^% \jjfoi^ ffe.fouiidia^iifM-Sol&gei^^ ACQUIRED BY EXCHANGE ^ ^ J&rx^le^ ct /o (JiDOrL . (sA Cm. leJ tJLL.rrn^rrz.€^ /d^ aAs> o/^cr^T^ C^ ^L^CXCf.,G.Gji tcA. . 'me/n. eU^^. /3 . /TZo HISTORY TOWN OF GLOUCESTER, CCapc ^nn. INCLUDING THE TOWN OP ROCKPORT. BY JOHN J. BABSON. GLOUCESTER : PUBLISHED BY PROCTER BROTHERS. 1860. Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1860, by JOHN J . BABSON, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts. BOSTON: rUINTEn BY JOHN WILSON AND SON, 22, School Street. PREFACE. The first suggestion that a History of Gloucester should be written came from the late Dr. Ebenezer Dale, in a lecture deUvered before the Gloucester Lyceum about thirty years ago. In a contemporary notice of the lec ture, he is reported to have urged the immediate atten tion of the Lyceum to the subject. His earnest appeal met with a quick response from one of the members of the institution, — the late Hon. William Ferson, — who engaged in the work, with so much zeal and intelligence, that a speedy satisfaction of aU reasonable wishes seemed about to be realized. But this citizen, who was not often, driven by slight causes to abandon a work once begun, was somewhat appalled by- the magnitude of the task he had undertaken, and finally felt himself com peUed to relinquish this labor of love for employment that would yield a pecuniary reward. The coUections he had made, consisting chiefly of extracts from the Town and Colony Eecords, were accordingly laid aside, and remained undisturbed, till, with his usual kindness, he submitted them to my inspection, to aid me in a gene alogical research concerning the persons bearing my own IV PREFACJi. famUy name. In looking over these papers, I first felt the force of Dr. Dale's appeal, and became convinced that it was the duty of some one to gather up such materials for a history of the town as the lapse of time had left accessible, and put our annals in print for the instruction and gratification of the present and future generations of the people of Cape Ann. The task seemed to me an inviting one, and I resolved to under take it ; not, however, without serious misgivings as to several disqualifying circumstances, not the least of which was the large demand of a laborious and responsible business occupation upon my time. The result of my labor appears in the following pages ; and nothing remains for me to add here but to express my warmest thanks to all who have rendered me assistance in the preparation of the work, and to off'er it as a humble memorial of my interest in my native town. J. J. B. CONTENTS. Chaptee I. Topographical Description. Harbors. Coves. Soil. Hills. Rocking Stones. The Magnolia. The Cut. Ponds. Islands. Norman's Woe . 1-12 Chapter H. Early Voyages to North America. Gosnold's Voyage. Pring's. Attempt to plant a Colony at Sagadahoc. Voyage of Capt. John Smith in 1614 : he names New England. Other Voyages to the Coast. Plymouth settled. Plymouth Company in England. Further Attempts at Settle ment 13-29 Chapter HI. Attempt at Settlement. Dorchester Company in England attempt to plant a Colony at Cape Ami. Roger Conant, Governor of the Plantation. Failure of the Attempt, and Removal of the Colonists to Naumkeag. Notice of these First Occupants of Cape Ann 30^5 Chapter TV. Early Settlers. Traditionary Account of First Settlement. Thacher's Shipwreck. Mr. Thomson, of London, encouraged to establish a Fishing Plantation at Cape Ann. Permanent Settlement and Incorporation of the Town. Lists of Settlers to 1701 ; with Notices of these Settlers and their Families 46-186 Chapter V. First Selectmen. Ship built in the Town. First Church. Rev. Richard Blynman : his Ministry, Removal, Death, and Character. First Meeting house. First Tax. William Perkins, Minister of the Town : his Removal and Death. Mill. Rev. John Emerson settled : his Ministry, Death, and Family. New Meeting-house 187-199 6 CONTENTS. Chapter VI. Ship-building. Mill. Cord-wood. Mason's Claim. Indian War of 1675. Sawmill. First General Grant or Division of the Soil. List of Grantees. Andros's Government. Witchcraft. Tax -list, 1693. Ferry. New Meeting-house. Burying-ground. School. Indian Claim. Houses and Furniture of First Settlers. Some of their Customs . . . 200-222 Chapter VII. First Church. Rev. John White : his Settlement, Ministry, and Death ; his Family. School. Commoners. Division of Land. Town -watch. New Settlers 223-247 Chapter VHL Ship-building. First Schooner. New Settlers 248-261 Chapter IX. Second Parish. Rev. Samuel Tompson : his Ministry and Death. Second- parish Meeting-house. Samuel Pearce, and the Merchants, David Pearce and William Pearce. Losses at Sea. New Settlers . . . 262-274 Chapter X. First Physicians. Dr. Nicholas Webster. Dr. Edward Tompson. Dr. David Plummer. Workhouse. Province Loan. New Settlers. Sloop taken by Pirates 275-289 Chapter XI. Second Parish. Rev. Richard Jaques: his Ministry, Sickness, and Death. Third Parish. Rev. Benjamin Bradstreet: his Ministry, Sickness, and Death 290-295 Chapter XH. Emigration to Falmouth, Me. New Settlers. Grammar School. New Gloucester, Me. Battery 296-308 Chapter XIII. Fourth Parish. Rev. John Rogers: his Ministry, Death, and Family. Taverns. Expedition to Louisburg. Peg Wesson. People alarmed. New Settlers 309-325 CONTENTS. Yll Chapter XIV. First Parish. Rev. Samuel Chandler: his Ministry, Sickness, and Death; his Family 326-330 Chapter XV. Sandy Bay. First Settlers there. Fifth Parish. Rev. Ebenezer Cleaveland: his Ministry and Death i his Family 331-343 Chapter XVI. Excise Act. French War. Population. Taxes and Town Expenses. Schools. SmaU-pox. Stamp Act 344-354 Chapter XVII. Third Parish. Rev. John Wyeth : his Ministry. Dissensions in the Parish. His Dismission. Disasters by Sea, and Great Loss of Life. Timothy Rogers. Political Troubles. The People patriotic. Second Parish. Rev. Daniel Fuller : his Ministry, Death, and Family. Third Parish. Rev. Obadiah Parsons : his Ministry, Dismission, and Death . 355-366 Chapter XVm. Town's Powder. Hayscales. Boat and Men Lost. Town Expenses. Poli tical Affairs. Crisis approaching. Patriotic Sentiments of the Town. Action of Boston about the Landing of the Tea nobly sustained by Gloucester. Tea thrown Overboard. Boston Port Bill. Distress in that Town. Gloucester sends Relief. County Convention. Provincial Con gress. Shipwreck. Gloomy Prospect. Military Preparations. Exposed Condition of the Town. Women and Children removed . 367-375 Chapter XIX. Business of the Town before 1775. English Fishing Voyages to New Eng land. First Colonial Fishing. Gloucester not prominent in the Business for many Years. Commencement of Maritime Business. Fishery before the Revolution. Trade with the Southern Colonies. Early Foreign Com merce of the Town. Revenue Laws evaded. Revenue Officers. One of them seized and ill treated. John M'Kean smokes one at the Cut. Com merce and Fishing interrupted by the War 376-387 CONTENTS. Chapter XX. Revolutionary War. The Appeal to Arms. Companies formed. Two of them fight on Bunker Hill. Sloop-of- War " Falcon," Capt. Lindsay, in Ipswich Bay. He comes into Gloucester Harbor. Fires upon the Town. Attempts to take a Vessel out. Repulsed. Defenceless State of the Town. Forts built. Privateering commenced. Manly's Prize. Poverty of the Town. The Poor relieved by Donations. Committee of Safety. The " Yankee Hero.'' Supremacy of the People asserted in Official Acts of the Town 388-401 Chapter XXL First Parish. Rev. Eli Forbes settled. His previous Career. His Ministry in Gloucester. His Death and Character. His Family. His printed Productions 402-407 Chapter XXH. Declaration of Independence. Town consents to a State Constitution. Loan for the Poor. Enlistment. The Privateer " Warren." Other Privateers. State Armed Vessels. Town-meeting. Large Class of Poor. Loss of the Privateer " Gloucester.'' Dr. Samuel Rogers. Privateer " Speed well." State Constitution rejected. The Town delinquent. A Company raised. SmaU-pox. The Privateer " Starks.'' Distressed Condition of the Town. Depreciated Currency and Exorbitant Prices. Third Cruise of the " Starks." Notice of other Privateers. Loss of the " Tempest." True History of Revolutionary Privateering a Sad One . . 408-427 Chapter XXIII. Independent Christian Society. Distinguishing Sentiments of Universalists. John Murray, first public Preacher of them in America. His Early Life. Comes to America. Visits Gloucester. Has his Home here. House of Worship built for him. Lawsuit. He visits England. Returns, and is ordained in Gloucester. His Removal to Boston, and his Death. His Character. His Wife and Family. The Society incorporated. Meeting house 428-439 Chapter XXIV. Loss of Polls. One-sixth of the People living upon Charity. Loan to hire Soldiers. Further Loans. State Constitution. Town delinquent. Pro spect of Peace. Ship " Harriet " cut out of the Harbor by the Enemy. Recaptured by our People. The Town-treasury. Peace . 440-447 CONTENTS. IX Chapter XXV. View of the Town at the Close of the War 448-466 Chapter XXVI. Schools re-opened. Town Grammar-school House. School-district System adopted. Loss of a Dutch Ship-of-War off Cape Ann. Men drowned near Chebacco River. Cape Pond stocked with Alewives. Shay's Rebellion. Federal Constitution adopted. Gloucester Regiment of Militia, and Gloucester Artillery. General Training. Custom-house, Post-offiee, Census, and Tonnage. Fire-engine. Fort. French from St. Peter's at Sandy Bay. Ship wrecked at Salt Island. Workhouse. Gloucester Bank. Gloucester-road Lottery. Marine Disasters. Library. Sailors enlist for War with France. Frederick Gilman. Daniel Rogers. Death of Washington noticed by the Town 467-478 Chapter XXVIL Independent Christian Society. Rev. Thomas Jones : his Settlement, Mini stry, and Death ; his Character ; his Family. Succession of Pastors to the Present Time. Meeting-house. New Universalist Soeiety : its Mini sters, its Dissolution, its Meetiug-house. Third Parish. Rev. Ezra Leonard. His Settlement. Conversion of Minister and Parish to Universalism. His Death and Character. His Family. Pastors who have succeeded him. Col. Joseph Foster 479-491 Chapter XXVIII. First Parish. Rev. Perez Lincoln. Rev. Levi Hartshorn. Rev. Hosea Hildreth. Rev. Luther Hamilton. Rev. Josiah K. Wa1t§, Rev. Wil liam Mountford. Rev. Robert P. Rogers. First-parish Meeting-houses. Fifth Paxish. Rev. David Jewett. Rev:i,^akefield Gale. Death of Prominent Citizens .... -t-i- 492-503 Chapter XXIX. Political Excitement. Federalists and Republicans. Stormy Town-meeting. . Federalists triumphant. Embargo. Marine Disasters. Slow Increase of Population. First Baptist Society : its Ministers and its Meeting-house. War with England. Gloucester opposes the War. County Convention. Military Preparations for Protection ofthe Town. British Ship " Nymph." The Enemy attempt to take a Vessel at Sandy Bay. Take Vessels in Squam Harbor. Land at Sandy Bay. Alarm at Gallop's Folly. Engine- house torn down by indignant Militia. Commerce under a Neutral Flag. Schooner "Adolph." Gloucester Privateering during the War. Case of Hydrophobia. Peace 604-519 CONTENTS. Chapter XXX. The Federalists lose Ascendency. The Sea-serpent. Boys drowned. Uni versal Benevolent Society, and its Ministers. John Kittredge. Ship wreck of Brig " Rebecca Ann." Dr. Ephraim Davis. First Preaching of Methodism in Town, and Methodist Societies. First Printing-press. " Gloucester Telegraph." Abortive Efforts to establish Religious Jour nals. Shipwreck of the " Persia." Evangelical Chm-ch and Society, and its Ministers. North Orthodox Congregational Church, and its Ministers. Second Baptist Society, and its Ministers. Great Fire. Political Excite ment. Democrats and Whigs. The " Gloucester Democrat." Revival of regular Public Worship in the Second Parish. Dr. Ebenezer Dale. Dr. Henry Prentiss. Great Storm. Many Vessels wrecked, and several Lives lost 520-542 , Chapter XXXL The Town of Rockport. Growth of Sandy Bay. Early Fishery. Pier built. Isinglass Factory. Stone Business commenced. Soil improved. Government Breakwater. Separation from Gloucester attempted. Sepa ration accomplished. Incorporation. Territory of the New Town. Dr. John Manning. Dr. James Goss. Business. Centennial Celebration. New Church. Grog-shops attacked, and Liquor destroyed. Growth and Improvement of the New Town 543-550 Chapter XXXH. Post-office established. Stage to Boston. Public Schools. College Gradu ates. Most Distinguished Educated Men. Gloucester Lyceum. Death of aged and of prominent Citizens. Catholic Church . . 551-564 Chapter XXXIH. Modern Business of the Town 565-577 APPENDIX. I. The Charter 581-584 II. Selectraen, Town-clerks, and Town-treasurers 584-591 Selectmen, Town-treasurers, and Town-clerk of Rockport. 591-592 III. Highways 592-593 IV. Representatives to General Court 593-595 Representatives from Rockport go- Delegates to State Conventions ggs CONTENTS. XI V. Rolls of Gloucester Companies at the Battle of Bunker Hill 596 VI. List of Vessels belonging to the Town, lost since January, 1829, in which a portion or the whole of the Crew have perished 697 vn. Statistics relating to the Fisheries 598-599 Statement of the Gloucester Fisheries for the Year 1859 . 599-600 Vin. Collectors of the Customs for the District of Gloucester . 600 Postmasters of Gloucester 600 INDEX 603-610 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTER. CHAPTER I. TOPOGRAPHICAL DESCRIPTION. Harbors. — Coves. — Soil. — Hills. — Rocking Stones. — The Mag nolia. — The Cut. — Ponds. — Islands. — Norman's Woe. rf^HE territory of the origmal town of Gloucester occupies the -^ whole northern promontory of Massachusetts Bay known as Cape Ann, and is bounded on the north by Ipswich Bay, on the east by the Atlantic Ocean, on the south by Massachusetts Bay, and on the west by the towns of Manchester and Essex. It is divided into two nearly equal parts by Annisquam River, an arm of the sea extending from Ipswich Bay, first in a south-westerly and then in a south-easterly direction, about four miles towards Gloucester Harbor, from which it is separated by a short and narrow neck of land. The territory varies but Httle in length, the greatest being about nine miles ; which is from the corner bounds of Manchester and Essex, where these join each other, to Straitsmouth, on the easterly side of the Cape. Its greatest width is from Twopenny Loaf, near the mouth of Chebacco Kiver, to Eastern Point ; and is about six miles. The narrowest part, between Ipswich Bay and Massachusetts Bay, is a little less than four miles. The principal harbor is on the south side of the town, and is formed by Eastern Poiut, — a strip of unequal width, extending in a south-westerly direction about three miles, with a rock-bound coast that defies the violence of the surging waves dashing almost constantly against it, and affording within 1 2 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. its friendly embrace safe shelter and anchorage for a large fleet. In the course of the year, many hundred vessels, mostly of the coasting and fishing classes, find here a refuge from the danger ous easterly gales and storms by which the coast is so often \'isited ; and ia autumn, when a favorable -n-ind and clear weather foUow an easterly blow, it is not an uncommon sight to see a fleet of two or three hundred sail working out of the har bor at the same time, and presenting a scene of sm-passing inter est and beauty. Annisquam Harbor is a safe and snug haven at the mouth of Annisquam Eiver, having a bar across its entrance, which ren ders it difficult of access. A current tradition among the people at Annisquam affirms that the name by which their section of the town has always been known is derived fr'om Squam, an Indian word descriptive of the harbor ; and Ann, the name of the cape within whose Hmits it is situated. The earliest mention of this name is on WilHam Wood's jNIap of Massachusetts, drawn in 1633, where it is spelled Wonasquam. It also occiu-s in Winthrop's Journal, under the year 1635 ; and in Josseh-n's " Account of Two Voyages to New England," the first of which was commenced in 1638. He spells it Wonasquam; and adds, " a dangerous place to Sail by in stormie weather, by reason of the many Rocks and foaming breakers." There are several coves on the eastern extremity of the Cape, at some of which harbors have been made, by the construction, at a heavy cost, of massive stone piers and breakwaters. The shores of the town are indented by numerous other coves ; but the only one deserving particular- notice here is Trynall Cove, at which a ferry was established in 1694 for the conveyance of passengers over Annisquam River to Biskie Island, fi-om which a causeway extended to the main land on the Chebacco side of the town. So important was this channel of communication, that, in 1759, the project of building a bridge at this place was discussed in town-meeting, but soon abandoned ; and the ferry was made to ser\-e the convenience of travellers till the latter part of the last centui-y, when it was discontinued. The remains of the ancient causeway are stiU to be seen. TOPOGRAPHICAL DESCRIPTION. 3 The surface of the town is uneven ; and its pecuHar character strikes every beholder, at fii-st sight, with astonishment. Bald, rocky hills, bold and precipitous ledges of rock, with acres of bowlders of various sizes, in many places scattered thickly over the surface, combine to present a rare scene of naked ruggedness and complete steriHty. The small tracts and patches of clear land by which this view of barrenness is occasionally relieved are covered with a strong and fertile soil, suited to the groAvth of most of our New-England agricultural products. Much of their productiveness, however, is derived from the persevering indus try which has removed the rocks fi-om their surface, and con verted the land into a state fit for cultivation. The highest elevation of land in the town is a hill situated near its western border, called Tompson's Mountain. It is two hundred and fifty-five feet above the level of the sea, and its summit affords an extensive prospect of land and ocean. On a clear day, there are plainly discernible, at distances varying fi-om twenty to eighty miles, Bunker-hiU Monument ; Wachuset Moun tain, in Worcester County ; Monadnock, Gunstock, and other mountain ranges, in New Hampshire ; and Agamenticus, in Maine.* The other hills deserving mention are Governor's,t commanding a fine view of the principal village, harbor, and the two bays whose waters are separated by the Cape ; Rail-cut, next in elevation to Tompson's ; and Pigeon HiU, on the north easterly part of the Cape. The latter is the first land that salutes the eye of the mariner as he approaches the coast from the east ; and, in order to render it more conspicuous as a land mark, the trees with which its summit was originally covered * These several objects were pointed out to me by a member of a surveying party belonging to the United-States Coast Survey, which was stationed for several months on this hill. t This name was given about the time of the first settlement of the town; but a use to whioh the Mil was pnt in the Eevolutionary War has caused the ancient appellation sometimes to yield to that of Beacon Pole. April 16, 1776, the General Court resolved that a beacon should be erected at Cape Ann, on Governor's Hill; another, at Marble head; one at Boston, on the usual place; and one on the Blue Hills, in Milton. The selectmen and two commissioned oificers nearest the beacons were to have charge of them, and, when an enemy's fleet was discovered, to fire their alarm-guns, set the bells ringing, and cause the beacons to be fired with all expedition. 4 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. received for many years the cai-eful attention of the town. Here may be had a near, extensive, and subhme A'iew of the " unbe- ginning, endless sea." Besides these hills, there are some elevations that deserve notice on account of their- structiu-e and their striking and majes tic forms. Of these, Poles * and Fai-m Ledge, two large masses of rock, whose precipitous sides and bold outHne command the attention of every beholder, are the most conspicuous. The rocks of Cape Ann are granite, of a beautiful, dark color ; and are easily -m-ought into blocks of any needed size. Several quarries have been opened in different locahties ; but none ai-e now extensively worked, except some valuable ones at the north east part of the Cape. These are truly mines of wealth ; for they yield a sui-e and ample retuin to the industry which turns out the useful material they fiuiii«h, and which finds everj" year an. increased demand for its products. The time mav come when the busy hand of labor wiU be seen plying its blows at the granite ledges in every part of the town, and extracting there from the means of a more substantial and permanent prosperity than was ever derived fr-om the richest mines of the precious metals. It is not only fr-om a scenic or utiHtai-ian point of ^-iew that the rocks of Cape Ann possess an interest : they afford a few natural ciuiosities, that amply repay the troublc and fatigue of a visit to their several locahties. One of these, Rafe's Crack, Avhich is said to have derived its name fr-om a man named Ralph, who once resided in its -\iciiiity, is a remarkable fissui-e in a ledge on the seacoast between Norman's Woe and Kettle Cove. Its length forms a right angie Avith the shore, from which it extends more than two htmdi-ed feet. Its -i'sidth is u-regulai- ; but the greatest is about ten feet. The depth fi-om the highest pai-t of the rock, forming one of its sides to low- water mar-k, is computed at sixty feet. The ledge is one of the most remai-kable on the Cape ; being compact, of o-reat size * I adapt the spelling of this word to its pronunciation. It is of early occurrence in the town-records; where its orthography is such as to authorize a conjecture that it was derived from the name of Powel, an early inhabitant. TOPOGRAPHICAL DESCRIPTION. 5 and presenting, ocean-ward, an aspect of singular boldness and grandeiu-. The \iew of the spot, and the hollow, thundering noise of the sea, as it is dashed back fi-om the rocks at the upper end of the chasm, cause every visitor to feel the presence of a subHme and majestic influence. Another feature in the geological structure of the town is its rocking stones. The one most deserving of notice is that near Bass Rocks. It^is situated at the end of a large and high ledge, jutting out into the sea ; and is not perceived, without examina tion, to be a detached portion of it. It Hes in such juxtaposition to the main rock as to strike against it at every oscillation. It is somewhat difficult of access, though the agile and adventurous may obtain a foothold upon it without difficulty. Its shape is so irregular, that its weight is rendered difficult of computation ; but no estimate makes it less than, five hundred tons. It has a rocking motion of about one inch; but as its vibrations are caused only by the sea, which leaves it at low water, the fre quency and force of these depend upon the time of tide, and the violence with which it is struck by the waves. The best time to visit it is at or near half-tide ; and, if a heavy sea should be then breaking upon the shore, it wiU exhibit a constant, tremu lous motion, affording a rare illustration of hydro-dynamic power. This rock derives additional interest from the proba bihty that it attracted the notice of a celebrated New-England divine many years since, who thus mentions it in a letter * to a foreign correspondent : — " You may Judge me akin to Johannes de Eupe Scissa by my obtruding upon you another Story of a Rock, after my having trans cribed unto our (Alas ! deceased) Friend an Account of the Eockuing Stone to be seen at the town of Gloucester, in this American Colony. But tho' the thing be Little above the Quality of a trifle, yett, because there is a little curiousity in it, and some other Things as Trivial have been commemorated among observable Earities, I will now give you a * This letter, written by Bev. Cotton Mather, is dated " Sept. 24, 1724," and is addressed to Dr. James Jurin. It is in possession of the Massachusetts Historical Society. Such an exaggerated account of the motion of this rock would hardly be expected, eveu from such a source. b HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. Relation of another Large Eock in the very same Town of Gloucester, the circumstances whereof are a little singular. " There stands on the Shore there, between Low and High Water Mark, a Eock upon a Eock, where it would require many Team of Oxen to draw it from its Basis. The Eock is about 19 or 20 foot long, about 9 or 10 foot wide, but Sidewise, that it faces the Sea. But when a Storm arises, and the Sea beats tempestuously upon this Eock, the spectators have a sight that a Little Surprises them. They see the Eock, notwithstanding the vast Bulk and Weight of it, move backwards and forwards three or four feet, and, in less than a Minute or two, perform its motion with Continual Eepetitions. The Eock whereon it stands is worn into a most Eegular Smoothness as far as this motion extends, and a Eock on which ye Back of it is is also thereby worn considerably." The Rocking- Stone, of which he had pre^dously wi-itten, was probably that situated in a pasture on the north side of the Cape. It is a bowlder, weighing about seventy tons, resting on a rock on a level with the surface of the ground, and may be set in motion by one person; so that, after the withdrawal of the force, about fifteen vibrations may be counted. The rocky sm-face of the town, which now presents many large tracts, offering scarcely a tree or bush to reheve the eye, was ouce covered ^\ith a fine growth of vai-ious kinds of wood : but the work of levelling it began -when the town was first set tled, and has been continued with unfaltering perseverance ; till, at length, only in a few places ai-e there any trees to be found. In addition to the wood cut for fuel for domestic consumption, and the timber felled for ship-building and for the construction of tenements in town, quite a biisk business was earlv cai-ried on in the exportation of the article to Boston. A strav leaf of an old account-book reveals the fact, that in about thr-ee weeks in 1711, over five hundi-ed cords of wharf- wood were shipped to one firm in that place. The botany of Cape Ann is rich in the possession of a rare plant called the Miignol-ia glmtca, whose only nati-s-e place in jNIassachusetts is a s-\vamp in the westerly part of the to-mi It belongs to a genus nained after Magnol, a distinguished French botanist ; and is of a family comprehenduig many beautiful trees TOPOGRAPHICAL DESCRIPTION. 7 and shrubs very common in the Southern and South-western States. The M. glauca grows to the height of about ten feet, and yields a beautiful, fragrant flower through nearly the whole of the warm season. These are in such request, that large num bers of them are annuaUy carried out of town for sale. Many of the shi-ubs are taken up every year for transplanting ; and, as Httle care is exercised for the preservation of the plant in its original locality, it is to be feai-ed that it will soon be completely extii-pated. Of those that have been transplanted, few have thrived ; owing in most cases, perhaps, to the change from a wet soil to a dry one. This plant possesses valuable medicinal properties, and is said to have been used with great success in chronic rheumatism and intermittent fever. The project of a cut, or passage, through the narrow neck of land that separated the waters of Massachusetts Bay from those of Ips-wich Bay, received the early attention of the Colonial Government ; for, as early as 1638, the records of the Gerieral Court say, " Mr. Endicott was willed to send three men to view Cape Ann, whether it may be cut through, and how they find it." But it was not probably deemed of sufficient pubhc advan tage to be undertaken by the government ; and its execution was left to the individual enterprise of Rev. Richard Blynman, the first minister of the town, who, by a vote of the town, " 26th 5 mo. 1643," was to " cut the beach through, and to maintain it, and to have the benefit of it to himself and his for ever ; giving the inhabitants of the town free passage." The masoni-y of this ancient canal was of the Hghtest and most simple kind ; consist ing merely of two paraUel waUs of small rocks, which approached near each other at the bottom, and thence sloped to the top, where the width was just sufficient to aUow the passage of smaU shallops. The bridge was so constructed, that, by raising one end sHghtly from the wall on which it rested, it could be swung round on a pivot fixed into the other. This channel was of great convenience to the early settlers of the to-wn ; but it was cut, undoubtedly, with reference to the accommodation of the coastwise navigation between Massachusetts Bay and the eastern shores, which was carried on in small vessels that, by means of 8 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. this passage, could avoid the risk and delay of an outside voyage around the Cape. Nothing is preserved on record to show the extent to which it was used. It was kept open -without obstruc tion till the winter of 1704 ; when, by the combined action of a violent storm and remarkably high tide, it was so fiUed -with sand and gravel as to become useless. Just before this event occurred, the to'wn had taken its first action in relation to the Cut since the original grant. At a meeting, May 15, 1704, a vote was passed, "that whatever person or persons that passeth through the Cut, and shall leave the bridge open, and shall not turn the bridge over the Cut again, — every such person or persons shaU pay, as a fine to ye proprietors of said Cut, six shUlings in money for every time they shall leave the said bridge and do not tum it over the Cut again." The ownership of it had passed from Mr. Blyn man to WUHam Stevens ; but it was now the property of Capt. Nathaniel Coit. On his refusal or neglect to clear it, a memo rial was presented to the General Court in behalf of the town, setting forth the inconvenience suffered in consequence of its useless condition, and praying the interference of that body to compel Capt. Coit to put it again in navigable order. The court ordered him to have it cleared ; and, for his compensation, allowed him to tax every vessel, not belonging to the town, that passed thi-ough, two shillings each time ; and those belonffin^ to Gloucester, seven shilhngs yearly. After some delay, he com menced work upon it ; but progressed so slowly, that he was at last hurried on by the General Comt to complete it in twelve days, or submit to have it done by the town at his expense. No further action appears on record in relation to it at this time ; and it was, -without doubt, soon made passable : but only a few years elapsed before it again became the subiect of controversy, and of fr-equent and lengthy debate in town-meet ings. In February, 1723, a remarkably high tide, attended -with a storm of unusual violence, again filled this channel with sand Ineffectual attempts were made by the town, by petition to the General Coui-t and complaints to the Coui-t of Sessions, to com- TOPOGRAPHICAL DESCRIPTION. 9 pel Samuel Stevens, jun., the owner of the Cut at that time, to open it again. The last effort to this end, Feb. 1, 1727, was the choice of an agent. Elder James Sayward, -with appropriation of ten pounds for his expenses, to prosecute INlr. Stevens in a court of law. Against this vote, John Sargent, John Parsons, and EHezer Parsons, entered thefr dissent, " because it was spending the to-wn's money -without prospect of benefit, or gain ing the supposed end for which said agent is chosen." A few months afterwards, a town-meeting was held to consider a proposition to open the Cut at the town's charge ; which, after much debate, was negatived : and finaUy, Feb. 8, 1728, the town gave " Hberty to any person, so far as they are concerned, to open and clear " it. The un"wUlingness of the town to assume the management of this channel, and to open it and keep it in na-vigable order, shows that it was not of much public utUity. After the lapse of nearly a centui-y, the minds of the people were again aroused to the convenience and advantages of the ancient union of the two bays. At this period, the maritime intercourse between the commercial capital of New England and aU the ports and havens from Ips-wich Bay to Penobscot River employed a great number of smaU craft, which, it was supposed, would seek this passage if it were navigable ; and the recent apphcation of steam as a motive power for propelHng vessels thi-ough the water gave rise to extravagant expectations as to the extent to which it might be used by vessels so pro peUed. In the most sanguine belief that the enterprise would yield a fair return for the capital needed to carry it forward, about sis thousand doUars were subscribed towards it by indi viduals, who were incorporated by the State, under the name of the Gloucester Canal Corporation. The Commonwealth became a stockholder to the amount of fifteen hundred dollars ; and an appropriation of six thousand dollars was obtained fi-om the General Government, on the representation of the great pubhc benefit the channel woiUd undoubtedly prove to be in case of war, as shown by the constant danger of capture and annoyance by the enemy's cruisers, to which the outside navigation was 2 10 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTER. exposed in the conflict with England a few years before. The Act of Incorporation bears date Feb. 16, 1822. The work was imniediately commenced, and finished during the next year ; but, to the great disappointment of its projectors, it was so little used at first as to yield an insufficient sum for repafrs, and finally ceased to be resorted to at aU. A drawbridge was maintained for a fcAV yeai-s, which finally gave place to a per manent one, and that has now yielded to the soHd road. During the time the passage was open, one steam-vessel only made use of it. She was one of the smallest boats * of her class, which, with a party of pleasure, made the cfrcumna-vigation of the Cape in August, 1829. There are but two ponds of considerable magnitude -within the Hmits of Gloucester. The largest (Cape Pond) is situated near the easterly end of the Cape ; and is a beautifrU sheet of water, covering about seventy acres. It is nearly en"\-fr-oned by high and rocky hUls, which on one side recede with abruptness from the shore. Perch and pickerel are occasionaUy caught there ; but it is seldom visited for the purpose of fishing. The brook by which it has its outlet takes a westerly dfrection ; and after flo-wing about two miles, in part through a swamp fiUed with the high blueberry and other shrubs, mingles its waters with those of the sea, at Mill River. Trout have been taken from this stream ; but it is not so plentifully suppHed -with them as to make it a resort for anglers. The other pond, a sheet of water of smaller size than Cape Pond, is on Eastern Point, and covers a considerable portion of the width of this strip of land at the place where it is situated. A narrow ridge, composed of sand and pebbles, separates it from the waters of the ocean which, at times of its unusual height and violent agitation, have been known to throw thefr briny spray over the barrier and mingle with those of the pond. The islands near the Cape and in its harbors are few in number, and of but Httle importance, except for the historical * On that account, named the " Tom Thumb." The dimensions of the canal barely admitted her passage. TOPOGRAPHICAL DESCEIPTION. 11 interest connected with the three that attracted the notice of the early and celebrated navigator, who associated them -with one of the marvellous exploits of his own wonderful career. One of tbese three islands Hes off the head of the Cape, and is sepa rated from it by a channel of only a few rods in -width. Its surface is rocky, and covers not more than forty or fifty acres. Its present name (Straitsmouth) was given before 1699, when the island was granted by the General Court to Capt. James Davis, in consideration that he had " been at much charge and expense in the late wars -with the French and Indian enemy, and spent much time in said ser-vice." Its value, in the depre ciated currency of 1732, was two hundred and twenty-five pounds. A Hght-house was erected on it a few years since, for the accommodation of the in-shore na-vigation of the Cape. The other islands of this group are situated on the south-east side of the Cape, -within a mUe of its shores. Thatcher's, the larger of the two, is estimated to contain about eighty acres, most of which consists of good soil, affording rich pasturage for a few cattle. In 1714, it was purchased by Rev. John White for a hundred pounds. He sold it in 1727 to Joseph Allen, for a hundred and seventy-five pounds. In 1771, the Colonial Gov ernment became its o-wner, at a cost of five hundred pounds, and proceeded in the same year to erect two Hght-houses and a dweUing-house on it. The Hghts were Hghted for the first time, Dec. 21, 1771. At the commencement of the Revo lutionary War, the keeper of the Hghts (Kfrkwood) was forcibly removed from the island by Capt. Rogers's company of minute men, as a person inimical to the patriotic sentiments generaUy held by the people of the to-wn. After a lapse of time, the lights were reHghted, and have ever since thrown forth their friendly beams to greet the anxious mariner, and, in the dark ness of night, dfrect his way over the pathless sea. Milk Island, lying a short distance south of Thatcher's, rises but Httle above the level of the sea. Its soil is sufficient for the pasturage of a few sheep ; for which purpose only has it ever been used. In 1718, it was sold by Petter Bennet, of Georgeto-wn, Me., to his brother Anthony, of Gloucester, for forty-seven pounds. 12 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. Near the entrance of the principal hai-bor, on the westerly side, is Kettle Island, which is high and rocky, and of no importance as to size or use. It may have received its name from the family of John Kettle, an early settler ; though it was known by its present name as early as 1634, when five men, belonging to Salein, were drowned fi-om a canoe, near it. In the waters of the harbor He Ten-pound Island and Five-pound Island, both very small, but mentioned by thefr- present names in the early records of the town ; a vote of Aihich, in 1644, indi cates the use then made of the former : — " Ten Pound Island shall be reserved for Rams onlie ; and whoever shall put on anie but great Eamms shall forfeit 2s. 6d. per head." Among the grants to WUHam Vinson, an early settler, was " an Island that lyes in the coave before his house, caUed ffive- pound Island." Other islands, of sufficient importance to receive names in the early settlement of the to-\A'n, but deser-ving no fui-ther notice here, are Obadiah Bruen's, Cow, Norawaie, Cormorant, and Hemlock. „ On the Avesterly side of the harbor is Norman's Oh, or Woe ; a large rock, lying a few rods fr-om the shore, and connected -with it by a reef of rocks, which the sea leaves bai-e at low water. The tradition, that a man named Norman was ship wrecked and lost there, has no other confirmation than that derived from the name itself A "WUHam Norman Avas an early settler of Manchester ; and a Richai-d Norman is shoAvn, by the probate records of Essex Cotmty, to have sailed on a voyao-e from which he never returned home, some time before 1682. The doleful name appHed to this spot may commemorate a mis fortune to one of those individuals. It will recall to the minds of the readers of American poetry, if it did not suggest to the author, a pathetic ballad of one of om- most popular poets. EAELY VOYAGES TO NOETH AMEEICA. 13 CHAPTER II. EARLY VOYAGES TO NORTH AMERICA. Gosnold's Voyage. — Pring's. — Attempt to plant a Colony at Sagadahoc. — Voyage of Capt. John Smith in 1614: he names New England. — Other Voyages to the Coast. — Plymouth set tled. — Plymouth Company in England. — Further Attempts at Settlement. Although the continent of America was ifrst discovered within a few degrees of the prominent headland upon which Glouces ter is situated, and although the century following that event was, for the most part, distinguished for maritime adventure and discovery, there is no account of a visit* to any part of the shores of New England, from Cape Cod to the eastern coast of Maine, for more than one hundred years after the voyage of Cabot in 1497. During that time, some portions of the shores of North America were repeatedly visited by vessels belonging to the chief maritime nations of Europe. Within the first ten years of the sixteenth century, French navigators had found the great fishing-ground of Newfoundland, and had saUed into the river St. LaAvrence. In 1524, Verazzani, in the service of France, ranged along the American coast several hundred mUes, and entered some of its harbors. About this time, too, several French vessels were engaged in the fisheries at NcAvfoundland ; and, not long after, the memorable voyage of Cartier prepared the way for the ultimate permanent settle ment of the French in North America. English fishermen, also, made voyages to Newfoundland at this early period ; and the number of vessels of different nations resorting to that fishiag-ground continued to increase from year to year, till, at 14 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTEE. the end of the century, it amounted to no less than four hun dred. In the reign of Queen Elizabeth, the zeal for maritime adventure and discovery was the most conspicuous national characteristic. Enghsh ships cfr-cumnavigated the globe, and visited distant parts of the earth hitherto unknoAvn. Many voyages were also made in the attempt to found colonies in NeAvfoundland and Vfrginia ; but the intervening coast does not seem to have attracted attention, nor does history relate that any navigator had sailed near the shores of Cape Ann, or come to anchor in its Aricinity, before 1602. There can be scarcely a doubt, however, as wiU immediately appear, that a European vessel had Adsited some part of the neighboring coast at the eastward just, before that time. On Friday, the 14th of May, 1602, Capt. Bartholomew Gos nold, in a small ship called the " Concord," — carrying, besides the ship's crew, a company designed for settlement in the coim try, — fell in Avith the land someAvhere on the coast of Maine, after a passage of forty-nine days fi-om Falmouth, England. Standing along by the shore till about noon of the same day, he then came to anchor, and soon descried approaching his ship a Biscay shallop, in which were eight Indians, tAvo of whom were dressed partly in European costume. These Indians came from a rock, which, fr-om this cfr-cumstance, Avas called Savage Rock ; the first spot on the shores of Ncav England that receiAed an English name. The accounts of this day's navigation, by the joui-naHsts of the voyage, ai-e not sufiicientlA- clear to enable us to determine Avith certainty the location of Savage Rock ; but it is nearly certain that it was not the ledge off om- Cape now knoAvn as the Salvages.* From a compai-ison of the accounts, the most probable conclusion is, that the first land made by Gosnold was Cape Elizabeth ; and that Savage Rock Avas the * The Salvages are two ledges, situated about two miles east of Straitsmouth Island. One of them is covered by the sea at high water. Tradition has preserved no account of the origin of their name, and mention of it in any printed account could only be expected on the occurrence of disaster or shipwvecli on or near tliem. In such conneotion they are mentioned in December, 1768, when a schooner was cast upon thera in a heavy sea; involving, as an inevitable consequence, the loss of all on board. eaely VOYAGES TO NOETH AMEEICA. 15 Nubble, — a lai-ge, high rock, near the shore, on the east side of York Harbor, Me.* Gosnold anchored near Savage Rock ; and * So at least it is in the opinion of Mr. Ebenezer Pool of Rockport, who is well acquainted with the entire line of seacoast from Cape Ann to the Kennebec, and who, after reading the narratives, came at once to this conclusion, and kindly communicated the same to me. These narratives — one by Archer, and the other by Brereton — are in Massachusetts Historical Collections, vol. xxviii. The first says, "The fourteenth, about six in the morning, we descried land that lay north, &c. The northerly part we called the north land, whioh to another rock upon the same, lying twelve leagues west: that we called Savage Rock (because the savages first showed themselves there). Five leagues towards the said rock is an out-point of woody ground, the trees thereof very high and straight, from the rock east-north-east. From the said rock came towards us a Biscay shallop," &c. He then relates tbe visit of the Indians to his ship, and mentions " leaving thera and their coast." Next he says, " About sixteen leagues .south-west from thence, we perceived in that course two small islands, — the one lying eiistward from Savage Eock, the other to the southward of it." Brereton says, " We made the land, being full of fair trees; the land somewhat low; certain hummocks, or hills, lying into the land; the shore full of white sand, but very stony or rocky. And standing fair along by the shore, about twelve of the clock the same day, we came to an anchor." He then gives an account of the -pisit of the Indians, and proceeds: "It seemed, by some words and signs they made, that some Basques, or of St. John de Luz, have fished or traded in this place, being in the latitude of forty-three degrees. But riding here in no very good harbor, and, withal, doubting the weather, about three of the clock the same day, in the aftemoon, we weighed; and, standing southerly off into sea the rest of that day and the night following, with a fresh gale of wind, in the morn ing we found ourselves embayed with a mighty headland." This "headland" was, of course, Cape Cod. The "north land," Mr. Pool thinks, was Cape Elizabeth; and the " out-point of woody ground," five leagues towards Savage Eock, Cape Poi-poise. The expression, "about sixteen leagues from thence," refers, in his opinion, to the place where they made the land in the morning, aud not to Savage Kock. And this seems reasonable ; because, after sailing that distance southerly from the rock, it is hardly possible that they should have " perceived " a small island eastward from it. Besides, the time spent in sailing sixteen leagues from Savage Rock, where they weighed anchor about three o'clock, must have expired in the night; and that distance from Savage Rock, wherever the rock was, must have carried them more than half-way from that place to Cape Cod. Savage Book, then, was about sixteen leagues south west from the " north land ;" " the shore full of white sand," along whicii they sailed before reaching the rock, was the long beach between Wood Island and Cape Porpoise, and the beach in Well's Bay; the small island eastward frora it was Boon Island; and those south of it, the Isles of Shoals, mistaken perhaps, at the distance often miles, for a single island. Brereton says that the place of their anchorage was in the lati tude of 43°. York lies in 43° 16'. The distance thence to Cape Cod is about seventy miles; and as (Josnold was about fourteen hours in sailing from Savage Rock to that place, and considering that his bark was "weak," and that hewas "loth" to press her with much sail," and, further, that he was on an unknown coast, which he would so cautiously navigate as not to sail, "with a fresh gale of wind," more than five miles an hour, there is much probability for the supposition that the place of his first anchorage was near York, and that Mr. Pool, from these and the other facts in the case, has correctly located Savage Eock. It is pretty evident that it was not a verj' prominent locality: for it is not, to my knowledge, mentioned in any subsequent voyage, except that of Pring in 1603. 16 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTEE. after a few hom-s' intercourse AAdth the natives, finding himself " short of his purposed place," he weighed anchor, and pro ceeded. Getting a sight, perhaps, of our Cape before dark, and passing the entrance of Massachusetts Bay in the night, on the morning of the 15th he Avas off the mighty headland, which, on account of the great number of codfish with which the voyagers " pestered thefr ships " there, then received the name of Cape Cod. Gosnold sailed thence along the coast, and discovered the islands forming what is now called the Vuieyard Sound. On one of these islands — that now knoAAm as Cuttyhunk * — he erected a storehouse, and made preparations for the men who AA^ere to stay in the country : but, upon some disagreement, these con cluded not to remain ; and, after stopping at this place several days, during which the ship's company had considerable inter course Avith the Indians, he departed on the 18th of June for England, where, on the 23d of July, he safely arrived. Thus terminated a voyage which was not only the first attempt of the Enghsh to make a settlement AAdthin the Hmits of New England, but also the flrst voyage of discovery to its shores. At that time, not a single European family had a home in any part of North America, north of Mexico. f Three years later, the French made the fli-st permanent settlement in this part of the country, at Nova Scotia ; fr-om which the leaders of the enterprise desfred in a short tune to remove the colony to a milder climate. With this end in view, they explored the coast southerly as far as Cape Cod; but the hostihty of the Indians, and other adverse cfrcumstances, discom-aged then- attempts, and caused an abandonment of thefr- desio-n. New England — or North Vfrginia, as it was then caUed — Avas, by the voyage of Gosnold, brought prominently before the Enghsh people as a promising field for fm-ther discovery. The favorable reports carried home by that captain and his companions undoubtedly influenced the merchants and others, of Bristol ; who, in the next year, despatched a second expedi tion to om coasts. ISIartin Pring, in a ship of fifty tons caUed the * Belknap ; American Biography, art. " Gosnold." t Holmes's Annals, vol. i. p. 123. EAELY VOYAGES TO NORTH AMEEICA. 17 " SpeedweU," accompanied by a bark of twenty-six tons called the " Discoverer," saUed from England in April, 1603. They made the land at the mouth of Penobscot Bay, and ranged along the coast to the south-west, entering several inlets as they proceeded ; from the most westerly of which they shaped their course for Savage Rock. Here they tarried long enough to land on the main, in pursuit of sassafras ; to procure which article, then highly esteemed as a sovereign remedy for vari ous diseases,* was one object of thefr- voyage. Where they landed they found inhabitants, but no sassafras. They suc ceeded, however, in finding an abundance of it in another part of the coast, to which they went fi-om Savage Rock, and from which, after a stay of a few weeks, they sailed for England. There is reason to suppose that Capt. Pring saUed along in view of our Cape : and perhaps he landed on its shores ; for, according to the journal of the voyage, after leaving Savage Rock, the ships " bare into that great gulf which Capt. Gosnold overshot the year before, coasting, and finding people, on the north side thereof." The next Enghsh navigator who visited the coast of New England was Capt. George Weymouth, who, in May, 1605, made the land somewhere about Nantucket, and then sailed off northerly tUl he came to an island — which, it is supposed, was Monhegan — near the entrance to Penobscot Bay. In this vicinity he remained about a month, and then departed for home ; first soAving the seeds of an abundant harvest of future trouble, by basely stealing, for transportation to England, five of the natives. This act, the journahst of the voyage declares, " was a matter of great importance for the fuU accomplishment of our voyage ; " which had, according to the same authority, for its "sole intent," a "true zeal of promulgating God's holy church, by planting Christianity." f The natural rights of men * Gosnold carried home a considerable quantity of it ; and Archer, one of his com pany, testifies to its medicinal efi'ect: " The powder of sassafras, in twelve hours, cured one of our company that had taken a great surfeit by eating the bellies of dogfish, — a very delicious meat." t See Weymouth's Voyage in Massachusetts Historical Collections, vol. xxviii. 3 18 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. were then Httle respected ; and the enslaving of Indians was, long before this date and many years subsequent to it, considered a lawful act.* The accounts carried to England by these discoverers and explorers of the coast of North Vfrginia were favorable to projects for colonization on its shores. The bays and harbors were numerous, spacious, and safe ; the chmate healthy, and the disposition of the natives peaceable. The means of sub sistence were abundant, and iadustry might reasonably expect a sufiicient reward for its labors. The waters abounded Avith cod larger than those of Newfoundland ; and the hiUs and vaUeys of the land Avere fuU of animals, furnishing valuable skins and fm-s, in which a profitable trade was afready commenced. Under such inducements, though permanent settlement was long delayed, the watery track between the two countries was regu larly navigated ; and, from this time, one or more Enghsh ships came annuaUy to the coast. The period for vigorous attempts at colonization had arrived. Possessing such right to dispose of the territory as Cabot's dis covery could give to the croAvn of England, King James I., in 1606, granted to certain persons of Bristol, Plymouth, and other parts of the Avest of England, a strip of land along the Atlantic coast of America, lying between the thfrty-eighth and forty-fifth degrees of north latitude, for the pmpose of planting a colony there. In furtherance of thefr design, some of the company despatched tAvo ships; one of which, of fifty tons, commanded by Henry ChaUons, haAdng two of AVeymouth's stolen men on board, was taken by a Spanish fleet, and cai-ried -with her crew to Spam. The other ship, of which Martin Pring was master, proceeded to the coast, and, after making " a perfect discovery of all those rivers and harbors he was informed of by his instructions," returned to England. Not discomaged, those zealous frdends of colonization in America sent out the next year, in two ships, " one hundred and tAventy persons for planters," AveU prepai-ed to lay the foun- ' Bancroft; History of the United States, vol. i. p. 168. EAELY A'OYAGES TO NOETH AMEEICA. 19 dation of a permanent settlement. Under the presidency of George "Popham, on the 20th of August, 1607, this company began to bmld a fort and erect thefr buildings on a penin sula at the west side of the mouth of the Sagadahoc, now the Kennebec River : but the rigor of a severe Avinter and other discouragements caused the abandonment of the plantation the next year ; some of the colonists returning in a pinnace of thfrty tons, which they had built, and called the " Vu-ginia ; " * the first vessel buUt in New England. Sagadahoc and James town were planted at the same time. The latter survived its early disasters, and was the first permanent abode of the Enghsh in America. The former, under no very dispfriting cfrcumstances, was abandoned in a year. The settlement was projected and planted by men of rank and wealth, in whose thoughts, without doubt, the few humble famihes, then fleeing across the German Ocean from rehgious persecution in thefr native land, were the last to be the founders of the first permanent Colony in New England. The Sagadahoc colonists, on thefr return to England, branded the country they had left as " over-cold," and not habitable by Enghsh people. The chief movers of the enter prise were therefore disheartened ; but a zeal for making further attempts was kept ahve in the breast of one of them (Sfr Ferdinando Gorges), whose career from this time is inti mately connected Avith the history of New England. He became the oAvner of a ship himself, he says ; and sent her here for trade and discovery, under Richard Vines as leader of the enterprise. He does not say, in his account of his proceedings, when the first voyage was made ; f but he held this course " some years together : " and Vines and his men are said to have been in the country in the Avinter of the great "plague," which, according to all the early historians of New England, destroyed many of the natives, and which is supposed to have made its ravages in 1616 and 1617. + The place to which Vines resorted, and * Massachusetts Historical Collections, vol. xxi. p. 246. t Williamson (History of Maine, vol. i. p. 227) says it was in 1609. X Massachusetts Historical Collections, vol. xxvi. p. 67. 20 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. Avhere he spent the Avinter, Avas probably at the mouth of the Saco River. Another of the Sagadahoc adventm-ers (Sfr Francis Popham) sent a ship for seA'eral years, on his OAvn accomit, for fishing and trade, to the coast about Monhegan. He foUowed this business as late as 1614, certainly.* The only voyage to the coast dm-ing the six years preceding the date last named, besides that annually made by Popham's ship, Avas one under the charge of Capt. Edward Harlow, who is said to have been sent to " discover an island supposed to be about Cape Cod." He fell in Avdth the land at " Monahigan," and thence sailed to the place of his destination. On the coast he encountered hostihty fi-om the natives, and three of his men were wounded by thefr arrows ; but he succeeded in making captives of five of them, with whom he returned to England. The voyage was fi-uitful in bad residts only ; for one of the savages, named Epenow, thus ruthlessly torn away from his home, subsequently retahated the injury inflicted upon him self and his countrymen. It is not knoAATi that any Enghsh foot had, prcAdous to 1614, yet pressed om- soU ; and om- Cape stUl remained Avithout a name. But it was destined this year to be associated with that of a remarkable man, whose wonderful adAcntures and achieve ments give to the sober page of history a romantic interest, that, if history were not sometimes stranger than fiction, would seem to belong rather to products of the imagination than to the events of real Hfe. Capt. John Smith had afready been distin guished in planting and sustaining the southern Colony of Vfrginia ; and he now gave his unsm-passed energy, and aU the infiuence he possessed, to the foundation of a settlement on the northern coast. In the employ of some London merchants, he set sail on the 3d of Mai-ch, 1614, Avith two ships, and forty-five men and boys, for the coast of New England, or, as it Avas stiU called. North Vu-ginia. On the 30th of AprU, they arrived at the Island of Monhegan, on the coast of Maine. " Our plot," he * Smith's Description of New England. EAELY VOYAGES TO NOETH AMEEICA. 21 says, " was there to take whales, and make trials of a mine of gold and copper." After due trial, this purpose of the expedi tion was abandoned, and a more profitable occupation was found in trying for fish and furs, which Avere to be the " last refuge " to secure a saving voyage. AVhile the ships and most of the company Avere engaged in fishing, Capt. Smith, with a few of his men, in a small boat, sought a more congenial employment in ranghig the coast and trading Avith the natives. The employ ment was not only congenial, but it was one in which he had had much experience ; for he had explored the shores, rivers, and inlets of Chesapeake Bay, a distance of three thousand miles, in an open boat. In this new enterprise, he explored the coast from Penobscot Bay to Cape Cod ; within which bounds, accord ing to his own account, he " sounded about twenty-five excel lent good harbors." At the latter place he had a skirmish Avith the Indians ; but, Avithin an hour after it occurred, the parties became friends again. Capt. Smith made a map of the territory he visited, and afiixed names to its most prominent parts. The outhne of our Cape is not correctly draAvn, and the harbor does not appear at aU. In his description of the coast, he mentions " Augoam," on his map caUed Southampton, but now Ipswich. On the east of this place, he says, " is an isle of two or three leagues in length, the one-half plain mafrsh grass, fit for pasture, Avith many fafr high groves of mulberry trees and gardens ; and there is also oaks, pines, and other woods, to make this place an exceUent habitation, being a good and safe harbor." Next he alludes to " Naimkeck," now Salem ; and says, " From hence doth stretch into the sea the fafr headland Tragabigzanda, fronted Avith three isles called the Three Turks' Heads. To the north of this doth enter a great bay, where we found some habitations and cornfields." The isle east of Augoam is, of course, Plumb Island; and the "great bay" can be no other than IpsAvich Bay. It is not known that Capt. Smith landed on our Cape. The name he gave it was that of a Turkish lady, who showed him much kindness while a prisoner in her country. After his 22 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. return to England, Prince Chai-les substituted for it that of his mother. Queen Ann, consort of James I. The only other name given by Smith to any part of our territory was that of the Thi-ee Tm-ks' Heads, to the thi-ee islands off the head of the Cape ; which were so called in memory of an exploit, by Avhich thi-ee Turkish champions were successiA'ely slain by him in personal combat. This name seems also to haA-e been soon transferred to another place ; * and the three islands have long been knoAvn by thefr present separate appeUations. HaAdng received a name which it AviU probably keep as long as its rock- bound coast shaU resist the dashing surges of the Atlantic, Cape Ann does not again appear as a point of interest, or CA-en notice, tiU about the time of its fii-st occupancy by Enghsh resi dents ; though it can scarcely be doubted that it was often seen, and perhaps sometimes Adsited, by the mariners who in the intervening years resorted to the coast for fishing, trade, or discovery. Capt. Smith, Avith one of his ships, carrjdng his skins and fms and some of his fish, sailed for England on the 18th of July, and airived there on the 5th of August. Hunt was left on the coast, Avith the other ship, to prepare his fish for a Spanish mai-ket ; and, after having got them on board, saUed to Cape Cod, and thence to Spaiu. At Cape Cod, and another hai-bor, now Plymouth, this base man committed an act of Adl- lany, wliich consigned his memory to the execration of all man kind. HaA'ing, imder false pretences, enticed twenty-seven of the natives into his ship, he secm-ed them tmder the hatches, and carried them off, to sell in Spain for slaves. Seven yeai-s afterAvards, an aged mother of three of these Indians could not behold any of his countrymen "Avithout breaking forth into great passion, weeping and crying excessively." -f • It was borne by another locality as early as 1630. Gov. Winthrop, in the jounuil of his passage to New England, says, •' About four in the afternoon, we made land ou our starboard bow, called the Three Turks' Heads; being a ridge of three hills npon the main, whereof the sonthmost is the greatest. It lies near Aquamenticus." — Snmge's ]Viiithrnp, vol. i. p. 24. t Young's Chronicles of the Pilgrims, p. 215. EARLY VOYAGES TO NOETfi AMEEICA. 23 AVhUe Capt. Smith was making trial for a mine of gold on the coast of Maine, another expedition, having the same object in view, was fitting ou.t in England. Epenow, formerly men tioned, had fallen into the hands of Sfr Ferdinando Gorges. He had art enough to invent a story of a mine of gold in his native place. A voyage was therefore undertaken by Gorges, who despatched a ship in June, 1614, under the command of Capt. Hobson, with Epenow on board, to guide to the desfr-ed spot. Epenow's story was, of course, a trick, to which he resorted for getting home ; and soon after the ai-rival of the ship at Martha's Vineyard, where he was to make good his undertaking, not Avithstanding every precaution had been taken to prevent his escape, he contrived to sHp overboard, and, under cover of a shower of arrows from twenty canoes, to rejoin his countrymen, in spite of aU the English could do with thefr muskets to pre vent it. Thereupon Hobson returned to England, though dfrected how, upon the failure of this scheme, to have spent the summer to good purpose. He must have been on the coast soon after Hunt left it ; and the unfavorable termination of his voyage is attributed to the treacherous dealing of the latter with the natives.* Besides Capt. Smith and his men, other European mariners were in the Adcinity of Cape Ann in 1614. He himself informs us, that at a place forty leagues westward from his station, at Monhegan, whUe he was trying the " conclusions " of whaling and mining, two French ships made a great voyage by trade. This place, it seems from his description of the coast, was in the great bay, north of the "fafr headland Tragabigzanda." During the few years foUoAving this date, it is certain that ves sels from France visited the parts about Cape Cod ; where, in 1616 or 1617, one was cast away, the crew of which fell into the hands of the natives, who kept three or four of them, whom they used "worse than slaves," and Idlled the rest. Hunt's AdUany left no claim for kindness to shipwrecked mariners here. To that portion of North Vfrginia explored by Capt. Smith * Massachusetts Historical Collections, vol. xxvi. p. 132. 24 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTEE. he gave the name of " New England ; " and, though he did not plant a colony here, his earnest and weU-dfrected efforts to do so, and the employment of his pen and his influence to encou rage colonization in this pai-t of the coimtry, merit, and vn)! alAvays receive, the gi-ateful regard of the people who inhabit it. The cargoes cai-ried home in Capt. Smith's ships Adclded a handsome sum ; and preparations were immediately made, by persons of London interested in the South- Vfr-ginia Company, to engage in an expedition for fishing and trade to the coast of Ncav England. The command of it was offered to Capt. Smith ; but he had afready engaged himself to Gorges and others, of the Plymouth Company : and ^Michael Cooper, msster of the ship in which he had just returned, was appointed to the charge. Besides, the London Company did not design to make any settlement, and Smith had resolA'ed to go only Avith a com pany for plantation ; " for," said he confidently, " I know my grounds." But a succession of singiUarly imtoAvard CA'ents prcA'ented his coming to settle a colony, and his first A'oyage to New England was also his last. In pm-suaiice of the engage ment of Gorges and his friends A\dth him, tAvo ships — one of two hundi-ed and one of fifty tons — Avere fitted out. AAdth these ships, — on board of Avhich were fifteen men besides him self, Avho A\-ere to stay in the country, — Smith saUed again for NeAV England, in Alarch, 1615. He had just got clear of the coast when his ship lost her masts and sprimg a leak, so that he was obHged to put back to Ph-mouth. Embai-king again in a smaU vessel of sixty tons, and proceeding on his voyage, he was caj)- tm-ed by a fleet of French men-of-Avar ; and though his vessel got clear, and retm-ned to England, Smith himself Avas detained as a prisoner for some time, but flnally escaped in the night in an open boat, and, after twelve hours' cxposme in a storm, succeeded in reaching land on the coast of France. In the next year- (1616), he pubhshed his description of Ncav Eno-land, — a Avork especiaUy designed to aAvaken an interest in settlino- the country ; and, by zealous and unAvcaricd personal efforts in the cause he had so much at heai-t, he succeeded in obtainin'' command of another expedition, AA'hich was got ready in the EAELY VOYAGES TO NOETH AMEEICA. 25 spring of 1617, in three ships, Avdth a number of men to remain in the coimtry. But this design was also frustrated. The ships were Avind-bound three months ; at the end of which the season was too far advanced, and the voyage was abandoned. Discou raged by repeated faUures, his friends could not be induced to make another effort; and Capt. Smith was obHged to content himself at home Avith the empty title of Admfral of New Eng land, which, in consideration of his services, losses, and disap pointments, the Plymouth Company formaUy conferred upon him for Hfe.* The four ships fitted out from London under Cooper saUed in January, 1615 ; and arrived on the New-England coast in March. They were so successful in fishing and trade, that eight ships were sent the next year from the ports of London and Plymouth ; six of which arrived safely back the same season, with cargoes of fish, oil, and furs. Two of the ships, sailing late, came by the way of the West Indies, and did not reach the fishing-ground tUl May, 1617. Besides the ships before mentioned as visiting the New- England shores in 1615, a voyage of Sfr Richard Hawkins for the Plymouth Company is mentioned by Gorges. He left England in October, Avith how many ships it is not stated ; and, arriving on the coast, found wax raging among the natives. He sent a ship, laden Avith fish, to market ; and then passed along the coast to Vfrginia, and thence, Avith " such commodities as he had got together," to Spain. AVhether he Avintered on the coast or not, we do not know ; nor does it appear at what sea son his fish were caught. A zeal for setthng a plantation in New England was stUl kept aHve in the Plymouth Company; and Sfr F. Gorges, too, was stUl intent upon prosecuting the work. They seem to have had * Capt. John Smith died in London, in 1631, aged about fifty-two. His association of two of the most remarkable events of hia wonderful life with the territory of Cape' Ann invests thera with a peculiar interest for us. His grateful recollection, at our Cape, of the kindness of the far-distant Turkish maiden, Charatza Tragabigzanda, is an incident especially interesting. But the story is too long, even for a note. It is well told in the exceUent " Life and Adventures " of Capt. Smith, by G. S. Hillard, in Sparks's American Biography. 4 26 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. this favorite object in view in sending Capt. Edward Rocraft on to the coast in one of the fishing-ships in 1618, and in making arrangements for Capt. Thomas Dermer to join him there the same A'ear fi-om Newfoundland. Rocraft came in a ship of tAvo himdred tons, which took a cargo of fish, and returned to Eng land, carrAdng the crew of a French A'essel that he seized in one of the creeks upon his arrival. With this vessel and a coinpany of men, he intended to Avinter on the coast ; but, dis covering that some of his company were conspfrdng to mm-der him, he put the culprits ashore at Sagadahoc, vrith proAdsions for thefr- use, and then saUed to Vfr-ginia, where he was kiUed in a quarrel the next year. Dermer, instead of going from NeAvfoundland to join Rocraft, retm-ned to England, and was sent fr-om there, in the spring of 1619, by Gorges, AAdth a com pany, to meet him on the coast. L^pon his arrival at Monhegan, he found Rocraft's mutineers, who had spent the Avdnter there ; having, AAdthout doubt, come to the island from the main in a pinnace, wliich thefr- captain probably left A^dth them when he put them ashore, and which was now taken possession of by Dermer for his oA\'n use. These men appeal- to have been the second coinpany of Englishmen that spent a winter on the coast of New England. In his pinnace (an open boat of five tons), Dermer coasted along the shore to Cape Cod, and redeemed at different places tAVO of the Frenchmen who were cast away at that place a few yeai-s before. Retm-ning to Monhegan, he foimd the ship ready to depart ; but, instead of going back in her, he embai-ked in his pinnace for Alrginia, " searching every harbor and compassing every headland " as he went along. He spent the Avinter in Vfrginia, and came again to New England in 1620. In the region about Cape Cod he met EpenoAv, Avho, fearfrd of recap ture, instigated an assault upon Dermer and his company, bv which the latter lost three of his men. Dernier receiA'ed fom-- teen wounds himself, and bai-ely escaped A^dth one man. He then went back to A'fr-ginia for the cm-e of his woimds and died there not long after his arriA'al. It noAvhere appears AA'hat particular work Rocraft and Dermer EAELY A'OYAGES TO NOETH AMEEICA. 27 were commissioned to do ; but it undoubtedly had reference to the selection of a place for a planting and fishing settlement, and such general arrangements and information as Avould pro mote the ends at which thefr employers aimed. It was already certain that the best cod-fishing ground yet discovered in the world was on the coast of Ncav England. About Monhegan, "AVithin a square of two or three leagues," where Capt. Smith found the " strangest fish-pond " he ever saAv, a single ship, in 1619, got a fare that yielded twenty-one hundred pounds in money ; and, the next year, several ships did even better than that. The shores of the country, it is true, were rocky and barren : but inland were noble rivers, forests, and fertile flelds ; and only industry and enterprise seemed necessary to convert the most favorable spots into flourishing settlements. The com mon worldly AdcAA's which influence mankind, would, in time, do this ; but who should begin the work ? While this great ques tion was occupying the minds of Gorges and others, a few feeble men and women of a despised religious sect, upon the diAdne idea of conscience, laid the foundation of all the glory and prosperity that New England can justly boast of, and esta bhshed at Plymouth the fiLrst permanent colony. The most important and interesting voyage ever made to these shores, or, we may say, ever undertaken by men, terminated when the " Mayflower " anchored in Cape-Cod Harbor, in November, 1620. About four months before, not far from this place, Dermer had reaped the bitter fruits of the crimes of his countrymen, and had fled, fearfully wounded, for his life. The six or seven fishing-ships that had been on the coast in the suinmer had long since departed ; and it is not known, that, besides the PU grim band, a single European was anywhere in the country between Hudson River and the Penobscot. About the time of the landing of the Pilgrims, a fresh impulse was given to New-England colonization by the grant of a new charter from the king to Gorges and others, " noble men, knights, and gentlemen," conferring upon them that portion of North America between the fortieth and forty-eighth degrees of latitude, and extending in length from the Atlantic to the 28 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. Pacific. The grant gave aU that cupidity could crave. This famous corporation is knoAvn in history by the name of " The CouncU estabhshed at Plymouth, in the County of Devon, for the planting, ruling, ordering, and governing of New England in America." Thefr charter, says the annahst Holmes, "was the only civU basis of all the subsequent patents and plantations which diAdded this country." Under its authority, some portions of the territory were overlaid Avith patents ; and vexatious dis putes and lawsuits were the consequences. One of these patents was that by which, in March, 1621, Capt. John Mason, who had been a merchant in London, sea- ofiicer, and Govemor of NeAvfoundland, obtained from the Plymouth Council a grant of aU the land from the river Naum keag, round Cape Ann, to the riA'er Alerrimack, and up each of these riA'ers to the farthest head thereof; thence to cross over from the head of the one to the head of the other ; Avith aU the islands lying Avithin three mUes of the coast. This tract of country was caUed Mariana, and it was the first grant by the councU of the territory of Cape Ann ; but no use was made of it in the way of settlement. By vfrtue of a grant from the same councU, Thomas Weston, in 1622, attempted to settle a colony at AA^essagusset, now Wey mouth ; but his agents were Ul chosen, and the enterprise soon came to an end. Another attempt to plant a colony on the same spot was made in September, 1623, by Robert Gorges, who remained in the country but a few months. A few of his people were left behind, and were probably the nucleus of the subsequent permanent settlement at that place. Such were the attempts at colonization on the New-England shores, prior to the first occupation by EngUshmen of the terri tory of Cape Ann. The continued success and increased num ber of the fishing voyages to the coast* led those engaged in them to seek convenient places for thefr stages aU alonte the * In 1621 came " ten or twelve ships to fish, which were all well fraughted. Those that came first at Bilbow made seventeen pounds a single share, besides beaver, otter, and martens' skins." In 1622, " from the west of England, thirty-five ships only to fish." — Smith's New-England's 7h-ials. EAELY VOYAGES TO NOETH AMERICA. 29 shore, from Monhegan to Piscataqua River ; and finally to the estabhshment, in that region of the country, of plantations for fishing, agriculture, and trade. The late arrival of one of the fishing-ships at the usual resort, in 1623, led to the foimding of a simUar plantation in the harbor of Cape Ann, and to the settle ment of the Massachusetts Colony. 30 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. CHAPTEE III. ATTEMPT AT SETTLEMENT. Dorchester Company in England attempt to plant a Colony at Cape Ann. — Roger Conant Goaternor of the Plantation. — Failure of the Attempt, and Removal of the Colonists to Naumkeag. — Notice of these First Occupants of Cape Ann. Taventy-one years had now elapsed since Gosnold passed om- Cape, and sailed by the entrance of Massachusetts Bay to Cape Cod and the A'^ineyai-d Sound. During this time, numerous fishing voyages had been made to Monhegan and the neigh boring coast. AU the principal bays and harbors, extending thence many mUes westerly, had been explored ; and a Colony had been founded by a few noble men, the place of whose landing was destined to surpass in historical interest CAeiA' other spot on the continent. By all these means, such information had been obtained in England of the state of the country, and of the abundance of fish in its waters, as to induce a behef, in the minds of many of the merchants interested in the fishing voy ages to Ncav England, that these voyages might be carried on AA'ith more advantage if they could be connected with a planta tion where agricultm-e and other business on the land could be pursued. The fii-st to begin this Avork were some "merchants and other gentlemen about Dorchester," avHo, after raising the necessai-y capital, despatched a small ship of flfty tons, in 1623, to begin, in the prosecution of her fishing voyage, the founda tion of a colony. In this enterprise, a new friend and promoter of New-England colonization appears, — the Rev. John White, of Dorchester, — who AAdth Air. Humphrey, the treasm-er of the ATTEMPT AT SETTLEMENT. 31 adventurers, are the only persons interested in its success whose names are given. Mr. AVhite is not only mentioned as its " instigator," but is also . suMMsed to have had a pecuniary interest in the undertaking. -TWV^e so fortunate as to possess fi-om his oAvn pen, as^ss^th goodreason beheved, an account* of the origin and op^^ons of this company, the foundation of whose Colony on the shores of Cape Ann is the first prominent event of our history. It does not appear that the Dorchester adventurers had, at the commencement of thefr- enterprise, any particular spot in * This account is contained in a sraall pamphlet eutitled "The Planter's Plea ; or. The Grounds of Plantations examined, and usual Objections answered. Together with a Manifestation of the Causes moving such as have lately undertaken a Plantation in New England. London: 1630." Inthe few lines contained in the following extract, Mr. White gives the whole story of the origin of the Colony established at Cape Ann: — " About the year 1623, some western merchants, who had continued a trade of fishing for cod and bartering for furs in those parts for divers years before, conceiving that a colony planted on the coast might further them in their eraployraents, bethought thera selves how they might bring that project to eifect; and communicated their purpose to others, alleging the conveniency of compassing their project with a small charge, by the opportumty of tbeir fishing-trade, in whioh they accustoraed to double-man their ships, that, by the help of many hands, they might despatch their voyage and lade their ship with fish while the flshing season lasted ; which could not be doue with a bare sailing company. Now, it was conceived, that, the fishing being ended, the spare men that were above their necessary sailors might be left behind with provisions for a year; and, when the ship returned the next year, they raight assist thera in fishing, as they had done the former year; and, in the mean time, raight employ themselves in building, and planting com, which, with the provisions of fish, fowl, and venison, that the land yielded, would afford them the chief of their food. This proposition of theirs took so well, that it drew on divers persons to join with them in this work; the rather because it was conceived that not only their own fishermen, but the rest of our nation that went thither on the sarae errand, might be much advantaged, not only by fresh victual which that Colony might spare thera in tirae, but withal, and more, by the benefit of their minister's labors, which they might enjoy during the fishing season; whereas otherwise, being usually upon those voyages nine or ten months in the year, they were left all the while without any means of instruction at all. Compassion towards the fishermen, and partly some expectation of gain, prevailed so far, that, for the planting of a Colony in New England, there was raised a stock of more than three thousand pounds, intended to be paid in in five years, but afterwards disbursed in a shorter time." As the basis of a Colony, this use of the spare raen, who were necessary while the fishing lasted, but useless in navigating the ship, raust have been a prorainent con sideration among the inducements to plant in New England. Indeed, the great charge of double-manning and double-victualling the ships for the fishing voyages to New foundland is mentioned among these induceraents as early as 1602. — Tracts appended to Brereton, in Massachusetts Historical Collections, vol. xxviii. p. 98. 32 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTEE. view for the seat of thefr colony. Thefr ship came to the usual fishing-ground : but, arriving late in the season for fish ing, did not complete her loading, there ; and " the master thought good to pass into Mattachusetts Bay, to try whether that would yield him any." We know not upon what encou ragement he came into these waters, except upon that of the general report that the coast everywhere abounded Avith cod ; for this is the first fishing voyage, of which we have any knowledge, to any part of the New-England shores as far to the west as Cape Ann. Here, however, he succeeded better than he expected ; and, having completed his cargo, proceeded -with the same to Spain.* Fourteen men, with the necessary provisions, were left " in the country at Cape Anne ; " and these, undoubt edly, commenced the work of the plantation. The expense of this voyage, including three hundred pounds paid for the ship, was eight hundred pounds. The amoimt retm-ned to the company was not above two hundred ; a dispro portion which, unless considerable gain was anticipated from the men left here, did not augur weU for the success of the under taking. Cmiosity may prompt inqufr-y concerning these fomteen men, the first English residents of Cape Ann ; but history refuses to gratify us, even to the extent of giving thefr- names. The only other persons of the English race then ia Ncav England, besides the people of New Plymouth, were a few men at Nantasket; the remnant of Gorges's plantation at Weymouth ; the settlers at Piscataqua River and Saco, who began at these places the same year ; a company at Monhegan ; and perhaps one or two other residents on the coast of Maine.f The imagination may find a pleasme in dwelhng for a moment Avith the httle coinpany at Cape Ann ; in looking upon its members, as they were attracted abroad by day to find sources of Avonder and delight in new * Probably to Bilbao. The commencement in Massachusetts of the great trade in fish to that port, which continued down to a period so recent, that some of our aged mai-iners now living were engaged in it. t Drake's History of Boston, p. 41; Bradford's History of the Plymouth Plantation, p. 154; Belknap's New Hampshire, vol. i. p. 8; Williamson's History of Maine vol. i. p. 227 ; Winslow, in Young, p. 328. ' ATTEMPT AT SETTLEMENT. 33 aspects of natm-e, and as they were occupied dm-ing the long horns of the Avinter evening with recoUections of home, and stories of exploits and adventmes along the shores and in the Arilderness of the New World'. Just as the Dorchester Company had taken possession of Cape Ann, others, perhaps with a knowledge of thefr- occupa tion of the territory, tmned thefr attention to the same spot. Although the settlement at New Plymouth was now three years old, it is not knoAvn that any of the people there had crossed the bay to Cape Ann, or that any of the six or eight ships which had come to thefr harbor dming that time had been in om- waters. Edward Wmslow, of New Plymouth, saUed from that place, on a visit of business to England, in the fall of 1623 ; and there obtained, of comse, information of the proceedings and intentions of the Dorchester adventm-ers. He must have leamed, one would suppose, before his departme, that their ship was fishing in the bay that summer ; and it is quite possi ble that he knew of the beginning, by some of thefr- men, of the plantation at Cape Ann. The people of New Plymouth, struggling Avith famine, had not yet engaged in fishing as a business, and Avere unable to do so AAdthout aid from the com pany of adventurers in England vrith whom they were connected. To make preparation for prosecuting this business seems to have been one of the objects of Winslow's mission ; but whether his attention was dfrected to Cape Ann as the best place for their fishing-stage, in consequence of its occupation by the Dorchester people, and upon report of the success of their ship, does not appear. It is certain that he and Robert Cushman procured from Lord Sheffield, a member of the Council for New England, a patent, conveying to them and thefr associates " a certain tract of ground in New England," " in a known place there comonly called Cape Anne." * * See this instruraent, in Appendix I. A beautiful fac-simile copy of it raay be found in Mr. J. W. Thornton's Landing at Cape Ann, in whioh it was first published. Mr. Thornton's work embraces a portion of the history of the Dorchester Company's operations, in their attempt to establish a Colony here : but its chief aim is to show that the proceedings of that corapany were based on this patent; that, under its authority, 5 34 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. This patent was a sufficient basis for the largest operations in the Avay of settlement. Civil government, churches, and schools were all proAdded for ; but it does not seem that Cushman and Winslow, and the Plymouth adventurers in England, medi tated or attempted any thing more than a summer occupation of the territory for fishing-purposes. Thefr ffrst use of the patent Avas to send hither the ship " Charity," on a fishing voyage, in the spring of 1624, after she had discharged some supphes at Plymouth. At that place, a man aa'Ho was sent over to erect salt-works, and a ship-carpenter, entered upon thefr- respec tive employments. The creAV of the " Charity " had help from the Plymouth planters in building thefr stage at Cape Ann; but the season was too far advanced. The master — one Baker — was a " drunken beast ; " most of his men were Hke thefr master; and a poor voyage was the natural result. " Mi-. AViUiam Pefrce was to oversee the business, and to be master of ye ship home ; yet he could do no good amongst them, so as ye loss was great." Some gain, however, Avas derived fi-om trading with the Indians for skins. The Dorchester Company, having afready taken possession of Cape Ann at the date of the patent to Cushman and WinsloAV, and desigmng to found a Colony at this place, made some arrangement Avith the patentees for sharing in the benefits conferred by that instrument. Of the particulai-s of that arrangement, we know nothing at all. The only informa tion that has come doAvn to us respecting it is fr-om Capt. John Smith, who, AA'riting in 1634, says, "At Cape Anne, there is a plantation beginning by the Dorchester men, which they hold of those of NeAV Plymouth." It is probable that they " held " as associates, and not by assignment ; for the Plymouth people occupied om- territory for fishing pm-poses nearly to the time of its abandonment by the Dorchester Coinpany. In whatever a Colony was founded at Cape Anne, having laws, magistrates, and a rainister; that this Colony reraoved to Salem, where it was joined by Endicott's company, under a new organization; and that, therefore, Massachusetts begins her history at Cape Ann, and not at Salem. — See the Planter's Plea, Hubbard's Bistory of New England and Bradford's Eisiory of Plymouth Plantation. ' .ATTEAIPT AT SETTLEME>T. 35 Avay the latter " held," thefr operations do not appeal- to have been connected at aU Avith those of the former ; nor is there any thing to show that both were under the same local govern ment and superintendence. The proceedings of the Plymouth adventmers, hoAvever, Avith regard to thefr fishing-business here, are of insignificant importance in comparison with the great work which the Dorchester men Avere striving to accomphsh, and did accomphsh, — the foundation of a Colony. The fourteen men avHo were left on om- soil, in 1623, to carry on the work of the plantation just begun, watched anxiously, Arithout doubt, for the arrival of recruits with stores and tidings from thefr- native land ; and, as the New-England fishing came on early, they were probably gladdened some day in February or March by that event. The same ship that left them here now returned, under the command of the same master. She was accompanied or joined by a Flemish fiy-boat, of one hun dred and forty tons, described by Mr. White as a very unfit vessel for thefr business, but made, by alteration, to suit their purpose. Encouraged by the success of the last year's fishing at " Cape Anne, not far from Mattachusetts Bay," the two ships tried again the same ground, but now " sped very ill ; " and the returns to the company, for the summer's industry, barely amounted to the charges for wages and provision of the men who remained in the Colony.* These were now thfrty-two in number ; tAvo of whom were John Tylly and Thomas Gardener, as overseers of the business of the plantation, — the first of the fishing, and the other of the planting. The imfavorable result of thefr fishing-business, so far, afforded the Dorchester merchants little encom-agement to pro- * Christopher Levett, who visited the eastern coast of New England in 1624, says, " Yet was I never at the Mesachusett, which is counted the paradise of New England; nor at Cape Ann. But I fear there hath been too fair a gloss set on Cape Ann. I am told there isa good harbor, which makes a fair invitation; but, when they are in, their entertainraent is not answerable : for there is little good ground ; and the ships which fished there this year, their boats went twenty railes to take their fish; and yet they were in great fear of raaking their voyages, as one of the masters confessed unto me who was at my house." — Massachusetts Bistorical Collections, vol. xxviii. p. 180. 36 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. eeed Arith thefr- design ; but the experience of another year was needed to convince them of the delusiA'e character of thefr- hopes Arith respect to the practicabihty of estabhshing a Colony on the plan they proposed. With a praiseworthy determination to give the experiment a fafr trial, thefr efforts in the thfrd year (1625) for the good of the Colony were vigorous and judi cious. The tAVO ships of the prerious year were again despatched for fishing, the large one being commanded by " a very able master ; " and another vessel, of about forty tons, was sent, on board of which were " Idne and other proAdsions." The best results, hoAvcAer, for the prosperity of the Colony, — so far, at least, as the proceedings at the plantation could contribute to it, — were to be expected from the appointment of a A'ery superior man, afready in the country, to be its superintendent or gov ernor. For some time, the " merchant adventurers," as they were called, who in England had aided the PUgrim colonists, had been divided into two parties ; one of which, adherents of the Esta bhshed Church, succeeded in introducing into the Colony a mini ster of thefr OAvn sect, and therefore hostile to the rehgious sentiments of the PUgrims. This was the Rev. John Lj'ford, Avho found in the Colony a few men holding views simUar to his oAvn ; but no one to join him in distm-bing the peace of the place, except John Oldham. The conduct of both of these men was such that they were expelled fr-om the Colony, — Oldham imme diately, and Lyford after a respite of a few months. Then- next place of residence was Nantasket ; where Roger Conant, "out of dishke" of the "principles of rigid sepai-ation" of thc Pilgrims, and some few others, "found a place of retfr-ement and reception for themselves and famihes," not long after Old ham's expulsion. This is the ifr-st mention of Mr. Conant in New-England history. In his native land, his chai-acter stood so high, that Air. AATiite, upon the information he obtained respecting him, acting with the rest of the Dorchester Company, selected him " for the management and government of all thefr affairs at Cape Anne," and caused him to be notified by thefr treasmer, in the name of ATTEMPT AT SETTLEMENT. 37 the company, " that they had chosen him to be thefr- governor in that place." Lyford and Oldham were also invited to join the plantation, — the former as its minister, and the latter to trade AAdth the Indians. Lyford accepted, but Oldham decHned. The date of Conant's removal to Cape Ann is not known. The notice of his appointment to the office before named, came, probably, by one of the company's fishing-ships, in the early part of 1625 : and he entered, Arithout doubt, immediately upon its duties ; for there is evddence that he was here early in the spring of that year. For the plantation, aU the elements of success seemed now to be assured, — men in sufficient number, provisions and cattle, a ininister, and a competent governor. But the prosperity of the Colony was contingent upon the profitable result of the fishing voyages connected Arith it ; and these, hitherto unfortunate, were destined to continue so, and thus to lead to the abandon ment of the work undertaken by the Dorchester Company. • It has been seen that three ships had been sent out by the company in 1625. One of these, the Flemish fiy-boat, was disabled on the passage, and compeUed to put back to England. After the necessary repafrs had been made, she was again despatched; but, on account of the lateness of the season, she proceeded no farther than NeAvfoundland, where she was laden Arith aU the fish she could carry home. No account is given of the two vessels that came to Cape Ann, further than that one of them retumed to England with fish ; which, with those brought from NeAvfoundland, the company were obHged to seU at home for about half the sum they could have obtained for them at another market. Discouraged by thefr losses, and by the "ill-carriage" of thefr " land-men," the company decided, at the end of the thfrd year, to abandon the design of planting a fishing colony at Cape Ann. They therefore sold thefr ships, and took measmes for breaking up the settlement ; having lost, as nearly as can be made out from the statement of its business operations, almost aU the capital Arith which they commenced. " In planting colo nies," says Mr. White, " the ffrst stocks employed that way are 38 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. consumed, although they serve for a foundation to the work." So in planting the Colony at Cape Ann : the stock was con sumed ; but a foundation was laid, on which now rests one of the leading States of a great nation. The iU-carriage of the land-men of the Colony has been men tioned. Mr. AVhite says they were Ul commanded ; but does not teU us Avhether by Conant, or his predecessors Tylly and Gardener, or by aU of them. The historian Hubbard has pre served an account of an occurrence here, presently to be noticed, in which Air. Conant bore a very honorable part ; and his sub sequent career fm-nishes grounds for the behef that he discharged Avell the duties of his office during the fcAv months that elapsed from his entering upon them to the decision of the company to abandon thefr undertaking. NotArithstanding the poor success of the Pilgrims' fishing voyage to Cape Ann in 1624, they and thefr friends in England undertook another enterprise of the kind, vrith a ship and pin nace, in 1625. The " salt-man," who came over to Phmouth the year before, was now sent to Cape Ann to set up a house and salt-pans here ; but this business came to an end in conse quence of a fire Avhich destroyed the house and some of the pans. Before the arrival of thefr- ship, another one, despatched by the faction of the merchant adventurers in England who were hostile to the PUgrims, came into the harbor; and her crew seized the stage and other provisions made for fishing by the crew of the " Charity " and the Plymouth people the year before. When called on to sm-render it, they refrised to do so, Arithout fighting : AA'hereupon they were aUowed to keep it; and the Governor of Plymouth sent some men over to help to build another. It thus appears probable that five vessels came into our harbor in 1625, and made it the chief place of thefr- anchorage while on the coast. The dispute about the fishing- stage — briefiy mentioned by one early writer, and nearly in his own language given above — appears, in the more particular account of another, to have been an affafr which at one time threatened an unhappy result. According to the latter, the usmping captain, whose name Avas Hewes, barricaded his com- ATTEMPT AT SETTLEMENT. 39 pany Arith hogsheads on the stage-head ; while the rightful OAvners, under the conduct of Capt. MUes Standish, stood upon the land, and demanded a surrender. A war of words followed ; but happily a more serious encounter was prevented by the pru dence and moderation of Roger Conant, and the interposition of Capt. WilHam Pefrce,* the master, it is supposed, of the ship in which the Pilgrims were interested, and which was then lying in the harbor. The scene of the dispute is not known ; and, if it were, the spot should serve, not so much to remind us of the characteristic courage of the famous Puritan soldier which was undoubtedly displayed on this occasion, as of the higher A'frtues exhibited by the two Avorthies who saved our soil from becoming the theatre of a disgraceful fight, and the parties themselves, perhaps, fr-om the guilt of bloodshed. With the close of this year's fishing, all connection of the Plymouth people vrith Cape Ann seems to have terminated, though thefr last A'essels were highly successful in taking fish, and both of them, " well laden," " went joyfully home to geather," the master of the larger ship toAving " ye lesser ship at his steme aU ye way over-bound." The efforts of the Dorchester Company also, in the work of founding a Colony at Cape Ann, had now ceased. Most of thefr men, being sent for, returned to England. Roger Conant, and a few of the most honest and industrious, resolved to stay, and take charge of the property at the plantation ; and, as the advantages of this spot consisted only in its convenience for fishing, they removed, some time in the next year, to Naum keag, now Salem, — a place better adapted to the pursuits of agriculture. . Thus terminated the first occupation of our soil by the coun- * This " godly man and most expert mariner " is distinguished among the early navigators between Old England and New. He attempted to come in the " Paragon " in 1622, but was obliged to put back. He came in the " Ann " in 1623 ; in the " Charity " in 1624; in one of the ships in 1625 ; in the " Mayflower " in 1629; in the " Lyon " in 1630, 1631, and 1632. He also made voyages to Virginia and the West Indies. He was killed at one ofthe Bahama Islands in 1641. — See Bradford's Mstory of Plymouth Planta tion, and -Winthrop's New Engla'nd. 40 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. trymen of our ancestors ; and Gloucester, instead of being the oldest permanent settlement in the Massachusetts Colony, can only claim the distinction of having vrithin its limits the spot on which that Colony Avas founded. That spot is plainly marked by tradition ; and other evidence is not wanting to indicate the place. It is on the north-west side of the outer harbor. It was AveU chosen for planting, as the soU is good, and the tract is less rocky than any other of equal extent lying along the shore inside of the Cape. AVith reference to its early use, probably, it received the name of " ffisherman's field," by which it is designated in the early records of the toAvn. The spot used for landing fish is indicated by the name it has always borne, — the Stage. A high ledge near it affords a dehghtful vicAv of the toAvn, harbor, and bay ; and for many years, whUe access to it was unobstructed, it was a favorite resort of the people of the tOAvn for a short summer's walk. Some of these found, perhaps, in addition to the natural beauty iuAdting thefr attention, a source of pleasure in the interesting associations connected Arith the spot. Among the causes of the faUure of the Dorchester Company, in thefr design to plant a Colony at Cape Ann, Air. AATiite men tions " the iU-choice of the place for fishing- ; " a reason Avhich may seem strikingly inconsistent A\dth the fact, that this place is noAv the largest fishing toAvn on the American continent, if not in the world. The cause of thefr faUm-e was in the attempt to combine fishing and planting. The season for one is also the season for the other; and he himself shows Avhy, for other reasons, the two pursuits are incompatible : " Ffr-st, that no sm-e fishing-place in the land is fit for planting, nor any good place for plantmg found fit for fishing ; at least, near the shore : and, secondly, rarely any fisherman will Avork at land ; neither ate husbandmen fit for fishermen, but Avith long use and experi ence." The Avhole number of men on Cape Ann at the present day, Avho combine the tAvo pm-suits of fishing and agriculture, is not probably so large as that employed here by the Dorchester Company in 1625. ATTEMPT AT SETTLEMENT. 41 By the encouraging advice and promises of Mr. White,* who has been caUed the "father of the Massachusetts Colony," Roger Conant was induced to declare his intention to remain at Naumkeag, even if the few companions who accompanied him from Cape Ann should forsake hfrn : which, at one time, they were strongly inchned to do ; " secretly conceiving in his mmd, that in foUoAring times (as since is fallen out) it might prove a receptacle for such as, upon the account of rehgion, would be Arilhng to begin a foreign plantation in this part of the world." Mr. AVhite redeemed his promise to Mr. Conant. " The busi ness came to agitation afresh in London." New adventurers were enhsted in the work, and the resolution was taken to erect " a new Colony upon the old foundation." At length, on the 6th of September, 1628, the worthy Conant and his little band were cheered by the arrival of the ship with Endicott and his company. The next year followed other ships Arith more settlers ; and finally, in 1630, came the great emigration under Winthrop, and the Colony of Massachusetts Bay was ffrmly and permanently planted. The ship in which Winthrop himseK came passenger first cast anchor in the waters of Massachusetts, inside of Baker's Island. WhUe lying there, most of her " people went on shore up on the land of Cape Ann, which lay very near, and gathered store of fine strawberies." The land of Cape Ann then included, proba bly, all the territory east of Naumkeag to the head of the Cape. The names of a few of the first English occupants of our soil have come down to us, of whom Tylly and Gardener are first mentioned. AVhither the former went fi-om Cape Ann, we have no information. A John Tylley was admitted a freeman in 1635 : probably the same person who, in 1636, was taken by Indians on Connecticut River, and barbarously murdered. Thomas Gardener is said to have come from Scotland. He set- * The services of Eev. John White in behalf of the settlement of Massachusetts entitle him to a memoir, giving aU that can be known concerning him, in sorae of our historical books. He was bom in 1575; and, in 1605, became Rector of Trinity Parish, Dorchester. He was persecuted in the tirae of the civil war for taking side with the popular party, and went to London. After the wars were over, he returned to Dor chester; and died there, July 24, 1648, in his seventy-fourth year.— Yomg's Chronicles of MassachuseUs, p. 26. 42 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. tied in Salem; became a freeman in 1637, and representative the same year. The next and most prominent name among these occupants is that of Roger Conant. Nothing is knoAvn of the time or man ner in which he came to New England. According to his OAva statement, he was in the country in the early part of 1623. After Lyford and Oldham "were discharged from having any thing more to do at Plymouth," in the course of the next year he went to Nantasket; whence in the foUoAring season he removed to Cape Ann to enter upon his office as " governor " of the plantation. We know but one incident of his career here, and that presents him in the beautiful character of a peace maker. We foUow hfrn to Naumkeag, and behold him the pious and resolute pioneer in planting the first permanent settlement in the Colony of Massachusetts Bay. " The superior condition of the persons who came over Arith the charter," says Hutchin son, " cast a shade upon him, and he Hved in obscurity ; " but the memory of his vfrtues and serAdces has been preserA'ed from obliAdon, and his name AriU ahvays have an honorable place in. the annals of our Commonwealth. Indeed, the historian of the " Landing at Cape Anne " considers it entitled to the fLrst place in the Hst of Governors of Massachusetts. A^Tiether this distinc tion shall be aUowed or not, no one AriU contend that a want of titular rank can ever dim the lustre of any of the naines of those persons in history distinguished for preferring the pubhc good before private interest. " This," says Roger Conant truly, declar ing himself in a pubhc manner late in the evening of his Hfe, " I praise God, I have done." The place in which he finaUy settled in Salem was in that part of the toAvn which is now Beverly. He was admitted a freeman in 1631 ; was a represen tative in 1634; and died Nov. 16, 1679, aged eighty-six. John AA^oodbmy, John Balch, and Peter PaLfi-ey, companions of Conant in the removal fi-om Cape Ann to Naumkeag, are mentioned as having been knoAvn to Air. AVhite to be honest and prudent men ; and, on that account, were engaged by him to stay in New England, and await the result of an effort to estabhsh a plantation where they then were. ATTEMPT AT SETTLEMENT. 43 John Woodbury came from Somersetshfre in England. After a residence of three years here and in Salem, he went back to Eng land on business, and returned in 1628. He was made a free man in 1631, and fUled various offices of trust in Salem, besides representing it tvrice in the General Court. He died in 1641, leaving a son Humphrey ; the father, Arithout doubt, of Hum phrey, who removed from Beverly to Gloucester about 1677. John Balch came from Bridgewater, England. He was admit ted a fi-eeman in 1631 ; and was a useful citizen of Salem, where he died fri 1648. Peter Palfrey became a freeman in 1631. He was represen tative from Salem in 1635 ; and in 1653 removed to Reading, where he died in 1663. Besides these men, there were old Goodman Norman and his son, WilHam AUen, and Walter EJnight ; the last of whom stated to an early settler, according to his deposition given in 1681, that they came over to Cape Ann for the Dorchester Company. Wil Ham AUen was probably an early settler of Manchester, as he was one of a company for "erecting a vdUage" on that spot in 1640. He was hving in 1664. One other name concludes the Hst. The Rev. John Lyford was an Episcopal clergyman, and was, without doubt, the first leader in the exercises of pubhc Christian worship in om- territory. He came to New England, in the ship " Charity," in 1624, but not Arith the approbation of the friends of the Pilgrims in England. Soon after his arrival, he engaged in a course of conduct which resulted in his expulsion from the Colony. His torical evidence of the highest authority, recently pubhshed, leaves no room to doubt that he was a very bad man. A recital of his guUty deeds would be an unfit narrative for these pages. He is supposed to have remained here till the settlement was broken up ; soon after which he went to Vfrginia, where he died. Tra dition has marked the place where the first Christian worshippers on our soU were located ; but it has left the imagination to select the spot where they set up thefr altar, and to picture the scene of thefr devotions, and aU the cfrcumstances of thefr rehgious worship. 44 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTER. The first landing of the Dorchester Company's planters on our soU was in 1623 ; probably in the summer. It is supposed that Mr. Conant and his men abandoned the plantation in the sum mer of 1626. This period of om history occupies, therefore, about three years. The cattle and other property, including a house, oAvned by the Dorchester adventurers, were carried to Naumkeag, and sold to the Massachusetts Company, at the com mencement of thefr operations at that place which soon after received its present name, — Salem. On the zigzag path trodden by the cattle, tradition says, the highway from Gloucester to Salem was afterwards made. Some remains of the house are said to be contained in an old buUding, still standing, at the corner of Court and Church Streets, in the last-named toAvm.* Though abandoned by Conant and his companions. Cape Ann does not cease from this time to present some point of historical interest every year. It had visitors occasionaUy for the first five years after the breaking-up of the settlement ; and Arithin five or six years, there is reason to beheve, there were permanent resi dents on the spot. Among the visitors was a man named FeUs, a shipAvrecked adventurer, who, vrith his paramour, fied hither from Plymouth to escape just punishment fi-om the hands of the Puritans. Another one was Thomas Morton, of Alerrv- Mount notoriety, who seems to have come to our territoi-y after he was driven away from the other side of the bay. Next we have more respectable visitors. On Saturday, June 27, 1629, the ship " Talbot," Arith Rev. Francis Higginson and other pas sengers, who were sent over by the Massachusetts Company to Salem, anchored in our harbor; "where," says Mr. Higginson in his journal, " there was an island, whither four of our men Arith a boat went, and brought back again ripe sti-awberries and gooseberries and sweet single roses." The ship remained in the harbor tiU Monday : and it is probable that some of the com pany landed on the main, and saw the mai-ks of the abandoned * Richard Brakenbury, who carae with Endicott to Massachusetts, testified, in 1681, that he, with others, was sent to Cape Anu " to pull down the said house for Mr. Endicott's use." ATTEMPT AT SETTLEMENT. 45 settlement ; for WilHam Dixy, A\dthout doubt one of the passen gers, says, in a deposition which he gave several years after this date, that he ai-rived at Cape Ann in 1629, but saw no Enghsh people here, though there were signs of " buildings and planta tion-work." We have now reached the conclusion of that chapter in the history of the town, which includes its discovery, and the tem porary residence of a company of English fishermen and planters on its soU. The next AriU give an account of the permanent settlement vrithin its borders of those among whom were the ancestors of a considerable portion of its present population. But, before entering upon it, we should allude to the absence of aU evidence that Cape Ann was ever the seat of any Indian settlement. Its Indian name was Wingaersheek. Skeletons of the aborgines have been found ; and the Indian tools, and coUec tions of clam-sheUs, discovered many years ago around one spot in Squam, indicate the presence of the natives at some time in considerable numbers : but whether thefr visits were frequent or rare, and whether the early settlers were welcomed to a friendly Avigwam or alarmed by the menacing gesture and suspicious carriage of the red man, no record or tradition is left to teU. 46 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. CHAPTER IV. EARLY SETTLERS, Traditionary Account of First Settlement. — Thacher's Ship wreck. — Mr. Thomson, of London, encouraged to establish a Fishing Plantation at Cape Ann. — Permanent Settlement and Incorporation of the Toavn. — List of Settlers to 1651, to 1701 ; with Notices of these Settlers and their Families. In entering upon this period of our history, the path is found for a few years to be involved in darkness and obscmdty. There is no mention by historians, or in any ancient record, of the story that tradition has handed doAvn concerning the first permanent settlers of Cape Ann. It is natural to suppose that they were attracted to this rocky promontory chiefly by its advantageous situation for shore-fishing ; for, though but poor retm-ns could be expected for the most laborious industry upon its soU, they might reasonably hope to find the means of a comfortable subsistence in the treasures of the sea by which it is sm-rounded. The settle ment of a large Colony Arithin convenient distance, and the grow ing intercourse between Old England and New, afforded increased advantages, and a greater inducement than had yet existed, for pm-suing that business; and no improbabihty forbids credence to the statement that a company fi-om Plymouth came across the bay in search of a suitable place for a fishing-station, and found it on the shores of Cape Ann.* It is said that these men, led by a son of Rev. John Robinson, landed at Agassquam, and were so well satisfied with its har- * The source whence the tradition mentioned in this paragraph is derived with sorae reraarks, will be given in a notice of the Eobinson Family. early SETTLEES. 47 bor, and other conveniences for the fishing-business, that they concluded to set up a fishing-stage, and to make preparations there for the accommodation of their famUies. No means exist for determining the year in which this took place. We know that a remnant of Mr. Robinson's Leyden congregation were passen gers in one of the ships that brought Winthrop's company in 1630; and a letter in print, written in March of that year, alluding to Mrs. Robinson as intending to come over, authorizes the inference that she, with one or more of her chUdren perhaps, was among the passengers. If, therefore, this traditionary account of the first settlement of Cape Ann may be received as a fact in om history, the date of that event may be fixed about 1631, That there were settlers here as early as 1633, who " met, and carried on the worship of God among themselves, read the word of God, prayed to him, and smig psalms," may be asserted upon authority of the highest respectabihty ; for the statement is made in a printed sermon of one of the most esteemed mini sters of the toAvn in the last century, who gives, in the margin, reference to an "ancient manuscript" to warrant his asser tion.* It appears probable, therefore, that, from the last-named year, we may date the permanent settlement of Cape Ann. AVhUe Cape Ann was yet but Httle knoAvn to the scattered settlers of New England, it became, in a sudden and wholly unlooked-for manner, a point of melancholy interest to all of them, by the occurrence of one of the most distressing ship- Avrecks that has ever happened on its coast. On the 12th of August, 1635, a pinnace, having on board Rev. John Avery and famUy, eleven persons in aU, including his wife and six chUdren ; Mr. Anthony Thacher, his Arife, four children, and another person of his famUy ; one other passenger, and four mariners, — sailed from IpsArich for Marblehead, where Mr. Avery had engaged to * The sermon here alluded to was preached by Rev. Eli Forbes, September, 1792, on the occasion of re-opening the meeting-house of the First Parish after it had been thoroughly repaired. The text was from Exod. xx. 24, last clause. " Ancient manu script: " these are the only words of the marginal reference. There is too much reason to fear that this precious document is lost beyond the hope of recovery, and that we must ever experience the vain regret that it was not published instead ofthe serraon. 48 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. settle in the ministry. The Arind being unfavorable, they had not doubled the Cape at night on the 14th. About ten o'clock that night, in a fresh gale of Avind, thefr sails were spht, and the vessel was brought to anchor ; but, before dayhght next morning, a frudous storm came on, and she began to drag her anchor, and drift about at the mercy of the Arind and waves. She was finaUy driven " upon a rock between two high rocks, yet aU was one rock." Mr. Avery and his eldest son, and Mr. Thacher and daughter, were by " a mighty wave " washed out upon the rock, whence they caUed to those in the phinace to come to them ; but the next wave dashed the vessel to pieces, and swept away those who had gained a momentary foothold upon the rock. After he had been washed about by the sea and beaten against the rock for a quarter of an hour, Mr. Thacher at last felt the bottom, and soon found himself standing on his feet, breast-deep in the water, with his face towards the shore, which he soon reached in safety. His fiurst act, after blessing God, was to look for his family and friends ; but the mercUess ocean had swaUowed them all save one, — the one who, of aU that Ul-fated company, could most deeply sympathize with him in the loss of his cliUdren, and most heartUy unite Arith him in thanksgiAdng for the won derful deliA'erance they had experienced, — his wife. Soon after he reached the shore, he saw her "getting herself forth from amongst the timber of the broken bark ; " fr-om which, before he could join her, she cleared herself; and, going to her husband, they sought together a resting-place under a bank. Some pro visions and clothing came ashore ; as also, fortunately, a " snap- sack " containing a steel, fiint, and some gunpowder in a dry condition. With these they made themselves comfortable, till, on the second day after the shipwreck, they Avere taken off, and carried to Marblehead. Mr. Thacher ai-rived in New England but a fcAv Aveeks before the distressing event which deprived him of all his children. Pubhc hberahty and private benevolence contributed to make up to him the loss of his property, and the lapse of years filled in part the places of his lost childi-en. He settled in Yarmouth, and died there in 1668, aged about eighty; leaAdng a son, by whose descendants the name is perpetuated in EARLY SETTLERS. 49 various places. On his departme from the sorrowful scene of his shipwreck, he gave his oavu name to the island upon which he was cast, caUing it " Thacher's AVoe ; " and the rock on which the vessel was wrecked was called "Avery his Fall."* The lapse of six years brings us to another attempt to esta bhsh a fishing plantation here on foreign account. This enter prise was undertaken by Mamice Thomson, a merchant of London, of whom nothing more is knoAvn than that he had been, a few years before, engaged in a trade for beaver in Canada. By an act of the General Comt, May 22, 1639, "for the encouragement of Mr. Mamdce Thomson, merchant, and others who intend to promote the fishing-trade, it was ordered that a fishing planta tion should be begun at Cape Ann, and that the said Mr. Thomson should have places assigned for the building of houses and stages and other necessaries for that use ; and shaU have sufficient lands aUoAved for thefr occasions, both for thefr fishing and for keeping of cattle, and for corn, &c. ; and that such other fishermen as AriU join in the way of fishing, and inhabit there, shaU have such lands and other Hberties there as shall be needful and fit for thefr occasions." The court empowered " Mr. En dicott, Mr. Humphrey, Mr. Winthrop, jun., Mr. WUHam Pierce, and Joseph Grafton, or any three of them, to set out the said plantation, and all lands and other accommodations, to such as shoiUd be planted there ; and none to be settled there but by thefr aUowance." An act was also passed, granting to fishing * A letter from Mr. Thacher to his brother, written in the most pathetic language, giving I particular account of his shipwreck, has been preserved, and reprinted in Young's Chronicles of Massachusetts, with a valuable note by the editor. The rock lying off the head of Cape Ann, now called " Avery's Rock," cannot be the one men tioned in Mr. Thacher's narrative, for reasons that will be apparent enough to any one who will visit Thacher's Island with the narrative in his hand. Avery's Rock is more tlian two miles from the island, — much too great a distance for a raan to be carried by the sea in a quarter of an hour. Besides, we know that the terrific gale which caught the pinnace off our Cape was frora the east, — a direction almost contrary to that which points from Avery's Eock to Thacher's Island. But what settles the question is the fact, that the present Avery's Kock never shows itself, even at low water, above the surface of the sea. Mr. William Hale, late keeper of the lights on Thacher's Island, and several other persons living at the Cape, who have carefully read the narrative, give their opinion, that the fatal rock was a ledge on the south side of the island, about a gunshot distant from it, now called Crackwood's Ledge. 7 50 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. estabhshments certain exemptions to encourage the colonists themselves to give thefr attention to this branch of industry, and in expectation that Mr. Thomson would come over and settle. But Mr. Thomson did not come ; and, indeed, history is almost silent respecting this new plantation. By one notice only does it appear that that person made any use of his grant ; though sufficient evidence exists that om soU, about this time, was the abode of a few fishermen. Our town-records, under date of 4th month, 1650, say, " WiU Southmead hath given him that pseU of land in the harbour upon which Mr. Tomson's frame stood ; " "provided, yt if Mr. Tomson or his agent shall demand it, that then, upon compensation for the charges about it, this said grant is to be surrendered up." From one writer of that period (Thomas Lechford), we learn that our territory was occupied in 1639. He resided in Boston in that year, but soon after re turned to England, where he pubhshed a work, in which he says, " At Cape Ann, where fishing is set forward, and some stages buUded, there one master Rashley is chaplain."* Another early writer calls " Cape Ann a place of fishing ; being peopled with fishermen till 'the reverend Mr. Richard Bhndman came from a place in Phmouth Patten." The grant to Southmead was undoubtedly several years before the date of its record ; as the grantee was an early settler, and, at that time, had been dead upwards of a year. The mention of " Mr. Tomson's frame," in this grant, suggests a possibihty, at least, that the erection of it might have been the extent to which that individual prose cuted his design here. Our early records shed no further Hght upon this part of our history ; and ultimate despair must probably be the fi-uit of every attempt, in any other quarter, to enlarge the scanty information we possess concerning it. No regret will be felt, therefore, in learing this period to enter upon that which exhibits Cape Ann as the home of famihes and the scene of the infant existence of a settled town. At a General Court, October, 1641, commissioners were appointed to view and settle the bounds of IpsArich, Cape Ann, ? Massachusetts Historical Collections. EAELY SETTLEES. 51 and Jeffries' Creek (now Manchester) ; and the Deputy-governor (Mr. Endicott), and Messrs. DoAvning and Hathorne, deputies from Salem, or any two of them, were appointed to dispose of all lands and other things at Cape Ann. Pursuant to this authority, as the toAvn-records declare, " the first ordering, settling, and disposing of lots, was made by Mr. Endicott and Mr. DoAvning, commissioners, 2d month, 1642." How many people were then here is not knoAvn : but, about this time, the settlement assumed more consequence, from the arrival of Rev. Richard Blynman ¦vrith several famihes from Plymouth Colony ; and it was, at a court in May in that year, by the simple form of incorporation then used, estabhshed as a plantation, and called Gloucester. This name was probably given by desfre of some of the principal settlers, who are said to have come from the city of the same name in England.* Gloucester in England is situated in the Vale of Gloucester, on a gentle eminence rising on the east side from the river Severn, about thfr-ty miles from the junction of that river Arith Bristol Channel. It was founded by the Britons, who named it Caer Gloew; which signifies the "Fortress of Gloew," a prince of the county of which the city was the capital. Under the Saxons, the name became Gleaucestre, — the etymon of the present appeUation. Some writers say that the name is derived from the British words glow, " handsome ; " and caer, " city." Gloucester is distinguished for its manufacture of pins, and its handsome Cathedral, begun as early as 1047. Mr. Blynman is said to have been accompanied to New England by several Welsh gentlemen of good, note ; but the date of his arriA'al is not knoAvn. He had probably been but a short time in the country when he came to Cape Ann. At a comt held in Plymouth, March 2, 1641, Mr. Blynman, Mr. Hugh Pritchard, Mr. Obadiah Bruen, John Sadler, Hugh Caulkin, and Walter Tybbot, were propounded to be made free at the next court. All these persons were of Mr. Blynman's company in the removal hither, and some of them followed him when he left. No means exist for ascertaining the names of aU his com- * Rev. E. Forbes's sermon, alluded to on p. 47. 52 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. panions. The early records of the toAvn make no discidmination between these settlers and those who preceded and those who foUowed them. After residing in Gloucester a few years, Mr. Blynman and several of the early settlers removed to New London; and it is probable that those who accompanied him to that place were also of the number that came with him to Cape Ann. The emigrants to New London were Christopher Avery, James Avery, WiUiam Addes, Obadiah Bruen, Hugh Calkin, John Coit, sen., WilHam Hough, WUHam Kenie, Andrew Lister, WUHam Meades, Ralph Parker, and WUHam Wellman. Mr. Blynman and Ralph Parker seem to have gone on in advance of the rest : for they received thefr grants of land there a few months before the others ; aU of whom, except WilHam Addes and Christopher Avery, had removed thither in 1651. These two foUowed several years after. Before dis missing this coUective body of settlers, it may be stated, as an interesting fact, that thefr lots in New London were laid out in a new street, long known as Cape- Ann Lane, and now caUed Ann Street. Our toAvn-records supply most of the information that can be gathered concerning the early settlers ; but these fiimish no data for ascertaining, in many cases, the year in which they came. The hst of persons which foUows is beheved to comprise aU who are known to have been residents of Gloucester, or proprietors of its soU, from the time of its permanent settlement to the close of 1650: — AVilliam Addes. I Christopher Avery. • James Avery. Williatn Ash. Thomas Ashley. Isabel Babson. James Babson. Alexander Baker. Richard Beeford. George Blake. Richard Blynman. "^ Obadiah Bruen. John Bourne. Thomas Bray. AViUiam Brown. •-Hugh Calkin. Thomas Chase. Mr. Clark. Matthew Coe. John Collins. Tliomas Cornish. John Coit, sen. John Coit, jun. AVilliam Cotton. Clement Coldam. Anthony Day. EAELY SETTLEES. 53 William Dudbridge. Osman Dutch. William Evans. Robert Elwell. Sylvester Eveleth. Henry Felch. Mr. Fryer. James Fogg. John Gallope. Charles Glover. Stephen Glover. William Haskell. John Holgrave. AVilliam Hough. Zebulon Hill. Samuel Haieward. George Ingersoll. Thomas Jones. Thomas Judkin. William Kenie. Thomas Kent. John Kettle. Nicholas Liston. Andrew Lister. John Luther. Solomon Martin. 'William Meades. Thomas Milward. George Norton. ''Ralph Parker. John Pearse. Capt. Perkins. Thomas Prince. Hugh Pritchard. c^ Phenis Rider. Abraham Robinson. Ed\\'ard Rouse. Mi-. Sadler. Eobert Sadler. William Sargent. Thomas Skellin. James Smith. Thomas Smith. Morris Somes. William Southmeade. William Stevens. Stephen Streeter. John Studley. Walter Tybbot. Thomas Very. William Vinson. Thomas Wakley. John Wakley. Henry Walker. ^William Wellman. Philip Yondall. Of these eighty-two settlers, about one-thfrd remained in toAvn, and found here thefr final resting-place. It has been seen that thirteen went to New London ; six removed to Falmouth, Me., and about twelve to other places ; leaAdng about twenty who left for parts unknoAvn. The Babsons, Bourne, Coit, CoUins, Fryer, Skelhn, Norton, Stevens, Glover, BroAvn, ElweU, Vinson, and Holgrave, came from Salem. Of the whole Hst of names of the first settlers, it is supposed that not more than ten are perpetuated by famihes now Hving in town, though descendants of several others in the female line are numerous. In order to present, in this connection, a complete Hst of all the early inhabitants of the town, the foUovring names are added of persons who settled here between the period to which the preceding list is brought, and the end of the century : — 54 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. Joseph Allen. Ralph Andrews. Edmond Asshby. Thomas Bailey. Giles Barge. William Bartholmew. Anthony Bennett. Eichard Biles. John Briars. Edmund Broadway. John Brown. John Butman. William Card. Arthur Churchill. Peter Coffin. William Cogswell. William Colman. John Cook. John Curney. Zacheus Curtis. —John Davis. Nicholas Denning. Eichard Dike. Samuel Dolliver. Moses Dudy. Peter Duncan. John Durgee. William Ellery. John Emerson. Peter Emons. John Fitch. Bartholomew Foster. James Gardner. George Giddings. Richard Gooding. John Hadley. Nathaniel Hadlock. John Hammons. John Hardin. Edward Harraden. George Harvey. Samuel Hodgkins. James Hughes. John Jackson. Charles James. Henry Joslin. John Lane. Thomas Lovekin. Thomas Low. Edmund Marshall. Philip Merritt. -Thomas Millet. Francis Norwood. Joseph Page. Elias Parkman. Jeffrey Parsons. Thomas Penny. William Perkins. — John Pool. Eowland Powell. Thomas Pulcifer. " Thomas Eiggs. John Ring. John Eoberts. John Eowe. Abial Sadler. James Sawyer. ' William Sargent, 2d. James Sayward. Eobert Stamp. Morris Smith. John Smith. Philip Stainwood. George Stover. Harlakenden Symonds. James Travis. Eobert Tucker. John Tucker. Bridget Varney. John Wallis. Samuel Webber. Nathaniel Wharf. William Whittridge. Richard Window. Henry With am. . 'Humphrey Woodbury. Samuel York. The above Hst contains the names of eighty-seven persons ; of whom, as nearly as can be ascertained, about fifty became perma nent settlers, and were residents of the toAvn when they died. EAELY SETTLEES. 55 Thfrty-five of the whole number are supposed to be represented by descendants hAdng in town, and bearing thefr names. But further general remarks respecting them are deemed unnecessary in this place, as the biographical notices which foUow give all the information worthy of preservation here concerning the settlers whose names have been given, and also of those of thefr descendants who have been prominent in the history of the toAvn. William Addes. — He was one of the first selectmen. He is not mentioned as a landoAvner, otherArise than as a seller of a lot on Eastem Point. He was here in 1649, when he was Aritness in an action against Charles Glover. He appears in New London, Conn., in 1659 ; when he was allowed to brew beer, and distil for the benefit of the tovm. Afterwards he was engaged in trading operations for a company in England. Mer cantUe employments may have occupied his attention in Glouces ter ; for, in one of the few instances in which he is mentioned, he is spoken of as buUding a bark. He had a daughter MilH- cent, who married WilHam Southmeade. Maetha Agae. — Her daughter Hannah died in 1696, in the tenth year of her age. Joseph Allen. — The name of AUen occurs among the Ifrst occupants of our territory ; WiUiam Allen having been one of the adventurers who came over to Cape Ann for the Dorchester Company. He was probably the early settler of Manchester of the same name, and perhaps the ancestor of our Allens. Joseph AUen came to Gloucester in 1674. He was a black smith, and was encouraged to settle here by an immediate grant of land and a common right. In 1675, he bought of James DaAds, sen., a house and land near the Meeting-house. A house, erected 'by him on this land, was taken doAvn a few years since by the descendant now owning the property, who built a new one on the same spot. He was frequently elected a selectman, and chosen on committees ; and, in 1705, was representative. The title, " captain," often given to him, was a mihtary one ; probably derived from his command of a military company. He died Oct. 6, 1724, aged seventy-one. He was tAvice 56 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. married: ffrst to Rachel Griggs, in 1680, who died AprU 26, 1684; and next to Rose Howard, in 1684, who survived him but twenty -one days, and died Oct. 27, 1724, aged about sixty. By these two vrives he had seventeen chUdren ; namely : Joseph, born in 1681 ; Jeremiah, 1682 ; Rachel, 1684 ; Solo mon, 1685; Benjamin, 1687; a son, 1688; Thomas, 1689; Anna, 1691; John, 1692; Rose, 1694; WUHam, 1696; Mercy and Patience, 1697; Jeremiah, 1698; Samuel, 1701; Zerub babel, 1703 ; and Moses, 1706. Several of these chUdren died young. Joseph, the oldest, engaged in trade, and became a citizen of considerable distinction, taking an active part in toAAm- affafrs. He represented the town, in General Court four years. He died AprU 6, 1750, learing an estate appraised at £5,130. 14s. 6d. His vrife was Mary Coit, who survived him. Eight of his children also survived him. Of these, WilHam, bom in 171-7, buUt the large house east of the site of the old Meeting house in Town Parish, where he had a large family of children born to him ; the last of whom, Ehzabeth, Aridow of Samuel Stevens, deceased in Portland, in 1850, at the advanced age of ninety-eight. He removed to New Gloucester, Me., on the early settlement of that toAvn. Nathaniel, born in 1718, engaged extensively in fishing and commercial operations. He built the old Long Wharf, and the house near the head of it, recently standing, in which he resided. Becoming bankrupt in business, he removed, about the commencement of the Revolutionary AVar, to Dover, N.H. ; Avhere he died soon after his removal. Mr. Allen was representative five years, and was a gentleman of high character and standing. His real estate became the pro perty of a British subject ; and, as such, was leased by the select men, in 1779, for the term of one year. The house had been previously occupied as barracks for one of the companies stationed here. Mr. Allen was twice married : fiorst to Mary, daughter of Rev. Joshua Gee of Boston ; and next to Sarah, daughter of Epes Sargent, Esq. Although tAvelve children were born to him by these tAVo Arives, no descendant remains. One of his sons (Joseph) graduated at Harvard College in 1774 ; and, after residing several years in New Hampshfre, became EAELY SETTLEES. 57 cashier of the Gloucester Bank in 1796, and continued in that office till 1829. He died, unmai-ried, Oct. 8, 1831, aged seventy-five. Thomas, son of Captain Joseph Allen, occupied the paternal estate. He was born in 1689 ; married Elizabeth Coit in 1711 ; and died, at an advanced age, about the com mencement of the Revolutionary War. Three of his sons married, and had famihes. Thoinas married Jemima Haskell in 1732 : David and Isaac married daughters of Rev. John AVhite. His son Jeremiah, born 1717, died young, an undergraduate of Harvard CoUege. AA^iUiam, son of Thomas AUen, jun., born in 1735, was a soldier in the French and Indian wars. He also served, with two sons, in the Revolutionary AVar. WUham, one of these sons, received a fatal shot in the arm on the retreat from Long Island. Nathaniel, the other son, left the army, and went on board a privateer. He was in the " Civil Usage " when the commander, Capt. John Smith, was killed ; and stood along side the lieutenant when that officer was struck on the head by a cannon-baU, and kiUed on the spot. He died in Manchester, about 1843, aged eighty-five. John Allen married Eunice Stone of Beverly in 1716; and, besides daughters, had sons, — Ambrose, John, Nehemiah, and Solomon. He resided at the entrance of the southerly way leading to Hodgkins' Ferry. Samuel married Rachel Day in 1726, and had eight children, of whom five were sons ; viz., Samuel, Joseph, Robert, Jonathan, .and WilHam. Zeeubbabel married Lydia Parsons in 1728, and died Feb. 4, 1749. He had sons, — Ebenezer, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Stephen, and Zerubbabel. The latter died at sea in 1756. Ralph Andeews. — This indiridual first appears in Glouces ter on the occasion of his marriage to Abigail Very, Nov. 17, 1681. His Hfe Avas one of poverty and misfortune. His poverty is inferred from the fact that he appears nowhere as a landholder dm-ing his whole hfe, and from the allusions to the help he received from the town. He did not come upon the town for support tUl after 1699, when the selectmen were fuUy empowered to send him to the " Lin doctor, James Kibber, to be cured of his lameness, if the said Kibber doth think he can cure him." 58 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. He died Feb. 25, 1718, aged seventy-five. His Avife died May 8, 1728, aged sixty-seven. Four children are recorded to him, — Thomas, 1686; Francis, 1689; AbigaU, 1692; and Hannah, 1702. Besides these, there was probably a Ralph, who received aid fr-om the town in 1740, and died Nov. 3, 1778, aged eighty-three. These sons are beheved to have married. Others of the name appear in town about the com mencement of the last century ; who were, without doubt, from Ipswich, where famihes of this name settled early. John An drews and Sarah Curtis (whom he afterwards married) were warned out of town in 1711. William Andrews settled here about the same time, and was father of WUliam, who was wounded in one of the expeditions to Louisburg, Cape Breton, and died on his passage home. William Ash. — No land is recorded to him ; but he sold a house and land to John Jackson in May, 1651. He married MiUicent, widow of WilHam Southmeade. Mr. Ashley. — A lot in the harbor is mentioned, in 1650, as once belonging to him. Thomas Ashley and his goods were attached in July, 1642, for WUHam Addes and others. Edmund Ashby was of Salem in 1665, and only appears here at the bfrth of his son James in 1680. Cheistopher Aveey and his son James were among the ffrst settlers. They had land in several places ; but resided, as nearly as can be made out fr-om the records, at the plantation. Chris topher Avery Avas selectman in 1646, 1652, and 1654. At a com-t in Salem, June 29, 1652, he took the freeman's oath; was chosen and sworn clerk of the band, constable and clerk of the market. These offices indicate the possession of a fafr- character ; but the criminal records of those times present him to us in various unfavorable aspects. He was presented twice at comt for living away fr-om his wife ; once for speaking scoffingly of Mr. Blynman : and, in 1655, he commenced an action against James Standish and WilHam Vinson for slanderously reporting that he drank liquor so long, "that he took lnke instead of Hquor ; and took another man's wife upon his knee, and dandled her, ye foohsh man, her husband looking on therewhUe." The EAELY SETTLEES. 59 jury found for defendants. Avery sold his house and land in 1658, and went to New London; whither his son James had removed several years before. The latter married Joane Grin- slade, Nov. 10, 1643, and had children, — Hannah, born 1644; James, 1646; and Mary, 1648. In 1651, he sold aU his possessions in Gloucester to his father, and removed to New London, where he continued many years a useful and enter prising citizen. Isabel Babson, widow and midwife, was of Salem in 1637, but came early to Gloucester, and had several grants of land. She also bought of Mr. MUward two acres that was Ashley's lot ; a portion of which, situated at what is now 75 and 77, Front Street, continued in the family about a century and a half. She died April 6, 1661, aged about eighty-four; leaving an estate inventoried at £27. 6s. Her son James came hither with his mother, and settled near Little Good Harbor. He was a cooper by trade ; but he cultivated his land, and left at his death a small farm, which went into the possession of Thomas Witham, who married his daughter. He died Dec. 21, 1683. His wife, Ehnor Hill, to whom he was married in 1647, died March 14, 1714, aged eighty-three. His chUdren were — James, born 1648 ; Ehnor, 1651; PhUip, 1654; Sarah, 1656, died 1676; Thomas, 1658; John, 1660; Richard, 1663; Elizabeth, 1665; Eben ezer, 1668 ; and Abigail, 1670. Philip Babson removed to Salem ; where, in 1689, he married Hannah Baker, who died in 1692, leaving a daughter Anna. Thomas enhsted in the Indian war of 1675, and was some time on duty in garrison at Hadley. He probably died young, as his name does not appear after this time. John had a grant, in 1695, of two or three acres at Straitsmouth, to " set up fishing upon." By further grants and pmchase, he became possessor of twenty-seven acres there, which he held several years, and probably improved in carrying on the fishery. He sold it in 1721. He married, in 1686, Dorcas, daughter of Josiah ElweU. They both died in 1737. He had several chUdren, three of whom — EHas, born in 1687 ; John, 1691 ; and Josiah, 1703 — died Arithin a few weeks in 1720. His son James, bom in 1689, is supposed to have been the 60 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. father of Isaac Babson of Wenham, who died young in Bristol, England, leaving several children ; one of AA'hom (Isaac) graduat ed at Harvard College m 1779,' and soon after went on board the privateer ship " Buccaneer " as steward. He spent several yeai-s in a seafaring life ; but finally settled as a trader in Hopkinton, N. H., in 1786. In 1796, he removed to Manchester ; where he died suddenly, July 31, 1800. John Babson, son of John, left two children, — James and AVUham. The former became a sea-captain, and died Sept. 3, 1759, aged forty-two ; leaving a son James, who was coinmander of a privateer in the Revolu tionary War, and died Oct. 10, 1790, aged forty-nine. AViUiam was lost overboard on a voyage to the Grand Bank about 1749, aged thfrty. His son WUHam married Ann, daughter of Rev. John Rogers; and died at the McLean Asylum, Dec. 30, 1831, aged eighty- tAVO. He Avas bred to a seafaring Hfe; and, after several years spent in privateering and mercantile voyages, settled in business at Annisquam. His oldest son WilHam, after a long and successful career in trade and commerce, died June 29, 1848, aged sixty-nine. Tavo of his sons have been representatives ; WilHam in 1850, and John J. in 1859 and 1860. Of this branch of the family is John Babson, who has held important national and state offices in Maine ; and is now Adce-consul ofthe United States for Canada. His residence is in Wiscasset, Me. Richaed Babson had a wife Mary, who died Feb. 14, 1718, aged fifty-four. He next married Jane Reading, Oct. 14, 1718. He settled at Fresh-water Cove ; and, after Hving there many years, removed to Falmouth, Me., about 1727. He had eleven or tAvelve children, but only one son that mai-ried. John, born in 1687, married Hannah Hodgkins in 1711, and died before 1743. She died about 1779, over ninet)'. From the sons by this marriage are descended most of the Babsons on Cape Ann. John, born in 1713, died about the close of the last cen tury, leaving a son Samuel ; Avho, having acqufr-ed considerable property in mercantile pursuits here, retfr-ed to a farm in Lincoln, Mass., Avhere he died Oct. 8, 1805, aged about sixty-four. Solo mon, born in 1715, Avas the father of John, a merchant, exten sively and successfully engaged in business many years in EAELY SETTLEES. 61 Gloucester and Newburyport. Becoming reduced in cfrcum stances, he removed to Maine ; and died suddenly at Mt. Desert, March 22, 1825, aged seventy-nine. His Avife was Catharine, daughter of Rev. John Rogers. WilHam, born in 1721, married Mary WUhams. His oldest son, WUHam, was lost in the ship " Gloucester." Three of the grandsons of the latter have held pubhc offices of importance : Gorham, a representative three years, and now collector of the customs; David, for several years surveyor of the port ; and Fitz J., representative in 1858 and 1860. The two former have thefr residence in Rockport. Ebenezee Babson would have no further notice here if he had not found a place in the," Magnaha " of Cotton Mather, where, in a letter from Rev. John Emerson, he figures in the diabolical work by which, in 1692, the toAvn was kept in a state of agitation and alarm for several months. He may have been distinguished in an encounter Arith a less ethereal enemy, and thus have been the occasion of the local saying, " The knife that Babson kUled the bear Arith." He died before 1696. James Babson is probably the ancestor of aU the Babsons in the United States. Thomas Bailey and Arife Mary appear in Gloucester, 1700 ; when Thomas, thefr son, was born. Other children were — Sa muel, born 1702 ; Mary, 1704. The father died Oct. 15, 1704. Alexandee Bakee was owner of a house and land early, and inay have been for a short time a resident. He Hved in Boston many years. Giles Baegb bought two acres of land in Fishermen's Field in 1653, which he sold in 1655. In the time of Sfr Edmund Andros, he petitioned for confirmation of two hundred and sixty acres of land in Scarborough, which some years before he had Hved on and improved. William Baetholmeav was here in 1657, when he was one of a committee to " seek out for a minister." He had planting- ground a-nd marsh ; but, after remaining in town a short time, he removed to Boston. Richaed Beefoed was born about 1608. He is named in an action at a Quarterly Comt in Salem, 1637; but he was not pro bably an inhabitant of Gloucester before 1650, although his 62 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. chUdren (John, Mary, Hannah, and Ruth) are recorded here as born by his Arife Mary before that year. Other chUdi-en of his were — Nathaniel, born in 1650 ; and Richard, in 1653. He bought a house and land of Solomon Martin in 1651. He was freeman, 1651; selectman, 1659 and 1660; and then disap pears. Anthony Bennett, carpenter, probably came to this town from Beverly ; where a person of the same name, a carpenter, was Hving in 1671. He had grants of land here in 1679; on one of which, on the east side of MiU River, he settled. He died Jan. 12, 1691 : his Avife AbigaU died Oct. 26, 1733, between seventy and eighty years of age. His two sons (Anthony, born in 1679; and John, in 1686) both married, and had famihes. John died Feb. 1, 1725, aged thfrty-eight years. He came into possession of the ancient miU, Arith the privUege of the stream ; but he found an earnest competitor for the business of the town in John Ring, aa^Ho had a mUl on Sawmill-river Dam. The null continued in the Bennett FamUy, and was carried on by them many years. Peter, another son, settled in toAAm, and had several children ; but had removed in 1718, when he was HA-ing in Georgetown, York County, Me. The name is not borne here now by any descendant; but it survdves in New Gloucester and other parts of Maine, whither members of the famUy emi grated from here. Geoege Blake had several grants of land ; on one of which, near the Meeting-house, he resided. He was selectman, 1649 ; and freeman, 1651. In 1665, he sold house, upland, orchard, and commonage, to John Fitch ; and, in 1669, another house and land, to Thomas Judkin ; soon after which he removed to Box ford, where he died Feb. 17, 1698. Dorothy Blake, probably his wife, died at the same place, Dec. 12, 1702. The chUdren of George Blake by his Avife Dorothy, recorded on our books, are — Rebecca, born in 1641 ; Deborah, Prudence, 1647 ; Ehza beth, 1650 ; Mai-y, 1652 ; Thomas, 1658 ; and Ruth, 1659. John Bouene Hved in Salem before he came to Gloucester. He had liberty fr-om the General Com-t in 1646 to set up a cook- shop in the former place ; not to sell beer above a penny a quart. EAELY SETTLEES. 63 He bought a house and land at TrynaU Cove, in 1649, of William Hough; and sold it in 1652. In 1651, he was clerk of the writs and of the market. After leaving Gloucester, he went to Barba does, where he was in 1661. By his Arife Mary he had one chUd (Bethiah), born here in 1651. ^ Thomas Beay, ship-carpenter, born in 1614, had, Arith other grants of land, six acres, in 1647, at the head of Little River ; and, in 1651, one-quarter of an acre in the bottom, on the north side, of Gow-Island Marsh, " for a house to be sett, on." He probably settled at this time in that part of the town, where descendants have continued ever since. John Bray, perhaps a relative, was a shipAvright at Kittery in 1663, and had a daugh ter, who became the mother of Sfr William Pepperell. Thomas Bray married, May 3, 1646, MaryJWilson, who died March 27, 1707: he died Nov. 30, 1691. His chUdren were — Mary, born fri 1647 ;/Thomast^l65S ; John, 1654; Nathaniel, 1656; Hannah, 1662; Esther, 1664; and Sarah. Thomas had a vrife Majry^nd several chUdren, of whom five were sons, — Thomas, ^John, Nathaniel, Moses, and 'Aaron. Thomas married Ehnor Dodge of Beverly in 1716 ; and had, besides daughters, sons, — Thomas, Edward, and Ebenezer. Thomas, though not an edu cated physician, practised medicine in his native parish many years ; and died there Nov. 26, 1801, aged over eighty. .John, second son of Thomas Bray, jun., married Susanna Woodbury in 1716, and had six chUdren, of whom three were sons : one of these (Humphrey) married Lydia Woodbury in 1749, and had a son SUas, whose son SUas was representative in 1838 and 1844. Nathaniel, the thfr-d son, married Sarah Haskell in 1733, and had eleven children, among whom were sons, — Nathaniel, Daniel, Benjamin, — and others whose names are not knoAvn; and died Jan. 18, 1773, aged seventy-nine. Moses Bray had a wife Mary, and sons, — Samuel, Nicholas, and Moses. He died July 19, 1773, aged seventy-seven. '^ Aaron Bray married Ehzabeth Davis in 1727, and Ruth Winter in 1744. Of his ten chUdren, four were sons, — Aaron, Mark, Edward, and Thomas?j> John, son of Thomas, sen., married Margaret Lambert in 1679, who died in 1725, aged seventy : 64 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. he died Sept. 25, 1714. Having no chUdren, he gave the reversion of his property to his nephew John. Nathaniel, the youngest son, married Martha Wadin in 1684. He died May 2, 1728, aged seventy-six; leaving, it appears, an only son Nathaniel, who married Sarah Davis in 1714, and had sons, — Isaac, Andrew, and Nathaniel. John Beiaes appears here, in 1652, on the occasion of his marriage to Ehzabeth, daughter of John Jackson. The follow ing children are recorded to him : Grace, born in 1655 ; John, 1658; Benjamin, 1660; and Mary, 1661, who died at bfrth. In 1858, there was given him a "necke of land lunge over against John Jackson's two or three acres, which was caUed Peter Mud's Neck." He left town soon after 1661. Edmund Beoadavay sold land in Fishermen's Field and other places in 1653 and 1654; but it does not appear certain that he resided here. John Beoavn had, in 1704, built a smaU house and fenced in a piece of town's land near Sadler's Run. He died March 17, 1732, aged seventy. His wife Rebekah died June 24, 1711. Thefr children born in Gloucester were — Sarah, born in 1696 ; Rebekah, 1699 ; Rachel, 1702 ; Jonathan, 1705 ; and Joseph, 1709 ; besides others that died in infancy. John Brown (proba bly the preceding) married Elizabeth Somes in 1713 ; by Avhom his sons — WilHam, 1714 ; and Daniel, 1717 — were born. He may have brought children to Gloucester Avith him ; as an Elisha inarried Hannah Gardner, Nov. 21, 1717 ; and a John married Hannah Elwell, Jan. 23, 1721. Jonathan Brown married Ly dia ElweU in 1728, and Joseph Brown married Mary ElweU in 1732. These three maidens of the same name were sisters ; probably daughters of Jacob Elwell. Elisha Brown had eleven children ; among whom were sons, — John, Elisha, James, Ste phen, and Samuel. The latter was bom in 1744, and married Dorcas Elwell in 1765. His business was that of a coaster. He was lost overboard on his passage fr-om Boston to Gloucester about 1790 ; leaving several chUdren, of whom one was Elisha, Avho died in Surinam about 1802. John Brown, jun., had two children born in Gloucester ; and then removed to Falmouth, EAELY SETTLEES. 65 Me. WiUiam married Ehzabeth Phipps in 1735, and Daniel married Sarah Row in 1741. Descendants of EHsha, and probably of other sons of the ffr-st settler, John, continue the name in toAvn. William Beoavn was among the earliest settlers, and had several parcels of land. His residence was in the harbor. He was selectman, 1644 and 1647; and, in 1654, he had liberty from a Quarterly Court to draw strong Avaters during the plea sure of the court. He married Mary, Avidow of Abraham Robinson, in 1646; and died May 3, 1662, leaving a daughter Mafy7born in 1649, who married WiUiam Haskell. His widoAv married, for her thfrd husband, Henry Walker. His estate, which was considerable for the time and place (£223. 7s.) was mostly left to his son-in-law, Abraham Robinson. Obadiah Beuen was the youngest son of John Bruen of Bruen Stapleford, county of Chester, England ; a noted Puritan of an ancient famUy, which dates back to the Norman Conquest. He was baptized Dec. 22, 1606. He came to Plymouth with Rev. Richard Blynman, and accompanied him thence to the various fields of his labor, but parted on the settlement of the latter in New Haven. As nearly as can be ascertained, his residence in Gloucester was on the south-Avest side of the Meeting-house Green. Land in different places is recorded to him, though not in so large grants as to several other settlers. He was made a freeman in 1 642 ; clerk of the writs, and com misioner to end small causes, in 1643 ; was a selectman several years, and the representative three years. In 1645, he was licensed at a Quarterly Court " to draw wine." He filled the office of town-clerk during the whole period of his stay in Gloucester ; and, when he left, carried the records with him, as it appears by a copy of an extract from them, taken by his own hand after his removal to New Jersey. He sold all his possessions here in September, 1650, and went to New London, of which place he was the recorder many years. He was one of the patentees of the Colony of Connecticut named in the charter granted by Charles II. in 1662. In company with about fifty famUies from Connecticut, he emigrated to Newark, 66 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. N. J. ; which place he bought of the Indians in 1667, and where it was the purpose of the settlers, as they declared, to estabhsh a church and commonwealth exactly according to God's word ; not permitting any one, except a member of a Congregational church, to hold office, either civU or mihtary. Air. Bruen had a Avife Sarah, by whom two chUdren were bom in Glouces ter, — Hannah in 1643, and John in 1646. The date of his death is unknoAvn; but he was hAdng in Newark in 1681. Descendants of this respectable stock remain in New Jersey. One (Rev. Alatthew Bruen, bom in Newark) was an eminent minister in New- York City; and died there in 1829, aged thirty-six. Richaed Byles, weaver, son of Jonathan Byles of Beverly, and his Avife Elizabeth Patch, and grandson of Richard Braken bury (who came to Salem Arith Gov. Endicott in 1628), was bom Nov. 3, 1675 ; and first appears in Gloucester in 1700. In 1718, he bought of WUham Sargent a house and land that Sargent bought of John Durge. He had a AvLfe Marv, by whom the foUoAving chUdren were bom : Charles, 1700 ; Mary, 1702; John, 1704; Alartha, 1706; Sarah, 1710; Ehza beth, 1713; Alexander, 1716; and Jonathan, 1719. He had removed back to Beverly in 1727, where it is supposed his Avdfe died in January, 1746, aged seventy ; and he himself died Feb. 12, 1771, aged ninety-six. Charles Byles bought his father's property here, and remained in toAvn. His residence was in the Second Parish, about half a mUe from the head of Little River. He commanded a company at the siege of Louisbm-g in 1745 ; and again, it is said, at the taking of Quebec. He married Hannah Eveleth, Jan. 17, 1727, who died Alarch 9, 1785, ased seventy-five : he died Alarch 9, 1782, aged eightv-one. He had a son Charles, bom in 1732, of whom nothinsr is knoAvn ; and another (Nathaniel), bom Feb. 5, 1741, whose intention of marriage vrith Sarah Procter of IpsArich, Alaxch 13, 1766, is recorded ; and who died at Halifax, of smaU-pox, in December, 1777. John Butman is supposed to have come from Salem, where Jeremiah Butman, a fisherman, was Hving in 1673. A Matthew EAELY SETTLEES. 67 Butman resided in Beverly, with his sons Matthew and Jere miah, in 1714. John received a grant of land on the west side of Annisquam River, in 1693, on condition that he should build upon it in three years ; but, in 1696, he exchanged it for a lot of two acres and a half at the head of Lobster Cove, where he built his house, and probably spent the remainder of his life. He mai-ried Sarah, daughter of Abraham Robinson, June 30, 1690, and had the foUoAring children : Jeremiah, born in 1690 ; a daughter, 1693 ; Mary, 1697 ; Hannah, 1700 ; John, 1703 ; Jonathan, 1708; and Samuel, 1711. Jeremiah married Abi gaU Stevens in 1713 ; and was lost in a violent gale, coming fi-om Cape Sable, in 1716 ; leaAdng a son Jeremiah. John had two Arives; but no sons are recorded to him, and only one daughter that Hved. Jonathan had a Arife Judith, and several chUdren ; the first of which was born in Newbury in 1734. Hugh Calkin, husbandman, was one of Mr. Blynman's com pany. He had land in various places, but fixed his residence on the neck of house-lots. He was admitted freeman in 1642 ; was a selectman several years ; commissioner for ending small causes in 1645 ; and representative in 1650 and 1651. In this last year he left Gloucester, and became successively a resident of New London and Norwich ; in both of which places, as in Gloucester, various trusts were confided to him by his felloAv- citizens. The history of these two j;owns has been written by a female descendant, — Miss F. M. Caulkins. He died in Nor- Arich about 1690. He had one chUd (Deborah) born here, by his Avife Ann, in 1644. His daughter Rebekah died Mai-ch, 1651. A daughter (Sarah) married WilHam Hough, and another (Mary) married Hugh Roberts. William Caed married Hannah Coit, Aridow, Jan. 10, 1693 ; and from that time resided here. His children were — Mary, bom hi 1693; WUHam, 1696; Hannah, 1699; John, 1701; and Benjamin, 1710. AU we know of his profession or busi ness is that he bore the title of " captain." He died July 7, 1736, aged about seventy-four years. His oldest son William married Rebecca Walhs in 1717, by whom he had three chU dren. He was lost in a schooner, near the Isle of Sables, in 68 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. AprU, 1722. WUHam, his oldest son, married Mary Babson. Benjaaiin Caed married Rachel York in 1732 ; and died at Canso, of a fever, in 1738, leaving three children. Thomas Chase. — His lot is mentioned before 1650; but there is no other notice of him. A person of this name was an early settler in Hampton; and died in 1652, leaving a Arife Ehzabeth. Aethue Chuechill. — It is imcertain when this individual came to Gloucester ; but, fr-om the grant made by the toAvn in 1701 to Richard Tarr, — a condition of which was, that the latter should maintain " old father ChurchiU during his natural life," — it seems probable that he was in some way connected with Tarr's famil)', Avhich settled here about 1690. He died Jan. 22, 1710. Edmund Claek. — In the record of land-grants, a Mr. Clark is mentioned a few times before 1650, but only by the title of " Mr. ; " which, in accordance Arith the custom of that period, implied some distinction on the part of the possessor. He is probably the same individual who appears Arith the baptismal name of Edmund in 1650 ; and perhaps the same Edmund Clark who was of Lynn in 1636, and afterwards of SandArich. The name also appears in Haverhill in 1654. Om- Edmund Clark was town-clerk from 1657 to November, 1665 ; Avhen his last record, in a faihng hand, was made. He died Feb. 26, 1666; leaving a Aridow Agnes, AA'ho married Thomas Penny; a son John, who resided near Walker's Creek, and died in 1681, probably unmarried; a daughter Abigail, born in 1632, who married WiUiam Sai-gent; and a son Joseph, born in 1650, who Avas a soldier in the Indian war of 1675, and died in 1696, leaving three sons, — Joseph, John, and Edmund; the first and last of whom inarried, and had large famihes in the toAvn. John pm-chased a lot of land, in 1718, in that pai-t of AVindham, Conn., which has since been incorporated by the name of Hampton. He removed thither with his wife, Ruth HaskeU, Avhom he mai-ried iu 1718 ; and was the fom-th settler of the place. He died Nov. 9, 1782, aged ninety : his Avife died July, 1776, aged eighty-three. Edmund was admitted an inhabi tant of Falmouth, Me., in 1728 ; but did not remove thither. eaely SETTLEES. 69 Mattheav Coe, a fisherman, lived in Portsmouth in 1640, but came to Gloucester before 1647 ; in which year, with Morris Somes, John Wakley, and Daris AVheeler, he was brought before a court at Salem, for hunting and kUhng a raccoon on the Lord's day, in time of public service, to the disturbance of the congregation. In 1651, he had a grant of six acres of land " upon the neck that is on this side of the stage-neck." After haring resided here several years, he sold his house and land to Thomas Riggs, in 1661, for forty pounds, and bought, with others, of Richard Tucker of Falmouth, Me., two hundred and ten acres of land on the north margin of Back Cove, in that place ; where he died before 1675. He married Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas AVakley, in 1647, and had the foUoAving children : John, born in 1649 ; Sarah, 1651 ; Mary, 1653 ; AbigaU, 1668 ; and Matthew, 1660, who died the same year. John settled in Rhode Island. Sarah married Joseph Ingersol of Falmouth, and retumed Arith her husband to Gloucester, the native place of both, about 1690; having left Falmouth probably on account of the continual anxiety and alarm to which they were exposed from the hostihty of the Indians, and thefr repeated murderous attacks on that place. Petee Coffin was son of Tristram Coffin of Newbury, where the family settled early. He came to Gloucester in 1688, and occupied the large tract of land, of about five hundred acres, between Annisquam and Chebacco Rivers (originally granted to WiUiam Stevens), that his father had purchased the same year of Jonathan WiUoughby of London. How long he remained here is imcertain. Two daughters (Hannah and Judith) were born, by his wife Afiah, within three years after he came. His grandson Peter, upon whom the property was entaUed, took possession of it about 1747, and resided there till his removal to the harbor. Soon after he came to town, he began to take a part in public affairs ; and continued upwards of forty years a prominent and useful citizen. In the earliest stages of the Revolution, he embraced the Colonial i cause with enthusiastic ardor ; and ceased not to devote aU his energies to the public good tiU independence was estabhshed. As his farm was at an 70 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. inconvenient distance from the viUage for an actor in the stfrring events of the time, he took a house in town about the commence ment of the war, and resided there tUl his death. The high estimate placed upon his serrices by his townsmen is sufficiently attested by his repeated election to offices of trust and responsi bility. He served from 1753 to 1777, excepting two years, on the Board of Selectmen. In 1774, he was first chosen repre sentative to the General Court, and filled this office several times between that period and the last year of his service, — 1792 ; and also served as one of the senators from Essex County. He was the principal acting magistrate in toAvn for many years. His death took place, Feb. 14, 1796, at the age of seventy-two. Mr. Coffin's vrife was Mary Currier of Amesbury. Of his ten children, three were sons, — Peter, WilHam, and Tristram. Peter graduated at Harvard College in 1769, and commenced studying law Arith Judge Sargent at HaverhUl ; but, conceiving a dislike for the profession, he abandoned his studies, and took up his abode as a shopkeeper in his native toAAm. In this busi ness he faUed of success ; and, soon becoming bankrupt, he went on to the farm, where he Hved as long as it would yield him a support by the sale of the Avood upon it, and then came back to town, and died Aug. 4, 1821, aged seventy-two. He married Polly, daughter of Rev. EH Forbes, Oct. 21, 1773 ; who died in 1795, aged forty. He had a son Peter, who died unmarried. He saUed from Boston on a foreign voyage in the capacity of supercargo, and was never again heai-d fi-om. Tavo other sons (Charles and Eh Forbes) sailed for the north fi-om Baltimore, where Charles was engaged in business, and Avere lost on the passage. WUHam Coffin, born June 30, 1756, was educated at Dummer Academy, Byfield; and studied medicine in Boston, where he married Mary Langdon. After serving a short time as smgeon of the pubhc armed vessel " Tyrannicide," he settied in the practice of medicine in his native town about 1779. His residence was at the eastern corner of Front and Short Streets. He was an esteemed physician, and enjoyed an extensive prac tice for nearly half a century. He died June 20, 1827, after a short iUness, dm-ing which he made a profession of rehgion, and EAELY SETTLEES. 71 received the sacrament of the Lord's Supper. His widow died Aug. 20, 1844, aged eighty-five. Dr. Coffin had a large famUy of children. Three of his sons Hved to mature years, — WUham, who settled in Boston, where he was cashier of the Columbian Bank many years; Edward L., a shipmaster of Gloucester; and Arthur G., the president of an insurance company in Phila delphia. Tristram, the thfr-d son of Hon. Peter Coffin, spent his life in Gloucester in various employments, one of Avhich was that of a school-teacher. He died March 9, 1852, at the vene rable age of ninety. John Coit. — Two persons of this name, father and son, were here early ; haAdng probably come from Salem, where the name is found in 1638. John Coit, sen., had his residence at the end of the neck of house-lots, noAv called Wheeler's Point ; where, and on Planter's Neck, he had considerable land. He was admitted freeman in 1647, and was a selectman in 1648. About 1651, he went to New London, and died there Aug. 29, 1659; leaAdng in that place a wife Mary, a son Joseph, two daughters (Mary and Martha), and " other two sons and daugh ters " who were absent. John Coit, jun., had land near his father's. He had land granted to him in New London ; but, not removing thither, the grant was forfeited. He married Mary, daughter of WilHam Stevens, May 21, 1652. He is supposed to have died before Oct. 3, 1667 ; when a Mary Coit, who could have been no other than his rehct, married John Fitch. His chUdren were — John, born in 1653, died April 15, 1675; Mary, 1655; AbigaU, 1657; Nathaniel, 1659; and Job, 1661. Nathaniel Coit had his residence near the head of Little River. He was a citizen of considerable infiuence ; which was derived in part, perhaps, from the large estate given to him by Henry Walker, who in 1690, Coit then living with him, made his Avill, and gave him all his property, except a few smaU legacies. He was a selectman six years, and representative in 1714, 1718, and 1719. He died, Arithout any prerious indisposition, Jan. 10, 1743, aged eighty-four. The name has not since existed in toAvn, though descendants of his daughters are numerous. He was thrice married : first to Ehzabeth Davis, Feb. 16, 1687, 72 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. who died Feb. 11, 1700; next to AbigaU Stevens, Feb. 17, 1702, who died Jan. 8, 1710 ; and last to Widow Hannah Sargent, Nov. 30, 1711. His children were — Mary, bom in 1688 ; John, March 9, 1691 ; a daughter, 1693 ; AbigaU, 1695, died 1698; Joshua, born 5th, died 9th July, 1697; Martha, 1698; Abigail, 1703; and Stephen, 1704, who died m 1705. John was probably the graduate of Hai-vard CoUege, of the same name, ofthe class of 1712. He was Hving in Alarblehead in 1715. In 1716, he caUs himself hefr of John Fitch; and in 1719, still of that place, he is caUed merchant and school master. He may have removed to Boston, and died before 1743 ; when Nathaniel, Job, Joseph, and other grandchUdren of Na thaniel Coit of Gloucester, were hA'ing there. Job, son of John Coit, died Sept. 15, 1690 ; leaving a Arife Hannah, and daughter Mary. The latter died in infancy. Cleaient Coldom is supposed to haA^e come from Lynn, where the famUy name is found among the early settlers. He was here "the last of the last month," 1649, when his daughter Judith died. In 1651, he bought a house and land, on the neck of house-lots, of Andrew Lister ; but his oavu place of residence Avas on the easterly side of MiU River, towards Goose Cove. If he continued to reside here from that tune, he led an entfrely obscm-e hfe ; as his name is hardly mentioned for about haK a century before his death. He died Dec. 18, 1703, about eighty years old. His daughter Ehzabeth married Francis Norwood. A Mary Coldom died Jan. 26, 1704. John Collins came to Gloucester from Salem, where he had land granted in 1643. Here he had his residence in the harbor. He was a selectman in 1646, and several times after wards; and died Mai-ch 25, 1695, leaving an estate of £139. 4s. 8d. He had a Avife Joanna, aa'Ho died Alay 25, 1695 ; and chUdren, — John; James, born in 1643; Alary, 1646; and Anna, 1649. The sons Avere both mai-Iners. John had nine childi-en born here by Mehetabel, his wife. He removed to Salem about 1675, and died before September, 1677. James married tArice, and had a son by each vrife. He also removed to Salem; from Avhich place he saUed, in 1685, for Barbadoes, EAELY SETTLEES. 73 and never retmned. Mary had three husbands, the last being Capt. James Davis ; and died March 9, 1725, aged seventy-nine. Ann married Charles James. Daniel, supposed to have been a son of the second John, had a grant of land above the head of Goose Cove in 1719; which was increased in 1725, when he had a house there. Ezekiel, another son, born in 1664, married Ehzabeth, daughter of Thomas Riggs, in 1692. He settled in the easterly part of the town, towards Little Good Harbor; where his descendants remained tlU about the commencement of the present century. He died December, 1744, aged eighty ; having been often employed, through the course of his long hfe, in various important town-offices. He left four sons, — John, Ebenezer, Daniel, and Amos. The latter settled in Marblehead. Daniel and John were both mariners. Ebenezer was a shoemaker, and had a son Ebenezer, who removed to New Gloucester, Me., and died about 1804. James, another son of Ebenezer, born Nov. 26, 1724, resided on the family estate, on the Sandy-bay Road. He commanded a company in the first year of the Revo lutionary War, and is said to have subsequently attained the rank of major. He had previously been in charge of a ship ; and, becoming tfred of the camp, he again sought employment on the quarter-deck. He took command of a privateer of eighteen guns, and sailed on a cruise ; during Avhich he captured a ship caUed the " Lady Gage," laden partly with wine. Upon his return home, he was offered the command of a new, large privateer-ship caUed the " Cumberland." He probably sailed in this ship some time in the year 1778, and neither ship nor crew were ever again heard from. A descendant remembers that the wives of forty young men, called "the flower of Portland," were made widows by this sad loss. Capt. Collins was twice married, and had children by each wife. By the last, who was AbigaU, daughter of Elder Warner, he left a son James, who was master of the ship " Winthrop and Mary," on a voyage to India, about 1800 ; of whose fate, after leaving Sumatra on her passage home, no tidings were ever received. He married Elizabeth Homans of Beverly, and left a son, James Albert, 10 74 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. who abandoned a seafaring life in 1833, and has since resided in Griggsville, IU. The youngest daughter of Capt. James Collins, sen., married Air. Outien, who was lost at sea in 1799 ; leaAdng a son, who was also lost at sea, at the age of nineteen, in 1817; and a daughter, who is the vrife of Hon. Charles Kimball of IpsArich. A grandson of Ezekiel Collins, probably, was Daniel, a blockmaker by trade, Avho was an officer in the Revolutionary AVar, and subsequently colonel of miHtia. He died in August, 1810, aged seAenty-one. AViLLiAAi Colman, planter, first appears in Gloucester about 1654. He married Bridget, Aridow of John Rowe, Nov. 14, 1662, who died May 2, 1680 : he died AprU 18, 1680. His house, Avhich was at the " Farms," was burnt. A rock on the northerly side of the road to Rockport, near the place of his residence, perpetuates his name. John Cook. — The first mention of the name of Cook in toAvn is that of Rachel Cook, who married AVilham A'^inson In 1661. She was probably a Aridow when she married Arinson ; as the latter, in his wUl, speaks of the " son of my son-in-law John Cook." This John Cook mai-ried Alary Elwell, a Aridow, Feb. 2, 1680; and had fiA'e children, of whom three died in Infancy. The other childi-en Avere — John, born In 1680; and Mai-v, In 1688. Either father or son had a grant of land on Eastern Point in 1704 ; but nothing farther Is knoAvn of the family after the last date. A Samson Cooke died in AprU, 1673. Ehas Cook had a dwelhng-house in Sandy Bay in 1738 ; but it is not knoAATi that he belonged to the fiui-st family of that name. Thoaias Coexish mai-ried Mai-y, daughter of John Stone, Sept. 4, 1641 ; by whom he had a son Jolin, born in 1642. No land Is recorded as granted to him ; but he had a house, and also owned mai-sh In Annisquam, and a lot on Planter's Neck. He probably weut to Exeter, N.H. ; where a person of the same name resided in 1652. This name is also on a Hst of men, under Capt. Beers, who were slain by the Indians at Squahoge, now Northfield, in 1675. AVilliaai Cotton is mentioned fri Mr. Bb'uman's srant. He had a lot winch Avas afterAvai-ds Thomas Bray's. He may have eaely SETTLEES. 75 resided here early for a short period ; but Boston was the place of his permanent residence. John Cueney, in 1671, had a grant of half an acre of land where his house was standing. He had then but recently come fi-om Falmouth, Me. ; bringing with him, perhaps, Abigail Skel- hng, whom he married Nov. 18, 1670. He died May 3, 1725, aged eighty : she died Feb. 16, 1722, aged seventy. He had a son EHsha, born in 1672 ; and a daughter Mary, In 1682. A son John died in infancy in 1678. Elisha married Rebecca Smith, settled at Eastern Point, and had a large family of chUdren. A John Curney, probably another son of John, married Mary Cook in 1713. He had the title of "captain;" derived un doubtedly from maritime employment, in which he was engaged as master of a brigantine belonging to Salem in July, 1712, when he was taken by a French privateer. Zaccheus Cuetis and his wife Jane are mentioned only as the father and mother of a daughter Mary, born in 1659. John Davis bought of Richard Window, in 1656, his house, barn, orchard, and land. This property was situated probably near Walker's Creek, as Window had a house there in 1651. After a residence of several years in toAvn, Daris removed to IpsArich ; leaving here his two sons, — James and Jacob. The former had a house and land, which he sold to Joseph Allen In 1674. A few years later, mention is made of his house on the right hand of the way from Long Cove to Mr. Walker's ; perhaps the same occupied by his father. Three generations of his family gave to the toAvn some of its most valued and useful citizens ; men who, during a whole century, were constantly In office, and, whether fiUing cIaoI, military, or ecclesiastical sta tions, always securing the best reward of pubhc serrice, — pubhc confidence. James Davis was appointed by the General Court ensign to the trainband in 1681 ; and, in 1689, received his com mission as captaui. No means now exist for ascertaining what active service he performed in these offices : but we find, that. In 1693, he was "very sickly" in consequence of sickness he re ceived in the " country serrice in Sfr Edmund Andros's time ; " and that he received in 1699, from the General Comt, a grant of 76 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. Straitsmouth Island, for the charge and expense he had been at and the time he had spent in the late wars Arith the French and Indian enemy. He was repeatedly elected to the office of select man ; and, for eight years, served the toAvn as its representative. His death took place May 1, 1715. By his first Arife Mehetabel, who died June 9, 1666, he had four chUdren; of whom two — John, born In 1660 ; and James, 1663 — lived to maturity. By his second wife (Ehzabeth Batchelder of Wenham), whom he married Dec. 6, 1666, he had seven chUdren; one of whom (Ebe nezer) became a citizen of considerable prominence. This Arife died Jan. 1, 1697; and, Aug. 3 of the same year, Capt. Daris married his thfrd and last Arife (Mrs. Mary Cook), who died March 9, 1725, aged seventy-nine. John DaAds had three acres of upland between Lobster Cove and Hogskin Cove in 1684; and there he probably fixed his residence. He often served in toAvn-offices, and was also Heutenant of the mihtary company. He died March 16, 1729, aged sixty-nine. His Arife, who was Ann Haraden, and two sons (Benjanun and Joseph), surrived him. The latter son may have been Joseph of Squam, who mar ried Jemima HaskeU in 1732, and died about 1753. His son WUHam, born in 1738, whose posterity is numerous, was a prisoner two years and a haK at Hahfax, in the Revolutionary War; and died in 1814, leaving several sons, among whom was Epes, an occasional preacher of the Baptist denomination, and father of WilHam, a representative in 1841. James, second son of Capt. James DaAds, married Bethiah Leach in 1685, who died Aug. 20, 1733, aged seventy; and he next married, Dec. 31, 1733, Sarah Millet. He had ten chUdren, of whom four were sons, that married and settled In toAvn, — James, EHas, Solomon, and Jedediah. He is generally mentioned by his mUitary title of " heutenant ; " but he best commended himseK to the favor of his toAvnsmen by his usefulness in civil office. He served several years as a selectman ; and, in 1708 and 1709, as repre sentative. He sold his dwelling-house, near Harbor Swamp, in 1703, to Rev. John AVhite; and bought in 1706, of WilHam Somes, a house and land " on the northwardly and easterly side of a highway leading fr-om ye mUl." He died Mai-ch 5, 1743, EAELY SETTLEES. 77 aged eighty. His son James, born in 1690, was twice married : first, in 1719, to Mary Hai-aden, who died June 22, 1753 ; and next to Mrs. Hannah Saunders. He became one of the most useful and honored citizens of his time. He resided at Squam, and was one of the deacons of the church there nearly half a century. He also fiUed all the civU offices held by his father and grandfather ; serving the toAvn as one of Its selectmen for a long course of years, and for seven years as its representative. His death took place, Aug. 15, 1776. He had nine children ; one of whom (Sarah), in the early blush of womanhood, accepted for her husband Rev. Amos Cheever of Manchester, who was then far advanced in years. EHas, the next son, born In 1694, had a Arife Ehzabeth, who died in or before 1733 ; when he married Sarah Foster. He was a merchant of extensive business, which he probably carried on at Squam Harbor. He died about 1734, leaving sons Job and Mark, and an estate, valued in the cur rency of the time, when corn was worth six shUlings a bushel, at upwards of forty -five hundred pounds. Solomon, born in 1696, married Mary Small of Kittery in 1720, and probably Lydia Cannaby in 1747. Besides several daughters, he had a son Solomon, a Noah, and tAAdn sons James and Samuel. Jedediah Davis, born in 1704, had a Arife Dorothy; and, in 1734, was married to Martha Haraden. He had a son of his own name ; but nothing is knoAvn of either father or son after the last-named date. Ebenezer, son of Capt. James Daris, married Mary Wharf in 1705 ; and died Oct. 30, 1732, aged fifty-one. He engaged In mercantUe employments, and was one of the first In toAvn who entered extensively into such pursuits. The inventory of his estate, amounting to three thousand pounds, shows that his labors were not unrewarded. He had a son Abraham ; and, besides other daughters, a Susanna, who married Rev. Moses Parsons, and had among her children TheophUus Parsons, the distinguished Chief-Justice of the Supreme Court of Massachu setts. No efforts to ascertain what descendants of John Davis in this respectable line, bearing the name, and now living on the Cape, have been successful. The families of the following trace thefr origin to the Fomth Parish, where Lieut. James Davis had 78 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. his home. Thomas, who perished, Arith the rest of the company of the schooner " Mary," by shipwreck, on Tinker's Island, April 2, 1786, In a severe snow-storm, coming into the bay from BU- bao ; leaving sons, one of whom is Solomon, a venerable citizen of more than fourscore years, yet HAdng ; EHas, a shipmaster, who died in October, 1821, aged sixty-two; and Daniel, who settled in Sandy Bay, and had sons Tunothy R. and John, both of whom represented the toAvn in General Court. jACgBj^-Ae other son of the original settler, John Daris, married Ehzabeth Bennet, Jan. 20, 1661, and had nine children; of whom tAvo were sons (Jacob and Aaron), who married in toAvn. He had a grant of land at the head of Long Cove in 1662 ; and, in 1682, he, with others, had a grant of the stream, at the head of Little River, "to set up a sawmUl on." He died Sept. 2, 1685. HaK of a sloop, and four canoes, valued at £12. 10s., formed part of his estate. His son Jacob carried on the mUl, though he resided for a time in IpsArich. He probably buUt the old house which still stands near the mill-stream, and arrests the attention of every passer by its venerable and antique appearance. He mar ried Mary HaskeU, Sept. 14, 1687 ; and died Feb. 1, 1716, aged fifty-five, leaving sons Moses, WUHam, Aaron, and Joseph. Aaron settled in Attleborough ; from which place his son Zebu lon came in his minority to Gloucester, and married Mary Bray in 1752. Moses, son of the latter, removed to New Gloucester, Me. Ehphalet, another son, settled in the Harbor Parish. He kept, in company with Frederick GUman, a shop on Front Street ; and was engaged in foreign commerce. He was treasm-er of the town at the time of his death ; but his chief pubhc services were those which he rendered in the miHtia, in which he attained the rank of general. He died Sept. 7, 1804, aged forty-eight. Timothy, brother of Zebulon, also returned to the home of his ancestors. He came fr-om Providence, R.I. ; to which place he may have removed fr-om Attleborough. He settled in the Second Parish, where he married Sarah Tyler, June 23, 1768. He was droAvned in Little River by the upsetting of a boat ; leaving an infant son Timothy, who Avas an active shipmaster over thirty years, and died at his residence in AVest Parish, Jime 30, 1830, EAELY SETTLEES. 79 aged sixty-two. His son Timothy, also a shipmaster, died of a fever at Montevideo, S.A., May 3, 1825, aged twenty-nine. Timothy, only son of the latter, is the late representative in Con gress from the sixth district of Massachusetts, — the only one belonging to Gloucester since the adoption of the Constitution. Alexander P., another son of the second Timothy, was a repre sentative to the General Court in 1839. Aaron, son of the first Jacob, had a Arife Hannah ; and died AprU 24, 1718, aged thfrty- nlne. He had a son Jacob, bom in 1704 (the same, probably, who died in the Second Parish, AprU, 1777, upwards of seventy years old) ; and a son Abel, whose son Amos settled in early Hfe in New Gloucester, Me. ; was a patriot of the Revolution ; and died in 1829, aged eighty-eight. Persons bearing the very common name of DaAds have been so numerous in Gloucester for a hun dred and fifty years, that genealogical inqufry concerning them is attended Arith great perplexity. Anthony Day was born in 1616 ; and came to Gloucester about 1645, probably from Ipswich, where several of the name are found at an earher date. He did not become a permanent resident here tUl 1657, when he bought a house and land near Poles. His wKe's name was Susanna : perhaps Susan Matchet, whose good name he vdndicated before a Quarterly Court in Salem, in 1649, against the aspersions of WUHam Vinson. He died AprU 23, 1707, aged ninety-one : his Arife died Dec. 10, 1717, at the age of ninety-four. Thefr children were — John, bom in 1657; Ezekiel, 1662; Nathaniel, 1665; Elizabeth, 1668 ; Samuel, 1670 ; and John Joseph, 1672. Besides these, he had sons Thomas and Timothy. John had a house near Poles. He married AbigaU Lead, Dec. 12, 1681; who died Feb. 9, 1726, aged sixty-three. The date of his death Is not ascertained. He may have Hved nearly to 1742 ; when Joseph Winslow was administrator of the estate of a John Day, who appears to have been his father-in-law. The latter had several chUdren, buf probably no son that Hved to matm-e years. Ezekiel received a grant of land to set a house upon, between Lobster Cove and Hogskin Cove, in 1694; and was one of the first settlers in that section of the town. He married Mary Rowe, Jan. 27, 80 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. 1690; and died Feb. 18, 1725, leaving several children. One of these (Ezekiel) died about 1737; at which date three other sons (Pelatiah, Samuel, and Nathaniel) were still living. He also had a son Jonathan, who married Sarah Ingersol in 1730, and died before the bfrth of his second son David. The latter was a soldier in the French wars and in the Revolutionary War ; and died May 1, 1816, aged eighty-four. Nathaniel, son of Anthony, inarried Ruth Rowe, Feb. 13, 1690. He had sons Benjamin, Nathaniel, and David, and several daughters ; and appears to have deceased or moved from town before 1721. Samuel Day married Rachel Rowe, Aug. 9, 1692. These three last brides were sisters, daughters of Hugh Rowe. The one last named gave bfrth to two children, and died Sept. 6, 1698; after which, nothing is knoAvn of the husband. Joseph Day married Ehzabeth Gouge, Aug. 15, 1695. He had sons Jeremiah and Wilham, and perhaps a Joseph, and several daughters. Thomas Day married Mary Langton, Dec. 30, 1673. She and her daughter Mary were klUed by Hghtning, in the entry of thefr dwelhng-house, July 15, 1706. He died Jan. 29, 1726, aged seventy-five. Two sons are recorded to him, — Thomas, born in 1675 ; and Joseph, in 1689. The former Avas lost on a fishing voyage, at the Isle of Sables, August, 1716, aged forty-one. Timothy Day married Phebe Wildes, July 24, 1679 ; v/ho died April 8, 1723, aged seventy. The date of his death is not known; but it appears probable that he was living in 1721. He had his residence on the westerly side of Squam River, Avhere some of his sons also settled. His children were — Timothy, Anthony, John, Joseph, Jonathan, Ebenezer, and Susanna, be sides others who died in infancy. John is supposed to have died about 1747, and to have left a son John, who settled In Norwich, Conn. Descendants of Anthony Day have continued to the present time about the spot occupied by thefr ancestor. Nicholas Denning appears in Gloucester in 1697 ; In which year, Nov. 25, he married Sarah Paine. A Nicholas Denning married Elizabeth Davis, Dec. 7, 1699, andhad children, — Eli zabeth, born In 1703; Nicholas, 1706; Em, 1711; Maro-aret, 1714; and Hannah, 1717. The marriage of AViUiam is recorded EAELY SETTLEES. 81 in 1706 ; and that of George, in 1708. Nicolas Denning, perhaps the father of these, died June 9, 1725, aged eighty. George was lost on a fishing voyage, at the Isle of Sables, August, 1716, aged thfrty. A WUham Denning was drowned at Cape Sable in 1729. Each had a famUy. The widow of George Denning was hAdng, in 1738, in the west precinct ; where It is supposed the famUy originally settled. Richaed Dike. — He is inentioned as a grandson of Walter Tybbot ; and probably came to Gloucester when an infant. He resided on the westerly side of Annisquam River ; where, in 1668, he bought a house and land of Thomas Kent. He married, Aug. 7, 1667, Rebecca, daughter of Samuel DolHver ; who died AprU 28, 1726, aged eighty-six: he died May 6, 1729, aged eighty-nine. Thefr children were — Rebecca, born in 1668; Samuel, 1670; Sarah, 1673; Mary, 1675; Joseph, 1678; Job, 1680; Ehzabeth, 1683; John, 1686; Hannah, 1688; and James, 1692. Job died in 1705. Nothing is known of the his tory and end of any other son, except James, who married Sarah DolHver. She complained to the General Court, in 1734, that her husband, after twenty years' cohabiting with her, had turned her out of doors, and was going to sea Arithout making provision for her. In his old age, he married Mfrdam Rust. They both died in 1778, nearly ninety years of age. The name was not perpetuated in town beyond the second generation. Samuel Dollivee came from Marblehead. In 1652, he bought a farm, at Fresh-water Cove, of Thomas MUward. He died July 22, 1683 ; learing an estate, of whicii ten cows formed apart, appraised at £113. His wife was Mary, daughter of Robert ElweU ; by whom he had the following chUdren : Wil ham, bom In 1656; Samuel, 1658; Mary, 1661; Richard, 1665; Sarah, 1667 ; and John, 1671. William had the title of " cap tain;" probably derived from maritime employment. He married Ann, daughter of Rev. John Higginson of Salem ; an infehcitous marriage, as appears by record of court in 1683, shoAving that he was then complained of for Idleness, and neglect of family ; and that, having left the Colony, the effects he left behind were put into the hands of his father-in-law and his wKe. She was mider 11 82 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. accusation of witchcraft in 1692, but escaped the fatal conse quences that followed other cases; and was Hving, in 1705, in a state of non compos mentis, and ahenation from aU her frdends. Mr. Higginson was at heavy expense for her and her children. Richaed married Agnes Bennet in 1697, and Hved on the paternal estate at Fresh-water Cove. His avUI, proved in 1746, mentions three daughters, but no sons. John married Susanna Mariner, Nov. 1, 1700. She died Feb. 28, 1705 ; and he next married Ehzabeth Wood, Feb. 11, 1706. By these two wives he had eight chUdren born here before 1725 ; soon after which he removed to Falmouth, Me. He had sons Samuel, John, and WUliam ; all of whom appear to have married in North Yar mouth. William Dudbeidge had land recorded in 1645 ; but nothing further is known of him than that he was a p&rty in an action against Henry Walker in 1651. Moses Dudy was a servant to Robert ElweU. He was im pressed into the service of the Colony; and, in 1676, was in the garrison at Hadley. He received for his mUitary services a lot of land at Kettle Cove, which he sold to John Rowe in 1680; after which date, nothing is known of him. Petee Duncan, caUed a merchant, bought a house and land in the harbor, of John Jackson, in 1662. A portion of this land, probably, was that point, projecting into the harbor, which long bore his name. His mercantUe transactions were on a small scale, and were not attended with much success ; as he was re ported in 1693 very poor, and not able to work. He died May 6, 1716, aged eighty-six. His Avife Mary, daughter of Deputy-Gov. Symonds, died July 21, 1692. Thefr chUdren were — Mary; Ehzabeth, born in 1661; Ruth, 1663; Peter, 1665; PrisciUa, 1667; Margaret, 1670; and Daniel, 1672. This name was not perpetuated in town ; but there are several descendants of Duncan by his daughter Mary, who married Wilham Sargent, 2d. % '- - ^ : ,' U( ( . ; , -y^ ^ ^^ .^./i. >.. , . John DuEGEE/^eaver, ifr-st appears here in 1695. He pro bably came from IpsArich, where " John Dmgy, ye son of John Dm-gy," was born m 1689. In 1704, he had land at Che- EAELY SETTLEES. 83 bacco side to set a house on ; and, a few years later, other lots. His Arife was Ehzabeth, daughter of Jeffrey Parsons ; and his children, born in Gloucester, were — Jeremiah, born in 1695; Ehzabeth, 1697; WilHam, 1700; Thomas, 1702; Patience, 1703; Stephen, 1706; Sarah, 1708; Mary, 1709; and Mary, 1711. The Arife died Sept. 23, 1711. Two John Dmgees (father and son, probably) were intending marriage In 1713 ; one with Mary Lee of Manchester, and the other Arith Anna Low. John and WUHam removed to Hampton, Conn. ; where thefr descendants are numerous. Osman Dutch is mentioned early as a purchaser and grantee of land; but no date is given. His residence was in the easterly part of the harbor ; near the head of which, a mfry place was long caUed " Dutch's Slough." His homestead, it is supposed, was that first OAvned by Sadler, which Dutch bought in 1651. He was a selectman in 1650. He had a wKe Grace ; by whom his son Hezekiah was bom here, March 29, 1647. He also had chUdren, — Robert, Ahce, Grace, Mary, and Hester. The latter was born in 1639, and married Samuel ElweU. Alice married a Meacham of IpsArich, and Grace married a Hodgkins of the same toAvn. They were both Hving in 1704. Mary married Joseph Elwell. "The humble petition of the poor distressed Aridow, Grace Dutch," to the General Court, July 21, 1685, in relation to her husband's estate, states that he died in December, 1684, aged above one hundred years, and had Hved with her more than fifty years. She died Oct. 10, 1694. His estate was appraised at £83. 10s. Robeet Dutch had a AvKe Mary, and sons John, Robert, Samuel, and Benjamin, and a daughter Mary, bom here. He bought land of John Coit, jun ; which he probably improved In fishing and agricultural employments. In 1656, he sold to Edward Haraden his house and thfrty acres of land on Planter's Neck, Arith the stage, and all appurtenances belonging to it ; and twelve acres upon the Meeting-house Neck, Arith a barn and orchard ; the whole comprising aU his posses sions in Gloucester. He afterwards Hved in Ipsvrich, and was a soldier in the Indian war of 1675. In one of the skfrmishes Arith the savages, he was wounded, beaten, stripped, and left for 84 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. dead ; but he recovered, and was soon joined and reheved by his fr-iends. He died before 1691. WiLLiAii Elleey. — The date of his first appearance in Gloucester is that of his marriage, Oct. 8, 1663, to Hannah, daughter of AVilham Vinson. He had his house, Arithout doubt, near that of his father-in-law, at Vinson's, or, as it was some times caUed, EUery's Cove. His Aridow was hAdng there in 1708. WUHam EUery was admitted a freeman in 1672 ; was a selectman a few years ; and a representative in May, 1689. Of his business employments, nothing more is knoAvn than that he possessed a sloop. He died Dec. 9, 1696. He was tArice mar ried. His first Arife died Dec. 24, 1675 ; and he next married Mary Coit, June 13, 1676. His children were — AA'^UHam, born in 1664; Hannah, 1667; Benjamin, 1669; Susanna, 1673; Alary, 1677; Abigail, 1679; John, 1681; Nathaniel, 1683; Jemima, 1686; Ehnor, 1688; AA^Uliam, 1694; and Dependance, 1696. Of his estate, no inventory is preserved. The settlement of it shows a charge for " Rum, Arine, sider, and shug' and spis, for funnerall, £2. 5s ; " and for eight pafr-s of gloves, 16s. Benja min Elleey settled in Rhode Island; fii-st at Bristol ; whence he removed to NeAvport, where, it is said, he served as deputy in the Colonial Assembly, judge of the County Court, and assistant of the Colony. He had a letter of marque from George of Den mark, consort of Queen Anne, in 1702 ; but nothing is knoAvn of his serrice at sea. A fine, lai-ge, old portrait, representing him in full di-ess, is in possession of a descendant in Rhode Island. He married, July 30, 1696, Abigail, daughter of John AVUkins, a native of AVUtshfre, England, who emigrated to Bos ton, where this daughter was bom in 1676. She died in NeAvport, Dec. 15, 1742 : her husband died at the same place, July 26, 1746. By his avUI he disposed of a large estate; giring, Arith other property, aU his " lands and salt-marsh lying in Gloucester, in the county of Essex, in the province of Massa chusetts Bay," to his son A'^^UHam. This was his oldest son, and the thfr-d of his nine children. He was born in Bristol, Oct. 31, 1701 ; and graduated at Hai-vard CoUege in 1722. He be came a wealthy merchant of NcAvport, and a judge, assistant, EAELY SETTLEES. 85 and deputy-governor of the Colony of Rhode Island. He mar ried, Jan. 3, 1722, Elizabeth Almy ; and died in Newport, March 15, 1764, leaving three sons and one daughter. The second of these sons (WiUiam), born in Newport, Dec. 22, 1727, graduated at Harvard CoUege in 1747 ; and married Ann Re mington of Cambridge, Oct. 11, 1750. He settled in Newport, and engaged probably in mercantile business. In 1759, he was appointed naval officer of the Colony of Rhode Island ; and, in 1770, commenced the practice of law, in which he continued tUl his election to the Continental Congress in 1776. Of this body he was an active and useful member, and his name is famihar to aU as one of the signers of the Declaration of Inde pendence. On the organization of the present govemment of the United States, he was appointed coUector of the customs for the district of Newport ; and retained that office till his death, Feb. 15, 1820. His son by a second marriage (George Wanton EUery) has been for several years deputy-collector of Newport. Lucy, one of his daughters by his ifrst wife, married William Channing, and became the mother of the distinguished theologian and diAdne, WUHam EUery Channing, D.D. In this line of de scent, it vrill be seen that WUHam EUery, the signer of the Declaration, was a great-grandson of our original settler, WUliam EUery; and that Dr. Channing was a descendant of the fifth generation from the same settler. John, oldest son of WUliam EUery of Gloucester by his second wKe, also went to Rhode Island; but nothing more is knoAvn of him than that he was Hving in NcAvport in March, 1708, and then styled himseK " mariner." Nathaniel, the next son, is caUed in a deed " shipwright ; " but he is supposed to have been engaged mostly in the pursuits of trade and commerce. In 1711, in company with others, he had a grant of " flatty land," on the westwardly side of PhUemon Warner's whaif, to build a wharf on for himseK. Nearly oppo site this spot, at the foot of Hancock Street, he is said to have buUt the original part of a house which stood there till about 1840. He had the title of " captain ; " which was probably derived from mUitary serrice, as he had previously borne that of " lieu tenant." He was tArice married : first, Jan. 1, 1711, to Abigail 86 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. Norwood, who survived the union just three months ; and next, Feb. 16, 1721, to Ann Sargent, who died Oct. 8, 1782, aged ninety. A fine portrait of this lady, in her advanced years, by Copley, is in possession of a descendant. Mr. Ellery deceased May 30, 1761. His daughter Mary married Rev. John Rogers. His sons were Nathaniel, William, Daniel, and Epes. The first, born in 1726, became a merchant; and was extensively engaged in trade when the Revolutionary War commenced, which brought ruin upon the commerce of the toAvn. The date of his death is not knoAvn. He left several sons and daughters ; of whom John Stevens, the oldest, married in Gloucester, and had a son of the same name, who acquired a large fortune in commercial pursuits. He left this toAvn when a young man, and spent some time in France ; but the latter years of his IKe were passed in Boston and its vicinity. He died in New York, Nov. 18, 1845, leav ing a daughter, the fruit of a marriage he contracted when far advanced in years. The second son of the last-named Nathaniel bore his father's name. He was born in 1753, and graduated at Harvard College in 1772. He was intended by his father for the mercantile profession ; but the war put an end to aU business in that line, and this young man embarked in privateering. AVhUe engaged in this employment, he was taken by the enemy ; and did not again reach his home till he had passed through much hard ship and suffering. Being a good penman and accountant, he next obtained employment in writing ; and by that and other labor gained his livehhood. He died March 1, 1833, aged eighty ; leaving an only son WUliam, who resides in Chelsea. Epes, brother of the last Nathaniel, was a shipmaster ; and, for one year (1837), a representative. He died Feb. 20, 1846, aged seventy-six. WiUiam, son of the first Nathaniel, born in 1730, is supposed to have been in early life a sea-captain ; but he afterwards became a merchant. He built and occupied a spa cious house, entertained company, and HA^ed several years in comfortable cfrcumstances ; but his last days Avere spent in po verty : and, as if still further to mark the instablHty of fortune, his aged AvIdow closed her Hfe at the alms-house, Sept. 13, 1805. William Elleey, son of the first WUHam, had, by two wives, eaely SETTLEES. 87 a numerous famUy. He bought a house in the ToAvn Parish, built and formerly occupied by Rev. John White, and stUl standuig to attest the distant date of its erection. He probably went to sea some years, as he did not settle in this abode tUl middle Hfe, and then bore the title of " captain." He kept a tavem, and engaged in other business. He died Sept. 20, 1771, at the age of seventy-seven. His daughter Lucy mai-ried Rev. Samuel Fox croft, fijst minister of Ncav Gloucester, Me. His son Capt. Joseph EUery, a young man of twenty-nine years, of exceUent character, was drowned by falling overboard from the bowsprit of a schooner in which he had taken passage from Boston for home, Oct. 11, 1769. Benjamin, another son, occupied the paternal residence ; and died Feb. 15, 1825, in his elghty-ifrst year. Dependance Elleey married Sarah Warner, Jan. 4, 1722, and had eleven chUdren, concerning whom Httle is known. He died before 1757. The posterity of Capt. Epes Ellery, and of Benjamin, the last named, comprise aU the descendants of the ancient settler, bearing the name of Ellery, now Hving in toAvn.* Robeet Elavell. — This name occurs in our Colony Records, in 1635, in connection, as a witness, Arith the outrageous conduct of one Mr. Thomas Wannerton at the eastward. He was ad mitted a freeman in 1640, and was a member of the Salem Church iu 1643. He bought land here in AprU, 1642 ; and by further purchases, and grants from the toAvn, became the possessor of several lots ; among which was a neck of about thfrty acres, lying on the south-east side of the harbor, called the " Stage * Daniel Ellery, son of Nathaniel, born in 1732, intended marriage with Mary Matohett, Deo. 20, 1754; and had a daughter Mary, baptized Jan. 11, 1756. This infant, I suppose, was the subject of the following notice in a Boston newspaper of Feb. 2, 1756 : " Gloucester, Jan. 6, 1756. — This day, a child was born that has ten grand fathers and grandmothers, all living; and this child malies the fifth generation ; and the firstborn of every one of the generations was a daughter; and every one of the children's name was Mary; and they are all of thera now living." These Marys raust have been, first, Mary the Infant, whose mother was Mary (Matchett) Ellery, born in 1734, the second; whose mother was Mary (Ingersol) Matchett, bom in 1713, the third; whose mother was Mary (Stevens) Ingersol, born in 1694, the fourth; whose mother was Mary (Ellery) Stevens, bom in 1677, the fifth. The mother of the last was also a Mary, the second-born of John Coit and Mary Stevens : she was born in 1655. 88 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. Neck." He first resided in the harbor ; but it is supposed he finaUy settled at Eastern Point, where most of his land was situated. He was a selectman in 1649, and several times after wards ; and a commissioner for ending small causes, in 1651. The title " goodman," often affixed to his name, may be defined, • it is Hkely, in its application to him, in its best sense. He died May 18, 1683, leaving an estate of £200 : his AvKe Jane died March 31, 1675. Another vrife (Alice Leach), to whom he was married May 29, 1676, died April 10, 1691. He had two daughters, who died young ; and the foUoAring sons, — Samuel, John, Isaac, Josiah, Joseph, and Thomas, — aU of whom married and had families, from which the descendants of this ancient settler have multiphed to a numerous posterity. Samuel mar ried Hester, daughter of Osman Dutch, June 7, 1658 ; and died^ Nov. 24, 1696: she died Sept. 6, 1721, aged eighty-two."^ ^M consequence of sickness and poverty, she, Hke her mother, was a " poor distressed Aridow " many years. They had four sons — Samuel, Jacob, Robert, and Ebenezer — and four daughters. Jacob married Abigail Vinson, July 5, 1686, and had ten chil dren, of which four were sons ; two of whom (Vinson and WilHam) are supposed to have married. The father was kUled by the French and Indians at Cape Sable, May 2, 1710, aged forty-eight. Robert married Sarah Gardiner, Oct. 12, 1687; by whom he had five sons and five daughters. He removed to Kittery, Me. ; where he was hving in 1730. His oldest son Robert died at IpsArich, "under the doctor's hands," Feb. 2, 1715. Two of his sons (Joseph and John) settled in Biddeford, Me. ; and one (Samuel) settled in Gloucester, and married, in 1718, Rebecca Brown, by whom he had several childi-en. One of these (Capt. Robert ElweU) died in Mai-ch, 1805, aged eighty- fom. Ebenezer Ehvell married Jane Elwell, Jan. 2, 1695, and had seven chUdren. He was some time held In captivity by the French, and died before 1723. John, son of Robert ElweU, sen., had a wife Jane, Arith whom he appears in toAvn in 1678 ; having probably hved previously in Salem. He resided at East ern Point, Avhere he had a house. He died in captivity in 1710. Four daughters were born to him here ; but he also had a son EAELY SETTLEES. 89 John, who married Mary, daughter of Abraham Robinson, and who, being " ancient, diseased, and blind," was helped by the toAvn in 1732, and died before 1738. Isaac was a shoemaker, and Hved at the Harbor. He mai-ried, first, Mehetabel, daughter of Thomas Millet, who died In September, 1699 ; and he next married, Dec. 2, 1702, Widow Mary Rowe, who died March 3, 1723, aged sixty-five : he died Dec. 14, 1715. Of the nine chU dren recorded to him, five were sons ; only two of whom (Elea zer and Joshua) appear to have married In town. The latter had a son Isaac, who married Susanna Stanwood in 1738, and had eleven children ; one of whom was Isaac, who became a sea- captain,* afterwards a merchant, and was for several years the postmaster of the toAvn. He died Jan. 22, 1832, aged eighty- nine. Isaac Elwell, sen., also had a son Jonathan, born In 1670 ; and his son Eleazer had a Jonathan, born in 1698. Neither of these Jonathans is knoAvn to have settled In town : perhaps it was the latter, who, Arith his AvKe Lydia, Hved in Beverly In 1727, and soon afterwards in Gloucester. He died about 1752. Another Jonathan, vrith a vrife AbigaU, appears here in 1727. Connected nearly Arith one of the preceding, probably, was Jona than, who married Abigail Stevens, and Hved many years on Eastern Point ; where he died March 10, 1808, aged ninety-four. He had a son Jonathan, who settled In Maine. Josiah Elwell married Mary Collins, June 15, 1666 ; and is supposed to have had his residence near the shore of the Harbor Cove. He went to sea, and died abroad about 1679 ; learing probably one daughter, and four sons, — Ellas, Nehemiah, WilHam, and Josiafr. Joseph Elavell married Mary, daughter of Osman Dutch, June 22, 1669 ; and had sons, — Hezekiah, Joseph, Samuel, and Benjamin. Thomas married Sarah Basset, Nov. 23, 1675 ; by * In the winter of 1779, Capt. Elwell, in command of a schooner coming from the West Indies, was blown off the coast, and had his vessel so disabled that she was driven about npon the ocean for more than six months ; during which the crew had no meat or bread. They subsisted on parched cocoa, and West-India rum "burned down;" though they sometimes caught a fish, whioh they ate raw. They were finally taken off by a passing vessel; and, upon arrival on the coast near New Yorls, were fui^ nished with a boat, in which they carae home. Though they endured great sufiering, only one man died. Besides this man and the captain, there were on board John Woodward, Jacob Lurvey, Nathaniel Allen, and a Witham. 12 .90 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. whom he had three sons — Thomas, WilHam, and EHsha — and two daughters. Both of these last two brothers are supposed to have removed from toAvn before 1688 ; as their names do not appear among the grantees of lots of land which were that year given to all the tax-paying inhabitants. WUHam ElweU, proba bly a grandson of the first Isaac, was the father of Paine, who was born In 1744, and went in early Hfe to North Yarmouth, Me. ; Avhere he purchased AAdld land to a considerable extent, and, by his enterprise in business, accumulated considerable property. He returned to Gloucester about 1802, and for seve ral years carried on the fishing business and foreign trade Arith success. Having secured a competent fortune, he purchased a farm in Bradford, and retfred thither, but failed to obtain per manent enjoyment and repose. Injudicious purchases of real estate to a large extent, added to other causes of embarrassment, compelled him to relinquish his property, and return to his native place; where he died March 29, 1820, aged seventy-six. His son Paine was connected Arith his father in business a few years ; but finally estabhshed himseK in Waldoborough, Me., where he died. Another son (Robert) commenced a mercantile hfe as a partner AV'ith his father ; and, after dissobdng the connection Arith him, pursued it alone a feAV years, tUl bankruptcy finaUy closed his commercial career. He went fr-om Gloucester to New York, where he died about 1824. He was colonel of the regiment of militia here, and representative three years. Petee Emons and wife Martha first appear in toAvn in 1700, when thefr daughter Mercy was born. They also had a son Joseph, born in 1708. A Cooly Emons had forty rods of ground, lying near the head of the hai-bor, in 1707 ; and, the next year, a grant of timber for a house. A Richai-d Emons was lost on a fishing voyage, coming from Cape Sables, in 1716. A Daniel Emons married AbigaU Davis In 1719, by whom he had ten chUdren. Only two of his sons (Daniel and Peter) lived to matm-ity. Both mai-ried in town. One of them may have been the father of Daniel (remai-kable for his small stature), who died, in old age, about thfrty years ago ; and was probably the last Emons In town of this family. eaely SETTLEES. 91 William Evans had land granted to him In 1647, and was a selectman in 1648. Mention is made of his house, between Bomne and Tybbot; and of his land, runmng towards the -Meeting-house. In 1653, he pmchased land near the " New Meadows, caUed Topsfield," to the amount of £200, and re moved thither. / Sylvestee Eveleth — or Eveleigh, as he himself Avrote it, and wluch agrees Arith the present Enghsh orthography — may have come from the coimty of Devonshfre, England, where the name existed about the time of the settlement of New England. The name is said to have been anciently spelled Yeverleigh, and to have belonged to an estate, which, at an early period, was in the famUy of Chfford before It was adopted as a family cog nomen. This settler had recorded to him in Gloucester, under date of December, 1648, "twelve acres of swamp and upland on the north side of the MiUpond." Immediately foUoAring this record, mention is made of " his house, on the Meeting-house HUl ; haring Capt. Perkins's lot on one side, and the highway on the other." He was a selectman in 1648, a freeman in 1652, and a representative In 1673. He did not Hve on good terms Arith the church In his early residence here ; and, for defaming it, was ordered to make a public acknowledgment, or pay a fine. In 1666, he was hcensed to keep an ordinary, or public-house of entertainment ; and, at the same time, was excused from common training by paying two bushels of Indian corn yearly. He was then probably hving on the west side of Annisquam River, where he had become possessor of large tracts of land ; on one of which (in possession of a descendant) still stands an old house built by his son or grandson a century and a half ago, and which is a good specimen of the best dweUings of the time of its erection. Proof of its early construction is to be found in the projecting upper story, the large oak timbers composing its frame, its rude workmanship, and the venerable appearance it presents throughout. His Arife Susanna died Sept. 14, 1659 ; and he married Bridget Parkman, Sept. 6, 1662. He died Jan. 4, 1689. His daughter Mary married Thomas MiUet. He had two sons, — Joseph and Isaac. The former married Mary, 92 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. daughter of Edward Bragg of IpsArich, in 1667. He removed to Chebacco Parish, IpsArich, now Essex, about 1674 ; and died Dec. 1, 1745, at the extraordinary age of one hundred and five "yeai-s. He was a man of rigid puritanical piety. A venera ble descendant, not long since deceased, remembered to have often heard his mother, who was bom in 1730, describe the Hfe, person, and character of Joseph Eveleth, who was her great grandfather, and Arith whom she was fifteen years contemporary. Among her interesting recoUections of her aged ancestor was that of a risit made to him, just before his death, by the celebrated Rev. George AVhitefield. Her mind always retained a vivid im pression of the solemnity of the scene that was presented, when Mr. AVhitefield knelt upon the floor, and received, from the hps that could relate a Christian experience of a hundred years, a truly patriarchal blessing. He was one of the jurors who signed a humble and solemn declaration of regret for the part they had borne In the trials for vritchcraft at Salem in 1692. Isaac, the other son of Sylvester Eveleth, married AbigaU Coit, Nov. 13, 1677 ; and died Nov. 2, 1685. From a portion of the effects composing his smaU estate (a thfr-d of a sloop, and seafaring books and instruments), it is supposed he led a maritime Hfe. He left sons Isaac and Job. The latter was a ship-carpenter ; and, in 1717, had his residence at the Harbor. He had a son Isaac, who mai-ried, and settled someAvhere AAdthin the Hmits of the Ffr-st Parish, but does not appear after 1754. Joseph Eve leth had several chUdren born in Gloucester and Ipsvrich. The oldest (John), born Feb. 18, 1670, graduated at Harvard CoUege in 1689; and, in the same yeai-, entered upon the office of preacher at Manchester, Avhere he remained till 1695 ; after which he appears for a short time at Enfield; and next In Sto-y, where he was instaUed in 1699. He remained in Stow till 1719 ; when he removed to Alaine, and, for a fcAv years, divided his services betAveen Ai-undel (now Kennebunkport) and Bidde ford, tUl one of the towns determined to have a "Avhole minister." After thi-ee years more, he, in 1726, left the mini stry. The people of Arundel were unwUling to part with him ; as he was not only thefr miolster and schoolmaster, but a good EAELY SETTLEES. 93 blacksmith and farmer, and the best fisherman In town. His wife was Mary BoAvman of Cambridge, by whom he had several chUdren, some of whose descendants are Hving in Stow and in Maine.* Isaac, son of Joseph, removed into toAvn soon after the death of his grandfather, and took up his abode on the fa mUy estate, near Little River. He died March 23, 1755, in his seventy-ninth year. By his AvKe Sarah he had ten children. He left an only son (Isaac), who survived his father about four years. This son married Ehzabeth Parsons in 1729 ; who died Feb. 12, 1799, aged about ninety. A numerous offspring was the fruit of this marriage. Nathaniel settled In New Gloucester, Me. Joseph served in the Revolutionary War ; and died June 30, 1806, aged sixty-five. Isaac became a major in the militia ; and died June 12, 1805, aged fifty-one. Edward, son of Joseph of Ipswich, was a shopkeeper in that toAAm. He served In the expedition to Cape Breton in 1745, and remained there on duty some time after the reduction of the fortress. He died Nov. 5, 1759. This name has long been extinct in Gloucester ; but it is borne by famUies in the neighboring toAvn of Essex, and is also found in many other places. AU who bear it are un doubtedly descended from the ancient settler in Gloucester, Sylvester Eveleth. Heney Felch was here in 1642, and was the oAvner of " six acres of hoed ground," of which there is no grant In the records. From this fact, it may be inferred that he was a settler before the incorporation of the toAvn. He also had a house and land, which he sold to James Avery. He may have removed to Reading, where a person of the same name resided in 1647 ; and next, perhaps, to Boston, where the name is found in 1657. He had a daughter, who married Samuel Haieward. John Fitch bought a house and land of George Blake in ? "The following is the inscription upon the tombstone of the minister of the Episcopal Church in Kittery, near Elipt; which churoh, it is supposed, became extinct at the time of his death. The grave is in a field belonging to Mr. Fernald. " Here Lyes Buried the Body of the Eev* Mr. John Eveleth, who departed tliis Life, Angl lat, Anno: Dora: 1734, aged 65 years." — N. E. Hist, and Genealogical Register, vol. iv. p. 38. 94 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. 1667 ; and, in the same year, married Mary Coit, Aridow. He was in England In 1672, but returned to America, and was in the service of the Colony as a soldier ; for which he received a lot of land at Kettle Cove. He died May 9, 1715, aged about seventy-nine : his Arife died Nov. 7, 1692. James Fogg is mentioned as an owner of land in 1651 ; but he was probably a resident of Gloucester, February, 1649, when he was presented at a court in Salem for disturbing thc church here in time of thefr meeting. In 1651, he was again a defendant in court in an action of battery; and this is the last date of his appearance in Gloucester. Baetholomew Fostee bought a house and land situated near the westerly end of Front Street, of Bridget Varney, in 1669. He married Hannah, daughter of Thomas Very, Nov. 9, 1668 ; and died Dec. 5, 1689. His Aridow inarried Thomas SaAvyer. He is one of the few early residents who are mentioned as pos sessors of property employed in maritime pursuits. Among the effects composing his estate at his death was a sloop, valued at £30. His chUdren were — Bartholomew, born in 1670; John, 1673 ; Thomas, 1676 ; Samuel, 1678 ; Edward, 1681 ; An- di-ew, 1682; Ephraim, 1683; Edward, 1685; Francis, 1688; and Benjamin, 1689. Of these ten sons, eight are mentioned In thefr father's wUl. Baetholomeav was Hving in Hartford in 1694. Samuel and Benjamin married and had large famihes in Gloucester ; but it does not appear that the name is now borne here by any of thefr descendants. Mr. Feyee was probably Thomes Fryer, who was of Salem in 1639. He was one of the persons appointed to order pru dential affairs in 1642, but does not appear after that date. He may have been the husband of Ehzabeth Fryer, whose lots of land on the neck of house-lots are named in Huffh Calkin's grant. In 1668, the town agreed with Thomas Judkin to take care of her, dming the remainder of her life, for ten bushels of Indian corn yeai-ly, and the use of her house, land, and cow. She died Sept. 9, 1685. John Gallope is mentioned only as the seUer of upland in the Harbor, and of mai-sh at Littie Good Harbor, before 1650. EAELY SETTLEES. 95 A John Gallop was an early inhabitant of Boston. He was a fisherman and pilot ; and was some time wind-bound In Cape- Ann Harbor, in 1632, In a voyage to Piscataqua for the Colony Government, to gain information of some Englishmen at the eastward who had turned pfrates. James Gaednee came to Gloucester about 1661, when Wil ham Vinson gave him land. In 1668, he exchanged real estate Arith Hugh Rowe, and perhaps settled in the remotest easterly section of the town which was at that time inhabited. He mar ried Ehzabeth, daughter of WUliam Vinson, June 16, 1661 ; and had the foUowing childi-en : George, born in 1664 ; Eliza beth, 1666; Sarah, 1669; Joseph, 1672; Rebecca, 1675; John, 1678; and James, 1681. He died Dec. 8, 1684: hiswife died March 4, 1684. The three sons last named married in toAVTL. Joseph had his home on' Eastern Point, and was living hi 1749. - Geoege Giddings is said by descendants to have come from IpsArich about 1690. May 19 of that year, he married Mary, daughter of Robert Skamp ; who died April 9, 1706. He had a' second vrife (Elizabeth^,' who died May 10, 1727, aged fifty-six. His chUdren were — Lydia, born in 1692 ; Mary, 1695 ; John, 1698 ; Robert, 1700 ; Zebulon, 1703 ; Mercy and Dehverance,, 1708; Sarah, 1710; George, 1714 ; and Joseph, 1717.^ "Joshua and Thomas Giddings were here soon after 1700, and had fami hes. The former was lost at sea, October, 1716, aged thfrty-eight. Land was granted to a LaAvrence Giddings in 1717. Three of the sons of' George Giddings (Robert, George, and Joseph) married here, and had chUdren ; but the famihes of the last two did not probably remain in toAvn. Zebulon seems to have gone to New Hampshfre. Andrew Giddings, son of Robert, was a ship master ; and was lost at sea during the Revolutionary War, leav ing, vrith other chUdren, a son (Andrew Robinson), who at his father's death left Dummer Academy, of which he had been several years a member, and embarked on a seafaring IKe; which he abandoned after a few years' trial, and removed to Danville, Me., where he Hved to an advanced age. His son. Rev. George P. Giddings, is an Episcopal clergyman In Ilhnois. 96 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. Chaeles Glovee was a ship-carpenter ; and was made free man In 1641, then Hving In Salem, where he was admitted to the church In 1640. He was a selectman here In 1644. Under the year 1645, land on Planter's Neck is recorded to him; but he also had land in the settled portion of the toAvn. He had a Arife Elizabeth, who died March 6, 1647; and another wife who, in 1649, at a court in Salem, was found guUty of adult ery. She did not long survive her disgrace ; for he married again, Feb. 12, 1650, Widow Esther Sanders, and soon after disappears. By his wKe Ehzabeth he had a son Samuel, born June 20, 1644. Stephen Glovee was born in 1625, and fibrst appears in Gloucester in 1649. August, 1651, he had a grant of an eighth of an acre of ground before the doer of his house, in the Harbor ; where he probably resided till his death. He was a selectman in 1659, 1667, and perhaps in the intervening years, for which the Hst is wanting ; and from 1669 to his death, which took place Dec. 10, 1686. He married, Oct. 7, 1663, Ruth, daughter of William Stevens ; who died Aug. 16, 1664, haring given bfrth to a son on the 2d, who died on the 5th of the same month. Richaed Gooding (or Goodwin) is called son of Richard Window. In 1662, he had a grant of six acres of land between Stony Cove and Long Cove. He married Hannah, daughter of Thomas Jones of Manchester, Nov. 20, 1666 ; and had the following children : Hannah, born in 1667 ; Richard, 1670 ; Thomas, 1672; Mary, 1674; Joseph, 1677; Ehnor, 1680; Daniel, 1685 ; and Sarah, 1687. He died March 5, 1709 : his wife died Feb. 4, 1725, aged eighty ; having received assistance from the toAvn for several years. Daniel died in April, 1717. The family was not perpetuated here beyond the second gene ration. John Hadley had half an acre of upland ground to set a house upon, on the left hand of the way to Little Good Harbor, in 1683. Nothing fm-ther is known of hhn than that he died Oct. 22, 1711. His nephew (John Hadley, jun.) had land near his uncle's In 1709. He married Hannah Low, Nov. 8, 1707; and had several children. He was probably living in 1765. It eaely SETTLEES. 97 appears by the records that three of his sons were married in town : Daniel, to Susanna Milberry in 1736 ; John, to Sarah Witham in 1737 ; and Benjamin, at the age of eighteen, to Sarah ElweU in 1744. Daniel Hadley died June 10, 1737, on his passage from Canso. Several chUdren are recorded to John Hadley, and one to Benjamin. Nathaniel Hadlock had land near IpsArich Hne, where he probably Hved. He married Remember Jones, May 1, 1673 ; who died March 2, 1718, aged sixty-four. His children recorded are — Nathamel, born in 1677; Deborah, 1679; John, 1682; James, 1684 ; Samuel, 1687 ; Mary, 1696 ; and Benjamin, 1700. Besides these, he had Joseph and William. The latter married Penelope Ffrbee in 1717 ; had a daughter, and a son Nathaniel ; and was droAvned near the Ferry, Sept. 14, 1730. Benjamin had a AvKe Dorcas, by whom he had eight children ; of which were sons Benjamin and John. Samuel Haiewaed is not mentioned as an OAvner of land, nor in any other connection than that of husband and father. His marriage with a daughter of Henry Felch, March 2, 1641, is the earhest in the records. His children were — Samuel, born fri 1642 ; and John, 1643. John Hammons, in June, 1663, had land lying between Tho mas Riggs's and the run going to Goose Cove. He married Mary, daughter of Morris Somes, Oct. 17, 1660 ; and had the foUow ing children,: Ehzabeth, born in 1661; John, 1664; Mary, 1666 ; Timothy, 1668 ; and WiUiam, 1674. He died before 1686 ; and a Mary Hammons (probably his Arife) died May 6, 1689. John Hammons, the only son of the foregoing of whom any thing is known, had land In 1701, on Eastern Point, to erect a house on. He was twice married : ifrst to Ruth Stan wood, July 7, 1686, who died April 17, 1689; and next to Agnes Penny, Jan. 20, 1691. He died at Casco Bay, January, 1718, aged fifty-four ; leaving five daughters, and a son John, who died Feb. 3, 1725, aged twenty-five. John Haedin, said to be of Weymouth, bought fom acres of upland of WUHam Sargent in 1652 ; in which year, April 22, 13 98 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. he married Widow Tybbot. He was a selectman in 1664. In 1665, he recorded land to John Davis; and his name does not again appear in toAvn. — Edwaed Haeaden came from IpsArich. In 1657, he bought of Robert Dutch a house, barn, and all his land, in Gloucester. Part of this property was on Planter's Neck, where Dutch had a fishing-stage. Haraden added to his possessions at this place by subsequent purchases, and appears to have been the first permanent settler in that section of the toAvn. The place of his residence and business was undoubtedly Squam Point. He died May 17, 1683, leaving an estate of £285 : his -wife Sarah died March 4, 1691. His chUdren, born in Gloucester, were Andrew, born In 1658 ; Ann, 1661 ; John, 1663 ; Thomas, 1665 ; Joseph, 1668; Sarah, 1670; and ^Benjamin, 1671. Edwaed, son of the preceding, born probably before his father removed to Gloucester, had land at Plum Cove in 1707 ; near which he was employed by the town. In 1704, to build a watch-house. He was one ofthe grantees of soldiers' lots at Kettle Cove in 1679; and his name often appears in later years vrith the mihtary title of " sergeant." He married Sarah HaskeU, Feb. 5, 1684 ; and Hannah York in 1693. The bfrths of eighteen chUdren, by these two marriages, are recorded. John Haeaden, son of Edward, ifrst named, engaged in maritime employments ; and. In 1709, Avas in the service of the Colony as master of one of the sloops fitted out to attempt to take a vessel, supposed to be a French privateer, forced by a storm to anchor off Nahant. In 1711, he was pilot of the ship " Montague," in the disastrous ex pedition against Canada ; and, for his expense and wages, received an allowance from the General Court in 1714. He died Nov. 11, 1724; having survived his wife Sarah Giddings, by whom he had several children, about two years. His son Andrew died Dec. 12, 1724. Joseph Haeaden was tArice married; but no children are recorded to him. He died May 19, 1716. Benja min Haeaden married Deborah Norwood, Jan. 15, 1696; and died Feb. 3, 1725. Among his children were sons Caleb, Joseph, and Ebenezer, besides others who died in early life. Jonathan Haraden, Arithout doubt a descendant of Edward, was bom in EAELY SETTLEES. 99 Gloucester in 1744 ; removed early in Hfe to Salem, and went to sea. In the Revolutionary War-, he was Heutenant of the " Ty rannicide," and afterwards commander of a privateer. He was engaged with the enemy in several actions, and evinced great bravery on all occasions. He died in November, 1803. Geoege Haevey had a son Benjamui born here in 1697. He came from Salem ; where, by his wKe Sarah, his three chil- ren (Sarah, Nehemiah, and Rose) were bom. In 1707, he and his son George had a grant of land on the way leading from the Meeting-house to the back side of the Cape. His residence was probably near the Meeting-house, in the vicinity of that of Anna Judkin, the mother of his AvKe. He died Dec. 23, 1723, aged seventy. His son Geoege married Sai-ah Butman in 1713, who died Nov. 29, 1718, aged twenty-five; and Patience York in 1720. He died Nov. 24, 1724, aged thfrty-seven ; leaving a son Nehemiah, who married AbigaU Hodgkins In 1741, and had sons Nehemiah and Benjamin. William Haskell was bom about 1620, and was connected Arith the famUy of Roger HaskeU of Salem. He first appears in Gloucesster in 1643; and, in 1645, mention Is made of his land at Planter's Neck. He probably resided here a few years fol lowing the last date ; but the hiatus in the recorded bfrths of his chUdren affords ground for conjecture that he was not a per manent resident from that time. If he left town for a season, he had returned in 1656, and settled on the westerly side of Annisquam river, where he had several pieces of land ; among which was a lot of ten acres, Arith a house and barn, bought of Richard Window, situated on the west side of Walker's Creek. His sons took up land on each side of this creek, which is stUl occupied by descendants. The public offices to which he was elected afford sufficient proof that he was a prominent and use ful citizen. He was a selectman several years, and represen tative six times in the course of twenty years. In 1681, he was appointed, by the General Court, lieutenant to the trainband, of which he was afterwards captain. He was also one of the first two, of whom we have any knowledge, that were deacons of the Ffrst Church. He married Mary, daughter of Walter Tybbot, 100 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. Nov. 16, 1643. She died Aug. 16, 1693; and he fom days after (on the 20th), leaving an estate of £548. 12s. His chU-- dren, whose bfr-ths are recorded, were — WUham, born in 1644 ; Joseph, 1646 ; Mark, 1658 ; Sarah, 1660 ; and Elenor, 1663. Besides these, he had sons Benjamin and John, and daughters Ruth and Mary. Ruth married a Grover, and Mary married a Dodge. Elenor married Jacob Grigs. Sarah married Edward Haraden. William married Mary Walker, July 3, 1667 ; who died Nov. 12, 1715, aged 'sixty-six. She was the daughter of WUHam Brown; but took the name of her step-father, Hem-y Walker. He died June 5, 1708, aged sixty-fom-. Twelve children are recorded to him; of whom four were sons that sur vived thefr father, — WUHam, Joseph, Henry, and Jacob. WU Ham, born 1670, settled on or near the" ancestral property ; which being favorably situated for maritime pursuits, he engaged in both fishing and agricultural employments. He was usuaUy called Ensign Haskell, from an office he held in the mihtary company. He also held the office of deacon in the Second Church a few years before his death. He married Abigail Daris In 1692 ; and died Jan. 17, 1731, leaving an estate of £2,565, of which vessels, warehouse, salt, and a negro man, formed a part. He also left sons WUliam, Mark, and James ; the latter of whom, with his wife, received dismission from the Second Chm-ch to the church in Attleborough in 1756. Joseph, the next son of AVU- ) liam Haskell, jun., born in 1673, married Rachel Elwell in 1696, , and died AprU 11,1718. He had several chUdi-en ; among whom ¦ were Joseph, Avho removed to Harvard in 1735, and lived to be upwards of ninety ; and Abraham, who removed to Stratham in 1732. Hem-y, the next son, born in 1678, had a Arife Ruth, and removed with his family to Harvard in 1735. Jacob, the youngest of these four brothers, born in 1691, married Abigail Marcy In 1716. He became a deacon in the Second Church, and died Aug. 6, 1756 : his wife died April 10, 1778, aged elghty- thi-ee. Six sons sm-vived him, — Jacob, Abner, Alexander, Israel and Amos (twins), and Zebulon; all of whom, except Abner, married In town. Alexander and his Arife were dismissed to Attleborough Chm-ch in 1756. Zebulon was born in 1734 ; and EAELY SETTLEES. 101 died at the age of elghty-fom-, leaving a son of the same name, StiU Hving; a venerable citizen, in his ninetieth year. Joseph Haskell, son of the first William, married Mary Graves of Andover, Dec. 2, 1674 ; and died Nov. 12, 1727, aged eighty- one : she died AprU 8, 1733, aged eighty. He was a deacon of the Ffrst Church ; and, upon the formation of the Second, was chosen to the same office in that. Of his ten children, three were sons, who married in town, — Joseph, Daniel, and Ebenezer. Joseph, born in 1681, married Sarah Davis in 1705 ; and died Dec. 13, 1768. His son David died in 1791, at an advanced age ; learing a son Aaron, who died In 1834, aged eighty- three ; the father of Thomas, representative In 1836. Isaac, another son, born in 1716, died April 27, 1804; leaving a son Adonfram, who died Aug. 5, 1845, aged eighty-four. Daniel, son of Joseph, sen., born in 1688, married Sarah Haskell in 1716, and died Dec. 4, 1768 : she died July 10, 1773, aged eighty. His son Caleb settled in Newbury ; and another son, Moses, in New Gloucester, Me. Ebenezer, youngest son of the first Joseph, born in 1690, had a Arife Ehzabeth, and several children ; one of whom (Elijah) is said to have settled in Sa lem. Benjamin, son of the original settler, was born about 1648. He married, Nov. 21, 1677, Mary, daughter of Thomas Riggs. She died Jan. 29, 1698. The date of his death is not knowh ; but his age, at his decease, was ninety-two. His wUl was proved May 25, 1741. He was often a selectman, repre sentative in 1706 and 1707, and deacon of both the Ffrst and Second Churches many years. The sons who surviA'ed him were Benjamin, Josiah, Thomas, and WilHam. Benjamin had a Arife Elizabeth, who died in 1724, aged thfrty-five ; and a second vrife, Ehzabeth Bennet, who died Dec. 23, 1774, probably eighty-four years old : he died Feb. 9, 1764, aged eighty, leav ing no male issue bearing the name. Josiah, born in 1687, married Mary CoUins, Dec. 7, 171-5. He is supposed to have settled in the Ha,rbor Parish about 1738. He had sons, — John, Joshua, Josiah, and Adonfram ; the last two of whom are said to have been lost at sea together in 1764. John married Mary Bray in 1743 ; and had a son Josiah, who, before com- 102 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. pleting his eighteenth year, married Abigail FeUows of IpsArich, who was twenty-eight. He resided at the Harbor ; and died Feb. 16, 1821, aged about sixty-seven, leaving a son Josiah, who settled at Sandy Bay, and was the father of Benjamin, who graduated at Amherst CoUege, is now a practising physician' in his native place, and author of " Essays on the Physiology of the Nervous System; " and of James, who has been a senator from Essex County. Thomas, the next son of Benjamin Has-- keil, removed in 1725 to Falmouth, Me., where he was long a respectable and worthy inhabitant. He died there, in 1785, at the age of ninety-five, leaving a numerous posterity. WiUiam, the next and youngest son, Hved in his native parish ; where he died July 21, 1778, aged eighty-four. John, son of the first WilHam, married Mary Baker, Nov. 20, 1685 ; and died Feb. 2, 1718, aged sixty-nine : she died Nov. 24, 1723, aged fifty- eight. He had several children ; of whom Mary, Edith, Ruth, and John were Hving at the time of his death. Mary and Edith died unmarried, the latter at the age of eighty. Ruth married John Clark, and removed to Windham, Conn. ; where she died, at the age of eighty-three. John died Sept. 30, 1774, aged seventy-nine, chUdless, K not a bachelor : the name was, therefore, not perpetuated In this branch of the famUy. Maek, youngest son of the first WUHam, married Elizabeth Giddings, Dec. 16, 1685; and died Sept. 8, 1691. His Aridow married John Dennison of IpsArich. Two sons (Mark and WUHam) surrived thefr father. Mark married Martha TuthiU in 1710 ; and died in 1776, aged eighty-nine. Of his nine chUdren, two were sons, — Mark and George. WUHam married Jemima Hubbard of Sahsbmy ; and died Dec. 10, 1766, aged seventy- seven : she died In 1762, at the same age. He was a select man, a deacon of the Second Church many years, and repre sentative in 1736. He was an eminently pious man, and his last broken accents were heard to express his lamentations and supphcatlons for the church of Christ. He had eight children ; two of whom died In infancy, one on her twenty-thfrd bfrthday, and five attained very advanced age. One of them was a daiigh- ter Comfort, who married a Sawyer; and died in 1809, aged EAELY SETTLEES. 103 ninety-two. Job, the oldest son, settled in Hampton; but is said to have died In New Gloucester, Me., in 1806, aged ninety. Nathaniel manded Hannah, daughter of Rev. John AVhite ; and died July 31, 1808, in his ninetieth year. He was deacon of the Second Church about fifty years ; and, from papers found among his effects, it is evident that he was a thoughtful, prayerful Christian, and that his mind was much exercised with the subtle, doctrinal points in theology, which were deemed of so much importance a century ago. Nathaniel, the oldest of his ten chUdren, settled in town; and died Jan. 7, 1827, aged eighty- four, leaving a son Nathaniel, who deceased at Portland, Me., about ninety years old. Hubbard, the next of these four brothers, died AprU 9, 1811, aged ninety. He was a sailmaker by trade, and was also engaged in commerce. In accordance Arith his pious parentage and education, he was a religious man, and creditably sustained for thfrty-nine years the office of deacon of the Ffrst Church. His Arife was Anna MUlet, who survived her husband six months, after a conjugal union of more than seventy years ; and died at the age of ninety-three. Of the ten chUdren of Hubbard Haskell, three were sons that Hved to maturity, — Hubbard, Nathan, and WilHam. The first settled in Newburyport; and died in September, 1831, aged eighty-seven. Nathan went in early Hfe to New Gloucester, Me. ; and died there in 1838, aged eighty-seven. WUHam Hved in Gloucester ; and died Oct. 16, 1843, aged eighty-three. His son John W. was representative in 1853. WUham, the youngest brother of Deacon Hubbard HaskeU, settled in his native parish ; and died AprU 27, 1806, aged eighty. He had three sons at least ; one of whom was EHas, father of EH, whose son WUliam H. was representative in 1851. The posterity of WUliam Haskell is beheved to be much more numerous than that of any other early settler. A large number of his descendants remain in toAvn, but a stiU greater number are scattered abroad over the country. From six generations of this proHfic stock, emigrants have gone forth, who, whether they braved the dangers and hardships of pioneer Hfe in the forests of Maine, or sought a kinder soU than thefr own in more settled and cultivated regions. 104 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. or engaged in handicraft and trade in the marts of business, have generally sustained the character for usefulness and re spectabihty which the family has always borne in its ancient seat.* Zebulon Hill was born about 1621. He was from Bristol, England ; and, by trade, was a cooper. Land in several places is recorded to him before 1650. One of the lots was "the bank that lyes in the harbour." This was on the present Front Street, and was laid out to his hefrs in 1709. He sold his house, home- lot, and other lands, to " Goodman Elwell," in 1657, and removed to Salem, where he died about 1699. He married Ehzabeth, daughter of Agnes Clark, Nov. 16, 1651. His will mentions several childreij, and a brother John of Beverly. Samuel Hodgkins first appears in Gloucester with -his Arife Hannah in 1684. A WilHam Hodgkins was an early inhabitant of Ipswich, and had a son Samuel born there in 1658. Our Samuel Hodgkins was appointed, in 1694, to keep the ferry at TrynaU Cove, where he had afready built a house. He was a shoemaker ; and a descendant of the same trade was living, near the close of the last century, where his ancestor settled, and was the last ferryman at the place. Samuel Hodgkins's wKe died July 28, 1724, aged sixty years ; and he next married Mary Stockbridge, May 3, 1725. The date of his death is not known. FKteen children are recorded to him : namely, Samuel, born in 1684; Hannah, 1686; John, 1688; PhUip, 1690; William, 1691; a daughter, 1694; Jedediah, 1696; Patience, 1697; Abigail, 1699; Mercy, 1700 ; David, 1702; Martha, 1704; Anna, 1705 ; Jonathan, 1706 ; and Experience, 1708. Of the seven sons, but Httle information can be given. Samuel married Hannah Pilkington, Sept. 28, 1708 ; and appears to have been hving in 1758. He had nine children, of whom only • A William Haskell was l^illed, in 1759, in the king's service; and an Isaac was killed, in 1778, on board of a privateer. Roger Haskell of Salem was, without doubt, brother of our William ; as he mentions in his will (1667) brothers AVilliam and Mark. William of Gloucester was guardian to Eoger's son Samuel in 1679. It would be difficult to find among the early settlers of New England a single family whose geneaJogy would interest more persons than that of the Haskell Family. EAELY SETTLEES. 105 the two youngest were sons, — Samuel, born in 1729 ; and James, born in 1732, who died the same year. It was this last Samuel who was the last ferryman at Trynall Cove. He married Abigail Sayward in 1753, and had sons Samuel and James. The former manded Jemima Allen In 1776. Several descendants In this line live in the Fourth Parish, not far from the home of thefr ancestor. Of John, nothing further is known ; unless he was the same who married Mary Knowles about 1752, though he was then sixty-four. The children of this marriage were John, Mary, and Timothy : the latter, who was a soldier of the Revo lution, died in October, 1830, aged seventy-three. Philip and Jedediah Hodgkins probably went to Falmouth, Me. The latter married Sarah MiUet in 1722, and had daughters Sarah and Judith bom here. David married Abigail Haskell in 1735, andhad sons, — David, born In 1737; and WiUiam, in 1740. Jonathan married Mary Stockbridge in 1733, and Widow Sarah Stockbridge in 1749. By these two wives he had ten children ; of whom three were sons, — Jonathan, Benjamin, and John. A Christopher Hodgkins had a son Hezekiah born here in 1699. John Holgeaa'e was an early resident in Salem, where he fiUed important offices, besides representing the town in the first General Comt at Boston, and again in 1634 and the following year. He kept an inn at Salem, but is not mentioned there after 1639. He had land here in 1647 ; and. In 1649, a house in the Harbor, near the pond. He is not mentioned here after 1653, when both he and his wKe had so conducted themselves as to leave no occasion to regret thefr departure. William Hough was a house-carpenter, and lived at Trynall Cove, where, and on Biskie Island, opposite, he had land. He was a selectman in 1649 and 1650. His departme is spoken of in the latter year, when he joined the emigration to New Lon don. He married Sarah, daughter of Hugh Calkin, Oct. 28, 1645; and had three children born in Gloucester, — Hannah, bom In 1646 ; Abiah, 1648 ; and Sarah, 1651. James Hughes's name occms only in connection Arith the bfrths of his children. He had a Arife Ehzabeth, by whom a 14 106 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. daughter Ehzabeth Avas born In 1670; and a son Jonathan In 1672, who died in 1689. A Rachel Hughes died in 1689. Geoege Ingeesol Avas born in 1618, and was son of Richard Ingersol, a Bedfordshfre man, who was one of the early emi grants to Massachusetts. His first appearance in Gloucester is In 1646 ; Avhen, by his wife Elizabeth, his son Joseph was bom. Other children of his, born here, were — Ehzabeth, born in 1648, died in Infancy ; Elizabeth, born in 1651; and Mary, 1657. He Avas a selectman in 1652 ; and, in the same year, was Hcensed to keep an ordinary. He had a house in the Harbor, and OAvned land in several places ; which he sold, and afterwards removed to Falmouth, Me. He was Heutenant, at that place, of the mUitary force for protection against the Indians ; and, in the attack of the savages In 1675, had a son killed, and his house bumed. His letter, describing other destruction of IKe and property (that of the Wakleys, probably, who had also emigrated fi-om Glouces ter), is in our State archives. He returned to Salem, and was living there in 1694. Besides the chUdren already mentioned, he had sons, — George, Samuel, and John. Geoege was a ship Avright. He resided in Falmouth and Boston, and died In the latter place before 1730. Samuel was also a shipwright. He came to Gloucester soon after 1700, and settled on Eastern Point, where he built several small vessels. He was one of the five Gloucester men composing part of the company to whom, in 1733, the township of Amherst, N.H., then called Nai-raganset, No. 3, was granted for services rendered by themselves or thefr ancestors In the Narraganset War In 1675. He conveyed this right to his son Joel in 1734 ; saying in the deed, that he was a soldier in the Narraganset War, caUed "Phihp's Wai-." His wife Judith died May 11, 1721, between fifty and sixty years old. By her he had two sons, born in Gloucester, — Nehemiah, in 1705 ; and Joel, 1709. He had a son Samuel, who married here in 1708, and had several children. John is not knoAvn to have ever resided in Gloucester. He was Hving in Kittery, Me., In 1713. Joseph, the only son of George Ingersol known to have been born in Gloucester, went to Falmouth Arith his father, and became a joiner. He married there Sarah, daughter of Matthew EAELY SETTLEES. 107 Coe. He probably returned to Gloucester soon after the second destruction of Falmouth by the Indians ; as he had a daughter Hannah born here in 1693. He died in 1718, aged seventy- two : his AvKe died May 29, 1714. His son Benjamin had several children born here ; but he removed to Falmouth on the re settlement of the place, took possession of his father's grant, and was a usefril Inhabitant. He removed to North Yarmouth prerious to 1735. Besides those afready named of this family, there were other Ingersols here in the early part of the last cen tury, who were probably descendants of our early settler, George. Joseph married here in 1707; Josiah, in 1712; Jonathan, hi 1717 ; and David, in 1718 ; and all of them had chUdren. Jona than was keeping a tavern at the Harbor, where he died about 1745. Davdd was droAvned on a fishing voyage to the Banks in 1730. John Jackson was a fisherman. He bought a house and land in the Harbor, of WUHam Ash, in 1651 ; which he sold. In 1662, to Peter Duncan. He Hved in Gloucester seven years. He had a AvKe Eleanor, who was born in 1602. His son John married Susanna, daughter of Thomas Jones, July 12, 1659 : she died April 10, 1662 ; having had a son John, born in 1660. Chaeles James was here In 1673, when he married Ann CoUins. From the infrequent mention of his name, and its non-appearance on the Hst of grantees of the Cape lots In 1688, it is supposed that he Avas not a permanent settler from the date of his marriage. In 1699, he had six acres of land near Kettle Cove, which he exchanged with Morris Smith for a lot at the Cape. He died Sept. 11, 1720, about sixty-nine years old. The bfrths of two children born to him in Gloucester are on our records, — Charles, born in 1674; and Francis, in 1677. The latter married Ehzabeth Hallee, or Hallet, in 1703, and had seve ral children; but none by whom the name was perpetuated In town. A Thomas James (not known to be connected Arith this famUy) had, by his wife Susanna, a son Thomas, born here in 1752. Thomas Jones was born in 1598. He was In Gloucester as early as 1642, and owned a house and land near the burying- 108 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. place. He was admitted freeman in 1653; and died in 1671, leaving an estate of £147. 15s. His wife was Mary, daughter of Richard and Ursula North : she died in 1681. The children recorded to them are — Thomas, born in 1640, died In 1672, probably unmarried; North and Ruth (twins), 1644 (the latter married Thomas Howard of Salem); Samuel, 1647; Ephraun, 1649 (Avas apprenticed for twelve years to a Manuel alias Nathan iel Ffryar); Benjamin, 1651 ; and Remember, 1653, who married Nathaniel Hadlock. Besides these chUdren, there were Susanna, who married John Jackson ; a daughter who married a Winslow of Sahsbury, and another who married a Kent. Benjamin Jones married Ehzabeth WiUs, Jan. 22, 1678 ; and had four children born here. None of the name of this family appear here after 1686. Benjamin may have removed to Hull, where a person of the same name lived in 1693. Heney Joslyn. — The orthography of this name is variously given : that of the Gloucester Records Is here followed. Henry Joslyn, son of Sir Thomas Joslyn of Kent, came to New Eng land about 1634, as an agent for Capt. Mason; but he soon left his service, and, in 1638, had settled at Black Point, now Scar borough, in Maine. He bore a distinguished part In aU the poHtical transactions of that Province tlU October, 1676 ; when the Indians attacked Black Point, and compelled the people to flee. The fate of Joslyn Is not knoAvn ; but there can scarcely be a doubt that his son Henry was the person of the same name who settled in this toAvn. He and John Walhs, driven the year before in hke manner from Falmouth, were probably the fii-st reflux of the tide of emigration Avhich, about twenty years before, began to set towards Maine from our town. His name ifrst appears here on the occasion of his marriage, June 4, 1678, to Bridget Day. The next year, he had a grant of land between the lot of Timothy Somes and Thomas Riggs's house. In 1693, he appears to have sold this land, and a dwelhng-house standing on it, to Nathaniel Wharf. By his AvKe Bridget he had a son Henry, born June 28, 1679 ; and a daughter in 1682, who died in infancy. His Arife died Sept. 7, 1684 ; and he next married, Nov. 9, 1685, Mary Lambert. His childi-en by her were — EAELY SETTLEES. 109 Ebenezer, bom 30th July, died 20th November, 1686 ; Marga ret, 1687; Mary, 1689; Constantine, 1691 ; Benjamin, 1695, — lost at sea in 1716 ; and Mercy, 1703. Henry Joslyn, sen., was admitted to the church in 1704. AU who were householders that year, and were Hving in town in 1721, had, at the last date, a grant of land ; and, as none of this famUy appear among the grantees, it Is reasonable to infer that the elder Joslyn had either died or removed before that year. Heney, supposed to be the son, married Sarah Litheam,* Dec. 6, 1703 ; and had a son Rich ard, born March 26, 1704 ; after which, nothing more is known of them. Constantine married Agnes Tenny, Dec. 9, 1713 ; and had six sons and one daughter. He was liring in 1747. Three of his sons — Constantine, Henry, and WilHam — were married; but we know nothing more of thefr history, except that the first had several chUdren, one of whom (Ebenezer), born in 1738, addressed a letter to his mother from the camp at Long Island, July 5, 1776. One member of this famUy received at death a special mark of distinction from the town ; which paid, February, 1745, eight shillings and tenpence for four pounds of sugar and two ounces of allspice, and twenty-six shillings for four pafrs of gloves "for Mother Josselyn's funneraU."-f Thomas Judkin is mentioned as a iandoAvner several times before 1650. In 1665, he bought of George Blake a house and land near the Meeting-house. He married, in 1665, Anna, Aridow of Nehemiah Howard of Salem. By the previous hus band she had had three daughters, — Hannah, who married John Sargent; Rose, who married Joseph Allen; and Sarah, who married George Harvey. He died Feb. 23, 1695, leavuig an estate of £271 : she died Jan. 27, 1706, aged about sixty- eight. It is probable that Judkin kept a tavern, and that the business was carried on by his vrife after his decease; for, in November, 1695, a committee of IpsArich gentlemen met at her house to settle a difference between the town and Francis Nor- * Perhaps Littlehale. Jan. 7, 1704. — Henry Josslin of Gloucester, and Sarah his wife, convey to Isaac Littlehale of Ipswich " land that was formarly ray Grandfather Bichard Littlehale's of Haverhill." t See New-England Hist, and Gen. Eegister, vol. ii. pp. 204-306. 110 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. wood in relation to Thatch Banks, and expended there eighteen shilhngs. The selectmen also often met at " Landlady Jud- kin's ; " and. In 1704 and 1705, contracted a debt of upwards of a pound in each year, which was paid by the town. The descendants of the landlady by her three daughters are numerous. William Kenie had a house and land, which he sold to Thomas Prince In 1652 ; having previously removed to Ncav London. His daughter Susanna married Ralph Parker. Thomas Kent may have been connected Avith Richard Kent of Ipswich, who received a grant of land near Chebacco River in 1635. Thomas Kent had a house and land near the burying- ground, recorded under the year 1649; but earher in his posses sion, probably : and he bought several lots of WUHam Meades, which, in 1655, he recorded to his brother, Samuel Kent. A Thomas Kent, sen., died May 1, 1658, and Widow Kent, Oct. 6, 1671 ; leaving Thomas and Samuel above mentioned, who, it is Hkely, were thefr sons. These brothers bought of Thomas Prince, in 1657, eighteen acres of land on the west side of Lit tle River, where a house and land were situated that Thomas sold to Richard Dike in 1667. Thomas married Joan, daughter of Thomas Penny, March 28, 1658 ; and died Aug, 2, 1696. The children recorded to him are — Josiah, born in 1660; Sarah, 1662; Mercy and Joan, 1664; James, 1666; and John, 1676. Samuel married Frances WoodaU, Jan. 17, 1654 ; and had the following children : Sarah, born in 1657 ; Alary, 1658; Samuel, 1661 ; and John, 1664. John removed, about 1680, to Suffield, Conn. ; where was born. In 1704, EHsha, son of John Kent, grandfather of the distinguished chancellor of New York, James Kent. Josiah Kent married Mary Lufkin in 1689 ; and died In 1725, aged sixty-five. One of the Johns, probably the brother of Josiah, also married. Both of these had families, and the name continued in the Second Parish down at least to the death of John. He received help from the town for several years, on account of his inablhty, thi-ough Aveakness of mind, to earn his own living ; and died about April 19, 1743, when Col. Epes Sargent was paid by the selectmen " £2 for fom pafrs of gloves, to be given at ye burial of John Kent." EAELY SETTLEES. Ill John Kettle was born about 1621. He had a house in the Harbor before 1650, and resided here several years. In 1664, he sold a house and land situated near the Meeting-house. By his wife Elizabeth he had the foUoAvIng childi-en born here : John, in 1654 ; WUHam, 1656, died 1677 ; Ehzabeth, 1657 ; Maiy, 1659 ; Samuel, 1662 ; and James, 1665. None of this famUy appear in toAvn at the granting of six-acre lots in 1688. A John Kettle, a minor, Hving at Mackerel Cove, Avas brought before a com-t at Salem in 1641 for breach of the sabbath and for steahng. John Lane was born about 1653 ; and, with his wKe and chUdren, came to Gloucester, about the close of the seventeenth century, from Falmouth, Me. ; driAen thence, probably, on the second destruction of that place by the Indians. He was son of James Lane, and went. In 1658, with his father, from Maiden to Casco Bay ; where they Hved tUl driven away by the Indians in the first Indian War. His father was killed In a fight Avith the Indians ; and, besides John, left sons Henry, Samuel, and Job. John Lane received from the toAvn a grant of a common right in 1702 ; and, in 1704, ten acres of land at Flatstone Cove, where he had afready settled, and to which his own name was subse quently given. He married a daughter of John Walhs, an early inhabitant of Falmouth. Her baptismal name was Dorcas, if she was the wife that accompanied him to Gloucester. The chUdren recorded as born to them here are — Hepzibah, bom m 1694 ; Alary, 1696 ; Joseph, 1698 ; Benjamin, 1700 ; Debo rah, 1703, died in 1729 ; and Job, 1705. Besides these, there were James, John, Dorcas, Josiah, Sarah, and David. Five of the sons were living when thefr father died. He was hving in 1734, at the age of eighty-one ; but the date of his death is not known. James married Ruth Riggs in 1710, who died the next year, aged twenty-one ; and Judith Woodbury In 1715. He became a deacon of the Thfrd Church; and died about 1751, learing sons WUHam, James, and Josiah, and daughters Mary and Ruth. John Lane, jun., married Mary Riggs in 1713 ; and was killed by Indians at Penobscot, June 22, 1724, at the age of thfrty-six. He left an estate of nearly £500 ; consisting, in 112 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. part, of haK of a coasting and half of a fishing vessel. He had six daughters and two sons. One of the latter (David) appears to have married in toAvn. Josiah married Rachel York in 1713 ; after which nothing is known of him. Joseph married Deborah Haraden in 1721, and had sons Joseph, Caleb, and Solomon; besides daughters, one of whom (Deborah) was first married to John Langsford, and next to WUliam Lane. One of these hus bands met his death at Owl's Head. He was retuming from a fishing voyage, and put in there for a harbor. AVhUe walking on the shore with a companion, he Avas shot at by some Indians who were lying in ambush, and killed on the spot. Benjamin Lane niarried Elizabeth Griffin In 1725 ; by whom, besides two daugh ters, he had sons Thomas, Benjamin, Jonathan, John, and Hezekiah. Job married Mary Ashby in 1734, and had sons Job, Ebenezer, and Andrew. Descendants of John Lane and of Samuel, who came subsequently, are numerous in town ; and many are scattered abroad in various parts of the country. Of those of the later generations, some have been prominent citi zens. Samuel was a representative from 1829 to 1832 inclusive, and subsequently a senator from Essex County ; George, a re presentative in 1833 ; and Gideon, a representatlA-e In 1833 and 1834. A John Lane was kiUed, May 29, 1778, in an engage ment Arith a British ship of twenty guns ; and is mentioned as the first vdctlm of the war from Squam. Andeew Listee was here as early as 1642, and had a house on the neck of house-lots, and a lot on Planter's Neck. In 1648, he was Hcensed to keep a house of entertainment, and to sell wine and strong water here. He sold aU his property in Gloucester to Clement Coldom, and left town vrith the com pany that went to New London about 1651. His wife's name Avas Barberie ; and his children, bom here, were — Daniel, in 1642; Andrew, 1644; Alary, 1647; and Anne, 1651. Nicholas Liston was probably an early but brief sojourner. Under the date of 1645, there is a mention of marsh in Annis quam first given to him ; and there is a record, Arithout date, of two acres of upland in the Harbor, purchased of him. Thomas Lufkin, oe Lovekin, as the name, in confer- EAELY SETTLEES. 113 mity Arith Its manifest derivation, Avas anciently spelled, came to Gloucester about 1674. In 1680, he had a grant of land above Deacon HaskeU's sawmill ; and, in later years, lots In other places. His AvKe's name was Mary. She died in December, 1730, aged eighty-six : he died Nov. 3, 1708. His chilcfren, natives of Gloucester, were — Joseph, born in 1674; Ebenezer, 1676; Abraham and Isaac, 1678; Abigail, 1682; Henry, 1684; and James and Elizabeth, 1686. Besides these, there was probably a Thomas, born before the removal to Gloucester, who had a grant of land in 1690. He married Mary Myles in 1690, who died the same year; and Sarah Downing In 1692. His name does not again occur; unless he is the same person who in 1720, then belonging to Ipswich, married Rachel Riggs of this town. Joseph, Ebenezer, and Henry Lufkin all married here, and had chUdren. Benjamin Lufkin was here In 1713, and Jacob in 1720 ; and both had famUies. A Jacob was wounded in an engagement Arith the enemy in the eastern parts of the Province in 1699. Thomas Low. — This settler was, without doubt, a descend ant of the IpsArich FamUy of the same name ; which, according to an account of some of its members, had for thefr Enghsh ancestor Capt. John Lowe, master of the ship " Ambrose " in the great emigra,tion to Massachusetts in 1630. Whether this state ment rests upon good authority or not, it is certain that a Thomas Low was of IpsArich as early as 1643. He died Sept. 8, 1677, leaving a son Thomas ; also a grandson Thomas, not then twenty- one years old. The son, it is supposed, was Deacon Thomas Low of Chebacco Parish, now Essex, who died April 12, 1712, aged eighty ; and the grandson, Thomas, who settled in Gloucester about 1692. The latter had married, before the last-named year, Sarah, daughter of Harlakenden Symonds, who was born here in 1668, probably in the house which her father OAvned near the Meeting-house, and to which, after an absence of some years from town perhaps, Mrs. Symonds returned again Arith her daughter and son-in-law. He survived the re moval but six years, and died Feb. 8, 1698, leaving sons Symonds, Thomas, and John, and a daughter Elizabeth. The inventory of 15 114 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. his personal estate amounted to £80 ; of which amount, his house is set down at £45. His real estate was valued in 1740 at £838. Symonds was twice married, and had three sons and six daughters. One of the sons died in infancy : neither of the other two appears to have settled in toAvn. John, thfrd son of Thomas Low, married Mary AUen, Jan. 20, 1726. His second son (John), born May 17, 1728, became one of the most pro minent citizens of his time. He had his home on or near the ancestral property, and owned there a valuable farm ; but the business to which his own attention was chiefly given was that of trade and fishing. The latter he carried on from Squam River ; which, for several years before the Revolutionary War, was the scene of an active business in this line. In these pm-- suits he acqufred property ; and, being a man quahfied by edu cation, character, and talents, for pubhc employments, the town found in him, at the period of its need, a ready and faithful servant. In 1775, he had advanced to the rank of Heutenant- colonel in the mihtia ; and afterwards became a colonel, — a title which he retained to the end of his Hfe. He was a represen tative to the General Court held In AVatertown, May 27, 1776 ; a delegate to the Convention for forming the State Constitution, and to that for ratifying the Constitution of the United States. He also served several times as representative in the General Court of the Commonwealth. Besides servinsr the toAvn in these elevated stations, he often filled the office of selectman, and held for many years the place of deacon of the Fourth Church. It was while on the road, retm-ning to his home fi-om a meeting of the selectmen, that the career of this good man was suddenly ended by death, Nov. 3, 1796. A sermon was preached at his funeral by the Rev. Eli Forbes, from Isa. Irii. 1, 2 ; in which the vfrtues of the departed were portrayed by the venerable pastor Arith touching simphcity and truthfulness. Col. LoAV married, April 30, 1752, Sarah, daughter of Rev. Joshua Gee of Boston ; who died about twenty years before her husband, during which he remained a vridower. He had ten chUdren. His oldest soh (John), born Sept. 1, 1754, graduated at Harvard CoUege in 1773 ; became a merchant in his native EAELY SETTLEES. 115 toAvn; and diedFeb. 10, 1801. David, the second son, spent the first part of his life in maritime employments ; and the latter in the pursuits of husbandry, and died March 28, 1840, aged eighty-one. Among his children were — David, a mer chant of Boston, who died at Havre, in France, Jan. 2, 1829 ; and John Gorham, also a merchant of Boston, who perished in the destruction of the steamer "Lexington" by ifre, on Long-Island Sound, Jan. 13, 1840. Joshua Gee, another son of Col. Low, was the father of Frederic G. Low, who has filled the office of collector of the customs for this port. Wil ham, son of the ifr-st John Low, married Dorcas Ellery in 1751, and had eleven chUdren ; the oldest of which (William) is said to have been an officer on board a letter-of-marque from New buryport in the Revolution, and to have been taken by a British ship and carried to New York, where he experienced aU the horrors of sickness on board of a prison-ship, in which he was confined a year. After his escape or discharge, he walked home to Gloucester barefooted and bareheaded, begging his food by the way. John Luthee is only mentioned as a seUer of land in the Harbor to John Collins, recorded in 1649. Solomon Maktin may have been the person of the same name who came to New England in the ship " James " in 1635, being then sixteen years old. He was a ship-carpenter, and ovmed a house and several house-lots of land, which he sold to Richard Beeford in May, 1652, when he Avas a resident of Andover. The Gloucester Records show that he was tArice married : ifrst to Mary, daughter of Henry Pindar, in 1643, who died in 1648 ; and next, in the same year, to Widow Ahce Vamum of Ipswich. His chUdren were — Samuel, born in 1645 ; and Mary, 1648. Edmund Maeshall only appears as a seUer of house and land near Poles, which he bought of John Bourne, to Anthony Day, In 1657. Before this date, the same name occurs in Salem, and subsequently in Ipswich and Newbury. Philip Meeeitt only appears here at the bfrth, by his wife Mary, of a son Jacob, Oct. 21, 1700. 116 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. William Meades had a lot near the burying-ground. He had been here several years, probably, when he sold land in three places, in 1647, to Thomas Kent. In 1648, the date of his last appearance in Gloucester, he took the fr-eeman's oath ; was a selectman and constable. March, 1651, he was a grantee of land in New London. Thomas Millet came to New England in 1635, in the ship " Ehzabeth " of London, Arith his Arife Alary and son Thomas, and settled in Dorchester, where he resided several years. The records of that town show that he had the foUoAving chUdren born there : John born in 1635 ; Jonathan, 1638, died the same year; Mary, 1639; and Mehetabel, 1641. Another (a son Nathamel) was born In 1647. In 1655, MUlet bought of WU Ham Perkins, who had been a teaching elder in the church here a few years, aU the property the latter OAvned in the town. He came here Arith the rare title of " Air.," — a distinction to which he was entitled by the place he fiUed in the church ; for he was the successor of Air. Perkins In his religious office, as weU as in the possession of his lands. His name does not appear among the ministers of his time ; but it is certain that he labored here in spfr-itual things, though perhaps his office in the church was an anomalous one. Its pecuniary rcAvards were not always voluntarily bestoAved, as the Court Records testify ; and, indeed, these alone furnish information that he was engaged here in the work of the ministry at aU. It is supposed that he removed fr-om town several years before his death, and became a citizen of Brookfield ; at which place, he and his Avife gaA'e thefr- consent, June 3, 1675, to the sale of a house and land on ToAvn Neck to Francis Norwood. He died withiii a year fr-om that time ; and his AvKe was deceased, Sept. 27, 1682. His oldest son Thomas, born in 1633, had land of his father, lying near the old Meeting-house Plain in 1655. He held the office of ensign in the mUitary company, and served a fcAV years as a selectman ; but, OtherArise, his name does not prominently occm-. He came into possession of the land at Kettle Cove originally granted to Mr. Blynman. This was situated near the Manchester bounds, which Millet passed, and became, in the last years of his life, a eaely SETTLEES. 117 resident of that town. He died there June 18, 1707 ; but was brought to Gloucester for bmdal. He was twice married : first to Mary, daughter of Sylvester Eveleth]*May 21, 1655, who died July 2, 1687 ; and next to Abigail, widow of Isaac Eveleth, who smvived him, and died March 19, 1726, aged sixty-eight. It is not knoAvn that he had other children than Thomas and John, both by his last wife. John Millet, son of the first Thomas, married Sarah Leach, July 3, 1663 ; and died Nov. 3, 1678. He has the bfrths of seven children re corded in the Gloucester Records. Two of thefr children were sons, — John and Thomas. The latter, born In 1671, married Mai-tha Ingersol In 1695, and had several children. The father and his son John, Arith thefr families, removed to Falmouth, Me., about 1724 ; where the former died Jan. 21, 1730. He left In Gloucester a son Morris, who inarried Jemima Hodgkins in 1728, and had sons Joseph, James, Thomas, and Samuel. Nathaniel Millet received grants of land on the westerly side of Annisquam River ; and, it is probable, had his residence there. He finally settled at Kettle Cove; where, in 1700, he and his sons had land granted to them, which was not to be alienated from the family so long as any of them survdved. He married Ann Lister, May 3, 1670, who died March 9, 1718, aged sixty-six : he died Nov. 7, 1719, aged seventy-two. Of his eleven children, it appears that three were sons who mar ried in toAvn, — Thomas, born in 1675; Andrew, in 1681; and Nathan, in 1685. These sons all settled near thefr father, at Kettle Cove ; and each had a family that included sons. Thomas was droAvned at Casco Bay, March 1, 1722, "by aland flood overfloAring ye cottage, and carrying of It away." * Nathan was drowned near Manchester Neck, Jan. 6, 1724. Andrew died March 25, 1718. Descendants of Thomas MiUet, bearing the family name, have Hved in toAvn down to the present time ; but they have never been numerous, and the race Is now almost extinct in Gloucester. * Eev. T. Smith of Falmouth, Me., says, in his journal, that Millet and one In gersol "were drowned at Presumpscot by the damming of the ice; raising an head of water in the night while they were asleep." 118 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. Thomas Milwaed, a fisherman, was one of the selectmen in 1642. No grants of land are recorded to him ; though he sold, as early as May, 1642, tAvo acres in the Harbor to Robert Ehvell. He removed to Newbury, where he resided in 1652, when he sold his farm at Fresh-water Cove to Samuel DolHver of Marblehead. He died in Boston, Sept. 1, 1653. Geoege Noeton had been in Salem several years when he became one of the company, which, in 1640, had leave from the General Court to erect a village at Jeffries Creek, now Man chester. His name does not appear in the Gloucester Records as a grantee or purchaser of land ; but he was here as early as 1642, and probably received then from the commissioners the grant of the farm at Little Good Harbor, which he sold to William Vinson. He was prominent among the first settlers ; being one of the first board of officers chosen by the toAvn for ordering its affafrs, and the representative in 1642, — the fijrst one; and in 1643 and 1644, — the latter date being the last mention of his name in Gloucester. He died about 1659. He had a daughter Mary born here by his wife Alary, Feb. 28, 1643. A Mary Norton, Aridow, contemplated marriage Arith PhiHp Fowler of IpsArich in 1659. Feancis Noewood, according to a tradition in the family, fied from England Arith his father, at the restoration of Charles II. , on account of the trouble in which the father feared they might be involved for the part he had taken in the civU Avars of that period. The son came to New England, and is said to have kept a tavern in Lynn. He came to Gloucester about 1663, and settled at Goose Cove ; at which place, by grants from the toAvn and by purchase, he became possessed of considerable land. He married Elizabeth, daughter of Clement Coldom, Oct. 15, 1663 ; and died March 4, 1709. His chUdren were — Thomas, born in 1664 ; Francis, 1666; Ehzabeth, 1669 ; Alary, 1672 ; Stephen, 1674 ; Deborah, 1677 ; Hannah, 1679; Joshua, 1683 ; Caleb, 1685 ; and AbigaU, 1689. Thomas, the oldest son, only re-appears, after his birth, to be noticed in his father's will In 1709 ; and is not again mentioned. Feancis mai-ried Mai-y Stevens, Jan. 24, 1693. She died Nov. 19, 1724, aged EAELY SETTLEES. 119 fifty-two : the date of his death is not known. His sons Wil Ham and Jonathan survived him, and had famihes ; the latter a very large one. These brothers Hved at Goose Cove, and there carried on the fishing business. WilHam died in February, 1781, aged seventy-three ; and Jonathan died Feb. 21, 1791, aged seventy-nine. The funeral procession which accompanied his body to the grave was stopped by one of his creditors for the execution of a legal process, which the law then permitted for the recovery of a debt. A son-in-law stepped forward, and satisfied the demand ; when the train, almost petrified with hor ror at the rude and unwonted interruption, resumed its solemn march. Gustavus, one of the youngest of his sons, died In 1841, In his ninetieth year. Abraham, a grandson, settled in Maine, and was the father of Abraham, a Universalist preacher. Ste phen Noewood married Ehzabeth Ingallbe, February, 1702, and died Jan. 7, 1703. Joshua married Ehzabeth, daughter of Ensign WUham Andrews of Chebacco, Sept. 25, 1704. He was among the early possessors of land at the Cape, and probably resided there most of his Hfe. He had four sons and eleven daughters. One of the sons (Caleb) Avas born In Attleborough, where his father Hved a few years. His son Caleb was a repre sentative in 1806 and 1807, and died about 1828. Another son (WUham), stiU Hving, is a venerable citizen of Rockport. His son George was a representative from Gloucester in 1857. Joshua Norwood became poor in his old age, and Hved Arith his chUdren. He died in 1762, in his eightieth year : his Arife Is said to have died Nov. 1, 1774, aged about ninety. A still greater age was attained by her daughter Mary, who married Nathaniel Gamage of Cambridge in 1731, and is reported to have died in Bristol, Me., at the age of one hundred and five years. To this branch of the famUy belongs Francis Norwood, who was born in 1795 ; graduated at Dartmouth CoUege in 1818 ; studied theology at Andover ; and is now settled in the ministry at Phipsburg, Me. Caleb, youngest son of the first Francis, married Ahce Donnel of York. He had a grant of land near Hahbut Point in 1710, and had several children born in Gloucester ; but finally removed to Boston, and was an innholder 120 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. there Nov. 29, 1735, when he made his will, which mentions a son Gustavus and five daughters. The former settled In York, Me. The widow became the thfrd AvKe of Rev. John AVhite. Ralph Paekee had recorded, under the year 1647, land in the Harbor, on the westerly side of his house, which was near Governor's Hill. He sold his possessions in Gloucester to Phineas Rider in 1651 ; about which time he removed to New London. He is not mentioned here as having a family ; but the New-London Records state that he had a Arife who was a daugh ter of WilHam Kenie. Elias Paekman was of Boston in 1651. He is mentioned, in our records Avithout date, as purchaser of a house and land, in Fisherman's field, of Christopher Avery. In 1655, he had a grant of " wood and timber from the run of water as runneth out at the beach by the salt-work ; in consideration of AA'hich he is to let the toAvn have salt, for thefr own proper use, 6d. per bushel cheaper than he sell out of town, for such pay as the town can pay him at pris currant." If he resided in town at all, it Avas probably only for a brief period. Joseph Page had, in March, 1699, a grant of haK an acre of land near Clay Cove to set a house upon, on condition that he should take care of his mother. He married Ehzabeth Row in 1705 ; and died March 18, 1725, aged about forty-eight. A George Page had, in 1709, a grant of land near the head of the Harbor. The bfr-th of his daughter Mary in Antigua, in 1705, by his wife Joanna, and the decease of Joanna Page In 1707, are recorded In the town-records. Jeffeey Paesons, born In 1631, left England when quite young, and went with an uncle to Bai-badoes, where he Hved several years, and came thence to New England. He left in his native country a brother James, who died there about 1708, leav ing several chUdren; one of whom, Ehzabeth Morgan, was Hving in 1714 at Ashprington, near Dartmouth, as appears by her letter to her cousin James in New England, dated 1714; copies of which are preserved in the family. In Apidl, 1655, he bought of GUes Barge an acre and a half of land In Fisherman's Field. He also bought, about the same time, a house and land at the eaely SETTLEES. 121 same place, which had once belonged to George Ingersol, and StiU earlier to George Norton. There he fixed his residence ; and descendants stUl Hve around the spot ifrst occupied by thefr ancestor. Tradition has preserved the romantic incident that determined his choice of a partner for Hfe. AVhile walking on a hot summer's day, he was overcome with fatigue and thfrst, and stopped at Vinson's Spring for rest and refreshment. The house of Vinson was near by, and a benevolent impulse prompted his beautKul daughter Sarah to approach the weary stranger Arith the tender of a drinking-cup. The charms and kind attentions of the fafr one made a deep impression on the heart of Jeffrey ; and, as she reciprocated the sentiments she had inspfred, she ere long became his Arife. They were married Nov. 11, 1657. He was selectman several years ; and died Aug. 16, 1689, leaving an estate of £317. She died Jan. 12, 1708. Among thefr descend ants, besides the distinguished Chief-Justice of Massachusetts, are several eminent merchants. The children of Jeffrey Parsons were — James, born in 1658 ; Jeffrey, 1661 ; Sarah, 1663 ; Ehzabeth, 1665 ; John, 1666 ; Jeremiah, 1672 ; Nathaniel, 1675; AbigaU, 1678; Ebenezer, 1680, died 1680; and Eben ezer, 1681. James was one of the most useful citizens of his time. He was a selectman, elder of the church, town-clerk eleven years, and representative five years. His residence was at the corner of the old road leading from the Manchester Road to IpsArich ; and the old house still standing there bore till recently indubitable marks of age, which render it probable that he was the builder. He married, Dec. 18, 1688, Hannah Younglove of IpsArich, who died March 11, 1733, aged seventy-eight : he died Oct. 1, 1733, aged seventy-five. His sons were James, Eliezer, and Joseph. James, born in 1690, died Nov. 15, 1761 ; haAdng lost two sons in the military service of the Colony : namely, James, who was a soldier in the expedition to Cape Breton, — returned home Ul, and died Aug. 20, 1745, aged about twenty years ; and Ehphalet, who enhsted In the army sent against the French at CroAvn Point in 1756, and died at Alba ny, Aug. 9 in that year, aged twenty-four. Eliezer married Mary Day in 1720, and had five sons and three daughters. 16 122 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. Joseph, the other son of Elder James Parsons, a student of Har vard CoUege, died at Cambridge, Oct. 30, 1722, aged about twenty-nine. Jeffeey received, in 1685, a grant of land situated on the road to Starknaught Harbor ; where he erected a house, and settled. He married AbigaU Younglove of Ipswich, May 5, 1686; who died in June, 1734. The date of his death is un known. His wUl, made in 1734, was proved in 1750. Most of the Parsonses on the Cape are descended from this son. In his wiU, three sons are mentioned, — Jonathan, Samuel, and Jere miah. Jonathan married Lydia Stanwood in 1711, and had the foUoAring sons : Jonathan, who had several chUdren ; John, who died about 1796, aged eighty, leaAdng a wi£e Anna (Clark), who died at the age of ninety ; James and Joseph (tArins), the former of whom settled at Sandy Bay, and has, among his descendants, Gorham, for several years postmaster of Gloucester, whose son James C. graduated at Amherst College in 1855 ; and Wilham, representative in 1841 and 1842, uoav a merchant in Boston. Joseph, the other tArin, was lost on the Grand Bank about 1785, aged sixty-three. Darid, the next and youngest of these brothers, had his home at the " Farms ; " and died in 1808, aged eighty. Samuel, second sop of Jeffrey Parsons, jun., married Ruth Lee of Manchester in 1713. The records showJ;hat he had eleven children, and that two of his sons (Samuel and Nehemiah) married in town, and perpetuated the name. Samuel and his brother David were among the first settlers of New Gloucester, Me. Jeremiah, the other son of Jeffrey Parsons, jun., married Susanna CogsweU of IpsArich In 1721 ; and had sons Jeremiah, Jeffrey, and Zaccheus. The fiirst of these sons appears to have married in toAvn, and to have had sons Jeremiah and Zaccheus. Jeffrey, son of John and Anna above mentioned, born in 1746, a soldier in the battle of Bunker HiU, Avas drowned near Salt-Island Ledge in 1792. John Paesons, thfrd son of Jeifrey, sen., settled at Fisherman's Field. He married IsabeUa Haynes, Jan. 19, 1693, who died Nov. 20, 1700; and he next married Sarah Norton, July 29, 1701. She died July 25, 1726, aged fifty-six. He died Dec. 1, 1714; having had, by his two Arives, nine children. John, his oldest son, married Elizabeth EAELY SETTLEES. 123 HaskeU in 1716, by whom he had twelve children; of whom five were sons, that married and had families. He was a mling elder of the Ffrst Church, and was Hving in 1762. Josiah, the next son, married Eunice Sargent In 1719 ; had ten childi-en born here ; and afterwai-ds removed to New Hampshire. Thomas, the thfrd son, married Rachel Baker In 1729; and died March 13, 1732. Daniel, the next, married Susanna Warner in 1732; and died Ul Antigua, probably about 1738, leavuig no son. Solo mon, the youngest, married Abigail Knowlton, who died Feb. 15, 1741, aged thfrty-fom; and next, July 26, 1741, Sarah Dodge of Wenham, who died Jan. 29, 1779, aged sixty-four. He died March 24, 1779, aged seventy-fom- ; leaving an only son Solomon, as appears by record, who died Oct. 5, 1807, aged sixty-eight. Jacob, son of the latter, emigrated with sons to Ilhnois. These two Solomons Hved near the spot on which thefr ancestor first settled at Fisherman's Field. Jeeemi.4.h, son of the first Jeffirey, was impressed on board of a man-of-war when young ; and, having escaped from her. Is said to have settled in Vfrginia. Nathaniel, the next son, married AbigaU Haskell, Dec. 27, 1697 ; and died of smaU-pox, May 21, 1722. He en gaged in mercantile business ; and, at the time of his death, was the OAvner of several vessels and a shop and wharf. His oldest son (Nathaniel) died of smaU-pox in 1721. The next (WU Ham) became a merchant, and acqufred a handsome fortune. He was a man of exceUent character ; for which his townsmen showed thefr regard by electing him to the highest offices. He was deacon of the Ffrst Church, and representative six years. He died July 10, 1755, aged fifty-five. He was tArice married : first, to Mary Haraden, who died in 1751 ; and next to Mrs. Abigail Beck of Newbury. The youngest of his numerous fapiily of children was Obadiah, minister of the Fourth Parish in Gloucester. Stephen, brother of Deacon WUHam Parsons, mar ried AbigaU Robinson in 1732 ; and was lost in a hurricane in the West Indies, leaving sons Enoch and Daniel. Of this branch of the family Is Mi-s. Sarah A. Parsons Nowell, author of a vo lume of poems and a volume of tales. Ebenezee, youngest son of Jefeey Parsons, married Lydia HaskeU ; who died in 1734, 124 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. aged fifty-three. His intention of marriage Arith Mrs. Ahce Norwood was pubhshed AprU 11, 1741 ; and Arith Mrs. Jemima Todd of Rowley, Dec. 4, 1742. She became his vrife, and died AprU 25, 1752, aged sixty-five. He next married Mrs. Ehzabeth Andrews of Ipswich, Oct. 31, 1754. His death took place Dec. 19, 1763, at the age of eighty-two. His busmess was that of a trader. He was often a selectman, several years a deacon, and finally ruhng elder of the Ffr-st Chmch. Each generation of his descendants has fiirnished distinguished men. His oldest son Ebenezer was lost overboard between Cape Ann and Cape Sable, October, 1732, aged twenty-six years. Jacob, the second son, married Sarah Redding in 1732. Nothing is known of him after the bfrth of a second son Jacob in 1734. Isaac, the next son that lived to matmity, married Hannah Bmnham of IpsArich in 1734 ; became a deacon of the Ffrst Church; and died July 5, 1767, leaving sons, — Isaac, born in 1740, a pioneer in the settlement of New Gloucester, Me.; Nehemiah, born in 1746 ; and Thomas, 1756, a representative four years, both of whom engaged in commerce In Gloucester, whence they re moved to Boston ; and Aaron, born in 1759, who also became a merchant in his natiA'e town, and died in 1809. Moses, the youngest son of Ebenezer Parsons, born in 1716, graduated at Harvard College, 1736 ; and taught a school here several years, preparing himseK for the work of the ministry, to which he was ordained in Byfield, June 20, 1744. He had preached here occasionally; and, in 1742, was chosen to assist Rev. John AVhite of the Ffrst Parish ; a measure designed to heal the dissensions that had long existed in the parish : which did not, however, suit the malecontents ; and Mr. Parsons accepted a caU to Byfield, where he remained till his death, which took place Dec. 14, 1783. He was distinguished as a preacher, particularly excel ling in the gKt of prayer ; and was eminent for aU the graces that adorn the character of the true Christian. His AvKe was Susanna, daughter of Ebenezer Davis ; to whom he was married Jan. 11, 1742. She died in Boston, Dec. 18, 1794, aged seventy-five. He had several sons, — Moses, born in Gloucester in 1744, graduated at Harvard College 1765, and died in 1801 ; EAELY SETTLEES. 125 Eben, born in 1746, married Mary Gorham of this town, daugh ter of Col. John Gorham of Barnstable, in 1767, — was exten sively engaged in commercial pmsuits in Boston and Gloucester, and died in Byfield In 1819, learing an only son Gorham, who was born in Gloucester in 1768, became a wealthy merchant In Boston, and died at his farm in Byfield in 1843 ; Theophilus, the eminent Chief-Justice of Massachusetts, distinguished also for his learning and Arit, and for the great infiuence he exercised in the party divisions of his day, died at his residence in Bos ton, Oct. 30, 1813, aged sixty-three, leaving several children, one of whom is TheophUus, formerly a distinguished citizen of Boston, now professor in the Law School at Cambridge. Theo dore, the next son of Rev. Moses Parsons, born in 1751, gra duated at Harvard CoUege in 1773. He saUed from Gloucester in March, 1779, on board the privateer brig " Bennington." A letter was received from him, dated in May following ; after which he was never again heard from till accounts were received from London that the brig was sunk in the Enghsh Channel in an engagement Arith a British vessel of superior force. WUHam, the youngest chUd, born in 1755, eminent for a long and success ful commercial career In Boston, and for the exalted character he bore to its close, died March 19, 1837, aged eighty-two. Few of our early settlers are represented by more numerous families than those who perpetuate the name of this respectable stock. John Peaece, styled " a husbandman," was an early settler, and had land on the narrow projection, between Mill River and Annisquam River, which was formerly called "Pearce's Point." He was made a freeman in 1651 ; but the church-membership, then a necessary quahfication for that priAdlege, is somewhat dishonored by the contumacious spfrit, which, according to the records of the Quarterly Court, he often manifested. Within a period of four years, he was dealt Arith successively for reproach ing the minister and ministry ; for absenting himseK from pubhc worship ; for speaking evil words of a magistrate ; and finaUy, as a juryman, for dissenting from the rest of the jury. He had a Arife Ehzabeth, to whom he was married Nov. 4, 1643. She died July 3, 1673 ; and he next married, Sept. 12, 1673, Jane Stan- 126 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. wood, who died Aug. 18, 1706 : he died Dec. 15, 1695. His children were — Mary, born in 1650, married James Traris; and John, born in 1653, to whom he gave land to set a house upon in 1680. John Peaece, jun., had a vrife Mary, and chil dren, — Rachel, John, Stephen, and Silas. He sold to Francis Norwood his house and land on the south-east side of Goose Cove In 1682 ; and there Is no mention of his name after that date. Thomas Penny bought, in 1652, a house and three acres ol land of Thomas Bray, and a house and home-lot of Thomas Jones. The ifrst he sold back to Bray. In 1658, he bought land at Little River ; and, in 1679, had a grant next to WiUiam HaskeU's land. These notices indicate that his residence was in the westerly part of the town. His vrife Ann died AprU 26, 1667 ; and he next married Agnes Clark, June 15, 1668, who died Feb. 23, 1682. He was again married. May 17, 1682, to Joan Braybrook. He died about 1692; leaving a daughter Joan, who married Thornas Kent, and is the only child named In his AriU. Persons of this name Hved In toAvn early In the next century, between whom and the preceding it would be natu ral to suppose that a connection by blood existed. Thomas Penny married Mfrdam Elwell in 1721, and had five children : one of whom was a Thomas, who married here, and had a son Thomas, born In 1750 ; the same, perhaps, who died In New Gloucester, Feb. 28, 1813, aged sixty-two. An old Mrs. Penny died AprU 1, 1758 ; and a Thomas Penny, in February, 1774. John Pool, according to family tradition, was born, about 1670, in Taunton, England. Persons of the name of Pool were among the first settlers of our State. A John was of Cambridge in 1632. Elizabeth, " the virgin mother " of Taunton, was there as early as 1639. Our John Pool was a carpenter, and resided several years in Beverly; whence he removed to Glouces ter in 1700. While living in Beverly, he worked at his trade Avith Richard Woodbury ; who died May 20, 1690, on his re turn from the expedition to Canada, and was buried in Boston, leaving a widow, who became Pool's AvKe. Her maiden name was Sai-ah HaskeU. He bought of John Emerson, jun., in Apiil, eaely SETTLEES. 127 1700, a certain "farme, messuage, &c., at a place commonly called ye Cape," for £160. Pool found one famUy only at Sandy Bay on his removal to that place, — that of Richard Tarr, who had settled there a short tirne before. Unquestionable evidence exists to show that he was a man of great industry and enter prise. He is said to have furnished the buUders of Long Wharf in Boston, in 1710, Arith a large quantity of timber, which was carried thither in a sloop buUt by himseK. He became possessed of a large landed property, sufficient to accommodate each of his sons Arith a farm. He was careful to proride a good education for his chUdren, by sending the oldest son to Beverly to attend school, in order to be quahfied to become the instructor of the rest. He died May 19, 1727;* leaving an estate of £2,832. His first AAdfe died Nov. 13, 1716, aged about iKty-five years. His second AvKe was Deborah Dodge of IpsArich; who died Feb. 1, 1718, aged about thfrty-three years. His next AvKe was Ehza beth Holmes of Salem, who survived her marriage less than two years; and died July 13, 1721, aged between thfrty and forty. His fomth and last AAdfe was AbigaU Ballard of Lynn. Notice of his intention of marriage Arith her was pubhshed May 19, 1721 ; which was probably soon foUowed by the nuptial ceremony, making the bride the fourth wife the bridegroom had had vrithin less than five years. His chUdren were — Jonathan, born in 1694 ; Mfriam, 1695 ; Robert, 1697 ; Ebenezer, 1699 ; and Joshua, 1700 (these were aU borne by the first wKe, in Beverly). Caleb, 1701, and John, 1703, were born in Gloucester. By his last AvKe he had Retum, born in 1722; and Abigail, in 1725. The latter married John Dane. The uncommon baptismal name given to the former is said to have been bestowed by his father in com memoration of the joy Arith which he heard the relenting voice of AbigaU BaUard bid him to return, after she had once rejected • He was buried on his own land, on a spot now in the yard of Deacon Thomas Giles; where his gravestone is still to be seen, bearing the following inscription; — Heee lyes te Body OF W JOHN POOL, Aged about 57 Years. Decd Mat Ye 19, 1727. 128 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. the offer of his hand. Jonathan married Hannah Burnham of Ipswich, Jan. 4, 1722 ; and died in 1776. He had several chU dren ; of whom four died, in 1738, of a throat distemper, which was at that time prevalent in Sandy Bay Arith distressing fatahty. Robeet married Anna Sargent, Jan. 1, 1724. Of his six chU- dreru born here, three died within a month in 1736. He re moved to Boston about 1745 ; thence, in his old age, back to Gloucester ; and finaUy to Maine, where he died. Ebenezer married Elizabeth Norwood, Jan. 30, 1724 ; and died of smaU pox in 1779. He had ten children ; one of whom was father of Francis, who was killed in the battle of Bunker HIU.* Joshua married Dehverance Giddings, Dec. 28, 1725. He lost his hfe in Sheepscot River, Me., by falling overboard from a boat in which he and Samuel Tarr were engaged in weighing an anchor, June 27, 1739, in consequence of the parting of the buoy-rope. They were heard to call out for help ; but, before any one could reach them, they were both drowned. The body of Pool was recovered, and buried in Wiscasset. Several of his chUdren died young. Joshua, the oldest son, was lost in the ship " Tempest;" and Mark, who was born after his father's death, served in his early youth In the French War, and fought on Bunker HiU as Heutenant of Capt. Rowe's company. In 1778, he joined the army under Sullivan, Arith a volunteer company raised by him self; and was engaged in the action which occurred near New port, Aug. 29. After the peace, he held the rank of major In the militia. He died Feb. 11, 1815, aged seventy-six; having been always held In high esteem for the undaunted bravery of his military career. Caleb Pool married Martha Boreman of IpsArich, March 28, 1727. She died in 1760. Four of thefr children died, in 1738, of the throat distemper then prevaUing. He is said to have married again twice. His last Arife died, in 1779, of smaU-pox; of which disease he also died about the same time. He left a son Caleb, whose religious experience places him among those who have been " blasted Arith excess of * A grandson of another is Mr. Ebenezer Pool of Rockport, who has a large collec tion of historical and genealogical facts relating to Sandy Bay and its early settlers. I am indebted to him for several items of information contained in this work. EAELY SETTLEES. 129 Hght." His own account is stUl extant in print, to show the " signs, wonders, and visions " by which God spoke to him for many years.* John Pool married Jemima ElweU, Oct. 29, 1729. They lost four children, in the fatal year of 1738, by the throat distemper. Four more were subsequently born to them; of whom one was Isaac, who married a daughter of Rev. E. Cleaveland. Retuen Pool went Arith his brother Robert to Boston, where he is supposed to have died Arithout issue. Rowland Powell recorded land, in 1659, to John Collins, which had the same day been recorded to him by Colhns. His name occurs so seldom, that the bfrths of his children may be supposed to indicate the length of time he resided In Gloucester. He had a AvKe IsabeUa ; and a son Rowland and a daughter, tArins, bom in 1657 ; a daughter Mary, born In 1660; and a son Stephen, 1662. Hugh Peitchaed undoubtedly came to Gloucester with Mr. Blynman, with whom he is found in company in Plymouth Colony in 1641. He had thfrteen acres of land on the neck of house- lots, which he sold to Thomas Wakley. He was selectman in 1645, and soon afterwards removed from toAAm. He was repre sentative from Roxbury in 1649. Thomas Peince is called brother-in-law of Thomas Skillings. He came to Gloucester before 1650, and settled at the Harbor, on what is now Front Street ; where the famUy continued to reside more than a hundred years. He also had land in Fisherman's Field. He had a Arife Margaret, who died Feb. 24, 1706. He died Jan. 17, 1690, aged seventy-one; leaAdng an estate of £153. His chUdren were — Thomas, bom in 1650 ; John, 1653 ; Mary, 1658; and Isaac, 1663. Thomas Peince, jun., married Ehza beth Haraden, Sept. 27, 1676; and died Jan. 11, 1705, leaving sons John and Isaac, and probably daughters. John became a sea-captain; and died AprU 19, 1767, aged ninety. He had eight chUdren, of whom two were sons. One of these died in youth ; and of the other (Isaac), bom in 1718, nothing is known. * This account is in a pamphlet of thirty-one pages, entitled " News from Heaveu by Visions communicated miraculously to and explained ify Caleb Pool of Glouces- t er." It was printed in Salem, 1805. 17 130 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. John and Isaac, sons of Thomas Prince, sen., do not appear to have married in town. Isaac received a soldier's lot at Kettle Cove In 1679, instead of John; and was here ten years later, but afterwards disappears. Isaac, son of Thomas Prince, jun., born in 1683, is supposed to be the same who married Honor Wonson, widow. In 1730. The only male issue of this mar riage recorded is a John, born In 1734. He is perhaps the early settler of New Gloucester, Me., of that name. No descendants of Thomas Prince, bearing the name, have resided in toAvn for many years. John Pulcifee, or Pulsevee, settled about 1680, according to tradition, near a spot still occupied by one of his descendants, on the old road leading to Coffin's Beach. In 1688, he had a piece of land " given to the house where he then Hved." He married Joanna Kent, Dec. 31, 1684, and had chUdren, — John, born in 1685, and died in 1707 ; Joanna, 1688 ; Mary, 1691 ; a son, 1693 ; Ebenezer, 1695 ; Mary, 1697 ; David, 1701 ; and Jonathan, 1704. Ebenezee married Huldah SiUey, Feb. 11, 1720 ; and had many children. David had a vrife Mary and children. Jonathan married Susanna Hadley, Dec. 11, 1729; and had children, — Susanna, Jonathan, and Samuel. The son born in 1693 was named Thomas, who Hved on the old home stead. He married Sarah Grover, Jan. 6, 1726, who died in 1728 ; and he next married Hannah Woodward, Oct. 29, 1730. She died In September, 1778, at an advanced age ; and he on the succeeding day, aged eighty-five. They were buried at the same time. One of his sons (Nathaniel) was a soldier in the French wars, and narrowly escaped massacre at the surrender of Fort WilHam Henry. He died at a very advanced age ; leaving a son Nathaniel, — an aged citizen, now hAdng on the ancestral estate. Phineas Ridee was here as early as 1649, perhaps before ; and had his residence in the Harbor, near Governor's HIU. He left Gloucester in 1658, and went to Falmouth, Me. ; where he was toAvn-commissioner in 1670 and 1671. He Hved there in 1675, before the destruction of the town by the Indians ; but his name is not afterwards met Arith. EAELY SETTLEES. 131 ThomaS-^-GGS first appears in toAvn as a grantee of land at Goose Cove in 1658. In 1661, he bought houses and lands of Matthew Coe and Thomas and John Wakley, also situateid near Goose Cove. A part of an old house in that section of the toAvn is stiU shown as the original tenement erected by him. He is said to have been educated in England for the profession of a scrivener ; and his abihty in that Hne made him a welcome ac quisition to a community, of whose men one-half were unable to Avrlte ; whUe his repeated election to the most important offices sufficiently attests the estimation in which he was held by the citizens. He was town-clerk from 1665 to 1716 (iKty-one years), selectman upwards of twenty years, and representative in 1700. Besides filling these offices, he often served on committees, and sometimes officiated as schoolmaster. • — He married, ifrst, Mary, daughter of Thomas MiUet, June 7, 1658. She died Jan. 23, 1695 ; and he married, next, Ehzabeth Frese, Oct. 30, 1695, who died June 16, 1722, aged eighty : he died Feb. 26, 1722, aged ninety. His chUdren were — Mary, born in 1659 ; Thomas, 1660; Sarah, 1662; Anna, 1664; Thomas, 1666; John, 1670; Ehzabeth, 1672 ; Abigail, 1678 ; and Andrew, 1682. Thomas settled near his father. He married Anne Wheeler of Salisbury, Nov. 22, 1687 ; who died Sept. 28, 1723, aged fifty-six. He had a second AvKe (Ehzabeth) ; who died May 19, 1729, aged fifty-nine. He died in August, 1756, in his ninetieth year. Of his eleven chUdren, four were sons, who married and had fami hes in toAvn, — Thomas, Moses, Aaron, and Joshua. JjOHN settled on the westerly side of Annisquam River, and resided there during his Hfe. He married Ruth Wheeler, Jan. 1, 1690; and died Jan. 12, 1748, aged seventy-eighfii^'" He also had eleven chUdren, of whom four were sons. One of these died in infan cy : the others — John, Jeremiah, and Jonathan — married In Gloucester. Jeremiah was a tanner, and removed, about 1725, to Falmouth, Me. ; where he carried on his trade, and died. He had sevieral chUdren, one of whom (Wheeler) was killed In the expedition to Penobscot in 1779. Andeew Riggs married Mary Richardson, Jan. 24, 1704. He must have attained a, very advanced age ; for it appears that he was Hving in 1771. 132 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. Besides six daughters, he had three sons, — WUHam, Joseph, and George, — who settled in thefr native toAvn. Two descendants of Thomas Riggs — David and Thomas — were soldiers in the French wars of the middle of the last century ; and some stIU live on and around the spot occupied by thefr ancestor. John Ring is first mentioned in 1697 ; when, as the agent, it is said, of Thomas Witham, he bought the Babson Farm at Lit tle Good Harbor. A family of Rings were early inhabitants of IpsArich. John, of that toAvn, married Mary, daughter of Tho mas Bray of Gloucester, Nov. 18, 1664. She died here April 11, 1725, aged seventy-seven; the AvKe or mother, probably, of om- settler John. WilHam, Daniel, and David, who were aU ia toAvn about 1700, might also have been her chUdren. John bought, in 1709, the tide-mlUs on SaAvmUl River, and, Arithout doubt, fixed his residence in that locahty; though, in 1719, he also had a house in the West Precinct, near Ensign HaskeU's. He served as a selectman several years ; and, in 1705, kept the town-school. The date of his death is not known. WUham Ring married Mary SaAAyer, Dec. 5, 1699 ; who died Dec. 18, 1717, aged forty-five. They had a son John, bom in 1703; and a WUHam, in 1713. It appears that he was the same who mar ried Mary Bray in 1720, and had six sons and a daughter. He died about 1737; and, in 1744, his real estate — consisting of a cornmUl, sawmiU, and house — was diAdded among his hefrs. One of his sons (Moses) came into possession of the mUls; and, in 1757, petitioned for a hcense to keep a house of entertainment near them. He came home from Canada ; and died Nov. 19, 1759. Another son (Job) enhsted as a soldier in the Provincial army sent against the French in 1758 ; and died at Lake George, Oct. 1 of that year. Daniel Ring had a house and land that he bought of Jacob Davis. His earhest grant of land was in 1704. A Daniel Ring married Ann Denning in 1733, and had chUdren ; one of whom, named Daniel, or the father, was lost at sea on a fishing voyage in 1755. Darid Ring had land near his father HaskeU's house in 1706. This HaskeU was Benjamin, whose daughter Ehnor he had married. She died in 1713; and he next married Susanna Day, who died in 1720. He had, for a EAELY SETTLEES. 133 thfrd AvKe, Martha Winslow ; to whom he Avas married in 1722. He had several chlldreii : but the only son having any known progeny was David, who married Abigail Parsons In 1756, and had Darid, who Avas lost at sea on a fishing voyage ; AVilliam, who became mate of a vessel, and perished by shipwreck on Tinker's Island in 1786 ; and Job, Avho lost his Hfe In effecting his escape from the Jersey prison-ship in New York in the Revolutionary War. Bartholomew, son of the latter, formerly a sea-captain, has been a representative in the General Court. It is only by his family that the name is continued in Gloucester. A Mary Ring died Feb. 17, 1758, more than eighty years old. John Robeets, caUed a planter, may have belonged to the family of Robert Roberts, an early settler of IpsArich, who had a son John, born ih 1646. Land is not recorded to him till seve ral years after his first appearance in town ; which was on occasion of his marriage to Hannah, daughter of Thomas Bray, Feb. 4, 1677 ; the bride then not haAdng quite completed her fifteenth year. In 1695, he had a grant of six acres by the land of Nathaniel Hadlock ; and, in 1705, six acres near Hadlock's house, " by the side of the lot that said Roberts formerly had for going out a soldier." Hadlock's land bordered on Ipswich Hne ; and this land, mentioned as granted to Roberts for mUitary ser rice, may have been given by the neighboring town. He died Jan. 10, 1714 : his AvKe died March 23, 1717, aged fifty-five. Thefr chUdren were — Nathaniel, born in 1679; John, 1680; Samuel, 1685 ; Thomas, 1687 ; Ebenezer, 1690 ; Mary, 1696, died in 1717 ; and Job, 1701, died in 1725. Nathaniel had a wiSe Mary; and a son Jonathan, born in 1708. John married Patience, daughter of Benjamin Haskell, March 17, 1703. He spent his whole Hfe near the place of his bfrth, in the West Par ish, esteemed by his neighbors and friends as a just and upright man. He was a selectman several years. He died May 3, 1767, aged eighty-seven : his Arife also Hved to advanced age. They had three sons, who settled in thefr native parish, and Hved to old age. Benjamin, the oldest, mai-ried Ruth Martin in 1728 ; had several chUdren ; and died April 4, 1777, aged seventy- three. John, another son, married Mary Lane in 1735. He 134 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. was deacon of the Second Church many years ; and died about 1794, aged eighty. He had seA'eral children; one of whom was LcAd, who died in June, 1818, aged seventy-two. Charles L., son of the latter, was a trader on Front Street many years ; and died of consumption, Nov. 3, 1831, aged forty-eight, leaving several chUdren, all of whom have settled away from thefr na tive toAATi. Ephraim, youngest son of the second John, died July 25, 1806, aged eighty-five. Ebenezee, son of the first John, had a AvKe Sarah, and thi-ee chUdren born, before 1721. In 1727, he was adinitted a resident of Falmouth, Me. Abeaham Robinson. — A traditionary account of the most respectable character afifr-ms that this indiAddual was a son of Rev. John Robinson, whose name and praise are famihar to New-England ears as the faithful pastor of that band of PU grims, who, after bitter persecutions in thefr native land, and a sojourn of several years at Amsterdam and Leyden in HoUand, found a final resting-place at Plymouth in New England; whither a part of the church emigrated in 1620, and most of the remain der in subsequent years. Various obstacles fr-ustrated Air. Ro binson's design of coming over, and he remained at Leyden tUl his death; which took place Alarch 1, 1625, at the age of forty- nine. His Aridow and chUdren are said to have come to New England. Mrs. Robinson probably arrived in the summer of 1630, in the ship " Lyon ; " which A'essel is known to have brought a remnant of the PUgrims that year : and James Shfr ley, one of the Plymouth adventurers in England, Avriting to Gov. Bradford at Plymouth, New England, Alarch, 1630, says, in reference to some of the Leyden people about to embark, " Thefr- indiscreet carriage hath so abated my affection towards them, as, were Mrs. Robinson weU over, I would not disbm-se one penny for the rest." Isaac, a son of the PUgrim pastor, came to New England in 1631, and settled in Plymouth Colony, where he was Hving in 1634. He finally settled in Barnstable, and lived to a very advanced age. The tradition before aUuded to asserts that Abraham, another son, settled at Cape Ann, and had several children born here ; one of which (Abraham) was the first child born of English parents on this side of the Bay, and EAELY SETTLEES. 135 died at the extraordinary age of one hundred and two years. In our early grants and sales of land, incidental aUusion is twice made to lots belonging to Abraham Robinson ; and, in 1708, his son Abraham received a conjmon right for the house his father built, and in which he died Feb. 23, 1645. The inventory of his estate amounted to £18. lis. He left a Aridow Mary, who married WiUiam BroAra, July 15, 1646; and, again becoming a Aridow in 1662, married Hem-y Walker in the same year, and died AprU 17, 1690. His son Abeaham, on coming to matu rity, received several lots of land bequeathed to him by his step-father BroAvn ; and, in 1668, grants at Eastern Point, where he fixed his residence, and Hved in obscurity to a great age. Neither the date of his bfrth nor death has been yet ascertained ; and the statement that he died at the age of one hundred and two years is not confirmed by any contemporaneous record. The probate-books, however, furnish evidence that he was living In 1730, — eighty-five years after his father's death. From the mention made of him in his step-father's will, the date of his land-grants, and the time of his marriage, it may be reasonably inferred that he was in early chUdhood at the period of that event ; and that, K he hved to be a centenarian, his death must have occurred about 1740. Family tradition has preserved the memory of an ancient sUver vessel once in his possession, which is said to have been used by his celebrated ancestor on baptismal occasions, and which is now OAvned by a descendant in Philadelphia.* A few articles of ancient DeKt waref are also preserved by one of his posterity in Lowell, as precious memorials of his Pilgrim de scent. This second Abraham Robinson married Mary, daughter of Edward Haraden, July 7, 1668 : she died Sept. 28, 1725, * George W. Sargent, son of Gov. Winthrop Sargent, deceased ; whose mother was grand-daughter of Capt. Andrew Eobinson. t Delft ware is a kind of pottery covered with an enamel, or white glazing, whioh gives it the appearance of porcelain. It has its name from Delft in Holland, where it is made in large quantities. Delft Haven, where the Pilgrims embarked, is only a few miles from Leyden ; and it is quite likely that articles of this ware composed a part of their scanty furniture. I do not know whether it was in common use in England at that period or not : I have not found it in possession of any other Gloucester family than this. It is mentioned as part of the effects of two of the grand-daughters of the secoud Abraham Robinson. 136 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. aged seventy-six. They had the foUoAving chUdren : namely, Mary, born in 1669, married John ElweU ; Sarah, 1671, married John Butman ; Ehzabeth, 1673, married Timothy Somes ; Abi gaU, 1675, married Joseph York; Abraham, 1677; Andrew, 1679 ; Stephen, 1681 ; Ann, 1684, married Samuel Daris; Dor cas, 1685, married Jonathan Stanwood; Deborah, 1688, married John Stanwood ; Hannah, 1691, died in 1717, unmarried ; and Jane, 1693, married John Wilhams. Abraham, the oldest son, was one of the earhest settlers on the north side of the Cape. He had, in 1706, a grant of four acres of land on the south-west side of the brook running into Plum Cove ; and. In 1710, he and his brother-in-laAv, Joseph York, had a grant of land " to tay Avhale's oyle on." To what extent he carried on the whale-fishery is not knoAvn ; but the inventory of his estate shows that he pos sessed some of the implements of the business. He married, Feb. 10, 1703, Sarah York, who died Aug. 9, 1718; and he next married Anna Harvey, Feb. 14, 1721. He died Dec. 28, 1724, aged forty-seven, leaving five sons and four daughters. Jona than, his grandson, removed, upwards of fifty years ago, to Lis bon, Me., and Hved to be about eighty years old. He left behind a son Jonathan ; who died Nov. 28, 1843, aged eighty- five. Other descendants remain at Squam, one of whom (Daniel) was a representative In 1840. Andrew, the second son of Abra ham Robinson, sen., was one of the most remarkable men that Gloucester has ever produced. Of his youth nothing more is knoAvn, than that, at the age of eleven years, he was Hving Arith his paternal grandmother, and her husband, Henry Walker, who left him, by AriU, a legacy of twenty pounds. In the vicinity of this early home, which was surrounded for many miles by a dense forest, he probably acqufred the passion for hunting ; which In manhood often led him several days at a time upon distant ex cursions, from which he always returned Arith abundant proof of his courage and skUl. On arrlring at the age of twenty-one, he received a grant of land near his father's, on Eastem Point ; on which he buUt " the great house," which was his home during the remainder of his Hfe. Near by was his wharf, and the yai-d in Avhich he sometimes built vessels, and fr-om which he launched, EAELY SETTLEES. 137 in 1713, the strangely rigged craft, that, on ghding from the stocks, received from him the appellation of "schooner," and thus secured him a more than local renown. There he also engaged in the fishery ; going often on to the Banks himself, and giving his men such an example of persevering industry that he rarely failed to make a successful voyage. In this employment he often came In contact with the Indians about Cape Sable ; who, as is weU known, harassed and annoyed, for a long series of years, the fishermen who frequented thefr coasts, — sometimes capturing and mm-dering them. The first account of him in connection with these savages occurs in 1708, when he ransomed the sloop " Peacock," a vessel belonging to him which they had taken. He was not the man to suffer a second time in the Hke manner ; and accordingly, the next year, having arined and equipped his vessel, and received a commission from the governor, he saUeid on a fishing voyage, intent also upon making reprisals, and taking revenge for the injury of the preceding year. SaiHng into a place called Margaret's Bay, under French colors, he de coyed two Indians, who were in a canoe, within reach of his guns, and shot them, preserring thefr scalps ; which, on his return home, were presented at the proper place in Boston for the bounty aUowed by the government.* This, hoAvever, was not obtained; but the government granted him, by a special act, a reward of twenty pounds, and commended the deed as " a good service." In October of that year, — which was one of considerable excite ment in Massachusetts, on account of the extensive preparations for a contemplated expedition against the French possessions in America, — Capt. Robinson was ordered by the governor to pro ceed in his vessel, in company with another from this town, to attempt to take a vessel, supposed to be a French privateer, which had been driven in by a Adolent storm, and forced to anchor off Nahant. He embarked in this enterprise, but returned without accomphshing Its object. For this service also he received, be sides the proper pecuniary satisfaction, the favorable notice of the * This bounty was a reward of forty pounds, offered by the General Court, in 1703, for every Indian scalp, to encourage small parties to hunt the savages. 18 138 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. General Court for his laudable zeal in the pubhc employment. In February foUoA^dng, Capt. Robinson proposed to the govern ment to man his sloop vrith fifty men, and cruise against the enemy ; but, before any arrangement was completed, he received an order from the governor to man and equip his vessel imme diately, and sail In pursuit of a French privateer which had been seen off Cape Cod. The enterprise was not an inviting one to men who had neither the fron constitution of the leader, nor the daring spfrit, and contempt of danger and hardship, for which he was distinguished. The captains of the mihtary companies were caUed on for assistance, and the drums were beaten for volunteers : stiU enlistment went on too slowly for the impatience of the commander, and impressment was threatened. But our people were inveterately averse to the enterprise, and even fled from thefr homes under fear of compulsion to engage in It ; so that it was probably abandoned. Exculpatory letters were ad dressed to the governor by Capt. Robinson, the mihtia-captains, the magistrate, and the minister. The latter, vrith a true pastoral regard for the comfort of his flock, said in thefr behaK, that " it made them quake to think of turning out of thefr warm beds and from good fires, and be thrust into a naked vessel, where they must He on the cold, hard baUast, instead of beds, and Arith out fire, excepting some few who might crowd into the cabin." It is not known that Capt Robinson was again employed in the pubhc serrice tlU 1722, Avhen he fitted out at Canso in quest of some Indians who had recently taken several fishing vessels. This cruise was so far successful, that he came up vrith a canoe containing seven of the enemy, six of whom he kUled. The next year (1723), the Indians, instigated by the French, united in a general war. In the latter part of July they surprised Canso, and took sixteen or seventeen Alassachusetts fishing vessels. Two sloops were manned, and sent In pursuit of the enemy. One of these was commanded by Capt. Robinson, who retook two of the vessels, and kiUed several of the men.* In consideration of his * Hutchinson (History of Massachusetts, vol. ii. p. 295) erroneously gives our In dian slayer the baptismal name of John. EAELY SETTLEES. 139 serrices in the war Arith the French and Indians, and the expenses he had incmred, which had not been re-imbmsed, the General Comt, in 1730, granted him three hundred acres of the unap propriated land of the Province.* The last service in which Capt. Robinson was engaged for the government was the erection of a fort and truck-house at St. George's River, Me. This was an important work ; and Capt. Robinson's knowledge of the In dian character, together with the uncommon bravery and tact he had often exhibited in his deahngs Arith the savages, might well have designated him as a suitable person to superintend it. Gov. Shfrley testified to his faithful performance of this duty while he was engaged In it ; for, before its completion, he was taken sick Arith a lung-fever, which, after a short Illness, caused his death. He was attended in his last sickness by one of his daughters, who deposited his remains in one corner of the fort, f Capt. Robinson was possessed of great bodily strength, a courage that never quaUed, and resources of mind, by which he was often extricated from impending destruction. The ac counts of his marveUous exploits vrith the Indians, his surpris ing feats of bravery and daring, and his hafr -breadth escapes, were, for many years after his death, the oft-recmrring theme of fireside story. The account of one of his exploits may, perhaps, be properly preserved in this place from the oblirion to which time is fast consigning the details of his personal history. Being, on one occasion, in a harbor at the eastward, Arith his sloop and two men, he was smrprlsed by the Indians, and cap tured. The savages soon despatched his men, and reserved the captaui himseK for such a death as they could celebrate and accompany Arith the highest exultation and rejoicing ; but, as was customary with the savages when they could get rum, when night came on, they were aU drunk but one, who, not being so badly off as the rest, was appointed guard. Robinson feigned * This grant was probably laid out at Mine Hill, Worcester County.— Whitney: Bistory of the County of Worcester. t The site of the old fort is still shown near the mansion of the late Gen. Knox, in Thomaston, Me. 140 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. sleep ; and as soon as he had reason to beheve that aU the In dians, except the guard, were buried in slumber, he attacked the latter, and killed him. He then made his way for his vessel, which was some miles distant ; and, as soon as he reached her, prepared to sail. Dayhght coming on, he got under way, and put out to sea ; but he had not proceeded far when he descried the Indians, who, having recovered from thefr stupor and missed thefr captive, had now reached the shore in pursuit of him. They immediately started off in thefr canoes to recapture him; and, as the wind was light, they rapidly approached the sloop, and soon Robinson could hear thefr" exulting shouts. These, however, were shortly exchanged for yells of desperation and madness ; for the fertile mind of Robinson had prepared for them a reception which they little expected. He had on board his vessel a large quantity of scupper naUs, AveU knoAvn for thefr pecuhar shape ; being short, and having a sharp point, and a large, fiat head, Arith a sharp edge. These were at once brought forth, and scattered thickly upon such parts of the deck as the Indians would ahght upon when they came over the side. The savages came boldly on, notArithstanding the brisk firing of the captain, which brought down a red man at every shot ; and, having got alongside the sloop, sprang, with tomahaAvk in hand, like in furiated demons upon the deck ; upon Avhich, as the sharp naUs suddenly pierced thefr- naked feet, they feU headlong, and were quickly despatched by Capt. Robinson, who threw them over board in such rapid succession, that those of the savages who had not yet boarded, convinced that thefr great foe not only bore a charmed IKe himseK, but brought death to every Indian enemy that came within his reach, quickly paddled away in con sternation and amazement. The captain now made the best of his way home, where he soon arrived, to astonish his friends and townsmen by the relation of an adventure distinguished for boldness, bravery, and cunning. Capt. Robinson was representative in 1738 and 1739. He died in 1742, leaving an estate of £2,372. His AvKe was Re becca Ingersol ; to whom he was married Dec. 7, 1704. She died Nov. 11, 1743, aged fifty-seven. They had one son and EAELY SETTLEES. 141 nine daughters. The son and one daughter died In infancy. Rebecca,* born in 1705, married Robert Giddings, and died * Her daughter Eebecca raarried Alexander Smith, and had a daughter Eebecca, who married Samuel Webber, late President of Harvard College. From a statement in the handwriting of this lady, I have derived the tradition mentioned in the text. The early history of Gloucester is so little connected with matters of general historical interest, that this tradition, relating to a subject to whioh no student of New-England history can be indifferent, seemed to demand investigation. 1 have explored every quarter from whioh information might be reasonably expected, and have embodied the scanty result in the above article. Better success may reward some future explorer. The paper of Mrs. Webber was found by me in possession of Samuel L. Dana, LL.D., of Lowell ; having come into his hands among the effects of his brother, the late James F. Dana, Professor in Dartmouth College. These brothers are descended from Mary, the oldest daughter of Abraham Eobinson, who married John Elwell. From her the Delft ware alluded to has been handed down to Dr. Dana of Lowell. The paper was written, about the year 1824, at the request of Professor Dana, who was the husband of Mrs. Webber's daughter Matilda. Mrs. Webber was then sixty-two years old, and was in the full possession of a very excellent memory. She was contemporary many years with several of Andrew Eobinson's daughters, her great-aunts, who, of course, had lived in neighborly and familiar intercourse with their grandfather, the centenarian; and are said, by their descendants, to have been women of uncommon intelligence and superior education. Her mother was born in 1730; and could, there fore, probably remember her venerable ancestor. She resided in Mrs. Webber's family at Cambridge during the last years of her life, and died at her house in 1810. Mrs. AVebber's children remember that the Pilgrim ancestry of the family was often the subject of conversation in the dornestic circle, and that one visitor — Chief-Justice Parsons — was particularly interested in it. The late Gorham Parsons, nephew of the latter, in a letter which I have seen, gives the substance of Mrs. Webber's statement, and connects his own branch of the Parsons Family with the Eobinsons. But he is mistaken : there was no mingling of the blood of the two families in his line. The grandmother of Rev. Moses Parsons, on the mother's side, was daughter of the first Abraham Eobinson's wife by her second marriage. Mrs. Webber's account contains anachronisms ; which, considering that even a good memory often errs in dates, do not affect its value, if otherwise entitled to confidence. It also mentions four sons and one or more daughters of the first Abraham Robinson, concerning whom we have no further information. Here follows her account : — " When the Pilgrims left Holland to seek an asylum in America, where they hoped to enjoy liberty of conscience, they left behind them their venerable pastor, — the Eev. John Eobinson ; who promised to join them the next year, but was prevented by death from fulfilling his promise. About two years after the first landing of the Pil grims, they were followed by Mr. Eobinson's widow and two sons. They continued in the Colony of Plymouth till the year 1626. Early in the spring of that year, one of the sons with several others left Plymouth to explore the Bay, in order to find a suitable place for a fishing station. They landed at Agassquam, since called Cape Ann ; where, finding a commodious harbor and plenty of materials for building, they concluded to set up a fishing stage there, and make preparations for removing their families from the other side of the Bay, and establish a permanent settlement at that place. Very soon after they had got settled there with their families, Mr. Eobinson had a son born, whora he called Abraham. He had four other sons, — Zebulon, Samuel, Jonathan, and Stephen, — and one or more daughters. Abraham married young, and 142 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. about 1784. One of her daughters married an Averill, and died in Boston about 1825, aged ninety-six. Mary (1709) married Benjamin Perkins, who was lost at sea. She kept a tavern several years, and died in 1759 ; having previously become blind. Judith (1711) married Thomas Sanders, and died in 1770. Abigail (1715) had three husbands, — a Parsons, a Ring, and a Sargent, — and died in 1781. Dorcas (1717) married Samuel Hidden. Hannah (1720) married James Pearson. Ann (1723) married Nathaniel Kinsman, and died suddenly about 1790. Sarah married Richard Palfrey, and died at an advanced age. Stephen Robinson married Sarah Smith, Nov. 25, 1703, who died Oct. 15, 1720 ; and he next married Ehzabeth Ingersol, May 10, 1721. He settled somewhere near the Meeting-house, and only emerges from obscurity as its sexton for several years. He is supposed to haA'e died before May, 1742 ; Avhen Jeremiah, his son, was paid by the toAvn for taldng care of his mother ten months. His sons that lived to maturity and married Avere Stephen, Smith, and Jeremiah. The former, born In 1709, married Mary Clark in 1730, and had a daughter Sarah; and probably the Stephen, son of Stephen, had twelve children, — three sons (John, Stephen, and Andrew) and nine daughters, two of whom died young : the other seven were married, and left families, — Elwell, Davis, Butman, Williams, Somes. Mr. Abraham Robinson lived to the age of a hun dred and two years, much beloved and respected by his friends and acquaintance for his piety and strict integrity. It was engraved on his tombstone, that he was tho first child born of English parents on that side of Massachusetts Bay." Tbe material part of this statement was believed by Professor Dana to be well founded; and to rae it has always appeared to bear the irapress of truth. Recent research has added considerably to our knowledge of the Eobinson Family. As this work is about to go to press, we learn, from the reraarks made by Mr. George Sum ner at Plymouth, Aug. 2, 1859, that in the registry of the census of Leyden, taken in 1622, and still preserved there, he " found inscribed the inmates of the house of Robinson, — himself, his wife, six children, and one raaid-servant. Thus stands the record ; — " Jan Robberson, preacher. " Brigetta (Briget) Robberson, his wife. " John, Bridget, Isaac, Mercy, Favor, Jacob Robberson, his children. " Maria Hardy, his maid-servant." From this it appears that Mr. Robinson had sons to whom he gave the patriarchal names, Isaac and Jacob ; and that, unless he also had an Abraham who was not an inmate of his house in 1622, some other parentage must be sought for our early settler of that narae. — See Historical Magazine, vol. iii. p. 332. EAELY SETTLEES. 143 who was baptized in 1736. This last Stephen is supposed to be the same who, with his wife, was helped by the town in 1765, and. In 1775, was burled at its expense ; leaving no known Issue, unless Stephen, who died Oct. 20, 1829, aged sixty-nine, was his son. Smith Robinson, born in 1712, appears to have settled In Salem, and to have died before 1742 ; when Mary Robinson presented an inventory of his estate, which was of very small amount. Jeremiah, born in 1719, married Ehzabeth Lufkin In 1741. He resided on the old back road to Sandy Bay. He was the grave-digger at the old burying-ground about sixty years ; and is remembered by some of our elderly people, totter ing, under the weight of his tools and the inifrmities of age, to his melancholy employment. He died about 1800. It is not knoAvn that he had more than one son (Jeremiah), who married in toAvn, and had an only son of the same name. The latter died, unmarried, just after he had returned home sick from a voyage. John Rowe settled in that part of the toAATi which has long been known as the Farms. He bought land there, in 1651, of Thomas Drake ; into whose possession it passed from Nicholas Norton of Weymouth, who bought it of WUHam Vinson ; to whom it was sold by George Norton, the original grantee. He was the first settler on this remote and lonely spot. A dense forest surroimded him, separating him on one side from the ocean, which was not far distant ; and on the other from his townsmen, most of whom were more than two miles off. He did not, however, find repose in this retfred place : for he ap pears in 1656, intimating a " mind to set his house on fire, and run away by ye Hght ; " and expressing a desfre " to Hve no longer among such a company of heU-hounds." He continued there, nevertheless, tUl death relieved him from all earthly trouble, March 9, 1662. He left a widow Bridget, who mar ried WilHam Colman ; and two sons, — John and Hugh. John had a portion of his father's property, which he occupied till his death; which took place, Sept. 25, 1700. Hewas twice married : fibrst to Mary Dickersonn, Sept. 27, 1663 ; who died AprU 25, 1684. By her he had childi-en, — John, born in 1665, 144 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. died in 1690; James, 1666; Thomas, 1668; Mary, 1670; Ehzabeth, 1673; Stephen, 1675 ; Samuel, 1678 ; Ebenezer, 1680, died in 1692 ; Andrew, 1683, died 1700. He next mar ried Sarah Redington, Sept. 1, 1684; who died Feb. 15, 1701. Of his four children by her, all but the last (Rebekah) died In childhood. Only two of his sons are known to have married : Stephen married, ifrst, Martha Loav in 1699, who died Dec. 4, 1718, aged thfr-ty-nine; and, next, Ehzabeth Curney In 1721, who Is said to have Hved to be nearly a hundred years old. He died April 28, 1731, aged fifty-six. He had sons Stephen; John ; Thomas ; Joseph ; Benjamin ; David, who was an ensign in the expedition against Crown Point in 1755 ; and Jonathan. The second son (John), born in 1714, settled at Sandy Bay; where he married Mary Baker In 1736. He was Heutenant of a company raised In toAvn, in 1755, for service in the campaign against the French that year. His son John, born in 1737, married Sarah Pool. He Avas sergeant In the company with his father in 1755 ; and, at the commencement of the Revolutionary War, took command of one of the Gloucester companies that fought at Bunker Hill. Being at home on fiirlough in the summer of 1776, he engaged In an attack upon a British vessel off the Cape, and Avas taken, and carried, a prisoner, to New York. He became a major in the mihtia, and died on his farm at Pigeon HIU about 1800. His son John, although a youth of only sixteen years, enlisted In his father's company, and fought on Bunker Hill. He served in the army thi-oughout the war, and was engaged In many important battles. He commanded a company in Shay's Rebelhon, and was appointed to head a column which attacked the rebels, and di-ove them fr-om a strong fort, where they threatened defiance. At the commencement of the last war Avith Great Britain, he had the offer of a high command in Hull's army, but dechned the service ; foreseeing and predicting, it is said, its disastrous fate. He was an accom plished officer, and shoAved rare skill and com-age in mihtary tactics. At the time of his death (October, 1820), he Avas re siding in Maine. Jabez, another son of the Sandy-Bay settier, served in the expedition against Canada in 1759. He had a EAELY SETTLEES. 145 son Jabez ; whose son, David SaAvyer Rowe, graduated at Bow dom CoUege, and was several years Prfricipal of the State Normal School at Westfield. Isaac, brother of the elder Jabez, served in the Revolutionary War ; and died in January, 1852, aged nfriety. Thoinas Rowe, born hi 1717, occupied the pater nal acres ; and died about 1790, leaving a son WUliam, who died Sept. 24, 1856, aged ninety-three ; having, just before his death, removed from his old home on the estate* which had been in the famUy more than two hundred years. Samuel Rowe, born in 1678, married Dorcas Ingersol in 1709 ; and died in 1742, leav ing sons James and Jonathan, and a daughter Judith. James married Abigail Rowe in 1736 ; and besides a son James, who died March 26, 1819, aged eighty -one, had sons Samuel, Benjamin, David, and Nathaniel. Jonathan married Abigail Parsons in 1742, and removed to New Gloucester, Me., In 1763. One of his sons (Zebulon) died there in 1843, aged ninety-four, Hugh, son of the first settler (John), married Rachel Langton, June 10, 1667. She may have been a daughter of WUHam Vinson, who, in a deed, caUs Rowe his son-in-law. He enhsted in the Indian War of 1675, and received a grant of land at Kettle Cove for his serrices'. His vrife died March 7, 1674, leaving three daughters, who married three sons of Anthony Day. He next married Mary, daughter of Thomas Prince, Sept. 10, 1674 ; and had, by her, sons Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and Benjamin, and three daughters. Abraham married Bethiah ElweU; and died July 8, 1706, leaving no chUdren. Isaac is supposed to have died unmarried, Feb. 23, 1723. Jacob married Mary Cmney in 1713. In 1723, he was en gaged in the mUitary service of the Colony; and died, in 1730, of smaU-pox ; leaAdng, probably, a son Jacob. Joseph married AbigaU Smith in 1712, and had five chUdren. He served in the expedition againt Port Royal in 1707, and received several * It may, perhaps, be deserving of raention in this chapter of family history, that on this spot, his present home, the writer is now penning these lines ; and that on an ad joining estate, now separated frora this by a road, his ancestor, Jaraes Babson, fixed his permanent abode two centuries ago. 19 146 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. dangerous wounds ; in consequence of which, the General Court, ill 1735, granted him one hundred and fifty acres of land. Edwaed Rowse. — Nothing more is known of this person than that he bought land, on the neck of house-lots, of Morris Somes; and sold, in 1651, house and land to Robert Tucker. John Sadlee. — More information concerning him would be desfrable. Although he was one of Mr. Blynman's company, one of the first selectmen, and a proprietor of lots in several places, he is not mentioned in the records as a grantee of land. In the frequent Incidental allusions to him, he is variously dis tinguished by the title of Mr., Captain, and Major, but never designated by his baptismal name. He was made a freeman in 1642. Whither he went from Gloucester, is not knoAvn. The only further account we have of him is contained in the entry on our records of a commoner's claim, made in 1704 by the hefrs of Osman Dutch, " by vfrtue of a house and land which was given to Robert Sadler by his father Captain Sadler, when he sent for his AvKe into England," and which Dutch purchased of Hugh Calkin, Sadler's attorney, in 1651. Abial Sadlee had. In 1689, three acres of land above the head of Stony Cove. Before that date, he had been a soldier in the Colony service, from Essex County. He had a chUd born here by Rebekah, his vrife, March 13, 1693. She was probably a daughter of Richard Dike ; and, after the death of Sadler (Sept. 15, 1697), is supposed to have married Josiah Talner. Another supposition might identify the chUd above mentioned, or a previous one, Arith John Sadler, who, in 1713, married Sarah Scott of Rowley ; and in 1720, then HAong in Rowley, sold a house and land situated in the Second Parish, in the deed of which he calls Josiah Talner his father-in-law. James Sawyee was a weaver, and may have been a son of WUHam Sawyer, who came to New England about 1640. A WiUiam Sawyer, sen., was Hving in Newbmy, in 1697, in ad vanced age. Jaines SaAvyer's wife was Sarah, daughter of Tho mos Bray. He first appears in Gloucester on the bfrth of his son Nathaniel in 1677. His other children were — Abraham, born m 1680 ; Sarah, 1683 ; Isaac, 1684 ; Jacob, 1687 ; James, eaely SETTLEES. 147 1691 ; and Thomas, John, and Mary, who were born, probably, before he came to this town. He was a grantee of a six-acre lot on the west side of Annisquam River in 1688 ; and in 1690 he bought land in that section of the toAvn, and had his residence there. He died May 31, 1703. His wKe smvived him many years ; and was bring in 1726, with her son Abraham, on the family homestead, probably, on the way leading to Coffin's Farm. This son is not knoAvn to have been married. His estate was dirided in 1752. Thomas married twice : first to Hannah MUlet, in 1690; and next to Hannah Foster, in 1691. This last Arife had had ten chUdren by a prerious husband, eight of which she brought to these nuptials. The new union was blessed by an addition of two, — James, born in 1692 ; and Fran cis, who died in infancy. Thomas Sawyer bought the house which had been the home of his last wife, and there settled. It was situated at the Harbor, near the Beach. He died Jan. 12, 1711. John married Rebekah Stanford in 1701, and had several chUdren bom here before 1719 ; when he removed to Falmouth, Me. Nathaniel married Hannah Parker, Nov. 4, 1706, and died about 1741. Nine children are recorded as the offspring of this marriage. Isaac had a wKe Martha (to whom he was married in 1706) and several chUdren. He removed in 1725 to Falmouth ; where he died in 1772, aged eighty-eight. Jacob married Sarah Walhs in 1716, and had five children born in Gloucester before 1726; soon after which, he joined the emigra tion to Falmouth. James, the youngest of these brothers, and James, son of Thoinas, were both married in 1714 : the latter, it Is supposed, to Elinor Ellery; and the former to Hannah Babson, Dec. 23 of that year. He settled at Fresh-water Cove, on a place stiU OAvned in the family. When he became old, he moved into a house he OAvned in the woods, and died there some time in the Revolutionary War, at a very advanced age ; leavmg a son Abraham, who was married at Mrs. Wheeler's, in presence of " a great company," AprU 13, 1758, to Mary Sayward. He died about 1815, aged seventy-eight; and his Arife died at the age of eighty. He was a saUmaker by trade ; and therefore had his residence at the Harbor, where he buUt, in 1760, a house 148 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. on Front Street, which came into possession of his son Abraham, and was owned and occupied by him till his death. May 3, 1856, at the venerable age of ninety-five. Descendants of James Sawyer are not numerous here ; but many are Hving in Portland and Its Adcinity. William Saegent had grants of land in 1649 ; and he became the possessor of the houses and lands of Streeter and Baker. One of these houses was near the burying-ground, — probably on its western side ; and there he seems to have fixed his residence. He was a selectman several years, and represen tative in 1671 and in 1691. He married Abigail, daughter of Edmund Clark, "at a general traine at IpsArich," Sept. 10, 1651 ; and died Feb. 19, 1717, aged ninety- three, having surrived all his compeers in the early settlement of the town. His wKe died March 8, 1711, aged seventy-nine. Thefr- chUdren were — John, born in 1653; Andrew, 1655; WUHam, 1658; Samuel, 1660; Nathaniel, 1663; AbigaU, 1665; Nathaniel, 1671; Joseph, 1675 ; and Mary, 1678. John married Hannah, daugh ter of Nehemiah HoAvard of Salein, Dec. 24, 1679, and settled on the Avesterly side of Squam RiA'er. He was a selectman several years. In 17 10, he engaged In the expedition against Port Royal ; where he was drowned by the shipwreck of the ti-ansport under Capt. Foye, of which he was pilot. His widow married Nathaniel Coit. He left five sons and seven daughters. John, the oldest son, born in 1683, married Bethiah Daris in 1714, and Widow Mary Ring in 1738. He died about 1754, leaving a son Thomas, and daughters Bethiah and AbigaU. Thomas, the next son, born In 1685, married Elizabeth HaskeU in 1710, and had several children. He died about 1745. Andrew, the thfrd son, bom in 1691, perished by shipwreck In 1716. Joseph, the fifth son, born In 1702, married Martha Day in 1727; had two chUdren (David and Joseph), and died about 1733. -'^ An deew, second son of WilHam Sargent, sen., is not knoAvn to have married ; nor is any thing knoAvn of hfrn after 1679, when he Avas a grantee of a six-acre lot on the west side of Annisquam River. William Saegent, jun., married Naomi Stanwood, Oct. 26, 1681. She died March 13, 1702 ; and he next married EAELY SETTLEES. 149 Hannah Short, Sept. 14, 1703. In 1679, he had a grant of " half an acre of land to set a house upon, on the left hand of the way that people goe to the head of the Harbor, at the head of WilHam Vinson's lot ; " but in 1694 he was living near his father, " on the south-west side of ye river leading up to ye Cut." He had eleven chUdren by his two wives. It is not known that he died In toAvn, nor does it appear that any of his three sons married here ; and, as he did not participate in a division of land in 1721, it is supposed that he had removed from town before that time. Saaiuel married Mary Norwood, May 24, 1689. She died AprU 27, 1718 ; and he next married, June 19, 1725, Mrs. Ruth NeAvman. His father gave him, in 1694, the west ern end of his dweUing-house ; but the place of his permanent residence was at Hogskin Cove. He had a grant of land on the easterly side of the cove, in 1695, " to set up fishing upon ; " and was one of the first settlers In that section of the town. He frequently served as a selectman, and, in 1729, as represen tative. The date of his death is not known ; but it Is certain that he was Hving as late as 1746. Of his ten children, six were sons, of whom four appear to have married in toAvn. The oldest (Samuel), bom in 1690, married Mai-y Emerson In 1713 ; and died about 1762, leaving a son Samuel, and a grandson Sam uel not then twenty-one years old. The latter may have been the same Samuel who died in AprU, 1833, aged eighty-four. WUHam, second son of Samuel Sargent, sen., bom In 1692, married Susanna Haraden in 1726, and had several children. Francis, the next son, born in 1694, married Mary York In 1722, and had the bfrth of nine children recorded on the town- books. Solomon, the youngest of these sons, bom in 1708, married Sarah Somes in 1735, and had three sons and a daugh ter born before 1742. Nathaniel Saegent married Sarah Harvey, Jan. 24, 1695, who died Feb. 5, 1706 ; and he next married Mary Stevens, March 26, 1710. He was a selectman several years ; and, in 1727, appears to have kept a tavern.* * Perhaps this tavern was at Done Fudging, where his father had lived, and where tradition reports that a house of entertainment was kept for several years, in the early part of the last century, for the accommodation of mariners passing throngh the Cut. 150 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. He died Dec. 12, 1732. Of his twelve children, five were sons ; and, of these, three are supposed to have married in toAvn. Nathaniel, born in 1702, married Judith Parsons in 1725, and had sons Nathaniel and David and fom daughters. It was this Nathaniel, probably, who kept the tavern at the corner of Middle and Pleasant Streets, about ninety years ago. Daniel, born in 1714, married Lydia Stanwood in 1744, and had a son WiUiam and a daughter. This son was born In 1750. Just before the commencement of the Revolutionary War, he was impressed on board of a British man-of-war ; but, arriving at New York in 1776, he managed to escape, and join the American Army on Long Island. He was killed on the retreat from the island. His only child, a son WilHam, is the venerable citizen of the same name stiU Hving, — the oldest representative, probably, of this ancient family. Peter, born 1721, married Rebekah Ingersol in 1743, and had several chUdi-en ; one of whom (Jonathan), born in 1746, died Feb. 4, 1830. Joseph, youngest son of WUHam Sargent, sen., born in 1675, married Martha Baker of Topsfield in 1712 ; who gave bfrth to a son (Joseph), May 16, 1713, and died on the 27th of the same month. He next married Hannah Haraden, Sept. 16, 1717 ; and died about 1750, without any known issue by the second marriage. William Saegent, 2d, was son of WUHam Sargent and Mary Epes, and was born in Bristol, England. His father went fr-om Exeter, England, to Barbadoes, when young, and was educated there. He returned to his native country, and there married Mary Epes, who stole from her home in the habit of a milk-maid to become his Arife. Such is the family tradition. The son who came to Gloucester fijst appears here in 1678, when he had a grant of two acres of land at Eastern Point, where he built a house. He was a mariner, and At that time, an active business was carried on in the exportation of wood and timber from the westerly part of the town through this channel. The opposite currents met at Done Fudging; and there the vessels were sometimes anchored to wait a, change of tide. The attractions of a tavern added other inducements to stop. The singular name given to this place is said to have been derived from the fact, tliat persons, poling or " fudging " a boat or raft on the river agaiust the current, here took a fair tide, and were therefore " done fudging." EAELY SETTLEES. 151 owned a sloop, which he probably employed in coasting. The date of his death is not knoAvn : but It is certain that he died before June, 1707 ; perhaps at sea, as, in the settlement of his estate, no charges are made for sickness or funeral expenses. The inventory of his property amounted to £278. He married, June 21, 1678, Mary, daughter of Peter Duncan; who died Feb. 28, 1725, aged sixty-six. Thefr children were — Fitz WU Ham, bom in 1679, died in 1700 ; Peter, born in 1680, was Hving in Boston In 1711, and died Feb. 11, 1725 ; Mary, 1681 ; Andrew, 1683 ; Daniel, 1686, became a blacksmith, and was kUled by Hghtning, July 21, 1713 ; Jordan, 1688, died In 1689 ; Epes,''l690; Ann, 1692; Samuel, 1694, died 1699 ; FitzJohn, 1696, died 1698 ; Machani, born and died in 1699 ; Jabez, born and died in 1700 ; Fitz WUHam, 1701, hvmg m 1738 ; and Win throp, 1704. It is only by one of these sons (Epes) that the name has been perpetuated. He was a prominent citizen ; and several of his descendants have been distinguished men. He was tArice married: first to Esther Maccarty, April 1, 1720; and next to Mrs. Catharine Brown of Salem, Aug. 10, 1744. Soon after this last marriage, he removed to Salem ; where he died Dec. 6, 1762, aged seventy-two. His chUdren by his first vrife were — Epes, bom in 1721 ; Esther, 1722; Ignatius, 1724 ; James, 1726, died in 1727 ; Winthrop, 1728 ; Sarah, 1729 ; Daniel, 1731; WUHam, 1734; and Benjamin, 1736. By his second vrife, he had Paul Dudley and John. His remains were brought to Gloucester, and placed in the family tomb. He acqufred considerable property here as a merchant ; Avas the prin cipal acting magistrate in town for several years, and its repre sentarive in 1740. In Salem, he took an active part in public affafrs ; was colonel in the miHtia ; and long a Justice of the General Sessions Court. An obituary notice, in a newspaper of the day, gives him a high character aa a merchant, magistrate, and Christian. His son Epes married Catharine, daughter of Hon. John Osborn of Boston, in 1745. She died Feb. 7, 1788. An obituary notice, contained in a Salem paper of the 19th of that month, describes her as a lady of eminent vfrtue. Mr. Sargent died of smaU-pox in 1779 ; in which year, by vote of 152 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. the town, a general inoculation of the citizens took place. He had a presentiment that the disease would prove fatal to him, and therefore desfred an exception in his favor ; but the authori ties were inexorable, and he submitted to the fate he appre hended. Early In Hfe, he engaged in mercantUe pursuits, in which he acqufr-ed a large property. A few years prior to the Revolutionary War, he oAvned ten vessels, which were employed in the fishery and foreign commerce ; and he was carrying on at that time a very extensive trade : but the total suspension of his business which the war occasioned, together Arith the embar rassing situation into which he was thr oavu by joining the un popular side in the contest with the mother-country, caused heavy pecuniary losses, by which his property became greatly reduced. In common Arith all who held his poHtical principles, he was made the mark of obloquy and reproach. He was, on one occasion, cited before the assembled voters of the toAVTi, and requfred to give satisfaction that he was a harmless citizen : but he would not obey the summons ; and the excited meeting pro ceeded to forbid all persons to have any commerce Arith him or his abettors ; intending to compel him, through fear of starvation, to quit the town. This measure had the desfred effect. He went to Boston, where even greater indignities were heaped upon him. His son Epes had embraced the patriotic cause; but he could not divert from his father the torrent of hatred and contempt which overwhelmed all who were of his poHtical faith. The latter, therefore, determined to seek refuge In an other part of America, and made every preparation to embark for Halifax ; but, on assembhng his family for leave-taking on the evening before his intended depai-tm-e, his spfrdts were so much oppressed with the pangs of separation, that he resolved to return to his home, and endure, as he best could, the fortune that might await him. In addition to the bitter pohtical pro scription of which he had been the object, he was made to feel, in the keenest manner, the effects of rehgious bigotry and In tolerance, on account of the hearty welcome he had extended to the Rev. John Murray, and the avowal of his behef in the doctrines of that preacher. His whole Hfe had exhibited the EAELY SETTLEES. 153 proper fruits of the Christian spfrit, and he had sat for many years at the table of the Lord in affectionate communion and entfre unity of rehgious sentiment with his brethren of the Christian faith : but these now coldly tumed from him ; and so, with for tune wasted and frdendships broken up, he " endured as seeing Him who is inrisible," and, rich in faith and the memories of a just and pm-e hfe, passed away to the tomb. Mr. Sargent left two sons, — Epes and John Osborn. The former graduated at Harvard CoUege in 1766, and made several voyages to sea for his father before setthng in business. On the organization of the present National Government, he received the appointment of collector of the customs for this port, which he held tiU 1795 ; when he removed to Hampstead, N.H., where he hved a short time, and thence went to Boston. In the latter place, he was president of an insurance company several years. He died in April, 1822, aged seventy-fom. His wKe (Dorcas Babson), to whom he was married in 1772, died in 1836, aged eighty-seven. They had several children, one of whom (Charles Lenox) pubhshed a book entitled "Alexander Smith." Smith was a Gloucester man, as represented in the story ; but his career, as related by Mr. Sargent, is believed to be wholly fictitious. John Osborn Sargent married, and left an only son (Epes), who was a sea-captain in early Hfe, but afterwards became a mer chant, and settled in Roxbury, where he died. Three of his sons are men of distinction, — John Osborn, who graduated at Harvard College In 1829, studied law, and, after several years' practice in Boston and New York, settled in Washington, D.C, where he now resides ; Epes, extensively known as a poet and dramatist, and the author of a popular series of school-books ; and George B., who emigrated to the Western country In his youth, and settled at Davenport, Io., of which city he has been the mayor. Winthrop Sargent commenced business as a sea faring man, and was early in command of a vessel ; but he soon estabhshed himself as a merchant, and continued in commercial pmsuits tUl his death. In the contest Arith the mother-country, he warmly espoused the patriotic side. He served on the Committee of Safety in 1775 ; was a government agent here 20 154 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. during the war; and, in 1788, was one of the delegates to the State Convention for ratifying the new Federal Constitution. He was one of the fiirst adherents of Rev. John Murray; and remained, as long as he Hved, one of his firmest fi-iends and sup porters. His general character was that of an inteUigent and benevolent man, whose quahties of head and heart secured him universal esteem. He died Dec. 3, 1793. His AvKe was Judith, daughter of Thomas Sanders. She died JuIa' 27, 1793. Win- throp, their son, born in 1753, graduated at Harvai-d CoUege in 1773. He was tArice married : first, in Ohio, to a daughter of Gen. Tupper ; and next to Mary, Aridow of DaAdd WUhams, a planter in Mississippi. She died in PhUadelphia, Jan. 9, 1844 : he died of gout in the stomach, at New Orleans, on board of a steamboat in the river, June 3, 1820. He is one of the few natives of Gloucester that have attained a high station In pubhc Hfe. Little is known of his eai-ly historv'. At the com mencement of the Revolutionary T\"ar, he was absent on a voy age to the West Indies, in a vessel belonging to his father ; and, immediately on his arrival home, joined the army, taking the command of a company of artUlery in Crane's regiment. He was at the battles of Trenton and Brandywine ; was some time an aid-de-camp to General How of North Carolina ; and finaUy a major in the army. He remained in serAdce tUl the close of the war. In the disastrous defeat of St. Clafr at the battie of the Miamis, Nov. 3, 1791, he was adjutant-general, and was wounded in the engagement ; in which he also lost aU his private papers. The carnage of that dreadful day was commenced by the unexpected onslaught of the Indians early in the moming. When ifrst heard by Gen. Sargent, he was lying in his Htter, in torment from the gout. He sprang up, and mounted his horse as soon as possible ; haAdng first fiUed his mihtary boots Arith water, into which he thrust his gouty feet. He Avas accustomed to describe the attack, rendered more horrible by the heUish yeUs of the saA'ages, as an appalHng spectacle, and to reflect Arith admfr-ation upon the good conduct of the troops. Mr. Sargent's name frequently occm-s In the records of the Ohio Land Com pany. He was Secretai-y of the North-west Territory, and, for EAELY SETTLEES. 155 a time, acting Governor. WhUe there, his residence was at Marietta ; to which place, it is said, he gave that name. He finaUy selected a spot near Natchez, where he built a large brick mansion, and caUed it, after the place of his natirity, Gloster Place. In 1796, a territorial government was estabhshed for the Mississippi country ; and soon afterwards Mr. Sargent was appointed its Governor. Difficulties soon beset him in this office. The people had probably been Httle used to the restraints of authority, and a few of the leading men cominenced an early opposition to the Governor's administration. In course of time, they proceeded to violent measures, and made representations to Congress, setting forth thefr causes of complaint. The Governor's course was Adndicated in a long letter from Col. Clark, a mihtary and judicial officer of high standing, to the Chafrman of the Mississippi Committee in Congress, and in letters addressed by himseK to the Secretary of State. In one of these, the Governor complains that he had not received fafr treatment from the Congress Committee ; and concludes in the words of a Latin poet : — " Durura, sed levius fit patientia, Quicquid corrigere est nefas." Early in 1801, he took leave of absence for the purpose .of giving personal attention to his affafrs at the seat of the National Govemment. Prerious to his departure, he received addresses from the judges, military officers, and principal inhabitants, ex pressing thefr full approbation of his official conduct, and the high esteem in which they held his private character. On his arrival at Washington, he found that an effectual stop had been put to further proceedings with the government. Mr. Jeffer son's administration had come into power, and Mr. Sargent's name was on the Hst of the proscribed. The people had not then become so familiar Arith the removal of pubhc functionaries as to disconnect it with demerit on the part of the officer dis placed ; and, by particular desfre of his friends, Mr. Sargent immediately pubhshed a pamphlet, containing papers in relation to his official conduct, on which he rehed for his vindication 156 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. before the country. He returned to Mississippi, where he re sided as a private citizen during the remainder of his Hfe, occa sionally risiting the distant place of his bfrth. He left two sons, both by his second mai-riage, — WUHam Fitz Winthrop, who gra duated at Harvard CoUege in 1817, and died in PhUadelphia in 1822; and George Washington, who graduated at the same college in 1820, and now resides in Philadelphia. Winthrop, son of the latter, graduated at Harvard in 1847, and is afready Aridely known as an historical Avriter. Fitz WiUiam, another son of Winthrop and Judith Sargent, born in 1768, engaged in com mercial pursuits in his native toAvn, and was an enterprising and successful merchant. After suffering severely for many years fr-om gout, he died of that disease, Oct. 6, 1822 ; leaving an only son Winthrop, who was the representative in 1823. He con tinued his father's business tUl 1829, when he remoA'ed to PhUa delphia ; where he has since resided, vrith the exception of a few years spent in Byfield Parish, Newbm-y, of which town his son Gorham P. was the representative in 1859. Daniel, son of Col. Epes Sargent, married Mary Turner of Salem. He was en gaged in the fishing business and in foreign trade in Gloucester tiU the commencement of the ReAolutlonary struggle, when he removed to Newburyport. He went th^ence to Boston, where he. Hved many years a highly respected merchant ; and died Feb. 18, 1806. Four of his six sons became prominent men. Daniel, the oldest, was a merchant, and hA-ed In Boston. He Avas held In high estimation ; one CAddence of which Avas his election to the office of Treasurer of the Commonwealth. To- wai-ds the close of his IKe, he manKested his interest in his native town by placing a handsome wall and fr-on gate at the entrance of the ancient burial-place which contains the family tomb. He died in Boston, AprU 2, 1842, aged seventy-nine. Ignatius carried on mercantile business in Gloucester tUl about 1800, when he removed to Boston. His name is still mentioned Avith grateful remembrance as a fi-iend ever ready with kind offices for om- citizens in both places of his residence. While he lived in Gloucester, he took an active interest in mUitary affafr-s, and attained the rank of major. He died in Boston, EAELY SETTLEES. 157 Jan. 20, 1821 ; leaving a son of the same name now residing there. Hemy, another son of Daniel Sargent, was a painter of considerable celebrity. One of his lai-gest works, — an historical painting of the Landing of the PUgrims, presented by himseK to the PUgrim Society of Plymouth, Avhose haU it adorns — has been much admfred. Lucius Manhus, the youngest of these four brothers, is a vwiter of estabhshed reputation and popularity. He has an office in Boston, but resides in Roxbm-y. Col. Epes Sargent left two sons by his second wHo, — Paul Dudley (born In 1745) and John. The former was brought up in Gloucester, and married here Lucy, daughter of Hon. Thomas Sanders, In 1772. He was an early asserter of the rights of the Colonies, and one of the first to take up arms in thefr defence. He at tained the rank of colonel in the Revolutionary War, and was an active and valuable officer. After the war was closed, he en gaged in commercial pursuits, but was unsuccessful ; and finally retfred to a farm in Sullivan, Me. He represented that town in the General Court, and held a number of offices under the State and Natioual Governments. He died about 1823, leaA'ing a Aridow and a large number of descendants. His brother John espoused the unpopular side in the Revolutionary contest, and sought a home where he could find congenial poHtical senti ments. He removed to Barrington, N. S. None of the descendants of Wilham Sargent, 2d, bearing the family name, remain in toAvn ; but his progeny by his daughter Ann, who married Nathaniel Ellery, is numerous. James Saywaed came to Gloucester about 1696, perhaps from York, Me.; where, in 1661, was a "Samuel Sayward, son of Edmond SaAvyer," as it is written in a deed, " sometimes inhabi tant of Ipswich." He had a grant (March, 1690) of half an acre of land at Cripple Cove, where he built a house. This pro perty has continued in the family down to the present time. He was an elder of the Ffr-st Church, a selectman, and for seven years a representative. These official distinctions give evidence that he was a useful citizen. He had a vrife Deborah, the mother of aU his children, who died July 13, 1734, aged sixty-seven; and a second wKe, Widow Mary Davis, to whom he was married 158 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. Jan. 30, 1735. He died Feb. 13, 1736, aged sixty-seven. His chUdren were — Deborah, bom in 1694; James, 1697; James, 1699; Samuel, 1,701; Henry, 1704; Mai-y, 1706; Joseph, 1708 ; Hannah, 1713 ; and Ehzabeth, bom before he came to Gloucester. Samuel married Lucy Norwood in 1729, and had two children, — Samuel and Judith ; the former of whom mar ried Susanna Lord of IpsArich in 1761. Heney married Abigail Sargent in 1730 ; by whom he had two daughters, and a son Stover. Joseph married Sarah Giddings in 1730, and had seve ral chUdren. His oldest son Joseph, a sea-captain in early Hfe, was the keeper of Thatcher's-Island Lights nineteen years ; and died in April, 1814, aged eighty-two; leaving, besides other chUdren, a son WUHam, the weU-knoAvn pUot of our harbor and coast. James, son of the first Joseph, died young at sea. George, another son, married and had several chUdren in Gloucester; but finaUy settled in Camden, Me. Robeet Skamp had a grant of three acres of land, in 1674, by the pasture of John Colhns ; whose daughter Jane he inarried Dec. 25, 1661. She died In 1662; haAdng given bfrth to a daughter Mary, who had a son named IJnconstant Langworth, born in 1682. Robert Skamp died AprU 23, 1691. Thomas Skellin was one of the first settlers, and had land near the burying-ground. He was In Falmouth, Me., In 1651; and probably removed thither before 1658, when he purchased land there. " Suspicious carriages " with Thomas Patten suUied the name of his AvKe Deborah, for whose good behaAdor her hus band was bound at a com-t in 1653. He died at Falmouth in 1667, leaving legacies to sons Thomas (born in 1643) and John. The bfrth of his daughter Deborah in 1640 or 1648 is on our books. His eldest son Thomas married Mai-y Lewis of Fal mouth, by whom he had two sons, — John and Benjamin ; and died in Salem, Dec. 30, 1676. She Avas bring in Salem in 1732, seventy-eight years old. "^ James Smith. — Land was giA'en him by the commissioners, in 1642, as appeai-s in the recorded sale of the same to James Avery In 1651. Nothing fm-ther is knoAvn of his connection Arith Gloucester. EAELY SETTLEES. 159 Thomas Smith was an early settler and proprietor, and one of the commissioners for ending small causes, in 1645. He had a son Thomas, born in 1643. These first Smiths remained In toAvn but a short time. The name re-appears in subsequent years ; but it is not known that the persons who bore it were con nected Arith the early Smiths or with each other. A Thomas Smith, late of IpsArich, died in toAvn, April 24, 1706. MoEEis Smith had a grant of two acres of land above the old CommiU in 1685 ; but he is first found In town on the occasion of his marriage, Nov. 4, 1681, to Sarah MUlet, who was proba bly the widow of John Millet, and who died Jan. 20, 1725, aged eighty : he died May 13, 1726, aged seventy. They had two chUdren, — Sarah, born in 1683; and Morris, 1686. The latter died In infancy. Morris Smith was the sexton of the town for several years ; and was succeeded in that office by Stephen Ro binson, who married his daughter Sarah. A Richard Smith has recorded in our books the bfrth, by his Arife Mary, of Thomas, born in Falmouth in 1684; and of Rich ard, bom in Marblehead in 1689. John Smith. — Tliree persons of this name appear^ in town between 1692 and 1702. Taking them in the order of time, the first John had a house, in which he dwelt, on Eastern Point, near Peter Mud's Neck, before 1701. He had a wife Rebekah, and chUdren, — Daniel, born in 1692, his oldest son; Mary, 1696, died in 1697; Joseph, 1699, died in 1701 ; and Jonathan, 1702. Daniel married Lydia Sargent in 1717, and had four sons and four daughters. One of the former (John), born In 1723, is supposed to be the same who married Abigail Fleming in 1746, and died Jan. 9, 1789. He had seven sons and three daughters. Two of his sons were John and Sargent, who were commanders of privateer letters-of-marque in the Revolutionary War, and were both distinguished for thefr bravery in engage ments Arith Enghsh vessels of superior force.^ Jonathan Smith manied Mary Carlisle in 1723, and had three daughters and a son Jonathan. The second John Smith may have been connected Arith the first, but does not appear to have been his son. He had a vrife Susanna (who died a Aridow, March 2, 1725, aged forty- 160 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. six) and several chUdren; among whom was a Joseph, bom in 1709: the same, probably, Avho married Abigail Gardner in 1730, and had sons Joseph, John, James, and Benjamin, and two daughters. The third John Smith has no fm-ther knoAvn connection Arith us than his marriage to Ehzabeth ElweU in 1702. MoKEis SoMES, born in 1614, was one of the earhest settlers, and a proprietor of land on the east side of iliU River, where it is supposed he had his residence. By his AvKe Margerie, who died Jan. 22, 1646, he had Mary, born fri 1642; Sarah, 1643 ; and Timothy. His next wife, to whom he was married June 26, 1648, was Elizabeth, daughter of John KendaU of Cam bridge. She died Jan. 4, 1697 : he died Jan. 16, 1689, leav ing an estate of £198. The chUdren of his second marriage were — John, born in 1648; Lydia, 1649; Nathaniel, 1651; Patience, 1652 ; Joseph, 1654 ; AbigaU, 1655 ; and Hannah, 1658. TiAiOTHY was the only son of Morris Somes, who mar ried and settled in Gloucester ; and aU who have CAcr boi-ne the name in town have descended from him. He married Jane StauAvood, April 2, 1673 ; by whom he had ten chUdren, whose bfrths are recorded ; and probably a Morris, who was lost at sea In 1716, aged twenty-four. The last of these chUdren were — Mercy, born Oct. 29, and Patience, Oct. 30, 1696 ; on Avhich day the mother died. He next married Hannah Despar, March 11, 1697, and had six more chUdren; the last of which was born after his death, which took place Feb. 1, 1706. Timothy Somes's home was also near Mill River. Of his seventeen chU dren, eight were sons ; and It appears to be by one of these alone that the name has been perpetuated in town to the present time. The oldest (Timothy), born in 1673, mai-rled Ehzabeth Robinson, Dec. 31, 1695 ; and had sons Stephen, Timothy, Joseph, Nehemiah, Abraham, and Isaac. The date of his death is not known ; but there is reason to suppose that he was not alive in 1721. Stephen Somes married Rachel BroAvn in 1719, and had several chUdren. Two of his sons (WUham and Samuel) were progenitors of famihes now Hving In toAvn. John, son of the former, was representative in 1808 and 1809; EAELY SETTLEES. 161 and died Sept. 3, 1820, aged fifty-three. Another John, son of Samuel, also aged fifty-three, was found drowned, on the last- named day, on the back side of the Fort. Timothy, brother of Stephen, married AbigaU Springer in 1721, and had sons Timo thy and Jonathan. Joseph, the next of these brothers, married Sarah Harvey in 1731, but has no offspring recorded in toAvn. Nehemiah Somes was tArice married, if, as is supposed, he mar ried Lucy Rogers of Truro, Arith whom he was intending mar riage, September, 1734. His son Nehemiah, born here in 1737, was probably the Boston merchant, of the same name, who was the agent and part owner of the privateer " Active," one of Man ly's fleet, in 1779. Abraham and Isaac Somes were twins, born In 1707. Abraham married Martha Emerson in 1730. They had a large famUy of chUdren, and both died in advanced age. Abraham, the oldest son, settled on Mount-Desert Island, Me. ; Hved to be over eighty years old ; and left at his death a nume rous posterity at that place. Benjamin, the next son, was a soldier in the Revolutionary War, a mariner, and finally the keeper of a noted tavern on Front Street. He died about the 1st of February, 1805, aged seventy-three. His daughter AbigaU married Frederic Gilman. Isaac, the next brother of this famUy, was commander of the privateer letter-of-marque ship " Tempest," in which he was lost, in the Revolutionary War. John, another brother, was also a mariner, and engaged in privateering during the war, and in commercial pursuits after wards. He was many years President of the Gloucester Bank ; and, in 1806 and 1807, a representative. In poHtical action, he was a warm supporter of Mr. Jefferson. He died in August, 1816, aged seventy-one ; leaving a wife, who died AprU 13, 1846, aged ninety-one. Her maiden name was Anna DoUiver. She had a husband (Capt. John Colson) previous to her mar riage to Capt. Somes, of whom she was the second wKe. There was no offspring by either of the marriages. Daniel, the youngest son of Abraham Somes, removed to Maine or one of the British Provinces, and had a son Daniel, who went to the East Indies, and settled in Manilla. Isaac, twin-brother of Abraham, married Eunice Godfrey in 1730, and Widow Lydia 21 162 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. Reading in 1744. He was lost at sea in 1755, leaving a son Samuel, who was a soldier in the early part of the Revolutionary War ; afterwards a sea-captain and merchant ; and died Mar. 27, 1796, aged forty-one. The latter left a son Samuel, who became an inteUigent ship-master, and died in New Orleans in August, 1839 ; and a son Isaac, the present President of the Gloucester Bank, who is probably the sole male representative of this branch of the famUy. Joseph, son of Timothy, sen., bom in 1679, died, probably unmarried, about or before 1719, when his brother Nathaniel administered upon his estate. WilHam, the next son, born in 1681, is supposed to be the person of the same name who was of Amesbury, and Avas deceased before 1707. Ichabod, another son, bom in 1687, is only mentioned as the father, by his AvKe AbigaU, of a son WiUiam, Aug. 16, 1713; and in the warning, June 4, 1723, to Abigail, AvKe or Aridow of Ichabod Somes, to leave the toAvn, and return to her last abode. Nathaniel, born in 1695, married Susanna Whittredge in 1722, and had two children born before 1726. Timothy Somes had sons Ebenezer and Abiel by his second marriage, who are not knoAvn to have married in toAvn. The former, born in 1700, was hving In 1721. John, son of Morris Somes, bom in 1648, became a cooper, and settled in Boston. Joining the Quakers, he shared in the persecutions of that sect ; and was twice appre hended in 1677, at thefr usual place of worship, and whipped. He had previously been represented to the Colonial authorities as one who derided the government, and aspersed juries by accusing them of false judgments. He died Nov. 16, 1700; and a gravestone in Copp's-HiU Bm-ylng-ground still mai-ks the place of his interment. Nathaniel, third son of Morris Somes, born in 1651, died July 12, 1690. It does not appear that he was ever married. Joseph, the youngest son of Morris, bom in 1654, Avas kUled in the fight Avith the Indians at Narraganset Fort, December, 1675. William Southmeade was one of the early settlers, and had a grant of the lot on which Mr. Thompson's fr-ame stood. He married Milhcent, daughter of WiUiam Addes, Nov. 28, 1642; by whom he had sons, — WUham, born in 1643; John, eaely SETTLEES. 163 1645, who died the same year; and John, 1646. The oldest of these sons settled in Middletown, Conn. ; and died In 1702, leaving eight sons. The death of om settler Is not recorded; but it occm-red before 1649, when an inventory of his goods and chattels was made by Christopher Avery and William Addes. The augers, tools, and other instruments, mentioned in the inventory, authorize the conjecture that he was a ship-car penter. His Aridow married WiHiam Ash, and probably left toAvn with him about 1651. Philip Stainwood. — The original orthography of this name, which indicates its probable derivation, was not continued beyond the second or thfrd generation. This settler first appears In Gloucester in 1653. In 1654, he bought a house and land of Robert Tucker ; and, in the same year, had a grant from the town of six acres on the east side of Lobster Cove. He was a selectman in 1667 ; and died Aug. 7, 1672, leaving an estate of £87. 10s. His Aridow Jane became the second Arife of John Pearce, Sept. 12, 1673 ; and died Aug. 18, 1706. The chUdren of PhiHp Stainwood were — Phihp ; John, born in 1653 ; Jane, 1655 ; Samuel, 1658 ; Jonathan, 1661 ; Naomi, 1664 ; Ruth, 1667 ; and Hannah, 1670. Three of these sons (PhiHp, John, and Samuel) received grants of soldiers' lots at Kettle Cove, in 1679, for mUitary serrice in the wars of that period. Philip married Mary BlackweU, Nov. 22, 1677. She died Jan. 3, 1679; and he next married Esther Bray, Oct. 30, 1683. He died Sept. 24, 1728. Two of his sons married and had fami lies in toAvn. PhiHp, born in 1690, married Sarah Haraden, Dec. 18, 1718; and had three sons (John, Job, and Zebulon) and three daughters. Job lost his left arm in the expedition against Louisburg in 1745, and for this loss was made a pen sioner for Hfe by the General Court of Massachusetts. He married Hannah Byles in 1749 ; who died March 1, 1753, aged twenty-fom, leaving one son (Zebulon), who engaged in agri- cultmal and commercial pursuits. He had his residence In the Second Parish ; where he died in August, 1838, aged eighty- seven, leaving several descendants. His son Theodore, an inteUigent shipmaster, married Sarah, daughter of Rev. John 164 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. Rogers ; and died on his passage from Russia in 1814. His only child settled in town is the wife of Hon. John W. Lowe : another daughter is the wife of Rev. Andrew Bigelow, D.D., of Boston. David, the other son of PhiHp Stanwood, jun., married Susanna Davis in 1720, and had several children. One of his sons (Solomon) was the father of a venerable citizen still living, — Richard G., whose son, of the same name, was representative in 1839. John, son of the original settler, mar ried Lydia Butler, Dec. 9, 1680 ; and died Jan. 25, 1706. Of his nine children, three were sons (John, Jonathan, and James), who married in town, and had famihes. The two latter were probably the persons of the same names who were admitted residents of Falmouth, Me., In 1728. Samuel had a wKe Hannah, to whom he was married Nov. 16, 1686 ; and had five children born in town before 1695 : soon after that date, he removed to Amesbury. He had a son Ebenezer; the same, perhaps, who has two children recorded in our books as bom at Brunsvrick, besides others born here. Jonathan, son of Philip Stanwood, sen., married Mary Nichols, Dec. 17, 1688. According to the records, he had ten children ; of whom three were sons (Ebenezer, DaA'id, and Nehemiah), who married and settled in Gloucester. David was a soldier in the expedition to Cape Breton in 1745, and received a wound which induced him to apply to the Colonial Government for relief. In the early generations of this family, there was promise of a numerous posterity ; but the name is now borne here by only a few fami hes. Many of the stock emigrated, probably, during the first century of our history. Perhaps all who bear the name in this country are descended from otu- settler. William Stevens, a ship -carp enter, was one of the first settlers ; and is entitled to honorable mention for his mechanical skUl, bis inflexible honesty, and his services in various pubhc offices. He came to New England before 1632, and probably had his residence In Boston or its vicinity. From his abUity as a mechanic, it may be inferred that he was the Mr. Stevens, who, in March, 1634, was to receive, by order of the General Court, £10 for seeing to the erection of a movable fort to be EAELY SETTLEES. 165 buUt In Boston. He Avas in Salem In 1636 ; where, in 1639, his chUdren, Isaac and Mary, were baptized, and, in 1641, his daughter Ruth. He Avas admitted a freeman hi 1640 ; and, in 1642, appears in Gloucester as one of the commissioners appointed by the General Court for ordering toAvn-affafrs. His standing among the early settlers, and the importance of his aid in promoting the prosperity of the town, are sufficiently indicated by the extraordinary grant he received of five hundred acres of land lying between Chebacco and Annisquam Rivers. He also had a grant of six acres on the Meeting-house Neck ; but his residence was at the Cut, near the Beach, where he had eight acres of land. He was a selectman several years, commissioner for ending smaU causes, toAvn-clerk, and four years representa tive. Proof of his mechanical skiU and honesty is preserved in the foUoAving extract from a letter* written by Emanuel Downing, one of the Massachusetts Company, to an officer of the Enghsh Govemment : — " Being last night at the Excliandge, I enquired what ship-carpenters Mr. Winthrop, the Governor, had with him in NeAv England: when I was informed by Mr. Aldersey, the lord-keeper's brother-in-law, and Mr. Cradock, that the Governor hath with him one William Stephens, a shipwright ; soe able a man, as they believe there is hardly such an other to be found in this kingdom. There be 2 or 3 others ; but, for want of their names, I could not be satisfied of them. This Stephens hath built here many ships of great burthen : he made the ' Royal Merchant,' a ship of 600 tonus. This man, as they enformed me, had more reguard to his substantiall performance than the wages he was to receive, and .soe grew to poverty : whereupon he Avas preparing to goe for Spayne, where he knew he should have wages answerable to his paynes, had not sorae friends perswaded him to N. England, where he now lives with great content. Had the state of Spayne obteyned him, he should have be'n as a pretious JcAvell to them." He also had a New-England fame ; being, undoubtedly, the " very sufficient buUder " mentioned by Johnson, one of our * This letter forms a part of the interesting " Gleanings for New-England History, collected in England, in 1842, by Hon. James Savage, and published in vol. xxviii Mass. Hist. Coll. 166 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. early historians.* Nothing is known concerning the particular vessels he built here, except in two instances, to be hereafter mentioned. This worthy citizen Avas no less distinguished for his action in relation to pohtical affafrs. He was a member of the General Court in 1665, when the Colonial Government made a noble resistance to the proceedings of the commissioners sent over by the king to interfere in the legislation of the Colony, in a manner which was justly esteemed to be an infidnge- ment of Colonial rights and privileges. It was a grave offence, in those days, to speak evU of rulers ; and discretion would have counselled silence : but the honest indignation of our toAvns- man, spurning all restraint, found utterance in no softened terms of dishke. Four of his neighbors testified at a Quarterly Court in Salem, in 1667, to his declaring "that he would bear no office Arithin this jurisdiction, nor anywhere else, where Charles Stewart had any thing to do ; and that he cared no more for Charles Stewart than any other man, as king ; and that he abhorred the name of Charles Stewart as king." For this bold and rash expression of his hatred of the king, the offender was sentenced to a month's imprisonment ; to pay a fine of £20 and costs ; and to be deprived of his privileges as a freeman. Soon after this, his vrife, in a petition to the General Comt for rehef, represents him to be deranged, and herself as aged and having a famUy. There is no record of his death, or of the settlement of his estate ; for he again " grew to poverty," havdng mortgaged part of his property, in 1667, to Francis WiUoughby of CharlestoAvn, from whom it never returned to him. The property conveyed to WiUoughby was the five hundred acres near Chebacco, on which were a dweUing-house, barn, and out houses ; and his estate at the Cut, Arith " said gutt, or passage, for boats running through as they pass between Cape-Ann Harbor and Annisquam." Another portion of his property, consisting of a new house and land, was put into the hands of his sons James and Isaac, in trust for thefr- mother PhiHppa, who died Aug. 31, 1681. No other mention occurs of Isaac. Mary * Wonder-working Providence ; Mass. Hist. Coll., vol. xvii. p. 32. EAELY SETTLEES. 167 married John Coit : Ruth married Stephen Glover. James, the only other son of WilHam Stevens of whom we have any knowledge, received a grant of land on Town Neck, near Try naU Cove, in 1658. He married Susanna, daughter of Sylvester Eveleth, Dec. 31, 1656 ; and died March 25, 1697, leaving an estate of £239. 19s. The ship-carpenter's tools and oak plank mentioned in his inventory render it probable that he followed the trade in which his father was so distinguished. His repeated election to the highest offices in town shows that he possessed the pubhc confidence in a high degree. He was a deacon in the church ; a mihtary officer ; selectman In 1667, and from 1674 to 1691 inclusive ; and representative ten years. He had eleven children; of whom William, Samuel, Ebenezer, David, Jona than, Mary (the AvKe of Francis Norwood), and Hannah, were bring at the time of thefr father's death. WUliam married AbigaU Sargent, June 15, 1682. He was lieutenant of the mihtary company here, selectman two years, and representative in 1692. He died Sept. 24, 1701, aged forty-two; leaving an estate, which consisted, in part, of an interest in three sloops, a negro woman and a boy, and the privilege called the Cut, the latter valued at £30. James, supposed to be his son, married Deborah Sayward in 1717 ; and disappeared in 1721, on the bfrth of his thfrd chUd. Samuel, son of Lieut. WilHam Stevens, bom in 1691, married Anna AUen in 1713. He inherited the Cut, which occasioned him considerable trouble and vexation. He resided -on the famUy property there, and was called Cut Stevens, to distinguish him from an uncle of his own name. He is said to have lived to old age ; but the date of his death is not knoAvn. His daughter AbigaU married Jonathan Elwell. Of his two sons WiUiam and Samuel, the former only appears to have married in town. He married Anna Davis in 1740, and died about 1743, learing a son WilHam. Samuel, son of Deacon James Stevens, born in 1665, married Mary EUery in 1693. He was a merchant, and took an active part in public affairs ; filhng the most Important offices, araong which was that of representa tive, which he held six years. His residence was on Front Street, between Hancock and Centre. He died Nov. 16, 1756, aged 168 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. ninety-one. His wife survived him, and, though past fourscore, accepted a matrimonial offer from Elder Grover in 1758; but their marriage was soon dissolved by the death of the aged bride. Mr. Stevens had a son Samuel, who married AbigaU York In 1718, and had sons York and Joseph. He was lost at sea, near Sable Island, April, 1722, aged twenty-six. James, another son, born in 1699, was probably the same who kept a tavem near the Meeting-house several years. Two other sons were prominent actors in the affafrs of the town. John, born in 1707, married Rachel AUen ui 1729 ; and, m 1754, Mrs. Ehza beth, vridow of Col. John Gorham of Barnstable, an officer who rendered valuable aid in the siege of Cape Breton in 1745, and died in London, of smaU-pox, about 1750, while prosecuting his claims for expenses In that expedition. Mr. Stevens sus tained a high character as a merchant. In mihtary affairs he took a strong interest, and attained to the rank of colonel. He died April 13, 1779, aged seventy-two : his vrife died Dec. 25, 1786, aged seventy-three. WilHam, another son of Samuel Stevens, born In 1713, married Elizabeth AUen in 1733. He engaged in maritime pm-suits and in the cultivation of the soil : but neither yielded him profit ; for, though he died possessed of a considerable estate, his debts were more than sufficient to absorb the whole of it. He was representative in 1753 and 1754, and from 1756 to 1760 inclusive. He died May 10, 1767, aged fifty-four ; leaving, vrith other chUdren, John and Samuel. The former married Judith Sargent. He was a merchant and trader, in which occupations he met with no success ; and finally becaine a bankrupt. To avoid being arrested for debt, he fled, in a vessel belonging to his father-in-laAv, to St. Eustatia, where he died. His Aridow married Rev. John Murray. Samuel married Elizabeth Allen in 1748, and for many years kept a shop on Fore Street. He died Dec. 9, 1795, aged forty-eight ; leaving a Arife and children, who removed to Portland, JNIe., where Mrs. Stevens lived to be nearly a hundred years old. Ebenezer, son of Deacon James Stevens, born in 1670, Is supposed to have married Widow Mary Day In 1723. No offspring is recorded; but the books show the marriage of an Ebenezer, jun., in 1751. EAELY SETTLEES. 169 The elder Ebenezer was supported by the toAvn several years, and died about 1757. David, born in 1677, and Jonathan, 1679, other sons of Deacon James Stevens, married In town, and were both dead in 1709. Jonathan left a son of the same name. No descendants of our eminent shipAvright, bearing the famUy name, are knoAvn to be now residents of the toAvn.* Stephen Steeetee may have preceded the settlers of 1642, as Mr. Blynman's grant includes a lot " primarily given " to him. He had a house here, but did not remain in town long after its permanent settlement ; for, in 1644, he was residing in CharlestoAvn. John Studley appears as an OAvner of land in 1649 ; and also, in the same year, as a vritness in an action against Charles Glover and his Arife for fighting. Haelakenden Symonds was son of Deputy-Governor Sy monds. He bought of John Kettle in 1664, for £100, a house and land, and " the timber of the old Meeting-house." From the description of this land, it must have been the lot dfrectly opposite the south part of the Meeting-house Green, on the east erly side of the road. He had by his AvKe Ehzabeth a daughter Sara:h, born here in 1668. In August, 1672, he was at Weathers field, England, waiting for a power of attorney. His subsequent career and end are not knoAvn. He may have returned to Ips vrich, the place of his father's residence ; whence his widow, with her daughter, who married Thomas Low, came back to * A William Stevens married Anna Lufkin in 1725, and has nine children recorded in our books. He lived in the Second Parish ; where he died June 17, 1773, aged seventy- eight: his wife died April 8, 1780, aged eighty. I can trace no connection between him and our early family of that name, though there niight have been one. His son, or grandson, Nathaniel, went to New Gloucester, where he had a son born, who was adopted by George Clark. Clark was an Irishman, and, it is said, fought on the English side at the Battle of Bunker Hill, and was taken prisoner, and confined in Ipswich Jail. Upon regaining his freedora, he went to live on Hog Island, Chebacco; and finally settled in the West Parish of this town. His adopted son Stevens took his name, and transraitted it to our present citizens, George Clark and Col. John Clark. There was a William Stevens, too, among the early settlers of New Gloucester. He was born in 1713 ; and died Dec. 30, 1789, leaving a wife, who was a Woodbury of this town. It would be natural to expect to trace him to the parent town; but it does not appear that he eraigrated hence. 170 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. Gloucester about 1692. Mrs. Symonds died here Jan. 31, 1728, aged ninety. Geoege Stovee had, in 1698, a grant of haK an acre of ground to set a house upon on the south side of Cripple Cove. He married AbigaU ElweU, Jan. 25, 1692; by whom he had the foUoAving chUdren : Josiah, bom in 1694 ; Jonathan, 1696, died in infancy; Isaac, 1697; Hannah, 1702; AbigaU, 1703; Me hetabel, 1706, died the same year; Abraham, 1707, died in 1707 ; John, 1709 ; and David, 1712. This family is supposed to have removed from town, as none of its members appear here at the division of lands in 1721. Richaed Taee. — Tradition has preserved an account of this settler ; which states that he was born in the west of England about 1660, and settled in Marblehead soon after 1680, where he married his Avdfe Elizabeth. A person of this name, of Saco, was a petitioner to Sfr Edmund Andros for confirmation in the possession of land he bought there, three years before the time of his petition, of John SeUye, fisherman. The date of our set tler's first appearance in town is not knoAvn. AU of his chUdren born after 1690 are recorded in our books ; but his vriU shows that he had two who were bom before that year. In April, 1697, he had a grant of a piece of land, for three or fom years, where his house stood; and, in 1701, another grant, of ten acres, vrith the condition annexed, that he should support " old Father ChurchiU " for Hfe. This land was situated in Sandy Bay, near Darison's Run. He died about 1732 ; leaving an estate of £399, and the foUowing children : WilHam ; John ; Elizabeth, born in 1691; Honom, 1693 ; Richard, 1695; Joseph, 1698; BenjanUn, 1700; Caleb, 1703; Samuel, 1706; and Sarah, 1716. William married Elizabeth Felt in 1708, and had several chU dren ; but none of the name now in toAvn trace back to him. John was intending marriage Arith Ehzabeth Heans of Marble head in 1714; and, by his vrife Ehzabeth, a daughter of the same name was born in 1719. Richaed married Grace Hodgkins, Feb. 20, 1722; and had by her Hazelelponi,* born m 1722; * I think few of ray readers will remember ever before to have met with this name, unless they aie familiar with a portion of the Bible not much read. — See 1 Chron. iv. 3. EAELY SETTLEES. 171 and WUHam, 1724. Joseph married Sarah Sargent, July 28, 1719; andhad a daughter Abigail, and three sons — Joseph, Benjamin, and Nathaniel — born before 1726. He removed to Parker's Island, Georgetown, Me. ; where descendants are still Hving. Benjamin married Rebecca Card, Feb. 4, 1724. His posterity includes the larger part of aU who now bear the name on the Cape. One of his sons (Benjamin) died about 1814, aged eighty-eight, having had several chUdren. Daniel Barber, one of them, was a soldier in the Revolutionary War; and died April 16, 1840, aged eighty-six. Jabez, another, was also a soldier in the same war; and died Nov. 25, 1844, aged eighty-five, — the last of the Gloucester soldiers who fought on Bunker HIU. Moses, the next son, was lost at sea in the privateer ship " Tempest." Caleb Taee had a Arife Martha and twelve chUdren. He died about 1752 ; leaving a son Caleb, who settled at the Harbor. Samuel, the seventh and youngest son of Richard Tarr, married Ehzabeth WUhams, Oct. 12, 1726, by whom he had four sons before 1739 ; when he was drowned in Sheepscot River, Me. Three other Tarrs besides the one mentioned above were lost In the "Tempest," — James and WilHam, sons of James; and Hen ry, son of Henry. Another Richard Tarr appears in town in 1722. He married Sarah Beal at Beverly in 1719; and had a son Richard, bom here in 1722. He is supposed to be the same Richard who vvas kUled by Indians at Fox Islands in 1724.* James Tea vis, or Teavees, perhaps son of Henry of New bury, bom in 1645, bought, in 1667, land and the frame of a dwelhng-house, situated near Poles, of Samuel Peacock of Bos ton. AprU 18 of the same year, he married Mary, daughter of John Pearce, of whom his daughter Elizabeth was born, Feb. 8, 1668 ; in which year he sold his house and land to Thoinas MUlet, sen., and appears no longer in town. Robeet Tuckee may have removed hither fi-om Weymouth, * The town of Eockport has erected a granite monument, with an appropriate in scription, to the memory of Eichard Tarr, its first settler, on the spot which tradition has marked as that of his burial. This spot was his own land; and, having been en larged and enclosed, became finally the Parish Burying-ground. 172 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. where a person of this name Hved in 1639. He first appears in Gloucester in 1651, when he bought a house and land of Ed ward Rowse. He was selectman in 1652, and town-clerk from 1652 to 1656. He had a vrife Elizabeth, by whom he had Ex- pedance in 1652, and Ephraim in 1653 ; the former of whom died in Infancy. A son Ebenezer died in 1653. His residence here appears to have terminated, vrith the expiration of his clerkship, and to have been transferred back to Weymouth. John Tuckee is not known to have been of the same famUy as the preceding ; nor has any Information conceming him come to Hght, further than that furnished by our records in giring his marriage and the bfrths of his chUdren. He does not appear among the grantees of six-acre lots In 1688; nor does he or any of his family appear in the dirision of land, in 1721, to persons who had been householders seventeen years. From the latter cfrcumstance, it may be inferred that he and his wKe had both deceased or removed before that year. His vrife was Sarah Riggs, to whom he was married May 9, 1681 ; and his chUdren were — Mary, born fri 1682; Sarah, 1685; John, 1686; WU Ham, 1690; Thomas, 1692; Richard, 1695; Abigail, 1697; Joseph, 1701 ; and Grace, 1706. John married Mary Lane in 1714, and has the bfrths of twelve chUdren recorded. Wil liam married Dorcas Lane In 1713; and had issue two sons and three daughters, as appears by the records. John, one of these sons, born in 1725, married Mary Davds in 1746 ; and had sons John and Nathaniel, who served in the Revolutionary Army, and Hved to old age. John attained the rank of heutenant in the army, and afterwards that of colonel in the mUitia. He was an active Federalist ; and, during the rule of his party in town- affairs, was seven times elected representative. He died in January, 1831, aged eighty-two. Thomas Tuckee was droAvned In Carolina, AprU 20, 1717. Richaed married AbigaU Harvey, Jan. 16, 1718; and died before 1734. He had several chUdren; one of whom (Joseph), born in 1728, was probably the same who died Jan. 16, 1816, aged eighty-nine. A Richard Tucker and vrife Bethiah appear in town at the bfrth of thefr son Richard in 1704; and a Lewis Tucker has recorded here the bfrths of five EAELY SETTLEES. 173 children by Joan, his wife, at Kittery side, on Piscataqua River, at the commencement of the last century. /'Waltee Tybbot was born in 1584, and came to Gloucester Arith Mr. Blynman. He was admitted a freeman in 1642; and was a selectman that year, and in several of the subsequent years. In 1647, he was Hcensed to draw vrine, and exempted from common training. The records do not indicate the place of his residence, though they fmnish evidence that he was one of the largest proprietors of land. He gave his attention to agriculture ; and the inventory of his estate shows that he did not cultivate our unpromising soil in vain. He died Aug. 14, 1651, aged sixty-seven, leaving a vridow (who married John Harding, AprU 22, 1652), and a daughter Mary, by whose mar riage Arith WilHam HaskeU his descendants are numerous. No other chUd of Tybbot is mentioned; but Agnes, vrife of Edmund Clark, may have been his daughter, as her husband is called son-ui-law of Tybbot. She had had a previous husband (Dike), by whom she had a daughter Elizabeth, and perhaps the Richard who is noticed in this work ; as he is mentioned as a grandson of Tybbot, and of Harding, who married Tybbot's Aridow. Beidget Vaeney was of Ipsvrich in 1663. In 1669, then a Aridow, she sold house and land, vrith the harbor and neck of land on the south-east, to Bartholomew Foster. This property was situated near the present MiU Street. She died Oct. 25, 1672. Her vAdll mentions sons Humphrey and Thomas, son Jeffrey Parsons, daughter Rachel Vincion, and son-in-law Wil Ham Vincion. Thomas Veeeey, or Very, was born about 1626. He was a fisherman, and was here before 1650. He had several lots of land, the location of which indicates that his residence was at the Harbor. He married Hannah, daughter of Thomas Giles of Salem, July 6, 1650, who died Aug. 25, 1683 : he died March 28, 1694. His children were — Ephraim, born in 1652 ; Hannah, 1653; Bridget, 1654; Thomas, 1656; Samuel, 1659; AbigaU, 1661 ; Edward, 1663 ; Ehzabeth, 1665 ; and Francis, 1668. This last son was Hving in the city of Waterford, in Ire land, In 1716. The name was not perpetuated in Gloucester 174 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. beyond the second generation; but it is stUl found in other places in Essex County. William Vinson was of Salem as early as 1635, but re moved to this place on the first settlement of the toAvn. He is caUed, in the records, " potmaker." By grant and pm-chase, he became an OAvner of several lots of land ; on one of which, probably, was the spring that perpetuates his name. He was also the original grantee of Five-pound Island. He was ad mitted a fr-eeman in 1643 ; and in 1646, and several times subsequently, was one of the selectmen. He had a wKe Sarah, who died Feb. 4, 1660. He next married, June 10, 1661, Rachel Cooke, a widow, who died Feb. 15, 1707 : he died Sept. 17, 1690, aged about eighty. His chUdren were — Ehza beth, born in 1644; Richard; John, 1648; WUHam, 1651; Richard, 1658 ; Thomas, 1662 ; AbigaU, 1668 ; and Sarah and Hannah, boi-n before he came to Gloucester. The four daugh ters mai-ried here, and had childi-en. Of the sons, the first Richard died in chUdhood ; the second, and Thomas and WU Ham, died Ul December, 1675 ; John was dead in 1683. The name was not continued here beyond the second generation; but the descendants of his daughters are numerous. Thomas Wakley, called a yeoman, Hved in Hingham in 1635. He bought thfr-teen acres of land, on the neck of house- lots, of Mr. Pritchard; besides which, he owned several other parcels. He was a fr-eeman in 1636, and one of the selectmen in 1646. He and his son John had houses and land on the south side of Goose Cove ; Avhich, in 1661, they sold to Thomas Riggs, and, Avith another son (Isaac) and a son-in-law (MattheAV Coe), went to Falmouth, Me., where they purchased a lai-ge tract of land, on Avhich they settled, and remained tlU the destruction of the place by the Indians in 1675, A\-hen Thomas Wakley and his wife Ehzabeth, and John and his wKe and two chlldi-en, were barbarously slaughtered by the savages. Ehza beth, daughter of John, Avas carried off; but, Sfter some months' captivity, Avas taken by Squando, the Saco sachem, to Major Waldron at Dover, AA'here she subsequently married Richard Scamman, a Quaker. Isaac Wakley was kiUed by the In- EAELY SETTLEES. 175 dians, at Falmouth, In 1676. John Wakley married Elizabeth, daughter of Johanna Somars, June 10, 1657 ; and had, by her, Hannah, born in 1657 ; Thomas, born 3d, died 7th September, 1659; and Ehzabeth, 1661. Old Thomas Wakley was often heard to bewaU Arith tears his removal from places where he had enjoyed gospel pririleges " to a plantation where there was no church at aU, nor the ordinance and institutions of the Lord Jesus Christ." Heney Walkee is mentioned as an owner of land before 1650. He married, Sept. 26, 1662, Widow Mary BroAvn, who first appeared here as the wKe of Abraham Robinson. He had his residence on the west side of Annisquam River, where a creek stUl perpetuates the name. He was selectman in 1667 and several- subsequent years. He died Aug. 29, 1693 : his wife died April 17, 1690. His estate, the largest that had then been accumulated in toAAm, was appraised £922. 10s., consisting chiefiy of land. Having no chUdren, he left legacies to the descend ants of his vrife by her two prerious husbands ; and gave the remainder of his property to Nathaniel Coit, who resided Arith him. John Wallis. — He and Nathaniel WalHs, who was born in the county of ComwaU, England, 1632, were early inhabitants of Casco ; whence John was driven away at the time of the destmction of the settlements there by the Indians in 1675. He is only mentioned here as the father, by his AvKe Mary, of a daughter Ehzabeth, Sept. 12, 1678 ; and as having deceased Sept. 23, 1690. The sUence of our records concerning him, between these two dates, is explained by the fact, that he re tumed to Falmouth, and remained there tUl the second attack on that place by the Indians compelled him again to fiee. He had sons Josiah, Benjamin, Joseph, and James. Josiah was born about 1662. He first appears here In 1696 vrith his wKe Mary ; by whom his son John was born in the same year, and his daughter Susanna in 1699. About 1702, he went back to Falmouth, and buUt a house at Spring Point, on the Pmpooduc side of the river, where his three brothers then Hved. Here, however, he enjoyed but a brief season of repose. The French 176 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. and Indians, in August, 1703, attacked aU the settlements from WeUs to Casco ; and, in the destruction of the latter, the Wallis families were severe sufferers. The Arives of Josiah and Benja min WaUis were killed, and Joseph WaUis's wKe was carried into captiAdty. Josiah WalHs himseK made his escape to Black Point ; carrying his son John, who was then about seven years old, part of the way on bis back. He again took up his abode in Gloucester, where he is found Arith a wKe Sarah, to whom he was married Dec. 19, 1706. By her he had a son Josiah, bom in 1708; and Samuel, 1711. Besides these and the chUdren by his previous wife, he had a daughter Sarah, who married Jacob SaAvyer, and removed to Falmouth ; and a daughter Mary, who married Paul DolHver. He died Feb. 7, 1741. James Wallis had, in 1704, haK an acre of land near the Harbor Swamp. How long before that he had removed hither, is not knoAvn. The bfrth of his daughter Rebekah, in 1699, is recor4ed in our records : after her he had Martha, Joseph, Benjamin, and Jonathan ; and, before her, Elizabeth and James. The father, Arith his sons James and Joseph, was taken by the Indians, in Fox Harbor, in June, 1724. The two sons were killed ; but the father escaped, and returned home. In his wUl, made in 1731 and proved in 1743, he mentions his son Benjamin in captivity, and a son Jonathan. John WalHs, who married Patience Hodgkins In 1719, and had several chUdren born here before 1738, was probably the son of Josiah, and is supposed to be the John WalHs who was an Inhabitant of Cape Elizabeth in 1768. The name has continued here doAATi to the present time, though the indiriduals bearing it have never been numerous. Samuel Webbee is ifr-st presented to om- notice as an inhabi tant of Falmouth, Me., in 1681. In 1692, he was a vritness at the trial of Rev. George Burroughs at Salem for Aritchcraft, and testified to his great strength. He appears in Gloucester in 1695 ; when, by his vrife Deborah, a daughter of the same name was born. Besides her, WaitstiU and Patience, tArins, were born here in 1698. He had a house and fifteen acres of land at Goose Cove, which he sold in 1696 to Thomas Riggs. He probably left toAvn before 1700, and went to York, where he died In 1716. EAELY SETTLEES. 177 His vrife Deborah and nine children survived him. A Michael Webber and AvKe Deborah had a daughter Mary born here May 16, 1701. He is probably the person of the same name who was a fellow-sufferer of the WalHses in the destruction of the settlement at Purpooduc by the Indians in 1703. The savages kiUed Webber's wife, who was pregnant, and man gled her body Arith shocking barbarity. The same, or another Michael, was here in 1716, and became a permanent settler.' He had a AAdfe Sarah, by whom ten children were born to him in the subsequent twenty years. One of his sons (Michael), born in 1716, married Hannah SaAvyer in 1739, and was lost at sea in August, 1760 ; leaving two sons (John and Michael), who settled In New Gloucester, Me. ; whence Gen. John Webber, son of the latter, came to Gloucester, and was a prominent citizen tUl his death, Dec. 16, 1858, at the age of seventy-two. His son John S. was a representative in 1855 and 1857. An other son of Michael Webber, sen. (Benjamin), born in 1726, married Hannah Babson In 1750. He fell dead suddenly, in advanced age, at the door of his dwelling-house, to which he was returning Arith a burden of fuel from the adjacent woods. He was the father of Benjamin, who was a soldier in the battle of Bunker HUl, a sea-captain and merchant, and died Jan. 9, 1841, aged eighty-five ; and of Joseph, who was killed by the accidental discharge of a musket, on board the privateer " Black Prince " of Salem, about 1779. Ignatius, youngest son of Michael Webber, born in 1733, married Ehzabeth Stewart in 1757, and had several daughters, and a son Ignatius, who became a ship master, and, with a good reputation in bis profession, acqufred also a competent estate, a part of which was unprofitably in vested in the erection of an expensive vrindmlU on the spot now occupied by the Pavilion Hotel. He died Feb. 1, 1829, aged seventy-two. A James Webber was here in 1704 ; when, by his wKe Patience, he had a son Nathan born. The ancestor of all these Webbers may have been Michael, who died here Jan. 12, 1729, aged nearly ninety. The date of his ifrst appear ance in toAvn is not knoAvn. A Michael was a householder here in 1704 ; and, in 1725, received a grant of land near his house. 178 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. at Fresh- water Cove ; where the famUy name has continued to the present time. William Wellman was son-in-law of Major Sadler, and probably came to Gloucester with him. He does not appear as a grantee of land, though he had several lots ; one of which was in the Harbor, and one in Fisherman's field. He was one of the company that went to New London, where he received a grant of land in 1651. Nathaniel Whaef was son of Nathaniel Wharf of Fal mouth, Me., by his wife Rebecca, daughter of Arthm- Macworth. The father died in 1673 ; leaving Nathaniel, then eleven yeai-s old, who came to Gloucester, and married, Jan. 30, 1684, Ann, daughter of Thomas Riggs, by whom he had the foUoAring chUdren : Nathaniel, born in 1685 ; Rebecca, 1686 ; Mary, 1687 ; Charity, 1688, died In infancy ; Thomas, 1689 ; Mercy and Experience, 1690; Hannah, 1691; Ai-thm-, 1694; John, 1696; Patience, 1697, died in infancy; Abraham, 1699, died in 1706; and Lydia, 1701. The mother died Dec. 17, 1701, a few weeks after the bfrth of this last chUd. Nathaniel Wharf was Hving in 1734. His oldest son (Nathaniel) mar ried Hannah Stevens, Feb. 7, 1715, and had sons Thomas and Isaac. Thomas married Dorcas Lane in 1738, and had sons Job, John, Nathaniel, Thomas, David, and Eliphalet, and two daughters. He was supposed to have been lost at sea in the fall of 1753. His son Thomas settled in New Gloucester, and died there Jan. 22, 1835, aged eighty-seven. Isaac married Catherine Connelly of NeAvbury in 1744, and had sons John, Isaac, and Humphrey, and two daughters. Aethue Whaef is supposed to have married Martha Lee in 1737. Sons Abraham, John, and Samuel were the offspring of this mar riage. John, youngest son of Nathaniel Wharf, married Hannah Cleigh In 1719, and had sons James and Arthtu and three daughters. By these descendants of Nathaniel Wharf, the name has been perpetuated in town ; but the persons bearing it are not numerous. William Whittridge had a grant of a conimon right in 1692 ; but fii-st appears here at his marriage, March 4, 1684, to EAELY SETTLEES. 179 Hannah Roberts. The fruits of this union were — Hannah, born in 1685; Samuel, 1692; and Susanna, 1697. He died Aug. 8, 1726, aged seventy. Samuel married Hannah Whiston of Barnstable in 1720, by whom he had fom daughters and a son WiUiam; and was drowned at Sable Island, May 10, 1732, aged forty. His son WiUiam married Mary Saville in 1755, and had sons WUham and Ohver SavUle and a daughter Mary. Richaed Window, a carpenter, had, as early as 1651, a house and ten acres of land near Walker's Creek ; which, at a date not known, he sold to Williain HaskeU. He was a select man in 1654. In 1655, he bought of John Coit a house and land on the east side of the river, where he probably Hved during the remainder of his Hfe. He had prcAdously bought a house, near Trynall Cove, of WilHam Sargent. In 1648, the Quarterly-Court Record says that he was presented for living away from his vrife : but it was proved that he had sent for her, and had heard that she was dead ; and he was therefore dis charged. His Gloucester vrife was named Ehnor, by whom he had a daughter, born in 1654 ; and by the loss of whom. May 16, 1658, he again became a widower. He next married Bridget, vridow of Henry Traris of Newbury, March 30, 1659. In 1662, land was granted to him for his son Richard Goodwin ; and the date of his wiU (May 2, 1665) completes our knowledge conceming him. In that he mentions a daughter Ann, bis " true and laful afre ; " Anthony Bennet, his son-in-law ; and Ehzabeth his daughter-in-law. Henry Witham may have been a son of Thomas Witham, who died in 1653. Our information concerning him Is of the shghtest kind. The spot on which he resided is not known ; though it is indicated, perhaps, by his possession of eighteen acres of land lying near Lobster Cove. He married, ifrst, Sarah, daughter of Morris Somes, June 15, 1665, who died May 11, 1689; and, second, Lydia Griffin, Oct. 23, 1691, who died Nov. 1, 1702 : he died AprU 17, 1702. His chUdren were — Thomas, born in 1666; Henry, 1668; John, 1670, died same year; Samuel, 1672; and Joseph, 1676. Only two of these sons (Thomas and Samuel) appear to have married . and 180 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTEE. settled in town. Thomas married AbigaU Babson, July 8, 1691 ; fr-om whose mother he received a gKt of land situated near her own residence, at the Farms, where he buUt a house, which he made his home for Hfe, and which has been owned and occupied by his descendants down to the present time. He filled the office of selectman several times, and appears to have been a worthy citizen. He died Aug. 1, 1736, aged seventy: his vrife died Feb. 25, 1745, aged seventy-three. They had seven sons and four daughters. One of the sons died in youth: the rest were married, and had famUies in town. The six brothers had sixty-four children ; and the youngest son of the youngest brother is now Hving, at the age of eighty-two, — a hundred and fifty-two years after his father's birth. One of the sons (Daniel), bom in 1700, graduated at Harvard CoUege in 1718. Soon afterwards, he taught a school in Dorchester ; and, in 1729 and 1730, was engaged in the same employment here. He next entered upon the practice of medicine, and contuiued in it dm-ing Hfe. Tradition and history are both sUent concem ing his professional career and reputation ; but the written testimony of his abihty, and usefulness as a citizen, is ample and conclusive. He began in early manhood to take an active part in toAvn-affafrs, and gained a popularity which he preserved to the end of his Hfe. He was toAvn-clerk forty-two years, and selectman thfr-ty-seven years ; and, besides these permanent offices, was fr-equently caUed upon to serve in others of temporary, but no less important character. Being quahfied by education, expe rience in pubhc affafr-s, and interest in the general weKare, his serrices were often in requisition in the preparation of resolves and addresses for the expression of the sentiments of the people at the anxious and excited period which Immediately preceded the Revolutionary War ; and he fuUy shared the patriotic indig nation which fiUed the breasts of his townsmen, when assembled to consider the oppression and wrongs which the mother-country made them so sensibly to feel. Dr. Witham inarried Lydia Sanders, Jan. 7, 1735 ; and had by her twelve children, several of which died in infancy and chUdhood. His son Thomas died at Bayonne, whither he was carried as a prisoner, July, 1757, EAELY SETTLEES. 181 aged nineteen. Daniel, the youngest son, and the only one that survived his father, was a tailor, and had a shop on Middle Street, on the lot next west of the present Orthodox Meeting house. The date of Dr. Witham's death is not known ; but it was about 1776. Ebenezer, brother of Daniel, born in 1702, had sons Asa, Jeremiah, and Ebenezer, who are said to have removed to New Gloucester; whence Asa returned to his native town, and embarked on a privateering cruise, on which he was taken and carried to England, where he died in prison. Zebulon, the youngest son of Thomas Witham, born in 1708, was tvrice married, and, by his two wives, had eighteen children. His youngest son, born in 1778, is stiU living. He was some time a ship-master ; and our Massachusetts State archives contain his deposition concerning his capture, robbery, and release by a Spanish privateer, on the coast of Cape Charles, November, 1740. He died June 22, 1794, aged eighty-six. Samuel Witham married Rebekah Gardner, Dec. 5, 1705, and had sons Samuel and John and a daughter Rebekah, and died before 1723. His residence was on Eastern Point. HuMPHEEY WooDBUEY Is supposed to have been a grandson of John, who came from Somersetshire, England, for the Dor chester adventurers, and was one of the fij-st Enghsh occupants of our territory. The latter had a son Humphrey ; who was undoubtedly the same person to whom, by his vrife Elizabeth, our Humphrey was bom, in Salem, in 1646. He became a citizen of Beverly by the separation of that town from Salem, and there married Ann Winder,* Jan. 8, 1671. The first men tion we have of him in Gloucester is in 1677, when he purchased land on Biskie Island of Joseph Clark. He came into posses sion of other lots on that island, and buUt a house there ; which was his residence, probably, at the time of his death. He died AprU.9, 1727, aged eighty: his vrife died Feb. 28, 1728, aged seventy-five. His chUdren baptized in Beverly were — Bethia, 1672; AbigaU, 1674; Humphrey, 1677, died in 1695 ; Anna, * Perhaps Ann Window, daughter of our Bichard. She might have had Beverly connections in the Bennett Family of that town. 182 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. 1680; Nehemiah, 1686; Abel, 1688; Nathan, 1691; and Israel, 1693. The bfrths of Ehzabeth, 1682 ; of Nathaniel, 1684; of Susanna, 1695; and of Humphrey, 1698, — are re corded in Gloucester. Nathan married Hannah Giddings in 1712, and had three chUdren. Humpheey married AbigaU Bray In 1726, and, after Hving several years on the island where his father settled, removed to New Gloucester vrith the first permanent settlers of that town. He left here a son Abel, who became a sea-captain, and was taken in the Revolutionary War, and carried a prisoner to New York ; where he died, on board a prison-ship, in 1778. Abel's daughter Jerusha, widow of Israel Rust, died AprU 9, 1854, aged ninety-seven. Samuel Yoek. — A Richard York was of Dover in 1661 ; and, in that year, sold land there which he had bought of WU liam Hilton. He appears to have removed to Oyster River, now Durham, N.H. ; where he owned land, which his son John sold in 1676. The latter had a vrife Ruth, and may have been the same John who, in 1684, was Hving in North Yarmouth, Me.; where a Samuel also had land about the same time. No other Samuel appearing, further conjecture inight identify him vrith our settler, and make him the father of Samuel and Benjamin, who were Hving in Falmouth, Me., on the second destruction of that place ; as our Samuel had sons bearing these names. In 1700, he bought of Timothy Somes eighteen acres of land, vrith a house and barn. This land had the sea on the northern end, and Lobster Cove at the southern. His ifrst appearance in Gloucester is at the bfr-th of his son John, by his wKe Hannah, in 1695. This son and another (Thomas) died in 1699 : the father died March 18, 1718, aged seventy-three. A Mi-s. York died Nov. 28, 1724, aged seventy. Samuel York mentions in his will sons Samuel (who had a son Samuel, a minor), Benjamin, and Richard, and three daughters who were married. The ffi-st of these sons is not known to have ever resided here. A Samuel York, Arith his Arife Mary, was living in IpsArich in 1713 ; and, "being arrived at old age," made his will in 1767. He was the same, probably, who is mentioned as executor of the AriU of om- Richai-d In 1729 ; and may have been his brother. Benjamin EARLY SETTLERS. 183 married Mary Giddings in 1704, and had six children born in toAvn before 1728. His name is among the number of admitted residents of Falmouth, Me., in 1727 and 1728 ; whither he pro bably removed. Richard married Patience Hatch in 1711 ; and died May 2, 1718, aged twenty-nine, leaving a Aridow, sons Thomas and Richard, and daughters Patience and Mary. He owned two sloops and a schooner, and is supposed to have carried on the fishing business at Squam. Besides the above Yorks, Joseph settled here in 1700 ; when he married Abigail, daughter of Abraham Robinson. He bought, in 1701, eighteen acres of land near Lobster Cove, where he carried on the fishing business. He died Oct. 13, 1728, leaving an estate of over £1,400 after his debts Avere paid. He had several daughters and a son Joseph ; but the name does not appear to have been perpetuated on the Cape by any one but Thomas, son of Richard. Philip Youdall. — Not much is knoAvn concerning him. Mention is made in the toAvn-records of land once belonging to him; and the Quarterly-Court records, under date of 1648, have preserved his name in connection vrith a criminal offence. Although the date of the first settlement of Gloucester cannot be ascertained, it appears probable that Felch, Streeter, Thomas Smith, Baker, and Cotton, were here before the incorporation of the toAATi, and were located at Done Fudging ; and that Ashley, MUward, Liston, Luther, and perhaps two or three others, were also here before that date, and had lots at the Harbor. These persons may have been here in the employment of Mr. Thom son ; or they, or some of them, may have been companions of Robinson in the removal from the other side of the Bay, if such removal actually took place. Of the whole number who were here before 1651, it appears that about thfrty had their habita tions at the Harbor, and that nineteen of these Hved on the north border of the Harbor Cove ; five had lots at Vinson's Cove ; three resided on Duncan's Point, between the two coves ; and two lived on the south-east side of Governor's Hill. About forty of the first settlers had houses on the " neck of house- lots;" by which term they usually designated that portion of 184 history OF GLOUCESTEE. the territory stretching north from Governor's HUl, and lying between Annisquam River and MiU River. Of the rest of these settlers, there is nothing to indicate the place of residence. The first settlers, or those before 1651, were not aU here at one time. The records show frequent changes in the OAvnership of lots ; and other cfrcumstances give eridence that many of the persons who Hved in toAvn before that date were only brief sojourners. Of aU the first-comers, not more than thfrty became permanent citizens of the toAvn. Before 1651, it is not certain that there was a single family residing in any other part of the town than the two sections above named, excepting one or two on the east erly side of Mill River ; but, soon after that year, settlers are found near Little Good Harbor, at Walker's Creek, at Little River, at Fresh-water Cove, and at Annisquam. A few years later, inhabitants gathered around the coves on the north side of the Cape; and finaUy, about the end of the century, the head of the Cape itself received a few permanent occupants; Kettle Cove had become the abode of one famUy or more ; and no con siderable district of the toAvn now remained unoccupied to attract the attention of new-comers. The spots selected by most of the early settlers for thefr homes were chosen Arith reference to the fitness of the soil for agricultural purposes ; and such is the rugged and broken cha racter of the territory, that even the smaU number of people that then composed its population covered almost every acre of land that could be easily cultiA'ated. Nearly aU of the first settlers had land in several different places. Besides thefr home- lots, those who resided in the Harbor had grants at Fisherman's Field ; and those bring on the neck of house-lots had them on " Planter's Neck, between Lobster Cove and the sea." Possess ing thus different lots in vridely separated places, vrithout, in many instances, any mention of a house, the exact spot on which every settler located himseK cannot be ascertained. Many of them had grants which were not recorded ; and, of those which are recorded, a few are stated to have been made by the com missioners of the General Court : some are entered simply as given, some as purchases, and some as possessions. Planter's EAELY SETTLEES. 185 Neck, where lots were early laid out and numbered, was at An nisquam, — the spot which tradition has always reported to have been the first to receive permanent occupants. Abraham Robin son and his companions may have set up thefr fishery there, as early mention is made of a " stage " at that place ; but no evi dence exists now to show that any of the earliest families resided there. Robinson OAvned land, and a house, the location of which no one can teU; but in it, says the record, "he Hved and died," — the first of the early settlers that passed away to the great congregation of the dead.* * The sources from which I have derived the information given in this chapter are too numerous to be mentioned here in detail. The town-records, of course, have fur nished a considerable portion ; and, of these, it is proper that this work should give some account. The first book is a folio of medium size, with a thin parchment cover, and is much dilapidated and worn. Its continued preservation is secured by the use of a copy made in 1850, having a full index, and the certificate of J. P. Trask, Esq., the town-clerk that year, to its correctness. The first part of the venerable original is itself a copy frora a previous book, as appears by the first entry, in these words : " Gloucester Eecords of all the Land, drawn out of the first Book of Eecords, from the first ordering, settling, and disposing of it, until the 15th of August, 1650; and by whom disposed." The first recorder was Obadiah Bruen, who removed to New London in 1650, and carried with him the original record. Tradition says that he took it because the town would not pay for the book ; but this seems improbable, considering that he left in another volume, in his own handwriting, what we must conceive to have been the most im portant part of that which he carried away. In our book, next to the first entry above extracted, follows a notice of " the first ordering, settling, and disposing of lots by Mr. Endicott and Mr. Downing, commissioners in 1642;" then a list of the persons ap pointed by the commissioners to order the prudential affairs of the town that year, and of those chosen by the town for the same business in the eight years immediately fol lowing; next come " Orders made and published for the good ofthe town since the first settling ofit," in Mr. Bruen's chirography, till 1650; and then follows "Land given and disposed of, and to whom." The rest of the volume is almost entirely occu pied with records of grants, and transfers of land, till we come to a few pages at the end, which contain lists of the selectmen and a few other town-officers for a number of years, and some proceedings in town-meetings. A regular and orderly record of transactions in town-raeetings is commenced in the second volume of the records, in 1693 ; and is continued, with a slight hiatus, down to the present time. The second and third volumes have been rebound within a few years, and furnished with full in dexes. Two volumes of commoners' records contain the proceedings of that body after they ceased to be mixed with those of the town, and all the divisions and grants and sales of land not recorded in the book first mentioned. These three books give the original individual ownership of nearly every acre of our territory. The commoners' books have been recently furnished with indexes, and rebound ; and are now in excellent condition. The selectmen's proceedings are recorded in several books, commencing as far back as 1698. The earlier volumes contain a variety of interesting transactions. They need a new binding, and are well worth the additional expense of an index. Three sraall, narrow books, two of which are quite thin, contain 24 ' 186 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTER. the births, deaths, and marriages to about 1735. To that date, these records show but few omissions: but, after that time, very few deaths are recorded for more than a hun dred years ; and it is evident that raany births also are not entered. The fourth volume continues the marriages and births to about 1776. Two of these volumes are not fit for use; and, fortunately for tbeir preservation, there is little occasion now to refer to them, as their contents have been transferred, in an abbreviated form, to a new volume, in which they are alphabetically arranged. Such are the early town-records. The church and parish records have also furnished inforraation for the last chap ter. The records of the First Church commence with the rainistry of Eev. John White. Those of the other churches and of the parishes begin with the organization of the parishes respeotively. The records of the several churches are valuable for their lists of baptisms; and these should secure their careful preservation. In the preparation of this work, I have minutely examined twenty volumes of these local records ; and I trust that no raore serious fault will be found with the use I have made of them, than that I may have failed to reduce their various spelling of proper naraes to a uniform ortho graphy. The town-records were kept at the house or place of business of the town clerk till 1844, when a Town House was erected, in which a safe place of deposit was provided for them. FIRST SELECTMEN. 187 CHAPTER V. Pirst Selectmen. — Ship Built in the Town. — First Church. — Rev. Richard Blynman : his Ministry, Removal, Death, and Cha racter. — First Meeting-House. — First Tax. — William Perkins, Minister of the Town : his Removal and Death. — Mill. — Rev. John Emerson Settled : his Ministry, Death, and Family. — New Meeting-House. Undee the authority with Avhich they were Invested by the Gene ral Court before the town was incorporated, the commissioners appointed eight men to manage the affafrs of the plantation for 1642. These were WUHam Stevens, Mr. Sadler, Obadiah Bru en, George Norton, Mr. Addes, Mr. Milward, Mr. Fryer, and Walter Tybbot. They were to order all the concerns of the settlement; and probably did so till they were superseded in the next year by selectmen* chosen by the town. The regula tions made by these men, and many of the orders passed by the toAvn, in the course of the ten foUoAring years, relate to trees and timber. One of them mentions, " llth, 9 mo. 1642," a high way t to be laid out through the lots of Messrs. Fryer, Tybbot, and Calkin. Another, passed a few years later, indicates the employment of a portion of the settlers. It declares that " all ship-carpen ters that buUd vessels of greater or lesser burthen shaU pay unto the Town, before the Launching of any vessel, one shilhng a Ton unto such as the Townsmen shall appoint ; or pay, as a de linquent of Town order, ten pence a tree. Neither shaU they be permitted to improve or transport boards, planks, clapboards, boults, hoop staves, fire wood, or any Timber more than other * See Appendix, II. f See Appendix, III. 188 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. men, but only in buUding vessels in the Town." A ship was built in the toAvn as early as 1643, by Mr. Stevens and other ship-carpenters, for one Mr. Griffin. Unhappily for the credit of some of the Avorkmen, a letter has been preserved, which shows that they were guUty of such misdemeanors as requfred the in terference of the Colony Government, and caUed forth an order to proceed against them Arith force.* An hlstorian-f- of this period takes notice of the " good timber for shipping " to be found here, and of several vessels that had been buUt in the tOAvn. He also mentions " a very sufiS.cient buUder ; " in aUusion, vrith out doubt, to our eminent shipAvright, WiUiam Stevens : but neither from him nor any other source is any fmrther information to be derived concerning the employment of omr early settlers in this interesting occupation. A committee, appointed by the General Court to settle the westerly boundary of the toAvn, made their report on the 3d of the third month, 1642; in which they say, "That all the land lyinge between IpsArich and Cape- Ann Meeting-house shaU be divided, six mUes to Ipsvrich, and four to Cape Ann, where there are ten mUes, and soe by proportion where lesse ; that is, by ffyftes ; thi-ee parts to IpsArich for two to Cape Ann; and, where there is more than ten myles, the remainder to He to Jefferie's Creek, and this to be measured by the next General Couirt." The settlers of Cape Ann, with a minister among thefr num ber, were, of course, soon organized Into a church govemment. But, before proceeding to this part of our history, it is necessary to aUude to the Christian worship of which our territory was the scene for a fcAv years immediately preceding the ai-rival of Mr. Blynman in 1642. Rehgious motives and feehngs have ever been among the cluef springs of human action. Under thefr influence, a band of Christian Pilgrims estabhshed the first permanent settlement in New England, at Plymouth ; and, though religion was of less weight among the moving causes that led to the foundation of * See Endicott's letter to Gov. Winthrop, in Hazard's Coll. t Johnson; Wonder-working Providence. — Mass. Hist. Coll., vol. xvii. p. 32. FIRST CHURCH. 189 the Massachusetts Colony, it entered largely Into the hopes and Adews of the settlers. It has been seen that provision was made for the religious wants of the first occupants of our soU ; and, of those who came next, it has been stated, that " the first settlers of Cape Ann were early solicitous to set up and maintain the pubhc worship of God among them. Though they were few in numbers, and strangers In the land, yet, Hke Abraham, as soon as they pitched thefr tent, they set up an altar ; i.e., they agreed on a place where they might meet for the public worship of God on the sabbath." * So they continued, probably, to carry on thefr exercises of prayer and praise, tUl they had the serrices of " master Rashley," who was found here as chaplain, by an Enghsh visitor to the country, about 1640. By whose invitation he came, whether by that of Mi-. Thomson (K he, indeed, esta bhshed a company here) or by that of settlers on the spot, can never probably be known. He was some time member of the church in Boston; and. In 1652, was officiating as minister at Bishop -Stoke, England. The first gathering of behevers here Into organization as a church was the work of Rev. Richard Blynman. This took place in 1642 ; and the church then gathered, and of which he was the first pastor, was the nineteenth, in the order of forma tion, In the Colony of Massachusetts. Neither record nor tradi tion has handed down any account of its members or its early proceedings ; nor, in fact, of its history for sixty years. Mr. Blynman was a native of Great Britain, and was minister of Chepstow in Monmouthshfre. He came to New England, Arith several Welsh gentlemen of good note, by invitation of Edward Winslow of Plymouth ; and settled near him, at Green's Harbor (now Marshfield), in that Colony. Dissensions soon arose, of which no particular information is preserved ; and Mr. Blynman crossed the Bay, and fixed his residence here. Con cerning these dissensions, an early workf on affafrs in New Eng land, in a note of "occurrences touching Episcopacie," says. * Eev. E. Forbes's Sermon, preached in September, 1792. t Lechfords Plaine Dealing. 190 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. " Master Wilson* did lately ride to Green's Harbor, in Ply mouth Patent, to appease a broyle betAveen one master Thomas, (as I take it his name is) and master Bhndman, where master BHndman went by the Avorst;" and concludes Arith an intimation that the latter was forced to leave. Mr. Blynman received several grants of land here ; among Avhich Avas one of eighty acres at Kettle Cove, long called the Blynman Farm. His dAvelHng Is supposed to have been near the Meeting-house, AA-here it is knoAvn that he had a lot. He continued bis labors here tUl 1649. The exact date of his de parture is not knoAvn ; but an entry In the Massachusetts-Colony Records makes it appear that he was here in September, 1649, Avhen Anthony Day petitioned the court against him for tearing a Avidt he had taken out against WUliam Vinson. Mr. Blynman was called before the court for this offence, and acknowledged the fact ; and as he did not do it out of any contempt of autho rity, but only to stop the proceeding that the matter inight be privately healed, he Avas let off Avith an admonition " to beware of the Hke rash canddge for time to come." He was bring in NeAV London, November, 1650 ; having gone on in advance of the rest of the company Avhich, about that time, emigrated fi-om Gloucester to that place. He remained there, preaching to the Indians as well as to his own people, till 1658, when he removed to New Haven; and, after a short stay in that place, retumed to England. On his way, he stopped at Newfoundland ; where he declined an invitation to settle, notA\dthstanding his ministry was " acceptable to all the people, except some Quakers, and much desfred and flocked unto." Having reached his native land, he took up his abode at Bristol; and, in 1670, Avas Hving vrith his wife in the castle in that city. He died at an advanced age. A short time before his death, he pubhshed an essay tending to settle the controversy about infant-baptism. His vvKe's name was Mary ; and thefr- children, born in Gloucester, were — Jere miah, born in 1642 ; Ezekiel, 1643 ; and Azarikam, 1646. Unhappy dissensions di-ove Mr. Blynman from the scene of * Rov. John Wilson of Boston Church, probably. FIEST MEETING-HOUSE. 191 his ffrst ministry in New England ; and the ill-treatment he received from some of bis people here may have hastened, K it did not induce, his departure from the town. His church was defamed ; his pubhc meetings were disturbed ; and he himself was scoffingly spoken of for what he had formerly delivered in the way of the ministry.* But he appears to have worked un disturbed in the other fields of his labor, and to have Hved in peaceful and harmonious relations Avith aU. He was greeted with the loving salutations of eminent men ; and a contemporary Avriterf describes bun as a man " of a sweet, humble, heavenly carriage," who labored much against the errors of the times. The same Avriter also makes him the subject of the foUowing Hnes : — " Thou hast thy prime and middle age here spent; The best is not too good for him that gave it. When thou didst first this wilderness frequent, For Sion's sake it was, that Christ might save it. Blindman be biith in him, who thee hath taken To feed his flock, a few poor scattered sheep. Why should they be of thee at all forsaken ? Thy honor's high, that any thou mayst keep. Wait patiently thy Master's coming : thou Hast hitherto his people's portions dealt. It matters not for high preferment : now Thy crown's to corae, with joyes immortal felt." There is nothing in the town-records about the erection of the ffrst Meeting-house ; + but these records show that the first settlers had a place of pubhc worship, and they corroborate the tradition Avhich points out the spot on Avhich it was located. An order passed for assigning- a piece of land for a burial- ground, Feb. 8, 1644, says, " that, at the end of these lots (viz., Mr. Blynman's, Thomas Jones's, Thomas Kent's, and Tho. SkUhngs's, betwixt and the old meeting-house place) shall be haK an acre laid out for a common burial-place." This language * One of these disturbers of the peace of the church, John Stone of Gloucester, was fined fifty shillings at a court, Aug. 27, 1644. Besides the marriage of a daugh ter in town, he is not otherwise connected with our history. t Johnson, in his Wonder- Working Providence, Mass. Hist. Coll., vol. xvii. p. 32. } Eev. E. Forbes, in his sei-mon at the dedication of the Town Grammar-school House, 1795, says, '' So long ago as in 1633, the first settlers of this town consecrated a house for public worship." 192 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. AriU perhaps justify an inference, that, even at this early period, the second Meeting-house had been buUt, and that the one men tioned in the order was erected by earher inhabitants than Mr. Blynman and bis company. In a grant of land to Sylvester Eveleth, recorded next after a grant bearing date December, 1648, allusion is made to his house on Meeting-house HiU: and in AprU, 1653, it is recorded that Christopher Avery and John CoUins measured the Meeting-house plain, and found it " 39 rods from the creek and WUHam Evans's fence ; and from the north-west corner of Goodman Wakley's fence to Mr. Per kins's fence, 20 and a haK rods ; and from Mr. Perkins's garden fence over straight east to Goodman Wakley's fence, 17 1-2 rods." From these allusions, and other notices of the Meeting house Plain of subsequent date, it appears probable that a house of worship was erected, soon after the incorporation of the town, on or near the spot occupied by three successive buildings for this purpose, about half a mile north of the place indicated as the site of the first one. At a General Comt held the 8th September, 1642, it was ordered " that Glocester is to have ten muskets of the country's lent them ; " and in 1644, at the request of the toAvn, the court ordered that George Norton, as thefr eldest sergeant, should exercise thefr mihtary company. The rank of the town the ffrst year of its incorporation, in pecuniary importance, is shown in the proportion of a Colony rate levied upon it of a tax of £800. The proportion for Glouces ter was £6. 10s. ; that of Ipsvrich being £82 ; Salem, £75 ; and Lynn, £45. The first deputy or representative * to the General Court was George Norton, who served in 1642, 1643, and 1644. The first board of selectmen, or, as the records call them, officers for " ordering town affafrs," chosen by the town, consisted of William Stevens, Walter Tybbot, George Norton, Hugh Calkins, and Obadiah Bruen. Three of these — Stevens, Norton, and Bruen — also acted under authority of the General Court as \ * See Appendix, IV. ¦WILLIAM PERKINS. 193 commissioners to end small causes. Other persons who received appointment to public offices soon after this time were Thomas Smith, WilHam Stevens, and Walter Tybbot, commissioners to end smaU controversies ; Christopher Avery, measurer, to lay out lots granted by the town ; also constable, and clerk of the market and of the band. Walter Tybbot was allowed to draw AAdnes, paying twenty shUlings per annum rent or fine. The removal of Mr. Blynman to New London not only de prived the church here of its pastor, but weakened its abihty to procure another to supply his place ; for, as has been before stated, his departure was foUowed by that of a considerable portion of the settlers, who accompanied him thither. It does not appear that any measures were immediately taken by the toAvn to settle a minister ; but rehgious worship was not neglected. The pious edification and Instruction of the people became the subject of attention soon after Mr. Blynman left, as appears by an order of the selectmen passed on the 30th December, 1649, proriding "that 10 acres of upland shaU be reserved, and laide out, for a teaching Elder, near to the place of the old meeting house, upon the plaine lying neere to the Swampe betweene the harbor and the plantation ; and soe to be reserved unto the use of teachinge Elders unto aU posterltie. Alsoe half an acre of Upland reserved for the Towne to build an house upon for the use of teachinge Elders under the meeting-house where now it stands. LlkcArise 10 acres of fresh marsh in the marsh yt lyeth above the head of Little River." Other encouragement was probably held out, which Induced the removal hither, from Weymouth, of WilHam Perkins, to become the spiritual guide of the Httle band of worshippers then Hving here. He settled In Gloucester In 1650. In Sep^ tember of that year, ten acres of land at the head of Mr. Blyn man's lot, caUed the Plains, were granted to him. This was undoubtedly the same lot mentioned in the order above given. He also had the marsh reserved for teaching elders, and bought of Obadiah Bruen " aU that was his right in Gloucester." A Captain Perkins OAvned land here in 1647 ; and, though the change from the mihtary to the clerical profession is an un- 25 194 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. usual one, there is sufficient reason to beheve that he was the same person who afterwards became the minister of the tovni. Mr. Perkins was son of WUHam Perkins, merchant-taUor of London, by Katharine his wKe ; and was born Aug. 25, 1607. It is supposed that he was in New England as early as 1633, and that he was one of the company that went vrith Mr. Win throp that year and commenced the settlement of Ipsvrich. He was made a fi-eeman in 1634. He married Ehzabeth Wootten, Aug. 30, 1636, at Roxbury. He removed from Roxbury to Weymouth; and, in 1644, was representative from that toAvn, and leader of its military band. He remained in Gloucester tiU 1655 ; when he sold his houses and land here to Thomas Millet, sen., and removed to Topsfield, where he died May 21, 1682. lie had several chUdren. Mary, the only one whose bfrth is recorded here, was bom in 1651, and married OHver Purchas, September, 1672. The town-records were left by Mr. Bruen in the hands of Mr. Perkins ; who dehvered them by vote of the tovAm, Aug. 24, 1651, to WiUiam Stevens. Tradition says that Mr. Perkins preached in Topsfield five or six years immediately following his removal into the tovAn. No means exist for ascertaining his rank in the church, nor the exact office that he fiUed in it. It is not knoAvn that he was ever set apart for the work of the ministry by ordination, or that he was recognized by the ministers of his time as a feUow- laborer of equal standing and authority in the Adneyai-d of the Lord. Our records are sUent, and tradition has not one word to say, in reference to his office or his labors here ; and it is only by the Quarterly-Court Records that he appears at aU to have been a laborer in spfritual things. These present him as a defendant in actions brought by a factious member of his con gregation ; but they contain nothing more serious against him than the reason alleged by a sUly woman, in justification of her absence from meeting, that the teacher was " fitter to be a lady's chamberman than to be in the pulpit." Although, as has been stated on a preceding page, vessels had, at this period, been buUt in the town, and many of the orders passed by the settlers and the selectmen were for the regulation SAVFMILL. 195 of thefr proceedings Arith respect to timber, boards, and plank, there is no mention of a sawmUl before 1653. As early as 1644, the Colony Government granted the town twenty pounds out of a fund left to it for benevolent purposes by Richard Andrews, a godly man of London. This sum was to be expended towards erecting a mUl here ; but it Is not knoAvn that it was apphed to that use. In February, 1653, a vote was passed by the town, authorizing the erection of a saAvmiU vrithout naming the stream on which it was to be located, or mentioning the grantees of the privUege. The latter were to enjoy thefr grant twenty-one years, with the condition that they should sell to inhabitants of the town " Is. per hundred Better cheap than they sell to stran gers," and receive such pay as was " Raised in the towne." The population of the town at this time was small, and, in regard to number, stationary. No accession of inhabitants had suppHed the places of the large portion of the first settlers who had removed. Those, therefore, who stUl remained, wanting numerical strength, and needing all the scanty products of an ungenial soU and an uncertain fishery for thefr own support, con tented themselves, for a few years after Mr. Perkins's departure, vrith such rehgious edification as the most gKted of thefr lay- brethren could afford. Here, again, the court-records are our chief source of Information ; and these, unhappily, present as Htigants the two most gifted in endowments for teaching and exhortation. They show, under date of March, 1658, Thomas MUlet, plaintiff, in an action of the case against WUHam Stevens " for vrithholding a wrighting of the subscription of the inhabitants of Gloster for payment of thefr several sums to Mr. Millet for his labours among them, and his own proportion in cluded, which is 50 shillings." The jury gave thefr verdict in favor of the plaintiff; but no permanent estrangement between the two brethren was produced, as may be inferred from thefr appointment by the court, in June, 1659, to exercise thefr gKts jointly for the edification of the inhabitants, who were ordered to meet in one place together to attend the public worship of God on the Lord's Day, and so to continue tUl Mr. Emerson should be here or come to settle. 196 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTEE. Nearly two years before the date last given, the town had voted unanimously " to seek out in convenient time for a meete person to come and preach the word of God," and had also voted to raise fifty pounds a year for the maintenance of a mini ster or elder. From the allusion to Mr. Emerson In the court order, it is reasonable to conclude that the committee, composed of Mr. Stevens and Mr. Bartholomew, who were appointed to seek a minister, had afready given him an invitation to settle here. A committee was chosen, in 1659, to treat vrith him; but it does not appear from any action of the town that he commenced his labors here before 1661. In July of that year, his salary was fixed at sixty pounds per annum as long as he should continue in the ministry ; and he was to receive it in In dian com, pease, barley, fish, mackerel, beef, or pork. From this time, therefore. Rev. John Emerson may be considered the settled pastor of the church. Mr. Emerson was son of Thomas Emerson of Ipsvrich. He graduated at Harvard CoUege in 1656 ; and was ordained as pastor of our church, Oct. 6, 1663. Rev. Mr. Higginson of Salem, with Messrs. Lothrop and AUen of his church, attended the ordination. In 1672, the town voted that Mr. Emerson should have one- eighth of his salary in money ; and afterwards, for several suc cessive years, by a simUar vote, he received one-fourth of it in money. In 1679, an addition of eight pounds was made to his salary, to provide him firewood ; for AA-^hlch he was to preach a lecture every three weeks, from March to September. He had similar grants in after years, vrith Hke conditions annexed. It is not Improbable that disputes sometimes arose in regard to the articles In which he received the largest part of his salary: so much, at least, may be inferred fr-om a vote of the town, passed In 1684, appointing John Fitch, Thoinas Judkin, and Joseph Allen, " to judge of any pay brought to Mr. Einerson for his salary, whether it be merchantable, and fit to pass from man to man." In 1673, the town voted that he should have eighty pounds to provide himself a house to dwell in. The place of his residence was on the south side of the highway leading from EEV. JOHN EMEESON. 197 the Meeting-house Green to Fox HUl. He had thfrty acres of land about his homestead, and thfrty acres near the bm-ying- place, besides other smaller lots. He was not indifferent to the secular concems of Hfe ; for he became the sole or chief owner of the three principal miUs in town : and, though not favorably located for the accumulation of property, he died possessed of a considerable estate. In addition to his property in Gloucester, he owned farms in Ipsvrich, which probably came to him by Inherit ance from his father. From the various sources of his worldly prosperity, he derived the pecuniary abihty to settle one hundred pounds on his daughter Mary on the day of her marriage. Mr. Emerson died Dec. 2, 1700, aged seventy-five. No In formation has come down to us concerning the rank he held among the ministers of his time ; but, in the absence of all eridence to the contrary, it may be taken for granted that his character was such as to secure him a large place in the affections of the Httle flock, whom, to use. the language of one of his suc cessors, " he served more than forty years In the gospel of God's dear Son." But one article from his pen is known to be extant, — the account furnished by him, in a letter to Rev. Cotton Mather, of the strange and wonderful occurrences here in 1692. If we caU to mind the vritchcraft delusion of that year, by which a neighboring town was made the theatre of the most awful tragedy ever enacted in New England, we shaU indulge in no astonishment that Mr. Emerson ascribed the cause of the excite ment here to diabohcal agency. Mr. Emerson's wife was Ruth, daughter of Deputy-Gov. Symonds. She died Feb. 23, 1702. His chUdren were — Ruth, born in 1660, married, first, John Newman, Esq., Dec. 1, 1683, and next, probably, Samuel Sargent ; Martha, 1662, mar ried WUHam CogsweU* of Ipsvrich; Mary, 1664, married Samuel PhUlips of Salem, May 26, 1687, and died Oct. 4, 1703 ; Ehzabeth, 1667, died in 1683; John, 1670; Dorothy, 1675, married a Henchman; and Samuel, 1678, who died in 1687. * William Cogswell is placed in the list of early settlers; but there appears to be no other reason for putting him there than that he had a son Edward born here Aug. 13, 1686. 198 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. John, son of our minister, was a graduate of the first class of Harvard CoUege that contained a native of Gloucester. He and John Eveleth, another native of the town, were both gra duates of the class of 1689. He appears to have spent the first few years, after graduating, at home vrith his father ; probably in preparation for the ministry. He preached a short time In Man chester; and, in 1701, was residing in Salem, from which place he removed to IpsArich, and in 1703, in a deed, called himseK " gentleman " of that toAvn. In May of the last-named year, he received an invitation to settle in the ministry at Newcastle, N.H., and was soon after ordained in that toAvn ; where he remained tUl 1712, when his pastoral connection Arith the church there was dissolved. He went from Newcastle to Portsmouth, where he was instaUed In 1715 ; and continued there tUl his death, June 21, 1732. Mr. Emerson made a voyage to England in 1708, spent some time in the city of London, and was handsomely noticed by Queen Ann. He married Mary, daughter of Edmund Batter of Salem, by whom he had six daughters who surrived him, and several other chUdren who died young.* tM * Who was the Mr. John Emerson, " a worthy preacher at Berwick," that narrowly escaped the sad fate of Major Waldron and twenty others, who were slain by the In dians at the destruction of the garrison at Dover, on the niglit of the 27th June, 1689, by declining an urgent invitation to lodge there that night? Belknap's History of New Hampshire, vol. i. p. 253, says he was tbe future minister of Newcastle and Ports mouth ; but /le was then only just nineteen, and bad not graduated. Our State archives contain » document in these words; "1689, — This may certify, that, being sent east ward by the Governor and Council, when I came to Newiohewannook (Berwick), Mr. John Emerson being about leaving that place, being helpful to us in his advice and council, and flnding himself both house and furniture, served 11 weeks, — from 7th Sept., 1689, to Nov. 23, 1689." The same archives show that " Mr. Emerson, with Mr. Wise, Mr. Hale, and Mr. Eawson," were desired by vote of the Governor and Council, July, 1690, to accompany the general and forces in the expedition against Canada, — to carry on the worship of God in that expedition. NEW MEETING-HOUSE. 199 About the time of Mr. Emerson's settlement, a new meeting house was erected, and was probably the thfrd one built in the town. In 1660, the inhabitants agreed to gather by rate the sum of sixty pounds to build It, besides the boards that should be used upon it ; and chose Robert Elwell and Clement Coldam to set forward the work. It was completed before 1664 ; as, in May of that year, the timber of the old one was in possession of John Kettle, who sold it, with a house and land In the ricinity of the Meeting-house, to Harlakenden Symonds. The buUding erected stood less than forty years. In 1686, the town voted to buUd two galleries in it, — one in the eastern, and one in the westem end. Of its form, size, or the exact spot it occu pied, no knowledge can now be obtauied. It is known that it was located on the Meeting-house Plain; and the following item of expenditures upon it, in the year 1698, shows that it was fur nished Aidth a bell : — " Building a galerie and ground celling some of ye house, and under pinning ye house 7. 7. 0. Ringing the bell and sweeping the house 1. 4. 0. A man halfe a day to bargain with a carpenter, and drink at ye same time 3. 0. A paire of hinges for ye door cost money 1. 10." No further occasion for allusion to the religious concerns of the toAvn AriU present itseK during the remainder of this century. Mr. Emerson's peaceful ministry expfred with the closing month of this period. His congregation, small and weak at the time of his settlement, had about trebled in number; and was left by him in a state of increasing growth and prosperity, which enabled it, in the course of a few years, to send forth companies of wor shippers to set up thefr own places of pubhc rehgious devotion in remote sections of the town. 200 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. CHAPTER VI. Ship-Building. — Mill. — Cord-Wood. — Mason's Claim. — Indian War OF 1675. — Sawmill. — First General Grant or Division of the Soil. — List of Grantees. — Andros's Government. — Witchcraft. — Tax-List, 1693. — Ferry. — New Meeting-House. — Burying- Ground. — School. — Indian Claim. — Houses and Furniture of First Settlers. — Some of their Customs. The early history of a New-England toAvn of obscure situation, and insignificant importance in regard to business and population, must include, in order that its series of chronological cAents may not present too vride Intervals, notices of many occm'rences that derive thefr chief interest fr-om the distant point of view from which they are contemplated, and from the fact that these occur rences took place on the scene of our oAvn daily acts, and occupied the thoughts and conA'ersation of the remote generations that preceded us here. After a lapse of nearly twenty years, the noted shipAvright of Gloucester, WUliam Stevens, re-appears as the buUder of a ship in the toAvn. He may have buUt scAeral during this period; but not tUl 1661 can any particular instance be glA-en. In June of that year, he agreed Arith " John Brown, for himseK and Nico las and John Balbach of Jarssy, to buUd 1 new ship of 68 foot long by ye keele, and 2-3 foot broad from outside to outside, and 9 1-2 foot in ye hold mider ye beam ; with two decks, fore castle, quarter deck ; ye deck fr-om ye mainmast to ye forecastle to be 5 foot high, vrith a faU at ye forecastle 15 Inches, and a raise at ye mainmast to ye quarter deck of 6 inches. The great cabbin to be 6 foot high. The sd Stevens to be paid the sum of £3. 5s. for every tunn of said ship's bm-then." For part of his pay, he was to receive " £150 in good muscovadoes Shugar, at 2d. by the pound at Barbados." To hoAv great an extent the MILL GEANTED TO ME. EMEESON. 201 business of ship-buUding may have been carried on for thfrty or forty years subsequent to this time, cannot now be ascertained ; but, in the early part of the next centm-y, the toAvn became the scene of great activity in this employment, and of the appear ance of a remarkable man, who, by his connection with its marine interests, conferred upon it a Arider and more enduring fame than had been gained for it by the buUder of the great " Royal Merchant " of London. Means of procuring daily food, and conveniences for prepar ing It, are matters of chief interest and concern at all times : and a mUl for grinding thefr corn was therefore erected by the ifrst settlers of the toAvn ; but no mention is made of the date of its erection. In 1664, the inhabitants granted the mUl then stand ing and in use, vrith aU the rights, privUeges, ponds, and streams belonging to it, and all the fresh meadow above the mill, to thefr pastor, Mr. Emerson, on condition that he should maintain and keep that, or some other null, in such " frame and order " that it could grind for the use of the town. They also signed a docu ment, the intention of which, as far as can be judged from its loose phraseology, was to secure to him the patronage of the whole toAvn. Some difficulty occurring in relation to this grant in 1695, three of the signers testified that it contained the names of aU who were inhabitants or proprietors of the toAvn, with one or two exceptions, at the time it was made. It possesses an inte rest, therefore, distinct from the subject to which it relates, as a source of information concerning the accession of settlers from 1650 to the period of its date. The names of these, afiixed to the grant, were Samuel Abearsoke,* WilHam Coleman, Samuel Dehber, Peter Duncan, John Davis, sen., James Daris, Jacob Daris, WUHam EUery, Richard Gooding, James Gardner, Ed ward Haraden, John Hammons, Thomas MUlet, jun., Francis Norwood, Rowland PoweU, sen., Jeifrey Parsons, Thomas Pinny, John Row, Thomas Riggs, PhiHp Stainwood, Richard Window, and one too iUegibly written to be ascertained. From certain votes of the toAvn, passed some years later, an inference may be This name is plainly written, but does not again appear in our records. 26 202 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. dravioi that Mr. Emerson did not for a long period make any use! of this grant; as, Feb. 18, 1677, the town voted that a cornmlU should be set up and erected on the Sawmill Dam: and, "things not being made clear concerning the old saw-miU," a town- meeting was called on the llth of March following; when, " upon much discourse about the mUl, Mr. John Emerson, hav ing undertaken to erect a corn mUl, did promise in said meeting to set it upon the saw-miU dam, and to supply the town." At the same meeting, Mr. Emerson, John Fitch, and Thomas Riggs, were named as the proprietors of the old Sawmill, which they were to repafr, and to have the privUege of cutting timber enough to make twenty thousand feet of boards yearly, for seven years. They were also to saw " at the halves," and to seU boards on a credit of three months to those who needed credit. No other mention of a cornmill is found till May 13, 1690 ; when Wilham Haskell and Mark HaskeU had liberty to erect one upon Walk er's Creek.* * The first mill in the town was undoubtedly erected, at a very early date, on the spot where part of an old dam is still to be seen, at the westerly end of the stream run ning from Cape Pond. Further information concerning the mills of the town may be desired by some ; and I add it here. 1644. — The General Court granted to Gloucester ^20 out of a gift of Richard An drews, a godly man of London, towards erecting a mill. Mention made of a mill in the grants to Hugh Calkin and Sylvester Eveleth. 16B2. — " There was given by the town-meeting liberty to build a saw mill where they think fit," &c. 1661. — Town gives William Vinson leave to stop the water at the " fresh medoes," above his mill, and to make use of it for his mill. 1864, May. — William Vinson sells to Mr. Emerson, for £5&, his gristmill and three and a half acres of land; the same being near Mr. Emerson's house. 1677, Feb. 18. — Town votes " that there should be a Corn Mill set up and erected on the saw-mill dam," and " that the town give the stream to belong to the Corn Mill." The " saw-mill dam " here mentioned is the place now occupied bythe tide-mills of Messrs. Brackett and Brown. 1682. — Jacob Davis and others have liberty of the stream at the head of Little River to set up a sawmill. Jeff'rey Parsons, sen,, Samnel Sargent, and Job Coit, have liberty of a stream, or brook, between Fresh-water Cove and Kettle Cove, to set up a sawmill. 1689. — A committee chosen " to see that the Corn Mill ba fltted to supply the town with grinding of their corn into meal, or els to see that auother corn-mill may be set up." 1690. — " William Haskell, Jr., & Mark Haskell, made request to have liberty to set dovvn a corn-mill upon a creek called Walker's Creek." Mr. John Emerson, Wil liam Vinson, Peter Duncan, and William Sargent, sen., " did protest against the voit." COED-WOOD. 203 The early inhabitants of the town were undoubtedly indebted to the forests, which covered thefr whole territory, for a con siderable part of thefr Hving. The various acts of the town In reference to wood and timber authorize a behef that a traffic in these was early commenced. A few of the votes in relation to this matter, passed in town-meeting about this period, possess some uiterest. Jan. 20, 1667, itwas agreed "by the whole town" that cord- wood should be cut " from the eastem side of Brace's Cove to Little Good Harbor, forty poles from the sea side up into the woods ; and from Little Good Harbor, round the head of the Cape, to Plum Cove." — "No cord-wood shall be cut to sell out 1693. — Joseph Allen and others had a grant of the stream forraerly granted to Jef- fi-ey Parsons and others, " that they forfitted." 1698. — John Row is about to repair his sawmill. In division of Eev. J. Emerson's estate, John Newman has the fulling-mill, " standing on a creek, or small river, on the northwardly side of a lane or highway leading from the Meeting House up into the woods:" and Williara Cogswell has "a quarter part of the grist-mill and saw-mill standing on the saw-mill river, so called ; and a quarter of the house and three acres of land belonging to said mill." 1701. — Thomas Witham and John Pool have liberty to set up a grist or corn mill on Davison's Run, at Sandy Bay. 1702. — John Haraden has the privilege of the stream that runs into Hogskin Cove. 1704. — Wllliam Cogswell represents gristmill on Sawmill Eiver out of repair; and proposes to put it in order, and supply the town. 1709. — Children of William Cogswell sell mills, &c., in Gloucester, to John Ring. 1720. — Town grants to John Bennet " the privilege of the brook called the fulling mill brook, whereon to set a corn-mill on the lower end of the brook, near where the tide ebbs and flows, so long as he keeps a corn-mUl on said stream, and no longer." 1721. — Euth Newman and her children sell Fulling-mill Stream to John Bennet, with miU Bennet had built. 1724. — John Ring, in a lawsuit against John Bennet, claims certain privileges, and the stream on whioh Bonnet's mill stood, under various grants to Mr. Emerson. Judg ment In favor of Bennet is carried by Ring to a higher court. The town favors Ben- net's cause. 1755. — " Francis Norwood entered mUler of that gristmill whereof his father Jona than Norwood is owner." 1776. — Town chooses a comraittee to see that Ring's MiUs are put in good repair. 1777. — Isaac Bennet, miller for Ring's Mills, engages to repair the same. 1832. — Town chooses a committee to appraise and dispose of privileges at Goose- cove Dam. 1833. — Town sells to Zachariah Stevens, by quitclaim deed, Bennet's-MiU Stream, for $350. Mr. Stevens- was then the owner of " Ring's MiUs." A valuation of Massachusetts in 1771 has, for Gloucester, " 15 1-2 grist-mUls, fulling mills, aud saw-mills." 204 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. of toAvn upon the south side of the path that goes to Salem, tUl they come to the Great Swamp." The forfeit for violation of this order was ten shUlings for every cord of wood cut in disobe dience of it. At the same time, the toAvn also vote that " there shaU be none cut on the north-east side of the path that we used to go in before the new way was marked out from Goodman Par son's house, round the head of Little River, to Goodman Has keU's." Dec. 29, 1669. — "It was agreed that there should be no cord- wood sold out of toAvn under three shillings and sixpence per cord." At the same time, Hberty is given to cut cord-wood at a place near Goose Cove, Arith the restriction that no famUy should cut above twenty cords. Many other votes conceming the cut ting of wood were passed in foUoAving years ; and they aU indi cate a watchful care of the forest. For several successive years, every family was permitted to cut twenty cords on the toAvn's Common for its oavu use ; but measures were taken to see that aU who exceeded this quantity were caUed upon for the penalty for so doing. An early emigrant to Massachusetts mentions a report, that "Hons have been seen at Cape Ann;" but foxes appear to have been the first AvUd animals concerning which the early settlers were caUed to take pubhc action. "25th llmo. 1668. — The order, that there should be two pence given by the toAvn to every inhabitant for every fox that they did kill, was voted doAvn." * The inhabitants of Gloucester were deeply interested in a law which was early passed in the Colony, givdng to riparian pro prietors of the soU certain priAdleges to low-water mark : but these privileges were not so clearly defined as to satisfy the people ; at least, so much may be inferred from an answer of the General Court to a petition of our people in relation to thatch- banks in 1669, wherein the court declares, " that AA-here toAvns do not grant thefr lands to the rivers, but otherArise bound men's • The early records mention a wolf-pen. In 1707, Ezekiel Woodward killed three wolves. In 1713, John Lane, sen., was paid £1. 10s. for kiUIng " a grown wolve." In 1754, the town allowed £i for killing a grown wolf, and £2 for kiUin'g a young one within three and a half miles of the north Une of the town. mason's CLAIM. 205 lands that He by the river-side, that they have not liberty to claim further right by the said law." In 1671, the town again appears as a petitioner to the Gene ral Court. In thefr- petition, they refer to the original boundary of the toAvn granted by the court, which, they state, " they have quietly possessed and enjoyed, till now of late years, to our great damage and wrong, we are disturbed and disquieted." They conclude by praying the court to maintain and confirm the rights formerly granted to them, " against thefr disturbers and opposers." These disturbers were probably the hefrs of Capt. John Mason, who, by vfrtue of the grant of a large tract of country, including Cape Ann, made to thefr ancestor, were now endeavoring to enforce thefr claim to the territory. This claim was aUowed by an Inhabitant of Salem, and satisfied by the payment of a small annual rent ; but, after the opinion of eminent legal authority in England against Its vahdity had been pronounced, it was treated generally as groundless and extrava gant, and entitled to no regard. The people of Gloucester, IpsArich, and Beverly, strenuously resisted it in 1681 ; and, soon after, appear to have been relieved from aU annoyance respect ing it. Among "memorable accidents" at this period, an historian* of New England mentions, that. In 1671, "awhirlvrind at Cape Ann passed through the neck of land that makes one side of the harbor, towards the main sea. Its space or breadth was about forty feet from the sea to the harbor ; but it went with such vio lence, that It bore away whatever it met in the way. Both smaU and great trees, and the boughs of trees that on each side hung over that glade, were broken off, and carried away therewith. A great rock, that stood up in the harbour as It passed along, was scarce able to vrithstand the fury of It, vrithout being turned over." A few years foUovring this event are marked with no occur rences in the history of the town deserving permanent record ; but a period was now approaching which was to include the most * Hubbard, 628. 206 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. exciting and important transactions that had agitated and alarmed the pubhc mind since the settlement of the country. The chap ter which relates these memorable events is fiUed Arith deeds of savage warfare and barbarity, and impresses omr mind vrith pain ful refiections upon the sad fate of those who feU in ambuscade or open fight before the Indian foe ; and the more melancholy doom of the helpless women and chUdren, who, overcome with dread and terror, became the unresisting victims of the toma hawk and scalping-knKe. The Indian War of 1675 affiicted few of the smaU settlements of New England less than it did Gloucester. The isolated situa- tion of the town, bounded on the west by a tract of country too thickly peopled to be crossed by the enemy, and, on every other side, protected by the sea, must have saved it from great appre hensions of assault, though not, perhaps, from some degree of alarm. In all this troubled period, there is no record that any hostile Indian set his foot on our soU ; nor is it knoAvn that more than one person belonging to the toAvn feU in fight dm-ing the war. Hostihties ffrst commenced in Plymouth Colony, in June ; but the theatre of the war was soon changed to the west ern part of Massachusetts, whither the great chief and leader of the savages (Kdng Philip) had fled. In this section many depre dations were committed by the enemy, and severe losses by fight and surprise were sustained by the Enghsh. In the faU, a large force was caUed out for the more rigorous prosecution of the war ; and, as it was raised by levy upon aU the towns, Glouces ter was requfred to contribute its proportion of soldiers from the mihtary company of the place. The persons thus draughted were Andrew Sargent, Joseph Clark, Joseph Somes, Joseph AUen, Jacob DaAds, Vincent DaAds, Thomas Kent, and Hugh Rowe ; " all wch," as added by the ofiicer who made return of the names of the men draughted, " due want warm cloathing, and must haA-e new coates." It is not known how many of the aboA^e-named persons served in the war ; but it is quite probable that some of them prorided substitutes. We are able to add to this hst several names of Gloucester soldiers, though no information can be given of the INDIAN WAE OF 1676. 207 time or place of thefr serrice. The toAvn-records furnish these additional names, and show, that, Dec. 16, 1679, the persons who bore them had lots of land granted at Kettle Cove for thefr " serrice in the Indian war." Among these grantees appear only Joseph Clark and Hugh Rowe of the foregoing list; though Timothy Somes drew a lot for Joseph Somes, who feU in the war. The remaining eleven of the fourteen, which was the whole num ber of the grantees at this date, were John Bray, Nathaniel Bray, John Day, Moses Dudy, John Fitch, John HaskeU, Edward Haraden, Isaac Prince, Samuel Stanwood, John Stanwood, and Philip Stanwood. In 1696, John Babson had a lot that feU to his brother, Thomas Babson ; and the records show that Benja min Jones was also entitled to a lot. In 1676, Dudy and Bab son were both on duty in the garrison at Hadley; and a request was sent to the General Court for thefr discharge. It seems, then, that sixteen men from Gloucester enhsted in this memorable war ; a number equal, it is supposed, to nearly one-fourth of all its male citizens at that time who were capable of bearing arms. This large levy shows the exigency of the occasion, and proves that the struggle on both sides was for the possession of the soil. A committee of the General Court, appointed to ascertain the preparations made for defence by certain toAvns, reported that Cape Ann had made two garrisons besides several particular for tifications. This was In March, 1676 ; about the same time that the Indians were committing some depredations at Andover and other places in its Adcinity, and when they seemed too near for the town to be left vrithout sufficient means of defence. Before the end of the summer, the great leader of the Indians, and the master-spfrit who was at the head of the general rising of his race in arms, — PhiHp, — was slain on Mount Hope ; leavdng a name that avUI always be associated Arith every thing ferocious in savage warfare, and Arith the highest bravery and patriotism of the most renoAvned chjeftains of the civUized races of men. Ilp-taihiff period, no general division or grant of any part of the territory of the toAvn had been made; but on the 27th February, 1688, the toAvn voted, that every householder and young man, upwards of twenty- one years of age, that was born 208 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. in toAvn, and was then liring in town, and bearing charges to town and county, should have six .acres of land. Among the conditions annexed were one, that the Inhabitants should be per mitted to cut wood upon these lots for thefr OAvn use ; and another, securing to the people a free passage through them for certain pm-poses to the water-side. In accordance with this vote, eighty- two lots, aU numbered, — beginning at Flat-stone Cove, and ter minating at Back Beach, Sandy Bay, — were laid out to persons bring on the easterly side of the Cut. The inhabitants on the westerly side of the Cut had thefr- lots where they chose to select them in thefr- part of the toAvn. The Cape lots were drawn by the following persons ; namely : — Joseph Allen. Richard Babson. John Babson. Ebenezer Babson. Anthony Bennett. Nathaniel Bray. John Bray. Joseph Clark. Joanna Collins. Ezekiel Collins. John Cook. Job Coit. Anthony Day. Ezekiel Day. John Day. Thomas Day. Nathaniel Day. James Davis, jun. William Dolliver. Peter Duncan. Isaac Elwell, sen. Isaac Elwell, jun. Jacob Elwell. Robert Elwell. Samuel Elwell. William Ellery. Rev. John Emerson. John Eraerson, jun. Isaac Eveleth's heirs. Sylvester Eveleth. John Fitch. Bartholomew Foster. Joseph Gardner. Stephen Glover. John Hadley. Edward Haraden. John Haraden. Sarah Haraden. John Hammon. Samuel Hodgkins. Henry Joslyn. Thomas Judkin. Thomas Millet, sen. Same, another lot. John Millet. F'rancis Norwood. Francis Norwood, jun. Jeffrey Parsons. John Pearce. Isaac Prince. Thomas Prince, sen. Thomas Prince, jun. Thomas Riggs, sen. Thomas Rio;ss, jun. Abraham Robinson. Hugh Roav. James Row. John Row, sen. John Row, jun. William Sargent, sen. Williara Sargent, jun. William Sargent, 2d. John Sargent. Sarauel Sargent. Nathaniel Somes. Timothy Somes. LAND GEANTED TO ALL TAX-PAYEES. 209 Morris Sraith. Robert Skamp. James Stevens. James Stevens, jun. WilHam Stevens. Samuel Stevens. Philip Stanwood. Sarauel Stanwood. John Stanwood.' Jonathan Stanwood. Thomas Very. William Vinson. Thomas Witham. Henry Witham. Here are but eighty names. John Elwell claimed and re ceived a lot In another place, in 1707, on the ground of his absence when the Cape lots were given. On the westerly side of the Cut, thfrty-one lots were laid out, according to the foUoAring alphabetical arrangement of the grantees' names ; namely : — Thomas Bray, sen. Thomas Bray, jun. John Clark. Peter Coffin. Nathaniel Coit. Richard Dolliver. Jacob Davis. James Davis. Richard Dike. Timothy Day. William Haskell, sen. William Haskell, jun. Benjamin HaskeU. Joseph Haskell. Mark Haskell. Nathaniel Hadlock. Josiah Kent. Thomas Lufkin. Thoraas Lufkin, jun. Nathaniel Millet. John Pulcifer. Thomas Penny, deceased. Jeffrey Parsons, sen. James Parsons. John Parsons. Andrew Sargent. John Sargent. James Sawyer. Henry Walker. Rev. John Wise of Chebacco, for house bought of Tho mas Penny. Humphrey Woodbury. Of the foregoing list of persons, DolHver and the Parsonses were probably the only ones living on the Manchester Road ; the rest being on the Chebacco side of the town, on or near the highway leading to Ipsvrich. These Hsts exhibit one extraordinary fact In the history of the town, — the small increase of its population by immigration for a period of twenty-four years. At the time these grants were made, it does not appear that there were then living in the town more than fifteen males of adult age who had emigrated hither since 1664 ; nor does it seem that the number of transient 27 210 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. settlers in the same time had been considerable : a fact which shows the unattractlveness of the spot in those early times for all but such as had occasion to " go down to the sea in ships, and do business in great waters." These, however, began to multiply in a few years, as the town became engaged in difierent branches of maritime pursuits. WhUe the people were thus adding to thefr individual pro perty, the value of thefr estates was impafred by the unjust and tyrannical measures of the Governor of New England, — Sfr Edmund Andros; the creature of the hated monarch, whose advances towards despotism were happUy checked by the revo lution which placed the Prince of Orange on the Enghsh throne. The Colony Charter, under which the people of Massachusetts had enjoyed liberty and prosperity from its settlement, had, after inefiectual struggles on thefr part to retain it, faUen into the king's hands. The death of the king, the next year, left the co lonists at the mercy of his successor, James IL ; who found in Andros a fit instrument for the exercise of his hostile designs against them. The rule of this govemor, so arbitrary and op pressive, and exercised upon a people accustomed to great political privUeges, aroused, as might have been expected, deep indignation and open resistance. Some "feeble but magnani mous efi'orts of expfring freedom " were exhibited in the refusal of several tovATis to assess the taxes which the Govemor and his Council levied upon them. One of these towns was Glouces ter, seven of whose citizens — namely, WilHam HaskeU, sen., James Stevens, Thomas Riggs, sen., Thomas IVIUlet, Jefii-ey Parsons, Timothy Somes, and WUHam Sargent, sen. — were fined at the Superior Court in Salem for the non-comphance of the town with a warrant for the assessment of one of those odious taxes in the year 1688. The first five of these citizens were the selectmen of the town In that year, and Somes was its constable. In thefr " complaint " of the abuses and vATrongs to which they were subjected, they mention the vdslt to the toAvn ' HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. sad and sweeping calamity by shipAvreck. Often since, by the same cause, has the town been shrouded in mourning ; but, con sidering the scanty resources both of population and propertv upon which this misfortune feU, it stands almost Arithout a paral lel In aU the subsequent disasters to be noticed in our history. Five A'essels — upon a reasonable supposition, comprising not less than one-tenth part of the entfre tonnage of the toAAm — were AvhoUy lost in that year on a fishing voyage to Cape Sable ; and about twenty men — a fifteenth part, probably, of aU the male citizens of the place — perished by the catastrophe.* This loss of population was soon made up by immigration ; and, among the famihes which came into toAvn about this time, the names of some occur which are supposed to be represented by persons now hA'ing here, — Young, Rust, Langsford, Grover, Merchant, WUhams, and Wonson. The first Young who appears in toAvn was Ichabod, who, in 1716, married AbigaU ElweU, and was droAvned at sea, October, 1723. In 1719, he had sixty poles of land on the north-east side of the way going to the head of the Harbor. Another per son of this name (WUham) married here, in 1725, Sarah York. He was, without doubt, the Gloucester ancestor of all the persons • The excellent town-clerk of that day made a particular record of this sad loss, which I here transcribe : — " About the middle of August, 1716, Daniel Stanley, master of a new scooner, was on a fishing voyage, near the Isle of Sables, with several other fishing vessels. There arose a very violent storm; wherein, as 'tis thought, said scooner was cast away upon the norther barr of said Isle of Sables. There was, in said scooner, said Stanley, se. 23; Thomas Day, 40; George Denning, 30; AVilliam Botheam, '25; Francis Perkins, 17; and Abraham Thurrell of Newbury." " On the 14th day of October (being Sabbath day), a nuraber ('tis said about 14 sail) of fisherraen were coming from Cape Subles, some of them witliin 30 or 40 leagues of our Cape, 7 of said vessels belonging to our town. There arose on said day a very Extraordinary storm, which lasted all that day and a great part of the night following. A few days after, four of our vessels arrived, some of them much broken, like wrecks; and four more are not yet heard of: viz., a sloop, Jeremiah Butman, se. 26, master; with him, Andrew Sargent, 25; Richard Emons, 20; Morris Somes, 24; Peter Allen, 23. Another sloop, John Davis, se. 26, master: with hira, Joshua Giddings, se. 38; and two men more. A third sloop, Stephen Ayres, master, se. 26 : with him, John Wise, 25 ; and two men more. A fourth sloop, James ElweU, se. 25, master; and with him, Jeremiah Allen, se. 18; Benjamin Josslyn, oe. 21; John Hachs, 25; and Jas. Farnhara of Boston. This; fourth sloop was seen near Cape-Sable shore in said storm ; aud none of the above- said vessels or men have been heard of since." NEW SETTLEES. 273 on the north side of the Cape bearing this name ; and of Samuel L., who graduated at Bowdoin College in 1840, and, after spend ing a few years In trade at Lane's Cove, studied medicine, and settled as a physician in Marblehead. Nathaniel Rust had an acre of land, near the head of Little River, in 1729 ; but his marriage to Miriam Andrews of IpsAvich is recorded here in 1717. He had a large family ; and from him and fi-om Samuel Rust, who mai-ried Anna Proctor in 1738, it is probable that all of the name in town have descended. Richaed Langsford and JNIary Row were married In 1719, and were the parents of five sons and four daughters. In 1726, he had a house and land on the north of Pigeon HUl ; where, or in that ricinity, his descendants have lived to the present time. The first Grovers in toAvn were AbigaU and her child, from Beverly ; aaHo were warned out of town, according to a laAv of that time, in 1705. In 1719, the marriage of Josiah and Hannah DoUiver is recorded ; and about that time, or soon after, Edmund Grover, Arith his family, came from Beverly, and settled at Sandy Bay. These two Grovers were brothers, sons of Nehemiah of Beverly, who married Ruth Haskell. The father of Nehe miah was Edmund; the same, perhaps, who was of Salem in 1637, and died in 1683, aged eighty-tAvo. Josiah Grover had four sons ; by one of Avhom only (Joseph), the name has been perpetuated. Joseph lived at Fresh-water Cove, where he had three children born before 1764, when he removed to Haverhill. His son Josiah was born in that year ; and died in Atkinson, N.H., in 1856, aged ninety-two. On the organization of the church at Sandy Bay, Edmund Grover was chosen a ruling elder. His Arife Mary died in 1757, aged seventy-eight; and he took the next year a bride of fourscore, who survived the marriage but a few months. He died Feb. 5, 1761, at an advanced age. Ebenezer Maechant of Yarmouth married here in 1719, and has the bfrth of one child recorded. It is not known how. If at all, he was connected with Jabez, who appears in town soon after that date. The latter married Mary Babson in 1721, and had several children. She was probably the widow of John Babson, and daughter of John Butman, who Hved at the 85 274 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. head of Lobster Cove ; where, in 1723, Jabez Merchant had a grant of half an acre of land. She died in 1778 : the date of his death is not knoAATi. They had several chUdren ; the oldest of which was Daniel, who married Hannah Woodbury in 1744. His son Jabez Avas a soldier of the Revolution ; and died in January, 1829, aged eighty. Another son (WUHam) was the father of Epes, who settled at the head of the Harbor Cove soon after 1800 ; carried on the fishing business extensively for many years ; and died April 10, 1859, aged seA'enty-elght. The name of Wilhams Is fii-st found here in the records of the Ffr-st Church, which show the baptisms of Ehzabeth in 1707, and Mary in 1709, daughters of John ^^^illiaais. It Is first mentioned in the town-records on the marriage of John Wil hams and Jane Robinson in 1720. Seven chUdren are recorded as the fr-uit of this marriage ; among whom was Abraham, pro bably the one who was lost on a fishing A'oyage in 1766. Also, in 1720, George WiUiams, a seaman, appears to haA^e taken up his abode in toA\Ti ; and, in 1722, Thomas WUhams; both of whom had children. John Wonson settled at Sandy Bay ; Avhere, in 1726, he had a house. He married, in 1720, Honor Wise, who was a Aridow ; her husband, John ^Vise, haA-ing been lost at sea in 1717. The second husband must also haA-e left her a Aridow in a few years ; as, in 1730, she married Isaac Prince. The last child of four borne by her to Wonson was Samuel, the father of Samuel, who settled at Eastern Point, and died in 1829, about eighty years of age, learing descendants, who are now among the most active and enterprising business-men of the town. One of the family (John) Avas a representative three years, and died Dec. 31, 1857, aged seventy-seven. FIEST PHYSICIANS. 275 CHAPTER X. First Physicians. — Dr. Nicholas Webster. — Dr. Edward Tomp son. — Dr. Daat;d Plummer. ^ Workhouse. — Province Loan. — New Settlers. — Sloop taken by Pirates. Besides the formation of a new church, another indication of the increasing population, at this period, is the settlement of a physician in the town. The early ministers of New England studied both physic and divinity : and it Is supposed that Mr. Emerson thus quahfied himself to minister to the bodily diseases as weU as the spfritual wants of his flock ; but the only evidence that he served them in this double office appears in the settle ment of Hugh Row's estate, in which he receipts for twelve shUhngs and two glass bottles, " being all that was due to him for physic." About the time of Mr. Emerson's death, and for several years later than that, cases are mentioned of resorting abroad for medical help. In 1699, the selectmen had poAver from the town to send Ralph Andrews to the Lynn doctor, James Kibber, to be cured of his lameness, " If the said Kibber doth think he can cure him." In 1715, Robert ElweU died in Ip swich " under the doctor's hands. Female practitioners of the heahng art were also occasionally resorted to ; * a fcAV instances * 1700: Ann Millet was paid by the town £1. 6s. for what she did to the curing of Elinor Gooding. 1712: The town voted " that the requist made by Capt. John Harraden and Nathaniel Parsons concerning Elizabeth Hoping, about Enys Herrick cureing of her sore brist, her husband being not able ; and these two men before men tioned ingaged to see her paid five pounds, if she did cure the woman's brist; and, if she could not cure it, she would have three pounds, or else the said Herrick would not medle with it. And it is left to the selectmen to consider the cure or no ; that is, whether the woman's brist was cured by the said Mrs. Herrick." 1713, March 2: The select men paid Mr. Nathaniel Parsons £1. 10s. " for money which he payd for the cure of or parte of ye cure of Benj. Hoppin's wife." 1722: Mrs. Mary EUery was paid £Z. 18s. "for cureing Ebenezer Lurvey and his Diat." 1725, March 5: EUzabeth Gardner re ceives £1. 10s. ; " it being for what she did to the cureing of the widow Peny's brest." 276 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTEE. of which occm-red, even after the settlement of a professional doctor in the toAvm. The first physician in Gloucester was Nicholas Webster, unless John NeAvman be entitled to that distinction. The lat ter is caUed physician in 1712; but his name is usuaUy given AA'ithout the professional title. Dr. Webster, in March, 1717, bought a house of Thomas Sargent. The only aUusions to this person in connection Arith Gloucester are as " physician " and " doctor ; " but he had preAaously filled the clerical office, if, as is supposed, he is identical with Rev. Nicholas Webster of Manchester. He was born in XcA^bury in 1673 ; graduated at Harvard College, 1695, and died here after a few months' resi dence, Dec. 22, 1717, aged fortA'-three. About three years after the death of Dr. "\^'ebster. Dr. Ed- AA'ARD Tompson appears as a resident of the toA^-n. He Is sup posed to have been a brother of the minister of the Second Church. His intention of marriaare Arith Ann Peker of HaverhiU o is in our toAvn-records, and the bfr-ths of his tAvo children (Ann and AbigaU) are there given. In 1721, he Avas engaged for one term to teach the school for £9. In 1725, he had land " on the toAvn-neck, on the way leading fi-om toAvn to Squam ; " and. In that and the foUoAAdng year, he was one of the selectmen. A^ ith the end of his duties in that office, his connection Arith the toAATi appears to have closed. It is probable that he removed to HaverhiU, where a Dr. Edward Tompson died about 1750. The departure of Dr. Tompson did not leaAe the town with out a physician. Dr. Daaid Pluaimee (probabl-v son of Joshua of NeAvbury, born In 1696) married here, in 1723, Ann New man ; and, from that date, was a permanent resident in toAvn. He Hved in the Town Parish, Avhich was stiU the chief seat of the population ; probably on or near the homestead of Rev. John Emerson, the grandfather of his AA-ife. The pubhc records fru- nish all the information Ave have concerning this physician. His wife Ann died about 1736, haA'ing given bfr-th to one son (Samuel) and five daughters. He next married, in 1737, Anna Barber, a AVidow ; by AA'hom he had two sons (DaAid and Daniel), and several daughters. She sm-vived her last husband ; and the FIEST PHYSICIANS. 277 mention of her widow's doAver, April, 1748, gives the only notice of the probable date of Dr. Plummer's death. Samuel, born in 1725, was educated in his father's profession, and suc ceeded to his practice. An unusual share of domestic trouble feU to the lot of this citizen. His first AvIfe (Mary Low) died in 1749 ; his second (Hannah, daughter of Rev. Joseph Moody of York), in 1752 ; and bis thfrd (Elizabeth, daughter of Rev. Joshua Gee of Boston), in 1762. Liis fom-th wife Avas Widow Anna Sanders. Dr. Plummer died Jan. 30, 1778, aged fifty- three. No further incidents of his Hfe, deserAdng permanent record, have come doAvn to us. His career was strictly a pro fessional one ; and his character, as sketched by one of his con temporaries,* was adorned with the highest vfrtues. By his several wives he had eleven chUdren, — six sons and five daugh ters. The tragic elements of Hfe enter largely into the history of the sons, and throw around one of them a veU of impene trable mystery. Samuel, the oldest, born in 1752, graduated at Harvard College in 1771. He retumed to his father's house, and engaged in the study of bis profession ; and, while thus employed, public suspicion rested upon him so strongly, as the author of a crime of the blackest dye, as to compel him to take an abrupt departure from the town. A female negro slave, belonging to his father, had been discovered to be In a state of pregnancy ; and not retuming one night from the Poles pasture, to which she had gone for the cows, a dihgent search for her revealed the horrible fact that she had been murdered. A sword, Arith which the deed was done, was found in a crevice in a large rock. It was known to belong to Dr. Plummer; and * Rev. Obadiah Parsons, in the following words: "A gentleraan in whom were united the tender husband, the affectionate parent; and in whom the town has lost a distinguished and celebrated physician, a most important member of society ; and his country, a warm, steady, and firm friend; the church of which he was a member, one who had the Redeemer's interest nearly at heart. He was one who pursued the direction the apostle gave to the Romans, xiv. 8. Without flattery, no man in this town, and among his numerous connections, was more universally beloved while living, nor whose death was more universally lamented. He Uved in the Fourth Parish in this town, and died of a violent fever. In his last sickness, he exhibited a truly Christian patience and resignation; tUl, as I trust, he fell asleep in Jesus. Help, Lord; for the righteous fail." 278 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTEE. the name of bis son was immediately associated with this act of double Arickedness. As no legal measures were taken to inves tigate the case, he did not leave home immediately ; but the in creasing mutterings of the people at length aroused apprehension of arrest, and he was obHged to fiee to escape the possible consequences of the awful deed which had been committed. He left the toAvn by the way of Squam Ferry and the IpsArich Road, and never again but once returned to It. Thfrty years afterwards, on a Sunday morning, he made his appearance in his native place once more, and stopped at a tavern at the Harbor. His stay was short, extending only to the next day. No disguise was necessary, of course, after this lapse of time, to make hun seem to others, as he must have felt hunself, a stranger. It is not known that he avoided recognition, or that he sought to ex change greetings with the fr-iends and acquaintances of his youth whom death had stUl spared. In company vrith a cousin, to whom he made himseK knoAvn, he visited the spot of his bfrth and the haunts of his early years. Around these scenes he lingered several hours : but no visible emotion disclosed the state of feeling which they awakened ; and he took his departme from them and from his companion, Arithout leaAdng any infor mation of himself by which his preA-ious or subsequent cai-eer can be traced. Joshua, brother of the preceding, born in 1756, graduated at Harvard College in 1773, and also adopted his father's profession. He settled in the Hai-bor Parish of his native toAvn ; but, after a few years' practice here, removed to Salem, Avhere he died in August, 1791. His wife was Ohve Ly man of York, jMe. ; who, Arith seven young children, survived her husband. One of these chUdren (Cai-ohne), who died in Salem a few years since, by her AriU endowed a professorship in Hai-vard CoUege, and also left a lai-ge sum to a Hterai-y institution in Salem. Dr. Plummer, though still a young man at the time of his death, had acqufr-ed considerable celebrity as a physician ahd sm-geon. Of the other sons of Dr. Samuel Plummer, two came to thefr death by drowning : David, by shipwreck on Plum Island ; and John, by being knocked overboard, just outside of Eastern Point, by the boom of a yacht which he was taking to WORKHOUSE. 279 the West Indies for sale. Another son (Joseph) settled in Weymouth. David, son of Dr. David Plummer, born In 1738, became a merchant, and had a store at the corner of Hancock and Front Streets. He was a prominent citizen many years, though without official distinction. In the early days of the Revolution, his political affinities were not entirely agreeable to his toAvnsmen ; and, in order to shield himself from the suspicion of cherishing Tory principles, he was obliged to make a public declaration of his sympathy with the popular cause. His reli gious sentiments, too, found no favor with a large portion of his contemporaries ; but they gained him the posthumous fame of being handed doAATi, on the marble which marks bis grave, as " one of the most distinguished members of the Universal Church in this toAvn." He died in July, 1801. Daniel Plum mer was the father of Aaron, an aged citizen still living, who was representative in 1831 and 1832. In 1719, the town built its first work-house. It had not for many years been without paupers ; but the number was so small, that separate provision was made for each by the selectmen. The accommodations provided do not indicate a large number of this unfortunate class : for the house which the town ordered the selectmen to buUd was to be "24 or 26 foot loner and 12 foot wide, and 6 foot stud between joynts." It was built in a few weeks, at a cost of twenty pounds ; and immediately had for an occupant Ruth Miller. It was set upon land on the south easterly side of Governor's Hill, reserved by the commoners for that purpose. By a vote of the town in 1732, an enlargement was provided for ; but another vote in the next year, directing the selectmen to let it, authorizes an inference that it then had no occupants. This building was sometimes called Ruth Miller's house. She was a pauper several years, during a fcAv of which she was probably the sole occupant of the tenement. The custom of providing for that class in private famUies, which had existed from the beginning, stiU prevailed, and continued long after the period of which we now write : but it might sometimes have been difficult to contract for the maintenance of a pauper ; and in some cases, perhaps, the need of pubhc help could be satisfied 280 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. by furnishing a place of abode. One or both of these causes probably led to the erection of the fii-st work-house. Dependence upon public charity for subsistence has always been one of the last necessities to which the race that peopled New England would yield; and therefore, in every period of the histoi-y of om- toAvn, the class of paupers has comprised few Avho were not utterly helpless and friendless. The ratio of this class to the whole population was no greater in early times than it is now. Few then were very poor, and none were rich. For more than fifty years after the settlement of the town, it does not appear that any person in it was worth a hundred pounds, exclusive of real estate and farming stock ; and, of that, not more than two or three had enough to reheve them fr-om the necessity of daily toil. Though a mint was in operation in the Colony as early as 1652, our ancestors had little to do with gold or sUver coin. They not only did not accumulate it, but, such was its scarcity in thefr time, they rarely handled it. By early laws of the Colony, wampum and buUets passed currently in the payment of smaU sums ; and the support of the government and the ministry could be paid in the products of the earth and the sea. In 1690 commenced the era of paper money, with the issue, by the Colony Government, of biUs of credit. The first of these issues, made in the form of a loan to the toAAms, was in 1721 ; when, of £50,000 issued, Gloucester received £600. 10s., which was placed In the hands of Samuel Stevens, Ensign William Haskell, and Lieut. .John Davis, as trustees, with dfrections to let the same on good and sufficient securitA', in sums not less than £10, at six per cent per annum, to any person dwelhng in the town. This kind of currency continued in use more than half a century ; and the people of Gloucester, AA'ithout doubt, experi enced thefr- full share of all the inconveniences and loss Arith AA-blcb it was attended. In 1726, this money was called in to be repaid to the Province treasury. Of another loan. In 1728, of the same kind, Gloucester let out its proportion as before ; but had not succeeded. In 1739, in calhng It aU in. The population of the toAvn was stIU Increasing by immigration ; NEAV SETTLERS. 281 but the new settlers deserving particular notice are few. The foUoAring, however, should be mentioned : — William Fears first appears here at bis marriage, July 24, 1721, to Naomi Stanwood ; by Avhom he had sons Wilham and John and two daughters. The date of his death is not known ; but It appears that he was ahve in 1755. His son WUliam married Ann Bray, Nov. 27, 1746 ; who bore him, Aug. 26, 1747, tAvin-sons (WUHam and John), and six other children In subsequent years. William married, in 1774, Widow Patience Wilhams ; who died Nov. 25, 1842, at the advanced age of ninety-four. James Beoom, born in England, came to Gloucester about 1721 ; when he married Mary Tricker, by Avhom he had three sons and six daughters. Of the former, nothing is known beyond the period of infancy. They did not perpetuate the name here, and the blood only exists in descendants of the female Hne. Broom kept a tavern and barber's shop in the old house stUl standing on the south side of Middle Street, the second east from Hancock. His daughter Rebecca became expert as a bar ber, and carried on the business many years in the house at the corner of Pleasant Street and Middle Street. Her shop was long a place of resort for aU the Arits and genteel idlers of the toAvn. Her husband was Andrew Ingersol, by whom she had a daughter Rebecca, who Inherited her mother's peculiar faculty, and succeeded to her business. She was intelligent and Hvely ; and through her intercourse from childhood with aU classes of people, seamen and landmen, acqufred a fund of information which made her a very agreeable talker. She last occupied an old house which stood on a lane leading from Front Street to the water-side ; and many of our middle-aged people remember the attiactions of pictures, bfrds, and anecdotes, which made the shop of " Aunt Becky " a place of the highest enjoyment In thefr youthful days. One of James Broom's daughters (Esther) married Sargent Ingersol, settled in Maine, and Hved to be about a hundi-ed years old. Nehemiah Adams had a half-acre lot in 1725 ; but he was here m 1721, when he married Hannah Riggs. He had several 36 282 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. children ; but the only sons who married and settled in toAvn were Nehemiah and Andrew. Jonathan Teask came to Gloucester, about 1722, fi-om Salem ; where in the previous year, by his Arife Hannah Gage, his son John was born. Seven sons were born to him in Glouces ter. This name appears early In the Massachusetts Colony. William Trask was with Conant at Salem in 1628; and was, perhaps, one of his company at Cape Ann. He was a citizen of distinction, and died in 1666, at an advanced age. Osmand Trask of Beverly died about 1676, leaving several chUdren, among whom was a Jonathan. Besides the sons above men tioned, Jonathan of Gloucester had a daughter Hannah, who, with her brother Jonathan, made oath to the inventory of her father's estate in 1745. He left a son Jonathan, who married Abigail, daughter of Capt. Charles Byles. This second Jonathan served as a soldier in the French War vrith his father-in-law; was at the taking of Quebec ; and, at the commencement of the Revolution, enlisted as Heutenant in a company which was stationed on Winter HiU, near Boston, and afterwards in Cam bridge. He went to Long Island Arith his company, and was ia the engagements Arith the enemy there ; but soon retm-ned home in consequence of severe Ulness brought on by exposm-e and fatigue. He was confined to his house two years, and retained a broken constitution tUl his death, about 1800, at the age of seventy-seven years. His Arife died in 1827, at the advanced age of ninety-seven. John and Isaac, sons of the last-named Jonathan, were both lost at sea. The former went to England just before the Revolution, and remained in that country. Soon after the peace, he had command of a ship which came to New foundland to load Arith dry fish for the Mediterranean ; and, whUe there, wrote to his friends in Gloucester, — the last tidings ever received from lum. Isaac Trask was in the army in the early part of the war ; but, after about two years' serrice, he left it, and engaged in privateering. WhUe in that employment, he was taken prisoner, and compeUed to serve on board an enemy's ship. He was obHged to fight against his country, in the engagement Arith the fieet of Count de Grasse, as an attendant upon a gunner to ISE.AEL TEASK. 283 hand cartridges and balls ; many of which he contrived to slip overboard, whUe the gunner supposed they were going Into the guns. He made many attempts to escape, and was severely whipped for one of them ; but he did not get clear till the war was over. He perished on the Grand Bank, about 1790, In a riolent gale. In which several fishing vessels foundered. Israel, another son of Jonathan, born in 1765, went to the camp with his father in 1775, and remained vrith him tUl the evacuation of Boston by the British the next year, when he returned to Gloucester. Only one employment then remained open here for an active youth ; and upon it this lad soon entered. He made several cruises' privateering, and experienced the varied fortune by which that employment was attended. In 1779, he embarked, in the ship " Black Prince," in the unfortunate expedi tion to the Penobscot ; and remained on board till she was bloAvn up at the head of narigation on that river. He then retumed home on foot ; travelhng, the first part of the journey, through a dense Arilderness. After a short stay at home, he again engaged in privateering, and was twice taken, and confined on board a prison-ship. From the last one, at Hahfax, he escaped. In a foggy night, in a boat which two of his feUow-prisoners had just taken from a ship under the ears of a sentinel, after sArim- ming two hours to get it. The party that escaped In her, after they had been out at sea ten days, were picked up by a privateer, and brought to the United States. Peace soon foUowed, and fafr prospects of success invited attention to maritime pursuits. The subject of this notice, stUl a youth, with a scanty stock of school education, but an abundance of energy and self-rehance to supply the defect, then entered upon a seafaring Hfe as his chosen calling. In due time, he rose to the command of a vessel, and finally to a participation in the business and profits of ownership. He acqufred a competency long before old age came on ; and, Arith an occasional adventure In commerce, spent the latter part of his life in the care of his estate, amid the enjoyments of home. He took a deep interest in public affafrs, and was tArice elected senator from Essex County. By tempe rance and exercise, he preserved the advantages of a good here- 284 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTEE. ditary constitution, and retained in a wonderful degree, to the end of his life, aU the mental and physical faculties with which nature had endowed him. It was only a few days before his death that his erect form and agUe step were missed from our streets. He gave much attention to intellectual cultivation, and could speak several foreign languages with fiuency; but he Is best remembered by his toAvnsmen as a man of pure morals, of benevolent heart, and very courteous manners. He died Oct. 4, 1854, aged ninety; leaving several daughters, and one son Avho is settled in lUinois. His youngest son OlAvyn died in Texas of a wound received in the battle of San Jacinto. Thomas Saville Is said by his descendants to have come to this toAvn from Maiden. Famihes of this name were early in Massachusetts ; but It is not known to which our settler belonged. He was a cooper, and took up bis abode in Squam, where he lived to the age of elghty-fom- years. He married, in 1722, Mary Haraden ; by whom he had a son John, who married here, but did not perpetuate the name In toAvn ; and a son Jesse, by whose descendants the name is still borne here. He also had a son Thomas, of AA'hom notliing Is knoAvn ; and other chUdren, AA'ho died young. Jesse Saville was an officer of the customs in 1770, when such employment was held only at the expense of much unpopularity and considerable personal danger. The strict performance of what he considered his duty made him odious to his townsmen, and for it he suffered severely In his person and property. It also subjected him to annoyance in later days, as the hostile feelings engendered by his official acts long surrived the events whieh caUed them forth. He hved a useful but retired life; and died March 11, 1823, at an advanced age. Mr. SaviUe had several sons. John went to sea at the age of fom-teen; Avas taken by a British frigate, and carried to England, whence he never returned. Oliver died of smaU-pox on a voyage to India ; and David was lost at sea with the whole company of the ship " Winthrop and Mary." Besides these sons, there were Thoinas, James, and WilHam, Avho married and left chUdren. The first of these was father of David, represen tative in 1835 and 1836 ; and the last was the weU-knoAATi citi- NEW SETTLEES. 285 zen, who died Jan. 12, 1853, aged eighty-three. He was a schoolmaster in early Hfe ; next, a trader ; and finally, for about twenty years, town-clerk. William Coas, a seaman, born in England, came to Gloucester about 1723, when he married Mai-y Gardner of this town. He had. In 1725, a grant of land on the south side of the way lead ing to Eastern Point; and died about the 1st of January, 1764. Five chUdren are recorded to him ; one of whom (Wil ham), bom in 1725, commanded one of the fii-st privateers sent fr-om Gloucester in the Revolutionary War. His first cruise was attended Avith great success, as wiU appear in another chap ter ; but his last was disastrous, and, for himself, had a fatal termination. On that cruise, he was captain of the ship " Starks." When only a few days out from home, the ship was taken, and he was carried a prisoner to Halifax ; where he was kept some time In confinement, and then put on board a cartel bound for Boston. On the night after she sailed, a violent storm arose ; In which it is supposed the ship went doAvn, as no tidings of her fate were ever received. He was a man of great enter prise, daring, and bravery ; not Arithout some of the faults of the privateers-man, nor destitute of the best qualities of a true- hearted saUor. The name is stUl borne here by descendants. Chaeles Gloa'ee. — This name came before us in the ffrst years of omr history ; and now re-appears, though no connection is traced between the two persons who bore It. The last one was married here, in 1723, to Hannah Butman. He was em ployed here In 1727 and 1728 in teaching school; but, after that, his Hfe appears to have been one of poverty and sickness. In 1730, the toAvn aUowed Epes Sargent, Esq., for money paid to "ship of Charles Glover." In subsequent years, he was re heved by the toAvn ; and, in 1737, the expenses of his last sick ness and burial were defrayed at the public charge. He left a son Charles, who died of smaU-pox, Jan. 22, 1764, aged thfrty-one. John Stacy, the first of the name in Gloucester, appears in toAvn in 1723 ; when he was appointed an innholder, on the con ditipn that he should seU no mixed drink on the sabbath-day. 286 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. He was a son of Thomas Stacy of Salem, who died In 1690, leaving a farm in Ipswich, where John subsequently settled. He Is called a miller in IpsArich, and a millwright in Gloucester. His wife Mary died Sept. 6, 1720 ; and it appears by the Ip sArich records, that, within two months afterwards, he was again Intending marriage. The name of the intended wife was Eliza beth Littlehale. Nothing further is known of him than that he died Feb. 22, 1732, aged sixty-seven. He was probably the father of Nymphas, who married Hannah Littlehale in 1724. Nymphas was a shoemaker, and many years a deacon of the First Church. He died Nov. 14, 1774, aged seventy-five, leav ing several children. The oldest (Nymphas) pursued his father's business, and succeeded to his office in the church. He was married six times (If he married twice according to his pubhshed intentions), and died a widower, at an advanced age, in Wiscas set, Me. He removed to that place, late in life, to reside Arith a son who had settled there. Another son of the ffr-st Nymphas was Benjamin, two of whose grandsons (Eben H. and Eh F.) have been collectors of the customs for the district of Glouces ter. Eben H. was a delegate to the Constitutional Convention of 1853. Philemon, a brother of Benjamin, graduated at Har vard CoUege in 1765. He was employed for several subsequent years in teaching school ; but he abandoned that occupation in 1779, and cast his lot with the unfortunate company of the pri vateer ship " Gloucester," Avhose melancholy fate will be noticed in another place. He married Mary Rand in 1772, who sm vived her husband fifty years, and died in Boston in 1829. A Rufus Stacy settled here about 1731, and had a Arife and chil dren. Concerning him. Rev. John Rogers makes the following entry in an interleaved almanac of 1758, against the date of July 13: "Ncavs comes of Capt. Samuel Day and Rufus Stacy being taken by the Indians this day week In their fishing boat;" and again, the 15th : " The above news confirmed by the arrival of Nathan Patch, Avho liked to have shared the same fate." In the month of April, 1724, the sloop " Squfrrel," owned at Annisquam, arrived at that place, from AvhIch she had sailed a short time before on a fishing voyage, under the command of SLOOP TAKEN BY PIEATES. 287 Capt. Andrew Haraden. This vessel had been taken, on the 14th of AprU, by John Phillips, a noted pirate, who the next day, Arith aU his company, abandoned his own vessel, and went on board the " Squfrrel," which was a fine new vessel, then on her first voyage. On the 17th, Haraden, Avith John Philmore and six other prisoners forcibly detained by PhiUips, devised a plan for deUvering themselves from this pfratical crew, AA-hich they executed the next day in the following inanner : The sloop being new, and not entfrely finished, the captain had been pro vided Arith the tools necessary to complete the unfinished work ; and, after the capture, the pfrate employed Haraden about it. On the 18th, at twelve o'clock, the appointed hour, the tools being on deck ready for work, and the vessel making good way through the water, Edward Cheeseman, one of the men who planned the recapture, seized John Nott, the master of the^ pfrates, while he was walking on deck, and threw him overboard. Haraden immediately struck doAvn PhilHps with an adze ; an other man despatched Burrell, the boatswain, with a broad-axe ; and the others feU upon Jaines Sparks, the gunner, whom they also threw overboard. The rest of the pfrates then surrendered themselves prisoners. Capt. Haraden brought In the heads of Philhps and BurreU; and tradition affirms that the head of Phil hps was hanging at the sloop's mast-head when she arrived at Annisquam. One of the number engaged in the recapture was a French doctor, who was kUled on board the sloop, just as they arrived in the harbor, by the premature discharge of a gun which he was about to flre. On the 25th, Thomas Haraden, Israel Tricker, and WUHam MUls, made oath before Epes Sar gent, Esq., justice of the peace, to the particulars of the capture ; and the sloop proceeded to Boston Arith the prisoners and forced men, who were arraigned before the Admfralty Court on the llth of May. Cheeseman, Philmore, Henry GUes, Charles Ivemay, John Coombs, John Baptist, Henry Payne, Peter Taf- fery, Isaac Lassen, John Butman, and three negroes, were acquitted as forced men. John Rose Archer and WUham White were found guilty of pfracy, and sentenced to be hung on the 2d of June. Two others (WUliam Phillips and WUliam Taylor) 288 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTEE. were also found guilty, and were sentenced to death ; but were reprieved for a year and a day, to be recommended to the king's mercy. Archer and White were executed at CharlestoAvn Ferry, under their own black flag, June 2, 1724. White's body was afterwards hung in frons on Bfrd Island. On the sabbath before thefr execution. Rev. Dr. SewaU preached to them from Matt, xviii. 11. They both appeared penitent at the gallows. Hangman's Island, in Annisquam River, received its name from some connection with this event. Tradition reports that some of the pirates were hung there. This, we have seen, is not true AvIth respect to any who were brought in ahve. It is not improbable that the dead bodies of Phillips and BmrreU were suspended from a mock gaUows or a tree on that islet. Haraden, Cheeseman, PhUmore, Giles, Ivernay, Butman, and Lassen petitioned the General Court to be rewarded for taking this piratical crew. The court, considering the service performed to be of great importance, granted them £32 each, and an addi tional ten pounds each to Haraden, Cheeseman, and Philmore,* who particularly distinguished themselves in the action. They also granted £20 to Capt. Haraden to pay the expense incm-red in bringing the sloop and pfrates from Gloucester to Boston. This gang of pfrates had taken, between the 29th of August, 1723, and the date of Haraden's capture, thfrty-four vessels ; taking from them what they Hked, and kUling or beating and abusing the crews. One of these vessels was a schooner be longing to this town, commanded by Mark Haskell. PhUmore was one of the crew of this schooner, and was taken by the pirate, who kept him on board of his vessel several months. No thing is known of thefr conduct towards Haskell and the rest of his crew. Philmore made a statement of the proceedings of the pfrates AA'hile he was kept among them ; from which it appears that Philhps kUled two of his gang for attempting to leave him * John Fllmore of Wenham died about 1723, leaving a son John, who was undoubt edly the one taken by PhUlips, and the same who was intending marriage with Mary SpiUar of Ipswich, Nov. 28, 1724. He had a son Nathaniel, who became a resident of Bennington, Vt.; and died there in 1814, leaving a son Nathaniel, who was father of Millard FUlmore, late President of the United States. SLOOP TAKEN BY PIEATES. 289 and head a pfratical expedition themselves, in a snow he had taken bound from New York to Barbadoes. Philmore also states that he contrived the plan for retaking the " Squfrrel." PhUHps was known to be cruising about Cape Sables before he took Haraden's sloop. He had taken the schooner " Good- AriU," of Marblehead, on the 4th of April, and had used the crew very Ul; and it was upon information of this, or some other pfratical act at the same time, that Lieut.-Gov. Dummer de spatched the ship " Sea Horse " in pursuit of him. Our waters had been infested by pfr-ates several years before the depredations of PhUlips. Of Quelch's gang, an account has been given in a preceding chapter. Hutchinson relates that a pirate-ship, carrying twenty-three guns and one hundred and thfrty men, commanded by Samuel Bellamy, appeared off Cape Cod in 1717, and took several vessels; one of which, with seven of his crew, was retaken. His ship was soon after cast ashore on Cape Cod in a storm, and the whole company except two were droAvned. Six of the company, who were probably in the vessel recaptured, were taken to Boston ; where they were tried, found guUty, and hung. It seems that more than two of Bella my's crew must have saved thefr Hves when the ship was Avrecked, or that some left her before that event ; for the Massa chusetts Records state that John Pearce and Richard Martin were taken in a sloop, of which Daniel CoUins was master. In 1717, by a sloop with pfrates, who had escaped from the ship wrecked at Cape Cod. It is not stated that the vessel taken belonged to this town; but two of the men bore Gloucester names. 37 290 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. CHAPTER XI. Second Parish. — Rev. Richard Jaques: his Ministry, Sickness, AND Death. — Third Parish. — Rev. Benjamin Bradstreet: his Ministry, Sickness, and Death. Immediately upon the death of Mr. Tompson, the Second Church took steps to fiU its vacant pastorate. Mr. WUham Tompson,* brother of the late pastor, was sent for; and the choice of the people wavered for a time between him and a Mr. Denis, but finally settled unanimously upon Mr. Richard Jaques, to whom they offered one hundred pounds settlement, and one hundred pounds yearly salary, " so long as he should perform and carry on the whole work of the ministry." He accepted these terms, and was ordained Nov. 3, 1725. Mr. Jaques was born in Newbury, April 12, 1700; and gra duated at Harvard College in 1720. Nothing appears to show that the harmony of the parish was distm-bed during the first years of his ministry ; but, during the latter part of it, a con troversy respecting his salary was carried on, which probably grew out of the original terms of settlement. He was to receive his salary in pubhc blUs of credit, which were to be increased or diminished in amount according as the biUs should fluctuate in value. The lowest sum it reached in lawful currency was forty- four pounds. The last year of his public labors, it was fifty-three. In the spring of 1764, Mr. Jaques was rendered unable to perform his ministerial duties by an attack of paralysis, from which he never fully recovered. The terms of his settlement 1759. * He was settled over the church in Scarborough, Me., in 1728; and died there REV. EICHARD JAQUES. 291 were such, that his salary now ceased ; but the parish made him a smaU aUowance from year to year during the latter part of his hfe. The relations between pastor and people were no longer of an harmonious character. He considered himself ill used by his people (Arith reference, probably, to thefr unArilhngness to make any permanent provision for his support) ; and, on one occasion, was so angry vrith them as to refuse to deHver the church-records to a committee which had been sent to get them. In this unhappy condition of affafrs, they set apart the 30th of October, 1766, for a fast ; in the religious exercises of which they were assisted by Rev. John Rogers of the Fourth Church, and Rev. Benjamin Tappan of Manchester. These clergymen caUed on Mr. Jaques, and found him "much discomposed." They adrised the people " to make him easy ; " as, if they did not, they would not easUy find a young man to come and settle Arith them. A few days after the fast, the parish sent a com mittee to iir. Jaques to Inquire the reason why he was " trou bled Arith his people ; " but the result of thefr interriew was not recorded. Repeated attempts were made during the two fol- loAring years to settle a colleague with him : but no effort suc ceeded tiU 1769, when Mr. Daniel FuUer was obtained ; the parish having, in March of that year, made thefr aged and in firm pastor easy by voting him an allowance of twenty shUHngs per month. Mr. Jaques died AprU 12, 1777, — the day on which he com pleted his seventy-seventh year ; having been confined to his house, and most of the time to his bed, for the long space of thirteen years. He was so helpless at the time he sold his house to Mr. Fuller, about 1770, that it was necessary to carry him to his new abode on a Htter. Mr. Jaques preached a thanksgiving sermon for the success of the expedition to Cape Breton, July 18, 1745, from Heb. xi. 33, 34; but it is not knoAvn that any of his Avritings were printed. His wife was Judith, daugh ter of Col. Thomas Noyes of Newbury. She died about 1789, aged eighty-nine. Thefr only son Thomas married Sarah Has keU of this toAvn, and resided here tUl a few years before his death; when he removed to Newbury, where he died about 292 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTEE. 1805, upwards of eighty years of age. His youngest daugh ter married a Bray of this toAvn, and has descendants hA'ing here. The people of the northerly part of the Cape began now to discuss the expediency of organizing themselves into a separate church and precinct. For fifty years after the incorporation of the town, this section of its territory does not seem to have attracted more than two or three famihes. A portion of it, be tween Lobster Cove and the sea, is designated in our early records as Planters' Neck, and is shoAAn to have been laid out into lots, and granted to some of the first settlers ; but there Is nothing to indicate the erection of any dA^'elling upon It for many years. The Avhole section, including even Planters' Neck, has very Httle cultivable land ; and therefore presented Inducements for settling to no other class than fishermen. It is knoAAm that Robert Dutch had " a house upon the stage-neck with the stage and all belonging to it, and thirty acres of land, bounded Avith the river, and upon a Hne from Lobster Cove to the sea." This property, in 1656, came into possession of Edward Haraden; who, fi-om the best Information now attainable, settled upon it, and became the first permanent settler in Annisquam. Before the end of the century, it is probable that Norwood, DaA-is, Day, Sargent, York, Lane, and the Butman families, had taken up thefr residence there; and, in the next tAventA'-fiAC years, suf ficient additions had been made to these to induce the people to seek a parish organization and settle a minister in thefr oavu locahty. About forty of them petitioned ' the toAvn, Nov. 11, 1726, for Hberty to set up a meeting-house In a convenient place upon some of the unappropriated land. Thefr petition was debated at some length : but thefr wish was not granted till Jan. 24, 1728 ; AA'hen the toAAm consented " that the inhabitants of An nisquam, and those that Hve on the northerly side of the Cape, so fai- southerly as the southerly side of Pigeon HiU pasture, and from thence Avesterly on a line to the bridge that Is over the brook on the southAvesterly side of John Tucker, jun.'s house, and thence by said brook as It leadeth into the cove called Goose Cove, and thence by said cove to Annisquam River, thied PAEISH. EEV. B. BEADSTEEET. 293 should be set off as a precinct by themselves, to maintain a gospel minister among them." These inhabitants next petitioned the General Court for a confirmation of the doings by which they were thus set off; stating, that, having hitherto been under great inconvenience in attendance upon the public worship of God, they had built a meeting-house, and agreed with a minister to settle among them. This petition was granted ; and they were incorporated as a separate precinct, June 11, 1728. The new parish proceeded Immediately to settle a pastor, and, on the 29th of July, voted that Mr. Benjamin Bradstreet should be ordained as thefr minister. They agreed to give him one hundred and twenty-five pounds the first year, one hundred and thfrty the second, and one hundred and thfr-ty-five pounds yearly afterwards. They also voted him a settlement of one hundred pounds and a wood-lot. In 1732, an addition of ten pounds was made to his salary for preaching nine lectm-es dming the summer months. During the last few years of his Hfe, his salary was eighty-two pounds per annum. Mr. Bradstreet was born in Newbury, and received his edu cation at Harvard College, where he graduated in 1725. His ordination at Squam took place Sept. 18, 1728. The sermon on that occasion Avas preached by Rev. John Tufts of Newbury, from Col. iv. 17. It was published, with a preface by Rev. John White of the Ffrst Parish. The church was soon organized; and a covenant, couched In the usual language of such Instru ments, was adopted, and signed by the following male mem bers : — Benjamin Bradstreet. Pjdward Haraden, ter Anthony Bennett. Benjamin Davis. Samuel Lane. Joseph Thurston. John Lane. Samuel Gott. James Lane. Jethro Wheeler. Daniel Collins. The original book of church-records Is missing ; but its loss^ is well supplied by a fafr and excellent transcript in an existing book, made by one of Mr. Bradstreet's successors. The copy contains the names of all persons who were admitted into full 294 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. communion with the church, of those who OAvned the covenant, and those who were baptized, diiring Mr. Bradstreet's ministry. In 1738, the parish, wanting help to maintain thefr minister, voted to petition the Ffrst Parish to set off to them additional territory, so as to include the settlement at Sandy Bay. They had voted a few years before, that, in case the people in that remote section would join vrith them, they would agree to make and maintain a convenient way through the woods to Mr. John Pool's at that place. In the absence of all knowledge to the contrary. It may be presumed that Mr. Bradstreet's ministry was a quiet and suc cessful one. It continued nearly thfrty-four years, and terminated with his death. His health began to faU in the faU of 1761, and the parish took measures to supply the pulpit. The next spring, they voted to give Mr. Cleaveland of the Fifth Church forty-five pounds to preach to them one-half the time. At the same time, Mr. Bradstreet went away on a journey for the benefit of his health; and whUe returning home in May, 1762, sud denly became very IU at Danvers, and died there on the 31st of that month. He was burled on the 3d of June. The foUow ing ministers attended the funeral as bearers : Mr. Jewett, Mr. Walley, Mr. Parsons, Mr. Rogers, Mr. Cleaveland, and Mr. Chandler. Mr. Jewett prayed and Mr. Chandler spoke at the grave. No printed or written notice of Mr. Bradstreet's Hfe and character has come down to us ; but tradition reports that he was a good man and an acceptable preacher. His wife was Sarah Greenleaf of Newbury ; and his children were — Sarah, Thomasine, Humphrey, Martha, Ehzabeth, Mary, Benjamin, and a second Sarah. It is not knoAvn that either of^ the sons lived to mature years. One of the daughters is said to have died AA'hile In the act of putting on her outer clothing to go to meeting. Ehzabeth married James Day, and died in 1821, aged eighty. Mary Avas twice married ; first to Timothy Ha raden, and next to William Fuller. Some disagreement existed among the people of the new parish, with reference to the best location for thefr meeting-house ; THIED-PAEISH MEETING-HOUSE. 295 which, by the decision of the majority, was erected at the head of Lobster Cove. It was a plain buUding, and, in outward ap pearance, much Hke that of the Second Parish, but considerably larger. It was struck by lightning in October, 1755 ; and, in 1830, gave place to a new one. 296 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. CHAPTEE XIL Emigration to Falaiouth, Me. — New Settlers. — Grammar School. New Gloucester, Me. — Battery. Quite a remarkable occurrence in the history of the toAvn, which took place about this time, was the emigration of a considerable number of families and a few single individuals to the town of Falmouth, now the city of Portland, Me. Though nearly a hundred years had elapsed since the fhst settlement of that place. It did not contain, in 1726, more than sixty famUies. Its isolated situation exposed it in time of war to the attacks of the Indian enemy, who had twice destroyed it entfrely, and had, on each occasion, kUled many of the inhabitants. Of those who escaped from these scenes of slaughter and fire, or fled at other times in alarm for thefr lives, several found refuge In Gloucester, and became permanent residents of the toAAm. An interesting historical connection between the two places had existed, indeed, from the early settlement of both ; for among the early inhabit ants of Falmouth were six of our own pioneers, of whom two became victims of savage cruelty on the first destruction of the place by the Indians, as elsewhere related in this work. On the final resettlement of the toAvn, this connection was strength ened by the emigration above mentioned. In 1727 and 1728, a large number of Gloucester men were admitted inhabitants there ; of whom it seems quite certain that the foUoAring twenty-five removed to the place : — Richard Babson. John BroAvn. Anthony Coombs. John Coy. John Curtis. John Dolliver. William Davis. William Elwell. emigration to FALMOUTH, ME. 297 Ephraim Foster. Thomas Haskell. Benjamin Ingersol. Thomas Millet. John Millet. Joseph Pride. Thomas Redding. Jeremiah Riggs. Ebenezer Roberts. John Sawyer. Isaac Savifyer. Job Sawyer. Jacob Sawyer. Jonathan Stanwood. John White. William White. Benjamin York.* The names of seven other persons belonging to this town are borne on the Hst of admissions ; but it is not certain that they all went to Falmouth, though it is probable that some of them did. They are, — John Haskell. Philip Hodgkins. Jedidiah Hodgkins. Robert Nason. Thoraas Sargent. William Stevens. James Stanwood.f * Some of these naraes are noticed in other parts of this work; but they are brought together here in order to give the whole raatter of the emigration under one view, as an interesting event in our history. The list of persons admitted inhabitants of Falmouth in the years stated is contained in Mr. Willis's History of Portland. Mention is also made of several of them in the journal of Eev. Thoraas Smith, the first settled minister there, edited with valuable notes by Mr. Willis. To both of these works, as well as to information otherwise derived from Mr.'Willis, I acknowledge the indebted ness of this History. The list does not give any names as belonging to Gloucester ; but I presurae there can be no doubt with regard to all that I have given. Mr. Smith calls Dolliver, " Skipper Deliver." Under 1726, he says, "This summer, there came from Cape Ann one Davis, — a pretty troublesome spark, — with his family; also one of his wife's brothers, no better than he; also one Haskell, a sober sort of a raan, with his faraily." William Davis's wife was Patience Foster; and she had a brother Ephraim. The sober Haskell was, of course, Thomas. Thomas Redding was, I suppose, son of Richard Babson's second wife. John Brown was probably son of our settler of the sarae name. WiHiara Elwell was, I suppose, brother of his wife. Anthony Coorabs niarried Mercy Hodgkins in 1722. She and Philip and Jedidiah Hodgkins may have been children of Samuel, elsewhere mentioned ; though Philip is said to have been of Newbury in 1728, when he purchased land in Falmouth. t John Haskell may have been a brother of Thomas. Eobert Nason and Eebecca Day were married here in 1720, and had a daughter Mary, born in 1729. He fell over board from a fishing vessel, and was drowned, in 1734. Thomas Sargent, a grandson of our early settler William, married Elizabeth Haskell in 1710, and had several chil dren. It is a common name, and he may not be the one mentioned In the list. I have no evidence, however, that he resided here afler 1729. Our records notice the birth at Falmouth, May 4, 1723, of Williara, son of Williara Stevens, by Margaret his wife. It does not appear that the father was of our early faraily of that name. James Stan wood and Jonathan Stanwood were brothers; and grandsons, I suppose, of our early settler, Philip. Both were raarried, and had children. 38 298 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTEE. Other names of Gloucester persons appear on the Hst : but they might have been intended to designate individuals of some other toAvn ; or they might have been those of some of our In habitants who designed to remove, but afterwards changed thefr minds.* The descendants of a few of this Falmouth emigration are yet numerous in Portland and its A'icinity. To compensate for the large loss of population which has just been noticed, the toAvn was constantly receiving accessions fr-om abroad. Within the ten years foUoAving the commencement of the emigration to Falmouth, it is probable that more than one hundred new residents were added to our number ; but, so fleet ing is the Impression that mere numbers make upon history, a single page wOl sufl5.ce for a notice of aU those in whom the present generation aatU feel Interested. Among the settlers of this period, represented by famihes stUl existing in toAATi, were Joseph Herrick, George Dennisoru and Wilham Steel.<;> i Joseph Heerick — doacondcdrprofaaely^^m Henry, aa-oajly settler ef-Sale^ — came to Gloucester Arith his vrife MarV/v about /^ 1725. His chUdren, born here, were — Eunice, Mary, Joseph, and Israel. He resided, it is supposed, in the Second Parish ; where he died Jan. 12, 177/, aged eighty-one. One of this c^ famUy (TheophUus) has been four years a representative. The West Parish 13 „ 27 „ 72 „ 6 days." NEW GLOUCESTEE, ME. 303 contains many families who feel an affectionate uiterest in " old Cape Amu" That toAvn had its origin in a grant by the General Court, in 1736, to a number of om- inhabitants. The first ineeting of the proprietors was held here April 27 in that year. Joseph Allen, Esq., was chosen moderator ; and Ezekiel Day, clerk. An as sessment of three pounds was ordered, and a committee was chosen to look out a good place for the new toAvmship. They made a selection of about three thousand and forty acres lying on the back of North Yarmouth ; which was the next year sm-veyed, and laid out into lots. Three of the lots were set apart for pubhc pm-poses ; and the remaining, sixty in number, were, in February, 1738, dirided among the proprietors,* who proceeded at once to the work of settlement, fijst giA'ing the place the name of New Gloucester. The soU of the new toAvn had enough of the characteristics of that of the old to remind the emigrants of the home they had left. The surface is hiUy, and, in some places, very rocky ; but considerable of It is fine interA'al, and offered to the early settlers many favorable spots for good farms. The top of Harris HUl, around which the ffrst clearings were made, affords a fine and extensiA'e view of the surrounding country. Including a high elevation of land in the distance, caUed Streaked Mountain; and, fi-om another hiU in the toAvn, the * The following are the names of the original proprietors : — - Joseph Allen. Joseph Allen, jun. Thomas Allen. John Allen. Rev. Benjamin Bradstreet. ^ Thomas Bray. Nathaniel Bray, jun. John Bray. Moses Bray. -vAaron Bray. James Broom. Lieut James Davis. James Davis. Jedidiah Davis. Ezekiel Day. Eliphalet Day. Timothy Day. Pelatiah Day. George Dennison. - Isaac Eveleth. Andrew Elwell. Lieut. AVilliam HaskeU. William Haskell, 3d. Henry Haskell. Josiah Haskell. Thoraas Herrick. Samuel Hodgkins, jun. Josiah Ingersol. Nicholas Kidvell. David Plumraer. John il illet. WiUiam Parsons. Ebenezer Parsons. John Parsons. Samuel Pearce. AVilUam Eing. William Eing, jnn. John Eoberts. Benjamin Roberts. Stephen Robinson. ^ Nathaniel Eust. John Sargent. Joseph Sargent, jun. Nathaniel Sanders. Nymphas Stacy. John Smith. Samuel Stevens. Samuel Stevens, jun. John Stevens. David Stanwood. Benjamin Tarbox. John Tyler. Philemon Wamer. Philemon Warner, jun. Michael Webber. Rev. John White. Thomas White. Adam Wellman. Thomas Witham. Huraphrey Woodbury. John Low appears as a partner of Stephen Eobinson in the fifty-eighth lot. 304 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. White Mountains in New Hampshfre are distinctly visible, about fifty miles off, in a dfrect line. The settlement was begun in the spring of 1739 ; and, in 1742, such progress had been made, that the proprietors say they had made a good road twelve miles long ; cleared twenty acres of land, some of which was under cultivation ; had built bridges, a sawmill, and several houses, — aU at an expense of about £500. Encouragement was held out to settlers : the pro prietors conveyed them to North Yarmouth by water, voted to build a meeting-house, and seemed to be going on prosperously in thefr- enterprise ; when, in 1744, the settlement was broken up on account of the danger to which it would be exposed in the war with the French and Indians Avhich commenced in that year. On the restoration of peace, it was found that thefr houses and mUl had been destroyed ; that a bridge had been carried away by a fr-eshet ; that thefr road was out of repafr ; and that, in fact, most of the pioneer work of settlement must be com menced anew. Ainong the fijrst measures for resettling the place was the erection of a block-house. Workmen were sent down to build it In 1753 ; and, in 1754, It was frunished with arms and ammunition. In 1756, about twenty men,* some of whom had famihes and cattle, had taken up thefr abode there ; and the permanent settlement of the town may be dated fr-om that time. Their situation was still a perilous one, however, on account of the hostihty of the Indians ; and, on petition of the proprietors, the General Court, to give them some rehef, made thefr block-house a provincial garrison. This building stood about one hundred rods south-west of the present ileeting-house, not far from the Burying-ground ; and, besides being a protection for the settlers, it served also for a place of pubhc worship tiU they buUt one specially devoted to that purpose. The settlement continued a languid existence till the peace of 1763 put it out of the power of the French to add stimulus to the cruelty of the Indians on the eastem frontier. It then began to increase ; and, in less than two years afterwards, contained * Of these persons, I can give the names of three only, — Benjamin Roberts, Nathaniel Eveleth, and WiUiam Goodrich. NEW GLOUCESTER, ME. 305 about forty famihes. The last meeting of the proprietors in the parent toAvn was held at James Broom's tavern, Oct. 12, 1763 ; and the first at New Gloucester, at the Block-house, Nov. 22 foUoAring. The officers of the latter were — Samuel Merrill, moderator ; and Isaac Parsons, clerk. The next year, they voted to build a schoolhouse and hfre a schoolmaster; and, soon after wards, a church was organized and a minister settled. Of the several preachers who had officiated at the garrison, the choice of one for pastor feU upon Rev. Samuel Foxcroft, who graduated at Harvard CoUege in 1754. He was ordained at New Glouces ter, Jan. 16, 1765. All the proceedings at a New-England ordination of the last century are supposed to have been charac terized by a good deal of seriousness : but this occasion was not of a solemn cast throughout; for an honest-hearted mini ster who was present lets us behind the scenes a little, and says that they had a "jolly ordination, and lost sight of decorum." Mr. Foxcroft died !March 2, 1807, in his seventy-third year. His Arife was Lucy Ellery of this town. He left a son (Joseph Ellery Foxcroft), who became a prominent citizen of New Gloucester; and died about 1853, at an advanced age. Of the famUies which removed into the new toAvnship from its resettle ment to 1774, the date of its incorporation, the largest proportion emigrated from this town.* For about half a century, a constant * A proper effort now might secure a perfect, or nearly perfect, list of all the early settlers. I find in the proprietors' records a list of the subscribers to the Meeting house in 1770, which I here give in alphabetical ai-rangement : — David Barker. Robert Bailey. Nathaniel Bennet. Jonathan Bennet. Peleg Chandler. _Ebenezer Collins. Adam Cotton. Daniel Dunhara. Nathaniel Eveleth. Perkins Eveleth. John Graffam. Peter Graffam. Ezekiel Glass. Job HaskeU. Israel Haskell. Jacob HaskeU. Jacob Haskell, jun. John Haskell. Nathainel HaskeU. WiUiam Harris. Jienry Hackett. Ezekiel Hackett. Daniel Lane. Ebenezer Lane. Benjamin Lane. Ebenezer Mason. John Magguire. Moses Merrill. .Joseph MerriU. Moses Merrill, jun. Benjamin Merrill. Imlah MerriU. David MiUet. Hugh Nevens. Simon Noyes. Isaac Parsons. Samuel Parsons. David Parsons. Edward Parsons. John Prince. .Jonathan Row. Zebulon Kowe. 89 / WiUiam Rowe. y Josiah Smith. Moses Stevens. John Stenchfield. John Stenchfield, jun. Roger Stenchfield. Jiimes Stenchfield. William Stenchfield. John Tyler. Jeremiah Thoyts. Samuel Tarbox. John Tufts. Barnabas Tufts. WilUam Warner. WiUiam Blay West. Barnabas Winslow. Joshua Winship. Davis Woodward. John Woodman. 306 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTEE. intercourse was kept up between the parent town and its eastern offshoot; but the bonds of close relationship and strong affection have becoine weakened by time, and the strongest tie that now connects them is that which binds all men to the homes and graves of thefr ancestors. The account of our historical connection vrith New Gloucester may properly be closed with its incorporation ; though it may be stated, that it continued to receive accessions from the old town during the Revolutionary War and a few subsequent years. As early as 1703, the town, in a petition to the General Comt, earnestly called the attention of that body to its defenceless state in case of hostile invasion; and asked to have a fortification erected on the " small island, or neck of land, out into the har bor." The insignificant maritime trade of the place, and the sparse population of the Harbor section, at that time, might have justified the refusal of the petitipn; but, in thfrty years, a change had taken place, and the danger had not diminished. A considerable fieet of vessels was now owned in toAvn ; the trade of other ports on the coast was increasing ; and thefr vessels often sought shelter in this harbor, the shores of which had become so thickly settled as to expose it to the danger which an All the Bennets, Collins, Eveleths, HaskeUs, MiUet, Parsonses, Prince, Eowes, Stenchfields, Warner, and Woodward, were, I suppose, from our town. Perhaps some of the others liad also resided here. Col. William Allen was one of the early settlers; but I know not whether he went before or after the date of this subscription. Of all the flrst settlers from Gloucester, Isaac Parsons became the most prominent citizen of the new town ; and lived, I think, to be the last. He died Oct. 9, 1825, aged eighty- five. He was a deacon of the church, a representative and senator; and held other important offices. He buried four wives, and a fifth survived him. Nathaniel Eveleth was town-clerk over forty years, and died Nov. 23, 1624, aged eighty-eight; leaving a son Nathaniel, who died in 1849, at the age of eighty-five. Other settlers, who died in old age, were — in 1815, Abraham Sawyer, aged seventy-eight; Mary, his wife, eighty. In 1824, William Harris, ninety-three; Jonathan Somes, seventy-one. In 1826, Jonathan Bennet, seventy-nine. In 1827, Enoch Fogg, eighty-two; Richard Tobie, eighty-seven. Ill 1828, John Haskell, eighty-fnur. In 1832, Moses Bennet, seventy-nine. In 1833, Eliphalet Haskell, eighty. In 1834, Nathaniel Ingersol, eighty-two; Hannah Haskell, eighty-five. In 1835, Thomas Wharf, eighty-seven. In 1837, WilUam White, eighty- five; Joseph Pearce, ninety-two. In 1838, Nathan Haskell, eighty-seven; Joseph Brown, eighty. In 1839, Miiry HaskeU, eighty-four. In 1841, Jemima Parsons, ninety- four. In 1842, Stephen Rollins, ninety-four; Martha Pearce, eighty-seven. In 1843, Zebulon Row, ninety-four; Joseph Eveleth, seventy-five; Isaac Eveleth, eighty-three; Solomon Atwood, ninety- three; Sarah Stenchfield, eighty-eight. In 1846, Judith Has keU, ninety-four. BATTEEY. 307 important maritime toAvn has always to fear in a war with a naval power. In 1734, the Prorincial Government was again reminded by the toAvn, that, in case of war, it would be " naked to the enemy : " but nothing for its protection appears to have been done till 1743 ; when, under grants of the General Court in the two years immediately preceding, appropriating money* for the erection of a suitable breastAvork and platform, and for eight mounted twelve-pounders, vrith all necessary warlike stores, our fathers found themselves prepared to meet a hostile demonstra tion upon thefr own waters. The Harbor Cove of Gloucester Is formed by a short sand beach, which projects from the shore, and has at its end a small rock-bound hiU, that seems to stand as a sentinel to overlook the waters by which it is almost surrounded, and watch every move ment upon thefr surface. Upon the south side of this hill, about midway between its summit and the shore, was erected the bat tery, which, in case of attack, was to protect the shipping and homes of our ancestors. It is not known that they ever fired a single shot from it at an enemy ; and though, for several years, it might have presented an appearance somewhat imposing to the mariners who saUed along under its eight twelve-pounders, nothing of the original work now remains but a few mounds, such as are often seen on the site of a long-abandoned breast work. The erection of this fort was probably hastened by the threat ening aspect of affafrs at that time between the mother-country and her ancient and constant enemy, — France. Though, in the war which foUowed, none of our people met the enemy in defence of thefr homes, many of them were caUed to face the froAvning walls of Louisburg, and had the fortuue to share in the renoAvn which resulted to the Arlctors on the reduction of that strong fortress. The sand-beach and hiU just alluded to as forming the inner harbor, now the seat of an active business and a considerable number of dwellings, had, at the time the battery was erected, * .£400 in 1741, and ^£126. 13s. 4d. in 1742. 308 history of Gloucester. but recently begun to attract the attention of the business-men of the toAvn. This locahty was then A'ariously caUed " Stage Neck," "Neck Beach," and " Watch-house Neck; " and the point where the battery was placed, " Watch-house Point," from the watch- house which was probably set up there thfrty or forty years before. In 1720, Ensign Joseph AUen, Samuel Stevens, jun., and Thomas Allen, had a grant of " eighty feet front of ground at high-water mark, on y° neck of land called ' Stage Neck,' at ye north-easterly side," on condition that they should buUd a wharf on it within three years. This seems to have been the first grant, and it was not followed by any other tiU 1730; when several additional ones were made, and a considerable portion of the beach was let for fifteen years, at twelvepence per year. Three years afterwards, one hundred and thfrty feet fr-ont were laid out for a graving-place for pubhc use ; and a committee was chosen to repafr the beach, that the sea might not break over it " & spoyl the harbour." Subsequently, the foUoAring persons had wharf privileges on the beach or neck, — Capt. Gibbs, PhUe mon Warner, jun., Ezekiel Woodward, jun., Eben and Jacob Parsons, WilHam Parsons and Stephen Parsons : and finally, in 1749, a committee of the commoners was chosen "to bound out the neck beach, and to give records to Messrs. Nathaniel Sar gent, WilHam Parsons, Capt. Nathaniel EUery, John Stevens, and Nathaniel Allen; " they paying one thousand and ten pounds, old tenor,* for the same. * The name of a depreciated paper currency. The sum mentioned was equivalent to about three hundred and fifty doUars in silver money. FOUETH paeish. 309 CHAPTER XIII. Fourth Parish. — Eev. John Rogers: his Ministry, Death, and Family. — Taverns. — Expedition to Louisburg. — Peg Wesson. — People Alarsied. — New Settlers. In the early part of the eighteenth century, the population at the Harbor began to increase more rapidly than that of the other parts of the town. The fishery began to be more exten sively prosecuted ; some foreign commerce was carried on ; and men of business, wealth, and influence were multiphed. Attend ance on the pubhc worship of God was, in those days, neglected by none whose absence could not be justified on the plea of necessity ; and a community somewhat compact and numerous, as that in the Harbor had become in 1733, would be likely, at the first favorable moment, to shorten the inconvenient distance which separated it from the Meeting-house. The Ffrst Parish voted, in that year, to buUd a new meeting-house in this part of the toAvn ; and meetings were held to carry forward the project : but no vote could be obtained for a rate to buUd it on account of the parish. Strong feelings were enhsted on both sides. The people of the northerly part of the parish resisted what they foresaw would terminate In the dismemberment of the parish ; but to no purpose. A number of the members residing in the southerly part erected a large and commodious meeting house on Middle Street in the Harbor, and offered it to the parish on conditions which were accepted ; and on the 12th September, 1738, at a parish-meeting, they carried a vote, that a lecture should be held in it on the 28th, and that the pubhc worship of God should be continued there for the future as it used to be in the old one. Upon this, the northerly portion of the parish Immediately called a parish-meeting to endeavor to get set off as 310 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. a separate precinct ; but, when it assembled, this proposition was voted doAvn by one hundred and seven nays to seventy-seven yeas. Fmther progress in the matter, at this time, was inter rupted ; and, in the midst of confusion and excitement, the moderator declared the meeting adjourned. The minority now applied to the General Court for rehef. Thefr petition was signed by Nathaniel Coit and eighty-four others. In it they say,— " Whereas eight inhabitants of said parish have lately built a new meeting-house in the Harbor, about a mile southward of the old one, without any leave or vote of said parish, although the parish, by vote, laid out a convenient place to set one on when wanted (that place ia between the old meeting-house and the new one) ; and since the pro prietors of the new meeting-house have made an offer of it to the parish on these terms (reserving all the pews and considerable part of the room in the gallery to procure the cost of building it), and the parish, by vote, accepted said house for the public worship of God ; by reason of which, the northerly part of the parish, who are your humble petitioners, labor under great discouragements and inconveniences in attending public worship, by reason many of them live two or three miles from the new meeting-house (many of them are seafaring raen, and have no conveniences fbr going to meeting but on foot; which is very uncomfortable for elderly people, women, and children), — near about ninety families must go by the old meeting-house to go to the new one. Most of your petitioners could go home at noon from the old meeting-house; but, if obliged to go to the new one, cannot: which renders your petitioners' case to be very difficult. Also the bigger part of the body of the new meeting-house is built into pews, to the number of eighty or ninety ; and the major part of your petitioners are unable to purchase them. These, with many other reasons, moved us to desire the church to consent that we might have preaching in the old meeting-house at our own cost the winter following ; but could have no favor shown us there. Then we applied to the parish to set ofi" all who live nearer the old meeting-house than the new, in order to call and settle an orthodox minister; but were still denied. The second and third parish have taken this opportunity to enlarge their own district, the southerly part of the first parish joining with them, in order to hinder us from a settlement. Therefore we humbly pray the court would take our difficult circumstances under their wise consideration, and set off to the old meeting-house all these parishioners that are nearer that FOURTH PAEISH. 311 than to the new meeting-house, with their estates, into a distinct pre cinct." — In concluding, they request, that, if the court should not grant their petition, they would send a committee to view the parish, and con sider the case at the cost ofthe petitioners. Daniel Witham, Ebenezer Parsons, and EHezer Parson.s, were chosen by the parish to draw up a remonstrance, and give the reasons why this petition should not be granted ; and Capt. Andrew Robinson was chosen to appear for the parish before the Governor and Court. The subject Avas referred to a committee to report at the next session ; but no final action Avas taken till Aug. 4, 1741, when the court ordered, "That if the non-petitioners in the parish do not, within twelve months from the end of that session, remove the new raeeting-house to the place agreed on by the precinct, or the precinct erect there another house convenient for public worship ; that, in such case, the petitioners be erected into a separate precinct, agreeably to their petition, unless the inhabitants of the first precinct shall, within the term aforesaid, agree to have the public worship of God carried on in both houses at the same time, and so settle another learned and orthodox mimster there to assist the Eev. Mr. White in the ministry ; the two ministers to preach in the old and new meeting houses by turns, or otherwise as they shall agree." The disaffected portion of the parish again presented a long memorial to the General Court, Sept. 2, 1742, showing that the court order of the prcAaous year had not been complied with ; that no agreement had been made between the two parties ; and hoping, " If they could be by themselves," to enjoy a long and lasting peace, they prayed to be set off into a separate precinct. The separation was agreed to in parish-meeting by a vote of fifty yeas to thfrty-five nays ; and the General Court ordered, Dec. 15, " that the first precinct in Gloucester be divided into two precincts, as follows : the diriding line to begin at the north easterly end of Squam precinct line, by Sandy Bay, and to run as the said Hne does to Squam Biver, to Goose Cove, and land which has Capt. Allen's warehouse on the north-easterly side, and land late Mr. Nathaniel Sawyer's on the southerly side ; and so to run on the northerly side of said Sawyer's land to the highway, and in the said highway to Mr. Nymphas Stacy's corner ; and then northerly on said way to Mr. James WaUis's house and land, including the same to the northward, and in the highway 312 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTEE. that leads to Sandy Bay to the Parting Path so called ; and In that way to another Parting Path, near Witham's house ; and thence on the way to the beach on the seashore, and by the same, round the Cape, Pigeon Cove, and Sandy Bay, unto Squam hne aforesaid : all the land, estates, houses, and inhabitants, in cluded In the northerly and westerly side of said Hnes, way, and sea, or so many of the inhabitants that have not petitioned, that are thus included, as shaU manifest thefr vrilHngness herefor by a subscription, and present it to this court at the next session, to be incorporated into one distinct precinct; and that the southerly part, whereof the Eev. Mr. John White is the present pastor, be accounted the ffrst precinct in said toAvn of Gloucester." Being the weaker party, the seceders, though occupying the very spot where most of the first settlers were located, were obHged to submit to a degradation of numerical rank, and thence forward to be known as the Fourth Parish. The first steps were now to be taken in the formation of a church and in the organization of the parish. The church was organized Oct. 27, 1743. A covenant was signed by seventeen males ; and, in March and AprU foUoAving, seventy-six females were received by dismission fr-om the Ffr-st Church. According to the custom of the time, the church first made choice of a minister, and then the parish acted upon the proceedings of the church. Rev. John Rogers of Kittei-y, Me., was chosen by the new church ; and the parish, on the 12th December, 1743, concurred by a vote of thfrty-nine to eleven, and agreed to give him £250 old tenor per annum salary, and £400 in the same currency for settlement ; the latter to be paid in four equal annual payments. Mr. Rogers was a son of Rev. John Rogers of Kittery, and was born there in August, 1719. He graduated at Harvard College in 1739. His ordination over the Fourth Church took place Feb. 1, 1744. On this occasion, the Introductory prayer was offered by his uncle. Rev. Nathaniel Rogers of Ipswich; sermon by his father ; charge by Rev. John White of the Ffrst Church, Gloucester ; right hand of feUowship by Rev. Richard Jaques of the Second Church ; and concluding prayer by Rev. B. Bradstreet of the Thfr-d Church. EEV. JOHN EOGERS. 313 Mr. Rogers's ministry continued for a period of thfrty-eight years. It is not knoAvn that any thing occurred dm-Ing the comse of it to disturb the harmony of the parish ; and it may therefore be inferred that the relations between pastor and people were characterized by none other than Christian feelings and conduct. His people were mostly engaged In maritime pursuits ; and the total ruin of thefr business by the Revolutlonai-y War, and the general distress that prevaUed at that time, cast a deep gloom over the parish. The people could derive no support from thefr accustomed employments, and most of them enhsted In the army or engaged in privateering. Some died In captivity, and many perished at sea, leaving famihes in the lowest state of destitution and misery. Never were the services of a faithful, sympathetic minister more useful than in that dark hour; and Mr. Rogers proved himself a messenger of heavenly peace and consolation, carrying to wounded and aching hearts the balm to heal and the hope to cheer. The pecuniary condition of the parish was so low, that his salary was only paid in part during this troubled period ; and he was obliged to eke out a suificient maintenance by supplying destitute parishes in neighboring places. He died considerably in debt to some of his parishion ers ; but the parish owed him a large sum, which was the subject of negotiation Arith his administrator during many years after his death. Having thus shared in the sufferings of war, Mr. Rogers was not permitted to greet the return of peace. He did not live to see the independence of the country fully estabhshed, though hostUities had ceased when he came to his sudden end. His death took place Oct. 4, 1782 ; and the manner of it was in striking accordance Arith an ejaculatory prayer which he uttered while recalhng to mind the sufferings of one of his people, — a female, whose groans in the agonies of death had deeply affected him : " Lord, grant me an easy passage through the vaUey of the shadow of death'." This was his prayer ; and the answer came while on a Adsit at the house of a friend and parishioner, where he had dined. He rose from the dinner-table, complaining of a pain in his breast ; seated himself in an arm-chafr ; and was 40 314 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. observed to place both of his hands on the top of his cane, and lean his head forward to rest upon them. Having remained in this position long enough to excite alarm, his friends gathered around him ; and it was found that he had passed the dread vale, without a struggle or a groan. He seemed to have had some presentiment of the near approach of death ; for, conversing Arith a friend and fellow-laborer in the ministry a few days before that event, he said, " I have done my work ; I shaU never preach more ; and the distinguishing doctrines of the gospel never appeared so interesting and important as now. And, as I have hA'ed, so I mean to die, bearing my testimony to the truth and importance of those doctrines I have always made capital through the course of my ministry." Towards the close of his Hfe, he was frequently iU. He was troubled with many bodily diseases, chiefiy of the nervous and peripneumonic kind, which somewhat obstructed his usefulness. Mr. Rogers was a man of large frame and robust appearance. He was an earnest preacher, and attracted the attention of his hearers by the constant and violent gestures Arith which it was his habit to enforce his arguments and exhortations. It is not knovvn that any of his compositions appeared in print. He was accounted a good scholar and an exceUent preacher, and was esteemed and approved in his day as an evangehcal, pious, and faithful minister of Jesus Christ. He belonged to a family which claims the distinction of descent from " the martyr," " the first of that blessed company who suffered In the reign of Mary ; " and which is reaUy entitled to the renoAvn of haA'ing furnished to the New-England churches, through five generations, some of thefr most able, faithful, and godly ministers. Mr. Rogers was thiice married. His first Arife was Susanna Allen, to whom he was married Oct. 16, 1744. The bfr-th of her first chUd in April, 1746, which Hved but a short time, was soon foUoAved by her OAvn death. Mr. Rogers next married, Jan. 28, 1748, Mary, daughter of Nathaniel EUery, who died in 1766, aged forty-three. He took, for his thfrd Avife, Mrs. Abigail WoodAvard, AprU 2, 1770 ; who surrived her husband many years, and died March 12, 1819, aged eighty years. His EEV. JOHN EOGEES. 315 chUdren were — John born in 1748 ; Mary, 1753 ; Anna, 1754 ; Susanna and Catherine, 1756 ; William, 1758 ; Daniel, 1771 r and Sally. John was prepared for college — partly by his father and partly by his grandfather — at Kittery, and graduated at Cambridge in 1767. He was designed by his father for the mini stry ; but, haring doubts of his spfritual qualification, he entered another field of labor. Soon after he graduated, he commenced teaching a school in Manchester ; and afterwards, in his native toAvn, engaged in the same employment, and continued in it more than forty years. In 1782, he was elected town-clerk; and, in each successive year till his death, was chosen to the same office. Even in times of bitter political strife, no one thought of displacing him ; a fact that sufliciently attests the abihty and faithfulness Arith which he discharged the duties that devolved upon him. He died Nov. 24, 1827, aged seventy- nine ; haAong made, about a year before his death, a pubhc pro fession of rehgion. Mary, the oldest daughter of Rev. John Rogers, was twice married, — fij-st to James Riggs in 1775, and next to EHas HaskeU. Anna married William Babson in 1777, and died in June, 1826. Susanna married John Babson ia 1775 ; and died, after a lingering and painful iUness of twenty- two years, at Mount Desert, September, 1828. Catherine died unmarried. WUliam, the second son, was for a short time in the army of the Revolution. In the early part of his career, he engaged in maritime pursiuts ; but was chiefly employed during his life In teaching school, and in performing the duties of an ofiice in the Custom House, which he held many years. He died Dec. 18, 1832, aged seventy-four ; learing a son Isaac, who settled In the ministry at Farmington, Me. ; and another (John L.), who was a shipmaster many years, and was appointed, by President Taylor, CoUector of Gloucester in 1849. He died in September of that year, greatly lamented as a man of high moral and rehgious worth. Daniel, youngest son of Rev. John Rigers, became a sea-captain ; and died In Gloucester, AprU 20, 1824. SaUy married Capt. Theodore Stanwood; and died June 25, 1825, aged fifty-two. Mr. Rogers was the only set tled minister that this parish ever had. The parish kept up 316 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTER. its organization till 1839 for the purpose of taking care of Its meeting-house ; though it also had, for many years, the manage ment of the pubhc school kept within its Hmits, which was sup ported by money raised by the town. The Fourth Parish worshipped in the old church on the Meeting-house Green tlU 1752 ; when they erected a new one on the south-east corner of the green, a few rods from the site of the old one. It Avas a large building, Arith a door on the south side, and one on the east and one on the west end. A belfry with a tall spfre rose from the roof at the west end. A gallery was built around three sides of the interior; and the floor was fiUed Avith pews, excepting a space in front of the pulpit, which had long seats. The buUding was kept in very good repafr nearly to the time when it was taken down. Reh gious worship was occasionaUy held in it in its last years, prin cipaUy by clergymen of the Methodist persuasion, one of whom (Rev. L. B. Griffing) was announced to preach the last sermon in it, June 14, 1840. On that occasion, the concourse assembled was so great, that it was not deemed prudent to test the stiength of the old building ; and the serrices were held on the Green. The sermon was fr-om 1 Kings viu. 57 : " The Lord om God be with us as he was with our fathers : let him not leave us nor for sake us." The meeting-house was taken doAvn in the same year. The spfr-e had been removed several years before to the top of Poles Ledge, where it stood some time. The bell had long been cracked, and its last doleful tones were in melancholy unison with the closing existence of the parish and the departed glory of its abandoned and decaying temple. For the first hundred years of our municipal existence. It does not appear that the selectmen received any fixed compensation for thefr- services ; but each, at the end of his official term, was paid according to the work he had done for the toAvn. For the year 1744, these officers (five In number) receiA'ed about five dollars each ; and the charge to the town the same year for thefr expenses, at two taverns where they held thefr- meetings, was nearly thfrty pounds, old tenor (about seventeen doUars). Whe ther these bUls were unsatisfactory to the town or not, we do not ANCIENT TAVEENS. 317 know ; but, from some cause, a vote was passed at the toAvn-meet- ing in March, 1745, that the selectmen should be allowed for the ensuing year a salary of five pounds, old tenor, " for doing the town's business and finding themselves." This expression may be considered as somewhat significant that the tavern-bUl, at least, was a cause of dissatisfaction : but, whatever might have been the public feeling in regard to it, no permanent change was effected ; for, in 1749, the expenses of the fathers of the town at Capt. EUery's tavern ran up as high as seventy-eight pounds, old tenor. It had long been the custom for the selectmen to meet at a tavern for the transaction of thefr business. These meetings were not frequent ; but, when they did take place, they probably continued a whole day : and the meals and drink for the Board, at the end of the year, were brought as a charge against the town. We have the cost of a single meeting on one occasion, which was when the town-officers were sworn In in 1740, when the " expense for the Selectmen and Licker at the house of Mr. James Stevens " was £3. 18s. 2d. Stevens's Tavern was the old Ellery House, stiU standuig, " up in town." It was not only the first tavern, the location of which is known ; but it Is probably one of the oldest houses in toAvn now standing in its original shape.* Its venerable appearance tums our thoughts at once back to the past ; and only a shght exercise of the imagination is necessary to revivify the scene of 1740, Arith Its solemn as sumption of municipal duties, and the simultaneous discussion of town-affafrs and the quality of the dinner and the "licker." The worthy citizens inducted Into office as selectmen, on this occasion, were Capt. James Davis, Abraham Davis, Nathaniel Ellery, Timothy Day, and Jabez Baker. Not much can now be ascertained concerning the ancient taverns of Gloucester. That of " landlady Judkins " has been afready mentioned. After her, George Harvey enjoyed the patronage of the town-officers. In 1717, and a few previous years, John Day, sen., entertained the selectmen. Next Thomas Millet and John Stacy appear as innholders. These were all * See engraving of it, p. 230. 318 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. predecessors of James Stevens, who was himself succeeded by Capt. WUliam Ellery. Probably all these kept In the ancient centre of the town, near the Meeting-house ; but, during most of this time, the Harbor also had its taverns. The petitioners for a Hcense for Mrs. Mary Perkins, in 1749, state that two had been kept In this part of the town the greater part of the time for thfrty years ; that two were then wanted much more than in times past ; and that the Harbor could not " any way be conveniently Arithout two." These taverns were James Broom's on Middle Street, and Jonathan Ingersol's. Ingersol's house was patronized by the committee of the Ffrst Parish in 1743 and 1744 ; but his death about that time made an opening for a new tavern, and Mrs. Perkins obtained a license to keep one. Her husband (Benjamin Perkins) had recently died at sea, leaving her the care of a large family. She was one of the eight daughters of Andrew Robinson ; but, of her qualities as a hostess, no account has come doAvn to the present generation. Her house (a very large one) stood on Front Street, on the spot now occupied by Bm-nham's public-house. Mrs. Perkins became bhnd, and died in 1759. The year 1745 is memorable in the annals of New England for the expedition against Louisburg, a strongly fortified toAvn of the French, in the Island of Cape Breton. The fortification of the place had been many years in building, and had cost the French Government several milhons of Hvres. The town had also a large business ; having, it is said, employed six hundred vessels in its trade and fisheries, and exported five hundred thousand quintals of cod annually. In a war Arith France, the fishery of New England lay, of course, at the mercy of this stronghold of the enemy ; and the reduction of the place was, therefore, a matter of the highest importance to the people of Gloucester, who now yearly sent several vessels to the Banks of Newfoundland. " Some," said Rev. John White,* " have not * In a sermon preached by hira after the departure of the expedition to Louisburg. His text was Ps. lxxiv. 21: "Oh! let not the oppressed return ashamed: let the poor and needy praise thv name." It was an earnest appe.il to his hearers to pray for the success of the expedition, and shows the venerable preacher to have been filled with EXPEDITION TO LOUISBUEG. 319 unfitly caUed Cape Breton a hornet's nest. 'Tis not safe, in a tirtie of war, to go near them. They will sting all that come near them. We have afready, ever since the war commenced, been great sufferers by them. They harbor om enemies that come to lay waste our Infant eastern settlements ; they molest and break in upon om fisheries, and break them to pieces ; they He near the roadway of omr European merchandise, and they can sally out and take our com- vessels : and therefore our oppressions from thence, so long as it remains in the hands of the enemy, are like to be intolerable. We must remove these our enemies, or they AriU destroy us. There is a plain necessity of it; and woe to us if it be not reduced ! " The kings of England and France mutually declared war in March, 1744 ; and, before the news reached Boston, the Gover nor of Cape Breton sent a large force, which surprised and took the EngHsh garrison at Canso. It Is quite probable, too, that cruisers from Louisburg made some captures ainong the New- England fishing vessels, which must have put to sea before the war was known here. Mr. White's language authorizes such an inference. Louisburg was deemed Impregnable ; but there was seen to be a necessity for its reduction, and the Governor of Massachusetts made apphcation to the British ministry for aid in attempting it. In the mean time, the men taken at Canso, who had been carried prisoners to Louisburg, arrived in Bos ton on parole, and gave the Governor such accounts of the condition of that fortress as made him resolve on an enterprise for Its reduction, without waiting for an answer from England. The attempt was considered one of no small degree of temerity, and all the cfrcumstances of the expedition fairly belong to the romance of history. The Governor's proposal to the Legislature for undertaking it was adopted by a majority of one vote ; and, in the short space of two months, about four thousand troops, principally belonging to Massachusetts, were collected at Boston, and embarked under WUHam Pepperrell, as commander, on the an enthusiastic interest in it. The discourse was not published; but, coming Into my hands in the original manuscript, in June, 1845, I had it printed in the " (iloucester Telegraph." 320 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. 24th of March, 1745. At Canso, they were joined by a naval force ordered thither by the British Govemment. On the 16th of June, the city and fortress surrendered ; and the Colonial troops. Instead of returning "ashamed," came home to diffuse joy and gladness through every part of New England. It would be gratifying to know the number and the names of the Gloucester men engaged in the expedition to Louisburg; but that information cannot now be obtained. It can scarcely be doubted, that nearly all the fishermen of the town eagerly seized the opportunity to break up the " hornet's liest," which prevented thefr approach to the places which furnished them Arith the means of subsistence. The Massachusetts archives show that a Capt. Byles, and his company of forty-one men, were at the siege of Louisburg, and were on pay from Feb. 16 to Sept. 30. The Capt. Byles here mentioned was undoubtedly Capt. Charles Byles of this town ; who, according to the statement of an aged descendant recently deceased, commanded a company at Louis burg, and also in the next French War. The serrices of Capt. Thomas Sanders in the expedition have been afready mentioned. Several letters and notes addressed to him while In command of the transports in Chapeau-Rouge Bay, by Admiral Warren and General Pepperrell, are yet preserved by one of his descendants. Job Stanwood received from the General Court, in 1747, £12. 10s., in consideration of his services and sufferings in the expedition; and, in 1749, was granted a pension of £15 per annum for life. He lost his left arm. Darid Stanwood was wounded; and, soon after his retmn from Cape Breton, obtained from the Provincial Legislature a grant of £5. In 1746, he had a fm-ther allowance of £8 ; and was recommended to the Governor to be placed in the garrison at Brunswick, In room of an effective man. He had another grant of £5, in 1747. A son of Thomas Ayers is said to have been lost in the expe dition ; and James Parsons and Samuel GoodArin retm-ned home sick, and died, — Parsons on the llth, and Goodwin on the 18th, of August, 1745. PEG wesson. 321 No account of the part borne by Gloucester in the expedition to Louisbmg would be complete without the story of Peg Wes son. The popular belief In witchcraft had not then ceased, and Peg was reputed a witch. She lived in or near an old building on Back Street, called " the Garrison ; " and there, just before the departme of the Gloucester soldiers for Cape Breton, she was risited by some of them, who, by thefr conduct towards her, aroused her indignation to such a pitch, that, on thefr departure, she threatened them with vengeance at Louisburg. While In camp there, these men had their attention arrested by the sin gular movements of a crow that kept hovering near them. After many attempts had been made in the usual way to kill the bird, it occurred to one of them that It must be Peg Wesson ; and, if so, that no baser metal than silver would bring her to the ground. He accordingly took his silver sleeve-buttons from his Avrist, and discharged them at the bfrd ; which fell, wounded in the leg, and was soon killed. Upon their return to Gloucester, they learned, that, at the exact moment when the crow was kiUed, Peg Wesson fell down near the Garrison House, vrith a broken leg ; and that, when the fractured limb was ex amined, the identical sleeve-buttons fired at the crow, under the waUs of Louisburg, were found, and extracted from the wound ! Such is the story of Peg Wesson ; and. Incredible as it may seem that it was ever received as truth, some now living can testify to the apparent behef in It Arith which it was related by many per sons not more than fifty years ago. The next year after the fall of Louisburg, a large French fleet appeared at Nova Scotia; and, in all our towns, great apprehen sions of an invasion were felt. The selectmen of Gloucester were instructed by the town to petition to the General Court to finish the Battery, and furnish it with ammunition; and the peo ple of this and some other seaports were in such fear, that they sent away their effects. But various accidents combined to ren der the enemy powerless for harm ; and, after a few weeks of , anxiety, all cause for alarm ceased to exist. At the March meeting In 1748, the town voted that the select men should take care of the poor, as "they formerly used to do." 41 322 history of gloucestee. This duty had been for a few years previously performed by offi cers chosen specially for it, who were only requfred to agree with individuals for the maintenance of the paupers, as no work-house was yet established. The amount paid for the support of the poor, — seven in number, — this year, was £281. 16s., old tenor ; or about one hundred and forty dollars, lawful money. The maritime business of the town had been steadily increas ing for several years, notwithstanding the interruptions by war ; and was constantly attracting new settlers. Only a few of them, however, left descendants in town to perpetuate thefr names here, or were themselves prominent whUe they lived In it. Of these, all who came to Gloucester between 1735 and 1750 wIU be here mentioned. James Peaeson, a sea-captain, is said by descendants to have come to this town from Bristol, England. He married Hannah, daughter of Capt. Andrew Robinson, Jan. 6, 1738 ; and settled at Eastern Point. He married a second Avife (Mary Edgar), Feb. 3, 1749 ; and died March 24, 1789, m his seventy-seventh year, leaving seviy-al children. William, his oldest son, engaged in maritime employments, and accumulated considerable property by privateering in the Revolutionary War. He was a represen tative several years ; and, for a short time. President of the Bank. His death took place Dec. 5, 1826, at the age of eighty-five. He had children, but survived aU of them. One of them (William) was educated a physician, and commenced the prac tice of medicine Arith great promise in his native toAvn ; but his cai-eer was early ended by a sickness which resulted from a fall from his horse, as he Avas one night descending the hill near Farm Ledge, on a visit to a patient. The faU caused a hemor rhage, by which he was so much reduced as to be obliged to seek a mild climate in Avinter ; and, while on a second visit to the West Indies, he died at St. Eustatius, Feb. 9, 1795, aged twenty-six. He was bmied, by the Concordia Lodge of that place, with Masonic solemnities. Edmund, brother of the pre ceding, was lost at sea on a voyage to France. William Bona parte, another son of Capt. WUHam Pearson, died in 1825, aged twenty-eight, leaving two sons; one of whom (WiUiam) is a NEW SETTLEES. 323 graduate of Yale College, now residing in California. James, the second son of Capt. James Pearson, was bred to a maritime Hfe ; and during the Revolutionary War, though then in early manhood, he commanded the large privateer-ship " Starks." Af ter the peace, he settled in mercantUe business ; and died in October, 1793, aged forty-one. He was captain of the artillery company, and was interred on the 18th with military honors. A printed notice of his death says that he was "a benevolent citizen and fervent patriot; in war, an undaunted soldier; in peace, an industrious merchant ; but, more than all, a man of great native integrity. He bore his sickness with fortitude ; and, in the firm behef of a bUssful immortality, resigned his life Arith calmness to the God who gave it." He left daughters, and a son James, who was lost at sea. Jonathan Fellows is supposed to baA'-e come from IpsArich about 1740. He settled in Squam. His only public service knoAvn to us was that rendered as captain of a company against the French in the campaign of 1755 ; and, of that service, no particulars can now be ascertained. He died June 20, 1759. By his wife Elizabeth,* he had sons Nathaniel and Caleb, and two daughters, born here. CorneHus Fellows, who was chosen one of the selectmen in 1774, and moved out of town that year, may have been another son. He and Nathaniel and Gustavus Fellows are said to have removed from Gloucester to Boston, and to have become distinguished merchants. A Samuel Fellows was ensign in the company of Capt. Jonathan Fellows in 1755. He is the same, probably, who, as an officer of the customs, or in some other equally unpopular capacity, made himself so odious to the people here In 1768, that a mob of about seventy persons, headed by several respectable citizens, suspecting that he was concealed in the house of Jesse Sarille, proceeded thither one night in September of that year, and thoroughly searched the building In pursuit of him; making use of a good deal of violence in thefr behavior, and showing a determination to deal severely with * I suppose she was the danghter of Caleb Norwood and his wife Alice. The lat ter, becoming a widow, married Eev. John White; and left, with other children by her previous husband, a daughter, — Elizabeth FeUows. 324 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. the object of thefr animosity If they could find him. He sought safety, it is likely, in flight ; as his name does not appear hi om subsequent history.* John Dane came, in 1743, from IpsArich; where his ancestor, John Dane, was an early settler. He was a shoemaker, and had his shop and dweUing on Front Street. He married Abigail, daughter of John Pool, Jan. 27, 1743, and had several children; but the name was not perpetuated here in the male Hne beyond the second generation. He died July 21, 1793, in his seventy- fourth year. His son WUHam was a shopkeeper on Front Street, and acqufred some property. He was a representative in 1812; and died in December, 1820, aged seventy-four. Another son (Joshua), who kept a Httle shop, and was a man of quiet but pecuhar habits, died April 21, 1845, aged eighty-one ; leavuig an only son (John), a merchant in Boston, since deceased. Ebenezee Cleves came from Beverly, and married Anna Stevens, March 4, 1744. Six sons and two daughters are re corded as the fruit of this marriage. The name Is not borne by descendants in Gloucester; but the Rockport Family of the same name are probably from this settler. John Hale, son of Samuel Hale of Newbury, where he was born in 1722, was a shoemaker, and came to Squam Parish about 1746 ; when, by his wife Elinor, his son Samuel was born. Be sides two daughters, he had three other sons, only one of whom (Benjamin) settled In Gloucester. Samuel graduated at Har vard College in 1766, and was for some time the teacher in an academy near Portsmouth, N.H. He afterwards engaged In the practice of law in that toAvn ; but at the opening of the Revolu tion, haring enrolled himself on the royal side, he felt obHged to leave the country, and go to England. Of his subsequent career, nothing is known. He died in England about 1787. George D. Hale, a son of Benjamin Hale, has been Collector of the Customs for the District of Gloucester. Joseph Clough married Susanna Tarbox in 1748, and a * In 1769, he was captain of one of the king's armed cutters, and was coraplained of for disorderly conduct in delivering from the sheriff's hands a man named MerriU, who was under arrest for debt. new SETTLEES. 325 second and a thfrd Arife Arithin the next fourteen years. In 1750, he had a grant of a small piece of land, near the Wind- mUl, to set a house upon ; for which he was to pay ten shiUings. Besides several daughters, he had sons Joseph and WilHam, and Benjamin and John, twins. Joseph Eaheedean first appears here in 1748, when he mar ried Anna Broom. He died suddenly in a boat, coming from Cape Cod, March, 1764 ; leaving, besides other chUdren, a son Joseph, who settled in toAvn, and died in May, 1837, aged eighty-six. 326 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. CHAPTEE XIV. First Parish. — Eev. Samuel Chandler. — His Ministry, Sickness, AND Death. — His Family. It has afready been mentioned, that the faUing health of Rev. John A¥hite of the Ffrst Church made it necessary, in 1750, to provide him help in the work of the ministry. Mr. Samuel Moody of York, grandson of the pastor, who had preached here several months, was the choice of a majority of the church as a coUeague to Mr. White ; but several opposed, and he decHned a call to settle here. The committee who waited upon him at York then made arrangements Arith Rev. Samuel Chandler of that place to preach here a few sabbaths. He arrived in toAvn, Saturday, Feb. 23, 1751, and preached the next day. His fore noon sermon was from Isa. lv. 1. Mr. Chandler received an inritation to settle, though some made objections, and spoke to him in a discouraging manner : but finally, on the 30th of Sep tember, a committee of the church waited upon him to propose certain questions, to which satisfactory answers were given ; and the 13th of November foUowing was fixed upon for the installa tion. The second, thfrd, and fourth churches in Gloucester, the first in Manchester, the second in Rowley, and the second in Andover, were invited to assist by delegates in the services on that occasion. It was nearly fifty years since this church had engaged in a similar ceremony ; and the present one undoubtedly drew together, from the Gloucester churches and those in the neighboring town, a congregation sufficient to fill the capacious meeting-house in which it took place. Nothing more is known of the religious serrices of the occasion, than that the sermon was preached by Rev. Samuel PhilHps of Andover (grandson EEV. SAMUEL CHANDLEE. 327 of Rev. John Emerson,* and the pastor under whose ministry Mr. Chandler was brought up) from Luke xiv. 21. But Into the social festivities of the day we are permitted to take a look by the colleague himself, who Informs us that "Deacon William Parsons entertained the council at his own charge ; Mr. WU ham Stevens, the Schollars and Gentlemen, at his own charge ; and Mr. John Stevens entertained the CouncU in the morning with Plumb Cake."t Mr. Chandler was a son of Josiah Chandler of Andover, where he was bom in 1713. He graduated at Harvard CoUege in 1735 ; and, in 1742, was ordained minister of the church In York, Me. ; where he remained, occasionally teaching school In addition to his ministerial duties, till his removal to Gloucester. The parish agreed to pay him a salary of eighty pounds per an num, and to let him have the use of the parish land. They also voted to provide him a suitable house, barn, and garden, in a convenient place. + No event of any interest in parish or church affafrs occurred tUl 1753 ; when the inhabitants of Sandy Bay were set off into a separate precinct, and took rank, of course, as the Fifth Parish. In 1755, Mr. Chandler, with the unanimous consent of his church, went as chaplain in Col. Plaisted's regi ment in the expedition against Crown Point. He was engaged in the serrice from Sept. 8 to Dec. 28. The next spring. Col. Plaisted came to Gloucester on purpose to procure his services for the campaign of that year ; but the parish would not consent to his going. The church-records give no account of any deacons, after those mentioned at the commencement of Mr. White's ministry, till 1756 ; when Deacon John Parsons and Deacon Philemon * He was a son of Samuel Phillips of Salem, who married Mary, daughter of Eev. John Emerson. He was minister of the Second Church in Andover sixty years, tiU his death, in 1771, at the age of eighty. He published several sermons, one of whioh was that delivered at the installation of Mr. Chandler. t A few little volumes of a journal kept by Mr. Chandler have been preserved, from one of which the account of the " entertainments " given at his installation is extracted. } Mr. Chandler owned and occupied, at the time of his death, the gambrel-roofed honse, still standing, on the south side of Middle Street, about midway between Short Street and Centre Street. 328 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTER. Warner were elected ruling elders. At the same time, Elie zer Grover, Jeremiah Parsons, and Ezekiel Woodward, were chosen deacons. These were succeeded by Nathaniel Kinsman, Hubbard Haskell, and Nymphas Stacy, jun., who were aU chosen, in 1772, to fill the vacancies then existing. In the mean time, Nymphas Stacy, sen., and Isaac Parsons, had also been deacons. The condition of poHtical affairs in 1768 was threatening; and the church, according to the usage then prevaihng, sought the divine aid and protection through fasting and prayer. Thursday, Oct. 6, was set apart for these exercises : and the special subjects of prayer were, the critical state of things In the mother-country; the precarious situation of the rights and Hberties of the Colo nies, in consequence of the oppression and impositions laid upon them ; and the difficult cfrcumstances of the ProATUce, arising from the dissolution of the General Court, and the apprehension of the fearful calamity of a military govemment. Mr. Chandler passed through all the anxieties of that troubled period ; but he did not Hve to hear of the first blood shed in the war which foUowed. His ministry and Hfe were drawing to a close in the fall of 1774. His health faUed, and his parish made an appro priation to provide him assistance in his duties, — such as an occasional supply of his pulpit. The declining days of Mr. Chandler were rendered painful and wearisome by long sickness and suffering; but no bodily infirmity or distress could move him to sorrow or repine, whUe his soul was filled with the deepest anxiety and alarm on account of the danger of fearful magnitude that threatened the eternal welfare of his beloved fiock. A new teacher had come to his people, and, with plausible arguments and captivating eloquence, was " Avresting and torturing the word of God," and, in opposi tion to the venerable authority of ancient interpretation and uni versal belief, was proclaiming the final salvation of the human race as a doctrine of the Holy Scriptures. The sick pastor could not send forth from the pulpit a voice of warning against the dan gerous heresy ; but he called to his brethren * in the ministry to * One of these was Eev. Dr. Stillman of Boston, concerning one of whose visits the foUowiug anecdote is told. On the occasion alluded to, he took for his text John xii. EEV. SAMUEL CHANDLEE. 329 come and sound the alarm ; and then, as a last effort of his con cem for the people of his charge, sent to his pulpit to be read, a few weeks before his death, a short address ; in which he admon ished them, as one draAring near the eternal world, to take heed lest they should be led away Arith error, and to beware of the false prophet, who, if it were possible, would deceive the very elect. Mr. Chandler died on the 16th of March, 1775, aged sixty- two. We have a brief sketch of his character fr-om a young brother* in the ministry, who had from childhood attended upon his rehgious instructions : — " He was a gentleman of clear apprehension, solid judgment, firm, and of a thoughtful, inquisitive temper of mind. These, sanctified and improved, fitted him for the high and honorable office he sustained, and which he discharged with fidelity. As a preacher, he delivered the truth as it is in Jesus; showing in his doctrines uncorruptness, gravity, and sound speech, that could not be condemned; exhibiting a bright example of the same in the course and tenor of his life. He was blessed with a great degree of wisdom and prudence, the happy eSects of which hath been evident in a variety of instances. The Avelfare of his people and of the church of God lay near his heart. He was a warm friend to his country. In every relation, he maintained the character of a sincere disciple of his Lord and Master, the Lord Jesus Christ. Many and various were his trials on his passage through life, under which his patience was conspicuous. Under the hand of God, in the consumption which closed the scene of life, he discovered great sub- 32, " And I, if I be lifted from the earth, wiU draw all men unto me," and announced to his hearers that it would be his purpose to show that Christ did not mean by this language to declare that he would draw all men unto him to a state of endless hap piness. One of tbe congregation was Josiah Cheever, who had kept a small shop on Front Street ; a man whose intellect had been somewhat disordered, in consequence of disappointment in a love-affair: for his father, Eev. Amos Cheever of Manchester, had supplanted him in the affections of a fair daughter of Deacon James Davis of Squam. Having listened attentively to the doctor, he rose at the conclusion of his discourse and said, " Dr. StUlman, it is quite enough for you to try to prove John Murray a liar, without attempting to make Jesus Christ one." The condition of his mind was gene rally known, so that no notice was taken of the interruption. Soon after this time, Cheever's mind became stiU more unsettled ; and, becoming a town-pauper, he died in our work-house, Jan. 31, 1806, aged seventy-four. * Eev. Obadiah Parsons of the Third Church. 42 330 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTEE. mission and resignation to His holy will, who was his staff through the valley of the shadow of death, and now is (as I trust) his portion for ever." Tradition confirms all that is here said of Mr. Chandler. His domestic Hfe was one of singular iofeUcIty ; and the reports con cerning it, not yet passed into obhvion, render it probable that all the gentleness, patience, and resignation that marked his character were schooled to a severe exercise in his, conjugal and parental relations. His Avife, to whom he was married in 1738, was Anna Pecker of Haverhill, who had either a disordered intellect or a perverse heart. She annoyed and troubled her husband in unusual ways ; and, in the judgment of charity, it may be allowed that reason rather than conscience was deficient. Mr. Chandler had a son John, who was a seafaring man, and is said to have caused his father much anxiety and trouble ; but of bis history and end no particulars are preserved. He also had a daughter Anna, whose conduct was the source of less happiness than sorrow; but her fraUties were buried Arith her in an early grave. She died Feb. 19, 1765, of consumption, aged twenty-two. Another daughter (Sarah) married WUham Haynes in 1769. He was a sojourner in toAvn then; but It is not supposed that he remained here many months. He was a sea-captain, and was never heard from after he saUed on his last voyage. Mrs. Haynes died in Proridence, R.I., whUe on a visit, Feb. 28, 1813, aged sixty-six. Mrs. Chandler, after her hus band's death, opened a small shop in the house where she had long resided, in Middle Street; and, after keeping it a short time, removed out of toAvn. These three chUdren came to Gloucester Arith thefr father. He had one (Samuel) born here June 20, 1753. He graduated at Harvard College in 1775, and then went one voyage or more, privateering, from Newburyport ; after which he taught a mathematical school in that town tUl Arithin a fcAV weeks of his death, which occm-red in May, 1787. His wife, whom he married in Newburyport, surrived him; and married, for her second husband, John Mycall. She also out hved him, and died at an advanced age. SANDY BAY. 331 CHAPTER XV. Sandy Bay. — First Settlers there. — Fifth Parish. — Rev. Ebenezer Cleaveland. — His Ministry and Death. — His Fam ily. The formation of a new parish at the Cape completed the paro chial dirisions of the toAvn. The progress of settlement there at the beginning of the last century has been mentioned in a pre ceding chapter ; and, before proceeding to notice the organization of the church, — which, of course, took rank as the fifth In toAvn, — it is proper to give some accomit of the increase of population in that remote section during the fifty years that foUowed. The indentation of the coast between Andrews's Point and Straitsmouth Point, at the head of the Cape, began to be called Sandy Bay about the time that the first settlement was made there. The first separate grant of land in that locality was that made to John Babson in 1695, at Straitsmouth, "to sett up fish ing upon." It is not known that Babson had his home there ; though a cellar upon his land still marks the spot where he, or some of his successors in the fishery there, once had a house. He sold his land at Straitsmouth in 1721 to Jefford Cogswell, Jacob Perkins, and James Smith of Ipswich. These were pro bably the Chebacco fishermen, concerning whose visits to the Cape tradition yet preserves remembrance ; though it is said that fishermen from that place were accustomed, at an earher date, to frequent the shores of the Cape for the pmpose of landing and drying thefr fish. One cfrcumstance keeps alive the memory of Babson and the Chebacco fishermen. The former, or some mem ber of the family, was attacked one day by a bear ; and, after a 332 history of Gloucester. terrible struggle with his antagonist, succeeded in slaying him AvIth a knife. He then flayed the animal, and spread out his skin to dry upon the rocks near the sea, at the end of a neck of land, where it was seen by the fishermen, who gave the place the name of Bearskin Neck. In 1697, Richard Tarr had a bouse at Sandy Bay, on land granted to him by the town, on the south side of Darison's Run. Perhaps he settled there a few years before that date ; as it Is certain that he was a resident of the toAvn in 1693, and probable that he was here as early as 1690. Tradition states that Tarr was induced to settle there by the coasters, who, on thefr visits to the shore to take away wood, occasionally needed help from land. Whatever the inducements, he Is distinguished in our history as the first permanent settler at the end of the Cape. His descend ants are numerous, and some of them stiU occupy a portion of the land upon which he found a lonely home a century and a half ago. The next settler at Sandy Bay was John Pool. The exten sive tract of land which he bought there of John Emerson, jun., in 1700, was situated on the north side of Davison's Run. On this land a house had been built ; whose occupant, if it had one before Pool, is not known. It was probably a mere hovel, and not the substantial tenement which Pool himself occupied several years before his death. Tarr and Pool were, therefore, near neighbors. Thefr land was good for planting; the primeval forest sheltered them from the wintry blasts, and afforded the means of diffusing a cheerful warmth in thefr dwelHngs; and the broad Atlantic came to thefr doors Avith its various offerings for use and enjoyment. Such was the beginning of the flourish ing town which now occupies the north-easterly extremity of om Commonwealth. Several years elapsed before any new settlers were attracted to the spot where the two pioneers at the Cape were located. Be tween 1700 and 1712, a few persons settled on the north-easterly end of the Cape. In 1708, Peter Emons was on the south east end ; and, Arithin five or six years after that time, Peter Bennet Avas also there. Neither of these two became permanent PIEST SETTLEES AT SANDY BAY. 333 settlers ; and the old ceUars over which their houses once stood afford the only evidence to show where they lived while there. Bennet bought a large number of the lots laid out to the com moners in 1708, between Long Cove and Starknaught Harbor ; and he made his home there, probably, for the purpose of cutting down his wood, and hauHng it to the landings on the seashore. Emons, it is likely, was also employed in the same kind of work. At the end of the first quarter of the eighteenth century, nearly all the land at the head of the Cape had passed into the possession of indlA-idual proprietors ; and there can be no doubt, that, during all this time, an active business was carried on in exporting the wood with which it was covered. That business gave employment to the large number of vessels built In the toAvn In those years, and was the chief inducement to the settle ment of the easterly shores of Cape Ann. It is not easy to ascertain who was the first to join Tarr and Pool at Sandy Bay. In 1715, a John Davis, with his Avife and family, from IpsArich, moved into town. He may have been the person of the same name, son of Isaac Daris of Falmouth, who, in 1734, was Hving in Gloucester, about seventy-four years old; and the "old Mr. John Davis" of Sandy Bay, who in 1748, and for several preceding years, received assistance from the town. The latter had a son Samuel, who married Deborah Har ris in 1723 ; became a captain, and an elder of the church ; and died Aug. 25, 1770, aged sixty-seven. He had several children ; four of whom (sons) were lost at sea. Ebenezer Davis, who had a brother Samuel (probably the preceding), married Eliza beth, daughter of Richard Tarr, in 1715. It does not appear that he lived at Sandy Bay ; but it seems quite certain that the other Darises here mentioned became residents there between 1715 and 1723. In 1719, Jabez Baker, weaver, son of Cornelius Baker of Salem, removed to Sandy Bay from Beverly, and settled near Richard Tarr. He had a Arife Rachel, by whom three daughters — Mary, Bethiah, and AbigaU — were born here. She died June 5, 1731, aged forty-seven. Jabez Baker became an elder of the chm-ch; and died Aug. 24, 1758, leaving a wife Jane. 334 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. With him came a son Jabez, who, in 1733, married Anna Smith of Beverly, and had several chUdren. The only one of his sons knoAvn to have married here was Joseph, who married Mary Nor wood in 1770, settled in Squam, and died at an advanced age, leaving no descendants. Jabez Baker, jun., was a sea-captain; and died about 1753, learing a vessel and a farm. His Arife sur vived him almost half a century; and died March 3, 1800, at the age of eighty-seven. The next settler at Sandy Bay is supposed to have been John Wonson, of whom some account has afready been given. He married a daughter of Richard Tarr in 1720 ; and had a house, the site of which is stIU pointed out by the elderly people who Hve near it. Edmund Grover, who has also been before mentioned, was dismissed from Beverly Church, and recommended to a church in Gloucester, in July, 1722. He located himself near Loblolly Cove, at a considerable distance fr-om the other settlers in Sandy Bay. Nehemiah Grover and Ebenezer Grover, his sons, settled near him. The former died Jan. 13, 1761, a few days before his father ; and the latter, Oct. 25 in the same year. Each of these sons had several children. Two other sons — Edmund and Eliezer — settled in the Ffrst Parish, at the head of the Harbor ; to which place EHezer removed from Sandy Bay after 1740. He died Dec. 25, 1795, aged eighty-five. Edmund became a seafaring man; and, being master of a schooner to Vfrginia, was drowned there, Feb. 8, 1742, aged about thfrty-six. It does not appear that he left sons ; but the name is stUl home in Gloucester by descendants of EHezer. Another person, who, about the same time, settled in Sandy Bay, was Samuel Clark, who, in 1726, had a grant of half an acre of land north-westerly from John Wonson's house. He was son-in-law of " old Mr. John Daris ; " and was probably the person of the same name who had, by his Arife Elizabeth, a daughter Abigail born in 1728, and a son Henry in 1734.* A * These are recorded in the town-records. The records of the First Church show the following baptisms of children of Samuel Clark: Samuel, 1722; Ann, 1723; S.u- sanna, 1725; Elizabeth, 1727; Joseph, 1728; Hannah, 1736; and Nathaniel, 1739. EAELY SETTLEES AT SANDY BAY. 335 Samuel Clark, jun., supposed to be a son of this settler, married Widow Elizabeth Tarr ui 1747. Joshua Kendall married Mai-y Tarr in 1730, and is supposed to have settled in Sandy Bay about that time. Hemy Witham, son of Thomas Witham, married Rachel Parsons (a Aridowed daughter, it is supposed, of Jabez Baker) in 1733, and settled in Sandy Bay, near the Grovers, at the south easterly end of the Cape. He had a large famUy of children ; became an elder of the church there ; and died March 18, 1777, aged eighty-two. Thomas Dresser, whose origin is not known, first appears at Sandy Bay on his marriage to Sarah Tarr, Jan. 6, 1733. He was Hving there in 1754 ; but nothing further is knoAvn of him, except that he had several chUdren. His house was near the Corner. John Row, son of Stephen Row, married, in 1736, Mary- Baker (who was probably the first child of Jabez born in Sandy Bay), and joined the settlers, who now constituted a smaU vU lage in the vicinity of his father-in-law. He kept a tavem in the house, stiU standing, on the hill opposite a road leading to the Burying-ground. John Row, his son and his grandson, were distinguished for mihtary services, which have afready been related. Ehas Cook came from Marblehead, and had, in 1738, a grant of sixteen rods of land, where his dwelhng stood, joining land of Samuel Daris and Caleb Tarr. He may have been in Sandy Bay as early as 1731 ; when, by his wife Sarah, his daughter Sarah was bom. Besides her, he had Francis, Benjamin, Sa muel, and WUHam. In 1738, a maUgnant throat-distemper, which prevaUed with extraordinary fatahty throughout New England, for about two years, began its ravages at Sandy Bay, and took from the settlers, as they say in a memorial to the General Court, " thfrty-one of thefr pleasant children by death." There were then in the place twenty-seven families, containing more than one hundred and forty persons. Several of these families are mentioned in the preceding account of the settlers. Some of them were of 336 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTER. the second generation, of which were five Pools, and three or four Tarrs.* Of the settlers at Sandy Bay between 1738 and 1754, we know the names, but not the date of settlement there. Stephen Butler married Widow Ehzabeth Gott in 1752, and had his re sidence in Sandy Bay in 1754. Thomas Goss, a fisherman, son of Thomas Goss of Squam, who came from Marblehead, married Mary Tarr in 1751, and settled in Sandy Bay. In his advanced years, it is said that he and part of his family removed to Maine.f John Hobson, jun., from Rowley, married Widow Martha Pool In 1753 ; and, after a short residence at Sandy Bay, re turned to Rowley. Eliezer Lurvey, son of Peter of this town, married Sarah Pool in 1742 ; and died in June, 1790, aged seventy-three. Job Lane, son of John, the first of the name in toAvn, married Mary Ashby in 1734. He had a second Arife, AbigaU Parsons, and was Hving at Sandy Bay in 1754. About 1740, Joshua Norwood bought of the Chebacco fisher men thefr land at Straitsmouth, and settled there Arith his son Joshua. He had preriously Hved in a house between Pigeon Hill and Halibut Point, erected, according to tradition, by two men belonging to Salem, to conceal thefr mother, who was accused in the witchcraft fury of 1692. This house, Arith various additions and recent repafrs, is stUl standing, and arrests the attention of * The following-named persons are supposed to be the heads of famUies aUuded to: — Jabez Baker. Jabez Baker, jun. Samuel Clark. Elias Cook. John Davis. Samuel Davis. Thomas Dresser. Edmund Grover. Nehemiah Grover. Ebenezer Grover. Eliezer Grover. Thomas Harris. Thomas Harris, jun. Samuel Harris. Edward Jumper. Joshua KendaU. John Pool. Joshua Pool. Ebenezer Pool. Caleb Pool. Jonathan Pool. John Eow. WiUiam Tarr. Caleb Tarr. Benjamin Tarr. Samuel Tarr. Henry Witham. t Thomas Goss had a wonderful dog. Being ont one day in his boat, fishing and gunning, accompanied by his dog, he was blown off the coast, and picked up by a vessel bound to Chesapeake Bay. Soon after his arrival there, he missed his valued animal, and supposed him to be lost; but, to his great surprise, he found, on reaching home some days afterwards, that the dog had arrived, in a weak and emaciated con dition, a short time before. EAELY SETTLEES AT SANDY BAY. 337 every passer. For several years it was occupied for a summer boarding-house, and its delightful situation and fine advantages attracted many men eminent for taste and culture. Of Joshua Norwood's marriage and family, some account has afready been given. His son Joshua had a house near the south part of Gap Cove ; but his last days were spent alone in an old house on Pigeon HUl. He died about 1785. James Parsons, a grandson of Jeffrey who settled at the Farms, married Abigail Tarr in 1744, and fixed his residence at Sandy Bay. He died in January, 1789, aged sixty-seven, leaving a large number of descendants. Thomas Finson, son of Thomas who was killed by Indians in 1724, was born in 1720, and was living at Sandy Bay in 1754. He was droAvned at Plum Cove, May 13, 1762. Joseph Thurston, the first of the name in toAvn, resided several years at Pigeon HUl. He married the widow of Thomas Finson, and had several chUdren, one of whom (Joseph) had settled in Sandy Bay in 1754. At a later date, the father re moved thither ; and died there May 29, 1780. Joseph Thurston, jun., died June 8, 1801. His wife was Agnes Davis, daughter of Capt. Samuel Davis. Two Sheltons (Ephraim and Israel) appear In Sandy Bay about 1750. The latter, in the record of his marriage to Widow Susanna Oakes in 1753, is said to be from Carohna. He removed to WoolArich, Me., and died there at an advanced age. Ephi-aim married Martha Langsford In 1749, and AbigaU Pool in 1754. He had a son Ephraun, who settled in New castle, Me. Daniel WiUiams, from Beverly, was residing at Sandy Bay in 1753, when he married Hannah Clark. It Is not known how long he resided there. He left no sons at that place. In 1741, James Hardy owned a house at Sandy Bay; but nothing further is knoAvn of him than that he is said to have removed to Maine. Thomas Oakes was living in Sandy Bay in 1748. He mar ried .lane Somes In 1730. She died in 1745 ; and he next married Susanna Clark, who became a widow, and married 43 338 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. Israel Shelton. Thomas Oakes had a son Thomas bom in 1733. The Harrises had, in 1754, removed from Pigeon HUl to the southerly end of the Cape ; and were thus brought within the Hmits of the Sandy-Bay settlement. Thomas Harris died in 1764. Of the eleven children of Thomas Harris, jun., two were sons, who died on the same day, in the fatal year of 1738. Samuel Harris, according to the records, had but one chUd, — a daughter ; but it is certain that he had, besides, daughters Ann and Judith, and a son Samuel, who settled in Maine. Another settler at Sandy Bay, about this time, was John Blatchford. He is said to have been bom in the west of England, and to have come to New England by the way of NeAvfound land. He married Rachel Clark, Jan. 7, 1755 ; and died about the commencement of this century, at a very advanced age. He always asserted that he was on the Thames when three oxen were roasted whole on the ice on that river, and supposed him self then about fourteen years old. That event took place Jan. 19, 1716. He had four sons and two daughters. Samuel, one of the sons, removed to Eastport, Me. ; another (Nathaniel) died in Gloucester, Jan. 11, 1852, aged eighty-five; and Henry, the youngest, died in Rockport in 1853, aged elghty-fom-. John, one of this family, was representative in 1834 and 1835. The foregoing account of the early settlers of Sandy Bay comprises aU who are known to have resided there to the year 1754, when the whole number of tax-payers at that place was thfrty-seven ; * of whom probably about one-half got thefr Hving * The map gives the location of all the famiUes at Sandy Bay to 1754, as nearly as can be ascertained. The following is a list of the tax-payers there in that year, not including the estates of Jabez Baker, jun., and Caleb Tarr, deceased: — Jabez Baker. Stephen Butler. Capt. Samuel Davis. Thomas Dresser. Samuel Davis, 4th. Thomas Finson. Elder Edmund Grover. Nehemiah Grover. Nehemiah Grover, jun, Ebenezer Grover. Thomas Goss. Thomas Harris, jun. Samuel Harris. John Hobson. Eliezer Lurvey. Job Lane. Joshua Norwood, jun. Ebenezer Pool. Francis Pool. Stephen Pool. Jonathan Pool. Caleb Pool. John Pool. James Parsons, jun. John Row. Ephraim Shelton. Joshua Norwood, sen., and Thomas Harris, sen., paid no tax of any kind, Israel Shelton. WiUiam Tarr. .Toshua Tarr. Benjamin Tarr. Benjamin Tarr, jun. Jaraes Tarr. Jacob Tarr. Joseph Thurston, jun. Henry Witham. Samuel Wonson. Daniel WiUiams. WUUam FIFTH PAEISH. 339 fi-om the sea, and the rest by cultivating the soil. Only two ves sels of sufficient value to be taxed were then OAvned there ; and the taxable property ofthe settlement was about one twenty-fourth part of the whole valuation of the town. The distance of these settlers from the town schoolhouse forced them to rely chiefly upon thefr oavu exertions for the education of thefr children ; and thefr remoteness fr-om the meeting-house deprived a large por tion of them of the advantage and enjoyment of public religious worship. They had a schoolhouse soon after 1725, when the commoners granted them land on which to erect one " to keep a good school in for the godly instruction of childi-en, and teach ing of them to read and write good English." They also had sometimes preaching in the winter ; and. In 1740, obtained from the Ffrst Parish remission of one-third of thefr parish-rates, on condition of supporting rehgious worship in thefr own village four months in a year. The parish had once refused them this pririlege, and were now apparently only induced to grant it by an act of the General Court compeUing them to do so. Rev. Moses Parsons was thefr minister one Arinter ; but the names of others who were employed in occasional preaching at the Cape are not known to us. The act for the incorportation of the Fifth or Sandy-Bay Parish received the approval of the Governor, Jan. 1, 1754. The westerly line of the new precinct extended from Cape Hedge to the highway near Beaver Dam, and thence in a northerly dfrection to the Squam-Parish Hne. The meeting-house was erected by the parish about the time of its incorporation. It stood near the head of Long Cove, about forty feet easterly from the Baptist Meeting-house now standing there. It was about thfrty-six feet square, two stories high, and unprovided Arith belfry or steeple. On the south side was a porch, in which was the entrance to the building, and a stafrway. leading to the gaUery. The floor was fmnished with Tarr, Elder Grover, and Jabez Baker, in consequence of advanced age probably, were not assessed for a poU-tax. Nineteen persons paid only a poU-tax. The whole assess ment for town-tax was il2. 3s. 6d. The three largest taxes were those of Ebenezei Pool, Caleb Pool, and John Pool, who together paid £3. Os. 3d. 340 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. pews, excepting a space, each side of the middle aisle, near the pulpit, where were three long seats. It was taken down in May, 1805, just before the decease of the venerable minister who had been its only occupant as the pastor of the parish. The new church was organized Feb. 13, 1755. The mini sters of the Ffrst, Thfrd, and Fourth churches, Arith delegates, were present to assist in the ceremonies and solemnities of the occasion. The foUowinsr are the names of the members who were dismissed fr-om the First Church to form the new one : Edmund Grover, Jabez Baker, Nehemiah Grover, Hem-y Witham, Jonathan Pool, Samuel Daris, John Row, James Par sons, jun., Samuel Clark, jtm., and EHezer Lurvey. They selected, for thefr minister, Ebenezer Cleaveland, who was or dained in December, 1753, Arith a salary of sixty pounds per annum. In January foUoAring, Edmund Grover and Jabez Baker were chosen ruhng elders, and Henry Witham and Samuel Daris were chosen deacons. In forming themselves into a parish, the people of Sandy Bay assumed a pecuniary burthen of no inconsiderable amount ; and it is a fact in thefr history, which thefr descendants may remember Arith pleasure as an eri dence of thefr rehgious character, that the salary paid to thefr minister in 1755 was more than four times the amount of thefr town-tax the same year, and more than tArice that of thefr town and prorince tax the year preceding. Mr. Cleaveland was a son of Josiah Cleaveland of Canter bury, Conn. ; and was born In that toAvn, Jan. 5, 1725. He and his brother John were sent to Yale CoUege, and were both ex pelled for attending a Separatist meeting Avhile at home dm-Ing a vacation. They justified themselves on the ground that their father and a majority of the church attended the same meeting. This act of the college government awakened pubhc indignation, and the persecuted brothers were so far restored to favor as to obtain their degrees. John received his for 1748. It is not knoAATi hoAv or where he Avas employed between the close of his college-life and the time of his settlement over the Fifth Parish here. It is said that he was a chaplain in the army sent against Ticonderoga in 1758, in the triumphant campaign to Canada in EEV. EBENEZEE CLEAA'ELAND. 341 1759, and for three months in 1765 at Fort Edward in the same capacity. His church consented, in June of that year, that he should go as chaplain with Col. John Whitcomb. In January, 1762, during the last illness of Mr. Bradstreet, the Squam Church procm-ed the consent of the brethren at Sandy Bay, that thefr minister should preach to them some part of the winter ; and, just before the death of Mr. Bradstreet, they proposed to pay forty-five pounds to secure Mr. Cleaveland's services one- half the time. In June, 1775, Mr. Cleaveland obtained the consent of his chm-ch, that he should join the Revolutionary Army as chap lain. He accordingly joined it; and, in the foUoAring winter, Avas stationed at Dorchester Heights. He served in Rhode Island In 1777, and In other places afterwards. On his return home, he found his parish in a distressed condition. Some of his peo ple had faUen in battle ; some had died in prison-ships ; many had perished at sea ; and nearly all the rest fit for service were absent, fighting for thefr country's rights. They were deeply In debt to him for his past labors ; and the best they could do for his future support was to give him ninety quintals of hake-fish per annum. He was compelled, therefore, to seek his living in another field of labor ; and accepted an offer to become Superin tendent of Dartmouth-CoUege lands at Llandaff, N.H., preach ing also in that and some of the neighboring toAnis. He remained there till about 1785 ; when he returned to Sandy Bay, and preached to his former fiock, when not otherArise engaged, for such contributions as they could raise for him. After a few years, he again removed, and preached in Amesbury till some time in 1797 ; when he came back to his old home at the Cape, and finished his days in the house which he built there at the com mencement of his ministry. He died July 4, 1805, aged eighty. The usual language of eulogy employed to describe a sincere and faithful Christian minister may be used in giving the cha racter of Mr. Cleaveland. In all his private relations, he was kind and loving ; and his pubhc duties were performed in such a manner as to gain him the respect and affection of his people. His vfrtues were subjected to severe trials ; but they came from 342 HISTOKY OF GLOUCESTER. the ordeal Avith Increased brightness. Unusual domestic tioubles fell to his lot ; but he kept his faith, and preserved a patient, serene, and affectionate spirit to the end. He died Arith Chris tian resignation ; trusting, as he said, " in the same God who had protected him when the bullets were flying about his head on the battle-field," and resting " on the doctrines of free grace his hope of immortal glory." He Hes buried in the Parish Burying-ground in Sandy Bay. His gravestone, besides the usual inscription and a tribute to his worth, has the foUowing lines : — " FareweU, thou man of God! We saw thy grief; Nor youth nor hoary days produced relief: By pamful crosses try'd, by sorrows prov'd, By good men honor'd, and by Jesus lov'd. Thy many years one hallow'd current ran; A faithful pastor, and a godly man." The only production of his pen, knoAvn to have been printed, is a sermon, entitled " The Abounding Grace of God towards Notorious Sinners," pubhshed in 1774. Mr. Cleaveland's Arife was Abigail Stevens of Canterbury. She died Dec. 25, 1804, aged seventy-seven. When expfring, she repeated the foUoAving lines : — " Mercy, good Lord I mercy I crave ; This is the total sum: For mercy, Lord, is aU my suit. Lord, let thy mercy come! " They had twelve children. Filia Nata, an Alice, and William Pitt Amherst, died young. Ohve married Isaac Pool, and re moved to Bristol, I\Ie., where both died in adA'anced hfe. Lydia married Nathan Fletcher, and had a second husband, named Lenox. She removed to Newburyport, and is supposed to have died there. Abigail, born in 1751 ; mai-ried, fii-st, Reuben Brooks, who Avas taken In the " Yankee Hero " in 1776, and died In Halifax ; second, Jaines Henderson, who was lost In the pri vateer "America" in 1781; thfrd, a Slater, who was droAvned at Sandy Bay, just after embarking on a trip to Maine ; and, fom-th, Oliver Stevens, jun. She died June 3, 1790. Ebenezer, born in 1754, became a captain in the Revolutionary War ; afterwards EEV. EBENEZEE CLEAVELAND. 343 kept school ; and was, at one time, engaged in the fishing business, in which he met Arith no success. He married Lois Pool, and died Nov. 26, 1822, Arithout children. Mary, born in 1759, married Professor John Smith of Dartmouth College. John Vass, born in 1764, married Hannah Hale, daughter of John Hale of Squam. He removed to Amesbury, while his father was hving there, to assist him in some business matters ; and died there about 1796. His Avife died about a year before him. He left a son John, now Hving In Quincy, 111. ; and two daugh ters, one of whom married a Fitts of Providence, and Is now deceased ; and the other is HAdng unmarried in St. Louis. Ahce, bom in 1766, was deficient in intellect ; and died in the Gloucester Alms-house, Sept. 1, 1814. Hephzibah, born in 1769, died unmarried at the age of nineteen. Beulah, born in 1772, married John Bums ; and removed to Quincy, 111., 1834, where she died in March, 1855. 344 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. CHAPTER XVI. Excise Act. — French War. — Population. — Taxes and Town Expenses. — Schools. — Small-Pox. — Stamp Act. In July, 1754, a town-meeting was held to consider a bUl, that had been recently brought before the Legislature of Massachu setts, for granting an excise on Avines and distUled spfrits ; and which, meeting with great opposition there, had been referred to the towns. One section of the biU requfred persons, consuming any of these articles In thefr houses, to give an exact account thereof to the collector of the excise, or his deputy, whenever called upon to do so. The town voted this provision to be " highly disagreeable to the inhabitants, and very grievous, as being inconsistent with the natural rights of mankind, and much more Arith the hberty of Englishmen ; " and Instructed their representative to act in conformity with these sentiments. The bUl, however, was passed; and the town next sought relief "at home," by taking measures to prevent it from obtaining the royal assent. Another pubhc matter which engaged the attention of our people this year was the union of the EngHsh Colonies of North America, proposed by a convention of delegates fi-om several of the Colonies, held at Albany. William Stevens, Esq., repre sentative fr-om Gloucester in the General Comt, voted there In the affirmative on the question concerning the union; and he appeared at a town-meeting held early in 1755, to speak on the subject. The meeting heard the plan of union, but took no action thereon. One object of the proposed union of the Colonies was a com bination of the strength of all of them for attack and defence in FRENCH AVAR. 345 the war between France and England, which Avas then seen to be inevitable, and which, after four years of hard fighting, was to free our ancestors, and thefr descendants for ever, from the fear of French domination in North America. Not many towns had a larger interest at stake in the war than Gloucester. Its Grand-Bank fishery had now become important ; but the fisher men were a good deal annoyed by French cruisers, and, in some instances, had been captured. The war was, therefore, to decide for them, whether they should visit the fishing-grounds without fear of molestation or not. We know but Httle concerning the part borne by our people in the events of that exciting contest. The population of the town furnished one whole company, and several soldiers for other companies. In the first year of the war, and probably contributed as large a force each year till peace was estabhshed ; but the deeds and sufferings of our townsmen, intrusted mainly to the insecure keeping of tradition, are now almost forgotten. The Gloucester Company in the first campaign formed part of an expedition against Crown Point. It was commanded by Capt. Jonathan Fellows. John Row was Heutenant ; and Samuel Fel lows, ensign. Abijah How, one of the soldiers, died on the way home from Albany.* One of the expeditions of 1755 was that against Nova Scotia ; which resulted in the expulsion and dispersion of the French inhabitants of the peninsula, who, though professing neutrahty, had actually a large number of men in arms against the Enghsh. The decision to remove these people and destroy thefr settle ments was adopted, upon full and matm-e deliberation ; and, whatever necessity for it might have seemed to exist at the time, the act is now universaUy condemned as one of greater than savage cruelty.f A few of these wretched Acadians found a temporary home in Gloucester. Of those who came first, thfr- * David Riggs, a soldier in a company commanded by Capt. John Whipple of Ip swich, died during this campaign, near Lake George. t One of our greatest poets has sung in touching strains of the woes of these people ; and an eminent historian of our country (Bancroft) says, "I know not if the annals of the human race keep the record of sorrows so wantonly inflicted, so bitter, and so perennial, as fell upon the French inhabitants of Acadia." 44 346 history of gloucestee. teen were ordered by the General Court to be removed to Wen ham, and the rest (eleven In number) to Methuen. Others were brought here afterwards, for whose subsistence the select men of the town provided at the expense of the Province Treasury. The bmlding in which some of them were kept at the public charge was called the " French Neuter House." The 18th of November, 1755, was a memorable day through out New England and many other parts of the country, as that of the " great earthquake." A contemporaneous record of its effects here is preserved on a blank-leaf of an old account-book, and says, " Half-past four in the morning was the most shocking earthquake as ever I knew in this land. It shattered a great many chimneys in this toAvn and in other toAvns." The occasion was improved by the ministers of the country to make a religious impression upon the minds of the people, and many additions were made to the church. The pastors of this town kept a fast on account of it, in the Fourth Parish, Jan. 1, 1756. Rev. Samuel Chandler preached In the forenoon, fr-om Ezek. xxxiu. 5 ; and Rev. Benjamui Bradstreet in the afternoon, from Prov. I. 24-29. The day of the annual pubhc fast, in 1756, was April 29. Rev. Samuel Chandler dehvered an address to the soldiers about to join the army for service against the French ; which, at thefr desfre, he copied for them. Dm-ing the services at the Meeting house, a sudden gust of AvInd, which many supposed to be an earthquake, created such an alarm In the congregation, that most of the people rushed out; but order was soon restored, and the exercises proceeded. It is significant of the character of the people and of the age, that these soldiers again assembled in the house of pubhc worship on the day of thefr departure. May 3 ; when the venerable Mr. White prayed for them, and his colleague gave them a word of exhortation. Of the particular serrice of these soldiers, no account is preserved. They were undoubtedly a part of the expedition designed to attack Crown Point, but which did not reach that place, as the capture by the French of important English posts on Lake Ontario changed the plan of operations. feench AVAE. 347 The next year of the war was not distinguished by any offen sive operations against the French ; * but It will always be a memorable one in the annals of the country, for the surrender of Fort WUHam Henry, and the plmider and massacre of the sol diers by the Indians which followed. How many Gloucester men were there, or were elsewhere engaged in the war in 1757, no one knows. On the 22d of March, a very cold and snowy day, the two mihtia companies of the town were assembled in the Ffrst-Parish Meeting-house, and seventeen men were enlisted from them for actual service. According to family traditions, several of our men were attached to the force at Fort WiUiam Henry; and one of them (Nathaniel Pulcifer) is said to have been exposed to the massacre, from which he escaped, and Hved to be nearly a hundred years old. The war had been disastrous to the English, so far ; and the Colomes were in a gloomy state : but, under the energetic admini stration of WilHam Pitt, the spirit of the British, both at home and In the Colonies, rose to the necessity of the occasion ; and, in 1758, a poAverful army was organized for the rigorous prose cution of the contest. In the preparations for the campaign, omr oAvn toAvn was the scene of considerable mihtary display. On the 18th of April, a general meeting of officers was held at Col. AUen's, foUowed by a "genteel entertainment." On the 23d, the transports, Arith the troops from this and some of the neigh boring towns probably, saUed for Halifax to join the large force there assembling for an attack on Louisburg ; and, on the 24th of * A large force was collected at Halifax, with the design of attempting the reduction of Louisburg; but the place was so strongly garrisoned and defended, that the project was abandoned. Early in the year, an embargo was laid by the Legislature on all vessels in the several harbors of the Province, restraining them till the lOtli of April; the object of which was to prevent the discovery of the intended expedition. In violation of this act, seven fishing vessels proceeded to sea from Gloucester : two of which belonged to Epes Sargent, jun. ; and one each to Winthrop Sargent, Thomas Sunders, jun., Daniel Sargent, Daniel Eogers, and Hubbard Haskell. The king's at torney was directed to prosecute these persons. They urged in their defence, that they acted in no contempt of authority, bnt under a misapprehension of the intention of the act. By subsequent action of the Legislature, fishing vessels were allowed to sail, and to be absent twelve days ; but were not permitted to go east beyond Casco Bay, nor south farther tlian Cape Cod. 348 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. May, a large company, commanded by Capt. Andrew Giddings,* marched out of toAvn, " accompanied," says the journahst f who records the fact, " by a great concourse of people." This com pany consisted of about eighty men, and was in the unsuccessful expedition to Ticonderaga. It is not known how many, if any, of its members fell in battle, or were victims of other casualties of Avar. Job Ring and Gaspar Clouse died at Lake George ; but they were not all, probably, who returned home no more. Lou isburg smrendered on the 26th of July ; and the receipt of the intelligence here gave rise to great rejoicings. This " hornet's nest," which had long been a source of annoyance to our mari ners and fishermen, remained in possession of the EngHsh tUl peace was concluded, when it was conveyed to them by treaty. The fortifications were demohshed at an expense of fifty thou sand dollars, and the place has ever since been a heap of ruins. The successes of 1758 inspfred the EngHsh with sufficient boldness to attempt the next year the reduction of Quebec. It was a daring project; but it was happily accomplished by the brave Wolfe and his gaUant army : and, soon afterwards, the long struggle of the French for a controlling power in North America ceased for ever. Several Gloucester men, according to family traditions still current, Avere in the battle on the Plains of Abra ham, near Quebec ; but no record is preserved to show the part borne by our people in the successful campaign of 1759. The * A list of this company is in my possession. Its lieutenants were Nathaniel Bay- ley and Isaac Martin. Samuel Davis was ensign. A memorandum on the same paper says, " Andrew Giddings, ensign in Capt. Bayley's company in the campaign of 1758 to Ticonderoga, and became commander of the company before the storming of Ticon deroga." But Rev. Jacob Bailey calls it " Capt. Giddens's company " at the start. Nathaniel Bayley came from Newbury to this town, and married here Mary Davis, Oct. 1, 1747. He had several children. March 8, 1758, in a petition to the General Court, he represents that he was at great trouble and expense in enlisting men "forthe last Crown-Point expedition," in expectation of receiving a captain's commission, but received only a first lieutenant's. ¦ He requested an allowance, but did not obtain any. He afterwards commanded a company in Gen. Amherst's army, and was engaged in the reduction of Canada in 1760. His son Nathaniel, a lad of twelve years, was with him in Canada, and there had the smaU-pox, by which he lost an eye. The father also had the disease, and died ofit in December, 1760. The son was " an exemplary profes sor of religion, and member of the First Church ; " and died here Jan. 15, 1828, in his eightieth year. t Eev. Jacob BaUey. POPULATION. 349 citizens of the town testified thefr joy at the great event by an illumination and the firing of cannon, and gladly contemplated the approaching termination of the war. Besides interrupting trade and industry, it had uifiicted a heavy pecuniary burthen on the toAm, weU calculated to impress us Arith a sense of the sacri fices made by our fathers to secure to us the fafr heritage we enjoy. Once more turning thefr attention again exclusively to the pursuits of peace, they advanced steadily in a career of pro sperity till caUed upon to resist the oppressions of the mother- country, and assert and maintain thefr rights in the struggle which gave them hberty and independence. An estimate of the population of the toAvn at the commence ment of the eighteenth century, in a preceding chapter, gives the number of inhabitants. In 1704, at about seven hundred. Taking the best basis for calculation we can uoav command, the town had tArice doubled its population at the end of half a cen tury fr-om the last-named date ; and contained, in 1755, about twenty-eight hundred inhabitants.* With regard to the increase of property, our information is very scanty ; but it is quite certain that no person in the town had yet acqufred enough to be accounted rich, according to the standard by which wealth is now measured in mercantile com munities. It is not supposed that half a dozen citizens, in 1755, possessed an estate of the value of ten thousand dollars. Nor were there many so poor as to requfre public aid. The practice * In 1738, the number of inhabitants to eaoh family in Sandy Bay was a fraction over five. In 1754, there appear to have been thirty-nine families there, containing, according to the same ratio, about two hundred persons. The number of families in the West Parish, in 1755, was one hundred and two. The taxable property in each of the parishes, except Sandy Bay, was probably then very nearly In the same ratio to the whole as the population of each parish to the whole number of inhabitants in the town. Proceeding upon this supposition, and taking the town tax assessed upon each parish in 1755, and aUowing five persons to each family, we arrive at the foUowing results : — Tax. First Parish 447.84 Second Parish 178.66 Third Parish 146.27 Fourth Parish 141.44 Fifth Parish 44.89 Total 959.10 568 Families. No. of Inhabitants. 255 1275 102 510 83 415 79 345 39 200 2745 350 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. of " letting out " the poor was stUl continued ; and the whole number of this class in 1757 was nine, — three males and six females, — who were supported at an expense of two hundred and three dollars. Assistance rendered to a few others car ried up the total expenditure for the poor in that year to about tAVO hundred and eighty dollars. The taxes for the payment of toAvn-expenses, a century ago, were very light ; but, considering the means upon which they were levied, they were no Hghter, perhaps, than the heavy rates of the present time. And yet. If it were so, how heavUy must the expenses of the French War have borne upon the people of that day ! The town's proportion of the Prorince-tax, in the first year of the war, was double the amount of the toAvn-tax for the same year ; and, in 1758, it was between three and four times the amount raised in that year for the current expenses of the toAvn. But economy was a habit Arith our fathers ; and, so far as it was founded upon moral duty, it gives them a high claim upon omr regard. They knew the art of fi-ugal HA'ing, and en joyed all its advantages ; but it strikes us Arith some amazement that they could in 1757, with a population of one-fom-th of the present census of the toAvn, have all the benefits of a good toAvn- government at an expense of less than nine hundred dollars per annum. Making all due allowance for the difference In the value of money between thefr day and ours, we still have proof of great economy in thefr pubhc expenditures.* It is gratifying to find that nearly one-half of the expenses * At the May meeting in 1757, the town voted a rate of ^300 " for necessary charges, and for purchasing stock of ammunition, arms, &c." The expenditures under this grant, reduced to doUars and cents, were as follows : — On account of the poor S281.68 For schools 407.37 MisceUaneous 35.94 Selectmen's pay 86.62 Selectmen's expenses at Capt. EUei-y's tavern 48.60 Ammunition, — 5i bbls. powder, 6 owt. bullets, 1,000 flints .... 209.90 $1070.11 The tax for repair of highways was made in a separate assessment, as down to a recent time; and all who chose to do so, " worked it out." In 1754, the allowance for labor on the highway was three shillings for a man; and twelve shiUings for a man, a yoke of oxen, and cart. SCHOOLS. 351 of the toAvn at that time Avas incurred for the support of schools. By an arrangement made in 1758, the grammar school was per manently located at the Harbor, and a cfrculating school was maintained in the other parishes. No essential change was made from this plan till the adoption of the district system. The first teacher of a permanent public grammar school In the Harbor was Samuel Whittemore. He was succeeded by Rev. Jacob Bfilley,* who taught here about a year and a half. After him, Samuel Pierce and Thomas Pierce f taught alternately about two years ; next, Thomas Marrett, J a short time ; then James Prentice, § Avho was succeeded by PhUemon Stacy in 1767. The latter continued in office tlU the school was broken up by the Revolutionary War. One of the teachers in the out-parishes, during all the time now under notice, was Ebenezer Bray, a townsman ; who, on account of some bodUy infirmity, received, in 1760, a grant of seven * Eev. Jacob Bailey taught the grammar school here from April, 1758, to Novem ber, 1759, at a salary of ;£26. 13s. 4d. per annum, exclusive of board. He graduated at Harvard College in 1755. After leaving Gloucester, he became an Episcopal preacher in Maine, and next iu Nova Scotia. He died in 1808. During his stay here, he preached for Mr. Chandler, when the latter was ill. The Puritanic strictness of the pastor must have considerably relaxed to allow him to send to his flock a preacher who could countenance by his presence a proscribed form of social enjoyment; as, accord ing to his journal, Mr. Bailey did, once at least. He records, June 26, 1758: " One evening this week, I was invited to a dance at Mr. Comerford's, where I found a num ber of gentlemen and ladies, the choice of the town; viz., Mrs. Ingersol, Mrs. ElweU, Mrs. IngersoU, PoUy Smith, Nabby Sanders, Betty Davis, Hannah Babson, Molly , Mrs. Comerford." t These persons may have been brothers. Thomas Pierce married Anna Haskell in 1762, and, in the same year, was ordained the minister of Scarborough, Me.; where he died in 1775, aged thirty-seven. t Thomas Marrett was a native of Cambridge, and graduated at Harvard College in 1781. After teaching the grammar school in the Harbor, he settled in Squam, where he also taught occasionally. He was one of the selectmen a few years during the war ; and died June 24, 1784, aged forty-three. His chirography in the Squam-Parish Ee cords is remarkably bold and elegant. § James Prentice was a native of Cambridge, and graduated at Harvard College in 1761. He taught the grammar school about four years. In 1775, and perhaps before, he kept a tavem at the corner of Middle and Pleasant Streets. Soon after the battle of Bunker HIU, he is said to have taken command of a company, and to have served during most or the whole of the war. He afterwards settled In Boston, where he kept a boarding-house many years for the accommodation of Cape- Ann people. He died there Nov. 26, 1797, aged fifty-six. His wife was Lydia, daughter of Capt. Thomas Sanders. She continued the boarding-house tUl 1806, when she returned to Gloucester. They had uo children. 352 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. pounds from the toAvn to aid him to acquire a knowledge of the Latin language. He had afready kept school, in his native parish and other parts of the town, three years. Under the arrange ment by which the schools were now conducted, each parish, except the fifth, enjoyed several months' pubhc instruction every year. The latter could only have a three months' school in two years.. Among all the calamities to which our people were exposed, for a considerable part of the last century, few caused greater alarm than the smaU-pox. Inoculating Arith the vfrus, which greatly lessened its fatality, came into practice extensively about the middle of the century; and, towards the close of that period, the valuable discovery of Jenner, that inoculation with the cow- pox is nearly an infalhble security against the former disease, relieved the pubhc mind of the terror which that malady for merly occasioned. It does not appear that this grievous calamity ever afflicted the people of Gloucester as it did some other towns ; as, for instance, those of Boston in 1752. But it prevailed here in 1764 to such an extent as to cause a very general alarm, and interrupt the usual pursuits of Hfe. In the year of its distressing prevalence and fatahty in Boston, our pubUc authorities took precautionary measures to prevent Its introduction here by estabhshing a guard at the Cut and at the Battery ; and it Is not known that a single case occurred In the town. But, in 1760, the disease was here ; though no one is known to have died of it. One famUy was carried away from town by water. Another death occurred in 1762 ; but the disease does not seem to have spread. In Janu ary, 1764, it broke out In the Harbor VUlage; and several families moved from thefr houses. In the first case, it proved fatal ; and, several other cases occurring, we find, on the 7th of February, " almost all the Harbor are moving on account of the smaU-pox : nothing but carting, — all in motion." It prevaUed about three months ; during AvhIch, eight of the inhabitants feU victims to the disease. The whole number that took it cannot be ascertained ; but it is known that the charge upon the town- treasury on account of it was nearly three hundred doUars, one STAMP ACT. 353 item of which was for medical attendance from abroad. Eigh teen persons, including several of the most prominent citizens of the town, took the disease by inoculation, of whom only one died. Soon after the distemper made its appearance, a town- meeting was called, which instructed the selectmen to use all possible means to prevent its spreading ; and it was undoubtedly OAring to great exertions to that end that there were no more deaths. Having happily got rid of the infection, the town was for several years spared a Hke infiiction.* A darker day was about to daAvn, — a day of such misery and gloom, that, if it had not ushered In the blessed years of politi cal independence, would have tinged our history with a hue that none could contemplate Arithout a shudder and a tear. The Stamp Act, that odious measure for taxing the Colonies, had passed the British Parliament, and become a law. It is not necessary here to notice the opposition which it aroused through out the country; but, to do justice to the memory of our own people for the part they performed on this great occasion, it is proper to place now before their descendants the language in which they uttered thefr sentiments. The act was to go into operation, Nov. 1, 1765. On the 7th of the preceding month, in a very fuU town-meeting, the people of Gloucester declared, " -nemine contradicente and most unanimously. That the Stamp * For some of these facts, I am indebted to Eev. S. Chandler's journal. The fol lowing additional items from the same source may possess interest for some readers. "1764, Feb. 5: The small-pox increasing: five down, sick; and some more expected." " 7th : There are four sick of the smaU-pox at old Mr. Doliver's, — himself, Jolm Warner, Jjimes Tyler, and Zebulon Witham, jun., very bad; and two at Tarbox's." — "12th: There was no meeting in the Harbor, on account of the small-pox. Mr. Doliver's house is the hospital. In the evening, visited and prayed at Elder AVarner's : bis son John supposed to be dying; smaU-pox." — "March 7: The people are moving home." — "llth: I preached in the Meeting-house, after four sabbaths deprived of it on account ofthe smaU-pox." — "15th: This day set apart for religious worship, humiliation, prayer, and thanksgiving, relative to the infectious sickness that has lately heen among us. I preached — forenoon — Lam. UL 40. Afternoon, Mr. Rogers preached. Inthe evemng, I went, at the desire of a number of young people, to Mr. Hub. Haskell's. Ex pecting only a few, I found the house full. I preached extempore, John v. 6 : ' Wilt thou be made whole ? " Mr. Chandler gives the names of those who died and of those who were inoculated. The former were Charles Glover, .Iacob Randal, Peter Dolliver, Zebu lon Witham, jun., John Warner, Jonathan Gardner's wife, Mrs. Cook, and Ebenezer Tarbox. The good pastor was faithful to his flock in this distressing season, and visited freely as usual. 45 354 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. Act (the minutes whereof were read) is disagreeable ; that the following instructions be given to Nathaniel Allen, and Thomas Sanders, Esq., the representatives in the Great and General Court, — That they by no means make any concessions, or enter into any measures, whereby our liberties which we have as English men by the Magna Charta, or which we, the Inhabitants of this Province, have by our particular charter, may In any manner or degree be infringed, or construed in any sense to be given up or lessened. And, in particular, that they, by aU dfrect and lawful means, endeavor that the Stamp Act (as 'tis caUed) may never take place among us ; as It is apprehended, if it should obtain, it would greatly obstruct, if not (in time) totaUy ruin, the trade and business of the Province, and lay an insupportable burthen upon all, more especially upon the middle and poorer sort of the peo ple, and take from us (though always allowed to have aU the Hberties of natural Enghshmen) the privUege of a trial by our peers, that is, a jury (vesting that power in a Judge of Admfral ty), and the general privilege of taxing ourselves, which appear to be the original rights of all mankind that are not slaves, the unahenable rights of Enghshmen, and the rights of the Inhabit ants of this Province by thefr- particular chai-ter. And, further, that they, our said representatives, by no means suffer any grant of moneys to be made for any other besides the usual, necessary, accustomed charges of this Province." Such was their reception of this edict of tyranny ; and it is our glory in thefr behalf, that they yielded obedience to that higher law, which forbade them to bow thefr necks to the yoke of the oppressor. thied paeish. EEV. JOHN WYETH. 355 CHAPTEE XVII. Third Parish. — Eev. John Wyeth : his Ministry. — Dissensions in the Parish. — His Dismission. — Disasters by Sea, and Great Loss OF Life. — Timothy Rogers. — Political Troubles. — The People patriotic — Second Parish. — Rev. Daniel Fuller : his Ministry, Death, and Family. — Third Parish. — Rev. Obadiah Parsons: his Ministry, Dismission, and Death. After the death of Mr. Bradstreet, the Thfrd Parish remained nearly four years Arithout a settled minister ; but the pulpit was suppHed occasionally by Mr. Cleaveland of the Fifth Parish, and other ministers. Rev. Moses Parsons of Byfield was helpful at this time, as appears by a vote passed by the parish, thanking him for his services in thefr behalf. At length, in the latter part of the year 1765, an invitation was given to John Wyeth to become thefr pastor, with a salary of ninety-three pounds per annum and the use of the parsonage. This proposal was accepted; and his ordination took place, Feb. 5, 1766. Rev. Amos Adams of Roxbury dehvered the sermon, from 1 Cor. Ix. 27. Rev. Mr. Barnard of Salem gave the charge ; and Rev. Samuel Chandler presented the right hand of fellowship. Mr. Wyeth was born in Cambridge, March 1, 1743 ; and graduated at Harvard College in 1760. His connection with the Thfrd Cbiucb was a very unhappy one. Many of the parish were opposed to him at the time of bis settlement ; and the dis affection then existing soon ripened into open and decided hostility. The church-records are silent respecting the quarrel, and it is not easy now to obtain a satisfactory account of it. It does not appear that any thing was alleged against the moral character of Mr. Wyeth; but much fault was found with his 356 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. pulpit performances and his general demeanor. The latter is said to have been wanting in that sanctified dignity which was then thought to be indispensable in the deportment of a minister. In the parish-records, the members in opposition to the mini ster are called " the aggrieved brethren." At a meeting of the parish in AprU, 1767, a petition and report presented by them was dismissed; but, in October foUoAving, a committee was chosen to reconcile differences, and was empowered to unite Arith the aggrieved brethren in caUIng a council to settle all matters relating to the settlement, support, and dismission of thefr minister. The action of the councU is not known ; but Mr. Wyeth was dismissed May 17, 1768. The hostUe feelings vrith which the minister was regarded by his opponents had frequently found expression in riolent and disgraceful acts.* He was molested in various ways, — even to the firing of musket-balls into his house. Many clandestine enor mities were committed, and the parish was obliged to seek help and protection from the town ; but the latter took no further measures than to pass a vote condemnatory of the course pur sued by the malecontents. They next made an effort to induce the town to unite A^dth them in requesting assistance from the Governor and Council in suppressing the open villany that had from time to time been committed in the parish ; but the de parture of the unpopular pastor soon brought about a restoration of order and peace. Thefr minister turned his back upon them ; and, from the top of Squam Hill, shook the dust from his feet, Arith a determina tion that they should hear from him again. Accordingly, on his retmn to Cambridge, he commenced an action against the parish to recover pay for his probationary preaching ; and the parish * Tradition has preserved an account of one of the petty annoyances to which he was subjected. He had, on one occasion, arranged an exchange of pulpit services with a clergyman in a neighboring town; and, in fulfllment of his engagement, went on Saturday afternoon to the pasture to get his horse, and saddle him for the journey: but, greatly to his surprise, and disappointment, no animal Uke liis own was there. He immediately made a stir in the parish, and several went with him to the hiUs in quest of the missing horse; which, in a short time, was found in the right pasture; but his color was changed from black to .white. He had received a coat of whitewash. DISASTEES BY SEA. 357 was obliged to send a committee to settle with him on the best terms they could. Matters were also in dispute, growing out of the refusal of the aggrieved brethren to pay thefr parish-rates ; but these were finally settled by award of a council. Mr. Wyeth left the ministry, and gave his attention to law. He Hved on a small farm on the West-Cambridge Road, and cultivated his land. His death took place Feb. 2, 1811, in his sixty-ninth year. The year 1766 is distinguished In our annals as one of pecu har distress. One of those terrible misfortunes that shocks a whole community, and brings unutterable sorrow to many private bosoms, cast its sad gloom over the toAvn. In March, nineteen fishing vessels saUed for the Grand Bank; and, while on the passage thither, were met by a violent storm, which wrecked and scattered the fleet, and sent many to the bottom. Two were cast away at Nova Scotia ; seven foundered at sea, Arith all on board ; and several of the rest were so much disabled, that they could not proceed on thefr voyage. To add to the pecuniary losses of the year, one of the West-India traders was lost on the Island of Nevis. The loss of property, however, could be quickly repafred or calmly borne ; but " past the utterance of grief " was the condition of the forlorn and destitute widow and her helpless children.* The General Coiut abated the Prorince- tax assessed upon the toAvn, In 1766, fifty pounds, in considera tion of thi« severe loss. On the 22d of June, this year (1766), died Timothy Rogers, son of Rev. John Rogers of Kittery, Me. ; where he was born in 1721. He was a merchant; but he did not find the pursuit of commerce gainful, as may be inferred from the insolvency of his estate at death. The date of his settlement here is not knoAvn. He brought to toAvn a wife Lucy, who died April 28, 1759, aged thirty-three. He next married, July 4, 1765, Mrs. Esther Goldthwaite ; by whom he had a son Timothy, who * The number of men lost by these shipwrecks is not known; probably it was not less than forty. The following are the names of a few of them: James Gardner, Edward Jumper, Timothy Higgins, Joseph Giddings, Job Bowe, Abraham Williams, George Singer, Samuel Morehead, and John HaskeU. 358 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTEE. entered the EngHsh Navy, and died at Lisbon in 1797, a gaUant and highly esteemed officer of the fleet of Earl St. Vincent. The oppressive acts of the British Government, by which the complete subjugation of the Colonies to the arbitrary avIU of Parliament was attempted, belong to general history ; and only such allusion avUI be made to them here as may be necessary to show the particular occasions of various proceedings of the peo ple of Gloucester in this great crisis of thefr history. Boston, the metropolis of New England, the seat of the Provincial Govern ment, and the residence of many distinguished men (merchants, mechanics, and divines), all patriots, took the lead in opposition to these acts ; and every pulsation of liberty and patriotism there met a responsive beat from the hUls and shores of Cape Ann. The opposition to the Stamp Act had procured its repeal; but the plan of taxation was resumed. An act was passed by Parha ment, and approved by the king, in 1767, which imposed a duty on tea and some other articles imported Into the Colonies. This act led to a meeting of the people of Boston, by which a vote was passed, designed to favor the products and manufactures of the Province, and discourage the importation of certain articles from the mother-country by abstaining from the use of them. The same vote was adopted by the people of this town, at a meeting held Dec. 14, 1767, and entered at length upon the records. The next year was one of great excitement. The General Court, adhering to its resolutions in maintenance of the people's rights, had been dissolved by the Governor ; and Massachusetts was left without a Legislature. Evasion of the revenue-laws in Boston led to a mobbing of the custom-house officers ; and some of the govemment officials, in fear of the popular fury, fled fr-om the town. Military forces, too, were expected from Hah fax, to be quartered upon the toAvn, and overawe its people. In this state of affafrs, the people of Boston requested the Gover nor to convene the General Com-t ; and, upon his refusal to do so, proposed to the several towns in the Colony a Convention at Faneuil HaU on the 22d of September. The toAvn-meeting here to take this Into consideration was held on the 19th. The POLITICAL TEOUBLES. 359 vote of Boston and the letter of its selectmen were read. A motion was then made to choose a committee to attend the Con vention : whereupon a debate ensued, Avhich ended Arith the adoption of the motion ; only one person being observed not to vote for it. This one, undoubtedly, was Epes Sargent, Esq. ; who, during the debate, had desfr-ed the people " to be careful of acting." The persons chosen were Thomas Sanders, jun., and Peter Coffin, Esqs. This Important meeting was held in the meeting-house of the Fourth Parish. It was gathered to discuss a measure considered by their oppressors, and perhaps felt by some of themselves, to come within a " hafr-'s breadth of ti-eason ; " but that love of Hberty, which deems no sacrifice made in its behalf too great, guided them in thefr course on this occasion, and led them on to the glorious victory, with which, as its champions, they were finaUy rewarded. The Convention was in session six days ; and its chief result was to show that a sImUar body could, if need be and the people willed it, take the whole power of government into thefr own hands. In 1769, at the March meeting, a committee was chosen, at the suggestion of the people of Marblehead, to take such mea sures as might seem necessary to relieve the fishermen of the payment of hospital money ; but thefr action in the matter no where appears. At the same meeting, a plan for raising a fund for the support of the poor was read, but not adopted. In May, Thomas Sanders, jun., Esq., was chosen representa tive to the General Court, and was Instructed to comply, as far as possible, Arith the spfrit of the instructions given by the town of Boston to thefr representatives. In the latter part of this year, two severe storms occasioned several disasters on our coast, two of which were attended with loss of life. A schooner belonging to WeUs, Littlefield master, was wrecked near Squam, and two of her crew were droAvned. This was in September. In December, a sloop belonging to HaverhUl, Bennet master, laden with lumber and bound to Gloucester, in attempting to get into Squam, struck upon the Bar, where she beat in part of her bottom. The owner (Mr. Red dington) and another man perished. The master, the only other 360 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. person on board, was saved. No lighthouse was yet erected on the Cape, and marine disasters were of frequent occm-rence. The unhappy condition of affafrs in the Second Parish, noticed in a preceding chapter, was terminated this year. After several ineffectual attempts to obtain a minister,* Mr. Daniel FuUer was induced to settle over the distracted church. Rev. Daniel Fuller, -the colleague and successor of Mr. Jaques, was born in jNliddleton, Mass., Sept. 1, 1740. His great-grandfather, Thomas Fuller, who settled there, came to New England in 1638 ; but not Arith the intention of becoming a permanent settler, as appears by the following extract fr-om his " Meditations and Experience," preserved in the family : — " In thirty-eight, I set my foot Upon New England's shore: My thoughts were then to stay one year. And here to stay no more. Bnt, by the preaching of God's word By famous Shepard he. In what a woful state I was I then began to see." At the age of fourteen, Daniel Fuller was apprenticed to a carpenter ; but, his constitution being weak, he Avas Induced to abandon his trade, and prepare for college. He entered Harvard CoUege In 1760, and graduated in 1764. The two foUowing years, he kept a school in Hampton, N.H., and in Haverhill, Mass. He then studied divinity, and began to preach in the Second Parish in Gloucester, July, 1769. He soon received a call to settle, with an offer of seventy pounds per annum, and the use of the parsonage wood-lot so long as he continued to be the minister of the pai-Ish. The discord which had so long existed between the people and thefr- aged minister might have suggested some discouraging apprehensions ; but he accepted the call, and, in his letter of acceptance, expressed an eamest prayer * Among those who preached in the parish at this time was Eev. Thomas Lancas- terj who, like a candidate for the vacant pulpit nearly fifty years before, became tho minister of Scarborough, Me. He was born in Eowley, Mass. ; graduated at Harvard College in 1764; settled at Scarborough in 1776; and died in 1831, aged eighty-nine, T. S. Lancaster, Esq., formerly Postmaster of Gloucester, and, for several years past. Town Treasurer, is his grandson. EEV. DANIEL FULLER. 361 that love, peace, and Christian charity, might hallow and bless the union. His ordination took place, Jan. 10, 1770 ; on which occasion, the ordaining prayer was offered by Rev. Samuel Chandler of the Ffrst Parish ; sermon by Rev. Mr. Smith of Middleton, from Rom. u. 13 ; charge by Rev. Mr. Barnard of Salem ; right hand of fellowship by Rev. John Rogers of the Fom-th Parish ; and concluding prayer by Rev. Mr. Holt of Danvers. The Revolutionary struggle commenced a few years after the settlement of Mr. FuUer; and the parish became reduced to such a strait, as to find it almost unpossible to meet thefr- engage ment with him. Families were broken up, many of the peo ple were drawn from home, and great gloom and distress reigned aU around. During the whole of this period of calamity, Mr. Fuller proved himself a faithful and generous pastor. Not withstanding the pressure of the times and the scantiness of his salary, he repeatedly remitted money due to him, and encou raged his flock to look forward with patriotic hopes to peace, plenty, and independence. The struggle at length terminated ; and a happier season opened upon them, — the commencement of a long, peaceful, and undisturbed ministry, which continued till the inflrmities of age admonished the venerable pastor that his days of usefulness in the active duties of his profession were ended. He preached a sermon on the fiftieth anniversary of his ordination ; and soon afterwards his pastoral connection vrith the parish was dissolved. He then went to reside Arith one of his sons In Dorchester, but frequently Adsited the scene of his past labors. On one of these visits, he united a couple in mar riage ; the bridegroom being a grandson of the first pair he married in the parish. On the same day, he preached a sermon in the East-District Schoolhouse ; and, on the next day, walked to the Harbor, though he was then eighty-seven years old. In December, 1828, he visited Gloucester to attend the dedication of the new meeting-house erected by the Ffrst Parish ; on which occasion, he read a hymn. On his return to Boston, the stage in which he was a passenger was overset ; and he received an injmy, from which he partially recovered : but the shock to his 46 362 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. system was so great, that his end was undoubtedly hastened by the accident. His death took place. May 23, 1829, atthe house of his son Samuel, in Boston. His remains were interred in Dorchester on the 25th ; and, on the foUoAring Sunday, a tribute of respect was offered to his memory by Rev. Dr. Harris, in a sermon from Rev. xiv. 13. Mr. Fuller was a plain, practical preacher ; but his pulpit per formances alone could not have won for him the love and esteem of which bd was the object. His character was distinguished for simplicity, sincerity, meekness, and the most unbounded Hbe rahty of sentiment towards Christians of every name and sect. As a consequence of these traits, wherever he was known, every door was open to receive him, and every heart proffered him a cordial welcome. Towards the close of his Hfe, when age had slightly bent his form, and his benevolent countenance seemed to borrow something from that state of eternal fehcity to which he felt himself so near, such was the general feeling vrith which he was regarded here, that it may be truly said that he had the freedom of the town. On his frequent visits to Gloucester, it was his custom to tarry with different friends ; and the longer his stay was extended, the more was his departure regretted. "His OAvn afihctions and pains he bore without repining; and, with faculties unimpafred and faith strengthened, he looked for ward Arith pleasing anticipations of future blessedness ; and, fuU of years and mature in virtue, he departed in peace." Mr. FuUer married, Aug. 14, 1770, Hannah, daughter of Rev. Benjamin Bowers of Middle Haddam, Conn. She died Feb. 19, 1810, aged fifty- eight. Thefr children were as follows : — Hannah Peters, born In 1771, married, first, Dudley Sai-gent, by whom she had five childi-en ; and, after his decease, Peter Coffin. She died in New York in 1835. Daniel, born in 1773, became a school-teacher. He married Mary BroAvn of Lynn, and had by her two children. He was knocked overboard by the boom of a sloop, in which he was a passenger on the North River, in 1817, and drowned. Benjamin, born in 1776, set tled in Boston as a merchant, but had his reside.nce in Dor chester. He was twice married, — fii-st to Marcia Beals of REV. DANIEL FULLEE. 363 Boston, and next to Abba Ingly of Dorchester, — and had by both Arives eleven children. He died in 1831. EHjah, born in 1778, learned a mechanical trade, and settled in Salem. He was tArice married. By his first wife (Mary Phippin) he had six, and by his second Arife three, chUdren. He died in 1852. Archelaus, born in 1780, also became a mechanic, and settled in Salem. By his first wife (Ruth Pope), he had two chUdren ; and, by his last (Clarissa Gwynn), five. He died in 1826. Samuel Newell, born in 1782, became a sea-captain. He lived in Boston several years ; but his residence, for some time be fore he died, was in this town, at Squam. His wife was Mrs. Lydia Wise of Boston, by whom he had nine children. He was droAvned by the upsetting of a sail-boat In IpsArich Bay, Aug. 16, 1850. Mary, born in 1785, was twice married. Her first husband was Benjamin Haskell of Gloucester; and her second, Daniel MiUet of Salem. She has recently deceased. Sarah, bom in 1787, married James Appleton, who resided in Gloucester several years, and was, during the last war with Great Britain, colonel of the Gloucester regiment of miHtia. He was afterwards raised to the rank of general. Engaging in business here as a jeweUer, he also, for some time, kept a pubhc-house at the westerly end of Front Street, opposite the present Gloucester House. He was a representative In 1813 and 1814. He removed from Gloucester to Portland, and was a prominent citizen of Maine for many years. He now resides in IpsArich, on the old homestead of his family. Mrs. Appleton is yet ahve ; and ten chUdren, aU that have been born to the venerable couple, are stUl hving. Mr. FuUer was the last minister of the Second Parish. Rehgious services, supported by voluntary contributions, were occasionaUy held in the old Meeting-house for a few years, chiefly by Universahst clergymen ; and a new rehgious society of the ancient faith was organized within the parochial limits not long after the death of the venerable pastor with whose decease the history of the parish is here brought to a close. In the month of March, 1771, there were two shipwrecks on our shores. One of the vessels wrecked, a sloop, was cast away 364 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. in a Adolent snow-storm on the 3d of the month, and aU on board perished. She was a wood-«oaster, bound to Newburyport, where she belonged. The captain's name was Stickney. The Thfrd Parish, having subsided into its former state of tranquillity, proceeded to seek a pastor for its vacant pulpit. On the 26th of June, 1772, by concurrent vote Arith the church, July 2 foUoAring was set apart as a day of humihation, fasting, and prayer, for the forgiveness of thefr sins, and to seek dfrec tion of God preparatory to the choice of a minister. The two bodies also chose a joint-committee to wait on the pastors of the several churches In toAvn, and thank them for all thefr past mini sterial serAdces, and labors of love, for thefr- church and parish, and to request thefr attendance and assistance on the approach ing day of fasting and prayer. A minister was soon found for the vacant pulpit. The choice fell with entfre unanimity upon Mr. Obadiah Parsons. He was a son of Deacon WilHam Parsons of this toAvn, and was bom here April 5, 1747. His father died when he was about eight years old, and, in his dying moments, solemnly gave this son up to God, and dedicated him to the work of the gospel mini stry; having made special provision in his AviU that he should receive an education suitable for it. He was committed to the care of his kinsman, — Rev. Moses Parsons of Byfield Parish, Newbury ; Arith whom he probably pursued his preparatory studies for college and for the ministry. He graduated at Harvard College in 1768. He was ordained at Squam, Nov. 11, 1772. The councU convened at the house of JNIr. Jonathan NorAvood, and consisted of six clerical and seventeen lay dele gates. The services at the ordination were as follows : Intro ductory prayer by Rev. Manasseh Cutler of HamUton ; sermon by Rev. IMoses Parsons, fr-om 2 Cor. Hi. 6 ; prayer and charge by Rev. Samuel Chandler of the Ffrst Church ; right hand of fellowship by Rev. John Rogers of the Fourth ; and concluding prayer by Rev. Ebenezer Cleaveland of the Fifth Church In Gloucester. The parish voted ^Ir. Parsons a salary of £86. 13s. 4d. ; and, in case of his inabUity to preach, one-half that sum was to be EEV. OBADIAH PAESONS. 365 paid to him yearly. They also voted him the use of the par sonage, and a free contribution. The former tranquilhty of the parish seemed to be now fully restored ; but it was not destined to be of long duration. Dur ing the first few years of his ministry, thefr young pastor was risited by domestic affliction in Its severest forms ; and, under the pressure of calamity, it may be supposed that his exterior deportment at least afforded no grounds of suspicion that he was an unworthy minister of the gospel. No long time, how ever, had elapsed, when he was charged with a crime sufficient to degrade him for ever from his sacred office as a teacher of piety and morahty. An investigation, by the usual mode in such cases, was ordered ; but a proper regard for decency AriU excuse the omission here of detaUs of this portion of the parish history. It Is sufficient to say, that, at the mutual desfre of pastor and people, an ecclesiastical council was held at the house of the former on the 3d of November, 1779, to take Into considera tion all matters of grievance subsisting between them. Rev. John Cleaveland of Chebacco Parish, Ipswich, was chosen moderator ; and Rev. Eh Forbes of our Ffrst Church, scribe. The council adjourned to the meeting-house for a public hearing at two o'clock, P.M. The occasion attracted many people from a distance, and the place of meeting was crowded to overfloAring. After prayer by the moderator, the parish and church were called upon by him to present the matters which they meant to submit to the inspection, examination, and advice of the council. The person who made the charge against Mr. Parsons then came forward, and repeated her accusation or complaint, which was adopted by the church for support. Mr. Parsons made a long and able defence ; which had so much Influence with the council, that after due consideration of the complaint, with aU Its attend ant cfrcumstances, they passed the following votes : — " 1. That the charge or complaint made against the Rev. Mr. Obadiah Parsons was not supported. " 2. That nevertheless, considering the great alienation of affection, especially on the part of the people of his charge (nearly one-half having left his ministry), and the little prospect there is of further 366 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. usefulness among them, we think it expedient, and advise as prudent, that the pastoral relation be dissolved." These votes were accompanied Arith a report, which was ac cepted by the pastor and the church. The latter made apphca tion for a parish-meeting to be caUed to act upon the doings of the council; which meeting was held on the 15th of November, and resulted in the refusal of the parish to accept the decision of the council. It was voted at the same time, unanimously, under an article in a warrant for a prcAdous meeting adjourned to the same day, that Mr. Parsons be dismissed from the work of the gospel ministry over them. After his dismission, Mr. Parsons preached for the Second Parish in Beverly; and, Feb. 4, 1784, was settled over the Ffrst Church in Lynn. He left his pastorate and the ministry, July 16, 1792, and retmned to his native town. Here he taught a school several years, and held the office of justice of the peace. He died in December, 1801, aged fifty-four years. Mr. Parsons was tArice married : first to Ehzabeth, daughter of Rev. Samuel Wigglesworth of Ipswich ; and next, Jan. 28, 1775, to Sarah, daughter of Peter Coffin, Esq., of this tOAvn. She died March 6, 1819. By both Arives, he had nine chUdren. His son WiUiam, born in 1778, studied medicine with his uncle. Dr. Wilham Coffin ; and, at an early age, went out surgeon's mate in the United-States fr-igate " Constitution." He finaUy settled in the practice of his profession at North Yarmouth, Me. ; where he died in March, 1810. He was a kind and skilful physician, and was pohte and gentlemanly in his manners. His Arife was Judith, daughter of James Porter : she died Oct. 16, 1857. Another son (Obadiah), born in 1782, a youth of un common mental development, was uijured in intellect by intense application to study, and is said to have died about the time of his father's decease. The oldest daughter (Elizabeth), born In 1770, married Amos Rhodes of Lynn, and died about 1809. Polly, born in 1784, married Jabez Hitchings of Lynn, and died in 1825. These ladies were both highly esteemed for thefr amiable and vfrtuous dispositions. The other cluldren of Mr. Parsons are beheved to have died young. town's. POWDEE. HAYSCALES. 367 CHAPTEE XVIII. ToAra's Powder. — Hayscales. — Boat and Men Lost. — Toavn Ex penses. — Political Affairs. — Crisis Approaching. — Patriotic Sentiments of the Town. — Action of Boston about the Land ing OF THE Tea nobly sustained by Gloucester. — Tea thrown Oaterboard. — Boston Port Bill. — Distress in that Town. — Gloucester sends Relief. — Exposed Condition of the Town. — Women and Children removed. — County Convention. — Pro vincLal Congress. — Shipavreck. — Gloomy Prospect. — Military Preparations. At the annual toAvn-meeting, March, 1772, a vote was passed, that the toAvn's stock of powder and ammunition should be kept in the " Fort, or Battery House ; " and that the same should be fitted for that purpose. At the same meeting, it was voted. That Samuel Whittemore, Daniel Rogers, and Nehemiah Parsons, should have Hberty " to set up an engine to weigh hay before the house that was Deacon Woodward's, where the two ways meet; and receive 16d. for weighing each load." This " engine " was set up in a large frame, Arith a buUding attached, at the junction of Middle and Front Streets, just west of the present ToAvn House ; and stood there about sixty years, or tUl it was superseded by the plat form-balances now in use. Some time this month, a fishing-boat belonging to the town was lost at Nahant. Only two persons were on board, — WilHam Boynton and Jonathan CoUins, — both of whom perished. The former left a Avife and six chUdren : the latter was about eighteen years old. At the May meeting this year, a committee for examining the state of the toAvn-treasury reported, that, one year with another, the annual expenses had been £450 for some years past ; and 368 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. that, as there was £180 in the treasury and collector's hands, £300 would be a sufficient tax for the current year. In the political affafrs of the Province, the crisis was fast ap proaching. The Governor, on one side, asserted, and argued for, the unlimited power of the king with regard to the charter; and the people, through thefr representatives, on the other side, fear lessly maintained the rights and privileges, which, according to thefr interpretation, that instrument secured to them. It was ap parent to all reflecting minds, that the question would never be peaceably settled. The people of Boston, at a toAvn-meeting on the 2d of November, sounded the alarm to all the inhabitants of the Province. They issued a pamphlet containing a statement of the Colonial rights, and pointing out the infringements and Aaolations of them by Parliament ; which pamphlet, with an im pressive letter accompanying, was sent to aU the toAvns of the Province. These documents were submitted to the people of Gloucester at a town-meeting held at the Ffrst-Parish Meeting house on the 25th of December; and a large committee was chosen to consider the same, and report at an adjom-ned meeting. At the adjournment on the 28th, resolutions were adopted, setting forth the rights and liberties of the people of the American Colo nies ; that the innovations in government, and despotic measm-es, adopted by the British ministry, were subversive of those rights, and tended also to the destruction of the religious Hberties of the people ; that, where ciril rulers betray thefr- trust and abuse thefr power, they forfeit the submission of the subject, and to oppose and resist, in that case, is not resistance of the ordinances of Heaven ; that the town of Boston deserved the thanks of all the English Colonies in America, and that the people of Gloucester were ready to join with them and all others, in every legal way, to oppose tyranny in all its forms, and to remain steadfast in the defence of thefr- rights and hberties, dearer to them than thefr Hves ; that a coinmittee, to correspond with Boston and other toAvns, be chosen ; and finally, should all other methods fail of desfr-ed relief, that they were "desfrous of joining Arith all others in an appeal to the great Lawgiver and Fountain of all justice, and doubted not of success according to the justice of thefr cause." POLITICAL AFFAIES. 369 The ti-ansactions of the meeting were ordered to be sent to the Boston Committee of Correspondence. The Gloucester Com mittee of Correspondence chosen at this .meeting consisted of Daniel Witham, Samuel Whittemore, Joseph Foster, Solomon Parsons, Jacob Allen, Jacob Parsons, and Peter Coffin. Before the meeting dissolved, a vote was passed, instructing Nathaniel AUen, Esq., the representative, to use all laAvful and constitu tional measures to obtain a redress of grievances. Dming the next year (1773), another advance of the moment ous struggle indicated the coming crisis. The British ministry, determined to put the resolution of the colonists to the test, and give them a chance to yield thefr oft-declared principles, or act up to them and abide the consequences, made an arrangement Arith the East-India Company, by which several cargoes of tea were sent to America, on which, if landed, the hateful duty must be paid. Three of these cargoes came to Boston. Long before thefr arrival, the proceedings of the people there left Httle reason to doubt the issue ; and, as soon as the first ship arrived, five thousand of the inhabitants of that and a few adjacent toAvns resolved that no tea should be landed at that port. The other ships came in ; and now, vrithin twenty days from the arrival of the first, no satisfactory arrangement Arith the government offi cials and the consignees being possible, the patriotic ardor of Boston must subside into a reluctant submission, or blaze out in bold resistance. To encourage the latter, assurances of sympa thy and support were sent in from all quarters. The people of Gloucester took a noble stand by thefr brethren of the metropo- hs ; and an Imperishable record preserves the sentiments by which they were animated at this trying season. On the 15th of December, at a town-meeting, Arith no dissenting voice, they say,— " When every effort is exerted, every outrage committed, and every refinement of despotism practised, by a wicked and corrupt administra tion, to involve a free and loyal people in the ignominious gulf of slavery and servile subjection, this town, animated by that ardor whieh is ever the companion of virtuous fi-eedom, cannot with tame composure observe this last political manoeuvre of the British ministry, in permit- 47 370 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. ting the East-India Company to import their tea into America for tbe purpose of extorting a revenue from us. "We, with the greatest satisfaction, see the town of Boston, and other towns in this Province, gloriously opposing this pernicious inno vation, notwithstanding the numerous obstacles thrown in their way by the great enemies to the liberties of mankind. " This town think it an indispensable duty we owe to ourselves, to our countrymen, and to posterity, to declare, and we do declare, — " That we will use our most strenuous exertions, not only that there shall be no teas landed in this town, subject to a duty payable in America; but that we will have no commerce with any person or persons that have, or shall have, any concern in buying or selling that detestable herb. " That we are determined to oppose every species of tyranny and usurpation, however dignified by splendid titles, or any character that bears the sacred pride of human virtue. " That, if we are compelled to make the last appeal to Heaven, we will defend our resolutions and liberties at the expense of all that is dear to us. " That we will hold ourselves in readiness to join the town of Boston, and all other towns, in all measures to extricate ourselves from tyranny and oppression ; and — " That the thanks of this town be presented to the town of Boston for the vigilance and activity they have always discoAered in guarding against the subtle machinations, and in combating the open outrages, of our enemies in Great Britain and in this country; and this town shall ahvays record them the friends of human nature, and guardians of that heavenly palladium, — the Hberties of America." The proceedings of the meeting were sent to Boston, and were also published in the " Essex Gazette." On the next day, seven thousand people (assembled at the Old South Church) resolved that the tea should not be landed ; and In the evening, without unnecessary noise, as a solemn act of duty, the patriots of Boston, represented by a body of men disguised as Indians, threw It into the sea. At the latter part of this and the first of the next year, apprehensions were felt that the smaU-pox might appear In the toAvn. At a town-meeting In October, a vote was passed for building a pest-house : and a committee, chosen at this meeting. BOSTON POET BILL. 371 reported at a subsequent one in favor of buying a place on Eastern Point, to be used for that pm-pose ; but nothing further was done about it at that time. At the March meeting in 1774, Jacob Allen and Joseph Foster were chosen special constables. In case the smaU-pox should come into town ; they having had it. The destruction of the tea In Boston roused the indignation of the British Parhament, and it retahated by passing a bUl for shutting up the port of Boston. It also passed an act for regu lating the government of the Province, which seriously abridged the hberties of the people. These acts advanced the struggle one step nearer to its crisis. Boston received the first in a manner becoming the position it had taken as the foremost defender of American Hberty; and the representatives of the Province met the last by choosing delegates to a Continental Congress.* The news of these last measures came in May. At a meeting of the people of this town soon afterwards, Mr. Edward Payne f of Boston, being present, was desfred to represent the state of that toAvn by reason of the late act of Parliament for shutting It up. That act was read, and also an agreement among the traders of Newburyport not to trade with Great Britain or the West Indies ; whereupon the town voted, unani mously, to adopt the plan of the Newburyport merchants, and chose a large committee, including the principal merchants of the place," to consult Arith the merchants of other seaports, and agree upon the most proper measures to reheve the Colonies under the act of Parhament for shutting up the port of Boston. At another meeting, held in June, the Boston Port BUl was again read, together with other papers, including a covenant not to trade with the inhabitants of Great Britain. After considera tion of these documents, the town expressed a desfre that the * These delegates were James Bowdoin, Thomas Cushing, Samuel Adams, John Adams, and Eobert Treat Paine. The House voted i£500 for their expenses, of which the proportion for Gloucester was £h, 13s. 7d. t Mr. Payne had formerly resided in Gloucester several years. He carried on the fishiug business here about 1755, and had a flake-yard at Eastern Point, and a store at the Harbor Cove. His intention of marriage with Mrs. Kebekah Amory of Boston, Sept. 25, 1756, is on our records. 372 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. , covenant should be signed by all the inhabitants, and chose a committee to present it to them for their signatures. It does not appear that any refused to sign, though some desfred that a fcAv articles mentioned in it should be stricken out. The complete prostration of business in Boston, under the operation of the Port BUl, threw a large number of persons out of employment ; and, to relieve the distress of the poorer class, contributions were sent In from all quarters. Gloucester sent a hundred and twenty sheep in November, 1774 ; and raised, in money, £117. 7s. Id.,* which Avas forwarded in March, 1775, by the hands of Isaac Smith, Esq.f On the sixth and seventh days of September, 1774, a County Convention, to consider the late acts of Parliament, was held at IpsArich. At the desire of the people of this town, the selectmen, and Coinmittee of Correspondence, appointed Daniel Witham, Peter Coffin, John Low, Solomon Parsons, and Samuel Whittemore, as delegates from Gloucester. The proceedings of this body were similar to those of other assemblages of patriotic citizens throughout the Province at this time. * Of this sura, £10. 6s. 6d. were contributed by the people of West Parish, and £S. 5s. by those of Squam. Nearly all the rest was subscribed in the Harbor Parish. The largest contributors were — Daniel Sargent, £S; Daniel Eogers, £i; AVinthrop Sargent, .£3. 6s.; and Joseph Foster, David Pearce, John Low, John Stevens, AVilliam Coas, and several others, £2. Ss. each. t This gentleman was an eminent merchant of Boston, having extensive business transactions with our people; by some of whom he appears to have lost considerable money. Timothy Eogers and William Stevens, both of whom died insolvent, were deeply in debt to him, — the former to the amount of £2,317. Mr. Smith came into possession ofthe Beach Wharf, and carried on the fishing business there several years; during which, he and his family spent much of their tirae in town. He fltted out seven schooners here for the Grand Bank in 1774; but soon afterwards the war came on, and put an end to his business operations in Gloucester. He died in Boston in 1787, aged sixty-eight; having sustained through life a high character for honesty, benevolence, and intelligence. John Hancock called him the most reliable man in Boston, and evinced his confldence in him by committing the most valuable portion of his property into his hands for safe keeping. Mr. Smith's grandfather belonged to a family in Exeter, England. His father settled in Charlestown, Mass. ; and had, besides the subject of this note, William, the minister of Weymouth, who was the father of a distinguished lady, — Mrs. Abigail Adams, wife of John Adams, President of the United States. Mr. Isaac Smith left two sons, — Isaac, H.C. 1767, sometime minister of Sidmouth, England ; and William, H.C. 1775, merchant of Boston, whose son, T. C. Smith, Esq., is a well-known and highly esteemed gentleman of that city. PEOVINCIAL CONGEESS. 373 In pursuance of an act of Parhament, the General Comt this year held its session in Salem. Peter Coffin, Esq., was the representative fr-om Gloucester. Delegates were appointed to a Continental Congress, and the other proceedings of the Assembly were fiUed Arith the prevalent spfrit of Hberty. The Governor thereupon determined to dissolve the House, and sent his secre tary for that pm-pose ; but that officer, being denied admittance, read on the stafr-s the proclamation which declared the dissolution. It was the last ProAdncial General Court of Massachusetts. The Governor issued writs for holding another at Salem in October, but afterwards countermanded the meeting. This, however, did not prevent the assembhng of the representatives, who, acting upon advice given by the Essex- Coimty Convention, resolved themselves into a Provincial Congress. Peter Coffin, again representative from this toAvn, was authorized to use his efforts to bring about that result, and to serve as a member of the Congress. Soon after this body assumed its new character, Daniel Witham, Esq., was joined to Mr. Coffin as a delegate from Gloucester. He was now a venerable citizen of seventy- four years, and deserved this mark of the respect and confidence of his townsmen for the fidehty Arith which he had served them, in various offices, for half a century. At a town-meeting on the 7th of November, a large com mittee was chosen to take care that the " Association " proposed by the Continental Congress be complied with, and in no way riolated. This "Association" pledged all who joined it to complete commercial non-intercourse with the parent-country and the West Indies, and the non-consumption of tea and British goods. There is no record that any person here was dealt Arith for refusing to belong to the " Association," or for haring violated its injunctions when a member of it. This meeting adjourned to the 14th ; when a vote was passed to indemnify the constables, and secure them from a warrant of distress, in case they would pay the Province-tax Into the town- treasury. The constables, upon this, paid It to the treasmer of the town ; who was dfrected, at a meeting held soon afterwards, to pay it to the receiver appointed by the Provincial Congress. 374 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. The sum handed to him was £136, the amount ofthe Province- tax for 1774. A distressing shipwreck was added to the grievous pubhc cala mities of the last days of this year. The schooner " Neptune," owned by Daniel Rogers and coinmanded by Jonathan Dennison, sailed from the Harbor on the 26th of December, bound to the West Indies. Before she got out of the bay, a violent gale arose, by which she was di-iven In, and cast ashore near Scituate. Eight men were on board ; of whom six. Including the captain and" mate, were lost. On the 21st of the preceding month, loss of life by shipwreck occm-red on omr oaati shores. A brig from Newfoundland, Charles Ackworth captain, was cast ashore somewhere on the Cape, and totally lost. The captain and two of his crew perished. The beginning of 1775 opened to our fathers a prospect of suffering and gloom, beyond which no man could see a bright horizon. Argument and entreaty had been exhausted in vain in defence of their rights, and now must come the appeal to arms. A new Provincial Congress assembled at Cambridge, Feb. 1 ; to which Peter Coffin and Samuel Whittemore went as delegates from this toAvn. They were instructed not to consent to the assuming of the civil government of the Province without the approbation of the town, nor without the consent of the Continental Congress. At a town-meeting on the 6th of March, in accordance Arith a recommendation of the Provincial Congress, it was voted, that the trained bands and alarm-hsts in the toAAm should meet at the usual place of parade on the following Thursday afternoon, vrith arms and ammunition complete ; which the officers were desfred to view, and report the state thereof to the town. The old Committee of Correspondence Avere continued In office, and the number of selectmen chosen was Increased to seven. A committee was chosen to AA-ait upon those suspected of being Tories, and desire them to attend the adjourned meeting, and give the town satisfaction in that pai-ticular. There were few of this class of persons. Epes Sargent, Esq., was the only one who refused the satisfaction demanded by the town; and, on MILITAEY PEEPAEATIONS. 375 account of his refusal, the people voted, " that no person should have any commerce Arith him or his abettors." * The sixth Essex regiment of Massachusetts miHtia comprised six companies belonging to Gloucester, and one to Manchester. On the 28th of January, 1775, Col. John Stevens having re signed, a meeting was held for the choice of field-officers. f Many of those who were the company- officers at this time, became, when the proper season arrived, the most active In enlisting men for the Continental Army, and themselves received commissions in it. In accordance Arith the recommendation of the Provincial Congress, active mUitary preparations were commenced in toAvn in April. Musket-balls were procured, cartridges made, and small-arms purchased, — aU by dfr-ection of the town ; and a company of minute-men was organized, and placed under the command of Nathaniel Warner. WTiIle the town was busy about these matters, came the news of the fight at Lexington, which filled the people with consternation and alarm. They knew that there was a large British naval force in Boston Harbor ; and such were thefr fears, that the exposed and unprotected situation of the town would tempt an attack, that, on the 24th, many of the inhabitants at the Harbor began to seek safety for the women and children by removing to West Parish and IpsArich. The 'flight was on the sabbath. * I believe that Mr. Sargent and one of his half-brothers were the only members of the respectable family to which they belonged, who espoused the royal side in the contest. Some of them were ardent patriots; and two, at least, were Continental officers in the Eevolutionary War. On a previous page, a particular account of this family is given. t The oflScers now elected were — John Lee, Esq., colonel; Capt. Peter Coffin, flrst lieutenant-colonel; John Low, Esq., second lieutenant-colonel; Samuel Whittemore, Esq., flrst major; Dr. Samuel Eogers, second major. 376 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. CHAPTER XIX. BUSINESS OF THE TOWN BEFORE 1775. English Fishing Voyages to New England. — First Colonul Fishing. — Gloucester not Prominent in the Business for many Years. — Commenceaient of Maritime Business. — Fishery before THE Revolution. — Trade avith the Southern Colonies. — Early Foreign Commerce of the Town. — Revenue Laws evaded. — Revenue Officers. — One of them seized and ill treated. — John M'Kean smokes one at the Cut. — Comjierce and Fishing inter rupted BY THE War. The reader of this work has noticed, perhaps, that it has yet given but Httle information concerning the maritime employ ments of the people. AU the knowledge we have upon this subject, down to this period of our history, consists of a few scattered and fragmentary items, which it has been deemed best to present here In one general summary. Among the chief inducements to the settlement of New Eng land were the advantages it offered for " the great sea- business of fishing ; " and who, that has read the writings of the famous discoverer of Cape Ann, and seen in what gloAving colors these advantages were set forth by him, vrill not wonder that all the fishermen of the Old World did not at once repair to the New ? for there, says he, " man, woman, and child, vrith a small hook and Hne, by angling, may take divers sorts of exceUent fish at thefr pleasure. And is it not pretty sport to pull up twopence, sixpence, and twelvepence, as fast as you can haul and veer a line ? " — " And what sport doth yield a more pleasing content, and less hurt or charge, than angling with a hook, and crossing the sweet afr, from Isle to isle, over the sUent streams of a calm sea ? " BUSINESS OF THE TOWN BEFOEE 1775. 377 These words were written by Capt. Smith in 1616 ; and, though several years elapsed before any considerable settlement was made on the coast he described, fishermen repafred to it every year in increased numbers, and pursued thefr- business Arith such good success, that, in 1624, no less than fifty ships came on fish ing voyages. These vessels sought the best stations on the coast of Maine, west of Monhegan, for thefr fishing stages ; though a few resorted to the Isle of Shoals, and three certainly fished at Cape Ann. The men went to the fishing grounds in boats, and landed the fish they had taken at thefr stages, where they were dried for market. The most successful fishery In the year just mentioned was carried on near Saco ; within two leagues of which place, according to a writer who then visited it, " more fish were taken than in any other in the land." The ships arrived on the coast early in the spring, and left It about midsummer for home or a foreign market. Some of them were of two hundred tons burthen, and carried fifty men, who received, in Heu of wages, one-thfrd part of the fish and oil.* No accounts are preserved to show how long English fishing ships contuiued to make voyages to the coast of New England ; but it Is natural to conclude, that, as the country became settled, the number annuaUy decreased, on account of the reduced ex pense with which the business could be carried on by the colonists. In the first settlement of the Massachusetts Colony, at Salem, we find preparations for fishing ; for. In 1629, salt, Hnes, hooks, knives, boots, and barvels f were sent over ; and mention is made of fishermen among the settlers. As early as 1634, a * " Another third part is allowed the owners of the ship for their freight ; and the other third part is allowed for the victual, salt, nets, hooks, lines, and other imple ments for taking and making the fish. " The charge of victualling (which is usually for nine months), the salt, &c., doth commonly amount to about eight hundred pounds: and for that they have (as I said) one-third part of the fish, ^ which is near sixty-seven ton; the ship being laden, which will make thirteen hundred and forty quintals (at the market). Sometimes, when they come to a good market, they sell their fish for forty-four rials a quintal ; and so to thirty-six rials, which is the least ; but say they have forty, one time with another : and, at that rate, one-third of the ship's lading doth yield thirteen hundred and forty pounds, which they have for disbursing of eight hundred pounds, nine months." — Lesetl's Voyage, Mass. Hist. Coll., vol. xxviii. p. 186. t Misprinted " ban-els " in Young's Chronicles of Mass., pp. 184 and 185. 48 378 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. merchant of the country was fishing Arith eight boats at Marble head ; and, the next year, Portsmouth had belonging to her fish ing trade six great shallops ; five fishing boats, Arith saUs, anchors, and cables ; and thfrteen skiffs. About this time, also, our own shore was the abode of a few fishermen ; and several settlements were estabhshed on the coast of Maine. Of the total product of this branch of industry in any one year, our only information is derived from Gov. Winthrop, who says, that, in 1641, It was foUowed so weU, that three hundred thousand dry fish were sent to market. The geographical position of our oavu territory, and its strik ing inferiority to many other spots, even on the coast, for agricul tural purposes, would lead us to expect to find among its settlers few not attracted to it for maritime employments. That it was "peopled Arith fishermen tiU the Rev. Mr. Richai-d BHnd man came," and that men of that class have pursued then- business on its shores during every period of its subsequent history, there can be no doubt; but there is no evidence that the town enjoyed, for more than sixty years after its incorpora tion, any prominence as a fishing settlement. An early writer, speaking of omr fishing trade, intimates that it needed " men of estates to manage it," — a want which industry and frugahty would have soon supplied, if the business had been as remune rative as other employments The truth is, probably, that the forest and the soil afforded, dm-ing the whole period before named, more profitable fields of labor than the sea. This con jecture is authorized by such facts as the toAAm and probate records have handed doAvn to us concerning omr early settlers. The first notice connecting our settlers with the fishing business is preserved on a loose scrap of paper, which records the judgment given in a case of Htigation between two of them about a piece of a net, and making mention of " the bote and voyg." This was In 1651 ; about wluch time, Robert Dutch had a " stage " at Stage Neck in Squam. In 1662, Peter Duncan settled In the toAvn, and carried on a small trade at the Point, in the Harbor, AA-here it is supposed that Mr. Thomson erected a building or a fr-ame for the pm-poses of his fishery in 1639. He is the only one BUSINESS OF THE TOAVN BEFOEE 1775. 379 of our early settlers styled a merchant. At this time, not more than fifteen men are known to have resided in that part of the toAVTi. Some of these, probably, were fishermen. One of them, in 1663, agreed to pay a debt of fifty pounds in "good mer chantable fish and mackerel." Not long after this period, there Is reason to suppose that the business of Avood-coasting began to engage the attention of the people ; and evidence is not wanting that it continued for many years to be thefr chief maritime em ployment. In addition to thefr lawful business, some of the vessels engaged in it occasionally found employment, it appears, in assisting to evade the acts of trade.* With regard to their number and size, we have no positive information ; and. Indeed, aU our knowledge concerning the shipping of Gloucester, for the last twenty years of the seventeenth century, may be summed up in the statement, that, during this period, mention is made of about a dozen sloops, shaUops, and boats belonging to citizens of the toAvn.f The commencement of an active pursuit of maritime business by the people of this town may be fixed at about the beguming of the eighteenth century. It was then that the building of * In 1680, John Price, a passenger from Piscataqua to Boston, put into Cape Ann for a harbor. He saw here two vessels, — one supposed to be a fly-boat, and the other a pink. On board of the latter, he saw taken out several casks and chests of divers sorts, which were put on board of one William Sargent's boat, of Cape Ann, intending for Boston, whereof one Mr. Best was merchant. He also saw taken out of a ketch, then in the harbor, which the merchant told him came from Ireland, several goods, — as sad dlery, casks, and tanned hides, — which were put on board the Piscataqua sloop, and brought to Boston. — Deposition ccmimunicated by J. W. Thornton, Esq. Nov. 28, 1700. — The Earl of Bellamont, writing to the Lords of Trade about the un lawful trade of the Colony, says, " If the merchants of Boston be minded to run their goods, there is nothing to hinder them; " and " 'tis a common thing, as I have heard, to unload their ships at Cape Ann, and bring their goods to Boston in wood-boats." — New - Tork Goi. Documents. t Further information of this beginning of the commerce of Gloucester may be desired by some. In the inventory of Isaac Eveleth's estate, 1680, 1 find " one-third of a sloop, £9 ; " in that of Jacob Davis, same year, " part of a sloop and four canoes, £12. 10s; " in that of Bartholomew Foster, 1690, " sloop, £30." In a tax-list of 1693, the following persons are taxed for this description of property : John Sargent, James Sayward, William Sargent, 2d, William Ellery, and John Tinny, each one sloop; James Stevens, Samuel Stevens, and Thomas Millet, one-third of a sloop each; John Fitch, half a shallop; Thomas Day, a boat; Ezekiel Day, half a boat; and Widow Coit, half a boat. Besides the foregoing, Lieut. William Stevens, who died in 1701, owned a part of three sloops. 380 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. vessels here was A'igorously commenced ; and a previous chapter has shoAvn that it was for several years extensively carried on. The division of the woodland, at that time, enabled the people to cut large quantities of wood for sale ; and the transportation of this article to market created a need for many vessels. This business increased so rapidly, that, in 1706, no less than thfrty sloops were employed in carrying wood from one section of the toAvn alone ; * and the whole number engaged in It was not probably less than fifty. But this trade could continue only a few years ; at the end of which, other employment for the vessels must be sought. Fishing was, of course, the only resource ; and we find, accordingly, before 1720, several sloops engaged in the distant fisheries. The hostihty of the French and Indians along the whole eastern coast, as far as Cape Sable, had for many years rendered the pursuit of this business in that quarter one of great danger. A few A-essels, hoAvever, Adsited that coast fi-om Salemf and other places ; but Gloucester fishermen do not appear to have repafred thither tUl about the time of the conquest of Nova Scotia by the Enghsh in 1710. That auspicious event did not secure them from molestation ; for Rev. John White of our chm-ch, writing in 1711, says, "The enemy make fearful depredations upon our poor fishermen at Cape Sable ; " and, two years after wards, three men were taken from two of omr sloops that were fishing there. Another hazard attended the fishery, fr-om which no human care can afford certain protection. This Avas early experienced by omr fishermen ; and the havoc of thefr class by storms and seas, which has since so often shrouded the town in mourning, imparts a melancholy interest to nearly every period of our history. The first loss by shipwreck we haA-e recorded is that of a new schooner, while on a fishing voyage at Sable Island, in 1716. In October, the next year, four of a fleet of seven Avere lost on the passage from the fishing ground ; and • Squam River, as appears from the fact that that number of town-vessels paid, in that year, the annual toll for passing through the Cut. In 1710 and 1711, the number was eighteen in each year. t Salem was, perhaps, the most important fishing town in the Colony. It had, as early as 1689, " sixty odd fishing catches." BUSINESS OF THE TOWN BEFOEE 1775. 381 to these was added, in 1722, another at Sable Island; involving, in each case, the loss of all the crew. The history of om fishery from this time to the Revolutionary War, for want of particular Information concerning it, may be briefly related. The vessels with which the business was first carried on were the sloops built in the toAvn. A few schooners were added about 1720 ; of which class, it Is probable that the " old bankers " of recent times were nearly exact representations. Between 1720 and 1730, as many vessels appear to have been fitted out from Squam River as from the Harbor ; but, after the last date, the preponderance was certainly with the latter place, where it has ever since remained. An account of those of Nathaniel Parsons has been given on a previous page. His was the largest business of his time of which we have any knowledge. Next to him, and a few years later, we find that Elias Davis was a merchant of the most extensive and successful trade ; leaving, at his death in 1734, six schooners, a wharf and fishing-room at Canso, and a large amount of other property. His inventory indicates that he lived in good style, and had advanced In the luxury of sUver plate beyond most, if not all, of his townsmen. In 1741, we learn that above seventy fishing vessels belonged to the toAvn : but the condition of the business here at that time, as reported by Rev. John White, was not such as another authority* states it to have been in the Colony generally; nor does it appear to have been prosperous for any considerable time during the next twenty years. Indeed, it is a matter of wonder that the discouragements of that period did not cause a total * Hon. L. Sabine, in his Eeport on the American Fisheries, p. 131. Mr. White's account is contained in a letter to the Governor and Council in relation to a call upon the town for aid to the sufi'erers by a great fire in Charleston, S.C, as follows: " Al most our whole dependance, under God, is upon our Navigation and Fishery; and our other Navigation, on our Fishery: and that has so far failed by reason of the war with Spain, and ye fears of warr with France, as also by reason of ye smallness of ye price of flsh, and ye dearness of Salt, bread, and craft, that, of above Seventy fishing vessels, there are few, if any, above ten in that business. Our people are scattered abroad in the world to get their bread : many pressed ; many serving as volunteers in his Majesty's Service; and the cry of many for necessaries is very afl'ecting. And we have had three contributions for ye relief of the poor the last year in our congregation, and other Families are very pressing for relief." 382 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. abandonment of the business. But notArithstanding the wars between France and England, and the consequent annoyance and occasional capture of our vessels by the cruisers of the enemy, and the demand for men for the provincial armies and for the naval service, the fishery was still pursued. The truth is, it had now become the basis of a profitable foreign tiade, for the maintenance of which the merchants of the toAvn would wUhngly encounter great risks, and could even afford to bear considerable losses. The peace of 1763 secured to our fathers unmolested use of the fishing grounds ; and, from this time to the Revolution, they carried on the business Arith energy and success : though a ter rible disaster,* which inflicted a heaA'y blow upon the toAra, occurred in the mean time, as elsewhere related in this work. We know nothing of the relative importance of the Bank and shore fisheries dm-ing this period ; but it seems that the latter were almost wholly confined to Sandy Bay and the coves on the outside of the Cape, whUe the chief seat of the former was at the Harbor. Neither can we ascertain the number of vessels and boats engaged in the business in any year except the last of the term here embraced. That employed in the Bank fishery must haAC been quite large ; for nineteen schooners, as we have seen, saUed at one time in the fatal year of 1766. An " estimate of the number of fishing vessels from INlassachusetts " before the war, supposed to have been made by a merchant of the toAvn several years after that event, gives seventy-fiA-e as belonging to Gloucester ; agreeing neai-ly vrith the number stated by our select men in 1779 to haA'e been OAvned here in 1775 ; which was eighty, of an aggregate burthen of four thousand tons. The aA'erage value of these vessels, we learn from another source, was about three hundred pounds. The same estimate says that there were owned at Sandy Bay seventy boats, which landed one hundred and sixty quintals of fish each ; but this evidently exaggerates.! * The loss of nine vessels with their crews in 1766. t Of the fisheries of Massachusetts for any period, from the beginning to the pre sent time, we lack full reliabjl statistics. The earliest table I have seen is one of the cod-fishery " from the year 1765 to 1775." That gives, in relation to the Gloucester BUSINESS OF THE TOAVN BEFOEE 1775. 383 The business yielded a scanty support to the fishermen ; and, as a class, they were poor : though then, as in a more recent pe riod of our history, according to the natural course of things, the merchants who carried it on with most success were men who had themselves served an apprenticeship at the hook and line. No means exist for ascertaining the average annual earnings of these men before the war ; but the accounts of a single vessel for 1773 are preserved, and show the product of her two trips to the Banks to have been five hundred and fifty quintals of fish, which sold for £302. After deducting a few small expenses, one-half of this sum belonged to the fishermen.* Supposing their number to have been six, we can see that the amount received by each was but a small sum for the payment of his fisheries, "vessels annually employed, 146; tonnage, 6,530; number of men, 888;" an exaggeration, without doubt, in each case. In a covenant for mutual insurance of the bankers in 1774, forty-five schooners are entered; but those of David Pearce and Winthrop Sargent, two principal merchants of the town, and of others owning one or two vessels each, were not put in: enough, in all, to make up the eighty mentioned as belonging here in 1775. The number of our fishing boats at that time cannot be ascertained ; but, on the authority of the selectmen for 1779, 1 can state, that in " foreign merchantmen, coasters, and fishing boats," we had 1,000 tons. I suppose that about one-half of this tonnage was in fishing boats; averaging, as they did a few years later, twelve tons each, and making the whole number about forty. In that case, we should have the aggregate of 120 fishing vessels belonging to the town in 1775, of the total burthen of 4,500 tons. The schooners probably carried an average number of six men each; and the boats, two: making the whole number of fishermen 560. Nearly all the fishermen who sailed from the town at that time belonged to it; and, when we consider that our list of polls then numbered but 1,053, we see at once that the number of men employed in the fisheries here, given in the table above mentioned, must be exaggerated. * In these fishing voyages, it was the custom for the men to go, as it was called, "ou their own hook." An account was kept of the fish cauglit by each man; and, at the end of the voyage, the proceeds were distributed accordingly. The following ac count of a season's work by one crew ou the Grand Banks, a hundred years ago, may possess interest for modern fishermen: — ¦ Account of flsh taken on board the schooner " Abigail," Capt. Paul Hughes, in three fares to the Grand Banks in 1757. She sailed, on the first fare, May 16 ; and fished twenty-three days. On the second fare, July 13 ; and flshed twenty days. On the third fare, Sept. 22; and fished twenty-four days. She left the Banks, on the last fare, Nov. 5. Paul Hughes. 1st Fare, 3501 2d Fare, 1146 3d Fare, 1996 6643 B. Foster. 2890 689 1421 Rufus Stacy. 2000 758 1026 Job Galloway. 2209 742 1293 Nathl. Day. 2020 615 Abm. Wharf. 1294 Wm. Smith. 1705 609 1121 Total. 14,325 4569 8151 5000 3784 4244 3929 3435 27,035 The l.irgest nuraber taken in one day was 1,886, on the first day of June. 384 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. proportion of the provisions for the voyage, and the support of his family at home. The commerce of Gloucester grew dfrectly out of its fishery; but, as to the time when the foreign and coastvrise trade of the town commenced, no particulars are knoAvn. The ffrst item in relation to this subject is the seizure here, bythe CoUector of Salem, of the " Snow Esther," in 1725. As early as 1732, a trade had begun Arith the Southern Colonies, and was continued to about the beginning of the present century. The voyages were made in the winter season, when there was no employment for vessels or men in fishing ; and the business was conducted in a manner now Httle practised in any part of the world. In most cases, perhaps in all, no wages were paid to master or crew ; but, in Heu thereof, the privUege of bringing home a certain quantity of Southern produce was granted to each one ; who was also alloAved, probably, to take out fish on private adventure ; as, in the fcAV invoices preserved, this article does not appear among the shipments by the owners. In these inA'oices, the principal arti cles are salt, rum, sugar, and molasses. Then follows a long Hst of other things, including fron-ware, wooden-ware, hats, caps, patterns of cloth for breeches, handkerchiefs, and stockings; making, in all, a cargo of about two hundred pounds' value. On these voyages, the rivers, creeks, and inlets of Vfr-ginia, Mary land, and North Carolina, were visited ; and there the cargo was bartered in smaU quantities for corn, beans, bacon, live hogs, and other products of the country. Tradition reports that the trade was not ahvays reputably conducted; for sometimes exchanges were made with the slaA'es for stolen property, and often a de mand for different kinds of rum was supplied from one cask of the New-England liquor. Such proceedings, combined with complaints from the retail traders Avhose business was affected by this commerce, occasioned, probably, the legislative enactments which are said to have caused its abandonment. Before the Revolution, the Vfrginia voyages appear to have met with no interruption, except such as grew out of the wars between the southern English Colonies and the Spanish settle ments. At that time, Spanish privateers ranged along the coast. BUSINESS OF THE TOAVN BEFOEE 1775. 385 and the newspapers of the time record the capture of two of our vessels; one of which the enemy released after taking out nearly all her cargo, and placing on board of her the crews of several English vessels they had taken. The foreign commerce of Gloucester was also, for many years after its origin, carried on Arith the fishing vessels. Before the war, Winthrop Sargent had the brig " King of Prussia," and Epes Sargent OAvned the " Snow Charlotte," — the only square- rigged vessels known to have then belonged to the toAvn. Of this commerce, we only know that it was of inconsiderable extent till about 1750; when we find notice of voyages to the West Indies, to Bilbao, and Lisbon. The West-India cargoes consisted of fish and other proAdsIons, for which, sugar, molas ses, rum, and coffee were retm-ned ; while to Europe little was sent except fish, the proceeds of which came home in salt, fruit, wine, and specie. The acts of Parhament for regulating the trade of the Colonies were disregarded ; and smuggling, and fraudulent entries, at which the revenue-ofiicers connived, were common. Gloucester had, as early as 1683, been made one of the lawful ports of the Colony, and annexed to the Salem dis trict; but no oificer of the customs is known to have resided here tUl after the commencement by the mother-country of that series of measures which brought on the Revolutionary War. Among these measures was one for a rigid enforcement of the revenue acts ; for which purpose, commissioners of the customs were sent over from England, and steps were taken to put an end to the UHcit trade carried on in the Colonies. The ffrst per son employed in this business in Gloucester appears to have been Samuel FeUows, who in some manner rendered himself odious to our people, as mentioned in a previous chapter. In 1770, one Mr. PhUlips held the ofiice of "land-waiter, weigher, and ganger ; " in whose room the commissioners ap pointed, January, 1771, Richard SUvester. The ofiicers of the customs took upon themselves a difficult duty, and could not faU, in performing it faithfuUy, to expose themselves to public indig nation, and the danger of personal violence ; but it is not known that either of the persons here mentioned received any bodily 49 386 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. injury at the hands of omr people. Silvester was ordered by the selectmen to leave the town, Arith his family, in Septem ber, 1772; but he took no further notice of the order than to pubHsh in the "Boston News-Letter" an fronical card. In which he " prays leave to acquaint these worthies, that he cannot nor will not comply with thefr request." The exasperated party that searched the house of Mr. Saville in quest of Fellows in 1768, as heretofore related, would probably have left upon his body some mark of thefr hatred, if he had fallen into their hands ; but he luckily escaped, and the anger of the mob was vented upon Mr. Saville and bis family. He was knocked doAvn whUe de fending his home ; and a servant was threatened by Dr. Rogers, forceps in hand, vrith the loss of aU his teeth, unless he would tell where Fellows was. One or two of the persons engaged in this affafr were tried for thefr offence, and fined ; and one of them was confined in jaU several months for non-payment of a fine of five pounds ; but was finaUy released by the Governor, who remitted the fine. The merchants continued to run thefr goods ; and Mr. SaAdUe, not intimidated by the recent scene at his house, accepted em ployment In the revenue serrice, which. If he did his duty, would inevitably bring upon him thefr vengeance. He unArisely defied the public sentiment in a time of high poHtical excitement, and soon reaped the consequences of his temerity. On the night of the 23d of March, 1770, he was seized In his bed by a party of men disguised as negroes and Indians, and dragged In an in human manner, a distance of four mUes, to the Harbor, where he was subjected to various indignities till his tormentors chose to let him depart for home. The outrage aroused a good deal of feeHng in the town, and the attention of the Governor was called to it. That magistrate made a representation to the General Court concerning it ; but it was a grievance that could find httle sympathy or redress among the representatives of the people. A mulatto servant of Dr. Plummer, mamed George, was tried and convicted in the following November for aiding and abetting in this assault ; and in March, 1772, by way of punishment in part, was placed on the gallows in Salem, with a halter round his BUSINESS OF THE TOAVN BEFOEE 1775. 387 neck, and kept there an hour ; after which, he was whipped. George would not give any information of the persons concerned Arith him. Whether revenue-officers continued to reside in Gloucester through the last years of our Colonial existence, or not, we have no means of knoAring ; but tradition asserts that the merchants of the town did not cease to smuggle extensively till their com merce was destioyed by the war. A story is told concerning one of these smuggling adventures, which is deserving of remem brance for a clever derice of its chief actor. A schooner, belonging to Col. Joseph Foster, came in from a foreign port in the night ; and, according to custom, the hatches were imme diately opened, and the landing of the cargo was commenced, the OAvner himself assisting. A considerable part was landed and stored before daybreak; but more than half was still on board, and, early in the morning, a tide-waiter was expected from Salem. The fertUe mind of Col. Foster hit at once upon an expedient. On the Cut was a watch-house, where John M'Kean, a stout Irishman, had been employed, in a time of alarm about the smaU-pox, to stop all strangers entering the town, and sub ject them to a fumigating process. It is sufficient to say, that his majesty's officer of the customs was on that morning ushered into the watch-house by John M'Kean ; that he was kept there all day, and released after dark, purified from all infectious dis ease, so far as a thorough smoking could do it. The Revolutionary crisis approached, and the commerce and fishery of the toAvn could be no longer pursued. A great majority of the people — comprising the merchants, mechanics, fishermen, and saUors, who depended upon the maritime business of the place for thefr livehhood — could find no employment in thefr regular pursmts ; and were the more eager, therefore, to prove the sincerity of thefr declaration, that they would defend thefr Hberties at the expense of all that was dear to them. 388 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. CHAPTER XX. REVOLUTIONARY WAR. The Appeal to Arms. — Companies formed. — Two of them Fight on Bunker Hill. — Sloop of War "Falcon," Capt. Lindsay, in Ips wich Bay. — He comes into Gloucester Harbor. — Fires upon the Town. — Attempts to take a Vessel out. — Repulsed. — Defence less State of the Town. — Forts built. — Privateering com menced. — Manly's Prize. — Poverty of the Town. — The Poor relieved by Donations. — Committee of Safety. — The Yankee Hero. — Supremacy of the People asserted in Official Acts of the Town. The first blood had been shed in support of American liberty ; and every patriotic bosom glowed Arith the sentiment of " rictory, or death." At a town-meeting on the 21st of April, the repre sentatives to the Provincial Congress were authorized to act according to thefr discretion Arith respect to assuming the civU government. An express was sent to Cambridge to see if fire arms could be pm-chased; and a Committee of Safety, consisting of thirty-one of the most prominent and respectable citizens, was chosen. The minute-men were disbanded, paid off, and thanked for thefr readiness to serve ; and the enhstment of men for actual service was now earnestly begun. The town under took to provide arms and blankets * for those who could not furnish themselves ; and agreed to supply, during thefr absence, the families of the soldiers depending upon thefr wages for payment. A large number of men, hitherto engaged in the * These were supplied by private families, and were paid for by an order on the town-treasury. EEAOLUTIONAEY AVAE. 389 commerce and fisheries of the toAvn and the mechanical employ ments connected therevrith, were now Arithout employment ; and no difficulty was found in filhng up the ranks of several com panies. It is not easy to ascertain the whole number that en hsted in Gloucester and repafred to the different encampments around Boston : but it is certain that there were four companies, composed whoUy of Gloucester men, with the exception of about six persons ; and that another company, commanded by Captain Parker of IpsArich, had about thfrty of our men in it.* Besides these, there was another company, commanded by Capt. James Colhns, which marched to Cambridge on the 15th of June. No roU of this company has yet come to light ; but our toAvn-records furnish a Hst of twenty-three of its members to whom guns were deUvered.f Two of these companies were in the battle of Bunker Hill. One, enUsted by Capt. Nathaniel Warner in four days, marched to Cambridge in the latter part of May. The morning after the redoubt was throAvn up on Bunker HiU, when it was discovered that the enemy was preparing for an attack, this company, with others, had orders to march to the hiU to assist in the defence. They made a rapid march to CharlestoAvn : though thefr order was so much broken by the haste in which they had marched from the camp, and the galHng fire kept up from one of the British ships to annoy the troops crossing the Neck, that the men got separated ; and, in forming them into company after reaching * The following were the ofiicers of these flve companies : — 1. In the seventeenth regiment. Col. Moses Little, Capt. Nathaniel Warner, Lieut. John Bumham, Ensign Daniel Collins. 2. In the same, Capt. Joseph Eoby, Lieut. Shubael Gorham, Ensign Enoch Par sons. 3. In the twenty-seventh regiment. Col. Ebenezer Bridge, Capt. John Eowe, Lieut. Mark Pool, Ensign Ebenezer Cleaveland. 4. In the thirty-eighth regiment. Col. Loammi Baldwin, Capt. Barnabas Dodge, Lieut. Matthew Fairfleld of Wenham, Ensign Joseph Knight of Manchester. 5. In Col. Little's regiment, Capt. Gideon Parker of Ipswich, Lieut. Joseph Eve leth, Ensign Jonathan Trask. t We have the authority ofthe selectmen for 1779 for the assertion, that, during the flrst campaign of the war, Gloucester " had upwards of two hundred and twenty men in the fleld, besides numbers who joined the marine department, as more suitable to their former occupation.*' 390 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. the peninsula. It Avas found that ensign Colhns and a few of the soldiers were still in the rear. Warner was impatient ; and, leaving the missing men to find thefr way to the scene of action, ordered his company to march. They went more upon a run than a quick march, and arrived on the ground just as the firing commenced. The captain then asked Gen. Putnam where he should take his post; and was told by him to get to the fort, if he could. At this time, from some cause, the company sepa rated into two dirisions. One, Arith the captaui, went on to the redoubt ; and the other, under Lieut. Bumham, passed on till they came In view of the left flank of th.e enemy, and com menced thefr firing at the outside of the south-west corner of the fort, where they remained during the action. Lieut. Bur- ham had two men killed in the engagement, and three wounded as the retreat began. At this time, Capt. Warner, Arith his men, came out of the redoubt, and went towards the raU-fence, where the firing was stUl kept up. In firing his musket on learing the fort, the barrel spht in his hands, but did him no Injury. He soon procured another, and, having loaded it, raised it up to fire ; when it was struck by a baU, which spht the stock, and glanced off the barrel without wounding him. He soon found another gun, and received another shot fr-om the enemy. A ball struck his breeches-pocket, spht the handle of his penknife, glanced off; and again he received no injmy. Lieut. Burnham continued on the retreat, supporting his wounded soldiers,* till, overcome with fatigue, they stopped by a stone wall to rest ; but here the shot flew about them thickly, and they went on. By this time, the Continental troops were all on the retreat to Ploughed HiU. The two men killed were Daniel CaUahan and Benjamin Smith. The latter was standing by the side of Benjamui Webber * Perhaps one of these wounded soldiers was Nymphas Stacy ; concerning whom, the following anecdote is still remembered. Stacy was struck, in the retreat, by a spent ball, in the leg. The limb being paralyzed for a moment, he fell, and was caught up by Burnham, and borne away. After carrying him some distance on his shoulders, Burnham became fatigued, and stopped to rest. He asked his wounded soldier how he felt ; and the latter, having recovered the use of his leg, replied, that he was not hurt, and that, as Burnham himself must be a good deal fatigued by the heavy burden he had carried, he might mount on his b.ack, and have a " lift along." EEVOLUTIONAEY WAE. 391 when shot, and fell dead across his feet. Webber himself was shot in the right arm, in the act of raising his gun to fire the last charge he had left. Alexander Parran was wounded in his right arm, and lost the use of it entirely.* Ensign Col lins, who was left on the march from Cambridge to bring up the rear, is said to have come in vrith his men In season for the action ; but nothing is known concerning the part they bore ia it.f The other Gloucester company which took part in this memo rable battle was one composed of men liring at Sandy Bay and the Farms. It is said to have been enlisted by Daniel B. Tarr, Its orderly sergeant ; who gave the command of it to John Rowe. This company marched from Gloucester on Monday, June 12 ; going through Wenham on thefr way to the camp. * The next winter, he was allowed ^10. 4s. for the loss of his gun, for board and nursing twelve weeks, and conveyance home. Some time afterwards, Parran went ou a cruise in the privateer brig " Fair Play." Off Guadaloupe, the vessel was fired into, and sunk. Some of the crew saved their lives by swimming; but Parran, having no use of his right arm, was drowned. He was son of Samuel Parran of St. Leonard's, Calvert County, Md. ; and is said to have been the flrst that enlisted in Capt. War ner's company. t The last survivor of this company known to me was Major John Burnham. When asked by Capt. Warner to help enlist his company, and take the rank of lieu tenant, he was in a bad state of health, and supposed to be in a consumption'. He was in the military service of his country, without a furlough, or leave of absence, for any purpose of his own, throughout the whole Eevolutionary War, to the closing scene at Yorktown, in which he actively participated. He was not even then dismissed from the service in which, by a faithful performance of duty, he had gained snch honorable distinction ; but was continued in commission till the 1st of January, 1784, when his regiment was discharged. He received a captain's commission in 1777, and had the command of a company of light infantry about six years; at the end of which time, he was promoted to the rank of major. Major Burnham was a native of Gloucester, and here acquired a mechanical trade. After the war, he came home, and resumed the business in which he was brought up. Upon the resignation of Mr. Sargent, the flrst Collector of the Customs for this district, the place was ofi'ered to Major Burnham ; but he declined the ofi-er, and soon after moved to Den-y, N.H. The first Pension Act for the relief of Revolutionary soldiers did not include him in its benefits : but his claims were strongly enforced ; and among the means used for obtaining a pension for the old soldier was a letter to the Secretary of War from Gov. Brooks, containing the most honorable mention of his services. He finally succeeded in obtaining a pension of flve hundred dollars per annum; and his passage to the grave, through the infirmities and feebleness of a life protracted to an unusual length, was undisturbed by the feeling of poverty and dependence. He died iu Derl-y, June 8, 1843, aged ninety-four. 392 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. On the 16th, they had reached the Mystic River ; and, in the afternoon of that day, took up thefr march from that place. About dark, they halted. In a short time, by the yet Ungering twilight, they descried approaching a large number of soldiers, who were soon found to be a detachment from the army at Cam bridge. As soon as they came up, Capt. Rowe's conipany joined theni ; and the whole body then moved towards Breed's HIU. On Its arrival there, they went sUently to work with picks and spades to throw up the intrenchment. Wben the redoubt was finished, and while the enemy were landing, Capt. RoAve, with part of the company, was despatched to carry off the tools. On their return, these men were ordered to the extreme left vring of the Provincial troops, near Mystic River. It thus happened that the company was divided ; and it was not again united dur ing the day. Ensign Cleaveland and Sergeant Haskins remained in the redoubt with one part ; while Capt. Rowe and Lieut. Pool, Arith the other, were on the left of the Hne : some assisting in building the raU-fence, as a protection from the bullets of the enemy ; and others, at the end of the line on the bank of the river, building up a small breastwork with stones and dfrt. They were thus engaged till the EngHsh advanced, about three o'clock, P.M. Major M'Cleary gave them particular dfr-ec- tlons how to act : they were to load and fibre, with one knee resting on the ground ; and, after the first fire, not to wait for orders, but to load and fire as fast as possible, taking care not to throw away any shot by firing at too long a distance. The enemy, as is well known, were repulsed twice ; but, at the third attack, the ammunition at the redoubt gave out. A retreat was ordered, and the troops at the rail-fence joined in it. They retreated that night to Ploughed HUl. Capt. Rowe had three of' his men killed in the battle, and two wounded. Francis Pool and Josiah Brooks Avere killed at the rail-fence, while in the act of firing. William Parsons was killed at the redoubt. Daniel Doyl was hurt by a ball, which, having passed through the palisade, struck him on the breast, and broke a button off his clothing, but did not enter his body. WiUiam Foster was Avounded, on the retreat, in the wrist. Sergeant Haskins had two EEVOLUTIONAEY WAE. 393 cartridges left when he retreated from the fort ; but he ffred them away upon the enemy, when he got to the rail-fence.* Such was the part borne by Gloucester on that great day, — the 17th of June, 1775. The fidehty of its people to thefr principles was next to be put to the test on thefr oavu soU. The sloop-of-war " Falcon," Capt. Lindsay, one of the ships which had aided the British at the battle of Bunker HiU, on the 5th of August made her appearance in Ipswich Bay, and came nearly to the mouth of Squam Harbor ; when Lindsay despatched a barge, with about fifty men, to land on Coffin's Beach, and get a supply of sheep from the adjacent pastures. Major Coffin, Arith a few men from his farm and its vicinity, — not more than five or six, — suspecting his design, repafred to the beach, and, from behind some sand -knolls, kept up such a brisk firing upon the barge as she approached, that the officer In command, supposing a whole company of sol diers to be lying in ambush, concluded to put back to the ship, Arithout effecting his object. Perhaps a bullet from the major's rifle, which struck the brass plate of his sword-belt and glanced off, influenced his determination. As the barge neared the ship on its retum, she was hailed by Lindsay, and sent into Squam Harbor to cut out a deeply laden schooner, supposed by him to be a West Indiaman. Upon boarding the vessel, it was discov ered, that, instead of a valuable cargo of West- India products, she had nothing in but sand. These disappointments did not tend to soften Lindsay's feel ings towards the " rebels." He continued cruising about our Cape, and impressed several men from the vessels and boats of this and the neighboring ports. On the 8th of August, he feU in with two schooners from the West Indies, bound to Salem ; and, having made a prize of one, chased the other into this harbor. She was run ashore on the flats between Pearce's * From a return of this company, made after the battle, it appears that it then had forty-four privates ; of whom, all but six were fishermen and sailors. Thirty-five were natives of Gloucester. Seventeen were under twenty-one years of age, five only over thirty, and none over forty. The youngest was William Low, a lad of fourteen. John Rowe, jun., a son of the captain, was sixteen. For a roll of each of the Gloucester companies that fought on Bunker Hill, see Appendix V. 50 394 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. Wharf and Five-pound Island ; and Lindsay, who had followed her as' far as he safely could, came to anchor, and prepared to take possession of her where she lay. Before attempting this, however, he sent in a boat, with a fiag ; and the Committee of Safety went on board of his ship, where they were detained tUl they promised to release the schooner. But the citizens would not suffer the schooner to be taken out ; and had, in the mean time, strained every effort in preparing to give the British crew a warm reception if they should attempt it. Our people had no guns mounted, and Httle ammunition ; but they got two old swivels, and, hastily mounting them on cai-- riages, proceeded with these, and all the muskets that could be procured, to protect the schooner. One of the swivels was placed under the direction of Capt. Joseph Foster ; and the other, under that of Capt. Bradbury Sanders, — both zealous patriots. Part of our men repafred to the wharf; and the rest, to the hill on the opposite side of Vinson's Cove. By this time, Lindsay had manned two barges Arith fifteen men each, armed Arith muskets and swivels, and sent them, under the com mand of a Heutenant vrith six privates, in another boat, to seize the schooner, and bring her under the "Falcon's" bow. As soon as they reached the vessel, some of the barge-men boarded her at the cabin-windows : whereupon a smart fire was opened upon them by our people on the shore, which kiUed three of the enemy, and AA'ounded the Heutenant in the thigh. The latter returned to the ship ; and Lindsay then sent in the other schoon er, and a cutter he had to attend him, well arined, Arith orders to the commanding officer to fire on the " damned rebels " wherever he could find them. At the same time, he commenced cannonading the toAvn frora the ship, and poured several broad sides into the most thickly settled part of the place. " Now, my boys," said he, " we will aim at the damned Presbyterian Church ! " — " One shot more," my brave feUows, " and the house of God AriU fall before you ! " To complete the work of destruction AA-hich he had thus commenced, the infuriated cap tain then sent a boat, with some of his men, to land on Fort Point, and attempt to set the toAvn in flames by kindHng a fire EEVOLUTIONAEY AVAE. 395 among the fish-flakes on the beach ; but this pmpose was frus trated by a body of om people, who went round to the spot, and made prisoners of aU the men. During aU this time, the party at the water-side were per forming wonders ; and thefr bravery was at length rewarded by a complete victory. They got possession of both schooners, the cutter and barges ; and, Arith them, took thfrty-five men. Several of these were wounded, — one of them so severely, that he died soon after. Twenty-fom- were sent to the Ameri can camp at Cambridge ; and the rest, having been impressed from this and the neighboring ports, were sent to thefr homes. One of the latter was Duncan Piper, a native of England, but a resident of this toAvn. He was standing up in the bow of one of the boats as it drew near the shore ; when, percelring a mus ket aimed at him by one of the men there, he caUed his own name loudly two or three times, and thus, perhaps, saved his Hfe.* The attempt to set the toAvn on fire was a very unfortunate exploit for the enemy : for, in addition to the capture of those who were engaged in it, the boatswain of the ship, in applying fire to the combustible matter prepared, carelessly allowed it to reach the powder-horn he was holding ; which caused it to ex plode, and occasioned the loss of his hand. The loss of omr people by this fight was two men, — Benja min Rowe, who was kiUed on the spot ; and Peter Lurvey, who was mortally wounded, and died in a short time. One other man was sHghtly wounded. The broadsides which Lindsay poured into the town did but Httle damage. Several houses received a shot; and one, which was fired into the Meeting-house, * One of Lindsay's impressed men was WiUiam Moore, a relative of Sir Hamilton Moore. He had resided several years at Fresh-water Cove, where he built a house. In 1757, he taught a public school at the Cape. Being out in a boat with his son Joseph, he was taken by Lindsay, and carried away. He probably died soon after, as he never returned to Gloucester. The son, then a boy of about twelve years, was put ashore near his home, and became a very useful citizen. He possessed a good deal of mathematical talent, was frequently employed as a teacher in our public schools, and was also the teacher in navigation of two generations of our seafaring men. He was a man of simple tastes and habits, and of many excellent traits of character. He died Oct. 28, 1845, aged eighty-two. 396, HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. Is yet preserved. Our fathers were wont to boast, that the only loss of life they caused was that of a hog belonging to Deacon Kinsman, which had nearly the whole of his back-bone taken out by one of the balls. In order to be prepared against a re newed attack by Lindsay, the people of the toAvn procured an old nine-pounder, which they mounted ; and they also sent out of toAvn for a supply of powder : but the next day, to the great joy of the inhabitants, the ship was warped out of the harbor, and steered out to sea.* Public attention was now draAvn to the defenceless state of the town ; and a detachment of rifiemen, under Major Robert Ma gaw, was sent from the camp at Cambridge for its protection. In October, a company from IpsArich was ordered here to assist the towns-people in fortifying the place. Breastworks were thrown up on an eminence near the Old Battery ; one at the Stage, near Fresh-water Cove ; one at Duncan's Point ; and one on a bank near the Cut. A company, under Capt. John Lane, had been stationed all summer somewhere on the Cape for the defence of the seacoast : but it does not appear to have been engaged in the affafr Arith Lindsay ; and, therefore, was not probably near the scene of ac tion on that day. In September, this company was suppHed with wood and barracks by the town. It suffered In some degree fr-om the non-payment of wages ; but, in November, was aUowed to draw clothing from the pubhc stores. In the latter part of the summer, the people of Gloucester commenced privateering ; but at first only on a small scale, making use of their fishing boats for the purpose. These were prepared for the business by lengthening the hatchway, and stepping four swivels in the combings. They took a few prizes of little value ; one of which was a brig from Canada, bound to * Having acquitted themselves so well of their duty, I suppose the wearied actors repaired to James Prentice's tavern for refreshment; as I find his charges against the town that day were — for thirteen buckets toddy, £2. 18s. 4d ; five suppers, and two quarts of rum, 6s. 8d. He was also paid 12s. for attendance on wounded men. The boats taken from Lindsay were got on shore, and hauled up back of the First- Parish Meeting-house, where they remained two yeai-s, and were then sold for the beneflt of the poor of the town. EEVOLUTIONAEY AVAE. 397 Boston, with a deck-load of Hve stock for the Ministerial troops, and coal and iron In her hold. She was taken to Wheeler's Point in Squam Harbor, and there discharged.* WhUe these Httle craft were thus employed, armed schooners, in the pubhc service, were also cruising in the bay to intercept any vessels that might arrive Arith supplies for the enemy. These vessels frequently put into Gloucester at night, and sailed again the next morning. One of them — the "Lee," Capt. Manly — brought Into omr harbor, on the 28th of November, a prize of inestimable value. This was the "Nancy," from London, bound to Boston ; an ordnance-ship, haring on board a great quantity of smaU-arms and ammunition, besides cannon, and a large brass mortar of a new construction. These articles were aU greatly needed by Gen. Washington. They were landed here, and carted to the camp at Cambridge ; where they were joyfuUy received, and where the mortar was pronounced the noblest piece of ordnance ever landed in America, and christened, in consideration of its high value, the " Congress." A deep feeling of anxiety and gloom pervaded the town as this year was draAving to a close. Probably few towns In New England had a larger proportionate share of famihes, which depended upon thefr daUy labor for thefr daily bread, than Gloucester had in the beginning of 1775. As many as three- fourths of the men of the town were fishermen and saUors, and laborers and mechanics depending upon mercantile business. Of the former class, those who had famihes to support, almost Arithout an exception, seldom saved enough from a summer's work to enable them to keep out of debt through the winter ; and many of the latter class, for want of fuU employment, made no accumulations for a time of need. It is erident, therefore, that when they were debarred from thefr accustomed labor, and no sufficient work could be procured, a considerable degree of * Before her ballast was all taken out, she heeled ofi-, and fell into the channel; where, a few years ago, a portion of her bottom could still be seen. The oxen forming part of her deck-load were brought to the Harbor, and sold at auction in front of Prentice's tavern. According to the custom of the Canadian French, these cattle had been worked by the horns; and it is said that the purchasers found it difficult to make them draw with the yoke. 398 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTEE. poverty must exist. They were now in that condition. It is true, a large number of the people had enlisted in the army, and would, vrith thefr wages, do something for the support of their families ; a few found employment in the armed vessels of the Province ; and some were earning a Httle by seizing such of the enemy's small craft as they could catch along the shore : but there still remained a distressingly large proportion of our people, whose productive industry this year could not secm-e them against dismal forebodings for the coming vrinter. This subject was considered at a toAAm-meeting in October ; but no provision was made to supply the poor Arith either food or work, as contemplated by some : but, early in January, it was found necessary to take up two schooners, and send them to Vfrginia for grain.* Before the return of these vessels, however, the town was obliged to authorize the selectmen to buy or borrow two hundred bushels of corn for the use of the people. The distressed condition of the poor here also excited the sympathy of private individuals at home, and some distant people of benevolence, who contributed to thefr rehef. Among these benefactors of the town were the Friends In Pennsylvania, whose timely donations, together with those from domestic sources, Hghtened many heavy hearts during this gloomy winter. At the annual town-meeting in 1776, a new Committee of Safety, consisting of thfrteen prominent citizens, was chosen, to whom four more were added at a subsequent meeting ; f and a vote was passed to petition for an abatement of the Province-tax for the preceding year. On the expiration of the time for which they had enhsted ui the army, many of our soldiers returned home ; and, choosing * One of these vessels belonged to Capt. William Ellery ; and the other, to Capt. William Coas. The town voted to get Insurance to the amount of ^£400, not to exceed thirty per cent for the voyage. t This Committee were — Col. John Stevens, Jacob Allen, Major Whittemore, Capt. Coas, Capt. Winthrop Sargent, Capt. Jacob Parsons, Capt. William Ellery, Dr. Samuel Plummer, Col. John Low, Daniel Thurston, Capt. John Rowe, Mr. John Hale, Col. Peter Coffin, Deacon Nathaniel Haskell, James Porter, Capt. John Smith, and Deacon Hubbard Haskell. EEVOLUTIONAEY WAE. 399 employment better suited to their habits and liking, they shipped on board of the privateers, which, in the spring and summer of that year, were fitted out at this and the neighboring ports of Salem and Newburyport. One of those sent out from the latter port In the summer was captured, under singular circum stances, while on her passage round the Cape to Gloucester, whither she was bound for the purpose of completing her armament and crew. She was called the " Yankee Hero," and was commanded by Capt. John Tracy. She sailed from New buryport on the 10th of June. On the same day, a large ship appeared off the Cape, which seemed to be clumsily Avorked, and to have but few men on board. Supposing she could be easily taken, the people of Sandy Bay made preparations to board her. They were urged on by Lieut. Pool, who, on this occasion, showed more valor than discretion. He pursuaded Capt. Rowe, against bis own better judgment, to join In the enterprise ; for the latter had some suspicions that the vessel was a ship-of-war in disguise. Every mechanic, fisherman, and farmer, that could be found, was enlisted, to the number of about tAventy ; and, having procured three fishing boats, they proceeded fearlessly to the attack. They had scarcely left thefr moorings, when the " Yankee Hero " hove in sight, coming round Halibut Point. The boats steered dfrectly for her; and, upon getting alongside, the men were received on board by Capt. Tracy, who eagerly declared his readiness to attack the British ship. The boats were sent back, and the brig made all sail, and stood towards the ship ; into which, as soon as she got within cannon- shot, she let off a broadside. The ship immediately opened two tiers of ports, and sent such a broadside in return as satisfied our Cape men of thefr great mistake. Pool wished to board the ship, and carry her, sword in hand, or die in the attempt ; but his adrice of this reckless measure was unheeded, and a fight commenced almost under the ship's guns. The brig maintained the contest about an hour ; at the end of which, having spent all her ammunition, she struck to the British frigate " MUford," of thfrty-six guns. The brig's last gun was filled with pieces of fron, spikes, and a crowbar. The latter, being the only missile left on 400 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. board, was thrust into the gun by Pool, who, when he went on board of the frigate as a prisoner, discovered this new implement of war sticking through the bits of her windlass. It was called, by the British sailors, the " Yankee belaying- pin." There is no doubt that our people made a gallant defence after they got into this fight ; but the wonder is that they should have got into it at all. In an account of this affafr, printed at the time, the number of killed and wounded is greatly exaggerated. The only person killed on board the " Yankee Hero " was Hugh Parkhurst.* Capt. Tracy was shot in the thigh. Reuben Brooks was wounded in the head ; and died, in Halifax prison, of the Avound and smaU-pox combined. Ebenezer Rowe lost his hand. These are all who are knoAvn to have been kUled or wounded in the engagement. The fr-igate, with the prisoners, went first to Nantasket Roads ; thence to Hahfax ; and thence to New York, Avhere the prisoners were placed on board a prison- ship. Here many of them had the smaU-pox. Capt. Rowe, Lieut. Pool, and many others, were sent on shore, sick vrith this disease, to a hospital which the British had prepared on Staten Island. When they recovered, not being called for immediately to retum to the ship, they let themselves to a sutler in the British camp, who used in his business a smaU sloop, on board of which they were employed. Being left with her on one occasion, they took the boat in the night, and escaped to the Jersey shore to the camp of the American Army. At a town-meeting on the 27th of May this year, Peter Coffin, Samuel Whittemore, Daniel Rogers, John Low, and WiUiam Ellery, were chosen representatives to a General Court to be held at Watertown ; the condition of the poor was again con- * Hugh Parkhurst, it is said, left his paternal home, in London, in consequence ofa dispute with his father upon American politics; and, in company with a brother, arrived in New England about 1770. He settled in Gloucester that year; and, being well educated, soon found employment as teacher of the public school in Sandy Bay. In the spring of 1775, he taught in the Fourth Parish; and, on the 17th June, fought in Capt. Rowe's company at the battle of Bunker Hill. He married in town, and left an only son, AVilliam; who died in Gloucester, Jan. 18, 1863, aged eighty-three, leaving sons extensively engaged in the business of the town. EEVOLUTIONAEY AVAE. 401 sidered, and a loan of £100 was authorized to purchase pro risions for thefr rehef. The aUegiance of our fathers to the British crown had ceased to be a duty. For many years, the late educated toAvn-clerk had headed every page of his records Arith " Anno Regni Regis Georgii," &c. ; but this was now abandoned, together with the customary official recognition of royal authority in warning town-meetings in his majesty's name. The town-meeting just mentioned was the ffr-st that was called In the name of the government and people of the Colony of Massachusetts Bay. One other step remained for them ; which the people of Gloucester soon took, by signifying thefr readiness to renounce aU political connection Arith the land of their ancestors. 51 402 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. CHAPTER XXI. First Parish. — Rev. Eli Forbes settled. — His previous Career. — His Ministry in Gloucester. — His Death and Character. — His Family. — His printed Productions. The Ffrst Chm-ch appointed the 26th of AprU, 1775, for a day of fasting and prayer : and it was observed, undoubtedly, Arith all the solemnity befitting the occasion ; for it was one of more than usual importance, both on account of the budding dissen sions within the church, and the threatening aspect of pohtical affafrs. For the fii-st time since the first year of this century, the parish was now Arithout a pastor ; and no action was taken for several months to supply the vacant pulpit. Temporary preach ers were employed ; one of whom (Rev. 0. Parsons of the Thfrd Church) preached nine sabbaths, between Mr. Chandler's death and the settlement of his successor. In April, 1776, the church had voted to call Rev. EH Forbes to be thefr- pastor ; and, on the 2d of that month, the parish concurred by a vote of about three-fourths of the large nuinber in attendance at the meeting. He had afready preached several times for the parish. The dis sentient votes were probably cast by Mr. Mm-ray's friends ; several of whom, a few days afterwards, addressed Mr. Forbes a note, in which they endeavored to dissuade him from accepting the call, by setting forth the gloomy prospects of the parish in relation to the business concerns of its members, and intimating that his happiness Avould be best consulted by rejecting the offer that had been made to him. This letter had no other effect than to call forth a brief reply, from which his advisers reaped no satisfaction. ]\Ir. Forbes accepted the offer of the parish; which FIEST PAEISH. EEV. ELI EOEBES. 403 was, that he should have £80 per annum during the depres sion of business, and £110 on the rerival of trade. He was instaUed June 5, 1776. On that occasion. Rev. E. Ward of Brookfield opened with prayer. Rev. Ebenezer Parkman of Westborough " 'moderated and preached," Rev. John Rogers gave the charge, and Rev. Daniel Fuller gave the right hand of fellowship. The new pastor was a native of Westborough, In this State ; and was born in October, 1726. He entered Harvard CoUege in 1744. In July of the following year, he Avas demanded as a soldier, and cheerfully shouldered his musket, and marched more than a hundred mUes to oppose the French and Indians. Hav ing been released by the interposition of his friends, he returned to his studies, and graduated in 1751. He was ordained mini ster of the Second Parish In Brookfield, June 3, 1752. In the year 1759, he was In the service of the Prorince, from March 3 1 to Nov. 15, as chaplain in a regiment under Col. Timothy Rug gles ; ministering often on the same day at different stations from three to five miles apart. At the close of the campaign, he, with Mr. Brainerd, another chaplain, had four hundred invalids committed to thefr charge to march with them to Albany, and to serve both as chaplains and officers. For this service, which he represented to the General Court as tedious and expensive, he received an allowance. In 1762, he went as a missionary to the Oneidas, one of the six nations of Indians ; and planted the ffrst Christian church at Onaguagie, on the river Susquehannah. Haring estabhshed in this place a school for children, and an other for adults, he retumed, bringing Arith him four Indian chil dren ; whom he sent back again in a few years, after providing them with such knowledge as would be useful to them. He also brought with him a white lad, who had become a complete sa vage ; but, being civUized and educated at Dartmouth College, was employed as an agent of Congress dm-ing the Revolutionary War, and was very useful. In 1767, Mr. Forbes was empowered by the Prorincial Government to get two males and one female from among the chUdren of the Maqua Indians, In order to edu cate them on the fund given by Sir Peter Warren. 404 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. Mr. Forbes continued at Brookfield till March, 1776 ; when, having fallen under the groundless suspicion of being a Tory, he requested and received a disraission. His settlement here took place at a time when a deep gloom overspread the town. The people were cut off from thefr ordinary means of Hvelihood, and reduced to the necessity of enlisting in the army, or engaging in the precarious employment of privateering. The parish, there fore, prudently prorided for a contingency which was not unlikely to happen, and annexed a condition to the proposals originally made to Mr. Forbes, that, in case the parish should be broken up, or he should be unable to perform the duties of the ministry, it should not be obHged to pay him bis salary. Another source of difficulty in the parish was the discontent manifested by the friends of Mr. Murray; several of whom, as members of the church, were made the subjects of discipline by that body. They absented themselves from public worship, and were called upon to give thefr reasons for so doing : but they declined controversy ; and, though they did not satisfy thefr brethren, they contented themselves Arith assuring them that " they were influenced by reasons of a purely rehgious nature, which were entirely between God and thefr own souls ; that they trusted to have a good conscience, and were happy in the belief that Jesus only was appointed thefr Judge." The church ad dressed several letters afterwards to these absenting members, of which no notice seems to have been taken ; and finaUy sent one suspending them fr-om communing Arith that body. The per sons thus suspended were — Epes Sargent, Winthrop Sargent, Ebenezer Parsons, Darid Pearce, Catharine Sargent, Judith Sargent, Rebecca Parsons, Hannah Tucker, Rebecca Smith, Judith Stevens, Anne Babson, Nancy Saunders, Lydia Prentice, Jemiraa Cook, and Jemima Parsons. Although but four males are included in the Hst, it contained the names of two of the most prominent members of the parish, — Epes Sargent and Winthrop Sargent. AU these persons had embraced the religious sentiments of Rev. John Murray ; and, as they could no longer continue on amicable relations with the church, they Arisely declined controversy, and FIEST PAEISH. EEV. ELI FOEBES. 405 quietly submitted to the sentence that had been passed upon them. A feAV years after this event, a considerable portion of the congregation ceased to attend upon Mr. Forbes's ministry, and resorted to a place of worship In which the character of the Deity and the ultimate destiny of man were set forth by their favorite preacher in a light no less congenial to thefr feelings than consonant to thefr views of rehgious truth. The parish, hoAv- ever, continued to tax them; and, upon thefr refusal to pay, endeavored to enforce compliance by legal compulsion : but a long and expensive lawsuit resulted in favor of the seceders, and secured to them the reasonable privilege of supporting a Chris tian minister of thefr own choice. A warfare of ten years was now brought to a close ; and, though the church and parish were the persecuting party, it can scarcely be doubted that they entered upon a state of peace and rest as gladly as those whom they had vainly striven to hold in rehgious bondage. During aU this contention, Mfr. Forbes took the right position, — that of silence and inactivity. The Arise pastor was more sohcitous to maintain the peace and harmony of society than to gather to the parish coffers a few grudgingly paid dollars ; and, while he undoubtedly considered the seceding members to be in a condition of dangerous delusion, the only means by which he tried to Arin them back was a constant manifestation of kindness and regard, the memory of which has long outlived that of the Ul feeling engendered by the occasion that caUed them forth. The remainder of Mr. Forbes's ministry was passed in the quiet discharge of the ordinary duties of his office, which he continued to perform tUl far advanced in life. In 1804, the health of the venerable pastor began to fall; and on the 15th of December of that year, at the age of seventy- eight, his long and useful life was brought to a close. A short time before his death, the degree of Doctor of Divinity was conferred upon him by Harvard College. As a preacher. Dr. Forbes possessed respectable talents, and his pulpit performances commanded the attention and approba tion of his congregation. He had a sufficient command of language to enable him to write with readiness and to speak 406 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. with fluency ; and many of his sermons were so well recelA^ed at the time of dehvery as to be desfred in a printed form. In statm-e, he was slightly above the medium size ; and, in manners and address, gentlemanly and engaging. His countenance be spoke the pure and amiable qualities of his mind, and ever beamed Avith such unbounded good nature, that he was eagerly welcomed in every social cfrcle. In his intercourse Arith his parishioners, he suffered no frksome restraint to be felt in his presence ; but, on all proper occasions, always strove to excite childhood to laughter, youth to mfrth, and mature age to cheerfulness. At the time of his call to this place, his fidelity to the Colonial cause was questioned ; but no further proof that his sympathies were all Avith the popular side need be sought, than his settlement in a parish of undoubted attachment to the principles of the Revo lution. His political sentiments, bowcA-er, were strongly con servative ; and they led him to denounce Arith unmeasured horror the successive revolutions In France, as destructive of aU the best Institutions of society, and opposed to the highest good of the human race. For many years, he annually preached a political sermon, in which his views of the exciting events of the times were freely and fearlessly stated. French Jacobins and thefr American sympathizers received little mercy at his hands ; and, on one occasion, the severity of his language was accompanied by such earnestness in delivery as to give great offence to a Jacobin parishioner, and cause him to leave the meeting-house before the conclusion of the sermon. The gestm-es of the vene rable preacher are said to have been so violent on this occasion as to send his wig from his head, and throw it whfrhng down into the deacon's seat beloAv. The Avife who accompanied Mr. Forbes to Gloucester was Lucy, daughter of Rev. Ebenezer Pai-kman of Westborough. She died Jan. 16, 1776 ; and he next married. In the same year, jNlrs. Lucy, AvIdoAv of Hon. Thoinas Sanders, who survived the marriage less than four years, and died June 5, 1780, aged forty-eight. A few months afterwards, he took for his third wife tbe AvidoAv of Capt. Thomas Parsons of Newbm-y ; who died in Boston, of smaU-pox, at the house of her daughter, Mrs. Gorham FAMILY OF EEV. ELI FOEBES. 407 Parsons, Sept. 19, 1792. Her daughter Mary, wife of Ignatius Sargent, died of the same disease, at the same place, fourteen days after her mother. They both took the disease by inocula tion ; having visited Boston for that purpose. The fourth and last wife of Mr. Forbes Avas Mrs. Lucy Baldwin of Brookfield, a sister of his first. Each of these two Arives died of cancer ; the last on the 13 th of March, 1804, after several years of feebleness and pain. Mr. Forbes had two chilcfren, — a son and a daughter, — both by his first wife. The son (named Eli) is not knoAvn to have engaged in any profession or steady employ ment. It is said that he was a captain in the army In 1798 ; that he then joined a regiment stationed at Oxford, in this State, when war was threatened Arith France ; and that, after leaving the army, he went to Baltimore, and was for some time teacher of a school. In that city, or Its vicinity, he died. The daugh ter (PoUy) married Peter Coffin in 1773, and died May 18, 1795, aged forty. One of her daughters married Henry Phelps ; some of whose posterity remain in town, and are the only descendants here of Rev. Dr. Forbes. Mr. Forbes's printed productions, besides those published dming his ministry at Brookfield, were a Family Book of Ser mons ; Sermon on repairing his Meeting-house, 1792 ; on the Dedication of the Town Grammar Schoolhouse, 1795 ; on the Death of Col. Low, 1797 ; and the Convention Sermon, 1799. 408 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. CHAPTER XXII. Declaration of Independence. — Toavn consents to a State Con stitution. — Loan for the Poor. — Enlistment. — The Privateer " Warren." — Other Privateers. — State Armed Vessels. — Town- Meeting. — Large Class of Poor. — Loss of the Privateer "Gloucester." — Dr. Samuel Rogers. — Privateer " Speedavell." — State Constitution rejected. — The Toavn delinquent. — A Company raised. — Small-Pox. — The Privateer "Starks." — Dis tressed Condition of the Toafn. — Depreciated Currency and Exorbitant Prices. — Third Cruise of the " Starks." — Notice of other Privateers. — Loss of the " Tempest." — True History OF Revolutionary Privateering a Sad One. The adAT.ce and sympathy of the wise and good pastor — the subject of the preceding chapter — were, at this time, of great value. Questions of grave importance were constantly arising, which, together with the distressed condition of many famihes In the town, caUed Into exercise aU the Arisdom, courage, and benevolence of our fathers. The war had borne vrith great severity upon them ; but they did not waver for a moment in the support of thefr principles. On the 24th of June, the great question of a declaration of independence by Congress came before them at a large toAvn-meetIng caUed on purpose to con sider it; and they voted rmanimously, if that body should resolve upon the measure, to support them in it Arith thefr Hves and fortunes. In ten days, the Declaration was proclaimed to the world. The immortal document was read from aU the pul pits of Gloucester, and copied into the records of the toAvn. Another subject of great interest at this time was a form of government for Massachusetts, which came before our citizens on the 20th of September ; when they voted thefr consent, that LOAN FOE THE POOE. PEIVATEEE " WAEEEN." 409 the House of Representatives, together with the CouncU, should " enact a Constitution, or form of government, for this State, to be made pubhc for the inspection of the inhabitants before ratifi cation by the Assembly." Winter was approaching, and the toAvn had no supply of money or prorisions in the hands of its officers to relieve the pressing wants of its nmnerous poor. There was but one re- somce, which was to authorize a loan for this pmpose ; and that they adopted. A serious inconvenience, not seemingly neces sary, was added to the unavoidable burthens of the people. Tradition states that the gristmiUs of the town were at this time neglected, and not in working order ; and a vote of the toAvn conceming them justifies the statement. It is, indeed, but a few years since an aged female died, who had, dm-ing the war, walked from her home here to a mUl in IpsArich, Arith a peck of corn on her back, and retumed Arith it in the same way after it was ground. The vrives and mothers of the Revolutionary period were, in Gloucester, the greatest sufferers. At the close of this year and the beginning of 1777, exer tions were made by the town to enhst men for the Continental Army. In December, a bounty of £6 was offered to each sol dier ; and, in March, it was voted to pay the soldiers who had enlisted, or might euHst, to the number of sixty, the sum of £14 in a town-treasurer's note on Interest, payable In three months. Enhstment in Gloucester for the land-serrice now went on slowly.* Privateering was an employment more congenial to a maritime community ; though its profits were uncertain, and its risks great. The first vessel that put to sea from Gloucester on a privateer ing cruise was a fishing schooner, called the " Britannia." She was purchased by a company, who changed her name for one which they honoi by whom he was warmly welcomed ; and 432 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. in Portsmouth, N.H., he received an invitation to settle. In November, 1774, being then in Boston, he was visited by Mr. Sargent of this town, and invited to come to Gloucester. In comphance with the invitation, he came down iraraediately, and was received with rauch kindness, and hospitably entertained by the Sargent Faraily. JNIr. Chandler, the minister of the parish, being sick, the elders and deacons waited upon Mr. Murray, and conducted him to his house. He obtauied permission to preach in his pulpit ; and the sentiments he advanced foimd a ready reception in many hearts. About four years prior to this period, the writings of Mr. Belly had been brought to this toAni by an EngHshraan named Gregory ; and with such effect had they been perused, that Mr. Murray found here, as he states, " a few persons upon whom the light of the gospel had more than dawned." More than three-quarters of a century have passed away since that meraorable visit ; and, vrith this lapse of time, all personal recoUections of the excitement it produced, and the deep impression it left, have ceased to exist. Tradition reports that his first sermons were not of a controversial character, but were designed to draw his hearers to the love and service of God by a touching and vivid portrayal of the divine benignity. After remaining in tOAvn nine days, he retumed to Boston, where he continued about a month, preaching to large congrega tions, in face of a strong opposition, and notwithstanding every means was restorted to to prevent his speaking in pubhc. In December, he again visited Gloucester, and was cordially re ceived by his friends. " Here," he Avi-Ites in his journal, " my God grants me rest fr-om my toils ; here I have a taste of heaven. The new song is sung here, and ' Wokthy is the Lamb ' con stantly dwells upon thefr tongues." The Parish Meeting-house was now closed against him ; and his followers assembled, at stated times, at the house * of Win throp Sargent, where their rehgious worship was held. On this visit, he fully stated his vIcavs to Mr. Chandler. They met, of * This house was in the rear of the large three-story house afterwards built by Mr. Sargent on Front Street, at the head of Duncan Street. independent CHEISTIAN SOCIETY. 433 comse, his decided opposition, and drew from him a warning address to his people ; which was read to them, and afterwards printed in the " Essex Gazette." * Surrounded by a smaU cfrcle of admfring friends, Mr. Murray now concluded to make Gloucester his home, occasionally visit ing other places, as he raight be caUed ; but the enemies of his docti-Ine here now made open demonstration of their hostihty, which gave rise to gloomy forebodings as to his prospect of hap piness and rest in this place. In May, 1775, he received and accepted an inritation to serve as chaplain in the Rhode-Island brigade, and repafred to the camp at Jamaica Plain. An effort was made by the chaplains of the Continental Army to re move him ; but the commander-in-chief would not grant thefr request. He continued with the army till obhged by sickness to leave, when he returned to Gloucester, and remained until his health was restored. After his recovery, he made a successful appeal to his friends in the army, in favor of that large class of our people who were reduced by the war to the last stages of in digence ; and obtained considerable supplies of necessary articles, which were distributed among them. But neither his benevo lence, nor the friendship of several of the most respectable fami hes in town, could shield him from the effects of that " exquisite rancor of rehgious hatred " which had gained possession of the hearts of his enemies, and was expressed in very decided acts of outward hostUity. Personal violence was threatened, and a mob was collected ; which was only dispersed by the repeating, by one of the elders of the church, of the timely adrice addressed by Gamahel to the persecutors of the first apostles of our religion. The shafts of persecution feU harmless at the feet of thefr ob ject, while the impotence of thefr rage only served to redouble the fury of his opposers. They affected to believe him to be a pohtical character in disguise ; and, under this pretence, pro- * This address was also printed in an appendix to a pamphlet published by Rev. John Cleaveland of Chebacco Parish, Ipswich, entitled " An Attempt to nip in the Bud the Unscriptural Doctrine of Universal Salvation, and some other Dangerous Errors connected with it, which a certain Stranger, who calls himself John Murray, has of late been endeavoring to spread in the First Church of Gloucester;" &c. 65 434 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. ceeded against him as a vagrant. On the 27th of February, 1777, he Avas cited before the Committee of Public Safety (all the raem bers of which, then present, being his inveterate eneraies), and subjected to an insulting examination, which he sustained Arith dignity and Christian forbearance. He was warned to leave the town before the 1st of March foUowing; and the acts of the com mittee were approved at the next town-meeting, by a vote of fifty-four in thefr favor, and eight against them. But this ebul lition of religious malevolence spent itself in vain. Mr. Murray remained, and his opinions rapidly spread. On Christmas Day, 1780, Mr. Murray's adherents first assem bled for pubhc worship in a small building they had erected for that pm-pose. About two years before this time (Jan. 1, 1779), they had adopted a covenant, In which they professed themselves an independent church of Christ, and received Mr. Murray as thefr minister. The State Constitution was adopted the same year ; and, as no particular form of association for rehgious wor ship was therein prescribed, the friends of Mr. Murray beheved that the covenant they had signed constituted them a religious society within the meaning of that Instrument. They also be Ueved that this covenant constituted him thefr ordained minister (as the word " ordain " signifies no more than " to appoint "), and that no public acts or ceremomes were necessary to confer upon him the powers and privileges possessed by those whose ordination had been attended with these circumstances. Holding these opinions, they refused to pay the taxes assessed upon them for the support of the parish minister; and thereupon thefr pro perty was seized, and sold at auction. An action was instituted for the recovery of this property, and was brought In the name of Mr. Murray, on the ground that a particular clause of the Constitution secured to him all money paid by his supporters for the support of public worship, if they wished it to be so apphed. This lawsuit involved principles affecting the rights of all reh gious sects, and- was prosecuted vrith all the spfrit and determina tion that a desfr-e for the enjoyment of rehgious freedom could inspfre. Eminent counsel were engaged on both sides. Mr. Ru fus King, Mr. Sulhvan, and Mr. Tudor, managed the case for the INDEPENDENT CHEISTIAN SOCIETY. 435 plaintiff. The parish employed Theophilus Parsons and Mr. Bradbmy. The case was kept in comt three years. Several trials and reriews were had ; and at last. In June, 1786, a conclusive verdict was obtained in Mr. Mmray's favor. At the last trial, the interpretation of the Constitution by the judge, different from what it had been on previous trials, Avas altogether in favor of the plaintiff; and his instructions to the jury were clear, and just in conformity with this change of opinion : but so difficult was it for them to yield to the spfr-it of rehgious toleration, that, after being out several hours, they returned to comt, saying they could not agree. The judge again addressed them, and they retfred once more. The foreman (Mr. Tracy of Newburyport) made an earnest appeal for Mr. Murray, urging that his supporters had as good a right to worship God according to the dictates of con science as others had, and that he was prepared to render a verdict accordingly. He then composed hiraself to sleep, with the remark, that they might arouse hira as soon as they could agree. During the night, they came to an agreeraent ; and, in the raorning, went into court Arith their verdict.* Mr. Miuray usuaUy spent his summers In travelhng ; and, at the time of the termination of his long-protracted law-case, he was absent in Connecticut. The rejoicing of his friends soon reached his ears, and the occasion of it afforded him much satis faction. Thefr trials, however, had not yet reached thefr end. The enemies of Mr. Murray, seizing the advantage that might be gained by the doubts concerning his legal quahfication to per form the marriage cereraony, entered a complaint against him, and obtained a verdict which condemned him to pay a fine of fifty pounds. The Judges of the Supreme Court were of opi nion that he was not an ordained minister in the sense of the * Tradition has handed down the following anecdote connected with this trial. Mr. Giddings, a Quaker, was on the stand to testify that Mr. Murray's supporters had a house of worship. It had been objected against them that they had a secret, whioh, in the state of public affairs at that time, might be dangerous to the liberties of the people. Mr. Giddings, being questioned on this point and pressed rather closely, at length answered, "Yes, they have a secret; and it is this (quoting Ps. xxv. 14): 'The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him, and he will show them his covenant.' They have no other secret, to my knowledge." 436 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. law, as the forms of his ordination were not sufficiently noto rious. As this decision rendered him liable to prosecution for every marriage he had solemnized, he was advised to leave the country until the interference of the Legislature could be ob tained in his behalf. He accordingly embarked for England in January, 1788 ; and, after a boisterous passage, had the satisfac tion of landing on his native shores, and meeting once more his venerable raother. During his absence, his friends made appli cation to the Legislature for his rehef. The petition of his congregation here was lengthy and earnest ; and an act was ob tained, indemnifying him from all pains and penalties for having performed the marriage ceremony under a mistaken conviction that he was qualified so to do. Before the end of the year, he returned to the United States- He was now reheved from the apprehension of persecution through the courts of justice; but his friends, wishing to place the pastoral relation in which he stood to them beyond aU cavU or doubt, and to put him on the same footing with other ministers with respect to ordination, appointed Christmas Day, 1788, as the time for carrying thefr desfres into effect. The ceremony of the occasion was simple, but solemn and impressive ; and was concluded by a serraon from the newly ordained pastor, from Luke x. 2 : " The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few." Mr. Murray remained in Gloucester about four years after his last ordination. In 1793, he was induced by the soHcitatlons of his friends in Boston to become thefr settled minister ; and, on the 23d of October, was installed in that place. His connection with the society there was a happy one, and continued tlU his death ; which, preceded by six years of helplessness, took place Sept. 3, 1815. He died at the age of seventy-four. During his long confinement, much of his time was employed in perusing the Scriptures ; and his dying words testified that his rehgious belief reraained unchanged to the last.* * Mr. Murray published " Letters, and Sketches of Sermons," in three volumes. He also wrote an account of his early life, which is contained in a Memoir of him pub lished by his wife. From this Memoir I have derived many of the facts in my narrative of his cai-eer. independent CHEISTIAN SOCIETY. 437 The last of the early friends and supporters of Mr. Murray have, Arithin a few years, passed away. They dwelt with dehght upon the memory of his earnest and effective preaching, and of the joy and gladness diffused by his presence in the social cfrcle. The undecayed freshness of thefr love and ad mfration preserved the vividness of thefr recollection of his person and manners. They described him as a man of medium stature; of intelHgent countenance, beaming Avith good nature and benevolence ; and of easy address and gentlemanly deport ment. Respecting his character, the sober judgment of age did not reverse the opinion they adopted at a period of life when enthusiasm exercises an influence upon the reason. They ad mitted that suspicions were entertained as to the purity of his heart ; but these, they asserted, were whoUy groundless, and only cherished in minds from which religious bigotry had banished every sentiment of justice and charity. They pointed to the fact, that he enjoyed during his long life, and retained to its close, the confidence and love of many, as rauch distinguished for Aortuous conduct, and a high regard for morality, as any of those who assumed to judge him ; and, in absence of all proof that their fiiend was unworthy of thefr affection, they clung to the memory of his virtues, and cherished and defended it to the end. As a preacher, Mr. Murray excelled in the power, ease, and grace Arith which he presented his views in extemporaneous discourse. In this he was highly gifted. He possessed not only facihty, but fehcity, of diction ; for the fluency with which he spoke was always accompanied by language so weU chosen as to need no correction, and by such a charm of voice and man ner as always left a deep impression upon his hearers. His society increased in number from year to year ; and, at the time of his departure, had, through its numerical strength and the vfrtue and intelhgence of its members, attained such a position as to secure it from the persecution Arith which bigotry and intolerance sought so zealously at first to destroy it. The bitter persecutors of Mr. Murray were undoubtedly sin cere; but scoffers may be so as weU as bigots. Happily, no 438 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. religious oppression can now find justification on the plea of honesty. Time has fully proved the groundless natme of thefr alarms as to the immoral tendency of the doctrine he advocated ; and candor wUl allow, that the early behevers here in the final salvation of all men will as well stand the test of that trial which judges the tree by its fruits as the members of any other rehgious sect. Many of them Hved to extreme old age, and died in faith, declaring thefr love for the Saviour, whom they had found the strength of thefr hearts here, and whom they beheved they should have as thefr portion for ever. After remaining a widower several years, Mr. Murray mar ried, soon after his return to the United States from his risit to England, Mrs. Judith, Aridow of John Stevens, and daughter of his early and constant friend, Winthrop Sargent. Her former husband had died some months before in St. Eustatia ; whither he had fled from creditors, whose just demands the bankrupt condition of his affafrs rendered him unable to satisfy. She was born in 1751, and was gifted Arith uncommon beauty of person, and a superior mind, which was cultivated and enriched by education. In 1798, she pubhshed the " Gleaner," in three volumes. The articles contained in these voluraes were originally pubhshed in the " Massachusetts Magazine." They present the sentiments of the Avriter on various subjects, but possess the unity of a narrative in the romantic story of " Mar garetta." She appeared as an authoress under the name of " Constantia," and with a strong desire for Hterary fame ; but her writings have failed to secure her the posthumous celebrity she craved, and the " Gleaner " has now no readers out of the sraall circle of literary antiquaries. Mrs. Murray also wrote poetical essays, which were pubhshed in the " Boston Weekly Magazine," Arith the signatm-e of " Honora Martesia." The fr-ults of her union with Mr. Mm-ray Avere — a son, who died at birth ; and a daughter (Juha Maria), who mariied A. L. Bingainan, Esq., of Mississippi, and died in the autumn of 1822, leaving a son, who married a Miss Livingston of New York. Mrs. Murray died at Natchez, June 6, 1820, aged sixty-nine. The society was as yet only an association of individuals. In INDEPENDENT CHEISTIAN SOCIETY. 439 1785, they organized theraselves under a " compact," containing a few regulations for thefr future govemment. This provided for no compulsory payment for the support of pubhc worship, which depended entfrely on the voluntary contributions of the members, who, in 1788, found it necessary to sign an obligation to pay thefr several parts of Mi-. Murray's salary according to the proportion of thefr- town-tax. The sum thus raised in that year for thefr " dear brother in God, and Christian teacher," was one hundred pounds. The " compact " was signed by up wards of eighty males, who were probably all of the supporters of Mr. Murray at that time. It is handsomely written on parch ment, and has been carefully preserved. Finding no form of association they had yet tried suited to thefr wants, they obtained from the Legislature, in 1792, an Act of Incorporation under the name they at first adopted. The meeting-house erected by Mr. Murray's friends was a small buUding, Arithout belfry or other architectural ornament. It stood on the westerly corner of Spring and Water Streets, and was taken down about 1805, and removed to the farm of Col. Pearce, where it has ever since been used as a barn. 440 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. CHAPTER XXIV. Loss OF Polls. — One-sixth of the People living upon Charity. — Loan to hire Soldiers. — Further Loans. — State Constitution. — Town Delinquent. — Prospect of Peace. — Ship "Harriet" cut out of the Harbor by the Enemy. — Recaptured by our People. — The Town-Treasury. — Peace. Five years of war had passed, and our fathers had given pretty good proof of thefr abUity to come at last triumphantly out of the struggle ; but the prospect immediately before them was glooray, and thefr present condition was such as to requfre the brightest hopes of future good to cheer thera on in their contest for independence. One item of the town's loss during those years speaks volumes of suffering and sorrow. The number of Its ratable poUs had decreased from one thousand and fifty-three In 1775 to six hundred and ninety-six in 1779. Three hundred and fifty-seven of our people had perished at sea, fallen in battle, died in prison-ships, or in some way had become victims of the war. The wail of woe from broken-hearted Aridows and destitute orphans, bereaved parents, and afflicted friends, is just dying away upon our ears, leaAing a sad impression of the depth of misery from which it issued ; but all the wretchedness and suf fering resulting from this great sacrifice of the youth and the active men of the town can never be described or conceived. The poverty which was one of its unhappy consequences is sufficiently attested by the fact, that seven hundred and fifty, or about one-sixth of the Avhole population, were at this time bring chiefly upon charity. The town did not furnish enough from its soil to support its people two months in the year; its shore- fishery was unproductive for want of a market ; its few privateer ing enterprises had yielded the means of subsistence to a small LOAN TO HIEE SOLDIEES. 441 number only; and its foreign trade was nearly annihilated.* From aU these considerations, it may readily be seen that Glouces ter had thus far borne a heavy share of the burdens, sacrifices, and sufferings of the war ; but, great as these had been, another year of trial was before them.-f- Of the State's quota. In 1780, of fom thousand men to join the Continental Army for six months, the number to be raised here was thfrty-two : which the toAAm voted, June 19, to raise by a tax ; and chose a committee for that purpose, with authority to borrow sixty thousand dollars. J On the 6th of July, the same committee were authorized to borrow sixty thousand doUars more : and, if they should agree Arith any soldier who would prefer to take a toAvn-note, the Treasurer was dfrected to give one pay able in six months ; such notes to be reckoned as a part of the sum the committee were authorized to borrow. Three men were procured at six thousand doUars each ; and the town then agreed to offer that sum for the remainder; and if, upon an average throughout the State, the bounty araounted to more than that, to secure to each soldier the difference. On the 17th of July, the town voted to raise a tax to procure thfrty-eight men as miHtia, and offered £300 per month to each man who could be procured for three months' service. Autho rity was also given for another loan of $60,000. On the 7th of August, they voted to raise $51,060 to pay soldiers ; and dfrected that aU money and goods furnished by the inhabitants * About seven hundred tons of our shipping employed iu foreign commerce, and several valuable cargoes, were captured by the enemy in 1779. t It was at this period of great poverty that a large troop of women, in want of the necessaries of life, marched to Col. Foster's store, and made known their determina tion to supply themselves with provisions and groceries from his stock, in spite of all resistance. Some of the number were prepared to take an exact account of the articles delivered to each person, with reference to payment, if they should ever be able to pay; but, pay or no pay, they would have them, and proceeded to help them selves accordingly. This merchant was one of the most ardent patriots of the town ; and it is related of him, that his conduct on this occasion proved him to be one of the most benevolent : for the tale of suflFering and destitution that the women had to tell so touched his feelings, that he liberally supplied their wants, and dismissed them with words of the utmost kindness and sympathy. t The paper-raoney was now depreciated to about one-seventieth of its nominal value. 56 442 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTEE. for the campaign be carried to the several committees, for them to lay before the selectmen In order for payment. In addition to all this heavy expense for raising soldiers, the town's quota of proAasions and clothing for the array was to be provided : and, to meet the charge of these items, a tax of £40,000 was levied ; and the selectmen were authorized to borrow that sum in anticipation of payment. It would afford gratification to know sorae particulars concerning the supply of such demands upon the pecuniary resources of the town ; but aU we can know of the financial operations of our fathers, at this period. Is the Httle that is contained in the votes which they passed in town-meeting. The valuations and tax-Hsts of the time have not been preserved. While the people were making these great efforts to secure the independence of thefr country, the prospect of final success encouraged them to set about the formation of a Constitution for their future government. In February, 1779, the Legislature recommended that a vote should be taken in the several toAvns of the State in relation to this measure ; and, a majority having expressed an opinion in favor of it, a Convention of Delegates assembled in September, at Cambridge, to engage in this impor tant and Interesting work. The delegates from Gloucester were Winthrop Sargent, Joseph Foster, Peter Coffin, Samuel Whitte more, and Epes Sargent. The Convention completed thefr work in March, 1780 ; and submitted the Constitution they had agreed upon to the people of the State. A town-raeeting to consider it was held here on the Sth of May ; when a coramittee was chosen to report con cerning it, at an adjourned raeeting to be held on the 22d of the month. On that day, the Constitution was accepted by a vote of forty-eight In Its favor. No negative votes are recorded ; nor is any thing more known of the debate on the subject than that Capt. Sargent and Col. Foster said that they objected to it. The ffrst election under the Constitution was held on the 4th of Septeraber. The vote of Gloucester was small. Hon. John Hancock had thfrty-six votes for Governor, and Hon. James Bowdoin twenty-nine for Lieutenant-Governor. Peter Coffin, TOWN DELINQUENT. 443 Esq., was the first representative frora the toAvn under the new govemment. In January, 1781, the toAvn was caUed upon to raise forty- eight men for the Continental Array ; and although it voted a tax of £1,000, in sUver raoney, to pay the bounty authorized by the State (fifty dollars to each raan), the comniittee appointed for raising the men reported in AprU that they had not pro cured them. While the toAvn was thus delinquent, the General Court passed resolves inflicting a heavy penalty on those towns that faUed to procure the soldiers which they were called upon to fumish. Our people voted to petition for an abatement of the men ordered to be raised, in consideration of thefr- condi tion, — of the inroads that had lately been made upon them, and the vessels that they had lost : but they continued thefr efforts to get them ; and, in August, it appears that the men had been procured. The town's quota of clothing and provisions for the army this year appears to have been raised Arithout com plaint; though the taxation necessary to procure It, Arith the other assessments made upon them, must have been a grievous burden to the people. In the early part of 1782, a ministry, supposed to be favor ably disposed in regard to a peace Arith the United States, came into power in Great Britain ; and measures were taken on both sides to bring about that desfrable event. Besides the ffrst great question, — the acknowledgment of independence, — the people of Gloucester were interested to preserve thefr ancient priAdleges on the fishing grounds. The importance of an article to secure these privUeges in any treaty of peace that might be made had been considered by the Legislature of the State and by Congress ; and this tOAvn, at a raeeting on the 28th of January, gave its representatives instructions concerning it, declaring that such an article was "of the utmost consequence, not only to this toAvn, but to the State in general." At the March meeting in 1782, the selectmen were instructed to petition the General Court for a guard to be stationed in the towa ; but they did not anticipate an event that soon occurred, showing the necessity of such protection. On the night of the 444 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. 31st, the ship "Harriet," commanded by Capt. John Beach, lying in the harbor, loaded for Curafoa ; and, having but two men on board, was cut out by some men sent in from an EngHsh fourteen-gun brig. On the previous day, a black- looking boat, apparently a fishing vessel, was seen to corae into the harbor, and anchor outside of Ten-pound Island ; but, as only two or three men appeared on deck at a time, she attracted Httle notice. The " Harriet " belonged to David Pearce ; who, on rising from bis bed on the morning of AprU 1, missed his ship from the place of her anchorage, and discovered that she was outside of the harbor, running off in an easterly dfrection, with a strong, fafr Arind, and having in company the smaU vessel seen in the harbor the day before. No time was to be lost in taking measm-es for her recapture. Accordingly, Mr. Pearce proceeded immediately to the Meeting-house, and rang the beU Arith violence untU a general alarm was given. It then became a matter of inqufry how the ship was to be retaken ; and this was soon settled. The ship " Betsey," belonging to the same OAVuer, was then lying across the dock, at the head of his wharf, for the purpose of being graved. She had no baUast, or goods of any kind, on board ; and was entfrely dismantled, haring her top-yards and rigging all doAvn, leaving only her lower masts standing, with the topmasts launched. It was determined to put this vessel in order, and start in pur suit of the captured ship as soon as the tide (which was now at the lowest ebb) would serve. Volunteers in great numbers attended to the necessary preparations ; and, whUe these were going on, a fine crew of about one hundred raen were enhsted for the enterprise. The rigging was replaced, sails were bent, baUast, stores, guns and araraunition were taken on board : and, as soon as there was sufficient water, the ship began to move from the dock ; the men all the while at work on the rigging and in bending sails, and receiving articles from gondolas alongside as she was moving into the outer harbor. The Avind being light, she was assisted by tow-boats in getting out of the harbor. About one o'clock, these were aU cast off, and the ship proceed ed on her cruise, under command of Capt. Joseph Foster ; the SHIP "haeeiet" CUT OUT. 445 oAvner of both vessels, Capt. Pearce, being also on board. The dfrection which the " Harriet " had steered had been observed ; and it was supposed to be the captor's intention to take her to the enemy's station, on the eastern coast. Capt. Foster accord ingly took an east-north-east course ; and, in the mean time, had his ship put in complete order for action. She was pierced for twenty guns ; and as her armament was complete, and her crew brave, and animated Arith the strongest feehngs of resentraent, success was certain, if they should be so fortunate as to overtake or intercept the eneray. Great was thefr joy, therefore, when, at dayhght the next morning, the captured ship was seen from deck, in company with the brig and boat. She was soon overtaken, and given up with out an effort on the part of the enemy to retain her. The brig, indeed, was glad to escape from the now dangerous company. Capt. Foster gave chase to her ; but as she was some distance ahead, and as night was coming on, and they had achieved the object of the enterprise, the pursuit was abandoned, and the course of the two ships changed for home. There were several jolly feUows on board of the " Betsey; " and as provisions, wines, and liquors in abundance had been provided, the night was passed In merriment, and in rejoicing over thefr success. The prize was put under charge of WiUiam Pearce ; and both vessels arrived in the harbor the next afternoon, to the great joy of the inhabitants. The news that the " Harriet " had been cut out was received in the principal toAvns on the seaboard very early, and prepara tions were made in several of them to recapture her. The privateer ship " M. de La Fayette " started in pursuit from Salem a Httle after one o'clock, and returned the next night ; an armed vessel was rowed out against the tide from Newburyport for the same pmpose ; and the new privateer ship " Resolution," be longing to Beverly, sailed from Portsmouth the same afternoon : but they aU retumed to port without seeing the enemy or his temporary prize. The sequel of this event revealed the fact, that the brig was sent by Capt. Mowatt from the British station on the Penobscot, 446 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. under the command of a midshipman, with particular orders to cruise off Cape Ann ; to take a fishing boat, and man her weU, and, if an opportunity presented, send her into Salem, Beverly, or Marblehead ; to cut out any armed vessel that might be fitting away from either place ; and, in case of success, to proceed to the English station. The boat was manned with twenty-five men, and came into this port about a fortnight before the " Harriet " was cut out. They found this vessel nearly ready for sea, with a valuable cargo on board ; and so reported on thefr return to the brig. They convinced the commander of the brig that they had been on shore here, by producing a hat and some blocks they had stolen out of a schooner. They said that no military watch was kept in the toAAn, and that the stores might be broken open, or the ship cut out, without danger to themselves. The enterprise was accordingly resolved on ; and, but for the zeal and spfrit of omr people, would have been accomphshed. But the worst feature of this transaction remains to be told. Daniel Soraes, a native of the toAvn, Jn^ having many friends in it, was one of the party on board the boat ; and, in all probabihty, greatly assisted them by his knowledge of the harbor and town. Where he joined the British, and for what reason he traitorously abandoned his home and country, no one knows. The surrender of the British Army at Yorktown on the 19th of October, 1781, was the last great mihtary event of the Revo lutionary War ; and Gloucester was thenceforth relieved of one of the heaA^ burdens the contest had laid upon the town, — the furnishing of Its quota of soldiers for the army. It was a wel come rehef : for it had at last become so difficult to hfre men for this purpose, that the toAvn was obliged to petition the General Court to accept a partial fulfilment of its last requfrement of the State for soldiers ; and the last act in town-raeeting, in relation to this subject, was a vote to apply to the Legislatiu-e to be re leased from the payment of fines which the town had incm-red for not raising thefr- quota. Being happily rid of this external pressure, the toAvn now gave attention to its financial concerns. Into these the depre- TOAVN TEEASUEY. PEACE. 447 ciation of the paper-money had introduced a good deal of con fusion ; and the conduct of the Treasurer seems not to have been satisfactory to the town. As some of the assessments, during the last few years, had been laid In specie, and some in the de preciated paper-currency, it may be inferred that the balance at any time In the treasm-y Avould be represented by both kinds of money. At the March meeting in 1782, Nehemiah Parsons was chosen Treasurer in place of Jacob Allen. A committee to examine the state of the town-treasury had been chosen seve ral weeks before. Haring had two added to their number after wards, they made a report to the town In May, which was read and accepted. By this report, it appears that the balance In the late Treasurer's hands was upwards of thirty-four thousand dol lars ; about one-half of which was justly due from him in specie, at the rate of seventy-five dollars In bills for one dollar In spe cie, and the rest In the Continental money. The report accuses Capt. Allen of some improper transactions Arith reference to the paper-money : but he declined paying over his balance in any currency but the depreciated paper ; whereupon the town ordered the new Treasurer to lay an attachment upon his estate. How the matter was finally settled, is not known. The report of this committee raakes no mention of the debts of the town at this time, and nothing appears to show the amount of them ; but It was probably considerable, and existed in the form of out standing toAvn-orders. AU persons having these were notified in May, 1784, to bring them to the Treasurer, In order that a hst might be made, and a tax raised to pay them off. In April, 1783, proclamation of a suspension of hostilities between Great Britain and the United States was made by Con gress. On the 3d of September, the Definitive Treaty of Peace was signed at Paris ; and, on the 22d of October, the joyful inteUigence of this fact was received in Gloucester by the arrival here of the ship "Robin Hood," Capt. Smith, from London. We have no account of any public rejoicings on this occasion; but, though many internal difficulties remained to be surmount ed, every heart was happy that the war was terrainated, and the great blessing of Independence secured. 448 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. CHAPTER XXV. VIEW OF THE TOWN AT THE CLOSE OF THE WAE. The Revolutionary period is an epoch in the history of Glouces ter, on which the mind dwells Arith mingled emotions of plea sure and pain. The men and women who bore its sufferings and achieved its triumph have all passed away, and the stream of time is fast bearing into obhvion the traditions that teU of their sorrows and thefr joys. Let us, therefore, before giving them a parting benediction, Huger a whUe around thefr homes, and gaze upon the dwelhngs, of which nearly every one had, during the war, been the scene of some severe form of human distress. Many of these abodes are still standing ; and, Arith the aid of a few venerable citizens who were chlldi-en at the close of the Revolution, we may fill out a picture, and obtain a pretty correct Adew of the town as it then appeared. The Meeting-house Green wIU afford a favorable spot from which we can look abroad upon the original settlement. Just below, stood then, as it stands now, the venerable mansion, built, and occupied many years, by Rev. John White. Looking farther towards the south, might be seen, on the road leading to the Harbor, three more large houses, stUl standing ; the largest of which was also buUt by Mr. White, and was his home when he died. A few smaU tenements might also be seen in the same direction, on the left ; but on the right, around the burying- ground, and on the edge of the river, where several of the fiirst settlers Hved, not a house was now to be seen. East of the Meeting-house, on the opposite side of the road, was the large gambrel-roofed house, still standing, buUt by Col. WilHam AUen, and then owned and occupied by John Low, jun. Far- VIEW OF THE TOWN AT THE CLOSE OF THE WAE. 449 ther east, on the road to the Mill, stood the house bmlt by Joseph Allen about a hundred years before. Near by, on the same road, might have been seen in more ancient times the houses of Rev. John Emerson and Landlady Judkin, and a few other early settlers ; but, at the period of the Revolution, these had disappeared. On the road leading over Fox Hill were several sraall dAveUings, the homes of some of om soldiers and seamen. Some of them still remain, now dilapidated and untenanted. On the northerly side of the Meeting-house Green, on opposite sides of the road, were the residences of Col. John Loav and Rev. John Rogers ; the latter still stand ing. Farther along, on Ferry Lane, at the Ferry itself, and on the road to Ring's raill, were several small houses ; some of which we yet see there. On this road, there stood also, on the farm yet in possession of one of his descendants, the re sidence of William Pearce, — afterwards a distinguished mer chant of the toAvn. A short distance beyond his house, on the opposite side of the road, was the dwelling occupied not long before by Dr. Samuel Plummer. A Httle farther on, close to the MUldam, on a spot over which the road now passes, was a large gambrel-roofed house, somewhat famous in later years as the place where Methodism was ffrst preached in Gloucester. On the two roads diverging from this spot, — one to the point between the two rivers, and the other to the Squam- Parish Hne, — and on the by-ways connected with them, may yet be seen a sufficient number of the buUdings that stood on them in the Revolutionary time, to give one a pretty correct idea of the appearance of the settleraent then. In another part of the ancient settlement, the scene is wholly changed. Parallel to the highway leading, by the river-side, from the MiU to Squam, and separated from it by elevated land, the risitor to that region sees a short road ; from the ends of which, two other roads extend far into the pasture tUl they come together at a point. For most part of the distance, these roads are stUl weU defined by stone-walls, and may be safely, though not corafortably, travelled in a carriage. Various conjectures have been offered respecting the inducements that led to the 57 450 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. peopling of this remote and sterile spot : but it is sufficient to know that the land cost little or nothing ; and, barren as it was, would yield vegetables, pasturage, and fuel. At the period of our history of which we are now writing, about forty houses were scattered along the sides of these roads ; and the whole district was known by the appellation of Dogtown. At the place where they raet, stood a large house, of the gambrel-roof style ; the site of which is still indicated by the ceUar, around which are yet visible the foundations of out-buildings and a ruined well. In 1814, this building was hardly habitable; and, in that year, its last tenant, Abrahara Wharf, sought relief from poverty, and the accumulated sorrows of more than threescore and ten years, by putting an end to bis existence, under a rock, where he had crawled for that purpose. Many of the other dwellings were of the same shape as that just noticed, but of smaller dimensions ; and a few were low, one-story tenements, with a sharp roof. Most of thera had, during the war, been the horaes of men who served thefr country on the battle-field or the ocean ; and most of them long afterwards continued to be the abodes of widows of fallen soldiers, or sailors who had gone down at sea. In the parish in which this district was situated, there were Hving, twenty years after the war, sixty of this unfortunate class ; a number not much exceeded, probably, by the married females then residing there. Many of these poor widows resided in the old houses in Dog- town ; and the last of them are still remembered, as they Avere seen bearing to market the berries and herbs which yielded them a scanty support. " But now the sounds of population fail ; No cheerfnl murmurs fluctuate in the gale; No busy steps the grass-grown footway tread ; But all the bloomy flush of life is fled." The poor widoAvs have all found rest In the grave ; and the old dwelHngs that scarcely afforded a shelter for thefr declining years have also disappeared : but the ancient cellars, the grass- groAvn roads, and the traditions of the place, still impart a melancholy interest to the deserted hamlet. ¦VIEW OF THE TOWN AT THE CLOSE OF THE WAE. 451 The portion of the toAvn just described — the seat of the fiurst meeting-house, of the first schoolhouse, and, for many years, of the larger portion of the Inhabitants — had, at the commencement of the Revolution, reached the maximura of its growth. It then contained about a ninth of the property ; and, probably, about a sixth of the population of the toAvn. In both these respects, it has been losing In rank ever since ; though, such is the force of habit, it is still custoraary to call it Town Parish, and to speak of going " up In town." Before passing to a vicAV of the settlement at the Harbor as it appeared seventy-seven years ago, some account should be given of the previous growth of that part of the town. Of the first settlers of the town, or those who were here before 1651, twenty- eight became permanent residents ; of which number, ten appear to have Hved at the Harbor. Six of these had their houses on or near what is now Front Street ; two were at Vinson's Cove ; one at the point caUed, in our later history, Duncan's Point; and one Hved at the Cut. One of the first roads in the toAvn, Arithout doubt, was the present road, leading nearly in a straight line, for about a mile, from the north-west part of the Harbor Cove to the Meeting house Green. Diverging from this, near the foot of Governor's HUl, a path led along over the ridge back of the two coves here mentioned, and joined on what Is now called Union HIU, — a shore-path or road, that connected at the Harbor Cove Arith the one leading to the " Plantation." The former of these paths Avas the origin of Back Street and Prospect Street. It is not known when or by whom the first house was built upon it ; but it does not appear that any person except William Coleman had Hved there before 1700. The shore-path was laid out as a pubhc highway, twenty-one feet Aride, in 1698 ; and, in later times, became known according to its present divisions of Front Street and Spring Street. At the commencement of the last century, the growth of the settlement at the Harbor had been so slow, that probably not raore than twenty farailies were then living there. Babsons, Collinses, El wells, and Princes were still hving on the homesteads of thefr fathers, on Front Street ; where. 452 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. soon after this time, Nathaniel Ellery and Job Eveleth took up their abode. Both of these men were active shipwrights, and each built several small vessels during the period of activity in that business heretofore noticed. Of those who had inoved Into town since the first settlement. Card, Duncan, Thomas SaAvyer, and James WalHs, fixed their abodes at the Harbor, — Wallis, it Is supposed, at the foot of Governor's Hill, near the Swamp ; Sawyer, at the Beach ; Dun can, at the point Avhich has since borne his name ; and Card, on a spot, near the water-side, a few rods south of the eastern end of Front Street, Avhere still stands the house, which, according to tradition, he built and occupied. This venerable dwelling was built, without doubt, before the close of the seventeenth century, and Is supposed to be the oldest house in town. In size, form, and internal arrangement, it is a specimen of the best houses of the time of its erection ; and as such, and as the only architec tural relic of the early period of our history In the part of the town we are now describing, an engraving of it is here presented. When, soon after 1700, the people of the toAvn actively en gaged in the buUding of vessels and in the maritime employ ments of fishing and Avood-coasting, the Harbor section acqufred several ncAV residents, and began to gain that preponderance in VIEW OF THE TOWN AT THE CLOSE OF THE WAE. 453 wealth and population which it has ever since retained. The margin of the shore at the head of the Harbor became gradually dotted with houses ; and Eastern Point, where Robinson and some of the ElweUs seem to have been the first to locate, was found, in 1728, to have fifteen famihes at least. Now also the unoccupied land between the two highways came Into use for house-lots. A portion of this unoccupied territory was swampy land ; and, in the early period of our history, was covered with water. There were smtable sites for dwellings, however, suf ficient for a lai-ge increase of population ; and a new street, laid out over it In 1737, gave evidence of prosperity and growth. This street was at fii-st called Cornhill Street, but soon exchanged that for the name of Middle, which it has ever since borne. On this street, in the next year, a few wealthy citizens built a large meeting-house, the first at the Harbor : and, finding a majority of the parish to be now hving nearer to the Harbor than to the " toAvn," they procured the removal of their minister to the new house of worship ; and finally, by the secession of their brethren of the ancient settlement, becarae themselves the Ffrst Parish. In 1755, the new parish had gained so much upon the other parts of the toAvn, that it had attained In wealth and population nearly to an equality Arith the aggregate of all the other parishes, as has been seen on a previous page : but reverses by war, ship wreck, and the poHtical troubles preceding the Revolution, checked this gain ; and, during the next twenty years, its pro portionate Increase was not so great. It contained, however, in 1775, more than one-half of the property of the town. No census of that period gives the whole number of inhabitants ; but, from such data as we have, it may be estimated at nearly five thousand, of which about one-half were Hving in the Harbor Parish. The larger portion of the people of this parish resided In the central vUlage ; and the rest were scattered along the highways in the outskirts, and In the little hamlets at Fresh water Cove, Eastem Point, and the Farms.* * The number of polls in 1775 was 1,053; and, if the ratio of these to the population was the same then as it is now, it would give, as the whole number of inhabitants at that time, 4,945. Distributing these among the several parishes according to the valua- 454 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. In each of the last-named places, some memorials of the Re volutionary period still remain. In the first of them may have stood, at the close of the war, about a dozen houses ; two of which, on the south side of the road (the habitations of DolHvers and Babsons), have since fallen to ruin. The places of others have been supplied by new tenements ; but the whole number has not been much increased. On Eastern Point, there were, it is said, at that time, but fifteen dwellings. Among those which have since disappeared were the " great house " of Capt. Robin son ; the ElweU House, on the side of the way going up the hill, on the spot where the centenarian Robinson had lived ; the Hidden House, on the opposite side ; and the Tarbox House, at a little distance off, in the pasture. Not far from the " great house," near the water-side, was the residence of Capt. Wilham Coas, who had often filled bis house with captm-ed property, but who died poor, though leaving a trunk-full of Continental money. A few of the ante-Revolutionary dweUings are left In this locality ; but the march of improvement has obliterated almost every thing that could remind one of that time. At the Farms, it is not so. There were standing there, at the close of the Revolution, fifteen or sixteen houses, mostly of the one- story, gambrel-roof style. Several of these yet remain, and the natural features of the spot have undergone little change. Nearly all the occupants of these abodes were of the old famihes of RoAve, Parsons, and Witham ; and nearly aU of them had been severe sufferers by the war. Six sons of one family are reported to have been its victims. The houses standing in the time of the Revolution, that still remain, are mostly of the gambrel-roof shape ; and differ from each other but Httle in form, though much in size. This style tion of each in 1779, we have the following division of the population in the year first named : — First, or Harbor Parish 2,565 Second, or West Parish 895 Third, or Town Parish 558 Fourth, or Squam Parish 555 Fifth, or Sandy-Bay Parish 372 These proportions, of course, are only approximate; but they are near enough to give a pretty correct view ofthe rank of each parish in respect to population. VIEW OF THE TOWN AT THE CLOSE OF THE WAE. 455 seems to have prevaUed about fifty years, and to have gone out of favor entfrely before the end of the last century. In the Harbor Parish, there yet stand about one hundred houses of this class ; all but two of which date back beyond the memory of any bring citizen. Many of them are scattered along the old streets of the central village, and are associated Arith interesting persons or events of the Revolutionary time. The three avenues afready noticed were still the only streets of the village, at that period ; with the exception that an ancient path, connecting the upper and lower streets, had become the residence of a few famihes. This path is our modern Pleasant Street. The ledges and rocks by which it was formerly disfigured have disappeared ; and other changes have been so great, that it is only by tAvo of the five old dweUings stiU standuig on it that it would be recog nized by one of its primitive Inhabitants. At the close of the war, it had on the westerly side, between Middle Street and Back Street, three houses : one of which was the Gibbs House, on the corner of Middle Street; and another, the residence of Dr. Witham. On the opposite side of the street were five dwelHngs. One of these, at the lower end of the street, on the spot now occupied by the Custom House, had a large garden attached to it, and was the residence of Epes Sargent. Passing up the street, we find the others occupied, in the order In which they stood, by Nymphas Stacy, Capt. John Babson, John Oakes, and Solomon Ingersol, unless the latter had afready moved away. These five houses are still standing, though only three of them remain where originally located. On the north side of Back Street, and its continuation. Pro spect Street, there stood twenty-two houses; which, Arith the exception of two that were at different times destroyed by fire, yet remain ; and nearly all of thera are unchanged In outward appearance, save by the addition of paint. On the south side of these streets were but seven or eight houses, five of which may stUl be seen there, and, as well as most of those on the opposite side, can be readily recognized by the style of thefr architectme. Though exhibiting a great change and Improve ment since the Revolutionary period, these two streets preserve. 456 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. probably, more of thefr ancient look than any other part of the Harbor. One of them could also show for raany years the last relics of a bygone and now-forgotten state of society ; for it was on Prospect Street that two venerable old slaves — Gloucester and Bacchus — had thefr homes as freemen, and died nearly fifty years ago, one about ninety, and the other almost a hundred, years of age. On Middle Street, there yet stand seventeen dwellings that were built before the war ; raost of which were erected by mer chants and ship-masters, and were in the best style of thefr time.* Not more than six have, since that date, disappeared; and it is not difficult, therefore, to present a view of the street as it then looked. At the easterly end, on the north side, was the Gibbs House ; which at the close of the war, or not long afterwards, was the residence of Thomas Sanders, the schoolmaster. Next to this, on the spot now occupied by the rear end of the Baptist Church, its front standing on a Hne vrith the street, was a gambrel-roofed house, where James Prentice kept a tavern. The next houses were those of Capt. John Matchet, Capt. WiUiam DolHver, and Hon. Thomas Sanders; all now standing as they then stood, with the exception of Mr. Sanders's house, the upper part of which has since been altered. Adjoining the lot of the latter, westerly, was that of the Ffrst- Parish Meeting-house, whose dark and frowning side rose from the street-hne of the lot. West of the Meeting-house, the space was unoccupied as far as the path which afterwards became School Street. This path had been used many years. It had two branches : one leading to a few houses on the south side of Back Street ; and the other up by the Windmill, on Windmill Hill, Avhere the Collins SchooUiouse now stands, and onward to the road going " up in toAAm." Next to this path, westerly, on the spot occupied by the Orthodox Meeting-house, was a smaU house, of a date prior to that of any now standing on the street. It must have been one of the first houses erected on it ; and it * Mr. Chandler's journal shows the date of erection of two of these houses. " 1760, June 16: Mr. Whittemore's house raised, in the afternoon." — "1764, July 10: Mr. Sanders's house raised." VIEW OF THE TOWN AT THE CLOSE OF THE WAE. 457 was the last to faU, having stood till about 1824. In size and appearance, it was rauch Hke the Card House, represented on a previous page. Its occupant for many years was Josiah Haskell, long the sexton and tithing-raan of the parish. Adjoining this house, on the west, was a sraaU shop, in which Haskell worked at his trade (that of a tailor) in company Arith Daniel Witham. Next came In succession, as they now stand, four gambrel-roofed houses ; the first of which was occupied by Nehemiah Parsons, afterwards a raerchant of Boston; the second, by Madam Rogers, widow of the minister of the Fourth Parish ; the thfrd, by Wil ham Parsons, who also became a merchant of Boston ; and the fourth, by PhUemon Haskell as a tavern. This building merits a moment's attention. It was originally of large size for a private residence : but it was necessary to add to its accommodations to make It convenient for a tavern ; and, for that purpose, an un sightly projection was set up, covering one-half of its front, and extending on to the street. This unsightly excrescence remained tiU a few years ago ; when the building was restored to its ancient form, and the street was also relieved of its only disfigurement. A new generation watched the progress of the work with interest only in the great improvement going on ; but occasionally a vete ran of the Revolution would tarry on the spot, and make the old rooras alive again with the life of the olden time. Perhaps Haskell inherited this house, and Arith it the vocation of host, from his mother, who, a hundred years ago, kept the fashionable boarding-house of the day. Not far from HaskeU's tavern, ex tending nearly to the western end of the street, was a wide, open, swampy space ; part of which is now occupied by the Uni versalist Meeting-house, and the handsome avenue leading to that building. No street connected here with Back Street; but the swamp was crossed by a row of stepping-stones, that led to the lane now knoAvn as Pine Street, where two or three houses were afready erected. Next to this open space were the two houses StIU standing at the end of the street, — one occupied by Fran cis Low, and the other by Rev. Eli Forbes ; the latter so much changed in outward appearance, that its original owner (Deacon WUliam Parsons) would not recognize it now as the place of his 58 458 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. earthly, abode. Continuing from Middle Street to the Cut, we find on the north side of the way a row of eight houses of the old style, two of which date thefr erection since the war. The first In the row was the residence of Daniel Rogers, and was moved by him to its present position from the land in front over which the street now passes. Returning through Middle Street, the first house on the south side was Mr. Whitteraore's, still standing, with the addition of a thfrd story. Next came a large, vacant space ; and then the residence of Col. Coffin, yet remain ing, at the head of Short Street, which, at that time, was but a foot-path. This house had preriously been occupied, and was probably erected, by WilHam Stevens, a merchant and prominent citizen a century ago. Between this house and the lane now knoAvn as Centre Street were four dwellings, three of which still remain. The first had been recently erected and was occupied by John Stevens. The land in front of his house, extending down to Front Street, was laid out in terraces, and tastefully arranged as a flower-garden, as befitted the home of the accomphshed lady of the mansion.* Next, and near to this house, was one that had been owned and occupied by Rev. Samuel Chandler ; but was now, or about this time, the residence of Dr. John Manning. Then came the house of James Hayes, a recent settler, and after wards a leading citizen. The next house was that of Capt. An drew Giddings, which stood near the lane, and was taken down forty years ago. Between this lane and that which afterwards be carae Hancock Street was an unoccupied, open space, upon which were several locust-trees ; but the most striking object on this spot, remembered by any aged citizen, was a whipping-post, where the last punishment of this kind in toAvn was infficted upon a woman for theft, about eighty years ago. On the space between Hancock Street and Pleasant Street we stiU see three houses of the olden time, the first of which was the residence of one of the raost distinguished patriots of the town, — Col. Joseph Foster. The next was famous several years before the war as Broom's tavern ; and is said by some to have been occupied by * Afterwards Mrs. Murray. VIEW OF THE TOWN AT THE CLOSE OF THE WAE. 459 Prentice, also, as a pubhc-house. It is probably the oldest buUd ing on the street. The last of these three was the one-story, gambrel-roofed house, standing on the corner of Pleasant Street. Before and during the Revolution, the famous barberess (Re becca Ingersol) and her daughter had thefr shop in the south east roora of this buUding ; and by professional sldll, and Hvely and intelHgent conversation, raade it a noted place of resort for the merchants, ship-masters, sailors, and soldiers of those times. Next, and near to Broora's tavern, was standing, at the close of the war, a house that is supposed to have been long occupied, prerious to that period, by sorae of the EUery Family. Its occu pant then was Epes Ellery, a son of the first Nathaniel. This and the Giddings House are the only houses on the south side of the street that have faUen since the Revolution, with the exception of a smaU tenement that stood near the easterly end of the street, and was the horae of a Gerraan faraUy naraed Hoffains. To complete our Adew of the Harbor Parish as it appeared at the close of the Revolution, it only remains for us to pass along the ancient shore-path, or highway as it had then become, leading frora the Cut to the head of the Harbor. At the Cut, two houses of the three which then stood there yet remain ; the other haring since yielded to time and decay, after sheltering four generations of the Stevens FamUy. The house first ap proached on coming into the vUlage is said to have been occupied during the war as a tavern, Arith the sign of a pine-tree ; 'and to have been somewhat noted for an annual convivial assemblage of the negroes of the town. On the right of the way passing to Front Street, nearly the whole space, as far as the water-side, was covered with fish-flakes ; no memorial of that day now re maining, save a single smaU house of the style then so popular. At the entrance of Front Street were two houses, now standing, but shoAriug no marks of their venerable age. The one ot the right was the residence of Nathaniel EUery; and that on the left had been long occupied by Col. John Stevens, but had now come into possession of Daniel Rogers, a prominent raerchant, and was his horae for the rest of his Hfe. Passing along, Arith 460 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. the north side of Front Street in view, was first seen, on the spot where the Gloucester House now stands, a sraall buUding, occupied as a raechanic's shop, in the rear of which was a small tenement belonging to the early period of omr history, and stand ing down to a recent time. Between these buildings and Short Street, no part of the space was occupied, except that on the corner of the last-named street, where stood the Allen House, heretofore raentioned. On the opposite corner of this street stood the mansion, built, and occupied nearly fifty years, by Dr. William Coffin ; one of the fiirst three-story houses erected in the town. Next, and several rods distant, was the house of Capt. James Babson, on the spot which had been the home of his ancestors for several generations. A part of this house still remains ; but no traces of its antiquity are preserved. A little farther on stood a building familiarly called Joe Sargent's ; where Eldad Prindall did most of the tailoring of the town, and where, at an earlier date, Mrs. Prince kept a house of entertain ment, and made, according to tradition, the ffrst coffee drank in Gloucester. Between this building and Centre Street were two, that still stand, owned or occupied by Col. Daniel Warner, who had a blacksmith's shop in or near one of them. On the corner of Centre Street stood a smaU tenement, where Hved a woman then known as " Granny Keeley." Crossing this street to the opposite corner, next appeared Deacon Kinsman's dwelhng, yet standing, though considerably changed In outward appearance. Then came the little shop of John Dane ; next, the dweUing- house of the latter ; and then the house of Capt. Samuel Babson. All but the last of these are still standing, and bear the look they have worn for a hundred years. The one last naraed was vio lently shaken by the great earthquake of 1755 ; about which time, the venerable merchant (Samuel Stevens) who oAvned it was carried from it to his grave. The next building stood on the corner of Hancock Street, and had been long occupied by Nathaniel EUery ; but Avas now the residence of DaA'id Plum mer, who had a shop in the easterly end of it. It was a large, gambrel-roof house at this time ; haring attained that shape by successive additions to the small dwelhng supposed to have been VIEW OF THE TOWN AT THE CLOSE OF THE WAE. 461 buUt by Mr. EUery in the previous century. On the opposite corner of the street, we stUl see the residence of Deacon Hub bard HaskeU ; one of the only two houses on Front Street yet occupied by descendants of those who Hved In them a hundred years ago. LeaAdng this, however, we begin to mark again the changes, of time ; for the two houses next to Deacon HaskeU's have disappeared in the march of improvement. The second of these two houses was, during the latter years of the last century, the noted tavern of Benjamui Somes ; noted not so much for its entertainment to travellers, as for the jolly and occasionally tur bulent demonstrations of our own citizens within It. Between this house ahd Elder Warner's, on the corner of Pleasant Street, were two or three smaU buildings ; one of which was the black smith's shop of Mr. Warner. The house of the latter still stands, — the oldest on the street, without doubt; for it is known to have been erected before 1710. Returning through Front Street, the ffrst house on the south side was Capt. WiUiam Pearson's, preriously the residence of Dr. Samuel Rogers, and just now changing its ancient appearance. Next came a large house, mentioned in a previous chapter as Mrs. Perkins's tavern ; occu pied, at the time of which we write, by Capt. Coas Gardiner, who married her daughter. This house has long been down. The next buUding was the gambrel-roof house, still standing, Arith one end near the street-line, then owned and occupied by James Porter. Between this house and one built by Abraham Sawyer, about 1760, at the head of David Pearce's (now Central) Wharf, were fom or five small buUdings, principally used as mechanics' shops. The house last mentioned was occupied by Mr. Pearce during the war ; soon after which, he built the house still stand ing on the opposite corner. Leaving this spot, we come to a Aride, unoccupied space, where persons yet Hving have picked berries on land now the most valuable of any in the town. This vacant territory is said to have extended nearly to that part of the stieet, opposite the foot of Short Street, where stood a small shop, occupied by Edward Northey, a goldsmith. A few rods from Northey's shop, at the head of what was then caUed Long Wharf, was another smaU shop; which, after making several 462 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. migrations in the street, finally left it for another spot. Be tween Long Wharf and the end of the street, besides one or two buildings of inferior character, there stood two dwelHngs of a better style, — the homes of WiUiam Murphy and John Logan. Turning into Washington Street, we see changes at almost every step. On the left, a large ledge of rocks rose above the surface, extending to Middle Street, and ire-appearing at the opposite corner. At that place stood a small schoolhouse, the only one in the village. It was erected, several years before the war, by private subscription ; and is supposed to have been occupied by the Grammar School. A single house on Granite Street, and a cluster of four or five near the junction with High Street, some of which are still standing, were the only other buildings on that side of the street. On the opposite side, with the excep tion of the houses on the corners of the streets leading into this old highway, but one house could be seen, — a large gambrel- roof one, stUl remaining. Let us next pass over that part of the old shore-path which is now Spring Street. Beginning at the corner of Pleasant Street, Ave find there the house supposed to have been buUt, by Col. Epes Sargent. It was occupied by his descendants of two generations ; and stood, Arith various alterations, tiU a re cent time, on the spot where it was erected. A short distance from the Sargent House was a smaU dwelling, occupied for some time by Samuel Lane. Next, farther doATU the street, stood, and stUl stands, the house of Peter DolHver; then came the house of Wilham FuUer, now down ; and next, at a consider able distance, in the vicinity of Vinson's Spring, thi-ee houses, yet remaining there. On the south side of this street, at the termination of Front Street, we still see a large house, buUt and occupied by Winthrop Sargent ; and, at a little distance east of it, another, the residence of Daniel Sargent, — both prominent merchants before the war. Next to the latter stood the meeting-house erected by the friends of Rev. John Murray ; and beyond this, elderly persons tell us, no dwelling was stand ing on that side of the street. But at a short distance from the end of it, on the hIghAvay leading along by the head of the VIEW OF THE TOWN AT THE CLOSE OF THE WAE. 463 Harbor, was a settlement of about twenty houses, a few of which yet remain. On the right hand, at Rose Bank, we stUl see the house of Bradbury Sanders; several rods farther on, that of Deacon EHezer Grover, which no longer preserves its original appearance ; and, next, the Leighton House, built and occupied by Edmund Grover, jun., more than a century ago. Passing along, at the turn of the way leading to Eastern Point, we see the home of a family prominent In our history for the greater part of the last centm-y, — that of Thomas Sanders. At a little distance from the latter, on the opposite side of the road, still stands the house of John Sanders, a grandson of Thomas. Be tween this house and Cap Rock, — a large bowlder, then resting at the corner of Prospect and Jackson Streets, — on the north side of the road, one or two other houses of the olden time yet remain ; but, at the close of the war, a row of about eight tene ments occupied this space, now covered Arith modern dwellings. A large portion of the land in the easterly part of the vUlage was then oAvned by the Sargent Family. With the exception of a few house-lots, this family held the entfr-e tract embraced be tween the Harbor, on the south ; Pleasant Street and Duncan Street, on the west ; Prospect Street, on the north ; and Chest nut Street, on the east. On the shore-side of this land, the merchants of this famUy had their wharves, stores, and fish- flakes ; the latter covering almost the entire space between Dimcan Street and Vinson's Cove. On this space, at Duncan's Point, rises a smaU hiU ; upon which now appears, as the most conspicuous object, the stone house of Mr. Lane, the artist. On that spot, at the close of the Revolution, stood a solitary and venerable oak-tree, twenty-three feet in cfrcumference. It had long been a cherished object, and a favorite resort for the people ; and, when the news of peace arrived, the ancient oak was fixed upon as the place at which the joyful event should be celebrated. Its hollow trunk and leafless branches were bril- hantly Uluminated ; and, though no Hving person could remem ber the grandem of its matmity, all agreed that it could not have surpassed the splendor which it now exhibited in its decay. 464 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. We have now sketched the appearance of the several streets of the Harbor ViUage at the close of the Revolutionary War, and have looked upon the horaes of some of the actors in that struggle. Besides the houses noticed, there were a few small tenements standing in by-places and along the shore of the Harbor Cove. If, Arith the aid of the imagination, we restore these, the riew, it is beheved, will be as correct as it can now be made. In the Second or West Parish, we stUl see raany memorials of the Revolutionary period, and several of a tirae yet more remote. The Eveleth House, and that of Byles, of Jacob Davis, of Woodward, and those of some of the Haskells, in variably attract the attention of the passer by thefr venerable aspect ; and several others show thefr ante-Revolutionary origin. In this agricultural district, the number of ancient houses that have been taken down since the war has been Httle more than made good by the erection of new ones ; and no great change has been made in any part of it to alter the view in any impor tant respect. The greatest change in the landscape is seen by looldng at the farm of Col. Coffin, near the entrance of Squam Harbor ; where, in place of a vride extent of well-wooded ter ritory, we now see a coUection of barren sand-hlUs. Gone, too, is the large dweUing of the owner, the house for his slaves, and every other mark that the farm was once the most valuable one in toASTi. In another part of the parish, we look in vain for the old Meeting-house : but we see around us the dweUings of all its pastors ; and, finding no rehc or descendant of any of these, we are irapressed with the truth, that the families of men are more evanescent even than the frail works which their hands create. Learing the parish at Coffin's Beach, and passing over to Squam Point, we still find ourselves in presence of venerable dwelhngs of the days of the Revolution. Two of them are of the popular gambrel-roof style, and were both built, it is sup posed, by some of the Haraden Family ; though one was, at this time, owned and occupied by Capt. WiUiam Babson. Another was the house of WilHara Davis ; and another was the home of descendants of the early settlers of this spot, — the Haradens. Several smaU tenements have disappeared, and new ones have A'IEW OF THE TOWN AT THE CLOSE OF THE WAE. 465 been erected ; but enough of the old look reraains to lead us back to a remote era. One road led thence to the Meeting house, at the head of Lobster Cove. On the south side of this road, bordering the Cove, were scattered several houses, a few of which have been spared to the present time. Among these, the- residence of Rev. Benjamin Bradstreet is yet pointed out. At the head of the Cove, the Meeting-house no longer stands ; but, around the one now occupying the same spot, Ave may still see some of the homes of the Revolutionary times, all easily recognized by thefr architecture. One of these was that of James Davis, a leading man in the town for many years. An other was once occupied by Rgv. John Wyeth ; and has in one side the hole of a buUet, shot into it for the purpose of killing or frightening that' minister. Not far distant, on a by-road leading into the woods, were a few dweUings ; of which those of Jesse SavUle and the Dennison FaraUy were remote fr-om the highway, and were in secluded and lonely situations. It was the former of these that was searched by an exasperated mob in September, 1768, as related in a previous chapter. Continuing on the road around the Cape, a few small houses could be seen at the coves ; but it is only at wide intervals of space that an unmistakable relic of the ante-Revolutionary period can be met with now. Entering within the boundary of Rock port, we stiU see the old homestead of the Wheelers ; and farther on, at Pigeon HIU, the residence of a family of soldiers, — that of Capt. John Rowe. Around this spot, and throughout the old parish of Sandy Bay, nearly all is changed and new. On no other part of the Cape have growth and improvement been so marked as here. The population has increased tenfold, and the usual characteristics of a large and fiourlshfrig town have obhterated nearly aU the memorials of the hamlet. At the close of the war, this parish contained, probably, about eighty houses; most of which were situated on the highway leading into the viUage from the Harbor, and passing along by the two coves towards Long Beach. Several of them were at these coves, and were smaU tenements, occupied by the fishermen who pur sued thefr business there. Some of these yet remain, and Arith 59 466 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. a few others scattered along the road in the outskirts of the settlement, to the number of about twenty-five in aU, serve to guide a beholder in tracing out the habitations of the last centm-y. These dweUings were the best of that time, and some of them were good farm-houses — the abodes of descendants of the ancient settlers, Tarr and Pool. One is stiU pointed out as the residence of the patriotic minister of the parish, — Rev. Ebenezer Cleaveland. To complete this sketch of the toAvn as it appeared at the close of the war, it should be added, that few of the houses were painted, and that many were in a dUapidated and unsightly con dition, which bore witness to the general poverty of the people. In another respect, too, the effect of the war was plainly risible. The roads of the toAvn, requiring fr-equent repafrs on account of the uneven surface and rocky soU upon which they are buUt, had been greatly neglected, and were hardly passable in a car riage, vrith comfort and safety.* But aU these inconveniences could be speedUy overcome ; and Arith the blessings of independ ence and self-government secured, and a Aride field for enter prise opened, energy in business, and raorahty of Hfe, would again bring all the substantial enjoyraents of existence. * The number of pleasure-carriages in town at this time was thirty-one ; compris ing " chairs, sulkeys, and chaises." SCHOOLS EE-OPENED. 467 CHAPTEE XXVI. Schools ee-opened. — Town Grammar Schoolhouse. — School-Dis trict System adopted. — Loss of a Dutch Ship-of-War off Cape Ann. — Men drowned near Chebacco River. — Cape Pond stocked WITH Alewives. — Shay's Rebellion. — Federal Constitution adopted. — Gloucester Regiment of Militia, and Gloucester Artillery. — General Te.a.ining. — Custom-House, Post-Office, Census, and Tonnage. — Fire-Engine. — Fort. — French from St. Peter's at Sandy Bay. — Ship wrecked at Salt Island. — Workhouse. — Gloucester Bank. — Gloucester-Road Lottery. — Marine Disasters. — Library. — Sailors enlist for War with France. — Frederick Gilman. — Daniel Rogers. — Death of Washington noticed by the Town. The schools of New England fitted our fathers to enjoy and to gain the blessings of civil and religious Hberty ; and it Is upon these institutions that thefr descendants must depend for the perpetuity of these blessings. In view of thefr high duty in this respect, the people of Gloucester, as soon as the war was over, took measures to re-establish a grammar school, by author izing the selectmen to hfre a house and procure a teacher. In the several parishes, also, schools were again opened, and gene rally maintained, from this time during a portion of each year, upon the system in use before the war. These parish-schools were often of an inferior order ; but, poor as they were, raost of the chUdren acqufred the abUity to read and write. The grara raar school, too, did not meet all the wants of the people of the Harbor, where it was located ; and some of them combined to erect a schoolhouse, and carry on a private schooL The build ing erected by thera about 1790 is still standing, on School Street ; but it has not, for many years, been used for its original purpose. 468 BtlSTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. One of the most earnest friends of the pubhc schools, at this time, was the Rev. EH Forbes. In behalf of the School Com mittee, he presented a report to the town. In 1790, concerning the condition of the schools, in which he urged reforms ; among which were the better remuneration of teachers, the erection of a buUding for the gramraar school, and prorision for the educa tion of females, — "' a tender and interesting branch of the community," says he, " that have been neglected in the public schools of this town." These suggestions were not immediately acted upon : but, in 1793, a grant of three hundi-ed pounds was made for a new schoolhouse, which was completed the next year; and on the 5th of March, 1795, was solemnly dedicated, AvIth suitable religious exercises, to the great work of educating the young, so that they should " be accounted unto the Lord for the generation of the righteous." The venerable pastor of the First Church now saw part of the fr-uition of his labor ; and led, with heartfelt gratitude and joy, the interesting ceremonies of the dedication. A procession was formed at the Meeting-house, and proceeded to the new schoolhouse, where Mr. Forbes offered a consecrating prayer ; after -which, it returned to the house of Avorship, where he preached a discourse founded upon these words of the Psalraist : " Instead of thy fathers shaU be thy children, whora thou mayest make princes in all the earth." This building stood on what is now Granite Street. It was square, of two stories, and was furnished with a belfry and bell. Besides occasional use as a schoofroom, the upper part served the different boards of toAvn-officers as a place for meeting ; and the lower room was often used for elections and other toAvn- purposes. After standing nearly sixty years where it Avas origi nally located, it was moved to Beacon Street ; and there, after suitable interior alterations, was converted to the use of one of the primary schools of the town. Its outward aspect Is some what changed ; but it still has enough of the old familiar look to remind many of our citizens of the varied experience of good instruction and bad instruction that they acquired within its Myalls. The salary of the grammar schoolmaster was fixed. In 1796, SCHOOL-DISTEICT SYSTEM ADOPTED. 469 at one hundred and thfrty pounds per annum ; an increase of forty pounds in three years. The incumbent of the office, at this time, was Obadiah Parsons. He taught it several years, but not without complaint on the part of some of the people ; though, on the only occasion when thefr dissatisfaction carae before the town, the pubhc voice seems to have been in favor of the teacher. No change was made In the system upon which the pubhc schools were conducted, till 1804; when the town availed itself of a law of the Commonwealth, which permitted the division of its territory into school-districts. At first, only eleven districts were estabhshed ; among which, the school-money, after deduct ing the salary of the grammar schoolmaster, was dirided accord ing to the number of poUs in each district. The whole amount raised in 1805 was two thousand dollars. Resuming the chronological course of our history, the first event of interest to be noticed is a terrible calamity that occurred on the coast in the fall of 1783. A Dutch shIp-of-war of fifty guns, haring been dismasted in a violent gale in September, and the men reduced to great distress, the captain, one of the heutenants, and about forty men, left in one of the boats when not far from Cape Ann, and got on board of a brig which they descried in the distance. The ship went down in about three minutes afterwards, carrying with her thi-ee hundred and three men. The persons saved were taken from the brig by a sloop sent out from Gloucester for thefr relief, and were all landed here. The ship was one of a squadron bound to Philadelphia Arith the Dutch minister. The next year, Oct. 31, a distressing accident In om own waters deprived the town of some of its useful citizens. By the upsetting of a boat near the mouth of Chebacco River, the foUoAring persons were droAvned : Capt. Thomas Herrick, aged fifty ; Lieut. Ephraim Choate, forty ; Benjamin Choate, his oldest son, aged eighteen ; Samuel Avery, thirty ; John Avery, twenty ; WilHam Collins ; and John Rider, a stranger. Thomas Jacques was the only person saved ; and he Is said to have been the only one of the party that could not sArim. 470 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. A project for stocking Cape Pond vrith alcArives was brought before the town at the May meeting in 1784, and a vote for carrying it into effect was passed : but the object does not seem to have been accomphshed at that trial, or at any subsequent one for several years ; for, in 1816, we find a comraittee raaking a long report about opening the stream, and putting the fish into the pond. The " opening of the stream " is supposed to have reference to the remoring or otherwise surmounting the obsta cles to the upward course of the fish, occasioned by the dams at the two mUls. Whatever was the cause by which the design had been so long in abeyance, the pond about this time received its new inhabitants ; and, in the opinion of some of that time, the beginning of an important aleArife-fishery was commenced. The privilege of taldng the fish for five years was sold by the toAvn in 1827 : but the quantity taken was of too Httle amotmt to render the business worth attention ; and the stream was soon abandoned to the children, who sought its banks " to see the alewives run." In the fall of 1786, the discontent which had for some time been muttering in the western part of the Comraonwealth broke out in open Insurrection, and, for the moment, threatened an overthroAV of the State Government. Shay's RebeUion found neither advocates nor apologists in the people of Gloucester. On the call for troops, the town responded instantly by voting to raise a company, and appropriating money to pay it. This was done at a town-meeting on the 15th January, 1787. A com pany was raised on the same day, and placed under the comraand of a distinguished soldier of the town (John Rowe), Arith WU ham Kinsman for lieutenant ; and Wilham Tuck, ensign. This company was attached to Col. Wade's regiment, and was marched to the scene of disturbance : but the speedy dispersion of the rebels reheved it of the necessity of a long serrice ; and, at the end of forty-five days, it was disbanded. A more pleasing duty next devolved upon om- people, — the consideration of the Constitution of National Government, adopt ed by the Convention of Delegates fi-ora the several States, held at PhUadelphia In 1787. On the 18th of Deceraber, delegates FEDEEAL CONSTITUTION ADOPTED. 471 to the State Convention for "assenting to and ratifying" this Constitution were chosen in this town. The persons to whom this important business was intrusted were Daniel Rogers, John Low, and WilHam Pearson, — wise and prudent men, whose exertions and sacrifices for independence were a sufficient gua ranty that they would act wisely in all efforts to estabhsh a government that would secure its blessings. In the Convention, they gave thefr votes for the ratification of the Constitution ; an act so agreeable to thefr constituents, that, on the evening of thefr retmn home (Feb. 7, 1788), " a generous entertainment " was provided for them, at Capt. Somes's tavern, by the principal citizens of the toAvn, " as a testimony of thefr approbation, and to give a social opportunity to reciprocate thefr congratulations on the decision which had taken place."* This Constitution declared that a well-regulated militia was necessary to the security of a free State ; and the war from which the people had just come forth victoriously had taught them the importance of keeping up a military organization. The Gloucester companies composed the thfrd Essex regiment. No general muster had taken place here for more than twenty years ; when, on the 3d of November, 1788, this regiment was ordered out for exercise and rcAaew. Upwards of three * The occasion was one of great joy to all our people. Even the ladies caught the spirit of rejoicing, and celebrated the event in a creditable manner. " We learu from Gloucester, tbat, on Thursday last, nearly thirty young ladies, inspired with the love of industry, assembled at the house of Capt. Philemon Haskell for the praiseworthy pur pose of a federal spinning-match : when, to their honor, their spirited exertions pro duced ninety-nine skeins of excellent yarn ; practically declaring that they neither l.abored in vain nor spent their strength for nought. The day thus industriously con cluded finished not the harmony of their federalism. In the evening, to crown the pleasure of the day, with additional company, they regaled themselves with an agree able dance ; and, at a modest hour, parted in love and friendship, with hearts convivial as they raet, leaving others to admire their female patriotism, and to go and do like wise." — Salem Mercury, Oct. 21, 1788. A spinning-party was not a new thing in town. Twenty years before, on two occa sions, several industrious females of the First Parish met at the house of their mini ster, and passed the day in this employment. On the last, thirty-eight of these " daugh ters of industry " assembled for the purpose of " laying their hands to the spindle." Their object seems to have been a charitable one, as several furnished both materials and labor. After tie toil of the day was over, a sermon was delivered to them by their mimster, at the meeting-house, from Exod. xxxv. 25. 472 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. hundred and fifty men appeared under arms, well equipped, and went through with thefr exercises to general satisfaction. In the afternoon, they were reviewed by Col. Pearce, the officers of the Artillery Company, and several gentlemen of the town ; and the evening, it is said, "was closed with convivial cheer, good-fellowship, and a seasonable return home, after drinking several patriotic sentiments, with a discharge of a field-piece to each." The Gloucester ArtUlery had been recently organized, under the command of James Pearson; and had, on the llth of September, received a " very elegant stand of colors " from Capt. David Pearce. The flag was presented at Mr. Pearce's house, where the company partook of an ample and generous refreshment at his Invitation. In 1791, Capt. Pearson had liberty from the town to erect a gun-house, on the spot, at the head of Pleasant Street, from which a building, erected at a- later date for the same purpose, has just been removed. The first building was a small one ; and, after a few years' use by the company, was removed, and converted into a dweUing. The annual " general training " was kept up for about forty years fr-om this time ; and the day on which it occurred was the greatest holiday of the year, — men, women, and children aU mingling in its enjoyments. To the latter, especially, was it a day which has no like for our present generation of juvenUes. First came from the field itself, on the evening before the im portant day, a sound of preparation, in the erection of a single booth, or tent ; the precursor of a whole line that were to dis pense good-cheer on the morrow. At early dawn came other sounds ; and soon the discharge of muskets, or the drum and fife, aroused the young to the pleasures in store for them. Breakfast was hastUy despatched. If not altogether neglected; for the ear was impatient to catch the welcome sound announ cing the approach of the " Honey-pinks," or some other com pany fi-ora the outskfrts of the town. In due tirae, these aU appeared : then followed the forming into line and the raarch to the field, where the evolutions of the soldiers, the cheering strains of the music, and the general hilarity that prevailed, filled the hom-s with joy, and left nothing to regret, except GENEEAL TEAINING. 473 that these hours were so short and fleeting. But the signal for depai-ture must at last come ; and soon the sound of all the drums and fifes of the regiment, gathered into one band, an nounces that the whole body of the military is in motion towards the village. There, again formed Into Hne, with " all the pomp and cfrcumstance of glorious war," the officers, by order of the colonel, marched to the centre, and received from him, as he rested upon the proud steed that had borne him through the duties of the day, the thanks to which they themselves and thefr several companies were entitled. A vacant space in the rear of Back Street, where the Raifroad Buildings now stand, was sometimes used as a training-field : but the Meeting-house Green was generally resorted to on these occasions ; and it was there that the middle-aged men of to-day beheld in thefr boyhood the expiring glory of the militia. The Federal Government having been organized in 1789, a custom-house was estabhshed In Gloucester in the fall of that year; and, soon afterwards, a post-office. In the following year, the first national census showed the number of our inhabitants to be five thousand three hundred and seventeen ; an increase, probably, of about eight per cent since 1775. Under the acts of the new National Government, for regulating commerce, up wards of seven thousand tons of shipping were registered and enrolled here ; part of which was engaged In the fishery, — which was again successfuUy pursued, — and the rest in a profit able foreign trade. In 1793, we first find fire-engines In the town ; thirty pounds having been granted at a meeting in that year towards paying for them, to which a sum was probably added by private contri butions. A ffre-club was organized about the sarae time, though one had existed many years before. In May, 1794, the town ceded to the United States the land on Watch-house Neck, where a breastwork had been thrown up in the early part of the Revolutionary War, for the purpose of erecting a fort for the protection of the toAvn. The work was immediately coramenced, and there soon arose upon the site of the old layers of turf the fortress that we now see there in 60 474 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. ruins. During the last war with Great Britain, a company was stationed there : but, after peace took place, it was occupied for many years by a keeper only; and at last, about 1833, hav ing then no tenant, the wood-work of the house was set on fire by some mischievous boys or men, and consumed. StUl fm-ther destruction raay be anticipated ; and therefore a repre sentation of its appearance about that time is presented in the accompanying engraving. On the 10th of October, 1794, the people of Sandy Bay were surprised by an unexpected arrival. Four shallops, with fifty French persons, — men, women, and children, — came Into thefr cove from St. Peter's ; whence they had been driven by the English, who had taken it a few months before. They were on their way to the French consul at Boston ; but, the homes at Sandy Bay being opened to thera, they went on shore, and had thefr wants liberally supplied. A distressing shipwreck at Little-Good-Harbor Beach was the principal event in our history in 1796. Early in January this year, the ship " Industry," Capt. Miles Baimes, belonging to Boston, was lost on that beach, near Salt Island, in a violent snow-storra. By her log-book, which was kept tiU eight o'clock, it appeared that she sailed frora Portsmouth, Eng., Nov. 3, in ballast. AU hands perished. The bodies of the captain, mate, and four men, were found, and buried from the Ffrst-Parish Church Avith proper religious solemnities, including an address by Eev. Dr. Forbes. The owner of the ship bore public testi mony to the attention and hmnanlty of our citizens on this melancholy occasion. Some account has been given, in a previous chapter, of the erection by the town of a building which was called a work house, though it does not appear that It was ever much occu pied by paupers. The poor Avere annually let out to board until 1796, when they were brought together into a house just erected for thefr accommodation, on what is now Granite Street. The sum granted to build the house was £513. 14s. 5d. ; and the building then erected, Arith various additions, served the town for this use a Httle more than fifty years. 2 GLOUCESTEE BANK. 475 The Gloucester Bank, the fii-st, and, for more than fifty years, the only one in town, was estabhshed this year. Most of the merchants, traders, and capitahsts of the town were subscribers to its stock ; but a few, who were opposed to a paper-currency, would give no encomagement to the project. The sum of forty thousand dollars was subscribed as capital by thfr-ty-five persons ; who, on the 22d of AprU, 1796, signed a " covenant " contaui- Ing the terms on which thefr business was to be conducted. The bank went into operation in August. At the expiration of three years, the time named in the " covenant," that instruraent was rencAved, but was soon made void by an Act of Incorporation obtained from the Legislatme. Successive legislative enactments haA^e continued its existence, and increased its capital to three hundred thousand doUars. It has been conducted Arith eminent success ; for it has satisfied the public, and has paid to its stock holders one hundred and twenty-nine dividends, which have averaged nearly seven , per cent per annum. It is one of the oldest banks in the United States.* On the 6th of October, 1796, was draAAoi the second scheme of the Gloucester-Road lottery, amounting to eighteen thousand doUars, and subject to a deduction of one-thfrd. This lottery was granted by the General Court in answer to a petition of the town, voted at the May meeting in 1795, "to defray the ex pense of turning the road in Fresh-water Cove." At that time, it was not unusual to obtain money in this manner to carry on a pubhc work ; but the benefits thus gained were a poor compen sation for the depravation of raorals groAring out of the lottery systein, and It was soon abandoned. In the spring of this year, the proprietors of the Gloucester * Presidents of the Gloucester Bank: 1796, John Somes; 1816, William Pearson; 1818, John Kittredge; 1822, William \V. Parrott; 1834, Benjamin K. Hough; 1837, AVilliam Pearce, jun. ; 1842, Isaac Somes. Cashiers: 1796, Joseph Allen, jun. ; 1829, Henry Smith; 1836, John J. Babson; 1855, Benjamin F. Somes. ¦ The increasing business of the town seemed to many to warrant the establishment of a new bank in 1855; and a charter was therefore obtained for the " Bank of Cape Aun," which went into operation, March 3, 1856, with a capital of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, and has been so conducted as to secure the confidence and favor of the public. The only president it has had is Gorham P. Low; and the only cashier, Samuel J. Giles. 476 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. Social Library had Hberty from the toAvn to place thefr books In the Grammar-schoolhouse Building. This body had been recently organized, and had afready made a considerable coUection. The number of proprietors was sbcty, and the annual assessment was usuaUy two doUars. Only a smaU amount was, of course, avaU able for the purchase of books ; but the society managed to add a number every year, and had accumulated nearly two thousand A'olumes in 1830, when nearly the whole were destroyed by the great fii-e of that year. The founders and supporters of this library are mentioned Arith deep gratitude by many of our pre sent citizens, who found in its rich store of history, biography, and poetry, the only means of intellectual culture accessible to them in thefr early days. In 1798, the National Government was involved in a difficulty with France, groAring out of the war between the latter country and England. By the encroachments of the French upon Ame rican commerce, the Gloucester merchants had suffered consider ably ; and, when the preparation for hostihties was commenced, our sailors and fishermen were prompt, as usual, to sustain the honor and interest of thefr- country. On board of one Acssel (the sloop-of-war "Herald"), it is said that fifty-two of these mariners enhsted. Besides the stimulus of patriotism, they found, perhaps, an additional inducement to serAice in this ship In the fact, that a townsman (Williara Y. Hutchings) Avas the first Heutenant.* In May, 1798, died IMajor Frederick Gilman. He had been a successful merchant of the town ; but, in consequence of re verses, had become bankrupt shortly before his death. He was commander of the artiUery, and was buried under arms; and his funeral was also attended by the fire societies, and by the officers of the thfr-d regiment in uniform. IMajor Gilman mar ried Abigail, daughter of Benjarain Somes ; who, with four chU- * William Vinson Hutchings was son of William Hutchings, and his wife Eachel Elwell, who was a great-grand-daughter of our early settler, William Vinson. Mr. Hutchings lett the navy, and entered the merchant service. While in command of a large ship belonging to Boston, he was engaged at Batavia to proceed to Japan, and is said to have been the first American shipmaster who visited that country. He ultimately became a merchant in Boston ; and died there. May 25, 1810, aged forty- DANIEL EOGEES. 477 dren, sm-vived him. After her husband's death, she kept a shop a few years on Front Street, and then removed to Salem, having previously placed her son Samuel — a gifted lad — at Atkinson Academy to fit for college. This youth graduated at Cambridge in 1811; and, in after-life, amply fulfilled the promise of his early years. For nearly forty years, he was the minister of a Unitarian society in Charleston, S.C; where he was highly esteeraed as a faithful pastor. Besides a high rank in the mini stry, he also had a wide reputation as the author of several lite rary productions of great merit. He died in Kingston, Mass., Feb. 9, 1858, aged sixty-six.* In the closing year of the century occm-red the death of an other prominent citizen, — that of Daniel Rogers, Esq., on the 4th of January, at the age of sixty-six. Mr. Rogers was a son of Rev. John Rogers of Kittery, Me. ; and therefore a brother of Rev. John of omr Fourth Chm-ch ; and of Timothy, merchant, of Gloucester ; of both of whom, some account has been given in this work. He was placed, when a boy, by his father, in the service of Col. John Stevens of this town, who had a Httle grand- daughter (Rachel). This chUd requfred considerable tend ing, of which a large share fell to the lot of the new member of the family : but he contrived, by pinching and pricking the Httle one, to rid himself of this employment ; and, haring other cause of discontent, soon ran away from his disagreeable home. He was next apprenticed to Nathaniel Allen, another merchant of the town, vrith whom he served his time. Upon attaining his majority, he commenced business for himself, and pursued it Arith such enterprise and sagacity, that he soon accumulated wealth, and became one of the leading merchants of the town. His business was broken up by the war : but, upon the establish ment of peace, he commenced Arith renewed ardor ; and, for several years, his transactions were extensive, and only exceeded by those of David Pearce. At one time, he had sixteen vessels engaged in the fisheries and foreign commerce. His career was * For an interesting biographical sketch of Dr. Gilman, see Harvard-College Necro logy, in Boston Daily Advertiser, July, 1858. 478 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. one of steady prosperity and untarnished reputation ; and was attended with such pecuniary success, that he supported the expense of a numerous family, of generous hving, and unbounded hospitality ; and died possessed of a considerable estate. Mr. Rogers was twice married : first, to Elizabeth Gorham, Nov. 6, 1759, who died March 14, 1769 ; and next, March 2, 1770, to Rachel Ellery, — the little Rachel whora, when an infant, he had so unwUhngly taken to his arms. By these two wives he had twenty-one children. Several of his sons engaged In business in Gloucester ; and one of them (Timothy) was, for a few years, a merchant in Boston. Another son (Daniel), graduated at Har vard College in 1798, settled in business in this town, and died Oct. 15, 1819, leaving several chUdren ; one of whora is George H., merchant of Gloucester at the present time. One of the daughters of Mr. Rogers (Esther) married John RoAve, Esq., a laAvyer, who settled in toAvn about the time of his marriage ; and, after a residence here of ten or twelve years, remoA-ed to Quincy, where he died In May, 1812. Mr. Rowe was an honest and virtuous citizen, and his depart ure was a public loss. The hold he had taken upon the regard of our people is evinced by his election nine times as representa tive. He was also a senator from Essex County. While the toAvn Avas lamenting the loss of the prorainent and valuable citizen just noticed, every heart was filled with sadness at the death of the great and good Washington. Of this raournful event, suitable pubhc notice was taken here, at a town- raeeting held Feb. 5, 1800; when a comraittee of five Avas chosen to wait on the Rev. Dr. Forbes, and request him to deHver a eulogy and offer pubhc prayer at the Ffrst-Paiish Meeting-house, on the 22d Instant, — the birthday of the departed benefactor. On that occasion, the church was dressed in mourning ; and a large audience gathered to engage In the solemn and touching exercises of the day. INDEPENDENT CHEISTIAN SOCIETY. 479 CHAPTER XXVII. Independent Christian Society.— Rev. Thomas Jones. — His Settle ment, Ministry, and Death. — His Character. — His Family.— Succession of Pastors to the Present Time. — Meeting-Hoctse. — New Universalist Society: its Ministers, its Dissolution, its Meeting-House. — Third Parish. — Rev. Ezra Leonard. — His Set tlement. — Conversion of Minister and Parish to Universalism. — His Death and Character. — His Family. — Pastors who HAVE succeeded HIM. — COL. JOSEPH FOSTER. Me. Mueeay's removal to Boston did not dissolve the ties of affection by which he was bound to his early friends In Glouces ter ; and he often preached here during the long period that the society remained without a pastor. The pulpit was mostly sup phed, however, by itinerant preachers ; among whom, those who officiated most frequently were Rev. Hosea BaUou and Rev. Thomas Barnes. Each of these remained here several months at a time. In March, 1804, the society, by a unanimous vote, gave Rev. Thomas Jones, who was then preaching in Philadelphia, a call on probation for six months ; and, on the 4th of September follow ing, invited him to become their minister for life, at a salary of six hundred dollars per annum. This was accepted, and he was installed on the 26th of the same month. The clergymen present were Rev. John Mmray, who offered the introductory prayer, and delivered the sermon and charge ; and Rev. George Richards of Portsnioutb, N.H., who made the installing prayer, and gave the right hand of fellowship. Mr. Jones was born at Narbath, Pembrokeshire, South Wales, April 5, 1763. A serious turn of mind, and a taste for study, led him, at the age of nineteen years, to enter the seminary esta- 480 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. blished by Selina, Countess of Huntingdon, at Trevecca, in Wales, to educate young men to preach the doctrines of the Calvinistic Methodists. After spending three years at this Institution, he left in 1785, at the age of twenty-two, and Immediately received ordi nation. He was, till about 1790, an earnest and sincere preacher of the doctrines in which he had been educated. His senti ments then underwent a complete revolution, and he avowed his belief in universal salvation. This was, of course, the signal for bis exclusion from the sect whose views of rehgious truth he had hitherto advocated, but not for his separation from the reh gious community to which he then ministered. At that time, he was settled over an Independent Congrega tional church in Reading, Berkshfre County, in England ; and those Christian friends, instead of casting him off, severed thefr connection with Lady Huntingdon's sect, and attended his mini stry until 1796. In that year, at the solicitation of Rev. John Murray, he came to America ; and, not long after his arrival, took charge of a society in Lombard Street, Philadelphia ; where he preached till his removal to Gloucester. As several members of the society resided In Sandy-Bay Par ish, Mr. Jones preached there a certain number of sabbaths In each year, during the early part of his ministry here. At a later period, he taught, for a short tirae, the Town Grararaar School. Excepting this employment, bis constant care and undivided attention were bestowed upon the people of his charge for thfrty- four years ; at the end of which, his advanced age and Impafred health rendered it necessary that he should be reheved of a por tion of the active duties of the rainistry. The society accord ingly took the necessary steps to obtain a colleague pastor ; and in August, 1838, entered into an engagement with Rev. Daniel D. Smith. Mr. Jones continued to preach, occasionaUy, after the settle ment of his colleague : but the peace and harmony of the society Avere ere long broken up in consequence of a division among its members Arith reference to the conduct and character of the junior pastor ; and the venerable senior, although in no way blamable for the deplorable condition to which the society had EEV. THOMAS JONES. 481 become reduced, acceded to an arrangement, in 1841, by which his pastoral connection with It was dissolved. Instead of the salary of six hundred dollars per annum, with which he was originally settled for life, he consented to receive the sum of fom hundred dollars yearly, on condition that the sum of two hun dred dollars per annum should be paid to his wife after his decease. If she should survive him. The society had always dealt generously with him ; having voted, in nearly every year of his ministry, an addition to his regular salary; besides which, his fiiends often gave occasion for the exercise of his gratitude by the bestowment of Hberal gifts. The health of the aged pastor was now gradually failing. He was endowed by nature with a good constitution, which he was careful to preserve by temperance and bodily exercise. But the strongest system must yield to the assaults of time ; and his seemed to sink, without any confirmed disease, by slow and gradual decay. He was confined to his house a long time ; and, during the last fortnight of his Hfe, he was so low as to take Httle notice of what was passing around him, and to be understood with difficulty when he spoke. His mental faculties, however, seemed yet to be In vigorous action ; and his spfrit would occa sionally task the agents of its communion with earthly things, and give assm-ance that his firm and unwavering faith was still, as it had been through many a dark hour, the strength of his heart. About seven o'clock on Thursday evening, Aug. 20, 1846, he called his family and fr-iends to bis bedside, and took a soleran and affectionate leave of all; and, soon after, drcAv his last breath. He died in bis eighty-fourth year. He was bmied, on the 22d, frora the meeting-house in which he had preached more than thfrty years. Rev. A. D. Mayo delivered, on the occasion, an appropriate sermon from Ps. xxxvil. 37. As a preacher, Mr. Jones confined himself within a narrow range of subjects. The Bible was his constant study; and he dwelt much upon doctrinal points, and expositions of Scripture passages. The paternal character of God, and the divine life of Christ, were, hoAvever, themes upon which he delighted to dwell ; whUe no occasion was ever lost for laying open the odious nature 61 482 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. and the evils of sin. His most eamest prayer was for the " spread of the everlasting gospel ; " because he felt, that, wher ever this should be received in its purity, its behevers would not only rejoice in the liberty whereArith Christ hath made thera free, but would abjure every species of tyranny, and assert thefr claims to civil and religious freedom, — the holy bfrthright of every chUd of God. On no subject was he warmed to such a degree of en thusiasm as on this. He valued as highly as any native the high privilege of citizenship of this repubhc ; and, on every suitable pubhc occasion, paid the homage of his adrafration to the great raen who were its founders. He was no orator ; but, in aU his pulpit performances, he was earnest and fervent, and sent directly to the heart of every hearer an entfre conriction of his sincerity. There Avas not variety enough in his preaching to attract young and restless minds ; but few, who attended his ministry to the period of sober age and of settled couAictlons of rehgious truth, failed to reap edification and improvement from it. The domestic and inner life of this pastor was one of rare beauty and excellence. He was eminently kind, single-minded, and conscientious ; and he bore, Arith the fortitude of a philoso pher and the resignation of a saint, the severe and unusual afffic- tions that fell to his lot. He was not fitted by nature for famUiar intercourse with his fellow-beings ; and he labored under so much embarrassment in this respect, in complying with the just de mands of society from his profession, as soraetimes to consider himself thereby dlsquahfied for his office. But the natural reserve of bis manners gave place, in the circles of affection and long-tried friendship, to a cordial freedom and easy conversation. It was his inexpressible joy to meet in these cfrcles true and loving friends ; and though he followed, one after another, most of his early ones to the grave, he enjoyed the high satisfaction of knowing that they died in faith, rejoicing Avith him in the hope, that the sweet communion in Avhich they had Hved on earth would be renewed in the society of the just made perfect in heaven. He was rauch abroad in the open air; for his serene and medi tative spiiit reaped instruction and joy in conteraplating Nature. EEV. DANIEL D. SMITH. 483 He loved her in all her moods and aspects : the raging sea, the shining stars, and budding flowers, each struck in his soul a chord of that music which was constantly celebrating the power, Arisdom, and goodness of God. Mr. Jones's wife, to whom he was mariied in England, was Sophia NeweU. She surrived her husband a few years, in a state of bodUy and mental infirmity; and died April 17, 1850, aged eighty-four. Thefr chUdren were Olwyn, Thomas, Sophia, and Mary. The ffrst fell from a wharf in Gloucester Harbor, and was drowned, when about eleven years old. Thoraas estab lished himself as a baker in this town, and "passed away in a moment of strange dehrium, when man is not accountable for what his hands perform." Sophia is the wife of Capt. Benja min Atkins of Gloucester. Mary married Loa Richardson of Cambridge, and died a childless Aridow. The ffrst measures adopted by the society to obtain a colleague for Mr. Jones were taken in December, 1837 ; when an invitation to fill that office was given to Rev. M. H. Smith of Haverhill, which was decHned. The next attempt resulted in an arrange ment by which Rev. Daniel D. Smith, a brother of the preced ing, became the junior pastor. He was installed Dec. 20, 1838 ; on which occasion, the sermon was preached by Rev. 0. A. Skinner of Boston. Ml-. Smith's father was EHas Smith, an occasional preacher, first of Free-AriU Baptist, and then of Universahst sentiments. The early advantages of education enjoyed by the son were of a very limited character ; but a quick and retentive memory, and a remarkable command of language, enabled him to meet the demands of a sect whose preachers have not hitherto been gene rally distinguished for inteUectual cultme. At the time of his settlement here, he was about thfrty years of age. He had been settled over several societies at different times, and left a large and fiourishing one at Portland when he entered upon his duties here. He commenced his ministry in this place under the hap piest auspices. The society was large, and weU disposed in regard to every measme that might be deemed necessary for thefr improveraent on the part of the junior pastor ; while his 484 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. ministerial gifts and social qualities Immediately attracted the people strongly towards him. But the domestic relations of the new pastor Avere soon found to be inharmonious, and a short time only had elapsed when a feeling of dissatisfaction arose against him. Consequently, before the close of his second year, the peace and harmony of the society were destroyed by the confiicting opinions in regard to his character entertained by the members. Many of the society had Arithdrawn at this time, and several others had ceased to attend his ministry; so that it was deemed expedient by Mr. Sraith to send in his resignation. This was in October, 1840. His resignation was accepted ; but in consequence of an earnest appeal to the society, setting forth his troubles and injmies, a vote was passed in January, 1841, by which he was engaged to preach till the annual meeting in April. A large portion of the society, believing him to be a faithful minister and a worthy man, were stUl content to follow him as thefr rehgious guide. They adhered to him to the end ; and on his departure from town, which took place soon after the ter mination of his last engagement to preach, they dissolved thefr connection Arith the society, and, not long after, formed them selves Into a separate congregation. Mr. Smith next preached to a society In Richmond, Va. : but he had a powerful body of fiiends in Gloucester, who recaUed him after he had made a short stay in that city, and employed him to preach to them, and to minister also to thefr- physical IUs ; for, during his absence, he had quahfied himself to practise medicine, and he returned to toAvn Arith a medical degree. After continu ing a few years here on this second residence, he removed to Boston, and has since devoted himself chiefly to his medical pro fession.* The society made an arrangement with Mr. Jones in May, 1841, by which his connection Arith it as pastor was dissolved : but it did not seek to supply the pulpit Arith a permanent mini stry till Deceinber, 1842 ; when Rev. Frederic F. Thayer of * Soon after he removed to town, the oldest son of Mr. Smith was lost overboard from a schooner, in which he was a passenger for Philadelphia. OTHEE PASTOES OF THE SOCIETY. 485 Cambridge, a graduate of Harvai-d College of 1840, was invited to the vacant pastorate. The invitation was accepted ; and his In staUation took place, March 28, 1843, when Rev. 0. A. Skinner of Boston preached the sermon. The society was in a condition of pecuniary embarrassment ; and, at the close of the year 1844, he sent in his resignation ; which was accepted. The comraittee of the society, in thefr letter of acceptance, assured hira that no cause of dissatisfaction existed, and bore thefr- testiraony to the fidehty Arith which he had discharged his duties. Mr. Thayer continued but a short time in the profession he had chosen, and finally engaged in trade. The society now took measures to free itself from debt ; and, through the indefatigable exertions of a few of its members, raised by subscription, in a short time, the large sum necessary for that purpose. An effort was also made to induce the seced ers to return ; but it did not meet with success. As the society had now throAvn off the incubus of its debt, it ventured once more to look after a candidate for settlement ; and in June, 1845, contracted with Rev. H. B. Soule to become its pastor, at a salary of seven hundred dollars per annum. Before the expfration of a year, Mr. Soule asked and obtained his dis mission ; not, however. In consequence of any change in bis rela tions with his people. He next settled in Hartford, Conn. ; and Is now deceased. Mr. Soule was succeeded by Rev. Amory D. Mayo. He entered upon his ministry here in July, 1846, at a salary of six hundred dollars ; which was subsequently Increased to one thousand. Mr. Mayo was born in WarAvIck, Mass. He went nearly through the course of collegiate Instruction at Amherst CoUege, when the state of his health compelled him to leave. In such intervals of ease as he could obtain, he pursued the studies connected with the profession to which his inclination dfrected hira, and had but recently begun to preach when he settled as the pastor of this society. He had not then regained a condition of vigorous health ; and, during the continuance of his rainistry here, he was often obliged to ask, for a season, for a partial or entfre respite frora bis labors. Notwithstanding such 486 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. interruptions, he had the satisfaction to see his efforts croAvned with success, and the society restored to its former prosperous state. His preaching attracted a large congregation, and made a deep impression upon bis hearers. It was with great reluctance, therefore, that the society accepted his resignation, which he tendered Oct. 1, 1854. Mr. Mayo was married, about the time of his settlement here, to Miss Sarah C. Edgarton of Shirley, Mass. ; a lady of uncom mon mental endowments, which were improved by self-culture to such a degree as to entitle her to a respectable rank among the literary females of the country. The fine qualities of her heart imraediately won the love of those with whom she became connected as a pastor's wife ; and when, in a sudden and un looked-for moment, she was summoned to enter the heaven of which she had thought so much, her departure was moumed as that of a dear and long-loved friend. She died July 9, 1848, at the age of twenty-nine. Her husband has offered an appro priate and tender tribute to her memory in the meraofr which he has prefixed to a selection frora her writings. The present pastor of the Independent Christian Society is Rev. W. R. G. Mellen, who was born In PhiUipston, Mass., June 29, 1822. He received his classical education at New-Salem Academy, and studied theology in Worcester. He was the pas tor, for a few years, of a UnlA-ersahst society in Cambridge, and also of that in Auburn, N.Y. ; from which place he removed to Gloucester. He commenced his labors here in May, 1855. The society pays him a salary of sixteen hundred dollars per annum, and enjoys under his ministry a high degree of pro sperity. In November, 1824, the society held a "jubilee," a semicen tennial commemoration of Mr. Murray's first visit to Gloucester. Though much social festivity was indulged in, the chief joy of the occasion was of a religious Idnd. The most prominent preachers of the sect were present, and several pubhc rehgious exercises were held. The meeting-house in which the society now worships, on Middle Street, Avas erected in 1805, at a cost of about ten NEAV UNIVEESALIST SOCIETY. 487 thousand dollars, of which Col. Pearce contributed fifteen hun dred. Its ai-chitect and builder was Col. Jacob Smith.* No effort to ascertain the date of its dedication, or an account of the ceremonies of that occasion, has been successful. The spacious yard in front of the building was originally bordered on each side by a row of Lombai-dy poplars, which were removed about 1826 to make room for the avenue of noble elms that now con tribute so much to the beauty of the street and to the attrac tions of this house of worship. The fr-iends of Rev. Daniel D. Smith, after thefr withdrawal fi-om the Independent Christian Society, proceeded to form themselves Into a new rehgious body, and took the name of the Independent Universahst Society. AprU 13, 1843, seventy- seven members sig-ned a paper to support preaching. Mr. Smith preached for thera dming the foUowing summer, while on a risit to the town, and then received an invitation to become thefr pastor; but his engagements at Richmond were such, that he could not come tUl the next year. In the mean time, they had religious worship nearly every Sunday, conducted by ministers from abroad. Mr. Smith preached for this society till the sumraer of 1848. In 1849, Rev. Darid H. Plumb became their minister, and re mained Arith them tiU July, 1852. In April, 1853, they made an engagement with Rev. G. J. Sanger ; and had his services tlU March 2, 1856, when he preached his farewell sermon. The dissolution of the society soon foUowed; upon which a large portion of the members returned to the parent body, which, by this acquisition and other gains, was restored to its former high rank in the denomination to which It belongs. The new society held thefr worship in the Murray Institute Hall at ffrst, and afterwards in the Town Hall till the auturan of 1845 ; when they began to occupy a small but neat meetlng- * Col. Smith was a native of Ipswich, and was somewhat famous as a master- builder. Besides this meeting-house, he built, about the same time, one in Sandy Bay, and oue in Manchester. He died March 18, 1812, aged forty-six. His son Henry was Cashier of the Gloucester Bank, and died Sept. 26, 1836, aged forty-six. Charles Card Smith of Boston, a gentleman of literary taste and culture, and a contributor of critical notices and reviews to the leading periodicals, is a gi-andson of Col. Smith. 488 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. house on Elm Street, which was erected by a subscription of some of the raembers, at a cost of about three thousand dollars. This building was purchased by the Methodists in 1858, and is now their place of public worship. The unhappy termination of the ministry of Rev. Obadiah Parsons in the Fourth Parish, together with the troubled state of the people during the Revolutionary War and thefr impoverished condition long afterAvards, discouraged for many years an attempt to fill thefr vacant pulpit : but the vitality of the parish was pre served by occasional preaching; and at last, in 1802, an earnest effort to settle a minister was commenced. The first one invited (Rev. Mr. Dickenson) declined the call; but the next trial was successful, and resulted in obtaining Rev. Ezra Leonard, who, after having preached some time as a candidate in the year 1804, received and accepted an Invitation to become thefr minister. Mr. Leonard was a son of Ezra and Ehzabeth Leonard of Raynham, Mass. ; of which place his family were among the first and most important of the early settlers. He was born in 1775, and graduated at BroAvn University in 1801. He was ordained over the Squam Parish, Dec. 5, 1804 ; on which occa sion, the sermon was preached by Bev. Perez Fobes, LL.D., of Raynham, with whom he had studied divinity. The terms of support on which he settled were an annual salary of fom- hundred dollars, and a settlement of like amount to be paid in four yearly instalments. The only incident in the history of his ministry, deserving notice in this work, is the remarkable conversion of both pastor and people to the doctrine of universal salvation. This took place in 1811; and, though individual change of opinion affords no cause of wonder, it is certainly enough to excite astonishment, that a whole society should turn about in this way, and act upon an important religious question as if it were a mere matter of expediency. It appears to indicate great indifference on the part of the people to what are usually considered fundamental reli gious truths, or a surprising personal influence on the part of the pastor ; but the truth is, a leaven of Universalism had long existed in the parish. Some of the members, who had become THIED PAEISH. EEV. E. LEONAED. 489 believers In it, were familiar Arith the Scriptmes ; and, by argu ment and conversation, led others to think and Inqufre, and thus prepare themselves for a change. Mr. Leonard himself, before his conversion, was often engaged Arith his parishioners in dis cussing the Calrinlstic creed ; and, as they confided in thefr pastor as a good and learned man, it is not strange, under all the cfrcumstances, that, when his mind reached the turning-point, they should find themselves drawn along with him. The only action of the parish that foUoAved Mr. Leonard's declaration of the change in his religious opinions, was a vote, passed In Decem ber, 1811, that he should continue to preach the gospel as usual tUl the next March meeting. A few of the members stUl ad hered to the old creed ; but they made no serious attempt to create disaffection, and the affairs of the parish went on In a calm and peaceful flow. Mr. Leonard continued to be the minister of the parish till his death. His connection Arith it during a long course of years yielded him a large share of happiness, and was productive of a great araount of good to his people. The only Interruptions of the regular routine of his duties as a parish minister were caused by his employment a few terms in school-teaching, and by his election one year as a representative to the General Court. He died Sunday morning, April 22, 1832, aged fifty-seven years. His sickness was a severe lung- complaint, which he bore with exemplary fortitude and resignation. The funeral services were held at the meeting-house ; on which occasion, an appropriate discourse was dehvered by Rev. Thomas Jones. The place of his interment in the Parish Burying-ground is marked by a neat marble monument, erected by his people in 1837. Mr. Leonard possessed sufficient talents to satisfy the people of his charge during a long ministry ; but he preached most ef fectively in the beauty of a benevolent and holy Hfe. The highest fame as a pulpit orator Avould hardly have survived the genera tion that heard him; but the memory of his untiring devotion to his people, and of his kind disposition and overflowing charity, wiU preserve his name in grateful remembrance tUl it is sup planted by one who shall surpass him in all the vfrtues that 62 490 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. distinguished his career. His benevolence to the poor, his com passion for every kind of sorrow and trouble, and his words of kind encouragement and consolation, are to be particularly re membered, because they were striking and marked traits of his character. Such was his desfre to increase his usefulness, that, towards the latter part of his hfe, he devoted himself assidu ously to the study of medicine ; and, while he was a represen tative, attended a course of medical lectures. In the remote village where he lived, there was no settled physician ; and a knowledge of medicine, and the gratuitous dispensing of Its bene fits, enabled him to add another to the ties of affection which already bound the people to thefr pastor. His character was also distingtushed by simplicity, candor, and good-humor ; so much so, that he seemed sometimes to have too little regard for professional dignity. But these traits, in a place where few arti ficial distinctions in society existed, increased his popularity, and attracted towards him more of the love and admfration of the people than he could have othervrise possessed. Mr. Leonard mariied, in 1805, Miss Nancy Woodbury of this town, by whom he had two sons and three daughters. The old est son (Warren Augustus) died in Philadelphia, June 10, 1825, aged fourteen. Ezra, the other son, married Elizabeth SariUe, and is still living. Stella, the oldest daughter, married Capt. William Day, and settled in Portsmouth, N.H. ; where she died Aug. 27, 1841. Ann, the next, married David SaviUe, and now resides in Lexington, Mass. Augusta, the youngest daughter, married Joseph Day, and also settled in Portsmouth; where she died Oct. 8, 1841. Mrs. Leonard died Aug. 23, 1850, aged sixty-four. The following have been the ministers of this society since Mr. Leonard's death : Abraham Norwood, 1832; Elbridge Trull, 1833 ; John Harriman, 1834 ; George C. Leach, 1837 ; M. B. Newell, 1842; J. A. Bartlett, 1845; B. H. Clark, 1847; E. W. Coffin, 1848 ; N. Gunnison, 1854 ; E. Partridge, 1857 ; LeAvis L. Record, 1859. The meeting-house erected by the Third Parish in 1728 stood till the suraraer of 1830. The last sermon was preached in OOL. JOSEPH FOSTEE. 491 by Rev. Ezra Leonard, on Sunday, Aug. 7, in that year, from Acts vu. 49. A ncAv one was immediately erected on the same site, and dedicated Jan. 5, 1831. The sermon on the occasion was preached by Rev. Thoinas Whittemore, from Acts xvu. 24. In the year 1804, a prominent citizen of the toAvn departed this Hfe, — Col. Joseph Foster ; who died Dec. 10, aged seventy- four. Col. Foster was a native of Ipswich. He was brought up in humble cfrcumstances, and was indebted solely to his own energy and shreAvdness for his advancement in hfe. He is supposed to have corae to this toAvn about 1760, and to have entered immediately upon those mercantile employments, in which, as a ship-master or raerchant, he was afterwards engaged to the end of his days. In the Revolutionary crisis, he was a patriot of the raost ardent stamp ; and was always ready to lend his personal exertions and his pecuniary means to help the town through the struggle. He Avas a man of rough raanners; but he enjoyed the confidence and esteem of his toAvnsmen, and was chosen frequently to vaiious important pubhc offices. He was several times elected representative, and was one of the dele gates to the CouA-entlon for forming the State Constitution. He buUt and occupied a house near the easterly end of Front Street, at the head of a lane leading to his wharf; but he had previously resided In a house still standing at the head of Hancock Street. His business had been pursued Arith such success, that he died possessed of a large estate. He left a son Joseph, who became a sea-captain, and was lost at sea about 1816; having never been heard from after learing home on a voyage to the West Indies. 492 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. CHAPTER XXVIII. First Parish. — Rev. Perez Lincoln. — Eev. Levi Hartshorn. — Rev. Hosea Hildreth. — Rev. Luther Hamilton. — Rev. Josiah K. Waite. — Rev. William Mountford. — Rev. Robert P. Rogers. — First-Parish Meeting-Houses. — Fifth Parish. — Rev. DAvm Jewett. — Rev. Wakefield Gale. — Death of Prominent Citi zens. While the measures for supplying the rehgious wants of a por tion of our people — related in the preceding chapter — Avere in progress, another pulpit was about to become vacant. The death of Rev. Dr. Forbes, In the last month of 1804, left the Ffrst Church without a pastor ; an event that had occurred but once before in more than a hundred years. After the lapse of a few raonths, the Rev. Perez Lincoln of HIngham accepted a call to settle over the parish ; and was ordained Aug. 7, 1805. The sermon at his ordination was preached by Rev. Peter Whitney of Quincy, fr-om Rev. ii. 10, latter clause ; and Avas printed. Mr. Lincoln was son of David Lincoln of Hingham, and was born Jan. 21, 1777. He graduated at Harvard College in 1798, and studied dirinity vrith Rev. Dr. Barnes of Scituate. He entered upon the duties of his office here vrith zeal and devotion ; but death, after a few years, put a period to his mini stry. His health began to faU in the fall of 1810, when he ceased to preach. His complaint, which was of a pulmonary natm-e, made such progress, that he left his parish in April, 1811, on a journey, Arith sorae hope of benefit ; but bis frame rapidly gave way to the encroachraents of the disease, and he died at Hingham on the 13th of June folio AAing. His last words were, " I die in full hope of a blessed immortality, and in a firm trust in the merits of that Redeemer which I have endeavored faith- FIEST PAEISH. EEV. PEEEZ LINCOLN. 493 fuUy to preach to others." Though his ministry was a short one, it had continued long enough to enable him to secm-e the respect and love of his parishioners, by the evidences, exhibited in his daily life, that he possessed a pm-e mind, warm heart, and correct judgraent. He is described by a contemporary as a man of conciliatory manners and agreeable deportment. It is also said that he was a good classical scholar, and that his sermons were written vrith great care, and in a style remarkably neat, chaste, and correct. Mr. Lincoln's salary was one thousand dollars a year. His church consisted of sixty-six meinbers at the beginning of bis ministry ; and, during its continuance, thfrty-eight were added : the number of baptisms, in the same time, being two hundred and forty-five ; of marriages, sixty-five ; and of deaths, two hundred and one. Mr. Lincoln's wife was Sophia, daughter of Thomas Loring, Esq., of Hingham. She remained a widow, and died Oct. 2, 1817, leaving no children. The pulpit now made vacant by the death of Rev. Perez Lin coln remained Arithout a settled pastor upwards of four years ; but preaching was held without interruption, except during two Avinters. At length, the Rev. Levi Hartshorn, having first preached to the people on the 9th of June, 1815, received and accepted a caU to become thefr minister, at a salary of seven hundred doUars. Mr. Hartshorn Avas born in Amherst, N.H., in 1789. He graduated at Dartmouth College in 1813, and was ordained over the Ffrst Parish here Oct. 18, 1815. The serraon on the occasion was preached by the Rev. Daniel Dana, D.D., of Newbmyport, from 1 Cor. I. 23, 24. The right hand of fel lowship was given by Rev. Darid Jewett of the Fifth Parish. The ministry of this young pastor, Hke that of his predeces sor, was soon cut short by death. He addressed his people, and administered the sacrament to his church, for the last time, Sept. 5, 1819. Learing soon after on a visit to his father at Amherst, he was there taken sick Arith typhus-fever, and died under the parental roof, on the 27th of that month, greatiy lamented by his church and people. 494 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. Mr. Hai-tshorn's wife, to whom he was married about a raonth after his settlement here, was Hannah EUiott of Amherst. He left two sons, — Edward and Samuel Elhott; the latter of AA-hom died Dec. 1, 1819. The former still Hves, and is a practising physician in Berlin, Mass.; where Mi-s. Hartshorn also resides, in the family of her son. In a sermon preached to the bereaved parish, Feb. 20, 1820, by Rev. Dr. Dana, the character of thefr- deceased minister is fuUy described. As a preacher, he is represented to have dAvelt much upon " those doctrines Avhich Ulustrate the awful degene racy and ruin of man, and Avhich ascribe aU his salvation to the sovereign grace of God, through the atonement of the divine Redeemer and the rencAAing energy of the Holy Spirit;" while, as a pastor, the Aortues ascribed to him by his fr-iend, and yet held in affectionate remembrance by the few siuriA-ors of his flock, shoAV that he had attained the highest degree of excellence of which fr-aU humanity is capable. Mr. Hartshorn was the last person who died in the office of rainister of the Ffrst Parish. The dirisions with regard to some of the fundamental doctrines of Calvinism, which, about the time of his death, had begun to rend many of the ancient churches of Ncav England, Avere beginning to sepai-ate the mem bers of this parish ; and, though some atterapts were made to settle a minister, none resulted in success till after a lapse of nearly six years. During this period, the pulpit was supphed by vaiious ministers ; of whom Rev. Albert Bai-nes, Rev. An drew Bigelow, and Rev. OrriUe Dewey, each remained several months. At last, the chm-ch and parish united in a caU to Hosea HU dreth, who was then, and had been for many years, an instructor in Phillips Academy, Exeter, N.H. He accepted the invita tion, and was ordained Aug. 3, 1825. The sermon on the occa sion was preached by Rev. Dr. Holmes of Cambridge, from 2 Cor. xu. 19. Mr. HUdreth Avas born in Chelmsford in 1782, and graduated at Harvard College In 1805. He brought to the performance of his new duties all the quahties necessary to make him useful as a Christian minister, and he entered upon FIEST PAEISH. EEV. H. HILDEETH. 495 them Arith the fafr-est prospects of success ; but the seeds of division and decay had taken such root in.tbe ancient parish, that no effort could restore Its former strength and vigor. The Baptists and Methodists, proselyting Arithin its limits, drew aAvay many merabers ; and dissatisfaction finally crept into the church, fr-om which seven members Avithdrew In 1829, — alleging as a reason, that they could not be instructed or edified by the pastor's preaching. Against this, the chief objection was understood to be, that it was not sufficiently doctrinal, and was not marked by an expHcit avowal of the pastor's riews upon important doctri nal points. He did, indeed, enforce good works raore than good behef; and, in his daily Hfe, Avas constantly active in endeavor ing to promote the raoral and intellectual improvement of the whole town. His zeal and abihty in the cause of temperance, both here and abroad, finally procured him an appointment as a public lecturer and agent; and his connection with the parish was dissolved, at his own request, Dec. 31, 1833. Mr. HU- di-eth died at Sterling, July 10, 1835, leaving a vridow* and several chUdren, of whom three were sons. Richard, the old est of them, has earned a Aride reputation as the author of an excellent "History of the United States." Samuel T., a gradu ate of Harvard College, and a young man of great promise, died Feb. 11, 1839. Charles H., the only one born in Gloucester, is a physician in his native town. The next minister of the parish was Rev. Luther HamUton, a native of Conway, and graduate of WiUiams College in 1817. He had recently been pastor of a church In Taunton, and came to Gloucester as a decided Unitarian In his religious vIcavs. To these views, a majority of the parish were now attached ; but a majority of the members of the church still held to the ancient faith. With sentiments frreconcUably opposed, it was not to be expected that these bodies could act harmoniously together ; and the parish invited Mr. HamUton, and fixed the day for his instaUation, before the concurrence of the church was asked. * Jlrs. Hildreth died in Gloucester, at the house of her son-in-law, Mr. James Mansfield, Jan. 22, 1859. 496 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. This conduct was deemed by the latter a mark of contempt; and, before the day fixed for IMr. Hamilton's installation arrived, they held a meeting, and voted that all connection between the church and parish should be then dissolved. The organization of the church Avas kept up till 1837 ; when, most of its mem bers having joined other churches, this venerable body, after a duration of nearly two hundred years, ceased to exist. Mr. Hamilton was instaUed Nov. 12, 1834. The sermon was preached by Rev. Dr. Brazer of Salem, and other Unitarian clergymen also engaged in the services of the occasion. Be fore the expiration of a year, a majority of his parish were as eager to discharge him as they had been to settle hira. It was a time of considerable political excitement ; and without any knowledge of his intentions, or even of his political sen timents, on the part of the majority of his parish, who were Whigs, he accepted fr-om the Democratic party a nomuiation as representative ; and was elected to that office in Novem ber, 1835. At a parish-meeting held soon afterwards, his political opponents procured a vote to dissolve the connection : but Mr. Hamilton availed himself of the conditions of his settle ment, which allowed his ministry to continue three months after notice of dissolution ; and continued to preach, though to a very small congregation, during the winter. At the close of his labors here, he left the ministry, and took an office in the Boston Custom House. At the time of IMr. Hamilton's dismission, the parish had become so reduced, that only about fifty male meinbers belonged to it. The Orthodox portion had withdraAvn, and the remaining members constituted a society of decided Unitarians. With entire unanimity, they proceeded, in the spring of 1836, to seek a minister ; and soon made an engagement Arith Rev. Josiah K. Waite, Avho was installed July 19, 1837. The sermon on this occasion was preached by Rev. Alexander Young of Boston. The ministry of Mr. Waite. continued till Sept. 30, 1849, when he resigned his pastoral office. He was a faithful pastor and a kind friend ; and his labors in behalf of temperance, and other good works, entitle him to the grateful reraembrance of our people. FIEST PAEISH. EEV. EOBEET P. EOGEES. 497 Mr. Waite's successor was Rev. WilHam Mountford, a native of England, whose reputation as a writer preceded his own arrival hi this country. Having preached to the First Parish soon after he carae to the United States, his pulpit performances were so satisfactory, that they gave him an invitation to settle as thefr mmister. He began to preach to the parish in 1850, but was not InstaUed tUl Aug. 3, 1852. Rev. F. D. Huntington of Bos ton preached the sermon on this occasion. Mr. Mountford resigned his office. May 13, 1853 ; but continued to supply the pulpit tUl the next faU. The present minister of the parish (Rev. Robert P. Rogers) was settled over it, Aug. 30, 1854. His installation afforded an opportunity to a few of the people to greet a fr-iend, who, many years before, had rainistered to them in holy things, — Rev. OrvUle DeAvey, D.D., who preached the sermon on that occasion. Mr. Rogers was born in Boston, Aug. 29, 1824. He is a nephew of the late Rev. Dr. Channing ; and therefore a de scendant of omr ancient settler, WUHam Ellery. He was some time a student in Harvard CoUege, of the class of 1844 ; but, in consequence of Ul health, was obliged to leave before his class graduated. He received his theological education at the Cam bridge Divinity School, from which he graduated in 1849 ; and in January, 1850, settled In the ministry at Canton, Mass., — his only pastorate prerious to that in which he is now success fuUy engaged, and with which the history of the Ffrst Parish Is here brought to a close. The Ffrst-Parish Meeting-house, built by seven members * of the parish In 1738, was erected on a new street, then recently laid out by the name of Cornhill Street, but noAv known as Middle Street ; and was of large dimensions. If the vote of the parish, agreeing to its size, was followed, it was sixty feet wide, seventy- five feet long, and thfrty feet stud. It stood parallel to the street, nearly out to a line Arith its northern side ; and, though no draw ing of it has been preserved, the accompanying engraving, taken * These were Epes Sargent, Andrew Eobinson, Thomas Sanders, Nathaniel Ellery, William Ellery, Philemon AVarren, jun., and William Parsons. 498 HISTOE-V OF GLOUCESTEE. from the memory of aged persons long familiar with its appear ance, may be regarded as almost, if not quite, an exact represen tation of it. Of the original appearance of the interior, no exact description can now be given. The pulpit was on the north side, opposite the front-door ; and was entered by a single flight of stafrs at the westerly end. These stafrs also gave access to two long seats — one for the elders and one for the deacons — in front of the pulpit. A spacious gaUery extended round the other three sides, and was reached by a flight of stafrs in each corner of the meeting-house. The stafrs' at the westerly end were removed about 1770, when a flight was built in the tower; but those at the easterly end remained till 1792, when the porch on that end was raised one story to raake roora for changing the access to the gallery there. For raany years, a portion of the floor was occupied by seats, of which those at the eastern end were set apart for the negroes. In course of time, however, these seats gave place to pews ; a row of pews was also built along the wall, the whole distance of the gallery ; and the arrangement of the Interior became such as is reraembered by the elderly and middle-aged people of the present time. Those worshippers who were nervous avUI not soon forget the annoyances by which thefr- devotions in the house of God were disturbed. The pews, which were square, were all built with an open-work top, forraed by a raU that rested on round pieces of wood, about a foot long, inserted in the edge of a board beneath. These open spaces in the pews offered to restless urchins a constant temptation to play, and thus occasioned con siderable noise in the house. But the greatest clatter came from the hinge-seats, when they were let doAvn by the standing con gregation at the close of prayer. This has been not inaptly compared to an fr-regular discharge of musketry. These noises, however, distmbed only a portion of the worshippers. It was on Arindy days, when the great building shook upon its founda tion and the timbers creaked with startling sounds, that the whole assembly were aAved by a feeling of insecm-ity, even in the temple of the Lord. The tower of this meeting-house was seventy feet high, and TO t=3H .:«^5iscsR«- FIFTH PAEISH. EEV. DAVID JEWETT. 499 was surmounted by a spire of equal height. The latter, accord ing to Chandler's journal, "fell by the wind, Oct. 23, 1761, about twelve o'clock at night ; " and was not replaced till 1765, when the parish voted to build a new one a thfrd shorter than the old. This one was shaken so violently by the great gale in September, 1815, that its fall was for some time momentarily expected. Though it did not yield to the force of the wind, the effect of another gale was feared; and it was soon after wards taken down to give place to a shorter and stronger one. PubHc worship was held In this house, for the last time, on Sunday afternoon, AprU 6, 1828 ; when the pastor of the parish (Rev. H. HUdreth) preached, to about six hundred hearers, a sermon on the duty of supporting the Congregational institutions of the New-England Fathers. The building was soon afterwards removed ; and, before the close of the year, the meeting-house now standing on the same spot was erected. This was dedicated Dec. 25, 1828. The sermon was preached by the pastor; and one of the hymns was read by Rev. Daniel Fuller, then in his eighty-ninth year. There remained, in 1805, another long-vacant pastorate to be filled. The Sandy-Bay Parish had been without a settled mini ster more than twenty-five years, though the place of one had been partially suppHed at different times by Mr. Cleaveland, as hereto fore related. The chmch was desolate, and the people exhibited the usual signs of a want of religious instruction and New-England sabbath influences. The field was therefore an inviting one to a sincere, earnest, and resolute spirit ; and such the parish happily found in the Rev. David Jewett, whom they chose to be thefr pastor. Mr. Jewett was son of Jacob Jewett of Hollis, N.H. ; and was born there July 16, 1774. He graduated at Dartmouth CoUege in 1801, and Avas ordained over the Fifth Parish here Oct. 30, 1805. The sermon on the occasion was preached by Rev. Samuel Worcester of Salem, from Jer. iu. 15. Rev. Pe rez Lincoln gave the right hand of fellowship ; but neither of om other parish ministers took part in the exercises, though both were present. 500 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. A considerable number of the people of the parish were Universahsts ; and, by an agreement with the majority, had control of the pulpit a certain proportion of the time, when they had Rev. Thomas Jones to preach to them. This state of things, as might have been expected, led to a A^erification of the Scrip tm-e maxim relating- to the instablHty of a house divided against itself; and a dispute grew out of it, which finaUy resulted in a lengthy lawsuit, the result of which was a surrender by the mino rity of thefr- privUege in the meeting-house. Mr. Jewett's views of rehgious truth were those entertained by most of the New-England churches of his time ; and he considered It his duty to do aU he could to prevent the spread of what he thought a dangerous delusion in his parish. But, though his course was firm and decided, it was not marked by the rancor which is often engendered in a rehgious warfare ; and he forfeited neither the affection of his friends nor the respect of his opponents. According to the just standard by which the success of a mini stry should be measured, that of Mr. Jewett entitles him to a high rank among the ministers of the town. He found a church of ten members, which he increased to two hundred and fifty. He found his people, if not in a low state of morals, yet rapidly tending thitherward ; and he arrested thefr doAvnward progress, and improved and elcA'ated them to such a degree, that the suc cess of his labors was often the theme of remark in places beyond the sphere of his work. It was, therefore, Arith a happy retrospect that he could resign his office, and cease fr-om labor, which he was compelled by IU health to do, in 1836. He re moved fr-om toAvn, and died at the house of his son-in-law, in Waltham, July 14, 1841. The people of his parish desfred that his remains should rest in a spot connected by many solemn recollections AvIth the memory of thefr- faithful and beloved pas tor ; and they Avere accordingly brought to Rockport in July, 1856, and Interred in the Parish Burying-ground, where a hand some granite monument marks the place of thefr repose. The occasion Avas one of deep interest. On the 13th of that month. Rev. ^A ilham R. Jewett, son of the deceased minister, preached FIFTH PAEISH. EEV. WAKEFIELD GALE. 501 a sermon at the meeting-house, and then made an addi-ess at the grave ; which was responded to, on behalf of the people, by Dr. Benjamin Haskell. Mr. Jewett's successor was Rev. Wakefield Gale, who is still the minister of the society. Mr. Gale was born In Pembroke, N.H., Jan. 18, 1797. He graduated at Dartmouth CoUege in 1822, and at Andover Theological Seminary in 1825. For the succeeding ten years, he was pastor of a church in Eastport, Me. ; which place he left in answer to a call to fill the vacant pastorate in this church. His Installation took place. May 4, 1836 ; when Rev. William M. Rogers of Boston preached the sermon, from Mark xvi. 15. The long continuance of Mr. Gale in the rainistry upon which he then entered is the best eridence of the success that has attended his labors. The whole number of persons who have belonged to this church since its formation is seven hundred and thfrty-eight, of whom three hundred and thirty-seven have been received under the mimstry of the present pastor. One hundred and nine males and one hundred and ninety-four females are now communicants. It also has a large sabbath school. Of all the parish churches of Gloucester, the Fifth (now the Ffr-st Congregational Church of Rockport) is the only one that has preserved a continued existence and the faith of the early settlers. The meeting-house now occupied by this society was erected in 1804, and dedicated in October of that year. Rev. Abiel Abbott of Beverly preached the dedicatory sermon. The venerable Cleaveland preached in it one Sunday, soon after its dedication; and baptized nineteen children. In 1840, it was greatly altered and improved, both inside and out, at an expense of eight thousand dollars ; so that it is now a very neat and handsome edifice.* * This house of worship was struck by lightning, Sunday, July 3, 1842, and con siderably injured. Eev. Mr. Gale has kindly furnished me the following particulars of this event: " Immediately after the benediction in the afternoon, the pastor, observing that the rain poured down in torrents, requested the congregation to be seated for a few moments. Scarcely had they complied with the request, when the whole house was surrounded and filled with the intensest light of which any one can conceive, proceed- 502 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. About the period Arith which the present chapter opens, death deprived the town of a few citizens, who may properly be noticed here. ]Mr. Joseph Procter, who is said to have come to Gloucester from Danvers, died Jan. 29, 1805, aged sixty-one. He carried on the fishing business quite extensively, and was for several years one of the selectmen. He left descendants In the town ; one of Avhom (Joseph J.), a citizen of the highest respectabUity and usefulness, was a representath-e in 1839, and died Sept. 2, 1848, aged forty-six. On the 10th of August, 1805, died John Gibaut, E^q., aged thirty-eight. His father (Capt. Edward Gibaut) was born in the Island of Jersey, and was for sixty years a resident of Salem ; from which place he removed to this toAvn, and died here NoA^ 1, 1803, aged seAenty-five. The son was an only child. He Avas a merchant, or, at least, engaged In mercantile adventmes ; and had recently arriA'ed from India, when about 1801, In reward for his partiality to Mr. Jefferson, he received the appointinent of Collector of Gloucester. He is said to have died a bachelor. Samuel "\Miittemore, Esq., died suddenly July 15, 1806, aged seventy-three. He was a natlA-e of Cambridge. He gra duated at Harvard College in 1751, and commenced teaching in Gloucester the next year ; fr-om AAhich time he became a perma nent resident. He served the toAvm as a representatiAe, and held many other offices usually conferred upon prominent citizens ; in all of which he was esteemed for an honest and faithful discharge of his duties. He was twice married : ffr-st to ^Margaret, daugh- ing from what appeared through the doors and windows large balls of fire falling to the ground. On examination, it was discovered that the lightning had struck the house on the west side of the tower; and, running quite across the house above the doors and windows, passed dowu the corner post, tearing ofif or shattering all the cover ing in its course. At the same moment, a large portion of the electric fluid escaped from the lightning-rod at the opposite end of the house, ploughing the hard gi-ound for a considerable distance, and so rarefying the air, that every pane of glass in the cellar window burst out. Great alarm seized the congregation for a moment: but, happily, no one was injured ; though probably some would have been, had they not remained in the house." SAMUEL WHITTEMOEE. 503 ter of Rev. Joshua Gee of Boston ; and next to Mrs. Sarah Parsons of Gloucester. One son and three daughters, aU by the last wife, stIU survive. A grandson (George) graduated at Harvard CoUege in 1857, — more than a century after his grandfather. 504 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. CHAPTER XXIX. Political Excitement. — Federalists and Republicans. — Storjiy Town-Meeting. — Federalists triumphant. — Embargo. — Marine Disasters. — Slow Increase of Population. — First Baptist Soci ety: ITS Ministers and its Meeting-House. — AVar avith England. — Gloucester opposes the War. — County Convention. — Mili tary Preparations for Protection of the Town. — British Ship " Nymph." — The Enemy attempt to take a Vessel at Sandy Bay. — Take Vessels in Squam Harbor. — Land at Sandy Bay. — Alarm AT Gallop's Folly. — Engine-House torn doavn by indig nant Militia. — Commerce under a Neutral Flag. — Schooner " Adolph." — Gloucester Privateering during the War. — Case of Hydrophobia. — Peace. National pohtics had, as yet, occasioned little excitement in the town : but the foreig-n pohcy of IVIr. Jefferson's administra tion aroused a strong opposition; and, in 1806, a violent party spfrit prevailed. In that year, the ticket for representatives, composed of persons fiiendly to that pohcy, — five in number, — was elected by a plurahty of sixty-nine, in a vote of five hun dred and thfrty-five. The Republicans retained thefr- ascend ency the next year ; but the embargo laid by the President towards its close, by which the chief business pursuits of om- people were threatened with destruction, aroused the Federal ists to make a strenuous effort to carry the toAvn at the March meeting in 1808. Upon a trial of strength, on the A'ote for three selectmen, after an animated contest, the Federal ticket was elected ; Benjamin K. Hough, a leading- member of the party, having two hundred and fifty-five votes, against two hundred and forty-one given for the highest Repubhcan opponent. The defeated party, confident of success In a friU vote, raUied stoemy town-meeting. 505 thefr forces at an adjournment ; and after much marching In and out of the meeting-house, by both parties, to ascertain the quahfied voters, — for the voting was then by hand-ballot, — they carried a vote to choose four additional selectmen. Dming all this time, great confusion prevailed, arising from the disputing of votes; and the passions of the people were excited to the highest pitch : but finaUy the balloting for the fom selectmen was finished some time after dark, when it was shown that Wil liam Babson, jun., Joseph Procter, and Josiah Choate, each had three hundred and twenty-nine votes ; and Solomon Pool, three hundred and twenty-four. These composed the Federal ticket. The two highest on the Republican ticket had three hundred and twenty-eight each. One of these was Daniel Rogers, jun., the moderator of the meeting. There were also three or four scat tering votes. By a strange use of arithmetic, the moderator declared three hundred and thirty-two necessary for a choice ; and that, accordingly, none were elected. Hereupon a motion was made to adjourn ; which was tried, declared, and doubted, again and again. The Parish Committee had forbidden the use of Hghts in the meeting-house, and the floor of the holy edifice presented a dim scene of wild confusion and discord worthy of Pandemonium itself. At length, at half-past ten, the moderator, upon his own proposition, was permitted to name a committee to fix upon a day of adjournment. The committee agreed upon the next Friday ; and to that day the meeting was accordingly adjourned. At the adjournment, after calling the meeting to order, the moderator announced that he had made a mistake in counting the scattering votes at the last raeeting ; and, upon correcting it, had found that three of the Federal candidates were elected. Each party had its full strength on hand, ready for another struggle; and the equaUy balanced poAver of the two sides rendered the contest one of great interest and excite ment. The first trial came on the raotion to proceed to choose the seventh selectraan ; which was carried by the Democrats, three hundred and twenty-nine to three hundred and twenty- eight. This victory was followed by another, in the election of Daniel Rogers, jun., thefr candidate for selectman, by a vote 64 506 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. of three hundred and thfrty-two, against three hundred and thirty-one ; and thus ended the first hard-fought poHtical battle in the toAATQ. These raeetings were held in tbe Ffrst-Parish Meeting-house. The leaders of each party residing at the Harbor entertained thefr friends frora the outskfrts Arith unbounded hospitahty; and each side had its own place of refreshment for general resort. A full vote had not yet been obtained, and the two parties went zealously to work to prepare for the State election soon to be held. The Democrats, not unreasonably, expected success. They had the influence of the Pearce Family, of the government officers, of Capt. John Somes, of Capt. WUHam Pearson, and of many other prominent citizens, besides the popiUar cry of " Free trade and sailors' rights." The Federahsts had the advantage, perhaps, in working and talking partisans ; and were not with out strong leaders ; among whom Mr. Hough, well known and popular ; James Hayes, Dr. William Coffin, Dr. John Manning of Sandy Bay, Major KimbaU of Squam, John Mason, and Lon son Nash, — a young laAvyer and ardent pohtician, just moved into town, — were conspicuous. The day of election came, and ended Arith a decided victory for the latter ; JMr. Gore, thefr can didate for Governor, receiving four hundred and fourteen votes, against three hundred and sixty-four cast for Mr. SuUivan, the Democratic nominee. At the election for representatives. In May, the Federahsts were again successful, by a vote nearly as large as that for Governor ; and continued to maintain thefr ascendency for a period of eight years. In common with the other seaport toAvns of New England, Gloucester was suffering severely by the embargo ; and the peo ple, at a town-meeting on the 22d of August, 1808, voted to petition the President to " suspend it, or so much of it as operated against the export trade of the country to Spain, Por tugal, and thefr Colonial dependencies." They asked for bread, and received a stone. Instead of relief, came the so-caUed " Enforcing Act," — pronounced by an historian* of the United * Hildreth, vol. vi. p. 110. EMBAEGO. MAEINE DISASTEES. 507 States " the most arbitrary piece of legislation which our nation al history exhibits ; " and the poor resource of subraission and complaint was aU that was left to them. The latter they did not fail to utter in resolutions in toAvn-meeting, and In a spfrited and eloquent address to the General Comt; all of which are preserved in the records of the town. They also gave an em phatic expression of thefr views of national policy in the vote for Governor in the spring of 1809, when the Federal candidate received more than two-thfrds of the votes. Party lines had now becoine strictly draAvn ; and party spirit ran so high, that aU social and convivial gatherings exhibited the political affinities of the people as distinctly as the caucus or the poUs. The young and the gay had thefr Federal balls and Repubhcan baUs ; while the older people had thefr political sup pers, parties, and excursions. Party celebrations of the anni versary of American independence were also in vogue. The Federahsts had one in 1808 ; on which occasion, an oration was dehvered by Lonson Nash, Esq. ; after which, the great mass of the party partook of a sumptuous dinner at Federal Hall : while the Republicans, on the same day, assembled at a grand party dinner, and gave vent to thefr patriotism in toasts, songs, and speeches. Inseparable from this state of high party excitement, which continued several years, were fr-equent personal disputes, that sometimes ended in blows : but, as a party, the Federalists exhibited Httle of the oppression or insolence of power; and, even in thefr public rejoicings over a triumph, seldom gave greater cause of offence than occasionaUy to stop thefr proces sions before the house of a prominent opponent, when some joUy tars, in a boat, would pretend to be in shoal water, and make considerable noise Arith thefr " Yo, heave ho ! " in tacking ship to get out of danger. During the years over which we have just passed, the toAvn suf fered by two marine disasters : by one, a loss in character ; and, by the other, a loss of valuable lives. On the 28th of February, 1807, the ship " Howard," Capt. Bray, from Calcutta, with a cargo of India goods, bound to Boston, was cast away in a vio lent storm, near Grape-vine Cove, on Eastern Point. Soon after 508 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. the ship struck, she broke in two ; and the captain, mate, and two hands, were swept away by a sea, and drowned. The rest of the men got ashore. The cargo was scattered along the Shore ; and, notArithstanding the best exertions by the owner's agents, and some of om- own people, a greal deal of it was pilfered. The other disaster was the loss of three Sandy-Bay fishing-boats, of about twenty tons burthen each. In a severe storm In May or June, 1808, on Cashes Ledge, by which eleven persons — all who were on board — perished. The third United-States Census, taken in 1810, showed the population of Gloucester to be five thousand nine hundred and forty-three ; a gain of about twelve per cent since 1790. This was the smallest percentage of increase in any period of twenty years since 1700; a fact which shows that neither the chief busi ness of the town — the fisheries — nor its foreign commerce had, during the last period, been pursued Arith any very prosperous results. Of those who emigrated during this period, the coast and forests of Maine received a considerable portion ; of whom, and of preceding emigrants, the condition became so poor, during the war that followed, that one of the overseers made a journey to that district in 1813 to attend to such as were supported there at the charge of the town. In June, 1811, was incorporated the Ffrst Baptist Society In Gloucester. This society owes its origin to the labors of Benja min Hale, jun., a respectable ship-master of Sandy Bay, who, while absent on a foreign voyage about 1804, was converted in a somewhat remarkable manner. Upon his retum from this voy age, he opened bis house for religious meetings : and through his labors, Avith occasional assistance, several persons were brought together from different parts of the town ; and on the 30th of March, 1808, a church, consisting of eight males* and ten fe males, was organized. In 1809, Capt. Hale was Hcensed to preach, and he frequently exercised his gifts for the edification of * The names of these were Benjamin Hale, John Smith, Ebenezer Pool, Seth AVood bury, William Smith, Nehemiah Grover, Nathan F. Morgan, and Solomon Pool. Capt. Hale removed from Sandy Bay about 1812; but returned, and died there in 1818, aged forty-two. FIEST BAPTIST SOCIETY. 509 the church ; though, for about three years from this time. Rev. Ehsha S. WUliams of Beverly often officiated. In 1812, the chm-ch had increased to thirty-two members ; but, duiing the next eight years, it had no additions, and only had pubhc wor ship a few sabbaths in each year, though religious meetings were held at the house of one of the brethren (Ebenezer Pool) every Sunday afternoon. At the end of this tirae, the society made an effort to settle a minister ; and finaUy succeeded. In December, 1820, In obtaining Rev. Jaines A. Boswell, a young and devoted pastor, under whose ministry the church began to Increase and prosper. Mr. Boswell left in February, 1823. The society was poor, and long periods elapsed in which it had no preaching. At last, they procured Rev. Reuben Curtis in the fall of 1827, who remained about three years. He commenced his ministry during the time of a great revival at the Cape, when upwards of two hundred were added to the old chmch there, and over sixty to the Baptist Chm-ch. The foUoAring has been the succession of pastors since Mr. Curtis: Bartlet Pease, 1831; Otis Wing, 1834; Gibbon Wil liams, an Enghshman, 1837 ; Benjamin Knight, 1838 ; Otis Wing, 1840 ; L. B. Hathaway, 1843, died in his ministry; Ben jamin N. Harris, 1844; Sarauel C. Gilbert, 1846; Thomas Driver, 1849; George Lyle, 1850; Thomas Driver, 1852; AUen E. Battel, 1855 ; Joseph M. Driver, 1856 to the present time. The Baptists of Sandy Bay held thefr raeetings for public worship in a hall for about two years after the settlement of Mr. BosweU. In 1822, they erected their present house of worship, and occupied it that year, though no pews were built In It till 1828. It was not dedicated with the usual formalities ; but an appropriate discourse was dehvered by Mr. Boswell when it was fii-st opened for rehgious worship. The poUtical troubles In which the country had long been involved Arith Great Britain were now to be settled by the arbi trament of battle. In June, 1812, the Congress of the United States declared war against that nation ; a raeasure deemed by a majority of the people of Gloucester, as of the whole Northern 510 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. section of the Union, uuArise, impohtic, and unjust. The busi ness interests of the town were almost wholly commercial, and the people had long suffered from what they felt to be the hos tility of the governraent to the maritime prosperity of the country. " Our home," they said, " is on the ocean ; our wealth we draw from the deep ; and by dangers and sufferings, which from repe tition have become faraihar, we support ourselves, our Arives, and our children." Depending thus upon a free use of the sea for their maintenance, they gave expression to earnest denunciations of the war that drove thera frora thefr custoraary pursuits, and omitted no occasion to declare thefr sentiments by thefr votes. A strong war-party, however, existed in the town, and made In the spring of this year a vigorous struggle for the ascendency; throwing four hundred and one votes for Dr. John Kittredge for moderator of the March meeting, against four hundred and ninety-fom- cast for Mr. Hough. This was a full vote, and there fore a fuU expression of the political Aiews of the people. A few days after the declaration of war, a town-raeeting was held, at which an address to the citizens of the Comraonwealth, on " the portentous crisis of our national affafr-s," was adopted with but two dissenting voices ; and, on the 13th of July, the town, in its corporate capacity, chose delegates to a County Con vention for the pm-pose of consulting upon the " aAv^ful and alarming situation of the country." The delegates were Wilham Dane, Robert Elwell, 3d, John Mason, Lonson Nash, and Daniel Rogers. The convention assembled at IpsArich, July 21, and adopted a " declaration " embodying the views upon national affafrs held by the Federal party, and expressing in strong lan guage thefr opinions and feehngs in opposition to the war. The anticipated effects of the war upon the prosperity of the town were fully realized. The fisheries were interrupted; its commerce was nearly destroyed, though some was carried on under cover of a false neutrahty ; and many of its citizens were made captives at sea, and confined in EngHsh prisons. It was not till the second year of the war, however, that the enemy began to annoy om- people at home, and create alarm for the safety of the town. The militia and the artUlery company of MILITAEY PEEP.AEATIONS. 511 the town were as yet its sole means of defence, vrith the excep tion of a subaltern's guard, having four cannon, stationed at the fort coraraanding the entrance of the inner harbor. This force was now Increased ; more large guns were suppHed ; the old fort at the Stage was repaired, and barracks were buUt there ; and two companies of State miHtia — one under command of Capt. Ben jamin Haskell, and the other mider that of Capt. Widger of Ipswich — were raised by draught, and stationed here for the protection of the place. Another company was draughted by authority of the United States, and stationed at the Govern ment Fort, under command of Abraham WUhams of Newbm-y- port. The necessity for these preparations was soon apparent. In August, 1813, the British ship "Nymph," then cruising off the coast, commenced depredations upon the fishermen and coasters, and occasioned considerable alarm among the inhabitants. She made several captures : but her captain released his prizes upon the payment of a ransom ; for the purpose of raising which, the masters of three coasters and six fishing-boats were ashore at one time. The amount then requfred was two hundred dollars for each vessel. Resistance in all these cases was, of course, useless ; but in one, in which the force of the enemy was less formidable, our people defended their property successfully. Some tirae in August, one of the enemy's cruisers, of about sixty tons, caUed the " Commodore Broke," stood into Sandy Bay, Avith the intention of taking one or more loaded coasters then lying at anchor there. Having neared the shore, and wishing, perhaps, first to try the courage of the people, she fired several large and grape shot into the village ; upon which the men of the place assembled on the Neck, and fr-om the north-easterly part of the old wharf, where they had a smaU cannon, began to fire upon the enemy with that, and also with thefr small-arms. At this time, the captain of the cruiser had coramenced sweeping out of the bay : but the Cape men did not let him escape with out shoAring him a token of thefr spirit and skill ; for the first cannon-ball they fired at him entered the schooner under her transom, and, passing under deck, came out near ber stem, above 512 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. water. The firing upon the vessel was kept up from Bearskin Neck, and the men at Pigeon Cove gave her several rausket-shot as she passed thefr shore : but she got off without further da mage ; and our people, by thefr bravery, preserved a considerable amount of property. In the next year (1814), the enemy had several large ships on our coast, and the summer was one of con stant alarms ; so much so, that many families moved thefr most valuable effects into some of the neighboring villages. On the 6th of June, an English frigate came Into Ipswich Bay, and sent two barges, well manned, Into Squam Harbor, to take or destroy a few vessels then lying there. One of these — a sloop laden with Hme, belonging to Boston — was bm-nt ; another sloop was sunk ; and two small schooners, laden with flsh, were carried off. While committing these depredations, the enemy shoAved some forbear ance In sparing, at the entreaties of Oakes and Millet, a sloop belonsrinsr to them, and in leavlnsc another unharmed on account of her name, — the "Federalist." About the same time, a Ports mouth schooner, laden with flour, was chased by one of the enemy's cruisers into Gloucester Harbor, and run ashore some where on Eastern Point. Some men were sent from the cruiser in a boat to take possession of the schooner ; but Col. Appleton, then commanding the Gloucester regiment of militia, had by this time arrived at the spot with the artillery coinpany, who used their guns with such effect, that the enemy were driven off, and the schooner was saved. In this or the preceding year, another schooner, being chased by an English frigate, Avas run ashore at Norman's Woe. The artillery hastened to her relief; but the barges of the frigate, under protection of her guns, succeeded in getting her off and taking her away. A more important affafr- occurred in September at Sandy Bay. The people of that place had, in the spring of this year, erected at thefr oAvn expense a fort on the point of Bearskin Neck, and procm-ed for it three carriage-guns, which Avere placed in charge of a corporal, Arith a detachment from one of the companies at the Harbor. On the Sth of September, the British frigate "Nymph" took one of the fishing-boats belonging to the place; THE ENEMY LAND AT SANDY BAY. 513 and her skipper (Capt. David Elwell) was compelled to act as pilot for two barges, fuU of men, which the captain of the fri gate determined to send in to get possession of the fort. These barges started from the frigate about midnight, and, hidden from sight by a dense fog, were rowed with rauffied oars towards the Neck ; and, haAdng reached it, one of the barges proceeded into Long Cove, and landed her men at what is called " the Eastem Gutter." The enemy then marched to the fort ; took the sentinel by surprise ; made prisoners of the soldiers, four teen in nuraber ; and spiked the guns, which they thrcAv out of the fort. The other barge went into the old dock on the western side of the Neck ; where her men soon encountered some of the people of the village, who had been roused by an alarm given by a sentinel stationed on the Neck, not far from the houses. It was now daybreak, and a clear morning. Seve ral musket-baUs were fired at this barge by three of the Cape men, who got in return cannon and grape-shot, but received no injury from them. To sUence the alarm-bell, which was now ringing, several shot were fired at the belfry of the Meeting house, one of which struck one of the posts of the steeple. But this attempt had a disastrous and nearly fatal termination for the enemy ; for the firing of their large gun caused a butt to start in the bow of the barge, which soon began to fill with water, and finally sunk just as the men got her In near the rocks back of the pier. The officer in command, and a few of his men, ran across the Neck ; and, seizing a boat, made thefr- escape. The rest, a dozen or more, were made prisoners. In the mean time, the men who took the fort had, Arith all their prisoners, or a part of them, got into thefr- barge, and were on their way back to the frigate. The alarm created by this affafr soon spread all over the Cape ; and the mUitary forces of the town, under Col. Appleton, started for Sandy Bay ; though, upon news that they were not needed, only a part proceeded to the place. An exchange of prisoners was proposed ; but Col. Appleton, not feeHng author ized to make one, detached a platoon, under Lieut. Charles Tarr, to take charge of those in possession of om people tUl they could 65 514 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. be sent to the depot In Salem. On the night foUoAring, a number of men in disguise rescued the prisoners fr-om Tarr, and effected an exchange ; by which the men who had been carried away In the barge, and some belonging to other places, previously taken (about twenty In all), were released. It is difficult to conceive any other design in this landing than a wanton destiuction of life and property : and yet the English captain, in the conclusion of the affafr, promised the Cape people unmolested use of thefr fishing-grounds during the rest of the faU ; and he kept his word.* A few days after the affafr just related, the people of the to-wn were again alarraed, by a reported attempt of the enemy to land near Gallop's Folly. One of thefr fr-igates had chased a boat ashore at that place, and sent in a flag, Arith a demand that an officer of the ship should be allowed to search her. Whether this was a ruse to cover a design to help themselves to some of the cattle grazing near the shore, as some supposed, or not, no one can tell ; but, whatever the pm-pose was, the presence of Col. Appleton vrith the whole mUitary force of the toAvn, numbering about four hundred men, soon caused the Arithdrawal of the enemy, and reheved aU apprehensions of harm for the moment. WhUe marching and countermarching in sight of the enemy's * A contemporary newspaper account of this affair differs so much from that which I have given, derived from actors in it, that I here insert it: — " Thursday, Sept. 9, 1814. — About daybreak, three barges full of men, from three frigates and a seventy-four, landed at Sandy Bay, and took possession of the fort, in which were four guns and fourteen men. The men were made prisoners. They then turned the guns upon the town, and fired upon the Meeting-house, where the alarm-bell was ringing. The artillery and militia companies, and soldiers from the fort, were im mediately on the march (the artillery in thirty minutes from the alarm). A skirmish took place, in which several were killed and wounded on eaoh side ; the number not known. Our troops finally succeeded in driving off the enemy after they had spiked the guns at the fort and thrown thera overboard, and succeeded in taking thirteeu prisoners by one of their barges upsetting. Great credit is due to the militia and re gulars of Gloucester for their activity. It is said they turned out to a man in a very few minutes. Great consternation prevailed at the first alarm at Gloucester; as itwas represented the enemy had landed three thousand troops, and were marching directly into the harbor. Four of the fourteen prisoners escaped from one of the barges by swimming, and one was drowned." No life was lost; but it was supposed for a time that a missing man was drowned. The gun taken from the barge is stiU preserved at Eockport. ENGINE-HOUSE TOEN DOWN. 515 ship. Col. Appleton received a message frora the Committee of Safety at the Harbor to return thither as soon as possible, as there were strong indications that the enemy were intending to land there. He therefore hastened back, but found the alarm sub sided. It was on tbis occasion that a memorable outrage was com mitted by some of our oavq soldiers on thefr return from the Cape. WhUe the East -Ward Company was on its march down, one or two engine-men — a class exempted from military duty — assaUed the soldiers Arith some jeering remarks, by which thefr anger was greatly excited. A day of hard duty did not tend to mollify them : and, as soon as they were dismissed after thefr return, sorae of the most furious rushed immediately to the engine-house, which was just in the rear of the company's place of rendezvous, near the Ffrst-Parish Meeting-house, and, in a few seconds, leveUed it to the ground ; not, without entreaty, sparing even the engine frora destruction. A few suggested the propriety of seeking and punishing the offenders ; but it was thought best by the majority to forgive the offence as a sudden ebulhtion of patriotic Indignation. It has been afready stated, that, during the war, some com merce was carried on by our people in vessels disguised as neu- ti-als. But this was not pursued to any great extent; for, though the profits were large, the risk and expenses were also great. Adventurers belonging to other places also made use of our port Arith one vessel, at least, under a neutral flag. In the latter part of 1813, a vessel, purporting to be the Swedish schooner " Adolph," came into the harbor, ostensibly frora St. Bartholo mew, but really frora Hahfax, N.S. ; furnished, of course, with forged papers, to carry out the deception. She was laden with sugar ; but also brought many valuable goods of the prohibited British raanufacture, which, by various ingenious devices, were smuggled ashore. In a few days, she was cleared, vrith a cargo of flour, for St. Bartholomew ; but her port of destination was Halifax. After an absence of fourteen days, she was again at anchor in Gloucester Harbor. A fortnight for a voyage to the West Indies and back was rather too barefaced an imposition to 516 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. succeed at the Custora House ; and the collector seized the vessel, stripped off her sails, and placed an inspector on board. Before all this was done, however, several contraband articles were landed ; and some were sunk under the vessel, to be reco vered at a favorable time. The croAvnIng act of recklessness and daring reraains to be told. One night in January, during a violent snow-storm (the master and crew being on board), the agents on shore, with the help of several men, took the saUs from the place where the collector had deposited them, and carried thera on board the schooner ; which, in a few hours, they raade ready for sea. During all this time, they kept the custom-house officer locked In the cabin ; but, when the vessel was about to leave her anchorage to put out of the harbor, he was forced into the revenue-boat, and left, with a bottle of liquor and some bread and meat, to pass the rest of the night there as pleasantly as he could. The schooner got safely out of the bay ; and, as may be supposed, did not again return. Wben the storm cleared away In the morning, the report Avas soon spread abroad, that the Swedish schooner had sunk at her anchors ; but the poor sufferer in the custom-house boat had a different tale to teU. The people of Gloucester did not engage in privateering to any great extent during the war. The only vessels of consider able size that were fitted out frora the town were the schooners " Swordfish," " Thrasher," and " Orlando." The tAvo former were taken by the enemy on their second cruise. The " Or lando," after making two cruises, in which she took no valuable prize, was lengthened thfrty feet, and rigged into a ship. She was then fitted out again as a privateer, under command of Capt. Jo seph Babson, Avho had preriously commanded her one cruise as a schooner. She was no more fortunate, hoAvever, in her new rig than in the old one. The most daring performance of either of these vessels was the capture, by the " Thrasher," of an English East-Indiaman of tAventy guns, manned with upwards of a hun dred men. The " Thrasher " was of about one hundred and fifty tons bm-then, and carried fourteen guns and ninety men. When she fell in with the ship, a large fieet of English merchant men, under convoy of ships-of-war, was In sight. The captain PEIVATEEEING. 517 of the " Thrasher " (Robert Evans) made up his mind to atterapt the capture of the Indiaraan by boarding ; and accordingly ran boldly alongside of her. The boarders, to the number of twenty- seven, immediately sprang upon the deck of the ship, and, alraost without resistance, secured instant possession of her. The Eng Hsh captain was ignorant of the existence of war between the two nations, and was therefore, in some degree, taken by surprise ; though the audacity of the attack was sufficient to overpower a commander of ordinary self-possession and bravery. The ship was one of the most valuable prizes ever captured ; but the vic tors, for want of common prudence, soon lost her, and became prisoners themselves. The prize-master, instead of keeping her on her course whUe dayUght lasted, so that he could avail him self of the night to effect his escape from the fleet, foolishly steered off in another dfrection, and thus attracted attention from the Enghsh ships-of-war ; one of which immediately gave chase, and soon again placed her in possession of her captain and his crew. The " Thrasher " herself, not long afterwards, was cap tured by an English frigate, and sent into Gibraltar. Besides these vessels, three or four fishing-boats were fitted out from the town on privateering cruises. The largest and raost successful of these was the " Madison," of twenty-eight tons. She carried tAVenty-elght men ; and, in one short cruise, took a ship of four hundred tons, laden with timber and naval stores, and a brig of three hundred tons, bound to Halifax, with a valu able cargo. Both of these prizes were sent into Gloucester, and are said to have yielded to the captors about nine hundred dol lars a share. A bold achieveraent in the merchant serrice, at this time. Is worthy of notice. The brig " Pickering " of this town, of two hundred and fifty tons, Ellas Davis captain, was taken, whUe on her passage from Gibraltar home, by the British frigate " Belvi dere." After taking from the brig all her crew except the cap tain, and his son, who was first mate, the British captain placed her in charge of a prize-crew, and ordered her to Halifax. The captaui of the brig, loath to lose a fine new vessel of which he himself was part owner, devised a plan of recapture ; and, with 518 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. the aid of bis son, again got coramand of her, and brought her safely to Gloucester. In the fall of 1813, a few small vessels belonging to the toAvn went out on coasting voyages to Southern ports, where they were detained by the Enibargo Act of the following AAonter. Several of the masters left thefr- vessels ; and, embarking at Ehzabeth City, N.C, in an open boat, arrived horae in April, 1814, after a passage of thirty-four days, during which they had hauled thefr boat fifty miles across capes and headlands. Before passing along in this period of our history, some ac count should be given of the only case of hydrophobia ever known to have occurred in the toAvn. On the 8th of November, 1813, a young girl named Mina Dowsett, aged fifteen, died of this dreadful disease. In the month of IMarch preceding, she was bitten by a dog on entering a dAvelling where the animal belonged ; but, as no effects of the vfrus were manifested tlU three daj^s before she died, all apprehensions of injury had sub sided. The case was attended vrith all the usual characteristics of the disease, till death relieved her from Its tortures. It was by restrictions on trade that Gloucester was the greatest sufferer in the war of 1812 : for, though many of its men en gaged In privateering and the naval serrice, nearly aU of them returned to home and fr-iends ; and, though many of the people were deprived of accustomed gratifications, there was none of that want of the necessaries of Hfe, which, in the Revolutionary struggle, was so severe and distressing. And yet peace was now welcomed with extravagant demonstrations of joy, strangely con trasting Arith the apparent indifference with which that of 1783 was received. The emotions of the people were, however, in both cases, properly expressed : in the latter, they were too deep for jubilant celebration. However wide apart the riews of our people had been vrith regard to the justice and necessity of the war, there was no dif ference in the feelings Arith which, in Februai-y, 1815, they received the news of peace. On the evening of its reception, the large meeting-house of the Ffrst Parish was brUlIantly illu minated; and, for the first time, its venerable waUs resounded PEACE. 519 patriotic songs, mingled Arith shouts of merriment and joy. There was also an iUumination at Sandy Bay. Shortly after wards, the event was celebrated by a grand ball; and soon a rerival of trade and the regular pursuits and rewards of Indus try added thefr testimonial to the advantages and blessings of peace.* * The following fractions represent the proportion of the property of the town in each parish at the close of the war : — First Parish 210-360 Second Parish 37-360 Third Parish 42-360 Fourth Parish 15-360 Fifth Parish 56-360 520 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. CHAPTER XXX. The Federalists lose Ascendency. — The Sea-Serpent. — Boys droavned. — universal benevolent society, and its ministers. — John Kittredge. — Shipwreck of Brig "Rebecca Ann." — Dr. Ephraim Davis. — First Preaching of Methodism in Town, and Methodist Societies. — First Printing-Press. — " Gloucester Tel egraph." — Abortive Efforts to establish Religious .Tournals. — Shipwreck of the "Persia." — Evangelical Church and Society, AND ITS Ministers. — North Orthodox Congregational Church, and its Ministers. — Second Baptist Society, and its Ministers. — Great Fire. — Political Excitement. — Democrats and Whigs. The " Gloucester Democrat." — Revival of regular Public Wor ship IN the Second P.\rish. — Dr. Ebenezer Dale. — Dr. Henry Prentiss. — Great Storm. — Many Vessels wrecked, and several Lives lost. It has afready been stated, that the Federalists maintained their ascendency in the town for eight years. Political exciteinent subsided In some degree after the peace of 1815, but did not wholly die aAvay till after the Repubhcans obtained the control of the town. This event took place at the March meeting in 1816 ; when thefr ticket for selectmen prevaUed by a plurality of twelve. In a vote of six hundred and fifty-fom-. The Fede ralists were peculiarly sensitive, perhaps, on this occasion, and complained loudly of some of the acts of the moderator, — Dr. Kittredge. But the mission of thefr party was accomplished. They were beaten again on the vote for Governor In April, and again at the representative election in May, when Capt. Parrott was chosen over Mr. Hough. Some embers of the old fire were kept alive, and blazed out once more in the attempt, in 1823, to elect Mr. Otis Governor : but, soon after that time, the old party Hnes becaine entirely obliterated; and, for a period of about the sea-seepent. 521 ten years, no questions of national politics created excitement in the toAvn. In August, 1817, Gloucester became a centre of pubhc inte rest on account of the visit of the famous sea-serpent to its waters. The particulars relating to the appearance of this creatme in om ' harbor were gathered by the New-England Linnaean Society, and were given on oath before Hon. Lonson Nash, then and stiU a magistrate of the town. Mr. Nash himself saw the serpent at the distance of about two hundred and fifty yards. It was so long, that the two extremes were not visible at one view with a telescope ; and he therefore judged it to be from seventy to a hundred feet in length. He perceived eight distinct portions, or bunches, apparently caused by the vertical motion of the animal, which he conjectured to be straight. In this vertical motion all the testimonials agree, as weU as in the apparent bunches. The track made in the water was visible for half a mile ; and the progress of the animal, when on the surface, a mile in fom- nunutes : but, when immersed, he appeared, by the motion of the water, which could be often traced, to move a mile in two rainutes, or three at the raost. His body was of the size of a half-barrel, apparently rough, and of a very dark color : in which latter particular, aU the accounts coincide. A ship-raaster and two of his men approached this monster Arithin the short distance of thfrty feet. In their description of its head, they say it darted out its tongue, the extremity of which resembled a harpoon, to the extent of two feet, raising It per pendicularly, and again letting it faU. They also describe its motion as at the rate of twelve or fourteen miles an hour. Another ship-master, who saw the serpent three times at the distance of about one hundred and fifty yards, twenty or thfrty persons being present, thought its length eighty or ninety feet, and its size that of a half-barrel. In turning short and quick, the first part of the curve it made resembled the link of a chain ; but, when the head came parallel with the tail, they appeared near together. When on the surface of the water, its raotion was sloAv; the aniraal at times playing about in cfr-cles, and at 522 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. others moring nearly straight onward. In disappearing, it ap parently sank dfrectly down. Ten depositions were given in, aU of them agreeing as to the size, shape, and motion of this wonderful creature, as well as in less iraportant particulars. On the 14th of August, he was approached Arithin thfrty feet ; and, his head appearing above water, was greeted with a baU from the gun of an experienced sportsman belonging to the toAvn. A moment's anxious suspense followed, during which the raen in the boat expected to pay dearly for thefr temerity; for the creature tumed immediately towards thera, as if to approach. But he sank down, and went directly under the boat, again making his appearance at about one hundred yards' distance. He did not tum down Hke a fish, but appeared to settle dfrectly down Hke a rock. The sea-serpent was seen in Long-Island Sound on the 5th of October, 1817, by several persons, and in many other places Arithin a few subsequent years. He came into omr vicinity again in 1819; when he was seen by a person at Marblehead, who thought he could perceive as many as twenty protuberances. But this gentleman was a little " fluttered ; " and his testimony is less reh able, as well as less minute, than that of another gentleman, who saw him, about the same time, at or near Nahant. In a letter to Col. T. H. Perkins, who, it seems, had seen the serpent in our harbor in 1817, he describes his appearance, and states that he saw him at a distance of about one hundred and fifty yards, and examined him attentively four or five minutes. His description of the monster does not vary in any material respect fr-om that of the persons who saw him here. The capture of the young sea-serpent, about four weeks after the depositions in relation to the large one Avere given by some of our citizens, Avas not the least remarkable event connected AvIth this affafr. This creature was killed by a farmer, near Good-Harbor Beach, with a pitchfork, and was exhibited for a few days at the house of Capt. John Beach ; after which. It Avas carried to Boston, and examined by a coinmittee of the Lin naean Society, who pronounced it to belong to the same species as the great serpent. THE SEA-SEEPENT. 523 Another cfrcumstance should not be omitted. This was the captme, dmmg the period of the excitement, of a monstrous fish, reported extensively to be the sea-serpent itself, but finally ascertamed to be nothing of greater strangeness than a very large horse-mackerel. The existence of an enormous marine animal of the serpent kind had been affirmed long before this time. One had been seen in om oavu waters even as early as 1639 ; when a visitor* to New England was told " of a sea-serpent, or snake, that lay quoUed up Hke a cable upon a rock at Cape Ann. A boat pass ing by Arith EngHsh aboard, and two Indians, they would have shot the serpent ; but the Indians dissuaded them, saying, that, if he were not kUled outright, they would be aU in danger of thefr lives." The existence of such an animal had been avouched by Pontopiddan, Bishop of Bergen ; by Rev. Donald M'Lean of Scotland; and, in om oaati country, by a man In Plymouth In 1815 ; and by Rev. W. Curaraings, who saw a sea-monster in Penobscot Bay in 1809, judged by him to be sixty feet long, and reported by the inhabitants of some of the islands there to have been frequently seen by thera. In view of all this testimony, and particularly of that of so many intelHgent and respectable citi zens of Gloucester, what shall we say ? — that this monster was indeed a visitor from that " gloomy and pathless obscure," the horae of — " Salamander, snake, dragon, — vast reptiles that dwell In the deep " ? — or that aU the relations conceming hira must take their place in the history of popular delusions ? In the chronological course of events, we next corae to a me lancholy disaster that occurred in the Harbor Cove, Sunday, April 11, 1819. On the afternoon of that day, five boys, who had gone out in a boat for fishing and diversion, were thrown overboard by the upsetting of their boat near Sargent's Wharf. They were aU supposed to be drowned ; but, the bodies having Josselyn: Massachusetts Historical Collections, vol. xxiii. p. 228. 524 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. been soon recovered, great exertions were made to resuscitate them, and one was restored to Hfe. The four corpses were buried from the Ffrst-Parish Meeting-house.* A new society of Universalists was organized in the toAvn (at Sandy Bay) on the 7th of February, 1821, under the name of the Universal Benevolent Society. The constitution was signed by twenty-three persons, many of whom had formerly been for some years members of the society at the Harbor. The Univer salists of Sandy Bay united vrith those of the opposite faith In erecting a meeting-house there In 1804, on condition that they should have the use of it two-fifths of the time ; and, for a con siderable period, they had religious serrices in it, on thefr allotted sabbaths, by Rev. Thomas Jones and other preachers. Difficul ties in relation to this partnership finally arose, and terminated in a lawsuit ; the result of which was, that they were obhged to give up the right in the house for which they had originaUy stipulated. The new society carried on religious worship a few Sundays in every year, for several years. In the schoolhouse near the Beach, opposite the Burying-ground. The ministers who offi ciated for thera most frequently were Revs. Lafayette Mace, J. H. Bugbee, J. GUman, J. P. Atkinson, and H. Ballou. In 1829, they built the house of worship they now occupy ; having laid the corner-stone, June 24 of that year, vrith Masonic cere monies. It was dedicated Oct. 8, when Rev. Thomas Jones dehvered the dedicatory sermon. Rev. Lafayette Mace was the first mimster of the society who preached in the raeeting-house. The succession of ministers to the present time has been as follows: 1830, Lucius R. Paige; 1832, B. B. Murray ; 1835, A. C. L. Arnold ; 1837, Charles Spear ; 1839, Gibson Smith ; 1841, John AUen ; 1844, H. C. Leonard; 1846, E. Locke ; 1849, S. C. HcAritt; 1850, H. van Campen; 1853, A. C. L. Arnold; 1856, WUHam Hooper; May, 1858, J. H. Farnsworth, who is the minister at this time. He * The names of these lads were AiVilliam Turner, aged eighteen; AVilliam Smith, sixteen; James Smith, fourteeu; and Benjamin Butler. The boy resuscitated was named Daniel Sargent. SHIPWEECK OF BEIG " EEBECCA ANN." 525 was born in Hartford, Conn., In 1822; and was educated in the pubhc schools, in which he has also been a teacher. His mini stry, previous to his removal to Rockport, was at Belfast, Me. His labors for the society have advanced it to a higher degree of prosperity than it has ever before enjoyed. Passing along to 1822, Ave come to notice the death, Aug. 31, of John Kittredge, Esq., at the age of forty-five. He was a son of Hon. Thomas Kitteedge, an eminent physician and eamest repub hcan of Andover. He graduated at Harvard College in 1795, and studied medicine; but left the practice in 1805 to take the office of coUector of the customs here. Dr. Kittredge was a prominent and useful citizen, and his death was a pubhc calamity. His only son (Thoraas), born Nov. 17, 1811, graduated at Dart mouth CoUege in 1833, and received a diploma as a practitioner of medicine at Jefferson College, Pa. ; but never entered upon the pubhc practice of his profession. He died In Milton, July 27, 1845. In the year 1823, our shore was again the scene of a distress ing shipAvreck. On Sunday evening, March 30, the brig " Re becca Ann," Capt. Timothy Walker, putting in for a harbor at the commencement of a violent snow-storm, went ashore at Nor man's Woe. AU on board — ten in number — were Immedi ately swept from the deck by the violence of the sea ; and, with the exception of one man, were aU drowned. This man (named Dix) was saved by gaining a rock, over which the sea did not break. Among the sufferers were two passengers, — Capt. John Whitten of Kennebunk, and Robert Patten of Eastport. The bodies were all found, and buried, with suitable rehgious solem nities, from the Ffrst-Parish Meeting-house, on the foUoAring Wednesday. The brig was bound to Porto Rico ; but, having sprung a leak when three days out, was retuming to port when driven into our harbor by the storm. On the llth of December, 1825, died Dr. Ephraim Daris. He is said to have been born in Connecticut, and to have studied medicine with Dr. Holmes of Canterbury. He came to Massa chusetts when a young man, and practised successively in Essex, Manchester, and Sandy Bay, before settling in the Harbor Par- 526 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. ish ; where he ended his days at the advanced age of eighty-five, leaAing a son of his own name. About this time, efforts began to be made to form a Methodist society in the town, — efforts which, here as in every other part of the country, have tended, in a marked degree, to promote the cause of rehgion, moraUty, and education. The first preacher of this sect who risited the toAvn was Rev. George Pickering, presiding elder of the Boston District. This was in 1806. Just before that year, John Edney, an EngUsh Wesleyan, raoved into toAvn, and occupied a house then standmg on the westerly edge of the MUl Pond, In Town Parish. It was probably at Edney's desfre that Mr. Pickering carae here to preach ; for the ffrst meetings were held at his house. Thefr rehgious exer cises were marked by the peculiarities usual to the sect at that time ; and great crowds flocked to Edney's house, out of curio sity, to know something about the new kind of worship intro duced into the toAvn. Upon this, some of the citizens became alarmed for the peace and good-order of society ; and, having made formal apphcation to the selectmen to interfere, that body caUed upon the minister, and requested him to leave the toAvn. But there was no fear that the hateful spfrit of rehgious perse cution could be again aroused in Gloucester ; and the preacher calmly assured the officers of the toAvn, that he knew what he was about, and that he should remain and preach just as long as there was a prospect of doing good. A few converts were the fruits of these early labors : but the field appears to have been almost entirely abandoned from this time tUl 1821 ; when, and during the fom- foUoAving years, Mr. Pickering, as a mis sionary of the New-England Conference, frequently visited the town, and preached either In a private house, or in the old meeting-house "up in toAvn." On these Aisits, "class-meetings " for religious inqufr-y and conversation were held ; and then were laid the foundations of a perraanent ministry. A society, consisting of about twenty persons, was organized in 1826 ; in which year. Rev. Aaron Wait was appointed to the new station, which embraced the whole Cape. His Sunday labors were usuaUy performed in the old meeting-house, before METHODIST SOCIETIES. 527 mentioned, till the fall of 1828 ; when he began to preach in a new one erected on Prospect Street, In the Harbor Parish. This building was dedicated Oct. 22 of this year. Rev. John Lindsey, presiding elder, preached the sermon on that occasion. Mr. Wait and the following succeeding ministers — WUHam R. Stone, Aaron Lummus, Aaron Josselyn, John Bailey, and Leonard B. Griffing — labored both in the Harbor and Town parishes, occasionaUy preaching at Sandy Bay, tUl 1838 ; when a meeting-house was erected for the Methodists of Town Parish, at a cost of about twenty-five hundred dollars, on a lot given for the purpose by Samuel Cm-tis. It was dedicated Nov. 16, 1838. The sermon on the occasion was preached by Rev. Moses L. Scudder of Boston. The society worshipping in it has enjoyed constant preaching doAvn to the present time, and is now in a fiourishing condition. It has upwards of eighty communicants, and a sabbath school of one hundred and fifteen scholars.* The Methodists at the Harbor also had constant preaching, in thefr first house of worship, till 1858 ; when they purchased the meeting-house on Elra Street, erected a few years ago by seceders from the Independent Christian Society, which they now occupy.f The Methodists of Sandy Bay erected a small house of wor ship in 1838, which was dedicated by Bev. L. B. Griffing In the same year. The first minister stationed there was Rev. Israel Washburn, in 1839. In 1843, this society seceded from the Conference, and became a Wesleyan Church ; but returned in 1858, and formed a part of the Lynn District. They enlarged thefr chapel in 1844. Their church has fifty members ; and thefr * The succession of ministers has been as follows: 1838, L. B. GriflSng; 1840, Ben jamin F. Lambord; 1841, Ziba B. C. Dunham; 1842, Zachariah A. Mudge; 1843, Tho mas C. Pearce; 1844, C. E. Foster; 1845, Daniel Eichards; 1847, John Paulson; 1848, John G. Cary ; 1850, Jarvis Wilson ; 1851, Augustus F. Bailey ; 1853, William F. La Count ; 1855, Z. B. C. Dunham ; 1856, Horace F. Morse ; 1858, Samuel A. Cushing. t The following ministers have preached to this society since 1838 : E. M. Beebe, Stephen Hiler, H. P. Hall, Joel Steele, Mr. Burrows, H. M. Bridge, W. C. Clark, John Collum, J. Wilson, Linus Fish, H. E. Parmenter, and N. Soule. Three of them (Messrs. Burrows, Clark, aud Collum) were local preachers, who had lay-occupations. 528 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. sabbath school, sixty -four, and a library of two hundred vo lumes.* Another event of this period, worthy of notice in our annals, was the estabhshment of the first newspaper in the toAvn. On Monday morning, Jan. 1, 1827, was issued the ffrst number of the " Gloucestee Telegeaph ; " afterwards, and ever since, published on Saturday. It was a sheet of five columns, of about the usual size ; two of which were devoted to adver tisements. Of these, one was a Hst of letters remaining in the post-office, — nearly eighty in number. Another announced the departure of the stage for Boston every morning at eight o'clock ; and for Sandy Bay three times a week, at five, p.m. Only five tradesmen advertised thefr goods. Its editor, pro prietor, and printer was William E. P. Rogers, a native of the town. He continued to pubhsh it tiU 1833 ; when, upon taking charge of a newspaper in Bangor, he sold the " Telegraph " to Gamaliel Marchant, who himself removed to Bangor in 1835, when the paper passed into the hands of Henry Tilden and Edgar Marchant. The two Marchants were brothers, and had served apprenticeship in the office. Mr. Tilden soon became sole proprietor of the paper, and published it tiU 1843 ; when it was purchased by its present editor and proprietor, John S. E. Rogers, who also served his time in the office. The " Telegraph" was commenced as a neutral paper in politics ; and it remained "open to all parties, influenced by none," till 1834 ; when, upon the commencement of a Adgorous pohtical warfare between the friends and opponents of President Jackson's administration, under the name of Democrats and Whigs respectively, it became a strenuous advocate of the principles of the latter. The pre sent publisher made it again a neutral paper, but soon devoted It once more to the interests of the Whig party ; which it con tinued to maintain till the party ceased to exist. In common Arith most of the poHtical journals of the North, it now advo- * The ministers have been, — in 1840, Thomas G. Brown; 1841, John P. Bradley; 1842, Daniel Richards ; 1843, Charles 0. Towne ; 1845, William Davenport ; 1846, David Mason; 1848, George AVaugh ; 1850, AVilliam C. Clark; 1852, David Mason; 1854, Alonzo Gibson; 1856, L. P. Atwood; 1858, Elijah Mason. WEECK OF THE " PEESIA." 529 cates the principles of the new Repubhcan party. The " Tele graph " has been pubhshed semlAveekly since 1834. Its value as a repository of materials for the futme historian of the town has been greatly increased by its present conductor. The estabhshment of a printing-press in the toAvn induced an effort the same year for the publication of a religious jomnal. The first number of this paper, Arith the titie of " Christian Neighbor," was issued Nov. 7, 1827, from the office of the " Telegraph." Its editor was Samuel Worcester. It did not profess to be a controversial paper ; but its sectarian bias in favor of what ai-e comraonly caUed " evangeUcal doctrines " was manifested in its principal editorial article : a " Review " of thi-ee printed sermons by three ministers of the toAvn, — Rev. H. HUdreth, Rev. Thomas Jones, and Rev. E. Leonard. A sufficient number of subscribers did not answer to the appeal for its support, and no second number was pubhshed. A more successful result might have been anticipated from an attempt made afterwards to estabhsh a paper in support of Universalism : but this was also a futile effort ; for it began and ended with the first number of the "Liberal Companion," issued also from the office of the " Telegraph," and edited by Rev. B. B. Murray, minister of the Universahst Society of Sandy Bay.* On Thursday night, March 5, 1829, om- coast was again the scene of a raelancholy shipwreck. On that night, in a violent snow-storm, the brig "Persia," from Trieste, bound to Salem, was cast ashore on the back side of Eastern Point, near Brace's Rock ; and aU on board were lost. The huU of the vessel was broken into fragments, and, with the cargo, — consisting chiefly of rags, — was strewed along the coast. No know ledge of the disaster was obtained tiU Saturday ; when, and on the foUowing day, nine bodies were found on the shore. Four of these were dehvered to thefr friends, and the remainder were * My eiforts for several years have not succeeded in procuring a copy of this paper, or in learning its date. Of the " Christian Neighbor," the only copy known by me to be in existence is in my possession. It is a small sheet, having four pages of four columns eaeh. er 530 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. buried from the Universahst Church. The whole number lost was supposed to be thfrteen. The rupture in the Ffrst Church, noticed on a preceding page, was soon followed by the organization of a new rehgious society. The seceders were organized into a new church by an ecclesiastical councU convened for that purpose, Nov. 17, 1829; when Rev. Dr. Beecher of Boston preached a sermon, in the evening, at the Methodist Meeting-house. The society was formed at a raeeting of persons held March 13, 1830, at the house of Andrew Parker, by warrant from a justice, on the caU of Nathaniel Babson and twelve others ; and caUed the Evange hcal Society.* They voted to raise money by subscription for preaching and other expenses ; and, in a few months, took measures for building a house of worship ; which was erected the next year, and dedicated on the Sth of September. On the 14th of January, 1832, the society raet at the raeeting-house, and adopted rules, to which forty-two persons affixed thefr names; and, on the 12th of June foUoAring, they voted a una niraous concurrence with the church in inviting Mr. Charles S. Porter to become thefr pastor. He accepted the caU, and was ordained Aug. 1, 1832, In the Universahst Meeting-house, which was granted for the occasion, at the request of the new society, whose OAvn house was not thought large enough to ac coraraodate the audience that would be Hkely to assemble. Rev. Charles S. Porter was born In Ashfield in 1804, and graduated at Amherst College in 1827. His connection Arith the society was dissolved May 4, 1835 ; when he generously gave up a debt of a considerable amount that it then owed him. During Mr. Porter's rainistry, the settleraent of a decided Unitarian in the Ffrst Parish produced another breach in that ancient body ; the result of which was, that several of its members joined the Evan gehcal Society. Mr. Porter was succeeded by Rev. Christopher M. Nickels, who was instaUed in September, 1835. He con- * The two persons here named were the founders of this society. Deacon Natha niel Babson was a son of Capt. AVilliam Babson of Scjuara. He died suddenly, of disease of the heart, Feb. 1, 1836, aged fifty-two. NOETH OETHODOX SOCIETY. 531 tinued in the ministry here about twelve years, and was held in high esteem as a faithful and devoted pastor and a useful citi zen. His successor was Rev. James Aiken, who was settled In 1848. The next mhiister was Rev. J. L. Hatch, from 1853 to 1856. The present pastor is Rev. Lysander Dickerman, who was born in North Bridgewater, Mass., In 1826 ; and graduated at Brown University m 1851. He was ordained over this soci ety, AprU 29, 1858.* The meeting-house erected by this society in 1831, at the cor ner of School and Middle Streets, was sold, and reraoved frora that spot, in 1854. In the same year, a new and beautiful one was built on the sarae site, and dedicated to the Avorship of God, March 22, 1855. The dedication-sermon was preached by the pastor (Rev. J. L. Hatch), fr-om Isa. iv. 5. In 1830 was also gathered the North Orthodox Congrega tional Church at Lane's Cove. At an ecclesiastical council con vened Aug. 25, three males and ten females were, Arith suitable rehgious exercises, organized Into a body with this name ; and on the 2d of March, 1831, Rev. Moses Sawyer was installed as thefr minister. Mr. Sawyer was born in Salisbury, N.H., in 1776 ; and graduated at Dartmouth College in 1799. His con nection Arith this chm-ch lasted till March, 1836; after which, the society remained without a settled pastor till Aug. 12, 1840. On that day. Rev. David Tilton was Installed as thefr- minister ; and continued in that office tUl March, 1850. From July, 1850, to August, 1854, Rev. EdArin Seabm-y preached to the society. He was succeeded by Rev. N. Rich ardson, who was its minister from December, 1854, to April 1, 1857. The present pastor is Rev. Francis N. Peloubet. He was born in New- York City, Dec. 2, 1831 ; graduated at Wil hams CoUege in 1853, and at Bangor Theological Seminary in 1857. His ordination over this church took place, Dec. 2, 1857. Rev. Jacob Ide, D.D., of Medway, preached the ordination ser mon. The nuraber of communicants belonging to this church is fifty-two. The sabbath school has two hundred and ten * His connection with the society has been recently dissolved. 532 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. registered scholars. This new society erected a smaU house of worship in 1828, which was repafred and enlarged in 1853. Another of the churches of the town (the Second Baptist) also dates its existence from tbis year. One of the males — composing the Ffrst Church of this sect, organized at Sandy Bay in 1808 — was John Smith,* of the Harbor Parish. He had been a member of the Ffrst Church, but withdrew from it in 1806 to join the Baptist Church in Beverly. He, and a few earnest persons who joined Arith him, held thefr meetings at first in private houses ; but soon attracted so many to thefr worship as to be obHged to seek other accommodations, which they found in one of the schoofrooms of the viUage. At these meetings, and at thefr pubhc baptisms, they were sometimes disturbed by the noise and disorderly conduct of persons drawn by that idle curiosity which every thing new serves to arouse ; but no serious persecution was attempted. One of thefr early preachers was Rev. James A. BosweU, who removed to the Harbor from Sandy Bay In 1823. They increased so slowly, however, that several years elapsed before they formed themselves into a church-organization. This event took place, Dec. 29, 1830; when twenty persons were constituted the Second Baptist Church of Gloucester. The rehgious exercises of tbe occasion were conducted by Rev. E. P. Grosvenor of Salem. Thefr fitrst mini ster was Rev. Samuel Adlam, a native of Bristol, Eng., who was instaUed March 24, 1831 ; when Rev. Mr. Aldridge of Beverly preached the serraon of instaUation. Mr. Adlam re signed in 1834. Since that time, the succession of pastors has been as follows : Rev. WUham Lamson, June, 1837, to Oct. 1, 1839 ; Rev. J. A. B. Stone, Nov. 13, 1839, to Oct. 1, 1841 ; Rev. Wilham Lamson, Nov. 10, 1841, to July 28, 1848 ; Rev. Joseph R. Manton, Feb. 14, 1849, to Sept. 2, 1850 ; Rev. MUes Sanford, March 19, 1850, to July 10, 1853. Rev. Sam- * John Smith was a carpenter, a native of Ipswich. He was one of an unbroken succession of John Smiths, which has continued through several generations in the same family. His memory is cherished, not only as a principal founder of the Baptist Church, but as a man of strict piety and integrity. He died Oct. 29, 1828, aged sixty- eight. THE GEEAT FIEE. 533 uel E. Pierce, the present pastor, was ordained Sept. 27, 1853. The sermon on that occasion was preached by Rev. Arthur S. Train of Haverhill. Mr. Pierce was born in 1827, in New- York City ; and received his collegiate and theological education at Princeton, N.J. His rainisterial career as a settled pastor commenced Arith this society, which is now one of the largest and most prosperous rehgious organizations on the Cape. The first meeting-house erected by this society stood on Pleasant Street, and was used as thefr- place of worship about twenty years. In 1850, they built the large and handsome one they now occupy, at the corner of Pleasant and Middle Streets, at an expense of fourteen thousand doUars. It was dedicated IMarch 19, 1851. The serraon was preached by the pastor. Rev. M. Sanford. Before 1830, the toAvn never suffered severely by fire. The few single buUdings that had been burned, have, with one ex ception, been mentioned in this work. The one excepted was a buUding used as a store and sail-loft, and was consumed on the night of March 16, 1766. A more serious calamity of this Mnd distinguishes the year 1830 in our annals, as that of the " great fire." On the 16th of September, at about four o'clock in the moming, this conflagration commenced in the rear part of a large buUding OAnied by Samuel Gilbert, and occupied by hira as a dweUing-house and a store, near the westerly end of Front Street. The next building, on the west, was a three-story one, recently purchased by Mr. Gilbert, and fitted for a store. It had in former times, for many years, been the principal tavern of the town ; and had In its rear a large stable, adjoining the ToAvn Landing. The fire was soon communicated to these, and to a two-story house, having a shop in front, on the east side of Mr. GUbert's house, and very near to it. Thence, crossing a lane leading to the wharf of James Mansfield, it swept away his store and dweUing-house adjoining. The next buUding attacked by the fiames was a two-story one, belonging to Cyrus Stevens, having its end towards the street, with a lane leading to the old "Long Wharf," on the west, and another lane on the east, sepa rating it from a three-story bmlding owned by Zachariah Ste- 534 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. vens, and occupied by him as a dweUing, and by Samuel Stevens as a store. A few feet distant from this was another large house, Arith a shop in front, occupied by S. and G. W. Dexter. AU these rapidly disappeai-ed before the devouring eleraent ; but, as the flaraes had not yet crossed the stieet, no great fear was entertained that the vUlage would be wholly desti-oyed. At this point, hoAvever, the house bf Dr. Prentiss (formerly the residence of Dr. Coffin), on the opposite side, at the foot of Short Street, caught ; and, with two other dwellings on the easterly side of Short Street, were soon desti-oyed. It was now supposed that the conflagration would be general, and the peo ple Hving on Middle Street began to raove thefr effects : but, timely assistance coming in from the neighboring A-IUages and towns, the flames were soon subdued on the north side of Front Street ; but not till they had consuraed, in addition to the build ings afr-eady naraed, a long two-story block, and a three-story buUding near to it, both occupied for stores and dAveUings. The buildings next to the one last mentioned were two smaU one-story shops, which were burned or demolished. Back of these shops was the dAvelHng-house of IMrs. Hannah Dane, of which the thfr-d or upper story only was desti-oyed ; the flames haAdng been stayed at this spot. Continuing their raA-ages on the other side of the street, the fid-e next burned a small two- story house belonging to Mrs. SaUy Allen. A large three-story house, a few feet distant frora the latter, went next. Crossing the head of Smith's Wharf, a block of six two-story buildings was next destroyed. BetAveen this block and the house of Mr. Eli Stacy, a large garden, with several trees in it, intervened ; and here, by great exertions, the progress of the flames Avas arrested. Only the course of the fire on the street has been described. In the rear of the buildings, on the south side of the street, were many storehouses and Avorkshops, forming a compact mass of combustible matter, over which the flames spread with such rapidity, that many of the buildings on the street were fii-st at tacked by the fii-e burning behind them. The spreading of the flames was stopped about noon. The only building- left standing upon the space between the Toavu Landing and Centi-al Wharf THE GEEAT FIEE. 535 was the house of IMr. Stacy, at the head of the lane leading to the wharf. Among the cfrcumstances that combined to render this flre so destructive, the chief to be mentioned are the absence of an un usual number of our raen, an inefficient fire-department, and a fresh Avind that rose soon after the flames broke out. Twenty dweUing-houses and forty stores and out-buildings were con sumed ; and the estimated amount of all the property destroyed was one hundred and fifty thousand dollars. It was not so cus tomary then to seek protection by insurance as it now is, and many of the sufferers were reduced to poverty. Of this class, the greater number were assisted fr-om the money hberaUy con tributed in Boston and other places for thefr- rehef. As soon as the news of the fire spread abroad, pubhc sympathy was aroused, and donations* began to come in. Ainong the first to manifest a kindly feeling was the Hon. Josiah Quincy, who sent a hand some sum of money in grateful testimony of his interest in the toAvn, on account of the attention shoAvn by its people to his dying father in 1775, and of the respect Arith which the remains of the patriot were here consigned to a temporary burial. This great fire did not materially retard the prosperity of the toAvn : that had been greatly accelerated for a few prerious years by the success of the mackerel fishery, and its continuance seemed now to rest upon a firm basis. The census of this year showed gratifying evidence of this recent prosperity, in a larger increase of the popiUation since 1820 than in any preceding decennial period. The progress of events brings us to another period of violent political agitation in the toAvn. At the presidential election in 1828, Gen. Jackson had received but seventy-seven votes of five hundred and thfrty, — the whole number cast. No great efforts were made to Increase his party tUl he became a candidate for re-election in 1832 ; when he obtained a small majority of the votes cast, and an entire Jackson ticket for representatives was for the first time elected. The measures of the National Ad- * The contributions acknowledged by the selectmen amounted to $14,234. 536 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. ministration the next year aroused a strong opposition throughout the country, and led to the union of all its opponents, under the name of " Whigs ; " the supporters of the President at the same time assuming that of " Deraocrats." In one or the other of these two parties, all the voters of the toAvn enhsted themselves in 1834 ; when the interest in the contest became so general, that few were neutral, and none indifferent. The Whigs were sti mulated to extraordinary exertions by the course of the Demo crats ; for that party, haring been unsuccessful in an attempt to bring the " Gloucester Telegraph " to thefr aid, estabhshed a new paper in the town, which, with Robert Rantoul, jun., as the chief writer for its columns, could not faU to exercise great in fluence. The " Telegraph " had previously espoused the Whig side ; and the two newspapers, vrith thefr respective supporters, entered upon an earnest and somewhat bitter political warfare. Mr. Rantoul had settled in the town, in the previous year, in the practice of law. He was not then knoAAm as a pohtician, and Avas supposed to have no affinity vrith the party which he here joined, and of Avhich, though not active in electioneering, he became the chief man. He made here a brUHant start in pohtics ; and, but for the overwhelming preponderance of the Whig party in the Coraraonwealth, would haA'e soon won his way to places of the highest distinction. As it was, he was obliged to content hiraself for some years vrith a seat in the General Com-t ; where, from 1835 to 1838 inclusive, his talents secm-ed him a Aride renoAvn as the able, bold, and independent represen tative from Gloucester.* * Mr. Rantoul removed from Gloucester to Beverly, his native town, in 1639. He became Collector of Boston in 1843; United-States District Attorney in 1845; senator in Congress for a few days in 1851 ; and in the same year, by the united votes of the Democratic and Free-soil parties, representative in Congress from his native district. From this sphere — in which, without doubt, he would have become distinguished — he was removed by death, Aug. 7, 1852, aged fortj'-six years. As a lawyer, Mr. Rantoul's conneotion with Gloucester affords no matter for history, beyond the mention of his residence here. It is quite a remarkable fact, that few gentlemen of the legal profession have lived in the town, ahd that no one has ever died in it. The lawyers now in business here are Hon. Lonson Nash, and Charles P. Thompson, A. Tullar, and B. H. Smith, Esqs. Mr. Nash was one of the representatives of the town as long ago as 1809, and aftei^ wards a senator. POLITICAL EXCITEMENT. 537 o The first trial of strength between the Whigs and Deinocrats at the poUs took place at the November election in 1834, when nearly every voter of the town, then at home, deposited his baUot. The Democrats achieved a decided victory,* and maintained their ascendency, electing members of thefr party to aU' the principal town-offices, tiU the election for State officers in 1838. They had then become dirided in consequence of thp nomination of Mr. Rantoul for Congress instead of Mr. Cabot, the old candidate ; and the result of the election was, that a portion of the Whii^ ticket for representatives to the General Comt were elected. Smartmg under this defeat, the friends of Mr. Rantoul, com prising more than two-thirds of the party, caUed for another representative election ; and, as raost of the fishermen absent at the previous election had now arrived, they felt confident that both divisions of the Democratic party could at least prevent the success of the Whigs. The contest was very spfrited and excit ing ; but the bitterness usually engendered on such occasions was all confined to the two diAdsions of the hitherto dominant party. The fiUl strength of aU the parties was brought to the field, and again the Whigs becarae the victors. f Having healed its feuds, the Democratic party regained its ascendency in 1839, but only retained it tUl the next year; when, by the incorporation of Sandy Bay as a new town, it was thrown into a rainority. At the presidential election In 1840, it was beaten by a large majority :+ but it again prevaUed, through the * The vote now polled was one thousand four hundred and thirty-two ; the largest by several hundred that had ever been cast in the town. Of these, the Democrats had seven hundred and seventy-one ; and the Whigs, six hundred and sixty-one. The whole nuraber of legal voters in the town was one thousand six hundred and thirty-four, dis tributed as follows : — , First Parish 668 Second Parish 123 Third Parish 341 Fourth Parish 74 Fifth Parish 428 t The number of votes thrown was one thousand five hundred and twenty. The highest Whig candidate received seven hundred and sixty-three ; the Rantoul ticket had six hundred and twelve; and that supported by Mr. Cabot's friends, one hundred and forty-five. i The vote of Gloucester at this election was — Harrison, six hundred and ninety- one ; -fan Buren, four hundred and forty-nine. That of Rockport — Harrison, two hundred and fifty-one; Van Buren, three hundred and four. 68 538 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. distractions of the Whig party, in 1842 and 1843 ; after which, it won no rictory in the toAvn. Nor did its old opponents again become firmly estabhshed in power ; having never but once after wards (in 1849) elected thefr candidates for representatives. Since 1840, pohtical questions have occasioned no considerable degree of excitement in the toAvn. In 1843, the Native-American sentiment found earnest supporters ; who, for a short time, car ried the elections. Again, in 1854, under a new organization, it coraraanded the support of a great majority of the people, and kept its predominance tUl it was superseded by the slavery question. The political paper estabhshed in the toAvn at the coramence ment of the memorable contest between the Whigs and Demo crats in 1834 was caUed the " Gloucester Deraocrat." It was a small sheet, having five columns on a page. The first number was issued on Tuesday, Aug. 18 ; and it contuiued to be issued on Tuesdays and Fridays tiU Feb. 16, 1838, when it was raerged in the " Salem Advertiser." Charles W. Woodbury appears in the imprint as its editor and proprietor ; but its most important pohtical articles were understood to be fr-om the pen of his brother-in-law, Mr. Rantoul. In September, 1837, the paper passed into the hands of F. L. Rogers and G. W. Parsons ; by whom it was pubhshed tiU it was discontinued. Another Democratic paper, called the " Jeffersonian Republi can," was started by the friends of Mr. Rantoul to aid his elec tion to Congress in October, 1838; but its publication ceased with the defeat of the party at the representative election in November.* About this period, raeasures began to be taken for a revival of pubhc rehgious worship in the Second Parish. For many years after the close of Mr. Fuller's ministry, no regular rehgious exer cises were held, though there was occasional preaching in the old meeting-house. The people of the parish were dirided in opinion * Besides the newspapers that have been already noticed, the only others that have been published in the town, except a few ephemeral sheets, are the " Gloucester News " and the " Cape-Ann Advertiser." The former was edited by John J. Piper, and published semiweekly from Oct. 11, 1848, to the last of December, 1851. The "Adver tiser" was first issued Dec. 19, 1857, by Procter Brothers ; and was published on alter nate Satm-days nearly a year. It was next made a weekly paper, and has been continued as such to the present time. DE. EBENEZEE DALE. 539 on doctrinal points ; and no unanimity in the settlement of a mini ster could, therefore, be expected : consequently, those of them who were attached to the faith of thefr ancestors took steps for the re-organization of the church and the erection of a new house of worship. This buUding, which is the smaU meeting house standing on the main road to Essex, was dedicated Jan. 1, 1834. Rev. John P. Cleaveland of Salem preached the sermon on that occasion. No permanent ministry was estabhshed over this church tiU Nov, 11, 1840; when Rev. Isaac Brown was ordained. He was taken sick, not long afterwards ; and died at his mother's house in Hamilton, Sept. 13, 1841. The next minister was Rev. Henry C. Jewett, a native of Rowley, who was settled in August, 1842 ; and died suddenly of scarlet fever, Nov. 4, 1846, aged forty-four. His successor was Rev. Charles A. WUhams, who preached to the society from November, 1846, to October, 1848. Rev. Levi Wheaton was the next minister : he was ordained Jan. 23, 1850, and was dismissed May 11, 1858. The present pastor (Rev. C. B. Smith) commenced his labors in June, 1858. Mr. Smith was born In Litchfield, Me. ; received his theological education at Bangor, in that State ; and was ordained at Levant in October, 1849. On the 29th of June, 1834, died Dr. Ebenezer Dale, aged fifty-one. Dr. Dale was born in Danvers, and was brought up at a mechanical trade. Being of a studious turn of mind, he appHed himself assiduously to intellectual culture ; and, after haAdng acqufred the necessary preUminary education, devoted himself to the study of medicine Arith Dr. Kittredge of Ando ver. He settled in Gloucester in 1810 ; haring been induced to do so chiefly by the desfre of some of the leading Republicans of tbe town, to whom the two principal regular practitioners (Dr. Coffin and Dr. Manning) had made themselves obnoxious by thefr ardent support of Federal pohtics. He soon found a competent patronage; and, through a long course of practice, was distinguished for the kindness and attention with which he dis charged his professional duties. He also seemed the respect and esteem of the people by the zeal which he manifested for the pubhc good, particularly in the cause of education, and in all 540 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. efforts for the rehef of the poor. He was afflicted for raany years vrith a pulmonary complaint : but he bravely contended with the disease, and did not yield tUl the last moment ; haring, only the day before his death, though then very iU, made the usual round of visits to his patients. The death of this good man, as raight have been expected, was one of Christian corapo- smre and resignation. Dr. Dale's Avife was Miss Serena P. Johnson of Andover, who, Arith ten chUdren, surrived her husband. Of these chUdren, three sons and a daughter have died unraarried. Frank, a ship master, with bis AAife and son, perished off Cape Hom in 1859. The survivors are Ebenezer and Theron J., merchants of Boston : WilHam J., who graduated at Harvard CoUege in 1837, and is a physician of Boston; Martha, who married Dr. J. A. Swett of New York ; and Serena, Avife of ]Mr. John A. Appleton, of the eminent pubhsbing-house of Appleton and Company, New York. Dr. Henry Prentiss, another physician of the toAvn, died Oct. 13, 1839. He was a son of Rev. Thoraas Prentiss, D.D., of Medfield; and was born in 1798. He graduated at Harvard CoUege in 1817 ; and, soon after corapleting his medical studies, commenced practice in Gloucester. Upon the death of Dr. Coffin In 1827, he entered upon the enjoyment of an extenslAX practice, which even fallings in his later years did not seriously dirainish. He was highly esteeraed by his friends as a skilful physician, and a man of warm and benevolent heart. His Arife was Carohne H. Staniford of Boston ; who, with her chUdren, removed frora toAvn soon after her husband's decease.* One of the most distressing events of our history occurred on Sunday, 15th of December, 1839. The preceding day was one of uncommon mildness, and was perfectly clear. Many vessels. * This work has given some account of every physician of the town who had his residence here when he died. The only temporary practitioners of the last century, known to me, were Dr. Caleb Eea, who appears to have lived in town from 1748 to 1756; and Dr. Thomas Babbit, who married Polly Jackson Babson, May 10, 1787, and, after a short residence here, removed from town. About 1800, it is said, he was a sur geon in the United-States Navy. His only child, whose birth is recorded in Gloucester, was Fitz Hem-y, who was born Oct. 10, 1789 ; became lieutenant in the navy, and was killed in battle on board the frigate " President." William and Edward, other sons of GEEAT STOEM. 541 Ul consequence, left Easfern ports for a Southern destination : but they had proceeded no farther than Cape Ann, when the Arind changed to south-east, Arith signs of a heavy blow ; upon which most of them sought refuge in Gloucester Harbor, where, in the course of Sunday forenoon, they arrived, and found an anchor age. In the afternoon, the Arind increased to a terrific gale, bringing rain and snow, and a sea such as had rarely been wit nessed on om shores by the oldest people. The scene in the harbor was now watched with intense interest and anxiety by the spectators on the land, who saw the fate of the hapless mari ners in the terrible breakers of the lee-shore ; and many of them hastened round to afford help, if human help could avail. One after another, the vessels were seen to strike adrift, and appa rently hasten to destruction. The fearful end of many, however, was arrested by cutting away the masts ; while some, with little less good fortune for thefr crews, were thrown upon a sandy beach, where, vrith assistance fi-om the shore, most of the Hves were saved. But it was the sad fate of a few to be carried upon the rocks, and dashed to atoms in a moment. From these, seve ral men were lost. As one of the vessels approached the break ers, two men, in the vain hope to escape the death that threatened thera, took to thefr boat ; but had scarcely loosed from the ves sel, when a mercUess sea swept them Into eternity. About twenty Avrecks were strewed along the shore on the westerly side of the harbor, when night closed over the scene, and added dark ness to the horror of the howling wind and raging sea. The gale abated during the night; but the morning presented the astonishing spectacle of thfrty dismasted vessels riding at thefr anchors in the harbor. From these, the crews were taken off Dr. Babbit, entered the navy, and served in it many years, — William as a surgeon ; and Edward in various ranks, till he finally attained that of captain. Both of these brothers are deceased. Physicians of the present century, who removed from town after many years' practice in it, are Joseph Reynolds and Amasa D. Bacon. The former practised in Sandy Bay from 1833 till about 1840, and then came to Gloucester; whence, in 1853, he removed to Concord. Dr. Bacon settled in Squam in 1837, aud removed thence to Sharon in 1851. The physicians of the town at the present time are here given, with the date of commencing practice here: Isaac P. Smith, 1831; Joseph S. Barber, 1832; Herman E. Davidson, 1842; Joseph Gariand, 1849; J. F. Dyer, 1851; Charles H. Hil dreth, 1852; A. B. Hoyt, 1858. 542 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. by a few brave men who ventured out for that purpose ; whUe to the shipwrecked mariners every relief was extended that humanity coiUd dictate. The exact loss of Hfe on our shores by this dreadful gale was never ascertained. Including the persons who perished by the wreck of a schooner at or near Pigeon Cove, twenty are knoAvn to have been lost. The bodies of some were taken away by thefr friends, and the rest were buried from the First-Parish Meeting-bouse on the following Sunday, when an appropriate discourse was dehvered by Rev. J. K. Waite fi-om Exod. XV. 10 : " Thou didst blow vrith thy vrind, the sea covered them : they sank as lead in the mighty waters." This severe storm occurred at a season of rest from the labors of the fishery, and the Hves and property of our own people were not exposed to its ravages ; a fortunate cfrcumstance for the toAvn, as its chief business was at that time in a state of great depression. Into this, however, it had only temporarUy faUen. The census * of the next year indicated recent prosperity ; and the lapse of four or five years brought a revival of " good times," and the commencement of a successful prosecution of the fisheries, which has continued to the present day. * By the State Census of 1840, the population of Cape Ann is shown to have been distributed as follows : — Gloucester, First Parish 4,112 Second Parish 657 Third Parish. _ 1,163 Fourth Parish 462 6,394 Eockport 2,728 Total 9,122 The population of Cape Ann, at difi'erent periods, is here given : — 1704 . . by estimate 700 1755 . . by estimate 2,745 1765 . . by Colonial Census 3,763 1775 . . by estimate 4,945 1790 . . by United-States Census 5,317 1800 . . by „ „ 6,313 1810 . . by „ „ 5,943 1820 . . by „ „ 6,384 1830 . . by „ „ 7,510 1840 . . by „ „ Gloucester 6,350 „ „ Rockport 2,650 9,000 1850 . . by „ „ Gloucester 7,786 „ „ Eockport 3,274 11,060 1855 . . by State Census, Gloucester 8,935 Eockport 3,498 12,433 THE TOWN OF EOCKPOET. 543 CHAPTER XXXI. THE TOWN OF EOCKPORT. Growth of Sandy Bay. — Earl-t Fishery. — Pier built. — Isinglass Factory. — Stone Business commenced. — Soil improved. — Gov ernment Breakwater. — Separation from Gloucester attempted. — Separation accomplished. — Incorporation. — Territory of THE New Toavn. — Dr. John Manning. — Dr. James Goss. — Busi ness. — Centennial Celebration. — New Church. — Grog-Shops attacked, and Liquor destroyed. — Growth and Improa'ement of THE New Toato. It is a striking fact in the history of the town, that the head of the Cape — the latest settled portion of its territory — had, up to 1840, outstripped all the older locahties in a proportionate increase of population. Sandy Bay did, in fact, gain largely and steadUy in numbers for a long period, while the rest of the town was either stationary or retrograding. Its population at the close of the Revolution is estiraated to have been fom hun dred ; and, in 1792, seven hundred. In a little less than fifty years from the last-named date, it had quadrupled; whUe that of the Harbor had not even doubled in the same time. This growth is attributed to the success of the shore-fishing for most of this period, to persevering industry in agricultme, and the quarrying of stone ; to aU of which, the economy and other good habits of the people have been important auxUiaries. The proximity of these people to the ocean gave easy access to the ledges off the coast, and invited early attention to shore- fishing ; but they could only pmsue this business in small boats, on account of the want of a harbor, or even a place of refuge in case of a storm. As early as 1743, Ebenezer Pool, John 644 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. Pool, and Benjamin Tarr, Arith such others as should join Arith them, had " liberty to build a wharf at the Whfrlpool, so caUed; and also so much of the Neck caUed Bearskin Neck as is suffi cient to set a warehouse on : " but it was not till 1811 that the people felt themselves sufficiently able to construct an artificial harbor. In that year, they erected the breakwater on the north west side of the Neck ; and, in 1819, a wharf opposite : the two structmes forming a sraall but safe haven, and gaining for the people, considering the raeans at thefr coraraand, an honorable testiraonial of thefr efforts to supply the only convenience that Nature had denied them. With better accommodations for business, they now procured vessels of a larger class for thefr fishery ; and, in the course of a few years, engaged in the coastwise trade. In 1822, a smaU estabhshment was set up in the village, for the manufacture of isinglass from hake-sounds ; the only one for this purpose in the country. The business has yielded profit ; but it is of no material importance, on account of the limited demand for the article. To another branch of business, — the quarrying and exporta tion of stone, — commenced two years subsequently, the people of the Cape are indebted in no smaU degree for thefr advance ment in wealth and thefr present prosperity. But the most gratifying resiUts of labor are displayed on thefr soU. By that ceaseless industry which always accompUshes won ders when weU dfrected, these people have here, as well as at the border of the sea, contended vrith formidable natm-al obsta cles ; and thrifty orchards and fruitfiU fields now greet the eye, where once barren and rocky plains alone were presented to the Adew. Other cfrcumstances, marking and contributing to the prospe rity of Sandy Bay, were the establishment of a post-office, Arith a triweekly maU, in 1825 ; the formation of a mutual marine insurance company in 1827 ; and the building of a breakwater at Long Cove by the United-States Governinent. This great work was commenced in 1836, and Avas in progress tUl 1840 ; when the appropriation for it was exhausted, leaAing the structure stUl THE TOWN OF EOCKPOET. 545 incomplete. The end projecting into the sea was greatly da maged by the furious seas that beat against it dming a severe gale in October, 1841 ; but, though incomplete and damaged, the work is useful in rendering the Cove a safer place of anchor age, and in protecting from the violence of an easterly gale the vessels lying at the piers since erected within it. The interest and convenience of the people at the head of the Cape seemed to demand that they should be set off as a town long before the final separation took place. They did, indeed, make an attempt to that end in 1818,* when the subject was brought into town-meeting, and a comraittee was chosen to coii- slder it; but, wanting unanimity araong theraselves, no further action was taken tiU 1827. In that year, the matter was again agitated, and brought formaUy before the town; but ended as before. In neither case was the project opposed by the people " of the Harbor ; for the interests and sentiments of the two sec tions frequently clashed, and sometimes the citizens of the former had even proved influential enough in toAvn-meeting to procure an adjournment to thefr oavu parish. When, therefore, the Cape people ceased to disagree among themselves, they found no obsta cle to a peaceful and equitable separation, and the organization of one of those popular New-England democracies, — an inde pendent toAvn-govemment. The act for the incorporation of Rockport passed the two legislative branches, and received the approval of the Governor on the same day, — Feb. 27, 1840. The first town-meeting was held on the 9th of March following, when all the usual town- officers were chosen. The portion of the old toAvn set off as the new contained about two-sevenths of the property of the whole ; and it was upon this basis that the settlement in relation to the division of debts, Ha bihties, and property, was made. The territory of Rockport includes aU of the Fifth Parish of Gloucester, and a portion of the Thfrd adjoining it, situated on * Sandy Bay, including only the Fifth Parish, then possessed three hundred and eighteen polls, — just one-fourth of the whole number in the town ; and had a valuation of $192,732, — that of thc whole town being $1,127,566. 546 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. the north-east end of the Cape. The principal settlement of the latter section is at Pigeon Cove, now called the North VlUage of Rockport. A few settlers were scattered around this Cove and in its vicinity before the Revolutionary War ; and, in 1792, thfrteen boats fished from it : but the place has risen in impor tance Arithin the last thfrty years, chiefly in consequence of the quarrying carried on there, and the erection of a breakwater and a pier, which have afforded increased accomraodations for carry ing on the fishery. This breakwater was built In 1831 ; and, though apparently a sufficient barrier against any sea, it yielded In the great storra of 1841, when the breakers knocked a portion of it away, and swept into the Cove as of old, causing consider able destruction of property. The break, however, was soon repafr-ed ; and, the whole work being strengthened, it contributes materiaUy to the prosperity of this tbrlAang Adllage. The matters worthy of historical record since the incorpo ration of Rockport, not afready noticed, are few. The death of an old physician of the place may properly be noticed as the first. On the 5th of November, 1841, died Dr. John Manning, aged eighty. His father was Dr. John Manning of Ipswich, whose father was Dr. Joseph Manning of the same toAvn ; both of whom hved to advanced age. At the age of seventeen, he joined the American Army, in Rhode Island, as surgeon's raate. Afterwards he practised four years in Chester, N.H. ; and removed thence to Gloucester about 1786. Here he Hved in the Harbor Parish tin 1798, when he removed to Sandy Bay, — his home for the rest of his Hfe. His attention to pursmts out of his profession was given, first to commerce, and afterwards to agricultm-e ; but the ample estate he acqufred came principally from his medical practice, in which he was distinguished for skiU and success. In pohtics, he was an ai-dent Federahst ; and was frequently elected a representative by his party. In religion, he belonged to the Universahst sect ; but made no professions. He was a man of considerable eccentricity of character, which was raanifested even in the closing hours of Hfe, and rendered it difficult to ascertain the real emotions of his heart at that soleran period. THE TOAiVN OF EOCKPOET. 547 Dr. Manning's wife was Miss Hannah Goodhue of Ipswich. Her death, the first in her household for forty-one years, occurred Jan. 22, 1840. Fom- sons of Dr. Manning survived thefr father, — Joseph B., John, and Charles B., who graduated at Harvard College respec tively In 1808, 1810, and 1819; and James. Joseph B. studied law, but never engaged In active practice. With the exception of occasional journeys to the South for the benefit of his health, his life was spent in the home of his childhood. There he employed his time chiefly in philological studies, the fruits of which he gave to the world in two remarkable books.* He died a bachelor at Ipswich, whUe on a visit. May 22, 1854, aged sixty-seven. John commenced practice as a physician In Waldo- borough, Me., in 1813. He made one cruise as sm-geon of a privateer in 1815 ; after which he returned to Waldoborough, and remained there tUl 1842 ; when he removed to Rockport, and practised there tUl his death. He died Feb. 7, 1852, aged sixty- two, leaving four sons. One of these (William H.) has been Collector of the Customs in Gloucester, and another (Joseph) has settled in the practice of medicine in Rockport. Charles B. was a physician in his native place; and died there Dec. 16, 1843, aged forty-four. James, the only survivor of these brothers, is a trader in Rockport. Another aged physician of Rockport died Nov. 29, 1842. This was Dr. James Goss, at the age of seventy-nine. He was a native of BUlerica, and settled In his profession at Sandy Bay about 1792. Besides attending to the duties of his medical practice, he was often employed in writing deeds and other instruments ; and, by his various services, seemed the respect of society, and the reputation of a useful man. He was one of the representatives in 1832. * The first of these is an octavo pamphlet of forty-eight pages, entitled " Epeogra- phy ; or. Notations of Orthoepy. To which is preflxed Lektography ; an Improvement in Alphabetical Writing for representing Sounds of Words, as described in Letters- Patent of the United States." The second is entitled " The Voice of Letters ; Ancient Proprieties of Latin and Greek; the Standard of English Letter-Customs, their Inhe rent System, and preferred Orthography." 548 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. Dr. Goss was twice married, — first to Polly Jaquith of Wil mington, and next to Hannah Smith of IpsArich. Sylvester and George, two sons by the first wife, became printers; married, and settled away from home ; and are both dead. EHza, the only child by the second Arife, married WilHam CaldweU.* For the first few years after the incorporation of the new town, the fishing business was in a depressed condition; and, like the parent town, it remained nearly stationary in popula tion ; the State census of 1845 shoAving a shght loss to each. It was but a temporary shock, however; for the fishery again became successful, and, with other branches of industry, — some of which were new, — placed the toAvn .upon a footing of steady and increasing prosperity. During the period of depression, the enterprise of the people was turned to manufacturing ; the result of which was the esta bhshment, in 1848, of a miU for making cotton duck. One of the signs of thrift in the new town was the incorporation of the Rockport Bank. This institution went Into operation in 1851 ; and, by prudent and successful management, has acqufred a good reputation, t On the 2d of January, 1854, the people of Rockport cele brated the one hundredth anniversary of thefr incorporation as a parish, in accordance vrith a vote of the tovm passed several months previously. The principal feature of this occasion was the dehvery by Dr. Lemuel Gott of an historical discourse, at the Congregational Church, in the afternoon and evening of that day. A recent snow-storm, of unusual severity, prevented the attendance of people frora abroad ; but the church was entfrely fiUed by the inhabitants of the tqwn, who hstened Arith great interest as the orator of the day recounted the most pro minent events in the history of Sandy Bay. + * The physicians of Eockport, at the present time, are Benjamin Haskell, Oscar D. Abbott, and Joseph Manning. t The ofiicers ofthe Bank are Ezra Eames, President; and Jabez E. Gott, Cashier; who have held their respective ofBces ever since the bank was established. t The people of Rockport should take the necessary steps for the printing of this discourse ; and of another, delivered by Dr. Gott at the dedication of a schoolhouse, giv ing 'an account of the schools at Sandy Bay in past times. THE TOWN OF EOCKPOET. 549 This commemoration was not only an occasion of interest to the people as a town, but it was one of peculiar joy to the parish as a rehgious body ; for its members could look back upon half a century of reraarkable growth and prosperity, and forward to the tirae when another church, of like faith, — a scion fr-om thefr OAVU stock, — should be planted at their side. The Second Orthodox Congregational Church of Bockport was organized March 15, 1855 ; and now has sixty-one members. Its pastor is the Rev. David Bremner. He was born in Keith, Scotland, Jan. 25, 1828 ; and after a preparatory course at GUmanton Academy, N.H., entered Dartmouth College, where he graduated in 1850. He completed his theological studies at Andover in 1853, and was ordained over the new church in Rockport, May 2, 1855. The sermon on that occasion was preached by Rev. Prof. E. A. Park, D.D., of Andover. This society erected a chapel for public worship in 1856. One other event — the most memorable in the history of Rockport — remains to be noticed. On the Sth of July, 1856, at nine o'clock in the morning, a regularly organized band of women, led by a man bearing an American ensign, appeared in the principal street of the toAvn, for the purpose of making a demonstration against the grog-shops of the place. They did not stop to consider thefr legal right to abate these nuisances : for, as mothers, wives, sisters, and daughters, they were suffer ing under the terrible evils they inflict; and they needed no stronger inducement than the law of self-protection. Animated by this purpose, they proceeded successively to thfrteen places where ardent spirits were unlawfuUy kept for sale ; and, seizing casks, demijohns, and decanters, containing the bane of thefr happiness, poured thefr contents into the street, occasionaUy breaking a vessel in order to hasten the flow of the hated fluid to the ground. Having finished thefr work at about three o'clock, P.M., they repafred to the " Square," and exchanged congratula tions upon the performance of the good deed they had done ; after which they separated, and went to thefr respective horaes. This proceeding of the Rockport woraen has been the sub- 550 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. ject of legal investigation; but, whatever may be the decision of the coiuts in relation to it, it will still find defenders, — as It has hitherto found them, — on the ground that the sufferers by an intolerable pubhc evil may proceed in thefr oavu way to cor rect it, when no legal remedy can be had. But this is dangerous doctrine, and should iramediately suggest the thought, thatj In seeking in this way a cure for present IUs, we may flee to others that we know not of. By the census of 1855, the population of Rockport is shovm to haA^e increased about thirty per cent since its incorporation. Its increase in wealth in the sarae tirae has been steady, and large enough to be beneficial. Mindful of the higher Interests of Hfe, the people of the new town have repafred and beautified thefr churches ; erected commodious and handsome schoolhouses ; and, in general, given much attention to aU that concerns religious, moral, and inteUectual culture. They have thus taken the best means to secure a continuance of thefr prosperity, and the per petuity of those vfr-tues which have made them hitherto a happy community. POST-OFFICE. 551 CHAPTER XXXII. Post-Office established. — Stage to Boston. — Public Schools. — College Graduates. — Most Distinguished Educated Men. — Gloucester Lyceum. — Death of aged and of prominent Citi zens. — Catholic Church. Ajioxg the most important events In the history of Gloucester, that remain to be noticed, are the estabhshment of raUroad con nection Arith Boston, and a change in the system of conducting the pubhc schools. The chief means of intercourse Arith the metropolis, enjoyed by the people of the toAvn during the first century after its set tlement, were those afforded by the fishing shallops and wood- coasters ; but, as soon as the maritime business of the place rose to be important, one or two small vessels found regular employ ment in running between the two ports. Before the establishment of a post-office in the town, the peo ple received thefr letters by a raessenger who went twice a week to Beverly to get them. They were probably brought by mail to Salem, and thence sent across the ferry to Beverly with the letters for that place. How long this arrangement continued, it is not easy to ascertain. The only person known to have been employed as a messenger is John Oakes. The place for the reception and delivery of letters was, it is said, at Philemon HaskeU's tavem. A post-office was established In town soon after the adoption of the Constitution ; and was at first, and for several years, kept In the shop of the postmaster, Henry Phelps, in the building standing on Front Street, opposite the head of Central Wharf. Its location was afterwards changed from time to time, as the convenience of the successive post- 552 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. masters required, tUl its perraanent estabhshment in the buUd ing erected by the government for a custom-house and post- office. The first regular communication between .Gloucester and Bos ton, by land, was estabhshed in 1788 by Jonathan Lowe.* On the 25th of April in that year, he comraenced running a two- horse open carriage between the two places ; leaAong Gloucester tArice a week, in the morning, and returning the next day. The route was through Salem, Danvers, Lynn, and Maiden, to Win nisimet Ferry, by which the coach usually entered Boston ; though it sometimes went round through Medford. -Nearly a whole day was occupied In making the journey. Although this period is Arithin the memory of Hving persons, it was in the early days of stage -coaching ; for, besides the Gloucester coach, only four stages ran into Boston at that time, — one from Salem, one from Portsmouth, one from ProAidence, and one frora New York. Tradition reports that the ffrst arrival of this vehicle in town created a great sensation, and that several of the princi pal citizens were treated to a ride in it before it was used for pubhc travel. The first change in these accommodations was that by which the stage was made a triweekly one ; which continued tUl about 1805, when a daily Hne was estabUshed. Four-hm-se coaches were soon substituted for the old vehicles, and continued to afford communication once a day for many years. At last, another daily stage was added ; and passengers were enabled to visit Boston, and return the same day. The completion of the Eastern Raifroad aroused a strong desire for a line from Gloucester to connect A\ith it ; but the pro ject Avas supposed to be impracticable till 1844. On the 14th of September in that yeai-, a meeting of citizens was held to take the subject into consideration. As a consequence of this meet- * Jonathan Lowe belonged, probably, to the Ipswich Family of Lows. He had his stage-office in a tavern, which he kept for many years, at the corner of Front Street, near the Town Landing. He died Feb. 22, 1815, aged fifty-six. Two of his children survive, — a daughter, the wife of Hon. Lonson Nash ; and a son, Hon. John W. Lowe, who was one of the representatives in 1830, and a senator in 1847 and 1848. PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 553 ing, the route was surveyed, and the Eastern-Raifroad Company was induced to undertake the enterprise. The cars commenced running regular trips on the Gloucester branch on the 2d of November, 1847 ; baring on the prerious day carried a party of citizens, by Inritation of the company, on a pleasme excm-sion to Salem. This road has proved to be a profitable investment to the company that built it, and has con tributed largely to the recent prosperity of the toAvn.* The history of the pubhc schools of Gloucester has been traced to 1804, when the toAvn was divided into eleven school- districts. Each of these districts received its proportion of the money raised by the toAvn for district-schools, and expended it under the dfrection of a Prudential Comraittee of the dis trict. The ToAvn Grammar School was stiU continued in compliance Arith the law of the Commonwealth, and was kept In the Harbor Parish. The permanent location of the school there gave great dissatisfaction to the people of the other parishes, who complained that they were excluded by distance fr-om its benefits ; and who finaUy succeeded, in 1826, in making it a cfrculating school. Tired at last of dissensions about it, the toAvn practicaUy abo lished the school, by voting yearly that the money appropriated for its support should be dirided among the several districts. A Town Grammar School was not opened again tUl 1839. Its re-estabHshment was due to the efforts of Robert Rantoul, jun. That distinguished citizen was not afraid to revive an unpopular subject, and to tell the people that it was not " consistent with the obhgation of good citizens to obey the laws, or even with the first principles of common honesty, any longer grossly to violate or cunningly to evade the wholesome provisions of the statute " requfring such a school. Its renewed existence was not of long duration. It was again discontinued in 1845, and was never but * A steamboat has occasionally, during the summer months, within the last twenty years, made trips between Boston and Gloucester ; but the first one put on the route by the people of the town was the steamer " Mystic," chartered for that purpose, and run in 1859, and since purchased by a company in the town to be continued in the busi ness. 70 554 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. once afterwards (in 1849) revived upon the old plan and Arith its ancient name.* One of the evils of the district system was a constant tendency to the division of sparsely settled territory into smaU districts. The nuraber of these bodies increased frora eleven in 1804 to twenty-three in 1840. The separation of Sandy Bay frora the town took off seven districts ; but new ones were afterwards forraed in the old town, and a stiU further diAdsion was in con templation, Avhen the people were aroused to the necessity of a thorough reforra in the systera upon which the schools were then conducted, or an immediate resort to a better one. The School Coraraittee for 1849 addressed themselves to this work ; and, in thefr annual report, showed that the principal obstacles to the success of the pubhc schools, as then conducted, were unsuitable schoolhouses, inequahty of school advantages, and poor teachers : of aU of which, the district systera was, in * The following is a list of the teachers of the Town Grammar School : — Thomas Eiggs 1699 John Newman 1703 John Eing 1705 Joshua Gardner 1707 Joshua Moody 1709 Samuel Tompson 1711 Joseph Parsons 1715 Edward Tompson 1721 William Osgood 1722 Edmund March 1723 Isaac Abbott 1724 Daniel Witham 1726 Joseph Manning 1727 Charles Glover 1727 Daniel Witham 1728 Nathaniel Walter 1730 Walter Hastings 1732 Mather Withington 1733 Parker Morse 1734 Aaron Smith 1735 Benjamin White 1739 Samuel White 1742 Nehemiah Porter 1746 Thomas Jaques 1747 Jonathan Pierpont 1748 Samuel White 1749 Thoraas Rand 1752 Thomas Jaques 1773 Samuel Whittemore 1753 Jiicob Bailey 1758 Thoraas Pierce 1760 Sumuel Pierce . ... 1761 'ihomas Marrett . 1762 J Limes Prentice 1763 Philemon Stacy .... 1767 to 1776 Thomas Sanders 1784 Obadiah Parsons 1794 John Ewins 1802 Ezra Leonard 1804 Eli Forbes 1604 Nathan Parks 1805 Joseph B. Felt 1812 John Manning, jun 1812 John Whipple 1812 Nathan D. Appleton 1814 Isaac W. Mulliken 1816 Paul Ferson 1617 Ezra Leonard 1818 Daniel AV. Rogers 18--0 Thomas Jones 1820 Daniel W. Eogers 1821 Thomas Cochran 1821 James BosweU 1822 Ezra Leonard 1822 Daniel W. Rogers 1823 Charies Smith, 3d 1823 Lonson Nash 1824 William Whipple 1826 Eichard Gardner 1639 Thomas Baker 1849 Mgh-School. Moses Patten 1850 C. J. Adams 1852 J. S. Chamberiine 1856 L. Z. Ferris 1868 Peter Eipley 1859 PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 555 thefr- opinion, the chief cause, and ought, therefore, to be abo hshed, learing the sole manageraent of the schools to the town m its corporate capacity. Thefr plan for a re-organizatlon was brought before the people at one of the most numerously attended toAvn-meetings ever held, and adopted, after full discussion, with scarcely a dissenting vote. It was the noblest act ever performed by the toAvn; and the extraordinary and almost enthusiastic unanimity vrith which it was carried — involving as It did the necessity for a large increase of taxation — may be contemplated vrith the highest satisfaction, as the beginning of a creditable state of pubhc feeling In regai-d to the cause of education, which has never since ceased to exist. The whole number of public schools of all grades, now kept In town, is twenty-four in summer, and twenty-nine in Avinter, attended by nearly two thousand scholars. A uniform course of instruction and equal school-privileges have been estabhshed for all the children. Two high-schools, one for each sex, are open to the youth of the whole town, who may be admitted upon reaching a certain standard of qualification, and may there pur sue advanced studies ; while the primary and grararaar schools, located in different parts of the town, enable all, who attend the course of study therein prescribed, to acqufre sufficient know ledge of the common branches of education for any of the ordinary duties or business of life. These schools possess the confidence of the people, and are beheved to be equal to those of any toAvn in the State, supported at no greater expense.* But there yet remains a wide gap between thefr actual and thefr pos sible condition. When this shall be bridged, and the schools shall become effectual for the highest moral, spiritual, and intel- * The total expense of these schools, for the year 1858, was as foUows : — For teachers' wages $9,277.11 ,. fuel 613.58 „ pay of committee 1,000.00 „ miscellaneous items, and repairs 648.56 „ care of schoolhouses 533.16 $12,072.41 The committees' pay goes to one member, who is created, by the Board, Superintend ent of the Schools. This office was filled by Thomas Baker from 1850 to 1866. Since 1857, its duties have been perforraed by Henry Cummings. 556 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. lectual culture of our children, they avUI Indeed be fountains of vfrtue and inteUigence to fertUize and bless the town. Though the town has long been generous in its support of pubhc schools, the people have ever been backward, except at one period, in bestoAring upon thefr sons the advantages of a college education. Up to 1765, only eight of them have this distinction ; but, between that date and the commencement of the Revolution, thfrteen received a coUege degree, — a number greater than that of all the graduates belonging to the town for the next fifty years, or the last twenty.* The general pecuniary * Natives and residents who have graduated at College. Those marked S. were of Eockport. Harvard. John Emerson 1689 John Eveleth 1689 Daniel Witham 1718 Moses Parsons 1736 Benjamin White 1738 Jeremiah Allen ; died an undergra duate. John Newman . • 1740 Samuel White 1741 Thomas Sanders 1748 Phileraon Stacy 1765 Epes Sargent 1766 Samuel Hale 1766 John Rogers 1767 Peter Coffin 1769 Winthrop Sargent 1771 Samuel Plummer ¦ .... 1771 Thomas Sanders 1772 Nathaniel Ellery 1772 John Low .... .... 1773 Joshua Plummer 1773 Joseph Allen 1774 Samuel Chandler 1775 David Pearce 1786 Daniel Rogers 1798 Seth Low 1804 Joseph Bolles Manning 1808 John Manning 1810 Joseph L. Stevens 1810 Samuel Gilman 1811 Charles B. Manning 1819 George Augustus Meredith . . . 1827 John Osborn Sargent 1830 Noah Worcester 1832 William J. Dale 1837 Samuel T. Hildreth 1837 Samuel D. Dexter 1843 William M'Kenzie 1855 William Parsons 1856 Robert E. Babson 1856 George Whittemore 1857 Dartmouth. Francis Norwood 1818 Thomas Kittredge 1833 Amherst. Williara E. Jewett 1831 Benjamin Haskell 1832 Nathaniel Richardson 1835 James Challis Parsons 1855 Joseph B. Reynolds 1855 Brown TMiversity. Jabez Tarr 1833 Nathaniel Pool, R 1853 Benjamin H. Smith, jun., R. . . 1857 Charles R. Sewall, R 1857 Reuben B. Pool, R 1857 Bowdoin. David S. Rowe 1838 Samuel L. Young 1840 Tale. William Pearson 1841 Ihtion. Benjamin Pool, R 1844 Of Nearly all these graduates have been mentioned in the course of this work. those who have not, the following should be noticed: — Seth Low, H.C. 1804, was a son of David Low, a sojourner in town, who married Hannah, daughter of Deacon Nathaniel Haskell. His father was a, sea-captain, and resided a few years in the Second Parish, where Seth was born March 19, 1782. He left college in his third year, on account of an affliction of the eyes ; but received a de- MOST DISTINGUISHED EDUCATED MEN. 657 prosperity indispensable to a high degree of inteUectual culture has not been, till recent times, enjoyed to such an extent as to afford the means of pursuing it ; but, now that this is no longer wanting, the Arise and thoughtful wUl be Hkely to recognize the fact, that the true greatness of a toAvn does not consist in its accumulations of wealth, but in the number of its learned, seri ous, honest, and well-educated citizens. Of all the educated men and scholars who have been bom in Gloucester, the two best known and most distinguished are Epes Sargent and EdAriin P. Whipple. The former has been men tioned on a preceding page. His spirited song, " A Life on the Ocean Wave," has carried his name into every house in the land ; and various other products of his active Hterary career have gained him an honorable fame. Mr. Whipple was born here March 8, 1819. The accident of his bfrth is aU that connects him vrith omr history ; for his father (Matthew Whipple) had then recently come Into town, and died soon afterwards, leaving a Aridow and children, who removed to Salem whUe Edwin was stUl a child. He there enjoyed the gree in 1849. He had chosen the ministry for his profession ; but, upon leaving college, he changed his plans, and went into a drug-store in Salem. He removed thence to Brooklyn, N.Y., in 1828; and died in that city, June 19, 1853. His funeral sermon, preached by Eev. Dr. Farley, has been published. George Augustus Meredith, H.C. 1827. The true name of this graduate was Israel ElweU. He was a natural son of Gorham Parsons, deceased ; and, when he was old enough to fit for college, he was placed by his father in a school at Jamaica Plain, with the assumed name. His career at college was marked by extravagance and dissipation, and finished with a confirmed habit of intemperance. After graduating, he studied law, and practised a short time in Northampton. There his true name was discovered: whereupon he left the place, and visited his native town. He nest went to New York; where, for an act of petty larceny, he was put in prison, from which he was released by the good offices of President Kirkland. He then went to New Orleans, and there met some coUege friends, by whose influence he obtained employment as a teacher : bnt he soon forfeited their confidence ; and, to escape further annoyance, they procured him a passage in a stearaboat for St. Louis. This must have been about 1833; since which time, nothing is known of him. Noah Worcester, H.C. 1832, was a son of David Worcester, who resided in Gloucester when his son entered college. The latter became a physician and professor in the Western-Reserve CoUege, Ohio. He died in Ohio in 1847. Samuel D. Dexter, H.C. 1843, was a son of Samuel Dexter. He entered the mini stry, and was settled over an Orthodox society in Exeter, N.H. He died in 1850. Jabez Tarr, Brown University 1833, was a soh of Jabez Tarr of Sandy Bay. He had chosen the ministry for his profession; but was takeu away by death, AprU 11, 1834. 558 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. benefit of good schools till the age of fifteen, when he entered upon a business employment in Salem ; whence, in a few years, he removed to Boston. In that city, so rich in Hterary advan tages, he found raeans for the cultivation of the uncoraraon intel lectual faculties with which nature had endowed hira ; and, soon after he reached manhood, began to attract attention as a writer and lecturer. In the latter vocation, few men have Instructed and delighted a larger number of the people of the United States than he. Considering the little attention that has been given In the toAvn to literary culture, it is not surprising that much remains to be done for the improvement of the people In useful knowledge. The only Hterary institution on the Cape, of any importance. Is the Gloucester-Lyceum Library. The Lyceum was established in 1830, with the chief design of developing the talents ofits mem bers In lectures, essays, and debates. To this end of its forma tion, the labors of that wise and earnest friend of education. Rev. Hosea HUdreth, constantly tended ; but it soon lost the character of a school which he wished to give it, and became only a vehicle for the entertainment of its members through the medium of popular public lectures. The institution no longer retains even this feature, and preserves only its corporate exist ence as the custodian of an excellent Hbrary, which, by the efforts of public-spirited citizens of the toAvn, acting under the immediate stimulus of a generous offer by a native * residing in Boston, was formed, and placed in Its care, in 1854. This hbra ry contains about tAvo thousand A-olumes ; and, when a suitable increase and a fi-ee use of its contents shall be prorided for, the full extent of the value of such a blessing will be real ized. The raeraory of a fcAv citizens who have died in the later years of omr history, and have not yet been noticed, should be preserved here. On the 26th of January, 1840, died WilHam Pew, aged one hundi-ed and seven, as reported ; but he had not, probably, * Samuel E. Sawyer. DEATH OF AGED CITIZENS. 559 quite reached that extraordinary age. He had, however, with out doubt, attained the age of one hundred years, if not more ; for he was a soldier in Braddock's defeat. He Avas born in Vfr-- ginia, but came to Gloucester when a young raan, and settled near Fresh-water Cove. His chief employment was that of fishing, in which he was noted for industry and success. His great age attests the strength of his constitution, which was also one of great power of endurance, and was not much shattered till near the end of Hfe. He left descendants bearing the name, some of whom are among the principal business-men of the town of the present day. Oct. 24, 1842, died James Mansfield, aged seventy-seven. He was born in Salem ; and, in early life, was a mechanic. He came to Gloucester when young, and married a daughter of WUliam Murphy, whose estate on Front Street, at the head of Long Wharf, came into his possession. He there kept a shop, and engaged in the fisheries ; adventuring occasionaUy, also, in foreign commerce. He pursued his business with honesty, industry, and success, tUl old age ; and was succeeded In it by his sons. Mr. Mansfield avoided official employment, vrith the exception of that of a bank-dfrector, which he held for a long course of years. Jan. 20, 1847, died Mrs. Joanna Andrews. She was bom in Chebacco Parish, IpsArich, Oct. 11, 1744 (O.S.); and was, con sequently, more than one hundi-ed and two years old. Her maiden name was Burnham. Her mother died at the age of ninety-two, and a sister was Hving at ninety-four. At the age of one hundred, this remarkable woman was able to keep a separate domestic establishment in the house of her grandson, and to attend to her oavu wants. From that time, her decay was as gradual, and marked in retrogressive order by the same stages, as an infant's growth. July 15, 1849, died Richard Friend, aged eighty-three. He was a son of Richard Friend of Wenham, and was brought up to the trade of his father (that of a carpenter), at which he worked some time after his removal to Gloucester. He finally engaged in the fishing business, at the head of the Harbor ; and carried 560 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. it on several years vrith success. His integrity procured him repeated election to the office of a bank-dfrector, while the kind ness that marked his character gained him universal esteem. The progeny of this valuable citizen is so numerous, that the town wIU not, it is Hkely, be vrithout Friends for many genera tions to come. One of his sons (Joseph) was representative in 1849. Samuel Fiiend, a distant relative of the preceding, and a respected and useful citizen, together with his Arife, were two of thirteen Aictims of smaU-pox in the spruig of 1850. He died May 22, at the age of sixty- eight. March 10, 1850, died Samuel Giles, aged sixty-two, a native of Salem, and, tiU middle life, a ship-master ; in Avhich employ ment he acqufr-ed Avealth. His Arife was a daughter of Samuel Wonson of Eastern Point ; at which place, after quitting the sea, he was induced to employ his capital Arith his family connections in the fishing business. He was a prominent member of the Baptist Church, and was esteeraed as an honest and useful citi zen. Capt. Giles avoided pubhc office, but served one year as representative. Haring no children, he adopted a sister of his Avife, — now the vrife of Rev. WilHam Larason, D.D., forraerly minister of our Baptist Church. Feb. 15, 1852, died Hem-y Phelps, aged eighty-six. He was born in Salem ; of which place his father was a ship-master, and Avas lost at sea in 1786. The son graduated at Harvard College in 1788. A club-foot and an imperfect development of the right arm and hand offered discouragements ; but he chose the profession of medicine, and, after studying Arith Dr. Plumraer of Salem, was estabhshed by him as a physician and apothecary in Gloucester in 1790. He acqufred some practice as a doctor, but soon abandoned that branch of his business. He was many years postmaster and principal acting magistrate in town, and was often employed as a scrivener. He continued to keep a shop on Front Street till about the age of eighty ; when, be coming dependent upon filial support, he went to reside Arith a daughter In the outskfr-ts of the toAvn ; and there, Arithout rauch pain and suffering, in the raidst of kind attention, he sank quietly and gradually to his rest. Mr. Phelps was tlu-Ice raarried, and DEATH OF PEOMINENT CITIZENS. 561 had several children ; of whom one son and one daughter set tled in town. June 6, 1852, died John Mason, aged eighty-three. He was a native of Cambridge, and was descended from Hugh Mason, an early settler. He was a carpenter, and worked at his trade on first coming to Gloucester ; but abandoned it soon, and was for some time employed as master of the workhouse. He next engaged In tavern-keeping; which was bis chief business till old age. Pos sessing considerable mathematical talent, his services were often sought as a surveyor ; but his most important work in this line ¦was a correct map of the town, which he published. He also made himself useful by his general knowledge of municipal af fairs. A strong wUl and great independence were striking traits of bis character. He had three sons. Alphonso, first a raecha nic and then a bank-officer in Cambridge, and next a partner in business with bis father, and United-States' surveyor In Glouces ter, perished by the burning of the steamer " Lexington " on Long-Island Sound, Jan. 13, 1840 ; having, during the ten years of his manhood spent in his native town, won the warmest esteem of all who knew him. Sidney went in early life to St. ^John's, P.R. ; and, as the result of his own exertions, became a prominent and successful merchant there : whence he removed to New York, where he. now resides. John was also a merchant in St. John's, but has for several years been estabhshed in Phila delphia. Dec. 6, 1853, died WilHam Ferson, aged seventy-nine. He was born in New Boston, N.H. ; to which State his great-grand father (Paul M'Pherson) emigrated from Ireland in 1718. To that country the faraUy had removed, with other emigrants, from Argyleshire, Scotland, In the early part of the seventeenth cen tury. He graduated at Dartmouth College In 1797 ; and, dur ing most of the next year, was teacher of the Academy in Araherst, N.H. He next went through a course of raedical study, and then established himself in practice at Sandy Bay ; from which place he removed to the Harbor Parish in 1805 to take an office in the custom-house, for which he gave up his medical profession, except during a few years which he spent in 71 562 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. Ohio, whither bis father and other members of his family erai grated. He continued in office tUl the general dismissal of government officials by President Jackson in 1829. On his retfrement fr-om the custom-house, he offered his serAdces to the pubhc as an agent for the transaction of any business in which he could make himself useful ; and spent the remainder of his life in active employment in a great variety of offices, pubhc and private. He filled nearly aU the most important toAvn-offices ; was a bank-director, treasurer of the Savings Bank, three years a inember of the Executive CouncU of Massachusetts, and one year a senator. It was the testimony of all who knew him, thatj in all these offices, his conduct was raarked by kindness, inte grity, and perfect fidelity. He encountered sorrows and trials ; but a strong religious faith bore him triumphantly through them all, and finally crowned its perfect work by illuminating the dark valley of the shadow of death Arith aU the brightness of celestial day. Dr. Ferson left but one son, who married, — William G., a merchant in Michigan. March 10, 1855, died Benjamin K. Hough, a native of Chel sea, aged eighty-nine. Genealogical research inight connect him with our early settler, William Hough. By the death of his father, he was left in his boyhood to the care of friends, some of whom belonged to the Sargent Family; and was placed by thera in the store of David Plummer of this to avd. After a short service there, he went into the counting-room of Winthrop Sargent, where he remained till he entered into business for himself; after which, his hfe, tUl his retfrement in old age, was spent in vaiious branches of trade and commerce. In the first political divisions that agitated the country, he took a deep inte rest, and becaine a warm advocate of the doctrines and measures of the Federal party; Arith whose leaders in Massachusetts he was brought into intimate connection as a member of the State Government, and was held by them in high esteem. It is not, however, for any poHtical prominence that he best deserves to be remembered, but for the high qualities he displayed in the vai-ious walks of life. In pubhc intercourse with his feUow- beings, he was a true Chiistian gentleraan ; and, in private rela- CATHOLIC CHUECH. 563 tions, a friend of rare syrapathy, kindness, and benevolence. Of no man who has Hved among us can it raore truthfully be said, — " He had a tear for pity, and a hand Open as day for melting charity." Mr. Hough was twice married ; but his only surviving child is a son, who bears and perpetuates his name. Among all the changes in the town which these venerable citizens had Aritnessed, none were so striking as that which was shown by the recent increase of population. Before 1840, there were few persons of foreign bfrth or parentage residing in Gloucester. A single Irish faraily, or, at most, two or three, were all of that origin then hving here ; but, within a few years after that time, a rapid growth of business commenced, and created a deraand for labor, which only could be supphed from a foreign source. Consequently, a large portion of the late additions to the population is Irish ; though the success of the fisheries for the last fifteen years has attracted many fishermen from the British ProAonces, and several Portuguese from the Azores to engage in them. The foreign population of Glouces ter and Rockport combined, in 1855, was fifteen hundred and seven. The Irish and Portuguese are of course, Arith scarcely an exception, attached to the CathoHc faith, and to the religious rites and worship which that enjoins. The first Mass in Glouces ter was celebrated on the 1st of January, 1849, in a room of a Catholic famUy. The officiating priest was Rev. John McCabe of Salem. After that time, it was celebrated several Sundays in each year in the Town Hall till 1855 ; when, through the exertions of Rev. Thoraas Shaban of Salera, the meeting-house first erected by the Baptists was purchased, removed to Park Street, and converted to a Catholic chapel. It was dedicated Sept. 30, 1855 ; when the sermon of the occasion was prea.ched by Rev. S. O'Brien of Boston. By the labors of the former priest, a smaU chapel was also opened in Rockport in 1857. The priest now ministering to the Catholics of the two towns (the ffrst one settled on Cape Ann) is Rev. Luigi Acquarone. 564 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. The CathoHc population of the Cape at the present time, ac cording to an estimate of Dr. Acquarone, is twenty-five hundred. This estimate is not probably much too large, considering that the number of infants of this population baptized in two yeai-s and seven months, ending in September, 1859, was three hun dred. Some of these infants are bom to an inheritance of rice and Ignorance ; and, to be faithful, the historian must not fail to warn those who are beholding this Arith indifference, that it wiU requfre all the good influences of churches and schools, and the best exertions of wise and philanthropic citizens, to make them men and women whom the toAvn AviU be happy to ovm as her sons and daughters. MODEEN BUSINESS OF THE TOWN. 565 CHAPTER XXXIII. MODERN BUSINESS OF THB TOWN. Natuee has denied to Cape Ann a fertile soU; but she has given it a harbor of such excellence as will make it the seat of an active population, so long as men shaU pursue that " great •sea-business of fishing" which first attracted people of the Eng Hsh race to its shores. This business must, in the future as in the past, constitute the chief employment of those who dwell upon its rocky territory ; for, though its safe and commodious harbor can weU accommodate a large foreign and coastArise trade, its proximity to a great commercial metropolis will ever dis courage the growth of any other than a local business. This assertion is warranted by the fact, that its registered tonnage was less in 1855 than in 1790.* The foreign commerce of Gloucester (which, before the Revo lutionary War, was of no great extent) rose, after the peace, to be of considerable importance. In 1790, upwards of forty ships, brigs, schooners, and sloops were employed in it : and, during the twenty years succeeding, vessels belonging to the town visited most of the principal ports in Europe and the West Indies ; and a few made voyages beyond the Cape of Good Hope. One of • From the latter part of 1789 to the close of 1790, the amount of tonnage regis tered under the acts of the Federal Government, regulating commerce, was four thou sand and eighteen tons: namely, four ships, seven hundred and seventy-one tons; nine brigs, a thousand one hundred and eleven tons; twenty-three schooners, a thousand six hundred and five tons; and seven sloops, five hundred and thirty-one tons. The amount of registered tonnage of the District of Gloucester, at quinquennial periods from 1825 to 1855 inclusive, was as foUows: 1825, three thousand three hundred and eighty-nine tons; 1830, two thousand and ninety-eight tons; 1835, three thousand six hundred and four tons; 1840, two thousand three hundred and two tons; 1845, two thousand three hundred and eighty tons; 1850, two thousand eight hundred and seventy-three tons; 1855, three thousand nme hundred and thirty-one tons. 566 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. those engaged in the latter (the " Winthrop and Mary ") was owned by an association of merchants* caUed the India Cora pany. She was of about one hundred tons' burthen, originaUy a schooner ; but was altered to a ship, and properly raanned and armed to suit the dignity of the India trade. Having made two voyages safely to Calcutta, she was next sent to Sumatra; but was never heard from after learing that island on her homeward passage. This occurred about 1800. The Bilbao trade was also resumed by our merchants after the war. The first vessel that ever left Massachusetts Bay with a cargo of fish for a Em-opean market, was the ship, belonging to the Dorchester Company, which saUed from Cape-Ann Harbor for Spain in 1623, as stated In a previous chapter of this work; but, of the great trade In that article of which that voyage was the commencement, we know Httle more than the beginning and the end. In 1767, there were sent to Bilbao from the ports of Essex County as many as fifty-one thousand quintals of fish ; of which quantity, Gloucester, Arithout doubt, furnished a con siderable portion. The merchants of the toAvn finaUy abandoned the trade soon after the beginning of the present century ; chiefly, it Is said, in consequence of discriminating duties at that port in favor of the fish of other countries. The interruption of the business of France, occasioned by the revolution in that nation, opened, for a short season, a profitable market for American fish ; of which some of the Gloucester merchants took advantage. One schooner, fitted out from the town in 1793, went to the Grand Bank, and took twenty-one thousand fish, Arith which she sailed for Nantes ; but, upon arrlAdng on the coast, was ordered to Belle Isle, where the fish were sold in a green state at a half-croAvn apiece, producing over ten thousand crowns. This was a rare case, of course ; and, as might be expected, the business was soon overdone, and finally, upon the resumption of the French fisheries, abandoned alto gether. * These were Ignatius Sargent, William Pearson, John Somes, David Plummer, James Hayes, Joseph Foster, jun., Fitz W. Sargent, Aaron Parsons, Thomas Parsons and Nehemiah Parsons. MODEEN BUSINESS OF THE TOWN. 567 The peace of 1783 also enabled the merchants of Gloucester to pursue the West-India trade again for several years without Interruption. A considerable portion of this trade — that car ried on Arith the French islands — finally ceased to be profitable, in consequence of the large bounty by which the iraportation of French fish was encomaged; and, before 1830, was totally aban doned by the merchants of the town. About the same time, the unimportant commerce carried on with some of the other islands was also given up ; and Gloucester turned attention to the home market, which began then to be opened, and which it has ever since found to afford the best customers for its staple products. If a particular account of our West-India trade should ever be written, one incident of it, possessing interest in these days of huge ships and a vast commerce, vriU command the attention of the historian. This was the fitting-out, during the embargo pre ceding the last war vrith Great Britain, of several of the small fishing-boats of the town on voyages to the West Indies. One of these boats was of thirteen tons' burthen, and the largest was not more than twenty. The act was unlawful; and they departed, of course, by stealth. The fish which they carried were sold at high prices, and the boats were disposed of without great loss ; though the master of one ventured home Arith a cargo of coffee, which he landed at Squam in the night, and, before morning, was again out to sea to set his boat adrift in Massachusetts Bay, where she was finaUy picked up. The only branch of foreign comraerce which has been steadily pursued by merchants of Gloucester, for a long course of years. Is that carried on Arith Paramaribo, or, as it is usuaUy called here, Sminara, the capital of Dutch Guiana. Boston vessels traded to Surinam as early as 1713 ; for two arrived at the former port from that place in one week of that year : but it is not known that any Gloucester vessel engaged in the trade till about 1790, when, it is said. Col. Pearce sent a vessel there. The chief arti cle of export is hake, supplied In part by Maine fishermen; though other provisions (as beef, pork, lard, hams, and flour) are sent in large quantities. The return cargoes consist almost wholly of molasses and sugar ; but some coffee and cocoa are 568 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. also brought. Under the stimulus of the very high prices of sugar and molasses in 1857, the trade of Gloucester with Suri nam for that year probably exceeded in amount that of the whole foreign commerce of the town in any preAious year of its his tory. The coraraerce of Gloucester began with the shipment of wood to Boston ; a business which, in course of time, compelled the people of the town to seek thefr own supply abroad. This, ac cording to the lapse of years, they obtained from places more and more remote, tiU at last they came to depend on Nova Scotia for this essential article. The wood-coasters of that Province began to come to Gloucester about twenty years ago. The vessels were then of no greater average burthen than forty tons ; but the size has Increased with the growth of the business, and has now reached an average of seventy-five. The number of arrivals of foreign vessels, nearly all of which were these wood-coasters, was, in 1859, one hundred and forty-two. Before the Reciprocity Treaty with Great Britain, these vessels generaUy took horae specie ; but, since that happy event, they have carried prorisions and other articles from the weU-supplied stores of the town. Considering the conveniences of the harbor, and the fact that the toAvn had a large body of men bred to the sea, it might have been expected that the enterprising and wealthy merchant (David Pearce) who fitted out one or more vessels on whaling voyages would have given that business such a start in the town, as to have led to its continued and successful prosecution ; but, after he ceased to carry it on, no one appears to have engaged in it tiU 1832, when two companies were formed for the purpose of re-commencing the business. Two ships were fitted out ; but an unprofitable result of thefr voyages caused an abandonment of the enterprise, and a general consent on the part of the people that destiny seemed to dfrect them to a pursuit of other inhabit ants of the deep, as that upon which the toAvn must depend for its prosperity. In that pm-suit they were afready extensiA'ely engaged, with such industry and success as to leave them no occasion to seek other means of Hving. MODEEN BUSINESS OF THE TOAVN. 569 Standing on the spot* where Mr. Thomson set up the fr-arae for his fishery, the beholder finds himself in the centre of a seat of the fishing business, which, for activity, enterprise, and extent, has no equal on this continent, and perhaps is not surpassed by any in the world. It is proper, therefore, that this concluding chapter of the history of the town should trace the growth of this business, and the principal changes in it, since the Revolu tion ; to which period, some account has been given of it in a previous chapter. At the comraenceraent of the Revolutionary War, eighty schooners and a large number of Chebacco boats were engaged in the fisheries of Gloucester. The schooners were employed on distant grounds; and were therefore, during the war, use less for the business in which they had been engaged. Several were converted into privateers, a few rotted at the wharves, and some were preserved till peace again made it safe to resort to the " Banks." One of thera, of fifty-five tons, survived every acci dent, to be registered in 1790, at the venerable age of twenty- two, in the foreign commerce of the town. No means exist for ascertaining how many vessels engaged in the Bank fishery ira mediately upon the retum of peace. One stateraent says that sixty were eraployed in it in 1788, and fifty in 1789. Another, in giring an account of fish caught by vessels from the town In the fall of the last-named year, shows that forty-four vessels took four hundred and twenty-six thousand seven hundred fish, and that fifteen of these vessels belonged to Eben Parsons and Dan iel Sargent, two merchants of Boston. Seven more belonged to each of the two principal merchants of Gloucester, — David Pearce and Daniel Rogers. Concerning this revival of the fish ery, it may be further stated, that the Custom-House Records * This spot, it seems, must have been Duncan's Point. It was granted to AVilliam Southmeade; and went, with his widow, to WiUiam Ash, who sold it in 1651 to John Jackson; from whom it passed, in 1862, to Peter Duncan. Peter Mud's Neck, "lying over against John Jackson's two or three acres," was granted to John Briars in 1658. This Neck was certainly on the Eastern-Point side, and must have been our modern Eocky Neck, the eastern end of which is opposite Duncan's Point. The only answer I can give to inquiry about Peter Mud is, that, May 31, 1651, a mau by that name gave a deposition, somewhere, about John White, raaster of ship " William and John." 72 570 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. show the enrolment, between Oct. 2, 1789, and Sept. 10, 1790, of one brig, sixteen sloops, and forty schooners, of an aggregate burthen of three thousand one hundred and eight tons. Some of the " Bankers " made three trips in a season, and, if reraark ably fortunate, landed from all, together, as many as forty thou sand fish ; but aU the traditions of the business report that the average earnings of the fishermen were so smaU, that they were kept in a condition of poverty. It is not surprising, therefore, that the number of vessels engaged in it decreased fr-om year to year till 1804, when we find that only eight, of more than thirty tons' burthen, were engaged in the Gloucester fisheries. This small number had probably dwindled to less in 1819, when an effort was made to put new vigor into the business by the estabhshment of a corporation to carry it on. In that year, the Gloucester Fishing Company, Arith an authorized capital of fifty thousand dollars, went into operation. They buUt six schooners ; and with visions, perhaps, of a renewal of the ante- Revolutionary prosperity of the town, commenced by giving their vessels names having initial letters in alphabetical order. The " Amity," " Borneo," " Crescent," and " Diligent " were of the old model, deemed best for the Grand-Bank fishery, and were employed in that; while the "Economy" and "Favorite" were built according to a raodern style, and sent in pursuit of cod and mackerel on our own coast. The Bounty Act passed by Congress in 1819 (the sarae now in force), or the anticipation of that act, may have added stimulus to this project: but a business which private capital avoided could hardly be expected to yield profit, even to the best corporation management ; and accordingly, in the thfrd year, this enterprise came to an end, Arith a loss of all the interest on the capital, and a portion of the capital itself. Since this period, it is probable a year, in which no vessel has gone to the Grand Bank from Gloucester, has sometimes passed ; and not even the high price of cod in recent years has tempted many of our people to send thefr vessels to that fishing ground. The shore-fishery of Gloucester had risen to some importance before the Revolution ; and, upon the return of peace, the enter prise of the people was again dfr-ected to this pursuit, to which MODEEN BUSINESS OF THE TOWN. 571 some encomagement was given by early acts of the General Governraent. In 1792, one hundred and thirty-three Chebacco boats,* measming in the aggregate fifteen hundred and forty- nine tons, were engaged in it. These boats resorted to the ledges and shoal grounds near the coast, where they found, at different seasons, cod, hake, and pollock ; and pursued thefr fish ery with such success, that, in twelve years frora the last-named date, the number of boats engaged In it had increased to about two hundred, whUe the tonnage had nearly doubled. At this time, the boat-fishing was chiefly carried on at Sandy Bay and the other coves on the outside of the Cape ; but the advantage of a good harbor for their larger boats drew a few of the people away fi-om these localities, to settle on Eastern Point, soon after 1800. The business, however, was not profitable enough, even -vrith additional encouragement from the General Governinent, to attract many new adventurers, or even to stimulate much the enterprise of the old ones ; and it had a slow growth for the next quarter of a century, — the annual average increase of tonnage during that time having been only about one hundred and twenty- five tons. At the end of this period (In 1828), the whole num ber of vessels upwards of twenty tons, engaged in the Gloucester fisheries, was one hundred and fifty-four, measuring five thousand eight hundred and ninety-nine tons ; to which are to be added about forty boats, of an average burthen of fifteen tons. The total annual product of the cod-fishery of the town at this time is said to have been about sixty thousand quintals. But another fishery had now begun to attract the attention of the fishermen ; and the shore-fishing for cod, except that carried on in vrinter, declined from this time, tUl It came to be, as at the present day, of insignificant account in the business of the town. Gov. Winthrop, standing " to and again" Arithin sight of Cape • These boats were of a peculiar construction ; and were, without doubt, first used at Sandy Bay. A tradition is current there, that the first one was built in a garret at Chebacco (now Essex); which place has supplied nearly all the fishing schooners that have been used in Gloucester for many years. In the view of the harbor, accora panying this work, the artist has represented one of the Chebacco boats and one of the "old " Bankers," — vessels which have now almost entirely disappeared from our -waters. 572 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. Ann all of one day in June, 1630, "took many mackerels." In 1653, the exportation of this fish from Boston had comraenced; and there can scarcely be a doubt, that it has continued without interruption to the present day. Early regulations concerning this fishery were raade by both the Plymouth and Massachusetts Colonies ; but the interest in it seems to have been confined to the south side of the bay, fr-om the ports of which several schooners were employed in it before the Revolutionary War. Scituate is said to have had thirty vessels so engaged in 1770 ; but Glouces ter fishermen do not seem to have given much attention to it tlU about 1820. At that time, the size of the Chebacco boats was Increased ; and it began to be common to furnish them Arith a bowsprit, and call them "jiggers." The boats had before this day occasionally caught a few mackerel, which they sold fresh In Boston, when they could be disposed of in that condition; but the market was sometimes overstocked, and then they_ were brought home to be salted, and inspected according to the inspec tion laws of the State, under which an inspector was appointed in Gloucester in 1808, who, for several years, packed all the mackerel that were landed in the town, amounting in aU to a trifling quantity. The remarkable abundance of these fish in Massachusetts Bay about 1820 Induced the fishermen of the town to make preparations for mackerel-catching on a large scale. They built "jiggers " of forty tons' bm-then or more, and raade regular trips in pursuit of mackerel only ; sometimes finding them so plenty as to fill up in a few days, when they would start for Boston to pack out and sell. In this stage of the business, it was customary for the fishermen to go to Boston for this pur pose : but, as It increased, they were soon made aware of the advantage of packing out at home ; and, since about 1826, the business has been kept whoUy In the town. The first " great year " of the mackerel fishery in Gloucester was 1825 ; in which year, a single jigger, carrying eight raen, took over thfrteen hun dred barrels. More vessels now engaged in it. The fish carae almost to our own doors ; and were In such abundance in the autumn of 1830 and 1831, that, for several days together, the fisherraen were employed aU day in catching, and all night MODEEN BUSINESS OF THE TOWN. 573 in spHtting and salting. In the former of these years, more than fifty-one thousand barrels were packed in Gloucester; giving the town a prominence in the business, which it has ever since re tained. The mackerel is a capricious fish, and its habits are not understood even by the most experienced fishermen. Not long after the years of plenty just mentioned, they began to be scarce in Massachusetts Bay, and finally to avoid the coast ; so that, since 1850, hook-fishing for mackerel in our own waters has proved a total faUure. The enterprise of the fishermen, however, has pur sued them into their distant retreats in the Bay Chaleur. The first vessel sent there from Gloucester on a mackerel voyage, went, it is said, in 1832. In five years from this time, a large number resorted thither from the town ; and later, upon the failure of the fishery on the New-England coast, nearly all the vessels of the town engaged in it, and it became the only source from which the deraand for this fish could be supplied. The fishery for hahbut and cod on George's Bank Is an enter prise of recent times. About 1830, it is said, a Gloucester schooner first resorted to that shoal for fishing. It Avas not, however, tlU several years after this time, that any considerable number of vessels engaged in the business. The opening of raifroad communication with all the cities and principal towns In the country, and the use of ice, enabled even the most distant inhabitants to supply theraselves with these excellent articles of food in a fresh condition and at a low price. The Boston market, in which hitherto one or two thousand pounds of halibut would have sufficed for a daily supply, now furnished purchasers for aU that could be brought till the weather became too warm for transportation ; and, when that season arrived, the fishermen could seU at home, to be smoked and dried, all that should find no sale in the former place. This fishery had risen to such Im portance in 1847, that the Gloucester vessels took in that year considerably more than three millions of pounds, which sold for somethino- over seventy thousand doUars. In fact, this fish has been so abundant, and such enormous quantities of them have sometimes been brought In, that the poorer qualities have been thrown overboard in our harbor. On the opening of raifroad 574 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. connection with Boston, it seemed expedient and practicable to bring the Boston and other dealers in halibut to Gloucester to purchase ; and, to carry out this design, a company was organized to buy the fish of the fisherraen, and await pm-chasers fi-ora abroad. But the enterprise was a failure. The amount pur chased was nearly two millions of pounds, for which about forty- four thousand dollars were paid. The George's fishery for cod is also quite a remarkable fea ture in the modern business of the town. The great abundance in Avhich this fish Is sometimes found on that Bank recalls to mind the "pestering" of Gosnold's ship with them off Cape Cod, and the "strange fish-pond," where Capt. Smith found them so plenty, near Monhegan. It is only Arithin a few years that the fishermen have gone to George's in Arinter in pm-suit of cod. The Inducement to engage in this employment was the importation of fr-esh herring fr-om NeAvfoundland ; a business in which several schooners belonging to the town are now engaged every winter. The schooners engaged In the George's fishery are generally from eighty to ninety tons' bmthen. The fisher men begin about the 1st of January to get them ready for the hard and dangerous Avork in which they are to be employed; and, by the middle of the month, are Avaiting only for bait, which the arrival of the herring vessels usually supphes about that time. The success of the trip depends mainly upon wind and weather. Sometimes the whole fleet return to port with the loss of cables and anchors, and without any fish to compensate. Often better luck attends them ; and occasionally three or four favorable trips in succession yield a generous but stUl hardly adequate rcAvard for the risk, labor, and suffering of the employ ment. Such trips were the commencement and a part of the work of one crew in 1859, — the best year's Avork ever raade by any one in Gloucester. The skipper and OAvner of the vessel in which these trips Avere perforraed was Mr. Peter Sinclair,* who * Mr. Sinclair is an Orkney Islander; but has been for several years a resident, nnd one of the most successful fishermen in Gloucester. He once brought in from George's Bank, after an absence of jnst one week, three hundred aud flfty quintals of ood, and three thousand pounds ot halibut. MODEEN BUSINESS OF THE TOWN. 575 took, in the Arinter and spring last year, cod to the amount of twenty-six hundred dollars; one hundred thousand pounds of hahbut, which sold for three thousand dollars ; and, in two trips to Bay Chaleur, five hundred and sixty-five barrels of mackerel, which produced six thousand four hundred dollars; making a total of twelve thousand doUars. Many of the vessels engaged in the George's fishery make great voyages ; but at what a fear ful expense of human Hfe is the business carried on ! and how Httle is it to be wondered at that none but the stoutest hearts vriU brave the perUs and hardships of the employraent ! Twenty- five men in three schooners, in the last spring alone, found in it a watery grave, and also an unknown end ; for no tidings ever come from the missing George's fishermen. After they have been out three or four weeks, friends begin to inqufre anxiously of retuming mariners for husband, son, brother, or father, and watch from the hiUs in agonizing suspense ; but nothing coraes save the raoan of the sea, which sounds thefr requiem.* One more branch of the Cape- Ann fisheries remains to be mentioned, — the winter shore-fishing carried on at the coves on the outside of the Cape. Before the use of ralfroads, this busi ness was of httle account in the industrial enterprise of Glouces ter; though, long before that time, it was customary for the country people, who came in with thefr produce, to take away loads of frozen fish, many of which were carried into Vermont and Canada. The price, however, was often so low, that the fishermen received only a miserable pittance for a day of hard labor ; but as soon as the ralfroads opened a wider market, and created, consequently, a greater demand for fish, many vessels, boats, and men engaged in it, and, in favorable weather, found constant and profitable employment In the business. It has always been a wherry- fishing, each wherry carrying but one man, who started in the morning, and rowed or sailed out to the fishing ground, five or six miles distant ; but a new custom has been introduced of late, according to which the wherries are towed out and back by fishing boats and schooners, that receive * See Appendix, VI. 576 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. a certain share of the fish for this serrice. About seven-eighths of this fishery are probably carried on within the liraits of Rock port ; and nearly all the rest at Lane's Cove, where a breakwater, erected by a cojnpany chartered in 1828, affords the fishermen a snug and safe haven. The fish are usually sold at night, as soon as landed, and immediately carted to the raifroad station. The exact statistics of this fishery cannot be given : but a reha ble estimate shows that the average nuraber of men engaged in it for a few winters past has been nearly three hundred ; and the average quantity of fish taken, about eight hundred and fifty tons, producing about twenty-one thousand doUars. The wher ries can go out, of course, only when the state of the ocean and the wind permits ; but often, when, to a landsman, these seem to threaten suffering and perU, the brave and Industrious fisherman may be seen in his skiff in the coldest days of Arinter, alternately dancing on the top of a wave, and disappearing in the hoUow of the sea.* Such is the raodern business of Cape Ann, resulting frora its geographical position. Another important branch of industry on the Cape has grown out of its geological structure, and is of modern origin ; though our ancestors, in a smaU Avay, made the granite ledges serve thefr necessity and convenience. Early in the last century, the people at Sandy Bay and the other coves on the outside of the Cape employed Joshua Norwood to cut flat blocks of this stone for moorinscs for thefr boats. These blocks were about six feet square, and from ten to fifteen inches thick. In the centre, a hole about fifteen inches in diameter was cut, into which an oak butt, twenty feet In length, having part of the roots attached, was inserted. The stone was then dropped at a proper distance from the shore, and afforded a safe mooring for a fishing-boat at aU times, except during the prevalence of a heavy easterly gale. Norwood also cut out millstones for sale ; and it seems therefore, from these employments, that a humble beginning in stone-cutting may be traced back to him. An extensive business in the quarrying of granite was com- • See Appendix, VII. MODEEN BUSINESS OF THE TOWN. 577 menced in 1824, when Mr. Bates of Quincy came to Sandy Bay, and leased a ledge for that purpose. Another stone contractor engaged in it there in the following year, and employed In it two persons, who have since been promuient in the business. Quar ries were afterwards opened in different places on the northerly side of the Cape ; and, during one period, a considerable quan tity of granite was got out at Squam. The quarries still most extensively worked are situated In Rockport, though sorae are located in Gloucester. The whole number of men employed in quarrying and cutting, in teaming and in blacksmith's work, is about three hundred and fifty; while about one hundred and fifty are employed in twenty-five sloops constantly engaged in carrying the stone to market. The granite is also shipped to many places in brigs and schooners. The gross amount of sales annuaUy is between two hundred and fifty and three hun dred thousand doUars. Much of the granite is cut into paving blocks, and shipped to Cuba and the principal American cities ; and a great deal of it is used for building purposes, — the coarser quahties for foundations, and the finer for fronts of stores, such as have been erected of late in Frankhn Street, Boston. The Cape-Ann quarries have also furnished great quantities to the principal navy-yards, and for the erection of Hght-houses, and other public works of the United-States Gov emment. The prosperity of Gloucester depends entfrely on its fisheries ; for it has no other industrial pursuit to which, on a failure of this, it can turn. A failure, however, it is not the part of enter prise to fear, or of iadustry to anticipate. Both of these have, for a period of several years, been rewarded with generous re turns ; and, in bringing this work to a close, the historian of the toAvn has the satisfaction of presenting it in a condition of present thrift, and of cherishing a well-grounded behef, that the futme is fuU of encomaging prospects. 73 APPENDIX. APPENDIX. I. — Pagk 33. THE CHARTEE. This Indenture made the ffirst day of January Anno Dni 1 623, And in the Yeares of the Eaigne of o' Soveraigne Lord James by the grace of God King of England ffrance and Ireland Defender of the ffaith &c the One and Twentyth And of Scotland the Seaven and ffyftyth Betweene the right honorable Edmond Lord Sheffeild Knight of the most noble Order of the Garter on thone part And Robert Cushman and Edward Winfslowe for themselves, and theire Associats and Planters at Plymouth in New England in America on thother part. Wytnesseth that the said Lord Sheffeild (As well in consideracon that the said Robert and Edward and divers of theire Associats haue already adventured themselves in person, and have likewise at theire owne proper Costs and Charges transported dyvers persons into New England aforesaid And for that the said Robert and Edward and their Associats also intend as well to transport more persons as also further to plant at Plymouth aforesaid, and in other places in New England aforesaid As for the better Advancement and furtherance of the said Planters, and encouragement of the said Vndertakers) Hath Gyven, graunted, assigned, allotted, and appointed And by these puts doth Gyve, graunt, assigne, allott, and appoint vnto and for the said Robert and Edward and their Associats As well a certaine Tract of Ground in New England aforesaid lying in fforty-three Degrees or thereabout of Northerly latitude and in a knowne place there comonly called Cape Anne, Together Arith the free vse and benefitt as well of the Bay corn- only called the Bay of Cape Anne, as also of the Islands within the said Bay And free liberty, to ffish, fowle, hawke, and hunt, truck, and trade in the Lands thereabout, and in all other places in New England aforesaid; whereof the said Lord Sheffeild is, or hath byn possessed. 582 , HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. or which haue byn allotted to him the said Lord Sheffeild, or within his Jurisdiccon (not nowe being inhabited, or hereafter to be inhabited by any English) Together also with ffyve hundred Acres of free Land adioyning to the said Bay to be ymployed for publig vses, as for the building of a Towne, Scholes, Churches, Hospitalls, and for the mayn- tenance of such Ministers, Officers, and Magistrats, as by the said vndertakers and theire Associats are there already appointed, or which hereafter shall (with theire good liking, reside, and inhabitt there And also Thirty Acres of Land, over and beside the ffyve hundred Acres of Land, before menconed To be allotted, and appointed for every per tiouler person. Young, or old (being the Associats, or servants of the said vndertakers or their successo" that shall come, and dwell at the aforesaid Cape Anne within Seaven yeares next after the Date hereof, which Thirty Acres of Lande soe appointed to every person as afore said, shall be taken as the same doth lye together vpon the said Bay in one entire place, and not stragling in dyvers, or remote parcells not exceeding an English Mile, and a halfe in length on the Waters side of the said Bay Yelding and Paying for ever yearely vnto the said Lord Sheffeild, his heires, successo", Rent gatherer, or assignes for every Thirty Acres soe to be obteyned, and possessed by the said Robert & Edward theire heires, successo", or Associats Twelve Pence of lawfull English money At the ffeast of St. Michaell Tharchaungell only (if it be lawfully demaunded) The first payraent thereof To begynne ymediatly from and after thend and expiracon of the first Seaven yeares next after the date hereof And the said Lord Sheffeild for himself his heires, successo", and assignes doth Covenant, promise, and graunt to and with the said Robert Cushman, and Edward Winslow their heires, associats, and assignes That they the said Robert, and Edward, and such other persons as shall plant, and contract with them, shall freely and quyetly, haue, hold, possesse, and enioy All such profitts, rights, previlidges, benefits, Comodities, advantages, and pre heminences, as shall hereafter by the labo', search, and diligence of the said Vndertakers their Associats, servants, or Assignes be obteyned, found out, or made within the said Tract of Ground soe graunted vnto them as aforesaid ; Reserving vnto the said Lord Sheffeild his heirs, successors, and assignes The one Moyety of all such Mynes as shall be discovered, or found out at any tyme by the said Vndertakers, or any their heires, successo", or assignes vpon the Grounds aforesaid And further That it sliall and may be lawfull to and for the said Robert Cushman, and Edward Winslowe their heires, associats, and assignes from tyme to tyme, and at all tymes hereafter soe soone or they or their APPENDIX, 583 Assignes haue taken possession, or entred into any of the said Lands To forbyd, repell, repulse and resist by force of Armes All and every such .persons as shall build, plant, or inhabitt, or which shall offer, or make shew to build, plant, or inhabitt within the Lands soe as aforesaid graunted, without the leave, and licence of the said Robert, and Edward or theire assignes And the said Lord Sheffeild doth further Covenant, and graunt That vpon a lawfull survey hadd, and taken of the aforesaid Lands, and good informacon gyven to the said Lord Sheffeild his heires, or assignes, of the Meats, Bounds, and quantity of Lands which the said Robert, and Edward their heires, associates, or assignes shall take in and be by them their Associats, Servants, or Assigns inhabited as aforesaid ; he the said Lord Sheffeild his heires, or assigns, at and vpon the reason able request of the said Vndertakers, or theire Associats, shall and will by good and sufflcient Assurance in the Lawe Graunt, enfeoffe, confirm and allott vnto the said Robert Cushman and Edward Winslowe theire Associats, and Assigns All and every the said Lands soe to be taken in within the space of Seaven yeares next after the Date hereof in as larg, ample, and beneficiall manner, as the said Lord Sheffeild his heires, or assignes nowe haue, or hereafter shall have the same Lands, or any of them graunted unto him, or thera ; fbr such rent, and vnder such Covenants, and Provisoes as herein are conteyned {mutatis _ mutandis) And shall and will also at all tymes hereafter vpon reason able request made to him the said Lord Sheffeild his heires, or assignes by the said Edward and Robert their heires, associats, or assignes, or any of them graunt, procure, and make good, lawfull, and sufficient Letters, or other Graunts of Incorporacon whereby the said Vnder takers, and their Associats shall haue liberty and lawfull authority from tyme to tyme to make and establish Lawes, Ordynnces, and Constitu- cons for the ruling, ordering, and governing of such persons as now are resident, or which hereafter shalbe planted, and inhabitt there And in the meane tyme vntill such Graunt be made It shalbe lawfull for the said Robert, and Edward theire heires, associats and Assignes by consent of the greater part of them to EstabUsh such Laws, Provisions and Ordynnces as are or shalbe by them thought most fitt, and con venient for the govemement of the said plantacon which shall be from tyme to tyme executed, and administred by such Offlcer, or Officers, as the said Vndertakers, or their Associats or the most part of them shall elect, and make choice of Provyded allwaies That the said Lawes, Provisions, and Ordynnces which are, or shall be agreed on, be not repugnant to the Lawes of England, or to the Orders, and Consti- tucons of the President and Councell of New England Provyded 584 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. further That the said Vndertakers theire heires, and successo" shall fore' acknowledg the said Lord Sheffeild his heires and successo", to be theire Chiefe Lord, and to answeare and doe service vnto his Lo'"' or his Successo", at his, or theire Court when upon his, or theire owne Plantacon The same shalbe established, and kept In -wttnes whereof the said parties to these present Indentures Interchaungeably have putt their Hands and Seals The day and yeares first aboue written. SHEFFEYLD. [seal pendent.] n. — Page 187. SELECTMEN, TOWN-CLEEKS, AND TOWN-TEEASUEEES. 1642. Mr. Stevens. Mr. Addes. Mr. Milward. Mr. Sadler. Obadiali Bruen. George Norton. ' Mr. Ffryer. Walter Tybbot. 1644. Mr. Stevens. George Norton. , Walter Tybbot. Hugh Calkin. Obadiah Bruen. 1645. Charles Glover. Walter Tybbot. Hugh Callvin. William Brown. Obadiah Bruen. 1646. Hugh Pritchard. Walter Tybbot. Charles- (jlover. Hugh Calkin. Obadiah Bruen. 1647. Thomas AVakley. Hugh Calkin. William Vinson. John Colhns. Christopher Avery. 1648. Hugh Galkin. Silvester Eveleth. Selectmen. William Evans. AiVilliam Meades. William Brown. 1649. Hugh Calkin. Eobert Elwell. John Collins. William Evans. John Coit, sen. 1650. Walter Tybbot. Eobert Elwell. Obadiah Bruen. Osman Dutch. George Blake. 1651, Walter Tybbot. Eobert Elwell. AVilliam Hough. Silvester Eveleth. William Vinson. 1652. William Stevens, Eobert Tucker. Eobert Elwell. Christopher Avery. George Ingersol. 1654. Christopher Avery. John Hnrdin. Eobert Elwell. Eichard Window. Samuel Dolliver. 1657. William Stevens. Eobert Elwell. Phineas Eider. John Collins. Philip Stanwood. 1659. William Stevens. Eobert Elwell. Thomas Wakley. Stephen Glover. 1660. Eobert Elwell. William Vinson. Philip Stanwood. Samuel Dolliver. 1668. Eobert Elwell. Henry Walker. Thomas Millet, sen. Samuel Dolliver. Stephen Glover. 1669. Eobert Elwell. John Collins, sen. Stephen Glover. William Sargent. Thomas Eiggs. 1670. Eobert Elwell. John Collins, sen. Philip Stanwood. Stephen Glover. Thomas Biggs. 1671. Eobert Elwell. John Davis. APPENDIX. 585 Philip Stanwood, sen. Stephen Glover. Thomas Riggs. 1672. Eobert Elwell. William Haskell. Stephen Glover. James Davis. Thomas Riggs. 1673. Henry Walker. William Haskell. Thomas Millet, jun. Stephen Glover. Thomas Riggs. 1674. Eobert Elwell. William Vinson, sen. James Stevens. Stephen Glover. Thomas Eiggs. 1675. Same. 1676. Henry Walker. James Stevens. William Sargent. Stephen Glover. Thomas Eiggs. 1677. Same. 1678. William Haskell, sen. Jaraes Stevens. Jeffrey Parsons. Stephen Glover. Thomas Eiggs. Same. 1679. 1680. Same. 168L Henry Walker. James Stevens. Jeffrey Parsons. Stephen Glover. Thomas Riggs. 1682. James Stevens. Jeffrey Parsons. Stephen Glover. James Davis, sen. Thomas Riggs. Same. 1683. 1684. Same. 1685. AVilliam Haskell. James Stevens. Stephen Glover. Jeffrey Parsons, sen. Jacob Davis, sen. 1686. William Haskell, sen. James Davis, sen. James Stevens, sen. Stephen Glover. Thomas Eiggs, sen. 1687. William Haskell. William Stevens. Jeffrey Parsons, sen. Thomas Millet. Thomas Eiggs. 1688. James Stevens. Thomas Eiggs, sen. Joseph Allen. Joseph Haskell. 1689. James Stevens. Jeffrey Parsons, sen. William Grigs. William Ellery. Thomas Eiggs. 1690. John Fitch. William Ellery. Joseph Haskell. Joseph Allen. James Parsons. 1691. Capt. James Davis. Lieut. James Stevens. Ensign Thomas Millet. John Fitch. .John Sargent. 1692. Capt. Davis. Sergeant Ellery. Joseph AUen. John Sargent. John Davis. 1693. Capt. James Davis. William EUery. Joseph Allen. AVilliam Stevens. Thomas Eiggs, sen. 1694. James Stevens. John Fitch. John Hadley. 74 Jacob Davis. James Davis. 1695. John Hadley. Benjamin llaskell. Timothy Somes, sen. Samuel Sargent. Thomas Riggs, sen. 1696. John Hadley. Benjamin Haskell. William Stevens. Samuel Sargent. John Parsons. 1697. Joseph Haskell, sen. Thomas Bray. Nathaniel Coit. John Parsons. Thomas Riggs, sen. 1698. Jaraes Davis. Jaraes Sawyer. WilUam Stevens. Ezekiel Collins. John Ring. 1699. Samuel Sargent. John Parsons. John Sargent. William Stevens. James Davis, jun. 1700. John Sargent. Ensign Joseph Allen. Benjamin HaskelL Samuel Sargent. Thomas Eiggs, sen. 1701. WilUam Stevens. Nathaniel Coit. James Sayward. Samuel Sargent. Thomas Riggs, sen. 1702. Joseph AUen. Nathaniel Coit. John Sargent. James Davis, sen. Thomas Riggs, sen. 1703. William Sargent, 2d. Nathaniel Coit. Samuel Sargent. John Parsons. Thomas Riggs, sen. 1704. John Newman. 586 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. Nathaniel Coit. James Davis. John Ring. Thomas Eiggs, sen. 1705. Benjamin Haskell, sen. John Haraden. Samuel Stevens. Thomas Riggs, sen. 1706. Nathaniel Coit. Lieut. John Davis. Lieut. James Davis. Benjamin HaskeU. John Ring. 1707. John Newman, Esq. Nathaniel Coit. Jeffrey Parsons. Lieut. James Davis. John Ring. 1708. John Newman. Joseph Allen. Jeffrey Parsons. Lieut. James Davis. John Ring. 1709. John Davis. Jeffrey Parsons. Ezekiel Collins. Samuel Sargent. John Parsous. 1710. Benjamin Haskell. Jeffrey Parsons. Thomas Bray, sen. John Davis. Sergeant Isaac Eveleth. 1711. Capt. Joseph Allen. Jeffrey Parsons. Lieut. John Davis. Lieut. James Davis. Thomas Witham. 1712. Benjarain Haskell, sen. Thomas Bray, sen. Jeffrey Parsons. Ezekiel Collins. George Giddings. 1713. Ensign William Haskell. Thomas Bray, sen. Edward HaradeQ, sen. Jeffrey Parsons. Thomas Witham. 1714. Thomas Bray, sen. Joseph York. Joseph Haraden. Ensign William Haskell. Stephen Row. 1715. Thomas Bray, sen. Nathaniel Sargent. John Ring. Lieut. James Davis. Joseph AUen, jun. 1716. John Newman. Thomas Bray. John Ring. Nathaniel Sargent. Abraham Sawyer. 1717. John Newman. Thomas Bray. John Ring. Samuel Sargent. Isaac Eveleth. 1718. Benjamin HaskeU. Nathaniel Sargent. Ensign William Haskell. Ensign Joseph Allen. Ebenezer Davis. 1719. Isaac Eveleth. Ensign Joseph AUen. Ebenezer Davis. Deacon Nathaniel Parsons. Thomas Bray, jun. 1720. Lieut. James Davis. Samuel Sargent. Elder James Sayward. Ebenezer Davis. Thomas Bray, jun. 1721. James Sayward. WiUiam HaskeU. Nathaniel Sai-gent. Thomas Bray. Nathaniel Ellery. 1722. Samuel Sargent. Ezekiel Collins. James Sayward. Abraham Sawyer. Thomas Bray, jun. 1723. Ebenezer Davis. Thomas Witham. Abraham Sawyer. John Bennet. William HaskeU. 1724. Daniel Ring. Thomas Bray, jun. John Bennet. Thomas Witham. Ebenezer Parsons. 1725. Ebenezer Parsons. Thomas Bray. Ebenezer Davis. Joseph Allen. Dr. Edward Tompson. 1726. Nathaniel Ellery. William Haskell. Edward Tompson. James Lane. Ensign Joseph Allen. 1727. Ensign AUen. Nathaniel Ellery. Samuel Herrick. Samuel Stevens. James Lane. 1728. Samuel Herrick. Samuel Sargent. Elder Sayward. Capt. Robinson. Thomas Witham. 1729. Samuel Herrick. Epes Sargent. Capt. Joseph AUen. John Haraden. Ebenezer Davis. 1730. Thomas Witham. Ebenezer Parsons. John Eoberts. James Lane. Ebenezer Davis. 1731. Thomas Witham. John Eoberts. Ebenezer Parsons. James Lane. Ebenezer Davis. 1732. Daniel Witham. Ebenezer Parsons. John Roberts. James Lane. Ebenezer Davis. 1733. WiUiam HaskeU. James Lane. Daniel Witham. APPENDIX, 587 EUas Davis. Ebenezer Parsons. 1734. Daniel Witham. Elias Davis. William HaskeU. James Lane. Joseph AUen. 1735. Edmund Grover. Ebenezer Parsons. James Lane. John Eoberts. Daniel Witham. 1736. Daniel Witham. Joseph Allen. Edmund Grover. John Eoberts. James Davis, jun. 1737. Edmund Grover. John Sargent. Daniel Witham. John Eoberts. James Davis, jun. 1738. Daniel Witham. Ebenezer Parsons. David Plummer. WiUiam Haskell. James Davis, jun. 1739. Daniel Witham. Ebenezer Parsons. Abraham Davis. WUUam HaskeU. Capt. James Davis. 1740. Jabez Baker. Nathaniel Ellery. Abraham Davis. Timothy Day. Capt. James Davis. 1741. Daniel Witham. PhUemon Warner, jun. David Stanwood. Mark HaskeU. Capt. James Davis. 1742. Daniel Witham. Nathaniel EUery. Abraham Davis. Capt. William Haskell. Capt. James Davis. 1743. Same. 1744. Nathaniel Ellery. WiUiara Ellery. Daniel Witham. WiUiam HaskeU. James Davis. 1745. WiUiam Parsons. Daniel Witham. WiUiam EUery. WiUiam Haskell. James Davis. 1746. John Parsons. Daniel Witham. WiUiam EUery. WiUiam Haskell. Capt. James Davis. 1747. Daniel Witham. John Parsons. WiUiam HaskeU. WiUiam AUen. Capt. James Davis. 1748. Same. 1749. John Parsons. Sarauel Stevens, jun. WiUiara Allen. Jaraes Davis. wmiam HaskeU. 1750. Daniel Witham. John Parsons. WiUiam Haskell. WUliam Allen. Capt. James Davis. 175L Daniel Witham. Samuel Stevens, jun. Williara HaskeU. Samuel Griffin, jun. WUUam AUen. 1752. Daniel Witham. Samuel Stevens, jun. WiUiam HaskeU. Capt. James Davis. Capt. William Allen. 1753. Daniel Witham. Capt. WUliam Stevens. Mr. Peter Coffin. Capt. James Davis. Capt. WilUam AUen. 1754. Sarauel Stevens, jun. Peter Coffin. Capt. Jaraes Davis. John Parsons. Capt. William AUen. 1755. Daniel Witham. Samuel Stevens, jun. Peter Coffin. James Davis, Esq. WiUiara Allen. 1756. Daniel Witham. Ebenezer Pool. Peter Coffin. Jonathan Fellows. John Low, jun. 1757. Daniel Witham. Sarauel Stevens. Nathaniel Haskell. James Davis, Esq. John Low, jun. 1758. Philemon Warner. Isaac Parsons. Peter Coffin. Sarauel Griffin, jun. David Allen. 1759. Daniel Witham. Philemon Warner. Peter Coffin. Samuel Griffin. John Low, jun. 1760. Daniel Witham. Philemon Warner. Epes Sargent, jun. Peter Coffin. Samuel Griffin, jun. John Low, jun. Ebenezer Pool. 1761. Daniel Witham. Thomas Sanders, jun. John Low, jun. Peter Coffin. WUliam Norwood. 1762. Daniel Witham. William Stevens. Peter Coffin. Samuel Griffin. John Low. 1763. Daniel 'Witham. WiUiam Stevens. 588 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. Samuel Griffin. John Low. Josiali Choate. 1764. Thomas Sanders, jnn. Timothy Rogers. Peter Coffin. Samuel Griffin. John Low. 1765. Daniel Witham. Samuel Whittemore. Peter Coffin. Samuel Griffin. John Low. Same. 1766. 1767. Same. 1768. Daniel Witham. Sarauel Whittemore. Daniel Sargent. Peter Coffin. John Low. Samuel Griffin. Francis Pool. 1769. Daniel Witham. Samuel Whittemore. Peter Coffin. Samuel Griffin. John Low. 1770. Same. 177L Daniel Witham. John Smith. Peter Coffin. Samuel Griffin. David Plummer. 1772. Samuel Whittemore. Daniel Witham. Peter Coffin. Samuel Griffin. John Low. 1773. Daniel Witham. Jacob Parsons. Peter Coffin. John Low. Cornelius FeUows. 1774. Peter Coffiu. John Low. Samuel Griffin. Epes Sargent, jun. Joseph Foster. 1775. Jacob Allen. James Porter. Samuel Rogers. Peter Coffin. Samuel Griffin. John Low. Francis Pool. 1776. David Pearce. John Smith. WiUiam EUery. Peter Coffin. Thomas Marrett. John Low. Francis Pool. 1777. James Porter. John Smith. Thomas Marrett. Samuel Plummer. Stephen Pool. 1778. John Smith. James Porter. Daniel Warner. Daniel Rogers. Thomas Marrett. John Low. John Row. 1779. Thomas Marrett. William Pearson. Nehemiah Parsons. Joseph Eveleth. Barnett Harkin. David Pearce. 1780. WiUiam Ellery. Barnett Harkin. WiUiam Gee. Stephen HaskeU. Mark Pool. Winthrop Sargent. Daniel Warner. 1781. Capt. John Smith. Samuel Leighton. Daniel Rogers. Col. John Low. Barnabas Dodge. Jacob Allen. Mark Pool. 1782. Capt. William Ellery. Barnett Harkin. Joseph AUen. Stephen HaskeU. Barnabas Dodge. Col. John Low. Ebenezer Cleaveland. 1783. John Low. Barnett Harkin. Joseph Allen. Stephen HaskeU. James Hayes. 1784. .Joseph Allen. James Pearson, jun. Jaraes Hayes. John Low. WiUiam Babson. Stephen HaskeU. Mark Pool. 1785. John Somes. Joseph Procter. James Pearson, jun. Stephen HaskeU. James Day. John Low. Caleb Pool. Same. 1786. 1787. Same. 1788. John Somes. Joseph Procter. James Pearson, jun. Stephen HaskeU. James Day. John Low. Mark Pool. 1789. James Pearson, jun. John Somes. Joseph Procter. Stephen HaskeU. James Day. John Low. Caleb Pool. 1790. John Somes. James Pearson. Daniel Warner. Stephen Haskell. James Day. John Low. Caleb Pool. Same. 179L 1792. Same. APPENDIX. 589 1793. Same. 1794. Capt. John Somes. Col. Daniel Warner. Capt. Isaac ElweU. Stephen HaskeU. James Day. John Low. Caleb Pool. 1795. John Somes. Daniel Warner. Isaac ElweU. Isaac Eveleth. James Day. Johu Low. Caleb Pool. 1796. Eliphalet Davis. Joseph Allen. Isaac Eveleth. James Day. Ebenezer Pool, jun. Nathaniel Wamer. John Low. 1797. Joseph AUen. Nathaniel Wamer. Isaac Eveleth. James Day. David Low. Ignatius Sargent. Benjamin Tarr, jun. 1798. .Joseph AUen. Isaac Eveleth. Jaines Day. David Low. James Goss. Benjamin Webber. Joseph Foster, jun. 1799. Eliphalet Davis. James Day. Thomas Parsons. 1800. James Day. Thomas Parsons. Isaac ElweU. 1801. James Day. Isaac ElweU. B. K. Hough. 1802. James Day. Isaac Elwell. William Dane. 1803. James Day. Isaac ElweU. WiUiam Dane. 1804. James Day. Isaac Elwell. Joseph Foster, jun. 1805. William Dane. Isaac Elwell. Joseph Foster. James Dennison. John Manning. 1806. Isaac Elwell. Joseph Foster. Ebenezer Oakes. 1807. Isaac ElweU. Joseph Foster. Caleb Norwood. 1808. Jaraes Hayes. WiUiam Dane. Benjamin K. Hough. WiUiam Babson, jun. Joseph Procter. ¦ Josiah Choate. Daniel Rogers, jun. 1809. William Dane. James Hayes. Joseph Procter. William Babson, jun. Caleb Norwood, jun. 1810. WiUiam Dane. James Hayes. Francis Norwood. William Babson, jun. John Somes, jun. 1811. John Somes, jnn. Charles Smith. James Hayes. Francis Norwood. Jonathan KimbaU. 1812. John Somes, jun. Charles Smith. James Hayes. Francis Norwood. James Dennison. 1813. James Hayes. Charles Smith. John Mason. James Dennison. Ebenezer Oakes. 1814. Charles Smith. John SomeS, jun. Lonson Nash. Daniel Haskell. Ebenezer Oakes. 1815. Charles Smith. John Somes, jun. John Mason. Ebenezer Oakes. Jonathan Kimball. 1816. WiUiam Pearce, jnn. Sarauel Calder. Israel Trask. 1817. Same. 1818. Isaac ElweU. Benjamin Stacy. Charles L. Roberts. 1819. Benjamin Stacy. Charles L. Eoberts. Samuel Pearce. 1820. WiUiam Pearce, jun. Benjamin Stacy. WilUam Beach. 1821. Benjamin Stacy. WUiiam Ferson. Charles Sawyer. 1822. Benjamin Stacy. Samuel Pearce. William Beach. 1823. Daniel W. Rogers. Capt. William Pearce. Sarauel Stevens. 1824. Charles L. Roberts. Daniel W. Rogers. Samuel Stevens. 1825. Daniel W. Rogers. Samnel Lane. Winthrop Pool. William Beach. 1826. Daniel W. Rogers. 590 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. Elias Davison. Abraham HaskeU. EUsha Brown. Aaron Giddings. 1827. Elias Davison. Daniel W. Eogers. Aaron Giddings. William Stevens. Ignatius Sargent. 1828. Daniel W. Rogers. Elias Davison. WiUiam Stevens. 1829. Same. 1830. Daniel W. Rogers. William Stevens. Willlam Ferson. George D. Hale. Gideon Lane, jun. 1831. William Ferson. WiUiam Stevens. WiUiam CoUins. George D. Hale. Gideon Lane, jun. 1832. William Beach. Elias Davison. WilUam Collins. Gideon Lane, jun. George D. Hale. 1833. Addison GUbert. William Beach. George D. Hale. WiUiam CoUins. Gideon Lane, jun. 1834. George D. Hale. Addison Gilbert. Alphonso Mason. Samuel Lane. John Webber. 1835. Alphonso Mason. George D. Hale. John Webber. Henry HaskeU. Ignatius Sargent. 1836. John Webber. Ignatius Sargent. John W. Marshall. Joseph Stacy. Theophilus Herrick. 1837. Alphonso Mason. Epes Ellery. John W. MarshaU. John Webber. Ignatius Sargent. 1838. John Webber. George D. Hale. Epes EUery. Ignatius Sargent. John W. Marshall. 1839. Williara Ferson. George H. Rogers. Benjamin K. Hongh, jun. James Haskell. John N. Davis. 1840. William Ferson. Joseph J. Procter. Alfred Presson. John N. Davis. Frederic Haskell. 1841. WiUiam Ferson. Alfred Presson. John N. Davis. 1842. John Webber. William Ferson. Frederic Haskell. 1843. WiUiam Ferson. John Webber. Epes Young. 1844. John Woodbury. Alfred Presson. WiUiam Ferson. 1845. William Ferson. Alfred Presson. Aaron Fitz. 1846. WiUiam P. Dolliver. Samuel W. Brown. Alexander P. Davis. 1847. George SaviUe. Nathaniel Babson. George Norwood. 1848. Nathaniel Babson. John L. Rogers. George Norwood. 1849. WUliam Ferson. Henry HaskeU. John L. Rogers. 1850. WiUiam Ferson. Nathaniel Babson. George Norwood. 1851. WiUiam Ferson. Henry Haskell. Joseph Friend. 1852. Alfred Presson. Gideon Lane. Eben H. Stacy. 1853. Alfred Presson. Gideon Lane. Eben H. Stacy. 1854. Gorham P. Low. Charles E. Grover. George Saville. 1855. Charles E. Grover. Joseph Friend. James S. Jewett. 1856. Frederic Haskell. John S. Webber. Samuel P. Fears. Jereraiah R. Cook. Charles C. Pettingell. 1857. Alfred Presson. James Davis. WilUam P. DoUiver. 1858. WUliam P. DoUiver. Aaron D. Wells. James Davis. 1859. WUUam P. DoUiver. John S. Webber. John J. Babson. APPENDIX. 591 Until recent times, it seems to have been the practice of the select men to charge according to the services rendered. The office, however, has never been worth seeking for its emoluments. This Board has also performed the duties of assessors till within three or four years past, when the town adopted the present practice of choosing three persons to each board, with a salary of one hundred dollars to each officer. Town-Clerks. Obadiah Bruen 1642 WilUam Perkins 1651 WUliam Stevens 1661 Robert Tucker 1652 Edmund Clark 1656 Thomas Eiggs 1665 James Parsons 1716 Ebenezer Davis 1727 Joseph Allen 1732 Daniel Witham 1734 James Porter 1776 Samuel Whittemore 1779 John Eogers 1782 WUliam Saville 1827 Joshua P. Trask 1849 Alfred Presson 18B4 George L. Ford 1855 Cyrus Story, jun 1856 lown- Treasurers. James Parsons 1697 John Parsons 1709 James Parsons 1715 John Eing 1716 Lieut. James Davis 1722 Nathauiel EUery 1732 Joseph AUen 1734 Daniel Witham 1739 Joseph Allen 1740 Daniel Witham 1741 WiUiam AUen 1749 WUUam Stevens 1763 Thomas Sanders, jun 1767 Samuel Whittemore 1774 Samuel Plummer 1777 John Low 1778 Jacob AUen 1780 Nehemiah Parsons 1782 James Hayes 1797 The selectmen performed the duties of treasurer till 1697. No regular salary was paid for many years, though the duties were never gratuitously performed. In 1798, the pay was fixed at $33.33 per annum ; but has for several years past been seventy-five dollars. Eliphalet Davis 1804 William Pearson 1804 James Hayes 1805 William Pearson 1807 William Saville 1809 John Sraith 1812 Ignatius Webber 1813 .nimes Hayes 1815 Ignatius Webber ........ 1816 Zachariah Stevens 1819 Sarauel Pearce 1820 William Ferson 1822 Zachariah Stevens 1830 Daniel W. Eogers 1831 Alphonso Mason 1832 John Johnston 1839 Samuel Stevens 1840 T. SewaU Lancaster 1847 SELECTMEN, TOWN-TREASURERS, AND TOWN-CLERK OF EOCKPOET. Selectmen. 1840. David Babson, jun. James Haskell. Thomaa 0. MarshaU. 1841. David Babson, jun. James Haskell. WiUiam H. Bradley. 1842. David Babson, jun. WiUiam H. Bradley. WiUiam P. Burns. 1843. Same. Same. 1844. 1845. David Babson, jun. WiUiam P. Burns. George D. Hale. 1846. Same. 1847. David Babson, jun. 592 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. Benjamin Tarr. John Pool. 1848. Same. 1849. David Babson, jun. Williara Boynton. WiUiam P. Burns. 1850. David Babson, jun. WUliam Boynton. George Gott, jun. 1851. David Babson, jun. WiUiam Boynton. James Manning. 1852. Jaraes Manning. WiUiara H. Bradley. Thoraas Hale. 1853. Thoraas Hale. John W. Marshall. Dudley Choate. 1854. John W. Marshall. Dudley Choate. Amos Story.1855. James Manning. WiUiam H. Bradley. Benjamin Atwood. 1856. John W. MarshalL Washington Tarr. Daniel Wheeler. 1857. John W. Marshall. Washington Tarr. Austin W. Story. 1858. Austin W. Story. John Manning. Alfred Parsons. Town- Treasurers. 1840. John Gott. — 1843. Addison Gott — 1853. James Manning. 1865. — George Gott, jun. —1857. Henry Clark. Town- Clerk. 1840. WiUiam Pool. IIL — Page 187. HIGHWAYS. The ancient roads of Gloucester were used for public travel many years before they were formally laid out as highways. The date of laying out the most important ones, connecting different sections of the town, is here given : — 1646. May 20. — A common highway out of the woods, lying east of Mill Eiver. In grants to Zebulon Hill ( without date), raention is made of a high way that goes along the head of all the Harbor lots. This must be the High Street of the present time. 1656. Mar. 4. — Highway between Gloucester and Ipswich. 1695. Nov. 15. — • Highway across Biskie Island, and from the island to the main. 1698. May 9. — Highway through the Harbor to Vinson's Cove, twenty-one feet wide, and from the " town down to the seaside." 1704. Mar. 20. — Highway from the head of the Harbor to Cripple Cove; and so along to the pasture of William Stevens, deceased (on Eastern Point). „ July 10. — Highway from Starknaught Harbor to the head of the Harbor, and from thence to the south end of the lane called Ketles Lane. 1707. April 9. — Highway where it had been used and improved for fifty years past, from the gravel-pit at the east end of the gristmiU by Lieut. James Davis's dwelling-house and so to the house of Ezekiel Day. APPENDIX. 593 1707. June 2. — „ Oct. 21. — 1708. June 22.— 1716. Mar. 19.— 1717. Oot. 30. — 1719. Mar. 30. — 1721. Mar. 10. ¦ 1722. April 2. - 1724. May 26. ¦ 1726. May 11. ¦ 1730. July 6. 1732. Mar. 7.- Highway from the Meeting-house Green over to Sandy-bay Cove, " where it is now, and hath been for many years, made use of." Highway round the Cape, from Mr. Samuel Gott's to the gravel-pit by the gristmill. Highway from Sandy Bay to Starknaught Harbor. Highway on the back side of the Cape, from near FoUy Sove, to Sandy-bay Brook. Highway from the way that leads to the MiUs to Squam. Highway in the West Precinct, called Long-Cove Way. Highway from the Cut Road towards Ipswich to the highway leading from the Meeting-house (in said precinct) to the Ferry. Highway from Mr. Warner's fence to Vinson's Cove, forty feet wide. Highway from Mr. Coffin's farm to Long-Cove Way. Highway from head of Little River to Kettle Cove. Highway from Salem road to Fresh-water Cove. Highway frora Thoraas Witham's towards Sandy Bay. Highway from the Cut into the Harbor. IV. — Page 192. REPRESENTATIVES TO GENERAL COURT. 1642. Geo. Norton, Sept. 8. 1643. Sarae. 1644. Same, March. Wm. Stevens, May. 1645. Hugh Prichard. 1646. Not represented. 1647. Obadiah Bruen. 1648. Same. 1649. Sarae. 1650. Hugh Calkin. 1651. Hugh Calkin. 1652. Robert Tucker. 1653. WilUam Stevens. 1654 to 1666. None. 1665. William Stevens. 1666. WUliam Stevens. 1667 to 1671. None. 1671. WiUiam Sargent. •1672. William HaskeU. 1673. Silves. Eveleth, May. Jas. Stevens, Sept. 1674 and 1675. None. 1676. James Stevens. 1677, 1678, and 1679. None. 1680. WilUam Haskell. James Stevens, Feb. Jas. Stevens, May. 1681. Wm. Stevens, Jan. Wm. HaskeU, May. _1682. WiUiam Haskell. 1683. John Haskell, May. James Stevens, Nov. 1684. James Stevens. .^1685. WiUiam HaskeU. 1686. James Stevens. 1687. None. 1688. None. 1689. WiUiam EUery. 1728. Same. James Stevens. 1729. Samuel Sargent. 1690. James Stevens. 1730. Samuel Stevens. Williara Sargent. 1731. Same. 1691. William Sargent. 1732. Same. a692. WUliam Haskell. 1733. James Sayward. Wm. Stevens, June. 1734. Joseph Allen. 1693. Jaraes Stevens. 1735. Same. 1694. Sarae. -1736. WiUiam HaskeU. 1695 to 1699 inclusive. 1737. Joseph Allen. James Davis. 1738. Andrew Robinson. -1700. Thomas Riees. 1739. Same. 1701 to 1703. Jaraes Davis. 1740. Epes Sargent. 1704. Nathaniel Coit. 1741. James Davis. 1705. Joseph Allen. 1742. Same. 1706. Benjamin HaskeU. 1743. Same. 1707. Same. 1744. William Parsons. 1708. James Davis. 1745. Same. • 1709. Same. 1746. Sarae. 1710. James Parsons. 1747. Same. 1711. Same. 1748. James Davis. 1712. Same. 1749. Joseph AUen. 1713. Same. 1750. Jaraes Davis. 1714. Same. 1751. William Parsons. 1715. John Newman. 1752. James Davis. 1716. Sarae. 1753. WiUiam Stevens. 1717. Sarae. 1754. Same. 1718. Nathaniel Coit. 1755. WiUiam Parsons. 1719. Same. James Davis. 1720. James Sayward. 1756. WiUiam Stevens. 1721. Sarauel Stevens. 1757. Sarae. 1722. Sarae. 1758. Same. 1723. James Sayward. 1759. Sarae. 1724. Same. 1760. Same. 1725. Samuel Stevens. 1761. Thos. Sanders, jun 1726. James Sayward. 1762. Same. 1727. Same. 1763. Same. 75 594 HISTOEY OF GLOUCESTEE. 1764. 1765.1766. 1767. 1768.1769.1770.1771.1772.1773.1774. 1775. 1776. 1777. 1778. 1779. 1780.178L 1782.1783. 1784.1785. 1786. 1787. 1788. 1789. 1790.179L 1792. 1793. Same.Thos. Sanders, jun. Nathaniel Allen. Thos. Sanders, jun. Nathaniel Allen. Thos. Sanders, jun. Same. Same. Same. Nathaniel AUen. Same.Same. Peter Coffin. Joseph Foster. Peter Coffin. Samuel Whittemore. WiUiam EUery. Daniel Eogers. John Low. Peter Coffin. John Low. Peter Coffin. John Low. None. Peter Coffin. Peter Coffin. John Low. Peter Coffin. Peter Coffin. Samuel Whittemore. Joseph Foster. .Toseph Foster. Joseph Foster. Williara Pearson. John Low.. WiUiam Pearson. Winthrop Sargent. Joseph Foster. William Pearson. William Pearson. William Pearson. William Pearson. Peter Coffin. WUliam Pearson. 1794. John Low. 1795. John Low. 1796. John Low. John Rowe. 1797. John Rowe. 1798. Same. 1799. Same. 1800. Same. 1801. Sarae. 1802. Same. 1803. Daniel Rogers, jun. 1804. John Rowe. 1805. John Rowe. 1806. John Somes. WiUiam Pearson. Daniel Rogers, jun. Caleb Norwood, jun. Wra. Pearce, jun. Same. Benj. K. Hough. Thoraas Parsons. Benjarain Webber. John Somes, jnn. James Tappan.* Benj. K. Hough. Lonson Nash. Jolin Manning. John Soraes, jun. John Tucker. Thoraas Parsons. 1810. John Tucker. Thomas Parsons. John Manning. James Tappan. Robert ElweU, 3d. John Johnston. t 1811. Same. 1812. John Tucker. John Manning. Eobert ElweU, jnn. John Johnston. William Dane. Ebed Lincoln. J 1813. John Tucker. 1807.1808. 1809. John Manning. Benjamin Webber. Jona. Kimball. § James Appleton. Daniel Eogers. 1814. John Tucker. John Manning. Jonathan Kiraball. Benjamin Webber. James Appleton. James OdeU. |{ 1815. John Tucker. James Odell. John Manning. Benjamin Webber James Haves. If 1816. Wm. W. Parrott. 1817. Same. 1818. Sarae. 1819. Sarae. 1820. Same. 1821. Same. 1822. Same. 1823. Winthrop Sargent. 1824. WiUiam Beach. 1825. William Beach. 1826. Elias Davison.** Zach. Stevens. tt 1827. Elias Davison. Samuel Stevens. 1828. Elias Davison. Sarauel Lane. 1829. Same. 1830. Elias Davison. Sarauel Lane. John Gott. John W. Lowe. Aaron Giddings. 1831. Elias Davison. Samuel Giles. John Gott. John Johnston. Ezra Leonard. Solomon Pool. * He was a native of Ngtt Hampshire, where in early life he taught a school, and had Daniel Webster for a pupil. He came to Gloucester when a young man, and enga^d in teaching; but soon went into trade, and finally became a farmer. He died Feb. 6, 1853, aged eighty-five. t He was born in Newburyport ; came to Gloucester, and established himself as a baker. Ho died June 5,,1857, aged eighty. t Mr. Lincoln was a mechanic, and died here about 1817. { Mr. Kimball waa born in Ipswich. He came to Gloucester when a young man, and settled at Squam, where he died in July, 1820. II The father of James Odell (also named James) came to Gloucester from Kittery, Me., about 1767. The son became a ship-master, and died in New Orleans. TT James Hayes was born in Waterford, Ireland. He came to Gloucester in early manhood, aud engaged in mercantile pursuits. He was a prominent citizen many years. In old age, he remoyed to Charlestown, N.H. ; where he died June 8, 1834, aged eighty-five. ** He belonged to a fiimily of Davisons in Hampton, N.H. ; but waa born in Ipswich, Mass. He was a ship-master of Gloucester many years, and next a merchant in Charlestown, Mass., where he died May 7, 1842, aged sixty-seven. tt Mr. Stevens was a native of Andover, but became a citizen of Gloucester in early life. It is said that he did not take hia seat in the House. He died Aug. 29, 1847, aged eighty-four. His son (Joseph L.) graduated at Harvard CoUege in 1810, and has been for many years a physician in Castine, Me. Samuel, another son, was representative in 1827. Joseph L., son of Dr. Joseph L. of Castine, was one of the delegates from Gloucester to the Constitutional Convention of 1853. Aaron Plummer. Wm. Procter, jun. 1832. James Goss. Nehe. Knowlton. Samuel GUes. Sarauel Lane. Gorham Babson. George HaskeU. Aaron Pluramer. Samuel Gilbert. 1833. John Wonson. Aaron Plumraer. George Lane. Josiah Griffin. Theophilus Herrick. Gideon Lane, jun. Gorham Babson. Aaron Day. 1834. John Wonson. Aaron Day. Gideon Laue, jun. Theophilus Herrick. Gorhara Babson. Josiah Griffin. Jonathan Cutler. John Blatchford. 1835. John Wonson. John Blatchford. Aaron Day. David Saville. Theophilus Herrick. Jonathan Cutler. Jaraes Harris. Eobert Eantoul, jun. Timothy E. Davis. 1836. Timothy E. Davis. John Davis. APPENDIX. James Harris. Thomas HaskeU. Luther Hamilton. 1844. Eobert Rantoul, jun. David Saville. Addison Gilbert. 1845. David White. 1846. 1837. Epes Ellery. John Davis. Eobert Eantoul, jun. 1847. Eleazar Boynton. 1848. David White. 1849. Theophilus Herrick. Addison Gilbert. Oliver W. Sargent. David Donnahew. 1850. 1838 Eobert Eantoul, jun. David White. 1851. Oliver W. Sargent. Eleazar Boynton. 1852. Wm. B. Haskins. Silas Bray. 1853. 1839 Samuel L. Andrews. E. G. Stanwood, jun. 1854. Joseph J. Procter. 1855. Chris. G. Sargent. Alexander P. Davis. 1856. 1840 Daniel D. Hartley. Simeon Burnham. 1857. Henry Sanders. Daniel Robinson. 1858. Wm. B. Haskins. 1841 Wm. Parsons, jun. George W. Pearce. "1859. WiUiam Davis. 1860. 1842 Wm. Parsons, jun. 1843 . Simeon Burnham. 595 Henry Sanders. Elbridge Day. Jona. Burnhara, jun. Elbridge Day. Silas Bray. No choice. Bartholomew Eing. George Perkins. Moses Gilbert. Bartholomew Ring. No choice. Joseph Friend. Simon P. Burnham. David Chard. Bartholomew Eing. William Babson. David Chard. Jeremiah R. Cook. Wm. H. Haskell. Jeremiah R. Cook. Jacob Bacon. David H. Plurab. John W. Haskell. No choice. Chas. C. PettingeU. John S. Webber. Jeremiah E. Cook. Edward H. Pearce. John S. Webber. George Norwood. , Edward H. Pearce. Fitz. J. Babson. . Jeremiah R. Cook. John J. Babson. . Fitz. J. Babson. John J. Babson. REPRESENTATIVES FROM ROCKPORT. 1841. James P. Tarr. 1842. None. 1843. Thos. 0. MarshaU. 1844. William Grover. 1845. WUliam Grover. 1846 tol850 inclusive, none. 1851. Addison Gott. 1852. Newell Burnham. 1853 and 1854. None. 1855. Benj. Parsons, jun. 1856. Samuel York. 1857. Thomas Hale. 1858. Wm. W. MarshaU. 1859. Henry T. Lowe. 1860. John D. Sanborn. DELEGATES TO STATE CONVENTIONS. 1779. — To Convention for forming State Constitution. Winthrop Sargent. Joseph Foster. Peter Coffitn. Samnel Whittemore. Epes Sargent. 1788. fo Oonvention for ratifying the Federal Constitutum. Daniel Rogers. John Low. WiUiam Pearson. 1820. — To Convention for revising State Constitution. WUliam Pearce. John Kittredge. WiUiam W. Parrott. Nehemiah Knowlton.* WiUiam Beach. Elias Davison. 1853. — Convention for revising State Constitution. Eben H. Stacy. Joseph L. Stevens, jun. * He was born in Hamilton ; was for many years a resident of Sandy Bay, and took an active part in town-affiiirs. He was a representative in 1831 ; and died Nov. 25, 1847, aged seventy-two. 596 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTEE. v. — Page 393. ROLLS OF GLOUCESTER COMPANIES AT THE BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. Nathaniel Warner, captain. .Tohn Burnhara, lieutenant. Daniel CoUins, ensign. Jona. Woodman, sergeant. William Kinsraan, „ Alex. Parran, „ Jams Lincoln, „ Eichard Simson, corporal. Nathan Glover, „ Jonathan Butler, „ Nymphas Stacy, ,, John Warner, lifer. Jonathan Soraes. Andrew Keley. Nathaniel Bennett. Moses Ring. Daniel Callahan. Benjarain Clark. Andrew Bray. Josiah Brown. », Capt. Warner's Company. Levi Lane. Moses Bennett. James Preastly. Josiah Burk. Benjamin Smith. Vinson Elwell. William AveriU. Eobert Callaghan. Thomas Ayres. David Eow. Benjarain Webber. Samuel Marshall. Josiah Ingersol. Joshna Day. Joshua Polen. Zerubbabel AUen. Isaac Bray. Larrey Trejay. Solomon Parsons. John Andress. WiUiam Segurs. WilUam Grimes. Aaron Stevens. Peter Seavery. Jeremiah Burnham. John Chaplen. William Grover. Thomas MiUett. Joseph Soraes. Ezekiel Woodward. Eliphalet Wharf. Ebenezer Tarbox. Jonathan Pike. Ebenezer Goslen.* WiUiara Johnson. Nathan Brown. Joseph Howard. Lemuel Collins. John Row, oaptain. Mark Pool, lieutenant. Eben. Cleaveland, ensign. Danl. Barber Tarr, sergt. Williara Haskins, „ William Davison,t „ William Foster, „ Jonathan Row, corporal. Thomas Finson, „ John Gott, „ William Low, „ Benj. Davis, drummer. Isaac Haskell, fifer. Jacob AUen. Obadiah Atkins. David Averill. Eleazer Butman. Daniel Butler. David Crage. Henry Clark. Daniel Doyl. Dominicus Davis. Capt. Rome's Company. Samuel Clark. Joseph Dresser. Richard Dresser. Thomas Dresser. Caleb Elwell. James Phips. Ebenezer Gott. Joshua Gore. Bennet Haskins. Williara Jumper. John Clark. Joseph Lane. James Lurvey. Francis Lane. Samuel Low. Henry Morgan. Henry Parsons. Hugh Parkhurst. Joseph Parsons. Jeffrey Parsons. Johu Row, jun. Joshua Row. Peter Richardson. William Row. Daniel Somes. John Sraith. Ephraira Sheldren. John Tarr. John Tarr, jun. Jabez Tarr. Jaraes Taix. WiUiam Woodbury. Ebenezer Witham. Spencer Thomas. Jonathan Parsons. Peter Emmons. Thomas Edes. John Youlin. John Parrot.' Joseph Low. Aaron Riggs. Francis Pool. Josiah Brooks. William Parsons. * Ebenezer Joslyn is the true name, without doubt. t So in a roll at the State House. In a return of the companj, in my possession, the name of this sergeant is William Aquart; the same as given to me by Jabez Tarr, the last survivor of the company. APPENDIX. 597 VL— Page 575. LIST OF VESSELS BELONGING TO THE TOWN, Lost since January, 1829, in which a portion or the whole of the crew have perished. It is taken from a list of marine disasters, carefully prepared by the editor of the " Gloucester Telegraph," and pub lished in his paper, June 1, 1859: — Vessel's Name. Master's Name. When Lost. How or where Lost. Men Lost. Lucinda. Hararaond. 1829. Lobos Islands. 1 Olive. Doyle. Aug. 1880. Fishing. 7 Essex. Underwood. „ 1834. N.Y. to Pt. Cabello. Vesta. Fears. Apr. 1837. Fishing. 7 B. Franklin. Norwood. 7 Fair American. Wonson. T) 11 JJ 7 Martha. Bovd. Dec. 1838. Mass. Bay. 4 Sevo. Barter. „ 1839. Eun down. 4 Ida. Rowe. Mar. 1840. Fishing. 6 Forest. Eich. Oct. 1841. Cape Cod. Fishing. 8 Byron. Watson. Aug. 1843. 10 Confidence. Wonson. Feb. 1844. JJ 7 Paris. Parkhurst. Mar. 1845. 8 Gen. Scott. Bowdoin. Nov. 1846. IJ 8 Canton. Norwood. }1 J' JJ 7 L. Woodbury. Fears. Oot. 1849. JJ 10 Wm. WaUace. Griffin. Feb. 1850. JJ 8 Tuscany. Pew. Mar. „ 8 Walter Scott. Hibbert. April, „ ij 8 Specie. Tarr. April, „ 7 Flirt. Stubbs. Oct. 1851. Bay St. Lawrence. 14' Princetoj. Guard. Jl )> Fishing. 10 Ocean Queen. Spinney. Nov. „ JJ 8 Golden Fleece. Eust. Mar. 1862. JJ 9 C. E. Parkhurst. Turner. IJ J) JJ 8 B. Parsons. Tibbetts. April, „ JJ 7 Napoleon. Parsons. April, „ JJ 8 H. A. Holbrook. Eeraby. Nov. „ JJ 8 Flight. L. Pulcifer. WUlis. Feb. 1854. JJ 12 M'Donald. Mar. „ IJ 9 Gold-Hunter. M'Intire. Feb. „ Freighting. 5 Reporter. Bearse. Mar. 1855. Fishing. 8 A. L. Colby. Brown. JJ u JJ 8 Bessie Neal. Herrick. 1865. From P.E. Island. 5 Kossuth. Aug. 1856. 2 Oolong. Kendall. Feb. 1857. Fishing. 9 Alexandria. Miller. Feb. 1858. From Newfoundld. 6 J. Franklin. M'Donald. Dec. „ Frora P.E. Island. 6* VUlage Belle. Harvey. Nov. „ Passage from Bay. 10* Queen of Clippers. Stoddard. Jan. 1859. To Newfoundland. 6 "IToung America. Lord. Mar. „ Fishing. 8 G. T. Powers. Powers. AprU, „ IJ 8 C. E. Grover. Gould. )J IT JI 9 * On board of these vessels, there were also passengers ; making the whole number of persons lost three hundred and thirty-six. To this sad list, five vessels have already been added in the present year. oo<»<»ooooa)a)Gnaoooooooc»coQoc»c»coco(»c»ooccoococoOTC^ OJCXl-TOSCHrfi.COMh-'OiXlOO-JrOlCnrfi.COMt-'OCOOO-^IOSCni^COtOMO (Xta^JCll005COt4i.l--OOWCOt4rf!^01'XibOCD-TCfiOS-5t3*-t(i.tf'0;-^Jf^ CDOSI— 'Of^CnCDl— iOh-'rf»-Grtt0"^cocnt-jfr3i-iooscDOicnom-^»t^cocoo>ootot3to^c;iCocnos*5COCn-"Trf».CO-M'COCQH-»tC'-CDMeOMt-iOib3-^COeDOOTOOI-«CnCOCIlCDOh-'fc:i»*»--^a>CDCClrf»-CD03 l_t 1-' l-« l-« M t-l l-i M fc-J (-i l-» l-i M h-l M t-i M rffcOicnoaeocnt-ieoootocDtaocosDOcotOMioj-'^jo^OicncncncnOOOOOOOOOtOOOOitOOOMOOCTOOCnOOMtCiOCnO !2! o M hi s, l_,uji_i|— 11— 1 M t— 'H '1— I bafcata<»wt30'-^OJOO"^osooaip^oopsppoppoopsj^*'i*^rf»'rf^ uibiatooi>DcnoCTMookiwcnb»Moooicntooioo-jOOOOOOiOOOfcOOOCnCnOOtOOOOOCnOOOfcStBOCnO p to pCO s 1 ma>CBO)OiCJ»-TCTCTptCOWrf^COfflpipj(!^pOi ^ o a Oi 3 CB CB C " g. ^» O c o - '*> -* «¦ ET CI- CB CB 55B ¦ s (K3 B o s O o"^ a-CB P3 )— » GO O CO C5 CBCD >-" „ CD P CD O o ¦a ^ o o ^ ^ D-i 2 ^ I P- CD COOOOOC»C»QOOOCOCnrf^COtSi-iOOOO H-iMMI-'l-'l-'l-it-t cnooooooooooooootatotstO(-'i-'i->i-' COfcOH-'OCPCO'^IOS C7lOOI-*tOI->t-l|-t|-ltOO'^i-'OCni-'tO oo 00 00 oo oo 00 to to bS to to to CD 00 -^ Ol cn tf- o to to O) CO CO OD O 00 OS cn o eo CO QO 09 tf> CO CO CD P" H CD i5 3 rn P i-J 7T- o CD rn o •-s 00 £L W p.^ W o >« r-l 00 1- >H CO CO fu B b" H o BUJ £ H -<1 CD B 1 «J •=1 w m 13 so CBP B 1=1 hi> OrCO00 HOk!o ot-loc!om 1-3 APPENDIX. 599 Statement of the fisheries of the district of Gloucester for the year 1847, collected by Mr. Addison Winter, and kindly furnished by him for publication in this work. This is, without doubt, the most com plete and reliable account of this business, for a single year, which has ever been published. It does not, however, include the winter wherry-fishing. Whole number of vessels, two hnndred and eighty-seven, of an aggregate tonnage of twelve thousand three hundred and fifty-four tons, employing one thousand six hundred and eighty-one men and one hundred and eighty-six boys, and producing as fol lows : — 7,088,376 lbs. of codfish, of the value of $181,703 3,379,776 lbs. of halibut, of the value of 70,761 735,506 lbs. of hake, of the value of 12,174 919,188 lbs. of poUock, of the value of 16,556 46,779 bbls. of mackerel, of the value of 290,055 337J bbls. of tongues and sounds 1,873 39,520 gallons of oil 16,232 $589,354 Classification of ihe Vessels according to Tonnage. Under 10 tons. 10 tons to 20 tons. 20 tons to 30 tons. 30 tons to 40 tons. 40 tons to 50 tons. 50 tons to 60 tons. 60 tons to 70 tons. 70 tons and upwards. Total. 287 28 27 29 42 26 49 73 13 STATEMENT OF THE GLOUCESTER FISHERIES FOB THE YEAR 1859. The whole number of schooners, twenty tons and upwards, belonging to Gloucester Harbor in July, 1859, was three hundred and twenty-two ; measuring in the aggregate twenty-three thousand eight hundred and eighty-two tons. Of this number, three hundred and one, manned by three thousand four hundred and thirty-four men and one hundred and thirty-four boys, were employed in fishing. So much we learn from a statement published in the " Gloucester Telegraph." The product of the fishery for that year, as nearly as can be ascertained, is here given : — 59,664| bbls. mackerel $705,833 114,047 quintals codfish 416,271 4,500,000 lbs. halibut 135,000 1,400 bbls. oil . • 19,600 $1,276,704 If to this aggregate we add the product of the herring voyages to Newfoundland, and that of the business carried on at Squam and Lane's Cove not included in the above items, we shall find the total product of 600 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTEE. the fisheries of Gloucester for 1859 not less than one million four hun dred thousand dollars. The quantity of halibut given is an estimate founded upon informa tion obtained from -persons in the business, and is believed to be under rather than over estimated. The number of pounds of this fish sold in town last year to be dried and smoked is known to have been about a million and a half. Vin. COLLECTORS OF THE CUSTOMS FOB THE DISTRICT OF GLOUCESTER. Epes Sargent 1789 William Tuck 1796 John Gibaut 1802 John Kittredge 1805 William Pearce, jun 1822 William Beach 1829 George D. Hale 1839 George W. Pearce 1841 Eben H. Stacy 1843 Eli F. Stacy 1844 John L. Rogers 1849 Frederick G. Low 1849 William H. JIanning 1853 Gorham Babson ... ... 1858 POSTMASTERS OF GLOUCESTER. Henry Phelps, probably appointed in 1792. Isaac Elwell, appointed March 3, 1809. William Stevens, Aug. 2, 1820. Leonard J. Presson, Nov. 22, 1834. Gorham Parsons, Feb. 20, 1839. T. S. Lancaster, June 22, 1849. 0. A. Merril], May 23, 1853. Gorham Parsons, Aug. 17, 1853. John W. Wonson, June 14, 1858. INDEX. 76 INDEX. Abearsoke, Samuel, 201. Acquarone, Luigi, Rev., 563. Acts of trade evaded, 385. Adams, Nehemiah, notice of, 281. Addes, William, 52. Notice of, 55. Adolph, schooner, 515. Agar, Martha, 56. Aiken, Jaraes, Rev., 531. Allen, William, 43, 55. Allen, Joseph, 54. Notice of him and his family, 56. Draughted, 206. Allen, Isaac, 231. Andrews, Balph, 54. Notice of him and his family, 57. Andrews, Joanna, 559. Andros, Sir Edmund: his rule resisted, 210. Annisquam, 185. Settlers at, 292. Chnrch at, 293. Houses at, in 1783, 464. Bri tish take and destroy vessels at, 512. Annisquam River, 1. llarbor, 2. Appleton, James, 363. Ash, William, 62. Notice of, 58. Ashley, Thomas, 62. Notice of, 58. Ashby, Edmund, 64. Notice of, 58. Avery, John, Rev., 47. Avery, Christopher, 52. Notice of him and his family, 58. Avery, James, 52. Avery's Rock, 49. Averill, Benjamin, 245. Ayres, Thomas, son of, lost, 320. B. Babson, Isabel, 52, 69. Babson, James, 62. Notice of him and his family, 59. Babson, Nathaniel, 530. Babbit, Thomas, Dr., 540. Babbit, Fitz Henry, Lieut, 640. Bailey, Jacob, Rev., 351. Bailey, Thomas, 54. Notice of, 61. Balch, John, 43. Baker, Alexander, 62. Notice of, 61. Baker, Jabez, 338. Bank of Cape Ann, 476. Baptist Society, First, 608. Ministers of, 509. Second, 532. Ministers of, 532. Barge, Giles, 54. Notice of, 61. Bartholomew, William, 54. Notice of, 61. Bayley, Nathaniel, 348. / Beach, John, 414. Death and family of, ih. Beacon erected, 3. Beeford, Richard, 62. Notice of, 61. Bennet, Anthony, 54. Notice of him and his family, 62. Bennett, Peter, 11, 247, 332. Bilbao, fish sent to, 28, 32. Trade with, resumed, 666. Biskie Island, 2, 216. Blake, George, 62. Notice of him and his family, 62. Blatchford, John, and family, 338. Blynman, Eichard, Rev., 7, 8, 60, 51, 62. Notice of, 189. Boundaries, 1. Westerly boundary, 188. Bourne, John, 62. Notice of, 62. Bounty to soldiers, 409, 441. Boys drowned, 523. Bradstreet, Benjamin, Rev., 293. -Bray, Thomas, 52. Notice of him and his family, 63. Bray, Jolin, 207. Bray, Nathaniel, 207. Briars, John, 54. Notice of, 64. Broadway, Edmund, 54. Notice of, 84. Broom, James, notice of, 281. Brown, Isaac, Rev., 539. Brown, John, 64. Notice of him and his family, 64. Brown, William, 52. Notice of, 65. Bruen, Obadiah, 61. Notice of, 65. Bunker Hill, battle of, 389. Burnham, John, Major, 391. Burns, Stephen, 261. Burrill, John, 246. Burying-ground, 191, 217. Business of the town, 376, 565. Butman, John, 54. Notice of hin>and his family, 66. Byles, Richard, 54. Notice of him and his familv, 66. Byles, Charles, Capt., 320. C. Calkin, Hugh, 51, 62. Notice of, 67. Cape Ann passed bv Gosnold, 16. Visited by Capt. Smith, 21. Named, 22. Foun dation of Colonv at, 31. Origin of Colony at, ib. Fourteen men at, 32. Fishing ship at, 34. Thirty-two men at, 35. Cattle sent to, 36. Settlement at, broken up, 37. Dispute at, 38. No- 604 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. tice of first English occupants of, 41. Visited, 44. Indian name of, 45. Per manent settlement of, 47. Fishing plantation at, 49. Disposing of lots at, 51. Incorporated as a town, ib. Pa tent or charter of '33, 681-4. Card, William, 54. Notice of him and of his family, 67. House of, 452. Cape Pond, 10. Stocked with alewives, 470. Cartier, voyage of, 13. Catholic church, 563. Chandler, Samuel, Rev., 227, 326. Charity, ship, comes to Cape Ann, 34. Chase, Thomas, 52, 68. Ciiebacco boats, 571. Cheever, Josiah, 329. Choate, Josiah, 261. Church, First, 189, 193, 195, 223, 326. Members of, suspended, 404. With drawal of raembers of, 495. Ceases to exist, 496. Second, 263. Third, 293. Fourth, 312. Fifth, 340. Churchill, Arthur, 54. Notice of, 68. Clark, Mr., 52. Edmund, notice of, and of his family, 68. Clark, George, 169. Clark, Joseph, 206, 207. Clark, Samuel, 334. Cleaveland, Ebenezer, Rev., 340. Cleves, Ebenezer, 324. Clough, Joseph, 324. Coas, William, notice of, and of his fami ly, 285. Coe, Matthew, 52. Notice of, 69. Cofiiri, Peter, 24. Notice of him and his family, 69. Coffee first made in Gloucester, 460. Cogswell, William, 54, 197. Coit, Nathaniel, 8. Coit, John, sen., 52. Notice of him and his family, 71. Coit, Joseph, Bev., 224. Collins, John, 52. Notice of him and his familv, 72. Coldam, 'Clement, 52. Notice of, 72. Colman, William, 54. Notice of, 74. Committee of Safety, 388, 398. Constitution of Massachusetts adopted, 442. Of the United States ratified, 471. Cook, John, 54. Notice of, 74. Cook, Elias, 335. Comrnerce of the town, 379, 384, 665. Commoners, 233. Becords of the, 185. Proceedings of the, 234-8. Cooper, Michael, voyage of, 24, 25. Consult, Kngei-, 36, 3"8, 41. Notice of, 42. Cornish, Thomas, 52. Notice of, 74. Cotton, William, 52. Notice of, 74. Cov, John, 256. Conihill Street, 453. Cripple Cove, 157. Cninberland, the privateer, 73. Cnrtis, Zaccheus, 64, 76. Curnej', John, 64. Notice of him and his family, 75. Customs, officers of the, before 1775, 386. Collectors of the, 600. Custom-house established, 473. Cushman, Robert, 36. Cut, the, 7, 380. D. Dale, Ebenezer, Dr., death and notice of, 639. Dana, James F., Professor, 141. Dana, Samuel L., LL.D., 141. Dane, John, 324. Davis, Ephraim, Dr., death and notice of, 625. Davis, John, 54. Notice of him and his family, 75. Davis, John, of Sandy Bay, 333. Davis, Jacob, 206. Davis, Samuel, notice of, 255. Davis, Vincent, 206. Davison, Elias, 594. Day, Anthony, 52. Notice of him and his family, 79. Day, John, 207. Declaration of Independence, 408. Delegates to State Conventions, 595. Delegates to County Conventions, 372, 510. Denning, Nicholas, 54. Notice of, 80. Dennison, George, 298. Dermer, rhomas, voyage of, 26. Dickerman, Lysander, Rev., 531. Dike, Richard, 54. Notice of, 81. Dogtown, 450. Dolliver, Samuel, 54. Notice of him and his family, 81. Dolliver, Paul, 257. Dolliver, Peter, 257. Done Fudging, 149. Settlers at, 183. Dorchester Company, 30, 40. Downing. David, 256. Dresser, Thomas, 335. Dudbridge, William, 63, 82. Duly, Moses, 54, 82, 207. Duncan, Peter, 54. Notice of, 82. Duncan's Point, settlers at, 183. Durgee, John, 54. Notice of, 82. Durin, Moses, 245. Dutch, Osman, 53. Notice of him and his family, 83. E. Earthquake, 346. Elliott, Samuel, notice of, and of his f»- milj', 299. Ellery, Wdliara, 54. Notice of him and his family, 84. Elwell, Robert, 63. Notice of him and his familv, 87. ElweU's Neck, 238. Emerson, Juhn, Rev., 64. Notice of, 196. Emons, Peter, 64, 247, 332. Notice of, and of othei-s of the name, 90. Engine-house torn down, 515. Evans, William, 53. Notice of, 91. Everdean, Joseph, 325. Evangelical Society formed, 630. Eveleth, Sylvester,"53. Notice of him and of his family, 91. Excise Act, 344. INDEX. 605 Falcon, sloop-of-war, 393. Falraouth, Me., emigration to, 296. Farra Ledge, 4. Fears, William, and family, 281. Federal party, 506, 520. Fellows, Jonathan, and family, 323. Felch, Henry, 53. Notice of, 93. Fells, , comes to Cape Ann, 44. Ferry, 215. Person, William, death and notice of, 561. Finson, Thomas, 337. Fire, gi'eat, 533. Fire-engine, first in town, 473. Fitch, John, 54. Notice of, 93. Has a soldier's lot, 207. Fishery on coast of Cape Ann, 32. Pre parations for, in Massachusetts Colony, 377. Gloucester people engaged in, 378. At Cape Sable resorted to, 380. Seventy vessels employed in the, 381. Successfully pursued, 382. Number of vessels e'ngaged in the, 382. Inter rupted by war, 387. Resuraed, 569. Shore-fishery, 570. Mackerel fishing, 572. Cod and halibut fishing, 573. Winter shore-fishery, 575. Statistics relating to the fisheries, 598. Product of Gloucester fisheries in 1859, 599. Fisherman's Field, 40. Grants at, 184. Fishing-ships, English, voyages of, to New England, 20, 24, 25, 27, 28, 377. Fitch, Jabez, Bev., 223. Five-pound Island, 12. Flat-stone Cove, 111. Fleming, Samuel, 261. Fogg, James, 53. Notice of, 94. Fortifications, 307, 396. United-States fort, 473. Stage fort repaired, 511. Fort VViUiam Henry, surrender of, 347. Foreign population, 563. Forbes, Eli, Rev., 47,, 402. Foster, Bartholomew, 54. Notice of, 94. Foster, Joseph, 387, 394, 411, 468. Death and notice of, 491. Foxcroft. Samuel, Rev., 305. Friend, Eichard, death and notice of, 569. Fresh-water Cove, settlers at, 184. Fryer, Mr., 53. Notice of, 94. French War, 345. French neutrals, 345. Fuller, Daniel, fisherman, 261. Fuller, Dauiel, Bev., 360. G. Gale, Wakefield, Rev., 501. Gallope, John, 53. Notice of, 94. Gallop's Folly, 247. Gardener, Thomas, 35, 41. Gardner, Jaraes, 54. Notice of, and of his family, 95. Garrisons, 207. General training, 472. Gibaut, John, death and notice of, 502. Gibbs, Daniel, notice of, 299. Giddings, Andrew, Capt., 348. Giddings, George, 54. Notice of him and his family, 96. Gilbert, John, notice of, and ofhls familv, 240. Gilman, Frederick: death and notice of hira and his faraily, 476. Giles, Sarauel, death and notice of, 560. Gloucester incorporated, 61. Its ofiioers fined, 210. Exciteraent and alarm in, 212. Eesolutions of, in relation to Colo nial rights, 368. In relation to the landins: of the tea, and sustaining Bos ton, 370. Proceedings of, in relation to Boston Port Bill, 371. Sends sheep and money for the relief of Boston, 372. Prepares for war, 374. Alarm of people of, 375. Made a port of entry of, 385. Companies enlisted in, 389. Fired upon by dipt. Lindsay, 394. Delinquency of, 416, 443. Loss of people of, and poverty of, 440. Confusion in finan cial concerns of, 447. Lottery for benefit of, 475. Enlistment of mari ners in, 476. Suffers by the embargo, 606. Effects of war of 1812 upon, 510. Gloucester Artillery, the, 472. Gloucester Bank, the, 475. Its presidents and cashiers, ib. ' Gloucester, brig, loss of, 413. Gloucester Canal Corporation, the, 9. Gloucester Fishing Company, the, 570. Gloucester Lyceum, the, 658. Gloucester Telegraph, the, 628. Gloucester, England, 51. Glover, Charles, 53. Notice of, 96. Glover, Stephen, 53. Notice of, 96. Glover, Charles, schoolmaster, 286. Goelette, La, 252. Gooding, Richard, 54. Notice of, 96. Goodwin, Samuel, 320. Godfrey, James, 246. Gorges, Sir Ferdinando, 19, 23, 25, 27. Gorges. Bobert, 28. Gosnold, Bartholomew; his voyage, 14. Goss, Thomas, 336. Gott, Samuel, notice of, and of his family, 239. Grovers, first in town, 273. Edmund and his family, 334. Graduates at college, 666. Grammar School, list of teachers of, 554. Grantees of six-acre lots, 208, 209. Griffin, Samuel, notice of, 239. Granite quarries, 4, 576. Gutridge, Daniel, 246. H. Hadley, John, 64. Notice of, 96. Hadlock, Nathaniel, 54. Notice of, 97. Haieward, Samuel, 53. Notice of, 97. Hale, John, notice of, and his family, 324. Hamilton, Luther, Rev., 496. Hammons, John, 54. Notice of, 97. Haraden, Edward, 54. Notice of him and his family, 98. Haraden, Andrew, Capt., 287. Hardin, John, 54. Notice of, 97. Harlow, Edward, voyage of, 20. Harbor, the, settlers at, 183. Growth of settlement at, 451. 606 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. HaiTis, John, and family, 241. Harrises of Sandy Bay, 338. Hardy, .fames, 337. Harriet, ship, cut out, 445. Harvey, George, 54. Notice of, and of his family, 99. Hartshorn, Levi, Rev., 493. Haskell, William, 53. Notice of him and his family, 99. Fined, 210. Haskell, John, 207. Haskell, Mark, taken by pirates, 288. Hatch, J. L., Rev., 631. Hawkins, Richard, Sir, voyage of, 26. Hayes, James, 506, 594. Hayscales, 367. Herrick, Joseph, 298. Hews, or Huse, John, 300. Highway, 187. Prinoipal highways, 692. Hildreth, Hosea, Rev., 494, 658. Hill, Zebulon, 53. Notice of, 104. Hills, 3. Hobson, John, jun., 336. Hobson, Capt., voyage of, 23. Hodgkins, Samuel, 54. Notice of, and of his faraily, 104. Hogskin Cove, 76, 238. Hoping, Benjamin, 246. Holgrave, John, 53. Notice of, 105. Honnors, Robert, Capt., 261. Hough, Benjamin K., 604, 606. Death and notice of, 562. Hongh, William, 63. Notice of, 105. Houses of first settlers, 219. Houses, gambrel-roof, 456. Hughes, Jaraes, 64. Notice of, 105. Hunt, Capt., carries oft- Indians, 22. Hutchings, William V., 476. Hydrophobia, case of, 518. Islands, 10-12. Indian name of Cape Ann, 45. Indian claira paid, 218. Indian War, 206. India Corapany, 566. Independent Christian Society, 428, 479. Ingersol, George, 53. Notice of him and his family, 106. Ingersol, Rebecca, 281, 459. Jackson, John, 54. Notice of, 107. Jaraes, Charles, 54. Notice of, 107. Jacques, Richard, Rev., 290. Jewett, David, Rev., 499. Jewett, Henry C, Rev., 539. Johnston, John, 594. Jones, Benjamin, 207. Jones, Thomas, 53. Notice of, 107. Jones, Thomas, Rev., 479. Joslvn, Henrv, 64. Notice of, and of his familv, 108. Judkin, Thomas, 53. Notice of, 109. K. Kendall, Joshua, 335. Kenie, William, 53. Notice of, 110. Kent, Thomas, 63. Notice of, and his family, 110. Kent, Thomas, 206. Kettle Island, 12. Kettle, John, 12, 63. Notice of, 111. Ketch, the, 251. Killam, Joseph, 261. Kiraball, Jonathan, 594. Kittredge, John, 610. Death and notice of, 625. Knight, John, 261. Knight, Walter, 43. Knowlton, Nehemiah, 595. L. Land, general grant of, 207. Lancaster, Thoraas, Rev., 360. Lane, John, 64. Notice of, and of his family, 111. Lane, Samuel, and family, 267. Lane, Job, 336. Lane, John, Capt., 396. Lane's Cove, 111. Langsford, Bichard, 273. Lawyers, 636. Lee, "Samuel, 261. Leonard, Ezra, Rev., 488. Lindsay, Capt., 393. Fires npon the town, 394. Lincoln, Ebed, 594. Lincoln, Perez, Bev., 492. Library, 476, 658. Lister, Andrew, 53. Notice of, 112. Liston, Nicholas, 53. Notice of, 112. List of settlers to 1651, 52. From 1651 to 1701, 54. Frora 1701 to 1751, 259. Grantees of land, 208, 209. Tax-payers in 1693, 213. Male citizens in 1704, 236. Emigrants to Falmouth, Me., 296, 297. Proprietors of New Glouces ter, Me., 303. Subscribers to meeting- house in New Gloucester, 305. Heads of families in Sandy Bay in 1738, 336. Tax-payers in Sandy Bay in 1754, 338. Teachers of Gramraar School, 654. List of college graduates, 656. Select men and other, officers of Gloucester and Rockport, 684-91. List of repre sentatives, 693-5. Gloucester soldiers who fonght on Bunker Hill, 596. Low, Thoraas, 54. Notice of, and of his family, 113. Low, John, 421. Low, Nathaniel, 261. Lowe, Jonathan, 652. Louisburg, expedition to, 318. Lufkin, Thomas, 54, Notice of, and of family of, 112. Lurvey, "Peter, 266. Eliezer, 336. Luther, John, 63. Notice of, 115. Lyford, John, Rev., 36. Notice of, 43. M. Mackerel fishery. See Fishery. Magnolia, the, 6. Manning, John, Dr., 606. Death of, and notice of hira and his family, 546. Manning, William, 245. INDEX. 607 Manly, Capt., brings in a prize, 397. Mansfield, James, death and notice of, 559. Mariana, name of Mason's grant, 28. Mariner, John, 256. Mains, Henry, 256. Marchant, Ebenezer, 273. Marchant, Jabez: notice of him and of his family, 273. Marrett, Thomas, 351. Mason, John, Capt., grant to, 28. His claim resisted, 205. Martin, Solomon, 63. Notice of, 115. Marshall, Edmund, 54. Notice of, 115. Massey, Jeffrey, 266. Mason, John, 506. Death of, and notice of him and his family, 661. Mather, Cotton, Rev.: his letter about Rocking Stones, 5. Mayo, Amory Dy^ Rev., 485. Mayo, Sarah C. E., Mrs., 486. Jleades, William, 53. Notice of, 116. Meeting-house, First, 191. New one, 199. New one, 216. In Second Pai-ish, 265, 539. In Third Parish, 294, 491. In Fourth Parish, 316. In Fifth Parish, 339, 501. Of Independent Christian Society, 439, 486. Of First Parish, 497. Of First Baptist Society, 509. Of Uni versal Benevolent Society, 624. Of Evangelical Society, 531. Of North Orthodox Congregational Society, 532. Of Second Baptist Society, 633. Meeting-house Plain, 192. Mellen, W. R. G., Bev., 486. Men drowned, 469. Merritt, Philip, 64, 115. Methodist societies and their ministers, 626, 527. 528. Milk Island, 11. Mill, 195, 201. Mills of the town, 202. Millet, Thomas, 64. Notice of him and of his family, il6. Milward, Thomas, 53. Notice of, 118. Minzee, John, 257. Militia, third Essex regiment of, 471. Monhegan, 20, 23, 26, 27, 30, 32. Moody, Samuel, 227, 326. Mountford, William, Rev., 497. Moore, Joseph, notice of, 396. Morton, Thomas, 44. Murray, John, Rev., 429. Murray, Judith, Mrs., 438. N. Nash, Lonson, 506, 507, 621, 536. Neck of house-lots, 183. Newfoundland, fishing voyages to, 13. Nelson, Elizabeth, drowned, 261. New London, eraigrants to, 52. New Gloucester, Me., notice of, 302. Newraan, John, 231. Notice of, and of his family, 232. Newspapers, 528, 538. Nickels, Christopher M., Rev., 530. Norman, Goodman, 43. Norraan, Richard, 12. Norman, WiUiam, 12. Norman's Woe, 4, 12. North Orthodox Congregational Church, 531. Norton, George, 63. Notice of, 118. Norwood, Francis, 54. Notice of him and his family, 118. Norwood, Joshua, 246, 336. Nymph, British ship, takes fishing-boats and coasters, 511. 0. Oakes, Thomas, 337. Oak-tree at Duncan's Point, 463. Odell, Jaraes, 594. Oldhara, John, 36, 37. Oris, Jonathan, 214. P. Page, Joseph, 54. Notice of, 120. Palfrey, Peter, 43. Paper-money, depreciation of, 418. Parish, First, 312, 326, 402, 492. Second, 263, 290, 360, 464. New religious so ciety in, 538. Third, 293, 355, 364, 488. Ministers succeeding Rev. E. Leonard, 490. Fourth, 312. Fifth, 339, 499. Parkman, Elias, 64. Notice of, 120. Parker, Ralph, 53. Notice of, 120. Parkhurst, Hugh, 400. Notice of, ib. Parran, Alexander, 391. Notice of, ib. Parrott, Wilham W., 271. Parslee, William, 261. Parsons, Jeffrey, 54. Notice of him and of his family, 120. Fined, 210. Parsons, Obadiah, Rev., 277, 329. His minlstrv, 364. Teaches the Grammar 'School," 469. Payne, Edward, 371. Pearse, John, 53. Notice of, 125. Pearce, Samuel, notice of, and of his family, 266. Pearson, James, notice of, and of his family, 322. Pearce's" Point, 125. Peaoe of 1783, 447. Of 1815, 518. Peloubet, Francis N., Rev., 631. Penill, Thomas, 261. Penny, Thomas, 54. Notice of, 126. Peirce, Williara, 34, 39. Notice of, 39. Perkins, Capt., 63. William, 54. Notice of, 193. Peter Mud's Neck, 64, 669. Pew, William, death and notice of, 558. Physicians, 70, 180, 275-8, 525, 639, 540, 646, 547, 548. Phelps, Henry, 551. Death and notice of, 560. Pierce, Sarauel E., Bev., 533. Pierce, Thoraas, 351. Pigeon Cove, 247, 546. Pirates, 239. Sloop taken by, 287. Planter's Neck, 185, 292. Planter's Plea, 31. Plymouth Company, fishery of, at Cape Ann, 34, 38. Plymouth settled, 27. 608 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. Plummer, David, Dr. : notice of him and of his family, 276. Poles, 4. Political excitement, 504, 535. Pool, John, 54. Notice of him and his faraily, 126. At Sandy Bay, 332. Ebenezer: his opinion about Savage Rock, 15. Popham, Sir Francis, 20. Poor, the, expense for support of, 322, 350. Distressed condition of, 398. Loan for relief of, 409. Let out to board, 474. House erected for, 474. Population, estimate of, in 1704, 237. In 1755,349. In 1775, 453. Slow increase of, 608. Of Cape Ann at different periods, 642. Porter, Charles S., Rev., 530. PoweU, Rowland, 54. Notice of, 129. Post-office established, 661. Postmasters, 600. Prentice, James, 361. Notice of, 351. Prentiss, Henry, Dr., death and notice of, 540. Presson, Williara, 261. Pride, Joseph, 257. Pring, Mnrtin, voyages of, 16, 18. Prince, Thomas, 53. Notice of him and his familv, 129. Pritchard, Hugh, 51, 53. Notice of, 129. Privateering, 396, 409, 412, 416, 423, 516. Procter, Joseph, death and notice of, 502. Province loan, 280. Pulsifer, John, 54. Notice of him and his family, 130. R. Rafe's Crack, 4. Railroad, Gloucester branch, 552. Eantoul, Robert, jun., 536, 553. Notice of, 636. Bashley, Mr., 50, 189. Reading, John, 261. Bell}', James, 430. Notice of, ib. Eepresentatives, list of, 693-5. Eepublican partv, 504, 606, 520. Richardson, N., Eev., 531. Rider, Phineas, 53. Notice of, 130. Eing, John, 64. Notice of Eing Family, 132. Riggs, Thomas, 54. Notice of' hira and his faraUy, 131. Fined, 210. Eoberts, John, 54. Notice of him and his family, 133. Eobinson, Abrahara, 63. Notice of him and his family, 134. Eobinson, John, Rev., 46, 134, 141, 142. Tradition concerning his widow, 141. Rocking Stones, 5. Rockport, incorporation of, 646. Duck factory at, 548. Bank established at, 648. Celebration at, 548. New church at, 549. Meraorable event at, 549. Growth and improveraent of, 550. Rocraft, Edward, vovage of, 26. Eogers, Daniel, 400, 412, 458, 459. Death and notice of, 477. Rogers, John, Rev., 312. Rogers, Robert P., Rev., 497. Rogers, Samuel, Dr., 11, 386. Death and notice of, 413. Eogers, Timothy, 367. Bowe, John, 54. Notice of hira and his family, 143. Benjamin, killed, 395. John, lawyer, 478. Bowse, Edward, 53. Notice of, 146. Bust, Nathaniel, notice of, 273. S. Sadler, Abial, 54. Notice of, 146. Sadler, John, 51, 53. Notice of, 146. Robert, 53, 146. Sagadahoc, settlement at, attempted, 19. Salvages, the, 14. Salt-works, 120, 415. Sampson, William, 255. John, a centena rian, 256. Sanders, Thoraas : notice of him and his family, 241. Nathaniel, 241. Sanfords, family of, 267. Sandy Bay, 246, 331. Early settlers at, 332-8. Incorporated a.s a parish, 339. Houses at, in 1783. 465. Arrival of French people at, 474. British cruiser at, 511. Bntish land, and take fort at, 513. Growth of, 643. Incorporated as a town, 645. Sargent, William, 53. Notice of him and his famUy, 148. Fined, 210. WUliam, 2d, 54. Notice of him and his family, 150. Andrew, 206. Savage Rock, 14. Saville, Jesse, ill treated, 386. Saville, Thomas : notice of, and of his faraUy, 284. Sawyer, Jaraes, 64. Notice of him and his faraily, 146. Sawyer, Moses, Rev., 631. Sawraill, 196. See MiU. Sayward, James, 54. Notice of, and of his family, 157. Schools, public: First public school in town, 218. Discontinued, 231. Re- estabUshed, and becomes permanent, 233. Made a circulating school, 301. Two schools maintained, 351. Re opened after the Revolution, 467. Town Grammar-school House built, 468. School districts formed, 469. Further notice of the public schools, 553. Schoolhouse, first, 233. At Sandv Bav, 339. At the Harbor, 462. P'roprie- tors, 467. Schooner, origin of the, 251. Seabury, Edwin, Rev., 631. Sea-serpent, account of, 521. Selectmen, 187. Pay and expenses of, 316. List of, 584. Senators, 70, 102, 112, 271, 283, 478, 536, 552, 562. Shelton, Ephraira and Israel, 337. Shav's Rebellion, 470. Ship-building, 188, 200, 248. Sliipwrecks, and loss of life at sea, 47, 73, 89, 128, 272, 357, 359, 367, 374, 413, 426, 469, 474, 507, 525, 529, 541, 566, 597. INDEX. 609 Sinclair, Peter, great year's work of, 574. Skamp, Eobert, 64. Notice of, 158. Skellin, Thomas, 53. Notice of, 168. Sraith, Daniel D., Rev., 483, 487. Isaac, 372. Notice of, 372. Jacob, Col., 487. Notice of 487. James, 53. No tice of, 158. John, Capt., 20, 24, 25. John, 64. Notice of three John Sraiths, 159. John, 632. Notice of, 632. Mor ris, 54. Notice of hira and his family, 159. Bichard, 159. Thoraas, 53. No tice of 159 SmaU-pox, 352, 412, 416, 418, 560. Smuggling, 385, 387. Somes, Morris, 53. Notice of him and his faraUy, 160. Joseph, 206, 207. Timo thy, fined, 210. Abigail, imprisoned for witchcraft, 211. Soule, H. B., Bev., 485. Southmeade, William, 60, 53. Notice of, 162. Spinning-parties, 471. Springer, Jonathan, notice of, 265. Squirrel, sloop, taken by pirates, 286. Stainwood, Philip, 54. Notice of him and his famUy, 163. Job, 320. Da vid, 320. Starap Act, 353, 368. Starknaught Harbor, 235. Starks, Gen., the ship, 417. Cruises of, 419. Stacy, John, notice of, 286 : of Nymphas, and his faraily, 286. Rufus, 286. Stage communication with Boston, 552. Steamboat, 663. Stevens, WiUiam, 53. Notice of hira and his family, 164. Action against, 195. Zachariah, notice of, 594. Stewart, Bobert, 261. Steele, William, 298. Stone, John, 191. Stover, George, 54. Notice of, 170. Stockbridge, Samuel, 257. Straitsmouth Island, 11. Streeter, Stephen, 53. Notice of, 169. Studley, John, '53. Notice of, 169. Superintendents of public schools, 565. Surinam, trade with, 567. Symonds, Harlakenden, 54. Notice of, 169. T. Tainer, Josiah, 256. Tappan, James, 594. Tarr, Eichard: notice of him and his fa mily, 170. First settler at Sandy Bay, 332 Tax, 192. Tax-payers in 1693, 213. Taxes, 217, 350. Taverns, ancient, 317. Philemon Has kell's tavern, 457, 651. Benjamin Somes's, 461. Tempest, ship, loss of, 426. Ten-pound Island, 12. Thacher, Anthony, shipwreck of, 47. Thacher's Island, 12. Thayer, Frederick F., Bev., 484. Thornton, Timothv, 249. Notice of, 249. Thornton, J. W., 33, 249, 379. Thomson, Maurice, encouraged to esta blish a fishing plantation at Cape Ann, 49. His "frame," 50. Thurston, Joseph, 337. Throat-distemper, 335. Three Turks' Heads, the, 22. TUton, David, Rev., 531. Tinny, John, 213-15. Tompson, Samuel, Rev., 263. Tompson, William, Eev., 290. Tompson, Edward, Dr , 276. Tompson's Mountain, 3. Tonnage, registered, 565; enrolled and licensed, 598. Town-clerks, 591. Town-expenses, 350, 367. Town-house, 186. Town-parish, 451. Town-records, 185. Town-treasurers, 691. Tragabigzanda, 21, 25. Trask, Jonathan, notice of, and of his faraily, 282. Travis, Jaraes, 64. Notice of, 171. TrynaU Cove, 2, 216. Tucker, John, 64. Notice of hira and his familv, 172. Tucker, "Eobert, 54. Notice of, 171. Twopenny Loaf, 1. Tvbbot, Walter, 51, 63. Notice of, 173. Tylly, John, 35, 41. U. Universalism first preached in America, 429. Universal Benevolent Society, 524. Mi nisters of, 624. Varrell, Richard, 261. /^ 2- 6 • Varney, Bridget, 64. Notice of, 173. Very, Thomas, 63. Notice of, and of his family, 173. Vessel: first one built in New England, 19. Verazzani, voyage of, 13. Vines, Richard, 19. Vinson, William, 12, 53. Notice of, and of his family, 174. Vinson's Cove, settlers at, 183. Virgiuia, trading-voyages to, 384. W. Waite, Josiah K., Eev., 496. Wakley, Thomas, 53. Notice of, 174. Walker, Henry, 53. Notice of, 176. Walker's Creek, 99. Settlers at, 184, 202.' Wallis, John, 54. Notice of him and his familv, 175. War of the Eevolution, 388. Of 1812, 509. Warner, Philemon, and famUy, 258. Watch established, 238. Washington, death of, noticed by the town, 478. Webber, Samuel, 54. Notice of Webber Family, 176. Webber, Eebecca, Mrs., tradition derived from, 141. 77 610 HISTORY OF GLOUCESTER. Wellraan, William, 53. Notice of, 178. Webster, Nicholas, Dr., 276. Wesson, Peg, story of, 321. Weston, Thomas, 28. West Parish, 215. See Parish, Second. Weymouth, George, voyage of, 17. Wharf, Nathaniel, 54. Notice of, and of his family, 178. Wharf-priviieges granted, 308. Whale-fishery of Gloucester, 568. Wheeler, Jet'hro, 246, 247. Whipple, Edwin P., 557. Whiriwind, 205. White, John, Eev., of England, 30, 40, 41. Notice of, 41. White, John, Eev., of Gloucester, 11, 224. Serraon by, 318. White, John, 261. Whitteraore, Samuel, 351. Death and notice of, 502. Whigs and Deraocrats, 636. Whittridge, WUliam, 64. Notice of, 178. Williams, John, and others of the name, 274. Williams, Daniel, 337. Window, Eichard, 54. Notice of, 179. Winslow, Edward, 33. Wise, John, 272, 274. Wise, Thoma.s, 256. Witchcraft, 211. Witham, Henry, 54. Notice of, and of his family, 179. Henry, of Sandy Bay, 335. Wolf-pen, 204. Wonson, John, notice of, and of his fami ly, 274. An early settler at Sandv Bay, 334. Wood shipped, 6. Votes conceming, 203, 204. Exported, 380. Imported, 568. Woodbury, John, 42. Notice of 43. Woodburv, Humphrey, 43, 54. Notice of, and ot his family, 181. Woodbury, William, notice of, 256. Woodward, Ezekiel, notice of, and of his family, 244. Workhouse, 279, 474. Wyeth, John, Bev., 355. Yankee Hero, 899. Youdall, Philip, 63. Notice of, 183. Young, Ichabod and William, 272. York, Samuel, 54. Notice of famUy of, 182. ERRATA. Page 11, line 16, for " Thatcher's " read " Thacher's." 11, „ 36, for " Petter " read " Peter." 15, „ 37, note, for " Well's " read " Wells." 19, note, for xxi. read xxxi. 53, line 9, for ¦' Rouse " read " Bowse." 54, „ 17, for " Thomas " read " John." 64, „ 11, for " 1858 " read " 1658." 79, „ 27, for " John Joseph " read " Joseph." 235, „ 31 and 33, for " Starknought " read " Starknaught." 488, „ 6, for " Fourth " read " Third." On page 54, Bichard Tarr's narae should be added to the list of settlers. On page 114, Col." John Low is erroneously stated, on the authority of Eev. Eli Forbes's sermon, preached at his funeral, to have been " a delegate to the Convention for forming the State Constitution." Col. Low was a representative in 1777; and, as such, probably helped to make the State Constitution mentioned on page 416. YALE UNIVERSITY 39002 003ni3i431b