Briant. Ebenezer Crane. Samuel Chandler. William Fowst. William Belshar. David Stevenson. Henry Jackson. Thomas Bird. Augusten Clements. William Swift. Moses ChapHn. Joshua Shoot. John Anderson. John Leeds. Isaac Caps. John Crewhore. Robert Husay. Charles Readman. William Baker. Mathew Mapley. John Jones. Elias Moonke. Forty-six members of this company never returned from the ill-fated expedition, most of whom are supposed to have lost their lives at sea. In 1735 the General Court of 92 GOOD OLD DOKCHESTEE. [1691. Massachusetts granted the survivors of the expedition, and the heirs of those who lost their lives, a tovirnship of land in Worcester County, which was called Dorchester- Canada. Later, this was incorporated into a town under the name of Ashburnham. The year 1690-91 proved to be the most disastrous Dorchester had experienced, so far as deaths are concerned. Blake says that thirty-three persons died of small-pox, and twenty-four of fever, besides the forty-six who lost their lives in the Canadian expedition.^ Among the number was Captain Roger Clap, to /jPo^^TT^^ Q^OJip^ whom reference has often been •^ made in preceding pages. He was of the ultra Puritan school, and opposed to the inno- vations attempted by the Antinomians and Quakers. He resigned his position at the Castle when the first charter was dissolved in 1686, as he was unwilling to lend his assistance to the tyrannical schemes of Governor Andros. He removed to Boston soon after his resignation, where he died in 1691. Blake says of him : — "As to his natural Temper, it is said, He was of a chearful & pleasant Disposition, courteous and kind in his Behaviour, free and familiar in his Conversation, yet attended with a proper Reservedness ; he had a Gravity & Presence that com- manded Respect from others. He departed this life, Feb. 2, 1690-91, in the 82d Year of his Age. He was buried in the old Burying Place in Boston ; the Military Officers going before the Corps ; and next to the Relations, the Govemour and the whole General Court following after; and the Guns firing at the Castle at the same time." '^ Another death during this year, while not occurring within the town limits, was felt by the people to be a great loss. John Eliot, " the Apostle to the Indians," died in Roxbury, leaving a vacancy which no one else could fill. 1 Annals of the Town of Dorchester, p. 33 (1846). 2 Memoirs of Roger Clap, p. 59 (1844). JOHN ELIOT. 1691.] PEOVINCIAL TIMES. 95 He was born at Nasing, in Essex, England, in 1604, and was educated at Jesus College, Cambridge. While here Eliot displayed his wonderful love of philology, which he after- wards demonstrated in learning the language of the native Indians. After taking his degree Eliot devoted himself bliot's chaib.' to teaching, acting in the capacity of usher in the school of Rev. Thomas Hooker. During his residence with Mr. Hooker's family, he resolved to devote himself to the work of the Christian ministry. At this time there was no field for non-conformist preachers in England, so Eliot deter- ^ This antique ctiair, having been preserved in a Eoxbury family, was given to Eev. Dr. Harris, and is at present in the First Church in Dorchester. It bears this inscription : " This chair once belonged to the Eev. John Eliot, commonly called the ' Apostle to the Indians,' and was used in his study. It was placed under the pulpit of this meeting-house (built in 1816 by the first parish in Dorchester) by Eev. Thaddeus Mason Harris, D.D., for forty- three years its pastor, as a venerated memorial." 6 96 - GOOD OLD DOECHESTEB. [1695. mined to emigrate to America, where lie arrived November 3, 1631. He oiSciated for a year in the First Church in Boston, at the end of which time he was appointed pastor of the Church in Roxbury, where he remained until his death. Eliot soon began the mission work among the Indians by which he became so well known. There were about twenty tribes of natives within the bounds of the planta- tion of Massachusetts Bay, and he devoted himself for a long period to a studv of their language. He obtained the assistance of a young Indian who had been taken prisoner during the Pequot War, and who had been put out to service with a Dorchester planter. With his aid, Eliot translated the Commandments, the Lord's Prayer, and many Scripture texts, and at length was able to preach to the Indians without the help of an interpreter. His most famous work was the translation of the Bible into the Indian language. Eliot's mission work extended to all the early settle- ments in the vicinity ; but nowhere did he accomplish more than among the Dorchester Indians, for whom he obtained the Ponkapoag Plantation. Captain John Capen, a valuable citizen, died in 1692. He was one of the deacons of the Church, and had been selectman and recorder, serving in the former capacity for sixteen years, and in the latter for thirteen years. Blake says of him, " He wrote more in the Books than any one man by far ; keeping y° Books in good order. He wrote about 246 Pages in both Books." Early in December, 1695, Rev. Joseph Lord and a small but determined band of followers left Dorchester for the purpose of spreading the gospel. The 22d of the previous October, the usual lecture day at the church at Dorchester, was devoted to the ordination of Mr. Lord; and all the neighboring towns sent representatives to the ceremony. 1696.] PEOVnsrCIAIi TIMES. 97 From that time until December the zealous minister was hard at work winning followers to go with him into the wilderness of South Carolina. The enterprise promised well ; and it was an enthusiastic party of nine which embarked after listening to a sermon from Rev. John Danforth. After bidding their friends farewell, they knelt down, " mingling their supplications with every expression of Christian tenderness." The following entries on the Church Records in refer- ence to this undertaking are of special interest: — "DecemV S**" 1695. The Chiu'chifor Carolina set saile from Boston Dee. 14'^ at night the skiff was neer run und"^ Water y^ Stormy wind being so boisterous. They kept a day of pray' on board : & safely Landed at Carolina Decemb'' y^ 20^, y' oth' vessells had a Moneths Passage, this but about 14 days " Febr: 2* : There was y^ first Sacrament of y^ Lords Supper that ever was Celebrated in Carolina, Eight persons received besides Such as were of y' Church by virtue of Comunion of Churches, and there was Great Joy among y" Good People of Carolina & many Thanksgivings to y^ Lord." The account of their journey was well given by Prof. John B. Mallard in his centennial address before the people of Midway, Georgia, on December 6, 1852. He said : — " The Macedonian cry of the pious in Carolina was heard in New England, and the religious sentiment of the Dorchester settlers was awakened. They had planted the first church in Connecticut, and now they were ready to gather another to send to the far distant borders of the South. . . . On the 5th of December, the first missionaries that ever left the shores of New England were offering up their evening prayers from the decks of two small vessels on the bosom of the Atlantic. What an interesting company did those two frail barks contain ! Infancy, not knowing whither it went ; youth with all its joyousness ; middle age with its conscious weight of responsibility : the old and the young ; the strong and the weak ; the protector and the protected. "Landing on the shores of Carolina, they threaded their 98 GOOD OLD DOECHESTEE. way to the Ashley River ; and twenty miles from the abode of civilized man, — in the midst of an unbroken forest, where wild beasts prowled, — they fixed their habitation ; and, February 2d, 1696, under the boughs of a weather-beaten oak (still standing and stretching its branches over the resting places of the dead), they took the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, renewed their vows, and gave public thanks to that Being who had led them on in safety." The people built themselves temporary shelter until they could devote more time to the erection of dwelling- houses, the first care being to provide themselves with a suitable church. This was established under the Congre- gational order of church government, a form which floui- ished with them for many years. True to the town of their birth, the new habitation was called " Dorchester," and the people did what they could, in a rude way, to make the town resemble its New England parent. It was not long before the discovery was made that the neighborhood did not extend widely enough to answer the needs of the ever-increasing inhabitants. More than this, the location had not proved as healthful as had been expected; so, fifty years after the first settlement, three persons were appointed to explore the adjoining country, with a view to finding a more favorable site for the town. The report was that a suitable location had been found in the adjoining colony of Georgia, and the exploring com- mittee advised an immediate removal. A majority were in favor of accepting the advice of the committee, but a few were so unwilling to leave their homes, which seemed hardly more than just established, that there was a division, and some went, and some remained behind. The separation did not last long, how- ever, for the reluctant ones decided to follow their more adventurous brothers, and the settlement was again united. The new location was situated just half way between the Altamaha and the Ogechee Rivers, and the town was there- 1695.] PEOVTNCIAL TIMES. 99 fore named " Midway." The number of inhabitants was eight hundred and sixteen. That they still possessed the characteristic Dorchester traits is shown by the words of the secretary of the Georgia Colony in a letter to Mr. Benjamin Martyn in England. He says, among other complimentary expressions, "I really look upon these people moving here, to be one of the most favorable circumstances that could befall the colony." A further proof, if one were needed, of the position which these people held, is the fact that from this settlement Georgia has selected two governors, and many of the most able judges, professors, ministers, and bishops of the State have claimed Midway as their home. Mr. Lord, the minister, originally ordained to pursue missionary work in South Carolina, did not remain long with the hamlet he had helped to institute, as he returned to Massachusetts, and settled in Chatham. Rev. Hugh Fisher was his successor ; and in 1735 Rev. John Osgood was ordained. When he died, in 1773, different mini- sters officiated for four years, until Mr. Moses Allen, of Northampton, was settled. A year later he was taken prisoner by the British, and for several months was con- fined in one of their prison ships. He chafed under the loss of his liberty, however, being anxious to be where he could be of assistance to his fellow-patriots, and tried to escape by throwing himself into the water. In the attempt to swim to land he was drowned. On this same occasion many of the buildings in Midway, including the church, were burned by the British under General Provost. Among the names associated with the religious life at Midway are those of Rev. Abiel Holmes, Rev. C. Gilder- sleeve, Rev. Murdock Murphy, Rev. Robert Quarterman, Rev. I. S. K. Axson, Rev. D. L. Buttolph, and Rev. John F. Baker. The part taken by the Midway patriots previous to the war of the Revolution made them famous. They exerted 100 GOOD OLD DOECHESTER. [1695. every effort to bring Georgia up to their standpoint, and to induce the Colony to send delegates to the Continental Congress, but to no avail. When the case proved hopeless, they bravely dissented from their neighbors, and chose Dr. Lyman Hall to represent them at Philadelphia, where he took an active part in affairs of the convention, and was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. Thus we see that Dorchester, in Massachusetts, exerted no little influence on the Dorchester in South Carolina, and Midway, Georgia, and in this way was doubly prom- inent in the early strike for liberty. Dr. John Codman, pastor of the Second Church, while travelling in the South in 1824, paid a visit to the settle- ment at Midway. He gives the following interesting account of it : — " Soon after breakfast we prepared ourselves to attend church, about nine miles distant from Colonel Law's. On our way, which was principally through a thick wood, we passed many negroes, neatly attired, walking to the house of God in company. As we approached the church, a great number of carriages were coming in every direction to this sacred spot, which is far from the habitations of men, and surrounded only by the graveyard and a few little houses and arbors, erected for the convenience of the congregation, who come from such a dis- tance that, in some instances, they take their whole families with them. There is an intermission of about half an hour, and this interval is spent by the whites in the buildings and arbors around the church. The blacks, meanwhile, retire with then- leader or watchman, to the woods, where they are reminded of the truths to which they have been attending, by one of their own number, whom they call an ' exhorter.' I preached morn- ing and afternoon to a very attentive audience. The singing was performed in the old-fashioned style, and without any select choir. The members of the church retain the primitive faith which their ancestors embraced, and are extremely fearful of innovations. There are about six hundred communicants, including the blacks, and the ordinance is administered once in three months. The blacks have watchmen, as they are called, 1699.] PEOVINCIAL TIMES. 101 whose duty it is to see that they walk circumspectly ; and in case of deviation, to report the same to the Church, which has ever maintained a wholesome discipline. Thus has passed this interesting Sabbath, which may truly be called a 'Peep at the Pilgrims,' and carries one back in feeling to the early settlement of our country, when the church was indeed in the wilderness, and the disciples of Christ a distinct and peculiar people." A committee was appointed in 1699, consisting of Jolm Bird, Daniel Preston, Jr., and Charles Davenport, to lay out the thousand acres of land which had been appropri- ated by the town for the maintenance of a free school. This "school farm," as it was called, was near the Plymouth Colony line, by the Bridgewater Road, half way between Boston and Taunton. It was made up of several different lots in the same vicinity, but which did not connect with each other. William Brimsmead, a son of Dorchester who gained a reputation for himself away from his native town, died in 1701. He was one of the students at Harvard College who rebelled when the course was lengthened from three to four years, and left without obtaining his degree. This was about 1657. The field of the greater part of his labors was Marlborough, where he accomplished much good by preaching the gospel, although many a time he was forced to leave his sermon half-finished, and run with his congregation to the fort near by, to obtain protection against the Indians. A proof of his good work is the " Brimsmead Covenant," which was used by the Marlbo- rough Church with but a few verbal changes until 1837. One of Mr. Brimsmead's eccentricities was that he refused baptism to all children born on Sunday. He died on July 3, and is characterized as a "well-accomplished servant of Christ." William Stoughton, the most prominent citizen Dor-. Chester had yet produced, died on July 7th of the same year. He was the son of Israel Stoughton, and was born 102 GOOD OLD DOBCHESTEE. [1701. September 30, 1631, whether in England or Dorchester is not definitely known. He received his education at Har- vard College, graduating in 1650, and he then went to New College, at Oxford, to extend his course. In 1662 he lost his fellowship through the restoration of Charles II., and returned to New England, where he assisted Mr. Mather in the public services. He was distinguished as a preacher, and when Mr. Mather died he was six times invited to become his successor. For "reasons within himself " he persistently declined, but preached the election sermon in 1668, which is said to have been one of the most powerful and impressive discourses ever delivered before the General Court. Stoughton was well known from his connection with politics, but it was his position as chief justice of the court before which the witchcraft trials were held which gave him notoriety and made him so unpopular with many. His colleague, Judge Sewall, made a public recantation in the Old South Church for the part he had taken in these trials, but Governor Stoughton refused to do the same, saying that he had acted up to the enlightenment he had at the time, although he had since been convinced that he had been in the wrong. A writer in "Putnam's Maga- zine " for September, 1853, says, " Chief Justice Stoughton, after the delusion was over, sent a note to the pulpit on Sunday desiring prayers for his pardon, if in any way he had sinned by his course in the trials ; and as it was read he stood up in his pew, showing by his quivering lip the strong feeling within." Whether this is true or not, it is certain that Stoughton was greatly influenced by the superstition of the age, and undoubtedly acted sincerely, but without the enlighten- ment one would expect to iind in a man of his standing. Governor Stoughton was a large land-owner, and was one of Dorchester's wealthiest citizens. His home, on the corner of Pleasant Street and Savin Hill Avenue, was WILLIAM STOUGHTON. 1701.] PEOVINCIAL TIMES. 105 marked by two large elms for many years after his decease ; but now these have given way to the changes of time, and the spots where the sturdy old governor discussed politics and the witchcraft trials are now the witnesses of other scenes. Governor Stoughton was a friend to education, and three years before his death he gave £1000 of Massachu- setts currency to Harvard College, with which to erect a dormitory. The original building was torn down in 1780, but the present Stoughton Hall was erected to take its place. A further bequest of land was made in his will, to " Harvard College at Cambridge, the place of my first pub- lic education (which nursery of good learning hath been of inestimable blessing to the Church and people of God in this wilderness, and may ever continue to be so, if the people continue in the favor of God)." The income of this was to go toward the support of needy students. The Rev. Samuel Willard of the Old South Church preached Stoughton's funeral sermon on July 17, 1701, and he was called " the last of the original Puritans." The estimates of Stoughton's character vary. The elabo- rate Latin inscription upon his tomb, which is supposed to have been written by Cotton Mather, and modelled after that of Blaise Pascal, the famous French phil- osopher, eulogizes him in a manner which has not found a response in the writings of that day or since. Palfreyj for instance, refers to him as a "rich, atrabilious bachelor, one of those men to whom it seems to be a necessity of nature to favor oppressive and insolent pretentions, to resent every movement for freedom and humanity as an impertinence and affront." The same writer speaks of him again as " hard, obstinate, narrow- minded," having a "bull-dog stubbornness that might iu other times have made him a St. Dominic." Palfrey admits, however, that he was " not unconscientious after his own dreary way." Quincy describes Governor 106 GOOD OLD DOKOHESTEE. [1701. Stoughton, in his "History of Harvard University," as " having more of the willow than the oak in his constitu- tion ; " " one of these politicians who change their principles with times, and shift their sails so as to catch every favorable breeze." Another writer calls him " pudding-faced, sanctimonious, and unfeeling." No one, however, seems to question the excellence of his admini- stration as governor. The English version of the inscription referred to on his tomb is as follows : — Here lies WILLIAM STOUGHTON, Esquire, Lieutenant, afterwards Governor, Of the Province of Massachusetts in New England, also Chief Judge of the Superior Court in the same Province. A man of wedlock unknown, Devout in Religion, Renowned for Virtue, Eamous for Erudition, Acute in Judgment, Equally Illustrious by Kindred and Spirit, A Lover of Equity, A Defender of the Laws, Founder of Stoughton Hall, A most Distinguished Patron of Letters and Literary Men, A most strenuous Opponent of Impiety and Vice. Rhetoricians delight in Him as Eloquent, Writers are acquainted with Him as Elegant, Philosophers seek Him as Wise, Doctors honor Him as a Theologian, The Devout revere Him as Grave, All admire Him ; unknown by All Yet known to All. What need of more. Traveller ? Whom have we lost — Stoughton ! Alas! I have said sufScient. Tears press, I keep silence. He lived Seventy Years ; On the Seventh of July, in the Year of Safety 1701 He Died. Alas! Alas! What Grief! During the early years of the century, the town was more concerned with events having but an indirect result 1703.] PEOVINCIAL TIMES. 107 upon its welfare. The following entries on the Church Records show that the people were very conversant of what was taking place about them : — " Febr. 1703 Captivated from Deerfield, the Rev* m' John Williams ; & 96 more but killed by y° French & Indians 52 ■w'of m™ Williams one & some of y' Children & Eleven Soul- diers some y' were sent to y"^ Garison oth™ (viz 6) y* came in upon y^ Alarum & 14 men more Diverse houses burnt about 50 french & Indians kiU'd." "April, 8, 1703. A publ: Generall Thanksgiving for Her Majestys Successes by Sea & Land against y« French & Span- iards in Europe & America, many Ships, much Treasure & many Towns being taken. M™ John Earl of Marlborough is Capt. General of y* Land forces James Duke of Ormond is General of y^ Fleet forces & S' George Rook is Admhal of y' Fleet ; und' o'' Soveraign Queen Anne who came to y* Throne March. 8. 1702. But before y« Late Knig William y^ 3" of Glorious Memory died. There were Sundry Societys Sett up for Reformation of Manne's, & behold y" Smiles of Heaven, upon y° Same, o' Nation being on a Suddain flUd with plenty of Grain & plenty of Silver, (y^ Plate Fleet being taken,) & plenty of Hono'' & Victory, So That y^ Queen has Invited Her Subjects in y^ plantations in America to Re Joyce with Her & so Return Thanks to God." "May 18 1704 A Province Fast by Proclamation & there was a slaughter & Captivation of People at Northampton six days before." For several years previous to 1704 it had been the practice of the Church to pay the salary of the minister by voluntary contributions. The amount of these, how- ever, was found to be insufficient ; and Mr. Danforth, this year, was guaranteed a stated sum, to be raised by a special tax if the contributions still proved inadequate. The proprietors of the undivided lands made several generous gifts in 1706. During this year Rev. John Danforth, and Rev. Mr. Thacher of Milton, were admitted as proprietors, being granted two hundred and one hundred 108 GOOD OLD DOKCHESTER. [1708. acres respectively. Seventy-iive acres were granted to the ministry for those " beyond the blue hills," and one hun- dred and fifty acres to Milton, on condition that a grammar school should be maintained there for fifteen years. The town voted, the next year, to call all the land belonging to Dorchester which lay beyond the Blue Hill, the " New Grant." In 1708 three Ponkapoag Indians, William Ahaton, Samuel Mamantaug, and Amos Ahaton, by name, ap- peared in behalf of their tribe to thank the town for the interest and justice shown in settling the boundaries between them and the white settlers. They also stated that they regretted having offended the town by " leasing their land to the English," and promised to lease no more. They gave up their right to the land about the Ponk- apoag meeting-house, which contained some three acres, in order that it might be used as a burying place and training field. This is one instance, at least, where the Indians showed themselves appreciative of kind treat ment, and willing to come half way in straightening out difficiilties between themselves and their neighbors. A vote was passed, in 1710, to grant the rights to them- selves and their heirs forever to any persons who should build a wharf at Wales's Creek. Two years later Stand- fast Foster, Ebenezer Davenport, Joseph Hall, Preserved Capen, Nathan Bradley, Francis Price, Remember Preston, Jonathan Clap, Ebenezer Moseley, and Humphrey Atherton accepted the conditions. The town then laid out a " way for the use and benefit of the inhabitants of the town of Dorchester," which in later years became Creek Street, running east from Pleasant Street, opposite the house of Samuel Downer. During the next year (1713), the Dorchester proprietors were incorporated into a body distinct from the town, and were thereafter to be known as the " Proprietors of the Undivided Lands." The organization continued to exist for nearly forty years. 1715.1 PEOVINCIAI^ TIMES. 109 There had been difficulties in regard to Dorchester's boundary lines for many years, owing to the fact that the town extended so far into what was then regarded as the wilderness. During this year, however, agents were appointed by the different towns to meet in Attleboro', to search for the boundaries which had been determined in 1664. With the assistance of some of the old inhabitants, the ancient " angle-tree " was found, and from this point a line was run to Accord Pond. This line was accepted by all except the agents of Attleboro' and Norton, who refused to acknowledge the so-called " angle-tree " as the original boundary line; but the rest of the towns were satisfied, and the matter was settled. The first lighthouse in Boston Harbor was built in 1715, on the southerly part of the Great Brewster, on the location of the present Boston Lighthouse. Fishermen and the masters of coasting vessels had sorely felt the need of a warning light; and the service rendered by this first lighthouse can hardly be estimated. Elder Hopestill Clap died in 1719. He was a brother of Elder Samuel Clap, and was an influential pillar of the Church. The appreciation in which he was held is shown in the following inscription on his gravestone, which was written by the Rev. John Danf orth : — "Here lies Interred y^ Body of Mr. Hopestill Clap, who Deceased Sepr. 2d, 1719, aged 72 years. His Dust waits 'till y« lubily Shall then Shine brighter than yo Sky; Shall meet & join to part no more, His Soul that 's Glorified before. Pastors and Churches happy be With Ruling Elders such as he ; Present Useful, Absent Wanted, Liv'd Desired, Died Lamented." Dorchester did not escape the small-pox pestilence which visited Boston in 1721. Eighty-two persons were afflicted with the disease, thirteen of whom died. It was during 110 GOOD OLD DORCHESTER. [1722. this period tliat inoculation was introduced into the vicinity of Boston by Dr. Zabdiel Boylston. The process had not been previously tried in any of the other colonies, and it occasioned great excitement. The physicians and most of the clergy were bitterly opposed to the innovation, but, strange to say. Cotton Mather had faith in its efficacy from the start. After a few months, the selectmen of Boston forbade inoculation to be practised ; but its utility became evident from the cases already tried, only six patients dying out of the two hundred and eighty-six cases treated. It was therefore used until vaccination was introduced by Dr. Jenner. Elder Samuel Topliff, who died December 10, 1722, was born in Dorchester, May 7, 1646. He was the only son of Clement Topliff, who came to Dorchester and settled in Bowdoin Street about 1636. Elder Samuel was prominent in church and town affairs. He was elected elder in 1692, and presiding elder in 1701, — which latter office he retained until his death. He fiLled every town office from constable to selectman, including that of town clerk. He was one of the "twenty proprietors" "incorporated into a distinct body, with power to lay out and fell land," etc., in the grant known as the " Ponkapoag Plantation." The records of the First Church bear ample evidence of his activity and zeal. Increase Mather, son of Rev. Richard Mather, died August 23, 1723 ; he was born in Dorchester, June 21, 1639. In 1689 he was sent to England as agent of the Massachusetts Colony, and was very zealous in his endeav- ors to protect the interests of his fellow-citizens. As is often the case with men occupying high positions, he was not universally popular ; but his words had great influence on affairs of importance, and all admired his great abilities and power in the pulpit. He had the distinction of being the first person to receive the degree of Doctor of Divinity from Harvard College. 1726.] PROVINCIAL TIMES. Ill During tlie next year a part of Wrentham was set off, the petition asking for it being based on the com- plaint from the people of that locality that "they lye thirty miles from the old meeting house, and fifteen from the southern meeting-house at Ponkapoag, so that they are under great disadvantage for attending the public worship there." The principal event of the year 1726 was the setting off of Ponkapoag as a separate township. This is recorded by Blake as follows : — "This year Punkapaog or y^ South Precinct with y" Lands beyond it in y^ Township of Dorchester were sett off a Town- ship by themselues, by y° Name of Stoughton, leaving Dorchester but a Small Town, being narrow, and but about 9 or 10 Miles in length, y® upper part being wood land & unset- tled; which before was about 35 miles in length & in some places 6 or 8 miles wide; the length being Reckoned from Dorchester-neck to Angle-Tree, as y* Road goeth." ^ The good people of Dorchester came very near believing that the year 1727 was the one set for the millennium. Late in the night of October 29 a violent earthquake did considerable damage to buildings and fences, and rumbling noises were heard for several months. The people were terrified, and gathered together in great numbers in the large" towns. In Boston the churches were crowded with excited people, who depended on their ministers to post- pone the dreaded day. In Dorchester, Rev. Mr. Danforth preached a sermon to meet the occasion, beginning his discourse with the words, "For an introduction to our following discourse, it may not be improper to say. Rejoice not for joy, O New England ! as other people ; the Lord has known and owned thee above all the families of the earth ; and therefore he will punish thee for thine iniqui- ties." The Rev. Mr. Danforth was a man of very mild tem- 1 Blake's Annals of the Town of Dorchester, p. 45 (1846). 112 GOOD OLD DOECHESTEE. [1729. perament, so tliat an outburst of this kind shows the excite- ment under which the people labored. The minds of the people had hardly become quieted when a violent storm again raised their fears ; but when nothing more serious happened than the destruction of some old trees, things again settled down into the old routine. In 1729 the Rev. Jonathan Bowman was ordained as colleague with Mr. Danforth, who was becoming somewhat aged. The death of the beloved pastor occurred a year later. Mr. Danforth was born in 1660, and was graduated from Harvard College at the age of seventeen. During his long service to the town he proved himself to be a man of great fidelity and worth. Blake makes the fol- lowing record of his death: — " He was S* to be a man of great Learning, he understood y® Mathematicks beyond most men of his Function. He was exceeding Charitable, & of a very peaceful! temper. He took much pains to Eternize y^ Names of many of y" good Chris- tians of his own Flock ; And yet y* World is so ungratefull that he has not a Line Written to preserue his memory, no not so much as upon his Tomb ; he being buried in Lt. Govr. Stoughton's Tomb that was covered with writing before." ^ All who recall the remarkable epitaph of the worthy governor will be able to see the touch of irony in the annalist's closing remark. Stoughton's soul would un- doubtedly have rested just as quietly had room been left for a simple inscription for the gentle minister. The custom of ringing the bell at nine o'clock at night was inaugurated in 1734. The Boston bell had been regu- larly tolled at that hour for nearly a hundred years, and when its strokes were heard every one was supposed to return home and extinguish the lights. The Common in those days was a very popular place in which to stroll about during the summer evenings ; but when the bell was 1 Blake's Annals of the Town of Dorchester, p. 47 (1846). 1734.] PEOVINCIAIi TIMES. 113 heard the people quietly and obediently turned their steps homeward, and the streets were practically deserted. The custom of ringing the bell continued for nearly another hundred years, and many good citizens to-day remember the time when it was in vogue. The town found great difficulty in appointing constables. The two qualities considered most necessary for the office were discretion and reliability, — characteristics which unfortunately are not always apparent even in the succes- sors of these worthy officials. The position was a much avoided one, and it was found necessary to decree a penalty against those who refused to serve. Many, however, paid their fines rather than accept the position, so that at last the General Court gave the town the right to increase the fine to £5. In Boston the penalty was .£10. Under the date of 1734 Blake makes an interesting statement in regard to the growth of the town. He shows that from 1657 to this year there had been 2,416 births and 921 deaths, proving, he says, — ' ' That many of y° People that were Born in y* Town moved out & Died not here. And y* number of Births in a year for 40 or 50 years past were not many less than they are now (except when Stoughton also belonged to this Town), which shows y' People are not much more numerous (if any thing) now than they were then. And in Capt. John Capen's time, there is left a list of Persons Seated in y* meeting-house that now is, and y* number of men then Seated were 171, and y° nmnber of women were 180 ; which seems to be as many as can sit there now." ^ The slow rate of increase in the town's population between the dates mentioned above continued down to 1800. The wars were responsible to a certain degree for this state of affairs, but the chief cause was the induce- ments offered by other settlements. Many of the most 1 Blake'8 AunaU of the Town of Dorchester, p. 49 (1846). 7 114 GOOD OLD DORCHESTER. [1736. influential men who claimed Dorchester for a birthplace had moved into neighboring colonies, and this, while extending the usefulness of the town, was prejudicial to its best interests. The death of Elijah Danforth, M. D., son of Rev. John Danforth, on October 8, 1T36, brings to our notice the fact that there is no record of any resident physician at Dorchester at a very early date, in spite of the fact that much sickness prevailed here during the first two years of the settlement. Dr. Samuel Fuller, of Plymouth, writing to Governor Bradford under date of June 28, 1630, says : " I have been to Mattapan at the request of Mr. Warham, and let some twenty of these people blood." Dr. Danforth was one of the earliest physicians of the town, having his residence near the old burying ground. He was graduated from Harvard College in 1703. Blake says that he was " a good and safe Physician, and had been one of jr* Justices of y* Peace for y° County of Suffolk for many years together." In 1737 the town introduced an innovation by voting to supply the school with wood. Up to this time it had been the custom for the parents or guardians to furnish it, at the rate of two feet for each pupil. We have seen that the upland was laid out by the pro- prietors into divisions, by parallel lines running from north to south, being known as the " Twelve Divisions." The swamps and low, poor lands were excluded. On the 9th of May, 1737, a rule of proportion was made to four hundred and eighty proprietors, and every inhabitant of the town had each his proportion according to the rule. An order was made, January 16, 1738, that all the land in Dorchester should be divided according to said rule ; and the undivided land was sold to pay the expenses of sur- veying and laying out. Robert Spur, Esq., a prominent man in the town, died in January, 1738. He had filled the position of selectman 1740.] PKOVINCIAIi TIMES. 115 for eight years, and had heen representative for four years ; he was also a lieutenant-colonel, — in all of which capacities he acquitted himself well. He was exceedingly popular with the townspeople, but the church authorities frequently came in opposition to him on account of his liberal religious views. Dorchester lost another strip of land in 1739, " several of the inhabitants having petitioned to be set off to Dedham." The year 1740 was an unusually important one. It was at this time that Rev. George Whitefield came from Eng- land, whose preaching produced such a sensation in the churches of Boston and its vicinity. The effect of his labors on the Dorchester Church is referred to in a later chapter. The winter of this year was the most severe one which the people had experienced for over forty years. The fall of snow was unusually heavy, and the cold was so bitter that even Dorchester Bay was solidly frozen. This made it possible for a track to be laid across the ice to Castle William, which was much used for pleasure driving. Sledges, loaded with hay, came up from Spectacle Island. An effort was made about this time to introduce the Manufactory, or Land Bank bills. The scheme, however, was abandoned a year or so later, occasioning much incon- venience to those who had been induced to accept the bills. The early frosts of 1740 were largely responsible for the scarcity of grain during the succeeding year. Says Blake, " Wheat sold for 30= per bushel, Rye, 22^ & Indian Corn for 20° per bushel paper Currency; which is about one fourth of 3^ Value of Proclamation Money." This short- age in the supply, together with the increased demands of the ever-growing population, caused no little suffering among the people. On June 29 and 30, 1743, the people rejoiced over the raising of a new meeting-house, which was by far the best structure the Church had yet erected. It cost about 116 GOOD OLD DOKCHESTEE. [1744. r,000, old tenor, which was a most liberal allowance for a church building at that time. The occasion was marred by a sad accident to one of the young men who was assist- ing at the raising, Ephraim Wales by name, who fell from one of the cross-beams, and died from the result of his injuries. A second earthquake shock yisited Dorchester in 1744. It was not so severe as that of 1727 ; but it was enough to shake the meeting-house from top to bottom, and to cause a wall near by to fall. Several chimneys in Boston were also thrown down. Thomas Tileston, Esq., died during the following year. He was a prominent man in the town, serving in many responsible positions. He was selectman for twenty-four years, representative for ten years, and also held the posts of justice of the peace and lieutenant-colonel. It was during this year (1745) that the famous expedi- tion against the French settlements at Cape Breton was made by the Province of Massachusetts Bay. Blake gives an excellent account of it : — "This year y® Province of y* Massachusetts-Bay having y® winter before Projected an Expedition against the French Set- tlements at y' Island of Cape Britton, and Raised about 3000 men, with several Vessels of War, Transports, and all sorts of Warlike Stores, with y^ assistance of about 1000 men more from New Hampshire, Connecticut, Rhode Island &c. ; ours set sail from Boston y'' 24th of March, 1744-5, & after waiting at Canso for y^ Removal of y° Ice arrived at Cape Britton y* first day of May, where meeting with Commodore Warren with about 7 or 8 Men of War that were Ordered there from Several parts, they besieged the City and Forts of Lovisburgh ; the Men of War blocking up y° Harbour, and taking many Vessels bound there, some of them from y" East Indies & y® South Sea ex- ceeding Rich, and among y" Rest one of y" French Kings Ships of War of 64 Guns & 500 men, called y" Vigilant; a fine new Ship : and y° land army at y" same time Cannonading & Bom- barding y^ Town, which held out till j" 17th of June, 1745, and then Capitulated, delivering all but their Personal Estates into OLD CHURCH, BUtLT IN 1743. 1745.] PROVINCIAL TIMES. 119 the hands of y* English, and were themselves transported home to France. There were but very few of our Men slain in Battle Considering y^ great Strength of the place & y' desperateness of y° adventure ; but after our men had taken Possession of y* City & Island, a mortal Fever Seized them, and Continued all y« Summer and most part of y' Winter following, that car- ried off multitudes ; most that went from hereabouts that I knew either died there, or in their passage home, or soon after they came home; 'tis said there died of our New England Forces about 1500 men. " Our Forces kept the place until May following and then were Relieved by Forces from England, except those that Listed there. "Wm. Peperil Esqr. was General of our Land Forces, who for his good service was made a Baronet, and both he & Govt. Shirley were made Colonels of the two Eegiments that were to be raised in America, & Joyned with y^ old English Forces, for y* Garrisoning & defending the place. A more full Account (and I suppose y* best Extant) may be seen in Mr. Prince's Printed Sermon, Preached on y" Thanksgiving Day for that Victory, Thursday, July 18, 1745." The French attempted to turn the tables on the colonists during the next year. Excitement was rife in Boston and vicinity, and an attack seemed imminent. It is from the words of the annalist that we may gain the best idea of the threatened danger, and the miraculous escape : — " This Summer & Fall proved very troublesome, not only by y' Indians (oftentimes led on by y^ French) coming in many small parties, & sometimes in Considerable numbers of Several Hundreds, & falling upon our frontier Plantations, from East to West, and Surprizing, & in a Barbarous manner (many times) Butchering, killing & leading Captive a Considerable mmiber of Men, Women and Children, (tho' not without some loss to themselves) ; but also by a strong French Fleet coming from France against us, consisting of about 30 Men of War, & 67 Transports, besides Land Forces, Forty thousand Arms, 25 Mortars, 50 Brass Field Pieces &c. ; many, & I suppose y° greatest part of them, arrived at Jebucta in Nova Scotia about 120 GOOD OLD DOECHESTBK. [1746. y" middle of September, having set sail from Rochel or Rochford June y" 11th. There being also about 2000 French & Indians assembled at Menis. Fourteen of y* Men of "War were Ships of y« Line from 50 to 74 Guns. They had on Board about 8000 Disciplined Troops, besides those assembled at Menis, and many more of y° French in Nova Scotia would have Joyned them. This Powerful Armament spread its Terror in aU y* English Northern Colonies, & especially in y* Massachusetts & New Hampshire. Great preparations were made to Receive them ; as Repairing y' Batteries at Boston & at Castle William ; and the work was Judged so necessary that it was prosecuted even on the Sabbath Days : Hulks were prepared to stop up y' Channel by sinking them therein : And y' MDitia in y^ Coun- try (I suppose generally about one half of y' Regiments) drawn into Boston and y' lower Towns. Great Expectation there was of Admiral Lesstock with a large Fleet from England, to follow y^ Enemy and Relieve us, but by means of contrary winds that great Expectation & our high-raised Hopes failed us. But tho' outward means failed us, yet God in his Providence was pleased to work wonderfully for om: Preservation, and defeat y' well concerted designs of our Enemies, and to turn their wise Coun- sels into foolishness. He sent sickness among them that carried off many of their men, & their Chief Commander & (I think) y^ Second also died : He also sent Terrible Storms both before their Arrival, & after their Sailing again out of y^ Har- bour of Jebucta, that Cast away some of their Ships & disabled others, so that being dispirited they Returned to France without striking one blow, or doing anything of Consequence (Except taking some Merchant Vessels upon their Passage) and that in a poor shattered condition ; many of their Vessels as well as Men coming short home. For which deliverance God's name be praised. The best Account of this Affair that I know of is in a Thanksgiving Sermon Preached by Mr. Prince, Novr. 27, 1746, and afterwards Printed, to which I Refer. This year an Expedition was formed against Canada, & many Soldiers in this & other Provinces Listed for y'= Kings Service, but y' Fleet in England designed for that service being Imployed other ways, the Expedition was laid aside, & y* men dismissed in y" fall 1747." 1749.] PBOVINCIAL TIMES. 121 Two years later a cessation of arms was published, and Dorchester manifested a generous spirit in sending grain to the French plantations. The liberality of the colonists exceeded their wisdom, however; for grain became very scarce in the Province, and prices rose accordingly. Political factions were not unknown even in those early days. At the town meeting held in 1749, a combination was formed by which James Blake, who had served the town faithfully for twenty-four years as clerk, and for even a longer period in other capacities, was left entirely out of the elections, and Noah Clap, A. M., was chosen to fill his place. It was not strange that Blake should feel aggrieved at this lack of gratitude on the part of the town, in whose interests he had labored so hard and so long. During his connection with the office, he wrote two hundred and eighty-three pages in the second Record Book, and one hundred and nineteen pages in the third volume. Besides this, he drew out laborious tables, which have proved of inestimable value to later historical students. It is to his writings more than to those of any other one man that a Dorchester historian must turn. In spite of his dis- appointment, Blake records the following vivid picture of the severe drought of this same year, which was felt so keenly by the people : — " This Summer was the Severest Drought in this Country, as has ever been known in y* Memory of y® oldest Persons among us. It was a dry Spring, and by y° latter end of May the grass was burnt up so that y^ ground looked white ; and it was y* 6th Day of July before any Rain (to speak of) came. The Earth was dried like Powder to a great depth, and many Wells, Springs, Brooks & small Rivers were dried up, that were never known to fail before. And the Fish in some of y" Rivers died. The Pastures were so scorched that there was nothing green to be seen, and the Cattle waxed poor, & by theh lowing seemed to call upon their Owners for Relief, who could not help them. Although the dry Grass was Eaten so close as that there was 122 GOOD OLD DOKCHBSTBE. [1749. but a few thin spires to be seen, yet several Pastures took fire, and burnt fiercely. My Pasture took fire near y* Bam (by a Boys droping a Coal of fire, as he was carrying fire to y^ water- side) and tho' there seemed to be so little Grass, yet what there was, and y" ground, was so dry that it blazed and flushed like Gun-Powder, and run very fast along y* ground, and in one place burnt some fence ; and we were forced to work hard to keep it from y® Barn, & to extinguish it ; having y* help of sundry men that happened to be here. It spread over about half an Acre of Ground before we could stop it ; and where there was lumps of Cow-dung it would burn till y' whole lump was Consumed, & burn a hole in y^ ground; and we were force to use much water to quench it. There was a great scarcity of Hay, being but a very little cut, of y* first Crop ; & salt marsh failed near as much as the English Meadow. English Hay was then sold for £S & £3 10 old tenor per Hundred. Barley & Oats were so Pinched that many had not much more than their seed again, & many cut down their S* Grain before it was ripe for Fodder. Flax almost wholly failed, as also Herbs of all sorts ; and Indian Com Rolled up & wilted ; and there was a melancholly prospect of the greatest Dearth that ever was known in this Land. In the time of our fears & Distress, the Government ordered a Day of Public Fasting & Prayer ; and God was graciously pleased to hear & Answer our Prayers, even in a very remarkable manner : for about y« 6th of July the course of y^ weather altered; and there came such plentiful & seasonable Rains, as quite altered y° face of y' Earth; and that Grass which we generally concluded was wholly dead, and could not come again under several Years, was revived, and there was a good second Crop of Mowing ; it looking more like y° Spring than that season of y' year : and y" Indian Corn recovered, & there was a very good Harvest. And whereas it was thought in y" fall of the Year that a multitude of Cattle must Die for want of Meat, insomuch as they sent & fetched Hay from England ; yet God in his Providence Ordered us a moderate Winter, and we were carried comfortably through it ; and I did not hear of many, if any. Cattle that died. But by reason of so many Cattle being killed off last fall. Beef, 1751.] PROVINCIAL TIMES. 123 Mutton & Butter are now in May, 1750, very dear : Butter is 7s. 6d. old tenor per Pound. Upon y* Coming of y* Rains & Renewing of y' Earth last fall, the Government appointed a Day of Publick Thanksgiving. " This Summer June 18th was said to be y^ Hottest Day that was ever known in ye Northerly part of America." The famous annalist passed away on December 4th the following year. He had been in poor health for some time ; but the unfortunate events recorded on a preceding page caused him such disappointment that they probably hastened his death. His "Annals of the Town of Dor- chester " have preserved his name to posterity, and he will be remembered long after those who cast this slight upon him are forgotten. An entry under date of 1751 is of especial interest, and explains several apparent inconsistencies in regard to dates : — "This Year there was an Act of Parliament for altering y* Style from old to new, and that y' Ist Day of January should be y* first Day of y'' Year. The 11 Days odds were taken from Sepr. 1752." Previous to this time March 25th had been considered as the first day of the year. This explains the confusing double dates which are often found in regard to these two periods. Sickness again visited the town in 1752, an epidemic of pleurisy and nervous fever prevailing. In less than two months fifteen Dorchester people fell victims to these diseases, besides those who died from other causes. Boston also suffered greatly from the epidemic, having a mor- tality of 624 in a population of 15,734. An effort was made at this time by the people of Attle- boro', Norton, and Easton to have the boundary line of the town altered. A petition was sent to the General Court, 124 GOOD OLD DOKCHBSTEK. [1753. which was opposed by Dorchester, Stoughton, and Wren- tham. Owing to the opposition, the petition was dismissed. If it had been granted, it would have cost Stoughton and Wrentham several thousand acres. On June 18th a new belP was hung in the meeting- house. It was a gift from the Dorchester Proprietors to the town, and was made in Bristol, England. This bell is still in use in the belfry of the First Parish Church, though altered by having again passed through the fixe, recasting being made necessary by a crack which appeared in it a few years ago. The period from 1753 until 1761 was a tranquil one for the town, being broken only by the earthquake shock of 1755, which caused some damage in Boston and its vicinity. This quiet was the calm before the storm. The fuel of independence had already been gathered, but the spark was yet to be applied. Dorchester was not behind Boston in the part she took in the struggle of the Revolution, which began with the passage of the Stamp Act. In 1765 Colonel John Robinson, Dorchester's representative, was instructed "to use the utmost of his endeavors, with the great and general court, to obtain the repeal of the late parliamentary act (always earnestly asserting our rights as free-born Englishmen), and his best skill in preventing the use of stamped paper in this government." Even at this late day, we may say, the thought of an actual rupture with England had not occurred to the Province ; for further instructions to the Dorchester representative advised him to manifest, on the part of the people, their " utter abhorrence of all routs, riots, tumults, and unlawful assemblies ; and if the laws now in being are not sufficient to suppress such high misdemeanors, that you use your skill and interest in making such laws as would answer such a salutary pur- pose." 2 1 See page 240. ^ Dorchester Town Records, vol. iii. p. 293. 1768.] PROVINCIAL TIMES. 125 In 1768 the popular John Hancock was charged with smuggling wine ; but as it was evident that the people would resist the arrest, it was postponed until the arrival of the troops. The Marshal of the Court of Admiralty, Arodi Thayer by name, was then called upon to perform the act. Thayer tried to escape from performing the dis- agreeable duty, as he was on good terms with the residents of the town ; but he was obliged to obey the command of his superior. He was well known to Dorchester people, as he was a resident of the town for many years before his death, and was an object of much curiosity on account of his quaint language and dress. His commission, and a silver oar, his badge of office, were deposited with the Dorchester Antiquarian and Historical Society. When the General Court was dissolved, this same year, and Boston recommended a convention of the Province, Dorchester voted " to choose one person to act as a com- mittee in convention, with such committee as may be sent from other towns in the province, in order that such meas- ures may be consulted and advised as his majesty's service and the peace and safety of his subjects in this province may require." ^ The next year (1769) an association was formed which was called "the Union and Association of the Sons of Liberty in this Province." A meeting was held at the Liberty Tree in Boston, and the body then proceeded to Robinson's Tavern in Dorchester to dine. A huge tent was set in the field, underneath which over three hundi'ed men seated themselves to a sumptuous repast of barbecued pig. Toast followed toast, each one being more patriotic than the preceding ; but the climax was reached when one of the " Sons of Liberty " proposed " strong halters, firm blocks and sharp axes to all such as deserve either." The English of the expression is a trifle doubtful, but the meaning was extremely clear. 1 Dorchester Town Records, vol. iii. p. 333. 126 GOOD OLD DOECHBSTBE. [1770. When the feasting was over, a procession was formed, headed by John Hancock in his chariot. The affair was carried through with perfect decorum, and in spite of the huge number of fifty-nine toasts which were drank, we are informed that "not one person was intoxicated, or near it." ^ In 1770 resolutions were passed by Dorchester to the effect that no articles were to be purchased of those traders in Boston who had violated the non-importation agreement. The people also resolved that " Whereas a duty has been laid on foreign tea, we will not make use of it in our families, except in case of sickness, till the duty is repealed." ^ Three years later, on January 4, the town responded to the exposition of the rights of America, which was drawn up by a committee consisting of twenty-one of the citizens of Boston. Nine resolutions were adopted by Dorchester, which instructed the town's representatives " to join in any motion or motions in a constitutional way, to obtain not only redress of the aforementioned griev- ances, but of all others, and that they in no wise consent to give up any of our rights, whether from nature or by compact." 2 As- the year came to a close, affairs approached nearer to the crisis. The difficulties arising from obnoxious taxation came to a practical issue when a duty was placed upon tea. Lord North had said to those who remonstrated with him, " It is of no use making objections, for the king will have it so. The king means to try the question." * When it was learned in Boston that two or three cargoes of tea were soon to arrive, a committee called upon the con- signees, and requested them to refuse to accept the goods ; 1 John Adams's Diary. 2 Dorchester Town Kecords, vol. iii. p. 352. 8 Ibid. p. 380. * Bancroft's History, vol. vi. p. 466. WASHINGTON AT DORCHESTER HEIGHTS. 1770.] PKOVINCIAL TIMES. 129 but the proposition was not kindly received. Further action was left to the discretion of a Committee of Corres- pondence appointed by the people. On November 22, the committees which represented Dorchester, Roxbury, Brookline, and Cambridge met the Boston committee in the selectmen's room at Faneuil Hall, and voted unani- mously to prevent the landing and sale of the tea. Six days after this important meeting, the " Dartmouth," the first of the tea ships, arrived. Samuel Adams imme- diately called the committees together again, to meet the citizens of Boston in Faneuil Hall. This was the famous gathering which was adjourned to meet in the Old South Church, at which a decisive vote was passed, supporting the committees in their proposed action. On November 30, a meeting was held in Dorchester, resolutions being passed to the effect that "should this country be so unhappy, as to see a day of trial for the recovery of its rights, by a last and solemn appeal to Him who gave them, we should not be behind the bravest of our patriotic brethren, and that we will at all times be ready to assist our neighbors and friends, when they shall need us, though in the greatest danger." ^ A few days later, two more tea ships arrived ; and the committees already mentioned, together with one which now represented Charlestown, held frequent meetings. The tea question became compli- cated. The committee again urged the consignees to return the obnoxious article ; the Collector refused to clear the ships until they had discharged the tea; the Governor would not allow them to pass the Castle until they were cleared. There seemed to be no peaceable settlement of the difficulty, so the committee took the matter into its own hands. It was then that the famous Boston Tea Party occurred. A day or two after this event, a number of the " Cape or Narragansett Indians" visited the house of Captain 1 Dorchester Town Eecords, vol. iii. p. 407. 130 GOOD OLD DOECHESTBE. [1774. Ebenezer Withington, whicli stood on the lower road from Boston to Milton, and thoroughly searched the premises for a chest of tea which was reported to be secreted about the place. No tea was forthcoming, however, so the party adjourned to the house of old Ebenezer Withington, at Sodom, a place below the Dorchester meeting-house, where part of a half-chest was found. This, the old man claimed, had been cast up by the tide on Dorchester Point. While his explanation somewhat modified the excitement of the " Indians," it did not save the tea, which was taken to Boston Common, and devoted to the flames. The offender afterwards made a public apology before the town meeting. Dorchester soon took further measures to establish its position. In 1774 a number of carpenters were employed to build barracks for the British soldiers in Boston. Among them were several workmen from Dorchester, and these men were urged by the town to desist from their work, or else incur the displeasure of the people. The suggestion was sufficient, and from that time any barracks erected for British occupants were the work of other than Dorchester carpenters. Final steps were taken this year when delegates were chosen by Dorchester to attend the meeting, at Dedham, of representatives of all the towns in Suffolk County. A few weeks later. Captain Lemuel Robinson was appointed to act as the representative of Dorchester in the General Court, to be held at Salem. He was authorized to meet the other representatives, "to act upon such matters as might come before that body, in such a manner as may appear to him conducive to the true interest of this town and province, and most likely to preserve the liberties of all America." ^ At this meeting it was voted that " the members afore- said do now resolve themselves into a Provincial Congress." The formation of this body followed the meeting of the 1 Dorchester Town Eecords, vol. iii. p. 485. 1774.] PROVINCIAL TIMES. 131 Continental Congress at Philadelphia about a month, and it was the first regularly organized body assembled in any of the States, which assumed legislative powers of a revolutionary character. ^ In 1774, also, a meeting was held in Dorchester, at which a committee was appointed to prepare a list, to be posted up, of all those who sold or made use of East India tea. At this meeting Dorchester voted to pay its Province tax to Henry Gardner, of Stow, one of the Sons of Lib- erty, instead of to Harrison Gray, the treasurer under the crown. This was a decided step for the town to take, as it placed itself in direct defiance to the orders of the king. On March 10, 1775, the town passed a vote requiring every inhabitant capable of performing military duty to assemble on a certain day with arms and ammunition, in order to have a body of men to be called upon at a mo- ment's notice. This composed the body known as " minute men." The following order was sent out by the Committee of Safety. It will be noticed that this is dated on the day of the Battle of Bunker Hill, and it explains the reason why the Dorchester company did not take part in that memo- rable event : — Cambridge, June 17, 1775. To the Commanding Officer of the Militia in the Towne of Dorchester. Sib, — As the Troops under General Gage are moving from Bojion into the Country, you are, on the Receipt of this, im- mediately to muster the Men under your Command, fee them properly equipt, and march them forthwith to Roxbury. By Order of the Committee of Safety. Bbnja. White, Chairman. This was at the time when the fortifications on Dorches- ter Neck were about being completed. The location, which is now a part of South Boston, had attracted the 1 Edward Everett's Fourth of July Oration at Dorchester, 1856. 132 GOOD OLD DOKCHESTEE. [1775. attention of the British officers from the first ; but to erect fortifications there with safety required a larger force than they then had at their command. While they were wait- ing for reinforcements, General Washington recognized the value of the position, and work was begun immediately. This foresight on the part of Washington undoubtedly saved Boston from destruction. Washington went to Dorchester to map out the work, and selected the farm of Captain John Homans from which to obtain the bundles of white birch fagots, to be used in building the fort. This material was chosen as the ground was frozen, and any attempt to erect earthworks would have attracted the attention of the British. More than this, it was of utmost importance that operations should be pushed with the greatest pos- sible speed. A detachment of a lieutenant and thirty men was detailed to cut the fagots and make them into bundles, while the citizens of Dorchester and neighboring towns assisted by carting the bundles to the Heights. It is said that no less than three hundred teams were used that night under the direction of James Boies of Dorchester and Mr. Goddard of Brookline. Strict orders were given that no word should be spoken above a whisper ; and the attention of the British was directed to Cambridge and Roxbury, where a constant cannonading was going on. It seems almost incredible that the fortifications should have been completed in so short a time. General Washington was so sure that the act would bring on a battle that he had two thousand bandages prepared. When the morning broke, and the British saw what the brave patriots had effected, admiration for their pluck and energy made them forget for a moment that it was the work of the enemy. " The rebels have done more in one night," said General Howe, "than my army would have done in a whole month." Again, in a letter to Lord Dartmouth, he said, " It must 1T76.] PKOVXNCIAIi TIMES. 133 have been the employment of at least twelve thousand men." The location of Nook's Hill, an elevation about half a mile from the Heights, was an important one for a battery, because of its proximity to Boston. It rose more than fifty feet above the sea, and attracted the attention of both the British General Howe and General Washington. The Continental Army made the first move, however, and, on March 9, 1776, General Washington sent a detachment to begin operations. It was a bitterly cold night, and after working for a few hours the soldiers had almost perished. Their suffering made them forget for a moment the utmost importance of pursuing their work secretly, and they rashly started a fire, around which they endeavored to thaw out their benumbed limbs. The smoke and the fire immediately disclosed their position to the British in Boston, and a severe cannonading was the result. It was from the British battery located near what is now the corner of Washington and Dover Streets that the principal fire was directed; and four soldiers, besides a surgeon named Dole, paid for their imprudence with their lives. The next day a council of war was held in Roxbury, at the headquarters of General Ward ; and after thoroughly discussing the perils of the work it was decided that " Nook's Hill must and shall be fortified at all hazards." As a result of this, General Thomas was sent from Roxbury with twenty-five hundred men, to take possession of Dorchester Heights. It was moonlight, and the men worked all night without discovery. By morning an excellent cover had been thrown up, and the fortifications were complete. As soon as this was discovered, Howe determined to attack the Heights by a front and flank movement. Washington reinforced Thomas, and at the same time arranged to move on Boston by boats across the Back Bay. The British, on their part, dropped down on 134 GOOD OLD DOECHESTER. [1776. transports to the Castle ; but, fortunately for the Ameri- cans, a storm delayed their projected attack, and gave time to increase the defences. General Howe now saw that occupation of the Heights by the British was out of the question, and also that to remain in Boston was perilous when the Continental Army had entire command of Boston Neck and the south end of the town ; he therefore decided to evacuate Boston. Gen- eral Burgoyne had suggested the occupation of the Heights by the British very soon after the battle of Bunker Hill, and told Gage and Howe in June, 1775, that if the Royal Army was ever forced to evacuate Boston, it would be owing to the possession of Dorchester Heights by the " rebel " army. The selectmen of Boston had agreed to allow Howe to leave the town unmolested, provided he did no injury him- self; and he was now in a position to accept these terms. Washington had not agreed to them, but acquiesced silently. The American general, however, wished him to leave immediately, so pushed his batteries nearer Boston from the Dorchester side, at Nook's Hill. This was sufficient to show Howe the need of being expeditious. At daybreak, on the 17th of March, he began to embark his troops, and by nine o'clock the last vessel was filled. The number on board these ships included about eleven thousand able-bodied seamen, and nearly a thousand refugees. The advance guards of the Continental Army at once entered the British works on the several sides, but the ships were allowed to sail down the harbor unmolested. That night the British blew up Castle William ; and the vessels gathered together in Nantasket Roads, remain- ing there ten days, and causing Washington no little anxiety. He wrote to Quincy, at Braintree, to have all the roads from .the landing patrolled, lest the British should send spies into the country. By the 27th all 1776.] PKOVINCIAIi TIMES. 136 but a few armed vessels, wMcli remained to see that no assistance should be rendered the Americans by any foreign power, had saUed to Halifax. There was little need of leaving behind as many vessels as they did, as one or two would have been entirely sufficient to prevent any mischief of this kind ; but, as a writer has since said, " A fatality, a kind of absurdity, or rather stupidity, marked every action of the British commanders-in-chief during the whole of the American war." Had the attack been made, Washington relied upon Thomas to hold the Heights, while he himself would have made an assault on the western side. He had two divisions of troops ready at the mouth of the Charles River, which comprised four thousand men under the command of Greene and Sullivan. Greene's division was to have landed near where the Massachusetts General Hospital now stands, and Sullivan's farther south, at the powder- house, and to seize the Mil on the Common. If these divisions were successful, they were to unite, march upon the English works at the Neck, and let in the troops from Roxbury. Three floating batteries were to precede them, and clear the way in advance. A great town meeting was held in Dorchester, on May 23, 1776, to decide what stand should be taken in supports ing the actions of the Continental Congress. This was at best a mere formality, as Dorchester had made it evident that any measure which tended toward liberty would receive its unqualified support. However, the sentiment of the meeting, " that if the Continental Congress should think it best to declare an independency with Great Britain, we will support them with our lives and fortunes," settled any doubts which might have existed. When the Declaration of Independence was made six weeks later, it was transcribed in full on the Town Records. This was by no means the only meeting held by the town during the stirring times of the Revolution. Most 136 GOOD OLD DOECHBSTEE. [1777. of them, however, were for the single purpose of urging men to enlist in the army. Dorchester was asked to fur- nish men to go to New York, Canada, Rhode Island, Long Island, Peekskill, West Point, and on other expeditions ; and the town exerted itself to its utmost to answer the calls.' In 1777 a bounty of one hundred dollars was offered by the town to every man who would enlist for three years, in addition to the regular wages paid by the colonies. Large bounties were also offered those who enlisted for shorter periods. To meet these expenses, it was found necessary to authorize the treasurer to borrow money, and many of the townspeople assisted by giving from their personal estates. Some of them went so far, indeed, that they actually suffered from their liberality, not being able to obtain even the necessities of life. All this was borne with the characteristic fortitude and cour- age which the Dorchester people had displayed from the first. The part taken by the wives and daughters in encouraging the efforts of the men, urging them to stand by the cause of liberty and right in spite of everything, is worthy of more than passing mention, as it had no little bearing on the determined attitude assumed. In 1777 a third of the men above sixteen years of age were enrolled in the army, and the proportion was largely increased as hostilities became more open. It is estimated that not less than three hundred and fifty served in some capacity during the war, and several of the townspeople took an important part in the struggle. The following list contains the names of the members of the Dorchester company, which assembled on April 19, 1776, the day of the battle of Lexington. This list, and the succeeding ones, are taken from the " History of Dor- chester" (1859): — Captain Oliver Billings. Sergeant Timothy Baker. Lieutenant Lemuel Clap. Sergeant Henry Humphreys. 2nd Lieutenant Edward Glover. Corporal John Billings. Ensign Ebenezer Glover. Corporal Thomas Bird. THE BARNARD CAPEN HOUSE. 1777.] PEOVINCIAL TIMES. 139 Ebenezer Atherton. John Atherton. James Baker, Jr. Samuel Belcher. John Billings. Lemuel Billings. Eben Bird. Elijah Bird. Jacob Bird. Jonathan Bird. Samuel Bird. Samuel Blackman. Samuel Champney. Elisha Clap. Ezra Clap. Jonathan Clap, Jr. Nathaniel Clap. Lemuel Collin. Samuel Cox. Samuel Crosby. Isaac Davenport. Joseph Davenport. Paul Davis. Francis De Luce. Daniel Fairn. Jesse Fenno. Jonathan Fessenden. Alexander Glover. Ezra Glover. Elisha Glover. Josiah Glover. Paul Hall. John Hawse. Asa Horton. Jeremiah Hunt. James Kilton. Ebenezer Maxfield. Elijah Pope. Elijah Pope, Jr. Ralph Pope. Noah Torrey. John Vaughn. Joshua Williams. Thomas Williams. Ichabod Wiswall. Elijah Withington. Joseph Withington. Joseph Withington, Jr. James Wood. In addition to the names given above, the following persons from Dorchester served in the war in some capacity : — / John Ackleag. William Adams. Isaac Allen. Samuel Allen. Samuel Allen, Jr. Ebenezer Atherton. John Atherton. Thomas Baker. Israel Beals. Lemuel Billings. Daniel Bird. Edward Bird. Henry Bird. Henry Bird, Jr. Jacob Bird. Jonathan Bird, Jr. Joseph Bird. Thomas Bird. John Blackman. Samuel Blackman. James Blake. Jonathan Blake. Lemuel Blake. Nathaniel Blake. Samuel Blake. William Blake. Jonathan Bradley. Nathan Bradley. Bernard Capen. Ephraim Capen. John Capen, Jr. Samuel Champney. Abner Clap. David Clap, Jr. Ebenezer Clap. Ebenezer Clap, Jr. Ezra Clap. Jonathan Clap, Jr. Nathaniel Clap. William Cole. Samuel Coolidge. David Crane. Seth Crane. Samuel Crehore. Benajah Davenport. George Davenport. Isaac Shaw Davenport. Joseph Davenport. Josiah Davenport. Samuel Davenport. Ebenezer Davis. Pearson Eaton. Joseph Ellis. William Farris. Enoch Penno. John Fling. John Foster. John Foster, Jr. Stephen Fowler. Stephen Fowler, tertius. John Gamsby. Alexander Glover. Edward Glover. 140 GOOD OLD DOECHESTEK. [1777. James Gooley. James Green. Rufus Gulliver. Peletiah Hall. William Harris. William Hayden. Thomas Holman. Samuel Homans. Lemuel Horton. Andrew Hughs. James Humphrey. Nathaniel Humphrey. William Humphrey. Joseph Hunt. Oliver Jackson. John Jenkins. Ezekiel Johnson. John Johnson. Thomas Jones. Ebenezer Kilton, Jr. James Kilton. John Kilton. Samuel Kilton. Lemuel King. Edward Stow Leeds. Josiah Leeds. Nathan Leeds. James Lewis. Benjamin Lyon. Lemuel Lyon. Ebenezer Maxfield. James M'Clary. John Mellish Hezekiah Read Miller. Hezekiah R. Miller, Jr. Jeremiah M'Intosh. Bartholomew Moor. Jonathan Nash. Peter Niles. Jonathan Packard. Thomas Phillips. John Phips. Lemuel Pierce. NapthaU Pierce. Elijah Pope. Benjamin Pratt. Samuel Preston. Jacob Randall. Samuel Randall. John Richmond. Capt. John Robinson. Jonathan Sever. James Sherman. Lemuel Spur. Daniel Stoddard. Clement Sumner. Rufus Sumner. Micha Symonds. George Taylor. Jazaniah Thayer. Samuel Thayer. William Thompson. Ezekiel Tileston. Elijah Tolman. Thomas Tolman. Nathaniel ToplifE. Reuben Tory. WiUiam Trescott. John Trescott. Benjamin Trott. Andrew Turner. Joseph Turner. John Vaughan. Greorge Vose. William Vose. Ebenezer Wales. John Wales. Nathaniel Wales. John Waters. Joseph Whiston. Noah Whitcomb. Noah Whitcomb, Jr. Moses White. Thomas White. Joseph Williams. Thomas Williams. Abraham Wilson. John Wiswall. Edward Withington. Capt. John Withington. Lemuel Withington. Samuel Withington. When the town called for volunteers to enlist for the reinforcement of the Continental Army, on July 4, 1780, offering them j£250 per month, in the depreciated currency, these additional names were enrolled : — Samuel Babcock. Prince Darby. Ezra Kimbel. Charles King. Thomas Smith. EHsha Spur. James Spur. Cesar Thacher. James Tileston. Timothy Wales, — in Col. Cram's reg. of Artill. Samuel White. Thomas White. William White. John Wiswall, Jr. 1777.] PEOVINCIAL TIMES. 141 Among those who enlisted in Captain Lemuel Clap's company are the following. The preceding lists contain the names of many others who served in this company : Samuel Andrews. William Badcock. David Baker. George Baker. Redmon Barry. Alpheus Bates. Elisha Bates. Elisha Bates, Jr. Seth Beals. Edward Berry. Lemuel Billings, Jr. Aaron Bird. Comfort Bird. Edward Bird, Jr. Isaac Bird. Jonathan Bird. Joseph Bird, Jr. Lemuel Bird. Moses Blackman. Samuel Blackman. William Blaney. Zechariah Bostwick. Christopher Capen. John Capen. Thomas Carriel. David Clap. Edward Clap. Ezekiel Clap. John Clap. Jonathan Cld,p. Lemuel Clap. Lemuel Clap, Jr. Nathaniel Clap, Samuel Clap. Supply Clap. Thomas Clap. Lemuel Collyer. Zebulon Crane. William Crouch. Isaac Davenport. Nehemiah Davis. Francis De Luce. Benjamin Dickerman. Paul Draper. John English. Daniel Fairn. Edward Felt. William Foster. Samuel Giles. Enoch Glover. Enoch Glover, Jr. Nathaniel Glover. John GofE. John Hawes. Jacob Hayward. Nathaniel Healey. Thomas Hewitt. Jonas Humphrey. Gershom Jackson. Ebenezer Kilton. Thomas Leeds. Joshua Lovell. David Lyon. Eliphalet Lyon. Joseph M'Lellan. Ephraim Mann. William Mann. John Maxfield. John Meraw. Samuel Meraw. William Meraw. Ebenezer Mosley. Samuel Mosley. Thomas Mosley. Silas Niles. Joseph Payson. Samuel Payson. Ebenezer Pierce. Samuel Pierce. Joshua Pond. David Pratt. David Richards. Elisha Seaver. William Sharp. Thomas Shed. Benjamin Stratton. Timothy Tileston. Edward Tucker. John Wales. Jonathan Wales. Josiah Ward. Joseph Webb. James White. John Wighen. John Williams. Ephraim Wilson. Ichabod Wis wall. Oliver Wiswall. Ebenezer Withington. James Withington. Joseph Withington. Joseph Withington, Jr. The town held a meeting July 12, 1779, and voted to support the measures advocated at a meeting held in Boston a month before. This was for the purpose of fix- 142 GOOD OLD DOECHESTBE. [1780. ing prices on the principal articles of trade, and to prevent the depreciation of the Continental currency. All efforts to prevent the latter catastrophe were to no avail. In 1780 the town could enlist no more volunteers, and drafting had to be resorted to in order to raise the 4,726 men required by a law passed June 22. If any man was drafted who was unable to serve, or who did not pass muster, he was to hire some able-bodied man to take his place, or else pay a fine of $150. This fine was not excessive when the depreciation of the Continental currency is taken into consideration. On December 26 it was voted to raise j640,000 to purchase beef for the army. The treasurer's reports show the following remark- able entry, which further shows the depreciation : " There being due the treasurer the sum of £8,218 2s. 4d., or £109 lis. 6d. in specie." In spite of the terrible hardships incident to the war, there was a bright side to the conflict. We are apt to think of these early patriots as looking entirely on the serious side of things ; so important was the part they played, and so severe the difEculties which opposed them. As a matter of fact, however, these very things bound them closer together, and gained them friendships which were as enduring as they were delightful. Particularly is this true of the men who stood side by side in the battles of the Revolution. The following anecdote shows that in one instance at least these friendships had also a hu- morous side. Two Dorchester soldiers, John Blackman and Joseph Whiston, fought together at West Point, and at the close of the war were discharged together. They had a long journey to take on foot before they could reach home, and little ready money at their disposal. After much deliberation they purchased together one canteen full of rum, and started for Dorchester. As Blackman was the youngest, he claimed that he felt it his duty to carry the canteen. He soon outwalked his fellow- 1780.] PEOVTNCIAL TIMES. 143 traveller, who, seeing him upon a hill in advance, called to him, and suggested that he wait a few moments, so they could have a drink together. Blackman replied that he would stop at the next house, where he could obtain water. When the house was reached Whiston foimd the water, but no rum, as his comrade had not waited for him. He hurried on after him, and occasionally came within hailing distance of Blackman, but always received the same reply, that he would stop at the next house. It is needless to say that he never kept his word, and the dis- tance between West Point and Dorchester was covered in this novel manner. Blackman kept out of his angry com- rade's way as long as possible ; but one day they met in Roxbury, and Whiston asked him to explain his conduct, and deliver over half the rum. Blackman replied that there was no rum left, as he had drank it all, and more than that, there had not been half enough as it was. Whiston then asked him if he would not pay him for his share ; but the reply was, " No, I think I earned it by carrjring it." At the close of the war, together with their other dis- charged comrades, the Dorchester soldiers returned to their homes. Many of them were in poor health, and more were almost penniless; but their efforts had been rewarded by victory, and they cared little for their imme- diate condition, so long as liberty had been obtained. The exciting incidents of the years immediately preced- ing and during the Revolution are likely to make us forget that other events had been taking place in Dorchester, which, while not as important as those which have recently claimed our attention, still have no small bearing upon the history of the town. While we are waiting for Dorchester to settle down after the terrible strain it had just passed through, let us take a brief look backwards. In 1773 the Church became involved in a controversy with its pastor, Rev. Mr. Bowman, which resulted in his 144 GOOD OLD DORCHESTER. [1780. dismissal after a ministry of nearly forty-four years, and Rev. Moses Everett was chosen his successor. In 1776 a census was taken of the town, which showed that there were 291 families and 1550 persons within the limits. A year later, in the midst of the troubled times of the Revo- lution, the town ordered a general inoculation to prevent small-pox. Certain houses of the inhabitants were selected for hospitals, and all persons who desired to be inoculated were to present themselves at one of the places designated. Dr. Phineas Holden was in charge of the patients. Dr. Holden was a son of Dr. William Holden, who began business in Dorchester soon after the death of Dr. Elijah Danforth. He continued his practice in the town until his death in 1819. The second period of the history of the town closes with the records of one hundred and fifty years. If the events of the first period were important in laying the foundation of the Colony, of what greater importance were the transactions of the second period, which made it possible for the people to enjoy the noble labors of their ancestors. The town was now a part of a Common- wealth, which, in turn, was a section of a great Republic, whose principles were founded upon liberty and indepen- dence. A change more mighty than any preceding one had come over the people, blending their characteristics into a powerful force, which made them a new race : — " Behold I in Liberty's unclouded blaze We lift our heads, a race of other days." -#^^^ Y CHAPTER III. FROM THE REVOLUTION TO THE REBELLION. 1784-1860. HE third period of this narrative history- brings the records of the town within the memory of the present generation. The early years are unimportant from an exter- nal standpoint, but from within can be seen the immediate struggle to recover from the unprecedented strain the people had passed through. The early hardships had been almost too great to be endured ; the French and Indian wars had made the set- tlers feel anxious and depressed ; sickness and pestilence had stricken down many of the most valuable citizens; but never before in its history had the resources of the town been drawn upon so heavily for supplies and men as during the War of the Revolution. The recovery was naturally slow and tedious. The loss of so large a pro- portion of the male population seriously crippled the industries, and made it necessary to make extra exertions to support the widows and children of those who had fallen during the war. Scarcely had the town made an appreciable gain in repairing the damages of the momentous struggle when it was called upon to do its part in putting down Shays's Rebellion, which in 1787 threatened serious consequences. The response was prompt, and a large number of men were sent to the front. The following are the names of 146 GOOD OLD DOECHBSTBK. [1787. the soldiers in the company of artillery commanded by Captain-Lieutenant Thomas Williams, which served under the orders of Hon. Major-General Lincoln. These lists are taken from the " History of Dorchester " (1859) : — Capt. Lt. Thomas Williams. 2d Lieut. John Swift. 2d Lieut. Aaron Bird. Serg't Nathaniel Winship. Serg't David Pratt. Serg't James Lewis. Bombardier Daniel Stoddard. Bombardier Samuel Griggs. Bombardier Elisha Crane. Bombardier Edward Clap. Fifer Thomas Hereman. Drummer Organ. Mattross Royal Shepherd. Mattross Ebenezer Davis. Edmund Baker. Eliakim Blackman. Edward Bodge. John Brewer. Thaddeus Brewer. John Clap. Elisha Crane. Stephen Davis. John Dove. • Isaac Fenno. Edward Glover, Jr. Samuel Glover. John Go£Ee, Jr. Solomon Hall. Samuel Holden, Jr. Edward S. Leeds. William Maurough. Thomas Mayo. John Mears, Jr. William Mellen. Samuel Mosley. Samuel Murdock. Daniel Russel. Ebenezer Scott. Richard Trow. David Waitt, Jr. Joseph Whittemore. Daniel Wiswall. William Withington. A still larger number of Dorchester soldiers enlisted in Captain James Robinson's company, which belonged to the regiment commanded by Ezra Badlam, Esq. The list is as follows : — Capt. James Robinson. Lieut. Thomas Mosley. Lieut. Jacob Gill.* Serg't Maj. Nathan Leeds. Q. M. S. James Davenport. Serg't John Trescott. Serg't Nath'l Keyes.* Serg't Isaac Thornton.* Serg't Wm. Chambers. Corp. George Manning. Corp. John Withington. Corp. Daniel Withington. Corp. John Atherington. Coll. Clerk Richard Trow. Samuel Badcock.* James Baker. Moses Belcher.* Shepherd Bent.* John Bird. Lemuel Blackman. Samuel Capen. Ebenezer Clap. John Clap. Lemuel Collier. Samuel Clap, Jr. Luther Crane.* Vose Crane.* Zibe Crane.* John Cox. Edward Cyson. Ebenezer Daniels. Joseph Fenno.* Michael Field. John Garch.* Alexander Glover, 1793.] FKOM THE EBVOLUTION TO THE REBELLION. 147 John Hall. William Morris. Eleazer Thayer. William Harding. Samuel Payson. Josiah Thompson. Abel Hersey. Abraham Pierce. Joseph Turner. James Holden. James Richards. Alexander Vose.* Silas Hoten(Stoughton). Samuel Richards.* Jotham Wheelwright. John Rouse Huchings. Thomas Robinson. John White. David Johnson. James Spur. Robert White. James Jones. Jesse Sumner.* Samuel Williams.* Peter McElroy. Those marked with an asterisk (*) are supposed to have been from Milton. After the war affairs again settled down into the old routine. Nothing of great moment occurred until in 1793, when the Rev. Thaddeus Mason Harris became pastor of the Church. This was the beginning of a long and important service to the town.^ In 1794 Dorchester voted an allowance of £12 toward purchasing a house for the fire engine, which had been ob- tained a short time before. This act marks the beginning of the Dorchester fire department. An appropriation was also made for an almshouse, which, with some additions, was used until the town was annexed to Boston. As will be seen later, when this important event took place the almshouse was without a single inmate. The death of Noah Clap, A. M., April 10, 1799, removed a man who had been closely connected with the interests of Dorchester for nearly fifty years. He was one of the early schoolmasters, and it is to the chapter on Dorchester schools that his biography properly belongs.^ The only duel ever fought within the limits of the town occurred in June, 1801. Two friends, Miller and Rand by name, were walking together one day, when the conversa- tion suddenly turned upon a young lady who was a mutual friend. Miller jokingly accused Rand of being in love, who became very serious about the matter, and hot words followed. A challenge was issued by Rand the next morn- 1 See p. 241. 2 See p. 318. 148 GOOD OLD DOKCHESTBB. [1801. ing, which was reluctantly accepted by Miller, who pro- tested that Rand had no right to make so serious a matter of what had been said in jest. It was a pleasant Sunday morning when the two young men met, with their seconds, at Dorchester Point. Another appeal was made to Rand by Miller and his second to settle the trouble in some other way, but all to no avail. The distance was paced off, and a coin tossed for the advantage ; Rand won, and chose first shot. At the signal Rand took a quick aim and fired, but Miller escaped injury. Even at this late time Miller made a last appeal to his opponent, not wishing to fire himself ; but Rand made an insulting reply, and insisted that the conditions of the duel be fol- lowed out. Miller then took careful aim at Rand's right arm ; but as the pistol rang out Rand swayed to the right, and received the bullet through the heart. The survivors made all haste to leave the place; and when they reached the Five Corners they reported that there was a man at Dorchester Neck who was in distress, and who wanted some water. In spite of the strangeness of the request, the earnestness of the men induced several persons to go to the Point, and there the facts were dis- covered. There was great excitement over the event ; but as the blame seemed to rest mostly on Rand's shoulders, Miller was never called to account for his deed. In 1803 Messrs. H. G. Otis, Jonathan Mason, William Tudor, Gardiner Greene, and several other prominent citi- zens of Boston began to urge the annexation of Dorchester Neck to the city. This was the first step of the many which were afterwards taken, resulting finally in the annex- ation of the entire Dorchester limits. As is often the case, the project was opposed by both sides ; the Boston people passing a vote that if " Dorchester Neck shall be annexed to Boston, the Boston aldermen shall be empowered to lay out such streets, public squares, and market-places as they shall judge necessary, without compensation to the owners 1804.] TEOM THE BEVOLUTIOK TO THE KBBBLLION. 149 of the land." The land-holders on the Neck favored the annexation, as it was foreseen that such a step would raise the value of land ; but all the rest of the Dorchester people were not in favor of the proposed step. On January 23, 1804, a committee, consisting of Messrs. Ebenezer Wales, Stephen Badlam, John Howe, Samuel Withington, James Robinson, Ebenezer Tolman, Lemuel Crane, Thomas Moseley, and Edward W. Baxter, was chosen by the town to remonstrate with the General Court; but it was voted that there was no objection to the con- struction of a bridge. Offers as high as twenty thousand dollars were made by the land-holders and petitioners if the Dorchester people would withdraw their opposition; but they were then determined in their opposition. Thus, when the bill passed the Legislature, March 6, 1804, those who had held out not only had to give up the land, but also lost the money which they might have received. Almost at once the effect of the annexation was felt by those who held property. Land kept rising until it reached a value hitherto unknown in the town ; and when the bridge from the Neck to Boston became assured, the price of land was nearly ten times as much as before the annex- ation. This bridge, also, brought forth a most violent con- troversy in regard to its location ; but in 1805, in spite of this, it was completed at an expense of fifty-six thousand dollars. It was afterwards known as the South Bridge. It was not long after the bridge was built between Dorchester Neck and Boston that a new project was set on foot which proved no small undertaking for the time when it was carried through. It was seen that if a turnpike was bmlt between Milton Lower Mills and the easterly end of the bridge it would be of great value in shortening the distance. Several gentlemen of means joined together, and the turnpike was successfully completed. The expense, however, proved more than was anticipated; and it was found necessary to charge a larger toll than was ori- 150 GOOD OLD DOECHESTER. [1806. ginally intended, and this at once made the new road unpopular. For years the majority of people preferred to travel the extra distance through Roxbury rather than submit to any payment for passing over the " turnpike." The shares fell tremendously in their value, and the stock- holders were glad to dispose of their interests for almost nothing. Those who had courage enough to invest in the shares at their reduced price received large returns, as the value was much increased when the turnpike was finally made free by private subscription in 1854. In 1856-57 a track for horse-cars was laid on this street. It was later accepted as a public highway by the town, and is the present Dorchester Avenue. Until 1806 all Dorchester had worshipped in the same church; as emigration, disease, engagements with the Indians, and other causes had kept the number of inhabi- tants so reduced that one " meeting-house " was sufficient. A year previous to this date, however, the people realized that the population required better accommodations, and preparations were made to establish another church. This resulted in the formation of the present Second Church.^ The "War of 1812 has left few reminders to call the atten- tion of the rising generation to the fact that at that time the good people of Dorchester really feared the English men-of-war might enter Dorchester Bay. A company was formed, and fortifications were hastily thrown up on the Savin-Hill side of the harbor, commanding the channel for quite a distance. Little by little this embankment, which fortunately was never called into use, has been levelled as buildings have been erected along Savin Hill Avenue, either from indif- ference or ignorance on the part of the builders. But one piece of it now remains, which may be seen from the road, almost at the extremity of Savin Hill Avenue. It is 1 See p. 249. 1813.] FEOM THE BEVOLTJTION TO THE EEBELLION. 151 grown over with grass, and looks peaceable enough ; but who knows what scenes of heroism and patriotism might have been enacted there, had the English had the temerity to enter the channel of our harbor I The war found many bitter opponents in Dorchester, and there were often occasions when strong party feeling was displayed. For a while, a regiment from the western part of the State was stationed at Commercial Point. In 1813 the people of the town were thrown into a state of excitement by the report that the " Chesapeake " and the " Shannon," one of the British blockaders of the Halifax squadron, were engaged in battle just outside of Boston light. Captain Lawrence, of the " Chesapeake," had just been promoted for his valor, and was now to take part in his last engagement. The "Shannon" was commanded by Captain Blake. Captain Lawrence did not have time to put his men in good training, and, moreover, the " Chesapeake " had gained a reputation among the superstitious sailors of being an unlucky vessel. Worse than all, some of his men were mutinous ; but in spite of this. Captain Law- rence accepted Captain Blake's challenge, and the ves- sels came into position to pour their broadsides into each other. The " Chesapeake " was soon dismasted, and fell foul of the " Shannon's " forechains. In fifteen minutes from the time the first shot was fired. Captain Lawrence was mortally wounded, and Captain Blake was in possession of the vessel. The American flag was torn down, and the British ensign run up in its place ; and the " Shannon " sailed away for Halifax with its prize, having the dying Captain Lawrence on board. There is some discrepancy as to the exact location where this combat actually took place ; some claiming that it was off Hingham, and others, that the scene was further up toward the harbor. The late Mrs. Eoswell Gleason, however, always claimed that 152 GOOD OLD DOBCHESTEE. [1813. all at her house, on Washington Street, near School Street, saw the smoke distinctly. Some ten years ago, an old veteran by the name of Benjamin Trefethen issued the following circular, which gives an account of the affair as it appeared to a partici- pant : — "Boston, Oct. 22, 1881. " I, Benjamin Trefethen, of Boston, in the County of Suffolk, and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, born on Newcastle Island, Portsmouth, N. H., January 18th, 1790, and since 1828, 1 have resided in Boston, Mass. In the year 1812 I shipped to serve on board the frigate ' Chesapeake,' then lying in Nantasket Roads, in the harbor of Boston, and went on board December 9, 1812. " The ' Chesapeake ' was at that time commanded by Captain Samuel Evans. I shipped, with five others, in Portsmouth, by Lieutenant Budd, and came immediately to Boston. The last of May, 1813, the frigate ' Shannon,' commanded by Captain Brooke, made her appearance off Boston Harbor. "On the first day of June, the 'Chesapeake,' commanded by Captain James Lawrence, who succeeded Captain Evans, got under way and proceeded down the harbor under full sail, to meet the 'Shannon,' then standing in. The 'Shannon' very soon tacked and stood off. When in the ofBng near Marblehead, between two and three o'clock, p.m., as near as I can recollect, the action commenced. The ' Chesapeake ' had the weather gage, and engaged the ' Shannon,' the guns on our larboard side bearing upon the starboard side of the ' Shannon.' "We were so near that I cannot say which fired the first gun. As we passed the ' Shannon ' we fired two broadsides. I belonged to the third gun on the spar deck, and while looking to see the effect of the shots, a cannon-ball from the ' Shannon ' passed over my head and took off the head of John White, our sailing master. The engagement lasted about three-quarters of an hour. " A colored man in the act of hauling down our signal on the mizzen peak, was shot by our mariners, but a white man succeeded in hauling it down. 1813.] FROM THE EEVOLTJTION TO THE EEBELLION. 153 ' ' One of our lieutenants called out to the bugleman, a colored man by the name of William Brown, ' Blow the bugle ; alarm the boarders on the gun deck,' but unfortunately he had for- gotten the proper signal, and threw his bugle on the deck, and hid himself under one of the launches or boats. " One of the lieutenants, I think Lieutenant Ludlow, a little before called to the boatswain, ' Board the fore tack, and haul down the head sheets immediately, and pay the ship off.' The boatswain answered, ' I can't do it immediately, they are shot away.' "The 'Shannon' at the close of the engagement was in a sinking condition, having three and a half feet of water in her hold, and I always believed that those who boarded the ' Chesapeake,' did so to save their lives, as I afterwards counted seven plugs in the starboard side of the ' Shannon.' "When we were sailing past Boston lights to meet the ' Shannon,' I was taking dinner with others, between the guns, when Captain Lawrence came along, and looking at us ear- nestly, said, ' Bear a hand, boys, and get your dinner ; you will have blood for supper.' I heard it, and if I had been commander I should not have used such an expression as that. Captain Lawrence was a courageous man. I was very sorry when I heard Lieutenant Ludlow was dead. He was one of our best lieutenants. He was a noble man. Benjamin Trefethen." It will be seen that this account differs in some respects from the one preceding it, which is in substance taken from Schouler's "History of the United States." The most striking character in the War of 1812 with whom Dorchester claimed relationship, was not an own son, but one who became a well-known citizen. Captain John Percival, or "Mad Jack," as he was popularly known, was a native of Barnstable. He went to sea when but a boy, and later entered the merchant service. While still young he was impressed on board the British vessel " Epervier," but managed to escape by placing his pistol at the sentry's head. 154 GOOD OLD DOKCHESTEE. [1813. During the War of 1812 Captain Percival became tlie saHing-master of the "Peacock," and, by a strange coin- cidence, had an engagement with the " Epervier," on board of which he had been impressed. His services during the war were so valuable that he was promoted to the line officers, and became lieutenant and afterwards captain. Congress gave a further proof of the esteem in which he was held by his country by presenting him with a handsome sword. After the war he was sent in the United States sloop " Cyane " to the West Indies, to destroy the pirates, who were at that time committing many indignities to those who came within their reach; and Captain Percival's efforts were so effective that, before he left the scene of so many depredations, he had broken their force, and they were no longer to be feared. Few men had led such eventful lives as that which fell to his lot. Hairbreadth escapes followed one another, and on many occasions it seemed as if death was staring him in the face; but he passed through all in safety, and died a peaceful death at his home in Dorchester. A single anecdote may be related to show what dangers he survived. On one occasion he set sail on a sloop from Africa with only a boy and an old man on board for crew. When they were hardly out of sight of port, Captain Percival and the old man were taken down with African fever, and the boy alone was left to man the sloop. It was not long before the boy was washed overboard, and the vessel left entirely at the mercy of the waves. Captain Percival was able to summon strength enough to lash the helm, and then went below again, caring little, in his wretched condition, what might befall the vessel. The sloop sailed in the trade winds, and in time arrived at a port, when Captain Percival came on deck, and inquired where his course lay. Much to his astonishment, he found that without guidance the vessel had continued in her CAPTAIN JOHN PERCIVAL. 1813.] PEOM THE REVOLUTION TO THE EBBELLION. 157 course, and that a better voyage could not have been made had she been manned by an entire crew. Captain Percival and the "Constitution" took their last trip around the world together, the captain dying in 1862. His Dorchester home was the site on which the Catholic church now stands at Meeting-House Hill, on the corner of the street now called by his name. The house was originally built by Dr. Harris for his son, before it came into Captain Percival's possession. This house was moved back at the time of the erection of the church, and still stands on " Percival " Avenue. The life of Captain Percival was so eventful that it has been made the subject of a romance, entitled " The Cruise of the Juniata." The captain is not called by his real name in the story ; but as " Captain Percy " he has become in fiction the hero that he proved himself to be in life. The war had created a great demand for broadcloths and satinets, and to meet this, Walter Baker erected a stone building for the combined purposes of a woollen and choc- olate mill. The manufacture of the broadcloths and satinets continued until the news of the peace came, in 1815, and with the decrease in the demand, the woollen part of the mill was shut down. In 1815 there was a great gale which destroyed the arch of the bridge over the Neponset River. This arch was erected over the bridge at the dividing line of the towns, in 1798, to commemorate the ratification of Jay's Treaty. The inscription on it, in letters of gold, read, " We unite in the defence of our country and its laws. — 1798." This bridge had been built by the towns of Dorchester and Milton in 1765 ; the former town building the two northern sluices, covering them with stone, and the latter town the southern sluice. The expense of building the two large ones and the wooden bridge was equally shared by the two towns. The same gale caused such damage to 158 GOOD OLD DOKCHESTBE. [1815. the meetiug-liouse of the First Parish that it was finally demolished, and the present structure was erected to take its place. General Stephen Badlam, a prominent figure in the town, died in 1815. He was a surveyor by profession, making plans of Dorchester and neighboring towns ; but he was active in all that concerned the interests of his fellow-citizens. In 1775 he joined the American army, and soon received a commission as second lieutenant of artillery, from which he was promoted to the positions of first lieutenant and captain. His success in filling these oifices of responsibility brought it about that when ordered to Canada he was in the possession of a major's commission. Sickness compelled him to leave the army; so he again entered private life, being no less prominent than when in his public capacity. He became a justice of the peace, and later general of the first brigade of the first division of the Massachusetts militia. In 1808 General Badlam was chosen senior deacon of the Second Church, — a position which he held till his death. He was especially prominent during the contro- versy between the church and Dr. Codman, being a stanch supporter of the latter. On the occasion of his death Dr. Codman preached his funeral sermon, in which he said : " As a citizen and a magistrate he was highly and justly esteemed ; and his loss will be long and sensibly felt in his immediate neighborhood, in this town, and through- out the coimtry. ... As a member and officer of the Church of Christ he was eminently useful and highly respected." During this same year the death of Lieutenani^Colonel Samuel Pierce occurred. He belonged to the sturdy family which had sprung from Robert Pierce, and who built that still well-preserved relic of the early days, the Pierce House. " Colonel Samuel," as he was familiarly called, served in the army during the greater part of the War 1815.] FEOM THE KEVOLTJTION TO THE EEBELLION. 159 of the Revolution, and was appointed lieutenant-colonel February 14, 1776. He was at Morristown in 1777, and several letters written home from there are still in the possession of the famUy. He was one of those who forti- fied Dorchester Heights, and in 1779 was in Rhode Island in command of a regiment. Colonel Pierce did a great service to the present genera- tion by leaving behind him a carefully kept diary. This contains an excellent record of the stirring times of the Revolution, and is of special interest because of its allu- sions to events referred to in preceding pages. The following extracts are taken from the diary : — 1764, Jan. 18. Boston people move out their goods very fast, for fear of the small pox. March 20. Mr. Bowman desired to have them sing twice in the forenoon. 1765, Jan. 16. Mr. Samuel How was stopt by a rober upon Boston neck. March 24. Snowed and stormed very bad. Mr. Boman put by the meeting in the afternoon for the storm, and it was a very high tide and did much damage at Boston. Sept. 26. Training at the Castle. The same day is to be the great hors rase on the neck. Nov. 10. "Was the first that we sang tate & brady's spalms in Dorchester meeting. Som people much offended at the same. June 25. We had the spinning match at our house. July 25. The soldiers go from Boston, some of them. Aug. 1. Gov. Barnard goes from Boston. Aug. 14. "Was a very grand entertainment at Mr. Lemuel Eobinson's. All the Sons of Liberty met; there was 124 carriages there. 1770, Jan. 25. The merchants in Boston all vote against tea. Feb. 22. A boy was shot at Boston by an informer. March 6. Four men killed in Boston by the soldiers. March 12. The soldiers go from Boston to the Castle. Aug. 11. Mr. "Whitfield came to Boston. Sept. 10. Castle "William is resined to Col. Dalrymple. 160 GOOD OLD DOKCHESTBE. [1815. Oct. 20. Was a violent storm as ever was known in these parts, and did a vast deal of damage. 1771, March 13. Thomas Hutchinson was made Governor in chief. April 3. I set a Post and an elm tree at the meeting house. [This elm is still standing, about ten rods west of the present First Parish Church.] 1772, May 20. Town meeting. Esq. Holden offered to go representative for nothing, but they would not choose him. Aug. 28. Mr. Ebenezer Clap made captain of the loar Company. Oct. 21. Capt. Clap call'd his company together and made a treat. Nov. 15. The Pirates came on this coast and rob'd one vessel. Nov. 22. The Pirates take a scooner and killed the hands. December 29. Had a town meeting to exclaim against the Duty being laid upon us, and the judges having their salaries paid from England, &c. 1773, Feb. 1. Began to kep school, £3 5s. per week. March 14. Mr. Boman refused to baptize Paul HaUs child, altho he demanded it in public. Nov. 19. Had councils four days this week; cost £150 a day. Dec. 1. A great time of talk about the tee. Dec. 3. The council set 4 days this week, and have not finished. Dec. 11. Boston is full of trouble about the tee being landed. Dec. 14. "Was a church meeting, and the council dismissed Mr. Jona. Boman from this Church this day. "We have had eight months controversy with Mr. Boman, but got rid of him at last by paying him £450 old tenor per year to go away. Dec. 15. There was the destruction of the Tee ; they sup- posed there to be about 340 chests destroyed, all thrown into the dock in one Nite. Dec. 30. There was a number of men came from Boston in disguise, about 40 ; they came to Mr. Eben "Withington's down 1816.] FKOM THE EEVOLTJTION TO THE REBEI.LION. 161 in town, and demanded his Tee from him which he had taken up, and carried it off and burnt it at Boston. 1774, Jan. 3. Was town meeting. We pass a vote against buying or drinking any Bohea Tee. S. P. May 16. Gov. Gages Commission was Red in Boston. May 18. Mr. Lemuel Robinson was chosen to represent the town. May 31. We had our Training and Treeting, &c. ; the Company was all here, about 100 ; we had 188 people here to dinner. June 13. The soldiers land at Boston. June 17. The Cort was dissolved at Salem by Gage. July 2. Eight or nine Men a War arived with forces, and Boston is in a most deplorable condition. Sept. 1. There was an alaram; there was about 8 or 9 thousand men met at Cambridge. Sept. 12. The greate gun was Removed from Preston's Point. Sept. 19. We began to exercise this season. Oct. 4. We had our trainings in Dorchester. Nov. 9. Had a meeting of all the training soldiers, and gave up our commissions and were rechosen. Nov. 17. The ofiicers of this regiment met at Stouton to choose their iield officers. Chosen for the same, Lemuel Robinson, Deacon Gill and Joseph Voce. Nov. 28. The fortiiication all built on Boston Neck. Dec. 27. Town meeting. Capt. Withington was chosen to represent the town in the Congress. 1755, Feb. 27. The officers met, and the field officers resigned. March 7. They met again and were rechosen. Capt. Clap was chosen Lieut. Colonel. April 19. This day there was a terrible battle at Lexington and Concord between our people and the soldiers which marcht out of Boston ; the soldiers fired on our people, and then the battle began, and there was about 40 of our people kild and 190 of the soldiers, as near as could be recollected. April 20. The alarm was very general, and a great number 162 GOOD OLD DOECHESTEE." [1815. of People collected ; it may be there was 30 or 40 Thousand in Roxbury and Cambridge. May 1. There is very great confusion among us at this day, some people moving out of Boston, and some of the Tory's moving their goods in to town. May 5. There was something of an alarm here in Dorches- ter ; a schooner came into the River, but it proved to be from Boston with som of our frinds from Boston in it. May 9. An express came to me from the General, and I got the Company together and marcht of, but we met with interruption that night. May 11. Was a fast kept and very strictly too. May 17. More soldiers arrive at Boston from England. May 21. The soldiers go to Weymouth with four vessels for hay at Strawbery hill, but our people drive them of and burnt the barn ; twas thot to have had near 80 tuns of hay in it. May 27. The soldiers make another attack on Noddle's Island, but our soldiers get the better of them and took a small vessel from them and burnt it. May 29. The people burn a great quantity of hay at Noddles Island, and at night the house at tompsons Island. June 14. A great number of transports arive in Boston with more soldiers, some say 1500. June 17. They got over to Charlestown and set it on fire, and burn the whole town down. June 18. There was a terrible battle font at Charlestown ; the Regulars get the better of our troops, and we lost about 70 men and many wounded. June 20. It was said that there was 1000 of the Regular soldiers Mid. June 24. This day two of our men went to set Browns house on the Neck afire, and were both kild ; one was old Share of Milton. June 26. This day our People began to entrench below Capt. Clap's, near the great Casway. June 27. Our people went down to Dorchester Neck to work, but were shot at from Boston very much. July 2. Much firing from the Regulars this morning at our 1815.] PKOM THE REVOLUTION TO THE EEBELLION. 163 people at Roxbury. Mr. Williams' house was set on fire, but no lives lost. July 6. Our soldiers had a scurmig this morning with their gard, and drove them from it and set Brown's house afire on the Neck. July 10. Our People go to Long Island and fetch of all the cretors, and took 13 mereens prisoners. July 1 1 . This day many of the ships goes out of the harbor, but upon what expedition we cannot teU at preasant. July 12. This day we have our town meeting to choose representatives according to the advice of the Continental Congress. July 13. Our people began to entrench near the G-eorge tavern on Boston Neck, and the soldiers fired at them and kUd one man. July 20. The Light-house was sot afire, and our people went to Nantasket to git of the barley and hay. July 30. There was something of a scirmige with the Regu- lars ; the Regulars set the George tavern afire on the Neck. Aug. 25. This day four barges came up to the farm bar; our people fired at them, but did them no damage. Sept. 18. There was 108 shot fired at our people this day, but not one man killd. Sept. 26. Our people went on an expedition over the bay, and set the house on fire on Governor's Island. Oct. 8. The Men a War goes from Boston to Bristol road- iland, and then fired on the town and did much damage. Oct. 10. Governor Gage sailed for England. Oct. 12. Mr. Edward Preston's barn and Chocolate mill were both burnt to ashes. Oct. 16. Our people went down in Cambridge bay with two floating Batery's to fire upon Boston, and one of them split their cannon by not raming their shot down ; it kild one and wounded 6. Oct. 20. The ships set fire to the town at Casco bay, and burn about three quarters of the town to ashes. Dec. 15. Our Privatears take a fine prize laden with ammu- nition and stors, and a fine mortar. 164 GOOD OLD DOKCHBSTEE. [1815. t 1776. Our People goes to Bunker hill and sot several houses afire. The regulars fired very much at our people, but nobody hurt. Jan. 18. We heard of our people haveing a defeat at Quebeck by trying to scale the walls. Jan. 29. "We called our Company's together, and then enlisted 25 men for the army for 2 months. Feb. 5. This day we had 38 soldiers come into our house. Feb. 13. The regulars came out of Boston and from the Castle, and drove our Gard of the Neck and burnt the housen. March 4. Our people went on to Dorchester Neck and built two forts in the same night, and there was 380 teems and about 5000 men — the most work don that ever was don in one night in New England. March 5. There was a very heavy cannonading all the night, but there was but one man kild on our side. Our regiment marcht to Roxbury, but nobody was hurt. March 9. There was an exceeding heavy firing from the ministerial troops towards Nuke hill, and one shot kild 4 men instantly, and there was more than one thousand shot fired from the regulars, and no man hurt except the 4 first, a most remark- hand of Providence in this. March 14. Part of our regiment was called to gard the shore ; one third part were kept on duty. March 17. There was a heavy firing from our enemy, but no hurt don, and this morning the Regulars were out of Boston, Destroying as they went of like so many frited sheep, but some of the toryes were left behind in town. March 18. Our people take possession of Boston. March 19. The Regulars set fire to the Ban-acks at the Castle, and our people began a brest work on Mr. Blake's ground. March 20. Something of firing from one of the ships this morning. March 22. This night Castle William was all burnt to ashes and all destroyed. March 28. Our people go into Boston all freely. THE PIERCE HOUSE. 1815.] PKOM THE REVOLUTION TO THE EEBELLION. 167 March 30. The ships mostly goes out of the harbor ; they sailed for Halifax. April 4. Four of our regiments move for to go to Roade- iland, and sum to New York. April 18. The Court sot in our meeting-house to try the tories. April 25. The officers of Col. Gill's regiment met at Doties at Stoughton, and were all sworn. May 17. There was a valuable prise taken by our Privitears of the harbor. June 8. There was one of our Privitears taken by our enemies ; she was called the Yankee hero. June 14. Our people goes on with an expedition down on the Islands, and drove out the ships out of the harbor; they built a fort on Long Isld, and another on Nantasket. Our enemy Blowed up the Light-house ; myself was a spectator at the time. June 17. There was two ships came into our harbor with Scotch soldiers, and our Privatiers took them both; they had 200. July 28. America declared Independency from Great Britain. 1777, April 19. There was 5 tories carted out of Boston, and were tipt up in Roxbury, and were ordered never to return to Boston again upon Peril of Death ; there seems Now to be some resolution in the people. Sept. 22. Had orders to draught 50 men from our regiment for a secret expedition. Oct. 10. We had good news from our Northern army of Burgoine's being taken. Oct. 17. General Gates took Burgoine with about 5000 troops of our enemy. Oct. 30. Our soldiers return from the expedition to Rhode Island without doing anything. Nov. 2. Lieut. Ezekl Tolman came home from towards Ticonderoga not well. 1778, May 14. Mr. John Minot Enoculated his family with the small pox much against the minds of his neighbours. 168 GOOD OLD DOKCHBSTER. [1817. May 19. We had a town meeting in order to see what method the town would take to re-inforce the Continental army. May 31. There was near a hundred prayed for this day under the operation of the small pox in Dorchester. May 10. I was appointed to go to Tiverton to take com- mand of the regiment their. 1780, May 19. A day much to be remembered, so dark between twelve and one o'clock, that people could not see to work. We were obliged to have a candle to eat dinner by ; it lookt very melloncaly indeed, there was but a little rain, and the evening was as remarkably dark. 1782, Aug. 10. Thirteen large French ships came into Boston harbor. In 1817 Dorchester lost two well-known physicians by suicide, — Dr. Eleazer Clapp, and Dr. Thomas Danforth. Dr. Clapp was graduated from Harvard in 1807, and studied medicine with Dr. J. Warren. He opened an office in Boston, and seemed to have the prospects of a successful career before him. Having a predisposition to insanity, however, he soon became melancholy, and returned to his native town. Here, in a lit of mental depression, he des- troyed himself on the 27th of August. It has been suggested that the suicide, a month previ- ously, of Dr. Danforth, son of the celebrated Dr. Samuel Danforth, of Boston, may have suggested this mode of death to Dr. Clapp. Dr. Danforth received a good educa- tion, but, having rich relatives, he was not specially devoted to the interests of his profession. He lived in Dorchester for about two years ; and, though not engaging in medical pursuits, he sometimes prescribed for his neighbors. A sudden cold produced excitement of the brain, and on July 13 he took his life. An interesting event of the year 1830 was a visit made to Hull by one hundred inhabitants of Dorchester, to cele- brate the two hundredth anniversary of the landing of the first settlers. This company, most of whom were from the 1830.] FROM THE REVOLUTION TO THE BEBBLLION. 169 Second Parish, met at the Lower Mills, around " Badlam's pump," at the junction of the Upper Road and the lane, the present River Street. There were twenty-eight carriages, of every descrip- tion, in which, besides the occupants, were stowed away the necessary edibles to assist in making the celebration a success. By slow degrees this procession proceeded on its journey, finally arriving at a place near the present Jeru- salem Road. Here the party was met by twenty-three other Dorchester people, who had made the trip by water, on a yacht commanded by Captain William M. Rogers. At this time the only houses in the vicinity were a few scattered fishermen's huts. The Rev. John Codman, pas- tor of the Second Church, delivered an address and offered a prayer, and two original hymns were sung. On June 17 of this year Dorchester observed its two hundredth anniversary with appropriate exercises. Rev. John Pierce, D.D., delivered an historical discourse ; and Dr. Thaddeus Mason Harris, pastor of the First Parish, and Dr. John Codman, pastor of the Second Parish, also took part. Much to the regret of all, the Rev. Dr. Richmond was unable to be present on account of illness. In July the second centennial of the town was cele- brated by the Church. The services consisted of singing the 90th and the 107th Psalms from the old versions of the early settlers, line by line being read, after the ancient practice of the Church, and an anniversary sermon by the Rev. Thaddeus Mason Harris. This contained a brief account of the experiences of those who came over in the " Mary and John " from the time they left England down to the middle of the eighteenth century. Referring to the time in which he spoke, Dr. Harris said, "We have arrived at a period when such a retrospect of the days of old and the years of ancient times seems peculiarly proper. The completion of the second century since the arrival of our forefathers to begin a settlement here has a claim 170 GOOD OLD DOKCHESTEK. [1830. upon our special notice and pious commemoration. On this new era in history, ' which is for us a memorial,' we may consider ourselves as having reached an elevation whence, like Moses upon Pisgah, we may take an admiring view of the pleasant places and goodly heritage of those whom the Lord has blessed." The transportation facilities of the town were increased in 1830 by the addition of a new line of stage-coaches to Boston, which was started in opposition to those driven by Charles and Archibald Dunmore. The coaches started near the site of the present railroad station on Washington Street near Norfolk; but the Dunmore brothers had so firm a hold on the patronage of the town that the new line ' was short-lived. The coach line of the Dunmore brothers made hourly trips from the Lower Mills to the city proper. There were two coaches daily, one starting in the early morning, and the other at noon. On the return trips the coaches left Wilde's Tavern in Boston. A slate was hung in the office, on which were the names of would-be passengers ; and often the extreme ends of the city had to be visited before the journey to Dorchester was fairly begun. The road over which the coaches ran passed over the Neck, which at one time was a favorite haunt for highway- men, and many exciting episodes occurred there. Dr. Holbrook, of Milton, used to relate an adventure he once had when returning home after a visit to a patient in Boston. When on the Neck, the bridle of his horse was suddenly seized by a robber, while a confederate "cut behind " the sulky. As it happened, the rear part of the carriage had been covered with sharp-pointed nails, to pre- vent mischievous boys from stealing rides. The doctor heard a cry from behind, and at once whipped up his horse. This was so unexpected that the highwayman at the horse's head relinquished his grasp, and had plenty of time to 1830.] FROM THE KEVOLXJTION TO THE REBELLION. 171 assist his comrade in nursing his wounded fingers, while the doctor drove home. The fare on the coaches was thirty-seven and a half cents each way. When the new line started in 1830, the fare was reduced to twenty-five cents. A little later, Captain Goodspeed, the commander of the Dorchester artillery, started a ^oach which ran from Captain Eaton's store, on Meeting-House Hill, charging only twelve and a half cents each way. In 1834 William HoUis and his brother Joseph had the first line of omnibuses, which also started from Captain Eaton's store. The fare was twenty-five cents, but somewhat cheaper if tickets were purchased. These omnibuses were cumbersome affairs, which were drawn by four horses. They made their headquarters in Boston in front of the Washington Coffee House, on Washington Street near Milk Street. Later, William Hendry placed some smaller omnibuses upon this same route, which left Franklin Street, near Washington Street, every half-hour. These omnibuses were the immediate predecessors of the horse-cars and the present electric cars. Mr. George Fowler, an old resident of Dorchester, gives the following interesting account of the training and muster days, which were important institutions at this time. He says: — "There were two days in the year, in the olden time, much cherished by the boys : these were May training and the annual muster. The military force of Dorchester consisted of a rifle company and an artillery company. All the boys believed that the former possessed the finest snare drummer, and the most ear-splitting fifer, in the whole world. The artillery company owned a bass drummer by the name of Jordan, always called ' Jerdon,' who was supposed to be hors concours. He was a portly man, with a red face, who flourished his drumsticks in such an artistic manner, and produced such deafening sounds, that it was really wonderful; it was not advertised as a 10 172 GOOD OLD DOKCHBSTEE. [1830. ' recital.' The single drum of the artillery band, as the snare drum was then called, was operated on by a gentleman by the name of Henley, who, I think, was in the masonic and white- wash business. The artillery band also embraced a Kent bugle and a fife, four pieces against the rifles' two. Jordan had been in the service of the rifle company, but had deserted to the artillery. "The uniforms of the two companies were of similar cut, — the rifles being grey, the artillery blue. The caps were the leather, bell-crowned caps of the English foot-guards ; and the plumes suggested magnified admiration marks, being jet black, and about twenty-six inches in length. When the troops marched, these plumes bowed solemnly at every step. They made the soldiers out to be eight feet high, every man of them. The brass six-pounders of the artillery company had been captured from the Spaniards by the French, from the French by the English, and from the English by the Americans, — at least so asserted the boys with all the force of conviction.^ ' ' The muster, which always occurred in the fall, was on Captain Harrod's ground, called Bowdoin Hill ; now, I believe, promoted to a mountain. The troops marched up Harrod's yard and through the cow-yard to the tented field. There were booths on two sides of the ground, where refreshments could be obtained, — the liquid part being varied and extensive, the solid consisting principally of ginger-bread and custard-pie, with raw oysters at six cents a plate. There was always a sham fight, in which the ununiformed militia participated, and were always beaten by the rifles and the artillery. The general commanding wore very tight, brimstone-colored knee-breeches, top-boots, spurs, and a blue coat, the breast of which lay back in enormous lappels. A three-cornered hat covered his head. He was very deferential to his horse, and it always seemed to me that he hailed the approaching sunset with inaudible cheers." ' The connection of the French and tlie Spaniards with these cannon is to be questioned. They were, however, captured from the English during the War of the Revolution, and were said to be two of the finest specimens of their class. They were afterwards taken to the arsenal at Springfield and melted. 1830.] PEOM THE REVOLUTION TO THE REBELLION. 173 The reader should pause here for a moment, and think what a difference the two centuries just passed had made in the condition of the town and people ; and yet what vaster changes were destined to be accomplished during the next fifty years ! The early thatch-roofed houses had given way to the more pretentious homes of the modern civilization ; the one simple " meeting-house," where all the town had worshipped, was replaced by three parishes (together with Dorchester Neck, which had been annexed to Boston), and eleven distinct societies of worshippers; the little schoolhouse, which had well answered the de- mands of those early days, now boasted several offsprings, capable of guiding a larger number of the youtlis and maidens in the paths of wisdom, perhaps, but hardly more comfortable. How many of the good people of Dor- chester remember those " modern " schoolhouses of the early part of this century, where a roaring fire roasted the detachment of children serving their turn at the stove, while the ink froze on the master's desk ! The second century certainly showed a marvellous advance ; but how can it be compared with the few brief years which have passed since then ? The steam railroad, the telegraph, the telephone, the electric lights and cars, — all were unknown and even undreamed of by those who at the time of the second centennial considered themselves so far ahead of their fathers and grandfathers. The principal characters in the later history of the town, we shall find, are not all descendants of the old Dorchester fathers ; but as the modern civilization mingled together families, who knew the town's past only as a matter of record, with those to whom it was a strong reality, it was natural that there should be some departure from the ruts in which events had travelled from the earlier times. It is necessary to remark that the changes of this last century are rather in the people themselves than in the 174 GOOD OLD DOECHESTER. [1831. town. Everything was becoming more progressive ; and, in order to keep pace with the times, the Dorchester people found it necessary to throw off some of their conservatism. Dorchester was called upon in 1831 to assist the people of Neponset Village in the establishment of a public school. The village at this time contained twenty-four families, and there were thirty-four children who were of the proper age to attend school. The nearest school-build- ing was a mile and a half distant, so that it was impossible for them to attend regularly, especially during the winter months. In the light of these facts, therefore, Dorchester voted to grant the request of Neponset, and appropriated one hundred and fifty dollars a year " for the establishment and maintenance of a town school." The town did not enjoy the luxury of a bank untU 1832, when the " Dorchester and Milton Bank " was incorporated, with Moses Whitney, Esq., for its first president. In 1850 the name of the bank was changed to the "Blue Hill Bank," owing to the loss of some 132,000 by theft. Other banks have since been incorporated; but the Blue Hill Bank, as it is still called, deserves mention as the pioneer institution of its kind in Dorchester. Its present officers are: President, Samuel Gannett; cashier, S. J. Willis; directors, Samuel Gannett, Laban Pratt, A. L. HoUings- worth, Joseph E. Hall, Horace E. Ware, and J. Frank Howland. Dorchester once contained the only powder-mill, the only paper-mill, the only cracker manufactory, the only chocolate-mill, and the only playing-card manufactory in the whole country. Hayivard's " Gazetteer," early in the thirties, mentions Dorchester as " an agricultural and man- ufacturing town of about 3,500 inhabitants, large farms covering broad acres, card factories (Thomas Crehore's being the first in any part of the country to manufacture playing cards), cotton, chocolate, and starch mills." THE CODMAN HOUSE. 1832.] FKOM THE EEVOLtTTION TO THE EEBELLION. 177 Commerce has never received its proper position among the industries of the town. About the year 1832 it began to be an important element in the life of the town, adding wealth and population. Its prominence was of short duration, but much activity was manifested for a few years. In 1832 a syndicate was formed for the prosecution of the whale and cod fisheries at Commercial Point. This syndicate was composed of Messrs. Nathaniel Thayer, a brother of John E. Thayer, the founder of the house of the well-known firm of Kidder, Peabody, & Co. ; Mr. Elisha Preston, of Dorchester, who was the senior partner of the firm of Preston & Thayer; Mr. Josiah Stickney, a well- known Boston merchant; and Mr. Charles O. Whitmore, of the firm of Lombard & Whitmore, whose residence was near the Point, and who acted as " ship's-husband " for the vessels composing the fleet. This syndicate equipped four vessels for the whale fishery, and twenty schooners, of which two — the " Belle " and the " Preston " — were built at the Point. They purchased not only the wharf, but quite a tract of land in its immediate vicinity, where they put up flakes for the drying of their codfish. They also built some cooper-shops and a store for the supply of sailors' outfits and ship chandlery. The store was built from the material used in the construction of the granary which formerly occupied the site of the present Park Street Church in the city proper. A small and antiquated schooner, called the " Superior," was employed in convey- ing the "catch" to Boston. The names of the whalers were the ships " Charles Carroll " (of three hundred and eighty-six tons), the " Herald," the " Courier," and the barque "Lewis." The " Charles Carroll " was a famous ship in her day. She was built in 1828, and first came from Newburyport, later being taken from the merchant service to be used in the Dorchester whaling fleet. On October 31, 1833, the 178 GOOD OLD DOECHESTEK. [1832. " Charles Carroll " sailed for tlie Pacific Ocean, making a voyage which lasted nearly four years. She returned to Commercial Point with a cargo of two thousand barrels of sperm oil and also a large quantity of whalebone. This vessel had the reputation of being one of the fastest of her day ; and when a whale was once sighted, his chances were very small of escaping his speedy pursuer. In 1852 the " Charles Carroll " made her last trip, being lost while on a voyage to Europe. Fortunately the crew was saved. Previous to this the vessel had been sold to Messrs. John H. Pearson & Co. for their line of Southern packets. It is said that Anthony Burns, the fugitive slave, came to Boston from New Orleans on the " Charles Carroll." Mr. William C. Codman, from whom the above inter- esting facts were obtained, describes the arrival of the " Charles Carroll " as follows : — " I well remember the arrival of the ' Charles Carroll.' The wharf at the Point was lined with carriages coming from great distances, containing relatives or friends of the Jack Tars. "When every sail had been fm-led, they were allowed to go ashore. Anxious parents, brothers, and sisters awaited them. The Jacks climbed over the side to rush into their relatives' embraces. The scene will never be effaced from my memory. ' Tom, dear Tom,' said one, ' this is your sister whom you have never seen.' It was a little girl of three. The bronzed and sunburnt sailor took her up in his arms and gave her a smack which echoed back from Dorchester Heights. An elderly couple hugged and squeezed their son until there was not enough breath to blow out a dog vane. The fiancee of another sailor was not so demonstrative at first, but when they had got to a secluded part of the wharf, full vent was given, and it is unnecessary to state how many kisses were exchanged and how much billy-cooing was done by the parties interested. But it was sad to see many of the sailors who had no relatives or sweethearts to welcome then return. An hour suflSeed to clear the wharf, and Commercial Point resumed its every-day appearance, with the exception that the ' Charles 1834.] FKOM THE REVOLUTION TO THE REBELLION. 179 Carroll ' lay at the end of the pier with a valuable cargo, which was to add something of pecuniary importance to the coffers of the syndicate, as well as to ' the lay' of the crew." The " Courier " made voyages from Dorchester in 1834 and 1836, with varying success. The " Herald " also made voyages at about the same time, but with better success. Robert P. Tolman and C. Sumner shipped on her, as boys, from Dorchester, and returned in her, never to venture again on the pursuit of whales. The " Lewis " was for- merly a ship, but was converted into a barque after she was purchased by the syndicate. She proved unsuccessful, and was a victim of the war, being one of the " stone fleet " which was sunk off Charleston during the Rebellion. By 1840 the last of the ships was sold, and the syndicate was dissolved. "It was not because the business was unremunerative," writes Mr. Codman, "but because Mr. Whitmore's interest in his firm required his attention in the city proper. For many years afterward Commercial Point remained desolate. Quoting from an old merchant, 'The rats ran about the wharf with tears in their eyes.' At present there are a few schooners landing occasionally a cargo of coal at the wharf, but those stately ships are no more forever." The Neponset River was used for navigation as early as 1820. Four years later a lumber wharf was built near the head of tide-water by Joseph Porter; and in 1826 the Granite Railway Company ran a railroad from Quincy to the tide-water at Gulliver's Creek, bringing the granite from the quarries to the flat-bottomed barges at the creek in large cars. It must be remembered that this was before the time of steam transportation, and these cars were drawn by horses. In 1827 William Hobart started his grain business near the head of tide-water, and employed two schooners between New York and Dorchester, the cargo to Dorchester being grain, and to New York granite. Four years later the first hard coal was placed on sale at 180 GOOB OLD DORCHESTER. [1834. Dorchester, being brouglit up the Neponset. Previous to this several cargoes of hard coal had been unloaded in Dorchester, but they were for the exclusive use of some manufacturing companies. The navigation of the river attained its maximum height in 1833, when seventy-four vessels, aggregating six thou- sand tons, unloaded their cargoes at Neponset Village, at the head of navigation, besides many vessels which sailed up the river empty to be loaded with granite to be trans- ported elsewhere. The navigation was practically ruined when the Granite Bridge was erected in 1837. Several firms have started business of one kind or another at different times along the river, but most of them have not been long-lived. In 1839 a grain store was built at Neponset Bridge by Micah Humphrey. He brought his grain from New York, and took back leached ashes, which were sold at Long Island to be used for enriching the land. Whatever trade has remained has gradually been shifted from the head of tide-water to Neponset itself, so that many people have forgotten that the head of tide-water was once the scene of busy shipping. Commercial Point, formerly known as "Tinian," was opened as a place of business early in this century, being purchased by Messrs. Newell & Niles. A company was formed to erect a dam from the Point across Mill Creek to Leeds' Point, which, it was expected, would furnish a sufficient supply of water to run several mills and manu- factories. The owners of the old Tileston mill made serious objections to the plan, and caused it to be aban- doned. A bridge was built instead of the dam ; but owing to its exposed position it could not be kept in repair, and finally became dilapidated. Newell & Niles were unfortu- nate in their undertakings, and went out of business. Soon the Point was neglected, and no business was transacted there until the sudden burst of enthusiasm in 1832. 1834.] PKOM THE BEVOLTJTION TO THE REBELLION. 181 The Point is located at the mouth of the Neponset River, and is favorably situated for a large business. The activity of 1832-40, however, does not seem likely to be repeated ; and the future prosperity of the town seems destined to be derived from other industries. Unfortunately, the antici- pations expressed in the following lines, written by Mr. Samuel Davis, of Plymouth, Mass., will probably never be fulfilled: — " Where Dorchester her lucid bosom swells, Courts her young navies, and the town repels ; High on the Mount, amid the fragrant air, Hope stood sublime, and waved her auburn hair ; Calmed with her rosy smile the tossing deep, And with sweet accents charmed the woods to sleep. To southern plains she stretched her snowy hand, High- waving woods and sea-encircled strand — ' Hear me ' (she cried) ' ye rising realms record Time's opening scenes, and Truth's unerring word. There shall broad streets their stately walls extend, The Circus widen and the Crescent bend; There, from famed cities, o'er the cultured land Shall bright canals and solid roads expand — There the proud arch, colossus-like, bestride Yon circling bay, and bound the chasing tide ; Embellished villas crown the landscape scene. Farms wave with gold, and orchards blush between. There shall tall spires and dome-capped towers ascend. And piers and quays their massive structures blend — While with each breeze approaching vessels glide, And eastern treasures waft on every tide.' Then ceased the nymph, — tumultuous echoes roar. And Joy's loud voice was heard from shore to shore. Her graceful steps, descending, pressed the plain. And Peace, and Art, and Labor joined her train." The Dorchester Anti-Slavery Society was organized April 24, 1835. Dr. Samuel MuUiken, a well-known physician in the town, was elected president, and the Rev. David Sanford, the pastor of the Village Church at the Lower Mills, was chosen corresponding secretary. The 182 GOOD OLD DORCHBSTEE. [1835. object of tlie society is indicated by its name ; but a funda- mental principle, as laid down in the constitution, was " never to countenance the oppressed in vindicating their rights by resorting to physical force." One of the first acts of this newly organized society was to make arrange- ments for the coming Fourth of July ; and the result was pronounced by members of the society to be "the most Christian, and, for the times, the most appropriate celebrar tion of the day that ever took place in Dorchester." The celebration was held in the Second Church, four clergymen of different denominations taking part in the exercises of the day. Among these was Rev. E. M. P. Wells, in whose memory the Wells Memorial Building in Boston was erected. Nathaniel Hall, Jr., who afterwards was pastor of the First Parish Church for forty years, was present, and took an active part. It is more than probable that Mr. Hall was influenced greatly by the oration deliv- ered on this occasion by William Lloyd Garrison, for he was very decided in his stand against slavery from that time. On the occasion of Mr. Hall's fortieth anniversary of his connection with the First Parish, the "Christian Register" said: "No other pulpit in America was more earnestly or more powerfully outspoken in behalf of human freedom in the most critical day of the anti-slavery struggle." In 1835 the Rev. Nathaniel Hall, Jr., was ordained colleague with Rev. Dr. Harris ; and upon the latter's resignation, a year later, Mr. Hall assumed entire charge of the First Parish. It will be remembered that in 1803 Dorchester lost its first slice by annexation, when Boston took Dorchester Neck, or South Boston, to relieve its crowded limits. The next movement in the same direction was in 1836, when the inhabitants of Little Neck, Washington Village, asked to be annexed to Boston. They urged that they were four miles from the town house, and more than a mile from any 1836] PEOM THE BEVOLUTION TO THE KEBBLLION. 183 school. Occasionally they were unable to enjoy any school advantages at all, owing to the fact that the tide-water was allowed to overflow the public road. It was natural that the mother town should be unwilling to lose more of its territory. As we have seen, Milton, Stoughton, Canton, and several other towns had been previously set off, taking away from the extent of old Dorchester, leaving a stretch of land but ten miles in length, and containing only about seven thousand acres of land. The loss of Dorchester Neck curtailed the town still further, and the town felt that it would take little more to cause its identity to be destroyed. The opposition to the annexation was effective in postponing the event, the matter being delayed until May 21, 1855, when Washington Village finally became a part of the city of Boston. On January 30, 1836, Dorchester lost one of its fore- most manufacturers. Mr. William Sumner was the last one of his name to be connected with the paper industry, which had been conducted by his family since 1781. The " Sumner Mill " was well known to all the inhabitants of the town ; but with the decease of Mr. Sumner, as recorded above, the business passed into other hands. This mill was originally built by George Clark of Milton. In 1773 the town deeded to him fourteen acres of land, on condition that the mill be built on the north side of the river, thus coming under the taxable property of Dorchester. In return for this property Mr. Clark paid the town something over five hundred dollars. A paper mill was at once erected, and Mr. Clark began business. Owing to various causes, the enterprise did not prove as lucrative as had been expected, and in 1786 the property was bought by William Sumner and Patrick Connor. After continuing the business together for a short time, Mr. Connor transferred part of his share to Richard Clark, and in 1794 Connor made over a life estate in his remaining share to George Clark, and the reversionary 184 GOOD OLD DORCHESTER. [1839. interest to Jeremiah Tucker Clark. When Richard Clark died, in 1796, Mr. Sumner bought out the shares of the Clark family, assuming entire control of the business. In 1839 Lyceum Hall was built at Meeting-House Hill. Mr. Henry A. Clapp, writing of it, says, " Few buildings of its sort in New England have been allied in more inti- mate and diverse fashion to the life of a community during a half-century of what we may call aularian existence." This building was erected upon land at Meeting-House Hill which the town of Dorchester had deeded for that purpose in accordance with a vote passed in town meeting that same year. A building committee was chosen, con- sisting of Colonel Walter Baker, president; Samuel P. Loud, treasurer ; John H. Robinson, collector ; and Messrs. Thomas Tremlett, William Swan, Moses Draper, and Oliver Hall. Before the committee had been chosen, the promoters of the enterprise had issued an " Address to our Fellow Citi- zens," in which the arguments in favor of building such a hall were clearly laid down. Dorchester, this circular informed its readers, was " distinguished from almost every considerable village in New England in being with- out a suitable place for public meetings, — a distinction not certainly commendable, since as a consequence we are deprived of much intellectual and moral benefit." Atten- tion was particularly called to the fact that " our location with regard to Boston and Cambridge affords us peculiar facilities for the obtaining of agreeable and accomplished lecturers." Moreover, " another end to be served was the important one of affording a place for free and public discussions on subjects of common interest, and for mutual improvement in debate, declamation, or other valuable accomplishments." These were the public interests which the promoters thought the hall would subserve ; but there was further usefulness which was of hardly less importance. It might THE EVERETT HOUSE. 1840.] PEOM THE REVOLUTION TO THE EEBELLION. 187 be used by the First Parish as a room in which the choir could rehearse more frequently and conveniently, enabling the singers to improve in their " sweet and sacred art," as the wording of the circular expressed it. There would also be an opportunity for the First Parish 'to hold its Sunday-school in this building, thus saving the children from " spending the intermission in a manner calculated to efface the good impression which may have been received," the temptation being afforded by the necessity of dis- missing the children at an early hour, when the regular service of the Church began. There is nothing to show that the First Church ever availed itself of the oppor- tunities suggested by the circular ; but, without that, there was ample need of better accommodations. Lyceum Hall was finished in February, 1840, having anterooms and a gallery in front. On the 27th of the month extensive preparations were made for the dedication of the building, Governor Edward Everett being invited to deliver the oration. He found it inconvenient, however, to be present; so Hon. Horace Mann was the orator of the occasion. Colonel Baker presided, and Rev. John Pierpont composed a hymn, also offering prayer. Mr. Samuel Swan lent his piano for the occasion, acting him- self as accompanist to the singers. Two tickets were sent to each minister and one to each schoolmaster in the town, and five hundred were distributed in all. The Dor- chester ladies contributed $125 towards the purchase of a chandelier. It was proposed at first to name the hall after the popular president of the committee. Colonel Walter Baker ; but he stoutly declined the honor, and the name of "Lyceum Hall " was decided upon. In 1866 the stock passed into new hands, and the hall was partially rebuilt. The anterooms and gallery were removed, and additions and entrances were made on the sides and in the rear. "Almost from the moment of its 188 GOOD OLD DOECHESTER. [1840. completion," says Mr. Clapp, " Lyceum Hall began through its engagements to furnish an abstract and brief chronicle of the intellectual and social life of Dorchester, and in no small degree of the larger life of the commonwealth and the nation. '* The idea of having popular lectures was just receiving recognition at this time, and thus Lyceum Hall became a potent factor in educating the minds of the community, and influencing their political opinion. Dr. Jerome Van Crowninshield Smith, afterwards mayor of Boston, lectured on Geology ; Mr. Purdett talked on Phrenology ; Mr. W. Phillips, Mr. William Lloyd Garrison, Rev. John Pierpont, and Theodore Parker caused much excitement in advocat- ing the abolition of slavery. In 1847 St. Mary's Episcopal Church began to hold its services here. A writer, referring to these services, says : " I well remember my small-boyish recognition of a certain piquancy imparted to such church-going by the secular flavor of the room, two of the corners of which were always stiffly occupied by life-sized plaster statues of two of the more repu- table goddesses of the Ancient Roman persuasion. Bewilder- ing traces of the concert or negro minstrelsy to which the haU had been devoted on Saturday night had not always alto- gether disappeared on Sunday morning, and an unfailing interest attached to the mystical sets of concentric circles, painted in permanent white at regular intervals upon the floor, the meaning of which is not clear to me now, although I recall that my eager inquiry was stifled, not met, by the information that they were used in dancing." The Dorchester Whigs at once made Lyceum Hall their headquarters. In Mr. Samuel Swan's diary, under the date of July 3, 1840, is the following interesting entry : "The Whigs spent the day rigging up a vessel in front of the hall, to be drawn in procession to a grand rally in Dedham the next day. All night the young Whigs kept lively watch 1840.] PEOM THE BEVOLUTION TO THE REBELLION. 189 at the readiBg-room to prevent the Locofocos from destroying the vessel before she should start on her first voyage. The Democrats, in the old gun house near by also held vigil that the "Whigs should not be able to spike the cannon with which they proposed to celebrate the opening of the coming Fourth." During the war the hall was used as a recruiting place, and for receptions to companies of volunteers on their departure or arrival. In 1851, on the occasion of the great " railroad jubilee," President Fillmore stepped off the train at Harrison Square, and was escorted into Boston by the Lancers, between rows of Dorchester school-children, the procession starting in front of the hall. It is not possible to allude to all the important events which took place underneath the roof of Lyceum Hall. When the town was annexed to Boston the building lost some of its historical fame, being brought into competition with Faneuil Hall and other celebrated antiquities ; but it will always remain the same to the old residents of the town. It was with deep regret to many that the building finally passed into the hands of the city of Boston, as its associations clearly belonged to the individuality of Good Old Dorchester. At the present time Lyceum Hall is used for a primary school, having been purchased by the city in 1891, and remodelled for this purpose. The presidential campaign of 1840 was entered into with much enthusiasm, especially by the young men of the town. Mr. William C. Codman was one of the partici- pants, and he gives us an interesting account of the pro- ceedings. He says : — " We — that is, the Whigs of Dorchester — were accustomed during this campaign to march to the number of some hundreds to a barn (the wigwams or log cabins not being sufficiently ca- pacious), and there listen to the campaign orators. By the bye, it was generally conceded that a barn nearest resembled a log cabin. We ignored public halls, meeting and town houses, out 190 GOOD OLD DOECHESTBK. [1840. of respect to our Buckeye candidate. Major Capen had a mammoth barn on River Street, at the Lower Mills, which was our principal rendezvous. On each side of the doors a barrel of hard cider was "on tap." From these we stimulated when we went in, also at intervals during the speeches, and then we stimulated when we went out. I have heard that hard cider is supposed to make one cross, but I am positive it had the contrary effect on us. We were intensely amiable. In this campaign our war cry was " Tippecanoe and Tyler too.' "Among the speakers at one of these gatherings was Mr. Goodrich, better known as ' Peter Parley.' A capital anec- dote told by him, which brought down the house (barn, if you please), I well remember, though forty- three years have passed since it was narrated: 'Not far from the spot where we are now assembled lives a well-to-do farmer. He does not dabble much in politics, but his weekly newspaper keeps him fairly posted on the great issues of the day. I think he had not quite made up his mind on which side to vote ; but the matter was soon settled when his wife rushed into the corn barn, where he was husking, saying, "Joe, I know now who is going to be the next President." "Nonsense," said Joe ; "who told you?" "The pigeons did; for when I went to feed them they cooed out ' Tip-e-canoe-oo-oo — Tippecanoe,' and you 'd better vote for him if you want to save your reputation for shrewdness." ' "On the morning of the 10th of September, there gathered in front of the town hall exactly one hundred Whigs. It was a motley company, both as to men, horses, and equipments. My memory reverts to the old farm horse on which I was mounted, and I laugh, while I write, at the ludicrous appearance of the horse — and its rider. My two brothers and myself had drawn lots for the three horses from our father's stable, which resulted in my getting 'old Black,' while my more fortunate brothers each had a spirited and handsome bob-tail bay. Accustomed as my steed had been for fourteen years to the fields, it is easy to imagine the effect of martial music on his unaccustomed ear. When we were ordered to fall in, and at the very first sound of ■drum and fife, ' Old Black ' was in a high state of nervous excitement, and at once forged ahead of the whole cavalcade, so that I might easily have been taken for one of James's 1840.] FROM THE EEVOLTJTION TO THE REBELLION. 191 'solitary horsemen,' — and then, after considerable cavorting, he would drop as far astern as he had ranged ahead ; but, with backing and filling, I finally succeeded in averaging it around, 80 that when we had reached the 'Neck,' where we were received by an escort from Boston, I was in my proper place. Additions to our numbers were then made by the cavalcades from Roxbury, Brookline, and Brighton, and, as a whole, we presented a formidable array of stalwart Harrisonites, and must have impressed the Democrats, or Locofocos, — for we called them by both names, — that the victory was ours. The pro- cession moved on to Beacon Street, where we rested at the old frame building, — then a tavern, and, I believe, still standing on the corner of Parker and Beacon streets. "A glorious day up to this time, but the gathering clouds were ominous. The word of command was again given, and the whole procession — immense, overpowering procession, we thought — proceeded on towards Charlestown. We made a detour at "Winter Street, so as to pass the Old South Meeting- House ; it would have been unpatriotic not to have done so. How ingloriously we passed that relic of ' ye olden time ' any one of our cavalcade will well remember; for, when we had turned from Winter into "Washington Street, it began to rain in torrents, completely deluging us. "Without waiting for orders, squad after squad left the ranks for shelter, going to Taft's, the New England Coffee House, or the ' Stackpole,' on Milk Street, while comparatively few went on to Charlestown, where they listened to the 'great expounder.' " After the exercises were over, and the procession had reached the head of State Street, the deserters again joined the cavalcade, and we returned to Dorchester. On reaching Meeting House Hill, we were jeered at by a number of Demo- crats, and not very complimentary allusions were made to our bespattered condition. In front of Captain Ebenezer Eaton's store, suspended to an old elm, was hung out (fortunately very low) a red flannel petticoat, typifing our candidate as an ' old granny ' ! "We had been obliged, during the day, to pass under a great many of these petticoats, particularly on the Neck, where there were then many trees, but few houses. This was more exasperating than the jeers ; but we had an heroic sea 11 192 GOOD OLD DOECHESTEK. [1842. captain among us. Eushing out from the ranks at a full gallop, he tore the petticoat from the branches, and, amid the anathemas and howls of the Locofocos, bore it in triumph back to the cavalcade, which had resumed its march to the Town Hall, where, after singing a campaign song, we were dismissed." ^ It will undoubtedly be something of a surprise to many of Dorcliester's present inhabitants to learn that the town was conservative enough in 1842 to make a strong objec- tion to the "modern" invention of railroads. When a petition was brought before the Legislature, asking permis- sion to build a railroad from Boston to Quincy by any one of three routes passing through Dorchester, the town was bitter in its opposition. A legal meeting of the citizens of the town was held February 2, with Col. Walter Baker presiding as moderator. At this meeting the following resolutions were passed: — Resolved, That, in the opinion of the inhabitants, the railroad petitioned for by Thomas Greenleaf and others, if located upon either of the lines designated upon their plan, will be of incal- culable injury to the town generally, in addition to the immense sacrifice of private property which will also be involved. A great portion of the road will lead through thickly settled and populous parts of the town, crossing and running contiguous to public highways, and thereby making a permanent obstruction to a free intercourse of our citizens from one part of the town to another, and creating great and enduring danger and hazard to all travel upon the common roads. Resolved, That if, in the opinion of the legislature, there can be shown sufficient evidence of public utility to justify the taking of private property at all, for the construction of this projected railroad, it should be located upon the marshes, and over creeks bordering the harbor and Neponset River, and as remote as possible from all other roads ; and by which a less 1 The Presidential Campaign of 1840. — Boston Saturday Evening Gazette, Oct. 7, 1883. 1842.] PKOM THE EEVOLTJTION TO THE EEBELLION. 193 sacrifice will be made of private property, and a much less injury occasioned to the town and the public generally. Resolved, That our representatives be instructed to use their utmost endeavors to prevent, if possible, so great a calamity to our town as must be the location of any railroad through it ; and if that cannot be prevented, to diminish this calamity, as far as possible, by confining the location to the route herein designated. A true copy from the Dorchester records. Attest : (Signed) Thomas J. Tolman, DoKCHESTER, Feb. 3, 1842. ' Town Clerk. A committee was appointed and legal counsel obtained to oppose the measure before the Legislature. The repre- sentatives of the town in that body were instructed to use their utmost power to prevent the location of so dread an evil within the Dorchester limits. The town urged that " the property and the comfort, and perhaps the lives, of their fellow-citizens were deeply interested in the result of their remonstrance, and that the expenses of the ablest counsel were not to be considered when such interests were at stake." For two years the " calamity " which threatened the town was warded off ; but in 1844, when a petition was presented for the formation of the Old Colony road from Boston to Plymouth, the subject of the Quincy road was again revived. Again the measure met the most violent opposition; but the success of the Boston and Albany road's "through line to the West," terminating at Albany, had so steeled the hearts of the legislators that all opposi- tion was in vain. Two steam railroads, with branch tracks, were built in Dorchester; and the town has suffered the misfortune of having steam transportation ever since ! At the time the railroad was built there were only two small houses at Savin Hill, easterly from the track ; there were only a few at what was afterwards called Harrison 194 GOOD OLD DOECHESTEK. [1843. Square ; and at Neponset there were no houses east of the Neponset Turnpike.^ Soon after the road was built, several active business men moved to Dorchester, and did much to build up the easterly part of the town, including Harrison Square and Neponset. Among these may be mentioned Messrs. Edward King, Franklin King, Nathan Carruth (first president of the Old Colony Railroad), A. T. Stearns, Manoah Leavitt, David B. Bartlett, A. S. Mansfield, Laban Pratt, and S. S. Putnam. On April 3, 1842, Rev. Thaddeus Mason Harris died^ in Boston. He was buried from the First Parish Church, where he had labored so long and faithfully; Rev. Nathaniel HaU delivered the funeral address. On Jan. 27, 1843, several Dorchester gentlemen, who were impressed with the importance of collecting and preserving the materials relating to the early history of the town and colony, from which one million people are said to have descended, met together to adopt measures to accomplish this end. This was the beginning of the Dorchester Antiquarian and Historical Society. The Hon. Edmund P. Tileston was elected the first president of the society ; Ebenezer Clapp, Jr., was chosen to hold the office of corresponding secretary; Edward Holden was the librarian, and Edmund J. Baker, William D. Swan, and Henry M. Leeds the curators. The society adopted a constitution, and proclaimed itself as organized for the " collection and preservation of books, pamphlets, manuscripts, and curiosities, bearing on the biography and history of men and things in the United States from the earliest times." The plan was closely followed; and a large library of books, pamphlets, and manuscripts, bearing more particularly on the history of the town, was collected. But two members of this society are now alive, — Messrs. Henry G. Denny and William B. Trask. 1 H. W. Blanchard : Opposition to the Old Colony Railroad. 2 See page 241. 1843.] FEOM THE EEVOLUTION TO THE EEBELLION. 195 It was due to tlie exertions of this society tliat the last " History of Dorchester " was given to the public. Early in its history the society appointed a special committee, consisting of Messrs. James M. Robbins, Edmund J. Baker, Ebenezer Clapp, Jr., William D. Swan, Edward Holden, Edmund P. Tileston, and William B. Trask, for the purpose of collecting the materials for a general history of the town. This work was issued in numbers published at irregular intervals, which were finally brought together in one volume in 1859. Diligent search of the Probate Records, and faithful work in examining manu- scripts in the State archives, as well as personal facts gleaned from old inhabitants themselves, make this volume of inestimable value to all interested in the history of the town. The Antiquarian Society also published the Memoirs of Roger Clap, James Blake's " Annals of Dorchester," and Richard Mather's Journal. The original copy of Mr. Mather's Journal, in the handwriting of the author, was found among some documents formerly in the possession of Mr. Blake. Dr. Samuel MuUiken, a prominent physician of the town, died Feb. 20, 1843. He was graduated from Harvard College in 1819, and settled as a physician in Dorchester soon after. For some time his practice was limited ; but when he removed to Centre Street his busi- ness increased, and he acquired a good reputation. Dr. MuUiken was a native of Lexington. In the year 1848 several mill owners on the Neponset River joined together, and formed a corporation known as the Neponset Reservoir Company. It had been found that in dry weather the natural water supply sometimes proved inadequate, and this company was formed in order to provide for the deficiency. A dam was built in Foxboro', which held back the waters of the different brooks, and thus formed a reservoir covering three hundred and fifty 196 GOOD OLD DOKCHESTEK. [1848. acres, and varying from seven to ten feet in depth. This proved a valuable supply of water from wliich to draw as circumstances demanded. It is from the western side of this reservoir that the Neponset River takes its rise. It flows through the town of Walpole, here being enforced by the waters of Diamond and Mill Brooks. Its course then continues through Sharon and Dedham, receiving, just beyond the last-named town, the little stream known as Bubbling Brook. After separating the towns of Sharon and Dedham, the river continues its mark of division by forming the boundary line of Dedham and Canton. The course thus described completes the western branch of the river. The eastern branch has had much happen upon its banks to make it famous. It takes its rise in Sharon, starting with the surplus water of Massapoag Pond. Early in the century this stream, enlarged by uniting with York Brook at Canton, had a dam built across it by the Neponset Woollen Manufacturing Company, and a large reservoir was thus formed, extending over three hundred acres of territory. When this company failed the property came into possession of the Revere Copper Company. A powder mill was early built upon the banks by Benjamin Everett ; in 1789 Jonathan Leonard and Adam Kinsley had their celebrated forges there ; James Beau- mont, in 1800, started a cotton mill, and a year later Paul Revere established the first copper works in America. The eastern and western branches are hardly united when they receive the surplus water of Ponkapoag Pond. Two miles farther on, the river separates the towns of Dedham and Milton. Gradually its waters are increased, the mother brook pouring in her contributions just before Dprchester and Milton each claim it as its boun- dary line. While acting in this capacity it receives a stream originally known as " Robert Babcock's River," but later called "Aunt Sarah's Brook." The story told in THE NEPONSET RIVER, ABOVE MATTAPAN. 1848.] PROM THE EBVOLTJTION TO THE REBELLION. 199 regard to the change of name is, that about a mile south of Milton Bridge, the brook approaches the old Taunton Road, in Milton, and there forms a public watering place. Directly opposite the brook was situated the house of Elijah Vose. After his death, and during the Revolution- ary War, his widow Sarah lived in the house, and when- ever the weather was sufficiently favorable, she would sit in the door, and call out to every one who passed, " What 's the news from the war? I have four sons gone to the war, — what's the news from the war?" Whether the anxious mother ever received the tidings she desired, the story does not state ; but her name was given to the brook in remembrance of her fidelity. Dorchester is also separated from Quincy by this self- same Neponset River, which, just after performing this service, loses its identity in Dorchester Bay. In April, 1851, the tide between the mouth of the river and the head of tidewater reached the remarkable height of sixteen feet, eight and a half inches. To commemorate this, the Dorchester Antiquarian and Historical Society placed an iron bolt in a rock just below the bridge at the Lower Falls. Rev. John Codman, D.D., the first pastor of the Second Parish, died December 23, 1847, bringing to a close a most useful life.i His funeral occurred from the church in which he had ministered so long. Rev. Richard S. Storrs, D.D., of Braintree, preaching the sermon. The Rev. James H. Means, Dr. Codman's successor, was ordained July 13, the following year. In 1852 Dorchester suffered a loss in the death of Dr. Robert Thaxter. He was born in Hingham October 21, 1776, and graduated from Harvard College in 1798. He studied medicine with his father. Dr. Thomas Thaxter, and for a time he was associated with him in business in Hing- ' See page 252. 200 GOOD OLD DOECHESTBE. [1852. ham. In 1809 he began practice in Dorchester, and from that time until his death from ship fever, February 9, he enjoyed a large medical and surgical practice, and won an enviable reputation as a physician and citizen. For more than thirty years he was not detained from his business a single day by sickness. He was a man of noble, self- sacrificing spirit. It was only necessary for him to know that his services were needed ; he did not inquire whether the sufferer was a native citizen or a foreigner ; whether he had ability to make any pecuniary compensation or not ; whether his disease was mild or malignant, — at first sum- mons, by night or by day, he hastened to his relief. " His profession was his life" said Dr. Thaxter's pastor. Rev. Nathaniel Hall, in a tribute to his memory the Sunday after his death ; " may it not have been kindly ordered — kindly for him — that the mortal arrow by which he fell should have been received in the conscientious discharge of its functions ? His last sickness was contracted by faithful attendance on the family of a poor emigrant."^ In 1853 the citizens of Dorchester invited Hon. Edward Everett to deliver an oration in honor of the Declaration of Independence, on July 4 of the following year. Con- gressional duties, however, made it necessary for the invi- tation to be extended to July 4, 1855. It was then determined to make arrangements to celebrate at the same time the two hundred and twenty-fifth anniversary of the settlement of the town. " Actuated by motives of public good," wrote the committee to Mr. Everett, " and believing in the salutary teachings of national events when contem- plated with an inquiring spirit and enlightened judgment, the undersigned, citizens of Dorchester, without distinction of party, are desirous of celebrating the 4th of July, 1854, in a manner that shall prove creditable to that ancient town, instructive to the young, renovating to the aged, and morally profitable to the nation." The committee further 1 Eben. Alden, M.D. : Early Hist, of Med. Profession (1859). 1855.] FROM THE BEVOLUTION TO THE REBELLION. 201 continued, " The humble but ancient town of Dorchester, though once the chief of New England, affords but a slen- der stock of materials for the scrutinizing historian. Still, its annals are not entirely void of national interest. Its early example of town organization, and the zeal of her sons to extend the domain of truth, and give form to the colonizing spirit in distant sections of the continent, were characteristic indications of its first settlers. Its heights were made to frown upon an invading foe, and its brave citizens were among the first to resist the acts of British oppression. Its hills were honored by a Bowdoin, and its plains by a Stoughton and an Everett." Mr. Everett accepted the invitation, saying in his letter, " I cannot but feel grateful and honored by an invitation proceeding from so large a number of the most respected citizens of the town where I was born and passed my childhood, and at whose schools I received the rudiments of my education." Hon. Marshall P. "Wilder was elected president of the day, while the various committees were filled by representa- tive men from all parts of the town. The day proved to be one of the most favorable of the season, the perfect weather adding in no small degree to the enjoyment and satisfaction of the occasion. Salutes of cannon were fired at sunrise, noon, and sunset, from Mount Bowdoin and Commercial Point, by the Boston Light Artillery. Church bells were rung, and the good people of Dorchester found it hard to believe that their anniversary was a whit behind the great event being celebrated all over the country. Surrounding towns sent large delegations to witness the celebration; and every house in Dorchester opened its hospitable doors to receive the visitors. The invited guests were entertained by William T. Adams, Esq. (Oliver Optic), at his residence. * The procession began to form at nine o'clock on Pleas- 202 GOOD OLD DORCHESTEE. [1855. ant Street, under the direction of Major Moses S. Cobb, Chief Marshal; while Messrs. C. C. Holbrook, Frank Tileston, George F. Pierce, Thomas W. Tuttle, C. M. Thompson, and A. W. Spencer, officiated in the capacity of aids. The formation of the procession is best shown by the order of arrangement : — ■ Cavalcade. Independent Company of Cadets. Committee of Arrangements. Vice Presidents. The President of the Day and the Orator. The Reader of the Declaration of Independence and the Chaplain. His Excellency the Governor and Staff. United States Senators and Representatives. Lieutenant Governor and Executive Council. Officers of the Massachusetts Legislature. President and Ex-Presidents of Harvard University. Judges of the Courts in the State. Officers of the War of 1812. United States Officers, Civil and Military. Descendants of Dorchester resident elsewhere. Clergy and distinguished Guests. Boat on Wheels, the " Everett Barge." Fire Department. Order of United Americans. Dorchester Antiquarian and Historical Society. Town Officers of Dorchester. School Committee. Representatives to the General Court. Subscribers to the Dinner. Citizens. A little after eleven the procession moved, being joined by Mr. Everett at the house in which he was born, at the corner of Pond and Boston streets. An idea of the occa- sion may be gained from the following quotation : — "As the procession passed through Bellevue Street, the scene was beautiful beyond description. The public schools had been formed in a line on either side of the street, with 1855.] FROM THE REVOLUTION TO THE REBELLION. 203 distinctive and appropriate banners. The boys were dressed in -white pants and dark jackets, and the girls in white, their hats and bonnets being tastefully trimmed with wreaths and flowers. The various schools were distinguished by gay rosettes and sashes of different colors, and the children carried beautiful bouquets of flowers, which were scattered with liberal profuseness ; the orator, president of the day, the chief mar- shal, and distinguished friends from abroad being the happy recipients. Never was there a more pleasing sight. The animated and intelligent faces of these children, their large numbers, stretching a considerable distance along the way, made a beautiful show, and they seemed indeed the jewels of Dorchester. They greeted the distinguished orator and invited guests with the most enthusiastic cheers." After the procession passed, the children fell in behind in the order of their schools. The route along which it passed was beautifully decorated, appropriate inscriptions being suspended from the windows of the principal resi- dences. At the entrance to the tent, where the oration was delivered, an arch was stretched across bearing the inscription, — "Dorchester Settled in 1630;" and on the pillars were written the names of the earliest settlers. On the reverse was the motto, — Dorchester and her Children. Milton. Sharon. Foxboro. Canton. Stoughton. Wrentham. South Boston. Under the enormous tent, referred to above, no less than five thousand ladies and gentlemen sat down to lunch, after which occurred the exercises of the day. The exercises of the Festival were opened with a prayer by the Rev. Nathaniel Hall of Dorchester. An original hymn, composed by Rev. S. G. Bulfinch of Dorchester, was sung, and Mr. John B. Tileston read the Declaration 204 GOOD OLD DORCHESTER. [1855. of Independence. Hon. Edward Everett was then intro- duced as the orator of the day by President Marshall P. Wilder. The following selections from the oration have a permanent place in the history of Dorchester: — " Some fifty-six or fifty-seven years have passed, since as a school-boy I climbed, summer and winter, what then seemed to me the steep acclivity of Meeting-House Hill. The old schoolhouse (it was then the new schoolhouse, but I recol- lect that which preceded it) has disappeared. The ancient church in which I was baptized is no longer standing. The venerable pastor (Rev. Dr. Harris), whose affectionate smile still lives in the memory of so many who listen to me, has ceased from his labors. The entire generation, to whom I looked up as to aged or even grown men, are departed. "There are few places within my knowledge which within fifty years have undergone greater changes than Dorchester. The population in 1800 was 2,347 ; in 1850, it was a little short of eight thousand. What was then called ' the Neck,' the most secluded portion of the old town, although the part which led to its being first pitched upon as a place of settle- ment, was in 1804 annexed to Boston ; and, being united with the city by two bridges, has long since exchanged the retire- ment of a village for the life and movement of the metropolis. The pickaxe is making sad ravages upon one of the venerable heights of Dorchester; the entrenchments of the other, no longer masking the deadly enginery of war, are filled with the refreshing waters of Cochituate Lake. New roads have been opened in every part of our ancient town, and two railways traverse it from north to south. The ancient houses, built before the Revolution, have not all disappeared ; but they are almost lost in the multitude of modern dwellings. A half- century ago there was but one church in the town, that which stood on yonder hill ; and the schoolhouse which stood by its side was, till 1802, the only one dignified by the name of a Town School. You have now ten churches and seven school- houses of the first class ; and all the establishments of an eminently prosperous town, situated in the vicinity of a great commercial metropolis, have multiplied in equal proportions. EDWARD EVElt^ETT. 1855.] PKOM THE REVOLUTION TO THE REBELLION. 207 " But all is not changed. The great natural features of the scene, and nowhere are they more attractive, are of course unaltered, — the same fine sweep of the shore with its project- ing headlands, the same extensive plain at the north part of the town, the same gentle undulations and gradual ascent to the south, the same beautiful elevations. I caught, a few days ago, from the top of Jones's Hill the same noble prospect (and I know not a finer on the coast of Massachusetts) which used to attract my boyish gaze more than fifty years ago." Rufus Choate paid the following tribute to the orator of the day through the columns of the " Boston Courier" : — " The newspapers will have, before this time, placed Mr. Everett's admu-able discourse in the hands of the whole public ; but one of his audience may still be permitted to speak of the impression it made on him in the actual delivery. It is little to say that it had brilliant success. Certainly it had. Some five or six thousand persons, — but, however, a vast multitude, — ladies and gentlemen, children in green chaplets, from school, and old age with his staff shaking in both his hands, of all varieties of culture and of opinion, by silence, by tears, by laughter, by hearty and frequent applause, for more than two hours of not very comfortable weather, confessed the spell of the spoken eloquence of written thoughts and thoughts not written ; and when he ended, sat stiU fixed to hear, as if the spell would not be broken." Mr. Everett's oration occupied two hours and twenty minutes, during which time the orator did not have a single occasion to refer to his notes. After the oration, the following original ode was sung, written by Rev. N. L. Frothingham, D. D., of Boston : — ODE. Old Dorchester has fame to wear, Won from the days of Faith and Strife, — The faith that winged the Pilgrim's prayer, The war that breathed a Nation's life. 208 GOOD OLD DOECHESTEE. [18B5. In front she stood when first arose The church upon the red man's shore ; In front — to meet the shock of foes, When opened Freedom's cannon roar. Her heights have felt the foot and eye Of him who led our victories on : Her plains run seaward, as to vie With some yet future Marathon. Old Dorchester is glad to-day ; Her sacred bells ring feast and mirth ; Her gunner's trains and war array But shoot their joy to sky and earth. Old Dorchester is proud to-day ! Through her own lips its trump is blown ; And he who speaks what she would say. By two-fold title is her own. O God of Faith and Armies ! now Make pure our thanks, lift high our vow ; Thy Spirit be thy people's might. And valor guard their free birth-right. Another ode, written by Miss Anne S. Tileston, of Dor- chester, was also read ; and the exercises came to an end by the Rev. James H. Means of Dorchester offering prayer and pronouncing the benediction. The procession then reformed, and marched to a pavilion on Meeting-House Hill, where seats were provided for nearly two thousand guests, at bountifully loaded tables. The postprandial exercises were of a most interesting character, the speakers being President of the Day Wilder, Gov. Henry J. Gardner, Hon. Edward Everett, Rev. Edward Everett Hale, Rev. James Walker, D. D., presi- dent of Harvard University, Col. Enoch Train, Hon. Charles Francis Adams, Dr. Barnas Sears, Col. Thomas Aspinwall, Rev. Lyman Whiting, Hon. Peter Cooper, Ebenezer Clapp, Jr., Esq., Hon. Edward L. Pierce, Col. Thomas C. Amory, and Major Moses G. Cobb. The festivities of the celebration were closed by a mag- 18&5.] FEOM THE REVOLUTION TO THE BEBELMON. 209 nificent display of fireworks in the eveniag on Mount Bowdoin, and by a levee at the house of Governor Gardner. The letters received from distinguished individuals, who were unable to be present at the anniversary, show the position which Good Old Dorchester has ever held. Selec- tions from these letters are of great interest, as supplemen- tary to the gratifying expressions made by the speakers at the Festival. The Hon. Robert C. Winthrop said: — " I cannot altogether forget that I have some claim to be among you, apart from the complimentary invitation with which I have been honored. In your good old town have lived, in years past, not a few of those with whom I have been connected by the nearest ties, both of affection and of blood. ' The vote of Dorchester in favor of the adoption of the constitution of- the United States — the most important vote she was ever called upon to cast — was given by the hand of my near maternal relative, James Bowdoin, whose name has been fitly assigned to one of the beautiful hills within your borders. Not a few of the pleasantest hours of my boyhood were passed upon that hill ; and, certainly, there is no prospect which I have ever seen since, either at home or abroad, which has left a more vivid impression on my mind for variety and beauty than that of my native city, with its charming environs and lovely harbor, as viewed from the old summer house which has but recently disappeared from Mount Bowdoin." Hon. David Sears : — "Boston can never forget the day when her citizens looked with an anxious eye to the heights of Dorchester for relief ; nor can she cease to remember that by the gallant array of freemen assembled there for action on the night of the 4th of March, 1776, she was saved from disgrace, and enabled to resume that high position which it has ever since been her endeavor to maintain. The influence of Dorchester extends far beyond her limits. Her children are well-known and esteemed, and every- where show evidence of the soundness of theh principles, and the excellence of their education." 210 GOOD OLD DOECHESTEK. [1855. The Rev. W. A. Stearns, D. D., of Amherst College : "The town of Dorchester has always been vividly asso- ciated in my mind with the noble struggles and trimnphs of our fathers for liberty. ' Dorchester Heights ' is among the magic words which quicken the blood of every American when he reads the history of his native land." Judge Charles A. Dewey : — " I am happy to be remembered by you as one of the descendants of the ancient town of Dorchester, that having been the residence of Thomas Dewey, my iirst ancestor from England, at the early period of 1634, and from whom I am the fifth generation in descent. I shall ever delight to recognize my relation to old Dorchester, honored as she is by being probably the earliest place in Massachusetts entered upon by civilized men, rich as she is in her incidents and memorials appertaining to the days of our revolutionary struggles, and blessed with a present generation who know how to appre- ciate the blessings of civil and religious liberty." Mayor J. V. C. Smith, of Boston : — "From the intimate relationship existing between Dor- chester and Boston, — their historical associations, their united efforts in the first settlement of New England and in the revo- lutionary straggle through which they passed, — there is no reason for supposing that a friendship thus established will ever decline, while business intei-com-se and the refinements of social life are the accompaniments of Christian civilization." In reply to a communication addressed to the Midvray Society, in Georgia, by the committee, an interesting letter was received, which is quoted here in part : — HicEBOKO, LiBEETT Co., Ga., June 4, ] 855. Gentlemen, — Your letter dated Dorchester, Mass., May 11, 1855, has been received by the Midway Society. You mention' that in the year 1695, Oct. 22, " a church was formed in this town, which went to South Carolina and settled in a place which they called 'Dorchester,' and subsequently they re- 1855.] FEOM THE REVOLUTION TO THE REBELLION. 211 moved to Midway in Georgia ; " and you also inquire " whether any of the descendants of those who went off from this town are now living." In reply, we would state that your com- munication was received with much pleasure. It recalled to our minds the ties of consanguinity, and those traditional asso- ciations which have ever endeared in our memories the home of our ancestors. We are happy to inform you that, accord- ing to our records, the church organized in Dorchester, Mass., in the year 1695, A.D., of which the Eev. Joseph Lord was pastor, settled in Dorchester and Beach Hill, S. C, during the same year, and continued there until the year 1752, — a period of fifty-seven years, when the society, being in want of lands for the settlement of their children, began to remove to Mid- way, in Georgia, and located there upon the 6th of December, 1752, where most of their descendants remain until the present time. About one half of the present population of Liberty County are related to these settlers. Others have followed the westward tide of emigration. During the infancy of the church at Midway, our society was much afHicted with disease, annoyed by the predatory incursions of Indians, and racked by the rapacious British during our struggle for independence. During the continuance of the war our society was much scattered, but with the news of peace a brighter day dawned. Our church and society was then settled upon a sure and solid basis, and, we hope, has proved a blessing to very many of our race. "We feared that some changes of time had obliterated us from the memory of our Northern relatives and friends ; but now that you have sought us out, to renew our acquaintance, your kindness will render you doubly dear to us. ... "We are pleased to infer, from your invitation to unite with you in the celebration of the ensuing 4th of July, that a sentiment of nationality still pervades our ancestral town. In your letter you say, " "We give you our fraternal greeting, and through you, your Society, wishing you peace, prosperity, and every Christian grace." Most willingly do we accept these proffers of love and friendship, and tender you our reciprocity of sentiment. The names of Dorchester and Plymouth are dear 12 212 GOOD OLD DORCHESTER. [1855. to US. The Puritans of New England have impressed their character upon America. Our ancestors at Midway, bringing with them a love of religion, liberty, and law, were the first in Georgia to declare in favor of independence, and the name of Liberty County has been given to our former parish in testi- mony of the fact. The descendants of the original settlers of Midway have spread themselves over Georgia, and the South- ern States, as the pioneers of religion, education, and jurispru- dence. Our society at present occupies a commanding position upon the seaboard of Georgia. Considerable progress has been made in civU and religious development, agricultural science, wealth, and population. We beg leave to refer you, for further particulars, to "White's " Historical Collections of Georgia, " as containing a full and authentic statement of our society, which might interest some of our Northern friends. We will mention also that within about seven mUes of Mid- way Church, we have a near village, called "Dorchester," in honor of our ancestral town, whose citizens are noted for their intelligence and hospitality. Our present pastors are the Rev. D. L. Buttolph, of New York, and the Rev. John F. Baker, of Wilkesbarre, Pa. . . . Please accept our thanks for your hospitable invitation, fra- ternal feelings, and cordial greetings. May we be ever in the bonds of patriotism and Christian love, and be mutually remembered at a throne of grace. Yours most truly, W. S. NOKMAN, S. M, Vahnadoe, A. Winn, \- Gor. Com, W. S. Baker, John B. Barnard, . In anticipation of the celebration recorded in the preced- ing pages, the committee in charge of the event sent a very friendly letter to the mayor of Dorchester, England. This letter gave a brief review of the history of the town, and requested information in regard to the early history of the families from which the early settlers of New 1855.] FBOM THE REVOLUTION TO THE KEBELLION. 213 Dorchester had sprung. In reply to this communication the following letter was received: — To the Members of the Dorchester Antiquarian and Historical Society, Dorchester, Massachusetts, U. S. A. South Sibeet, Dorchestek, Dobsbt, June 16, 1855. Gentlemen and Friends, — Your letter, which as Mayor, it fell to my lot to receive, has created a feeling of interest amongst us, and we welcome with great cordiality the commun- ication from those whom we may style kinsfolk. I have caused yoiu: letter to be printed, and have chculated it amongst such persons especially as are likely to assist us in our inquiries on the subject of it. I myself, and I believe many others, would gladly pay you a visit, but that we cannot spare the time required to do so. We feel that we cannot furnish you with an account of our town and neighborhood in such a manner as we would wish, in time for your anniversary, but we hope to be enabled to collect a portfolio for you, which, if you wish, we shall gladly forward to you. I have aheady a nucleus of the collection.' Mr. White's name is still known in the Borough, and there are still names amongst us which are enumerated by you. The town itself does not probably exceed, by much, the limits it had when our common ancestors left it. Being surrounded by the lands of the Duchy of Cornwall, which are held in common, there has been a constant check upon iucreasing our bounds. We are, however, we trust, increasing our station amongst other towns, and we hope ere long that the obstacle to our extension may be removed. The county gaol and other public buildings being situated here, and the Assizes and Quarter Sessions being held here, add to our importance. The suburb of Fordington now forms a part of our Borough. We have five churches, and several chapels for those whose doctrines differ from the Church of England. Of these churches, two are in Fordington and three in Dorchester. The Holy Trinity Church was rebuilt in 1824-25, the Church of ' This portfolio was never received. 214 GOOD OLD DOECHESTBE. [1855. All Saints about five or six years ago. The Church of St. Peter's is the oldest church in the town. There is now a scheme on foot for restoring and repairing this chui'ch, and for giving greater accommodation to our poorer brethren. When completed we shaU give them upwards of 200 free sittings, and the build- ing will then be a handsome specimen of architecture. At present the committee are stayed by want of sufficient funds. Two important railways, the London and South "Western and the G-reat Western approach us, whilst at eight miles dis- tance we have the Port of Weymouth, and the Island of Port- land with the quarries, whereon the government have estab- lished convict prisons, and by convict labor in great part they are forming a breakwater. Our design is to furnish you, if acceptable, with a full des- cription of the town and neighborhood, accompanied by such views as we may be able to procure or furnish to illustrate our account. We do not think we can do this with justice to the subject before next summer, but if you will then accept it as a pledge of good feeling and good fellowship, it is humbly at your service. You will perhaps let me know how these matters should be sent to you ; and with every good wish for your welfare, I remain yours very faithfully, Thos. Coombs, Mayor. The celebration of 1855 was tlie last great event to take place within the town limits before the breaking out of the War of the Rebellion. The position taken by Dor- chester in previous events of national importance leaves no doubt in the mind of the reader as to the stand of the people in this conflict between liberty and oppres- sion. The records of this period must be postponed, however, until we have made a more detailed examination of those institutions which have played so large a part in giving Dorchester her prominence, — the Church and the School. CHAPTER IV. DORCHESTER CHURCHES. COMPARISON of the religious history of the early settlers of Massachusetts with their civil records shows that the two are almost identical. The Church was the corner-stone of the community, and in it all other interests centred. We hare seen that the first act of the company about to set sail on the " Mary and John " from Old Plymouth was to associate themselves into church fellowship ; and the prominent place given to religion at this early date is long manifested in the lives of the people. For several years after the settlement of the Plantation the business affairs appear to have been largely in the hands of the ministers and two deacons ^ of the Church, who together made all deeds of land. The Church decreed it unlawful to build a house more than half a mile from the " meeting-house." It regulated the style of dress ; it examined into and restricted even the private life of the people ; in short, as a writer has said, " the Church was the government, and religion was the law." This author- 1 It is to be said here that while we have every reason to suppose that there were deacons in the Dorchester Church, we have no evidence to tliat effect. John Moore, John Gaylord, and William Rockwell have been given the title of " deacon " in different publications ; but William B. Trask (New Eng. Hist. Gen. Reg., vol. xlvi. p. 183) calls attention to the fact that this seems to be based entirely upon supposition. 216 GOOD OLD DOKCHESTEiB. [1630. ity which the Church assumed was democratic rather than ecclesiastical. The people were free and independent, and they voluntarily placed the Church in command because they believed that religion was the chief concern of life. The ministers were looked upon as the leaders in the daily life of the town no less than in events which con- cerned its spiritual welfare. They were prominent in every important crisis in civil affairs, and commanded respect for their views in shaping the policy of the General Court.^ The people who had been jealous of the rule of a landed aristocracy submitted without an objection to the rule of the minister or pastor, which was as " firm as that of a feudal baron." The " meeting-house " was an institution which appealed strongly to the hearts of the people. The modern name of "church" was not in popular use. Cotton Mather expressed the sentiment of the people when he said that he "found no just ground in Scripture to apply such a trope as ' church ' to a house for public assembly." Here the people gathered each week to listen to the words of the beloved pastor, and to gain a spiritual strength from which to draw during the intervening days; here the town- meeting met and passed the local laws and restrictions which shaped the growth and action of the community. Thus the best interests of the town were clustered around this rude shrine, which represented not only the personality but the life of the people. The colonists assembled for the first service of the Sab- bath at about nine o'clock in the morning, being called together by a drum, a horn, or a conch-shell. At the first summons the people issued from their houses, we are told, " in decent order," the husband and wife leading the pro- cession, with the children in the rear. On arriving at the church, the members of the congregation either awaited the coming of the minister outside the building or, in 1 Winthrop, vol. i. p. 178. 1630.] DOECHESTEK CHUKCHBS. 217 some communities, took their seats within, rising respect- fully when the parson entered. Church-going in the early days was a very serious affair. Even in times of peace, for many years after the settlement of New England, the Puritans went armed to meeting; hut they were forbidden by law to fire oif their charges on that day except at an "Indian or a wolf." As late as 1640 the male attendants at church were ordered to carry weapons of defence with them; and it was not till two years later that six men with muskets, powder, and shot were thought sufficient for protection for each church. In some parts of the colonies a portion of the trained bands was detailed to attend church service; and the sentinels were ordered to keep "their matches constantly lighted for use in their match-locks." The soldiers sat on either side of the main door; and such other restrictions were put upon the worshippers that the church was said to have resembled a garrison rather than a place of worship.^ The services were quite different from the form of wor- ship now in vogue in our churches. They began with a short, devout invocation, after which the congregation joined in singing. One of the deacons of the Church read one line of the hymn at a time, in which all joined with the full power of their lungs. When the singing was ended the prayer was begun, during which it was the custom for the congregation to stand. This prayer had much to do in determining the reputation of a minister. The people did not dislike long preaching and prayers, and would have felt much grieved if the minister had not given full return for the salary paid him. Thus it was that the prayers of the early preachers were often much longer than modern sermons ; and it was a common thing for a pause to be made to allow the aged and infirm to resiune their seats and take a welcome rest, while those 1 Alice Morse Earle, " The Sabbath in Puritan New England," p. 19 et seq. (1893). 218 GOOD OLD DORCHESTER. [1630. blessed witli sound health were expected to remain stand- ing till the end. Miss Earle relates the following interesting records of the length of the prayers in the early days. She says : — " Oa a Fast Day in 1696 the Rev. Samuel Torrey, of Wey- mouth, prayed two hours without stopping, and it is recorded that his hearers wished the prayer had been longer. In 1735 one minister of great praying power visited a ' praying ' Indian's home wherein lay a sick papoose over whom a ' pow-wow ' was being held by a medicine-man at the request of the squaw-mother, who was still a heathen. The Christian warrior determined to fight the Indian witch-doctor on his own grounds, and while the medicine-man was screaming and yelling and dancing in order to cast the devil out of the child, the parson began to pray with equal vigor and power of lungs to cast out the devil of a medicine-man. As the prayer and pow-wow proceeded, the neighboring Indians gathered around, and soon became seri- ously alarmed for the success of their prophet. The battle raged for three hours, when the pow-wow ended, and the dis- gusted and exhausted Indian ran out of the wigwam and jumped into the Housatonic River to cool his heated blood, leaving the Puritan minister triumphant in the belief, and indeed with positive proof, that he could pray down any man or devil." ^ At the conclusion of the prayer the minister began his sermon. This varied in length, but was seldom as long as the prayer. Judge Sewall, however, relates in his diary that he once addressed a church in Plymouth, and found afterwards that he had talked for two hours and a half, having forgotten to turn the hour-glass by which the length of the services was regulated. A prayer brought the worship to a close. Oftentimes the services were extended beyond that already described, as is shown in the following quotation from Calamy's " Life of Howe." The author says : — 1 The Sabbath in Puritan New England, p. 82 (1893). 1630.] DOBCHESTEE CHUECHES. 219 " He told me it was, upon those occasions, his common way to begin about nine in the morning, with a prayer for about a quarter of an hour, in which he begged a blessing on the work of the day ; and afterwards read and expounded a chapter or psalm, in which he spent about three-quarters ; then prayed for an hour, preached for another hour, and prayed for about half an hour. After this he retired and took some little refreshment for about a quarter of an hour or more (the people singing all the while) , and then came again into the pulpit and prayed for another hour, and gave another sermon of about an hour's length ; and so concluded the service of the day, at about four of the clock in the evening, with about half an hour or more in prayer." The seating of the congregation was done with a certain deference to rank and' influence. In a little enclosure under the pulpit sat the elders and deacons of the Church, and in the first seat on the right sat the selectmen. In the other seats, according to age and rank, came the other town officials, and after them the farmers and tradesmen. Near the door the young men and the boys were seated. The women were seated on the opposite side of the church from the men, the rank being observed in like manner, the elder widows being at the head, and the wives of the officials and others in regular order. On this side the young women and girls sat near the door; and this younger portion of the audience in the rear of the build- ing taxed to the utmost the tithing-men, who sought with their long poles and attached fox-tails to keep the unruly suppressed and the sleepy ones awake. After the benedic- tion was pronounced, the minister was the first to depart, the congregation following in regular order, beginning with those in the first seat. " The arrangement attained by such careful method and regulated with great difficulty," says "Weeden,^ "went beyond the immediate operations of the meeting-house. 1 Economic and Social History of New England, vol. i. p. 74 (1890). 220 GOOD OLD DOKCHESTBE. [1630. This 'meeting' was the central life and activity of the neighborhood. The terrors of judgment, the torments of hell, the delights of heaven, shone forth from this severe and simple altar, and held both penitent and impenitent in a weird, fascinating thraldom. In the intervals of reli- gious service there was always an actual meeting in the god-sib, where gossip, social and political, masculine and feminine, ecumenical even, illumined the rugged faces of our forefathers, lighted the dark shadows of their hard life, and sent them home renewed, uplifted, and inflamed with new social desires born of this warm intercourse." The music employed in the early worship of the Church was bad beyond belief ; but it went through a complete evolution. The Puritans had brought with them to the New World in 1620 a manual of psalmody known as " Ainsworth's Version of the Psalms." This was followed in 1639 by the " Bay Psalm-Book," which was composed by the Rev. Richard Mather, of the Dorchester Church, and Thomas Welde and John Eliot, of Roxbury. This was intended to adhere more closely to Scripture than the original, and contained only psalms. It was the first book of any kind printed in the colonies, and was in use for more than a hundred years. A later edition, printed in 1680, was somewhat modified by President Dunster, of Harvard College, and others. These books contained only versions of the Hebrew psalms, slightly changed in form to adapt them to singing. A stanza from the Twenty- Third Psalm will illustrate the method : — " 1 The Lord to me a Shepherd is, Want therefore shall not I ; 2 He in the folds of tender grass Doth cause me down to lie." The " Bay Psalm-Book " could hardly be called an im- provement on its predecessor. The latter undoubtedly had many imperfections ; but those who undertook to translate the original Hebrew into English verse were better trans- 1630.] DOKGHESTEK CHtJKCHES. 221 lators than poets. The following selection, which will be recognized as part of the One Hundred and Seventh Psalm, will illustrate the point : — " So let the Lord's redeem'd say; -vvhom hee freed from th' enemies hands : and gathered them from East & West, from South & Northerne lands. " I'th desart in a desart way they wandered : no towne finde, to dwell in. Hungry and thirsty : their souls within them pined." The preface to the edition published in 1680 said that the poems were translated with " special eye both to the gravity of the phrase of Sacred Writ, and the sweetness of the verse." Questions arose in the churches also as to the methods of singing. "Some believed," says Mr. George Hood,i "that Christians should not sing at all, but only praise God with the heart." Others believed it right to sing, but considered it sinful to sing the psalms of David. Some believed it wrong for any but Christians to sing; and others thought one only should sing, while the assembly should join in silence, and respond " Amen." The people rarely had psalm-books. The clerk or a deacon read the psalm one line at a time, and when the congregation had sung that line, the second one was read. Dr. Isaac Watts was one of the leaders in the reformation which, after much discussion and opposition, resulted in the abandon- ment of this " lining-out." It was not finally discarded, however, without serious church quarrels. Instances are narrated in which the conservative clerk or deacon insisted, in spite of the vote of the Church, in lining out the hjrmn according to the old way, and ceased only when his voice was drowned out by the choir, who refused to wait for the reading of the second line. 1 History of Music in New England. 222 GOOD OLD DOBCHESTEK. [1630. For many years the singing was done wholly by rote. Certain tunes became traditions in the churches, and were handed down from generation to generation ; and it was not until the introduction of choirs had begun to take the place of the practice of lining-out, in the latter part of the eighteenth century, that there was much demand for tune- books. " With the choir came the singing-school, which in the New England village became the standard evening recreation, and with the singing-school a constantly widen- ing circle of men and women who could sing more or less accurately and effectively from note." The church orchestra retained a strong hold on the people, but organs were used in Boston as early as 1711; The Second Parish in Dorchester had one soon after its incorporation ; but the First Parish refused to accept the innovation until 1841. In the early colonial days the churches had no stoves ; and the pious worshippers were compelled to sit through these long services with nothing more comfortable than foot-warmers, which were brought from home. In the First Parish, these foot-warmers were given into the charge of " Uncle Daniel " Davenport, the sexton. It was a familiar sight for many years to see Uncle Daniel and his son enter the church on Sunday mornings, and dis- tribute the foot-warmers in the various pews. Judge Sewall records in his diary instances when the congrega- tion must have suffered greatly from the frigid atmosphere. " The communion bread was frozen pretty hard," he says, "and rattled sadly into the plates." Again he writes: "Extraordinary cold storm of wind and snow. Bread frozen at the Lord's table, yet was very comfortable at meeting." He refers to an exceedingly cold Sunday, when there was " great coughing " in meeting, in spite of which a new-born baby was brought into the icy church to be baptized, — it being the custom to carry the children to the meeting-house for baptism the first Sunday after they were 1631.] DOECHESTEE CHTJBCHES. 223 born. He also alludes to the baptism of his own fourteen children, not one of whom cried out, even in the coldest weather, being "true examples of pure Puritan fortitude." Stoves were not introduced into Dorchester churches until about 1820, and the innovation met with a strong opposition from many. In the First Church, William Bird was, perhaps, the strongest opponent of the innova- tion. " In the old meeting-house," he said, " snow used to come up to my pew, and I never had any trouble. It 's all nonsense to put in stoves." Captain John Codman relates the following humorous account of the controversy on this subject which occurred in the Second Church. He says : — " At last the stove party was victorious. Old ' Uncle Ned Foster ' was foremost in the opposition. He threatened to sign off, but finally he concluded to remain loyal, and sit it out ; so on the first Sunday after the stoves had been introduced, the old gentleman occupied his pew as usual, the stove-pipe being directly over him. There he sat with no very saint-like expres- sion throughout the sermon, a red bandanna handkerchief spread over his head, and his face corresponding to it in color. A general smile circulated through the house, the minister him- self catching the infection ; for almost everybody excepting Uncle Ned was aware that, the day being rather warm, no fires had been lighted." The church customs of Dorchester did not differ greatly from the customs of early New England as sketched in the preceding pages. After this cursory glance we are ready to turn our attention to the events which are concerned with the religious life of the town. The first meeting-house was built in 1631, and was situated near the corner of Pleasant and East Cottage streets, on Allen's Plain, at the north end of the town. It was a low building, consisting of one story about twelve feet in height, and was constructed of logs and thatch. Palisadoes surrounded it, and military stores were de- 224 GOOD OLD DOKCHBSTEE. [1634. posited in it. Guns were mounted on the roof, and a sentinel kept on guard, so that it served as a place of refuge and defence against the Indians. The first day of the week the Colony held its meetings as a Church, and the second day of the week as a Town. The inhabitants conveyed thither their plate and most valuable articles every evening to be preserved in safety. The use of the meeting-house as an arsenal came very near causing its destruction, as on one occasion, when Mr. Maverick, the venerated minister, was drying powder there, he set off a keg near by, singed his clothes, and destroyed the thatch with which the roof was covered. For the first year of its existence this meeting-house was used by the inhabitants of Roxbury as well as Dorchester, as the former were at this time without a place of worship. On November 3, 1634, an order was passed " to build stairs on the outside, and the loft to be laid, and a window in the loft." When the Dorchester emigrants associated in church fellowship at Plymouth, before setting sail for America, they chose, as we have seen in an earlier chapter, the Rev. John Maverick and the Rev. John Warham to be their ministers. Mr. Maverick, Winthrop tells us, was " a man of a very humble spirit, faithful in furthering the work of the Lord here, both in the Church and in the civil State." Mr. Warham is said to have been the minister who introduced into England the practice of preaching with notes. Both these ministers were active in helping to lay the foundations of the town. Their labors were not confined altogether to spiritual teaching, but they made strenuous efforts to strengthen the beginnings of the infant colony. The name of Mr. Maverick has been more closely connected with the history of the town than that of Mr. Warham, as the latter left Dorchester in 1635 with that part of the Chtirch which went to Windsor,^ Connecticut, 1 Ante, p. .36. FIRST PARISH CHURCH. , ..,,-^S*ii:,«»»<*fc®*^'^ 1635.] DOBCHESTBR CHUECHES. 227 remaining there as its pastor for thirty-four years. We can learn but little of him except that he was a pious man, that he preached with notes, and that, while he adminis- tered the Lord's Supper to others, for many years from religious scruples he declined to partake himself.^ He died at Windsor, April 1, 1670.2 The migration to Connecticut has caused the question to be raised as to whether the Church in Dorchester, or the First Church in Windsor, Conn., is the proper heir to the Church gathered in Old Plymouth. As both churches were essentially derived from the same historical root, both seem to have the right to claim the distinction. The questions which must be decided are, whether the Windsor move- ment was an official act as a church organization, what proportion of the church membership went, and what is meant by a " new church " in Dorchester. These three questions are discussed at length in the Introduction to the " Records of the First Church ; " ^ and the following conclusions are deduced from the examination of the subject : — "1. That the whole church membership did not go to Wind- sor, but only a part of it. This is supported by the testimony of Winthrop, Blake, Hubbard, and a careful study of early records as to the number of those who left and those who remained. "2. "Whether the Windsor party went as a church organiza- tion or simply as a colony of fellow church members is not known. Both views have been maintained : the decisive evi- dence is lacking. The editor of the Boston Recorder truly says : ' The difficulty about all the documents relating to this subject is that the writers seem to have treated the question as to the preservation of the original organization as a matter of little consequence, while they state the fact of the removal, and so use expressions which may be construed either way.' 1 Cotton Mather's " Magnalia," p. 120. 2 New England's Memorial, p. 116. 8 Records of the First Church at Dorchester. Boston, Mass. : George H. Ellis (1890). 228 GOOD OliD DOKCHESTEK. [1636. "3. The new church in Dorchester was an amalgamation of old and new elements, partly due to the departure of early members, and partly to the arrival of new material. The prob- ability is that the Church was much broken up by the ebb and flow of emigration. This transition period was so serious that reorganization was desu-able. " 4. The question of continuity does not affect the continuity of the parish. According to Massachusetts law,^ the First Church and Parish of Dorchester has a clear title for two hun- dred and sixty years. "5. The historic connection of the Dorchester Church with the Church formed at Plymouth, England, is direct and unbroken. It is maintained by genetic lines of membership. Some streams of blood from the heart of the Plymouth (England) Church still flow in the membership of the Church at Dorchester. The present Church owes its existence to that immigration; not merely through a parish continuity, but through a continuity of membership and Sabbath meetings and Christian life and work ; that is to say, through its life as a church. "6. The churches at Dorchester and Windsor are thus both heirs of the same parentage." The portion of the Church which remained behind under Mr. Maverick joined with the Rev. Richard Mather and his followers, who had recently arrived from England, making one church with two pastors at its head. The two parties entered into the following covenant : — Dorchester, the 23* day of the > 6" moneth. Anno. 1636. > Wee whose names are subscribed being called of God to joyne o'selves together in Church Comunion, from o' hearts 1 A legal decision by Judge Shaw (Stebbins v. Jennings, 10 Pickering, p. 172) is to the effect that departing members of a church are to be regarded as seceders, no matter how many go ; while those who remain, however few, are still the Church. In the case of the First Church, over twenty members of the Church remained in Dorchester. Hence (according to Judge Shaw) the Church never removed, though many individuals left. The early records, if any ever existed, are lost. 1636.] DOKCHESTBE CHXTKCHES. 229 acknowledging o' owne unworthines of such a priviledge or of the least of Gods mercyes, & likewise acknowledging o' disa- bility to keepe coven' w* God or to p'fourme any spirituall duty w"'' hee calleth us unto, unlesse the Lord Jesus do enable us thereunto by his spirit dwelling in us, Doe in the name of Cht Jesus o' Lord and in trust and confidence of his free grace assisting us freely Coven' & bind ourselves solemnely in the presence of God himselfe, his holy Angells and all his servants here present that wee will by his grace assisting us endevour constantly to walke togeather as a right ordered Congregacoii of Cht. according to all the holy rules of a church-body rightly established, so farre as wee do already know it to bee o'' duty or shall further und'stand it out of Gods holy word : Promising first & above all to cleave unto him as o' chiefe & onley good, and to o' Lord Jesus Cht as o' onely spirituall husband and Lord, & o' onely high priest & Prophet and King. And for the furthering of us to keepe this blessed Coinunion w"" God and w"" his sonne Jesus Cht and to grow up more fully therein, wee do likewise promise by his grace assisting us, to endevour the establishing amongst o' selves of all his holy ordinances w"'' hee hath appointed for his churches here on earth, and to observe all and every of them in such sort as shall bee most agreeable to his will ; opposing to the utmost of o'' power, what- soever is contrary thereunto, & bewayling fro o'' hearts o' owne neglect thereof in former tyme, and our polluting o'selves therein w"" any sinfuU inventions of men. And lastly wee do hereby Coven' & p'mise to further to o' utmost power, the best spirituall good of each other, and of all and every one that may become members of this Congre- gacon, by mutuall Instruction reprehension, exhortacon, con- solacon,and spirituall watchf nines over one another for good ; and to bee subject in and for the Lord to all the Administracons and Censures of the Congregacoii, so farre as the same shall bee guided according to the rules of Gods most holy word. Of the integrity of o' heartes herein wee call God the searcher of all hearts to witnesse ; beseeching him so to blesse us in this and all o' Enterprises, as wee shall sincerely endevour by the assistance of his grace to observe this holy Coven' and 13 230 GOOD OLD DORCHESTEE. [1636. all the braunches of it inviolably for ever ; and where wee shall fayle there to wayte upon the Lord Jesus for pardon and for acceptance and healing for his names sake. Richard Mather: Nath: Duncan: George minot: Henrt withington Thomas Jones John Pope John Kingeslet.^ Mr. Maverick died during the same year that this cove- nant was drawn up, and is supposed to have been buried in the first burying-ground, near the first meeting-house. His services to the town were so eminent that the grati- tude and love of the first settlers was almost as great as that felt for the Rev. John White, the promoter of the Colony. When Mr. Maverick died Mr. Mather was left at the head of religious affairs in Dorchester, and from this time until his death he was a leader in all affairs of importance in the town. He was born at Lawton, in the parish of ^f{i(^^ta/t^ ^toJitB"^ Winwick, county of Lan- caster, England. He was a great scholar from an early age, and when but fifteen years old he was master in a school at Toxteth Park, near Liverpool. Later, he entered Brazenose College, Oxford, received ordination, and preached at Toxteth for sixteen years, until suspended, in 1633, for non-conformity; but he was restored again through the intercession of friends. Under the severe visitations of the Archbishop of York, however, he was again suspended in 1634. This resulted in persuading him to remove to New England; so, travelling to Bristol in disguise, he sailed for America, and after a terrible voyage reached Boston Harbor on the 17th of August, 1635. He was at once recognized as a man of rare ability and scholarship, 1 Eecords of the First Church at Dorchester, pp. 1, 2. 1636.] DOECHESTEE CHTJKCHBS. 231 and soon became a prominent leader in all ecclesiastical affairs. His theological works in print and manuscript are numerous, and give abundant evidence of his ability and zeal. He immediately received invitations to settle in Plymouth, Roxbury, and other towns ; but, acting upon the advice of Messrs. Cotton, Hooker, and other friends, he accepted the call to Dorchester, and remained there until his death. Mr. Mather died April 22, 1669. On the Church Records is found the following anagram : — " Third in New England's Dorchester, Was this ordained minister, Second to none in fruitfulness, Abilities, and usefulness. " Divine his charms, years seven times seven, Wise to win souls from earth to heaven, Prophet's reward he gains above. But great 's our loss by his remove." An epitaph upon the Church Records differs from that upon his tombstone: — " Sacred to God his servant Richard Mather. Sons like him, good and great, did call him father, Hard to discern a difference in degree, 'Twixt his bright learning and high piety. Short time his sleeping dust lies covered down, So can't his soul or his deserved renown From 's birth six lustres and a jubilee To his repose ; but laboured hard in thee, O Dorchester ! four more than thirty years. His sacred dust with thee thine honour rears." " He was a man of an exemplary life and conversation," says Neal,^ " a good scholar, and a plain, solid, practical preacher. He wrote several treatises, which were well accepted in those times, and was generally consulted in all difficulties relating to church government." He left four sons in the ministry, — Eleazer, Samuel, Nathaniel, and Increase. 1 History of New England, vol. i. p. 385. 232 GOOD OLD DOKCHESTER. [1640. The Rev. Jonathan Buxr was born at Redgrave, in Suffolk, and was graduated from Corpus Christi College in 1623. He preached for a while in England, but being silenced for his non-conformity, came to Dorchester with his family. He signed the church covenant in 1639 ; and, as it was the early custom to have two ministers, one officiating as pastor and the other as "teacher," he was called to assist Mr. Mather as his colleague. These two gentlemen differed, however, upon some points; and a council of ten ministers and two magistrates was called in February, 1640, to adjust the difficulties. After a session of four days it was decided " that both sides had cause to be humbled for their failings, for which they were advised to set a day apart for reconciliation." The Rev. Nathaniel Hall, Jr., in a sermon preached before the First Parish June 19, 1870, paid the following tribute to Mr. Burr : " For a time associated with Richard Mather was Jonathan Burr, also silenced for non-conformity, and bearing with him a repute for learning and piety. He died, after a ministry of less than three years, in the thirty-seventh year of his age. Testimonies have reached us to the re- markable loveliness of his character and the pathetic eloquence of his speech; and the picture which through these I bear of him has always drawn me to him as to no other of my predecessors." Soon after Mr. Burr's arrival in this country he was taken down with the small-pox ; and this so weakened his health that he died August 9, 1641. The Rev. John Wilson, Jr., was chosen to fill the vacancy caused by Mr. Burr's death; but he remained only two years, moving away to accept a parish in Med- field, where he preached for forty years. He died August 23, 1691. Mr. William Stoughton, afterwards lieutenant- governor and commander-in-chief, preached occasionally, but he was never ordained. The Church tried to persuade him to become pastor when Mr. Mather died, but he firmly 1645.] DOKCHESTEK CHURCHES. 233 refused; and later events proved that his services were needed in larger fields. The rude first meeting-house had proved sufficient for the needs of the people for fourteen years ; but in 1645 the growing wants of the Plantation demanded better accommodations; so it was decided that "for peace and love's sake there shall be a new meeting-house." For this an appropriation of £250 was made. The church was built near or on the spot of the 'first meeting-house, at the northerly end of Pleasant Street ; but twenty-five years later the building was removed to Meeting-House Hill, standing on the east side of Winter Street, near the site of the later residence of Dr. Robert Thaxter. Some five years previous to the removal of the structure to Meeting-House Hill, three of the good citizens of the town came very near getting into difficulty because of the erection of a new gallery in the meeting-house without permission from the proper authorities. It seems that the selectmen had been consulted individually, and the pro- motors of the enterprise felt assured of their support. When, however, the addition was completed, a storm arose which threatened serious results. The selectmen declared that the gallery had been built entirely without their sanction, and said that it was prejudicial to the light. Furthermore, those who were concerned in its construction were forbidden to sit in it until the mind of the towns- people could be ascertained. At a meeting held for the settlement of the affair, it was decided that the gallery might stand ; but it could not be disposed of to any per- sons except those of whom the town approved. It was also voted that the oifending parties should acknowledge that they had acted with too much forwardness. This called forth the following document : — We whose names are underwritten, do acknowledge that it was our weakness that we were so inconsiderate as to make a 234 GOOD OLD DOECHESTEE. [1645. small seat in the meeting-house, without more clear and full approbation of the town and selectmen thereof, though we thought upon the conference we had with some of the selectmen apart, and elders, we had satisfying ground for our proceeding therein ; wch we now see was not sufficient ; therefore we desire that our failing therein may be passed by ; and if the town will grant our seat that we have been at so much cost in setting up, we thankfully acknowledge your love unto us therein, and we do hereupon further engage ourselves that we will not give up nor sell any of our places in that seat to any person or persons but whom the elders shall approve of, or such as shall have power to place men in seats in the assembly. Increase Atherton. Samuel Proctor. Thomas Bird. It was about this time that Mr. Mather's Catechism was distributed to each family in the town, the expense being paid out of the town rate. A step in the direction of liberal church government was made at this period, when it was proposed to receive members of the sterner sex into the Church, on the con- fession of their faith in writing, or in private conference ; the only condition being that, when it was declared pub- licly at church, they should " stand forth and acknowl- edge it." The Rev. Josiah Flint, the successor of the Rev. John Wilson, Jr., was born August 24, 1645, and was graduated from Harvard College in 1664. His ordination occurred December 27, 1671 ; and his ministry showed unusual zeal and perseverance, but unfortunately it was interrupted by ill-health. He died September 15, 1680, and the follow- ing epitaph was placed upon the monument erected to his memory: — 1670.] DOKCHESTEE CHTJKCHES. 235 " Here lies Interred y° Corps of Mr. Josiah Flint, late Pastor to y* Church in Dorchester, Aged 35 years. Deceased Septr. 15th, 1680. A Man of God he was so great, so good, His highest worth was hardly understood : So much of God & Christ in him did Dwell, In Grace and Holiness he did excell. An Honour & an ornament thereby, Both to y° Churches & the Ministry. Most zealous in ye work of Reformation, To save this self destroying Generation. With Courage Stroue 'gainst all this peoples sin ; He spent his Strength, his Life, his Soul therein. Consum'd with holy zeal of God, for whom He liu'd, and dy'd a kind of Martyrdom. If men will not lament, their Hearts not break, No wonder this lamenting Stone doth Speak, His Tomb-stone cries Repent, and Souls to saue Doth Preach Repentance from his very Graue. 'Gainst Sinners doth a lasting Record lye This Monument to his bless'd Memory." It was during Mr. Flint's ministry that the new meet- ing-house was built to take the place of the smaller one which was moved to Meeting-House Hill in 1670. This huilding was erected on the northwest corner of Church and Winter Streets. It was square in shape, and was two stories high, with a tower in the centre containing a hell. The first assembly in this structure was held No- vember 17, 1678. The Rev. John Danforth was ordained June 8, 1682. He was born in 1652, and was graduated from Harvard College in 1677. He gained the distinction of serving the longest pastorate in the history of the Church ; but during this period of forty-eight years nothing of great consequence occurred. He died May 26, 1730. Dr. Thaddeus Mason Harris, in his " Chronological and Topographical Account of Dorchester" (1804), refers to Mr. Danforth's poetical ability. He says: — 240 GOOD OLD DORCHESTER. [1751. aisle which went to the west entrance; and there were several other aisles leading from these. In 1751 the Dorchester proprietors presented the Church with a bell, which was cast in England to be sent to the New England town. It is probable that this bell has had but one predecessor. The town records for 1668 contain an entry stating " that Nicholas Bolton did agree to tend the meeting-house, to keep it in decent order, and to ring the bell for the year ensuing." In 1732, at a town meet- ing, £ 3,10s. was voted "toward the ringing of the bell evenings at nine o'clock the year ensuing." The new bell was hung June 18, 1752, and immediately entered upon a long career of usefulness. It called the people to the Sabbath services ; it summoned them to town meetings ; it gave its warning note in time of fire ; it tolled the knell of departed souls ; it summoned the citizens to the defence of their country in 1775 ; and in 1861 proclaimed the war against human slavery. In all events, civil and religious, the old bell has played its part. After a long service of over one hundred years, the bell showed its age by a large crack. It was carefully taken down therefore, and recast, after which it was again hung in the First Church steeple, where it is to-day. The late Deacon Ebenezer Clapp gives the following reminiscence of one of his early visits to this church. He says : — " On entering the inner door of the meeting-house, and turn- ing directly to the left, I went about twenty feet, then turned to the right and went a few feet and was led into the second pew on the left ; the pews were square, seats all round, flag bottomed chairs in the centre, rungs to the pews, where the children could peep out, like lambs from a sheep pen. At prayer time I was placed in one of those aforesaid flag bot- tomed chairs, there to stand through that service, (and from which I had a good view out of a south and an east window) ; for all stood through that performance, and they were deemed lazy Christians who being able-bodied did not comply." X774.] DOECHESTER CHTJBCHES'. 241 The Rev. Moses Everett, who was ordained Sept. 28, 1774, was a native of Dedham. His pastorate of eighteen years was eminently successful, but poor health made it necessary for him to resign. As has been said of him, he was "too feeble to fulfU., and too conscientious to neg- lect" the duties which devolved upon him as pastor of the Church. The year after his resignation he was elected a representative in the Legislature, and in 1808 he was appointed a special justice of the Court of Common Pleas. In these positions he displayed the same sterling qualities which he had shown in the pulpit. He died March 25, 1813. Edward Everett was his nephew. With the name of the Rev. Thaddeus Mason Harris the history of the First Church becomes modern. He was born July 7, 1768, and was graduated from Harvard College in 1787. He was called to the pulpit at Dor- chester when but twenty-five years of age, being ordained October 23, 1793 ; and he remained pastor of the church for forty-three years. During this period his strict ad- herence to duty, his sympathetic nature, his eloquent sermons, and his saintly life, endeared him to all. A prominent divine has said of him that in the whole line of ministers no one stands out so prominently for varied scholarship, literary industry, and multifarious occupa- tion as Dr. Harris; and also, "He was a fountain of tender and poetic sensibility, of keen wit and genial nature." In 1885 Dr. Harris, feeling that the duties of his position as pastor were too severe for his declining years, asked his people to appoint a fellow-laborer; and as a result the Rev. Nathaniel Hall, Jr., was appointed his assistant. Dr. Harris, however, remained with the Church but one year after this, resigning October 23, 1836. He was closely allied to the interests of the parish, in spite of his resigna- tion, until his death, which occurred April 3, 1842, in the seventy-fourth year of his age. Dr. Harris was an early 242 GOOD OLD DOKCHESTEE. [1804. member of tlie Massachusetts Historical Society, and after his retirement from the ministry he became its librarian. He was especially interested in the history of Dorchester, and in 1804 he published a " Topographical and Chrono- logical Account " of the town in which so large a portion of his life had been spent. If he had lived, he would have published a more complete history of Dorchester, on which he was working at the time of his death. There are many anecdotes related which illustrate the excellent characteristics of Dr. Harris. The Rev. Na- thaniel Hall, Jr., in the address preached at Dr. Harris's funeral, says, that while a student in Harvard College he was exceedingly straitened for support, and was one day walking into Boston, giving way to many moody thoughts concerning his hard luck. Suddenly he perceived on the end of his walking-stick a metallic ring, which proved on examination to be of gold. He took it to a jeweller, who not only purchased it for a liberal price, but pointed out the motto upon it : " God speed thee, friend." The young man burst into tears. Providence seemed to be rebuking him for his despondency, and he never forgot the lesson." "That motto," he used to say, "has ever been the support of my faith when it was feeble, and the strength of my heart when it was faint." The late Rev. A. P. Peabody, D.D., relates also this anecdote of him: "While still a yoimg man he went abroad, and happened at one time to be in the company of a number of others of his own age. It was remarked how many nationalities were represented, and some one proposed that each one sing the national song of his country. All did so in turn until it came to Mr. Harris, when, not knowing what was our national song, and not willing to acknowledge the fact, he sang his favorite hymn, — ' There is a land of pure delight, Where saints immortal reign.' .eirH'AH M-:.3AM ;U3aOAHl THADDEUS MASON HARRIS. 1815.] DOBCmiSTER CHTJKCHES. 245 It was received with applause ; and lie never afterwards doubted tliat that was the national song of America." The violent storm of September 23, 1815, referred to in a preceding chapter, so injured the old meeting-house of the First Parish that it was considered expedient to erect a new building. A committee was chosen for this purpose, consisting of Deacon James Humphreys, Deacon Ebenezer Clapp, Capt. Moses Inglee, Dr. Henry Gardner, Maj. Edward Robinson, Mr. Daniel Withington, Capt. Samuel H. Everett, Mr. Benjamin Jacobs, Mr. Samuel Clapp, Thomas Moseley, Esq., Samuel P. Loud, Esq., Mr. William Pope, Capt. Nathaniel Minot, and Mr. Lewis Pierce. On May 16, 1816, the corner-stone was laid with impres- sive ceremonies. A large number of people assembled; and a procession was formed of the parish committee, the artificers, and the operative masons. The Rev. Dr. Harris began the services with prayer, an ode composed for the occasion was sung, and the stone was then laid. After the address by the pastor. Deacon James Humphreys delivered the tools to the workmen with the following charge : — " Gentlemen: In behalf of the parish committee I congratu- late you on this occasion. The corner-stone for the foundation of the sacred edifice here to be erected is now laid, and I deliver over to you the implements of the artificers by which the work is to be constructed. "We intrust you, the master workmen, with the superintendence and direction of the build- ing. Let it be prepared, formed, and finished in a masterly manner, as becomes a temple for the worship and honor of God. And let me charge you, and the laborers that you shall employ, not only to be diligent and faithful, but discreet; and to remember that you are not only working for us, but in a peculiar sense for God, in building a house for Him. Let there be, therefore, no unworthy contention and no unsuitable indulgence among you ; but all the conduct of all the workmen be such that 246 GOOD OLD DOKCHESTEK. [1816. God may approve them, and the work in which they are engaged ; and may He bless us, and we ascribe to Him the glory. Amen." An especially interesting feature of the occasion was the presence of Deacon Edward Pierce, the day being his eighty-first birthday. He had been present at the raising of the former meeting-house, and had been employed in repairing and enlarging it. The building was finally completed, and met with great general approbation. One of the daily papers of that time referred to it as follows : " The edifice is finished in a masterly manner, and is an honor to the town. The steeple, in particular, is considered a most beautiful speci- men of architecture, makes a graceful appearance, and, from its elevated situation, as well as its towering height, is seen to advantage from the neighboring towns, and is a kind of pharos to the harbor, so that the most conspicu- ous object which meets the eyes of the sailors as they enter the port is one which recalls to them the services of reli- gion, and mingles the thoughts of piety with the gladness of arrival." The last meeting in the old church was on December 1, 1816. The morning sermon was preached from Rev. iii. 3 : "Remember how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast and repent;" and that of the afternoon from Ex. xxxiii. 15: "If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence." On the following day the new building was dedicated, the occasion being the anniversary of the dedication of the old meeting-house. The Rev. John Codman, of the Second Church, delivered the introductory prayer; while the others who took part in the services were Rev. Thomas Gray, of the Second Church, Roxbury ; Mr. Nathaniel ToplifE; Rev. Eliphalet Porter, D.D., of the First Church, Roxbury ; and Rev. John Pierce, D. D., of Brookline. The Rev. Thaddeus Mason Harris, the pastor, delivered the sermon. 1835.] DORCHESTER CHURCHES. 247 The ministry of the Rev. Nathaniel Hall, Jr., who was ordained July 16, 1835, lasted for forty years, and was remarkable for the wonderful hold which the pastor had upon his people. Of no minister could it be more truly said that he — " Allured to brighter worlds, and led the way." Many of those living to-day who listened to his sermons can testify to the influence he had on all with whom he came in contact. It has been said of him that " fervent piety must be regarded as the forming element of his char- acter, the inspiration of his life-work, the prime factor of his usefulness." Mr. Hall died October 21, 1875. The Rev. Samuel J. Barrows, who succeeded Mr. Hall, was ordained in 1876, and preached for five years. In 1881 he resigned to accept the position of editor of the "Christian Register," where his field of usefulness has been largely extended. Mr. Barrows has won a well- earned reputation by his literary work. His connection with the First Church was by no means severed when he resigned his pastorate, for as a layman he rendered invalu- able services to the people and to his immediate successor. The Rev. Christopher R. Eliot was ordained February 2, 1882, and resigned April 6, 1893. Mr. Eliot's successor has not yet been chosen. The religious unity in Dorchester has been remarkable. From 1636 to the present time, a period of two hundred and fifty-seven years, the First Parish has had but eleven ministers, — an average pastorate of twenty-four years. A summary of the ministers of the First Parish from the first settlement until the present time is as follows : — K^^- J°l^° 3^''^^°; I served together. Rev. John Maverick ) Kev. Richard Mather, ordained August 23, 1636, died April 22, 1669. Rev. Jonathan Burr, ordained February, 1640, died August 9, 1641. Rev. John Wilson, Jr. ordained — 1649, resigned — 1651. 14 248 GOOD OLD DOKCHESTBE. [1880. Kev. Josiah Flint, ordained December 27, 1671, died September 15, 1680. Kev. John Danforth, ordained June 8, 1682, died May 26, 1730. Rev. Jonathan Bowman, ordained November 5, 1729, resigned December 14, 1773. Rev. Moses Everett, ordained September 28, 1774, resigned January 14, 1793. Rev. Thaddeus Mason Harris, ordained October 23, 1793, resigned October 23, 1836. Rev. Nathaniel Hall, Jr., ordained July 16, 1835, died October 21, 1876. Rev. Samuel J. Barrows, ordained November 2, 1876, resigned Decem- ber 31, 1881. Rev. Christopher R. Eliot, ordained February 2, 1882, resigned April 6, 1893. Curiously enough, the same long term of service which characterized the pastors of the First Church is found also in regard to its elders and deacons. Henry Withington, who was appointed a ruling elder when the church was reorganized in 1636, served for thirty years ; Deacon Edward Clap, one of the early officers of the church, died after twenty-six years of service ; Ahijah White served forty-eight years; Samuel ToplifE, forty-five; Edward Pierce, forty-one ; James Humphreys, forty-six ; Ebenezer Clapp, twenty-five years ; and Henry Humphreys, one of the present deacons, has served sixty-one years. The dea- cons served two or three together, some of them also acting in the capacity of ruling elder until that office was finally abolished. The Clapp family has been represented in the deaconship since 1638, and the Humphreys since 1666. On Easter Sunday, March 28, 1880, a celebration was held to commemorate the two hundred and fiftieth anni- versary of the gathering of the Church in England, and its departure for America. The weather was unpropitious, a snow-storm, mingled with rain, marring but not inter- rupting the exercises. In spite of the storm, however, the attendance at the exercises was large ; the regular attendants of the First Church being joined by many from the other churches of Dorchester, and from Roxbury, Cambridge, Milton, Newton, and other adjacent towns. 1806.] DOKCHESTEE, CHURCHES. 249 The exercises included an anniversary sermon by the pastor, the Rev. Samuel J. Barrows, on " The Genesis and Exodus of the First Church of Dorchester." The speak- ers of the occasion were the Rev. Edmund Quincy Sewall Osgood, the Rev. Arthur M. Knapp, the Rev. John G. Brooks, E. B. Reynolds, Esq., the Rev. E. N. Packard, and the Rev. John H. Morison, D. D. We have seen that until 1806 all Dorchester worshipped in the same church, as the engagements with the Indians, emigration, and other causes, had so kept the number of inhabitants down, that one meeting-house had proved suffi- cient. In 1805, however, as recorded in a preceding chapter, it was seen that the congregation had outgrown its accommodations ; so it was proposed to divide the parish, and erect another building. The communications between the two parties on this subject show that the most con- genial relations existed at that time between the mother Church and her offspring. The letters are as follows : — To the Members of the Church of Christ in Dorchester .- Yom- brethren, about to form a Second Church in this town, take the liberty of adding a few observations to the request they have laid before you for a dissolution of their relation as joint members in Church fellowship with you. In making this application, we experience a variety of affect- ing sentiments. We recollect that at our admission into the Chm'ch we promised to watch over each other with a spirit of love and tenderness, and to counsel and assist each other as occasion might require, and opportunity be offered. These Christian regards on our part we wish always to cher- ish, and we hope from you a reciprocal return of affection and kindness. In a view of our covenant vows and engagements to God and each other, we now profess that our arrangements hitherto have been guided with reference to the better accommodation of ourselves and others, in this large and growing town, in the 250 GOOD OLD DOKCHESTBK. [1806. service of public worship, and the more convenient attendance upon the ordinances. "We have, in every stage of this important business, expressed our reluctance in complete separation. That it is now to take place is a painful consideration ; but we yield to it upon prin- ciples of accordance, and with sincere desires that we may be one in brotherly love and charity, though separated in place of public worship, in the celebration of the ordinances, and in Church establishment and discipline ; and we entreat you not to consider division as implying alienation, for that we would never feel. The large and respectable committee chosen by the Church, whose report you have accepted, have stated the principles on which we now found our request that our relation may be dis- solved, and that we may be formed into a Second Church in the town of Dorchester. In carrying your vote of acceptance into effect, we assure ourselves of your i-eadiness to yield us cheerfully the privileges and advantages there granted; and we now make the additional request that you would entertain toward us the pleasant intercourse which belongs to the commu- nion of churches. Brethren, the period of our separation has arrived. It is solemn and affecting. Bear us on your devout petitions to God, that he would endow us with wisdom profitable to direct us, that he would build us up, and succeed and prosper our designs for the furtherance of gospel order. We are engaged in a great and arduous undertaking. We must now look forward to the settlement of a pastor, for we are as sheep removed from the fold. Intreat, we beseech you, the Great Head of the Church that he would send us a spiritual guide, who shall lead us in the way everlasting. God forbid that we should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you and your spiritual instructor, whom we bear on our hearts with the highest esteem, and separate from with the deepest regret. Finally, brethren, farewell. Grant us now and always your goodwill, your Christian communion, and your prayers ; for these are requested by those who always felt happy in Christian 1806.] DOBCHESTBE CHTJECHES. 251 fellowship with you, though now subscribers for the purpose of forming a Second Church, and who will still unite with you in fervent prayer that we may aU have our transgressions forgiven, and be renewed and sanctifled by redeeming grace ; and that we may be preserved from sin and every evil while we live in this world, and be prepared for that more important state of exist- ence to which we are aU hastening. Stephen Badlam, ) Samcel Wixhington, > Committee. Joseph Clap, ) Dorchester, Dec. 13, 1807. In reply, the following affectionate letter was received : Brethren and Sisters, — In yielding to your request for a dis- solution of your immediate relation to us, we reciprocate the tender and affecting sentiments with which that application was accompanied, and assure you of our good-wiU and cordial affection, which many considerations have served to strengthen. As inhabitants of the same town, as neighbors, friends, and relatives ; as those who have gone with us to the house of God in company ; as joint worshippers and attendants upon religious services; as bound by the same covenant engagements, and partakers together at the same table of the Lord, — we have ties peculiarly strong and affectionate, and we would be far from considering that the kind regards which these have produced are alienated or even diminished by the separation which now takes place. Although circumstances have made it expedient that you should form a new Church, and your membership with us should be dissolved, yet we cannot be indifferent to your welfare. We pray that you may enjoy the divine guidance, may be formed into Church estate in gospel order and agreeably to the ecclesi- astical platform, and that you may soon be settled under a pastor in whose care and instruction your spiritual improvement may be promoted and your prosperity advanced. It wiU be pleasing to us that, whenever you have inclination and opportunity, you should come to our communion table, and that where we pledged our vows of Christian fellowship we may occasionally meet those with whom we first partook the sacred elements. Committee. 252 GOOD OLD DOECHESTBE. [1808. Finally, brethren and sisters, accept the benediction we pro- nounce, with pious application to heaven in your behalf ; and may the God of grace, who hath called us to his eternal king- dom and glory by Jesus Christ, assist, stablish, and settle you ; and, in whatever respects we be separate on earth, may you and we be joint members of the Church of the first-bom, whose names are written in heaven. Thaddeus M. Hakris," Moses Everett, Edward Pierce, James Humphreys, Ebbnezee Wales, Ezekiel Tolman, When it was finally decided to make the separation, steps were taken at once to make a successful beginning in the formation of the parish, and the erection of a church. One hundred and thirteen shares were sub- scribed, and nearly an acre of land was purchased at the corner of Washington and Centre streets. The work was practically begun on August 7, 1805, and the building was dedicated October 30, 1806. It is interesting to note that the bell of the new structure was cast by Paul Revere. The dedication sermon was preached by the Rev. Thaddeus Mason Harris, the pastor of the First Church, as the origi- nal one was now called. His text on this occasion was from Acts ii. 42: "And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship and in breaking of bread, and in prayers." On September 9, 1808, the Church met to elect a pastor, the Rev. Dr. Harris acting as moderator and clerk. The vote was taken by written ballot, and, strangely enough, it was found that every vote was cast for Mr. John Codman. Eleven days later the selection of the Church was ratified by the parish, and Mr. Codman was ordained on the seventh day of the following December. The Rev. William E. Channing was the officiating minister on this occasion. 1S08.] DOKCHESTEK CHITECHES. 253 " The name of John Codman," says the Rev. Dr. Joshua Bates, " belongs to the ecclesiastical history of New Eng- land, and will, unquestionably, occupy a prominent place in that history when, at some future period, it shall be written by a faithful hand, and be made to embrace in its records all the leading events and distinguished men con- nected with the organization of churches in this land and their progress to this time." Mr. Codman is a conspicuous figure in the history of Dorchester. He was bom in Boston August 3, 1782, of a family whose members were always remarkable in New England for their integrity, and who enjoyed a large and valuable influence, both in social and civil relations. He was graduated from Harvard College in 1802, at the early age of twenty. As a scholar, he was not especially con- spicuous; yet, when the literary honors were bestowed Mr. Codman's name was included, showing that he was held in high esteem by the governors and instructors of the college. Immediately upon graduation Mr. Codman entered upon the study of law ; but at the dying request of his father, he changed his profession, and fitted himself for the ministry. In 1805 Mr. Codman went to Edinburgh to pursue his theological studies, and on his return, three years later, he showed himself to be an interesting and impressive preacher. On the twentieth of September, 1808, he re- ceived a unanimous call to be pastor of the newly settled Second Parish. Before he accepted the call, however, he set his religious sentiments clearly before the people, and asked them to reconsider their choice. He did this as it was understood that the parish was made up of persons of different religious ideas, and he wished to guard against future trouble. When the call was repeated Mr. Codman hesitated no longer. He entered upon his parish work with characteristic zeal, and for a short time all went well. 254 GOOD OLD DOKCHESTBE. [1809. We can better understand the turn affairs took if we take into account the fact that it was at this time that the lines were beginning to be drawn distinctly between the rigid and the liberal portions of the churches. Unitarian- ism existed as a faith, but not as a denomination. All liberal ministers and churches were yet of the Congregar tional body; and differences, however great, were only personal, not denominational. Dr. Harris and the First Parish belonged to the liberal order, and the new or Second Church was composed of those who were in sympathy with him and his views. As the Second Church was organized as a natural offspring of the First Church, and as Dr. Harris preached the sermon of dedication and Dr. Chan- ning the sermon at the ordination of Mr. Codman, it was a natural supposition that it would be a liberal, or Unita- rian, body. The new minister, however, possessed strong Orthodox views. In those days exchanges were very common ; and it was the custom of members of the Boston Association, to which the Congregational ministers of Boston belonged, to exchange with all the other members of the association in turn. This had been Dr. Harris's custom at the First Church, and the congregation expected the same to be done at the Second ; but Mr. Codman de- parted from this precedent, and exchanged only with those of pronounced Orthodox views. This called forth inquiry and then remonstrances from a certain proportion of the congregation ; and a long and bitter controversy followed. On the tenth of November, 1809, Messrs. Edmund Baker, Benjamin Fuller, Thomas Crehore, and thirty^even others sent a paper to Mr. Codman expressing their regret that his exchanges did not include some of the ministers who composed the Boston Association. This paper, while drawn up in a polite and courteous manner, called forth a reply from Mr. Codman which at once opened the war. In August, 1810, thirty-eight pews in the meeting-house were offered for sale in the " Columbian Centinel," and on the 1812.] DOECHESTEE, CHUECHBS. 255 first day of the following December sixty-nine more were advertised in the " Centinel and Chronicle." This paper, moreover, contained an article which was turned directly against Mr. Codman, and created no little excitement. Letters were written to the eight clergymen with whom Mr. Codman had been in the habit of exchanging, request- ing them not to preach in his pulpit again; and further steps were taken to require a resignation from the pastor. A council was called, without opposition on the part of Mr. Codman, composed of ministers and delegates from twelve churches, before which the charges against the pastor were brought up. After the question was thor- oughly discussed by both parties, what is known in the Church history as " the first council " came to an end with the following advice : — "This council, at the conclusion of our result, feel it to be our duty to declare that we have, as we trust, attended with patience and impartiality to the statements, evidence, and pleas which have been presented to us by the parties in this contro- versy, and, though unable to decide on the last question which came before us (that the Church had just cause for complaint against Mr. Codman) , yet we deeply sympathize with the pastor. Church, and congregation, under their present unhappy divisions ; and unitedly recommend to them ' the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another.' " It was hoped that the controversy would end here, but such was unhappily not the case. A second council was called May 12, 1812, the Rev. Dr. Lathrop acting as mod- erator. After a session of two days the members were equally divided upon the question that " in the opinion of this council, under existing circumstances, it is expedient that the ministerial and pastoral relations between the Rev. Mr. Codman and the Second Parish in Dorchester be dissolved." It then fell upon Dr. Lathrop to decide the question ; and he voted in the negative, adding a recom- mendation to Mr. Codman to "open a more free and 256 GOOD OLD DOBCHBSTEK. [1812. liberal intercourse with his ministerial brethren." Mr. Codman acquiesced in the decision of the council, and declared his determination to follow the advice of Dr. Lathrop as far as he conscientiously could. Those who had worked so hard to secure Mr. Codman's dismissal were by no means satisfied with the results of the councils ; and two months later the trouble broke out again. A letter was addressed to Mr. Codman by the parish committee requiring a categorical answer to the question whether or not he intended to exchange indis- criminately with twelve ministers of the Boston Associa- tion whom they named, and with whom he had never exchanged. To this demand Mr. Codman replied " that he should endeavor to comply with the true spirit and mean- ing of the result of the last council; that the right of regulating his exchanges was admitted to be in him ; that the council could not have intended by admitting the advice of the moderator as a part of their result that he should bind himself by any pledge as to exchanging with individuals; that he should endeavor to preach at home as much as possible; and that when he did exchange he should consult the feelings and wishes of his people in general." Carrying out his promise, Mr. Codman during the next few weeks exchanged with two of the twelve ministers named by the parish committee ; but this failed to satisfy the opposition, whose persistence would seem to confirm the statement that the matter of exchanges was not the real basis of the trouble. A second letter was addressed to Mr. Codman, repeating the demand for indiscriminate exchanges, and complaining of the infrequency. "Are one or two stars," they asked, " though of the first mag- nitude, to content us for the light which might be derived from all the planets of our system, revolving in order?" The crisis came on November 24, 1812, when by a slight majority Mr. Codman was declared dismissed. The mi- 1812.J DORCHESTEE CHUKCHES. 257 nority was so strong, however, that they refused to yield ; and on the following Sunday the congregation was pre- sided over by two clergymen. The following excellent account of the remarkable per- formances of this Sunday is quoted in full from an article published at that time : — "When he (Mr. Codman) entered, he found eight sturdy men posted on the pulpit stairs, four on each side of the pulpit, in such a manner as to obstruct the passage entirely. Mr. Codman was determined to do all in his power to maintain his rights. He advanced, therefore, on his way to the pulpit, till he crowded hard against the bodies of the rioters, and, in find- ing in them no disposition to yield, he turned into the seat under the pulpit, and soon after began public worship. In the meantime, he had expressly demanded admission into the pulpit; and one of his friends, senior deacon of the Church, and a magistrate of the county, made a suitable declaration, and ordered the rioters to desist from their unlawful purposes. All this had no effect, and the agitation of the assembly was now considerable. When Mr. Codman began public worship, aU became quiet, and the exercises were unusually solemn and affecting. In the midst of the first prayer, the redoubtable preacher for the parish committee (Mr. Warren Pierce) made his appearance, and his guard of honor opened and gave him entrance into' the pulpit. There he stayed during the remainder of the services, and, strange as it may seem, he made no fur- ther disturbance till Mr. Codman had pronounced the blessing ; unless it be that he discovered sundry symptoms of uneasiness, and appeared anxious, as the audience absurdly imagined, to find some gap or break into which he might thrast the com- mencement of his services. But no such gap or break was he able to find, and he made no noise or other disturbance. " When Mr. Codman had dismissed the assembly, he stepped forward into the middle of the house, addressed the said preacher by name, expressed surprise at such an intrusion, and forbade his preaching in that place. The magistrate to whom we have alluded confirmed the statement of Mr. Codman, and 258 GOOD OLD DORCHESTEK. [1812. declared such an intrasion to be a violation of all law, order, and propriety. Several others urged the same thing. " The preacher replied, in substance, that he did not wish to do anything contrary to the peace of the parish, but he must proceed. The magisti-ate then made proclamation that all the friends of law, order, and decency, would be expected to retire. They retired accordingly, and the preacher was left to address a comparatively empty house. He went through with his exer- cises, had a very short intermission, and was nearly through his second sermon, when Mr. Codman and his friends assembled for worship in the afternoon. It seems that the redoubtable preacher was quite a legal character ; he could tell at first flush how the Supreme Court would decide Mr. Codman's controversy, and, being such a legal character, he well knew that possession was a great point in the law. He therefore wisely determined to keep possession of the pulpit during his short intermission. The refreshment which was afforded him, he took without leav- ing the house. After the completion of his services he and his hearers retired, and Mr. Codman ascended the pulpit, and preached as usual. The preacher of the parish committee had forty-eight hearers on the lower floor of the house, at his after- noon service ; Mr. Codman had two hundred and twenty. The proportion in the gallery was probably not very different. Mr. Codman preached in the forenoon from these words : ' Casting all your care upon him ; for he careth for you ; ' and in the afternoon from : ' Father, forgive them ; for they know not what they do.' Though his sermons had no allusion, not the slightest, to the parish trouble, they were thought to apply admirably." These methods used by the opponents of Mr. Codman proved too violent, and many of the opposition party vrent over to their pastor's side. The malcontents soon agreed to sell their pews, and to retire from the parish. This left Mr. Codman perfectly free on the subject of exchanges, as the parish now voted that, — "As it is the important privilege of the Christian minister to regulate his exchanges with his brethren according to the unbi- assed dictates of his own mind and conscience, we think it 1813.] DOECHESTBK CHURCHES. 259 expedient that the parish should agree that Mr. Codman should not be confined in his exchanges, the advice of any council or member thereof notwithstanding ; as the advice that -was given was upon the expectation that the disaffected were to continue active members of the parish, which is not now the case, and that the exercises of this privilege shall not again be made the subject of complaint before an ecclesiastical council in this parish. " Mr. Codman and his friends purchased the _ pews of all who wished to sell them, on the condition that the owners would agree to withdraw from the parish, promising not to interfere with its proceedings thereafter. Thus the contro- versy came to an end. The seceders, in 1813, built a new meeting-house, and became a distinct Unitarian parish, under the name of the " Third Religious Society." The subsequent years of the Second Parish were marked by remarkable harmony and prosperity. In 1827 iifty-four, in 1840 thirty-three, and in 1842 thirty-iive were added to the Church upon profession of faith. In 1829 twenty-one members were dismissed, and formed into a new church in the south part of the town, which took the name of the Village Church. On the 23d of December, 1847, Dr. Codman died, after an illness of a few weeks, in the sixty-sixth year of his age and the fortieth of his ministry. Of those who were connected with the Church at his ordination only eleven remained at the time of his death. Rev. Dr. Storrs, of Braintree, a life-long friend of Mr. Codman, preached the funeral sermon, in which he gives the following delinea- tion of his character. After speaking of the wisdom and heroism manifested during the ecclesiastical controversy at the outset of his ministry, he says : — "Through the whole of his remaining days his course exhi- bited a bright pattern of pastoral fidelity in the services of the pulpit, the lecture room, the prayer meeting, at the bedside of the sick and dying, in the cottage of the poor, and the man- 260 GOOD OLD DORCHESTEE. sion of the opulent. . . . Ou the broader fields of ministe- rial labor, his calls were multiplied almost beyond a parallel ; few ecclesiastical councils have been concerned, within a wide region around, of which he was not a chosen member, and com- monly the presiding officer. His uniform urbanity of manners, the well-known tenderness of his heart, his quick discernment of the right and the wrong, the promptness with which he accepted, and the facility with which he performed, every duty assigned him, inspired universal confidence. Few men have so rarely erred in judgment, and fewer still have found their decisions so justly appreciated ; while to none has been so freely accorded, at all times, the high praise of just and unprejudiced attention to the business before him. "His warm devotion to the prosperity of Zion, and his known liberality in the use of his ample means for extending her boundaries, brought him, of course, into close communion with the various benevolent associations of our age and coun- try. What enterprise of benevolence has ever urged a just claim on the advocacy and pecuniary support of the Church that met not a cordial response from him ? What association of unquestionable character enrolls not his name among its bene- factors and its elected or honorary members? And where is the man who has poured forth more freely and acceptably the strains of eloquence and faith and prayer in the annual convo- cations of those who labor for the world's conversion ? Of his private charities, no account is kept in human records, for even his right hand knew not what his left hand did ; but that they were abundant and free, ten thousand witnesses on earth can testify, and the opened books of heaven will hereafter declare." The story is told that one day, while Dr. Codman's con- troversy with the Church was at its height, and he was almost undecided whether to withstand the opposition or to resign, it was announced to him that a large number of little children were slowly and silently approaching his house in procession. Not knowing what had brought them there, and not suspecting with what intent they had come, he rose and hastily met them at the door in a kind and JOHN CODMAN. 1848.] DOBCHESTEB CHTTECHES. 263 happy manner. Dr. Codman was, however, completely OTercome when one after another, and finally all with united voices, declared that they had come to entreat their dear and beloved pastor not to leave them, the lambs of the flock, and their afflicted parents as sheep without a shepherd. " Though I at once supposed," said Dr. Codman, as he related this incident on one occasion, " that they had been sent by their parents, I could not help referring the whole to the providence of God. Nothing could have operated more powerfully to cheer my drooping spirits and animate my hopes of final success than this simple incident." The Second Parish also enjoyed long pastorates. Before his last illness Dr. Codman had secured the assistance of the Rev. James H. Means, who entered upon his duties on the last Sabbath in which Dr. Codman preached, and was ordained and installed as the second pastor of the Church July 13, 1848. His pastorate continued for over thirty years of uninterrupted prosperity ; so that the Church has the remarkable record of having had but two pastors in seventy years. In 1864, exhausted with labor. Dr. Means endeavored to lay down his work ; but the people gener- ously insisted upon his taking an extended vacation, during which, for twelve months, they enjoyed the ser- vices of the Rev. James C Vose, D.D., now of Providence. In the autumn of 1878 Dr. Means was constrained, by impaired health, to tender his resignation, which was accepted with great reluctance and abundant expressions of affection and confidence. Dr. Means is now living, on Washington Street, near the scene of his labors, the con- stant recipient of tokens of love and appreciation from the people he served so faithfully for so long a time. During the Civil War, from the congregation at large thirty-six enlisted in the army, of whom seven were church- members; and ten were killed, or died as the result of service. 264 GOOD OLD DOECHESTEE. [1878. The successor of Dr. Means was the Rev. Edward N. Packard, of Evanston, 111. He was installed as pastor on the eighth of April, 1879, and resigned in 1887 to accept a call to the Plymouth Church, Syracuse, N. Y. The Rev. Arthur Little, D.D., the present pastor, was installed Jan- uary 30, 1889. The deacons of the Church have been as follows : — Stephen Badlam . . 1808-1815 Josiah C. Vinton . 1857-1861 Ebenezer Withington 1808-1815 Joseph Clapp . . 1846-1879 Joseph Clap . . 1808-1852 James C. Sharp . 1857- William Hitchings 1816-1833 Elbridge Torrey . 1868- Samuel Capen . . 1816-1830 Ellis Houghton . 1875- Isaac Howe . . 1828-1838 Elijah Cutler . . 1875- Charles Howe . . 1832-1869 Laurin A. Bumpus 1891- Edward Sharp . . 1839-1856 John W. Field . 1891- Rufus Howe . . 1839-1845 On January 6, 1878, the Second Church celebrated its seventieth anniversary. The pastor. Dr. James H. Means, preached an able historical sermon, which has since been published in pamphlet form. The feature of the occasion was the presentation by the First Church of two ancient Communion cups, showing the delightful relations which have ever existed between the two societies. The correspondence in connection with the event is as follows : At a meeting of the First Church in Dorchester, held No- vember 4:th, 1877, the following resolution was unanimously passed, viz. : " Resolved, That this church present to the Second Church in Dor- chester, on the first day of January next, the seventieth anniversary of its gathering, two Communion cups, as a token of our regard; and that they be accompanied by a letter, signed by the pastor and deacons, in the name of the Church." In conformity to the above resolutions, we present, with this letter, two of our most ancient Communion cups, — not for their intrinsic metallic value, but for the history they represent ; the ancient and tender fellowship they suggest, and the fraternal spirit which they convey. 1878.] DOECHESTEE CHTJECHES. 265 The founders of your Church, and generations before them, partook from these sacred vessels. They were familiar to their «ight, and dear to their memory, and, we feel confident, will not be less dear to the sight and memory of their children ; and, that your association with them may be as intimate as our own, we subjoin such facts as we have been able to gather in regard to the cups and their original donors. One of these vessels, lettered "For the Church, M. T.," is so ancient that its origin cannot now be traced ; neither could it be by the eminent church Jiistorian of a hundred years ago. This fact suggests the thought that it may have been brought by the Church on its embarkation from England, and possibly was the cup, and the only one used in its first communion ser- vice after "that great ship, the 'Mary and John,' had laid its precious charge within the rude lap of these Western shores." ' The other vessel was the gift of Mrs. Elizabeth Clement, widow of Augustus Clement. They sailed [from Southampton to New England in the ship " James," of London, in April, 1635 ; they joined the Church in Dorchester in 1636 ; removed to Boston in 1652, but subsequently returned to Dorchester, where Mr. Clement died October 1, 1674. His widow, Elizabeth, pre- sented the cup to the church in 1678, two centuries ago. The separation from the First Church to establish a second did not arise from any alienation, but was a matter of necessity, the congregation having outgrown its meeting-house. Your own church edifice, as you are aware, was dedicated on Thurs- day, October 30, 1806, Rev. Thaddeus Mason Harris, the pas- tor of the First Church, and then the only minister in the town, preaching the dedication sermon from Acts ii. 42 : ' They con- 1 Since this time it has been shown CWilliam B. Trask : New Eng. Hist. <3en. Reg., vol. xl. p. 258) that tliis cup was given to the First Church by Mrs. Margaret Thacher, the letters, " M. T.," standing for her initials. The following entries on the Church Records refer to it: "April 6, 1709. The church hath Nine Pieces of Plate for y" sacram' (2 Given by s^ m' Stoughton 2 by m' Thomas Lake, one by m" Thacher, one by m' Isaac Jones, one by m" Patten, one by m' John Gingen, one by Anoth' hand, all of Silver." "6 of January 1679, Also M" Thecher of Boston gaue y' Church for- merly a Silver Cup with two ears." Mrs. Thacher was the wife of the Rev. Thomas Thacher, first minister of the Old South Church, in Boston. 15 266 GOOD OLD DOKCHBSTEK. [1878. tinued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread and in prayers.' The whole Church met together for their last communion service on the following Sun- day, November 2. Dr. Harris preached from 1 Cor. x. 17 : " We, being many, are one bread and one body; for we are all partakers of that one bread." It was a communion of mingled joy and sadness, — sad, that they had met together for the last time in that old house of their worship, their reverence, and their love, to them the ' ' very house of God, and gate of heaven ; " joy, that another house, beautiful and comfortable, awaited their coming. On that occasion Dr. Harris concluded as follows : — " Finally, Christians, we are now to commune together at the table of the Lord, and to repeat there our vows of fidelity to Him, and of love to each other. May we thus acquire some pleasing conceptions of that heaven of love and peace and glory, where one temple will contain the large assembly; one love engage all their affections; and one anthem of praise tune all their voices." In the afternoon of the same day he preached in your meeting-house the first sermon after its dedication, from Ephe- sians ii. 17, 18, and closed as follows: "Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace ; and may the G-od of love and peace be with you." Although the whole Church assembled together for the last time on November 2, 1806, it was the latter part of 1807 before dismission was asked to form a second. It was granted December 21, 1807, when sixty-four took their leave, with an affectionate parting address, which was answered by one equally kind and courteous ; and your Church was gathered January 1, 1808. Of all who left the First Church, and of those that remained, and of ministers and delegates who took part in your church-gathering, but one survives ; the Great Shepherd has gathered them, pastors and people, into His all-embracing fold. Many of both churches have reached the age of three-score years and ten, and, with the surviving sister by whose hand we send this letter, " Walk thoughtful On the silent, solemn shore Of that vast ocean We must sail so soon." 1878.] DOKCHESTER OHUECHES. 267 " Grace, mercy and peace," antl abundant prosperity to pastor, brethren, and sisters of the Second Church. We reit- erate, in the name of the First Church, its parting address at your own church-gathering, which closed as follows : — " Finally, brethren and sisters, accept the benediction we pronounce with pious application to Heaven in your behalf ; and may the God of Grace, who hath called us into His eternal kingdom and glory by Jesus Christ, assist, establish, and settle you ; and in whatever respect we may be separate on earth, may you and we be joint members of the church of the first born, whose names are written in heaven." S. J. B ARROWS, Pastor of First Church. Henry Humphreys, ) ^ ' Y Deacons. Ebenr. Clapp, ) Respectfully communicated to the Second Church of Dor- chester, by the pastor, deacons, and Sister Abigail Upham, of the First Church. Dorchester, December 17, 1877. To this the following answer was returned : — January 4, 1878. To the First Church in Dorchester — Greeting : It gives great pleasure to communicate to you the following votes, unanimously adopted by the Second Church, at their meeting this day : — ^^ Whereas, The First Church in Dorchester has most kindly presented two ancient Communion cups to this Church, on the occasion of the seventieth anniversary of its formation ; there- fore, — " Voted, That the Second Church gratefully receive this valu- able gift ; that the cups be suitably inscribed ; and that the letter of the pastor and deacons of the First Church accom- panying them be entered on the records of this Church. " Voted, That the following communication, with the vote recorded above, be sent to the donors, in the name of the Sec- ond Church, signed by its officers : — " The Second Church in Dorchester has received with much pleasure and gratitude, the Communion cups presented by the First Church, in token of their regard and good-will. These articles, valuable in them- 268 GOOD OLD DOECHESTEK. [1813. selves, are still more so for the hallowed associations connected with them, and the kind feelings with which they are tendered. From this time they will be constantly used by us. "We desire to cherish all the sacred memories of the past; to remember that we sprang, not by dissent, but by friendly separation, from a Church ancient and honored ; and to express in the act of receiv- ing these cups, our hope that the kind feelings now existing between the churches may long continue." It was very gratifying that this gift was transmitted through the hands of our venerable sister, Mrs. Upham, the sole survivor of those who were banded together in Christ, seventy years ago. Cordially reciprocating all expressions of good-will, and wishing you grace, mercy, and peace, we are in behalf of the Second Church, _ ^ ' J. H. Means, Pastor. Joseph Clapp, "j James C. Sharp, Elbridge Torret, \ Deacons. Ellis Hodghton, Elijah Cdtler, As we have seen on a preceding page, the formation of the Third Religious Society was the result of the rupture between a portion of the congregation of the Second Church and their pastor, the Rev. Dr. Codman. When the separation had been iinally determined upon, steps were taken for the formation of a new society and the erection of a church edifice. The first recorded meeting, at which action was taken, was held on May 6, 1813, in what was known as the "Dorchester Reading-Room." This was a back room in a building in the front of which was a barber-shop. It had been furnished as a reading- room, and was kept as a place of resort and reading for the people of this vicinity, being situated near the end of Dorchester Avenue. At this meeting the plan of the new organization was decided upon ; and forty-five shares were offered for sale, which were subscribed for by those 1813.] DORCHESTER CHURCHES. 269 present, each subscriber agreeing to take one pew. A committee was appointed to engage a builder to erect the church. Deacon James C. Sharp, of the Second Church, relates the following anecdote in reference to the fitting up of the church : — "When the Second Church was built, the ladies wished to place a curtain over the window behind the pulpit. In planning for one that would be suitable, they remembered to have heard that a Mr. Welles, in the neighborhood, had in his possession a rich silk damask dress, which had been the property of one of his ancestors, and had seldom been worn. It was very large, the skirt being two yards in diameter, and having a train so long and heavy as to require a colored boy to accompany the wearer and carry it when she wore it. This skirt they asked for and obtained, and with it made a most beautiful drapery for the back of the pulpit. When the Third Church was built (Dr. Eichmond's) the ladies of this parish also wanted a curtain for a similar purpose ; and, remembering that the damask dress had not aU been used before, asked for and obtained what was left for their pulpit curtain. Thus the pulpits of the two churches, which had lately separated in strife, were adorned by the same rich dress. This story is questioned by some, since it is affirmed that the Third Chui-ch pulpit was adorned by a curtain much less elegant. But I like to think of it as true ; and I like to think that when both churches were through with their cur- tains the two parts of the garment were reunited, and made into a mantle of charity, to hide, not our differences of opinion, — we should never wish to hide them, — but all personal differ- ences and hardness of feeling, and bind us more closely into one family of God." At a second meeting, held on August 23, 1813, the members of the new society called themselves " The Pro- prietors of the New South Meeting-House." The Second Church was known as " The South Meeting-House," and the Third was now called "The New South." On the cover of the Parish Record Book is printed, " Dorchester 270 GOOD OLD DOKCHESTBE. [1813. New South Meeting-House ; " and on the Church Record Book is the label, " Dorchester South Church." The new enterprise received several other names at various times, being called by one or another indifferently, which indi- cates that the founders were much more intent upon the formation of the church than upon choosing a name. The final and legal names settled upon are, " The Third Reli- gious Society in Dorchester," and " The Third Church in Dorchester." The church building was pushed forward rapidly. The meeting at which it was resolved to build was held, as has been said, on the 6th of May. On the 1st of June the ground was broken, and work began; on Monday, the 28th of June, the timbers were raised to their places ; and on Wednesday, October 6, just five months from the first meeting, the church was completed, and dedicated under the auspices of the Boston Association of Ministers, Dr. Lathrop preaching the sermon. The formation of this new society caused a complicated question to arise as to the division of the income derived from certain sources. It will be remembered that when first organized by the early settlers, the Church was con- sidered to be a part of the town government, and the pastor's salary and other church expenses were paid out of the treasury of the town. In order to make the sup- port of the Church more certain, lands were set apart whose income was to belong to it. This property was at first of little value; but together with the additions re- sulting from bequests left the town for the purpose, and the natural appreciation of property, at the time of the formation of the Third Religious Society the income was considerable. Until 1806 there had been no difficulty in appropriating this income, as there had been but one church. After the formation of the Second Church, however, the proceeds of the rent lands and the income from invested funds were 1817.] DOECHESTBE CHTJECHES. 271 divided annually by the town between the First and Second churches, according to their membership; and when the Third Religious Society was formed, it was divided among the three Churches in the same manner. Thus the town was the custodian of the parish property. As times changed, and the relation between Church and State became less close, the possession of this property became less agreeable to the town. It seemed best to all concerned that it should be made over to the Churches, for whose benefit it was given ; but the question arose to what church or churches it belonged. It could only be given legally to that organization for which it was origi- nally intended, — namely, the First Church. It was theirs by technical right, but they did not consider that it be- longed to them by moral right. The First Church there- fore asked for a joint committee, to be formed by delegates from the First, Second, and Third churches, to divide this property as equitably as possible among the three societies. The committee was formed in 1824, and de- cided to divide the whole ministerial property into four equal parts, giving two parts to the First Parish, on Meeting-House HiU, one part to the Second Church, Dr. Codman's, and one to the Third Parish. The income from the property put apart by the early settlers is still enjoyed by these churches. The first pastor of the Third Church was the Rev. Dr. Edward Richmond, who was installed on June 25, 1817. He was born June 29, 1767, and was graduated from Brown University in 1789. Previous to his call to the Dorchester Church he had served a pastorate of twenty- three years in Stoughton. He is described by one who knew him as " a finished gentleman," and by another as " a staid, dignified gentle- man of the old school." Dr. Ezra S. Gannett, in his " Memories of the Early Ministers," speaks of " Dr. Rich- mond, gentle, urbane, modest." His studious habits, his 272 GOOD OLD DOKCHBSTBE. [1833. thoughtful and dignified manner, and his sense of the im- portance of his mission among men, gave to some the impression of a severe, reserved, and even ungenial man. He was an able sermon-writer, but he was not good at extemporaneous speech; and even his prayers are said to have been stereotyped. It is related that on one occasion, when there was danger of cholera, he inserted a petition "that we be spared from this terrible scourge." The congregation, amazed at the fresh sentence, lifted their bowed heads and saw that he read it from a written record ! The relations between Dr. Richmond and Dr. Codman were naturally somewhat strained at first, owing to the recent unpleasant incidents ; but it was not long before they became friends. It is said that a very slight incident served to bring them together. Dr. Codman failed to re- ceive his paper one morning, and being very dependent upon it, sent his son to Dr. Richmond to borrow his copy after he had read it. Dr. Richmond responded so quickly and pleasantly that the ice was broken between them, and they continued on the best of terms. In 1833 declining health made it necessary for Dr. Richmond to resign. Soon after he removed his residence to Weymouth, where he died April 10, 1842. For nearly a year after Dr. Richmond's resignation, the parish had no settled minister. In 1834, however, the Rev. Francis Cunningham was chosen. He was bom March 9, 1804, and was graduated from Harvard Col- lege in 1825. It was during his ministry that the present church structure of the society was erected. Mr. Cunningham resigned June 1, 1842, passing much of his later life in travel. He died September 7, 1867. The parish, in accepting his resignation, declared that they would ever remember his "talents, learning, and virtues, and bear testimony to the fidelity with which he discharged his duties." He is also spoken of as "a NATHANIEL HALL. 1863.] DORCHESTER CHURCHES. 275 thoughtful scholar., a kind neighbor, a courteous Christian gentleman." The Rev. Richard Pike was Mr. Cunningham's suc- cessor. He was born June 6, 1813, was graduated from Bowdoin College in 1836, and was ordained pastor of the Dorchester Church on February 8, 1842. His pastorate extended over twenty years, during which period he en- deared himself to his people by his tireless labors in their behalf. He taxed his limited strength too much, however, not only in his parish duties, but in town affairs, being especially interested in the schools, and serving upon the school committee for many years. Gradually his health failed, until in 1863 he died, sincerely mourned by his parishioners. The Rev. Nathaniel Hall, Jr., of the First Church, preached Mr. Pike's funeral sermon, in which he said : — "His public ministrations were impressive through the evi- dence they bore that his heart was in them. His discourses may have lacked the attractions of a studied rhetoric, for which he had no taste, if he had the gift, which he was too much in earnest to seek or care for ; but they were scholarly in style and spiritual in tone. His mind was naturally of a metaphysical cast, leading him to an appreciative interest in the deeper theo- logical discussions of the day; and although this did not appear with any prominence in his discourses, it may have given them, as a whole, a less practical character than the many would desire." On March 2, 1864, the Rev. Thomas G. Mumford was installed. He was a man of unusual abilities, filling with equal satisfaction the positions of writer, citizen, editor, and pastor. His pastorate lasted for eight years, when he resigned to take charge of the " Christian Register." Mr. Mumford occupied an important place in even wider circles than the community ; and his loss was severely felt when he died, August 29, 1877. The next pastor of the Third Church was the Rev. Henry 276 GOOD OLD DOECHESTEE. [1816. G. Spaulding, who was installed October 2, 1873. He resigned after a short ministry of less than four years, and later became the Secretary of the Unitarian Sunday-School Society, — a position which he has since relinquished. Of the successors of Mr. Spaulding, the Rev. George M. Bodge was ordained September 26, 1878, and resigned October 31, 1884; and the Rev. W. I. Lawrance was installed October 1, 1885, resigned in 1891. During his ministry, on May 6 and 7, 1888, the seventy-iifth anni- versary of the society was celebrated; and it is from sermons preached by Mr. Lawrance on this occasion that much of the preceding matter is taken. The present pastor is the Rev. Frederick B. Mott, who was installed February 7, 1892. The Dorchester Methodist Episcopal Church, which is known in the history of the town as the Fourth Parish, was organized in 1816. Previous to this time several people had met at the, house of Anthony Otherman ; and the interest manifested at these meetings resulted in the permanent establishment of the society. During this period the preaching was usually on week-day evenings. The growth of the society was slow, and it was kept together chiefly through the exertions of Mr. Otherman. He is still remembered by some of the oldest residents of the town, being one of the last to put aside the old- fashioned dress, consisting of the cocked hat and short clothes. The first house of worship was a carpenter shop, which was remodelled in 1818, Bishop Hedding preaching the dedication sermon. This building was situated on Washington Street, about a quarter of a mile north from Milton Bridge, and was twenty by twenty-seven feet, having a door opening directly into the audience-room. Opposite the door was a small circular door, and a centre aisle had benches on either side. A gallery ran around three sides of the house. 1837.] DOECHESTBE. CHURCHES. 277 The first minister to take charge of this little flock was William Granville, who divided his time between his occupation of glass-blowing and preaching; but he later devoted his entire time to the ministry. At the close of the year 1818 the Church numbered nineteen members, who held their meetings under difficulties, and in spite of discouraging opposition. By 1829, however, the society had gained a strong foot- hold, and the increased number of members made it neces- sary to erect a larger edifice. This building was used until 1875, when the present commodious structure replaced it. In striking contrast to other Dorchester churches, this society, following the Methodist custom, has been served by a large number of ministers. The parish is now in a flourishing condition, and is under the charge of the Rev. G. A. Phinney. In 1892 the society celebrated its seventy- fifth anniversary with appropriate and interesting exercises. On June 7, 1837, the First Baptist Society in Dorchester was constituted in Neponset Hall, Joshua Gushing and Deacon Jacob Flinn being the pillars of the new church during its early days. During the following year the first meeting-house of the society was erected on Chickatawbut Street, which was afterwards enlarged to meet the require- ments of the increased number of worshippers. The pastors and deacons of the church have been as follows : — Rev. Bradley Miner, ordained August, 1837, resigned January, 1846. Eev. Humphrey Richards, ordained July, 1846, resigned September, 1854. Rev. Brainard W. Barrows, ordained May, 1855, resigned January, 1873. Rev. James F. Morton, ordained March, 1873, resigned August, 1874. Rev. Joseph Banvard, D. D., ordained January, 1876, resigned ApriL 1884. Rev. Nathan Bailey, ordained January, 1889, resigned December, 1891. Kev. John Brainerd Wilson, ordained Julv, 1892. 278 GOOD OLD DORCHESTER. [1843. Pastoral Supplies, 1884-1889. Rev. Adam Chambers, 5 months. Prof. E. C. Mitchell, D. D., 15 mos. Rev. J. H. Johnstone, 10 months. Rev. H. M. Dean, 15 months. Deacons. Jacob Flynn. *David Fales. Eliaphaz W. Arnold. William Hammond. Jesse Lyon. Z. E. Coffin. Daniel Pierce. Ira Foster. J. W. MacGregor. Charles E. Fales. *James T. Murphy. * Deceased. On Sunday, July 16, 1843, about fifty persons assembled in tbe Town HaU, Dorchester, and listened to an impres- sive sermon and service conducted by the Rev. John P. Robinson, the rector of Christ Church, Quincy. This public service was in response to an invitation extended to Mr. Robinson by several active Episcopalians to form an Episcopal church. The interest in this service proved so general that it was decided to hold Evening Prayer at the Town Hall every two weeks. This was the first occasion on which the Book of Common Prayer was publicly used in Dorchester, and was the starting-point of St. Mary's Church. At the iirst meeting of the vestry the clerk stated that "Evening Prayer was conducted in the Town Hall in Dorchester eight times by the Rev. J. P. Robinson and once by the Rev. Darius R. Brewer in 1843, and three times by the Rev. J. P. Robinson in 1844, during which time it was thought inexpedient to organize a parish." From that date (1844) until June, 1847, it is supposed that no church services were held. At any rate, no records have been preserved. Among some loose papers relating to parish affairs, the following, written on a leaf torn from a pocket blank-book, has been found : — Having learned that the erection of a church is contem- plated, on a lot of land in Eoxbury, near Dorchester, presented by Mr. Ralph Haskins, I hereby signify my entire approval of the object, and hope that it will be carried vigorously into effect. [Signed] Manton Eastburn. Boston, May 23, 1846. 1847.1 DOECHESTEK CHTJECHBS. 279 In spite of the fact that several of the wealthy Episco- palians offered to donate land on which to erect a church, the matter was delayed until August 23, 1847, when a meeting was held in Lyceum Hall to consider the subject of organization. On August 11, 1847, a petition for war- rant was addressed to the Hon. S. P. Loud, J. P., repre- senting that "the signers have associated themselves for the support and enjoyment of public worship, under the name of the parish of St. Mary's Church in Dorchester," and requesting that a warrant be issued directing one of their number to notify " the qualified voters of said parish to meet at such time and place as may be therein specified for the purpose of legal organization, according to Chapter , Statute , Commonwealth of Massachusetts." The petition was signed by William Withington, Joseph Hooper, Robert Richardson, Thomas Hill, Edward Holden, and A. W. Hayter. At that meeting a compact, or constitution and by-laws, was adopted. Two wardens (Hooper and Withington), five vestrymen, and a treasurer were also chosen ; and the Rev. G. W. Porter was unanimously elected rector. Morn- ing Prayer was held for the first time on September 26, 1847, seventeenth Sunday after Trinity, on which occasion Rev. Dr. Robinson appeared in full canonicals, this being the first use of the surplice in Dorchester. Owing to unfavorable weather, only twenty persons were present in the morning and thirty-two in the afternoon. The average attendance upon both morning and evening service during the first two months was about seventy-three. The parish was admitted into union with the Diocesan Convention of Massachusetts June 14, 1848. It was from Mrs. Catherine Dodge that the land was received on which the church was finally erected. Sub- scription books were opened at once, and the necessary funds were soon obtained. The corner-stone was laid on April 5, 1849, by the Rt. Rev. Manton Eastburn, D. D., 280 GOOD OLD DORCHESTER. [1876. the bishop of the diocese. The consecration of the build- ing occurred the following September. " It cost about 15,000," wrote the Rev. G. W. Porter, " exclusive of organ and furniture. When I first thought of establishing the church in Dorchester there was not much to encourage me ; but friends to the enterprise unex- pectedly appeared." During Mr. Mill's rectorship the church was enriched by the gift of three handsome stained-glass windows, the usual chancel furniture, and books for use at altar and lectern. Owing to his exertions the mission, now ^ the parish, of All Saints was established at Milton Lower Mills, and remained for many years dependent upon his personal interest and exertions. Owing to the unexpected social results of the annexa- tion of Dorchester to Boston, the centralization of all interest in the city proper, the removal of many wealthy residents from the town to the city, and the effects of the financial crisis following the great fire in 1872, St. Mary's was compelled to pass through severe trials. The mission of St. Anne's on Cottage Street, near Dud- ley, was begun in April, 1876, by the rector, the Rev. Mr. Silvester. The land and f 1,000 were given by Mrs. Anne Phillips, a communicant of St. Mary's, and an aunt of the late Bishop Brooks. In 1879 the mission was placed under the control of the parish of St. James, Roxbury, and is now organized as a separate parish. On June 14, 1887, the church building on Bowdoin Street was destroyed by fire. The First Parish Church on Meeting-House Hill offered the use of their church, and St. Mary's gratefully accepted the use of the vestry of that church for some meetings. The Stoughton Street Baptist Church invited St. Mary's to worship there on Sunday afternoons, but the parish accepted the liberal offer of Henry G. AUbright, who gave the free use of Winthrop Hall for the Sunday services for a period of six months, and after that for 1887.] DORCHESTEK CHURCHES. 281 anotlier year, at a very low rental, until the new church was built. Land was bought on Jones's Hill, between Stoughton Street and Gushing Avenue, on which, in 1888, the present church building of stone was built. The rapid increase of the congregation in the new church, however, necessitated its enlargement; and in 1892 two transepts and a chancel were added on the Stoughton Street end of the building, increasing the seating capacity to over five hundred sittings, at an additional cost of $16,100, — mak- ing the total cost to this time $48,000. In July, 1887, a proposition was made for the union of St. Mary's and St. Anne's parishes into one parish, the intention being to build a large church; but the latter voted that such a consolidation was inexpedient. In No- vember, 1887, a Sunday-school was started, on the Upper Road, out of which has come the present Episcopal Mission at Grove Hall, under the charge of the rector of St. Mary's Church. The present rector. Rev. W. E. C. Smith, is a graduate of Harvard College and of the Episcopal Theological School at Cambridge. For five years he served as assistant to the Rector of Emmanuel Church, Boston, and was the minister in charge of the mission of that church, known as the Chapel of the Ascension, on Washington Street, where he was eminently successful in gathering a large congregation. The successive officers of the church from 1847 to 1893, have been as follows: — PASTORS. Kev. G. W. Porter, installed September 1, 1847, resigned November 1, 1852. Rev. E. L. Drown, installed July 1, 1853, resigned September 1, 1860. Rev. W. H. Mills, installed September 1, 1860, resigned April 5, 1874. Rev. W. W. Silvester, installed June 9, 1874, resigned March 3, 1878. Rev. L. W. Saltonstall, installed May 12, 1878, resigned November 25, 1891. Rev. W. E. C. Smith, installed February 14, 1892, — . 282 GOOD OLD DOECHESTEK. [1872. WARDENS. Joseph Hooper, Senior, 2 years. Martin L. Bradford, Junior, 10 Robert Richardson, Junior, 2 years. years ; Senior, 5 years. John P. Clapp, Junior, 1 year, 1848 ; William W. Page, Junior, 6 years. Senior, 36 years. Daniel B. Stedman, Jr., Junior, John H. Welch, Junior, 3 years. 13 years ; Senior, 1 year. Charles Stimpson, Junior, 1 year. Lucius P. Leonard, Junior, 1 year. James Jenkins, Junior, 3 years. Charles Emery, Senior, 2 years. Albert A. Chittenden, Junior, 7 years. CLERKS. Edward Holden, 4 years. George Noyes, 1 year. Mark W. Sheafe, 3 years. Samuel R. Phillips, 1 year. Edward W. Howe, 4 years. William F. Jones, 3 years. Charles E. Stedman, M. D., 2 years. James A. Tyng, 1 year^ Daniel Sharp, 2 years. George H. L. Sharp, 3 years. Daniel B. Stedman, Jr., 5 years. William A. Blanchard, 4 years. Henry A. Clapp, 5 years. Joseph H. Beale, Jr., 2 years. Andrew J. Smallage, 3 years. George G. Bradford, 4 years. The clerks have also been treasurers, except Henry A. Clapp, William A. Blanchard, James A. Tyng, George G. Bradford, and George H. L. Sharp, who were not treasurers, and the following who were treasurers but not clerks : Charles Emery, two years ; Albert A. Chittenden, five years ; G. Herbert Ide, one year ; Henry W. Edwards, three years. It is interesting to note that Dorchester gave to Mas- sachusetts her first bishop, the Rt. Rev. Edward Bass, S.T.D. The late Bishop Phillips Brooks was confirmed in St. Mary's Church, July 27, 1857, by Bishop Eastburn ; and the first public service performed by him was in read- ing the morning service there. Here, too, he administered the apostolic rite of confirmation only a few days before his death. The Catholic Society, the Parish of St. Peter, was formed in 1872, with Father Peter Ronan, the present pastor, at the head of the undertaking. The land, on 1885.] DORCHBSTBB CHUECHES. 283 whicli the fine stone edifice stands, was purchased from Mr. Williams at an expense of about twelve thousand dollars, and was the location of Captain John Percival's house, after whom Percival Avenue was named. The building itself is of the Gothic style of architecture. It was erected at an expense of one hundred and thirty thousand dollars, but is now entirely free from debt. It has a rich panel ceiling of wood, handsomely decorated, and the church contains three marble altars of beautiful design. There is a seating capacity of twenty-five hun- dred; and the parish comprises some fifty-five hundred souls. An interesting fact is that the stone of which the church is built was taken from the lot on which the edi- fice now stands. In 1885 a large lot of land was pur- chased from the late Nahum Capen of Mt. Ida, on which the present large brick parochial house was erected, at an expense of about twenty-five thousand dollars. Father Ronan was ordained at St. Joseph's Seminary, in Troy, N. Y., in 1868, and preached in New Bedford for nearly five years. He then came to Dorchester, where he has been a very earnest and successful pastor since the church was established. The other clergymen associated with him at present are the Revs. Charles F. Glennen and Thomas C. McGoldrick. In connection with the church history of the town it is of interest to glance at the " Old Burying-Ground," in which reposes the dust of the early fathers. It is situated at the corner of Boston and Stoughton Streets, and was first laid out in 1634, five rods square. This was not the first burying-ground, the supposition being that an earlier one existed around the first meeting-house, near the corner of the present Pleasant and Cottage Streets. It is, how- ever, one of the oldest and most interesting in the United States, yielding only to Jamestown, Va., in antiquity of inscriptions. Its gravestones have frequently been con- 16 284 GOOD OLD DORCHESTBE. [1885. suited by antiquarians for historical and biographical notices, and by the lovers of the curious because of the quaint inscriptions to be found thereon. Several of the earliest stones were placed flat upon the ground, to pre- vent the wolves from devouring the bodies which lay beneath. About 1835 Samuel Downer devoted much time and taste to improving the dilapidated condition of the monu- ments, and to cultivating ornamental shrubs and trees. " The subscription to defray the expense of such improve- ments," says a writer in 1838, "in the condition of this place of graves, though applied to ' garnish the sepulchres of the righteous,' extended not to ' build again the tombs of the prophets ; ' as it was known that of the nine minis- ters who, with their flocks, had ' gone down to the con- gregation of the dead,' there were only two for whom monumental memorials had been raised, — namely. Rev. Richard Mather, in 1669, and Rev. Josiah Flint, in 1680. Several months ago, however, the descendants of the Honorable Moses Everett caused a tablet to be set up, inscribed with his name and those of the deceased mem- bers of his family, on which is mentioned his death in 1813, and that he was in the ministry from 1774 to 1793. It is also an affecting consideration that no minister of the town has died in office within one hundred and seven years." Since this was written, the Rev. Nathaniel Hall, Jr., the Rev. John Codman, and the Rev. Richard Pike have died in office. The author of the little volume from which the above lines are quoted was a prominent figure to those who wor- shi]3ped at the First Parish Chtirch. Daniel Davenport began his service as sexton in 1799, and during his term of office officiated at no less than fifteen hundred and ninety-three funerals. In 1826 he published the " Sexton's Monitor and Dorchester Cemetery Memorial," which he dedicated to his pastor, the Rev. Dr. Harris, with the wish 1885.] DOECHESTER CHTIRCHE3. 285 " that it may be many years before you or your family may need my services in this solemn vocation." This little book went through three editions. Three years before the resignation of Dr. Harris, " Uncle Daniel," as he is still remembered by many of Dorchester's citizens, asked liim to write an epitaph; and the worthy sexton dug a grave for himself, and placed a stone over it. This action did not hasten his departure, however, for he lived thirty-three years longer, dying December 24, 1860, in his eighty-eighth year. It was always a matter of great regret to Uncle Daniel that he had not been able to serve in his official capacity one year longer, as he would then have been sexton for fifty years. "I wanted to celebrate my jubilee," he used to say. "Dr. Pierce had his jubilee ; why would n't they let me have mine ? " From the collection of inscriptions on the tombs of the Old Burying-Ground contained in this masterpiece of Uncle Daniel, the following are taken, together with the quaint notes made by the compiler : — [ " On two children lying in one grave, covered with a flat stone, but so broken that the upper part, which probably bore the name of the parents, was gone."] Abel, his ofEering accepted is ; His body to the grave, his soul to bliss. In October twenty, and no more, In the year sixteen hundred 44. Submit submitted to her heavenly king. Being a flower of the eternal spring ; Near 3 years old she died in heaven to wait. The year was sixteen hundred 48. [ " On Deacon James Blake. Note. — He languished about seven years with an ulcerous leg, very painful, but at last died with an epidemic cold, which carried off many aged people."] Seven years strong pain do end at last. His weary days and nights are past. The way was rough, the end is peace ; Short pain gives way to endless ease. 286 GOOD OLD DOKCHBSTEK. [1885 [ " Taken from a stone which had been broken into forty-five pieces."] Here lies three clerks, their accounts are even, Entered on earth, carried up to heaven. ["Note. This is a very ingenious reference to Mercantile affairs, and the business of a clerk to enter accounts in the day- book, and carry them up to the Ledger ; it is casting up the reck- oning for Time, and striking the balance for Eternity."] Submit submitted down to dust, Her soul ascends up to the just ; At near old she did resign, Her soul's gone to Christ, year '59. ["On an ancient School Master iu Dorchester, who died Feb. 24, 1674, aged 81. Written by himself."] WILLIAM POLE. Ho Passenger! its worth thy pains to stay, And take a dead man's lesson by the way. I was what now thou art, and thou shalt be What I am now, what odds 'twixt me and thee. Now go tliy way, but stay, take one word more, Thy staff, for aught thou knowst, stands next the door. Death is the door, the door of heaven or hell : — Be warned, be arm'd, believe, repent. Farewell ! " In memory of Mr. James Baker, who died Nov. 18, 1776, aged 64," Preserve O grave inviolate thy trust, Till life divine reanimates this dust. " Capt. Abraham Wheeler, died June 20, 1778, aged 43." How loved, how valued once, avails thee not To whom related, or by whom begot. " Mr. Isaac Fenno, aged 32, died 1796." O life, frail offspring of a day, 'T is puff'd with one short gasp away. Swift as the short-lived flower it flies, It springs, it blooms, it fades, it dies. 1885.] DORCHESTER CHTJRCHES. 28T ["Taken from the grave stone of a child of Mr. Solomon and Mrs. Rachel Hall, aged 10 months, died 1803."] Parents of children take a last adieu, And so must children of their parents too. ["Taken from the grave stone of William Wilcox, (South Burying ground) who died in 1820, aged 39."] In business diligence and care he join'd, In spirit fervor with his hope combin'd, With sacred truth his life did well accord, He serv'd the public while he serv'd the Lord. This last epitaph has more than passing interest. It seems that Mr. Wilcox kept a tavern which was situated opposite the Second Church, where on Sundays before and after the services he sold rum to his fellow church-mem- bers. In spite of his calling, however, he was a devout worshipper, and believed that he was fully justified in combining his business with his religion. When he died, his pastor, the Rev. John Codman, wrote the above lines for his epitaph, wliich contain a hidden meaning not alto- gether clear without this explanation. The Hon. Edward Everett made the following beautiful allusion to the Old Burying-Ground in his oration at the two hundred and twenty-fifth anniversary of the settlement of the town : — "The ancient burial-ground hard by, with which there are few of us who have not some tender associations, upon whose early graves may yet be seen the mossy unknown stones placed there by the first settlers for protection against the wolves, still attracts the antiquary with its quaint and learned inscriptions, and preserves the memory, not merely of ' the rude forefathers of the hamlet,' but of some of the most honored names in the history of Massachusetts." It has been possible only in this chapter to give the history of the first church society in each denomination. As the increasing number of inhabitants has reauired it, 288 GOOD OLD DOECHESTER. [1893. churches have been built, so that Dorchester has no reason to complain of a lack of opportunity for worship, contain- ing within the town limits some thirty distinct organiza- tions. If the early settlers could look in upon the town to-day, and see the different churches and the different creeds, they would wonder how they managed to get along in the olden days with a single roof to shelter all beliefs and doctrines ! The church history of Dorchester, as we have seen it in the preceding pages, shows that the descendants of the early fathers have reason to feel a thrill of pride that their ancestors belonged to the sturdy company which laid the early foundations of the town. They were sometimes intolerant, they were sometimes unwise in their interpretar tion of the Scriptures ; but they were manly, courageous men and women, who governed their lives according to their best enlightenment. It is from their religious life rather than from any other characteristic that we may draw the truest picture of the first settlers of Good Old Dorchester. ■^ag W^^ ^®^^^M^S £^ s B I^H K m ^^^^^ ^I^^^^^^^^^^^Bg^ IjI^^'SI w^ CHAPTER V. DORCHESTER SCHOOLS. JIE have seen in the preceding chapter that the Church held the first place in the affections of the early settlers; but the institution of next importance was the school. As soon as the people had pro- vided shelter for themselves and their families, and had established a form of government, civil and ecclesiastical, their next care was to provide for the education of the young, — " all being inspired with a common purpose, namely, that in the establishment of a 'State without a king,' the people, in whom was to rest the sovereign will, should receive the first principles of an education sufficient to enable them to rule and to govern." ^ The history of the schools of Dorchester has special interest owing to the fact that the town claims precedence in the establishment of the first free public school, sup- ported by a direct tax upon the people. Several other towns have also claimed this distinction, notably Charles City, Manhattan, Boston, Charlestown, Salem, and New- bury, and it is interesting to draw conclusions on the subject by examination of the records. Hon. Charles T. Gallagher. 290 GOOD OLD DORCHESTER. [1639. A school was established in Charles City, Virginia, as early as 1621 ; but no doubt now exists that this was purely a private school, which was sustained by subscription. Twelve years later, a Dutch school was started at Manhat- tan, but this was also a private school. The Boston Latin School was begun in 1635 ; but there is no evidence to show that it received the support of the town before 1641. Charlestown passed a vote in 1636 to pay William With- erell £40 a year for keeping the school ; but evidence is lacking to prove that this sum was raised by taxation, — the first entry to this effect being dated some years later than 1640. The Rev. John Fiske organized a school at Salem in 1637 ; but the first recognition of it by the town, as shown by the records, is under date of January, 1640. Newbury granted land to Anthony Somerby in 1639 " for his encouragement to keep school one year," but it was not until 1652 that the town actually voted to sustain it. We thus see that all who lay claim to the distinction of having established the first free public school, supported by direct taxation, with the exception of Dorchester, are singularly lacking in evidence to prove their assertions. In striking contrast, however, the Dorchester Town Rec- ords state definitely that on May 20 (O. S.), 1639, it was ordered that — " There shalbe a rent of 20^* yeerely foreu'' imposed vpon Tomsons Iland to bee payd p euy p'son that hath p'prtie in the said Iland according to the p'portion that any such p'son shall fro tyme to tyme inioy and posesse there, and this towards the mayntenance of a schoole in Dorchesf this rent of 20^^ yearly to bee payd to such a schoolemaster as shall undertake to teach english latin and othe"^ tongues, and also writing the sayd school- maste to bee chosen fro tyme to tyme p the freemen and that is left to the discretion of elders and the 7 men for the tyme bee- ing whether maydes shalbe taught with the boyes or not. For the levying this 20'^ yeerely fro the p'ticuler p'sons that ought to pay that according to this order. It is farther ordered that 1639.] DOECHESTEE SCHOOLS. 291 somme man shalbe apoynted p the 7 men for the tyme beeing to Eecelue that and refusall to levye that p distresse, and not fynding distresse such p'son as so refuseth payment shall forfeit the land he hath in p'prietie in the sayd Island," The Hon. Joseph White, in the Fortieth Annual Report of the Secretary of the Massachusetts Board of Education, referring to this subject, says : — " This notable law, giving voice, as it did, to the convictions and experience of the people, was everywhere cheerfully obeyed. On every side, as the ancient forests gave way before the hardy pioneers, in their slow but sure advance from the seaboard into the interior, the meeting-house and the schoolhouse rose side by side with the log huts of the settlers, thus converting the desolate places of the wilderness into the homes of a Christian people, — the ' seed-plots ' of a higher and purer life for ages yet to come. "No grander spectacle is presented in the history of any people than that of these ancient men, thus struggling for a scanty subsistence amid the privations and dangers of border life, and often for itself against the attacks of a stealthy and relentless foe, and yet, as if with a prophetic prevision of the future, sparing no effort in their deep poverty, shrinking from no sacrifice of time and money needful to plant the pillars of the new Commonwealth — their beloved 'New England,' as they were wont to call it — on the everlasting foundations of universal intelligence and vu'tue." The first schoolmaster of Dorchester was the Eev. Thomas Waterhouse.^ He was a graduate of Cambridge University, England, and came to America when the Eng- lish civil war broke out. He taught for a short time in the first schoolhouse built by the town, after which he returned to England, where he died in 1680. He is said to have been " a very useful man, of a blameless conversation, and very firm in his non-conformity." ^ Under date of October 1 Dr. Harris supposed that a Mr. Conant might have preceded Mr. Waterhouse, but evidence is lacking to establish the fact. 2 Palmer: Non-Conformists' Memorial, vol. ii. p. 408. 292 GOOD OLD DORCHESTER. [1639. 31, 1639, the Town Records contaiH the following entry in regard to Mr. Waterhouse : — "It is ordered that Mf Waterhouse shall he dispensed with concerning that Clause of the order in the Charge of Twenty pounds yeerly, rent to he payd for Tomsons Hand towards the skoole : where he is bound to teach to write it shalbe left to his liberty in that poynt of teaching to write, only to doe what he can conveniently therein." In 1641 Thompson's Island was directly conveyed to the town, for the support and establishment of the free school. There had been much difficTilty in collecting the rents due from the proprietors of the island, and the transfer of the property was intended to make the income more certain. The document by which the property was given over to the town was signed by seventy-one of the most promi- nent inhabitants, whose signatures are given on the accompanying pages. The plans for the school matured slowly ; but in 1645 wardens were appointed " to take care & manage y* affairs of y^ School ; they were to see that both y° Master & Schol- ler performed their Duty, & to Judge of & End any differ- ence that might arise between Master & SchoUer, or their Parents, according to Sundry Rules & Directions there set down." 1 These " rules and directions " are given in full in the Town Records, and are valuable as giving an accurate view of the education of the early fathers. They read as follows : — " Upon a generall and lawfull warning of all the Inhabitants the 14"' of the 1'' moneth 1645 these rules and orders p'sented to the Towne concerning the Schoole of Dorchester are Con- firmed by the maior p'te of the Inhabitants then p^sent. ' ' First It is ordered that three able, and sufficient men of the Plantation shalbe Chosen to bee wardens or otiseers of the 1 Blake's Annals of the Town of Dorchester, p. 17 (1846). 4 P I-:! O O o C/2 CO P H f5 yi ^ ^^-^ 4-J 1645.] DOECHESTEE, SCHOOLS. 297 Schoole aboue mentioned who shall haue the charge ousight and ordering thereof and of all things concerneing the same in such manner as is hereafter expressed and shall Continue in their office and place for terme of their lines respectiuely, vnlesse by reason of any of them Remouing his habitation out of the Towne, or for any other weightie reason the Inhabitants shall see cause to Elect or Chuse others in their roome in which cases and vpon the death of any of the sayd wardens the Inhabitants shall make a new Election and choice of others. "And M"^. Howard, Deacon "Wiswall, M'. Atherton are elected to bee the first wardens or ouseers. " Secondly, the said Wardens shall haue full power to dis- pose of the Schoole stock whither the same bee in land or otherwyse, both such as is already in beeing and such as may by any good meanes heereafter be added : and shall Collect and receiue the Rents, Issues and p'fltts arising and growing of and from the sayd stock. And the sayd rents Issues and b'flts shall Imploy and lay out only for the best behoof, and advantadge of the sayd Schoole ; and the furtherance of learning thereby, and shall giue a faythfuU and true accoumpt of there receipts and disbursements so often as they shalbee thervnto required by the Inhabitants or the maior p'te of them. "Thirdly the said "Wardens shall take care, and doe there vtmost and best endeavor that the sayd Schoole may fro tyme to tyme bee supplied with an able and sufficient Schoolemaster who netlthelesse is not to be admitted into the place of Schoole- master without the G-enarall cosent of the Inhabitants or the maior p'te of them. " Fowerthly so often as the said Schoole shalbee supplied with a Sehoolem' — so p'vided and admitted, as aforesayd the wardens shall fro tyme to tyme pay or cause to be payd vnto the sayd Schoolem"^ such wages out of the Rents, Issues and p'fitts of the Schocle stocke as shall of right come due to be payd. ' ' Fiuethly the sayd wardens shall from tyme to tyme see that the Schoole howse bee kept in good, and sufficient repayre, the chargs of w;hich reparacion shalbe defrayed and payd out of such Rents, Issues and p'fitts of the Schoole stock, if there be 298 GOOD OLD DOKCHBSTEE. [1645. sufficient, or else of such rents as shall arise and grow in the time of the vacancy of the schoolem' — if ther bee any such and in defect of such vacancy the wardens shall repayre to the 7 men of the Towne for the tyme beeing who shall haue power to taxe the Towne with such some, or sommes as shal be requi- site for the repayring of the Schoole howse as aforesayd. ' ' Sixthly the sayd Wardens shall take Care that euy yeere at or before the end of the Q"" moneth their bee brought to the Sehoolhowse 12 sufficient Cart, or wayne loads of wood for fewell, to be for the vse of the Schoole master and the SchoUers in winter the Cost and Chargs of which sayd wood to be borne by the SchoUers for the tyme beeing who shalbe taxed for the purpose at the discretion of the sayd Wardens. ' ' Lastly the sayd Wardens shall take care that the Schoolem' for the tyme beeing doe faythfully p'forme his dutye in his place, as schoolem""' ought to doe as well as in other things as in these which are hereafter expressed, viz. " First that the Schoolem'^ shall diligently attend his Schoole and doe his vtmost indeavor for Benefitting his SchoUers accor- ding to his best discretion without vnnecessaryly absenting him- self to the p^iudice of his schoUers, and hindering there learning. ' ' 2'y that from the begining of the first moneth vntill the end of the 7* he shall euy day begin to teach at seaven of the Clock in the morning and dismisse his schoUers at fyue in the afternoone. And for the other fyue moneths that is from the beginning of the 8"" moneth vntUl the gnd of the 12* moth it shaU euy day beginn at 8* of the Clock in the morning and [end] at 4 in the afternoon. " 3'y euy day in the yeere the vsuaU tyme of dismissing at noone shalbe at 11 and to beginn agayne at one except that " 4iy euery second day in the weeke he shaU call his schoUers togeither betweene 12 and one of the Clock to examin them what they haue learned on the saboath day p^'ceding at which tyme also he shall take notice of any misdemeanor or disorder that any of his skoUers shaU haue Committed on the saboath to the end that at somme convenient tyme due Admonition, and Correction may bee admistred by him according as the nature, 1645.] DOBCHESTEE SCHOOLS. 299 and qualitie of the offence shall require at which sayd examina- tion any of the elders or other Inhabitants that please may bee p*sent to behold his religious care herein and to giue their Coun- tenance, and ap'pbation of the same. " 5'y hee shall equally and impartially receiue, and instruct such as shalbe sent and Comitted to him for that end whither their parents bee poore or rich not refusing any who haue Right and Interest in the Schoole. " 6'^ such as shalbe Coimitted to him he shall diligently in- struct as they shalbe able to learne both in humane learning, and good literature, and likewyse in poynt of good manners, and dutifuU behavior towards all specially their sup'iors as they shall haue ocasion to bee in their p^seuce whither by meeting them in the streete or otherwyse. " 7'y euy 6 day of the weeke at 2 of the Clock in the after- noone hee shall chatechise his schoUers in the principles of Christian religion, either in some Chatechism which the Wardens shall p'vide, and p'^sent or in defect thereof in some other. " 8'y And because all mans mdeavors without the blessing of God must needs bee fruitlesse and vnsuccessfuU theii-fore It is to be a cheif p'te of the schoolem"^ religious care to Comend his schollers and his labours amongst them vnto God by prayer, morning and euening, taking Care that his schollers doe reuendly attend during the same. " 9'y And because the Rodd of Correction is an ordinance of God necessary sometymes to bee dispensed vnto children but such as may easily be abused by oumuch seuitie and rigour on the one hand, or by ou much indulgence and lenitye on the other. It is therefore ordered and agreed that the schoolemas- ter for the tyme beeing shall haue full power to minister Correc- tion to all or any of his schollers without respect of p'sons according as the nature and qualitie of the offence shall require wherto, all his schollers must bee duely subiect and. no parent or other of the Inhabitants shall hinder or goe about to hinder the master therein. Neuthelesse if any parent or others shall think their is iust cause of Complaint agaynst the master for to much setiitye, such shall haue liberty freindly and louingly to 300 GOOD OLD DORCHESTER. [1645. expostulate with the master about the same, and if they shall not attayne to satisfaction the matter is then to bee referred to the wardens who shall imp'tially Judge betwixt the master and such Complaynants. And if it shall appeare to them that any parent shall make causelesse Complaynts agaynst the m'. in this behalf and shall p'sist and Continue so doeing in such case the Wardens shall haue power to discharge the m' of the care, and charge of the children of such parents. But if the thing Com- playned of bee true and that the m'. haue indeed bene guiltie of ministring excessme Correction, and shall appere to them to Continue therein, notwithstanding that they haue advised him otherwise, in such case as also in the case of to much lenitye ; or any other great neglect of dutye in his place, p'sisted iu It shalbe in the power of the Wardens to call the Inhabitants to- gether to Consider whither it were not meet to discharge the m"^ of his place that so somme other more desirable may be p'vided. ' ' And because it is difficult if not impossible to giue p'ticular rules that shall reach all cases which may fall out, therefore for a Conclusion It is ordered, and agreed, in Generall, that where p'ticular rules are wanting there It shalbe a p'te of the office and dutye of the Wardens to order and dispose of all things that Concerne the schoole, in such sort as in their wisedome and dis- cretion they shall Judge most Conducible for the glory of God, and the trayning vp of the Children of the Towne in religion, learning and CivUitie. And these orders to be Continued till the maior p'te of the Towne shall see cause to alter any p'te thereof. "Upon a generaU and lawfull warning of all the inhabitants the 14"' of the first mt 1645 the rules and orders aboue written p^sented to the Towne Concerning the schoole of Dorchester are Confirmed p the maior p'te of the Inhabitants. Deacon Wiswol — ) , , f chosen wardens Humphrey Atherton — > . , , , -.^ „ i for the schoole. M'. Howard — ) -^ The importance of these regulations can hardly be over- estimated. " The fathers builded better than they knew," said Mr. Mowry at the Dorchester Celebration in 1889; 1645.] DOKCHESTEE SCHOOLS. 301 " primarily they had in mind the proper nurturing of their own children, but they were laying important foundations on which future ages should build a temple, at once large and grand and beautiful." By this act, passed in 1645, Robert Howard, Deacon John Wiswall, and Humphrey Atherton were appointed members of the first school committee in America. Mr. Howard was a prominent man in the town, having served as selectman for many years. He came to Dorchester with the second immigration, in 1635, and received three years later a section of land in the first division. He was made a freeman in 1643. Deacon Wiswall also came to Dor- chester in 1635, and was one of the earliest selectmen. We know little of him, except that he was one of a com- mittee appointed by the town to treat with the Indians. Humphrey Atherton has already been referred to at length in a preceding chapter. The school wardens were elected for life, although the town reserved the right to remove any one of them " for weighty reasons." They had charge of everything which pertained to the school, and were expected to see that the regulations of the town were adhered to. Their specific duties are fully explained in the extracts from the records, quoted on the preceding page. The use of the word " free " as applied to this first public school is apt to be misleading. A " free school " in the early days was not an institution in which the pupils were exempted from paying tuition, but one which was free to all classes. This same distinction should be made in the use of the word " public ; " for the present system of " free public schools," where education is given without expense to the parents, is of a much later date. ^ The first schoolhouse was situated on what has been known as " Settlers' Street," near the corner of the present 1 William A. Mowry, Ph. D. : Historical Address at Dorchester Cele- bration, 1889. 302 GOOD OLD DOECHBSTEK. [1674. Pleasant and Cottage Streets, and consisted of a single room, formed by four walls poorly constructed, and a roof which barely did its duty. In 1674 we find an entry giving Ensign Richard Hall the power to see " that the school- house be repaired either by Clabording or Shingleing the Roofe." A year later Daniel Preston and Richard With- ington were ordered to provide the room with seats, and to fit a lock and key on the door. It was natural that controversy should have arisen as to the fitness of the building ; but it was used until 1694, when steps were taken to provide more suitable accommo- dations. A contract was made with John Trescot to build a house twenty feet long and nineteen feet wide, with a ground floor and a chamber above, a flight of stairs, and a chimney. The contract required the building to be boarded and clapboarded ; to be filled up between the studs ; to be fully covered with boards and shingles ; and to be completed before September 29, 1694. As a recompense for his work, Trescot was to receive the glass, lock and key, hooks and hinges of the old schoolhouse, and ^622 in current New England money. The site of this building, it is supposed, was on the hill near the meeting-house, on what is now known as Winter Street. A large, perpendicular rock made the principal part of one end, and formed the back of the fire-place. The parents of each child were expected to provide the school with " two feet of wood, or two shillings and six- pence money, to be delivered to the School Master within one month after the 29th of September, annually, or their children to have no privilege of the fire." Similar rules were passed down to 1732, when the school was provided with wood at the expense of the town. We have seen in a preceding chapter ' that Dorchester was forced to relinquish Thompson's Island in 1648 to John Thompson, the son of David Thompson, from whom 1 Ante, p. 60. 1659.] DOECHESTBE SCHOOLS. 303 the island received its name. The town never felt that justice had been done in the matter, and on March 8, 1659, appointed a committee to present their grievances, Roger Clap and Hopestill Foster being chosen. Those represen- tatives presented the following petition to the Court : — To the Hon"''* Generall Court Now assembled at Boston, the petition of the inhabitants of Dorchester Humbly sheweth. That wheras there was many years since granted by this court, as appears by record, a sertaine Hand called Thomsons Hand w"'' we the said Inhabitants possest diuers years and hopefuU to haue euer enjoyd the same for the benefit of o' selues and posterity (the same being giuen to and for the maintenance of a free scoole In Dorchester) but the s* Hand hath bin taken from vs and setled on others to the almost if not totall ouer- throw of o' free scoole w"'' was soe hopefuU for posterity, both our owne and neihbors also who had or might haue reaped ben- iflt thereby. " Our Humble Eequest to this hon"'* Court is, that you would be pleased to reneiue yo"' former grant of the said Hand, and coniirme the same vnto vs, we conceiuing we had Just title ther vnto, or Elc, that you would bee pleased to grant vnto vs one thousand ackors of land In some conuenient place or places (for the end afo'sd, namly, the maintenance of o'' dijng scoole) where we shall find it, and in the courts power to grant the same, and y" petition" shall pray, &c. Dor: 18: 8. [October,] Rogek Clap, ^ 1659 : Hopestill Foster f ^^ *^^ name and by order from ye towne." As a result of this petition, the Court granted the town a tract of one thousand acres of land, the income from which was to be appropriated towards maintaining the school. It was not, however, until nearly sixty years later that this land was selected and laid out ; the tract being located in 1718, in what later became Lunenburg, in Worcester County. 17 304 GOOD OLD DORCHESTER. [1662. The town wisely decided not to wait for the land appro- priated by the Court to be laid out, but in 1657 appropriated another one thousand acres, from which the school might derive a more speedy benefit. In 1662 Roger Clap, Hopestill Foster, William Sumner, and John Minot were appointed to select the land for this purpose. They chose three hundred acres, "beginning at that place where Dedham and Dorchester line doe meet with Neponset River, and so to come down, as far as 300 acres will extend, both in length and breadth, as the conveniency of the land wiU afford when it is layd out by measure." The balance of the land was not laid out until forty years later. In 1668 it was voted that this land should never be " alienated to any other use, nor sold, nor any part of it, but be reserved for the maintenance of a Free School in Dorchester forever." In spite of this injunction, how- ever, the land was later disposed of, the sums realized thereby being devoted to its proper use. The early settlers took great personal interest and pride in their school, and gave liberally to its support. The earliest gift was a legacy from John Clap in 1655. This land, situated at South Boston Point, was sold in 1835 for $13,590.62.1 Another bequest, made by Christopher Gibson in 1674, now amounts to more than twenty thou- sand dollars, yielding a yearly income of fourteen hundred dollars, and much of the land is still held in trust for the benefit of the schools. The sum of one hundred and fifty pounds, which Lieutenant-Governor Stoughton contributed towards the support of the schoolmaster, has now grown to be more than five thousand dollars. John Gomel, Hope- still Foster, and Governor James Bowdoin also contributed to the support of the school. We have learned in a preceding chapter of Governor Stoughton ; and now let us glance at Christopher Gibson, who did so much to encourage the early establishment of i Suffolk Deeds, lib. 392, fol. 170. 1674.] DOKCHESTER SCHOOLS. 305 learning. He came to Dorchester in 1630, and applied for freemanship in October of that year, remaining in Dor- chester imtiL about 1646, when he removed to Boston, and became one of the founders of the North Church. He was a soap-boiler by trade, and appears to have been a man of distinction in the settlement. He was a selectman in 1636, 1638, and 1642, and filled various other offices at different times. In his will, which was written in 1674, he directed that, if anything remained after the settlement of his estate, his executors should purchase some estate for the "promoting of learning in the town of Dorchester." In obedience to these directions, Daniel Preston, the sur- viving executor, purchased twenty-six acres of land, at Smelt Brook, for one hundred and four pounds, and deeded the same to the selectmen of Dorchester, February 6, 1693, in the following terms : namely, " To Enoch Wis- well, Samuel Robinson, John Tolman, James Bird, and Increase Sumner, as trustees aforesaid, for the time being, and to their successors and assigns forever in the same place, trust, and office, to and for the only sole use and purpose, benefit, and behoof of the schools of learning in the town of Dorchester, and to and for no other use, intent, or purpose whatsoever, absolutely without any manner or condition, redemption or revocation in any wise." When Dorchester was annexed to Boston these funds were given over to the city; but the income from the Gibson fund is appropriated to supply the Dorchester schools with library books and apparatus such as are not supplied by Boston, and the interest on the Stoughton fund is credited annually to the appropriation for salaries of school instructors. While the Gibson land was in the possession of the town of Dorchester it seems that the trust was faithfully cared for ; as when, some forty years ago, the office of the town treasurer was broken into, and a bond to the value of one thousand dollars belonging to the Gibson fund was stolen, 306 GOOD OLD DOECHESTBE. [1692. the town promptly made good tlie loss. It has been felt by many, however, that the city of Boston has not made the most of this land. Mr. Amos R. Storer, in an address before the Dorchester Improvement Association, expressed this feeling when he said : — "The Gib8on field is used by Norfolk, Suffolk, and Middle- sex counties for base ball, foot ball, fruit stealing, and general profanity, — a kind of learning which Christopher Gibson never contemplated. There never was a more flagrant violation of a most sacred trust than in the use which has been made of this land for the last twenty years. It should have yielded, and might have yielded, fifteen hundred dollars to the schools of Dorchester." A record of the town, dated May 3, 1692, reads as follows: "Samuel Clap, Samuel Topliff, and Hopestill Clap, select men, received of Joseph Capin a Latin Book which doth belong to the town, and delivered said book to Mr. Joseph Lord, schoolmaster, to be improved for the benefit of the school, and said Lord is to deliver it to some of the select men when he leaves the school in Dorchester." This " Latin Book " was a copy of Cooper's " Thesaurus Romanee et Britannicse," and was presented to the Dorches- ter school by the Rev. Richard Mather in 1669, as is proved by a memorandum on the margin of one of its leaves. This book is remarkable in many ways besides its anti- quity. No less than eight or nine successive generations of children have received instruction from this identical vol- ume. The author says : " A studious young man, with small paines, by the helpe of this booke may gather to himself good furniture both of words and approved phrases and fashions of speaking for anything, that he shall eyther write or speake of, and so make unto his use, as it were, a common place booke for such a purpose, so that those who wish may by their owne labour, without instruction or helpe of maisters, traveyle to attain the knowledge of the Latine tongue." The title-page is all that is missing in 1726.] DORCHESTER SCHOOLS. 307 this famous copy of the book, and this was replaced by a fac-simile made by William B. Trask from the copy in the Boston Athenaeum. In it are written many of the names of the early teachers in the Dorchester schools, the earliest entries being in the handwriting of the Rev. Dr. Harris. For more than two hundred years it remained in the pos- session of the Mather School, the direct descendant of the first school; but from that point no trace of it can be found. Another copy of the book is in the Boston Athenaeum, bearing the date of 1578 ; and a third, in the library of the Massachusetts Historical Society, printed two years later, contains autographs of Adam Winthrop, — father of the elder Governor Winthrop, — Governor Winthrop himself, and also that of his son, John Win- throp, who afterwards became Governor of Connecticut. In 1726 the inhabitants of the south precinct petitioned the town to continue a reading and writing school among them. Five years later two schools were asked for, but the request was not granted. It is impossible to ascertain just when the second ^chool- house was built ; but the first reference we find to it is in 1759. It was situated on the present Hancock Street, and was a low building with a pitched roof. The room itself was square, having on three sides seats for the boys with desks opposite. On the other side of these desks was an additional row of seats, so that the pupils studied facing each other. The master stationed himself at a large table in the centre of the room. As a proof that good order was preserved, we have the testimony of Deacon James Humphreys, who says : " I once stood on the place where the boys were writing, having my book on the shelf, and read through the general Epistle of Saint James without being interrupted by the Master, and not much by the boys." In 1771 a new schoolhouse was built on Meeting-House Hill, which was afterwards removed, and made over into a 308 GOOD OLD DOKCHESTEK. [1784. dwelling-house, whicli is still standing. WitMn tlie next few years schools were established at Squantum, Dorches- ter Neck, on the " upper country road," on the lower road, and in the " south end of the town." In these modern days we are apt to forget the inferior position formerly held by women; yet it is a fact that until 1784 girls were not considered worthy the same privileges allowed the boys as regards education. In that year the town voted "that such Girls as can read in a Psalter be allowed to go to the Grammar School from the first Day of June to the first Day of October." Before this time the girls had received what education their parents considered necessary for them at home, the princi- pal part of which was from the Assembly's Catechism. On one afternoon each year girls were admitted to the public school at the general catechising, and they were expected to answer at least two questions. It is said that the master took pains to propound the most diificult ques- tions to the girls, in order that the benefits the boys received from his instruction might be more apparent. There had been what were known as "dame schools," where the girls were taught reading and spelling, sewing and embroidering, and taught to make samplers ; but writing, arithmetic, grammar, and geography were branches of learning which were considered entirely superfluous to the female mind. In 1792 we find the fiirst entry on the Town Records in regard to the number of children in the town under fifteen years of age. A committee was appointed to consider the expediency of dividing the town into wards, in order to make better provision for schools. They reported that there were "177 children north of the meeting-house, including Dorchester neck ; from said meeting-house to Mr. Jonathan Pierce's on the lower road, including said Pierce's, 92 ; from Mr. Thomas Leed's to Mr. John Capen, junr., & to Mr. John Dolbeare's, inclusive. 111 ; from Mr. 1792.] DOECHESTEE SCHOOLS. 309 Abraham Pierce's to Roxbury line, on the upper road and other parts adjacent, 172 j total, 552 children." The town was divided the May following into four school wards, £30 being appropriated towards maintaining the school in each ward. In 1793 it was ordered that two of these four schools should be grammar schools, one of which was to be situated " near the meeting-house," and also that "the grammar schools be open for girls six months in the summer." On reconsidering these votes, however, it was decided " to have 1 grammar school near the meeting-house, and that no girls be allowed to go to it." In 1797 the town established an annual school "near the meeting-house," and another " at the house used as a school house in the upper road." Four schools for girls were also established to be kept during the summer season, and the pupils were to "go to the two schools that are to be kept during the year at different hours, as the Selectmen shall determine." During the next year the " new brick schoolhouse " was built, " near the meeting-house." This afterwards became the present Mather School. Let us pause at the beginning of this nineteenth century, and take a look backward at the early teachers ^ in the Dorchester schools, — at the worthy successors of the Rev. Thomas Waterhouse. The second schoolmaster of the town was Henry Butler, who taught as early as 1648. He received his master's degree from Cambridge University, and came to this country because of his non-conformity. He afterwards returned to England, where he entered upon the ministry ; but he suffered much from persecution and fines, because of his non-conformist ideas. He died in 1696, at the age of seventy-two. 1 The facts in regard to the early schoolmasters are chiefly taken from Savage's Genealogical Dictionary ; the Mass. Hist. Coll., vol. ix. ; and from the chapter on the subject in the History of Dorchester (1859) written by William B. Trask. 310 GOOD OLD DORCHESTER. [1637. The successor of Mr. Butler was Ichabod Wiswall, ■who was born in Dorchester in 1637. He entered Harvard College in 1654, just at the time when the number of years' residence required for a degree was lengthened from three to four years. Mr. Wiswall, together with several other members of his class, left college at the end of three years, thus losing his degree. He seems to have taught in the Dorchester school while at college, for under date of February 8, 1655, is found the following contract between him and the selectmen : — " First, that Ichabod, w"' the Consent of his Father, shall from the 7th of March next Ensuinge, vnto the end of three full years from thence be compleate and ended, instructe and teach in a free Schoole in Dorchester all such Cheldren as by the Inhabitants shall be Committed vnto his Care, in English, Latine and Greeks as from time to time the Cheldren shall be Capable, and allso instruct them in writinge as hee shall be able; w* is to be vnderstood such Cheldren as are so fare ent'** all redie to knowe there Leters and to spell some what ; and also prouided the schoole howse from time to time be kept in good order and comfortable for a man to abide in, both in somer and in "Winter, by prouiding Fire seasonably, so that it may neather be preiudiciall to master nor Scholar — and in cause of palpable neglect and matter of Complaint, and not reformed, it shall not binde the m'' to Endanger his health. " Secondly, that the Selectmen of Dorchester shall, from yeare to yeare, every yeare paye or cause to be paid vnto Icabod or his Father by his Assignment the full somme of Twentie Five Pounds, two thirdes in wheate, pease, or barley, marchantable, and one thirde in Indian, att or before the first of March, dueringe the three yeares, yearly, at price Currant, w* is to be vnderstoode the price y/"^ the generall Court shall from time to time appoint." Mr. Wiswall probably taught school in Dorchester for three or four years, at the end of which time he moved to Duxbury, occupying at the same time the positions of minister and schoolmaster in that town. In 1689 he went 1659.] DOECHESTEE SCHOOLS. 311 to England as agent for the Plymoutli Colony; but lie resumed his ministerial duties on his return. He died at Duxbury, July 23, 1700. William Pole was the fourth schoolmaster of the town. He came to Dorchester in 1630, and afterwards went to Taunton. He returned to Dorchester, however, and taught school from 1659 until 1668. Besides his service to the town as an instructor of the young, Mr. Pole occu- pied the position of "Clerk of j" Writs & Register of Births, Deaths, and Marriages in Dorchester about 10 years." He died February 25, 1674. The next master of the Dorchester school, Hope Ather- ton, was graduated at Harvard College when nineteen years of age.~ He taught in Dorchester during the years 1668-69, resigning his position to accept a call to the ministry at Hatfield. In 1676 the Rev. Mr. Atherton served as chaplain under Captain Turner in his expedi- tion against the Indians, near Greenfield. It was during this service that Mr. Atherton passed through the most peculiar incidents and exposures which finally caused his death. After the famous " Falls Fight " he was separated from the army during the confusion of retreat. All night Mr. Atherton wandered up and down among the enemies' tents; yet, much to his surprise, his presence did not appear to be discovered. On the next day captivity seemed better than starva- tion, so he boldly offered himself to the Indians as a prisoner. Much to his bewilderment, they made no answer to his proposal, and when he moved towards them, they fled in great fear. With affairs in this strange condition, Mr. Atherton started down the river ; and after suffering much from fatigue and hunger he reached Hat- field, where he died in 1677. The only explanation of the Indians' strange conduct in avoiding him is that it was due to their religious superstitions, believing him to be the colonists' God. 312 GOOD OLD DORCHESTER. [1669. John Foster, who succeeded Mr. Atherton, besides being one of the most popular schoolmasters, was a prominent man in the affairs of the town. He was the son of Cap- Tbe Wicked mans 'P onion. :— j OR A SERMONi ( Prciched at the LiOurt in Se^.n in Km- Brglani the tStb diyofthe » Moneth 1674. when two men ' were iicftulrJ. who had murlbirut cheir Mafter.) Whetein is Aetved 7h4texcejfe in mck/he/s doth bring untimely Death. Z^lNCRE^SE M A T H E R , ttathit of a Church of Chril). Pro». 10. »7. Tit fitr cfih itrj frtlnftti Jtjtt, tut tit juri tfihi witkiifiti ie/itrmed. Eph. 6. 2. 1. Hituurllf Ftlhtr md lit Milier(mhicimiiip'JI Commax^mM witi frtmifi) till 11 mtj ii wtl witi tbtt, mi ihct mafft livl Ing M ibi Etrth, Pcoaad piucos, laecui ad omnes. BOSTON, Printed-ty ftim Fcftir. I 6 7 $ TITLE OF THB FIRST BOOK PRINTED IN BOSTON. tain Hopestill Foster, and was graduated from Harvard College in 1667. He taught in the Dorchester school, it is thought, during the years 1669-74. In 1675 Mr. Foster opened a printing office, which was the first in 1669] DOECHESTBK SCHOOLS. 313 Boston. The first book was issued from this press in 1676, and the last in 1680, the enterprise being checked by his untimely death. While at college and in later life, Mr. Foster was famous for the knowledge he acquired in astronomy ; and he employed a large part of his time in making, calculating, and pub- lishing almanacs. In the last ^iam//fos^i one he published, which was for .^^J'^f'^'l' / /'*^^ l'*^ able device, as a Corporate Seal of the town of Dor- chester. As a result of their endeavors, which were aided by the Anti- quarian and Historical Society, the committee offered the seal herewith given, with the following interesting explanation : — "Your Committee have sought to emblazon upon the Town Seal such a device as would symbolize the acts which rendered the early settlers of this town a peculiar people, and objects of gratitude and veneration by their descendants for all time to come. The early settlers of Dorchester organized themselves as a church at the New Hospital in Plymouth, England, in March of 1630, prior to their embarkation for this country, which act was pre-eminently the corner-stone of the foundation of this town, although they did not arrive here untU early in June of that year. This fact is expressed upon the shield by the rude thatch-roofed church which appears, without a chimney, in the dexter base of the escutcheon. 430 GOOD OLD DOECHESTEE. [1867. " The free school, the system of which has been exerting a beneficial influence over the whole country, was established in this town in 1639, and is said to be the very first free school in the world. The foundation of this institution is recognized on the shield by the humble, thatched-roof building in the lower part of the shield, a little in the rear of the church. " With the liberty, and by grant of land and timber by the town in 1633, Israel Stoughton was induced to buUd a corn mill upon Neponset River, which was the first water-mill in the colony, if not in the country. This fact is symbolically noted by the rude mill, with its large wheel, which is seen upon the left bank of Neponset River, the course of which river, from its source to its mouth, lay thi'ough the ancient territory of Dorchester. " In the background will be" recognized the Blue Hills which served as a landmark to pilot the early settlers to the mouth of Charles River, and from behind which the rising sun is shining upon a colony who left their homes in the mother country, not as adventurers in search of gold, as exiles, or for conquest, but the more precious boon of religious liberty. The triple-towered castle surmounting the shield, is adopted in respectful memory of Dorchester in Old England, of whose seal this is the prin- cipal charge (in commemoration of that borough having been formerly a Roman fortress), and from which place the infant colony derived much of its strength, both physically and spiritually. "The motto upon the ribbon, '■ Pietate, Literis, Industria,' signifies that piety, learning, and industry were the prominent virtues which the early settlers coveted, and which their descen- dants unanimously accord to them." It has already been seen that Boston liad become en- riched by appropriating, in 1804, that part of Dorchester's territory lying upon her northern border, which consti- tuted her entire water frontage upon the inner harbor, including Dorchester Heights, — a portion of the town which was especially dear to the inhabitants on account of the historical associations which have ever been connected 11867. MODERN TIMES. 431 with the spot. Again, "fifty years later, Washington Vil- lage was swallowed up by the city. Now, however, in 1867, we find a movement on foot which finally resulted in the annexation of the whole town. A writer on the subject of annexation, at the time when it was agitated, gives us an excellent idea of the high position which Dorchester held when compared with her sister towns. He says : — ' ' It does not seem strange that Dorchester should have enjoyed the precedence which the other towns of Massachusetts Bay so readily accorded her, in aU civil assemblies, and at military musters, attributed by the early historians to her priority of organization ; nor is it difficult to conceive that if there had been a few feet more depth of water along the ten miles of shore which formed her sea boundary, we should not now be discussing the question of annexing Dorchester to Boston, but rather the propriety of admitting the peninsula of Boston to the metropolitan city of Dorchester. But if Dor- chester has not enjoyed the honor of inscribing ' Civitas ' upon her shield, she has been a liberal benefactress to the city of Boston, and may also rightfully claim to have been a mother of towns." In regard to the question of annexing Dorchester to Boston, or Boston to Dorchester, it has been suggested that, in spite of the generally accepted theory, many of the old inhabitants prefer to believe that it was Dorchester which received the additional territory of the town of Boston ! The possibility of being annexed to Boston did not dawn suddenly upon the good people of Dorchester. They had long seen that the city was outgrowing its limits, and must soon reach out in some direction or other to meet the ever-increasing demands. These had been partially met by the artificial construction on the Back Bay, and later by the annexation of Roxbury. With the latter event, Dorchester people saw that it was the ques- 432 GOOD OLD DORCHESTBE. [1868. tion of only a few years, at most, when the subject must be proposed to them. As a matter of fact, it soon became apparent that the annexation of Roxbury made it almost imperative that a part of Dorchester be surrendered, in order to perfect a system of drainage for the newly ac- quired suburb. It was natural that, as soon as the question was agitated, the town should divide itself into two strong parties opposed to each other. The "friends of annexation," or "annexationists," as they were called by the opposition party, organized their forces and elected a " Committee on Annexation," consisting of John G. Nazro, D. B. Sted- man, Wm. Pope, Charles Hunt, Sam'l Atherton, John J. May, W. P. , Leavitt, A. T. Stearns, N. W. Coffin, H. L. Pierce, Asaph Churchill, Cyrus Brewer, John Preston,, John B. Taft, A. C. Clark, and George Woodman. The annexationists also prepared the following petition : — To the Honorable the Senate and House of Representatives of the Com- monwealth of Massachusetts, in General Court assembled: The undersigned, citizens of the town of Dorchester^ believing that the common interest wUl be promoted thereby, respectfully petition your honorable body to pass an act for annexing to the city of Boston all of said town of Dorchester, or such part thereof as may seem proper and expedient, Marshall P. Wilder. Samuel Downer. E. P. TiLESTON. William Pope. Franklin King. Dorchester, Sept. 20, 1867. William E. Coffin. On December 10, 1868, the City Council of Boston passed the following resolution: — " Whereas, in the opinion of the City Council, it has^become necessary, in order to complete the systems of drainage and harbor improvements which have been devised for the benefit of Boston by the various commissioners who have had and now 1868.] MODERN TIMBS. 433 have these subjects in charge, to assume a portion or a whole of the town of Dorchester to the city of Boston. ' ' Ordered, That his honor the Mayor be requested to appoint a commission of three discreet and intelligent persons, who shall carefully examine the subject, in all its financial, indus- trial, and sanitary relations, cause such surveys to be made by the city surveyor, or under his direction, as they may con- sider necessary, and report the result of their doings, with such suggestions as they may think proper, to the City Council, as soon as may be." The "annexationists" made further efforts to show the advantages of being joined to Boston by publishing a pamphlet, written by N. W. Cof&n, entitled "A Few Reasons in Favor of the Annexation of a Part of the Town of Dorchester to the City of Boston." This was freely circulated throughout the town; and quotations from it are given below which show why the signers of the petition desired annexation: — " "We have been asked, what advantages are to be gained by annexation to the city of Boston? To this we answer, in the first place, that most of our citizens are now practically iden- tified with every interest of the city. The occupation by which they live and accumulate wealth are centred there, and they have as large a stake in whatever concerns her prosperity as any of those who happen to possess a fixed residence within her limits. We have not gone into the examination, but we believe it will be found to be true that the greater part of the tax raised in Dorchester is assessed upon property which has been accumulated in the city of Boston. It would be difficult to estimate the amount of property upon which residents of Dorchester are taxed in the city ; but it cannot fall much short, if it does not exceed, the amount in the town. Our relation to Boston, therefore, is one of vital importance, making it desir- able that we should have a voice and a vote upon every meas- ure that is likely to affect her welfare. There is an increasing tendency among the business population of the city to seek residences in the suburban towns, caused by the rapid conver- 434 GOOD OLD DOECHESTBE. [1808. sion of dwelling-houses, in what were considered the most desirable parts of the city, into stores ; and this fleeing away of valuable citizens from duties which they once esteemed it a pleasure to discharge is a cause of serious concern, not only to those who are left behind, but to every intelligent citizen of the State, let him reside where he may, who appreciates the importance of good government in a city destined to wield so powerful an influence over its affairs as the city of Boston. " An infusion of fresh blood, by the introduction of a new, healthy, and vigorous population of the native race, such as oui- suburban towns are able to furnish, has been long felt to be necessary. The annexation of Roxbury is an important step in this direction, and is of so much value to the citizens of Dorchester, as well as those of Boston, as to lead us to wish that we may also be united to the great mass of intelligent men who will now have charge of the administration of her affairs. In this we may obtain the surest pledges for her safety, and for the security of all her public Institutions, relig- ious, educational, and financial, so essential in their different spheres to our peace and happiness and the outward progress of civilization. And then, in respect to public improvements, if Dorchester is to remain a town for the next ten years, dis- connected from Boston, appropriations from the general gov- ernment will be necessary for the protection of our navigable waters. Will not these improvements be much more readily accessible, if embraced in the comprehensive plans of the city of Boston?' " Looking to the full success of the systematized harbor im- provements which have been akeady commended, — the filling up of the South Boston flats ; the extensions of raUroad tracks along the water front, and over this capacious area, furnishing the much-needed depository for heavy freights ; the consolida- tion of the Western and Worcester raUroads ; the completion of the Hartford and Erie and the Hoosac Tunnel roads, by which the transportation of heavy freights in large aggregates can alone become possible ; and, as a consequence, the great amount of shipping which will be required to carry those freights over sea, — we must believe that the territory which we 1868.] MODERN TIMES. 435 now propose to annex to Boston will not half suffice for the surplus population of the city. If this statement is not an over sanguine one, no delay should occur in the consummation of this measure. " It is now practicable to widen streets ; to open new ones ; to lay out a grand avenue, and build a grand hotel; to set apart sufficient territory for a central park, while land is cheap, so that Boston may not be behind her sister cities upon the Atlantic coast in the means of relaxation and ventilation for her overflowing population. " "We have spoken of our close identification with the city of Boston. It is so intimate and mutually beneficial, as scarcely to admit the idea of a line of separation. We spend our days toiling in her streets, and our nights within sound of her bells. The line that divides us is but little more than an imaginary one, and yet if we should need the aid of the police force of the city in any emergency, we could not obtain it, except by a good deal of vexatious circumlocution. If we wish to place our children in the higher grades of the public schools, we are as much barred as if we were citizens of a foreign country. If we would like to make use of the public library, the privilege is denied us ; and there are many other benefits which we have helped to make, and which we are con- stantly engaged in helping to preserve, from which we are excluded. " Annexation will give us a larger and more efficient police, which we very much need. It wiU give us a better arrange- ment of highways, projected on a scale comporting with the present and prospective wants of a great city. It will open to us all the valuable educational institutions of the city. It will benefit those who pay large taxes, in their more consistent assessment and equal equalization. It will bring our navigable waters to a more ready recognition by the general government. It will enhance the value of our land, and lead to its general improvement. It will furnish an active stimulant to labor of all kinds, and lead to the establishment of mills, foundries, and industries of various sorts. "We have an abundance of cheap land, which will be sought after by householders of 436 GOOD OLD DORCHESTER. [1868. moderate means. And by annexation we shall avoid a great evU, — the possibility of a city organization of oui own, to be delivered from which every good citizen should constantly pray. "It is not difficult to find objections to every new under- taking, and there are, doubtless, some objections to this meas- ure. From the standpoint which we occupy to-day, and not looking before us, it may seem as though we were sufficiently well off as we are ; but this is looking at very short sight, and we are bound in conscience and in justice to those who shall come after us, not to be content with a narrow view. It is the future only that, as a collective body, we possess ; the past is lost to us. It is our duty so to shape our action to-day as to make that future an improvement upon the past. It may seem hard to the descendants of the first settlers, large numbers of whom still continue their residence amongst us, to ' be obliged ' to surrender the name of Dorchester, about which so many treasured recollections cluster; to merge the recorded history of the generations that have lived and died upon her soil, in that of a neighboring people, distinct and separate from her ; but the seeming hardship may be obviated by the retention of the name by the new town to be erected at Hyde Park ; and the people of that village certainly could not find a better or more honorable one, or one more worthy of transmission to posterity. "But this will not be necessary for the preservation of the history and traditions of the town ; or of the sacred places in which the fathers lie buried ; or of the relics and memorials, illustrating the rise and progress of the town, which their descendants, with so much patient industry, have gathered together. The territory would always be known as the precinct of Dorchester, and continue to be remembered as the seat of one of the earliest and most distinguished settlements of our Puritan ancestors. So with the ancient religious societies. Nothing would be lost of their existing records, or of the respect in which they are now held ; but, on the contrary, much gained by the wider spheres of usefulness which would be opened to them." 1869.] MODERN TIMES. 437 The opposition to the annexation was not organized ; but the Norfolk County Commissioners were much against the movement. A long argument was delivered by B. W. Harris, Esq., before the Committee on Towns of the Massachusetts Legislature, taking the points of advantage urged by the " annexationists," and denying their exist- ence. In May, 1869, the Legislature took up the question. As we have already seen, the City Council favored annex- ation, and the Mayor also approved. Eighteen gentlemen represented the town, and they presented a petition signed by eight hundred and sixty " legal voters of the town of Dorchester." After listening to the arguments of both sides, a majority of the committee reported in favor of annexation ; the minority still urging that the movement would be " of no commercial advantage to Boston, and of no benefit to Dorchester. Her town affairs appear to be well managed; her roads are in good condition; her schools are among the best in the Commonwealth; and we fail to see that there is anything in her local affairs which cannot be as well provided for by the town as by Boston, and with as great economy." The Legislature voted to accept the report of the ma- jority, on the condition that a majority of the legal voters of Boston and Dorchester should express themselves in favor of it. A special vote was taken in both places on June 22, 1869; and Dorchester cast 928 votes in favor of an- nexation, to 726 opposed, — a majority of 202. The annexation was therefore confirmed, taking place on the first Monday in January (the 4th), 1870. On December 28, 1869, occurred the last town meeting of Good Old Dorchester, when the last reports were re- ceived from the selectmen, and votes of thanks were extended to all the officers. Thus Dorchester, which was the first of the New England settlements to establish the ancient iiistit\ition of the town meeting, transferred it to 438 GOOD OLD DORCHESTER. [1870. other towns as she took up her new existence as a part of the city of Boston. It is the proud boast of Dorchester, that, at the time of the annexation, it had not a single pauper within its almshouse, and there was no licensed liquor saloon within its limits. Had the fears of those who opposed annexation been realized, the history of Good Old Dorchester would prop- erly have ended here. Dorchester's individuality was not destroyed when she exchanged her independence to be- come the "ward" of the city of Boston. The name "Dorchester" is to-day as familiar as if the town still existed under separate government; and the mention of the name recalls the ancient historical associations as vividly as ever. The anticipations of the most sanguine annexationists have been more than realized in the growth and development of Boston's oldest and most famous suburb. The values of real estate increased rapidly from 1870 to 1875, which was due to the real estate "boom" which followed the annexation, inflating the prices of land to a fictitious value. This was followed by the inevi- table decrease in value, which came from 1876 to 1879, and left real estate in a disturbed condition, which re- quired several years to restore its equilibrium. Since this time the increase in valuations in Dorchester has been steady, and has been proportionate to the increase of the district in wealth and population. During the decade from 1870 to 1880, with the excep- tion of their unfortunate condition of real estate to which reference has been made, little of more than pass- ing interest occurred within Dorchester's limits. Streets were opened here and there ; estates were divided to give increased opportunities for building; and houses sprang up, as if by magic, to meet the demands of the rapidly increasing number of inhabitants. Dorchester, which had been gradually filling up with strangers who 1874.] MODERN TIMES. 439 were attracted by the numeroiis advantages offered by the town, during these years added more names to its already long list of residents who could claim it only as the home of their adoption. The old inhabitants perceived more and more that the territory of their ancestors was being taken up by strangers ; and the spots, so long gazed upon with sacred associations, were passed by without arousing a single memory by these near neighbors. It is not strange that some of the descendants of the early fathers should have felt it in their hearts that, selfish and short-sighted though it might be, they would still have preferred to have the town remain as she was, rather than increase by adding strangers, as a result of coming under the pat- ronage of a great city. During the last twenty years, the town has suffered the loss, by death, of several prominent citizens whose lives contributed in no small degree to the welfare of the community in which they lived. The good work which they accomplished during their lifetime fortunately did not end with their lives ; for the example of their worth and integritj'- will always keep alive their memory. Ebenezer Eaton died August 26, 1874. He was born June 8, 1787, at Meeting-House Hill, in Dorchester, on the site of what is now called Eaton Square, and his father kept a grocery and general store, and entertained parties in a hall in the house, which was a familiar landmark. He was at one time a captain in the militia, and retained the title of " Captain " until his death. After his marriage to Mrs. Mary Withington, a daughter of Thomas Moseley, they lived in the house above mentioned. In politics Captain Eaton was a democrat, and held the position of inspector in the Custom House many years. After his removal by a change in administration, he became an auctioneer and appraiser, and held the office of select- man. He also represented the town in the Legislature. 440 GOOD OLD DOECHESTEK. [1877. Although Dorchester was always a strong Republican town, he never was defeated at the polls. For many years, together with E. H. R. Ruggles and Lewis F. Pierce, Captain Eaton was a member of the " old board " of selectmen, which managed their part of the town affairs with prudence and discretion. He was also one of the trustees of the Dorchester Savings Bank. Notwithstanding that Captain Eaton was a blunt, plain, outspoken man, he was one of remarkably good judgment and unquestioned integrity. He was a man of strong prejudices, but had a warm heart, and was always ready to help the poor and unfortunate. He had no children, but took a fatherly interest in his nephews. He is buried in the Old Burying-Ground at Upham's Corner, where rest the remains of so many of his early friends and associates. The following anecdote of Captain Eaton illustrates his peculiarities. After being elected to the Legislature on the citizens' ticket by a large vote, one of the deacons in a certain church in Dorchester came to him and said, " Now, Captain Eaton, I voted for you, and respect you as a man and a neighbor, and as you are to represent the town in the Legislature, I want to ask you one favor ; that is, that you stop swearing." "D it," was the reply, " my swearing is like your praying, — neither of us means anything by it." Early in February, 1877, Flavel Moseley, an old Boston merchant, passed away. Although in business in the city, Mr. Moseley was closely identified with everjrthing con- nected with Dorchester, and was a member of nearly every committee which had in charge the celebration of events of local importance. A friend says of him, " Declining all political honors, Mr. Moseley was a man firm in his faith in our form of government and its progress. Always fond of the society of the young, his sjanpathy and his aid were never sought in vain as long as his strength held out to make them of service." Mr. Moseley was seventy-nine years of age at the time of his death. EBENEZER EATON. 1878.] MODERN TIMES. 443 Jolin Phillips Spooner, A. M., M. D., who died in Dor- chester May 4, 1878, was born February 28, 1797. He was a son of Dr. William Spooner, and, through his mother, he was descended from Rev. George Phillips, the first minister at Watertown ; and, through his grandmother, from John Winthrop. He was graduated from Harvard College in 1817, and received the degrees of A. M. and M. D. three years later. For about ten years Dr. Spooner practised in Boston ; but at the end of this period he removed to Dor- chester, where he resided until his death. He was for eigh- teen years a member of the school committee, and was a leading member of the Third Religious Society. A friend says of him : — " Dr. Spooner was an enthusiast in his profession to the last of his life, — progressive in spirit, and always ready to welcome truth from whatever source. He was one of the best read physicians in Dorchester. He was a public-spirited man, giving his services freely and conscientiously in the interests of educa- tion. His memory is held in great respect both in and out of the profession." Samuel S. Pierce, the senior member of the well-known firm of S. S. Pierce & Co., died in 1880. He belonged to a family which has ever been included among the oldest Dorchester names. He was one of Boston's foremost mer- chants, holding an enviable position for his integrity and industry. It was due to his over-application to business that his health became broken, requiring him to give up active work several years before his death. A year later the town lost another valuable citizen in the death of Samuel Downer, the senior member of the firm of the Downer Oil Company, and the proprietor of Downer's Landing. Mr. Downer was a Free-Soiler ; and one of the most notable reunions which ever took place at Downer's Landing was that of the Free-Soilers of 1848, held August 9, 1877. Here came Hon. Charles Francis Adams, Hon. 25 444 GOOD OLD DOECHESTEE. [1878. E. Rockwood Hoar, Hon. George F. Hoar, Hon. Amos Tuck, and others; and the Rev. James Freeman Clarke, and John G. Whittier wrote poems for the occasion. Mr. Downer continued the labors in the interest of horti- culture which his father began, and the two accomplished much in beautifying the town, — the most notable work, perhaps, being the improvement of the Old Burying- Ground by Mr. Downer, Sr. Mr. Downer, Jr., was "a man of practical piety, of sterling sense, of iine business ability, and a benefactor to the community." Let us turn for a moment to glance at the industries of the town, which have done much to make it possible for Dorchester to assume its present position. It will be re- membered that the early settlers intended to make the town a port for trade ; but the channel proved poor, and the land- ing was difficult, so that many of the trading men moved to Boston and Charlestown. Had it not been for this fact, the industries of Dorchester would require more space than this volume would allow; but, while limited in number, they include a few firms whose names have become famous. Until within the last century fishing was a prominent industry of the town. For some years before 1652 John Holland lived at Captain's Point, the present Com- mercial Point. Here he engaged in cod-fishing, fitting out vessels which brought him a comfortable income. When he died, his widow sold the property, in 1660, to Daniel Preston. As early as 1634 Israel Stoughton petitioned the General Court for the right to build a weir below his mill. This was granted on condition that he would sell the ale- wives at " five shillings per thousand, and as much less as he could afford." The exceedingly low price shows that alewives, at least, were plenty in these early days . During the latter part of the last century bass, shad, and alewives were taken in large quantities. At high water a net used to be stretched across Gulliver's and Sagamore 1878.] MODEKN TIMES. 445 Creeks, and, as the tide went out, bass were taken in dip-nets in sufficient numbers often to fill a boat. The diary of Colonel Samuel Pierce contains many entries which show that fish were very plentiful. Under the date of 1772, May 2, he writes: "Caught 61 shad; May 4, caught 70 shad ; May 8, caught 560 shad ; May 11, caught a very large haul of shad, 15 barrels ; May 21, caught 21 bass and 16 shad ; June 2, set our sein at Pope's Point, and caught 39 bass ; June 25, we made the largest haul of fish, catched 6000 shad, mainhaden, and bass." Early in this century alewives were smoked not only for private use, but also to be sent to market. Tom-cod were dipped up in nets at the head of tide-water, during December, in such numbers that they were used for manure, selling for five or six cents a bushel. Now, however, shad, bass, and alewives have entirely disappeared from our waters, and tom-cod is no longer sold for fertilizing purposes. An unsuccessful attempt was made by Governor Hutchinson, wHle he lived on Milton Hill, to propagate oysters in the river. A sloop- load was brought from Virginia, and planted in the river, but the experiment did not fulfil expectations. Controversy between Dorchester and the towns of Stoughton and Sharon on the question of fish, began as early as 1746. During this year the General Court was petitioned to order fish-gates to be made in the dams, so that the fish could pass up the river. The people of Milton objected seriously to this, as it was a great inconvenience to be obliged to stop their mills. The granting of the petition would make it impossible for them to grind corn for about six weeks every year. The strong opposition was successful until 1791, when an act was passed by the General Court, as a result of another petition, compelling Samuel Leeds and Hugh McLean to construct fishways in their dams, eight feet wide and within eighteen inches of the mudsill. These were kept open from April 20 till June 1. This law was carried out ; but the towns above 446 GOOD OLD DOKCHESTBE. [1878. the dams failed to realize the advantages they anticipated. The waste of water, however, was such that the mills were seriously crippled in their, work, so that the owners remon- strated against the enforcement of the act. In 1799 a new dam was built at the Lower Falls, and the fishways were closed. From this time until 1805 there were exciting times between the mill-owners and delega- tions from Canton, Sharon, and other towns above the dams. These deputations attempted to open places in the dams, while the mill-owners and their workmen turned out in full force to defend their property. In 1805 the ques- tion was brought before the Legislature, and Nicholas Tillinghast of Taunton, Eliphalet Lord of Weymouth, and Elijah Turner of Scituate were appointed a committee to investigate the matter, making such alterations in the dams as they thought advisable. The expenses of these altera- tions were to be assessed partly on the owners of the damis and partly on the towns. After the alterations thought necessary by the committee in the new dam were com- pleted, Edmund Baker, a half-owner, refused to pay the sum assessed, and the towns of Stoughton and Sharon brought a suit against him to compel payment. The court decided in Mr. Baker's favor, however, and the costs which the two towns had to pay were so far in excess of all pos- sible profit from the fishways, that discretion was consid- ered the better part of valor, and their jealous eyes were turned in other directions. In 1850 bluefish made their appearance near the mouth of the Neponset River, and were taken in large numbers ; and other fish were abundant in the river. It is with a sense of satisfaction that the author learns that the Nepon- set River was once plentifully stocked with fish ; for time has not yet completely obliterated the memory of one whole day when, as a boy, he tramped up and down the banks of the river, offering the most tempting inducements to the unaccommodating fish, who refused to reward Ms labors by even so much as a nibble. 1878.] MODERN TIMES. 447 The history of the house of Walter Baker & Co. is an interesting one. Chocolate was manufactured in the town as early as 1765, when John Hannan, an Irishman, was put in charge of a mill built on the site of the old powder-mill by Messrs. Boies, Wentworth, and Storer. This is said to have been the first mill of its kind in the British Provinces of North America. The chocolate industry passed through various hands until, in 1780, James Baker employed Edward Preston to manufacture the article for him, and by his business energy soon gained the advantage over his com- petitors. The business increased with astonishing rapidity, and it was soon apparent that Mr. Preston could not make the chocolate fast enough to meet Mr. Baker's demands. In 1789, therefore, arrangements were made with Sumner and Connor to erect a mill at their dam. Mr. Baker put Nathaniel Blake in charge of it ; and this proved satisfac- tory except that the mill was too far away from Mr. Baker's residence. In 1791 he fitted up part of David Vose's paper- mill with facilities for his business, and moved there with his son Edmund Baker as partner. This partnership lasted until 1804, when Mr. Baker retired, leaving the business entirely in his son's hands. Edmund Baker increased the business, hiring the mill in which Hannan first began the manufacture. Two years later, he built a new mill, and in 1813 erected a granite building. In 1818 Mr. Baker took his son Walter into partnership, and six years later followed his father's exam- ple, retiring in his son's favor. Colonel Walter Baker was one of the most prominent men in the town, being closely associated with every event of local importance. Upon his death, in 1852, the property came into the control of Sidney B. Williams, a brother-in-law of Mr. Baker. Mr. Williams died two years later, and Henry L. Pierce, who had been a clerk both to Mr. Baker and Mr. Williams, succeeded in the management of the business. Mr. Pierce has shown himself to be a public-spirited man, who has done much to 448 GOOD OLD DOECHESTBR. [1878. benefit the town. The " Henry L. Pierce School " owes its elegant building largely to his beneficence. Under his able management the house of Walter Baker & Co. has now gained a world-wide name, and "Dorchester" has become a household word in connection with the manu- facture of chocolate. The modest building which sufficed for the needs of the business in the last century, is now replaced by a plant covering more than forty acres of ground, on both sides of the Nep'onset River, on which some twenty buildings, including the great factories, with warehouses, shops, stables, etc., have been erected. Paper-making was added to the industries of the town about 1728. Mills for various purposes had been erected on the banks of the Neponset River ever since Israel Stoughton had built the first mill in America in 1633 ; but owing to losses by fire, and other reasons, few of them proved profitable. The Sumner family were early associ- ated with the mills ; but when William Sumner died, in 1836, the firm composed of Edmund Tileston and Amor HoUingsworth came into possession of his property. The firm had already come into possession of both the McLean and Boies Mills. These had an interesting history. In 1828 Tileston & HoUingsworth pursued their policy further, and purchased the only remaining mills of the old Boies property, which belonged to Amasa Fuller and Jere- miah Smith Boies respectively. Thus the mill property which was formerly owned by Jonathan Jackson was again united, after having been separated for seventy-eight years. The mills thus early devoted to the manufacture of paper by Tileston & HoUingsworth have been used for the same purpose ever since; and the firm now holds an enviable position among the paper-makers of the country. The Putnam Nail Company began the manufacture of horseshoe nails at Neponset some thirty years ago, and by degrees has gained a reputation for its products which is second to none. In 1860 thirty-three tons were manufac- 1878.] MODEEN TIMES. 449 tured during the entire year ; to-day nearly ten tons is the daily production of the works. The company employs between four and five hundred hands. Good Old Dorchester has long been famous for the inter- est it has taken in horticulture. For the first twenty years of the existence of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society Dorchester and Roxbury furnished all its presidents and treasurers. The iirst settlers of the town brought with them a love of horticulture, and early laid out gardens and orchards. Several of the older present residents of Dor- chester have boasted the possession of pear-trees which have formed a direct link between the past and to-day. A glance at the estates of the present century which have become more or less famous brings to our attention those of the Hon. Marshall P. Wilder, ^ the Rev. Thaddeus Mason Harris, ^ William, Thaddeus, Frederick, and Lemuel Clapp, Ebenezer T. Andrews (the partner of Isaiah Thomas), Samuel Downer, Cheever Newhall, Zebedee Cook, Elijah Vose, William Oliver, John Richardson, and William R. Austin. Many of the choice fruits which are now in cultivation have gone forth from Dorchester, many of them bearing the names of Dorchester horticulturalists, — namely, the Downer cherry ; the Andrews, Frederick Clapp, Harris, Clapp's Favorite, and other seedling pears ; the Dorchester blackberry, the President Wilder straw- berry, and the Diana grape, which was raised just over the Dorchester line, in Milton, by Mrs. Diana Crehore. This grape became prominent in 1843, being the first seedling American grape at the exhibitions of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society which was deemed worthy of notice. The Clapp's Favorite pear, mentioned above, was greatly desired by the Massachusetts Agricultural Club, who wished to name it after the Hon. Marshall P. Wilder, and to disseminate it for general cultivation. They offered Mr. Clapp one thousand dollars for the control of it, but the offer was declined. 1 See page 462. ^ Ante, page 241. 450 GOOD OLD DOECHESTEK. [1878. Dorchester's greatest debt of gratitude for its promi- nence in the horticultural world is due to the Hon. Mar- shall P. Wilder. His estate, on which his experimental grounds were laid out, was formerly owned by Governor Increase Sumner. At his death, in 1799, the estate passed into the hands of his son. General William H. Sumner, who was one of the founders of the Horticultural Society, and from whom it finally passed into Mr. Wilder's posses- sion. On these experimental grounds there were produced, during the last fifty years of Mr. Wilder's life, under his personal supervision, more than twelve hundred varieties of fruits; and from thence there were exhibited, on one occasion, four hundred and four distinct varieties of the pear. Here the Camellias Wilderi, and the Mrs. Abby Wilder were originated by the art of hybridization, the latter of which received a special prize of fifty dollars. The Mrs. Julia Wilder, the Jennie Wilder, and other camellias were also raised in great perfection; while from Mr. Wilder's estate went to the Boston Public Garden, on its foundation in 1839, the entire collection of green-house and garden plants. The Rev. Dr. Harris was a great lover of fine fruit, and said on one occasion to Mr. Wilder : " Your exhibition of pears is grand ; but there is one variety that I miss, — the Bon Chretian (the Good Christian). I shall bring some forth from my garden to-morrow." Zebedee Cook, who served as the second president of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, some sixty years ago, had a large garden opposite the Andrews estate, on the east side of the then turnpike road, where he grew, with great success, several kinds of foreign grapes, apricots, peaches, and pears. Among the grapes there was a white variety named Horatio, after Mr. Horatio Sprague, con- sul at Gibraltar, from whom Mr. Cook received it. This grape is now popularly known among famous varieties as the Nice grape. 1878.] MODEKN TIMES. 451 Cheever Newhall was the first treasurer of the Massa- chusetts Horticultural Society, and a distinguished culti- vator. On his estates he had extensive orchards which embraced a large number of varieties, especially of the pear, which he cultivated with great success up to the time of his death, in 1880. Mr. Newhall's place was once the residence of Thomas Motley, father of the historian, John Lothrop Motley, and of his brother, Thomas Motley, the president of the Massachusetts Society for Promoting Agriculture, who were here born. A coincidence in regard to John Lothrop Motley is that he was born, as here stated, in Dorchester, Massachusetts, and died in Dorchester, England. Elijah Vose, the third president of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, was the possessor of a fine orchard, in which he grew several fruits to great perfection. His greatest success was in producing the Duchesse d'Angou- ISme pear. William Oliver, vice-president of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, grew pears and other fruits which attracted attention for their excellence. His estate be- came afterwards the residence of Ex-Governor Henry J. Gardner. An old garden in Dorchester which deserves attention is that which is supposed to have been laid out first by Governor Oliver in colonial times. It is connected with the house in which Edward Everett was born, and is better known to the people of later Dorchester from the number of choice fruits and flowers which have been pro- duced there from seed by the diligence and skill of John Richardson. William R. Austin, at one time treasurer of the Massa- chusetts Horticultural Society, had a pear orchard which became celebrated for the size and beauty of its fruits, produced by pruning the trees into the shape of a wine- glass. 452 GOOD OLD DORCHESTER. [1880. The celebration of the two hundred and fiftieth anniver- sary of the settlement of the town, which was held in March, 1880, it will be remembered, commemorated the gathering of the Church in Plymouth, England, and the departure for America ; while the second celebration was in commemoration of the planting of the Church and Colony in Dorchester, coincident with the settlement of the town itself. Under the modern reckoning, the old date (June 6, O. S.) fell upon the 17th of June. The weather without, like the exercises within, furnished a fit- ting complement to the first celebration. The soft, balmy air and mellow sunshine of a perfect June day contrasted strongly with the wintry aspect and chill breezes of Easter Sunday. " June," writes the chronicler of the celebration, " lent her flowers in rich profusion for the decorations of the day. Great masses of mountain-laurel hid the pulpit behind its glossy leaves and snowy blossoms. Connecticut, so early founded by energetic settlers from Dorchester, sent her fresh greeting of laurel to blend with that of Massachusetts. Heavy banks of roses filled the air with fragrance. Among them was one from a bush which, tradi- tion says, was brought over in the ' Mary and John.' From Providence came a bunch of damask roses, from stock brought from England in 1726, and a spray of white roses from a bush taken from Plymouth, Massachusetts, one hundred years ago." On the fronts of the galleries was the conspicuous motto, wrought in evergreen, " God be with us as with our fathers ; " and on either side of the pulpit the figures " 1630-1880." A large basket of flowers was suspended from the centre-piece of the auditorium. The vestry was hung with pictures and sketches of Dor- chester, England, kindly loaned by the Rev. Edward G. Porter. One of the most interesting events of the celebration was the reception of a telegram from the mayor of Dor- 1880.] MODEBN TIMES. 453 Chester, England, conveying the affectionate greeting of the mother town. The message arrived at ten o'clock in the morning, just before the services began, and was received with great applause. It read as follows : — " Old Dorchester sends cordial greetings to New Dorchester upon its two hundred and fiftieth anniversary, and warmly reciprocates its affectionate attachment." Among the relics displayed were, the study-chair of John Eliot, " apostle to the Indians," now in the custody of the First Parish; a copy of the Rev. John White's "Way to the Tree of Life," published in 1647, the property of William B. Trask ; and a model of the chair in the Town Hall of Dorchester, England, in which Judge Jeffreys sat while presiding at the Bloody Assize, A. d. 1658. . The morning exercises included an invocation by the Rev. Frederick Frothingham; prayer by the Rev. E. N. Packard; Scripture selection by the Rev. Charles A. Humphreys ; singing of Psalm 90 ; sermon by the pastor, the Rev. Samuel J. Barrows ; original ode, by Miss Eliza T. Clapp ; closing prayer, by the Rev. Warren C. Wilson ; singing Psalm One Hundred and Seven, from the old Bay Psalm Book, and benediction by the Rev. George A. Thayer. After the morning service, the guests of the day were escorted to Lyceum Hall, where a bountiful collation was served. At half-past two the exercises were again trans- ferred to the First Parish Church, where Thomas J. Allen, the chairman of the committee, introduced the various speakers. Governor John D. Long said : — " I cannot forget, standing here speaking for the Common- wealth, that with all the faults of our ancestors, — which might have been drawn more distinctly, and, I think, should have been, — we owe to them the foundations of this material prog- ress and advancement. We owe to them this progress in higher 454 GOOD OLD DOECHESTBE. [1880. and greater things, — religious liberty, freedom of speech and thought and action, which is limited only by our mutual rights. We owe it to them that Massachusetts to-day is a State with such a form of government that she really governs herself, — a commonwealth with a people so brave, so educated, so founded on principle and character, that they govern them- selves. And so, while we do not forget the great advantages we possess, and the great gain we have made, we shall also do well if we maintain our ancestors' standard of high principle." Hon. Marshall P. Wilder was introduced, as aptly illus- trating a remark made by Swift, that "whoever could make two ears of corn or two blades of grass to grow upon a spot of ground where only one grew before, would de- serve better of mankind and do more essential service to his country, than the whole race of politicians put to- gether." Portions of Mr. Wilder's remarks are herewith given, as drawing a different side of Good Old Dorchester from that so ably discussed by the preceding speakers : — " Dorchester, with her widespread landscape, her noble hUls, her towering heights, looking down on the same old ocean that two hundred and fifty years ago brought our fathers to these shores, has ever been memorable in the history and annals of our nation ! Her noble heights and her beautiful scenery are scarcely less memorable in historic interest than the Capitoline hills of old Rome, or those of Boston. On this spot were the homes of "Warham, Maverick, Mather, Harris, Codman, and other godly ministers who have succeeded them, each of whom honored his profession, and was a blessing to the world. Here, too, and near by, was the home of Hancock, Warren, Otis, the Adamses, the Quincys, and other illustrious cham- pions of human freedom. Yonder is Bunker Hill and Charles- town, and near by our own Dorchester Heights, where the first great blow was struck that closed the American Revolution, and where General Washington encamped with his army on that memorable night in March, 1776, as Mr. Everett said, on this very spot, ' with the holy stars for his camp-fires, and the 1880.] MODBKN TIKES. 455 deepening shadows of night looped up by the hands of God to the four corners of the sky, for the curtain to his tent.' " I thank you, Mr. Chairman, from the bottom of my heart, for alluding to me in connection with the cultivation of the soil. For threescore years and ten, aye, more, I have been importuning Nature to disclose the secrets of her wonder-work- ing power by which she strews the earth with living stars scarcely less brilliant and numerous than the glittering hosts above ; and she has revealed to me some of those secrets. She has given me, from the rough and rocky soil of Dor- chester, many a luscious fruit and many a fragrant flower, which have been distributed through this land, and which will live to bless the world long after he who produced them shall have been buried in the bosom of mother-earth. Dr. George E. Ellis was the next speaker, and the ven- erable president of the Massachusetts Historical Society paid the following tribute to the town : — " So, with the meeting-house, parish, church, represented here, the history of the town and early generations is iden- tified. It is a most rich and instructive history, — knit in with the sort of incidents and events which, seeming trivial, and of merely local concern as they transpu-e, are found afterward to have been impulses moving to conspicuous measures and high principles of truth and duty. That history is starred and beau- tified by the nobleness and virtues of men and women, trained here for all the services to country and home, sacrifices for posterity, care for children, and all the sacred toils inspired by a deep piety and a lofty integrity. Nor is there lacking in your history the element of rich romance, stern, pathetic, ex- citing, fond, and gentle, without help from the fictions of the poet." When Joseph Leeds, Esq., of Philadelphia, was intro- duced, he preceded his remarks by a request that all those persons who were present at the anniversary fifty years ago should rise ; and in response about thirty-five members of the audience stood up. The Rev. Gowen C. Wilson, of 456 GOOD OLD DOECHESTEE. [1880. Windsor, Conn., representing the colony planted by the early settlers of Dorchester, spoke of the attachments of the child to its parent. Among the other speakers were Hon. William Everett, the Rev. Edward Everett Hale, John Langdon Sibley, librarian of Harvard College, and the Rev. E. G. Porter, of Lexington. The exercises of the day closed by singing the hymn "America." As the chronicler of the event wrote : " Thus ended a day which Avill be long remembered in Dorchester from the grateful memories and the genial, patriotic, and Christian sentiments it awakened." Letters expressing regret at their inability to be present were received from General Ulysses S. Grant, Hon. Robert C. Winthrop, Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes, Hon. Charles Francis Adams, General W. T. Sherman, President Charles W. Eliot, and others. On June 13, 1881, Deacon Ebenezer Clapp, who for forty years was clerk of the First Parish, and for twenty- seven years deacon of the church, passed away. He was one of the most familiar figures of the town. Universally beloved for his sterling character, universally admired for his laborious endeavors to preserve the early records of his native town, and universally respected for his fidelity in all he undertook, Deacon Clapp's death left a vacancy in the town which never has nor can be filled. A friend says of him : — "The memorial slab on the gate of the Old North Burying- ground of Dorchester, bears this inscription : — 'Deacon Ebenkzer Clapp, 1881.' " He was a descendant of Nicholas Clapp, who came to Dor- chester ' about the year 1633.' He was a genuine fruit of the Puritan tree, with the virtues of the race, but without then- faults : strong and decided in his opinions, yet tolerant of those of others ; of stern integrity, but of a gentle nature ; and, to 1881.] MODBKK TIMES. 457 quote the quaint words of an old writer, ' of a guileless heart and a spiritual simplicity that would be ornamgntal in a child.' " His life was not an eventful one. He was best known as an antiquarian, and as the author of a portion of the ' History of Dorchester' (1859), and the genealogy of the Clapp family. He has also left in manuscript a history of the first Dorchester church. As an antiquary, he was distinguished for the extent and accui-acy of his knowledge, and for his honesty in record- ing. His statements were accepted as authority. "He was no mere antiquary; he had the true spirit of the historian. His ancestors were to him, not stilted personages of the distant past, but human beings of flesh and blood. With him the past stood up before the present. With him it was a work of love to record the virtues of the old Puritans. He acknowledged their faults, but reverently covered them with the mantle of his charity. Of all the names on that memorial slab will be found that of no nobler man than Ebenezer Clapp." The Rev. S. J. Barrows, in his sermon at the funeral exercises of Dea. Clapp, paid the following tribute to his memory : — " Seventy-two years ago, Api-il 24, 1809, Ebenezer Clapp was born in the town of Dorchester. His place of birth was but a short distance from the home where he died. Deacon Clapp's family history may be traced right back to the old Puritan stock. He was a direct descendant of Nicholas Clapp, who was born in England in 1612, and who probably came to Dorchester in 1633, as his name is found on the records of the town for that year. Nicholas Clapp was a cousin of Eoger, who came over in the 'Mary and John' in 1630. Deacon Clapp was born in the lap of fortune, the very best fortune a man can have, — the fortune of a sturdy, moral, intellectual, and physical constitution. His early education was conducted in the little schoolhouse near the place of his birth. "No memorial of Deacon Clapp would be at all complete, or even natural, which did not include his delicate, rich, and delightful humor. He was as thorough a Puritan as Nicholas Clapp, his ancestor, or as Oliver Cromwell himself, but he was 458 GOOD OLD DORCHESTEB. [1881. not one of the straight-laced variety. The genial, the incon- gruous, and the cheerful side of life was promptly perceived by him ; and the sunbeam that fell upon his own heart was sure to be reflected in some other heart. The genial, warm stream of humor in Deacon Clapp's natm-e never dried up. It was very refreshing in his later years, and always kept him young. " It was for his tastes and his work outside of his business relations that he was most widely known. He seemed to inherit Noah Clapp's profound interest in Dorchester. It was his meat and his drink to study its late and early fortunes, to trace the stream of individual life which were confluent in its history. He was the prime mover in organizing the Dorchester Historical and Antiquarian Society ; the first meeting was held at his house, and he was corresponding secretary for thirty- five years. He published the ' History of Dorchester,' pre- pared by a committee of that society, and had a large share in the compilation of the work. For a great many years he devoted himself to the collection of facts concerning the genealogy of the Clapp family in America. His remarkable energy, Industry, and enthusiasm in these pursuits is seen in the ' Clapp Memorial,' which is a monument, not only to the great Clapp family, but to the fidelity, patience, and conscien- tiousness of the compiler. His ' KecoUections as a Parish Clerk,' and other historical articles would make another, and, to the general public, perhaps the most interesting of the three. His memory was like a series of pigeon-holes, where facts were carefully labelled and stored away, ready for reference; his judgment was good ; his patience and industry in research were untiring ; he was conscientiously accurate, and his percep- tion of great principles was not inferior to his perception of facts. " His strong religious nature and his historic sense com- bined to create a great interest in the history of this church (First Parish, Unitarian) and parish. We all know how thor- oughly he was versed in all its traditions, and for how many years he assisted by his assiduous services in two most im- portant oflJces to maintain its dignity and unblemished repute." Dr. Erasmus D. Miller, a prominent physician and sur- geon of the town, died July 5, 1881. Dr. Miller began EBENEZER CLAPP. 1881.] MODERN TIMES. 461 his practice in Dorchester in 1843, where he continued in his profession until his death. A fellow-member of the Dorchester Medical Club writes of him : — ' ' Dr. Miller's personal appearance was striking. Of slender make and medium height, dressed with scrupulous nicety, his long, snow-white hair and beard, and full, keen blue eyes, made a figure not soon forgotten. A quick sense of the ludicrous, the shrewdest knowledge of human nature, a power of rapid observation, strong common-sense, an unusual ability to adapt himself to any society in which he might find himself, rather than wide reading or scientific research, made him rare good company."' St. Mary's Church suffered in 1885 a similar loss to that of the First Parish four years previously, by the death of another member of the Clapp family. John Pierce Clapp was born in Dorchester February 12, 1803, and died May 28, 1885. He was confirmed in 1842 by Bishop Griswold, and was one of the early promoters of St. Mary's parish. For almost forty years he was chosen to be a warden of the parish, and occupied the office of senior warden for thirty-five consecutive years. The fol- lowing extracts are taken from a commemorative sermon preached at St. Mary's Church May 31, 1885: — "Under whatever phase we consider his character, whether in respect to its inner and spiritual qualities, or to its external and social relations, we may trace in both the controlling in- fluence of the two ideas which early ruled him, — duty and responsibility. "Whether as husband or father, as friend or citizen, as soldier or town officer, as vestryman or warden, his entire nature seemed to be keenly sensitive to the demands of duty and active in the discharge of his responsibilities. " Regular in his attendance upon divine service, loyal to his town and country, tender and courteous in his manner, wise in council, honorable in his dealings, simple in his tastes, an ardent observer and lover of nature, a man of deep religious ' Boston Medical and Surgical Journal, 1881, vol. ii. pp. 381-385. 26 462 GOOD OLD DOBCHESTER. [1885. feeling, he has long filled a place in our society alike honorable and honored. By the members of the vestry he will long be remembered for the old-time dignity and uniform courtesy with which he presided over its deliberations. "The parish in general will miss the sight of his slender form and venerable face as he passed through the aisles, gathering the alms of the worshippers so regularly during the long term of his ofHce. By his death the rector has lost one whom he venerated as a father and loved as a friend. "His kind words, good deeds, and wise counsels wHl come to mind at odd moments ; and all these will testify to his hav- ing been in all his relations faithful. I know of no tribute to his memory more desei-ved, no trait of his character more prominent, no award which he would have more highly prized than this. In whatever relation he sustained, he was faithful, — ' faithful unto death.' Satisfied with a long life, he has now entered into rest. Having in many ways showed him hia salvation, God has at length permitted this faithful servant, — another aged Simeon, — to depart in peace." The death of Hon. Marshall P. Wilder, December 16, 1886, removed one of Dorchester's best-known adopted sons. He vs^as born in Rindge, N. H., September 22, 1798, where he early became interested in agricultural pursuits. In 1852 he established himself as a merchant in Boston ; but in his career as a successful business man he lost none of his love for agriculture and horticulture. He was one of the founders of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, and served as president of the association from 1840 to 1848. He also initiated the organization of the State Board of Agriculture, and assisted in the establishment of the State Agricultural College and of the United States Agricultural Society. That his conspicuous ability and integrity was fully recognized by his fellow-citizens is sufficiently proved by' the numerous positions of public and private trust to which he was called, and which he always worthily filled. His long services in connection with the Massachusetts Horticultural Society were duly 1886.] MODERN TIMES. 463 recognized by that body, whicb, upon his retirement, pre- sented him with an elegant silver pitcher, and caused his portrait to be placed in its hall. In 1839 he was induced to serve for a single term in the Massachusetts Legislature as a representative of the town of Dorchester. In 1849 he was elected a member of Gov- ernor Briggs' council, and the year following a member of the senate and its president ; and at the time of his death he was the oldest ex-president. In 1860 he was the mem- ber for New England of the national committee of the " Constitutional Union Party," and attended, as chairman of the Massachusetts delegation, the national convention in Baltimore, where John Bell and Edward Everett were nominated for president and vice-president of the United States. The death of Thomas J. Allen, August 31, 1887, re- moved another of the familiar figures of the later life of Good Old Dorchester. Mr. Allen was born in Boston January 31, 1819, and went directly from school into business. He was married in 1851, and made his home in Dorchester from that time. During his thirty-five years' residence in Dorchester Mr. Allen filled many positions of responsibility and honor. He was, as a friend said of him, " a true citizen, a man to be trusted, one who acted from conscientious motives and religious principle." Mr. Allen was always closely identified with the First Parish ; for more than twenty years serving on its standing committee, and for half that period holding the position of chairman. On June 23, 1889, the town celebrated the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the establishment of the first public school in Dorchester. An account of the exercises is contained in a preceding chapter; but the following poem, written for that occasion by Mr. Hezekiah Butter- worth, and read by Prof. George W. Blish, belongs to the histor}'' of the town rather than to that of the school. It is, therefore, given here in full : — 464 GOOD OLD DOKCHBSTEE. [1889. THE MAEY AND JOHN. It was Thanksgiving Day, and the sea-meadows lay In long russet curves 'round old Dorchester Bay ; The sturdy oak mansions had opened their halls, The chimneys had smoked on the Mystic and Charles, And Grandfather Minot looked out on the sea — The last of the Dorchester Pilgrims was he — And he leaned on his cane, and he said, " They are gone. The Pilgrims who sailed on the ' Mary and John,' That old Thanksgiving Day, Into Dorchester Bay." On the settle he sat, and gazed on the sea. And questioning Thankful stood there at his knee; The blue-hirds had gone from the gentians blue. And white clouds of gulls o'er the white veaters flew. " Go, Thankful, and bring me the Bible," he said ; And then, where the Israelites murmured, he read. Then gazed on the sea. " They are gone, all are gone, The Pilgrims who came on the ' Mary and John,' That old Thanksgiving Day, Into Dorchester Bay." " The Israelites murmured for Egypt," he said. 'Gainst his locks, silver white, pressed a golden-tressed head. And he read the blue eyes, and some strange stories told Of Massasoit's feast on the Thanksgiving old ; Of the Psalm Day for Liitzen ; then gazed on the sea — " They longed for the bondage of Egypt," said he, " And looked back to the past. They are gone, all are gone. The Pilgrims who came on the ' Mary and John,' That old Thanksgiving Day, Into Dorchester Bay." " Fifty times. Father Minot, you say you have seen The white islands change into islands of green ; Fifty times in the elms seen the orioles' wings. And heard the red woodpeckers number the springs. I love the strange tales of the Pilgrims of yore. And of those who first landed on Dorchester's shore. How they sang on the sea I They are gone, all are gone, The Pilgrims who sailed on the ' Mary and John/ On that old summer day, Into Dorchester Bay." 1889.] MODERN TIMES. 465 " I, too, love the places where good has been done, For the field blossoms long that has victory won ; I love old Point Allerton's headlands of pine, And the oak-shaded beaches that Dorchester line. 'T was there, off the Bay, on summer's first morn. That our anchor was dropped from the ' Mary and John,' Near yonder green isles. They are gone, all are gone. The Pilgrims who came on the 'Mary and John,' On that fresh summer day. Into Dorchester Bay. " The western winds blew through horizons of calm, And sweet o'er the waves rose young Maverick's psalm; There dropped the white sails, and the anchor was cast. And we knelt down to God round the motionless mast. And our thanksgiving made, and psalms followed the prayer, And the birds sang with us on the spars in the air. 'T was our Thanksgiving Day 1 They are gone, all are gone. The Pilgrims who sang on the ' Mary and John,' With the land birds that day. In old Dorchester Bay." " But, grandfather, listen ; The islands turned gray, And the north winds came down, and the ice filled the bay ; Of food there was little ; the women lay low With fever and hunger ; men wandered through snow To buy from the Indian a bushel of corn ; And returned not the sails of the ' Mary and John.' And what did you then? They are gone, all are gone. Who sailed 'neath the flag of the ' Mary and John.' What did you that day, By drear Dorchester Bay ? " You know that the sad heart turns homeward in pain. That murmured the Hebrews for Egypt again, And I have a question to ask of you here, On this to our homes and old memories dear : Did my mother, whose grave now the gentians enfold. E'er long for old England, and Dorchester old ? And did you ever murmur, as those who are gone. Who sailed on the deck of the ' Mary and John,' From the home lands away. Far from Dorchester Bay ? " 466 GOOD OLD DOECHESTEB. [1889. " I am glad that you asked me that question to-day, And my lips shall speak truly by Dorchester Bay. A true life has no secrets, but open it lies. As the lips of the sea and the smiles of the skies. No ; the dark winter 's passed and the snow changed to dew. And the blue-birds sang sweet 'mid the violets blue. And they never looked back, those pioneers gone. They never looked back for the ' Mary and John,' In life's darkest day By lone Dorchester Bay. " All places are pleasant where good has been done. Where freedom and faith have their victories won, And your mother was thankful for that summer day That brought us, the Pilgrims, to Dorchester Bay. 'T was she named you Thankful, one white winter morn ; May you never look back for the ' Mary and John ! ' " His tears fell on her hair. " They are gone, all are gone, The Pilgrims who sailed on the ' Mary and John,' That first Thanksgiving Day, Into Dorchester Bay." They gazed on the sea, and the white gulls flew by, And the twilight of fire left to ashes the sky. The woods were all silent, the voiceless winds stayed, Till the bell of Neponset rang out o'er the shade. And solemn and slow was the bell's mellow tone ; On the still air resounded each stroke, deep and lone ; And its voice seemed to say, " Gone, gone, all are gone ; Gone the Pilgrims who sailed on the ' Mary and John,' " As its tones died away Over Dorchester Bay. Oh, let us be thankful for heroes like these, Who warred with the storms on the land and the seas ; Whose faith, overcoming the world and its guile. Ne'er turned from its course to life's palm-shaded Nile ; Who held that the hopes of the future outshone The treasures of fortune, the smiles of the throne. Give thanks for such men on the Thanksgiving morn. Such heroes as sailed on the " Mary and John." Let the bells ring to-day Around Dorchester Bay. 1890.] MODERN TIMES. 467 Dr. George M. Reed, one of tlie most prominent of the younger physicians of the town, died in February, 1890. He was a graduate of Brown University and of the Harvard Medical School. After spending a year in Eu- rope, he began to practise medicine in Dorchester in 1881, occupying Dr. Miller's office on the Upper Road until he built his house on the corner of Tremlett and Washington Streets in 1884. He was a member of the Dorchester Medical Club ; and was a man of unassuming manner, but of much sound sense, being unusually successful and beloved for one so young. Oliver Hall, a life-long resident of Dorchester, died this same year. He was one of the selectmen of the town from 1840 to 1855 ; he was town treasurer for ten years ; and he represented the district in the State Legislature during the years 1846-47, being a member of the Whig party. He was prominent in all events which concerned the town, and served in all of his responsible positions with marked fidelity and zeal. The name of Mrs. Walter Balier will long be remem- bered in Dorchester, not only because of her delightful per- sonality, but also for the many acts of benevolence which she performed. She was married to Mr. Baker in 1840, and first lived in Boston ; subsequently, however, her husband purchased the fine estate on the corner of Washington and Park Streets, in which she resided until her death in 1891. Rev. Edward Gr. Porter, writing of her, says : — " Having lost her four children in early life, she drew to her- self a large number of friends in such a hospitable manner that she was never at a loss for companions all the rest of her life. Her guests included both the rich and poor, the old and the young, the cultivated and the unfortunate. With a rare magnetism and the broadest sympathy she attracted per- sons of every name and station from near and from far. Greek, Italian, Bulgarian, Japanese, African, and Indian visitors have sat at her table. . . . When the War of the Kebellion broke 468 GOOD OLD DOKCHESTEE. [1890. out Mrs. Baker opened her house, and furnished quantities of material for the women of Dorchester to make into clothing for the volunteers. She visited the army hospitals, and gath- ered a large number of books for the Soldiers' Free Library at Washington. She had a strong character, an independent mind, a discriminating judgment, and a boundless charity." During this same year also occurred the death of Hiram W. Blanchard, one of Dorchester's oldest and best-knovm citizens. Mr. Blanchard was especially prominent as an anti-slavery advocate, and was an influential member of the Dorchester Anti-Slavery Society, which has already been referred to. He was an active business man, and together with Asa Robinson, in 1832, landed and sold the first cargo of coal in Neponset. He was a frequent contributor to the newspapers, and the articles over his initials were always of interest and value. He was a man of wide information, and a most genial companion. Within the last few years the social advantages of Dor- chester have been improved by the formation of strong organizations for that purpose. The scope of these clubs, and the object of their existence, may be seen from the following brief sketches of their history. The Old Dorchester Club was incorporated in 1890 for "the promotion of acquaintance and social intercouse among the residents of Dorchester." The club, upon its organization, hired a building upon Robinson Street ; but it was found later that the building and location were not adequate to the wants of its members. In the autumn of 1891, therefore, an effort was made to increase its member- ship with a view to buying land and building a larger house ; and this resulted in its present membership of 225 active meinbers (the limit), and twenty non-resident (un- limited) members. The commodious club-house, which is located at the corner of Pearl and Pleasant Streets, was erected in 1892. The present officers are as follows : Pres- 1892.] MODERN TIMES. 469 ident, William B. Bird; Vice-Presidents. Thomas F. Temple, William Garrison Reed, George R. Nazro ; Treas- iirer, John P. May ; Secretary, Joseph G. Grush. The Central Athletic Club was organized in 1892 for athletic and social purposes, Frederick K. Folsom being one of its most enthusiastic advocates. The formation of the club is that of a corporation, — its capital stock of $15,000 being divided into three hundred shares, which are subscribed for by the members. A well-appointed club- house has been erected ; and three tennis-courts have been built, which are second to none in the State. The present officers are as follows: President, Frank A. Foster; Vice-President, John M. E. Morrill; Secretary, T. F. Jenkins ; Treasurer, Frederick K. Folsom. The Dorchester Woman's Club was organized in 1892, and its success from its inception has shown that it has met a long-felt want in the town. The early meetings were called together by Mrs. Clara M. Ripley, and were addressed by Mrs. Judith Smith, of the Home Club, East Boston. Its purpose was to promote moral, social, and intellectual culture in the community. Starting with a nucleus of twenty-eight members, the club soon reached its limit of three hundred, and has had for some time a large waiting-list. During its first year of existence it succeeded in establishing itself upon a firm basis, and its meetings were of interest and instruction to its members. Among those who addressed the club were Mrs. Julia Ward Howe, Dr. Salome Merritt, Mrs. Kate Gannett Wells, Mr. Henry A. Clapp, Mrs Ednah D. Cheney, Mrs. Minerva B. Tobey, and Mrs. Clara Erskine Clement Waters. The club is non-sectarian, and includes women from all parts of Dor- chester. The present ofScers are as follows: President, Mrs. Ellen Dana Orcutt ; Vice-Presidents, Mrs. Emily A. Fifield, Mrs. Julia K. Dyer, Mrs. Clara M. Ripley ; Record- ing Secretary, Mrs. Mary C. Eddy; Corresponding Secre- tary, Mrs. Alice Taylor Jacobs ; Treasurer, Miss Mary 470 GOOD OLD DOKCHESTEE. Brant Little ; Directors, Mrs. Harriet E. Bean, Miss Annie A. Emerson, Mrs. Minnie Fowle, Mrs. Emeline C. Ricker, Miss Charlotte A. Vinson, Miss Florence Eyerett, Mrs. Minnie Young, Mrs. Clara E. Badlam, Mrs. Royal Whiton, Mrs. Emily H. Bush, Mrs. Ellen E. C. Blair, Mrs. Eliza- beth P. Soule. The first legal meeting of the Codman Club was held July 19, 1892, and a constitution and by-laws were adopted, the name being chosen in honor of the Rev. John Codman. The erection of the club-house at once commenced upon the location on Adams Street, Dorchester, near the conver- gence of Minot, Marsh, Granite, and Codman Streets. The club first occupied its house Christmas, 1892, — its formal opening and dedication occurring on February 24, 1893. The club is not cosmopolitan, but a neighborhood affair, and was organized upon a somewhat original principle, as is evidenced by the fact that the wives and lady friends of members are at all times welcome, and have the full use and enjoyment of all parts of the house, in common with mem- bers. Experience has proved the wisdom of this course, as the club has been a large factor in the social life of the community. The club is this year a member of the Massa- chusetts Amateur Bowling League. It has at present one hundred members, and the present officers are as follows : President, J. G. Young, Jr. ; Vice-Presidents, James E. Hall and H. S. Carruth ; Treasurer, R. A. Pepper ; Secre- tary, B. T. Wheeler ; Directors, the above, and F. L. Pierce, Otis Eddy, F. M. Wood, W. A. Roundy, C. E. Tileston. On April 10, 1893, a meeting was held for the purpose of organizing, the Dorchester Historical Society. Two years previous to this time an act had been approved for the incorporation of the society, but nothing further was done at that time. The organization was successfully effected, however, at the meeting referred to above, and William H. Whitmore was elected president, Thomas Mair treasurer, and Willis B. Mendum secretary. The board of 1893.] MODBEN TIMES. 471 directors consists of John J. May, James H. Stark, Elbridge Smith, Thomas W. Bicknell, Herbert M. Manks, and D. Chauncy Brewer. The society is now firmly estab- lished with twenty-five active members, and meetings are held every month. One of the by-laws provides that women shall be admitted upon equal terms with the men. Mrs. Lucy Stone, the most prominent woman who has claimed Dorchester as her home, died October 18, 1893. She was the daughter of a farmer, and her early struggles and subsequent successes in advancing the position of woman won for her a name which will be long remem- bered. The best account of her life and work is given by her daughter. Miss Alice Stone Blackwell, who writes : — "Little Lucy grew up a healthy, vigorous child, noted for fearlessness and truthfulness, a good scholar, and a hard worker in the house and on the farm, sometimes driving the cows barefooted by starlight, before the sun was up, when the dew on the grass was so cold that she would stop on a flat stone and curl one small, bare foot up against the other leg to warm it. Every one on the farm worked. The mother milked eight cows the night before Lucy was born, and said, regretfully, when informed of the sex of the new baby, ' Oh, dear ! I am sorry it is a girl. A woman's life is so hard ! ' " The little girl early became indignant at the way she saw her mother and other women treated by their husbands and by the laws ; and she made up her childish mind that those laws must be changed. Her father helped his son through college ; but when his daughter wanted to go, he said to to his wife, ' Is the child crazy ? ' The young girl had to earn the money her- self. She picked berries and chestnuts, and sold them to buy books. For years she taught district schools, studying and teaching alternately. She soon became known as a successful teacher. Once she was engaged to teach a 'winter school' which had been broken up by the big boys throwing the master, head foremost, out of the window into a deep snow-drift. As a rule, women were not thought competent to teach the winter 472 GOOD OLD DOECHBSTEK. [1893. term of school, because then the big boys were released from farm work and were able to attend. In a few days she had this difficult school in perfect order ; and the big boys who had made the trouble became her most devoted lieutenants ; yet she received only a fraction of the salary paid to her unsuccessful predecessor. At the low wages i-eceived by women teachers, it took her until she was twenty-five to earn the money to cany her to Oberlin, then the only college in the country that ad- mitted women. Crossing Lake Erie from Buffalo to Cleveland, she could not afford a stateroom, but slept on deck on a pile of grain sacks, among horses and freight, with a few other women who, like herself, could only pay for a ' deck passage.' "•At Oberlin she earned her way by teaching in the prepar- atory department of the college, and by doing housework in the ladies' boarding hall at three cents an hour. Most of the students were poor ; and the college furnished them board at one dollar a week. But she could not afford even this small sum ; and during most of her course she cooked her food in her own room, boarding herself at a cost of less than fifty cents a week. She had only one new dress during her college course, — a cheap print, — and she did not go home once during the four years ; but she thoroughly enjoyed her college life, and found time also for good works. ' ' Her first public speech was made during her college course. The colored people got up a celebration of the anniversary of West Indian emancipation, and invited her to be one of the speakers. The president of the college and some of the pro- fessors were invited to speak. She gave her address among the rest, and thought nothing of it. The next day she was summoned before the ladies' board. They represented to her that it was unwomanly and unscriptural for her to speak in public. The president's wife said : ' Did you not feel yourself very much out of place up there on the platform among all those men? Were you not embarrassed and frightened?' ' Why, no, Mrs. Mahan,' she answered. ' Those men were President Mahan and my professors, whom I meet every day in the classroom. I was not afraid of them at all ! ' She was allowed to go with an admonition. LUCY STONE. 1893.] MODEEN TIMES. 475 " She travelled over a large part of the United States. In most of the towns where she lectured no woman had ever spoken in public before, and curiosity attracted immense audiences. The speaker was a great surprise to them. The general idea of a woman's rights advocate, on the part of those who had never seen ene, was a tall, gaunt, angular woman, with aggressive manners, a masculine air, and a strident voice, scolding at the men. Instead, they found a tiny woman with quiet unassuming manners, a winning presence, and the sweetest voice ever possessed by a public speaker. This voice became celebrated. It was so musical and delicious that per- sons, who had once heard her lecture, hearing her utter a few words, years afterward, on a railroad car or in a stage coach, where it was too dark to recognize faces, would at once ex- claim unhesitatingly : ' That is Lucy Stone ! ' " We have now come to the point w^here we may gain an excellent idea of the present prosperity of the town by a comparison of the condition of its various institutions to- day with their condition in years gone by. This compar- ison will show that the progress in every department has been steady and rapid. Let us glance first at the territory itself. Area. — We have seen that until 1662, when Milton was set off as a separate township, Dorchester was bounded by Boston, Roxbury, Dedham, Wrentham, Taunton, Bridge- water, and Braintree (the present Quincy). The town extended from Dorchester Point, as South Boston was then called, out as far as the Castle (the present Fort Indepen- dence) and to within one hundred and sixty rods of the Rhode Island line. We have seen how Milton, Wrentham, Stoughton, Dedham, Sharon, Foxboro', Canton, Dorchester Heights, Washington Village, and Hyde Park were set aside from the mother town. We have seen how Dorches- ter set aside six thousand acres of land for the use of the Indians at Ponkapoag, and how she later lost six thousand acres more through blunders of the surveyors. In spite of 476 GOOD OLD DOECHBSTEK. [1893. this, the limits of the town have never yet been reached by its ever-increasing inhabitants ; but, on the contrary, they have proved elastic enough to include a large proportion of the overflow from the crowded city. Dorchester to-day contains one-fifth of the territory in- cluded by the city of Boston. Its extreme length from northeast to southwest is about two miles and a half, and from northwest to southeast about two miles. The total amount of territory covered by the city of Boston is 23,707 acres, of which Dorchester contains 5,614 acres. The town is bounded by South Boston on the north ; by Dorchester Bay on the east ; on the south by the Neponset River, which separates it from Milton ; and by Hyde Park and West Roxbury on the west. Hon. Thomas W. Bicknell, in an interesting series of articles on the subject of "New Dorchester," recently published in the " Dorchester Beacon," gives the following description of the geographical character of the town. He says : — ' ' The surface outline of Dorchester is very irregular, diver- sified with hills and valleys, with a marked elevation, extend- ing from north to south, along or near the line of Washington Street on an average of over one hundred feet above the sea level, and at certain points, as at Codman Hill and Mt. Bow- doin, over one hundred and fifty feet in height. Mt. Ida, Meeting-House Hill, Wellington Hill, Jones's Hill, Ashmont, and Pope's Hill are spurs or independent elevations of the range of elevated land projecting southward from the High- lands and extending in a northwesterly direction into and across Brookline. On the south the valley of Neponset marks the bed of the old glacial plough that wrought on the hills and levelled them from the heights of Mt. Washington perhaps to the present elevation of the Blue Hills. Stony Brook Valley is the natural drainage of the section west of Washington Street, and north of Codman Hill, while the Neponset River and Dorchester Bay receive the waters to the south and east of the same elevations. Since that early day of ' Old Dorchester' 1893.] MODERN TIMES. 477 the glaciers have levelled the hills and filled the valleys in great measure ; and a rich alluvial deposit and vegetable mould, suit- able for the growth of great forests or the productions of the farm, the orchard, and the garden, have covered the rocks and clay beds which underlie our deep black soil. "With such a contour, Dorchester could not be other than a fine residence section, contiguous as it is to a large and grow- ing city, having in its near neighborhood, and in delightful prospect on the southern horizon, the Blue Hills, the highest and most picturesque range of hills of Eastern Massachusetts. And it is only in Dorchester, on the north, that this range can be called distinctively blue ; for if one approaches them so near as the Milton line at Neponset, or recedes as far as the State House in Boston, they cease to be Blue Hills and become only green, gray, brown, or other colored elevations, and only com- mon hills. To see the Blue Hills in all their glory one must stand near the site of the old Gibson Mansion on Franklin Park at the summit of Blue Hill Avenue, or on the summit of Mt. Bowdoin, or at a distance of about four miles from the hills at any point on the heights of Dorchester." Another recent writer says of Dorchester : — "Its close proximity to the ocean, with refreshing breezes ■ throughout the summer months, superb views from its elevated points of Boston Bay, and harbor of unrivalled beauty, com- bining the freedom and delights of the country with the advan- tages and privileges of the city, pure invigorating air, good drainage, — all these features are steadily drawing the most desirable class of home builders. Most of its territory is occupied by handsome and attractive private residences, with extensive grounds, beautiful lawns, and shade trees around them; while the stores are clustered around certain centres, such as Upham's Corner, Mt. Bowdoin, Field's Corner, Ash- mont. Lower Mills, Mattapan, Neponset, and on Washington Street at the terminus of the Grove Hall and Dorchester branch of the West End electrics. One main line and two branches of steam roads run throughout the entire length of Dorchester, — the New York and New England railroad on the west, the 478 GOOD OLD DOKCHESTBE. [1893 Milton branch of the Old Colony railroad on the east, and the Shawmut branch through the centre, giving in all about eighteen stations, with over thirty trains each way daily, on the New York and New England railroad, and nearly as many on the Old Colony branches, taking from eleven to eighteen or twenty minutes to the different stations. The Grove Hall and Dorchester electric cars run on Washington Street to the ter- minus one block beyond Norfolk and Centre Streets, and another line on Dorchester Avenue to Milton, while a third line turns off at Field's Corner and goes to Neponset. The time by electric cars from Franklin Sti-eet to terminus is about forty-eight minutes. A suburban railway is in contemplation that will cross the Dorchester district to Newton." Population. — Tlie growth of the population of the town has been remarkable. In 1800 the number of inhabitants was 2,347 ; in 1850 it was a little less than 8,000 ; and in 1892 it was not less than 40,000. This has been due in no small degree to the natural attractions of the town ; but the increase could never have been so rapid but for the excellent opportunities, as already mentioned, for transpor- tation by steam and electricity. The annexation of Dor- chester to Boston, in 1870, made it advantageous for the wealthy landholders to make Brookline or Milton their home, owing to the larger rate of taxation imposed under the new rdgime. This has lessened the number of citizens possessed of great wealth; so the inhabitants may be classed, as a whole, as the well-to-do people of moderate means, who build unostentatious but substantial homes, leading useful, active lives, and belonging to that class of citizens who form the backbone of the State. Schools. — The growth of the educational advantages offered by the town is one of the most noticeable features in its history. The establishment, in 1639, of the first free public school supported by public taxation may be con- sidered a matter of history. This was followed by a grad- ual increase in scholars and schoolhouses until, in 1792, 1893.] MODERN TIMES. 479 there were 552 children who received the benefits of the schools. One hundred years later, in 1892, the number of pupils attending the public schools alone was 5,519 ; while many more attended the various private institutions of learning. Since the annexation of Dorchester to Boston, the city has improved the schools, and has built excellent schoolhouses ; but the town had no reason to feel ashamed of the condition of its school department when it was delivered over to the city proper. Churches. — Reference has been made to the religious unity of Dorchester. We have seen that until 1806 there was but one church and one creed in the town ; and that in this First Parish, from 1636 to 1893, a period of two hundred and fifty-seven years, there were but eleven ministers, — an average pastorate of twenty-four years. From this mother church sprang offsprings, from which other organizations have branched, until the town now contains some thirty church societies, representing nearly every denomination. We have now come to the close of the narrative history of Good Old Dorchester. We have followed the first settlers of the town tlirough their early colonial struggles ; we have seen their descendants assist to throw off the yoke of oppression, and enjoy the sweets of liberty ; we have watched the creditable' position taken by the town in the War of the Rebellion ; we have followed the early fathers to church and to school, and have seen the gradual changes which have given their children more enlightenment and greater opportunities ; we have learned the history and the romance which have become associated with the ancient structures which have served as landmarks year after year; and, finally, we have studied the more recent events, which show us the town as it exists to-day. From the narration of these facts the reader can but feel, as the Hon. John D. Long said at the two hundred and 27 480 GOOD OLD DOECHESTEE. [1893. fiftieth celebration of the settlement of the town, that Dorchester " sprang like Minerva from the brow of Jove, fully equipped and matured." The first settlers of the town came from an atmosphere of more extended learning and attainments than did most of the early colonizers. They were influenced by such men as the Rev. John White, and by the broad-minded governors, John Endi- cott and John Winthrop. It was natural, therefore, that they should not need the development which comes from contact with and conquest over people of superior accom- plishments ; but, escaping the lowest and most degrading phases to be found in many similar enterprises, should have started at the summit. The Dorchester citizen of to-day may feel that, — with the advances which have been made in every branch of science, with the superior opportunities for learning, with the modern advancement, — he is far ahead of his ancestor who trod the same ground more than two centuries and a half ago. Well may he feel so ; and yet let him remember that, long years after he has passed away and is forgotten, the history of the first town government and the first free public school will keep alive the memory of those who laid the foundations of Good Old Doechestbe. INDEX. INDEX. ACKLEAG, John, 139. Adams, Charles Francis, 208; E. F., 426; Samuel, 129; William, 139; William T., 201, 353, 427. Ahauton, Job, 77. Ainsworth's Version of the Psalms, 220. Alcott, Dr. William A., 340. Allbright, Henry G., 280. Allen, Isaac, 139 ; Joane, 62 ; John, 44 ; Samuel, 139; Samael, Jr., 139; Thomas J., 453, 463; Wilkes, 329. Almshouse, 147. Amory, Thomas C, 208. Anderson, John, 91; J. B., 419. Andrews, Ebenezer T., 449; Samuel, 141; Thomas, 44,91; William T., 51. Andros, Sir Edmond, 85 ; overthrow of, 8R. " Annals of Dorchester," 195. Annexation, 430-439. Antiquarian and Historical Society, 194, 195, 199, 213, 429. Anti-Slavery Society, 181, 182. Apthorp, Sarah Wentworih, see Mrs. Perez Morton. " Arbella," arrives at Salem, 30. Arnold, Deacon Eliaphaz W., 278. Artillery, 171. Ashburnham, 92. Aspinwall, Thomas, 208. Atherington, John, 146. Atherton, Consider, 91; Ebenezer, 139; Hope, 311; Humphrey, 108; Increase. 234; John, 139; Joseph, 91 ; Samuel, 432. Atherton, Maior-General Humphrey, 60; letter from ,Iohn Eliot, 65; sketch of, 69, 70 ; member of first school committee, 297, 300, 301. Attleboro', 109, 123. "Aunt Sarah's Brook," 196. Austin, William R., 449, 451. BABCOCK, Samuel, 140. Badcock, Samuel, 146 ; William, 144. Badlam, Mrs. Clara E., 470. Badlam, General Stephen, 149 : sketch of, 158; signs letter to First Church, 251; deacon in Second Church, 264; member of committee on schoolhouses, 332. Bailey, Calvin, 413; Eev. Nathan, 277; Thomas F., 419. Baker, David, 141; Edmund, 146, 446, 447; Edmund J., 194, 195, 429 ; George, 141; James, 146, 286, 321, 332; James, Jr., 139: Richard, 56; Thomas, 139; Timothv, 136; Walter, 157, 184, 187, 192, 447"; Mrs. Walter, 405, 467 ; Walter, & Co., 447 ; William, 91. Ball Hughes House, 379-389; illustration, 387. Bank, first, 174. Banvard, Rev. Joseph, D. D., 277. Baptist Society, First, 277. Barn, An Historic, 375-377. Barnard Capen House, 356, 357 ; illustra- tion, 137. Barnard, F. E., 426. Barr, Adam, 91. Barrett, Nathaniel Augustus, 398. Barrows, Rev. Brainard W., 277; Rev. Samuel J., 247, 249, 267, 350, 453, 457. Barry, Redmon, 141. Bartlett, B. F., 426; David B., 194. Bascomb, Thomas, 44. Bass, Rt. Rev. Edward, 282, 320. Bates, Alpheus, 141; Elisha, 141; Elisha, Jr., 141. Baxter, Edward W., 149; G. D., 427; G. R., 426; Sj-lvester, 67. Bay Psalm-Book, 220. Beale, Joseph H., Jr., 282. Beals, Israel, 139 ; Seth, 141. Bean, Harriet E., 469. Beaumont, James, 196. Belcher, Gregory, 67 ; Moses, 146 ; Sam- uel, 139. Bell, ordered to be rung, 112; gift to church of, 124, 240. "Belle," the, 177. Belshar, William, 91. Benham, John, 39. Bent, Shepherd, 146. Berry, Edward, 141. Bicknell, Thomas W., 471, 476. Billings, George W., 419; Isaac, 318; 484 INDEX. John, 136, 139; Lemuel, 139; Lemuel, Jr., 141; Captain Olirer, 136; Eichard, 317. Billings' Plain, 66. Bird, Aaron, 141, 146; Comfort, 141; Daniel, 139 ; Eben, 139 ; Edward, 139 ; Henry, 139 ; Henry, Jr., 139; Elijah, 139 ; Edward, Jr., 141 ; Isaac, 141 ; Jacob, 139 ; James, 305 ; J. E., 426 ; John, 101 ; John, 146 ; Jonathan, 139; Jonathan, Jr., 139, 324; Joseph, 139 ; Lemuel, 141; Samuel, 139 ; Thomas, 91, 234; Thomas, 136 ; William, 223; William B., 468. Black, J. T., 427. Blackman, Eliakim, 146 ; John, 139, 142, 143 ; J. H., 427 ; Lemuel, 146 ; Moses, 141 ; Samuel, 139." Blair, Mrs. Ellen, E. C, 470. Blake, Mrs. Edward, 413; Henry N., 419 ; Deacon James, 84, 285, 370 ; James, 139 ; Jonathan, 139 ; Lemuel, 139 ; Nathaniel, 139 ; Samuel, 139 ; William, 44, 91 ; William, 139; W. E. 419, 426. Blake House, 369, 370; illustration, 63. Blake, James, the Dorchester immigra- tion, 22; character of Captain Clap, 92 ; Ponkapoag set off from Dorchester, 111 ; sketch of Rev. Mr. Danforth, 112; growth of town, 113 ; expedition against the French, 116, 117 ; injustice shown, 121 ; drought of 1749, 121 ; death, 123; "Annals of Dorchester," 195. Blanchard, Hiram W., 468 ; William A., 282 Blaney, William, 141. Blish, Prof. George W., 463. Bluckman, L. S., 420. Blue Hills, 67, 74, 77. Bodge, Edward, 146 ; Rev. George M., 276. Boies, James, 132 ; Jeremiah Smith, 448. Bolton, Nicholas, 240. Bond, George, 340. Boston, 29, 35, 49, 62, 66, 78, 148, 164, 289, 290, 351. Boston Harbor, first accurate description of, 24 ; described bv William Wood, 28. Boston Tea Party, 129. Bostwick, Zachariah, 141. Boundaries, established, 74; described, 78 ; difficulties concerning, 109. Bowdoin, Governor James, 304. Bowen, B. F., 419. Bowman, Rev. Jonathan, 112, 143, 159, 160; sketch of, 236, 237; William, 322. Boynton, George F., 425, 426; T. S., 426. Bradford, George G., 282 ; Martin L., 282. Bradley, Jonathan, 139; Nathan, 108, 139. Bradshaw, Aaron, 419; J. N., 426. Bradstreet, Simon, 88. Braintree, town of, 67, 78. Branker, John, 40. Breck,'Edward, 44, 78. Brewer, Cyrus, 432 ; D. Chauncy, 471 ; Rev. Darius R.,278; John, 146; Thad- deus, 146. Briant, John, 91. Bridges, 149, 157. Bridgewater, 78. Bridgham House, 360. Brigham, Jonathan, 360. Briggs, Clement, 62. Brimsmead, William, 101. British, in Boston, 132, 133. Brookline, town of, 129, 348. Brooks, Rt. Rev. Phillips, 282. Brown, Benjamin F., 383, 386, 389; David, 426; John, 81. Browne, C. A., 426. Bulflnch, Rev. S. G., 203. Bumpus, Deacon Laurin A., 264. Bunker Hill, Battle of, 131, 164. Burr, H. D., 426; Rev. Jonathan, con- troversy with Rev. Richard Mather, 57, 68 ; sketch of, 232. Bursley, John, 44. Burying-Ground, fence built around, 83; description of, 28-3-285; epitaphs in, 285-287. Bush, Mrs. Emily H., 470. Butler, Henry, 309. Butler School, 332. Butt, Richard, 91. Butterworth, Hezekiah, 463. GALLEY, Peter, 91. Cambridge, 129, 162. See Newton, Campaign of 1840, 189-192. Campbell, James, 426. Canada, expedition against, 90, 91. Canton, town of, 47, 65, 78, 375 ; set off from Dorchester, 78. Capen, Barnard, 40, 356, 357; Bernard, 139; Christopher, 141; Davis, 347; Ephraim, 139; Captain John, 40, 82, 96; John, 141; John, Jr., 139; John, Jr., 332; Jonathan, 413; Nahum, 283; Preserved, 108 ; Samuel, 146, 264 ; Theophilus, 324. Caps, Isaac, 91. Carr, Frank, 427. Carriel, Thomas, 141. Carruth, Herbert S.,470; Nathan, 194. Carter, Joshua, 40. Castle, The, described by Captain Clap, 59; Roger Clap appointed captain of, 74 ; boundaries extend to, 78 ; training at, 159; burned, 164. Castle Island, 59. Catholic Church, see St. Peter, Cattle, provision for, 47. Central Athletic Club, 469. Chadwiok, S. S., 427. Chambers, William, 146. Champney, Samuel, 139. INDEX. 485 Chandler, William, 329; Samuel, 91. Channing, Eev. William E., 252. Chaplin, Moses, 91. "Charles Carroll," the, 177: description of, 177, 178; arrival of, 178. Charles City, Va., 289, 290. Charles Elver, 23, 29. Charlestown, 29, 36, 129, 162, 289, 290. Cheney, Samuel, 324; William, 91. "Chesapeake," the, 151, 162, 153. Chickataubut, Josias, chief of the " Mas- sachusetts *' Indians, 31 ; good-will towards early settlers, 31, 77 ; contro- versy with King Philip, 77; death of, 77. Child, Griffin, 330. Chittenden, Albert, A., 282. Choate, Eufus, early sufferings of the Puritans, 32. Choate, Enfus, 427. Chocolate, 447-448. Chocolate mill, 157, 163, 174. "Chronological and Topographical Ac- count of Dorchester," 235, 242. Church, essay towards gathering, 42; exercises its correcting power, 48 ; the corner-stone of the communit}', 215; early prominence of the, 215; customs, 216 ; going to, 217 ; order of services, 217; length of prayers, 218, 219 ; seating of the congregation, 219 ; music, 220-222; frigid atmosphere in, 222, 223; first meeting-house, 223; dis- cussion as to precedence of church at Dorchester or Windsor, 227, 228 ; cove- nant, 228-230; new meeting-house, 233; meetins-house of 1678, 235; meet- ing-house of 1743, 239,240; unity of, 247 ; list of ministers of First Parish, 247, 248 ; lands belonging to the, 270, 271; summary, 287-288, 471. Churchill, Asaph, 432. Church Records, extracts from, 97, 107. Cilley. Mrs. William H., 398. Civil War, see Rebellion. Clap [Clapp], Abner, 139; A. W. 426; David, 141; David, 400; David, Jr., 139 ; Ebenezer, 91, 139 ; Ebenezer, Jr., 139, 146, 160, 161; Deacon Edward, 91, 248 ; Edward, 141, 146 ; Dr. Ele- azer, 168; Elisha, 139; Eliza, T., 453; Ezekiel, 141; Ezra, 139; Henry A., 184, 188, 282; Elder Hopestill, 109, 306; John, 304; John, 141, 146; J. C, 427; John P. ,282, 461; Jonathan, 108, 141; Jonathan, Jr., 139 ; Deacon Joseph, 251, 264, 268; Lemuel, Captain, 136, 359; Lemuel, Jr., 141; Lemuel, 449; Nathaniel, 139; Nicholas, 67; Noah, 121, 147, 318, 319; Eichard, 51; Sam- uel, 87, 306; Samuel, 141; Samuel, 245, 420; Samuel, Jr. 146; Supply, 141, 318; Thaddeus, 449; Thomas, 141; William, 449. Clapp, Deacon Ebenezer, Jr., 194, 196, 208, 240, 245, 248, 267, 352; sketch of, 456 ; portrait of, 459. Clap House, 358-360. Clap, Eoger, 24, 27 ; early privations and hardships, 33; freeman, 40; de- scription of the Castle, 59 ; threatened invasion by the Dutch, 73 ; appointed captain of the Castle, 74; autograph, 92; sketch of, 92; death, 92; me- moirs of, 195 ; signs petition to Gene- ral Court, 303; lays out school land, 304; home of, 358; children of, 368. Clark, A. C, 432 ; George, 183 ; G. H., 426 ; Jeremiah Tucker, 184; Richard, 183. Clarke, Bray, 44; Joseph, 40; Solomon, 91; William, 67. Clement, Augustine, 40, 91, 265; Mrs. Elizabeth, 265. Clubs, 468-471. Coaches, see Stage-coaches. Cobb, Moses S., 202, 208. Cobb, Madam, 390. Coddington, W., 66. Codman Club, 470. Codman House, 414-416 ; illustration, 175. Codman, Rev. John, D.D., description of Midway, Ga., 100, 101; delivers address, 169 ; death of, 199 ; introduc- tory prayer hy., 246; sketch of, 253; controversy with members of Second Church, 254-263; portrait of, 261; connection with Dorchester Academy, 340; meetings with Webster, 391, 392; purchase of Codman House, 414; Cod- man Club named for, 470. Codman, Captain John, 223, 341,371, 414. Codman, William C, arrival of the "Charles Carroll," 178; presidential campaign of 1840, 189-192 ; the Web- ster House, 390 ; anecdote oif Webster, 392 ; recollections of Dorchester Acad- emy, 402-404. Coffin, Charles Carleton, 353; N. W., 432, 433; William E., 432; Deacon Z. E., 278. Cogan, John, 40. Cole, Nathaniel, 139. Collacott [CoUicot] Eichard, 27, 40. Collin, Lemuel, 139. Collins, Patrick^ 426. Collyer [Collier] Lemuel, 141, 146. Commerce in Dorchester, 177-181. Company K., 418-421. Commercial Point, 177, 179, 180,181, 201, 413, 414. Committee of Correspondence, 129. Commoner, 360. Communion Cups, 264, 265. Connor, M. D., 427 ; Patrick, 183. Constables, 113. " Constitution," the, 157. Continental Congress, 131, 135, 163. Cook, Zebedee, 340, 449, 450. 486 rSDEX. Cooke, Aaron, 40 ; William, 91. Coolidge, Samuel, 139, 322. Cooper, Peter, 208. Copper works, first, 196. Council for the Safety of the People and Conservation of the Peace, 88. " Courier," the, 177, 179. Covenant, Church, 228-230. Cox, John, 146 ; Samuel, 139; S. H., 426. Crabtree, Jehossephat, 91. Cracker Manufactory, 174, Crane, David, 139; Ebenezer, 91; Elisha, 146; Lemuel, 149, 325; Luther, 146; Seth, 139; Vose, 146; Zebulon, 141; Zibe, 146. Crehore, Mrs. Diana, 449; Samuel, 139. Crewhore, John, 91. Crosby, Samuel, 139. Crouch, William, 141. " Cruise of the Juniata," 157. Cuahing, Dr. Benjamin, 340, 353, 418, 420 ; Joshua, 277. Cummins House, 393. Cummins, Maria, 393. Cunningham, Eev. Francis, 272. Curtice, Richard, 57. Curtis, Joseph, 91; Philip, 320. Cutler, Deacon Elijah, 264, 268. "Cyane," the, 154. Cyson, Edward, 146. DALE, C. F., 427. Dame schools, 308. Danforth, Dr. Elijah, 114, 317; Samuel, 317; Dr. Thomas, 168. Danforth, Rev. John, salary guaranteed by the town, 107; death, 112; sketch of, 112, 235, 2.36. Daniels, Ebenezer, 146. Darby, Prince, 140. Davenport, Amasa, 348; Benajah, 139; Charles, 101 ; Daniel, 222 ; Ebenezer, 108: George, 139; Isaac, 139; Isaac Shaw, 139; James, 146; Joseph, 139; Josiah, 139 ; Samuel, 139. Davenport, Ensign Richard, 42 ; captain of the Castle, 59 ; killed by lightning, 73. Davis, Ebenezer, 139, 136; Nehemiah, 141; Paul, 139; Samuel, commercial hopes of Dorchester, 181; Stephen, 146. Deacons, 215, 248, 264, 278. Deans, Cunnison, 426. Dedham, town of, 68, 78; set off from Dorchester, 78 ; meeting at, 130 ; rally at, 188. Deeble, Robert, 40. De Luce, Francis, 139. Denison, William, 314. Dennett, T. S.. 427. Denny, Francis P., 426,427; Henry G., 194. Denslow, Nicholas, 40. De Ruither, Admiral, 73. Deutling, Augustus, 427. Dewey, Charles A., 210; Thomas, 40. Dexter, Eev. Henry M., D. D., 351. Dickens, Charles, 389. Dickerman, Benjamin, 141. Dimmock, [Diniocke] Thomas, 40. '■ Directory," the, adopted, 60. Dodge, Mrs. Catherine, 279; 0. J., 426. Dolbear House, 378, 379. Doody, John, 427. Dorchester, first settlement in Suffolk County, 30; derivation of name, 30; severity of the first two years, 31; first special town government in New Eng- land established, 35 ; arrival of second shipload, 35; early importance of the town, 35; emigration to Windsor, Conn., 36; arrival of Rev. Richard Mather and new colonists, 36; first freemen, 39 ; later freemen, 40 ; refer- ences by early writers, 40, 41 ; danger- ous surroundings of the early settlers, 42; first warfare, 42; distribution of lands, 45 ; provision for cattle, 47, 48 ; arrival of new settlers, 48; conflict with Boston about Thompson's Island, 49, 50 ; first free school established, 49, 289; law concerning supei-flu- ities, 50, 51; early plan of the town, 51; cruelty of early settlers, 58 ; first school committee, 60 ; the " Directory " adopted, 60 ; references in old colonial records to, 82; the Indians, 62, 67; anxieties of the early settlers, 69 ; Mil- ton, set off from, 70 ; petition for privi- leges, 72, 73 ; threatened invasion by the Dutch, 73; boundaries established, 74; early grants of land to, 74-78; towns set off from, 78; King Philip's War, 79, 80; sufferings of the peo- ple, 80 ; aid from London and Dub- lin, 80; close of colonial times, 85, 86 ; transition from colonial to provin- cial period, 87-90 ; expedition against Canada, 90, 91; expedition to South Carolina, 96, 97 ; earthquake of 1727, 111; growth, 113; arrival of White- field, 115; expedition against the French, 116, 117; drought of 1749, 121; stand taken in Revolution, 124-142; lists of soldiers in Revolution, 1.37-141; close of provincial period, 144 ; Shays's Rebellion, 145-147; duel, 147, 148; annexation of Dorchester Neck to Boston, 148, 149; War of 1812, 150- 157 j gale of 1815, 157; two hundredth anniversary, 168-170 ; stage-coaches, 170, 171 ; training and muster days, 171 ; advances of two centuries, 173 ; importance of commerce, 177-181 ; Washington Village annexed to Bos- ton, 183; opposition to railroad, 192- 194; celebration of 225th anniversary, IKDBX. 487 200-214; early prominence of the church, 215 ; first meeting-house in, 223 ; religious unity, 247 ; celebration of 250th anniversary, 248 ; forming of the Second Church, 249; celebration of 260th anniversary of first school, 349- 353 ; early homes, 355 ; in Rebellion, 418-422; seal adopted, 429 ; last town meeting, 437; celebraiion of 250th an- niversary, 452-456 ; area, 475 ; popula- tion, 478 ; schools, 478 ; churches, 479. Dorchester Academy, 34U-342; 402-404. Dorchester, Canada, 92. Dorchester Company, preparations for emigration, 21 ; formation of, 27 ; the landing, 27; expedition to Watertown, 29 ; settlement at Mattapan, 29. Dorchester, England, letter from, 213, 214. Dorchester Heights, set off from Dorches- ter, 78. Dorchester Historical Society, 470. Dorchester Neck [Great Neck], 47, 62, fortifications erected on, 131, 162, 164; annexation to Boston, 148, 149. Dorchester Point, see Dorchester Neck. Dorchester Proprietors, 47 ; gifts of land, 69, 107; incorporated, 108 ; gift of bell to church, 124, 240. Dorchester Woman's Club, 409. Dove, John, 146. Downer, Samuel, 108, 449 ; Samuel, Jr., 353. 432, 443. Draper, Moses, 184; Paul, 141 ; Philip, 324. Driscoll, James, 427. Drown, Kev. E. L., 281. Duncan, Nathaniel, 27 ; selectman, 34 ; freeman, 40; lieutenant of military company, 43; connection with Town Records, 44 ; signs Church Covenant, 230. Dunmore brothers, 170. Dutch, threatened invasion by the, 73. Dver, George, 27, 39 ; Mrs. Julia K. 469. EALES [Eelesl, John, 40, h2, 56. "Earl of Puncapog," 47. Earthquakes, 111, 116. E«stburn, Rt. Rev. Manton, D.D., 278, 279. Easton, 123. Eaton, Captain Ebenezer, 171, 191, 439- 440 ; portrait of, 441. Eaton, Pearson, 139. Eddy, Mrs. Mary C, 469 ; Otis, 470. Edward Everett School. 347. Edwards, Henry W., 282. Eggleston, Bigot [Bagnt], 39. Eliot, Rev. Christopher K., 247. Eliot, Rev. John, the "Apostle to the Indians," 62; letter to Maj.-Gen. Atherton, 65 ; obtains grant of Ponka- poag Plantation to the Indians, 77 ; death, 92; portrait of, 93; sketch of, 95 ; Bay Psalm Book, 220. Eliot's Chair, 95 ; illustration, 95. Ellis, Dr. George E. , changes of provin- cial period, 90 ; remarks at 250th anni- versary, 458. Ellis, Joseph. 139. Elwell, Robert, 44. Emerson, Annie A., 470. Emery, Charles, 282. Englisn, John, 141. Endicott, William E., 348. "Epervier," the, 153. Episcopal Church, see St. Mary's Church. Epitaphs, in Old Burying Ground, 285- 287. Euins, Richard, 91. Evans, H. A., 426. Everett, Benjamin, 196; Ebenezer, 325, 330 ; Florence, 470 ; Francis, 340 ; Rev. Moses. 144 ; sketch of, 241 ; Moses, Jr., 252, 325, 332 ; Rev. Oliver, 323, 405 ; Captain Samuel H., 245; William, 456. Everett, Edward, early sufferings of the colonists, 32 ; reference to Savin Hill, 57 ; invited to give address at Lj^ceum Hall, 187 ; delivers address at celebra- tion of 225th anniversary, 200-208; portrait of, 205; poem recited by, 327; birthplace, 405. Everett House, 405 ; illustration, 185. FAIRBANKS, Master, 347. Fairn, Daniel, 139. Fais, Andrew, 427. I'ales, Deacon Charles E., 278 ; Deacon David, 278. Farris, William, 139. Feakes [Fookesi, Henry, 40. Feakes [Feke], Lieutenant Robert, 74. Felt, Edward, 141. Fenno, Isaac, 146, 286 ; Joseph, 146 ; Enoch, 139. Fessenden, Jonathan, 139. Field, Deacon John W., 264; Michael, 146. Fifield, Mrs. Emily A., 350, 353, 469. Filer, Walter, 40. Fire engine, 147. First Parish Church, illustration, 225. See Chiirch. Fisheries, whale and cod, 177. Fishing, 444-446. Fletcher, Henry, 390. Fling. John, 139. Flint, Rev. Josiah, 79, 82; sketch of, 234, 235. Flood, Joseph, 44. Flvnn, Deacon Jacob, 277, 278. Fohom, Frederick K., 469. Ford, Thomas, 27, 39.' Foster, Elisha,83; E. C, 426; Frank A., 469; H. C, 426; Deacon Ira, 278; John, 139; John, 82, 312-314; John, 488 INDEX. Jr., 139 ; Standfast, 108 ; " Uncle Ned," 223; William, 141. Foster, Captain Hopestill, letter from King Pliilip, 79 ; autograph, 81 ; death, 81 ; signs petition to General Court, 303; lays out school land, 304; gift to school, 304. Fowle, Mrs. JMinnie, 470. Fowler, George, 171 ; Stephen, 139 ; Stephen, tertius, 139. Fowst, William, 91. Foxboro', town of, 78; set off from Dor- chester, 78 ; dam built at, 195. Fox, Charles B., 426; John A., 425; Rev. Thomas B., 352 ; Thomas B., Jr., 425, 426. Freemen, list of first, 39 ; list of later, 40. "Free" school, significance of name, 301. French, the predecessors of Capt. John Smith, 24; expedition against, 116; retaliation of, 119, 120, 168. French, G. H., 427 ; G. L., 427 ; Stephen, 40. Frothingham, Rev. Frederick, 453; Rev. N. L., 207. Fay, Richard, 44. Fuller, Araasa, 448; H. A., 427. GALLAGHER, Charles T., 350. Gallop, Humphrey, 44. Gamsby, John, 139. Gannett, Samuel, 174. Garch. John, 146. Gardner, Abner, 329; Dr. Henry, 245; Governor Henry J., 208, 340. Gardner House, 370-375. Gaskins, W. B., 427. Gaylord [GallardJ, William, 27, 39; John, 215. George, Hiram M., 349; William, 91. Gibbens, Ensign, 74. Gibbes, Giles, selectman, 35; freeman, 40. Gibson, Christopher, 39, 304, 305. Gibson Fund, 305. Gibson School, 348. Gilbert, John, 44. Giles, Samuel, 141. Gill, Jacob, 146, 161, 164. Gillet, Jonathan, 40. Girls, education of, 308, 309. Gleaaon, Edward F., 420; Roswell, 348; Mrs. Roswell, 161. Glennen, Rev. Charles F., 283. Glover, Albert H., 420; Alexander, 139, '146; Ebenezer, 136; Edward, 136, 139; Edward, Jr., 146; Elisha, 139; Enoch, 141; Enoch, Jr., 141; Ezra, 139; Har- rison, 427; John, 39, 44; Josiah, 139; Nathaniel, 141; Pelatiah, 321; Ralph, 39; Samuel, 146. Goeth, Fritz, 427. Goff, John, 141. Gofle, John, Jr., 146. Goite [Goyt], John, 44. Goodspeed, Captain, 171. Goolev, James, 140. GorneU [Gomel], John, 56, 304. Gorton, Samuel, 58. Gould, Samuel, 328. Granite Bridge, 180. Grant, Matthew, 40. Granville, Kev. William, 277. Gray, Samuel C, 390; Rev. Thomas, 246. Great Neck, see Durchester A'eck. Green, James, 140. Greene, Gardiner, 148. Greenleaf, Thomas, 192. Greenowaj' [Grenawav], John, 39, 57; Anne, 362, 365. Griggs, Samuel, 146. Grush, Joseph G., 469. Gulliver, John, 91: Rufus, 140. Gulliver's Creek, 179. Gunn, Thomas, 40. HALE, Rev. Edward Everett, 208, 466. Hall, George, 27; H. W. 426; James E., 470; John, 147; Joseph, 108; Joseph E., 174; Llo.vd Bowers, 329; Dr. Lvman, 100; Nathaniel, 44; Oliver, 184, 467: Paul, 139, 160, 237; Peletiah, 140 ; Ensign Richard, 202, 314; Samuel, 36; Solomon, 146, 287. Hall, Rev. Nathaniel, Jr., 182, 194, 203, 232, 241, 242; sketch of, 247; portrait, 273 ; remarks at funeral of Rev. Richard Pike, 275; chairman school board, 352. Hammond, Deacon Daniel, 278. Hancock, John, 125, 126. Hannan, John, 447. Hannum, William, 44. Harding, William, 147. Harris, J. E., 427; S. B., 427; School, 348; William, 140; William, 340. Harris, Rev. Thaddeus Mason, D. D., 147, 157, 169, 194, 204. 235; sketch of, 241, 242 ; portrait of, 243 : sermon by, 246; signs letter to Second Church, 252; connection with horticulture, 449, 450. Harrison Square, earlv names for, 58. Hart, C. E., 427; Edmund, 40; Thomas N., 352. Hartford, Conn., 69. Harvard College, 105. Hatch, Thomas, 40. Hathorne, William, selectman, 35 ; free- man, 40. Hawes, John, 141. Hawkins, Captain Thomas, sketch of, 56 ; autograph, 56. Havden, ,Tohn, 40; William, 140. Hayter, A. W., 279. Hay ward, Jacob, 141. Healey, Nathaniel, 141. INDEX. 489 Heaton, Benjamin, 328. Hendley, Jeremiah, 427. Hendry, William, 171. Henry L. Pierce School, 354, 391 ; illus- tration, 365. Hensha, Daniel, 91, *' Herald," the, 177,179. Hereraan, Thomas, 146. Hersey, Abel, 147. Hewens, Benieman, 91. Hewius, Jacob, 82; John, 356: W. G., 427. Hewitt, Thomas, 141. "History of Dorchester," 195. Hichborn, Colonel Benjamin, 401 ; Sam- uel, 402. High School, 339, 346; Lyceum, 425. Hill, John, 44, 62, 57; J. 0., 427; Thomas, 279. Hingham, 151. Hitchings, Deacon William, 264. Hobart, William, 179. Holbrook, C. C, 202. Holcomb, Thomas, 40. Holden, Edward, 328; Edward, 194,195, 279, 282; James, 147; Dr. Phineas, 144 ; Samuel, Jr., 146 ; Dr. William, 144. Holidays, in school, 343-344. Hollani, John, 44, 444. HoUey, Joseph, 44. Hollingsworth, Amor, 448; A. L., 174. Hollis Drotbers, 171. Homans, Captain John, 132; Samuel, 140. Homer, Thomas S., 419. Holman, John, 43, 44; Thomas, 140. Holmes, Rev. Abiel, 99; George, 91; George, 426; R. T., 426. Hooper, Joseph, 279, 282. Hoppin, John, 81. Horn-book, 336. Horticulture, 449-451. Horton, Asa, 139; Lemuel, 140. Hosford [Horaford] William, 40. Hoskins, John, 39. Hoten [Stoughton] Silas, 147. Houghton, Deacon Ellis, 264, 268. Houses, old, Barnard Capen, 356 ; Clap, 358; Bridgham, 360; Pierce, 360; Minot, 365; Blake, 369; Gardner, 370; Historic Barn, 375; Dolbear, 378; Ball Hughes, 379; Webster, 389 ; Withing- ton, 392; Cummins, 393; Swan, 394; Morton Pavilion, 399 ; Walter Baker, 401 ; Everett, 405 ; Taylor, 406 ; Newell, 411; Codman, 414; tuttle, 416. Howard, Robert, 44, 60, 297, 300, 301. Howe, Deacon Charles, 266; Edward, W., 282; Deacon Isaac, 264; I. A., 427; James Blake, 326; John, 149, 332 ; Deacon Rufus, 264. Howland, J. Frank, 174. Hoyt, Simon, 40. Hubbard, early reference to Dorchester, 34 ; opposition to emigration to Wind- sor, Conn , 36. Hubbert [Hulbert] William, 39. Huchings, John Rouse, 147. Hudson, Captain, 77. Hughs, Andrew. 140. Hughes, Ball, 379-389; Mrs. Ball, 386, 387. Hull, 168. Hull, George, 40; John, 40, 513. Humfrey, Elder James, sketch of, 84; James, 140, 321; Jonas, 141; Micah, 180 ; Nathaniel, 140 ; William, 140. Humphreys, Rev. Charles A., 427, 453; Henry, 136 ; Deacon Henry, 248, 267, 340; Deacon James, 245, 248, 252, 307, 335, 340 ; Richard C, 350, 353, 425, 426; Walter, 425, 426. Hunt, Charles, 432 ; Jeremiah, 139 ; Joseph, 140. Husay, Robert, 91. Hutchinson, Governor Thomas, 161, 445. Hyde, George B., 353. Hyde Park, set off from Dorchester, 78. TDE, G. Herbert, 282. -L Independence, Fort, see Castle. Indians, 62-67; letter of John Eliot's concerning the, 65. Industries, 444-451. Inglee, Captain Moses, 245. Ireland, aid to Dorchester from, 80 ; aid from Dorchester to, 81. JACKSON, Gershom, 141; Henry, 91; " Jonathan, 448; Oliver, 140. Jacobs, Mrs. Alice Taylor, 469; Benja- min, 245. Jarvis, Dr. Edward, 353. Jay's Treaty, ratification of, 157. Jeftrej', Thomas, 40. Jenkins, James, 282; John, 140; T. F., 469. Jennison, Ensign William, 42. Johnson, description of Dorchester, 41 ; Mr., 44; Daniel, 147; Ezekiel, 140, John, 140. Johnston, T. M., 426. Jones, James, 147; .John, 91; William F., 426; Richard, 44: Thomas, 44, 230; Thomas, 140, 320; William F., 282. Jones's Hill, 207, 238, 281. Josselj'n, description of Dorchester, 41. "Juniata," Cruise of, 157. K ELTON, Thomas, 91. Kettell, Thomas, 413. Keyes, Nathaniel, 146. Kilton, Ebenezer, Jr., 140; James, 139; John, 140; Samuel, 140. Kimball, Charles P., 348. 490 INDEX. Kimbel, Ezra, 140. King, Charles, 140; Edward, 194; Frank- lin, 194,432; Lemuel, 140. Kingesley, John, 230. King Philip's War, causes of, 79, 80; sufferings caused by, 80. Kinnersly [KimberlyJ, Thomas, 44. Kinsley, Adam, 196. Kirfce, "Percy, 83. Kitchamakin, conveys land to the set- tlers 77. Kneela'nd,'john, 338, 352. Knight, John, 44. Knox, General Henry, 354, 389, 396, 398. LAFAYETTE, Marquis de, 394, 396, 397, 398. Lambert, G. E , 427. "Lamplighter," the, 393. Lancaster, Edward M., 347. Land Bank bills, 115. Lands, distribution of, 45, 114; list of grantees of meadow, 45, 46 ; belonging to the Church, 270, 271. Lawrance, Rev. W. I., 276. Lawrence, Captain James, 151, 152, 153. Leach, James, 340. Leavitt, John, 40; Manoah, 194; W. P., 432. Leeds, Daniel, 322; Daniel, Jr., 325; Edward Stow, 140, 146; Henry M., 194; John, 91; Joseph, 340; Joseph, Jr., 455; Josiah, 140; Nathan, 140, 146; Richard, 67; Samuel, 445; Thomas, 141. Leonard, Jonathan, 196 ; Lucius P., 282. "Lewis," the, 177, 179. Lewis, James, 140, 146. Lexington, Dorchester soldiers in battle of, 136, 137 ; battle of, 161. Liberty, Sons of, 125, 129. Lighthouse, first, 109. Lincoln, Charles J., 346 ; Hon. Major- General, 146. " Lining-out," 221. Little, Kev. Arthur, D. D., 350 ; Mary Brant, 469. Locofocos, 189, 191, 192. London, aid to Dorchester from, 80. Long, Governor John D., 453, 479; Jo- seph, 91. Lord, Eliphalet, 446; John, 91; Rev. Joseph, 96, 211, 306, 315. Loud, Samuel P., 184, 245, 279. Lovell, Joshua, 141; Captain William, 44. Lucas, George W., 418. Lyceum Hall, 184-189. Lyon, Benjamin, 140; David, 141; Eliab, 91: Eliphalet, 141; Henrv, 91; Deacon Jesse, 278 ; Pearlev, 329. Ludlow, Roger, 27, 39, 44, 52 ; sketch of, 52-55. Lumbert, Thomas, 39. Lunenburg, town of, 303. M 'CLARY, James, 140. McElrqy, G. W., 426 ; Peter, 147. McGoldrick, Rev. Thomas C, 283. McGoverin, J., 426. MacGregor, Deacon J. W., 278. McGukin, R. T., 426. Mclntire, A. J-, 427. M'Intosh, Jeremiah, 140. McLean, Hugh, 445. M'Lellan, Joseph, 141. iMair, Thomas, 470. Makepeace, Thomas, 44, 48. Manhattan, town of, 289, 290. Manks, Herbert M., 471. Mann, Ephraim, 141 ; Horace, 187 ; Wil- liam, 141. Manning, George, 146. Mansfield, A. S., 194. Manufactory bills, 115. Maplev, Mathew, 91. Marie-Antoinette, 396, 397, 398. Marsh, C. H., 427. Mar-hall, Thomas, 40. Marshfield, Thomas, 44. Marter, John, 426. Martin, Ambrose, 48. " Mary and John," the Dorchester com- pany set sail in the, 23 ; first of the fleet to arrive, 24 ; reaches Nantasket Point, 27. "Mary and John," the, poem, 464-466. Mason, Captain John, 27, 40 ; Jonathan, 148. Massachusetts, derivation of name, 66, 67. Massachusetts Bay Colony, settlement projected by Rev. John White, 24- terms of the patent, 24. Massachusetts Fields, 66. " Massachusetts " Indians, 31. Massapoag Brook, 47. Mather, Cotton, 88, 105, 110, 216 ; In- crease, 89, 110. Mather, Rev. Richard, arrival of, 36 ; portrait of, 37; chosen teacher of the Church, 42 ; controversy with Rev. Jonathan Burr, 57, 58 ; salary provided for, 67 ; settles differences in church at Hartford, Conn., 69 ; petition drawn up by, 71-73; death of, 79; journal of, 195 ; Bay Psalm-Book, 220; signs Church covenant, 230 ; sketch of, 230, 231 ; presents Latin book to school, 306. Mather School, 309, 335-339: illustration, 337. Matt^pan, settlement at, 29. Maurough, William, 146. MavericK, Rev. John, chosen minister of Dorchester Company, 23 ; among first INDEX. 491 freemen, 39; accident with powder, 224 ; character of, 224 ; death of, 230 ; Moses, 40. Maxfield, Ebenezer, 139 ; John, 111. May, John J., 432, 471 ; John P., 469. Mayo, Thomas, 146. Means, Kev. James H., 199 ; sketch of, 263 ; historical sermon of, 264 ; signs letter to First Church, 268 ; member of school board, 352. Hears, John, 379 ; John, Jr. 146. Meeting-house, 216 ; first in Dorchester, 223 Mend'um, Willis B., 470. Merrifield, John, 81. Mellen, William, 146. Mellish, John, 140. Methodist-Episcopal Church, 276. Meraw, John, 141 ; Samuel, 141 ; Wil- liam, 141. Midway, Ga., 98, 99 ; Dr. Oodman's visit to, 100, 101 ; letter from, 210. Miller, Alexander, 44 ; Dr. Erasmus D., 458; Hezekiah Bead, 140; Hezekiah Read, Jr., 140. Millet, G. C, 427. Millett, Thomas, 57. Mills, Edward, 315; Rev. W. H., 280,281. Milton, set off from Dorchester, 70, 78; church formed in, 81; volunteers to Canada expedition, 90, 91;, gift of land to, 108 ; soldiers in Shays's Rebel- lion, 146, 147; bridgK built by, 157. Milton Lower Falls, early name, 65. Milton Lower Mills, 149 ; school at, 325. Miner, Rev. Bradley, 277; Henry B., 348. Ministers, 216; list of, in First Parish, 247, 248. Minot Cradle, 365, 366; illustration, 367. Minot, George, 27 ; autograph, 27; select- man, 35; freeman, 40; lieutenant, 91; signs Church covenant, 230; connec- tion with Minot House, 365 ; sketch of, 369. Minot House, 362, 365, 369 ; illustration, 75. Minot, James, 314; John, 304, 366; John, 167; Nathaniel, 245. Minot School, 349. Modsley, Thomas, 83 ; Uright, 91. Monroe, William V., 418, 421. Montague, William, 329. Moonke, Elias, 91. Moor, Bartholomew, 140. Moore, John, 40, 215. Morev, James, 91. Morrill, John, 91; John M. E., 469. Morris, William, 147. Morrow, Henry, 427. Morse, Elizabe'th, 82. Morton, Rev. James F.. 277; Perez, 340, 399, 401, 410, 411; Mrs. Perez, 410. Morton Pavilion, 399-401. Moseley [Mosley], Ebenezer, 108, 141; Flavel, 440; Samuel, 141, 146, 318; Thomas, 141, 146, 149, 245. Motley, John Lothrop, 401. Mott, Rev. Frederick B., 276. Mount Bowdoin, 201, 209 ; view from, 4. Mount Ida, 283. Mowry, William A., 300, 350, 351. Mulliken, Dr. Samuel, 181, 195. Mumford, Rev. Henry 6., 275. Munnings, Edmund, 44. Murdock, Samuel, 146. Murphy, Deacon James T., 278. Musgrave, Alexander, 426. Music, in the churches, 220-222. Muster Day, 171. NAHANT, town of, 348. Nantasket Point, the Dorchester Company land at, 27 ; described, 28. Nash, Jonathan, 140. Nazro, John G., 432. Neponset Reservoir Company, 195. Neponset River, 29, 47, 65, 69, 157, 179, 180, 181, 192, 196, 446; illustration, 197. Neponset Village, 174, 180. Newbery [Newbury], Thomas, 34, 49, 40. Newbury, town of, 289. Newel], James, 411. Newell House, 411-414. New England, named by Capt. John Smith, 23. "New Grant," 46; consummation of the, 77; extent of, 78; named, 108. Newhall, Cheever, 449,451. Newton [Newtown], 35, 36. Newton, John, 40. Nightingale, T. J., 419. Niles, Ebenezer, 370, 411; John, 44; Peter, 140; Samuel, 141. Noddle's Island,ie2. Nook's Hill, 133, 164. Norfolk School, 334. Norton, town of, 109, 123. North Burying Ground, see Burying Ground. Noyes, George, 282. OLD BURYING GROUND, see Burying Ground. Old Dorchester Club, 468. Oldham, Captain John, 36, 42. Old Hill, see Jlock Bill. Oliver, Colonel Robert, 405; Lieutenant- Governor Thomas, 318, 401; William, 449, 451. Orchestra, church, 222. Orcutt, Mrs. Ellen Dana, 469. Organs, 222. Otherman, Anthonv, 276. Otis, H. G., 148. ■ 492 INDBX. PACKARD, Rev. E. N., 453; Jona- than, 140; Liberty D., 350. Packeen Plain, 376. Page, William W., 282. Paine, Moses, 67. Paper-making, 448. Paper-mill, 174. Parker, James, 40. Parkman, Elias, 40. Patten, Nathaniel, 56. Pavson, Joseph, 141; Phillips, 318; Samuel, 141, 147. "Peacock," the, 154. Penniman House, see Walter Saher Mansion. Penniman, James, 340, 402. Pepper, R. A., 470. Pequot Indians, 36 ; expedition against, 42. Percival, Captain John, sketch of, 153- 157 ; portrait of, 155. Periy, Francis, 326. " Peter Parley," 190. Phelps, John B., 427; William, 27; selectman, 35; among first freemen, 39; question of boundaries referred to, 74. Philip, King, controversy with Chick- ataubut, 77; friendly relations of the settlers with, 79; letter to Captain Foster, 79. Phillips, George, 40; John, 39, 57; au- tograph, 57; Mrs. John, 413; Samuel R., 282 ; Thomas, 140. Phinney, Rev. G. A., 277. Phips, John, 140; Sir William, 89; per- sonality of, 90. Physicians, no record of early, 114; Elijah Danforth, 114; William Holden, 144; Phineas Holden, 144; Eleazer Clapp, 168; Thomas Danforth, 168; Samuel MuUiken, 181, 195; Robert Thaxter, 199 ; John Phillips Spooner, 443 ; Erasmus D. Miller, 458 ; George M. Reed, 467. Pickwick Club, 422-426. Pierce, Abraham, 147; B. E., 427; Deacon Daniel, 278 ; Deacon Edward, 239, 246, 248, 252; Ebenezer, 141; Ed- ward L., 208; F. L., 470; George F., 202; Henry L., 354, 432, 447; John, 40, 57; John, 363, 364; Rev. John, D.D., 169, 246; J. H., 426; Josiah, 319; Lewis, 245, 364; Lemuel, 140; Napthali, 140; Robert, 360, 361, 362; Samuel, 364; Samuel S., 443; Thomas, 362; Warren, 257. Pierce House, 360-365 ; illustration, 165. Pierce, Lieutenant-Colonel, Samuel, 141; sketch of, 158, 159; extracts from diary of, 159-168, 445; schoolmaster, 322; connection with Pierce House, 364. Pierpont, Rev. John, 187; Jonathan, 315. Pike, Rev. Richard, 275. Pincheon, Mr., 44. Pinney, Humphrey, 44. Pirates, 160. Pitcher, Andrew, 44. Playing-card manufactory, 174. Plympton, Jeremiah, 348l Pole, William, 286, 311. Pomerov, Eltweed, 40. Pond, Joshua, 141. "Ponkapoag" Indians, 66. Ponkapoag Plantation, 44; set aside for the Indians, 65, 77. Ponkapoag Pond, land laid out around, 62; made a separate township. 111; surplus water of, 196. Pool, Charles, 426. Poope, Ebenezer, 91; John, 91. Pope, Elijah, 139 : Elijah, Jr., 139 ; John, 40, 230 ; Ralph, 139 ; William, 245, 432, W. F., 426. Porter, Rev. Edward G., 456; Rev. Eli- phalet, D. D., 246; Rev. G. W. 279, 280; Joseph, 179 ; William R. 425, 426. Powder-mill, 174, 196. " Power of Sympathy," the, 408. Pratt, Benjamin, 140; David, 141, 146; Enoch, 330; Laban, 174, 194. Pravers, length of, 218, 219. "Preston," the, 177. Preston, Daniel, 444; Daniel, Jr., 101, 302, 305; Edward, 163, 446; Elisha, 177 ; James, 412 ; John, 432 ; Remem- ber, 108; Samuel, 140; William, 44. Preston's Point, 161. Price, David, 44 ; Francis, 108. Procter, George, 44. Proctor, Samuel, 234. Proprietors of the Undivided Lands, see Dorchester Proprietors. Provincial Congress, 130. Provincial period, bridge to, 87 ; excite- ment incident to, 89. Purchase, Widow, 44. Puritans of Massachusetts, 20. Puritan movement, 19. Putnam Nail Company, 448. Putnam, S. S., 194. QUI6LEY, William, 427. Quincy, town of, 79, 192. See Srnintree. Quincy Bay, 66, 74. Quincy, Edmund, 66. RAILROAD. 179 ; opposition to, 192- 194. Randall, Jacob, 140 ; Philip, 40 ; Samuel, 140. Rawlins, Thomas, 40. Raynsford, Edward, 44. Read, William, 40. INDEX. 493 fieadman, Charles, 91. Eebellion, War of, 263, 418-422. Record Book, 43, 44. Keed, Dr. George M., 467 ; William Gar- rison, 469. Kevere, Paul, 196, 252. Revolution, War of, 124-142. Reynolds, William, B., 390. Richards, David, 141 ; E. Q., 426 ; Rev. Humphrey, 277; James, 147; Samuel, 147; Thomas, 44; W. W. 427. Richardson, C. W. 426 ; John, 449, 451 ; Robert, 279, 282, 340; William H., 340. Richmond, Rev. Edward, D. D., 169; sketch of, 271, 272. Richmond, John, 140. Ricker, Mrs. Emeline C, 470. Rifle Company, 171. Ripley, Mrs. Clara M., 469. Roads, earl J', 67. Robbins, Edward Hutchinson, 323 ; James M., 195. Robie, J. E., 426. Robinson, Major Edward, 245; E. B., 347, 348; James, 91; Captain James, 146, 149 ; Colonel John, 124, 140 ; John, 316; John H., 184 ; Rev. John P., 278; Captain Lemuel, 130, 159, 161, 378; Samuel, 305; Thomas, 147. Rocket, Richard, 44. Rock Hill LEocky HillJ, fort built at, 29; guns mounted at, 50. Rockwell, William, 27, 39, 215. Rogers, Captain William M., 413. Rolfe, William J., 346, 425. Ronan, Rev. Peter, 282, 352. "Rose," frigate, 88. Rosseter, Edward, 27, 39 ; Hugh, 44. Rossiter, Bray, 40. Roundy, W. "A., 470. Roxbury, town of, 35, 78, 129, 131. 135, 150, 162, 163, 164, 167, 224. Russell, Daniel, 146. SAGAMORE, of Agawam, 49. St. Anne's Mission, 280. 281. St Marv's Church, 188 : forming of, 278. St. Peter, parish of, 282. Salem, the "Arbella" arrives at, 30; early taxation, 36 ; General Court held at, l30 ; court dissolved, 161 ; school established at, 289, 290. Saltonstall, Rev. L. W., 281. Sandras, Hopstill, 91; Samuel, 91. Sanford, Rev. David, 181 ; Thomas, 44. Savin Hill, see Hoch Hill; named by Joseph Tuttle, 52 ; significance of name, 52 ; early settlers on, 62-57 ; reference made by Edward Everett to, 57. School, first public provision in America for free, 49, 289, 290; important posi- tion held by, 289 ; Thompson's Island granted for support of, 49, 290 ; early plans for, 292; rules and directions, 292-300 ; petition to General Court in behalf of, 303 ; land laid out for, 304; bequests to, 304 ; Latin book presented to, 306 ; for girls, 308, 309 ; number of pupils in 1792, 308; in 1834, 342; in 1846, 344; town divided into wards, 309 ; school at Lower Hills, 325 ; rules and regulations, 1805, 333 ; text-books used in, 335, 336; high school, 339, 346; school districts renumbered, 342; holidays, 343 ; celebration of 250th anni- versary, 349-353 ; summary, 354, 470. School Committee, first estaolished, 60, 297 Schoolhouse, first, 301; second, 307. Schoolmasters, 291, 309-330. Schools, private, 344, 345. School Wardens, see School Committee. Scott, Ebenezer, 146. Seal, of Colony, 313 ; evolution of State, 313 ; adoption by town, 429 ; illustra- tion, 429. Sears, Barnas, 208; David, 209. Seaver, Edwin P., 352 ; Elisha, 141. Seavems, Henry A., 419. Second Parish Church, forming of, 150, 249 ; the Codman controversy, 254- 2B3 ; list of deacons in, 264 ; celebra- tion of 75th anniversary, 264-268; illustration, 423. Selectmen, early, 34,35. Sension, Matthias [Matthew], 40. Sever, Jonathan, 140. Sewall, Judge, 102, 218, 222. "Shannon," the. 151, 152, 153. Sharon, town of, 47, 78; set off from Dorchester, 78; trouble over fish laws, 445, 446. Sharp, Daniel, 282; Deacon Edward, 264, 340; George H. L., 282; Deacon James C, 264, 268, 269; William, 141. Shays's Rebellion, 145; Dorchester sol- diers in, 146. Sheafe, Mark W., 282. Shed, Thomas, 141. Shepard, M. M., 427; Royal, 146. Sherman, James, 140. Slioot, Joshua, 91. Shuttlesworth, Samuel, 324. Silvester, Rev. W. W., 280, 281. Simpkins, Captain, 59. Singing, 221. Slave-trade, position taken by early set- tlers toward, 61. Sniallage, Andrew J., 282. Small-pox, 109, 144, 1.59, 167. Smith, Aaron, 323; Elbridge, 346, 471; Henry, 40; Increase S., 352; Mrs. Jemima, 331; J. V. C, 210; Thomas, 140; Rev. W. E. C, 281. Smith, Captain John, first record of Bos- ton Harbor, 23; autograph, 23; givea 494 rNDBX. name to New England and the Charles River, 23. Smith, Quartermaster John, 27; select- man, 35; freeman, 40. Soldier's Monument, 239, 421, 422, 426- 429. Sons of Liberty, 125, 159. Soule, Mrs. Efizabeth P., 470. South Boston, see Dorchester Nech, South Carolina, expedition to, 97-101. Southcote, Richard, 27, 39; Thomas, 39. Southworth, Dallas, 427; Edward, 339. Spaulding, Rev. Henry C, 275, 276; Captain Jeremiah, 389; William C, 390. Spencer, A. W., 202. Spooner, Dr. John P., 352, 443. Sprague, William, 390. Spur, Elisha, 140; James, 140, 147; Lem- uel, 140 ; Robert, 81, 114. Squantum, town of, 66, 74, 308. Squeb, Captain, commander of the " Mary and John," 23; perversity of, 28; justi- fication of, 28. Stage-coaches, 170, 171. Stamp Act, 124. Standish, Captain Miles, first accurate description of Boston Harbor, 24. Stark, James H., 471. Stearns, A. T., 194, 482 ; Rev. W. A., 210. Stedman, Dr. Charles E., 282; Daniel B., Jr., 282, 432. Sterling, A. F., 419; J. W., 419, 427. Stevens, Newell D., 419. Stevenson, David, 91. Sticknev, Josiah, 177. Stiles, Robert, 81. Stimpson, Charles, 282; J. N. 426. Stoddard, Daniel, 140, 146. Stone, A. C, 426; Benjamin, Jr., 418, 420, 426; Mrs. Lucy, 471-475; portrait of, 473; M. W., 419, 426. Storer, Amos R., 306. Stonghton, t"wn of, 47, 65, 78; set off from Dorchester, 78; volunteers to Canada expedition, 90, 91; opposition to loss of territory, 124; field officers chosen at, 161; trouble over fish laws, 445, 446. Stouffhton Fund, 305. Stoughton Hall, 340. Stoughton, Israel, 27; autograph, 27; selectman, 34; freeman, 40; captain of military company, 43; sketch of, 56, 67; first mill in New England, 57; granted a fish-weir, 444. Stoughton's Mill, first in New England, 57. Stoughton School, 346. Stoughton, Thomas, 39, 62. Stoughton, William, 82 ; chosen lieuten- ant-governor, 89 ; personal itv of, 90 ; death, 101; sketch of, 102-106; por- trait of, 103; epitaph, 106; urged to become pastor, 232; bequest to school, 305, 306. Stoves, late use of, in churches, 222, 223; opposition to use of, 223. Strange, George, 40. Strangers, law concerning, 68. Stratton, Benjamin, 141. Streets, early, 51. Stuart, Jane, 389. Sumner, C, 179; Clement, 140; Ebene- zer, 91; F. H., 426; Increase, 305; Jesse, 147; Jezeniah, 91; Otis, 426; Rufus, 140; Samuel, 91; William, 44, 91, 304, 314; William, 183. 448; Gen- eral William H., 450. Superfluities, law concerning, 50, 51. "Superior," the, 177. Swan, Colonel James, 394-399; Madame James, 397, 398; James E., 426; Sam- uel, 187, 188; William D., 184, 194, 195, 353. Swan House, 394-399 ; illustration of, 25. Swift, James, 91 ; John, 146 ; Thomas, 40 ; William, 91. Symonds, Micha, 140. rpAFT, John B., 432. -L Talcott, John, 74. Tate and Brady's Psalms, 159. Taunton, 78, ibl. Taylor, George, 140. Taj'Ior House, 406-411; illustration, 407. Tea, opposition to tax on, 126-130, 160. Tea Party, Boston, 129. Teelan, James, 427. Temple, Thomas F., 469. Templenian, J. W., 427. Terry, Stephen, 39. Thacher, Cesar, 140 ; Mrs. Margaret, 265; Rev. Peter, 107, 317. Thayer, Arodi, 125, 359 ; Eleazer, 147 ; Rev. George A., 463 ; Jazaniah, 140 ; Nathaniel, 177 ; Samuel, 140. Thaxter, Dr. Robert, 199, 200, 233. "Thesaurus Romanse et Britannicae," 306. Third Religious Society, 259 ; formation of, 268; ministers of, 271-276. Thompson, C. M., 202; David, 31, 49, 302; Josiah, 147; William, 140. Thompson's Island, 49 ; deposition con- cerning, 49; granted to Dorchester, 49, 292 ; granted to John Thompson, 50, 302; rent imposed upon, 290. Thompson, John, Thompson's Island granted to, 60, 302. Thornton. Isaac, 146 ; Thomas, 40. Tileston & HoUingsworth. 448. Tileston, Miss Anne S., 208; C. E., 470; E. B., 426 ; Edmund P., 194, 195, 384, 429, 432, 448; Ezekiel, 140; Frank, 202 ; James, 140 ; John B., 203 ; Lem- INDEX. 495 uel, 427; Nathaniel W., 429; Onesi- phoras, 322 ; Thomas, 44 ; Thomas, 116; Timothv, 87; Timothj', 141; William H., 420. Tileston School, 349. Tilestone, Cornelius, 91. Tilley, John, 40. Tillinghast, Nicholas, 446. Tinian Point, 413, 414. Tohacco, law passed concerning, 48. Tolman, C. E., 427 ; Ebenezer, 149, 376; Elijah, 140 ; Ezekiel, 167 ; Ezekiel, 252 ; G. E., 426 ; John, 91, 305 ; Robert P., 179 ; Thomas, 140; Thomas J., 193. ToplifE, Clement, 110; tombstone of, 288; Nathaniel, 140, 246 ; Elder Samuel, 110, 248 ; Samuel, schoolmaster, 306, 326. Torrey, Deacon Elbridge, 264, 268 ; Noah, 139. Tory, Reuben, 140. Town government, first special in New England, established, 34, 35. Train, Enoch, 208. Training Dav, 171. Trask, William B., 194, 195, 215, 265, 307, 309, 352, 358, 400, 411, 453. Tredwell, Tho., 360. Trefethen, Benjamin, 152, 153. Tremlett, Thomas, 184, 340. Trescot, John, 302. Trescott, John, 140, 146; Joseph, 91; William, 140. Trevour, William, 31, 49. Triscott, Samuel, 91. Trott, Benjamin, 140. Trow, Richard, 146. Tucker, Edward, 141. Tudor, William, 148. Turner, Andrew, 140 ; Elijah, 446 ; Joseph, 140, 147 ; Captain Nathaniel, 42. Turnpike, 149. Tuthill, Francis, 44; Joshua, 44. Tuttle House, 416-417 ; illustration, 53. Tuttle, Joseph, 52, 416 ; Thomas W. 202. " Twelve Divisions," the, 78, 114. ' Twitchell, Joseph, 40. Tyng, James A., 282. TTNCAS, 58. ^ '* Uncataquissett," 65. Underhill, Captain John, 42. Upham, James H., 428. Upsall, Nicolas, 39. " Unquety," 65, 70, 77. YAIL, William K., 348. Vane, Sir Henry, 71. Vaughn, John, 139. Veazie, Samuel, 328. Veit, Frederick, 427. Village Church, 181. Vinson, Charlotte A., 470. Vinton, Deacon Josiah C, 264. Vose, Alexander, 147 ; Elijah, 199 ; Eli- jah, 449, 451; George, 140; Joseph, 161; Robert, 348; Robert, .Jr., 348; William, 140. WAGES, established by law, 58. Waitt, Jr., David, 146. Wales, Ebenezer, 252 ; Ebenezer, 140, 149 ; Ephraim, 239 ; John, 140 ; Jona- than, 141 ; Nathaniel, 140 ; Thomas C, 413 ; Timothv, 140. Wales's Creek, 108. Walford, Thomas, 29. Walker, Rev. James, D.D., 208. Wall, Henry W., 425. Walles, Eleazer, 91. Walsh, Richard J., 350. Walter Baker Mansion, 340, 401-405. Wampatuck, successor to Kitchamakin, 77 ; death of, 77. Ward, Josiah, 141; Joseph T., Jr., 349. Ware, Horace E., 174. Warham, Rev. John, chosen minister of Dorchester Company, 23 ; heads emi- gration to Windsor, Conn., 36; among first freemen, 39 ; sketch of, 224, 225. War of 1812, 150-151. Warren, Horace W., 354; M. H., 427. Washington, George, 132, 133 ; portrait of, 127. Washington School, 347. Washington Village, set off from Dor- chester, 78, 183. Waterhouse, Rev. Thomas, 291, 292. Waters, John, 140. Watertown, expedition to, 29 ; early taxation, 36. Way [Wey] Henry, 34, 44. Webb, Joseph, 141. Webster, Daniel, 354, 389-392. Webster House, 389-392. Weeks, Ammiel, 91 ; George, 57 ; Joseph, 91 ; Thomas, 91. Weights and measures, 83. Welch, John H., 282. Welde, Thomas, 220. Welles, Arnold, 390 ; Hon. John, 389. Wesselhoeft, R., 426. Weston, Francis, 58. Wevmouth, 162. Wheeler, Captain Abraham, 286 ; B. T., 470; Sylvester, 427. Wheelwright, Jotham, 147. Whigs, 188, 189, 190. Whiston, Joseph, 140, 142, 143. Whitcomb, Noah, 140; Noah, Jr., 140 ; Samuel, 340. White, Deacon Abijah, 248 ; James, 141 ; John, 147 ; Hon. Joseph, 291 ; Moses, 140 ; Robert, 147 ; Samuel, 140 ; Thomas, 140 ; William.UO. 28 496 INDEX. White, Rev. John, connection with emi- gration movements, 22 ; the Patriarch of Dorchester, 22 ; religious sentiments, 22 ; projects new sett&ment in Massa- chusetts Bay, 24. Whitefield, Rev. George, 115, 237-239. Whiting, Rev. Lyman, 208. Whitman, Mrs. Bernard, 365. Whitmore, Charles D., 177, 413 ; Wil- liam H., 470. Whiton, Mrs. Royal, 470. Whittemore, Joseph, 146 ; N. Hosea, 349. Wiatte, Edward, 91. Wighen, John, 141. Wilcox, William, 287. Wilder, Marshall P., 201, 208, 432, 449, 450, 454, 462. Wilkins, Bray, 40. Williams, Isaac, 426; John, 314; John, 141; Joseph, 140; Joshua, 139; Samuel, 147; Sidney B., 447; Thomas, 139, 146. Williams, Roger, selectman, 35 ; among first freemen, 39. Willis, Michael, 57 ; S. J., 374. Wilson, Abraham, 140; Andrew, 427 Ephraim, 141; Rev. Gowen C, 455 Rev. John, Jr., 57, 61; sketch of, 232 Rev. John Brainerd, 277 ; Rev. War- ren C, 453. Wilton, David, 40. Windsor, Conn., proposed emigration to, 36 ; opposition to emigration, 36 ; emigration to, 36; discussion as to precedence of church over that in Dorchester, 227, 228. Winship, Nathaniel, 146 Winthrop, Adam, 307 ; Governor John, 42, 48,307; Robert C, 209, 390. Wiswall [Wiswell], Daniel, 146 ; Enoch, 305; Ichabod, 139, 141, 310; Deacon John, 44, 60, 297, 300, 301 ; John, 140 ; John, Jr., 140; Lois, 410; Oliver, 141; Samuel, 316. Witchcraft, 82. Witchfield [Whitfield], John, 40. Witham, Daniel, 318. Withington, Daniel, 146, 245; Captain Ebenezer, 130, 141, 160, 264 ; Edward, 140, 378 ; Elijah, 139; Henry, 230, 248 James, 141 ; Captain John, 90, 91 Captain John, 140, 146 ; Joseph, 139 Joseph, Jr., 139, 141 ; Lemuel, 140 Mrs. Major, 392, 393 ; Richard, 302 William, 146 ; William, 279. Withington House, 392, 393. Wolcott, Henry, 27 ; selectman, 34 ; a possible stockholder in Dorchester Company, 39; among first freemen, 39. Wood, F. M., 470 ; James, 139 ; Mrs. Miriam, 331 ; William, description of Boston Harbor, 28 ; description of Dorchester, 41. Woodman, George, 432. Woolridge, John, 39, 74. Worthington, William, 56. Wrentham, town of, 78 ; set off from Dor- chester, 78, 101; opposition to loss of territory, 124. Wright, Henry, 40. YOUNG, George B., 427; J. G., Jr., 470 ; Mrs. Minnie, 470; S. W., 427.