FIFTH RKPi "Record .^.ommissioners. EDITIOa Od^y^ r7\Jyf ^><.c>6^^<- FIFTH REPORT Record Commissioners. 1880 SEOOKD EDITION. BOSTON- ROCKWELL AND CHURCHILL, CITY PRINTERS, No. 39 Arch Street. 1884. 277942 PEEFACE TO SECOND EDITION. In republishing their Fifth Report, the Record Commis- sioners desire to renew the caution that this volume is to be regarded as a collection of valuable and interesting essays, for the correctness of which the reputation of the writer must be the guaranty. The opinions of the author were stated with the utmost frankness, the articles were printed in one of the best known journals of the day, and the authorship was acknowledged from the commencement. In reprinting them, hoAvever, neither the city nor its agents are to be considered as endorsing the opinions of the author, or as dissenting from them. In one particular case, the seventy-eighth article, the Record Commissioners have cancelled one essay, which ap- peared in the former edition, from a scrupulous care to respect the sensibilities of those who felt aggrieved by Mr. Bowditch's remarks. One article, marked 2*, of the series, which was over- looked in the first edition, has been recovered for this issue. Some errors of the press have been corrected, and the ap- pearance of the volume has been improved by additional spacing. A few more notes are given, and the number of pages is increased from a hundred and eighty in the first edition, to two hundred and twenty-two pages in this, though the contents remain the same, with the exceptions above noted. The Record Commissioners avail of this occasion to renew their expressed conviction of the great value of these contri- butions to our local history, and to record the flattering appreciation with which this volume has been received by our citizens. William H. Whitmore, William S. Appleton, liecord Commissioners. City Hai.l, Boston, July, 1884. Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2010 with funding from Boston Library Consortium IVIember Libraries http://www.archive.org/details/fifthreportofrecOObost TABLE OF CONTENTS. Article Paqh 1. Blackstone's House 1 2. " . . . „ 5 2*. << 8 3. Boston Common .......... 12 4. King's Chapel Burying-Ground . 14 5. The Barricado of 1672 .20 fi. St. Paul's Church . 23 7. The First Church 26 8. Novelties in Estates . . 29 9. Names of Streets . . . 31 10. Chambers' Four-acre Pasture . . . . . . .34 11. Allen's Twenty-acre Farm . 36 12. Zachariah Phillips' Nine-acre Pasture 38 13. Old Grants of Neck Lands 41 14. Copp's Hill 44, 15. Old Bakers 46 16. Old Ropewalks . 48 17. " . 50 18. James Allen's Sixteen-acre Pasture 54 19. Jeremiah Allen's Pasture . . • 57 20. Buttolph's Eight-acre Pasture GO 21. Middlecott's Four-acre Pasture 63 22. Joshua Scottow's Four-acre Pasture 65 23. Bulfinch's Four-acre Pasture 68 24. Molly Saunders' Gingerbread 70 25. Southacks' Pasture and Tanyard 73 26. Eeminiscences of Somerset Street 77 27. Ancient and Modern Law 79 28. The Spring House 81 29. "Valley Acre" . 83 30. Cotton Hill ........... 84 31. " " 87 32. Peter Faneuil's House 92 33. Houses of Oxenbridge and Penn 96 34. James Davis's Pasture ........ 98 35. Madam Haley's Daughter ]02 36. Robert Turner's Great Pasture 104 37. Great men a century ago 107 38. Niceties of the Law 109 39. The Bowdoin Estate 113 40. " Contempt of Court " . Ufi V VI City Document No. 105. Ajiticle Page 41. " Contempt of Court " 119 42. Rogers's Estate .... 120 43. Allegorical . . . ... 123 44. " A Challengo to Z " . 126 45. Beacon and the Thurston House . 128 46. Hanging ..... 130 47. Beacon Hill 132 48. Thomas Hancock .... '. 135 49. The Monument .... 139 50. Cook's Pasture .... 142 51. The Commonwealth's Rope-walk . 145 52. The State-House Lot . 148 53. Gov. Hancock's House . 151 54. Thomas Bulfinch . 156 55. John Hancock 157 56. The Hancock Estate 161 57. Sewall's Elm Pasture . 163 58. Streets on Paper . 165 59. Conditions — Eaves 167 60. Frederick Tudor — R. G. Shaw . 170 61. Robert G. Shaw . . 173 ^62. Uriah Cotting — Samuel Appletoi . 176 63. Benjamin P. Homer . 179 64. John Callender . 182 65. The Copley Estate . 185 66. East's Pasture . 187 67. Richard Pepys' Estate . . 189 68. The Banister Lot . . 191 69. The Copley Estate ... . 193 70. a . 195 71. it . 198 72. a . 201 73. Mt. Vernon Street . 204 74. Thomas L. Winthrop and John P hillip . 207 75. Beacon Street . 210 76. The Lowell Family . 214 77. The Swan Family . 218 78. The Beacon-Street Fire . 220 Illustrative Documents and Notes. 1. Alonzo Lewis's Notes' on the Blackstone Lot 2. Odlin's Deposition ..... 3. Anne Pollard's Deposition .... 4. Title to King's Chapel .... 5. Town Deed to King's, Chapel 3 5-10 11 16 17 "Gleaner." vii Page 6. Deed to Angola, a Negro, for Saving Gov. Bellingham's Life . 23 7. Pudding Lane 31 8. James Barton 60 9. Rope-Avalks on the Public Garden 52 10. Eliot Street Laid Out 62 11. Reminiscences of an Old Bostonian ...... 70 12. Valley Acre 83 13. Madam Haley . .89 J 4. Note by Lucius M. Sargent ....... 102 15. Brattle Square Church Case Ill 16. " " 115 17. " " 124 18. Note on the Turner Family, by L. M. Sargenf .... 137 19. Inscriptions on the Old Beacon 153 20. Sewall's Gift to the South School 164 21. The Lowell Family 217 22. CoL Swan's Book ..«••.... 218 PEEFACE TO THE FIRST EDITIOK Boston, Dec. 10, 1880. In their fourth report, dated Sept. 1, 1880, the Record Commissioners announced that the City Council had appro- priated the sum of five thousand dollars for the publication of historical documents relating to Boston. This was in con- formity with a suggestion of the Committee on Printing for 1879, and it is presumed that the grant will be continued annually. As already announced, the first of the volumes thus ordered is the present fifth report, and it contains a series of articles relating to the history of estates lying on or around Beacon Hill. These articles were contributed in 1855 to the "Boston Daily Transcript," by the late Nathaniel Ingersoll Bowditch, under the signature of " Gleaner." Mr. Bowditch was confessedly the most learned conveyan- cer of the day. He was born at Salem, June 17, 1805, and was the oldest child of Dr. Nathaniel Bowditch, the distin- guished mathematician. In 1823, the year following the graduation of the subject of this sketch, his father removed to Boston, and Nathaniel studied law under the late Hon. William Prescott. From this time until his death, April 16, 1861, Mr. Bowditch was an honored and useful citizen of Boston, pursuing his chosen department of practice with un- rivalled skill, and accumulating treasures of information, of which but a small portion is here shown. In 1851 he printed a "History of the Massachusetts General Hospital," and in 1857 a collection of curious facts entitled "Suffolk Surnames." The latter volume has been twice reprinted. In 1855 Mr. Bowditch began the interesting series of " Gleaner" articles, which aroused a lively interest among all conversant with the subject. Often a single article would call forth the reminiscences or comments of other writers, and the whole collectiop has been for years regarded as indis- X City Document jSTo. 105. pensable to any one who would write on that portion of our local history. Although the series terminated abruptly in the manner ex- plained on page 180 of this volume, enough had been written by Mr. Bowditch to make its republication a matter of pub- lic interest. When, therefore, the Record Commissioners re- ceived the munificent grant of the city, they at once selected these " Gleanings " as among the first documents to be issued. It will be seen that the portion of our territory covered by these notes is small ; but the articles are consecutive, and the treatment is exhaustive. Beacon Hill and its surround- ings are considered, every estate is scrutinized, and the proverbial dryness of antiquarian and legal discussions is relieved by anecdotes of the distinguished citizens who have lived upon this noted territory during the past two hundred years. It has seemed unnecessary to attempt annotations to the original work. Of course the twenty-five years which have elapsed have produced many changes ; but these matters are within the recollection of the present generation, which is now to reperuse these sketches. The consent of the representatives of the family to this reproduction was given a number of years ago, and has been renewed at the present time. The commissioners have to announce that their sixth report is nearly completed, and that it will contain the Roxbury Land Records, together with the records of the First Church in Roxbury. It is intended that it shall appear among the city documents for 1880. Respectfully submitted, William H. Whitmore, William S. Appleton, Record Commissioners. "GLEANER" ARTICLES. I. HISTORICAL. July 2, 1855. It is well known that when our forefathers first came to thia peninsula they found here a solitary settler, — Mr. William Black- stone. Thus the Charlestown records say : — Mr. Blackstone, dwelling on the other side of Charles Elver, alone, to a place by the Indeans called Shawmutt, where he only had a cottage at or not far off the place called Blackstone s Point, he came and acquainted the Governor of an excellent Spring there, withal inviting him and soliciting him thither. Whereupon, after the death of Mr. Johnson and divers others, the Governor, with Mr. Wilson, and the greatest part of the Church, removed thither. Whither also the frame of the Governor's house was carried, when people began to build their houses against winter, and this place was called Boston. Mr. Drake, in his excellent " History of Boston," quotes this ex- tract, and remarks that " tliis place was not thought of for a town until Blackstone urged it." Oe thinks that Blackstone's Point was that afterwards called Barton's Point, at the northerly end of Leverett street, towards Charlestown, and adds: "His Point is more easily located than his Jiouse or his spring " and proceeds to suggest as not unlikely that these may have been near Poplar street. Now, the exact location of Mr. Blackstone's homestead lot is as definitely fixed as that of the Mill-dam or Western avenue. He made a deed to the inhabitants of the whole peninsula, retaining this homestead lot of six acres. By the town records of 1735, " the re- lease of Mr. Blackstone, the first proprietor of the town of Boston, '' is mentioned as " now on file in the town clerk's ofl3ce." The origi- nal, however, has never been seen by either of the historians of Boston, — Shaw, Snow, or Drake, — and is doubtless lost. Black- stone, wishing to live a more retired life and amid fewer neighbors, 2 City Document No. 105. subsequently sold this reserved lot ; but no deed from him is found on record. In the course of time, therefore, its precise location became doubtful. It was, however, accidentally discovered by an investigation of my own. In Ma}', 1829, I was examining the titles of the Mt. Vernon proprietors, claimed under John Single- ton Copley, the celebrated artist, I succeeded in tracing back his lot in part to a deed from one Richard Peyps and Mary his wife, of Ashon, Essex County, to Nathaniel Williams, by a deed not found on record, but expressly referred to as dated Januarj' 30, 1655; and a deposition of Anne Pollard, in 1711 (Suffolk, Lib. 28, p. 84), proves that Blackstone sold to Richard Pepys. In 1676 is recorded a deed of Peter Bracket and Mary his wife, late widow of said Williams (Suffolk, Lib. 9, fol, 325), conveying to her children, Nathaniel Williams three-quarters and Mary Viall one-quarter — all that messuage, with the barns, stables, orchards, gardens, and also that six acres of land, be it more or less, adjoin- ing and belonging to said messuage, called the BlacJcstone lot, being the sariie ivhich were conveyed to said Nathaniel by Richard Pepis, of Ashon, Essex County, and Mary his ivife, as by their act, bear- ing date January 30, 1655, ivill more fully ajjpear. Mary Viall's one-quarter gets into said Nathaniel, who conveys the whole lot in 1709 (Suffolk, Lib. 24, f. 103) to Thomas Banis- ter as "an orchard and pasture, containing six acres more or less on the N.W. side of the common with the flats ; the upland and flats being bounded N. W. on Charles river or a cove," etc., etc., " Southerly on the Common," Blackstone's six-acre lot, therefore, was at the lower part of the south-westerly slope of Beacon Hill, or, according to the present monuments, it was at the bottom of Beacon street, bounded southerly toward the Common, and westerly on the river. In other words, his fine taste led him, at the outset, to select for his abode the precise spot which is now the " Court-end " of the city. It must have been a sheltered and sunny enclosure of almost unrivalled beauty. Charles street was, in 1804, laid out along the water's edge, and, in the cellar of one of the houses easterly of that street (set off to the late B. Joy, one of the Mt. Vernon proprietors), is a copious spring, which was doubtless Mr. Blackstone's. Shaw, in his descrip- tion of Boston, p. 103, says: "Blackstone's spring is yet to be seen [1800] on the loesterly part of the town, near the bay ivJiich divides Boston from Cambridge." I felt as proud of my delivery as a hen does that has laid an egg ; and it was the subject of much cackling on my part. An "Gleaner" Articles. " 3 account of it will be found in the " Boston Courier " of that time. "The Sexton of the Old School" has also made it the subject of one of his later lucubrations in the "Transcript." I had every reason, indeed, to believe that the public mind was forever enlight- ened on this momentous topic. Judge, then, of my mortification, Mr. Editor, when I found the old erroneous surmises rej^roduced in a standard work by so careful and well-informed an antiquarian as Mr. Drake ! — my " pet " discover}^ wholly ignored by the very man of all others who should have known everything about it ! — my " credit" as clean gone as if I had been an original stock- holder in the " Vermont Central." July 3. Rev. William Blackstone. Mr. Editor : — I was highly pleased by the attempt of your ingenious correspondent in last evening's "Transcript," to fix the location of Rev. Wm. Blackstone's house and spring. This is a subject which, as is well known to some of your many intelligent readers, has for many years been one of more than mere curiosity with me. The conclusion, however, to which he has arrived, to his own satisfaction, is not altogether so to ours. Let us examine. Mr. Blackstone sells land to Richard Pepys. In 1655, Pepys sells land to Nathaniel AVilliams. In 1676, Mary, widow of Williams, conveys to her children, Nathaniel and Mary, " a certain messuage," and " also that six acres of land adjoining and belonging to said messuage, called the " Black- stone lot." In 1709, Nathaniel Williams, jr., sells to Thomas Barrister " an orchard and pasture, containing six acres, more or less. All this is clear and admissible. But it does not so clearly appear to us to be demonstrated that either Mr. Blackstone's house or his spring were on this land. Your correspondent says: "Blackstone's six-acre lot was on the south-western slope of Beacon street." Admit it; but that " six-acre lot " is described in the deed of 1709 as " an orchard and pasture." When Mr. Blackstone, in 1633, gave up his general claim to the township of Boston, fifty acres were reserved to him in severalty. (Snow's Boston, p. 50; Drake's Boston, p. 95.) The "six-acre lot " was no doubt part of that fifty acres ; but what evidence have we been presented with to prove to us that either Mr. Blackstone's " small cottage " or the "excellent spring" was there? Might they not have been, as Mr. Drake and others think, at the other extremity of the fifty acres, a tract con- siderably larger than the whole of Boston Common? There we find " Black- stone's," now " Barton's Point"; there we find a spring beneath a house in Poplar street, in which Mr, Drake formerly lived ; there Ave find "Spring street" and Spring-street court," which have been regarded as having been named in reference to "the excellent spring of freshwater." But there is no " point " on the " slope of Beacon street." IJiaveno favorite theory to support in this matter, and only seek the truth; but my long habits of historical research have induced me to be cautious in 4 City Document No. 105. drawing hasty conclusions from partial premises. Perhaps your intelligent correspondent can furnish us with something more definite and conclusive. Where are the deeds of the other forty- four acres? What if one of them refers to the precise locality? Alonzo Lewis. HiSTOKiCAL. Mr. Editor: — When I observe anything in your paper marked or "headed" Historical, I always read, or intend to read it; and read with avidity the article so marked in to-day's (July 2d) "Transcript," signed Vermont Central. This note is to call the attention of that writer to a single fact ; premising by the way, that when I was a youngster I was often deceived by cackling ; and that I am pleased with the tone of his article, and glad he has taken the pains to investigate so closely respecting the home- stead of Mr, William Blackstone ; but in his eagerness to show where Mr. Blackstone's homestead was in 1655, it does not appear to have occurred to him that it could have been elsewhere in 1630. Now that this was the fact I am fully persuaded ; for all the early indications at, and immediately after, the first settlement of Winthrop's company on the Peninsula point to the locality of Mr Blackstone where Mr. Drake has fixed it, so far as he has pretended to fix it. What Mr. Shaw says about Mr. Blackstone's spring can, by no arguments that occur to me, be transferred from West Boston to the foot of Beacon street; for West Boston did not, in early times, include this locality, or certainlf^ not generally. What was meant originally by West Boston was chiefly included between what is now Cambridge street and the Millpond and Barton's Point. This name was naturally enough given to that section by the North End people. In process of time it extended to the hill on the southerly side of Cambridge street. Therefore, that Mr. William Blackstone lived, in 1630, in the vicinity of his spring on Poplar street, is the deliberate opinion of Ukbs Condita. "Gleaner" Articles. TI. HISTORICAL. Juhj 6, 1855. Mr. Editor: — Being at present confined to my house lam unable to refer to certain abstracts of my own, which I well re- member, especially a deposition of Odlin, etc. Mr. Drake's his- tory, however (p. 530), supplies me with all I want, and proves, as I think, conclusively that BlacJcstone' s Point icas the six-acre lot which he reserved., and that his house stood on part of it. Mr. Drake speaks of the four depositions, in 1684, of John Odlin, Robert Walker, Francis Hudson, and William Lytherland, and he repre- sents them as saying that they had — Dwelt in Boston from the first planting thereof, and continuing so at this day (June 10, 1684) ; that in or about 1634 the said inhabitants of Boston (of whom the Hon. John Winthrop, Esq., Governor of the Colony, was chief) did agree with Mr. William Blackstone for the purchase of his estate and right in any lands lying within the said neck called Boston ; and for said pur- chase agree that every householder should pay 6s., none paying less, some considerably more, which was collected and paid to Mr. Blackstone to his full satisfaction for his whole right, reserving only about six acres on the point commonly called Blackstone' s Point on part whereof his then dwelling house stood ; after which purchase the town laid out a place for a training field, which ever since and now is used for that purpose and for the feeding of cattle. Now, to my apprehension, nothing can make the matter clearer than the above extract from Mr. Drake's own history. If it had been printed in the part of the volume where his surmises are made in favor of Barton's Point, he could not, as it seems to me, have failed to be himself convinced of his mistake. The Common (which contains about 50 acres) was very probably the residue of the 50 acres which had previously been granted to Mr. Blackstone, and which thus became revested in the town. One word of reply to Mr. Alonzo Lewis. Mr. Blackstone' s cottage was doubtless a slight structure, and in 1709 had disap- peared ; but the trees which he had planted had grown, and were 6 City Document No. 105. an orchard^ which of itself becomes a conspicuous monument, — since it is the only orchard shown on the most ancient plans of Bos- ton. That there were numerous otlier springs I admit. Tliat there was an excellent spring on this spot so near the original shore that the fresh water bubbled forth and ran down the sand to sea, I was assured by an aged witness, now deceased, who was con- sulted as to the titles in that locality in the suits of the Overseers of the Poor against the Mount Vernon Proprietors. SUMMARY. Edward Johnson, in 1630, in his " Wonder- Working Pi'ovi- dence," writes : " One [on] the South side of the River, one a Point of Land called Blaxton's Point, planted Mr. William Blax- ton." The Records show that " 1 April, 1G33, it is agreed that Mr. William Blackstone shall have fifty acres set out for him near his house in Boston to enjoy forever.'" Blackstone sold the town, the following year, all said allotment except six acres, on part of which his then house stood — the sale not being restricted to the 44 aci'es, but including all his right in the peninsula. He received £30, raised by a towli vote assessed Nov. 10, 1634. The deposition of Odlin, etc., is a well-known historical docu- ment, which has often been printed in extenso. Blackstone probably removed from Boston in 1635. It is, at any rate, certain from a publication in 1641 that he had removed before that year. See Savage's Winthrop. Annie Pollard proves that he sold his reserved six acres to Richard Pepys. This six-acre lot, " commonly called the Blackstone lot," is traced from Pepys to 1655, through Williams, to Banister, 1709, and through Copley to the Mount Vernon Proprietors — and it bounds S. on the Co7nmoii, W. on the River. Now, as to the orchard planted by Blackstone. In a publica- tion of 1765 it is stated that many of the trees still bore fruit. Bonner's plan of 1722, though it has no division lines marking the bounds of the Common, has an arrangement of trees in rows, i.e., an orchard, obviously in this locality. This orchard reappears in Price's plan of 1733. Who can doubt that it was Blackstone's, Pepys', Williams', Copley's orchard? As to there being no Point at the foot of Beacon hill — all Bos- ton has been called in print " Blackstone's Nech" and the name of "Gleaner" Articles. 7 Blackstone's Point may have been given to that projecting part of Boston which was nearest to his house. It is, however, a mere question of nomenclature, and does not at all affect the question of where Blackstone actually lived. Besides, no one can know that there was not some such projection of the original shore at the foot of Beacon hill as might with propriety be called a point. The whole space at the bottom of the Common, now used as a parade ground, and of which the level has been greatly raised within a few years, was doubtless at that time a mere marsh or beach, occa- sionally, if not always, covered by the full tides. If so the shore must have made a decided bend or sweep towards the east, imme- diately in front of Mr. Blackstone's homestead lot. In other words, there must, have been a point thus formed. On the whole, I think the " point" is '• settled" where Blackstone settled, and feel safe in changing my signature to Q, E. D. Historical. J/r. Editor: — Your correspondent, "Vermont Central," otherwise "Q. E. D.," has expended much labor and many words to prove, what no one has called in question — what I admitted in my first article — and what I published, with much more, some twenty years ago. The ques- tion is not where Mr. Blackstone's " then dwelling-house stood, in 1634," but where did his "small cottage" stand in 1623, eleven years previous? This question has not been answered, much less " demonstrated." Alonzo Lewis. City Document No. 105. II.* July 9, 1855J Mr. Blackstone, like "Monsieur Tonson," is come again. Mr. Editor : — Duly appreciatiLj the courtesy of Mr. Alonzo Lewis, who recognizes the " much labor and many words" which I have expended in trying to convince him, I can only express my regret at having wholly failed in my object. He avows himself an entire sceptic as to the " whereabouts " of Mr. Blackstone's " small cottage " in 1623. I might, perhaps, suggest that at that time it was " nowhere." At any rate, as we can hardly hope for much light as to its exact location from Indian traditions or contempo- rary Plymouth annals, I think we may rest satisfied if we can ascertain where it was when Boston first began to exist, — in the )'-ear of " Urbs Condita," or A.D. 1G30. Mr. Lewis admits the fact as stated and proved by me, that Mr. Blackstone's house, in 1634, and the six-acre lot on which itthen stood, were at the north- west corner of the Common. It may be that " some twenty years ago," he, as he states, somewhere published the same " and much more." It is certain, however, that Mr. Drake has not done so in his " History of Boston," a circumstance which induced me to write my first article. In charging me with having failed to make out my case, Mr. Lewis virtually assures me of bearing a false name (Q. E. D.) , and of having resorted to " false pretences" — of argument and demonstration. To an indictment of any sort I am antire that it is very unfortunate to be obliged to repl}' under two names ; since he who resorts to an " alias " is almost always a rogue. But my original name (" Vermont C'-ntral ") being, through the miscon- duct of a namesake, justly an object of much odium, I changed it. To prove that I did so " according to law," or, in other words, that I am legally entitled to my present name, I will NIB my pen and ofl"er a suggestion or two. The Charlestown records, as we have seen, speak of Mr. Black- stone as having "a cottage" at " Shawmutt" when, in 1630, he invited our ancestors to come across the river and settle there. So iThis article was omitted in the first edition. — W. H. W. " Gleaner " Articles. 9 that his " small cottage," whensoever built, appears to have been then extant. In 1G33 the inhabitants of Boston set off to him 50 acres of land near "his house." They do not say "his new house," which would of course prove the existence of a prior structure, or " his noio dwelling house," from which, possibly, though not necessarily, the same fact might be inferred. No one supposes that the first houses built here were of large size, with modern conveniences. All were at first " cottages." There is no reason, then, to doubt that the " cottage " of 1630 and the " house" of lu33 were one and the same. It can hardly be supposed, in- deed, that before getting a grant from the town he would have proceeded to erect a second dwelling. But the deponents in 1 G84 testify that in 1G34 he sold to the town all his land except six acres, on part of which his then dwelling house stood, and that the town afterwards proceeded to lay out the training field, or Com- mon. Upon this little word " then " Mr. Lewis seems to take his stand. To his imagination it presents a preexistent dwelling house somewhere else. I am aware that a small word often varies extremely the meaning of a sentence. There is much virtue in an "if" or "but" ; and "no" is a host of itself . But, by all obvious and natural rules of construction, this "then" merely proves a non-existent (hxeWiug house. It is as if these deponents in 1G84 had said, " Mr. Blackstone retained six acres, on which, fifty years ago, his then dwelling house stood, which is now no longer standi)ig." Snow, in his history, though he, too, like Drake, mislocates the six-acre lot as being probably at Barton's Point, does not intimate any theory of d^/^Zica^e dwelling houses. He says: "Blackstone cultivated with success the six acres which he retained, and soon had a garden plot and an orchard near his cottage and spring." Until, then, I shall hear some good reason for believing that Mr. Blackstone built a " small cottage" in 1623 at Barton's Point, or elsewhere, and then another " house " in another place before any grant from the town to him, I shall feel entirely convinced that his " cottage" and his " house" were one and the same building — or that, if different buildings, they were, yet, both erected on the same homestead lot, at the bottom of the Common. And for trial of this issue, on the evidence already presented, I submit myself to the " Transcript" and " my country." Q. E.D. 10 City Document No. 105. July 11. William Blackstone, his Orchard, Cottage and Spring. — I see a little discussion is going on — or off — I know not which — as to some of these tilings in your "Transcript." If you will look in'your own band-box, you will find what seems to me quite as much to the purpose, and some things which may interest your inquiring friends. In 1849, March 14, 21, 28, April 4, 11, 18, 25, May2 and9, some industrious creature published in the " Trans- cript " nine consecutive numbers, all about William Blackstone, his orchard, cottage and spring. This writer's conclusions, so far as it was possible to form conclusions from such slender premises, seemed reasonable to me then, and they seem so now; and if those conclusions were errors, they were evi- dently not arrived at without labor. Numbers 7 and 8 of the series, published March 28 and April 4, relate entirely to the orchard, cottage and spring. As to the whereabouts of Mr. Blackstone's cottage in 1623, your friend Q. E. D. has hit the location exactly — it was ^'■nowhere." Whoever has the courage to dive for that will do a public service, while he is down, by looking round for the old lady's cottage, W. B.'s grandmother's, about which nothing has yet \iQQXi^'' demonstrated." Those who preserve the "Transcript" will find the whole subject, in the numbers referred to, treated at some length. The con- clusions, as to the location, are the same with those at which Q. E. D. has arrived. John Smith, the Eldek.^ ^ Thei-e is little to be added to the able argument of Mr. Bowditch, set forth in his two preceding articles, and afterwards fortified in his 67th article, later on. A few facts have since been found whlcb may be worth repeating. The depositions referred to arc also here reprinted, as they are often cited, and are important items in our history. Aug. lo, 1687. Jndge Sewall \vrotc in his Diary (i, 186) : " Went into Water alone at Blackstone's Point." July 22, 1709. lie wrote (Diary ii, 260) : " In the evening Mr. Mayhew and I bath ourselves in Charles River behind Blackstone's point." Snow (History of Boston, p. 427) says, "Mr. Blackstone's beach is incidentally mentioned in a latter part of the ancient records of the town than that referred to p. 51. [March 9, 1638.] His marriage also to Widow Sarah Stevenson, July 4, 1659, is recorded in its proper place. Gov. Endieotc officiated on the occasion." As I have Snow's annotated copy, I find that this " later mention " is Feb. 27, 1613. The town records (vol. 2 of our Record Commissioners' Reports, p. 72) has the following cntiy under this date : " William Colborou and Jacob Eliot are appointed to view a parcel of Land towards Mr. Blackstone's Beach which Richard Pcapes desires to Purchase of the Towne whither it may be conveniently sold unto him." In the Book of Possessions Pepyslot is not specifically recorded, but Jacob Leger, Robert Wing, and Jane Parker all abutted on his lot, and it is easy to show where it was. The date of said Book is now quite confidently assigned to A.D. 1645. — W. II. W. [Suff. Deeds, Lib. 24, fol. 106.] The Deposition of John Odlin aged about eighty two years, Robert Walker aged about seventy eight years, Francis Hudson aged about sixty six yeai-s, and William Lythcrland aged about seventy six years, these Deponents being antient dwellers and "Gleanek" Articles. 11 inhabitants of the Town of Boston in New Engl*, from the time of the first planting and sctling thereof and continuing so at this day do jointly testily and depose that in or about the j-ear of our Lord one thousand six hundred thirty and four the then present inhabitants of said Town of Boston (of whom the hono''''=. John Winthrop Esq'. Goveruour of the Colony was Chief) did treat aud agree with M'. William Biack- stonc for the pureliase of his estate and right in any lands lying within the said Neck of land called Boston, aud for said purchase agreed that every householder should pay six shillings, which was accordingly collected, none paying less, some considerable more, tlian six shillings, and the said sum collected was delivered and paid to M'. Blackstone to his full content and satisfaction, in consideration whereof lie sold unto the then inhabitants of s* This name is more properly spelled Eyre, and should not be confounded with that of Ayer or of Ayres, both of which are found on our records. — W. H.^W. '5 Our Humphrey Davie was, liowever, of some local importance. He was the fourth son of Sir John Davie of Greedy, Co. Devon, who was made a baronet in 1641. Humphrey came here, settled in Billerica, was an Assistant 1679-1683, and died in 1689. His second wife was Sarah, widow of James Richards, of Hartford. By his first wife he had a son John, who married his step-sister, Elizabeth Richards, and lived at Groton, Conn., untill703, when, by the death of successive cousins, he became the fifth baronet, and returned to England to enjoy the famih' title and estates. Zaccheus Bosworth, who is named in this article, also owned, by the Book of Pos- sessions, a lot of land on Tremont street, whereon afterwards Jacob Wendell built a house. Quite recently, owing to a law in regard to the names of streets, the Street Commissioners have given the name of Bosworth street to Montgomery place. This court, for its end is blocked by a flight of gtone steps leading to Province sti'cet, wa? laid out in 1825, and must be on part of the Bosworth land. — W. H. \V. 56 City Document No. 105. this tract called 4 acres, more or less (but which subsequently shrinks again to its true proportions), and the mortgage being fore- closed, his widow conveyed to John Davie ; and John Davie and Elizabeth, his wife, conveyed to James Allen, b}^ warranty deed, May 11, 1699 (Suff., L. 19, f. 358), ^^ about two and an half acres of pasture, enclosed, bounded west on the late Samuel Coole (Cole), now said Allen's ; east on Richard Cook, since Elisha Cook ; north on land in the tenure and occupation of Joseph Belknap, Jr., and on land of said James, heretofore Thomas Butolph ; south on Thomas Miller, now Samuel Sewall, with an highway as heretofore used." Now, these purchases of 2, 4, 8, and 2J acres, make up together sixteen and a Jialf acres, and constitute Allen's one continuous past- ure, on the south side of Cambridge street, next east of Zachariah Phillips' pasture. Gleaner. "Gleaner" Articles. 57 XIX. JEREMIAH ALLEN'S PASTURE. August 6, 1S55. Mr. Editor : — We have shown that Rev. James Allen ncqnired, by four purchases, IG^ acres on the south side of Cambridge street. By his deed of settlement in 1706, and his devise in accordance with it (1711), he vested in his daughter, Mrs. Wheelwright (as we have stated) , the southerly seven acres ; the whole of which (except the part thereof covered b}' three ropewalks on Myrtle street) gets united in the Mount Vernon proprietors ; the easterly portion by the deed of the children of Enoch Brown, in 1797, (Suffolk, L. 186, f. 232), and the residue or westerly portion b^' direct deed of the devisees of Jeremiah Wheelwright, son and heir of Mrs. Wheelwright, in 1795 (L. 180, f. 191). The easterly line of the Brown purchase is 77 feet west of Belknap street. The northerly tract, containing about ten acres, by the same deed of settlement and devise (1706-1711), was vested by James Allen in his son, Jei'emiali Allen. He, about 1725, laid oat the same into 87 lots, containing, generally, 4,000 feet each. Through the centre of the pasture he opened Centre street, and, at intervals of 200 feet on each side, other streets, called respectively Grove street and Garden street, — names doubtless then significant of the rural beauty of the spot. He also laid out at intervals of 240 feet, two cross streets, parallel to Cambridge street, viz., Southack street and May street. These two last streets are continued west into Zacha- riah Phillips' pasture, which was divided into lots at the same time ; the two plans being evidently made to conform to each other. Neither of them was recorded. A large proportion of the lots of Mr. Allen remained unoccupied and unimprove d by his grantees for very many years. This pasture begins on Cambridge street, 110 feet rrest of Grove street, and extends to land late of Buttolph (now Buttolph street). It measures in front 550 feet on Cambridge street, and is in depth 648 feet, to the ancient rope walk, the side lines slightly converg- ing. At a later day Myi'tle street has been extended across the extreme south lots of this pasture ; so that it is now enclosed by 58 City Document No. 105. four very definite bouudaries, viz., Cambridge street, Buttolph street, Myrtle street, and the east line of Zachariah Phillips' pasture. This territory has been the theatre of very queer conveyancing. One Thomas G. Urauu, in 1804, made warranty deeds at pleasure, for \er\ trifling considerations, of certain portions of it which he found l3'ing unenclosed and unclaimed. Some of his grantees hold to this day. He was at last deterred by threats of indictment from the further pursuit of this systematic project of land theft. In one single volume of Suffolk Deeds (Lib. 211) will be found no less than forty-eight conveyances //-om him. A deed to him would be a rarity. I was some years since amused at one of his heirs-at- law calling upon me, under the idea that he was entitled to some lands in this locality which his ancestors had left unconveyed. I told him that the only inheritance left by Mr. Urann was a minus quantity, viz., the ohligatiun to malce restitution to the true owners of lands which he had himself wrongfully appropriated. About a century after the death of Rev. James Allen (1802), and although he did not die owner of this pasture, having disposed of it by deed in his lifetime, a decree of ihe Probate Court was obtained, as if he had been owner at his death, and as if his estate had been still in a course of settlement. By this decree an assign- ment was made of " his estate in Cambridge and Buttolph streets, valued at two hundred dollars," to one of his descendants, James Allen, he paying to the other heirs their proportion, and l)y him a conveyance of the fictitious title thus commenced was forthwith made for $500. This legal finesse effected for many lots of this pasture what had been accomplished as to other lots in a more manly, may I not say a more honorable, mode, by Mr. Urann. The late Mr. Otis possessed a lot, 70 by 100 feet, at the corner of May and Centre streets. He obtained a deed from the true owner of the corner lot, 40 by 100 feet, which bounded east on a lot belonging to the late Henderson Inches. Now, Mr. Inches, who bought in 1766, had accidentally mislocated his land 30 feet too far to the east, and his heirs, finding that they had all tlie deed gave to their ancestor, told Mr. Otis that if they ever lost the 30 feet which had been accidentally enclosed, they should take this 30 feet adjoining his lot, but otherwise not. Mr. Otis accordingly kept it as his own, and sold four house-lots, each 25 bj^ 70 feet, so that all the yards and out-buildings were upon this disputed territory. After many j-ears the Inches' heirs were sued, and lost their 30 feet. They then sued Mr. Otis' grantees, who were placed in a "Gleaner" Articles. 59 very embarrassing situation, being certain of losing all the needful appendages to their tenements. The suits were decided in favor of the demandants, and Mr. Otis, paying the sum awarded by ref- erees mutually chosen, the titles of his grantees were confirmed A.D. 1S33. The moral and legal character of this district was for a long time equally bad. The Hill was the Jive points of Boston. It was, however, purged by the oflScial broom of President Quincy, and its titles and its reputation have become much improved by time. Gleaner. 60 City Docuivient No. 105. XX. BUTTOLPH'S EIGHT-ACRE PASTURE. August 8, 1S55. Mr. Editor : — Leaving Mr. Jeremiah Allen's pasture, with its ancient " gardens " and " groves " sadly desecrated by civilization, we proceed easterly, and reach Thomas Buttolph's 8-j-acre pasture. In the Book of Possessions, p. 57, " William Hudson, Sen., a lot in ye new field, containing about /?/ve acres, bounded with Richard Cooke on the east, Mr. Thomas Clarke west, sould to Mr. But- tolph, p. 42." And, accordingly, in p. 42, we find " Wm. Hudson, Sen., granted to Thomas Battolph fyve acres of land in the new field, bounded with Richard Cooke east, James Johnson west, Wm. Wilson south, — Davis apothecary, north, and this was by a deed dated 26,4, 164G, acknowledged same day before Mr. AVinthrop, Governor." James Johnson's possession is described as " about an acre, bounded with John Biggs (our old friend) north, Francis Lloylc'® west, Zach. Bosworth south, Thomas Clarke cast." .Tohn- son seems to have acquired also Lloyle's and Clarke's lots. Thus we find that .James Johnson conveyed to Thomas Buttolph by deed dated 14th, 6th, 1649,recordcd29th, 1 mo., 1654 (Snff., L. 2,f. il), 3 J acres in Ceutry field, bounded on land of said Thomas east, on William Davis north, on Theodore Atkinson west, and Zacheus Bosworth south. These two jyi^rchases vested in BiUtoJph the 8^ acres. Davies owned the Chambers pasture on north side of Cam- bridge street. Buttolph died in 1667, devising to two sons, John and Thomas. The latter died intestate, 1668, leaving a widow, Mary (who mar- ried Swett), and four children, Thomas, Nicholas, Marj-, and Abigail. In 1682 John conveyed to these children his moiety (Sufi:., L. 12, f. 274). Thomas died. Abigail married Joseph Belknap, Jr. Mary i^The Book of Possessions has been printed for the city in the second volume of these Reports. James Johnson's possessions. are on p. 20 of the original. The name which Mr. Bowditch reads as Francis Lloyle is by me deciphered as Francis Loyall. In the record of his possessions he stands as Francis Lyle ; and Savage records him as Lyall, Lysle, Lisle, Lioll, or Loyal. — W. H. W. " Gleaner " Articles. 61 married one Tbaxter, and, after his deatli, Robert Guttridgo. In 1701 these heirs divided tlie whole pasture (Suff.,L. 23. ,f. 119), each having a lot of 2§ acres ; the westerly part being assigned to Nicholas, the middle to Mrs. Belknap, and the easterly'' part 1o Mrs. Thaxter, or Guttridge. This pasture extended from Bui tolph street to Hancock street, being about 430 feet in average width, and in depth back it measured about G2o feet to Myrtle street. In 1734, by ijidenture between the Belknap heirs and Mrs. Guttridge, Belknap street was laid out (Suff. , L. 49, f . 98) . On the west side of Mrs. Belknap's lot was a ropewalk, 24 feet wide, which Nathaniel Belknap sold to Thomas Jenner in 1 733 (L. 48, f . 1 79) ; sold in 1771 to Edward Carnes. It is a straggling ropewalk, which should have shown itself in m^- article on "Old Ropewalks." South Russell street was laid out in 1737 (L. 54, f. 203) , through the middle of Nicholas's lot, by his heirs, Mary, wife of John Phillips, and Abigail, wife of Knight Leverett, or rather by their husbands. It was probably so named because it led in a southerly direction from Chambers' or RusselVs pasture, or opposite to North Russell street. Buttolph street was laid out along or across the extreme westerly line of this estate, and its easterly boundary includes the houses on the west side of Hancock street. The westerly portion of this pasture, like that of Jeremiah Allen, became gTaduallj' occupied by our " colored brethren." Thus a lot, no less than 88^ feet wide by 117 feet deep, on the westerly side of Belknap street, bought by Ebenezer Storer in 1737, was conveyed by his executors to " Scipio." He is not styled in the deed " Africanus," but was no doubt lawfully entitled to that additional appellation. The deeds of this area show how exclusively the great names of antiquity are borne by this class of our fellow-citizens. Cato, Caesar, Pompey, Scipio, here figure on an humbler stage than of old, in company, with "Cuff Biiffum," etc. And among the "Dinahs" and " Phillises " occur other female names, which, though derived from bright colors, really indicate, at ftrd blush, the dark skin of the parties, viz., Olive, Violet, Rose, etc. Our city fathers, not being of opinion that " a rose b}'- any other name will smell as sweet," have recently merged Belknap street into the less offensive name of Joy street. Buttolph street has not been disturbed, except that, with the usual official brevity, it has, like El/iot street, been cur- tailed of one letter,'^ and now figures as Butolph street. Hancock "Mr. Bowditch i^, perhaps, over-critical ia respect to Eliot street. That stree). was laid out in 1743 through lands bclon;^'in<^ to the descendants of Jacob Eliot, who was one of the brothers of Rev. John Eliot, the " apostle to the Indians." This famly, in 62 City Document No. 105. street (so named from King John, having before been named George street, for King George) has always been occupied by white inhabitants, being the genteel end of Buttolph's pasture. Gleaner. all its branches, has always used the form "Eliot"; but the Essex county Elliots or Elliotts, to which belonged the Boston ministers and our Mayor, Eliot, have varied the spelling at times. I annex an abstract of the indenture laying out Eliot street, and also that pai-t of our Tremont street which crosses it. See, also. City Document No. 119, of 1879. " Nomen- clature of streets." — W. II. W. " Lib. 69, fol. 63-5. —4 June 1740. Indenture between Benjamin Eliot | ^,.„<.;„„„..„ John Eliot ptationeis. Rev. Jacob Eliot of Lebanon, Windham co. Conn. ; w. of Jona. Willis of Boston, housewright, they four being the heirs of Jacob Eliot, mariner, dec*, on the one part Also John, Edward, Samuel & Jacob (Holyokes all), Mary Arnold, Hannah Burrill, widows, &, Sarah w. of John Eliot, stationer : — they seven being the heirs of Maiy Holyoke widow deC^ — who was also an heir of Jacob Eliot & whereas the other sister & heir of Jacob E. was Abigail Davis who sold her right to bro. Benjamin, now they desire to make a division First they lay out 2 streets at nearly right angles, one to run WNW from Orange sti'cet — to be called Eliot st ; the other to run SSW from Frog Lane to Hollis st, to be called Ilolyoke st : to be described as follows. Eliot St. to begin 21 inches from the S.E. corner of s* Jacob Eliot's house on Orange st. occupied first by Paul Collins, then by John Clark & now by Benj. Eliot, to run in a straight line WNW 906 feet till it reaches land lately bo't by s* John Eliot of Abigail Davis, widow — The street to be 30 ft wide. And as this 30 ft at the first point will run 7.i feet on the land of Joseph Henderson, late of Samuel Band, the 8* II. has sold a strip to the town for a street. Holyoke street begins at the N.E. corner of land of W™ Lambert in Frog Lane & runs fii-st through land of John Clough, next through the lands to be divided & then through land of Gov. Belcher till it falls into Hollis st." "Gleaner" Articles. 63 XXI. MIDDLECOTT'S FOUPv-ACRE PASTURE. August 9, IS 55. Mr. Editor: — Our earliest deed of Scottow's pasture bounded on Jeremiah Houchin. His executors sell in 1G77 (Suff., L. 16, f. 297) " all that theire piece or parcel of land, situate lying and being in Boston, containing by estimation four acres, be the same more or less, being butted and bounded on the north by the highway, east by Mr. Simon Lynd, south by the land of John Turner, west by the laud of Benjamin Gibbs." [Scottow had sold to Gibbs.] The grantees in this deed were Richard Middlecott and William Taylor. The latter died 1082, and his son and heir, of the same name, conveyed to said Middlecott, 1G97 (SufT., L. 17, f. 351). Midillecott died 1704, and a division was made 1 727 (L. 42, f. 175), by which a 40-feet street was laid out through the pasture, called Middlecott street, which name it retained many years. This pasture measured 310 feet, 8 on Cambridge street, and extended back on the west side G89 feet, on the east side 741 feet, and in the rear it measured 210 feet. The lots on the west side of Middle- cott street measured 130 feet on Cambridge street, and those on the east side 139^ feet on Cambridge street ; and at the rear end of the pasture the lots narrowed to 85 feet on each side of this new street. The street so laid out was 40 feet wide. Here then was one of the finest estates in the city, and this spacious avenue was appropriately named for one of its earliest owners. Ilouchin street would not have been quite the thing, but Middl'Coit street was unexceptionable, — a name agreeable both to the eye and the ear. It happened, however, that one Boivdoin, some 70 years ago, was placed by his fellow-citizens in that gubernatorial ducking-stool^ in which the commander-in-chief is annually soaked while reviewing the "Ancient and Honorable Artillery." It also happened that he owned an estate on Beacon street. His devise (bearing the same name), in 1800, opened through this land a street in continuation of Mr. Middlecott's, and presto ! the whole street became Boicdoin street. Now, it cannot, of course, be suspected that the living Mr. Bowdoin named this street 64 City Documejs^t No. 105. for himself. The act would savor of ostentation. The selectmen, doubtless, thought that having accommodated Governor Hancock with a street, they ought in justice to do as much for his rival. In itself the change was as absurd as if a boy, having a fine kite with an excellent bob to it, should, because it had a ribbon or how added to it, be obliged to call the whole article by the name of this tail-piece. Tiie partiality thus evinced for governors has not yet died out, though now, indeed, it rarely extends to such as are either officially or personally defunct. But iiow appropriate would it be to confer the name of the governor for the time being, on the street in which he happened to live 1 The visible splendor and dignity of our highest office would thus be greatly increased ; periodical changes in the names of streets would thus be brought about with even greater frequency, and in a less fitful and capricious^^ manner than at present. Mt. Vernon street would become Gardner street, etc. If such a rule should prevail, perhaps, in a few j'ears, Wlnthrop square would succeed as the third designation of Pemberton square, which has only had two names in twenty years. If it should be thought that in the event Winthrop place might lead to some confusion, that name, conferred in honor of a dead governor, could be ex- changed. It is the order of nature, indeed, that the dead should give place to the living. Besides, it is rather an equivocal com- pliment to name half of a court for anybody. Otis place and Winthrop place could both be named for Sir William Pepperell, through whose estate Otis place is laid out. They could together be called Pepperell square. Two birds would thus be killed by one stone ; and then in a few years the authorities could ignore the origin of the name, drop off the " ell," as they did in EUiot street, and the residents would hail, in the directory, from Pepper square. The names of streets, however, are comparatively unimportant, since we seem in a fair way to lose the reality, — several streets, as I learn by the papers, being at once used up by the Metropolitan Railroad. Gleaner. P.S. — Is it true that the mayor had a present of a snapping- turtle, weighing fort}' pounds, to put into the Frog Pond? If so, I wish he would snap at our city functionaries for some of their proceedings. G. " This word is as given in certain coiTcctions printed by Mr. Bowditch at the time. W. H. W. "Gleaner" Aeticles. 65 XXII. JOSHUA SCOTTOWS FOUR-ACRE PASTURE. August 10, 1855. Mr. Editor : — At the last advices I hailed from the west side of Hancocli street at the easterly end of Buttolph's pasture ; con- tinuing easterly a four-acre pasture of Joshua Scottoiv is next reached, which extends from Hancock street easterly 280 feet on Cambridge street, or to a point 52J- feet east of Temple street, and is in depth back, towards summit of Beacon Hill, 660 feet, or just below the line of Derne street. This estate was probably sold by Thomas Scottow to his brother Joshua, 27, 4, 1648. A mortgage by Joshua, discharged in 1665, mentions such a deed. Joshua Scottow conveyed to his son-in-law, Benjamin Gibbs, Jan. 10, 1670 (Suffolk, L. 7, f. 168). Colonel Benjamin Gibbs and Lydia, his wife, mortgaged the same to oui^ old friend, Rev. James Allen, for £150, 1671, (Suffolk, L. 7, f. 192), who assigned it to Richard Wharton, by whom the mortgage was foreclosed, 1680 (L. 12, f. 329). Richard "Wharton died 1691, and his administra- tor conveyed to Stephen Minot the south-west moiety, or two acres Nov. 24, 1697 (L. 18, f. 18), and to Isaiah Tay the north-easterly moiety or two acres, Nov. 23, 1697 (L. 18, f. 17). The whole pasture is thus described : " A pasture on the north-west side of Beacon Hill, containing about four acres, bounded north-east on the late Jeremiah Houchin, now Richard Middlecott's, south-east on the late John Turner and Richard Cook, south-west on late Buttels (i.e., Buttolph's pasture), and north-west on the lane lead- ing to the pastures" ( i.e., Cambridge street). And here another " ropewalk " turns up, and one, too, of quite respectable size, viz., 44 feet 6 inches on Cambridge street, by 665 feet deep. It was sold off by Minot in 1731 to Samuel Waldo (Suff., L. 46, f . 170) from the easterly side of his allotment. Waldo's heirs sold off to Joseph Ridgwayin 1768 (Suff., L. 112, f. 105.) Now, the volumes 112 and 114 have been missing from the Registry of Deeds ever since the Revolution, — a most convenient circumstance for conveyancers, as it allows us to suppose all missing deeds to have been there recorded ; an hypothesis which, of course, cannot 6G City Document No. 105. be possibly disproved. I myself caused this deed to be re- recorded in 1834 (L. 383, f. 20). It embraced all except a 30- feet lot at the south end, being 44 feet by 635 feet 6 inches. Across the west part of the old ropewalk was laid out a lane, 10 feet wide, now well known as Ridgivay's lane. This ropewalk, and Jenner's ropewalk, which we found in Bnttolph's pasture, added to those by Pearl, Pinckney, and Poplar streets, make together 14 ropewalks ill Boston, zohich were probably " spinning," nil at once, for a period of at least sixty years. jNIr. Minot had retained almost all the lots on the east side of Hancock street, being throughout about 9 1 feet deep, to this old ropewalk on Ridgeway's lane. He died in 1732, and a great di- vision was made in 1733 among his heirs ; John Minot taking the north lot, of the moderate size of 217 feet, on Hancock street; George took the next lot of 159 feet wide ; Christopher contented himself with only the next, 85 feet, on Hancock street ; while Peter brought up the rear with the south lot of 159 feet. All this long range of lots finally became vested in Jonathan L. and Benjamin Austin, from whom the modern titles of all the east side of Han- cock street, north of Derne street, are derived ; and this street should, I think, have been named for Scottow, Wheaton, Minot, or Austin . Mr. Isaiah Tay died, seized of his two-acre pasture, in 1730, and devised the same to his wife ; but the poor man foi'getting to add the word "' heirs " improbably from not emplo^jing an attorney), the poor woman lost her pastures, and it went to collateral heirs of her husband. In 1737 partition deeds were made (L. 54, f. 235; L. 55, f. 80), by which a 30-feet street was laid out directly throuj the centre of the pasture, leaving on each side lots 52^ feet dee] This street is now Temple street. About half of the land on th east side of this street (say 330 feet deep from Cambridge street was subsequently bought by Joseph Coolidge, Esq., and formec part of the garden of his noble mansion-house estate, which, alas ! has forever disappeared. Having now got into some of the best society in Boston, I like my quarters so well that 1 think I shall stop and pass the night. I may, perhaps, hereafter advise you ot ray further journe}' to the eastward. Gleaner. P.S. — As the city fathers eagerly listen to all proposals foi changing the names of streets, I beg leave to ask that Temple street should be changed to Tay street. A temple is a heathen i *' Gleaner" Articles. 67 building, whicli only by poetic license is applied to a Christian church. The present name was given to this street before it had any church in it, or as a mere matter of taste and fancy.'" Now, as the law prevented Mr. Tay from separating this estate from his family and name, it ought, at least, not to separate his name from the estate. Tay is a word so short that it will not probably be thought necessary (as in so many other cases) to strike out a letter. Though, if that should be thought desirable, the y might of course be omitted. The word itself is extremely musical. It occurs in the poet's lay, and rhymes can easily be found for it through all the letters of the alphabet. The only objection that occurs to me is, that to our Hibernian fellow-citizens it may suggest merely a well-known beverage, instead of the ancient legal martyr, whose fate I wish thus to commemorate. '* Surely Mr. Bawditch must have forgotten that Gov. Bowdoin's daughter maiTied Sir John Temple, bart., whose daughter married Lt.-Gov. Thomas Lindall Winthrop. Temple was a Bostonian, by adoption at least, his father and grandfather having lived at the Ten Ilills Farm, and was one of our most noted citizens. Doubtless this was the true source of the name of the street. In this connection I may add the wish that Mr. Bowditch had lived to protest against the change of the name of "Lindall street," which commemorated a famous family here, to the unmeaning and misleading title of "Exchange place," in 1873. For nearly a century and a half Lindall's l;ine or street was known. — \V. H. W. i 68 City Document No. 105. XXIII. BULFINCH'S FOUR-ACRE PASTURE. August 11, 1855. Mr. Editor: — You will remember that I was last in Middle- cott or Bowdoiu street, having entered Mr. Coolidge's garden from Temple street. He purchased the northerly lots on the west side of Bowdoin street, 1791, 1795, and 1825, which gave his estate a total front on that street of 368 feet 3 inches. This house and gar- den was altogether one of the most beautiful residences which have existed in our city within my memory. It was laid out into lots in 1834, and no less than 28 dwellings were erected on it ; while a large parcel of nearly 5,000 feet, with a fine old tree upon it, was purchased and retained by the late Dr. Shattuck, for air, light, and ornament, for the benefit of his estate on the opposite side of Cam- bridge street. This, also, has just been covered with bricks and mortar. The Middlecott estate extended back from Cambridge street about 166 feet south of Allston street^ that street (which was formerly known as Somerset place) ^ and also Balfinch p^ace, 30 feet wide, having been both opened into Bowdoin street, through this pastui'e, and thence extended easterly into Bitlfinch street. This leads us naturally to visit BuIJiacJi's pasture. It seems to have been estimated as containing fou7^ acres. It measured north on Cambridge street 148| feet, on the west side 874 feet, in the rear 74^ feet, then easterly 118 feet, and again south 23 feet, and then east again 673 feet to Cambridge street. It was devised in 1665 by John Newgate to his son-in-law, Simon Lynde [Lynde is named as east abutter in the deed of Middlecott's pasture], and as early as 1687 was vested in his son, Samuel Lynde. Rather more than 100 years ago it became the property of Thomas Bul- finch. It remained in his family nearly 50 years, being finally dis- posed of in 1796-1797. The Revere House estate, 117 feet on Cambridge street, 184 feet on the west line, and 140 feet on Bulfinch street, was sold for the moderate sum of $7,000 in 1797, and for many 3-ears was the well-known and beautiful mansion-house of the late Kirk Boott, partner of the late William Pratt, under the firm of Boott & Pratt. "Gleaner" Articles. 69 It is rather remarkable that the private residences of both have ex- panded into hotels, — the latter having lived in the Pearl-street house. Mr. Boott's mansion had a more venerable-looking ex- terior than its age justified, it having been originally built with brick soaked in a preparation of molasses, with the design of ex- cluding the moisture more effectually. When erected, Bowdoin square was the very centre and nucleus of aristocracy and fashion. Mr. Boott, indeed, had the offer of land in Beacon street, at a far less price per foot than he paid for this estate. Here resided the late Mr. Lyman (on the Baptist-church lot), the late Joseph Coolidge, Jr. (where stores are now about to be built), the late Samuel Parkman, and various members of his family, including his daughters, the late Mrs. Edward Blake and the late Mrs. Robert G. Shaw, for whom were erected the two stone houses fronting easterly on Bowdoin square. Though the glory of this locality has now departed, as far as respects its privaie splendors, yet to the public these are more than replaced by a hotel, which, in its accom- modations and management, has no superior in the United States, or perhaps in the world. As you, yourself, however, live there, it is superfluous for me to enlarge on the ability and the courtesy of Paran Stevens. May his receipts never be less ! Gleaner. P.S. — As in duty bound we first paid our respects together to Mr. Blackstone, and ate some of his apples. We then strolled through a couple of burying-grounds, and looked into two or three churches, half-a-dozen bakeries, and about sixteen ropewalks. We also walked from Castle street beyond the green store on the Neck, to see a hanging. We have inspected the Jiogs in Hog alley, the cows on the Common, the — I was on the point of writing — but I mean the mayor, in the City Hall. We went on a sailing party from the '' Circular Line," and landed on "island wharves," built by the hand of man " to traverse guns upon," where, however, we found more salt than saltpeter. We have even ascended into the air to visit an estate or two. Butour chief excursion, now completed, has been fi'om Bowdoin square, down one side of Cambridge street, and back again on the other side of the street to the point of departure. This we have made rather leisurely, stopping to chat with the neighbors as we went along. I have not myself thus far picked up much in these wanderings, though I will inform j-ou, in confidence, that I have received an anonymous promise of some of " Mollie Saunders' gingerbread. " If it comes, I shall indeed feel that I have " gleaned " to some purpose. In the meantime I dare say that I can get something almost as nice at the " Revere." Q., 70 City Document No. 105. XXIV. MOLLY SAUNDERS' GINGERBREAD. August 13, 1855. Mr. Editor : — In my postscript to " Bulfinch's Pasture" I sug- gested a vague hope of receiving some of "Molly Saunders' gin- gerbread." That hope has been fully realized. I have just got a loud note from the old lady. It is signed " Shade of Molly Saun- ders." But, though thus obviously coming from the spirit land, it was accompanied by a basket filled with the "real article," — pre- cisel}^ as I used to eat forty years ago. Of this there can be no pos- sible mistake. Here, then, at least, is a " Sj9inY communication" which cannot be explained away. It is most palpable alike to sight, touch, and taste. As you were the " medium " through whom this departed shade was apostrophized by me, a few cakes are sent to you in acknowledgment of your services in that capacity. If our deceased friend could be further persuaded to " impress " you and your readers with the receipt which she used while on earth, what an inestimable blessing would be thus conferred on mankind ! Gleaner. *" P.S. — It appears that the old lady had to return Jiere to do the baking, and in her note to me she says, very feelingly, "I could not make it look just as it used to, for there is no wood and no ovens to be seen on airth now. I wouldn't live here again for nothing." ^^ Inasmuch as there is so little historical matter in this article, it has been thought admissible to print, as a note, an article which appeared at about the same date, and which is certainly worth preservation. It was printed in the Boston " Transcript " for August 2, 1855. — \V. H. W. KEMINISCENCES OF AN OLD BOSTONIAN. (1855, August 2.) To the Edi- tor of the Transcript: — Enclosed I send you a copy of a letter written in 1841, by Mr. D. Greenleaf of Quincy, to Mr. J. T. Ilayward, which accidentally came into my pos- session a short time since. It has occurred to me that there are some facts relating to the local history of Boston, that are to be found in the letter, which are new, and per- haps many would be interested by their publication. You can make such use of the letter as you deem best. — A. M. H. " Gleaner " Articles. 71 QuiNCT, October, 1841. My dear Sik:— I have read with pleasure Col. Perkins's remiaiscences, and am glad he has rescued so many things from oblivion ; but as I am a few years in advance of our friend, I can look a little farther back, and rectify a few mistakes he has inad- vertently made, and add something to the catalogue. 1st. Of the lower floor of the Town House — the two small offices — one was the ofnce of the Superior Court, Charles Gushing, Clerk ; the other for the Court of Sessions and Common Pleas, Eze- kiel Price, clerk — both offices very shallow, being no deeper than the width of the. stairs leading to the Council Chambci-. At the time he speaks of there was neither Senate or Governor, nor till 1780, when the State Constitution was adopted, and Gov- ernor Hancock elected. 2d. The Declaration of Independence was read by William Greenleaf (my father) , then sheriff. Henderson was not sheriff till some years after. My father was so proud of that proclamation that he had the paper from which he read it framed and glassed, and it hung over his parlor fireplace as long as he was a house- keeper. As his voice was rather weak, he requested Colonel Crafts to act as his her- ald ; they stood together at the front of the balcony, and my father read a sentence, which was immediately repeated by Crafts, and so continued to the end, when was the huzza, as mentioned. There was an engine-house under the south-east corner. The lion and unicorn were burnt on the evening of the declaration on a bonfire, in front of the Bunch of Grapes, as were the king's arms from the Court-House, and all signs bearing emblems of royalty that could be found. Ezekiel Price kept an insurance office before either Payne or Hurd, — I think in a building belonging to Col. P.'s father. I remember a Tory oration delivei-ed from the balcony of the British coffee-house, by a surgeon of a British Regiment (Doct. Bolton). It was meant to ridicule the 5th of March orations, and was delivered immediatel}' after Mr. Hancock's or Dr. War- ren's second oration, and was a low, vulgar abuse of the Whig patriots of that day. The mainguard was paraded in front with fixed bayonets, and the music sounded a grand chorus at the end of it. It was printed, and I had a copy till I removed to Quincy, when I gave it, with some other political pamphlets, to Rev. John Elliott, D.D., for the Massachusetts Historical Society. The first Custom-House under the U. S. Government was in a building which makes the west side of the Exchange. The east side Avas Mr. Coburn's; but there was a Custom-House before under the State government, and James Lord was the Collector. It was opposite the south-east corner of Faneuil Hall. Long wharf was commenced in 1710. North Battery wharf formerly belonged to the Town of Boston, and was sold to Jeffrey & Russell, and by them to Mr. Lyman. Brattle-street Church was built in 1772. The Old North Church was pulled down during the siege for fuel, as was the wooden fence round the Common. The Common lay open until the peace took place in 1783 or 1784; a subscription was then raised to replace it. Dr. Oliver Smith being the promoter of it. I lately (say wihiin five or six years) saw a paper printed in 1784, containing a list of the subscribers, — I think 234. I examined this list, and made out seven then living, — Capt. Barnard, Perez Morton, Thomas L. Winthrop ; Jos. May and Joseph Woodward are since dead ; and I believe Mr. John Marston and myself are the only survivors whose names were on the list. The Latin School, in School street, was kept by John Lord, the father of James, who was usher under his father, but never was principal. The father and son were of different politics ; the father was chosen one of the Mandamus Councillors, and the sou carried off a prisoner by the British in 1776, and confined some time in Halifax. When exchanged, he was sent member to Congress from Massachusetts. He delivered the oration in commemoration of the 5th of March. There was before the war a Latin School kept at the North End by Master Hunt. In addition to the taverns named by Col. P., I remember the Mitre Coffee House, at the North End, Greeu Dragon, Union Street, Yankee Hero, and General Wolf, Wing's lane (now Elm street), a large tavern 72 City Document No. 105. at the foot of Brattle street, kept by a Mr. Cooper, afterwards by Mr. King-, and the George tavern, on the neck, and several others of less note. There was a large reservoir for water, called the liat conduit, between the foot of Elm street and the old building corner of Ann street, I think about 12 feet square, covered with planlc, and raised about 2h feet in the centre, and sloping both sides to within 6 inches of the paving ; and on Saturdays this platform was a meal-market. If a sudden rain came on, the bags of meal (by my permission) were brought into my store for shelter. The town dock then came up on the north side of Faneuil Hall, a little above Mr. Faxon's store ; but the passage to it was so narrow at the foot of Merchant's row, that a swing bridge was placed there for the convenience of passengers to the north — the basin inside forming an octagon, and was generally filled by oystermen and Connecti- cut coasters. The fish-stalls were at the head of the dock. D. G. Mr. J. T. Hay WARD. "Gleaner" Articles. 73 XXV. SOUTHACK'S TWO-ACRE PASTURE AND TANYARD. August 14, 1S55. Mr. Editor : — On Saturday last I was left at the Revere, tak- ing some refreshment, after our various excursions ; and then, after eating a little "gingerbread," I started off with renewed strength and spirits. Having previous!}' visited some other of our city churches, I thought I would now look in upon one which stands on almost the extreme south end of Bulflnch's pasture (as the Revere does at its north end) . This pasture extended a few feet south of the south side of Ashburton place, so that it includes the whole front of the houses of W. T. Andrews and J. M. Beebe, to the average depth of 14 feet. The east line of the Mt. Vernon Con- gregational Church estate coincides exactly with the east line of this pasture, but on the west a small purchase was made from the Bowdoin estate. There are few more eloquent preachers than the Rev. Edward N. Kirk, and he is duly appreciated by a numerous and attentive congregation. In the summer season, so many of our citizens, especially as it happens among the Unitarian and Epis- copal societies, retire into the country, that the churches of those denominations, if opened at all, present a clear case of only " two or three gathered together." Thus, out of 148 families belonging to King's Chapel, all are now absent except 12, But it is far otherwise with Dr. Kirk's society. Bulflnch's pasture is truly admirably represented at both ends. It makes adequate provision alike for physical and spiritual wants. This pasture, as we have seen, after extending northerly 118 feet, made a jog outwards of 23 feet. Both these lines were on the estate of Cotton or Sewall, since of the late Gardiner Greene, who owned through- to Tremont street a tract of land embracing the largest part of Pemberton square. Proceeding again northerly, the east line of Bulflnch's pasture is on land of Cyprian SonthacJc, or more recently, of John Bowers, of Somerset. Accordingly, we find that Howard street was ancienth^ named SouthacJc's court, for the former, and Somerset street was so named by the latter. This estate (next east of Bulflnch's pasture) contained two 74 City Document No. 105. acres. la the " Book of Possessions" is, P^dward Bendall, p. 53, another house and garden, together with two acres of land adjoin- ing, bounded on Sudbury street (i.e., Tremont street) east; Robert Mears north ; John Cotton south and west. Bendall sells to David Yeale, 1645 (Suffolk, L. 2, f. 48), whose attorney's convey to the use of Capt. John Wall, 1653 (ib.). He died 1670, and his heirs, in 1678, convey to Edward Shippen (Suffolk, L. 11, f. 195). Shippen sells off to Beuj. Fitch, 1702 (L. 38, f. 56), a certain tan- yard and land, bounded north on the highway leading to the Bowl- ing Green (i.e., Court street), 48 feet by 156 feet deep. He sells to Andrew Mariner the next westerly lot, 48 feet on said street, 1691 (15, f. 167), and in 1702 sells all the residue to Cyprian Southack (Suffolk, Lib. 21, f. 14) : " All that messuage, contain- ing two acres, more or less, bounded on Sudbury street (i.e., Tre- mont street) east ; on laud now or late of Sewall, south ; on land now or late of Samuel Lyude (i.e., Bulfinch's pasture) west; and north on the way leading by the soutli side of the Bowling Green ; excepting therefrom the lots sold Mariner and the tanyard in the occupation of Russell." Southack sells off to Jonathan Armitage, 1718 (Suffolk, 33, f. 51), the remaining or westerly lot, 74 feet on Court street by 200 feet on the west line, so that this pasture measured 1 70 feet on Court street ; and he granted him a right in a new highway, 27 feet wide, laid out south of these lots, 1720 (Suffolk, L. 35, f. 51). This was Howard street. Southack's pasture, south of Howard street, was of an L shape, bounded north on that street 141 feet, west on Bulfinch's pasture 440 feet, south on Cotton or Sewall about 614 feet, east on Tremont row 103.3, then north on Robert Mear»' possession, and east on other lands. Various changes of these boundaries were subsequently made. John Bowers bought, 1799-1800, a tract extending about 62 feet west of Somerset street, and 147 feet east of it ; and a large portion, therefore, of his lands was wholly east of Southack's pasture. The most easterly of Bowers' lots was the Howard Athenaeum. The rear wall of that estate is an embankment of at least 40 feet in height, showing the difference of level between it and the north estates on Pemberton square. The lots on both sides of Somerset street, from Howard street to the range of the north line of the estates on the north side of Ashburton place, are held under deeds from Bowers. On the east side of this street stands a block of two houses, built by Ebenezer Francis, Esq. (to which a third has been latel}' added). The northerly of these houses belongs to Dr. Charles T. Jackson, who recently received from the Sultan "Gleanee" Articles. 75 a aecoration for the ether discovery. [It would seem that the Sultaa had not heard of one Dr. Morton, whose office is in Tremont row.] The southerly house in this block has also had some distinguished tenants. It was first occupied by the late Uriah Cotting, who, in the construction of India wharf and Central wharf. Broad street, and Cornhill, etc., etc., and especially by the stupendous enterprise of the Mill-dam or Western avenue, evinced an almost incredible genius, activity, and energ}'. His services, indeed, seem to be forgotten by the present generation. His very name is scarcely preserved except by his tombstone in the Granary Burying-ground. But our local historians, through coming ages, as the future shall more and more develop the results of his improvements, will grate- fully recognize his claims as the Chief Benefactor of Boston. Sub- sequently to his death this house was occupied by our fellow- citizen, William Ropes, a distinguished Russia merchant, whose vigoi'ous old age still shames the degenerate manhood of many who are half a century younger than himself.^' Daniel Webster became its tenant while he was in the full maturity of his glorious powers, before disappointment had darkened around him, and before he had ever uttered a word or done an act as a statesman which any of those hearts that most honored him could have wished unsaid or undone. Having been one of his warmest admirers, I will not say more than this of the dead ; yet, believing that but for him the fugitive slave law — that accursed torch of civil dissension ! — would not now be throwing its lurid glare abroad through our land, I cannot say less. Abbott Lawrence next occu- pied this mansion, one whose entire career, both public and private, has reflected so much honor on our city, our country, and our age ; and whose precarious health, at this very moment, awakens such intense solicitude among ourselves, and has brought back echoes of regret from the other side of the Atlantic.*'^ The Rev. Ephraim Peabody, of the King's Chapel, one of the most estimable and popular of our city clergymen, for several years resided here, and between these two last occupants came your humble servant. It was the home of all the early years of my married life, the spot where all my professional " gleanings " were used Mj9 in " family expenses." I have always felt proud of having made one in so goodly a company. But I trust that I have ever 2i\Viliam Ropes died March 11, 1869.— AV. H. W. S2 Abbott Lawrence died August 18, 1835. — W. H. W. 76 City Docuiment No. 105. cherished a proper humility. Some years since the late Sheriff Smnmer, father of our distinguished senator, delivered a lecture on the duties of " Sheriff." He remarked that in England the holder of that office was entitled to the appellation of " High" ; '' but," added he, demurely making a meek bow to his audience, and placing his hand on his heart, " it is not so in this country, and, in one instance at least, that title of honor is entirely declined." I would withdraw in an equally modest manner on the present occa- sion. Gleanek. "Gleaner" Articles. 77 XXVI. REMINISCENCES OF SOMERSET STREET. August 15, 1S53. Mr. Editor : — Having finished my call at my own domicile, we will look in for a moment at the next door. One of the lots of the Bowers' estate, on which stand three new brick dwellings, directly opposite the east end of Allston street, measured 80 feet on Somer- set street, and extended back over 215 feet on the south line. It was about thirty 3'ears the residence of Ebenezer Francis, who also purchased the adjoining mansion house of the late James Lloyd, south of it. On the rear of these lands (with some changes of boundary lines) stand his present mansion house at the north end of Pemberton square, and the two next houses on its west side. With the exception of these three estates all the lots in that square, and also all back of the same from Tremoijt row to Somer- set street, are held under deeds of Patrick T. Jackson. On Mr. Francis' old mansion-house estate, at the corner corresponding with part of No. 10 Pemberton square, now occupied by R. M. Mason, Esq., stood a summer-house, on the very apex of the hill, seventy feet above even its present high level. The prospect from this building was one of ver}' great extent, and of the most varied beauty. Charlestown, and many an inland town besides, were in full view towards the north and west, while in front la}- spread out before the spectator the thronged streets of the city, the masts of its shipping, the harbor dotted with its graceful islands, and bej'ond, in the extreme distance, might be seen Nahant, etc. Mr. Webster, Avhile teoant of the adjoining estate, from time to time came here to gaze on this magnificent panorama. ^^ On one occasion he had some friends at dinner, and was desirous that they should participate in this pleasure. Accordingly, the little ** It may be well to note here that I possess a large painting, by Salmon, represent- ing this view, executed early in the present century. The stand-point is apparently on Sandy Hill, about on the line where Ashburton place now is, and in the immediate fore- ground is a summei'-house, which I presume to be the one mentioned in the text. Aa engraving was given in the " Memorial History of Boston," issued by J. E. Osgood & Co., as the frontispiece to Vol. IV. —W. H. W. 78 City Document No. 105. gate was opened (the erection of whieli had been permitted for these visits) and a procession appeared, headed by a servant bear- ing a waiter with refreshments, and followed by Mr. Webster and his guests. It so happened that on that day a feather-bed had been taken to the sutumer-house to be opened and readjusted, and the process being in full operation at noon, the building had been left by the servants. Il ivas, of course^ noio found to he. pre- viously occupied by an assemblage of feathers, which, aided by a high wind, at once flew out to welcome their visitors. This unexpected reception was a source of much merriment. Chairs and a table were placed in the open air, and I have no doubt that both host and guests found new inspiration from the beauties of this glorious dining-room. To those who remember these estates as they then stood, the present neat and elegant buildings, and the quiet square which they surround, seem but a poor aud paltry substitute. The excavations made throughout this purchase by Mr. Jackson and his associates were absolutely frightful. The estate of Mr. Francis, towering up to such a height next to them, of course could not but greatly en- danger any buildings which might be erected beneath it ; and, indeed, it could not itself any longer be used with safety. So the summer-house passed away. When I was in college I had petitioned at the close of my junior year for a room in Holworthy, instead of which I obtained one directly opposite to that which I already occupied. I was quizzed by a classmate, who suggested, as a consolation, the ease with which one of the " goodies " could remove my effects across the entry. An almost equally short and easy removal awaited me in after years as a householder ; since, on ceasing to occupy the man- sion of ' ' glorious antecedents ' ' in Somerset street, I was trans- ferred to, and still remain a tenant-at-will of, one of the new domi- ciles''* under, or nearly under, that ancient summer-house. Gleaner. 2* Mr. Bowditch lived at No. 9 Pembertoa square, the most northerly house on the west side. — W.H.W. Gleaner" Akticlks. 79 XXVII. ANCIENT AND MODERN LAW. August 16, 1855. Mu. Editor : — The lower portion of Soutback's pasture was known as Valley acre. Thas a deed of the Cotton, or Greene estate, after bounding north 311 feet back from Tremont street, continues the line 2^ b feet further on the land formerly of Cyprian Southack, now of Mr. John Tyng, or Valley acre, A.D. 1758 (Suff., L. 92, f. 52). Mr. Drake somewhere speaks of Valley «cre as iden- tical with or part of Pemherton square, which is like speaking of Mt. Tom or Mt, Washington as a valley. The lots of Mr. Bowers were probably measured by a line along the rising surface of Somerset street, and, of course, fell short. A suit arose for a gore of land under a deed which wont 100 feet from Howard street " till it comes to the wall of a brick stable." The case was opened by Rufus G. Amory, Esq., for demandant. Chief Justice Parsons said, " Is the land sued for beyond the stable?" — " Yes, Your Honor." — " Well, then, gentlemen of the jury, you must bring in your verdict for the tenant." — " But, Your Honor, I wish to argue the point." — "I cannot hear any argument: monuments govern measurements. Call the next jury." The same principle, thus promptly announced, has just been ap- plied to another estate which happened to belong to the same party. But there is a marked difference between the two decisions. This last case ( " Curtis vs. Francis" ) was in court from 1839 to 1855, and the point decided is, that tinder the ride nf '■'■ monuments govern- ing measurements,^^ a straight line in a deed nay be broken off in the middle and one part detached from the other, even to the distance of 40 feet, said detached part thence to continue in a direction vary- ing 15 degrees from the course at the commencement. The line in Curtis vs. Francis began on Sea street, " at the south-west corner of Capen & Drake's wharf, and from said corner running in a direction of about, south, GO degrees east, bounded north on Capen & Drake's wharf and fats to the channel or low- water mark." Now, to common apprehension, this seems to be one continuous line from street to channel. And in a previous case ( Dawes vs. 80 CiTT Document No. 105. Prentice ), where the language was, " from Purchase street to the capsill of the wharf, about 114 feet, and from thence to run down to low- water mark," the Court say, " There is no change of course indicated, and the construction must be that the line below the vjharf is to run the same course as the line of the loharf." And here again, to common apprehension, seems a decision perfectly in accordance with the natural construction which first suggests itself to the reader's mind. The Court, however, in Curtis vs. Francis, in efiect sa}-, " It is true that Drake's wharf is a monument as far as it goes ; but then Drake's flats become a monument, and it appears to us that Drake and his neighbor mistook their lines of flats ; though the deed in question therefore shall be deemed to convey a gore of flats, which we really think belonged to Drake, outside of his wharf, because the deed runs by the wharf ; yet, when the wharf ends, the line shall be deemed to hop off to what we consider the true line of Drake's flats, and thence run by that monument to the channel." These ancient grantors and grantees would, I think, be very much surprised if they knew that their one straight line had thus been transformed ; and this, too, by the application of one of the soundest rules of judicial construction. It would, almost^ seem that, while the first case was decided rightly in fifteen minutes, the last one has been decided wrongly in fifteen years. Gleaner. "Gleaner" Articles. 81 XXVIII. THE SPRING HOUSE, August 17, 1855. Mr. Editor : — At the last advices I had fallen into some tan vats which I found on Court street, 122 feet east of Bulfinch street, and which extended 48 feet on that street. Escaping without any serious injury, I rearranged my toilette in some small lots of about 137 feet on Court street, and from 50 to 60 feet deep, reaching to Stoddard's lane or street. All the lands east and south of this range of lots (extending to Tremont row, and on both sides of Howard street ) became, in very early times, united in Simon Lynde, who thus unexpectedly turns up again. The extreme cor- ner of Tremont row and Court street was bought by him of Thomas Boyden and Hannah, his wife, in 16G2 ( Suflblk, L. 4, f. 61 ) , bounded on said Lynde south, on Sudbury lane east and north. Now, Robert Howen was an original possessor, and we find deeds of John andlsrael Howen to said Lynde, 1662, 1663 ( Suff. , L. 4, f . 71 and 141 ), conveying two-thirds and one-third of "all that land and ground late of my mother, Elizabeth Howen, containing half an acre, bounded with Robert Mears south, and some part of it with the street ( i.e., Tremont street ) easterly and eastwardly, north and west with the house where said Simon now dwelleth, also a corner bounded, west with the land in occupation of Governor Endi- cott." We thus learn where to call on His Excellency. Ljmde died in 1687, and we find a deed of Nathaniel Newgate, or Newdigate, and Sarah, his wife ( a daughter of said Lynde ) , con- veying, in 1694, this corner estate as messuage known by the name of ^'■The Spring House." So that The Spring Hotel, at Watertown, had an ancient predecessor in Boston. Hannah, the only daughter of Mrs. Pordage,''" married James Bowdoin, and in 1 748 an indenture was made to bar an entail of the part of said lands south of Howard street, and east of Southack's pasture [i.e., '^ George Portage, or Pordagc, raaiTiecl Elizabeth, daughter of Simon Lynde, who was thus an heir to part of the estate. Their daughter Hannah married James Bowdoia, senr., father of Governor Bowdoia. — W. H. W. 82 City Document No. 105. from the centre of Somerset street to Tremont street ] . It is from this source that Bowers got his title to the Howard Athenaeum lot, etc. The large estate east of the Howard Athenaeum, measuring 154 feet on Howard street, and 74 feet on Tremont street, was, in 1779, contracted to be conveyed to Ellis Graj', who died (see Suffolk, L. 148, f. 52) , and became the property of Theodore Lyman, Senior, in 1785 (L. 154, fol. 121). This lot was designed to have been used by the Brattle Street Society for their church ; but, by the present of a bell. Governor Hancock induced them to rebuild on the old site. The brick block on Tremont street presents now a very dif- ferent aspect from the beautiful green yard or lawn which originally extended in front of Mr. Lyman's mansion. Next south of this comes a lot 85 feet on Tremont street (by 28 feet 6 inches on the south line) , which is held under the possession of Robert Mears. Mr. Mears died in 1667, devising his land " as adjoining to the grounds of the late Governor End! cott." Part of these lauds, in 1709, gets into one John Stayiifurd (Suffolk, L. 24, f. 146, 226) [who, it appears, was not contented with the six acres he had bought from Bowdoin square to Chambers street]. He sells to the Rev. Henry Harris, 1 763 (Suffolk, L. 37, f. 92), whose executors sell, in 1734, to James Pemherton (L. 48, f. 299), in whose family the same remained for half a century, and whose name now flourishes in Pemherton square. Another part of Mears' lands is traced through Hodges, Ellis Gray, Colman, etc., to Dr. Samuel Danforth, 1785 (Suff., L. 154, f. 136). We have seen that Southack's pasture came out on Tremont row, with a front of 103 feet, next south of Robert Mears. This front part, 313 feet deep on Cotton or Sewall,"" he sold off to John Jekyll in 1724 (L. 38, f. 98), and by deed of Jekyll's heirs it became vested in Dr. James Lloyd by deed in 1768 (L. 114, f. 137) , which volume being now lost, it was again recorded in 1827 (L. 315, f. 273). Having thus called upon all his neighbors, the Rev. John Cotton, the spiritual father of Boston, will have reason to feel hurt if we do not pay him an early visit. Gleaner. *» At this point Mr. Bowditch brings the titles of the northerly half of the hill in contact with those traced on the southerly part. The Cotton or Sewall lot is traced in a subsequent article to this point. When Sewall's property was sold by his heirs to William Vassall, in 1758 (Suff., Lib. 92, f. 52), the lines were north on the heirs of John Jekyll 311 feet, and of Capt. Cyprian Southac (then John Tj'ug,) on Valley Achor 295 feet, and heirs of Biilfinch 20 feet, the whole line from Treamount street up tn and across Valley Achor bping 623 feet, etc. — W". II. W. "Gleaner" ARriCLES. 83 XXIX. "VALLEY ACRE." August 18, 1853. Mr. Editor : — M}' attention has been called to an article * in the " Transcript" of yesterda}-, signed " Valley Acre." That name of course indicates a region at the base of a hill. The line of 311 feet from Treraont street, mentioned in the deed to which I refer as locating it, extends several feet west of the houses on the west side of Pemherton square, — there begins the 295 feet boundary on Valley acre. This last-mentioned line extends to a point about 20 feet east of the church in Ashburton place. Valley acre, therefore, embraced the lands on both sides of Somerset street, to Bulfinch street, etc., and extends down the Mil to the low ground on Court street. This maj^ not be " far from the present northern termination of the iron fence in Pemberton square ; " but the very definitencss of that landmark seems to place Valley acre on the top of the hill, in- stead of at and near its base, and, as I thought, justified my allusion to a valley being located on the summit of Mount Tom or Mount Washington. Gleaner. *7'o the Editor of the Transcript : —As j'ou ai'e disposed to set all little historical mattera I'ight, I beg you will request Mr. " Gleaner " to set his readers right in respect to what is said in the Ilistoiy and Antiquities of Boston about " Valley acre." The readei's of his article in the " Transcript " of to-day (16th August) may be disposed, from his statement, to think that the author of the Ilistorj-- has made some important blunder in locating the place in question, while he does not locate it himself. Now, if you or your readers, and " Gleaner," too, will turn to page 593 of the Ilistoiy, the following definite statement will be found respecting " Valley acre " : " Valley acre, as appears fi.'om an earlj'map of the town, was adjacent to a spur of Beacon Hill, which extended north-easterly from the main hill, terminating abruptly not far from the present northern termination of the iron fence in Pemberton square." It may be as difficult for any one to imagine what this can have to do with Mount Tom or Mount Washington as it was for " Gleaner " to locate Vallkt Acre. [Note. This was Mr. S . G. Drake. — W. H. W.] 84 City Document No. 105, XXX. COTTON HILL. August 20, 1S55. Mr. Editor : — Tu the Book of Possessions, p. 9, is " Mr. .John Cotton, 1 house and garden and about hcAlf an acre with an acre adjoining, bounded with Sudbury streete {i.e., Tremout row) east, Edward Bendall north, the Centerie Hill west, Mr. BeUlngharn and Daniel Maud south." Beudall was, as we have seen, the predecessor of Cyprian SoutJiach. This possession of an aci'e and a half in the very heart of the town was a noble allotment to its first citizen, — one from whose place of residence in England our city derives its name. It does not savor of the small salaries sometimes so grudgingly paid to their pastors by our smaller towns. Looking directly down Queen street, or Court street (which, not- withstanding its later glories, for mau}^ a long year was known as. Prison lane, from the prison standing where the Court-tlouse does now) , it rose to a great height, forming a sort of outpost to Beacon Hill. It soon acquired the name of Cotton Hill. Mr. Cotton died, and by will, proved January 27, 1652-3, he says, " and because the south part of my house, which Sir Henry Vane built whilst he sojourned with me, he by a deed gave it at his departure to my sou Seaborne, I doe yrefore leave it unto him as his by right," etc. He also speaks of his wife's " house and garden in the market-place in Boston in Lincolnshire." This item does not, however, come within my present investigations. If his wife and children die without heirs, " or if they shall transplant themselves from hence into Old England, then my will is, and I give the farm at Muddy River one-half to the College, one-half to the Church." It seems that beside his son Seaborne (quaintly so named from his place of birth) he left as devisees, Sarah, wife of Richard Mather, INIariah, wife of Increase Mather, and John Cotton, who, in 1GG4, confirmed this devise to Seaborne (Suff., 6, f. 233), and he sells this part to John Hull (Suffolk, 6, f. 226). Their original parchment deed is in my possession, — the recent gift of my friend Hon. James Savage. He doubtless thinks, " good, easy man "— "Gleaner" Articles. 85 that if I die first it is to revert to him,*^ but I shall instruct my heirs to hold on. In 1677, Nicholas Paige bought out the residue of the estate (Suffolk, 10, 107 and 108), bounded north in part on Simon Lynde {i.e., Bulfinch's Pasture), and in part on the Jiouse and land where Governor Endicolt last dwelt, and in 1G82 this also was bought by Mr. Hull (L. 12, f. 210). So the mint-master suc- ceeded the clergyman : here being another quite respectable invest- ment of his surplus " shillings " before mentioned. This last deed bounds north on Lynde in part, and in part on " tlie land of Edward Shippen, formerly the dwelling-place of Governor Endicott." Now, Shfppen was owner of Southack's two-acre pasture. So we have incidentally made sure of the exact domicile of the governor, having, as it were, "shot him flying." Hull died 1G83, and the division in 1684 embraced " the lands in Boston, formerly Mr. Cotton's, at Cotton Hill, commonly so called, with all the buildings that now [are] or shall be erected thereon" (L. 13, f. 92). By this instrument, the premises, after the death of Hull's only daughter, Hannah, wife of Samuel Sewall, are set- tled on her issue. Richard Bellingham's possession, p. 5, is "also a garden lot, bounded on Mr. John Cotton and Daniel Maud north, the high- way east, John Coggan south." He died 1672. His only son and heir, Samuel, being about to marry Elizabeth Savage, widow, made a marriage settlement by deed to John Shelton and Edward Hull, 1G95, and said Elizabeth appoints to said Samuel Sewall in 1697 (Suff., 14, f. 439), " a piece or parcel of land, being on the side of a hill adjoining to a hill formerly belonging to Mr. Cotton." It is described as about half an acre, and is bounded north on said Sewall, east on said Sewall, and in part on land belonging to the First Church, etc. This I suppose to be one of the most venerable marriage settlements on our records. Samuel Sewall survived his wife Hannah, and died in 1729, and under division deeds (L. 45, f. 183), the premises came to his daughter Judith, wife of William Cooper, and after her death were conveyed to William Vassal, 1758 (L. 91, f. 76). In 1790 Patrick Jeffrey became owner. He married Madam Haley, widow of Alderman Haley of London, and sister of the celebrated patriot or demagogue, John Wilkes. A cabinet or secretary, and various articles of plate, formei'l}^ of Madam Haley, with the Wilkes *' Mr. Bowditch died first, April 16, 1861, aged fifty-six. His friend, James Savage, the venerable antiquary, thougli twenty-one years his senior, lived twelve years longer, dying March 8, 1873, aged nearly eighty-nine years. — W. H. W. 86 City Document No. 105. arms, were purchased at the sale of Mr. Jeffrey's effects by Ebenezer Francis, Esq. Her occupation of this estate was in a style of splendor of equipage, and of living, etc., utterl}' at vari- ance with the puritanic austerity of its first possessor, or the simple dignity of his noble guest, who, having served his country with a self-devotion lilie that of the Regicides, lilse them died a martyr in her cause, by suffering a traitofs death. Gleaner. "Gleaner" Articles. 87 XXXI. COTTON HILL. — (Continued.) August 21, 1855. Mr. Editor : — Rich widows who marry young husbands too often find their hearts grow heavier and their purses lighter. Such was the experience of Madam Haley, who was worth 70,000 guineas when she became Mrs. Jeffrey. She returned to England, and died there in her husband's lifetime. He remained in America. He was, I believe, a brother of the celebrated Scotch reviewer. There is a form of conveyance well-known to the English law, called "Lease and Release," where a lease is first made for one year, and then the fee simple is released. A very large number of valuable estates in Boston and elsewhere, bought with Mrs. JeflTrey's money, were thus conveyed, and simultaneously the same were re- conveyed, so as to vest the titles in him and his wife, and the survivor. This is the chief, and, indeed, almost the only instance that I remember in our records, of this roundabout way of etfecting what is more simply done by our common deed. Survivorship be- tween husband and wife ensures a salutary control over the issue of the marriage, and makes it certain that the wife surviving shall have her own again. This circumstance satisfied me that Mr. Jeffrey was a man of honor. I have known the wife's estates so conveyed as to shift the fee directly into the husband, in which case the wife would only get dower in her own lands. This arrangement never appeared to me to be a striking proof of disin- terested affection.* Patrick Jeffrey, in 1801, conveyed to the town a strip of his land*' taken for Somerset street, which was extended to Beacon street (Suff., L. 277, f. 297), and then for §36,000 conveyed this estate * [See the note at the end of this article. — W. H. W.] *^ It seems proper to premise here that William Vassall, who was the purchaser of the Sewall lot, was a Mandamus Councillor and refugee. In 1787 (Suff., Lib. 169, f. 270) he sold this estate to his nephew, Leonard Vassall Borland, of Boston, for £4,000. This sale seems to have been illegal, and in 1790 (Suff., T>. 179, f. 241) John Lowell, as attorney for William Vassall, sold the property to Patrick Jeffrey. The exact bounds will be mentioned later. — W. H. W. 88 City Document No. 105. to Jonathan Mason, 1802 (L. 203, f. 32), back to Somerset street. The portion west of Somerset street, i.e., back to Bulfinch's pasture, or the church, he sold for S12,000 to Asa Hammond, 1804 (L. 210, f. 138). Mr, Mason conveyed for $41,000 to Gardiner Greene, in 1803 (L. 205, f. 252). And now the original splendors of the estate seem to return. For nearly thirty years it remained the mansion of Mr. Greene, the wealtliiest citizen of his day, one who held high public and private trusts, and was conspicuous for his intelligence, integrit}', and good judgment. The house had no remarkable architectural pretensions of any kind ; but the natural beauties of the site, improved by taste and art, made it altogether the most splendid private residence in the city. Some of the most agreeable reminiscences are associated with the elegant festivities of that old mansion. Belonging to one of our first families, Mr. Greene, connected himself hy marriage with others equally distinguished. One wife was a sister of the late John Hubbard ; another (his widow, still living among us) is a sister of Lord Lyndhurst, formerly Lord Chancellor of Great Britain. The son of the celebi-ated artist, Cople}', and a Boston boy, he gained for himself entrance into the peerage, and attained the highest of judicial honors. He is still living,^® the Neator of the House of Lords, taking an active part in public affairs. No one could have said with more truth than himself, what was said by a distinguished predecessor on the Woolsack, when repelling what he deemed an insult : "As presiding officer of this House, as keeper of His Majesty's conscience, as Lord High Chancellor of the realm, I feel myself as respectable, aye, and as much respected, as the proudest peer I look yiow down upon." Only a year or two since Lord Lyndhurst instituted inquiries as to the operation of the system of Registry of Deeds in Massachusetts and New York, with a view to its introduction into England. His autograph note, ex- pressing his satisfaction with the answers which I prepared to his questions, I value far more than any professional fee that I ever received. The west line of Cotton's estate coincides with the east line of Bulfinch's pasture, i.e., of the Church estate in Ashburton place. Its north line ran G30 feet in a straight course to Tremont row, in- cluding the house-lots on the north side of Ashburton place, and '^ John Singleton Copley, born at Boston, May 21, 1772, was the son of the distin- guished artist of the same name. He was Lord Chancellor, 1827-1S30. He was twice married, but left only daughters at his decease, Oct. 12, 1863. His sister, Mra. Greene, died Feb. 1, 1866, aged 95, leaving numerous descendants. — W. H. W. " Gleaner " Articles. 89 the whole central portion of Pemberton square, embracing the fronts of all the houses on its west side, south of Mr. Francis' lands, and corresponding portions of the houses on its east side, both north and south of the entrance from Tremont row. Cotton's estate (with Bellingham's united'" in the Sewall family), measured east on Tremont row 163 feet, or nearly to the south line of the present entrance to the square. It had various jogs outward on its southerly line, great!}' enlarging its contents, adding perhaps 90 feet more to its average width, for a depth of over 300 feet. The possession of Daniel Maud, measuring 137 feet on Tremont row, by about an average depth of 80 feet, was also bought by Mr. Greene. Hezekiah Usher sold it to Thomas Scotto, 164:5 (L. 2, f. 193), " bounded west and north on Mr. John Cotton." It passed through Leblond, Erving, Brimmer, Bowdoin, Waldo, Walcott, Winthrop, and was conveyed to Mr. Greene for $31,000 in 1824 (L. 293, f. 196). This gave Mr. Greene in all a front of 300 feet on Tremont row. He died in 1832, and his 90,000 feet of land are appraised at $142,000, say at $70,000 per acre. ^° This phrase is a little obscure. In his next article Bowditch seems to trace all of 'EeWmgham's front lots without touching Hull or Sewall. Probably he refers to the fact that Sewall bought part of BcUiagham's back lot, Oct. 11, 1697 (Lib. U, f. 439). It was adjoining to the hill formerly belonging to John Cotton, and was bounded north by Sewall; east partly by Sewall, and partly by land belonging to the First Church, now occupied by Mr. John Bajdey ; south by land lately of Humphrey Davie, and west by land lately of Capt. John Wing. It was about half an acre. — W. H. W. MADAM HALEY. August 23, 1855. Mr. Editor: — Your careful correspondent, and my veiy good fi-iend, "Gleanei-," is mistaken in his opinion that Patrick Jeffrey, the second husband of Madam Haley, was a brother of Francis Jeffrej-, the Scotch reviewer. Francis Je'ffroy was the son of George Jeffrey and Henrietta, daughter of John Loudoun. Their children were Margaret, Maiy, Francis, .John, and Marion.* John came to Boston, and joined his mercantile uncle Patrick, who became the husband of Madame Ilalcj'. f The maiden name of Madam Haley was Wilkes. She was the sister of the celebrated John Wilkes, of the North Briton, f My mother was an intimate friend of this lady, during her halcyon days as Madam Haley, and for some time after she became the victimized wife of Patrick Jeffrey, who treated her with great brutality, and to escape from whose persecution she finally returned, in comparative poverty, to England. There is a sequel to the history of this unhappy lady's residence here, which I have heard related more than once in our family circle, and which I suppose may be relied upon as correct. * Cockburn's Life of Lord Jeffrey, Vol. 1, pp. 1 and 2. tibid., p.50. 90 City Document No. 105. Pemberton square was laid out iu 1835, just twentj' years ago. Had it beeu named Cotton place, for the old clergyman, it would have been thought that Mr. Jackson so named it because it was a distinguished manufacture}-. If called Vane place, that name, Mrs. Haley had a dauglitcr, who, against her mother's wishes, became affianced, and, in disregard of her menaces of repudiation, ultimately married to a physician of Boston named Brown. If I do not niisremember, he had been a pupil of Dr. John Jeffries. lie was quite respectaljle, but obscure and penniless. He had, I believe, ac- quired considerable notoriety bj' a dissertation on yellow fever. After his marriage, Madam Haley kept her word, and obstinately refused to have any commerce with the daughter of her husband. They finally settled in London, where he became very respectably established in good practice. It must be here stated that the second marriage of his sister was exceedingly oifensive to John Wilkes, and he was said to have expressed himself with intemperate severity, and even with bitterness, in regard to her and Mr. Patrick Jetfrcy. Unable to bear any longer the harsh and ungrateful usage of a brutal husband, whose promises to love and to cherish had less refcrcuce to her person than to her property, ISIadam Haley returned to England. On her arrival in London she instantly repaired to the house of her brother, Mr. Wilkes, and sent in word by the servant that his sister, Mrs. Jell'rey, was at the door. After some delay, a chilling message was delivered : " Mr. Wilkes had once a sister in America, Mrs. Haley, hut he knows nothing of Mrs. Jeffrey." After this cruel repulse she retired to some private lodgings iu the city. There is an old, homely distich — " A son is a son, till he gets him a wife — A daughter, a daughter all tlie daj'S of her life." The imputation "conveyed in the first line I personally know to be false. With a few unnatural exceptions the averment in the second may be true. Ere long the tidings of the mother's arrival reached the ears of Mrs. Brown and her husband. They instantly repaired to the lodgings of this unhappy lady, — not to oppress her brolSi\y north- westerly. Thomas Miller conveyed to said Deane, Maj', 1768 (Lib. 5, f. 249) , 3 acres bounded on the Common south-west, on Richard Cook, Humphrey Davy, and Thomas Brattle north-west, on the highway leading to Richard Cook's north-east [i.e., Joy street], and on said Deane south-westerly. 164 City Document No. 105. These two purchases would seem to be 6 acres, but Tliomas Deane and Ann, his wife, sell the same to James Whetcomb, Feb. 11, 1G72 (Lib. 8, f. 62) as five acres, more or less, bought partly of Truesdale and partly of Miller, bounded south-westerly on the Common, on Cook, Deane, and Brattle north-west, on Francis East west, on the highway from Cook's to the Common north-east- erly. Whetcomb conve3-ed it to "Wm. Hawkins as early as 1678, and Wm. Hawkins and Anna, his wife, conveyed to Ephraim Savage, 1690 (L. 15, f. 46), as " formerly purchased by said Hawkins of James Whetcomb." Ephraim Savage and Elizabeth, his wife, con- veyed to Samuel Sewall, April 2, 1692 (L. 15, f. 183), as five acres, more or less, bounded south on the Common 28 rods 9 feet, west on Francis East 27^ rods, north on Cook, Davie, and Brattle 33 rods, and east on the lane leading to Mr. Cook's 22J- rods. Hon. Samuel Sewall was husband of Hannah, daughter of Hull, the mintmaster. She died, and he mortgaged to Joseph Wads- worth, town treasurer, the west part of this pasture, in 1721 (L. 35, f. 201), to secure an annuity of £5, payable every 2d of April, *' " for the use of the School at the South End of Boston of the upper End of Pond Street so called, whereof Ames Angier is now Writing Master, which School is not far distant from the Place where Mr. John Sanford, a Pious, Skilfull and Prudent man, formerly taught School, and whose Scholar the said Hannah was, and of whom, with Pleasure, she frequently made mention." Lest the residents on Beacon street should feel alarmed as to this rent charge of £5, I will mention that it was released hy the town to his heirs. He married Mary, widow of Robert Gibbs, 1721 (Suffolk, Lib. 36, f. 59), and died seized of this pasture in 1729. This pasture ma}^ be set down as an investment of some of Mr. Hull's " shillings," though not made b}' himself personally. Con- sidering the number of them which Judge Sewall received with his wife, and which made him one of our wealthiest citizens, the donation above mentioned was not, in itself, a munificent endow- ment of our public schools, nor, viewed as a parting tribute of affection to the memory of the wife of his j^outh, when, in his old age, he was just taking another helpmate, can it be considered as involving any very lavish expenditure. Gleaner. 63 We have ventured to give an exact quotation from the original deed, at this place — W. II. W. "Gleaner" Articles. 165 LVIII. strp:ets on paper. October 8, 1855. Mr. Editor: — Judge Samuel Sewall died, as we have seen, in 1729. By the law, as it stood till** the eldest son took a double share. He left three children : Samuel, the eldest son ; Joseph ; Judith, the wife of William Cooper ; and the four children of a deceased daughter, Elizabeth, wife of Grove Hurst, viz. : Mary, wife of William Pepperell, Jr. ; Elizabeth, wife of Charles Chauncy ; Hannah, wife of Nathaniel Balston ; and Jane, wife of Addington Davenport. These heirs selected referees to divide this pasture into lots, and they then drew for a choice, and executed mutual releases (1732) . There was laid out a 35-feet street parallel to Beacon street, and 170 feet north of it, which street extended westerly from Bel- knap street 464 feet. There were also opened two streets run- ning northerly from Beacon street, 25 feet by 170 feet deep. The first of these was 160 feet west of Belknap street, and was called Bishop Stoke street; the other was 160 feet further west, and was called Coventry street. All these streets I consider to have been virtually, perhaps actu- ally, only streets on paper. They had no outlet into other lands, but merely served as access to the several lots into which this past- ure was divided. They have had no existence in fact, for cer- tainly the last 60 years. Part of Bishop Stoke street, indeed, now comes within the lines of Walnut street. " Sewall's elm pasture," which began as six acres and shrunk up to five acres, proved on survey, in 1732, to hold out only 4^ acres. It measured 440 feet on the Common or Beacon street, and thence extended back, the easterly line diverging, and on the north forming a very irregular line on Allen's 16.^-acre pasture (afterwards Wheelwright's, and finally bought b}' the Mt. Vernon "Blank in the oi-iginal. The act of March 9, 1784, continued the old law, in case of intestacy. The act of June 8, 1789, repealed the clause, and made all the childrea share alike after January 1, 1790. The act of March, 12, 1806, and its successors have continued the practice. — W. H. W. 166 CiTT Document No. 105. Proprietors) . Its greatast depth from Beacon street was at about the centre, where it measured 490 feet. Some idea of its general dimensions may be formed by considering that the present square between Beacon, Belknap, Mt. Vernon, and Walnut streets con- stitutes just about the easterly half of this pasture. Without going into the detail of the various deeds of these lots, the general result is, that all west of Wahiut street, as now laid out, gets united in John Singleton Copley, partly by deeds of Dr. Sylvester Gardner, in 1770, and partly by deed of John Williams, in 1773 ; there being intervening deeds by Peter Lucee, 1744 ; Benjamin Bagual, 1744; Hon. John Erving, 1752; Nathaniel Cunningham, 1783,* and his son Nathaniel, 1751. These purchases of Copley included, also, a gore east of Walnut street, which was subsequently conveyed by him, 1800 (194, f. 116), to Dr. John Joy, in whom all the other lots east of Walnut street likewise get united in 1791-1798. Great confusion exists among some of the series of deeds of this easterly moiety of the pasture, and in 1792 a deed was made to said Joy by John Williams, executor, for £100 (L. 171, f. 255), which was a mere pretended title. Some time after Mr. Joy had bought and paid for it, it is said that Mr. Williams asked him if he did not want to pay £100 more for another deed, and on Mr. Joy's asking what he meant, told him that he had still got as much title left as he had originally conveyed. This very deed, however (as affording a distinct basis of a possessory title), became ultimately of great value ; since it quietly cured all informalities and deficiencies in the deeds of the true owners. A fine plan of this estate of Dr. Joy, in 1799, accompanies an indenture recorded Lib. 192, fol. 198. A small gore of land south of Mount Vernon street comes under Allen or Wheelwright. All the residue of Joy's land is fi-om Sewall's pasture. His whole lot finally measured 172 feet on Beacon street, 457 feet 4 inches on Walnut street, 305 feet 1 inch on Mount Vernon street, and 355 feet 3 inches on Joy street, being about 100,000 square feet. Gleaner. * This date is probably a misprint. — W. H. W. "Gleaner" Articles. 167 LIX. CONDITIONS — EAVES. October 11, 1855. Mr. Editor : — Titles to real estate forfeitable by breach of con- dition are by no means uncommon in Boston, being, however, chiefly held under deeds made during the present century. Thus all North and South Market streets, Park street, Colonnade row, and a large proportion of all the lands on the Neck and elsewhere, conveyed by the city, are on condition. All Winthrop place is held under conditional deeds of George Bond. The large Barton Point estate is held under such deeds from the Barton Point Asso- ciation. The whole great area of the old Mill Pond lands was so conveyed. The lots upon Broad, India, and Central streets, with the other streets in that vicinity, were so conveyed by the Broad Street Association, or by individuals. The entire marginal lots, and many others, at East Boston are also subject to conditions. There is great inconvenience, as well as danger, from such titles. For instance, one large tract is convej^ed at East Boston on condi- tion that no ferry shall be established. Fifty separate house-lots are sold off with warranty, making no mention of the condition, the parties supposing that it is inapplicable to any except the re- maining water-lots ; and yet a breach by this remaining owner might work a forfeiture of the whole original tract, and destro3' the titles of his innocent grantees. In one court in this city, a tract, on which now stand seven dwelling-houses, is convej'ed by one deed, with a like joint condition as to the style of building, — mak- ing each proprietor liable for the acts of half-a-dozen neighbors. And this is especially true of manj^ of the city lands on the Neck. It not unfrequently happens that the mention of the condition (even when made merely of the one particular lot) gets omitted in later deeds b^- mistake, and thus a party may ruin himself unconsciously by some little violation. In Gray U9. Blanchard (8 Pick. Rep., 284) land was conveyed on the condition that " no windows shall be placed in the north wall of the house aforesaid, or of anj' house to be erected on the 168 City Document No. 105. premises withia 39 years from the date hereof," and the breach of this condition forfeited the entire estate. How great a risk may be run from this cause will be apparent by considering the following adjudication : — In 8 Gushing, 150, Millet vs. Fowle, it was decided by the Supreme Court that the expression in a deed " four feet from the northerly side of the building," means four feet from the extremest part of the building, and therefore from the eaves. In other words, that eaves, as they project over the front or side of a house, are the extremest part of that front or side of the building. Now, there are many long ranges of estates in Boston, where, for the purpose of uniformity, conditions were originally imposed, the breach of which would work a foi'feiture. One of these condi- ons always prescribes the front of the houses (as that the front of every building erected shall be 6 feet or 10 feet back from the line of the street) . The main walls are accordingly placed on that exact line. Under the above decision, if the eaves, or, as it would seem, even the window-sills or caps, project an inch, it works a for- feiture, because the extremest part of the front of the house must be at the distance prescribed. / verily believe, therefore, that every estate in Boston, which has heretofore been conveyed on such a condition {and the city are mak- ing such conveyances every day), has been forfeited under the above decision. Or, in other ivords, that the above decision strictly carried out would defeat many hundred honest titles. It is undoubtedly a sound rule of law that in all cases of reasona- ble doubt a deed is to be construed most strongly against the grantor. This has been applied, and I think rightl}^ in an extreme case (Saltonstall vs. Long wharf), where a little store lot, 18 feet on State street, was conveyed, bounded east on the sea or fiats, and the deed was held also to pass all the flats to low-ivater mark along the whole south side of Long wharf, because, by the use of two words, one of which passed the flats, and the other which excluded them, a reasonable doubt arose as to the grantor's intent, making this rule of construction applicable. But it seems to me that in the class of cases above referred to there is no such reasonable doubt of the intent. The side — the front — the wall — of a house means the main, general line of such side, front, or wall, — not those little petty projections, such as window-caps or sills, alwa3's added for or- nament ; or the more indispensable eaves, required alike for the effect- ual support of the roof, and the symmetrical finish of the structure. I have thus far considered the above decision as erroneous on general grounds, and even assuming that the Court were connect iii "Gleaner" Articles. 169 holding eives to be part of the side of the house over which they project. But "Webster's Dictionary defines " eaves " to be " tlie edge or lower border of the roof of tlie building which overhangs the walls and casts off the water that falls on the roof." In like manner, Johnson and Walker's Dictionary, as improved by Todd, defines eaves as " the edges of the roof which overhang the house," quoting Shakespeare for this meaning. I have not thought it necessary to consult any other lexicographical authorities. Under tliese dcjinitions, of course, a line running 4 feet from the side of a building is not to be measured from the eaves, which are not a part of the side of the building, but of the roof. In other words, our Supreme Court, as lately as 1851, have decided that " eaves " in law means a part of a house wholly different from what it means by the standard dictionaries of the English language. Within the past year, indeed, quite a number of elegant new houses on the Neck were found to be accidentally forfeited to the city because their bow-fronts projected over the prescribed line, and on application the forfeiture was released. Latterly conditions have justly become very unpopular, and restrictions are imposed instearl. This is the case with Pemberton square, Edinboro' street, the South-Cove lots, etc., where the par- ties may enter and remove the building, or resort to equity to compel a specific performance of the agreement. Courts lean strongly against conditions, as is indeed abundantly proved by the late case of the Brattle-street Parsonage. While it seems by the case of Austin vs. Cambridgepoz-t, etc. (21 Pick., 215), that if a condition be created by deed, the grantor may lawfully devise such interest, and a subsequent breach will give the estate to his devisee, such devise not being too remote, and therefore void. And yet in the latter case, where a testator, by one and the same instrument, first creates a like condition, and then devises his remaining right, such devise over is too remote, and therefore void, though to common apprehension the ultimate devise is exactly equally remote in each case ; and though wills are avowedly construed more tenderly and charitabl}', as to the intent of the testator, than deeds are, because they are often made in extremis and without the aid of counsel, and the use of inartificial language is therefore overlooked in view of the manifest general intent. A law passed prohibiting all conditions, or all forfeitures for breach of condition, would, I think, be a good one. Gleaner. P.S. — Worcester, in his new model dictionar}^, is as much behind the age as his predecessors. He defines " eaves " as " the edges of the roofot a house." 170 City Document No. 105. LX. FREDERICK TUDOR — R. G. SHAW. Octob&r 15, 1S55. Mr. Editor: — Dr. Joy was desirous of getting a house in the country^ as more healthful than a town residence, and he selected this locality as "being country enough for him." There were, indeed, then but two houses west of the square, which he purchased — one of them occupied by Charles Gushing, Esq. ; the other by " Master " Viual, both standing on the Copley estate. The bar- berry-bushes were flourishing over this whole area, as they now do on the hills of West Roxbury. And he was right in believing that nowhere else could he inhale purer breezes than those which were wafted across the Boston Common and the river that then washed its borders. There were then no noxious exhalations from the " Back Bay" ; and they do not, indeed, even now, reach as far as this favored spot. The prices paid by Dr. Joy were £100, £66 13s. 4d., $500 and £337, or a,bout $2,000. There now stand on this land twenty-two dwelling-houses, among which are many of the very finest in our whole city. Its whole present value cannot be less than half a million of dollars. Dr. Joy sold off all the westerly and most of the northerly' portions, retaining for his own occupancy the south- east part of the estate, measuring 97 feet on Beacon street, and 254 feet 7 inches on Belknap street, now called Joy street. On this he erected a modest and graceful wooden dwelling-house, which was eventually removed to South Boston Point, where it is still, or was recently, standing, on land of Benjamin Adams, Esq. Here he lived till his death, in 1813. He left a widow, Abigail, and two children, Joseph G. and Nabby ; and, in 1833, this reserved lot was sold by his heirs for ^98,000, and upon it were erected three dwelling-houses on Beacon street and the four southerly houses of the block on Joy street. The corner estate on Beacon and Joy streets (land and build- ing) is supposed to have cost Israel Thorndike $90,000. It was subsequently purchased by the late R. G. Shaw for $50,000, and was the mansion-house estate occupied by him at his decease. It has been since bought by Frederick Tudor for S70,000, who still "Gleaner" Articles. 171 owns and occupies it. The adjoining house on Beacon street belonged to the late Samuel T. Armstrong, in whose mayoralty it was, I believe, that the iron fence was completed around the Com- mon, and whose signature, as Lt. Governor, gave validity to a new code of laws, the Revised Statutes of the Commonwealth, in 1836. The only natural productions of New England, as has been well said, are ice and granite. It is to the wisdom and intelligence, and above all to the indomitable energy and perseverance, of Mr. Tudor, that the first of these articles has become a mine of wealth to the community, far more precious than the richest "placers" of California. It is, I believe, a favorite theory of political econo- mists that a nation is on the road to ruin when the value of its imports exceeds that of its exports. But the fallacy becomes manifest when a cargo of Mr. Tudor's ice — worth almost nothing here except the labor of collecting it — is sent abroad to the pant- ing and perspiring denizens of the tropics, or to refresh the natives of even distant India, and is there exchanged for a precious freight of costly spices and merchandise. I remember to have heard with much interest an account of the first shipment of ice to India, from the gentleman who went with it as supercargo. He described the naive astonishment of the natives as they took into the palms of their hands little particles of ice, and watched them slowly melt away, — the proceeding being apparently conducted as cautiously as if they had been handling live coals, — and the formal entertainment given by the Governor General, Lord William Bentinck, as an appreciative acknowledgment to those who had thus placed within the reach of a great nation one of the most delightful luxuries of a bountiful Providence. All honor to Mr. Tudor for his great discovery ! May his own prosperity always keep pace with the ruinous consequences which it has entailed upon New England." "'' Without detracting at all from the i-emarkable business enterprise shown by Mr. Tudor, it is proper to note that the field opened by him has since been closed. The introduction of ice into Calcutta was, indeed, a priceless benefit to the inhabitants, and for many years it was a prosperous business for Mr. Tudor and his successors. But the restless spirit of invention has discovered means of producing ice there at a less cost than that of importation from New England, and this particular traffic is a thing of the past. On the other hand, the demand for ice within our own territories has so increased that the business has developed beyond the wildest dreams of its originator. Mr. Tudor died February 6, 1864, aged eighty years ; and his widow died March 9, 1884, aged sixty-nine years. — W. II. \V. 172 City Document No. 105. Nor was Mr. Shaw a less remarkable man in his wa}'. Ever extensively and actively engaged in commerce, cautious vrhen he seemed to be most bold and daring, he displayed a uniform sagacity, which, in its results, was as advantageous to himself as it was to the community. The public spirit which he displayed through life was also manifested by munificent charitable be- quests and endowments, which will make his name known and honored long after the wealth that he won for his heirs shall have passed awa^'^, and the memory of his useful career as a citizen shall be forgotten. Gleaner. "Gleanee" Articles. 173 LXI. ROBERT G. SHAW. October 20, 1855. Mr. Editor : — My last article closed with a brief allusion to the late R. G. Shaw, Esq. It is well known that, before his death, he became a convert to spiritualism. While he showed his accus- tomed shrewdness in all business transactions, he yet implicitly believed that he had daily communications with deceased relatives, and derived from this belief the greatest satisfaction and consola- tion. That such a man should have arrived at such a result would of itself imply that he must have witnessed phenomena that tended to justif}' it. These phenomena may, perhaps, be satisfactorily explained by another hypothesis. President Mahan has recently published a very able volume, having this object, and in which he considers as incontestable the facts testified to by so many credible persons, and many of which he had himself witnessed. Within the past year circumstances led me to take much inter- est in this subject. Designedly omitting to read anything in rela- tion to it, I determined to observe for myself. The use of a pencil to point at the letters of the alphabet having been suggested in some quarters as a source of unconscious error (inasmuch as a person may involuntarily pause longer upon the right letter than upon otherpi, — a circumstance of which an intelligent and observing medium might take advantage), I latterly dispense with entirely, in the following manner : A printed card contained the letters of the alphabet in three lines of 8 letters each. I asked that the raps should be made 1, 2, or 3 for the line at which I was to look, and then, after a slight pause, that further raps should be made, from 1 to 8, for the particular letter meant in that line. The effect was as if the particular letter had been at once called out viva voce without any instrumentality of my own. I have in this way often obtained a series of pertinent and coher- ent answers to mental questions, without a single mistake, through a session of two hours. This demonstrated to my satisfaction that a power of thought-reading existed somewhere, residing hi, or 174: City Document No. 105. proved b}', the agency which caused the raps, whatever tliat agency might be. Whether this is a mesmeric or a spiritual manifestation is the question discussed in Mr. Mahan's volume. He adopts the former theory. Whatever may be the true explanation the inves- tigation is one of intense and absorbing interest. As far as my own experience goes, the raps have always pur- ported to come from the spirits of deceased persons, in natural terms of relationship or endearment, and in their accustomed modes of expression ; sometimes from persons long since dead, who had not been in my thoughts for 3'ears. I have never been able to get any as from living persons. Mr. Mahan, however, has a mass of testimony to the contrary. These raps (as from particular spirits) I have always found marked by individual peculiarities signally appropriate, and identifj'ing them from all others, by loud- ness or gentleness, rapidity or slowness, by their prolonged or abrupt character. One spirit, indeed, always announced himself by a creaking corkscrew rap in tlie leg of the table, — thus distin- guishing himself from all others by as mai'ked a characteristic as those which had made him preeminent among his fellow-men while living. I have sometimes said mentally^ " Will all who have been present rap together?" and immediately there has ensued such a tattoo of all these various raps as was trul}^ astonishing, the corkscrew being clearly noticeable among and above them all. The mesmeric theory supposes that you get, as it were, a mere reflection of your own thoughts, belief, or wish, and in a vast majority of cases such is undoubtedly the fact ; bnt the answers which I hav^e obtained have been sometimes wholly unexpected. Thus, one day last winter, I was passing through Washington street, and inadvertently went along the sidewalk of a building from "which persons were brealdng off masses of ice and frozen snow. One of these masses fell, and, hearing cries of warning, I shrank up close to the wall, ahd it just grazed my shoulder and elbow, and then shivered to pieces on the sidewalk. I felt that I had had a narrow escape from certain death. I was then on my way to Mr. Hay- den's, where I went immediately. No one else was present. I said mentally^ " What happened to me as I was coming here?" The alphabet spelt out, "You came near being killed." — " How?" — " By a fall of ice from the roof of a house." — " How did it happen that it did not fall upon me and kill me?" The spirit purporting to respond was my father's. The answer began, ^^ I prote — " I had supposed that it would state the act of mine which saved me ; but when it began with these letters I supposed it would be, " / protest I don't know." The answer actually given was, '■'■ I pro- "Gleaner" Articles. 175 iected you." — " How ? " — "By slanting off the ice." This led to a series of questions and answers as to the power of spirits over matter, etc., etc. So, also, at a session in company with a distinguished clergy- man of this city, I asked of a certain " spirit," purporting to be present, whether a certain other was there also ; , 1 rap, or no. " Can you get him? " 3 raps, or yes. " Do so, and as soon as he comes, both of you rap." In a few minutes their raps were heard accordingly. In the meantime another spirit was communicating, and had just finished a sentence with the word " oncle." I remarked aloud to my friend, " You see it is all right except one letter." I then turned to communicate with the spirit sent for. Immediately many raps were heard of the same faint and rapid character as those of my late correspondent. The medium said, " The one you have been communicating with wishes to say some- thing more." Whereupon, resuming that communication, the alphabet spelt out " u," and then left off. I said " Proceed." 1 rap, or no. I said, "Is that all?" 3 raps, or yes. I reflected for a moment, and exclaimed, " Oh, you mean that u is the right letter where I said one letter was wrong? " Immediately affirma- tive raps came several times repeated. I said, " Then rap back- wards from the end of j'our communciations, once for each letter, till you get to the wrong letter, and I will strike it out and sub- stitute u." 5 raps then came, and I changed the o to m. I then said, "Is it now right?" and got the same cordial aflirmative. When " ?< " came, I had not the slightest idea that it was to be a connection of '■'■ o." This exceptional class of cases is also discussed in Mr. Mahan's volume ; but, on the whole, I became satisfied that, although Mr. Shaw may have arrived at an erroneous conclusion, the premises upon which he acted were by no means a mere absurd delusion ; but that he, like myself, had witnessed a mystery of nature worthy of the most careful and exact scientific investigation. All my articles have been about land, and perhaps this brief visit, to the spirit land may be allowable as one of the series. You will, I trust, at any rate, excuse me for what you may, perhaps, regard as mere idle speculations, unworthy even of a Gleaner. 176 City Document No. 105. LXII. URIAH COTTING— SAMUEL APPLETON. Odoler 25, 1855. Mr. Editor: — The most westerly of the three houses on Bea- con street built on the land sold by Dr. Joy's heirs, in 3 833, is that owned by B. C. Clark, Esq., an active and intelligent mer- chant, the author of an interesting pamphlet respecting Hayti, with which countr}'^ he has extensive business relations."® West of his house comes a large lot which Dr. Jo}'^ in his lifetime sold to the late Uriah Colting in 1806 (L. 216, f. 16). It measured in front 75 feet on Beacon street, and extended 248 feet on Walnut street, widening in the rear to 104 feet. I have in a former article briefly alluded to Mr. Cotting, who lived and died in the house in Somerset street there spoken of. When he made this purchase of Dr. Joy he supposed himself, and on reasonable grounds, to be one of the wealthiest of our citizens, and accord- ingly began the foundations of a magnificent mansion, with a freestone front, occupying the whole site of the two houses be- longing to the late Samuel Appleton and the late Benjamin P. Homer; It would have surpassed any house even now existing among us, and at that time there was no edifice that could have borne the slightest comparison with it for splendor and elegance. The lower story was already constructed, when the embargo, followed b}^ war, took place. Rents declined ; real estate fell exceedingly in value, and he found himself — comparatively, at least — a poor man. He at once took down the building, and selling off to Mr. Homer the westerly moiety- of the land (and of other lands which he had bought behind it), he erected on the residue tlie elegant mansion now standing, and which he sold to Mr. Appleton for $30,000, in 1818 (L. 259, f. 244), the lot being 43 feet in front and 330 feet deep. His health soon afterwards began to fail, and he died of a rapid consumption in 1819 ; and such still continued to be the depressed state of all kinds of prop- erty that his estate eventually proved insolvent. 66 Ml-. Clark died Nov. 16, 1863. His son, of the same name, is still Consul for Hayti in this city. — W. H. W. "Gleaner" Articles. 177 I will mention an anecdote relating to this house and to its original and recent ownership. On the death of the widow of Mr. Cotting, one of the most estimable and exemplary of women, which happened bat a few years ago, I published in the " Boston Courier " a notice of the services of Mr. Cotting, detailing various extensive improvements which he had planned and executed ; and I concluded by suggesting that perhaps some of our wealthy citizens, whose own fortunes had been increased by a participation in his enterprises, might be willing to contribute something to replace to his daughters a small annuity vThich their mother had hitherto received under the will of the late Edward Tucker man, and which thenceforth ceased. The article was copied by another of our chief journals, and its closing suggestion approved. I waited first upon Mr. Appleton. He told me the circumstances of his purchase of this house, saying, " I meant to deal at the time liberaliJy with Mr. Cotting, and offered him the amount of what I thought its actual value, telling him that he might take six months to find any other purchaser who would give him more. In a few days, however, he came back and accepted the offer, admit- ting that nobod}^ else was willing to give so much. He expressed his great satisfaction at selling it, and his obligation to me for what he himself considered a full and adequate compensation." Mr. Appleton did not end by saying, " So you perceive that there is no reason why / should be thus called upon." " But," he said to me, "the estate is now worth more than double that price (perhaps $75,000), and I will head your paper with $500." This was more than I had hoped for, though I had never been refused by him in my life ; but, on the contrary, had always found him a most "cheerful giver." Another gentleman, who had been in- tiraatel}' associated with Mr. Cotting, at once added his name for the same sum. Hon. David Sears and others subscribed various amounts in a like liberal spirit, and I was in the " full tide of suc- cessful experiment," when I received, from the young ladies interested, instructions to proceed no farther, lest that should be yielded to my solicitations which would not have been spontaneously offered as a tribute of respect for their father's memory. Mr. Cotting is buried in the Granary burying-ground. The forthcoming volume of Mr. Bridgman, in relation to this place of interment, will doubtless be as accurate in its facts and as beautiful a specimen of letter-press and typography as his similar volume on the King's Chapel burying-ground, and I cordially 178 City Document No. 105. advise all who are interested in "historical gleanings" to sub- scribe for it at once. I am glad that it will preserve in a perma- nent form what I feel indeed to be but a slight and inadequate tribute to the memory of perhaps the most distinguished citizen who has been laid to his rest in that field of death. Mr. Appleton died in this house, July 12, 1853, aged 87 years. In youth a village school-master, in manhood an eminent mer- chant, he found in acts of daily beneficence the best solace for the infirmities of age. Simple habits, uncompromising integrity, and a noble public spirit, won for him the confidence and regard of the community ; and death gently closed a life that had been pro- longed and blest by the kindest offices of domestic affection. He bequeathed a large part of his great wealth for purposes of litera- ture, science, charity, and religion. A mural tablet in the King's Chapel will appropriately record his virtues ; but to this spot, where he lived so long, happy in making others happy, — a spot hallowed by the grateful prayers of the widow and the orphan, — the annalist of Boston will point with pride as the home of Samuel Appleton. Gleaner. 'Gleaner" Articles. 179 LXIII. HISTORICAL. Odoler 30, 1855. Mr. Editor : — In our last article we mentioned that Mr. Cot- ting sold to the late Benjamin P. Homer, in 1816, the south-west corner lot of Dr. Joy's land. It measured 32 feet on Beacon, street, and 200 feet on Walnut street (L. 250, f. 283). He sold the rear lot, measuring 66 feet 6 inches on Walnut street, to N. P. Russell, Esq., 1814 (L. 243, f. 273), which also subsequently became the property of Mr. Homer. Mr. Homer had rather more than his share of the old streets. A strip of 15 feet in width of old Bishop Stoke street takes half the width of his lot, and old Sewall street runs across his rear. If these easements could now be enforced, his lot would certainly be sadly curtailed of its fair proportions. He was one of the " solid " men of Boston, and at his death, in 1838, was one of our oldest merchants. His will contained pro- visions which called for judicial construction, and there are at least three printed decisions in our reports growing out of it (2 Met. Rep., 194 ; 5 Met., 462, and 11 Met., 104). The Legisla- ture also have been appealed to, more than once, to cut the Gor- dian knot which the law could not untie. One clause of his will was as follows : " And I do hereby expressly authorize and em- power my executors, or such of tJiem as shall take ujoon themselves the probate of this will, to sell and convey and execute good and sufficient deeds to convey all or any of my real estate." He appointed two executors, both of whom proved the will and assumed the trust ; but one of them immediately found that he had personal interests incompatible with this official position, and forthwith resigned his trust, and the other acted alone in the entire settlement of the estate, except only in this first act of proving the will. A statute expressly authorizing a resignation of an executor was passed March 24, 1843. The Court, in the case before them, did not find it necessary to consider the validity of this resignation ; but they did decide that, if the resignation was valid, the powei of 180 City Document No. 105. sale could not be exercised by the other executor. In arriving at this result they adopted the strictest literal construction of the words, "take upon themselves the probate of this will," which might perhaps fairly and liberally have been considered as equiva- lent to " taking upon themselves the settlement of my estate,'' or " those who shall be the acting executors of my will for the time being." For the testator certainly had little confidence in them both jointly and in each of them separately. Looking back upon the past professional anxieties and perplexities, though I certainly should not say that I wished that Mr. Homer had never lived (since that would have involved the loss of several pleasant young neighbors, belles of the rising generation), I can yet trul}' say that I have more than once wished that he was still living. On the rear purchase of Mr. Homer stood the house in Walnut street, of which the late Dr. George Parkman was tenant at the time of his murder. Posterity can hardly over-estimate the intensity of the excitement awakened in the community by his tragical fate, and by the judicial proceedings which ensued. If I should select the two occasions of a public character which I have found more deeply interesting than any others, I should refer, without hesitation, to the hour when the lovely and accomplished daughters of Professor Webster, sustained, as they obviously were, by an entire conviction of his innocence, gave with mingled calmness and sensibility their modest and touching testimony in his behalf ; and that more awful hour, when, nearly at the dead of night, we had assembled on the same spot to hear the verdict rendered, which consigned to an ignominious death one who had been the instructor of our earlier days, and with whom we had since continued to be on pleasant terms of social acquaintance and friendship. The moon was shining serenelj' and bright as I went forth from that sad scene ; having looked for the last time on a fellow-being who, surrounded b}' the happiest domestic influ- ences and affections had yet justly forfeited his life ; not, how- ever, I was willing to believe, for a deliberate, preconcerted, and cold-blooded murder, but for an act, originallj- done, as I was persuaded, under the sudden impulse of deadly passion ; but which, when done, was concealed by a resort to the most fright- ful expedients of which we have any account in the annals of criminal jurisprudence. There was a redeeming grace in the final conduct of Webster, which much softened the popular feeling against him ; when his appeal for executive clemency had been made, and made in "Gleaner" Articles. 181 vain ; when he knew that in a few brief days he must cease to be numbered among the living, — he addressed a submissive and penitent letter to an amiable and excellent clergyman, the near relative of his victim, asking through him the par^^on of those into whose social circle he had brought such deep affliction. He asked him as a minister of the God of mercy to imitate his Divine Master, bj^ showing mercy ; as a man to forgive a dying fellow- man, as he would himself hope to be forgiven. And he at last met his fate, not with the indifference of a hardened ruffian, but with a dignified self-possession, — a sustained fortitude and resigna- tion, such as only true repentance (it would seem) could have inspired. Gleaner* 182 City Document No. 105. LXIV. JOHN CALLENDER AND THE LAW. Noveimber 2, 1855. Mr. Editor : — The north-west corner lot, 60 feet on Mount Vernon street, and 103 feet 6 inches on Walnut street, was sold by Dr. Joy to John Callender, in 1802, and his heirs conveyed to him a lot adjoining (35 feet 11 inches on Mount Vernon street), in 1821. Mr. Callender was for many j'ears the well-known clerk of the Supreme Court. In his younger days he was a person of much grace and elegance, and traditionally reputed to have been as good a dancer as one of Queen Elizabeth's Lord Chancellors. He was a person of much wit and humor. When the full Court at Washington reversed a decision of Mr. Justice Story, by which he had claimed jurisdiction in cases of policies of insurance as being maritime contracts, he was dining with the Judge, and, doubtless quite to his annoj^ance, began to joke about the topic, playfullj^ suggesting to him that he had better bring a bucket of salt water into his court -room to sustain the jurisdiction. When Mr. Callender built his house the level of Walnut street was very many feet higher than at present. The authorities cut down the street, leaving him up in the air. He was put to much expense in consequence, though his building did not actually begin to tumble into the pit, as Mr. Thurston's did. Like him he resorted to the law, and with the like success. The result was the source of anything but a placid demeanor on his part. Though himself a sworn officer of the law, I really believe that he was led to entertain serious doubts as to its being " the perfection of human reason." The north-east lot, bounded 120 feet on Mount Vernon street, and 100 feet 8 inches on Joy street, was sold by Dr. Joy, in 1802, to Anna Dummer Perkins, wife of Thomas Perkins, Esq., and daughter of WHliam Powell, Esq. She was sister of Mrs. Jona- than Mason, one of the original Mount Vernon proprietors. Dr. Joy, in 1805, also sold to her the nest 30-feet lot on Joy street. On the latter lot stands the dwelling-house now occupied by Henry "Gleaner" Articles. 183 B. Kogers, Esq., whose wife was one of her daughters, and who is so well known in this community as connected with our chief chari- table and reformatory institutions, and who was some years since an Alderman of the city. On her original lot was erected a fine brick dwelling-house, of large and elegant pi-oportions, in which she resided till her death, a smaller house being erected on the westerly side of the lot as the residence of another daughter, Mrs. F. C. Loring. The mansion house itself has just given place to three new dwellings erected by Wm. Gray, Esq. It is under a contract between Mr. Perkins and Mr. Thorndike that the block of houses on Joy place was set back from the street. I trust that my friend, Mr. Lewis W. Tappan, will not think me too personal in remarking that the whole front of his house and part of that of his southerly neighbor stand on and over the fee of old Sewall street. This need be no source of alarm or uneasiness. Indeed I am inclined to think that an ancient squat is rather better than any other title. There can be no question that from the beginning of the century to 1831, when Tyler vs. Hammond was decided, the law, as before acted on and as then settled., would have given the soil and fee of this old street to the heirs of Judge Sewall. It is equally certain that in 1851, by the decision of Newhall vs. Ireson, it would have been held that the deeds to Dr. Joy, bounding, as they do, north and south on that street, each passed to him a good title to the centre of the street ; in other words, that his title had all along been perfect. Both these cases related to public highways ; but I am informed that in an unpub- lished case recently decided (Morgan vs. Moore) the Court adhered to the last decision, yet refused to apply it to private ways, so that, after all, Judge Sewall's heirs perhaps would again come uppermost. But, happily above and beyond all these fluctuating adjudications, there was a certain /ence put up more than forty years ago by Dr. Joy, which no adverse claimant can now jump over or knock down. The doctrine that a deed bounding on a street, which is a visible, actual monument, reallj' runs to an imaginary legal line or monument in the centre of that street (a monument, by the way, which the Court in 1831 declared had never existed, although in 1851 they saj'' it had always existed), seems to me founded on a misconception of what a monument is. I believe that the rule of " monuments governing measurements " is founded on the idea that a deed should be construed by its language in reference to actual visible landmarks, such as fences, walls, or streets. In 184 City Document No. 105. 1831, if a deed bounded by or on a public street, square, or com- mon, in each case it included no part of such street, square, or common. In 1851, the Court, in the exercise of their judicial dis- cretion, saw fit to decide that a deed bounding on a street should convey a fee simple title to the centre of the street. Why should not the same rule be applied to all public squares or areas ? Is it not, indeed, quite possible that a conveyance of land bounding on Boston Common may legally give to the grantees liberal 3'ard- room in front of their lots, even to the centre line of the Common itself ? Such a decision would, a priori., be no more surprising than a change of doctrine which has already occurred in relation to abuttors upon streets. Gleaner. "Gleaner" Articles. 185 LXV. THE COPLEY TITLE— ITS LARGE AREA. November 6, 1855. Mr. Editor : — In our walk down Beacon street we have now the greatest estate in Boston, or The Copley Title. This is made up of three chief divisions. The easterly portion is com- posed of the various lots which together constitute the westerly moiety of Sewall's Elm pasture. This portion is about 2 1 acres, and is bounded east on Dr. Joy's land, now Walnut street. It extends on Beacon street more than 260 feet, including the stone mansion-house estate of Hon. David Sears, and a gore of the original garden lot of Mr. Otis, west of it. The westerly boundary of this portion is a line which meets Mount Vernon street at a point about 175 feet west of Walnut street, running diagonally through the lots on both sides of Chestnut street, which formerly belonged to Madame Swan's trustees. Next west of Sewall's Elm pasture came a 2^-acre pasture of Francis East, also united in Copley. This extended on Beacon street to just about the east line of Spruce street, and the west boundary of East's pasture extended in a bevelling line to Mount Vernon street, which street it intersected a little west of the divi- sion line between the two elegant mansions of Messrs. John E. and Nathaniel Thayer. These pastures of Sewall and East were boanded in the rear by irregular lines extending into, and in some parts to or slightly beyond the north line of, Mount Vernon street. Finall}' comes the Blackstone six-acre lot. This bounds south on Beacon street to the original channel, which was many hundred feet west of Charles street, or about to the lowest long block of dwelling-houses now completed on the Mill Dam. On the east line it extended along East's pasture, and be^'ond it on laud of Allen or Wheelwright, and to within a few feet of Piuckney street, to a point which is nearly in the range of the westerly part of the School-house estate, at the corner of Centre street ; it thence extended along in the direction of Pinckney street westerly, so as to include all Louisburg square, till it met a line about 50 feet west of the west line of Louisburg square, where it was 186 City Document No. 105. bounded on the pasture of Zachariah Phillips, on which pasture it afterwards bounded northerly by a line running to the water. The dimensions of the southerly lots of Zachariah Phillips's pasture are so loosely given by the deeds that the extreme southerly line of that pasture and, of course, the extreme north line of the Blackstone, or Copley lot, cannot, perhaps, be stated with precision ; but it extended at least as far as, and probably north of, Mount Vernon street. And, as we have stated in an earlier article on Phillips's pasture, tbe Copley deed, which ran along towards the water by a line at most 20 feel south of Piuckney street, was made, by a certain ancient fence, and the possessory acts and claims under it, to run to the water, and to sweep across all these southerly lots of Phillips ; or, in other words, the Copley grant was extended by disseisin to a continuous north line, ranging but a few feet south of Pinckney street. The result is, that the estate held under John Singleton Copley embraces all that extensive territory between low-water mark on the west, the Common south, "Walnut street east, and Mount Ver- non street north, as far as the east line of the house of William Sawyer, and then including that house and the land behind it, and all Louisburg square, etc., west of it. It extends, b}' a northerly line nearly coinciding with Pinckney street, to low-water mark. The 6 acres of Blackstone, the 2.^ of East, and the 2^ of Sewall, make a total of 11 acres of upland; and if to this we add the flats, a large portion of which have been filled up for over 40 3'ears, there is a grand total of certainly not less than 20 acres, and, cov- ered as it now is with splendid private residences, it far surpasses in value even the magnificent estate of Governor Hancock, with its costly public edifices. Gleanek. "Gleaner" Articles. 187 LXVI. EAST'S 2^ -ACRE PASTURE. November 9, 1855. Mr. Editor : —Before proceeding to make any remarks on the particular houses standing upon the Copley lot, it will be more convenient to trace the several purchases made by him, and which were included in his sale to the Mount Vernon proprietors- We have already stated that he acquired the westerly moiety of Sewall's Elm pasture, or about 2 J acres, by deeds, in 1770-1773, swallowing up or fencing in all Coventry street and the westerly part of Sewall street. The westerly lots of this Sewall land are included in the deed of Dr. Silvester Gardiner to Copley, July 5, 1770 (L. 117, f. 129), the boundary being westerly, on land of sdid Copley, 467 feet 8 inches, and north-west, on land of Jeremiah Wheelwright {i.e., the Allen pasture), 127 feet 4 inches. The earlier deeds of these same lots among the Sewall heirs, 1732 (L. 47, f. 192-194), bounded west on land of Banister. Now, next west of this Sewall land came the original possession of Francis East, who must have owned as early as 1GG7, being named as anabuttor in a deed recorded in Lib. 5, fol. 234. In the town records is the following entry: "Julyl, 1678. In answer to the desire of Francis East to have recorded in the Towne book a tract of land containing about 3 acres, bounded with Capt. Brattle north [he sold to Allen, &c.] ; the towne's Common, south; the land of Nathaniel Williams, west [i.e., the Blackstone lot], and the land of William Hawkins, Sen. (Haw- kins owned Sewall's Elm pasture) , on the east, wMcli was formerly a towne grant and no record ajjpearing, having been long in pos- session of said East, now ordered that this record be made thereof." (Boston Records, Lib. 2, fol. 116.) It would seem that Francis East died, leaving a son Samuel, who died seized of this pasture in 1693. His widow, Mercy East, as administratrix under license of the Superior Court of Judicature, at term 1693, sold the same to Thomas Banister, by deed dated Nov. 24, 1694 (L. 17, f. 23), '''■two acres and near an 7iaZ/bounded 188 City Document No. 105. east oa Samuel Sewall, south on the Common, west on Capt. Nathaniel Williams (i.e., Blackstone lot), north on Nathaniel Oliver (who sold to Allen), measuring on the east side 26 rodd and 11 feet, on the south side 12 rodd 13 feet, on the west side 35 rodd and 11 feet, and on the north side 14 rodd and 8 feet." Sam- uel East, as eldest son of the intestate, released to said Banister all his right by deed, indorsed on and recorded with the above. The definite measurements in this deed have enabled me to fix with precision the lines of this pasture, notwithstanding it comes in the centre of Copley's estate, and the westerly lot purchased by Copley has no measurements whatever. If this deed had given no measurements it could only have been a matter of "guess" what was the exact westerly boundary line of this pasture, or, in other words, the exact easterly line of Blackstone's 6-acre lot. Mr. Banister, the grantee in this deed, acquired also the Blackstone lot, making his whole ownership 8^ acres. And the title from him I shall trace down, after first getting that purchase into him, in a subsequent number. Gleaner. "Gleaner" Articles. 189 LXVII. HISTORICAL. November 12, 1S55. Mr. Editor : — In our last article we traced into Thomas Banis- ter, in 1G94, the East pasture of 2^ acres, bounded west on land of Nathaniel Williams. Now, we long since calle'd upon William Blackstone, and have seen that the town granted to him 50 acres, and that when he sold out to the town all his right in the same and in all lands on the peninsula, he retained to himself a 6-acre lot, which he subsequently sold to Richard Pepys, while the town, in 1G40, passed a vote not to grant any more house-lots within certain limits ; the consequence of which vote was the Boston Com- mon, which was doubtless, in great part, the residue of the 50 acres granted to Blackstone. We have also referred to the cele- brated depositions of Odlin and others (and of Anne Pollard, 1711, L. 26, f. 84). From the deeds of Cole to Phillips, 1658, and of Phillips to Leverett and wife in 1672, of the Zachariah Phillips pasture in the rear, it is certain that in 1658 this 6-acre lot belonged to " Nathaniel Williams," and that, in 1672, it was " the occupa- tion of Peter Bracket, or other successors of Nathaniel Williams, deceased." In 1638 there is a town grant in the new field near Mr. Blackstone's (Records, f. 64, 27th 12th 1642.) William Colbron and Jacob Eliot are appointed to view a parcel of land toward Mr. Blackston's beach, which Richard Peapes [i.e., Pepys] desires to purchase of the Towne, whether it may be conveniently sold to him. (Vol.4, f. 6 .4) RichardPepysand Mary, his wife, of Ashon, Essex County, conveyed to Nathaniel Williams, by act dated January 30, 1655, expressly referred to in the deed of 1676, hereinafter men- tioned. Williams died, and his widow Mary married Peter Bracket before March 6, 1664 (see deed in 4, f. 264), and Peter Bracket and Mary, his wife, late widow of Nathaniel Williams, in consideration of her natural love to Nathaniel Williams, and Mary Viall, chil- dren of said Mary by her first husband, conveyed to them, three- quarters to said Nathaniel and one-quarter to said Mary, by deed of gift, April 14, 1676 (L. 9, f. 325), "all that messuage with 190 CiTT Document No. 105. the barnes, stables, orchards, gardens, and also that six acres of land, be it more or less, adjoining and belonging to said messuage, called the Blackstone lot, being the same which were conveyed to said Nathaniel by Richard Pepys of Ashon, Essex County, and Mar}^ his wife, as b}' their act, bearing date Jan. 30, 1655, more fully will appear." There being no description in this deed, the land might be at Barton Point as well as at Beacon street ; but, independently of the depositions referred to, the deeds of the adjoining pasture of Zechariah Phillips in 1658-72 fix the lands of Nathaniel Williams in 1658, and in occupation of Peter Bracket, etc., in 1672, to be in this precise locality. I am sorry to say that I have never succeeded in getting Mrs. Viall's one quarter part into lier brother by any deed on record. But, as few men are so depraved as to rob a sister, I am charitable enough to believe that he bought her out honestly, though he may have omitted to record his deed. At any rate, his present suc- cessors will probably feel that Ihey are now, as a practical matter, reasonably safe under the following deed, viz. : — Nathaniel Williams, and Sarah liis wife, in consideration of £130 in the present current money, conveyed to Thomas Banister yb warranty deeds Jan. 29, 1708-9 (L. 24, f. 103), all that his, the said William's, certain orchard and pasture land, containing in the whole, by estimation, six acres, or tliereabouts, be it more or less, situate, lying and being at the lower or north-westerly side of the Common, or Training Field, in Boston aforesaid, being en- closed and within fence, and the flats lying against the same down to low-water mark. The said upland and flats being butted and bounded on the northerly side in part by Charles river or a cove, and partly by the lands of John Leverett (i.e., Phillips pasture) and James Allen, on whom also it abuts to the north-east, bounded easterly in part by land of the said James Allen, and partly by the land of the said Thomas Banister, (i.e. East's pasture ), and southeily by the Common or Training Field, or however otherwise the same is bounded or reputed to be bounded ; together with all the trees, stones, fences, banks, ditches, waters, and water-courses therein or thereabout, and belonging thereto, rights, members, hereditaments, profits, feedings, privileges, and appurtenances thereof. Seventy-two dollars an acre for upland, with the flats thrown in, is rather cheap for land on Beacon street, even 150 j^ears ago Gleaner. "Gleaner" Articles. 191 IjXVIII. HISTORICAL. Nbvemhcr 16, 1855. ' Mr. Editor : — la 1 709 we have seen that Thomas Banister had purchased both the East and the Blaekstone lots, making to- gether 81 acres of upland. The name of " Mount Pleasant," so familiar to our Roxbury neighbors, was given also to this estate. I once saw a very large and accurate plan in the possession of the Mt. Vernon proprietors, made 60 or 70 years ago, which was entitled by the surveyor, in large and elaborate letters, a plan of "Mount Hoardam." This struck me as a very ingenious and modest way of conforming to the then popular nomenclature of the spot, without giving offence " to ears polite." Banister died, leaving a will dated Jan. 25, 1708-9, and codicil dated July 13, 1709 ; and his wife died in 1711. By his will he devises to his three sons, Thomas, Samuel, and John, " and if either die without heirs lawfully begotten in wedlock, I will their share or proportion to the surviving sons or son and their heirs for- ever." Besides these three sons the testator left an only daughter, Mary, wife of Giles Dyer. John died without issue in Great Britain, June 30, 1714. Thomas died Sept. 12, 1716, leaving issue five sons and a daughter, and Samuel died without issue, Feb. 28, 1744. In 1713 Samuel and John had made Thomas their attorney (L. 28, f. 151), who for himself, and " as such attorney," after the death of one constituent, and by deed not executed in the names of either constituent, conveyed to Giles Dyer (28, f.l52), who covenanted to reconvey on certain payments (lb., f. 153). Said Thomas, for himself, and " as attorney of Samuel," reciting the death of John, conveyed to said Dyer, Dec. 10, 1714 (L. 28, f. 242), other lands ; " also the one moiety or half part of all that tract or parcel of land in the town of Boston aforesaid, bounded easterly on the Common or Training Field, containing by estima- tion about eight acres, and known by the name of Mount Pleasant, in the tenure or improvement of John Langdon, butcher." Did he have a slaughter-house on the premises ? 192 City Document No. 105. And Giles Dyer, reciting these two deeds of Thomas Banister to him, for £1,000 consideration conveyed to Samuel, June 21, 1717 (L. 32, f. 1), " all the housing lands, tenements and real estate granted and sold to me the said Giles Dyer in and by the said two deeds" (except other land). I am sorry to say that I find two mortgages of Samuel Banister, one for £250 in 1716 (L. 32, f. l),.the other for £200 in 1719 (L. 33, f. 261), both undischarged. He made a final mortgage for £1,850 to Nathaniel Cunningham by warranty deed, Dec. 28, 1733 (L. 48, f. 53), under a foreclosure of which the absolute title was claimed by Cunningham. The description in the deed to Cunningham was as follows : " All that his the said Samuel Banister's certain tract or parcell of land which is now improved as a garden, and enclosed within fence with the dwelling-house thereon standing, situate, lying and being at the lower or north-westerly side of the Comon or Training Field in Boston aforesaid, containing in the whole, by estimation, eight acres and an half or thereabouts, and be the same more or less, and the flatts lying against the same down to low-water mark. The said upland and flatts being butted and bounded as followeth, viz. : southerly or south-easterly on the Comon or Training Field ; on the north-westerly side in part by Charles river, or a cove, and partly by the lands of the late John Leverett, Esq., and Mr. James Allen, both deceased, their heirs or assigns, on whom also it abutts to the north-east, and easterly by land of the heirs or assigns of the late Samuel Sewall, Esquire, deceased, or how- ever otherwise butted and bounded," etc. Nathaniel Cunningham died, and by will, dated May 1, 1740, proved December 27, 1748, made his son Nathaniel residuary legatee, who was appointed administrator with the will annexed, and died in 1757, Peter Chardon being administrator. His inven- tory mentions " a house, land, and pasture at the bottom of the Common, occupied by Mr. Chapman and others, containing 8| acres, £250" (L. 53, f. 61). So that less than a century ago land in Beacon street (flats thrown in) was worth but 97 dollars an acre. Gleaner. "Gleaner" Articles. 19b LXIX. [COPLEYS TITLE. — Oontinued."''] November 19, 1855. Mr. Editor : — We left in Nathaniel Cunningham, deceased, under the administration of Peter Chardon, in 1757, the 81 acres of upland, with the flats, composed of the East pasture of 2]- acres and the Blackstone 6-acre lot. Under the will of the old owner, Thomas Banister, who had devised, in 1709, in tail to his three sons, with cross remainders on their death without issue, claims were repeatedly set up. Thus, in July, 1750, John Banister, Sam- uel Banister, and Wm. Bowen, and Francis, his wife, grandchil- dren of said testator, brought an ejectment against Cunningham, which was decided in favor of tenants ; and in August following the jury on appeal gave the same verdict. In February, 1753, the same demandants brought a writ of review before the Superior Court, and in August following the jury found a special verdict ; and in March, 1754, the Court, after a full hearing, gave judgment in favor of the tenants. In January, 1765, John Banister brought his writ of ejectment, which was carried to the Superior Court by demurrer, and dropped by his death, which took place Nov. 10, 1767. And now, during the lull that ensued, as is alleged, " on Jan- uary 18, 1769, Peter Chardon, Esquire, as executor of Nathaniel Cunningham, executed a deed of conveyance to John Singleton Copley of these premises." No such deed, however, is found on record ; and, more than that, the proceeds of the estate were not accounted for in the Probate Office by Mr. Chardon, as adminis- trator, with the will annexed. On March 29, 1769, John Banister, of Newport, brought an ejectment against Ephraim Fenno. At the Inferior Court of April, 1769, said Copley was vouched in as defendant, and the case was carried by demurrer to the Superior Court, and decided in Colpej-'s favor. The late Hon. Robert T. Paine, on January 31, 1809, gave his deposition in perpetuam for Messrs. Mason and Otis, in which he ''This title is supplied by me, as the origiaal is styled simply " Historical." — W. H. W. 194 City Document No. 105. states that " in 1769 he was counsel for Mr. Copley in this last suit ; that he preserved a bundle of minutes, among which is the statement of title (of which the particulars are above noticed, in- cluding the mention of the deed to Cojyley) , which he has no doubt was given him by said Copley or by Samuel Quincy, his counsel, and which he has no doubt is a true abstract of Copley's title as derived from Thomas Banister, and was prepared from the docu- ments to be used in said trial ; that he believed the question of title under Cunningham was vot in dispute^ but was acknowledged, and it was expected that the cause would turn upon the question of cross remainders, under Thomas Banister's will, and that the cause was determined in favor of Copley ; that he knew the premises in 1760, and pastured his horse there; that Ruth Otis, wife of James Otis, was living in Boston, and he an eminent law-- 3'er, knowing the demand of Banister, and arguing a case aris- ing under the same will, and that from and after the verdict of Copley, I always understood that the premises were his property till I heard that he had sold them, so that they came to the pos- session of Messrs. Mason and Otis " (221, f. 107). This Banister family owned a valuable estate on the south side of Winter street, which, from that circumstance, was long known as "Banister's Lane." It will be remembered, also, that the deeds of the westerly lots of Sewall's Elm pasture, bought by Copley in 1770, bounded west on this land, as then belonging to said Copley. It will also be remembered that there are two volumes of deeds missing, in one of which we may charitably suppose Mr. Copley's deed to have been recorded. Another valuable tract of the Leverett-street lands, formerly belonging to the same Mr. Cunningham, is also held under a deed from Mr. Copley, in 1771 (L. 119, f. 191), though there is the same absence* of any deed to him. This want of any record title in Copley, as to these whole 8. J acres, eventually proved a very serious source of trouble to his o;rantees. Glea-Ner. "Gleaner" Articles. 195 LXX. COPLEY'S SALE IN 1795. November 23, 1855, Mr. Editor : — We left John Singleton Copley the owner in 1769-1773 of the whole three estates held under Sewall, East, and Blackstoue, making together 11 acres of upland with the flats ; there being this little omission, that he had no deed on record of 8 J acres out of the 11, with all the flats ; or, as perhaps it may be better stated, a record title to only the easterly 2 J acres out of 20 acres of upland and flats. Mr. Copley was the most dis- tinguished porti'ait-painter of America, uuapproached by any successor except Stuart. The exquisite satin of his ladies' dresses and delicate tints of his luscious fruits gave great additional value to paintings which have preserved, in the most life-like manner, for the delight of a distant posterity, the fair and intelligent faces, the lovely or manly forms, of a past generation. Mr. Cople}^ removed to England, and Gardiner Greene, Esq., was his agent. Messrs. Jonathan Mason and H. G. Otis made a contract for the purchase of this estate, through the agency of Mr. Greene. "When the deed was sent out for execution, Mr. Copley had ascertained that the State House was to be located near his estate, which, of itself, greatly enhanced its value ; changing its character from mere pasture land on the outskirts of Boston to a central estate, extremely desirable for residences. He felt that important information had been withheld from him and from his agent, and refused to sign the deed. A bill in equity was brought to enforce the contract for sale. He probably found that there was no chance of escape, and the result was that he executed a letter of attorney to his son, — since Lord Chancellor Lyndhurst, — dated in October, 1795, which was recorded February 24, 1796 (L. 182, f. 182). A gentleman of this city, now among its senior members, mem- tioned to me a few days since, that a lady, now deceased, once remarked to him that she attended a ball at the house of the late D. D. Rogers, before her marriage, and that young Mr. Copley 196 City Docibient No. 105. was present. That house, like all its neighbors, stood at some distance from the street, and was approached by a high flight of steps. On this occasion the same difficulty occurred as at Gov- ernor Bowdoin's dinner-party ; but, of course, a young lady in a ball-dress could not resort to the same mode of escape as did the guests of His Excellency. On the contrarj', notwithstanding the devoted services of her future husband, she made an involuntary and decidedly precipitate descent towards the street, — a circum- stance which had impressed this occasion distinctly on her memory, Mr. Copley's son and attorney came out to this country, having recently completed his professional studies, and said Copley, " now of George street, Hanover square, in the Kingdom of Great Brit- ain, Esquire," acting by said attorney, for the consideration of Sl8,450 conveyed to said Mason and Otis by deed of release (reciting a previous lease for one year, being what is known as a conveyance of lease and release), dated Feb. 22, 1796, recorded in Lib. 182, fol. 184. No deed of any lands in Boston within a century will compare with this in importance. The description is, " All that tract or parcel of land situated in the westerly part of Boston aforesaid, bounded as follows : Southerly by a line abutting on the Common or training-field, running from the southern extremity of a fence erected by Doctor Joy ; easterly by the said fence of said Doctor Joy ; northerly by a line running from the northern extremity of the aforesaid fence ; north-westerly 85 feet or thereabouts, abutting on Olive street; then by a line running south-westerly 120 feet or thereabouts, abutting on land formerly belonging to Jeremiah "Wheelwright, Esquire ; then by a line running north-westerly 220 feet or thereabouts, and abutting on land formerly belonging to said Wheelright; then by a line running north-westerly 217 feet, abutting on land formerly belonging to said Jeremiah Wheelwright ; lastly by a line running north-westerly towards the water, together with all the flats lying before the same, down to low-water mark, &c., &c., or however the same may be butted or bounded." No reference to title, and no statement of contents. Taking into consideration the upland and flats both, this pur- chase is at a considerably less rate than $1,000 per acre. Indeed, I have very little doubt that it conveyed at least 13 of 14 acres of upland, since his description towards the water being construed as meaning to the water, and being confirmed by a fence erected according, carried the line, as we have before stated, across the rear lots of Zachariah Phillips' pasture, and formed a basis of a " Gleaner " Articles. 197 dissesin title to quite an additional number of acres of upland and flats, though it also contained the germ of one of the most cele- brated and important lawsuits known in our day. Copley personally executed a confirmatory deed, with release of dower, dated April 17, 1797 (L. 191, f. 168), which is not acknowledged. It is made to Mason and Otis and Mr. Joseph Woodward, who for $5.00 released to them by deed in 1817 (L. 255, f. 246). The description in this deed from Copley is as above, except that the corner of Dr. Joy's fence is said to be 185 feet from George, or Belknap, street, and that said fence runs at right angles with the southerly line of said Joy's land on Beacon street. Thus it seemed that this great purchase was consummated in a manner satisfactory at least to the purchasers ; but there was further tribulation and anguish in store for them. The ligitation of the middle of the last century was to be again renewed on the same extensive scale, breaking out, however, in a new spot, — the want of any deed to Copley. Gleaner 198 City Document No. 105. LXXI, [COPLEY'S SALE. — Oontinued.'^;\ November 26, 1855. Mr. Editor : — As the law stood when Messrs. Masou and Otis made the Copley purchase, a " writ of right" to defeat a title might be brought by a claimant at any time within sixty years (Statute, 1786, ch. 13). On March 2, 1808, a statute was passed (Statute, 1807, ch. 75), that, from and after January 1, 1812, the sixty years should be reduced to forty ; and thus the law continued till January 1, 1840, when the Revised Statutes made a further change, by reducing the limitation of forty years to twenty years (with certain savings). All these changes are in the right direc- tion, — a remark by no means true of all recent legislation. The statute of 1807, above referred to, besides the change of the period of limitation, introduced also an entirely new provision, and one of great importance as a matter of public policy, and entirely equitable in its bearings, viz., the " betterment law," by which a party who had had six years' possession and had made valuable improvements, or " betterments," should, on failure of title, be entitled to compensation for his improvements. This betterment law was nominally asked for as being especially necessary in respect to lands in Maine ; but it was, in fact, in- tended to apply to the Copley estate. The proprietors were daily giving warranty deeds, and in case of an ultimate eviction the constantly increasing value of the lands would make the final measure of damages very severe to the warrantors, and it would be utterly ruinous to them if purchasers could come upon them also for the whole cost of their improvements. If this real object had been disclosed, the Legislature would have refused to rich posses- sors in Boston the protection which they readily granted to poor squatters in Maine, viz. : a wise enactment applicable alike in both cases. The provisions of the betterment law have since been further extended, so as to protect any person buying in good faith, under a title believed to be good, and making immediate improve- , S8 New title. — W. H. "W. "Gleaner" Aeticles. 199 ments. The strong motives of self-iaterest on the part of these }Droprietors, and their adroit management, thus directly led to great improvements in the law of the land. These proprietors were doubtless well aware, from the beginning, of the want of any deed to Copley from Cunningham's administrator. And the same discovery was also seasonably made by his heirs-at-law. Suits were accordingly commenced to dispossess Copley's grantees, and great alarm and anxiety resulted therefrom. The late Abra- ham Moore, Esq., was by marriage nearly connected with the claimant, and Mr. Otis, availing himself of his personal good offices and assistance, at last succeeded in obtaining a full release. This, I have always understood, was effected without the slightest sus- picions of her counsel. I have been told, indeed, that Mr. Otis went into court, and in his blandest and most courteous manner moved that the suits should be dismissed. The opposite counsel naturally wished to know upon what specific grounds he made this unexpected motion. He suggested, in reply, the very conclusive one, of a full release in his pocket from the demandant herself. This, though not drawn up with the technical formalities of special pleading, proved probably as effectual a ' ' rebutter " as was ever submitted to the decision of a court. The claimant, Susanna Cunningham, was understood to have made an agreement with George Sullivan, Esquire, and Mr. Mur- ray, by which they were to carry on the suits for her, and were to share largely in the expected " plunder." These gentlemen were fearful Jest she should be tampered with, and took possession of her, keep- ing her secluded in Mr. Murray's estate on the North River, with as much vigilance as was shown of old in regard to the golden fruit in the garden of the Hesperides. But the fates were against them. The genius of Mr. Otis prevailed. Into this Eden the tempter entered as of old. The lady eloped from her legal guar- dians, as many a ladj'' has done before and since ; and she parted at last, not indeed with her heart and hand, but with her title and estate, by an unconditional surrender. Those who had bargained for her claim thus lost their share of the expected profits, and had the pleasure of paying their own expenses. Everybody was pleased at their disappointment.*® Susanna Cunningham, of New York, in consideration of five dollars, quitclaimed to said Mason and Otis, and to Benjamin Joy, colt is but fair to state that the opinions exipressed by Mf. Bowditch in these articles are entitled to only such weight as his character may give them. Their reproduction is necessarily without examination or endorsement. — W. H. W". 200 City Document No. 105. " all the right, title, interest, demand, or estate, which I have or inay have by any wa3's or means whatsoever, in and to a certain tract of land in Boston, containing by estimation 8^ acres, bounded southerly by Beacon street, north-westerly on Charles River in part, and pai'tly by land formerly of John Leverett and Mr. James Allen, north-east and northerly by land formerly of said Leverett, of James Allen, and Nathaniel Oliver, and easterly partly on land formerly of Samuel Sewall, now John Vinal's, and partly by land of said James Allen, together with all the flats lying before the same to low-water mark, or however the same may measure or be bounded, the said land being the same which said Mason and Otis, and Jo}-, or one of them, or persons claiming under them, or some of them, now hold in their actual occupation, and are the same lands conveyed to said Mason, Otis, and Joy by deed from John S. Copley to hold to them, their heirs and assigns, according to their own deeds, agreements and partitions among themselves." This deed is dated, acknowledged, and recorded August 17, 1812 (L. 240, f. 250). That was a happy day for these purchasers. They doubtless all slept the more soundly the next night than they had for some time. It is generally believed, however, that j^ye dollars does not express the exact sum paid to quiet this claim. It has been suggested that quite a number of thousands of dollars were really paid, and that even Mr. Moore had a very respectable fee for his services. It may, at least be safely said, as in the case of the State-House wall, " the cost somewhat exceeded the estimates." Gleaner. •* Gleaner" Articles. 201 L.XXII. [COPLEY'S LAND. — Concluded. ^';\ November 30, 1855. Mr. Editor : — The Copley purchase bounded in the rear almost wholly on Allen's pasture, large portions of which became also vested, as we have seen, in the same purchasers, partly by deed of Enoch Brown's heirs, and partly by the deed of the devisees of Jeremiah Wheelwright. In Lib. 192, fol. 198, is a great plan of all these purchasers, the dotted lines of which show the lines of the Copley deed, as claimed to run; and from this survey it appears that these three purchases together gave the proprietors a tract of land bounded southerly on Beacon street, 850 feet 8 inches ; east- erly on Dr. Joy's land (or Walnut street), 457 feet 4 inches ; south on Dr. Joy's land (or Mt. Vernon street), 305 feet 1 inch; east- erly again on Belknap street, 236 feet 1 inch ; then north on one of the lots of Cooke's pasture, 77 feet ; easterly again on ditto, 83 feet 9 inches ; and then north by a general straight line to the water. This last line coincides with the rear line of the estates on the norlh side of Pinckney street, as subsequently laid out. On this plan appear the old powder-house, near the north-west corner of the tract, and two dwelling-houses fronting towards Bea- con street, near its south-easterly corner. One of these houses was formerly occupied by Copley. For several years they had been occupied; the first by Charles Cushing, Esq., and the other by " Master Vinal." The Cushing house is the source of title to the block now owned and occupied by Messrs. Nathan Appleton and Henderson Inches ; while " Master Vinal" is represented by Hon, David Sears One very observable fact is, that on this plan the lots of Zecha- riah Phillips's pasture, which should have been delineated at its north-westerly corner, do not appear. Not only is the Copley lot extended to the water, instead of towards the water, but the extreme north line of the whole plan, or the south line of the rope- walks of Swett, Farley, and Hammond, is extended beyond the west end of the rope- walks, in the same direction, to the water. ^^ New title. — W.H.W. 202 City Document No. 105. In other words, the pasture bought of Wheelwright' s devisees is madt to sweep across these lots, precisely as the Copley estate is made to do; and this although the deed of Wheelwright's devisees did not pre- tend to run towards the water, but bounded westerly on these Phillips lots. The lots of Zechariah Phillips's pasture, the existence of which is thus ignored on the plan, were likewise ignored in fact. The Latin maxim was acted on, — De 7ion apparentibus et de non existantibits eadeyn est lex." As one and another of the owners of these lots came forward and claimed their rights they were settled with. Thus, Samuel Swett sold one lot in 1803 (L. 207, f. 115). The heirs of Tilley quitclaimed in 1814, etc. (L. 410, f. 155-156 ; L. 249, f. 136), the lots subsequently sued for by the Overseers of the Poor, claiming under foreclosure of mortgage made by the ancestor ; and William Donneson conveyed one lot even as lately as 1828 (L. 338, f. 213). These proprietors also purchased very many of the water- lots of Zechariah Phillips's pasture, lying north of the range of their original purchase, so that they were separated from Cam- bridge street only by Mr. Bulfinch's land. The Mount Vernon proprietors were Jonathan Mason and H. G. Otis, each three-tenths, and Benjamin Joy two-tenths ; while the remaining two-tenths were held by General Henr}'^ Jackson, and more recently bj' Wm. Sullivan, as trustees of Hepsibah C. Swan, wife of James Swan, Esq., aud subject to her appointment. Va- .rious partitions were made by mutual releases, by indentures of division, and b}^ order of court. A partial division was made by the indenture recorded with the plan above referred to, on which appears, for the first time. Walnut street. Chestnut street. Mount Vernon street (west of Belknap street), and Pinckney street. The indenture laying out Louisburg square, etc., was made in 1826 (L. 312, f. 217, etc.). A large division of the lands, east and west of Charles street, etc., had been made in 1809, by order of court, as per plan at the end of Lib. 230 ; and another, of the lands west of Charles street, and north of the Mill-dam in 1828, the plans being recorded at the end of L. 330. On the first old plan of L. 192, the sea came up to a point 850 feet west of Dr. Joy's fence, or to a point 143 feet east of the east line of Charles street. This would reach to the easterly corner of the house next east of Mr. John Bryant's, on Beacon street ; and accordingly, Mr. Bryant informs me, that when he dug his cellar he came to the natural beach, with its rounded pebble stones, at the depth of three or four feet below the surface. The barberry bushes "Gleaner" Articles. 203 speedily disappeared after this Copley purchase. Charles street- was laid out through it, and lots sold off on that street in 1804. The first railroad ever used in this country was here employed, an incline plane being laid, down which dirt-cars were made to slide, emptying their loads in the water at the foot of the hill. It was not, however, until Mr. Otis himself became mayor that the final improvements of digging away May street and the adjoining lands, and reducing the hill to its present grade, were completed. On this occasion I remember one "black" tenement perched up in the air at least 15 feet above its old level. These final measures, though certainly important to the public convenience, happened also to be very beneficial to the Mount Vernon Proprietors, afford- ing another instance in which their interests and those of the com- munity, being identical, were advanced by one and the same instrumentality. Gleanee. 204 City Document No. 105. L.XXIII. MOUNT VERNON STREET/' December 4, 1855. Mr. Editor : — On the Copley estate live, or have lived, a large proportion of those most distinguished among us for intellect and learning, or for enterprise, wealth, and public spirit. I do not propose to be guilty of the impertinence of saying much about private individuals ])ecause they happen to live in a certain locality. I shall merely mention a few incidents and facts which occur to me. The easterly part of Copley's estate is, as we have stated, composed of 2.^ acres of Sewall's Elm Pasture. Sewall street, as laid out in 1 732, would extend west of Walnut street about 200 feet, and would destroy the out-buildings of about the first eight or ten houses on Chestnut street ; and, though Mr. Sears is one of the last of our citizens whom we would feel inclined to send to or put in " Coventry," I am sorry to say that Coventry street, as laid out in 1732, runs north from Beacon street 140 feet west of Walnut street, and would therefore pass directly through his elegant estate. The Massachusetts General Hospital has two free beds for surgical cases to be forever supported from the income of Mr. Sears' bounty, who also contributed generously to the enlargement of its buildings in 1846. Desirous that his children, during his life, should enjoy the benefits of his wealth, he has displayed towards them and their families a liberality unsurpassed in this community, while, at the same time, he has never overlooked or disregarded any just claims of the public. I should, therefore, be truly sorry that he should be rendered houseless by this venerable highway. The outstanding fee of or easements in these ancient streets will not, however, probably very seriously effect the present market value of any of these estates. The Mount Vernon Proprietors sold, in 1804, to Richard C. Derb}', a lot measuring 73 feet on Chestnut street, and extending back on land of Otis 150 feet to Olive or Mount Vernon street, on which he erected a mansion-house fronting on Chestnut street, " New title. — W.H. W. "Gleaner" Articles. 205 which he occupied for many years. Mount Vernon street, when actually laid out, proved to be about 165 feet from Chestnut street at this spot. There was consequently a gore of land on Mount Vernon street, in front of the stable built by Mr. Derby, on what he supposed to be the line of that street, and wliich the measure- ments of his deed did not cover. This surplus gore of land must have been peculiarly unsightly to the Mount Vernon Proprietors, as it kept constantly before them, probably, the only instance in which they had parted with more than they intended. This estate was sold in 1846 to the Messrs. Thayer, whose two freestone houses were erected fronting on this latter street. A remarkable change was thus wrought, since only a few years ago horses were groomed and carriages washed amid the litter of a stable, where are now two of the most lofty vestibules and magnificent drawing- rooms in Boston. It has been said that an absent-minded fellow-citizen, when trav- elling, once bought his own boots. It is certain that two of our most intelligent citizens, formerly residing in Beacon street, deliber- ately bought their own houses. One of them had on various occa- sions spoken about selling his estate, and a broker, one day, said to him, " Oh, it is very well for you to talk in this way. You dare not name a price which you will be willing to take." The owner, piqued by this challenge, instantly replied, "Yes, I will. I will take $50,000." — "I will give it," was the equally instant and appalling rejoinder. The owner, of course, could not refuse to sign a written agreement, thus making himself legally responsible. But the unwillingness of a member of his family to remove led him to propose a reference in regard to the question of damages, and the result was that he remained in his own house at the price of ten thousand dollars. He, as may be easily believed, never offered it for sale again. After his death it became the property of Hender- son Inches, Esq. Another gentleman himself repented of a sale on sober second thought, and voluntarily rescinded the contract at the same cost. His house is now owned by William H. Prescott, the historian. Mr. Otis erected an elegant mansion on Mount Vernon street, which he occupied for some years. It was subsequently sold to the wife of Col. Benjamin Pickman, of Salem, for $29,500 (in 1805, L. 211, f. 156), who, altering his mind as to his intended removal to this city, sold it for $18,700 (in 1806, L. 217, f. 232), to John Orborn. It was for many years the residence of Mrs. Gibbs, widow of the distinguished Newport merchant, who bought 206 City Document No. 105. it of Mr. Osborn in 1809, for $28,500 (L. 230, f. 179 ; L. 234, f. 262), and her daughter, Miss Sarah Gibbs, became the owner, in 1828, at a cost of $25,950. Samuel Hooper, Esq., bought of hei in A.D. 1845, for $48,000 (L. 544, f. 233), and, after selling off the house-lots on Pinckney street, sold the residue for $70,000 to the Misses Pratt, in 1853. Though thus curtailed, it is still one of the finest private residences left in the city. East of this mansion is a ^Jblock of buildings, erected 30 feet back from the street, under an agreement in A.D. 1820, imposing mutual restrictions between the late owners, Benjamin Joy and Jonathan Mason, deceased (L. 269, f. 304) ; and a like restriction in a deed of Mr. Swan's lot in 1832 (L. 358, f. 2). The first house in this block stands, indeed, partly on Miss Gibbs's lot, and was the residence of her brother-in-law. Rev. William EUery Channing, who has a world-wide celebrity as a theologian and philanthropist. On the west of this Otis mansion is a large lot, on which stand two houses fronting on Mt. Vernon street, besides smaller houses in the rear, fronting on Pinckney street. This was sold in 1805 to Charles Bulfinch (L. 214, f. 18), who in 1806 divided the front into two lots, by deeds (L. 215, f. 147 ; L. 217, f. 69). The east- erly of these two houses was built by Stephen Higginson, Jr., and is owned by William Sawyer, Esq., one of our oldest retired mer- chants, formerly a partner of the late Thomas Wigglesworth. With him resides his sister, Mrs. George G. Lee, the well-known author- ess. The other house was built and formerly owned and occupied bj^ General David Humphreys, whose widow, a native of Portugal, at an advanced age, married a French Count Walewski (about A.D. 1830). At her request, the late Hon. John Pickering "gave her away," much to the amusement of his friends. He advised her to secure her property to her separate use. She, however, declined doing so, remarking: "It is delightful to us women to feel our- selves dependent for everything on the man we love." Her senti- mental bridal illusions were, however, speedily dissipated, as in the similar case of Madam Haley. Her husband, doubtless, took a more matter-of-fact view of the ceremony, and perhaps was even then thinking of — this land. At any rate, she soon died, and this estate, converted into cash, was remitted to Paris (L. 351, f. 34; L. 373, f. 23), to replenish the finances of " the Count." Gleaner. "Gleaner" Articles. 207 LXXIV. THOMAS L. WINTHROP AND JOHN PHILLIPS. December 7, 1855. Mr. Editor : — The first dwelling-house on Beacon street held under the Copley title is that at the corner of Walnut street, owned and occupied b}' the famil}' of the late Thomas Dixon. By the great indenture of division in 1799 (L. 392, f. 198), it was assigned to Jonathan Mason, who, in 1804, sold the same to John Phillips (L. 208, f. 223). He died in 1823, and his heirs in 1825 conveyed to Thomas L. Winthrop, who died 1841, when his exec- utors conveyed to Mr. Dixon. This estate was, therefore, for many years in succession, the mansion-house estate of Mr. Phillips and of Mr. Winthrop. No office in this country is hereditary except, as it would seem, that of Register of Deeds, which, in this country, has been held by grandfather, father, and son (Henry, William, and Henry Alline), whose next immediate predecessor (Ezekiel Goldthwait) was the lineal ancestor of the wife of the present incumbent. This tenure, during four generations, of an elective office, indicates some sub- stantial merits as the basis of popular favor.* In like manner one of our earliest governors was John Winthrop. Another, equally distinguished, was James Bowdoin. The late Thomas L. Winthrop, a lineal descendant of the former, and who married the grand-daughter of the latter, was himself elected for seven succes- sive years (1826-1832) Lieut. -Governor of the Commonwealth. His son, the late Grenville Temple Winthrop, who some years since closed a retired life in a neighboring town, was formerly commander of that well-known corps, the Boston Cadets. On an intensely cold election day the company was not seasonably ready to attend upon his Excellency Governor Lincoln, at the conclusion * Mr. Goldthwait'*first signature as Register is to a deed recorded Nov. 6, 1740, L. 60, f. 77, and his last to a deed recorded Jan. 17, 1776, L. 127, f. 31. It is a remark- able fact that both he and his immediate successor died in office blind. I shall gladly continue to vote for our present competent and courteous Register until he becomes blind, — a disability which I sincerely hope wiU never befall him. I am convinced that while he has his eyes the public will not find a more faithful servant. [Author's Note.] 208 City Document No. 105. of the services at the Old South Church. The undignified haste with which they left their snug quarters and pleasant refreshments at the Exchange Coffee House, and ran along the streets to over- take the Commander-in-Chief, afforded much innocent amusement ; but, as a breach of military etiquette, the indignity could not be overlooked. The result was a coui-t-martial, and the proceedings led to a voluminous publication in two octavos, which a friend once playfully pointed out to me as " Winthrop's Works." Distinguished as was the late Lt. -Governor Winthrop in his lifetime, he will hereafter be better known as the father of a more distinguished son, Robert C. Winthrop, who, under the doctrine of hereditary descent, based upon merit, may well aspire to the same high position which has been so honorably filled alike by his paternal and maternrd ancestors. However much our views may differ on the subject of slavery, I do not believe that the interests of the character of our old Com- monwealth would suffer at his hands. So, too, the late John Phillips, for ten successive years the President of our State Senate, and though selected, from his personal popularity, above all others, to be the first Mayor of Boston, will be — nay, is already — chiefly remembered as the father of Wendell Phillips. As an advocate in any event of disunion, I totally dissent from his views ; but much should be pardoned to an honest zeal in a righteous cause. As long as a slave shall tread upon that soil which of all others in the world seems especially consecrated to freedom, aye, long after that foul stigma shall have been effaced from our national char- acter, — as God, in his mercy, grant that it speedily may be, without civil dissensions and fraternal bloodshed! — the classic erudition and the dignified eloquence of Sumner, the graceful delivery, the fervid oratory, the sometimes too impassioned de- nunciations of Pliillips, will have made their names household words as among the foremost of those who in any age or country have vindicated the cause of oppressed and degraded humanity, I rejoice to believe that the coldness, the bitterness, the social proscription of to-day will be amply atoned for hereafter by the gratitude of a united, happy, and/ree people. It is a remarlvable circumstance that tlie estate should have been derived by the great anti-slavery champion by regijlar conveyances from Jonathan Mason, one of the few Northern men whose votes established the Missouri Compromise. And nothing indicates more strongly the subsequent retrograde movement of the nation on this subject than the fact that we are now seeking, and probably " Gleaner " Articles. 209 seeking in vain, to procure even a restoration of this very compro- mise, wJiich, when it was first forced upon us, was regarded with universal and unmitigated detestation. We bartered away our birthright, and have lost even the poor pittance for which we bargained. Gleaner. 210 City Document No. 105. L.XXV. BEACON STREET.** December 11, 1855. Mr. Editor : — Next west of Lt. -Governor Winthrop's house is that of Hon. Nathan Appleton. As an associate of the late Francis C. Lowell and P. T. Jackson he participated largely in the creation of the great manufacturing interest of New England, and is probably now as well informed in relation to that subject as any one among us. As a member of Congress he was opposed to Henry Lee, who advocated free ti'ade in opposition to " the Ameri- can system," In my father's household were four voters. He himself was a a warm partisan of Mr. A., but two of us "young Americans" could not be convinced by his arguments, and so the entire family turned out at the polls and exactly neutralized each other, Mr. A. is a brother of the late Samuel Appleton, and the family name still preserves its ancient brightness. Of his two elder daughters one is married to the son and biographer of Sir James Mackintosh the Governor of St. Christopher's, the other to the poet Longfellow. At the last commencement of Harvard College, Mr. Appleton received the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws,'^3 Elizabeth wife of Charles Cushing, Esq., in 1796 acquired a lot 73 feet on Beacon street by 165 feet deep (L. 184, f, 90), and he purchased the adjoining 25-feet lot, 1804 (L, 210, f. 25), Their children conveyed in 1816 to Nathan Appleton and Daniel P. Parker (252, f, 69), who erected two elegant brick mansions, Mr. Parker was an active and successful merchant, and at his death owned one of the finest vessels in the port, to which he had given the name of his friend and neighbor, Samuel Appleton. He was for several years a trustee of the Massachusetts General «2New Title. — W. II. W. s^Mr. Appleton died July 14, 1861,— W. H, W. "Gleaner" Arttclbs. 211 Hospital. He left one son, Henry Take Parker, and two daughters, the eldest of whom is the wife of Edmund Quincy. Mr. Gushing was a well-known citizen, — the Clerk of the Courts ; and the testimony of his son of the same name — a gentleman of intelligence and high standing — was of great importance to the Mt. Vernon Proprietors in the suits brought by the Overseers of the Poor. He remembered that Copley's fence joined on the old pow- der-house, thus establishing an ancient monument. The stone mansion of Mr. Sears was originally a much lower building, having only one bow in the centre, instead of two bows or projections. It fronted on a 3'ard or carriage-way, laid out on the easterly side of his lot. It was a very graceful and beautiful building, and a great ornament to the street. He subsequently erected an additional house on the east, covering the whole front of his lot, and also making radical changes in the original structure. On this lot of Mr. Sears, behind the old house, stood a barn, which was converted into a temporai-y hospital for the wounded British officers after the battle of Bunker Hill. When Mr. Sears was digging for the foundations of his house, the workmen came, at a depth of several feet under the surface, to a gigantic moccasined foot, perhaps 2J- feet long, broken off at the ankle, and carved from a kind of a sandstone not found in this vicinity, which he pre- sented to the Boston AtheuiDeum, where it now is — not. " Master Viual" would doubtless be much gratified to find that his humble wooden house has attained to such high distinction in these later times. And even Mr. Copley would admit that the houses of Messrs. Sears, Parker, and Appleton have more than made good the two domiciles which are delineated in all the dignity of 3'ellow paint, with tJoors, windows, and chimneys, on the origi- nal plan of the Mount Vernon Purchase (in Lib. 192). Except the old powder-house, we have seen that only these two houses appear on a plan of an estate containing a million of square feet, upon which now stand probabl}^ five hundred houses. After Mr. Otis had sold his mansion house on Mt. Vernon street, he removed to an elegant and spacious house which he erected on Beacon street, next west of Mr. Sears's, and here he lived till his death. His lot was 120 feet front by 165 feet in depth. The easterly portion was a fine garden. Land at last became so valu- able that he did not feel justified in retaining for a mere matter of sentiment this beautiful enclosure, which had long pleased all eyes, and decided to convert it to a more substantial use. Pie accord- ingly in 1831, sold the easterly part to Mr. Sears, for ^12,412. 50 212 City Document No. 105. (L. 356, f. 227), who proceeded to erect a house, and on the west part Mr. Otis himself erected another. The bow of Mr. Otis's mansion house, which originally projected into the garden, still projects into this house, though this encroachment is ingeniously disposed of and concealed by its interior arrangements. When the houses were erected on this garden there was found what had the appearance of an old well, entirely filled up with beach sand. Its existence was before unknown. The foundations of the new buildings were constructed by arching it over. And perhaps, after many a year yet to come, it may again astonish the spectators. The mansion-house itself, after Mr. Otis's death, was conveyed to, and is now owned by Samuel Austin, by whom it has been thor- oughly renovated. There is, perhaps, on the whole, no more desirable residence in Boston. Mr. Austin paid for it the sum of $60,000. There probabl}'^ has never lived in Boston any individual with finer natui-al endowments than Mr. Otis. Possessing a noble presence, a beautifully modulated voice, great readiness and self- possession, and a cultivated intellect, he has rarely, if ever, been surpassed in the divine gift of eloquence. Nor was he less agree- able and fascinating in the intercourse of private life. His brilliant -repartees, his graceful compliments, his elegant, manners, made Mm as distinguished and successful in the social circle, as his talents and intelligence did at the bar and in all the business relations of a long and active life. A single anecdote will illus- trate his instant readiness : a friend and his wife were one day approaching him in the street. The wife noticed some derange- ment of her husband's dress, and stopped to adjust it. As Mr. Otis reached them, she turned round, and, struck with the faultless neatness of his costume, exclaimed to her husband, "There, look at Mr. Otis's bosom." Mr. 0. immediately bowed and said, " Madam, if your husband could look within this bosom, he ivould die of jealousy." Had Mr. Otis been less absorbed with the care of his own concerns and interests, there was no honor in the gift of his fellow-citizens which they would not have bestowed upon him by acclamation. He died in 1848, leaving three sons and one daughter. Several of his childi'en had died during his lifetime, thi-ee of whom left issue. He had strong domestic affections, and the kindest feelings existed between him and those employed in his household. He rightly thought that that relation involved something more than mere service on the one side and wages on the other. I have heard "Gleaner" Articles. 213 him spoken of with great regard by one who for roany years was a frequent inmate of his dwelling, employed in labors of needle- work. In his last will is the following item : "I give to Deborah Hastings, my faithful nurse, two hundred dollars, and a suit of mourning at the discretion of," &c., " handsome, suitable for her condition in life, and not too extravagant." Gleanee. 214 • City Document No. 105. LXXVI. THE LOWELL FAMILY." December 14, 1855. Mr. Editor : — There is no name among us more entitled to honorable commemoration than that of Lowell. It has still one venerable living representative, — the survivor of a past generation, — Rev. Charles Lowell, D.D., who is father of the distinguished poet, James Russell Lowell, and of Mrs. Samuel R. Putnam, a lad}' as unaffected and pleasing as she is talented and learned. One of Dr. Lowell's brothers, the late Hon. John Lowell, was in early life at the head of the Suffolk Bar, and eventually the most distinguished agriculturist in New England. He was for many years a member of the Corporation of Harvard College, as his son John Amory Lowell is now. Another brother, the late Francis C. Lowell, devoted himself with the utmost enthusiasm to the estab- lishment and development of our manufactures. A great city sprang into existence, the future emporium of this branch of our national industry, and, by adopting his name, has gratefully' recog- nized him as its virtual founder. I have alluded in a former article to the rapid rise in value of lands in Loston. The same remarks are even more strikingly applicable to lands in Lowell. A single farm of 100 acres was bargained for at the outset (1819-22) at from $15 to S20 per acre. Nine out of the ten owners conveyed accordingly. The tenth died, and in the delay of getting license to sell to raise enough to pay his debts, the | of his ,V sold, in 1824, for S3, 206.89. This sum paid all his debts, and a new license became necessary to sell for the benefit of his heirs, and their ^ of yV was sold for $4,742. When I was examining the titles in Lowell, in 1831, Mr. Kirk Boott informed me that this farm, without any improvements, could not be worth less than $15,000 per acre, — or, in other words, that its vjilue had increased, in ten years, from about $1,500 to $1,500,000, or a thousand fold. ««New title. — W. U. W. "Gleaner" Articles. 215 I was employed to examine all the titles in Lowell, from the circumstance that an individual was engaged in trying to discover defects, and to extort money from the Corporation. I one day received a note from Mr. Boott, that this person pretended that a valid claim existed for the whole of this farm, because, when it was conveyed, in 1782, by Benjamin Melvin, and Joanna, liis wife (L. 8-t, f. 277), she was a minor; that both husband and wife had lived till within the past few years, and therefore her heirs were not yet barred. It of course became of great importance to find out whether or not she was a minor in 1782. I knew that there was a large trunk full of papers in the Probate OfBce, which had never been recorded, because the fees had not been paid. I deter- mined to examine every paper. In doing so I found her choice of a guardian in 1772, specifying her age to be then 15 years, which proved conclusively that she must have been 25 years old at the time of her conveyance. I procured a certified copy of this docu- ment, and there was no more trouble or alarm on that subject. One very curious mistake of title I discovered and caused to be corrected, in regard to the valuable Hurd estate, then so called, since belonging to the Middlesex Company. It contained several acres, and was sold in 1827 for $55,000. In 1822 it belonged wholly to Thomas Hurd. He conveyed to his brother William in 1822 (L. 248, f. 388), one-half part of all my right., &c., in and to. These words were servilel}' copied in the two next deeds, each of which was intended to convey i\iQ whole interest of the grantor. Thus "William, instead of selling J sold \ to Joseph Hurd in 1824 (L. 2G8. f. 208), and Joseph reconveyed to Thomas in 1826 (L. 268, f. 236), only -§■ instead of the ^ which he supposed that he was selling. Three-eighths of the whole land were thus left out- standing, merely from supposing that moiety had no meaning. I once met with a like curious defect in a title in Boston, caused by its being supposed to mean any fractional share whatever. A series of deeds conveyed one undivided moiety or quarter part, &c., which, on the rule of construing a deed, in case of doubt, most strongly against the grantor, of course made him legally sell twice what he meant, and the later grantees were left in a forlorn and destitute condition. In L. 258, f. 233, of Suffolk Deeds will be found a case where a grantor sells four moieties of a parcel of land as being all that he owned himself, " and also all the right of my dearly beloved wife Abigail." At the death of Francis C. Lowell, in the year 1817, he left four children, — a daughter, who married her cousin, John Amory 21 fi City Document No. 105. Lowell, and three sons. One of these was John Loioell, Junior. Possessing a considerable estate, he mai-ried a lady of large for- tune, who died leaving him two children. He purchased a house in Beacon street, part of the Copley lot, as an investment on their account. A guardian is only permitted to invest in real estate under previous license of Court. This had not been obtained. A question was raised, therefore, as to the allowance of the account. Both the children died by sudden and severe disease within a few days, and the father, as heir of the survivors, became entitled to all the propert3' which had been held in trust for his late wife. By his will, dated Nov. 8, 1832, he established that admi- rable foundation, The Lowell Institute. He never married again ; but this document provides minutely for a possible wife and chil- dren, and, in default of any such immediate claimants, appropri- ates a moiety of all his estate to this public use. B}' a second codicil, dated April 1, 1835, "from the top of the palace of Louxor, in the French house at Thebes," he gives his final direc- tions as to this Lecture- Fund Trust. The time-defying pyramids, by their massive grandeur, inspired Napoleon to address to his troops that stirring appeal which history will never allow to be forgotten. And the same associations perhaps led the American traveller to consummate, among the glorious remains of ancient Egypt, a chei'ished purpose, of which the effects will, perhaps, be as enduring as the monuments of the Pharaohs. May the ever increasing intelligence of the citizens of Boston, through coming generations, be the appropriate memorial of his wisdom and philanthropy ! I remember but one other will which states any peculiar circum- stance attending its execution. The late Bedford Webster, father of Professor Webster, appended to his signature, in 1832, the following: "With Mr. Eliot's bad pen in the dark shop." Not- withstanding this trivial remark, the testator was a person of superior intelligence. Mr. Lowell's house has since his death become the property of his brother, Francis C. Lowell, who for several years ably presided over the Massachusetts Hospital Life Insurance Companj-, one of the largest of our moneyed institutions, and whose active services and ready aid have been freely rendered to the charitable estab- lishments of our city. Their youngest brother, the late Edward Jackson Lowell, was a classmate of my own at Harvard College None who had previously borne the name were purer in character, more brilliant in talents, or governed by higher impulses and "Gleaner" Articles. 217 nobler views of life and duty. He died of consumption in 1829, one of the earliest taken and best beloved of our band of brothers.** Gleaner. 65 So little ha3 been printed concerning the Lowells, that the following' genealogi- cal items may be useful : Percival Lowell, of an old family in Worcestei-shire, Eng., came to Newbury in 1639, with a son John, who had also already a family. John, Jr., was father of Ebenezer Lowell, whose son was the Rev. John Lowell, of Newbmy- port, who died in 1767. The last-named was father of Judge John Lowell (b. 1743, d. 6 May 1802), who had three wives. By his first wife, Sarah Higginson, he had a son, John ; by his second wife, Susan Cabot, he had Francis C. ; by his third wife, Re- becca Russell, he had Rev. Charles Lowell. Of these half-brothers, John married Rebecca Amoiy, and had John Amory Lowell (who died 31 Oct. 1881), whose sons are John Lowell, the distinguished judge of the U.S. Court, who has just quitted the bench, and Augustus Lowell. Francis Cabot Lowell married Hannah Jackson, and had John (founder of the Lowell Institute), Francis C. Jr., and Edward J. Rev. Charles Lowell married Harriet Spence, and had sons, Charles R., William K. T. S., Robert T. S., and James B. Lowell, now U.S. minister at the Court of St. James. W. H. W. 218 City Document No. 105. L.XXVII. [THE SWAN FAMILY.] «« December 18, 1855. 66 The Record Commissioners have omitted this article from the present edition at the I'eqiiest of Mr. Bowditch's representatives, as certain expressions therein con- tained were found to be open to contradiction, and possibly would require explanation or retraction were the author living. A few matters of history may, however, be safely condensed into a note. The ai'ticle treated mainly of the family of Col. James Swan and his wife, Mrs. Hepsibah C. Swan. Col. Swan was in Paris at the time of the French Revolution, and there published, in 1790, a book entitled "Causes qui se sont opposees aux progres du Commerce entre la France et les Etats Unis de I'Amerique En six Lettres addresses a Monsieur le Marquis de la Fayette. Traduit sur le manuscrit Anglais du Colonel Swan, ancien Membre de la Legislation de la Republique de Massachuset." This essay not only presents admirable statements on the feasibility of creating a vast commerce between these nations, but it shows the author to have been an ardent American, and a warm admirer of his native state. His plan touches many topics, and nothing is too trifling to be cited in support of his object. On one page he eulogizes spermaceti candles ; on another he relates the foolish objections made in France to the Introduction of labor-saving machines. He dwells with wonder on the fact that in France salted meats arc practically prohibited, while he adds, "the people of the United States eat such meats twice a day, and you know, sir, that amongst us the men are as healthy and robust as they are anywhere." He mentions that nearly every one in America wears English buttons called " Matthiewmans," made of white metal, and argues that a population of a million and a half will use annually 500,000 dozen, at a profit of 25,000 francs. Again, he prophecies that as, according to Dr. Franklin and Prof. Wigglesworth, our population will double in eighteen years, it will follow that in 1846 we shall have forty-nine millions of inhabitants and our imports will amount to about $200,000,000. He speaks of the great invention of James Rumsey, of Virginia, whose steam-vessels will carry all foreign products to the centre of America through the rivers which flow to the west, and sees in it the hand of Providence which gives this boon at the moment when it will be so beneficial. A perusal of the volume will certainly give one a high opinion of the zeal and ability with which Col. Swan endeavored to advance American interests. It seems that Mr. Swan engaged also in various enterprises in France, which proved unsuccessful, and that his creditors caused his detention for many years. It is said that they hoped thus to compel his wife to purchase his freedom, she having a large inherited fortune settled upon her before her marriage. It is also said that Col. Swan refused to allow any such ransom to be paid, and that he remained a nominal prisoner until his death in 1831, although the kindness of his relatives and friends made his sojourn as pleasant as possible. Mrs. Swan occupied a house in Chestnut street, and also a beautiful summer residence in Dorchester. " In the garden of this latter mansion is still to b i seen the "Gleaner" Articles. 219 enclosure in which h'es buried Gen. Henry Jackson, the original trustee who had charge of her property and affairs." She had a son who died without issue ; two daughters, married respectively to John C. Howard and William Sullivan : and a third daughter married successively to John T. Sargent and Rev. Dr. Richmond. Numerous descendants remain through these female lines. — W. H. W. 220 City Document No. 105. LXXVIII. THE BEACON-STREET FIRE. January 11, 1S56. Mr. Editor : — On Wedncsda}', July 7tli, 1824, just before two o'clock, the bells of Boston rang an alarm of fire, and instantly a dense no ass of black smoke was seen to overhang the entire cit}'. I have alwa3-s been an amateur at fires. If the calamity must happen, I like to be present, to behold what sometimes proves to be a most magnificent spectacle. I was then a young man, — in my teens, — and hastening from 'Change to the corner, of Park street, I saw at once that a most furious and destructive conflagration had commenced. The wind was blowing a hurricane from the north- west. When I reached the bottom of the Beacon-street Mall, a stream of fire was pouring through the passage-way west of Mr. Bryant's house, from carpenter shops and other combustible premises on Charles and Chestnut streets. The flame was of the full width of the passage-way, and it was curling round into the front windows of Mr. B.'s house, which was then nearly finished and ready for occupancy. The out-buildings and fences of all that range of dwelling-houses were then of wood, so that the fire was also making its fearful approaches in the rear. I have never seen before or since, any similar occasion of a more appalling character. The hasty removal of household furniture, much of it being thrown from the windows, which were broken out for the purpose ; the panic of the occupants, as they and their children were obliged to fly, some at a notice of a few minutes ; the crackling of the flames, the intense heat, the falling of the walls of one dwelling-house after another, as the fire proceeded along the street ; the shouts of the firemen ; the mass of specta- tors filling the bottom of the Common and the rising ground in its centre, the jets of flame often spi'inging over a space of several feet, the burning fragments borne aloft over our heads to remote parts of the city ; the magnitude of the danger which led to the covering with wet blankets of houses even as distant as Mr. Otis's and Mr. Sears's, — formed together an aggregate of sights and sounds which can ne\er be forgotten. As those houses which at first were not thought in great danger, one after another, took fire and were consumed, owners who originally decided not to have their furniture moved were at last obliged to remove it so hastily that much was ruined, and much "Gleaner" Articles. 221 more was necessarily left behind. In some instances old family portraits and inherited articles of furniture, rendered invaluable by the associations of a lifetime, were thus reluctantly surrendered. On the other hand a tin-kitchen was saved, and its viands cookins: for dinner were protected from the danger of being overdone. Extensive removals were made from several houses, which were eventually saved, as in the case of Mr. William Appleton's and others. The Common presented a curious medley of miscellaneous articles, the shabbiest household utensils side by side with ele- gant drawing-room carpets and ornaments. Bottles of wine which had not seen the light for twent}' years were summarily decapi- tated without any ceremonious drawing of corks, and the Juno or Elipse vintage was probably never quaffed with greater relish than Avhen it refreshed the parched throats of the exhausted firemen. Other amateurs, without having their apology, imitated their example, and the scene assumed rather a bacchanalian character. One gentleman, desirous of withholding further fuel from this con- flagration, locked up his wine-cellar, and left its contents to be at least harmlessly consumed. Seven dwelling-houses on Beacon street, east of the passage-way, were burnt, besides the entire range of buildings between the passage-way and Charles street. The fire was at last success- fully checked at the house of the late Mr. Eckley. I sup- pose that it ulwaj-s happens that in a large fire somebody's policy has just expired. This was, I believe, the case with the late Mr. Henry G. Rice. To many besides him that was a very sad and discouraging day. Mr. Bryant had the advantage over his neigh- bors of not being incommoded by any furniture or famil3-, as he had not yet taken possession. It is satisfactory to reflect that all the pecuniary loss then sustained has, undoubtedly, been much more than made good by the greatly enhanced value of real estate in that vicinity. And, independently of all the direct and per- petual advantages, of the most inestimable character, derived by our citizens from the Boston Common, it should never be forgotten that it was solely owing to the existence of this open space on this occasion that the entire southern portion of our cit}^ was not destroyed. The range of trees at the foot of the Beacon-street Mall rendered a truly important service. Suffering the flames of martyrdom, they died at their post of duty. A burning cinder lodged in my eye, causing a violent inflamma- tion, and bringing to an abrupt close m}' meditations on this striking spectacle, and a lilce inflammation of the same organ now brings to a like abrupt close the speculations of Gleaner. 222 City Document No. 105. EDITORIAL NOTE." The closing lines of the last article may be classed among invol- untary prophecies ; for this proved to be the real close of this amusing and instructive series of notes. On January 4, 1856, Mr. Bowditch had printed an article relating to Benjamin Joy, and especially noticing his sale of land to the McLean Asylum in Somerville. Certain expressions therein called forth a sharp letter from Mr. John B. Joy, a son of the gentleman criticised. Mr. Bowditch in reply disclaimed any intention to reflect upon the family, and was again assailed by Mr. Joy. This brought forth an answer, and then a last retort from Mr. Joy. It has not seemed best to reprint any part of this controversy. Unfortunately this trivial dispute seems to have entirely quenched Mr. Bowditch's willingness to continue his work, and the articles came to an abrupt conclusion. It will always remain a source of regret that the public was thus deprived of further information upon our local antiquities from one so competent to communicate it. ' W. H. W. INDEX. INDEX. Adams, 170. Adan, 139. AlbioD, The, 36,95,96. Alford, 120, 121, 151, 152. Allen, 34, .36, 37, 38, 50, 51, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 60, 61, 65, 96, 97, 99, 119, 142, 143, 144, 105, 166, 185, 187, 188, 190, 192, 200, 201. Alley, Cato, 161. Hog, 32, 69. Alline, 26, 92, 207. Almshouse, 50, 96, 121. America, 87. Amory, 79, 96, 217. Andrews, 73. Andros, 13, 15, 16, 17. Angler, 164. Applcton, 176, 177, 178, 201, 210, 211, 221. Apthorp, 17, 19, 120, 121. Armitage, 74. Armstrong, 171. Arnold, 62. Ashon, 2, 189, 190. Aspinwall, 34. Athenaeum, Boston, 211. Howard, 74, 82. The, 96, 154. Atkinson, 32, 49, 60. Austin, 3'., 51, 66, 110, 145, 169, 212. Avenue, Coolidge, 154. Hancock, 161. Mt. Vernon, 161. Bquirrel, 32. Western, 1, 75. Avery, 31. Ayer, 55. Ayre, 55. Aylwin, 114. Ayres, 55. Back Bay, 27, 170. Bagnal, 166. Baker, 25, 44. Baldwin, 147. Balston, 165. Bangs, 135. ( Banister, 2, 6, 187, 188, 189, 190, 191, 192, } 193, 194. ( Bannister, 41. Barbadoes, 138. Barnard, 71. Barnes, 107. Baruon, 92. Barricade, The, 21, 22. Barrister, 3. Bartlett, 94, 100. Barton, 50. Barton's Point, 1, 3, 4, 5, 9, 50, 167, 190. Battery, Old South Boston, 20. South, 20. Bayley, 85. Bay, the, 2. Beach, The, 54. Blackstone's, 10, 189. Beacon street Mall, 220, 221. Beck, 34. Beebe, 73. Belcher, 62, 143. j Belknap, 60, 61, 143. } Bellknap, 56. Bell, 26. BclliDgham, 24, 84, 85, 89, 92, 93, 95. Bellknap, see Belknap. Bendall, 24, 74, 84. Bennett, 41. Bentink, 171. Bigelow, 111. Biggs, 34, 36, 37, 38, 54, 60. Billerica, 55. Blackstone, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 37, 38, 39, 40, 69, 144, 185, 186, 187, 188, 189, 190, 191, 193, 195. Blair, 49. Blake, 42, 69, 140. Bianchard, 167. Blantftine, 26. Blanton, 26. Blaxlon, 6. Blaxton's Point, 6. Blighe, 148. Blott, 23, 25, 32. Boardman, 42, 94, 100. Bolton, 71. Bond 167. Bonuer, 6, 50, 143, 144. Boott, 68, 69, 214, 215. Borland, 87. Boston, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, IS, 19, 20, 24, 26, 27, 28,30, 34, 37, 41, 44, 46, 48, 53, 54, 55, 59, 62, 63, 66, 70, 71, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 96, 97, 102, 106, 107, 126, 130, 132, 133, 139, 147,149,150. 154, 157, 159, 161, 162, 164, 167, 168, 178, 179, 185, 190, 191, 192, 194, 195, 196, 200, 205, 212, 214, 215, 220. Boston and Roxbury Mill Co., 53. Boston Cadets, 207. • Courier, 3, 177. East, 50, 167. Library, 30. Mill Corporation, 45. West, 4. Bosworth, 55, 60, 104, 142, 148, 151, 152, 163. Bowditch, 10, 16, 17, 50, 53, 60, 61, 67, 78, 82, 85, 89, 199, 218, 222. Bowdoin, 63, 67, 73, 81, 89, 107, 108, 112, 113, 114, 120, 121, 135, 140, 141, 146, 157, 196, 207. Bowen, 193. Bowers, 73, 74, 77, 79, 82, 100, 108. Bowling Greene, 74. Boyden, 81. Boynton, 145. Box, 17, 19, 145. Bracket, 2, 1S9, 190. Bradford, 50. Brad lee, 161. Brad street, 11,24. Brattle, 15, 54, 55, 163, 164, 187. Brattle street Parsonage Case, 111,112, 117, 123, 124, 136, 169. Bridge, Draw, 50. Swing, 72. 225 226 City Document No. 105. Bridge, West Boston, 53. Bridgham, 92. Bridgman, 19, 177. Brimmer, 89. Brinley, 39. Broad street Association, 167. Bromfield, 108, 121. Brougham, 131. Brown, 38, 51, 54, 57, 90, 102, 130, 144, 201. ■ Bryant, 202, 220,221. Building, Boston, 99. Brazier's, 27, 99. Joy's, 27. Moclianic's Association, 27. Union bank, 132. Bulflnch,29, 39, 6S, TO, 73, 74, 82, 85, 88, 105, 107, 113, 153, 154, 156, 202, 206. Bullard, 41. Burnett, 143. Burrill, 62. j Butolph, 56. } Buttolph, 34, 55, 57, 60, 62, 65, 66, 142, 143. Buttel, 05. Burial Grounds, City, 18. Burying-ground, The, 12, 14, 17, 18, 52. King's Chapel, 19, 45, 98, 177. The Granary, 75, 146, 177. The Public, 16. Burying-place, The, 13, 35, 44. Common, 16. Old, 44, 93. Byfield, 39. Cabot, 217. Cade, 51. Calcutta, 171. Calef, 50. California, 171. Callender, 182. Cambridge, 2. Cambridgeport, 110, 169. J Caner, 16, 19. I Canuer, 17. Carnes, 51, 61. Caswell, 149. Chambers, 33, 34, 36, 37, 60, 61. Channing, 206. Chapel, The, 14. Freeman Place, 108. King's, 13, 16, 17, 23, 73, 75, 178. Chapman, 192. Chardon, 192, 193. Charlestowu, 1, 77, 120. Chauncy, 165. Chelsea, 9o, 99. Church, Baptist, 69. Brattle St., 71, 116. Chauncy place, 28. of England, 15,16. Episcopal, 16. First, 26, 27, 85, 89, 95. First Episcopal, 13. First of Christ, 26, 92. Maverick, 50. Mt. Vernon Congregational, 73. New, 17. New Jerusalem, 114. Old North, 71. Old South, 208. Park Street, 12. Second, 27. St. Paul's, 23, 25. Trinity, 26. Circular Line, 20, 21, 69. City Council, 53. Hall, 13, 15, 27, 69. Jail, 37. S Clark, .35, 41, 44, 62, 176. I Clarke, 60. Clough,23, 24, 62. Cobb, 42. Cobham, 54, 55. Coburn, 71. , _ Codman, 49. Coffin, 96. Coggan, 85, 95. Colboron, 10. Colbron, 12, 41, 189. Cole, 38, 54, CS, 56, 189. College, Bowdoin, 114, 157. Harvard, 31, 95, 99, 124, 136, 157, 210, 214, 216. Medical, 37. Collins, 62. Coliiaan, 82. Colpey, 193. Common, The, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 23, 25, 31, 52, 53, 69, 71, 91, 92, 95, 96, 101, 105, 106, 107, 120, 121, 132, 133, 143, 148, 151, 152, 157, 161, 163, 164, 165, 170, 171, 184, 186, 187, 188, 189, 190, 191, 192, 196, 220, 221. Commonwealth, 47, 49, 93, 114, 120, 130, 133, 140, 145, 146, 149, 150, 161, 162, 171, 207, 208. Conn., 55, 62. t Cook, 41,50, 55, 56, 65, 105, 142, 143, 144, ? 145, 146, 151, 152, 163, 164. ( Cooke, 17, 18, 19, 31, 60, 104, 182, 201. Coole, 56. Coolidge, 66, 68, 69, 100. Cooper, 72, 85, 165. Copley, 2, 6, 38, 40, 55, 88, 166, 170, 185, 186, 187, 188, 193, 194, 195, 196, 197, 198, 199, 200, 201, 202, 203, 204, 207, 211, 216. Cornhill, 75. Corporation, Aqueduct, 146. Boston Mill, 45. Corwin, 45. Cotting, 75, 176, 177, 179. Cotton, 15, 73, 74, 79, 82, 84, 85, 88, 89, 92, 97, 99, 101). Council Chamber, 71. County, Bristol, 100. Devon, 53. Essex, 2, 62, 189, 190. Suffolk, 17, 37. Windham, 62. Court, Common Pleas, 71, 152. End, 2. House, 13, 71, 84, 147. Inferior, 193. Inferior Common Pleas, 152. Probate, 5, 8. of Sessions, 71. St. James, 217. Superior, 71, 103. Superior of Judicature, 186. Supreme, 111, 112, 115, 116, 124, 125, 126, 163. 16a, 182. Supremo Judicial, 22. U. 8. 217. Court, Bolt, 31. Cook's, 146. Southack's, 73. Spriug-strcet, 3. Williams, 29. Cove, The, 20. Craciock, 17, 19, 39, 95. Craft's, 71. Crcedv, 55. Crescent, The, 30. Cross, 25. Crowniushield, 97, 100. Cunningham, 166, 192, 193, 194, 199. Curtis, 42, 79, 80, 112, 115, 140. Gushing. 71, 126, 168, 170, 201, 210, 211. Dall, 42. Danforth, 82. Daniels, 143, 145. j Dasset, 36, 54. I Dasselt, 37, 55. Davenport, 11, 15. 92, 97, 165. Davie, 55, 56, 8»,92, 93, 96, 99, 142, 164. Davies, 34, 60, 93. Davis, 36, 42, 48, 49, 60, 62, 93, 95, 96, 99. Index. 227 Davy, 55, 92, 93, 95, 144, 145, 149, 163. Dawes, 79. Deane, 163, 164. Deblois, 96. Dennis, 163. Derby, 204, 205. Dexter, 53. Disbrow's Riding-school, 29. Dixon, 207. Doane,94. Dodd, 130. Doe, 109. Donueson, 202. Dorr, 42. Dorcbester, 218. Drake, 1, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 12, 13, 15, 20, 21, 48, 49, 79, 80, 83. Dubbn, 12. I Dumer, 33. / Duraraer, 11. Dunton's Letters, 31. Dyer, 191, 192. East, 55, 163, 164, 185, 186, 187, 188, 189, 190, 391, 193, 195. Eaton, lOi, 163. Eckley, 121, 221. Edes, 43. ( Eliot, 10, 61, 62, 96, 97, 161, 189, 216, I Elliots, 62. ( Elliotts, 62, 71. Eltsham, 99, 152. Emmons, 31, 49. ) Endicote, 10. ( Endicott. 15, 18, 82, 85. England, 55, 76, 84, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 99, 102, 110, 125, 131, 152, 153, 195, 217. England, New, 11. England, Old, 84. Epos, 41. Episcopalians, 16. Erving, 51, 89, 96, 107, 113, 166. Europe, 153, 154. Everedd, 45. Exchange, The, 71. Eyre, 55. ( Fairweather, 99, 105, 106. ( Fayerweather, 19, 105, 107, 120, 121, 135. Faneuil.92, 93, 95. FaneuilHall, 71,72. Farley, 51, 201. Farrington, 42. Faxon, 72. Fayerweather, see Fairweather. Felt, 137, 138. Fenno, 193. Field, Gentry, 60. Centinel Hill, 36, 38. Centurv, 151. Common, 12. Gate, 32. New, ;i4, 36, 60, 104, 163, 189. Traiuins, 5, 9, 11, 92, 120, 121, 132, 148, 190, 191, 192, 196. Fitch, 41, 74. Five Points, The, 59. Flats, The, 2, 21, 22, 53, 79, 168, 186, 190, 192, 193, 195, 196, 200. Flats, Drake's, 80. Folsom, 131. Forbes, 12, 17, 19. Foster, 12. Fowle, 107, 168. Franco. 21S. Francis, 74, 77, 78, 79, 80, 86, 89, 112, 115,117. Frankland, 17, 19. Franklin, 218. Gain, 145. Garden, Public, 12, 52. 4 Gardiner, 17, 19,187. I Gardner, 51, 96, 97, 166. Gas Onmnanv'"? Works, 15. Gee, 44, 45. Gerrish, 31,121. Gibbins, 17, 19. Gibbs, 45, 63, 65, 164, 205, 206. Glapion, 146. Goldthwait, 19, 207. Goodwin, 130. Gordon, 17, 19. Gore, 42. Granary, The, 12, 96. Grant, 17, 18, 19, 111, 125. Gray, 49, 82, 167, 183. Great Britain, 88, 149, 162, 191, 196. Green, 18, 108, 145. Greene, 73, 79. 88, 89, 91, 92, 94. 100, Ifll, 195. Gi-een Dragon, 71. Greenleaf, 70, 71, 124, 125. Grotou, 55. Gunter, 18. Guttridge, 61. Haley, 85, 87, 89, 90, 102, 206. Halifax, 71. Hammond, 51, S8, 100, 126, 127, 183, 201. Hancock, 16, 17, IS, 19, 64, 71, 82, 110,114, 116, 12?., 124, 125, 129, 130, 133, 134, 135, 136, 139, 140, 141, 142, 145, 146, 149, 151, 152, 154, 157, 158, 159, 160, 161, 162, 163, 186. Harris, 42, 82. Harrison, 48, 50. Hartford, 55. Hastings, 213. Hatch, 149. Rati, 176. Haverhill, 137. Hawkins, 164, 187. Hayden, 109, 174. Hayward. 70, 72. Head, 46, 51. Heaton, 104. Henchman, 136. Henderson, 62, 71, 119, 145. Heyraan, 48. Higginson, 206, 217. Highway, The, 23, 24, 31, 34, 55, 63, 74, 85, 92, 105, 106, 107, 120, 121, 126, 132, 133, 143, 163. Highway, Allen's, 37. Hill, 17, 18, 19. 34. Hill, The, 4, 59, 89, 106. Bacon, 149. Beacon, 2, 6, 7, 12, 38, 65, 83, 84, 106, 120, 121, 127, 128, 132, 1.35, 136, 139, 140, 141, 143, 145, 148, 149, 150, 151, 152, 1.54, 156. Bunker, 211. Centre, 105. Centcrie, 84. Centery, 104, 105. Centinel, 38. Centre, 105. Gentry, 55, 132, 148. • Geuturie, 105. Century, 99, 105, 148. Copp's, 44, 98. Cotton, 84, 85, 107. Fort, 50. Fox, 52. Milton, 90. Pemberton's, 90. Ridge, 52. Sandy, 77. Sentry, 12. ( Hincklov, 107. f Hinkley, 97. Hodges, 82. Holberton, 108. Hollich, 26, 27. Hollidge, 26. HoUinghead, 26. Holyoke, 62. Honi»r 17« ^''9 ISO. 228 City jjocument No. 105. Hooper, 20G. Hospital Grounds, 37. Houchin, 63, 65, 1U4, 105. House, Adams, 32. British Coffee, 71. Esclnange Coffee, 31, 208. Mitre Coffee, 71. Club, 96, 97. Custom, 71. First Custom, 71. Powder, 40, 201, 211. Revere, 6S, 69, 73. Spring, 81. 8tate,"'l04, 120, 121, 132, 133, 134, 135, 136, 141, 144, 146, 148, 149, 150, 151, 152, 153, 154, 156, 161, 162, 163, 195, 200. Town, 16, 71. Tremont, 12. Hovey, 26. Howard, 92, 219. Howe, 49. Howen, 81. Hubbard, 39, 88, 100, 116, 117, 123, 124, 125. I Huchinson, 148. j Hutchinson, 13, 15, 17, 19, 49, 104, 163. Hudson, 5, 10, 11, 60. Hull, 33, 84, 85, 89, 92, 164. Humphrey, 206. Hunt, 71. Hurd, 71,215. Hurst, 121, 165. Hutchinson, see Huchinson. Inches, 58, 145, 201, 205. India, 171. Ireland, 12. Ireson, 126, 183. Island, Baliers, 137. Castle, 123. Noddle's, 50, 95, 132. Wharves, 69. Ivers, 121. I Jackson, 27, 44, 74, 77, 78, 90, 91, 94, 98, ] 100, 101, 114, 159, 202, 210, 217, 219. { Jaxson, 24. James, 107, 119. Jeffrey, 71, 8S, 86, 87, 89, 90, 100, 102, 103. Jeffries, 41, 90, 95, 96, 102. Jeliyll, 82,94. Jenner, 61. Johnson, 1, 6, 14, 16, 60, 130, 163, 169. Jones, 35, llu. ■Joy, 2, 27, 39, 166, 170. 176, 179, 182, 183, 185, 196, 197, 199, 200, 201, 202, 206, 222. Kane, 118. Kennedy, 103. Kenney, 39. Kent, 110, 111. King, 72. Kirk. 73. Knight, 142, 151, . Kuhn, 146, 147. Lake, 148. Lambert, 62. Lancaster, 121. Lane, The, 96. Banister's, 23, 194. Blott's, 23. Davis, 144. Frog, 31, 62. Green, 3'>. Lindail, 67. Prison, 84. 92, 95, 97. Pudding, 31. Rixdgway'e, 66. Ridgeway's 66. Sconce, 20. Seven Star, 26. Shrimpton, 132. Stoddard's, 81. Lane, Sudbury, 81. Willis, 23. Wing's, 71. Langdon, 191. Lawrence, 75, 94, 100, 101. Lebanon, 62. Leblond, 89. Lee, 44, 206, 210. Leger, 10. Leverett, 23, 25, 36, 37, 39, 50, 55, 6], 104, 189, 190, 192, 200. Lewis, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 17, 19. Ligelt, 31. Lincoln, 207. Lincolnshire, 84. Lioll, see Loyal. Lisle, nee Loyal. Little, Brown, & Co., 31. Lloyd, 77, 82, 94, 100. Llovle, see Loyal. London, 31, 85, 90, 99, 102, 113, 130, 151, 152, 157. Longfellow, 210. Lord, 71. Loring, 140, 183. Loudoun, 89. Lousor, 216. Lowell, 13, 29, 87, 100, 131, 210, 214, 215, 216, 217. Lowell Institute, 216, 217. fLoval, 60. I Lo'yall, 60. I Lioll, 60. J Lisle, 60. \ Lloyle, 60. Lyail, 60. Lyle, 60. iLysle, 60. Lucas, 46. Lucee, 166. Lyall, see Loyal. Lyde, 39. Lyman, 69, 71, 82, 161, 162. K Lynd, 63, 81. I Lynde, 32, 68, 74, 85, 105, 107. Lyndhurst, 88, 195. Lyne, 105. Lysle, see Loyal. Lytherland, 6, 10, ll. Mackintosh, 131, 210. Mahan, 173, 174, 175. Maine, 198. Mariner, 74. i Mr.rion, 26, 27. } Maryon, 26. Marsh, Coggan's, 95. Roiind, 12, Rumney, 133. Marston, 71. Mason, 39, 53, 77, 88, 109, 146, 182, 193, 194, 195, 196, 197, 198, 199, 200, 202, 206, 207, 208. Massachusetts, 71, 88, 112, 116, 118, 145, 157. Massachusetts General Hospital, 136, 204, 210. Hospital Life Insurance Co., 216. Mather, 12, 16, 84. Maud, 84, 85, 89, 92. Maverick, 50. May, 42, 46, 71. Mayer, 93. Mayhew, 10. McLean Asylum, 222. McNeill, 49. Mears, 74, 81, 82. Melvin, 215. Messenger, 13, 136, 145, 146, 152. Metcalf, 41. Middlecotl, 18, 63, 65, 68, 104, 105, 107, 113, 121. Middlesex, 34. Middlesex Company, 215. Index. 229 Middleton, 146. Mill-Dam, 1, oi, 75, 185, 202. Millard, 104, 106, 142, 148, 151, 163. Miller, 50, 142, 163, 164. Millet, .168. Milner, 47. r Minot, 36, 41, 54, 65, 66. ? Mynot, 36. i ( Myuolt, 34, 36. Misr^ouri Comjjromise, 208. Molineaiix, 120. j Monck, 31. \ MoDk, 121, 132. Monioe, 47. MoQtague, 14'i. Moore, 1S3, 199, 200. Morgan, 183. Mors, 150. Morton, 71, 75. MountHoardam, 191. Pleasant, 191. Tom, 79, 83. Vernon Proprietors, 2, 6, 39, 40, 51, 57, 140, 144, 146, 165, 182, 187, 191, 202, 203, 204, 205, 211. Washington, 79, 83. Munroe, 47. Murray, 199. Myles, 95. Mynot, Mynott, See Minot. Nabby, 170. Nahant, 11. Neck, The, 32,41, 43, 69, 72, 158, 159, 167, 169. Neck lauds, 42. Newbury, 217. Newburyport, 217. New England, 17, 31, 47, 171, 210, 214. Newgate, 68, 81. Newdigate, 81. NewhaU, 126, 183. Newport, 193, 205. New York, 88, 199. Nicholas, 61. Nicholson, 16. Norfolk, 103. North Briton, 89. North End, 41, 46, 71. Noyes, 41. Odlin, 5, 6, 10, 11, 189. Oliver, 31, 55, 152, 188, 200. Orborn, 205. Osborn, 206. Osgood, 77. Otis, 39, 45, 58, 59, 100, 146, 185, 193, 194, 195, 196, 197, 198, 199, 200, 202, 203, 204, 205, 206, 211, 212, 220. Oxenbridgc, 15, 95, 97. Paddock, 146. Pais;e, 31, 85. j Paine, 41, 107,193. \ Payne, 41, 71. Palmer, 34. Parker, 10, 41, 49, 129, 163, 210, 211. Parknian, 69, 113, 161, ISO, Parson, 55, 79. Passage-way, The, 17, 18. Paque, 51. Pavilion, 95. Pavilion Hotel, 96. Paston, 17, 19, 121. Payne, see Paine. Peabody, 75, 97. r Peapes, 10, 189. I Peepy, 11. J. Pepis, 2. I Pepys, 2, 3, 6, 10, 189, 190. l.Peyps, 2. Pell, 104. Pemberton, 40, 41, 82, 91. Pcniman, 24. Peunimau, 24. Peunyman, 23. Peninsula, The, 4, 6. Penn, 34, ;!6; 37, 55, 95, 96, 97. I I'ennimun, ) r, ■ } Pennyman, \ '^^ Peniman. Popis, see I'eapes Pepperell, 64, 165. Perkins, 71, 124, 139, 140, 149, 182, 183. 1 Peyps! i ''^ P'^^P'^*- Phillips,38.30, 40, 41, 54, 55,56, 67,58, 61, 91,92,93, 94, 96, 108, 113, 135,186, 189, 190, 196, 201, 202, 207,208. Pickering, 109, 206. Pickman, 205. Pierce, 47, 158. Pitts, 31. Place, Ashburton, 73, 74, 77, 83, 88, 99, 100. 114. Bedford, 27. Bellingham, 91. Bowdoin, 128. Bulfinch, 08. Chapraau, 146. Cbauncy, 26, 27. Cotton, 90. Exchange, 67. Faaeuil, 91. Franklm, 29, 30, 154. Funnel, 91. Joy, 183. Lucas, 46. Montgomery, 55. Morton, 29. Mt. Veinon, 159, 161. Otis, 64. Somerset, 68. Suffolk, 27. Training, 105. Vane, 90. Winthrop, 64, 167. Point, The, 51. South Boston, 170. Pollard, 2, 0, 11, 107, 189. Pond, Frog, 64. Mill, 4, 167. Wheeler's, 27. Poorhouse, 50, 51. Pordasce, 81. Portage, 81. Powell, 182. Pratt, 68, 206. Preble, 27. Prentice, 80. Prescott, 205. Price, 6, 19, 71. Prince, 43. Prior, 137. Probate Office, 45, 193, 215. Probate Record, 96, 143, 145, 148. Providence, 11. Providence Depot, 52, 53. Pue, 17, 19. Putman, 109, 214. Quincy, 52, 69, 70, 71, 94, 128, 194, 211. Railroad, Metropolitan, 64. Rand, 62, 100. Records, Charlestown, 1, 8. Reed, 92. Registry of Deeds, 65, 88, 207. Reservoir, Beacon Hill, 142, 147, 162. Rice, 221. Richards, 56, 99, 147, 151. Richardson, 49. Richmond, 219. Kidgeway, 65. River, cn'iarles, 1, 2, 10, 190, 192, 200. Muddy, 84. North, 199. Road, Tremont, 32. 230 City Document No. 105. Robbing, 95. Eoe, 110. Rogers, 107, 113, 120, 121, 128, 132, 135, 149, 183, 195. E< nnijy 131. Ropes, 75. Rope-walk, The, 145, 147. Harrison's, 48. Jenner's, 66. Old, 61. Pearl St., 52 Tyler & Oaswell's, 51. Row, Colonnade, 12, 167. Merchant's, 72. Tremont, 74, 75, 77. 81, 82, 84, 88, 89, 92, 94, 95, 97, 114. Rowe, 20. Roxbury, 23, 31,41, 191. Roxbury, Mill Co., 53. Roxbury, West, 170. Riigglee, 163. Rurnsey, 218. Runnel!', 51. Russell, 34, 35, 61, 71, 74, 90, 179, 217. Rust, 45. Salem, 14, 47, 97, 130, 135, 137, 133, 205. Salem, Annals of, 138. Salmon, 77. Salter, 17, 18, 19. Saltonstall, 137, 146, 168. Sanderson, 26, 92. Sanford, 164. Sargent, 50, 90, 219. Saunders, 47, 69, 70. Savage, 15, 41, 50, 84, 85, 164. Sawyer, 186, 206. School, G rammar The, 18. Chauncy Hall, 27. Latin, 71. School-house, The, 17, 18. High & Latin, 27, Old, 17. Scollay, 29. Sconce, The, 20. Scott, 95, 109, 159, 160. ( Scotto, 13, 15, 89, 95, 104. { Scottow, 63, 65, 66, 93, 104, 105, 106, 135, ( 142, 143, 148, 163. Sears, 97, 108, 135, 177, 185, 201, 204, 211, 220. Seven Star Inn. 26. Sewall, 10, 11, 14, 16, 33, 44, 56, 73, 74. 82, 85, 87, 89, 107, 108, 152, 163, 164, 165, 166, 183, 185, 18H, 187,188, 192, 194, 195, 200, 204. Shattuck, 68. Shaw, 1, 2, 4, 69, 92, 126, 170, 172, 173, 175. Shawmutt, 1, 8. Sheafe, 45. Shclton, 85. Sherburne, 99, 108. Sherman, 163. Shippcn, 74, 85. Shrirapton, 95, 121,132, 133, 143, 148, 149, 151, 152. Shurtleff, 143. Shute, 149. Slmi)kinB, 50, 135, Smith, 10, 17, 19, 46, 71, 106, 128, 131. Snow, 1, 9, 10. Society, Brattle St., 82, 114. Dr. Kirks, 73. Episcopal, 15, 73. Historical, 18, 93. Mass. Historical, 16, 29, 33, 71. Society, Prince, 31. South, 15, 22. Unitarian, 73. Scmerset, 73. Somerset Club, 97. Scnerville, 9-22. (Southac, 82. } Sonthack, 73, 74, 79, 81, 82, 84, 85. South Cove, 169. South End, 46, 50, 164. > - Sparhawk, 41. Spear, 139, 140, 141. Spence, 217. Spooner, 113, 120, 121. Spring Hotel, 81. Spurr, 139. Square, Bowdoin, 33, 34, 36, 69, 82, 141. ' Brattle, 111. Cornhill, 27. Dock, 32. Hanover, 196. Johnson, 31. Louisbure, 39, 185, 186, 202. Pemberton, 38, 64, 73, 74, 77, 78. 79, 82, 83, 89, 90, 92, 94, 100, 169. Pepper; 64. Pepperell, 64. St. Botolph's, 91. Winthrop, 64. Staniford, 32, 34, 82. Stevens, 69. Stevenson, 10. St. Christopher, 210. Stocks, The, 27. Stoddard, 133, 149. Stone, 102. Storer, 61. Story, 182. Stoughton, 109. Street, The, 26. Allen, 37, 51. North, 37. South, 37. Allston, 68, 77, 113. Ann, 46. Anne, 50, 72. Arch, 29. Atkinson, 48, 49. Avon, 27. Bacon, 120. Beacon, 2, 3, 4, 36, 38, 52, 53, 55, 63, 69, 87, 91, 95, 90, 97, 99, 100, 104, 105, 106, 107. lOS, 113, 114, 120, 128, 139, 141. 1J3, 149, 151, 152, 161, 164, 165, 166, 170, 171, 176, 179, 185, 190, 192, 197, 200, 201, 202, 204, 205, 207, 210, 211, 216, 221. Battery march, 20. Beckford, 137. Bedford, 27. Belknap, 57, 61, 104, 136, 142, 143, 144, 145, 146, 151, 161, 162, 163, 165, 106, 170, 197, 201, 202. Bishop Stoke, 163, 165, 179. Blossom, 37. Bosworth, 55. Bow, l.'Jl. Bowdoin, 63, 68, 104, 113, 121, 128. Boylston,12, 31, 53. Brattle, 72, 110, 112. Bridae, 37. Broad, 20, .32, 75, 167. Bulfinch, 68, 81, 83. Butolph, 61. Buttolph, 57, 58, 61. Cambridge, 4, 32, 33, 34, 36, 37, 38, 39, 42, 50, 51, .54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 60, 63, 65, 66, 68, 69, 93, 104, 107, 116, 121, 142, 143, 145, 202. Castle, 41, ti9. Cedar, West, 39. Central, 167. Centre, 57, 58, 185. Chambers. 34, 35, 37, 51, 82. Change, 220. Charles, 2, 13, 38, 40, 52, 53, 185, 202, 203,220, 221. Charter, 33, 44, 130. Chauncy, 27. Chestnut, 185, 202, 9.04, 205, 218, 220. Clapboard, 145, 146. Commercial, 21. Common, 13, 32, Index. 231 Street, Congress, 32. Oornhlll, 31. Court, 13, 14 135, 158. Coventry, 163, 165, 187, 204 74, 81, 83, 84, 92, Berne, 65, 66, 121, 132, 140, 147 149 154. ' ' Devonshire, 31. Dover, 41, 4-', 46. Eaton, 34, 35. Edinboro', 169. Eliot, 52, 01, 62. Elliot, 61, 64. Elm, 71, 72. Essex, 137. Exchange, 132. Fleet, 20. Eranklin, 29. Friend, 37. Garden, 57. Gardner, 64. George, 62, 143, 196, 197. Gravel, 37. Green, 32, 36, 37. Grove, 38; 57. Grove North, 37. Hancock, 01, 65, 66, 104, 106, 132 135 140, 142, 143, 145, 146, 162. ' Hia:h, 48, 49. Hill, 39. Hollis, !2. Houchin, 63. Howard, 73, 74, 79, 81, 82, 100, 114 Hull, 33, 44, 45. Hutchinson, 49. India. 167. Joy, 61, l:il, 152, 163, 166, 170, 182. Kilby, 146. King, 31,32. Leverett, I, 36, 37, 50, 194. Lewis, 46. Lindall, 67. ■ Lynde, 33. Market, North, 167. South, 167. Marlboro, 32. Mason, 12. May, 38, 39, 57, 58, 203. McLean, 37. Middlecott, 63, 68, 113 211 Milk, 49. Mt. Vernon, 40, 64, 120, 128 1.3'' 140 141, 143, 144, 146, 150,' u{ 154' 159, 162, 166, 182, 185, 186, 201,' 2o2, 204, 205, 206, 211. Mylne, 26. Myrtle, 51, 57, 58, 61, 143, 145 Nassau, 32. Newbury, 32. North, 32. Olive, 146, 196, 204. Orange, 32, 42, 62. I Park, 96, 128, 166, 220. Pearl, 49, 51, 62, 66, 69. Pincluiey, 37, 40, 51, 66,-144, 146, 185 1S6, 201, 202, 206. I Pleasant, 12, 52, 53. Pond, 164. Poplar, 1,3, 4, 37, 51, 66. Prince, 44, 45. Province, 55. Purchase, 48, 51, 80. Queen, 32, 84. Russell, So. North, 34, 35, 54, 61. South, 61. Salem, 33, 45. School, 13, 14, 17, 18, 71, 146 Sea, 79. Sentry, 12. Sewall, 163, 165, 179, 183, 187, 192, Short, S9. Bnowhill, 33, 44, 45. Street, Somerset, 73, 74, 77, 78, 79 82 83 87 8S, 89, 94, 96, 99, 100, 104, 107Vl52' 176. ' Soiithac, 57. Southack, 39. t^pring, 3. Spruce, 185. Staniford, 33. State, 22, 27, 31, 32, 46, 99, 127. 146 168. Stoddard, 81. Sudbury, 74, 84. Summer, 20, 27, 48. Sum.ner, 146. Tay, 66, 140. Temple, 65, 66, 68, 128, 140, 141 162 Preamount, 82. ' Treraont, 12, 14, 15, 23, 25, 32, 36, 55 or' 7I« ''^' ^^' ^^' ^2. 83, 93, 95 96, 158. Turner, 143, 145, 146. Union, 71. Vine, 37. Walnut, 165, 166, 176, 171, 180 182 185, 186, 201, 202, 204, 207. ' Washington, 12, 14, 15, 23, 29, 31. 32 ^ 41,42,46,55,135,174. Wiltshire, 37. Winter, 23, 32, 194. Strong, 130. Stuart, 195. Stur^is, 96. Sudburv, 46. Suffolk Bar, 2,14. Deeds, 215. Sullivan, 13, 199, 202, 219. Summer, 76. Sumner. 133, 208. Swan, 185, 202, 206. 218. Sweet, 51, 55, 60, 201, 202. Swift, 148. Talmago, 23. Tappan, 31, 183. Tavern, Anchor, 31. Blue, 31. George, The, 72. Tay, 65, 66, 67, 140. Taylor, 63. Temple, 67, 113, 141. Ten Hills Farm, 67. ( Thacher, 95, 96, 98. I Thatcher 44, 45. Thaxter, 61. Thayer, 27, 185, 205. Thompson, 96, 99, 104, 136, 143, 151, 152. Thorndike, 170, 183. . ■ . Thurston, 128, 129, 182. Ticknor, 121. Til ley, 40, 49, 202. Todd, 169. Tomlinson, 121. Torrey, 46. Town dock, 72. Townsend, 96. Transcript, 3, 4, 9, 10, 16, 70, 83, 90, 121. 137 140, 154. ' Trecothick 121. Truesdale, 148, 163, 164. Tuckcrman, 46, 177. Tudor, 46, 170, 171. Turrell, 44. '''"'■'Jor' ^t'J^' ^5- ^°°' ^04' 105, 106 107, 120. 121, 132, 133, 135, 137, 138, 142, 148. Tyler, 51,126, 127, 183. ' ' ' • Tyng, 17, 18, 24, 79, 82. Tyte, 24. Upland, The, 2. Urann, 58. Usher, 89. Valley Achor. 82. Acre, 79. 232 City Document No. 105. Vane, 84, 93. ( Vassal, 85. i Vassall, 82,87,93, 100. Vaughn, 29, 30. Vermont, 102. " Vermont Central," 3,4, 7, 8, T2. Viall, 2, 189, 190. Vinal, 170, i«0, 201, 211. Virginia, 103, 218. VVadsworth, 164. \ Walt, 26. ) Waite, 26. WalROtt, SS. Waldo, 65, 89. Walewski, 206. Walker, 5, 10, 11, 12, 169. Wall, 74. Warren, 71. Washington, 158, 182. AVatertown, 50, 81, 107. Webb, 45. Webster, 46, 75, 77, 78, 114, 169, 180, 216. Wells, 51. ( Wendall, 18. ) Wendell. 20, 55. Whall, 130. Wharf Brown's, 45. Capen, 79. Central, 20, 21, 75. Drake's 79, 80, 123. Foster's, 20. Hancock's, 159. India, 20, 29, 75. Lons, 20, 21, 22, 71, 168. North Battery, 71. Old, 20, 21. Out, 21. Prentice, 48. Rowe's, 20. Russia, 43. Scarlet's, 20. T, 21. Wharton, 65, 121. Wheaton, 66. ( Wheelright, 196. \ Wheelwright, 51, 57, 145, 165, 166, 185,187, I 196, 201, 2i)2. Wheetl.and, 138. Whetcomb, 164. Whippiug-post, The, 27. White, 40. Wiggin, 107. Wieglesworth, 206, 218. Wilde, 126. Wilder, 321. Wilkes, 85, 89, 90. ( Willes, 109. / Willis, 62. Williams, 2, 3, 6, 39, 42, 55, 143, 166, 187, 188,189,190. Williamson, 118. Willis, see Willes. Wilson, 1, 60,163. Windsor, 102. Wing, m, 89, 96, 99, 151. Wi:;isimet, 24. Winthrop. 4, 5, 11, 15, 51, 60, 67, 71, 89, 114, 157. 207, 208, 210. Wiswall, 31. Witheile, 42. Wolf, 72. Woodward, 71, 197. Woolsack, 8«!. Worcester, 169. Worcestershire, 217. Workhouse, The, 12. Wyard, 23. Wyre, 23. Yankee, Hero, 71. Yeale, 74. Yeamans, 133, 136, 143, 145, 149. Angola, 23, 24. Csesar, 61. Cato, 61. Cuff' BuflFum, 61. Dinah, 61. Menene, 24. Meneno, 23, 24. Olive, 61. Phillis, 61. Porapey, 61. Rose, 61. Scipio, 61. Violet, 61. Indians. John Wampas, 23, 25. 1 1 Date Due JUL W i%9 rris ^ rti 1 ^^^ • i 1 ' ;l i j f PRINTED IN U. S. A. BOSTON COLLEGE ^2^1942 3 9031 01565757 DOES NOT CIRCULATE ro^i -l^P 27794 Vi-^ ^. Author Boston « Record coniniiF.- ji^lg sioners. — Fifth report of the .. . ^P^f^O; ?nri fid. Boston^ Rockwell 8c Churchill 18 84, DATE DUE CD cn BORROWER'S NAME 7nz n 7nnr DA&t^m^tA MASS^ Boston College Library Chestnut Hill 67, Mass. 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