MEMORIALS OF THE EARLY SETTLERS.
WHOEVER tries to restore a picture of the life
of past centuries in any locality, cannot fail to be impressed with the
scantiness of ancient relics,-- the meagreness of the actual material at
command, in comparison with what has perished. Only here and there
has a fragment been saved from the general destruction, and these relics
are not for the most part the monuments that men have reared for the continuance
of their name, but rather mere chance waifs preserved without thought or
purpose. Especially is astonishment awakened at the wonderful duration
of the seemingly most fragile and perishable of materials, while works
designed to be strong and enduring have disappeared from off the face of
the earth. Inscriptions graven in stone are obliterated; the stone itself
crumbles to dust; buildings, raised in the pride of their owners and cherished
with the affection of those owners' posterity, drop to ruin, while a scrap
of paper, which the zephyr might blow away, or water soak to pulp, or a
candle's flame consume, endures, and that not in careful keeping, but tossed
hither and thither as waste or worthless, till, at last, somebody. recognizing
the jewel, it is picked out of the rubbish and thenceforth kept locked
up and guarded in archive of brick and iron, destined again, perhaps, to
outlast these strongholds of its security. Thus it is that in groping back
for something tangible of the olden times, relics of ancient Andover, we
find scarcely a trace or thread of continuity, by which hand can clasp
hand with the men and women of the former generations, whose
2 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
names are in our town and parish records and books of genealogy, perpetuated in their posterity and familiar to us as household words, and yet who themselves are almost as shadowy and unreal to us their descendants as though they had never walked the roads we walk, planted the trees we sit under, founded with toil and pain, and blood even, the institutions whose beneficence we enjoy. Hardly a relic now remains in the town-- except on paper-- of the first twenty-five years' labors of those hard-working pioneer settlers who cleared the forest, broke the ground, made their homes, reared their families, and found their graves during the first half century of Andover's incorporated existence. It seems fitting now, however, when the sentiment of the day tends to reminiscence, that the heirs of so rich a legacy of local history and tradition should make some effort to revive the ancestral associations, and quicken that feeling of obligation to former generations out of which grow all noble endeavors for the present generation and all generous solicitude for generations to come. The first glimpse through the vista of the centuries, which brings to view persons and places actually and directly influential and instrumental, in the founding of Andover, takes us back to the year 1639 and the ancient town of Agawam, or Ipswich. All along from the year 1604, and the exploring expedition of Sieur de Monts and Champlain (when a map of the Merrimack River was traced for them on a piece of bark by an Indian sachem), down to the date of the settlement of the town, the neighborhood of Andover receives frequent mention, either as the Valley of Merrimack(1) and Shawshin(2) or as the territory near Cochichawick(3) River or the great pond of Cochichawicke. Several times action had been taken by the General Court relative to
(1) Merrimack is an Indian name, said to mean "the place
of swift water."
(2) Shawshin (the spelling most common in the old records,
although Shawshine, Shashin, Shashine, Shashene, Shawshene, and later,
Shawsheen, are found) is said to mean "Great Spring."
(3) Cochichawicke (the most common and seemingly authorized
ancient spelling) means the place of the Great Cascade. (See N. H. Hist.
Coll., vol. viii., p.451.) Mr. Nathaniel Ward spelled the name Qui-chech’-acke
and Qui-chich’-wick. Also Queacheck, Quyacheck, and various other spellings
are found, but, in all, the guttural chich are found, evidently sounded
as in which. The Colonial officials adopt the spelling Cochichawicke, or
without the final e.
MEMORIALS OF THE EARLY SETTLERS. 3
"vieweing" it, with reference to a settlement; and committees had been
appointed to license "any that may think
meet to inhabit there," but at the close of the year 1639, when
Salem, Lynn, Wenham, Newbury, Ipswich, Rowley, were thriving villages,
or considerable towns, the forests of Andover remained uncleared
by the white man's axe; only the Indian in rude agriculture tilled
its fields, or hunted and fished along its streams. There seemed a probability,
however, that it would eventually be occupied by "certain residents of
Newton," who had petitioned the General Court and received favorable answer
therefrom, but on the twenty-second of December, 1639, which begins this
narrative of the town's history, a letter was written which decided the
dis posal of this valuable tract of territory. The writer was the
Rev. Nathaniel Ward, ex-minister of Ipswich, and afterward author of the
sagacious State paper, "The Body of Liberties," and the witty satire, "The
Simple Cobbler of Agawam." The records of the time present a pleasant
picture of the cheerful parson and his hospitable fire-side, with its Latin
motto on the mantel, "sobrie, juste pie," to which the good man characteristically
added "laete," his somewhat heterodox supplement to the approved summary
of Puritan virtues.
The letter before mentioned, he wrote with earnestness, and, doubtless, also with despatch, for there was need of expedition, lest the action which it was designed to forestall should take place in the time that would of necessity intervene between its completion and its arrival at its destination, the distant city of Boston. Through the snows of the scarcely travelled roads, in woods whose trackless wilds bewildered wayfarers to and from settlements scarcely a dozen miles apart; among encampments of savages, of at least suspected friendliness, letter-carrying, done as it was by private messengers, and those often on foot, was precarious and uncertain. Therefore we may believe the writer's quill flew fast, and was mended without delay, as, in his sharp-pointed chirography, he jotted down sententiously the bits of advice on public affairs, which served as an excuse for a letter at this time "To our Honorable Governor at Boston."
Governor Winthrop had lived at Ipswich,
and was con-
4 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
nected by marriage with Mr. Ward. Moreover, the preacher was a prized counsellor to the Governor in State affairs, adding, to the qualifications for that service which his ministerial ordination was believed to confer, that of having been bred to the bar in the old country. Too worldly wise, some of the good folk of Ipswich parish thought Mr. Ward; and in truth he seems to have had considerable practical sagacity, as the sequel of his enterprise in connection with the new plantation shows; for these few strokes of his pen secured to himself, his townsmen and friends, a large part of the territory embraced in the ancient towns of Haverhill and Andover, with the privileges conferred by the Court on pioneer settlers, namely, "three years immunity from taxes, levies, and public charges and services whatsoever except military discipline."
Mr. Ward had a son, Mr. John Ward, who had studied divinity, and a son-in-law, Mr. Gyles Fyrmin, a physician, to whom the town of Ipswich did not afford a living practice, and who had even thought of giving up medicine for theology, or of combining the two, as it was the custom of the time to do, in circumstances of necessity. Mr. Nathaniel Ward was therefore desirous to find or to make places where the talents of his family might have scope. Accordingly, he wrote to Governor Winthrop(1)—
"One more request, that you would not pass your promise, nor give any encouragement concerning any plantation att Quichichacke or Penticutt,(2) till myself and some others either speake or write to you about it, which shall be done so soone as our counsells and contrivalls are ripened. In too much hast, I commit you and your affaires to the guidance, of God, on whom I rest, etc."
Four days after Mr. Ward's letter, Dr. Fyrmin
himself sent
One(3) seconding his father-in-law's request, and
explaining
fully his motives as already stated. "Considering
that the
gain of physicke will not find me with bread," he
says, in
giving his reasons for studying divinity; and, speaking
of
change of residence, he adds that he "thinks well
of Pentuck-
(1) Mass.
Hist. Soc Coll., Fourth Series, vol. vii.
(2) The
site of Haverhill, on the River Merrimack.
(3) Hutchinson
Papers, p. io8.
MEMORIALS OF THE EARLY SETTLERS. 5
ett" or of "Quichichwick by Shawshin." Mr. Ward soon
after wrote again, pressing the matter:--
"We are led to continue our suite concerning the plantation, I have lately mentioned to you; our company increases apace from divers towns of very desirable men, whereof we desire to be very choise. This next week if God hinder us not, wee purpose to view the places & forthwith to resort to you; in the mean time we crave your secresy & rest. We have already more.than 20 families of very good Christians purposed to goe with us."
These appeals accomplished the end desired.
The Colony
Records, May 13, 1640, have the following:--
"The desires of Mr. Ward and Newbury men is
comited to the
Governor [Thomas Dudley] Deputy Governor and Mr.
Winthrop
senior [not elected Governor 1640] to grant it to
them p'vided they return answer within three weeks from the 27th p'snt
& that they build there before the next Courte."
A year went by, and no village had yet been
begun at the
place granted, and it seemed doubtful whether there
ever
would be by the persons who bad petitioned; for
the neigh-
boring plantation of Rowley had succeeded in getting
its ter-
ritory so enlarged that the men who had thought
of settling
at Cochichawick feared their prospect of a profitable
enter-
prise was spoiled. Mr. John Woodbridge, of Newbury,
who
subsequently was the first minister of Andover,
thus details
his discouragements in a letter to Mr. Winthrop(1)--
"TO THE RIGHT HONL. JOHN WINTHROP SEN. ESQ.
at his house
in Boston, these present:
"Right worthy sir:-- After my service promised
&c I am bold
to write a few lines to you, with desire that you
would advise us to the best you can and as speedily as your occasions will
permit. Some of us have desired to plant at Quichichwick & accordingly
notwithstanding all the oppositions and discouragements that wee have had,
having viewed the place since ye court, were intended this spring to have
built there; but there are two things that yet stand in the way to hinder
us, the proceeding of either of which may be so great an annoyance that
will quite cut off any hopes of being to a plantation there. The first
is the intended taking of a farm by Rowley men which the Court allowed
them to
(1) Mass. Hist. Soc.
Coll., Fifth Series, vol. i.
HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
doe in lieu of a farme which Mr. Vane had within
their bounds, adjoining to their bounds, which though it be not plainly
expressed, yett we are credibly informed they intend to take neere Quichichwick
so to take away 100 acres of meadow from that place which at best will
entertain but a small company by reason of the little quantity of meadow.
The second is, that notwithstanding all the agitations of the last court,
Mr. Rogers being demanded whether he yett expected any more, answers that
the contention, the last Court, was only about the neck & whereas he
afterward expressed to the court that his first grant was eight miles into
the country, he says, nobody speaking against it, he tooke for granted
that he should have eight entire miles into the country, besides what was
given, and they purchased from Ipswich & Newbury. These only are the
impediments & reason of o’r not proceeding. Now that wch wee would
desire of your wo'p
by way of advice is an answer to these three questions.
1. Whether you apprehend that the Court will allow of their so taking the
farme aforesaid in such a place as will be so much praeiudiciall to a Plantation.
2. Whether the court will make good the grant of eight miles, to them or
compell them to stand to those bounds only which were specified the last
court. 3. Whether you would
advise me nevertheless to proceed & trust to
the Court more or to desist & leave it either all together. I have
desired to propose these things first to yourselfe rather than the Governor(1)
because I know that he hath allways heretofore bin opposite to my going
thither. And the reason why I desire your speedy advice is because some
of o’r company have sold them-selves out of house and home & so desire
to bee settled as soone as may be. Divers others would gladly know what
to trust to & some with some resolution affect Long Island intending
speedily to be gone thither, if they settle not here, & for my owne
part I have strong solicitations thither, by some not of the meaner sort
& (being resolved that I cannot comfortably carry things along as I
am) though not there yet elsewhere, I think I must resolve to labour to
better myselfe. Thus leaving to your serious consideracion what I have
written desiring your speedy advice, I humbly take my leave and rest.
Your worp's to command
JNO WOODBRIDGE
NFWBERRY this 22th of 1 mo 1640
(Mar 22 1640-41)
(1)Governor Dudley, Mr. Woodbridge's
father-in-law.
MEMORIALS OF THE EARLY SETTLERS. 7
The "Mr.Rogers," referred to was the minister
of Rowley,
who was highly offended, and used some pretty sharp
words,
because the court at first refused to extend Rowley
bounds
for fear of injury to Cochichawick. Ten years afterward
this neck of land was taken from Rowley and joined
to Andover.(1) The line then drawn is presumed to be the same
that now divides Bradford and Boxford from Andover.
It seems probable that soon after the above
letter, some-
time during 1641-1642, a settlement was begun at
Andover,
or steps taken to secure the grant to Newbury and
Ipswich
men. They would be likely to make a speedy decision;
hav-
ing, as Mr. Woodbridge's letter states, "sold themselves
out
of house and home," where they had been living.
From an
Act of the General Court, June 14, 1642, it would
also appear that a settlement had been made, although the words may possibly
refer to a prospective rather than an accomplisbed "village." Lands
were granted along the Shawshin, Concord, and Merrimack rivers, to Cambridge
men, on condition that they should build a village; but, "so as it shall
not extend to prejudice Charlestown village, or the village of
Cochitawit."
On the 10th of May, 1643, the General Court
ordered that
"the whole plantation, within this jurisdiction
be divided into four shires." Essex was to contain the towns: "Salem, Linn,
Enon [Wenham], Ipswich, Rowley, Newbury, Glocester, Cochichawicke."
Neither Mr. John Ward nor Mr. Gyles Fyrmin
was among the first settlers in the new plantations, though Mr. Ward ultimately went to Pentucket (Haverhill), and was the
first min-
ister of that town. Mr. Nathaniel Ward received
a large
grant of land on the Merrimack River, some six hundred
acres, which he afterward made over in payment of
a debt to
Harvard College.
The first business transaction found of any
resident of the
town of Andover (the earliest evidence of any resident's
being here), is dated August 13, 1643. It is a deed of land and stock in
Ipswich to Richard Barker, "of Cochichawicke."
(1) Gage's History of Rowley.
8 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
"Know all men by these presents,(1) that I,
William Hughes of New Meadowe(2) have devised and granted bargained and
sould
for diver good causes & considerations me tbereunto
moving but more especially for ye sum of thirty-eight pounds in hand p'd,
ye receipt whereof I acknowledge as alsoe for ye assur-ance of ye som of
forty-one pounds more to bee pd to me ye sd William my heires, executors,
administrators or assignes at or before ye fourteenth day of October next
ensuinge ye date hereof, have devised granted assigned set over and sould
unto Richard Barker of Cojichichicke 3 yearling heifers, 2 yearling bulles
at twelve pounds ten shillings, twoe kine at tenne pounds, 4 calves at
3 pounds, one house & house-lot Of 7 acres broken up and unbroken-up
with all the corne ... thereunto belonging, as also twelve loads of hay,
with all the strawe of ye corne, at the farme of Mr. Paine where the said
William now lives [the last clause is inserted between the original lines]
at tenne pounds all whose above sd pticulars it may be lawful for the sd
Richard his heires or assignes to sell assign or
dispose of, as his owne by right in witness whereof
I have hereunto set my hand.
WILLIAM HUGHES.
"Test ss ______AVERY(?)
JOHN HUGHES."
In 1650, a house and land and three cows, in
Andover, are
Mortgaged(3) by job Tyler to John Godfrey, of Newbury.
The first sale of lands at Andover, of which
a deed has
been found recorded, was by Mr. Simon Bradstreet
to Rich-
ard Sutton: a house-lot and dwelling-house and some
fifty
acres of meadow land. Richard Sutton came from Roxbury
to Andover; he remained here only a few years, removing
to
Reading, and afterward to Roxbury again. He was
active
in the military service in the Indian wars, and,
for his honorable service and sufferings, was, in advanced age, by order
of the General Court, exempted from further duty. He left no descendants
in Andover, but, as late as 1728 [ancient deed], a tract of land "in the
township of Andover was known as Sutton's Plaine, the pine plaine "on ye
borders joyning upon Billerica line."
Richard Sutton's descendants gained honorable distinction
(1) Essex County Court
Papers, vol. i., p. 15.
(2) Afterward Topsfield.
Here Mr. Bradstreet owned 5oo acres.
(3) Registry of Deeds,
"Ipswich," Book 1.
MEMORIALS OF THE EARLY SETTLERS. 9
in other towns, and by a curious coincidence, and
without
knowledge of an ancestral title of two hundred years'
date,
the family has now become one of the most influential
in
North Andover. Scarcely a half mile from where the
early
settler bought his "house lot, kort yard, and dwelling-house"
of Mr. Simon Bradstreet, and where he lived, with
his neigh-
bors "George Abbot senr. on the north and George
Abbot
jr. on the south," (Mr. Bradstreet's house not far
distant,)
all of them probably in small and primitive houses
of logs or
unhewn timber, now rises, crowning the hill-top,
the elegant
mansion of General Eben Sutton, the owner of the
large
woolen mills(1) in the village which bears his name.
Following is the deed from Mr. Bradstreet to Richard Sutton, 1658: (2)—
"Know all men by these presents, that we Simon
Bradstreet of
Andover and Ann his wife for and in consideration
of several
summes of money and other payments to be made to
the said
Symon & his heires or assignes more particularly
mentioned and specified in another wrighting bearing date with these presents
have sould and by these presents do give and grant, bargain, sell, assigne
and sett over unto Richard Sutton of Roxbury husbandman all that our dwelling-house,
situate and being in Andover aforesaid with the kort-yard and house lott
thereunto belonging or therewithall now used conteining by estimation eight
acres, be ye same more or less, having the house lott (3) of George Abbot
senr on the north and a house lott of George Abbot jr on the south and
abutting upon the street on the west with forty and eight acres of upland
belonging to the sayd house lott lying on the farr
side of Shawshin river, granted by the town of Andover
for six acres, be the same more or less, together with the hovill, fences,
proffits, privileges and appurtenances to the said house & premises
belonging or appertaining (except a small parcell of meaddow containing
by estimation three acres; be the same more or less, lying on the southeast
side of Shawshin river aforesaid) together with such other divisions or
allot-ments of meddow that belong to the sayd house or lott and may be
hereafter granted and assigned
(1) See Chapter
X.
(2) Essex Registry
of Deeds, "Ipswich," Book II., p. 372.
(3) This indicates
the truth of what is elsewhere suggested, that the villagers at first all
lived in the north part of the town, and not till later removed to their
outlying farm lands.
10 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
thereunto by the inhabitants of Andover aforesaid
which are
hereby reserved to the said Symon his heires and
assignes. To
have and to hould the aforesaid house and lott,
meadow and upland with the profits and priviledges thereunto belonging
(excepting before excepted) unto the sd Richard Sutton, his heires and
assignes forever; and we the sayd Simon Bradstreet and Ann his wife doe
hereby covenant & promise to and with the said Richard Sutton that
it shall, and may be lawful for him the sayd Richard his heires, executors
administrators & assi-nes from time to time and at all times forever,
lawfully, quietly and peaceably to have hold, possess, and injoye the said
house and premises with the privileges and
appurtenances thereunto belonging (except what is
excepted) without any lett, trouble claim or molestation by or from us
or either of us our heires, executors administrators or assignes or by
or from any other person or persons whatsoever claiming in through by or
from us or either of us, them or either of them, their heires or assignes.
In witness whereof we have hereunto set our hands and seales this tenth
of March one thousand six hundred & fifty-eight.
SIMON BRADSTREET (& seall).
ANN BRADSTREET.
"Signed, sealed and delivered in the
presence of GEORGE ABBOT
WILLIAM CHANDLER.
"Mr. Simon Bradstreet did acknowledge this wrighting to be his act and deed in Court held at Ipswich the 29th of March 1664."
The settlements of Andover and Haverhill are thus mentioned in "Good News from New England:"--
"To raising Townes and Churches new in wilderness they
wander
First Plymouth and then Salem next were placed far
asunder
Woburn, Wenham, Redding, built with little Silver
Mettle
Andover, Haverhill, Berris-banks(1) their habitation
settle."
The first formal description of the town of
Andover is
found in "The Wonder Working Providence of Zion's
Saviour in New England," written by Captain Edward Johnson, of Woburn,
published in London, 1654:--
"About this time [the date is approximately given 16481 there was a Town founded about one or two miles distant from the place where the goodly river of Merrimack receives her branches into her own body, hard upon the river of Shawshin, which is one of
1) Portsmouth-- Strawberry-banks.
MEMORIALS OF THE EARLY SETTLERS. 11
her chief heads; the honored Mr. Simon Bradstreet taking up his last sitting there hath been a great means to further the work, it being a place well-fitted for the husbandman's hand, were it not that remoteness of the place from towns of trade bringeth forth some inconveniences upon the planters who are inforced to carry their corn far to market. This town is called Andover, and hath good store of land improved for the bigness of it."
Andover was incorporated May 6, 1646. It was named for the town of Andover, in Hants County, England, which had been the home of some of its principal settlers. The following extract from a letter written by a resident of Andover, England, to a gentleman of our town a few years ago, gives an idea of the mother town as compared with the daughter:--
"I find that Andover, in America, is of more importance than the same place in England. We have no institutions that can be named that in any way approach those in America, nothing of more note than an old endowed Grammar School...."
Speaking, of the "South Church Manual," which
he had
received, he says:--
"I have been much interested in the minute
particulars of the customs of the Congregational church ..... They differ
but
little from the old Congregational churches in England
.....
The name of Abbot is not common here, but rare;
Holt is often
heard, but not common; Osgood is not known in our
locality;
Faulkner, Barnard, Ballard, Lovejoy but seldom;
Stevens, Poor, and Chandler, are those oftenest occurring."
In the earliest book of the town records now
existing is
a list of names, which purports to be "the names
of all the
freeholders [householders is written above, as if
by another
hand, in explanation] in order as they came to town":--
MR. BRADSTREET, JOHN OSGOOD, JOSEPH PARKER,
RICH-
ARD BARKER, JOHN STEVENS, NICHOLAS HOLT, BENJAMIN
WOODBRIDGE, JOHN FRYE, EDMOND FAULKNER, ROBERT
BARNARD, DANIEL POOR, NATHAN PARKER, HENRY JACQUES,
JOHN ASLETT, RICHARD BLAKE, WILLIAM BALLARD, JOHN
LOVEJOY, THOMAS POOR, GEORGE ABBOT, JOHN RUSS, AN-
DREW ALLEN, ANDREW FOSTER, THOMAS CHANDLER.
12 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
Respecting these, information is scanty. Following
are
some notes and memoranda,-- "memorials" of their
life and
times; such records of their individual history
and the fam-
ily lines of which they were progenitors, as have
come to
notice in tracing the general history, and also
such incidental items as serve to illustrate the manners and customs of
this early period of the town. The arrangement of the facts is, for the
sake of graphic, description and more vivid, illustration, somewhat informal,
and such as grows out of the connection of thought in the narrative, rather
than the more methodical and logical arrangement which would be required
were there fuller material to be disposed of under the several heads. The
names are taken up in the order of their respective prominence in the town
history.
SlMON BRADSTREET. It is doubtful if Mr. Bradstreet
removed his residence to Cochichawick at the very first planting, as his
name occurs in connection with Ipswich, in 1645.
But he is said to have built a mill on the Cochichawick,
1644. He was the most influential citizen. The "worshipful Mr.
Simon Bradstreet," he is most often styled. He held
office
in the colony as one of the Executive "Assistants,"
during
most of the time of his residence in Andover, and
afterward
was Governor many years. A sketch of his life, and
also a
brief biography of his wife, Mrs. Anne Dudley Bradstreet,
who is eminent as the first woman poet of America,
are given
in the history of the Bradstreet house, in another
part of
this chapter. The earliest relic found in Andover,
of Mr.
Bradstreet's life and work, is a deed, drawn and
witnessed
by him in 1663. This conveyed the land formerly
sold by
him to Richard Sutton. George Abbot bought the land,
and
the deed has been handed down to his descendants
of the
seventh generation. It is a document imposing and
unique
in style of execution. A facsimile, is given herewith,
of
which the following is a translation, which the
ancient writing makes necessary:--
"Know all men by these presents that I Richard
Sutton of
Andover in the county of Essex weaver and Rachel
my wife for
divers good causes & considerations mee thereunto
moving & for recaived payment in Howse & Land wch I have resaived
& had
MEMORIALS OF THE EARLY SETTLERS. 13
of George Abbot sen'r of Andover aforesd husbandman
every ryte & tytell whereof I do acknowledge myselfe satisfyed &
payd. Have Bargained & sold & by this presents doe give,
grant bargaine, sell, infeoff, assigne, & make over unto the said George
Abbot senr All those my two pc'lls of ox-land or ploughing ground on the
westerly side of ye Shawshin river, the one lying & being By Little-hope
brooke conteyning by estimation thirty acres, Be the same more or lesse
& the other lyinge & being on the west syde of a lyttle peice of
meadow belonging to the sd George Abbot containing by estimation eighteen
acres be the same more or less,
both wch peeces I lately purchased of Mr. Simon
Bradstreet & are within the bounds of the towne of Andover To have
& to hold the aforesd two peices of Land with the wood & timber
thereon growing or to be growing to the said George Abbot his heirs &
assigns forever. And wee the said Richard Sutton & Rachel his wife
doe hereby covenant & promise to & with the sd George Abbot that
hee the said George, his heirs, executors administrators & assignes
shall or may from tyme to tyme & att all tymes forever lawfully quietly
& peaceably have, hold, possesse occupye & enjoy the aforesaid
two peeces of Land & every ryt & privilege thereof hereby granted
or intended to be granted without any lett, troubles, hinderances, interruption
or molestation by the aforesaid Richard or Rachel or either of them our
heirs, executors, administrators or assignes, or by or from any person
or psons whatsoever claiming in by through or under us or either of us
our heirs or assignes, hee the sayd George paying or causing to be payd
all rates, Levies,
or assessments from tyme to tyme that shall be due
or lawefully imposed for the above Land either by the Lawe of the Country
or custome of the towne of Andover or otherwise, shall save harmless the
said Richard & Rachel their heires & assignes forever from any
damages for default thereof. In witness whereof we the said Richard &
Rachel have hereunto sett or hand and seales this
eighteenth day of the first month commonly called
March, in the yeare of our Lord one thousand six hundred sixty & three
& in the fifteenth year of the raigne of ye Soveragne Lord, King Charles
the Second.
RICHARD SUTTON
her mk
RACHEL____SUTTON."
"Signed, Sealed & Delivered
in the presence of
SIMON BRADSTREET
THOMAS CHANDLER
JOHN BRADSTREET
(1) For women (except those
of remarkable advantages of wealth and culture) to write was unusual in
the earliest years of the town history. See Chapter VIII.
14 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
"This writing was acknowledged by Richard Sutton
to be his
act and deede & Rachel his wife did give her
free consent thereto, this 6th of ffebruary 1664 before mee
SIMON BRADSTREET.
"ESSEX. SS. This Instrument is Recorded with
the Records of
sd County Lib 31, fol. 209.
STEPH. SEWALL Record,"
Mr. Simon Bradstreet, after the death of his
wife (1672),
removing to Salem, his house was occupied and his
place
filled in the town by his son,(1) Col. Dudley Bradstreet.
The
latter lived in Andover till his death, 1706.
His wife was
Ann Wood, widow of Theodore Price. His only son,
the
Rev. Dudley Bradstreet, first master of the Andover
Gram-
mar School, removed to Groton 1708, and was for
some years
pastor of the church there, but subsequently went
over to
England and took orders in the Established Church.
The
other sons of Mr. Simon Bradstreet having settled
elsewhere,
with the departure of Mr. Dudley Bradstreet the
name became extinct in Andover. Of the other sons a word may be
added:--
Samuel Bradstreet was a physician, graduated
at Harvard
College, 1653. He was representative for Andover
to the
General Court, 1670, although probably then a resident
of
Boston. He died in the West Indies.
Simon Bradstreet, graduate of Harvard College,
1660, was
minister of New London, Connecticut.
John Bradstreet was the only son born in Andover.
He
was born July 22, 1652. He settled in Topsfield,
on the
grant of land made to his father.
Of the daughters: Dorothy was married to the
Rev. Sea-
born Cotton. Sarah was married to Richard Hubbard
(H. U.
1653); also to Maj. Samuel Ward. Hannah or Anne,
to Mr.
Andrew Wiggin, of Exeter, N.H. Mercy, to Maj.
Nathaniel Wade, of Medford.
Dr. Samuel Bradstreet's daughter Mercy was
married to
Dr. James Oliver, from whom are descended Dr. Oliver
Wen-
dell Holmes and Mr. Wendell Phillips.
(1) A sketch
of his life and character and his influence in the town will be given in
the history of the Bradstreet house.
MEMORIALS OF THE EARLY SETTLERS. 15
Rev. Simon Bradstreet's daughter Lucy was married
to
Hon. Jonathan Remington, of Cambridge. From them
were
descended Dr. William E. Charming and Mr. Richard
H.
Dana.
MR. JOHN OSGOOD, whose name stands second on
the list
of householders, and also next after that of the
minister on
the list of the ten members who formed the nucleus
of the
first church (a list of ten freeholders was necessary
before a church could be organized), was probably the most influen-
tial citizen, after the Bradstreets and the ministers.
He
came from a town near Andover in England, and it
is said
that it was he who named the new plantation, but
of this
there does not appear any certain evidence.
Mr. Osgood was the town's first representative
to the Gen-
eral Court, 1651. It is interesting to compare the
affairs of
town and commonwealth now with what they were then
when the member from Andover wended his way on foot(1) or on horseback
through the woods to the halls of legislation, all undreaming of the coming
eras of railway, telegraph, telephone, etc., and without a suspicion that
the debates, discussions, and declarations which he and the men of his
time were indulging in at town meeting and General Court were the seeds
destined to ripen into American independence. The great problem of
the General Assembly just at that time was how to keep a safe neutrality
in regard to the civil wars of the mother country, or rather how to seem
submissive subjects to the powers that were and yet practically to manage
the colonial affairs in their own way. The Massachusetts Colony was Puritan
in sentiment, but had no mind to embroil itself in the quarrels across
the water. The fact that the colonists thought possible to maintain neutrality
is evidence that they had to some extent, even then, severed themselves
from the parent government. Indeed, whether England was ruled by king or
protector, Massachusetts contrived for the most part, for more than fifty
years, to govern herself, and, while professing allegiance, to ignore or
evade the laws
(1) Mr. Simon Bradstreet walked from Salem to Dover
in 1641, on official business, as one of the Commissioners of the Colonies.
16 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
which she had no mind to know and obey. The General
Court,
to which Mr. Osgood was the deputy from Andover,
voted, in
reference to some of the demands of the beloved
and hon-
ored Protector of England, to the effect that it
would be in-
consistent with the colonial conscience to submit
its affairs
to any laws except those made by the freemen of
the colony;
and especially they remonstrated against the appointment
of
any governor, by the Protector, for the colony;
demonstrat-
ing that their charter entitled them to elect their
chief ex-
ecutive in the colony. Cromwell, therefore, left
the colo-
nial magistrates undisturbed,-- Endicott, Governor;
Thomas
Dudley, father-in-law of Mr. Bradstreet, Deputy
Governor.
Mr. Bradstreet was one of the Assistants at this
time, Ando-
ver being honored in having two of her citizens
at this early
day influential in the colonial legislature and
government.
The acts of legislation which engaged the attention
of Ando-
ver's first deputy did not concern especially the
town of his
residence, and are of no particular local interest,
being in the main in regard to lands or boundaries, or the regulation of
colonial trade and commerce. One or two characteristic acts
are the following in 1651:--
"Whereas it is observable that there are many abuses and disorders by dancing in ordinaries [taverns] whether mixt or unmixt upon marriage of some persons this Court doth order that henceforward there shall be no dancing upon such occasion or at other times in ordinaries uppon the paine or penaltie of five shillings for every person that shall so daunce in ordinaries."
The author of a new book, Mr. Pincheon, was
reprimanded
by the Count for failing "to speak so fully as he
ought of the price and merit of Christ's sufferings but afterward he was
pardoned, since the Court conceive he is in a hopefull way
of improvement." A citizen of Lynn was fined fifty
pounds
for having "defamed the management of the town and
con-
trary to the lawe of God and the lawes here established
re-
proached and slandered the courts, magistrates and
govern-
ment." Such were some of the (as they seem
to us) frivolous
or irrelevant subjects introduced among matters
of practical
and vital interest to the colony. Whether to men
who looked
upon life and civil government, as our ancestors
looked upon
MEMORIALS OF THE EARLY SET7LERS. 17
them, they were questions frivolous and irrelevant
to political legislation, and whether larger experience has given to the
legislators of the nineteenth century wisdom to come to better and more
just decisions respecting the questions which
our forefathers disposed of so summarily, future
centuries will give verdict.
Mr. Osgood's term of office was short.
In October, 1651,
he died, aged fifty-six years. During an illness
some time before, he had made his will, the first, so far as has been found,
of the many testaments of Andover citizens, by which hands reaching forth
from beyond the tomb have held strong grip on the treasures which they
had laid up on earth, and dead men's "wills" have been, considering the
fluctuations of human motives, more potent than those of the living to
control
the transmission of their estates. The will was
witnessed by
two of Mr. Osgood's townsmen, both of whom outlived
him
by more than a quarter of a century. The reader
will not
grudge, the space taken to transcribe this interesting
memo-
rial, one of the few relics(1) of these olden times:--
"The twelfth of April 1650, in the age of the testator fifty-four [born in 1595 June 23d] I John Osgood of Andover in the County of Essex in New England, Being Sick of Body but in perfect memory do institut and mak my last will & testament in manner and form as foloweth:
Imprimis, I do give unto my Sonn John Osgood
my hous and
hous-lot with all the accommodations thereunto
belonging,
Broaken-up and Unbroken-up land, with all
the meadow there-
unto belonging fforever, with the proviso
that my wife Sarah
Osgood shall have the moyety or the one half
of the hous and
lands and meadows during her natural life.
It. I do give & Bequeath to my Sonn Stephen Osgood
25 pounds
to be payd at 18 years off age in Country
pay.
It. I do give to my dater Elizabeth Osgood 25 pounds to be payd at 18 years off age in Country pay.
It. I do give to my daughter Sarah Clements 20 shillings
to be payd when she is 7 years of age, but if she dy before that time to
be null.
It. I do give to my servant Caleb Johnson one cow-calf
to be payd
(1) Essex County Court Papers, vol. ii, p. 22.
2
18 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF AADOVER.
3 yeares Before his time is out and to be kept at the cost of my executor till his time is out.
I do give to the meeting-hous off Newbury 18 shillings
to Buie a cushion for the minister to lay his Book upon: all the rest of
my Goods and Chattels unbequeatbed I do give unto my son John Osgood and
to Sarah my wife whom I do make joynt executors of my last will and testament
& in witness hereof set my hand and seale. I do intreat John Clement
of Haverhill and Nicholas Hoult of Andover to be overseers of this my last
will and testament.
JOHN OSGOOD
By me
In presence off
JOSEPH PARKER
RICHARD BARKER."
The scene of this ancient will-making in Andover
was very
different from that of such occasions now. The house
of the
primitive settler was built of logs, or, if of hewn
timber and more pretentious as that of the representative may have
been, still plain and rude, and devoid of the elegancies
or
comforts of modern time, or of older settlements
in the early
time. For it does not appear from the few records
left that
any of the "first" families of Andover, except the
Brad-
streets (and, perhaps, the Woodbridges), had brought
hither
anything except the absolute necessaries of life,
in the way
of household furniture and appointments. Any ideas
of
there being here at the earliest day, choice china,
delft, etc., or silver plate, such as are seen in old collections handed
down as heirlooms (except, perhaps, in the families before named), are
dispelled by a perusal of the inventory of the furniture and household
goods of the next most prominent
citizen, after Mr. Bradstreet. No family portrait,
silver plate, china, or porcelain ware, mahogany, or oak, or damask-covered
chair, were in the little humble abode, where this the
town's first deputy to the General Court made his
last will
and testament; and in his pious regard for the Church
of
Christ he was more ready to expend his money for
"cushions
for the pulpit Bible, "than he was to provide luxurious
adornings for his own dwelling. A rude cottage, and plain furniture were
all the worldly goods, except his broad acres, that
MEMORIALS OF THE EARLY SETTLERS. 19
the sick man had to dispose of, and take leave of,
and his
eye looked out on a landscape far different from
the present
aspect of old Andover. Through the narrow windows
of the
house, set in heavy leaden sashes (if glass windows
were
afforded, instead of oiled paper, often used to
admit light),
he looks off not on cultivated farm and smiling
landscape
stretching everywhere, but to the dense wood beyond
the vil-
lage clearing. He may, perhaps, descry stealthily
creeping
thence an Indian, intent on barter or plunder, or
with friendly purpose, to bring a gift to the sick pale-face,-- fish, or
game, or powow-charm, and healing herb, to drive away the spell of disease.
When the twilight shadows fall, and the early-to-bed
house-
hold sink to sleep and silence, except the drowsy
watcher at
the sick bed, the quick ear of the restless patient
may catch
the sound among the crackling brushwood of the deer's
light
tread, venturing near the dwelling, or by the moonlight
may
discern its graceful form and soft eyes peering
out from
copse or corn-field, or perchance he may, roused
from dreams
of Old England, and merry-making with rout of huntsman
and bugle-horn, start to the dreadful reality of
the wilder-
ness, hear the howling of wolves, and see the glaring
pack
rush past, bearing down on some estray of flock
or herd, or
benighted traveller. It may be, the latch-string
of the door
left loose, a bear snuffing around thrusts his nose
over the
threshold, and draws back growling at sight of the
embers
burning on the hearth, while Reynard, the fox, interrupted
thereby in his depredations on the chicken-coop,
drops the
fat cock from his back, and arouses up all the cackling
brood.
So drag on the weary hours; howls of wolves, baying
of
hounds, hoot of owl, cry of whip-poor-will, or of
loon, startled from its reedy covert by the pond, disturbing the night,
till in the glimmering dawn the chorus of morning bird-song begins, and
the beat of drum summons the villagers to their daily rounds, and brings
the solace of human society to the sick man. Thus wild and primitive is
the scene, which fact
dictates for fancy's sketch of the night-watches
in the homes
of ancient Andover. To make the picture true to
life, we
should set it in a frame-work of Scripture texts
and pious
20 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
ejaculations, and put into it numberless conflicts
and wrest-
lings, fastings and prayers, witnessed only by the
All- seeing. For, firm as was the faith of our fathers in the presence
of the invisible God, as firm also was their belief in the presence, if
not the omnipresence, of the invisible devil. As they held communion with
their divine friend, so did they likewise hold conflict with their demoniac
enemy. Prayer was the panoply in which the Puritan was ever clad, and as
he kept his loaded musket at hand at all times, in health or in sickness,
by day and by night, for defence against sudden attack of savage, so he
kept his quivers of Scripture texts, and his magazine of petitions ever
ready to quench all the fiery darts of the adversary. When the last enemy
had gained the last victory over the militant saint, and, conflict, prayer,
will and testament all ended, earth was to be returned to earth again,
the funeral rites were simple and character-istic of the Puritan creed.
Prayer at the grave of the dead was not allowed, lest it should seem to
countenance the Romish masses for the repose of the soul. Whatever was
allowed in the way of ceremony and funeral pomp, was no doubt done by the
citizens of Andover, to render impressive the burial and honor the memory
of their first deputy.
The Inventory(1) of Mr. Osgood's estate is as follows:--
"An Inventorie of the Estate of John Osgood
sen. of Andover lately deeeased.
L s d
Foure oxen
30 0 0
Two steeres
10 0 0
Six cowes
29 0 0
Seven young cattel
24 0 0
Eight swine
25 0 0
120 Bushels of wheat
24 0 0
30 Bushels of Ry
5 0 0
120 Bushels of Indian
15 0 0
House Lands & Meadows
80 0 0
For Rie sowed
12 0 0
Due upon bond
20 0 0
Sixty Bushels of Barly
13 0 0
(1) Essex County Court
Records, vol. ii.
MEMORIALS OF THE EARLY SETTLERS. 21
Fifty Bushels of Pease
8 15 0
A feather-bed & furniture
4 10 0
A flock bed (being half feathers) & furniture
3 10 0
A flock bed & furniture
2 0 0
Five payre of sheets & an odd one
2 8 0
Table linen
1 0 0
Fower payre of pillow-beers
0 18 0
Nineteen yards of Carsamere
5 0 0
Sixe yards of Serge
1 4 0
Ten yards of Canvace
0 9 0
A remnant of Serge
0 9 0
Penistone (?) ten yards
1 10 0
Ten payre of stockings
0 18 0
Three yards of Stuffe
0 10 0
Twenty-two pieces of pewter
2 0 0
For ye copper & brasse
4 14 0
For Iron pott, tongs, cottrell & pot hooks
1 0 0
Two muskets & a fowling-piece
2 10 0
Sword, cutlass & bandaleeres
1 5 0
Yarne & cotton-wool
0 15 0
Barrels, tubbs, trays, cheese-moates and pailes
1 10 0
A stand
0 5 0
Bedsteads, cords & chayers
0 14 0
Chests and wheeles
0 16 0
A hayre cloth
0 5 0
Bridle & Saddle
0 5 0
For sawes
0 10 0
Mault
1 16 0
A firkin of Butter
1 8 0
Bacon
2 0 0
A yard of holland
0 3 0
A yard & a half of calico
0 2 6
Household implements
1 0 0
_________
The Sum of all.
373 7 6
SARAH OSGOOD"
Hwe O marke
JOHN CLEMENTS
NICHOLAS HOULT
His H marke
This was recorded 25th, 9th month, 1651.
22 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
From the first settler, whose home was, as
appears from
the inventory, devoid of the luxuries and even of
many of
the comforts of life, have descended generations
reared in
affluence. The pioneer settlers grew rich rapidly.
Their
estates became valuable. Lands which were "granted"
to
the fathers were sold by the children and grandchildren
for
large sums of money. The town of Andover did not
long
lack the refinements which come with wealth, when,
as in
the case of our townsmen, pains are taken to add
to it intel-
lectual culture.
The Osgood name has been remarkably influential
in the
town, connected both with civil and with military
office. For
a hundred and fifty years there was scarcely a time
when
there were not several military officers, captains,
or colonels, in service, and in the list of representatives to the General
Court, the name occurs thirty times before the year 1800. During
the Revolutionary period, the Hon. Samuel Osgood, of Andover (North Parish),
was State Senator, Repre-sentative to the National Congress, first Commissioner
of the
Treasury, and, after his removal from Andover to
New York,
Postmaster General. Among the representatives of
the name in this period were the eminent divine of Medford, Rev. David
Osgood, D. D., native of the South Parish, and the physicians at North
Andover, Dr. Joseph Osgood, who died 1797, and his son Dr. George Osgood,
who died 1823.
Isaac Osgood, Esq. (resident some time in Salem),
Peter
Osgood, Esq., Captain Timothy Osgood, were respectively
heads of families influential at North Andover in
the last
fifty years.
Hon. Gayton P. Osgood, representative to Congress
1833
(died 1861), was a gentleman of rare culture. he
lived at
North Andover, in the fine mansion(1) (on the Haverhill
road)
built by his father, Isaac Osgood, Esq.
Captain Isaac Osgood, Rev. Peter Osgood (H.
U. 1814),
Mr. Henry Osgood, were among the later prominent
repre-
sentatives of the name. There are now very few(2)
members
(1) Now the residence
of Mr. James Davis.
(2) Miss Hannah Osgood,
daughter of Peter Osgood, Esq., and sister of Rev. Peter Osgood, is living
in her eighty-sixth year.
MEMORIALS OF THE EARLY SETTLERS 23
of this once large family left in the Andovers. The
principal
of these is Mr. Isaac Osgood, postmaster of North
Andover.
Emigrants from old Andover have carried the
name to
many different places, and among their descendants
are num-
bered many names of distinction. But to collect
and record
even a part of these would require time and space
beyond
our limits. The ancient estates on the Cochichawick
are
still owned by descendants(1) of the Osgood line.
No trace of memorial tablet, or grave-stone,
remains, which
marked the spot where was laid the body of John
Osgood, the first settler, in the old burying-ground, nor any relic of
the men, his neighbors, whose names are signed as
witnesses
of his will and stand next to his on the list of
house-holders. This burying-ground is at North Andover Centre-- at
the southeast of the Bradstreet House,-- on the hill near where was the
first meeting-house, and is, besides the house, the only memorial left
of the works of the first settlers.
Of all the tombstones erected in memory of
the first
householders, one alone remains, that in memory
Of JOHN
STEVENS. Its broken stone has been re-set in a granite
tab-
let:--
Here lyes buried
The Body of Mr.
JOHN STEVENS
Who deceased ye
11 Day of April
1662 in ye 57
year of his age.
The stone is quaintly carved and ornamented,
but bears no
eulogy or text. "He lived-- he died,"-- this is
indeed the
sum and "abstract of the historian's page" in regard
to the
life of this, as of many another first settler of
Andover, to
whose memorial monument time and decay have given
a longer reprieve than to most of those of his contemporaries.
His name appears occasionally in the records of
the County
Court, and once in the records of the General Court,
1654:
"John Stevens of Andover, Henry Short of Newbury,
Jo-
(1) Mr. T. Osgood Wardwell, Mrs. S. Osgood Russell, and Mrs. C. Osgood
Stevens.
24 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
seph Jewett of Rowley, a committee chosen to examine,
into
the grounds of a dispute between Haverhill and Salisbury
in
regard to lands, and to return their apprehentions
thereof to
this Court." On the 19th of October, they
made an elaborate
and minute report of their action in the matter,
detailing
their surveying, etc., in its full particulars,
and stating their conclusion that former surveyors had made a mistake by
which land was cut off from Haverhill "to their
great pjdice"
Their report was accepted.
An idea of the house, estate, and style of
living of John
Stevens may be obtained from the following:--
"An Inveniory(l) of the goods and Chattels of John Stevens of Andover Deceased emprized by George Abbot, Richard Barker, Nathan Parker, Nicholas Noyes, the 28th of Aprill Anno 1662.
"Imp. His wearing Apparell.
"It. In the hall, two beds with their furniture.
It. One chest and foure boxes. It. Eight payre of sheetes, foure Bolster
cases and three payre of pillow-beeres. It. Three table cloaths, 1 dozen
of Napkins with other sleight Things.
"It. One brasse Pott, foure small Kettels one
Skillett, a Scummer & warming pan. It. One Iron Pott, an iron posnett,
two
payre of pott hookes, two trammels, a spitt, a payre
of tonges & fire-pan, a payre of Cob-irons with a smoothing iron &
a trevett.
"It. Six pewter platters, two brazers, two
porrengers, foure
drinken cuppes, a salt-seller a chamber-pott, a
dozen & half of spoones a latten-pan. It. A table board & foure
chayres, two cushens two dozen of trenchers, half a dozen of dishes.
" It. A muskett, corslett & head piece
a sword, cutlass and
halberd. It. A bible with other books. It. In the
Leaneto--
Barrels, wheeles, with other lumber. It. In the
Chamber—bed-
ding. It. Wheate, twenty Bushells, Indian corn ten
bushels.
It. A bridle & saddle & pommel. It. Two
flitches of Bacon.
It. Baggs. It. Flax & yarne. It. Old tubbs with
other lumber.
It. Sawes, Axes, ploughes, with other working tooles.
It. Eight oxen. It. Six cows. It. A heifer & two yearlings. It. Three
calves. It. Swine. It. A colt & an asse. It. A horse. It. One stocke
of bees. It. One carte, sleads, yoakes, chaines plowes & plow-irons,
ropes, &c.
"It. House, barnes, upland, & meadow and corne
upon ye
grounde. Sum total L463. 4. 0."
(1) Essex
County Court Papers, vol. viii., p. 18.
MEMORIALS OF THE EARLY SETTLERS. 25
The inventories of the two citizens, John Osgood
and John
Stevens, are interesting to study, not only for
the idea which they give of the amount of property owned by the rich citizens
of ancient Andover, but also for the picture they present of the style
of living of that time, the household furniture and farm implements. Some
of the names of utensils are now unfamiliar in New England households,
but they were
those in use in the old country, and often occur
in the Eng-
lish classics of that period. An "iron possnet"
was a sort
of porringer; "cob-irons" were andirons, with a
round ball
at the top; a "trevett" was a "three-footed stand,"
probably
to accompany the smoothing-iron-- a flat-iron stand,
in mod-
ern parlance a "latten-pan" was a pan made of latten,
a
sort of tin; trencbers "were wooden plates, which
were in
common use for the table. Wooden plates and pewter
plat-
ters, or dishes, pewter drinking cups and spoons,
no knives
and forks, are what constituted the table furniture
of the two well-to-do farmers of North Andover in 1650-1660. The
quantity of military outfit is noticeable "Sword,
cutlass, halberd, head-piece, corslet (an outfit for a knight of the middle
ages), also a musket, but all only costing two pounds.
The Stevens name was prominent in the early military record. Sergeant John Stevens, 1661; Lieutenant John Stevens, 1689; Captain Benjamin Stevens, about 1725, was one of the most active officers in the frontier service, ranging in quest of Indians. He was representative to the General Court and justice of the peace.
The name of Stevens was widely known in the colonial time by the brilliant reputation of Rev. Joseph Stevens, grandson of John Stevens, the first settler; also of his son Rev. Benjamin Stevens, D. D., of Kittery, Me., once candidate for the presi-dency of Harvard College. Rev. Phineas Stevens, D. D., was a graduate of Harvard College, 1734; ordained at North Andover, 1740; settled at Boscawen. Capt. James Stevens, during the French and Indian war, did honorable duty in the King's service. He was also one of the deputies to the General Court. During the Revolution, Adjutant Bimsley Stevens was on the staff of General Ward.
Among the prominent names of the family are,
in recent
times, Capt. Nathaniel Stevens, one of the early
manu-
26 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
facturers of North Andover (his five sons manufacturers--
among them Mr. Charles Stevens, of Ware, and Hon.
Moses
T. Stevens, of North Andover); the late Justice
William
Stevens, of Lawrence; his son, Colonel William 0.
Stevens
(attorney, of Dunkirk, N. Y.), killed in the battle
of Chancellorsville, May 3, 1863; Major-general Isaac I. Stevens, Governor
of Washington Territory, killed in the battle of Chantilly, Va., September
1, 1862; Oliver Stevens, Esq., now
District Attorney of Suffolk County; Henry J. Stevens,
Esq.,
counsellor at law, Boston; Mr. Phineas Stevens (deceased,
1864), builder of first mills at Lawrence, civil
engineer; Mr. Augustus G. Stevens, now city engineer of Manchester. Mr.
Warren Stevens and Mr. Enoch Stevens, traders fifty
years
ago, at North Andover,-- also James Stevens, Esq.,--
were
widely known in this vicinity, and many others of
the family,
especially in the West Parish, had a local name;
but enough
have been mentioned to indicate the descent and
perpetuity
of the family through the centuries.
Before tracing farther the early settlers we
may here pause
to take a survey of the every-day life in the new
plantation,
and gain a more vivid idea of the manners and customs
of ancient Andover. First, as to their gaining a
legal and
moral right to the goodly territory on which they
settled.
We have already seen what the action of the General
Court
was in reference to the Cochichawick plantation,
and that
Mr. John Woodbridge was a prime mover in the matter
of
collecting a colony. He and Mr. Edmond Faulkner
are said
to have purchased the land from the Indian sachem,
Cut-
shamache, or Cutshamakin, who lived near Dorchester,
and
who was a kinsman of Passaconaway, the sachem living
in
the region about the Merrimack River, "Old Will,"
as he
was sometimes called.
For the paltry sum of six pounds, currency,
and a coat,
the township of Andover was bought, a tract of land
included between Merrimack River, Rowley, Salem, Woburn, and Cambridge.
This sale the Indian sachem acknowleged about the time of the town's incorporation,
and confirmed before the General Court, as appears from the Colony
records:--
MEMORIALS OF THE EARLY SETTLERS. 27
"At a General Court at Boston 6th 3d mo. 1646
Cutshamache,
Sagamore of ye Massachusetts came into ye Corte
& acknowl-
edged yt for the sum of L6 & a Coat which he
had, already received, he had sold to Mr. John Woodbridge in behalfe of
ye inhabitants of Cochichawicke now called Andover all his right
interest & privilege in ye land 6 miles southward
from ye towne, two miles eastward to Rowley bounds be ye same more or lesse,
northward to Merrimack river, pvided yt ye Indian called Roger and his
company may have liberty to take alewives in Cochichawicke River, for their
owne eating; but if they either spoyle or steale any corne or other fruite
to any considerable value of ye inhabitants there, this liberty of taking
fish shall forever cease, and ye said Roger is still to enjoy four acres
of ground where he now plants."
The name of Roger is still perpetuated in Roger's
brook
and Roger's rock,(1) the well-known landmark, near
the pres-
ent site of the South Meeting-house. "Roger and
his company" taking alewives in the rivers, or even, in spite of their
promises, "spoyling or stealing corn" in the white
man's
planting grounds, were no doubt familiar sights
to the set-
tlers of old Andover, for it is to be observed that
the clause in the agreement does not imply the possibility of their abstaining
wholly from plunder." To any considerable value," left a wide leeway and
margin, as a concession to the Indian's natural propensity. Roger's "reservation,"
of "four
acres where he now plants," seems never to have
occasioned
any controversy; but he and "his company" (like
all his
race destined to fade away before the invader) have
long ago
ceased to be,-- no descendant of an Indian is now
(2) known
to live on the soil sold by Cutshamache.
The "village of Cochichawicke" was laid out
in house lots,
chiefly of four acres and eight acres. To many persons
who
have not given special thought to the matter, and
are not familiar with colonial life, it is a matter of wonder that the
early settlers of the New England towns had not larger homesteads.
When the country was all before them, why did not our forefathers each
surround his house with an estate of hundreds of acres, instead of crowding
as closely together in living as
(1) Now removed.
(2) Some persons
now living remember a woman named Nancy Parker, who is said to have been
the last Indian.
28 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
though land were scarce, and why are the estates,
which
have been held by families from the time of these
first set-
tlers, not contiguous territory, but scattered all
over the town in patches here and there, a wood-lot in one place and a
meadow two to five miles away?
A little reflection on the state of things,
in which the
pioneer settlers found themselves, and a study of
the records
of the town and of the proprietors, explain all
this.
It was necessary that the population should be compact together, not only because of the danger of attack from Indians and of the ravages of wild beasts, and the guard to be kept against these, but, also, because the facilities of communication were few for transacting the business of the community. With no good roads, and few horses, it was desirable that a community mutually dependent should not be scattered over a wide territory. Some ancient rules(1) or directions, for laying out a "towne," are the following, which are likely to have been in general the plan followed at Andover:--
"Suppose ye towne square 6 miles every waye. The houses orderly placed about ye midst especially ye meeting-house, the which we will suppose to be ye center of ye wholl circumfer-ence. The greatest difficulty is for the employment of ye parts most remote, which (if better direction doe not arise) may be this; the whole being 6 miles, the extent from ye meeting-house in ye center will be unto every side 3 miles; the one half whereof being 2500 paces round about & next unto ye said center, in what condition soever it lyeth may well be distributed & employed unto ye houses within the compass of ye same orderly placed to enjoye comfortable convaniance. Then for yt ground lying without, ye neerest circumferance may be thought fittest to be imployed in farmes into which may be placed skillful bred husbandmen, many or fewe as they may be attayned unto to become farmers, unto such portions as each of them may well & in convenient time improve according to the portion of stocke each of them may be intrusted with.".
The township was owned by the Proprietors.
Some twenty-
three names are found, but the original lists were
lost, and
after some years persons were counted as proprietors
who
were not among the original ones. The house-lots
having
been assigned, the farm lands (meadow lands, ox-ground,
(1) Mass. His.
Soc. Coll., Fifth Series, vol. i
MEMORIALS OF THE EARLY SETTLERS. 29
ploughing ground, mowing land, they were variously
named)
were distributed in proportion to each man's house-lot;
that
is, to a four-acre house-lot belonged a certain
amount of
meadow or farm land to an eight-acre house-lot belonged
double this amount of farm land, etc. These were
called
"house-lot rights" or acre-rights," and thus when
a man
bought a house-lot of eight acres, he had also with
it, and at first (as it would seem) inseparable from it in transfer, these
farm lands. But the whole township was by no means used
up and divided out. A large, perhaps the larger,
part was
kept in reserve by the proprietors, and called the
"common
or undivided lands." From these, grants and
sales were made
from time to time, up to the year 1800, when the
whole was
sold and the money divided for the support of free
schools.(1)
The first house-lots were grouped around the
meeting
house in the north part of the town. The old burying-ground
marks the site (nearly) of the meeting-house. The
estates
remote from this centre, which are often said to
have been
the "homesteads" of the first settlers, from the
fact that the land can be proved to have been held by them, it is not probable
were in many instances the places of their first abode, although, in the
progress of the settlement, many of the first owners of house-lots undoubtedly
removed from their original residence, further from the centre, to their
own farm
lands, where, in time, residence became safer and
more con-
venient. So, as was said, estates and homesteads
have been
handed down from first settlers which were not their
first residence, or even perhaps their residence at all. This will appear
more clearly in the course of the narrative.
It is apparent, from what has been said, that the
"common"
lands were not for any ornamental or decorative,
or even san-
itary purposes, such as the "common" of a city or
village
now serves, although in some instances the land
now beauti-
fied and adorned as a public park is a remnant of
the former
common lands of the town-- as Boston "Common," which
was used for a pasture. The "common or undivided" lands served for the
pasturage of the flocks and herds. Those common lands conven-iently situated
were often used as places
(1) See Chapter
VIII., "District Schools;" also "Franklin Academy."
30 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
for military drill, which was rigidly enforced during the Indian wars. These were called "training fields":--
"1718.-- Voted & passed That the three
training-fields, that
which is called Benjamin's Lott,(1) the old training
field; and that between Capt. John Chandler's and Samuel Peters's and Ensign
Henry Chandler's, and that by the South Meeting house, all three places
shall lye common forever."
There were also common wood-lands, and for various purposes, as appears from the following in the Proprietors' records:--
"Andover's Common Clay ground 1aid out and
Recorded for to
Lye Common forever for the Use of all the Town.
"We the subscribers hereof who were chosen
and appointed a
Committee by the proprietors of Andover at their
meeting that
was on the 22: day January: 1721-2 for to lay out
such Pieces of Clay Ground as was then common: whereupon on the seventh
day of June 1722: was Laid out these three severall
pieces of
clay ground That is to Ly open to the Common and
that the Clay in each place is to be free: and common for any of the inhabitance
of the said Town of Andover forever: for their own use in Andover: To wit:
the first piece of said clay-ground we Laid out for the End aforesaid.
Lieth a Littell below Lieut John fries Dam just below his home meadow,
that is about Thirty-five pole of Land be it more or Less. Bounded att
the North West Corner with a Stake and Stons, then Run eastward four pole
and a half to a great stump, then southward .... The second piece of said
clay-ground lieth att a place called the miller's meadow clay-pitts, containing
about one hundred pole of land .... the north end of it the said hundred
pole of Clay ground and the east side of it Joyneth to Robert Swan's Land
and the West side to the way that Leadeth from Joseph Ingales to Edward
faringtons. The third piece of said clay Ground lyeth att Rose meadow
Broock by the South Side of the way that Leads from Jacob Mastons to Quarter
master John barkers."
As late as 1794 there was a tract of land on
Preston's
Plain, lying west of Boston road and south of the
road to
Ballard's mill, which, "although divided by metes
and bounds
(1) This is believed
to have been the land north of or near the present house of Dr. Kittredge,
on the hill-- a lot owned by Benjamin Stevens at one time.
MEMORIALS OF THE EARLY SETTLERS. 31
is yet improved by the owners in one common field,"
as says
the ancient document(1) recording the action. A
meeting of
the proprietors was called at Mr. Isaac Blunt's
tavern, Sep-
tember 21, and adjourned to meet at an Oak Tree,
on the
road to Ballard's mill, for the purpose of dividing
this "commonage" for separate improvement by the owners, and the
division was effected.
It is difficult to ascertain with certainty
anything definite about the first house-lots and their occupants, who seem
to have removed from place to place in the town. In 1658,
Richard Sutton bought a house, which had belonged
to Mr.
Bradstreet. The deed gives a clew to the residence
of some
of the other settlers. George Abbot, senior, had
his house-
lot on the north, and George Abbot, junior (not
the son, but
a younger man, "George Abbot tailor," or, "of Rowley,"
as
the "Genealogical Register" designates him), had
the lot
south. Robert Barnard's lot adjoined Mr. Bradstreet's;
Mr.
Dane lived near; John Stevens seems to have lived
near the
burying-ground, to the east. Joseph Parker had his
lot "toward the mill river, southeast of the meeting-house, bounded by
the house lot of Nicholas Holt, and by Mr. Francis Faulkner's on ye common."(2)
This was probably as late as 1670. Henry Ingals lived near the meeting-house,
1687. The Osgood and Johnson lots were toward the Cochichawick, and
north of it. Richard Barker's was contiguous. It
is a tradi-
tion that John Frye lived south of the Bradstreet
House,
and the Poors near the Shawshin. Thus we learn that
the
first settlers, whose estates are now in the south
and west
parishes of Andover, lived in the beginning at the
north part
of the town. As is stated hereafter the town at
first forbade
any to go to live on their farm lands without express
permis-
sion.
The names of the proprietors, who had been
also house-
holders before 1681, are given in a list (which,
it is stated in the record, was copied from the town books), in the prop-rietors'
books. These, as has been said, were not all proprietors
(1) MSS. of Mr. Asa
A. Abbot.
(2) That he had a
lot would not necessarily imply that he lived on it, but more than once
in allusions to transactions the families are spoken of as contiguous.
32 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
originally, but from time to time were voted into the number:--
Abbot, George, senior.
Abbot, George, junior.
Abbot, John.
Allen, Andrew.
Ballard, William.
Barker, Richard.
Barnard, Robert.
Blanchard,(1) Samuel.
Bradstreet, Simon.
Chandler, Thomas.
Chandler, William, senr.
Dane, Mr. Francis.
Farnum, Ralph.
Farman, Thomas.
Faulkner, Edmond.
Foster, Andrew, Senr.
Foster, Andrew, Junr.
Frie, John, senr.
Frie, John, junr.
Graves, Mark.
Holt, Nicholas.
Ingolls, Henry.
Johnson, Thomas.
Johnson,John.
Lovejoy, John, senr.
Martin, Solomon.
Osgood, Capt. John.
Parker, Joseph.
Parker, Nathan.
Poor, Daniel.
Rowell, Thomas.
Russell, Robart.
Russ, John, senr.
Stevens, John, senr.
Stevens, John, junr.
Stevens, Nathan.
Stevens, Timothy.
Tyler, job.
Woodbridge,(2) Benjamin.
The Proprietors in 1714 bought new books, and
began a
careful record of their transactions and the grants
made.
The two volumes of their records are now in the
Memorial
Hall Library, Andover, and are of interest to the
curious in
local history. In looking through them we find frequent
mention of houses and land-marks, helpful in identifying
family estates and abodes.
The Proprietors' Records contain an account
of what has
already been said was the manner of dividing the
lands, also
of the mode of taxation, and when it underwent a
change:--
"The Proprietors in Andover raised their Town
Rate By their
Lots, so that he which hath an eight-acre lot paid
double to him that had a four-acre Lott and had also double division of
Land and meadow, until the year 1681. Then the proprietors came to a new
agreement with themselves and also with all that were then householders:
To raise our Town charges by Heads and their Ratable estate and then every
man was to be priviledged in all town privileges according to what taxe
he Bore and also to have an Interest in the Common Lands in Andover according
to the Tax they Bore from the year 1681 to the year 1713."
The first town-meeting, of which there is any
record,(3) was
holden at the house of John Osgood, 9th inst., 1st,
1656, and
was, as the record states, "chiefly warned and intended
for
the entering & recording of Town orders now
in force and
(1) Alias
Henry Jacques.
(2) Alias
Thomas Chandler.
(3) The
earliest books are lost.
MEMORIALS OF THE EARLY SETTLERS. 33
particular men's grants of Land in a New Town Book;
the
old being rent and in many places defective and
some graunts
lost."
In 1660 action was taken by the town in respect to persons' removing their residence, and all citizens were forbidden to go out of the village to live, which at that time of compara-tive security from Indian attacks many were inclined to do.
The disadvantage of such residence to the general
welfare is
thus set forth and guarded against:--
"Att a generall Towne meeting March 1660, the
Towne taking
into consideration the great damage that may come
to the Town
by persons living remote from the Towne upon such
lands as
were given them for ploughing or planting and soe,
by their hoggs & cattle destroy the meadows adjoyning thereunto have
therefore ordered & doe hereby order that whosoever, inhabi-tant or
other shall build any dwelling-house in any part of the towne but upon
such house lott or other place granted for that end without express leave
from the Towne shall forfeit twenty shillings a month for the time he shall
soe live in any such p'hibited place p'vided it is
not intended to restrain any p'son from building
any shede for himself or cattle that shall be necessary for the ploughing
of his ground or hoeing of his corne, but to restraine only from their
constant abode there, the towne having given house lotts to build on to
all such as they regard as inhabitants of the towne."
An instance of the damage done and the trouble
caused
by roving animals is found in a record,(1)1665,
of a lawsuit:
"Simon Bradstreet vs. Daniel Gage" for damages done
to the plaintiff's fields by swine owned by the defendant. The
fence-viewers, Thomas Johnson and Richard Sutton,
testified
in regard to the condition of the fence, that they
had viewed
it, and found it "very sufficient against all orderly
cattle." It was not expected that fences could be made so as to keep
out swine, and therefore persons, except innholders, were forbidden by
law to keep more than ten of these animals.
The year before, Mr. Bradstreet, whose suits against
his
neighbors and others were many (the law seems to
have been
resorted to on the most trifling causes in those
times), had
had a case(2) in court against Richard Sutton, which
arose
(1) County Court
Papers, vol. xiv
(2) Court Papers,
vol. xiv.
3
34 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
primarily from the trespass of Mr. Bradstreet's horses
on his
neighbors' premises. The charge brought against
Richard
Sutton was that he intentionally struck and killed
one of the
horses. He claimed that he did not,-- that the horses
had
been in his yard again and again (as he brought
witnesses
to prove) "eating up his cattle's fodder."
One night, when
they came, he called Mr. Bradstreet's dog and Mr.
Dane's
dog, and set them on the horses, and then was unable
to call
them off, and the dogs had killed a mare. "The doggs
pulled
her downe once in my yard & I beate them off
& they fell
upon her again & almost pulled her downe in
Mr. Dane's
cort yard & I did what I could to save her &
I doe believe I
can prove yt Mr. Dane's dog & Mr. Bradstreet's
killed her."
This was what Richard Sutton said to a neighbor,
Thomas
Abbot, the next day after the affair, as Abbot testified
in
court. The defendant was fined ten pounds; but as
his
townsmen chose him for one of the fence-viewers
the next
year, it would seem that his reputation did not
suffer seriously from the cbarge. It is noticeable that in his official
capacity his evidence in the suit of "Bradstreet vs. Gage" was in favor
of the plaintiff. He did not, however, long remain in Andover; Mr. Bradstreet
was a man who would not brook contradiction by his neighbors of less commanding
influence, and it would not be surprising if Richard Sutton was glad to
sell the house which he had bought from him, and go out of the neighborhood.
At any rate, he seems to have removed to where there would be no more danger
of trouble from Mr. Bradstreet's horses.
The trespass of horses some years later caused
yet more
serious trouble between neighbors,-- a hand-to-hand
fight
which came near ending fatally, between William
Chandler, Jr., and Walter Wright. These instances, and many others, go
to show that it is an error to infer from the strict
rules and severe penalties for Sabbath-breaking,
religious
heresy, and extravagant dress, that the community
was a
model of good order and sobriety. Persons unfamiliar
with
the facts would be astonished to find how many offences
there were against the moral and the civil law,
and how com-
mon they were in the families of prominent citizens.
Both
MEMORIALS OF THE EARLY SETTLERS. 35
the parties in the fray now alluded to were of respectable
family connections. The young man was the son of
William
Chandler, and nephew of Thomas Chandler, the deputy
to
the General Court; that same year, 1678. Walter
Wright
was in 1689 the constable, and in 1673 had been
granted
encouragement by the town to erect a fulling-mill.
The story
is told simply to show the actual state of the town
and of
society, as it was here and elsewhere, and to correct
an erroneous idea that the first century of our colonial history was in
every respect superior to the present century, which, if it be true, is
a sad commentary on all the labor expended to educate and cultivate and
refine the masses. Our ancestors
were good men, but their age had its faults, which
were those
of a primitive society, rude and not glossed over
with any
fine semblance, which makes right and wrong indistinguish-
able.
The trouble between our townsmen in August,
1678, was
as follows (an extract from the evidence in court,(1)
September, 1678):--
"The Testimony of William Chandler aged about
19 years, who
saith that a month ago last past, Goodman(2) Right
early in the morning came by to my father's house and I being in the yard
he sd to me: Well, I will shoot your horse; I asked him why: because sd
he, he hath been in my lot tonight. I replyed I am sorry for that; for
I did forget to fasten him tonight; but I hope I shall doe soe no more,
but Goodman Right replyed: And so you will always forget it; but I will
goe home & charge my gun & shoote him, for he hath done me forty
shillings worth of hurt this summer."
The youth retorted, and being exasperated by
some further
offensive words, sprang upon Goodman Wright, and
seized him by the collar. They grappled in a fierce tussle, in which
Wright, being strangled by Chandler, drew a knife
and gashed
the face of the youth, "cut a long deepe gash on
my cheeke
which came very near my throat-- his knife was in
the in-
(1) County Court Papers,
vol. xxix., p. 93.
(2) Only a few of
the more wealthy and influential men were spoken of as Mr. All others were
called Goodman. Only four of the first settlers have the title Mr.: Bradstreet,
Osgood, Faulkner, Woodbridge.
36. HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
deavour as I thought to cut my throat,"-- was the
testimony
of Chandler in court. This trial, like the former
one, seems
not to have been any great injury to the reputation
of the
parties, or to have interfered with their standing
in the town.
But the many difficulties growing out of the
trespassings
of domestic animals made the watching of them important.
They were also in danger of straying off and being
lost in
the woods, or in the boggy grounds. Officers to
look after
them were, therefore, appointed by the town, "reeves"
and
"branding men,"-- the latter to see that all cattle
had the
town-mark, and the former to superintend the driving
of
them to the common lands for pasture. Herdsmen were
also employed to watch and drive the cattle and sheep. In the morning many
of these were driven out, and back at evening, by the herdsmen, while some
were out for the greater part of the season. In 1686 the town voted "that
a parcel of land lying between ye land of William Ballard senior and ye
pond called Ballards pond and soe to ye end of ye pine plaine and soe betweene
ye land of Joseph Ballard, Hugh Stone, & William Blunt & soe to
John Abbot shall forever lye for a sheep pasture."
The herdsmen were assisted in watching the
flocks by
boys and girls, who were obliged also to have some
other
employment meanwhile, so that their time might not
be
wasted, or habits of idleness formed.
"1642. The Court doe hereupon order and decree
that in
every towne the chosen men are to take care of such
as are sett to keep cattle that they be sett to some other employment withall
as spinning upon the rock, knitting & weaving tape &c that boyes
& girls be not suffered to converse together."
A scene for the painter, if there had been
one to appreciate it, would have been the wild, rocky pasture, with its
flocks and herds browsing, tended by boys and girls with knitting-work
in hand, or spinning-wheel on the rock, themselves watched by the sharp-eyed
herdsman, lest they transgress the rule of silence, while from behind bush
or tree the whole party is eyed by lurking Indian or savage beast, waiting
an unguarded moment to spring upon a victim.
MEMORIALS OF THE EARLY SETTLERS. 37
To clear the forests of wild beasts was no
small part of the
labor of the primitive settler. It was also in its
way a pleasure, as well as a duty,-- one of the few recreations permitted
to the Puritan. That the settlers sometimes undertook the chase in another
spirit than the motive of self-preservation, appears from " Josselyn's
Account of Two Voyages to New England," 1675:--
"Foxes and wolves are usually hunted in England
from Holy
Rood to Annunciation. In New England they make best
sport in
the depth of winter. They lay a sledg-load of cods-heads
on the other side of a paled fence when the moon shines, and about nine
or ten of the clock, the foxes come to it; some-times two or three or half
a dozen and more, these they shoot and by that time they have cased them
there will be as many more; so they continue, shooting and killing of foxes
as long as the moon shineth. I have known half a score killed in a night."
He describes the sport in killing wolves, and
narrates with
gusto some acts which would point a moral for the
advocate
of prevention of cruelty to animals:--
"A great mastiff held the wolf..... Tying him
to a stake
we bated him with smaller doggs, and had excellent
sport; but
his hinder leg being broken, they knocked out his
brains....
Their eyes shine by night as a Lanthorne ..... The
fangs of a
wolf hung about children's necks keep them from
frightning and are very good to rub their gums with when they are breeding
of Teeth."
Josselyn, in his "New England Rarities," also
describes
another method of catching wolves, which was perhaps
used
at Andover, and may offer some clew to the meaning
of
the term "Wolf-hook," of so frequent occurrence
in the colo-
nial records.
"Four mackerel hooks are bound with brown thread
and wool
wrapped around them and they are dipped into melted
tallow, till they be as big and round as an egg. This thing thus pre-pared
is laid by some dead carcase which toles the wolves. It is swallowed by
them and is the means of their being taken."
Mr. Bradstreet, in one of his accounts, has
an entry or
order for "25 Wolf-hooks."
38 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
In 1686 it was voted in the town, meeting "that
those that
catch wolves in ye towne of Andover shall have ten
shillings
for each wolfe to be paid by ye towne."
A valiant hunting feat of an Andover youth
is recorded by
Judge Sewall in his diary, 1680-81, February 3:--
"Newes is brought of Mr. Dean's(1) [Dane] Son
Robinson his
killing a Lion with his axe at Andover."
The "lion" was probably a bear, it being common
then to
use the word lion for any great wild beast of which
the set-
tlers stood in terror. Bear-hunting is described
by Josselyn.
As this was no small part of the work and "sport"
of the
Andover settlers, we are not turning aside from
our main
path to note it:--
"Hunting with doggs they take a tree where
they shoot them;
when he is fat he is excellent venison, which is
in Acorn time and in Winter, but then there is none dares to attempt to
kill him, but the Indian; he makes his Den amongst thick bushes."
Den Rock no doubt received its name from being
one of the haunts of the bear (although in later times the place has
gained, perhaps named by divinity students, a theological
significance, and been called "Devil's Den"). Bear
Hill,
Bruin Hill, Wolfe-pit Meadow, Wild-catt Swamp, Deer
Jump,
Crane Meadow, Rattle-snake Hill, Woodchuck Hill,
Scoonk
Hole,-- suggest the denizens of the woods and meadows,
most
of which have long ago disappeared; and here a plea
may be
pardoned in behalf of the old significant and commemorative
names. Plain and homely as they are, those already
quoted,
and others found on the ancient records,-- Musquito
Brook,
Five-mile Pond, Great Pond, Dew Meadow, Heather
Meadow,
Rose Meadow, Flaggy Meadow, Rubbish Meadow, Half-moon
Meadow, Rough Meadow, Ladle Meadow, Pudden-bridge
Swamp, Falls Woods, Rockey Hill, Barn Plain, Rail Swamp,
Cedar Swamp, Little-hope Brook, Roger's Brook, Rowell's
Folly Brook, Job's Folly, Needless Bridge, Holt's
Hill, Foster's Pond, Hagget's Pond, Aslebe Hill, Marble Ridge, and
many others,-- shall they be supplanted by the trite
and flavorless commonplaces which can be found in nearly every
(1)
Dean Robinson(?)
MEMORIALS OF THE EARLY SETTLERS. 39
suburban town from Maine to Oregon? Let us hold to
our
local names, those which are time-honored and have
a mean-
ing; and in selecting new ones, almost anything,
however devoid of elegance, which preserves a fact, is, we may venture
to say, preferable to a merely pretty or fine-sounding title. In selecting
names for streets, would it not be well to bear this in mind, and draw
from our rich repository of local history, or have reference to some actual
fact of natural history, or something distinctive and characteristic, even
though it be humble? "Pomp's Pond,"(1) for instance,-- who would make it
romantic with a mellifluous name, and obliterate the memory of the old
colored man, "Pompey Lovejoy" (servant of Capt. William Lovejoy), who had
his cabin near it, and made ‘lection cake and beer for the delectation
of voters' palates on town-meeting days! This name is almost the only local
re-
minder that negro slavery was one of our early institutions,
and that for more than a hundred years men and women
were
bought and sold in Andover. Almost in the earliest
days of
the town history (that is to say in its first quarter-century),
negro slavery existed. In 1683, Jack, negro servant of Capt. Dudley Bradstreet,
died. In 1696, "Stacy, ye servant of Maj. Dudley Bradstreet, a mullatoe
born in his house," was
drowned. In 1690, Lieut. John Osgood complained
to the court at Salem, that he had been taxed for a servant boy (" small
as to his growth and strength, and in understanding almost a foole"),(2)
as much as though the boy were an ablebodied man.
In 1730, the negro girl Candace was sold by her master, the Rev. John Barnard, to Mr. Benjamin Stevens, who seems to have owned several slaves. The following is the bill of sale:(3)—
"Know all men by these presents that I John
Barnard of Ando-
ver in the County of Essex and Province of the Massachusetts
Bay in New England Clerk, for and in Consideration
of the sum
of sixty pounds to me in hand paid or by bond secured
by Ben-
(1) Formerly Ballard's
Pond.
(2) Essex County Court
Papers, vol. i., p. 14.
(3) The original,
among the papers of Mr. Barnard's son, Rev. Thomas Barnard, of Salem, was
preserved by his friend Col. Benjamin Pickman, among whose papers it was
found by the Hon. George B. Loring, and by him contributed to the Essex
Institute Collection, 1865.
40 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER
jamin Stevens junior of Andover aforesaid, husbandman,
Have
given, granted, sold, conveyed and by these Presents
do for myself and Heirs, give, grant, sell, convey and confirm unto Him
the said Benjamin Stevens, his Heirs and Assignes forever a certain Negro-Girl
named Candace, to Have and to Hold the said Negro-girl, to him the said
Benjamin Stevens His Heirs and Assignees forever.
Further. I the said John Barnard for myself,
my Heirs, Exec-
utors and Administrators do Covenant and Promise
to and with
the said Benjamin Stevens his Heirs, Executors,
Administra-tors and Assignes that he the said Benjamin Stevens, his Heirs,
Executors, Administrators and Assignes shall legally and peacefully hold
the sd Negro Girl forever and that He the sd Barnard his Heirs, Executors
& Administrators will warrant and Defend the sale of said Girl to sd
Benjamin Stevens, his Heires and assignes against the lawful claims of
all and every person whatsoever. In witness whereof I the said John Barnard
have hereunto set my Hand and Seal this 14th day of December Anno Domini
1730 and in the fourth year of his Majesty King George the Second.
JOHN BARNARD (Seal)
SARAH BARNARD (Seal)"
The original bill of sale, or receipt for money
paid for a
negro girl, 1756, is among the papers preserved
on the home-
stead of George Abbot, Senior, now owned by Mr.
John Abbot:--
"DUNSTABLE, September 10, 1756.
"Received of Mr. John Abbot of Andover Fourteen
pounds
thirteen shillings, and seven pence, it being the
full value of a negrow Garl named Dinah about five years of age of a Healthy,
Sound Constitution, free from any Disease of Body and do hereby Deliver
the same Girl to the said Abbot and promise to Defend him in the Improvement
of her as his servant forever.
ROBERT BLOOD.
"Witness my hand - JOHN KIMBALL
TEMPLE KIMBALL.
"This day Oct. 25 (the new style) the within named Girl was five years old."
Among the records of marriage is "Abraham & Dido servants to Mr. James Bridges Oct. 31, 1744."
Among the records of intentions of marriage
is the following:--
MEM0RIALS OF THE EARLY SETTLERS. 41
"Oct. 4, 1755. The Intentions of Marige between
Primas and
Nan negrow servants to John Osgood Esqr. and Mr.
Joseph Os-
good were entered on record. Published and Certeficet
Given."
Although not strictly within the scope of this chapter, the sketch of slavery may here be brought down to the time when it ceased to be legal in Massachusetts. It is not attempted to gather all the facts and details in regard to individual slaves (concerning the sales and transfers of some of whom accounts differ), but merely to present enough to show how prominent a feature of the town history slavery was.
Some families kept several servants, and (as
in the case of Mr. Bradstreet's household and James Bridges's, and as in
the Southern States recently) their affairs, and the domestic events and
concerns of their households, were of almost as much interest among
their masters' families as in their own.
But, tender as were the attachments sometimes formed
between the servant and the master, and kindly as many servants were treated
through life, we have seen that even the minister sold Candace, and that
the little five-year old Dinah changed masters, and was carried from her
home in Dunstable to a stranger's at Andover. So, too, when masters
had ceased to need the services of their slaves they advertised them to
the highest bidder. Witness the following from the "Essex Gazette," 1770:--
"To be sold by the subscriber cheap for cash
or Good Security, a Healthy, Strong, Negro Boy, 20 years old last month,
very ingenious in the farming business and can work in iron-work both at
blowing and refining and as I am done with the Iron works I have more help
than I need on my farm.
JAMES FRYE. "ANDOVER Apr. 9, 1770."
Not young men alone, but girls were offered for sale:--
"To be Sold a Likely, Healthy Negro girl about
14 years old,
Enquire of Mr. Thomas Bragg, Deputy Sheriff in Andover."
"September 8, 1770."
Fugitive servants also were not unknown:--
"Ran away from the subscriber on the 24th day
of September a
Man Servant about 19 years of age, named Isaac Mott.
He had
on when he went away a blue serge coat and a flowered
flannel
42 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
jacket and leather breeches. Whosover will take up
the said runaway and bring him to me shall be well rewarded.
JONATHAN ABBOT.
"ANDOVER Oct 10, 1770."
The Rev. Samuel Phillips had several slaves.
One of these,
Cato, lived to the age of eighty-five (dying 1851),
and saw
seven generations of his master's family. He was
freed by
the law in 1780, but stayed for some years in the
service of his friends. He was a member of the North Church, uniting during
the pastorate of Mr. Symmes. When he left his former
master he wrote an address of farewell, which is
creditable
alike to his ability and to the labors of his protectors
for
his education. Many a white man in Andover could
not compose so fair an epistle:--
"Being about to remove from the family where I have for some time resided, would with the greatest respect I am capable of to the heads of each family respectively take my leave. I desire therefore to return my hearty & unfeigned thanks for your care over me, your kindness to me, also for your timely checks, your faithful reproofs, necessary correction, your wise counsel, seasonable advice, for your endeavors being yet (or when) yet young & my mind tender to frame it in such a manner as to lay a foundation for my Present & future happiness; and also by the blessing of Heaven I hope your endeavors have: nor will not be fruitless. Being unable to make a compensation either to the author (god) or instrument (yourself) of the advantages I have been favored with equal to them, I hope while in Life to Do all I can to promote the glory of the former and the welfare of the latter. I hope: you not only having the name but the Disposition of Christians and wishing to have your own imperfections over looked will I trust do the same by me. Some of the family being now in the Decline of Life and according to the course of nature have but a few days to spend here will ere Long I trust be in the enjoyment of that felicity which will be a full compensa-tion for your kindness to me & to others whose Departure hence by many that survived will be greatly missed; but while you tabernacle in the flesh I would Beg you for a remembrance of me in your addresses to the throne of grace.
"My present wish is that the Blessings of heaven
may attend each family and all there Lawful undertakings also there childre
to the Latest generation. And I hope that I myself shall be with
MEMORIALS OF THE EARLY SETTLERS. 43
the rest enabled to Live in such a manner that I
being made meet may be admitted with you into that haven of rest where
is no Distinctions yours with respect.
CATO. May 24th 1789."
A specimen of the correspondence of Pompey
Lovejoy,(1)
and his friends, is the following letter (a copy
from the original):--
"BOSTON September 16th 1779
"DEAR POMPEY-- I am in a very poor state of health at present by a fall. I hurt myself very much. I should take it as a grate favor if you would come down nex Weak and carry me to Andover and by so doing you will oblidge me very much. My kind Love to all Inquiring Friends. No more at present but I remain your Sincere Friend PRINCE PROCTOR.
"Please to embrace an opportunity Next weeke
at the Furthest
If you can Donte let Jenney know that I send you
a letter."
In 1795 a negro slave of Andover, Pomp (not
the one of
the pond), was hanged on the road between Ipswich
and
Rowley, Pingree's Plain, for murdering his master,
Capt.
Charles Furbush. This man had been subject to fits
of insanity, and kept at times under guard; but the community
was shocked at the act and its circumstances of
horror, and
the negro was sentenced to the extreme penalty of
the law.
A tribute to the virtues of a faithful servant
is among the
epitaphs in the Old Burying Ground:--
In Memory of
PRIMUS
Who was a faithful
Servant of Mr.
Benjamin Stevens jr.
Who died July 25, 1792
Aged 72 years, 5 months, 16 days.
In the Old South Burying Ground is the grave
of the last
slave born in Andover, Rose Coburn, wife of Titus
Coburn.
She was daughter of Benjamin, a slave brought from
the
West Indies, and Phillis, brought from Africa at
the age of
ten years, a servant of Mr. Joshua Frye. The inscription
on
the gravestone is as follows:--
(1) "Pompey Lovejoy" had been a servant of Capt. William Lovejoy. He
was the same for whom Pomp's Pond was named.
(2)
44 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
Here
lies buried the body of
ROSE COBURN
Who died Mar. 19 1859 aet 92 years
She was born a slave in Andover and was the last survivor of all born here in that condition.
A pension was paid to her as the widow of a soldier of the Revolution.
She was a person of great honesty, veracity and intelligence and retained all her faculties in a singular degree to the last.
Also her daughter Colley Hooper died aged 58, who died first, neither of them leaving any descendants.
The difficulty of obtaining good hired servants
in the col-
ony was great; the golden age of servicedom, even
in 1656,
lying behind. The Rev. Ezekiel Rogers, of Rowley,
wrote
to his brother pastor, the Rev. Zechariah Symmes,
of Charles-
town, the following lament over the indocility of
American
domestics:--
"Much ado I have with my own family, hard to
get a servant
glad of catechising or family duties. I had a rare
blessing of servants in Yorkshire and those I brought over were a blessing
but the young brood doth much afflict me."
A specimen of some of the Andover hired servants,
and
the "trials," of which they were literally a cause,
is the following:--
"TO THE CONSTABLE OF ANDOVER. You are hereby
required to
attach the body of John _____ to answer such compt
as shall be brought against him for stealing severall things as pigges,
capons, mault, bacon, butter, eggs &c & for breaking open
a seller doore in the night-- several times &c. 7th 3d month 1661."
(1)
This man was a servant of Mr. Bradstreet. It
seems from
the evidence that he was in the habit of taking
chickens,
"capons," from his master, and making a fire in
the lot behind the barn, roasting the fowls, and eating a part himself
and carrying some to the house of Goodman Russ,
who shared the plunder. But Goodwife Russ, for fear of detection and punishment,
seems to have betrayed them. She testified that once after John had brought
victuals to her
(1) County Court Papers,
vol. vi., p. 132.
MEMORIALS OF THE EARLY SETTLERS. 45
house,-- chickens, butter, malt, and other things,--
she was
up at Mr. Bradstreet's house, and learned that "the
mayde
had missed the things," and said her mistress would
blame
her and be very angry. So Goodwife Russ brought
them back, and informed her husband and John what she had done.
This John at one time killed and roasted a
"great fatt
pigg" in the lot, and he and a comrade, who confessed
this
in the court, ate most of the pig, and gave the
rest of it" to the dogges." John proposed that they should steal also some
flitches of bacon, and put one of the dogs in the
room where
the bacon was hung, and let him "knaw" some, to
give the
idea that the dog was the thief. He boasted of his
exploits
in tbeft with a former master, how "2 or 3 fellowes"
used to
let him down the chimney with a rope into a room
where he
could get "strong beare," and how he "stole a great
fatt
Turkey from his master Jackson; that was fatted
against
his daughter's marriage & roasted it in the
wood and ate
it."
In regard to his doings, Hannah Barnard "did
testifye that
being in my father's lott near Mr. Bradstreet's
Barn did see
John run after Mr. Bradstreet's fowls & throughing
sticks
& stones at them & into the barne."
She said after a while peeping through a crack
in the barn,
she saw him throw out a capon which he had killed,
and
heard him call to Sam Martin to come; but when he
saw
that John Bradstreet was with Martin, he ran and
picked up
the capon and hid it under a pear tree.(1)
The only extenuating evidence adduced was that
of two per-
sons who testified that they bad heard Mr. Bradstreet
say that John was one of the best servants to work that he ever had; and
of one witness who had worked in the same field with
John when they carried their dinners. He gave as
an excuse
for and explanation of John's voracious appetite
and craving
for "capons, pigs, malt, cheese, butter, bacon,"
etc., that the food which was given him "was not fit for any man to eate,"
the bread was "black &-heavy & soure."
(1) Within the memory
of the writer a very large and evidently very old pear tree (the only one
on the place) stood at the east of the present Bradstreet house. It died
many years ago.
46 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
But this servant's offences did not consist
in stealing alone. He was malicious or mischievous in doing injury
to his master's property, aiding and abetting the youth of the village
in the pranks of foolish sport. Stephen Osgood confessed that one morning,
about half an hour after daybreak, he and Timothy Stevens and John were
passing Mr. Bradstreet's house, and made a movement to run Mr. Bradstreet's
wheels down
hill into the swamp, which they did; and also John
"took
a wheele off Mr. Bradstreet's tumbril and ran it
down hill
and got an old wheel from Goodman Barnards land
& sett it
on the tumbrill."
Elizabeth Dane, the minister's daughter, deposed
(her dep-
osition taken by her father), that she "was milking(1)
late in ye evening June 1661," and heard the voices of men and the
sound of wheels; these same rogues being at other
capers.
John was brought before the Court again for
stealing, after
he left Andover.
Besides slaves and hired servants there were,
under mas-
ters," "apprentices." Note that in the colonial
days serv-
ant," not "help," was the term, the ideas of fraternity
coming in with the Revolution. Their relations were scarcely less independent
toward their employers than were the rela-tions of the slave owned by him.
They were not only bound for
a term of years, but they were often practically
sold, the indentures being transferred, although this was probably not
without the consent of the parties making the indenture.
Often, however, these were the selectmen of the town, apprenticing paupers,
and caring comparatively little what became of them, so the town were relieved
of their support. But often apprentices were of good connections, put to
learn a
trade, in which they might rise to competence or
to afflu-ence. One of the earliest apprentices found on record was
Hopestill Tyler. There is a tradition that his father, Job Tyler, was living
at Andover when the settlers came here, as Blackstone lived at Boston,
"monarch of all he surveyed," until the advent of the "lords brethren,"
as he said, put him to flight, as the rule of the "lords bishops" had driven
him from the
(1) An
accomplishment rare, it is safe to say, among the ministers' daughters
of Andover now.
MEM0RIALS OF THE EARLY SETTLERS. 47
old country. Job Tyler had apprenticed his son Hopestill
to
Thomas Chandler, the blacksmith, 1658. But after
the papers were drawn up, he broke the bargain, got possession of the instrument
of indenture, entering the house of Nathan Parker, (who wrote the paper,
and had it hid in, as he supposed, a safe place,) and stealing it in the
absence of the owner of the house. The matter was a cause of long controversy
and several trials,-- "Chandler vs. Tyler" and "Tyler vs.
Chandler," extending over a period of more than
ten years,
and carried from court to court. One paper of interest,
in
connection with this, is a deposition of a witness
in regard
to the terms of the indenture, which it was said
"Mr. Brad-
street" saw, had perused, and judged "to be good
and firme."
In this the mutual obligations of master and apprentice
are
set forth:--
"That the sd apprentice Hope Tiler should serve
the said
Thomas Chandler faithfully for nine years and a
half after the manner of an apprentice, that the master, the said Chandler
should
teach him the trade of a blacksmith so farr as he
was capable to learne, and to teach him to read the Bible & to write
so as to be able to keepe a book, so as to serve his turne for his trade
and to allow unto the sd apprentice convenient meat & drinke, washing,
lodging and clothes."
Job Tyler paid dear for his hard words against
a man of so
great influence as Thomas Chandler, who afterward
became
one of the town's deputies to the General Court,
and who was
one of the principal citizens in point of wealth,
in the little community of husbandmen and artisans:--
"1665 A case in difference between Thomas
Chandler of An-
devour & Job Tiler having formerly been entered
in Salem Court in an action of defamation being withdrawne & reference
made as appears by their bond to that purpose to Colonel Browne, Edward
Denison & Captain Johnson of Roxbury .... they not agreeing, wee the
aforesaid Captain Johnson & Edward Denison doe give in our award as
followeth: [Job Tyler, being poor, they judge he should not be fined above
six pounds.] 'We doe order that Job Tiler shall nayle up or fasten upon
the posts of Andivour & Roxbury meeting-houses in a plaine leadgable
hand, the acknowl-
(1) He seems
to have removed to Roxbury about 1661.
48 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
edgment to remain so fastened to the posts aforementioned
for the space of fourteen days, it to be fastened within the fourteen days
at Andevour & tomorrow being the twenty-seventh of January '65 at Roxbury
..... The Confession and acknowledg-ment ordered by us for Job Tiler to
make & poste as is above expressed is as followeth.--- Whereas it doth
apeare by suffi-cient testimony that I Job Tiler have shamefully reproached
Thomas Chandler of Andevour by saying he is a base lying, cozening, cheating
knave & that he hath got his estate by cozening in a base reviling
manner & that he was recorded for a 1yer & that he was a cheating,
lying whoring knave fit for all manner of bawdery, wishing the devill had
him, Therefore 1
Job Tiler doe acknowledge that I have in these expressions
most wickedly slandered the said Thomas Chandler & that with-out any
just ground, being noe way able to make good these or any of these my slanderous
accusations of him & therefore can doe noe lesse but expresse myselfe
to be sorry for them & for my cursing of him desiring God & the
said Thomas to forgive me & that noe person would think the worse of
the said Thomas Chandler for any of these my sinfull expressions
And engaging myself for the future to be more carefull of my expressions
both concerning him & otherwise desiring the lord to help me so to
doe.
ISAAC JOHNSON.
EDWARD DENISON."
Job Tyler brought suit against Chandler, and
was allowed
to sue in "forina pauperis," he having no means
of paying
charges; but although the suit was one of special
interest,
and is quoted in the judicial histories, it is not
further pertinent to this narrative.
The apprentice, Hopestill, learned the trade
of a black-
smith, and in 1687 the town granted him "liberty
to" set up
a "shop in ye streete near his house."
A case(1) of the sale of indentured apprentices
occurs between Thomas Chandler and William Curtis, of Salem. The
apprentice refused to stay with his new master:--
"The Complaint of William Curtis to the honered
Cort....
humbly sheweth ..... May it please your honors to
take notice
that about 22 months since, I bought a sarvant of
Thomas Chandler of Andover, Jacob Presson by name .... . My sarvant continued
with me about eleven months, my family at that time being
(1) County Court
Papers, vol. xxv.
MEMORIALS OF THE EARLY SETTLERS. 49
very sick and Jacob not being well I gave him leave and lent him a horse to go to Andover to be a while amongst his friends, but being taken sick by the way at his Brothers there he lay for some time; after he recovered he went to Andover to his father Holt's where I was willing he should be awhile but in the beginning of the last winter I sent for my man to com home and he came hom."
He made an excuse to go for some corn again,
and, instead
of returning, he sent back the horse and stayed
away himself.
He seems to have had a rather unhappy apprenticeship;
for
after his transfer of masters, and his being compelled,
as he
was, by order of the Court, to serve out his time
with William Curtis, he presents a petition to the court for the clothes
promised him, saying that the said Curtis, of Salem, whom he was appointed
by the Court, 1670, to serve, refused at the end of the time to fulfil
the terms of the indenture, "in the matter of dubble apparel," .... and
that the "poor peti- tioner prays for redress,.....for he is indeed come
out
of his tyme very poore & hath not wherewithall
to goe to
Law to recover his right."
This petition is made "fforma pauperis."
The following is a copy of the indenture:(1)—
"This Indenture made and concluded this twenty
day of May
in the yeare of ye Lord God one thousand six hundred
seventy and one & in the three & twentieth year of the reign of
ye soveraigne Lord Charles the Second by the Grace of God of England, Scotland,
France & Ireland, king, Defender of the Faith &c, Between Ensigne
Thomas Chandler of the towne of Merrimack in the County of Essex in New
England Blacksmith on ye one part and Jacob Preston of Andover(2) with
the full and free consent of Nicolas Holt of Andover(2) aforesaid, his
Father-in-law by the marriage of his Mother and also with the full consent
of his said Naturall mother hath and doth by these presents bind himselfe
an apprentice to ye said Thomas seven years to be compleated and ended
accounting from the twenty-sixth day of March last past untill the said
seven years next & immediately ensuing the said, 26th of March 1671
shall be fully expired. During which time of seven yeares the said Jacob
shall behave & demeane himself dur-
(1) County Court
Papers, vol. xxx., p.43
(2) There was
evidently a misplacement of the names of the towns in the writing.
4
50 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
ing his sd apprenticeship as an apprentice or servant
ought for to doe according to the usuall & lawdable customs of England
in the like cases. During wh time also of seven yeares, the above named
Thomas, Master unto ye sd Jacob, is hereby obliged & stands bound at
his owne costs & charges to provide & procure for his said servant,
meat, drink, cloath-ing, washing, and lodging with all other things convenient,
necessary & sufficient for an apprentice as is usuall in England. And
the said Chandler is also to learne or
cause his sd Apprentice to be learnt to read ye
English tongue perfectly to write & cypher or cast & keepe accounts
sufficiently for his owne employment of a Blacksmith, if his capacities
will attaine thereunto. And the sd Thomas is also hereby obliged according
to his owne best skill & abilitie to learne and instruct the sd Jacob
in the trade & art of a Blacksmith, if the sd Jacob be capable of learning
the same, and he shall keepe his said servant Jacob at worke upon the sd
trade as much as may be without damage to other necessary occasions that
may fall out unavoidably to be done in a family; that so for want of time
& use & instruction,
ye said Jacob may have no just ground to complaine
of his owne want of experience or profitting under his sd Master in ye
sd Trade of a Blacksmith. Alsoe ye sd Thomas when the sd seaven yeares
are expired shall give the sd Jacob two suits of Apparell from head to
foot, suitable for a person of his degree, one good & hansom and suitable
to weare on ye Sabbath dayes, & the other convenient for ye week days.
The said Thomas doth bind himselfe, heires, executors, & administrators
to the sd Jacob his heires, & assignes to fulfill the articles herein
conteined belonging to him to doe for
the sd servant. In witnesse whereunto ye sd parties
Thomas &
Jacob as they are severally concerned in this instrument
& the articles of the same have hereunto interchangeably sett their
hands & seales.
THOMAS CHANDLER
The Mark of
JACOB + PRESTON"
"Signed sealed & interchangeably delivered
before
GEORGE ABBOT JR
ALEXANDER SESSIONS.
Edmond Bridges was another apprentice in Andover,
at an
early date. In 1656 he was presented before the
Court for
sundry offences. Among his misdemeanors was "lying,--
saying he had got an hundred railes for Shawshin
Bridge
whereas it proved but 23 or thereabouts; "also the
chief
charge was his procuring money on pretence that
it was by
order of his father.
MEMORIALS OF THE EARLY SETTLERS. 51
Another relic of an apprentice's service is
the following
found among the papers handed down from the master,
Mr.
Ephraim Abbot. The original documents are now before
the writer of this narrative; the painful autograph
attesting
the truth of the servant's statement in regard to
his lack of
learning:--
(Paper No. 1)-- "This Indenture witnesseth
that Arthur Cary
of Boxford, in the County of Essex in New England
hath put &
doth Bind his Son John Cary apprentice to Jeremiah
Hunt of
Billerica in the County of Middx husbandman and
with him, his
heirs, executors, administrators or assigns, after
the manner of an apprentice to serve from the day of the date hereof during
the term of eleven years & nine months to be compleated & ended
next ensuing. During all which time the said appren-tice, his said Master
shall faithfully serve, his secrets keep, his lawful commands gladly every
where obey; he shall not wast his master's goods nor lend them unlawfully
to any; he shall not commit fornication nor contract matrimony within said
term; at cards or dice he shall not play or any other unlawful game whereby
his said master may be damaged, he shal not absent himself by day or by
night from his master's ser-vice without leave, but in all things behave
himself as a faithful apprentice ought to do toward his said master &
during all his said term; and the said Jeremiah Hunt the said master for
himself his heirs, executors, administrators or assignes doth hereby
covenant promise to teach & Instruct the said apprentice to Read &
write and cipher, well by the best way or means he or they can, Finding
to the said apprentice good & sufficient meat, drink, apparel, washing,
Lodging and all other necessaries both in sickness & health during
the said term, and at the expiration thereof to give unto the said apprentice
ten pounds currant money of the aforesaid Province and two good suits of
apparel for all parts of his body; both lining & woolen sutable for
such an apprentice. In witness whereof the parties to these presents have
hereunto Inter-changeably set their hands & the thirteenth day of December
1714 and in the first year of the Reign of our Sovereign Lord George King
of England, Signed, Sealed & delivered" [There is no signature, but
the paper is labelled "Arthur Cary's Indenture."]
Filed with the above is a paper written after
the apprentice
had served his time, he having meanwhile been transferred
52 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
to Mr. Ephraim Abbot, of Andover, whom he seems to
have
been well pleased with as a master, if the formal
paper to
which his signature is affixed is any indication
of his actual sentiment.
(Paper 2.) "These may certifye all Persons
whomsoever it may
concern that I John Cary son of After [sic] Cary
formerly living in ye Town of Boxford being Bound by my father unto Jeremiah
Hunt of ye Town of Billerica in ye County of Middlesex in New England to
him, his heirs executors, administrators and assignes to serve eleven years
and nine months by an Indenture bearing Date December ye thirteenth 1714
and Continuing with him some part of the Term of time it pleased my Master
Hunt at my Request to assign my Indenture to Ephraim Abbot of ye towne
of Andover in County of Essex in New England oblidging him to fullfil my
Indenture to me and I having continued with my master Abbot ye terme of
time and being now free by my Indenture, my said Master Abbot has accordingly
fulfilled my Indenture to me and every article thereof to my content and
satisfaction although through my backwardness and incapacity I have not
Larned to Read Wright and cypher as might be desired, though great pains
has been taken with me by my abovesaid masters yet my above sd master Ephraim
Abbot has been so kind to me as to make it up to me in other things to
my content and satisfaction, and I doe by these Presents fully, clearly,
and freely acquit and discharge my above sd masters Jeremiah Hunt and Ephraim
Abbot of all that they were obliged to do for me by my above sd Indenture
and every article herein contained. In witness and Testimony hereof I have
hereunto set my hand, This fifteenth day of September Anno Dom 1726.
JOHN CARY.
"Witness JONATHAN ABBOT
DANIEL MOOAR.
"I John Cary above signing being informed that
I was not
Twenty one years old when I signed this above acquittance
it being Scrupled by some whether it be sufficient to
acquit my above sd master Jeremiah Hunt I do now being of full age acquit
and discharge my above,sd master Jeremiah Hunt from and of my above sd
Indenture having Recd the full of my Indenture of my above sd master Ephraim
Abbot as in the above written acquittance. In wittness hereof I have set
my hand this 24 day of December 1726
JOHN CARY.
"WILLIAM CHANDLER witness"
JOHN DUNLAP
MEMORIALS OF THE EARLY SETTLERS. 53
The same formal "indentures" were made to
bind girls to
service. An indenture is now at hand, dated 1771,
between
Samuel Pettengill, of Wilton, N. H., and Job Foster,
of Andover, and Hannah his wife, whereby a child named Hannah
Silver, daughter of Samuel Silver, was bound by
the said Pet-
tengill, who had taken the girl from the overseers
of the poor of Andover. She was to be bound till she was eighteen, and
to be provided when she should leave with two suits of ap-
parel. She was also to "be learned to read" (nothing
said
about writing or ciphering, as in case of the boy).
A day-laborer or hired man of considerable
notoriety in
Andover and vicinity was one John Godfrey. He worked
at
odd jobs of various sorts, as herdsman, and at "carpenter-
ing," etc., and ultimately acquired considerable
property. He is mentioned as living in various places,-- Haverhill,
Newbury, Andover; but about 1648 he became identified with
Andover, so that the town may claim the dishonor
of his
name. It occurs more times on the county records,
as plain-
tiff or defendant (it is perhaps safe to say), than
the name of any other resident. Indeed, he is said(1) to have had more
lawsuits than any other man in the colony. He is
famous as
the hero of the first important trial for witchcraft
in Essex
County, thirty-four years before the Salem delusion.
He
was noted for feats of strength, sleight of hand,
and tricks of all sorts, and his boastfulness exceeded his power and cun-
ning, while his quarrelsomeness was proverbial.
Getting into
a dispute with persons at Haverhill who owed him
money, he
threatened them, and threw out dark hints of judgments
to
fall upon their heads. They and their friends, either
in ven-
geance or in terror, petitioned the court for his
arrest on
charge of witchcraft, representing that they had
suffered losses in their persons and estates "which came not from any natural
causes, but from some il disposed person; they afirme
that this person is John Godfrey resident at Andover
or else-
where at his pleasure."(2)
The most extraordinary things were told which
persons
(1) Upham's
Salem Witchcraft.
(2) Essex County
Court Papers, vol. iv. Also, Upham's Salem Witchcraft; Drake's Annals.
54 HISTORICAL SAETCHES OFANDOVER.
afflicted by Godfrey had seen and heard and suffered.
The
devil in various shapes had appeared; grinning devils,
in the
shape of bears, had terrified them; a bird had come
to suck
the wife of Job Tyler, of Andover, and she and others
had
fallen into strange fits and sickness.
The Rev. Mr. Dane used his influence in favor
of the accused, and expressed his disbelief in such spiritual manifestations
and witchcraft. Godfrey was acquitted, and soon
he had a suit (for slander and defamation) before
the court
against his accusers. But to follow him from court
to court
would be tedious and profitless.
If the importance of the subject justified
the outlay of time and pains, it would doubtless be possible to ascertain
with certainty whether this John Godfrey was the same named in
the following paper. That he was seems probable,
as there is no record of any other person of the name in Andover:--
"This Indenture I made the third day of July
anno Domini 1670 witnesseth ye John Godfrey of Andover in the county of
Essex, planter,(2) in New England, being of good & perfect mynd &
without fraud or deceit, divers valuable considerations him moving thereunto,
wherewith the sd Godfrey doth acknowledge bimselfe fully satisfied hath
given granted .... unto Benjamin Thomson of Boston in the county of Suffolke
in New England School master all and singular my goods, chattels, implements,
debts, bonds, bills, speshalties, sums of money lands, houses, clothings,
whatsoever as well as moveables or immoveables of what kind .... so ever
they be .... my estate as well this side as beyond seas.... to have and
to hold .... to enter into possession thereof immediately after the sd
Godfrey's decease, without any reckoning to be made or answer to any in
his name
JOHN GODFREY, his marke"
After the settlers, or "planters," had laid
out the town and
established their homes, and provided the means
for religious
culture and education (which are elsewhere spoken
of in full), their first care was the making and improving of roads for
access to the older towns; this being essential to the comfort and safety
of the new plantation. In 1647, persons were
(1) Essex Registry
of Deeds, "Ipswich," Book IV., p. 8.
(2) Planter was the
word used by the colonists, equivalent to settler.
MEMORIALS OF THE EARLY SETTLERS.
55
appointed by the General Court to lay out the "way
from
Reading to Andover" among them Nicholas Hoult, of
Andover; John Osgood and Thomas Hale were to lay out "the
road from Andivir to Haverhill," also to "viewe
ye river (Ipswich River) & make returne to ye Corte of ye necessity
&
charge of a bridge." Some persons had offered
to make a
bridge and keep it in repair, provided that the
General Court
would grant them lands in the neighborhood of the
river.
Action was taken by the Court the next year in regard
to this
matter of the road and bridge. "For want of a bridge,"(1)
it was said, "over Ipswich river about 4 miles from
Rowley
especially in winter and at the springe when the
waters are
high, some travellers have been in great danger
of drowninge, it being the common road to Andivver and Haverhill, the nearest
way from the Bay by many miles to the Eastward." It was granted to
Captain Keane(2) and others, to lay out the lands asked for in the place
"whereabouts the bridge
is to be built."
It is not to be inferred that there were bridges
over the
large rivers, or even over most of the smaller ones.
Fording
was the custom at the large rivers and at the smaller
ones,
except where bridges could be readily constructed.
At a later day ferries were established.
In 1653 the laying out of roads again came
up before the
General Court, and a committee presented the following
re-
port:--
"Whereas, by order from the Generall Court
these fower towns, Ipswich, Newbury, Rowley & Andover should chose
men to lay out the common highwayes for the county, from town to town,
we whose names are hereunto subscribed being thereunto appoynted have accordingly
done it, beginninge at the South end of Andover continuing it in the cartway
neere half a mile unto a hill at the foot of the Hill called Bare hill
as it is marked with trees, then cominge into the beaten way which leadeth
over a playne belonging to Rowley, so leading on the South west of a pond
called Five mile pond & then continuing the cartway unto a pond called
Mr. Baker's pond, leaving the pond on the South & so passing a little
(1) Mass. Colony Records.
(2) First Captain
of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Boston. He married
a sister of Mrs. Anne Dudley Bradstreet.
56. HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
strip of meddow & so on the cart way to Mr.
Winthrop's playne & so still following the cartway on the South Side
of Capt. Turner's hill
& from thence the beaten way to Ipswich.
"Now half a mile short of the Five mile pond
from Andover begines the way to Rowley & Newbury goinge on the beaten
way of the south Side of the Bald Hills & continuinge the beaten way
until it come to the uppermost Falls River then by marked trees leadinge
into the cart path leadinge from Haverhill to, Rowley & so on to a
new field of Roweleys & from Andevour to Newbury goes on the old cart-way
leaving Rowley-way at the beginning of a playne by a little swamp called
Berberry Swampe & so on the old way to the Falls River & from thence
straight upon the north side of Mr. Shewells high field as still doth appeare
by marked trees, from thence keeping the old cart-way on the head of Cart
Creeke & so running on the north side of Richard Hodges field as it
is now fenced & so to John Halls bridge & so over the end of John
Halls playne unto Mr. Woodman's bridge neere the mill at Newbury. Witness
of hands
RICHARD BARKER JAMES HOW
THOMAS HOLT JOHN
PICKARD."
There were frequent changes and laying out
of better and
shorter ways, the roads not being much more than
rough
wood paths. They are often called by this name,
the "path
to Newbury," the "path to Oburne."
The following is "a petition," in 1671, of
the town of
Salem,(1) complaining of the road to Andover:--
"To the Honored Generall Court now Assembled
at Boston, the
humble petition of the Selectmen of Salem.
"These may inform your Honers that their hath
been for som
years A Country Highway Laying out between Salem
and Andovar the which of late is Layd out And we cannot but Judge very
unequall with Respect to the Towne of Salem and
prejudiciall to the Country, and we have long thought and spok with our
neighbors of Andevour about finding A better way, but by Reason of Unseasonable
Rains this two last Summers have been prevented of what we Intended and
since by the Court of Salem, the town has been fined five pounds and is
like to be fined five or ten pounds more Although we have now found a way
by much shorter and so much better that will not cost a fourth part of
the charge to mak it passable, as the way that was first layd out, having
as
(1) County
Court Papers, vol. xiv.
MEMORIALS OF THE EARLY SETTLERS. 57
we Consider about a hundred rodd of meadow &
Swamp in not
much more than two myles & some of it very deep--
&c " (peti-
tioning to be allowed to lay out the "new way" which
they had
found)."
Imagination pictures those ancient road-makers
in their
lonely journeys through the forests, exposed to
perils of wild beasts and of hostile Indians, who lurked about to steal,
if not to kill. In these modern days a "ride through the
woods" suggests something pleasant and refreshing,
but
when great unbroken forests extended all around,
hemming
in and cutting off from friendly neighbor the little
commu-
nities, the woods were viewed with feelings of quite
a dif-ferent sort; to, clear the timber and make roads were then of
prime importance.
The people of Andover did not like "the newe
waye
to Salem, and in turn presented(1) their grievances
to the
Court:--
"To ye Hon'd Court now sitting att Salem this
26th of June
1688, the petition of ye Selectmen of Andover in
behalf of sd
Town humbly sheweth: That whereas ye law of ye Country
allows
us ye nearest and best way to every town and we
being att present destitute of a way to Salem which is ye nearest Market
Towne there having been a way formerly lay'd out by Wills Hill(2) but again
altered by a Committee to ye great damage and inconvenience of us ye inhabitants
of Andover: it being almost impossible with a cart (which instrument inland
Towns must make use of for Transportation) and ye former way being both
nearer (as we have proved by measure) & far better and little charge
in making of it good: Each ptickler of which Capt. Osgood, (whome we have
appointed to attend this Honered Court in ye prosecution of sd way) will
further make appear our humble request to this Hon’d Court is that ye sd
old way may be settled & started that ye Honors' humble petitioners
may not be burthened any longer with such rocky impassable ways as indanger
ye lives & limbs of o'selves & beasts."
The river Merrimack furnished facilities for
Andover's
communication with the towns along its course, and
was
made use of as early as 1674, between Bradford and
New-
(1) County Court Papers, vol. xxxix., p. 144.
(2) In Middleton.
58 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
bury. At that time the bark Adventure ran up river,
and
Mr. Dudley Bradstreet, of Andover, sent for goods,
to be
delivered at Griffin's Tavern, Bradford. Failing
to receive
them, he served an attachment(1) on the boatman:--
.... "You are required in his majesty's name
to attach ye
body and goods of Edward Richardson jun. ye boatman
& take
bond of him to ye value of two hundred pounds with
sufficient
suretie or sureties for his appearance at ye next
County Court to be holden at Salem upon ye last Tuesday in June next, then
and there to answer to the complaint of Dudley Bradstreet of Andover in
an action of the case for not delivering of severall goods received on
board ye barke Adventure according to receipt under ye sd Richardsons hand,
bearing date Nov. ye 21 1673, which goods were received upon freight &
to be deliv-ered at ye house of John
Griffin at Bradford as by ye said receipt will appear
& for all just damage and soe make a true returne Under ye hand.
DUDLEY BRADSTREET.
"By the Cort.
"Dated ye 14 Aprill 1674."
There were also vessels built and launched
on the Merri-
mack at Andover. Major John March, of Newbury, an
enter-prising capitalist, and also prominent in military service,
undertook the experiment at first:--
(Andover, town-meeting-- 1697.) "Granted libertie
to Maj.
John March of Newbury to take what timber is convenient
for ye building of two vessels not exceeding fifty tons apiece, provided
he build such vessels in Andover and to use noe timber that is fitt for
ye building of houses or making of posts .... what timber is to be felled
and carted for sd vessels, Andover men shall have ye benefit of, provided
they will work with themselves & teems as reasonably as in other places
they doe."
In 1711 Major, then Colonel, March is again granted "encouragement."
"Voted & passed that Coll. John March shall
have libertie of
trying the experiment of building a sloop in some
convenient place for launching into Merrimack River and to have the benefit
of what timber can be found already felled, and also if need be to supply
him with the liberty of cutting half a dozen sticks for some choyse use
for the vessel if Timber for such use cannot be found already felled."
(1) Essex County Court
Papers, vol. xxii., p. 30.
MEMORIALS OF THE EARLY SETTLERS. 59
Colonel March was called into active service
in the Indian
wars, and did not carry out his plan of ship-building,
and the management of it was intrusted to an Andover man.
"Voted Liberty to Lieut John Aslebe to make
use of the Tim-
ber which was voted for Coll. John March to build
a sloop in Andover of about 40 Tons and to cutt off from the common what
is still wanted to make it fitt for launching. This former vote not rightly
understood in the entry and rectifyed as follows:
"Granted liberty to Lieut Jno Aslebe to cutt what timber is necessary for the Building of a vessel of about 40 tons."
In 1715 (perhaps earlier), there was a ferry
between An-
dover and Haverhill.(1)
"March 1715-- Robert Swan of Haverhill(2) moving
to this
Court for liberty to keepe a ferry over Merrimack
river having procured ye approbation of ye Selectmen of Haverhill &
Andover in favour thereof Ordered that ye Said Robert Swan hath liberty
& is hereby licensed to keep a ferry over Merrimack river nigh his
house & from this time till further order of the Court to keep a good
Classe boat for ye Trans-porting ye king's subjects & their horses
as need may require safely, he observing therein ye Lawes of this province
referr-ing to Ferries.
Ye fare allowed by this court is as followeth.
for man, or woman or children . . . .
2d
for horse. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4d
for other creatures in proportion"
In 1735, Daniel Bodwell, of Methuen, had a
ferry across
the Merrimack, and made the following agreement
with the
selectmen of Andover to carry passengers:--
"Articles of Agreement between Lieut Daniell Bodwell of Methuen. In His Majestys Province of the Massachusetts Bay in New England Gentleman on ye one part & Capt. Timothy Johnson, Capt. John Chandler, & Lieut. William Lovejoy. Selectmen for the Town of Andover on the other part.
"Whereas the sd Lieut. Bodwell hath a Ferry
over Merrimack
River against the Land of Mr. John Poor; I the said
Lieut. Bodwell Do hereby oblige myself my Heires and assignes to carry
over sd Ferry any of the Inhabitants of Andover as Followeth
(1) Now Methuen, or Lawrence.
(2) The Swans attended church at Andover North Parish, and were assessed
there.
60 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
(viz.) one person for a penny, a man and his horse
for four pence & for other creatures as I carry them for our town."
Swan's ferry was also running at the same
time, a com-
mittee being chosen by the town of Andover, in 1734,
to
discourse the ferry men, namely Swans ferrymen and
Bodwells ferrymen to see whie Andover people may not pass sd ferrys over
to Methuen at the same price as Methuen people doth pass the ferries &
Bring the terms of the sd Ferrymen to Andover."
The terms "were explained as in the agreement.
Not only were the travelling facilities, roads, paths, ferries,
etc., a subject of frequent town action, but boundaries
between towns were a fruitful source of discussion and of litigation. The
amount of perambulating, or "pre-ambulating "
(as the vernacular phrases it) on record is fatiguing
even to
read of. The lines run by "marked trees, stakes
and stones,"
by each set of surveyors, seem to have been different
from
those run by their predecessors in office:--
"2d March 1670. Whereas there is now a difference
between our towne and the towne of Woburn, conserning the bounds between
them and us, the towne hath given full power to the Selectmen to order
and prosecute all measures whether by Law or otherwise to the ending all
such differences and all charges to be borne by the Towne."
The following pathetic appeal indicates the
distress and
perplexity of the perambulators:--
"To YE SELECTMEN OF BILLERICA: Loving friends
and neigh-
bors we have bine of late under such surcomstances
that we could not tell whether wee had any bounds or no between our towne,
but now we begine to think we have-- this therefore are to desier you to
send some men to meet with ours upon the third munday of ye next month
by nine a'clock in ye morning, if it be a faire day, if not the next drie
day and so to run one both side of the river and to meet at the vesil place
and the west side of ye river.
"ANDOVER, March the 21: 1689-90
THOMAS CHANDLER in ye name
and by the order of ye Selectmen. "
But one of the earliest and also one of the
most interesting
MEMORIALS OF THE EARLY SETTLERS. 61
records of a contention about the bounds of the
adjacent
towns, is a petition(1) of the town of Andover,
in 1658, in regard to the encroachments of the towns of Billerica and
Reading. The incidental allusions to the founders
of the
plantation, their aims and motives, and their discourage-
ments, also the autograph signatures of the proprietors
at
that early period, make this manuscript one of special
in-
terest among those of the archives:--
"TO THE HONERD GENERAL COURT NOW ASSEMBLED
AT BOSTON,
"The humble petition of the Towne of Andover Humbly
sheweth that the Inhabitants of this place ware incouraged to set
downe here in a remote upland plantation farre from
Neigh-bores and destitute of other conveniences that many other townes
enjoy, not only out of general persuasion and assurance to obtayne such
priviledges and accommodations as the Court doth ordinarily grant to ye
like plantations and as the place would permit, but especially by a particular
provision this honored Court was pleased to make that the great and large
graunt to the Towne of Cambridge extending more than Twenty miles in length
should not prejudice this plantation, yet so it falls out Much Honoured
that the Inhabitants of Bilricay who through the favour and large grant
of lands by this Court hath obtained the interest belonging to Cambridge
doe notwith-standing presse so hard (and as we conceive) unreasonably upon
us as not only to deprive us of that which we have purchased of the Indians,
w'h the consent and approbation of this Honored Court but also to take
away part of our Meddow wh we
have mowed these several yeares (of which they have
little need) to the great prejudice, if not utter undoing, of some of our
Inhabitants who know not whither to remove nor can this poor place (straightened
for want of meadow more than most plantations) supply them wh more. We
are therefore necessi-tated (though otherwise most unwilling to interrupt
your more weighty occasions) to implore your just favour for reliefe, that
by yourselves, or such as you shall please to appoint, our case may be
heard & determined; and whereas the Inhabi-tants of Redding hath runne
their Northerly lynes and marked trees for their bounds a mile or more
within the limits granted to us by this Court our humble desire is that
this honoured Court will be pleased likewise to Issue that differ-
(1) Mass. Archives,
vol. cxii., p. 99.
62 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
ence also according to equity and the trew interest
of the several respective graunts, and we shall humbly pray:--
FRANCIS DANE
GEORGE ABBOT
THOMAS CHANDLER
DANIEL PORE
JOHN ASLET
WILLIAM BALLARD
JOHN LOVEJOY
JOHN OSGOOD
EDMOND FFAULKNER
THOMAS JOHNSON
HENRY 1NGALS
RICHARD BARKER
JOHN STEVENS
JOSEPH PARKER
NIKLES HOULT
JOHN FFRIE
GEORGE ABBOT
"20th May 1658."
The Court granted this petition of Andover
men so far as
to confirm their right to thirty acres of meadow
on the Shaw-
shin River, which was claimed by Billerica. But
the disputes,
as we see, after more than twenty years, had not
come to, an
end,-- the Billerica people pressing their claims
and making
encroachments so often that, between the resistants
and the
claimants, pro and con, the puzzled perarmbulators
might well
say they "could not tell whether wee have any bounds
or
not."
When the town of Wilmington was laid out, the
original
bounds of Andover, Woburn, and Billerica again became
a
subject of dispute, and a controversy ensued between
Wil-
mington and Andover which lasted above ten years,
peram-
bulation after perambulation being made, and the
committees
of the towns being unable to agree; Wilmington perambula-
tors and Andover perambulators proceeding for a
certain
distance amicably and then separating in contention,--
as
for example:--
"Oct. 7th 1734 Then the Committy of Andover
and Wilmington
meet in order to preambulate the Line between Andover
and Wilmington and Andover, and wee meet at Reading corner so called, whare
according to the General Court Grant, Wilmington Begun with Andover; and
the Commity of Andover Refused to preambulate with Wilmington Comitty unless
thay would pream-bulate with them to a pine called Sutten's pine, which
pine stands as we judg half a mile Downe upone Bildrica Line; and upone
Andover Commitys Refusing to preambulate the Line, wee the Comitty of
MEMORIALS OF THE EARLY SETTLERS. 63
Wilmington offered to preambulate the Line with
them so far as wee Joyned upone them untill wee come to Bildrica Line."
[Signed byWilmington perambulators.]
A tract of land long in dispute, not only
by Andover claim-
ants, but by the town of Charlestown and by Woburn
citizens, was called the Land of Nod. It lay remote from villages, in a
sort of wilderness region, which probably suggested to our Scripture-reading
forefathers the place described as the refuge of the outcast Cain, and
therefore gained its name
of "Nod." A parcel of meadow in it was owned
by John,
Joseph, and Ephraim Abbot, of Andover, "Beaver-dam
Meadow," but was claimed by Thomas Rich, of Reading,
as
being included in a purchase made by him from the
town of
Charlestown, of some two hundred and thirty acres
of land
in Woburn, it being the interest(1) of the town
of Charles-
town in the "Land of Nod." The Abbot brothers
made a
compromise and agreement with the purchaser, and
relinquished their claim to him, but some citizens of Woburn were not so
easily satisfied that the town of Charlestown had a right to dispose of
this territory, and the "Land of Nod" became famous in the annals of that
period's litigation.
The colonial boundaries and claims engaged
the attention
of Andover citizens in town meeting assembled,--
the great
dispute about the Mason and Gorges claims to the
settle-
ments in Maine and New Hampshire:--
"March 5th 1682 Capt. Bradstreet was chosen
to goe to Ipswich ye first day of Ipswich Court, there to consult with
& hear what ye Gentlemen of ye severall townes betwixt Naumkeake &
Merrimack that are to meet there about Mr. Masons claims have to make report
to ye same."
The claim of Mason extended to Salem, but,
as appeared,
without valid title.
The grants of land within the town were also
a subject of
discussion and difficulty; the indiscriminate giving,
out of
lands being opposed by the more prudent. In 1674
the town
took the following action on the subject:--
"Whereas there is a greate controversie in ye towne about giving
(1) The original
deed is at hand.
64 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
out of land, the town therefore have chosen a committee
to consider of ye same to se if it be convenient to give away any more
land or how & to whome; they have therefore chosen Mr. Dudley Bradstreet,
Left. Osgood, Ensigne Chandler, Goodman Barker, Goodman frie sen. Jono
frie jun. George Abbot sen, Daniel Poore, Thomas Johnsin, John Lovejoy,
Sergt. Steevens, to consider about ye same and bring in ye result against
ye next meeting-day."
Also the highways in the town, as well as the
roads from
the town, were a subject of much voting.
17th Oct. 1661. It is ordered "that every male person of sixteen years shall upon three or four days warning by the surveyor attend the mending of the highways upon forfeit of double damage for every day's neglect by any person and soe likewise everie teame, that is, every man fower shillings a day so neglecting."
In the course of time, if not at first, in
order to accommo-
date the town, it became necessary to run roads
through private lands. These were used as highways, but kept closed
by gates or bars; as, for example, in the proprietors'
grant to John Aslebe: "Reserved a good and convenyant drift cart-
way through said land, and said Aslebee to make
and main-
taine good and handy gates or bares to pass &
repass through
forever." The following is a paper relating to the
repairs of
the highways in the west part of Andover, which
has been kept among the papers of the citizen who received it, from the
time of its date:--
"ESSEX ss. ANDOVER, March 25, 1746.
"To MR. EBENEZER LOVEJOY JR. Surveyor of Highways
Greeting:
"These are in His Majesty's Name to will &
Requir you to see
that each man named in this List work out the sums
underneath
his name on the Highways on the Months of May &
June Next.
On the Road that you ware ordered by the Selectmen
to work on
the year past, allowing each man 9s per day for
a yoke of oxen; 2s for a cart.
Eben'r Lovejoy
1 2 0
Timothy More
1 7 3
John Lovejoy
0 15 7
Saml Blanchard
0 15 0
Jonathan Blanchard
0 7 2
Thomas Blanchard jr 0
5 3
MEMORIALS OF THE EARLY SETTLERS. 63
Moses Hagget
0 6 9
Doc'r Nehemiah Abbot 0 9
9
Stephen Blanchard
0 16 4
Benjamin Smith
0 5 0
Charles Furbush
0 5 0
Samuel Bayle
0 12 11
David Osgood
0 3 5
GEORGE ABBOT
Selectmen
NATHL FRIE
of
TiMOTHY BALLARD Andovir"
In granting land to Hamboro Blunt in 1718,
it was excepted that there should be a "drift way through Bars for John
Marston to pass and repass to his meadows and his heirs and sucksessors
forever, they always_putting up the bars safe after them." There are many
other stipulations in the
records in which parties agree to maintain "good
gates"
across the highways that pass through their land.
A deal of
dismounting from horse or cart or tumbril there
must have
been in those days, to open and shut gates and put
up bars.
A journey two hundred years ago from one end of
the town
to the other, or from Andover to the neighboring
towns, was
made slowly and with many liabilities of delay,
from the various causes before mentioned, the dangers of Indians and
wild beasts, the bad roads, the often impassable
streams, the
perils of being lost in the woods in blinding storms,
or of
going far out of the way, misled by the imperfect
landmarks
of trees, stakes, and stones.
These journeys, slow and. sometimes painful,
necessitated
many places of rest and refreshment, "entertainment
for man
and beast." A man in a town who had a large
house often
took in travellers as a matter of courtesy, and
thus it hap-
pened that in some cases, especially in the early
history of
the towns, the innkeeper or "innholder" was one
of the prin-
cipal citizens. The public house was called an "inn,"
"tav-
ern," or "ordinary." The owner, "innholder," or
"taverner,"
was often a "vintnor," licensed to sell wines and
strong liq-
uors. The first on record to whom this license was
granted(1) was Mr. Edmond Faulkner, in 1648, "he paying to the treas-
(1)
Colony Records.
5
66 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
ury for what he draws, as others do." There
were also, in
the larger towns, persons licensed to sell liquors
"out of
doors," that is, to those persons who were
not guests in their house as in an inn. These were called "Retailers."(1)
The "taverners" kept a house of refreshment, as is supposed,
without lodgings, a sort of restaurant. In Boston,
in 1680,
there were licensed six wine taverners, ten innholders,
eight
retailers for wine and strong liquors out of doors.
Andover
was allowed one "retailer for wine and liquors out
of doors,"
and two public houses. The sale of liquors to Indians
made
much trouble, many of them, "by excessive and abusive
drinking," as was stated in the act of the General
Court regulating the sale of liquors, "being overcome with swinish
drunkenness." The Court therefore ordered
that only the
most trustworthy citizens should be allowed to sell
liquors to Indians, and that they should only sell what in their judg-
ment" seems meete & necessary for their reliefe."
Deacon John Frye, of Andover, was in 1654 appointed
re-
tailer of strong liquors.
In 1689, Lieut. John Osgood was innholder. The following is a petition(2) made by him to the County Court, to renew his license for keeping a public house:--
"TO THE HONORED COUNTY CORTE NOW SITTING AT SALEM:--
"I move to your Honers to renewing license
ffor keeping a Publick house, & I would have waited upon the corte
personally but a bizness of a publick nature hinders me: that is the comitee
off molitiah are this day to make up the account about our soldiers &
I have sent here-with my sone to pay the ffees: the granting of which will
serve him who is yours to serve in whatsoever he may
JOHN OSGOOD.
"ANDOVER 27:9.89" [Granted)
A rival innkeeper was William Chandler. Capt.
John Osgood made complaint to the Court against him, that he "did
retail & sell sider or strong drinke without
License at his
Owne dwelling." Chandler produced evidence
that he had a
license and was acceptable to many of his townsmen,
if not
to all. The proof(3) of his license was as follows:--
(1) A name used
afterwards for the seller of all kinds of merchandise.
(2) Court Papers
vol. x1viii., p. 74.
(3) County Court
Papers, vol. xlvii.
MEMORIALS OF THE EARLY SETTLERS. 67
"William Chandler Senior is recommended to
ye next County
Court at Ipswich as a ffit man to keep a publick
house of entertainment in the town of Andover and until the foresaid Court
is licensed to sel Sider, bear, wine and strong liquor by me one of his
Majesty's Council of his territory for New England ffebruary ye 2, 1686.
JONA TYNG."
The proof(1) of his townsmen's good-will,
and their wish for
the success of his inn, is as follows:--
"The humble petition of William Chandler to
his Majesty's honoured Court of Sessions for the County of Essex now Sitting
in Ipswich this 14 day of September 1687 humbly sheweth:--
"That whereas your petitioner some time since
obtained liberty from one of the Councill to keep a publick house of entertainment
and that falling short I mayd my address to his Excellence by some friends
who understanding my case induced these gentlemen to wright to the honoured
Mr. Gedney and frome him to be communicated to the honoured justices of
Salem wherein he did expect they should grant me my License which accordingly
they did while this Sessions; for the which I Render them hearty thanks
and now I having in some measure fited myself for that worke and agreed
with Captain Radford what customs to pay for the yeare, and it being the
desier of many of my neighbors I should keep a publick house of enter-tainment
as will appear by their subscriptions under their hands and the great complaynt
of strangers that there is no house of entertainment upon that rode leading
from Ipswich to Balrica and also my own necessity arising in regard of
that money I was fined at Salem which I borrowed and have not
pay’d, all which considerations move to renew my
License for this yeare: which will oblige your petitioner for ever as in
duty bound to pray.
WILLIAM CHANDLER.
"Wee whose names are hereunder Righten: doe
testifye: that we live upon the Rode at Andover that leadeth from Ipswich
and the Townes that way to Baliraca and have often heard strangers much
complain that there was no publick house of entertainment upon that Rode,
but they must goe a mile and a elfe out of there way or goe without refreshing
or else intrude upon privit houses which that neighborhood have found very
burdensome. And we doe
(1) County Court Papers,
vol. xlvii., p. 56.
68 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
humbly pray that William Chandler Senr. whose house
stands convenient may be allowed for that worke
JOHN + LOVEJOY, his marke.
JOSEPH WILSON
THOMAS JOHNSON
THOMAS CHANDLER
WILLIAM JOHNSON."
Another petition for Chandler has the signatures
of thirty-
five citizens of Andover; but in 1690 some of his
opponents
sent in the following petition,(1) rather discreditable
to their townsman:--
"FROM ANDOVER ye 28: 1, 1690.
"To the honered Court now, sitting at
Ipswich 31 off this instant March 1690.
"Wee your most humble petitioners in the name
of many more,
if not of most of the town do make our address to
your honors to exert so much of your power and authority as may release
us of the matter of our greivance wch is grown so much an epidemicall evill
that overspreads and is like to corrupt the greater part of our towne if
not speedily prevented by your help: viz to put a stopp, to William Chandler's
license of selling of drink, that had been licensed formerly by author-ity:
he had Indeed ye approbation of the selectmen that were pickt out for that
end in his first setting up: yt were men spirited to give him their approbation
to such a thing, and indeed at his first setting up he seemed to have some
tender-nesse upon his conscience not to admit of excess nor disorder in
his house; but custom in his way of dealing and the earn-
est desire of money hath proved an evil root to
him actively and effectively to others, for through his over forwardness
to promote his own gaine he hath been apt to animate and to entice persons
to spend their money & time to ye great wrong of themselves and family
they belong to; and to that end will encourage all sorts of persons both
old and young to spend upon trust, if they have not money, & to some
he will proffer to lend them money to spend rather than that they should
be discouraged from such a notion; servants & children are allowed
by him in his house at all times(2) unseasonable by night and day, sometimes
till midnight and past & till break of day, till they know not their
way to their
(1) County Court Papers,
vol. l., 74.
(2) William Chandler was
not alone in being complained of for this offence. Thomas Johnson,
a constable, was charged with "allowing a barrel of cider to be drunke
in his house at unseasonable hours by young people." One of the town treasurers
was before the court for drunkenness and disorderly behavior. A prominent
citizen was presented on a charge of being under the too great influence
of liquor, although Mr. Brad-street, the magistrate, termed it "some weaknesse
that overtooke him." So we see that strong liquors were not so much "better"
than they are now, or the community more temperate.
MEMORIALS OF THE EARLY SETTLERS. 69
habitations, and gaming is freely allowed in his
house by which means the looser must call for drink Wch is one thing yt
will uphold his calling: Many such pertiklers might be instan-ced and easily
proved, but we be willing for brevity's sake to omitt much of what might
be said of the like nater, but be sure if he be not restrained from the
selling of drink our town will be for the greatest part of our young generation
so corrupted thereby that wee can expect little else but a cours of drunkenness
of them; and what comfort will that be to parents to see such a posterity
coming on upon the stage after them? To this wee whose names are underwritten
as your humble petitioners doe attest by our hands hereto.
CHRISTOPHER OSGOOD
JAMES FRIE
JOHN FRIE SEN
JOSEPH LOVEJOY
JOHN FRIE JUN
SAMUEL FRIE
SAMUEL BLANCHARD
BENJAMIN FRYE
EPHRAIM FOSTER
SAMUEL ROWELL
JOSEPH ROBINSON
THOS OSGOOD"
But the friends of William Chandler had got
the start in
the matter of petitioning, as appears from a record
appended
to this petition: "This petition came not to the
viewe of the
Court untill after another was approved of."
The "other" referred to was doubtless the following
cer-
tificate to the good order of Chandler's house:--
"William Chandler senr of Andover hath kept
a house of pub-
lick entertainment for some considerable time past
& hath kept good order in sd house (soe far as wee are informed) &
being an infirm man & not capable of hard Labour & deserving of
approbation for his continuance in that employment we cannot but judge
him a meet p'son for it & his house convenient for travellers.
"Dated ANDOVER ye 21st March 1689-90
DUDLEY BRADSTREET
Selectmen THOMAS CHANDLER
Of HENRY HOULT
Andover JOSEPH BALLARD
JOHN ABBOT."
70 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
He was granted a license, and in 1692 was
permitted by
the selectmen to continue his house until such time
as he
might be regularly licensed by the Court:--
"These may certifye any that may be concerned
that whereas
the Towne of Andover (by reason of ye change(1)
of Government) are destitute of an ordinarie for ye reliefe of strangers
&c wee ye subscribers being ye selectmen of Andover aforesaid doe judge
William Chandler Senr of sd towne to be a meet person for ye abovesd imployment
he having been some years allready imployed in that service & gave
good content soe far as we know.
"Dated Andover ye 29. Aug 1692 att a meeting
of y Selectmen
then and wee doe alsoe order him to entertain strangers
&c till ye, Court or such as are appointed doe otherways determine."
[Signed by the Selectmen.]
William Chandler's license is an interesting
document, and
curiously illustrative of the customs of the time
and of the
aspect of things in Andover. It will be noticed
that the sign
of his house was the horse-shoe, chosen, doubtless,
from the
occupation of the Chandlers-- blacksmiths. It was
the cus-
tom then to designate shops, public houses, and
places of resort, not by numbers, but by hanging out a sign. A large
town had a great variety of signs (as was the custom
in Eng-
land), the "anchor," the "bell," the "horse-shoe,"
etc. The
only mention found of any such sign at Andover is
this of
the horse-shoe:(2)--
"Know all men by these presents, That we William
Chandler
as principle & Andrew Peters & George Herrick
Suretyes do
acknowledge ourselves to owe & be justly Indebted
unto our Sovereign Lord and Lady KING WILLIAM AND QUEEN MARY, their
Heirs and Successors, for the Support of their Majesties
Government here, the sum of Fifty pounds for the true perform-ance of which
payment well and truly to be made we bind ourselves and each of us our
and each of our Heirs Executors and Administrators firmly by these Presents,
Sealed with our Seals, Dated in Salem, this 17 Day of Janry 1692.
"The condition of this Obligation is such,
That whereas the
abovesaid William Chandler is admitted and allowed
by their Maj-
(1) There being
in the colony no authority for granting a formal license.
(2) Files of
Court Papers.
MEMORIALS OF THE EARLY SETTLERS. 71
esties justices at a General Sessions of the Peace
to keep a common house of entertainment and to use common selling of ale,
beer, syder &c till the General Session of the Peace in .... next in
the now-Dwelling-house of said Chandler in Andover commonly known by the
sign of the horse-shoe and no other, If therefore the said William Chandler
during the time of keeping a Publick House shall not permit, suffer or
have any playing at Dice, Cards, Tables Quoits, Loggets, Bowles, Ninepins,
Billiards or any other unlawful Game or Games in his house, yard, Garden,
or Backside; nor shall suffer to be or remain in his House any person or
persons not being of his own family upon Saturday nights after it is Dark,
nor at any time on the Sabbath Day or Evening after the Sabbath, nor shall
suffer any person to lodge or stay in his House above one day and one night;
but such whose Name and Surname he shall deliver to some one of the Selectmen
or Constables or some one of the officers of the Town unless they be such
as he very well knoweth and will answer for his or their forthcoming: nor
shall sell any Wine or Liquors, to any Indians or Negroes nor suffer any
servants or apprentices or any other persons to remain in his house Tippling
or drinking after nine of the clock in the night time; nor buy or take
to Pawn any stolen goods, nor willingly harbor in his said House, Barn,
Stable or otherwhere any Rogues, Vagabonds, Thieves, nor other notorious
offenders whatsoever nor shall suffer any person or persons to sell or
utter any ale, beer, cyder &c by Deputation or by colour of this License
and also keep the true assize and measure in his Pots, Bread and otherwise,
in uttering of ale, beer, cyder, wine, rum &c, and the same sell by
sealed meas-ure. And in his said House shall and do use and maintain good
order and Rule: Then this present obligation to be void or else to stand
in full Force Power and Virtue.
"Signed, sealed and delivered in the presence
of
JONATHAN
PUTNAM
STEPHEN
SEWAL.
WILLIAM
CHANDLER
GEORGE
HERRICK
ANDREW
PEETFRS"
Andrew Peters, the bondsman of William Chandler,
after-
ward became innholder on the death of Chandler.
He came
to Andover from Ipswich (as seems probable) between
1686
and 1692, and had a still-house, and was a "retailer."
The
following record(1) shows these facts:--
(1) Files
of Court Papers.
72 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
"This may certifye any that may be concerned
yt Mr. Andrew
Peeters (now an inhabitant in Andover(1) being lately
burnt out by ye Indians & put by his husbandry & being a stiller
of strong liquors by his calling & having sett up his still-house in
ye towne of Andover we the subscribers being ye selectmen of Andover doe
desire & judge it a benefit to ye towne yt he may have liberty to retaile
his liquor by ye quart out of his owne house to the householders of ye
Towne or others which he may think have need of it. We judging him
a man carefull of observing law & good order in those matters.
DUDLEY BRADSTREETE
JOHN ABBOT Selectmen
JOHN ASLEBE
of
SAMUEL FRIE Andover.
JOHN CHANDLER
"ANDOVER ye 21 December 1692"
There is also, later, a petition to the Court
for Mr. Peters
to be innholder, he "being one of the selectmen
and our town-treasurer."
The following names are found among the innholders,
licensed:--
Edmond Faulkner
1648 a vintnor
John Frye
1654 vintnor
Lieut John Osgood innholder 1689
William Chandler "
1687-1699
Andrew Peters
" 1700-1713
Joseph Parker
" 1714
Joseph Parker 2nd
1715-1723
John Frye senr
1723
Joseph Parker 3d
1735
Capt James Frye
1745
Timothy Poor was an early innholder also.
These inns were not like those with which
the last genera-
tion was familiar in the days of stage-coaches,
and the bustle of the arrivals and departures of the regular coaches, the
relays of horses, and all the commotion of the hostlers and the servants,
and the important and obsequious host. These
most ancient inns had no regular arrivals of vehicles
or
(1) "Andrew Peters of Ipswich." -- Registry of Deeds "Ipswich," Book I.,
p. 681.
MEMORIALS OF THE EARLY SETTLERS. 73
guests. The chance-travellers going to and from
Salem, Ipswich, Boston, either on horseback or on foot, to attend Court,
to go to market, to visit,-- in short, the whole community who went on
any errand whatever, must make use of the inn for a greater or less period
of time, so that a thriving business was done. The deputies to the General
Court, and the other various officers of the Colonial Government, made
no small part of the patronage of the inns and taverns. Some of the innholders
suffered from the delinquency of their guests in paying their bills. Joseph
Armitage, of the Anchor Inn, Lynn, makes a petition concerning "Sum expences
at my
hous by the Honered Magistrates and deputies of
this County
which I never received." The "honored magistrate"
from
Andover had a small account with Armitage, and also
had
some law-suits against the innholder for indebtedness
to him-
self for goods; for Mr. Bradstreet did a considerable
trading
business in shipping lumber to the Barbadoes and
exchanging it for West India goods, which he sold to parties throughout
the county. His memorandum of his debts to the Anchor Inn landlord is as
follows:--
"Due to Goodman Armitage for beare or wyne
att severall times as I came by in
the space of about three
years . . . . . . . . . . 4s.3d"
"May 15, 1649.
"More for my man and horse as hee returned
home
the last year when I was a commissioner, hee having
been delayed on Sabbath day . . . 6s. 3d"
There were unwelcome guests, travellers at
this early time
from town to town,-- vagrants, the prototype of
the modern
tramp. One of these, in 1665, paid a visit to Andover,
was
arrested, and sent to jail; also one John Upton,
at whose
house he spent a night, was tried for harboring
him and receiving stolen goods. Thomas Johnson, constable of Andover deposed(1)
as follows:--
"Henry Spencer coming to the house of John
Upton the said
Upton told this deponent that he brought a pack
with him to his house, in which was a coate, a rapier, two bibles, a payre
of French
(1) County Court
Papers, vol. x.
74 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
fall(?) shoes & other things"-- that "he lay
at his house one night & the next day he sett him on the way to Andover
& carried his things from his house with him & further this deponent
saith that Edward Hutchinson told me that he came to his house the same
day in the afternoon without any pack."
The movements of military companies, or of
soldiers going
to join the companies to march against the "Indian
enemy,"
or of scouts and rangers, was also a considerable
feature of
the travelling of the colonial period, and there
was no small
stir and flutter in the domestic inns when the young
officers
with cutlass and halberd and head-piece, musket
and pike,
and the various paraphernalia of the military outfit,
arrived
and tarried for entertainment, and told the tale
of their own
heroism or their comrades' exploits. One such company
stop-
ping at the inn of Joseph Parker, of Andover, were,
as tradi-
tion says, "sumptuously entertained," and a soldier,
John
Varnum, of Dracut, afterward took to himself Miss
Phebe
Parker, the innkeeper's daughter, for his wife;
from which
marriage was descended General Varnum of Revolutionary
fame.
It was a not uncommon thing to have marriage
ceremonies
performed at the inn, it being the largest house
and most
convenient for a wedding-party or merrymaking; the
relish
for which festivities the colonists had not all
laid aside when they quitted the shores of Old England.
It was against the too great hilarity that
sometimes arose,
when the "strong liquors" of the inn, or ordinary,
had circu-
lated freely on such bridal occasions among the
rustic guests, that the Great and General Court fulminated its edicts,
before quoted, prohibiting "dancing in ordinaries on occasions of marriage."
Apropos of the ancient weddings, the first
recorded mar-
riage of an Andover citizen is that of, the first
settler, Edmond Faulkner:--
"Edmond Faulkner and Dorothy Robinson married
at Salem by
Mr. John Winthrop. 4 Feb. 1647-"
George Abbot married Hannah Chandler, sister
of Thomas
Chandler, "at Andover, 1647," says Abbot's "Genealogical
MEMORIALS OF THE EARLY SETTLERS. 75
Register;" but this is not on the town records,
and Ellis's
"History of Roxbury" says that George Abbot married
in
that town Mary or Hannah Chandler. (The Chandlers
came
from Roxbury to Andover.) The first record of a
marriage
ceremony in Andover is in 1653.
"Henry Ingolls & Mary Osgood were married
at Andover 6
July 1653 by Mr. Simon Bradstreet."
It is to be noted that these marriages were
made by the
magistrate, according to the Puritan doctrine that
marriage
is a civil compact, and not a church sacrament.
In 1678
Captain Dudley Bradstreet was appointed by the General
Court, "to joyne persons together in marriage at
Andover
one or both of whom being settled inhabitants there
& being
published according to law" (that is, in the house
of God on
a day of service). This Puritan custom of "publishing
did
much to throw around the ordinance of marriage the
sanctity
of a religious rite; and moreover, in those times
the magis-
trates were expected to be among the most religious
men of
the community, so that the institution of marriage
was by no
means reduced to that merely secular plane and bare
civil
contract which it is sometimes represented to have
been.
In the most public and solemn manner, before the
whole
congregation, on the Sabbath day, the announcement
must
be made of the intention of marriage, and in a modified
form
this custom of publishing in the house of God continued
in
the town for two hundred years; after the custom
of reading
the names from the pulpit was discontinued, the
names of
the persons intending marriage being posted in the
vestibule
of the meeting-house in a small closet with a glass
door, called the "publishing-box."
The following are the first ten records of
marriage in the
town register:--
1647. Feby 4. Edmond Faulkner & Dorothy Robinson married at
Salem by Mr. John Winthrop.
1650. Oct. 20. Daniel Pore & Mary Farnum married at Boston by
Mr. Wiggins.
1651. Jan. 1. John Lovejoy & Mary Osgood(1) married at Ipswich
by Mr. Simons.
(1) The Osgood
family had a branch in Ipswich.
76. HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
1653. July 6. Henry Ingolls & Mary Osgood married
at Andover
by Mr. Simon Bradstreet.
1653. Nov. 15. John Osgood & Mary Clemants married
at Haver-
hill by Mr. Robert
Clemants.
1654. June 14. Mr. Seaborn Cotton & Mrs. Dorothy Bradstreet
by Mr. Bradstreet.
1657. Thomas Johnson & Mary Holt married by Mt. Bradstreet.
1658. Jan. 6. Thomas Eaton & Unity Singletary married
by Mr.
Bradstreet.
1658. Apr. 26. George Abbot & Sarah Farnum married
by Mr.
Bradstreet.
1658. June 12. Nicholas Holt & Hannah Pope widdow.
"Mrs." Dorothy Bradstreet, whose name is here
given, was
the daughter of Mr. Simon Bradstreet. The title
"Mrs."
was simply a term of respect, and had no reference
to the
marriage relation,-- a lady of high social standing,
whether
married or single, being addressed as Mistress,
or with the
abbreviated form Mrs.
How proposals of marriage were made and preliminaries
settled in good society, we learn from a statement(1)
of Mr.
Simon Bradstreet, in reference to the marriage of
his daugh-
ter Mercy to Major Nathaniel Wade, of Medford, which
took
place 31st October, 1672:--
"When Mr. Jonathan Wade of Ipswich came first
to my house
att Andover in ye yeare '72 to make a motion of
marriage betwixt his sonne Nathaniell and my daughter Mercy he freely of
himself told me what he would give to his sone ..... After he came home
hee told several of my Friends & others that hee had offered to give
his son better than one thousand pounds and I would not accept of it."
Notwithstanding these disagreements of the
fathers at first,
they finally came to a mutually satisfactory arrangement
of
terms, and "soe agreed that the young p'sons might
p'cede
in marriage, with both our consents, which they
accordingly
did."
Another relic(2) is found of the prudence of
the elders in
regard to the worldly prospects of the young persons:--
(1) Essex County Court Papers,
vol. x1iii., p. 66.
(2) Ibid., vol. lii., p.
116.
MEMORIALS OF THE EARLY SETTLERS. 77
"The testimony of Thomas Chandler aged about
64 and William
Chandler aged about 56 (1692) who say: that about
tenn years
since Andrew Allen of Andover junior who was a sutor
to Elizabeth Richisson an shee being related to Major Thomas Hinchman and
Cap. Josiah Richisson both of Chalmsford they came to Andover to the hous
of William Chandler abovesaid and Andrew Allen Senier being present: the
foresd hinchman and Richison asked the foresd Andrew Allen Sanier what
he would give his sonn for incorridgment for a livelihood and that which
he then promised upon the contrict of marriage was: That he would give
his hous and land lying about three miles from the town and the meadow
belonging to it, and halfe his orchard at hom, and after his and his mothers
decease he should have all his house & land, at Town and the home meadow
that belong to it."
The wedding festivities in the great families
of colonial
time were not unattended with display; and the extravagance
of the ladies and the varieties of the toilet on these and other social
occasions were the subject of comment of writers of the time. The Rev.
Nathaniel Ward gave his views of some of the styles of fashionable dress,
in plain language:--
"If I see any of them accidentally I
cannot cleanse my phansie of them for at least a month after."
As to the folly of women whose great desire
is to "find
out the latest fashion, and to inquire what dress
the queen is in this week," he says:--
"I look upon her as the very gizard of a trifle, the product of a quarter of a cipher, the epitome of nothing, fitter to be kickt if she were of a kickable substance, than either honored or humored."
Undoubtedly new fashions and fine clothes found
their
way to Andover as soon as to any of the inland plantations;
for the Bradstreet family maintained correspondence
with
the nobility of England, and Mr. Bradstreet, often
sending,
had every facility for obtaining as elegant dress
as the taste, good sense, and religious principle of his household would
permit them to wear. Mrs. Bradstreet was a lady whose
literary tastes kept her from inordinate love of
dress; and
moreover she was in feeble health, and from principle
also
indisposed to great display. Still, the relics
handed down
78 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
in this family show that they had rich furniture
and apparel.
Nor was this in disagreement with the sumptuary
laws of the
Puritans. These were directed mainly against the
wearing
of expensive clothes by unsuitable persons at improper
times.
An act of the General Court, 1651, is as follows
(admitting
the suitability of fine clothing in some cases):--
"Although we acknowledge it to be a matter
of much difficul-
tie to sett down exact rules to confine all sorts
of persons, we declare our utter detestation and dislike that men or women
of meane condition educations & callings should take uppon them the
garbe of gentlemen, by the wearing of gold or silver lace, or buttons or
poynt at their knees, to walk in great bootes [leather was very costly]
or women of the same rank to weare silk or tiffany hoods,
or scarfs, which though allowable to persons of
greater estates or more liberal education, yet wee cannot but judge it
intolerable in p'sons of such like condition .....
"It is ordered that the selectmen of every
towne .... are hereby enabled & required to assesse such persons so
offendynge in any of the particulars above-mentioned, but any magistrate
or officer their wives and children are left to their discretion in wearynge
of apparel."
Mrs. Bradstreet's neighbors thought her too
little interested in dress. They criticised her writing so much, and said
it would be more becoming in her to use the needle than
to have her pen always in hand; but doubtless her
daughters, on social occasions of importance, when visitors from out of
town-- their connections the Dudleys, and their friends
the Winthrops, and the President of the College,
and other
dignitaries-- were guests, made no little display
of elegant
attire. Brocade and ruff, and lace, velvet, gold
lace, point,
buttons, were not wanting when the Puritan aristocracy
were
gathered to do honor to the wisdom of the magistrate,
the
genius of his poet-wife (the "tenth Muse sprung
up in America," as one of the scholars called her), and the beauty and
virtues of the daughters. Mr. Simon Bradstreet, when he
went over to England in 1661, on his mission to
the court of
King Charles II, we may be sure, appeared in the
presence
of royalty in no homespun garb, and it is more than
likely
that he did not return without many a purchase or
present of
the fabrics of the old country for his family.
MEMORIALS OF THE EARLY SETTLERS. 79
But, as has been before said, there were great
distinctions
in dress in the different classes of society. The
wardrobe of
a well-to-do yeoman, a century after Andover settlement,
was
the following:--
"A True Inventoree of ye personal estate
of Capt. Samuel Osgood late of Andover His wearing apparel:--
A Red coat & Breeches
A Blue coat & Breeches
A Dark green coat & Jacket
An Old white Coat
A Camlet Coat & Jacket
2 Fustian Jackets
1 Blue great coat
1 Old pr plush Breeches
1 Fine Linnen Shirt
3 Cotton do
3 old Cotton do
3 pr worsted stockings
2 pr yarn
2 old Hats
3 pr old shoes
5 neck bands
1 Silke Handkerchief
2 Walking Staffs
1 pair shoe buckles."
The termination of one wedding contract of
old Andover
was tragic. "In 1689, died Hannah wife of Hugh_____,(1)
murdered by her husband April 20, 1689." In
respect to
this, Savage's "Genealogy" says:--
"Hugh______ Andover m. 15 Oct. 1667 Hannah
Foster perhaps
d. of Andrew. had John born 1668 and others ....
from the
records we find the death of his wife 2d Apr. 1689
murdered by her husband, whence it is safe to conclude that he was insane."
Cotton Mather, in the "Magnalia," gives a
detailed account
of the execution of one of this name, undoubtedly
the same
man, for murdering his wife, and says that the particulars
were told him by a minister, who attended the prisoner
on
(1) It is not known
that there are any descendants in the town, yet to avoid an erroneous connection
with names now existing, but not related, the name is suppressed.
80 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER
the scaffold. Although such details are not, ordinarily,
pleasant or profitable reading, still, forming as this does a part of the
famous "Magnalia" of Mather, it cannot properly be
passed by. The account here presented is much abbreviated:--
"One Hugh______upon a Quarrel between himself
and his wife
about selling a Piece of Land having some Words,
as they were
walking together on a certain Evening very barbarously
reached a stroke at her Throat with a sharp knife and by that one stroke
fetched away the Soul of her who had made him a Father of several children
and would have brought yet another to him if she had lived a few weeks
longer in the world. The wretched man was too soon surprised by his Neighbors
to be capable of denying that Fact and so he pleaded Guilty upon his Tryal.
There was a Minister that walked with him to his execu-tion; and I shall
repeat the Principall Passages of the Discourse between them in which the
Reader may find or make something useful to himself, whatever it were to
the Poor man. who was more immediately concerned in it."
The conversation of the minister with him
on the scaffold
is repeated, in which he inquires if the prisoner
is now pre-
pared to stand before the tribunal of God, and on
receiving
an answer that he having repented of his sin, hopes
that he
is, the clergyman examined him still further to
ascertain
whether he had repented of the sin of Adam, for
which said
he you "deserved to be destroyed as soon as you
first came
into this world." The prisoner seeming to
have doubts, or
not to be quite clear on this point, the minister
instructed
him and demonstrated that he had broken every commandment
of the Decalogue. Going on to inquire what led to this commission of murder,
the prisoner made answer:--
"It was Contention in my Family. I had been
used to some-
thing of Religion, and I was once careful about
the Worship of God, not only with my Family but in Secret also, But upon
Contention between me and my wife I left off the ways of God and you see
what I am come to."
The prisoner from the scaffold made an address
to the
company:--
"Young men and maids. Observe the Rule of Obedience
to
MEMORIALS OF THE EARLY SETTLERS. 81
your Parents; and Servants to your Masters, according
to the
Will of God and to do the will of your Masters:
If you take up wicked ways, you set open a Gate to sins to lead in bigger
afterwards. Thou canst not do anything but GOD WILL SEE thee,
though thou thinkest thou shalt not be catched .....
"O young woman that is married and young man, look on me here! Be sure in that solemn engagement you are obliged to one another. Marriage is an ordinance of God: have a care of breaking that bond of Marriage Union. If the Husband provoke his wife and cause a Difference, he sins against God and so does she in such carriage; for she is bound to be an obedient wife.
"0 you Parents that give your children in Marriage
remember
what I have to say. You must take notice when you
give them
in marriage you give them freely to the Lord .....
Here is this murderer; look upon him, and see how many are come with their
eyes to behold this man that abhors himself before God ..... There
are here a great many young People and 0 Lord that they may be thy servants
..... I will tell you that I wish I never had had the opportunity to do
such a murder. If you say when a Person has provoked you 'I will kill him,'
tis a thousand to one but the next time you will do it .... "
He then intimates that it was under the effect
of strong
drink that he gave way to his passion:--
"When thou hast thy bead full of drink, remembrance
of God
is out of thy heart. I have cause to cry out and
be ashamed of it, that I am guilty of it because I gave way to that sin
more than any other and then God did leave me to practice wickedness and
to murder that dear woman whom I should have taken a great deal of contentment
in; which if I had done, I should not have been here to suffer this Death."
The author of the "Magnalia" adds this brief
description
of the melancholy end of the life of this first
murderer in
Andover:--
"After this he was by the prayers of a minister
then present
recommended unto the divine mercy, which being done,
the poor
man poured out a few broken ejaculations, in the
midst of which he was turned over into the Eternity which we leave him
in."
Having now gained a general idea of the mode
of life in
primitive Andover, and an acquaintance with some
of its
6
82 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
principal citizens, we resume the review of such
few memo-
rials as are found of the other first settlers.
MR. EDMOND FAULKNER was one of the few honored
with
the title "Mr." He, with Mr. Woodbridge, negotiated
the
purchase of the plantation from the Indians. He
was, as
has been already stated, the first whose name is
recorded as
a licensed vintnor.
One of his daughters was married to Capt. Pasco
Chubb,
and with her husband was murdered by the Indians.
His son, Lieut. Francis Faulkner, married Abigail
Dane
(daughter of Rev. Francis Dane), who was accused
of witch-
craft and condemned, but reprieved, and finally
saved from
hanging by the influence of friends, who interposed
to check
the delusion.
A grandson of Francis Faulkner removed, when
a boy,
with his parents to the town of Acton. He was Col.
Francis
Faulkner, of Revolutionary fame, who led the company
to
the fight at Concord Bridge in 1775, and commanded
the
regiment that guarded General Burgoyne's army when
pris-
oners of war.
One branch of the Faulkner family settled in
the South
Parish. A recent representative of the name was
Joseph
Faulkner, who, in 1825, engaged with Mr. John Smith
(Smith,
Dove & Co.) in the manufacture of machinery
at Andover.
His son, Joseph W. Faulkner, studied divinity in
the Theo-
logical Seminary, 1838. Abiel Faulkner was a soldier
of the
Revolution and of the War of 1812. There is an ancient
house on one of the early Faulkner homesteads at
North
Andover, which is said to be more than one hundred
and
seventy years old. It is at Marble Ridge, southeast
of the
homestead of Gen. William J. Dale. It is of quaint
con-
struction, and has been apparently but little changed
from its original style. The sloping roof in the rear, the exact southern
front, the heavy beams in the ceilings, the huge chimney in the middle
of the house, the staircase going up in the front entry to the garret,
the little cupboards nicked in at odd corners over the mantel-piece, the
small windows high
above the floor, and other peculiarities of construction
indi-
MEMORIALS OF THE EARLY SETTLERS. 83
cate that it belonged to the colonial period. It
was last
owned by Joseph Faulkner. In 1789 his daughter,
Dorcas
Faulkner, was "married by Rev. Mr. Symmes to Mr.
John
Adams Jr." (as the town record's note); "Major"
Adams, the
bridegroom was afterward commissioned. The Faulkner
estate subsequently was sold to Benjamin Fish, and
is now
owned by an aged couple from Marblehead. With their
stores of goodies, apples, hickory-nuts, cranberries,
etc., gathered about them in kitchen and pantry, their flower-pots of chrysanthemums,
and "jelly "-flowers in the window, their
bird-cage on the floor, and their china and glass-ware
set up
for show in the parlor cupboard, the shelves nicely
covered
with newspapers, the pictured looking-glass, with
its battle
scene of the Constitution and " Guirear," as described
by the
hostess, the ancient house and its occupants seem
a relic of
the old times, veritable genii loci.
Another Faulkner house is near by, whence emigrated
Daniel Faulkner to Bluehill, Maine, and Dr. Joseph
Faulk-
ner to Hamilton.
GEORGE ABBOT, Senior, married Hannah Chandler,
at an
early period in the town history. She was sister
of Thomas
Chandler, and daughter of William Chandler, of Roxbury.
The descendants of George Abbot, Sen., have been
very
numerous and influential. They include, among others,
John
Abbot, deputy to the General Court, 1701; Dea. Isaac
Abbot, graduate of Harvard College, 1723; Abiel Abbot, gradu-
ate of Harvard College, 1737, who died while fitting
for the
ministry; Dr. Abiel Abbot, surgeon in the French
and Indian wars; Capt. John Abbot, of the French and Indian
War, and of the Revolutionary War; Capt. Henry Abbot
and Capt. Stephen Abbot, in the Revolutionary service;
George Abbot, Esq.; the three sons of Capt. John
Abbot (all
eminent graduates of Harvard College), namely, Prof.
John
Abbot, of Bowdoin College; Benjamin Abbot, LL. D.,
Principal of Exeter Academy, and Rev. Abiel Abbot,
D. D.,
minister of Haverhill and Beverly; also, Rev. Abiel
Abbot,
D. D. (native of Wilton, N. H.), author of the "History
of
Andover," 1829; Mr. Henry Abbot, graduate of Harvard
84 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
College, 1796, trader of Andover, father of the
late Henry
W. Abbot, trader; Rev. John. Lovejoy Abbot, graduate,
1805, and Librarian of Harvard College, and minister
of
the First Church, Boston; Samuel Abbot, Esq., one
of the
founders of the Theological Seminary, and many others
of
honorable name. The manufacturers, Messrs. Abel
and Pas-
chal Abbot, were well known at Andover, 1815-1837.
The descendants of George Abbot, Sen., on the
two hun-
dredth anniversary of the settlement of the town,
erected a
monument to his memory in the South Church Burying
Ground.(1)
GFORGE ABBOT.
Born in England,
Was one of the first settlers
of Andover A. D. 1643
Where in 1647 be married
HANNAH CHANDLER.
He died Dec 1681 aet 66
She died June 1711 aet 82
Their descendants
in reverence for their moral
worth and Christian virtues
Erected this monument
A. D. 1843.
The will of George Abbot(2) is noticeable
for its tribute to
the fidelity and virtues of his wife.
"Considering the great love & affection I beare unto my loving wife Hannah Abbot and also considering her tender love and respect she hath had to me and also considering her care and diligence in helping to gett and save what God hath blessed us withall, and also her prudence in management of the same, I doe therefore leave my whole estate to her & for her use during the time of her naturall life and at her death my will is that with the advice of my overseers .... shall dispose of my estate that her necessity doth not enforce to spend amongst my children." ....
It was also the will of the father that if
"any of the sons
(1) He was buried,
doubtless, at North Andover, as there was no other burial place when he
died.
(2) Essex Registry
of Deeds, vol. iv., p. 44.
MEMORIALS OF THE EARLY SETTLERS. 85
should be guilty of disobedient carriage "toward
their mother, they should be "cutt short" in their portion.
The "overseers" alluded to were "my loving
brothers
Thomas Chandler & William Chandler & my
loving friend
John Barker."
The will was signed 12th December, 1681. The
inventory
of the estate was L587 12S. 5d.
Some facts, culled from the "Genealogical Register,"
are
of general interest, showing the marriage connections
made
by the children(1) of George and Hannah Abbot, with
the
sons and daughters of the other first settlers,
from which
unions sprang at least seventy-three grandchildren:--
John, b. 1648, m. 1673 Sarah, dr. of Richard Barker.
George, b. 1655, m. 1678 Dorcas, dr. of Mark Graves.
William, b. 1657, m. 1682 Elizabeth Gray, dr. of
Robert(?)
Benjamin, b. 1661, m. 1685 Elizabeth, dr. of Ralph
Farnum.
Timothy, b. 1663, m. 1717 Mary Foster . . . .
Thomas, b. 1666, m. 1697 Hannah Gray.
Nathaniel, b. 1671, m. 1695 Dorcas Hibbert.
Hannah, b. 1650, m. 1676 John Chandler, son of Thomas.
Sarah, b. 1659, m. 1680 Ephraim Stevens, son of
John.
Elizabeth, b. 1673, m. 1692 Nathan Stevens, son
of John.
The mother of this family, the widow Hannah
Abbot, became the third wife of the Rev. Francis Dane. She was, at
the death of her first husband, fifty-two years
of age. There
is before the writer an original deed of "HANNAH
ABBOT alias
DANE." It is the only deed found in which a woman
alone
conveys real estate. It was made, of course, after
the death
of both her husbands. The paper is as follows:--
"Know all men by These presents that I Hannah
Abbott: alias
Dane Relick to gorg Abbott late of Andover deceased
for the
natural afectean I bare to my sons: Timothy: Thomas:
and Na-
thaniel Abbott: doe give to my sons: above named:
all my rights in the common and undivided land in the Township of Andover
aforesaid: which doth or may heareafter belong to the lott of my former
husband: gorg Abbott late of Andover deceased: To have and to hold the
abovesaid .... [and so forth in legal tautology]
(1) Other children
died,-- one infant, Joseph; one son, Joseph, slain by Indians, 1676.
86 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER
"Whereto I have hereunto set my hand and seal:
this:10:of
February:1706-7.
JOHN CHANDLER
ABIALL CHANDLER
HANNAH CHANDLER
The mark of
HANNAH (H) ABBOT
Alias DANE
"ESSEX
"Mrs Hannah Dane the relick of Mr francis
Dane personally appeared in andeure this 2d of December 1707: and owned
this
above written Instrument to be Hir voluntary act
and deed before me.
THOMAS NOYES
Justice of the peace. "
John Abbot, the eldest son of the first settler,
George Abbot, was the first deacon of the South Church. He died
1721. He made his will 1716. It and the wills of
John
Abbots, third, fourth, and fifth generation, are
in possession of Mr. John Abbot, seventh generation, who lives-on the homestead,
and is the seventh John Abbot who has lived
there. This homestead is in Andover South Parish,
on Central Street, west of the South Church. Doubtless George Abbot, Sen.,
removed thither from his first residence at the
north part of the town (some time before 1676, if
the family
tradition be correct, that this was the scene of
the Indian attack in April, 1676).
The will of John Abbot gives some particulars
respecting
the mode of life of the wife and mother in early
time at And-
over,-- the "relict," as she is styled:--
"I order my executors to take the whole care
to provide for
their bonoured mother, after my decease. first,
she shall have the liberty of which roome she pleases for to live in, and
my executors to provide for her sutable clothing of all sorts, for Lining
and wooling, and meat, drinke and washing and firewood and candels; the
wood to be cut and brought into the house, and phisicke and tendance in
case of sickness, and whatever she wants for her comfort so long as she
remains my widow if it be to the day of her death, and at her death, I
order my executors to give there honored mother a decent and Christian
Burial, If she dyes my widow, but if she shall se Reason to marry again
then my executors to be free from what I have ordered them to do for her."
One of the daughters, Priscilla, received
a portion of the
MEMORIALS OF THE EARLY SETTLERS. 87
property, for which her receipt (with autograph
signature)
remains:--
"May 5, 1722 Received of my brothers John
Abbot & Joseph
Abbot executors, tow cows and six sheep which was
given to me
by the will of my honered father John Abbot late
deceased
PRISCILA ABBOT
Priscilla Abbot was never married. She is
the first of
whom any special record remains of the great company
of "old maids" of Andover. In point of age she stands
first. At her death, she lacked only a few weeks
of being
one hundred years old. She was born 1691, 7th July;
died
1791, 24tb May. She was of great service as a nurse
in
Andover families. She is described as "mild and
meek,
kind and cheerful, industrious, pious, and contented."
A grand-niece of this estimable woman, Sarah
Abbot,
daughter of Ephraim Abbot, was another remarkable
single
woman. She was "help" in the family of the Hon.
Samuel
Phillips, North Andover. After his death, she took
care of
the farm,-- raised a nursery of a thousand trees,
which she
grafted and sold profitably. She lived to the age
of ninety-
four (1737- 1831). She was a large, strong woman,
as able
for out-door work as housework. She was blind before
she
died, and being unable to give up her out-door exercise,
used
to walk by a rope.
The names of these women are not selected as
representative of the women of the Abbot family, or of Andover, or as
models, but simply given as the few which, from
their being
out of the ordinary course of woman's life, have
become tra-
ditional. Those who from choice or necessity stepped
aside
out of the beaten path of woman's dependence are,
as a con-
sequence, conspicuous, while the names of others,
many of
whom were equal in merit, and superior in mental
and social
culture, are lost in oblivion, or are kept only
in the unwritten memory of family affection and reverence. The only printed
memorial of the mother of Prof. John Abbot, Dr. Benjamin Abbot, and Rev.
Abiel Abbot, D. D., is a sentence that she was a woman of "good understanding,
sound discretion,
active benevolence, and unfeigned piety." It is
high praise;
88 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
and yet it might, no doubt, truly be said of hundreds
of women of this name and of other names who are unknown, because
the unobtrusiveness of their lives and the custom
of the time
have kept them from finding a record.
Besides the ancient homestead of George Abbot,
Sen., that
of his son, Timothy Abbot, is of special interest.
It is now
owned by Mr. Asa A. Abbot, and Mr. Sylvester Abbot,
who
hold the original deeds of its transmission from
the first occupant. Timothy Abbot was, when a lad of thirteen, carried
into captivity by the Indians. [See Chapter II.].
Mr. Asa
A. Abbot, now eighty years old, remembers hearing
his great-
grandmother (who had seen Timothy Abbot) tell the
legends
of his captivity and of his suffering from hunger.
A volume would hardly suffice to trace the
descent and the
topics of historic interest in connection with the
Abbot name
in the line of George Abbot, Senior.
JOHN FRYE was one of the settlers who was
of great note
in his day, and had a posterity of distinguished
reputation.
An ancient manuscript pedigree makes the following
sum-
mary:--
"Mr. Fry was one of the first settlers in this
Towne and his offspring men of Grate Note; there was Copprils, Sergeants,
Clarks, Ensignes, Lieuts, Twelve Captains, Magrs, Cornels and Mager Generals,
Two judges of the Corts Superer and Court of Common Pleas and two that
had the titel of the Honoral Counsellors and severall justices of the Peace
and some of the Rest Excelen Good Citizens."
Among the eminent names were Chaplain Jonathan
Frye, mort-ally wounded in Lovewell's fight, 1725; Capt. Nathaniel
Frye, representative, 1743; Col. James Frye and
Gen. Joseph
Frye, of the French War and Revolutionary service;
Col.
Peter Frye, resident in Salem, a Tory and refugee;
Hon.
Simon Frye, who settled in Fryeburg, Me. Mr. Frederick
Frye was a prominent citizen of North Andover about
1800
and thereafter. Mr. Enoch Frye now lives on one
of the an-
cient homesteads; the house was built about 1730
by "Great
John Frye," who weighed three hundred pounds. "Frye
Village" was named from Samuel Frye (and his descend-
MEMORIALS OF THE EARLY SETTLERS. 89
ants), owner of a mill there about 1720. Mr. Theophilus
C.
Frye, one of the descendants of Samuel Frye, and
son of
Theophilus Frye (owner of the estate now the residence
of
Mr. John Smith), has written a pedigree of the Frye
family.
Other representatives of the name are Mr. Nathan
Frye,
lately treasurer of the Marland Manufacturing Company;
Newton Frye, Esq., representative to the Legislature
for
North Andover, 1879.
BENJAMIN WOODBRIDGE. It has been conjectured
by some
persons that this name on the list of first freeholders
was an error, and should have been John Woodbridge, the minister.
But ministers had no house-lot rights, and, moreover,
the
name of, Benjamin Woodbridge occurs on the lists
of persons
assessed for ministers' rates again and again, but
with his
rights or estates credited to another man, "alias
Thomas
Chandler." This shows that he had left the
town. He was
undoubtedly the distinguished brother of Rev. John
Wood-
bridge, the first graduate of Harvard College, whom
Presi-
dent Dunster called the "most honorable of his class,"
and
whom Cotton Mather named "Leader of the Whole Company,
A Star of the first magnitude," and of whom Calamy
says: "He was a great man every way, the lasting
glory, as
well as the First Fruits of that Academy."
When he graduated from the college there was
probably no
special opening for him that promised better than
the new
plantation which his brother had an interest in,
and he, it is not unlikely, at once secured house-lot or acre rights, which
he might do by a brief residence. In 1647 he went back to England and resumed
his studies at Oxford, where he took
his second degree. He entered the ministry, and
became
minister of a church in Newbury, England, but he
was for
a time silenced for his non-conformity. He, however,
after-
ward was allowed to continue his office, and he
gained a great reputation for learning and eloquence.
His bouse-lot rights at Andover remained in
the possession
of Thomas Chandler. In 1724, some descendants of
the
Rev. John Woodbridge laid claim to house-lot rights,
but
their claim was disputed by the proprietors, and
there is no
evidence that it was allowed.
90 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
About 1750 there were Woodbridges living in
Andover,
and it is supposed they were descendants of the
Rev. John
Woodbridge. This I have not verified. A private
of Ando~
ver in the Revolutionary service bore the illustrious
combination of names, Dudley Woodbridge. This family is still in the town,
but, since the departure of the two eminent brothers and ministers, the
name has been inconspicuous in the
town history.
RICHARD BARKER is the only citizen known from
the rec-
ords to have been in the town in 1643. His name
is con-
nected with the first(1) recorded business transaction,
and
hardly any town affair of importance for fifty years
is on record which does not bear his name as party or witness, peti-
tioner, etc. He was prominent in church matters,
chosen in
ecclesiastical committees, was selectman again and
again, and
was entrusted with the administration of many estates.
He
lived near the house-lot of John Osgood, on the
north side of
Cochichawicke. His descendants ultimately settled
on their
farm lands; the several families of Barkers circling
almost the entire shore of the Great Pond, on the north, east, and south.
The son of Richard Barker, John Barker, was
one of the
first deacons of the North Church. Lieut. John Barker
was
quartermaster during the Indian wars. The title
is given
him in the epitaph on his gravestone, 1751.
Private John Barker, in the battle of Bunker
Hill, was the
hero of his company, and displayed a coolness and
bravery
which have given him a name more honorable than
titles.
A brother of the soldier, John Barker, was
the Hon. Ste-
phen Barker. He was born 1771, died 1849; was representa-
tive to the General Court seven years between 1812
and
1824; was a member of the Convention for revising
the Con-
stitution, 1820; and member of the Council, 1825.
Others
of the name, native or resident of Andover, have
been Dr.
Charles Otis Barker, graduate of Harvard College,
1822, a
physician in Nashua, N. H., and Lynn, Mass.; Mr.
John
Barker, of Michigan City and Chicago (died 1878),
who made
a large fortune in the manufacture of railway cars
and in the
(1) See page
7.
MEMORIALS OF THE EARLY SETTLERS. 91
grain trade; Jonathan Tyler Barker, an eccentric
man of sav-
ing habits, a peddler and trader, who left a large
bequest of
money to found a free school in Boxford; Mr. Stephen
Barker, a graduate of Cambridge Divinity School, 1856, pastor of Leominster,
and chaplain in the United States service
in the War of the Rebellion. Other members of the
Barker
family, in several branches, have been rich and
respected
farmers in North Andover, and their descendants
are among
the young men of influence in the town.
"DANIEL POORE and Mary Farnum were married
at Boston, Oct. 20, 1650." The estates of the Poor family lay along
the Shawshin River, at North Andover, on the old road to Lawrence. The
house still stands on the right bank of the river, which was occupied by
the third generation, from Daniel Poor, and it is said that not far from
here was one of the block houses, built in "Shawshin Fields" by order of
the Colonial Government in 1704.
The will(1) and inventory of Daniel Poor were
on record
1689:--
"In the name off God Amen: I Daniel Poor senr.
of Andover
in the County of Essex in New England Husbandman,
being at
ppsent of a sound mind & memory though very
sick of body, &
considering ye dangerousness of my disease &
not knowing how
soone my great change may be, have thought it meet
& doe accordingly make this my last will and testament in manner &
form following: ffirst I bequeath & resign my soul unto ye hands of
god that gave it & my body to be decently interred in the earth from
whence it was taken, in hope & firm assurance of ye pardon of all my
sins & of a blessed and happy resurrec-tion through the alone meritt
& mediation of my Lord & Saviour Jesus Christ. And as for my worldly
goods and outward estate, whether real, personal or mixt, (my just debts
& funeral expenses being discharged) I give & bequeathe in manner
following.
Imp. I give and bequeath unto my dear wife
Mary my dwelling
house with all my household stuff & ye one half
of my Land on this side Shawshin River both arable land, pasture land &
mowing ground, together with my whole stock of neat cattle, sheep, swine
& horses. (and alsoe above two thirds of my kort
(1) Essex County Court
Papers, vol. xlix., p. 32.
92 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
yard) Barn and corne upon ye ground &
what provision I have
in ye house & what money I shall leave
out of this aboves'd estate I would have my aboves'd wife as soon as conveniently
she can pay to my daughter Ruth twenty pounds & to my daughter
Lucy twenty pounds. Confiding in my sd wife
that she will deal by them as well as she hath by her other daughters;
and after that she will pay all my honest and just debts and receive what
is due to me after, I give my sd wife all my husbandrie tackling of what
kind or nature soever & after my Dear wife's decease ye abovesaid Land
shall goe to my eldest son Daniell.
Imp. I give to my son Daniell ye other half
of my land on this side of Shawshin river (excepting three acres I have
given to my daughter Martha which her husband has built upon &
mostly improved) alsoe a parcell of lowe ground
on ye west side of Shawshin river being bounded with the highway &
land of John Granger, ye River & ye Common: my sayd son Daniell
paying within two years after my Decease ten
pounds apiece to
my Daughters, Ruth & Lucy in good merchantable
pay att ye
current price.
Itt. To my son John all my upland with
the meadow-
ground.(1)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . .
As for my daughters Mary, Sarah, Hannah,
Deborah, they have
already received their full portions according
to intent & ability.
Itt. I give to my daughter Martha twenty acres of land ....
Itt. I give to my daughter Elizabeth all the meadow I have in Wade's meadow ....
Itt. I give to my daughter Priscilla my meadow on the west side of Shawshin River commonly called the Pond meadow.
Itt. To my daughters Ruth & Lucy who are yet unmarried, I give forty pounds to each of them to be paid as is before exprest.
Itt. I give to my brother in law Jno ffarnum a Parcell of meadow-- two acres .... on furthest side of Woodchuck meadow...
Itt. I constitute and appoint my two sons Daniell & John Poor to be my executors, Desiring and commending them according to their ability to be help full unto their mother as her necessity shall require, Hereby making void all former wills or writings of this nature.
As witness my hand & seal this 1st day
of June in the year of our Lord sixteen hundred eighty nine.
His mark
DANIEL + POOR
(1) The will
is here abridged, only an outline given to indicate noticeable points.
MEMORIALS OF THE EARLY SETTLERS. 93
"Signed & sealed
DUDLEY BRADSTREET
in presence of
THOMAS BARNARD
CHRISTOPHER OSGOOD.
"Mr. Dudley Bradstreet, Mr. Tho. Barnard &
Christopher Os-
good made oath in Court att Salem 24th June 1690
that they were present & Saw Daniell Poore signe seall & declare
ye above written to bee his last will & testament & yt he was of
disposing mind to ye best intent and understanding.
Attest BENJ. GERRISH, Clerk."
It is interesting and instructive to compare
the inventory
of this estate of a first settler, who had lived
nearly fifty
years in the town, with the inventories of the two
other first settlers who died, the former within ten, the latter within
twenty years of the first planting of Cochichawick. The
third, and latest, is noticeably larger than the
two earlier
ones, and indicates a much greater degree of luxury
in house-
hold furniture:--
Imp. To apparell & purse,
Itt. To bedding & furniture with
bedsteads cords & malts,
Itt. To a pair of curtains & Vallons,
Itt. To bed linen, sheets & pillow
beers
Itt. To table-linen clothes & napkins
& towels,
Itt. To 20 yds of new cloth unmade with
bed linen,
Itt. To Iron pots, brass kettles, trammels
tongs &c.,
Itt. To chests, boxes, wooden ware,
tables chaires &c,
Itt. To arms & ammunition,
Itt. To flax, hemp, wool, feathers,
& other things
overlooked,
Itt. To books,
Itt. To provision, wheat, rye, Indian
corn &c,
Itt. To mowing grass,
Itt. To husbandry, tackling, old iron,
boards &c,
Itt. To stock of cattle, horses, sheep
& swine,
Itt. To Housing, barns & kort yard,
Itt. To about 100 acres of upland, mowing
ground and
pasture
Itt. To about an hundred acres of wilderness
Land,
Itt. To meadowe at Woodchuck meadowe,
Itt. To meadowe over Shawshin river,
Itt. To meadow part of his last Division,
Sum Total L756. 14s. 8d.
94 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
Among the principal names of this family were
the distin-
guished officers of the Revolution, Col. Thomas
Poor, of
Andover (North) and Methuen, and Gen. Enoch Poor,
of
Exeter, N. H., a native of North Andover. Others
of con-
siderable local influence were Dea. Daniel Poor,
a wealthy
farmer of Andover (South Parish), owner of the "Captain
Perry House,"(1) Andover, which he built for his
residence;
Dea. Joseph Poor, who lived at Danvers, father of
the Rev.
Daniel Poor, D. D., one of the early missionaries
to India;
the late Mr. Henry Poor, merchant, of New York,
some time
resident of North Andover. George H. Poor, Esq.,
trial
justice, Andover, attorney and counsellor at law,
Boston;
Mr. Albert Poor, graduate of Harvard College, 1879,
and many
others of the name are well-known and respected
citizens.
In the present city of South Lawrence, the "Shawshin
Fields," during the Revolutionary time, Mr. John
Poor was
a large landholder and a man of influence. In that
region,
in the pre-revolutionary time, lived Timothy Poor,
innholder,
and after the Revolution, down to 1800 or thereabouts,
Ebenezer Poor and Benjamin Poor kept the inn known
sub-
sequently as the "Shawsheen House." Capt. Stephen
Poor
had a fulling mill about 1800, at the mouth of the
Shawshin
River.
NICHOLAS HOLT was a town officer of some note,
and a
man of considerable estate, yet he oftener made
his mark than
wrote his name, although there is one instance found
when
he with difficulty signed his autograph to a petition.
An
original deed is before me by which, in 1680, he
conveyed
about twenty acres of upland to his son-in-law,
in considera-
tion of the
"Naturall Love and affection I bear unto my
daughter Sarah
not long since married unto Roger Marks." &c.
his
NICHOLAS H HOLT.
mark
This settler was, however, the progenitor
of a line of de-
scendants noticeable for their attention to learning.
The
(1) Central Street, now owned
by Mr. Lyman A. Belknap.
MEMORIALS OF THE EARLY SETTLERS. 95
Holt family includes four college graduates prior
to 1800:
Joseph Holt, son of Timothy, graduate H.U. 1739,
teacher
of the Andover Grammar School; Rev. Nathan Holt,
grad-
uate H.U. 1757, minister of Danvers; Moses Holt,
graduate
H.U. 1767, trader at Portland; Rev. Peter Holt,
son of
Joshua Holt, Esq., graduate H.U. 1790, minister,
Epping,
N. H.; also, in 1813, Jacob Holt, son of Dane Holt,
graduated
at Dartmouth College, and ordained at Brookline,
N. H.
During the Revolution, Joshua Holt, Esq., commanded
a
company of minute-men, April 19, 1775; was representative
to the General Court fifteen times between 1776
and 1800,
and several times thereafter, was justice of the
peace and
deacon of the South Church thirty-four years. His
home-
stead is south of the West Parish Meeting-house.
His son,
Solomon Holt, was among the first deacons of the
West
Church, and was succeeded in office by his son,
Dea. Sol-
omon Holt, now in the fiftieth year of his office,
and in the
eighty-first of his age.
The Holt family, in all its branches, is very
large, and in-
cludes many names of considerable influence in town
affairs.
The most ancient dwelling-house, now disused, was
the resi-
dence of the late Mr. Dean Holt (owned by Mr. Ballard
Holt), on Holt's Hill, sometimes called Prospect
Hill,
Andover. There is a tradition that it was the dwelling-
house of Nicholas Holt, the first settler, or that
it was
built more than two hundred years ago. Its style
of con-
struction does not correspond with that of the houses
known
to have been of that age in the town; but there
is little
doubt that Nicholas Holt lived, if not in this house,
on this
homestead at some period. In the beginning he, like
all
the first householders, dwelt on one of the house-lots
at
North Andover; but from a paper found among the
manuscripts of the Abbot family (with which the Holts intermarried), it
appears that in March, 1675, the land around the house of Nicholas Holt
had not been laid out, and that it was not one of the original four- or
eight-acre lots bounded by
the house-lots of other settlers. The presumption
is that
he had then built a house out of the village on
his farm
lands; and it is not unlikely that he and George
Abbot, Sen.,
96 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
and other settlers, took up their abode about the
same time
in the south part of the town. The clause in the
paper in
regard to the highway "going up" to his house is
an unusual
form of expression in the ancient descriptions,
and seems to
imply a height of land, and to point to this ancient
home-stead as the one referred to. The following is the paper:--
"We whose Names are under-written being desired
and deputed
by ye Town of Andover To state or New Marke Nicholas
holts
senr his Land about his house, we have agreed and
stated the
Bounds as under-written (viz) The Southwest corner
in the fence there is a walnut tree marked; from Thence we Run upon a
straight Line to a white Oak Tree upon a straight
Line To a white oak marked with H: which we judge to be near an Easterly
Line from ye white Oak marked with H. To a Black Oak marked
which Line is southerly: from that Black oak we
Ran westerly
To a black oak standing in ye fence Near the highway
going up
to his house and from Thence to the First named
Walnutt: as the fence Now standeth and To these our agreement we have sett
To our hands y 8 off 1st month 1674-5
"Vera Copia out of Andover Book of Records
for Land.
CHRISTOPHER OSGOOD Clerk."
At the ancient dwelling-house now standing
on the estate,
Mr. Bache, of the Coast Survey, spent some weeks
to obtain
outlines of the coast, the view from the hill being
one of the most extensive in the vicinity. This hill is said to have been,
on the 7th of June, 1775, thronged with citizens, anxiously watching the
flames of Charlestown.
THOMAS CHANDLER and WILLIAM CHANDLER stood
among
the most influential of the first settlers. They
were brothers, sons of William Chandler, of Roxbury. Their sister Hannah
was the wife of George Abbot, Sen., and of the Rev. Francis Dane. There
were four different representatives to the General Court of the Chandler
name in the first century of the
town history,-- Ensign Thomas Chandler, 1678; Captain
Thomas Chandler, 1690; Captain John Chandler, 1704;
Mr.
Thomas Chandler, Jr., 1735. The descendants(1) of
the Chand-
(1) A Genealogy,
written by Dr. Chandler of Worcester, is a work of great research, and
in many parts of graphic interest.
MEMORIALS OF THE EARLY SETTLERS. 97
ler name, in Andover and in other towns of the State,
have
been numerous and honorable.
Thomas Chandler-- the representative, 1678--
was a black-
smith, ultimately a rich man, carrying on considerable
iron
works, of which he makes mention in his will, giving
to each
of his sons a fourth part of his share in the iron
works. It
is traditional, though not authenticated, that these
works
were on the Shawshin, at or near the present site
of Marland
village.
There is before the writer an original deed
of the first settler, Thomas Chandler, which has been kept in the family
of
the "party" to whom it was given. Thomas Chandler
wrote
a quite handsome hand, but his wife made "her marke."
This deed classes him as yeoman. It conveys to John
Abbot,
"for nine pounds currant money, one end of a meadow
com-
monly called Beaver dam meadow lying in the bounds
of
Andover about six miles southward from the Towne
of And-
over and contayneth about six Akers be the same
more or
less bounded south west with the meadow of Joseph
Balard
and a beaver dame, east with Oburne lyen" (and so
on, the
other bounds being marked trees). This deed is dated
No-
vember 25, 1684.
William Chandler, brother of Thomas Chandler,
kept an
inn on the Ipswich road to Billerica. His troubles
with some
of his townsmen have been previously related. Thomas
Chandler's son Thomas was likewise representative
to the
General Court. The Chandlers were military men of
consid-
erable local fame in the Indian wars, Captain Thomas
Chand-
ler doing some service in scouting.
Ensign John Chandler was famous for his athletic
prowess
and strength. He was a great wrestler, and loved
to chal-
lenge to the contest any one who boasted of skill
in this art, formerly so fashionable. But he met his match in the Rev.
Mr. Wise, of Ipswich, who, at first declining the
contest as
improper for his profession, at last yielded, and,
taking his
opponent off his guard, with a "trip and a twitch,"
threw
him high over the garden wall, which was built against
an
embankment.
Another story, which has some elements of improbability,
7
98 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
is that, having been impressed for military duty
in the king's service in the French and Indian wars, he was walking beside
the officers on his way to the place of rendezvous, when, coming to a cellar
of a house which had been burnt, and
where the ashes were still smoking, he seized and
threw into
the hole the two officers of guard and went his
way. This(1)
Ensign or Captain (afterward) John Chandler settled
at Con-
cord, N. H.
One of the ancient homesteads of the Chandlers,
con-
nected with names of note, is in the West Parish,
northeast
of the Meeting-house, owned by Mr. Joshua Chandler.
It
is now of large extent, and was anciently larger,
including
the estate of the late Mr. Joseph Chandler. The
Chandlers
were regardful of education, some of them in their
will mak-
ing provision for the liberal education of their
sons at "the
college." In the first century of the town history
there were
three graduates of Harvard College, ministers, of
the Chand-
ler name, all of whom were of some considerable
note in
their time: Rev. James Chandler graduated 1728,
settled at
Rowley; Rev. Samuel Chandler graduated 1735, settled
at
York, Me.; Rev. John Chandler graduated 1743, settled
at
Billerica.
Other names of more or less note are Philemon
Chandler,
conspicuous in town affairs during the Revolutionary
war;
Capt. Joshua Chandler, representative to the Legislature,
1817 (whose homestead was the one mentioned in the
West
Parish, north of the Meeting-house). Among his sons
were
Mr. John Chandler, of the firm of Chandler &
Co., dry goods
merchants, Boston, and Mr. Nathan Chandler, of the
firm of
Monroe & Chandler, bankers, New York.
Mr. Joseph Chandler, Jr., son of Joseph Chandler, (the owner of a part
of the
ancient West Parish homestead), died in the United
States
service, at Ship Island, 1861, a young man of great
promise.
The family is large, and has many other locally
influential
names, besides a wide connection of distinction
in other
towns.
(1) Such seems to be the statement of the genealogist. Possibly it was
a son of Ensign John Chandler.
MEMORIALS OF THE EARLY SETTLERS. 99
JOHN LOVEJOY and Mary Osgood, of Ipswich,
were mar-
ried 1651. Their son, William Lovejoy, settled in
the South
Precinct, and was one of the first deacons of the
South
Church, 1711. There are sixty members of this name
on
the lists of the South Church before the West Parish
was
set off. The name has been perpetuated chiefly in
the South
and West Parishes. The families there have been
among
the good yeomanry, upholders of order, sobriety,
and religion. In the west part of the town, the homesteads of Deacon
John Lovejoy, Deacon Ballard Lovejoy, and the late Deacon Ebenezer Lovejoy,
are within a short distance of each other, about a mile west of the Meeting-house.
Among the conspicuous names of this family were Capt. Nathaniel Lovejoy,
in the Revolutionary period, and his son, Gen. Nathaniel Lovejoy, a graduate
of Harvard College 1766, a trader at North Andover; also Capt. William
Lovejoy, of Andover (South). Among the emigrants from the town were the
late Deacon William R. Lovejoy, East Boston, and the late Mr. Joseph Lovejoy,
founder of the firm of Lovejoy & Sons, carpet merchants, Boston. The
ancient homestead of Deacon Ebenezer Lovejoy is now owned and occupied
by Mr. Isaac Carruth. Some of the family papers show the transmission
of estates from the year 1692. In 1876 the widow of James Lovejoy, mother
of Dea. Ballard Lovejoy, died, in her one hundredth year, in remarkable
possession of her faculties of mind and body.
ANDREW FOSTER, the first, as it seems, of
the many of this
name in Andover, died 1685, aged 106, or thereabouts.
His
will leaves to his "deare and loving wife Ann Foster
the use
& sole liberty of living in that end of my house
I now live
in." This aged woman ended her days in Salem
jail, under
condemnation for witchcraft. Abraham Foster, son
of the
above, had estates in the southwest part of the
town, and,
either from him or from his father, Foster's Pond
probably
received its name. A deed dated 1721, signed Abraham
Fos-
ter, Junior, conveys land on the southerly side
of Foster's
Pond, from the "great Ridg and Reeding medow and
to
Nod line to a littel Brook that Runs into foster
pond."
I00 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
The name of Foster in the Andovers has sprung
from several sources, and to trace their origin and descent would be a
work of much genealogical research.
One of the prominent names in the early town
history was
Ephraim Foster. He was a grandson of Reginald Foster,
a
citizen of Ipswich of some consideration, and who
is said by
genealogists to have been descended from an ancient
family
of Forster mentioned by Walter Scott in his tales
and ballads
of Scottish border warfare. Ephraim Foster was a
man con-
spicuous in the town matters of Andover, although
not con-
nected prominently with the military or the civil
history. He
seems, judging from the numerous documents in his
hand-writing, to have excelled as a scribe, and to have been versed
in the art of punctuation, then little known to
the majority of our town officials. His favorite point was the colon, with
which his papers are plentifully besprinkled, without regard to the grammatical
or rhetorical construction. This character-istic appears in the "Proprietors'
Records," where his hand-writing occurs.(1)
Some of the family estates were in the east
part of North
Andover. On one of the ancient homesteads (that
afterward
occupied by J. M. Hubbard, Esq., and noted for the
large and
beautiful elm tree, still vigorous) was born one
of the most
eminent of the natives of North Andover, the Hon.
Jedediah
Foster, son of Ephraim Foster. After graduating
at Harvard College, 1744, he studied law and settled in Brookfield,
was prominent as a statesman before the Revolution,
and a
distinguished patriot in the Revolutionary struggle.
He was
justice of the Court of Common Pleas and of the
Superior
Court. He died 1779. The names of his descendants
have
been among the most honored, and of national reputation.
His son was the Hon. Dwight Foster, of Brookfield,
United
(1) The following
record in his handwriting, which is remarkably clear and legible, illustrates
this peculiarity:-- "At a Lawfull metting of the proprietors of the town
of Andover: on the 21: day of desember: 1714: By virtue of a warrant from
Collonal Samuell Appleton Esquier one of his majesties: justises of the
peece for the county of Essex ... Ephraim ffoster was chosen the proprietors
clerke: for ye year ensuinge: or untell Another: is chosen and sworne in
his Rome And was then sworne: Before: Joseph: Woodbridge Esquire:" etc.--Prop.
Rec. i. p.8.
MEMORIALS OF THE EARLY SETTLERS 101
States Senator, who died 1823. His grandson is the
Hon.
Dwight Foster, of Boston. Of the Ephraim Foster
line of
connection are Moses Foster, Esq., cashier of Andover
Bank,
and Mr. David Foster, sometime mayor of Beloit,
Wisconsin,
sons of Mr. Moses Foster, the well-known innkeeper
of North
Andover fifty years ago.
Other representatives of the Foster name in North Andover were Rev. Stephen Foster, son of John Foster, a graduate of Dartmouth College, 1821, a home-missionary and teacher in the Southern States, and afterward resident in North Andover; and Isaac Foster, graduate of Dartmouth College, 1828. Mr. Daniel Foster and Mr. John Foster were traders of North Andover many years. The latter, now living, was also postmaster. The name is now represented by some of the most enterprising farmers in the town, among them, especially, Mr. John Plummer Foster has an excellent farm, formerly owned by his father, Dea. Charles Foster, near the Great Pond, and is well known in local affairs.
The homestead of Daniel Foster, Dr. Simon Foster,
and
their three sisters (on the north side of the Great
Pond) was, at the death of the last sister, about sixteen years since,
by mutual bequest left to be sold for the benefit of the Andover Theological
Seminary and Missionary Societies. It is now owned by the Hon. William
A. Russell, of Lawrence, who
has enlarged and improved it at a great outlay of
money and
labor, so that it is now one of the finest and most
noted farms in the county.
William Foster, of Rowley village (Boxford),
also a descend-ant of Reginald Foster, in 1678 removed to North Andover,
and subsequently to the west part of the town. Among his descend-ants
were the brothers, Capt. Asa Foster, of the French War service, and Ensign
John Foster, active patriots of the Revolution. A son of Capt. Asa Foster
was Rev. Abiel Foster, minister of Canterbury, N. H., 1761, who entered
into politics and became celebrated in his adopted State, was appointed
Justice of the Court of Common Pleas, and elected member of the United
States Congress. One of the homesteads of this family was not far from
the West Meeting-house,-- near the present residence of Mr. Charles Shat-
102 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
tuck,-- where an inn or public house was kept. Of
this line
of descent-- grandson of Capt. John Foster-- was
Mr. William Foster, who kept a boarding-school for boys in Andover,
South Parish, about 1794-1817, and who was father
of the
late William P. Foster. Other well-known citizens
of the
name were Capt. Thomas C. Foster, proprietor of
the Eagle
Hotel, and representative to the Legislature, 1838,
and his
son, Rev. Thomas E. Foster, a teacher in Phillips
Academy.
Among others of the name now prominent in Andover
are Hon. George Foster, editor of the "Andover Advertiser" department of
the "Lawrence American," and his son, George W. Foster, Esq., town clerk;
Mr. William H. Foster, connected with the Boston Public Library, and Mr.
Joseph W. Foster, son of Capt. Thomas C. Foster, merchant of Boston.
WILLIAM BALLARD was a considerable land-owner,
though
not so much in public offices as some of the first
settlers.
His son, Joseph Ballard, was constable in 1688,
and has the
fame of bringing the first charge of witchcraft
against Andover citizens. Joseph and John Ballard were the first who
started a fulling-mill in Andover. The Ballard mill
is often
mentioned in the ancient records. Timothy Ballard
was a
large land-owner about 1790, in the district afterward
named
the Ballardvale.
Hezekiah Ballard was an innkeeper of Revolutionary
time.
Some of the Ballard descendants, emigrants from
Andover,
have engaged successfully in manufactures.
JOSEPH PARKER and NATHAN PARKER were citizens
of
much consideration. Joseph Parker owned a tannery
and
had a corn-mill. His property was apprized at "546
pounds
sterling, the dwelling-house 68 pounds, the corn
mill on the
Cochichawick 20 pounds." In 1678 he made his
will(1) ("con-
sidering my great age and infirmity"), appointing
as overseers of it "my loving brother Nathan Parker, my loving friend Left.
John Abbot, my loving friend Henry Ingalls, and loving friend Ensigne Thomas
Chandler." After bequests to
his sons, Stephen, Samuel, and Thomas, he makes
bequests
(1) County
Court Papers, vol. xxx., p. 24.
MEMORIALS OF THE EARLY SETTLERS. 103
to Mary, Sarah, and Ruth, his daughters, and "to
my deare
wife (Mary) I give all my estate in old England,
that of Rumsey and any legacies left me by friends." Afterward the
son petitions that he may be allowed to take charge of money
come from England to his mother, as she was incapable
"of
managing it by reason of distemper of mind."
The name
of Mary Parker is that of one of the Andover women
hanged
for witchcraft in 1692, and there is a probability
that she was the same person here alluded to, and that her mental dis-
order tended to heighten the public belief in her
complicity
with evil spirits-- in practising witchcraft.
Joseph Parker, 2d, to whom the corn-mill was
left, made
his will(1) in 1684. He was a carpenter. His property
was
apprized at 402 pounds sterling; the mill at 100
pounds.
He bequeathed it absolutely, with every part, "to
my deare
and loveing wife Elizabeth till my only child Joseph
shall
come to the age of twenty-one years." He was
an innholder,
as was also his son, Joseph Parker, 3d. The latter
was representative to the General Court.
Capt. James Parker and Capt. Peter Parker,
sons of Joseph
Parker, 3d were prominent citizens and officers
in the French
and Indian War.
Mr. Isaac Parker kept a public house at North
Andover,
about 1800.
Nathan Parker, first settler, had not a large
estate, yet he
seems to have been a man of some consequence. He
drew up a great many papers, as, for instance, that of the apprentice Job
Tyler before alluded to. He may have been a professional scrivener; there
were men of this trade or profession in the colonies, and although their
learning, or technical skill, might give them some advantage, they would
not be likely to get riches in a small country town. Whether or no Nathan
Parker was a writer, he was not a reader, or owner of many books. His inventory(2)
has the following items: "Bridle, sadle, and pillion, pewter, glass
bottles and bookes," --all valued at two pounds. The entire inventory
amounted to 148 pounds sterling.
(1) Court
Papers, vol. x1ii., p. 56.
(2) Court
Papers, vol. xxxi., p. 95.
104 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
Two sons of Nathan and Mary Parker were killed
by the
Indians at Scarborough. Nathan Parker left his whole
estate
to his wife, "for the education and bringing up
of Mary ye
daughter of ye deceased til she come of age &
then she is
to have half the estate." The unusual circumstance
of men-
tioning the education of a daughter would imply,
on the part
of the father, a special interest in learning.
The name of Parker has been connected prominently
with
Boxford Parish, members of which were residents
of North
Andover. Among these, Capt. Asa Parker, deacon
of the
Second Church, was a prominent citizen during the
Revolu-
tionary period.
ROBERT BARNARD, the first settler, had a house-lot
and
dwelling near Mr. Simon Bradstreet's. Stephen
Barnard
was a weaver. The descendants removed to the west
part
of the town, and the ancient Barnard estates lay
along the
Merrimack River.
Robert Barnard, a grandson of the first settler,
had a law-
suit with the Proprietors of Andover for some years,
1715-
1720. The following is the first mention made of
it in the
"Proprietors' Records":--
"At a lawful meeting of the Proprietors of
ye common and
undivided Lands in Andover on the 27: day of June
1715 Capt.
George Abbot was chosen moderator for said meeting.
"Voatted and passed to chuse agents or attornies to defend our wrights against Robert Barnard Administrator to the estate of his grandfather Robert Barnard formerly of Andover desest at the next Inferer Court of Common pleas to be holden at Salem the Last Tuesday of June Currant for the County of Essex.
"Capt. James Frie, Mr. John Ames and Mr. William
Foster was
chosen agents and attornies for the proprietors
of Andover for the Service abovesaid to defend their Rights from Cort to
Cort."
The Barnard name has not in this line of descent
ever
been prominent in the town history, though the citizens
have
been men of some local note in their places of abode.
The
oldest representative of the name now living in
Andover is
Mr. Osgood Barnard, of the West Parish, aged eighty.
He is an old-fashioned shoemaker, and in his neat little shop in
MEMORIALS OF THE EARLY SETTLERS 105
the front yard of his comfortable dwelling-house,
seated on his bench, surrounded by the various implements of his craft,
all in perfect order, he receives with simple dignity his visitors, and
talks with more good sense on current topics and past events than some
men talk who wear broadcloth and sit with dignitaries in seats of honor.
On the shelf above his bench is a small but well-read pile of books, ancient
school-readers, old memoirs, hymn-book, and the Bible. The village mail
has sometimes been sent here for distribution, so that the shoemaker is
also a sort of postmaster. If Andover had a Mr. Long-fellow the little
shop and its owner might have found an immortality like that of the village
smithy under the spreading chestnut tree.
The name of Barnard is among those locally
well known
in several parts of Andover. The name is in some
of the
branches continued, probably by descendants of the
Rev.
Thomas Barnard; but in none of the lines of descent
has
it attained eminence in the town history since the
colonial period.
ANDREW ALLEN was constable at an early day
in Andover. He had a son, Andrew Allen, whose suit to Elizabeth
Richardson and his father's "incorridgement for
a liveli-
hood" have been already described.(1) There is before
me
an original deed, given by this Elizabeth Allen
after her husband's death,-- one of the few in which a woman is the principal.
In this deed the widow, jointly with the children, gives the quitclaim.
".... Elizabeth Allen Relect of Andrew Allen,
and Elizabeth, Andrew and Sarah Allen .... all of us Relect and cheldren
of
Andrew Allen .... know yee that wee ye said Elizabeth
and my three children Elizabeth Andrew and Sarah Allen &c" [after this
and other repetition supposed to be needful to legal dignity, the main
fact is arrived at] "for eighty nine pounds we the abovesaid .... granted,
Remised, Released and quit claimed to Ephraim Abbot their part share and
dividend of that Meseuage or Tennament where ye abovenamed Andrew Allin
formerly lived, contain-
ing about twenty two acres in the homestead ....
and ...
(other land) near Flaggy Meadow."
(1)
Page 77.
106 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
Four red wax seals, with an elaborate stamp,--
an S and a star, and other emblems, are appended to the document, and the
marks of the widow and the daughters, and the autograph of the son:--
her
ELIZABETH X ALLEN. [Seal.]
marke
her
ELIZABETH E A ALLAN. [Seal.]
marke
ANDREW ALLIN. [Seal.]
her
SARAH S A ALLIN.[Seal.]
mark
The daughter of Andrew Allen, Sen. (first
settler), was
married to Thomas Carrier, and was hanged for witchcraft.
Another daughter, married to Roger Toothaker
of Bill-erica, was murdered by the Indians.
Of the other first settlers on the list, the
following are said(1) to have had no descendants in the town fifty years
ago: Henry Jacques, Richard Blake, Thomas Poor, John Russ, John Aslet.
The will of John Aslet is preserved in the
"County Court
Papers" (vol. xvii., p. 105).
"The last wil & Testament of me, John
Aslet upon the 15th day of the third month 1671, being in perfect memory
blessed be the Lord.
JOHN A ASLET."
his marke
FRANCIS DANE. witnesses.
ALEXANDER SESSIONS.
The family names in the first list of freeholders,
which
have now all been referred to, are as follows: Abbot,
Allen, Aslet, Ballard, Barker, Barnard, Blake, Bradstreet Chandler, Faulkner,
Foster, Frye, Holt, Jacques, Lovejoy, Osgood, Parker, Poor, Russ, Stevens,
Woodbridge.
In the year 1678 all the male citizens(2) in
each town were
(1) Abbot's History, 1829.
(2) Not alphabetically arranged
in the original. Registry of Deeds, "Ipswich," Book IV. Those surnames
marked * are not in the first list of freeholders. It will be noticed that
the name Sutton does not appear on either this list or the foregoing,--
the arrival and removal of Richard Sutton being between the two dates.
Mr. Woodbridge was also removed before 1678.
MEMORIALS OF THE EARLY SETTLERS. 107
ordered to take the oath of allegiance to the king.
The following is the list of names recorded for the town of Andover.--
"A List of all the Male Persons in Andover
from sixteen years old that took oath of Alegance ffebruary 11, 1678."
Abbot, George, Senr.
Abbot, George, Junr.
Abbot, George, tailor.
Abbot, John.
Abbot, John, Junr.
Abbot, Thomas.
Abbot, William.
Abbot, Benjamin.
Allen, Andrew, Senr.
Allen, Andrew, Junr.
Allen, John.
Aslett, John.
*Balden, Titus.
Ballard, William, Senr.
Ballard, William, Junr.
Ballard, Joseph,
Ballard, John.
Barker, Richard, Senr.
Barker, Richard, Junr.
Barker, Ebenezer.
Barker, John.
Barker, Stephen.
Barker, William.
Barnard, Stephen.
*Bigsbie, Daniel.
*Blunt, William.
Bradstreet, Mr. Dudley.
*Brewer, Thomas.
*Bridges, John.
*Carlton, John.
Chandler, John.
Chandler, Ens. Thomas.
Chandler, William, Senr.
Chandler, William, Junr.
Chandler, Wm., son of Tho.
*Dane, Francis.
Dane, Francis, Junr.
Dane, Nathaniel.
*Eirres, Zecharias.
*Farnum, John.
Farnum, Ralph, Senr.
Farnum, Ralph, Junr.
Farnum, Thomas.
Faulkner, Mr. Edmond.
Faulkner, John.
Foster, Andrew, 101 yrs. old.
Foster. Ephraim.
Frie, John.
Frie, John, Junr.
Frie, Samuel.
Frie, James.
*Gray, Robert.
*Gutterson, John.
Holt, Nicholas, Senr.
Holt, Nicholas, Junr.
Holt, James.
Holt, Samuel.
Holt, Henry.
Holt, Daniel.
*Hutchinson, Samuel.
*Ingalls, Henry, Senr.
Ingalls, Henry, Junr.
Ingalls, John.
Ingalls, Samuel.
*Johnson, Thomas.
Johnson, John.
Johnson, Stephen.
Johnson, Returne.
Johnson, William.
*Kempe, Samuel.
*Lacey, Lawrence.
Lovejoy, John, Senr.
Lovejoy, John, Junr.
Lovejoy, William.
Lovejoy, Christopher.
*Marble, Samuel.
Marble, Jacob.
Marble, Joseph.
*Marston, John, Senr.
Marston, John, Junr.
Marston, Jacob.
Marston, Joseph.
*Martin, Samuel.
*Nichols, Nicholas.
Osgood, Left. John.
Osgood, Christopher.
Osgood, John, Junr.
Osgood, Stephen.
Osgood, Thomas.
Osgood, Timothy.
Parker, Joseph.
Parker, Nathan.
Parker, John.
*Phelps, Edward, Junr.
Poore, Daniel, Senr.
Poore, Daniel, Junr.
Poore, John, Junr.
*Preston, John.
Preston, Samuel.
*Robinson, Joseph.
*Russell, Robert.
Rust, John, Senr.
Rust, John, Junr.
*Salter, Henry.
*Sessions, Alexander.
Stevens, John.
Stevens, Nathan.
Stevens, Ephraim.
Stevens, Benjamin.
*Stone, Hugh.
*Wardwell, Samuel.
*Wilson, Joseph, Senr.
Wilson, Joseph, Junr.
*Whittington, Edward.
*Wright, Walter.
Following are some brief memoranda respecting
the family names on the above list which did not appear on the list
of first freeholders. These, however, are merely outlines, nei-
108 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
ther biographies of individuals nor genealogies
of families, but merely collections of such scattered relics and records
as have been found of these early settlers, with some notes to indicate
the comparative perpetuity and influence of the several families.
The Abbot line had other founders than George
Abbot, Sen., already named,-- there being two or three settlers at an early
day of this name. The principal one of these
was "George Abbot, tailor," as he is often designated.
He
was from Rowley in 1655. He died 1689, leaving a
large
family of children and a widow. The latter was subse-quently
married to Henry Ingalls. The estate was settled as described in the following
paper:(1)—
"Know all men by these presents that whereas
George Abbot of Andover in ye County of Essex taylor deceased ye 22d of
March 1688-9 and left noe written will behind him, that could be found
& about that time ye Government of ye Country
being in an unsettled posture, we ye subscribers, being his wife &
children (except such as are under age) thought it our best way to take
an inventory of his estate and to agree upon ye division of it which is
as followeth: The widdowe of sd Abbot hath accepted of about 25 pounds
which she hath received already as her full satisfaction for her part or
share reserving an interest in one end of the house, if she see cause to
make use thereof at any time during her life.
"George Abbot, eldest son of the sd George
Abbot deceased hath accepted of 16 acres of upland on which he had built
a house during his fathers life & was given to sd George by his late
father, tho there was noe legall conveyance and alsoe a parcell of meadowe
commonly called Woodchuck meadowe with some part of stock now in his hands
of about (?) pounds value and about one Sixth pt
of ye household stuff which he is now possessed
of and alsoe half of ye meadowe in Ye farther side of sd Woodchuck valued
at five pounds" ....
The other sons were assigned portions, and
the daughters
were to have such parts as they had accepted already.
The
instrument is signed by the second husband of the
widow
Abbot:--
"I Henry Ingalls senr having married ye widowe of ye aboves'd George Abbot deceased before ye Signing of this agreement have consented unto & signed with them.
(1) Essex County Court Papers,
vol. xlvii., p. 12.
MEMORIALS OF THE EARLY SETTLERS. 109
"Alsoe we John Faulkner & Stephen Barker
having married
Sarah & Mary Abbot have consented .... &c
HENRY INGALLS
Her mark
SARAH + INGALS alias ABBOT
GEORGE ABBOT
JNO ABBOT
NEHEMIAH ABBOT
JOHN FAULKNER
Her mark
SARAH + FAULKNER alias ABBOT
STEPHEN BARKER
Her mark
MARY + BARKER alias ABBOT.
Her mark
HANNAH + ABBOT
Her mark
LYDIA + ABBOT"
Among the descendants of this George Abbot
were in
early time Mr. Nehemiah Abbot, deputy to the General
Court, 1717, and Dr. Nehemiah Abbot, settled as
a physician in Andover, 1748. A sister of the latter was married to
Amos Lawrence, of Groton. From this marriage sprung
the
illustrious union of families and names represented
by the Hon. Abbot Lawrence, and Hon. Amos A. Lawrence. Hon.
Amos Abbot, of Andover, member of the United States
Con-
gress, father of the Hon. Alfred A. Abbot, of Peabody,
was of this line of descent. Also Dea. Albert Abbot, trader of Andover,
is of this branch of the Abbot line.
Thomas Abbot, another early settler, also founded
a line of posterity at Andover. The name is probably more numer-
ously represented than any other.
Baldwin, Bixby, and Brewer have not been conspicuous
names in Andover. A relic of the deeds of DANIEL
BIXBY,
1697 is at hand, whereby he conveyed to John Abbot
for
five pounds, thirteen shillings and eight pence
"in currant money," a parcel of swamp land lying "within ye Township of
Andover,' and "formerly in ye possession of Capt. Thomas Chandler on ye
East Side of ye Ridge near Little Hope" .... containing" .... about five
acres and one half & twenty-nine rods." ....
""In witness whereof I have hereunto sett my hand
and seall
110 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
this twentieth daye of May Anno Dom one thousand
six hundred ninety & seaven & in ye ninth year of ye Reyne of our
Sovereigne Lord William by ye Grace of God. King of England, Scotland,
France & Ireland Defender of ye faith.
DANIEL BAXBEE
Her marke
HANNAH X BIGSBIE
"Signed sealed and Delivered
in ye presence of:
us: SAMUEL HUNT
his mark
WALTER + WRIGHT
ANDREW PEETERS .... Befor
me DUDLEY BRADSTREET,
Just of Peace.
WILLIAM BLUNT was progenitor of a line of
descendants
who have owned considerable estates especially on
the Hill at Andover. Some of these estates form a part of the grounds of
the Theological Seminary. Mr. Isaac Blunt made a donation of land to the
Institutions of learning. He was an inn-keeper during and after the Revolutionary
War, and was also a hat or "felt"-maker. He lived on the present Salem
Street, east of the Seminary buildings. His descendants, Mr. Charles K.
Blunt and Mr. Samuel Blunt, live not far from the ancestral estates. One
branch of the family lives at North Andover. In the colonial times the
Rev. John Blunt, son of William Blunt, graduated at Harvard College, 1727,
and was ordained minister of Newcastle, where he preached till his death,
1746, at the age of forty-two years. He was much esteemed, and a man of
ability.
JOHN BRIDGES was constable in 1678. In 1723,
Mr. James
Bridges was representative to the General Court,
and was a man of great influence and considerable wealth, the owner of
several slaves. His "mault-house" is referred to in some of the records.
His death is curiously described in the epitaph on his grave-stone:--
Erected in Memory
of Mr. JAMES BRIDGES
who departed this life
July 17th 1747 in ye
51st year of his age
Being melted to death
by extreme heat.
MEMORIALS OF THE EARLY SETTLERS. 111
James Bridges, 2d, in 1750, seems to have
had much difficulty and controversy with Moody Bridges. From the Proprietors'
Books it appears that in 1750 they laid out a grant of land to Moody Bridges
in "ye new field." This was in possession of and claimed by James
Bridges, who refused to give it up:--
"He with Holds ye same from me ye sd Moody Bridges. Put to vote to see if ye proprietors would put Moody Bridges in possession. Negative.
"To, see if they wd warrant the premises to Moody Bridges, by a lawful deed of sale. Neg.
"To see if they would enable him to draw money from ye proprietors' treasury to carry on a Law suite against ye said James Bridges to recover ye privileges out of His hands by a writ of ejectment. Neg.
"To see if the proprietors would take it into their own hands & ejecte ye sd James Bridges outt of said premises. Neg.
"To see if ye Proprietors will give up to Moody
Bridges the note of sixteen pounds he gave for the grant. Afirm."
Col. Moody Bridges was Adjutant to Colonel
Fry in the
French and Indian War, and performed arduous service
(else-where referred to). He was an ardent patriot and made stirring Revolutionary
speeches. He was delegate to the Provincial Congress, 1774-75. He died
1801, aged seventy-eight.
The epitaph on his grave-stone says:--
"He was a man eminently
useful in his day
He lived, beloved,
revered, and died greatly
lamented by all his
family & acquaintances."
Col. Moody Bridges, who died at North Andover,
1865, was
for nearly fifty years deputy sheriff of the county.
He was a man of genial hospitality and hearty good fellow-ship, and conspicuous
in all the trainings and musters and county cattle shows, where his portly
figure and ruddy face, beaming with good nature, his flowing gray locks
under his cocked hat, and his stentorian voice, made him a prince of marshals,
the observed of all observers.
Of Colonel Bridges's large family, all have
either died or removed from their former residence at North Andover.
112 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
JOHN CARLTON, whose name appears on the list
of 1678,
died at the age of eighty-seven. Neither he nor
his descendants for a hundred years, appear in any prominent public connection,
but the family in all its branches of descent has been of marked excellence
and probity. The traces of them are few in the public records, they having,
as appears, lived remarkably free from the litigation and complaints which
have made some names conspicuous, and have served (if no other good) to
preserve interesting facts of manners and customs.
An epitaph on the gravestone of one of the family, perhaps sums up the character of the majority of the Carlton name:--
He was benevolent, just and
peaceable with all."
Dr. John Ingalls Carlton, son of Mr. Dean Carlton,
was a
graduate of Harvard College 1814, and settled as
a physician in North Andover.
Among those who have entered into business
successfully,
is Mr. Jacob F. Carlton, who kept the United States
Hotel
in New York, and is now resident at Andover. Mr.
Henry
Carlton was a teacher in San Francisco.
The name is represented at North Andover, by
several excellent citizens of local influence.
MR. FRANCIS DANE was the second minister of
Andover.
A history of his ministry is given in the chapter
on the
churches. His influence in the town was greater
than that
of any other man, except, perhaps, Captain Bradstreet,
during the time of the witchcraft delusion, to stay the frenzy. His descendants
have been numerous in Andover, the west part of the town, but none have
been eminent as was the founder of the line. Dea. John Dane was a prominent
member of the South Church. Rev. John Dane, son of Daniel Dane, a graduate
of Dartmouth College, 1800, was minister of Newfield, Maine.
No tombstone or relic of the Dane family is
found in the
Old North Burying Ground, near the site of the meeting-
house, where Mr. Francis Dane ministered.
The name of EIRRES has never been conspicuous
in the
town.
MEMORIALS OF THE EARLY SETTLERS. 113
RALPH FARNUM married Elizabeth Holt, 1658.
Thomas Farnum married Elizabeth Sibborn, 1660.
John Farnum married Rebekah Kent, 1667.
Among the noteworthy names of this large family,
or
families, are, Capt. John Farnum, during the French
War;
Mr. John Farnum, graduate of Harvard College, 1761,
member of the Convention for forming the State Constitu-tion; Capt. Benjamin
Farnum, an officer of long service in the Revolution, and deacon of the
North Church till his death, 1833, at the age of eighty-seven; Dea. Jede-diah
Farnham, of the First Church and the "Evangelical" Church; his sons, Timothy
Farnum, Esq., graduate of Harvard College, 1808, counsellor-at-law, Monmouth,
Me.; Rev. Enoch Farnham,(1) minister at Wayne, Me.; Mr. Edwin Farnham,
trader, and conductor on the Boston and Maine Railroad (killed in an accident
on the road, 1841), and Mr. Armstrong Farnham, merchant at Philadelphia
and Boston. The latter was the original owner of the present residence
of Gen. Eben Sutton, at North Andover, built 1857.
Other citizens, Capt. Levi Farnham, Dea. Joseph
Farn-
ham, have been influential locally, and the descendants
of the ancient settlers are very numerous in the Andovers.
ROBERT GRAY was a mariner, the only one of
whom rec-
ord has been found in Andover among the early settlers.
In 1699 he bought some hundred acres of land, more or less, from Henry
Holt, Sen., and Mr. Dudley Bradstreet. These estates lie in the Holt district
of the South Parish; one parcel is described as between Colonel Bradstreet's
"Upper Falls Meadow" and Lieutenant Osgood's "Gibbet Plaine Meadow." The
deeds have been handed down in the families which have continued to occupy
the homestead to the present owner, Mr. Henry Gray. In February, 1718,
Robert Gray made his will, giving lands and house and stock and
"all [his] wareing cloaths and [his] cane with a
silver head" to his son Henry Gray. This son bought the rights of other
members of the family to their lands, and owned large estates. He
bargained in 1748 with Robert Gray (probably his brother)
(1) This family
adopted the more correct orthography of the old country.
8
114 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
to rent to the latter a mill privilege on the "westerly
side of Salem road on the southerly side of the brook in my Paster by the
Bridg" for the latter to grind scythes, he agreeing to pay therefor two
good new scythes ready ground." In course of time, "Anno Dom. 1740," Henry
Gray made his will, and bequeathed to his beloved son Henry Gray, 2d, his
"lands and stock of Bruit creatures and Husbandry-- tools and tackling,
and wearing apparel, and weaving loom and tackling, and best Gun and Stelyars,"
and to other sons lands and money, and to his six daughters pewter plates,
and dishes, and all his books. In 1754, Henry Gray, 2d, made his will,
a total inventory of L810 2S. 9d. His widow, subsequently married to Jona-than
Peabody of Boxford, in 1766 made her will, giving to her daughter Alice,
besides her household
utensils, as "Box iron, heaters, spinning wheel,"
etc., her "best riding-hood," and to other daughters, her "camblet gound
and amber beads, black quilted coat and silk crape gound and worsted gound
and white apron."
A son of Robert Gray was the Rev. Robert Gray,
graduate
of Harvard College, 1786, minister of Dover, N.
H. A descendant of this family is Samuel Gray, Esq., of Andover,
now President of the Merrimack Insurance Company, and for forty years treasurer
of the company. Among other descendants have been Mr. David Gray, and his
son, Mr. Samuel Gray, city engineer of Providence, also Mr. Braviter Gray,
of Tewksbury.
The name of GUTTERSON has continued to the
present
time, but no special relics or memorials of its
continuous generations have been found in the records of the town's history.
The Rev. George H. Gutterson grad-uated at the Punchard School, and the
Andover Theological Seminary, and was ordained Missionary to India of the
American Board, 1878.
The name of HUTCHINSON has not, so far as
has been ascertained, been at any point conspicuous in the town history.
HENRY INGALLS, son of Edmond Ingalls of Lynn,
in 1653
married Mary Osgood, and, in 1689, married again
the widow
MEMORIALS OF THE EARLY SETTLERS. 115
of George Abbot, tailor. A descendant thus records
the
genealogy:--
"Mr. Edmond Ingalls from whom all these sprung
was born in the year 1627 and died in the year 1719 who lived ninety-two
years, and two months after his death I Henry Ingalls was born who have
lived 83 years. So that we two Henry Ingalls both lived on this earth one
hundred and seventy-five years."
Capt. Henry Ingalls, writer of the above,
died 1803, aged eighty-four years. He was an officer in service in the
French and Indian War. The Ingalls descendants owned large farms in North
Andover, chiefly in the Centre district, near the borders of the Farnham
district. In the early history of the town, Henry Ingalls had his house-lot
near the meeting-house at the Centre, which be exchanged for land more
remote, in order to accommodate the town in respect to the location of
the new meeting-house, as appears from a petition to the General Court:--
"We have found out a place in the towne neere
the meeting-house very convenient which is the lott of Henry Ingalls which
we have procured by way of exchanging for seventy acres of the above-said
hundred" (the hundred "being a mile from our meeting-house").
Among the representatives of the Ingalls name
of consid-
erable repute, have been Col. John Ingalls of North
Andover, a large farmer and a schoolmaster; Dr. Jedediah Ingalls, a graduate
of Harvard College, 1792, physician at Durham, N. H.; his son,,Dr. Charles
Ingalls, born at Durham, N. H., 1807, graduate of Dartmouth College, 1829,
resident of North Andover, and some time in practice of his profession;
Rev. Wilson Ingalls of Andover (South), graduate of Union College, 1836,
pastor in Glenville, New York.
This family is not, perhaps, so largely represented
in the town now as some others of ancient origin, but there are several
families of estimable citizens.
The name of JOHNSON has been one of the most
continu-
ously influential in the history of the Andovers.
The Johnsons who settled here, and at Charlestown and Woburn,
116 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
were emigrants from Hern Hill, in Kent County, England.
THOMAS JOHNSON and TIMOTHY JOHNSON were among those
earliest in office at Andover. The former, a son
of John
Johnson, was constable in 1665, and was in town
as early as 1658, when he married a daughter of Nicholas Holt. Stephen
Johnson, carpenter, owned one of the first saw-mills. He married Elizabeth
Dane, accused of witchcraft. His son, Francis married Sarah Hawkes, who
had been accused of witchcraft. Timothy Johnson was constable about 1676.
His daughter,(1) Penelope, was murdered by Indians, 1698, March 4th. The
homestead was the estate on the Haverhill road, in North Andover, at the
corner of the street to Stevens's mills. The ancient house, where the young
lady was murdered, stood east of the one now on the place. Capt. Timothy
Johnson built the present house, and in 1771 gave it in his will to his
son, Col. Samuel Johnson, whose home it afterward was. Colonel Johnson's
distinguished part in the Revolutionary War is elsewhere noted. His son,
Capt. Samuel Johnson, was also a gallant officer. He lived in the house
which also had been for a time the residence of his father, and which was
lately owned by Mr. Samuel K. Johnson. This homestead is now owned and
occupied in summer by Mr. J. D. W. French, of Boston, an amateur and scientific
farmer, author of valuable works on agriculture and stock raising.
The ancient Timothy Johnson homestead, after
being the
residence of Col. Samuel Johnson, was the home of
his son, Capt. Joshua Johnson, and the birth-place of Dr. Samuel Johnson,
graduate of Harvard College, 1814, and physician in Salem. It is now the
residence of a son of Dr. Johnson, Rev. Samuel Johnson, formerly minister
of an Independent Religious Society in Lynn, now engaged in writing an
extended work on Comparative Religion, two volumes of which have been published,
"India" and "China."
Lieutenant (afterward Captain of the Militia)
William Johnson was in the Revolutionary service. Three of his sons have
been prominent citizens of North Andover: William John-
(1) Genealogists
differ as to whether she was daughter of Thomas or of Timothy Johnson.
MEMORIALS OF THE EARLY SETTLERS.
117
son, Esq., seven years representative, ten years
senator, died 1857, in his eightieth year, unmarried, bequeathing six thousand
dollars for the North Parish parsonage. His homestead is now the residence
of his nephew, Gen. William Johnson Dale, Surgeon-general of Massachusetts.
Mr. James Johnson, merchant, of Boston, died 1855, leaving a large fortune,
the fruit of his own enterprise and success. He was one of the trustees
of the North Andover Cemetery, where, by his request, he was buried. Col.
Theron Johnson is now living in his eighty-seventh year. He helped to found
the Johnson High School.
Other names of eminence are Samuel Johnson,
M. D., of
Andover (South Parish.), died 1864; Mr. Osgood Johnson,
Principal of Phillips Academy, 1833; Mr. Osgood
Johnson,
Principal of Cambridge High School, died 1857.
Many names are locally well known, as Mr. Samuel
K.
Johnson, Andover Express, and Mr. Charles F. Johnson,
eighteen successive years selectman of North Andover.
A descendant of a kindred line of Johnsons,
of Charles-
town, is Rev. Francis Johnson, Andover.
KEMPE is a name not entering into the general history.
LACEY is a respected name of North Andover,
not promi-
nent in the history, except in the period of the
witchcraft.
SAMUEL MARBLE was the eldest son of Samuel
Marble, of
Salem. He was a bricklayer, and he and his son acquired
considerable estates. His brother was Noah Marble,
a yeoman, living near his house. From them and their descendants comes
the name "Marble Ridge," at North Andover. Lieut. Cyrus Marble was
in the Revolutionary service. Mary Marble, wife of Capt. William Johnson,
was mother of the eminent citizens before named.
MARSTON has acquired local permanence as a
name in Mars-
ton's Ferry, across the Merrimack River, at North
Andover, and it is still represented among the citizens of the town.
118 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
MARTIN has never been a prominent name in
the town
history. It was of very early establishing. In 1662
a record says, that "Samuel Martin, late of Andover, had been gone out
of the country six or seven years and big house and lands going to ruine
and decay," his wife resigned them to the care of Nathan Parker, for the
use of her son, Solomon Martin.
NICHOLS is not among the names which enter
into the general history.
SAMUEL PHELPS and EDWARD PHELPS were weavers.
An
ancient deed signed by them and their wives, respectively,
he
her
"Sarah S Phelps" and "Ruth Y Phelps" conveys,
1697,
mark.
mark.
land near "rattlesnake rode" to Timothy Abbot. The
name
is honorably represented in the three parishes.
SAMUEL PRESTON'S surname survives in the local name
"Preston's Plain" near Ballardvale.
JOSEPH ROBINSON lived near Boxford, and was
in 1740 set
off to Boxford North Parish. A serious disaster
befell the family in 1741, chronicled in the "Boston News-Letter:--
"ANDOVER, July 28-- Last Friday in the afternoon,
a serious and awful accident occurred by Lightning at the House of Mr.
Joseph Robinson of this Town. A stream of Lightning coming down the chimney
of the Back room and in its passage breaking out Sundry Bricks and tearing
up and breaking a Board of the Floor, bent its course into the Front Room,
filled that part of the House with Fire and Smoke of a sulphurous smell,
struck two young women who were sitting by the window, forced them back
against the wall, one of which was found actually
dead with her Hair and Back much burnt; the others Life for a time was
despaired of, she being almost breathless but thro the goodness of God
she after a while revived tho' with great bodily distress, and is now in
comfortable circumstances."
The Robinson family in one branch settled
on the home-
stead of Gen. Nathaniel Lovejoy, now the North Parish
parsonage. From this branch is descended the well known naturalist Dr.
John Robinson of Salem.
MEMORIALS OF THE EARLY SETTLERS. 119
ROBERT RUSSELL is said to have been from Scotland,
and
from this fact the district of his residence received
the name "Scotland District." The ancient homestead is now owned by Dea.
Ammon Russell of the Free Christian Church. His brother, Mr. Abiel Russell,
ninety-one years old, is the oldest man now living in Andover. He is one
of the few pensioners of the War of 1812.
In West Andover are branches of the Russell
family, which is, though not so numerous as some, a large and respectable
element of the citizenship.
The names of SALTER, SESSIONS, and STONE,(1)
are not
prominent.
SAMUEL WARDWELL was hanged for witchcraft
in 1692,
a martyr to his firmness in refusing to confess.
Solomon
Wardwell's estate was a part of the property bought
for Phillips Academy, his cabinet or joiner's shop the first Academy.
Among the names of this family of prominence are Dr. Daniel Wardwell, physician,
of Andover, 1822-1850; Mr. William H. Wardwell, formerly printer and publisher
at Andover, now of Boston, agent for S. D. Warren & Co., Paper Manufacturers;
Mr. T. Osgood Wardwell, owner of the old Osgood farm, North Andover, and
Mr. B. F. Wardwell, Andover.
JOSEPH WILSON was a cooper by trade. The statement
is made(2) that he was probably a son of Rev. John
Wilson, of Boston. Among the representatives of the family name have been
Dea. Joshua Wilson, 1813-1823, of the North Church, and Mr. Isaac Wilson.
The ancient estates lay on the borders of the two parishes. The first Grammar
School, 1701, was near Joseph Wilson's.
EDWARD WHITTINGTON and WALTER WRIGHT were
weav-
ers, who were granted liberty to set up a fulling
mill in 1673, but seem not to have done it. Lieut. Joseph Wright, and Capt.
John Wright in the French War, are the chief names of prominence.
(1) The manufacturers of machinery of that
name did not originate in Andover.
(2) Abbot's History of Andover.
120 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
The foregoing list may not include all who
were residents at the time, as some doubtless failed to take the oath of
allegiance. The following is a list of the taxpayers in the town at the
end of fifty years after the settlement:--
"A Rate(1) made for the minister in the year 1692
for the North End of the towne of Andover.
Abbot, George, senior.
Abbot, George, junr.
Abbot, Thomas, senr.
*Andrew, Joseph.
*Aslebe, John.
*Austin, Samuel.
Barker, Richard, senr.
Barker, Left. John.
Barker, Stephen.
Barker, Benjamin.
*Bodwell, Henry.
Bradstreet, Capt. Dudley
Bridges, John.
Bridges, James.
Carlton, John.
Carlton, Joseph.
Chandler, William.
*Chub, Pasco.
*Cromwell, Job.
Dane, Nathl.
Eires, Nathan.(2)
Eimes, Robert.(2)
*Emery, Joseph.
ffarnum, Ralph, senr.
ffarnum, John, junr.
ffarnum, Thomas.
*ffarrington, Edward.
ffaulkner, ffrancis. Osgood, John, junr.
ffaulkner, John.
Osgood, Timothy.
ffoster, Ephraim.
Parker, Joseph.
ffoster, Abraham.
Parker, Stephen.
ffrye, Benjamin.
Parker, John.
ffrye, Samuel.
Poor, Daniel.
*Granger, John.
Poor, Widdow.
*Graves, Mark, sen. *Post, John.(2)
Gray, Robert.
Preston, John.
Hoult, Nicholas.
Robinson, Joseph.
Hoult, Hannah, widdowe Stevens, Cornet Nathan.
Hutchinson, Samuel. Stevens, Joseph.
Ingalls, Henry.
Stevens, Benjamin.
Ingalls, Henry, jr. Stevens, Nathan,
junr,
Ingalls, Saml.
Stevens, Widdow.
Ingalls, John.
Stevens, Joshua.
Johnson, ffrancis. Stone,
Simon.
Lacey, Lawrence. *Swan,
Samuel.
Lovejoy, Joseph.
Tiler, John.
Marble, Samuel.
Toothaker, Allen.
Marston, John, senr. *White, John.(2)
Marston, John, junr. *Singletary, Benjamin.(2)
Marston, Jacob.
Tiler, Moses, senr.(2)
Marston, Joseph.
Tiler, Moses, junr.(2)
Martin, Ensign Samuel. Swan, Robert.(2)
Nichols, Nich.
Swan, Timothy.(2)
Osgood, Capt. John.
South End of the Towne.
Abbot, John, senr.
Abbot, George, senr.
Abbot, Nehemiah.
Abbot, Timothy.
Abbot, Benjamin.
Abbot, William.
Abbot, Thomas.
Abbot, Nathaniel.
Allen, Widdow.
Asten, Thomas.
Ballard, Joseph, senr.
Ballard, William.
Barnard, Stephen.
Barker, Hananiah.(?)
Bixby, Daniel.
*Blanchard, Jonathan.
Blanchard, Samuel.
Blunt, William.
*Bussell, Samuel.
Chandler, Capt.
Chandler, William, senr.
Chandler, William, junr.
Chandler, Henry.
Chandler, Joseph.
Chandler, Thomas.
*Carrier, Thomas.
Dane, Francis.
(1) Assessors' Records.
The names marked * are not in the former list.
(2) These seem to
have been Haverhill and Boxford men who belonged to the religious parish
of Andover. Some, perhaps, lived within the bounds of Andover.
MEMORIALS OF THE EARLY SETTLERS 121
Dane, William.
ffarnum, Ralph, junr.
ffoster, Andrew.
ffrye, Deacon.
ffrye, James.
*Graves, Abraham.
Gutterson, John.
*Haggit, Moses.
Hoult, Samuel.
Hoult, Henry.
*Hooper, Thomas.
Johnson, William.
Johnson, John, jr.
Lovejoy, William.
Lovejoy, Christopher.
Lovejoy, Nath.
Lovejoy, Eben.
Marble, Joseph.
*More, Abraham.
Osgood, Christopher.
Osgood, Hooker.
Osgood, Widow.
*Peters, Andrew.
Preston, Samuel.
Phelps, Samuel.
Phelps, Edward.
Phelps, Widow.
Russell, Robert.
Stevens, John.
Stone, John.
Tyler, Hopestil.
*Wardwell, Saml's estate.
Wilson, Joseph.
Wright, Walter.
Following are brief notes regarding such of
the family
names on this list (not found on the two preceding
lists) as have been conspicuous in the course of the centuries.
JOHN ASLEBE was a man of wealth and influence,
repre-
sentative to the General Court, 1701, and afterward.
He
lived probably on the hill, near the old burying-ground
at North Andover. A record speaks of the "way over the hill from the meeting-house
to Timothy Osgood's by Mr. John Aslebe's." His farm lands were in
the south part of the town, in the present Holt and Farnham districts.
Aslebe Hill and Aslebe Pond preserve his memory. He died 1728, aged seventy-two.
Mrs. Mary Aslebe, "relict of Lieut. John Aslebe, died Feb. 13th, Anno Dom.
1739, in ye 84th year of her age," as the epitaph on her gravestone records.
She made a bequest of a silver tankard to the North Church.
SAMUEL BLANCHARD was Selectman in 1687. It
has been
Stated(1) that he removed to Andover from Charlestown
in 1686, but the name had become established in the town as early as 1679.
In that year, land near "Blanchard's Pond" was bought by Moses Haggit.
Also the list of proprietors states that he was a householder before 1681.
There are more than forty of the name Blanchard on the list of members
of the South Church, and eight assessors of the parish. Among the more
recent representatives of the name were Mr. Abel Blanchard, who carried
on the paper mill before it was bought by the Marland Manufacturing
Company; Dea. Amos Blanchard,
(1) Abbot's History
of Andover.
122 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
the first cashier of the Andover Bank, a man of
strict integrity and great executive ability; Rev. Amos Blanch-ard, D.
D., graduate of Yale College, 1826, minister at Lowell for nearly a half
century. The name has also been represented honorably by other citizens.
HENRY BODWELL lived on the Merrimack River,
probably
on the Haverhill side, and in the present limits
of Methuen. In 1735, the Bodwells' Ferry was in operation. The tradition
is that the Bodwell family were much exposed to the Indians who crossed
the river at the fords, and making raids for cattle into the common lands
or pastures, along the Shawshin, escaped easily across the river to their
hiding-places. There is a story that one of the Bodwells, an old
man, but with keen sight, for he was a great hunter and marksman, seeing
an Indian on the opposite bank of the Merrimack River, somewhere between
the mouth of the Shawshin and the Falls (named from him, Bodwell's Falls),
took aim and fired, killing the savage while, thinking himself out of range
of shot, he was making taunting gestures. Bodwell, taking a boat and rowing
across, found the Indian dead, and secured his scalp and his fine wolf-skin
blanket.
PASCOE CHUBB had an unenviable reputation
in his day.
He was, as is related in the chapter on the Indian
wars,
cashiered for treasonable or inefficient conduct
at Fort Pemaquid, imprisoned in Boston jail, and finally set at liberty
and allowed to live in seclusion at Andover. He had married in this town
a daughter of Mr. Edmond Faulkner, and previous to his military misdemeanors
had been presented before the court of the county for offences. He seems
to have been an unprincipled man, whose connection with Andover families
brought chiefly disgrace and sorrow. He and his wife were murdered by the
Indians, 1698. With their death the name perished from Andover annals.
THOMAS CARRIER removed to Andover from Billerica.
He
is said to have been a native of Wales. He is noteworthy
principally as having been the husband of Martha
(Allen)
MEMORIALS OF THE EARLY SETTLERS. 123
Carrier, who was hanged for witchcraft. He seems
to have
been not greatly disturbed by any of the events
of life. He lived to a good old age, as is said, attaining one hundred
and nine years. His name is given on the list of the South Church members
removed by death, but he had then become a resident of the town of Colchester,
Conn. He was of remarkable physical strength, and walked six miles shortly
before his death.
JOSEPH EMERY was not in any prominent civil
or military
office connected with the town. In 1719, he had
three grants of land laid out to him by the proprietors: One in Merrimack
Woods, one on the Shawshin near his dwelling-house, bounded at the west
by his former land on Shawshin River, and near Paul Faulkner's house, "just
below the place commonly called the(1) Marchants ford.'"
Jacob Emery was a graduate of Harvard College,
1761, and
ordained minister of Pembroke, N. H., 1768.
In 1831, Rev., Joshua Emery, and in 1834, Rev.
Samuel H.
Emery, graduated from Amherst College. They were
sons of
Joshua Emery, formerly resident of Boxford and sometime
resident of North Andover, afterward of Andover.
EDWARD FARRINGTON. The family name was conspicuous,
especially during the French and Indian War, and
in the
Revolution.
Lieut. Jacob Farrington, in the military company known as Rogers' Rangers, on the borders of Canada, performed some valiant exploits. Several privates were in the Revolutionary service. Capt. Thomas Farrington, an officer of Andover, in the French and Indian War, removed to Groton, and there became famous.
Capt. Philip Farrington was a well-known citizen of North Andover fifty years ago. He lived on the estate now owned by Mr. Edward Frothingham of Boston.
Abraham Graves, son of Mark Graves, was a weaver.
The
name has not entered conspicuously into the town
history.
MOSES HAGGIT of Ipswich, in 1679, bought of
Stephen
Johnson fourteen acres of upland and seven acres
of meadow
124 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
on the southwest side of a pond called Blanchard's
Pond,
agreeing to pay twelve shillings a year to all charges
of church and town. From him and his descendants the pond received its
present name, Hagget's(1) Pond. The land thereabouts keeps the name Blanchard's
Plain.
It is stated, in a historical discourse of Mr. Symmes, that in 1676 Mr. Hagget and his two sons were "capti-vated" by Indians; but I cannot find that they were then residents.
They may have been visiting and viewing the
land where
they ultimately settled. The change in the name
of the pond seems to have come about gradually. In 1720 it was still called
Blanchard's:--
"On the 20th of January 1720, then laid out
to Moses Haggot and Timothy More all the great Island in Blanch-ards Pond
so called .... Said Moses Haggot is to have the one half of sd Island
for allowance for a way over his upper dam."
ABRAHAM MOAR died 1706. Timothy More (the
name is
variously spelled) his son born 1688, was a member
of the
South Church 1728. Anne (Blanchard) Mooar, wife
of Tim-
othy, became a member of this church, 1716. Twenty-one
of this family name were members of the South Church
before the division of the parish. The families lived chiefly in the west
part of the town. Dea. Nathan Mooar has been an officer of the West Church
many years.
The Rev. George Moor, D. D., President of the
Pacific
Theological Seminary, formerly minister of the South
Church, was the second minister native of the town, who was pastor of a
church in its limits.
ANDREW PETERS came to North Andover between
1686
and 1692, from Ipswich.(2) He was a man of means,
a distiller and licensed retailer, and his arrival in the town was regarded
as of advantage to the settlement. He took a prominent part in affairs,
and was the first town treasurer of whom record has been found. He also
kept a public-house. He died 1713, aged ninety-six. His grave-stone still
remains. His grand-
(1) Now generally
spelled Hagget.
(2) Unless there was
another Andrew Peters of Ipswich.
MEMORIALS OF THE EARLY SETTLERS. 125
son was Rev. Andrew Peters, a graduate of Harvard
Col-
lege, and master of the Andover Grammar School,
1723, the
first minister of Middleton. Others of this family
of prominence have been, Henry Adams Peters, a graduate of Harvard College,
1818, a teacher; John Peters, Esq., who settled at Bluehill, Me. Mr. Andrew
Peters was a patri-otic citizen of some prominence in the Revolutionary
time. He lived in the house now standing on the Salem turnpike near the
Andover road. The ancestral estates extended along northwest toward Den
Rock. Mr. John Peters, son of Andrew Peters, purchased the estates of Col.
Joseph Frye and Col. James Frye, living for a time in the house of the
former and ultimately removing to the homestead of the latter now owned
by Mr. Nathaniel Peters.
Mr. Willard Peters was a teacher in Tennessee.
Andrew
Peters, son of Mr. John Peters, studying for the
minis-try, died while a student in Harvard College, 1831.
Mr. Nathaniel Peters and Mr. William Peters,
among the
influential citizens of North Andover, are the last
male representatives of the name in the town.
ROBERT SWAN was a resident of Haverhill, or
Methuen
(as it was later), but the Swans living near the
river were not distant from the North Andover meeting-house, and became
members of the parish, some of the family ultimately settling in the town
where their descendants are living.
ALLEN TOOTHAKER was a nephew of Martha Carrier,
and
testified against her in the witchcraft trials.
He came from Billerica. The name of Toothaker has disappeared.
MOSES TYLER and HOPESTIL TYLER were sons of
Job
Tyler, who removed to Roxbury. His troubles with
Thomas
Chandler have been alluded to already. His son,
Hopestil
Tyler, seems to have established himself as a blacksmith,
in the south end of the town. Moses Tyler lived in Boxford. He had,
as is supposed, a son Job. In 1701 "Job Tyler and John Chadwick of Boxford
with Ephraim Foster of Andover petition for liberty to hang up two gates
in ye road in ye
126 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
bounds of Boxford that leadeth from Ipswich to Andover."
Moses Tyler died 1727, "Oct. ye 2d in the 86th
year of his age," and was buried at North Andover. The descend-ants of
this family, in some of its branches, scattered throughout New England,
are eminent, but in Andover history the name is only locally known.
Another resident of Boxford, who attended
meeting at
North Andover, was ROBERT EIMES, or AMES. After
a time
he, or another of the same name, lived in North
Andover,
near Mr. James Frye's. Mr. John Ames, in 1715, was
one
of the town's attorneys, or agents, to prosecute
a lawsuit against Robert Barnard, in regard to a claim for land During
the Revolutionary War, the name became one of the most conspicuous, Capt.
Benjamin Ames commanding one of the companies at Bunker Hill. He lived
in the west part of Andover, "The South Parish" at that time. His son,
Benjamin Ames, Jr., built the tavern (the present Elm House) at Andover,
and was landlord. In conformity with the wishes and provision of his grandfather,
Mr. Timothy Chandler, his son, Benjamin Ames (the third), was "brought
up to learning and the college." He graduated at Harvard College,
1803, studied law at Groton, the residence of his uncle, Nathan Ames, settled
in Bath, Maine, and became distinguished as a lawyer and politician, President
of the Senate, Justice of the
Court of Common Pleas. He died 1835. His brother,
Nathan Ames, was deputy sheriff of Lincoln County, Maine.
Another brother, Ezra C. Ames, was clerk in the
tavern,
schoolmaster, trader of Haverhill, deacon of the
Congregational Church, a man much respected. He was the father of Judge
Isaac Ames.
Of all the works of the settlers in the first
fifty years no relics remain besides their written papers and deeds, the
few gravestones in the burying ground, and one or two dwelling-houses.
Of the latter there is only one, in regard to which satisfactory evidence
is found of its having been the residence of one of the original sett-lers.
This one is the Bradstreet house. The tradition has always been that this
was
MEMORIALS OF THE EARLY SETTLERS. 127
the residence of Mr. Simon Bradstreet. That it was
the
home of his son, Col. Dudley Bradstreet, is authenti-cated.
The latter died 1702. He was married 1673. His mother died the year before.
His father, Mr. Simon Bradstreet, removed to Salem about the time of the
marriage, doubtless relinquishing the house to his son. It is stated in
the Journal of Mrs. Anne Bradstreet, that, their house was burned to the
ground July, 1666. Undoubtedly they built another immediately. The tradition
has been that the frame of the house was brought from England; but, however
this may be, it is not likely that Mr. Simon Bradstreet was houseless for
seven years, or, that if he had within so recent a period built a house,
his son would immediately build a new one.
Some years ago the writer, whose birth-place
the house
was, took some pains to trace its history through
the centuries. The sketch then printed(1) is here by request inserted (somewhat
abbreviated), although it repeats and anticipates to some extent other
parts of this history:--
THE BRADSTREET HOUSE--HOME OF THE FIRST WOMAN-POET
IN
AMERICA.
In the original North Parish of Andover, on
the Haverhill and Boston road, stands an ancient house, around which cluster
the associations of two centuries, and which is especially interesting
and memorable as having been the home of the first woman-poet of America,
Anne Dudley Bradstreet. It was built probably
about the year 1667 by the Hon. (afterwards Deputy-governor
and Governor) Simon Bradstreet, and was his family residence and that of
his son Col. Dudley Bradstreet, until the death of the latter in 1702.
Old as it is, it had been preceded by another built many years earlier
and destroyed by fire July, 1666. The present
house seems likely, with care, to last another half-century
at least. Its frame is massive, of heavy timbers; its walls
lined with brick, and its enormous chimney, heavily buttressed, running
up through the centre, shows in the garret like a fortification. On the
lawn in front are two venerable elm trees, supposed to be as old as the
house itself. They are of remarkable size, vigor, and beauty, though latterly(2)
marred by the ravages of the canker-worm.
Simon Bradstreet was one of the first settlers of Andover, as he had been one of the first settlers of Charlestown, Boston, Cam-
(1) Boston
Daily Advertiser.
(2) The
branches of one are now nearly all dead.
128 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
bridge, and Ipswich. When there were only eight
towns in Essex County, before Andover was incorporated, and soon after
the land had been bought of the Sagamore Cutsha-mache for L6 and a coat,
this enterprising and far-seeing Puritan man of affairs brought hither
his family, and in 1644 built the first mill on the Cochechevicke, near
its junction with the Merrimack, in the district now crowded with the manufacturing
industries of the city of Lawrence
and the villages of Sutton's and Stevens's mills,
North Andover.
Anne Dudley, reared amid the refinements and
elegancies of an English castle (her father, Governor Thomas Dudley, had
been steward to the Earl of Lincoln), at the age of eighteen, having been
then two years married, came with her husband, Simon Bradstreet, to seek
a home in the "wilderness of North America." They were of the party
consisting of Governor Winthrop, Mr. Johnson and his wife, the lady Arbella,
sister of the Earl of Lincoln, and other eminent colonists, who in June,
1630, landed at
Salem. Messrs. Dudley and Bradstreet, after several
removals, first from Salem to Charlestown, thence to Boston, settled at
Cambridge, where Bradstreet built a house near the present site of the
University bookstore. In 1635 Bradstreet had again moved to Ipswich. The
hard-ships and privations of pioneer life told severely upon the delicate
constitution of Anne Bradstreet, and
though she did not, like the gentle lady Arbella,
droop and die, she soon became a confirmed invalid, as she says: "I fell
into a lingering sicknesse like a consumption, together with a lamenesse,
which correction I saw the Lord sent to humble and try me and doe me good."
At the time of her husband's removal to Andover,
she was about thirty years of age, the mother of
five children, to whom three more were afterward added. Of the little brood,
she thus quaintly writes:--
"I had eight birds hatcht in one nest,
Four cocks there were, and hens the rest.
I nurst them up with pain and care,
Nor cost nor labor did I spare,
Till at the last they felt their wing,
Mounted the trees and learned to sing."
She chronicles her devotion to her husband as follows:--
If ever two were one, then surely we;
If ever man were loved by wife, then thee;
If ever wife was happy in a man,
Compare with me ye women, if you can."
The neighbors of Mistress Bradstreet looked with
a jealous eye
MEMORIALS OF THE EARLY SETTLERS. 129
upon her talent for verse-making and her ability
to put her feelings into fine phrases:--
"I am obnoxious to each carping tongue,
Who say my hand a needle better fits."
But the literati of her time regarded her as a prodigy. President Rogers, of Harvard College, said that "twice drinking of the nectar of her lines" left him "weltering in delight." Edward Phillips, the nephew of Milton, speaks of her as "the tenth muse sprung up in America;" and John Norton says:--
"Could
Maro's muse but hear her lively strain,
He would condemn his works to fire again."
Her poems were first published without her
knowledge through the agency of her brother-in-law, the Rev. John Woodbridge,
first minister of the church at Andover. She seems to have written as a
diversion from bodily suffer-ing and a solace for the lack of society;
also with a desire to leave something which would be of interest and value
to her children after her death:--
"That being gone, you here may find
What was your loveing mother's mind,
Make use of what I leave in Love
And God shall blesse you from above."
The burning of her house in Andover was a
great blow to Mrs. Bradstreet. For, after her many movings and break-ings
up, she had hoped to spend here the remnant of her days in peace and quiet.
With the house perished treas-ures that money could not replace-- a library
of eight hundred volumes, rare and costly books; family portraits and heirlooms;
furniture of rich pattern brought from England; and, what was beyond price
to the gentle poet, store of tender and sacred associations. She thus describes
her feelings at the time of the fire:--
"I, starting up, the light did spye,
And to my God my heart did cry,
To strengthen me in my distresse,
And not to leave me succourlesse,
Then coming out beheld a space,
The flames consume my dwelling place."
She never quite liked the "newe house," although
it was undoubtedly finer than the old one, and furnished with an elegance
befitting the wealth and rank of its owner.
Simon Bradstreet, honored citizen, exemplary
Christian, kind husband, provided for his family an abundant home; took
pride in his wife's poetical talent, and satisfac-tion in her lines concern-
9
130 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
ing the various occasions of his life,-- such, for
instance, as his mission to England to propitiate Charles II. toward the
colonies; cherished her tenderly; and when, after forty years of faithful
devotion, she died, mourned her sincerely. Four years after her death,
he, hale and hopeful at the age of seventy-three, married
again; lived twenty-one years thereafter; served
as deputy governor six months, and as governor thirteen years-- with two
years' interruption by the loss of the charter-- and died in 1697 at the
age of ninety-four.
His tomb still stands in Salem, to which city
he removed soon after the death of his wife. On the tomb, but now obliterated,
was the following tribute, copied and preserved in the records of the last
century:--
"SIMON BRADSTREET, armiger ex ordine Senatoris
in Colonia Massachusettensi ab anno 1630 usqe ad annum 1673. Deinde ad
annum 1679 Vice-Gubernator; deinde ad annum 1686 ejusdem coloniae communi
& constanti Populi
Suffragio GUBERNATOR. Vir judicio Lynceato
praeditus quem nec Minae nec Honos allexit, Regis authoritatem & Populi
libertatem aequa Lance libravit. Religione Cordatus vita innocuus,
mundum et vicit et deseruit Die XXVII Marcij. Anno Dom: M. D. C. X. CVII,
Annoque Regis Gullielmi tertii IX. et aetatis fuae XCIV."
No trace of Anne Bradstreet's grave is to
be found. She was probably laid in the parish burying-ground, whose moss-grown
stones on the hillside can be seen from the windows of the Bradstreet house.
All the monuments of her time have crumbled to dust, save only one broken
tablet, which serves to prove that this was the burial-place of the first
settlers. But though the gentlewoman lacks the memorial of "storied urn
or animated bust," her "poems," as Cotton Mather remarks in the Magnalia,
"divers times printed, have afforded a monument for her memory beyond the
stateliest marbles." Among her descendants, besides those bearing
the family name, may be mentioned William Ellery Channing, Oliver Wendell
Holmes, Wendell Phillips, Richard H. Dana.
Dudley Bradstreet took his father's house and
filled his father's place as a citizen of Andover, being selectman, colonel
of militia and magistrate. Well it was for his town and for the colonies
that the magistrate's office fell to a man inheriting the united qualities
of Simon Bradstreet and Anne Dudley; for largely to the compassion and
courage of Dudley Bradstreet was due the first check upon the fury of the
witchcraft frenzy. He drew up and headed a testimonial and plea for some
wretched women of
MEMORIALS OF THE EARLY SETTLERS. 131
Andover who had made confession of witchcraft "by
reason," as they afterward declared, "of sudden surprisal, when exceedingly
astonished and amazed and consternated and affrighted even out of reason."
He asserted-- and with personal risk-- his belief in
their innocence.
Then the cloud darkened over the Bradstreet
house. The magistrate was accused of having himself practised witchcraft,
and thereby killed nine persons, and the man who for twenty years had gone
in and out before the people, trusted and loved of all, was now forced
by their clamors to flee from his home and hide
himself from their fury. If the voices of the centuries
could become audible in the old house, what agonized prayers and anguished
partings would come borne on the night-wind of that dreadful past of the
witchcraft delusion!
Even more startling and terrifying would be
the lifting of the veil on the scenes of the memorable March day of 1698,
when the snow-bound house was suddenly invaded by forty savages and its
inmates dragged out into the wintry air, to see their neighbors' homes
in flames and the snow stained with the blood of their townspeople. Here
again the gentle humanities of Anne Bradstreet living in her son brought
salvation; for an act of kindness, conferred by the magistrate some years
before upon an Indian of
the party, he and his family were spared a cruel
death. They were carried about fifty rods from the house and released unharmed.
During the half-century which includes the French and Indian war, the Revolution,
and the adoption of the Federal Constitution, the Bradstreet house was
occupied by the Rev. William Symmes, D. D.
There was reared the first lawyer of Andover, William Symmes, Esq., son of the minister, who left his native town because of the censure of his townsmen for his conscientious change of convictions and action in advocating the adoption of the Federal Constitution.
The Bradstreet house, after the death of Dr.
Symmes, was purchased for a summer residence by Hon. John Norris, one of
the associate founders of the Theological Seminary. A manuscript diary
kept by Mrs. Norris, now in possession of one of her descendants living
in Salem, gives some pleasant glimpses of the household ways of the manse
those three-score summers ago: "A deal of papering and painting, and making
of currant-jelly, and bottling of 'cyder,' and going to Haverhill, eight
miles away, for a
barrel of flour, and picking raspberries 'on the
South Parish
132 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
Road’, and tea-drinkings, with such guests as Dr.
Worcester, Dr. Pearson, Dr. Griffin, Dr. Woods; also 'Mr. Spring, a student'
of the Seminary, spends the night often and writes his sermons 'sitting
by the keeping-room fire, the weather being cool.'"
A few years later there were sermons of another
school of theology than that of Gardiner Spring written in 'the keeping-room,
when it was o'ccupied by the young Unitar-ian minister, the Rev. Bailey
Loring (father of Dr. George B. Loring), who lived for a time with the
family then owning the Bradstreet house, that of Mrs. Elizabeth Parks,
the widow of General Parks and mother of
Gorham Parks, Esq., counsellor-at-law, Waldoborough,
Me.
The next scene that rises to view in the tableaux of the centuries is the boarding-school, the principal figure the school-master.
"A man severe he was and stern to view-- Master Simeon
Putnam, the pedagogue of fifty years ago." The neighbors say that
the grass was worn smooth by the roadside, where he kept the idlers and
dunces sitting to con their tasks, a spectacle to passers-by. The windows
of the school-room bear marks of the youthful propensity for rhyming as
follows:--
"Stranger, these tainted walls depart,
Within are fetters to a freeman's heart!"
Two of "the boys" have left their autographs cut
on the glass: Amos A. Lawrence, Chandler Robbins. One of the sons of Master
Putnam was Professor Putnam, of Dartmouth College, at the time of his death
professor-elect of Andover Theological Seminary.
Thus the Bradstreet house has gathered to itself
store of history and tradition; and its rooms are shadowy with the forms
of by-gone centuries. A veritable ghost is said once to have haunted it
and made a frightful clattering in the chamber of a young negro-servant;
but we do not need its help to fill up our collection of portraits, or
to start the question of spiritual manifestations for, as Mr. Longfellow,
with the truth of poetry, assures us,--
"All houses
wherein men have lived and died
Are haunted houses. Through the open doors
The harmless
phantoms on their errands glide
With feet that make no sound upon the floors;
We have
no title-deeds to house or lands.
Owners and occupants of earlier dates
From graves
forgotten stretch their dusty hands,
And hold in mortmain still their old estates."
To this summary of the lives and posterity of the
early
MEMORIALS OF THE EARLY SETTLERS. 133
settlers may be added a brief notice of them in
their united capacity, as in town-meeting assembled.
The town-meetings were regarded as hardly less
important
than the church-meetings, and were held generally
in the
meeting-house. All the freeholders not present at
meet-ings were fined. It was agreed, in 1664, that "any seven" of the voters
should have power to act, and "their action should be as authoritive and
vallid as if the whol Town were assembled." Decorum was enforced
by penalties.
"Feb. 10. 1673. It is ordered and voted that
if any man shall speake in the town meeting whilst anything of towne affaires
is either in voting or in agitation after ye moderator hath commanded silence
twice, he shall forfeit twelve pence for each time; the twelve pence shall
be levied by the constable. This order to stand good,
forever."
It was customary in the beginning to hold town-meetings
whenever they seemed necessary. It was thought a
great
grievance when Sir Edmund Andros prohibited them
from
being held oftener than once a year. In 1675 the
regular
yearly meeting was voted to be holden in March,
although
this was not always done. For twenty years after
the set-
tlement of Andover, only church-members could vote
for
Governor and Assistants; but after the restoration
of Charles Second to the throne, he insisted on the admis-sion to the number
of freemen or voters of all men of honest and moral deportment. A perceptible
difference in the warrants and town documents appears after the Restor-ation.
There is more precise and formal recognition of the royal authority.
All the papers are in the name of the "Sovereign Lord the King," etc. In
1678, as has been said, an oath of allegiance to the king was exacted from
every male resident over sixteen years of age.
The supervision of the towns, in their corporate capacity, as well as of the action of the colony, was more systematic, and the power exercised arbitrary, until, by the royal mandate, the colonial charter was declared forfeited.
In 1683 Andover and Bradford were fined for
not collect-
ing the due amount of taxes; not rating their waste
lands:--
"The Court being informed that the Selectmen of Andover
&
134 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
Bradford did wholly neglect the observance of the
late order relating to the rating of wast lands, the Secretary was ordered
to send a warrant for their or one of their appearance before this Court
to give an account for ye same. Warrant issued out accordingly & Left.
John Osgood & Capt. Shuball Walker appeared & gave in their answers.
The Court ordered the selectmen of Andover and Bradford to bring in a just
& true account of all the wast lands in their respective towns," &c.
The following town action was taken in 1686
in regard
to collection of taxes:--
"1685-6 Mar. 1. Voted & passed that ye
Constable from year to year shall ye last Monday in August at nine of ye
clock in ye morning call all ye inhabitants of ye towne by name (by inhabitants
is meant all house holders & persons that have ye management of any
estate & hired servants) and if any such persons shall not then appear
at ye meeting-house and bring the bills of their ratable estates they shall
pay five shillings to ye use of ye
towns, ye selectmen making ye constable a reasonable
allowance for his care & pains."
In May, 1686, the Colonial charter, so highly
prized, was abrogated. Governor Bradstreet was superseded by a President
appointed by the Crown (Joseph Dudley, his wife's step-brother) and a Council.
Although appointed members of the President's Council, Mr. Bradstreet and
Colonel Dudley Bradstreet declined to serve, the President being neither
in age or temper a congenial associate. But Joseph Dudley's term
as President was short. In December he was set aside, and Sir Edmund Andros
appointed Governor of New England. The town of Andover was not likely to
cherish any warm regard for the usurper of the office so long held by their
distinguished townsman, the former Governor. Indeed, Mr. Dudley Brad-street
declined to collect the extortionate taxes assessed by order of the royal
Governor, an was, there-fore, imprisoned at Fort Hill. A glimpse of this
first Andover rebel against royal tyranny, in his imprison-
ment, is given in the diary of Judge Sewall. He
probably
had not anticipated such summary measures, and he
was of
the temperament and disposition, sensitive to wrong,
to feel keenly the injury.
MEMORIALS OF THE EARLY SETTLERS. 135
"1687. Wednesday Sept. 28. This day went with
Mr. Mather
and visited Capt. Bradstreet, who was much distracted
last night; but now pretty well; said he had not slept in several nights,
being confined at Fort Hill."
It was useless to hold out, and perhaps Mr.
Bradstreet
acted in the beginning not so much from an unwillingness
to collect the taxes, as with a view to serve the wishes of his townsmen.
They could hardly expect him individ-ually to suffer to the extent of remaining
in prison. He acknowledged (as, indeed, he might truthfully without sacrifice
of principle) "great imprudence and folly," and, giving bonds for one thousand
pounds, was released. (1) The town, in March, 1687, had taken action in
regard to the laws of the royal Governor.
"Voted that Deacon John Frie shall goe downe
to Boston and inquire of ye authority [note the avoidance of the titles
of officers or recognition of rights] how they understand ye meaning of
their proclamation about ye Selectman and Constable continuing in place
till further orders; informing them of ye actions herein and to
make report to Capt. Osgood whoe shall inform ye
town thereof."
When the Revolution came, that brought Andros
low, Andover was prompt to testify its sympathy with the move-
ment.
"Att a gen" towne meeting ye 20th day of May
1689, Capt. John Osgood was chosen moderator. It was voted & declared
that it is their mind and desire that the Governor, Deputy Governor,
and Assistants chosen in the year 1686 (with the addition of such Gentlemen
as shall be chosen by the major vote of the inhabitants of
this colony to make up the number according to charter)
and the Deputyes then sent by the freemen of ye sevll towns of ye said
Colony [shall be the authority] accord-ing to Charter Rights until ye Government
be more orderly settled by the Crown of England. Capt. John Osgood
was chosen as representative of ye Towne to carry ye above-said vote of
ye Town to Boston and alsoe ye votes
for such magistrates & others as are wanting
in the former choice in ye yeare ('86)."
A tract, "An Account of the Late Revolution
in New
England, &c., April 18, 1689," published soon
after the events
(1) Palfrey's History of
New England, vol. iii.
136 HISTORICAL SKETCHES
OF ANDOVER.
occurred, describes the sufferings of the towns
from the tyranny of Andros, and alludes to Andover. After stating that
Andros imposed heavy duties and excise, and prohib-ited town-meetings,
it says:--
"When the inhabitants of Ipswich were required
to choose a Commission to tax that town, some principal persons there,
that could not comply with what was demanded of them did modestly give
their reasons, for which they were committed to goal as guilty of high
misdemeanors and denied an habeas corpus and were obliged to answer at
the Court of Oyer and Terminer at Boston. These were severely handled ....
Mr. Appleton was fined fifty pounds and to give a thousand pounds bond
for good behavior and more-over declared incapable to bear office &c
.... Like-
wise the townsmen of Rowley, Salisbury, Andover,
etc. had the same measures. John and Christopher Osgood complain
of being sent to prison nine or ten days without a mittimus or anything
laid to their charge, and that afterward they were obliged to pay excessive
charges. Thus was major Appleton dealt with; thus Captain Bradstreet."
That was a day of rejoicing at Andover, which
brought
news of the revolution in England, consigned Andros
to the prison, where he had incarcerated their townsmen, and restored to
the gubernatorial chair the venerable Simon Bradstreet, and made his son,
Col. Dudley Bradstreet, a member of the new Council.
Following is a list of the civil officers from
Andover. It will be noticed that the towns sometimes elected deputies non-residents,
as Mr. Samuel Bradstreet, living in Boston (as is supposed) at the time
of his election, and Mr. Thomas Savage, also of Boston:--
REPRESENTATIVES TO THE GENERAL COURT.
1646-1746.
First Century from the Incorporation of the
Town.
1651 Mr. John Osgood (died Oct. 1651.
1669 Lieut. John Osgood.
1670 Mr. Samuel Bradstreet
1672 Capt. Thomas Savage.
1677 Lieut. Dudley Bradstreet
1678-80 Ensign Thomas Chandler.
1680-83 Capt. Dudley Bradstreet.
1686 Capt. Dudley Bradstreet.
1689 Capt. John Osgood.
1690 Capt. John Osgood, Feb.
1690 Capt. Thomas Chandler, May.
1690 Capt. Christopher Osgood Oct., Dec.
MEMORIALS OF THE EARLY SETTLERS 137
1691 Capt. Dudley Bradstreet.
1692 Capt. Dudley Bradstreet.
1692 Mr. John Frye.
i693 Mr. Christopher Osgood.
1694 Capt. Thomas Chandler.
1695 Major Dudley Bradstreet.
1696 Capt. Christopher Osgood.
1697 Lieut. John Osgood.
1698 Col. Dudley Bradstreet.
1699 Col. Dudley Bradstreet.
1700 Mr. John Abbot.
1701 Mr. John Aslebe.
1702 Mr. John Osgood.
1702 Capt. James Frye.
1703 Mr. John Aslebe.
1704 Mr. John Chandler.
1705-09 Capt. Christopher Osgood.
1709-11 Mr. John Aslebe.
1711 Capt. John Chandler.
1712-16 Mr. Benjamin Stevens
1716 Mr. John Osgood.
1717-21 Mr. Nehemiah Abbot.
1721 Benjamin Stevens, Esq.
1722 Mr. James Bridges.
1723 Mr James Frye.
1724 Mr. James Bridges.
1725 Mr. Benjamin Barker.
1726 Mr. Nehemiah Abbot.
1727 Mr. Timothy Osgood.
1728-30 Benjamin Stevens, Esq.
1730-35 Mr. Joseph Parker.
1737-39 Capt. Timothy Johnson.
1739 Mr. Joseph Parker.
1740-41 Mr. Timothy Johnson.
1741 Capt. Timothy Johnson.
1741 John Osgood, Esq.
1742 John Osgood, Esq.
1743-5 Capt. Nathaniel Frye.
1745 Capt. Timothy Johnson.
1745 Capt. Nathaniel Frye.
Mr. Simon Bradstreet was one of the Assistants
or Council during most of the time of his residence in Andover. He was
one of the United Commissioners in 1644, and Agent to the Court of Charles
II., 1662.
Mr. Dudley Bradstreet was appointed Councillor
in 1686, but declined to serve.
DUDLEY BRADSTREET,
BENJAMIN STEVENS,
Justices of the Peace.
JOHN OSGOOI
A List(1) of the Principal Town
Officers in the First Fifty Years from the Incorporation.
1665. Thomas Johnson, constable; Richard Sutton,
fence viewer.
1669. Sergt. Henry Ingalls, constable; John
Lovejoy, William Chandler, fence-viewers ffor the southerly parte
of the towne; Samuel Martin and Nathan Stevens ffor the northerly parte
of the towne; Nathan Parker & John Abbot for the new-field; Daniel
Poor & John ffarnum, ffor the ffields over Shawshin. Thomas Chandler
is chosen to cary the votes to Salem. Daniel Poor, grand juryman.
(1) The records
are scattered and immethodical, and the alphabetical index lost, so that
it is possible some names have been overlooked. The quaint method of recording
has been in a measure copied. The mode of dating 1670-71 (and sometimes
either date indiscriminately from January to March), adds to the uncertainty
of the dates.
138 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
1670. Mr. Bradstreet, John ffry, senior, Richard
Barker, Lieutenant Osgood, selectmen; William Chandler, constable; Stephen
Osgood, grand juryman.
1671. Mr. Bradstreet, Lieutenant Osgood, Richard
Barker, John Stevens, John ffry, selectmen; Sergeant Ingalls is impowered
by the towne to raise to be brought to Mr. Dane all his rates and wood
and to sue or distrain upon any that shall neglect or lie behind. Richard
Barker, John ffry, junior, Henry Ingolls, and Thomas ffarnum, surveyors.
1672. Mr. Bradstreet, Lieut. Osgood, Richard
Barker, John Stevens, Ensign Chandler, selectmen; Stephen Johnson, constable;
Henry Abbot, senr., grand juryman;(1) John Stevens to view all such things
as cutting down trees; Ensign Chandler, John Stevens, Richard Barker, survaires
for mending the high roads; William Chandler, grandjuryman.(1)
1673. Mr. Dudley Bradstreet, Lieut. Osgood,
Nathan Barker, Ensign Chandler, selectmen; Samuel Martin, constable; Stephen
Johnson, grandjuryman; Dudley Bradstreet, clerk of ye writts and of the
towne and likewise to record all Grants laid out in the Towne booke. Feb.
2. John Stevens, Stephen Johnson, George Abbot, senr., Daniel Poor, surveiors.
1674. Richard Barker, sen., Mr. Edmond Faulkner,
Daniell Poore, Sergt. Thomas ffarnum, John frie, junr., selectmen; John
Lovejoy, Nathan Parker, constables; John Barker, grandjuryman; William
Ballard & William Chandler, surveyors for ye south end of ye towne,
Sergeant ffarnum & Dudley Bradstreet for ye north end of ye towne.
1675. Richard Barker, Daniel Poor, Edmond
ffaulkner, selectmen; Nathaniel Dane, Steven Osgood, constables; John ffry,
junr., grand juryman; Edmond ffaulkner, town clerk.
1676. George Abbot, senr., branding man; Left.
John Osgood, Ensign Thomas Chandler, John ffrie, jr., Stephen Johnson,
Dudley Bradstreet, selectmen; Christopher Osgood, constable (south part
of the towne); Timothy Johnson, constable (north part of the towne); Sergt.
John Stevens and Thomas Johnson, surveiors; Dudley Bradstreet, town clerke,
to enter all graunts in ye great towne booke, for which he is to have two
pence a graunt in money or else he is not obliged . . . . .
1677. Left. John Osgood, Ensign Thomas Chandler,
Daniel Poor, John ffrie, Stephen Johnson, Dudley Bradstreet, selectmen;
Corpl. Samuel Martin, constable (north end); Thomas Osgood(south end);
John Marston, senr., grand juryman.
(1) Two town meetings, January
6, February 3.
MEMORIALS OF THE EARLY SETTLERS. 139
1678. John ffrie, junior, Richard Barker,
senr., William Chandler, John Barker, Christopher Osgood, selectmen; John
Bridges, constable (north end); Samuel Hoult, constable (south end); Samuel
Martin, grand juryman.
1679. Richard Barker, senr., Deacon ffrie,
John Barker, William Chandler, Christopher Osgood, selectmen; Joseph Robinson,
constable (north end); Joseph Wilson, constable (south end); Ralph Farnum,
grand juryman.
1680. Capt. Dudley Bradstreet, Left. John
Osgood, Ensign Thomas Chandler, Sergt. John Stevens, Sergt. John Barker,
selectmen; George Abbot, constable (north end); Joseph Ballard, constable
(south end); Richard Barker, senr., grand juryman.
1681. Capt. Bradstreet, Left. Osgood, Ensign
Thomas Chandler, Richard Barker, senr., Deacon ffrie, selectmen; Samuel
ffrie, constable (south end); Joseph Stevens, constable (north end); Daniel
Poor, sen., grand juryman.
1682. Capt. Bradstreet, Left. Osgood, Ensigne
Chandler, Richard Barker, senr., Sergt. John Stevens, selectmen; John Abbot,
constable (north end); Joseph Ballard, constable (south end); John Abbot,
senr., grand jury.
1683. Christopher Osgood, Steven Osgood, Sergt.
Barker, John Marston, senr., Daniel Poor, senr., selectmen; William Barker,
constable (north end); Left. Chandler, constable (south end); John Farnum,
grand juryman.
1684. Capt. Bradstreet, Sergt. Barker, Christopher
Osgood, Daniel Poor, senr., John Marston, selectmen; John Osgood, constable
(for north end); George Abbot, constable (for south end). April 25th: Abraham
Foster, constable (for south end); Capt. John Abbot, grand juryman.
1685. Capt. Dudley Bradstreet, Capt. John
Osgood, Left. Chandler, Ensign John Stevens, Corporal Samuel Marston, selectmen;
Corporal Nathan Stevens, constable (north end); James Frie, constable (south
end); Corpl Samuel Holt, grand juryman; Left. Chandler, lot-layer.
1686. Capt. John Osgood, Richard Barker, senr.,
Daniel Poor, senr., Stephen Osgood, Christopher Osgood, selectmen; Francis
Faulkner, constable (north end); John Chandler, constable (south end).
1687. Capt. John Osgood, Daniel Poor, senr.,
Christopher Osgood, John Aslebe, Joseph Ballard, selectmen; Stephen Parker,
constable (north end); Samuel Blanchard, constable (south end).
1688. Capt. Bradstreet, Capt. Osgood, Left.
John Stevens,
140 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
Christopher
Osgood, Capt. John Aslebe, Corpl
Joseph Ballard, selectmen; Capt. Thomas Chandler, commissioner; Stephen
Parker, constable (north end); Samuel Blanchard (south end).
1689. There was "no choice" or election till(1)
July; "whereas ye time was lapsed" the election then made was only till
January following: Captain Bradstreet, Capt. John Osgood, Capts. John Aslebe,
John Osgood, junr., Richard Barker, senr., selectmen; Daniel Poor, constable
(north end); ffrancis Dane, constable (south end).
1690. Capt. Bradstreet, Capt. Chandler, Sergt.
Joseph Ballard, John Abbot, senr., Henry Holt, selectmen; Walter Wright,
Ephraim Foster, constables.
1691. [January 5, 1690, for the year 1691,
which was not reckoned to begin till March.] Capt. Thomas Chandler, Left.
Jno. Barker, Sergt. Jno. Chandler, John Abbot, senr., selectmen; George
Abbot, William Johnson, constables; William Lovejoy, grand juryman; Sergt.
Henry Ingalls, jury of trials.
1692. Capt. Dudley Bradstreet, Sergt. John
Chandler, Sergt. John Aslebe, John Abbot, jr., Corpl Saml ffrie, selectmen;
Timothy Osgood, Joseph Ballard, constables; Quartermaster James Frie, grand
juryman.
1693. Capt. Dudley Bradstreet, Capt. Osgood,
Andrew Peters, John Chandler, Christopher Osgood, selectmen; Benjamin Stevens,
William Abbot, constables; Ephraim Stevens, clerk of ye market; Left. John
Barker, commissioner for assessments; Corpl George Abbot, sealer of leather;
Henry Hoult, senr, ffrancis Dane, surveiors (south end); Ephraim Stevens,
John Osgood, surveiors (north end); Ensign Samuel Martin, Corpl Nathan
Stevens, Hopestill Tyler, Walter Wright, tything-men; Stephen Parker, Timothy
Osgood, Abraham Foster, Joseph Wilson, Samuel Phelps, Joseph Marble, senr.,
fence viewers.
1694. Capt. Dudley Bradstreet, town clerk;
Mr. Andrew Peters, John Abbot, senr., Mr. James ffrie, Saml Blanchard,
senr., John Osgood, selectmen & overseers of poor; John Barker, commissioner;
Richard Barker, Henry Holt, senr., constables; Sergt. Ephraim Stevens,
Joseph Stevens, Capt. George Abbot, William Lovejoy, surveyors; Sergt.
Jno. Aslebe, Sergt. Jno. Bridges, Francis Dane, Nehemiah Abbot, tithing
men; Corpl Samuel Osgood, Benj. Barker, fence-viewers (for north end);
William Johnson, William Chandler, jun., fence viewers (for south end);
Sergt. Ephraim Stevens, clerk of ye market; Corpl George Abbot, leather
sealer; Benjamin Barker, pound-keeper (north end); William Johnson,
(1) On account of the disturbances caused by the Revolution of '89.
MEMORIALS OF THE EARLY SETTLERS. 141
pound-keeper
(south end); Benjamin Stevens, Saml Marble, John Marston, jr., Jno. Ballard,
Benjamin Abbot, Jno. Stevens, Hawards(1) or field-drivers.
1695. Mr. Andrew Peters, treasurer; Capt.
Thomas Chand-
ler, Deacon
John ffrie, Jno. Abbot, assessors; Dudley Bradstreet,
town clerk; Majr. Dudley Bradstreet, Left. John Osgood, Quarter-master
James ffrie, John Abbot senr., Sergt. Ephraim Stevens, selectmen; John
Carlton, William Lovejoy, constables; Sergt. Ephraim Stevens, Joseph Stevens,
Sergt. George Abbot, William Lovejoy, Henry Holt, Stephen Parker, surveiors;
Ensign Martin, Nathaniel Dane, Benjamin Abbot, William Chandler, Tything
men; Francis Dane, Joseph Marble, Nathan Stevens, Samuel Marble, fence
viewers; Sergt. Ephraim Stevens, clerk of ye market; Sergt. George Abbot,
leather-sealer; haywards same as last year; Benjamin Barker & William
Johnson, pound-keepers; Andrew Peters, treasurer; Left. John Barker, John
Chandler, Joseph Stevens, a standing committee, to take care to keep ye
meeting-house in good repair & to hire suitable workmen for that end
& to give their accounts yearly to ye selectmen whoe shall order ye
treasurer to pay them, they putting money or moneys worth into ye treasurer's
hand to enable him thereto; Samuel Ingalls, grand juryman, for ye quarter
sessions att Ipswich; Andrew ffoster & William Chandler, tertius, chosen
upon ye jury of trials at ye inferior Court of pleas.
1696. Maj. Dudley Bradstreet, clerk; Maj.
Dudley Bradstreet, Left. John Osgood, Capt. Christopher Osgood, Left. Chandler,
Mr. Andrew Peters, selectmen; Sergt. William Chandler, Sergt. Samuel Osgood,
constables; Sergt. Ephraim Stevens, Dea. Joseph Stevens, Corpl Stephen
Parker, Sergt. George Abbot, Sergt. William Lovejoy, Henry Holt, surveyors;
Qr. Mr. James Frie, Corpl. Benjamin Barker, Thomas Chandler, jr., Henry
Holt, jr., tything men; Timothy Osgood, Samuel Hutchinson, Corpl. Benj.
Abbot, Nehemiah Abbot,fence viewers; Sergt. Ephraim Stevens, clerk
of the market; Sergt. George Abbot, leather sealer; Benjamin Barker, William
Johnson, pound-keeper; Mr. Andrew Peters, town treasurer.
[There were town meetings in March, May, and
August,
this year.] May elections as follows:--
(1) "Hayward" [Fr. haie,
hedge, and ward= hedgeward.] A person appointed to keep cattle from doing
injury to hedges. In New England the hayward's duty is to impound cattle
and swine, which are running at large contrary to law.-- Webster.
142 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
Dea. Joseph Stevens, Sergt. Saml. ffrie, grand jurymen
to serve at ye superiour court att Ipswich; Corpl. Hooker Osgood, Jno.
Ballard, jury of tryalls at ye above sd court; Capt. Christopher Osgood,
representative for ye town.
A List of the Selectmen Second Half Century from
the Incorporation,
1696-1746.
1696. (August elections.) Sergt. John Aslebe,
Qr. Mr. John Frie, John Abbot sr., assessors for ye tax of seventy-six
pounds granted at ye Genl. Cort 27 May 1696, ye assessors refused to serve
for yt ye selectmen this year are to be the assessors as ye law directs
& took their oath as ye law directs Aug. 2, 1696.
Maj. Dudley Bradstreet, Capt. Christopher Osgood
[2], Left. John Osgood [2], Mr. Andrew Peters, Left. John Chandler (1697).(1)
[Sergt. John Aslebe is chosen a lott layer in ye
roome of Left. Thomas Johnson, his age calling for a writt of ease], Left.
Samuel Frye (1698), Capt. James ffrie, Ensign John Aslebe (1699), Samuel
Osgood [2], Samuel Ingalls, Ephraim Stevens (1703), John Osgood [6], George
Abbot [9], John Frie [8] (1710), John Chandler [16], Richard Barker [2]
(1714), Nathanel Abbot, William
Lovejoy [2] (1715), Ephraim Foster [2], John Abbot
[6] (1719), Francis Dane [2], Timothy Johnson [9] (1720), Joseph Osgood,
Benjamin Barker [4] (1722), Nehemiah Abbot, William Foster (1723), Joseph
Robinson [2], John Johnson (1725), John Farnum [2] (1725), Ephraim Abbot
[4] (1726), Henry Ingalls (1727), James Bridges, Thomas Chandler (1728),
Ebenezer Abbot (1734),
James Stevens, Joseph Sibson (1742), Nathaniel Frye
(1743), James Ingalls [2] (1745)(2)
Town Treasurers.
Andrew Peters (1697-1704), Lieut. John Aslebe
(1704-1706), Andrew Peters (1707-1713), William Foster (1714-1716), Timothy
Osgood (1717-1721), James Stevens (1721-1729), James Ingalls (1729-1732),
James Stevens (1733-1734) Henry Ingalls (1734-1737), Isaac Frie, 1738 ....
Joshua Frye, 1745.
A word or two may not be amiss in regard to
some of the
offices above specified: that of tithing-man is
described in the
(1) The date of year after the names denotes the time when first found
recorded. The figure in brackets denotes the number of times recorded
as in office.
(2) These are collected from memoranda scattered throughout the records,
and possibly may be incomplete.
MEMORIALS OF THE EARLY SETTLERS. 143
chapter on the churches; it referring principally
to the conduct of persons in regard to public worship and observance of
the Sabbath.
The haywards, as has been said, took care in regard to the injury to property by domestic animals.
The office of branding-man had to do with the
safety of
the cattle which ran loose, also horses and other
animals. Each town had its brand-mark. The General Court in 1647,
ordered that the brand-mark of Andover is A, ordered "for horses to be
set upon one of ye neare quarters."
Each individual owner also had his brand-mark.
The fol-
lowing is from the Town Records:--
James Fries Ear-Mark Recorded.
"December the 25th 1734 the ear mark that
James Frie Giveth his cattel and other Creatures is as followeth viz, a
half crop cut out of the under side of the Left ear split or cut out about
the middel of the Top of the ear, called by som a figger of seven."
From many records of stray animals taken up,
the follow-
ing are selected:--
"Thomas Abbot of Andover hath taken up a blak
horse as a
stray, no eare marke or brand but a few white haires
in his forehead and a few in his neck, prysed by William Chandler &
Samuel Martin at 4 L, 10 s, the 18th day of December 1671." (1)
"Benjamin Frye of Andover hath a darke bay mare, a blaze in her forehead, branded with the letter P on her neare shoulder, taken up as a stray the 26th of December '72, prized at 3L,10s by John Lovejoy & William B_____. Entered 13 March 1672."
"1686. Andrew Peeters of Ipswich hath a browne
bay horse, a star in the forehead, mealy belly, browne nose, noe ear-marke,
nor brand that is seen, doct:-- alsoe a sorell mare, a white slip on the
nose & white in the forehead, mealy under the belly, a little piece
cut, a snip neare eare, doct & lame; prized both of them at 40s
by Simon T[uttle ?]."
(1) Registry of Deeds,
"Ipswich," Book I.
144 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
Not the horses and cattle only, but the settlers
themselves were liable to go astray and become bewildered and lost in the
trackless wilds. Death in the woods was no uncommon occurrence. Witness
the following, the first record of a coroner's jury:--
"The verdict of jury appyonted upon the body
of Peter Allyn whoe going forth into the woods to worke in March last could
not be found nor heard of notwithstanding the diligent search that was
made for him several days till this 21: 4th '64. An Indian informed there
was an Englishman found in the River called Shawshin about a myle from
the Towne of Andover, wee repared to the place & found the sd Peter
Allyn lying in the sd river pt of his clothing on & girt about him,
his breaches gone, stockings being rolled or torne off & pt of his
flesh consumed soe wee concluded according to our best apprehension that
hee lost himself in the woods & going over the bridge accidentally
fell in & was drowned; that our verdict witness our hands this 21:
4th '64
JOHN FRIE
RICHARD BARKER
The mark of JOHN JOHNSON
HENRY INGALS
RALFE + FFARNUM (his mark)
JOHN + RUSSE (his mark)
GEORGE ABBOT
MARK + GRAVES (his mark)
ROBERT + RUSSEL (his mark)
TIMOTHY JOHNSON
WALTER WRIGHT (his mark)"
Among the above named officers of the town
was the clerk
of the market. He had the care of the standard weights
and measures. In 1649 the "two Constables of Andover" (no
names), were presented before the County Court "for
want
of settled weights and measures" Witnesse Nathaniel
Parker of Andover.
The following record in regard to the clerk
of the market is found in the selectmen's accounts:--
"21 April 1719: Received of Robart Swan executor
to the estate of Ensign Ephraim Stevens clark of the market for the town
of Andover deceased, the said Towne Stander for waits and mesures: viz,
two half-bushels, one peck, one half-peck; one ale
MEMORIALS OF THE EARLY SETTLERS. 145
quartt-pott, one pint pott, one half pint. Waits;
one half-hundred,
one quarter of a hundred, one half quarter of a
hundred, one seven pound wait, one four pound wait, one two-pound wait,
one half-pound wait, one quarter of a pound wait, one two ounce wait, one
melting-ladle, iron sealer, one yard-measure, and delivered unto Abiel
Stevens clerke of the market."
In 1716, the town voted "that an iron melting-ladle be pro-cured for the clerk of ye market to melt lead to make weights, as occasion may be for the inhabitants and to be paid for by ye town and kept for the town's use."
In 1717 there was an attempt made to keep the
accounts
more clearly and improve upon the method of arrangement,
with the purchase of a "new booke." In this book
was the
following entry:--
"This Book was bought in the month of August, in the yeare of our Lord anno dom. 1717. For ye Town of Andover for their selectmens youse sucksessively fr to keep their accounts for the sd Town Reackonings. And they have begun the book with an alphabett(1) to the Ready finding their accounts and Reckonings and so have begun for to page this Book and Desir it may be paged out by those that shall suckseed in place."
The town of Andover was, as Mr. Woodbridge
stated, made
up at the beginning of "choice men" "very desirable"
and
"good Christians." These settlers took care
to insure as far as possible the continuance of such a class of citi-zens.
The selectmen were empowered to examine into the character and habits of
all persons seeking residence and to admit none who were idle or immoral.
"ANDOVER, the 30th of January, 1719-20.
"To MR. EBENEZER LOVEJOY, Constable, Greeting:
"Whereas there is severall Persons com to Reside
in our Towne and we feare a futer charge and as the Law directs to prevent
such charge; you are Requested in his Majesty's name forthwith to warn
the severall parsons under wrighten: to depart out of our Towne as the
law directs to, least they prove a futer charge to the
Towne." [Signed by the Selectmen.]
The town also encouraged desirable persons
to settle by
(1) The alphabet
being not now with the Book the "ready finding" is somewhat hindered.
10
146 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
making them grants of land, or furnishing facilities
for the investment of capital as in mills, iron-works, ferries, etc. Ministers
and masters of grammar schools were exempt from taxation.
The town grew with considerable rapidity, considering its inland situation and its exposure to attacks of Indians. Yet it was hardly a large or an old settlement before emigration from it began.
It would be natural to suppose that the children
of the
first settlers, who had heard from their fathers,
or had themselves shared in the privations and hardships of pioneer life,
would in their manhood have been thankful to be in a measure exempt from
such a lot and to enjoy in peace and quiet the advantages of a comparatively
old settlement. But there was a fascination in the wilderness and a temptation
in town building which were irresis-tible. To hew a way to fortune, as
his axe cleaved the path in the forest, was the pioneer's hope; to have
lands which would be all his own in a place where acres could be got for
the clearing, even though it were at the cost of ease and comfort, seemed
better to the ambitious sons of the planters than to be content with the
comparatively small portion of the paternal estates which fell to any one
of the usually many children of the first settlers.
Moreover, a new town offered opportunities for "advance-
ment," and this was the object of all the settlers,
from Governor Thomas Dudley, seeking it for his son-in-law, the first minister
of Andover, down to the blacksmith's apprentice, who looked to the day
when he should set up a shop like his master's, and perhaps become, like
that master, a representative to the Great and General Court. Capitalists
also sought investment for their money in building new towns, setting in
operation corn-mill and saw-mill, and carrying on lumber trade with Barbadoes
and other places, whither the colonists shipped their prod-ucts and exchanged
them for commodities of comfort and luxury.
Thus, as always, where land invites, emigration
began. Indeed, the planters of Andover seem to have felt very much cramped
for room from the outset. The territory which now seems ample for thousands
was "too strait" for a hundred or
MEMORIALS OF THE EARLY SETTLERS. 147
two hundred. Witness the following petition. It
is not dated, but must have been within the first fifty years:--
"TO Ye HOND GENL COURT(1) .... Humbly Sheweth.--
That
ye wise and gracious providence of God having Disposed
ye petitioners condicions and habitations soe ye now by ye blessings yt
God hath given them in their estates and posterity they find themselves
exceedingly straitened in their possessions and accommodations, many of
your petitioners having for ye benefitt of gods ordinances and christian
communion and neighborhood many years kept themselves and children under
a narrow confinement, and
whereas this Honble Court have always in order to
ye promoting ye publick weale been willing and ready to incourage all reasonable
requests with respect to ye orderly and sociable settlement of towns and
plantations; and whereas many of ye petitioners are much straitened in
their p'sonall acommodations and most of their children grown up and many
others of ye petitioners wholly desti-tute of land for settlement and soe
under a necessity to look out for inlargment and places of habitation.
"And forasmuch as: This Honble Court have by
sundry petitions granted, given and disposed sundry large and accomodable
ffarms to sundry p'sons viz to ye worshipful ye deputy Govr Majr Denison
and to ye Reverend Mr. Cob-bett and Mr. Higginson and to Marshall Murcheson
and others lying to ye northward of Merrimack river, as they are now laid
out and to the north west of Haverhill bounds and southerly from Exeter
and forasmuch as
between and about ye sd farms and bounds of sd Town
There is sundry pieces and Tracts of land which added and granted as a
township to ye sd farms may make a conven-ient township and forasmuch as
your petitioners have consulted ye proprietors of ye farmes and find them
ready and willing to give all Due incouragement for ye settling of a town
or plantation ye petitioners humbly pray that ye Lands adjacent to ye bounds
and farmes aforesaid
being not already appropriated and laid out may
be granted to ye petitioners and ye proprietors of sd farmes with such
enlargement as may according to ye place and nature of ye Land be thought
convenient; there being besides ye petitioner forty persons at least in
ye whole under one hundred, if accommodations be found ready to settle
themselves, sons and servts upon, and yt ye sd
Graunt may be with and upon tender and favourable
considerations and conditions granted to ym with respect to ye extent and
(1) Mass. Archives, vol.
cxii., page 202.
148 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER
tyme of settlement yt soe such of yr petitioners
as cannot Comfortably make a suddayne remove may not be discouraged.
JOSEPH PARKER, SENR.
NATHAN PARKER.
WALTER WRIGHT.
SAMUEL PRESTON.
SAMUEL HOULT.
EDWARD WHITTINGTON.
NATHAN STEVENS.
ROBT. RUSSELL.
THO. JOHNSON.
STEPHEN JOHNSON.
STEPH. BARNATT.
RICHARD BARKER.
JOSHUA WOODMAN.
EPHRAIM STEVENS.
SAMUEL FRYE.
JAMES FFRY.
TIMOTHY JOHNSON.
STEPHEN OSGOOD.
JOSEPH MARBLE.
SAMUEL MARBLE.
SAMUEL MARTYN.
JNO. RUSS.
JOSEPH PARKER, JUNR."
In 1723(1) Stephen Barker and others of Andover,Brad-ford,
and Haverill, petitioned for the grant of a tract of land called Pennacook,
the present site of Concord, N. H. Their petition, though granted
by the House, did not find favor with the Council; but they obtained another
tract, now the site of Methuen. A relic of their exploration at Pennacook
is the following:(2)--
"PENNECOOK, March 22,1723-4.
"Marching, Capt. James Frie and Lieut. Stephen
Barker with thirty men moved from Andover to go to Pennecook; ye 1st day
was stormy, but we went to Nutfield and lodged there that night; the 2d
day we came to Amiskeage and Lodged there; the 3d day we came to Suncook,
in sd Pennecook and built four camps and Lodgd there; the 4th day we came
to Pennecook Plains att ye Intervale Lands about 11 of the clock. There
we found five of those men who came from N. Ireland (?) Mr. Houston was
one of them; they came to us and we choze Capt Frie to discourse
them with 4 men. They say that they have a Graunt
of this Pennecook on both sides of the River. They call us Rebbels and
commande us to discharge the Place both in the Kings name and in the Provinces
and if we dont in a fortnight they will gett us off.
(1) In 1719 some Scotch-Irish
emigrants, who had landed in Boston, came to Andover and stayed here for
some months, while waiting for their party to proceed to Londonderry to
make a settlement. They introduced the potato into the town.
(2) Mass. Arehives,
vol. lii., 45.
MEMORIALS OF THE EARLY SETTLERS. 149
We therefore desire you Justice Stevens, with the
Committee to send us word whether we have any encour-agement to stay or
else to draw off. But Capt. Frie's courage is so that he will stay allone
rather than Let them usurpers drive us off."
"A True coppy of ye journal sent from Pennecook
and of their Treatment When they got there."
The Pennacook tract was ultimately granted
to Mr. Benja-
min Stevens and others. Among them was the Rev.
Samuel
Phillips, who in the petition stated that, having
no house-lot rights at Andover, and being the father of several sons, he
desired to make provision for his family. Mr. Timothy Walker, of Woburn,
who had been master of the Andover Grammar School, was also one of the
party interested, and became the first minister. The beginning of active
operations was in the spring of 1726. The place was then, as is said in
an ancient description of it, "a perfect wilderness, having not the least
sign that human foot ever trod there, and twenty miles up into the Indian
country." Numerous meetings of the persons principally interested
in the settlement were held at Andover, at Mr. Stevens dwelling;" at Bradford,
at Griffin's tavern; at Haverhill, at Eastman's tavern,
and at Ipswich, for almost a year before things
were brought to the point of setting out. In September, 1726, Ensign John
Chandler, of Andover, John Ayer, of Haverhill, and Mr. William Barker,
of Andover, were chosen "to clear a sufficient cart way to Pennecook, the
nighest and best way they can from Haverhill." Other still more important
leaders of the enterprise were Lieutenant-governor William Tailer and J.
N. Wainwright, Esq., Clerk of the Committee of the General Court. The latter
two had been up in May to view the place, and Mr. Wainwright wrote an account
of their journey. Ensign John Chandler went with them and helped
survey the land. He was a man peculiarly fitted for a pioneer's adven-tures,--
athletic and strong, and of great courage, a
noted wrestler, and a man whom to lay violent hands
on
was dangerous. The travellers went by way of Londonderry,
where was a tavern at which they refreshed themselves
with "Small Beer." While they were prospecting, they were waited
upon by a committee sent by Governor Wentworth
150 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
of New Hampshire, who warned them that they would
attempt to make a plantation there at their peril; for the place
belonged to the jurisdicfion of New Hampshire. The
set-
tlers made bold answer that, as the committee were
sent by the Governor of New Hampshire, so were they sent by the Governor
of Massachusetts, and that they should proceed with their work, which they
accordingly did. Their chief fear seems to have been of rattlesnakes. "We
saw divers rattle-snakes but thanks to God, nobody was harmed." They voted
to pay three pence per tail for every rattlesnake’s tail (the snake killed
in Pennacook), to be paid by the treasurer on sight of the tail. Capt.
Benja-min Stevens was first treasurer of the company, succeeded by Dea.
John Osgood. They voted to build a block-house, a saw-mill, and a
ferry-boat, in 1726. In 1730, November 18 the minister was ordained. The
two ministers from Andover, Mr. Phillips and Mr. Barnard, and Mr. Brown
of Haverhill, officiated. Among the settlers were, several of the Abbot
family of Andover. One of these was the son of Timothy Abbot, who
had been carried captive by the Indians into this very region, as is supposed.
The bard of the Merrimack has made the name
of Pennacook immortal in his "Legend of the Bridal" of the Indian maiden
Weetamoo, daughter of Passaconaway, whose haunts were the region along
the river, and who often pitched his wigwam in Andover meadows and woods.
As the men of Andover, stout Ensign Chandler, and Edward Abbot, and William
Barker, and the others plunged into the thick woods, axe in hand, or chopped
down trees, and cut off
the tails of rattlesnakes, or loaded their guns
to shoot a "red-skin,' and pulled out their hunting-knives to scalp him
as coolly as they would have to take the hide from the red-deer, they did
not think much about the poetry of the scene. They had seen the homes of
old Andover too often fired, and the blood of their children stain the
savage's tomahawk, to have any compunctions about killing him.
When Mr. Barnard preached the ordination sermon
of the
minister of Pennacook, he gave thanks that here
God was
now to be worshipped by Christians, where formerly
there
had been only heathen "salvages."
MEMORIALS OF THE EARLY SETTLERS. 151
Beautiful as is the legend of Pennacook, and
great as is
our sympathy with the wrongs of the race that has
been exterminated by the Christian "pale-face," we cannot agree that times
were better when the Indian's wigwam was the only dwelling, or think that
the poet means literal truth when he suggests that the river of swift waters
would lament if it could find voice, over the changes which the centuries
have brought,--
"0 stream of
the mountains, if answer of thine
Could
rise from thy waters to question of mine,
Methinks,
through the din of thy thronged banks, a moan
Of sorrow
would swell for the days that are gone."
From the narrative thus far it is evident
that the town~
though projected by a few of the rich and influential
men of the colony, was composed, for the most part, of the middle and humbler
classes, yeomen and artisans. There were not at Andover in the beginning
more than a half-dozen men, in fact, hardly so many, who could be called
rich or learned. Good, honest, plain citizens, self-respecting and
respected, were the first planters of old Andover, with one or two families
among them of the high-est social position and connections in the colony.
The following list, showing the occupations
of the principal settlers, has been made up from incidental records in
various documents:--
Minister. Rev. John Woodbridge, 1644; Rev.
Francis Dane.
Gentleman. Mr. Simon Bradstreet, Col. Dudley
Bradstreet.
Yeoman.(1) Mr. John Osgood, 1650; George Abbot,
senr.,
John Stevens, Richard Barker.
Husbandman.(1) Daniel Poor, Richard Sutton,
Henry
Ingalls, Job Tyler, William Ballard,
William Chandler,
Samuel Martin, John Abbot, Francis
Faulkner.
Carpenter. Thomas Johnson, Stephen Johnson,
Stephen Os-
good, Joseph Parker, 2d, Samuel
Wardwell.
Tanner. Joseph Parker, John Osgood, Christopher
Osgood.
Mason. John Marble.
Bricklayer. Samuel Marble.
Cooper. Joseph Wilson.
(1) Convertible terms.
152 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER,
Wheelwright. John Farnum, 1712.
Blacksmith. Thomas Chandler, John Bridges,
1692;
HopestilTyler, 1692; Jacob Preston.
Weaver. Richard Sutton, 1658; Walter Wright,
Mark
Graves, Samuel Phelps, Edward
Phelps, Samuel Frye,
Stephen Barnard, John Abbot, William
Abbot.
Tailor. Thomas Farnum, George Abbot.
Shoemaker. John Johnson.
Cordwainer. George Abbot, 1693.
Distiller. Andrew Peters.
Mariner. Robert Gray.
The history of the industrial enterprises
and the educa-
tional and religious institutions founded by the
first settlers, will be related in subsequent chapters. A few words may
here be said to outline this period of the early history. The first industry
which engaged general interest was the saw-mill and corn-mill. The town
built a mill at its own expense. Mr. Bradstreet is said also to have
owned a mill. Joseph Parker had also a mill (perhaps the same which the
town helped to build) on the Cochicha-wick. Stephen Johnson owned a saw-mill
in 1667. The town gave encouragement to Walter Wright and Edward Whitting-ton
to build a fulling-mill in 1673; but there seems to have been none built
till 1689, and then the Ballard brothers were the owners. Mr. Bradstreet
owned iron works in Boxford, and there were iron works set up at Andover,
probably before 1700.
The fisheries were a great source of profit
for a long time, and a monopoly of the fishing places was granted to individuals
who carried on extensive operations. In 1681 a vote was passed granting
a monopoly of fishing for twenty-one years:--
"Granted to Capt. Bradstreet, Left. Osgood
& Ensign Chandler and such others as they shall associate to themselves,
the libertie & privilege of fishing in Shawshin River from ye mouth
of said river up to ye old bridge and upon Merrimack river twenty rods
below ye mouth of sd river of Shawshin and twenty rods up the
said river of Merrimack from the mouth of said river
of Shawshin and twenty rods into ye said river of Merrimack from ye upper
end and lower end of ye aforesaid twenty rods & ye abovesd persons
MEMORIALS OF THE EARLY SETTLERS. 153
with such as they shall joyne with them are to enjoy
ye abovesd privileges the full and just terme of twenty-one years from
ye, first day of May next. The first ten years they shall have it for nothing,
ye other eleven years either to pay ye towne 10 pounds per annum or resigne
up their future interest in ye sd place, and alsoe they are to sell to
any inhabitant basse at 5d per piece provided
those ye buy, buy two at one time, ye parties buying
to chose one, ye parties selling to chose another; and if ye parties buying
choose rather to pay 3 pence per piece for basse in money ye owners of
said privilege shall not refuse ye same, provided as above said, they buy
two at a time."
Another vote, 1696, provides for making a
"ware for ye
catching of fish."
"4 May 1696. Voted and passed ye these tenn
men hereafter named shall have the libertie of making a ware for ye catching
of fish in Merrimack River att a place commonly called ye fishing place
against Maj. Bradstreets his Ground. According to these terms following;
viz, to sell to ye inhabitants of this town at any price not exceeding
twelve pence ye score & ye inhabitants of this
town to be supplied before strangers:
"Mr. Andrew Peeters, Left. John Chandler, Left. Thomas Johnson, Sergt John Aslebe, William Chandler senr, Andrew Foster, Walter Wright senr, Henry Holt sr. Thomas Osgood, Daniel Bigsbee are ye sd tenn men.
"This abovesd ware to be erected & finished
as soon as ye streame will permit upon ye forfiture of ye grant."
The making of spirituous liquors was a profitable
industry. Mr. Andrew Peters was a distiller, and Mr. James Bridges,
1721, and earlier, owned a malt-house.
There seem to have been no "stores" proper
for about
seventy-five years. Salem was "ye nearest market
towne"
for many years. In 1693 there was a "market" at
Andover.
Doubtless it displayed country produce of various
sorts, as the markets of England. The precise duties of "ye clerke of ye
market" are not ascertained.
A bill of goods bought by an Andover citizen,
1677, and
which he was sued for non-payment of, is on record.
Paul
White (of Haverhill?), brought the suit. The amount
claimed was ten pounds, ten shillings. Among the items were:--
154 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
3 Yds of blew linen.
2 glass bottles & 2 qts of rum.
3 1/2 lbs of sugar @ 7d-
5 yds of sarge @ 6d.
Silke & buttons & a combe & horne-book.
Tobacco, tongs, knife.
5 qts rum.
Gingerbread.
3 lbs of fruit.
A pt of wine and liquor.
Latting-ware.
i gallon of molasses.
A large part of the trade was by barter, neighbors
ex-
changing with each other their surplus products.
The first stores of which record has been found
were that of Mr. Isaac Abbot, in the South Parish, and that kept by the
son of Rev. Samuel Phillips, Deacon (the Hon.) Samuel Phillips, in North
Andover. The advice given by the minister of the South Church to his son,
in regard to carrying on his business, is not too old fashioned to be of
use now:--
"Sept 271h 1738
"ANDOVER, SOUTH PARISH.
......As to your trading, keep fair
and true accounts, and do wrong to no man; but sell as cheap to a child
as you would to one that is adult; never take advantage of any, either
because of their Ignorance or their Poverty; for if you do it will not
turn to your own advantage; but ye contrary. And as you may not wrong any,
person, so neither wrong ye TRUTH in any case whatever, for ye
Sake of gain or from any other motive. Either be
silent or else speak ye Truth.
"And be prudent but yet not over timorous and
over Scrupulous in ye article of Trusting, lest you stand in your own light.
Some people are more honest p'haps than you think for, and it may be will
pay sooner than you expect. Keep to your shop, if you expect that to keep
you and be not out of ye way when customers come."
The agricultural industries, which were at
the founda-tion of all the others, were at the outset of the simp-lest
sort. The farming implements were few and rude. A great part of the country
being covered with forests, it required much time and labor to fell the
trees, and clear space for dwellings and house-lots, orchards and gardens.
The largest farmers had not over four oxen, and six to eight cows. Horses
were
MEMORIALS OF THE EARLY SETTLERS. 155
scarce. John Stevens had one horse, an ass,
and colt, and two sheep (these were scarce), and a "stock of bees."
But the second fifty years made a great change.
New set-
tlers came in. Schools were established, and professional
men were common in the town, and from numbering
a score
the town had increased to near a thousand.
Following is a list of the names not found
on any of the
former lists, but appearing among the tax-payers
at the end of the first century from the incorporation:--
ADAMS, AVERY, BAILEY, BEARD, BERRY, BEVENS,
BRAGG,
BROWN, CHICKERING, CLARK, COLE, COLEBE, CUMMINS,
DELAP, DILOWAY, DODGE, DOWNING, FAVER, FIELDS, FISH, FISKE, FURBUSH, GAGE,
JACKSON, JENKINS, GOOLD, GORDON, HALL, HARDY, HOW, JONES, KIMBALL, KITTREDGE,
LAHORS, LATMON, LEVALY, LEWES, MECARNEY, MERRILL, MORIAH, NOYES, PEABODY,
PEARCE, PERSON, PEVY, PHILLIPS, SCALES, SETON, SHACKFORD, SHATTUCK, SIBSON,
SMITH, STEEL, STEWARD, STILES, THURSTON, TOMSON, TOWNS, WALCOT, WARNER,
WHISTON, WILEY, WOSSON.
Of the foregoing list of residents a very few
of the more prominent will be now noticed.
PHILLIPS stands among the names most widely
known.
The Rev. Samuel Phillips (grandson of Rev. Samuel
Phillips of Rowley, and great grandson of Rev. George Phillips, the first
minister of Watertown) came to Andover, 1710, as pastor of the South Church.
He was, as a minister, not entitled to house-lot rights, but, as his family
grew, he obtained large grants of land in new townships, in Londonderry,
Wenham, Chester, Hampshire, Freetown, etc. His sons, born in Andover, were
the Hon. Samuel Phillips, who settled in North Andover, the Hon. John Phillips,
of Exeter, the Hon. William Phillips, merchant, of Boston, father of Lieut.-governor
William Phillips.
Hon. Samuel Phillips, a graduate of Harvard
College,
1735, entered into trade and established himself
at North
Andover. He built for his residence, about 1752,
the house still owned by the family, the gambrel-roofed manse on the
156 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
Boston road west of the burying-ground, and next
south of
the Bradstreet house, then the parsonage of the
Rev. John
Barnard. Mr. Phillips married Elizabeth Barnard,
a cousin
of the minister. His household was a model of a
Christian
family, his wife being a lady of rare virtues, and
him-self, deacon of the North Church, a man of inflexible principles and
integrity. He was among the most disting-uished men in the Revolutionary
period, being representa-tive, senator, and the friend of some of the most
eminent statesmen of the time. He was conservative and cautious, though
patriotic.
Of his family of seven children, only one survived the parents, Samuel Phillips, Jr., "Judge Phillips," also Lieutenant-governor. Through his influence Phillips Academy was founded by his father and uncle. He, after his marriage to Miss Phebe Foxcroft, of Cambridge, lived in the South Parish, and built the "mansion house" for his residence.
The Hon. Samuel Phillips, Sen., died 1790. Judge Phillips took charge of the estate until his son (born 1776), the Hon. John Phillips, entered into business and made it his residence.
Col. John Phillips, a graduate of Harvard College,
1795,
studied law for a time, entered into trade in Charles-town,
where he married Miss Lydia Gorham, daughter of the Hon. Nathaniel Gorham.
Removing to North Andover, he lived here until his sudden death (1820),
at the age of forty-four. His wife, only thirty-six years old, was
left with thirteen children, three sons. Few ladies could have shown more
wisdom and ability, and none in North Andover have commanded greater respect,
or won more cordial regard, than Madam Lydia Gorham Phillips. She maintained
a dignified family rule, bringing up her children all to adult years, and
to occupy positions of honor and usefulness. Samuel Phillips, Esq., graduated
at Harvard College, 1819, was attorney at law, Andover, 1829, and afterward
in Newburyport. Mr. John Phillips was a merchant of Boston. Mr. Gorham
Phillips is a merchant resident of the State of Georgia. One of the daughters
(married to Mr. William Gray Brooks) was mother of the Rev. Phillips Brooks.
MEMORIALS OF THE EARLY SETTLERS. 157
The latest representative of the family in
the male line is Mr. Samuel Phillips, son of Samuel Phillips, Esq., lately
cashier of the Maverick Bank, Boston.
The Phillips manse is probably the richest of any in the town in ancient relics of ancestral grandeur. The fine old family portraits, the portrait(1) of Washington, presented by his nephews, the antique silver tankards and porringers, the massive sideboard, the carved cabinet, in which used to be kept mysterious packets of ancient letters too private and sacred to be read by any outside the family, the tapestries wrought by hands long ago mouldered to dust, the samplers in frames over the mantel, and the profiles of the first master and mistress of the manse, in the hall, the library of quaint old books owned by generations of ministers, dating back t the settlement of the colony,-- all these appeal power-fully to the imagination, and stir the feelings deeply, as one goes from room to room in this ancient house.
The Phillips name is also now represented at North Andover by a descendant
from another branch of the ancient Watertown family, the Hon. Willard Phillips,
of Salem. He, in 1867, purchased an estate and various adjoining lands
on the Lawrence Road, remodelled and added to the buildings, and laid out
extensive pleasure grounds,-- landscape garden and woodland,-- which make
the place one of peculiar beauty and picturesqueness.
KITTREDGE is a name among the most eminent in the town history.
Dr. John Kittredge came from Tewksbury to North Andover about 1741,
and ever since there has been a physician(2) of this family in the
town. Dr. Kit-tredge's father, a physician of Tewksbury, was often employed
by Andover citizens in the west part of Andover, and this, doubtless,
(1) Formerly hanging here, now removed.
(2) Five names of physicians are on this list (at the
end of the first fifty years there were none): Dr. Israel How came to Andover
(South Parish) 1718, died 1740, succeeded by his son, Dr Daniel How; Dr.
Nehemiah Abbot came from Lexington to Andover (S. P.), removed to Chelmsford
1770; Dr. Nicholas Noyes came to North Andover 1725, died 1765; succeeded
by his son, Dr. Ward Noyes. Dr. Parker Clark removed from Andover
after about ten years' residence.
158 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
led to his son's establishing himself here. Dr.
Kittredge lived near the present site of the machine-shop at North
Andover, in the old house long disused and dilapidated and lately taken
down. He owned land covering almost the whole of the present village. He
was a surgeon of great repute. He had three sons physicians: Dr. Benjamin
Kittredge, of Tewksbury, Dr. Jacob Kittredge, of Dover, Dr. Thomas Kittredge,
of North Andover. He had also a daughter, Elizabeth, who assisted him in
surgical operations, and after her marriage and removal to Londonderry,
N. H., was frequently called on for medical advice. Once, in going to visit
a patient in the evening, she made a misstep and fell, breaking her leg.
She set the bone, and did it so well that she suffered no serious inconvenience.
Dr. Thomas Kittredge succeeded his father (who died 1776) in practice at
Andover. His valuable services in the Revolutionary period as surgeon of
the First Massachusetts Regiment, and on the field at Bunker Hill, his
fame as a physician in all the neighborhood round about Andover, his prominent
part in the political history, when the party feeling between Federalists
and Republicans, or Anti-Federalists, was strong (he being a fearless and
staunch Republican), his honorable influence as a member of the Massachusetts
Medical Society, make the name of Dr. Thomas Kittredge one of the most
distinguished in the County of Essex.
Dr. Kittredge built, in 1784, the fine mansion,
now the
family residence. This, at the time of its erection,
had no equal for elegance in the North Parish, and was only rivalled by
the Mansion House of Judge Phillips in the South Parish. The Kittredge
mansion remains nearly unaltered from its original construction. The lofty
ceilings, the great hall and broad staircase (a contrast to the small entry
and winding, narrow stairs of the great houses of the colonial period),
the heavy door and ponderous brass knocker, the long avenue leading up
from the front yard gate, mark it as one of the stately homes of a yet
courtly period, when even the most "republican" and democratic in theory
held, in respect to style of living and social customs, the aristocratic
ideas of
the Old Country traditions.
MEMORIALS OF THE EARLY SETTLERS. 159
Dr. Kittredge had colored servants or slaves;
and their
Affairs-- weddings,(1) the birth of their children
and domestic matters-- were of no small interest in their master's household.
When the "great house" was raised (the former house stood farther north),
an old negro servant, Caesar, carried the baby (Dr. Joseph Kittredge, 1st),
then nine months old, in his arms, and held him up among the crowd, so
that he might have it to say, when he should be a man, that "he was at
the raisin'."
Dr. Thomas Kittredge married Miss Susanna Osgood,
sister of the Hon. Samuel Osgood. They had two sons,
physicians: Dr. John Kittredge, of Gloucester, and
Dr. Joseph Kittredge, 1st, of North Andover. One of the four
daughters, Martha Osgood Kittredge, was married
to Lemuel
Le Baron, M. D. Catherine and Maria were successively
married to Judge David Cummins.
Dr. Joseph Kittredge, 1st, graduated at Dartmouth
College 1806, studied medicine with his father, and succeeded him in practice
at his death, 1818. Dr. Kittredge was one of the most successful practitioners
in the town, and rode far and near on his professional calls, his cheerful
voice and cordial greeting everywhere welcome. Dr. Kittredge married
Miss Hannah Hodges, of Salem, a lady of remarkable strength and beauty
of character. Of their three sons, two were educated for the medical profession:
Dr. Joseph Kittredge, 2d, of North Andover, Dr. John Kittredge, of Taunton.
One daughter was married to a physician, Dr. George C. S.
Choate, formerly Superintendent of Taunton Insane
Asylum,
now of Pleasantville, New York.
Dr. Joseph Kittredge, 2d, took his father's
practice, and was an esteemed physician of North Andover until his death,
1878. Two of his sons have studied the medical profession: Dr. Thomas Kittredge,
City Physician of Salem, and Joseph Kittredge, 3d graduate of Harvard Medical
School, 1880.
ADAMS has also been one of the influential
names of North Andover. Israel Adams, whose name is on the list, was father
of Capt. John Adams. He came to Andover from
(1) See Chapter V1., the marriage of
Cato by Dr. Symmes.
160 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
Newbury. He was a soldier in the French and Indian
war.
His son, Capt. John Adams (also in the French war),
was an able officer in the Revolutionary service, and after-ward settled
down quietly, and was an honored deacon of the North Church, of exemplary
character and influence. He married Miss Hannah Osgood, daughter of Peter
Osgood, Esq. They had two sons who lived to manhood, Dr. Isaac Adams and
Maj. John Adams. He married twice again, but had no other children that
lived to adult years. He bought of his father-in-law the Adams homestead,
on the southeast end of the Great Pond.
Dr. Isaac Adams studied at Harvard College,
with the
class of 1789, but did not graduate; he practised
medicine in Newburyport, and entering into trade made several foreign voyages
as master of a vessel, and finally removed his home to the State of Michigan.
Maj. John Adams lived on the homestead. He
was in active military service against the insurgents in Shays' Rebel-lion,
and was subsequently commissioned Adjutant to Gen-
eral Lovejoy, with the rank of major. His eldest
son, Col. Joseph Adams, was President of the Mutual Marine Insurance Company,
Boston. Mr. Joseph H. Adams, the eldest son of Col. Adams, occupies the
homestead as a summer residence. Major Adams's eldest daughter was married
to Mr. Daniel Appleton, of Haverhill (Appleton's Publishing House, New
York), another was married to Prof. Asa Smith, D. D., of Dartmouth College.
A daughter of Col. Joseph Adams is the wife of Gen. William J. Dale, of
North Andover.
PEABODY is another name formerly of note in
town. John
Peabody, whose name is on the list, was father of
Lieut.
Oliver Peabody, Capt. John Peabody, and Rev. Stephen
Pea-
body. The homestead was in the extreme northeast
part of
the town, on the Boxford line, and near the Bradford
line. It is one of the most beautiful locations in that part of the
town. The ground is high, commanding a near view of the farms and woodlands
of the adjoining towns, and a more distant outlook to the heights of Haverhill
and Lawrence and
MEMORIALS OF THE EARLY SETTLERS 161
other towns, while on the horizon Mts. Monadnock
and
Wachusett and other hills rise among the clouds.
The
estate was sold in 1791 by the heirs of John Peabody,
Sen., to Mr. Nathaniel Gage. The house and buildings were in excellent
condition, and the place was one having a good deal of style and rural
elegance. This homestead is one of exceptional interest among those of
the outskirts, as having been the birth-place of three men, all eminent
in the town history, and having a line of eminent descen-dants in other
towns.
Lieut. Oliver Peabody was an active patriot,
on the Com-
mittee of Correspondence in the Revolution, and
respected
for his prudence and discretion. His son, the Hon.
Oliver
Peabody, born at North Andover, 1752, graduated
at Harvard College, 1773, settled in practice of law at Exeter, N. H.,
was Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, President of the Senate, and in
other important offices. The twin sons of Judge Peabody were Oliver William
Bourne Peabody, Esq., and Rev. William Bourne Oliver Peabody.
Capt. John Peabody commanded a company in the Revolution,
and was also adjutant to the colonel of a regiment near
Boston, 1776.
His son, Augustus Peabody, Esq., born at North
Andover,
was a graduate of Dartmouth, 1803, and counsellor
at law,
Boston.
Rev. Stephen Peabody,(1) the third son of John
Peabody,
Sen., was the first minister of Atkinson, N. H.,
a man of
eminence among the clergy of New Hampshire at that
time.
His life and character are sketched in subsequent
chap-ters of this history.
The Peabody homestead was also the home of
another
minister, the Rev. Nathaniel Gage, settled at Nashua,
N. H., 1822. His brother, Mr. Daniel K. Gage, lived on the farm. It is
now owned by his son, Mr. Nathaniel Gage, and other heirs. A beautiful
house has recently been built on a part
(1) Some writers speak of
him as a native of Boxford, some of North Andover. The homestead is on
the North Andover side of the line. In 1746 John Peabody petitioned to
be set off to Andover, which seems to have been done. The Rev. Stephen
Peabody was born 1741.
11
162 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
of the estate by Mr. George Edmund Davis, who married
a
daughter of Mr. D. K. Gage.
The Peabody family in several branches has
been resident
in the town, or connected with the North Parish.
A son of
David Peabody, Thomas Peabody, baptized soon after
his
birth, 1762, in the North Meeting-house, by Dr.
Symmes,
was the father of the banker and philanthropist,
George Peabody.
Samuel Peabody, Esq., a native of Boxford, was a much respected citizen
of Andover from 1842 till his death, in 1859. He was a graduate of Dartmouth
College, 1803, and practised law at Sandwich, Epsom, and Tamworth,
N. H. Of his sons, still identified with Andover interests, is Judge
Charles A. Peabody, counsellor at law, New York.
In respect to the foregoing memorials and relics, the remark may here
be repeated that they claim neither to be biographical nor genealogical
in any strict sense of the word, but simply to collect such scattered memoranda
as have been found of the first settlers and early residents, and to indicate
the comparative influence of the several families. This has been a work
of some difficulty, and its imperfections will, it is hoped, be charitably
received.
THE PART OF ANDOVER IN THE EARLY INDIAN WARS.
In regard to the Indians who occupied the territory
of Andover either for camping or for hunting ground, no record has been found.
The sachem who acknowledged before the General Court in 1646 that he had made
sale of the Cochichawick territory to Mr. Woodbridge and Mr. Edmond Faulkner,
was Cutshamache or Cutshamakin, a dweller near Dorchester. What special claim he
had to, or right to dispose of,
the lands about Andover, does not appear. The following
statement, taken from the "History of Dorchester," may be the
explanation: "This chief appears to have been a mere tool in the hands of
the colonial government, used for the purpose of deeding away Indian lands and
acting as a spy upon the movements of neighboring Indians." He is said to
have been a kinsman of Passaconaway, of the Agawam tribe, who made their camping
places along the Merrimack from the mouth to Pentucket, or to Cochichawick.
There are remains of an Indian burial-ground at West Andover, on the bank of the
Merrimack, a mile or more above Lawrence. Skeletons of men, women, and children
have been exhumed.(1) They were wrapped in hemlock bark. One was of a man of
great size and powerful build. He had been buried with especial care, and, it is
not unlikely, was a sachem or chief. Allusion is made in some of the ancient
records of land sales and surveys, to a tract in this vicinity, originally laid
out as "near Haverhill," and again "near Andover" and in the
neighborhood of "Old Will's wigwam." Old Will was a name sometimes
applied to Passaconaway. "Will's Hill" was between(2)
(1) The
graves were explored by Mr. Francis G. Sanborn, of Andover.
(2) In the
present limits of Middleton.
164 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
Andover and Rowley. It may be that this Indian burying place marks one of the places of Passaconaway's abode, and that these are the bones of his tribe. In regard to him, Governor Thomas Dudley wrote in 1631, to the Countess of Lincoln: "Upon the river Merrimack is seated Sagamore Passaconaway, having under his command four or five hundred men, being esteemed by his countrymen a false fellow and by us a wich."
The one sole local name of an aboriginal resident is that of the Indian
Roger. Standing on the spot known as Roger's Rock [the rock has been taken
away], near the South Meetinghouse, or watching the course of Roger's Brook, it
is not difficult with fancy's eye to see at our side, also viewing the landscape
o'er, this ancient lord of the soil, clad in blanket and with belt of wampum,
and bow and arrow, or arrayed in one of the "coates" of Indian
admiration, and proud in the possession of a musket and powder and shot. It was
no doubt the intention of our ancestors to deal fairly with the natives of the
country, so far as they could consistently with their policy of getting the
better part of that country for themselves. They bought the lands at such a
price as the Indians valued them, and though, as in the purchase of Andover,
many square miles of territory were got for a paltry sum, the buyers could
hardly blame themselves for a transaction which, at the time, the sellers
professed to be satisfied with. As a Christian commonwealth, also, the colony
took measures for promoting the welfare of the Indians. Philan-
thropists especially, devoted zealous labors to the
conver-sion of the Indians from heathenism, and instructing them in the
knowledge of the true God. Indians were taught the catechism and also classic
lore, and were even admitted to Harvard College and ordained ministers of the
gospel. But, put beside these the facts also that the masses of the tribes still
kept to their traditions of tomahawk and war-whoop, that for the few who were
converted and civilized, there were the many who learned all the vices and none
of the virtues of the white man, and furthermore, that of the white men there
were many whose vices exceeded their virtues, and it is easy to see how the
problem of Indian treatment soon became one
ANDOVER IN THE EARLY INDIAN WARS. 165
of the most difficult with which our forefathers had to deal.
The missionaries to the Indians were enthusiasts, as, Eliot the great apostle, whose indefatigable zeal translated the Bible into the Indian language, but all whose efforts have failed to transmit to the present age a human being able to read the translation. These missionaries hoped all things and were ready to endure all things in their faith in ultimate results. Through their labors, thousands of the natives were induced to adopt the Christian religion. Many of these forsook their forest-life and wigwam abodes and were gathered in small villages or settlements called "towns of the praying Indians."
There they lived, in some measure like the whites, having
a
town government (their officers, magistrates, and teachers
being Indians), and practising the useful arts. One of these
towns, called Wamesit, was so near to the borders of Andover,
that the Indians from it often had dealings with the Andover
inhabitants. The Indian town is thus described by a writer
in 1674:--
"Wamesit is the fifth praying town, and this place is situate upon Merrimack river, being a neck of land where Concord river falleth into Merrimack river. It is about 20 miles from Boston, North, north west and within 5 miles of Billerica, and as much from Chelmsford, so that it hath Concord river upon the west, north west and Merrimack river upon the north, north east. It hath about fifteen families, above 75 souls, 2500 acres, variety of fish, salmon, shads, lamprey eels, sturgeon, bass. There is a great confluence of Indians that usually resort to this place in the fishing seasons. Of these strange Indians, divers are vitious and wicked men and women, which Satan makes use of to obstruct the prosperity of religion here. The ruler of this people is called Numphow.(2) He is one of the blood of their chief sachems."
From this village (the present site of Lowell and suburbs) and from other places the Indians used to go up and down the Merrimack, and ascend its tributaries to fish or hunt. They used also to meet the English, while friendly relations existed, at certain places of conference for the purpose of
(1) Gookin's Historical Collections.
(2) In a trial of Indians accused of stirring up strife sometime
after the attack on Andover, Timothy Abbott bore witness against this Indian
Numphow.
166 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
trade or barter, exchanging skins, venison, game, for coats, powder and shot, trinkets, and bright colored beads, or wampum. A sail on the river today, from Lawrence (Old Andover, West Parish), to Lowell or to Haverhill, cannot fail to bring to vivid imagination pictures of those most ancient days, when the stream which now turns the wheels of great manufactories and keeps millions of spindles in motion, and which has all along its course thriving villages and populous cities, had its tranquil surface only now and then broken by the birch canoe or log raft, and the echoes of its hills disturbed only by the shout or war-whoop of the Indian, and the cries of wild bird or beast.
Besides the villages of friendly or praying Indians,
there
were many individual instances of "converted
Indians."
These Indians were often taken into the settlers' families,
and did house-work, or labored in the fields. In fact, all
the more prudent of the natives at first submitted to the
superior strength and wisdom of the English, making a
virtue of necessity. At a meeting of the General Court,
January, 1643, five Indian sachems, Cutshamache among
the number, signed a paper promising "to be true and
faith-
ful to the said government to bee willing from time to time
to be instructed in the knowledge of God." Yet under
this
submission was often a deep hatred of the invaders and a
jealous fear of their powerful God. The English did much
to increase this hatred, for not all were philanthropists,
and in place of faith and prayer, the Indian often met fraud and force. He was
quick to retaliate and resort to tomahawk
and firebrand. To discuss the causes which led to the long
series of Indian hostilities would lead us aside from our
main path. We can only glance at the effect of these hostilities on the
community whose history we are studying. The period of Indian hostilities began
about the time of Andover's settlement; but the Indians in this immediate
neighborhood were not at first drawn into the conspiracies. The colonists
prepared for defence by organizing the militia, in which all able-bodied and
"not timorous" males over sixteen years of age were enrolled. This
organization was made in 1644. The colony was divided into four counties:
Suffolk, Norfolk,
ANDOVER IN THE EARLY INDIAN WARS. 167
Essex, Middlesex. There was one regiment in each county.
The commanding officer of a regiment was called Sergeant- major. The commanding officer of all the forces was Sergeant-major-general. The first Major-general was Thomas Dudley. He was father of Mrs. Anne Bradstreet, of Andover. The Sergeant-major of the Essex regiment was Daniel Dennison, of Ipswich. He was brother-in-law to Mrs. Anne Bradstreet, and also to Mrs. Mercy Woodbridge, wife of the Rev. Mr. Woodbridge, of Andover [his wife was Patience Dudley, daughter of Governor Thomas Dudley]. He is described(1) as the "proper and valiant Major Daniel Denison, a good souldier and of a quick capacity his company are well instructed in feats of warlike activity." When the Indian depredations in the neighborhood of Andover, in the year 1675, became formidable, Major Dennison used every effort for the protection of the town, having not only his honor as a soldier at stake, but also the lives and property of his near and dear kindred. It was, doubtless, owing to his vigorous measures in cooperating with the local officers that the town of Andover suffered so little, in comparison with other frontier settlements.
The following is one of the first Records found of
military
organization at Andover. It bears no date, but is placed in
the books of the County Court Records, with papers from
1658 to 1659:(2)--
"TO THE HONORED COURT AT SALEM, You may be
pleased hereby
to take notice that the inhabitants of Andover have made
choyse of John Osgood to be their Sergeant and chief commander in the roome of
Sergeant Stevens who is willing and desirous to be dismissed. It is therefore
our desire that the cort would bee pleased to allow and confirme our choyse of
John Osgood for our Sergeant.
FRANCIS DANE.
GEORGE ABBOTT.
JOHN STEVENS.
THOMAS CHANDLER.
HENRY INGOLLS.
JOHN LOVEJOY.
THOMAS JOHNSON.
ANDREW GRAVES.
ROBART RUSSELL.
DANIEL POOR.
RICHARD BARKER.
WILLIAM BALLARD.
THOMAS FARNUM.
EDMOND FAULKNER.
GEORGE ABBOTT, JR.
ROBERT BARNARD."
WILLIAM CHANDLER.
(1) Wonder-working Providence of Zion's Saviour.
(2) Vol. iv., p. 121.
168 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
There are records which show that John Osgood was
Ser-
geant in 1661. In 1666(1) the officers at Andover were Lieu-
tenant John Osgood, Ensign Thomas Chandler, Sergeant
Henry Ingalls, also the same in 1675. In 1677 Dudley Brad-
street was Captain, and John Osgood Lieutenant. In 1680
the Essex militia was divided into two regiments. One of
these (including Newbury, Rowley, Bradford, Andover, Tops-
field, Salisbury, Amesbury, Haverhill) was put under com-
mand of Maj. Nathaniel Saltonstall, of Haverhill, who had
been captain of a company. The officers at Andover, 1680,
were Captain Dudley Bradstreet, Lieutenant John Osgood,
Ensign Thomas Chandler, Sergeant John Stevens, Sergeant
John Barker. In 1683 several of the inhabitants of Andover
petitioned the General Court for permission to raise another
company to "compleat their troope to the number of forty
eight men." This was granted, and the command was
given
to Capt. John Osgood. In 1689 the militia of Essex County
was divided into three regiments,-- Newbury, Salisbury,
Haverhill, Andover, Amesbury, and Bradford forming one.
The following is a list of Andover officers, covering, as
regards those of the rank of captain, a period of one hundred
years. The dates indicate the first record found:--
Colonel. Dudley Bradstreet (1698).
Major. Dudley Bradstreet (1695).
Captain. Dudley Bradstreet (1677); John Osgood (l683);
Thomas Chandler (1688); Christopher Osgood (1690); James
Frye (1702); Benjamin Stevens (1706); John Chandler (1711);
Timothy Johnson (1737); Joseph Sibson (1744); Nathaniel Frye
(1745).
Lieutenant. John Osgood (1666); Thomas Chandler
(1685;)
John Barker (1696); John Chandler (1696); Thomas Johnson
(1697); Samuel Frye (1698); John Aslebe (1704); William
Lovejoy (1714); Francis Dane (1717); George Abbott(1742);
John Chandler (1724).
Ensign. Thomas Chandler (1661); John Aslebe (1700);
Fran-
cis Dane. (1713).
Sergeant. John Stevens (1660); John Osgood (1661);
Henry
Ingalls (1666); Thomas Farnum (1674); John Aslebe (1692);
Ephraim Stevens (1695); William Chandler (1696); William
Lovejoy (1696).
(1) Essex County Court
Papers, vol. xii., p. 24.
ANDOVER IN THE EARLY INDiAN WARS. 169
Corporal. Samuel Martin (1677); Nathan Stevens
(1685);
Samuel Holt (1685); Joseph Ballard (1688); Hooker Osgood
(1689); Samuel Frye (1692); George Abbot (1693); Samuel
Osgood (1694); Benjamin Barker (1690): Nehemiah Abbot
(707)(1)
In 1676 a letter, written by E. R.(2) [Edward Rawson
or
Edmund Randolph(?)], describes, for the information of the
British Government, the condition of the colonial military
force:--
"They have no standing army, but their trained
bands are
twelve troops of horse and six thousand foot; each troop
consisting of sixty horse besides officers are all well mounted and completely
armed with back, breast, head-piece, buffe coat, sword, carbine, and pistols,
each troop distin-guished by their coats. The foot also are very well furnished
with swords, muskets, and bandaleers. There are no pikmen, they being of no use
in the wars with the 1ndians..... There is only one 'old soldier' in the colony,
the Governor, Mr. Leverett. He served in the late rebellion under the usurper
Oliver Cromwell as a captain of horse. The governor of the colony is
always generall, and out of the rest of the magis-trates is chosen the major
generall. They are places of good profit and no danger; they may stay at home
and share the spoyle while younger men command the Army in the field
against the enemy."
The first record of alarms of hostile Indians at
Andover
is in the year 1675, the month of October. Then the whole
colony was in a state of excitement, on account of the league
made by Philip (sachem of the Wampanoags) of all the New
England tribes against the English. No town felt secure
against a sudden outbreak of the heretofore friendly Indians,
or an onslaught of hostile tribes marching swiftly from.
remote encampments. Major Dennison writes,(3) from Ipswich,
to the Council in Boston, October 28, 1675:--
"I am now advancing to Major Pike. I
think I shall be able
to afford him no more than the comfort of our presence for a
(1) This list is perhaps not complete; but it contains the names which
have been found after such search as the importance of the subject warrants.
(2) Mass. His. Soc. Coll., Fourth Series, vol. iv.
(3) Mass. Archives, vol. 1xviii-, p. 30.
170 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
while, our posts at Topsfield & Andover being affrighted with the sight, as they say, of Indians which I have not time to examine till my return. It is hardly imaginable the panick fears that is upon our upland plantations & scattered places ..... The almighty and merciful God pity & helpe us. In much haste I brake off______"
In the month of November, impressments of men from the militia were made in all the towns, to fill up the quota of Massachusetts for an expedition into the country of the Narragansetts, who had joined with Philip. Twelve men were taken from Andover to complete the company commanded by Captain Gardiner. These were the following(1)--
Joseph Abbot. John
Faulkner. John Preston.
Ebenezer Barker. John Lovejoy.
Samuel Phillpes[Phelps]
John Ballard. John Marston.
Nathan Stevens.
James Frie.
John Parker. Edward Whittington.
Lieutenant Osgood, the commander of the Andover militia, in his return of their names describes the state of the company:--
"They are most of them now well fixed with armes and ammunition & cloathing. Edward Whittington wants a better musquete which wee know not well how to supply, except we take from another man which these times seems harde; we air now sending to Salem for sum.... for shoes and cloth for a coate for one or two."
These soldiers were marched in the dead of winter into the country of the Narragansetts and, December 19th, met the savages in the famous swamp-fight, where they defeated and completely destroyed their foe. In this fight Ebenezer Barker was wounded.(2)
In subsequent years, large grants of land were made
to the
soldiers of the Narraganset fight. Seven different townships
being laid out, "Narraganset, number three,"
Amherst,
N. H., was granted to inhabitants of Salem, Marblehead,
(1) Mass. Archives, vol. 1xviii., p. 68.
(2) In the list of Major Appleton's men killed is named one of
Andover, Robert Mackey(?) Drake's "Annals and Antiquities of Boston"
names Joseph Abbot and Roger Marks, of Andover, as wounded. I do not find record
of these names in the returns in the Archives.
ANDOVER IN THE EARLY INDIAN WARS. 171
Lynn, Gloucester, Andover, and other towns. Andover was allowed for nine soldiers.
The defeat of his allies did not daunt King Philip, but rather served to exasperate him for more desperate revenge. As soon as the spring opened, town after town was surprised and destroyed, and the most dreadful atrocities were committed.
February 10 occurred the attack on Lancaster, so graphically described by Mrs. Rowlandson, and familiar to every reader of New England history. Flying rumors came to Andover of the shocking fate of the inhabitants of this town, the mangled bodies of infants, and the painful captivity of mothers, the burning of houses, and the bloody fight of soldiers and savages.
The Indians were on the march, so the rumor went, toward Chelmsford, and would soon attempt to cross the Merrimack and descend on Andover. Lieutenant Osgood sent despatches post haste to the Council at Boston, imploring help, and begging to be relieved from the order for soldiers to march out of town to Woburn,(1) since all were needed at home:--
"HONOURED GOVERNOR AND COUNCILL, these few lines are to let your Honours understand that the Indians have taken and destroyed the coburrg (?) which is a great threatening of near approaching danger unto us. It brings but ten or twelve miles from us, and this day seaven of our men are to march to Oburn according to your honours orders: we humbly crave this favour, if it may stand with your honours wisdom & favour to release our men that are to goe forth, as wee being an outside town & in as greate danger in our apprehension as any and may stand in as great need as any other town of help, this makes us bould to request this favour att your hands & shall acknow-ledge ourselves your obedient servants to serve to extent of our abilities with all readiness, thus desiring God to direct & guide your councills in all the greate & weighty difficul-ties & distress that are now on our hands, we Rest your humble servant,
JOHN OSGOOD, Left.
In the name & behalf of our towne.
"ANDOVER, 16 Feb. 1675."
(1) Mass. Archives, vol. 1xviii., p. 138.
172 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
Measures were taken as soon as possible to put the town in a state of defence; garrison(1) houses were built, and men appointed to defend them. A committee chosen to visit the town reported(2) it to be in a state of good defence:--
"In pursuance of your Honourable Councills orders dated March ye 15, 1675-6 appointing us ye subscribers as a committy for Essex to view & consider ye severall townes & to propose ye thoughts of what may bee advisable: In order for ye securing of ye people & their planting in this time of trou-ble: Wee met at Andover, where wee found twelve substantial Garrisons well fitted: which wee hope through God's blessing may bee sufficient to secure them from any sudden surprisal of the enemy to which Garrisons ye inhabitants of ye town are respectively appointed.
"By your humble servants
JOHN APPLETON.
JOHN PUTNAM.
THOMAS CHANDLER.
"29th March 1675-6."(3)
It was also ordered by the Court that a fence of stockades, or stones, be built eight feet high from Charles River to Concord River, in Billerica, thence connecting by way of the large ponds with Merrimack River, which river, down "to the bay" with the bay would complete the circuit of some twenty towns, including Andover. These would be "environed round for the security and safety under God of the people, their houses goods & catell from the rage and fury of the heathen enemy."
The Andover people did not approve this means of defence, or feel willing to contribute men to guard the line of forts. They thought a more effectual protection would be to streng-then the garrisons and to send out, with parties of
(1) "These were built of hewn logs which lay flat upon
each other; the ends being fitted for the purpose, were inserted in grooves cut
in large posts erected at each corner. They inclosed an area of several square
rods, were raised to the height of the roof of a common dwelling-house, and at
two or more of the corners were placed boxes where sentinels kept watch. In some
cases, several small buildings raised for the temporary accommodation of
families were within the inclosure."-- Bouton's "History of
Concord".
(2) Mass. Archives, vol. lxviii., p. 184.
(3) Ibid., p. 174.
ANDOVER IN THE EARLY INDIAN WARS. 173
workmen in the fields, guards of soldiers. They say that their planting grounds are mostly "environed by swampy and boughie ground," and are therefore comparatively easy to defend. They pray the Council to order the men to "work in such companies as they shall judge meete for their safety and defence."
On the 18th of March [28th, N. S.], the Indians crossed the Merrimack and sent two scouts to Andover. What depredation they committed is not recorded, but the people in great alarm despatched post riders to Ipswich, one by night and one by day, to beg for help. Major Dennison, not slow to protect his kindred and friends, hastened forward sixty men and at once apprised the Council in Boston of the condition of things. He writes that "if he had received orders he might have brought off from Andover some of his brother Bradstreet's best things." He commits the result to Heaven exclaiming, "Let God arise and our enemies be scattered."
But, in spite of all the vigilance and precautions, the Indians surprised the town at last. This was on the 8th [or 18th, N. S.] of April, 1676. In this attack, one of the soldiers, who had passed safely through the bloody Narragansett fight in the winter, was slain within sight of his own dwelling.(1) It is not impossible that the savages knew who were the men in town that had helped to murder their brethren in the swamp fight; at any rate, they, on this day, whether by accident or design, took revenge on two of these. They directed their course to the house of George Abbot, one of the garrisons. Tradition says that they were seen crossing the river, and that Ephraim Stevens, a scout, gave the alarm. The villagers fled to the garrisons; but the Abbot brothers were at work in the fields, and did not reach the shelter before the savages were upon them. Joseph Abbot, the soldier, a strong, athletic young man about twenty-four years of age, made a brave resistance, and killed one or more of the Indians, but was finally set upon by the whole band and cut down,-- the first, and perhaps the only, Andover soldier
(1) Site of the garrison-house on the estate of the present residence of Mr. John Abbot, Central Street, west of the South Meeting-house.
174 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
ever slain in the town. His brother Timothy, a lad of thirteen years, was taken captive. The savages then hurried off, leaving the smitten household to its desolation. That such desolation ever came to the now peaceful spot it is difficult to realize. In the calm of a summer afternoon, the writer of this sketch stood upon the ground once trodden by the hurrying feet of the fleeing citizens and red with the blood of the slain. Now the scene is tranquil, and bears no token that any deed of violence was ever done here. Broad fields stretch away, just greened after the mower's scythe; elm, ash, and maple, with the friendly apple tree, make a pleasant shade, and through their foliage the sun streaming in, tessellates the grass with a shifting carpet of light and shade. Birds nest and sing undisturbed; from distant fields come sounds of labor; the cattle are driven into the farm-yard; the lengthening shadows and the striking of the meeting-house clock remind of the evening hour. In vain we try to call back to this serenity the struggle, the blood, the groans of the battle, the tears and the lament for the youthful dead. May they never come again to any home of Old Andover!
Besides their bloody work at George Abbot's, the savages also attacked the house of Edmond Faulkner, and wreaked their vengeance on dumb brutes. Their attack is described by the Rev. Increase Mather, in his "History of King Philip's War":--
"In the beginning of April they did some mischief at Chelmsford and Andover, where a small party of them put the town into a great fright, caused the people to fly into garrison houses, killed one man and burnt one house, and to show what barbarous creatures they are, they exercised cruelty towards dumb creatures. They took a cow, knocked off one of her horns, cut out her tongue, and so left the poor creature in great misery. They put an horse, ox, and cow into a hovel and then set it on fire only to show how they are delighted in exercising cruelty."
The most interesting account, however, is from the pen of one of Andover's own citizens. It is a letter to the Council, describing the situation of the town,-- its anxiety and distress and praying to be aided to maintain a sufficient guard. The letter bears marks of haste and trepidation, and is, even
ANDOVER IN THE EARLY INDIAN WARS. 175
more than most of the old records, difficult to decipher. Possibly some words have not been exactly made out in the following copy:--
"TO THE HONOURED COUNCILL. The malitiah of our towne do humbly request your Honours to consider our condition the enemy has twice assaulted us; the last was Saturday last, who slew a lusty (?) younge mane & took his brother a youth & carried him away: we have had sum fforces to helpe us bute the enemy cannot be found when we goe after them; and wee ffind that wee are not abell to goe to worke about Improveing oure lands but are liable to bee cutt off nor are we able to raise .... men at our charge to defend ourselves wee fear greatly that wee shall not bee able to live in the towne to Improve our lands to raise a subsistence without som force be kept above us upon the river of merrimack & to Concord river, which being speedily & well defended with a competent quantity of soldiers all the Townes within might be in sum reasonable safty to follow theyre Imployes to raise corne & persue theyre catell .... [we] thought if one third off the men of each towne did attend that service so the other might bee in sum reasonable safty about their work, for now we are so distressed to thinke that our men are liable to bee shot whenever we stirr from our houses & our children taken by the cruell enemy, itt doe so distress us that wee know not what to doe, iff sum defence bee not made by ye forces above us wee must remove off iff we can tell where, before we have lost all lives & catell & horses by the enemy; we are compleatly able to fende ourselves in our garison iff we have warning to rest in, but otherwise out off oure house we are in continuall danger."(1)
The letter goes on to say that the town of Andover,
being
a guard to the towns below, ought not in its distress to bear
the whole burden of keeping a guard sufficient, but should
receive help. It concludes :--
"Praying God to directe & counsel you
we rest.
Your humbell servantes
JOHN OSGOOD, Left.
"ANDOVER 11: 10, 76."
The captive carried away from Andover-- the boy
Timothy
Abbot-- was brought back in August by a squaw who took
pity on his mother. His return is mentioned in Cobbet's
(1) Mass. Archives,
vol. 1xviii., p. 202.
176 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
"New England Deliverances": "And Good-wife Abbot's boy of Andover was brought home, almost starved, by a poor squaw that had always been tender to him whilst in captivity. "
Hubbard says: "He was much pined with hunger."(1)
In this attack, the Indians also wounded(2) Roger Marks, another soldier of the Narragansett fight (son-in-law of Nicholas Holt). "About two months after this," says "Abbot's History," quoting from Mr. Symmes's Thanksgiving sermon, "the Indians surprised and captivated Mr. Haggit and two of his sons." But, although this may be correct and the persons named made captive in Andover, there is no evidence of their being then residents of the town. No such name is found in the list of residents, 1678, and it is not till 1679 that Moses Haggit of Ipswich bought land southwest of Blanchard's [since Hagget's] Pond, and agreed to pay church and town rates as a citizen. It is not unlikely, however, that in the summer of 1676, the Haggits, father and sons, came from Ipswich to Andover to look at the land and arrange for the purchase, which may have been delayed on account of their captivity. The remoteness of the region from the town, and its proximity to the Indian resorts about Wamesit, especially its nearness to the pond, which would attract the Indians for fishing, rendered them liable to attack. A garrison house was built in this section at an early period. On account of the losses sustained by the town this year, the General Court abated their county rates. The attacks threatened to greatly injure the plantations. Many families were about to remove from Andover, there being a scarcity of corn and no security in planting. Lieutenant Osgood wrote at this time to the Council, praying them to take measures to prevent the desertion of the town. There were, consequently, garrisons and guards stationed across the country. The following is an extract from a report of them:--
(1) Timothy Abbot, when master of a family, never allowed a
child to say he was hungry, saying that they did not know the meaning of the
word hunger. He lived on the present homestead of Mr. Asa A. Abbot and Mr.
Sylvester Abbot.
(2) Mr. Symmes's Thanksgiving Sermon, 1768. Drake's Annals and
Antiquities of Boston.
ANDOVER IN THE EARLY INDIAN WARS. 177
"Between Exeter & Haverhill a
Garrison and 70 men.
"Near Andover a garrison and 40 men.
"At Pawtucket near Wamesit 'already
settled.'
"Between Chelmsford & Concord a garrison
& 40 men.
"Between Concord & Sudbury a garrison
& 40 men.
"Between Sudbury & Medfield a garrison
& 40 men.
"South side of Medfield a garrison & 40
men."(1)
There was ordered also a "flying or moving army
of three
hundred men," one hundred of them to be friendly
Indians.
There was from time to time more or less call for
soldiers
to serve out of town; some were impressed, or volunteered
for an expedition in the summer of 1677, to the region of the
Kennebec River. The company, under the command of Capt.
Benjamin Swett, fell into an ambush(2) at Black Point,
Scarborough, and were cut off. Their leader and many men
were slain.
The following list of the slain is found in the
Andover
records:--
"Killed by Indians June 29 1677 John, son of
Joseph & Mary
Parker.
"John, son of Edward & Elizabeth Phelps.
"James, son of Nathan & Mary Parker.
"Daniel Blackhead, servant of Christopher
Osgood."
In the year 1677, Mr. Dudley Bradstreet was made Captain of the foot company in Andover. He took vigorous measures for defending the town, petitioning the General Court to increase the penalty for not working "in companies" and to compel all the "towns to keep out a small party to range ye outskirts whereby ye inhabitants may in their spirits be more settled and goe about their work for(3) their English and Hay harvest."
After the defeat and death of King Philip, the hostile spirit subsided, and for a series of years there was a time of rest and comparative security. But the Revolution in England,
(1) Mass. Archives, vol. 1xviii., page 251.
(2) Southgate's History of Scarborough.
(3) Mass, Archives, vol. 1xix., page 152.
12
178 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
1689, and the wars(1) of England and France embroiled the colonies, and the Indians were drawn into the contest, mainly acting with the French.
In 1689, the General Court made a change in the militia of Essex County which was objected to by the Andover inhabitants as prejudicial to their interests. They petitioned for a different organization of the troops:--
"TO THE HONOURED GFNERALL COURT now sitting in Charles Towne this ninth day of March 1689-90, the petition of ye townes of Andover & Boxford, Humbly Sheweth.—
"That whereas ye Humble petitioners have been informed that this Hon’d
Court hath taken off ye Towne of Boxford with other townes from ye upper
Regiment in Essex & joyned them to another Regiment which wee Humbly
conceive is greatly prejudicial to ye Country & to or Sd Townes in pticlar,
by reason we lyinge soe neare to each other & ready upon all occasions of ye
enemy's approach to relieve each other, which if disjoyned wee cannot doe, &
for many other Reasons we humbly pray that this Honoured Court would please to
take into their farther & serious consideration, this our petition. viz,
that Boxford might still continue as part of ye upper Regiment in Essex, &
farther yt our Souldiers may bee free from any press that may happen till ye
Indian enemy be subdued or quieted, in Granting of which ye Honrs humble
petitioners shall as in Duty bound for ever pray &c.
DUDLEY BRADSTREET.
"for JOHN OSGOOD.
Andover JOHN BARKER.
STEPHEN JOHNSON.
"MOSES TYLER by order & in ye name of ye Town
of Boxford."
During the year 1689, the following deaths are
recorded in
the town books as having occurred either in the wars abroad,
or by savage violence at home:--
(1)The following classification of the wars may be
convenient for reference:--
1688-1698. Governor Phipps. King William's
War.
1703-1713. Governor Dudley. Queen Anne's
War.
1722-1725. Lieutenant-governor Dummer.
Ralle's War.
1744-1749. Governor Governor Shirley. King
George's War.
1749-1761. Shirley. French and Indian War.
Governor Pownal. French and Indian War.
Governor Bernard. French and Indian War.
Lieutenant-governor Hutchinson. French and
Indian War.
ANDOVER IN THE EARLY INDIAN WARS. 179
"Lieut. John Stevens at Casko March 5 1689.
"Eleazar Streaton a servant & kinsman of Dea. John Frie died at ye
eastward at Fort Ann Mch 15 1688-9.
"John Peters killed by the Indians Aug. 14, 1689.
" Andrew Peters killed by the Indians Aug. 14, 1689."
Early in 1690, active measures were taken by the Government for the defence of the frontier towns. By order(1) of the Governor and Council, May 14th, eighty troopers were to be detached from the several companies of the Essex Regiment, which was in command of Maj. Robert Pike. These troopers were to rendezvous at Andover on the 16th, and forty of them, under command of Captain Davis, to go to the defence of Concord; forty to be under Capt. Thomas Chandler, of Andover. On the 28th of May, it was further ordered, that two hundred soldiers well appointed with arms and ammunition be raised "for secur-ity of Bradford, Andover, Dunstable, Chelmsford, Groton, Lancaster, and Marlborough." These, it was ordered, "should constantly be kept together and improved moving up and down in their respective stations on the outside of the towns whereto they shall be assigned for defence of such towns, and the frontier towns shall send out one or two of the inhabitants who are acquainted with the woods for daily scouting." The following action was also taken in regard to the raising of more men in Andover, in answer to the petition of Captain Osgood:--
"It is granted that in case the captain of the foot company see it beneficial to them to make up said troop to the number of forty out of the foot company, of persons sufficient to attend such service otherwise the troops there to be serted into the Foot company and that to be divided, the new company to nominate their own officers and to send down their names to the Council to be allowed and commissionated before the last day of this inst."
On the 28th of May, Capt. Thomas Chandler was
appointed
"to command the company that are to be impressed for the
defence of the frontier towns from Dunstable eastward as far
as Bradford, downwards, which company is to consist of forty
troopers and thirty foot-soldiers."
Notwithstanding all this
scouting and ranging of troopers and foot-soldiers who by day
(1) General Court Records, May, 1690.
180 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
and by night were active and alert, travelling from town
was
unsafe. There were twenty fordable places in the Merrimack
River between Wamesit and Haverhill, and, at any moment,
the Indians were liable to cross and make an attack.
In 1696 (records the Rev. John Pike in his journal(1) ), -"old John Hoyt of Amesbury and young Peters of Andover were slain upon the road between Andover and Haverhill." This Hoyt had before suffered from the Indians who had "plundered and despoiled him and burnt his house.(2) These deaths are registered in Andover records:--
"John Hoyt of Almsbury was killed here by Indians, Aug. 13, 1696. "
" William Peters killed by Indians Aug. 13, 1696."
On the twenty-second of February, 1697-8 (0. S.), the fourth of March, 1698 (N. S.), occurred the most considerable attack ever made on the town of Andover. In this attack, retribution followed and (it would seem), deliberate vengeance was taken for the crimes of one man whose wickedness was thus the means of bringing suffering on his innocent townsmen. Capt. Pascoe Chubb, the son-in-law of Mr. Edmond Faulkner, two years before this attack in the same month, had committed an act of treach-ery toward the Indians. He was in command of Fort Pemaquid (which in 1693, had been built by Capt. John March),(3) and held a conference with a delegation of Penobscot Indians in regard to the exchange of prisoners. While the council, about a dozen Indians, and as many of the English, were in session, Chubb having previously made the plot, and had the Indians supplied with strong liquor to the verge of drunkenness, gave orders for a massacre. The English soldiers fell upon the unsuspecting victims and slew several, two chiefs among them. Subsequently a force of French and Indians attacked the fort and threatened death with torture to the captain, if he should not surrender. In his terror and remorse, he forgot his honor as commander, and in the most cowardly manner, gave up the fort,
(1) Mass. Historical Society's Proceedings, 1875,
"Journal of Mr. Pike."
(2) Mass. Col. Records, 1695, June 15.
(3) Of Newbury,-- the same who began to build the vessel at
Andover.
AND0VER IN THE EARLY INDIAN WARS. 181
stipulating only for personal safety. For this act of treason, as it was almost thought to be, he was cashiered, and put in Boston jail, whence he was released and allowed to live in seclusion at Andover, owing to the petitions and influence of friends.
Following is a petition made by him from the jail(1):--
"TO THE GREAT AND GENLL COURT OF HIS MAJESTYS PROVINCE OF THE MASSACHUSETTS BAY IN NEW ENGLAND Assembled att Boston by adjournment November 18th 1696.
"The Petition of Pasco Chubb late Commander of his Majestys ffort William Henry at Pemaquid, Humbly sheweth.
"That yr Petitioner stands committed a Prisoner in Boston Goale for his Late surrendering & delivering up the aforesd Fort and Stores thereto belonging unto his Majestys enemies ....
"And whereas yr Petitioner is a very poore man, having a wife and children to Looke after wch by reason of his confine-ment & poverty are reduced to a meane and necessitous condition having not wherewithall either to defray his present necessary charges or to relieve his Indigent family .....
"Your Petitioner therefore humbly prays that this high and hon(1) Court will please to consider the premises soe as that he may now either be Brought to his Tryall or else upon giving sufficient Bayle be delivered from his present confinement, whereby he may be enabled to take some care of his poore family for their subsistence in this hard & deare winter season."
The Indians, doubtless in revenge for his cruelties (although Hutchinson thinks it was by "mear accident"), attacked the house where he was, and killed him and his wife. "It is not probable they had any knowledge of the place(2) of his abode," says Hutchinson; "but it caused them greater joy than the taking of many towns." "Rapin," he goes on to say, "would have pronounced such an event the immediate judgment of Heaven. Voltaire, that in the place of supposed safety, the man could not avoid his destiny."
All the facts, however, go to indicate that it was the deliberate act of Indian revenge. The attack was led by the fierce and implacable foe of the whites, Assacumbuit. At this time
(1) Mass. Archives, vol. lxx., 307.
(2) In North Andover.
182 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
was made the attack on Captain Bradstreet's house, which is elsewhere(1) narrated. The tradition goes that the leader of the Indians had given his promise to an Indian, a friend of the Bradstreet family, that if he would guide them to the house, none of the family should be hurt. But he, it seems, could not, or did not, wholly control his company, for they killed the guest and relative of the family, "Major Wade's son of Mystick," and were about to carry off some of the household as prisoners. But, the leader interposing, these were releas-ed unharmed. This attack is mentioned (with a different reason for the Indians' mercy) by Cotton Mather in the "Magnalia:"—-
"The Winter was the severest that ever was in the memory of Man. And yet February must not pass without a stroke upon Pemaquid Chub,(2) whom the Government had mercifully permitted after his examination to retire unto his habitation in Andover. As much out of the way as to Andover there came above Thirty Indians about the middle of February as if their errand had been for vengeance upon Chub whom (with his wife) they now massacred there. They took two or three horses and slew three or four persons; and Mr. Thomas Barnard the worthy minister of the Place very narrowly escaped their fury. But in the midst of their Fury there was one piece of mercy the like whereof had never been seen before: For they had got Colonel Dudley Bradstreet into their hands, but perceiving the town Mustering to follow them, their Hearts were so changed that they dismissed their captives without any further Damage unto their Persons. Returning back by Haverhill, they killed a couple," etc.
Judge Sewall(3) records the same attack:--
"Feb. 24, 97-98 --Feb. 22 at Break of day Andover is surprised. Lt. Col. Bradstreet's house rifled, his kinsman Wade slain, Capt. Chubb and his wife slain and three more. Some houses and Barns burnt and in one a considerable quantity of corn and twenty head of Cattel. Pulpit cushions taken away, fired but not quenched."
The Rev. John Pike,(4) in his journal, also chronicles the same attack:--
(1) Chapter
I., p. 130.
(2) Mather's
opinion concerning the cause here appears.
(3) Mass. Hist.
Soc. Coll., Fifth Series, vol. v.
(4) Mass. Hist.
Soc. Proceedings, 1875.
ANDOVER IN THE EARLY IND1AN WARS. 183
"Feb. 22, 97-98, about 30 Indians came to Andover, took Col. Bradstreet's house and two more, killed Capt. Pasco Chub and his wife, Maj. Wade's son of Mystick and two others. Carried Col. Bradstreets family a little way & upon Cond: Released them. As they returned by Haverhill they met with Jonath: Hains and Sam. Ladd with ye elder sons. The two fathers were slain & the sons carried away, but young Hains soon after Returned which was his second escape from the enemy in less than two years time."
They also attacked the house of Mr. Timothy Johnson,
and killed his daughter, Miss Penelope Johnson, a young
lady of nineteen years. The explicit statements of contem-
poraries, noting the events in diary, agree in the date, Feb-
ruary 22, and 1697, or March 4, 1698. Some town histories
have made the statement that there were two attacks: one in
February, and one in March, but this error must have arisen
from a confusion of dates in some of the earlier histories,
owing to the difference of writing in the "old
style" and the
"new style."
In this attack some of the town records were carried
off or
destroyed, as appears from the following vote:--
"1698. Voted that a committee be chosen to receive anew the records of the town lands, according to what papers may be found that have been upon record before; our town records being taken away by the enemy Indians."
The hostilities between the English and French were nominally put an end to by the Treaty of Ryswick, in 1697; but the towns were by no means relieved of their apprehensions of Indian attacks, since savages, once maddened with the fury of slaughter, could not be immediately quieted by treaties made thousands of miles away, and sometimes from that very cause they rallied for a final and retaliative blow. The interval of rest had, therefore, been brief, when the formal renewal of the wars of the European nations again brought fresh danger to the struggling colonies.
"Queen Anne's War" was under the control
in America
of her Majesty's Governor of the Province, Joseph Dudley.
The military expeditions were mainly to the eastern fron-
tiers. Col. John March was obliged to give up his ship-
building operations in Andover to enter on active military
184 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
service. For his valorous conduct he received a tribute
from
the government:--
"Nov. 30, 1703: Resolved passed us the house of
Representa-
tives,-- that there be allowed & paid out of ye publick
treasury to Lieut. Coll. March the sum of Fifty pounds for the brave defence
which by his conduct was made of her Majesty's Fort at Casco Bay when lately
attacked by ye French & Indians & in. consideration of his wounds &
damage which he then received."
There are accounts in the town records of extra
provision
made for supplies of ammunition; also, by order of the
government, the soldiers were furnished with snow-shoes; one hundred and
twenty-five pairs were ordered for the North Reg-
iment of Essex.(1) Four block-houses were built on the
Merrimack River, two of which were in Andover. The following
orders(2) were issued to the military officer at Andover, Capt. Christopher
Osgood:--
"I am directed by his Excellency our Governor to build two, (3) block houses in your town upon the brink of Merrimack river, one at the fording place called Deare's jump and one at a fording place commonly called Mr. Petters wading place both Places I am informed is in the Precinct of your company there-fore I order that you build them twelve foot wide & fifteen foot long with .... at one end & well covered that the men may be dry in wet weather, as to the charge I am not informed how it might be, but have desired Lieut. Barker to inform you how wee at Newbury have built ours," etc.
Captain Osgood impressed ten men from his company,
and in six weeks had the buildings done.(4) While some
worked, others guarded, and were on the scout along the
river.
In July, 1706, Capt. Benjamin Stevens went in
command of
a company into the woods in "quest of the Indian
enemy,"
and, while he was gone, his house was broken into, and some
(1) General
Court Records, 1704, Nov. 18. Mass. Archives, vol. lxxi., pp. 67 and 152.
(2) Mass.
Archives, vol. lxxi., p. 69.
(3) Two, three,
and four houses are spoken of in different documents.
(4) See
petition in Records of General Court; also, Mass. Archives, vol. lxxi., p. 69.~
AND0VER IN THE EARLY INDIAN WARS. 185
things stolen, among them five certificates of wages due him and his soldiers for service in January and February. He petitioned for five other certificates, to be delivered him by the treasurer. Three of the certificates were ordered to be paid by the constables of Boston, one by the constable of Bradford, another by the constable of Haverhill. The total amount was L84 3s. 9d.(1)
The following from the town records shows what stock of ammunition was in the town in 1713:--
"Feb. ye 20th 1712-13. This may sertifye those selectmen that shall
succeed us: that where as some time since our Town Stock of Ammunition was
divided to Sundry persons, viz to Capt. John Chandler, Capt. Christopher Osgood,
and some others we the subscribers have gathered it together all but some small
parsels, the which we have given Ensign Ephraim Stevens for to gather and put to
the Rest, as soon as he can: And we have left all the Town Stock of
Ammunition of powder, bullets, and flints with Left. John Aslebe for one year
and then to be taken care of by ye select men for the time being. And the powder
we left at Left. John Aslebes is one hundred and sixty-six pounds 166; and of
bullets four hundred, twenty and eight pounds 428, and of flints thirteen
pounds: wanting one ounce, (13). And we have Left the keas of the Town Stock of
Ammunition with Ensign Ephraim
Stevens, to be at ye selectmen's service, when they shall have ocation for them,
and there is two dry casks of the Towns left standing on ye chest that the
Amonition is locked up in. One is a small powder cask headed up at both ends,
the other open at one head.
"Signed the day and year abovesaid.
EPHRAIM STEVENS
GEORGE ABB0TT Selectmen
JOHN OSGOOD
of
EPHRAIM FOSTER Andover."
NEHEMIAH ABBOTT
The towns were never safe. In winter the Indians
came
on snow-shoes, and in summer by the rivers, plundering and
killing, and then disappearing as suddenly as they had come,
plunging into the depths of the forests. In the winter of
1705, Governor Dudley wrote to Col. Saltonstall in regard to
being prepared to meet the enemy:--
Mass. Archives, "Petitions," 1704.
186 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
"I pray you to give direction that your
snow-shoe men from
Newbury to Andover be ready at a moment's warning till the
weather break up, then we may be quiet awhile."
In the autumn of 1724 (September 25th) a petition
was
sent to the General Court to commission Capt. Benjamin
Stevens, of Andover, leader of an expedition to Winipeseog
Pond, "to discover the Indians camping places &
haply find
their canoes & by what or what manner they come down upon
us in summer."
Of all the tales of Indian warfare connected with old Andover history, the one which has the most melancholy and romantic interest is that of Chaplain Jonathan Frye, who was mortally wounded in the year 1725, in the famous Lovewell's fight at Pequauket. He wandered for some time in the woods, and, as is supposed, died fifty miles from any English settlement, and twenty miles from the fort whence his company had marched. The English were at prayers when they first discovered the approach of an enemy. The young chaplain (he was only twenty) was ready to fight as well as to pray. Says a record: "Mr. Frye and another scalped the first Indian who was slain." The scalps were kept, as a reward was paid for them. A history of the fight, taken from the testimony of an eye-witness, was written soon after by the Rev. Thomas Symmes, of Bradford. The quaint language is worth preserving:--
"About the middle of the Afternoon, the Ingenious Mr. Jonathan Frie only son of Capt. James Frie of Andover, a young Gentleman of a Liberal Education, and who was chaplain to the company and was greatly Beloved by them for his excellent Performances and good Behavior and who fought with Undaunted Courage till that time of Day was mortally wounded. But when he could fight no longer, he prayed audibly severall times for the Preservation and Success of the Residue of the Company."
Is there anything more pathetic in our annals of
youthful
heroism than this plain, unvarnished tale of the young chap-
lain of Andover? It shows not only how dominant over the
spirit of the time was the moral and religious sentiment,
which alone lifts the battle-field above the plane of brute
force, and redeems its passions from utter fiendishness, but
ANDOVER IN THE EARLY INDIAN WARS. 187
it pays an affectionate tribute to the rare qualities of the young man. He must have had a character remarkably uniting manly and Christian virtues, who could, at twenty, act as religious guide and at the same time comrade-in-arms of a company of frontier savage-hunters (of however excellent material it might be made), and secure the common respect and affection.
A week after the fight the Rev. Mr. Symmes
pronounced
"A SERMON OCCASIONED BY THE FALL OF THE BRAVE CAPT.
JOHN LOVEWELL AND SEVERAL OF HIS VALIANT COMPANY IN
THE LATE HEROIC ACTION." This was printed and
prefaced
by the historical narrative before alluded to. There can be
no doubt that to listen to this discourse, referring to their
townsman's tragic death, the Andover people went in large
numbers. In fact the discourse may be regarded as largely
commemorative of that special loss, Mr. Symmes having in-
timate acquaintance with Andover; his sister being the
wife(1) of Capt. Benjamin Stevens. The text of the sermon
was, "How are the mighty fallen and the weapons of war
perished." 2 Sam. i. 27.
This sermon repays perusal. It is thoughtful and forcible, full of odd turns of expression that rival some of old Fuller's "Good Thoughts in Bad Times," and withal it has a martial ring, characteristic of the preaching of these times; when the wars of the Israelites furnished more acceptable texts than the gospel of peace:--
"We must not be Disheartened & cast down because a crew of Salvages have killed a few Brave Men. No, verily, its beneath a Man, much more a Christian whose heart is fixed trusting in the Lord, to be thus affected. Such news should not daunt and terrify a soldier, but whet his Courage. Especially it should rouse ‘em on such occasions to Rally forth and come to March with utmost expedition to Recover if possible our Dear Breth-ren that lie Wounded and without Relief in a Howling Wilder-ness, that they mayn't Perish with Famine or fall into the hands of a Barbarous Enemy, to be killed over again & Tortured with Indian Cruelty,
(1) "Here 1yes what was mortal of Mrs. Susannah Stevens widow of Benjamin
Stevens, Esq., and Daughtr of ye Revd. Mr. Zechariah Symmes of Bradford who died
July 30 1753, in ye 83 year of Her Age."
Epitaph-- Old Burying Ground.
188 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
and also to give Christian Burial to the Remains of our Departed Heroes ..... We that tarry at home must get into the Mount and Pray for em'. A Good Woman in her Closet (tho' she's afraid to take a Gun in her hand) may serve her Country to a very good purpose even in respect of the War as really as the Magistrate at the Council Board or the most daring and well advised commander in the open Field in a thro' engagement. For Prayer and Faith always were, are, and will be the Church's Best Weapons."(1)
The place of the fight was on the northeast end of
Saco
Pond, on the edge of a wood" where there were few trees
and scarce any brush." There were about forty English
engaged, and twice as many Indians, by whom the English had
been ambushed. The fight lasted all day, when the savages
retreated. Seventeen of the English made their way back
through the woods to the fort at Ossipee Lake; twelve died
in the woods, and their bodies were afterwards found and
buried where they lay; three were "lost by the way and
never found."
The English, retreating from the fight at the wood,
fell
back upon the pond, and to its waters the wounded crept, to
slake their thirst and staunch their wounds; crimsoning the
water with their blood. Some crawled off into the thick
wood and died there, while a few, wounded but able to walk,
started on their way toward the camp. Among the latter was
Chaplain Frye. After journeying painfully for some miles
with his friends, Eleazar Davis, of Concord, and Lieutenant
Farwell, of Dunstable, he begged them to save themselves
and leave him to his fate, "not to hinder themselves any
longer for his sake; for that he found himself Dying."
Then
he lay down, "telling them he should never rise
more." He
gave a message to be delivered to his father, that he
"ex-
pected in a few hours to be in eternity and that he was not
afraid to die." "Whereupon," says the record,
"they left
him; and this Hopeful Gentleman Mr. Frie who had the
Journal of the March in his pocket has not been heard of
since."
This incident of the abandoning a dying comrade in
the
wilderness forms the ground-work of Hawthorne's tale of
(1) The Italics are in the original.
AND0VER IN THE EARLY INDIAN WARS. 189
"Roger Malvin's Burial." No one who
compares the facts
with the romance can fail to see that in the psychological
and ethical studies of this parting of Chaplain Frye with his
comrades, the greatest of New England romance writers
found the materials for his tale. He himself says it was an
incident of Lovell's fight in 1725, and that the characters
may be recognized notwithstanding the substitution of fic-
titious names. The only recorded instance of a comrade's
being deliberately left is that of the chaplain from Andover.
Therefore the probability amounts to certainty that with
name and age changed, Jonathan Frye is Roger Malvin, and
Eleazar Davis, who survived to reach home, his comrade,
Reuben Bourne; the details, and the subsequent history of
their lives being varied by the romancer's imagination to
suit the purposes of his story.
The reluctance of Reuben to leave his dying friend; that friend's persuading him to do so, appealing to his affection for his betrothed, the daughter of Reuben, and holding out the hope that he may yet come back with a party and rescue the comrade whom he leaves (a hope which Roger, while holding it out as a motive to his friend to quit him for the present, knows to be vain); the final leave-taking; Reuben Bourne's life-long remorse for this act, his final unwitting expiation of the sin that haunted his imagination, by shooting his own son, by accident, on the very spot,-- these are all evolved from the poet-philosopher's musing on the fate of Chaplain Frye, and the words of the ancient chronicler, "Whereupon, they left him."
"Roger. 'There is not two days' life in me Reuben, and I will no longer burden you with my useless body, when you can scarcely support your own. Your wounds are deep and your strength is failing fast, yet, if you hasten onward alone you may be preserved. For me there is no hope, and I will await death here.'
"Reuben. 'Should I therefore leave you to perish and to lie unburied in
the wilderness! No, if your end be in truth approaching, I will watch by
you and receive your parting words. I will dig a grave here by the rock, in
which if my weakness overcomes me, we will rest together; or if Heaven gives me
strength, I will seek my way home.'
190 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
"Roger. 'In the cities and wherever men dwell they bury their dead in the earth: they hide them from the sight of the living; but here, where no step may pass perhaps for a hundred years, wherefore should I not rest beneath the open sky covered only by the oak leaves when the autumn winds shall strew them?’"
Thus it was that Jonathan Frye rested, the forest
around
him, the sky above. On the spot where tradition says he
died, now surrounded by the homes and busy industries of
the city which commemorates his name, a wild rose-tree
sprang and flourished, and its annual flowers, plucked with a
half superstitious feeling by the visitor, have been a more
effectual memorial than storied urn or animated bust."
A ballad written in 1725, called the
"Most-beloved song
in all New England" contains this stanza alluding to Mr.
Frye:
"Our worthy
Captain Lovewell among them there did die
They killed
Lieutenant Robbins and wounded good young Frye
Who was our English
chaplain he many indians slew
And some of them he
scalped when bullets round him flew."
The large elm tree which has stood in beauty and verdure until within a few years, and whose trunk now remains, on the roadside near the birthplace of Chaplain Frye, was set out by his hands,-- (a sapling from the wood) the year of his death. Mr. Frye was engaged to be married to a young girl whom his parents did not regard with approval as suited to him in point of birth and fortune.
It is said by a writer,(1) whose residence in Andover seventy-five years ago made him familiar with the then current traditions, and who was an enthusiast in the search for the romance of history, that the enlistment of young Frye in military service arose from the conflict of duties and feelings which was caused by his parents' disapproval of his love. The story is thus told:--
"Among the number who fell was Mr. Jonathan Frye, a student in divinity, who was Lovewell's chaplain and who had joined this little band from some affair of the heart. He made him-self conspicuous in the fight, and as described, acted with the reckless
(1) Samuel L. Knapp's Lectures on American Literature. He was Preceptor of Franklin Academy, 1805.
ANDOVER IN THE EARLY INDIAN WARS. 191
valour, which is often found to belong to such a state of mind. The fair one to whom he was thought by his friends to be imprudently attached was not content with the praises others were ready to bestow upon the lost object of her affections; and, although only fourteen years of age, struck her harp in mournful lays upon her Philander's fate and produced an elegy which has survived to this day; being lately found in an ancient manuscript of a gentleman of the native place of the lovers and lately transmitted to me. If it does not burn with a Sapphic blaze it gives more of the light of history than all the odes of the Lesbian dame on her lost Phaon. Miss Susannah Rogers calls on her muse to assist her in describing the youthful warrior, who afar off was resting without his shroud on the battle-field of glory. She says that his person was comely, his age just twenty-one-- his genius of the highest excellence, and that he was the only son of his parents, beloved by all who knew him. His valor, his piety, his prayers amidst the fight, his wounds all bleeding, pass in review before her streaming eyes and she sees the howling wilderness where he fell. She notes the fortitude and resigna-tion with which he died or rather his exhibition of it, when they left him to die, for he was not dead when his companions were under the necessity of leaving him to perish. The parental grief is not forgotten and her own loss is touched upon with truth and delicacy ..... This elegy of the bereaved fair is too long for my purpose."
Although too long for a lecture on American Literature, it is, however long and however devoid of poetic fire, properly to be preserved in any sketch of Andover history. And surely it is not to be regarded lightly, though its composition may provoke a smile. If a town wept the fate of this fallen brave, and spoke his praise, surely the grief of this poor girl whose love had been of so melancholy an ending, in whatever phrases it finds vent, should awaken sympathy and excite compassion. Her address to the parents of her lover is certainly evidence of a heart free from malice and moved to sympathy even with those who scarcely acknowledged her right to sympathy.
THE MOURNFUL ELEGY ON MR. JONATHAN FRYE. 1725.
"Assist ye muses; help my quill
Whilst floods of tears do down distil
192 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
Not from mine eyes alone, but all
That hears the sad and doleful fall
Of that young student Mr. Frye
Who in his blooming youth did die.
Fighting for his dear country's good
He lost his life and precious blood.
His father's only son was he
His mother loved him tenderly
And all that knew him loved him well
For in bright parts he did excel
Most of his age: for he was young
Wounded and bleeding he was left
And of all sustenance bereft
Within the hunting desert great
None to lament his dismal fate
A sad reward, you'll say, for those
For whom he did his life expose
He marched out with courage bold
And fought the Indians uncontrolled
And many of the rebels slew.
At last, a fatal bullet came
And wounded this young man of fame
And pierced him through and made him fall
But he upon the Lord did call
He prayed aloud; the standers-by
Heard him for grace and mercy cry
The Lord did hear and raised him so
That he enabled was to go.
For many days he homeward went
Till he for food was almost spent
Then to the standers-by declared
Death did not find him unprepared.
And there they left him in the wood
Some scores of miles from any food
Wandered and famished all alone
None to relieve or hear his moan
And there without all doubt did die--
"And now I'll speak to Mr. Frye,
Pray sir be patient; kiss the rod
Remember this the hand of God
Which has bereft you of your son.
Your dear and lovely Jonathan
ANDOVER IN THE EARLY INDIAN WARS. 193
Although the Lord has taken now
Unto himself your son most dear
Resign your will to God and say
'Tis God that gives and takes away;
And blessed be his name; for he--
For he has caused this to be.
And now to' you, his mother dear
Be pleased my childish lines to hear,
Mother refrain from flowing tears;
Your son is gone beyond your cares
And safe at rest in Heaven above
With Christ who was his joy and love,
And in due time I hope you'll be
With him to all eternity.
Pray madam pardon this advice
Your grief is great, mine not much less,
And if these lines will comfort you
I have my will, Farewell, adieu."
A poem of much beauty and pathos has been written by
Mr. Upham of New Hampshire, "On Visiting, the Scene of
Lovewell's Fight." The following stanzas selected from
it
are a not inappropriate requiem for all the soldiers of our
own and other towns who perished in the early Indian(1)
wars:--
"The bugle is silent, the war-whoop is dead,
There's a murmur of waters and woods in their stead,
And
the raven and owl chant a symphony drear
From the dark-waving pines o'er the combatants' bier.
"Sleep, soldiers of merit, sleep, gallant of yore,
The
hatchet is fallen, the struggle is o'er;
While the fir-tree is green and the wind rolls a wave
The
tear-drop shall brighten the turf of the brave!"
(1) The history of the later Indian wars, 1744-1761, is separated from that of the first century, because it seems to connect more properly with the Revolutionary period, the same men being in service in the Revolution who had been trained in the old French War.
13
THE PART OF ANDOVER IN THE EARLY INDIAN WARS.
In regard to the Indians who occupied the territory
of Andover either for camping or for hunting ground, no record has been found.
The sachem who acknowledged before the General Court in 1646 that he had made
sale of the Cochichawick territory to Mr. Woodbridge and Mr. Edmond Faulkner,
was Cutshamache or Cutshamakin, a dweller near Dorchester. What special claim he
had to, or right to dispose of,
the lands about Andover, does not appear. The following
statement, taken from the "History of Dorchester," may be the
explanation: "This chief appears to have been a mere tool in the hands of
the colonial government, used for the purpose of deeding away Indian lands and
acting as a spy upon the movements of neighboring Indians." He is said to
have been a kinsman of Passaconaway, of the Agawam tribe, who made their camping
places along the Merrimack from the mouth to Pentucket, or to Cochichawick.
There are remains of an Indian burial-ground at West Andover, on the bank of the
Merrimack, a mile or more above Lawrence. Skeletons of men, women, and children
have been exhumed.(1) They were wrapped in hemlock bark. One was of a man of
great size and powerful build. He had been buried with especial care, and, it is
not unlikely, was a sachem or chief. Allusion is made in some of the ancient
records of land sales and surveys, to a tract in this vicinity, originally laid
out as "near Haverhill," and again "near Andover" and in the
neighborhood of "Old Will's wigwam." Old Will was a name sometimes
applied to Passaconaway. "Will's Hill" was between(2)
(1) The
graves were explored by Mr. Francis G. Sanborn, of Andover.
(2) In the
present limits of Middleton.
164 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
Andover and Rowley. It may be that this Indian burying place marks one of the places of Passaconaway's abode, and that these are the bones of his tribe. In regard to him, Governor Thomas Dudley wrote in 1631, to the Countess of Lincoln: "Upon the river Merrimack is seated Sagamore Passaconaway, having under his command four or five hundred men, being esteemed by his countrymen a false fellow and by us a wich."
The one sole local name of an aboriginal resident is that of the Indian
Roger. Standing on the spot known as Roger's Rock [the rock has been taken
away], near the South Meetinghouse, or watching the course of Roger's Brook, it
is not difficult with fancy's eye to see at our side, also viewing the landscape
o'er, this ancient lord of the soil, clad in blanket and with belt of wampum,
and bow and arrow, or arrayed in one of the "coates" of Indian
admiration, and proud in the possession of a musket and powder and shot. It was
no doubt the intention of our ancestors to deal fairly with the natives of the
country, so far as they could consistently with their policy of getting the
better part of that country for themselves. They bought the lands at such a
price as the Indians valued them, and though, as in the purchase of Andover,
many square miles of territory were got for a paltry sum, the buyers could
hardly blame themselves for a transaction which, at the time, the sellers
professed to be satisfied with. As a Christian commonwealth, also, the colony
took measures for promoting the welfare of the Indians. Philan-
thropists especially, devoted zealous labors to the
conver-sion of the Indians from heathenism, and instructing them in the
knowledge of the true God. Indians were taught the catechism and also classic
lore, and were even admitted to Harvard College and ordained ministers of the
gospel. But, put beside these the facts also that the masses of the tribes still
kept to their traditions of tomahawk and war-whoop, that for the few who were
converted and civilized, there were the many who learned all the vices and none
of the virtues of the white man, and furthermore, that of the white men there
were many whose vices exceeded their virtues, and it is easy to see how the
problem of Indian treatment soon became one
ANDOVER IN THE EARLY INDIAN WARS. 165
of the most difficult with which our forefathers had to deal.
The missionaries to the Indians were enthusiasts, as, Eliot the great apostle, whose indefatigable zeal translated the Bible into the Indian language, but all whose efforts have failed to transmit to the present age a human being able to read the translation. These missionaries hoped all things and were ready to endure all things in their faith in ultimate results. Through their labors, thousands of the natives were induced to adopt the Christian religion. Many of these forsook their forest-life and wigwam abodes and were gathered in small villages or settlements called "towns of the praying Indians."
There they lived, in some measure like the whites, having
a
town government (their officers, magistrates, and teachers
being Indians), and practising the useful arts. One of these
towns, called Wamesit, was so near to the borders of Andover,
that the Indians from it often had dealings with the Andover
inhabitants. The Indian town is thus described by a writer
in 1674:--
"Wamesit is the fifth praying town, and this place is situate upon Merrimack river, being a neck of land where Concord river falleth into Merrimack river. It is about 20 miles from Boston, North, north west and within 5 miles of Billerica, and as much from Chelmsford, so that it hath Concord river upon the west, north west and Merrimack river upon the north, north east. It hath about fifteen families, above 75 souls, 2500 acres, variety of fish, salmon, shads, lamprey eels, sturgeon, bass. There is a great confluence of Indians that usually resort to this place in the fishing seasons. Of these strange Indians, divers are vitious and wicked men and women, which Satan makes use of to obstruct the prosperity of religion here. The ruler of this people is called Numphow.(2) He is one of the blood of their chief sachems."
From this village (the present site of Lowell and suburbs) and from other places the Indians used to go up and down the Merrimack, and ascend its tributaries to fish or hunt. They used also to meet the English, while friendly relations existed, at certain places of conference for the purpose of
(1) Gookin's Historical Collections.
(2) In a trial of Indians accused of stirring up strife sometime
after the attack on Andover, Timothy Abbott bore witness against this Indian
Numphow.
166 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
trade or barter, exchanging skins, venison, game, for coats, powder and shot, trinkets, and bright colored beads, or wampum. A sail on the river today, from Lawrence (Old Andover, West Parish), to Lowell or to Haverhill, cannot fail to bring to vivid imagination pictures of those most ancient days, when the stream which now turns the wheels of great manufactories and keeps millions of spindles in motion, and which has all along its course thriving villages and populous cities, had its tranquil surface only now and then broken by the birch canoe or log raft, and the echoes of its hills disturbed only by the shout or war-whoop of the Indian, and the cries of wild bird or beast.
Besides the villages of friendly or praying Indians,
there
were many individual instances of "converted
Indians."
These Indians were often taken into the settlers' families,
and did house-work, or labored in the fields. In fact, all
the more prudent of the natives at first submitted to the
superior strength and wisdom of the English, making a
virtue of necessity. At a meeting of the General Court,
January, 1643, five Indian sachems, Cutshamache among
the number, signed a paper promising "to be true and
faith-
ful to the said government to bee willing from time to time
to be instructed in the knowledge of God." Yet under
this
submission was often a deep hatred of the invaders and a
jealous fear of their powerful God. The English did much
to increase this hatred, for not all were philanthropists,
and in place of faith and prayer, the Indian often met fraud and force. He was
quick to retaliate and resort to tomahawk
and firebrand. To discuss the causes which led to the long
series of Indian hostilities would lead us aside from our
main path. We can only glance at the effect of these hostilities on the
community whose history we are studying. The period of Indian hostilities began
about the time of Andover's settlement; but the Indians in this immediate
neighborhood were not at first drawn into the conspiracies. The colonists
prepared for defence by organizing the militia, in which all able-bodied and
"not timorous" males over sixteen years of age were enrolled. This
organization was made in 1644. The colony was divided into four counties:
Suffolk, Norfolk,
ANDOVER IN THE EARLY INDIAN WARS. 167
Essex, Middlesex. There was one regiment in each county.
The commanding officer of a regiment was called Sergeant- major. The commanding officer of all the forces was Sergeant-major-general. The first Major-general was Thomas Dudley. He was father of Mrs. Anne Bradstreet, of Andover. The Sergeant-major of the Essex regiment was Daniel Dennison, of Ipswich. He was brother-in-law to Mrs. Anne Bradstreet, and also to Mrs. Mercy Woodbridge, wife of the Rev. Mr. Woodbridge, of Andover [his wife was Patience Dudley, daughter of Governor Thomas Dudley]. He is described(1) as the "proper and valiant Major Daniel Denison, a good souldier and of a quick capacity his company are well instructed in feats of warlike activity." When the Indian depredations in the neighborhood of Andover, in the year 1675, became formidable, Major Dennison used every effort for the protection of the town, having not only his honor as a soldier at stake, but also the lives and property of his near and dear kindred. It was, doubtless, owing to his vigorous measures in cooperating with the local officers that the town of Andover suffered so little, in comparison with other frontier settlements.
The following is one of the first Records found of
military
organization at Andover. It bears no date, but is placed in
the books of the County Court Records, with papers from
1658 to 1659:(2)--
"TO THE HONORED COURT AT SALEM, You may be
pleased hereby
to take notice that the inhabitants of Andover have made
choyse of John Osgood to be their Sergeant and chief commander in the roome of
Sergeant Stevens who is willing and desirous to be dismissed. It is therefore
our desire that the cort would bee pleased to allow and confirme our choyse of
John Osgood for our Sergeant.
FRANCIS DANE.
GEORGE ABBOTT.
JOHN STEVENS.
THOMAS CHANDLER.
HENRY INGOLLS.
JOHN LOVEJOY.
THOMAS JOHNSON.
ANDREW GRAVES.
ROBART RUSSELL.
DANIEL POOR.
RICHARD BARKER.
WILLIAM BALLARD.
THOMAS FARNUM.
EDMOND FAULKNER.
GEORGE ABBOTT, JR.
ROBERT BARNARD."
WILLIAM CHANDLER.
(1) Wonder-working Providence of Zion's Saviour.
(2) Vol. iv., p. 121.
168 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
There are records which show that John Osgood was
Ser-
geant in 1661. In 1666(1) the officers at Andover were Lieu-
tenant John Osgood, Ensign Thomas Chandler, Sergeant
Henry Ingalls, also the same in 1675. In 1677 Dudley Brad-
street was Captain, and John Osgood Lieutenant. In 1680
the Essex militia was divided into two regiments. One of
these (including Newbury, Rowley, Bradford, Andover, Tops-
field, Salisbury, Amesbury, Haverhill) was put under com-
mand of Maj. Nathaniel Saltonstall, of Haverhill, who had
been captain of a company. The officers at Andover, 1680,
were Captain Dudley Bradstreet, Lieutenant John Osgood,
Ensign Thomas Chandler, Sergeant John Stevens, Sergeant
John Barker. In 1683 several of the inhabitants of Andover
petitioned the General Court for permission to raise another
company to "compleat their troope to the number of forty
eight men." This was granted, and the command was
given
to Capt. John Osgood. In 1689 the militia of Essex County
was divided into three regiments,-- Newbury, Salisbury,
Haverhill, Andover, Amesbury, and Bradford forming one.
The following is a list of Andover officers, covering, as
regards those of the rank of captain, a period of one hundred
years. The dates indicate the first record found:--
Colonel. Dudley Bradstreet (1698).
Major. Dudley Bradstreet (1695).
Captain. Dudley Bradstreet (1677); John Osgood (l683);
Thomas Chandler (1688); Christopher Osgood (1690); James
Frye (1702); Benjamin Stevens (1706); John Chandler (1711);
Timothy Johnson (1737); Joseph Sibson (1744); Nathaniel Frye
(1745).
Lieutenant. John Osgood (1666); Thomas Chandler
(1685;)
John Barker (1696); John Chandler (1696); Thomas Johnson
(1697); Samuel Frye (1698); John Aslebe (1704); William
Lovejoy (1714); Francis Dane (1717); George Abbott(1742);
John Chandler (1724).
Ensign. Thomas Chandler (1661); John Aslebe (1700);
Fran-
cis Dane. (1713).
Sergeant. John Stevens (1660); John Osgood (1661);
Henry
Ingalls (1666); Thomas Farnum (1674); John Aslebe (1692);
Ephraim Stevens (1695); William Chandler (1696); William
Lovejoy (1696).
(1) Essex County Court
Papers, vol. xii., p. 24.
ANDOVER IN THE EARLY INDiAN WARS. 169
Corporal. Samuel Martin (1677); Nathan Stevens
(1685);
Samuel Holt (1685); Joseph Ballard (1688); Hooker Osgood
(1689); Samuel Frye (1692); George Abbot (1693); Samuel
Osgood (1694); Benjamin Barker (1690): Nehemiah Abbot
(707)(1)
In 1676 a letter, written by E. R.(2) [Edward Rawson
or
Edmund Randolph(?)], describes, for the information of the
British Government, the condition of the colonial military
force:--
"They have no standing army, but their trained
bands are
twelve troops of horse and six thousand foot; each troop
consisting of sixty horse besides officers are all well mounted and completely
armed with back, breast, head-piece, buffe coat, sword, carbine, and pistols,
each troop distin-guished by their coats. The foot also are very well furnished
with swords, muskets, and bandaleers. There are no pikmen, they being of no use
in the wars with the 1ndians..... There is only one 'old soldier' in the colony,
the Governor, Mr. Leverett. He served in the late rebellion under the usurper
Oliver Cromwell as a captain of horse. The governor of the colony is
always generall, and out of the rest of the magis-trates is chosen the major
generall. They are places of good profit and no danger; they may stay at home
and share the spoyle while younger men command the Army in the field
against the enemy."
The first record of alarms of hostile Indians at
Andover
is in the year 1675, the month of October. Then the whole
colony was in a state of excitement, on account of the league
made by Philip (sachem of the Wampanoags) of all the New
England tribes against the English. No town felt secure
against a sudden outbreak of the heretofore friendly Indians,
or an onslaught of hostile tribes marching swiftly from.
remote encampments. Major Dennison writes,(3) from Ipswich,
to the Council in Boston, October 28, 1675:--
"I am now advancing to Major Pike. I
think I shall be able
to afford him no more than the comfort of our presence for a
(1) This list is perhaps not complete; but it contains the names which
have been found after such search as the importance of the subject warrants.
(2) Mass. His. Soc. Coll., Fourth Series, vol. iv.
(3) Mass. Archives, vol. 1xviii-, p. 30.
170 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
while, our posts at Topsfield & Andover being affrighted with the sight, as they say, of Indians which I have not time to examine till my return. It is hardly imaginable the panick fears that is upon our upland plantations & scattered places ..... The almighty and merciful God pity & helpe us. In much haste I brake off______"
In the month of November, impressments of men from the militia were made in all the towns, to fill up the quota of Massachusetts for an expedition into the country of the Narragansetts, who had joined with Philip. Twelve men were taken from Andover to complete the company commanded by Captain Gardiner. These were the following(1)--
Joseph Abbot. John
Faulkner. John Preston.
Ebenezer Barker. John Lovejoy.
Samuel Phillpes[Phelps]
John Ballard. John Marston.
Nathan Stevens.
James Frie.
John Parker. Edward Whittington.
Lieutenant Osgood, the commander of the Andover militia, in his return of their names describes the state of the company:--
"They are most of them now well fixed with armes and ammunition & cloathing. Edward Whittington wants a better musquete which wee know not well how to supply, except we take from another man which these times seems harde; we air now sending to Salem for sum.... for shoes and cloth for a coate for one or two."
These soldiers were marched in the dead of winter into the country of the Narragansetts and, December 19th, met the savages in the famous swamp-fight, where they defeated and completely destroyed their foe. In this fight Ebenezer Barker was wounded.(2)
In subsequent years, large grants of land were made
to the
soldiers of the Narraganset fight. Seven different townships
being laid out, "Narraganset, number three,"
Amherst,
N. H., was granted to inhabitants of Salem, Marblehead,
(1) Mass. Archives, vol. 1xviii., p. 68.
(2) In the list of Major Appleton's men killed is named one of
Andover, Robert Mackey(?) Drake's "Annals and Antiquities of Boston"
names Joseph Abbot and Roger Marks, of Andover, as wounded. I do not find record
of these names in the returns in the Archives.
ANDOVER IN THE EARLY INDIAN WARS. 171
Lynn, Gloucester, Andover, and other towns. Andover was allowed for nine soldiers.
The defeat of his allies did not daunt King Philip, but rather served to exasperate him for more desperate revenge. As soon as the spring opened, town after town was surprised and destroyed, and the most dreadful atrocities were committed.
February 10 occurred the attack on Lancaster, so graphically described by Mrs. Rowlandson, and familiar to every reader of New England history. Flying rumors came to Andover of the shocking fate of the inhabitants of this town, the mangled bodies of infants, and the painful captivity of mothers, the burning of houses, and the bloody fight of soldiers and savages.
The Indians were on the march, so the rumor went, toward Chelmsford, and would soon attempt to cross the Merrimack and descend on Andover. Lieutenant Osgood sent despatches post haste to the Council at Boston, imploring help, and begging to be relieved from the order for soldiers to march out of town to Woburn,(1) since all were needed at home:--
"HONOURED GOVERNOR AND COUNCILL, these few lines are to let your Honours understand that the Indians have taken and destroyed the coburrg (?) which is a great threatening of near approaching danger unto us. It brings but ten or twelve miles from us, and this day seaven of our men are to march to Oburn according to your honours orders: we humbly crave this favour, if it may stand with your honours wisdom & favour to release our men that are to goe forth, as wee being an outside town & in as greate danger in our apprehension as any and may stand in as great need as any other town of help, this makes us bould to request this favour att your hands & shall acknow-ledge ourselves your obedient servants to serve to extent of our abilities with all readiness, thus desiring God to direct & guide your councills in all the greate & weighty difficul-ties & distress that are now on our hands, we Rest your humble servant,
JOHN OSGOOD, Left.
In the name & behalf of our towne.
"ANDOVER, 16 Feb. 1675."
(1) Mass. Archives, vol. 1xviii., p. 138.
172 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
Measures were taken as soon as possible to put the town in a state of defence; garrison(1) houses were built, and men appointed to defend them. A committee chosen to visit the town reported(2) it to be in a state of good defence:--
"In pursuance of your Honourable Councills orders dated March ye 15, 1675-6 appointing us ye subscribers as a committy for Essex to view & consider ye severall townes & to propose ye thoughts of what may bee advisable: In order for ye securing of ye people & their planting in this time of trou-ble: Wee met at Andover, where wee found twelve substantial Garrisons well fitted: which wee hope through God's blessing may bee sufficient to secure them from any sudden surprisal of the enemy to which Garrisons ye inhabitants of ye town are respectively appointed.
"By your humble servants
JOHN APPLETON.
JOHN PUTNAM.
THOMAS CHANDLER.
"29th March 1675-6."(3)
It was also ordered by the Court that a fence of stockades, or stones, be built eight feet high from Charles River to Concord River, in Billerica, thence connecting by way of the large ponds with Merrimack River, which river, down "to the bay" with the bay would complete the circuit of some twenty towns, including Andover. These would be "environed round for the security and safety under God of the people, their houses goods & catell from the rage and fury of the heathen enemy."
The Andover people did not approve this means of defence, or feel willing to contribute men to guard the line of forts. They thought a more effectual protection would be to streng-then the garrisons and to send out, with parties of
(1) "These were built of hewn logs which lay flat upon
each other; the ends being fitted for the purpose, were inserted in grooves cut
in large posts erected at each corner. They inclosed an area of several square
rods, were raised to the height of the roof of a common dwelling-house, and at
two or more of the corners were placed boxes where sentinels kept watch. In some
cases, several small buildings raised for the temporary accommodation of
families were within the inclosure."-- Bouton's "History of
Concord".
(2) Mass. Archives, vol. lxviii., p. 184.
(3) Ibid., p. 174.
ANDOVER IN THE EARLY INDIAN WARS. 173
workmen in the fields, guards of soldiers. They say that their planting grounds are mostly "environed by swampy and boughie ground," and are therefore comparatively easy to defend. They pray the Council to order the men to "work in such companies as they shall judge meete for their safety and defence."
On the 18th of March [28th, N. S.], the Indians crossed the Merrimack and sent two scouts to Andover. What depredation they committed is not recorded, but the people in great alarm despatched post riders to Ipswich, one by night and one by day, to beg for help. Major Dennison, not slow to protect his kindred and friends, hastened forward sixty men and at once apprised the Council in Boston of the condition of things. He writes that "if he had received orders he might have brought off from Andover some of his brother Bradstreet's best things." He commits the result to Heaven exclaiming, "Let God arise and our enemies be scattered."
But, in spite of all the vigilance and precautions, the Indians surprised the town at last. This was on the 8th [or 18th, N. S.] of April, 1676. In this attack, one of the soldiers, who had passed safely through the bloody Narragansett fight in the winter, was slain within sight of his own dwelling.(1) It is not impossible that the savages knew who were the men in town that had helped to murder their brethren in the swamp fight; at any rate, they, on this day, whether by accident or design, took revenge on two of these. They directed their course to the house of George Abbot, one of the garrisons. Tradition says that they were seen crossing the river, and that Ephraim Stevens, a scout, gave the alarm. The villagers fled to the garrisons; but the Abbot brothers were at work in the fields, and did not reach the shelter before the savages were upon them. Joseph Abbot, the soldier, a strong, athletic young man about twenty-four years of age, made a brave resistance, and killed one or more of the Indians, but was finally set upon by the whole band and cut down,-- the first, and perhaps the only, Andover soldier
(1) Site of the garrison-house on the estate of the present residence of Mr. John Abbot, Central Street, west of the South Meeting-house.
174 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
ever slain in the town. His brother Timothy, a lad of thirteen years, was taken captive. The savages then hurried off, leaving the smitten household to its desolation. That such desolation ever came to the now peaceful spot it is difficult to realize. In the calm of a summer afternoon, the writer of this sketch stood upon the ground once trodden by the hurrying feet of the fleeing citizens and red with the blood of the slain. Now the scene is tranquil, and bears no token that any deed of violence was ever done here. Broad fields stretch away, just greened after the mower's scythe; elm, ash, and maple, with the friendly apple tree, make a pleasant shade, and through their foliage the sun streaming in, tessellates the grass with a shifting carpet of light and shade. Birds nest and sing undisturbed; from distant fields come sounds of labor; the cattle are driven into the farm-yard; the lengthening shadows and the striking of the meeting-house clock remind of the evening hour. In vain we try to call back to this serenity the struggle, the blood, the groans of the battle, the tears and the lament for the youthful dead. May they never come again to any home of Old Andover!
Besides their bloody work at George Abbot's, the savages also attacked the house of Edmond Faulkner, and wreaked their vengeance on dumb brutes. Their attack is described by the Rev. Increase Mather, in his "History of King Philip's War":--
"In the beginning of April they did some mischief at Chelmsford and Andover, where a small party of them put the town into a great fright, caused the people to fly into garrison houses, killed one man and burnt one house, and to show what barbarous creatures they are, they exercised cruelty towards dumb creatures. They took a cow, knocked off one of her horns, cut out her tongue, and so left the poor creature in great misery. They put an horse, ox, and cow into a hovel and then set it on fire only to show how they are delighted in exercising cruelty."
The most interesting account, however, is from the pen of one of Andover's own citizens. It is a letter to the Council, describing the situation of the town,-- its anxiety and distress and praying to be aided to maintain a sufficient guard. The letter bears marks of haste and trepidation, and is, even
ANDOVER IN THE EARLY INDIAN WARS. 175
more than most of the old records, difficult to decipher. Possibly some words have not been exactly made out in the following copy:--
"TO THE HONOURED COUNCILL. The malitiah of our towne do humbly request your Honours to consider our condition the enemy has twice assaulted us; the last was Saturday last, who slew a lusty (?) younge mane & took his brother a youth & carried him away: we have had sum fforces to helpe us bute the enemy cannot be found when we goe after them; and wee ffind that wee are not abell to goe to worke about Improveing oure lands but are liable to bee cutt off nor are we able to raise .... men at our charge to defend ourselves wee fear greatly that wee shall not bee able to live in the towne to Improve our lands to raise a subsistence without som force be kept above us upon the river of merrimack & to Concord river, which being speedily & well defended with a competent quantity of soldiers all the Townes within might be in sum reasonable safty to follow theyre Imployes to raise corne & persue theyre catell .... [we] thought if one third off the men of each towne did attend that service so the other might bee in sum reasonable safty about their work, for now we are so distressed to thinke that our men are liable to bee shot whenever we stirr from our houses & our children taken by the cruell enemy, itt doe so distress us that wee know not what to doe, iff sum defence bee not made by ye forces above us wee must remove off iff we can tell where, before we have lost all lives & catell & horses by the enemy; we are compleatly able to fende ourselves in our garison iff we have warning to rest in, but otherwise out off oure house we are in continuall danger."(1)
The letter goes on to say that the town of Andover,
being
a guard to the towns below, ought not in its distress to bear
the whole burden of keeping a guard sufficient, but should
receive help. It concludes :--
"Praying God to directe & counsel you
we rest.
Your humbell servantes
JOHN OSGOOD, Left.
"ANDOVER 11: 10, 76."
The captive carried away from Andover-- the boy
Timothy
Abbot-- was brought back in August by a squaw who took
pity on his mother. His return is mentioned in Cobbet's
(1) Mass. Archives,
vol. 1xviii., p. 202.
176 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
"New England Deliverances": "And Good-wife Abbot's boy of Andover was brought home, almost starved, by a poor squaw that had always been tender to him whilst in captivity. "
Hubbard says: "He was much pined with hunger."(1)
In this attack, the Indians also wounded(2) Roger Marks, another soldier of the Narragansett fight (son-in-law of Nicholas Holt). "About two months after this," says "Abbot's History," quoting from Mr. Symmes's Thanksgiving sermon, "the Indians surprised and captivated Mr. Haggit and two of his sons." But, although this may be correct and the persons named made captive in Andover, there is no evidence of their being then residents of the town. No such name is found in the list of residents, 1678, and it is not till 1679 that Moses Haggit of Ipswich bought land southwest of Blanchard's [since Hagget's] Pond, and agreed to pay church and town rates as a citizen. It is not unlikely, however, that in the summer of 1676, the Haggits, father and sons, came from Ipswich to Andover to look at the land and arrange for the purchase, which may have been delayed on account of their captivity. The remoteness of the region from the town, and its proximity to the Indian resorts about Wamesit, especially its nearness to the pond, which would attract the Indians for fishing, rendered them liable to attack. A garrison house was built in this section at an early period. On account of the losses sustained by the town this year, the General Court abated their county rates. The attacks threatened to greatly injure the plantations. Many families were about to remove from Andover, there being a scarcity of corn and no security in planting. Lieutenant Osgood wrote at this time to the Council, praying them to take measures to prevent the desertion of the town. There were, consequently, garrisons and guards stationed across the country. The following is an extract from a report of them:--
(1) Timothy Abbot, when master of a family, never allowed a
child to say he was hungry, saying that they did not know the meaning of the
word hunger. He lived on the present homestead of Mr. Asa A. Abbot and Mr.
Sylvester Abbot.
(2) Mr. Symmes's Thanksgiving Sermon, 1768. Drake's Annals and
Antiquities of Boston.
ANDOVER IN THE EARLY INDIAN WARS. 177
"Between Exeter & Haverhill a
Garrison and 70 men.
"Near Andover a garrison and 40 men.
"At Pawtucket near Wamesit 'already
settled.'
"Between Chelmsford & Concord a garrison
& 40 men.
"Between Concord & Sudbury a garrison
& 40 men.
"Between Sudbury & Medfield a garrison
& 40 men.
"South side of Medfield a garrison & 40
men."(1)
There was ordered also a "flying or moving army
of three
hundred men," one hundred of them to be friendly
Indians.
There was from time to time more or less call for
soldiers
to serve out of town; some were impressed, or volunteered
for an expedition in the summer of 1677, to the region of the
Kennebec River. The company, under the command of Capt.
Benjamin Swett, fell into an ambush(2) at Black Point,
Scarborough, and were cut off. Their leader and many men
were slain.
The following list of the slain is found in the
Andover
records:--
"Killed by Indians June 29 1677 John, son of
Joseph & Mary
Parker.
"John, son of Edward & Elizabeth Phelps.
"James, son of Nathan & Mary Parker.
"Daniel Blackhead, servant of Christopher
Osgood."
In the year 1677, Mr. Dudley Bradstreet was made Captain of the foot company in Andover. He took vigorous measures for defending the town, petitioning the General Court to increase the penalty for not working "in companies" and to compel all the "towns to keep out a small party to range ye outskirts whereby ye inhabitants may in their spirits be more settled and goe about their work for(3) their English and Hay harvest."
After the defeat and death of King Philip, the hostile spirit subsided, and for a series of years there was a time of rest and comparative security. But the Revolution in England,
(1) Mass. Archives, vol. 1xviii., page 251.
(2) Southgate's History of Scarborough.
(3) Mass, Archives, vol. 1xix., page 152.
12
178 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
1689, and the wars(1) of England and France embroiled the colonies, and the Indians were drawn into the contest, mainly acting with the French.
In 1689, the General Court made a change in the militia of Essex County which was objected to by the Andover inhabitants as prejudicial to their interests. They petitioned for a different organization of the troops:--
"TO THE HONOURED GFNERALL COURT now sitting in Charles Towne this ninth day of March 1689-90, the petition of ye townes of Andover & Boxford, Humbly Sheweth.—
"That whereas ye Humble petitioners have been informed that this Hon’d
Court hath taken off ye Towne of Boxford with other townes from ye upper
Regiment in Essex & joyned them to another Regiment which wee Humbly
conceive is greatly prejudicial to ye Country & to or Sd Townes in pticlar,
by reason we lyinge soe neare to each other & ready upon all occasions of ye
enemy's approach to relieve each other, which if disjoyned wee cannot doe, &
for many other Reasons we humbly pray that this Honoured Court would please to
take into their farther & serious consideration, this our petition. viz,
that Boxford might still continue as part of ye upper Regiment in Essex, &
farther yt our Souldiers may bee free from any press that may happen till ye
Indian enemy be subdued or quieted, in Granting of which ye Honrs humble
petitioners shall as in Duty bound for ever pray &c.
DUDLEY BRADSTREET.
"for JOHN OSGOOD.
Andover JOHN BARKER.
STEPHEN JOHNSON.
"MOSES TYLER by order & in ye name of ye Town
of Boxford."
During the year 1689, the following deaths are
recorded in
the town books as having occurred either in the wars abroad,
or by savage violence at home:--
(1)The following classification of the wars may be
convenient for reference:--
1688-1698. Governor Phipps. King William's
War.
1703-1713. Governor Dudley. Queen Anne's
War.
1722-1725. Lieutenant-governor Dummer.
Ralle's War.
1744-1749. Governor Governor Shirley. King
George's War.
1749-1761. Shirley. French and Indian War.
Governor Pownal. French and Indian War.
Governor Bernard. French and Indian War.
Lieutenant-governor Hutchinson. French and
Indian War.
ANDOVER IN THE EARLY INDIAN WARS. 179
"Lieut. John Stevens at Casko March 5 1689.
"Eleazar Streaton a servant & kinsman of Dea. John Frie died at ye
eastward at Fort Ann Mch 15 1688-9.
"John Peters killed by the Indians Aug. 14, 1689.
" Andrew Peters killed by the Indians Aug. 14, 1689."
Early in 1690, active measures were taken by the Government for the defence of the frontier towns. By order(1) of the Governor and Council, May 14th, eighty troopers were to be detached from the several companies of the Essex Regiment, which was in command of Maj. Robert Pike. These troopers were to rendezvous at Andover on the 16th, and forty of them, under command of Captain Davis, to go to the defence of Concord; forty to be under Capt. Thomas Chandler, of Andover. On the 28th of May, it was further ordered, that two hundred soldiers well appointed with arms and ammunition be raised "for secur-ity of Bradford, Andover, Dunstable, Chelmsford, Groton, Lancaster, and Marlborough." These, it was ordered, "should constantly be kept together and improved moving up and down in their respective stations on the outside of the towns whereto they shall be assigned for defence of such towns, and the frontier towns shall send out one or two of the inhabitants who are acquainted with the woods for daily scouting." The following action was also taken in regard to the raising of more men in Andover, in answer to the petition of Captain Osgood:--
"It is granted that in case the captain of the foot company see it beneficial to them to make up said troop to the number of forty out of the foot company, of persons sufficient to attend such service otherwise the troops there to be serted into the Foot company and that to be divided, the new company to nominate their own officers and to send down their names to the Council to be allowed and commissionated before the last day of this inst."
On the 28th of May, Capt. Thomas Chandler was
appointed
"to command the company that are to be impressed for the
defence of the frontier towns from Dunstable eastward as far
as Bradford, downwards, which company is to consist of forty
troopers and thirty foot-soldiers."
Notwithstanding all this
scouting and ranging of troopers and foot-soldiers who by day
(1) General Court Records, May, 1690.
180 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
and by night were active and alert, travelling from town
was
unsafe. There were twenty fordable places in the Merrimack
River between Wamesit and Haverhill, and, at any moment,
the Indians were liable to cross and make an attack.
In 1696 (records the Rev. John Pike in his journal(1) ), -"old John Hoyt of Amesbury and young Peters of Andover were slain upon the road between Andover and Haverhill." This Hoyt had before suffered from the Indians who had "plundered and despoiled him and burnt his house.(2) These deaths are registered in Andover records:--
"John Hoyt of Almsbury was killed here by Indians, Aug. 13, 1696. "
" William Peters killed by Indians Aug. 13, 1696."
On the twenty-second of February, 1697-8 (0. S.), the fourth of March, 1698 (N. S.), occurred the most considerable attack ever made on the town of Andover. In this attack, retribution followed and (it would seem), deliberate vengeance was taken for the crimes of one man whose wickedness was thus the means of bringing suffering on his innocent townsmen. Capt. Pascoe Chubb, the son-in-law of Mr. Edmond Faulkner, two years before this attack in the same month, had committed an act of treach-ery toward the Indians. He was in command of Fort Pemaquid (which in 1693, had been built by Capt. John March),(3) and held a conference with a delegation of Penobscot Indians in regard to the exchange of prisoners. While the council, about a dozen Indians, and as many of the English, were in session, Chubb having previously made the plot, and had the Indians supplied with strong liquor to the verge of drunkenness, gave orders for a massacre. The English soldiers fell upon the unsuspecting victims and slew several, two chiefs among them. Subsequently a force of French and Indians attacked the fort and threatened death with torture to the captain, if he should not surrender. In his terror and remorse, he forgot his honor as commander, and in the most cowardly manner, gave up the fort,
(1) Mass. Historical Society's Proceedings, 1875,
"Journal of Mr. Pike."
(2) Mass. Col. Records, 1695, June 15.
(3) Of Newbury,-- the same who began to build the vessel at
Andover.
AND0VER IN THE EARLY INDIAN WARS. 181
stipulating only for personal safety. For this act of treason, as it was almost thought to be, he was cashiered, and put in Boston jail, whence he was released and allowed to live in seclusion at Andover, owing to the petitions and influence of friends.
Following is a petition made by him from the jail(1):--
"TO THE GREAT AND GENLL COURT OF HIS MAJESTYS PROVINCE OF THE MASSACHUSETTS BAY IN NEW ENGLAND Assembled att Boston by adjournment November 18th 1696.
"The Petition of Pasco Chubb late Commander of his Majestys ffort William Henry at Pemaquid, Humbly sheweth.
"That yr Petitioner stands committed a Prisoner in Boston Goale for his Late surrendering & delivering up the aforesd Fort and Stores thereto belonging unto his Majestys enemies ....
"And whereas yr Petitioner is a very poore man, having a wife and children to Looke after wch by reason of his confine-ment & poverty are reduced to a meane and necessitous condition having not wherewithall either to defray his present necessary charges or to relieve his Indigent family .....
"Your Petitioner therefore humbly prays that this high and hon(1) Court will please to consider the premises soe as that he may now either be Brought to his Tryall or else upon giving sufficient Bayle be delivered from his present confinement, whereby he may be enabled to take some care of his poore family for their subsistence in this hard & deare winter season."
The Indians, doubtless in revenge for his cruelties (although Hutchinson thinks it was by "mear accident"), attacked the house where he was, and killed him and his wife. "It is not probable they had any knowledge of the place(2) of his abode," says Hutchinson; "but it caused them greater joy than the taking of many towns." "Rapin," he goes on to say, "would have pronounced such an event the immediate judgment of Heaven. Voltaire, that in the place of supposed safety, the man could not avoid his destiny."
All the facts, however, go to indicate that it was the deliberate act of Indian revenge. The attack was led by the fierce and implacable foe of the whites, Assacumbuit. At this time
(1) Mass. Archives, vol. lxx., 307.
(2) In North Andover.
182 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
was made the attack on Captain Bradstreet's house, which is elsewhere(1) narrated. The tradition goes that the leader of the Indians had given his promise to an Indian, a friend of the Bradstreet family, that if he would guide them to the house, none of the family should be hurt. But he, it seems, could not, or did not, wholly control his company, for they killed the guest and relative of the family, "Major Wade's son of Mystick," and were about to carry off some of the household as prisoners. But, the leader interposing, these were releas-ed unharmed. This attack is mentioned (with a different reason for the Indians' mercy) by Cotton Mather in the "Magnalia:"—-
"The Winter was the severest that ever was in the memory of Man. And yet February must not pass without a stroke upon Pemaquid Chub,(2) whom the Government had mercifully permitted after his examination to retire unto his habitation in Andover. As much out of the way as to Andover there came above Thirty Indians about the middle of February as if their errand had been for vengeance upon Chub whom (with his wife) they now massacred there. They took two or three horses and slew three or four persons; and Mr. Thomas Barnard the worthy minister of the Place very narrowly escaped their fury. But in the midst of their Fury there was one piece of mercy the like whereof had never been seen before: For they had got Colonel Dudley Bradstreet into their hands, but perceiving the town Mustering to follow them, their Hearts were so changed that they dismissed their captives without any further Damage unto their Persons. Returning back by Haverhill, they killed a couple," etc.
Judge Sewall(3) records the same attack:--
"Feb. 24, 97-98 --Feb. 22 at Break of day Andover is surprised. Lt. Col. Bradstreet's house rifled, his kinsman Wade slain, Capt. Chubb and his wife slain and three more. Some houses and Barns burnt and in one a considerable quantity of corn and twenty head of Cattel. Pulpit cushions taken away, fired but not quenched."
The Rev. John Pike,(4) in his journal, also chronicles the same attack:--
(1) Chapter
I., p. 130.
(2) Mather's
opinion concerning the cause here appears.
(3) Mass. Hist.
Soc. Coll., Fifth Series, vol. v.
(4) Mass. Hist.
Soc. Proceedings, 1875.
ANDOVER IN THE EARLY IND1AN WARS. 183
"Feb. 22, 97-98, about 30 Indians came to Andover, took Col. Bradstreet's house and two more, killed Capt. Pasco Chub and his wife, Maj. Wade's son of Mystick and two others. Carried Col. Bradstreets family a little way & upon Cond: Released them. As they returned by Haverhill they met with Jonath: Hains and Sam. Ladd with ye elder sons. The two fathers were slain & the sons carried away, but young Hains soon after Returned which was his second escape from the enemy in less than two years time."
They also attacked the house of Mr. Timothy Johnson,
and killed his daughter, Miss Penelope Johnson, a young
lady of nineteen years. The explicit statements of contem-
poraries, noting the events in diary, agree in the date, Feb-
ruary 22, and 1697, or March 4, 1698. Some town histories
have made the statement that there were two attacks: one in
February, and one in March, but this error must have arisen
from a confusion of dates in some of the earlier histories,
owing to the difference of writing in the "old
style" and the
"new style."
In this attack some of the town records were carried
off or
destroyed, as appears from the following vote:--
"1698. Voted that a committee be chosen to receive anew the records of the town lands, according to what papers may be found that have been upon record before; our town records being taken away by the enemy Indians."
The hostilities between the English and French were nominally put an end to by the Treaty of Ryswick, in 1697; but the towns were by no means relieved of their apprehensions of Indian attacks, since savages, once maddened with the fury of slaughter, could not be immediately quieted by treaties made thousands of miles away, and sometimes from that very cause they rallied for a final and retaliative blow. The interval of rest had, therefore, been brief, when the formal renewal of the wars of the European nations again brought fresh danger to the struggling colonies.
"Queen Anne's War" was under the control
in America
of her Majesty's Governor of the Province, Joseph Dudley.
The military expeditions were mainly to the eastern fron-
tiers. Col. John March was obliged to give up his ship-
building operations in Andover to enter on active military
184 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
service. For his valorous conduct he received a tribute
from
the government:--
"Nov. 30, 1703: Resolved passed us the house of
Representa-
tives,-- that there be allowed & paid out of ye publick
treasury to Lieut. Coll. March the sum of Fifty pounds for the brave defence
which by his conduct was made of her Majesty's Fort at Casco Bay when lately
attacked by ye French & Indians & in. consideration of his wounds &
damage which he then received."
There are accounts in the town records of extra
provision
made for supplies of ammunition; also, by order of the
government, the soldiers were furnished with snow-shoes; one hundred and
twenty-five pairs were ordered for the North Reg-
iment of Essex.(1) Four block-houses were built on the
Merrimack River, two of which were in Andover. The following
orders(2) were issued to the military officer at Andover, Capt. Christopher
Osgood:--
"I am directed by his Excellency our Governor to build two, (3) block houses in your town upon the brink of Merrimack river, one at the fording place called Deare's jump and one at a fording place commonly called Mr. Petters wading place both Places I am informed is in the Precinct of your company there-fore I order that you build them twelve foot wide & fifteen foot long with .... at one end & well covered that the men may be dry in wet weather, as to the charge I am not informed how it might be, but have desired Lieut. Barker to inform you how wee at Newbury have built ours," etc.
Captain Osgood impressed ten men from his company,
and in six weeks had the buildings done.(4) While some
worked, others guarded, and were on the scout along the
river.
In July, 1706, Capt. Benjamin Stevens went in
command of
a company into the woods in "quest of the Indian
enemy,"
and, while he was gone, his house was broken into, and some
(1) General
Court Records, 1704, Nov. 18. Mass. Archives, vol. lxxi., pp. 67 and 152.
(2) Mass.
Archives, vol. lxxi., p. 69.
(3) Two, three,
and four houses are spoken of in different documents.
(4) See
petition in Records of General Court; also, Mass. Archives, vol. lxxi., p. 69.~
AND0VER IN THE EARLY INDIAN WARS. 185
things stolen, among them five certificates of wages due him and his soldiers for service in January and February. He petitioned for five other certificates, to be delivered him by the treasurer. Three of the certificates were ordered to be paid by the constables of Boston, one by the constable of Bradford, another by the constable of Haverhill. The total amount was L84 3s. 9d.(1)
The following from the town records shows what stock of ammunition was in the town in 1713:--
"Feb. ye 20th 1712-13. This may sertifye those selectmen that shall
succeed us: that where as some time since our Town Stock of Ammunition was
divided to Sundry persons, viz to Capt. John Chandler, Capt. Christopher Osgood,
and some others we the subscribers have gathered it together all but some small
parsels, the which we have given Ensign Ephraim Stevens for to gather and put to
the Rest, as soon as he can: And we have left all the Town Stock of
Ammunition of powder, bullets, and flints with Left. John Aslebe for one year
and then to be taken care of by ye select men for the time being. And the powder
we left at Left. John Aslebes is one hundred and sixty-six pounds 166; and of
bullets four hundred, twenty and eight pounds 428, and of flints thirteen
pounds: wanting one ounce, (13). And we have Left the keas of the Town Stock of
Ammunition with Ensign Ephraim
Stevens, to be at ye selectmen's service, when they shall have ocation for them,
and there is two dry casks of the Towns left standing on ye chest that the
Amonition is locked up in. One is a small powder cask headed up at both ends,
the other open at one head.
"Signed the day and year abovesaid.
EPHRAIM STEVENS
GEORGE ABB0TT Selectmen
JOHN OSGOOD
of
EPHRAIM FOSTER Andover."
NEHEMIAH ABBOTT
The towns were never safe. In winter the Indians
came
on snow-shoes, and in summer by the rivers, plundering and
killing, and then disappearing as suddenly as they had come,
plunging into the depths of the forests. In the winter of
1705, Governor Dudley wrote to Col. Saltonstall in regard to
being prepared to meet the enemy:--
Mass. Archives, "Petitions," 1704.
186 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
"I pray you to give direction that your
snow-shoe men from
Newbury to Andover be ready at a moment's warning till the
weather break up, then we may be quiet awhile."
In the autumn of 1724 (September 25th) a petition
was
sent to the General Court to commission Capt. Benjamin
Stevens, of Andover, leader of an expedition to Winipeseog
Pond, "to discover the Indians camping places &
haply find
their canoes & by what or what manner they come down upon
us in summer."
Of all the tales of Indian warfare connected with old Andover history, the one which has the most melancholy and romantic interest is that of Chaplain Jonathan Frye, who was mortally wounded in the year 1725, in the famous Lovewell's fight at Pequauket. He wandered for some time in the woods, and, as is supposed, died fifty miles from any English settlement, and twenty miles from the fort whence his company had marched. The English were at prayers when they first discovered the approach of an enemy. The young chaplain (he was only twenty) was ready to fight as well as to pray. Says a record: "Mr. Frye and another scalped the first Indian who was slain." The scalps were kept, as a reward was paid for them. A history of the fight, taken from the testimony of an eye-witness, was written soon after by the Rev. Thomas Symmes, of Bradford. The quaint language is worth preserving:--
"About the middle of the Afternoon, the Ingenious Mr. Jonathan Frie only son of Capt. James Frie of Andover, a young Gentleman of a Liberal Education, and who was chaplain to the company and was greatly Beloved by them for his excellent Performances and good Behavior and who fought with Undaunted Courage till that time of Day was mortally wounded. But when he could fight no longer, he prayed audibly severall times for the Preservation and Success of the Residue of the Company."
Is there anything more pathetic in our annals of
youthful
heroism than this plain, unvarnished tale of the young chap-
lain of Andover? It shows not only how dominant over the
spirit of the time was the moral and religious sentiment,
which alone lifts the battle-field above the plane of brute
force, and redeems its passions from utter fiendishness, but
ANDOVER IN THE EARLY INDIAN WARS. 187
it pays an affectionate tribute to the rare qualities of the young man. He must have had a character remarkably uniting manly and Christian virtues, who could, at twenty, act as religious guide and at the same time comrade-in-arms of a company of frontier savage-hunters (of however excellent material it might be made), and secure the common respect and affection.
A week after the fight the Rev. Mr. Symmes
pronounced
"A SERMON OCCASIONED BY THE FALL OF THE BRAVE CAPT.
JOHN LOVEWELL AND SEVERAL OF HIS VALIANT COMPANY IN
THE LATE HEROIC ACTION." This was printed and
prefaced
by the historical narrative before alluded to. There can be
no doubt that to listen to this discourse, referring to their
townsman's tragic death, the Andover people went in large
numbers. In fact the discourse may be regarded as largely
commemorative of that special loss, Mr. Symmes having in-
timate acquaintance with Andover; his sister being the
wife(1) of Capt. Benjamin Stevens. The text of the sermon
was, "How are the mighty fallen and the weapons of war
perished." 2 Sam. i. 27.
This sermon repays perusal. It is thoughtful and forcible, full of odd turns of expression that rival some of old Fuller's "Good Thoughts in Bad Times," and withal it has a martial ring, characteristic of the preaching of these times; when the wars of the Israelites furnished more acceptable texts than the gospel of peace:--
"We must not be Disheartened & cast down because a crew of Salvages have killed a few Brave Men. No, verily, its beneath a Man, much more a Christian whose heart is fixed trusting in the Lord, to be thus affected. Such news should not daunt and terrify a soldier, but whet his Courage. Especially it should rouse ‘em on such occasions to Rally forth and come to March with utmost expedition to Recover if possible our Dear Breth-ren that lie Wounded and without Relief in a Howling Wilder-ness, that they mayn't Perish with Famine or fall into the hands of a Barbarous Enemy, to be killed over again & Tortured with Indian Cruelty,
(1) "Here 1yes what was mortal of Mrs. Susannah Stevens widow of Benjamin
Stevens, Esq., and Daughtr of ye Revd. Mr. Zechariah Symmes of Bradford who died
July 30 1753, in ye 83 year of Her Age."
Epitaph-- Old Burying Ground.
188 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
and also to give Christian Burial to the Remains of our Departed Heroes ..... We that tarry at home must get into the Mount and Pray for em'. A Good Woman in her Closet (tho' she's afraid to take a Gun in her hand) may serve her Country to a very good purpose even in respect of the War as really as the Magistrate at the Council Board or the most daring and well advised commander in the open Field in a thro' engagement. For Prayer and Faith always were, are, and will be the Church's Best Weapons."(1)
The place of the fight was on the northeast end of
Saco
Pond, on the edge of a wood" where there were few trees
and scarce any brush." There were about forty English
engaged, and twice as many Indians, by whom the English had
been ambushed. The fight lasted all day, when the savages
retreated. Seventeen of the English made their way back
through the woods to the fort at Ossipee Lake; twelve died
in the woods, and their bodies were afterwards found and
buried where they lay; three were "lost by the way and
never found."
The English, retreating from the fight at the wood,
fell
back upon the pond, and to its waters the wounded crept, to
slake their thirst and staunch their wounds; crimsoning the
water with their blood. Some crawled off into the thick
wood and died there, while a few, wounded but able to walk,
started on their way toward the camp. Among the latter was
Chaplain Frye. After journeying painfully for some miles
with his friends, Eleazar Davis, of Concord, and Lieutenant
Farwell, of Dunstable, he begged them to save themselves
and leave him to his fate, "not to hinder themselves any
longer for his sake; for that he found himself Dying."
Then
he lay down, "telling them he should never rise
more." He
gave a message to be delivered to his father, that he
"ex-
pected in a few hours to be in eternity and that he was not
afraid to die." "Whereupon," says the record,
"they left
him; and this Hopeful Gentleman Mr. Frie who had the
Journal of the March in his pocket has not been heard of
since."
This incident of the abandoning a dying comrade in
the
wilderness forms the ground-work of Hawthorne's tale of
(1) The Italics are in the original.
AND0VER IN THE EARLY INDIAN WARS. 189
"Roger Malvin's Burial." No one who
compares the facts
with the romance can fail to see that in the psychological
and ethical studies of this parting of Chaplain Frye with his
comrades, the greatest of New England romance writers
found the materials for his tale. He himself says it was an
incident of Lovell's fight in 1725, and that the characters
may be recognized notwithstanding the substitution of fic-
titious names. The only recorded instance of a comrade's
being deliberately left is that of the chaplain from Andover.
Therefore the probability amounts to certainty that with
name and age changed, Jonathan Frye is Roger Malvin, and
Eleazar Davis, who survived to reach home, his comrade,
Reuben Bourne; the details, and the subsequent history of
their lives being varied by the romancer's imagination to
suit the purposes of his story.
The reluctance of Reuben to leave his dying friend; that friend's persuading him to do so, appealing to his affection for his betrothed, the daughter of Reuben, and holding out the hope that he may yet come back with a party and rescue the comrade whom he leaves (a hope which Roger, while holding it out as a motive to his friend to quit him for the present, knows to be vain); the final leave-taking; Reuben Bourne's life-long remorse for this act, his final unwitting expiation of the sin that haunted his imagination, by shooting his own son, by accident, on the very spot,-- these are all evolved from the poet-philosopher's musing on the fate of Chaplain Frye, and the words of the ancient chronicler, "Whereupon, they left him."
"Roger. 'There is not two days' life in me Reuben, and I will no longer burden you with my useless body, when you can scarcely support your own. Your wounds are deep and your strength is failing fast, yet, if you hasten onward alone you may be preserved. For me there is no hope, and I will await death here.'
"Reuben. 'Should I therefore leave you to perish and to lie unburied in
the wilderness! No, if your end be in truth approaching, I will watch by
you and receive your parting words. I will dig a grave here by the rock, in
which if my weakness overcomes me, we will rest together; or if Heaven gives me
strength, I will seek my way home.'
190 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
"Roger. 'In the cities and wherever men dwell they bury their dead in the earth: they hide them from the sight of the living; but here, where no step may pass perhaps for a hundred years, wherefore should I not rest beneath the open sky covered only by the oak leaves when the autumn winds shall strew them?’"
Thus it was that Jonathan Frye rested, the forest
around
him, the sky above. On the spot where tradition says he
died, now surrounded by the homes and busy industries of
the city which commemorates his name, a wild rose-tree
sprang and flourished, and its annual flowers, plucked with a
half superstitious feeling by the visitor, have been a more
effectual memorial than storied urn or animated bust."
A ballad written in 1725, called the
"Most-beloved song
in all New England" contains this stanza alluding to Mr.
Frye:
"Our worthy
Captain Lovewell among them there did die
They killed
Lieutenant Robbins and wounded good young Frye
Who was our English
chaplain he many indians slew
And some of them he
scalped when bullets round him flew."
The large elm tree which has stood in beauty and verdure until within a few years, and whose trunk now remains, on the roadside near the birthplace of Chaplain Frye, was set out by his hands,-- (a sapling from the wood) the year of his death. Mr. Frye was engaged to be married to a young girl whom his parents did not regard with approval as suited to him in point of birth and fortune.
It is said by a writer,(1) whose residence in Andover seventy-five years ago made him familiar with the then current traditions, and who was an enthusiast in the search for the romance of history, that the enlistment of young Frye in military service arose from the conflict of duties and feelings which was caused by his parents' disapproval of his love. The story is thus told:--
"Among the number who fell was Mr. Jonathan Frye, a student in divinity, who was Lovewell's chaplain and who had joined this little band from some affair of the heart. He made him-self conspicuous in the fight, and as described, acted with the reckless
(1) Samuel L. Knapp's Lectures on American Literature. He was Preceptor of Franklin Academy, 1805.
ANDOVER IN THE EARLY INDIAN WARS. 191
valour, which is often found to belong to such a state of mind. The fair one to whom he was thought by his friends to be imprudently attached was not content with the praises others were ready to bestow upon the lost object of her affections; and, although only fourteen years of age, struck her harp in mournful lays upon her Philander's fate and produced an elegy which has survived to this day; being lately found in an ancient manuscript of a gentleman of the native place of the lovers and lately transmitted to me. If it does not burn with a Sapphic blaze it gives more of the light of history than all the odes of the Lesbian dame on her lost Phaon. Miss Susannah Rogers calls on her muse to assist her in describing the youthful warrior, who afar off was resting without his shroud on the battle-field of glory. She says that his person was comely, his age just twenty-one-- his genius of the highest excellence, and that he was the only son of his parents, beloved by all who knew him. His valor, his piety, his prayers amidst the fight, his wounds all bleeding, pass in review before her streaming eyes and she sees the howling wilderness where he fell. She notes the fortitude and resigna-tion with which he died or rather his exhibition of it, when they left him to die, for he was not dead when his companions were under the necessity of leaving him to perish. The parental grief is not forgotten and her own loss is touched upon with truth and delicacy ..... This elegy of the bereaved fair is too long for my purpose."
Although too long for a lecture on American Literature, it is, however long and however devoid of poetic fire, properly to be preserved in any sketch of Andover history. And surely it is not to be regarded lightly, though its composition may provoke a smile. If a town wept the fate of this fallen brave, and spoke his praise, surely the grief of this poor girl whose love had been of so melancholy an ending, in whatever phrases it finds vent, should awaken sympathy and excite compassion. Her address to the parents of her lover is certainly evidence of a heart free from malice and moved to sympathy even with those who scarcely acknowledged her right to sympathy.
THE MOURNFUL ELEGY ON MR. JONATHAN FRYE. 1725.
"Assist ye muses; help my quill
Whilst floods of tears do down distil
192 HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF ANDOVER.
Not from mine eyes alone, but all
That hears the sad and doleful fall
Of that young student Mr. Frye
Who in his blooming youth did die.
Fighting for his dear country's good
He lost his life and precious blood.
His father's only son was he
His mother loved him tenderly
And all that knew him loved him well
For in bright parts he did excel
Most of his age: for he was young
Wounded and bleeding he was left
And of all sustenance bereft
Within the hunting desert great
None to lament his dismal fate
A sad reward, you'll say, for those
For whom he did his life expose
He marched out with courage bold
And fought the Indians uncontrolled
And many of the rebels slew.
At last, a fatal bullet came
And wounded this young man of fame
And pierced him through and made him fall
But he upon the Lord did call
He prayed aloud; the standers-by
Heard him for grace and mercy cry
The Lord did hear and raised him so
That he enabled was to go.
For many days he homeward went
Till he for food was almost spent
Then to the standers-by declared
Death did not find him unprepared.
And there they left him in the wood
Some scores of miles from any food
Wandered and famished all alone
None to relieve or hear his moan
And there without all doubt did die--
"And now I'll speak to Mr. Frye,
Pray sir be patient; kiss the rod
Remember this the hand of God
Which has bereft you of your son.
Your dear and lovely Jonathan
ANDOVER IN THE EARLY INDIAN WARS. 193
Although the Lord has taken now
Unto himself your son most dear
Resign your will to God and say
'Tis God that gives and takes away;
And blessed be his name; for he--
For he has caused this to be.
And now to' you, his mother dear
Be pleased my childish lines to hear,
Mother refrain from flowing tears;
Your son is gone beyond your cares
And safe at rest in Heaven above
With Christ who was his joy and love,
And in due time I hope you'll be
With him to all eternity.
Pray madam pardon this advice
Your grief is great, mine not much less,
And if these lines will comfort you
I have my will, Farewell, adieu."
A poem of much beauty and pathos has been written by
Mr. Upham of New Hampshire, "On Visiting, the Scene of
Lovewell's Fight." The following stanzas selected from
it
are a not inappropriate requiem for all the soldiers of our
own and other towns who perished in the early Indian(1)
wars:--
"The bugle is silent, the war-whoop is dead,
There's a murmur of waters and woods in their stead,
And
the raven and owl chant a symphony drear
From the dark-waving pines o'er the combatants' bier.
"Sleep, soldiers of merit, sleep, gallant of yore,
The
hatchet is fallen, the struggle is o'er;
While the fir-tree is green and the wind rolls a wave
The
tear-drop shall brighten the turf of the brave!"
(1) The history of the later Indian wars, 1744-1761, is separated from that of the first century, because it seems to connect more properly with the Revolutionary period, the same men being in service in the Revolution who had been trained in the old French War.
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