?. cV^ /aVa\ U^^"^ - --9^' v<^^ « .•«§1^'. -^^^ d V J^ ^^-^K ^'f -ife- ^^/ -A"-. %.** •»• "--/ •^^\ %.^' ^'\ 'Wws 4*'% -.^ir/ /X '-yWJ ** % --^IK-' /'^^^ 1 ^^0^ «5° \ ' ^' ' J'\ «: / ../X ^^ .^^..._ V"-'V^<' ....* o. -oi* A / . • V ^"■nc, V •-^afmii?'' o V ** .. >*- '°*'-.^'-/ ^-^'-'/^ V'^^'-/ %'■ >^, "u.c,V •o ^ *; ./x --yws ^^'^% • \ — 'q.. -•.-.- *^ '• r .V o " • ^ ■<^ -^^0^ /.c:^."-o ,^*' .^^:>^ 0^ .- *°o .'. %,^* .' %,^^ <^ ♦T^* G^ » ^ * 'is. * ^^0^ .^^-*. J" \ ' v-'-\^'....\ -^^0^ O^ 'o • v^ .•j^i; <> *'...• <0" \>/ ^ .7* A .-^^ «<».., ^ to be are given by Captain Smith, as follows : — lohn Hall. ) Sailers. lohn Smith, Admirall [or Governor]! f There can be no mistake in what Smith Thomas Dermer himself says, so far as his own knowledge went, Edward Stallings [Rocroft?] >Gent, but it is remarkable that Fuller, who wrote Daniel Cage I dui-ing and after the civil wars, should say in Francis Abbot J his Worthies, that " Captain Smith was born lohn Gosling 1 in the county of Cheshire." This statement Thomas Digbie of Fuller is the more remarkable, because he Daniel Baker unqualifiedly says, "Master Arthur Smith, Capt. Adam Smith Smith's kinsman, and my old school-master did William Ingram ^-Soldiers. inform me so." But, although Fuller makes Robert Miter Dauid Cooper lohn Patridge and two boies up quite a story about Smith, he does not ap- pear to have been very well informed with regard to him, and was unfavorably impressed towards him, as is very evident from the sneer- 20 HISTORV OF HOSTON. [Ifj] 7-1631 of }ii.s maps, it appears that he wa.s bom in 1570 ; and from a monu- iiif;rit U) his momory in St. Sopiilchor'H Church, London, crocted by " a Cricnd," it also appears that ho " departed this Life, the 21st of June, lO.'il." And, as the inscription upon his monument has never, to the writer's kriowled^^e, been jjublished in the land for which he made so many sacrifices, it Is here presented.* " To til'; livinj^ Memory of IiIh (lrav(; Sigismundus (King of ifungarion) Did give him oh a Coat of Armes V) wear. Those conquered hea/Jes, got hy his sword and spfjar. Or shall I tell of his adventures since, Done in Virginia, that large continent? How that he suhdu'd Kings untfj his yoke, And made tliose lieathen flee, as wind doth smoke- And riiad<; their land, heing of so large a station, A habitation for our christian nation; VVIicre '.UHO. 2 v. fol. 1700. I'lfiitafih," as he calls it, and which he did not fThe neat and classic memoir of Captain think worth his while to copy. 'I'hat Fuller Smith, hy Mr. G. S. IbuMUi, is creditahlo to knew little ahout Smith, is (ividrsnt from anotli- its gifted author, ft forms half of the second er fact, namely, his supposing him to have died volume of Mr. Spark's American Biography; in old age ; wlujreas lie was hut 52 when he hut loses its importance hy sleciping in the died. _ This is only one instance among many, same licid with Wilson, the Ornithologist. — wherein this curious author hends his facts to Mr. W. G. SriviMS has given the most elaborate his conceits. Il; inn/ V'/ynv/.v were common Smith, liy Dr. IJ(!lknap ; although it is to be re when Fiilhir wrote, and he has no excuse fl>r gretted that the part in which we are most in errors about his birthplace, or age when ho terestcd is so slightly touched upon by his died. able hand. 1617-1631.] NEW ENGLAND, 1607 to 1629. 27 Anionp^ the last labors of C;ipt. Sinitli, was probjibly that of supevin- tondhif]^ the printing of his "Advertisements for the inexperienced Planters of New luntry is nothing but wood, and none to make vse of it * 'I'li'iH, ii Iriicl, of Hdiiid fiCt.y i)a}!;('H, coiitiiiiis lt(i vory justly ontitlod tho " Book of Good limtory, iiaLiiriil iih woll iiH (;ivil, mid a varii^ty CNmnsol, as woU to uiidortakcrs as actual sot- ol' tilings, told ill an uj5r«i)al)lo way. it wiadd tiers 28 HISTORY OF BOSTON. [1617-1631 with many such other pretences, for to make this country plant itself, by its owne wealth. Hereupon most men grew so discontented, that few or none would goe ; so that the Pattenties, who never one of them had beene there, seeing those proiects would not prevaile, have since not hindered any to goe that would ; so that, withm these few last yeares, more have gone hither than ever." Thus, how affairs stood, and what influences operated, alternately, to retard and forward settlements in New England, is quaintly, yet graph- ically set forth, by one who lived in and among those affairs and influ- ences ; one who not only knew them better than any other, but also was, unquestionably, better than any other qualified to describe them. And, to do him full justice, his own summary recapitulation of his vari- ous fortunes shall here follow, which would suffer in any hands but his. Although delivered in the third person it is nevertheless his : — "Now to conclude," he writes, "the travels and adventures of Cap- tain Smith, how first he planted Virginia, and was set ashore with about an hundred men in the wild woods ; how he was taken prisoner by the Savages, and by the King of Pamaunke tied to a tree to be shot to death ; led up and down their country to be shown for a wonder ; fatted as he thought for a sacrifice to their idoU, before whom they con- jured him three dayes, with strange dances and invocations, then brought him before their Emperor Powhatan, that commanded him to be slaine ; how his daughter Pocahontas saved his life, returned him to lames towne ; releeved him and his famished company, which was but eight and thirty to possess those large dominions ; how he discovered all the severall nations, upon the rivers falling into the Bay of Chisapeacke ; stung neere to death with a most poysoned taile of a fish called Sting- ray ; how Powhatann out of his Country tooke the Kings of Pamaunke and Paspahegh prisoners, forced thirty nine of those kings to pay him contribution ; subjected all the Savages : how he was blowne up with gunpowder, and returned for England to be cured. "Also how he brought our new England to the subjection of the Kingdom of great Britaine ; his fights with the Pirats, left alone amongst a many French men of Warre, and his ship ran from him ; his sea fights for the French against the Spaniards ; their bad vsage of him ; how in France in a little boat he escaped them ; was adrift all such a stormy night at sea by himselfe, when thirteene French Ships were split, or driven on shore by the He of Ree ; the generall and most of his men drowned, when God brought him safe on shore to all their admirations that escaped." * In another place he says, " I have spent five years, and more than five hundred pounds, in the service of Virginia and New England, and in neither of them have I one foot of land, nor the very house I built, nor the ground I digged with my own hands ; but I see those coun- tries shared before me by those who know them only by my descrip- tions." • Gen. Hist. Virginia, ii. 278-9 1615.J PROMOTERS OP THE SETTLEMENT OF NEW ENGLAND. 29 Such are some of the last words of an honest man, one who shrunk from no responsibilities, and never knew fear ; and, that friends and foes should never differ about what he said and did, he closes by saying *' lohn Smith writ this with his own hand." CHAPTER IV. Promoters of New England Settlements. — People early in the Country. — Voyages of Whitbourn. — . Hawkins. — French Ship surprised by the Indians. — Indians' Idea of an Almighty Power. — De- stroyed by Disease. — Does not affect the English. — Sir F. Gorges. — Sir John Popham. — Origin of the two Virginia Companies. — Discoveries Continued. — Baffin. — Death of Capt. Dermer. — Capt. Rocroft. — Charter of 1620. — A Settler in Massachusetts Bay. — Settlement of Plymouth. The distinguished men by whose exertions New England had become known, and by whom the minds of the people of England had been pre- pared for the great work of colonization, had chiefly gone, one by one, to the tomb, before any great settlements had been effected in the coun- try. Gilbert had perished in the commencement of his career ; Frobisher was sacrificed to the blindness of those who controlled his services ; Drake had fallen a victim to disease, while in the service of his Queen ; envy and misfortune had paralyzed the exertions of Raleigh, who finally perished upon the scaffold. Smith alone saw the sailing of a frail bark or two, with a feeble colony, for New England ; he did, indeed, live to witness a second governor sent to the country of which he had held the ofl&ce of Admiral. But death closed his eyes before he had very san- guine hopes that these efforts would found a permanent state. It is true that there were a few fishermen scattered along the coast, who had made lodgments in several places upon islands and on the main land, even from the time of Smith's last voyage ; but who they were, and where they were located, remain in as much uncertainty as the times of their arrival.* Voyages had become so frequent to the northern parts of Amer- ica, that it was no uncommon thing for people to remain in the country, while the ships which brought them returned home and came again to the same coasts. Captain Richard Whitbourn, who made a voyage to Newfoundland this year, says there were then on that coast two hundred and fifty sail of English ships fishing, " greate and smale." He had a commission equal to that of governor, held courts and corrected abuses. In a short time he heard complaints from one hundred and seventy captains or mas- ters of vessels, of injuries committed on their trade ; nor is this to be wondered at, when the fact is considered that there were congregated * "The time when these things happened ia controverted more than the things themselves. " — Mather's Relation 3 30 HISTORY OF BOSTON. [1616. in those seas " many thousands of English, French, Portuguese, and others." Sir Richard Hawkins, not long returned out of a Spanish captivity, son of the famous Sir John Hawkins,* was the same year on the coast of New England. He was president of the Plymouth Company, and came over, on its behalf, to search into the nature of the commodities of the country, but finding a war raging among the Indians along the coast, he judged it unsafe to proceed in his intentions. Sailing hence to Virginia, he returned to England, without accomplishing anything of moment. At least, there appears no record of anything. In the autumn or fall of this year, a French ship was cast away somewhere about Cape Cod,t but the crew succeeded in getting safely to land. They were soon discovered and made prisoners by the Indians, who treated them in their barbarous manner, and eventually killed them all but three or four. These they sent as curiosities about the country, from one sachem to another. Three years after, when Captain Dermer was at Cape Cod, he found two of them alive, whom he redeemed out of their hands. As an illustration of the ignorance and simplicity of the Indians, it may be interesting to observe here their ideas of an Almighty power. When the English inquired of them why they killed the Frenchmen, they justified the murders on some frivolous grounds ; and when they were told that the great God was angry with them for their crimes, and would destroy them, they looked significantly on one an- other, and inquired, sneeringly, of the English, if they thought they were such fools as to believe that God could kill all the Indians ? It was very remarkable in this case, and the superstitions of the In- dians might well lead them to the belief that the white people truly held their fate in their hands : for, immediately after they had so cruelly treated the poor French mariners, a deadly sickness broke out among them, which, as old authors say, caused them " to die in heaps * I have no authority expressly to this point, pentance." This so disturbed Sir Richard that Southey, the biographer of Sir Richard, makes he would not undertake the voyage in her. no mention that he ever made a voyage to New Among a great many examples of ships with England, nor does the editor of his " Observa- unfortunate names, he mentions the " Thun- tions," republished by the Hakluyt Society, derbold of London, who in one voyage had her make any mention of it, or that he was a mem- mast cleft with a thunderbolt." ber of the first parliament of James I. He was f Captain Dermer's letter in Purchas. Der- a most expert seauian ; had served under Drake, mer says the ship was cast away to the " North and was in " the iourney against the Spanish East of Cape Cod," which is not a very definite Amada." His "Observations," a copy of the locality. Morton, of Ma-re-Mount, learned original edition of which is before me, shows some important facts from the Indians relative him to have been a man of learning, and pos- to the French ship, which, he says, was riding sessing an excellent judgment and great expe- at anchor, by an island, afterwards called Ped- rience in sea affairs ; yet he was superstitious, dock's Island, that the Indians set upon the as probably were nearly all seamen of that age. men at disadvantage, killed many of them, and lie believed there was much of good or evil to burnt the ship. The captives they distributed happen to a ship, as slie had a fortunate or an among five sachems of different territories, unfortunate name. When he had caused an This, so far as it goes, agrees with what Dr. I. elegant ship " to be builded in the river Mather relates of the same tragedy. His in- Thames," for his famous South Sea expedition, formant gave him the name of the French- he requested his mother-in-law to give it a man living in his time, which was Monsieur name, " who, knowing what voyage was pre- Finch ■■"nded to be \Tidertaken. named her the Re- 1606.] PESTILENCE AMOxNG THE INDIAN!^;. GORGES. 31 all up and down the country, insomuch that the living were in no wise ible to bury the dead." What kind of malady this was that swept them off in so fearful a manner was never known. Some have conjectured it was the plague, and others that it was the small-pox ;* but whatever it was, its ravages were very extensive, even several hundred miles along the coast ; probably from the Penobscot to Narraganset Bay ; but nei- ther the Penobscots nor Narragansets were affected by it. The disease that carried off the Indians with such fatality seems not to have affected the English at all ; for Sir Ferdinando Gorges says his agent, " Mr. Richard Vines, and the rest with him," were with the Indians in the time they were " dying mightily," and though they lived and slept in the same cabins v^ith the Indians, yet " not one of them ever felt their heads to ache." To Sir Ferdinando Gorges, who persevered so long and so unsuccess- fully to colonize New England, something more than has yet been said in these pages is justly due. He was an intimate friend of Raleigh, and appears to be first noticed by the English historian in connection with the unfortunate Earl of Essex, with whose conspiracy against Queen Elizabeth he had knowledge, which he communicated to Raleigh. In the latter wars with Spain he served with reputation in the navy, and when James I. came to the throne, and peace was settled. Gorges was appointed governor of Plymouth, in Devonshire. He was of an ancient fjxmily, the ancestor of which, as appears by the roll of Battle Abbey, and other ancient records, came over with William the Conqueror. Gorges' interest in New England grew out of the mere accident as he relates, of some Indians happening to be brought into Plymouth, whom he took into his keeping. Having at much pains learnt from them something of the nature of their country, his imagination was soon brilliant with golden harvests to be reaped in the western continent, and, naturally endowed with a sanguine temperament, he pursued his favorite project with a constancy that deserved a better issue than that which happened to him. The high moral standing of Sir Ferdinando Gorges is apparent from the fact of his interesting with him, in his plan of discovery, the Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench, Sir John Popham ; f by whose ac- quaintance with many noblemen and gentlemen, an interest at Court secured a patent for making settlements in America. 1606. The patent to Sir Humphrey Gilbert became void soon after Apru 10. iiis death, J and that to Raleigh, by his attainder, had reverted to * Major Gookin says, in his valuable Histori- were to be numbered about 900,000 persons." cal Collections, thsit "some old Indians, who — Proceedings in the House of Cornmons, 1621, i. were then youths, told him, that the bodies of 317. — Chief Justice Popham died on the 10th the sick were all over exceeding yillow before of June, 1607, at the age of 76 years. — Har- they died, which they described by pointing to ris in Huhbard^s New England, 682. a yellow garment." JThe terms of his patent were, to secure his t In the 30th of Ehzabeth (1588) Judge Pop- discoveries to himself forever, provided he made ham did, " by the Queen's command, inquire settlements in the countries discovered, within how many men, women and children there six years from the date of its execution, were in London, and then found that there 32 HISTORY OF BOSTON. [1616. the crown, after the melancholy death of the former ; therefore, there remained no obstacle in the way for whatever grants of territory the king thought proper to make in North America. The first step was to divide the whole country into two parts, because, " being found, upon experi- ence and tryall," too large for one government. This division being made, the respective territories were named North and South Virginia. The latter of these districts was entrusted to the care of certain noblemen and gentlemen, who styled themselves the London Company, because the principal part of them resided in and about London ; the other was under the direction of gentlemen of Bristol, Exeter and Plymouth. These were called the Plymouth Company, because they held their meet- ings at Plymouth. Of this company, Gorges and Popham were proba- bly the most enterprising members. The proceedings immediately suc- ceeding the procurement of these charters, so far as deemed necessary to a full understanding of their bearing upon this history, have been detailed in the preceding chapter. Notwithstanding the disasters which attended the Sagadehock col- ony, Gorges continued his efforts to further his great object of coloniz- ing New England almost alone ; and although ships in considerable numbers were sent by the London and Plymouth Companies every sea- son, fishing and trade with the Indians seem to have been the only thing aimed at in their voyages. Voyages of discovery, too, were kept up in the North American ■ seas. Sir Thomas Smith, an eminent writer on government, and then Governor of the Virginia Company, with other gentlemen in Eng- land, sent out a ship for the fifth time, named the Discovery, to search for a passage to China by the north-west. William Baffin went as pilot, and the captain's name was Robert Bylot. The Discovery sailed from Gravesend on the twenty-sixth of March. In this voyage Horn Sound, Cape Dudley Digges, Wolstonholme's Sound, Sir Thomas Smith's Sound, Whale Sound, Hakluyt's Island, Gary's Islands, Alderman Jones Sound, and James Lancaster's Sound, were discovered and named. Thus far Captain Bylot seems to have had no ambition to leave his own name on any of the frozen sounds or gulfs in the north. But when the discoverers entered a great sea or bay in 78^, it was named for the pilot, Baffin's Bay, Avho was, very likely, the most important man in the voy- age. He is said to have been a great mathematician, and the first of nav- igators who made use of lunar observations for finding longitudes at sea. He was afterwards an engineer in the war against the Portuguese, and was slain at the siege of Ormuz, " as he was trying his mathematicall projects and conclusions," before the year 1629.* 1C.19 Captain Thomas Dormer, one of the noblest of the seamen of these ■ times,! of whom but slight notice has been taken, was engaged to * llutton, who professes to notice mathema- who were thought the wisest of their craft, de- ticians in his Mathematical and Philosophical cided that no such bay as that laid d(jwn by Dictionary, hasnot the name of Baffin. Per- BaflSn existed ! It is somewhere stated that liajis the omission may be accounted for from Baffin was killed in 1622. tiic fact that the geographers of Hutton's time, f Ledyard's Naval History, ii. 457. .1619.] DERMER. ROCROFT EPENOW's CONSPIRACY. 33 cany out Sir Ferdinando Gorges' views in his endeavors to colonize New England ; but his death prevented all hopes Gorges may have en- tertained from his tried services and abiUties. He was killed by the Indians in the midst of his enterprises in this manner : Being at New- foundland, Gorges prevailed upon the Company to send Captain Ed- ward Rocroft* to New England, with orders to remain there until Cap- tain Dermer should join him. On his arrival Rocroft fell in with a French ship, which he took as a lawful prize, and sailed with it to South Virginia. Here, in some private quarrel, Rocroft was killed and his bark sunk.f Meantime, Captain Dermer returned to England, and having conferred with Gorges and the Company, sailed for New Eng- land in a ship which Gorges owned, expecting to meet Rocroft there ; but, disappointed in this, he ranged the coast and examined it minutely ; and, transmitting the result of his observations to Gorges, sailed for South Virginia. J Here learning the fate of Rocroft, and, disappointed of supplies, he returned again to the coast of New England. At the island Capawock he met with that subtle Indian, Epenow, who escaped so adroitly from Captain Hobson five years before. Suspecting some sinister design upon himself, knowing that Captain Dermer was in the employ of his old master, Epenow conspired with the other Indians to kill him and those with him, or to make prisoners of them. ^Vatching his opportunity, therefore, when they came on shore to trade, not ex- pecting mischief, he laid violent hands upon Captain Dermet and his accomplices at the same moment fell furiously upon his men ; and thus was a very desperate fight begun. The English fought only to escape, while the Indians fought for victory as well as for revenge of former in- juries. But Captain Dermer, "being a braue, stout gentleman," de- * This person went under the name of Stall- they were worthy of it. Therefore he resolued ings at some period, and some of the old writ- to leave them in the wilderness, not knowing ers say Rocroft alias StalUngs. Prince is copious but they might haply discover something which in regard to him nnd his misfortunes. His name might be advantageous. Accordingly he fur- is written Ricroft, Rocraft, &c. nished them with ammunition and some vict- f Rocroft was expected to winter on the uals for their present subsistence, and turned coast, but his men mutinied, and some of them them ashore to Sacodehock, himself with the left him and went to Monhiggon, where they rest of his company departing to Virginia, spent the winter. Monhiggon then or soon These English mutineers got over to the island after belonged to Mr. Abraham Jennings, of Monhegin, three leagues from the main, where Plymouth, in Devonshire. These men were af- they kept themselves safe from the fury of exas- terwards taken off by Capt. Dermer. Sawgua- perated Indians, until the next spring. One tock, the place where Rocroft captured the only having died of sickness." Frenchman, is said by Willis to be Saco. See Jin his way thither he sailed through the Prince, 145-6, 151; I.. Mather, Rel. 3-4; whole length of Long Island Sound, discovering Willis, Portland, 9 . — Report on Lincoln Diffi- the island to be such ; the Indian name of which cullies, 40. is rather uncertain ; while it may be said to be The facts collected by Dr. I. Mather concern- quite certain that it had many names ; as Ma- ing Rocroft are thought worthy a place in this touake — the residence of the Manito ; Sawan- note. He says Rocroffs mgn " conspired against hake — wampum island, or the place or resi- him, intending his death, who having secret in- dence of the wampum-makers, &c. These ap- telligence of this plot against his life, held his pellations were probably conferred by other peace untill the day was come wherein the in- than resident Indians. JNIontaukett and Mon- tended mischief was to be put in execution, tauk are probably variations of the original then unexpectedly apprehending the conspira- name of the east end of the island, whatevei tors ; he was loth to put any to death, though the primary name may have been. 5 34 HISTORY OF BOSTON. [1619 fended himself with his sword, and finally escaped though not without fourteen Avounds. All his men who accompanied him on shore were killed, excepting him who kept the boat, and this man, in the last ex- tremity, saved the life of his captain, who, as he regained his boat, was about to receive a ftital blow, w^hich was warded off in a moment of the utmost peril. No mention is made of the number of men killed in the onslaught upon Captain Dermer, but it put an end to his labors in New England ; for, going to Virginia as soon as he was able, to have his wounds cured, he died there not long after his arrival. He was a very worthy man, whose loss so discouraged Gorges, "that it made him," he says, "al- most resolue neuer to intermeddle again in any of these courses." But soon after this a prospect began to open from a quarter where it was least expected. When Virginia was divided into two colonies, there was this singular proviso, that neither company should settle within one hundred miles of the other. By the regulations of the South Virginia Company, none were allowed to trade or plant within their limits not authorized by them, while the North Virginia Company had no such restrictions. JNIore effectually to place themselves on equal footing with their rival neighbors, some of the principal members of the North Virginia Company, among whom Gorges was the most active, solicited of the king a new Charter, which after some delay they obtained ; and this is the famous charter of the third of November, 1620, which became the foundation of all the grants which were subsequently made of territory in New England. Its extent was from the 40th to the 48th degree of northern latitude, and between these parallels from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean.* * The charter recites, that," henceforth, there Edward Lord Zouoli, Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, shall be forever hereafter, in our towne of Plym- Edmond Lord Sheffield, outh, in the county of Devon, one body pol- ^.^^^^F^ ^f ^ Gorges • itique and corporate, which shall have. pL^et- |^, gSMre^; ^^^"^'^ ^"' ^'''- uall succession, which shall be called and Sir Edward Zouch, Knight Marshall, knovrae by the name the Councill established Sir Dudley Dig^ , at Plymouth, which shall have perpetuall sue- Sir Thomas Roe°* cession, which shall consist of the number of Sir Ferdinando Gorges, fortie persons and no more, and shall be called |!'' ^rancis Popham,* and knowne by the name, the Councill estab- S!' i?^'^ Brook,* lished at Plymouth, in the county of Devon, for 1^^ ScTard nSins, the planting, ruhng, ordermg, and governing Sir Richard Edgcombe, of New England in America," &c. Sir Allen Apsley, The names of the forty gentlemen composing Sir AVai-wick Hale, the council, here follow, as they are printed in ^^"^ Richard Catchmay, Hazard's Siate Papers : ^i^ J?^" Bourchier, ^ Sir Nathaniel Rich, Lodowick, Duke of Lenox, Lord Steward of the King's Sir Edward Giles,* household. Sir Giles Monipesson,* George, Lord Marquess Buckingham, High Admiral Sir Thomas Wroth, Knights, of England. Matthew Suttcliffe, Dean of Exeter, James Marquess Hamilton, Robert Heath, Esq., Recorder of London,* William, Earl of Pembrocke, Lord Chamberlaine of the Henry Bourchier, Esq., King's household. John Drake, Esq.,* Thomas, Earl of Arundel, Rawleigh Gilbert, Esq., William, Earl of Bath, George Chudley, Esq., Henry, Earl of Southampton, Thomas Hamon, Esq., William, Earl of Salisbury, John Argall, Esq. Robert, Earl of AVarwick, mi . i • i ,•-,■,■, Irhn Viscount Haddington, -'"T^'^ °^™^^ *'^ ^^""^^^ ^ ^^'"^^ ^^ ^^^^^ ^^'^ members of James I.'s third Parliament, of m 1619.] DAVID THOMPSON. SETTLEMENT OF PLYMOUTH. 35 While these apparently more important public affairs were in prog- ■ ress, an individual, David Thompson by name, explores the islands in Boston harbor with a view of making some one of them his permanent residence. Having fixed upon one — that which to this day bears his name — he with the Indian Sachem of Agawam, as a witness, takes for- mal possession of it. The name of the Indian chief is believed to be Mascononomo, who says this island was made choice of by Mr. Thomp- son, " because of the smale river, and then no Indians vpon it, or any wigwam or planting, nor hath been by any Endeans inhabited or clajmed since, but two years agoe, Harmlen, an old Indian of Dorchester."* Thompson did not reside regularly on the island. It is not unlikely that, soon after he took possession of it, he returned to England, and may have influenced the emigration of others. He was afterwards interested in the settlement at Pascataqua, and may have been there to select a location for others before this time. He had a grant of the island. f Meantime, the small number of English families which had fled into Holland to avoid persecution under- the laws enacted against dissenters, having resolved upon a removal to America, obtained leave of the South Virginia Company to settle within its territory. Accordingly they sailed for South Virginia, and probably intended to fix upon some point not flxr from the mouth of Hudson's river ; but the Dutch, knowing or sup- posing this to be their destination, bribed their pilot ; and the force of circumstances prevented their compelling him to perform his promise of carrying them to Hudson's river, and thus the first permanent settle- ment in New England was made within the bay of Cape Cod, on the Eleventh of December, 1620, 0. S., eight days after James I. had signed the new patent of New England, of which notice has been taken, but of which they knew nothing. Thus the Pilgrims — as these emigrants were afterwards with much propriety called — found themselves within the North instead of the South Virginia patent ; and thus to an iniquitous and highly criminal act New England became indebted for its first permanent colony. And hence it may with truth be said, that sometimes from accident and sometimes from iniquitous designs the most important and beneficial consequences flow. Notwithstanding their hardships and sufferings, these pious Pilgrims found themselves intruders upon territory to which they had no claim ; but fortunately for them it was very agreeable to the Plymouth Com- pany to learn that there was at length, though very unexpectedly, a set- 1G20-1 , or, there were persons in that Parlia- justices of the peace, whose wife, alliances [con- mentof the same names. The thirteen noblemen nections], or children are papists." — Proceed- first on the list were probably members of the ings and Debates in House of Commons, i. 314. upper house ; but I have not a list of that house * Depositions of Miles Standish, Wm. Tre- at hand. In the same Parliament there was a voyre and Mascononomo, in 1650 ; copied from good deal of puritan spirit. Papists were ar- the originals, and communicated to me by Wm. raigned and their conduct scrutinized with an Gibbs, Esq., of Lexington, in 1836. The same earnestness that a remembrance of the flames has been since printed by Mr. Thornton in his of Smithfield was calculated to excite in the Examination of Mr. Young's Chronicles of Mas- minds of those whose kindred had suffered. A sachusetts. See Bost. Dai. Cour.,26 Aug. to member from Devonsliire moved that " none be 28 Sept., 1840. f Tbid. 36 HISTORY OF BOSTON. [162! tleinent iDegim within their limits. Therefore, Sir Ferclinando Gorges, ever the friend of JN^ew England, caused a patent to be issued for them to Mr. John Pierce, their agent in England. Fortunate it was for the Pilgrims, in another respect, there were no Indians in the place where they settled, nor does it appear that any ever laid claim to it afterwards. The occupants had all died of the pes- tilence before mentioned.* CHAPTER V. Colony of Wcssaguscus. — Weston. — Thomas Morton. — Weston's Colony Dissolved. — Standish attacks the Indians. — Pi-att's Narrative. — Settlement of Nantasket. — Of Pemaquid. — First Set- tler in New England. — Settlements on the Pascataqua. — Robert Gorges. — Capt. West. — First Governor of New England. — Parliamentary Action relative to Trade and Fishing in New England. 1G22. There came into the harbor of Plymouth a ship called the Span^ow, ^^y- which had been on a fishing voyage at Damaris Cove at the east- ward. It was sent thither by Mr. Weston, a merchant of London, and Mr. Beau champ, and there were then about thirty other ships there upon the same design. In the Sparrow came a letter for Governor Carver, from Mr. Weston, dated the preceding January, in which he informs him that * The following is an exact list of the inhab- itants of Plymouth, or of such as arrived there in the Mayflower, Dec. 1620 ; the Fortune, 9 November, 1021 ; the Ann, &c., July or August, 1623. All these are usually considered as the Cracks ton, John yn Adams, John / Alden, John m Allcrton, Isasic m Allerton, John m Annable, Anthony a Bangs, Edward a Bartlett, Robert a Bassite, AVilliam / Bealc, William / Billington, John m Bompasse, Edward f Bradford, AVilliam m Brewster, Fear a Brewster, Jonathan / Brewster, Patience a Brewster, AVilliam m Brigges, Clement / Britterige, Richard m Brown, Peter m Bucket, Wary a Burcher, Edward a Cannon, John / Carver, .John 7/1 Chilton, .Tames m Clarke, Richard m Clarke, Thomas a Conant, Christopher a Coner, AA'illiam / Cook, Francis m Pilgrims. For its preparation I am indebted to the excellent little volume, " Guide to Plym- outh, by W. S. Russell, Esq., 1846. The small letters at the end of each name refer to the respective ships in which they came over. Rand, James a Cushman, Robert/ Cushman, Thomas / Cuthbertson, Cuthbert a Deane, Stephen / De la Noye, Philip / Dix, Anthony a Dotey, Edward m Eaton, Francis m English, Thomas m Faunce, John a Flavell, Goodwife a Flavell, Thomas / Flavell, son of the above / Fletcher, Moses m Flood, Edmund a Foord, AA'idow / Fuller, Bridget a Fuller, Edward m Fuller, Samuel 7)1 Gardiner, Richard m Goodman, John m Hatherly, Timothy a Heard, AVilliam a Hiekes, Robert/ Hickes, Margaret a Hiekes, — her children a Hilton, AA^illiam's wife and two children a Hilton, AYUliam / Hoi man, Edward a Hopkins, Stephen m Howland, John m Jenny, John a Kempton, Manasses a Leister, Edward m Long, Robert a Margcson, Edmund m Martin, Christopher m Mitchell, Experience a Morgan, Bennet / Morton, George a Morton, Thomas / ]Morton, Thomas, Jr. a Mullins, AVilliam m Newton, Ellen a Nicolas, Austin / Oldham, John a Palmer, Frances a Palmer, AVilliam / Perce, Mr., his two ser rants, a Penn, Christian a Pitt, William / Pratt, Joshua a Prence, Thomas / Priest, Degory m Rattliffe, Robert a Ridgdale, John m Rogers, Thomas m Simonson, Moses / Snow, Nicholas a Soule, George m Southworth, Alice a Sprague, Francis a Standish, Barbara a Standish, Miles m Static, Hugh / Steward, James / Tench, AVilliam / Tilden, Thomas a Tilly, Edward m Tilly, John vi Tinker, Thomas m Tracy, Stephen a Turner, John jn AV alien, Ralph a AA'arren, Richard 7/1 Williams, Thomas m AA'hite, AVilliam m AVinslow, Edward m. Winslow, Gilbert in AVinslow, John / Wright AVilliam / A few of these names have undergone Doten ; Simonson, Simmons; Southworth, South- changes ; Bassite is now Bassett ; Bompasse, er ; and perhaps a few others. — See Guide to Bumpas (originally Bon passe) ; Burcher, Plymouth, 128-31. Burchard ; I)e la Noye, Delano ; Dotey, Doty, 1622.] SETTLEMENT OF WEYISIOUTH WESTON's COLONY. 37 he is about to begin a plantation near Plymouth, on his own account. The Plymouth settlers are somewhat disturbed at this news, because they had calculated upon his cooperation in their own undertaking. It was afterwards insinuated that he had dealt unfairly in the matter, but those insinuations are so vaguely made, that they do not authorize any unfavorable decision against his honest intentions. He had adventured large sums of money to aid the Pilgrims, and for furthering settlements in New England, and he may have had reason for believing that the community system adopted by the Plymouth settlers did not promise any immediate returns ; and that therefore a plantation for profit was necessary in his aff^iirs, and at the same time the two plantations might be of mutual help to one another. June or Accordingly, there arrived, about one month later, two other ships July- of Mr. Weston's, the Charity and the Swan, with about sixty men. These were to begin a plantation, for which Mr. Weston had a patent. Many of them being sick on their arrival, the people of Plym- outh took care of them until they could take care of themselves. In the mean time a place was selected by those who were able, and had the matter in charge, and a settlement was begun at a place called by the Indians Wessaguscusset or Wessagusset,* and afterwards by the white people, Weymouth. Of the affairs of this colony it is necessary to be somewhat particular, as from its proximity to Boston its affairs became much interwoven with it. Very few of the names of the persons who made up Mr. Weston's company have been discovered, which, perhaps, is not much to be regret- ted, as the good and orderly men who speak of them are unanimous that they were no people " for them," and that " they were not fit for an honest man's company." Even Mr. Weston himself wrote to the gen- tlemen of Plymouth, to prevent their being imposed upon by his colo- nists, "many of whom," he said, "were rude and profane fellows." At or about the same time came to Plymouth Mr. Thomas Morton, " of Clifford's Inn, gentleman," as he styled himself, who, after he had had "ten yeeres knowledge and experiment of the country," made a book about it, "setting forth the originall of the natives, the natural indowments of the countrie, and what people are planted there," which he published in 1632. In this book he gives no very favorable account of the Pilgrims and other settlers. Nor is this at all to be wondered at, for they had represented him in the most unfavorable fight possible, for several years before his book appeared ; and though they may not have done him justice in every particular, he certainly has not erred in over justice to them. There are few greater curiosities, among earlier or later books, than this by Morton, and it discovers a good deal of talent *Wessaguscus and Wessagusquasset are also healthful, very good ground, well timbered, and names of the same place. Morton, who had hath good stoore of hay-ground; hath a spa- the best means of knowing what the name was, cious harbour for shipping before the towne ; writes it AVessaguscus, New Canaan. In the salt water being navigable for boates and 1633, Wood, speaking of the " severall planta- pinnaces two leagues ; here is likewise an ale- tions in particular," says, " Wichaguscusset is wife river." — N. Eng. Prospect, 31, ed. 1635. but a small village, yet it is very pleasant and 38 HISTORY OF BOSTON. [1622. as well as learning ; shrewdness of observation, as Avell as much graphic description. He was as deeply in love with New England, as Captain John Smith. " The bewty of the place," he says, " with all her faire indowments," made him think that "it would not be paralel'd in all the knowne world." Morton arrived in the country in that season which, in New England, is the most delightful part of the year. This will account for his rap- tures in describing it. According to his own account, which is no doubt correct, "he chaunced to arrive in New England in the moneth of lune. Anno Salutis : 1622, with 30. servants, and provisions of all sorts fit for a plantation : and whiles their howses were building, he did endeavour to take a survey of the country:" and "the more he looked the more he liked it." That he did not change his mind afterwards, is pretty clear, from the title he gave his book, the " New English Canaan." The description of the Indians, as given by Morton, is superior to that of most authors before his time, and though he indulges his imagi- nation sometimes, yet this part of his work is of exceeding great vahie to inquirers about the primitive inhabitants of New England. The fol- lowing is the concluding paragraph of his first book : — " The Indians may be rather accompted to live richly, wanting nothing that is needful ; and to be commended for leading a contented life ; the younger being ruled by the elder, and the elder ruled by the Powahs, and the Powahs are ruled by the Devill, and then you may imagine what good rule is like to be amongst them." This is not offered as a specimen of his ob- servations and conclusions. His belief in the general government of the devil, was not singular ; his neighbors had the same belief, but while they reported that there were lions in the country, Morton says distinct- ly, that " there are none."* Though Morton is, by some, supposed to have come over with Mr. Wes- ton's men, it does not appear certain that he was interested with him in his settlement ; nor does it appear that he remained at Wessaguscus till the colony of Mr. Weston broke up. The probability is, he spent con- siderable time in viewing the country, but left it before the end of the colony. The larger of Mr. Weston's ships, the Charity, sailed for England about the end of September, and Morton may have returned in her.f However this may be, there is something of truth, as well as fable, in Morton's own account of the advent of Mr. Weston's colony at Plym- outh ; nor is it at all difficult for the attentive reader of New England history to draw the line between them : it is in these words : — " Mai^ter Thomas Weston, a merchant of London, that had been at some cost, to fiirther the brethren of new Plimmouth, in their designs for these parts, shipped a company of servants, fitted with provisions of * " It is contrary to the nature of the beast, f Furtlier details of many events, necessarily to frequent places accustomed to snow ; being briefly noticed in this history, will be fully gone like the catt, that will liazard the burning of into in the History of New England, which the her tayle rather than abide from the fire." — author many years ago proposed to himself to N Canaan, 5G. write. 1623.] Weston's colons. 39 all sorts, for the undertaking of a plantation to be settled there, with an intent to follow after them in person. These servants at first arrived at New Plimmouth where they were entertained with court holy bread by the brethren. They were made very wellcome in shew at least. There these servants goods were landed, with promises to be assisted in the choice of a convenient place, and still the good cheare went forward, and the strong liquors walked. In the meane time the brethren were in consultation, what was best for their advantage, singing the songe, Friistra sapit, qui sibi non sapit." After this significant quotation, Morton insinuates that the Pilgrims were afraid that the new colony would get away their trade for beaver, and become greater than they were ; " besides Mr. Weston's people were no chosen Separatists, but men made use of at all adventures,* fit for the furtherance of Master Weston's undertakinges : and that was as much as he need care for. Now when the Plimmouth men began to finde, that Master Weston's men's store of provition grew short with feasting ; then they hasted them to a place called Wessaguscus, in a weake case, and there left them fasting."! The plantation of Mr. Weston was under the care of the brother- in-law of that gentleman, whose name was Richard Green. He having died at Plymouth in the autumn of the preceding year, the col- ony seems to have soon after gone to ruin. Neglecting their business, the men came to want, robbed the Indians, who would probably have exterminated them, but for the interference of the people of Plymouth. Indeed, the Indians seem to have laid their plans to cut them off, but the plot was revealed and prevented. One John Sanders succeeded Mr. Green as overseer of the colony, which, by the end of February, was reduced to a state of perfect wretchedness. One man, Phinehas Pratt, who lived long afterwards to tell the story, fled from the place, and not knowing "a foot of the way," reached Plymouth in safety, " with a pack at his back," not knowing till some time after, that he very narrowly escaped death in the journey. An Indian pursued him for the purpose of killing him, but Pratt, from his ignorance of the paths, missed the direct one, which occasioned his pursuer to miss him, as the Indians confessed afterward.^ * Picked up at random. feet that he attempted, unfairly, to obtain a f Morton's Neio Canaan, p. 71-2, ed. 1632. grant of land, and that "he was choaked at The fact that the author, p. 57, speaks of Mr. Plimmouth," for shooting " a carelesse fellow- William Wood's Neiu England^s Prospect, that was new come into the land;" ''but," shows that his own book has a title-page with a says Morton, " I cannot spie any mention made false date in it, or that Wood printed his Pros- of it in the woodden prospect." By the iwo lL Phinehas Pratt is the ancestor of many of the jL Hl.'K4.-VV^5 X VW-ft" ^ Pratts of New England. lie married at Plym- outh, in 1G30, a daughter of Cuthbert Cuth- { Original Deposition of Walter Knight, MS. bertson. His son, Aaron, died at Cohasset, in ^ Report of Commissioners on Lincoln Co. 1735, JB. 81 ; Aaron Pratt, 2d, died in 1766, Difficulties, 40. JB. 76 ; Thomas, son of Aaron Pratt, 2d, died || Williamson^ s Hist. Maine, i. 696. — See in 1818, 39. 83. Benjamin Pratt, now living in also. Hazard's Hist. Colls., Hutchinson's Col. Cohasset, ae. 84, has living six brothers and Papers, sisters, whose ages average 76 years. Aaron 6 42 HISTORY OF BOSTON. [1623. tie above on the same river. These were the begmnings of the since important towns of Portsmouth and Dover.* The previous year, Captain Robert Gorges, son of Sir Ferdinando, ob- tained of the Plymouth Company a patent of a tract of land about Cape Ann, and this year came over with a commission, from the company, of Governor of New England. He arrived at Plymouth in September, with a number of families and passengers, intending to settle them at Weymouth. This is said to be the first attempt to establish a general government in the country. But Captain Francis West had acted before this in a similar capacity, and had resigned because he probably came to the conclusion that to govern a few straggling fishermen upon the water was something like an attempt to govern the fish in it. Whether Captain Gorges came to the same conclusion, or not, certain it is he did not exercise his authority to any great extent, and returned to England within a year from the time he left it. It may be said of him, what in fact can be said of but few colonial governors, he left no enemies behind him. It will have been seen that Captain Smith was by appointment the first Governor of New England, and how by misfortunes he was pre- vented from being its first permanent settler. The appointment of a gov- ernor afterwards was, however, from a different motive from that to pay a debt of gratitude to Smith. Many of those who had been fishing and trading on the coast from before Smith's first visit to it, had carried home complaints and charges against one another ; — some for burning the forests, some for obstructing harbors by discharging "ballast and stones " from their vessels, some for wronging the Indians, and other crimes among the natives not fitting to be mentioned ; — until, in 1621, the matter was brought up in Parliament by Sir Edwin Sandys, from whose observations and explanations it seems that body could not have been very well informed in respect to the relation between Old and New England. Among those who participated with Sir Edwin in his remarks, were Sir George Calvert, Sir Dudley Diggs, Sir John Brooke and Mr. John Guy.f Their remarks were so desultory, that one is almost at a loss to understand what was aimed at by the speakers, from the printed report of what has been termed the first debate in Parlia- ment upon American affairs. However, no bill to promote or restrain trade and fishing on the coast passed this Parliament, although it is tolerably certain that the grantees intended and hoped to establish a monopoly of both. Monopoly has always been the aim of companies or corporations. That great and important ends have been accomplished by such means, will not probably be denied ; nor will it be questioned, perhaps, that corporations belong to that class of things usually denomi- nated necessary evils. * The names of the early settlers at Pascata- f Proceedings and Debates in the House of qua are given in the Neiv Eng. Hist, and Gen. Commons, i, 318-89. i?e^.,vol. ii.p. 39, from an ancient MS. in the hands of the editor. 1621.1 EARLY EXPLORATIONS IN BOSTON BAY. 43 CHAPTER VI. Early Explorations in Boston Bay by Plymouth IMen. — They first land in Dorchester — Then at Charlestown. — Intercourse mth Indians about Med ford. — Discover Mystic River. — Return to Plymouth. — Su- William Alexander. — His Grant of Territory in America. — John Mason. — His Grant of Territory called Mariana. — Laconia. — Weymouth Colony. — Mr. John White. — Settle- ment at Cape Aim. — Conant, Oldham, Lyford. — Capt. Wallaston settles at Braintree. — He soon abandons it. — His Men continue. — Thomas Morton. — Difficulties with him. — He is captui-ed and sent out of the Country. 1G21. The people settled at Plymouth, having heard from the Sept. 18. Indians accounts of a place called " Massachusets,"* and though the natives who inhabited thereabouts had " often threatened them," they resolved " to goe amongst them ; partly to see the coun- trey, partly to make peace with them, and partly to procure their tmcke." Accordingly ten men, including Miles Standish, captain in the expedition, and probably William Bradford, John Howland, Isaac Allerton, Richard Gardiner, &c. Sq^uanto, or Tisquantum,f was their guide. J Sept. Owing to the tide, 1^- they did not sail from Plymouth till " about mid- night." They had not a correct idea of the distance ; " and, supposing it neerer than it is, thought to be there the next morning betimes : but it proued * A gentleman who has paid much attention to the language of the New England Indians, renders Massachusetts into English thus : — Massa, many; Waschoo, mountain; auke, place; hence, Many-mountain-place. Now in the Massachusett language, ivac/chuut was surely mountain. — See Eliot, Ind. Bible, Matt. xvii. 9, Mark iii. 13, &o. Hence the derivation is very obvious. The Indians inhabiting about Neponset river, and so around the bay to Mystic, were very naturally called the people at, about, or among the many mountains, by the Wampa- noags and Narragansets, who had no mountains in their country. When it was not necessary to qualify the word mountain, it was simply ivac/chuut ; therefore Wachusett, the mountain. f It is a conjecture of long standing, that that well known point in Dorchester received its name from this chief. The rustic legend, that it was so named because an Indian squaw threw herself from the rocks thei-e, in " early times," is not deemed worthy consideration. For the want of a better derivation, probably, some one converted " Sguaw tumble^^ into Squantum. If named for the Indian before mentioned, the time when, and the circumstances which occa- sioned it, are alike unknown. It is very possf ble that the name Squantum, however, had nothing to do with this Indian at all. In Mass. Col. Records, 7 Nov. 1632, " one hun- dred acres of land are granted to Mr. Roger Ludlow, betwixt Musquantum Chapel, and the mouth of Naponset." — See Mr. Lunt's Cent. Ser. at Quincy, p. 65. Here for many years was celebrated " Pilgrim Feast," to which peo- ple from all parts of the state resorted, and spent the day in social glee, in memory of the Pilgrim Fathers, and their first landing at Plymouth. It had been discontinued " many years," when Mr. Whitney published his " History of Quincy," which see, pp. 29, 30. J " For these ends the Governours chose ten men, fit for the purpose, and sent Tisquantwn, and two other Salvages to bring vs to speech with the people, and interpret for vs." — A Relation of ovr Voyage to Massachvsets, and %chat happened there; from the work usually cited as Mourfs Relation; the only_ original authority for this part of the early history of Massachusetts. ^ The annexed autograph of Standish is from an original document in my possession, dated 1631-2. 44 HISTOKY OF BOSTON. [1621 well neertwentie leagues from New Plymouth."* They had, however, a fine run, for they arrived before daylight near the " Massachusets." Early in the morning they went on land. Looking about, they came upon a quantity of fresh lobsters. With these they retired under a cliff,t and breakfasted. Having placed " two sentinels behind the cliffe landward, to secure the shallop," and taking four men besides a guide, Capt. Standish proceeded into the country to find inhabitants. They had not gone far when they met a woman going for the lobsters with which they had just made free use ; for which, how- ever, they generously "contented her." By her they learned where the Indians'were, and Squanto soon found them. The rest of the com- pany returned to the place of landing, with directions to bring the shallop to them. They called the place where they now were, "the bottom of the Massachusets Bay," and it probably was the chief settlement of the Massachusetts Indians ; hereabouts, doubtless, were the " Massachusets fields," of those days.| Here lived their Sachem, called Obbatinewat, who received and treated them kindly. He might well have had a double purpose in this, for he lived in daily fear of the Indians on the eastern side of the bay, or Tarratines ; confessing that he dared not continue long in any place, lest they should surprise him; also that the squaw sachem of Massachusetts was his enemy. The English proposed to Obbatinewat to come under the government of England, to which he readily consented, and then volunteered to conduct them to the squaw sachem, that they might see what success they could have with her. To get to that part of the country where * This is an estimate not much out of the or some one of the Blue Hills, was the site of way, as they must have made a far more indi- Nanepashemet's royal residence, &c. Yet I rect course than was usual afterwards. As a must confess, that, after a most patient and general thing, distances are much overrated in careful examination of the subject, from every the early accounts. This is always the case in point of view, I am unable to find any sufficient new and wild countries. reason for supposing that Standish and his t After this part of toy work was drawn up, companions landed on any part of Shawmut, at my friend, W. T. Harris, Esq., of Cambridge, this time ; but have come to the conclusion that put into my hands a manuscript upon many ' the bottom of the bay,' where they came to passages of the early history of Massachusetts, anchor, was Quincy Bay, and the cliff beneath and particularly upon this voyage of the Pil- which they first landed, no other than the ab- grims. His conclusions agreeing perfectly with rupt pile of rocks known by the name of ' the my o^vn, so fur as I had gone, and having been Chapel,' at the north-east extremity of the evidently arrived at with just discrimination, I peninsula of Squantum." take great pleasure in giving my readers the JJosselyn, in speaking of ^^ Mount- Wolles- benefit of them, as they are more definite than ton,'' says it is called "■ Massachusets-^elds;'' I had determined upon, before reading them, that here " Chicatabut the greatest Sagamore Mr. Harris says: — "Dr. Belknap {Amer. of the countrey lived before the plague: here Biog., ii. 224) supposed this cliff to be Copp's the town of Braintree is seated." — Two Voy- Hill, in the north part of Boston, opposite ages, 1.59-60. " Three miles to the north of Charlestown, adopted by most subsequent writ- Wichaguscusset is mount Wolleston, a very ers, has been finally sanctioned by no less an fertile soyle, and a place very convenient for authority than the reverend editor of the Chron- farmers houses, there being great store of plaine icles of Plymouth ; who also conjectures that ground, without trees. Neere this place is the piurty, after leaving Boston, recrossed the Slassachusets fields, where the greatest saga- harbor (or 'Bay,' as it is called), to Quincy, more in the countrey Hued before the plague, and went ashore at Sciuantimi on the 21st ; and who caused it to be' cleared for himselfe." — that a hill in this vicinity, perhaps Milton Hill, Wood, New England's Prospect, 31, ed. 1635. 1621.] DISCOVERIES ABOUT BOSTON. NANEPASHEIMET. 45 she resided, they had to cross the bay,* "which," they say, is "very large, and hath at least fifty islands in it," but the Indians did not pre- tend to know the exact number. "Night it was," says the writer of the voyage, "before wee came to that side of the bay where this peo- ple were. On shore the salvages went, but found nobody." The English slept on board their shallop that night, which " rid at anchor." Sept. The next day, all but two of the men " marched in arms vp in 21- the countrey." When they had gone three miles, they came to a place where corn had just been gathered, " a house pulled downe, and the people gone. A mile from hence, Nanepashemet,t their king, in his lifetime had lived. His house was not like others, but a scaffold was largely built, with pools and plancks, some six foote from the ground, and the house vpon that ; being situated on the top of a hill."| Not far from this place, "in a bottom," they found a fort, built by the deceased chief, which they thus describe : "There were pools, some thirtie or fortie foote long, stucke in the ground, as thick as they could be set one by another ; and with these they inclosed a ring some forty or fifty foote ouer ; a trench, breast high, was digged on each side ; one way there was to goe into it with a bridge. In the midst of this pallizado stood the frame of an house, wherein, being dead, he lay buryed." About a mile from this palisadoed fortification, they found another of similar structure. This is the place where the great sachem, Nanepashemet, was killed. None had lived in it since the time of his death, which, from some circumstances, is supposed to have been in 1619. Here the Plymouth men rested a while, having sent two Indians to see if they could find any inhabitants ; and, if they could, to invite them to a conference. At the distance of about a mile from the place where the English were, the two Indians found " the women of the place to- gether, with their corne on heapes," whither they had fled, as was supposed, from fear of the English ; " and the more, because in diners places they had newly pulled down their houses, and for hast in one * Here is certainly evidence enough that they were not at Shawmut, but evidence enough that they were on the south side of the bay, somewhere. Would going from Copp's Hill to (Jharlestown be crossing the bay ? and elicit- ing in connection observations about its extent and the great number of islands in it ? They might well say, as they do, " againe we crossud the Bay," for they had already crossed one bay, or what to strangers could appear no oth- er than a bay, from point Alderton to Squan- tum. f In Roger Williams' Key, Nanepaushat is translated The moon God. J Situated in the vicinity of Mystic Pond, so called, in Medford. MS. of Mr. Harris, vi supra. The reasoning employed by the author in support of his location of Nanepashemet's fort, fov whia: I have not room, is quite con- clusive 46 HISTORY OF BOSTON. [1621. place had left some of their corne couered with a mat, and nobody with it." These women discovered much alarm at first, but their fears were soon overcome by the kind behavior of the intruders ; and they, as is the custom of the Indians, hastened to treat them with such victuals as their wigwams afforded, consisting of boiled codfish "and such other things." The apprehensions of the Indian men were so great, that none would approach the English until they had been "much sent for," and then only one man ventured to come, who "shook and trembled with feare." When he found what the English wanted, that they came in friendship and "to truck," he promised "them his skins also." They endeavored to ascertain by this Indian where the squaw sachem was, but, from what they could learn, they concluded "she was far from thence ; at least they could not see her." On this occasion Squanto showed his propensity for mischief. He proposed to the English to plunder those women of what they had, — those who were then treating them so kindly, — but they rejected the proposal, as all honorable men would, and told Squanto, that though they "were never so bad," and might belong to a bad people, and have threatened the people of Plymouth, as he said, yet they would not wrong them. This excursion occupied the whole day. At evening, as they re- turned to their shallop, accompanied "by almost all the women," who, in their eagerness to truck for the commodities which the English had, " sold their coats from their backes, and tyed boughes about them, bu< with great shamefastness, (for indeed they are more modest then some of our English women are)." Parting from these people, the voyagers promised to come again, and the Indians to keep their skins for them. They understood the Indians to say that there were two rivers in the bay. One they saw themselves, but had not time to examine it.* They decided that "better harbours for shipping there cannot be then here are. At the entrance of the bay are many rocks ; and in all like- lihood good fishing-ground." They found, as Captain Smith did seven years before, that most of the islands had been inhabited, and that some had been cleared " from end to end, but the people were all dead or removed." Such were the explorations " in and about the bottom of Massachu- setts Bay," around where Boston is, nine years before the arrival of the colony which settled it. The country pleased those so well who made this exploration, that the report they carried to their friends in Plym- outh caused them to express their sorrow " that they had not been seated there." But having planted corn and built huts at Plymouth, * This was unquestionably tlie Mystic ; in locked from their view, and which was doubtless fiill view as they landed upon the peninsula of Charles river. Hence, Charlestown was known Mishawum (Charlestown) ; but the other river before Boston, as well as settled before it. Mr. of which they heard, the intervening wooded Harris, in his MS. before quoted, fully coin- promontories of Shawmut and Cambridge land- cides in these views of the author. 1621-1623.] SIR WILLIAM ALEXANDER. CAPT. JOHN MASON. 47 and being there secure from the natives, they judged the motives for continuance to be stronger than for removal.* 1621. Sir William Alexander,! about the same tune, through the ?ept. 10. friendship of Sir Ferdinando Gorges, shares a portion of the Plymouth Company's patent. Seeing that the English had done but little, or nothing, in fact, directly to establish settlements in New Eng- land, he hoped the Scotchmen might be more successful. The patent to Sir William was ample, embracing the whole territory of Acadia, which was confirmed to Mm and his heirs by King James, and erected into a Palatinate, to be holden as a fief of the Crown of Scotland. But the Scotch made out no better than the English ; one ship after another returned home with tales of misfortunes, till Sir William, like Sir Fer- dinando, was forced to sit down, with what content he might, under heavy losses and disappointments. The same year. Captain John Mason, Governor of Portsmouth, in Hampshire, who, like Gorges, had been an officer in the navy, and Gov- ernor of Newfoundland, and had by a vacancy become Secretary to the Council of Plymouth, procured a grant of territory in New England, "■ of all the land from the river of Naumkeag (Salein) round Cape Anne, to the river Memmack, and up each of these rivers to the farthest head thereof ; then to cross over from the head of the one to the head of the other ; with all the islands lying within three miles of the coast." To this tract was given the name of " Mariana." l The next year another grant was made to Gorges and Mason *" jointly, of all the lands between the Merrimack and Sagadahock, extending inland to the Great Lakes and to the River of Canada. This was called ''Laconia," and thus was laid the foundation of the State of New Hampshire, § which has been briefly noticed in a previous page. Although the colony at Wessaguscus is generally supposed to have ■ been abandoned last year, its abandonment appears to have been temporary ; || for this year it is stated, on good authority, that the people there received an accession to their number by emigrants * This was a momentous question in its day, some of the most learned barristers of Scothmd and the decision of the pious fathers was no and England ; but owing, perhaps, to the man- doubt weighed by them, as one involving their ner in which he presented liis claim, he lost it. existence. But when the grave historian, Dr. The House of Lords decided against its validity Belknap, came to consider it, he could not help in 1762. This, our Lord Stirling married a remarking, with feigned complacency, that daughter of Philip Livingston, and died at Al- though the Pilgrims thought it not worth while bany, N. Y., 12 Jan. 1782, without male issue, to remove, " many of their posterity have judged The late Earl of Stirling probably found about otherwise !" as much perplexity in establishing his title to _f First Earl of Stirling. To this title he was the lands of his ancestors in America, as his raised in 1633. He was born in 1580, died in kinsman did in his fruitless and expensive pur- London, Feb. 1640. His father was Alexan- suit of the Earldom. — See Statement of the der Alexander of Menstrie, who died 1594:. His Case of Alexander, Earl of Stirling, 8 vo j Lou- father's name was Andrew Alexander. John don, 1832. Alexander, uncle of Sir William, was the an- | Belknap's Hist, if New Hampshire, Far- cestor of our Lord Stirling, conspicuous in the mer's edition, p. 4. revolutionary war. He labored long and ardu- ^ Ibid. ously to substantiate his claim to the Earldom, || It is very probable that when the troubles to which he was entitled in the judgment of had assumed a serious aspect, and actual war 48 HISTORY OF BOSTON. [162b. from Weymouth in Dorsetshire ; on which account it is supposed to have received the name of Weymouth. There were about fifty English ships fishing on the coast of New England this year, with better success than ever.* Seeing that the colony of Plymouth was likely to continue and flour- ish, some of those in England who had anxiously watched its progress, — the most conspicuous of whom was the Rev. Mr. John White, a puri- tan minister of Dorchester, in Dorsetshire, — excited several gentlemen to prepare for another settlement in New England. Accordingly " sun- dry persons" are sent over, who begin a plantation at Cape Ann. Among this number were Mr. John Tilley and Mr. Thomas Gardiner ; the former was " overseer of the planting," and the latter was " over- seer of the fishing, ' ' Meantime , Mr. White having learned that the Plym- outh people had driven Mr. Roger Conant, Mr. John Lyford and Mr. John Oldham from that place in consequence of a disagreement in their religious opinions ; " wherefore that reverend person (one of the chief founders of the Massachusetts Colony) being grieved in his spirit that so good a work should be suffered to fall to the ground," and learning the excellent character of Mr. Conant from Mr. Conant's brother in Eng- land, procured from the company of adventurers his appointment " to be Governor, and to have the managing and government of all their af- ftiirs at Cape Anne." Lyford and Oldham went to Cape Ann also, but did not remain there long. The former removed to Virginia and died there, and the latter traded between New England and Virginia, and in the year 1630 was killed by the Indians, f The next year, " one Captain Wallaston " came into the Massa- chusetts Bay, and began a settlement within what was afterwards called Braintree.J With him came several persons of " some emi- nence ;" but the actual number of his followers does not appear to be known ; nor is it stated from what place this colony came, nor has the Christian name of Mr. Wallaston been discovered. Thomas Morton, of whom notice has been taken, returned to New England with this company. But Captain Wallaston, not finding things to his liking, removed, with a great part of his servants, to Virginia, in the fall of 1626. A Mr. Rasdale was left in command of the place on Mr. Wal- laston's departure, but he soon proceeded to Virginia also, leaving a Mr. Filcher to manage affairs. But nothing further is heard of Filcher, while Morton made himself very conspicuous, and soon became obnoxious had been begun, the people all fled from Wes- of the better sort of people." — Century Ser- saguscus ; but a few weeks' time proved to them mon, at Braintree, 1739, p. 18. that they had nothing to fear from the Indians ; f Hubbard's Hist, of New England, ed. Ilar- the suspicious leaders of whom had all been ris, 106-7. He was killed at or near Block killed by Standish and his war-party; that. Island, July 20th, 1636. therefore, they soon left their hiding-places and % AVhcn a section of Braintree was set off for returned to their settlement. That they have not a separate township, it was called Quincy, — been particularly noticed by cotemporary writ- in honor of the highly respectable family which ers is not at all strange, as they were few and resided there, and of which a branch remains politically unimportant. to this day. Mt. WoUaston was included in * Prince, Hubbard, Holmes. Mr. Hancock this section, and w^as within the farm of one says the emigrants who came in 1624, " were of the Messrs. Quincy. 1G28.] COLONY OF WESSAGUSCUS. 49 to his neighbors at Plymouth. They seem to have recognized him as the leader of the plantation, and the author of all the mischief that hap- pened to it after Mr. Wollaston left it. He was, judging independently of what his neighbors say of him, evidently a "merry companion;" and his company, consisting of young men, were ready to enjoy them- selves to-day, come what might to-morrow. Great offence was taken by the Pilgrims at their impiety, as they viewed their conduct to be impious, and Morton and his friends derided them for their overmuch piety and austere manners.* Mutual dislikes at length grew to such a height, that nothing short of the breaking up of the settlement of Mount Wollaston could be likely to satisfy the people of Plymouth. Morton and his party considered themselves an independent community, as in fact they were, and that it was nobody's business to call them to account for erecting a May-pole and dancing about it ; whether they said their prayers as they had been taught to say them, or whether they read them out of a book, or whether they said or read prayers at all. But their neighbors thought otherwise, and, soon after the arrival of Governor Endicott, their opponents feeling themselves strong enough to force a compliance with their wishes, a company was raised among the scattered settlements, which proceeded, under Standish, to Ma-re- Mount, — as Morton had named Mount Wollaston, — captured the unruly party, and thus put an end to a colony f which has given rise to much curious inquiry, and a good deal of speculation ; but of which, hitherto, no satisfactory history has appeared.^ 1628 "^'^^ expense of capturing Morton and some half dozen other men ■ was assessed on a part of the scattered inhabitants of New Eng- land ; but whether with their consent, or whether they actually paid in the amounts assessed upon them, there is nothing to show ; yet it has been said, that even Morton's Episcopal friends contributed towards the * The Rev. Mr. Hancock, with the New Eng- he says, the colonists of Ma-re-Mount had bet- land^s Memorial open before him, says, " But ter success in trading with the Indians than one Mr. Morton, whom Capt. Wollaston left tlie people of Plymouth had ; and because there with part of the company, fell to great they read prayers after the manner of the licentiousness and profaneness, till the good Episcopal church. The charges brought people in their scattered plantations in the against him are met with everywhere, and re- Massachusetts Bay unite with Plymouth gov- quire no repetition here. They were brought ernment, and go and suppress them, and dis- with great gravity, by his namesake, the perse the worst of the company, leaving the author of Neio England^s Memorial, in hia more modest here, and sending Morton to Eng- work, from which they have been copied, with land, with a messenger and letters to inform such embellishments as suited the fancies of against him, for his wicked and insufferable their copyists ; while Morton probably consid- behavior." — Century Sermon, p. 18. ered the subject, in the time of it, as one not f An end, so far only, as appears from several worthy of sober consideration ; and hence we accounts, as respects the riotous part of the find it, in his New Canaan, treated only with colony. See Hancock's Cent. Sermon, ut supra, ridicule. Had he ever imagined that it would Davis i?i Morton, and Belknap, Amer. Biog- become matter of serious history, he would raphy, ii. 334. doubtless have left us a very different and % In my History of New England, I propose more circumstantial account. In speaking of to go at large into the affi.iirs of this colony, the " tenents " of the people of New England, It is indeed a poor question where there is Morton says that they held the use " of a ring nothing to be said, except on one side. As in marriage to be a relique of popery ; a dia- yet the subject has been sketched from one bolical circle for the Devell to daunce in." — point of view only. Morton was originally Neio Canaan, 118. tried, condemned and transported, because, as 7 50 HISTORY OF BOSTON. [1628. expense of the expedition against him ; which circumstance, if trae, would go to prove that they, at least, disapproved of his conduct. In justice to them, however, as well as to Morton, the case should^ be stated as it actually existed, that posterity may be able to come to a just judgment between all parties implicated.* By the assessment referred to, some opinion may be formed of the state of the settlements ; of their numbers and importance, and where they were situated. Thus, the whole amount assessed was twelve pounds and seven shiUings. Of this amount Plymouth has set against it, two pounds and ten shillings ; Naumkeak [Salem], one pound ten shillings ; Pascataquack [Portsmouth] , two pounds ten shillings ; Mr. Jeffrey and Mr. Burslem [Isle of Shoals] ,t two pounds; Natascot, one pound ten shillings ; Mrs. Thomson [Squantum] , fifteen shillings ; Mr. Blackstone [Shawmut], twelve shillings ; and Edward Hilton [Dover], one pound.| * It is true that Governor Bradford (Prince, — Blackstone, Maverick, Walford, Thompson, 251) speaks of a " meeting of the chief of and perhaps others, were of that faith. See the straggling plantations,'' to take counsel Mr. Haven's learned and ingenious introduc- about the disorders at the Mount. Those tion to the Records of the Comj). of the Mass. plantations he names as follows : — " Pascato- Bay, &c., vol. iii. Archa. Americana. It is to way, Naumkeak, Winisimet, Wessaguscusset, be noted that the location of Gorges' patent Natasco, and other places." At their meet- has been misunderstood, and will continue to ing, they " agree to solicit those of Plymouth, be, unless the reader considers that "the who are of greater strength than all, to join north-east side " of the Bay has reference to and stop this growing mischief, by suppress- the land of Massachusetts. The land, as de- ing Morton and Company." scribed in the patent, is " all that part of the f Not much confidence is felt in locating main land called or known by the name of these gentlemen at the Isle of Shoals. At, or Messachusiack." Hence Gorges, perhaps by before this period, I believe one Jeffrey had a way of distinction, gives a little different name fishing stage there ; and it is certain, that, to to his tract of country, from " Messachuset," this day, a noted fishing place in the neighbor- by which name the whole was known ; and hood bears the name of Jeffries. That the hence I conclude that this patent covered that Shoals were inhabited at this time seems prob- part of the country where the Massachusetts able, for the ship in which Morton was sent Indians had their chief residence, and which away, sailed from the Isle of Shoals, as ap- has already been described. It was an impor- pears from Bradford (Prince, 252), who says tant object with patentees to have their grants Morton was kept at Plymouth "till a ship cover Indian settlements, because trade with going from the Isle of Shoals to England, he is them for beaver could be carried on advanta- sent in her to the New England Council geously, and without infringing on the rights {Council of Plymouth], with a messenger and of others. Mr. Walford was located in a etters to inform against him. Yet they do place " full of Indians;" and it will be seen nothing to him, not so much as rebuke him, and with what anxiety the jNIassachusetts Company he returns next year." — There was a "Mr. operated to exclude Mr. Oldham and others JohnBurslin," desiring to be made freeman at from the country about the bottom of the bay. Boston, in 1630; and in 1631, a "Mr. Jo. Mr. Wheelwright's purchase of 1629 included Burslyn." See N. E. Hist, and Gen. Reg., ii. great Indian resorts and settlements. Others 90-1. It is not presumed that the memoran- might be mentioned. dum of Governor Bradford is to be taken as J See Belknap, Amer. Biography, ii. 334. — presenting a complete catalogue of all the The assessment, as given above, Dr. Belknap places occupied about the coast of New Eng- copied from the original Letter-Book of Gov- land. These enumerated might have been ernor Bradford ; which assessment, though considered the only ones of whom any assist- copied from that MS., is probably a mere ance was to be expected. It has been con- memorandum by the Governor, as a sort of ex- jectured that several of the scattered settlers planation to a copy of a letter sent to England, in and about the harbor of Boston came over containing accusations against IMorton. As with Captain Robert Gorges. The conjecture is such, it appears in the original edition of vol. a reasonable one. They were chiefly within iii. Mass. Hist. Colls., p. 63. Why, in the Gorges' patent, which was "10 miles in reprint of this work, the matter under consid- breadth, and 30 miles into the land, on the eration stands with interpolation marks, there north-east side of the bay called Messachu- is nothing to explain. I have not seen the set." His intended colony was Episcopalian original MS., nor have I inquired whether it 1625-1626.] SETTLEMENT AT CAPE ANN. 51 CHAPTER VII. Colony of Cape Anu. — Settlement of Naumkeag. — Roger Conant. — Origin of the Massachusetts Company. — Sir Ferdinando Gorges. — His early Prophecy of American Independence. — Rev. John White. — Governor John Endicott. — Sails for New England. — Settlement of Charlestown. — Description of the counti-y. — John Oldham. — His Grant. — Thwarted by the Massachusetts Com- pany. — Returns to New England. — Mr. John Wheelwright and others proceed from Massachu- setts and purchase New Hampshire of the Indians. — Captain Mason's grant of the same territory from the Council of Plymouth. _r~7^ ^ *=0 WM OTICE has been taken in the last chapter of a settlement at Cape Ann. The persons engaged there (" then- design not likely to answer their expectations"), sent word to the Adventurers in England — at whose charge the settlement had been begun — how their affairs stood; briefly, that they were not prosperous. A re- linquishment of the undertaking was therefore resolved upon by those Adventurers. "Yet 'Mr^ were they so civil," says the historian Hubbard, "to those if^ that were employed under them, as to pay them all their wages, and proffered to transport them back whence they came, if so they desired." The same historian adds, that "Mr. Conant, disliking the place as much as the Adventurers disliked the business," had, " meanwhile, made some inquiry into a more commodious place, called Naumkeak, a little to the westward, secretly conceiving in his mind, that it might prove a receptacle for such as, upon the account of religion, would be willing to begin a plan- tation in this part of the world ;" and therefore he made known his dis- coveries and opinions to some of his friends in England. Accordingly, Mr. White, before mentioned, who had been grieved at the sudden abandonment of the undertaking by the Adventurers, wrote to Mr. Conant, and urged him not " to desert the business," promising that if he would stay in the country with three others, and occupy Naum- keag, and give him notice of the fact, he would provide a patent for them ; and would send them whatever they should write for ; either men, provisions, or goods. Conant determined to continue. John Woodberry, John Balch, and Peter Jaffrey, who had been employed by the Adventurers, agreed to abide with him. The three last, however, after long waiting for assist- ance, thinking probably that supplies might fail to arrive in season, and their necessities being great; fearing, too, that the Indians were hostile towards them, came to the conclusion to go to Virginia, especially as their minister, Mr. Lyford, " upon a loving invitation, was thither were preserved after it vras used to print from, any longer of service, and that they remained I have understood, incidentally, that many in the printers' hands, and went with their valuable MSS., so used, were not considered worthless paper rubbish ! 62 HISTORY OF BOSTON. [1625-1626. bound."* They urged Mr. Conant to go with them ; but had he had the heart of an old Roman he could not have shown superior in future ages. " No," he said, " though you all forsake me, I will remain." Seeing his firmness, and knowing, from experience, the goodness of his heart, they could not bring their minds to desert him, and thus the breath of life was continued on that sterile side of the Bay of Massa- chusetts, f To the sterling integrity of Roger Conant, therefore, was Salem indebted for its first English inhabitants. Through the agency of Mr. White, great confidence had been reposed in him by the Adventurers, and, as before observed, he proved himself worthy of it. Nor was he mistaken in the promises of Mr. White on his part ; who, exerting him- self among his friends, soon enlisted Sir Henry Rosewell,j: Sir John Young, § knights; Thomas Southcoat,|| John Humphrey, H John En- * In Morton's New Canaan, Book iii., chap, the wife of Sir John Drake, of Ashe. She died viii., may be seen that facetious author's ideas in 1682. This Sir John Drake Avas son of the of the reasons of " Master Layford's and John John Drake, Esq., mentioned in the last note. Oldham's" treatment from the Pilgrims. Sir John Young was a member of the Long f " Meanwhile, White had projected an asy- Parliament, 1640, and a signer of the " Solemn lum for the silenced nonconformist clergy, who League and Covenant," in 1643 ; a member of then thought themselves persecuted, because Cromwell's second Parliament, in 1G54, from they were not allowed to persecute." — Chal- Honiton ; and of the third Parliament, 1656. mers'' Polit. Annals, 135. This author omits See Mr. Haven, in Archol. Americana. no opportunity to slur the nonconformists and || Supposed by Farmer to be the same person Puritans. In speaking of the settlement of admitted freeman at Boston, 1631 ; but on Plymouth, he says, "The Brownists," who what authority he comes to that conclusion he " nestled at Cape Cod." He probably well does not state ; if no other than that of his knew that the followers of Mr. Robinson al- bearing the same Christian name, it is quite ways repudiated the name of Brownists, and small. He was, perhaps, of the Southcotes of that they were not of the sect of Robert Mohuns-Otlery, county Devonshire. George, Brown. son and heir of Thomas, married Elizabeth, X Chalmers, 147, has the following round- daughter of Sir Henry Seymour, brother to the about note on Rosewell, or, as he is often Duke of Somerset, and had a son Thomas. — w^ritten, Rowswell. " In opposition to the See Westcote. This family was connected pretensions of the truly celebrated Sir Samuel with the Pophams. There is a curious account Luke, it has been zealously contended by the of them in Prince's Worthies of Devonshire. partisans of this knight, so famous in the story ^ It is to be hoped that the time is near at of Massachusetts, that Sir Henry was assur- hand when we may find such names as Ilum- edly the great prototype of the incomparable phrey in Biographical Dictionaries. "John Sir Hudibras. Seethe subject discussed in the Humphreys, Esq.," was a man of great con- Introduction to Grey's [edition of] Hudibras, sequence in the first days of Massachusetts and the Sup. to Granger's Biography." Dr. He was chosen deputy governor at the second Grey, it should be stated, is not of the opinion meeting of the Massachusetts Company, in that Sir Henry Rosewell is intended by Iludi- England ; came to New England in 1632 ; bras ; and Granger says Sir Samuel Rosewell, elected assistant same year, which office he which is no doubt a mistake. When West- held till 1641. He resided a while at Lynn, cote wrote his Views of Devonshire (about then at Salem. Meeting with some severe 1620), he says, p. 245, thorncorabe " is now misfortunes, he left the country in 1641. the inheritance of Sir Henry Rowswell, late Although his name usually appears in history sheriff of this county." Thorncombe is in Ford and in historical documents, as above written. Parish. His wife was Mury, daughter of John his own autograph, in my possession, is here Drake, Esq., of Ashe. She was interred in ^ the parish church at Musbury, in 1643. Soon •y yiyf^ / after her death, as I judge. Sir Henry sold his Jy^' /;/^-i^t^^-^- gA/ estates and went to reside in Somersetshire. ^'^ */ c^j " See Lysons' Magna Britan., ccxiii. 360. fac-similied. Its date is 1637. — SeeFarmer's _ ^ Said to be of Devonshire. There was a Gen. Register, Art. Humfrey. Also, Hazard, Sir John Young (I think the same), of Culli- Winthrop, Hutchinson ; Lewis and Felt may be ton, in that shire, whose daughter Jane was consulted with advantage. 1627-1628.] ORIGIN OF the Massachusetts colony. 63 dicott,* and Simon Whetcomb,t gentlemen, "about Dorchester," to make a purchase of territory in New England of the Council of Plym- 1G27-8. outh. On application, that corporation conveyed to the above Mar. 19. named gentlemen, their heirs and associates, the country from three miles north of the Merrimack, to three miles south of the Charles River, and to extend from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. This grant, of course, swallowed up several others previously made. Why the Coun- cil utterly disregarded them does not clearly appear, though it is con- jectured by some historians J that they, being entirely neglected by the grantees, were looked upon as forfeited or void. But it is certain, that if the Council, as a body, so considered those grants, individual mem- bers of it were of a different opinion. § Referring to this grant or pur- chase from the Council of Plymouth, Sir Ferdinando Gorges says, " Some of the discreeter, sought to avoid what they found themselves subject unto, made use of their friends to procure from the Council for the affairs of New England to settle a colony within their limits ; to which it pleased the thrice-honored Lord of Warwick to write to me, then at Plymouth, to condescend that a Patent might be granted to such as then sued for it. Whereupon I gave my approbation, || so far forth as it might not be prejudicial to my son, Robert Gorges' interest, whereof he had a patent under the seal of the Council. Hereupon there was a grant passed as was thought reasonable ; but the same was after enlarged by his majesty, H and confirmed under the great seal of England, by the authority whereof the undertakers proceeded so effect- ually, that in a very short time numbers of people of all sorts flocked thither in heaps, that at last it was specially ordered, by the king's com- mand, that none should be suffered to go without license first had and obtained, and they to take the oaths of supremacy and allegiance. So that what I long before prophesied, when I could hardly get any for money to reside there, was now brought to pass in a high measure. The reason of that restraint was grounded upon the several complaints that came out of those parts, of the divers sects and schisms that were amongst them ; all contemning the public government of the ecclesias- tical state. And it was doubted that they would, in short time, wholly shake off the royal jurisdiction of the sovereign magistrate." ** * Of Endicott, who came over with a com- Dorchester." It was doubtless true, while mission as Governor in 1628, au excellent his- nearly all of thera resided in Devonshire, torical memoir has been printed, prei^ared by though within a few miles of Dorchester. a descendant, Charles M. Endicott, Esq., of J Hutchinson, Hist. Mass.,i. 8. Salem. An abstract of this work will be found ^ See Gorges' Nar., chap, xsvi., B. I. in the first volume of the New Eng. Hist, and \\ From this passage, and what we elsewhere Gen. Reg. Chalmers says, with accuracy, find concerning Gorges' disposition towards " lie laid the foundation of Salem in 1628, the New England, is it hardly just in an American first permanent town in Massachusetts ; who, historian of the present day to say of him that in 1629, was confirmed Governor within the he " seemec^ to favor" this patent? — See Ban- colony, and was honored with new instruc- croft. Hist. U. S., 138, ed. Lond.,1843. tions." — Political Annals, 136, 142. ^ Many early, as well as some late, writers, f Simon AVhetcomb never came to this coun- carelessly state that the charter which Gorges try, and nothing of his history or family has here refers to was granted by Parliament, been found, fui-ther than his connection with See Prince, New Eng. Chron., 249. the Company. These six persons are said, in ** For the accompanying copy of the auto- all the early accounts, to be " gentlemen about graph of Sir Ferdinando Gorges, I am indebted 54 fflSTORY OF BOSTON. [1627-1628. In this short passage, hy one of the men who had sacrificed so much to settle New England, is contained matter for volumes of history. In the first place, as regards the nature and extent of the grants of the Council of Plymouth. In the second place, as to the persons licensed to transport themselves out of England to reside here. And, thirdly, how they came to give occasion to their rulers for fears, at so early a day, that there was a design on their part to become independent of the crown. True, there was nothing more natural, under a government like that of England, where the civil and ecclesiastical powers composing it were nearly equal, than that the people who should undertake to deny a part of the authority of that government, should, of necessity, deny the whole ; for they were inseparable ; and, hence, a rebellion or revolution must unavoidably ensue. Those fears, time has shown, were not with- out good foundation.* And Sir Ferdinando Gorges, so far as anything as yet appears to the contrary, was the first to publish to the world a " prophesie,"- the fulfilment of which did not probably more astonish those who opposed, than those who accomplished it. As soon as the grant was obtained from the Council of Plymouth, the grantees took the name of "the Massachusetts Company;" which, though composed of a small number of individuals at first, soon became respectable numerically considered. And, although above one hundred individuals, from time to time, are known to have belonged to it, yet it has not been ascertained how many did in reality belong to it, at any particular period.f to the eminent collector of such things, Mr. CiiARLES H. Morse, of Cambridge. The origi- nal is attached to a document in the hands of Mellen Chamberlain, Esq., of Chelsea. Al- though sufficient has been said to vindicate Sir Ferdinando Gorges from any ill intentions to- wards the settlers of ^lassachusetts, 1 cannot forbear citing a passage from the Journal of Mr. Eichard blather, going to show, that, in 1G35, Sir Ferdinando professed much interest in the welfare of the colony. When Mr. Mather, in the ship James, lay in King Road, »' four or five miles below Bristol," ready to sail for New England, " there came three or four more boates with more passengers, and one wherein came Sir Ferdinando George, who came to see the ship and the people. When hee was come, hee enquired whether there were any people there that went to Massachusetts Bay ; whereupon ]\Ir. Maud and Mr. Barnabas Fower were sent for to como before him ; who, being come, hee asked Mr. Maud of his coun- try, occupation, or calling of life, &c., and professed his good will to the people there in the Bay, and promised that, if ever hee came there hee would be a true friend unto them." — Printed in the Colls. Dorchester Antiq. and Hist. Soc. , from the original MS. * And thus some recent vrriters have made the discovery that the American Revolution of 1776 actually commenced with the emigration. Might it not, with at least equal propriety, be carried back to the germ of the first thought of liberty of conscience ? f The following is a list of all such as ap- pear in the Company's Records, as published in vol. iii., Part 1., Trans. Amer. Antiq. Soc, amounting to one hundred and fifty. Some of them may not have been members of the Com- pany, but, as Mr. Haven, the editor, observes, they were in some way connected with it, as servants or otherwise. After the names of these, I have caused a m to be set, to denote the uncertainty of their membership. Ballard, Daniel Barkley, William u Bateman, Beecher, Thomas (captain of the Talbot) u Bellingham, Richard Betts, John u Bilson, Abrie, A.C., Adams, Thomas Aldersey, Samuel Andrews, Thomas, Archer, John Arnold, Andrew Backhouse, 1628.] THE MASSACHUSETTS COMPANY. 1628. Soon after a grant was obtained, probably within a few days, March the members had a meeting, at which they chose Matthew Cra- dock governor, and Thomas Goff deputy governor. Mr. White had, in the mean time, engaged " several other religious persons in and about London," to be of the company, who, from their desire to provide an asylum " where nonconformists might transport themselves and enjoy the liberty of their own persuasion in matters of worship and church dis- cipline," had, it appears, entered into the views and wishes of Mr. White. The Governor and Deputy Governor had probably joined the company about the time of its first meeting. They were opulent mer- chants of London ; and their influence with other men of wealth made their acquisition to the company of great importance. The sending succor to Mr. Conant seems not for a moment to hav« been lost sight of, or unnecessarily delayed ; for, within three months from the organization of the Company, a ship had been provided, and all things made necessary for a voyage " into those remote parts of the earth," as New England was then accounted. There seems to have been some difficulty at first about a proper officer to conduct this enterprise. Captain John Endicott, however, a member of the company, required only to be asked if he would go and reside in New England, and act as governor of the colony, when he promptly answered in the affirmative ; which answer was in conformity with his previous and after history: A man of decision of character, "whose deep enthusiasm," says Chalmers, " engaged him zealously to promote Boreman, Felix u Bowry, Richard u Bradshawe, Job Bradshawe, Joseph Bradstreet, Simon Breieton, Sir William Brickliead, Tiiomas u Bright, Francis Browne, John Browne, Samuel Browne, Kellam Burgess, William Burnell, [Tobias '?] Bushord, Richard Caron, Joseph Casson, Edward (^merchant tailor) u Charlton, Robert u Churchill, Joseph u Clarke, Claydon, Barnaby u Claydon, Richard (carpen- ter) u Coddington, William Colburn, William Cony, Thomas u Cooke, Edward Coulson, Christopher Cradock, Matthew Crane, Robert Crowther, William Darbio, William Uarley, Henry Davenport, John Davis, Richard, Downing, Emanuel Dudley, Thomas Durbridge, Mr. m Eaton, Theophilus Edmonds, James (sailor a7id fisherman) u Endicott, John Fines, Charles Flyer, Francis Forde, Edward Foxcroft, George Gace, John (turner) u Gardener, Mr. u Gauden, Henry (master of the ship Abigail) u Gladwing, John u Glover, John Goffe, Thomas Graves, Thomas u Hanscombe, Thomas u Harwood, George Harrett, Robert u Helme, Gawen u Hewson, George Hewson, John Hewson, Thomas Higginson, Francis Hodsen, Daniel Hubbard, William Humphrey, John Hutchins, Thomas Ironside, Janson, Sir Brian Johnson, Francis u Johnson, Isaac Joyce, Mr. u Kerkc, Jarvis u (ship- Lewis, Humphrey u Ludlowe, Roger Malbon, John (worker in iron) u Manstreye, Nathaniel Mayo, Mr. u Milburne, Capt. Peter Miller, Sydrach (cooper) u Mitchell, Barnard u Morley, Robert (barber and surgeon) u Moulton, Robert Wright) u Nowell, Increase Nye, Philip Offield, Joseph Palmer, Abraham Pelham, ■ u Perry, Richard Peters, Hugh Phillips, George Pocock, John Pratt, John (surgeon) u Puliston, Thomas Pynchon, William Revell, John Roe, Lawrence u Rossiter, Edward Roswell, Sir Henry llovell, William (ship mas ter) u Rowe, Owen Saltonstall, Sir Richard Scale, Humphrey Seale, Robert (apprentice): Sharpe, Samuel Sharpe, Thomas Sherman, William m Skelton, Samuel Smith, John Southcot, Thomas Spurstow, [William] Stevens, Thomas TufTneale, Richard Vassall, Samuel Vassall, William Venn, John Wade, Walgrave, Waller, Capt. Henry Ward, Nathaniel Washbornc, John Waye, George Webb, Francis Webb, Thomas West, Nicholas Whitt, John u White, Ralph u Winthrop, John Whetcomb, Simon Whichcote, Charles "VATaite, Edmund White, John (minister) White, John (jurist) White, Richard Wise, John (shoemaker) Woodgate, Wright, Nathaniel Wynche, Young, James Young, Sir John Young, Richard 5G HISTORY OF BOSTON. [1628. the success of an enterprise which was to gratify the favorite passions of every one." But this historian should have added, " when those passions have for their object purity of life, and the universal good of his fellow-man." John Endicott, like other great men who have im- mortalized their names, requires the addition of no sounding titles to ennoble his memory. His simple name is a better indication of great- ness than any title that his native country's peerage could confer.* 1G28. There was now June 20. riding at anchor in _^^^~ . the harbor of Weymouth, ;s .s^^^= a little ship called the ^ ^ Abigail, of about two hun- , ."" dred tons burden, Henry Gauden,! master. On the morning of one of the last days of the month of June, 1628, Captain Endicott, with his wife, children, and others of his company, being on board, to the number probably of about one hundred souls, with the last greetings of many friends assembled on the occasion, sails out of Weymouth bay ; and, doubling the noted promontory called Portland Bill, is soon lost sight of in the channel beyond. Whatever were the incidents of the voyage across the Atlantic, there is nothing from which to form an account, | however important they may have been. But they arrived at Naum- keag, their place of destination, after a voyage of two months and " some few odd days." The joy with which they were received by Mr. Conant and his little company, can be conceived by those only capable of imagining what the real condition of the country then must have been, — an immeasurable expanse of lofty forests shrouded in the sable gloom of ages ; separated from the wide Atlantic ocean only by a rugged curtain of fearful rocks and barren sands. The actual number composing the colony of which Mr. Endicott found him- Sept. 6. * The early historian of New England, Cap- tain Edward Johnson, the cotemporary of En- dicott, calls him in his history, " The much honoured," — " a fit instrument to begin this wildernesse-worke ; of courage bold, undanted, and austere, applying himselfe to either, as oc- casion served." Wond.-work. Prov. of Sio7i's Sav. in New England, p. 19. The preceding copy of Gov. Endicott's autograph is from a legal paper of 1647. ■j- Godden, Gooden, Goodin, Godwin, Good- win, Gooding, &c., all probably traceable to the same original. X Endicott wrote a letter to the governor ot the Company, dated one week after his arrival, in which he probably detailed the incidents of the voyage, but that letter has not been pre- served, or, if preserved, it has not come to tho yet sociable, and of a chearfull spirit, loving knowledge of historians. ■' &r t/u J^tw /"juflantf / 1629.] SETTLEMENT OF CHARLESTOWN. self governor,* at his arrival at Naumkeag, has never been ascertained; but, judging from the data that are to be found, there could not have been many above one hundred persons in and about that part of the country. f Some time after the arrival of Governor Endicott, several gentlemen, under his direction, crossed the country to Mishawum. The principal persons who went on this discovery were three brothers, Ralph, Richard and ^William Sprague.s The place they "lighted of" was " on the north side of Charles river, full of Indians, called Aberginians. Their old Sachem being dead, his eldest son, by the English called John Sag- amore, was their chief, and a man naturally of a gentle and good dispo- * Half a century ago, or to be more exact, sixty-two years ago (1790), an edition of Gov. Winthrop's Journal Avas published at Hartford, in the title-page of which the editor or transcriber wrote, after the name of the author, "First Governor of Massachusetts." This is an error which no one will seriously deny. Matthew Cradock, as we have seen, was the first governor of the Massachusetts Company. The Company established a colony at Naumkeag, in 1628, over which Endicott had a commission, executed with all t!ie formalities of those days, constituting him governor. He was exercising the office of governor in the colony at Naumkeag before Winthrop was even Governor of the Com- pany in England. Governors in those days, and even a hundred years later, were not, as it respects the office, what they have been since. Roger Conant was n governor before Endicott arrived, but he was not so by the appointment of the IMassachusetts Com- pany, for that company Avas not formed when Conant was appointed Governor of the Cape Ann Colony. Hutchinson remarks, with regard to Conant's office, that " the superior condi- tion of the persons who came over with the charter, cast a shade upon him, and he lived in obscurity." It depends altogether upon the number and wealth of a community, Avhether or not, in after times, those who held offices in it are to be dignified by the titles of such offices ; and that it therefore follows, if of- fices are of more importance, because exer- cised over more or better people, the predeces- sors in the same offices are not entitled to be known by such titles of office ! Such must inevitably be the reasoning warranted by the only inference to be drawn from the passage of Hutchinson. It is of no consequence what- ever whether Conant, Endicott, or AVinthrop was the first governor of Massachusetts, fur- ther than to have the facts stated exactly as they existed, and as the original records warrant. f The following is a list of the names of such as are known to have been in Salem and about the north side of the Massachusetts Bay, before and in the year 1629 ; consequently, before the settlement of Boston. They have been collected from Original Papers, the Ans. of Salem, Lewis' Hist, of Lynn, &c. Allan, William Leach, Lawrence Balch, John Lyford, John Beard, Thomas Malbon, John Brackenbury, Richard Maverick, Samuel Brand, Thomas Meech, John Bright, Francis Miller, Sydrach Brown, Hugh Moulton, Robert Brown, John Norman, Richard Brown, Samuel Norman, Richard, Jr. Button, Matthias Palfray, Peter Claydon, Barnabas Palmer, Abra Claydon, Richard Palmer, Walter Conant, Roger Patch, Davenport, Richard Rickman, Isaac Dixy, William Ryall, William Dodge, William Scruggs, Thomas Dorrell, John ( ?) Sharpe, Samuel Edes, William Sibly, John Edmonds, James Skelton, Samuel Endicott, Gov. John Sprague, Ralph Ewstead, Richard Sprague, Richard Gardner, Thomas Sprague, William*i Gott, Charles ^ Strickline, John Graves, Thomas Stileman, Elias Gray, Thomas Stowers, Nicholas Hanscombe, Thomas Til lie, Hugh Haughton, Henry Tillie, John Howard, Richard Traske, AVilliam Herrick, Henry Walford, Thomas Hewes, Mr. Waterman, Richard Higginson, Francis Webb, Francis Higginson, John Wheelwright, John Hoyte, Simon Wilson, Lambert Ingalls, Edmund Woodbury, Humphrey IngersoU, Richard Woodbury, John Jeffrey, William Wood, William Knight, Walter An attempt has not been made to determine separately, the names of those whom Endicott found on his arrival at Naumkeag ; the names of those who came with him, or of those who followed him in 1629. From a passage in Hubbard's New England, p. 109, it is pretty plain that Captain William Trask was there before the arrival of Endicott. He was an im- portant man in the colony, and one on whom Gov. Endicott placed much reliance. He was a captain in the Pequot war, and held other offices of distinction. He-died in 1666. His descendant, Mr. William B. Trask, of Dor- chester, has furnished the fac simile sub- joined. 58 HISTORY OF BOSTON. [1629. sition, by whose free consent they settled about the hill of the same place, by the said natives called Mishawum, where they found but one English palisadoed and thatched house, wherein lived Thomas Walford, a smith, situated on the south end of the westernmost hill of the East Field, a little way up from Charles river side, and, upon survey, they found it was a neck of land generally full of stately timber, as was the main, and the land lying on the east side of the river, called Mystick river, from the farm Mr. Craddock's servants had planted, called Mys- tic, which this river led up unto ; and indeed generally, all the country round about was an uncouth wilderness full of timber." * The discovery and possession of Mishawum was undertaken thus early to prevent the validity of the claims of those who held that part of the Bay under the grant of Captain Robert Gorges. Especially against the claim of Mr. John Oldham, who, with one John Dorrill, held a lease or grant of the lands between Charles and Abousett (Saugus) rivers, extending " by a right line " five miles up Charles and three miles up Abousett rivers. This claim the Company resisted, because, as they say, " it was voyde in lawe," f At what time this grant to Oldham and Dorrill was made does not appear, but it was doubtless before 1628. Seeing that Mr. Oldham was firm in his views, as it re- spected his grant, the Company " left him to his owne way ;" because, probably, that appeared the only way. That he was a man of much energy, and no little importance in the commercial community of that . * This interesting record of the earliest ac- they did, there loas actual possession. In the count of Charlestown, is not quite contempo- Company's letter to Endicott, dated 17th rary with the settlement; but, as Mr. Prince April, 1629 (Hazard, i. 258-9), great com- tells us, " was wrote by Mr. Increase Nowell, plaint is made about Oldham, though nothing afterwards town clerk of Charlestown, and like a tangible charge of any sort is brought secretary of the Massachusetts Colony. " But against him.. They say, indeed, in a kind of Mr. Frothingham, in his History of Charles- general way, that " they had bin cast behind town, says it w.as written by John Greene, in two months tyme in their voyage, through the the first book of the records of the town, in varyetie of his vast conceipts ;" which " vast 16G4. Mr. Nowell having died in 1655, it is conceipts" appear to have been plans for real- clear that Prince fell into an error respecting izing great profits which he had endeavored to the authority of the record in question, and is get the Company to join in. But there were by Mr. Frothingham set right in his history, two insuperable difficulties ; first, Oldham Most New England historians, following Mr. probably demanded, as a condition, that his Prince, have fallen into the same error respect- grant from Gorges should be recognized ; and, ing the date of the emigration to Charlestown second, that he might trade for beaver with from Salem. The facts and dates are correctly the Indians as he saw fit. But, says the given in Chalmers' Polit. Annals, 142-3. Company's letter, " after long tyme spent in f Among the many unexplained matters of sundry treaties, fynding him a man alto- these times, are tlie titles of certain grants of geather vnfitt for vs to deale with, wee haue at lands in New England. If the validity of Mr. last left him to his owne way." How long Oldham's title rested on that of another grant, before the date of this letter, he had been as I presume it did, what invalidated it? If " left to his owne way," does not appear, but, his title was from Robert Gorges, the title of as will be seen, he was in New England on the latter must have been defective, and if de- the 17th of May following. As to the trade foctive, wherein? Gorges certainly had a in beaver, " that," they say, " wee deny to the grant from the Council of Plymouth. Was it best of our owne planters." This sharp eye a condition of validity that he should reside to the trade in beaver was doubtless commend- personally upon_ his grant? No such condi- able, notwithstanding they say, " the propa- tion appears in it. Was it that he should im- gation of the gospele is the thing wee doe pro- prove \i by actual settlers ? If this were a fess above all to bee, o'" ayme in settling this condition, Blaclcston, Walford, Maverick, and plantacion." others could not have held under him ; for if 1629.] OLDHAM AND THE MASS. COMPANY. 59 day, is abundantly shown by the documents under consideration. The Company were in great alarm lest he should " interest others, who," they say, " for ought wee knowe, are never likely to bee benefitiall to the planting of the country ; their owne prticuler prfitts (though to the overthrewe of the gen'"all plantacon), being their chiefe ayme and intent." Therefore they direct Mr. Endicott to " vse the best meancs he can to settle an agreem* with the old Planters, so as they may not harken to Mr. Oldham's dangerous though vaine propositions." They complain also that " he is a man so affected to his owne opinion, as not to bee removed from it, neither by reason nor any perswasion ;" that therefore, they expect, as he had lately gone, or was going for New England again, he would, by drawing others to his opinions, make trouble there, it was their will that " when faire meanes will not pre- vaile," such other means might be " vsed to suppresse a mischiefe before it take too great a head, as in yo"" discrecons you shall thinke fittest for the getfall good and safety of the plantacon, and preservacon of o"" priviledges. And because wee would not omitt to doe anything wch might strengthen o"" right, we would have you (as soone as these shipps, or any of them, arrive with you, whereby you may have men to do it), send forty or fifty persons to Massachusetts Bay,* to inhabit there ; which we pray you not to protract, but to doe it with all speede ; and if any of o"" company in perticuler shall desire to settle themselves there, or to send servants thither, wee desire all accoramodacon and encourag- m' bee given them theronto, wherby the better to strengthen o'" possession there against all or any that shall intrude vpon vs, wch wee would not haue you by any meanes give way vnto."f From the tenor of these instructions to Endicott, it is manifest that the defeat of those claiming under Gorges the younger was intended ; and these were " Oldham and his adherents." Being defeated in all his endeavors to effect an arrangement with the Massachusetts Patentees, Mr. Oldham appears to have embarked for New England early in the spring of this year. In what vessel he sailed, or in what company he came, is not discovered ; but soon after his arrival, he is found at a noted Indian place, — probably then long * It Avas a long time before places received Massachusetts, of 1780) , Bunker Hill ^T^^eaxs ; their appropriate names ; owing in a great but, instead of being in Charlestown, it is measure to the want of correct geographical south of Charles river, in Brookline ! Massa- knowledge. It could not be otherwise, under chusetts Bay does not form a separate article the circumstances. Strictly speaking, the in the early geographical works, down to and Bay of Massachusetts included, anciently, only including those of Dr. Morse. AH of those the south-westei-n portion of what is now Bos- who wrote of the country in the times of its ton harbor. It was so named from the prox- settlement, speak of what is now Boston imity of the tribe of Massachusetts Indians, harbor as Massachusetts Bay. The people There does not appear to have been any par- of Salem spoke of going from that place ticular name to that great body of water from to Massachusetts Bay. In the Planter'' a the harbor and Cape Ann to Cape Cod, until Plea (Force), p. 15, the " Mattachusets liay" a much later period than that now under con- is described as near Salem. In the MS. c I'Mr. sideration. The precise date when the Great Harris (referred to, ante, p. 44) are ci rious Bay received the name it now bears, I have facts relating to the early geographical knowl- not attempted to fix. It has stood so inscribed edge of these parts, which it is to be hoped he upon some maps for about one hundred years. wiU, ere long, in some form, give to the public. On one now before mo (an English map of f Hazard, i. 260. 60 HISTORY OP BOSTON. [1629. known \o the early traders for furs, — called Swamscott, or Squamscot (since Exeter), in company with Mr. John Wheelwright. How or when this gentleman came, is likewise unknown. However, for anything that is found to the contrary, he may have been in the country one, two, or more years ; long enough, at all events, to find out a good tract of country, then thought not to be included in any patent, exceedingly val- uable for its timber and for the fur trade. Mr. Wheelwright, probably by his agents, having assembled ^^^ '^' the principal Indian Sagamores at Squamscot, they gave him a deed of a tract of country which, for near fifty years after, embraced the whole of New Hampshire.* Notwithstanding Captain John Mason procured a patent of the ''^''^' Council of Plymouth, of nearly the same tract which Mr. Wheelwright had purchased of the Indians, and which, for a time, may have prevented him from asserting his claim, yet, eventually, his pos- terity enjoyed it, or a portion of it at least ; for, when the colony from about Londonderry, in Ireland, came to New England, in 1718, and had liberty to make choice of a place for settlement, the tract, since Lon- donderry, in New Hampshire, was selected by them. To obtain a title to the land they had selected, they were referred to Colonel John AVheehvright, of Wells, grandson of the original grantee, because " he had the best Indian title, derived from his ancestors." And, although there were one or two claimants of the same territory, — which was ten miles square, — yet the government protected the settlers under that of Colonel Wheelwright.f * In the deed Mr. Wheelwright is styled they at once proceeded beyond the limits of " of the Massachusetts Bay, late of England ;" that company, and made the purchase as and Augustine Story [Storre], Thomas Wite stated in the text. To prevent any question [Wright], William Wentworth, and Thomas as to their purchase, they took a large number Levet [Leavitt], are also named " of Massa- of witnesses from the eastern settlements, chusetts Bay." From which fact it is evident namely, " George Vaughan, factor, and Am- they had been residing somewhere aljout Bos- brose Gibbons, trader, for the Company of ton harbor, because then, as has been shown, Laconia, Richard Vines, governor, and Kichard the Massachusetts Bay was confined to this Bonighton, assistant, of the plantation at harbor; perhaps Mr. Wheelwright had been Saco ; Thomas Wiggin, agent, and Edward residing with the hospitable Mavericke, whose Hilton, steward of the plantation of Hilton's son Samuel afterwards married his daughter Point." All these witnessed the acknowledg- llebecca. However, Wheelwright, Storre, ment of the deed, and John Oldham, Samuel Wright, Wentworth and Leavitt, all probably Sharp and two Indians witnessed the deed, belonged to the same company. Oldham may f His deed to those settlers is dated 20 Oct., have been their agent in England, upon whose 1719, in which he says he conveys " by virtue return here, finding their patent swallowed of a Deed or Grant made to his grandfather, up (if they had any interest in that of Robert a minister of the Gospel," &c. — Parker's Hist. Gforgea), and so lost beyond hope of recovery, Londonderry, p. 321. 1629.] FIRST LOCATIONS OF SETTLERS. 61 CHAPTER VIII. Settlements first made on Outskirts of a Country. — Particularly so in New England. Why the Massachusetts Company sought a Royal Charter. — How obtained. — Its Boundaries. — Its Gov- ernment. — Its Conditions and Restrictions. — Examination of its Conditions. — Privileges assumed under it which it never authorized. — Religious Liberty denied in it. — Case of the Plymouth Set- tlers. — Origin of Religious Liberty. — Charter Privileges contended for not contained in the Char- ter. — The Times favor the Assumption. THE planters of new countries usually locate themselves at first in such places as accident provides, or some peculiar circumstances make unavoidable ; hence it has happened that the poorest parts have been first improved, and the best localities neglected till the last. It was truly so in the settlement of Plymouth and Massachusetts, as it was also in Canada and Virginia. Cape Cod on the south, and Cape Ann on the north, were among the first resting- places of the devoted men who led the way in the early path to a mighty empire. From these inhospitable and sterile points a gradual progress was made along the south and north shores of the bay, until the wanderers met in its bosom, among the undulating eminences of Shawmut, the beautiful groves of the Mystic, and the delightful cornfields of the Massachusetts. This will have been seen in the perusal of the previous chapters. . Thus, at this time, Englishmen had located themselves in all the prominent places around the Massachusetts Bay, and a toler- ably accurate knowledge of the country had been learned by several gentlemen in England who had become immediately interested in its settlement. It remained now to push forward a further occupation of the country embraced in their patent, for many and obvious reasons. Before entering upon a detail of the next great emigration, however, it is deemed necessary to take notice of the charter and its provisions, or conditions under which it was made, as they had a most important bearing upon the affairs of Boston, and consequently upon the whole country ; and hence somewhat of recapitulation may be necessary. The Massachusetts Company, judging from the experience of former colonial companies, doubted partly the validity of the conveyance lately made to them by the Plymouth Company, but more the authority given by it to rule the intended plantation.* They therefore insisted, not * This is Chalmers' explanation; but there empowered to act for them, dishonorably sold was a motive back of all this. The Council territory whenever purchasers offered, regard- of Plymouth had been disposing of their ter- less of what had been previously sold ; and ritory in a manner which can be accounted for the most favorable construction that this will in two ways only ; — first, that, owing to their admit of is, that they had been deceived by extreme ignorance of the geography of the the representations of purchasers, Avho hud country, they had conveyed parts of the same been in the country, and knew the value of tracts twice over, to different individuals ; — certain localities which they desired to pns- or, secondly, that they, or those whom they ses? ind were not scrupulous to inquire into 62 HISTORY OF BOSTON. [1629. only that a charter should be obtained from the Crown confirmatory of the grant from the Council of Plymouth, and authorizing them to gov- ern the colonists, but that their names should be inserted in it, and their affairs transacted at London. Under these considerations, a patent was applied for, and, by the personal solicitation of Lord Dor- 1G29. Chester, it was obtained of King Charles I.* This patent re- Mar. 4. cited the grant to the Council of Plymouth, of 1620, and the subsequent sale of a small portion of its territory before mentioned, and regranted to Sir Henry Rosewell, Sir John Young, Thomas Southcot, John Humfrey, John Endicot, Simon Whetcomb,t and their associates, namely. Sir Richard Saltonstall, Knight, Isaac Johnson, Samuel Alder- sey, John Yen, Matthew Cradock, George Harwood, Increase Nowell, Richard Perry, Richard BelHngham, Nathaniel Wright, Samuel Vassall, Theophilus Eaton, Thomas Goff", Thomas Adams, John Brown, Samuel Brown, Thomas Hutchins, William Vassall, William Pynchon, and George Foxcroft,| their heirs and assigns forever, that part of New England which lies between the rivers Merrimack and Charles, being the bottom of a certain bay, there commonly called Massachusetts alias Mattachusetts alias Massatusetts Bay, and also all lands lying within the space of three miles on the south part of the said Charles river, or of any or every part thereof; and also of all lands lying within the space of three miles to the northward of the said river called Mono- mack, alias Merrimack, or to the northward of every part thereof, and through the main lands from the Atlantic and western sea and ocean on the east, to the South sea on the west. To be holden by them, their heirs, and assigns, in free and common soccage, as of the manor of East Greenwich ; paying, in lieu of all services, one 'fifth of the gold and silver that should be found. § the rights of others, especially where they * I here foUow Chalmers in this matter of could flatter themselves that claims had been the charter, who thus remarks at this point : abandoned or neglected. Therefore, in view " Whether we reflect that this is the only of these facts, and to possess at least a right charter which Massachusetts possessed ^rior or claim paramount to all others, nothing to the Revolution [of 1688], which contained short of a patent under the royal seal would its most ancient privileges ; that on this was enable the Massachusetts Company to contend most dexterously established not only the successfully against a swarm of minor paten- original government of that colony, but inde- tees. Though historians have not viewed the pendence itself, a minute discussion of it motives which influenced the Company in this must appear equally necessary and interest- light, they are to me the most satisfactory of ing." — Political Annals, 13G. But his " dis- all others together. I am aware that, in a cussion of it " is not to my purpose, moral point of view, the Company, as a body, -j- Mr. Hubbard called these six persons are somewhat exposed to censure. If a straight- "Gentlemen about Dorchester;" not o/" Dor- forward detail of flxcts lead to exposures, it is Chester, as a popular historian of the present no fault of tlie historian. His convictions day cites him as saying. See ante. should always be honestly stated. If he errs % These names of the grantees are taken in judgment, it only proves that he has mis- from Prince's Annals. The spelling of some judged in the particular case under considera- of them differs from those in Hutchinson's tion. "Whether the Company possessed all the Collection of Papers. moral rights whicli they exercised is the ques- ^ Patent in Hutchinson's Col. Papers, entire, tion. Certain it is they put no particular also in Mauduit's View of the History of Nno stress on that kind of right, while upon their England, and Hazard. Mauduic says it had legal rights they were sufiiciently emphatical. not been printed in England before his time. 1G29.J PROVISIONS OF THE CHARTER OF MASSACHUSETTS. G3 The executive power of the corporation was invested in a governor, deputy governor, and eighteen assistants, whose duty was, " for the best disposing and ordering of the lands granted, of the affairs of the plantation, of the government of the people there." The governor and seven or more assistants were authorized to meet in monthly courts "for despatching such business as concerned the Company or settle- ment." The legislative power of the Corporation, however, was invested in "a more solemn assembly." This body was to be composed of the governor, deputy governor, the assistants, and of the whole freemen of the company in person, and was directed to be held " every last Wed- nesday in the four terms," which meetings or sessions were named "the four Great and General Courts." It was empowered to make laws or ordinances for the government of the plantation, which " should not be repugnant to the laws of England." This " Great and General Court" was authorized to elect freemen, a governor, deputy governor, assistants and other officers. The governor and company were enabled to transport to New England " all such of the subjects of King Charles I., as shall be willing to accompany them, and such strangers as will become subjects and live under his allegiance ;" but with this proviso : "that none of the said persons be such as shall be especially re- strained ;" that the emigrants and their posterity were declared " to be natural born subjects, and entitled to the immunities of Englishmen within every other dominion of the Crown as if born within the realm." They were empowered to carry thither warlike stores and merchandises, without paying any customs for the space of seven years ; and, as a further encouragement, they were exempted from the pay- ment of taxes in New England, during the same term of years, and from any duty on commodities imported to England or any dominion of the Crown, or exported from them, for twenty-one years after the expiration of the former term of exemption, except five in the hundred of the value for custom. That the colony which was to be planted " might be so religiously and civilly governed, as the good life and orderly conversation of the inhabitants might invite the natives to the knowledge of the Christian faith ; which, in the royal intention, and in the adventurers' free pro- fession, was the principal end of the plantation," power was therefore conferred on the General Court, and its successors, to establish ordi- nances and instructions, which should not be contrary to the laws of the realm, for settling forms of government for the colonists ; for determin- ing fines, imprisonments, or other legal correction, according to the usages of other corporations in the realm of England ; and for naming necessary officers ; that these ordinances being published under the seal of the Company, were to be duly observed and executed within the plantation. The chief commander and other magistrates who should from time to time be employed by the governor and company in the government of the colony, were invested with absolute power to punish 64 HISTORY OF BOSTON. [1629 or pardon, to rule the emigrants or colonists, according to the above- mentioned ordinances and instructions. They were authorized to defend themselves against invaders ; but, should they do any injury to foreign states, or to other subjects, without making proper reparation, a right was given to the injured to prosecute them with every act of hostility. Agreeably to the repeated resolutions of the Commons, there was reserved to the other subjects of the Crown a right of free fishing, with the necessary incidents of drying fish on the shores, and of taking tim- ber upon the coasts of New England. In these days of large liberties it is difficult to discern what had been secured by that charter, to cause those who obtained it to feel any special gratitude to those who had the power to bestow it. But civil and religious liberty had not then dawned on the world. It was scarcely an object of speculation in the abstract theories of philoso- phers, or dreamed of by men of ordinary minds. Nevertheless, those who emigrated to New England under that charter professed to look upon it as something which God in his benevolence had moved the heart of their king to grant, and they cherished it as a sort of palla- dium of their liberties. In analyzing it, it is not easy to discover what great advantages they had with it, that they would not have had with- out it. It gave them the privilege of emigrating to New England. This was no new privilege. It did not compel them to stay here. They were as much the subjects of the crown of England as though they had remained in England. Their condition in New England was the same as it would have been in any incorporated borough in England, — with this difference, however : they could not be so easily watched over. And in this existed the grand secret in which all their advantages lay hid. They improved those advantages in due time, as light and strength from the nature of their situation clustered around them. As to any important liberties secured to them, it was merely ideal. They grew naturally and spontaneously out of the nature of their circum- stances. True it is, the officers of the colony had the power of making laws, and of executing them ; but around all this hung the laws of England, which admitted nothing without or beyond them ; all laws and ordinances must be in accordance with them. There was no opportu- nity for improvement in their laws, unless the improvement originated in the mother country ; or unless, by some revolution at home, the course of its laws became deranged This, indeed, soon happened. Much was said, even by the emigrants themselves, of their coming into this wilderness to enjoy the privilege of worshipping God accord- ing to their convictions of what he required of them. In fact, to wor- ship God as they were not allowed to do at home ; in other words, contrary to law. Surely their charter granted no such liberty,* nor did it recognize the least departure in religious worship from that of the Church of England. It was the same before, when the people came * It could not grant any such liberty, because it would be in violation of the common law. Coke, 5 Rep. 1629.] ORIGIN OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY". 65 to Plymouth. Their agents attempted to procure, under the hand of James, a clause in their charter, allowing them to worship God as they saw fit ; but he would allow of no such liberty ; yet, in a conversational way, he gave the agents to understand, that they were too insignificant to be looked after, unless they made a disturbance by their fanatical practices. It was thus the pious Pilgrims were allowed to break the laws, because they did it at a safe distance from their fountain-head. And thus was the "higher law" successfully put in practice on the barren sands of Cape Cod. The case was different on the other side of the bay. There the colonists did not agree upon forms of worship among themselves, and the stronger party forced the weaker to return to England. Those expelled belonged to the Episcopal Church.* This expulsion, says Chalmers, t inflicted a wound on that church from which it never recov- ered. J " And the liberal-minded exclaimed that the same conduct has been invariably pursued at all times, and in every country ; the perse- cuted, when they acquire power, will always persecute. "§ If different sects quarrelled at home, was it not to be expected that they would quarrel elsewhere ? Those churchmen, forcibly sent to England, com- plained to the Company there, and demanded redress for the wrongs and violence done them. If they ever received reparation of any kind, nothing of record appears to show the fact ; and the country then being on the verge of a civil war, the wheels of jurisprudence were clogged, which may account for the silence with regard to the matter which ensues. There are reckless people in all periods and in all communities, and, whether it be acknowledged or not, much of the liberty enjoyed in this * In the Company's records the following however, were opened and read, but we hear entry is found, under date 19 Sept., 1629 : — nothing of any aspersions contained in them " At this court letters were read from Capt. against New England, as had been alleged. A Endicott and others from New England ; and sufficient explanation of the whole grounds of whereas a difference hath fallen out betwixt difficulty, I apprehend, is found in the state- the Governor there and JNIr. John and Mr. ment in the text. In the " Company's Gen- Samuell Browne, it was agreed by the court, eral Letter of Instructions " to Gov. Endicott, that for the determinacon of those differences the gentlemen accused are spoken of in the Mr. John and Mr. Samuell Brovrae might highest terms. " They are men (says the lefc- choose any three or four of the Company on ter) wee doe much respect, being fully per- their behalf, to heare the said differences, the swaded of their sincere affeccons to the good of Company choosing as many. "Whereupon the o"^ Plantcon. Mr. John Browne is sworne an said Mr. John and Mr. Samuell Browne made Assistant heere, and by vs chosen one of the choice of Mr. Samuel Vassell, Mr. WiUiam Councell there ; a man experienced in the lawes Vassell, Mr. Symon Whetcombe, and Mr. of o>" Kingdome, and such an one as wee are "William Pynchon ; and for the Companie there persuaded will worthylie deserve yC fauo'' ; were chosen Mr. John Whyte, Mr. John Da- and that in the first devision of lands, there venport, Mr. Isack Johnson, and Mr. John may bee allotted to eether of them 200 acres." "Wynthropp ; who, with the Governor or Dep- f Political Annals, 145. uty, are to determine and end the business the j Churchmen of our times will hardly allow first Tuesday in the next tearme." this. If at any period a death-blow had been The letters sent by the Brownes to their inflicted, it was a good deal anterior to this, friends in England had been intercepted, and Chalmers here did not exercise his usual acu- at the next meeting of the Company it was men. His observations and deductions are " considered whether these letters should be generally those of the profound jurist and delivered or detained, and whether they should able expounder of state affairs, be opened and read, or not." Some of them, ^ Political Annals, 145. 9 66 HISTORY OF BOSTON. [1629. age is owing to that very recklessness. The number of the early emi- grants to New England who renounced allegiance to the mother church was exceedingly small ; for the obvious reason, that it was at the same time a renunciation of their allegiance to the crown. The course of things in New England clearly proves the truth of these positions ; for, when it was safe, or even promised a faint prospect of success in the attempt, to throw off their allegiance, it was done in earnest. The reckless followers of freedom showed themselves everywhere then, and their success was equal to the prize contended for. As though there were real grounds for certain assumptions of the colonists contained in the charter, their agents submitted it to some of the best politicians and ablest lawyers in England for their opinions. They observed, " that, it being originally granted to a great company resident in England, it was wholly inapplicable to the circumstances of a distant colony, because it gave the body politic no more jurisdiction than had every other corporation within the kingdom !" Such being the opinion of a Somers, a Holt, a Treby and a Ward, what did this boasted charter amount to ? It must, however, be confessed that, in the adroit use made of it by the colonists, it amounted to almost the same thing that they contended it was ; for by a constant appeal to it, and admitting of no construction of its provisions which did not suit them, they gained — what ? — what was everything to them, — time and strength, with which to back up their claims. Nothing more was needed, nothing more was required, and nothing more was probably expected. Did the great American Revolution begin here ? The English Revo- lution ? The World's Revolution 1 Liberty was a tender plant then, of uncertain age, and no man could say, " I planted it ;" though many hands had now begun to water it, yet none conjectured to what height and extent it would grow and spread. Although there was a period when it was nursed by unskilful hands, and its growth was smothered by its enemies, and it was even cut off to the ground in the land of its origin, yet its roots remained, which soon sent up their branches in all directions. Its growth was still slow ; but in the years of Cromwell it was rapid, — too rapid to sustain itself against the storms which burst upon it. Its great defender was not yet born, though his progenitors were upon the soil of England. They found their way to America, but it required a century more to produce a Washington. His hand it was that cultivated the plant Liberty with success, and his arm it was that shielded it from its enemies, till its strength had become too powerful to fear all its adversaries combined. It made no diiference, in fact, whether the corporation remained on the island of Great Britain, or on any other island, or in any country belonging to the Crown of England. Its final remove. Charter and all, whether clandestinely or openly, does not at all affect the main (Question ; while practically, there was a great difference. A company 1629.] REMOVAL OF THE GOVERNMENT. 67 consisting of many restless spirits, had been got rid of; and whether they conformed to all the laws of Church and State, or not, they were three thousand miles off, and could not be easily brought to punishment, even if they deserved it, or made to mend the laws if they broke them. The time of the principal emigration was auspicious. The rise of the civil war in England gave its rulers more work than they could do at home, and their King's power soon fell down to the pitiful restrictions of subjecting those of his subjects who wished to emigrate to New England to vexatious oaths of " allegiance and supremacy." This state of things did not last long. Those who chose " disorderly to leave the kingdom," did so ; and thus, what they gained in that kind of lib- erty is lost by their descendants who happen to be antiquaries and genealogists. CHAPTER IX. Records of the Massachusetts Company. — Gov. Cradock proposes a removal of the Government to New England. — The Question is discussed. — Decided in the affirmative. — Ways and Means con- sidered to carry it into effect. — Trade and Joint Stock of the Company. — What of the Government to remain in England, and what in New England. — Endicott to be continued Governor. — Ship Eagle. — Arbella. — Agreement for settling the Joint Stock affair. — New Governor and other Offi- cers elected. — Case of the Bi-ownes. — Winthrop reports on the Joint Stock. — Proposals for pecu- niary relief. — Disposal of the Joint Stock. — Ships ordered for emigration. — Rates of Passage and Freight established. — Wisdom displayed. — Common Stock proposal. — For what service. — Sir Wm. Brereton. — The Company at Southampton. 5|j!liq[^"iit^l^y lljyip P to this time there appears no intimation that any 1629. of the members of the Corporation (as July 28. the Massachusetts Company was usually called), had even a remote idea of transferring the Government to New England. On this day, namely, July the twenty-eighth, 1629, the Gov- ernor of the Company, Matthew Cradock, Esquire, when the business of the meeting of the Company on that day was presumed to be finished, and the usual routine of matters was gone through with, surprised its members by " reading __ certaine proposicons conceived by himself," recommending "to ^^ transfer the gournment of the plantacon to those that shall inhabite there." Thus taken by surprise, the members had secrecy more than once enjoined upon them, and considerable debate ensued ; and every one was " desired privately and seriously to consider hereof, and to sett downe their prticuler reasons in wry ting pro and contra," and to produce the same at the next meeting, that " the Company may then precede to fynall resolucon therein ; and in the meane tyme to carry this busines secretly, that the same bee not devulged." This meeting was held, as they had generally been of late, at the house of Deputy Governor Goffe, in London. 68 HISTORY OF BOSTON. [1629. The time for a meeting to discuss the great question about a ^^' ' removal having arrived, "Mr. Deputie acquainted this Court, that the espetiall cause of their meeting was to give answere to divers gentlemen intending to go into New England, whether or noe the chiefe Gou'"nm^ of the Plantacon, together with the pattent, should bee setled in New England or heere." Accordingly it was ordered, that, in the afternoon of the same day, " Mr. Wright, Mr. Eaton, Mr. Adams, Mr. Spurstowe, and such others as they should thinke fitt to call unto them, whether they were of the Company or not," to consider the arguments against the proposed re- moval ; and on the other side, " Sir Richard Saltonstall,* Mr. Johnson, * From Thoresby's History of Leeds, and an abstract of the will of Gilbert Saltonstall, I am principally able to present the following pedigree. It is enough to add, concerning this family, that they opposed the persecutions in New England, in its early settlement ; denounced with becoming language the proceedings against Quakers, and set a worthy example in the witch- craft delusion. Gilbert Saltoxstall, of Halifax, Co. : of York, purchased, besides other lands. Rooks in Hipperholme. 1. Anne, da. of = Samuel of: Mr. Jo. Rams- den, of Lougley gr.-fa. to Sir John Ramsden 1. Grace, da. of: Robert Kaye, Rooks and Huntick. 2. Elizabeth, := 3. Elizabeth, Sir Richard, Lord Mayor of London : dau. of Mr. widow of 1597, (one year only), from whom Thos. Ogden Armine, those of London and Hertfordshire. of Hull, s. p. He was sherifif in 1688, will 1600. : Susan .... 1610, came to New E. 1630, d. at Hulrae, England, 29th April, 1694. Sir Richard = 2. , Gilbert, Samuel = Barbara, Seven Samuel Susanna, Ann, mar. Knt.J. Peace d. of Ld. d.yng. of Roger- da. Wal- others. (_nnmtd m. Richard John Harbyo 1 Charles I. Delaware. thorp, ter Ruds- in the Sunderland, of London, Came to N. 3. Martha ton, of wit of 17 Jac. I. skinner, mer. E. 1630. Wilford. Hayt on. hisja ther.) Muscovy, Ac. ^/ \-- -s, Henry, H. C. Robert Samuel sold land at Watertown, 1642, return'd sells land in 20 : 6 : 1642. to England. Watertown, 2 Sep. 1642. High Hoi born, Lond. 1643. Richard, b. at Woodsome, = Muriel, da. of Brampton Gurden, of Assington, Co. Suf. Esq. Nathaniel,= Elizabeth, ab. 1639, d. 1707; lived at Ha- verhill, Ms. of which he is called the father. da. of Mr. John Ward of Haver- hill. Richard, d. un- married. Muriel, m. Sir Edward Moseiy, of Hulme, Lane. England. Abigail, m. to Thos. Harley, Esq. Elizabeth, m. to Hercules Horsy, '. Elizabeth, (only da. )m. 1. Mr. John Denison,6th min. of Ips- wich. 2. Mr. Rowland Cot- ton. Gurdon, ; b. Hav- erhill, 27 March, l666,Gov. Ct. 1708. d. 1724, October 1. : Jerusha, Richard,= da. AVilliam Haver Whittingham hill, of Boston. Nathaniel, H. C. 1695, tutor there; d. young. Roswell, eldest = son, b. 1701, d. in New London, 1st Oct., 1758, a. 37. Richard, b. : 14th June, 1703,d.l756, a Judge. Mary, da. Nathaniel, = of Elisha merch., grad. H. C. Cook, 2d. 1727, d. young. Physician of Haverhill. Richard, b. 5 April, 1732, col., royalist, d. in England 1785, unmar. Nathaniel, = Anna, da. Leverett, i of Samuel royalist, d. White, Esq. 1782. of the Hav- erhill family. Hon. Leterett, d. 8 May, 1845, aged 62. Nathaniel. Richard. 1629.] QUESTION OF REMOVAL DISCUSSED. 69 Capt Venn, and such others as they should call vnto them," to prepare arguments for a removal ; which arguments were assigned to be heard in a full Court on the next day, at nine o'clock. When the hour arrived, there " were prsent many of the Assistants and gen- "^" ' eralitie, and after a long debate, Mr. Deputie put it to the question, as foUoweth : As many of you as desire to haue the pattent and the Gournment of the Plantacon to bee transferred to New Eng- land, soe as it may bee d'one legally, hold vp yo"" hands. So many as will not, hold vpp yo"" hands. Where by ereccon of hands, it appeared by the gen''all consent of the Company, that the Gou'"mn' Pattent should bee setled in New England, and accordingly an order to bee drawne vpp." At the next sitting of the Court, the records are silent upon ^^ ■ ■ the subject of removal ; but, at its session ten days later, " that business being of great and weighty consequence, is thought fitt to bee deferred for determinacon vntil Sir R. Saltonstall, Mr. Johnson and other gentlemen bee come vpp to London, and may be here present." Meantime a committee was proposed, which should " take advice ^^ ■ 'of learned counsel, whether the same may bee legally done or noe ; by what way or meanes the same may bee done to corrispond with, and not preiudice the GouW here ; to consider of the tyme when it wilbe fitt to doe it ; to resolve on whom to conferr the Gou'nm'^, and diuers other circumstances materiall to bee resolued on, &c." At the next session of the Court the subject of a removal of the government to New England is but incidentally mentioned ; the " espetiall and only occasion of this meeting beinge to consider and resolue of settling the trade in New England (now vpon transferring the Gou'mnt thither), for the incouragm' as well of the Adventurers in the Joynt Stock heere, as of those who already are, and of others who intend to goe ouer in prson to bee planters there." After a long debate upon the respective claims of the parties, " the Court, in conclusion, fell vpon a moderacon;" that the Company's Joint Stock should have the trade of beaver and all other furrs, solely, for seven years from this day, in consideration of the charge it had undergone, and is yet annually to bear, for the advancement of the Plantation. That for fortifications, the Company's Joint Stock to bear half the expense, and the planters the other half, and the charge foi ordnance, munition, &c. That for the charge of ministers now there, and that shall hereafter go to reside there, as also for building churches and other public works, one half to be borne by the Joint Stock, and the other half by the planters, for seven years. The business of this day's session was closed by the appointment of a committee,* who were desired to draw " fitt and conuenyent clauses to bee incerted in articles of agreement, which may bee comodious for * Which committee was to consist of " prt intend to goe ouer." Judging by modem com of the Adventurers here, and prt of those that mitteea, this was a very unwieldy one ; con- 70 HISTORY OF BOSTON. [1629. either prt, and to prepare the same for a Court of Assistants, appointed that afternoone to determine therof." In the preamble to this, the record reads, "forasmuch as by former order the Pattent and Gou'nm* to bee transferred to New England." " All which being seu^'all tymea read, was by Mr. Gou'no'" put to the question, and by gen'll consent, by erreccon of hands, was agreed and concluded on, and ordered accord- ingly." In Court the 'lext day, the quesibn was considered, "what gou''mn' shalbe neiv at London, wherby the future charge of the loynt Stock may bee cherished and preserved, and the body politique of the Company remaine and increase. What persons shall have the charge of the managing of the loynt Stock, both at London and in New England ; wherein it is conceeved fitt that Captain Endicott continue the Gou'^mn'' there, vnless iust cause to the contrarie" appear. It was finally thought as more " fitt and naturall that the Gournmnt of per- sons bee held there," in New England, and that of " trade and mer- chandizes to bee heere" in London. At the same time the Governor and Treasurer of the Company were appointed to examine the affairs of the loint Stock company, reputed to bee much in debt ; and an order was passed for freighting the ship Eagle,* at Bristol, for New England. sisting of eighteen members ; eight of whom were of those "that intend to goe ouer ;" namely, Sir Ri. Saltonstall Mr. Dudley Mr. Johnson, Mr. Vassall Mr. AVinthropeC) Mr. Pinchon Mr. Humfry Mr. Downing The residents were : Mr. Davenport Mr. Adams Mr. AVright Mr. Whetcombe Mr. Perry Mr. Young Capt. Waller Mr. Spurstowe Capt. Venn (2) Mr. Revell. * This was a ship of 350 tons, which was purchased for the service of the Company, pur- suant to a motion of the Governor, made at a session of the Court held 28 July, 1629. " But in regard the Company are not now in cash," say the records, several members agreed to advance " cash" sufficient, because they were not willing so good a ship, and such favorable (1) This, I believe, is the first time the name of Mr. Win- throp occurs in the records of the Company. Five days e//a!. Names saying, that "the errors of the learned are may, indeed, be somewhat arbitrary, — not so learned errors," is a paradox that had better their origin ; yet it is of small importance if a be dispensed with. The name of the lady Ara- ship bear a niclmame, if no one be_ misled bella Churchill (sister to John, Duke of thereby. To this end I have made this note, Marlborough) , is everywhere printed, so far as and I will only add that good English writers my reading has extended, as it is here. The have always -written Arabella. Does any one accurate Prince wrote Arbella, because he presume to write Dolbella 1 — another name for found it so written by Winthrop (who, in females, — abridged like the one in question, official papers, wrote his own name a letter So of Isabella. Does anybody write Isbella 1 short) , and perhaps one or two of his asso- * The originals of these letters are preserved ciates. Hubbard wrote it so from the same in the first book of Deeds in the Suffolk Regis- cause. If any better authorities were desired try, Boston. They are printed in the J. rcA«- that the real name of the lady, for whom the ologia Americana, iii. 53-4. ship was named, should be written Arabella, 72 HISTORY OF BOSTON. [1629 and appointment of a competent number of Comittees to meete and treat and resolue of these businesses." The articles being approved of, " fiue comittees on either part were thereupon chosen, namely, Sr. Richard Saltonstall, Mr. Winthrop,* Mr. Dudley, Mr. Johnson, and Mr. Humfrey, for the Planters ; and for the Adventurers, Mr. Gouernor, Mr. Ahlersey, Mr. Wright, Mr. Hutchins, and Capt. Venn." Should these not come to an agreement, " there was chosen for vmpires, Mr. White, the councellor, Mr. Whyte, of Dorchester, and Mr. Dauenport, to whom the desition and determinacon " were left. Any members of tlie Company were allowed to have access to the committee, " to pro- pound such things as they conceived benefitiall for the business, or to present their opinions in wryting, but not to debate with them for inter- rupting their proceedings." "And now the court proceeding to the * Adam Winthrop, of Oroton, Co. of Suffolk, Eng., appears to be the first of the name, from whom this = Annis, disliu^'uisheil family can be traced. He is known to have seated himself at Groton on the dissolution of I who m.2d, prob- moMHSteries by Henry VIII., and is said to have been a lawyer of distinction. His burial Is recorded ably, \Vm. iliid- upon the parish Register of Uroton, 12 Nov., 1562. | may, 1563. Adam, like his father, was bred to the law. Little =: Anne concerning him has been preserved. His burial ap- | Browne, pears upon the Register at Groton, 29th March, 1623. (probably,) 20 Feb. 15S0, Alice = Thomas, son of Wm. Mild- may (the husband of her mother.) 1. Mary, da. of =r John, (gov. Ms.) b. 12 Jan.. 1588, = 2.Thomasine, da. =3. Margaret, John Korih 1588, m. 12 Ap. 16U5, buried 26 June, 1615. came to N. E. 1630, d. in Boston, 26 March, 1649, aged 61. Wm. Clopton, Dec, 1616, d. Dec. 1616. Sir John Tin- dale, Kt., 29 April, 1618, d. 14 June, 1647. (Anne, da. Sir Thos. Egarton, m. 1. Sir Wm. Deane ; 2. Sir John Tindale, fa.of Margaret.) : 4. Martha, Jane, bp. 1592, m. wid.ofTho. Thos. Goslin,1613. Coytmore of Charles- Lucy, b. 1601, m. town, 1647. Emanuel Down- ing, 10 A p., 1622. Martha = John, (gov. Ct.) : b. 12 Feb., 1606, d Boston, 5 Ap. 1676, a. 70. An early member of the R..yal Soc. of London. Elizabeth, Fitz John, (Gov. Ct.) b.24July, b. at Ipswich, 14 1636. March, 1639, V R.S., and d. in Huston, 27 Nov. 1707. John, F.R.S. = Anna, da. 2. Elizabeth. Henry, Forth, Mary, m. A child Ada drowned, d. bef. Rv. Sam. Salem, 1643, a Dudley, 1630, a. wife d. of E.xet'r, 22. 1630. N. H. d. 1616. 7 April, 1620, d. Boston, 1652. = Elizabeth Stephen,: Glover, bap. 1619; ab. 1642. recorder of Bost'n, M. P for Scotl'd, Coll. in Cromwell's army. Wait Still, b. : 27 Feb. 1642, Ch.Jus Sup. Ct. Ms. &c. d. in Boston, ab. 1688. Anna, d.l615. = Mary, da. of Adarn, H. C. = Wm. Browne 1668, d. 1700. of Salem, d. Stephen, John, b. Margaret b. 1651. 1646. Jujitu. b. 26 Aug 1681, N. Lon- don, d. 1 Aug. 1747. Gov. Joseph Dudley, b.27 Aug 1684. Anna, m. to Thomas Lechmere, surveyor of customs, Boston, bro. of Ld. Lechmere. Shed. 22 Nov., 1746. Adam, H. C, 1694, = Anne, d. 1743, commander I of Castle AVilliam ; lived in Atkinson St. | Adam, H. C, 1724, John, H.C. 1732, LL.D. merch., lived in Prof. H. C, F.R S , d. Brattle St. 3 May, 1779, aged 65. I.Jane, : only da. Francis Borland, Boston. ill, b 15 Jan. =2 da. Wm. Sheriff Basil, d. 1720, d. 6 June, 1776. A da. m. to Deane, b. = Samuel, William. Gov. Wanton, 1623, d. at I 1627. NaO^iel of R.I. Pul. Pt, I NathanieL 1704. Deane, Anne, Joshua, Boston. 1630. (by 4th wife) -^r WiUi .un, N . Y. Joseph, Charles- ton, S.d^. 1828. Jane. Atm, mar. David Sears, Esq., of B., fa. of the present Hon. David Sears. Mary. 1. Eliza = Francis B. = Phebe Taylor. Thomas Lindall, — Elizabeth, Benjamin, Robert, Elizabeth Marston. ofNewYork. b. 1760, H.C. 1780 I da. Sr Jno. N.York, admiral S, Mid One of his It. gov. Ms. 1826- Temple, by m. Stuy- Eng. dletown, wives d. at 1832. LL. D. d. I Elizab. da. vesant. navy. Ct N. I-ondoD, 22 Feb. 1842, aged I of Gov. Bow- 1789. 81. doin, d.l825. Eliza beth B . T. Siuah B. Thomas L. Augusta T. Augusta T. 2d. James B., a true antiquary. John T. Francis William. Francis Wm. 2d. Ann. George Edv Robert Charles, Grenvillo T. now Hon. R. C, d. 1852. Speaker 11. Reps. U.S. 1847-9, Sen- ator U. S. 1850-1. 1629.] CASE OF THE BROWNES. 73 eleccon of a new Gouernor, Deputie and Assistants ; and having re- ceived extraordinary great commendacons of Mr. John Wynthrop, both for his integritie and suf&cencie, as being one every way well fitted and nccomplished for the place of Gouernor, did put in nominacon for that place the said Mr. John Wynthrop,* Sr. E,. Saltonstall, Mr. Is. Johnson, and Mr. John Humfry ; and the said Mr. Wynthrop was, with a gen'all vote and full consent of this Court by ereccon of hands, chosen to bee Gouernor for the ensuing yeare, to begin on this present day ; who was pleased to accept thereof, and thervpon tooke the oath to that place apprtaining. In like manner, and with like free and full consent, Mr. John Humfry was chosen Deputy Gouernor." ^^^ ^Q At the meeting of the Court of Assistants, Mr. Wynthrop pre- sided as Governor. The chief business before them was to devise ways and means " for bringing in of monyes," with which to pay mari- ners' wages, freight of ships, " and other debts." Mr. Cradock informed the Court " what somes he had disbursed for accompt of the Company, and what more was owing for maryner's wages vpon the shipps Tal- bot, Mayflower, and Four Sisters, and for the fraight of those shipps, amounting to <£1200 and upwards." Power to grant warrants for the payment of money was conferred on the Governor and Deputy, as for- merly, and they thereupon drew one on treasurer Harwood in favor of Mr, Cradock for =£800, to be paid " soe soone as mony shall come to his hands." At the same court a complaint, brought by Mr. John and Mr. Samuel Browne, was taken up, and "some debate was had" concerning it. These gentlemen had been forcibly sent out of New England, as has already been mentioned, and had sued for redress to the Company. This is another complaint. The authorities in New England had sold or appropriated their effects there, and they now complained that their goods had been undervalued, and that " divers things had been omitted to bee valued," and they desired relief and justice. The Court de- cided that if they could bring proof of what they complained, they should have relief ; otherwise the case to be suspended for settlement when the new Governor should arrive in New England, f * The Assistants at the same time chosen had never been attended to ; and now, judging were : from the journal entry of the Company, they Sir R. Saltonstall Mr. Thomas Sharpe had little to expect. They were told that if Mr. Is Johnson Mr. John Revell they would come under written obligation to Ul: TEnrotT Mr.- SfolfS^' t'\.'''%'^rT. '' ^'f, ^^^r^' ^'\^ Mr. [Increase] Noell Mr. [Saml.]Aldersey Wright and Mr. Eaton would, on the part ot Mr. Wm. Vassal! Mr. John Venn t^ie Company, inform them what they thought Mr. Wm. Pinchon Mr. Nath. Wright requisite for their "pretended damage." Mr. Sam. Sharpe Mr. Theoph. Eaton Whether the Browns gave up the matter here, Mr. Edw. Rossiter Mr. Tho. Addams. or whether they ever received any remunera- t At one of the last courts held by the tion, nothing of record appears. It must C.)mpany in England, 10 February, 1630, " a have been a pretty serious business for those wryting of grevances of Mr. Samuell and gentlemen, in those times, to have been ex- John Browne was presented,'" asking remu- pelled the country almost immediately after neration for their damage and losses in New reaching it. An entire suspension of their England, by which it appears that if they business, their outlays for a plantation resi- cver had any claim, as specified, that claim dence,and two long voyages across the Atlantic. 74 HISTORY OF BOSTON. [1629 The General Court met on this day, it being one of the quar- ter clays appointed for holding courts by the charter. The general business of the Plantation, being the chief object ; " but by reason of the small appearance (few attending) and the shortness of tyme, nothing was done therin." "The Governor, however, made a relacon of the proceedings of the ioynt comittee concerning the setling of the Ioynt Stock ;" from which it appeared that there was a balance on the books against that stock of upwards of .£3000. Against that amount there was due in subscriptions o£1900 ; and on freight of ships about <£900 more. After some propositions about the management of the Joint Stock affairs, the Court was adjourned to the thirtieth of the same month. " Lastly, vpon the mocon of Mr. Whyte, to the end that this business might bee proceeded in with the first intencon, which was chiefly the glory of God ; and to that purpose that their meetings might be sanctifyed by the prayers of some faithfuU ministers resident heere in London, whose advice would bee likewise requisite vpon many occa- sions, the Court thought fitt to admit into the freedome of this Com- pany, Mr. Jo. Archer, and Phillip Nye,* ministers heere in London, who, being heere present, kindly accepted therof ; also Mr. Whyte did recomend vnto them Mr. Nathaniell Ward, of Standon." Agreeable to adjournment, the General Court met at Mr. Goff's. For the relief of the Company from its present liabili- ties it was proposed that the Adventurers should double their former subscriptions ; but this was not agreed to. It was then proposed that ten persons should take the Joint Stock at its real value, and assume its responsibilities, for which they were to have these privileges, for seven years, namely, half the beaver trade, and all other furs ; the sole making of salt ; the furnishing of a magazine at set rates ; and the sole transpor- tation of passengers and goods at certain rates. Five of the ten persons above-named were to be of the Adventurers, the other five planters. A committee was appointed to value the Stock, who were requested to report on the next day. This committee consisted of Mr. Whyte of Dorchester, Mr. Thomas Goff, Mr. Webb, and Mr. Increase Nowell. ^^^ ^ The decision of the committee was, that, owing to the nature of the undertaking, there was a depreciation in the value of the Stock to the amount of two thirds of all adventured ; "which value, vpon due examination and long debate, was allowed by all the court." And * There is a more full account of Mr. Nye lives? Considered and Affirmatively resolved.'" in Palmer's Calamy than in any of our books, Whether the Philip Nye of our text were the yet some who have used the larger part of his author of this tract (which is now before me), facts, give others credit for them. Though I cannot say. However this may be, for the Dr. Calamy says he died in 1672, I had been sorrow of all good men, — antiquaries, — Dr. led to think he was alive in 1G77, as in that Calamy informs us that Mr. Nye " left behind year, according to Dr. Increase Mather, " Mr. him a character of a man of uncommon depth, P. Ny" published "A Case of Great and who was seldom or never outreached ;" and Present Use. Whether ive may lawfully hear that " a compleat history of the old Puritan the now Conforming Ministers, toho are re- Dissenters by him, in MS., was burnt at Al- ordained,and have renounced the Covenant, and derman Clarkson's, in the fire of London;" some of them supposed to be scandalous in their 1666, of course. 1629.] SHIPS ORDERED FOR EMIGRATION. 75 hereupon the followmg ten gentlemen were desired to take the Stock agreeably to the above proposal ; namely, Mr. John Winthrop, the gov- ernor, Sh' Richard Saltonstall, Kt., Isack Johnson, Esq., Mr. Thomas Dudley, Mr. John Revell, Mr. Matt. Cradock, Mr. Nathaniel Wright, Mr. Theophilus Eaton, Mr. Thomas Golf, and Mr. James Young ; which gentlemen, upon much entreaty of the Court, accepted accordingly. These were usually denominated the Undertakers. At the same court it was ordered that the Undertakers should pro- vide a sufficient number of ships of good force, for transporting of passengers, at the rate of five pounds each, and four pounds a ton for goods. These ships were to be ready to sail from London by the first day of March, 1630. That the ships should touch at the Isle of Wight, and take in any passengers which might desire to embark there, having first registered their names at London, " with forty shillings towards their fraight, to one of the said Vndertakers abyding in London, in the Michaelmas tearme before ; and shall deliuer their goods on shipp- board before the twentieth of Februarie following ; and shall giue security for the rest of their fraight as they can agree with the said Vndertakers, either for mony to bee paid here, or for comoditie to bee deliured in the Plantacon." In the charge for passage, children at the breast were not to be reckoned ; those under four years of age, three were to be counted as one ; under eight, two for one ; under twelve, three for two. And that a ship of two hundred tons should be allowed to carry not more than one hundred and twenty passengers ; and in this proportion ships of other tonnage were restricted. Freight on goods sent "home" to be, for beaver, three pounds per ton, and for other commodities, forty shillings per ton. Goods "assured" to pay five pounds per hundred pounds' value. Concerning the " Magazine," it was agreed " that the Vndertakers should furni'Sh the Plantacon with all such comodities as they shall send for ;" the planters to take and sell them as they pleased, allowing the Undertakers o£25 in the hundred, above all charges ; the planters to have the liberty to dispose of their part of the beavers as they chose to do. Such were the proceedings preparatory to the settlement of Boston ; which, considering all the circumstances, it must be confessed were dictated by sound judgment, wisdom, and that care for the ultimate good of all concerned, which will ever command the gratitude and ad- miration of an enlightened posterity. And though there may be few, even in this day of light and knowledge, who care to look back to these times, that number must increase, through future ages, in proportion to the improvement of the human mind, and as true benevolence takes the place of a sordid selfishness. These transactions of an ancestry of a posterity spread over the fairest part of the world, lie hid in no mist of uncertainty ; their acts, plain and simple, written with their own hands, are everywhere to be read, and, it is to be hoped, will be for ages to come. 76 HISTORY OF BOSTON. [1630. Dec. Some members of the Company not present at the last meet- ing of the court, now appeared and complained that so great a redaction had been made in the property of the Joint Stock, and the matter received "a large discussion ; " but the present court would not reconsider the matter ; only, according to a former provision, and a mutual consent, the consideration of the case was committed to Mr. Davenport,* Mr. Nye, and Mr. Ar- cher, three ministers there present. 1630. It was proposed, at this Feb. 10. meeting of the General Court, to create a common stock in the Com- pany, because of " a great and con- tinuall charge in the furtherance of the plantacon, which cannot with con- venyence bee defrayed out of the loynt Stock of the Company." This stock " should bee raysed from shuch as beare good affeccon to the planta- con and the propagacon thereof," to be employed " only in defrayment of publique charges ; as maintenance of ministers, transportacon of poore famy- lies, building of churches and fortyfycacons," and other occasions in the plantation. To those advancing fifty pounds in this new stock, two hundred acres of land were to be allotted, and so on, in that proportion. Of this new Company Mr. George Harwood was chosen treasurer. At the same court a motion was made on behalf of Sir William Brereton, who, it appears, had a claim to lands under some Patent, which lands were now covered by the Patent of the Massachusetts Company. His claim is spoken of in the records of the Company, as held " by vertue of a late pretended Pattent." He proposed to waive his claim, provided " a proportionable quantitie of land might be allot- ted vnto him for the accommodacon of his people and servants now to be sent over." But the Court, after due " consideracon," did not think proper to enter into any " prticuler capitulacon with him therein," and informed his messengers that the Company did not acknowledge that "anything was due vnto him as of right by vertue of his said Pat- tent," nor would they "give any consideracon in case hee" should relinquish it. Six hundred acres being due to him as one of the Ad- venturers, "they are well content hee should ioyne with them in the prosecucon of this business, according to their Charter ;" and any ser- vants he might send over to settle in the Plantacon should receive all JOHN DAVENPORT. * Of all the early emigrants to New Eng- land, Mr. John Davenport, probably, could trace his lineage to the highest antiquity, — seventeen generations, his own included, — to Orme de Davenport, bom 20th William the Conqueror. It is only necessary to refer to " A History and Genealogy" of the family, by A. Benedict Davenport, Esq. (of the twenty- fourth generation) , published in New York in 1851. lOoO.] COMPANY AT SOUTHAMPTON. 77 courteous respect, and be accommodated with land, as other the servants of the Company. Captain Waller and Mr. Eaton were desired " to signifie the Companye's affection and due respect vnto him ; he hauing written to them about this business."* The Assistants held a court at Southampton, at which was present the Governor, Sir Richard Saltonstall, Mr. Johnson, Mr. Dudley, Mr. Humfrey, Mr. Nowell, Mr. Pynchon, and Mr. Goffe. " It was ordered and concluded by erreccon of hands, that Sir Brian Jan- son, Kt., Mr. William Coddington and Mr. Simon Bradstreete, gent., shall be chosen in the roomes and places of Assistants of Mr. Wright, merchant, Mr. Theophilus Eaton, and Mr. Thomas Goffe, of London, merchants." Mar 23 -^^^^ ^^^ ^^^ ^^^^' ^'^"^^ ^^^^ ^J ^^^ Company in England, and was " aboard the Arbella ;" at which Mr. Coddington, Mr. Tho. Sharpe, Mr. William Vassall, and Mr. Simon Bradstreete ap- peared, instead of Humfrey, Nowell, Pynchon and Goffe. Nothing appears to have been recorded of any transactions at this session, only it is noted that " Mr. John Humfrey (in regard hee was to stay behinde in England), was discharged of his Deputyshipp, and Mr. Thomas Dudley chosen Deputy in his place." * It is not unlikely that Sir Wm. Brereton Major General of Cheshire, Staffordshire, intended to settle in New England ; indeed, it and Lankashire." is highly probable that such was the fact ; The relation of Sir William Brereton to the but his rights, or what he considered his rights, Massachusetts Company was no doubt the being disregarded, or not acknowledged by the same as Mr. Oldham's. There is in the Mass. Massachusetts Company, no doubt caused him Archives, Lands, i., p. 1, a document explain- to remain in England, the affairs of which ing the nature and extent of his claim. The soon gave him an opportunity to act a dis- reason why it was so unfavorably regarded tinguished part therein. There is a portrait may be found in the note, p. 58, ante. See of him to be seen in the celebrated work of Hutchinson, i. 6, 18. Frothingham'' s Hist. Mr. John Vickers, published in 1G47 ; and Charlestown, 13 and 14. He is said to have who, according to that trustworthy author, been one of the judges at the trial of the gained seventeen victories over the armies of King. It is true that he was appointed to be Charles I., one of which was commanded by of the number of the triers of Charles, but Prince Rufert hiniself. There is another por- his name does not appear upon the warrant trait of him in the curious work of Josiah for the execution. My slight researches in Ricraft, published also in 1647, "^ Survey regard to him, furnish nothing beyond the of Englancfs Champi()?is,^' being ^'■Truth's ordinary histories above referred to, and others faithful Recitements ; with the lively Effigies more common. The Biographical Dictionaries and Eulogies of those who fought against the consulted do not even contain the name of the Romish Sicera, or the Great Scarlet Whore, " Champion " who risked his life in seventeen with tohom the Kings of the Earth have commit- battles in the cause of human freedom, and the ted Fornication.''^ Under his portrait in this rights of man ! book ia inscribed, " Sr. "William Brereton, 78 HISTORY OF BOSTON. [1630- CHAPTER X. Sailing of the Mary & John. — Her Company. — Sailing of Winthrop's Fleet. — Some Account of it — Capt. Burley. — Sir Thomas Roe. — The Governor and Company's "Humble Request." — Charles Fines. — The Fleet proceeds on its Voyage. — Incidents and Accidents attending it. — Arrival of the Wary & John. — Nantasket. — Charlestown. — Settlement of Dorchester. — Tedious Voyage of "Winthrop's Company. — Sir Robert Mansel. — The ships on the Coast. — Arrival at Salem. — Gov. Endicott. — Winthrop explores about Boston. — Thomas Walford. — Arrival of other ships. — Deputy Governor Dudley. — His Account of the Colony the first year. — Deaths of eminent persons. UT before the last meeting of the Government of the Massachusetts Company on board a ship in the harbor of Southampton, another ship, named the Mary & John, of four hundred tons, had been receiving passengers and goods, as she lay in the port of Plymouth ; and, being now ready ^ M 20 ^^^ ^^^' ^^^^^ ^^^ ^^ Plymouth Sound, "" ■ * bound for the Massachusetts Bay, in New England. Of this ship " one Captain Squeb '''^^-'S?se^'^======^^'5^^^^:^'^ -^vas master," and among his passengers were " the reverend Mr. Warham and Mr. Maverick, with many godly fami- lies and people under their care, from Devonshire, Dorsetshire and Somersetshire." In the same ship were also Mr. Rossiter and Mr. Ludlow, two assistants of the Massachusetts Company, and a young man in humble circumstances then, named Roger Clap, but who be- came in New England a gentleman of high consideration. Mar 29 " Riding at Cowes, near the Isle of Wight," it being Mon- day, there were now the " Arbella," of three hundred and fifty tons. Captain Peter Milbourne, master and part owner, with twenty- eight guns and fifty-two seamen ; the Ambrose, Captain John Lowe, master ; the Jewell, Mr. Nicholas Hurlston, master ; the Talbot, Mr. Thomas Beecher, master. The two last-named ships belonged to Mr Cradock, the captains of which, with their owner, came on board the Arbella, early in the morning. The wind serving, Mr. Cradock advised them to improve it. Accordingly they weigh their anchors, and at ten o'clock set sail, saluting their venerable late Governor with sev- eral pieces of ordnance, as he took his leave of them. Running up Solant Sea, they come to anchor again near Yarmouth, which lies over against Lymington, in Hampshire. Meanwhile there were lying at Hampton, not quite ready to sail, the Mayflower, the Whale, the William & Francis, the Trial, the Charles, the Success, and the Hopewell. In these eleven ships there were about seven hundred souls, besides the " people" of the ships, and this has been appropriately styled "the great emigration." They were long in getting clear of the English coast, the weather being unfavorable, as though it had compassion on the hundreds of unwilling minds, and kept them lingering near their 1630.] amiite's famous letter. 79 beloved friends and kindred ; as if sensible it was the only and last adieu they would ever pay to their native land. As the ships lay windbound at Yarmouth, Captain Burleigh,* ^" ■ of the Castle there, " a grave and comely gentleman, and of great age," paid those on board a friendly visit, breakfasted with them, and was honored with a salute, at his departure, from four pieces of cannon. He had commanded in the navy of Queen Elizabeth, against the Spaniards, and had been a prisoner three years in Spain. After that, himself and three of his sons were captains in Sir Thomas Roe's famous voyage t to the empire of the Great Mogul. While lying in Yarmouth harbor, an important letter was ^ ^ " addressed by some of the principal emigrants to their brethren of the Church of England ; a letter which has given occasion for some reflections upon their conduct, by those who desired to find such an occasion ; as though therein they professed to be of the Church of England, while, in fact, their real intentions were to separate from it entirely. There is no ground for controversy, as to the meaning of the letter, among historians. It is a simple, intelligent epistle, in many works extant, and every one can read it and form his own judgment upon the points at issue. There is a vein of holy melancholy running through it, plainly showing that they felt that they were about to enter upon a new theatre, that they desired to be remembered as members of the same great Christian family, acknowledging those to whom they were writing " as those whom God had placed nearest his throne of mercy." " Consider us," they say, " we beseech you, by the mercies of the Lord Jesus, as your brethren, and the principals and body of our Company, as those who esteem it our honor to call the Church of Eng- * So Winthrop has the name, or rather his great note in his time ; a son of Kobert Roe, transcribers; but it shoukl probably be Burley, Esq., of Low Layton, Wanstead, Essex. He In Higginson's Journal it is Borley. There died in November, 1644. His mdow, who sur- was a family of this name, both ancient and vived him, was the lady Eleanor, daughter of respectable, which had long been established Sir Thomas Cave, Bart., ot Stanford, County of in that island. But I can hardly suppose that Northampton. The facetious and learned Ful- the aged Capt. Burleigh, whom Winthrop saw, ler dedicated a portion of his " Church His- was the same who, eighteen years afterwards, tory " to her. The embassy of Sir Thomas endeavored to raise an insurrection there in continued from 1614 to 1618. From 1621 to favor of Charles I. when confined in Caris- 1628 he was an ambassador to the Ottoman brook Castle, and for wliich, by order of Par- Porte, during which time he kept a journal of liament, he was executed. This Capt. Bui-ley all transactions there. This laid in MS. till had been thrown out of office when the navy 1740, when it was published in part, with a changed masters, and his attempt to rescue beautiful engraving of the ambassador, in the king was the result of chagrin which broke folio. He possessed great learning, and made out in rashness. He may have been one of extensive collections of oriental MSS. during those three sons who had been captains under his residence in the East, which, in 1628, he Sir Thomas Roe. — See Bulkr's Isle of Wight, presented to the Bodleian librai-y. To show — Clarendo?i's Rebellion, — and Heath's Chron- his respect for Sir Thomas, Captain Lucas Fox, icle. who made a voyage of discovery to the north, f Winthrop, in his Journal, says merely, in 1631, named the main land in 64° 10', N " Roe's voyage ;" and, from the events in the in Hudson's Bay " Sir Thomas Roe's Wei life of Sir Thomas Roe, I have no doubt that come." — See Giranger's Biographical Hist his " famous voyage to the dominions of the Eng. — Fuller's Church Hist. Brit. — Brit Great INIogul" is that to which Winthrop Cyclop. — Forstor's Discov. in the North, p refers. His name appears before in my pages. 363, ed. 4to. — Churchill's Collection of Voy- See ante, p. 34. He was a gentleman of ages, vol. i. 696, &c. 80 HISTORY OF BOSTON. [1630. and, from whence we rise, our dear mother ;* be pleased therefore, reverend fathers and brethren, to help forward this work now in hand." The names found to the printed letter are "John Winthrope, Charles Fines, "f George PhiUipps, Richard Saltonstall, Isaac Johnson, Thomas Dudley, William Coddington, &c. &c."| About six of the clock in the morning, the wind having ^" ' " hauled to the northward and eastward," the ships began to get under way, spreading their sails for the broad Atlantic Ocean. With the Admiral ship ahead, they passed Hurst castle, and running over Cowel and Totland bays, before ten the same morning they had cleared the " Needles;" but the wind shortening, they had to come to anchor in the English Channel. However, before ten at night, the wind, which had been light and variable, settled in to the north, so they weighed again and stood on through the night, and by daylight next morning they were abreast Portland. It was found that the rest of ^^^ ■ the ships could not hold way with the Admiral, which caused her to lie to for them to come up. Meantime, to lessen her speed, she clewed up her mainsail, and then they all " went on with a merry gale." Early in the morning of the same day, a man from the mast- * Was this separating from the Church of England in the light some have considered it ? Certainly not. A later date must be assigned to the real separation which gradually and actually did take Dlace. SAILING riLD.M Till!; ISLE OF WIGHT. I" That this gentleman belonged to a branch of the ancient Norman family of the name of De Fynes, De Finnes, &c., whose ancestors, from the time of the Conquest to the reign of John, were hereditary constables of Dover Castle, tliere may be no doubt ; but that he was a brother of a cotemporary Sir William " Fiennes," I find no proof whatever. The fiunily of Finnes, besides its own titles to no- bility, became connected with that of Dudley, Lord N((rth ; Lord Dacre ; Earl Bourchier, Lord Berners ; &c. It is presumed tliat though Charles Fines signed the famous " Humble Request," he may not have come to New Eng- land. There are, in the history of nearly every family, facts of great interest ; we meet with one in this of Finnes, for digressing to notice which, the author will probably be pai-doned. Sir James Fienes perished in " Jack Cade's rebellion." William Crowmer, son of Sir William Crowmer, Lord Mayor of London, married the only daughter of Sir James Fienes (Viscount Say and Sele) . The rebels beheaded both Sir James and his son-in-law; "whose heads, pitched upon high poles, were carried through the streets of London, whose bearers caused their trunkless faces (in spite and mockery) to kiss one the other at every street corner, as they marched along in this their damnable triumph and hellish ovations ; which horrid act was committed the 3d of July, 1450." — Weevers Fun. Monuments. Henry Fiennes, the grandson of this fii-st Lord Say and Sele, married Anne, daughter of Sir Rich- ard Harcourt, of Stanton-llarcourt, Knt. Richard Fiennes, the nephew of Lord Say and Sele, married the daughter and heiress of Thomas, Lord Dacre. — Guillim^s Banner Dis- played, 437. J The original edition of the famous letter was printed at London soon after the sailing of " the fleet," in a small 4to, of 12 pages. Those who had not seen the original edition, but had sighed to do so, believing that the two " &C.S " at the end, in our old transcripts of it, would reveal other names, sighed in vain. They are &c.s and nothing else, in the ediiio princeps. It is entitled " The Humble Request of his Majesties loyall Subjects," &c. It might well have been entitled their " Fare- well Address," as its tone throughout is truly the language of men bidding a final farewell to the world. 1630.] INCIDENTS OF THE VOYAGE. 81 head descried eight sail of ships astern. This discovery threw all on hoard into consternation, believing the strangers to be enemies ; for they had been told at Yarmouth that ten sail of Dunkirkers were ly- ing in wait for their sailing, and Captain Lowe, of the Ambrose, said lie saw suspicious-looking vessels lying at Dunnose the evening before.* However, orders were given to clear the ships for action, and, though they were " four to eight," they determined to fight. " The ordnance were loaded, powder-chests and fireworks were made ready, the land- men were quartered among the seamen, and every man written down for his quarter." "And, for an experiment, Captain Milborne shot a ball of wild-fire, fastened to an arrow, out of a cross-bow, which burnt in the water for a good time. The Lady Arbella and the other women and children were removed into the lower deck, that they might be out of danger." Prayer was then had on deck, after which " it was much to see how cheerful and comfortable all the company appeared ; not a woman or child that showed fear, though all did apprehend the danger to have been very great." The supposed enemy, having more wind than the pursued, " came up apace." It was near one o'clock, however, before they had approached within a league, when Captain Mil- bourne, " because he would show he was not afraid of them, and that he might see the issue before night should overtake them, tacked about and stood to meet them ; and when they came near they perceived them to be" some of their own countrymen and friends. Though this great peril proved to be imaginary, its relation serves to set in a strong light the immense hazards to which those were exposed, as they were upon their embarcation for a naked wilderness. It would have been nothing out of the ordinary course of the events of that day, had their worst fears been realized. These poor Pilgrims might have overcome their adversaries after a bloody battle ; but their voyage would have been ruined ; or they might, like Captain Smith, but few years before, have been captured, carried into an enemy's port, plun- dered and cast into prison, and thus their intended settlement brought to an end. Being thus happily delivered from their fears, the colonists ^^^ ' proceeded on their voyage, having the wind at east-by-north, a "handsome gale with fair weather." By seven of the clock in the morning, they were "over against Plymouth," and about noon, the Lizard, that noted promontory of Cornwall, was in view. About eight the next morning, they passed the Isles of Scilly, which lie about nine leagues to the westward of the Land's End, it blowing " a very stiff gale " from the north-by-west, and, having laid their course west-south west, they stood off into the main ocean, and were soon out sight of land. * There may be no error as to Dunnose ; treme east end of the Isle of Wight ; while but how Captain Lowe could have seen ships the Needles through which our fleet had sailed at that place, is quite surprising, because the are at the extreme west end, certainly above only Dunnose that I can find is near the ex- twenty miles from Dunnose. 11 82 HISTORY OF BOSTON, [1630. All thoughts were now turned on their present condition, whither they were going, the strange things they were to meet with in the New World, and what they would do when they should arrive there ; with occasional misgivings of many, as to the propriety of the hazardous step they had taken ; the probable long time that must pass before they could so much as hear from dear fathers, mothers, brothers, and sisters. From these reflections, though often awakened by the sudden plunging, heaving, and rolling of the ship, the roaring of the winds, and break- ing of the billows around them, it was only to return to them again with a willing sadness, as their little bark righted and seemed to leap with more steadiness from sea to sea. The voyage thus proceeded without anything uncommon or extraor- dinary, and soon became monotonous, till even an accident might have been welcome, if of sufficient importance to break in upon the irksome hours. Very few of these happened, or, if they happened, they were not recorded. There are, indeed, notes of " two men falling at odds, and fighting, contrary to orders," and how they were punished withal ; and how one, "for using contemptuous speeches" before the high officers and gentlemen, " was laid in bolts till he submitted himself, and promised open confession ;" though whether he did anything more than promise, is not recorded.* Notwithstanding such events, — the " seamen sometimes playing wags with children," a great storm which split some of their sails to pieces, and the separation of the ships, — "the wind put them on to the west amain," where, in their approach to the summit of the Atlantic Ocean, it may be well to leave them, for the present, to take a view of the Company which sailed before them. The ship Mary and John, as has been before recorded, sailed from Plymouth for New England, on the twentieth of March. She seems to have had a very prosperous voyage, passing " through the deeps comfortably." The " captain of that great ship of four hundred tons " was named Squeb, who arrived at Nantasket on the *^ ■ thirtieth of the following May, and " here he turned his passen- gers and their goods ashore the next day, leaving them to shift for themselves in a forlorn place in this wilderness."! But there were * " A servant of one of our company had taken with allowance, for reasons already bargained with a child to sell him a box, worth stated. [See ante, p. 22.] At the time of Srf., for three biscuits a day, all the voyage, their arrival, I have no doubt the Captain sup- and had received about forty, and had sold posed himself at the entrance of Charles them and many more to some other servants. River, and that by bringing them there he We caused his hands to be tied up to a bar, had performed his voyage. It appears that he and hanged a basket of stones about his neck, was urged to carry them up further into the and so he stood two hours." — Winthrop, river, and that he declined to do so, and a dif- Journal, i. 18. This extract is made as a ficulty arose thereupon, which was not settled specimen of punishments practised in those till the 17th of June, after the arrival of days. _ Wintlu'op, who, in his Journal, says, " as he f Captain Roger Clap wrote this, many and others of his Company were returning years after these events, but he recorded what from Mr. Maverick's [on Noddle's Island], he knew and what he saw, for he was one of they came liy [way] of Nataskott, and sent the efficient men of the Company. But his for Captain Squib ashore, and ended a differ- oensures of Captain Squeb's conduct are to be ence between him and the passengers." Am- [1630. DORCHESTER PEOPLE ARRIVE. 83 " some old planters '*' there and in the neighborhood, who, Idndly assist- ing them with a boat, they loaded it with goods, and some able men, well armed, went in her to Charlestown, where they found some wig- wams and one house.* They did not make much stay here, but proceeded up Charles River until it grew narrow and shallow, and there they landed their goods with much labor and toil, the bank being steep, and they not above ten in number. At the approach of night, they were informed that there were ^"^^ " not far off, three hundred Indians, which caused the English to apprehend trouble ; but an old planter, who had kindly accompanied them, went out and met the Indians, and, being acquainted with their language, made them understand that the English did not wish them to come to them in the night, and they readily consented to keep away. Sentinels were set for the night, of which Roger Clap was one, and here Englishmen slept for the first time on the banks of Charles River. Of this little company was Mr. Richard Southcot, " a brave Low Coun- try soldier," who did not continue long in the country, but in about a year returned to England. f ^ , The next June 1. mornmg a few of the Indians came and looked at the strangers "at a distance off," but after a while they came and held out a great bass towards them. One of the English took a bis- cuit, and approach- ing the Indians, offered it for the bass, which they accepted. With this a friendly intercourse commenced, and the Com pany got a supply of bass at the same easy rate for some time after. The place where the landing was effected, and where the interview with the Indians took place, is believed to be at or very near the point, icably, we may suj^pose ; because, when the Governor and his company left him, the Cap- tain gave them a salute of five guns. This seems hardly to countenance what Trumbull, in his Connecticut, i. 23, says, namely, that the said Captain " was afterwards obliged to pay damages for his conduct ;" but Trumbull may have had good authority for his state- ment. The impossibility of a ship of 400 tons, deeply laden, going up Charles River, must have been well known to Captain Clap when he wrote his Memoirs. * That of Mr. Walford, before mentioned, no doubt, " situate on the south end of the westernmost hill of the East Field, a little way up from Charles River side." — Charlestown Records. See Frothingham, 14. " And in the house there was a man, which had a boiled bass, but no bread that we see ; but we did cat of his bass, and then went up Charles River," &c. — Clap's Mems. t He had liberty from the Court, in July, 1631, " to go for England, promising to return with all convenient speed." — Prince, 358. 84 HISTORY OP BOSTON. [1630. in what was soon after Watertown, on which the United States Arsenal now stands. Here, while some were preparing shelters for their goods, others proceeded to select the most suitable place for their future abode. It was soon discovered that a noted Indian resort, called Matapan, offered good grazing for their cattle, and other advantages for settle- ment, which they considered superior to those where they now were, and they accordingly removed to Matapan, since called Dorchester Neck, and afterwards South Boston. The name Dorchester was given to their residence, in memory of the "famous town" of the same name in Dorsetshire, whence many of the first settlers came.* They gave the same name to the place where they first encamped upon Charles River, and a place thereabouts is known as " Dorchester Fields " to this day.f Meanwhile, the " Arbella" and her two consorts — the Ambrose and the Jewel — are ploughing the wide Atlantic Ocean, sometimes in company, and sometimes apart ; separated by the violence of storms, the darkness of high northern nights, and the dense fogs swept by the broom of heaven from innumerable fields of ice over the polar seas. For several days together they could make no headway within many points of their true course; and sometimes they could only " lie at hull," with just sail enough to steady the ships, and keep them from foundering in the " trough of the seas." After having been above three weeks at sea, they found ^^ ' themselves but about one third of their voyage onward, and, by contrary winds and currents, were driven to the forty-sixth degree of northern latitude ; but, notwithstanding cold, stormy weather continued, and often accompanied by sleet and snow, the three ships were all in company on the sixth of May ; and, on the previous night, it having come fair, and the wind "large," they were able to lay their course west by south, " with a merry gale in all their sails ;" so that they soon ran down to the parallel of forty-four degrees north ; but, so unfa- vorable was the weather for many days following, that they changed their latitude scarcely half a degree, though their course was nearly south. At length, at two o'clock in the afternoon of June the sixth, and in forty-three degrees and a quarter north, soundings were had, " and, the mist then breaking up," land was descried on the star- board bow, about five or six leagues off, which was supposed to be Cape Sable. The wind soon after hauled south-easterly, and the ships bore * I have given, in the N. Eng. Hist. Gen. Watertown], " several yeats ago, with ]Maj. Regr., vol. iii., p. 389, &c., a somewhat ex- Winship, a respectable inhabitant then living tended account of the early beginnings of " Old near by it, he pointed to a pasture, and told Dorchester," the origin of its name, its early me it was called ^'Dorchester Fields.''^ — See inhabitants, &c., to which the reader is re- A7nerican Annals, i. 203. — Both the excellent ferred. I would also refer to Blake's Annals annalist and his informant sleep with those of Dorchester, and the Hist, of Dorchester now of whom they spoke and wrote. Dr. Holmes in course of publication, by Mr. David Clapp. died at Cambridge, 4 June, 1837 ; Mr. Winship f " In walking over the grounds at the a few years later. place of landing," says Dr. Holmes [in 1630.] VOYAGE OF WINTIIROP. 85 away west by north, intending to make the well-known point in York called Agamentieus. The next day, being becalmed, they had splendid fishing, on thirty fathom ground, "taking, in less than twc hours, sixty-seven codfish, most of them very great, some a yard and a half long, and a yard in compass." This supply was very sea- sonable, their salt-fish being spent, and their other provisions were run- ning short. Thus, with the usual attendants on the coast of New England, — head winds, storms and calms, — the ships were one day able to keep near their course, and the next only to lie off and on, without making any headway at all. Stretching cautiously towards the coast, on the eighth of June they saw Mount Desert, then generally called Mount Mansel, after Sir Robert Mansel;* and they were able to run all the next day with the welcome coast in sight of the sea-worn passen- gers.f On the tenth they made other land, which appeared to them at a great distance off. This was, not unlikely, the since well-known White Hills. Boone Island, the Isles of Shoals (where a ship was riding at anchor), and the Three Turks' Heads, were all recog- June 11 ^^^^^ before the close of this day. All the next day they were obliged to beat against a head wind, in sight of Cape Ann and the Isles of Shoals, and " five or six shallops under sail, up and down." Jim 12 About four in the morning, it being Saturday, being near their port, they shot off two pieces of ordnance, and, soon after, sent a boat on board a ship J which lay at anchor in the harbor, which they knew belonged to Captain William Peirce.§ That ship had arrived some time before. "About an hour after," says Winthrop, "Mr. * A distinguished gentleman, one of the French of it, and its name was changed to patentees of 1620, whose name will be found Mount INIansell. This proceeding of Argall in a previous page (34) of this work. The was an outrage upon the French, for wliich no name is often written Maunsell, and is traced attempt at justification will avail anything in to remote ages in England. John Maunsell unprejudiced minds. was named one of the chaplains in the will of f " We had now fair sunshine weather, and Henry ni., 1253 ; but to whose dishonor noth- so pleasant a sweet air as did much refresh ing need be said beyond the fact of his being us, and there came a smell off the shore, like in the interest of that rapacious monarch, the smell of a garden." — Winthrop, Jowr., i. The worthy Knight, the subject of this note, I 23. — The same day, June 8th, " there came a take to be a younger son of Sir Edward Man- wild pigeon into our ship, and another small sel, knighted in 1572, Chamberlain of Chester, bird." — Ibid. — "Noah could hardly have " and a man of great honor, integrity and been more gratified to behold his dove, with courage." He was knighted by the Earl of the olive-leaf in its mouth." — Snow. Essex, for his valor in tlie taking of Cales, J The Lyon. She belonged to Bristol. — 1596 ; and, having signalized himself in sev- Dudley to the Countess of Lincoln. — She sailed eral other encounters, was made Vice-Admiral from that port in February, and arrived at of the fleet by James I., in which station he Salem in May; but the day of the month has was continued by Charles I., and lived to a not been ascertained. Mr. Hubbard says she very old age, much esteemed for his "great " was some days arrived there before "" Win- integrity, personal courage, and experience in throp. — Hist. N. England, 130. maritime affairs." — Kimber & Johnson's i^ar- ^Captain Peirce had been often on this onetage, i. 236. — The island was named coast, and had many times crossed the Atlan- Mount Desert by Champlain in 1608. It is tic. He belonged to London, and Captain about twelve miles broad, and fifteen in length, Michael Peirce, of Scituate, was his brother, and is about three himdred and thirty-five I shall have occasion to say more of him. — See miles from Boston. In 1613, Sir Samuel Ar- News from N. England, a rare tract of 1676, gall went from Virginia, and dispossessed the re-published by me, 4to, 1850. 86 IIISTORV OF BOSTON. [1G30 Allerton came aboard us in a shallop, as he was sailing to Pemaquid. As we stood towards the harbor, we saw another shallop coming to us ; so we stood in to meet her, and passed through the narrow strait between Baker's Isle and Little Isle, and came to an anchor a little within the islands. After, Mr. Peirce came aboard us, and returned to fetch Mr. Endecott,* who came to us about two of the clock, and with him Mr. Skelton and Captain Levett. We that were of the Assistants, and some other gentlemen, and some of the women, and our captain, returned with them to Nahumkeak, where we supped with a good veni- son pasty and good beer, and at night we returned to our ship, but some of the women stayed behind, f In the mean time, most of our people went on shore upon the land of Cape Ann, which lay very near us, and gathered store of fine strawberries;"]: "with which, in those times, the woods were everywhere well furnished, and it is like, as merry as the gentlefolks at their venison pasty and strong beer."§ The "Arbella" was immediately visited by Indians. Mas- conomo, "the sagamore of that side of the country towards Cape Anne," with one of his men, came on board in the morning, and bid the English welcome, and stayed all day, and another Indian had slept on board the previous night. In the afternoon of the same day, the Jewel, Captain Low, came in sight, and was soon after moored in the harbor. The Ambrose, Captain Hurlstone, arrived five days later, and the Talbot, Captain Beecher, did not get in until the second of July. Two ships only had arrived at Salem, but on this day the passengers made a kind of formal landing, upon which occasion a salute of five pieces was given. June 17 "^^^ Governor and others of the principal men of the Company set out, on the since memorable seventeenth of June, to explore * I take pleasure in transferring to this descendant ; and one pear-tree planted by the page Mr. Savage's note upon Endicott, as it is governour on it is said still to repay his care." one of the best written notes in his edition of This was in 1824. In 1848 I received a num- Governor Winthrop's Journal. The italicized ber of fine pears from the same tree. — See N. words have been so italicized in this use of E. H. Gen. Regr., ii. 402. Since 1757, the the note, for reasons which will be apparent pear-tree has been included in Danvers. — See to the reader of my previous pages. The Edi- Felt's Annals of Salem, i. 180 ; Hanson's Hist. tor of Winthrop says: "This distinguished Danvers, 26. father of Massachusetts had, two years before, f " Who, like Noah's dove, finding sure been sent to found the plantation, which was footing on the fii-m land, returned no more to effected by the settlement of Salem, the oldest their ark, floating on the unstable waves." — town in the colony. He had a commission from Hubbard, Hisi. New England, 130. the company to act as governour, which was, of J I am sorry not to be able to give these course, superseded by the arrival of Winthrop extracts from Winthrop's Journal as Winthrop with the charter. With the history of his wrote them ; having only a modernized copy adopted_ country that of Endecott is inter- of them must be my excuse. The quaint old woven till the time of his death, 15 March, orthography of that day, so refreshing to the 1G65. He served four years as deputy gov- genuine antiquary, would have rendered that ernour, and sixteen as governour ; bemg at the work incalculably more valuable ; but, as most head of administration a longer time than any of Winthrop's original work has been destroyed other under the old patent ; exceeded under by fire, any hopes of a restoration are beyond the new charter by Shirley alone, and that the effects of lamentations, even with the pros- only by one year. The farm wliich he culti- pect of a new edition in view. vated remains in possession of an honorable ^ Hubbard, Hist. New Eng., 130. 1630.] OTHER SHIPS ARPtlVE. 87 the bottom of the bay, whicli might very properly then have been denominated the Disputed Territory. They were in pursuit of a suita- ble place for settlement ; and, before returning, they went several miles up Mistick River, stayed one night at the hospital3le dwelling of Mr. Samuel Maverick, probably paid a visit to Mr. Walford,* and per- haps to Mr. Blackstone, on Shawmut, and returned to Salem by way of Nantasket, after an absence of about three days. A difficulty had arisen between Captain Squeb and the passengers who came over with him, as has before been noticed. Squeb was still at Nantas- ket ; and Mr. Winthrop's business there at this time was no doubt owing to that unpleasant affair. He sent for the Captain to come to him on shore, which request being at once complied with, the difficulty seems to have been adjusted without delay. Captain Squeb had been charged with not performing his voyage ; and some called him "a mer- ciless man," for "turning his passengers on shore at Nantasket, in a forlorn place," when he was to land them in Charles River. Mr. Win- throp and his council, having made themselves personally acquainted with the bay, and seeing the difficulty of getting into Charles River with a ship of four hundred tons, very probably saw no cause to censure Captain Squeb, and thus the difficulty was amicably ended ; and when they left him, he saluted them with five guns. " The Mayflower and Whale arrived safe in the harbor of Charlestown ; the passengers being all in health, but most of their cattle dead. If Jacob himself had been there, he could not have, with all his skill and care, prevented the over-driving of cattle, shut up in the narrow room of those wooden walls, where the fierceness of the wind and waves would often fling or throw them on heaps, to the mis- chiefing and destroying one another."! J In the Talbot, which arrived this day, there had been great distress, owing to the passengers having been " sore visited with the small pox in her passage, whereof fourteen died in the way." In * The reader will have met with this name sev- regretted the severity exercised towards him, eral times before in this history. Thomas Wal- while for others, very similarly dealt with, roRB was the first known English inhabitant of they withhold their sympathy altogether ; Charlestown, then called by its Indian name, thus showing that historians have their favor- Mishawum ; concerning whom, in the Charles- ites among the dead as well as among the liv- to-\vn records, it is said that those who settled ing. in the same place in 1G29 •' found him living Mr. Walford removed to New Hampshire, in an English house, palisadoed and thatched, and became an inhabitant of Portsmouth, situate on the south end of the westernmost From certain court papers at Exeter, it is hill of the East Field, a little Avay up from ascertained that he had the following children : Charles River side." Mr. Frothingham says Mary, wife of William Brookin, and that she he has not been able to locate the residence of was born 1635 ; Martha, wife of Mr. Walford beyond a doubt, but that it was brook ; Elizabeth, wife of Savage ; Jer- fjrobably on Breed's Hill, a short distance emiah, wife Mary, perhaps daughter of Alex- from the water. — Hist. Charlestown, 14, 23, ander and Ann Bachelder, of Portsmouth; 24. — Two years after, he was driven away by Hannah (probably the oldest), as she married the authorities of Massachusetts, probably for Pease, before 1648. Will proved 25 his heretical opinions, or, perhaps, more prop- June, 1667 ; wife Jane, who survived him, erly to speak, for his minority opinions. The and was tet. 69 in 1667. — ^IS. of Mr. A W. act by which he was banished will be noticed Brown, in its chronological order. Some writers have f Hubbard, Hist. N. Eng., 131. 88 HISTORY OF BOSTON. [1630. one of the late ships " came Mr. Henry Winthrop, the Governor's second son, accidentally left behind at the Isle of Wight, or Hampton, whither he went to provide further supply of provisions for the gentle- men in the Admiral. A sprightly and hopeful young gentleman he was, who, though he escaped the danger of the main sea, yet was unhappily drowned in a small creek, not long after he came ashore, even the very next day, July second, after his landing, to the no small grief of his friends and the rest of the company."* By the sixth of July there had arrived eleven ships of those " ^ ' employed to bring over the colonists to Massachusetts Bay, ex- clusive of the Mary and John, which brought the Dorchester people, already mentioned. "So as now," says Mr. Hubbard, " all the " ^ ' whole fleet being safely come to their port, they kept a public day of thanksgiving, through all the plantations,! to give thanks to Almighty God for all his goodness and wonderful works, which they had seen in their voyage." Thomas Dudley, now deputy governor, afterwards governor, came over with Winthrop, and like him wrote an account of tlieir settling in the country. His account is of great interest ; but as he did not write at the precise time in which events occurred, he has committed several mistakes ; yet these are not of much account. He says ' ' seuenteen shipps arriued J all safe in New England, for the increase of the plan- side of the bay, as Plymouth, Weymouth, and Mount Wallaston, says, " Also diverse merchants of Bristow, and some other places, have yearly, for this eight years or there- abouts, sent shipps hethcr at the fishing times, to trade for beaver, where their factors dis- honestly for their gaines, have furnished the Indians with guns, swords, powder and shott." — Letter to the Countess of Lincoln, in Force's Tracts, ii. * Hubbard, Hist. N. Eng., 131. f Here is evidence of many settlements exist- ing in the country when Winthrop arrived. This is on the authority of Mr. Hubbard, who wrote fifty years after the settlement of Bos- ton. If other evidence be necessary, that of Governor Dudley will not be questioned by anybody, for he recorded the same year (1630) the events which I am now detailing. Dud- ley, speaking of the settlements on the south X Chiefly from !Mr. Prince I give the following list of the seventeen ships ; whence they sailed, time of sailing, masters' names, where and when they arrived. Ships' names. From 1 Lyou Bristol 2 Mary and John Plyraoutli 3 Arbella Isle of Wight 4 Jewell Isle of Wight 5 Ambrose Isle of Wight 6 Talbot Isle of Wight 7 Mayflower Southampton 8 Whale Southampton 9 Hopewell Southampton 10 Wm. and Francis Southampton 11 Tryal Southampton 12 Charles Southampton 13 Success Southampton 14 Gift A French ship 15 Not named Not known 16 Handmaid London 17 Not named Sent out by a private merchant The only authority for several of the above facts is contained in Dudley's Letter to the Countess of Lincoln. — See Prince's N. Ens: Chron., ^29. Among the ships which sailed the preceding year for New England were the George Bona- 1630. Masters. 1630. Arrived at February Wm. Pierce May Salem 20 March Squeb 30 May Nantasket 8 April Peter Milborno 12 June Salem 8 April John Lowe 13 June Salem 8 April Nicholas Hurlstone 18 June Salem 8 April Thomas Beecher 2 July Salem May Not knovm 1 July Charlestown May " 1 July Charlestown May « 3 July Salem May " 3 July Salem May " 6 July Charlestown May e« 5 July Salem May « 6 July Salem End oi May Brook 2 August Charlestown June Not knoum Unknown Unknown 6 August John Grant 29 October Plymouth venture, Thomas Cox, master ; the Talbot, Thomas Beecher, master ; the Lyon's Whelp, John Gibbs, master. — See Companifs Second Lett, of Instructs, to Endicott. — Archaeol. Amer., 96. 1030.] HARDSHIPS OF THE SETTLERS. 89 tacon here theis yeare, 1630, but made a long, a troublesome, and costly voy'ge, being all wind-bound long in England, and hindred with contrary winds after they set saile, and so scattered with mists and tem- pests, that few of them arriued togeather. Our four shipps which sett out in Aprill arriued here in June and July, where wee found the colony in a sadd and unexpected condition, aboue eighty of them being dead the winter before, and many of those aliue weake and sicke ; all the corne and bread amongst them all hardly sufficient to feed them a fort- night ; insoemuch that the remainder of one hundred and eighty servants wee had the two years before sent ouer, comeing to vs for victualls to sustaine them, wee found ourselves wholly unable to feed them by reason that the p'visions shipped for them were taken out of the shipp they were put in, and they who were trusted to shipp them in another failed us, and left them behind ; whereupon necessity enforced us, to our extreme loss, to give them all libertie, who had cost about sixteen or twentie pounds a person, furnishing and sending ouer. " But bearing theis things as wee might, wee beganne to consult of the place of our sitting downe ; ffor Salem, where wee landed, pleased vs not. And to that purpose some were sent to the Bay, to search vpp the rivers for a convenient place, who, vppon their returne, reported to haue found a good place vppon Mistick. But some other of us second- ing theis to approoue or dislike of their judgement, wee found a place liked [of] vs better, three leagues vp Charles River. And therevppon vnshipped our goods into other vessels, and, with much cost and labour, brought them in July to Charles Towne. But there receiving advertise- ments by some of the late arriued shipps from London and Amsterdam of some French preparations against us (many of our people brought with vs beeing sick of ffeavers and the scurvy, and wee thereby vnable to carry vp our ordinance and baggage soe farr), wee were forced to change counsaile and for our present shelter to plant dispersedly ; some at Charles Towne, which standeth on the north side of the mouth of Charles Riuer , some on the south side thereof, which place we named Boston (as wee intended to haue done the place wee first resolued on) ; some of vs vppon Mistick, which we named Meadford ; some of vs westward on Charles River, four miles from Charles Towne, which place wee named Watertoune ; others of vs two miles from Boston, in a place wee named Rocksbury ; others vppon the riuer of Sawgus, betweene Salem and Charles Towne ; and the western men four miles south from Boston, at a place wee named Dorchester. " This dispersion troubled some of vs, but help it wee could not, wanting ability to remoue to any place fit to build a Toune vppon, and the time too short to deliberate any longer least the winter should sur- prise vs before wee had builded our houses. The best counsel wee could find out was to build a fort to retire to, in some conuenient place, if any enemy pressed therevnto, after wee should haue fortifyed ourselues against the iniuries of wett and cold. So, ceasing to consult further for that time, they who had health to labour fell to building, wherein 12 90 HISTORY OF BOSTON. [163b many were interrupted with sicknes, and many dyed weekley, yea, almost dayley. Amongst whom were Mrs. Pinchon, [lady of the Hon- orable William Pinchon],* Mrs. Coddington [lady of the Honorable William Coddington], Mrs. Phillips [wife of Mr. George PhiUips, first mhiister of Watertown], Mrs. Alcock, sister of Mr. Hookers [wife of Deacon John Alcock]. Insomuch that the shippes beeing now vppon their returne, some for England, some for Ireland, there was, I take it, not much less than an hundred (some think many more), partly out of dislike of our government, which restrained and punished their excesses, and partly through feare of famine, (not seeing other means than by their labour to feed themselves), which returned back [to England] again. And glad were wee so to bee ridd of them. Others, also, afterwards hearing of men of their owne disposition, which were planted at Piscataway, went from vs to them, whereby, though our numbers were lessened, yet wee accounted ourselues nothing weakened by their remouall. " Before the departure of the shipps, we contracted with Mr. Peirce, master of the Lyon, of Bristow, to returne to vs with all speed, with fresh supplies of victualls, and gaue him directions accordingly. With this shipp returned Mr. Revil, one of the fine vndertakers here for the joint stock of the Company ; and Mr. Vassall, one of the Assistants, and his family ; and also Mr. Bright, a minister sent hether the yeare before.! * Though the name of thia important and dated 15 July, 1636. His son, the Hon. John worthy gentleman is very often found written Pynchon, became an eminent man in New Pinchon, his own signature in my possession England. In 1675 he owned the ship John^s is Pynchon, as the fac-simile here inserted Adventure, which sailed out of Boston, and of shows . which Captain John Walley was master. — See ^ . Old Indian Chronicle, 34. ,-.—-- — "^Zf/t xS^ Cl,*^ /^'V**^>5t^M-. t Hubbard, in his characteristic manner, ^J^ / thus remarks upon the return of Mr. Bright, ^, . . . , n . . 1 r. ii whom he denominates a " godly minister " : — This IS copied from an original paper of the „ jj^ ^^ ^o hew stone? in the mountains date 1650. Farmer has given a pedigree of his therewith to build ; but when he saw all sorts family in his N E. henealog. Reg He of stones would not suit in the building, as he was one of the fathers of Roxbury, and after- g, oggd, he, not unlike Jonah, fled from the wards of Springfield. — bee Ellis Hist. Rox- p^^^'ence of the Lord, and went down to Tar- iMr-y,and Bliss' ^^s<. Disc at Springfield, ^hi^h." _//«/. Ncru England, 113. This, He was very highly respected in the colony however, is only an improvement upon a pas- and IS uniformly mentioned in the Springfield of Johnson. - See Wonder-working Prov., records, as the "Worshipful Mr. William %_ Edward Johnson may be regarded as Pynchon, &c In these pages his name often ^ contemporary historian, being one of those occurs, and always in honorable connection. ^^^ ^^^^ ^^^/j^ lg30 ^^^ ^°g ^^ Charles- His family was one of dis inction m England ^^^ ^j^j^ Winthrop the same year, and was The flither of Henry Chichele, Archbishopjjf ^^^ ^f ^j^^ ^^^ J^^^^^^ ^f Woburn, which Canterbury, married / liam Pynchon, Gent. Canterbury, married Agnes, daughter of Wil- ^^^^ j^^ represented in the General Court The father, IhomaS «Knnf f«r.r,f,L;n.l,f ^an.« fvnmKUS TTpnsPrI 7.U- u / ; X,-' 1, ^ • XT 7u ^""'"'^" about twenty-eight years, from 1643. He used Chichele, of Higham Ferrers, in Northampton- ^^y^^ called onl of the " men of Kent," and shirc, died 20 February 1400 -bee Wood's ^ « Kentish Captain;" having come from a Hist and ArUiqmties of the Colleges, &c., of ^^^^ ^^^^^ Herne-HiU in that county. His Oxford, 1. 2d9 -if- G^ch, 178b. I know history of New England, usually ci'ed not, however, that this William Pynchon was as the Wonder-working Providence, was printed in even remotely connected wi h our William London in 1655. Captain Johnson died 23 Pynchon. The original deed of Springfield j^ -^ ^^^^ ^^ ^2, as by MS. deposition in from the Indians to Mr. Pynchon is preserved j^£. pogggggion in the Court House in that town. It was "^ " 1630.] ALxVRMLXG MORTALlTi'. 91 " The shipps beeinge gone, victualls wastinge, and mortallity in- creasinge, wee held diuerse flists in our severall congregations, but the Lord would not yet be depricated ; for, about the beginning of Septem- ber, dyed Mr. Gager, a right godly man, a skillfull chirurgeon, and one of the deacons of our congregation ; and Mr. Higginson, one of the ministers of Salem, a zealous and profitable preacher, this of a con- sumption, that of a feaver. And on the thirtieth of September dyed Mr. Johnson, another of the fine Vndertakers (the Lady Arbella, his wife, being dead a month before).* This gentleman was a prime man amongst vs, haueing the best estate of any ; zealous for religion, and the greatest furtherer of this plantation. He made a most godly end, dy- ing willingly, professing his life better spent in promoting this planta- con, than it would have beene in any other way. Within a month after, dyed Mr. Rositer, another of our Assistants, a godly man, and of a good estate, which still weakened vs more, so that there now were left of the fine Vndertakers, but the Gouernour, Sir Richard Saltonstall, and my- self, and seuen other of the Assistants. And of the people who came ouer with vs, from the time of their setting saile from England, in April, 1630, vntill December followinge, there dyed by estimacon, about two hundred, at the least. So lowe hath the Lord brought vs."t * She died about the thirtieth of August, think, were I not to allow a man of Governor according to Winthrop, who agrees with Dud- Dudley's importance to tell things as he saw ley that she died " about a month " before her and knew them ; being one of those who wrote husband. Mr. Hubbard notices the sad event " with his hands to the plow," and tells us In his usual happy manner. " Amongst things nowhere else to be found. He wrote others," he says, " that were at that time within the year of settlement, and his letter, visited with mortal sickness, the Lady Arbella, which accompanied his Narrative, is dated the wife of Mr. Isaac Johnson, was one, who, "Boston in New England, March 12th, 1G30," possibly, had not taken the counsel of our which was 1631, N. S. It was directed " To Saviour, to sit down and consider what the the righte honourable, my very good Lady, the cost would be before she began to build ; for. Lady Bryget, Countesse of Lincoln." It was coming from a paradise of plenty and pleasure, sent over to her in the care of Mr. Wilson, which she enjoyed in the family of a noble pastor of the First Chui-ch , who sailed from Earldom, into a wilderness of wants, it proved Salem, April 1st, 1031. That all which can too strong a temptation for her ; so as the vir- be known of its origin may be before the tues of her mind were not able to stem the reader, said letter follows entire : tide of those many adversities of her outward „ ^^^^^ _ ^^^^ y^^^ ^^^^^^ ^^^ ^^^ ^^^^^^ ^^ condition, wnich she, soon alter her arrival, cheape), following mee hether into New England, and saw herself surrounded withal ; for, within a bringeing with them renewed testimonies of the ao- short time after, she ended her days at Salem, customed favours you honoured mee with in the Old, where she fii-st landed, and was soon after liaue drawne from mee this Narrative retribucon, solemnly interred, as the condition of those (^^i<=^ i^ "^^spect of yonr proper interest in some ti.y,P« wnnl.1 hpqr " — Hht N Kmrlmid 1 '\%- Persons of great note amongst vs), was the thankful- times wouia bear. ilist. iV. M^nglana, lo^ j^^^ ^^^^^^ j j^^^ ^.^ ^^^^ ^^^^ ^^^ ^^^^_ Therefore I 3. Why has there not been a monument to humblie intreat your Honour, this bee accepted as designate the place where she lies ; The spot payment from him, who neither hath nor is any more is, or was recently, well known. The late Dr. than your honour's old thankful servant, liolyoke, of Salem, when he was ninety-nine Thomas Dudley." years of age, namely, in 1828, the year before What I have above denominated as a Nar- he died, told Dr. Abiel Holmes that she was rative, is always cited as " Dudley's Letter to buried about half a mile from " the body of the the Countess," &c. The short epistle here town," near Bridge street, which leads to extracted may be considered a Dedication to Beverley, about ten feet from the street. — See the Narrative or Letter, the best edition of Amer. Annals, i. 206. which is that printed by Mr. Force, of Wash- f Though in this long extract many facts are ington, from a MS. The commencement of the brought in a little out of place, yet I should Narrative, or the first paragraph of it, sets not be pardomd by any intelligent reader, I forth, in a most striking manner, the wants of 02 HISTORY OF BOSTON. [1630. CHAPTER XI. Removal of Winthrop and his Company to Cliarlestown. — Sickness and Distress of the People. — Fast in Consequence. — First Church formed. — Rev. John Wilson. — First Election. — Winthrop chosen Governor. — First Court of Assistants. — William Blackstone. — Account of him. — His Point, House and Spring. — He removes to Rehoboth. — Blackstone River named for him. — Shaw- niut settled, and named Boston. — First Ordination. — Trimountain, why so named. — Death of Isaac Johnson. — Account of him. Having determined on a removal from Salem, and having fixed upon the point of land since called Charlestown* (in honor of Charles I.), for a town, Grovernor Winthrop, Sir Richard Saltonstall, Mr. Isaac " ^ Johnson, Mr. Thomas Dudley, Mr. Roger Ludlow, Mr. Increase Nowell, Mr. William Pynchon, Mr. Simon Bradstreet, Mr. John Wil- son, Mr. George Phillips, with their followers, took up their present abode there accordingly ;J not all at the same time, but as fast as accommodations for them could be made ; which removal very probably occupied a considerable part of the present month, and a large part of the following August. The governor and several of the patentees dwelt in the " Great House," which was built the year before by Mr. Thomas Graves, while the multitude set up cottages, booths and tents, about the Town Hill. From the length of their passage over the Atlantic, many arrived sick of the scurvy, which much increased after their arrival, for want of houses, and by reason of wet lodgings ; other distempers also prevailed. And, although the people were generally very loving and pitiful to one another, yet the sickness did so prevail, that the well were not able to a naw country, and his own ability to encoun- frontice piece thereof, is like the head, neck ter its privations. It here ensues : and shoulders of a man, onely the pleasant "For the satisfacon of your honour and some and navigable river of Mistick runs through frcinds, and for vse of such as shall hereafter intend the right shoulder thereof. It hath a large to increase our plantacon in New England, I have in ^Market Place near the water side, built round the throng of domestic, and not altogether free from with houses, comely and faire, forth of which publique businesse, thought fitt to comit to memory there issues two streetes orderly built with our present condition, and what hath befallen us ^^^^^ ^^^ f^ire houses, beautified with pleas- snice our arrivall here ; which I will doe shortly, „„. „„„a^„„ „„ j ^„^u^«a„ tu^ ™u„i„ f „ after my usual manner, and must doe rudely, haveing ^^^ gardens and orchards. The whole towne yet no table, nor other room to write in than by the Consists m its extent of about 150 dwelling fireside, upon my knee, in this sharp winter; to houses." — Wonder-working Prov., 'iO, 41. which my family must have leave to resorte, though f " But to goe on with the story, the 12 of they break good manners, and make mee many times July or thereabout, 1630, these souldiers of forget what I would say, and say what I would not." Christ first set foote one this western end of There was published, in 1848, a volume the world; where arriveing in safety, both containing a Genealogy of the Dudley Family, men, women and children. On the north side by Mr. Dean Dudley. of Charles River they landed," &c. —Johnson, * "This towne of Charles," says Johnson, Wond.-work. Prov., 37. Prince, Chronohgy, about 1650, "is situated one the north side 240, oWe^^i^zora, seems a little in doubt whether of Charles River, from whence it tooke its Johnson meant this date for the time of the name ; the river being about five or six fathom removal to Charlestown, or the arrival at deepe. Over against the town, many small Salem just a month before. I am clearly of islands lieing to the seaward of it, and hills the opinion that he means just what he says, one either side. By which meanes it proves and for several reasons, not necessary to be a very good harbor for ships, which hath stated. caused many seamen and merchants to sit J Prothingham, from Charlestown Town Rec- down thTre. The forme of this tovene in the ordf. 1630.] GREAT DISTRESS FIRST CHURCH FORIVIED. 93 take care of the sick as their cases required ; and thus many " perished and died," and were buried about the Town Hill. * Fewer dismal and darker days did the first settlers of Boston witness than those which they passed at Charlestown, and which soon deter- mined them to remove to this since famous peninsula. "In almost every family, lamentation, mourning and woe were heard, and no fresh food to be had, to cherish them. It would assuredly have moved the most lockt up affections to tears, had they past from one hut to another, and beheld the piteous case these people were in ; and that which added to their present distresse was the want of fresh water. For, although the place did afford plenty, yet for present they could finde but one spring, and that not to be come at, but when the tide was down."! This want of water, as will presently be seen, was a principal cause of a removal to Shawmut. In consequence of the great sickness and mortality at their "^ ■ new place of abode, a fast had been recommended by Mr. Win- throp to be kept there on the thirtieth of July ; and Mr. Isaac Johnson came up from Salem to join in the solemnity. The same day a church was formed, a covenantj entered into ; and this was the foundation of the First Church of Boston. The first members were, Mr. Winthrop, Mr. Dudley, Mr. Johnson, and Mr. Wilson, afterwards their minister. § Two days after, five others joined the same church, namely : August 1. ^j^ Nowell, Mr. Thomas Sharp, Mr. Bradstreet, Mr. William Gager, and Mr. William Colborn, " who, with others, quickly added, chose Mr. Wilson for their pastor." The settlement of Charlestown was now progressing, and Mr. Winthrop was diligently preparing timber fur a house for himself and family. A o- t 23 Meanwhile, it was resolved to have an election of officers at ° ' the new settlement of Charlestown, notwithstanding Mr. Win- * Frothingham, from Charlestown Town Rec- ^ The biographical dictionaries of 'EViot and ords. Allen are suflSciently full on this eniinert man, f Johnson, Wonder-working Providence, 38, and Farmer has some account of his peoigree. 39. His father, William Wilson, D. D., was pre- X The first Church Covenant of Charlestown bend of Rochester, and his mother was niece and Boston may very properly be looked for in to Edmund Grindal, the famous Archbishop this history. It therefore follows. I have of Canterbury. He was born at Windsor, taken it as it stands in Mr. Foxcroft's Century County of Berks, in the year of the Spanish Ai-, Sermon, preached to the First Church "Aug. mada, 1588. He married Elizabeth, daughte,.* 23, 1730. Being the last Sabbath of the first of Sir John Mansfield. John Mansfield, who Century since its settlement." settled in Charlestown, was her brother, and " We whose names are here under vrritten, Ann, wife of Capt. Robert Keayne, of Boston, being by his most wise and good Providence was her sister. Mr. Wilson died in Boston , brought together into this part of America, in 7 August, 1667. The Rev. John Wilson, of the Bay of Massachusetts, and desirous to Medfield, was his son; he died 23 August, unite ourselves into one Congregation or Church 1691, set. 70. — See N. E. Hist, and Gen. under the Lord Jesus Christ our Head, in such Reg., vi. 156. sort as becometh all those whom he hath re- The following fac-simile of the autograpii deemed and sanctified to himself, DO hereby of Mr. Wilson is from that published by Mr. solemnly and religiously (as in his most holy Frothingham. Presence) promise and bind ourselves to walk in all our ways according to the Rule of the O /\ Gospel, and in all sincere Conformity to his ^VQ'^ ■Vi^Cli£/A»^ holy Ordinances, and in mutual Love and Re- ^J cL7^ IW.*^OVt« spect, each to other, so near as God stall give us grace.'" 94 HISTORY OF BOSTON. [1630. throp and his associates had before been elected to office by the Com- pany in England. * But now everything wore a new aspect ; many of the people here, as well as the immediate emigrants, probably, desired the formality of an election, as a matter which they could much readier realize than they could the action of a Corporation in England, about which they may not have had any very satisfactory urderstanding, or whose authority they may have thought would be questionably exercised in tliis distant land. However tliis may be, an election was held "aboard the Arrabella, the twenty-third of August, when the much honoured John Winthrope, Esq., was chosen Governour for the remain- der of the year, 1630 ; also the worthy Thomas Dudly, Esq., was chosen Deputy Grovernour, and Mr. Simon Brodestreet, Secretary."! This being over, a court was organized, which proceeded to consider how the mniisters were to be maintained ; when it was ordered that houses should be built for them at the public charge. Mr. Wilson and Mr. Phillips only were provided for at this time. The former was to have twenty pounds a year until his wife should come over, and the lat- ter to receive thirty pounds a year. It was further ordered by the same court that Thomas Morton, of Mount Wollaston, be sent for presently ; and that carpenters, joiners, bricklayers, sawyers and thatchers, take no * I can see no possible grounds for explain- ing away this election, so circumstantially recorded by Johnson, in his Wonder-working Providence. Mr. Winthrop undoubtedly con- sidered it of no legal importance, and hence only wrote in his journal, "Monday we kept a court. ' ' He may have iDeen somewhat dis- pleased on finding it necessary to submit to such an election. This may account for his neglect to make entries in his journal ; for neglect it he did, an entire week, with the ex- ception of the single entry above extracted. It is not altogether improbable, perhaps, that a removal to Boston may have had some spe- cial influence in bringing about the election. In a letter which Winthrop wrote at Charles- town, and which Mr. Johnson received at Salem on July 25th, he speaks of the people being in "three distinct bodies," (by which Prince thinks he means Charlestown, Dorches- ter and Salem,) " not then intending rashly to })roceed to the choice of officers," &c. I appre- lend that this refers to the election stated by Johnson ; but it is not very clear what is meant, nor is the letter in other respects at all intelligible ; — very different from Winthrop's writings generally. There is another consid- eration : before this election, very little busi- ness appears to have been ordered or executed under the special direction of AVinthrop. We hear of no reading of commissions, assuming the government, &c. The real state of the case doubtless is, that Winthrop modestly declined all interference with the affairs under Endicott ; there being no cause of dissatisfac- tion with him among those under his govern- inent. Tiiis was the plain course of a mag- nanimous mind, and well accords with the unassuming character of Winthrop. But, on removing to Charlestown, it became necessary that the people should know who Avere their leaders, and whom they were to obey. Hence the necessity of an election. Had Mr. Win- throp assumed the government on his arrival at Salem, he would, in all probability, have recorded so important an event in his journal ; nor would his induction into office have been overlooked, in days when formalities were con- sidered of great importance. Besides, even the charter may have been referred to, as authority for this election of officers. See ante, p. 63. And then it must be considered that, only the preceding April [1G29], the Company thus instructed Mr. Endicott : — " Wee haue, in prosecution of that good opin- ion wee haue alway had of you, confirmed you Gouernour of our plantacon ;" and on the 28th of the next May, writing him again, this lan- guage is held: — "Wee haue sithence our last, and according as wee then advised, at a full and ample Court assembled, ellected and established you, Captaine John Endicott, to the place of present Gouernour in our Planta- con there." And, after the election of Mr. Winthrop as governor of the Company, and a removal of the government had been settled, it does not appear, from the Company's rec- ords, that Mr. Endicott's government was to be interfered with. See ante, p. 70. The rec- ords expressly say, "It is conceeved fitt that Captain Endicott continue the Goueriuuent there [in N. England] vnless iust cause to the contrarie " appear. t Johnson, Won.-ioorlc Prov., 38-9. 1630.] WILLIAM BLACKSTONE. 95 more than two shillings a day, wages. By non-observance of this order, the parties each subjected themselves to a fine of ten shillings. Notwithstanding the resolution of the principal men to build their chief town at Charlestown, the discouragements attendant on sickness and death caused many to be restless, and to think of other localities.* And, in the mean time, Mr. William Blackstone, who lived on Shaw- mut, became acquainted with their distresses, and, going over to their relief, advised them to remove to his peninsula. His advice was kindly received, and began to be followed soon after ; so that, before the end of August, many of those at Charlestown had passed over to Shawmut, and began to make improvements and preparations for the rest to fol- low, t This Mr. Blackstone, of whom mention has before several times been made, appears to have lived here alone, having come over, probably, with Captain Robert Gorges, or about 1623, and may have possessed Shawmut by lease or purchase from Gorges.| It is not, however, very important when he came, or how he came to be possessed of lands here, so long as it is certain that he had a good title to what he had, which was acknowledged by the settlers under Winthrop, who, in due time, bought his lands of him, and he removed out of the jurisdiction of Mas sachusetts. Blackstone had a house or cottage, in which he lived ; and the nature of his improvements was such as to authorize a belief that he had resided here seven or eight years. He was one of those people who preferred solitude to society, and his theological notions corresponded with those habits of life. When he invited Winthrop to come over to his side of th(^ river, he probably had no thought of a removal himself; for he did not remove until about four years later. His selling out and leaving Boston were no doubt occasioned by his desire to live more retired, as well as to a dislike of his Puritan neighbors, § whom, it is * " This caused several to go abroad upon And, as mil be shown by the records here- discovery; some went without the Neck of after, he had lands set off to him, which this town, who travelled up into the main till would not have been the case had his owner- they came to a place well watered, whither ship of the peninsula been fully acknowledged. Sir Richard Saltonstall, Knt., and Mr. Phil- His case was precisely that of Oldham, Sir lips, minister, Avent with several others, and William Brereton, and others, with this differ- settled a plantation, and called it Watter- . ence : Blackstone was on his ground in per- towue. Others went on the other side of son. He doubtless made the best terms he Charles River, and there travelled up into the could with a power he could not resist success- country, and likewise finding good waters, fully. His grant of territory here was supe- settled there with Mr. Ludlow, and called the rior to others, or to the most of those who plantation Dorchester." — Charlestoivn Records, came with Winthrop. It consisted of fifty f "The Peninsula," says Shaw, "was, in acres, which was about one fifteenth of the all respects, the most eligible site for a forti- whole of Shavnuut. It will be remembered fied town in the country; and it is strange that Sir William Brereton was offered a " share that Dudley, who was a soldier by profession, with the rest," if he came over ; but as to any and had served as a Captain at the siege of right, derived from others, of territory in !Mas- Amiens, under Henry IV., did not prefer it" sachusetts, none was acknowledged, at first. — Descript. of Boston, 40. ^ Lechford, in his Plain Dealing, says tliat J This is extremely probable ; and why he Blackstone removed from Boston " because ho was not driven off, as Walford afterwards was, would not join with the Church. He lives was doubtless owing to the kind ofiices which near Mr. AVilliams, but is far from his opin- he extended to those in authority, and not ion." Lechford was a churchman, making himself in any way obnoxious to them. 96 HISTORY OF BOSTON. [1630 said, he told that " he left England because of his dislike of the Lord- Bishops, but now he did not like the Lord-Brethren."* He is sup- posed to have been a graduate of Emanuel College, Cambridge, A. B. 1617, A. M. 1621, t and some have denominated him a clergyman of the Church of England. | In 1634 he removed to Rehoboth, where he lived till the twenty-sixth of May, 1675, the date of his death ; and he was also the first settler within the original limits of Rehoboth, since Attleborough Gore, on the banks of Blackstone River, so named for him. A hill to which he used to resort, at certain seasons, for study and con- templation, still bears the name of Study Hill ; a few rods from the base of which were lately to be seen the remains of his well, its stoning nearly entire ; and, a few rods from the well, the grave of this singular man. The place of Blackstone's retreat, on the banks of the noble river which bears his name, was as secluded as at Shawmut, before the arrival of Winthrop. And here, as at Shawmut, he had fine gardens, orchards and meadows ; and here, as at that place, his were the first apples ever produced in these respective places. In 1765, several of his apple-trees remained, and bore fruit ; and, in 1836, three trees were standing, in appearance very old, and "probably grew from the sprouts of those planted by Blackstone." § William Blackstone was not only the first known white settler of Boston, but to him is due the credit of the settlement under Winthrop. This was acknowledged in the lifetime of the former, as shown in the records of Charlestown, in these words : || "Mr. Blackstone, dwelling on the other side of Charles River, alone, to a place by the Indeans called Shawmutt, where he only had a cottage at, or not fiir off the place called Blackstone's Point, IF he came and acquainted the Governor * Mather, Magnolia, B. iii., p. 7, who thus concluding that nothing satisfactory could be introduces Blackstone: — "There were also found. some godly Episcopalians; among whom has J This wovild rather appear from Edward been reckoned Mr. Blackstone ; who, by hap- Johnson's notice of him, who, speaking of pening to sleep first in an old hovel upon a Mr. Bright and Blackstone in connection, says, point of land there, laid claim to all the ground derisively, " The one betooke him to the seas whereupon there now stands the Metropolis again, and the other, Mr. Blaxton, to till the of the whole English America, until the inhab- land, retaining no simbole of his former pro- itunts gave him satisfaction. ' ' fession, but a canonical cote. ' ' — Wonder-ioork. t lie married Mary Stevenson, 4 July, 1659. Prov., 20. — With this before him, Mr. Hub- Slie was the widow of John Stevenson, of Bos- bard makes considerable improvement. He ton. and they were married by Gov. Endicott. calls him a clergyman, and says " he betook i\lrs. Blackstone died two years before her bus- himself to till the ground, wherein probably band, namely, June, 1673, Mr. Blackstone he Avas more skilled, or at least had a better left one son, whose posterity, I am informed faculty, than in the things pertaining to the l)y gentlemen of credibility in Rhode Island, house of God," &c. — Hist. N. Eng., 113. are somewliat numerous in that state at the ^ For many of the above facts I am indebted present day. It is said that the late Presi- to Mr. Bliss' excellent History of Rehoboth, dent Kirkland was in some way related to the and to Mr. Daggett's valuable History of Attle- family of Blackstone, and that, a few years borough. l)efi)re his death, he made a journey to Cum- || I use Mr. Frothingham's transcript of bei'land, for the purpose of finding his grave, those invaluable records, in all cases, with the and placing upon it a suitable monument ; most perfect confidence. but that the residents of whom he sought in- ^ As to the precise locality of Blackstone's formation being entirely ignorant of any such house, and his spring, not far from it, opin- pcrson, or his grave, he gave up his search, ions of people differ. But I am pretty well 1630. WILLIAM BLACKSTONE. 97 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, re- moved 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."* To this "memorable man," as to others before his time as well as since, justice will eventually be done. And though the noble City, whose foundation he laid, be the last to honor his name, it will one day, it is not to be doubted, pay the debt which it ov;es his memory with in- terest. Should not the principal street in the City bear his name ? ]Mr. Blackstone having died a month before the breaking out of Philip's War, he was spared the witnessing of the horrors of that dis- tressing period ; but the Indians ravaged his plantation, burnt up his buildings, and, what will ever be deeply deplored, his library, also. This was large and valuable for those days, and its loss to the history of Boston and to New England can never be known, f Four days after the first Court was held at Charlestown, MR. BLACKSTONE S RESIDENCE. August 27. the first ordination took place. J Mr. Wilson was ordained Pastor, or teaching Elder, over the church there, and also over that part of the the same church which had removed to Mr. Blackstone's side of the river. convinced that Blackstone's Point was that afterwards called Barton's Point, now near the northern termination of Leveret Street, and the Depot of the Lowell Rail Road. His point is easier located than his house or his spring. That there were many springs on this part of Shawraut, has always been dem.onstra- l)Ie. House No. 19, Poplar Street, covers a large spring, which, in 1838, afforded alsun- dance of water a considerable part of the year. This writer then occupied that house ; and this spring, it is not unlikely, was the identical spring near which Blackstone lived. What Shaw says in his Description of Boston, 103, agrees very well with this. " Black- stone's Spring," he observes, "is yet to be seen [about 1800] on the westerly part of the town, near the bay which divides Boston from Cambridge." * These records also say, that Mr. Win- throp's removal to Shawmut was " to the dis- content of some ;" of those probably who had begun to build, and to whom a removal Avould have been a serious loss. A further proof that this place was not thought of for a town until 13 Blackstone urged it, appears in the fact, that Winthrop had engaged to settle at NeAvtown, and had a house in process of building there at this time, which he also removed to Boston afterwards. f From the inventory of his effects, taken immediately after his decease, 28 May, 1G75, a copy of Avhich may be seen in Mr. Bliss' History of Rehoboth, p. 8, the inference in the text is drawn. The " ten paper books" enu- merated in the schedule, are conjectured to have been MSS. of great value, and that they might have throAvn light on his whole history, as well as that of the country for the fifty years in which he resided in it. — See Dr. Usher Parsons, in Holmes' Annals, i. 377. X " We of the congregation kept a flist, and chose Sir. Wilson our teacher, and Mr. Nowell an elder, and Mr. Gager and Mr. Aspiuwall deacons. We used imposition of hands, bat with this protestation by all, that it ^vas only as a sign of election and confirmation ; not of any intent that Mr. Wilson should renounce his ministry he received in England." — AVin- throp's Journal, i. 31 — 3. 98 HISTORY OF BOSTON. [1630. g^ ^ Many people having, by the seventh of September, taken up their residence on Shawmut,* a court was held on that day, which is called the Court of Assistants ; and this was the second court held at the new settlement of Charlestown. There were present the principal men from Sa- lem, Dorchester, and Watertown, though at the opening of this court the two last mentioned places were not so named. Among the orders passed, were the fol- lowing : — "Thomas Morton, of Mount Wollaston, shall presently be set in the bilbows, and after sent prisoner to Eng- land, by the ship called the Gift, now re- turning thither ; f that all his goods shall be seized to defray the charge of his transportation, payment of his debts, and JOHN WILSON. to give satisfaction to the Indians for a (ianoe he took unjustly from them ; and that his house be burnt down to the ground in sight of the Indians, for their satisfaction for many wrongs he has done them. Ordered, that no person shall plant in any place within the limits of this Patent, without leave from the Governor and Assistants, or major part of them ; | that a warrant shall presently be sent to Agawam to command those who are planted there, forthwith to come away ; And, that Trimountain § be called Boston ; || Mattapan, *The circumstance of the first party who ^" So called, I suppose," says Prince, "on landed in Boston from Charlestown, in 1630, is the account of the three contiguous hills ap- thus related by Mr. Loring in his Hundred pearing in a range to those at Charlestown." Boston Orators, p. 365 : " The ancestor of the — Another author, Shaw, says, " These were Pollard family, of Boston, was William Pol- not, however, Beacon, Copp's and Fort Hills, lard, whose wife, Anne, died 6th Dec, 1725, as generally supposed, but three little rising aged one hundred and five years, leaving of her hills on the top of a high mountain, at the offspring one hundred and thirty. She used north-west side of the town." — Description of to relate, that she went over in the first boat Boston, 50. " The high mountain," he ob- that crossed Charles river, to what has since serves, " as Wood calls it, is the high ground been called Boston, and that she was the first extending from the head of Hanover-street, that jumped ashore. She described the place south-westerly to the water, beyond the new as being at that time very uneven, abounding State House, the summit of which was since in small hollows and swamps, covered with called Beacon Hill, now [1800] almost levelled blueberry and other bushes." Mrs. Pollard's to its base." portrait, taken in 1723, when she was one || " Being now become a distinct town of hundred and three years old, has for some themselves, and retaining Mr. Wilson for their years past hung in a room over the Savings minister, afterwards called tlieir plantation Bunk in Tremont-street, in the occupation of Boston, with respect to Mr. Cotton, who came the ]Mass. Hist. Society, and was there depos- from a town in Lincolnshire so called, when ited by Isaac Winslow, Esq. — Ibid. he came in to New England." Dudley, as has f But he did not go in the Gift. The cap- been seen, assigns the same reason for naming tain of that ship, says Hubbard, not being Shawmut Boston. " And from the late Judge '^gifted that way, nor his ship neither." — Sewall, in comparison with the Charlestown Hist. N. England, 137. records, I learn that this town was settled J This order was especially to prevent peo- under the conduct of Mr. Johnson." — Prince, pie from settling in so scattered a manner as 316. to render themselves weak and unserviceable aa a whole, in tlie event of invasion. 1630. DEATH OF MR. ISAAC JOHNSON. Dorchester ; and the town upon Charles river, Watertown." * This last was called Pigsgusset, by the Indians.f _ .=— Although the seventh of September, ^^^^^fe^^5^^_ Old Style, is justly regarded as the date ^^^-^^ '--—~--^=—--_^ Qf t]^g £j,gj^ settlement of Boston, | yet it ^^' . -fr^=, was not till a month or more that the gov- ~ ernment was removed from Charlestown, g^ ^ where, on the twenty- eighth of September, the third Court of ^ Assistants was held. In the mean time, among other things, probably fortifica- ^ tions had been considered necessary to be at once erected ; for at this court an order passed for raising fifty pounds for TRuiouNTAiN. ^^^ ^gg ^f ^^^ Patrlck and Mr. Underbill, who were military men.§ The Indians may have shown signs of dis- satisfaction. In fact, if they did not manifest any jealousy at seeing their country overrun by such a singular race of people as the emigrants must have appeared to them to be, they must have been void of such feelings as were exhibited five-and-twenty years later by their neigh- bors bordering on the south of them. But merely common prudence may have caused the same court to order, that if any person permit an Indian to use a gun, on any occasion, he should pay a fine of ten pounds ; and that no person be allowed to give or sell any corn to an Indian, without license from the court. ^ Amidst the numerous trials which now beset this devoted ' people, no single blow had ever been witnessed which had cast such a gloom over them, as did the death of Mr. Isaac Johnson. He died at Boston, about two of the clock on the morning of this day. He was able to attend the court on the seventh of the month, but that was his last earthly court. It was Mr. Johnson who first favored Black- stone's proposal for a removal to this side of the river; and his improve- ments in the settlement, at the time of his death, were doubtless supe- rior to any other's on the place. His lot had been selected, and was that comprehended by School, Washington, Court and Tremont streets, at this time ; of course comprehending the Chapel burying-place. In the upper end of this lot, when on his death-bed, he desired to be buried ; and he was accordingly buried there. This was the first place of interment of the English at Boston, and it continues to be used as a * Prince's Chronology, 315. 5. Watertown, 11 8. Wessagascus, 2 \yNoSTos, and the Hundred of Skirbeck, in the Boston, very aptly observed: — "The Town County of Lincoln. With Engravings. By hath indeed three elder Sisters in this Colony, PisHET Thompsox." This work has for some but it hath wonderfully outgrown them all ; time been scarce, even in its place of publica- and her mother. Old Boston, in England, also." tion; and, as I am informed by my friend. By the "three elder Sisters" he probably Col. T. B. Lawrence, he found it difiScult to meant Salem, Charlestown and Dorchester ; procure a copy in Old Boston itself. It is not or, possibly, Charlestown, Dorchester and unlikely that inquiries for the work by our Roxbnry. — See Magnalia,^. i. 31. 1G30.1 ST. BOTOLPH S CHURCH. 103 judging from the following facts : The parish register of Old Boston sho^YS that in 1614 there were thirty marriages, eighty-four baptisms, and eighty-three burials ; while in 1714, just one hundred years later, there were thirty-one marriages, ninety-nine baptisms, and one hundred and thirty-one deaths.* One of the most famous and interest- ing objects of ancient Boston is St. Bo- tolph's church, rendered doubly famous to the people here for its having been the church of which Mr. John Cotton was vicar twenty-one years -,] and from which he was obliged to fly to New England. This church was described one hundred and thirty-four years ago J as "beautiful and large, the tower of which is so very high as to be the won- der of travellers, and the guide for mar- iners at a great distance. It is looked upon as the finest in England, and is 280 foot high, or better, and was begun to be built at midsummer, 1309, dame Margaret Tilney laying the first stone. The length of the church is equal to the height of the steeple, ninety-four yards. There are 365 steps, fifty-two windows, and twelve pillars, which are designed to parallel the days, weeks and months, of the year." Its handsome tower was built after the model of that of the great church at Antwerp. At the summit of this tower is a beautiful lantern, for a guide to seamen, which can be seen forty miles. It was a figurative saying of some of the pilgrims who settled this Boston, that the lamp in the lantern of St. Botolph's ceased to burn when Cotton left that church, to become a shinin< ness of New England. || St. Botolph's has no galleries, and yet it will contain five thousand persons, as estimated at the obsequies of the late Princess Charlotte. The nave is lofty and grand ; the ceiling, representing a stone vault- ST. botolph's CHVRCH, BOSTOX, EXGLAXD.i^ fight in the wilder- mg, is said to be of Irish oak. It consists of fourteen groined arches with light spandrils, which, by their elegant curves, intersections and embowments, produce a beautiful effect. The upper part of the nave is lighted by twenty-eight clerstory windows, between the springs of * There was a return of the population in ^ From a splendidly engraved view in 17G8, 3470 ; in 1801, 5926 ; in 1811, 8113 ; Thompson's work. in 1831, 11,240 ; in 1841, 34,680. — Dugdale, || " Both Bostons hare reason to honor his vt supra, City Doc. No. 63. Note hj Hon. J. P. memory ; and New England-Boston most of Bigelow, and Gorton's Topog. Did. aU, which oweth its name and being to him, f From 1612 to 1633. — Thompson's Colkc- more than to any one person in the world."' — tions, p. 86. Dr. Increase Mather. X In the Magna Britannia, Antiqua et Nova, ut supra. 104 HISTORY OF BOSTON. [1630. the arches. The chancel, which is spacious and lofty, has on each side ranges of stalls, the scjits of which are ornamented with grotesque carv- ings ; over these formerly were canopies, highly embellished with foli- age and fret-work. The altar is of oak, in the Corinthian order. Such was the splendid and magnificent church of St. Botolph's, in which many of the Mhcrs of "New England-Boston" had been wont to worship, and which they had looked upon with pious reverence, and which they justly remembered as one of the chief glories of their native land. But at the period of their emigration a great change had com- menced ; they be- gan to consider extravagance in architecture and dress as very wick- ed, and disap- proved of by the God they intended to honor by such extravagance. In A CATHOLIC GENTLEMAN.* order to appreci- ate, in some de- A PROTESTANT GENTLEMAN. gree, the change spoken of, people of these times can contrast St. Bo- tolph's, not with the rude church prepared for Mr. Wilson, but with most New England churches before the American Revolution. The Friends of modern times are not more opposed to show and ostentation than were the early Pilgrims of New Eng- land. These, indeed, very nearly ap- proached the Quakers in all matters of dress, buildings, furniture and equip- ages. Soon after the Puritans became detached from the established church, their dress designated them ; as much so as did the dress of the Friends dis- tinguish them afterwards from the Puri- tans. Many regard some of the fashions in dress of this century as highly ridiculous and absurd ; but extremes in these matters are nothing Wilson's church. f * This and the opposite engraving are accu- and intimations as can be gathered from the rate copies from prints in the exceedingly rare early writers. It is said to have had mud M'ork of Bishop Caiieton, " A Thankiull Re- walls and a thatched roof, which is about the- MEMBRANCE OF God's Mercies," 4to, LondoD, extent of all that has been said about it. As 1626. to its length, breadth and height, there is not f This view of the first church erected in a syllable which I remember to have seen. Boston is, of course, from such descriptions Its location will be described hereafter. 1630.] THE ENGLISH CLERGY. 105 now compared with what they were in those days, when shoes were twice the length of the foot, or so long as to prevent "kneeling at devotions in God's house," as one of those times is reported to have said. Fashions in all times probably began among the rich, and with those in high official stations. The practice Avas, of course, imitated by the common people ; and, though very natural, it was, on the whole, a very detrimental imitation. Even the clergy rendered themselves obnoxious by their foppery in dress, which was one object of complaint among the Puritans ; and many of their other practices were in keeping with minds influenced by such frivolity. To notice but a single instance, — the investigations at Belvoir Castle, by a committee of Parliament, in 1650-1; — that committee reported upon the incumbents of the church to this effect : "Weak and negligent;" — "no preacher;" — " negligent and scandalous ;" — " negligent, and suspected of popery ;" — "corrupt in doctrine;" — "a bare reader, and no minister;" — "weak pluralitan, non-resident, altogether negligent and scandalous." This is proba1)ly a specimen of the reports for the whole commonwealth of England. But Episcopalians, even of this age, pronounce the judg- ment of the parliamentary committee more unjust than the practices they condemned. But it must not be denied that there was much to be complained of, and which even the profligacy of Charles the Second could not overlook.* All experience has shown that to legislate upon apparel is idle and futile ; yet there may be other matters quite as futile which now occupy the time of legislators, and which will, in a few years, be viewed as wild and extravagant as it was for the early legislators of Boston to prescribe, by solemn enactments, the length which ladies might wear their hair, and how much of their necks and arms should be exposed to the gaze of the other sex. Good example, emanating from the good and great, will always exert a Avider and a better influ- ence, in matters of customs and habits, than all the compulsory laws that can be made. Thus Governor Winthrop says that, upon consider- ation of the inconveniences which had grown in England by drinking one to another, he restrained it at his own table, and wished others to do the like, so as it grew into disuse by little and little, f Winthrop had judgment, mildness and penetration ; and it is hardly to be doubted that his own opinion disapproved of many acts which his station com- pelled him to sanction at a later period. * " When he was at Newmarket, Nathaniel University, to cause the statutes concerning Vincent, D. D., Fellow of Clare Hall, and decency of apparel among the Clergy to be put chaplain to his Majesty, preached before him in execution, which was accordingly done." in a long periwig, and Holland sleeves. This — Strutt's Dresses and Habits, in The Book of foppery displeased the king, who commanded Costume, &c., p. 126. the Duke of Monmouth, then Chancellor of the f Journal, i. 37. 14 106 fflSTORY OF BOSTON. [1630. CHAPTER XIII. First General Court at Boston. — How constituted. — Privileges of Freemen. — Simon Bradstreet. — Reasons for Stringency in respect to Freemen. — Small Affairs comparatively Great. — Accidents ft-om Fires, Wolves, &c. — A Murder and Execution at Plymouth. — Corn obtained of the Indians at Narraganset. — The People in Danger of Famine. — Their Wants and Privations. — Capt. Roger Clap. — Arrival of a Ship with Provisions. — Arrival of the Handmaid. — Her severe Passage. — Reward for killing Wolves. — Ferry to Charlestown. — Oi-der to support Ministers. — Fines and Penalties. — Measures for a fortified Town. — Determine upon Newton. — Extreme Weather. — Disastrous Voyage of Puchard Garret. — Kindness of Indians. — Thomas Morton's Return to New England. — A Prisoner at Boston. — Again sent to England. Oct. 19. ITHERTO, the Courts had been held at Charles- town, probably in the " Great House " before mentioned; but now "the first General Court of the Massachusetts Colony" is held at Boston. In what kind of a building no mention is made ; it must have been in some very rude structure, as sufficient time had not elapsed to allow of the preparation of any shel- ter very commodious or complete. The per- sons composing this court were, Mr. "VVinthrop, Mr. Dudley, Sir R. Saltonstall, Mr. Ludlow, Mr. Endicott, Mr. Nowell, Mr. Pynchon and Mr. Bradstreet.* The denomination or title of the Court was, "The Governor, Deputy Governor, and Assistants."! It was now proposed that the Freemen should have the power of choosing Assistants, and the Assistants, from among themselves, to choose the Governor and Deputy Governor, who, together with the Assistants, were to have the power of making laws, and of choosing of&cers to exe- cute them. To all of which the people agreed. J At this court about one hundred and eight persons applied to be admitted as Freemen ;§ and the greater part of them probably were admitted to that station among their fellows in the Colony, which allowed * Bradstreet lived to be "the Nestor of NoAv England ;" dying at Salem in 1697, aged 93. There is an excellent biography of him ill Dr. Eliot's New Eng. Biographical Diction- ary. .Joshua Scottow dedicated his " Narra- tive of the Planting of the Massachusetts- Colony," &c., to him, in 1694. In this dedi- cation he says : " The long experience of your being the only surviving antiquary of us Nov Angles, the prime Secretary and Register of our civil and sacred records, and the bifronted Janus who saw the closure of the Old, and the overture of this New Albion world." He calls him one of the " nursing fathers of this out- cast Sion, whose name is embalmed to eter- nity ; that he had, through nine hard appren- ticeships of above 60 years' durance, in the service of his generation, and faithful dis- charge of that trust for so long a season, as hath rendered him a MOOT-MAN, to be dig- nified with the highest honor this people were capable to confer." Bradstreet was then 91 years of age, when Scottow dedicated his book to him ; and well he might, as he did, stylo him ''Our New England Nestor." Scottow spells the name Broadstreet, which was agree- able to the pronunciation of it. t See ante, p. 63 : also Prince, 320. j Speaking of the acts of the first court, in which an attempt was made to regulate the rate of wages, &c., Mr. Hubbard observes, " It being commonly found, that men gotten from under the reins of government, are but like cattle without a fence, which are thereby apt to run wild and grow unruly, without good laws." — Hist. New Eng., 146-7. ^ The most full and complete list of Free- men anywhere to be found is contained in the N. Eng. H. and Gen. Regr., vol. iii. In the same volume will also be found the oath pre- scribed for those admitted, '".'"''« "^""'■^^I's Published m Hartford, i^jr their flesh by peece-meales off their bones ; in 1790, noticed in a previous page (57), was published under i j.u x xi "^ ^ j. j the supervision of Mr. Webster. Of this I am assured, on as also that they were a strong and numerous the authority of Dr. Belknap, whose own copy of that edition people, and now coming, which made them I possess, with notes and corrections in his own hand, " here fl„„ i.„ xi l?,,„i:„u )» TnlmaAn ^A/'nnf^fir.^r and there inserted." No name of iSditor or Transcriber was ^^ ^^ tne ±.ngllsU. — dolmson, Woncler-W. printed in that impression. I^rov., p. 50. 1631.] CONTROVERSY WITH PLYMOUTH. 131 of Assistants now convened at Boston, on complaint of Chikataubut and his men, that Mr. Josias Pkiistowe had stolen four baskets of corn from them, he was ordered to return them eight baskets, pay a fine of five pounds, and hereafter to be called Josias, and not Mr. Josias, as for- merly, and thus "be degraded from the title of a gentleman." Two of his servants, being accessary, were ordered to be whipped. Their names were William Buckland and Thomas Andrew. But a short time previous, the Court entertained a complaint made by an Indian and his squaw, that a young white man had attempted to disturb their family relation by some overtures to the latter of an unjus- tifiable character. He was sentenced to be whipped, and was whipped accordingly, in the presence of the injured party, who " were very well satisfied." Governor Dudley writes* that, soon after the arrival of the colonists which came over in 1630, with Winthrop, himself, and other chief men of that company, for want of provisions to support their servants, many of them were allowed to go free, and maintain themselves as well as they could. Now, the want of those servants had become of serious inconvenience to those who had advanced some twenty pounds apiece to enable them to come to New England, and their masters were becom- ing every day better able to employ and support them. The Govern- ment at Boston had, or thought they had, reason to believe that many of those servants had gone to Plymouth, and were harbored by the peo- ple there ; therefore Mr. Winthrop, by virtue of his ofl&ce, wrote to JNIr. Bradford, the Governor of Plymouth, complaining that the people of Plymouth had entertained and were harboring the servants which be- longed to the people of Boston, f Out of this letter of Winthrop and his Council may have originated the ill-feeling and jealousy which existed at this period at Plymouth, and caused its Governor to deny the people of Massachusetts the privilege of trading for corn with the Indians at Cape Cod,| as they had done the previous year. However this may be. Governor Bradford wrote in answer to that letter of Winthrop, after considerable delay, § for which he apologizes, and says that they of Plymouth are willing to correspond with the Authorities of Bostoix upon " this or any other naborly course, so farr as may no way be prejudiciall to any, or swarue from y^ rules of equitie." The Boston gentlemen intimated in the letter of complaint that an agreement or understanding had been made with Mr. Winslow ; but Mr. Winslow had gone to England, || and could not then be consulted ; therefore Bradford says they of Plymouth know nothing about any agreement with Mr. Winslow ; that their meaning and former practice * See ante, p. 89. ^ Date of Bradford's letter is " Feb. 6, t See Winthrop's Journal, i. 60. 1631." [1632, N. S.] X Inferences drawn from Gov. Bradford's || He sailed about the middle of July, 1631. reply to Winthrop. The letter of the latter — See Prmce, 357. which occasioned the reply I know not to be in existence. Winthrop's letter was dated July 2;3th. 1630. 132 HISTORY OF BOSTON. [1631 " was and hath been, only such as come to dwell and inhabit, whether as semants or free men, and not of sojournours, which come but for a seasone, with a purpose to returne." Yet, he says, "if any abuse should grow hereby, we shall agree to any good order for the preuent- ing or redressing of the same ; prouided the way be left open for pore men to releue their wants, and for mutuall help to both plantations. We have therefore giuen warning in open courte to all our people, not to receiue any as seruants or dwellers with them, but to acqvainte vs first therewith, that we may inquire of their certificates or dismisseons ; but we haue sett no penealtie vpon it as yett, because we hope ther shall be noe need, if ther be, we haue libertie to punish such things at our discretions. If that will not serue, when we vnderstand what pen- ealtie you appointe in the case, we shall doe y^ like, or y' which shall be equivelente vnto it. As for the instances you giue, we find that John Philips, when he came, was sicke, and if he had not been by some received to house, he had been in danger to haue perished. He aledged he was sent by his maister to seeke a seruise ; yet as a seruente he was not entertained by any, till his maister came and sould his time ; not to him y' gave him house roame, but to him that would giue most. So he had no cause to complaine. [As] for John Pickworth, he came but as a sojournour, to worke for a few weeks, in which time he goate a wife , and so is longe since returned duble, and hath no cause to complaine, except he hath goot a bad wife. Richard Church* came likewise, ass a sojournour, to worke for y^ present ; though he is still hear residente, longer then he purpossed ; and what he will doe, neither we, nor, I think him selfe, knowes ; but if he resolue here to setle, we shall require of him to procure a dismission ; but he did affirme to vs at y^ first, that he was one of Mr. Webb'sf men, and freed to goe for England, or whither he would ; J y" which we y^ rather beleued, because he came to vs frome Wessagusscusett upon y® faling out with his parttner. § [As] for others intimated, we know none, though we haue inquired, but they had a dismission, either to come hither, or goe for England. Now ther are diuerce goone from hence, to dwell and inhabite with you ; as Clement Brigges, John Hill, John Eedy, Daniel Ray, &c. ; the which, if either you, or they desire thir dismission, we shall be redy to giue them, hope- ing you will doe the like, in the like cases, though we haue heard something otherwise." II /? / / This letter was signed by p^i/![;K/n:£raCt^rthf<^ueT^ ♦ This was the ftither of Col. Benjamia Dudley speaks, as set at liberty because their Church, one of the most noted captains in the masters could not provide for them. — See Indian wars. For a very satisfactory note ante, p. 89. upon the father, see the N. Eng. Hist, and ^ Thomas Morton ? Church probably went Gen. Ueo-., ji. 243. to Plymouth while Morton was in power at f Mr. Francis Webb ? As is observed in the Mount WoUaston. Winthrop vrrote in July Gen. Regr., ut supra, this name in the origi- about the runaway servants, and in August nal stands " Welbs," but I think it was in- (1630) Morton was carried a prisoner to Bos- tended for " Webb's ;" and who but Francis? ton. if That is, he came over at the charge of || Taken from the original letter, aU ip Mr. Webb, and was one of those of whom Bradford's own hand. IG31.] A FEUD IN THE GOVERNMENT. 133 Myles Stanclish, Thomas Prence, Samuel Fuller, and John Alden. The four last were Assistants, and answered to the Governor and Council of later times. Mr. Winslow was another of the Assistants, whose name would no doubt have followed that of the Governor, had he been at home. As no more is heard about harboring runaway servants, the matter probably ended with Mr. Bradford's letter. It had been agreed, in December last, after a good deal of anxious deliberation among the officers of the government, to build a fortified town at Newton, as in its proper place has been mentioned. Accord ingly, several of the gentlemen built houses there this spring. * Mr. Winthrop probably saw that a fortified town in that place would be no advantage to the Colony whatever, and that Boston was daily increasing in importance. Therefore, about the beginning of November, the Gov- ernor caused his house at Newton to be taken down, conveyed to Bos- ton, and set up there. It appears not to have been finished, which is evidence that he did not intend to live in it at the former place, while Dudley had his finished, and his family actually in it. This proceeding of Mr. Winthrop caused Mr. Dudley to censure him for a want of good faith, and the other gentlemen were likewise dissatisfied with the rea- sons which Mr. Winthrop gave for not taking up his residence at New- ton ; and it must be confessed, that those reasons do, even now, look a little obnoxious to the charge of insincerity. He said he had performed his promise, inasmuch as he had a house up, and servants occupying it by the time appointed ; and hence, if he did remove it elsewhere, inune- diately, it did not affect his agreement ; and, besides, he had ))een reminded by the people of Boston, that he had promised them, when they settled with him here, that he should not leave them, and even Mr. Dudley himself had discouraged the people of Boston from settling at Newton, f Thus matters stood for a time ; the Governor and Deputy having suspended friendly intercourse. J At length, their mutual friends got * " On this spot a town was laid out in them are very rich, and well stored with cat- squares, the streets intersecting each other at tell of all sorts ; having many hundred acres right angles. All the streets were named, and of ground paled in with one generall fence, a square reserved for a Market Place, though which is about a mile and a halfe long." — not used for that purpose, remains open to this New England's Prospect, 33-4. day." — Rev. Dr. Holmes, Annals, i. 210. f See Hubbard, Gen. Hist, of New England, Mr. William Wood, who came to New Eng- 136. land probably in 1029, and left it in 1633, thus % '^^^ curious reader may desire to find, in speaks of " New-Towne, which is three miles this history, an account of some of the steps by land from Charles-Towne, and a league and taken in this singular case, by which he may a halfe by water. This place was first intended discern more clearly the real actions of the for a City, but upon more serious considera- actors in it. I therefore extract as follows tions it was not thought so fit, being too farre from Winthrop, giving him thereby the ad- from the Sea, being tlie greatest inconvenience vantage of ex f arte testimony. He says, " At it hath. This is one of the neatest and best a Court at Boston, 3 April, 1632 [held, I compacted Towns in New England, having believe, in the Governor's own house], the many faire structures, with many handsome Deputy, Mr. Dudley, went away before the contrived streets. The inhabitants most of Court was ended, and then the Secretary deliv- 134 HISTORY OF BOSTON. [1G31. them to submit the matter to Arbiters ;* these — though they determined that the Governor's conduct was, in some measure excusable, especially as he was ready to acknowledge his error — the Arbiters, therefore, de- cided that Mr. Winthrop should pay Mr. Dudley twenty pounds towards his expenses in building, or provide a minister for Newton, and con- tribute towards his maintenance. The Governor chose the former, and soon after forwarded the twenty pounds to Mr. Dudley. The Deputy-Governor, although proverbial for driving good bargains, in this affair gave a proof of his magnanimity, which will worthily ac- company his name through the wilderness of ages. He refused to take Mr. Winthrop's money ; saying that he was satisfied that the Gov- ernor's intentions were good, and that if the award had been five times as much, he would have returned it in the same manner. Whereupon a sort of business-understanding was restored. Before dismissing this case, it may be well to notice an occurrence or two in the progress of it. Mr. Dudley looked upon the conduct of the Governor in so unfavorable a light, that he determined not to serve any longer in the government with him, and much of crimination ensued between them. Dudley labors under a disadvantage in the recital, because he can be heard only through his adversary. Winthrop accused him of extortion and usury, because "he had sold seven bushels and an half of corn, to receive ten for it after harvest." In answer, Dudley pointed to a law made by themselves against usury, to which was this proviso added : " That nothing in that law was to prohibit the letting of cattle, or other usages of a like nature, in practice amongst farm- ers." But this vindication did not satisfy the Governor, or he pre- tended that the clause in favor of farmers' afiiiirs did not extend to this case. Dudley seems now to have lost his temper in some degree, and with warmth affirmed that he had done nothing illegal ; and that he never knew any man of understanding of other opinion ; and that if the Governor thought otherwise, it was his weakness ; and, among other " hot words about it," he said to the Governor, " that if he had thought he had sent for him to his house to give him such usage, he would not have come there." Winthrop, no doubt, feeling that his own was the hard side of the case, says, " He took no notice of these speeches, and bore them with more patience than he had done upon a like occasion at another time." But he did not let the Deputy-Gov- ernor go at this stage of the controversy, though he did not succeed any better, if so well, in his next accusation against him. Mr. Winthrop complained that Mr. Dudley was extravagant in building his house at Newton ; that he had set a bad example for people to follow, who ered the Governor a letter from him, directed ham, who met at Charlestown on the 3 August, to the Governor and Assistants, wherein he 1632. By continuing the narrative of this declared a resignation of his Deputyship and affair under this year (1631), the time in place of Assistant ; but it was not allowed." which much of it took place, is, of course, — Jour., i. 72. anticipated, and some events which transpired * The gentlemen were Mr. Nowell, Mr. Wil- during its progress, fall in after it. son, Mr. Weld, Mr. Maverick, and Mr. War- 1631.] A FEUD IN THE GOVERNMENT. 135 could not afford to do so ; particularizing " wainscoting and adorning his house." This charge, without Mr. Dudley's reply, would indeed seem of some validity. But when he says that the extravagance com- plained of, was only " for the warmth of his house, and the cost small ; and that the wainscoting consisted only of clapboards nailed to the wall in the form of wainscoting," this charge has a little the appearance of being made for the want of a better one ; and whether it were prompted by jealousy, because the Deputy-Governor was better able to build a handsomer house than the Governor could afford to, it is not undertaken to decide. It was objected by Mr. Dudley, that the Governor had exercised too much authority, and demanded of him how he had derived such an assumption of power, — whether from the Patent or otherwise ? The Governor smartly replied, that he had not transcended his authority ; "and speaking somewhat apprehensively," as he himself says, "the Deputy began to be in a passion, and told the Governor, that if he were so round, he would be round too." What this being " round" meant, is easier to be understood, perhaps, than "speaking somewhat appre- hensively." Notwithstanding the Governor's usual mildness, he did, by his own candid confession, suffer himself to get a little "round" on this occasion ; and in that spirit he told Mr. Dudley he might get round too, for aught he cared. " So the Deputy rose up in great fury and passion, and the Governor grew very hot also, so as they both fell into bitterness." All this appears to have taken place in the presence of the reverend arbitrators, who, interfering, stayed the further progress of the wordy warfare ; and both, when they had time to reflect, were no doubt satis- fied that, by the storm they had raised, the " ship of state," though not in any great danger, had not advanced any during the continuance of the tempest. Proceeding with his allegations, Mr. Dudley inquired by what right Mr. Winthrop had removed certain cannon, which were public property ; and by what authority he had caused a fort to be erected in Boston ? The Governor replied, that the cannon laid rusting on the beach ; that he had often called the attention of the Court to their spoiling con- dition, and nothing had been done ; that now they were mounted, and placed where they might be of service, and all without any charge to the public. The Deputy next desired to know on what authority he had licensed Captain Edward Johnson " to sit down at Merrimack" 1 The Governor said he had only licensed him to trade with the Indians, " as he had done divers others," which was within his authority. It was then demanded why he had given the people of Watertown leave to erect a wear in Charles river ; and why he had " disposed of lands to divers" ? Why he had allowed RatclifT and Gray, who had been ban- ished, to remain within the jurisdiction ? It is pretty clear, judging from the Governor's answers to the latter inquiries, that if he had slightly overstepped the bounds of his author- 136 HISTORY OF BOSTON. [1031. ity, he gave very plausible reasons for doing so. The key to much of the difficulty unquestionably was a jealousy on the part of the Deputy- Governor. If he refused, or was otherwise prevented cooperating with Winthrop, the latter was, as a matter of course, obliged to assume responsibilities. Being a more popular man than Mr. Dudley, the peo- ple clustered around him, and were at all times ready to sustain him ; and thus similar cases will always have a similar issue. They are easily discerned through all periods of history. There had been several orders of Court passed of an extremely arbi- trary character,* to which Mr. Dudley, as one of the Court, made no objection at the time, and perhaps would not have objected to them, or the exercise of them, had he been consulted afterwards ; but the cause, whatever it was, that interrupted his intercourse with Winthrop, left the latter in a sort of dilemma. He must either carry out those orders on his own responsibility, as Governor, or let them remain a dead letter. He very properly might have thought it was not his duty to go out of Boston to consult the Deputy- Governor, when cases came up requiring immediate action. Notwithstanding the difficulties between the two highest officers of the government, neither of them appears to have suffered much in his popularity. Of the two, Winthrop was, no doubt, the more liberal ; and, if he did deviate a little sometimes, the people took little or no notice of it ; while Dudley, precise and exact, doing always as he agreed to do, demanded the same of others. Sometimes, perhaps, he may have been a little too rigid in his exactions, allowing not hardly enough for human frailties and uncontrollable circumstances ; hence he was not likely to be quite so popular as one of a somewhat differently constituted mind. Governor Winthrop's popularity was strikingly manifest dur- ing the progress of the difficulty with Mr. Dudley, though the extraordinary demonstrations about to be detailed must not be entirely claimed for the former. Captain William Peirce, their former deliverer from famine, now sailed into Boston harbor. His arrival at any time was a sufficient cause for feasts and rejoicings ; but he brought with him at this time about sixty passengers, whom he landed safe, after a voyage of two months and a half. Among these passengers came Mrs. Winthrop, the Governor's lady, his oldest son, John Winthrop, Jr., and his wife, and others of his children ; and Mr. John Eliot, afterwards so famous for his labors to christianize the Indians. Two children had died during the voyage, one of which was the Governor's daughter, aged about one year and a half. j,^^ ^ The state of the weather was such that the Lyon could not get up to the town for two days ; then, coming to anchor before Boston, the passengers went on shore. Captain Peirce accompanied the Governor and his lady in his own boat, at whose departure the ship * See under 14 June, 1631, ante. 1632.] EXPLORATIONS OF ADJACENT COUNTRY. 137 gave them seven guns, and the captains at the head of their train-bands on shore stood ready to escort them from the boat to the dwellings pro- vided for them. " Divers vollies and three drakes" saluted them on their landing, *' and divers of the Assistants, and most of the people of the near plantations came to welcome them," who brought and sent, for many days, all sorts of provisions, as "fat hogs, kids, venison, poultry, geese, partridges, &c. ; so as the like joy and manifestation of love had never been seen in New England ; and it was a great marvel that so many people, and such store of provisions could be gathered together at so few hours' warning."* This rejoicing and festivity was followed in a few days by a Thanksgiving. Governor Bradford, of Plymouth, came on a visit to Boston, and, what is rather remarkable, he lodged at night on board the Lyon, with Captain Peirce. It may be that accommodations were bet- ter there than in the town, owing to the arrival of so many emigrants of late. Mr. Eliot, immediately after his arrival, began to preach in Mr. Wil- son's place, who was yet absent. He left his wife in England, at his first coming over, as did also many others. Captain Peirce did not make a very long stay at this time, and sailed for England by way of Virginia, and many went home with him ; among others. Sir Richard Saltonstall's eldest son. They were six weeks in reaching Virginia. CHAPTER XVI. Explorations of the adjacent Country. — Spot Pond. — Indian Alarms. — Great Arrival of Corn. — Organization of the General Court. — House of Representatives. — Fort built. — Return of Mr. Wilson. — Importation of Cows. — Arrival of Ministers. — Troublesome Questions. — Visit of Nar- raganset Indians. — Some punished. — Windmill set up. — The first Meeting-house. — Fears from the Indians. — Complaints and Grievances. — Punishment for Profaneness. — Mr. Stephen Bache- lor. — A House of Correction ordered. — Distinguished Strangers. — The Governor entertains them. — Accompanies them to Plymouth. — Account of their Journey. — Trouble about Mr. Eliot. — He leaves Boston. OME of the gentlemen of Boston improved a portion of their time during the second winter of their settlement in making excursions into the sur- rounding wilderness. The Governor, Mr. John Mas- ters, Mr. Robert Feake, and Adam Winthrop, a son of the Governor, were among a party who went up Charles river, " about eight miles above Watertown," as they judged. On coming to " a fair brook on the north side of the river, they named it Beaver brook, because the beavers had shorn down divers great trees there, and made divers dams * Winthrop, Prince. 18 138 HISTORY OF BOSTON. [1632. across the brook. This brook came from a pond a mile from the river." A little further onward they came " to a great rock, upon which stood a high stone, cleft in sunder, that four men might" pass through the fissure ; this they called Adam's chair, in compliment to the youngest person in the company. Further up the river, they came to another brook, larger than the former, which they named Masters' brook, be- cause Mr. Masters was the oldest in the company. A high, pointed rock, not far off, they named Mount Feake, Mr. Feake having married the daughter-in-law of the Governor. On the west of Mount Feake, from a very high rock, they could " see all over Neipnett ;"* and also Wachuset mountain, which they supposed to be about forty miles dis- tant, and other mountains about sixty miles off, in the north-west. In another excursion, in which there went with the Governor Mr. Nowell and Mr. Eliot, they discovered the since interesting body of water called Spot Pond. It " having in the midst an island of about one acre, and very thick with trees of pine and beech ; and hav- ing divers small rocks standing up here and there in it, they therefore called it Spot Pond;" and, says Winthrop, "they went all about it upon the ice." Not far off they named a certain rock Cheese rock, because " when they went to eat somewhat," they found they had noth- ing but cheese to eat ; " the Governor's man, for haste, forgot" to put in the bread. F b 14 Seven days after, the Governor and some others explored the country as far as Neponset river ; but no mention is made of anything remarkable having been discovered. At a Court of Assistants it was ordered that Courts, which had been held every three weeks, should, in future, be held on the first Tuesday in every month. During the winter no mention is made of any trouble from the Indians ; but early in April startling intelligence is brought to Boston of a war between the Narragansets and Pokanokets, and that the Narragansets had sent for the Indians about Boston to go and fight for them, and that Sagamore John had gone with thirty men, and Chikataubut with many of his. The messenger who brought this news came from Plymouth with letters detailing the circumstances, and requesting a quantity of ammunition. The Governor put him up twenty- * As to what was formerly meant by the coast. The name iVeiop signified /n'enrf among Nipmuck or "Neipnett^^ country there is much these tribes, and hence the origin of the name of uncertainty. This is not at all strange, in- of those inland Indians ; the diflferent tribes asmuch as there never was a time, probably, slightly diflTering in their pronunciation of it. Avhen anybody, Indian or Englishman, could Not taking these facts into account, writers, truly define its boundaries. — iSee Book of tue both early and late, have puzzled themselves Indians, Book ii., p. 82 (eleventh edition), and perplexed their readers in attempts to The Nipmuck or Nipnet Indians consisted of locate the "Nipmuck Country." When the such as preferred living in the interior to liv- king's commissioners, in 1.741, settled the ing on the sea-coast, and such as withdrew boundary between Plymouth and Rhode Island, from the tribes about the coast from some dis- they satisfied themselves that " this Nipmug aflFection on their part or that of the tribes to territory could not be ascertained." — See which they belonged. The Nipnets were, Doug/ass, i. 398. The commissioners were therefore, the friends and relatives of the led to investigate the matter because, by the Wampanoags, Narragansets, and other tribes Grant to Plymouth Colony in 1629, the Nip- about the arms and inlets of this part of tlio muck country was a boundary. 1632.] HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FORT. 139 seven pounds of powder; that being "as much as he could carry." . However, a few days after, intelligence came, that the Narra- ^" ■ gansets, who were reported to have attacked the Pokanokets, at Sowams, had gone in pursuit of the Pequots, and thus the excitement was allayed. At this time, a Dutch ship arrived from Virginia, with two thousand bushels of corn, which brought four shillings and sixpence the bushel. Thus it is seen that provisions of this sort were now at a fair price. At a General Court, it was agreed that the Governor, Deputy- '^^ ' Governor, and Assistants, should be chosen by the whole Court ; that the Governor shall always be chosen out of the Assistants chosen for the year ensuing. At this Court Winthrop and Dudley were re- chosen. Ludlow, Nowell, Pynchon, Bradstreet, Endicott, Humfrey, Coddington, and John Winthrop, junior, were chosen Assistants. Mr. Humfrey and Mr. Coddington were chosen, though out of the country, being daily expected. The Court passed an order that there should he two persons elected in every plantation, to confer with the Court about raising a public stock. Thus, in matters of revenue at least, it was found necessary that the people should have a voice, and hence this provision for a sort of House of Representatives.* Hitherto some of the measures of the govern- ment had been complained of as arbitrary and oppressive, which may have been the occasion of this new branch in the government. The idea of fortifying Newtown having been laid aside, it was thought that fortifications should not be dispensed with altogether, and, according to some previous arrangements, it was agreed to build a fort in that part of Boston called Corn Hill. Boston people commenced it on this day. Charlestown men came and worked on it the following day, Roxbury men the next day, and Dorchester next. The ^ ' name of the hill on which it was built was changed to Fort Hill, which it still retains, f All was now bustle and stir in Boston, and many a heart leaped for joy. The ship Whale, Captain Graves, being an- nounced as in the harbor, and on board of her was the beloved Wilson, who went for England the last year for his wife ; also Mr. Richard Dummer, and about thirty passengers, all in health. Of seventy cows sent in the same ship, two only were lost on the passage. For these blessings, and especially for the signal victories gained by Gustavus Adolphus, in Germany, by which he rescued * The towns accordingly chose the following Again we meet with several names before gentlemen pursuant to the order : duly honored in the preceding pages. But, 1. Mr. Oldham and Mr. Masters, for Watertown, not to wait for 2. Robert Coles and John Johnson, for Roxbury. ^ . another opportu- Mr. William Colborn and AVilliam Cesbrough, for ^^^^^^^ J-^ Cf'^ir-fi^ nity, we here in- "•,,„,.,, „ / sert a fac-simile 4. Richard Wnght ^nd -— -, for Saugus. ^ ^f ^j^e autograph 5. Mr. Lockwood and Mr. bpencer, for Newton. ,. -r, r^ .ir.i c ^ ^ 6. Mr. Gibbons and Mr. Palmer, for Charlestown. of RoGER CoNANT, the father of Salem. 7. Mr. Conant and Peter Palfrey, for Salem. f There can be no mistake in locating this 8. William Felps and John Gallard, for Dorchester, first fort in Boston. Mr. Wood says, "This 140 HISTORY OF BOSTON. [1632. that country from the Popish yoke, a thanksgiving was ordered to be celebrated throughout all the Plantations. Some inconvenience had begun to be experienced by the colonists from an over-familiarity of the natives, who, under pretence of trade, would intrude at all times and seasons into private houses. Therefore, at this Court, it was agreed that every plantation should set up a truck- ing house. This, it was thought, would abate the difficulty. On the same day this Court was held, there arrived the ship William and Francis, Captain Thomas, with about sixty passengers ; among whom came Mr. Thomas Weld, and " old Mr. Stephen Bachelor, being aged seventy-one, with their families, and many other honest men." The same day, also came in the Charles of Barnstaple, and in her was Mr. Timothy Hatherly, who afterwards laid the foundation of Scituate. There were about twenty passengers. She also brought an important accession of " near eighty cows, and six mares, all safe and in health." The former ship sailed from London on the ninth of March, and the Charles, from Barnstaple, on the tenth of April, and they met near Cape Ann. Mr. Edward Winslow, of Plymouth, was a passenger in the William and Francis. Few thanksgivings have happened in Boston, probably, more heartily celebrated than that appointed to take place on the morrow. To make it still more joyous, however, another ship is added to the large number of late arrivals, — the James, near eight weeks from London, Captain Grant, with twelve passengers. She sailed with sixty-one heifers, but by what fatality she lost forty of them on the voyage, is not mentioned. The " Congregation at Boston" were in considerable trouble, about this time, respecting the following matters, namely : whether one per- son might be a civil magistrate and a ruling elder at the same time ? If not, then which should he lay down ? AVhether there might be divers pastors in the same Church ? These questions weighed so heavily on the Church of Boston, that the members wrote to the neighboring Churches for advice in what appeared to be an alarming difficulty. The Churches addressed returned an unanimous answer to the first question, in the negative ; but on the second and third, they did not presume to adventure an opinion ; and how the Boston Church finally extricated itself, does not appear. ^^ 2 Less is heard of annoyance from the many Indians which must have visited Boston, probably every day, than could reasonably be expected, when it is considered that they could not have had any adequate idea of the white people's laws, and their rules of propriety in intercourse. At this time, Mecumeh, afterwards known as Mian- tunnomoh, or Miantonomo,* with his wife and twelve attendants, or Necke of land," on which Boston is situated, is planted a Fort, which can command any " is not above foure miles in compasse, in ship as she sayles into any Harbour within forme almost square, having on the South- the hill Bay." — New England^ s Prospect, 32. pide at one corner, a great broad hill, whereon * This orthography of the great Chief's 1632.] FIRST PLACE OF WORSHIP. 141 sannaps, as these were called by Chiefs, visited Boston. Two days after, it being Sunday, Miantonomo, being at meeting with the Eng- lish, three of his sannaps went in the mean time, and broke into a house. After the meeting, complaint being made to the Governor, he complains to the Chief. It was required by the Governor that the offenders should be punished, and that the Chief should make one of the sannaps beat the others. Indians do not believe in corporeal pun- ishment, and hence it was with some difficulty that the beating operation was brought about. However, it was at length performed ; after which the offenders were sent out of town ; but the Governor took Miantonomo and the rest of his company to his house, "and made much of them." They, however, left for home the same evening. It might have been difficult for the Chief to understand which of the two was the greater offence, prying into an empty house, or whipping Indians on a Sunday. At a Court not long before, some of Chikataubut's men had been " con- vented and convicted" for assaulting some English at Dorchester. They were set in the bilboes, and Chikataubut made to beat them himself. Some time in the month of August, a windmill, which had been erected near Newton, was taken down and brought to Boston. It was set up on the hill in the north part of the town, * which hill afterwards received the name of Copp's Hill, from an inhabitant named William Copp. The windmill was removed from the country, "because it would not grind but with a westerly wind." Although there had been regular meetings on Sundays, in ^^^^ ' Boston, for about two years, no Meeting-house | had been built. Private houses had been the places for public worship as soon as they were built, and before they were provided, the branches of the neigh- boring trees had been the only shelter for minister as well as people. J But Mr. Wilson had now returned ; the place was becoming prosperous, and funds had been raised to the amount of one hundred and twenty pounds, which were to be applied to the erection of a Meeting-house, and a house for the minister. The sort of building first erected for divine service in Boston, has been mentioned in a former chapter, § and such representation there given as the known facts about it seemed to justify. This first name gives pretty truly its pronunciation, the Sea-coast." — Wood, New England^ sPros- probably. In Danforth's Almanack, for 1649, pect, 33. there is this distich or epigram : — f Many of the Puritan fathers carefully .,,.,,„ . ., x, ,. , avoided the term Church, when speakinsr of f/'^^lth^P hlTw™n»°^ "' their place of worship. The Catholics had If it may be, by Miantonomo. „, f ^, -r^ ,^ . , i i ■««■ ^^ See Book of the Indians, v. 697. Churches ; the Protestants had Meeting- houses. Quakers have no Churches to this * " Equall in bignesse," to Fort Hill, day, though they have Meeting-houses. " whereon stands a Winde-mill. To the North J " Before they could build at Boston, they west [of Fort Hill] is an high Mountain, with lived many of them in tents and wigwams at three little rising hills on the top of it, where- Charlestown ; their Meeim^-PZace being abroad fore it is called the Tra-mount. From the top under a tree ; where I have heard Mr. Wilson of this jNIountain [since Beacon Hill] a man and ]Mr. Phillips preach many a good Ser- may overlooke all the Islands which lie before mon." — Clap, Memoirs, 42. the Bay, and discry such ships as are upon § See page 104, ante. 142 • HISTORY OF BOSTON. [1632. rude structure, according to the best information Mr. Wadsworth * could collect, stood " about nine or ten years." In 1640, it was replaced by a su- perior edifice, in which the first sermon was preached on the twenty-third of August, of that year. The " Old Meeting-house " stood, according to Mr. Wadsworth, "near where the Town House now [1713] is, at a small distance from the south-east cor- ner of it." This indicates the precise spot to be that on which now, 1853, Brazer's Block stands, on the south side of State Street. The house erected in 1640, was of wood, and stood on the site now occupied by Joy's Building, in Washington Street, a little to the south of, and opposite to the head of State Street. When it had stood sev- enty-one years, it was destroyed by fire. The last sermon preached in it before it was burned, was preached by Mr. Wadsworth, on the thirtieth of September, 1711, and two days after, namely, October the second, it was consumed. Mr. Wadsworth says, " Considering the place where it was, and how many wooden buildings were near it, 'twas a wonder of Providence it stood so long. 'Twas by many tho't not convenient to build another Meeting-House with wood, in that place, where other buildings would probably be near and thick about it, for fear of fire ; and the winter [of 1711 — 12] coming on, brick- work could not be engag'd in till the following spring ; and when the season did allow, the work was diligently set about. The stone foundation was begun April the fourteenth, 1712. They begun their brick-work, May twenty-ninth, and finished it fit for the roof, September the eigh- teenth, the same year. So that the brick-work was begun and finished in less than four months. They began to raise the roof, October second, 1712, just that day twelve month after the former house was burnt. 'T was about a year and seven months from the burning of the former, to our meeting in the present Meeting-House." Mr. Wadsworth supposed the cost of the house would be " not far short of four thousand pounds;" and "that there had been no essay to raise one penny" towards the cost of it "by rate or tax. All that had been done was done voluntarily and without restraint. Of all that were chosen of any committees," he continues, " referring to this whole afiliir, I don't remember that any to this day [November, 1713] has been removed by death, except one worthy gentleman, Mr. Thomas Brattle t (who had a principal hand in modelling this house), yet he *The Rev. Benjamin Wadsworth. He was College, in 1725, and died in 1737, aged 67. Bon of Capt. Samuel Wadsworth, of Milton, He was the author of many sermons, who, with his company, was cut off by the f He died 18 May, 1713. He was the prin- Indians, at Sudbury, 21st April, 1676. Mr. cipal founder of Brattle-street Church. From Wadsworth begun to preach in the " First his family the Church and Street take their Church " in 1696 — fifteen years before it was name. The Rev. William Brattle, of Cam- burned. He was chosen President of Harvard bridge, was his brother. He wrote an account 1632.] FEARS FROM INDIANS. 143 ' lived till we met here for public worship ; and once, if not.oftener, he was here for that purpose." Speaking of the progress of the building, Mr. Wadsworth says, — " There has been much hard work, heavy work, and some work high and lofty ; and so the more dangerous, yet in the whole managing this work hitherto not one person has by any hurtful accident lost his life ; not one has lost any one limb, nor has one bone been broken." Among other acts of a Court at Boston, Mr. WilHam Pyn- ^^^ ' chon was chosen Treasurer for the year ensuing, or till another shall be chosen. This summer had been wet and cold, and crops were very poor, which was discouraging to many. Corn, on which they depended much, having no other grain, came in so light, that "great want threatened them." Besides, there were fires, and alarms by the Indians. Mr. John Oldham had a small house burnt down at Water- town, " made all of clapboards." Au u t 30 "^^ express came to Governor Winthrop, that " ten Saga- mores and many Indians were assembled at Muddy River," but what design they had, nobody knew. The Governor thought it best to ascertain whether their assembling at that point portended evil, and therefore ordered Captain Underbill to proceed to that neighborhood, with twenty musketeers, to reconnoitre. When the Captain arrived at Roxbury, he learned that the Indians had dispersed, and this was the only news that could be obtained about them. There had been complaints from Indians of injuries to their crops from the domestic animals belonging to the English. This could not be avoided, because the Indians were the very last people in the world that would think of making fences ; besides, it was very diffi- cult for them to see why such labor should be required of them, because the animals which intruded upon them belonged, not to them, but to the English. However, the Court made Sagamore John (Wonohaquaham) promise that, "the next year, and forever after, he would fence his corn against all kinds of cattle." At the same Court, a man was or- dered "to be severely whipped, for cursing, swearing, then justifying the same, and glorying in it." Another man, who had sold a gun, pistol, and powder and shot, to Sagamore James, (Montowampate) was sentenced to be whipped, and branded in the face with a hot iron. The late strange assembling of Indians at Muddy-river, and several other circumstances, caused the people to apprehend that the natives were plotting to cut them off. They were led to this apprehension, because, by some of them, "divers insolent speeches were used, and they did not frequent the houses of the English as they were wont ; and one of their Powaws told them that there was a conspiracy among the of the Witchcraft in the County of Essex, We might reasonably expect to see a minute which is printed in the 5th volume of the account of this gentleman and his family, in a Mass. Hist. Colls. Several of his communi- history of the Church of vehich he was a ciitions were inserted in the Transactions of principal founder. the Royal Society. Of this he was a member. 144 HISTORY OF BOSTON. [1632 Indians." Upon receipt of this intelligence, " a camp was pitched at Boston, in the night, to exercise the soldiers, apprehending need might be." To try the valor of his soldiers, Captain Underhill caused an alarm to be given upon their quarters. The result was anything but creditable to their courage. Most of them were paralyzed with fear, and their conduct was disgraceful to soldiers. Hence the people thought, if such men must be depended upon to defend their wives and children, their chance of safety was poor indeed. Fears from the Indians still increased ; and the Governor ^^ ' ' sent for "the three next Sagamores" to come immediately to Boston ; but whether they obeyed the summons or not, is not men- tioned. Meantime the arrival of the favorite old ship, the Lyon, Cap- tain Peirce, had a tendency to divert the public mind from ^^ ' ■ fancied rumors of hostile Indians ; especially as he brought one hundred and twenty-three passengers with him, most of whom were, doubtless, near friends or relatives to many in Boston, and its immediate vicinity. The Lyon was eight weeks from the Land's End. ^ The alarms from the Indians could not have sunk very deep '^^ ■ " ■ into the minds of the Authorities, at least, for they had ordered a Thanksgiving for the safe arrival of the Lyon, which is now kept. In the same proclamation, however, "the prosperous success of the King of Sweden" was comprehended. Among several stringent orders of a Court now held, were the following: — "Mr. Bachelor, of Lynn, was required to for- bear exercising his gifts until some scandals be removed." A man is sentenced "for theft on the Indians, at Damaril's Cove, for drunken- ness and fornication," to pay a fine of five pounds to the Court, ten pounds to Henry Way and John Holman, to be " severely whipt, branded on the hand with a hot iron, and banished ; with penalty to be put to death if he ever return." That no persons should take any tobacco publicly ; if they did, for every time they took it, they should be fined one penny. At this Court, it was by general consent determined, that Boston was the fittest place for public meetings of any in the Bay ; and it was therefore ordered, that a House of Correction, and a House for the Beadle, should be built here " with speed." It is worthy of note, that, notwithstanding settlements had been forming upon the Pascataqua, about ten years, yet they brought their corn to be ground at Boston, this year. Captain Thomas Camock and Mr. Edward Godfrey, a merchant, afterwards Governor of Maine, brought up in Mr. Neal's pinnace at one time, sixteen hogsheads of corn, which was ground at the windmill. Whether it took from this time " to November" to grind that quantity of corn, is not known, though it is recorded that Captain Camock and Mr. Godfrey did not return till November. This, however, is not a very important question to be settled, especially as the two gentlemen, doubtless, enjoyed the fine autumnal weather as guests of the Governor, Captain Peirce, of 1632.] EXPEDITION TO PLYMOUTH. 145 the Lyon, Mr. Wilson, and others. Having been waited upon by Mr. Winthrop and Mr. Wilson, on board the Lyon, the Cap- tain of her took them all into his shallop, and proceeded to Wessagus- cus. Thence Captain Peirce returned to his ship, being about to sail for Virginia, while the rest of the company " proceed on foot to Ply- mouth," to pay Governor Bradford a visit. They did not arrive there till " within the evening." By some means, not mentioned, their approach to Plymouth was known to the authorities there, "and the Governor, Mr. Bradford, a very discreet and grave man, with Mr. Brewster, and some others, went forth and met them without the town," conducted them to the Governor's house, where they were "together entertained." They were likewise "feasted everyday at several houses." On Sunday they partook of the sacrament with the church, " and in the afternoon, Mr. Roger Williams, according to their custom, proposed a question, to which the pastor, Mr. Smith, spoke briefly. Then Mr. Williams prophesied. After that, the Governor of Plymouth, who had studied the Hebrew language, and antiquities, spoke to the question. After him, the elder [Mr. Brewster], a man of learning ; then two or three more of the congregation ; then the elder, agreeable to Acts ~xiii. 14, 15, desired Governor Winthrop and Mr. Wilson to speak to it, which they did. When this was ended, the deacon, Mr. Fuller,* put the congregation in mind of their duty of con- tribution ; whereupon, the Governor and all the rest went down f to the deacon's seat, and put it in the bag, and then returned." | About five of the clock, on Wednesday morning. Governor ' Winthrop and his company left Plymouth ; Mr. Bradford, Mr. Smith and others accompanying them " near half a mile out of town in the dark. Lieutenant Holmes § and others went with them to the Great Swamp, about ten miles ; when they came to the Great river, || they were carried over by one Ludham,1F as they had been when they went ; so they came that evening to Wessaguscus, where they were * Dr. Samtjel Fuller, who came in the interior of old school-houses, no explanation is Mayflower. He died the next year. His au- necessary. tograph is so rare, that I was assured not J There is nothing to be found, certainly long since it was not known at Plymouth, nothing is known to the author, which gives The subjoined fac-simile of it is copied from so true, simple, and beautiful a picture of the manner in which the Pilgrims performed their devotions, as this. If a little foreign to the History of Boston, no one, I think, will wish it had been omitted. • ^ // " jA ^ John Holmes was taxed in Plymouth, in •-T^t4-^^yC 1G33 and 1G34. The name has always been *^ boats for the point to be fortified. ^^yrrt^TX^ Vfy'^^n^fijJ^/^ ^^^ ^ They returned the third day ^^ "^ ' ' after, and reported that they had abandoned the design, because of the " too great charge," and the " little use it would be." The hard fare of the company during the three days probably had some influence upon the decision they came to ; for doubtless every man of them knew the situation of Nantasket as well before they went as after. When they set out from Boston the wind was from the west, and the weather fine, but there soon came on one of those sudden changes so common here. The wind hauled into the north-west, and blew a heavy gale, and the cold became extreme. The party were not prepared for this, but they were compelled to continue there two nights, " forced to lodge upon the ground in an open cottage [hovel], upon a little old straw which they pulled from the thatch." Besides, their provisions failed them, and they were obliged to eat a poor sort of muscle, which was the best the place afforded at that time. French soldiers and priests were indeed to be dreaded, but this com- * The names of ten only are found recorded. These were probably all that could then be found ready to go, or that could be spared. Their names were John Winthrop, Jr., John Gage, Mr. [William] Gierke, Thomas Hardy, Robert Coles, William Perkins, Thomas Howlet, Mr. [John] Thorndike, John Biggs, ■William Sargeant. At a Court held April 1st, these are entered as " already gone " to plant at Agawam ; and it was ordered that none else should go with- out leave of the Court. — Prince. Gierke and Coles were among the first freemen, 19 Oct., 1630. Howlet, Biggs and Gage, were later ; and the others do not appear to have taken the oath, at least early. Thorndike returned to England in 1G68, and died there about 1670, and was bui-ied in Westminster Abbey. He was of the family of Thorndike of Great Carl- ton, in Lincolnshire, and was son of Herbert Thorndike ; and Herbert, who had a prebend in Westminster, and of whom remain ample materials for a biography, was his brother, which may account for John's being buried in that Abbey. This Herbert, in his will, proved 15 July, 1672, directed his body to be buried near his brother John's, whose children he mentioned, and wished to divert from the thoughts of returning to New England. From Paul, son of John Thorndike, by Mary, daugh- ter of James Patch, are descended those bear- ing the name in New England, so far as known. Paul, son of Paul, was the father of Andrew, who was the father of Israel, the well-known merchant of our age. — From a MS. pedigree in the hands of J. W. Thornton, Esq. 152 HISTORY OF BOSTON. [1633. pany no doubt concluded that they could meet them better at Boston than they could at Nantasket, under such forlorn circumstances as they had witnessed. They, however, soon learned that the French were upon no hostile design ; they came to trade and fish upon their newly- acquired territory. At the Court now held at Boston, the order prohibiting Mr. March 4. g^^^^^i^^j. ^^,^^ "exercising his gifts" was reversed, and he was left free to gather a church. It may, therefore, be very safely concluded, that the "scandals" causing the former order were truly scandals* and that actually there was no cause of complaint against this ancestor of one of the most numerous posterities in the United States. The members of this Court were the Governor, Deputy, Ludlow, Endicot, Pynchon, Nowell, Winthrop, Jr., and Bradstreet. Owing partly to the previous cold and wet summer, and partly to the long and severe winter just passed, provisions were again scarce in Boston, and the usual supply had not been received from England. But, unexpectedly, there arrived from Virginia, in the beginning of March, a Mr. Stretton, with a vessel loaded with corn ; for which he found a ready market at ten shillings sterling the bushel. This was an age of disasters ; but when they had their ^" ' beginning it would be as difficult to determine as it would be to say when they will end. But this tenth of April was a day of great sadness and sorrow to many, if not to all the inhabitants of Boston. It will be remembered, that after Captain P^irce had entertained the Governor and several others on board his ship in October last, he sailed for England by way of Virginia. He had a fair run along the coast ; but, on the second of November, about five in the morning, in or near latitude 37^", owing to the negligence of one of his mates, whose watch it was, his ship struck on a shoal, and was cast away near Feak's Island,! about ten leagues from the Capes of Virginia. There were on board thirty-eight seamen and passengers, of whom seven of the former and five of the latter were lost. The ship went to pieces the next day, and nothing could be saved except a hogshead of beaver, and a few articles which drifted ashore, of trifling value. The intelligence of this shipwreck was brought to Boston by Mr. Hodges, a mate of Captain Peirce, and a letter was received from the Captain himself at Plymouth, where a considerable part of his cargo was owned, giving an account of his misfortune ; more in the style of an " improvement " to an ancient sermon, however, than like the plain epistle of a hardy mariner. By this letter his friends learned that he * Though the MS. was perfectly plain, the modern maps, and Mount Feake is known only printer made this word read sandals on page to the reader of Governor Winthrop 's Journal. 144, ante. How and when an island on the coast of Vir- _ t Some of our ancestors seem to have had a ginia received the name, I have not thought dispositiontoperpetuate their names, or others worth the pains of inquiry. In Cromwell's had for them, by conferring them upon hills, time, there was a " Mr. Feaks " who had the islands, &c. With regard to the name of honor to preach before the Lord Mayor of Feake, there has been rather a failure ; for London on some occasions. Fcako's island has disappeared, at least from 1633.] LOCUSTS. CAPTAIN STONE. 153 had lost "his whole estate for the most part," and that they had lost what they had ventured, even their books of accounts ; but nothing is said about the people and passengers that were drowned, about which all contemporary accounts are also entirely silent, further than these pages witness.* It was nine days after the ship was cast away before the survivors could find any English on the coast, during which time their sufferings were exceedingly great. In the course of the month of May, two ships arrived with important freights at Boston, the William and Jane,t Captain Burdock. He had thirty passengers, " and ten cows or more." His voyage was accom- plished from London hence in six weeks. The name of the other ship was the Mary and Jane, Captain Rose ; she was one week longer than the other on her passage. In her came one hundred and ninety-six passengers. Two children had died by the way. In this ship came Mr. William Coddington and his lady, whom he had lately married. The time for the meeting of the General Court having arrived, ^^ " ' there were present the Governor, Deputy, Treasurer (Pynchon), No well, Coddington, Winthrop, Jr., Bradstreet. The Court proceeded, by erection of hands, to a choice of officers, and Mr. Winthrop was elected Governor, Mr. Dudley Deputy Governor, Mr. Roger Ludlow, Mr. Endicott, Mr. Pynchon, Mr. Coddington, Mr. Nowell, Mr. Win- throp, Jr., Mr. Bradstreet, Sir Richard Saltonstall, and Mr. Humfrey, Assistants, for the ensuing year. Notice is taken by the early writers of the appearance this spring, "especially all the month of May," of innumerable "great sort of flies, like for bigness to wasps or humble-bees, which come out of holes in the ground, eat the green things, and make such a constant yelling noise as all the woods ring of them, and deafens the hearers." These " flies " were a species of locust, and this was their first appearance to the English settlers, concerning which they were ready to adopt the superstitious belief of the Indians, " that their appearance portended a great time of sickness ;" not thinking that any other occurrence might as well bear the same interpretation, and that what always had happened through all time reached by history, would, in all likelihood, occur again. ^ Considerable disturbance was occasioned upon the arrival of Captain John Stone from Connecticut river. He had put in there on his way to Boston from Virginia. While he lay there, at the Dutch plantation, a pinnace came in from Plymouth. It is well known to the readers of New England history, that about this time a difficulty existed between the Dutch of New Netherlands and Plymouth Colony, about the right to territory on that river, though a more trifling affiiir appears to have occasioned the present difficulty. Stone and the Dutch governor had been free with liquor, and in that state the former * Captain Peirce's letter maybe seen entire f So Winthrop, i. 102; but Prince, out of in Prince, 428, neiv edition, or vol. ii. 87, 88, Bradford, read " William and John." old edition. It was dated 25 Dec., 1032, and was received at Plymouth 7 April, following. 20 154 HISTORY OF BOSTON. [1633. complained of an insult from the Plymouth people against his country- men of Virginia ; whereupon, with the approbation of the Dutch Governor of the place, Stone seized the Plymouth vessel, but did not keep it long. The next day, having become sober, Stone and the Governor, upon reflection, concluding they had committed an act which might cause them trouble, made up the matter with the Plymouth captain ; and here the affair they expected would end. But Stone had not been at Boston long, before Captain Standish appeared in town, and proceeded to prosecute him for piracy. He was bound over to appear in the Court of Admiralty in England. The Governor and Council at Boston, understanding the extent of Stone's offence, wisely persuaded the complainants, that as no piracy could be made out of the case, and that to carry it to England " would turn to their reproach," to take no further steps in the matter ; which, with some reluctance, they consented to do. Captain Stone was a useful man in the line of his profession, but withal of rather a reckless temperament. But, so far as his character can be decided upon at this day, his improprieties were principally occasioned by intemperate habits. He was an early trader along the coast, and at this time brought " cows and some salt in his small ship " to Boston. He met a melancholy fate the following year, as will be seen in its order of time.* The ship Elizabeth Bonadventure, from Yarmouth, Captain Graves, arrives with ninety-five passengers, after a passage of six weeks. She brought, also, thirty-four " Dutch sheep and two mares." Of the sheep " above forty" were lost on the voyage ; but Jun 19 ^^'^^y passenger came safe. A thanksgiving was appointed by the Authorities on the eleventh of the month, which is observed *' in all the congregations," for their delivery from their enemies, and for the safe arrival of their friends. j^j 2 Among other orders of a Court now in session, one was, " that the ground lying betwixt the North river, on the north side of Mr. Maverick's, and so vp into the country, shall belong to the inhabitants of Charlestowne." Another was, that Governor Winthrop "should have, towards his charges this year, one hundred and fifty * Under date of 12 Sept., 1G33, Winthrop of was committed when " he was in drink,"' records that Stone " carried himself very dis- rendered a verdict " ignoramus ; " a very right- solutely in drawing company to drink, kc. ;" eous judgment, no one can deny, namely, that and that for certain alleged conduct "with a drunken man is a fool. However, " for his the wife of one Barcroft " [since Bancroft], he other misdemeanors he was fined £100 ;" but, was proceeded against, and " his pinnace instead of exacting the fine, the Court ordered stayed, which was ready to sail;" where- him to leave the jurisdiction, and, " upon pain upon he went to Mr. Ludlow, who had issued of death, to come no more here," &c. If the the warrant, and gave him abusive language, curious reader desires to know other parti- At this Ludlow " raised some company," took culars of Stone's offence, he may consult Hub- Inm into custody, and carried him before the bard's His(. of Neio Eng. 156. According to Governor, who ordered him to be put in irons, Morton, 175, " Capt. Stone had sometimes and to await the decision of the Court. His lived at [St.] Christopher's, in the West In- irons, however, were taken off the same day. dies ;" of whom, he says, " I have nothing to At the Court, the " great jury," being doubt- speak in the way of commendation, but rather less satisfied that the impropriety complained the contrary." 1633.] TRADING AT THE CONNECTICUT. 155 pounds." A man, for being drunk "on the Sabbath day" at Marble- head,* is fined thirty shillings. No person to be allowed to sell strong water to an Indian, without leave of the Governor, " Any man allowed to kill any swine that comes into his corn, but the owner may have the swine, if he pay the damage." The Authorities of Plymouth having fixed upon making a trading es- tablishment on Connecticut river, the people of Boston proposed to them to take a part in it. They entertained the proposition favorably, and a j^j j^ meeting of those interested was held here to organize a com- pany to carry out the measure. Governor Winslow and Mr. Bradford attended on the part of Plymouth ; but, after six days' stay at Boston, they returned without effecting the object. The Boston gentlemen had somehow or other previously ascertained that the object was in no wise a practicable one, as there were, they argued, three or four thousand hostile Indians in the vicinity, and insuperable obstacles in the river itself, as shoals, bars, and ice. At first view these objec- tions seem plausible enough, taking the want of a thorough knowledge of the country into account, under which they may reasonably be sup- posed to have labored. But when it is known that, not long after, they took possession of the same territory themselves, there may be a suspicion, very honestly entertained, that the decision against uniting with Plymouth was dictated by a disposition to overreach their neigh- bors ; or, as would be said in modern times, their decision was " based upon political considerations."! j^j ^^ A ship came in from Weymouth. She had about eighty " -^ " ■ passengers on board. Having sprung a leak, she was forced to put into the Western Islands, where she lay three weeks. Owing to the " continual rain and extremity of the heat," sickness broke out among the passengers, which resulted in the death of several. Who they were, or what their condition, no record remains ; thus it is in almost all such cases recorded in the early annals. Had there been any " of rank " among them, their names would doubtless have found a place in history ; but they were probably the poor and destitute of the company, — the "forlorn hope" of a great empire, — whose names, like their bodies, lie hid beneath the waves of the Atlantic Ocean ! " Remarkable Providences" are everywhere to be met with in the age of the infancy of Boston ; accidents and events, whether calami- tous or fortunate, were regarded as special manifestations of the Deity * Hitherto called Marbleharbor in the rec- went up the said river and reared their said ords. — Prince. house, and fenced about with a palisado, f We may suppose that Mr. Morton speaks which was done with great difficulty, not only the sentiment of the Plymouth people with of the Dutch but also of the Indians ; not- regard to this transaction in what follows, withstanding, the place they possessed them- frora his Memorial, p. 172, ed. Davis. After selves of was such as the Dutch had nothing stating that the Massachusetts men " cast in to do with, and likewise was bought of the the way many fears of danger and loss, and Indians which they carried with them. And did not proceed therein," concludes : "Where- this was Plymouth's entrance there, who de- upon those of Plymouth went alone, and pre- served to have held it, and not by friends pared a frame of an house, and stowed it into [Massachusetts] have been thrust out, as in a a bark, ready to rear at their landing, and sort they afterwards were." 156 HISTORY OF BOSTON. [1633. to those whom such providence immediately affected. At this period two men w^ere drowned in the harbor, under circumstances "^"^ ■ which caused particular notice to be taken of it by Governor Winthrop in his Journal.* Their names are not mentioned, but they were the " servants," or men in the employ, of John Moody of Rox- bury. They went " in a boat to the Oyster bank" on the previous evening ; but this " morning early, when the tide was out, leaving their boat unfastened on the verge of the channel, the tide quickly carried it beyond their reach, and they are both drowned, although they might have Avaded out on either side ; but it was an evident judgement of God upon them." t This was unquestionably the sincere belief of Winthrop, because one of the men, he says, " a little before, being reproved for his " conduct, and reminded that he was in danger of hell- fire, answered, " that if Hell were ten times hotter, he had rather be there" than in his present service. For this foolish expression, and perhaps a reckless disrespect for himself, it was honestly believed by his religious and virtuous cotemporaries, that he had been thus cut off and sent to everlasting misery. A " great scarcity of corn" is noticed this autumn, " by reason," says Winthrop, " of the spoil our hogs had made at harvest ; there being no acorns ; yet people lived well with fish and the fruit of their -^ gardens." This scarcity caused the Court to order that " no man should give his hogs any corn, but such as, being viewed by two or three neighbors, shall be judged unfit for man's meat ; that every plantation shall agree how many swine every person may keep, winter and summer." These orders were to take effect ten days after they were made. Such minute and fatherly legislation can scarcely be conceivett of in this age, and, were it not well attested by the legis- lators themselves, it might be viewed as a fiction. A small ship, of about sixty tons, was built this year at Medford, and named the Rebecca. She is often mentioned in the business of the "Bay for several succeeding years, and was probably principally owned in Boston. Her first voyage mentioned is to Narraganset Bay, to receive a thousand bushels of corn of the Indians, which they had promised to * By what rule or ordeal the Annotator of an account of both has recently been published Winthrop charges a particular belief of our in the New Eng. Historical and Gen. Register. fathers as a vice, it might be difficult for him — See vol. v. p. 375, &c. This note ip made to explain. Some, we apprehend, will more simply to bear testimony to the merits of a justly charge, that he has fallen into precisely most ingenious author, and to apprize the the same vice when he asserts that certain reader that this Sun of history no longer "judgments" favored one party or sect more shines upon us. He will be further noticed than another. when we come down to the period in which ■f Thus far in this history I have had the he lived. The following facsimile is copied aid and light of the Sun of New England his- from an autograph letter, and was his usual tory ; nor will the attentive reader need be closing salutation, told that I refer to the Rev. Thomas Prince, who truly is, to all that went before him, as t/c/^j^i y\A^ H yck-^ctAill the sun to the stars. His New England Chro- nology, in the Form of Annals, Is a model ^^^^ //^ Lv^^uviT work, which nothing ever can supply the place '^ of. It is unnecessary here to say anything /^ Cj further relative to the author or his work, aa ( ^ ^''^^^v 1633.] ARRIVAL OF MR. JOHN COTTON. 157 give Mr. John Oldham ; but she returned with five hundred bushels only, that being all the Indians could spare, as " their store was less than they expected." The same year she was sent on a voyage to England. The next year, 1635, she was employed coastwise ; and, in 1636, she brought " 30,000 weight of potatoes from Bermuda," besides " store of oranges and limes." CHAPTER XVIII. Arrival of Mr. John Cotton. — Mr; Hooker. — Mr. Stone. — Mr. Peirce. — Mr. Haynea. — Family of Cotton. — Neglect of Family Pedigrees. — Cotton's Career. — His Cotemporaries in England. — — Dr. Sibbs. — Dr. Preston. — Mr. Perkins. — Cotton's Marriage. — A Second Marriage. — Mr. Thomas Leverett. — Cotton is informed against, and flies from Boston to London in disguise. — Here converts Dr. Goodwin, Mr. Nye, Mr. Davenport. — Determines to come to New England. — His Voyage. — Son Sea-born. — Invitations to Settle. — His Ordination. — Mr. Hooker and Mr. Stone. — Ordained at Newtown. — The Ship Bird arrives. — Oldham's Journey to Connecti- cut. — Workmen's Wages regulated. — Association of Ministers. — Trouble about the Fort in Boston. — Small-pox moi'tal among the Indians. THE arrival of Mr. John Cotton at Boston marks an important era in its history. But it was not his arrival alone ; there came with him, at the same time, some of the best and ablest men that had hitherto set feet on these shores. Their arrival is thus recorded by Governor Winthrop, the man who was then on the spot to receive and welcome them. " The Grififm, a ship of three hundred tons, arrived, having been eight weeks from the Downs. This ship was ^ ■ ' brought [piloted] in by John Gallop, a new way, by Lovell's Island, at low water, now called Griffin's Gap. She brought about two hundred passengers, having lost some four ; whereof one was drowned two days before, as he was casting forth a line to take mackerel. In this ship came Mr. Cotton, Mr. Hooker, and Mr. Stone, ministers, and Mr. Peirce, Mr. Haynes (a gentleman of great estate), Mr. Hoffe, and many other men of good estates. They got out of England with much difficulty, all places being belaid to have taken Mr. Cotton and Mr. Hooker, who had been long sought for to have been brought into the high commission ; but the Master being bound to touch at the [Isle of] Wight, the Pursuivants attended there, and, in the mean time, the said ministers were taken in at the Downs. Mr. Hooker and Mr. Stone went presently to Newtown, where they were to be entertained, and Mr. Cotton stayed at Boston." The family to which Mr. Cotton belonged may be easily traced to a high antiquity,* and it was long ago widely spread over England. He * "About the latter end of Edward III." ter and heir of Walter de Rid ware of Hampstall- (1371), says Guillim, in his Banner Displayed, Ridware in the County of Stafford, had a son William Cotton, having married Agnes, daugh- John, who laid oif the ancient arms of Cotton 158 HISTORY OF BOSTON. [1633. was born in the town of Derby, and in the county of the same name. His father's name was Rowland Cotton,* a lawyer of some note,! and the Christian name, Rowland, was long, if not to the present time, perpetuated both in Old and New England. It is often difficult to trace the ancestry of even very distinguished men, because, being younger sons of younger sons, their hope of ever becoming heirs to a remote progenitor is not strong enough to cause them to preserve their pedigree ; while their older relatives neglect the younger branches of the family tree from another and more apparent motive. Mr. John Cotton was born in 1585, entered Trinity College, Cam- bridge, 1598, being then but twelve years of age. He soon became noted for his acquirements, and was admitted to the degree of Master of Arts in 1606. Soon after, he received the appointment of head lecturer, dean, and catechist, of Emmanuel College. Such was the brilliancy with which he discharged his duties, and such were the mildness and gentleness of his temper, that he was greatly beloved by the students. In 1608 he gained great applause by a sermon which he delivered in the Church of the University, and, among others, attracted the attention of Dr. Richard Sibbs and Dr. John Preston, men whose works soon after moved the whole age of the Puritans.J and adopted that of Ridware, That of Cotton was, Argent, a bend sable between three pel- lets ; while that adopted was Azure, an eagle displayed argent. \Vhen Weever wrote his Antient Funeral Monuments (in 1631), he saw a pedigree of the Cottons in possession of Ed- mund Cotton, Esq., of Necton Hall in Bramble Barton, alias Barton magna juxta Bury St. Edmunds, about which he says, " The antient seat of the Cottons in Cambridgeshire is Lan- wade-h.'iU ; many descents were higher, and before the father to the elder Sir John Cotton, Knt., Avho died near the beginning of Queen Elizabeth. This Sir John being the elder, had three brothers, whereof Edmund was the third from Sir John aforesaid, and sisters they had, &c. This elder Sir John had one son called by his father's name. Sir John Cotton, Knt., who, dying in the time of King James, left to inherit his estate, the only son," by Anne, daughter of Sir Richard Hoghton of Hoghton tower in the County of Lancaster, living in 1631, also named John. Edmund Cotton, the third brother above mentioned, married Ela, daughter and heiress of John Coniers, the only son of Robert Coniers, Knt., nearly allied to Lord Coniers of Hornby Castle, County of Richmond. This Edmund Cotton " had divers children " by his wife, Ela. George was his eldest son, " who had issue many children," of whom Edmund was the eldest, who, " in like manner, had issue, divers sons and daugh- ters," whose oldest son and heir was Edmund of Necton Hall, above mentioned, v^ho fur- nished Weever with the funnily pedigree. It is to a branch of this family of Cotton, that John Cotton of Boston is believed to belong. But the means of showing to which branch is not known to be in this country. * There was a Sir Rowland Cotton, SheriflF of Shropshire, 1616. Admiral Rowland Cot- ton died at Plymouth, Eng., 1794, f " Our John Cotton," says his grandson, Dr. Cotton Mather, " besides the advantage of his Christian profession, had a descent from honorable progenitors, to render him doubly honorable. His immediate progenitors being by some injustice deprived of great revenues, his father, Mr. Rowland Cotton, had the edu- cation of a lawyer, bestowed by his friends upon him, in hopes of his being the better capacitated thereby to recover the estate where- of his flimily had been wronged." — Magnalia, B. iii. 14. X Dr. Sibbs was a friend of, and intimate with, many of the fathers of New England. His name with that of our John Davenport is signed to several prefaces of the old Puritan quartos. They accompanied some of Dr. Pres- ton's works: "The Saints Daily Exercise," now before me, is one. I have also before me, " Two Sermons " of his, in a 4to tract, " Preached to the honourable Society of Grayes Inne, lune the 21 and 28, 1G35. Who the next Lord's day following, died, and rested from all his labours." A knowledge of these sermons would have been important to Mr. Neal, who places his birth in 1579, at Sud- bury in Suffolk. Mr. Neal, and those who have followed him in their accounts of Dr. Sibbs, write his name Sibbes ; but in the titles of all his books which I have seen (and they are many) his name is printed Sibbs. 1633.] cotton's marriage. 159 It was under the preaching of the Reverend Mr. William Perkins,* a strict follower of Calvin, that he became convinced of the errors of the Established Church ; " but he for a time resisted and smothered those convictions, through a vain persuasion that if he became a godly- man it would spoil him for being a learned one ;" and while he could not forego his attendance on such preaching, from his great natural love of truth, yet, " when he heard the bell toll for the funeral of Mr. Perkins, his mind secretly rejoiced in his deliverance. But Dr. Sibbs completed the work which Mr. Perkins had begun upon the youthful mind of Cotton. For a remembrance of which, and his thank- fulness to Dr. Sibbs, he procured his portrait, which "he placed in that part of his house where he might oftenest look upon it." Mr. Cotton had become somewhat obnoxious to many on account of the change in his principles before leaving the University ; and he was elected to settle at Boston only by a mistake of the Mayor, who voted for, while he intended to have voted against, him. Probably few, if any others, could have been found, who, under such circumstances, would have held a place so long as Mr. Cotton did his at Old Boston ; but he had a most happy way of dealing with his opposers, whom he would often silence without offending. Thus he was continued in his ofl&ce for what, in these days, would be considered a very long term of years. Soon after Mr. Cotton was settled at Boston, " his dear friend, holy Mr. Bayns," recommended a lady to him, whom subsequently he mar- ried ; " one Mrs.f Elizabeth Horrocks, the sister of Mr. James Hor- rocks, a famous minister in Lancashire." On the day of his marriage he said, and no doubt truly, that " he first received the assurance " of his spiritual redemption ; and hence it was a day of double marriage to him. With his first wife he lived eighteen years. She was then taken off by a sickness which likewise severely afflicted her husband, and incapacitated him from performing his ministerial duties a year or more ; and within the compass of about a year he married a second wife, " one Mrs. Sarah Story, a vertuous widow, very dear to his former wife." He had all his children by this lady. The storm which eventually burst upon the head of Mr. Cotton had been some time in gathering ; and though delayed by '* the discretion and vigilance of jSIr. Thomas Leverett| (afterwards a doubly-honored elder of the Church in another land), yet, when the sins of the place had ripened it," he saw no other safety but such as flight might afford. Complaint being entered at the High Commissioned Court that "the Magistrates did not kneel at the Sacrament," and that some * Though Mr. Perkins died at the early age | Mr. Leverett was an Alderman of Old of forty-six (in the year 1602), yet he found time Boston, and came to New England with Mr. to compose works, which it takes three pon- Cotton. He was the father of Governor John derous folios to contain. Leverett, who came with his fiither to Boston, t Writers in Dr. Cotton Mather's time had at the age of about 17. The Christian name not generally adopted the distinction since of his wife only is known. — See N. Eng. made between Mrs. and Miss. Hist, and Gen. Reg. iv. 121, &c. 160 HISTORY OF BOSTON. [1633. other ceremonies were unobserved also, " letters missive were de- spatched incontinently to convent Mr. Cotton " before that " infamous " Court. When Mr. John Rogers of Dedham heard that Mr. Cotton had been thus brought into trouble, " he spoke of it in his sermon with just lamentation," and predicted that the informer would " die under an hedge, or something else, more than the ordinary death of men, should befal him ;" and this fate, it is related, actually happened to the " debauched" informer.* Therefore, to escape " a perpetual imprisonment, as had already murdered such men as Bates and Udal, he concealed himself as well as he could from the raging Pursevants." Meantime application was made to the Earl of Dorset, to fulfil some engagement of protection which he had formerly made for Mr. Cotton ; but, from some inter- ference from the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Earl returned answer, " that if Mr. Cotton had been guilty of drunkenness or uncleanness, or any such lesser fault, he could have obtained his pardon ; but, inasmuch as he had been guilty of Nonconformity and Puritanism, the crime was unpardonable, and therefore he must fly for his safety." Accordingly Mr. Cotton travelled in disguise to London, and there concealed himself. Up to this time he had not fixed upon New England as a place of exile. In London he had intercourse with several " conforming" ministers, whose conformity was, as they viewed it, a necessary deception, and they endeavored to induce Mr. Cotton to conform in the same manner. They therefore held a friendly con- ference with him upon the subject, in which the matter was freely debated. The arguments of Mr. By field, Mr. Whately, and Mr. Sprint were brought forward by Mr. Cotton's friends as unanswerable ; but, when he replied to them, " the issue whereof was, that instead of bringing Mr. Cotton back to what he had now forsaken, he brought them off altogether from what they had hitherto practised ; every one of those eminent persons, Dr. Goodwin, Mr. Nye, and Mr. Davenport, now became all he was, and at last left the kingdom for their being so." f * This was noted at or near the time of its Rogers of Dedham, mentioned in the text, and occurrence by Mr. Nathaniel Rogers; which settled in Ipswich, N. Eng., 1636. ia the original MS. record is still preserved, f There is yet a conjecture among some in a branch of the Rogers family in New Eng- antiquaries, that Mr. Goodwin may have come land. It is contained, with a great many to New England ; as, by the above passage other reminiscences, in a very small MS. from the Magnalia, it is certain he left Eng- volume, procured for me by my' friend J. H. land ; but Mr. Neal, in his Hist, of the Puri- FoGG, M. D., of South Boston, about three tans, ii. 716 (ed. 4°. 1754), clearly shows that years since. The record is as follows : — " he went into Holland, and became pastor " A Joyner y' was y« principall Persecute of of an independent congregation at Arnheim. Mr. Cotton and his people of Boston, w^by y' He went in 1639, and returned about the be- Congreg: was so broken and changed, dyed ginning of the Long Parliament." He was in (1637) under an hedge of y« plague ; it strik- great favor with the Protector, whom he at- ing first into his house, of all y« town, and at tended on his death-bed. He died in 1679-80, length vpo himself, who in a rage went out in the eightieth year of his age. There was an and sate him [down] and dyed." The account edition of his works in 5 vols, folio, the third in the Magnaha does not materially differ from of which, now by me, is dated 1683. I sup- this ; the author may have had his account pose it is to this Dr. Thomas Goodwin tliat from Mr. Rogers, who was a son of Mr. John " Mr. lohn Lawrence " refers in his preface 1633.] MR. JOHN COTTON. 161 After determining in his own mind between Holland, Barbadoes, and New England, he set sail for the latter place. In this decision he was doubtless influenced very much by the pressing invitations of friends here, and " letters procured from the Church of Boston, by Mr. Win- throp, the Governor of the Colony." It has been very happily observed, " that the God that had carried him through the fire of persecution was now graciously with him in his passage through the water of the Atlantic Ocean, and he enjoyed a comfortable voyage over the great and wide sea." His arrival was hailed with exceeding joy by the "poor people in this wilderness ; " who used to say of him, and the other two who came with him, that now their great necessities were supplied, " for they had cotton for their clothing, hooker for their fishing, and stone for their building." * During the voyage of the Griffin, Mrs. Cotton was delivered of a son, to whom was given the name of Seaborn, and this was his first child. Arrived now in " New Boston," the history of the city becomes iden- tified with that of Cotton,! and they must of necessity be continued together. " The new place of his adoption, especially upon the holy wisdom, conduct, and credit of our Mr. Cotton, upon some accounts of growth, came to exceed Old Boston in everything that renders a town to his " Golden Trvnipet sounded at Pauls Cross," 1624, when he says, " I wish to live to requite some part of your courtesies," &c. There was a Mr. John Goodwin, a contempo- rary of Dr. Thomas. He had a large family, some of whom may have come to this country. Like Dr. Thomas, he was a learned Divine, and was the author of several works ; one, now before me, entitled " The Divine Authority of the Scriptures Asserted," 4°. London, 1048, is accompanied by his " Efigie," from which his age is learned, namelj^, 47 in 164L He wrote a book in defence of the execution of the king, which, after the Restoration, experienced the honor of being burnt with that of Milton's upon the same subject. Cotton's " Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven," London, 1644, was " published by Thomas Goodwin and Philip Nye." That famous work by Mr. Jere- miah Burroughs, " Gospel Reconciliation ; or, Christ's Trumpet of Peace to the World,'' was "Published (with a Testimony) by Thomas Goodwin, William Bridge, William Greenhil, Sydrach Sympson, Philip Nye, John Yates, and William Adderley." Peter Cole was the " Printer and Bookseller," who advertised, in 1657, " Eleven new books of Mr. Thomas Hooker, made in New England, attested in an epistle by Mr. Thomas Goodwin, and Mr. Philip Nye," and many other works by N. Eng. men, as Ward, Eliot, Mayhew, Stone, &c. * Joshua Scottow was the first I have met with who published this play upon these names ; but Mather, from whom the text is 21 taken, leaves out his grandfather Mather's name. " A quaternion," says Scottow, " viz., Mr. Cotton, eminent for spiritual clothing, and Mather for celestial dying. Hooker for soul fishing, and Stone for building up in the holy faith." — Narrative, &c., 23. f There have been many lives of Mr. Cotton printed, all, or nearly all, of which are based upon that excellent piece of biography of him in the Magnalia; of which it may not be too much to say, perhaps, that it is the best in that curious work. Norton's life of him is of no value in point of fact, or very little indeed. It is, probably, all its author intended it to be, a work to perpetuate the Christian prin- ciples of this eminent flither. A very excel- lent pedigree of the Cotton fiimily may be seen in the first volume of the New Eng. Hist, and Gen. Register, prepared by Mr. J. Win- gate Thornton. In another work, not yet published, the same gentleman notes the fol- lowing families descended from Cotton : — " BvLES, Brooks, Bradbury, Bourne, Gush- ing, Everett, Frothingham, Grant, Gookin, Hale, Jackson, Lee, Mather, Swett, Storer, Thaver, Thornton, Tufts, Tracy, Upham, Walter, Williams, Whiting, and many others." On 162 HISTORY- OP BOSTON. [1633, considerable." This, though in a strain of highly- wrought eulogy, is adopted by the sober judgment of other and later writers.* After about a month Mr. Cotton w^as ordained teacher of the First Church ; and*, at the same time, Mr. Thomas Leverett was chosen a Ruling Elder, and Mr. Giles Firmin f was chosen Deacon. On the occasion of the ordination of Mr. Cotton, besides the " impo- sition of hands," the people were notified that they might sanction by their election the choice of the Teacher ; or, in the words of one of the chief of the performers J at the ordination, " he was chosen by all the Congregation testifying their consent by erection of hands." The same informer proceeds to describe the ceremonies at this early ordina- tion, in these words: — " Then Mr. Wilson, the Pastor, demanded of him, if he did accept of that call ? He paused, and then spake to this effect ; that, howsoever he knew himself unworth and unsufficient for that place, yet, having observed all the passages of God's providence (which he reckoned up in particular) in calling him to it, he could not but accept it. Then the Pastor and the two Elders laid their hands upon his head, and the Pastor prayed ; and then, taking off" their hands, laid them on again ; and, speaking to him by his name, they did thenceforth design him to the said office, in the name of the Holy Ghost, and did give him the charge of the Congregation, and did thereby (as a sign from God) endue him with the gifts fit for his office, and, lastly, did bless him. Then the neighboring ministers which were present did (at the Pastor's motion) give him the right hands of fellowship, and the Pastor made a stipulation between him and the Congregation." § Thus it was that Mr. Cotton came into his minis- terial office in Boston, and thus are the peculiar exercises circum- stantially detailed, which cannot fail to be gratifying to all those of succeeding generations who would know their obligations to the early fathers. The next day, after the imposing ceremonies by which Mr. Cotton was placed at the head of the Church of Boston, there was a great assemblage at Newtown, from all the settlements adjacent, for the purpose of ordaining Mr. Hooker and Mr. Stone at that place, which was done " in such a manner as before at Boston ; " the former * Hubbard calls him " that miracle of several valuable facts of a genealogical char- learning and meekness." — Hist. N. Eng. 158. acter. This son (of the same Christian name), Hutchinson says, Cotton is supposed to have who came over with his father, after about been more instrumental in the settlement of seven years returned to England, and died in their civil as well as ecclesiastical polity, than 1697, at Ridgwell, in Essex, aged 80 years. -- any other person." Some have gone much Calamy, i. 517, &c., where there is a partic- further than this ; that " liis suggestions and ular account of him. Deacon Giles Firmiu recommendations in the. pulpit were observed died before 6 Oct., 1634. and adopted by the Church, while the magis- t Winthrop, Journal, i. 114. trates were ready to adopt his private political \ Winthrop, i. 6. Hutchinson says, " The counsels as the law of the land." — See Eliot, circumstances and order of proceeding in Mr. Hist. First Church, 21. Cotton's ordination were intended as a pre- f Father of the author of that well-known cedent, and the congregational churches in work (to the last generation), "The Real New England have generally conformed thereto Christian ;" in the preface to which there are ever since." — Hist. Mass. i. 34. 1633.] WAGES. MERCHANDISE. 163 as Pastor, and the latter as Teacher. At this ordination the gentlemen of Boston performed a conspicuous part. g^ ^ ^ The same day that the Griffin arrived, arrived also the ship Bird, Captain Yates. She brought passengers, but how many is not known ; she likewise brought some cows and four mares. She had a boisterous voyage, was driven far to the north, and was nearly three times as long at sea as the Griffin. Whence she sailed is not mentioned. Meantime the adventurous John Oldham, with only three attendants, travelled by land from Boston to Connecticut. He followed the paths of the Indians all the way, and lodged with them in their huts by night ; all of them treating him with kindness, and the Sachems making presents of beaver, in exchange probably for trifles. At his return he brought some hemp, '' much better than the English, which grew there in great abundance ;" also " some black lead, whereof the Indians told him there was a whole rock." Oct 10 "^^ ^^^ arrival of the ship James at Salem, Master Graves, a considerable accession was made to the inhabitants of Boston. The same ship, with the same commander, had been here before ; and then, as now, the time occupied in the voyage was eight weeks. He sailed from Gravesend, and, of his eighty passengers, twenty were for Boston, " and some sixty cattle." The wages of workmen is this year again made an object of legis- lation, as also was merchandise. Three shillings a day for a carpenter, and two shillings and sixpence for a laborer, were thought to be " excessive rates," and the trader who charged for his goods double their cost in England was considered exorbitant ; therefore the Court ordered that " carpenters, masons, &c.," should take but two shillings a day, and laborers but eighteen pence, and that no commodity should be sold at above four pence in the shilling more than it cost for ready money in England." One of the reasons urged for this order may excite a smile at this day, and amazement a hundred years hence. It was said that by such high wages many could earn enough in four days to keep them a week, consequently they had two days to spend in idleness ! That this promoted indulgence in the use of tobacco and liquor, " which was a great waste to the Commonwealth." That, as the course of things had been, corn was now at six shillings the bushel, a cow at twenty pounds, some twenty-four, and some even twenty-six pounds ; a mare thirty-five pounds, an ewe-goat from three to four pounds, &c. There was a custom adopted this year, among the ministers, of meeting at each other's houses for the purpose of discussing questions of moment. These meetings have been considered by some * as the origin of the " Boston Association of Congregational Ministers." * See Emerson's Hist. First Church, 20, 21. for prayer, theological discussion, and social This Association "continues, every second intercourse." — Hist. Mass. \. ^'^. Monday, in the afternoon, to hold a meeting 164 HISTORY OF BOSTON. [1633. Some part of the work appointed to be clone on the fort in Boston yet remained undone,* owing, it appears, to the neglect of the people of Salem, Newtown, and Saugus, to do the parts allotted to them. The Newtown people had been " warned," but Mr. Dudley " would not sulFer them to come, neither did he acquaint the Governor with the cause." But the "cause" was, "that Salem and Saugus had not brought in money for their parts." When this was understood by the Governor, he wrote the Deputy a letter, stating the intent of the Court to be, that the work should be done by those in the Bay, and that the money assessed on the Salem and Saugus men was for another purpose. On receipt of this explanatory letter, Mr. Dudley wrote an answer, and despatched Mr. Haynes and Mr. Hooker with it to the Governor, who Avere authorized to treat upon the matter. On opening the Deputy's letter, the Governor found it "full of bitterness and resolution not to send till Salem had done its part." Mr. Winthrop returned the letter to Mr. Hooker, saying, " he would not keep such an occasion of pro- vocation by him." A little time before this, Dudley had proposed to buy "a fat hog or two of Winthrop, being somewhat short of pro- visions." In this case, certainly, the Governor exercised the virtue of overcoming evil with good. He sat down and wrote to Dudley, offering him a hog as a present, and saying he would have sent it before if he had known when it would have been acceptable to him. However hoggish Dudley may have felt before the receipt of this letter, there was not much of that feeling left when he had rea,d it ; for he immediately returned answer to Winthrop, " that [Winthrop had], in overcoming himself, overcome him ;" and though he declined receiving the hog as a present, he would gladly purchase it, " and so very loving concluded." And thus the affair seems, for the present, at least, to have ended. The cold seems to have been severe very early this fall. The snow was " knee-deep " on the fourth of December, and vessels were frozen up in the harbors. f At the same time, the small pox was _ making dreadful ravages among the natives. Sagamore John, a great friend of the whites, often mentioned before, died on the fifth of December, and his people died so fast, that Mr. Samuel Maverick of Winisemet buried above thirty in one day ; for whose labors to alleviate their sufferings, his name " is worthy of a perpetual remembrance. Himself, his wife, and servants, went daily to them, ministered to their necessities, and took home many of their children." The people of the neighboring towns also took many of their children away, but most of them died soon after. Of all those who assisted the * In September previous the Authorities of that plantation, because they had yet no made a requisition that " every hand, except minister. Whilst he was there, December 4, Magistrates and Ministers, should assist in there fell such a snow (knee deep) as he could finishino; the fort in Boston." — Snoiv, (jS. not come back for several days, and a boat f "Mr. Wilson, by leave of the Congre- which went thither was frozen up in the river." gation of Boston, whereof he was Pastor, — Winthrop, /owr., i. 118. Such weather is went to Agawam [Ipswich] to teach the people uncommon at this day, so early in December. 1633.] SMALL POX AMONG THE INDIANS. 165 Indians in their sickness, but two white families were infected by it. At or about the same time, Sagamore James died, and most of his peo- ple also, of the same disease. It extended to the Pascataqua eastward, sweeping almost every native in the way. At what place the small pox broke out first, the writers of the time do not state, but it was probably at some point to the westward of Boston, for it is certain that Chikataubat died of this disease about a month before Sagamore John. He had long been acquainted with the English ; in 1621 he went to Plymouth, and signed a treaty with the Pilgrims. The territory over which he was Sachem is not distinctly bounded ; it extended, probably, from Wessaguscus to Neponset. A son of his, named Wampatuck, gave a deed of Braintree to the English in 1665, and a grandson deeded Boston in 1695 ; but of this hereafter. How far from the sea-board the pestilence spread, no certain informa- tion appears ; nor is there much certainty how long it continued. It probably raged as long as there were new subjects for attack. Late in January, one John Scales returned to Boston from " a place twelve miles off," where he had been living with a small company of seven Indians. He reported, that, up to the time of his leaving, four of the seven had died of the disease. This man had run away from his master, with whom he had become dissatisfied, and he was now glad to run away from the Indians. He continued with them, probably, as long as they could be of service to him, but when his services were required for their benefit, the case was altered. Such examples have not been lost from that time to the present. Some Pequots, who visited Boston several months later, reported that many of that nation had died of the small pox, and about the same time it was reported, that, of the great nation of the Narragansets, seven hundred had died. Also one Hall and two others, who went to Connecticut in the beginning of November, returned to Boston on the twentieth of January following, and reported that the small pox ' ' was gone as far as any Indian plantation was known to the West, and much people dead of it." These men had been on a trading expedition, but the sickness ruined their enterprise. Of the Indian children attempted to be rescued from the malady by the people in and about Boston, all were dead but three before spring. One of the three had the singular name of Know God; which Winthrop says was given him because the Indians made such constant use of this phrase when accosted, " Me know God." This was a kind of countersign, which doubtless grew out of the constant importunity of their white brethren, inquiring " if they knew God ? " 166 HISTORY OF BOSTON. [1G34. CHAPTER XIX. Murder of Capt. Stone and others. — Market Day appointed. — First Tavern, and Store. — Thursday Lecture begun. — Lecture against Veils. — Cross cut out of the Colors. — Survey of the Town ordered. — Representatives fii-st Chosen. — Great increase of Inhabitants. — First Election Sermon. — John Humfrey. — Mr. Andrew's Gift. — Enemies to the Colony in England. — The Patent de- manded. — Emigrant Ships stopped at London. — Earl of Warwick. — Preparations for a Fort on Castle Island. — Some propose to remove to Connecticut. — First Entries on the Records of Boston. — Description of the first Book. — Origin of Select Men. — Various early Regulations. — The Tri- angular Warehouse. — Arrival of Eminent Men. — Opposition to the Removal to Connecticut. THE year now commenced is one of thrilling interest in the history of New England, and to the people of Boston especially ; as the centre of all undertakings, the fountain head of counsel and direction in the affliirs of the country. This year was committed, or the knowledge of certain murders first reached Bos- ton, which finally brought on the war with the Pequots, and which eventuated in their destruction, as a nation, or tribe of importance. Captain John Stone, who had created some dis- turbance in Boston, the particulars of which have been detailed, sailed soon after to the eastward. At Agamenticus he was joined by Captain Walter Norton;* thence, in the autumn of 1633, he proceeded southward on his way to Virginia, and does not appear to have been heard from until the following winter. Then news was brought to Plymouth, that he had been murdered by the Pequots, as he was in a course of trade with them in the mouth of the Connecticut River. No steps, however, appear to have been immedi- ately taken to investigate the affair, nor does it appear that any of the murdered men belonged to Boston, or any part of the Bay, as the settlements around the inner harbor were then termed. Meanwhile the business of Boston progressed, and a regular ' market was judged to be necessary. Accordingly the Court passed an order for the erection of a Market,! and for its being kept on Thursdays, on which days the public Lecture was held. At the same time a tavern was opened by Samuel Cole, and John Coggan opened a shop of merchandise. This was the first tavern and first shop opened in Boston. Hitherto every house was a house of entertainment, as well as a shop or store for the sale of merchandise. It was a long time, however, before stores became generally separated from houses of resi- dence. * Of the Christian name of Capt. Norton, f " Erection of a mercate " is the language there may be a question ; but from some cir- of Winthrop as rendered by his Editor. The cumstances I am of the opinion that it is as true meaning I have no doubt is the " estab- I have given it in the text — Walter. As will lishment" of a Market; for it is not very be seen in our list of Freemen, Gen. Reg., vol. probable that a building for a market was con- iii., p. 90, Capt. Walter Norton is among those templated at this early day. As will be seen recorded 19 Oct., 1630. He probably went from the records hereafter, reference is made with others, not long after, to Pascataqua. to the " Market Place." 1634.] THURSDAY LECTURE. 167 The Thursday Lecture,* which had its beginning in Boston, soon after the arrival of Mr. Cotton,! has, with some intermissions, been kept up until the present generation.| It was an excellent institution, and early exercised a good influence. Many of the discourses at this lecture were printed during the last century, and constitute a valuable portion of its literary history. § At these lectures subjects were sometimes discussed which were of too secular a nature, as was then thought, for the pulpit on Sundays. Thus, Mr. Cotton took occasion at one of these early lec- tures to discuss the propriety of women's wearing veils. Mr. ■ Endicott being present, he spoke in opposition to Mr. Cotton's views; and, " after some debate, the Governor, perceiving it to grow to some earnestness, interposed, and so it break off." What effect, if any, the lecture had to bring the veil into disuse here at that time, no men- tion is made. But about this time, whether before or after, is not quite certain, but probably before, Mr. Cotton lectured at Salem on the same grave question, with great effect. His arguments against veils were so conclusive to the females of the congregation, that, though they all wore them in the forenoon, in the afternoon they all came without them. This may have taken Governor Endicott by surprise, and he may have come up to Boston to counteract this wholesale, and, as he believed, unscriptural denunciation of a necessary appendage to the attire of all modest women, especially, as Mr. Williams and Mr. Skelton had proved conclusively from Scripture, that it ought to be worn in public assemblies. |1 For females to wear veils, they. maintained, was no badge of superstition, while the Cross in the King's colors was evidently of that character ; or so Mr. Endicott considered it, and he forthwith proceeded to cut it out. Roger Williams is accused of agitating this matter, and there- fore accountable for the trouble that it occasioned ; and as it was done in accordance with his views, it was of course condemned by all those who had denounced him as promulgating heretical doctrines. H Upon * Under date 11 Dee. , 1G33, Winthrop writes, the Church on that day are almost bare, and con- " The lectures at Boston and Newtown returned sequently, in winter, extremely cold. Some de- again to their former course, because the sire its discontinuance ; but, while others are weather was many times so tedious as people attached to it by old associations, and the com- could not travel, &c." forts and facilities of brotherly and ministerial f It may be said rather, that his lectures intercourse which it affords, it is not likely that were renewed on liis arrival here, for he had it will soon be given up." Vol. xvi. 129. held such lectures before he left England. See ^ I have never heard of a complete collection Magnalia, iii. 18. — At the end of two centu- of these, and very much doubt whether one ries, the Rev. Mr. N. L. Fi-othingham preached could be easily made. Some thirty, only, ex- a sermon which he entitled, " The Shade of the tending over just one hundred years, 1714 to Past. — For the Celebration of the Close of the 1814, are in my own collection. Second Century since the Establishment of the || Dr. Bentley asserts that Mr. Endicott had Thursday Lecture;''^ and the Rev. Mr. R. C. introduced the practice before the arrival of Waterston, on the 14 Dec, 1843, preached " A Mr. Williams, and that the latter supported it Discourse in the First Church on the Occasion more to gratify Mr. Endicott and Mr. Skelton, of Resuming the Thursday Lecture.'''' See Chr. than that he felt any interest in it himself. Examiner, March, 1834, and Jan. 1844. But this does not agree exactly with the well- X " Of late yeai's," says the Christian Ex- known character of Roger Williams, as we un- aminer, "attendance on the Thursday Lecture derstand it. See Knowles' L'fe Williams, 61. has dwindled down almost, as it were, to non- T[ His cotemporary, Capt. Scottow, says, attendance, except on the part of the liberal " This Child of Light walked in darkness about clergy of Boston and its vicinity. The walls of forty years, yet the root of the matter abode 168 HISTORY OF BOSTON. [1634. ENDICOTT CUTTING OUT THE CROSS. this Mr. Hubbard sarcastically adds, " What that good man would have done with the Cross upon his coin, if he had any left, that bore that sign of superstition, is uncertain." Mr. Endicott cut out the red Cross from an entire conscientious conviction, that it was idolatrous to let it remain ; arguing, and truly, that it had been given to the King of England by the* Pope ; and that it was a relic of Antichrist. Mr. Richard Browne, Ruling Elder of the church of Watertown, complained of the act to the Court of Assistants, as a high-handed pro- ceeding, which might be construed, in England, into one of rebellion. To con- clude the account of this matter by antici- pating the order of events, it may be briefly stated, that the Court issued an attachment against Ensign Richard Davenport, then the ensign-bearer of Salem, whose Colors had been mutilated, to appear at the next Court. When that Court came together, which was a year after the Cross was cut out, " Endicott was judged to be guilty of a great offence ;" inas- much as he had, " with rash indiscretion, and by his sole authority," committed an act, " thereby giving occasion to the Court of England to think ill of them ;" that, therefore, "he was worthy of admonition, and should be disabled from bearing any public ofQce for one year." This affair of the Cross would hardly have been noticed, probably, but for the opportunity it afforded the people of Boston to punish those of Salem for their adherence to Roger Williams. And thus early is seen that spirit of dictation, which has ever since been conspicuous in this metropolis ; and though it has, in a measure, made it what it is, it also shows, that, what Boston undertakes, Boston will do. Meanwhile it probably occurred to the Authorities that they might delay further proceeding safely for the present ; inasmuch as the same Authorities " being doubtful of the lawful use of the Cross in an Ensign." However, when it was thought the time had arrived in which some excuse should be sent over, and money had been raised to build a fort, to be employed in case excuses failed, the Governor and Assistants met and agreed to write to Mr. Downing, their friend in England, " of the truth of the matter, under all their hands, that, if occa- sion were, he might show it in their excuse ; for therein they expressed their dislike of the thing, and their purpose to punish the offenders, because the fact, as concerning the manner, was very unlawful." That Winthrop, and perhaps Cotton, were willing to connive at the depreda- tion on St. George's Cross, is very manifest from several circumstances ; only one, however, will be mentioned. Winthrop, about the same time, Nov. 27. in him : — Thus the Lord disposed of Satan's A Narrative of the Planting of the Mas. Col., malice, so he was out-shot in his own bow." — <^c., p. 21. 1634.] FIRST REPRESENTATIVES. 169 offered as great an insult to the King's Calendar, as Endicott had to his Colors; by utterly rejecting its "heathenish Roman nomenclature;" without even an apology for his conduct.* Had there been no fear of a Royal Governor, little would probably have been heard about a mutilation of the Colors. For not above two months after this, " all the Ministers except Mr. Ward, of Ipswich, met at Boston, being requested by the Governor and Assistants," to consider what they should do, if a General Governor should be sent over ? Also whether it was lawful to carry the Cross in their Banners ? It was de- cided that they ought not to accept a General Governor ; and, as to wearing Crosses in their Banners, they were divided, and were obliged to defer the matter to another meeting. At that meeting, which was in the following March, " Mr. Endicott being called to answer," the Court agreed no better than before ; only it was agreed that for the present no Colors at all should be used. A rii 1 ^^^ ^^^ following order was made does not fully appear ; it ^" ' was, that an oath should be administered "to all house-keepers and sojourners, being twenty years of age and not freemen, and for making a survey of the houses and lands of all freemen." Up to this time all the Freemen in the Province had been, or had the privilege of being, present at the General Courts, and of participating in making the laws by which they were to be governed. They had now become so numerous, that the attendance of all was quite impracticable. This state of things, however, was not contemplated in their Charter, but the propriety of having a less numerous body to transact the general business of the Commonwealth could not reasonably be questioned ; though, according to Mr. Hubbard, the measure occasioned considerable disturbance, which, by the wisdom and prudence of " some private gentlemen, the trouble was prevented." Perhaps Mr. Winthrop's agency to bring about the proposed change may have been a reason that he was left out of the government, as he was. It was, however, agreed by concert beforehand, that two deputies from each town should "meet and consider of such matters as they were to take order in at the" next General Court. Mr. Hubbard's plausible pretext for Mr. Winthrop's being ^^ ■ dropped, is thus expressed : — " The Freemen, that they might not always burthen one person with the yoke of the government, nor suffer their love to overflow in one family, turned their respects into another channel ;" and so elected Mr. Dudley Governor, and Mr. Roger Ludlow Deputy Governor. Mr. Haynes was chosen one of the Assist- ants, and Mr. Coddington Treasurer. At this Court it was determined that there should be four General Courts yearly, and that it should be * Winthrop's Editor takes rather a strange time, of the absurdity of following " Romish view of this act. He says it " arose from a Superstitions," is a very natural conclusion, weak scruple," &c. He might as well have That their opinions gained strength in a free argued that the Reformation was founded wilderness, faster than they would have done upon "a weak scruple." That the convic- under the restraints of arbitrary and sanguin- tions of our fathers were strengthened by ary laws, is quite natural also. 22 170 HISTORY OF BOSTON. [1634. lawful for the Freemen of each Plantation to choose two or three before every General Court to confer of, and to prepare, such business for, the next Court as they judged necessary to be acted upon ; and that persons so selected by the Freemen should be fully empowered to act in the General Court for all the Freemen of the Commonwealth, in making laws, granting lands, in short, everything, excepting the elec- tion of Magistrates and other officers. Other reasons were given why the people should legislate by their representatives, instead of a general attendance of the whole. By such general attendance they were sub- jected to a great loss of time ; * and, all the men being drawn from the l3order settlements, would leave them exposed to attack by the Indians. The inhabitants of Boston and its vicinity had unprecedentedly in- creased since the emigration of 1630 ; " near twenty considerable ships every year, since the second," had arrived, " with such a number of passengers, that the inhabitants were forced to look out for new places of settlement, so that, in these four years, " every desirable place fit for plantation on the sea-coast was taken up." The places so occupied and named are recorded in this order by the early historian, Mr. Hub- bard : — Salem, Charlestown, Boston, Dorchester, Roxbury, Water- town, Newtown, Lynn, Ipswich, Newbury, Hingham, Weymouth, " and, last of all, Concord, about twelve miles westward from Water- town, right up into the woods." f At the late Election Mr. Cotton preached a sermon, J and the practice was continued in succeeding years. They soon became as necessary a part of Election Day as any other of its ceremonies ; and this was the first of the series of Election Sermons which, with few exceptions, has been kept up to this day. Whether there would have been a sermon by Mr. Cotton at this time, but for his wish to make known to the Freemen his disapprobation for their turning out the old officers, is not certain ; but certain it is, he protested in strong terms " that a Magis- trate ought not to be turned into the condition of a private man with- out just cause ;" forgetting, in his warmth, that the Freemen were the * The election this year occupied three days. Mr. [William] GoodwinO Mr. [John] TalcottC — Winthrop, i.lS2. The principal officers of the Mr. [William] Spencer(i) Mr. [Robert] FeakesW Government residing at Newtown, that town H'- t?'f 'i'"^],?'''''",?/'' ^'"- t<^eorge] AlcockW „K„„, „ it F f n I T> i. iu- Mr. [John] Oldham (-i) Mr. Israel btough ton (^ now became the seatof Government But this jyj,. Thomas] Beecher(3) William Felpes(«) Mection was held in Mr. Cottons meeting- Mr. [Abraham] Palmer(3) George Hull(S) house in Boston. — Snow. Robert Moulton(3) Capt. [Nath'l.] Turnerf^) t His(. of New Ens;-., IS>S. Two of the towns Mr. [John] CoxeallC) Mr. [Thomas] Willist^) here named were not settled, however, till Edmund Quinsey(4) Mr. [Edward] Toralins^ about a year later, yet there would be enouo-h ^*P'- John Underhill(^) Mr. [John] HolgraveW without them to substantiate the text of Win- ^^fj" ^"^u^lZ, m""* t^"^'.''\v'*"r*! ! ., , r ; • ino i ,, . , r! William Heath (') Mr. Francis W eston<^> throp's Journal, i. 128, namely, that two Depu- ties from each town attended the General Court Thus Agawam, Hingham, Weymouth, Med- of 14 May, of this year (1634), though his ^^rd, Marblehead, &c., do not appear to be Commentator thinks that his Author should represented. But the Record does not state have written three, and not two, from each what towns were represented, town ; because he is of opinion that but eight t I have been led to suppose that this ser- towns sent Deputies; the names of whom he ™on was preached after the Election, and not has given as follows from the Colony Records, before it, as some have unhesitatingly stated, and I have added the parts in brackets. A (i) Cambridge. (5) Roxbury. membership in the General Court did not then ^-l ^ya'trtown. (6) Dorchester. ronfpr thp fitlp of Mr '^V. t-harlestown. (7) Lynn (Saugus.) comer tne tUie Ot MT. (4) Boston. (8) Salem. 1634.] JOHN HUMFREY. 171 judges of what might constitute " a just cause," and that rulers might be changed for very good reasons, without any imputation upon their integrity or ability to perform their office.* During the month of June this year there arrived at Boston " four- teen great ships, and one at Salem." Among the gentlemen of special note who now arrived was John Humfrey, Esquire, of whom mention has before been made.f He was the first Deputy- Governor of the Massachusetts Company, and was hindered from coming over in 1630 by the situation of his private affairs. This hindrance proved a fortunate thing for Boston ; for, being a gentleman of high standing at home, he had great weight in counteracting the evil designs of the enemies of the Colony. His wife came with him ; another proof of woman's fortitude and voluntary sufferings in a " forlorn wilderness," to encourage and uphold the pioneers of a vast undertaking for the good of posterity. Her sacrifices must have been greater than most others. She came out of the protection of an Earl- dom to accompany her husband here, with the full knowledge that the same undertaking had cost the life of the Lady Arabella Johnson, her sister, | whom she did not expect to be a partaker of her privations, or a companion in her solitude. Mr. Humfrey had a large grant of land at Lynn, and there he settled soon after his arrival. At the end of about seven years' residence in the country, he returned with his wife to England. Through Mr. Humfrey's influence, Boston received essential aid by contributions in money and other substantial gifts. One gentleman, Mr. Richard Andrews, § of London, gave sixteen heifers, one of which he directed to be given to each of the ministers, and the rest to the poor. He afterwards made other donations. Mr. Humfrey brought ordnance, muskets, and powder, for the Colony, " bought for the public by moneys given to that end." Mr. Humfrey brought, also, propositions from many of the Nobility to become settlers in New England. These "propositions" amounted to questions of inquiry touching religious privileges. Some of the ships lost many cattle ; but of two that came from Ipswich, with above one hundred and twenty head, seven only were lost. At the same time, one ship only lost passengers. This was the Elizabeth Dorcas; which being "very ill victualled, and being hurt upon a rock at Scilly," which was the occasion of a long passage to * Curious and interesting statistics about melancholy picture of the situation of the election sermons may be found appended to Lady Susan at Lynn, in his history of that that of 1849, by Dr. John Pierce of Brookline, ancient town. See p. 115-16, where will be which he preached in the 76th year of his age, found some account of the family, and which was among the last of the services ^ There was a Thomas Andrews, an Alder- of a long life. He died the same year. man of London, who, in 1648, was appointed f See ante, p. 52, In some early copies of one of the Judges at the trial of Charles, that part of this work, 1632 was printed as Richard Andrews may also have been an the date of Mr. Humfrey's arrival, which is alderman. Thomas was Lord Mayor in 1651, an error, not 1551, as printed in Mr. Young's collection X Mr. Lewis has drawn a beautiful though of early matters about Massachusetts. 172 HISTORY OF BOSTON. [1634. her, and one of extreme sufferings to the passengers, " whereof sixty- perished at sea ! " The people of Boston were a good deal alarmed, about this time, from certain information, which they received from England, of movements prejudicial to their liberties. It appeared that a growing jealousy of the importance of the settlements had influenced " the Archbishops and others of the Council" to attempt to put a stop to emigration, and actually sent out warrants to stay the ships then ready to sail. They also commanded Mr, Cradock * to surrender the Patent, he being, or having been, the only legal Governor of the Massachusetts' Company. Mr. Cradock accordingly wrote to the Government here to send home the Charter. Meantime, the masters of the embargoed ships in the Thames, by good and prudent management, succeeded in being allowed to proceed on their voyage, for that time. And thus came Mr. Cradock's order for the return of the Charter, which was accompanied by a copy of the Council's Order f to him. This was a matter for serious con- sideration, and much of anxiety must have shown itself in the counte- nances of the Fathers of Boston. But as in other cases, so in this, they displayed the most consummate wisdom. It was in their power to pro- crastinate ; they exercised that power, and thus is opened a portion of the sequel to what has already been premised.J Governor Dudley and his Council, " upon long consultation," first, whether they should return any answer to Mr. Cradock at all, and, secondly, if any, what it should be, finally agreed to write him, stating that they could not act in the matter without the authority of the General Court, and that there would be no General Court till next September. Thus, how much is due to the wisdom of the Authorities, and how much to the safety which three thousand miles of ocean afforded, may pretty satis- fjictorily be settled in the minds of all such as give the subject their attention. About the same time, the Earl of Warwick, a great friend of New England, wrote an encouraging letter to Mr. Winthrop, in which he congratulated him on the prosperity of the settlement, and offered his services for its advancement. § Jul 29 What the preliminary steps had been for erecting a fort on Castle Island does not appear ; but now Governor Dudley and his Council repair to that island, with "divers Ministers and others," and there agreed upon erecting two platforms and one small forti- fication, and the Deputy-Governor, Mr. Ludlow, was appointed to oversee the work. * He was member of Parliament for London, t See ante, p. 64. 1640, and died the same year.— See ParZia- \ Several of the Puritan fathers' books, ded- mentanj His. of Eng., ix. *32. There was a icated to this Earl, are in possession of the Matthew Cradock, member of Parliament from writer. He died 19 April, 1658, se. 71, and was Stafford, in the time of Philip and Mary, and buried in Folstead church, Essex. " He Avas was one of the members who " left it in dis- not content with hearing the long sermons of gust." There served in the same Parliament the Puritan divines, but he would have them of 1640, with our Matthew Cradock, " Samuel repeated at his own house." — Calamy, Fun. Vassell." Ser. in CJranger. His residence is said to t To be seen in Hubbard's Hist, of New have been the finest in England. England, 153. ^ 1 4 \ 4-^ v% .^ J-^ ^^ i- i.4>i-i I \2^s e T-^^ ^'^^ ®^ ^^^ ^ 1634.] FIRST BOOK OF RECORDS, 173 The time having arrived for the meeting of the General Court, ^^ ■ 'it accordingly assembled at Newtown. It held a long and excited session ; many subjects came up of great moment, among which a removal to Connecticut of an important part of the inhabitants of the Bay was one. This and other questions occupied the Court for a week, and then an adjournment for fourteen days was moved and carried. How much of the time of the Court was taken up in dis- cussing the evils arising from the use of tobacco, " costly apparel, and immodest fashions," does not appear ; but " pains and penalties " were prescribed for the special benefit of all such as presumed to indulge in them beyond specific bounds. The first book of the Records of Boston begins here ; that is ^^ ' 'to say, what there is left of it, for the number of leaves torn off and lost is not known, nor when they were torn off and lost. The first entries now in being ar^ in the autograph of Governor Winthrop.* It is probable that the first portion of the Records was occupied chiefly in the distribution and allotments of the lands of the peninsula,| and it may be that a list of the names of the residents was contained in the opening pages ; but speculations of this nature are of small account. It is sufficient to state, that what now remains appears to be an entire book, I the first entry beginning at the top of the page, and is in these words : — • " Whereas it hath been founde that muche damage hath allreadye happnd by laynge of stones and loges neere the bridge and landinge place, whereby diverst boats have been much brusd ; for p'^vention of such harmes for tyme to come, it is ordered that whosoever shall vnlade any stones, lumber, or logges, where the same may not be plainely scene at highe water, shall sett vp a pole or beacon to give notice thereof, upon paine that whosoever shall faile so to doe shall make full recompence for all such damage as shall happen : being only declarative of y*" com. lawe herein." § Against the above first paragraph in the Records are set in the margin the names of those persons who had the direction of the affairs of the town for the year, but how they were appointed does not appear. It will be seen in process of time, however, that similar ofiicers received the name of Select Men. The following names, occupying the left- hand margin of the original Record, are presumed to have been present * The first two paragraphs are written with ularly through the book (from 1 to 161) it blue ink, which is yet bright. appears to be complete. The accompanying f It is Mr. Quiney's opinion, that " the as- fac simile has been prepared at great cost, and signment of house-lots within the peninsula, is a faithful representation of half of the first and the allotting farms to succeeding emi- page of the first volume. grants, formed the chief business of the town ^ Upon this last sentence Mr. Quincy re- authorities for nearly half a century." — Mu- marks, " The persons passing this order, how- nicipal Hist, of Boston, p. 2. That was, very ever, seem to have been under some appre- probably, one of their chief concerns ; but hension lest their authority might be ques- they had several others which they thought of tioned." — Municipal HistorT/, p. 3. And well equal, if not of greater, moment. they might, for it will be remembered that, J It contains 161 pages, on foolscap paper, not many days before, their Charter had been The paging and indexing was a comparatively demanded. That the future looked very crit- modern labor, and from the pages running reg- ical to them is pretty certain. 174 HISTORY OF BOSTON. [1634. when it was made ; namely, John Winthrop, William Coddington, Capt. John Underhill, Thomas Oliver, Thomas Leverett, Giles Firmin, John Coggeshall, William Peirce, Robert Hardinge, and William Brenton.* The Record proceeds : — "It is also ordered, that no person shall leave any fish or garbage neare the said bridge or common landing-place, between the creeks, whereby any annoyance may come to the people that passe that way, vpon payne to forfeit for every such offence five shillings, the same to be levied by distress of the goodes of the offender. And for the better execution of these orders, the aforesaid Giles Firmin is appointed over- seer of said landing-place, to give notice to suche strangers and others as come hither with boats, and to take knowledge of all offences com- mitted, and to levye the penalties which shall be forfeited. And if, after notice shall be given by the said overseer to any person that shall have any timber, logges, or stones, being without such pole or beacon, the said offender shall (after making recompence to the person damni- fied, if any damage happen) forfeit to the towne, for every daye the same offence shall continue, five shillings, to be levied by distresse."t These extracts are supposed | to establish the fiict, that a narrow point or tongue of land projected into the harbor between Mill Creek and the Town Dock, and that upon and around this the principal business of Boston was at first done. The Triangular Warehouse, till 1824 an object of antiquarian curiosity, was built upon this point, though not until about sixty years after the period now treated of It being thus introduced, it may not be improper in this con- nection to give an account of it. For many years before the Tri- angular Warehouse was demol- ished it was an object of much in- terest, as a relic of ancient times, and as representing the style of ^ If wmmm TRIANGULAR WAREHOUSE. * There is one name in the MS. not entirely ■written out. This was crossed out apparently at the time it was written. I presume it was intended for Edmund Quincy. This person, ■whoever he was, may have been appointed one of the Town Officers, but not accepting the office, or otherwise prevented from being present. " Edmond Quinsey" was, at this time, an inhabitant of Boston, had been ad- mitted a freeman 4 March, 1634. f Nothing of a municipal character would be more natural, in a community associated for mutual benefit, than the choice or appoint- ment of a few of their number to manage the general concerns of the whole. The missing portion of our Records would probably show this to have been among the first proceedings of the to^wn. The name select men, which they eventually received, was easily, naturally, and almost necessarily, acquired ; for men selected for any specific object were select men. The number of these select men may have varied from time to time before the time reached by the Records. There was a Town Meeting on the 8th of the 6th month, at which were chosen Richard Bellingham, Esq., J. Cogan, merchant, in place of Giles Firmin, deceased, and Robert Harding, now in Virginia, to make up the ten to manage the aflkirs of the town," Such officers first received the name Select Men in the Records in 1642. X See Shaw's Topog. and Hist. Descript. of Boston, 73. Mr. Shaw is pretty good author- ity for facts of this nature, generally. 1634.] WILLIAM HUTCHINSON. 175 architecture in an early period of the history of Boston. The researches which have been made into its antiquities have not furnished data to establish the exact time of its foundation, but Mr. Shaw says it was "about the year 1700." In a "ledger-book" of the owners, that Avriter found some items * relative to the subject, but nothing concerning its time of building ; though he says it was built by London merchants for a warehouse, and was subsequently improved for different purposes, both public and private. It stood opposite the Swing Bridge, so well known one hundred years ago, and at the head of the Town Dock, and measured forty-eight feet upon it ; on Roebuck passage it measured forty-one feet, and oii the back side fifty-five feet. Its foundation was of stone, and its walls of brick. These were of a larger size than the bricks of the country in later times. Its roof was slated. " There were two principal stories, with a good cellar underneath. The lower story appeared to have been arched, with very many doors and windows. On each corner and in the centre of the roof there was a tower, topped with a ball. The centre ball was of wood, the others of stone ; all fixed on iron spires, set in lead." f There was a period in its history when it was the central point of the heaviest business done in the town, and here, for a long time, the public scales were kept. But, like every other structure of human art, it was doomed to sink into insignificance, as Time's heavy hand continued its pressure upon it ; until its great agent, Improvement, came to its relief, and saved it from the mortification of crumbling to dust with the weight of years. In the midst of the stirring affairs which occupied the General '^^ ' ' Court now in session, there came in the ship Griffin, with about two hundred passengers, and one hundred cattle. Among the passengers -were Mr. John Lathrop, Mr. Zachariah Synmes, and Mr. William Hutchinson. Of the trials and misfortunes of the latter gentle- man notice will be taken in the order of their occurrence. His wife and several children came with him. He resided in Boston until the Antinomian controversy compelled him to remove to Rhode Island, over which colony he was the first Governor. Alford, in Lincolnshire, about twenty miles from Boston, was the place whence this family emigrated. Ann Hutchinson, who gave rise to the " Antinomians and Famalists " in New England, was the wife of this "William Hutchinson. Her maiden name was Marbury, a daughter of Mr. Edward Marbury,J " a godly minister of Lincolnshire," and also of London. These were the ancestors of one of the most distinguished Governors of Massa- chusetts, Governor Thomas Hutchinson. Mary, the sister of Mr. Wil- liam Hutchinson, married Mr. John Wheelwright, also involved in the Antinomian troubles. Susannah, the mother of Mr. William Hutchin- * " 1714. To Cash for ground rent two f " It was constructed with great strength, years, £2 4s. — To Benjamin Hallowell, lis. and the foundation stood upon a sandy marsh, 9ii. — To Cash for a ladder, 17s. — Paid Mr. beneath which there is found a solid blue clay. Manly for repairing the tiles and slates. — at about thirteen feet below the level of Ann Cash for extraordinary charges when the cellar Street." — Snow. J See Rise, Reign and was overflowed, 15s." — Descript. of Boston,! Z. Ruin of the vintinomians, &c. , p. 33. 176 HISTORY OP BOSTON. [1634. son, probably came with him to Boston. The fame of Cotton, no doubt, had induced them to follow his fortunes into " these goings down of the sun." Among the acts of the General Court, six hundred pounds was ordered to be raised " towards fortifications and other charges ; which were the more hastened," says Winthrop, because, by one of the ships just arrived, there came over a copy of the commission for taking away their Patent.* Thus this act can only be construed as intended to resist the power of England. To return to the Records of the Town : " At a generall meeting vpon publick notice. Imp'. It was l^ec. 10. ^j,jg^g^^ ^Yiixt Mr. Willson, the Pastor (in lieu of his land granted him at the North river, by Mestick, wch he should passe ouer to the towne of Boston), should have so much land at Mount Wooleston at his election. And after so much as shall be his portion of other lands belonging to the towne, to be laid him out so neere his other lands at Mount Wooleston as may be for his most conveniency." f At a meeting eight days after, J " vpon publique " notice, it ^^*'' was agreed that " Mr. Winthrop, Mr. Coddington, Mr. Belling- ham, § Mr. Cotton, Mr. Ollyver, Mr. Colborne, and William Balstone, shall have power to divide and dispose of all such lands belonging to y" towne (as are not yet in y" lawfull possession of any pticular prsons) to the inhabitants of y^ towne, according to y® orders of Court ; leaving such portions in comon for y** vse of newe comers, and y^ further benefitt of y*" towne, as in theire best discretions they shall thinke fitt ; the ilands hyred by y*" towne to be also included in this order." The project of a removal to Connecticut of many distinguished settlers in and about Boston, caused great agitation in the town and * See ante, p. 172. doings of which comprise the next entry on f It was judged proper to introduce a few the records, namely, Dec. 18th. The choice of the early entries from the Records, exactly made the previous lecture day is not recorded, as they are recorded, that the reader may except by Winthrop in his Journal, have a just understanding of the manner in ^ Some very interesting original letters, by which the early public business of Boston was a relative in England, are published in the transacted. Neiu England Hist, and Gen. Reg. for April, X Winthrop, in his Journal, i. 151, speaks 1853, His name is prominent in our history of a Town Meeting on the 11 Dec, " to choose for a long period, and though the Quakers seven men who should divide the town lands handle his name without cere/now?/, if not with- among them." From the same source we out mercy, and while it must be confessed learn that the seven men were chosen by they had reason to do so, yet he was not written ballots ; or, to use his words, " by without eminent virtues. A town in the papers." At this meeting they left out Win- State perpetuates his name. A Henry Belyng- throp, Coddington, "and other of the chief ham was Proctor of New College, Oxford, men ; only they chose one of the Elders and a 1598. — Gulch's Apx. to Wood. A Sir Henry Deacon, and the rest of the inferior sort." Bellingham was High Sheriff of Yorkshire, (But the names of the " inferior sort " are not 1596. He married a daughter of Francis given.) This they did, " as fearing that the Boynton (a family traceable to Bartholomew richer men would give the poorer sort no de Bovington, living at the beginning of the great proportions of land, but would rather 12th century). Our Richard was, no doubt, leave a great part at liberty for new comers of the Yorkshire Bellinghams. Much of in- and for common, which Mr. Winthrop had oft terest may be found concerning branches of persuaded them unto, as best for the town." the Bellinghams in Fuller's Wor^Aies and Nich- — Ihid., \bl-2. However, Mr. Cotton inter- o\^' Progresses. Gov. Bellingham died 7 Dec, fered, and influenced the people to reconsider 1672, in his 81st year. He was the last of the their election of the 11th, and to hold another Patentees. — Int.-leaved AVck of Judge Sewall, on the next lecture day, which they did, the in the hands of Mr. Frederic Kidder. 1634.] REMOVAL TO CONNECTICUT. 177 vicinity. It was a subject of legislation, and was debated with much earnestness in the session of September, and also at the adjourned meeting, fourteen days later. The chief argument against a removal was, of course, made by those in authority residing in Boston and its immediate neighborhood. They very reasonably argued that, without a division, they were weak, and exposed to invasion ; from the French by sea, and the Indians by land. But Mr. Hooker, as head of the Church at Newtown, urged their straitened circumstances for want of land. They had had from Captain Oldham and others glowing accounts of beautiful meadows along the Connecticut, and this was an important consideration, as they had many cattle to be provided for in an ap- proaching winter ; and while nothing is said about the meadows here- about having been taken up and appropriated before their arrival ; that Boston had already or might soon exercise an undue influence over the adjacent towns ; that the offices had begun to be pretty sharply con- tested] that so many men of acknowledged ability and capacity, in one small community, afforded but a distant prospect of a just appreciation of them all, and hence the prospect of their being called into exercise being small and remote ; — that all these considerations were taken into account may be more than probable.* However, those who ad- vocated a removal were bound to abide the decision of the General Court. They did abide it ; and when the day came to take the question, they got a majority of votes for removal.f From the time of this decision until October of the next year, preparations went steadily on for a removal ; and, though no doubt some went in the mean time, it was not till the twentieth of October, 1635, that the main body of the settlers, consisting of " about sixty men, J women, and children, with their horses, cattle, and swine," set off, like the ancient Israelites, for their Land of Promise, upon a journey through a dense wilderness, which occupied them fourteen days in its accom- plishment. § Though the loss of so many worthy inhabitants from this * Hubbard says, " two such eminent stars, the owners of lots were entered in a book. — such as were Mr. Cotton and jMr. Hooker, See Dr. Joel Hawes' Centennial Discourse at both of the first magnitude, though of differing Hartford, 9 Nov., 1834, to which is appended influence, could not well continue in one and a list of the names here referred to. See also the same orb." — Hist. New Eng., 173. "Mr. elaborate Historical Notes on Connecticut, by Cotton had such an insinuating and melting Mr. W. S. Porter, 12mo, 1842. way in his preaching, that he would usually ^ " Hearing of a very fertill place," says carry his very adversary captive after the tri- Johnson, "upon the river of Canectico low umphant chariot of his rhetoric." — Ibid. ,175. land, and well stored with meddow, — this f While the matter was thus in debate in people, seeing that tillage went but little on, the General Court, some of Watertown took resolved to remove and breed up store of the opportunity of seizing a brave piece of cattell, which were then at eight and twenty meadow aimed at by those of Newtown, which, pound a cow, or neare upon. But these men, as was reported, proved a bone of contention having their hearts gone from the Lord, soone ju them, &c. — Hubbard, N. Eng., 177. tooke dislike at every little matter ; the plow- X Some idea of the individuals composing able plaines were too dry and sandy for them, this company may be had (that is, the names and the rocky places, although more fruitfull, of the men) from a list of those who owned yet to eat their bread with toile of hand, and land in Hartford in 1639, four years after the how they deemed it insupportable. And they great emigration. Until this year (1639) no only waited now for a people of stronger faith catalogue of the inhabitants appears; then than themselves were, to purchase their houses the Town Records of Hartford begin, or then and land ; accordingly they met with Chap- 23 178 HISTORY OF BOSTON. [1634. then weak and feeble community was heavily felt at the time, it was more than made up, in numbers at least, by immediate arrivals from England, as will be marked in the sequel. Meantime there was little satisfaction in the consideration, that those friends who had thus buried themselves in the wilderness had lost much in security, whatever they might gain in lands and liberty. CHAPTER XX. Pequot Messengers visit Boston. — Fail in their Object. — Others arrive, — and are successful. — Their Detail of Stone's Death. — Some Narragansets appear in the Neighborhood. — Pequots fear being intercepted by them. — They conclude a Treaty. — Their Diplomatic Skill. — Not so Treacherous as represented. — Incident in the Life of John Eliot. — Ship Regard arrives. — John Mansfield. — Casualty. — Town Meeting Proceedings. — Orders about allotting out the Land. — About Fences and Gates. — School Master. — Regulation about Litigations. — Apprehensions from the French. — La Tour's Gasconade. — Severity of the Winter. — Israel Stoughton. — Bullets pass for Money. — Roger Williams. — Election. — Governor Haynes. — Manner of Election. — Captain Hurlstone. — Captain Graves. — Many Ships arrive. — Terrible Storm. — Richard Mather Ship Angel Gabriel lost. — Another, with many Lives. — Arrival of distinguished Men. — Vane, Peters, Shepard. — Further Trouble about Roger Williams. — His Banishment. — Arrival of Capt. Lyon Gardiner. THE affixir of the murder of Captains Stone, Norton, and others, by the Pequot* Indians, seems not to have occupied much of the attention of the Authorities in Boston since their occurrence until the present time, and would not probably now, had not the Pequots themselves moved in it. This they hardly would have done had they been innocent. But being desirous to be thought so by the people here, Sassacus, their chief Sachem, sent a messenger to conciliate them. He brought two bundles of sticks to designate how many beaver and other skins, and how much wampum, he would pay to have the matter passed over without further notice. After exchanging a few presents with Mr. Ludlow, he was dismissed with this messasre to his Chief, " that he men, a people new come, who having bought their possessions, they highed them away to their new plantation." — Wonder-working Providence, 75-6. * The following are a few of the variations of the spelling of this name : — Pequots.— Goofan, Mason, I.Mather, Williams, Winthrop, Johnson, C. Mather. Pequods. — Hubbard, Gookin, Winthrop, Hutchinson, Douglass. Pequants. — Wood, Vincent. Pequets. — Vincetit, Pynchon, Underhill. PequinS. — Winthrop, Recs. U. Cols. PequeATS. — Underhill. Pequits. — Gardener, MS. Letters, Short Story. Pbkods. — Winthrop. PEtjDiDS. — Stoughton in Winthrop, MS. Letter. Pecoats. — Winslow. Pecoits. — Doc. in Hazard. Pecoates. — Gov. Dudley. Peqcts. — Roger Williams. Paquoats. — Treaty of 1638. Pecquots. — MS. of E. Rawson. Pequitt. — Gookin, Denison. Pecotts. — Recs. U. Cols. Peacotts. — Recs. U. Cols. Peaqcods. — Johnson. Other variations might be found, but these will suffice to show even the curious, probably, that the early writers considered the orthog- raphy of Indian names as a matter of no con- sequence. Pequot signifies grey fox, hence the Grey Fox Indians. 1634.] PEQUOT NEGOTIATIONS. 179 must send persons of greater quality," and then the Governor would treat with them. ^^^ g Two other messengers soon appeared. They brought a present of wampum, and, it being lecture day at Boston, the Assistants and Ministers held a sort of Council with the Indians. They were told that the English were willing to be friends with them, but that they must first give up those Indians who had murdered their countrymen. The Pequots seem to have been well prepared to defend their cause, and to justify what had been done by their people. They said that their Sachem, who was alive when the Englishmen were killed, was dead ; that he had been killed by the Dutch ; and as to the men engaged in the murder, they had all died of the small pox but two. These two, if worthy of death, they said they would move their Sachem to have them delivered up ; but " they had no authority to do it." Respecting the killing of the Englishmen, it was done in self-defence ; or this was the sum of the argument of the Pequot messengers. They said that Captain Stone and his men took two Indians, and, binding them hand and foot, made them show him up the river ; that they were watched by nine Indians, and when they came on shore, and were asleep, they killed them ; that then going towards the pinnace, it suddenly blew up. " This," says Winthrop, " was related with such confidence and grav- ity, as, having no means to contradict it, we inclined to believe it." However, Governor Dudley not being present, nothing was decided. ^^ g Within a day or two, it appears that the Indians had an inter- view with Governor Dudley and his Council, and a treaty was concluded.* In the mean time, news reached Boston that two or three hundred Indians of the Narraganset tribe were lying about Neponset, and were waiting to intercept the Pequot ambassadors. This created a great sensation. The soldiers seized their arms and rendezvoused at Roxbury without loss of time. There also assembled the officers of Government, who at once despatched a messenger to the Narragansets, with a request that they would meet them at their camp without delay. The Indians attended the summons immediately. The English were somewhat surprised when they found that instead of three hundred, no more than two Chiefs and about twenty others were all that were in the company ; and, that, instead of a hostile expedition, they were upon a hunting excursion only. The English, not fully understanding their design, probably, began to treat for the privilege of a safe return of the Pequots. They were told that these Indians had promised them a large amount of wampum, in a treaty just concluded, and that, if they would not molest the Pequots, they should have a part of it, — when they got it. The Narragansets were a magnanimous people, and they very readily agreed to the proposal, " and in all things showed them- selves very ready to gratify the English, and departed well satisfied," and the Pequots returned in safety. Thus affairs with the Indians remained for the present. * Particulars in The Book of the Indians, Book ii. 160-7. 180 HISTORY OF BOSTON. [1G34. But it afterwards appeared that the Pequots had got both the Dutch- men and Narragansets against them, and they had concluded to make some sacrifices to secure the friendship of the English. This was the key to their solicitude to adjust the affair of Captain Stone's death. Whoever in after times shall have the curiosity to investigate the politi- cal history of the Pequots, cannot fail to come to the conclusion, that if they had learned diplomacy in the schools of Europe, they could not have managed this matter with better success, thus far. The Pequots were accused of treachery in their proceedings ; but it would not be difficult to soften this charge into one merely of retalia- tion. Circumstances have a thousand times occurred, in which indi- viduals as well as nations have mistook the one for the other. The Pequots had " treacherously " killed some Indians who came to the Dutch settlement on the Connecticut to trade. Is there any proof that this was not an act of retaliation ? The Dutchmen had killed Toto- bam,* the Pequot Chief. Is there satisfactory proof that this was not an act of treachery on the part of the former ? Mere assertion on the part of a historian will not settle cases like these. A circumstance, amusing if not instructive to the present generation, grew out of the treaty with the Pequots. Mr. Eliot, of Roxbury, took occasion in a sermon to censure the Ministers, who had participated in making the treaty, for doing so without the advice of the people. Per- haps Mr. Eliot had not been consulted ; however, the people began to reiterate Mr. Eliot's sentiments, which, coming to the ears of the Authorities, order was taken that " he should be dealt with." Accord- ingly Mr. Cotton, Mr. Hooker and Mr. Weld were appointed " to deal with him," which they proceeded to do ; the result was, he was brought to see his error, and did " acknowledge, that for a peace only, the Magistrates might conclude plebe inconsulto,\ and so promised to express himself in public next Lord's day." j^ ,„ A ship named the Regard, of about two hundred tons, arrived 'at Boston. She came from Barnstaple, and had on board twenty passengers, and about fifty cattle. One passenger is mentioned by name, John Mansfield, "a poor godly man of Exeter," who "being very desirous to come to New England, and not able to transport his family, a Mr. Marshall of that city being troubled in his dreams about the said poor man, could not be quiet till he had given him fifty pounds to enable him to go, and lent him one hundred pounds more." This man was the son of a knight. Sir John Mansfield, " Master of the Minories" and who had been one of Queen Elizabeth's Surveyors. His sister Eliza- beth was the wife of Mr. John Wilson, the first Minister of Boston, and Anne, another sister, was the wife of Captain Robert Keane, of Boston. | In one of those severe north-east storms, so common on all the ■ coast of New England, a boat was lost in the harbor, and John * Broadhead, Hist. State of N. York, 234, J Notes to Capt. Keane's Will, by Mr. has his name Tatoepan. John Dean, in N. Eng. Hist. Gen. Reg., vi. •j- That is, without taking advice of the rabble. 156. 1634.] TOWN MEETING PROCEEDINGS. 181 Willys,* "a godly man, one Dorety, an honest man, and two boys " were drowned. Three days after, their boat was found at Muddy River, overturned." They had been to Noddle's Island for wood, with which probably they had overloaded their boat, and attempting to return in the night, "and none of them having any skill or experience," were thus unhappily lost. It was ordered, in Town Meeting, that " all the inhabitants "' shall plant, eyther vpon such ground as is alreadie broken vp or inclosed in y*" Neck,t or else vpon ground at Noddles Island, from Mr. Maverakes graunt;" able men to have two acres each, and "able youth one each, to be allotted out by Mr. Hutchinson,| Mr. Cogan,§ Mr. Sampford,|| William Cheesbrough H and Mr. Brenton,(*) or any three of them." Every man to make his fences sufficient for all his planting ground on the Neck, " vpon paine, y' if any losse doe come for defect therein," the owner of such fence to make it good, "vnlesse it doe come by vnruly cattell." "All y*" fences bee made sufficient before y*' seventh day of y'' second month, and they to bee looked vnto by our brother Grubb,(t) and brother Hudson, (J) for y*" New Field ; o' brother Pennyman,(§) and brother Colborne,(||) for y" field by him ; our brother Penn,(1l) and brother Belcher, [*] for y' Fort Field." "Att" another " gen'all " meeting, it was agreed that over- seers of fences should see that " such Styles and Gates as may bee needfuU," should be put up: " brother Wilebore,[t] to see to y^ Gate and Style next vnto Roxburie." And " whereas y" wood vpon y^ Neck of land towards Roxburie, [|] hath this last winter beene disorderly * Mr. Jo. Willust, freeman, 6 Nov., 1632. (1) James Pen, freeman, 19 Oct., 1630. f By the Neck, as used here, the whole of the [*] Mr. Edward Belchar, freeman, 18 May, Peninsula was meant. More recently, that 1631. part only which connects Boston with Roxbury [f] Samuel Wilboare, freeman, 4 March, was so denominated. Wood, in his N. Eng. 1634. — This name has undergone various Pro.tpec^, p. 32, says, " This Necke of land is changes of orthography; some families not above foure miles in compasse," &c. — See adopting one spelling, and some another. It ante, p. 139-41. is sometimes written Wildbore, Wilbur, Wil- % William Hutchinson, freeman, 4 March, bore, &c. 335 1635. — See anie, pp. 175-6. [%] Thus the question, whether wood for- ^ John Coggin, freeman, 5 Nov., 1633. — merly grew here is clearly set at rest by this See ante. record. It is difficult to account for the pas- II John Sanford? — John Sampeford, free- sage in the Neiv Eng. Prospect, hj that decu- man, 3 April, 1632. rate observer, its Author, which is in these Tf William Cheesebrough, freeman, 18 May, words: — -'"Boston is two miles north-east 1631. — See ante, p. 126. from Koxberry ; this situation is very pleasant, (*) William Brenton, freeman, 14 May, 1634. being a peninsula, hem'd in on the south side He afterwards settled in the Narraganset with the Bay of Rosberry, on the north side country, R. I., and was ancestor of the late with Charles River, the Marshes on the backe- English admirals of the name. — See Bren- side, being not halfe a quarter of a mile over ; ton's Naval Hist, and O'Byrne's Naval Biog. so that a little fencing will secure their cattle (f) Thomas Grubb, freeman, 4 March, 1633. from the woolves. Their greatest wants be (j)William Hudson, freeman, 18 May, 1631. wood, and medow ground, which never were Francis, son of William Hudson of Chatham, in that place ; being constrained to fetch their Co. of Kent, Eng., was one of the first who set building timber, and fire-wood from the ilands foot on the peninsula of Boston. He died 3 in boates, and their hay in loyters : It being Nov., 1700, aged 82. — Farmer out of Seivall. a Necke, and bare of wood : they are not trou- (^) James Pennyman, freeman, 6 March, bled with three great annoyances ; of woolves, 1632. rattle-snakes, and musketoes. These that live (II) Mr. William Colbron, freeman, 19 Oct., here upon their cattle, must be constrained to 1630. take farmes in the countrey, or else they can- 182 HISTORY OF BOSTON. [1634. cutt vp and wasted, whereby many of y^ poore inhabitants are disap- pointed of releife," therefore it is agreed " y' Mr. Treasurer Bellingham and Mr. William Hutchinson, w'*" the three deacon's shall consider whoe have beene faultie herein, and sett downe what restitution of wood vnto the poore such shall make." The business of the meeting being retarded probably, by persons attending to and discussing their private affairs, caused the following order to be passed, namely, " y* whosoeu" at any publique meeting shall fall into pryvate conference to y^ hindrance of y'' publique businesses, shall forfeit for euery such offence twelue pence, to bee paid into y^ Cunstable's hand for publique vse." At the same meeting, the Record reads, "It is gen''ally agreed y' noe wood shalbe felled at any of the islands nor elsewhere, vntill they bee lotted out, but att Muddy Ryver, Dorchester Necke or Noddles Island ; y' all y' wood as yet left vpon y^ Necke of land towards Roxburie, shall bee gathered vp and layd or heaped in pyles " before the seventh of April next. The Town ordered that all the " drye cattle put vnto our ^" " brother Cheesbrough for keeping att Pullin Point Necke vntill the first of y" ninth month, shalbe at the rate of five shillings a head vnto him. Likewise it was then gen''ally agreed vpon, y' o' brother Philemon Pormont* shalbe intreated to become schoolmaster for the teaching and nourtering of children w"' vs." At the same time Richard Fairbanke t was ordered to be " intreated to take the cowes to keeping of, vpon y® Neck," but if he declined, another brother, " Thomas "^" ■ Wardall J to be intreated therevnto;" and " Nicholas Willys was chosen Cunstable." It was ordered that " new-comers " could not have allotments Nov >n ■ of land unless they were "likely to be received members of the congregation ;" that none should be allowed to sell their houses or lots to " new-comers," without the consent of those appointed allotters ; that those who have lands allotted "should build thereon before the first of the first month, called March," or the " Allotters to dispose of y™ " to others. That " Mr. William Hutchinson, Mr. William Colborne and Mr. William Brenton shall sett pryces vpon all cattell, comodities, victualls, and laboorer's and workmen's wages, and y' noe other prises or rates shalbe given or taken." To prevent hasty litigation this order was thus early made : " Noe inhabitants among vs shall sue one another at y^ lawe before y' Mr. Henry Wane § [Vane], and y^ twoe elders, Mr. Thomas Oily ver and Thomas Leverett have had y^ hearing and desyding of y" cause, if they not subsist; the place being too small to con- seen in Hist, and Gen. Reg., ii. 400. — See taine many, and fittest for such as can trade also Farmer's Register. into England, for such commodities as the f Richard Fairebancks, freeman, 14 May, countrey wants, being the chicfe place for 1634. shipping and merchandise." These observa- | Thomas Wardall, freeman, 4 March, 1635. tions were made in 1634. — See Wood, p. 32-3. \ Presumed to be no other than Henry Vane, * Philemon Portmorte, freeman, 6 May, Esq., though he had landed in Boston only 1635. — Some account of his family may be the October before. 1634-5.] APPREHENSIONS FROM THE FRENCH. 183 cann." Mr. William Colbome, Mr. William Aspinwall,* Mr. John ^ Sampford, William Balstone,t and Kichard WrightJ were directed to bound out lands at Mount Wollaston for Mr. William Coddington and Edmund Quinsey ; also a farm " sufficient for Mr. Cot- ton, at Muddy River ; Mr. Colburn one at the same place " neare vnto and about his house w'Mie hath there built;" the two elders, "Mr. Thomas Ollyver and Thomas Leveritt," also to have their farms laid out at the same place. Notwithstanding the anticipated troubles recently from the French had pretty nearly subsided, such was the state of feeling between Eng- land and France, that no permanent hopes could be entertained any- where, that new troubles might not, at any moment, arise. Of this the people of Boston had a new proof early this year ; a slight collision having occurred at the eastward between the French and some of the Plymouth men, in which two of the latter had been captured, with their effects. Soon after, Mr. Allerton went to demand their liberation ; but the French officer in command, Monsieur La Tour, refused to deliver the men or goods, and, in a sort of gasconade, bid Allerton tell the English on the coast, that all the country from Cape Sable to Cape Cod belonged to the King of France, and that if they persisted to trade east of Pemaquid, he would make prize of them; and when Mr. Allerton desired to see his Commission for all that, he replied, " That his sword was Commission sufficient ;" when that failed, he said, it was time enough to produce his Commission. This being now re- ported at Boston, which, added to their fears for the loss of their Charter, gave, for a time, a chill to the prospects of the community. The Plym- outh people, not long after, attempted to enlist the Authorities in the Bay to join them, and to send a force sufficient to dispossess the French ; but the Bay people declined. Jan 31 "^^^^ winter, which had now fully set in, was exceedingly ■ severe ; " three men had their boat frozen up at Bird Island, § as they were coming from Deer Island, so as they were compelled to lodge there all night ; and the next morning they came over the ice to Noddle's Island, and thence to Molten's Point, || in Charlestown, and thence over the ice by Mr. Hoffe's to Boston." At the same time six persons were kept a week on Governor's Island, at the end of which they got to Mattapan Point with their boat. For nearly the same space of time the ice was not broken between Governor's Island and Boston, neither could boats pass to Charlestown for two or three days together. * Mr. William Aspinwall, freeman, 3 April, below high-water mark in 1775, and how long 1G32. before that, is not certain. t William Balstone, freeman, 18 May, || So named from Robert Moulton, probably, 1631. an early settler of Charlestown ; freeman, 18 t Richard Wright, freeman, 14 May, 1632. May, 1G31. He was a shipwright. Among ^ A lodging on Bird Island, even a hundred those who petitioned in favor of Mrs. Hutch- years ago, would not have been a very com- inson and Mr. Wheelwright, was Robert Moul- fortable one probably. Its head had sunk ton. He was then (1636) of Salem. 184 HISTORY OF BOSTON. [1634-5. Feb 15 Nearly a month later ice continued in the harbor, in passing ■ upon which, from Boston to Winnesemet, a young man, servant to Mr. Richard Bollingham, fell through and was drowned. At a General Court at Newtown,* Captain Israel Stoughton was censured for promulgating certain opinions against the authority of magistrates. An order was passed that brass farthings should no longer be received as farthings, and that, instead thereof, musket bullets should be used. At this Court Mr. Hooker preached a discourse. ^. Just before Governor Dudley's terra of service expired, he '^'^^ ■ ~'^' and his Assistants summoned Roger WilUams before them to answer to the charge concerning oaths. He had maintained that to administer an oath to a wicked person, or " an unregenerate man," was in itself a wicked act, inasmuch as it caused such person " to take the name of God in vain. After being heard before all the Ministers, he was very clearly confuted. Mr. Endicott was at first of the same opinion, but he gave place to the truth." At the General Court of election now convened at Newtown, '"^ 'John Haynes, Esquire, was chosen Governor, Richard Belling- ham. Esquire, Deputy Governor, and Mr. Hough and INIr. Dummer, Assistants. Mr. Endicott was left out of office, on account, apparently, of the affair of the colors ; but the expediency of his holding office pend- ing the uncertainty attending the demand of the Charter, may have had a place with the reasons unassigned for his retirement. Mr. Ludlow had given some offence, by electioneering too strenuously, and being a little too dictatorial in arrangement for the election. Some thought he was somewhat impatient to be Governor. The manner of proceeding to choose the ofl&cers at this Election is thus clearly described by the Ex-Governor: — "The Governor and Deputy were elected by papers, wherein their names were written ; but their Assistants were chosen by papers without names, namely, the Governor propounded one to the people ; then they all went out, and came in at one door, and every man delivered a paper into a hat. Such as gave their vote for the party named, gave in a paper with some figures or scroll in it ; others gave in a blank." After the election, Mr. Haynes made an address to the people, in which he stated that he knew the burthen upon them by way of taxes had been very great, especially upon the poorer sort ; that, therefore, to do all he could to lighten those burthens, he should administer the government free of any charge. f About this time Mr. Winthrop received a visit from his old friend. Captain Nicholas Hurlstone. He had been living in St. Christophers • The members from Boston at this Court were each assessed £80 ; this year these towns were Mr. Richard Bellingham, Mr. Edward were assessed only £27 65. 8See Trumbull, Hist. Connecticut, i. 77. || " They obtained some little speech with X Mr. Winslow wrote to Deputy Gov. Win- a great number of them at a distance, but after throp to that eifcct, as appears from the Jour- they understood what was propounded to naloi the latter, p. 199, in which he justifies them, first cunningly getting behind a hill, the action, and says "he took it ill" that they presently ran away into the woods and Gov. Winslow should accuse " us that we had swamps, where there was no pursuing them : occasioned a war by provoking the Pequots ;" however, one discharging a gun among them, p,nd he answered him that, " as much had as they were taking their flight, stayed the been done in the expedition as could be ex- course of one, which was all that could be nected, considering tliey fled and could not be done against them for that time." — Hubbard, Vollowed by the men in armor. Tliat they Ind. Wars, 120. 1636.] PEQUOT WAR. MIANTONIMO AT BOSTON. 203 few could be accessory to it. There may have been a quarrel, or, more probably, a few wicked roving Indians, meeting with him accidentally, thought it a good opportunity to possess themselves of his goods and money ; for he had a considerable amount of the latter with him. The Connecticut and Plymouth people were right in their conjecture about the mischief that might be expected to ensue from so indecisive a blow as that aimed at the Pequots was. For the expedition had scarce left their shores before they besieged the fort at Saybrook in considerable numbers, and cut off many that ventured abroad. Among these was a Mr. Samuel Butterfield,* "a godly young man," f whom they took prisoner and roasted alive. Complaints were soon as loud against the war as they had been for it, and great fears began to be entertained that the Pequots would over- come the Narragansets by negotiation, and cause them to unite against the Settlers. No times could be more critical for the English than those which were now veiled in the future. Boston, although at considerable distance from both the Narragansets and Pequots, trembled for its own safety. Connecticut had just began to be settled ; scarcely one hundred and fifty Englishmen could be found in it. Eoger Williams, with about half a dozen men, had just made a beginning at Providence. Hence there was no barrier between the hostile Indians and Boston. Mr. Williams was fully aware of the actual state of things. He saw that if these two powerful nations of Indians were united, the English must, in all probability, be swept from the country ; and though he did not, perhaps, fear for his own personal safety, for wherever he went he was greatly beloved by the Indians, yet he labored night and day for the good of the whole. His value to the community from which he had been forced to fly, soon became very apparent. He kept the people of Boston constantly advised of the plans of the Indians. Governor Vane having meanwhile invited Miantonimo to visit Boston, he came here soon after. There came with him another Sachem, two sons of Canonicus, and about twenty men. The Governor * I learn his Christian name from Niles' In- tion Butterfield by name, but says the man tak- dian and French Wars, in which is given a very en was a brother of " Mr. Mitchell, the minis- diflferent account of the affair in which he was ter of Cambridge." By which, it must be killed, from our other authors. How that understood, "minister of Cambi-idge " when author got his information does not appear. Gardiner wrote (1658). " Old Mr. Michell" This work of the Rev. ]\Ir. Niles lay in manu- here mentioned, was Mr. Matthew Mitchell, script from 1762, the time of the author's who came over with Mr. Richard Mather in death, till 1834 ; about this latter year, I 1635, as recorded ante, p. 185. Mather, called the attention of the Publishing Commit- Magnalia, B. iv., 167, has, by one of his vain tee of the Mass. Hist. Soc, in whose keeping it pedantic flourishes, misled others was, to some circumstances connected with it. Farmer, in regard to the Christian name of and they began to print it in a volume of their the father of Jonathan Mitchell, of Cam- Colls. Why it was cut off in the middle of a bridge. Butterfield had probably married a sentence, perhaps they could have explained, sister of ]Mr. Mitchell, which explains what Certain it is they promised to print the rest of Gardiner says, and likewise what Matlier it. That promise has not been performed, says. " Old Mr. Michell," the father-in-law though almost twenty years have expired since of Butterfield, was with him when he fell into it was made, and some of those who made it the hands of the Indians, but he himself es- are yet living. caped. Three were killed on the spot, one f Winthrop, i. 118. — He was son-in-law of had five arrows shot into him, and yet recov- " Old Mr. Michell." Gardiner does not men- ered. 204 HISTORY OF BOSTON. [1636. being notified by Kutshamokin of their coming, the day before they arrived, sent twenty musketeers to Roxbury, who escorted them into town about twelve o'clock. Preparations had been made to enter into a treaty, and the most of the Magistrates and Ministers were assembled to give counsel and advice in the proceedings. It being dinner time, the Sachems and their Council dined by themselves in the same room with the Governor, but the Chief's attendants were dined at the inn of Mr. Cole.* After dinner Miantonimo w^as requested to propound terms on which he would enter into a treaty, which he did, and then they 90 adjourned till the next day. Accordingly they went in the morning, and a treaty was drawn up, and signed by the Gov- ernor and the Indians. The English confessed that they did not think the Indians quite understood it, though Kutshamokin interpreted it to them as well as he could ; therefore they agreed to send a copy of it to Mr. Williams, with a request that he would explain it to them.f This being finished, Miantonimo was escorted out of town after dinner, and dismissed with a volley of shot. Treaties thus made could at best afford but faint hopes of security under their provisions, whatever they might be. And in the present state of existing relations, distrust continued, and reasonable fears were entertained that possibly the Pequots might succeed in winning over the Narragansets to their interest ; and it will ever remain a question whether they would not have succeeded, had it not been for the inter- position of Roger Williams. He received pressing letters from the Governor and others of Boston, urging him to prevent a peace, if pos- sible, between the Narragansets and Pequots. Thus importuned he renewed his exertions, though at the utmost peril of his life. "The Lord helped me," he says, " immediately to put my life into my hand, and scarce acquainting my wife, to ship myself, all alone, in a poor canoe, and to cut through a stormy wind with great seas, every minute in hazard of life, to the Sachem's house. Three days and three nights my business forced me to lodge and mix with the bloody Pequot ambassadors, whose hands and arms, me thought, wreaked with the blood of my country- men, and from whom I could not but nightly look for their bloody knives at my own throat also ; when God wonderfully preserved me, and helped me to break in pieces the Pequot's negotiations and de- signs." From this time until the Pequots were subdued, there was not even a Avavering among the Narragansets, and they served the English faithfully throughout the war ; notwithstanding the Pequots used the most powerful of human arguments to bring them to see what they conceived to be their vital interests ; namely, their own preservation.J And so confi- * See ante, p. 166. ished towards the Pequots, and Mr. Hubbard, •j-The Treaty may be seen in Winthrop's as usual, improves upon Johnson's ideas, in Journal, i. 199. the following passages : " Machiavel himself," I Captain Johnson was not probably aware he says, " if he had sat in council with them, of tlie labors of j\Ir. 'Williams in preventing the could not have insinuated stronger reasons to league, and attributes the ruling motive of the have persuaded them to a peace. ' " — Narrative, Narragansets to an ancient hatred they cher- 121, ed. 4to, London, 1677. 1636.] PEQUOT WAR. NEW MURDERS. 205 dent were the Pequots that they should enlist the Narragansets against the Settlers, that they continued their depredations, wherever they found an opportunity. About the time Miantonimo was making ■ a treaty at Boston, they took and murdered Mr. John Tilly* in a manner too revolting to be related. f Tilly went from Boston, or some place about the "Bay," in a small bark for the Trading House at Suckiag (Hartford), and as he was coming down the river, he carelessly went on shore, and thus fell into the cruel hands of the Pe- quots. When he arrived at Saybrook on his way out. Captain Gardiner cautioned him aganst the danger to which he would be exposed in his passages ; but " Mr. Tille" took it ill of him, because the Captain would exercise some authority over all such as went up the river. But Tilly being " a stout man," had great confidence in himself, and that confi- dence cost him his life, and the country the services of a brave and active man. He was killed on a point of land within view of the fort, Feb '"> "^^^^^^^^ Gardiner named Tilly's Folly. Notwithstanding great watchfulness was observed at Saybrook all winter, yet there happened a desperate and bloody -fight but a short distance from it. Captain Gardiner with ten men was ambushed while performing some necessary labor, and escaped only by cutting their way through a great body of Indians with their swords ; several were killed and others badly wounded, among whom was Captain Gardiner himself.J About the same time Governor Vane wrote to Gardiner, requesting his opinion as to the best means of quelling the Pequots. With his answer Gardiner sent a man's rib-bone half shot through with an arrow. The Pequots thought they had killed Gardiner in the late fight, and a swarm of near three hundred of them immediately after beleaguered the fort ; but on finding out their mistake they fell back to their old modes of operation. Pretty soon, however, the Narragansets began the war upon them, as they had agreed to do, and they drew off alto- Mar '>! S^^^*^^ ^^'^^^^ Saybrook to oppose them. Having had some success against the Pequots, Miantonimo sent twenty-six of his men to Boston with a present of twenty-six fathoms of wampum, and a * The residence of Tilly is not pointed out. do execution with their arrows. He says he There was a John Tilly early at Dorchester. " found one of the dead men with an arrow There were Hugh and John " Tille" about the shot entirely through him, except half a rib on north side of the Bay, some time before Boston the opposite side of his body, from that in was settled. — See ante, p. 57. Whether that which the arrow entered. This he preserved, John Tille were the same with him killed by and also the rib, intending to send it to Boston, the Pequots, is not quite certain. There were to let the Authorities know there, that Indian Edward and John Tilly of the Mayflower ; arrows were not to be spoken so lightly of as they were both dead before the end of March, some had done." Dr. I. Mather says, there 1620-1, but they both had families; and there were about 70 Indians who fought Gardiner, were Tillies in several places in the Colony of and that they killed four of his men ; that a Plymouth about the time of the Pequot war. fifth was sorely wounded, but recovered, and f Some further particulars may be read in lived to cut off the head of the very Indian the Book of the Indians, 169, llth edition. — who wounded him, the next year. — Relation, See also Winthrop, i. 200 ; Gardiner, (in 45. About 300 Pequots came a few days Mass. H. C.,_vol. 23, p. 147) ; Underhill [in after and challenged the English to come out idem, 26, p. 15.) and fight, mocking them by imitating the cries I It seems, from Gardiner's own account of of those they had tortured; but a discharge the affair, that some of the Boston people had of grape-shot caused them to make a sudden spoken lightly of the ability of the Indians to adjournment. — Ibid. 46. 206 HISTORY OF BOSTON. [1637. Pequot's band to show that he had kept his word by fighting the ene- mies of the English. In return presents were made to four of the chief of the deputation, which consisted of a coat for each, worth fourteen shillings apiece. Owing partly to the complaints from Connecticut, the Author- ^" ' ities at Boston concluded to send twenty men to Saybrook. They were now dispatched for that place, under the command of Captain Underbill, but at the charge of Connecticut. Governor Haynes had, on the third of April, left Boston for ^" ~ * Connecticut, his future residence. On his arrival at Saybrook he wrote back* " that the Pekods had been up the river at Wethers- field, and had killed six men, being at their work, and twenty cows and a mare, and had killed three women, and carried away two maids. "f The "maids" were not long after liberated through the exertions of the Dutch ; the Governor of whom, Wouter Von Twitter, Esq., at New Amsterdam, ordered his men to rescue them at all hazards, even to the breaking of the Peace with the Indians. A Dutch sloop was sent into the mouth of the Thames for the purpose, but the Pequots would hear to no terms of ransom, and stratagem alone succeeded. Several Pequots, having been seduced on board the vessel, were seized and held till the captive girls were produced. The feeble settlements on the Connecticut held a General Court *^ ' at Hartford, and resolved " on an offensive warr against the Pe- quoitt." Ninety men were immediately assembled and put under the command of Capt. John Mason. This was almost the entire strength of the Colony ; but they had secured the interest of the Mohegans, who to the number of about eighty warriors marched with them against their own countrymen. A glance now at the state of the country shows that the Pequots had rushed headlong to the very brink of destruction. They had done all they could to irritate their adversary, and had effected nothing by way of alliance with other tribes. They now stood single-handed against four nations, as it were, two of their own countrymen, and two of the English. In less than ten days. Mason had collected his forces together, ""^ ■ and in three frail barks fell down the river to Saybrook ; and here, with Captains Gardiner and Underbill, future proceedings were * To whom the letter was directed, Win- revenge it, he secretly drew in the Pequots, throp, my authority, does not say. During who came up the river, and killed six men," the administration of Gov. Vane, Winthrop &c.— Lothrop's Cent. Scr. at W. Springfield, often speaks of the Government as "we;" 1796, p. 23-4. Winthrop, i. 200. See also and now, "we received a letter." It was Mr. Goodwin's Geneal. of the Foot e Fam. Int. probably directed to Mr. Vane. p. xxi-ii., in which are found the names of two f "Sequin, a head man of the River In- of the men that were killed, namely, Abraham dians, gave lands on the river to the English, and John Finch, but the names of the others that he might sit down by them and be pro- do not appear ; one of the girls taken was a tected. But wlien he came to Wethersfield daughter of William Svvaine. — Other facts [then called Watertown] and set up his wig- of great interest may be seen in Gardiner's, wam, tlie people drove him away by force. Underbill's, Vincent's, Hubbard's and Ma- Resenting the vvrong, but wanting strength to ther's histories. 1637.] PEQUOT WAR. MASON SAILS. 207 arranged. The few sick and feeble men were sent home, and their places supplied from the men at the fort, and to Mason's "Army" Underbill and bis twenty men were added. The Pequots had watched narrowly all the movements thus ^^ " ■ far, and well knew themselves were the object of them ; but this morning, May the twenty-first, when they saw the transports sail out of the mouth of the Connecticut, they supposed that they were upon some other design. They watched them closely, however, by runners from hill to hill and from point to point on the coast, until they saw the vessels sail by the mouth of their river, since called the Thames. They then confidently believed that they had nothing further to fear from them ; for they most naturally concluded, that, if they were to be attacked, the march would be by land directly across the country from Saybrook ; and this, indeed, was the very order of the Council of War at Hartford. But, as in the sequel will be seen, this breach of orders, if it did not prove the salvation of the "Army," proved the destruc- tion of the Pequots. Thus completely deluded, the short-sighted Pequots set up joyous shouts, as though they had gained a victory ; and they sent runners about the country to caU their people together, that they might have a season of rejoicing. ^^ Meanwhile, Mason proceeded on his voyage for Narraganset ay -^. -Q^y^ which he was two days in performing. Owing to a strong north-west wind, he could not land his men till the evening of the twenty-third of May. He then proceeded directly to the residence of Miantonimo, who received him respectfully, and showed a wiUingness to assist him ; but he expressed astonishment that the English should presume to go against Sassacus with such a small number of men. j^^ ^^ Proceeding on their march, the English were joined by about four hundred Narragansets, and, after a fatiguing travel of about twenty miles, reached the fort of the Nianticks, on the borders of the territories of the Pequots. Twelve miles further brought them " ■ to a fording place in Paucatuck river, and at night they en- camped in hearing of the nearest Pequot fort. This was the fort at Mistick. Here a great number was assembled, and this was the very night they had set to celebrate their deliverance from invasion. Ac- cordingly, until near midnight, they were distinctly heard, giving unre- strained utterance to their joy, in boisterous festivity. Having wearied themselves, and in the fatal confidence that no enemy was near, they all fell into a sound sleep at a late hour of the night ; and thus were found an easy prey by their more wily adversary. Ma 26 ^y ^^^^ ^^^^^^ ^^^ ^ splendid moon, the little Army was formed for the march about one o'clock in the morning. The Indians had ceased their shouts of joy, and were, many of them, in their last sleep, as it proved. Moving on, the Indian guides soon brought the English by intricate paths to the foot of the " great hill " on which the fort was. Here, halting his men. Captain Mason inquired of Uncas, 208 HISTORY OF BOSTON. [1637. the leader of the Mohegans, where the Indians, his allies, were, for they were not to be seen ; and was told they were fallen in the rear, and were " exceedingly afraid." The English were prepared for this, although during the march the Indians had boasted of the great things they would do to the enemy, and how many they would kill ; and at the same time " sneered at the Englishman's courage, and said he durst not look a Pequot in the face." Yet now nearly half of the Narragan- sets had deserted and run away. The most of the rest would have followed. Mason says, had he not promised them that they need not come within shot of the fort, and that they might surround it at a distance, to seize fugitives. The fort to be attacked had two entrances, at opposite points, and covered a space of twenty acres, which space was so thick set with wigwams, "that the English wanted foot room to grapple with their adversaries ;" and the entrances were blocked up with boughs or bushes. Mason, having divided his force, led up the first division in person, the other was led by Captain Underbill. One marched against the western entrance, the other against the eastern. At a few rods' distance, a dog barked, and an Indian, who happened to be outside of the fort, discov- ered the English when they were about to discharge their guns upon it. He had only time to cry. Englishmen ! Englishmen ! and that in his own tongue, — Owanux ! Owanux ! when the work of death begun. "Every man," says Underbill, "being bereaved of pity, fell upon the work without compassion, considering the blood they had shed of our native countrymen — having slain, persons. first and last, about thirty In attempting to force an en- trance, " one Mas- ter Hedge was shot through both arms, and more wounded. Cap- tain Mason and myself," says Un- derbill, " entering into the wigwams, he was shot, and received many ar- rows against his head-piece. My- sTORMiNQ OF THE PEQUOT FORT. sclf rcceivod a shot the hip, through a sufficient buff coat, which, if I had not been supplied with, the" arrow would have pierced through me. Another I received between neck and shoulders." The odds was too great. The English seeing they would be beat out of the fort. Mason with his m 1637.] PEQUOT WAR. 209 own hands set fire to the wigwams,* which in a moment enveloped the whole in flames. f This decided the day. The English with their Indian friends surrounded the burning fort, and shot down those that attempted to escape.J Thus, in "about one hour's space," was the power of the Pequots almost annihilated. Between six hundred and seven hundred perished by the sword or the flames ; seven only escaping, and seven were taken prisoners. But two of the assailants were killed ; one of Mason's company, and one of Underhill's, and twenty wounded. The vessels which had brought the troops to Narraganset, were ordered to proceed to Pequot to receive them again when they had finished the work for which they came. They arrived within a few hours of the time, and thus Captain Underbill and the Narragansets returned in them to Saybrook, and Captain Mason and his men pro- ceeded to the same place by land, destroying whatever they met with belonging to the Pequots in their march. As the English were upon their march, after they had destroyed the fort at Mistick, a great body of Pequots from another fort pursued them ; frantic with rage for the loss of so many friends, they rushed upon them repeatedly, with the utmost fury ; but the troops, facing about, fired their muskets in their faces, by which movements they were as often put to flight. In this retreat of a few miles, one hundred more of the Pequots were supposed to have been killed. On Captain ]\Iason's return to Hartford there was a day of rejoicing, and he was hailed as a great conqueror. * " So entring one of their ■wigwams," says Arthur Smith, was so wounded he could not Mason, "I took a fire-brand, and suddenly move out of the place, but who was happily kindled a fire in the mats," &c. — Mason m rescued from the flames by Lieut. Thomas Hubbard, 125. — "At which time, an Indian Bull." — Mather's Relation, 32. drawing an arrow, had killed him, but one J Winthrop records the Fight under 25 May, Davis, his Sergeant, cut the bow-string with and adds, "Presently came news [to Boston] his courtlace." — Hubbard, 125-6. from Narraganset, that all the English, and f Their wigwams were substantial, and cov- 200 of the Indians [friends] were cut off in ered with mats of grass, which being very dry, their retreat ;" and that three days later " this and the fire being set on the " windward side, was confirmed by a Post from Plimouth, with did swiftly overrun the whole fort," out of such probable circumstances, as it was gener- which the English then retreated, " only one, ally believed." — Journal, i. 225. 27 210 HISTORY OF BOSTON. [1637. CHAPTER XXIII. Pequot Wai- continued. — Negotiations with Plymouth. — Letter of Edward Winslow upon the Sub- ject. — Winslow comes to Boston. — States the Reasons why Plymouth should not engage in the War. — Election. — Great Excitement. — Seat of Government removed from Boston to Newtown. — Preparations for the War. — March of Capt. Patrick. — Other Forces raised. — Thanksgiving. — March of Capt. Stoughton. — Letter of John Ilumfrey. — Stoughton arrives at Pequot. — Pursues the Indians. — His Dispatches. — Surprises a large Number. — Puts many of them to Death. — Some protected by the Nianticks, whose Chief is cited to Boston. — Appears and gives Satisfac- tion. — Death of Pequot Chiefs, Sassacus, Mononotto. — Swamp Fight. — Many Prisoners taken. — Stoughton proceeds to Block Island. — Close of the War. April 17 -^ ^ ^.j J ABOUT the first of April, Mr. Winthrop ^^1^ ^" ■ wrote to the Governor of Plymouth for ad- minm' t mr > _ vice respectmg proceedings against the Pequots, and probably hinting something about the propriety of that Colony's taking a part in the war, by furnishing men or means, or both. This letter was answered on the seventeenth following, by Mr. Winslow, by direction of the Governor. In this he says, "Concerning your present busnies, we conceive it will be simply necessary for you to proceed in the war begun with the Pequots, otherwise, the natives we feare will grow into a stronger confederacy, to the further prejudice of the whole Eng- lish. We are very glad to heare that the Munheges are fallen from the Pequots, and brought to a professed war with them, knowing their in- veterate hatred ; and, desire it may be nourished by all good meanes." — " But there is one thing of ill consequence, which we heare from Connecticut, viz., that there are some English there that furnish the enemy by way of trade, having made a league with them. If you inquire of Mr. Jesop* who came in the barke with Mr. Harding, you may receive particular information thereabout. That this will be ill taken I doubt not, yet durst doe no other than inform you. Yet, let me commend one thing to your consideracon ; how dangerous a thing it may prove, if the Dutch, who seek it, and they, should close by reason of the Pequots' necessity. I speak not this as desiring the benefit of their trade, for we are weary of the worke, as we are dealt withall."f * John Jessop, of Connecticut, had an inter- est in the affairs of Captain Oldham. There was a John Jessop, Deputy to the General Court of Ct., 1GG4, at which time he repre- sented Westchester. See Pvb/ic Recs. of Ct., 12, 425-6, and Bolton'a Hisi. Westchester, i. 259-61. f Autograph letter of Edward Winslow, never published, in possession of the Author. ? ^o./^j 1637.] , PEQUOT WAR. — ELECTION. 211 Other communications followed. Plymouth had been urged to send some of her Government officers to Boston to negotiate upon the subject of the war. Mr. Winslow excused the Government, in the letter from which the above extract is made, for not having complied with the request, instead of writing ; and observed, that if, after the election in the Bay, Mr. Winthrop had any desire to speak with him, he would find him at Goodman Stow's in Roxbury ; but no particular time for seeing him is mentioned. It is evident that the Government of Plymouth had a disinclination to have anything to do in the war ; but Mr. Winslow was finally deputed to meet the Authorities at Boston, and to discuss the matter. At ^^ ' this interview Mr. Winslow said the Pequot war w^as none of their quarrel ; and, in the next place, Boston had refused to lend its aid to Plymouth when they had been solicited to do so on a like occasion. Other objections were stated, all of which were answered, but no con- clusion is stated. * The time for an annual election having arrived, it was held at ' Newtown. Great excitement prevailed. There was a large party, which may be denominated the liberal party, at the head of which were Mr. Cotton and Mr. Vane. At the head of the other were Mr. Wilson and Mr. Winthrop. These were very nearly equal, and this occasioned the anxiety, and "there was danger," says Winthrop, " of a tumult that day ; for those of that side [the liberal party] that grew into fierce speeches, and some laid hands on others." Winthrop and his party, however, prevailed, being himself elected Governor, Mr. Dudley Deputy Governor, Mr. Endicott a standing Counsellor, and Mr. Israel Stough- ton and Mr. Richard Saltoustall Assistants. Mr. Shepard preached the Election Sermon. It had been a custom of some two years' standing, established by the General Court, that at the Court of Election the Governor should be attended by six men, selected by himself, whose duty it was to carry halberds and swords on that day, as a sort of body-guard to the Gover- nor and the other members of the Court. These six men were denom- inated the Serjeants, and they attended on Mr. Vane to the place of * It appears, however, by a letter (=") from the patched away, news was brought that the Court of Plymouth, that that Colony finally enemy was wholly routed ; so as their journey agreed to furnish forty men, &c. But it was was stopped, and their good will accepted for the 5th of June before they made that " solemn the deed, as if they really had been there to act of court," and gave notice that they had have borne their part in the service ; their non- done so ; and then they were not wanted. IMr. appearance in time and place being not to be Hubbard must have been ignorant of what had imputed to any backwardness in their minds." hitherto passed between Boston and Plymouth This, from anything to be gathered from the in respect to this war, or he would hardly same author to the contrary, looks like setting have said in his Narrative (121), that when up a strong defence for a party which had not Plymouth was applied to " she appeared very been accused, but possibly might be very cordially willing " to engage in it ; and that liable to be. The same day that the Court of before their quota of men " could be dis- Plymouth decided to enter into the war, the f.^\ Q„o Mr. w;„ci^w'c lottos ,-•„ w , k- ^ n 7 letter of Mr. Winslow, before mentioned, was (a.) bee mr.yVinsloy^s letter (m Hutchinson s Col. i i j it r\i i ^ i \- 60-1). It is exceeding strange that Hutchinson ^^*<''^' namely, June 5th, and at the same time should print this letter antedated a year. He has * trusty Indian runner arrived at Plymouth done the same by one of Captain Stoughton's, ib. ft"om Nemasket, with the news of the over- 61-2. throw of the Pequots at Mistick. 212 HISTORY OF BOSTON. [1637. election this year ; but when they saw that he had lost his election, they laid down their halberds and went home, leaving the new Governor to appoint others or go without any. " And," says Winthrop, " whereas they had been wont to attend the former Governor to and from the meetings on the Lord's days, they gave over now, so as the new Gov- ernor was Itiin to use his own servants to carry two halberds before him ; whereas the former Governor had never less than four." * Boston had omitted to choose its Representatives till after the ^^ ■ General Election, and thereupon the Town chose " Mr. Henry Vane, Mr. William Coddington and Mr. Atherton Haulgh ;" but they were refused seats as members, by the majority of the court, ,, ,„ and were sent home again, and an order to the Town for a ■ new election. The next day the voters assembled and chose the same gentlemen. f The people of Boston were not without almost daily advices of what was passing in and about Connecticut river, and though the late excit- ing election had diverted them somewhat from immediate action in the war, yet, within a week after that matter was settled, a company of ^^ forty men Avas put under the command of Capt. Daniel Patrick, ^^ ""* of Watertown. These were hastened away, because intelligence had just been received from Miantonimo, that the Pequots, seeing they could not escape from a war, had sent away their women and chil- dren "to an island." This was only a rumor probably, though it may have been true to some extent ; for there were some hundreds of " women, children and old men " that perished in the fort at Mistic. ^ While Mason lay with his forces at Narraganset, he received a ^^ " ' letter from Captain Patrick, stating that he was arrived at Roger Williams' plantation, and should join him with his force as soon as pos- sible. But Mason and Underbill concluded it unsafe to delay, as there was a communication between the Narraganset women and the Pequots, and hence there was great danger that their design might be discovered and frustrated ; therefore they marched without delay to attack the Pequots, the result of which has just been recounted. In the mean time Patrick arrived at Narraganset in time to embark in the same vessels which had brought Mason, and returned in them to the mouth of the *" The former Governor and Mr. Coddin;Tton, vres, practised by Mr. Wilson and the old being discontented that the people had left Governor, had not an undue effect in bringing them out of all public service, gave further it about. I offer no opinion upon it, but merely proof of it in the congregation, for they state the facts as they are. A knowledge of refused to sit in the Magistrates' seat, where subsequent preceedings is necessary to form a Mr. Vane had always sitten from his first judgment. — See N. E. Hist. Gen. Reg., ii., arrival, and went and sate with the deacons, 133, &c. although the Governor sent to desire them f Winthrop says, Journal, i., 220, " The to come in to him. And upon the general Court being grieved (at the first choice) found Fast, they went from Boston to keep the day means to send them home again, for that two at the Mount with Mr. Wheelwright." — of the freemen of Boston had no notice of the AVinthrop, Journal, i. 224. The only ques- election. So they went all home, and the next tion, or at least the first question to be set- morning they returned the same gentlemen ; tied, in considering the result of the election, and the court not finding how they might re- is, whether it was really done by a majority ject them, they were admitted." — See, also, of the legal voters, or whether certain maaoeu- Town Records. 1637.] PEQUOT WAR. MARCH OF CAPT. STOUGHTON. 213 Thames. Thence he marched with Mason from Pequot to Saybrook.* Both Underhill and Mason seem to have had a dislike of Patrick. f It had been agreed at Boston, before the march of Captain Patrick, that two hundred men should be raised by Massachusetts to assist Con- necticut in carrying on the war. But before the remaining one hun- dred and sixtyl could be got ready, news was brought of the fall of Mis- tick. It was therefore thought needless to send so large a force. But some of the people began to murmur against a reduction of the original number, § and sent a deputation to remonstrate with the Governor, accompanied by three ministers. " The Governor took it ill." How- ever, " it was thought fit to send about forty \\ men more, which was yielded, rather to satisfy the people, than for any need that appeared." Yet it was generally believed that the Pequots were still formidable. The much-dreaded Sassacus had not been killed or taken, and he held a strong fort at a few miles from that destroyed at JNIistick. Therefore vigorous efforts were considered to be yet necessary. There Avas a day of thanksgiving kept throughout Massachu- setts, and about the same time Capt. Israel Stoughton, of Dor- chester, sailed from Boston for the Pequot country. He was Command- er-in-chief of the expedition. Capt. William Traske, of Salem, led the Essex men, and Richard Davenport was his Lieutenant. Mr. Wilson, of Boston, went as Chaplain. H Notwithstanding the principal po\ver of the Pequots was broken, the stern cry of vengeance was continued, and Captain Stoughton em- barked with one hundred and twenty men for the Pequot country. Amidst the preparations to crush those Indians, no voice of compas- sion is heard for even such of them, as, from their age or other circum- stances, could merit no retributive scourge from the hand of a foe. All seemed of one opinion, namely, that the " sins of the fathers should be visited upon their children," in the most literal sense of the language of inspiration. There is, indeed, a solitary letter in existence, in which the writer * Compare Mather's Relation, Hubbard, Un- not this [the news of the full of Mistick] dis- derhill and Mason's Histories, by which the courage the sending of your IGO men, hut take author has been able to show the Proceedings suchrevenge as may be a service to after times," of Patrick, hitherto unexplained. &c. — Hutchinson, Coll. Orig. Papers, 61. f " And although Captain Mason told him || From what will elsewhere appear, what he did not delight in his company, yet he Winthrop means by this is, that the intend- would and did march along with him." — ed 160 men wei-e to be reduced forty ; for Mason in /. Mather, 35. Mason says, that 120 arrived in the Connecti- X The 160 men were thus assessed on the cut, under Stoughton, to join in prosecuting the war. — See Mason in Hist. Colls. Mass. , 18 vol., p. 145. Same in I. Mather's Rela- tion, 36. •^ Lots were cast to determine which should go, Mr. Wilson or Mr. Eliot, and the lot fell to the former. — Col. Recs. " I think I have heard that reverend man of God, Mr. Wilson, say, that he was, before he went out, as certain that God would give the English the victory as ^ And Mr. Winslow, writing by authority if he had seen it already obtained.''— I. Mather, of the Court of Plymouth, 5 June, says, " Let Relation, 54. towns : — Boston, 26 Roxbury, 10 Salem, 18 Newtown, 9 Ipswich, 17 Newbury, 8 Saugus, 16 Ilingham, 6 Water town. 14 AVeymouth, Medford, 5 Dorchester, 13 3 Charlestown, 12 Marblehead, 3 160 214 HISTORY OF BOSTON. [1637. ^ ventures to suggest to the Magistrates of Boston, in the time of their energetic preparations to send out Captain Stoughton, whether it would not he better to make peace with the Pequots, who probably now would be glad of almost any terms ; even to the " deliv- ering up of these men or their heads, who had wrought and brought so much miserie upon themselves and theirs ; or, if not so, whether, if they gave good assurance by hostages, the blood shed by them might not seem to be sufficiently expiated ;"* with much more upon the subject of the war, in the same laenevolent strain. But it had no visible effect. By an order of the General Court of Connecticut it appears that the squadron under Stoughton had arrived in the mouth of the river before the twenty-sixth of June ; f as on this day Mr. Haynes and Mr, Ludlowe were directed to repair thither to treat with Captain Stoughton about prosecuting the war. Meanwhile Sassacus and another distinguished Chief, Mononotto,with the greater part of the remaining Pequots, had fled westward along the coast, and Captain Mason being joined with the Massachusetts forces, with about forty men, pursued on after them. But the aspect of the war was now changed. The enemy at once became wanderers in strange places, with extremely precarious means of subsistence ; " owing to their children and want of provisions," their flight was slow, and they became an easy prey wherever they could be found. Their own country- men were cruel enemies to them, who were as much to be avoided as the now desperate and exulting Englishmen. Stoughton made several dispatches to the Government, of his operations, but very few of them are preserved. From one,J hitherto unpublished, received at Boston on the sixth of July, it appears he was then lying with his ""^ ■ forces in " Pequid " river, and Captain Mason had joined him with thirty men. Mr. Haynes and Mr. Ludlow were also with them. He said " there was yet good tuff work to be done, and how deere it would cost was unknown ; for Sasaco* was resolued to sell his life as deere as he could," and so was " Momowattuck, another great chief." A third great Chief § had been delivered into their hands, but him they de- tained to be " serviceable to them," though they would not promise him his life. Forty-eight other prisoners, by a pinnace, " being Giggles," || were shipped for Boston, where they arrived at the date above men- tioned. Stoughton's dispatch came with them. He further says, " we * Autograph letter of the Hon. Johx Hum- the text. Captain Stoughton's autograph is FREY, dated June 7th, 1637, never published, here truly represented, in possession of the author. f ^lason says Stoughton arrived there in , /\0 m Oj " about a fortnight after his soldiers returned /'ITJ^^*^^ ^-f<'"Y^i^M-. / home from Mistick fight." They probably I J'' /J " returned home by the first of June." — See Mason in /. Mather, 36. ^ He was sent out as a spy aftervrards, of J There is no date to this, but it is marked as -whose adventures there is a curious account having been received, 5 : 6. Few names are in Hubbard, iVar., 128. contained in the letter. — " Steward Calacot, || This name, I question not, should hQ Jig- Lifetenant Damport [Davenport], Sosomon " gles. There was a Thomas Jiggles, of Boston, (a Dorchester Indian, an interpreter, of whom at a later date. — See Caulkius' Hist. N. Lon- hereafter), are all, except those mentioned in don, 244. 1637.] PURSUIT OF THE PEQUOTS. 215 heare of a great number [of Pequots] vp y^ country among y^ Neepe- netts." He then proceeds to say, " we have settled on a place for our randavooze, y^ best we could for y^ present ; vpon y^ mouth of Pequid riuer, on y^ Naanticot side, where we have 100 acres of corne, if not two or three hundred men at hand, and a curio' spring of water within o' pallazado, and may, by great guns, comand y^ riuer." " We shall y*" next weake joyne in seeing w' we can do against Sasaco% and another great Sagamo", Momowattuck." Stoughton had before, probably in a letter to Winthrop, detailed the manner in which the Indian prisoners, now received, came into his hands ; he " having pursued the Pequots beyond Connecticot, and missing, returned to Pequot river, where they were advertised that one hundred of them were newly come back to a place some twelve miles off. So they marched thither by night and surprised them all." * They " put to death twenty-two men, and reserved two Sachems, hoping by them to get Sasacus, which they promised. All the rest were women and children, of whom they gave the Narragansets thirty, our Massa- chusetts Indians three, and the rest sent hither. These were disposed of to particular persons in the country. Some of them ran away, and were brought again by the Indians, our neighbors, and these we branded on the shoulder." f Several of the Pequots had fled down into the Niantick country, where Ninigret J was Sachem. This Chief was desirous to shield them from destruction, and at the same time to be at peace with the English. He therefore came to Boston " ^ "* with seventeen of his men, bringing a present of ten fathoms of wampum. The Authorities refused to treat with him unless he would now agree to give up the Pequots. He at first declined the proposition, but the next day he submit- ted to it. His present was then received, but he was referred to the Commanders of the army at Pequot to treat further ; for which purpose instructions were sent to July 13. * " Being first trepanned by the Narragan- setts, under pretence of securing them, by which means " the " Massachusetts forces had an easie conquest over them. The men among them, to the number of thirty, were turned presently into Charon's ferry-boat, under com- mand of Skipper Gallop, who dispatched them a little Avithout the harbor." — Hubbard, Nar. 127. This exploit was before the arrival of the Connecticut men, and Mason passes lightly over it in his history. A little jealousy is ob- servable among the Connecticut people. They were fearful lest Massachusetts should get too large a share of the glory of the war. t Winthrop, Journal, i. 231-2. See also Hubbard's Nar., 127. J This Chief had the address to save him- self and his people generally, from the destruc- 216 HISTORY OF BOSTON. [1637. them by Niaigret. Then " he was lovmgly dismissed, with some small things given him." * Meanwhile Sassacus, with twenty or thirty of his people, fled to the Mohawks, who soon after murdered him and all his followers, " being lured thereunto by tlie Narhagansets, as was confidently affirmed and believed." f Being joined with the Connecticut forces. Captain Stoughton sailed for Quinnipiak, afterwards named New Haven. They were three days in reaching that point. While the vessels sailed along the coast, a party of the English proceeded by land, accompanied by the Mohegans under Uncas. At a point of land now in the town of Guilford, they captured a small party of Pequots who had retreated there to elude their pursuers. One of them proved to be Mononotto, the last great Chief of the Pequots. He was at once put to death, his head cut off and set upon a tree, and the name of Sachem's Head given to the point, by which it has ever since been known. The wife of Mononotto was taken prisoner. As it was known that through her means the lives of the two captive girls of Wethersfield were preserved, she and her children were spared, " and in special recommended " to Governor Winthrop, of Boston, "who," on her arrival here, "taking notice of her modest countenance and behavior, gave special charge concerning her." J Animated by success, the English, by the aid of their Indian allies, were able to scour the country fiir and wide. At length, coming "to a small Indian town seated by the side of a hideous swamp, into which they all slipt, as well Pequots as natives of the place. § Before our men could make a shot upon them, Mr. Ludlow and Captain Mason, with half a score of their men, happened to dis- cover this crew. Captain Patrick and Captain Traske, with about one hundred of the Massachusetts men, came in upon them." Order was given to surround the swamp, but Lieutenant Davenport, rushing into the swamp with some twelve others, came near being cut off. He was " sorely wounded," as were two Ipswich men, John Wedgewood and Thomas Sherman. They were rescued at great peril by Serjeant Riggs of Roxbury. It being near night, the swamp was partially surrounded to prevent the escape of any ; but early the next morning "^ ■ about thirty of the "lustiest of the enemy" broke through where Captain Patrick's company were stationed, and escaped to the tioa which fell successively upon the other * Winthrop, ./bi/rna/, i. 232. tribes. He M'as alive till after Philip's war. f Hubbard, Narrative, 128. For nearly all the facts which have been pre- j Ibid., 131. served about him, see the Book of the In- \ Hubbard, iVarraiiye, 129. The "hideous DiANS, Book ii., 131, 14G, and 153, edition swamp " mentioned by Hubbard was a beauti- 1851. For some signal service which he per- ful field when Dr. Dwight wrote his poem, formed for Governor Winthrop of Connecticut, " Greenfield Hill," and probably long before, that gentleman caused his portrait to be It lies in the town of Fairfield, on the borders painted ; from a copy of which, in the posses- of Long Island Sound, about three miles from sion of the late Granville Tkmple Winthrop, Greenfield Hill. — See Green. Hill, a Poem, Esq., the accompanying engraving is made. Introd. 1637.] CLOSE OF THE WAR. 217 woods. Some of them, however, lost their lives in the attempt ; " the rest were left to the mercy of the conquerors, of which many were killed in the swamp, like sullen dogs, that would rather, in their self- willedness and madness, sit still to be shot through or cut in pieces, than receive their lives for the asking at the hands of those into whose power they were now fallen. Some that are yet living [1677], and worthy of credit, do affirm that in the morning, entering into the swamp, they saw several heaps of them sitting close together, upon whom they discharged their pieces, laden with ten or twelve pistol bullets at a time, putting the muzzles of their pieces under the boughs within a few yards of them ; so as, besides those that were found dead (near twenty), it was judged that many more were killed and sunk into the mire, and never were minded more by friend or foe." * " To this issue," says the same author, " was the Pequod war brought." Some two or three hundred prisoners were taken from the swamp. These were divided among the allies. Of those brought to Boston, fifteen of the boys and two women were sent for Bermudas to be sold for slaves ; but they were carried to the Island of Providence, in the West Indies. f In the beginning of August Captain Stoughton proceeded to ° ' Block Island. After killing " one or two" of the Indians, he got a parley with them, who finally agreed to submit to the English, to pay a hundred fiithom of wampum, and to deliver up any that could be found that had had any hand in Captain Oldham's death. Mr. Wilson returned to Boston from the army. Mr. Hooker "°' ■ and Mr. Stone came with him.| They took Providence in their way, doubtless to have an interview with Mr. Williams. The same day arrived also Mr. Ludlow, Mr. Pynchon, and about twelve others. They " came the ordinary way by land, and brought with them a part of the skin and lock of hair of Sasacus and his brother, and five other Pequod Sachems, who, being fled to the Mohawks for shelter, with their wampum, being to the value of five hundred pounds," were put to death, as before mentioned. " So that now there had been slain and taken between eight and nine hundred. Whereupon letters were sent to Mr. Stoughton and the rest to call them all home." § Such is the almost possibly briefest, and, at the same time, con- nected history of the Pequot war, that the nature of the subject seemed to allow ; nor can it by any construction be deemed foreign to the history of Boston. Boston counsel directed it ; one of its principal Captains led Boston men to storm the stronghold at Mistick ; and Boston men kept the field as long as an enemy was to be feared. * Hubbard, 130-2. clesiastical synod which was to meet on the f See Winthrop, i. 30th of the month. See next Chapter. J These came, probably, to attend the ec- § Winthrop, ut supra, i. 235. 28 218 HISTORY OF BOSTON. [1637. CHAPTER XXIV. Religious Controversy. — Persecutions. — The Persecuted found other Colonies. — Grounds of the Difficulties. — Mrs. Anne Hutchinson. — Mr. John Wheelwright. — Cotton and Vane favor Mr. Wheelwright. — Fast Sermon of the latter. — Called to an Account for Opinions advanced in it. — It is pronounced Seditious. — Ordered to appear for further Trial. — A Synod called to decide what Errors existed. — Mr. Wheelwright tried and banished. — Boston remonstrates. — Remonstrants proceeded against. — Some expelled the Court. — Case of Aspinwall, Coggeshall, Baulston, and others. — Mrs. Hutchinson. — Parentage and Character. — Trial and Banisliment. — Killed by the Indians. — Remonstrants disarmed. — Case of Captain Underhill. — Governor Winthrop censured. — State of the Boston Church. WHILE the whole of New England was dis- tracted by a war with the Indians, Boston was more distracted, if possible, with religious dis- sensions, in which parents were set against children, children against parents, brother against brother, as is always the case in religious as well as political controversies. The dissension of which notice is now to be taken was far more detrimental to the prosperity of Boston than any other, from the day of its settlement to the time of the Revolutionary War. Other places, though benefitted by Boston's misfortune, were not so in a corresponding degree. The Dutch of New York offered the persecuted of Boston the free enjoyment of their religion, which some gladly embraced by settling in that Colony. Rhode Island was settled by Boston people, and Mr. John Wheelwright led a colony hence to New Hampshire, and founded Exeter.* The grounds of these distractions may be thus briefly stated. f It was maintained by those called Antinomians, \ or Familists, § that the * It may not be amiss to state in this con- nection, in answer to the remark of Dr. Eliot, " It has always seemed very strange that Mr. Wheelwright did not go with his friends to Rhode Island, instead of reiqoving to New Hampshire," that the Doctor did not seem to be aware that Mr. "Wheelwright had large possessions in the last-named Colony. It may be duo to the subject to remark, also, in reference to a supposed discovery some years since made, namely, that Mr. Wheelwright made no purchase of lauds in N. Hampshire in 1629, as set forth in history, and that a certain deed, purporting to be of such pur- chase, was a forgery. No argument in favor of the genuineness of said deed will be here oflFered. I shall only observe, that if the deed in question be a forgery, then a large number of other papers, going to show, incidentally, that there was such a deed or purchase, all •written before 1G37, and which I myself have Been, are forgeries also. t From Vyejde's Preface to Winthrop's Short Story. Should any one doubt to whom belongs the chief authorship of the woi'k here cited, let him read Cotton's Way of the Churches Cleared, page 56, and elsewhere ; but the most conclusive evidence will be found, merely by comparing Winthrop's Journal, i. 261, with the Short Story, 45-47. Two men, without close conference, could not have written things so exactly coinciding, being word for word in many places. J " A sect of people that hold the keeping of Moses' law to be unprofitable, and that there is no sin in children. They began to appear somewhat above 100 years ago [about 1606], and had one John Islebius, a German, for their ringleader." — Phillip'' s New World of Words, 6th ed., by J. K. § This was a distinct sect from the Anti- nomians originally, though they are usually coupled in our books as though they were one and the same. The Familists had their be- ginning with one Henry Nicholas, before the end of the reign of Queen Elizabeth. He called his followers the " Family of Love,'" and hence their appellation. — Camden's Eliz., 24S. 1637.] MRS. ANNE HUTCHINSON. 2l9 Law, and the preaching of it, is of no use at all to drive a man to Christ ; that a man is justified without faith from eternity ; that he is united to Christ by the Spirit, without any act of his ; that the graces of saints and hypocrites may be the same ; that the whole letter of the Bible is a covenant of works ; that no Christian must be pressed to duties of holiness ; and so on, to the number of twenty-nine heads, or " dangerous opinions." After Mr. Welde had enumerated these in his Preface, he says they were only " some of them, to give but a taste, for afterwards you shall see a litter of fourscore and eleven of their brats hung up against the sun, besides many new ones of Mistress Hutchinson's ; all which they hatched and dandled." It has been the custom of writers to speak of Mrs. Hutchinson as the origin of the Antinomian troubles ; but that is not the true state of the case.* The difficulties with Roger Williams were of the same char- acter, and of a higher date.f It is, however, true that Mrs. Hutchin- son had some advantages for gaining proselytes that those who pre- ceded her had not, and abilities of the most superior cast for improving them. The community that expects to rid itself of all impurities, and to arrive at perfection, must expect its members which constitute it will live forever, and to admit none to be of its number from any other community, and no children to be born in it. The Rulers of Boston were doubtless men in advance of the age in which they lived, and they must not be censured for not having the knowledge which had no existence then, saving, perhaps, in the brains of a few theorists. They had to learn that accidents and misfortunes as often happened to those they were assured led blameless lives, as to the more wicked, when equally exposed to them. ^, It was soon found that not only the immediate family of Mrs. Hutchinson fell in entirely with her views, but many of the best and most influential men in Boston were of her way of thinking in matters of religion. J So completely was she master of her subject, and so irresistibly did she enforce her views, that she carried Cotton captive. Winthrop for a time wavered, but was finally rescued by the interest of Wilson, § and became her bitterest enemy. Her brother-in- law, Mr. Wheelwright, 1| having come with his family to Boston about * Winthrop says, Journal, i. 200, that!Mrs. Eve, to catch their husbands also ; " and that Hutchinson "brought over with her two " most of these seducers lived in Boston." dangerous errors, 1. That the person of the % " And indeed it was a wonder upon what Holy Ghost dwells in a justified person ; 2. a sudden the whole Church of Boston (some That no sanctification can help to evidence to few excepted) were become her new converts, us our justification. From these two grew and many also out of the Church. She drew, many branches." also, some of eminent place and parts to her f It is said, in the Preface to the Short party." — Short Story, M. Story, that those w^ho held "unsound and ^ The Church of Boston were so displeased loose opinions commonly labor'd to work first with the course of Mr. AVilson, not long after, upon women, being, as they conceived, the that when he went into the pulpit near half weaker to resist; the more flexible, tender, of the congregation would go out. — Neal. and ready to yield : and if once they could || He arrived on the 26th of May of thia winde in them, they hoped by them, as by an year, in the same ship with Mr. Samuel Whit- 220 HISTORY OF BOSTON. [1637. five months previous, was fully of her opinion.* Many of the in- habitants were highly pleased with Mr. Wheelwright's preaching, and an attempt was made to have him settled permanently in Boston as their preacher. It is natural that the old Ministers should not favor this ; for, high as they were estimated for learning, talent and piety, it was possible that a brilliant young Minister like Mr. Wheelwright might, in some degree, eclipse them. Mr. Cotton, nevertheless, was in favor of his settling here. It was finally concluded, however, that he should settle in that part of Boston then called Mount Wollaston,f over " a new Church to be gathered there." Winthrop objected to his being settled on the peninsula, on the ground that " he was apt to raise doubtful disputations," and had advanced sentiments similar to those of his sister Hutchinson ; yet Winthrop says he himself might agree with him as to the point in dispute, and that " he thought reverendly of his godliness, and could be content to live under such a ministry." Winthrop's course, however, in reference to Mr. Wheel- wright, offended " divers of the brethren ; " and, finding this to be the case, he the next day confessed that he had committed an offence, and proceeded to make a long and tedious explanation, and winds up his account of it by saying : " How this was taken by the Congregation did not appear, for no man spake to it." Probably " no man" under- stood it. The same kind of metaphysics continues to perplex many even to the present day, or all such as seek to find the meaning of what, in itself, means nothing. Mathematicians never argued more unprofitably about the " indivisibihty of matter," or " squaring the circle," than the metaphysicians of that age did about " evidencing justification by sanctification," and similar questions. ing. — See Belknap, N. H.,\. 337. He lived * He had preached against a " covenant of at Belleau, in Lincolnshire, which is only two work " before he came to Boston, and had and a half miles from Alford, the residence of converted Hanserd Knollys to his opinions, the Hutchinson family, into which he married, After he was silenced he lived for a time as previously mentioned. — See ante, p. 175. privately near London. Knollys heard of him He had an estate at Mawthorpe, in the parish " by some Christians, that he had been instru- of Willoughhy, in the same county, also near mental to convert many souls," and set out to Alford, which, in 1677, he gave to his youngest visit him. At the same time he learned that daughter, Sarah, " in consideration of her Mr. Wheelwright had come into the same marriage to Richard Crispe." — See Suffolk neighborhood where he lived, namely, An- Deeds, ix. 215. Mr. Wheelwright and his derby, in Lincolnshire. After he had had an wife were admitted to the Church in Boston, interview with Mr. Wheelwright, he was fully 12 June, 1636. His autograph, as here rep- convinced that ho was under a covenant of resented, is traced from the original in the work. But in two or three other interviews Mass. Archives. In his earlier years he wrote he became enlightened, and immediately set his name Whelewright, as the records of Exeter out upon enlightening others. This took place witness. not long before Mr. Wheelwright came over in 1636. Knollys followed him to Boston / ^P f / . P/ soon after, as will be seen. — See Life of a^fj) yi 'MJ^^ ^ ' U/tA^-m^ Knollys, wriUen by himself, 18-25. y ^ n O / /ft" He was desired by many to be their dU . t _ {^ i—lh C A K/X- r A Cr teacher with Mr. Cotton and Mr. Wilson, JOCL'^^O "S^ ^J «■ y but the Church being so well supplied, -^ ' the Church by vote, on Oct. 30th, 1636, allowed him to preach to some of their members removed to Braintree," &c. — See Hancock's Cent. Scr., 19. _f^4r. 1637.] CHURCH FAST. 221 Governor Vane supported the doctrines maintained by Mr. Wheel- wright, and carried on a controversy in writing with Winthrop ; and Mrs. Hutchinson held a " double weekly lecture," to which a large number of persons constantly resorted, " to the number of fifty, sixty, or eighty at once."* At these lectures she was able to repeat from memory the sermons that she had heard preached, and as she went along would make her own commentaries upon them. In this manner she brought great numbers to her way of thinking. As soon as there was an organized opposition to the " new doctrines," measures began to be talked of, by which a stop might be put to them, and the Commonwealth saved from ruin ; for it was said that the dif- ference between the doctrines maintained by either party was "as great as between Heaven and Hell." Winthrop's party do not seem to have ever had the remotest idea that they could be wrong, or that the other party could be sincere and honest in their opinions. Charity is not heard of among the oppressors ; and when those of the " new doctrines " spoke charitably of them, they were spurned the more. That My. Wheelwright and his followers believed sincerely that the other party were "under a covenant of work," is quite as clear now, as that a difference existed between the parties. A Fast was kept " in all the Churches," to lament the troubles that seemed to be about to overwhelm the country ; among others, danger from the Indians, and the dissensions in the Churches are particularly mentioned. In his Fast sermon Mr. Wheel- wright " inveighed against all that walked in a covenant of works, called them antichrists, and," according to Winthrop, "stirred up the people against them with much bitterness and vehemency. For this he was called into the Court, and his sermon being produced, he justified it. Whereupon the Elders of the rest of the Churches were called, and being asked, if in their ministry they did walk in such a way, they all acknowledged they did. So, after much debate, the Court adjudged him guilty of Sedition, and also of Contempt,! for that the Court had appointed the fast as a means of reconciliation of the differences, and that he had purposely set himself to kindle and increase them." Governor Vane " and some few more," at once protested against the decision of the Court, in which they " wholy justified Mr. Wheel- * " But the last and worst of all," says IMr. ecclesiastical flictions." Being descended from Welde, in a tone of deep lamentation, " which one of the chief leaders of the party com- most suddenly diifused the venom of these plained of, namely Mrs. Hutchinson, Mr. Sav- opinions into the very veins and vitals of the age excuses himself for not giving a more par- people, was Mistress Hutchinson's double ticular account of her than he has done. I weekly -lecture," &c. do not object to this, inasmuch as he has de- t This much talked of sermon has been pre- fended the other party, JMr. Wheelwright, served (in manuscript). Mr. Savage, in a from whom I am descended, in a very satisfac- note to Winthrop, thus remarks upon it : — tory manner. All the defence Mrs. Hutchin- " I unhesitatingly say, that it was not such as son requires, I trust I have made for her, and can justify the Court ia their sentence for that consists in truly narrating the rise and sedition and contempt, nor prevent the present progress of the unhappy controversy in which age from regarding that proceeding as an ex- she was so large a sharer and suflFerer. ample and a warning of the usual tyranny of 222 HISTORY OF BOSTON. [1637. Wright;" and the Church of Boston tendered a petition in his behalf, and justified his sermon also. Seeing he had so many and such strong friends, the Court concluded to suspend sentence upon him until the next Court; meantime he was " commended to the Church of Boston to take care of him," and ordered to appear at the next Court. Boston was favorable to the cause of Mr. Wheelwright, and the Court was unwilling to sit where its doings were pretty likely to be condemned by the people.* It was therefore voted that it should be held next at Newtown. Mr. Vane showed his dislike of the proceed- ing by refusing to put the vote, which was done by Mr. Endicott. The result of this day's election has been stated in detailing "^ '^ '' the progress of the Pequot war, so for as the election of officers was concerned.f So well had the plans of the opposition to the " Antinomians " been concerted, that the result was all they could wish for ; yet the Court was not prepared to sentence Mr. Wheel- wright, although he appeared as he was ordered to do ; so it gave him a respite till the next session, which was to be in August ; that in the interim he might " bethink himself and retract his error, otherwise he must expect no favor." To this proposition of clemency, he said, if he were guilty of Sedition he was worthy of deuth ; but if they pro- ceeded against him, he would appeal to the King, and that he had nothing to retract. In the mean time an ecclesiastical Council was con- vened, to discuss the matter. J That an Assembly, or Synod, formed for a specific object, and of materials of one faith, should find much diificulty in agreeing in con- demning those of a different faith, is not to be expected. Under these circumstances" an Assembly of the Churches § at New-Town," ''' ' drew up a " Catalogue of erroneous opinions," to the number * " A great part of the body of the people. It was customary, when the Governor returned and I am apt to think, at the tirst, the major- from Court, for the inhabitants to turn out ity of the Town of Boston, were of the same and escort him to his liouse ; but when he re- side the question with those people who after- turned to his house in Boston, fi-om Newtown, wards came here." [To Rhode Island.] — See after the passage of this law, there was no Callender's Hist. Disc, 26. welcome of the kind from the people. t See ante, page 211. ^ " There were all the Teaching Elders j " An extraordinary act made by the Gen- through the country, and some new come out eral Court this session, very much heightened of England, not yet called to any place here, the discontent." Many persons of Mr. Wheel- as Mr. Davenport," &c. — Winthrop, Journal, Wright's opinions in Boston, were expecting i. 237. This " Assembly " was " three weeks their friends from England; a penalty there- together at Cambridge, then called New Town, fore was laid on all persons against entertain- Mr. Hooker and Mr. Bulkley, alias Buckley, ing strangers who came with intent to reside, being chosen Moderators or Prolocutors, the without special liberty from the Government. Magistrates sitting present all that time, as "This," says Hutchinson, "was a very se- heai-ers, and speakers also when they saw fit." vere order, and was so disliked by the people — Preface to the Short Story. Johnson says of Boston, that upon the Governor's return that at this "first Synod held in New Eng- fi'om Court, they all refused to go out to meet land, there were present about 25 Reverend him, or shew him any respect." — Hist. Mass. and Godly Ministers," who were to " assist i. (32-3. "Mr. Cotton was so dissatisfied in cutting downe those cursed errors." There with this law, that he says [in his Answer to was tliat " bright shining light, Mr. Daven- Bailcy] he intended to have removed out of port, the cheerfull, grave, and gracious soldier the jurisdiction to Quinnypiack, since called of his (the Lord Christ's), Mr. Allen, also New Haven ; but finding the law was not im- Mr. Tompson, Mr. Browne, J\Ir. Eish, the proved to exclude such persons as he feared it much honoured Mr. Eaton, and ^Ir. Hopkins " would be, he altered his mind." — Ibid.,i!)?>. [l)oth of whom had just come over]. — XVondcr See also Hutchinson's Coll. of Papers, 67-100. VVor/;ing Frov., 117. 1637.] BANISHMENT OF WHEELWRIGHT. 223 of eighty-two, " as were found brought into New England, and spread under hand there," all of which were found to be heretical. ^ Thus fortified by synodical authority, the General Court pro- ceeded to pronounce sentence against the accused, * first calling upon him to state " how his mind stood, whether he w^ould acknowledge his offence or abide the sentence of the Court ? His answer was, in effect, that he had committed no Sedition nor Contempt, and had de- livered nothing but the truth of Christ." Among a great many other things which the Court urged against him was " the difference which he hath raised amongst men, by a false distinction of a Covenant of Grace, and a Covenant of Works ; whereby one party is looked at as friends to Christ, and the other as his enemies," by which " all things are turned upside down amongst us." The first day of the Court was finished with the record, that Mr. Wheelwright was guilty of " wilfully neglecting all means of hght, in that he would not vouchsafe to read a very brief writing, which much concerned him ; " and " although the cause was now ready for sen- tence, yet night being come, the Court arose, and enjoined him to appear the next morning." " The next morning he appeared, but long after the hour ap- pointed." When he came, " the Court demanded what he had to allege why sentence should not proceed against him ? " He merely asked the Court to point out on what page or leaf of his sermon he had said that of which he was accused. f This the Court evaded by a sort of subterfuge, and sentenced him " /o be disfranchised and banished our Jurisdiction, and to be put in safe custody, except he should give sufficient security to depart before the end of March. Upon this he appealed to the King's Majesty ; but the Court told him an appeal did not lie in this case," for they had full jurisdiction, as expressed in their Charter. As he declined giving " security for his quiet departure," he was com- mitted to the custody of the Marshal.| The next day he was permitted * " It was conceived by the ^lagistrates and tion hath been made against its proceedings, others of the country, that the means which as if Mr. Wheelwright had not a hxwful trial, had been used proving ineffectual, the case as not being put upon a Jury of Freemen ; but was now desperate, and the last remedy was the answer to this is easie, it being well known to be applied, and that, without farther delay, to all such as have understanding of matters lest it should be attempted too late, when of this nature, that such Courts as have power litter opportunity might be offered for their to make and abrogate laws, are tyed by no advantage, as they had boasted, and did cer- other orders but their own, and to no other tainly expect upon the return of some of their rule but truth and justice ; and why thrice chief supporters, who by a special providence twelve men, sitting as Judges in a Court, were now absent from them." — Short Story, should be more suhject to partiality than 23. twelve such called as a jury to the bar, let t When he Avas before the former Court he others judge." — If Henry the VIII. ever pro- demanded whether he were sent for as an inno- mulgated anything more arbitrary than this, cent or as a guilty person? and the Court said the writer is ignorant of it. That such law- " neither, but as suspected only;" then he givers should fear the abrogation of their asked for his accusers ; and was answered, Charter is very reasonable. No one will " his Sermon, which was there in Court." — wonder, if, as Welde says, some of the perse- Short Story, 49. cuted did cry out to their oppressors, that X In its " Brief Apology," printed in the " they were blinded in their legal ways, and . Short Story, 48 to 64, the Court says, " Objec- would stumble and fiill, and in the end break 224 HISTORY OF BOSTON. [1637. " to go home, upon his promise that if he were not departed out of this Jurisdiction within fourteen days, he would render himself at the house of Mr. Staunton, one of the Magistrates, there to abide as a prisoner, till the Court should dispose of him." * Such were the proceedings which drove Mr. Wheelwright to leave the jurisdiction of Boston. He was not at a loss probably for a place of refuge. He had a tract of land in New Hampshire, notice of the purchase of which in 1629, has been taken ;t to that he removed, and thus became the founder of Exeter.J It might have been hoped, but may not have been expected, that by a disposal of the " leader" of the "heretics," the rest of them would be silenced, or forced to believe against their convictions ; but hopes and expectations, under such circumstances, are generally delusive ; " for Mr. Wheelwright's party persisted in their opinions, and the principal of them were as busy as before in nourishing contentions." § ^ At the same time the dominant party seem to have been equally busy to devise means to rid itself of these also. They were prominent persons, many of them, and had signed a petition || in Mr. their necks into Hell." — Preface. The " Brief Apology " above cited is the same, probably, which Winthrop says the "Magistrates set forth," and afterwards appeared in the " Short Story.'''' — See Winthrop, Journal, i. 221. * Short Story, 29. t See ante, p. 59-GO. j " In the " Short Story,''' 45, the writer says this controversy " was the Masterpiece of the old serpent, that the leaders were scat- tered and the brood broken up. Mr. Wheel- wright is gone to Pascal " [Pascataqua], &c. i\Ir. Wheelwright, in his Answer (he writes in the third person), says, " for him to goto Pas- cal : Avhere is the wonder? I confesse it was marvellous he could get thither, when they expelled him, by reason of the deep snow in which he miglit have jjerished." — Mercurius Americanus, 24. He no doubt went by water to Pascataqua river. This was in the winter of 1637-8. In about four years he removed to Wells, because his territory had been annexed to Massachusetts. In 1647 he settled in Hampton. He went to England before the restoration, and did not return to New Eng- land till after that event. He was intimate with Oliver Cromwell, having been at the same University with him. After his return to N. England he settled at Salisbury, and succeeded the Rev. William Worcester in the ministry there. He died 15 Nov., 1679, " being then the oldest minister in New England." He left a will, dated 25 May, 1679, His pos- terity are numerous and respectable. His son, grandson, and great-grandson were Counsel- lors of Massachusetts. — Eliot, Farmer. The names of those dismissed from the Boston Church, and who went with Mr. Wheelwright to Exeter, were " Richard Merrys, Richard Bulgar, Pliilemon Purmot, Isaac Grosse, Chris- topher ]\Iarshall, George Baytes, Thomas War- dell, William Wardell." — ^e/^:?zff;), N. H., i. 37. See Hutchinson, Coll. Papers, 316. See ante, p. 219-20, note. § Winthrop, i. 244-5. II Readers of the History of Boston will not be satisfied with the simple fact that a mere petition in favor of Mr. Wheelwright, had subjected its signers to banishment, without having the document laid before them. I therefore give the substance of it from the " Short Story.'" " We whose names are underwritten, have diligently observed this Honoured Court's pro- ceedings against our dear and reverend Brother in Christ, Mr. Wheelwright, now under cen- sure of the Court for the truth of Christ, we do humbly beseech this Honourable Court to accept this Remonstrance and Petition of ours, in all due submission tendered to your Wor- ships." The Petitioners then " desire the Court to consider the sincere intention of their Brother," who, they say, by his Sermon on the Fast day, " did, to his best strength, labor to promote " the end for which that Fast was appointed, namely " the publick peace of the Churches ; and therefore deserves no such cen- sure " as that bestowed upon him. Secondly. As to his " being culpable for Sedition," they could not see how such charge could be sus- tained, as there was no witness " of any sedi- tious fact." Thirdly. His preaching "had not stirred up his hearers to commit any sedi- tious act," " not so much as by accident, and none of them had drawn the sword, as some- times Peter did, rashly ; neither had they rescued their innocent Brother, as somet.mes the Israelites did Jonathan, and even they did not seditiously. The Covenant of Free Grace which he held forth, rather taught them to 1637.] PETITION OF REMONSTRANTS. 225 Wheelwright's favor, which was presented to the same Court * that had declared him guilty of sedition. This Court, therefore, decided to pro- ceed against them, as it " afforded a fair opportunity." The name of William Aspinwall stood first upon the Petition. The same gentleman being a Member of the General Court, f " it was propounded whether he was fit to be a member ; " and being called upon to say " whether he would justify the matter contained in the said writing," *' peremptorily affirmed " that he did ; whereupon he was presently expelled. Next, Mr. John Coggeshall, though he had not signed the writing, being a Deputy to the Court when it was promulgated, yet he " spake very boldly to the Court, and told them, that seeing they had put out Mr. Aspinwall they were best make one work of all ; that though his hand were not to the Petition, yet he did approve of it ; but his hand w^as to a Protestation which was to the same effect ; whereupon he was dismissed," and word sent to Boston to choose two others. Then Mr. Coddington, by an order from the Town, moved that the censure against Mr. Wheelwright might be reversed ; of course it did not prevail. These proceedings vexed the people of Boston, and they per- sisted at first in returning Mr. Aspinwall and Mr. Coggeshall to the General Court again. " But Mr. Cotton coming amongst them, and perceiving their rash and contemptuous behaviour, by his wisdom diverted them from that course ; " J and they chose " Mr. William Coulborne and John Olyvar." The Court had Mr. Coggeshall and Mr. Aspinwall before it, soon after, and something of asperity was exhibited on both sides. Then Mr. " William Baulston" and Mr. Edward Hutchinson were called up. Mr. Baulston told the Court, "That he knew if such a petition had been made in any other place in the world, there would have been no fault found with it." Mr. Hutchinson said, " turning himself in a give patiently their cheeks to the smighters." truth of Christ, with divers otherscandalous and That, therefore, both Teacher and Hearers seditious speeches." Upon which his Editor " were most free from Sedition." They then remarks : — " Unless my opinions be as much called upon the Court in a becoming, though perverted by prejudice as those of the majority supplicating manner, that it would, " for its of the Court appear to me, this account of the own Honour, make it appear wherein the Se- remonstrance is very unjust." — Journal, i. 245. dition lay, or else acquit their Brother ; for a * It will be borne in mind that all kinds of knowledge of their proceeding would come to cases were tried in the General Court, and all the World." Further, that the Court that Attorneys were unknown in it. would remember that " Satan was the ancient f The " Deputies or Committees " for this enemy to Free Grace ; " that Elijah was called Court were chosen by the Town October IGth. Ihe troubler of Israel, 1 Kings 18 : 17, 18 ; They were " Mr. William Coddington, Mr. Amos was charged for conspiracy, Amos 7: John Coggeshall and Mr. Willm. Aspernall." 10. Paul was counted a pestilent fellow, a — Town Records. Mr. Aspinwall's autograph mover of Sedition, and a Ring-leader of a sect, at this date is here copied : — Acts 24 : 5, and Christ himself was charged withbeinga teacher of new doctrines. — "The A n/) ^ danger of meddling against the Prophets" (/ */Jl/^ j„^ /7A . * ^ was also suggested, and the danger of giving tA^ ^ A^t jUy ^^yy^ • • /- period is here rep- '/\f ^ C^^-^^^^coc^^ resented. f Winthrop has an agreeable criticism upon that performance, but whether a just one or not, is a matter of not much consequence now. Winthrop was displeased, because " some of the Freemen " had chosen Mr. Ward without asking leave " of the Magistrates or Governor," and " seeing he had cast off his pastor's place at Ipswich, and was now no minister by the received determination of our Churches ; and, among other things, he advised the people to keep all their Magistrates in an equal rank, and not give more honor or power to one than to another." — Journal, ii. 35. Mr. Ward rec- ommended also, " that Magistrates should not give private advice, and take knowledge of any man's cause before it came to public hearing." — Ibid., 36. This was taken as in- direct advice for the employment of Attorneys in legal questions. But Lawyers were held in abhorrence by the Puritan fathers. "Winthrop brings six arguments against receiving that advice. A little later than this, Mr. John Rogers, the famous Puritan preacher of Lon- don, thus speaks of the " incredible wicked- nesse of that profession, their guiltinesse of all manner of sinnes which the nation lyes under, as blood, theft, oppression, injustice, contentions, hatred, cozenage, and fraud, re- bellion, lying, perjury, and what not." — Heavenly Nymph, &c. 4to, 1653, p. 221. This being the current opinion of those days, it is no wonder the people of Boston were determined to exclude them from a footing here. Indeed, up to the time of our great Revolution, Lawyers were looked upon as a class unsuited to good society, by a considera- ble portion of the community ! X Lechford, Plain Dealing, 45. 258 HISTORY OF BOSTON. [1641. At the time the vessel was fired upon, " the deck was full of pas- sengers," yet none were hurt except Captain Peirce and one Samuel Wakeman. The latter was mortally wounded. He belonged to Hart- ford, and may have been the same who was a Freeman of Massachusetts, 1632, and three years later a Deputy to the General Court from Rox- bury. He was upon a trading design, and did not belong to those who intended to settle on the island. The others returned to New England soon after this calamitous outrage. In the course of the summer very unfavorable accounts were brought from Rhode Island ; that Mrs. Hutchinson was constantly broaching new heresies ; that many were turned Anabaptists, would not wear any arms, denied all magistracy among Christians, and "divers" other opinions quite as alarming as these. So that the conscientious Rulers of Boston were much grieved, if not angry, at what they considered bold presumption. And why an armed expedition was not dispatched into that Colony to break up the obnoxious nursery of errors, it is diffi- cult to imagine. Perhaps they had too much business to attend to at home. However, they soon had an opportunity of showing the Islanders that it was not very safe for any of them to make their appearance in Boston ; for Mr. William Collins, the same before no- ticed,* and Francis Hutchinson, son of Mrs. Hutchinson, coming here on business, were taken up, imprisoned and fined. f They would not pay the fine, however, and were eventually discharged. J A " great training " commenced in Boston, which continued ^ ' ' two days. The number of the trainers is set down at 1200, and it was remarked " that there was no man drunk," though liquors abounded ; and that no man swore an oath, nor was there any fighting. This certainly was remarkable, but there may be those who will ques- tion the fact, presuming that the Governor and Council might not hear all that was said during those two days of trainings. § Notwithstanding the harsh usage dealt out here to those who differed from them in opinions, the Rulers appointed a thanksgiving to be kept in all the Churches " for the good success of the Parliament in Eng- land," which was kept accordingly, on the second of September. * Ante, page 227. duct of the Government : — " Because the f Mr. Collins was fined £100, and Ilutchin- winter drew on, and the prison was incon- son £50. " We assessed the fines the higher,*' venient, we abated them [their fines] to £40, says Winthrop, " partly that by occasion and to £20. At last we took their own bonds thereof they might be the longer kept in from for their fine, and so dismissed them. They doing harm (for they were kept close prison- refused to come to the church assemblies, ex- ers), and also because that family had put the cept they were led, and so they came duly." country to so much charge in the Synod and — Journal, ib. I suppose? " coming duly " other occasions, to the value of £500 at least." means that they were forced du/y to the at- Upon this proceeding, Winthrop's commenta- tendance at meetings. This was a practice in tor remarks : — " Such arbitrary conduct can- other cases. Backus, from the Colony Records, not be overlooked by faithful history in silence; says they were "banished upon pain of yet nothing can be more clear than that our death." Magistrates thought they were doing God ser- ^ Lechford says, " Profane swearing, drunk- vice." — Journal, ii. 40. enness, and beggers, are but rare in the com- J Winthrop makes this excuse for the con- passe of this Patent." — Plain Dealing, 29. 1641.] SAMUEL MAVERICK SEVERE WINTER. 259 There was a remarkable tempest of above two days' continu- ance. It was " as fierce as a hurricane." " Divers boats and a bark were cast away in the harbor," but fortunately no houses were blown down nor lives lost. The tide rose to a fearful height, higher than it had been known since the Town was settled. About this time Mr. Samuel Maverick was put to some trouble on account of his having shown hospitality to some accused persons. One Thomas Owen, and Sarah, wife of William Hale, had been imprisoned under the charge of illicit conduct. They found means to escape from custody, and it was ascertained that Mr. Maverick had admitted them to his house. Nothing appears to show why he harbored them. He may have allowed them refuge as any other humane person would have done, seeing them in great distress. Whatever the circumstances may have been, he was fined one hundred pounds for such benevolent hos- pitality, but it was remitted in part afterwards. Several other persons were fined in small sums for being accessory to the escape of those persons, as Mr. Chedley, Mr. Ducket, Mr. Wollaston, Mr. Oateley, William Cope, and Mary Wilbee. Mr. Dutchfield, Mr. Williams, and Mr. Hale, " were admonished to take heed of the like concealment." A code of laws, called " The Body of Liberties," was adopted by the General Court this year.* It consisted of one hundred laws, and was originally drawn up by Mr. Nathaniel Ward of Ipswich, the Author of that curious book entitled " The Simple Cobler of Agawam."f The winter of the years 1641-2 was exceedingly severe. From their own observations and the accounts of the Indians, the people of * These laws are printed in Hutchinson's agree with a cowkeeper for the summer. Bro. Collection of Orig. Papers, 161, &c. Everill and bro. Burden may sink a pit at the ^ Jan. 25. — The Townsmen chosen were upper end of the wharf before bro. Burden's Bellingham, Winthrop, Hough, Ting, Gibbons, house, and put a vessel therein to water their Newgate, Colburne, Eliot and Hibbins. Abra- leather ; and if it be found an annoyance they ham Warren had formerly a grant at Hogg are to fill it up again. Island. Evan Thomas and Henry Dawson Julyl^. — Robt. Wing to have 20 bushels admitted inhabitants. Mr. Bworne [Bourne?] of Indian corn for looking to the low water desires a place next his house " for building mark in Sentry Field this year. Anthony the ship." Edward ArnoU proposed for a Stanyan admitted an inhabitant. Bro. Jolm resident. Richd. Bennett and Thomas Stan- Oliver* chosen Treasurer, and to keep the burie admitted inhabitants. " Towne's bookes." Thus a Town Clerk was Feb. 22. — Abraham Hagburne and Richd. chosen. Henry Stevens to have a lot for 5 Sanford admitted residents ; Abra. Perrie sells heads at " Brayntry." his house. Philip Rice admitted an inhabitant. Sep. 27. — David Phippen admitted a towns- Mar. 2&. — Bro. John Leveret to have a man, and may have a house lot if he can find little plot of marsh in the New field — about 3 one. Job Judkin a lot for 5 heads at the rods. A street to " go up to the New field by Mount " als Bi-aintry." John Search a house Sentry Hill," for the Town's use. lot near Robt. Walker. John Bigs, for work April 26. — Bro. Wentworth Day to have "done about the Magistrates seat," to have 100 acres at Mud. R. Bro. James Johnson,* the marsh in Sentinel-hill Field, about one bro. Buttoll and Goodm. Tame, may use a rod and a half acres, for 40s. a piece "adjoining Mr. Hibbins his garden iVoc. 29. — Sampson Shore admitted a towns- pale, and so over towards Elder Oliver's little man, also Edwd. Arnold. Granted to Valen- house, and down to the Creek eastward, and tine Hill, merchant of Boston, and his asso- up to the Highway westward, for dressing his ciates, all the waste ground from the point of leather." the marsh between Wm. Ting's pale and John Mai/ 3. — John Search admitted an inhab. Lowe's house, &c., for a term of years, for Bro. John Davis * and bro. Thos. Buttolph to wharfing and warehousing purposes. * See his autograph, ante, p. 213. * See his autograph, ante, p. 2'13. 260 HISTORY OF BOSTON. [1642. Boston judged that the cold had not been so mtense for forty years. The ice was so strong in the harbor that ' ' horses and carts went over in many places where ships had sailed," and it extended " to sea so far as one could well discern.* Captain Gibbons and his wife, with divers on foot by them, came riding from his farm at Pullen Point, right over to Boston, when it had thawed so much as the water was above the ice half a foot in some places ; and they passed with loads of wood and six oxen from Muddy River to Boston. When it thawed it removed great rocks, of above a ton or more weight, and brought them on shore. The snow was likewise very deep." There came many letters by a ship from England which arrived at the Isle of Shoals this winter. These letters were dispatched to Boston by a footman, who remarkably escaped drowning at Salem. The per- son who piloted him across the river upon the ice, fell in and was drowned, while the bearer of the letters extricated himself as the ice gave way under his feet. The letters of which he was the bearer, it may be inferred, were of great moment to the people of Boston, for Winthrop says, God preserved the bearer of them more on account of the letters "than for any goodness of the man" who had them in charge !f The wind-mill at the north end of the Town was struck by lightning, shattering the " upper sail in many pieces, and, miss- ing the stones, entered the standard, rived it down in three parts to the bottom, and one of the spars ; and the main standard being bound about with a great iron hoop, fastened with many long spikes, it was plucked off, broken in the middle, and thrown upon the floor, and the boards upon the sides of the mill rived off, the sacks in the mill set on fire, and the miller, being under the mill upon the ground chopping a piece of board, was struck dead ; but company coming in found him to breathe, and within an hour or two he began to stir, and strove with such force, as six men could scarce hold him down. The next day he came to his senses, but knew nothing of what had befallen him, but found himself very sore. His hair on one side of his head and beard was singed, one of his shoes torn off his foot, but his foot not hurt." At the General Court now in session, there fell out, says Winthrop, " a great business upon a very small occasion." This " great business " had its beginning as far back as 1636,| and may be thus briefly stated. A hog had been found running at large, contrary to a Town order. It * "To end this year 1641," s