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ALMON DANFORTH HODGES 
 AND HIS NEIGHBORS. 
 
One Hundred Copies Printed for Presentation only, 
 of which this is no. ^ '% 
 
 Please acknowledge receipt to 
 
 ALMON D. HODGES, Jr., 
 
 S Park Street, 
 
 Boston, Mass. 
 
Almon Danforth Hodges 
 
 AND HIS NEIGHBORS. 
 
 AN AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 
 
 TYPICAL OLD NEW ENGLANDER. 
 
 EDITED BY 
 
 ALMON D. HODGES, Jr. 
 
 PKESENTED BY 
 
 AMOKY G. HODGES AND ALMON D. HODGES, Jr. 
 
 BOSTON, MASS. 
 
 PRIVATELY PRINTED. 
 
 1909. 
 
^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 -KiO^ 
 
 A^V.. 
 
 I: .< 
 
IVho is the honest man? 
 He that doth still and strongly good pursue. 
 To God, his neighbour, and himself most true ; 
 
 Whom neither force nor fawning can 
 Unpinne, or wrench from giving all their due. 
 
 Whose honestie is not 
 So loose or easie, that a ruffling winde 
 Can blow away, or glittering looke it blinde ; 
 
 Who rides his sure and even trot. 
 While the world now rides by, now lags behinde. 
 
 Who, when great trials come, 
 Nor seeks nor shunnes them, but doth calmly stay 
 Till he the thing and the example weigh ; 
 
 All being brought into a summe. 
 What place or person calls for, he doth pay. 
 
 Whom none can work or wooe 
 To use in any thing a trick or sleight. 
 For above all things he abhorres deceit ; 
 
 His words and works, and fashion too, 
 All of a piece, and all are clear e and straight. 
 
 George Herbert. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 The Old New Englanders 13 
 
 New England Ancestry . . 19 
 
 Norton in 1801 29 
 
 An Old New Englander Clothier 48 
 
 The Home of a Norton " Gentleman " . . . . 57 
 
 The Old Country School 64 
 
 A Country Child's Every-day Life .... 73 
 
 Apprentice Days 84 
 
 Business Life in Providence 116 
 
 Social Life in Providence 144 
 
 Military Service in Ehode Island 165 
 
 The Dorr War 175 
 
 Family Life in Providence 211 
 
 Six Changing Years, 1845-1850 226 
 
 The Washington Bank of Boston 245 
 
 The Re-established Home in Eoxbury . . . .266 
 
 A Dash Through Europe in 85 Days .... 274 
 
 The Civil War Period 289 
 
 The Final Years 301 
 
 Appendices: — 
 
 I. Ledger Accounts of Jonathan Hodges, Jr. . 307 
 
 II. Barter Prices in Norton, 1790-1810 . . 317 
 
 III. Tax Notifications and Warrants . . . 319 
 
 ly. Business and Family Finances . . . 322 
 
 V. Providence Cotillion Parties, 1824-1826 . 324 
 
 VI. Washington Bank Data 330 
 
 Index of Names 337 
 
 Index of Subjects 349 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 AUTOGKAPHS (fkom Oeiginals owned by the Editok). 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Adams, J. Q., Letter to Edward Everett, written 1843 ... 28 
 
 Andrew, John A., Governor of Massachusetts, written 1861, 1862, 
 
 1864 294, 295, 297-299 
 
 Avery, John, Secretary of Massachusetts, written 1798 ... 26 
 
 Barnett, Thomas, of Niagara Falls, written 1845 .... 220 
 Baylies, H., Collector of Kevenue, written 1799 .... 44 
 
 Bowen, Henry, Secretary of Rhode Island, written 1827, 1828, 1842, 
 
 1844 167-170 
 
 Bullard, Samuel P., Usher of Providence School, written 1818 . 215 
 Church, John, Colonel of Rhode Island Militia, written 1825 . 166 
 Clarke, Pitt, Pastor of Norton Church opp. 36 
 
 " Thomas, D'pty Sec'y of Mass. Bay Province, written 1758 25 
 
 Donnison, Wm., Adjutant General of Mass., written 1801 . . 27 
 
 Fenner, James, Governor of R. I., 1827, 1828, 1844 . . 167, 168, 170 
 Foye, Wm., Treasurer of Mass. Bay Province, written 1747 . . 24 
 
 Frost, Hezekiah, Preceptor of Woodstock Academy, written 1802 266 
 Green, John, Orderly Sergeant of Mass. Militia Co., written 1819 102 
 
 Harvey, Thomas, of Norton, written 1704 20 
 
 Hodges, Almon D., written 1864, 1815, 1845, 1862 . . 28, 37, 220, 292 
 
 " Henry, written 1717, 1704 20 
 
 Jonathan, Senior (Clothier), written 1757, 1743, 1758 22, 23, 47 
 
 " Jonathan, Junior (Captain), written 1800, 1814 . . 25, 55 
 
 " Joseph, written 1729 21 
 
 Rufus, written 1814 55 
 
 Joslin, Henry, of Norton, written 1758 46 
 
 King, Samuel Ward, Governor of R. I., written 1842 . . . 169 
 Lawrence, Samuel C, Colonel 5th Regt. M. V. M., written 1861 . 294 
 Leonard, Ephraim, of Norton, written 1758 25 
 
 " George, Junior, of Norton, written 1758 . . .25, opp. 38 
 
 Mehaffey, C. O., Aide-de-Camp, written 1862 292 
 
 Parker, Samuel H., Colonel of Mass. Militia, written 1822 . . 108 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Pownal, Thomas, Governor of Mass. Bay Province, vrritten 175S 
 Sharp, James, Company Clerk of Mass. Militia, written 1820 
 Stiles, Frederick G., Major 42(1 Kegt. M. V. M., written 1864 
 Sumner, Increase, Governor of Mass., written 1798 
 Taft, George, Preceptor of Providence School, written 1818 
 Walker, Eleazer, of Norton, written about 1810 
 
 Warner, Oliver, Sec'y of Mass., written 1861, 1862, 1864 
 Wetherel, John, of Norton, written 1704 
 White, Nicholas, of Norton, written 1704 
 Williams, Thomas, of Norton, written 1704 
 
 294, 295, 
 
 PARE. 
 
 25 
 
 104 
 
 299 
 
 26 
 
 215 
 
 56 
 
 297-299 
 
 20 
 
 20 
 
 20 
 
 BUILDINGS AND VIEWS. 
 
 Leonard Mansion House, Norton, built before 1700 ... 39 
 
 From Rev. G. F. Clark's Histoi-y of Norton. 
 
 J. D. Williams's Former Residence, the Neck, Washington Street, 
 
 Boston opp. 94 
 
 From photograph owned by Mrs. James B. Case. 
 
 J. D. & M. Williams's Former Store, the Neck, Washington Street, 
 
 Boston opp. 96 
 
 From photograph owned by Mrs. James B. Case. 
 
 Market Square, Providence, in 1844 opp. 118 
 
 From an old woodcut engraved by S. S. Kilburn. 
 
 Union Building, Providence, about 1870. Former Stores of Stim- 
 
 son & Hodges opp. 116 
 
 From photograph loaned by Aaron C. Towne of Providence. 
 
 No. 9 and 11 South Main St., Providence, in 1909. Former Store 
 
 of Stimson & Hodges opp. 122 
 
 From photograph taken Ijy Dr. Charles V. Chapin of Providence. 
 
 Boston it Providence R. R. Station, India Point, Providence, 
 
 about 1840 opp. 128 
 
 Painting by K. C. Ghwhling. From engraving by S. S. Kilburn. 
 
 Dorr Flourishing the Sword in Providence, 1842 .... 184 
 Drawing by Thomas A. Iloppin. From Arthur M. Mowrj''s Dorr AVar. 
 
 State Arsenal, Providence, Guard in Upper Room, 1842 . . 185 
 
 Drawing by Thomas A. Hoppin. From Arthur M. Mowry's Dorr War. 
 
 State Arsenal, Providence, The Attack on, in 1842 . . . 187 
 
 Drawing by Thomas A. Hoppin. From Artliur M. Mowry's Dorr War. 
 
 Eddy House, Providence, 1870-80. Former Residence of A. D. 
 
 Hodges opp. 216 
 
 From photograph loaned by James R. Snow of Cranston, R. I. 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Whig Mass Meeting, Boston Common, 1844 
 
 Plate loaned by State Street Trust Co., owner of the original print. 
 
 Water Celebration, Boston Common, 1848 .... 
 
 Plate loaned by State Street Trust Co., owner of the original print. 
 
 Washington Bank, Boston, corner Washington and Beach 
 
 Streets 
 
 Drawn from description of Mr. W. H. Quigley. 
 
 Washington Bank, Boston, 47 State Street .... 
 From photograph owned by the Boston Athenaeum. 
 
 Roxbury, Mass., Residence of Almon D. Hodges, 39 St. 
 James Street ......... 
 
 From photograph owned by the D. C. Hodges estate. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 opp. 164 
 opp. 238 
 
 Portsmouth, R. I., Residence of Almon D. Hodges 
 From photograph owned by the D. C. Hodges estate. 
 
 DOCUMENTS (Originals owned by the Editor). 
 
 Ballot, Rhode Island City Convention, 1844 .... 
 
 "■ Rhode Island Law and Order Prox, 1844 
 Commissions, Military ... 25, 26, 166-170, 294, 295, 297 
 Comstock, Martha. Certificate of her Teachers, 1818 . 
 Confession of Faith of Jonathan Hodges, Senior, 1743 . 
 Glazier, Amery. Certificate of his Preceptor, 1802 
 Hodges, Almon D. Penmanship Specimens, 1815 . 
 
 Militia Orders to train, 1819, 1820 . , . 102, 
 Fine for not Training, 1819 .... 
 
 Warrant. Sergeant Boston City Guards, 1822 
 Commission. Adjt. 2d Regt. R. I. Militia, 1825 
 
 Lieut. Col. 2d Regt. R. I. Militia, 1827 
 Colonel 2d Regt. R. I. Militia, 1828 
 Lieut. Col. Police Regt. R. I. Militia 
 
 opp. 250 
 opp. 256 
 
 opp. 270 
 opp. 302 
 
 Commission. 
 
 Commission. 
 
 Commission. 
 
 1842 
 
 Commission. Col. Providence Horse Guards, 1844 
 
 On Ballot in 1844 
 
 Invitation to West Point Cadets' ball, 1844 
 
 Niagara Falls Certificate, 1845 .... 
 
 Military Pass to Virginia, 1862 
 Almon D., Junior. Commission. Lieut. 42d Mass. Inf. 
 
 1864 
 
 George F. Commission. Lieut, and Paymaster .5th Mass 
 Inf., 1861 
 
 Commission. Lieut, and Adjt. 18th Mass. Inf., 1861 
 
 Henry. Taunton Selectmen's Recommendation of an 
 
 Ordinary, 1704 
 
 122 
 206 
 -299 
 215 
 
 23 
 266 
 
 37 
 104 
 103 
 108 
 166 
 167 
 168 
 
 169 
 170 
 122 
 219 
 220 
 292 
 
 299 
 
 294 
 295 
 
 20 
 
10 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Hodges, Jonathan, Senior. Confession of Faith, 1743 ... 23 
 
 Provincial Tax Warrant, 1747 24 
 
 Commission. Lieutenant, 1758 . • . • • 25 
 
 Specimen of Ledger, 1752-1758 46, 47 
 
 Jonathan, .Junior. Commission. Captain, 171)8 . . 26 
 
 Resignation. Captain, 1801 27 
 
 Chaise Tax Receipt, 1800 44 
 
 Specimen of Ledger, 1788-1814 ..... 54, 55 
 
 William T. Commission. Lieut. 41st Mass. Inf., 1862 . 297 
 
 Commission. Capt. 4th Mass. Cav., 1864 . . . 298 
 
 Ledger Specimens 46, 47, 54, 55 
 
 Military Commissions, Orders, Pass and Warrant . 25, 26, 102-104, 108, 
 
 166-170, 292, 294, 295, 297-299 
 
 Niagara Falls Certificate, 1845 220 
 
 Order for Dyeing, Shearing and Pressing Cloth, about 1810 . 56 
 
 Philharmonic Society Programme, Providence, 1834 . . . 152 
 
 School Certificates 215, 266 
 
 Taunton Selectmen's Recommendation for Keeping an Ordinary, 
 
 17U4 20 
 
 Tax Warrant (1747) and Receipt (1801) 24, 44 
 
 Warrant of Almon D. Hodges as Sergeant, Boston City Guards, 
 
 1822 108 
 
 West Point Cadets. Invitation to Ball, 1844 219 
 
 MAPS. 
 
 Map showing Hodges Homestead in Norton, about 1830 . . 59 
 
 ("oiiiiiiled by the Editor. 
 
 Map of Providence County, R. I., 1842 199 
 
 From tbe Providence .Journal of .July 19, 1842. 
 
 Map of Eastern Railroad, between Boston and Swampscott, 1846 230 
 
 From the Boston Almanac of 1847. 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS. 
 
 Fire Engine. The First Hydraulion, Providence, 1821 , . 146 
 
 Old Print. From engraving by S. S. Kilburn. 
 
 Fulling Mill, The Old New England 49 
 
 Drawn by W. J. Hodges from data of the Editor. 
 
 Gravestone of Elder Henry Hodges, 1717 .... opp. 21 
 
 Ji'rom photograph owned by the editor. 
 
 Norton Town Seal 29 
 
 By kindness of Jacob A. Leonard, Town Clerk. 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 11 
 
 Railroad Coach, Original, Boston & Providence . , . opp. 120 
 From photograph presented by the N. Y., N. H. & H. R. K. Co. 
 
 Street Railroad, Metropolitan. The First Open Car . . 270 
 
 From Ballou's Pictorial of April '2o, 1857. 
 
 PORTRAITS. 
 
 Bacon, Eben. Third President of Washington Bank . . opp. 262 
 From photograph owned by Mrs. Fiuncis E. Bacon. 
 
 Baldwin, Aaron, about 1841. First President of Washington 
 
 Bank opp. 246 
 
 From painting Vjy Francis Alexander owned by Herbert B. Cushing. 
 
 Clarke, Rev. Pitt, of Norton opp. 36 
 
 From an engi-aving owned by the editor. 
 
 Comstock, Sally Brown, March, 1847 opp. 213 
 
 From painting by James S. Lincoln owned by F. S. Hodges. 
 
 Dorr, Thomas Wilson opp. 176 
 
 Daguerreotype by A. L. Dick. From Arthur M. Mowry's Dorr War. 
 
 Hodges, Almon D. ....... . Frontispiece 
 
 From painting by G. P. A. Healy, owned by the Editor. 
 
 Colonel of Providence Horse Guards . . opp. 170 
 
 From daguerreotype owned by the D. C. Hodges estate. 
 
 And Wife Martha opp. 211 
 
 From painting by James S. Lincoln, owned by the Eilitor. 
 
 And his Family, 1849 opp. 242 
 
 From photograph by Whipple & Black, owned by the D. C. Hodges estate. 
 
 Second President of Washington Bank . . opp. 252 
 Fixim daguerreotjpe by Whipple, owned by the D. C. Hodges estate. 
 
 Chief of Squadron, Roxbury Horse Guards . opp. 289, 290 
 From two photographs cwTied by the Editor. 
 
 In Later Life opp. 304 
 
 From his latest photograph, owned by the Editor. 
 
 Almon D., Junior, 1849 opp. 242 
 
 In Hodges Family photograph. 
 
 Danforth C. and William T. about 1837 . . . opp. 218 
 From painting by James S. Lincoln, owned by the D. C. Hodges estate. 
 
 Danforth C, 1849 opp. 242 
 
 In Hodges Family photograph. 
 
 Family in 1849 opp. 242 
 
 From photograph by 'Whipple & Black, owned by the D. C. Hodges estate. 
 
1-2 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Hodges, Francis O., 1849 opp. 242 
 
 In H()(lf;;es Family photof^raph. 
 
 P'rederick S., 1849 opp. 242 
 
 In H()(l5^(^s Family photograph. 
 
 George F., 1841 opp. 220 
 
 From painting by James S. Lincoln, owned by the Editor. 
 
 George F., 1849 opp. 242 
 
 In Hodges Family photograph. 
 
 George F. (Adjutant) and William T. (Captain) . opp. 296 
 From painting by .Sharpe, owned by the D. C. Hodges estate. 
 
 Jane Hudson opp. 266 
 
 From photograph by Edward C. Hodges, owned by the Editor. 
 
 Martha (Comstock) and Almon D opp. 210 
 
 From painting by James S. Lincoln, owned by the Editor. 
 
 Martha (Comstock) 1849 opp. 242 
 
 In Hodges Family photograph. 
 
 William T. and Danforth C. about 1837 . . . opp. 218 
 From painting by James S. Lincoln, owned by the D. C. Hodges estate. 
 
 William T,, 1849 opp. 242 
 
 In Hodges Family photograph. 
 
 William T. (Captain) and George F. (Adjutant) . opp. 296 
 From painting by Sharpe, owned by the 1). C. Hodges estate. 
 
 Lafayette, General. Portrait by Ary Schaffer . . . opp. 156 
 Plate loaned by the Bostonian Society. 
 
 Leonard, George. Junior opp. 38 
 
 From Rev. G. F. Clark's History of Norton. 
 
 Putnam, Dr. George. Minister of First Church of Roxbury opp. 236 
 From photograph owned by Henry W. Putnam. 
 
 Williams, Moses . . opp. 93 
 
 From photograph owned by Mrs. James B. Case. 
 
THE OLD NEW ENGLANDERS. 
 
 HE father of my memory was a person who varied 
 greatly as the years — my years — rolled on. 
 
 In my earliest remembrance he was a pleasant 
 bef ore-breakfast companion. Whenever I chose to 
 get np betimes and appear with my face and hands washed 
 and my hair brushed, I found him ready for a walk, which was 
 made the more enjoyable by stories of the people who had lived 
 at the places we passed, and of the events which had happened 
 there. On the Fourth of July I could always go up with him 
 to Tommj'-'s Rocks, at sunrise, and see the guns fired, and on 
 May Day morning walk down to the Neck and see the long- 
 line of onmibuses or street cars, crammed and jammed with 
 free passengers, move in procession from Boston to Roxbury.* 
 In all cases there were interesting stories of people and things. 
 I don't know how young I was, but I was cei-tainh^ very 
 small, when I began to hear the phrase, so often on his lips, 
 " Welcome the coming, speed the parting guest." I never 
 knew the time when there were not some visitors in the 
 house — cousins and uncles and aunts and others — unless 
 there was sickness in the family. It was a lively household 
 and something was always going on. In the afternoons — 
 mornings he was at the bank, so far back as my memory goes 
 — there were pleasure rides or calls on people, or now and 
 then — for he was very fond of seeing bright faces around 
 
 * In its earliest years the Metropolitan Street Railroad Company (fol- 
 lowing the former custom of the Roxbury omnibuses) sent its cars, on 
 their first trip on May Day. in a procession from Boston to Roxbury, 
 and passengers were carried without charge; but they had to pAy if they 
 rode back. 
 
 ( 13) 
 
14 THE OLD XKW ENGLANDEKS. 
 
 him, as I giadually learned — he would collect a crowd of 
 children, stop a passing baker's wagon, and buy up the load 
 of cakes and cookies ; or hire an organ-grinder and let the 
 little ones dance. In the evenings there were games and 
 glees in which all present, old and young, were expected to 
 join. There were also grander occasions, when more people 
 came, and there were talking and laughing and music — al- 
 ways music ; also ice-cream, salad, cakes and coffee. But 
 these pleasures were not allowed to interfere with my studies 
 and other duties, or with the prescribed rules of conduct and 
 health. 
 
 So long as his children were young, they went regularly to 
 church twice on Sunday ; and it was his custom for many 
 years in the evenings to read " prayers " from a book, which, 
 although they were short, always made us sleepy and were 
 often evaded, so that his audience was apt to be limited. 
 
 So long as liis children were small, they willingly arose 
 early in the morning, as he did always, being an adherent of 
 tlie early-to-bed-and-earlj'-to-rise doctrine. But his sons, as 
 they grew older, inclined more and more to prolong theii' 
 slumbers and needed rousing that they might not delay the 
 breakfast. Father always greeted the morn with song, and 
 usually the first thing we heard was a cheerful hymn as he 
 })assed from his bedroom to the bathroom to take his matu- 
 tinal sliower. On the way he rang a bell to indicate that it 
 was time to dress. If the bell-ringing proved inefficient, it 
 was followed by the cry of " Bowse out I bowse out I '' a 
 marine ejaculation which seems now to have l)ecome obsolete. 
 If anyone failed to bowse out promptl}', he was personally 
 visited and, if necessary, was ejected from his downy couch. 
 This morning performance was for the little (ynes a delightful 
 introduction to the day's pleasures. 
 
 There were rare occasions when he was not agreeable to us 
 small people. He would accept an excuse, even a flimsy ex- 
 cuse ; but a defiant "I will I " or "I won't!'' was nluxyi/s 
 
THE OLD NEW ENGLANDERS. 15 
 
 considered by him a challenge for corporal punishment. I 
 presume that, being a difficult child, I must have been 
 spanked by him, although I cannot remember a single in- 
 stance. To be sure, I lived four years, after my mother's 
 death, away from home. But I recollect the green tool-chest 
 in the bathroom, which was the seat of punishment, and the 
 two rods named Tommy Red and Johnny Green, either of 
 which the culprit might select if he chose. And my eldest 
 brother has told me tales in which Tommy Red and Johnny 
 Green figured prominently ; but only at long intervals. 
 
 At one j)eriod father appeared to us rather behind the 
 times. Occasionally he would say " legislate w'er," instead of 
 " legislacher " ; and he couldn't read Virgil or Xenophon, al- 
 though he knew about them. Wliile he was willing to con- 
 cede that the schools were very much better than they had 
 been in his childhood, and always expressed a readiness to be 
 taught by his better-educated children, yet when pressed into 
 a discussion — which he never began himself — he sometimes 
 seemed quite obtuse. He had been taught in Ms school to 
 say " legislatewer " (as if that were any argument) and really 
 now, sounding the letters separately, with especial reference 
 to the u, why should one pronounce t-iir-r-e " clier " rather 
 than " fewer," unless it were purely a matter of fashion ? And 
 fashions were apt to change more than once, were they not ? 
 
 We children were never afraid of our father and often tried 
 to play a joke on him. A good joke, at his own expense, he 
 always took in the best possible spirit. But a poor joke was 
 apt to cause retaliation. And as he had a quick brain and an 
 abundance of humor — which, however, was always kindly — 
 we grew cautious as we grew older, and less inclined to a con- 
 test of wits. 
 
 There were times when we thought him prosy, — when he 
 was continually " preaching " about honesty and economy and 
 punctuality ; doing one's duty cheerfully and without growl- 
 ing (he hated a chronic growler) ; being a good neighbor 
 
16 THE OLD NE^Y ENGLANDERS. 
 
 (tli;it was an unending topic with him, and included loyalt}'- 
 to one's country) ; working hard and laying up something for 
 a rainy day ; — about lots of things which had been printed 
 years ago in Poor Richard's Almanac and in Sunday School 
 books. Wh}^ talk so much about tiresome matters that every- 
 body knew, instead of telling us something fresh and interest- 
 ing ? 
 
 Later in life when I went about in the world, 1 discovered 
 gradually that the world had a higher opinion of my father's 
 character, ability and appearance than had previously occurred 
 to me. I learned that he had a most extensive acquaintance 
 throughout the eastern and the middle States, and even on 
 the Pacific coast ; and that his acquaintances all considered 
 him a greater and better man than his young children had 
 ever imagined. When I visited a new city, people seeing my 
 name on the hotel register or in the newspaper list of arrivals, 
 came to call on " Colonel Hodges' son." On being intro- 
 duced, I was greeted cordially and congratulated because 1 
 was " Colonel Hodges' son." Time and time again I was 
 told how he had been this and that man's dear friend, had 
 helped this and that man with sound advice, had aided this 
 and that man to start in business, had righted this and that 
 wrong, had advanced this and that good cause ; what an up- 
 right man, what a wise man, what a helpful neighbor, and 
 what a cheery companion he had always been. The longer I 
 lived, the more pleasant words I heard about liim. I am still 
 hearing them from the younger generation. 
 
 Recently I have been reading my father's diary and other 
 documents of his to which I have fallen heir ; and from his 
 words, penned simply for his own eye, and during his life 
 seen by no other person except perhaps his wife, I have come 
 to a still better knowledge of him, and have acquired a still 
 greater respect for his memory. It seems to me that it is a 
 good tiling to have had such an ancestor, and a useful thing 
 to put in permanent form an intimate account of the domestic 
 
THE OLD NEW ENGLANDERS. 17 
 
 life of his generation whose traditions and customs have passed 
 entirely away. Wherefore I have put together, for his children 
 and his children's children, a frank story of my father and his 
 time, hoping that some of them may come to share in the 
 pleasure and benefit which I have enjoyed. 
 
 The period of the Civil War has been set up as a great 
 landmark in this country, dividing the Old South from the 
 New South. It serves equally well to distinguish the Old 
 New England from the New England of to-day. 
 
 So great and so rapid have been the changes, between the 
 Old New Englanders and the New New Englanders, in habits 
 of thought, waj^s of living, methods of business, means of 
 communication, systems of education, ideas of theology — in 
 almost everything affecting their lives and relations to one 
 another — that unsound theories are springing up concerning 
 domestic life in New England before the war. Oftener and 
 more confidently, as the past recedes, it is asserted that this 
 life must have been mean and sordid ; that the mother who 
 bore eight or ten or a dozen children, must have been a 
 broken-down drudge ; that the father who toiled hard, lived 
 simply and accumulated only a small amount of cash, must 
 have passed a life barren of pleasure ; that the children who 
 were early taught to work, and were taken to church twice 
 every Sunday, must have been unhappy creatures. 
 
 It seems rather strange that, in the recent historical at- 
 tempts to describe family life before the Civil War, those who 
 have written of the Old South, have usually painted it as a 
 land of pure delight ; while those who have treated of the 
 Old New England, have generally depicted it as a region of 
 gloom and sadness. The former may have laid on the bright 
 colors too thick ; the latter certainly have used the dark tints 
 too exclusively. Verily there is ample reason to believe that 
 there were as much brightness and happiness in the Old New 
 England as in the Old South, or indeed as exist in the present 
 
18 THE OLD NEW ENGLANDERS. 
 
 New England. Certainly this sketch, which is the intimate 
 personal history of a representative Old New Englander, 
 written in great part in his own words, is the story of a very 
 happy life. 
 
 The snhject of the sketch, as was quite customary in his 
 day, kept a diary — a "journal " he called it, and his term is 
 adopted here — in which he jotted down the incidents of his 
 life. His journal was begun when he was eighteen years old ; 
 the last entry was made within twelve hours of his death. He 
 suiDplemented it by marginal notes, by " recollections " of his 
 childhood and youth which he wrote for his children, by 
 various historical addresses and frequent newspaper articles, 
 and by scrap-books. He also collected and preserved a num- 
 ber of old family papers, including the account-books of Ms 
 father and his grandfather, who were " clothiers " as well as 
 farmers. These account-books range from 1744 to 1813, and 
 as the system of barter prevailed to a great extent in those 
 days, they contain many curious and interesting data. Tliis 
 book is substantially a re-statement of the facts noted in the 
 above documents, written almost entirely in his own words, 
 even in many cases where " the editorial I " has insisted on 
 obtrudiuR' itself. 
 
NEW ENGLAND ANCESTRY. 
 
 LMOST of necessity for the development of 
 his type, his ancestors in New England were 
 all of English stock. Among them, of course, 
 were John and Priscilla Alden of the May- 
 flower. There were also ministers, seven in number, viz. : — 
 James Allen, Oxford graduate, ejected in 1660 from the 
 English pulpit, minister of the First Church of Boston 
 for forty-two years, and one of the wealthiest residents 
 of Boston in his day ; Samuel Danforth, member of the 
 second class which was graduated at Harvard College, 
 Pastor of the First Church of Roxbury from 1650 to 
 1674, colleague of the Apostle Eliot, astronomer, mathema- 
 tician and poet ; Samuel Danforth, son of the last, a Harvard 
 graduate of the Class of 1683, minister for forty years at 
 Taunton, Mass., where he acquired " an unbounded influ- 
 ence " over his townsmen, and where he was also " the prin- 
 cipal, if not the only, physician and lawyer " ; John Mayo, 
 graduate of an English university, probably Oxford, minister 
 at Barnstable and at Eastham, Mass., and then for seventeen 
 years of the Second Church of Boston ; Nicholas Street, prob- 
 ably graduate of Oxford, minister at Taunton from 1638 to 
 1659, and then at New Haven; William Tompson, Oxford 
 graduate, driven from ministerial labors in Lancashire over to 
 America where he became minister of the First Church at 
 Braintree, — a rather gentle character much tinged with mel- 
 ancholy; and John Wilson, whose father was a clergyman, 
 and whose grand-uncle was Edmund Grindall, Queen Eliza- 
 beth's Puritan Archbishop of Canterbury. Wilson was a 
 graduate of Cambridge University, chaplain and preacher for 
 
 (19) 
 
20 NEW ENGLAND ANCESTRY. 
 
 several years in England, and then the militant first minister 
 of the First Church in Boston from 1630 until his death in 
 1667. 
 
 Elders and deacons of churches, captains of military com- 
 panies, selectmen of towns, and holders of other prominent 
 local positions Avere exceedingly plentiful. It was a vigorous, 
 energetic. God-fearing stock in all its branches. 
 
 In the year 1643 William Hodges, the first known member 
 of the tribe, appeared at Taunton, Mass. Whence he came, 
 and why he crossed the ocean, is unrevealed. He may have 
 been the " William Hedges " who was appointed on a jury at 
 Salem, Mass., March 27, 1638, but this is not certain. About 
 1649 he married Mary Andrews, whose father was one of the 
 leading men of Taunton, and by her had two sons, John and 
 Henry. He held considerable property, and probably was 
 comparatively young when he died in 1654. 
 
 /^^<^ ^0^3:) 
 
 Henry Hodges of Taunton, the second son, was captain of 
 the military company, held the highest town offices for many 
 
 
THE-3C 
 
 'yf-** 
 
 ':mi^ii!(iW»'::aamimKm^ 
 
 GRAVESTONE OF ELDER HENRY HODGES. 
 Erected 1717.- Reset 1906. 
 
NEW ENGLAND ANCESTRY. 21 
 
 years, was a deacon and presiding elder of the church, oc- 
 cupying, it is said, a seat in the pulpit with the minister. 
 He married and had eleven children. He died and was 
 buried in the Neck of Land Burying Ground where still is to 
 be seen his gravestone inscribed : here lies the body of 
 
 ELDER HENRY HoDGES AGED 65 DIED IN THE YEAR 1717 
 
 SEPTEMBER THE 30. An excavatiou, made one hundred and 
 eighty-nine years after his burial, disclosed one end of his oak 
 coffin, blackened with age but unchanged in form. His auto- 
 graph, twice reproduced above, is to be found on many old 
 documents, owing to his prominence. 
 
 Joseph Hodges, son of Henrj-, thus signed his name in 
 1729. He was deacon of the church, assessor and selectman 
 many years, served as major in the Old French War, took 
 part at the siege of Louisburg on the island of Cape Breton 
 in 1745, and died from wounds or sickness on his journey 
 home. His homestead was in the southern part of Norton 
 near the Taunton line. He married twice and had eight 
 cliildren, all by his first wife. 
 
 His will, made just before starting on the Louisburg Ex- 
 pedition, mentioned " my Silver Hilted sword " which he 
 bequeathed to liis eldest son, Captain Joseph Hodges, who 
 in turn devised it to his only son, another Captain Joseph 
 Hodges, and he to his oldest son, a third Captain Joseph 
 Hodges. This last had an energetic, capable New England 
 wife, who held the interests of her children paramount to all 
 other interests. Hence it was that when some articles were 
 needed for her home, and ready cash was not immediately 
 available, the silver hilt of Major Joseph's sword was sacri- 
 ficed by her for the sake of her family and, by the process of 
 
22 NEW ENGLAND ANCESTRY. 
 
 barter, was transmuted into silver spoons. The blade is still 
 owned by her grandchildren, whose respect for their capable 
 grandmother is tempered by sorrow for the loss of a priceless 
 heirloom. 
 
 Jonathan Hodges of Norton, son of Major Joseph, wrote 
 his name as above. There being an elder man of the same 
 name in Norton in his earlier years, he was called then 
 Jonathan Hodges, 2d, and also Jonathan Hodges, junior. 
 He was a farmer. He was also a "clothier"; that is, he 
 owned a water-power fulling mill, which he built in 1744, 
 and carried on the business of fulling, dyeing and dressing 
 cloth. He was a person of prominence and held many offices, 
 among them that of warden, being " of good substance and of 
 sober Life and conversation," as the law required. One of 
 his official duties was to see " that the Sabbath was duly 
 observed in all public houses and elsewhere, and to examine 
 all persons suspected of unnecessary travelling on Sunday." 
 His badge of office was a " white wand, not less than seven 
 Feet in length." Many of his papers have been preserved 
 and three of them are reproduced here, namely : — 
 
 His "confession" or "experience," as it was then termed. 
 This was the declaration of his Christian experience made, 
 about 1743, previous to joining the church, as was customary 
 in colonial days. 
 
 A provincial tax warrant, in 1747, directing him to collect 
 the amount assessed on the town of Norton. 
 
 His commission, in 1758, as Second Lieutenant of the First 
 Foot Company of Norton, of which he was afterwards Cap- 
 tain. 
 
 He was born in Norton February 26, 1721 (O. S.), and 
 died there July 18, 1795. He married Abigail Sanford and 
 had ten children. 
 
NEW ENGLAND ANCESTRY. 23 
 
 ^j^^'Z^ 
 
 J^^y ^t/e>t,U^ ^^^ ^ ^H^f £'T^ ft^*t^ ^tiT /z^ 
 
 S^m^^i^aJ- ^^"^^ ^^^^ '/Uc^ i^^t-^ i^c >>^*- f*tuja^u^ 
 
 CONFESSION OF JONATHAN HODGES. 
 
24 NEW ENGLAND ANCESTRY. 
 
 Province of the 
 MaJfachufettSrBay^'RP' 
 
 William Foye, Efq\ 
 
 Treafm 'cr & Receroer-Generdof His Majeftfsfaid Province^ 
 
 To\f<rKsma!<9frr^iAi Conftable or Collc<!kir of the Town oi tyyen/cr/T^ tjreeting, 6tc. 
 
 75 T Virtue of an AEl of the Great and General-Court or AJfemhly of tbe fald Province, begun and 
 ^ held at Bofton, upon Wednefday tbe Twenty-feventh Day of May 1747. In tbe 21^ Tear 
 «/ Hi! Majefly s Reign, Entilukd, Kn Adl for apportiomng and affefllng a Tax of Thirty-nine Thou- 
 
 Jand one Hundred and three Pounds Hirteen Sbif/ings andfeven Pence ; and alJb for appDrtioning and 
 aliening a further Tax of Two Thoufand eight Hundred and feventy-eight Pounds eleven Shillings and 
 
 fx Pence, paid the Reprefeotatives to/ their Ser\^ce and Attendance in the General Court and Travel, 
 amounting in the whole to Forty-one Tboufand ^int Hundred and eighty-two Pounds, five Shillingi 
 and ont Penny ; 
 
 rrHESEsnkiH'u 'M&jtsTv't Nemt It WiB mj^itjatrt ftt " CcUtH aB tud niry lie Sums ef Money mo-f-nti ci ihe U/t 
 i tr Ufli •flit/aii Tax «• Apfsmm tfw Tim, mtdt h lit /tS'Sv' «r SikH-Mta iJ ibi laidtnin, <uU.temml}inlUitm 
 U Cil!<3 : Aimnlini in lit fVhIl I* tb< Stmcf ~~ 
 
 ■T*** <*>». Of radi.Pertda i4m,*nio)i^ Iim PrapoBten fet down Ia tjic Cud Uffi or tiSs. .ii(i<are.d« 
 
 bll Day of Atyr ncTt i fo that you ducly pay in th« Sum Total of the faid Lifts unto, and makt ujr md lifet your Accompl 
 of the whok thettpf with Myfelf, His Majctty's Treafurcr and Reoiivcr-Gcncral of His Rcvciuic witbin thi? Province, tny Deputy- 
 or Deputies, or SucceJlbn in the laid Office, at or before th«lafl Day of "Juitt next, whK:h wil] be in the Year of our Lord Out 
 Tbnfiad frun HmdrrJ anj fcrty-riibt, vbtcb you arc alike fequirtd to do. And in caic any Perfon or Perforn lliall rcfufc or negleft 
 to pay the fcvenl Sum or Sums, wbertat he or they are fet in tjvr Anirfsment, and are to pay the lame upon Demand made, [ tjthcr 
 in BiJJs of Credit orjtted in and tioct the Year One tboufand fcviji Hundred andf^rty-em^ according to their Denominations ; or in* 
 coined Silver it the Rate^ Snn SiHIagi mi fix Penet pet Ounce Troy-weight i or in Gold Coin in Proportion ; or in Bills of 
 Credit of the middle Tenor, fo called, according to their feveralDcnominationj ; or in Bills of the oldTenor accounting four for one v 
 or in good Merchan^ble Hemp, «t Ftur Petye pa Pound -, or in good Merchantable /Jle of SMe Cod-fUh, at 7n SbiHtngi per 
 Q^intali or in gtjod refined B&r-lron at Fifteen Pounds per Ton v or in Bloomery-Iron, at Twelve Ptmndt p<r Ton ; or in hollow Iron 
 Ware, at Twelve Ponndi per Ton i. or in pxxl Indian Corn, at Two ShiUtngi and fix Pence per Buihel i or in good Winter Rye, at 
 Tko SttUJn£i onJfisi Pence per Bufid i or m good Winter Wheat, at Ttree Sbilbnp per Buihel i or in good Barley at Ta/o SbiUiagi 
 per Buihel ; or in good Barrel Pork, at Two' Poundi per Barrel i or in Barrel Beef at One Pound five Sbillingi prr Barrel ; or in 
 Dock or Canras, at Two Poundi ten Sbillingi per Bolt, each Bolt to weigh Forty-three Pounds , or in long Whalebone, at Tino SUlUngi 
 and three Pence fa -Poxsnd; or in Merchantable Cordage, at One /"tKniZ/w iiiVUx^i per Hundred i or in good Train Oyl at Ont 
 Pouud ten St:Kngt per Carrel i or in good Bees- Wax, at Ten Pence per Pound i or in good Bayberry-Wai, at Six Pence per Pound i 
 or in tryed Tallow, at Four Pence per Pound i or in gotxJ Peafe at Three SbiUingj per Buihel i or in good Shcopa Wool, at Nrnt 
 Pfnce per Pound i or in good tann d Solr- Leather, at Four Pane per Pound : All which aforefaid Commodiriea Ihall be of the Pro- 
 fhxc of this Province i 1 it fhall and may be lawful for you, and you arc hereby authorized and required for Non-parmcnt, todiftrein 
 the Perfon or Perfons fo rrfiifing or neglefling, by hii or their Goods or Cbatcles i and the Diftrefj or Dlftrefles fo taken, to kerp for 
 the Ipace of Fouf Days, al the Coft and Charges of the Owner thereof ; ud if the laid Owner do not pay the Surti e£ Sums of Money" 
 fo affenid upon ftim, within the faid Four Days, then the laid Diftrefs or Diftreffcs to be forthwith openly fokl at. an Outcry by you, 
 for Payment of the feid Money, Notice of fuch Sale being poftpd up in fome publick Place id the iaroe "Town/Twcnty-four Hovirs 
 before-haml -, «t>d the Os-erphis comir.g by the (Kid Salt ( ifanybc ) over and above the Charges of taJang and kreriing the- Dirtrefs 
 or DltbtDe!, It be immediattly rdlored to the Owner. Ami if«ny I'crfon or Perfons »nclfid as ofonJiil, Qlajrveti;fc or jiegleft CO 
 py theSumor Sums foa&ncd, by the fpace of Twclrc'Days after Demand thereof, where no fuiStient Dirtreli nn or may be lound, 
 whereby the lame may be levied ; in every hlch Cafe,- you are to epply your fetf unto Two or more of the AITcflbn within your Town 
 fcrWarrant to commit fuch Pcrfon orPerfonsto the common Goat, as the Law du-cfts. And where any Peribn or Pvrfons (Kill rrmove 
 frtKn your Town, not having firft paid the refpe-flivc Sums cm Prouortion fet upon him or them in Cud Tax or Af&Isment i you uc 
 hereby authorize and imnowered to detcand the Sum or Sunjs afldTt-d upon fuch Peribn or Perfons, in what Town or Place foevcr ha 
 or they may be found witl jn this Province i and upon rcfufal or ncglrfl to pay the Ume» to<Je(ln;in the Ciid Perfon or Perfons, by ba 
 or their" Goods and ChAttle^, as aforcCud i and for want of fuch Dijlrcfs to commit the Panv to the common Goal, ihert to remain unrj 
 Payment be made of the Sum or Sums fo fet upon him,with jill Qiargcs anfing by realbn of lijch Coffunitracnt Andbcrcof you arc ni< 
 1(0 &il, upon the Pains and Penaltia as may in liich Cafe by La« be ioAicted oa you. 
 
 Given under my Hand and Stal at Bofton, «;5e Tenth Z)<iy«/NovCT:iber 1747. /n ri^Twcnty-firft 
 Tear of tbe Reign of our SovereignLord G£ORC£ fbe Second; e^Gii,B*T-ariTAiJ<, &c. K.IN'G. 
 
 PROVINCIAL TAX-WARRANT 
 
NEW ENGLAND ANCESTRY 
 
 25 
 
 C 
 
 •nee of the \ T HO M^ S PO W N ^LL, Efq; 
 ttS^S^SlSjCaptaii-General and Governor in Chief, in and 
 over H,s Majefty's Province of the Mojfachufetts- 
 Bay ivuVew-Eng/and, &c, 
 
 Y Virtue of the Powenand Authority, in and by His MajelV^^s Royal Commiffion to 
 Me^ranted tabe Capcin General, (3-c. over this His Majeftvs Province of the. Aii^-.. 
 cbuJeitj-Bjj^ aforcfaid, 1 yto by thefe I'tefeurS' Xepofing efpecial Truft and Confidence 
 in your Loyalty, Coufge and good ConctaCf,' ) conllituteand appoint You the laid 
 
 ^- y r 'y ^- >• r^-TT^-^ 
 
 You ?re therefore carefully and dilgemly to difchai^ the Duty of a « W^^/i.'/c'^ ///'^^'^»f- 
 
 in 'eading, ordering and exerciling fid ^'m/i/tru/ . io Arms, both inferior OScers and 
 
 5 vldiers, and to keep them in good Order and Difciplioc ; hereby commanding them to obey you 
 as dieir • i',-'~y'^/-^ji/fria-n-l andyout(elf to obferve and follow fuch Orders and Inftiuftions, as 
 you (hall from time to time receive fxm Me, or the Commander in Chief for the Time being, or 
 other your fuperior Officers for HisMajefty's Service, according to nxilitary Rules and Difcipline, 
 purfuant to the Trufl repofed in yoa 
 
 Chen under my Hand and Seal at Arms at'^oyx otfy the 'T^?/?./ 
 
 Day of ^^''n-j/'/) - — In the ./^'/rA/ /^7j/ Tear of the Reign of His 
 
 Majefiy King CEOK(J!E. the Second, Annoq; Domini, i 7/^, 
 
 
 ■cv/) 
 
 7 
 
 
 '^rA^i/^/ 
 
 -/«^--^--/ "~ 
 
 COMMISSION OF JONATHAN HODGES, CLOTHIER. 
 
 Jonathan Hodges, ninth child of Jonathan, thus signed his 
 name when he was captain of a Norton militia company. In 
 
 these pages he is always called Jonathan Hodges, Junior, to 
 distinguish him from others of the same name. He was born 
 in Norton April 18, 1763, and served in the Revolution in 
 -1779, 1780 and 1781. For his military services he was paid 
 in Continental paper money, wliich depreciated so rapidly 
 
26 
 
 NEW ENGLAND ANCESTRY. 
 
 COMMISSION OF CAPT. JONATHAN HODGES, JR. 
 
NEW ENGLAND ANCESTRY. 
 
 27 
 
 RESIGNATION OF CAPT. JONATHAN HODGES, JR. 
 
28 NEW ENGLAND ANCESTRY. 
 
 that, according to a statement made by his son, he never 
 realized a cent from it. He married, in 1790, Sarah Danforth, 
 great-granddaughter of Rev. Samuel Danforth of Taunton, 
 bought from his father the homestead farm and the fulling 
 mill in Norton, and died in the year 1814. He was the fathei- 
 of Almon Danforth Hodges, who signed his name as follows : 
 
 ji_ /%<j/^4a 
 
 Jonathan Hodges, Junior, named his eldest son Jonathan, 
 and tliis child inherited in a marked degree the mechanical 
 abilities of his ancestors. He was an inventive genius, and 
 when he went to England, had the letter of introduction from 
 John Quincy Adams to Edward Everett, which is here repro- 
 duced. 
 
NORTON IN EIGHTEEN HUNDRED 
 AND ONE. 
 
 Almon Danforth Hodges was born 
 in the town of Norton, County of Bristol, 
 State of Massachusetts, on the 25th day of 
 January, 1801. 
 
 Norton is a level, sandy township, sprink- 
 led with brooks, ponds and pine woods. 
 Here the sturdy husbandman compelled from a not too willing 
 soil a comfortable living for himself and his family, and " laid 
 up something for a rainy day." Everybody engaged in agri- 
 culture — even the minister diligently tilled his field, in order 
 to increase his income and be able to send his sons to college. 
 It was a happy, diligent, plain-faring community of about fif- 
 teen hundred persons, who lived in one hundred and eighty- 
 five houses, making eight persons on the average to a family. 
 It was a prosperous community, although not to be called 
 a rich one. The assessors' returns show that on the average 
 each householder possessed, as near as may be, one horse, two 
 oxen, two swine, three cows and steers, five and three-quarters 
 barrels of cider, seven tons of hay and twenty bushels of grain; 
 and paid taxes amounting to nearly twelve dollars, almost 
 one half of which was expended on the highways. Appro- 
 priations were not made and taxes levied once a year, which 
 is now the custom ; but at various times in the year, as the 
 emergency arose, the town voted to incur an expense, fixed 
 the amount, and directed the assessors to " levy a rate " among 
 the inhabitants and to deliver this rate for collection to the 
 town constables. At an earlier date the constable was per- 
 
 (29) 
 
30 THE TOWN OF NORTON 
 
 sonally charged with the total levy in liis district and held re- 
 sponsible for it, whether he was able to collect it all or not, 
 unless the town voted to excuse him in the case of each indi- 
 vidual failure to pay. As the town was usually loath to 
 grant excuses, a dangerous liability attached to the office, 
 which was not a popular one.* 
 
 The farmer often owned a kit of shoemaker's tools and 
 made the family shoes, and a set of carpenter's and wheel- 
 wright's tools and did much of the woodwork, and even of 
 the ironwork, required on the farm. His wife and daughters, 
 with spinning wheel and loom, manufactured the family cloth- 
 ing, using as raw materials the flax and the wool grown on 
 the farm. 
 
 The men performed the heavy work of preparing the flax- 
 fibre by pulling the plant out of the ground, separating the 
 seeds with ripple-combs, soaking the stems in water — or ex- 
 posing them, when sjDread on the ground, to the influences of 
 dew and rain — until they were well fermented or "rotted," 
 and then vigorously bruising the stalks in the heavy flax- 
 brakes and striking them with the blades of scutching knives. 
 By these processes, first the leaves and resinous or gummy 
 constituents, and then the woody matter of the stems, were 
 removed, leaving the cleaned flax-fibres. These the women 
 combed with hand-heckles, thus separating the flax into two 
 products : — long, fine fibres ; and " tow," that is, short, coarse 
 and broken material. Each of these products was separately 
 spun on flax wheels and woven on looms into fine linen or 
 into tow cloth. 
 
 In the case of wool, the men did the shearing and cleansing 
 of the material, which was then given to the women for card- 
 ing and combing by hand and spinning. The spun yarn was 
 knitted into stockings and mittens, or woven into cloth. The 
 
 * In Appendix III are copies of documents, illustrating the tax pro- 
 ceedings in those days, from the papers of Jonathan Hodges, Junior, 
 who served a numher of terms as constable and assessor. 
 
IN EIGHTEEN HUNDRED AND ONE. 31 
 
 latter was generally sent to the fulling mills of which, at this 
 date, there were two in Norton, one owned by Jonathan 
 Hodges, Junior, the other by his brother-in-law, Thomas Dan- 
 forth. After the cloth had been fulled, dyed, sheared and 
 pressed, it was returned to the family to be cut and sewn 
 into whatever article was desired. 
 
 Cotton was spun and woven on a limited scale, and now 
 and then small lots of jane (or jean) came to the clothier's 
 shop to be sheared, dyed and pressed. Rags were woven into 
 bed coverlets, and were a common article of barter. At this 
 period a considerable portion of the household fabrics in Nor- 
 ton were imported into town and sold by the store-keepers, 
 — such as the finer woolen goods and cotton cloth. Nine 
 years later the first cotton factory was built in the place. 
 
 Aljout this year the women and children began to braid 
 straw and sew the braid into bonnets and hats, — an occupa- 
 tion which increased rapidly. The first straw bonnet braided 
 in the United States is said to have been made by Miss 
 Betsey Metcalf of Providence, Rhode Island, in 1798. Miss 
 Betsey Makepeace of Norton, while on a visit, learned the 
 process and introduced it into her native town. 
 
 Iron bog-ore and pond-ore occur in various parts of the 
 townsliip, and during a hundred years, beginning in 1G98, 
 comparatively large quantities were smelted with charcoal 
 and worked up into various shapes. These Old New Eng- 
 landers were wonderful fellows and could fashion the most 
 diverse articles with the simplest apparatus. But by the 
 commencement of the nineteenth century the iron business in 
 Norton had waned and was carried on chiefly in connection 
 with the making of nails. These originally had all been 
 hammered out by hand, but now they were made in " slitting 
 mills " and " cutting mills " ; the first slit the iron, after it 
 had been rolled to the proper thickness, into strips of the 
 widths needed for the lengths of the nails ; the latter cut 
 these strips into nails wliich were handed over to the Indus- 
 
82 THE TOWX OF NORTON 
 
 trious farmers to be headed b}^ hand. When the heading of 
 nails was done by machinery, tiie whole iron business passed 
 away from Norton. But in 1801 there were still two iron 
 forges there, a slitting mill and three cutting mills ; and the 
 heading of nails b}'' hand gave employment to a number of 
 people. One penny (lf\) cents) per pound was paid this 
 3-ear for heading four-penny nails, and three-quarters of a 
 penny (one cent) for heading six-penny nails. 
 
 And tins year there were four grist mills, four saw mills 
 and three tanneries in the town, running spasmodically, the 
 enumeration of wliicli completes the available manufacturing 
 statistics of this date. 
 
 Money was still calculated very generally in the old terms 
 of pounds, shillings and pence, six shillings being the equiva- 
 lent of one dollar. The values in the day-book of Jonathan 
 Hodges, Junior, were reckoned in " £. s. d." until September 
 16, 1795; then in " ^. ctsr until November 7, 1796; then 
 again in pounds, shillings and pence until January 2, 1807, 
 when the linal change to our present currency was made. 
 
 There was not much cash in circulation. Business was 
 carried on jjrincipally by the system of barter, balances being 
 settled sometimes in cash but oftener by notes of hand. 
 Hence such documents as the ledgers of Jonathan Hodges, 
 father and son,* afford many interesting facts concerning the 
 manners and customs of the people in the olden days ; show 
 A\liat these people ate and drank, what they wore, what 
 wages they received, what prices they paid — in various 
 ways how they lived and died. In 1795 Jonathan Hodges, 
 Junior, credited " Mr. Daniel Braman By making my Fathers 
 Collin, £ 0-9-0," and " Mr. James Hodges By diging my 
 father=^ grave, £ 0-1-0." Very likely it was a consoling in- 
 
 * Specimen extracts from the ledger of Jonathan Hodges, Junior, are 
 given in Appendix I, and barter-prices in Norton, at this period, in Ap- 
 pendix II. 
 
IN EIGHTEEN HUNDRED AND ONE. 33 
 
 cident that the coffin-raaker and the grave-digger were both 
 " gentlemen," as shown by the title of " Mr." prefixed to 
 their names. Dr. Daniel Parker charged one dolhxr in 1795 
 for "one Visit to my mother" ; but his fee in 1797 for one 
 visit was only two shillings, or SS^ cents. 
 
 The ordinary daily wage of an ordinary man was 50 cents, 
 but the best workers and those engaged as carpenters and 
 maso)is and in other skilled trades received nearly double this 
 amount. In other words, a man was paid from 3 to 5 shil- 
 lings according to his skill and ability. The daily wage of 
 girls and women varied from 7 pence (or 10 cents) to 1 shil- 
 ling 8 pence (or 28 cents), very likely in addition to their 
 board. For spinning yarn 5| to 8i cents were paid per yard 
 of 12 knots; and for weaving, the rate varied from 7 to 12i 
 cents per yard. 
 
 Beef, mutton, pork and veal were the staple meats, pork 
 being the most expensive and costing 12 ^ to 17 cents per 
 pound. Cliickens are mentioned now and then : a few years 
 previous, Jonathan Hodges, Junior, paid one shilling and six- 
 pence (21 cents) for " two Dung Hill fouls." Beans, pota- 
 toes and turnips were the most common vegetables bartered ; 
 prices per bushel quoted this year were 1^ dollars for beans 
 and 33i cents for potatoes and turnips. Onions, rarely men- 
 tioned, cost one dollar a bushel. 
 
 Corn, rye, buckwheat and flour, butter, cheese, salt codfish, 
 fresh fish from the neighboring ponds and streams, and eggs, 
 were regular family foods often mentioned in the accounts. 
 Rice, at 4 to 7 cents a pound, was bartered to some extent. 
 Raisins, costing ninepence to a shilling per pound, were much 
 used. Biscuit and gingerbread seem to have been considered 
 dainties, for although the women of the Hodges family were 
 notably "good providers " and famous for their home supplies 
 of doughnuts, cookies and other toothsome products of the 
 old-fashioned brick oven, tliey were constantly buying these 
 articles from the storekeepers, who charged for biscuits and 
 
34 THE TOWN OF NORTON " 
 
 double-biscuits (the latter a little more expensive) 11 to 22 
 cents per dozen. 
 
 ]\Iany varieties of fruits and small fruits grew abundantly 
 in Norton, but only the apple was used much in barter. This, 
 eaten raw or cooked or used for making cider, was of constant 
 mention at the price, for a good quality, of about one shilling 
 per bushel. 
 
 Everybody drank cider, of which two kinds were made : 
 " whole cider " and " water cider." Rum was abundant, of 
 four qualities : West India rum. New England rum, cherry 
 rum and new rum. Brandy, for cooking and medicinal pur- 
 poses, and gin, for medicine, were of constant use in the 
 family. Sarah, widow of Jonathan Hodges, Junior, on her 
 68th birthday made this entry : " January 21, 1826, my birth- 
 day Mr Morey & Jonathan [her son] came and brought me a 
 gallon of gin." An article of frequent mention was " wine," 
 which cost 11.12 to ^2.00 per gallon. 
 
 Tea, coffee, chocolate and shells were used in the families, 
 sweetened with sugar — brown sugar for every day and loaf 
 sugar on grand occasions. Every family used molasses. So 
 great was the demand for it that for a few years, during the 
 Revolutionary War and again during the war of 1812, it was 
 made in Norton on a very small scale from the stalks of Indian 
 corn. From 1790 to 1810 it varied in price from 40 to 80 
 cents a gallon. This year, 1801, it sold at 60 cents. Honey 
 cost about 16 1 cents a pound. 
 
 Tobacco, costing 11 cents per pound, is mentioned a few 
 times, and once a widow bought a small quantity. Snuff 
 was evidently used not unfrequently. 
 
 For lighting the houses candles were used exclusively, at 
 least in the home of Jonathan Hodges, Junior, as shown by 
 his accounts and inventory ; and he was a well-to-do man. 
 Tallow was a regular article of barter and cost 14 or 15 
 cents a pound. Beeswax about tliis time cost 21 cents a 
 pound. 
 
IX EIGHTEEN HUNDRED AND ONE. 35 
 
 The fuel was wood and charcoal. Anthracite coal had been 
 mined in the town but was of too poor quality for use. 
 
 Home-made garments of wool and linen were worn, no arti- 
 cle in any way connected with their manufacture necessarily 
 coming from beyond the town limits except the dyestuffs, the 
 paper used in pressing cloth, and a few iron or steel imple- 
 ments or parts of implements necessary for shaping the ma- 
 terials. 
 
 One or two of the oldest and wealtliiest men in town ad- 
 hered to the old Continental costume. Others, on state 
 occasions, wore the dress which is made familiar to-da}^ by 
 the cartoons of Uncle Sam. They had the "castor" or 
 "beaver" hat (price in 1803, .f6.50) — the alternative was 
 the felt hat which cost SI. 25 ; the high collar and stock; the 
 broadcloth frock coat and the " pattern westcoat ; " the panta- 
 loons — I find a mention of Russia linen pantaloons — more 
 rarely called trousers, cut and sewn in the house or by a seam- 
 stress ; * and shoes made in the town, — the cost of making 
 being fifty cents to a dollar. High boots and half boots were 
 also worn. The early trousers were made with a broad flap in 
 front which buttoned at the sides. When the present fashion 
 of buttoning the trousers was first introduced, it was strenu- 
 ously denounced as indecent by the conservatives. 
 
 The favorite colors for these clothes were navy blue and 
 various tints of brown and yellow ; but black, bottle green 
 and olive green were much used also. 
 
 The women, who rode frequently on horseback, were sup- 
 plied with riding hoods and riding habits. There were many 
 silk gowns in town which came to the clothier's shop to be 
 dyed and stiffened and pressed. Also silk veils. Earrings 
 were among the most common female ornaments. 
 
 * On July 31, 1802, Jonathan Hodges, Junior, credited Sally Stanley 
 with 2 shillings '• By cuting out one pair of trowser for tlios ]\[orey 
 [his apprentice], & making one pair for my self." 
 
36 THE TOWN OF XOKTON 
 
 The most intinential person in town was the minister. 
 There was only one church, over which was settled the Rev. 
 Pitt Clarke, a man of strong character, marked ability, sound 
 judgment and attractive personality, whose reputation ex- 
 tended far beyond the town limits. He knew how to Win and 
 to retain the respect and the affection of the men, women and 
 children of his parish. A rather curious bit of evidence of 
 his influence over the younger members of the community 
 is the fact that a schoolboy, when called on by the school- 
 master to give an exhibit of his penmanship, dedicated his 
 effort to the minister in producing the lines photographed 
 from the original on the opposite page. 
 
 Mr. Clarke was " liberal " in his theological opinions, but 
 never assumed a sectarian position or applied to himself or his 
 church the name " Unitarian," which was adopted later by the 
 society. He seems to have remained, as he began, the " Pas- 
 tor of the Church of Christ in Norton." He believed, to quote 
 his own words : " 1^* in one God, the Father of ye whole hu- 
 man race, ye Lord, God and Judge of ye world ; 2^^ in ye 
 Lord Jesus Christ, ye only begotten son, whom ye Father 
 hath sent into ye world to save mankind from sin and sorrow, 
 in his sufferings on ye cross, in his triumphant resurrection 
 and ascension into heaven ; 3'''^ in ye holy spirit, that it was 
 shed forth abundantly on ye first disciples of our Saviour, im- 
 parting unto them all necessary wisdom and knowledge, and 
 )-e power of working miracles in ye first state ; 4^'^ in ye 
 resurrection from ye dead and in ye future judgment." 
 
 Mr. Clarke's opinions were accepted as orthodox by Ids 
 people. Not until three years before his death, after a har- 
 monious agreement during forty years, was any charge of 
 heterodoxy brought against him. Then, unexpectedly, liis 
 conscientious refusal to accede to a demand made by one of 
 his wealthiest parishioners was resented as an affront, his 
 theology was attacked, and a few members of his church se- 
 ceded and formed the Trinitarian Congregational Church. 
 
(y^/yty€^ ^^cur^^Lc-^ 
 
IN EIGHTEEN^ HUNDRED AND ONE. 37 
 
 C^l^^ d 
 
 i^ -i^^a^^^ 
 
 --^ 
 
 '^/7/C6 €/^ U^TIO. 
 
 
 
 ^U^ Cl4/,/K^, 
 
 ■ — '^ r-«'<a4>-4f ^^ <!<si>z<j<«'!^ ez/rld canty ^lu^C'£^c-y 
 
 n/ 
 
 
 ^^4?^, 
 
38 THE TOWN OF NORTON 
 
 The wealtliiest man in town this year, and the first in social 
 position, unless the minister were such, was the Honorable 
 George Leonard, very commonly called Judge Leonard. He 
 was descended, in the fifth generation, from the immigrant 
 James Leonard. This James and his brother Henry were the 
 fathers of the iron-smelting industry in the United States. 
 They built and ran in Taunton the first iron works on tliis 
 continent which were operated with financial success. Henry 
 moved to New Jersey and there continued to smelt iron ores. 
 James remained in the business in Massachusetts, where he 
 and his descendants for generations prospered greatly. 
 
 Judge Leonard was an admirable specimen of the New En- 
 gland country gentleman, who thought he had other duties to 
 perform besides satisfying his personal desires and adding to 
 a mass of wealth already more than sufficient for all rational 
 purposes of life. No finer type has ever existed. He was 
 graduated from Harvard in 1748, had received the degree of 
 A. M. from both Harvard and Yale, and was soon to be given 
 that of LL. D. by Brown. He had studied law and practiced 
 his profession, more however as an amusement than as a 
 money-making occupation. He held more imjjortant offices 
 than any other citizen of Norton, having been Judge of Pro- 
 bate, Chief Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, member of 
 the first, third and fourth Congresses of the United States, 
 member of both branches of the State Legislature, Colonel of 
 the Militia, etc., etc. " He was a fine-looking gentleman of the 
 Old School. He wore the splendid dress of the eighteenth 
 century — the cocked hat, scarlet broad-tucked coat, long em- 
 broidered westcoat, buckskin breeches, and shoes with large 
 buckles. He lived in the style of the old English gentleman, 
 having, in the rear of the old mansion house, a park where 
 he kept a variety of animals, among them a number of fine 
 deer."* 
 
 * MS. of A. D. Hodges. 
 
*\:- 
 
 mvfi 
 
 fye/ny 
 
 ^^C0y 
 
 LCIA^^/^ 
 
IN EIGHTEEN HUNDRED AND ONE. 
 
 39 
 
 He was a large landholder and regarded agriculture as the 
 noblest employment of man. He would never rear sheep on 
 his farm, allow cotton mills to be erected on his streams, sell 
 his growing rye for the straw manufacturer, speculate in 
 stocks, or raise his rents, regarding his tenants as his friends. 
 In all charitable works he was ever foremost. He was 
 strongly attaclied to the clergy and to men of letters. In all 
 his transactions he was governed by the principles of rigid in- 
 tegrity, and during his life was never accused of injustice or 
 oppression. He possessed sound judgment, practical common 
 
 LEONARD HOUSE, NORTON, BUILT BEFORE 1700. 
 
 sense, consummate prudence and unwavering firmness. Few 
 men ever received, or deserved, more respect in any commu- 
 nity. The Registrar of Probate of the county, after recording 
 Judge Leonard's will, took the extraordinary step of adding 
 thereto a long notice of the deceased, from which many of the 
 facts here stated have been taken. 
 
 Next in wealth — if not this year, certainly soon after — 
 and eventually the richest man in Norton, was Laban Whea- 
 ton. Esquire, as he was often designated in the records. He 
 was a good specimen of the traditional Yankee Squire. He 
 was graduated at Harvard in 1774 and later made A. M. 
 
40 THE TOWN OF NORTON 
 
 He became member of Congress, Chief Justice of the Court 
 of Common Pleas and State Representative, and held various 
 other offices. After graduation at college he studied theology 
 and preached at various places, but never accepted a parish. 
 Then he went into business and failed. Penally he took up 
 law, was very successful in practice, and acquired a large 
 fortune. Intellectually he was very bright. During many 
 years his chief, almost liis only object in life seemed to be 
 money-making. But his affection for his children must have 
 been very strong and eventually made him a benefactor of the 
 town. For after the death of his dearly-loved daughter, in 
 her memory he founded and endowed the Wheaton Female 
 Seminary, which has ever been a useful and a prosperous in- 
 stitution. 
 
 The two deacons of the church, the two captains of militia, 
 the three doctors and the half dozen keepers of stores and of 
 public houses of entertainment probably came next in social 
 rank. General Silas Cobb was an innholder at this date. 
 Doctors sometimes kept public houses, but this was not the 
 case in this particular year. One of the storekeepers was a 
 Baptist preacher. Thomas Dauforth, brother-in-law of Jona- 
 than Hodges, Junior, kept a store and was town treasurer, 
 town clerk, militia captain and leader of the church choir. 
 According to the historian of Norton, Rev. George F. Clark, 
 about this period the largest business of at least one store- 
 keeper was the sale of spirituous liquors. 
 
 Then followed in rank the main body of the yeomanry, 
 which had its own social sulxlivisions. It is interesting to 
 note how the men who had proclaimed to the world as a self- 
 evident truth, " that all men are created equal," recognized 
 and enforced in their daily life these well-defined gradations 
 of rank. But rank with them was not merely a birth-right ; 
 it was to be attained by any who deserved it. One can see 
 in the legal documents of the period how often a young man, 
 beginning perhaps as " labourer," rose step by step to the title 
 
IX EIGHTEEN HUNDRED AND ONE. 41 
 
 of "farmer" (or " yeouian " or "husbandman"), of "gentle- 
 man" and " Esquire." 
 
 There were of course some poor people and a very few 
 paupers. There was no poor-house in the place, and it was 
 the yearly practice to " vendue the poor," that is, to sell their 
 maintenance during the year to the lowest bidder. More than 
 a third of the 19th century elapsed before this practice was 
 al)andoned and this unfortunate class maintained on a poor- 
 farm by the town. 
 
 There was also a " witch " who, poor thing, hung herself 
 seven years later. When the boys passed her house after 
 dark, they held their breath and ran at full speed. 
 
 They enjoyed good health at Norton, and manj^ lived to a 
 ripe old age. David Makepeace, born September 9, 1767, 
 reached this year liis -Slth milestone, and passed his 102nd 
 before he ended his life's journey. He voted at every presi- 
 dential election from 1789, when George Washington was 
 chosen chief magistrate of the nation, until 1864, inclusive ; 
 and he went to the polls in 1868 to vote for Grant and Col- 
 fax, but as he had not registered, liis ballot was not accepted. 
 
 Some of the inhabitants must have been endowed with re- 
 markable natural faculties — Silvester Newcomb, for instance. 
 One June day in the year 1775, while he was at work in a 
 field with his father, he luckily happened to put his ear to a 
 rail of the fence, and heard the booming of the cannon at 
 Bunker Hill ! At least he more than once so informed his 
 young cousin, the subject of this sketch, and other youthful 
 friends. 
 
 The public buildings consisted of the meeting-house, in 
 which the town meetings were held, and seven school-houses, 
 three of which were erected this very year. 
 
 The meeting-house had been built nearly fifty years. It 
 was a plain wooden building, 55 feet long by 40 feet wide, 
 with three doors ; one, which was the main entrance, being on 
 the south side, the others on the east and west ends. The 
 
42 THE TOWN OF NOIITOX 
 
 pulpit was on the north side, and over it was a large hex- 
 agonal sounding-board of panel work, supported by an iron 
 rod.* Innnediately in front of the pulpit was the deacon's 
 seat. Against the walls of the building on all four sides, and 
 also occupying an additional part of the main floor, were pews. 
 The town sold to the highest bidders floor-areas, on which the 
 purchasers built each his own pew.f The floor-space not oc- 
 cupied by pews had benches — for men on one side and for 
 women on the other. On three sides of the house were gal- 
 leries with rows of seats rising one above the other. There 
 were some pews in these galleries, and certain seats here, 
 doubtless the poorest in location, were set apart for negroes. 
 
 The meeting-house had no steeple and no bell or belfry. 
 It was shingled on the outside and unpainted. On the inside, 
 certain portions, as the doors and window frames, were 
 painted, and elsewhere whitewash was used. There was no 
 stove or fire-place, but on Sundaj's many of the weaker sex 
 brought small foot-stoves filled with coals. Not until 1818 
 was the opposition to warming the meeting-house overcome. 
 That year eighty-five dollars and twenty-five cents were raised 
 by private subscription, with which two stoves and fixtures, 
 and also some fuel, were purchased. 
 
 The choir sat in the gallery facing the pulpit. Under the 
 leadership of Thomas Danforth, and with the accompaniment 
 of violins and bass viols, it provided musical worship, enter- 
 tainment and instruction of a high order, and flourished 
 mightily. These were "the good old days" of church music 
 and family music in Norton — long remembered and oft re- 
 ferred to in later years. 
 
 There were seven small and very plain school-houses. Of 
 the three built this year, the most expensive one cost not 
 
 * For these and other items relating to Norton, the editor is indebted 
 to Rev. George F. Clark's excellent history of the town. 
 
 t January 1753. Benjamin trow ci-edit to Building my pue old tener 
 £08-00-00. [Ledger of the elder Jonathan Hodges, p. 39.] 
 
IN EIGHTEEN HUNDRED AND ONE. 43 
 
 quite two hundred dollars. It had one aisle, on either side of 
 which were two rows of long benches. There was a large 
 fire-place op23osite the door. In one corner was the teacher's 
 desk, and in another was a closet for the girls' bonnets. 
 
 The teachers were generally men, perhaps exclusively in 
 the winter terms ; women sometimes taught in the summer 
 terms at least. The male teachers often were college stu- 
 dents. The colleges had a mid-winter vacation as long as the 
 summer vacation, thus affording their students opportunity 
 to teach at the season when all the country schools were in 
 session, and allowed those who did teach to stay away from 
 college after the vacation had ended, and on their return to 
 " make up " the studies which they had thus missed. 
 
 For the very young children, care and instruction were 
 provided by several women in their own homes. 
 
 There was a small library in town, kept in a private house 
 and maintained by subscription. It was founded in 1794 
 by thirty-six "proprietors," who each paid for one right 24 
 sliillings in the first two years and 1 sh. 6d. annually there- 
 after. An individual was allowed to purchase more than one 
 right, and could take out as many books at a time as he 
 owned rights. 
 
 There was no post-office in the township. To obtain letters 
 it was necessary to go to Easton or Attleborough or Taunton. 
 There was no stage line except the one running from Boston 
 to Taunton on the Bay Road, which passes for a very short 
 distance through the extreme easterly part of Norton. The 
 majority of the people travelled on foot or on horseback. 
 There were some who indulged in the luxury of a chaise. 
 Probably the minister had one in liis later years, but appar- 
 ently not always, since the following charge appears in the 
 ledger of Jonathan Hodges, Junior, who owned one of these 
 vehicles which he frequently rented. 
 
 "July 20, 1799 Rev Pitt Clark D-". 
 
 for my chaise to Cambridge & Boston £0-12-0 " 
 
44 THE TOWN OF NORTON 
 
 There was a State tax on carriages at this period as sliown 
 by the foUowing receipt : 
 
 'o^ 
 
 A Hi S Is to certify, that ( ^y^T^^^^^^^-t;:^^!^^ /Av^ 
 cf the Town of ^^k^o^^^^oci^ m the County of 
 
 ybruiht. and Diftrid of MaffachuiettSr 
 
 Jath paid the duty of thyix^ dollars upon a. ux^-o wheel 
 
 carnage, called a -^A c<^t , owned !^ A^^^^-^t-^ 
 
 hav* 
 
 ^ top, to be drawB by (yru. liorfe , for the conveyance o£ 
 ^^Curo perfou J % for the year to end on the 3od» 
 ti Septeiaber, sSoo . 
 
 /y CoUecior of (he Revenue^ 
 
 tu Dhj/tony Survey y Ns. 3 
 Majfachujetts* 
 
 The following bill for " repairs " of a chaise illustrates the 
 spirit then prevalent of never throwing away as waste any- 
 thing, or any part of a thing, which could be utilized : — 
 
 Taunton HO June 17!)8 M^ George Palmer to William Stall l)r 
 
 k s d 
 To a New Boddy & Top £ 11-14-0 .... 11-14-0 
 
 To painting J^oddy 4-10-0 4-10-0 
 
 To Triniing Boddy Top 3-12-0 3-12-0 
 
IN EIGHTEEN HUNDRED AND ONE. 
 
 45 
 
 To painting Carrage Weels 1-10-0 
 
 To Repairing harness 1-6-0 
 
 To Ironwork Don for Chais 9/ 
 
 To Cleaning Top & harness 15/ 
 
 To a New hind barr 12/ 
 
 To brass work Don Said Chais 9/ . 
 
 To Repairing Saddle 12/6 
 
 To New Swinggletree 3/ 
 
 To New Leathers on bottom Sides 
 
 Mend Aporn [apron] 
 
 To trimiug for Gott [forgotten] 7/6 Cord & threed 1/6 
 
 1-10-0 
 1- 6-6 
 0- 9-0 
 O-lo-O 
 0-12-0 
 0- 9-0 
 0-12-0 
 0- 3-0 
 0- 1-6 
 0- 9-0 
 
 £26-3-6 
 
 Equel to $87-25 Cents 
 
 Rec'^ payment in fnll by me 
 Isaac Stall Sine^ for Brother 30"' July 1798 
 
 There was no hearse in town until 1804, when the town 
 bought one. Before this last date the dead were carried to 
 their graves, sometimes for distances of several miles, upon 
 the shoulders of men. On December 18, 1789, Jonathan 
 Hodges, Junior, charged Benajah Tucker one shilling " for 
 my hors to Ride Double to your father Tuckers Bureying." 
 
 There were three militia companies, naturally captained by 
 " Revolutionary heroes," who, on account of the experiences 
 of the country during the Revolution, were strongly in favor 
 of a w^ell-organized militia. The infantry company on the west 
 side of Rumford River was commanded this year first by 
 Captain Jonathan Hodges, Junior, and then by Captain Rufus 
 Hodges ; that on the east side of the river, by Captain Isaac 
 Makepeace ; and the Norton Artillery, by Captain John 
 Gilbert. 
 
 And of these and other institutions which did or did not 
 exist in the town of Norton in the year of our Lord 1801, 
 more will be said later. 
 

 ^ _ ,^ 1 ^ ^ A> 1 Ni . ^ 
 
 A SPECIMEN OF THE LEDGER OF JONATHAN HODGES, SENIOR. 
 
 (46) 
 
•^ -^ ^ Nil 
 ^ ^ ^ ^ 
 
 A SPECIMEN OF THE LEDGER OF JONATHAN HODGES, SENIOR. 
 
 (47) 
 
AN OLD NEW ENGLANDER CLOTHIER. 
 
 ONATHAN HODGES, Senior, learned the trade 
 of clothier in Freetown, Massachusetts. In 1743, 
 being twenty-one years of age, he married, and 
 the next year he bought a lot of land in Norton, 
 settled there and built there the first fulling mill ever erected 
 in that town. It stood on Goose Brook, near to the road cross- 
 ing this stream, in the southerly part of the township not far from 
 the Taunton line, in what is now the village of Barrowsville. 
 Soon after the mill was erected, in consequence of the protest 
 of Judge Leonard, whose land was flowed by the mill pond, 
 the structure was moved down stream some thirty-five rods, 
 to a spot where the remains of the dam are still (1909) visi- 
 ble, close to the bridge of the railroad from Attleborough to 
 Taunton. In 1788 Jonathan Hodges sold the mill, with the 
 land, shop, etc., to his son, Jonathan Hodges, Junior, who 
 carried on the business until his death. After liis decease the 
 mill building was moved near the highway and converted 
 into a dwelling house, in which Sarah Caswell, the elder 
 daughter of Jonathan Hodges, Junior, lived for some years 
 with her family. It now forms a part of the ell of the house 
 of Mr. George H. Arnold — who purchased the estate in 
 1851 — its oak timbers being as sound and strong as when 
 they were first hewn more than a century and a half ago. 
 
 Woollen cloth, as is well known, shrinks and tliickens — 
 that is, " fulls " — when it is wetted, unless it has been pre- 
 viously treated. The shrinking is hastened if the wet cloth 
 is beaten or pounded. The fulling mill is a macliine used for 
 performing this operation. It is employed also for wasliing 
 and cleaning, or " scouring," cloth. Jonathan Hodges utilized 
 
 (48) 
 
AN OLD NEW ENGLANDER CLOTHIER. 
 
 49 
 
 the mill likewise to " break " liides, that is, to moisten and 
 
 soften the hides preparatory to removing the hair and tanning. 
 
 In the olden days every New England town had one or 
 
 more of these mills, which were so common that no one, so 
 
 THE OLD FULLING MILL. 
 
 far as I have been able to learn, thought it worth while to de- 
 scribe them. They were necessarily simple machines, since 
 they were made by the farmer liimself, with the exception of 
 the ironwork. They may have differed somewhat in different 
 
50 AN OLD NEW ENGLANDER CLOTHIER. 
 
 localities, but probably were fashioned after the same general 
 pattern. What is here described is that which was used in 
 the town of Norton. In my search for information concern- 
 ing it, I have been materially aided by my friends, General 
 Henry C. Hodges of the United States Army, retired, Mr. 
 William H. Tolhurst of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, and Mr. 
 George O. Kilbourne of San Francisco, California, formerly 
 of Hydeville, Vermont. 
 
 The mill consisted essentially of a wooden box or trough 
 in which swung to and fro, alternately, a pair of wooden ham- 
 mers, as may be seen in the accompanying illustration. The 
 hammer-heads were solid wooden blocks, approximately a 
 foot wide, a foot and a half high, three feet long at the 
 bottom which was rounded from front to back, and a foot 
 and a half long at the top. These dimensions were more or 
 less variable. The sloping front was shaped into a series 
 of small horizontal steps, so to speak. These hammer-heads 
 were suspended on stout wooden arms or handles, seven to 
 ten feet long or thereabouts, which were pivoted at their 
 top ends, and were connected by horizontal pitmen, or con- 
 necting rods, with a crankshaft which was actuated by a 
 water-wheel. The hammer-heads fitted closely into the 
 wooden trough, the upper surface of whose bottom was 
 curved to correspond with the bottom of the hammer-heads. 
 The sides of the trough were formed by planks, some of 
 which could be removed for the convenience of the work- 
 man. 
 
 The cloth was saturated with hot soap-suds — or possibly 
 a solution of fuller's earth or other suitable substance — and 
 thrown into the trough in front of the slanting faces of the 
 hammer-heads. As these heads alternately moved backwards 
 and forwards, the cloth was beaten and tossed about and 
 rolled over and over until it was sufficiently fulled. Then it 
 was taken out and washed, or perhaps clean water was run 
 into the trough to wash it while the mill continued its opera- 
 
AN OLD NEW ENGLANDER CLOTHIER. 51 
 
 tioii. The process of soaping and beating and washing could 
 be repeated if necessary. 
 
 The cloth was then tentered, or stretched between two 
 horizontal beams (supported on vertical posts) to which it 
 was attached by means of tenterhooks, and left to dry in the 
 air. After this it was carded, by being hung in a vertical po- 
 sition and combed by hand with a tool resembling a curry- 
 comb. This operation raised up the nap or loose fibre on the 
 surface of the cloth, which now was laid on a table — whose 
 top was covered by cloth or padding — and the nap clipped, 
 or sheared, with long hand-shears, so as to make a smooth 
 surface. It took much skill to shear well by hand. In his 
 later years Jonathan Hodges, Junior, used one of the early 
 shearing macliines which worked the shears by macliinery. 
 
 The final operation was pressing. The piece of heated 
 cloth was folded, a sheet of glazed paper being laid between 
 each fold, placed in a screw press and subjected to strong 
 pressure. This was usually done twice, the creases of the 
 folds being placed, the second time, between the sheets of 
 press-paper. 
 
 When cloth was dyed in the piece, this process seems to 
 have been performed usually after fulling and before tenter- 
 ing or carding. The article was immersed in dye solutions 
 held in iron or brass kettles which were heated with wood or 
 charcoal. 
 
 Jonathan Hodges, Junior, like his father, made his own 
 dyes. The dyestuffs which he bought and entered in his 
 ledger — not a long list — and some of the prices which he 
 paid, were as follows : 
 
 Alum, 8i to 12^ cts. per lb. Fustic, 5^ to 8J cts. per lb. 
 
 Ashes, about 12i cts. per bu. Indigo, $1..50 to .'B2.2o per lb. 
 
 Blue Vitriol. Floating indigo, $4.67 per lb. 
 
 Bran. Lime, 75 cts. to $1.00 per bu. 
 
 Camwood, 20 cts. per lb. Logwood, 3 to 8^ cts. per lb. 
 
 Copperas, 5^ to 8^ cts. per lb. Potash. 
 
52 AN OLD NEW ENGLANDER CLOTHIER. 
 
 Redwood, 10 to 12^ cts. per lb. Vinegar, 121 to 33^ cts. per gal. 
 Sumac bark. Vitriol compound, ,S2.00 to ^2.67 
 
 Verdigris, 8^ cts. per oz. per lb. 
 
 And he also bought constantly brimstone for bleaching, and 
 soap (11 to 22 cts. per gallon) for fulling. 
 
 The colors which he produced, some now rare or unknown, 
 were : — black, blue, navy blue, Prussian blue, British mud, 
 camwood, cinnamon, dark cinnamon, crocus, dove, drumhead, 
 fustic, dark fustic, green, bottle green, olive green, dark olive 
 green, lead, London brown, London brown with camwood, 
 London smoke, London weed, peach-bloom, pearl, red, slate, 
 smoke, snuff, snuff-brown, yellow. 
 
 The four following receipts for dyeing are copied from a 
 paper written by Jonathan Hodges, Junior. 
 
 [1] To Make a Compound for Blew And green 
 
 Powder 1 ounce of good Spanash flot [float or floating] Indego fine 
 Sift it threw agoas Sfie [a gauze sieve] in a New arthon Point Mug 
 [earthen pint mug] ad 6 ounces of good oyle of Vitrei ad 1 ounce of 
 Slacked Lyme that is Not over Keene Sift your Lyme ad this Stur 
 your Compound 2 houres this is fited [fitted] for youce [use] Let 
 your mug Be new [and] Clean frome Nasteness. 
 
 [2] To Colar green on 20 yards of thin Cloath or 10 of thicke 
 Scowar your Copper Cleen and your Winles [windlass ?] ad in 1 Barel 
 of Warter ad 1 Pound of alom ad in 1 half Pecke of Wheat Brand 
 make your Lyker [liquor] to Boyle then Run and CooU 2 houres then 
 heve out your Lyker and rence your Cloath fill up as much Warter as 
 before ad 3 Pound of forsticke [fustic] Boyle this three houres heve 
 out your Chips [of fustic] Let your Lyker Cool Down then run your 
 Cloath then Bring It to a Boyle and so ground up to a good Yalow 
 [yellow] To Saden of [sadden off or shade] to a green ad into your 
 Dy as much of your Compound a Bove as you Can hold on your Stur- 
 ing [stirring] Sticke Stur up your Dye well and so Run and ad your 
 Stuf untill you have got a good green. 
 
 [3] To Colar a Prushen Blew 20 yards of thin Cloath or 10 of 
 thicke Make 1 Barel of Warter Scalden hot ad your Blewen as in a 
 green Dye Worke as to Saden of a green untill you houe [have] got 
 yor Colar To your Mind after Colard ad one ounce of Potash ruud in 
 this twice and so Don. 
 
AN OLD NEW ENGLANDER CLOTHIER. 53 
 
 [4] To Colar a Lite Sinmon [cinuamon] Colar on 20 yards of 
 thin Cloath or 10 yards of thicke ad 1 Barel of Warter ad 1 galon 
 of good Sharpe Vinager run and Cool in this 2 houres then heve out 
 your Lyker ad 1 Barel of Warter ad Shewmake [sumac] Chips the 
 Barke of 15 Pound Boyle 2 houres then Give up agrownding in this 
 Dye after grownding heve Out your Chips ad to 4 quarts of Lyme 
 one Pale of your Lyker Stur up your Dye after Leting stand half an 
 hour Saden of with this and so Don. 
 
 The fulling mill of Jonathan Hodges, Junior, was in the 
 rear of his dwelling house. His shop was at the side of his 
 house and near the road. The inventory, taken after Ms 
 death, of materials in tliis shop, included the following 
 articles : 
 
 Clothiers Shearing machine $50.00 
 
 Clothiers Shears .S7.00. Clothiers Cutting Knife 50 cts. . 7.50 
 
 Clothiers screw & palate ....... 15.00 
 
 Clothiers press paper ........ 4.00 
 
 one brass dye kettle .$18.00. old brass kettle .•?5.00 . . 23.00 
 
 one iron dye kettle ......... 5.00 
 
 Scale & weights 33 cts. Shop tongs 33 cts. Shop bellows .$2.00 2.66 
 
 Shop desk with Sundry tools ....... 3.00 
 
 dye wood & copperas ........ 5.00 
 
 He treated, in liis mill and shop, the articles sent him to 
 one or more of the processes of bleacliing, scouring, shrink- 
 ing, fulling, tentering, dyeing, carding, stiffening [silk gowns] , 
 shearing, pressing. 
 
 The articles which came to liim as a clotliier for treatment 
 were various. They were, as designated by him, baize, bear- 
 skin cloth, bed blanketting, chaise lining, cloaks, cloak lining, 
 cloth [ordinary woollen cloth], coats, coat lining, coat pat- 
 terns, coverlids, curtains, flannel, fringe, gloves, habits 
 [riding habits], jane [cotton jean], josey [jersey cloth], 
 kerseymere [cassimere], lambskin cloth, pantaloons, ribbon, 
 riding hoods, silk gowns, silk veils, skirts, small clothes [knee- 
 breeches], stockings, surtouts, velvet, westcoats [waistcoats], 
 westcoat patterns, worsted yarn. 
 

 Cii 
 
 ^ 
 
 ^^$^0a<^ Cs^C-^^o^Vr^DiC! 
 
 ^ 
 
 ^ 6 ' - — 
 
 1^ 
 
 
 ! ( 
 
 / / 
 
 
 J^ V? V^ '^ ^ ^ ^ C^ 
 
 f 
 
 y > 
 
 
 A SPECIMEN OF THE LEDGER OF JONATHAN HODGES, JUNIOR. 
 
 (54) 
 
\)\ *^<^Ǥ a rij- 
 
 UP^|<\ C» ^ Ci Ck i\ CJ^ 
 
 A SPECIMEN OF THE LEDGER OF JONATHAN HODGES, JUNIOR. 
 
 (55) 
 
56 
 
 AN OLD NEW ENGLANDER CLOTHIER. 
 
 . 2d. 
 
 [2.8 cents] 
 
 . 4d 
 
 [5.(3 cents] 
 
 
 6 cents 
 
 
 8 " 
 
 
 10 " 
 
 
 12 " 
 
 1 sh. 
 
 [1G| cents] 
 
 These articles sometimes were received and treated in very 
 small amounts, as witness the following charges in his ledger: 
 
 Dyeing & pressing a remnant 
 
 Dyeing & jn-essing a remnant, f yd. 
 
 Pressing li yds. 
 
 Fnlling and tentering 1 yd. 
 
 Fulling & pressing 1 yd. 
 
 Shearing, dyeing London brown & pressing f yds. 
 
 Shearing, dyeing & pressing one pair of gloves . 
 
 Shearing, dyeing & pressing one pair of stockings 1 sh. 3d. [20.8 cents] 
 
 Shearing, dyeing black & pressing one pair of stockings . 23 cents 
 
 Fulling, dyeing & pressing an old cloak . , 3 sh. 6d. [58| cents] 
 
 Dyeing black & stiffening a silk gown . . 83 J cents and .f LOG 
 
 Shearing, dyeing navy blue & i^ressing a woman's coat . Sl-OO 
 
 On the other hand we find that on November 16, 1793, 
 " I toock in one hundred & eighteen yds of Cloth this day to 
 Dress." This seems to have been a maximum. 
 
 The business was never run continuously throughout the 
 year. More than fifty per cent, of the annual receipts were 
 taken in the three winter months — November, December and 
 January — when usually there was abundant water-power. 
 Sometimes nothing at all was done in July and August, when 
 the water in the brook ran low and when there was plenty of 
 farm woik to be done. 
 
 During the nineteenth century the clothier's business slowly 
 declined, and when Jonathan Hodges, Junior, died, it was 
 abandoned by his heirs. 
 
 J^C^a/i to 'JOr^ '/^ 
 
 A CUSTOMER S ORDER. 
 
THE HOME OF A NORTON "GENTLE- 
 MAN." 
 
 ONATHAN HODGES, Junior, was a man of 
 substance who, on Sundays and at other appro- 
 priate times, wore a castor hat, a broadcloth coat, 
 a pattern-waistcoat, knee-breeches with silver knee- 
 buckles, silk stockings, and shoes adorned with silver shoe- 
 buckles. He had two silver watches : one, No. 31245, made 
 by George Edwards of London, wliich he bought March 4, 
 1799, for £8:8:0 ($28.00); the other, No. 6260, made by 
 Ingraham & Greene of Providence, and purchased February 
 18, 1807. These, after his death, were appraised at '130, 00. 
 He also had a silver snuff-box, but apparently indulged very 
 sparingly in the ceremonial and titillating habit of snuff- 
 taking. 
 
 He was one of the leading residents of Norton, held vari- 
 ous town offices, and often declined office. He was a promi- 
 nent church-member, an earnest friend and admirer of Rev. 
 Mr. Clarke, and owned a corner pew in the church — the 
 fourth on the right from the pulpit — one seat in which he 
 usually rented for one dollar a year. His appraisers con- 
 sidered the pew worth fifty dollars. He was for years captain 
 of one of the infantry companies of Norton, resigning his 
 commission in 1801, and selling his espontoon (or spontoon) 
 for two dollars to Ensign Asa Arnold (of whose military 
 office the weapon was still emblematic), and his uniform coat 
 for five dollars. As an officer he had carried the noted silver- 
 hilted sword of his grandfather, Major Joseph Hodges, pajdng 
 
 (57) 
 
58 THE HOME OF A NORTON "GENTLEMAN." 
 
 to his cousin Captain Joseph Hodges, for the use of it, 
 seventy-five cents yearly. After resigning office he kept up 
 his active interest in the militia, and always attended the 
 " trainings," taking his small sons with him. 
 
 After the Revolutionary War the military spirit waned in 
 the New England towns, and it was only through the efforts 
 of certain earnest individuals that the militia organizations 
 were continued. When the Revolution broke out in France 
 in 1789, the martial spirit began to revive, and from the time 
 of the Napoleonic wars, especially from the declaration of 
 war with England in 1812, until the return of peace in 1815, 
 very many of the young men of Norton were disposed to join 
 the militia. "In 1812 [wrote Almon D. Hodges] the young 
 men were called upon to enlist in the regiments which in- 
 vaded Canada; some did enlist from tliis town, but these 
 were not the most useful or the best. Of those who were in 
 the invading army not one returned, so far as I can recollect ; 
 they all died of sickness or were killed in battle." 
 
 Jonathan Hodges, Junior, matured early. When sixteen 
 years old, he was in the Continental Army ; before he was of 
 age, he was owner of real estate ; before he had reached his 
 thirty-first year, he was ranked as a " gentleman." Before he 
 married, he possessed at least two dozen acres of land which 
 he farmed, and a fulling-mill and clothier's shop which he 
 operated with his own untiring hands. Every year or two 
 he added to his real-estate holdings. The first lot of land 
 which he sold was the first which he bought, and this he had 
 held for twenty-seven years. It was only one-half acre, for 
 which he paid twenty-four shillings (four dollars) in 1783, 
 selling it for twenty-two dollars and fifty cents in 1810. 
 
 His home farm was in the south part of Norton, between 
 two and three miles from the Centre where the church stood. 
 When he bought tliis farm of his father in 1788, with the 
 fulling-mill and the shop, it contained fourteen acres, which 
 were gradually increased to about forty-three acres. Here he 
 

 MAP OF A PART OF NORTON. 
 
 (59) 
 
60 THE HOME OF A NORTON "GENTLEMAN." 
 
 lived with his wife and five children and, usually, an appren- 
 tice. Quite often he rented two rooms in his house for a 
 dollar a month ; and sometimes he took a boarder who paid 
 for his meals a dollar and a quarter to a dollar and a tliird 
 per week. He and his wife were hospitable souls and fond 
 of their kin ; hence frequent visitors were entertained by 
 them — how pleasantly is indicated by the following letter 
 addressed to Capt. Jonathan Hodges, Norton : — 
 
 Norton Sunday DeC 30'^ 1804 
 
 The Most Worthy & the best of Friends 
 
 Be not Surprised at my takeing the liberty to write so soon after 
 conversing with you for it is to give vent to a heart overflowing 
 wdth friendship. The attentions you paid myself & others while 
 at your House last week deserves the notice of every person 
 present. H. Walker [whom the writer married two years later] 
 was so much deverted that she sayd had her mother ben at home 
 she would have staid 1 week — you must except of our thanks 
 for I fear it will never be in our power to give you that pleasure 
 & Satisfaction which we have enjoyed. 
 
 Without a Friend the World is but a wilderness. Therefore I 
 beg for the continuance of yonr friendships. And as I am young 
 Shall often call on you for advise. * * * * 
 
 It is almost meeting time so I must take my leave of you. So 
 remember me your old Friend 
 
 Asa Danforth. 
 
 The house, wliich apparently must have been a two-story 
 edifice, stood beside Goose Brook, close to the road leading 
 from Taunton. It was still in excellent condition (so Mr. 
 George H. Arnold stated) when it was taken down by Jona- 
 than Hodges, about 1850, and the material used in erecting a 
 new building in Taunton. It contained no stoves, but only 
 open fireplaces — each with its pair of iron dogs, its hand- 
 bellows and its shovel and tongs — and a brick oven in the 
 kitchen. 
 
THE HOME OF A NORTON "GENTLEMAN." 61 
 
 The inventory of the estate, taken shortly after the owner's 
 death, informs us that Jonathan Hodges, gentleman, left real 
 estate appraised at $2,498 ; cash, $87.60 ; notes, 34 in num- 
 ber, $846.41 ; other personal property, $873.69 ; total ap- 
 praised value, $4,305.70. A few articles which he owned do 
 not appear in this inventory, and the appraised values were 
 low, in some cases at least. 
 
 In the house, according to the inventory, there were five 
 bedsteads, each with its feather-bed, its thick blanket, its 
 woollen (flannel) sheet, besides cotton and linen sheets and 
 pillow-cases. There were also two bed-quilts and one bed- 
 spread, the latter evidently for the use of guests. The five 
 bedsteads with bedding were located : two in " the chamber," 
 two in " the back room," and one in " the bedroom," which 
 was perhaps the guest-room. How the family of seven (or 
 eight, counting the apprentice) was distributed at night in 
 these five beds — one of which may have been reserved for 
 the visitor — is not recorded. To be sure there was certainly 
 a trundle-bed which did not appear in the inventory. 
 
 There were two desks and two looking-glasses. There 
 were twenty-eight chairs of various descrij)tions, indicating 
 appreciated hospitality. There were a candle-stand and seven 
 iron candlesticks for holding the home-made candles which 
 were the only means of lighting the rooms at night, when the 
 firelight did not suffice. There were " 4 tow towels," wliich 
 were probably roller-towels, apparently one in operation at a 
 time near the kitchen sink. As cleanliness was insisted upon 
 by the parents, these towels must have undergone very fre- 
 quent washings. Luckily these homespun materials were 
 exceedingly durable. However, it is very possible that the 
 appraisers made note only of the brand new towels — they 
 were valued at twelve and a half cents each — and took no 
 cognizance of those which had been used. And Mrs. Hodges 
 owned various articles of utility and ornament not named in 
 this inventory. 
 
62 THE HOME OF A NORTON "GENTLEMAN." 
 
 Of tlie table furniture, the teapots, cups and saucers were 
 of block tin. The plates, platters, jugs, bowls and mugs 
 were of pewter and of earthenware. The spoons and tum- 
 blers for everyday use were of pewter. For festal occasions 
 there were glass tumblers and decanters, half a dozen silver- 
 plated table-spoons, six silver tea-spoons, and one silver sugar- 
 tongs. Very likely the one souiD-dish, the two butter-boats, 
 the salt-dishes and mustard cups, were used only occasion- 
 ally. 
 
 The wearing apparel of the deceased was appraised at 
 seventeen dollars ; evidently some of it was going out of 
 fashion. There were four kinds of cloth mentioned : cotton 
 cloth, tow cloth, flannel cloth and broad-cloth ; and three 
 kinds of leather : calfskin, upper leather and sole leather. 
 
 There were a " foot-wheel " for spinning flax, two " great 
 wheels " for spinning wool, and a loom. 
 
 In the shop, besides the clothier's apparatus named on a 
 preceding page, there was a kit of carpenter's tools ; also one 
 of slioemaker's tools — for Jonathan was a Jack-of-all-trades, 
 like the majority of his countrymen, and besides tilling his 
 farm and occasionally helping his neighbors till theirs, tinker- 
 ing his fences, buildings and farming implements, and dress- 
 ing cloth, did quite a business in making and repairing the 
 boots and shoes of the men, women and children of the 
 vicinity. He, like other New England "gentlemen" of that 
 day, although distinguished by the possession of a chaise in 
 which to ride with one other person, and also a "horse- 
 wagon " in which to carry the whole family to church or to 
 make a visit — the majority of the inhabitants possessed 
 neither — and although holding high social and official posi- 
 tion in town, believed in the " nobility of labor," and was 
 ever willing to perform any task whereby he could help his 
 neighbor and increase the family income. 
 
 The inventor}' mentions only two books : two Bibles valued 
 at one dollar each. But there were other volumes belonging 
 
THE HOME OF A NORTON "GENTLEMAN." 63 
 
 to the family — a dictionary, almanacs, primers and spelling- 
 books, as the account books show. 
 
 That Jonathan Hodges, Junior, was kind-hearted and gen- 
 erous in his business dealings is shown by several entries in 
 his ledger, one of which reads thus : — 
 
 March 5, 1811. James Balkcom Cr. 
 
 by your being unfortenate £0-6-0. 
 
 If Solomon, the son of David, King of Israel, was not mis- 
 taken, then the Hodges tribe of New England has ever been 
 better than the mighty, for it has always been slow to anger. 
 Yet never has there occurred an important fight, involving 
 principles, without some of the family taking an active part. 
 This Norton gentleman, being a Hodges and living at the 
 proper time, had been accordingly a Revolutionary soldier, 
 and the record of his service, or a part of it, is to be found in 
 the Massachusetts ArcMves in the papers labelled Revolution- 
 ary Rolls. In August and September, 1779, he served in 
 Rhode Island under Captain Enoch Robinson. The next 
 year, in July, he volunteered for six months' service in the 
 Continental Army, and was sent to New York State, being 
 (according to the descriptive roll) 17 years of age, 5 feet 
 10 inches in stature, and of ruddy complexion. He was 
 stationed at West Point at the time of the treachery of 
 Benedict Arnold. In 1781 he served again in Rhode Island. 
 He may have performed other military service, for the Revolu- 
 tionary Rolls are known to be incomplete, and he was a man 
 who, having put his hand to the plough, was not apt to look 
 back ; but documentary proof is lacking. 
 
THE OLD COUNTRY SCHOOL.* 
 
 'he first recollection wliich I have of my own 
 existence is of my being at work with a hammer 
 upon the wheels of a carriage of Ephraim Ray- 
 mond, a neighbor of my father, in his carriage 
 house. In tliis building Miss Catherine M. Raymond kept a 
 school for small children. It was in the summer of 1803, 
 when I was two and a half years old. I must have been sent 
 here with my sisters, in order not to be in the way of the 
 household labor, and at the same time to be well cared for. 
 Miss Raymond afterwards married Elijah Mears, and moved 
 to Boston where she died February 16, 1867. She ever re- 
 mained a dear friend to me, and during my apprentice days 
 in Boston, treated me with most affectionate hospitality. 
 
 Thereafter I probably went to school every summer. I cer- 
 tainly attended the Third District School in the summers of 
 1806 to 1809, and from 1808 to 1815 in the winters. And 
 whenever the school in No. 4 District kept after the end of 
 the winter term of No. 3, I went tliither also. 
 
 * Compiled from an Address delivered by A. D. Hodges to the scholars 
 of the Third District School in Norton, on Thursday evening, May 29, 
 1856; from his Recollections of My Childhood; and from various entries 
 in his Journal. 
 
 Father was always much interested in everything pertaining to his 
 native place, and had a particularly strong fondness for his old school in 
 the Third District. After leaving Norton he was ever ready to go back 
 there to attend the school exhibitions, and several times in his early 
 manhood he took part in them. During his later years it was his custom 
 to make an annual visit to the school, taking prizes for the scholars, and 
 usually making a short speech in which he generally gave a specimen of 
 the manner of reciting pieces in the old days. 
 
 (64) 
 
THE OLD COUNTRY SCHOOL. 65 
 
 The school-house in No. 3 was about a mile and a half from 
 our residence, but it was a most unusual storm which could 
 keep me and my brothers at home. We always went on foot, 
 but now and then when the snow was very deep, mother came 
 with horse and sleigh, to our great delight, and carried us 
 home. 
 
 In that old school-house there were enacted scenes which 
 are to my memory very dear. Many, very many years have 
 rolled on since I heard the old building ring with the happy 
 peals of youthful glee ; yet the old scenes of childish sports 
 and merry meetings are constantly coming up in my imagina- 
 tion, brilliant shadows of by-gone days. I love to review 
 those scenes over and over again. 
 
 On the first day of each term the scholars chose their seats 
 in the order of their arrival at school in the morning, the first- 
 comers thus obtaining the best seats. For several years 
 brothers Jonathan and Newton and I, on the first morning, 
 left home at four o'clock and were the first on the field, ex- 
 cept one year only, when a neighbor's son preceded us ; but 
 even then, as his choice differed from ours, we secured the 
 places which we desired. 
 
 The school terms were from two to three months in length. 
 Each district drew for school purposes from the town treasury 
 as much money as was assessed on the polls and estates within 
 its limits, and thus the richest district obtained the most school 
 money and could hold the longest term. Father probably paid 
 extra for his children's tuition, as we attended school sometimes 
 both in winter and in summer, and certain winters had in- 
 struction in two districts. 
 
 In the summer of 1807 [seemingly an error for 1806] Molly 
 Woodward was the presiding genius of our school, placed 
 there to teach the young idea how to shoot. Then followed 
 Miss Peddy Foster, a good instructress and a brave girl. You 
 will allow that she was brave, when I tell you of an occur- 
 rence here. The old school-house attic must have been the 
 
66 THE OLD COUNTRY SCHOOL. 
 
 abode of certain inhabitants with tlie form and feature which 
 tempted that time-honored old hidy, Mother Eve. For well 
 do I remember, when we were quietly conning our lessons one 
 summer afternoon, how there suddenly arose a loud shriek 
 from the little ones on the front seats, and a great ugly house- 
 adder came ]3oking his rueful visage down between the ceil- 
 ing and the cliimney, directly over the fireplace, apparently 
 examining the school and looking around among the small 
 scholars for a tit-bit for his dinner. But our brave school- 
 mistress seized the monster with the firetongs and wound him 
 up as he descended ; and when his whole coil had emerged 
 from his hiding place, she thrashed the life out of him upon 
 the hearth. 
 
 The next instructress was Miss Phebe Kelton, who taught 
 us during the summer terms of 1808 and 1809. She was of 
 notable beauty and grace, and was universally beloved. My 
 very strong attachment to her has ever been a mystery to me. 
 I revere her memory to this day. 
 
 Master Thomas Braman, Junior, taught during the winter 
 terms from 1808 to 1816 or 1817, with the exception of one 
 year. He had received a collegiate education at Brown Uni- 
 versity and was an excellent teacher, wholly devoted to the 
 faithful performance of his duties to his scholars. He began 
 his tasks early on Monday mornings and continued them 
 every day well into the evening, even on Saturdays teaching 
 so long as there was daylight. Appearing betimes at the 
 school-house every morning, he made the fire, swept the room, 
 prepared the writing books and other materials, and was ready 
 to give instruction to the first urcliin who presented himself, 
 no matter how early the hour. 
 
 It was his custom, at the beginning of each term, to open 
 his school with an address which, for beauty of diction, depth 
 of thought and adaptation to the capacity of his hearers, has 
 not been often excelled by men much better known to fame. 
 His speech to the school at the end of the term was also de- 
 
THE OLD COUNTRY SCHOOL. 67 
 
 livered in a familiar, pleasant and effective manner and tone 
 of voice which went direct to the heart, and often caused 
 many a tear to trickle down the cheeks of his attentive 
 pupils. 
 
 Master Braman had a peculiar gift of making his scholars 
 love him and also fear him, without liis being unnecessarily 
 severe. He seldom inflicted corporal punishment, although 
 tliis mode of treatment was much more common then than at 
 present. Yet he considered it necessary, and indeed health- 
 ful, to use the ferule occasionally. Distinctly do I remem- 
 ber the appearance of tliis instrument, to which we gave 
 the nickname of Master Braman's Old Reformative Soup 
 Ladle. By the small scholars it was much dreaded, although 
 I believe it never reached them. It seldom came out of his 
 desk, but when it did, it was sure to do execution. Master 
 Braman was not the man to promise without performing ; 
 and when he went through the performance, it was generally, 
 in the language of the play-house, with unbounded applause. 
 There was one boy, only one, who pretended he did not fear 
 it. His pretensions were probably feigned, for he was intro- 
 duced to the instrument more frequently than any other 
 scholar. It was the custom of Master Braman to add one 
 more blow each time a punishment was repeated. Tom, be- 
 ginning with one, reached, I think, the number of ten and 
 then took a vacation — declaring that if this was the way 
 Master Braman was going on with him, he rather thought he 
 would proclaim his education completed. 
 
 There was a tradition among the scholars of my day that in 
 times past, not very remote, only one school book was known 
 (with perhaps the exception of the New Testament), and 
 that book was an almanac ; when the boys had committed 
 that to memory, they considered themselves " learnt out " 
 and left school. We prided ourselves on our advance over 
 the almanac-days, for at the very beginning of Master 
 Braman's tuition we had several books. 
 
68 TITE OLD COUNTRY SCHOOL. 
 
 There was Jedediah Morse's Geography, mth a pair of 
 wood-cuts supposed to be maps ; one resembled more than 
 anjthing else a pair of overworked cartwheels, and the other 
 looked like an old-fashioned gridiron half covered with an 
 overdone beefsteak. The book contained, however, one piece 
 of information Avhich impressed us. It told how to cure the 
 bite of a rattlesnake. 
 
 We had Alexander's Grammar, which we travelled through 
 with expedition. When we had learned to parse a sentence 
 correctly, we considered that we knew all about the construc- 
 tion of the English language. We had Alden's Spelling 
 Book, first and second parts, and the English Reader. 
 Master Braman drilled his pupils carefully in reading, teach- 
 ing them to speak clearly with proper pronunciation and 
 emphasis. 
 
 At the end of every winter t^rm we had an examination, 
 or exhibition, which was made a grand occasion. For this 
 there was great preparation, and the whole school was put 
 througii a series of careful rehearsals. Some of the best 
 scholars were allowed to read or recite pieces, and he was 
 considered a favored pupil who was permitted to speak (from 
 Abner Alden's Reader) " The Grumbling Clown," or " The 
 Soliloquy of Dick the Apprentice." Best of all was " The 
 Jew's Revenge " — Shylock's speech in the Merchant of 
 Venice. Tlie parents, friends and neighbors flocked to these 
 examinations, whose success was made perfect when good old 
 Parson Clarke came and delivered one of his delightful ad- 
 dresses which made every man, woman and child happy — 
 pleased with themselves and with everybody else. 
 
 During the winter term of 1812-13, to the grief of the 
 scholars. Master Braman was unable to come to us, and a 
 new teacher was engaged — a student of Brown University. 
 He was probably well qualified ii> most respects, but it was 
 voted unanimously by the pupils, both girls and boys, that 
 "he was not Master Braman." He certainly was not Mastei; 
 
THE OLD COUNTRY SCHOOL. 69 
 
 Braman's equal in inspiring respect or judiciously enforcing 
 discipline. But things went quite smoothly until near the 
 end of the term. Then all at once our sky was darkened by 
 a violent tempest. 
 
 A new boy named Volum came to our school this winter. 
 He had reached the age of sixteen years and was of remark- 
 ably strong physique ; but mentally he was not bright — was 
 considered as not up to the mark in this respect by the other 
 boys who, whatever they might be themselves, required a 
 pretty liigh standard in any neiv boy. Moreover he was in- 
 dolent and inattentive, and hence frequently received the 
 serious attentions of the teacher, which, up to this time, he 
 had not forcibly resented. 
 
 One morning, in addition to other misdemeanors, he amused 
 himself by reflecting the sun's rays about the schoolroom with 
 a jDiece of broken glass. The teacher, discovering this, seized 
 the pupil by the foretop and began rapping his head against 
 the wall. Volum endured this, as he afterwards said, until 
 he saw stars shooting about in various directions. Then, 
 shouting in tones which outrivalled those of the greatest 
 tragedians, " Let me alone or I'll draw upon you, ye villain ! " 
 he drove his sledge-hammer fist into the pit of his preceptor's 
 stomach. 
 
 A bomb exploding among us could hardly have caused 
 greater consternation. The master seized Volum by the coat- 
 collar, Volum grappled with the master, and a rough and 
 tumble fight ensued. Soon it was apparent that the master 
 was weakening and using his utmost efforts to shake off his 
 ■ antagonist who grappled the tighter. But as the two bodies 
 revolved about the room, by chance the pupil's head came in 
 .violent contact with the large projecting iron door-catch. 
 With the crash and the spurting of blood, the contest ended 
 abruptly. The affair was unfortunate for both parties. The 
 scholar never came to school again, and the teacher very soon 
 left the town. 
 
70 THE OLD COUNTRY SCHOOL. 
 
 My last term at the Third District School was the one held 
 in the closing months of 1815. The time had then come for 
 me to cease play and begin serious work. But I have always 
 held tlie old place in loving remembrance, and since leaving 
 Norton it has been my good luck to be able to participate a 
 couple of times in the school exliibitions with some of my 
 old schoolmates. 
 
 The first time occurred in February, 1821, when I was 
 living in Boston. On the sixth day of that month, at four 
 o'clock in the morning, I started on foot from Boston for 
 Norton, one hour ahead of the stage which overtook me at 
 Savage's tavern in Stoughton, and from there carried me to 
 the place near Uncle Copeland's house in Norton, whence I 
 had to walk about four miles to my mother's. 
 
 Brother Newton and some of the scholars of our old school 
 had arranged for a grand exhibition at the end of the term. 
 He and I, with Charles Grossman, David Arnold, Isaac Bur- 
 dick [Aldrich ?] , Mary Horton, Nancy Arnold, Polly Arnold 
 and others, fitted up the hall in Asa Arnold's tavern, near the 
 old school-house, for the performance. We built a stage, with 
 side and back scenes, and provided a curtain which was rolled 
 up by cords and pulleys. The curtain was borrowed from 
 my mother. It was her best counterpane from her best bed, 
 and answered our purpose nicely. We worked hard to pre- 
 pare ourselves, and we had much enjoyment while so doing. 
 
 On the evening of February 13, Arnold Hall was crowded 
 with " the beauty and fashion " of this part of the town, to 
 witness the performance, the programme of which I have pre- 
 served. (See following page). 
 
 I spoke, in the character of a country bumpkin, the Prologue 
 which was about twenty lines long. It began : 
 
 So here we are at Arnold's Hall from country round, 
 Come to see some fun, I'll bet five pound ; 
 And if you're disappointed, 'tis a pity, 
 Since we have tried as slick as — hity. 
 
THE OLD COUNTRY SCHOOL. 71 
 
 The last line read : 
 
 And we'll pack up all, and whistle Home Again. 
 
 SCHOOL EXHIBITION 
 
 On Tuesdciy Evening vnll he performed a lilay called 
 
 MY AUNT 
 
 Dashall A. D. Hodges 3frs. Cobbet . . . Miss Mary Horton 
 
 Frederick I. Aldrich Emma Miss N. Arnold 
 
 Battle ]Sr. S. Hodges 
 
 Soberlove D. Arnold 
 
 To which will be added an Interlude Extract from 
 
 THREE WEEKS AFTER MARRIAGE 
 
 Charles Backet A. D. Hodges 
 
 Lady Backet Miss M. Horton 
 
 The tohole to conclude with the farce called 
 
 THE WAGS OF WINDSOE 
 
 Deputy Bull I. Braman Grace Gaylove. Miss Mary Horton 
 
 Loney Mactotvtler. A. D. Hodges Lucy Miss N. Arnold 
 
 John Lump N. S. Hodges Martha Miss S. Arnold 
 
 Capt. Beaugard. . C. L. Grossman 
 
 Dubbs D. Arnold 
 
 Caleb Quotem A. D. Hodges 
 
 In the course of the joi'ece the Songs of 
 
 Novel Beading O By Caleb Quotem 
 
 Parish Clerk Do. Do. 
 
72 THE OLD COUNTRY SCHOOL. 
 
 The performance went off with great eclat. Everybody 
 appeared to be much pleased with the entertainment ; particu- 
 Lirly so were the actors and actresses. 
 
 Tlie last time I posed as an actor at a Norton school exhib- 
 ition was when I was entering into business at Providence. 
 I had previousl}^ promised the master of the Centre School, 
 Alvin Perry, to assist his pupils in getting up some plays at 
 the end of the school term, and when the time came, although 
 I was exceedingly busy, I felt bound to keep my promise. 
 
 Mr. Perry had fitted up Wood's Hall with a well-arranged 
 stage, with side scenes, rolling curtains, etc., and on the even- 
 ing of April 16, 1823, a large audience assembled. The bill 
 announced : 
 
 A Favorite Play in Two Acts, called 
 
 foktu:ne's frolic. 
 
 To Conclude with the Laughable Farce of 
 THE SPOILED CHILD. 
 
 I took the part of Robin Roughhead in the former, and of 
 Tagg in the latter play, and spoke a prologue which I found 
 in one of Garrick's old play-books. My associates were my 
 brother, Newton S. Hodges, Miss Lurana W. Lane (afterwards 
 Mrs. Newton S. Hodges), my cousins, Thomas M., Mary J., 
 and Edward R. Danforth, and other members of the school. 
 
 It was a most enjoyable occasion. But 1 was under a 
 stress of business, and resolved that tliis must be my last 
 appearance on any stage. 
 
A COUNTRY CHILD'S EVERYDAY LIFE.* 
 
 '';^T was perhaps in 1804, when I was about three 
 ^ years old, that I went with my mother to the 
 
 funeral of Mr. Alien,! who died in the next house 
 to ours, — the residence of my uncle, George 
 Hodges. My mother lifted me up so that I could look into 
 the casket. From what I saw, I concluded that death was a 
 deep sleep with a part of the body left of the dead man, — 
 that part which was visible in the coffin. And curious ques- 
 tions arose in my mind. What was it to die? Why were all 
 these people collected together? Why was a part of a man 
 to be put in the ground ? Why was he carried away from 
 his home and his family ? It seemed a confused mystery. 
 
 Many times during my early childhood the question of real 
 existence came up for settlement. Was this really myself or 
 was it somebody else ? This appeared an important question. 
 I often tried the pinching process to see if it was really I, and 
 this generally decided the matter. 
 
 A couple of years after Mr. Allen's funeral we lost by 
 death a near and dear neighbor, the wife of Captain Elisha 
 Grossman. I think my mother nursed her during a great part 
 of her sickness, the fatal result of which caused a sensation 
 in our neighborhood, where every one appeared to feel that 
 he had lost a loving friend. I attended the funeral and 
 recollect the prayer of Rev. Mr. Clarke. I remember how 
 the husband wept as he took his last look at his departed 
 
 * From the MS. of A. D. Hodges. 
 
 t Lewis Allen died September 9, 1803. This is the only Allen death 
 at this period registered in the Norton vital records. 
 
 (73) 
 
74 A COUNTRY CHILD'S EVERY-DAY LIFE. 
 
 wife, and I wondered. " Why did he cry so ? " I asked my 
 mother, " she was not his mother.'^ At the age of five or six 
 I thonght it singular that one should grieve so deex^ly for a 
 wife. 
 
 When about four years old, I suffered from a fever or some 
 similar sickness. One Veil-remembered night seemed to me 
 extraordinarily long, — so long that I asked my mother, who 
 was sitting up with me, if two nights had not come together. 
 She, probably not understanding my question, or perhaps 
 being only partially awake, answered simply " Yes." And 
 for years I was possessed with the idea that two nights had 
 really come together. 
 
 A truer natural phenomenon, which strongly impressed me 
 about this period, was the total eclipse of the sun in June, 
 1806. I recollect as though but j^esterday the strange ap- 
 pearance of the atmosphere, the peculiar glimmer or shadow 
 on the ground, the twilight, the fowls going to roost, and 
 cattle coming in from the pastures, and also the great demand 
 for smoked glass. I recollect also that Benajah Tucker and 
 his family occupied a part of our house at this time. My 
 father often rented a couple of rooms. Some years later Elias 
 Cobb and his wife and small son lived with us. Mrs. Cobb 
 was subject to fits, during which she would groan and scream. 
 In the beginning I was greatly alarmed by her cries, which 
 frequently roused me from deep sleep, but very soon I grew 
 accustomed to them ; and so soon as I became aware that " it 
 was only Mrs. Cobb," I fell asleep again. 
 
 I well remember the day long famous in New England as 
 "the cold Friday " — January 19, 1810 — when there was a 
 remarkable change of temperature. An account from Ports- 
 mouth, Rhode Island, was to the effect that the thermometer 
 there at noon on Thursday stood at 42 degrees above freezing 
 point, and at noon on Friday at 12 degrees below zero, a dif- 
 ference of 86 degrees in 24 hours — very likely an exaggera- 
 tion. A Boston paper made a difference in that place of 59| 
 
A COUNTRY CHILD'S EVERY-DAY LIFE. 75 
 
 degrees in about 16 hours — from 48 degrees above zero to 
 llr^ degrees below. 
 
 From the age of about 8 to 11 years I often rose from my 
 bed at night and walked about in my sleep. Sometimes the 
 family were awake and my brothers or sisters tickled my ears 
 with a straw, causing me extreme pain. Generally my sleep- 
 walking occurred between the hours of one and three in the 
 morning, and lasted until the painful sensation of cold awoke 
 me. 
 
 Often I remembered afterwards, more or less clearly, what 
 I did in my sleep. Dr. Woodward, once of the Worcester 
 Insane Asylum, tells me that this is very unusual. I dis- 
 tinctly recollect going once to the corn-barn in this state of 
 somnambulism, and piling up the pumpkins, and being greatly 
 troubled because some of the turbulent vegetables would roll 
 down from the pile, on purpose, as I thought, to vex me. The 
 last time which I remember clearly, I arose from bed, went to 
 the chamber window, crept or jumped out backwards, and 
 struck upon an embankment, rolling over upon a pile of stones. 
 My father, awakened by the noise and fearing that I was 
 killed, rushed out of the house, picked me up and carried me 
 back to my room. But I could have received only slight 
 bruises, for I was out to play the next day. 
 
 While I was still very young, my father had an apprentice- 
 boy, Tom Morey, who was a great man in my estimation. 
 He could catch more muskrats, rabbits and fish, and could 
 shoot more crows in a season, than any other boy in town. 
 But ordinary labor was his abomination, and he had his own 
 peculiar ways of dodging it. The last I knew of him he 
 had a large family and was trying to support it by heading 
 nails. 
 
 In the year 1808, two boys in our neighborhood, named 
 Jerry and Andrew, caused a sensation by running away, and 
 another sensation by suddenly re-appearing about a fortnight 
 later with a watch and a gun, the possession of which was 
 
76 A COUNTRY CHILD'S EVERY -DAY LIFE. 
 
 not clearly accounted for. A day behind them came an 
 officer of the law with explanations. 
 
 It appeared that the two lads had run away in search of 
 their fortunes which, as we boys well understood, are always 
 located under the setting sun. So they walked westward 
 until they reached the Connecticut River, and then hired out 
 to a farmer. But the experience of a few days convinced 
 them that there was some mistake in their calculations, and 
 that working for a stranger was not the easy way of getting 
 rich which they had supposed ; for their employer was even 
 more strict in his demands than were the jDCople at home. A 
 vigorous scolding one day awakened in them feelings of un- 
 fair treatment, and at night they determined (so ran the story 
 of Jeny) to be revenged on the old gentleman. When all 
 was quiet they arose from their beds and without waiting for 
 a settlement of their wages, or to say good-by, they slipped 
 out of the house and started homewards, taking with them 
 the watch and the gun. 
 
 They had not been gone two hours when their absence 
 and the loss of the farmer's property were discovered. The 
 neighbors were aroused, and a party of horsemen started after 
 the runaways. When the boys heard the tramping of the 
 horses in hot pursuit, they awoke to a full consciousness of 
 what they had done, and were overwhelmed with fear and 
 remorse. Jerry afterwards told me that if at tins moment his 
 life could have been put back only three hours he would have 
 been willing to have lost his hand, and rather thought he 
 would have let his head go with it. After hesitating some 
 moments in terror and confusion, they plunged into the woods 
 and, going across country, eluded their pursuers ; but twenty- 
 four hours elapsed before they dared show themselves at any 
 house in order to obtain food. Then inspired with the simple 
 desire to get back to their homes, they tramped eastward in 
 constant fear, and finally reached Norton ; and here the officer 
 found them and the stolen property. 
 
A COUNTRY CHILD'S E VERY-DAY LIFE. 77 
 
 Master Andrew was the son of a prosperous farmer, and 
 after his father had settled the matter with the officer by a 
 financial operation, he got off with a severe " dressing down " 
 at the hands of his irate parent. But Jerry was an orphan 
 and without money, and he was put in Taunton jail. After 
 he had been committed, my father took pity on the erring and 
 repentant boy, and pleaded his case so effectually with the 
 injured party, that the lad was released on his verbal prom- 
 ise that " he would never do so again." My father brought 
 Jerry back to Norton in our old chaise. It was in a way a 
 repetition of the return of the prodigal son. Jerry possessed 
 a great fund of humor, could play the fiddle, and was very 
 popular with the other boys, who gave him a warm welcome 
 on his return. 
 
 These boys, like all the other boys in Norton, where honesty 
 and truthfulness were enjoined every day by their elders, 
 knew what it was to steal, and knew that they were doing 
 wrong. Yet this case was complicated by the boyish impulse 
 to " get even " for a fancied injustice. Despite all teachings, 
 there was some confusion in our childish minds as to grada- 
 tions of right and wrong, as the following personal experiences 
 indicate. 
 
 One day brother Newton (aged 9) and I (aged 10), while 
 returning from school, stepped into our neighbor Woodward's 
 flax-field, after he had gathered or "pulled" the plants, and 
 took a few spears of flax. A young man who was passing, 
 accused us of stealing flax, and said he would have us put in 
 jail. This was undoubtedly done through thoughtlessness, 
 for he was an excellent young fellow, but it alarmed me 
 exceedingly, and for months I dreamed frequently of the 
 dreaded Taunton jail. Brother Newton, however, being more 
 of a philosopher than myself, did not appear to be much 
 moved by the threat. 
 
 In the winter of 1810-11, I attended the Centre District 
 school and boarded with my uncle Thomas Danforth. My 
 
78 A COUNTRY CHILD'S E VERY-DAY LIFE. 
 
 cousin Thomas M. Danforth was about six years old, and my 
 aunt, having two younger children to attend to, was wont to 
 request me to accompany Thomas to his room when he went 
 to bed, and stay with him until he was asleep, — a perform- 
 ance which I regarded as foolish, and managed to imbue my 
 cousin with the same idea. So when Thomas was well in bed 
 I asked him if he was asleep, to which he invariably replied 
 " Yes," and I immediately went down stairs reporting that it 
 was " all right," and salving my conscience with the theory 
 that if Thomas had told a wrong story about his condition, I 
 was not responsible for it. 
 
 In June, 1813, brother Newton and I went on foot to visit 
 uncle Kent Bullock in Rehoboth, a distance of about thirteen 
 miles. We started in the morning and jogged along cheer- 
 fully for about nine miles, and then began to tire. We 
 stopped at a house where we found a kind old lady who im- 
 mediately interested herself in the two small boys and their 
 journey. She began at once a series of questions, working 
 herself up to a high pitch about our welfare, when suddenly, 
 before I realized what I was saying, the statement popped out 
 of my mouth that we had walked all the way from Boston. 
 I had been heretofore a truthful boy, and the moment this 
 tvhopper escaped my lips, I put my hand to my face and 
 found it very hot. I looked at brother Newton. He stood 
 a moment with countenance overcast with an indescribably 
 comic expression ; then, unable to control his features, made 
 a rush for the door. I remained a few moments while the old 
 lady put rapidly question after question concerning Boston. 
 I then thought it prudent to bolt also, and left the old lady 
 standing in an attitude of astonishment with both hands up- 
 raised. We reached aunt Bullock's that night, receiving as 
 always a most hearty welcome. But although the memory of 
 the scene with the old lady brought only laughter and no 
 remorse, I pledged my brother to lisp no word concerning it 
 during our stay in Rehoboth. 
 
A COUNTRY CHILD'S EVERY-DAY LIFE. 79 
 
 Whortleberry woods and barberry fields in those days were 
 regarded as free to all. Hence my brother and I were very 
 much surprised on one occasion, after we had gathered a 
 supply of barberries in a certain pasture, at being held up by 
 the owner, a man of penurious disposition and suppcjsed 
 wealth, who was popularly known as " Old Bean Bag." He 
 charged us with having committed a crime, and compelled us 
 to carry the berries to his house, but on the way I managed to 
 spill a large part of what I had collected. We were much 
 provoked by his words and action, and our mother, to whom 
 we related the occurrence, was very indignant. 
 
 Somewhat later, happening to meet another boy who also 
 had an old score to settle with neighbor Bean Bag, we agreed 
 to combine and even up accounts. And one afternoon while 
 one boy watched, two others crept into a certain corn-field. 
 Not long after, the watcher saw his companions rushing from 
 the field as if for dear life, nor did they stop until fully con- 
 vinced that no man pursued them. Neighbor Bean Bag's 
 watermelon patch was minus four large, choice melons that 
 afternoon. 
 
 We boys at the moment did not stop to consider what we 
 were about, nor the risk we were running ; for we should have 
 paid dear for our revenge had the old gentleman caught us. 
 Moreover an act of this kind, although really a crime and 
 punishable as such, was regarded by the great majority of the 
 country people as a quite venial transgression. 
 
 My father was a clothier as well as a farmer, and being 
 always industrious, often kept his fulling mill going all night 
 when there was an abundance of water in the brook. He 
 understood so well the varying sounds of the hammers on tlie 
 cloth, that the change of tone when the cloth was finished 
 always roused him from his sleep ; he then arose, went to the 
 mill and changed the batch of cloth, and then returned to bed 
 and slept until another change was necessary. It was a pleas- 
 
80 A COUNTRY CHILD'S EVERY-DAY LIFE. 
 
 ant duty for me to assist my father at the mill, performing 
 such labor as a child could do, dancing upon the soaped cloth, 
 turning the cloth-reel, and driving the shearing machine. 
 
 During a part of the winter season, from 1809 to 1811, my 
 mother required her children to braid straw. My task was at 
 first five, and then six yards daily, which I was able to com- 
 plete by noon. I should think that I have braided over 
 fifteen hundred yards. The price paid for the braided straw 
 was two and a half and three cents per yard. My first Bible 
 was purchased with the money which I earned by this work, 
 and before I was eleven years old I had read through the 
 book in course. 
 
 We boys considered straw-braiding as woman's work, as we 
 did also the washing of dishes which was required of us, and 
 neither of these tasks suited our fancy. But labor upon the 
 farm and in the mill we liked, and as a rule performed it 
 cheerfully, although at times it was quite severe and not 
 without its hazards. For instance, in the fall of 1813, while 
 I was splitting wood for a neighbor, the axe glanced and 
 struck my instep, inflicting a severe wound which kept me in 
 the house about two months. 
 
 In November, 1811, my brother Newton and I worked for 
 a short time in the Raymond cotton factory, soon after it was 
 started, and continued until our school began its winter term. 
 We both liked the work. We had an overseer by the name 
 of Proctor, who was a perfect tyrant, but he never scolded 
 either of us. We certainly tried very hard indeed to give 
 satisfaction. 
 
 Late in the autumn or early in the winter of 1812 I worked 
 again in the Raymond factory, taking the place of my brother 
 Jonathan in the carding-room, which I considered a promotion. 
 When the school term began I did not attend, but continued 
 at the factory until I was so unfortunate as to let a top card 
 fall on the revolving cylinder card, doing some damage. Al- 
 though the overseer did not say a word of censure to me, I 
 
A COUNTRY CHILD'S EVERY-DAY LIFE. 81 
 
 was very much disturbed and discouraged, feeling that taking- 
 care of the cards was a man's work and not a boy's — I was 
 then not quite eleven years old — and in this I was doubtless 
 correct. I resigned my situation and went to school. How- 
 ever I worked afterwards in the factory, and when I stopped 
 finally, in September, 1814, I had been through all the depart- 
 ments from the picker to the weaving room. 
 
 In the summer of 1813, when I was twelve years of age, 
 I was able to do about half a man's task. That summer 
 during haying time the men started early in the morning for 
 a lot belonging to my father in " the Dean neighborhood," 
 about two miles from our house. Brother Newton or I staid 
 behind until my mother and sisters had prepared the dinner, 
 wliich was packed into saddle-bags, and these were thrown 
 across the shoulders of old Jenny, our mare. If the bags 
 were not well balanced, we boys restored the equilibrium by 
 adding a stone on the light side. Then we mounted the mare 
 and trotted away for the Dean place, occasionally racing when 
 another boy came along on a similar errand. At noon the 
 dinner was served under a very large chestnut tree, and how 
 good the green peas and lamb or beef tasted ! Never did 
 dinner taste so good in any other place. 
 
 Old Jenny was just my own age, and when she was willing 
 to run, was very swift. I remember clearly the time when I 
 beat our neighbor Arnold's boy, whose horse was quite cele- 
 brated for speed. But Jenny was very peculiar in her views 
 and temper and, like Falstaff, would do nothing on compul- 
 sion. She was sometimes very cross when she ought to have 
 been good-natured — sometimes would stand still when we 
 wanted her to go, and sometimes would go when we wanted 
 her to stand still. I was loading fence-rails one day in the 
 apple-orchard, and took hold of the bridle to made her move 
 the wagon. At first she held back and absolutely refused to 
 start. Then suddenly, and most unexpectedly to me, she 
 sprang forward, almost tearing herself out of the harness. 
 
82 COUNTRY HOLIDAYS. 
 
 She knocked me down, ran the wheel over my foot or trod on 
 me, and crushed one of my toes so badly that I was kept in 
 the house a whole fortnight. But the incident left no ill 
 feeling on either side. 
 
 Country Holidays. 
 
 The anniversary of American Independence had not been 
 noticed much in Norton, or if it had been celebrated the fact 
 had not been brought home to me, until the year 1810. This 
 year Mr. Cobb, who occupied a part of my father's house, 
 arose soon after midnight on the Fourth of July and began 
 firing his old musket, keeping up this amusement until after 
 sunrise, very much to our delight. This was our first cele- 
 bration of the day [and the onl^/ one at Norton which is 
 mentioned in these memoirs]. 
 
 The greatest holiday of the year was the annual Regimental 
 Review of the militia of the towns of Norton, Attleborough, 
 Mansfield and Easton, which was held on Norton Common. 
 To this we always looked forward for weeks with the greatest 
 pleasurable excitement ; and it formed the topic of conversa- 
 tion for weeks after it had occurred. 
 
 It was at a regimental review, in the year 1809 or 1810, 
 that I first heard a band of music, and such a band I have 
 never heard since. It was the Mansfield Band led by Otis 
 Allen. Their instruments, I distinctly recollect, were two 
 clarinets (or one clarinet and one hautboy), two French horns, 
 two bassoons and four bass drums. I followed this band 
 nearly all day, keeping as close as possible to the first bassoon 
 player, delighted not only by the sweet strains of music, but 
 also by the player's earnest efforts to regain the mouthpiece 
 of his instrument after he had stepped into an unexpected 
 but not unusual hole in the ground. 
 
 The uniform of the Norton company, of which my father 
 had been captain, consisted of a certain kind of frock, so I 
 
COUNTRY HOLIDAYS. 83 
 
 remember Ms sapng. I recollect well the uniform of the 
 Norton Artillery company, commanded by my uncle Thomas 
 Danforth : a blue coat turned up with red, the old-fashioned 
 chapeau with a short black plume tipped with red, and long 
 red top-boots. This was a famous company in my boyhood- 
 days. 
 
 To these trainings flocked people from the surrounding 
 towns, and there were always many tents where gingerbread, 
 cookies, almost all kinds of fancy articles, and liquors were 
 sold. We children always took an early start in the morn- 
 ing and tramped around the camp-ground, seeing all the 
 sights. When we had grown very tired, we were wont to go 
 to aunt Freeman's to rest. She lived near the Common, and 
 her son Sanforth was captain of one of the militia companies. 
 She always provided a liberal dinner for the members of her 
 son's company, and after they had eaten we boys were invited 
 to sit down to what was left. In case the supply ran short, 
 aunt Freeman always found plenty of her good doughnuts 
 for us. 
 
 It was at her house that we saw the first great exhibition 
 of skill in balancing. A man walked backward and forwaird 
 a long time, without falling off, on a slack wire from one end 
 of a large room to the other! This in our opinion was a 
 tremendous feat — and it cost only six and one-quarter cents 
 apiece to see the wonderful performance. 
 
APPRENTICE DAYS. 
 
 At Noeton. 
 
 Y first real sorrow came when my father died. He 
 had always been very kind and indulgent to his 
 children, and we loved him dearly. He was 
 seized with the typhoid fever on the 24th of 
 March, 1814, and died on Monday the 28th. I was first made 
 aware of his perilous condition by the notice written by Dr. 
 Morey and handed to a neighbor to be carried to tlie church, 
 where, I suppose, it was read by good old Parson Clarke. 
 Its words, deeply impressed upon my memory, were these : 
 
 Jonathan Hodges and family desire your prayers, lie 
 being very dangerousl}^ sick, that God would in his 
 mercy restore him again to health, or fit and ])repare 
 him for his Holy ^Yill. 
 
 My mother was seized with the same disease, and was very 
 sick for some ten days ; it was probably two months before 
 she regained her health. This was a very sad period. 
 
 Very soon our family began to separate. I remained at 
 home for more than a year, working part of the time on the 
 farm and part of the time in the cotton factory. The summer 
 of 1815 I spent with my uncle Asa Danforth, helping him 
 in his farm-work and weaving sheetings. In November I 
 returned to my mother's house and wove bed-ticks on my own 
 account. The school-term in District No. 3, beginning early, 
 was finished before New Year's day, and as Master Braman 
 
 * From the MSS. of A. D. Hodges. 
 
 (84) 
 
APPRENTICE DAYS. 85 
 
 then took another school near uncle Asa, I followed him and 
 boarded with my uncle, attending school until January 27, 
 1816. 
 
 Then my uncle, who was my guardian, decided that it 
 would be for my advantage to receive a har education ; and 
 without any prei)aratory reading or studying, I began to prac- 
 tice at the bar in the " Gilbert Tavern " in Norton, then kept 
 by Eleazer Walker, Jr., a brother-in-law of my uncle. Soon I 
 became equal to any old practitioner, — could heat up a flip 
 or mix a gin toddy as rapidly and acceptably as any of my 
 associates. I had plenty of this work for more than two 
 months. But the business and the society into which I was 
 thrown were never congenial, and soon became exceedingly 
 disagreeable. So without consulting my guardian or any one 
 else, I threw up my commission at the bar and returned to 
 my mother's home, determined to obtain my living in some 
 other wa}^ 
 
 I was also determined not to remain idle, and I contracted 
 with manufacturers in Mansfield and Norton to weave bed_ 
 ticking. By this work during the summer of 1816 my net 
 earnings, at the age of fifteen, were ten dollars per month, 
 out of which I paid my mother one dollar per week for board. 
 
 In August, the demand for bed-ticking having ceased, I 
 obtained a position in the store of Daniel Smith, at Norton 
 Centre, and for two months was occupied in selling molasses, 
 rum, flour, tapes, muslins, dry goods and fanc}^ articles in 
 general. Meantime I boarded in the family of Judge Laban 
 Wheaton. The judge had just returned from Washington, 
 his term of service as Congressman having expired. 
 
 At the beginning of November, George Gilbert, who had 
 recently moved from Norton to Providence where he was 
 doing a grocery business, offered me a position in his new 
 store. As Mr. Smith, when I made the request, consented to 
 release me from my engagement with him, I A^'as able to ac- 
 cept the offer. Consequentl}^ on the 7th day of November, 
 
86 APPRENTICE DAYS. 
 
 1816, I bade good-bye to my mother and to old Norton and 
 started for Providence.* 
 
 At Providence. 
 
 There was no stage or other reguLir conveyance from Nor- 
 ton to Providence ; but an acquaintance, Mr. Isaac Hall, was 
 going to the last-named town with a load of hay and invited 
 me to ride with him. We started very early in the morning 
 and drove as far as Seekonk Plains. There the wagon was 
 turned over to another driver, but Mr. Hall took one of tlie 
 horses, and on this he and I rode " double-jaded " until we 
 had crossed Seekonk upper bridge. Thinking it not quite 
 prudent to make my entrance into Providence in this manner, 
 I walked the rest of the way. I went at once to Mr. Gilbert's 
 store, where I found two other clerks who outranked me, 
 Minor S. Lincoln and John J. Stimson. 
 
 I discovered, however, that there was some misunderstand- 
 ing about my special duties. I had been told by Mr. Gilbert, 
 when we made the engagement, that Mrs. Gilbert would 
 probably desire my assistance in some few matters at the 
 house, to which I readily assented ; but as it turned out, my 
 employment was almost altogether as a domestic helper, and 
 about my only duty at the store was to go thither and call 
 the young gentlemen to a hot dinner at the house. Although 
 I felt then, and still feel, that this was not in the bargain, and 
 that I was not being treated fairly, I bore my honors as 
 
 * Xov. 7, 1860. Wednesday. Celebrated this evening the 50tii anni- 
 versary of my leaving old Norton for Providence, to reside with the late 
 George Gilbert, vrho kept a grocery store where the Franklin House now 
 stands. Present : Jane, Danforth and his wife and their two children — 
 Almon D., 2d, and Martha, — Amory, Edward, Almira Winslow, Mr. and 
 Mrs. W. H. Brackett, Louisa Brackett, Ann McCabe and Margaret Quirk. 
 [Journal of A. D. II.] 
 
 Almira Winslow was housekeeper, and Ann McCabe and Margaret 
 Quirk were servants. 
 
APPRENTICE DAYS. 87 
 
 Kitchen Colonel meekly and without a murmur, hoping for a 
 good time coming. Mrs. Gilbert and her daughter Hannah 
 were both very good to me and appeared to take an interest 
 in my welfare, making my position easy, if not pleasiint ; I 
 have never forgotten their kindness. Both passed through 
 serious troubles in tlieir lives, and both have gone to the 
 spirit world. Peace be to their memories. 
 
 I labored faithfully at the house until the next spring, when 
 Mr. Lincoln went to Boston to live. Mr. Caesar Dockray, a 
 colored gentleman, took my position, and I was promoted to 
 be second clerk in the grocery store. This store was a ten- 
 footer on the site occupied later by the Franklin House. 
 My position now was a pleasant one and so continued, and 
 my fellow-clerk, Mr. Stimson, proved to be a most agreeable 
 companion and associate. 
 
 The principal event which occurred at Providence in 1817 
 was the visit of the President of the United States, James 
 Monroe, who made a tour through the New England States, 
 inaugurating the " Era of Good Feeling," He arrived — or 
 departed — in June, in the little steamboat Fire-Fly^ the first 
 steam vessel which ever entered Providence River. I had 
 the pleasure of making my first steam voyage in that little 
 craft. 
 
 To the Editors of the Evening Post :* 
 
 In the days of ray childhood I witnessed in the old Providence 
 (R. I.) Theatre, an old wooden building where now stands Grace 
 Church, the first theatrical rei^resentation of my youthful daj's. 
 The plays were " The Wags of Windsor " and " The Day after 
 the Wedding." The character of Caleb Qiiotem was by Mr. Drum- 
 mond, whose recent death was noticed in the Evening Eost, and 
 Colonel Freelove and Lady Elizabeth^ by Mr. and Mrs. Drum- 
 mond ; and oh, how charming and delightful was that evening ! 
 
 * Letter printed in the New York Evening Post of March 16, IfcTl. 
 
88 APPRENTICE DAYS. 
 
 No other play or players ever came up to the performances of 
 that night, according to ray childish fancy. 
 
 A separation — if I remember rightly — soon after took place 
 between the parties, and the}' could not have been long married 
 when I first saw them as above stated. JVIr. Drummond I have 
 never seen since. Mrs. Drummond (afterwards ]\Irs. George Bar- 
 rett) became a great favorite — and she was really a fine actress — 
 at the old Federal Street and Tremont theatres in Boston, and 
 also at Mr. Kimball's Museum, where she ended her theatrical life. 
 She passed awaj'^ some twelve to fifteen years since. I still hold 
 in delightful remembrance my first night at the theatre, Avhen 
 everything was of the color of the rose. 
 
 I was pleased to learn that Mv. Drummond was provided for in 
 his old age and his dying hours at the House of Incurables, and 
 that Edwin Booth showed his kindness of heart in remembering 
 and providing for him. 
 
 I have witnessed, since that time, the performances of some of 
 the greatest artists of this century — the elder Kean, the elder 
 Wallack, Cooper, CouAvay, Macready, the Booths, Mrs. Powell, 
 Mrs. Duff, Fanny Kemble, Ellen Tree, and a great man}' other 
 celebrities — but no acting can approach, according to my youth- 
 ful fancy, that first performance which I saw in the old Providence 
 Theatre in April, 1817, fifty -four years ago. a. d. h. 
 
 Boston, March 10, 1871. 
 
 To the Editor of the Journal:* 
 
 As you frequently publish in your valuable Journal the recollec- 
 tions of your correspondents of the olden time, I take the liberty 
 to hand you some pleasant memories of by-gone days. The recol- 
 lections of your flourishing city are the most charming of my 
 youthful associations, and bear the true color of the rose and the 
 violet. They run back to the time when Providence contained a 
 population of less than ten thousand, to the times when j-our 
 good old citizens wore the hair done up in a "queue," silk stock- 
 
 * Letter printed in the Providence Journal of June 9, 1S59. 
 
APPRENTICE DAYS. 89 
 
 ings and shoe- and knee-buckles ; when the Benevolent Congre- 
 gational Church had a steeple at each end ; when the " Turk's 
 head" frowned near the junction of Weybosset and Westmin- 
 ister streets; to the great gale of September, 1815; and to the 
 old " great bridge," which in that gale was carried away by the 
 ship Ganges that remained in your cove, with her ribs so long 
 exposed to the wind and weather. They go back to your vener- 
 able old Town House, where your citizens held their caucuses and 
 town meetings, whose old walls have reverberated to the eloquence 
 of James Burrill, Tristam Burgess, Nathaniel Searle and many 
 others who have passed away, and to the charming voice of John 
 Whipple who is still in the land of the living. 
 
 I well remember the exciting times of the last war with England 
 and of the general elections of 1816 and 1817. The last-named 
 year you had in your State a very interesting and stirring time in 
 the election of Governor. The candidates were William Jones, 
 Federal, and Nehemiah R. Knight, Republican, whose party did 
 not then like the name of Democrat. Governor Knight was the 
 successful candidate by a small majority. Well do I recollect 
 sitting in that old gallery with other boys of my age, watching 
 with intense interest the " proxes " as they went into the ballot 
 box ; and woe to the boy who dared to say anything disrespectful 
 to a vote or voter for our side. Governor Jones was the popular 
 candidate of your city and of the boys in the gallery. Those times 
 have passed away, and so have nearly all of the men who took an 
 active part in the election of that year. You still have with you a 
 good and valuable citizen,* who has been a business man on the 
 same street and near the same spot, if not in the same store, and 
 
 * Advertisement in the Providence Daily Press of June 9, 1859 : — 
 
 INSTITUTED IN PROVIDENCE, R. I., 
 
 -*- June 9, 1809. 
 
 SO 50th Auuiveriiiary, June 9. 1839. 30 
 
 JOHN BARNET CHACE takes this public oppor- 
 tunity to thank his khul hearted* customers for their 
 Steadfastness in sustaining his Family Grocery Institu- 
 tion, which has now been in unceasing operation for 
 
 HALF A CENTURY. 
 
 *What is Fame bidding envy defiance, 
 The idol and bane of mankind — 
 What is wit — what is learning or science 
 To the HEART, that is steadfast and kind? 
 
 — Cottle. 
 
90 APPRENTICE DAYS. 
 
 who has gone along in the even tenor of his way, a great many- 
 years ; who, if I mistake not, can celebrate the fiftieth anniversary 
 of his business life on the 9th day of June, 1859 ; and who, in 
 whatever position he has been placed, has acted well his part — a 
 good merchant, a good citizen, a good fireman, a good soldier, and 
 a good churchman ; whom I never meet without a cheerful greet- 
 ing that makes me feel happy for a whole day afterwards. 
 
 Your " great bridge " was a pleasant place in the olden time for 
 merry meetings and greetings at twilight on a summer's evening, 
 and many a pleasant story has been told there. David Grieve 
 was sure to have an audience, and but few men ever told a story 
 with equal effect. I have always supposed that he was the orig- 
 inator of the screw propeller. His " screw- tail steamboat " was 
 the cause of a great amount of fun among the Providence boys 
 of the old days.* 
 
 I hoi^e to retain for many a long year my pleasant recollections 
 of your city, and truly feel like exclaiming, " Oh, the delightful 
 days of boyhood, how soon, how soon they passed away." 
 
 Boston, 3Iay 25, 1859. a. d. h. 
 
 At Boston. 
 
 In the summer of 1818, hearing that the firm of John D. 
 & M. Williams of Boston wanted a lad in their store, I con- 
 ceived a very strong desire to obtain the place. Mr. Gilbert 
 wrote a letter in my behalf, and later, when in Boston, called 
 
 * About the middle of August, 1807, David Grieve of Providence 
 made a public trial trip vritli a vessel using a screvp propeller actuated 
 by horse povper, eight horses being used. According to another account 
 the motive power was a yoke of oxen. The vessel, which was about 100 
 feet long by 20 beam, started from Jackson's wharf, on Eddy's Point, 
 bound for the village of Pawtuxet, and with wind and tide in her favor 
 made a speed of four knots an hour. It was conceded at once that she 
 had triumphed, and all were happy. On the return a gust of wind 
 drove the boat upon the mud flats off South Providence, where she lay 
 all night — such was the end of the discovery, [FieWs State of Rhode 
 Island and Providence Plantations, II : 511.] 
 
APPRENTICE DAYS. 91 
 
 on the firm. His report being encouraging, I went to Boston* 
 and applied in person, and the details of the trip are still 
 clear in my memory. I walked into the store, examining it 
 carefully, and asked Mr. Moses Williams, who was writing at 
 a desk, the price of oranges, wliich I supposed they did not 
 keep. Some conversation followed, and finally, Mr. John D. 
 Williams also being present, I introduced myself. Both 
 members of the firm asked me various questions which I 
 endeavored to answer promptly, and I tried to show by my 
 replies that I was desirous of obtaining the place and was 
 willing to work faithfully. They bade me call again later in 
 the day, and when I did so, it was agreed that if, after a trial, 
 we should be mutually satisfied, I was to live with them un- 
 til I was twenty-one. My wages were to be, in addition to 
 my board, $110 for the first year, |120 for the second year, 
 and .iJllO for the third year. The fourth year I received iiSOO 
 and board, considered to be the equivalent of 1500. 
 
 I returned to Providence the next day, settled up my affairs 
 there, and then went to Norton to visit my mother and tell 
 her the good news. 
 
 On the fifteenth day of July, 1818, I had my trunk packed 
 at my mother's house early in the morning. The process of 
 packing did not require much time, as my wardrobe was not 
 extensive, — few boys at the present day would be content 
 with such an outfit, — but it was sufficient for all necessary 
 purposes. Brother Newton carried me and my belongings in 
 our chaise about four miles to the old Taunton and Boston 
 road, and there left me. I placed my trunk on a wall and 
 
 * 1870, March 15. When I came to Boston in July, 1818, to obtain a 
 situation with J. D. & M. Williams, Thomas S. Metcalf, a fruit dealer of 
 Providence, who was going to Boston to purchase a load of oranges, 
 brought me along in his wagon. To-day I see in a Boston paper a notice 
 of his death, about March 1, in Augusta, Georgia, at the age of 72. He 
 has failed once or twice in Augusta, but at times has been the richest 
 man in the State. Grandmother [mother-in-law] Comstock said that he 
 once peddled candy on a board in Providence. [Journal of A. D. H.] 
 
92 APPRENTICE DAYS. 
 
 awaited the arrival of the stage from Taunton. This soon 
 appeared. I mounted the box beside the driver, and, although 
 the air was heavy with a disagreeable smoke, began the most 
 delightful journey of my life, my heart ovei-flowing with joy 
 and my mind filled with the brightest anticipations.* 
 
 I arrived at the store in Boston about six o'clock in the 
 evening and received a cordial welcome. I was informed 
 that I was to board in the family of Mr. John D. Williams, 
 and my new home proved to be a very pleasant one. I was 
 also invited by Mr. Williams to attend the Hollis Street 
 Church, and of course accepted the invitation and went to 
 this church on Sundays with the family. The minister was 
 Rev. Horace Holley, an eloquent preacher. He was very 
 popular, and when he was called later in the year to the 
 presidency of the Transylvania University in Kentucky, his 
 request for dismission was granted with reluctance by his 
 church. His place was taken the next year by Rev. John 
 Pierj)ont, a man of unusual ability. 
 
 The family of John Davis Williams consisted of himself and 
 his wife, Hannah (Weld) ; three sons, John D. W., George 
 Foster and David Weld ; and four daughters, Hannah Weld, 
 Sarah Ann, Mary Elizabeth and Caroline E. Mr. Williams, 
 
 * References to the exceeding joy of this journey are very frequent in 
 the Journal and in later years were made on each recurring anniversary 
 of the day. On July 15, 1872, for example, is this entry : " The 54th 
 anniversary of my going from George Gilbert's employ into the employ 
 of J. D. & M. Williams — a day which I shall never forget. It was a very 
 happy change in my life ; everything partook of the colour of the rose. 
 The change to me was delightful, although the labour in the new store 
 was not light nor the number of hours small, — say from 5 in the morn- 
 ing until 9 at night. Still everything went so pleasantly. I look upon 
 this period as the most cheerful of my life, — I was young, hopeful and 
 trustful. Could we only realize in after-life our youthful dreams, how 
 delightful it would be." 
 
 "July 15, 1876. This is the 5Sth anniversary of my going from Provi- 
 dence to Boston and beginning with John D. & M. Williams ; ayid loas I 
 not happy ! " 
 
MOSES WILLIAMS. 
 
APPRENTICE DAYS. 93 
 
 tlien forty-eight years old, was a man of benevolence, strict 
 honesty and stern integrity. Although he had his peculiar- 
 ities, as indeed we all have, he was a good man to be with. 
 Mrs. Williams was an excellent woman, who made her home 
 cheerful and pleasant, and treated me with kindness. She 
 died February 11, 1824. Hannah W. Williams was about 
 my own age, there being only a week's difference ; she mar- 
 ried, in 1832, Jonathan French, Jr. Sarah Ann Williams 
 married October 19, 1826, Robert Davis Coolidge Merry. 
 Mary E. Williams married, in 1845, Dr. G. Henry Lodge and 
 lived on the Neck close to the site of the old store. Caroline 
 E. Williams died March 13, 1819, aged about two and a half 
 years. 
 
 Moses Williams, then twenty-eight years of age, was a most 
 excellent man, and was more of a companion than a master. 
 With him I formed a life-long friendship.* In November of 
 this year he married Miss Mary Blake, daughter of Thomas 
 Blake. The wedding, at which Rev. W. F. P. Greenwood 
 officiated, took place at the house of the bride's father, and I 
 was invited and attended. Mr. and Mrs. Moses Williams 
 took a house on Orange Street, now Washington Street, near 
 where Dover Street now runs, and here their first child, 
 Moses Blake Williams, was born October 20, 1820. On May 
 19, 1819, I went to board with them, and staid until they 
 moved, in November, 1821, to Mr. D. Dudley's place. Then 
 I returned to my former room in the third story of the house 
 of Mr. John D. Williams, f 
 
 * For many years it was the regular custom of A. D. Hodges to visit 
 Moses Williams on July 15 — the anniversary of his entering into the 
 employ of the firm — a custom ended only by death. And for many 
 years on Christmas Day the firm sent a case of champagne to their 
 former clerk. 
 
 t The residence of Mr. John D. Williams stood on the easterly side of 
 Washington Street where now (1909) is the northerly corner of the Cathe- 
 dral of the Holy Cross. It was a large three-story brick house with base- 
 ment, one end being on the street line, having its main entrance on the 
 
94 APPRENTICE DAYS. 
 
 My position was indeed pleasant. There was plenty of 
 hard work, but everytliing went on cheerfully. We labored 
 at the store from five o'clock in the morning until about ten 
 o'clock at night, sometimes till a later hour. My part was to 
 put up goods, fill wine-casks and make myself generally use- 
 ful during the day, and, when evening came, to copy letters 
 as they were written by the head of the firm. Mr. J. D. 
 Williams was a pious man, yet he was so much engrossed 
 in business that he frequently invited me to go to the store 
 and copy his letters on Sunday evenings. This continued 
 for nearly a year, and then the practice was abandoned. In- 
 deed as time went on, evening work on week-days was not 
 
 south front. At this front was a garden which extended from Washing- 
 ton Street easterly to the water line, where now is Harrison Avenue. 
 Next north was the house of Daniel Weld, very similar in appearance, 
 and still standing on the Cathedral lot at the southeast corner of Wash- 
 ington and Union Park Streets. 
 
 The store stood opposite the house on the westerly side of Washing- 
 ton Street, just north of where the brick houses of Dr. G. H. Lodge and 
 Mr. Barney Corey stood later. The store and land belonging to it oc- 
 cupied a large part of the block on the north side of the present Pelham 
 Street, extending north nearly to Union Park Street. 
 
 Both the house and the store of J. D. Williams were painted green — 
 his favorite color. The so-called " Green Stores " were farther north on 
 Washington Street at the southeast corner of Dover Street, and did not 
 belong to Mr. Williams, as ShurtlefE, in his Topographical History of 
 Boston, supposed. 
 
 Mi's. James B. Case (Laura L. Williams), daughter of Mr. Moses Wil- 
 liams, now living in Boston, possesses photographs of the house and the 
 store which are reproduced here. 
 
 The house which Mr. Moses Williams rented at marriage was No. 5 
 Orange Street. At this date, and until 1824, the thorouglifare now 
 called for its full length Washington Street, bore the following names, 
 beginning in Roxbury and proceeding northerly: — from Roxbury to a 
 point at or near the last bend just south of Dover Street, Washington 
 Street; thence to Essex Street, Orange Street; thence to Summer Street, 
 Newbury Street; thence to School Street, Marlborough Street; and thence 
 to Dock Square, Cornhill. 
 
 The D. Dudley place to which Mr. Moses Williams moved in 1821 stood 
 at the corner of Washington Street and what is now South May Street. 
 
It 1T- 
 
 imWs 
 SSS 
 
 
 ST-f 
 
 1 l-Tj 
 
 SS! 
 
 
 1 i ^ 
 
 
 
 
 flMMI 
 
 ^ :- 
 
 i I 
 
 ; i.K, 1 1; 
 
APPRENTICE DAYS. 95 
 
 always demanded, giving opportunity for occasional diver- 
 sion. 
 
 The business was carried on every week-day in the year. 
 There were no stated vacations, but when trade permitted 
 and occasion arose, the clerks were allowed not unfrequently 
 to be absent a day or several days, and thus were able to visit 
 their homes or take other pleasure trips. It was a friendly 
 family arrangement all around. 
 
 There were no regular holidays for us all except Sundays. 
 We usually closed the store part of the day on Christmas,* 
 and always in the afternoon of General Election, the last 
 Wednesday in May, when the legislature convened, until the 
 State Constitution was altered. Tliis was generally regarded 
 as a holiday throughout the State, and especially in Boston. 
 Artillery Election, the first Monday in June, — the great cele- 
 bration of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company 
 which was then a flourishing organization, — was another 
 occasion when places of business were usually closed, and we 
 had a part of the day, sometimes almost the whole day, to 
 ourselves. And the same was the case on Independence 
 Day. Harvard College Commencement Day and Fast Day 
 were often partial holidays. When we were obliged to 
 " train," we were of course excused from the store so long as 
 necessary. 
 
 During my stay in Boston I saw several executions on the 
 Neck, not far from the spot which was afterwards Blackstone 
 Square. The rush of people on such occasions was so great 
 that we shut up the store for two or three hours. It was in 
 November, 1819, I think, that I saw four pirates hung, and 
 on May 25, 1820, I witnessed the execution of Mike Powers 
 for the murder of his nephew. But after I had seen a few 
 
 * 1874, Dec. 25. 56 years ago today I, with George May and many 
 others of the South End, skated up to Woburn on the Middlesex Canal. 
 ^Journal of A. D. if.] 
 
96 APPRENTICE DAYS. 
 
 such sights and had grown out of boyhood, I could not be 
 induced to attend an exhibition of this kind. 
 
 ]\Ir. John D. Williams had the habit of alluding frequently 
 to the performance of a smart young man, Harry Hills, who 
 was with him when lie began business, and who did once 
 upon a time " beat up," that is, empty and rebarrel, a hogs- 
 head of sugar before breakfast. This was considered a good 
 morning^s work, and there was no doubt about its being 
 so. This story, often repeated, at length aroused in me 
 the determination to out-do Harry Hills. When, one April 
 morning, Mr. Williams directed me to begin early the next 
 morning to take out some hogshead-sugar and marked two 
 hogsheads, saying that to beat up these would probably 
 be a good day's work, I decided that my opportunity had 
 come. 
 
 I arose soon after midnight and began my task. I had all 
 the sugar taken out of both hogsheads, put into barrels, and 
 all the barrels headed up, excejjt one to show what I had 
 done, before Mr. Williams came into the store early in the 
 morning. The first thing which caught his eye was the two 
 large empty hogsheads. " What upon earth have you done 
 with the sugar that was in those hogsheads last night," he 
 exclaimed, " and how did you do it ? " I replied that I arose 
 quite early, and as I didn't consider it much of a job, I 
 thought I would finish it before breakfast. The old gentle- 
 man appeared much pleased ; and never again did we hear of 
 Harry Hills' great exploit. 
 
 On the first day of March, 1819, I began a diary which I 
 have continued to the present time (1855).* On referring to 
 this diary, I find recorded commonplace events ; yet I like to 
 read it over, as it recalls to my mind many pleasant things. 
 In writing these lines I shall refer to it frequently to refresh 
 
 * It was continued systematically throughout life. The last entry was 
 made less than twelve hours before death. 
 
APPRENTICE DAYS. 97 
 
 my memory of past events, and I shall make entries from it 
 as I find them recorded. 
 
 In July, 1819, while I was at work in the back store, I 
 noticed three men passing down to the rear of the building, 
 two of whom were of such suspicious appearance that I 
 stepped out of the store to the fence, and watched them 
 through the palings. I saw the party stop and play cards, 
 and it soon became clear that two of them were cheating the 
 third, who evidently was a countryman and who was fast los- 
 ing his money. When his money was gone, the victim was 
 induced to put up his watch which the others claimed to have 
 won, whereupon ensued a loud, wordy dispute. Finally as 
 the pair seized the watch and started off with it, I shouted 
 lustily for them to stop and made after them. One succeeded 
 in getting away, but I caught the other, Lynfield by name, 
 and, with the aid of Gridley Bridge, a truckman who came to 
 my assistance, managed to hold him. The result was that 
 Lynfield was brought to trial, found guilty of the charges, 
 chiefly on my evidence in court corroborated by the testimony 
 of Bridge, and sentenced to imprisonment for about a year. 
 A couple of years later Bridge, being in a low resort, received 
 a severe beating from Lynfield who thus took revenge for 
 Bridge's part in his conviction. So much for keeping bad 
 company. As I visited no such places I escaped the malice 
 of this convict ; but the affair served as a warning to me to 
 be cautious where I went, and also as to the company which I 
 should not keep. 
 
 The first and only time I recollect going to a horse-race was 
 in September, 1820, at Cambridge. An old neighbor in Attle- 
 borough, Benjamin Balcom, had a noted horse named Watch- 
 eye, which was a competitor ; he was at the beginning of the 
 race the favorite, and was first in one of the heats. The 
 contest was close, but Watcheye was defeated in the end. 
 Although I found the event interesting and exciting, I noticed 
 that only few persons of evident respectability were present. 
 
98 APPRENTICE DAYS. 
 
 while by far the greater number were not of the kind of 
 which I could be proud, or with which I should wish to 
 associate ; and I came to the conclusion that it was not any 
 recommendation to a young man who valued his good name 
 to attend these races, 
 
 I made very many pleasant acquaintances and formed many 
 friendships during my stay in Boston. Mr. Isaac Clark, a 
 cousin of my Providence friend John J. Stimson, was in the 
 employ of the firm when I arrived. In 1822, John L. 
 Emmons, afterwards my business partner, became a clerk in 
 the store. I renewed my acquaintance with Minor S. Lincoln, 
 who had been with me at George Gilbert's in Providence. 
 But the number is too great for enumeration. Many friends 
 from Norton and Providence came to visit Boston and some 
 remained here. My employers introduced me to many de- 
 lightful families where I met many delightful ladies as well 
 as members of my own sex. I had many opportunities for 
 social pleasures of which, being fond of music and dancing 
 and society, I availed myself, perhaps to too great an extent 
 for a young man in my position. I have already stated my 
 salary. My expenses for the year ending July 1, 1821, were 
 $81.67 ; for the year ending July 1, 1822 (including my 
 uniform), ti^lOO.OO. When I had been in Boston three years, 
 my savings amounted to forty dollars, which I deposited in 
 the savings bank. At the end of my service with the firm of 
 J. D. & M. Williams, on the first of April, 1823, the balance 
 of wages due me was just two hundred dollars. 
 
 I had felt at various times that my book-learning was not 
 so adequate to the requirements of a business man as it had 
 seemed when I left school, or as extensive as I could desire. 
 So on New Year's day, 1821, I made a good resolution, and 
 arising at three o'clock in the morning, studied two hours 
 before going to the store. This custom of beginning the day 
 with an hour or two of study I maintained for a long time 
 with considerable regularity. That the extra hours of work 
 
APPRENTICE DAYS. 99 
 
 did not seriously injure my health and powers of endurance 
 would appear from the fact that on January 4, 1822 (as the 
 diary tells), I won fifty cents of Daniel Weld by standing one 
 hour without an overcoat in the middle of the street on the 
 Neck, facing the north, the thermometer being at eight de- 
 grees below zero. 
 
 I also wrote several articles for the New England Galaxy 
 (to which periodical I subscribed), and a couple of my offer- 
 ings were accepted and printed. Whenever a speaker of note 
 delivered an oration, I was present if it was possible. 
 
 Through the kindness of friends I was able occasionally to 
 attend the rehearsals and oratorios of the Handel and Haydn 
 Society during my last two years in Boston. This was a great 
 treat for me. My uncle, Thomas Danforth, was an enthusi- 
 astic musician, and perhaps from him I had acquired a love 
 of music wliich I had had few opportunities to satisfy since 
 leaving Norton. 
 
 The principal — in the beginning at least almost the only — 
 public place of amusement for me was the theatre ; for there 
 were few concerts and no lectures or other attractions of 
 unexceptional character. I went to the theatre half a dozen 
 times a year, besides going to see the afterpieces the price of 
 admission to which was much lowered. I went generally 
 to the Federal Street theatre — for the first time in October, 
 1818, when I saw the play of " John Bull or the Englishman's 
 Friend," which deeply impressed me. I also went several 
 times to the new Washington Garden theatre, called the 
 Amphitheatre, and once or twice to the Columbian Museum. 
 I saw all, or nearly all, the principal actors who came to 
 Boston in that period. On February 19, 1821, I saw Edmund 
 Kean play Hamlet in the Federal Street theatre. The older 
 people said that he was the greatest actor on the stage since 
 the days of Garrick. At Kean's benefit the box-tickets sold 
 at auction for four dollars and thirty-three cents each, an un- 
 heard-of price for those days. I bought a ticket for the pit 
 
100 APPRENTICE DAYS. 
 
 at fifty cents, which was as much as I thought I could afford. 
 I was very indignant on May 25, 1821, when Kean refused 
 to phiy before a respectful audience because the house was 
 not filled, and left Boston the next day amid great excite- 
 ment ; but on the 28th of the same month I went to see the 
 " Determined Rival of Kean " (Kemble), and laughed my 
 indignation away. 
 
 Those were the days of glory of the old Federal Street 
 theatre. They were the days of Edmund Kean, Thomas A. 
 Cooper, J. W. Wallack, — how splendidly Mr. W. played 
 Rolla^ — of Conway, Finn, Kilner, Mrs. Powell, Mrs. Barnes 
 and Mr. and Mrs. I. Barnes, Bernard the elder, Dickson, and 
 a host of other popular actors. One actor whom I saw there 
 for the first time in the play of " John Bull," mentioned 
 above, when he performed the part of Dan, was that old Bos- 
 ton favorite, John Bray. He pleased my youthful fancy so 
 exceedingly that my memory seems to find in no one since his 
 day his equal in certain lines of character. (I beg pardon, 
 Mr. Warren,* for this remark.) How he would delight the 
 children and youth, and how he would bring down the house 
 by liis drolling and exquisite comic acting ! His very ap- 
 pearance on the stage, before he had uttered a word, would 
 set the house in a roar. He resided in this country for seven- 
 teen years, and then, on account of a complicated disease, 
 went back to England in hopes of finding health on her shores. 
 But the journey exhausted him, and on June 19, 1822, the 
 third day after reaching the house of a sister in Leeds, this 
 well-graced actor made his final exit. He possessed superior 
 talents as an author and musical composer. Several of his 
 songs were very popular here. He left behind him in man- 
 usciipt a number of dramas and translations. Years after- 
 wards I met one of his relations and read with interest a play 
 translated from the French by this well-educated actor. 
 
 * William Warren of the Boston Museum company. 
 
APPRENTICE DAYS. 101 
 
 I was allowed to visit my mother in Norton not unfre- 
 quently,* and occasionally my old master, Mr. Gilbert, in 
 Providence. At both places I always received a warm wel- 
 come and kind hospitality ; and always meeting many old 
 friends, these trips were ever made delightful. I find that 
 when I had been in Boston three years, I had passed from 
 Norton to Boston thirteen times. Once or twice I made the 
 trip in a vehicle. Usually I went on foot for the greater part 
 of the way — a couple of times all the way — starting at 
 3.30 or 4 o'clock in the morning and walking until about 
 noon, when I would stop at some tavern for my dinner and 
 finish my journey on the stage-coach when it came along. 
 Thus on Saturday, June 13, 1821, I started from Boston at 
 three o'clock in the morning and walked to Policy's tavern (in 
 Walpole), where I dined at noon, riding the remaining twelve 
 miles to Providence on the stage. I stopped at Mr. Gilbert's, 
 and in the evening went out walking with a party of friends. 
 On Tuesday I went to Norton to visit my mother, and then, 
 on Saturday, to Taunton to stay over Sunday with George 
 Morey. On Monday, July 2, I started from Taunton and 
 walked as far as Bugbee's tavern in Roxbury, and then took 
 the stage into Boston. Occasionally some acquaintance, over- 
 taking me, gave me a lift. I was fond of walking and never 
 was so tired, on getting to my destination, as to be unable to 
 join in any jollity which might then be proposed. 
 
 In the fall of 1819 I was served with the following notice 
 which I have preserved among my papers. Apparently I did 
 not give sufficient heed to this notice, for among my papers I 
 find a second. (See following pages.) 
 
 * His diary and account book show that he ahnost always carried or 
 forwarded some present to his mother or his brothers and sisters; now 
 and then to a friend. And he often received from liis mother a present, 
 generally an useful article, a pair of stockings, for instance. 
 
NOTICE TO APPEAR FOR MILITIA DUTY. 
 
 (102) 
 
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 APPRENTICE DAYS. 
 
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 3 S. 2- B ro 
 « 2 ^ o - 
 
 <' S « "? 
 
 3* 
 
 Id 
 
 o 
 
 Accordingly on May 2, 1820, I made my first appearance 
 on the field as a soldier, having been furnished at the store 
 
APPRENTICE DAYS. 105 
 
 with the lawful equipment, wliich included a large old- 
 fashioned musket, weighing about ten pounds, of the kind 
 called " the old Queen's arms." 
 
 At this jDcriod all men of the age of eighteen to forty-five, 
 with some exceptions, were obliged to " bear arms," as it was 
 termed ; and those who did not do duty in a volunteer or 
 " independent " company, were " warned " to " train " in a 
 " standing " or " ward " militia company. 
 
 Our captain's company, nicknamed " Silver Heels " and 
 " South-end Rakes," was a mixed and motley crew. His 
 " beat " extended over a large territory and included all 
 South Boston, whose residents at this time were largely 
 brickmakers. As these came on the ground in their working 
 dress, we were very fortunate if at the end of the drill we 
 were not well " clayed up." We South End boys generally 
 managed to get together in the ranks without regard to our 
 heights. The trainings were apt to be complete burlesques, 
 and were abolished in Massachusetts in 1835, I think. But 
 we enjoyed them greatly, as they were always occasions for 
 much sport and laughter. Captain Harrington was most 
 pleasant and amiable, and not very particular about sizing his 
 company ; and if one soldier very short stood beside another 
 very tall, this did not appear to him to be a matter of much 
 moment. 
 
 The next year a number of the young men at the South 
 End decided that it would be decidedly pleasanter and 
 altogether better to train by themselves. This decision 
 resulted in the formation of a company called, first. The 
 Suffolk Light Infantry, and a little later. The Boston City 
 Guards. 
 
 On the first day of May, 1821, in an old red store occupied 
 by Savels & Reynolds and situated in front of the gas house 
 on the Neck, I drew up a proposition for an Independent 
 Company. The heading of the paper read nearly as fol- 
 lows : — 
 
106 APPRENTICE DAYS. 
 
 We the Undersigned agree to form an Independent Company 
 to be raised hj the Young Men at the South End of Boston, Pro- 
 vided a Sufficient Number of Signatures can be obtained. We 
 fui'ther agree tliat one object in forming this association is to raise 
 a Company to be conducted upon the most economical Plan. It 
 is understood that the Uniform is to be Dark Blue Coats, White 
 pants and the Common Hats. 
 
 The paper was signed by about forty persons, of whom only 
 about seventeen became afterwards active members of the 
 corps. Our first meeting was held on May 15, at William 
 Fenno's eating house on School Street. I was elected chair- 
 man, and although without previous experience, managed 
 to direct the proceedings satisfactorily. About twenty-five 
 signers to the paper were present. A committee, consisting 
 of John A. Savels (chairman), A. D. Hodges and John 
 Marsh, was appointed to draw up a petition to the Governor 
 and Council for a charter, and was requested to secure the 
 approval of the project by Col. Samuel H. Parker and other 
 officers of the 3rd regiment of militia. 
 
 John A. Savels, who was indefatigable in his efforts to 
 make the project a success, drew up the petition, which re- 
 ceived over fifty signatures. The committee visited Colonel 
 Parker and the other field officers of his regiment, and ob- 
 tained their assent and aid. Then the committee, supported 
 by others who were interested, went before the Governor and 
 Council, and were granted a charter for The Suffolk Light 
 Infantry. 
 
 In August, 1821, the West Point Cadets, under command 
 of Major Worth, visited Boston, and their arrival increased 
 the military ardor of the young men here. The corps en- 
 camped on Faxon's Hill, Roxbury, on the south side of what 
 is now Tremont Street. Their camp was just opposite the 
 famous Brinley place, where General Henry Dearborn then 
 resided, and where the Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Help 
 
APPRENTICE DAYS. 107 
 
 now stands.* A number of us visited their camp and studied 
 their drill and discipline. And such drill I such discipline ! 
 They were a revelation to us. 
 
 After the charter had been obtained, a committee was ap- 
 pointed to nominate the commissioned officers. This com- 
 mittee, consisting of John A. Savels, Amos Cummings and 
 John Whitney, called on John Farrel, Jr., a sergeant of the 
 Winslow Blues, and offered him the command ; but after 
 deliberation this gentleman declined the proposition to be- 
 come a candidate for the captaincy. Then the committee 
 waited on John S. Tyler, orderly sergeant of the Boston 
 Light Infantry. He consented, and also suggested the names 
 of William A. Dickerman and of Henry A. Huggeford (a 
 corporal of his company) for the offices of lieutenant and of 
 ensign. The committee nominated all three. 
 
 On the evening of Sejjtember 21, the company was called 
 together at Fenno's for the election of officers. Lieutenant- 
 colonel Ralph Huntington of the 3rd Regiment presided, and 
 Adjutant Richardson acted as recorder. The following were 
 elected unanimously: John S. Tyler, captain; William A. 
 Dickerman, lieutenant; Henry A. Huggeford, ensiyn. 
 
 Captain Tjder was notified of his election, and being brought 
 to the meeting, made a patriotic speech in Ms usual happy 
 manner. 
 
 The company then elected the following warrant officers : 
 John Marsh, 1st se7'geant ; John A. Savels, 2d do. ; Amos 
 Cummings,! 3d do. ; Almon D. Hodges, 4^A do. ; James Gush- 
 ing, 1st corporal ; John Whitney, 2d do. ; Isaac Nevers, 3d do. ; 
 Wm. E. Chamberlain, 4^7i do. 
 
 * A detailed description of the Brinley place and an account of this 
 visit of the West Point Cadets are given in Drake's Toion of Roxbury, 
 pages 326 to 337. 
 
 t 1868, April 24. Died this day in Boston Amos Cummings, president 
 of the Boylston Bank, the last survivor (except myself) of the non- 
 commissioned officers of the old City Guards in 1822. [Journal of 
 A. D. H.] 
 
108 
 
 APPRENTICE DAYS. 
 
 O 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 The three first-named officers received their commissions on 
 Saturday, September 22 ; and on the following Monday the 
 company turned out in citizen's dress in the Boston brigade 
 for inspection and review. 
 
 Now began a series of frequent drills and exercises and 
 marches, — these last sometimes extending over a space of 
 several days, — by which the company was brought rapidly 
 into excellent military shape. 
 
APPRENTICE DAYS. 109 
 
 On October 13, it was voted to adopt the uniform of gray 
 coat, wliite pants and cap with plume,* after the fashion of 
 the West Point Cadets. On March 4, 1822, by unanimous 
 vote the name of the company was changed from The Suffolk 
 Light Infantry to The City Guards, under which appellation 
 it had a long and successful career. [At the time of the 
 Civil War it formed the nucleus of the 13th Massachusetts 
 Infantry, a gallant three-years regiment.] 
 
 The City Guards made their first appearance in public on 
 April 17, 1822, when they acted as escort at the funeral of 
 General Porter. They made their first public parade on May 
 1, 1822, under command of Captain Tyler, with the Brigade 
 Band, at the inauguration of Boston's first mayor, John 
 Phillips. They were all young men, the captain, who was 26 
 years of age, being the eldest. There were seventy-five men 
 present, who turned out as a battalion, and I acted as captain 
 of the fourth company. After the parade the company dined 
 at the Exchange Coffee House by invitation of the commis- 
 sioned officers. 
 
 On August 26, Mr. Benjamin P. Homer of Beacon Street 
 presented us with a standard, after which we marched through 
 Roxbury, stopping at the residence of General Dearborn, and 
 encamped for the night at Brighton. The next day we 
 marched to Cambridge, where we had a public drill on the 
 Common, and thence marched back to headquarters in 
 Boston. 
 
 I was a very enthusiastic member of the corps and very 
 constant in my attendance at drills and parades. I took every 
 occasion to improve myself in military knowledge, and to test 
 my acquirements and ability. I often visited and studied the 
 encampments of other companies. On Independence Day, 
 
 * The expense account of A. D. H. contains these items: For uniform 
 coat, $12.50; for pantaloons, $3.00; for City Guard cap, •$•4.25; for plume, 
 •$3.25; for sword belt, $1.50. 
 
110 APPRENTICE DAYS. 
 
 1822, being in Norton witli my uniform, I gladly accepted 
 the invitation of Captain Perry* to act as adjutant, and form- 
 ing the Norton Artillery Company in battalion order, with 
 them escorted the procession to the Meeting-House, where 
 Laban M. Wheaton delivered an oration. 
 
 Perhaps if I were to live my life over again, I should have 
 doubts as to the wisdom of devoting so much time to military 
 matters as I did while a member of the City Guards. Yet I 
 did not join the company merely for the purpose of amuse- 
 ment, but with the earnest intention of learning the duties of 
 a citizen soldier. My father sought constantly by precept 
 and example to imbue the minds of his children with correct 
 ideas of their duties to their neighbors and to their country. 
 He had shown his own loyalty by service in the Revolution, a 
 fact of which we were very proud, and he believed strongly in 
 a well-drilled militia. I loved and respected my father, and 
 was influenced greatly by his teachings. And I am quite 
 sure that I benefitted much by the drill and discipline, and 
 by my association with members of this fine company, many 
 of whom afterwards achieved high rank and reputation both 
 in civil life and in the military service of their country. 
 
 On February 24, 1823, the City Guards celebrated Wash- 
 ington's Birth Day by a splendid ball at the Marlboro Hotel. 
 On account of my proposed removal from Boston, I felt that 
 probably this would be my last meeting with the company, 
 and, determined to make the best of it, I danced every dance 
 and enjoyed myself thoroughly. 
 
 On January 25, 1822, occurred rny twenty-first birthday. 
 To some friends who called on me in the evening I gave a 
 supper of poached eggs. 
 
 * 1873, Sept. 8. Died in Norton, Sept. 4, Lemuel Perry, aged 91 years 
 and 11 months. He was captain of the old Norton Artillery Company in 
 1822, when, acting as adjutant, I drilled the company in dress parade. 
 This was then something new. I saw it on Boston Common a few days 
 previous, done by the West Point Cadets. [Journal of A. D. U.] 
 
APPRENTICE DAYS. Ill 
 
 For more tlian a year I had concerned myself somewhat 
 with political matters, had attended several caucuses, and 
 had taken especial interest in two subjects then under discus- 
 sion : the revision of the State Constitution, and the adoption 
 of a city government by Boston. On March 4, 1822, I cast 
 my first vote, which was in favor of adopting a city govern- 
 ment. On the first day of April following I voted again, 
 casting my ballot for John Brooks and William Phillips, the 
 Fedei'al candidates for governor and lieutenant-governor, who 
 were elected. 
 
 After I had passed my twenty-first milestone, I began to 
 think that it was getting high time for me to begin business 
 on my own account, and before I had finished my twenty- 
 second mile ni}^ mind was pretty well made up on this point. 
 My Providence friend, John J. Stimson, and I had talked 
 over the subject together, and in the beginning of the year 
 1823 were well on the way towards forming a business co- 
 partnership. Mr. George Gilbert, my former master, had been 
 unfortunate in business during recent years. Early in 1820 
 he had suspended and at the end of 1822 he failed. Mr. 
 Stimson was winding up the business, and it seemed to us 
 both that this would be a favorable time and place for us to 
 make a start. I had written to Mr. Stimson on hearing the 
 news of Mr. Gilbert's failure, and in reply received the fol- 
 lowing letter : — 
 
 Pkovidence, Jany 2, 1822. 
 Friend Hodges : 
 
 Your fav. 28 Dec. was rec^ in due season. As it respects capi- 
 tal t&c. I can say no more than I told you when in Boston. That 
 is that my Capital is but little over $1000. If my partner had 
 any more than myself I should of course expect to pay him such 
 Interest as to make it even. If less, I should expect the same 
 of him. 
 
 I think that business may be done to a profit in this store with 
 a Capital of only $2000, and a capital of 5 or 6 thousand may also 
 be profitably employed. I presume M. Lincoln has told you the 
 
112 APPRENTICE DAYS, 
 
 situation of affairs & that I am bringing Mr. Gilbert's business to 
 a close as fast as possible. If I take the store I shall probably 
 have to begin to pa^^ rent as soon or very soon after his goods are 
 out. Of course it will be necessary to come to some conclusion 
 before a great while. If you can conclude what you will be able 
 to do, and what willing to do, even if you did not come until 
 spring, I might set the mill to running slowly and keep myself 
 busy through the winter. 
 
 The main object at present is to conclude upon somet/rhtg, for 
 if I do not have the store the owner will want to let some one 
 else have it, for she is poor and wants all the rent she can get. 
 
 Yours in haste 
 
 J. J. Stimson. 
 
 N. B. Please write as soon as possible by mail. 
 
 On the 27th of January, with my friend John Marsh, I 
 drove in a chaise to Providence, starting at five o'clock in the 
 morning and arriving at noon. Mr. Stimson and I discussed 
 the matter at length, and came to a detailed agreement to 
 form a partnership, provided that J. D. & M. Williams would 
 release me on or about the first of April from my engagement 
 with them which did not terminate until July. I returned to 
 Boston the next afternoon and very soon was talking over the 
 subject with my employers. 
 
 I had no difficulty at all in effecting an arrangement. They 
 met me in the kindliest spirit, inquired into all the details of 
 my plan, agreed with me that the time was favorable and the 
 chances of success good, gave me excellent advice, showed 
 tliat tliey regarded my interests as more important than any 
 inconveniences which might result to them, and waiving any 
 rights of their own, gave me full permission to leave their 
 employ at the time selected by Mr. Stimson and myself. 
 Moreover, of their own accord, knowing my lack of funds, 
 they offered to loan me one thousand dollars without security 
 if I should desire this. 
 
APPRENTICE DAYS. 113 
 
 I notified Mr. Stimson of the result, and soon after he wrote 
 
 me as follows : 
 
 Providence, Feby 11, 1823. 
 
 X"- Sir. 
 
 Agreeably to our former arrangement I sold out Mr. G^ stock 
 last Wednesday and took possession of the store yesterday for 
 acc't of Stimson & Hodges. 
 
 Our good friend Bowen found out by some means or other that 
 we had some dependence upon having the store, and took it into 
 his wise head to raise the rent 20 Dollars, and said that if we did 
 not take it at that price, there was another man ready to take it. 
 Finally I concluded that I would not let 20 Dollars prevent our 
 commencing business and told him I would take it. 
 
 Yours in haste 
 
 John J. Stimson. 
 
 N. B. I am going to Norton to-morrow and shall sell that stock 
 on Tuesday next. Please write me at Norton. 
 
 I intended leaving Boston on April 1, but the night before 
 such a deep snow fell (about 3 feet) that it was feared the 
 coaches would not get through, and so my journey was post- 
 poned until April 3, when I started in the stage for Provi- 
 dence to begin business there. The company in the coach 
 was jovial, and I was commencing a new life ; yet I was in 
 low spirits— a condition unusual with me. For I was leav- 
 ing the best of employers with whom I had lived nearly five 
 happy years, during which I had been treated always with the 
 greatest kindness and consideration, more indeed like a son 
 than an apprentice. But I did not weaken in my resolution, 
 nor in any way doubt the wisdom of my action ; and I entered 
 Providence without any fears as to the future success of the 
 new firm of Stimson & Hodges. 
 
 Postscripts. 
 A. 1863, Feb. 8. Died in Brookline [Mass.] this day, Hon. 
 Nathan Hale, aged 79. He published the Weekly Messenger, the 
 first newsx^aper which I ever read. \Journal of A. D. II.'\ 
 
114 APPRENTICE DAYS. 
 
 [The Boston Weekly Messenger was an octavo periodical, 
 with no advertisements, provided with an Index at the end of the 
 year, and was pubHshed by Nathan Hale at the office of the Bos- 
 ton Daily Advertiser, No. 3, Congress Street, at the time referred 
 to. The terms were -$2i per annum if paid in advance; otherwise 
 $3.] 
 
 B. New England Galaxy. Boston : Pul)lished every Fri- 
 day evening by Joseph T. Buckingham, No. 4, Spear's Building, 
 Congress-street, corner of Lindall-street. Terms — Three Dollars 
 a Year, — One Dollar for three Months, — payable in Advance. 
 
 Two of the contributions by A. D. H., referred to in the 
 preceding account of his life in Boston, are here given : 
 
 March 1, 1822. 
 OH ! CRUEL. 
 
 Oh ! Cruel is the mill-dam that keeps the water out, 
 And cruel are the South-end ers who do not make a ' rout ; ' 
 Oh ! cruel is the dust that about our noses blows, 
 For what will become of us the D — 1 only knows. 
 Tol rol loo rol loo, &c. 
 
 Oh ! cruel is the Corporation that does not mind our cries, 
 And cruel is the dust that fills brimfull our eyes; 
 If they do not let the water in, why prosecute we must, 
 For not a ' fardin ' do they care if we're buried iu the dust. 
 Tol rol, &c. 
 
 Oh ! cruel is the fate of all at the South End, 
 
 We're always curs'd with something, our ' ways ' we never 
 
 mend; 
 With dead clams, vaults, and burying grounds our noses are 
 
 regaled. 
 And now to top the climax, the flats we have inhaled. 
 Tol rol loo, &c. 
 
 Gas Kill Buffum. 
 Washington-street, Feb. 25. 
 
APPRENTICE DAYS. 115 
 
 Nov. 29, 1822. 
 Mr. Editor, 
 
 The recent great race at Washington* reminds me of one of 
 equal importance that took place some years ago in this State. 
 There was a i)urse made up of ten doUars (not -1^10,000) and was 
 to be run for bj^ two animals that might vie with the one that the 
 renowned squire Sancho Panza rode. The day arrived, the nags 
 were brought on to the ground, there also appeared another can- 
 didate for the purse. Some roguish boys had brought on to the 
 race ground a good-natured Hog, " all saddled and bridled, fit for 
 the fight," to enter the hst. A debate arose among the " Jockey 
 Club " whether Hog had a right to run with Horse. It was finally 
 concluded that he had a perfect right to contend for the purse, 
 being regularly entered. 
 
 The distance to be run was eighty rods ; the time arrived, all 
 three of the riders were mounted and ready — cui-iosity was on 
 the tiptoe — bets were four to one against Hog — a hat was thrown 
 into the air as the signal — the nags Bob and Jennie and Hog 
 started together — the nags were put to their utmost speed, so was 
 Hog ; it was soon discovered that the nags were gaining ground of 
 Hog, Bob being the foremost ; the lash and spur were dealt un- 
 sparingly^, when as cruel fate would have it. Bob stumbled and 
 fell, Jennie being du-ectly in his wake, pitched over him and 
 measured her length on the ground, and amidst the huzzas 
 and shouts of the multitude. Hog gained the race! 
 
 Gas Kill Buffum. 
 
 *The race between two noted horses, Eclipse and Sir Charles, one con- 
 sidered as representing New York and the other Virginia, formed one of 
 the newspaper sensations of the day. An exciting contest had been 
 anticipated, but Sir Charles had strained the sinews in one of his fore- 
 legs and was easily beaten. 
 
BUSINESS LIFE IN feoVIDENCE. 
 
 'HE firm of Stimson & Hodges, grocers, began 
 business with a large capital of brains, character 
 and attractive personality, and a small capital of 
 cash — just twelve hundred dollars. The cash 
 capital of the junior partner consisted of his savings during 
 liis apprenticeship. He had not then received a cent from 
 his father's estate, which, through injudicious management, 
 decreased greatly in value. " My share," he wrote at a later 
 date, " was paid to me in two or three installments, the last 
 payment being made about 1845. The whole amount re- 
 ceived by me amounted to about $300, and was invested by 
 me in a tea-set which cost 1310." 
 
 Both members had wide acquaintance, useful experience 
 and good credit. The senior partner, 24 years old, had had 
 a training of seven or eight years with a concern which had 
 prospered and then failed, and he had benefitted by both the 
 successes and the mistakes of his employer. The business 
 education of the junior partner, now 22 years of age, has been 
 indicated in the preceding pages. The two worked together 
 most harmoniously,* and the firm was successful from the 
 start. 
 
 * I860, Jan'y 20. John Jones Stimson, aged 61, my dear old friend 
 and former partner, died this morning at half-past one, without previous 
 warning and after only a few moments of distress. He was born June 
 11, 1798. We were in business in Providence from February, 1823, to 
 February, 1845, a period of 22 years, and probably no copartnership was 
 ever more pleasant and happy. I have no recollection of a single harsh 
 word, or of any unpleasant circumstance to be remembered over night, 
 during our whole business life. He was one of nature's noblemen, a 
 strictly honest and faithful man and, I believe, a true Christian. [Jour- 
 nal of A. D. H.] 
 
 (116) 
 
BUSINESS LIFE IN PROVIDENCE. 117 
 
 " We commenced business in a wooden store (owned by 
 Peddj Bowen of Norton) which stood on the south corner of 
 Leonard and South Water Streets. We were very prudent 
 in all our expenses. For board and washing we paid $2.50 
 per week each. Our store rent was about $200 per annum. 
 I think our whole stock in trade never averaged during the 
 first year over -"SiSjOOO at any one time. When Ave completed 
 our first account of stock (about Feb. 14, 1824), we were 
 pleased to ascertain that, after paying all our store expenses, 
 which amounted to less than $400, and our personal ex- 
 penses, which were less than $300 apiece, we had made clear 
 about $900, or $450 each. On May 22, 1824, we moved to 
 another wooden store on the opposite (or northwesterly) side 
 of Leonard Street, owned by Dr. William Bowen. Our lease, 
 which had about ten months to run, was bought of us for 
 $300, which sum was more than the whole amount of rent 
 that we had paid for the fourteen months during which we 
 had been in business." * 
 
 In December, 1824, the firm moved to No. 2 Market Street, 
 in the east end of the Union Building. In January, 1828, 
 another move was made to No. 6 Market Street (also in the 
 Union Building) which had been occupied by the Merchants 
 Bank. The final change was to Nos. 9 and 11 South Main 
 Street, "the old Dr. BoAven store," at the foot of College 
 Street, in the building wMch still stands, but with its north- 
 erly side sliced off for the convenience of traffic. Here the 
 firm remained during the last twelve years of its existence, 
 paying an annual rent of six hundred dollars. 
 
 The business grew rapidly, spreading all over the State of 
 Rhode Island and into many parts of Connecticut and Massa- 
 chusetts and some parts of Maine and New York ; into New 
 Jersey and Pennsylvania, and as far South certainly as 
 
 * Recollections of A. D. H. 
 
118 BUSINESS LIFE IN PROVIDENCE. 
 
 Georgia,* perhaps farther. The capital doubled itself the 
 first year, and doubled itself again during the next two years. 
 In seven years it was eleven times the original amount, and 
 in 1837 it was nearly twenty-one times what it was in the 
 beginning. The year 1837 was one of very great disaster in 
 commercial circles throughout the United States, one of the 
 most disastrous ever known in our country, and it was fol- 
 loAved by a number of hard years. f Stimson & Hodges 
 suffered of course ; their capital was decreased nearly two 
 thousand five hundred dollars ; and the net yearly profit, after 
 deducting the family expenses of the partners as well as the 
 store expenses, fell from ten thousand dollars to one half of 
 that amount. But the house was not seriously damaged and 
 soon recovered from the effects of the panic, although its 
 operations were never thereafter so profitable as in some pre- 
 vious years. This, however, was due in part to other than 
 purely business reasons. $ 
 
 * 1876, Oct. 4. Died in Assonet [in Freetown, Mass.] on the 29th of 
 September, Captain George Dean, aged 80 years. He formerly com- 
 manded a sloop and during a number of years carried goods from Provi- 
 dence to our customers in Darien, Georgia. [Journal of A. D. H.] 
 
 t 1837, May 10. This day will be long remembered by the people of 
 these United States as an important epoch. This day the banks in New 
 York suspended specie payments. 
 
 May 11. On receipt of the news from New York by steamboat this 
 day, the Providence banks also suspended specie payments; and it seems 
 that the banks throughout this Republic are stopping or will stop. 
 
 1838, Aug. 13. The banks in Rhode Island, and in New England gen- 
 erally, resume specie payments. 
 
 1839, Oct. 10. News of the suspension of specie payments by the 
 United States Bank at Philadelphia. Oct. 11. And by the Philadelphia 
 and Baltimore banks. Oct. 15. The Providence banks voted to suspend. 
 
 Dec. 10. Resumption of specie payments by the banks in Providence 
 after a suspension since October 16. [Journal A. D. H.] 
 
 t As illustrating the way in which young men with small capital were 
 able to start and grow in business in the ante-bellum days, some figures 
 relating to the financial standing of Stimson & Hodges are given in 
 Appendix IV. 
 
BBfT 
 
BUSINESS LIFE IN PROVIDENCE. 119 
 
 In carrying on the business the junior partner seems to 
 have done the greater part of the outside work — making 
 purchases, drumming up customers, looking after question- 
 able accounts, and the like. His genial manner and quick 
 and kindly humor made Mm a general favorite, and these 
 qualities, combined with a reputation of fair dealing, enabled 
 him to carry through without friction many transactions which 
 required judicious handling, such as collecting a debt or cor- 
 recting a misunderstanding. He had a happy faculty of ter- 
 minating a discussion by an unexpectedly humorous and apt 
 rejoinder to an argument, which compelled his opponent to 
 laugh — possibly to blush — and brought about a friendly 
 agreement. Moreover he had an extraordinarily good memory 
 for persons and places. As a rule, when he had talked with 
 a person once, on their next meeting, although years might 
 have elapsed in the interval, he could call him by name and 
 tell when, where and under what circumstances they had 
 come together previously. He knew the persons and the 
 financial standing of all his customers, and also of his prin- 
 cipal competitors, throughout a wide extent of territory. It 
 was his custom to note in his Journal the deaths of those 
 persons whom he had known, generally with some brief re- 
 mark in each case. He made more than twenty-five hundred 
 entries of this kind. Three of them written mtliin three 
 weeks of his decease, indicate the strength of his memorj' at 
 the age of seventy-seven : 
 
 1878, Sept. 9. Died this day in Worcester, the oldest native- 
 born citizen of the place. General Nathan Heard, aged 88 years & 
 6 months. I became acquainted with him on July 4, 1829, when 
 I visited Worcester with the Providence Light Infantry as their 
 Commissary. He was then of the firm of Heard & Estabrooks, 
 which thereafter was a customer of Stimson & Hodges. 
 
 1878, Sept. 14. Died in Attleboro, Mass. Sept. 10, Godfrey 
 Wheelock, aged 73 years, 10 mouths, 10 days, an old customer of 
 Stimson & Hodges. 
 
120 BUSINESS LIFE IN PROVIDENCE. 
 
 1878, Sept. 20. I received this clay from Joseph W. Clark the 
 information that Mrs. Enoch W. Clark (Sarah Dodge Clark) died 
 on the 6th day of February last, her age being 71 yrs., 10 mos., 6 
 ds. She was an old acquaintance. I remember waiting upon 
 both herself and her sister, Susan Dodge Mudge, to the ball 
 of the First Light Infantry in Providence on the 8th of January, 
 1825. 
 
 The managers of a successful mercantile enterprise natu- 
 rally are chosen to aid in the direction of other business 
 operations in which they are interested. The junior partner, 
 besides holding other less prominent positions, was a director 
 of the Weybosset Bank of Providence for ten years, from 1833 
 to 1843, when he resigned, being at once elected a director of 
 the National Bank, and holding this office until he moved to 
 Boston. 
 
 A bank director in those days seems to have had more 
 varied duties than are imposed on him at the present time. 
 At least this bank director inscribed in his Journal accounts 
 of various trips made, on bank business, to collect debts, 
 institute legal proceedings, act as receiver in cases of bank- 
 ruptcy, attend sessions of the Legislature when bills affecting 
 banks were being discussed, and for other purposes. On some 
 occasions he acted as bank messenger, once bringing from 
 Boston sixteen thousand dollars in gold for the Weybosset 
 Bank. 
 
 In 1836 he invested three thousand dollars (and at least 
 as much again in the next three or four years) in the rapidly 
 growing western territory. A considerable portion of tins 
 investment was in the stock of the Delavan Association, 
 which developed the township of Delavan in Illinois. While 
 it is not recorded in his Journal that he held office in this 
 association, whose headquarters were in Taunton, yet he 
 frequently attended its meetings and was active in the finan- 
 cial management of its affairs. In 1842 he started on a jour- 
 ney with the intention of inspecting the western lands in 
 
BUSINESS LIFE IN PROVIDENCE. 121 
 
 which he and his associates were pecuniarily interested ; but 
 proceeding first, for commercial reasons, in a southerly direc- 
 tion, he abandoned his original project when he reached Wash- 
 ington, D. C. Exactly thirteen years later to a day, on May 
 22, 1855, he recommenced this journey and this time com- 
 pleted it. 
 
 Although always intensely interested in politics, he was 
 strongly averse to holding political office. He always voted 
 if it was possible, even when it was necessary to make a jour- 
 ney for the purpose. The suffrage he deemed a most impor- 
 tant privilege, and on the few occasions when he was unable 
 to cast his ballot, he noted the fact and the reason in his 
 Journal.* He was constant in attendance on political meet- 
 ings, often presided, and several times went as a delegate to 
 conventions. He was repeatedly offered a nomination, and 
 his popularity was so great that he could easily have attained 
 to high office ; but only twice in his life did he accept the 
 offer. In 1844, after the Dorr War in Rhode Island, — per- 
 haps the most exciting event in the local history of that State, 
 when calm and wise action on the part of the legislature 
 seemed especially important, — he consented to be a candi- 
 date for membership, from Providence, in the General Assem- 
 bly. He was elected and served out his term, making his mark 
 and being appointed chairman of several important commit- 
 tees, and then, things having calmed down, declined another 
 nomination. 
 
 In 1856, when the Republican party, fighting for principles 
 which he earnestly advocated, was in a minority and his de- 
 feat was practically certain, he ran for the legislature in 
 Massachusetts. He lost the election, " very much to my 
 comfort." But when immediately thereafter he was offered 
 
 * 1838, April 12. Taken sick with inflammatory rheumatism and con- 
 fined to the bed nearly five weeks. April IS, Election Day. Did not 
 vote — the first time since I have had the privilege of voting [i. e., during 
 16 years]. 
 
122 
 
 BUSINESS LIFE IN PROVIDENCE. 
 
 the nomination on the Republican and American tickets for 
 Ma^'or of Roxbury, with good chances of success, he " posi- 
 tively declined." 
 
 ^.,™. r>,^.r,r.^.r^,^., Hls poHtlcal convictious 
 
 CITY CONVENTION, ^ 
 
 RHODE-ISLxiND TICKET row, and he never was a 
 
 mere partisan. Unswerv- 
 ing loyalty to the govern- 
 
 1844. 
 
 \ '• \ I / 
 
 
 ment and obedience to the 
 law formed apparently the 
 first article of his creed, 
 and the next was helpful 
 kindness to his fellows. 
 To be a good citizen, he 
 declared, one must be a 
 good neighbor. He was 
 originally a Whig ; when 
 the Whig party dissolved, 
 he united with the Re- 
 publicans. He was mild- 
 ly conservative, objecting 
 both to " radicalism " and 
 to " Bourbonism," as these 
 terms were applied in his 
 days. He was slow to an- 
 ger and abhorred war, the 
 evil effects of which were 
 early impressed on him by 
 his father, who neverthe- 
 less had served in the Rev- 
 olution. When the irre- 
 pressible conflict was beginning, he counselled moderation. 
 Although deeming slavery a sin and an error, he would end 
 it rather by purchasing the slaves from their owners and set- 
 ting them free, than by employing violent measures. While 
 
 FOR SENATOR, 
 
 •SJLBEUT C, GSEEJVE, 
 
 FOR REPRESENTATIVES, 
 
 ESEK ALDRICH, 
 SAMUEL. AMES, 
 STEPHEN BKAl«Cir, 
 JABEZ OORHAM, 
 ALMON D. HODGES, 
 SHUBAEIi HUTCHIJ\S, 
 JAMES T. RHODES, 
 WILLIAM SHELDON, 
 JAMES Y. SMITH, 
 OLIYER E. TABEK> 
 ISAAC THURBER, 
 RUFIJS WATERMAN. 
 
 A SUCCESSFUL TICKET. 
 
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BUSINESS LIFE IN PROVIDENCE. 123 
 
 believing in John Brown's theory of the wickedness of slavery, 
 he condemned Ms action at Harper's Ferry. Yet there was 
 too much fighting blood in his veins for him to submit quietly 
 to violent oppression or active wrong-doing. When Thomas 
 W. Dorr undertook to overthrow the government of Rhode 
 Island, he was among the first to seize a musket and march to 
 the rescue. When the Southern States attempted to destroy 
 the Union, there was no hesitancy in his active opposition to 
 their efforts. He was then too old for military service, but 
 his time and liis money were given freely, and with his con- 
 currence every rjiember of his family, whom the government 
 would accept, entered the army. Although two of his sons 
 were borne home on their shields — and he loved them dearly 
 — he never faltered in urging and supporting the active 
 prosecution of the war to the very end. But not in bitter- 
 ness ; simply in order that the right should prevail. 
 
 From the beginning of his business career, the junior part- 
 ner made very frequent trips on land and water, by carriage, 
 stage or rail, and by sail or steam. In time he had traversed 
 quite thoroughly New England and the Middle States, and 
 had become acquainted with the land and the people between 
 the Penobscot and the Potomac rivers. The details of his 
 trips are recorded in his journals, with the hours of arrival 
 at and departure from the various stopping places, the names 
 of the inns or hotels at which he staid, the persons whom he 
 met, the chief incidents which occurred, and usually the ex- 
 penses of travelling. From liis notes a very fair idea can be 
 obtained of the conditions of travel in the days when the 
 stage coach was retiring before the locomotive, and the packet 
 was yielding to the steamer. 
 
 For twelve years after Stimson & Hodges began business, 
 there was no railroad in Rhode Island. Journeys were made 
 in stage coaches, — and these were numerous in Providence, 
 which was on the main line of travel between Boston and 
 New York. The stage road chiefly used from Boston to 
 
124 BUSINESS LIFE IN PROVIDENCE. 
 
 Providence was the Norfolk and Bristol Turnpike, known 
 later as the Dedhara Turnpike, and now named Washington 
 Street. Beginning at Boston it passed through Roxbury 
 (now Boston), West Roxbury (then Roxbury, now Boston), 
 Dedham, Norwood (then Dedham), Walpole (East and South 
 Walpole), Foxborough (the northwestern part of the present 
 township), Wrenthara (the eastern j)art of the town), Attle- 
 borough (North Attleborough and the western part of Attle- 
 borough), Pawtucket and Providence. There were some 
 deviations from this route, — as in Walpole, where three roads 
 were used by rival lines. Thus John Needham ran his stages 
 through North Walpole, that the passengers might take their 
 meals at his tavern on the Plain. 
 
 There were often four regular stage lines (perhaps more) 
 over this road, each line running several coaches, which started 
 from Boston at various hours, from three in the morning until 
 noon.* 
 
 The start back from Providence was seldom made before 
 6 A. M., and the later hours varied greatly, dependent to a 
 large extent upon the arrival of the New York connections. 
 There were also, on occasions, extra coaches, so that the total 
 number was large. " In the summer of 1829 there were 328 
 stage coaches a week to and from Providence, not counting 
 the local stages running to points within a dozen miles of the 
 town. The turnpikes were then in excellent condition, and 
 on the journey from Boston horses were changed four or five 
 times. Very exciting races often occurred between coaches 
 of opposing lines when they happened to come together on 
 the road. The arrival of a number in Providence at once, as 
 
 *Josiah Quincy, in '■'■ Fi(]ures of the Past^^^ describing a journey in 
 1826, says : " The stages left Boston at three in the morning, and at two 
 o'clock a man was sent round to the houses of those who were booked 
 for the passage. His instructions were to knock, pull the bell, and shout 
 and disturb the neighborhood as much as possible, in order that the per- 
 son who was to take the coach might be up and dressed when it reached 
 his door." 
 
BUSINESS LIFE IN PROVIDENCE. 125 
 
 was usual, to connect with the New York boats, was a daily 
 event of great interest. It could not be otherwise, when ten 
 or twelve large coaches, each drawn by four horses, all filled 
 with passengers and their tops loaded with freight, came 
 lurching and swaying down the street at a furious pace."* 
 
 The usual fare, in these years, was two or two and a half 
 dollars. Under strong competition it sank to one dollar ; at 
 one period John Needham carried his passengers free. The 
 time consumed by the passage, including stops for meals, etc., 
 varied from five to nine hours, but generally was five and a 
 half or six hours. The distance was reckoned as 40 or 41 
 miles. 
 
 All along the route were taverns, where the passengers 
 stopped for meals and relays of horses were provided. The 
 tavern-keepers often were promoters of stage lines whereby 
 their houses profited. The following list of wayside inns 
 between Boston and Providence at this period, with the dis- 
 tances from Boston, is taken, with a few corrections and addi- 
 tions, from the Massachusetts Register and United States 
 Calendar : 
 
 RoxBURY 6 miles. Ellis's. 
 
 Eead Taft's, in West RoxlDury, at the union 
 of South and Washington streets ; later 
 called the Union Hotel. 
 
 Dedham 9 miles. Capt. Francis Alden's, near the Court 
 
 House. 
 Dedham Hotel, burned down in 1832, when 
 60 horses of the stage company perished; 
 rebuilt as the Phoenix Hotel. 
 
 Walpole 20^ miles. Puller's half-Avay house in South Walpole. 
 
 Polley's, near Puller's. 
 John Needham's, on the Plain. 
 Attleboro. . .28 miles. Col. Israel Hatch's, in North Attleboro. 
 Pawtucket ..37 miles. Col. Slack's. 
 Providence .. 41 miles. Chappotin's. 
 
 Blake's Franklin House; and others. 
 
 * Field's State of Rhode Inland and Providence Plantations, II : 54.5. 
 
126 BUSINESS LIFE IN PROVIDENCE. 
 
 In the year 1835 the Boston & Providence Railroad (the 
 first railway in Rhode Island) was opened to through traffic, 
 and its coaches drawn by steam engines on rails* soon sup- 
 planted the coaches hauled by horses on the Turnpike. Pas- 
 senger trains had been operated for short distances from 
 Boston during the previous year, — as far as the Canton 
 Viaduct, the last link in the road to be completed, where 
 they connected with the stages. The first train from Provi- 
 dence started from the station, then at India Point, on June 
 2, 1835. It consisted of two coaches, filled with invited 
 guests and propelled by two horses each, the locomotive, 
 which it had been intended to use, not being in order. The 
 party was carried on the rails to the unfinished Canton 
 Viaduct, walked across the gap, and continued by steam to 
 Boston. The next day the first trip of the locomotive from 
 Providence was made to Canton. The third trip, with steam, 
 on this end of the road, was made on June 4. " The cars 
 started from India Bridge at ten minutes past five P. M., and 
 arrived at the old Bolkcom stand in Attleborough about half 
 past six, but the greater part of the time was consumed by a 
 stop to blow off and refill the boiler. Left Attleborough at 7 
 o'clock and was hacked iyi to Providence in about 55 minutes, 
 after a very pleasant ride."f The first "steamboat train" 
 arrived in Providence on the morning of June 11 ; and the 
 first train which crossed the Canton Viaduct started from 
 Boston on July 28, 1835, at 4 P. M., and arrived in Provi- 
 dence in an hour and forty-seven minutes. It returned the 
 same evening, with about a hundred passengers, in two hours 
 and three minutes. The fare each way was two dollars. 
 
 The actual running time on the railroad, while the roadbed 
 and equipment were new, was from two to three and a half 
 
 * The bodies of the cars originally used on this road were essentially 
 the same as those of the stage coaches, 
 t Journal of A. D. H. 
 
BUSINESS LIFE IN PROVIDENCE. 127 
 
 hours. Later the steamboat trains endeavored, with reason- 
 able success, to make the trip in an hour and a half, while the 
 accommodation trains took two hours at least. 
 
 The travel between Providence and New York was by- 
 packets until the New London Turnpike was built, about 
 1820. Then coaches were put on this road and the majority 
 of the travellers went over it, — through Johnston, Scituate, 
 Coventry, Plainfield, Jewett City, Norwich and Mohegan to 
 New London, where steamboats for New York were taken. 
 In 1822 steamboats began to ply between Providence and 
 New York, and these soon absorbed nearly all the travel and 
 ended the passenger traffic of the packets. The steamers 
 increased in numbers and came into lively competition, caus- 
 ing reductions in the rates, — from ten dollars to " $6 and 
 found," and " $5 and found," and even less. Now and then 
 one could make the passage for one dollar. So many Provi- 
 dence people were interested in the boats* that, as there was 
 at times a bitter rivalry, especially when Cornelius Vanderbilt 
 and the railroad directors entered the field, the bonds of affec- 
 tion were occasionally strained. 
 
 It was usual, at first, for the steamboats to leave Providence 
 at noon, arriving early the next morning at New York ; f and 
 to leave New York at 3 P. M., arriving at Providence about 
 the middle of the next forenoon. Gradually the hour of leav- 
 ing both ports changed to 5 P. M. But there were constant 
 variations in the times of starting, and the fog and storms 
 made great differences in the length of the passage, wliich at 
 least on one occasion occupied forty-three hours. When the 
 steamer Lexington, Capt. Jacob Vanderbilt, was put on the 
 
 * 1823, May 11. At noon took passage in the new steamer Providence 
 for New York. Stirason & Hodges had invested $500 in this steamer, 
 which gave us a free passage. [Recollections of A. D. H.] 
 
 I 1833, July 11. At 12 o'clock, noon, started in the steamer Providence 
 for New York. Acted as clerk 2Jfo tern, of the boat. Passed Newport 
 at a quarter past two, and Gull light at 7 P. M. Arrived in New York 
 the next morning at 6 o'clock. [Journal of A. D. H.] 
 
128 A PILGRIM'S PROGRESS. 
 
 line, it left the terminals at six in the morning and made 
 the trip (when not delayed) by daylight. " Fare four dollars 
 — Meals extra." 
 
 In November, 1837, the railroad between Providence and 
 Stonington was opened to travel. Its Providence passenger- 
 station was on the western side of Providence River, opposite 
 the station at India Point of the Boston & Providence Rail- 
 road. Soon a ferry boat connected the two stations, and the 
 greater part of the through passengers went by rail to Ston- 
 ington, there taking the New York steamboats. Or it was 
 possible to leave Providence in the forenoon, cross the Sound 
 by steamboat to Greenport, L. I., take the Long Island Rail- 
 road cars, and arrive in New York early in the evening. 
 
 Such were the principal methods of travel to and from 
 Providence described in the Journal of the junior partner, the 
 details of which he pictured fully on one occasion when, at 
 the end of a journey, he copied his original entries (written 
 with lead-pencil), touched them up, and entitled the revised 
 versio;! 
 
 A Pilgrim's Progress. 
 
 Froggy would a-journeying go, 
 
 Whether his Mammy would let him or no. 
 
 — Anonymous. 
 
 And he took it into his head to walk off. 
 
 — Castigator. 
 
 1824, July 4, Sunday. Started for New York in the sloop 
 3Iatilda, Capt. Gould,* with the wind north. Off Prudence 
 Island pass the steamer Connecticut., Capt. William Comstock, 
 bound for Providence. Passed Newport at 6 o'clock and 
 
 * John Gould, of Black Rock, Conn., died about two years ago, as I 
 learn by letter from the postmaster of that place. I made my first visit 
 to New York, in July, 1824, with him in his sloop Matilda from Provi- 
 dence. [Journal of Dec. i, 1875.'] 
 
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A PILGRIM'S PROGRESS. 129 
 
 doubled Point Judith at 10. A very dull Sunday. Turned 
 in at 11 o'clock. 
 
 July 5, Monday. Turned out at daylight. The scenery 
 was most beautiful. We were off Fisher's Island at 7 o'clock. 
 Tom, the cook, said he heard cannon in New York (distance 
 130 miles) ; celebrating Independence all along the shore 
 with " trumpets, drums, cannon, bonfires, etc." We cele- 
 brated the anniversary genteelly on board. Tom played on a 
 three-stringed fiddle, Sim, the mate, accompanied him on his 
 bag-pipes, and we three had fore-and-afters on both sides of 
 the deck. At 12 o'clock we were becalmed off Faulkner's 
 Island, which gave us time for cool reflection. At 6 o'clock 
 a fine breeze off Stratford Point sprung up. Took in top-sail 
 and turned in at 10 o'clock. 
 
 July 6, Tuesday. Awoke at daylight and found myself in 
 the harbor of Black Rock. Walked to Capt. Gould's seat 
 at Fairfield. Here the captain chartered Molly Dunlap's old 
 mare and gig, ycleped The Chesapeake, and we set off for 
 Bridgeport. The old jade paced at the rate of ten knots an 
 hour until we brought up all standing at the sign of the Bar- 
 ber's Pole and Snuffers, and I was shaved (^. e., chin-scraped) 
 by a man who kept the grocery and barber's shop. 
 
 At one o'clock returned to Fairfield and dined with Capt. 
 Gould. Wished myself as pleasantly situated as the captain, 
 who, by the way, is in possession of a pretty place and a 
 handsome wife. The captain and I went to see the pretty 
 girls in the evening. Memorandum : if I have seen a fair 
 sample of Connecticut, it must be the finest State in the 
 Union. 
 
 July 7, Wednesday. I was awakened by the captain at 3 
 in the morning and traveled down to the vessel. Weighed 
 anchor at 6 and stood out into the Sound with a fresh breeze 
 from the north-west. It was quiet on board to-day, all hands 
 recovering from the celebration of Independence. At 7 
 o'clock, P. M., with a beautiful breeze we arrived at the Nar- 
 
130 A PILGRIM'S PROGRESS. 
 
 rows and passed through Hell Gate (for the first time) a iew 
 minutes after sunset. It is a romantic and beautiful place, 
 where all nature smiles when the reflection of the sun upon 
 the horizon imparts to the surrounding objects a bewitching- 
 splendor which can be rivalled only by our ideas of Paradise. 
 The noise of the waters winding their ways in excessive com- 
 motion tlu'ough this narrow passage, and the boiling, broiling, 
 frying, stewing and roasting of the liquid element, added to the 
 grandeur of the scene : it appeared like an enchanted spot. 
 
 But the mariner should keep on the most accommodating 
 terms with the fairy that presides at this Gate. I thought 
 of the days of my old favorite in legend, Aladdin and the 
 Wonderful Lamp. As we passed through this place whose 
 nanie strikes the ear so unmusically, the most profound silence 
 was observed on board ; the sailors were stationed at their 
 posts, the cable was coiled and the anchor unloosed and made 
 ready to let go in an instant if the vessel should miss stays ; 
 and every time we tacked, which happened twice or thrice, 
 all hands appeared to hold their breath. We went through 
 in genteel style, and when we had passed I counted forty sail 
 in sight — some entirely through, some passing, and some at 
 the entrance of the Gate. 
 
 At 9 o'clock we arrived off the city and ran afoul of a 
 schooner, tearing our mainsail and staving in one or two hogs- 
 heads. Having cleared ourselves, we anchored in the stream. 
 It was a most delightful evening, — such a one as we read of 
 in the accounts of Naples. The great, overgrown city of New 
 York appeared to the best advantage, impressing the stranger 
 with its imposing grandeur. A full band on the Ontario, 
 which was lying near the Battery, played most sweetly. Then 
 a Kent bugler played " The Hunter's Horn " in a masterly 
 style, and ever and anon a rocket shot up into the air from 
 Castle Garden. 
 
 July 8, Thursday, Arose at daylight to take a "lunar" at 
 the big city. The harbor was crowded with all kinds of 
 
A PILGRIM'S PROGRESS. 131 
 
 crafts, and steamboats were passing to and fro as thick as 
 swallows after a storm. We hauled into the dock at 9 o'clock. 
 I went to Miss Stone's, in Cliff Street, where I found a dozen 
 Yankees, principally Bostonians, some of them old acquaint- 
 ances. In the evening I went to the beautiful Chatham Gar- 
 den Theatre and saw the plays of Bertram and Simson <f- Co. 
 
 July 9, Friday. After getting through with business I took 
 a trip to Brooklyn, Long Island, crossing the water in a horse- 
 boat. Brooklyn is a beautiful place, nearly as large as Charles- 
 town, Mass. Here I fell in with D. Dudley and lady, B. F. 
 French and lady, and Jonathan French and no lady. After 
 viewing the village and the Navy Yard, returned to New York 
 at 6 o'clock. In the evening went to Castle Garden, where 
 were a band of music and fireworks. I awoke at midnight, 
 " serenaded " by a full band which played sweetly. 
 
 July 10, Saturday. Arose at 5 and jumped aboard the 
 steamboat Thistle, for Philadelphia, in company with eight 
 Bostonians. We passed Elizabethtown Point and Perth 
 Amboy and landed at New Brunswick, a considerable place 
 where the earth is red. Here we took stage and rode through 
 Franklin, Kingston, Queenston and Princeton (where Nassau 
 Hall, a large stone building, is handsomely situated) to Tren- 
 ton. The road from New Brunswick to Trenton was in very 
 bad order — not much credit is due to the inhabitants for 
 keeping in this condition a road over which there is so much 
 travel. 
 
 At Trenton we took the steamboat Franklin, having de- 
 lightful views down the Delaware, where the land appeared 
 to be highly cultivated. When we were four miles from 
 Bristol a tremendous storm came up suddenly. I crawled in 
 under the baggage, but the other passengers undertook to 
 get below ; men, women and children tumbled down the com- 
 panion-way in heaps, a great number being completely drenched 
 before they could get into the cabin. Here I was, comfort- 
 ably stowed away with other baggage wliile the rain fell in 
 
132 A PILGRIM'S PROGRESS. 
 
 torrents, thunder, lightning, rain and hail appearing to con- 
 tend for predominance, — an elegant situation for " a buck of 
 the first water." When the storm ceased, the baggage began to 
 crawl out. I came in contact with an old maid's bandboxes, 
 and stove in the bottom of one with my head. It was a long- 
 time before I could get clear and find daylight, but at length 
 I worked my way out and found we were opposite Bristol, a 
 beautiful village, while just below, on the other bank, was 
 Burlington, a considerable town. Further on we saw the 
 United States Arsenal at Frankford, and hove in sight of the 
 great city of Pliiladelphia, celebrated for its regularity, good 
 morals. Friends, and the encouragement of the fine arts and 
 sciences. So soon as the boat reached the wharf, it was over- 
 run with porters shouting " Baggage, Massa, I care your 
 baggage." I came very near being carried off, baggage and 
 all, by a stout blackamoor over six feet tall. I escaped and 
 went to Mr. Field's,* on 9th street, where I stopped. 
 
 July 11, Sunday. Went to meeting, Mr. Skinner's, and 
 heard a red-hot preacher " give it to 'em good." It was Com- 
 munion Sunday. It is the fashion here for both sheep and 
 goats to keep their seats when the sacrament is administered. 
 I sat in a pew with one or two Christians — and the deacon 
 looked very hard at me. The service was ended about one 
 o'clock, when I was glad to get clear. 
 
 In the afternoon I walked to where the new State prison is 
 being built. The walls enclose ten acres of land ; the poles 
 for the staging cost $2,000. Walked out again in the even- 
 ing. Little cliildren, principally girls, were so thick on the 
 
 * I called on ray old friend, James Field, 1022 Race Street [Thiladel- 
 pliia], in the evening. \_Journal of April 13, I860.] 
 
 Almira Lincoln gave me the following: Died in Philadelphia, April 
 17, 18()6, James Field in his 84th year; and on Dec. 25, 18(54, Geo. W. 
 Fobes, in his 75th year. They were for many years of the firm of Field 
 & Fobes, which began business in Philadelphia in 1812 and dissolved in 
 1837. [Journal of Sept. 29, 1866.'] 
 
A PILGRIM'S PROGRESS. 133 
 
 sidewalk that I was obliged to take the middle of the street 
 for fear of stepping on some of them. I was surprised to find 
 so many in Philadelphia, and particularly in this part of the 
 city. 
 
 July 12, Monday. Dined with Mr. Fobes. With my Bos- 
 ton friends rode out to the Watei- Works which supply the 
 city from the Schuylkill River. Large water-wheels — three 
 were in operation — pump up the water more than a hundred 
 feet into a reservoir, on the top of a hill, with a capacity of 
 upwards of eight million gallons. 
 
 We visited Pratt's Garden. " None but strangers of dis- 
 tinction allowed to enter the Garden at this time of the year," 
 said the good woman who turned the large key at the gate. 
 TMs garden is said to be superior to any other in the United 
 States. Here grow orange trees, with boughs bent nearly to 
 the ground by the golden fruit, which makes the visitor's 
 mouth water ; and if he does not possess an uncommon por- 
 tion of that scarce quality called honesty, his fingers will itch 
 to their very ends for a sly grab. Here grow lemons and 
 pineapples, and a great many other tropical fruits, in the 
 greatest profusion. There are two beautiful fish ponds, one 
 at a higher level than the other ; the water runs from the first 
 into the second, and thence into the river. In the upper 
 pond is a fountain, around which gathers a great number of 
 gold fish and silver fish, pushing and elbowing like a crowd 
 at the box of&ce of a theatre. There are also two caves in 
 the Garden. In one is a spring whose water is impregnated 
 with iron. The other, I believe, is called the Devil's Den ; 
 the entrance is guarded by a large mastiff ; here Beelzebub 
 was chained down for — perhaps another thousand years. 
 
 Mr. Pratt, the owner, has a summer seat in the centre of 
 this abode of Flora. This Second Paradise is situated upon 
 the bank of the Schuylkill and commands a full view of the 
 Water Works. I very much doubt whether Adam and Eve's 
 garden in its full glory greatly surpassed tliis. 
 
134 A PILGRIM'S PROGRESS. 
 
 July 13, Tuesday. Paraded about the city to see the 
 sights. Dined with Mr. Stone.* Went in the afternoon to 
 Peale's Museum with Harriet S. Field. This is the first 
 museum in America. It contains a large collection of por- 
 traits of the most prominent men in the United States. Saw 
 the skeleton of the mammoth, about fourteen feet high, and 
 directly underneath, as a contrast, the skeleton of a mouse. 
 In the evening took tea with Mr. Brigham, formerly a partner 
 of my old master in Boston. 
 
 July 14, Wednesday. Dined with Mr. Field. Crossed the 
 ferry to Camden. On my return visited the Navy Yard and 
 saw a seventy-four on the stocks, pierced for 130 guns, which 
 is to be the largest ship of the line in the navy. 
 
 July 15, Thursday. Took the steamboat Alhemarle for 
 Bordentown, where we arrived at ten o'clock. Took the 
 stage here in company with three elderly maids to whom I 
 had been politely requested by a gentleman in Philadelphia 
 " to be civil," that is, to act the beau. I was very polite 
 to them, and they complained bitterly of the rough roads. 
 There was also in our stage Lord Bolingbroke's brother, a 
 very jolly fellow. The stage driver of the opposition line 
 pushed on like Jehu. We passed through Nottingham 
 Square, Penn's Neck and Middlesex, reached New Bruns- 
 wick at 3.40, took the steamboat Legislator, and arrived at 
 New York at half-past seven o'clock. 
 
 July 16, Friday. Went to Brooklyn, visited the Navy 
 Yard and there saw the Franklin, seventy-four. In the even- 
 ing at the Chatham Garden Theatre saw The School for 
 Scandal and An Agreeable Surprise. After the play was 
 over I was introduced to the managers, and, by invitation 
 of Mr. Williamson, partook of a collation which was served 
 
 * Saw to-rlay the notice of the death at Saxonville, Framingham, Mass., 
 of Dexter Stone, of the former firm of Grant & Stone of Philadelphia. He 
 was formerly in the employ of Elisha Brigham & Co., John D. Williams 
 being the Co. {^Journal of A. D. H.'[ 
 
A PILGRIM'S PROGRESS. 135 
 
 up in good style. We returned to our lodgings at mid- 
 
 night. 
 
 July 17, Saturday. Went to the City Hall and had a 
 beautiful view of the city. Fell in with a jolly cocksparrow 
 from Albany. An Irish woman, with a great bunch of keys 
 by her side, conducted us through all the apartments, for 
 which we paid her four shillings York currency. My com- 
 panion then challenged me to walk out to the Treadmill, about 
 four miles distant. Arriving there just as the bell rang for 
 dinner, and being therefore obliged to wait an hour before 
 the mill would be in operation, we went to a grocery store in 
 the vicinity and dined together on dried beef, codfish, crackers 
 and cider. After dinner we went into the mill. The lower 
 apartment is used for the male convicts, some of whom had a 
 log chain suspended from the waist, with the lower end made 
 fast to the ankle. The wheels of the treadmill are about 
 five feet in diameter. A bell rings every half minute ; when 
 it rings a convict mounts the mill at one end and another hops 
 off at the other end. Thus the prisoners move from one end 
 to the other, and keep upon the wheel about half of the tiine. 
 
 The upper room is the female apartment. Here were a 
 number of pretty girls, and some confoundedly ugly, who kept 
 quizzing us, but we didn't see fit to return the compliment. 
 
 On our way back we stopped at the Waterloo Garden, 
 about three miles from the city, kept by a jolly fat Irish 
 woman, and had a comfortable sit-down to icecream and cake. 
 Returned to the city at four, after having had a very merry 
 time. Later crossed by steam-ferryboat to Hoboken, a beau- 
 tiful place noted for dueling, footraces, gambling and cock- 
 fights, and a great place of resort for the New-Yorkers. 
 
 July 18, Sunday. Took the steamboat Chancellor Living- 
 ston for Albany. This is one of the most delightful excur- 
 sions that can be taken from New York City. The scenery 
 along this noble river would be a treat to the greatest lover 
 of romance. And any one who enjoys the study of human 
 
136 A PILGRIM'S PROGRESS. 
 
 nature, on a Hudson River steamboat with three or four 
 hundred passengers has a large field for observation of the 
 different characters and dispositions encountered every mo- 
 ment. Here one sees the predestinarian, with woe-begone 
 pliiz and chin skewered down ; the dignified gait and studied 
 grace of the statesman ; the staring impudence of the lawyer ; 
 the stiff, bolstered-up dandy with ears buttoned back and 
 shirt-collar hauled out almost to the flaps ; the alderman, 
 with double chin and fat sides ; the Johnny Raws with their 
 sweethearts ; the winning ease and fascinating manners of 
 some of the belles ; the watchful, searching look of the 
 matrons who have young daughters ; in short the greatest 
 variety of characters presents itself for tlie observation, edifi- 
 cation and amusement of the lover of novelty and jollification. 
 In one part of the boat is a merry set of old bachelors, telling 
 stories over a bottle of wine ; in another, half a dozen poli- 
 ticians, canvassing the qualifications of the candidates for 
 President ; in still another part, a trio of old maids, without 
 a beau, finding fault with their fare, with everybody and 
 everything ; close to their elbows you may see a languishing 
 maiden poring over " The Sorrows of Werther." Here is a 
 mother, trying to pacify a squalling child ; there is a buck, 
 bowing and scraping to half a dozen top-notch ladies. 
 Around the bar is a great scramble for punch, lemonade 
 and whiskey. 
 
 When the dinner bell rings, all hands aim for the gentle- 
 men's cabin (except the ladies, who take their meals in the 
 ladies' cabin on deck), and once in the current which is press- 
 ing towards the companion way, a retreat is as difficult as 
 rowing up the Falls of Niagara. Down you must go pell mell 
 in the crowd, being pushed, hauled, squeezed, and having 
 your corns trod upon, in the tug of war for a good seat. 
 After several tons of provisions have been swept by the 
 board, the grand consideration is to find your beaver and 
 set back into fresh air. 
 
A PILGRIM'S PROGRESS. 137 
 
 Of the wonderful beauty of the scenery along the river, 
 and the points of romantic and historic interest, — the Pali- 
 sades, the Catskills, West Point with its Military Academy, 
 the many villages and towns on both shores, — only a highly 
 trained writer can give an adequate description. 
 
 At Poughkeepsie I took a trip to the shore in a small boat. 
 The steamer itself does not stop at the landings to put off or 
 receive passengers. It merely slacks its speed when near a 
 given point, and a small boat is lowered into the water, and 
 into this boat are put the people and luggage destined for 
 the place. The boat then makes for the wharf, a boatman 
 paying out a line wliich connects his craft with the steamer. 
 When the passengers have landed, and others, if any there 
 be, have embarked, a signal is given, the line is wound up on 
 a drum actuated by steam, and the boat is hauled back to the 
 steamer in genteel style. Sometimes the steamboat gets a 
 very long distance ahead while the small craft is landing and 
 receiving cargo, in which case the return is made with start- 
 ling velocity. 
 
 As we approached Hudson, at eight o'clock in the evening, 
 we saw a curious hedge fence which, on nearer view, proved 
 to be a long line of people posted on the hill to observe the 
 passage of our steamboat. 
 
 At ten o'clock, all the berths being occupied, I wrapped 
 myself up in my cloak, spread myself on a settee and went 
 to sleep. At twelve I was roused by a fellow running full 
 tilt against my settee and depositing me upon the cabin floor. 
 Rising up and rubbing open my eyes, I was about to address 
 my disturber with " How now, ye black and midnight hag," 
 when I found he had decamped with the crowd who were 
 going ashore ; for we had reached the ancient city of Albany. 
 Discovering an empty berth, I took possession of it and slept 
 comfortably until morning. 
 
 July 19, Monday. I arose before sunrise and looked for 
 my Boston acquaintances, but they had gone to some place 
 
138 A PILGRIM'S PROGRESS. 
 
 to rae unknown. I hired a boy who took one end of my 
 trunk, and I the other, and thus we trudged up into the city. 
 Meeting a four-wheeled razee with the words " Swiftsure for 
 Troy " on the door, I hailed the driver, who hove to and took 
 me in. Crossing the ferry we entered the thriving village of 
 Troy, whence I proceeded to Centre Village, Lansingburg, 
 and breakfasted with my uncle, Benjamin Danforth. 
 
 Here I met a gentleman, Mr. Gilchrist, who was going to 
 Saratoga Springs and invited me to go with him. I accepted 
 the invitation and we rode out of Lansingburg, over a long 
 bridge across the river to Waterford, and through Mechanics- 
 ville and Malta to Slab City (so called from its numerous 
 sawmills and the resulting slabs), where we dined. Thence 
 we proceeded to our destination. 
 
 The road from Waterford to Saratoga crosses the canal 
 three or four times. It is rough and gloomj^ and when one 
 suddenly enters the beautiful village of Saratoga, the change 
 is delightful. If one enters in the evening, coming out of 
 silence and darkness, he is charmed by the sweet strains of a 
 cotillion band and by the brilliant illumination of the Halls 
 which, by a little exercise of the imagination, can be found to 
 resemble fairy palaces. This celebrated watering place is the 
 grand resort of persons from all parts of the Union and even 
 from Europe. Hither come ladies, doctors, lawyers, judges, 
 deacons, ministers, merchants, farmers, gamblers, tliieves, and, 
 especially noticeable, dandies. The manners of a few of them 
 are ridiculous in the extreme. Seeing a buck of the very first 
 water promenading with a bevy of belles reminded me of a 
 full-blooded turkey cock marshalling his family of hens with 
 the pride and pomposity of that master of ceremonies of the 
 feathered tribe, and recalled to my memory the following 
 
 lines : — 
 
 " A cock beneath a stable pent 
 
 Was strutting o'er some heaps of dung ; 
 And as around and round he went, 
 
 The mettled coursers stamped and flung. 
 
A PILGRIM'S PROGRESS. 139 
 
 Bravo ! quoth he, a decent noise I 
 
 We make quite a tollol pother ! 
 But let's take care, my merry bo}^s, 
 
 Lest we should tread on one another." 
 
 Visitors do not appear to make long visits here, and there 
 is a continuous ingress and egress. People arrive in the after- 
 noon, take a comforting sip at the springs, dance until two 
 o'clock in the morning, rise at ten, breakfast, and off they go. 
 The principal boarding houses are Congress Hall, United 
 States Hotel, Union Hotel and The Pavillion. The principal 
 street, which is very wide and handsome, runs nearly north 
 and south. There are a number of springs in the village. The 
 one most frequented is near Congress Hall. There is a railing 
 around it, inside of which stand two or three small boys with 
 cups, waiting upon the visitors. The water is served gratis^ 
 but 3"ou are at liberty to hand the boy a penny if you see fit. 
 
 In the evening, after a thunder storm had passed, we rode 
 over a very uneven, crooked and unpleasant road seven miles, 
 to Ballston, where we arrived at nine o'clock and found very 
 good accommodations at a tavern. 
 
 July 20, Tuesday. Arose at seven and met a Boston ac- 
 quaintance, Mr. Winchester, with whom I breakfasted. Ball- 
 ston is not an unpleasant place and resembles some of the 
 country villages of Massachusetts. Its situation is not so in- 
 viting as that of Saratoga, and it is quite dull in comparison. 
 There were perhaps a hundred visitors here, and there could 
 have been not less than eight times that number at Saratoga. 
 The waters of the two places are very similar in taste. The 
 most noted boarding house here is the Sans Souci Hotel, much 
 the largest wooden building that I have ever seen. 
 
 At ten o'clock we rode away and dined at Mechanicsville 
 as a shower had come up. At Lansingburg I called on my 
 old Norton acquaintance, Tom Morey, whom I had not seen 
 for nearly twenty years. I stopped at Eleazer Walker's [at 
 whose tavern in Norton the narrator had served when a boy]. 
 
140 A PILGRIM'S PROGRESS. 
 
 July 21, Wednesday. Took a ride in the afternoon with 
 Mrs. Walker and her sister, Mary Horton, and in the evening 
 all hands walked to Troy, where we regaled ourselves with 
 icecreams, lemonade, punch, etc. 
 
 July 22, Thursday. Arose at five and took the stage (with 
 seven others, all of the fair sex) to Albany, where I stopped 
 at Rockwell's Mansion House. It was excessively warm, I 
 met no acquaintances, and, for the first time since leaving 
 Providence, I found it dull, and my spirits were depressed. 
 To cheer myself up, I took a walk about the city, which is as 
 large as Providence and contains some very handsome build- 
 ings. The State Caj)itol is a beautiful piece of architecture, 
 and in front of it there is a handsome parade. Pearl Street 
 is a wide thoroughfare. I saw some very pretty girls ; also a 
 plenitude of dandies and of old women crying Ras-berr-ies, 
 with the first syllable singing D, and at the last one rising up 
 to high G. I followed one of these old women about half a 
 mile, just to hear her cry of Ras-berr-ies. 
 
 Fortunately I fell in with a fellow-passenger of the North 
 River steamboat, named Stephen Putnam, a very pleasant, 
 polite and apparently clever young man, and my spirits rose. 
 We walked out to the basin of the great canal, where there 
 were beautiful canal boats furnished in handsome stjde. 
 Here have been erected, for the reception of merchandise, 
 a number of store-houses, owned largely by an eccentric old 
 gentleman who engages in various branches of business. In 
 letters two feet high are painted such signs as Uncle Joe's 
 Stable and Blacksmith Shop, and Uncle Joe's Gro- 
 cery AND Tavern. 
 
 July 23, Friday. At three o'clock was awoke by the stage 
 driver, who was pulling me out of bed ; dressed in a hurry ; 
 had my baggage fixed on the top of the Boston stage and 
 stumbled inside, liitting the one passenger already enshrined 
 a punch with my elbow ; but he was fast asleep and merely 
 grunted. Other passengers then came popping in until the 
 
A PILGRIM'S PROGRESS. 141 
 
 coach was fall. It was as dark as Egypt and I could not see 
 what sorts of persons I had as fellow-travellers, but from the 
 odors I conjectured a motley crowd. We crossed the ferry, 
 and soon the day began to dawn, and we began to stretch our 
 necks and reconnoitre one another like fowls in a strange roost. 
 I was not disax^pointed, — the scent was true, — I was with 
 the meanest crew ever stowed in the inside of a public coach. 
 We passed through Schodack, Nassau, a pretty village eleven 
 and a half miles from Albany, and New Lebanon, a quite 
 noted watering place, with springs of beautifully transparent 
 water in every direction. There is a large boarding house on 
 an elevated spot, where are the principal springs, and whence 
 one commands a full view of the Shakers' village, the water- 
 falls, caverns, hills and valleys. Masses of fog rolling down 
 the mountain sides heightened the wonderful scenic effect. 
 
 Now we crossed the mountain range which here separates 
 the States of New York and of Massachusetts. As the stage 
 toiled up the ascent on the western side, taking two hours to 
 cover about two miles, I walked and enjoyed the views. Be- 
 yond the summit we passed Hancock and came to Pittsfield. 
 
 At Pittsfield I discovered that the stage-agent at Albany 
 had deceived me with regard to the route and the price of 
 fare, and in my indignation I took my trunk off the coach 
 and informed the agent that I would stay here until I was 
 drummed out, before I would travel further in this line of 
 stages ; and the coach rolled away without me. I dined at 
 the tavern and then, failing to find any other way of continu- 
 ing my journey than the one I had discarded, walked about 
 the beautiful village to cool myself off. In my walk I fell in 
 with a batcher, a very sociable and communicative fellow, 
 who told me that by going to Lanesboro, about six miles dis- 
 tant, and waiting there some two or three hours, I could take 
 the opposition stage ; and, he added jocosely, if I would help 
 him peddle his mutton, he would carry me and my baggage 
 thither. On my readily accepting his offer, he lent me a frock 
 
142 A PILGRIM'S PROGRESS. 
 
 and we started off. I went in advance, to reconnoitre and to 
 cry his mutton, wliich found quick sale at three or four cents 
 per pound, and gave me the opportunity for some pleasant 
 ciiit-chats with the girls who came out with their mothers to 
 inspect ourselves and our wares. The mutton was all gone 
 sometime before we reached the very pretty country town of 
 Lanesboro, and I had gained the reputation of being a very 
 good salesman. 
 
 Stopping at the tavern in the centre of the town I was in- 
 formed by mine host that an important law case was on the 
 tapis in his hall, and that, if I wished, he would show me up 
 and give me a seat. The hall was a large and commodious 
 room, and was well filled by a large audience, who manifested 
 so great interest in the case on hand that I inferred that some 
 criminal was being tried for a capital offence. But by close 
 attention I found that it was Aldrich versus Bagg, and Bagg 
 versus Aldrich. Bagg's wall around his vegetable patch not 
 being very high, Aldrich's oxen had jumped over it and eaten 
 up Bagg's pumpkins; Bagg had "pounded" Aldrich's oxen, 
 and then Aldrich had pounded Bagg. Some of the evidence 
 was very amusing, and it was with regret that I heard the 
 stage drive up and was obliged to leave the court before all 
 the testimony had been given. 
 
 Taking passage in the stage, which already contained a 
 number of people — among them a very handsome lady from 
 Albany — I was driven away. Our road led through Ches- 
 hire, where I saw the press in which the great Jefferson 
 cheese was made. Near by was a sign " Up to Savoy, 5 
 miles," — a very correct direction, for the back part of Mas- 
 sachusetts is very hilly. The passengers kept dropping off 
 by the way, and when we arrived at Plainfield, at nine 
 o'clock, none was left except the lady from Albany and 
 myself. Here we stopped for supper and to sleep. The 
 landlord was a jovial soul, and sat up with me until midnight, 
 tellino- stories. 
 
A PILGRIM'S PROGRESS. 143 
 
 July 24, Saturday. We started off at six A. M., and rode 
 through Ashfield, Conway and Deerfield. At Muddy Brook 
 [Bloody Brook?], where we breakfasted, I found an acquaint- 
 ance, Mrs. Black of Quincy, Mass. We crossed the Connecti- 
 cut by a long bridge and continued on through Sunderland, 
 Shutesbury and New Salem, reaching Dana at 5 o'clock. I 
 staid here over night with uncle Samuel Danforth. 
 
 July 25, Sunday. Went to church in the morning and 
 heard Rev. Mr. Huntingdon preach. At half-past one I left 
 with cousin Henry Danforth for Worcester, riding through 
 Petersham, Barre, Oakham and Paxton. Arrived at Worces- 
 ter at half-past seven and stopped at StockwelFs. This is a 
 flourishing village. All the buildings are in excellent repair; 
 I did not see an old house in the place. I was told that here 
 society lines were drawn sharply — only lawyers pass as cur- 
 rent coin with the upper crust — one must be acquainted 
 with " Daniel Waldo," to ride in the troop with the big-bugs. 
 
 July 26, Monday. Arose at five and took a walk about 
 the village. In the vicinity the land is finely cultivated and 
 the roads are elegant. Took stage at half-past eight and 
 passed through Grafton, Upton, Mendon (where I dined), 
 Bellingham, Cumberland, Smithfield and Pawtucket, into 
 Providence, arriving home at four o'clock and finding every- 
 thing in flourishing condition. I have been absent twenty- 
 two days, and have travelled about eight hundred miles. 
 The journey has cost me about forty dollars, and I hope that 
 the money has been well laid out. The memory of it must 
 ever be pleasant. 
 
SOCIAL LIFE IN PROVIDENCE. 
 
 LMON DANFORTH HODGES, before begin- 
 ning business on his own account, had been 
 called Danforth Hodges, or more familiarl}-, 
 Danforth, by his relatives and friends. When 
 he had attained to the dignity of a merchant, he was known, 
 except by his intimates, as Mr. Hodges. A few years later, 
 having risen to the command of a Rhode Island regiment, 
 he was styled universally, outside of his own family circle. 
 Colonel, or Colonel Hodges, and thus was best known during 
 the rest of his life. In editing those parts of this narrative 
 in which it has not seemed possible to have him speak in the 
 first person, I have made strenuous efforts to refer to him 
 under some of the above appellations, sinking my own indi- 
 viduality — and my efforts have been utterly vain. So now 
 I come unblushingly forward and henceforth claim him as 
 my father. 
 
 Soon after his arrival in Providence in 1823, he went to 
 live with his former employer, George Gilbert, at 19 Wey- 
 bosset Street, and there remained, with a few brief intermis- 
 sions, until his marriage. He was fond of and loyal to his 
 old master, and always retained most friendly relations with 
 him and his family. 
 
 The store of Stimson & Hodges was opened betime in the 
 morning. The hour of closing is nowhere stated definitely 
 in fathers Journal, but the business day was a long one at 
 this period, and it is safe to affirm that opportunities for trade 
 were afforded by this energetic firm from early morn until 
 the curfew bell of the First Baptist Church tolled the hour 
 
 (144) 
 
SOCIAL LIFE IN PROVIDENCE. 145 
 
 of nine. Yet matters were so arranged that neither partner 
 was debarred from frequent participation in the pleasures of 
 society, of which both were fond and for which both were 
 well fitted. 
 
 The first entertainment recorded in the Journal, after the 
 School Exhibition in Norton described on a previous page, 
 was a theatrical performance in which James W. Wallack* 
 took the part of Reuben Glenny. 
 
 The first society mentioned was The Hydraulion Company, 
 which my father joined in 1823. This was the crack vol- 
 unteer fire company of Providence, and had recently been 
 formed. Their engine, bought in 1822 of Sellers & Pennock 
 of Philadelphia, was a great improvement on the older ma- 
 chines, wliich were simply force pumps with tanks hand- 
 filled with water by means of buckets, while this was an 
 adequate self-supplying as well as discharging apparatus. 
 " It was the first successful and complete suction fire-engine 
 made in the United States, far excelling and superseding 
 all preceding fire-engines and systems. Its original cost was 
 'f725, but its subsequent elaborate ornamentation, at the 
 expense of the company, increased the cost to -13,000." f 
 The company, to wliich belonged some of the wealthy and 
 influential citizens (such as Zachariah Allen and Elisha Dyer, 
 Jr.) and many of the ablest and most energetic young busi- 
 ness men (who manned the brakes) was a social club as well. 
 
 * James William Wallack, father of Lester Wallack, came to America 
 in 1818, and I saw him in 1819 in the old Federal Theatre in Boston. To 
 me he was the most pleasant, if not the greatest, actor whom I ever saw. 
 I have seen the elder Kean as Hamlet, the elder Booth as Sir Pertinax 
 Mac Sycophant [in Macklin's comedy, TJie Way of the Workl], and many 
 other stars. But Mr. Wallack as Rolla, Coriolanus, Don Felix (in Tlie 
 Wonder), and in Three and Deuce and The Children in the Wood, not to 
 mention Dick Dashall and other characters, made a lasting impression 
 on my mind that he was the great actor of his age. [Journal, March 25, 
 1877.] 
 
 t Providence Plantations, p. 120. 
 
146 
 
 SOCIAL LIFE IN PROVIDENCE. 
 
 Its success, both in putting out fires and in having " jolly 
 times," led to the formation of other like organizations which 
 became prominent features of Providence society. They had 
 expensive machines adorned with gold and silver decorations, 
 handsome halls for social and business meetings, and brilliant 
 uniforms for parades and excursions. Running to a fire was 
 usually enlivened by a race with a rival company. Extiu- 
 
 THE FIRST HYDRAULION FIRE ENGINE. 
 
 guishing the blaze was made enjoyably exciting by the effort 
 to "suck" (empty) or "wash" (fill to overflowing) another 
 " tub," whenever the water was taken from a distant point 
 and pumped from engine to engine. After the fire had been 
 put out, two companies often indulged in the delightful sport 
 of turning their streams on one another, each endeavoring to 
 drown out the other and drive it from its macliine. 
 
 When Stimson & Hodges began business, fire insurance (as 
 distinguished from marine insurance) was in its infancy, at 
 least in Providence. One feature of its growth was the form- 
 ation by merchants of small associations for fire protection, 
 
SOCIAL LIFE IN PROVIDENCE. 147 
 
 such as The Mutual Fire Society, a comparatively old organ- 
 ization* which father joined in or about 1830, when it num- 
 bered twenty-four members, a list of whose names, residences 
 and places of business he preserved among his papers. 
 
 One form of public entertainment then in vogue, fortunately 
 now obsolete, and the last one of its kind recorded in these 
 Journals, may be noted here as a matter of history : — " 1824, 
 November 14. I witnessed the Rhode Island fashion of pun- 
 ishing criminals — Bassett flogged with 39 lashes for horse- 
 stealing ; Randall stood in the pillory on Court House Square 
 about an hour, cropped and branded. The cropping and 
 branding did not amount to much." 
 
 The people of Providence must have been a sociable and 
 hospitable folk, for there is frequent mention, sometimes as 
 often as once a week, of social gatherings at private houses. 
 Ways of living were then simple, and recreations were usually 
 inexpensive. To " give a party " meant to provide a room or 
 rooms in which the guests could chat, sing, dance and have a 
 good time ; if a " collation " was added, it was generally 
 a slight repast prepared by the family and served in an in- 
 formal manner. A "ball" was a more imposing affair, in 
 which only a wealthy resident could indulge as host. Some 
 of the military companies, the First Light Infantry for in- 
 stance, gave annual balls at their armories. But these were 
 momentous events, and not very frequent at this period. 
 
 Now and then the young men walked to some tavern for a 
 simple meal. " 1825, December 25. Walked to Pawtucket 
 and took supper at Blake's. Walked back, as the hackman 
 asked one dollar apiece for bringing us in." Walking,! often 
 
 * Jason Williams died this day in Providence in his 89th year. In 1830 
 we were members of a Fire Society which he had joined in 1802. [Jour- 
 nal, June 6, 1863.] 
 
 t Died this day in Boston, John Tuckerman, aged 71 years. In the 
 year 1824 he, with Charles Graapner and Thaxter, walked from Boston 
 to Providence [about forty miles] to make me a visit. [Journal, March 
 28, 1871.] 
 
148 SOCIAL LIFE IN PlIOVIDENCE. 
 
 for long distances, was then a very common pastime, espe- 
 cially walking for a supper, and so continued to the end of the 
 Civil War. Thus it was quite usual in the early sixties for 
 Harvard students to walk into Boston in the evening, partake 
 of a twenty-five cent plate of delicious waffles at Parker's 
 popular hotel, or a fifteen-cent dish of oysters at Copeland's 
 oyster-house, and walk back to Cambridge. 
 
 Of the social entertainments at Providence participated in 
 by my father, one series is mentioned over and over again 
 in his Journals and letters as pre-eminently delightful ; and as 
 late as 1876 he compiled a list of those who attended regu- 
 larly in the earliest years (1824 to 1826) in which they were 
 held. These were the " Cotillion Parties,"* of which he was 
 a manager, which met at Peter S. Minard's Washington Hall. 
 They were originated by a number of young men who held 
 their first meeting, of which he was chairman, on December 
 20, 1824, and the first party was given December 30, on 
 whicli occasion he " waited on " Miss Martha Comstock, whom 
 he married about three years later. From sixty to ninety 
 young ladies and gentlemen attended these festive meetings, 
 for wliich " party " seems altogether too modest a title. There 
 was dancing, with buglers to punctuate the time ; and there 
 was a supper of cakes and pies and wine, — as many as seven- 
 teen bottles of wine, costing one dollar apiece, were charged 
 in one bill ; and there were carriages provided for some- 
 bodies, perhaps distinguished guests, at the general expense ; 
 and altogether these must have been very grand occasions. 
 The first season each party cost the entertainers about seventy- 
 five dollars, say two dollars apiece, and there were four parties 
 each winter. The business management must have been good, 
 as at the end of one season there was on hand a surplus of 
 eleven dollars and fifty cents, which, " by vote of the Provi- 
 dence Cotillion Party," was presented to the Dorcas Society. 
 
 *See Appendix V. 
 
SOCIAL LIFE IN PROVIDENCE. 149 
 
 Being very fond of music, and possessing a sweet tenor voice 
 of somewhat unusual range, father became a member of sev- 
 eral musical associations. The first of these, in order of time, 
 was a glee club which, under the familiar appellation of The 
 Pig and Wliistle Club, met frequently for practice, sang at 
 social gatherings, and on balmy nights serenaded the young 
 ladies. Perhaps they sometimes sang at political meetings, 
 for one of their songs was the following ditty, then locally 
 popular, which refers to President Andrew Jackson and his 
 
 " Kitchen Cabinet " : * 
 
 GLEE. 
 
 Tune. — "Z)ame Burden." 
 
 King Andrew had five trusty Squires, 
 
 Wtiom he held his bid to do ; 
 He also liad three pilot fish, 
 
 To give to the sharks their cue. 
 There was Lew. and Ben. and Lev. and Bill, 
 
 And Roger of Tawney hue, 
 And Blair the Book, and Kendall chief cook, 
 
 And Isaac, surnamed the True. 
 And Blair push'd Lewis, and Ben. touch'd Billy, 
 And Ike jogg'd Levi, and Cass touch'd Amos 
 
 And Roger of Tawney hue. 
 
 Now was not this a medley crew 
 
 As ever a mortal knew ? 
 
 King Andrew had an itching palm 
 
 To finger the nation's cash ; 
 Most of 'em thought 'twas just the thing. 
 
 But some, it would be rash. 
 He asked Lew. and Ben. and Lev. and Bill, 
 
 And Roger of Tawney hue, 
 
 * The eight Kitchen Cabinet members here mentioned were : Lewis 
 Cass, becretary of War ; Benjamin F. Butler, Attorney General ; Levi 
 Woodbury, Secretary of the Navy and of the Treasury ; William B. Lewis 
 of Tennessee ; Roger B. Taney, Attorney General, Acting Secretary of the 
 Treasury, later Chief Justice ; Francis P. Blair, Editor of the Washing- 
 ton Globe; Amos Kendall, Postmaster General ; and Isaac Hill, Editor 
 of the New Hampshire Patriot and U. S. Senator. 
 
150 SOCIAL LIFE IN PROVIDENCE. 
 
 And Blair the Book, and Kendall chief cook, 
 
 And Isaac surnamed the True. 
 And Blair push'd Lewis, and Ben. touch'd Billy 
 And Ike jogg'd Levi, and Cass touch'd Amos 
 
 And Roger of Tawney hue. 
 
 Now was not this a medley crew 
 
 As ever a mortal knew ? 
 
 The Gen'ral took his cook's advice, 
 
 And hurried away the Rhino ; 
 But where it went — aye, there's the rub — 
 
 I'm sure neither you nor I know. 
 For there's Lew. and Ben. and Lev. and Bill, 
 
 And Roger of Tawney hue, 
 And Blair the Book, and Kendall chief cook. 
 
 And Isaac surnamed the True. 
 And Blair push'd Lewis, and Ben. touch'd Billy 
 And Ike jogg'd Levi, and Cass touch'd Amos 
 
 And Roger of Tawney hue. 
 
 Now was not this a medley crew 
 
 As ever a mortal knew ? 
 
 Early in 1824 father began to take music lessons of Oliver 
 Shaw,* on either the violin or the clarinet, or both, as he played 
 both at a later day. In the spring of 1826 he was elected 
 president of the ^olian Society at its first meeting — a musi- 
 cal society which breathed softly and soon died. In 1827 and 
 1828 he was treasurer, and his friend Cornelius S. Cartee was 
 secretary, of the Rossini Association, which ended its melo- 
 dious existence about 1829, when A. D. Hodges, William H. 
 Townsend, Sylvanus Tingley and Cornelius S. Cartee, " Mem- 
 bers of the Rossini Association," did " resign and convey to 
 the Philharmonic Society all our right, title and interest in 
 and to eight music books." 
 
 * Oliver Shaw, aged 70, au old and valued friend, died in Providence 
 December 31. He has been blind over fifty years, but has brought up a 
 large family of children by his exertions as teacher of music. [Journal, 
 Jan. 1, 1S49.] 
 
SOCIAL LIFE IN PROVIDENCE. 151 
 
 The Providence Philharmonic Society was probably organ- 
 ized by Oliver Shaw in 1829, and became at once one of the 
 most prominent associations of the place. It was composed 
 of two classes of members, the subscribers and the active 
 members, and comprised an orchestra and a glee club. It had 
 a successful career of five winter seasons, during which it 
 gave twenty-six concerts of vocal and instrumental music, 
 besides several " rehearsals," and a few concerts for charita- 
 ble purposes open to the public, — all occasions of intense 
 enjoyment for the performers and presumably of pleasure for 
 the auditors. 
 
 The names of those active members who are mentioned in 
 father's Journals were as follows : — 
 
 Oliver Shaw, president and leader Marcus Coburn, leader of 
 1829 to 1832. the glee club. 
 
 Edward K. Hansen, violin soloist, William E. Cutting, second 
 president and leader 1833 to clarinet.J 
 
 1834.* Eichard E. Eddy. 
 
 A. D. Hodges, first clarinet, sec- John F. B. Flagg.§ 
 
 retary ; also in the glee club. Joseph C. Greene, bugle. 
 
 Job Angell. Lang, bugle. 
 
 H. E. Barney. Danforth Lyon.|| 
 
 Cornelius S. Cartee.f John Lyon. 
 
 Samuel Cartee. Moses Noyes. 
 
 * Edward R. Hansen, aged 56, died in Berlin, 111., July 9, 1854. Late 
 president of the old Philharmonic Society in Providence. An accom- 
 plished musician and a valued friend. [Journal, Sept. 14-, 1854.] 
 
 t See Appendix V. 
 
 t William E. Cutting, in his 48th year. Notice of his death in the 
 Providence paper. My old friend. He played second clarinet to my 
 first in the old Providence Philharmonic Society. {Journal, Nov. 22, 
 1S4S.] 
 
 § Dr. J. F. B. Flagg, aged about 70, died in West Chester, Penn., on 
 the Sth inst. A former resident of Providence. My old friend and dent- 
 ist, and fellow-member of the Providence Philharmonic Society. [Jour- 
 nal, Sept. 17, 1872.] 
 
 II Danforth Lyon, aged 72, died in Providence this day. [Journul, 
 Ain-il 12, 1857.] 
 
152 
 
 SOCIAL LIFE IN PROVIDENCE. 
 
 James N, Olney.* 
 George Peirce. 
 William H. Smith. f 
 
 Samuel Tingley. 
 Sylvanus Tingley. J 
 Leander M. Ware. 
 
 The last concert of the Society was given on May 5, 1884, 
 with the following programme : — 
 
 (©(Dii®isia*a*' 
 
 Tilt Sixth and last Concert of the Course, hy Iht 
 Philhamwnic Society, takes place at the Ma^oiuc 
 Hall, 
 
 IPiUBSnOtEfEiAffiSo 
 
 Part 1. 
 
 ! OvEBTnRE — La Dame Blanche 
 
 2 Song — Cry of the Hounds 
 
 3 MiNUETTO — 
 
 4 (iLEE — Hark the Curfew 
 
 5 UONDO — 
 
 6 Ombra Adorato — Two Flutes, Piano accom- 
 
 paniment 
 
 7 Overture — Guy Mannerinsf 
 
 Boildim 
 
 Bishop 
 
 Gyi oiLLtz 
 
 JltWOOil 
 
 CyroiLLiz 
 
 Zin^cicll 
 JUiiho]) 
 
 Part II. 
 
 Overture — Tancredi 
 
 Song— The Sea 
 
 Adagio and Minuetto — 
 
 Solo— Violin ^flft/^n/ 
 
 Providence First Light Infantry Grand Match 
 
 Glee — Lutzow's Wild Hunt 
 
 Finale — Battle of Prague. 
 
 IiO!.SWl 
 
 Chev. JVeukomm 
 Plcjd 
 
 Hansen 
 Vl^ebcr 
 
 Subscribers can obtain extra tickets, for Ladies, by applying at 
 No 19, Arcade. 
 The Overture will commence at quarter before 8 o'clock 
 
 * See Appendix V. One of the founders of the Brooklyn, N. Y., Phil- 
 liarmouic Society, if the Editor's memory is correct. Founder of several 
 musical societies in San Francisco and Oakland, Cal. 
 
 t William Henry Smith [possibly not the member of the Philharmonic 
 Society] died in Providence on the 19th inst. The late Governor Dorr's 
 Secretary of State. [Journal, May 20, 1S60.] 
 
 I Sylvanus Tingley, aged about 72, died in Attlehorough, Mass., the 
 last summer. A member of the old Providence Philharmonic Society. 
 [Journal, Sept. 28, 1S54.] 
 
SOCIAL LIFE IN PROVIDENCE. 153 
 
 On January 26, 1825, a debating society was formed with 
 the euphonious title of The Rliode Island Association of 
 Economical and Odd Fellows — an unofficial variant recorded 
 is The Rascally Ignorant Abominable Officious Evil Arrogant 
 Odd Fellows — whose initials, T. R. I. A. O. *E. A. O. F., 
 were used in the printed notices, and wliich was commonly 
 called, in briefer parlance. The Odd Fellows. " The society 
 flourished more than twenty years, and numbered among its 
 members some of the most talented men of Rhode Island. 
 The officers for the first year were : F. L. Wheaton, presi- 
 dent ; Allen O. Peck and Almon D. Hodges, vice presidents ; 
 John Howell, secretary ; besides some others whose names I 
 do not now (1859) remember, except Dudley Hix, the door- 
 keeper, the queerest and most comical specimen of humanity 
 ever produced in that neighborhood. At the first meeting 
 the president delivered a witty address, and James A. Jack- 
 son recited a poem." * 
 
 The members of this society believed in the formal observ- 
 ance of the anniversaries of important national events, and 
 strove to spread this belief among their fellow citizens. When 
 they could not induce the town of Providence to commemo- 
 rate a day of historical importance — the Glorious Fourth, for 
 instance — they held a celebration of their own, with supper, 
 oration and poem, to which they invited prominent guests. 
 When they were successful in their efforts, they took active 
 part in the public ceremonies. My father was several times a 
 member of the Committee of Arrangements at public celebra- 
 tions of the Fourth of July, and on the one hundredth anni- 
 versary of Washington's Birthday, he acted as Chief Marshal. f 
 
 * Kecollections of A. D. H. 
 
 t On February 22, 1832, the 100th anniversary of Washington's birth, 
 I acted as Marshal of the Day, George W. Hallett and James N. Olney 
 being Assistant Marshals. Judge John H. Pitman was the Orator, and 
 Samuel Ames read the Farewell Address. There was a large processiuu. 
 After the oration I had a reception at my residence in the Eddy house on 
 Brown Street, and introduced the Assistant Marshals to my son Dauforth, 
 then a lad of five months. [Journal, Feb. 26\ 1875^ and Feb. 22, ISS..'. 
 
154 SOCIAL LIFE IN PROVIDENCE. 
 
 Tlie spirit of the time with reference to public festivities 
 is shown by the following letter printed in the Providence 
 Jour7ial of June 25, 1872 : — 
 
 Recollections of the Olden Time in Providence — 
 Fourth of July Celebrations. 
 
 Portsmouth, R. L, June 21 [1872]. 
 
 The fiftieth anniversary of American Independence, 1826, was 
 celebrated in Providence by a grand show of both the civil and 
 the military authorities. General Josiah Whitaker and Colonel 
 Nehemiah S. Draper were of the committee of arrangements, and 
 they were very successful in their efforts to make the celebration 
 worthy of the occasion. Hon. William Hunter delivered the ora- 
 tion in the First Congregational Church (Dr. Edes), and it was 
 one of his most successful efforts. During one of his most happy 
 flights of oratory, he looked over the pulpit into a pew near the 
 front, where were seated four of " the boys," as he termed them 
 with an eloquent reference to their act, who had a hand in the 
 destruction of the English ship Gaspee in Providence River at 
 the commencement of tlie Revolution ; and such a storm of ap- 
 plause arose from the closely packed audience as was never before 
 heard in that venerable house. Dr. Ephraim Bowen, Dr. John 
 Mawney and Turpin Smith were there seated as three of "the 
 boys." * 
 
 There had been an opposition to the appropriation of large sums 
 of money for sucli occasions for a few years, and if my recollec- 
 tion serves me rightly, five hundred dollars, an extraordinary sum 
 for the occasion, were appropriated for that year. The opposition 
 at the Town House was so intense against a celebration in 1827, 
 or it was found so difficult to get gentlemen to serve on the com- 
 mittee, that it was passed over at the town meeting. But the 
 
 * The same writer in another letter on tliis same subject, printed in 
 the Providence Journal of July 4, 1876, stated : "Tlie four boys referred 
 to above were Col. Ephraim Bowen, Cajjt. Turpin Smith, Dr. John 
 Mawney and Capt. Benjamin Page, all nearly or over eighty years of 
 
SOCIAL LIFE IN PROVIDENCE. 155 
 
 young men took the matter in hand, a very generous sum was 
 raised by suhscrij^tion, a committee of young men, sixteen in num- 
 ber, was appointed, and a splendid celebration followed. William 
 S. Patten was chairman ; Amos D. Smith was secretary ; Albert 
 G. Greene, one of the best speakers in those days for occasions of 
 the kind, was the orator ; and excellently well did all parties do 
 their parts. The committee erected a splendid arch, spanning the 
 Great Bridge, which our oldest citizens probably will recollect. 
 
 When the next year's June town meeting was held (1828) for 
 the purpose of making an appropi'iation for celebrating the fifty- 
 second anniversary, we had the usual opposition, but, if I recollect 
 rightly, two hundred and fifty dollars were appropriated. The 
 usual difficulty about obtaining a committee of arrangements 
 arose at the meeting. A great many gentlemen were tendered 
 the honor, but all declined except Almon D. Hodges and Samuel 
 I. Smith. Both of these being absent from town, there was no 
 opportunity for them to decline at the meeting ; and on their ar- 
 rival home they consented to serve provided that they could 
 obtain an orator. After they had called on a large number of 
 eloquent gentlemen who declined, Rev. David Pickering con- 
 sented, with the understanding that some other reverend gentle- 
 man should make the prayer. A large number of the ministers 
 of Providence were called on and all declined. In this dilemma 
 the orator told the committee that, if it would be any particular 
 accommodation to them, he would serve as orator, make the prayer, 
 perform the sexton's and the usher's duties — do anything except 
 play on the organ ; he somewhat doubted his ability to do that. 
 And as his organist, Henry H. Fish, was absent, he proposed con- 
 gregational music without the organ. The reverend gentleman 
 went through all services required of him, very much to the satis- 
 faction of the committee and with a very happy effect on the 
 audience. The committee, having some doubts of the appropria- 
 tion holding out, sj)ent thirty dollars for fireworks, which, with 
 the assistance of Edward Carlisle, they fired off thetnselves, from 
 an old scow on the Cove in the evening. According to the best 
 of my remembrance, these were the first fireworks at a Fourth of 
 July celebration in Providence, and w^ere quite satisfactory to the 
 assembled crowd. 
 
156 SOCIAL LIFE IN" PROVIDENCE. 
 
 The appropriation was not all expended, and the balance in the 
 hands of the committee, twenty-three dollars and eighty-two cents, 
 was paid back to the venerable town treasurer, John Rowland, who 
 said to the writer that such an act, according to his best recollection, 
 knowledge and belief, had never before been heard of. a. d. h. 
 
 The Providence Athenaeum was chartered originally in 
 June, 1831. It later united with the Providence Library, 
 and the consolidated society was incorporated in January, 
 1836, as The Atheneum, A. D. Hodges being one of the 
 corporators. The library was located in the Arcade until 
 July 16, 1836, when the present building on Benefit Street 
 was opened. 
 
 Commencement Day at Brown University was for many 
 years the great holiday of Providence. All citizens were 
 supposed to be at home, and a large number kept open house. 
 From time out of mind until Dr. Wayland became president 
 (in 1827), it had been the custom on the evening before 
 Commencement for the students to illuminate the various 
 buildings, entertain their friends, and have a general jollifica- 
 tion, attracting crowds to the college grounds. This custom 
 Dr. Wayland abolished, despite strong opposition on the part 
 of the students. 
 
 Monday, August 23, 1824, was a great day for Rhode Island, 
 and a long and oratorical day for the Nation's Guest, General 
 Lafaj'^ette. 
 
 Early in the morning the General left Plainfield, Connecti- 
 cut, about thirty miles from Providence, and rode under escort 
 to the State line. Here he was met, with welcoming speeches, 
 by the aides of the Governor of Rhode Island and other 
 persons, and conducted to the Providence boundary. At this 
 point the representatives of the town met him, delivered 
 themselves of their speech, and placed him in a barouche 
 drawn by four white horses ; and amid the booming of 
 cannon, he was escorted through town by a procession more 
 
GENERAL LAFAYETTE. 
 
GENERAL LAFAYETTE. 157 
 
 than a mile long. The General rode alone, uncovered, sa- 
 luted with a continuous roar of cheers, — the crowd, through 
 which he passed slowly, taking advantage of every pause to 
 obtain the honor of grasping his hand. It was a general holi- 
 day. All the stores were closed and all business ceased. 
 
 At the foot of the State House parade, on North Main 
 Street, Lafayette alighted and walked between lines of wliite- 
 clad girls who strewed his path with flowers. Entering the 
 State House, he embraced his former companion in arms, 
 Stephen Olney, and was received — with more oratory — by 
 Governor James Fenner and other officials. Crossing Benefit 
 Street to the Globe tavern,* he held there a popular reception, 
 and was banqueted, and toasted, by the town authorities. 
 About half-j^ast four in the afternoon, arm in arm with the 
 Governor, he walked in review in front of the militia, drawn 
 up on parade on Benefit Street, and on arriving at the end of 
 the line was again addressed. Entering a carriage with the 
 Governor, an officer of the militia (Col. Bowen), and a dis- 
 tinguished citizen (Zachariah Allen), he rode away, cheered 
 by the populace and escorted by a numerous company on 
 horseback and in carriages. 
 
 In Pawtucket the General was greeted by a display of 
 flags, ringing of bells, salutes of artillery, and a fresh con- 
 course of enthusiastic people. He alighted for a few minutes, 
 and many citizens were introduced to him, shook hands with 
 him, and evinced a willingness to address him. Thence he 
 proceeded, still under escort, to the Massachusetts boundary, 
 which he reached at six o'clock, where he was formally and 
 oratorically turned over to the care of the Bay State, repre- 
 sented officially by the Governor's staff and unofficially by an 
 admiring multitude. 
 
 *Then kept by Sanford Horton. Called formerly the Goldea Ball 
 Inn, and subsequently Chappotin's Tavern and Hotel and the City Man- 
 sion House. 
 
158 GENERAL LAFAYETTE. 
 
 The triumphal procession moved on along the turnpike 
 to Boston, everywhere greeted with enthusiasm. At eight 
 o'clock it came to Fuller's tavern in Walpole, where " a large 
 battalion of troops " was encountered ; also shoutings and ad- 
 dresses. Near midnight Dedham was reached. The town 
 was illuminated. A brief stop was made, a large number of 
 ladies and gentlemen was introduced and a few brief speeches 
 were spoken. At Roxbury there were rockets, salvos of artil- 
 lery, and more cheering; and here, escorted by a throng of 
 people, he arrived at two o'clock in the morning at the resi- 
 dence of his old friend of the Continental Army, Governor 
 William Eustis, was embraced, introduced, hand-shaken, ad- 
 dressed, cheered madly, and finally allowed to go to bed. 
 
 This seems to have been a sample day of Lafayette's tri- 
 umphant tour through the United States, That for a whole 
 year he could listen diurnally to so many " eloquent speeches " 
 and make so many " fitting replies," indicates strong powers 
 of endurance. 
 
 The son of Jonathan Hodges of the Continental Army was 
 not the man to remain quiet on such an occasion. He was 
 among the most enthusiastic of those who welcomed Lafay- 
 ette at Providence, and his enthusiasm was not satisfied with 
 one day of welcome. After the banquet, he and other ardent 
 young men secured an extra stage and started for Boston, 
 keeping a little in advance of the General. When Fuller's 
 tavern in South Walpole was reached, it being quite dark, the 
 battalion of light infantry posted there mistook the first car- 
 riage for that containing the General, and gave its occupants 
 a military salute. The salute was returned with such over- 
 charged pomp and politeness by the party in the stage, that 
 the troops were first stunned and then excited. Stony pro- 
 jectiles flew towards the vehicle, whose driver whipped up his 
 horses and carried his rejoicing passengers out of range. 
 
 At half-past twelve o'clock the party reached Boston and 
 passed the store of J. D. & M. Williams. Here father, fear- 
 
GENERAL LAFAYETTE. 159 
 
 ing great difficulty in securing a bed at any public house on 
 account of the crowds pouring into the city, made a burglari- 
 ous entry and took possession of the bedchamber of the 
 clerks, who had gone to Roxbury to see the reception at 
 the Eustis house. Arising at five o'clock, he hunted up his 
 old company, the Boston City Guards, who welcomed him to 
 their ranks. With this company, acting as non-commissioned 
 officer, he marched to again greet Lafayette. 
 
 It was one of Boston's greatest celebrations. The city 
 authorities, the military companies, and a great throng of 
 civilians marched out on the Neck to the Roxbury line. 
 Here General Lafayette was received in the usual manner, 
 Mayor Josiah Quincy " speaking with great eloquence," and 
 the General " making a fitting reply." Then the procession 
 — the largest escort ever seen in Boston up to this time — 
 started back through the crowded streets and past the pro- 
 fusely decorated houses, amid peals of bells, roars of cannon 
 and shoutings of the multitude. On arriving at the Common, 
 the General reviewed the pupils of the public schools who, 
 drawn up in double lines on the Tremont Street Mall and 
 attired in red, white and blue, sang the Marseillaise and threw 
 flowers before his feet. At the State House the State and 
 City authorities formally received their guest, who was after- 
 wards escorted to his temporary residence at the head of Park 
 Street, where he held a public reception. About five o'clock 
 there was the usual banquet, with the inevitable toasts, at the 
 Exchange Coffee House. 
 
 The most notable decoration this day was a triumphal arch 
 on Washington Street, just south of Dover Street, at the site 
 of the ancient barrier of 1631, the brick-, stone- and earth- 
 works of 1710, and the stronger fortifications of 1774. In- 
 scribed on this arch was a motto (written by Boston's 
 banker-poet, Charles Sprague) wliich became famous, and is 
 said to have called tears to the eyes of General Lafayette. 
 " It made such an impression on me," wrote my father in 
 
160 BUNKER HILL MONUMENT. 
 
 1875, " that I committed it to memory, and it has remained 
 with me more than fifty years : — 
 
 ' The fathers in glory shall sleep, 
 
 Who gathered with thee to the fight ; 
 But their sons will eternally keep 
 
 The tablet of gratitude bright. 
 We bow not the head, we bend not the knee. 
 But our hearts, Lafayette, we surrender to thee.' " 
 
 On Wednesday father returned by stage to Providence, 
 starting from Boston at nine in the morning, stopping two 
 hours for dinner at Policy's tavern in Walpole, and arriving 
 home at sunset. 
 
 Another, perhaps grander, occasion on which Lafayette was 
 the principal star, and in which my father participated, was 
 the laying of the corner-stone of Bunker Hill Monument on 
 June 17, 1825. 
 
 On the 15th of June* a jjarty of six young men, representing 
 the senior class of Brown LTniversity (such of the students as 
 wished to attend the celebration being granted a vacation for the 
 purpose), the Providence Cadets, the Providence Light Infantry, 
 and the Pig and Whistle Club, four in a hack and two in a chaise, 
 started from Providence at four o'clock in the morning to attend 
 the great celebration at Charlestown. These were CorneHus S. 
 Cartee of Brown, Capt. Solomon II. Mudge of the Cadets, Isaac 
 H. Cady, Almon D. Hodges (these in the hack), John K. Bartlett, 
 for many years Secretary of State of Rhode Island, and Albert 
 F. Dyer. We intended to take it leisui-ely and to have a good 
 time generally ; and fearing that we might not find accommoda- 
 tion at a hotel, on account of the great rush from all parts of the 
 country, we took along a company tent with all its equipments, 
 intending to pitch it on Boston Common in case of emergency. 
 
 We reached Taunton at seven o'clock and there breakfasted. 
 At ten o'clock we arrived at Bridgewater and encamped in a va- 
 
 * Condensed from the printed narratives of A. D. Hodges and Cor- 
 nelius S. Cartee, found among father's papers. 
 
BUNKER HILL MONUMENT. 161 
 
 cant lot near the South Bridgewater meeting house. Here we 
 remained until three o'clock in the afternoon, dining and singino- 
 songs and glees, which soon drew around us a goodly companj'^ of 
 the villagers. In return for our music, we were honored with a 
 serenade by the Bridgewater Band. 
 
 At seven o'clock we reached Randolph and encamped for the 
 night. After supper we gave a free concert to a large and de- 
 lighted audience. The programme was made up of glees which 
 were so popular at that time, such as "Dame Durden," "Chairs to 
 Mend," "The Minute Gun at Sea," "Poor Johnny's Dead," and 
 " Crows in a Cornfield," all of which were received with unbounded 
 applause. 
 
 We broke camp the next (Thursday) morning at four o'clock 
 and arrived in Boston at seven, and were fortunate enough to find 
 quarters at the old Tontine Coffee House on Washington Street, 
 a few doors above Milk Street. Thence we sallied forth " to see 
 whatever could be seen ; " and Friday's dawn, " big with the fate 
 of see sir and of roam" found us ready to play our part without a 
 prompter. 
 
 It was a lovely day. New England was largely represented, 
 and great numbers were present from other States of the Union. 
 The procession, said to be over three miles in length, was formed 
 at the State House in Boston and marched to the summit of 
 Bunker Hill in Charlestown. The van, composed of a large mili- 
 tary escort in brilliant array, 200 veterans of the Revolution (40 
 of them, survivors of the battle, in barouches), some wearing the 
 equipments of their ancient and honorable service, a large body 
 of the Masonic fraternity in splendid regalia, an extended line of 
 societies and associations with their badges and banners, and, con- 
 spicuous among all, the honored guest of the Nation, General 
 Lafayette, the streets thronged even to the house-tops with a joy- 
 ous multitude, — all these presented a spectacle never before wit- 
 nessed on this continent. 
 
 With appropriate ceremonies, in the presence of a vast con- 
 course, the corner-stone was laid by the Grand Master of the Grand 
 Lodge of Massachusetts, assisted by General Lafayette, himself a 
 Mason of high degree, and by Daniel Webster, President of the 
 Bunker Hill Monument Association. The procession then moved 
 
162 BUNKER HILL MONUMENT. 
 
 to a spacious amphitheatre on the northern declivity of the hill, 
 to hear Mr. Webster's address. At the end of his grand oration 
 the entire multitude, with the old Boston Brigade Band accom- 
 panying, sang " Old Hundred " in a style never before heard. 
 After this came the grand banquet in an edifice erected on Bunker 
 Hill for the purpose. Here were collected four thousand guests 
 and subscribers to the dinner. 
 
 The next day was devoted by us to sight-seeing, and, on the 
 day after, our party returned to Providence. We had a very 
 grand and a very jovial time, and not a single incident had oc- 
 curred to mar our ])leasure. 
 
 Eighteen years later, in 1843, Colonel Hodges — he was 
 Colonel then — was present at the dedication of the Monu- 
 ment. The principal guest on this occasion was the Presi- 
 dent of the United States. Daniel Webster was again the 
 orator. 
 
 On June 15 President Tyler and his suite arrived at noon 
 in Providence and were received by the city officials and the 
 military companies. Colonel Hodges commanding the Provi- 
 dence Horse Guai'ds. The President was escorted to the 
 Franklin House where a collation was served, held a recep- 
 tion at Westminster Hall, and visited Brown University. At 
 half-past five he dined at the Franklin House with the city 
 authorities, and in the evening took tea with Governor 
 Feinier and attended a party at Mayor Clifford's residence. 
 The next morning he departed for Boston. 
 
 On Saturday, June 17, Colonel Hodges, with the Provi- 
 dence Light Infantry (and many citizens), left Providence at 
 half-past five in the morning and arrived in Boston at half- 
 past seven. They joined the procession which began to move 
 from the Common about nine o'clock, sixty companies of 
 militia with twenty-four bands of music forming the first 
 division. When the rear of this division had passed the 
 State House, the Governor's body-guard (the Boston and the 
 Salem Cadets) fell in, escorting the high dignitaries and 
 
BUNKER HILL MONUMENT. im 
 
 the invited guests, who were in carriages. Among the guests 
 were 108 veterans of the Revolution. Then followed the 
 second division, composed of prominent of6cials and citizens 
 from the New England and other States, and numerous so- 
 cieties. The procession occupied one hour in passing a given 
 point, and reached Monument Square in Charlestown two 
 hours after leaving the State House. The Presidential party 
 with the guests drove at once into the Square, escorted by 
 the Boston Lancers and the Cadets (the rest of the military 
 escort remaining without), and were followed by the second 
 division. Then the guards were withdrawn and the attendant 
 throng rushed in. 
 
 After a prayer by Rev. George E. Ellis, Mr. J. T. Bucking- 
 ham, President of the Monument Association, introduced the 
 orator of the day, who for an hour and fifty-six minutes (those 
 who couldn't hear could gaze at their watches) charmed and 
 swayed liis audience by liis eloquence. Meantime the militia 
 outside the Square received their rations as a substitute for 
 rhetoric. 
 
 After the oration, the procession reformed and marched 
 back to Boston, where were other festivities, including the 
 customary banquet. For these proceedings Colonel Hodges 
 and the majority of the Providence visitors did not wait, but 
 so soon as Mr. Webster ceased speaking, hurried back to the 
 railroad station in Boston and took the half-past four train 
 home. " I arrived at home at a quarter-past six, after passing 
 a very pleasant day," wrote our Journalist, with much less 
 enthusiasm than he had expressed concerning the celebration 
 of laying the corner-stone of the Monument. 
 
 A third time (it was the second time chronologically) my 
 father started with Providence friends to foregather at Bunker 
 Hill. It was on September 10, 1840, when the Wliigs held 
 their " great Bunker Hill Convention," claimed as the largest 
 political meeting held in New England since the close of the 
 Revolutionary War. To this came delegates from almost 
 
164 WHIG CELEBRATIONS. 
 
 every part of the Union, Rhode Island sending nearly two 
 thousand. A procession three miles long, with numbers esti- 
 mated from 50,000 to 75,000, marched from the Common in 
 Boston to Bunker Hill, where Daniel Webster, " surrounded 
 by the venerable men who fought the battles of the Revolu- 
 tion," made the principal address. 
 
 Father, not feeling well, dropped out of the procession as 
 it left the Common. He dined with his dear friend Moses 
 Williams, and in the evening attended a political meeting at 
 the Odeon. He spent the night with his friend Dr. Marshall 
 S. Perry, who sent him home the next morning. There he 
 took to his bed for nearly a month, laid up with inflammatory 
 rheumatism,* variegated by an abscess of the cheek which 
 entirely closed one eye and caused the loss of several pieces 
 of the cheek bones. 
 
 Father was present at the Clay and Frelinghuysen celebra- 
 tion in Boston on September 10, 1844, to which Rhode Island 
 sent a large delegation. He saw the long procession of horse- 
 men and footmen and bands of music, with a great profusion 
 of flags and of banners inscribed with mottoes and devices. 
 The streets were lined with crowds, and the houses were 
 decorated with flags, streamers, flowers and evergreens. He 
 attended the big, fervent mass meeting on the Common, which 
 vociferously applauded Daniel Webster and other impassioned 
 speakers from all parts of the country. Not until the Civil 
 War was there another such enthusiastic political gathering 
 in New England ; never since that date has there been a 
 political meeting at which so many representatives from so 
 many different States have been present. 
 
 On September 6, 1842, my father journeyed to Taunton 
 and six miles beyond, and visited a " Mormon Camp Meet- 
 ing." But as to what was done there, or how he was im- 
 pressed, the Journal is silent. 
 
 * He had had a five-weeks' attack of this in 1838. 
 
MILITARY SERVICE IN RHODE ISLAND. 
 
 N September 30, 1824, "having been duly warned, 
 I turned out in the ranks of the Ward Militia 
 company, under command of Capt. Christian M. 
 Nestell, and was appointed corporal pro tern. We 
 marched to the Training Field, where the regiment, com- 
 manded by Col. Earl Carpenter, had a field day, including a 
 sham fight by the light troops."* 
 
 On July 9, 1825, Almon D. Hodges was appointed and 
 commissioned Adjutant of the 2nd Regiment, 2nd Brigade of 
 the Rhode Island Militia, by Colonel John Church ; and on 
 May 25, 1826, the commission was renewed. This was a 
 favorite office. The uniform of the Adjutant was considered 
 the handsomest worn, and his duties on parade and drill 
 made him very prominent. 
 
 On the fourth Monday of June, 1827, Adjutant Hodges 
 was elected Lieutenant Colonel of the same regiment by 
 the General Assembly of the State, and was commissioned 
 accordingly by " His Excellency, James Fenner, Governor, 
 Captain-General and Commander in Chief of the State of 
 Rhode Island and Providence Plantations," under date of 
 July 2, 1827. 
 
 On the first Wednesday of May, 1828, Lieutenant Colonel 
 Hodges was elected Colonel of the same regiment by the 
 General Assembly, and was commissioned by the Governor 
 on May 12, 1828. 
 
 These military elections by the General Assembly, and com- 
 missions by the Governor, were for the term of one year only. 
 
 * Recollections of A. D. H. 
 (1(35) 
 
106 WILITARY SERVICE IN RHODE ISLAND. 
 
 Colonel Hodges was re-elected yearly until 1833, when he 
 declined to serve longer. 
 
 Although my father always maintained the proper dignity 
 of any position wliich he held, he never allowed consideration 
 
 TO ALL CONCEBNEB. 
 
 BY virtue of Authority, in me vested by the Honourable General As- 
 eemljly of the SMe q£- FAe^ -lbjgind and Providence Plantatiop, J dohereW. 
 appoint ^o\ifipp^ffr^t^ J^Mz-^^I^A to the Office oi^Mlf^^t^C^r>^, 
 in the Second Rcgtoient of Mililia/^^m^State, under my command. 
 
 In executing the duties of which Office, you will strictly conform (o the 
 orders you may receive from youf superior Officers j_^£ir j^phich this shall be 
 your sufficient Warrant, 
 
 Qvven, underfiny^nd and seal this c^/l/'ytV^^^^-^^ -' ^ay «fj 
 
 ^^^y 
 
 of the second Regiment 
 f Militia, State of Rhode-Island, 
 in the second Brigade^ 
 
 COMMISSION AS ADJUTANT 2d REGIMENT. 
 
 of rank to interfere in the least with duty to country or 
 friends. Thus, when the First Light Infantry made a trip 
 to Worcester in July, 1829, Colonel Hodges, at the solicitation 
 of Captain Field, accepted temporarily the subordinate posi- 
 tion of Oommissary of the compayiy, and served in this capacity 
 
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 COMMISSION AS LIEUTENANT-COLONEL 2d REGIMENT. 
 
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COMMISSION AS COLONEL 2ci REGIMENT. 
 
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 COMMISSION AS LIEUTENANT-COLONEL, REG'T OF POLICE COMPANIES. 
 
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 COMMISSION AS COLONEL OF PROVIDENCE HORSE GUARDS. 
 
 (170) 
 
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 COL. A. D. HODGES, 
 
 Providence Horse Guards. 
 
MILITARY SERVICE IN RHODE ISLAND. 171 
 
 during the journey.* When the riots broke out in Provi- 
 dence in 1831, and the town was thrown into alarm, Colonel 
 Hodges assumed the still lower grade of Orderly Sergeant of 
 a hastily-raised volunteer guard, and patrolled the streets 
 during the night. And when, on May 18, 1842, the city was 
 aroused at midnight by the report that the Dorrites were 
 attacking the State arsenal, this man, who had commanded a 
 regiment, hastened to the armory of the First Light Infantry 
 and marched in the rmiks of the company to repel the attack. 
 Intense loyalty to his country was a marked trait in my 
 father's character. He was no believer in the Divine Right 
 of Governors or of Presidents or even of Party Managers ; 
 but he saw clearly that in a Republic it would be ruinous to 
 liberty if the minority of voters at any election, being dis- 
 satisfied with the result, were allowed to alter that result by 
 force of arms. Hence it was that, while not claiming perfec- 
 tion for the Constitution of his State, and while willing to 
 modify it by legal methods, he at once came to the front to 
 defend that Constitution and the Government under it from 
 an attempt to destroy them by violence. Thus he was brought 
 back in 1842 into the militar}^ life which, he had supposed, 
 he had abandoned permanently on account of business and 
 family duties. He served energetically wherever his services 
 were most needed at the time, whether as private in the ranks 
 
 *The itinerary of this journey was as follows : The company, with a 
 band of four pieces, left Providence on July 2 at 5.15 A. M., and marched 
 to Horton's Grove on the Blackstone River, where breakfast was served 
 at 9 A. M. It then took the canal boat Independence on the Blackstone 
 Canal, and was hauled to Millbury, Mass., reaching this town at 9 P. M., 
 and encamping there. The Commissary supped on bread and milk. 
 The next morning the company re-embarked at 6 A. M., and arrived at 
 Worcester at 8.30 A. M. 
 
 The Blackstone Canal, from Providence to Worcester, was opened to 
 use July 1, 1828. It was built along the course of the Blackstone River, 
 portions of this stream being utilized where it was feasible. It was 
 44% miles long, 45 feet wide and 4 feet deep, and had 49 locks. It 
 proved a financial failure. 
 
172 MILITARY SERVICE IN RHODE ISLAND. 
 
 or as commissioned officer. In recognition of his helpfulness, 
 the State of Rhode Island presented him with a revolving 
 carbine and two horse pistols, wliich he bequeathed to his 
 youngest son. 
 
 In May, 1842, there were armed forces in Providence, seem- 
 ingly ready to attack one another. On tlie one hand were the 
 adherents of Thomas W. Dorr, declaring that they would seize 
 the public property ; on tlie other hand were the militia com- 
 panies, adhering to the legal authority and prepared to sup- 
 port it. Excitement rose to fever heat. About a thousand 
 men volunteered in defence of " Law and Order " and were 
 enrolled in the "Regiment of Police Companies in the City of 
 Providence." On June 4 the Governor commissioned father 
 as Captain of the E^'irst Police Company, and on June 29 as 
 Lieutenant Colonel of the regiment. The popular excitement 
 soon died down, the cause having been removed, and the regi- 
 ment seems to have been disbanded ; for, on October 4, father 
 was commissioned Captain of the Eleventh Volunteer Com- 
 pany of the City of Providence. 
 
 But a number of the men who had volunteered in the emer- 
 gency, among them many citizens of wealth and high social 
 standing,* decided to form a permanent company of light 
 dragoons, being " deeply impressed with the necessity of such 
 an addition to the present militia of the State." 
 
 In the October session of 1842, the General Assembly 
 granted a charter, whereby " Almon D. Hodges, George W. 
 Hallet [afterwards Colonel], Samuel G. Arnold [afterwards 
 
 * Robert H. Ives, of the firm of Brown & Ives, died in Providence this 
 evening. He was a very excellent citizen and his death is deeply deplored 
 by his fellow townsmen. Mr. Ives and his brother, Moses B. Ives, were 
 among the most active members of the Providence Horse Guards when I 
 commanded the company, 1842 to 1845. They, with John Carter Brown 
 and Alexander Duncan raised the company in 1842. [Journal of A. D. H., 
 July 6, 1S75.] 
 
 The four gentlemen here named, although among the most influential 
 men in the city, joined the company as privates. 
 
MILITARY SERVICE IN RHODE ISLAND. 173 
 
 Lieutenant-Governor and U. S. Senator], William W. Hop- 
 pin [afterwards Mayor and Governor], John Giles, Moses B. 
 Ives, John A. Wadsworth and Thomas J. Stead [afterwards 
 General], together with such others as now are or may here- 
 after be associated with them, not exceeding the number of 
 Two Hundred exclusive of officers, be, and they are hereby 
 declared to be, a military company in the [blank] Brigade of 
 Rhode-Island Militia, by the name of the ' Providence Horse 
 Guards.^ " And what was in its day the crack militia com- 
 pany of Rhode Island, came into being. 
 The original officers were : — 
 
 Cajjtain : — Almon D. Hodges. 
 
 Lieutenants : — 1st, George W. Hallet ; 2d, Samuel G. Arnold ; 
 3d, William W. Hoppin ; 4th, John Giles. 
 
 John A. Wadsworth, Adjutant. 
 
 /Surgeon : — George Fabyan. 
 
 Sergeants : — 1st, Henry L. Kendall ; 2d, John T. Pitman; 3d, 
 Amory Chapiu ; 4th, Allen Baker. 
 
 Corporals : — 1st, Thomas L. Dunnell ; 2d, William B. Whi{)ple; 
 3d, Edward C. Wade ; 4th, Orson Moffit. 
 
 Treasurer : — Samuel G. Arnold. 
 
 Clerk : — John A. Wadsworth. 
 
 Standing Committee : — Almon D. Hodges, Alexander Duncan, 
 Amos D. Smith, Allen Baker. 
 
 An act of the General Assembly of the State, in 1843, gave 
 the Captain and the First, Second and Tliird Lieutenants 
 the ranks of Colonel, Lieutenant-Colonel, Major and Captain 
 respectively. 
 
 My father, as Captain and as Colonel, commanded the 
 squadron from its formation until his resignation in 1845 (on 
 account of entering into business in Boston), and took the 
 greatest delight in its drill, discipline and soldierly bearing, 
 and in his friendships with the members of the company. He 
 always declared that the honor of being at the head of such 
 a fine body was sufficient glory for him and refused to accept 
 
174 MILITARY SERVICE IN RHODE ISLAND. 
 
 further military office,* except when his patriotism caused 
 him, at the breaking out of the Civil War, to become Colonel 
 of the Roxbury Horse Guards. The memory of his connec- 
 tion with the Providence Horse Guards was ever an unalloyed 
 pleasure to him, and among his most cherished mementos 
 were the handsome cavalry sabre and the beautiful silver 
 pitcher presented to him by members of the corps, and by him 
 bequeathed to one of his sons. 
 
 The one important and exciting event during his military 
 service in Rhode Island, was the outbreak in 1842 known 
 commonly as the Dorr War. The following account of this 
 trouble he prepared and read before the New England His- 
 toric Genealogical Society in 1869. 
 
 *0n August 7, 1847, he was unanimously elected Brigadier General of 
 the First Brigade, First Division, Massachusetts Militia, and on August 
 17, 1850, he was unanimously elected Colonel of the Suffolk Light In- 
 fantry Regiment; but in both cases he felt compelled to decline. How- 
 ever, in 1847 and 1848 he drilled with great enjoyment a cavalry club in 
 Boston, whose headquarters were at the "riding house" of Nelson E. 
 Nims, 36 Hanover Street, refusing to accept any other title than that of 
 Instructor. Moses Blake Williams, son of Moses Williams, was one of 
 the leading members of this club. 
 
THE DORR WAR. 
 
 •T is now twenty-seven years since the occurrence 
 of the stormy and stirring events which I propose 
 to relate — a sufficient time for political feelings 
 and passions to become cool, and errors in judg- 
 ment to get corrected. I have tried to avoid all speech hav- 
 ing a partisan bearing, and shall endeavor to give a fair and 
 faithful account of the scenes of that period. In recording 
 these occurrences, I have derived assistance from the files 
 of the Providence Journal, then ably edited by Henry B. 
 Anthony, afterwards U. S. Senator, and from a pamphlet 
 published at that time by Jacob Frieze. 
 
 I believe that I am strictly correct in saying that, up to the 
 time in question, neither the Wliig nor the Democratic party 
 in the State, when in power, dared to propose extension of 
 the suffrage, from fear of losing office. 
 
 Dorr called himself a Democrat, and sought aid in his plans 
 from that party. It is therefore proper to say that the lead- 
 ing men of the Democratic party in Rhode Island were among 
 the most uncompromising " Law and Order " men in the 
 State, and that the Dorr faction hated them even worse than 
 they hated the Whigs. 
 
 * This paper entitled " Recollections of the Rebellion in Rhode Island 
 in 1842, known from the name of the principal actor as The Dorr War," 
 was read by Almon D. Hodges before the New England Historic Genea- 
 logical Society in Boston, May 5, Sept. 1 and Oct. 6, 1869. 
 
 ( 1T5 ) 
 
176 THE DORR WAR. 
 
 It is also fair to state that a large number of the Suffrage 
 Party in 1841 and 1842 denounced the violent proceedings 
 of Dorr, and endeavored to dissuade liini and others from 
 their extreme measures. 
 
 Thomas Wilson Dorr, the instigator of the rebellion, was 
 son of Sullivan Dorr, who went from Roxbury, Massachusetts, 
 to Providence in the latter part of the last or the beginning 
 of the present century, and who married Lydia Allen, a beau- 
 tiful and accomplished woman belonging to one of the first 
 families of Providence. 
 
 Thomas Dorr was a man of marked peculiarities. He was 
 at this time about 36 years of age, had been educated at 
 Harvard College, and possessed great abilities in many direc- 
 tions. I knew him well. He could be most agreeable and 
 genial socially, and was endowed with a happy faculty of 
 Ijending the minds of those around liim to his own views. 
 Had he acted judiciously, with the judgment and tact of other 
 politicians and public men, he would have reached, I believe, 
 the liighest offices in the State. He was a very warm friend 
 so long as his opinions were accepted ; but opposition he would 
 not endure, being exceedingly self-willed and headstrong. 
 He was very persistent in his ideas and efforts, and on the 
 subject of the method of changing the form of government 
 he was considered insane by many. 
 
 The men originally in the movement for the extension of 
 the suffrage were very unwilling to admit him to a share in 
 their councils. They said that he belonged to an aristocratic 
 family and hence could have no genuine sympathy with them 
 in their desires. Moreover they had no confidence in his 
 tact and discretion. But Dorr by persistence worked him- 
 self into a position in the party where his ability enabled him 
 to seize and hold the leadership. 
 
 Until 1842, the original charter granted in 1663 by King 
 Charles II to the colony remained in force in Rhode Island, 
 
THOMAS WILSON DORR. 
 
THE DORR WAR. 177 
 
 and the right to vote was allowed only to " freeholders," or 
 owners of real estate of the value of $134, and their eldest 
 sons. This limitation of the suffrage seemed to be satisfac- 
 tory during a long period when almost every man was a free- 
 holder; but when the number of non-voters became large, 
 the subject of extending the suffrage was agitated. At first 
 all that was asked was a rule as liberal as that in Massachu- 
 setts, and this modest demand was favored by many of the 
 freeholders. The extension-of-suffrage party grew rapidly 
 in numbers, especially in the northern part of the State, where 
 many of those already entitled to vote admitted that the 
 time had come for a change, and were prepared to join with 
 the non-freeholders in petitioning the State legislature (tech- 
 nically styled The General Assembly) for a change in the 
 constitution. 
 
 The new party, as it increased, split into two factions — 
 one conservative, the other radical. The radical wing was not 
 fortunate in its leaders, who were good people in their way, 
 but not well gifted with wisdom and reasonableness. 
 
 About 1833, or immediately after the Presidential election 
 of 1832, the ultra free-suffrage party became very active and 
 bitter, and very loud in their claims for office. Meetings were 
 held in Providence in the old town hall, and were addressed 
 generally by mechanics and other working-men, who often 
 displayed considerable oratorical ability. The speeches, how- 
 ever, almost always contained excited attacks upon the "aris- 
 tocrats," "landholders," and " ruffied-shirt gentry" of the 
 opposition, and gross epithets were applied to men of the 
 best reputation who were not in sympathy with the radical 
 movement. In illustration of their ideas, the officers and 
 speech-makers of the meetings appeared on the platform 
 dressed in green baize jackets ; and the members of a " Com- 
 mittee of Correspondence " signed an address to John Quincy 
 Adams, then in Washington, and Francis Baylies of Taunton, 
 as follows : — 
 
178 THE DORR WAR. 
 
 Seth Luther, "house carpenter"; William J. Tilliughast, 
 " barber " ; Lawrence Richard, " blacksmith " ; William Mitch- 
 ell, "shoemaker"; David Brown, "time regulator"; and, if 
 I recollect aright, Nat. Metcalf, " town crier." 
 
 The extreme ideas advanced by the radical wing of the 
 party caused such a diminution of the ranks of those seeking 
 an extension of the suffrage, that the movement sank into 
 insignificance and was entirely overshadowed by the subject 
 of national politics, the National Bank question, and the mon- 
 etary crisis of the country. 
 
 In the spring of 1840 the suffrage question again came 
 to the front. A suffrage association was formed, the non- 
 freeholders were called on again to unite in pushing the mat- 
 ter, and the " landholders " were appealed to for a favorable 
 consideration of the extension of the right to vote and for a 
 change in the unequal representation of the different towns 
 in the State legislature.* About this time Dorr acquired a 
 prominent position in the movement and forced his ideas upon 
 the party which, as before mentioned, had i^reviously been 
 opposed to admitting him to its councils. 
 
 The movement gained such an impetus that the next year 
 (1841) the freeholders felt it was imperative to make some 
 concessions. In the January session of the General Assembly 
 a petition was presented from the town of Smithfield asking 
 for an increase of her representation, and the discussion of 
 the petition brought up the whole suffrage question. The 
 matter was postponed until the June session, when the pres- 
 sure became so great that the General Assembly, as by law 
 provided, voted to call a popular convention to amend the 
 charter or frame a new constitution — the election of delegates 
 to be held on August 31, and the convention to assemble on 
 November 2. 
 
 * For example, Newport with a population of about 10,000 had five 
 representatives, while Pi'ovidence with over 30,000 inhabitants had only 
 four. 
 
THE DORR WAR. 179 
 
 But the ultra suffrage party was not content to wait for 
 the legal action of the General Assembly. Early this same 
 year a mass meeting was held in Newport and adjourned to 
 meet in the same town in Ma}^ when a " State Committee " 
 was appointed, with directions to call a convention which 
 should form what they were pleased to designate a " People's 
 Constitution." On the 5th of July another mass meeting was 
 held in Providence, which instructed the State Committee to 
 call the People's Convention forthwith ; and the committee 
 called the convention at the date of November 16. 
 
 Thus it happened that two conventions were held the 
 same month, — one authorized by the General Assembly in 
 accordance with the law of the State ; the other formed in a 
 completely extra-legal manner and by utterly irresponsible 
 persons. 
 
 The elections ordered by the General Assembly were duly 
 held, and the delegates chosen convened on November 2 and 
 after some discussion adjourned until February 14, 1842, in 
 order, as they declared, that they might ascertain the wishes 
 of their constituents. 
 
 The elections ordered by the People's Committee were also 
 held, but in a peculiar manner. Clubs were formed through- 
 out the State, and these clubs, to whose membership women 
 and minors were admitted, chose the delegates. The People's 
 Convention, thus selected, assembled on November 16 and 
 framed a constitution which was submitted to " the people " 
 at an election that began on December 27, and was conducted 
 under the auspices of the clubs in a most irregular manner, 
 without any check-lists or any other of the customary safe- 
 guards. Many persons affirmed afterwards that they had cast 
 their ballots a dozen times each without any objection on the 
 part of the election officers — a proceeding possibly explained 
 by the fact that hardly any of the legal voters participated in 
 the election. The People's Committee counted the votes, 
 declared that the proposed constitution had been adopted. 
 
180 THE DORR WAR. 
 
 and that a whole new set of State officers, civil and military, 
 had been chosen, and proclaimed Thomas W. Dorr as the 
 Governor-elect of Rhode Island. 
 
 The legal or " landholders convention " reassembled in 
 February, 1842, and formed a new constitution which was 
 much more liberal in its provisions than the old charter. The 
 land-qualilication was retained, but with this limitation the 
 elective franchise was granted to all native-born males, with- 
 out distinction of color, 21 years of age, and resident two 
 years in the State and six months in the place where they 
 claimed a vote. The word ivliite did not appear in this con- 
 stitution, but had been adopted in the so-called people's 
 constitution. 
 
 It was hoped that this concession on the part of the free- 
 holders would conciliate the opposition party and put an end 
 to the excitement which was fast becoming intense. It did 
 satisfy a very large number of the original suffrage party, but 
 the extreme wing was not to be pacified, and Dorr himself 
 avowed that he would receive nothing at the hands of tlie 
 landholders' convention, — that he would not accept their 
 constitution even if it agreed word for word with his own. 
 
 The landholders' constitution was voted on by the people 
 in March, 1842, but the opposition of freeholders in the 
 southern part of the State, and of the radical Dorr part}^ 
 or " Dorrites," was strong enough to defeat it by a small 
 majority. 
 
 The great mass of the freeholders, including many of those 
 who had voted in the negative, soon discovered that a mistake 
 had been made in rejecting the jDroposed constitution, and de- 
 clared steps should be taken as soon as possible to form and 
 offer to the people another constitution. The Dorrites, en- 
 couraged by the position of affairs, began to adopt extreme 
 measures, and at their meetings some of the speakers openly 
 proposed to appeal to arms, and were loudly applauded by 
 their audiences. 
 
THE DORR WAR. 181 
 
 The agitation became verj^ great and the i-)osition of Dorr was 
 apparently supported very widely. Even among the best of the 
 militia companies there were partisans of Dorr who expressed 
 themselves in favor of forcible measures for placing him in the 
 gubernatorial chair, and it was deemed necessary to expel them 
 from the militia on this account. For a time neither party be- 
 lieved that the other would actually fight, but finally the opin- 
 ion gained general credence that Dorr would certainly use force, 
 and many of his supporters then abandoned his cause and sided 
 with the Law and Order party. 
 
 In accordance with the provisions of the People's Constitu 
 tion, the State officers claiming election under tliis instrument, 
 with Dorr at their head, assembled in Providence on the 3rd 
 day of May, 1842, for the purpose of organizing a State gov- 
 ernment. The State House having been refused them, they 
 met in an unfinished building designed for a foundry, which 
 circumstance gave rise to the name of " the Foundry Legis- 
 lature " afterwards applied to them. In proceeding to the 
 place of meeting, they were accompanied by a military guard 
 provided with muskets loaded with ball-cartridges; and armed 
 guards surrounded their legislature when in session, and at 
 other times protected Dorr's headquarters. But no disturl> 
 ance of the peace occurred on this day, and the proposition of 
 Dorr to take forcible possession of the State House was voted 
 down by his legislature, which showed a want of confidence 
 in their position and their leader. In fact many members 
 of this new government resigned their offices and publicly 
 announced their resignations in the newspapers. 
 
 On the 4th of May the General Assembly convened accord- 
 ing to law at Newport, organized the legal government, and 
 at once proceeded to the consideration of political affairs. 
 All hope of conciliation was abandoned and more forcible 
 measures were decided on. Arrests of the men most promi- 
 nent in the Dorr movement began to be made by the govern- 
 ment. These arrests caused great excitement, and large 
 
182 THE DORR WAR. 
 
 crowds attended the legal examinations of the arrested par- 
 ties, but no attempt at a rescue was make except in the single 
 case of Hezekiah Willard, and this attempt was stopped by 
 Willard himself. As Dorr was constantly surrounded by an 
 armed force, the authorities decided that it would be injudici- 
 ous to try to capture him, and he remained unmolested. 
 
 The President of the United States, John Tyler, was re- 
 quested by the State Government to furnish federal troops 
 for suppressing \Adiat was considered t6 be a genuine insurrec- 
 tion, but declined to interfere, greatly to the disappointment 
 and indignation of the Law and Order party. 
 
 The First Light Infantry of Providence, conunanded by 
 Colonel William W. Brown, the Cadets, under Major Martin, 
 and the Marine Artillery, under Colonel Nightingale, as well 
 as the Newport, Bristol and Warren companies, were ordered 
 under arms and actively drilled. At the earnest request of 
 the Quartermaster General, Samuel Ames (afterwards Judge 
 of the Supreme Court of Rhode Island), a brother-in-law of 
 Dorr, and hence supposed to be Avell acquainted with the 
 character of this gentleman, a strong guard was placed in 
 the State Arsenal on the Dexter Training Field — so named 
 from Ebenezer Knight Dexter, who had donated to the city 
 of Providence about twenty acres of land for militia train- 
 ings. The arsenal contained a number of pieces of ordnance 
 ranging from 12-pounders to 48-pounders, and about 2500 
 muskets, with the necessary ammunition. 
 
 Meanwhile Dorr, with all the military force which he was 
 able to persuade to join him, was preparing as well as he 
 could for the approaching crisis. A deficiency of weapons 
 was remedied as far as possible by stealing guns and digging 
 up old cannon which had done duty for a long time, muzzle 
 down, at the corners of the streets. The Dorrites loudly 
 asserted that the " Aristocrats " would not dare to fight, and 
 if they did, that one Dorrite would be able to whip five " Al- 
 gerines." On the other side, some of the friends of the legal 
 
THE DORR WAR. 183 
 
 government expressed very mucli the same ideas in favor of 
 their own party, and even were inclined to ridicule the j)re- 
 parations for actual hostilities. 
 
 On Thursday, May 12, the adherents of Dorr fanned the 
 excitement by holding a meeting at the Court House Parade 
 in Providence, and making speeches breathing defiance against 
 the " Algerine law " passed at the late session of the legisla- 
 ture — in virtue of which law several of Dorr's party had 
 been arrested on the charge of treason. They declared that 
 Dorr should he protected at all hazards. About this time 
 Dorr visited New York city, where a meeting in liis favor 
 was held in a certain ward, and he was encouraged to proceed 
 in his movement, and was promised money, men and arms. 
 He returned to Providence on Monday, May 16, and was 
 escorted by an armed force through the city from the railroad 
 station to Federal Hill, where he made his headquarters at 
 the house of Burrington Anthony — a man who had formerly 
 been United States Marshal, and who was a prominent ad- 
 herent of Dorr. 
 
 Before Dorr dismissed his escort, he arose in his carriage 
 and made a long and excited address, during which he waved 
 in the air what appeared to be an ordinary sword. He him- 
 self declared, according to the affirmation of his own party, 
 that it was " an ensanguined blade, which should again be 
 imbued with blood, should the people's cause require it." 
 The editor of the Providence Journal, after an examination, 
 reported thus : " jNIr. Dorr made a great flourish last Monday 
 about his sword, which he drew and brandished in a most 
 fearful manner, and told a great story about its having be- 
 longed to an officer who fell fighting for his country. This 
 sword belonged to a Lieutenant named Ileill, who died of 
 dysentery on the passage from St. Marks to Providence, and 
 all the blood that was ever upon it would not wet the point." 
 
 The first offensive movement was made (on May 17) by a 
 party of Dorrites, numbering about forty, who at midday, by 
 
184 
 
 THE DORR WAR. 
 
 a sudden dash, took from the armory of the old Artillery 
 Company two nine-pound guns, and carried them to Federal 
 Hill. The armory was situated in the heart of the city at the 
 rear of College Street, and was separated only by a narrow 
 passage from the Cadet Armory, where were a number of 
 Cadets and some members of the Marine Artillery. These 
 wished to attack the Dorrites, but Governor King had departed 
 and there was no one present with authority to order such an 
 act. Samuel Dexter and Joseph Sweet, two fiery spirits, vol- 
 
 Dorr flvunshmp 6ie Syford yihich he received wj. 2few York makes greaX professions of what 
 k£ voidd do 
 
 unteered to retake the cannon, if twenty-five men would aid 
 them ; but General Carrington, one of the Governor's Coun- 
 cil, dissuaded them, using the argument that, legally, this 
 would be merely mob against mob — and they belonged to 
 the Law and Order party. 
 
 Governor King, who was about two miles away, was sent 
 for and came immediately. He at once ordered the militia of 
 Warren, Bristol and Newport to report at Providence. The 
 excitement in the city was at fever heat, and old men and 
 young volunteered their services. 
 
THE DORR WAR. 
 
 185 
 
 Our truckman, Abel Oakes, who had been one of Dorr's 
 principal supporters up to this time, came to our firm (Stim- 
 son & Hodges) and said that he would act with Dorr no 
 longer. He stated that he hnew Dorr would attack the State 
 Arsenal that night if his men would stand by him, and if suc- 
 cessful, would seize the public property in Providence, take 
 the College buildings for barracks — and what further Dorr 
 intended to do, the Lord only knew I The man was very 
 
 Tapper room, ef the Arsenal, on Ouiaghtof Gvt iT-r cf Moj^, 
 
 much excited and left the city immediately, advising us to do 
 the same. His advice was not followed. 
 
 In the course of the afternoon we were informed by Gen- 
 eral Ames and by Mr. Zachariah Allen — the latter an uncle 
 of Dorr — that they fully believed the arsenal would be at- 
 tacked that night ; and about sunset this information was 
 corroborated by spies returning from Dorr's camp, who stated 
 definitely that the attack would be made at two o'clock in 
 the morning of the next day. May 18. Consequently the 
 Cadets and the INIarine Artillery were ordered to the arsenal, 
 and marched thither at nine o'clock in the evening ; and the 
 
186 THE DORR WAR. 
 
 First Light Infantry, under Colonel William W. Brown, was 
 held under arms as a reserve at its armory on the east side of 
 the city. 
 
 Dorr's intentions being known, his father, uncles and other 
 relatives and friends visited him and remained with him until 
 nearly midnight, endeavoring to dissuade liim from such a 
 rash and foolhardy undertaking. Their arguments were of 
 no avail, and he persisted in his determination. About a 
 hundred men from Pawtucket joined liim during the evening, 
 and at midnight he had an army of three hundred to four 
 hundred men. But it was a motley crowd, unorganized and 
 undisciplined, as reported by an eye-witness and proved by 
 subsequent events. 
 
 Soon after midnight Dorr drew up his forces in line and 
 made them a speech. He said that the persons opposed to 
 him were cowards and would not fight, and that the arsenal 
 would be captured easily ; that the taking of the arsenal, with 
 its stores and arms so necessar}^ for his plans, was the first 
 step ; and that he had staked everything on this issue. At 
 one o'clock in the morning of May 18, he ordered the guns 
 at his headquarters to be fired, as the signal for his army to 
 move to the attack. Tins order illustrated his military inca- 
 pacity, since the signal for his men to move was also a warn- 
 ing to his foes of liis action. At the discharge of the cannon, 
 the alarm bells of the city were rung, and the men of the 
 town joined the ranks of the military, while the wives and 
 children awaited in terror the outcome of the impending com- 
 bat. Few were the citizens of Providence who slept that 
 night. The expectation of streets deluged in blood and a 
 city wrapped in flames was almost universal. 
 
 At the signal, Dorr commenced his march, but instead of 
 going directly to the point of attack, not over half a mile from 
 his headquarters, he took a round-about way through Olney- 
 ville, making the distance passed over some two and a half 
 miles. His reasons for tliis are unknown, unless it was, as 
 
THE DORR WAR. 
 
 187 
 
 has been suggested, for the purpose of marching his army 
 sober. It was stated by one of his men that when the posi- 
 tion of attack was taken, Dorr discovered that out of the 
 three hundred or four hundred men who had started, only 
 about eighty were left to stand by him. Probably more than 
 thi-ee-fourths had concluded that it was safer to fall out of 
 tlie ranks and disappear in the darkness of the night, than to 
 follow their leader. Captain Despeau of Pawtucket said 
 to Dorr just before the order to fire on the arsenal was given, 
 
 The, aUempt on ihc Arsenal an, the night ffMay f7^ 
 
 " Governor, I believe there is danger here." " Thunder I " 
 replied Dorr, " what do you suppose we came here for but to 
 face danger?" Whereupon Captain D. and his company 
 started for home, " causing the old turnpike to tremble," as 
 one of them afterwards said, " and making the quickest time 
 ever known between Providence and Pawtucket." 
 
 At two o'clock Dorr reached the western border of the 
 Dexter Training Field, and here he halted his force, placing 
 his two nine-pounder guns, double-shotted, in the centre of a 
 grove of trees about two hundred yards from the arsenal, and 
 
188 THE DORR WAR. 
 
 tniining them upon this building. Having carefully sighted 
 them himself, he gave the order, " Cannoneers ! Ready ! ! 
 Fire ! ! ! " 
 
 The cannoneers applied their matches and both guns — 
 flashed. 
 
 Dorr ordered another priming, seized the match himself, 
 and with a regular cannoneer's flourish brought down the 
 portfire upon the guns — and there was another flash. 
 
 In the evidence before a court of inquiry — which I heard 
 afterwards — one of the witnesses testified that, being deter- 
 mined to prevent firing on the arsenal, by a little management 
 lie obtained the post of sentinel over the cannon before they 
 were moved from Federal Hill, and plugged the ventages of 
 the guns with wood, rubbing priming powder over the plugs 
 to prevent discovery. 
 
 It is supposed that Dorr now suspected or believed that 
 there was treachery in his camp. He abandoned further at- 
 tempts to fire the cannon, and sent a flag of truce with a 
 squad of men under the command of a Colonel Wheeler, who, 
 in the name of Governor Dorr, demanded the surrender of 
 the arsenal. Colonel Leonard Blodget, who was in charge of 
 the building, replied that " If Dorr wanted the arsenal, he had 
 better come on with his ragamuflins and take it." 
 
 Dorr, finding his case hopeless, retreated with his two can- 
 non and about thirty men — to which number liis force was 
 now reduced — and returned to Burrington Anthony's house 
 on Federal Hill. 
 
 The commanding officer at the arsenal had received posi- 
 tive orders not to fire on the insurgents until he saw the 
 flash of their cannon. He had made every preparation for 
 defence, and having been informed by a spy of the exact point 
 selected by Dorr for placing his battery, had trained the 
 whole tier of his guns upon the grove. When Dorr's cannon 
 flashed, the State troops were anxious to fire, but were re- 
 strained by Colonel Blodget, who interjDreted his orders as 
 
THE DORR WAR. 189 
 
 oo ex- 
 
 meaning a flash at the muzzle and not at the hreecJi. S 
 cited had the men become, that it was difficult to prevent 
 them from firing. One of the cannoneers, Bill Cameron by 
 name, — an old privateersman, who had served on a vessel 
 
 in the war of 1812, and had rather fight than saw wood, 
 
 was in command of a 48-pounder. He had been grossly 
 insulted by some of the Dorrites and was burning for revenge. 
 When he found that Dorr had retreated, and that he had lost 
 the chance to fire on his foes, he sat down and cried like 
 a child. 
 
 The writer was with the First Light Infantry, which, as 
 before stated, was held in reserve at its armory under com- 
 mand of Colonel Brown. At about half-past two in the morn- 
 ing the company was ordered to march at once to the arsenal. 
 Dorr's father was at the armory — and it should be stated 
 that a brother and two uncles of Dorr were with the State 
 troops in the arsenal — and asked permission to march in the 
 ranks; but Colonel Brown requested him to remain as a 
 guard at the armory. 
 
 Colonel Brown immediately obeyed the order to march. 
 The movement was made as silently as possible, for it was 
 known that Dorr was aware of the arrangement of the reserve, 
 and it was supposed that he had made provision to intercept 
 the company if it should attempt to go to the arsenal. But 
 the Light Infantry was not molested. It marched on quietly 
 with a steady tramp, ti-amp, tramp, no voice being heard ex- 
 cept that of the commanding officer as he gave an occasional 
 order in a low tone. When within about three hundred yards 
 of his destination. Colonel Brown halted his men. At this 
 moment a messenger reached him with the information that 
 he believed the insurgents had surrounded the arsenal, and 
 that it would be necessary to force the way through their 
 lines. 
 
 The news caused a deep sensation in the ranks. The men 
 had been highly wrought up by the events of the preceding 
 
190 THE DORR WAR. 
 
 days. They had been sneered at by the other side, called 
 " cologne-water dandies " and " holiday soldiers " who would 
 run when the time for fighting really came ; and now it ap- 
 peared certain that a fight would at once take place in the 
 darkness of a foggy night. It is an established fact, I think, 
 that the real trial of courage for a soldier comes just before 
 going into action. The militia stood this test well. Not a 
 man flinched ; and at the order, " Column forward ! guide 
 left ! march ! " the company moved as a unit. In a few mo- 
 ments the arsenal was reached, and it was discovered that 
 Dorr had retreated — that in the darkness the advance of the 
 platoon accompanying Colonel Wheeler, when he demanded 
 the surrender of the arsenal, had been mistaken for an ad- 
 vance of the whole insurgent force. 
 
 A guard was left at the arsenal, and the government troops 
 marched back to the city. 
 
 Dorr, after returning to Federal Hill, appeared very much 
 disappointed and discouraged. It was evident that the whole 
 power of the State was arrayed against liim, and equally evi- 
 dent that his own force would not stand by him. It has been 
 charged that he would not stand by them, and he has been 
 called a coward ; but from an acquaintance with him lasting 
 a number of years, I consider this accusation unfounded. 
 
 On Wednesday morning one of his relatives met him and 
 offered him the means of escape, which he accepted. He left 
 on the hill some thirty desperate men under the command of 
 General De Wolf of Massachusetts. This officer was said to 
 have been a recent graduate of one of the Massachusetts 
 public institutions, but his exact career before and after this 
 episode is unknown to me. His troops threw up breastworks 
 on the hill and prepared to defend the position. 
 
 At seven o'clock in the morning the Providence companies, 
 reinforced by the three artillery companies from Newport, 
 Bristol and Warren, — a total of about 600 muskets with a 
 battery of six field pieces — started for Federal Hill. While 
 
THE DORR WAR. 191 
 
 they were on their way, news was received by the Governor 
 that Dorr had fled, and a company of volunteer dragoons — 
 the nucleus of a squadron of horse afterwards known as the 
 Providence Horse Guards — was ordered in pursuit. The 
 cavalry moved on a brisk gallop about twenty miles towards 
 the Norwich and Worcester railroad and then, having failed 
 to find Dorr, abandoned the chase. Meantime the infantry 
 and artillery reached Federal Hill, where a parley was held. 
 The besieged agreed to retire and leave the cannon which 
 they had seized. This they did the next day (Thursday, 
 May 19), and disappeared. 
 
 After the flight of Dorr, it was reported among his family 
 connections that he had entirely relinquished his designs 
 against the State government and was about to go to Europe. 
 One of his wealthy aunts, it was said, had offered to give 
 him five thousand dollars if he would leave the country and 
 remain away a specified time. Many believed the story ; 
 some, who knew him best, doubted ; but all, except a few of 
 degraded character who favored liis hostile projects, joined 
 in wishing him a speedy departure, a quick passage, and a 
 long visit. 
 
 But if Dorr had ever intended to retire to a foreign land, 
 he soon abandoned the idea, and, in connection with reckless 
 men inside and outside of the State, commenced operations 
 for carrying out again his contemplated revolution. He was 
 heard of occasionally in Connecticut or New York, being ap- 
 parently always on the move, but observing a certain amount 
 of secrecy. Meetings in his favor were held in some of the 
 large cities in neighboring States, these meetings being at- 
 tended as a rule by the class of men known as roughs, who 
 bitterly denounced the landholders of Rhode Island, and 
 sought to gain the support of the public by asserting that 
 Dorr was contending only for the extension of the suffrage. 
 Certain newspapers in New York, Boston and Philadelphia 
 became warm advocates of the fugitive. The man in New 
 
192 THE DORR WAR. 
 
 York city who appeared to be Dorr's chief confidant was 
 INIike Walsh, and the headquarters of the party were appar- 
 ently at Hopkins' Pewter Mug, near the Five Points. 
 
 Governor King of Rhode Island, being informed that Dorr 
 had gone to Connecticut and placed himself under the pro- 
 tection of the Governor of that State, made a requisition on 
 Governor Cleaveland for Dorr's delivery to the authorities of 
 Rhode Island as a fugitive from justice, but the demand was 
 not complied with. Thereupon Governor King issued the 
 following 
 
 PROCLAMATION 
 
 By his Excellency 
 
 Samuel Ward King, 
 Governor, Captain-General and Commander-in-Chief of the State 
 
 of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 
 
 Whereas Thomas Wilson Dorr, of Providence in the County 
 of Providence, charged with treason against the said State of 
 Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, is a fugitive from jus- 
 tice and supposed to be now within the limits of our Sister State 
 of Connecticut and from creditable information is still pursuing 
 his nefarious enterjjrise against the peace and dignity of the said 
 State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations ; 
 
 And Whereas I made a requisition on the 25*^' of May last, 
 addressed to his Excellency, Chauncy F. Cleaveland, Governor of 
 the State of Connecticut, for the apprehension and delivery of 
 the said Thomas Wilson Dorr, accoi'ding to the Constitution and 
 law of the United States in such case made and provided, which 
 requisition his Excellency Chauncy F. Cleaveland, Governor of said 
 State, has hitherto declined to comply with ; 
 
 I DO THEREFORE, pursuant to authority in me vested, and by 
 advice of the CouncU, hereby offer a reward of 
 
 ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS 
 
 for the delivery of the said Thomas Wilson Dorr to the proper 
 civil authorities of this State within one year from the date hereof, 
 that he may be dealt with as to law and justice shall appertain. 
 
THE DORR WAR. 193 
 
 Given under my hand and seal of said State, etc. etc., the S^^ 
 day of June in the year of our Lord 1842, etc. 
 
 Samuel Ward Kixg 
 By his Excellency's command 
 
 Henry Bowen 
 
 Secretary of State. 
 
 This proclamation did not lead to the capture of Dorr, who 
 probably remained in New York, surrounded by his Spartan 
 hand and secure from arrest. 
 
 Rumors were now rife that Dorr had secured large supplies 
 of arms, money and men in New York and elsewhere. An 
 advertisement appeared in a New York city newspaper, noti- 
 fying the public that a recruiting rendezvous was opened at 
 Hopkins' Pewter Mug, and offering eight dollars per month, 
 with board and lodging, to volunteers who would go to Rhode 
 Island and assist Governor Dorr to inaugurate his government 
 and place himself in the gubernatorial chair. 
 
 In Rhode Island, at Woonsocket, Cumberland, Smithfield 
 and other places, especially in the northern part of the State, 
 the adherents of Dorr were secretly organizing, and were 
 throwing out hints of what was to come. From the begin- 
 ning a large part of Dorr's strength had been derived from 
 the city and county of Providence, and in certain places in 
 the county the Law and Order party had been overawed. 
 But the city itself had proved too hot for the Dorrites on the 
 18th of May, and their legislature had adjourned to the 4th 
 of July. Dorr, encouraged by the promises received in New 
 York, made an attempt to collect the members pursuant to 
 the adjournment, but in a place of greater safety than the 
 city, and where he could more readily concentrate his forces, 
 give his enemies more trouble to get at him, and be nearer 
 to the Connecticut line as a precaution in case a retreat should 
 be found necessary. 
 
 The friends of the government could hardly believe that 
 another serious effort to use force would be made so soon 
 
194 THE DORR WAR. 
 
 after the complete defeat of ]\Iay 18. Yet the reports con- 
 cerning arms and armed organizations Avere so frequent as to 
 cause much anxiety, and it was deemed best to adopt pre- 
 cautionary measures. On June 4th the military companies 
 of Providence commenced a series of regular drills, meeting 
 every day and evening. With the authorization of the Gov- 
 ernor, a city regiment was formed consisting of the most ac- 
 tive and patriotic citizens, whose ages ranged from 17 to 72. 
 The regiment was composed of ten companies, numbering 110 
 to 140 men each, with officers regularly commissioned by the 
 Governor, who appointed the following field officers : — 
 
 Colonel: — William W. Brown (First Light Infantry). 
 
 Lieutenant Colonel: — Almon D. Hodges. 
 
 Major: — Josiah H. Martin (Cadets). 
 
 Adjutant : — George W. Hallett. 
 
 Chaplain : — Francis Wayland (President of Brown University). 
 
 iSurgeon : — Lewis L. Miller, M. D. 
 
 The companies met nearly every afternoon and drilled for 
 an hour or two. At six P. M., they were foi-med in regimen- 
 tal line for inspection of arms and for a few regimental ma- 
 nceuvers, after which came a dress parade. Then a detail of 
 about twenty men was made from each company, and sent to 
 headquarters, and placed under the orders of a captain of 
 the guard, for the purpose of patrolling the streets at night. 
 This duty was performed by the regiment for more than two 
 months, in which period there was not a single case of fire or 
 burglary. 
 
 During the excitement it became necessary to raise large 
 sums of money, and the wealthy men of the State contributed 
 with the greatest liberality. The writer was one of the com- 
 mittee who carried around subscription papers, and it fell to 
 his lot to call on a well known physician (Dr. Tobey), who 
 was a member of the Society of Friends and supposed to be 
 rich. When the subscription paper was presented, the doctor 
 
THE DORR WAR. 195 
 
 asked in liis quaint way, "Hodges, what does thee want 
 money for? Yea, what does thee want money for?" " Well, 
 Doctor, we want money to buy muskets, we want money to 
 \my powder, we want money to pay for music, and we want 
 money to buy oakum for wadding for our big guns." At that 
 l^eriod, before the times of the prohibitory liquor law, oakum 
 for tvadding had a special meaning. " Oakum for wadding 
 for thy big guns ? " " Yes, Doctor, oakum." " Well, well," 
 replied the doctor, " I can give thee no money for thy mus- 
 kets ; I can give thee no money for thy powder; I can give 
 thee no money for thy music ; for this is against the rules of 
 our meeting. But here is a hundred-dollar bill for thee to 
 buy oakum for wadding for thy big guns." 
 
 About the middle of the month all doubts as to the real 
 purposes of the Dorrites were dispelled. The two guns of 
 the Providence Artillery, wliich would not be fired at the 
 arsenal, had been placed in the hands of the Artillery Company 
 at Warren, about nine miles from Providence. On the night 
 of Saturday, June 18, a party of about forty of Dorr's parti- 
 sans started with four horses for Warren, with the purpose of 
 seizing the cannon and taking them to Chepachet. News 
 having been received of the movement, an express was sent 
 to give the alarm. The rebels had considerable of a start, 
 but the night was very dark, and they did not know exactly 
 where the cannon were kept. They had broken into two 
 places and were endeavoring to force an entrance into a third, 
 when the express arrived and gave the alarm. The guard 
 turned out, and in a few moments all the military of Warren 
 were under arms. Some of the marauders were captured and 
 the rest ran away without having accomplished their purpose. 
 
 On the following Monday the Duty Greene powder maga- 
 zine, just outside of Providence, was broken open, and about 
 fifty kegs of powder were stolen. 
 
 It finally became certain that Dorr had decided to concen- 
 trate his troops at Chepachet, a large village about fifteen 
 
196 THE DORR WAR. 
 
 miles from Providence and some six miles from the Connecti- 
 cut line. Many of the people of this place had appeared to 
 be in his favor, and by the 20th of June active operations 
 were commenced at tliis point. Men with guns and men 
 without guns began to collect here, and earthworks were 
 thrown up on Acote's Hill, commanding the village and the 
 road to Providence. The friends of Dorr who intended to 
 take up arms, and others who were afraid of being impressed 
 into the government service, betook themselves to the insur- 
 gents' camp, where finally some seven hundred men were 
 assembled, perhaps one-half being armed. Dorr himself ap- 
 peared there on the morning of June 25, and immediately 
 issued a proclamation for the assembling of the members of 
 his legislature — but they did not come. Many of the inhabi- 
 tants fled from the village, dreading the depredations of Dorr's 
 troops more than they feared the government force, which, it 
 was reported, would soon attack the intrenchments on the 
 hill. In consequence of the character of the assembled insur- 
 gents, it at last became dangerous either to leave or to approach 
 the place. 
 
 A fife-major, who had deserted from Dorr's camp, came to 
 the headquarters of the City Guard regiment in Providence, 
 and reported that about five hundred men had come to Che- 
 pachet. According to orders, he said, he as fifer would march 
 up a company from the tavern in the village to Acote's Hill, 
 and then return to the tavern in order to fife up another 
 squad. The company just marched up would be back at the 
 tavern in about ten minutes for a " nij)per " all around, and 
 would order him to fife them back again, — which he would 
 do. This service he had performed for the same company 
 about ten times in two hours, when they became so wavering 
 that they could not follow his music ; and then they swore 
 awfully, and threatened to shoot him for playing such a d— d 
 crooked tune. Finally he escaped from the camp by breaking 
 his fife over the head of a sentinel. He stated that the great 
 
THE DORR WAR. 197 
 
 army expected from New York had arrived that afternoon, 
 but that in place of a regiment of a thousand men, as prom- 
 ised, there were but fourteen all told, with Mike Walsh at 
 their head. Instead of marcliing into camp with flags flying, 
 this force had come in close carriages, and had taken posses- 
 sion of the barroom at the village tavern. But he had not 
 stopped to fife them up. 
 
 An act which created intense indignation, was committed 
 by a squad of insurgents on Wednesday night, June 22. 
 These men caught Charles J. Shelly, Samuel W. Peckham, 
 John C. Keep and Charles F. Harris, who had been sent out 
 from Providence on a scouting expedition, charged them with 
 being spies of the enemy, disarmed, robbed and bound them, 
 and marched them twelve miles to Woonsocket. Mr. Shelly, 
 who was in poor health, had Ms hands tied behind him, and 
 when he appeared to lag, was driven forward by being pricked 
 in the rear by a bayonet. At length, being completely ex- 
 hausted, he fell in a faint, and then was tlirown into a wagon. 
 The officers into whose custody the prisoners were finally de- 
 livered, disapproved of the treatment of the captives and 
 ordered their release ; but neither arms nor money were 
 restored. 
 
 A day or two after this occurrence. Captain Pond, a gov- 
 ernment officer and a great wag, being in this neighborhood 
 with his company, captured the leader of the squad wliich 
 had maltreated Shelly, and turned him over for trial to a 
 drum-head court martial. After hearing the evidence, the 
 court found the prisoner guilty of murder, highway robbery, 
 treason, burglary and arson, and sentenced him to be shot as 
 soon as he could say his prayers. But in consideration of the 
 prisoner's having a certain optical indecision, which possibly 
 prevented him from seeing straight on all occasions, the court 
 recommended him to the very tender mercies of their kind- 
 hearted, benevolent, very honorable and brave commanding 
 officer, Captain Pond. The captain, after a short deliberation, 
 
198 THE DORR WAR. 
 
 commuted the sentence to an option by the prisoner: — either, 
 armed with a broomstick only, to fight all the compan}-, one 
 by one, they to use the broadsword ; or to take a position, 
 100 yards distant, on the edge of a quagmire, and there re- 
 ceive a platoon fire, when, if he did not fall, he was to be 
 permitted to wade through the quagmire and take to the 
 wood beyond. It was stipulated, however, that if he did fall, 
 mortally or immortally wounded, he should stop and go no 
 further until after another platoon fire. 
 
 The prisoner chose the platoon fire, which he received run- 
 ning, having started before Captain Pond could give the order 
 to shoot. As the muskets were loaded with blank cartridges, 
 he escaped, and when last seen was making very quick time 
 towards Connecticut. 
 
 The General Assembly had convened at Newport on June 
 21, determined to do everything possible to conciliate the dis- 
 affected and avert the evils of a civil conflict. It was known 
 beforehand that the Assembly would be in favor of an exten- 
 sion of the suffrage. In accordance with numerous petitions 
 and the disj)osition of its members, it passed an act calling 
 a convention to be held at Newport on the second Monday in 
 September, for the purpose of framing a new constitution and 
 submitting it to the people of the State. 
 
 The assembling of Dorr's forces rendered it necessary to 
 take decisive measures of protection. The legislature there- 
 fore authorized the Governor and Council to proclaim martial 
 law. Troops were brought to Providence and thence were 
 sent in detachments to such points as would enable them 
 to protect the city and to attack Dorr from different direc- 
 tions. Moreover a portion of General Stedman's brigade 
 was ordered to the rear of Chepachet, in order to cut off the 
 retreat of the enemy into Connecticut. 
 
 On the 27th of June, the State troops began to move 
 towards Chepachet, with the object of attacking the en- 
 trenchments on Acote's Hill. 
 
THE DORR WAR. 
 
 199 
 
 [The accompanying map of Providence County, and the Hst of the 
 numbers and positions of the State troops early in the moruin<; of 
 June 28, are copied from the Providence Journal of July 19, 1842, 
 which was attached to the original manuscript of A. D. H.] 
 
 MASSACHUSETTS. 
 
 MANVILLE 
 
 CUMBER- 
 LAND. 
 
 MAP OF PROVIDENCE COUNTY. 
 DISPOSITION OF THE STATE TROOPS. 
 At Woonsocket 407 men under Major Josiah H. Martin. 
 
 Pawtucket. ...... 275 
 
 " Providence 800 
 
 " Greenville 501 
 
 " Scituate Mills 349 
 
 " Poster 1100 
 
 " PaW'tuxet 
 
 60 
 
 Col. G. W. Allen. 
 
 Lieut. Col. Almon D. Hodges. 
 
 Col. Wm. W. Brown. 
 
 Col. Wm. B. Swan. 
 
 Gen. .John B. Stedman, Gen. 
 
 Alphonso Green and Colonel 
 
 King. 
 Col. Joseph H. Arnold. 
 
 ^^^^^ 3492 men, besides 2 companies of horse. 
 
 Major General William Gibbs McNeill was in command of the 
 State forces in the field. 
 
200 THE DORR WAR. 
 
 The City Guard regiment was directed to assemble in 
 marching order on the afternoon of June 27, with knapsacks, 
 bhmkets, ammunition and rations. To the inquiry of Gen- 
 eral McNeill as to how many men would probably report in 
 person, the regimental officers replied, after consultation, that 
 about six hundred could be reckoned on. When the regi- 
 ment formed in line, at five P. M., with only two hours' notice, 
 there were over one thousand present. The captains were 
 called to the front and centre by the colonel commanding, 
 and informed that orders had been received to leave a detail 
 of twenty men from each company for guard duty at head- 
 quarters. They were directed to explain this to their respec- 
 tive companies, it being supposed that some of the oldest men 
 would prefer guard duty to marching against Dorr's forces. 
 The captains, having returned to their positions and made 
 the explanation, gave the order that those who were willing 
 to march immediately, should advance six paces to the front 
 — and the whole line advanced. It was very difficult to 
 induce the requisite number to stay behind, so great was the 
 excitement and the desire to attack Chepachet. Indeed, 
 when Sergeant-Major Jewett, who had been detailed in com- 
 mand of the guard, started for headquarters, he found that he 
 had a company of about fifty men only. 
 
 The regiment started on the advance. Before they had 
 reached Greenville, a town about midway between Providence 
 and Chepachet, the rain came down in torrents. 
 
 During this stormy night the excitement in Providence 
 was intensified by the exaggerated rumors which came from 
 the front. News having been received that the Cadets had 
 been attacked near Woonsocket and were in danger of cap- 
 ture, a company was mustered and sent off in wagons to 
 the rescue within one hour. Orders were sent for the 
 Cadets to retreat towards Providence, and in the hurry and 
 excitement it was forgotten to make the order discretionary, 
 which proved unfortunate for this company, which was nicely 
 
THE DORR WAR. 201 
 
 bivouacked in a brick house, and in fact was in no danger 
 whatsoever. 
 
 Amid the commotion some comical events occurred. There 
 was living at the time in Providence a Mr. B. (Boylston, 
 son of a well-known engineer and architect of Boston), a 
 gentleman of leisure, patriotic, kind-hearted and genial. He 
 was a good story-teller and very desirable company, particu- 
 larly when there was no important business on hand. He was 
 a man-about-town who knew everj^body and everybody's af- 
 fairs, and who would talk as long as anyone would listen to 
 liim. But in this time of commotion he was somewhat in the 
 way, especially as he was very importunate in his claim for a 
 place where he could do something " which his posterity 
 would have reason to be proud of." Being a man consider- 
 ably past middle age, he was not subject to military duty, 
 but he said that he " felt particularly wolfish about the head 
 and shoulders," and demanded some martial position. On 
 this point he begged so hard for something to do, that the 
 officer in command of the forces in the city finally gave him 
 permission to go to the headquarters and tell the officer there 
 that he had directions to take a musket and stand guard on 
 the Market House steps at the entrance to the rooms where 
 the Governor and Council remained during the rught. Mr. 
 B. received orders direct from the lieutenant colonel com- 
 manding,* to take his post at the foot of the steps leading to 
 the council chamber, and to challenge any suspicious character 
 who might come prowling around, but to let pass unchal- 
 lenged any officer whom he knew, — and he knew almost 
 everyone likely to have business with the Council. 
 
 It happened that the lieutenant colonel was so busily em- 
 ployed all night that he forgot to mention the existence of 
 this extra sentinel to the officer of the guard, or to give 
 orders to have him relieved. Just before daylight, however, 
 
 * This was the writer of this paper. 
 
202 THE DORR WAR. 
 
 he had occasion to visit the council chamber, and coming 
 upon the sentinel's beat, was suddenly stopped by the sharp 
 challenge, "Haiti Who goes there?" The answer was, of 
 course, "A friend." "Advance, friend, and give the counter- 
 sign ! " and the countersign was duly given over the point of 
 the bayonet. The sight of the genial old gentleman, with 
 rain dripping from all parts of his clothing, acting as sentinel 
 and sticking heroically to his post all night because he had 
 been forgotten, in connection with the fact that he had been 
 ordered to challenge only suspicious characters — and he un- 
 doubtedly knew the person whom he had just halted — struck 
 the officer as irresistibly ludicrous. When after a time he 
 was able to speak, he inquired, " Mr. B,, have you been 
 standing guard here all night long in tlie rain without re- 
 lief?" "Yes, Colonel, I have been standing here ten Jiours 
 in the rain, and I should stand here ten days before I would 
 leave my post without orders." " Has not the relief been the 
 regular rounds ? " " Yes, sir, the Grand Rounds have re- 
 lieved every other sentinel on the Square regularly every 
 hour, but have not been near me.'" " Well done, good and 
 faithful soldier I You have performed your duty nobly ! 
 Carry your musket to the guard house, and report to the 
 officer on duty that j'ou have been relieved by the Colonel. 
 And his advice to you is, to go home to your family and go 
 to bed." There was no further application for duty and no 
 further appearance of our pet guard during the rest of the 
 campaign. 
 
 The City Guard regiment, as before stated, marched from 
 Providence this night as far as Greenville, where they made a 
 halt. Early in the morning a cannonading was heard in the 
 direction of Chepachet. This was supposed to indicate an 
 attack on the insurgents' fort by some other State force, and 
 the march was at once resumed. Acote's Hill was reached 
 and assailed, but no resistance was made, and it was then dis- 
 covered that Dorr and the greater part of his army had fled, 
 
THE DORR WAR. 203 
 
 the men whom he had left behind, firing the cannon as a part- 
 ing salute in honor of Dorr's sudden retreat from the State. 
 The fort was captured with about a hundred men, five pieces 
 of cannon, a quantity of arms, ammunition and baggage, and 
 also some sixty ugly-looking lances said to have been carried 
 by Dorr's " Flying Lancers." After this the main body of 
 the government troops returned with their prisoners to Provi- 
 dence, leaving behind, for a few days, a sufficient force to 
 occupy the village and protect the inhabitants. The captives 
 were put in jail, and examined before a Court of Inquiry ; 
 but as they were not men of prominence in Dorr's movement, 
 they were discharged after an imprisonment of one to three 
 days. 
 
 On Monday, June 27, Sullivan Dorr had visited his son at 
 Chepachet, and remonstrated with him for his rash undertak- 
 ing. The news of the movement of the State troops were 
 received at the camp, and when it was known that the main 
 body was advancing, the insurgents began to desert with 
 great rapidity. Then Dorr himself quietly departed from 
 Rhode Island, leaving behind a letter in which he directed 
 his forces to disband, and sending to a gentleman in Provi- 
 dence the following note : — 
 
 Chepachet, June 27, 1842. 
 Dear Sir, 
 
 Please hand the enclosed as directed. Believing that a major- 
 ity of the people who voted for my Constitution are opposed to 
 its further support by military means, I have directed that the 
 military here assembled be dismissed. I trust that no impedi- 
 ments will be thrown in the way of the return of the men to 
 their homes. Yours truly, 
 
 T. W. Dorr. 
 
 The communication referred to, and enclosed in the above 
 note, went to the Governor and Council immediately on its 
 receipt, and was published in the papers of the day. 
 
204 THE UORR WAR. 
 
 During this period of trouble, blood was shed on two 
 occasions. 
 
 A member of a company from Westerly became insane 
 through excitement. Stepping from the ranks, he aimed his 
 musket at his brother, who was an officer of the company, and 
 fired. The victim fell dead, shot through the head. 
 
 The other fatal event occurred on the day of Dorr's retreat. 
 The Kentish Guards (Captain Bateman), the Carbineers (Cap- 
 tain James M. Olney), and the Providence Artillery (Colonel 
 Bradford Hodges), were at Pawtucket, guarding the bridge. 
 A mob of Dorr's adherents assembled across the river, on the 
 Massachusetts side, and assailed the guard with brickbats, 
 stones and other missiles. All other attempts to disperse the 
 rioters having failed, and these becoming bolder and endeavor- 
 ing to cross the bridge and drive away the guard, the military 
 delivered a platoon fire into the crowd, killing one man and 
 wounding two others. This quelled the riot. 
 
 As soon as Dorr's flight was known, various armed parties 
 
 were sent in pursuit. Among the many orders issued for the 
 
 purpose of capturing the fugitive, the following, received by 
 
 the Lieutenant Colonel commanding the City Regiment, will 
 
 serve to indicate the excited state of mind of the people and 
 
 authorities : — 
 
 Headquarters, etc. 
 
 Providence, June 28, 1842. 
 
 Lieutenant Colonel Hodges will detail a guard of 25 men to be 
 placed under the command of Amos D. Smith, subject to the 
 orders of Major Mark Antony De Wolf. 
 
 Major De Wolf will proceed by the train of this day to Stoii- 
 ington, where a steamer has been provided in which he will cause 
 his command to be at once transported. He will intercept the 
 Xew London boat in Long Island Sound and diligently search 
 for Thomas W. Dorr, whom, if he can Hnd, he will conduct to 
 these Headquarters. 
 
 By order of the Major General Commanding, etc. 
 
THE DORR WAR. 205 
 
 Within an hour after this order was given, with the assist- 
 ance of Adjutant G. W. Hallet the 25 men had been detailed 
 and placed under the command of General Smith and Major 
 De Wolf, and were moving rapidly in an express train towards 
 Stonington ; and Avithin three hours, INIajor De Wolf and his 
 men had left the wharf in Stonington. They overhauled two 
 or three steamers wliich, according to orders, they diligently 
 searched. But the fugitive was not to be found, — fortu- 
 nately, probably, for the State government. If Dorr had 
 been seized in the manner and place intended, an unpleasant- 
 ness might have arisen between the State and the United 
 States authorities. 
 
 Governor King again issued a proclamation, offering a re- 
 ward of five thousand dollars for Dorr's arrest ; but for a 
 considerable space of time nothing definite was learned con- 
 cerning the fugitive. Rumor placed liim sometimes in New 
 York, and sometimes in New Hampshire in the care of his 
 friend Edmund Burke. 
 
 The Constitutional Convention, as directed by the General 
 Assembl}', met at Newport in September, and framed a con- 
 stitution in which the suffrage was given to every native- 
 born male resident, twenty-one years of age, whether white or 
 black. When this constitution was submitted to the people, 
 it was adopted by a large majority of the votes. Men of all 
 parties were satisfied, and the excitement gradually died 
 away. 
 
 In April, 1844, James Fenner was elected Governor. The 
 gubernatorial office had been held by him and his father for 
 thirty-seven out of fifty years. He was an old Jeffersonian 
 Democrat, was chosen United States Senator in 1808, and 
 for many years was one of the most popular men in the 
 State. He possessed ability, sterling honesty and a com- 
 manding presence.* During the Dorrite troubles he had 
 
 * His weight was 340 pounds. 
 
206 
 
 THE DOKR WAR. 
 
 been a leading member of Governor King's Council and an 
 uncompromising " Algerine." 
 
 " LAW AIVD ORI>EK.»' ^^ ^'^'^^ Governor Fenner 
 
 Bhode-Isiaod Prox, ;^;^^;^^ ^ -^««^§-^ ^^'^^"^ 
 
 Mr. Dorr requesting per- 
 ^ [ , mission to return to the 
 
 State. The bearer of the 
 message was very decided 
 in his manner, and very 
 persistent in urging com- 
 pliance with his friend's 
 request, and finally aroused 
 the old war-horse's indig- 
 nation. " You may return 
 to your friend, Tom Dorr," 
 he said, " and tell him as 
 long as he keeps out of 
 this State, so far as I am 
 concerned, he will not be 
 molested. But so sure as 
 he places his foot in Rhode 
 Island, he will be arrested; 
 if arrested, he will be tried 
 for treason by our Supreme 
 Court; if tried, he will be 
 convicted; and if convic- 
 ted, he will be sentenced 
 to the State Prison for life 
 
 FOR GOVERNOR, 
 
 James Feooer, 
 
 OF PROVIDENCE 
 FOR LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR. 
 
 %ron Diman, 
 OF BRISTOL 
 FOR SECRETARY OF STATE, 
 
 OF PROVIDENCE. 
 FOR ATTORNEY G ENE RAL, 
 
 Joseph" M. 
 
 ■• OF BRISTOL. 
 FOR GENERAL TREASURER. 
 
 Stephen Cahoone 
 
 * or NEWPORT. 
 
 THE SUCCESSFUL STATE TICKET IN 1844/ 
 
 according to law." 
 
 * So far as I am aware, the word 2^roi\ meaning a list of candidates 
 for election and the ballot containing such a list, has been used only in 
 Khode Island. Staples, in his Annals of Providence, p. 04, says : — Such 
 of the colony as could not attend the General Assembly, had the right 
 to send their votes for officers, by some other person ; hence the origin 
 of the terms jyrox and proxy votes, as applied to the present mode of 
 voting for State officers in Rhode Island. 
 
THE DORR WAR. 207 
 
 Mr. Dorr was not content to keep away from the State but 
 returned to Providence, and the prediction of the Governor 
 was fulfilled to the letter. Within an hour of his arrival, he 
 was arrested. He was tried for treason, convicted, and sen- 
 tenced to the State Piison for life by the Supreme Court, 
 Judge Durfee presiding. 
 
 Soon after his commitment to prison, petitions for his re- 
 lease were circulated and received many signatures. The 
 main argument in the petitions was, that the majesty of the 
 law having been sufficiently vindicated by Dorr's trial, con- 
 viction and sentence, his longer imprisonment would only 
 excite the sympathies of people in his behalf. There was a 
 feeling among our good citizens that, in order to avoid all 
 further agitation, it would be judicious to discharge liim ; and 
 that if this were done, he would soon be forgotten. More- 
 over some of the Law and Order party knew that he was sub- 
 ject to violent attacks of acute rheumatism, and they feared, 
 if he should die in prison, the enemies of the party would 
 raise such a hue and cry that they would never hear the last 
 of it. 
 
 On October 30, the Law and Order members of the Gen- 
 eral Assembly, then in session at Bristol, held a caucus at 
 which this subject was discussed. After a stormy debate, 
 which lasted until after midnight, it was arranged that, the 
 next morning, a member should move " that a committee be 
 appointed to take into consideration the liberation of Thomas 
 W. Doit from the State Prison, and report at the next ses- 
 sion of the General Assembly to be held in Providence Jan- 
 uary, 1845." The motion was made and carried, and the 
 Speaker, Samuel Ames, who was a brother-in-law of Dorr, 
 nominated, as members of tlie committee, Alfred Bosworth of 
 Warren, Wilkins Updike of South Kingston, and Almon D. 
 Hodges of Providence [chairman], and they were elected. 
 
 Early in January, 1845, the committee held a number of 
 sessions at the State House in Providence. They were ad- 
 
208 THE DORR WAR. 
 
 dressed by the Rev. Martin Cheney and others, and the sub- 
 ject attracted such Lirge audiences that the chamber of the 
 House of Representatives was crowded. Sullivan Dorr, the 
 father, was informed by the committee that they would hear 
 him, or his counsel, at one of these public sessions or in 
 private, as his feelings might dictate. He preferred to be 
 heard in private, and his address had more influence upon 
 the committee than all the others. His statement of the 
 effect upon the mother and himself of the commitment of 
 their son to State Prison for life so deeply moved the chair- 
 man of the committee, that only with great difiiculty could 
 this gentleman give utterance to his ideas when the time 
 came for him to speak ; and the other two members were as 
 much affected as the chairman. The plea of the father was 
 rendered stronger by the fact that he had always shown great 
 indignation at his son's violent actions, had expressed himself 
 in very uncomplimentary language on the point, and had even 
 ordered his son out of the house early in the period of the 
 rebellion. 
 
 The connnittee unanimously reported a resolution for the 
 discharge of Dorr from prison, on his taking the ordinary oath 
 of allegiance. This resolution was passed by a large vote on 
 January 17, it being a noticeable fact that all the Dorrites in 
 the legislature voted against it. A copy of the resolution was 
 sent at once to Dr. Cleaveland, Warden of the prison, with 
 directions to communicate it to the prisoner. Dr. Cleaveland 
 found Dorr engaged in his regular occupation of painting 
 fans — "Dorr fans" were in demand at this time — and read 
 aloud the document, in accordance with orders. As Dorr 
 continued at work, the Warden called his attention to the 
 paper, which the prisoner took and read over to liimself. 
 And then saying, " When I am ready to accept the terms 
 of that resolution of the General Assembly of Rhode Island, 
 Doctor, I will let you know it," he quietly resumed his 
 painting. 
 
THE DORR WAR. 209 
 
 Those who knew Dorr's character felt that the man would 
 never accept the condition imposed by the legislature, and 
 were convinced that he would not leave the prison unless the 
 government gave imperative orders to discharge him. Acting 
 on this belief, after a long and excited debate at the June 
 session of the General Assembly, they carried a resolution 
 ordering the warden to discharge Thomas W. Dorr from 
 the prison. 
 
 When Dr. Cleaveland read tliis order to Dorr, the prisoner 
 said that he supposed the time had now come when he must 
 go. "Yes," replied the warden, who had become much at- 
 tached to liis prisoner, "Yes, Governor, the time has now 
 arrived when I am obliged to say to you, that you are by law 
 expelled from this institution.'''' 
 
 The " Governor " asked to be allowed some little time to 
 consider the matter, and was given until the evening of that 
 day. Then he was taken to the Warden's room and offered 
 a suit of clothing and a sum of money amounting to about 
 tliirty dollars, the law directing that these should be given to 
 each discharged prisoner. Dorr became indignant at the offer, 
 and declared tiiat he would not submit to such terms from 
 the State. He finally consented to borrow the Warden's coat 
 until the next day, concluding that it was imprudent to 
 wear his prison uniform through tlie streets, even in the 
 night-time. 
 
 The following, copied from the books of the State Prison, 
 shows that the time of imprisonment was just one year : 
 
 Tlioinas W. Dorr, aged 38 3'ears. 
 Xuiiil^er of Prisoner 56. 
 Offence . . . Treason. 
 Date of Sentence . June 27, 1844. 
 Term . . . for life. 
 Date of Discliarge . June 27, 1845. 
 
 Henceforward Mr. Dorr was seldom seen. After a stormy 
 and exciting life such as seldom falls to the lot of a human 
 
210 THE D(3KK WAR. 
 
 being, he passed to his final account on December 27, 1854, 
 and now " sleeps the sleep that knows not breaking." 
 
 And all of those who took an active and prominent part in 
 the last act of this drama — the four Judges of the Supreme 
 Court, the Speaker of the House, the Governor of the State, 
 the men who addressed the committee wliich framed the reso- 
 lution discharging the prisoner, the members of that commit- 
 tee with the exception of the writer of this account, Thomas 
 W. Dorr and liis father and mother — all of these have gone 
 to their final rest. 
 
 Boston Highlands, Feb. 17, 1S09. 
 
FAMILY LIFE IN PROVIDENCE. 
 
 .N Tuesday, October 15, 1827, Almon Daiiforth 
 Hodges and Martha Comstock were married in 
 Providence, at the residence of the bride's mother 
 in Comstock Court, North Main Street, by Rev. 
 Henry Edes, pastor of the First Congregational (Unitarian) 
 Church. The bride and her mother had worshipped with the 
 First Baptist Society, but both were of the opinion that man 
 and wife should not be separated even on Sundays ; and the 
 bride elected to attend her husband's church, finding no 
 irreconcilable difference between her creed and his. His 
 theology remained essentially the same as that of his old 
 minister, Pitt Clarke of Norton. 
 
 At the wedding ceremony, the groomsmen were John L. 
 Emmons, John J. Stimson, Charles Porter and James N. 
 Olney ; and the bridesmaids were Catherine Comstock, Mary 
 Thurber, Amelia S. Townsend and Frances Stillwell. Of 
 these, Amelia S. Townsend afterwards married Charles Por- 
 ter, and Frances Stillwell married James N. Olney. 
 
 Martha Comstock was born on November 7, 1806, in Lan- 
 singburg. New York, where her parents were residing tempo- 
 rarily. She was of pure New England stock, and was allied 
 with many of the most prominent Rhode Island families, — 
 not so many, however, as would have been the case if her 
 father and mother had not been first cousins. 
 
 Samuel Comstock, — who may have come from Connecticut, 
 and may have been son of William Comstock of Wethersfield 
 in that State, as some say, — on March 1, 1654, old style, or 
 March 11, 1655, as we now compute dates, bought a home lot 
 
 (211). 
 
212 FAMILY LIFE IN PROVIDENCE. 
 
 of four acres in the northerly part of Providence from John 
 Smith the mason, who afterwards married Comstock's widow. 
 Rhode Island even then was rich in Smiths and had at least 
 six original John Smiths, who, with the other Johns of a Httle 
 later date, ever since have danced their wayward rounds 
 among bewildered genealogists. Samuel Comstock died in 
 Providence in 1656 or 1657, leaving two sons. 
 
 Captain Samuel Comstock, the elder son, married Elizabeth 
 Arnold, — everybody knows or ought to know about the 
 Providence Arnolds, — and had eight children. His sixth 
 cliild, John Comstock, married Esther Jenckes, daughter of 
 William and Patience (Sprague) Jenckes, and was associated, 
 as a bloomer and blacksmith, with his wife's family — whose 
 members have ever been cunning to work all works in brass 
 and iron — and also stood well with his Sprague connections, 
 then, as since, leading citizens. John's eldest son, Samuel 
 Comstock, married Anna Brown, daughter of Rev. James and 
 Mary (Harris) Brown, great-granddaughter of Rev. Chad 
 Brown (the first settled pastor of the P'irst Baptist Church), 
 and aunt of the four "Brown brothers," John, Joseph, Moses 
 and Nicholas, so prominent in the history of the town, colony 
 and State. 
 
 Samuel and Anna (Brown) Comstock had seven children. 
 One son, Jeremiah, married Hannali Bowen of Warren, and 
 was father of Samuel Comstock ; another son, Benjamin, mar- 
 ried Mary Winsor of Glocester (great-great-granddaughter of 
 Roger Williams), and was father of Sally Brown Comstock ; 
 and Sally Brown Comstock married her cousin Samuel Com- 
 stock, and became mother of Martha Comstock, who married 
 Almon D. Hodges. 
 
 Sally Brown Comstock was one of the Rhode Island gentle- 
 folk : — by family, as you know if you have read the fore- 
 going paragraphs ; by nature, as you would have perceived 
 if you had met her. Her husband died comparatively young 
 in New York State, and his widow, proud and independent 
 
SALLY BROWN COMSTOCK. 
 
FAMILY LIFE IN PROVIDENCE. 218 
 
 in character, was thrown on her own resources. She returned 
 to Providence and managed successfully a millinery business, 
 without detriment to her social position, supported and 
 educated her two daughters, and accumulated a surplus for 
 her old aare. Her orrandchildren recollect her as a handsome, 
 alert old lady, rather small in stature, with keen black eyes, 
 clear brain, retentive memory and broad knowledge ; also 
 with strong family pride and affection, and warm love for her 
 children and grandchildren. She is most often remembered 
 as she appeared in her room, clad in a soft l)lack Thibet 
 o-own — she always wore black after the death of her daugh- 
 ter Martha — and with a white ruffled cap, sitting upright in 
 her rocking chair in a sunny corner — where was a wonderful 
 cupboard — reading or chatting while her knitting-needles 
 flew with lightning-like rapidity. Thither resorted to her the 
 family and her intimate friends. Formal callers — coming 
 with their fine carriages, silver-harnessed horses, and comely, 
 big black coachmen — were received in a rustling black silk 
 dress in the drawing-room. 
 
 That bedroom corner, sun-lit by day and lamp-lit in the 
 evening, was reserved for her familiars and for familiar dis- 
 course. Conversations held there, and listened to by little 
 pitchers with big ears, ranged over a broad field : — the prices 
 of stocks ; the ups and downs of business ; how certain ances- 
 tors (names mentioned) had once owned large portions of 
 Providence, and if they had only held on to their lands, in- 
 stead of selling them cheap, their descendants would now be 
 im-mense-ly wealthy ; how one relation had been born in 
 affluence, but had lost everything through foolish specula- 
 tion ; how another had been made rich by the great rise in 
 value of certain shares, which he had been obliged to receive, 
 originally, in payment of a small debt, when they were con- 
 sidered worthless ; how some kinspeople had married in haste 
 and repented at more or less leisure ; how others had married 
 well and lived happily ever after ; what terrible things were 
 
214 FA.MILY LIFE IN PROVIDENCE. 
 
 being done in the Crimeun War; what an excitement had 
 been caused by the " Morgan Murder," and wliat bitter dis- 
 cussions had arisen as to whether the Masons had really 
 killed Morgan.* The talks had no limits of time, place or 
 person. 
 
 One grandchild remembers a stranger scene : — his aged 
 grandmother, in the darkness of night, kneeling by her bed- 
 side and wrestling with the Lord, — sobbing and crying over 
 the loss of her dear daughter, long since removed by death — 
 reproaching her Maker for his unnecessary cruelty — and then 
 praying for pity and forgiveness and comfort, and strength to 
 say. Thy will be done. 
 
 Martha Comstock Hodges was a lovable example of the 
 old New England housekeeper — that matchless combination 
 of the domestic virtues and the social graces. In her were 
 united deep aftection for her husband and charming tact in 
 her dealings with him ; devotion to her children and wisdom 
 in bringing them up and gaining their love and respect ; wise 
 economy and genuine hospitality. She possessed in a high 
 degree an executive ability which enabled her to keep her 
 home always in order, always cheerful, comfortable and at- 
 tractive to her family and her family's man}- friends, and yet 
 find time for outside pleasures and acts of neighborly kind- 
 ness. To assist her in her household work, she usually had 
 only one maid, until the increasing number of her children — 
 eight boys were born to her — made another necessary. Yet 
 
 *In 1826, William Morgan of Batavia, N. Y., who was reported to be 
 about to publish a book exposing the secrets of the Order of Free- 
 masons, of which he had been a membei', was kidnapped and carried 
 off. An investigation indicated (some say proved) that he was drowned 
 in Lake Ontario. Several persons connected with the abduction were 
 arrested and tried, but no murder was ever officially established. It was 
 charged that the abductors and supposed murderers were Freemasons, 
 a charge vehemently repelled. A tremendous excitement arose against 
 the fraternity, and an anti-Masonic political party was formed, which 
 was successful for several years in the elections in various States. 
 
FAMILY LIFE IN PROVIDENCE. 215 
 
 constantly in her house, wliich was her pride, simple enter- 
 tainments were held, with suppers, music, dancing and pleas- 
 ant conversation ; and now and then, a larger and more formal 
 party or reception. 
 
 
 
 The social ambition of a New England wife at this period 
 was to have a separate house, of which she was the recognized 
 executive manager, where she could receive and entertain her 
 friends. Providence was noted for the number of its large, 
 handsome and comfortable mansions, and for the quality of 
 its society. In order to fit girls for high social station, the}' 
 were not only given a general education, but were also taught 
 to perform practically all the details of housekeeping — as is 
 said to be done even now with the Imjjerial Family of Ger- 
 many. And they were instructed liotv to work, how to ac- 
 complish the desired end with the least expense of time and 
 trouble, by using their brains as well as their hands. 
 
 On October 16, the newly married couple started on their 
 wedding tour. Hiring a one-horse, two-wheeled chaise, carry- 
 ing " all our luggage in a hair trunk slung below the axle of 
 the chaise," they left Providence at ten in the morning on the 
 road to Boston. They dined at Clapp's in Walpole, and 
 
216 FAMILY LIFE IN PROVIDENCE. 
 
 reached their destination at six o'clock in the afternoon. They 
 spent five days in Boston and vicinity, making many calls, 
 attending a party given in their honor, shopping, going to the 
 theatre, and on Sunday attending church. On the 22d of 
 the month, at nine in the morning, they started back, stop- 
 ping here and there at friends' houses on the way. They 
 rode through Uoxbur}-, Dorchester, Canton, Sharon (^yhere 
 they dined), Fox borough, Mansfield, Attleborough and See- 
 konk, and arrived home at eight in the evening. It was not 
 a long, nor an expensive wedding journey, but it was rarely 
 delightful. It was the happy beginning of a happy life in 
 which there was never a shadow of disagreement. 
 
 The couple boarded at first with the bride's mother in the 
 house where they were married. It was a double house, in 
 one part of which lived the bride's grandfather, Benjamin 
 Comstock, " a fine-looking old gentleman, who belonged to 
 the Society of Friends and wore the Quaker costume. He 
 died September 30, 1828, aged 82. Martha and I watched 
 with him the night before his death."* 
 
 In August, 1828, the pair moved into the Taylor (or Grin- 
 nell and Taylor) house, at 42 Westminster Street, just above 
 the Arcade, and began housekeeping. On or about May 1, 
 1829, they changed to the Eddy house, on the northeast cor- 
 ner of Brown and Charles Field Streets, where three children 
 were born,f and where the family lived until their own house 
 on Benevolent Street was completed, — in March, 1837. This 
 house, which father built, was on the site now occupied by the 
 Mount Hope Club, opposite the First Congregational Church. 
 In it four more children were born, and one died very young. | 
 
 * Recollections of A. D. H. 
 
 I Danforth Comstock Hodges, born Sept. 15, 1831. William Townsend 
 Hodges, born Oct. 21, 1833. George Foster Hodges, born Jan. 12, 1837. 
 
 J Frederick Stimson Hodges, born Sept. 29, 1839 ; died Oct. 26, 1839. 
 Fi^derick Stimson Hodges, born Oct. 15, 1840, Ahuon Danforth Hodges, 
 Jr., born July 16, 1843. Francis Olney Hodges, born May 16, 1846. 
 
5 O 
 
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 o n 
 
 -0 
 
 -^ 33 
 
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 P 5 
 
 1 5 
 
 op rri 
 
FAMILY LIFE IN PROVIDENCE. 217 
 
 Here father lived during the remainder of his residence in 
 Providence. 
 
 There Avere no long vacations in those days, during which 
 the wife abandoned her husband and spent weeks (or months) 
 as now at summer or winter resorts. The house, like the busi- 
 ness office, was kept open throughout the year. But there 
 were frequent holidays and numberless short excursions. Now 
 and then father and mother went to New York or to Boston, 
 in order to shop and to visit, on occasion taking one or more 
 of the children with them. It was an oft-repeated custom to 
 hire a horse and carryall and journey among relations and 
 friends, and enjoy their hospitality. Usually an assistant went 
 along, to help in the care of the little ones. This assistant 
 might be a nurse-maid, but oftener was a relation or a friend, 
 a social equal, who was glad of the opportunity for travel and 
 enjoyment. These numerous short trips took the family over 
 quite an extensive region, from Newq3ort on the south to 
 beyond Boston on the north, and various were the incidents 
 and experiences. On one occasion, in the year 1832, when 
 the dreaded Asiatic cholera, originating in India, had entered 
 America through Quebec and spread over the United States, 
 creating universal terror, the family were stopped at the 
 boundary line between Freetown and Fall River and examined 
 for signs of the dire disease. Only when they had proved 
 themselves spotless were they allowed to proceed. 
 
 How delightful those excursions were ! How nice it was 
 to occasionally drive the horse, as we journeyed on througli 
 new scenes I How pleasant were the people whom we visit- 
 ed, — how hospitable, and what good things they had to eat I 
 How glad they were to see "Colonel Hodges," and to know 
 his family and to entertain his children ! Then each excur- 
 sion always had one grand objective point, — it might be a 
 farm, with forests and flowers and berries ; or a pond or bay, 
 - on which we could sail and fish : or a beach, where we could 
 bathe and play in the sand; or a military camp with its gal- 
 
•_>18 FAMILY LIFE IN PROVIDENCE. 
 
 laiit soldiers, its inspiring bands and its glorious drills, where 
 we were made so much of by high officers attired in splendid 
 uniforms ; or some other wonderful place. And when the 
 trip had ended, what lovely memories remained of what had 
 occurred, and what great expectations were formed of what 
 was going to happen next time ! 
 
 Once in two years, on an average, father and mother, with 
 two or three others, took quite a long excursion trip lasting 
 from two weeks to a month. Three of my older brothers went 
 to an excellent boarding school in the beautiful town of 
 Lanesborough, Massachusetts, among the Berkshire liills. 
 This school was kept by Mr. N. P. Talcott, a noted teacher, 
 and after his death by Mr. Daniel Day. So long as any of my 
 brothers remained here (from 1840 to 1848), this was always 
 one of the places of call. To reach it from Providence, before 
 the railroad from Boston was completed to Albany, the usual 
 route was by boat to New York, thence by steamer up the 
 Hudson river to Albany or Troy (where we had cousins), 
 and then by stage to Lanesborough. On these excursions the 
 principal points of beauty and interest along the Hudson were 
 visited. Perhaps the river was left at the town of Hudson, 
 where the cars were taken as far as West Stockbridge ; or if 
 the river was followed up to Albany, a side trip to Saratoga 
 and Ballston Spa was indulged in. 
 
 A stop of several days was almost always made at West 
 Point. Father was well acquainted with Colonel Sylvanus 
 Thayer, the " father of the Military Academy," and other 
 high officials there, and was cordially welcomed when he ap- 
 peared, and pleasantly entertained. I myself was once in- 
 vited by the Corps of Cadets to attend their Military Ball ; 
 but mother refused to let me go, as I was only thirteen 
 months old. 
 
 One year there was a trip " down East," to visit father's 
 married sister and an uncle and cousin and many friends in 
 Maine. The journey was made by steamboat along the coast 
 
DANFORTH COMSTOCK HODGES. WILLIAM TOWNSEND HODGES. 
 
FAMILY LIFE IN PROVIDENCE. 219 
 
 and by stage in the interior, railroads not yet having invaded 
 that region. The stage coaches were not especially comfort- 
 able, the roads were not particularly good, and the hours of 
 uprising and downlying were not always agreeable ; yet the 
 Journal touches lightly on these inconveniences, dwells chiefly 
 on the delight of meeting dear friends, and declares that the 
 travellers had a most enjoyable time. 
 
 3[I)c l^. S. €av^s of (Ha^cfs, 
 
 y request the pleasure 
 
 of _ ^jri^ <i^.&jf(^<^c/ -f?^J^'^^**?pfy'.yi 
 
 / / 
 
 company at their Mil .ITARYj BALL to be given at West Point, on the 29tb 
 
 .of August. 1844 
 
 West Point, N. Y. 
 
 ^_ 
 
 August, ^c> 1844 
 
 p. A. FARRELLT O. C. BARBER, 
 
 LOUIS HEBERT, J. C. BONNYCASTLK, 
 
 FITZ JOHN PORTER, J. DE RUSSKY, 
 
 THOMAS G. RHETT, HENRY HETH, 
 
 H. L. SHIELDS, W. H. HILL,' 
 
 T. B J. WELD, D. T. VAN BUREN. 
 
 Another year an excursion was made by rail to Niagara 
 Falls. Railroad travel in those days was comparatively slow ; 
 tliirty-four hours were spent on the road between Boston and 
 the Falls ; there were no through trains or parlor cars, and 
 night-travelling in the ordinary passenger coaches was often 
 necessary. Many stops were made along the road, — at Lanes- 
 borough, to visit my brother Foster; at Albany, to call on 
 friends ; at Utica, to take a side trip to Trenton Falls, then a 
 very popular pleasure resort ; at Syracuse, to look at the salt 
 works ; and at Rochester, to see the Genesee river plunge 
 down two hundred and five feet, in three drops, into a rocky 
 gorge. At Niagara Falls the usual points of interest were 
 
220 
 
 FAMILY LIFE IN PROVIDENCE. 
 
 visited — some of them have now disappeared — including 
 the battle ground of Lundy's Lane, the Burning Springs and 
 Brock's Monument, then in a shattered condition. From the 
 Falls the horse cars were taken to Queenstown, and the steam- 
 boat to Toronto, to Kingston, and down the St. Lawrence 
 river to Montreal and Quebec. One link in the trip down 
 
 INIAGARA FALLS, G. W. 
 
 This is to Certify, That 
 
 HAS PASSED BEHIND imL GREAT 
 
 TO TERMINATION ROCK, 
 
 i^eiiig 230 feel behind tlic Great Horse-Shoe Fail. 
 
 Given uader my hand, at the office of the General 
 Register of the names of visiters at the Table Rock, 
 
 day of ^^^^^^.C^ \M^: 
 
 
 this river was traversed in a rickety coach over a plank road, 
 ^- from Coteau de Lac, at the foot of Lake St. Francis, to the 
 lower end of the Cascade Rapids. Running these rapids in a 
 steamboat was then considered altogether too dangerous. At 
 Montreal, the Journal relates, " we went to the Artillery Bar- 
 racks, where a salute was fired in honor of Queen Victoria's 
 coronation ^ix years ago.''' From Canada the return was made 
 
GEORGE FOSTER HODGES. 
 
FAMILY LIFE IN PROVIDENCE. 221 
 
 by way of Lake George, Saratoga, the Hudson River and New 
 York. 
 
 Like all children at this period of unlimited families and 
 limited domestic help, we small boys were brought up to 
 work i)i and around the house, and were sent early to school. 
 jNIy younger brother and I must have gone at the age of 
 three, because when we were four years old we read — with 
 some assistance over the big words — those verses of the Bible 
 which came to us in turn at family prayers. I have heard 
 father say that he had seen, in Miss Maria Eddy's private 
 school, a teacher surrounded by infants who were bolstered 
 up with pillows, and tended and made happy, during the 
 lessons given to the older children. Maria Eddy was a school- 
 ma'am of reputation. She had a two-story school-house on 
 Charles Field Street, at the bottom of the garden beliind the 
 Eddy house which her family owned. We were her pupils 
 while we lived in Providence. 
 
 Our education was considered most important by father, 
 who took a share in training us. One of the first lessons he 
 gave us was the lesson of getting down to hard work and 
 doing the work thoroughly. Over and over again he told us 
 that if we could not learn to enjoy the work which lay before 
 us, we should lead unhappy lives. He enjoined on us hon- 
 esty, econoui}^ and fair dealing. The use, and not the abuse, 
 of money was the subject of many a talk. He often declared 
 that the property which a man owned was not his exclusive 
 possession, but was held by him in trust, primarily for the 
 benefit of his family, and then for judicious sharing with his 
 neighbors and fellow-citizens. So strongly was he impressed 
 with the idea of fair dealing, and so anxious to treat his 
 children with absolute impartiality, that he kept a financial 
 account with those who were grown up. To all of his sons, 
 while they were minors, were given a liberal support and a 
 high-school education. But after a child had come of age, 
 
222 FAMILY LIFE IN PROVIDENCE. 
 
 if he lived at home — some went away — he was charged a 
 nominal sum for board, lodging and washing. Three of his 
 sons went to college, while the others were graduated from 
 the high schools into business life. The three collegians were 
 charged amounts equivalent to the calculated excess of money 
 spent on them, over what had been expended for their brothers. 
 The sums thus charged against certain of his children were 
 not demanded back by father during his life, but, in accord- 
 ance with his directions, were settled at the division of his 
 estate. 
 
 This practice of impartial justice father carried into all his 
 business dealings. The mercantile success which he acliieved 
 was obtained, not by driving sharp bargains, but by accurately 
 gauging present situations and correctly forecasting future con- 
 ditions. He never speculated. His business reputation was 
 that of a cautious man with unusual powers of insight and 
 foresight. Those who dealt with him held him in high 
 esteem for fairness, liberality and ability. 
 
 During liis long subsequent career as bank president, he 
 held to his principles of right and justice. An officer of a 
 stock-company, he asserted, was the paid servant of the stock- 
 holders, and owed liis best efforts to his employers. It was 
 his bounden duty to use for the sole benefit of the members 
 of the corporation all opportunities for gain which came to 
 him as a corporation-officer; in such gains he could participate 
 only as one of the shareowners. A man of such ideas can 
 hardly become excessively rich. He never was wealthy, al- 
 though he had the reputation of possessing a large fortune 
 because of the many chances for profit which naturall}' were 
 offered to a person in his position, and which, after the Civil 
 War, were usually seized by other corporation-officers for 
 their personal advantage ; because also of his many generous 
 deeds. He was merely a well-to-do man. He had no ambi- 
 tion to excel in the accumulation of cash, despite a personal 
 experience which had taught him to appreciate the value of 
 
FAMILY LIFE IN PROVIDENCE. 223 
 
 money. The words of Agur, the son of Jakeh, were his 
 words: "Give me neither iioverty nor riches." Those who 
 were born witli silver spoons in their mouths, he declared, 
 were always badly handicapped by the spoons in the race for 
 life and happiness. 
 
 He had due respect for wealth fairly gained and righteously 
 
 administered, but for a mere money-grubbei- he had only pity. 
 
 " Mr. X. died this day," is the brief comment in his Journal 
 
 on the death of a certain individual, " known only as a very 
 
 rich man." For wealth acquired dishonestly, he had a fine 
 
 contempt. A former acquaintance, who had gone West and 
 
 started a bank, made a fortune by an iniquitous failure which 
 
 ruined many others. Some years later the ex-banker came 
 
 East, making parade of his money. Meeting father on the 
 
 street, he advanced with a smile and an out-stretched hand, 
 
 saying, "How do you do, Colonel? Rejoiced to see yoii 
 
 again after all these years. Just coming to call on you." 
 
 "You have the advantage of me, Sir," was the cool reply. 
 
 " What, don't you remember your old friend S. ? " " My old 
 
 friend S. died two years ago" said the Colonel, passing on. 
 
 My father always attended church regularly on Sunday, 
 but just where he went during Ms bachelor days in Provi- 
 dence, he omitted to record. After he was married, he took 
 seats in the First Congregational Church, of which Rev. 
 Henry Edes* was then the minister. When Mr. Edes re- 
 signed his pastorate, father went to the Westminster Con- 
 gregational Church, whose minister was Rev. Frederick A. 
 
 *Rev. Dr. Edes, aged 72, — oue paper gives his age as 74 — died sud- 
 denly in Worcester, Mass., on the 25th inst. His funeral was in Suffolk 
 Street, Boston, to-day. I was the only one of his Providence parish- 
 ioners present. He was minister of the First Congregational Church 
 m Providence from 1805 to 1832. He performed the marriage ceremony 
 for me in 1827, and he christened my sou Danforth in 1832, his last offi- 
 cial act for anyone of his Society. [Journal, Feb. 27, 1S51.'] 
 
224 FAMILY LIFE IX PROVIDENCE. 
 
 Farley. In 1833 he returned to the First Congregationiil 
 Church, where Rev. !Mr. Hall* had been installed. Here he 
 staid during liis residence in Providence, a part of the time 
 being a member of the choir. 
 
 When father began housekeeping, the fuel used in his 
 household consisted of wood, charcoal and some hard coal, but 
 the hard coal was not employed for cooking until April, 1838. 
 Then wood was discarded, except in very small amounts : but 
 charcoal continued to be used for cooking certain articles and 
 for lighting the hard coal. The annual cost of fuel in the 
 household, from 1830 to 1838, varied from #85 to '#196, and 
 averaged -1137. From 1838 to 1844, the average yearly ex- 
 pense was : hard coal, 1119.60 ; charcoal, -130.90 ; wood, -16.94 ; 
 total, -$157.44 : anthracite costing from -19.121 to $6.25 per 
 ton, charcoal about 29 cents per bushel, and wood about -$7.50 
 per cord. 
 
 Candles, whale oil, sperm oil and lard oil were used for 
 lights. We had some very pretty iron and bronze candelabra 
 with pendant prismatic crystals. In the homes of the wealthy, 
 very beautiful glass chandeliers were to be seen. There was 
 no illuminating gas in Providence at this time. Its manufac- 
 ture and supply began in December, 1848. 
 
 The total household expenses from 1828 to 1846, during 
 which period the family increased in number from two to 
 seven, ranged from -$535.54 to $2,272.95, and averaged 
 $1,525.64 per year.f 
 
 There were many colored people resident in Providence, 
 and these were very generally employed as house servants. 
 
 *Eev. Edward Brooks Hall died in Providence at 5 P. M., in the 34tli 
 year of his ministry. He was born in Medford, Mass., Sept. 2, 1800, and 
 was graduated at Harvard in 1820. I attended his church in Providence 
 from 1833 until 1846, and was much attached to him. He was a real 
 Christian and a very useful citizen. [Journal, March 3, 1S6G.] 
 
 t See Appendix IV. 
 
FAI\IILY LIFE IN PROVIDENCE. 225 
 
 As a rule the}" were excellent in this capacity, being neat, 
 willing, respectable in manners and appearance, and kind and 
 affectionate to the children. They usually were good cooks. 
 Some of them must have been escaped slaves. At least, in 
 language, pronunciation and other particulars they differed 
 from what was customary at the North. In the evening, 
 after all the work was finished and the kitchen had been put 
 in apple-pie order, Sarah Warfield always smoked a black 
 clay pipe with the greatest apparent enjoyment. We children 
 never quite understood how this infringement of the house- 
 hold rules was allowed. Sarah could make the most delicious 
 dainty that ever passed a child's lips, — rye-and-Indian pan- 
 cakes. These were a composition of ryemeal and Indian- 
 cornmeal, dropped from a spoon into boiling fat, and emerging 
 thence, dry, crisp and beautifully browned, in globular forms 
 with little tails, in shape like the Prince Ruj)ert's drops famil- 
 iar to children of that day, only of course much larger. 
 
 Wages of house servants, during the period in question, 
 rose gradually from about fifty cents to a dollar and a half per 
 week. In our family, while at Providence, only one servant 
 ever received two dollars a week, and that was a colored cook 
 of exceptional ability. 
 
SIX CHANGING YEARS. 
 
 'he following notices appeared in the Providence 
 Journal and the Boston Atlas. The editorial no- 
 tice, fourth in order (labelled by father "a puff," 
 and pasted in his scrap book with the others), 
 was written by liis friend Henry B. Anthony, who was then 
 editor of the Providence Journal, and later was United States 
 Senator from Rhode Island for many years. 
 
 NOTICE — The copartnership heretofore existing under 
 _ the firm of Stimson & Hodges, is by mutual consent 
 dissolved, and John J. Stimson is duly authorized to close 
 up the business. JOHN J. STIMSON, 
 
 Feb. 1%, 1845. ALMON D. HODGES 
 
 Almon D. Hodges respectfully gives notice to his friends 
 and the public that he has formed a business connection in 
 Boston, vcith Messrs Emmons & Weld, 31 South Market St. 
 where they will continue the wholesale Grocery and Com- 
 mission business in the name and firm of Hodges, Emmons 
 & Weld. f 19 
 
 PPPARTNERSHIP NOTICE. EMMONS & 
 
 v_/ WELD have taken into Copartnership ALMON D. 
 HODGES,(lateof the firm of Stimson & Hodges, of Providence,) and 
 their business will be continued at No. 31 South Market street, un- 
 der the name and firm of HODGES, EMMONS & WELD. 
 Feb. 17, 1845. Iawis2m§-F20 
 
 NOTICE. The Copartnership heretofore 
 existing under the tirm and name of HODGES, EM- 
 MONS & WELD, is this day, by mutual consent, dissolved. 
 
 HODGES & EMMONS being duly authorised to settle the affairs 
 of the late firm. " ALMON D. HODGES, 
 
 JOHN L. EMMONS, 
 May 15, 1840. JOHN D. WELD. 
 
 The undersigned will continue the Wholesale Grocery and Com- 
 mission business, under the firm of HODGES & EMMON.'^, at No. 
 31 & 32 South Market street. ALMON D. HODGES, 
 
 JOHN L. EMMONS. 
 
 May 15, 184G. 3t 
 
 ( 22(5 ) 
 
SIX CHANGING YEARS. 227 
 
 Our advertising columns have already noticed 
 the dissolution of the copartnership of Stimson & 
 Hodges, the oldest mercantile house in the city, 
 we believe, with one exception, that has remained 
 without any change in the number or names of 
 its partners. Col. Hodges goes to Boston in the 
 house of Hodges, Emmons & Weld, and carries 
 with him the good wishes of troops of friends in 
 Providence. As a member of the General Assem- 
 bly, and as commander of the Horse Guards, he 
 has rendered his fellow citizens good service, and 
 has secured their respect and confidence. We 
 might take this occasion to complain of the unfair 
 temptation to which Col. Hodges exposed our 
 temperance principles under pretence of a parting 
 gift; but we never lay up such things. 
 
 At the close of the year 1844, father made tliis entry in his 
 Journal : 
 
 The last year has been one of unusual prosperity in New Eng- 
 land. Although our own business has [not] been equal to what 
 it usually is, there has been a great deal to be grateful for ; and 
 it is our duty to offer our most devout thanks to that Great Spirit, 
 the source of every good and perfect gift, for the many blessings 
 He has showered upon us. 
 
 During the year which had closed, the members of the house 
 of Stimson & Hodges had discussed the subject of terminating 
 their long business connection. There had been quite a 
 falling off in their trade. Mr. Stimson had become inter- 
 ested in various other profitable enterprises which absorbed 
 a large share of his time. His partner was much inclined to 
 an exclusively wholesale business, and had been urged by 
 liis old friend, John L. Emmons, to join the prosperous whole- 
 sale firm in Boston of which Mr. Emmons was a member. 
 
 In February, 1845, the firm of Stimson & Hodges was dis- 
 solved, not without regrets, by the retirement of Almon D. 
 Hodges, being succeeded by the firm of Stimson & Paige. 
 Mr. Stimson soon retiring, George Paige — who had been con- 
 nected with Stimson & Hodges — and his brother, Frederick 
 
228 SIX CHANGING YEARS. 
 
 A. Paige, continued the business "at the old stand" with the 
 style of G. & F. A. Paige. 
 
 My father, on leaving his old firm, at once formed a co- 
 partnersliip in Boston with Emmons & Weld, under the name 
 of Hodges, Emmons & Weld, the members being Almon D. 
 Hodges, John L. Emmons and John D. Weld. In the Boston 
 Almanac the firm was listed under the head of West India 
 Goods and Groceries, wholesale. The next year (1846) INIr. 
 Weld retired and the firm was Hodges & Emmons. The 
 place was at 31 and 32 South Market Street, in close prox- 
 imity to the Cradle of Liberty. 
 
 The house of Hodges & Emmons continued in active and 
 prosperous business during four years. Then father retired 
 in order to take the presidency of the Washington Bank. 
 The main reason of tliis change was his early perception of 
 the signs of financial troubles which culminated in 1857. An 
 era of speculation and extravagance was beginning, and many 
 merchants, in his opinion, were unduly expanding their opera- 
 tions and incurring dangerous risks. The money market, gen- 
 erally tight, was becoming subject to great fluctuations. His 
 Journal contains frequent mention of the state of affairs : — 
 " The money market has been very stringent the last week and 
 ]noney on State Street has commanded 1 to 1|- per cent, per 
 month." " Money becomes abundant at 6 per cent, having 
 averaged from 9 to 18 per cent, per annum since October, 
 1847, a period of over four years." " A very hard day in State 
 Street — quite a panic. ]Money worth again 12 per cent, per 
 annum." " Mone}^ has been very dear the last fortnight. A 
 very hard time for the merchants. Kates, from 12 to 18 per 
 cent." " The last ten days have been the hardest in the 
 money market since 1837. Rates, 15 to 24 per cent." "The 
 contraction of the banks has continued throughout the week. 
 The Grocers' Bank has had to have help to keep it from 
 failing." Week by week he thus noted the course of the 
 money market, mentioned the prominent failures throughout 
 
SIX CHANGING YEARS. 229 
 
 the United States — which began to occur long before the 
 final catastrophe — and expressed his uneasiness concerning 
 the iinancial situation. Yet he believed, as he wrote in the 
 period of greatest darkness, "the country is full of every tiling- 
 needed to support life and make every man, woman and child 
 comfortable, provided there be proper means of distribution. 
 In the system of God's providence it would seem that things 
 are properly arranged, but that wickedness, extravagance and 
 other sins cannot long exist without just punishment.'" * He 
 had many earnest talks with his intimate friend, .Moses 
 Williams, whose views were similar to his own. 
 
 Doubtless liis decision to retire from business was hastened 
 by the death of his dear wife, which occurred in August, 
 1849. Furthermore Mr. Aaron Baldwin resigned the presi- 
 dency of the Washington Bank in 1850, and Moses Williams, 
 who was an influential director of this bank, was very anxious 
 to secure in Mr. Baldwin's place a man of undoubted ability. 
 Through Mr. Williams's influence, principally, the presidency 
 was offered to, and accepted by, my father, who thus recorded 
 the result in his Journal : — 
 
 1850, Nov. a. I was elected unanimousi}' a director, and then 
 President, of the Washington Bank (State Street), My elec- 
 tion to this oftice was very gratifying to my feelings. I made 
 a short address on taking the chair. The directors chosen were : 
 Almon D. Hodges (in place of Aaron Baldwin, who declined a re- 
 election), Francis Bacon, Josiah P. Cooke, George D. Dutton, John 
 L. Emmons, Parker Fowle, George T. Lyman, William Lincoln, 
 Flavel Moseley, Josiah Stedman, Alanson Tucker, Jr., and INIoses 
 Williams. Other officers were : D. A. Sigourney, cashier ; James 
 H. Champney, book-keeper ; Charles P. Putnam, teller, and James 
 W. Cashing, messenger. 
 
 So long as the family remained in Providence, it was neces- 
 sary for my father to make semi-weekly journeys between the 
 
 * Journal, January 1, 1S5S. 
 
230 
 
 SIX CHANGING YEARS. 
 
 Phillipj 
 ''/^ Beach. 
 Cove. 
 
 ledBoci. OCEAN 
 
 two cities. As a rule he passed Sundays and Mondays at his 
 home, and the rest of the week in Boston. A yearly ticket 
 on the Boston and Providence Railroad, with the privilege of 
 
 two trips a week, cost 
 at first (in 1845) one 
 hundred dollars, l)ut the 
 price was reduced soon 
 after to seventy-five dol- 
 lars. 
 
 In June, 1846, the 
 house in Providence* 
 was rented to Philip 
 Allen, Jr., and on July 
 2 the family moved to 
 Swampscott, Massachu- 
 setts, — a lovely sea- 
 shore resort within a 
 convenient railroad dis- 
 tance from Boston, — 
 and " anchored at Mr. 
 Ansel F. Nesbit's," who 
 jj^^^JI kept a first-class house 
 and charged first-class 
 prices, for the times, — 
 each per 
 
 ^r^x'^ five dollars 
 
 (1 
 
 EASTERN RAILROAD, BETWEEN BOSTON AND SWAMPSCOTT, 1846. 
 
 week for the adults of 
 the family, and two or 
 three dollars for the 
 small children and for 
 the maid. 
 
 * 1851, Jany. 27 and Feb. 5. Sold my house ou Benevoloat Street, 
 Providence, to Dr. Abraham H. Okie [a noted homeopathic physician] 
 for ■'S!l5,000. I could not help feeling a shade of melancholy at parting 
 with a place which I had taken so much pleasure in fitting up, and 
 which had been a source of great enjoyment. [Journal of A. D. H.] 
 
SIX CHANGING YEARS. 231 
 
 That the family's change of position from little Rhode 
 Island to the vicinity of the Hub, altered the equilibrium of 
 a part of the earth's surface and caused it to tip, may not be 
 positively affirmed; yet the record sliows that on August 
 25 following, "an earthquake is felt this morning about 5 
 o'clock." However, earthquakes have occurred at other dates 
 in New England, beginning historically on June 1, 1638. 
 The most noted one happened on November 18, 1755, when 
 Boston was so " dreadfully shaken " that the grasshopper 
 vane was thrown down from the tower on Faneuil Hall, and 
 all the ministers were provided with a text for their sermons 
 on the following Sunday. The Journal records, in addition 
 to the shake of August 25, 1846, one on November 28, 1852, 
 at 12 o'clock A. M., and another on October 20, 1870, when 
 "about 11-| A. M. an earthquake shock was felt in Boston 
 and over almost all New England. The chimneys of the gas- 
 lights in the [Washington] bank rattled against the shades. 
 People ran out of the Sears building, which is said to be 
 cracked in one or two places, and there was a scattering of 
 the occupants from many other large buildings." 
 
 The family remained at Swampscott for three months. On 
 October 9 " all hands moved to the United States Hotel* in 
 Boston, where I have engaged rooms until about ]\Iay 1, next, 
 for self, wife, Frederick, A. D. Jr. and Frank at |26 per week, 
 including fires ; when Townsend and Foster are with us, it is 
 to be -^6 per week more." The next summer was spent at 
 Swampscott, at Gorham Brackett's boarding house. During 
 the winter of 1847-48 the family were again at the United 
 States Hotel, occupying " rooms 315, 316 and 161 at -§26 per 
 week, fire and light extra, for self, wife, xllmon D. Jr., Frank, 
 and Catherine " the maid. This does not seem an exorbitant 
 
 * Ralph W. Holman died in Newtou, Mass., on tlie 20th. He kept 
 the United States Hotel in Boston when I and my family boarded there 
 in 1S4G and 1S47, and the Winthrop House in Boston when we were 
 there in 1850 and 1851. [Journal, Nov. 24, 1371.] 
 
•23J SIX CHANGING YEARS. 
 
 charge for a first-class hotel, where the landlord gave a ball 
 or two each winter to his guests. 
 
 During the period of hotel life, father was searching for 
 a new home in the vicinity of his adopted city, and finally 
 found a satisfactory place in Koxljury. Boston has long had 
 the most beautiful suburbs of any city in the world. At that 
 time Dorchester and lioxbur}-, with their fine estates and 
 handsome mansions rich in historical associations, were the 
 loveliest of the city's environs. It was an unfortunate day 
 for these places when they were annexed to the metropolis, 
 lost their independence and individuality, and became insig- 
 nificant members of one of those overgrown corporations 
 which Americans hav^e yet to learn to govern properly. Very 
 likely loss of beauty would have resulted gradually through 
 natural increase of population, although Brookline, which has 
 refused to unite with Boston, thus far has suffered no such 
 sad change. But annexation brought a sudden destruction of 
 the attractions of Roxbury and Dorchester. The main effec- 
 tive argument for the union was that real estate would rise 
 in value, — and it did, with a boom. Taxes rose also. Then 
 the bottom of the boom dropped out, and investors were 
 left with properties on their hands which were practically 
 unsalable. In order to obtain income from them, the large 
 estates were cut up and everywhere cheap houses were 
 erected. This settled the business. Fashion deserted these 
 places which grew cheaper and homelier in appearance, and 
 cheaper in reality. There are numerous estates which cannot 
 be sold to-day for the prices which they brought sixty years 
 ago, even where they have been well kept up and have been 
 liberally improved. The large handsome mansions have van- 
 ished or are now valueless ; but this is owing in great measure 
 to the disappearance of the New England housekeeper. The 
 great majority of the American city women of the present 
 time, anxious to evade all possible domestic cares, and desir- 
 ous to be entertained but not to entertain, are content to live 
 
SIX CHANGING YEARS. 238 
 
 ill contracted spaces which their predecessors woukl have 
 scorned. Only the exceedingly wealthy now have the floor- 
 area in their houses which was considered a necessity by the 
 ordinary old New Engiander of any social pretension. 
 
 In the fall of 1847, my father purchased of J. Aniory 
 Davis, for the sum of nine thousand dollars, the house and 
 lot, numbered 39, on St. James Street, Roxbury, and at once 
 began the construction of a large addition to the ell. On 
 March 18, 1848, "we all moved from the United States 
 Hotel this afternoon to our house in Roxbury, viz : self, 
 Martha, Danforth, Townsend, Frank, Grace Gardner [the 
 cook] and Julia [the maid], it being just eleven years to a 
 day since we moved into our new house on Benevolent Street, 
 Providence." 
 
 The St. James Street house, when the family took posses- 
 sion, consisted of a two-story main building, 10 feet by 27 
 feet, with a three-story ell, 50 feet by 15 feet. The spacious 
 entrance hall, large enough to contain sofas and chairs, ex- 
 tended through the center of the main building from the front 
 door to the circular staircase which gave access to the second 
 story. (3n the right hand, or easterly side, of the hall was the 
 drawing room, extending the whole depth of the main house 
 and having windows on three sides. On the left of the hall 
 were the library — used as a sitting room and stocked with 
 the standard works of English literature, tlie books overflow- 
 ing into other parts of the house, — and the dining room, 
 which extended far enough into the ell to have windows on 
 two opposite sides. Back of the dining room was the back 
 entry with its staircase, and then the airy kitchen, and beyond 
 this a large laundry. 
 
 On the second floor, above the drawing-room and of the 
 same large size, was a bedroom, used cliiefly as a guest-room.. 
 Over the main hall was a similar hall, the front part of which 
 was partitioned off into a bedroom. Over the librar}^ was 
 another bedroom, and over the dining-room was the " nur- 
 
234 SIX CHANGING YExVKS. 
 
 seiy."' In the ell, back of the niirfcjeiy but at a somewhat 
 lower level — owing to the less height of the kitchen and 
 laundry — was the back entry, running to the bedroom at the 
 northerly end of the house. This room was over the laundry. 
 Off the entry were also the large bathroom, and a bedroom 
 called " the little hot bedroom," because it was over the kitchen 
 and was heated by the chimney of the kitchen range. 
 
 In the upper story of the ell were two rooms for the ser- 
 vants and a large store-room. Below all the house were large 
 cellars. 
 
 Thus this house contained fourteen rooms for nine persons 
 besides the maids : and nearly all the rooms were larger than 
 is now usual. 
 
 At a later date the house was enlarged to its present size. 
 A two-story ell was added on the westerly side, with a bed- 
 room on the upper story and two rooms below : one used 
 first as a sitting-room, but later converted into a dining-room 
 closet ; the other was the kitchen pantry. Also a mansard 
 roof, with a cupola, was built over the main building, furnish- 
 ing four additional bedrooms and a large linen closet. As 
 the front-entry bedroom was then removed, the house now 
 contained twenty rooms besides the linen closet, which was 
 Ijig enough for a bedroom. 
 
 The above description has been written in order to give an 
 idea of what was considered necessary for a well-to-do Old 
 New England family with Old New England ideas of comfort 
 and hospitality. 
 
 The house stood back from the street in a garden which 
 measured nearly half an acre, where grew grass, flowers, veg- 
 etables, various fruit-bearing bushes, trees and vines, and 
 some shade trees and flowering shrubs. In the ante-bellum 
 days cherries, grapes, pears, peaches, currants (red, wliite and 
 black) and gooseberries were grown in quantity sufficient, or 
 nearly sufficient, in their season, to supply the needs of tlie 
 family. The peaches were produced so abundantly that they 
 
SIX CHANGING YEARS. 285 
 
 were given away by the bushel. Strawberries, however, were 
 difficult to raise. Corn, beans, peas, squashes and some other 
 vegetables made a very respectable showing. Father was very 
 fond of working in the garden, and devoted much of his spare 
 time to tliis occupation. We young children were allotted 
 each a small plot which we were urged to cultivate, and the 
 products of our toil were bought by father at the highest 
 market prices. We, however, failed to win much credit as 
 market-gardeners, and were unable to maintain a lasting en- 
 thusiasm for this vocation, despite the encouraging example 
 of the head of the family. The only success achieved by any 
 of us was my own, and this was confined exclusively to the 
 line of rhubarb. This sturdy plant, I discovered, would grow 
 luxuriantly with only the slightest amount of attention on my 
 part, and I filled my whole plot with it. The family at 
 length rebelled at the constant appearance of this wholesome 
 edible on the table — all except father, who, I believe, would 
 have eaten rhubarb tlu'ee times a day rather than break his 
 agreement to purchase all our products. I myself became 
 so surfeited (although I concealed the fact) that I have never 
 since had any desire for the dish. Finally my brothers de- 
 stroyed my plants and violently ended my career as a rhu- 
 barber. 
 
 St. James Street traverses the northerly edge of Tommy's 
 Rocks (more politely termed Mount Warren), and the house 
 stands at the highest point of tins street, nearly ninety feet 
 above the sea. The lower part of the garden is bounded on 
 two sides by perpendicular cliffs of the "pudding stone" 
 rock whence Rocksbury (as the word was anciently spelled) 
 derived its name, and is on a level with the ridgepoles of the 
 neighboring houses on Cliff Street. From the upper stories 
 of our home we had beautiful views to the north and east, — 
 of Cambridge, Boston and the harbor. Before new buildings 
 interfered, we could see the forest of trees in Roxbur}- ; the 
 distant hills of West Cambridge, now Arlington ; the Back 
 
•236 SIX CHANGING YEARS. 
 
 Bay fields and marshes, and the Worcester Railroad trains 
 crossing them ; the houses, steeples and towers of Boston, 
 crowned by the State House dome ; Dorchester Heights in 
 South Boston ; and, with the aid of a spyglass, the vessels 
 entering and leaving the harbor. At night the city streets, 
 marked by lines of light, and the fires blazing intermittently 
 from the stacks of the South Boston Iron "Works, delighted 
 our childish eyes. On Fourth of -Tul}' night we could see 
 fireworks in all directions, even the ground pieces on Boston 
 Common being discernible. It was a lovely situation. 
 
 So soon as father reached Boston with his family, he rented 
 a pew in the Brattle-street Church, of wliich Samuel Kirkland 
 Lothrop was pastor. Dr. Lothrop was highly esteemed by 
 his congregation, I believe, but the chief impression which 
 we small church-goers received was caused by the cannon ball 
 imbedded in the front of the church, wliich was a constant 
 reminder to us of the doughty deeds of our forefathers in 
 driving the Britisli out of Boston in 1776. When father 
 settled in Roxbury he bought a pew, No. 53, in the gallery of 
 the First Church of Roxbury, which church he attended dur- 
 ing the rest of his life. 
 
 Dr. George Putnam was one of the finest preachers of New 
 England. He was graduated at Harvard College in 1826 and 
 at the Harvard Divinit}' School in 1830. Thereupon he was 
 installed minister of the First Church of Roxbury and held 
 his position until his death in 1878, for the last three years, 
 owing to his ill-health, having a colleague. During nearly 
 half a century he guided his congregation with a firm hand, 
 and without the slightest friction. His sermons, which were 
 prepared carefully and written out, were remarkable for 
 beauty of language, abundance of ideas, clear thinking and 
 persuasive reasoning, and he interested and swayed liis hear- 
 ers, both old and young, almost at will. His discourses were 
 not oratorical or sensational, and dealt chiefly wdth the thoughts 
 and events of every-day life ; but they were delivered with a 
 
REV. GEORGE PUTNAM, D. D. 
 
SIX CHANGING YEARS. 237 
 
 quiet intensity wliicli went straight to the mark. He was no 
 controversialist, and a theological argument was an exceeding 
 rarity ; yet when occasion demanded, as at the breaking out 
 of the Civil War, he could speak emphatically. He might, 
 perhaps, be summed up as the Benjamin Franklin of the 
 American pulpit. In the community he was a man of influence 
 and helpfulness; was a Presidential Elector in 1864, repre- 
 sented Roxbury in the State legislature in 1870 and 1871, and 
 was a Fellow of Harvard College for many years. 
 
 In 1846 the Mexican War began. There was much oppo- 
 sition to this war in New England. " I fear our country will 
 be called to a dreadful account for an offensive and unjust 
 war with Mexico, a war made without sufficient cause,"* is 
 the comment in the Journal. Immediately after tliis contest 
 the Presidential election of 1848 was held. There were three 
 candidates: General Zachary Taylor, Whig; General Lewis 
 Cass, Democrat ; and ex-President Martin Van Buren, Free 
 Soil. " I cast my ballot for Gen. Zachary Taylor, who was 
 elected, getting 163 electors, over Gen. Cass, who obtained 
 127, and Martin Van Buren, who obtained 000 ! " is the Jour- 
 nal entry of November 7, 1848, the day of election. "I was 
 not pleased with the nomination of General Taylor, preferring 
 Daniel Webster or John McLean of Ohio ; but voted for him 
 as against Cass and a continued Democratic administration." 
 The Whigs carried the Massachusetts State election on No- 
 vember 14, and on November 23 there was " a grand illumi- 
 nation in Roxbury in honor of the National and State Whig 
 victories. My house was illuminated for the first time since 
 I have been a housekeeper." 
 
 On October 25, 1848, occurred the Cochituate Water Cele- 
 bration in Boston. Father of course closed the store and was 
 
 * James Kussell Lowell, in the Biglow Papers, wittily and ably ex- 
 pressed the general feeling in Xew England. General Grant, who fought 
 in this war, declared, in his Personal Memoirs, that it was "one of the 
 most nnjust ever waged by a stronger against a weaker nation." 
 
238 SIX CHANGING YEARS. 
 
 on hand, all the more interested, perhaps, on account (jf being- 
 president of the Mount Warren Water Company of Koxbury. 
 There was a procession, about five miles long, which marched 
 through the streets and then to the Connnon, where the water 
 was turned on and spouted up eighty feet in the fountain on 
 Frog Pond. The Boston City (xuards turned out — they may 
 be seen at the left of the accompanying illustration — and the 
 Providence Light Infantry participated, " the Ijest looking 
 company present." " It was a great day for Boston, and 
 everybody api:)eared happy." 
 
 In 1848 the discovery of gold in California attracted the 
 attention of the world and caused intense excitement. The 
 adventurous spirits of all classes thronged thither, and a 
 strange mixture of the good and the bad was collected on 
 the Pacific coast. Among those attacked by the gold fever 
 was William H. Townsend of Providence, who had married 
 Martha Comstock's sister. His experience, which was that 
 of many another Californian Argonaut, is narrated in the fol- 
 lowing letter : — 
 
 San Fkancisco, Oct. 12, 1849. 
 
 There are people here, waiters in eating houses, laborers on the 
 beach and elsewhere about town, drivers of carts, sellers of ginger- 
 bread, billiard-game markers, bar tenders, keepers of restaurants, 
 &c., &c., who, when at home, would never have been caught in 
 such occupations ; but something they must do, for here no man 
 can live " standing all the day idle." I arrived here on the first 
 of June last. I was connected with two young men, and our in- 
 tentions were to hang together, go to the mines and continue there 
 until we liad " dug " enough to make ourselves comfortal)le for 
 life. We started from this i>lace on the 29th of June in a little 
 schooner (the Favorite, Capt. Whelden, who came from New 
 Bedford round the Horn) and reached her destination, Stockton, 
 [on the San Joaquin river] tlie third morning afterwards, having 
 encountered millions of the worst kind of mosquitos. The last 
 night, as we laid alongside of the bank of the river, tied up to the 
 
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 CD 
 
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 2 
 
 CD 
 
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SIX CHANGING YEARS. 239 
 
 rushes, so annoying were these animals that none of us eouki 
 sleep. They are al)Out three times as large as our biggest JoJin- 
 ston /Spoonbills, and will go through anything, — clothes, boots, 
 blankets or anything else. I enveloi)ed myself completely in a 
 large blanket, and in less than fifteen minutes a dozen, more or 
 less, were putting it tome strong in my face and hands. Some 
 passengers crawled into barrels and covered themselves com- 
 pletely, and yet in a little while were ol)liged to evacuate and 
 leave the enemy in possession. This discomfort, thought I, is the 
 beginning of the ordeal we must undergo before we can make our 
 fortunes ! So we stood it bravely. We took our coffee in the 
 morning, helped haul the vessel up stream, as there was no wind, 
 and arrived at Stockton at 9 A. M., July 2. 
 
 Here we fell in with the Providence mining company, among 
 whom were Gol. B. of the Light Infantry, and Doct. F. We soon 
 ascertained there was no chance to get away from the place the 
 same day, therefore packed our tent and other traps a little dis- 
 tance from the landing, pitched the tent and in a couple of hours 
 were " tent keeping " in good style. 
 
 On the glorious Fourth we dined with the aforesaid company on 
 pork and beans, not to mention the doughnuts made by the Doc- 
 tor, who, by-the-by, is an excellent cook. There was also a public 
 dinner got up by the " citizens " at one of the " hotels " (a frame 
 with cotton-cloth covering), but even the reduction of the price 
 of a ticket to two ounces of gold (32 dollars) was not a sufficient 
 inducement for us to join the patriotic few. After dinner the 
 Doctor, the Colonel and I had a walk of a mile or two to a rancho 
 (farm-house) and })artook of some fresh milk at 50 cents a pint. 
 As it was our national jubilee, we thought it would do to indulge 
 in some kind of luxury. After our return, took tea, and in the 
 evening had a look at the moon, instead of firew^orks. 
 
 Stockton is very pleasantly located on a little creek at the head 
 of navigable waters of the San Joaquin 1 liver. It is situated on a 
 plain and the climate is very fine ; but the place is liable to inun- 
 dations in the winter and spring. The town at this time is com- 
 posed of some fifty tents of different sizes and kinds, and there is 
 only one frame building in the place, and yet house-lots are 
 worth, in very central positions, S3000. 
 
240 SIX CHANGING YEARS. 
 
 Our company made a bargain with a Mexican with ox-teams to 
 cany us to the diggings on the Tuohirane River at the mouth of 
 Wood Creek. After a tedious journey we arrived, pitched our 
 tent and put things in order. On the latter pai't of the day after 
 our arrival, took a stroll up the creek and selected a place to com- 
 mence digging. The next morning went at it on the bank of the 
 river close to the water, and worked until 10 A. M., when the heat 
 was so great, without a breath of air, that Ave knocked off, having 
 gathered (three of us) a half ounce of gold only. We continued 
 at this place about four days and gathered only ^39 worth. This 
 being j^oor pay, we tried other places, without any better success. 
 The river was too high to work on its banks, and Ave were desir- 
 ous to cross it and try the gullies on the other side. A ferry is 
 already established and the price for crossing is ^1, which made 
 •§2 going and coming. We tried this a day or two, and not get- 
 ting gold enough to pay expenses, endeavored to make a contract 
 with the ferryman for a whole party (16 of us) at reduced prices. 
 He Avould not do it, therefore we resolved to build a canoe of our 
 own. A i^arty Avas delegated for this purpose, a pine tree of three 
 or four feet in diameter Avas felled and tAventy feet of the butt 
 rolled to our tent grounds, and in four days we had a ferry boat 
 .and put it afloat, reducing the fare to 50 cents. Our party had 
 the use of her, and it brought an income of 120 to 130 daily, we 
 taking turns as ferrymen. 
 
 We did but little better in digging, however. The most I took 
 in one day Avas three-quarters of an ounce, travelling on the rocks 
 and precipices, a mile each Avay, twice a day. Our whole receijjts 
 Avere small and the work hard, — picking, shovelling, boiling water 
 to wash Avith, and then " pan-Avashing," a very back-aching ojjera- 
 tion. My associates about this time became discouraged by our 
 small doings and left me, to return to San Francisco. I tarried 
 about a month alone, doing a little noAV and then, but I soon found 
 that a lone person could accomplish nothing, and I did not tind 
 any Avith whom to form new associations, Avho Avere to my liking. 
 I conclu<led to abandon mining, and back to San Francisco I 
 came. 
 
 Almost all of the companies break up after their arrival here 
 and divide into small squads, — for some Avork a little harder than 
 
SIX CHANGING YEARS. 241 
 
 the others, some don't eat one kind of food and don't want to pay 
 for what they don't eat, and other like difficulties. Some want to 
 do one thing and some another. Thus almost all associations dis- 
 agree and dissolve. Yours very truly, 
 
 W. If. TOWXSEND. 
 
 For a year and a half peace and happiness reigned in the 
 Roxbury home. Then death suddenly entered the doors and 
 struck quickly five terrible blows. 
 
 In the year 1841 an epidemic of cholera broke out in 
 India, — that breeding-place of destruction for the world. 
 It spread slowly and surely in a northwesterly direction, and 
 in 1847 had extended through Persia and Afghanistan into 
 Southern Russia, whence it was carried over the rest of 
 Europe. In the latter part of 1848 it was introduced by 
 emigrants from Europe into New Orleans, and in 1849 made 
 such dreadful ravages in the United States that President 
 Taylor issued a proclamation, recommending that the people 
 observe Friday, August 3, as a day of fasting, humiliation and 
 prayer. 
 
 In the evening of August 18, 1849, Grace Gardner, the 
 colored cook, who had been a long time with the family, 
 serving with loving faithfulness, fell sick with the terrible 
 disease and died in twelve hours. There was grief at her 
 loss, especially on the part of the younger cliildren, who re- 
 garded her as a friend. There was alarm, and relatives hur- 
 ried up from Providence ; but the precautions prescribed by 
 the doctors were taken, and the alarm soon subsided. 
 
 Ten days later, on August 29, another deadly blow was 
 struck. A half hour after midnight, mother awoke in great 
 distress. She had retired apparently in excellent health, but 
 her symptoms were at once recognized by father, who, within 
 tliirty minutes, had brought to the house Dr. Charles M. 
 Windship of Roxbury. He, seeing the seiiousness of the 
 attack, while doing all in his power, called for assistance ; 
 
24-2 SIX CHANGING YEARS. 
 
 and father rushed into Boston for our family physician, Dr. 
 Marshall S. Perry, who arrived at five o'clock. But the case 
 was now hopeless. " I saw then that I must part with the 
 wife of my youth, the dear partner of my joys and my sorrows. 
 She asked me to pray for lier. I made an attempt, but my 
 utterance was choked. I did pray mentally, but anguish pre- 
 vented my speaking the words aloud. She too seemed to feel 
 more than she could utter, and to know that the time had 
 come when she must part from me and our dear children." 
 She asked for her first-born son, who had always seemed to 
 be especially near her lieart ; when he came she smiled on 
 liim, being unable to speak. Then her other children were 
 brought to her bedside, but she had become unconscious and 
 knew them not, so rapid was the progress of the disease. In 
 nine hours from the beginning of the attack, with a gentle 
 sigh, she passed quietly into the unknown. 
 
 Among those who had come to help from Providence were 
 Miss Harriet N. Harding and Mrs. B. Sisson. While father 
 and my older l)rothers were in Providence, attending mother's 
 funeral, Miss Harding suddenly sickened and died, on August 
 31, before father could be called back. The next day Mrs. 
 Sisson took the three smallest children to Providence to place 
 them with relatives there. Immediately upon her arrival, she 
 too was taken sick, and in nine hours her spirit had fled. 
 And at midnight, on September -i, little Carroll, our baby 
 brother, «->nly eleven months^ old, went to join his mother, 
 being unable to live without her. Then at last Death stayed 
 his hand. 
 
 The Roxbury home was broken up and the family was 
 scattered. It was a time of heavy sadness for fathei', sud- 
 denly deprived of his loving and lielpful wife, and left with 
 six children whose ages ranged from three to eighteen 3^ears, 
 and for whose welfare he felt a deep sense of responsibility. 
 He was not left, however, to struggle with fate unassisted. 
 Undeterred by fears of the deadly epidemic, relatives and 
 
SIX CHANGING YEARS. 243 
 
 friends, with true New England affection and hospitality, at 
 once came forward with earnest offers of help and cordial 
 invitations to their own homes. Without waiting to be asked, 
 neighbors had entered the house and assumed the manage- 
 ment of the work which must be done at all times. The 
 younger children were taken to other houses until permanent 
 arrangements could be made. With tenderness and sym- 
 pathy those loving acts were done which death demands. 
 
 The house on St. James Street was closed. Father with 
 his two oldest sons, after a short stay with cousins, took rooms 
 at the United States Hotel for the winter. The two next sons 
 were sent to boarding schools, and the two youngest went to 
 live with their grandmother in Providence. 
 
 In the autumn of 1850, Jenny Lind, the Swedish nightin- 
 gale, came to Boston, and father heard her sing. Her con- 
 certs created the wildest enthusiasm. The first ticket for a 
 concert in Boston sold for six hundred and twenty-five dol- 
 lars. No other singer in the country has ever created an 
 equal excitement or achieved a like popularity. In the public 
 opinion she was the sweetest singer of the world. She re- 
 mained about two years in America, carrying ever}- audience 
 by storm. On February 5, 1852, she married in Boston her 
 pianist, Otto Goldschmidt, and soon after returned to Euro2)e. 
 
 This summer father took a trip to the White Mountains 
 with a nephew. The route from Boston was by rail to Port- 
 land and thence b}- coach to Sebago Lake ; by steamer through 
 the lake, Ilumrill River and Brandy Pond to Bridgton ; by 
 stage to Conway and thence to the ]Mount Washington House 
 at Fabyan's. Including the stops over night at Portland and 
 at Conway, tlie journey occupied fifty-one and a half hours. 
 
 At seven o'clock on the morning of July 18, "I started on 
 horseback for INIount Washington with a party of twenty-one 
 gentlemen and four ladies. While going up the mountain 
 the weather was very fine and the atmosj)here was perfectly 
 
244 SIX CHANGING YEARS. 
 
 clear. We arrived at the Summit about one o'clock, and 
 there the weather was very thick. The company, however, 
 was pleasant. We had a collation, and then started back. 
 On the way the rain came down in torrents and wet us 
 through and through. Though our troop had a very woe- 
 begone appearance, we rode up to Fabyan's singing ' Life is 
 so short, come let us be gay ; ' and the company at the hotel, 
 assembled on the veranda, greeted me with three cheers." 
 
 The next morning the party started on the return jour- 
 ney, riding to Gibbs's Franconia Notch House, through the 
 Notch to the Flume, and down Pemigewasset Valley to Ply- 
 mouth, where the cars were taken to Boston. " I have been 
 absent six days, have had a very pleasant journey, and my 
 expenses were thirty dollars." 
 
 During the summer of 1850 father made his headquarters 
 at Tuttle's noted hostelry at beautiful Savin Hill, in Dor- 
 chester. In the fall he returned for a month to the United 
 States Hotel, and then went to the Winthrop House, on the 
 northeasterly corner of Tremont and Boylston Streets, where 
 a new chapter of his life's liistory began. 
 
THE WASHINGTON BANK OF BOSTON 
 
 ■HE twelfth Boston bank cliartered ^ — -on February 
 25, 1825 — by the Massachusetts legislature, was 
 entitled The President, Directors and Company 
 of the Washington Bank. The original incor- 
 porators were Aaron Baldwin, Daniel Baxter, Thomas Brewer, 
 Josiah P. Cooke, William Dall, Windsor Fay, Benjamin V. 
 French, French & Weld, Thomas Hunting, Josiah Knapp, 
 Jonathan P. Stearns, Charles Thacher and John Thompson. 
 
 The capital was to be #500,000 in gold and silver, in addi- 
 tion to such amount as the State might elect to subscribe, 
 divided into shares of -flOO each, to be paid in quarterly in- 
 stallments. No dividends could be declared until the whole 
 •$500,000 were paid in, which must have been done on or 
 before February 1, 1826. The capital stock must be actually 
 held by the original subscribers at least one year from the 
 date of the charter ; and unless the bank went into operation 
 within the twelvemonth, the charter was to be null and void. 
 The State reserved the right at any time to subscribe •$250,000 
 in addition to the capital, subject to the ordinary rules pre- 
 scribed by law, and also to appoint a number of directors in 
 proportion to the amount of its subscription.* 
 
 The amount of bills issued by the bank was not to exceed 
 50 per cent, more than the paid-in capital. The bank was 
 made liable to pay, to any bona-hde holder, the original 
 amount of any bank note wliich, in the course of circulation, 
 might be altered to a larger sum, and also to pay the full 
 
 * The State never exercised any of the rights. 
 (245) 
 
246 THE WASHINGTON BANK OF BOSTON. 
 
 amount of any of its notes which might be counterfeited, 
 unless such notes had been printed or impressed with the 
 phite of the bank. 
 
 The bank was to pay the State an annual tax of one-half of 
 one per cent, on the amount of its capital. Whenever the 
 legislature should so decide, the bank was to loan the State 
 any required sum not exceeding ten per cent, of its capital, 
 and such sum was to be reimbursed by five installments, an- 
 nually or at any shorter period chosen by the State, at five 
 per cent, interest ; but the State was not to be indebted to 
 the bank, without consent of the latter, for a larger sum than 
 20 per cent, of the capital. 
 
 The bank must be established and kept in Boston, and must 
 be located at some point south of the north side of Essex 
 Street. This restriction of the location was repealed b}- the 
 legislature in 1844. The bank, in the beginning, was a South 
 End institution, most of its shares being held by residents of 
 that part of Boston.* Three-fifths of the capital stock was 
 subscribed by the Boylston Fire and Marine Insurance Com- 
 pany, whose president, Aaron Baldwin, became president also 
 of the bank, and eight of whose directors were members of 
 the first bank directory of twelve. These were Aaron Bald- 
 win, Thomas Brewer, Charles Davis, Windsor Fay, Josiah 
 Stedman, John Thompson, Daniel Weld and Moses Williams. 
 The other original directors were Samuel Bradlee, Josiah P. 
 Cooke, Henry Price and Charles Thacher. 
 
 The bank had a life of just seventy-seven years : from Fel)- 
 ruary 25, 1825, the date of the original charter, until February 
 20, 1902, when, in accordance with the vote of the stock- 
 holders, it went into voluntary liquidation. It became a 
 National Bank on January 1, 1865, but this change made no 
 break in the continuity of the institution. 
 
 * Lists of the original stockholders and of all the officers, together 
 with the dividends paid, the surpluses accumulated and the highest and 
 lowest stock prices, are given in Appendix VI. 
 
AARON BALDWIN, 
 First President of the Washington Banl<. 
 
THE WASHINGTON BANK OF BOSTON. i>47 
 
 During this period of seventy-seven years, a number of the 
 bank officers served for unusually long terms. 
 
 The board of directors consisted of from five to twelve 
 members, at different dates. There were 47 directors in all, 
 of whom Josiah Stedman held office for 43 years ; Moses Wil- 
 liams, also 43 years ; Eben Bacon, 40 years ; Josiah P. Cooke, 
 36 years ; Francis Bacon, 33 years ; Alanson Tucker, 32 years ; 
 Almon D. Hodges, 28 years ; Aaron Baldwin, 26 years ; Joseph 
 W. Balch, 24 years ; and Edward I. Browne, 23 years. 
 
 There were four presidents : Aaron Baldwin, 26 years, 1825 
 to 1850; Almon D. Hodges,' 28 years, 1850 to 1878 ; Eben 
 Bacon, 17 years, 1878 to 1895 ; and C. Minot Weld, 6 years, 
 1896 to 1902. 
 
 There were five cashiers : Henry Jacques, 6 months in 1825 ; 
 Daniel A. Sigourney, 28 years, 1825 to 1853 ; Charles A. Put- 
 nam, 9 years, 1853 to 1862 ; William H. Brackett, 33 j^ears, 
 1862 to 1895; and Francis A. Low, 6 1. years, 1895 to 1902.' 
 Mr. Low's service as an officer of the bank extended over the 
 long period of 46 years. He began as receiving teller in 1856, 
 was soon promoted paying teller, and in 1895 was made 
 cashier. In addition he was an officer of the Suffolk National 
 Bank, the successor of the Washington National Bank, for 
 about two years, making a term of continuous service of 48 
 years. As paying teller he achieved a reputation unsurpassed 
 by any like bank officer in Boston. When tlie bank closed, 
 the directors voted him the sum of twenty-five hundred dol- 
 lars in recognition of liis excellent services. 
 
 There were five bookkeepers : Joshua Child, 8 years, 1825 
 to 1832; J. A. Richards, 13 years, 1833 to 1845; James H. 
 Champney, 41 years, 1846 to 1886 ; La Prelate H. Turner, 11 
 years, 1887 to 1897; and John A. Easton, 4 years, 1898 to 
 1902. James Howe Champney entered the bank's employ 
 on August 24, 1834, as messenger, and held this position un- 
 til he was made bookkeeper. For fidelity, efficiency and 
 amiability his record was remarkable. It is affirmed that he 
 
•248 THE WASHINGTON BANK OF BOSTON. 
 
 consented to take onlj- one vacation during his whole con- 
 nection with the bank, and this for a fortnight only ; but he 
 came back at the end of ten days, declaring that he could stay 
 away no longer. During his half century of service he was 
 absent from his post only one working day per annum on an 
 average. His accounts were kept with scrupulous neatness 
 and accuracy. His ledger system was that used in mercantile 
 houses, and when the bank finally decided to adopt the hori- 
 zontal system, Mr. Champney preferred to resign rather than 
 keep the books in the new way. On January 18, 1887, he 
 wrote the following letter : — 
 
 To the President and Directors and Co.: 
 
 I liave been an officer of this Bank for more than fifty-two yeai's 
 and have always done my duty to the best of my ability. During 
 that time the Bank has not sustained any losses by overdrafts. 
 
 I take this opportunity to thank you for past favors. In con- 
 sequence of ill health and inability to do the work, I tender my 
 resignation to take immediate effect from this date. I can recom- 
 mend Mr. [Sanford L.] Treadwell as a [)erson well qualitied for 
 
 the office. 
 
 With much respect your friend 
 
 jA:NrES H. Cha.mpxey. 
 
 On receipt of this letter the directors took the following 
 action : — 
 
 Whereas JNIr. James H. Chamjtney, who has faithfully served 
 this Bank in various capacities extending over more than fifty-two 
 years, being now in the 80th year of his age, has been compelled 
 by the infirmities of age to resign his connection with the Bank ; 
 it is hereby 
 
 Voted: That his resignation is accepted with great regret by 
 the Directors, and that the thanks of the Board be extended to 
 hira for his conscientious and faithful services extending over a 
 term of years almost unequalled, and that the sum of -i!^50 per 
 jnontli be paid him as long as he lives. 
 
THE WASHINGTON BANK OF BOSTON. -249 
 
 jMr. Cbampney was the sou of John and Lydia (Howe) 
 Charapuey, and was born in Roxbmy, Mass., December 4, 
 1807. He died in Roxbury (then Boston) August 29, 1889, 
 about two and a half years after his resignation. He married 
 in Boston, November 23, 1841, Miss Sarah Elizabeth Wells, 
 and had one child, James Wells Champney, who achieved dis- 
 tinction as an artist, to the exceeding joy of liis father. 
 
 Henry Kellogg was messenger and collecting clerk for 42 
 years, 1854 to 1895, and was an excellent officer. Old age 
 and poor health compelled him to resign, and the bank pen- 
 sioned him. 
 
 Of the other officers, nearly all deserve honorable mention. 
 Their names and terms of service are given in Appendix VI. 
 One of them, and only one, betrayed his trust and proved to 
 be a defaulter to the amount of fourteen thousand dollars, 
 but as his bondsmen paid ten thousand, the deficit was only 
 four thousand dollars. The greatest good-fellowship always 
 prevailed among the bank's employees, many of whom, after 
 serving their apprenticeship here, held high office in other 
 financial institutions. 
 
 The first meeting of the stockholders, at which Aaron Bald- 
 win was elected president and Henry Jacques casliier, was 
 held on March 23, 1825, in the Lafayette Hotel which stood 
 on Washington Street, on the site of the old Liberty Tree, 
 nearly opposite the Boylston Market.* Tliis hotel was a 
 four-story brick building, erected by S. Haskell just before 
 General Lafayette's visit to our country in 1824, and was 
 named in honor of " the Nation's guest." 
 
 The whole number of shares was subscribed and paid for 
 witliin the time prescribed by the charter. The bank began 
 business at 471 Washington Street, in a building belonging to 
 the Boylston Fire and Marine Insurance Company, of which 
 
 * The Boylston Market, since torn down, was located on the south- 
 westerly corner of Washington and Boylston Streets. 
 
•250 THE WASHINGTON BANK OF BOSTON. 
 
 institution Mr. Baldwin remained president about eighteen 
 years while serving also as president of the bank. In 1836 
 the bank removed to 410 Washington vStreet, at the north- 
 easterly corner of Beach Street. Here it occupied a building- 
 erected expressly for it, with a granite front fashioned in the 
 Doric style of architecture. This at the time was considered 
 quite a grand edifice, but when the bank moved from it, in 
 1844, its glor}- waned. It was occupied for twenty-three 
 years by William H. Quigiey as a second-hand furniture 
 store, and in 18(38 it was torn down. 
 
 In 1837 occurred the great panic, when the United States 
 Bank and the other banks in the country suspended specie 
 payments. The banks in New York City suspended on May 
 10, and the news of their action, received in Boston the next 
 day, created intense excitement. A large meeting was held 
 in Faneuil Hall at which it was resolved that self-protection 
 required the Boston banks also to suspend, — otherwise they 
 would lose all their specie — although many of them were in 
 good financial condition, and although some of the bankers 
 objected to this measure, believing that it would increase the 
 business distress. Accordingly, on May 12, the Washington 
 Bank and all the other Boston banks stopped redeeming their 
 notes in specie, whereby they risked the loss of their charters. 
 Immediately thereafter these banks, with the exception of the 
 Massachusetts Bank, joined in an association for the purposes 
 of mutual protection and supervision. Early in 1838 the 
 opinion began to prevail that the situation would be greatly 
 improved if the banks resumed specie payments. The Massa- 
 chusetts legislature passed an act which favored such action, 
 and on May 10 the Boston banks resumed, at the same date 
 as the New York City banks. 
 
 On December 18, 1843, a meeting of the stockholders was 
 held to consider the question of surrendering their charter. 
 The dividends that year had amounted to only 3i per cent, 
 and the stock had sold at '|80| per share, the lowest point 
 
to 00 
 
 :: > 
 
 It -7 
 
 Ui CD 
 
 S c 
 
THE WASHINGTON BANK OF BOSTON. -251 
 
 ever reached. After repeated voting, the question was de- 
 cided in the negative. Then it was proposed to reduce the 
 capital to #250,000, but this proposition was rejected. A 
 change of location, however, was decided to be advisable, and 
 the legislature was petitioned to repeal that part of the char- 
 ter which restricted the place of business to the southern 
 part of Boston. The petition being granted, the bank moved 
 to 75 State Street, at the east corner of Kilby Street, having 
 rooms in the second story. Mr. Baldwin resigned the presi- 
 dency of the Insurance Company and gave all his attention 
 to the bank. State Street was the centre of Boston banking 
 affairs, and after the removal the dividends increased and the 
 stock improved in price. 
 
 The bank was not allowed by the terms of its charter to 
 pay dividends in 1825, but in 1826 it began to declare semi- 
 annual dividends, on April 1 and October 1, and maintained 
 these continuously ever after, with just one exception. In 
 1826 the dividends for the year amounted to 7 per cent., part 
 of which, however, was earned in the preceding year. In 
 1827, when the October dividend was passed, the solitary 
 exception just named, the l)ank paid only 3 per cent. In 
 1829, 1837 and 1843, the dividends amounted each year to 
 3^^- per cent.; in 1830 and IS-l-l to 3| percent. These are 
 the lowest amounts ever paid. During Mr. Baldwin's presi- 
 dency the dividends averaged 5 per cent, per year. 
 
 In 1850, Mr. Baldwin decided to resign. He had acquired 
 a competence, was advanced in years, was very conservative 
 in his ideas, and the duties of his office were beginning to 
 weigh heavily on liim. He had engaged many 3-ears in the 
 connnission business, and at one time had lived on the island 
 of Tobago in the West Indies. He was born in Newton, 
 Mass., January 18, 1783, tlie son of Enoch and Sybil (Knapp) 
 Baldwin. His father was a Revolutionary soldier, served at 
 Bunker Hill and elsewhere, and at' the laying of the corner- 
 stone of Bunker Hill monument rode in the procession as one 
 
•252 THE WASHINGTON BANK OF BOSTON. 
 
 of the survivors of the battle. Aaron Baldwin's residence in 
 Boston, during a long period, was at 16 Essex Street, and 
 here he died on P'ebruary 24, 1862. He married in Boston, 
 June 18, 1809, Betsey Esther Marett, and left two children: 
 Aaron Charles Baldwin, who afterwards resided in London, 
 and Elizabeth Adelaide Baldwin, who married Thomas Gush- 
 ing of Boston, the i^rincipal of the Chauncey Hall School. 
 
 On November 6, 1850, the directors elected as president 
 Almon D. Hodges, unanimously; and thereafter they re- 
 elected him year by year, as long as he lived, without a single 
 dissenting vote. 
 
 My father had decided ideas as to the proper manner of 
 conducting a business institution, and these he made plain 
 to the directors before accepting office. On his election, he 
 made a short address, stating briefly his opinions. Some of 
 his views, which became familiar to his sons, may be men- 
 tioned here. 
 
 He held that the officers of a corporation are the servants 
 of the stockholders, to whom they owe loyal service, and that 
 they are bound to utilize for the benefit of their employers, 
 not for their own personal gain, all opportunities which come 
 to them as corporation officers. 
 
 He believed that violent fluctuations of value are detri- 
 mental to the common weal. In part, at least (there were 
 other reasons), in order to steady as much as possible the 
 price of the bank stock, he induced the directors to devote a 
 share of the earnings of the bank to the accumulation of a 
 surplus, — that the dividends might be paid regularly and 
 without great variation in amount in lean years as well as in 
 fat years. The bank surplus, when he became president, was 
 less than eight thousand dollars. It increased gradually in 
 twenty-five years to about three hundred thousand dollars. 
 Meanwhile the capital stock was increased from -$500,000 
 to -$750,000. The annual dividends during his incumbency 
 averaged nine per cent, as against five per cent, during the 
 
ALMON DANFORTH HODGES, 
 
 Second President of the Washington Bank, 
 
THE WASHINGTON BANK OF BOSTON. 253 
 
 previous and the subsequent life of the bank. And yet, while 
 he was president, there were two great financial panics, and 
 four years of civil war which revolutionized the currency and 
 nearly destroyed the national credit. 
 
 He required that the bank officials should exercise great 
 courtesy both to the customers of the bank and to one an- 
 other. Jealousy and backbiting among the employees were 
 an abomination to liim. It was his own custom always, on 
 coming into the bank in the morning and leaving it at the end 
 of the day, to greet pleasantly each one of ]iis subordinates. 
 If by chance, as happened a few times, he went away without 
 bidding good-bye to anyone, he was sure to return and rectify 
 the omission. 
 
 He quickly became acquainted with all who visited the 
 bank and instantly recognized them when they re-appeared. 
 He kept informed as to the financial standing of those who 
 dealt with the institution and knew the status of the accounts 
 of nearly or quite all the depositors. 'He was familiar with 
 the duties of the employees and ready to lend a helping hand 
 when necessary. On one occasion Mr. Kellogg, the mes- 
 senger, who had grown old in the service, was absent a week 
 on account of sickness, and father took his place at the Clear- 
 ing House and performed Ms duties there, — probably the 
 only instance in the history of this association in which a 
 bank president has acted as messenger. When he felt that it 
 was just and proper that the cashier's wage should be in- 
 creased, he induced the directors to give this officer a salary 
 equal to his own. 
 
 Bank salaries of the highest officials, during the period in 
 question, were low as compared with those which are usual 
 at the present time. The Washington Bank paid its presi- 
 dent a stipend of -11,500 in the year 1851, increasing it 
 gradually until it amounted to -$4,000 in 1867, then raising 
 it to $5,000 in 1897, and to $5,500 in 1900. The directors 
 served gratuitously until 1893, when they voted themselves 
 
254 THE WASHINGTON BANK OF BOSTON. 
 
 the sum of $2.50 each for each attendance at a regular meet- 
 ing of the board. 
 
 Father was cautiously progressive in his ideas. He kept a 
 close watch on the theories and practices of other financial 
 institutions at home and abroad, was always ready to hear 
 and consider suggestions and criticisms, and was quick to 
 adopt any measure so soon as he was convinced of its utility ; 
 yet he was not prone to rash experimentation. Under his 
 management the bank kept fully abreast with the times, not 
 only in those daily business methods which make an institu- 
 tion popular and attract and retain customers, but also in the 
 matters which affect its welfare as a component part of the 
 general financial world. Thus he was among the first to urge 
 co-operation by moneyed associations, and one of those whose 
 efforts resulted in united action in times of emergency by the 
 Boston banks ; in which respect these banks were for years 
 ahead of the other banks in our country. 
 
 The Washington Bank was one of the original members of 
 the Association of Banks for the Suppression of Counterfeit- 
 ing, the first association of its kind in the United States, so 
 far as I am informed. Through the efforts of its promoters, 
 the Massachusetts legislature was induced to pass a bill, in 
 May, 1852, granting annually a sum not exceeding $2,500 to 
 any association of officers of banks in the Commonwealth for 
 the prevention and detection of counterfeiting, the yearly 
 sum paid to be equal to half the sum such association had 
 expended in that year for the purposes specified. On Febru- 
 ary 9, 1853, a meeting was held in Boston at which sixty 
 banks were represented, the association was formed and fifteen 
 managers were chosen, five from the banks in Boston and ten 
 from the banks outside of this city. Subsequently the man- 
 agers chose a chairman, a secretary and an executive com- 
 mittee, and an assessment of $5 on each $100,000 of capital 
 stock was laid on the banks which joined the association. 
 During the year, 99 out of the 136 banks in operation became 
 
THE WASHINGTON BANK OF BOSTON. 255 
 
 members. Banks in New England outside of the State were 
 invited to join, but only eleven accepted. 
 
 For a long time it was an uphill job to convince the major- 
 ity of the country banks of the need of such an organization, 
 plain as was the necessity to those who had studied the 
 subject ; and passing strange was the difficulty encountered 
 in inducing the public officials to co-operate vigorously in the 
 prosecution and punishment of the counterfeiters, and in per- 
 suading the sufferers to testify. Father took an active part 
 in enlarging the association and in carrying out its objects. 
 He visited various places in New England, and addressed 
 meetings of bank officers, presenting statistics of the alarming 
 spread of crime and showing to what a great extent not only 
 the banks but also the public, especially the poor, were suf- 
 ferers. In 1854 he was elected a manager and made treasurer 
 and member of the executive committee, and held these offices 
 so long as he lived. 
 
 The association acted vigorously. Pespite all difficulties, 
 in the first thirteen years of its existence it secured the con- 
 viction of 593 counterfeiters. It also collected and published 
 a large amount of useful information concerning the best 
 means of preventing the alteration of bank bills, including 
 the results of tests of the various kinds of paper and of ink, 
 the proper sizes and designs, and other items involved in 
 the making and uttering of the notes. It increased its 
 membersliip throughout New England and promoted the 
 formation of similar organizations in other parts of the United 
 States. 
 
 The legislature of Massachusetts was not asked for the 
 annual grant in 1865, because the banks in the Commonwealth 
 were surrendering their State charters and organizing under 
 the national system. But the association continued its useful 
 work for years thereafter, and was a potent factor in the dim- 
 inution of the crime of counterfeiting. In the twelve years, 
 1866 to 1877 inclusive, it caused the conviction of sixty- 
 
256 THE WASHINGTON BANK OF BOSTON. 
 
 seven criminals and gave efficient aid to other societies of its 
 kind. It was operating effectively in 1878, but not long 
 after went out of existence. Apparently its place was taken 
 by the protective department of the American Bankers' Asso- 
 ciation, which completed its organization in 1876, and elected 
 as its first president Mr. Charles B. Hall, cashier of the Boston 
 National Bank, who for many years had been the efficient 
 secretary of the older association. 
 
 So soon as the New York banks formed a Clearing House 
 Association, father with others began to agitate the subject 
 in Boston. In 1855 the Boston Clearing House was estab- 
 lished, the president of the Wasliington Bank being one of 
 the original executive committee which completed the organ- 
 ization. From the very beginning until his death, my father 
 was a member of the Clearing House Committee, the actual 
 rulers of the association. 
 
 On January 19, 1854, at a meeting of the stockholders of 
 the Washington Bank, it was voted unanimously to petition 
 the legislature for an increase of the capital stock from 
 ■1500,000 to $1,000,000. Within an hour after the vote was 
 passed, the petition was before the House of Representatives 
 and was referred to the Committee on Banks and Banking. 
 The president of the bank appeared before this committee 
 and spoke in favor of the petition. After much discussion 
 and deliberation, it was agreed to make the increase $250,000, 
 which was accepted by unanimous vote of the stockholders 
 at a meeting held on April 19, 1854. Thereafter the capital 
 stock of the bank became and remained $750,000. 
 
 On May 17, 1856, the bank moved to 47 State Street, 
 taking the second story of the building adjoining the Mer- 
 chants Exchange on the west. It may be well to name here 
 all the locations of the Washington Bank during its existence. 
 
 From 1825 to 1836 the bank was at 471 Washington Street, 
 in a building owned by the Boylston Fire and Marine Insur- 
 ance Company. 
 
Ta^T' boylstoninsurance office 
 
 No. 47 STATE STREET. 
 
■ THE WASHINGTON BANK OF BOSTON. 257 
 
 From 1836 to 1844 it was at 410 Wasliington Street, at 
 the corner of Beach Street, in a building erected for it. 
 
 From 1844 to 1856 it rented rooms at 75 State Street, at 
 the east corner of Kilby Street, in the second story. 
 
 From May 17, 1856, to April 1, 1889, it rented the second 
 story of 47 State Street. 
 
 From April 1, 1889, to October 1, 1891, it occupied tem- 
 porary quarters at 53 Devonshire Street, during the construc- 
 tion of the new Exchange Building. 
 
 From October 1, 1891, to 1902, it was in rooms 209 and 
 210 in the Exchange Building, 53 State Street. 
 
 The panic of 1857 was not wholly unanticipated by the 
 directors of the Washington Bank and other shrewd finan- 
 ciers. There had been signs of trouble for ten years. In 
 October, 1847, the money market had begun to be stringent, 
 and during more than four years good paper was obliged to 
 pay from nine to eighteen per cent, per annum. In the spring 
 of 1852 money became temporarily abujidant at six per cent., 
 but before the beginning of the next year it had become 
 scarce again and commanded from twelve to twenty-four per 
 cent. At the end of 1854 large firms were failing, with 
 heavy liabilities, and in this year the Wasliington Bank was 
 beginning to contract its loans. Money eased up to ten per 
 cent, in the first part of 1855, but large failures continued, 
 and before the end of the year at least one Boston bank 
 closed its doors. There was a little alleviation in 1856 and 
 the beginning of 1857 ; but in 1857 the banks in nearly all 
 parts of the country were curtailing their loans, and in the 
 fall the crash came. On September 25 the Philadelpliia banks 
 suspended specie payments, followed by the banks of Balti- 
 more, Washington and other places. The Providence banks 
 suspended September 28. On the 30th, the Boston banks, in 
 an attempt to mitigate the condition, voted to discount ten 
 per cent, of their capital between that date and October 5 ; 
 and on October 2, the merchants of Boston held a meeting 
 
258 THE WASPIINGTON BANK OF BOSTON. 
 
 and declared that the Boston banks ought not to suspend so 
 long as the New York banks paid specie. Money was now 
 commanding two to three per cent, per month, or more. On 
 October 13, the New York banks began to suspend, and in 
 view of this the Boston banks and the banks generally also 
 suspended. On October 31, father made this entry in his 
 Journal : — 
 
 This day ends the month of the most disastrous and trying 
 time in financial affairs known to the present generation. Busi- 
 ness of almost all kinds has come to a perfect standstill. Manu- 
 facturing and other establishments have stopped and dischai'ged 
 their operatives. A great many failures have taken place and 
 a general breaking-up and breaking- down of mercantile houses, 
 which have before weathered all the storms of the last twenty or 
 thirty years. But a lighting- up has occurred within the last few 
 days, and some business transactions have taken place on the 
 street at one to one and a half per cent, per month, which is a 
 great improvement. 
 
 The improvement continued, and on December 14, the Bos- 
 ton banks all resumed specie payments. Soon money became 
 abundant again and was readily obtainable on good paper at 
 6 per cent, per annum and less. 
 
 The money market now remained easy until it was again 
 disturbed by the intensely exciting presidential election of 
 1860 and the threatened secession of the southern States. 
 The election was held on November 6, the Republican party 
 was victorious, and when the result was known the legislature 
 of South Carolina called a convention to consider the question 
 of secession. Money at once became tight and rates rose from 
 6 per cent, to 9, 12, 18 and 24 per cent, before the end of the 
 year. On November 24, the Boston bank officers held a meet- 
 ing to devise methods for relieving the financial stringency ; 
 they decided to continue to pay specie to the public, but 
 agreed to receive one-half in specie and one-half in bills in 
 their settlements with each other. The southern States se- 
 
THE WASHINGTON BANK OF BOSTON. 259 
 
 ceded and many northern firms, especially those whose trade 
 was with the South, were ruined. The Civil War broke out, 
 and the national government soon was in great need of funds 
 to meet the large and increasing expenditures for military 
 and naval purposes. 
 
 In this emergency, the Secretary of the Treasury, Salmon 
 P. Chase, sought the advice of the leading financiers of the 
 country, and various conferences were held by him in New 
 York with delegates from the associated banks of New York, 
 Boston and Philadelphia. At one of the meetings, on No- 
 vember 14, 1861, the delegates from Boston were: Franklin 
 Haven, president of the Merchants Bank ; Almon D. Hodges, 
 president of the Washington Bank; Thomas Lamb, presi- 
 dent of the New England Bank ; and Samuel H. Walley, 
 president of the Revere Bank. There were present also five 
 delegates from the New York banks and two from those of 
 Philadelpliia. As one result of the conferences, the banks 
 of the three cities named took a total of 150 millions of 
 the notes and bonds issued by the United States. These 
 millions were paid for in coin, and in December, 1861, the 
 banks found it necessary to suspend specie payments. This 
 action was decided on by the New York banks on December 
 
 29, and immediately a trainload of speculators and other 
 persons started by rail for Boston to draw gold from the 
 banks there. Their purpose becoming known, the Boston 
 bank presidents assembled early in the morning of December 
 
 30, before the hour of opening, and their banks at once sus- 
 pended although they had eight and three-quarter millions of 
 coin in their vaults. The whole country, with the exception 
 of the Pacific Coast, stopped specie payments and continued 
 on a paper basis for seventeen years, resuming January 1, 
 1879. 
 
 Whether the financial conditions resulting from the Civil 
 War rendered advisable the establishment of a national bank 
 system, was a question which was raised in the first year of 
 
260 THE WASHINGTON BANK OF BOSTON. 
 
 the war aud was soon being earnestly debated. There were 
 many who strongly advocated such a system and others who 
 strenuously opposed it, but the general trend of opinion, as 
 time went on, was increasingly favorable. At the end of 
 
 1863, there were 187 national banks in operation, with an 
 aggregate capital of $23,031,200, but only a few of these 
 were located in the great financial centers. In 1864, Con- 
 gress passed a law, approved June 3, which practically settled 
 the question and brought all the banks under the national 
 system. Tliis was entitled, " An act to provide a national 
 currency secured by a pledge of United States bonds and to 
 provide for the circulation and redemption thereof." 
 
 On December 2, 1863, a meeting was held, at the Union 
 Club on Park Street, of presidents of Boston banks who fa- 
 vored the change to a national system. There were present 
 W. T. Andrews of the City Bank, Benjamin E. Bates of the 
 Bank of Commerce, William Bramhall of the Shawmut Bank, 
 Franklin Haven of the Merchants Bank, Almon D. Hodges of 
 the Washington Bank, Thomas Lamb of the New England 
 Bank, and Charles O. Wliitmore of the Market Bank. With- 
 in a year thirty out of the forty-three banks in Boston had 
 obtained national charters. 
 
 The directors of the Washington Bank, on November 12, 
 
 1864, in accordance with the unanimous resolution of the 
 stockholders passed on the preceding day, voted to change 
 and convert their bank into a national banking association 
 under the name of the Washington National Bank, with a 
 capital of -$750,000 in shares of <flOO each, and with not less 
 than five directors. At this date there were 299 stockholders 
 — 40 of these being corporations — of whom 240 held from 
 1 to 24 shares each ; 27, from 25 to 49 ; 14, from 50 to 74 ; 
 
 4, from 75 to 99; 7, from 100 to 199; 1, from 200 to 299; 
 
 5, from 300 to 400 ; and 1, the Boylston Fire and Marine In- 
 surance Company, held 722 shares. The largest individual 
 stockholders were : Noble Maxwell of Bowdoinham, Me., 153 
 
THE WASHINGTON BANK OF BOSTON. 261 
 
 shares; J. A. White of Framingham, Mass., 76 shares; A. & 
 W. M. Tucker, trustees, 75 shares ; and William Phillips, 75 
 shares. 
 
 Under provisions of the act of Congress, an agent was ap- 
 pointed at Washington to witness yearly, in behalf of the 
 bank, the burning of its circulating notes ; also to examine 
 and compare the bonds deposited in the office of the Treasurer 
 of the United States, in trust for the bank, with the books of 
 the Comptroller of the Currency and with the accounts fur- 
 nished by the bank from time to time ; and to execute certifi- 
 cates to the Treasurer when the bonds were found to be 
 correct and to agree with the accounts. But the careful presi- 
 dent of the bank occasionally went to Washington to assure 
 himself that the examinations were properly conducted. 
 
 The Washington Bank was temporarily revived as a State 
 institution by an act of the Massachusetts legislature, ap- 
 proved March 3, 1870, which provided that: 
 
 The corporation heretofore known as -^.he President, Directors 
 and Company of the Washington Bank, and located in Boston, is 
 hereby revived and continued for the purpose of enabling the 
 President and Directors of said Washington Bank, at the time 
 when the same became an association for carrying on the business 
 of banking under the laws of the United States, to convey, assign 
 and transfer to the Washington National Bank of said Boston any 
 real estate or interests therein of the said Washington Bank, and 
 for no other purpose whatever. 
 
 On April 19 the transfer of the real estate was voted and 
 immediately executed, and the bank ceased finally to be a 
 State institution. 
 
 An exciting event in the liistory of the Washington Bank 
 was the great Boston fire of November, 1872. The conflagra- 
 tion extended northerly as far as the bank building, which at 
 one time seemed doomed. The property of the bank was 
 removed to the residences of the directors and the buildiny 
 
262 THE WASHINGTON BANK OF BOSTON. 
 
 was mined ; but the fire was checked at this point and the 
 bank remained unscathed. 
 
 The next exciting event was the panic of 1873, which cuhui- 
 nated in the autumn. So dangerous was the condition of the 
 brokers that the Boston Stock Exchange closed on September 
 20, and for ten days did no business. The Washington Bank, 
 however, declared as usual on September 23 its semi-annual 
 dividend — 5 per cent, and the taxes which amounted to 
 81.80 per share — and had a surplus remaining of $274,363.79. 
 On September 29, following the example of the banks in New 
 York City, the Boston banks voted to suspend payments on 
 large sums and to issue ten million dollars of Clearing House 
 certificates, making it possible to continue business among 
 themselves. These certificates were a temporary loan made 
 to the members of the Clearing House Association for the 
 purpose of settling the balances due from and to each other, 
 the banks being required, before receiving the certificates, to 
 deposit with the Clearing House Committee securities as col- 
 lateral for the loan at 75 per cent, of their value. The sus- 
 pension of payments continued until November 1. The 
 effects of the panic were widespread, and half a dozen years 
 passed before complete recovery was realized. 
 
 While serving as president of the Washington Bank, father 
 held for fifteen years the presidency of the Institution for Sav- 
 ings in Roxbury and its Vicinity, being a member of the cor- 
 poration during twenty-five years and a vice-president seven 
 years. This institution, when he was first elected, had on 
 deposit $175,000 ; when he left it, nearly three millions ; and 
 in the meantime it paid dividends averaging seven per cent, 
 per annum. Father's resignation as president was tendered 
 at the end of 1877, and was caused by his giving up his legal 
 residence in Roxbury. 
 
 After the death of its second president, the bank, on Sep- 
 tember 28, 1878, elected as its third president Mr. Eben 
 

 EBEN BACON, 
 
 Third President of the Washington Bank. 
 
THE WASHINGTON BANK OF BOSTON. 263 
 
 Bacon wlio had already been a director for many years. Mr. 
 Bacon continued in office until tlie end of 1895, when he re- 
 signed, believing that the responsibilities of management were 
 overtaxing his physical powers. He remained, however, on 
 the board of directors so long as the bank existed. He was 
 the son of Daniel Carpenter and Desire Taylor (Gorham) 
 BacoU; was born in Brookline, Mass., 1830 or 1831, and died 
 in Jamaica Plain, February 22, 1905. 
 
 On February 6, 1890, the directors voted that interest 
 might be paid on such deposits at such rates as the presi- 
 dent might direct. This was a notable departure from the 
 previous conservative methods of the bank. But customs 
 were changing, there was much competiton for business, and 
 the trust companies, which were growing numerous, all paid 
 interest on deposits. 
 
 On April 21, 1893, the president reported to the board of 
 directors — which ratified his action — that he had voted, sul> 
 ject to their approval, at a meeting qf the Clearing House 
 Association, in favor of the following resolution which had 
 been adopted, viz. : 
 
 The Associated Banks of Boston, relying upon the ability and 
 determination of the government to maintain gold pajnuents, 
 hereby tender to the Secretary of the Treasury one-half of the 
 gold reserves held by them, in exchange for legal tender notes, 
 and the Clearing House Committee is directed to carry out the 
 terms of this resolution. 
 
 The financial disasters of 1893 did not seriously disturb 
 the bank. In the latter part of June, the New York and the 
 Boston banks issued Clearing House certificates and thereby 
 lessened the severity of the situation. 
 
 On July 23, 1896, the directors voted to exchange, for the 
 relief of the United States Treasury, a sum not exceeding 
 twenty thousand dollars in gold for legal tender notes at such 
 time as might be decided upon by the Boston national banks 
 in aid of the United States. 
 
264 THE WASHINGTON BANK OF BOSTON. 
 
 On January 7, 1896, Mr. Christopher Minot Weld was 
 elected as the fourth — and last — president of the bank. 
 Mr. Weld was the son of Francis Minot and Elizabeth (Rod- 
 man) Weld, was born in West Roxbury (now Boston) October 
 2, 1858, and was graduated at Harvard College in 1880. He 
 is now (1909) president of the New England Cotton Yarn 
 Company, with headquarters in Boston. 
 
 On January 20, 1902, the directors voted to call a special 
 meeting of the shareholders on February 20, to consider 
 whether or no the bank should be placed in voluntary liquida- 
 tion. On January 23, the directors voted that a committee 
 of three of their members should be authorized to transfer 
 the assets and books of the bank to the National Suffolk Bank, 
 provided the consent of two-thirds of the stockholders was 
 given. On January 27, the committee reported that, having 
 secured the assent of the requisite number of shareholders, 
 the transfer had been made at the close of business on Satur- 
 day, January 25. 
 
 The special meeting of the stockholders was held on Feb- 
 ruary 20, 1902, and 7,310 shares were represented. It was 
 voted unanimously — 
 
 That the Washington National Bank of Boston be placed in vol- 
 untary liquidation under the provisions of sections 5220 and 5221 
 of the United States revised statutes, to take effect at the close of 
 business on February 20, 1902. 
 
 That the action of the directors is ratified in heretofore transfer- 
 ring the assets of the bank to the National Suffolk Bank for the 
 purjiose of liquidation. 
 
 The liquidation of the bank was due, not to any weakness 
 in its financial condition, but to the methods of financing and 
 controlling corporations which had their beginnings in the 
 years following the period of the Civil War and had now 
 become prevalent throughout the country. The era of large 
 holdings and consolidation had arrived. Two parties, one 
 represented by Mr. Arthur E. Applej^ard and the other by 
 
THE WASHINGTON BANK OF BOSTON. 265 
 
 Mr. Robert Winsor of Kidder, Petibody & Company, had 
 been purchasing hirge amounts of the bank stock and had 
 secured control. Their purposes were discordant, but the 
 views of Mr. Winsor finally prevailed, and the Washington 
 National Bank and the Suffolk National Bank were merged 
 under the name of the National Suffolk Bank. 
 
 On April 30, 1906, the agents in liquidation presented their 
 final report. By this it appeared that the assets of the bank 
 at the close of business on January 25, 1902, including the 
 bonds deposited to cover circulation, had an inventory value 
 of 12,745,492.56. A few promissory notes of a total face 
 value of '1757.37 had proved worthless, but on the whole 
 there had been a gain over the inventory, due in part to inter- 
 est receipts. All the actual assets had been converted into 
 cash. The receipts had been '12,713,923.16 and balanced the 
 disbursements which included seven dividends in liquidation 
 amounting in all to -$150.60 per share. 
 
 The board of directors received an^ accepted the report 
 and the Washington Bank became a memory. 
 
THE RE-ESTABLISHED HOME 
 IN ROXEURY. 
 
 N Tuesday, December 17, 1850, father was mar- 
 ried ill Fall River, Mass., to Jane Hudson, widow 
 of Gustavus Leonard of Taunton, daughter of 
 Dr. Ameiy and Ann Chaloner (Durfee) Glazier 
 of Fall River, and granddaughter of Calvin and Lydia (Pierce) 
 Glazier of South Brimfield (Holland), Mass. Doctor Glazier 
 spelled liis Christian name as above, but his early preceptor 
 spelled it " Emery " in the certificate here reproduced : 
 
 
 
 --^^^24l^//n 
 
 
 — 7 
 
 CERTIFICATE OF DR. AMERY GLAZIER'S PRECEPTOR. 
 
 Jane Hudson Glazier was doubtless descended from John 
 Glazier, who was in Woburn, Mass., in 1663 or earlier, but 
 the line has not been traced out. On her mother's side she 
 belonged to the prominent and wealthy Borden and Durfee 
 families of Rhode Island and Massachusetts, and counted 
 among her ancestors William Bradford, pilgrim and governor 
 
 (266) 
 
JANE HUDSON HODGES. 
 
THE RE-ESTABLISHED HOME IN ROXBURY. 267 
 
 of Plymouth Plantation. She was born in Fall River July 3, 
 1817, and died in Roxbury (then Boston) November 3, 1901. 
 By her first husband she had one child, Jane Frances Leonard, 
 who was born in Fall River August 15, 1841, and died of 
 consumption in Roxbury December 31, 1862. By her second 
 husband she had two children, both born in Roxbury, Amory 
 Glazier Hodges and Edward Carroll Hodges. 
 
 She had been carefully trained by her mother and her 
 father, and had received an Old New England academic edu- 
 cation, which included a good knowledge of English and 
 some apprehension of Latin and French.* She was naturally 
 bright and quick, and was most attractive in person and man- 
 ners. She was indeed fair to see, but that somewhat over- 
 rated artist, the sun, always failed in his endeavor to reproduce 
 her handsome and mobile features on the photographic plate. 
 It was easy and pleasant for her to manage her household 
 and entertain her many guests, and she always found time 
 for social pleasures and kindly deeds aivl for participation in 
 matters affecting the common weal. She was conscientious 
 and religious, and was a member of the Trinitarian Congre- 
 gational church ; yet she was liberal in her ideas, and no 
 difference in the theological beliefs of herself and her husband 
 was ever allowed to interrupt the harmony of their lives. 
 
 The scattered family was collected and the home on St. 
 James Street, Roxbury, was re-opened, at once becoming a 
 center of hospitality for youths and maidens and their elders, 
 for relatives, friends and acquaintances. There was a con- 
 stant succession of visitors, and before long the house could 
 not hold them all and was therefore enlarged. But the home 
 life, although generous, was simple, and was so well regulated 
 that pleasure never conflicted with duty. 
 
 * Her sister, Eliza Ann (Glazier) Fish, over^«lielmed the editor in his 
 first year of Latin by replying in that ancient language to a rather vain- 
 glorious epistle which he had sent her, displaying his callow Latinity. 
 
268 TPIE RE-ESTABLISHED HOME IN ROXBURY. 
 
 The greatest attraction of the home was the new daughter, 
 Jennie Leonard, as she was usually called. Of her sweetness 
 and loveliness, both of person and of character, it is difficult 
 for me to give an adequate description. She came, a girl 
 of nine, into a household of six boys, ranging in age from 
 nineteen down to four, and they all without exception fell 
 heels over head in love with her ; she lived with them twelve 
 years, and their love for her increased each year. It was the 
 same with her step-father, and indeed with all who knew her. 
 Her gentle dignity, her ready helpfulness, her warm-hearted- 
 ness, her brightness and vivacity compelled universal admira- 
 tion. She died at the age of twenty-one, leaving a beautiful 
 memory. Her death broke the heart and the health of her 
 devoted mother, who never was quite the same in strength 
 thereafter. 
 
 On May 18, 1852, the youngest member of the family, 
 Francis Olney Hodges, passed out of the world. The child 
 was endowed with great sweetness of disposition and remark- 
 able mental ability. Going to school at the age of three, he 
 quickly learned to read and write. Before his death, which 
 occurred when he was six years and two days old, he was as 
 far advanced in his studies as are the grammar-school gradu- 
 ates of to-day. The cause of his death was an extraordinary 
 sarcoma, or tumor, in his face, which grew to a length of 
 eleven and a half inches from its point to the occiput. The 
 patience and fortitude of the cliild under his suffering, which 
 lasted some four months, was wonderful. 
 
 Father's strong affection for liis kinspeople developed into 
 a love for genealogy, and in 1852 he joined the New England 
 Historic Genealogical Society, being made a life member in 
 1859, and serving as president from 1859 to 1861. He was 
 elected honorary or corresponding member of numerous other 
 similar associations. In 1853 he published the Genealogical 
 Record of the Hodges Family in New England, the compila- 
 tion of which had required so much time that one might won- 
 
THE RE-ESTABLISHED HOME IX ROXBURY. 269 
 
 der how so busy a man could find opportunity for the extra 
 labor. But he was very methodical and could work hard and 
 rapidly ; and thus he was able to perform the mau}^ business 
 duties which devolved on liim, attend to the welfare and 
 pleasure of his family, entertain almost constantly at his 
 home, visit his friends now and then, and also devote fre- 
 quent hours to reading and writing. That he was aided 
 greatly by his wife, goes without saying. She knew how to 
 direct her household with the maximum of comfort and the 
 minimum of friction. Everything moved as if by clock-work, 
 the daily tasks were performed at the allotted hours, and the 
 servants were kept cheerful and contented. It was her pride 
 to have an attractive home. When the children had grown 
 in years and scattered, it was her delight to bring them to- 
 gether under her roof at least once a year, and it became the 
 custom for them all to gather at her house on Thanksgiving 
 Day and be mothered again by her. The last time the whole 
 surviving family were together was the Thanksgiving Day 
 after her death, when they assembled at their old home, and 
 the oldest brother read a paper written in her memory and in 
 memory of the many happy years they had passed together. 
 
 Father arose at six o'clock in the morning, prompt to the 
 minute, and roused the sleepier members of the family. 
 Breakfast was served at seven o'clock in the summer and at 
 half-past seven in the winter. Then, until within three or 
 four years of his death, he walked the three miles between 
 his house and the bank, never riding except in the case of a 
 violent storm. At three minutes before two o'clock in the 
 afternoon he left the bank, caught the two o'clock street car 
 and rode to Roxbury, where dinner was served at half-past 
 two. Supper was at half-past six, after which father read 
 prayers, and retired at ten o'clock unless prevented by some 
 entertainment. 
 
 In the fall of 1854 illuminating gas was put into the 
 house, and the use of oil-lamps was discontinued. The next 
 
270 THE RE-ESTABLISHED HOME IN ROXBURY. 
 
 spring the house was enlarged by the addition of an ell on 
 the westerly side, and in 1859 an upper story and cupola 
 were built over the main edifice. In May, 1860, the first 
 sewing machine, Wheeler & Wilson's, was bought by father, 
 "for $80, all comi^lete." 
 
 The Journal entry of February 25, 1855, reads : " I weighed 
 myself during the last week, and my weight was 180 pounds, 
 which is about five or six pounds less than the average of the 
 last six years, but was my average weight ten to fifteen years 
 ago." 
 
 FIRST OPEN CAR OF THE METROPOLITAN STREET RAILROAD. 
 
 On Wednesday, September 17, 1856, the horse cars of the 
 Metropolitan Street Railroad, between Roxbuiy and Boston, 
 carried passengers for the first time. They ran on Washing- 
 ton Street between Guild Row (Dudley Street) in Roxbury 
 and Dover Street in Boston.* On September 22 they ran as 
 far north as Boylston Street, and on October 17 as far as the 
 Granary Burial Ground on Tremont Street, which was a ter- 
 
 * Metropolitan Raitroad. This city road has been running one 
 or two cars since Wednesday last, regularly from Dover Street, and oc- 
 casionally from Boylston Market. The first trip was made in order to 
 fulfill an invitation given to the city government of Roxbury; after this, 
 one car was run during the daytime of the 17th, and over one thousand 
 people were carried over the route with the use of only three pairs of 
 horses. [Boston Traveller, Monday, Sept. 22, 1S56.] 
 
THE RE-ESTABLISHED HOME IN ROXBURY. 271 
 
 minus for quite a period. The advent of the car meant the 
 exit of the omnibus ; not at once, however, as there was an 
 active competition for some years, the omnibus having its 
 times of triumph in winter, when it coukl move easily on 
 rumiers, while the heavy snow blockaded the cars. But the 
 'bus was before long compelled to retire, and with it passed 
 away the extreme sociability of its patrons during rush hours, 
 when the heavier male passengers occupied the seats and held 
 in their laps the lighter members of the other sex. 
 
 November 4, 1856. "Presidential Election. I think [wrote 
 father] this must be the most exciting presidential election this 
 country has ever had. It certainly has been the most stirring 
 one which I can remember, even more than that of Harrison 
 in 1840. The presidential candidates were : John C. Fre- 
 mont, who received 114 electoral votes ; Millard Fillmore, 8 
 votes ; James Buchanan, 174 votes.* I voted with a good 
 will for Fremont. Although I had been well satisfied with 
 the administration of Fillmore, I preferred casting my ballot 
 for Fremont who, if elected, I felt sure, would not be presi" 
 dent of a party, but president of the United Statesf and more 
 certain to take a firm stand for freedom and free speech ; and 
 would resist the encroachments of the slave power and, with 
 the party that elected him, would stand on the platform of no 
 more slave territory." 
 
 In 1852, father had voted "rather reluctantly" for General 
 Winfield Scott who, after a long and hot contest, had received 
 the nomination of the Whig party at its convention at Balti- 
 more — a nomination " which causes much dissatisfaction in 
 
 * These figures evidently were added at a later date. The popular 
 vote for Fremont was 1,341,264, for Fillmore 874,534, and for Buchanan 
 1,838,169. 
 
 t The democratic leaders had raised the cry that the republican party 
 was merely a sectional organization. It was in reply to this assertion 
 that Charles Sumner declared in the Senate that "freedom, and not 
 slavery, is national ; while slavery, and not freedom, is sectional." 
 
27!2 THE RE-ESTABLISHED HOME IN ROXBURY. 
 
 the Whig ranks here." The final vote at the convention, on 
 the 53(i ballot, was: Winfield Scott 158, Millard Fillmore 
 122, and Daniel Webster 28. 
 
 Father had been an anti-slavery. Union Whig. He was 
 an admiier of Henry Clay and a great admirer of Daniel 
 Webster ; but he was resolutely opposed to the Fugitive 
 Slave law, and when he wrote, in the passage above quoted, 
 that he was well satisfied with Fillmore's administration, he 
 did not include approbation of the president's approval of tliis 
 bill. Nevertheless, so strong Avas his law-abiding sense, after 
 it had become a law of the land he was unwilling to resort to 
 violence. He believed that its enforcement would result in 
 an irresistible public opinion which would make the bill a 
 dead letter and cause its repeal. So also with regard to slav- 
 ery. Wliile he strongly condemned that institution, he real- 
 ized the fact that slave-owners, being human, could not be 
 expected to impoverish themselves by freeing their slaves, 
 and he was willing to wait until the evil effects of slavery 
 should bring about its peaceable termination ; for he was 
 convinced that slavery was not only a moral evil but also a 
 financial mistake which the whole South would ere long dis- 
 cover, — as some Southerners had already discovered. He 
 did not however propose to wait supinely, but would aid ac- 
 tively with word, vote and purse. When the proper time 
 came, he would contribute to purchasing the emancipation of 
 the blacks if this could be arranged. Meanwhile, the Whig 
 party having gone to pieces, he joined the Republicans. He 
 worked and voted with them in the elections of 1856 and 
 of 1860 and afterwards. 
 
 Between 1850 and 1860, father made several pleasure trips 
 with his wife and step-daughter through New England and 
 the Middle States, once visiting the National Capital. In 
 1855 he journeyed to "the western country," — Ohio, Illinois 
 and Kentucky, — travelling in three weeks 2,345 miles by 
 
THE RE-ESTABLISHED HOME IN ROXBURY 273 
 
 railroad, 1,237 miles by steamboat, and 70 miles by carriage — 
 3,652 miles in all — seeing many pleasant places, undergoing 
 many interesting experiences, meeting many friends who re- 
 ceived him most hospitably, and incurring a personal expense 
 of only about one hundred dollars. In 1859 he again went 
 west, his main object being to visit his son Frederick, who 
 was residing in Davenport, Iowa. He " was absent just one 
 fortnight. Expenses, 96 dollars. Distances travelled : Bos- 
 ton to Davenport, 1,221 miles ; Davenport to Cincinnati, 509 
 miles ; Cincinnati to Philadelphia, 623 miles ; Philadelphia to 
 New York, 90 miles ; New York to Boston, 236 miles ; total, 
 2,679 miles." The amount of his expenses indicates, not the 
 cost of travelling in those days, but the extent of hospitality 
 with which he was received everywhere. At the end of each 
 journey his Journal invariably records the fact that he had 
 had " a most enjoyable trip." 
 
 In 1857 he made a journey to Europe, a brief narrative of 
 which is given in the following chapter. 
 
A DASH THROUGH EUROPE. 
 
 j^N the Ocean, 1st to 12tli day. May 20, 1857, I 
 left Boston at ten o'clock in the morning on the 
 Steamer Europa, with about one hundred and 
 fifty passengers on board. It rained and the 
 wind from the northeast was blowing a gale. I sat behind 
 the steam-pipe with two solitary-looking individuals nearly all 
 day, took neither dinner nor tea, and retired early. The next 
 morning there was a dense fog, and also a heavy sea. I tried 
 to walk the deck, but found it difficult. The deck would go 
 down faster than my boots were willing to follow ; then it 
 would rise up so rapidly that my poor boots had to sustain a 
 weight which I estimated at some four hundred pounds. I 
 met several acquaintances, but nearly all of the passengers 
 staid in their staterooms. 
 
 We reached Halifax at seven o'clock in the morning of the 
 tliird day and left at half-past eight, and sailed in a fog three 
 days longer. During the voyage I arose four times very early 
 in the morning to see the sunrise, but on account of heavy fogs 
 I saw it only on the fourth trial, the day of arrival at Liver- 
 pool, when the sun rose at three o'clock like a balloon of fire. 
 After leaving Halifax the passengers began to emerge from 
 their rooms, and by the sixth day all, or nearly all, of them 
 were able to be on deck. Our principal amusements were 
 playing shuffleboard in the daytime, and listening to the ex- 
 cellent singing of the Misses [Louisa F. and Susan] Pyne and 
 [William] Harrison [of the Pyne and Harrison English Opera 
 Company] in the evening. Nearly every day the sailors en- 
 
 * In eighty-five days. Condensed from the Journal of A. D. H. 
 
 (274) 
 
A DASH THROUGH EUROPE. '275 
 
 tertained us by performances in which some comical animal or 
 personage always figured. On the Sunday mornings we hud 
 the English Church service conducted by a young clergyman. 
 On the twelfth day, having averaged about 255 miles per 
 diem, we arrived off Liverpool at half-past four in the even- 
 ing, and, after passing the custom-house examination, reached 
 the wharf at seven o'clock. I went to the Adelphi hotel, and 
 after securing a room, called on Mrs. B., to whom I had pre- 
 viously forwarded my letter of introduction. 
 
 13th day. Went by rail from Liverpool to Manchester, 
 where I visited the Exhibition of the " Arts Treasures," a 
 collection of the choicest gems of art in the kingdom, the 
 Queen and many of the nobility and gentry lending their best 
 pictures. This was a great treat. 
 
 14th day. Left Manchester and went to Sheffield, where 
 the people were having a fine time at a Fair, and every man, 
 woman and child appeared to be happy. Delivered a letter 
 of introduction, bought cutlery of Rogers & Sons, and went 
 to London — a charming ride through * beautiful country. 
 
 15th to 25th day. At London. Received many courtesies, 
 including a succession of dinners, from the principal bankers 
 and other persons here, to whom I had letters of introduction. 
 Was dined very pleasantly one day by William Hodges, Esq., 
 a prominent barrister, who was knighted by the Queen about 
 1858.* He and I had become known to one another by corre- 
 spondence when I was compiling the Hodges Genealogy. 
 
 Visited the principal places of interest in and around this 
 great city. At the Crystal Palace at Sydenham, a magical 
 place, an audience of some ten thousand people listened to 
 a concert of the Cologne Union, which is a society of fine 
 sino-ers led by Von Weber, the son of the great composer. 
 On^Sunday I went to the Surrey Gardens and for a slrilling 
 obtained a good seat in Julien's great concert room, which is 
 said to hold ten thousand people, and which was h Ued to its 
 
 * The last words added later. 
 
27(5 A DASH THROUGH EUROPE. 
 
 capacity. Here 1 lieard the famous Spiirgeon, who preached 
 a sermon on " presumptuous sins " with much eloquence and 
 great power. There Avas no outbreak of applause by the 
 audience, only a low hum of approval from time to time. 
 Through the kindness of the firm of George Peabody & Co., I 
 was enabled to visit the different departments of the Bank of 
 Kngland, and also of the London Post Office. Being pro- 
 vided with tickets by our American Minister, Mr. Dallas, I 
 visited the House of Lords and heard Lord Grey and Lord 
 Palmerston speak. I visited also the House of Conunons. 
 One day I saw the nobility and gentry riding and driving in 
 Hyde Park. (^Mem. The private coachmen and footmen are 
 the best dressed and the haridsomest men in England.) At 
 the Ascot races I saw Queen Victoria and other members 
 of the royal family. The great race-horse on the ground was 
 Blink Bonny, who trotted around the course Avith no compet- 
 itor and took the first prize. Tliis day it did not rain. 
 
 26th and 27tli days. Went from London, on the steamer 
 Baron Orsay, down the Thames and to Antwerp, where I 
 saw many precious and rare works of painting and sculpture. 
 
 28th day. Went from Antwerp to ))eautiful Brussels. 
 Took the stage-coach to Waterloo, a two hours' ride. Walked 
 over the battle-field, having as our guide the old English ser- 
 geant, Martin Visner, who described with thrilling effect the 
 taking and re-taking of the grounds of the Chateau Hougo- 
 mont, and the bloody work on that day of battle. Returned 
 in the afternoon to Brussels. 
 
 29th day. In the afternoon, by rail to Chaude Fontaine, 
 in the valley of the Vesdre, five miles from Liege. 
 
 30th day. By rail from Chaude Fontaine thr(High Herbes- 
 thal (where our passports were called for) and Aix-la-Chapelle 
 to Cologne. 
 
 31st day. From Cologne by steamer up the Rhine to Cas- 
 tel, a most delightful and interesting trip, and thence by rail 
 to Frankfort. 
 
A DASH THKOUGH El' ROPE. 277 
 
 32(1 day. At the Hotel D'Angieterre, in Fraiikfoit, I made 
 the acquaintance of Captain La Pistori of the Austrian army. 
 As he was travelling alone and wished to improve his English, 
 and I was desirous of the company of an agreeable person who 
 knew the lands and the languages, and as we were mutually 
 pleased with each other, the result of our meeting was tliat 
 we travelled together until we reached Milan, in Ital}", where 
 we parted with much regret. The captain ^n'oved to be a 
 most charming companion. 
 
 We went to-day from Frankfort by rail to Heidelberg, 
 where we visited the celebrated Castle, and thence by rail to 
 Baden Baden, where we arrived about six in the evening. 
 After a stay of about two hours at this resort, during which 
 we dined and visited tlie crowded gambling-rooms, we took 
 the cars to Ilastatt, quite a large village with a very poor 
 hotel. 
 
 33d day. Leaving Ilastatt at eight o'clock in the morning, 
 we went in the cars to Constatt and thence by carriage to 
 Stuttgart. Thence we went by rail, via Ulm, to Friedrichs- 
 hiifen on Lake Constance, where we arrived at ten o'clock at 
 night. 
 
 34th day. We took the steamer on Lake Constance to 
 Constance, where we spent three hours devoted mainly to the 
 memorials of John Huss. Thence we went by steamer to 
 Schaffhausen where, taking a carriage, we visited the beauti- 
 ful falls of the Rhine, and then proceeded by rail to Zurich, 
 which we reached at nine o'clock in the evening, twelve houi's 
 after leaving Friedrichshafen. 
 
 35th day. Leaving Zurich at eight o'clock in the morning 
 we traveled by steamer and then by diligence to Lake Zug, 
 and then by omnibus to the foot of Mount Rigi. We began 
 the ascent of the mountain at three in the afternoon, Captain 
 La Pistori on foot and I on horseback. I had a guide, but as 
 my horse made slow progress under his management, I soon re- 
 quired him to mount the animal, which 7 then led, hastening its 
 
•278 A DASH THliOLTGH ELIROPE. 
 
 movements by my imitation of the guide's ejaculations, which 
 sounded something like a grunt followed by "gip-gip-" Thus 
 I was enabled to keep up with the Captain, and also to amuse 
 the people whom we met on the road. We reached the hotel 
 on the summit about six o'clock and were fortunate enough to 
 secure a room and two beds. Often the wayfarer is obliged 
 to take a sofa, or a chair, or the floor ; for stop at this hotel 
 he must, there being no other place to go to. And the hotel 
 is poor and high-priced. 
 
 We enjoyed the charming view in the evening, and the sun- 
 set about nine o'clock, and the glorious prospect and sunrise 
 the next morning, when we were awakened about half-past 
 two by the Alpine horn. Very different was our experience 
 from that described by a traveler in the following lines : — 
 
 Nine weary uphill miles we sped 
 
 The setting sun to see ; 
 Sulky and grim he went to bed. 
 
 Sulky and grim went we. 
 Seven sleepless hours we tossed and then. 
 
 The rising sun to see. 
 Sulky and grim we rose again ; 
 
 Sulk\' and grim rose he. 
 
 36th day. After witnessing the sunrise with about a hun- 
 dred others, we began the descent of the mountain on foot at 
 five o'clock. It was a perfectly delightful walk of some ten 
 miles, the weather was charming, the air very still, and all the 
 way down we heard Swiss melodies sung from time to time 
 by Swiss voices and echoed from point to point. Many years 
 ago I lieard a Swiss company called the Rhiners sing the same 
 beautiful airs, and the recollection added to the charm. 
 
 We arrived at Weggis at half-past eight and took steamer 
 on Lake Lucerne for Lucerne, where we dined. In the after- 
 noon we went by rail to Berne, arriving at half-past nine in 
 the evening. 
 
 37th day. The views from Berne are wonderful ; some of 
 my acquaintances assured me that this is the finest spot in 
 
A DASH THROUGH EUROPE. 279 
 
 Europe. Our guide insisted on our watcliing the town clock 
 when it struck six, as then a " crower " would appear. The 
 Grower's head just managed to appear on the face of the 
 clock, but he was so weak that he could not crow. It was 
 explained that he was out of order. 
 
 Starting at half-past seven in the morning we went by car- 
 riage to Bienne, by steamer through Lakes Bienne and Neu- 
 chatel to Yverdon, and by rail to Lausanne on Lake Geneva, 
 arriving at half-past five in the afternoon. 
 
 38th day. We went by steamer to Geneva where we hunted 
 up the church where John Calvin preached, I bought a fine 
 watch for Jennie [his step-daughter]. After dining and ar- 
 ranging with the postmaster to have my large carpet-bag sent 
 to the Hotel du Louvre in Paris, we took steamer to Vevay. 
 
 39th day. We rode in the banquette of the diligence from 
 Vevay to Bulle, where we dined, and thence to Gessenay, or 
 Saanen as named on the maps. 
 
 40th day. We traveled by diligence through Weissenburg 
 to Thun, and thence by steamer on Lake Thun to Interlachen 
 which is about the most charming place I have ever visited. 
 
 41st day. We went by steamer through Lake Brienz to 
 Commune, where we dined, and thence to Meiringen. Here 
 we took horses and a guide and had a wonderful ride to a 
 place near the Grimsel Pass, where we stoi)ped for the night 
 at a hovel of a tavern. 
 
 42d day. We started from the Mountain House near the 
 Grimsel at five o'clock in the morning. The weather looked 
 threatening and the clouds foreboded rain, but the Captain 
 said that it would be a field-day with us, rain or shine. 
 About seven o'clock it began to shower. I felt quite un- 
 comfortable, the Captain looked blue but said nothing, and 
 our guide, who was accustomed to this sort of weather, ap- 
 peared quite unconcerned. After riding some time in silence 
 and crossing some difficult places, the Captain's horse fell. 
 The Captain was not much hurt, although at first he said that 
 
280 A DASH THROUGH EUROPE. 
 
 he thought his " leg was cmckit." We moved on, I being in 
 the advance. After having passed with difliculty througli tlie 
 deep, softened snow of one ravine, and coming to another, I 
 stopped my horse and suggested to the guide that we should 
 cross at a point higher up. He, however, seized my horse's 
 bridle and urged the animal forward ; but soon sank, Avith 
 wild ejaculations, nearly out of sight, and my horse followed 
 suit, the rain having washed out a cavity under the snow. I 
 rolled off my beast and across the ravine in the best manner I 
 could, getting very wet in the operation. Other guides com- 
 ing up succeeded in pulling out my guide and my horse in 
 undamaged condition. 
 
 We traveled on through the pass where, in August, 1799, 
 occurred one of the most remarkable skirmishes recorded in 
 history. How the French troops were able to dislodge the 
 opposing Austrians and force their way through this pass, is 
 a wonder to the traveler who views the region, although his 
 guide-book gives a full account of the fight. 
 
 About the time we came in sight of the Rhone Glacier, the 
 rain had nearly ceased. We both felt a great deal better and 
 the thermometer of our spirits rose ; my companion began to 
 whistle and I began to sing. We were in a merry mood when 
 we reached the good St. Gothard Inn at Andermatt at half- 
 past five in the afternoon. After a bath, a hearty supper and 
 writing letters to my family, I went to bed and was able to 
 sleep without rocking. 
 
 43d day. We started in the afternoon at half-past two in 
 the coupe of the diligence on a wonderful ride down the 
 mountain. It was twilight the whole night long. My com- 
 panion slept soundly, but the scenery was too delightful for 
 me to waste any time in slumber. 
 
 44th day. We passed Bellinzona about midnight, Luzano 
 at four o'clock in the morning, beautiful Como and the lovely 
 lake of the same name about seven, and reached Milan at half- 
 past nine. Here after a very pleasant trip together of fourteen 
 
A DASH THROUGH EUROPE. 281 
 
 days, Captain La Pistori and I parted company, this being the 
 headquarters of his General of Division. 
 
 I visited, besides other places in Milan, the Cathedral, the 
 most beautiful of all which I saw in my journey. 
 
 45th day. I left ]\Iilan at half-past seven in the morning, 
 going by rail to Treviglio, and by diligence to Brescia; thence 
 to Verona. Thence in the afternoon I passed by rail through 
 Vicenza and Padua and reached Venice at half-past eight in 
 the evening. Disembarking at the depot, I looked around for 
 an omnibus, but saw none. A gondolier accosted me, and 
 giving him the name of the hotel where I wished to go, I 
 stepped into his pretty gondola and was poled away through 
 the canals. Whenever we approached another canal entering 
 ours, my gondolier sang out orders to the possible gondolier 
 coming out of this canal, to keep to the right or left as the 
 case might be. Often on passing the corner we found no 
 such gondolier to receive these orders, and hence the proced- 
 ure at first seemed funny to me ; but further experience 
 showed that the cautionary words were always advisable. 
 
 46th day. The Anniversary of American Independence, 
 about the grandeur of which I endeavored to give my guide 
 some idea, but he did not appear to comprehend the term 
 " Independence." I felt strong impulses to utter one loud 
 shout in honor of the day, but recollecting that I was in Aus- 
 trian Italy, I refrained. 
 
 I saw many interesting places, but that which I was espe- 
 cially desirous of seeing, was the store and former residence 
 of Shylock. This place was pointed out to me by my guide, 
 and if it was not really used by Shylock, it looked as if it 
 ought to have been ; for the building is now occupied as an 
 auction-room for second-hand and cast-off clothing. 
 
 47th day. Returned to Milan by the route which I took 
 coming to Venice, seeing many wheat-fields and corn-fields, 
 olive-groves and vineyards, and noticing especially the fre- 
 quent irrigation-canals. 
 
282 A DASH THROUGH EUROPE. 
 
 48tli day. Left jMilan in the morning in the diligence, hav- 
 ing a seat in the banquette. When passing out of the city, a 
 team of horses crossing the street struck our horses, knocking 
 down the wheelers and throwing the postilion to the ground. 
 No jDarticular damage was done and we soon continued our 
 journey. Rode five hours by diligence and five hours by rail, 
 passing through Novara, Vercelli, Santhia and Chivasso, and 
 arriving at Turin at six in the evening. 
 
 49th day. Left Turin on the train at seven o'clock in the 
 evening and arrived at Susa at nine. Left here in the coupe 
 of the diligence at half-past nine for Mont Cenis Pass. Be- 
 fore we reached the summit it became intensely cold, and 
 although the coupe was closed and I had on my top coat and 
 dressing gown, I was quite uncomfortable. 
 
 50th day. Arrived at St. Jean at nine in the morning. 
 Took the train at a quarter-j)ast ten and arrived at Aix at 
 quarter-past one. Took a steamer here and passed through 
 the Lake du Bourget and the River Rhone, landing at half- 
 past three. The voyage on this little lake and the ditch 
 (called by courtesy a " river ") was the funniest steamboating 
 which I ever experienced. The stream was so narrow that 
 men, holding lines attached to our boat, ran along the banks 
 hauling us around the bends. We had no mishaps, but at 
 many places I saw deep furrows where the bows of the steam- 
 boats had dug into the banks. Children ran alongside beg- 
 ging for money an4 scrambling for the sous which the pas- 
 sengers occasionally tossed into the grass. 
 
 At our landing place we passed through a custom-house. 
 My baggage was examined by a woman. Then, at Charabery, 
 we took a train in the afternoon, and reached Lyons at seven. 
 
 51st day. Leaving Lyons in the cars at eight o'clock in the 
 morning, I reached Paris, 316 miles distant, at half past six 
 in the evening. I stopped at the Hotel du Louvre, where I 
 had a fine room, a fine bed, a clock upon the mantlepiece, and 
 called the servants by an electric wire. 
 
A DASH THROUGH EUROPE. 283 
 
 52d to 58th day. At Paris. With a guide, and with 
 American friends whom I met here, I made the usual tours 
 in and around this wonderful city, and my impressions of the 
 place are probably much the same as those of other Americans 
 who visit here. The Parisians appear to lead a butterfly-life, 
 living as though the world was made merely for enjoyment, 
 and having no thought of anything beyond. Although the 
 numerous suicides in the Seine indicate another side to their 
 life, this is but little apparent to the visitor except the pur- 
 suit of pleasure. 
 
 I was somewhat disappointed with the cemetery of Pere la 
 Chaise which, on the whole, is inferior to Mount Auburn in 
 Cambridge or Forest Hills in Roxbury. My guide told me 
 that many of the floral decorations on the tombstones were 
 made of ox-horns. But the Tomb of Napoleon, in the Hotel 
 des Invalides, I found magnificent, and I viewed it with 
 solemn admiration. I spent a day sTt Versailles, but to de- 
 scribe the beauties of the palace, the grounds and the remark- 
 able collections of paintings and other objects of interest, 
 would require a volume. One evening I went to the Jardin 
 Mabille, where Paris seemed to be fully represented. The 
 dancing was very good and the music charming. On inquir- 
 ing of my guide whether gentlemen brought their wives and 
 daughters to this place, he replied, " Oui, moussieu, why 
 not ? The finest and best people in Paris come here to see the 
 dancing." 
 
 With resident friends I visited the Bois de Boulogne, had 
 dinner there and rode through the woods which were lighted 
 with thousands of gaslights, presenting an enchanting appear- 
 ance. There were several outdoor-theatres with continuous 
 performances, having real trees and lawns for scenery and 
 very charming in the effects. 
 
 59th day. Left Paris by rail at a quarter to ten in the 
 morning and readied Boulogne at half-past three in the after- 
 noon. Here we showed our passports and obtained permis- 
 
284 A DASH THROUGH EUROPE. 
 
 sion to leave France. We crossed the Channel, in two hours, 
 to Folkestone, and reached London at a quarter before ten at 
 night. 
 
 60th to 6 2d day. At London. I spent three days in 
 London quite busily, during which time I visited Hampton 
 Court Palace where I enjoyed more especially the picture 
 gallery. 
 
 63d day. Leaving London at eight in the morning, I went 
 to Windsor and attended a " choral festival " in aid of the 
 " Society for the Relief of Widows and Orphans of Organists 
 and of Lay Clerks of Cathedral and Collegiate Choirs." The 
 concert was very small potatoes, and I left before it was half 
 finished and went through the Castle. At quarter-past two I 
 took the train for Oxford, arriving at four and going to the 
 Mitre Hotel. An election for Parliament was being held, 
 and there was great excitement in which I shared to some 
 extent, for one candidate — and liis headquarters were at 
 the Mitre — was William Makepeace Thackeray. He was, 
 however, defeated by his opponent, Mr. Cardwell, by a few 
 votes. 
 
 64th day. Took the train at quarter-past eight in the morn- 
 ing and arrived at Birmingham at eleven. My letter of intro- 
 duction in this city was to a leading manufacturer, a member 
 of Parliament, but I did not see him as he was very sick. 
 (He died on the 29th.) Left Birmingham about noon for 
 Liverpool and thence went by steamer to Dublin. 
 
 65th day. Arrived in Dublin at half-past seven in the 
 morning. Hired a " jaunting car " and rode about the city 
 until noon. Went by train to Belfast and there, after a brief 
 stay, took steamer for Glasgow. 
 
 66th day. Arrived at Greenock at four in the morning 
 and went by rail to Glasgow. Thence, after a pleasant trip 
 on the Clyde, took the train to Balloch. By steamer I 
 passed through the whole length of Loch Lomond, and then 
 rode to Inverary. 
 
A DASH THROUGH EUROPE. 285 
 
 No part of the world, except New England, could be so 
 interesting to me as this neighborhood which the genius of 
 Walter Scott has filled with beauty and romance. 
 
 At the hotel at Inverary were some young rowdies who 
 seemed determined to disturb somebody, and who became 
 very anxious, when I had retired, to obtain my boots to brush. 
 After they had called me to my bedroom-door several times 
 with this pretext, I gave them a hearty invitation to walk in 
 and take the boots. They declined the invitation, and I was 
 not annoyed again. 
 
 67th and 68th days. Returned by stage to the head of 
 Loch Lomond and took the steamer to Inversnaid. Thence 
 went by private carriage to Loch Katrine and sailed on the 
 steamer Roh Roy to the Trossachs hotel. Every mile or so 
 some spot was pointed out which Walter Scott has made 
 famous. After dinner I took the stage to Stirling, where I 
 spent the next day, Sunday. • 
 
 69th day. Went by rail in the morning to Edinburgh, the 
 most beautiful city which I have yet visited, and spent the 
 day sight-seeing. 
 
 70th day. Went to Carlisle and walked about the city; 
 then proceeded to Manchester, where I arrived at eight 
 o'clock in the evening. I took a cab and went to three 
 places before I could find lodgings. I finally stopped at a 
 private house, where I was kindly received and pleasantly 
 entertained. 
 
 71st day. I again visited the Exhibition of " The Arts 
 Treasures " and tried hard to view all the beautiful pictures, 
 but failed for want of time. It seems to me that no country 
 except England could contain such a magnificent collection 
 of paintings and statuary; and probably this is the finest 
 exhibition of the kind ever held. 
 
 In the evening I went to Liverpool. 
 
 7 2d day. Except for doing some shopping, I rested in 
 quiet this day for the first time since I left home. 
 
286 A DASH THROUGH EUKOPE. 
 
 73d day. I visited the ancient town of Chester and walked 
 on the okl walls around the town. Returned in the after- 
 noon to Liverpool, and made several calls in the evening. 
 
 74th to 86th day. On the ocean. At noon, Saturday, 
 August 1, I went on board of the steamer Canada, Captain 
 Shannon, which got under way at half-fjast four. There were 
 in all one hundred and thirty passengers, among them Miss 
 Hosmer, the sculptress, the Bishop of Kentucky, and several 
 friends of mine. On Thursday, August 13, at four o'clock in 
 the morning, I landed at the wharf in East Boston. And 
 although I have had a most pleasant journey and seen many 
 wonderful things, yet the toil of sight-seeing has been very 
 great, and the happiest day of the whole trip is this day — the 
 day on which I arrive home. 
 
 I have been absent eighty-five days, passed in the different 
 countries about as follows : — 
 
 24 days in England, 9 days in France, 
 
 4 " " Belginm, . 1 " " Ireland, 
 4 " " Germany, 4 " " Scotland, 
 
 10 " " Switzerland, 23 " on the Atlantic Ocean. 
 6 " " Italy, 
 
 Switzerland and Scotland were to me the most interesting 
 and beautiful. 
 
 And I have travelled the following distances : — 
 
 From Boston to Halifax by steamer, 
 
 " Halifax to Liverpool " 
 
 " Liverjiool to London by Northern Eailroad, 
 In London and environs, not less than 
 From London to Ascot and back, 
 
 " " to Antwerp by steamer, 
 
 " Antwerp to Brussels by railroad, 
 
 " Brussels to Waterloo and back by stage, 
 
 " " to Cologne by railroad, 
 
 " Cologne to Mayence by steamer on the Khine, 
 
 *' Mayence (or Castel) to Frankfort by railroad, 
 
 " Frankfort to Heidelberg by railroad, 
 
 368 miles 
 
 2,440 
 
 
 230 
 
 
 100 
 
 
 56 
 
 
 210 
 
 
 26 
 
 
 28 
 
 
 149 
 
 
 127 
 
 
 27 
 
 
 54 
 
 
A DASH THROUGH EUROPE. 287 
 
 From Heidelberg to Baden Baden, 46 miles. 
 " Baden Baden to Friedrichsliafen, principally by 
 
 railroad, 140 " 
 " Friedriclishafen to Zurich by steamer and rail- 
 road, 1-20 " 
 " Zurich to toj^ of Mt. Eigi by steamer and horse- 
 back, 35 " 
 " Top of Mt. Eigi to Weggis on foot, 10 " 
 " Weggis to Berne by steamer and railroad, 100 " 
 " Berne to Lausanne by steamer and railroad, 120 " 
 " Lausanne to Geneva, thence to Yevay by steamer, 100 " 
 " Vevay to Saanen by diligence, 45 " 
 " Saanen to Interlachen by diligence and steamer, 50 " 
 " Interlachen to the Grimsel by steamer and horse- 
 back, 50 " 
 " The Grimsel to Andermatt by horseback, 20 " 
 " Andermatt to Lake Como by diligence, 110 " 
 " Como to Milan by railroad, 28 " 
 " Milan to Venice and back by diligence and rail- 
 road, 320 " 
 " Milan to Turin by diligence and railroad, 90 " 
 " Turin to Susa by railroad, 35 " 
 " Susa to Lyons over the Alps by diligence, steamer 
 
 and railroad, 190 " 
 
 " Lyons to Paris by railroad, 316 " 
 
 " Paris to Boulogne by railroad, 170 " 
 
 " Boulogne to Folkestone by steamer, 30 " 
 
 " Folkestone to London by railroad, 50 " 
 
 " London to Hampton Court and back by railroad, 24 " 
 
 " London to Liverpool via Windsor, Oxford, etc., 230 " 
 
 " Livei'pool to Dublin by steamer, 138 " 
 
 " Dubhn to Belfast by railroad, 113 " 
 
 " Belfast to Glasgow by steamer, 129 " 
 
 " Glasgow to Balloch, by steamer and railroad, 20 " 
 
 " Balloch to upper end of Loch Lomond by steamer, 10 " 
 " Upper end of Loch Lomond to Inversnaid by 
 
 steamer, 5 " 
 
 " Inversnaid to Loch Katrine by coach, 5 " 
 
 Through Loch Katrine to the Trossachs, 5 " 
 
 From Trossachs to Stirling by stage, 27 " 
 
 " Stirling to Edinburgh by railroad, 36 " 
 
101 
 
 miles 
 
 90 
 
 u 
 
 31 
 
 u 
 
 32 
 
 u 
 
 20 
 
 (( 
 
 2,808 
 
 u 
 
 288 A DASH THROUGH EUROPE. 
 
 From Edinburgh to Carlisle by railroad, 
 " Carlisle to Preston by railroad, 
 " Preston to Manchester by railroad, 
 " Manchester to Liverpool by railroad, 
 " Liverpool to Chester and back, 
 " Liverpool to Halifax and Boston by steamer, 
 
 The whole distance travelled in 85 days, about 9,820 
 
 Averaging about 116 miles per day. 
 
 The cost of my journey was : 
 
 My individual expenses (about S7.83 per diem), S665 CO 
 Cost of presents bought, 218 12 
 
 Total, ^883 72 
 
A. D. HODGES, 
 
 Chief of Squadron Roxbury Horse Guards. 
 
THE CIVIL WAR PERIOD. 
 
 Y father, like most Republicans at the North, for a 
 long time was unwilling to believe that the South- 
 ern States would secede and take up arms. He 
 could see no possible justification or sense in such 
 a procedure. None of their constitutional rights had been 
 infringed by the decision of the people, expressed at a fair 
 election, that slavery should be restricted within its existing 
 bounds, which was the policy of the makers of the Constitu- 
 tion; and in an armed contest the Soutli was plainly no match 
 for the richer and more populous North. But when it be- 
 came evident that either slavery must be extended or seces- 
 sion permitted, or the Union maintained by force, there was 
 no hesitancy on his part as to what ought to be done. As he 
 saw it, the extension of slavery was an unpermissible crime 
 and peaceable disunion a geographical and military impossibil- 
 ity. Hence it was the plain duty of the national executive to 
 compel the South to obey the laws of the land at whatever 
 cost. 
 
 He was strongly opposed to war, not only on account of the 
 waste of blood and money, but also because of the other ter- 
 rible evils which it necessarily engendered. He had no hal- 
 lucinations that the contest would be ended in ninety days or 
 in any other brief period, as was fondly imagined by many in 
 the beginning. But if war must come, it was better that it 
 should come at once and so be ended as soon as possible. 
 
 Had he been of military age, he surely would have entered 
 the army, having superabundant loyalty in his heart and 
 fighting blood in his veins. Being debarred by his years he 
 contributed lavishly of his time and his money for the pres- 
 
 (289) 
 
290 THE CIVIL WAR PERIOD. 
 
 erviition of the Union, cutting down his personal expenses 
 that he might have more to give to the government. I re- 
 member the evening when he smoked his last cigar — it was 
 just after Sumter had been fired on. It was not right, he 
 said, for him to indulge in luxuries when his country was in 
 need ; and he never smoked again. 
 
 Fort Sumter was fired on by the Southern batteries on 
 April 12, 1861, and three days later the people of the North 
 read in their morning papers the call of President Lincoln for 
 75,000 militia to suppress combinations obstructing the exe- 
 cution of the laws in seven of the Southern States. On April 
 20, father met with other gentlemen of Roxbury for the pur- 
 pose of forming a military organization which should co-oper- 
 ate with the government and aid in raising and equipping 
 troops. Six days later the Roxbury Horse Guards — named 
 in memory of the Providence Horse Guards — with 40 men 
 in line, were being drilled by father in cavalry tactics. Soon 
 the ranks were filled to the maximum. During the six months 
 of 1861, May to October, when out-of-doors exercises were 
 possible, the Guards drilled 37 times in 26 weeks, and held 
 46 meetings in all during the season. 
 
 The organization contained many of the most influential 
 citizens of Roxbury, and performed most useful work during 
 the war. In the ranks were men too old for active service, 
 yet they drilled strenuously, rode valiantly in parades, and did 
 all that was possible for them to do in aid of the national 
 cause. There were others of lesser years who here received 
 their first instruction in military tactics and afterwards won 
 laurels on the battle field. That Roxbury's quota was filled 
 whenever a call came for volunteers, was due in great part to 
 the efforts of this association. Company after company was 
 raised, uniformed, transported to camp and provisioned. One 
 of them. Company B of the 39th Massachusetts Infantry, was 
 named the Hodges Light Guard in grateful honor of the com- 
 mander of the Horse Guards. The families of the volunteers 
 
A. D. HODGES, 
 
 Chief of Squadron. Roxbury Horse Guards, 
 
THE CIVIL WAR PERIOD. 291 
 
 were cared for, the feeble were helped, the sick were nursed, 
 the dead were buried. In all possible ways the soldiers were 
 honored and befriended, — before they left home, while they 
 were absent, and when they returned. 
 
 So long as the Horse Guards remained an independent 
 organization " Colonel " Hodges held the command with the 
 title of Chief of Squadron, and devoted an immense amount 
 of time and energy — and not a little money — to the perform- 
 ance of his duties. In the fall of 1864 the company became 
 incorporated in the State militia, and then father resigned, 
 thinking that he had done his share and preferring that a 
 younger man should have his place. The organization is 
 still active as Company D of the First Battalion of Cavalry, 
 M. V. M. 
 
 There were several other associations of " home guards " in 
 Roxbury during the war. The school boys also formed mili- 
 tary companies, and the children too small to handle muskets 
 wielded nimble and efficient drumsticks. All these frequently 
 united in processions wliich paraded through the streets, 
 drumming up recruits and performing escort duty for the 
 volunteers who were going into camp or starting for the front, 
 or perhaps being carried to their graves. It is a common oc- 
 currence with processions that the actual time of beginning 
 to move is delayed long after the hour designated. The 
 delay is generally unnecessary and always tiresome to those 
 who are promptly on hand. Father had a decided opinion on 
 this point, and when in the course of time it came about at 
 the preliminary meeting that he was chosen Chief Marshal, he 
 announced that the procession would start exactly at the time 
 decided upon, " even if no one is on hand except the Chief 
 Marshal and the band." Accordingly, when the parade was 
 held, the marshal waved his baton on the minute, the band 
 struck up, and the procession moved, although several com- 
 panies had not arrived, orders being left for these to fall in 
 at the rear of the procession when they caught up with it. 
 
292 
 
 THE CIVIL WAR PERIOD. 
 
 After that, despite a little growling by the belated, father was 
 elected Chief Marshal on each succeeding occasion, so long as 
 he could be induced to accept ; and on each occasion the pro- 
 cession started on time. 
 
 Those four years of intense excitement were also years of 
 sorrow in our family. Father had seven sons. The oldest 
 
 To all whom it may concern: 2y JcU^^^^ 
 
 No ^.^./^ frpljosl P^s^'s ^.^ ^^ 
 
 linoro Se, Thai the hearers, iC^.....<^^^^;^if5??Z^^^ 
 
 (^^:dC^r<'.<^, haw permission to pas^ ovetfany hn^e or feryy to Virginia, 
 
 and within the lines, and back, for the purpose of ^jC£i^^;6^0^:\J'.J^^.. 
 being subject to the inspection of guards or patrols. ^^ 
 
 commaod of A. Pouter, Brig. Oen. TJ. S. A., Provoat Marslial. 
 
 In availing myself of the benefits of the above pass, I do aolenmly aiBnn that I am a tnie and loyal citizen 
 of the United States ; and that I -will not give aid, comfort, or information to the enemies of tho United States 
 GovcmmcDt in any manner whatsoever. 
 
 [This PasB tv b« (Akeo up at its oxiiimtioD.] 
 
 A MILITARY PASS OF THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 volunteered and was rejected by the surgeons on account of a 
 weak heart. The next four were in the service of the United 
 States. The two youngest were but children, yet they were 
 always in evidence whenever there was escort duty to be 
 done, — a duty not without its woes ; for there was a rough 
 " copperhead " element in certain parts of the city, which tried 
 to intimidate, with yells or even brickbats, the smaller mem- 
 bers of the processions when they marched through their 
 haunts. 
 
THE CIVIL WAR PERIOD. 293 
 
 The first son to enlist was George Foster Hodges. Six days 
 after the first call for troops he left the State with the Fifth 
 Massachusetts Infantry, marching in the ranks of the Charles- 
 town City Guards. He was soon promoted to be lieutenant 
 and paymaster of the regiment. He fought at the first battle 
 of Bull Run, carried his wounded and helpless colonel off the 
 field, and for his gallant conduct was presented with a sword. 
 Returning in July, at the expiration of his term of service, in 
 less than a month he went out a second time, as Adjutant of 
 the Eighteenth Massachusetts. The following January, while 
 Avith his regiment at Camp Barnes, Hall's Hill, Alexandria, 
 Virginia, he was stricken with typhoid fever. His father and 
 eldest brother hastened to him and found him very sick and 
 delirious. On January 31, 1862, he was awarded the Great 
 Promotion. 
 
 In Ills memory these lines, written by Miss Cora Kennedy, 
 were printed in the Boston Evening Traveller : — 
 
 Oh, glorious life that hath so soon its ending. 
 
 And bright young heart now stilled forevermore ; 
 
 Beneath the heavy stroke of anguish bending, 
 My God, thy grace and pity we implore. 
 
 Sadly we kneel, so sorrowing and lonely, 
 
 Wearily weeping till our eyes grow dim ; 
 Thy comfort, Lord, and thy compassion only 
 
 Can soothe our hearts that throb with thoughts of him. 
 
 So young, so strong, so full of noble daring, 
 
 And crowned with lionors from the battle-field ; 
 
 Each want and toil and fearful danger sharing. 
 Till death, relentless, his departure sealed. 
 
 Weep for the brave who knew not how to falter 
 
 When war's stern summons armed each manly band. 
 
 And raise within your hearts a sacred altar 
 To him who died to save his ruined land. 
 
 The hours of earthly pain and woe are over. 
 Though life for him had scarcely yet begun ; 
 
 And holy ties around his memory hover. 
 The true, true hero, — and the patriot son. 
 

 H 
 O 
 
 H5 
 
 ^ 
 
 COMMISSION OF GEORGE FOSTER HODGES, 
 Paymaster, 5th Mass. Infantry. 
 
 (294) 
 
HIS SXCELLENOT 
 
 JOHN A. ANDREW, 
 
 GOVERNOR A.Nr> COMM^NDER-Iisr-CHIEF 
 
 OF TBB 
 
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 by the Gotentot of the State" t^ ufmcn Cne tia?ne ate jfitnM^^, ano 
 
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 lotD, ijmfct, of, JOHN A. ANDREW, '^ovetm^t 0/ t^e 'i§om7wn«>eaM' 
 
 e/ 0£i^Me&b)efti , /uitMomt to, i& Q^(a&me^ aitj &Sul^ a^t^aiJ in me veilS: 
 
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 ^<Ct»*-«^ 
 
 
 COMMISSION OF GEORGE FOSTER HODGES, 
 First Lieutenant, 18th Mass. Infantry. 
 
 (295) 
 
296 THE CIVIL WAR PERIOD. 
 
 In August, 1862, William Townsend Hodges volunteered 
 and was made First Lieutenant of Company C, Forty-first 
 Massachusetts Infantry, afterwards the Third Massachusetts 
 Cavalry. He was one of the best swordsmen and riders in the 
 volunteer army. He served with his regiment in Louisiana 
 and was in all the figfhts. He Avas one of the noted Forlorn 
 Hope, at the siege of Port Hudson, whose members were 
 promised medals by the commanding General, but Congress 
 has never redeemed the promise. He became Captain, and 
 was afterwards transferred to the Fourth Massachusetts Cav- 
 alry, and served in Virginia. He was one of the 78 Massa- 
 chusetts horsemen — 11 officers and 67 men — who, on April 
 6, 1865, at High Bridge, Virginia, dashed against Rosser's 
 division of cavalry, killed or disabled more than a hundred 
 of their foes, and, by sacrificing themselves, delayed Lee's 
 retreating army and hastened the end of the war. Thrice, 
 each time with thinned ranks, this little company charged the 
 enemy; on the last charge Captain Hodges was killed.* He 
 was stripped of his clothes and buried on the battle-field, but 
 his body was recovered and sent home. In his uniform were 
 his vouchers, the loss of which compelled the red-taped Treas- 
 ury officials to refuse to pay his wages as they were unable to 
 settle his accounts without them. 
 
 The next son, Frederick S. Hodges was Lieutenant of an 
 Iowa cavalry company which was raised to repel a Confeder- 
 ate raid. Later he served in the U. S. gunboat Daylight, 
 whose captain, by his dare-devil evolutions before Fort 
 Fisher, in 1863, several times gave rise to reports that the 
 vessel and crew had been blown up, causing periods of dis- 
 tress in our family until the reports were found to be false. 
 
 * Several accounts of this fight have been published : as in the Ded- 
 hani, Mass., Transcript of March 22, 1890 ; the New England Magazine 
 of July, 1891 ; and the Civil War Papers of the Massachusetts Com- 
 mandery of the Loyal Legion (1900) ii : 403. 
 
GEORGE FOSTER HODGES, 
 Adjutant 18th Mass. Inf. 
 
 WILLIAM TOWNSEND HODGES, 
 Captain 4th Mass. Cav. 
 
HIS EXOELLENOT 
 
 JOHN A. ANDEEW, 
 
 GOYERNOR AND COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF 
 
 OP TOS 
 
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 Q^^a/jac^ttdell,) (o /utniii/i cctiacn J^^imeni:} ot'Oamaea a^ a/otiJoiJ, unc/et ar^ 
 acccti&niT to tAe /itov^coiul c/ aaia &tct, to aetve v>i tde '^t^oMTiteez Q'futkatv Q^otce^ 
 c/ i^e ^nifec/ (Stated, <ia^ect to tne tamd ana teaufa^icn^ aevetninjf tue atmu. tA.eteoA 
 Alt t^ tetm c/ iMce veat^, unMd Docnei duicnaMS. 
 
 ^Ofo, Cl^Cnftre, cS^JOHN a. ANDREW, ^^vetn^c/t^e ^SommonmeaM 
 of G'/la/joc^ii-iett^ , /lauuant to t^e Q^t^tifu anc^ {Slufy a^!-e<)aij tk me vettS, 
 <& neteeii ati/ioini yon Cy'c^r-*^ Q^Le«c/^4irt<a-c<.^ t<Z. ^^6^ ^n^ v^f^'-cA ^tLyi,utA..eM^ 
 
 c/ t^ MASSACHUSETTS VOLUNTEERS, caMt/ ^ anJ ot^niaec/ a^ ajoudait^. ^oa u>iM 
 tdele/oie, u'itd donot an<^ fi^/ity. c&jc^ai^e tde <24/W e^ aau^ of^fiee. &^ off ^feuofi 
 c&ceu aTiJ Ao/c/ieu ate ^le^^ comman(^c^ to o/e^ ^^M in yoat aau/ ea/iacct^ y otu/ ^out 
 wi/^ voatae^ o£ietve anJ ioffifut aac^ clc^M anJ imttactioju aJ ^a a^atf,^totn time/ 
 to ti»ie. tecen-e /torn t^ ^leaiJmt o/ t^ ^UnUec^ ^tale^, ot ol^eu, ^ut M/tetioi^ 
 
 <&v^ anJc my ^ar.d. and d, <«^//<i& '^ommo^u^Jil t^ «^ ^ a^ 
 
 / tA^^^Zl^U^ ^^.^„e/<.. ^,y<.».^<— ^^'('-•^"'^'^-^-^■^^ ,W,W/^ 
 
 ^y S&> Srceiiituy '^' ^ctf^iot. 
 
 COMMISSION OF WILLIAM TOWNSEND HODGES, 
 First Lieutenant, 41st Mass. infantry. 
 
 (297) 
 
HIS EXCELLKNCT 
 
 JOHN A. ANDEEW, 
 
 GOVERNOK AND COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF 
 
 OF THB 
 
 C0intn0nlueaUJ of Passacjusetts, 
 
 trCaS, oft u /.untJeJ /j a /aiv c/ tls/ 
 '^/>hUc/ Q//a/cJ (>/ Gimettca, enaciec^ on me iwenlu- 
 de<^7iJ c/a>f (/ Ju/'j^, (S/ ^. /S*^/. en(^/u/ '■&€«/ 
 G'Ccl <e aulnouse ific cm/iffiument of '^c^etunteeu ie aii^ 
 in cn/oJctTm me utir>J a7ia /tu>/^>cten^ /tufiuc /tto/teiiu,'' 
 tna( tne ^oi'etnt>t<l cf &Ya<ed /utniiifyn^ '^tfMnteet-3 
 
 G/faj^ ana x3om/ianja Cyfficet4 teguHi^e £/i'iAe daia' 
 ^^o/an/celd. 
 
 ^nb ^SbtmS, ^% jSieJu^enl ntM autfioUiCd and te^nitid /ne vemnwnweallu <^?5 
 (2vCa£acfiaJcit<i to /Mnt^A eetiain J:^e-a(me}t/,i otaani,ca a<i a/oieJata, undf-i and nca?u&ng 
 fo <ne /itovi^urm o/ daia (2'€cf, io ^eti'e in fnc "thi^in^eet G/u'iiatu /^<v c/ me '^Uni/t& 
 (^<fate:), da&c( to me /aiM ana ieiaula/ianil iMvctntna I fie atmu /4eie^/, £/i me teinf 
 ^ miee weau, unfe/J ae^net cU<ieuata<S. 
 
 ^Ottt, C^errfOre, of, JOHN a. ANDREW, '^cvetnel cfdc^emmon,i»!a/'t4' 
 c/ G/ui^acAtbiel^ , //iiUaan/ -fo ^fie Q't<tl/iou(u and S3)ii^n ajk'ejata in me fej/ea, ai> 
 
 r/ t^-e MASSACHDSETira VOLimTEERS, eaffeJ ^t ant/ ctaajiixee/ ' al a/cieJaii/. ^m wiM 
 meu&le, tm<A npnot a^ta udeu/M dueuas^e ific mtticj t>/ jaid e/fice. G€na aft ii^tioi^ 
 Ojm^-eM <tma ^u/tetJ-ote n^ieim eommanaea /i> oven noii- in notU daid eaAacfiy ; ana wit^ 
 wia noicueff o^et^ and jfynoif dacn olaeu ana in-iltiic/ioni at you dnaff, /wm time fff 
 O'me, teceive ^m tue ^aeju/etii <hf (ne '^/nitea Gria/cJ, ' e>e otucu, neat nii/ieiiot o^ieeiJ^ 
 
 ,y //, <^o. 
 
 cMcldaly of a, <^^ 
 
 aM 
 
 COMMISSION OF WILLIAM TOWNSEND HODGES, 
 Captain 4th Mass. Cavalry. 
 
 ^( 298 ) 
 
COMMISSION OF ALMON DANFORTH HODGES, 
 Second Lieutenant, 42d Mass. Infantry. 
 
 JR., 
 
 (299 ) 
 
300 THE CIVIL WAR PERIOD. 
 
 The fourth volunteer was private, in 1862 to 1863, in a 
 nine-months regiment, and at the end of his service was 
 brought home so sick with typhoid fever that his life was de- 
 spaired of. But he recovered and in 1864 served as Lieutenant 
 in a hundred-days regiment. Then he was offered and ac- 
 cepted the position of First Lieutenant in a special cavalry 
 corps which was to be called the President's Body Guard, 
 and was designed to act particularly against the guerillas 
 operating in Virginia in the neighborhood of the District of 
 Columbia. As Congress did not see fit to authorize the 
 formation of this corps, the project never materialized. 
 
 During these strenuous years my oldest brother married, 
 and in due time a cliild was born. The event occurred in 
 the forenoon, while father was in the bank, but he was at 
 once notified. The coming of his first grandchild was a joy 
 to him and a matter of pride, a fact to be communicated 
 to his neighbors, — and he had his own way of making this 
 communication. At the close of business he went home to 
 Roxbury as usual. On alighting from the street car at the 
 foot of St. James Street, he placed a large piece of white 
 paper in the band of his silk hat, at the front ; and then with 
 head erect, but turning to the houses along the way to greet 
 any faces at the windows, he walked proudly up the hill to 
 his house. On the paper in his hat was inscribed in large 
 letters one word : ghandpa. 
 
THE FINAL YEARS. 
 
 FTER the Civil War the family life, M'hich had 
 beeu darkened by three deaths, by sickness and 
 by anxiety, grew brighter, the youngest sons 
 being dominant factors in the situation. 
 
 There were again, as of old, musical parties and amateur 
 theatricals and exchanges of visits. There were pleasure 
 journeys now and then. Father continued to visit the old 
 school in Norton, giving prizes, making short addresses and 
 reciting old-time " pieces " in the old-time style, and carrying 
 little gifts to his old acquaintances. He wrote out his recol- 
 lections of the Dorr War in Rhode Island, and read them 
 before the Historic Genealogical Society. He contributed 
 reminiscences to the newspapers in Providence, Boston and 
 New York. He collected the children of his neighborhood 
 and gave them little treats. He was always doing something 
 pleasant and useful. 
 
 In January, 1867, he had an experience which for a person 
 of his age was somewhat strenuous. He had been to a wed- 
 ding in Fall River and started back by rail early in the morn- 
 ing of the 17th. A snowstorm was then in progress which 
 increased in violence until it became the most furious one 
 within his memory. The train managed to crawl to the 
 neighborhood of North Easton, where it was completely 
 blocked, and where it remained all night. There were aboard 
 sixty-seven men, women and children, who for some twenty- 
 four hours had nothing to eat except what little they might 
 possibly have carried with them. On the afternoon of the 
 19th the train, with the aid of three engines, returned to Fall 
 River, carrying back most of the passengers. But father had 
 
 (301) 
 
302 THE FINAL YEARS. 
 
 managed to walk to the house of a friend in North Easton 
 and preferred to remain there. On the 20th an acquaintance 
 carried him in a sleigh to another friend's house in East 
 Randolph, and on the next day he was carried further to a 
 tliird friend in South Braintree, each time the ride being ac- 
 complished with great difficulty. That day, the 21st, a rain 
 set in, and at five o'clock in the afternoon a train from New- 
 port with seven engines came along and landed him in Boston 
 in about an hour. It had required five days for him to ac- 
 complish the journey of fifty miles between Fall River and 
 Boston. 
 
 It became a custom for the family to spend the months of 
 heat at a summer resort. Before the war this had not been a 
 regular New England habit except with very wealthy people. 
 The resort generally selected by the family was Seaconnet 
 Point in Little Compton, Rhode Island. Father himself re- 
 mained in Roxbury, where the house was kept open, except 
 for an occasional vacation of a week or so. 
 
 He always delighted in speaking of himself as a farmer's 
 boy, and the call of the country, ever strong, seemed to grow 
 more insistent with him as the years rolled on. He noted in 
 his Journal the coming of the birds in the spring and their 
 subsequent doings, and the blossoming of the trees and 
 shrubs.* He always had a patch of ground where he could 
 cultivate vegetables, and he jotted down in detail, day by 
 day, his agricultural operations : — so many trees set out, so 
 many beans planted, so many hills of corn hoed, so many 
 quarts of berries picked. Finally he felt able to own a 
 country house, and in November, 1870, he purchased the 
 Robert Manton place in Portsmouth on the western shore of 
 the island of Rhode Island. This lovely spot grew to be to 
 him as the apple of his eye. So charmed was he, that in 
 1873 he became a legal resident. Hither he came every 
 
 * E. (J. The robins ceased singing in chorus August 10. \_Journal of 
 August 12, 1875.-] 
 
THE FINAL YEARS. 303 
 
 spring to direct operations for the coming season, and each 
 year he spent more and more time at the place. Here he 
 renewed the days of his childhood and passed some of the 
 happiest summers of a happy life, indulging in the delights of 
 farming. Here he set up his household gods : — " Martin's 
 Folly," a birdhouse-model of the original St. James Street 
 house, which the martins refused to inhabit ; " General 
 Grant," a fierce warrior, renamed during the Civil War, who 
 faced the blast and whirled a huge broadsword with each 
 hand, when the wind blew ; and other idols, each with its 
 appropriate appellation and its own history. 
 
 The purchase of the Portsmouth place was hailed with 
 delight by all the family, except one. Our housekeeper, dear 
 old Almira Winslow, disapproved. She was in many respects 
 a typical old-fashioned New England woman. Of excellent 
 family, descended from Governor John Winslow, she was 
 well educated in her girlhood and held a good social position. 
 But the death of her father disclosed the unexpected fact 
 that the family finances had been exhausted, and it became 
 necessary for the survivors to earn their own livings. My 
 stepmother knew her well, and on first going to housekeep- 
 ing, took her as an assistant and companion. Tliis connection 
 lasted during life with one brief interruption. 
 
 When father was married the second time, Miss Winslow 
 came to our home with mother. She was considered by us 
 children, and considered herself, a member of the family. 
 She took her meals with us except when there were guests, — 
 then she absolutely refused to come to the table. She cared 
 for us tenderly, and bossed us vigorously. In all family 
 concerns she was most intensely interested, and she never 
 hesitated to express her opinions whenever the opportunity 
 offered. 
 
 When it was proposed to have a house in the country in 
 addition to one in the city, although Miss Winslow's advice 
 was not asked, it was given with her usual emphasis. The 
 
304 THE FINAL YEARS. 
 
 purchase of a second house was unnecessary, undesirable, un- 
 economical, — nay, wickedly wasteful. One house was enough 
 for any one family. She could not consent to the plan. She 
 could not countenance it in any way. If father persisted, 
 she would find it necessary to abandon the family, much as 
 she loved it. And as father did persist, she left us and went 
 to live with a relative. 
 
 But not for long. The ties of loving association proved for 
 her to be stronger than the bonds of blood. A year's absence 
 showed that she was happier with us than with anyone else. 
 She modified her opinion and asked to be taken back. Her 
 petition was granted and she returned. Never after that, 
 except for brief visits, did she leave the St. James Street 
 house until she was carried to her grave. 
 
 Like all New Englanders of his breed, father had strong 
 religious convictions, and the subjects of death and of a 
 future life were matters of serious and frequent thought. Al- 
 lusions to the necessity of leading good and useful lives and 
 of preparing for a better world are common in his Journal on 
 the anniversaries of his birth and at the close of a year. But 
 in these there was never any gloom or despondency, nor did 
 he ever seem to regard death as anything else than a passage 
 to a happier existence. " I hope," he wrote at the end of 
 1854, " that the year has not passed without deep and serious 
 thoughts of the future, of my responsibilities to my family 
 and my duties to my Creator and God. I pray that such 
 thoughts may sink deep into my soul and bring forth fruits 
 meet for repentance. My children are growing up and are 
 soon to take an active part in life. I hope and trust that 
 they will live virtuous lives, with the fear of God in their 
 hearts, and that they all will become good and useful citizens. 
 May they do their utmost to make all happy around them, 
 and live as tliey will wish they had lived when they come 
 to die. What a consolation it must be, as death approaches, 
 to entertain the blessed hope of a joyful resurrection." Al- 
 
A. D. HODGES. 
 
 (From his latest photograph ) 
 
THE FINAL YEARS. 305 
 
 most always he concluded with " thanks to the Giver of all 
 good and perfect gifts for the many blessings bestowed dur- 
 ing the year which has ended." 
 
 "I am fifty-four years old to-day," he wrote. "How swiftly 
 the years have passed. I have already lived to be older than 
 I expected when I was a young man, and much older than the 
 average of men." He often referred to the fact that his life 
 had been longer than he had anticipated. It may be that this 
 idea of his arose from knowledge that his heart was weak and 
 his end liable to come at any moment ; but he never directly 
 mentioned the fact, and it was unknown to his family until 
 his death. Yet there are certain statements in his Journal 
 which now might be construed to indicate that he was aware 
 of his uncertain hold on life. If so, he " burned his own 
 smoke " and for years faced his fate bravely and cheerfully. 
 
 The summer of 1878 had passed most enjoyably at Ports- 
 mouth. The crops had been good and had been gathered in. 
 There had been a succession of agreeable visitors, some of 
 whom were still with him. There had been an uninterrupted 
 season of pleasure-giving and pleasure-taking. Then, without 
 warning to the family, the angel of rest came and smiled on 
 him. 
 
 On the morning of September 27, father arose and, looking 
 at his watch, remarked in a tone of surprise that he knew not 
 why he had overslept. It was then five minutes past six 
 o'clock, and his regular hour of rising was six. Passing to 
 the bathroom for his usual bath, he returned immediately, 
 saying that he thought it would be best to omit this. Soon 
 he stated that he was not feeling well, and at the suggestion 
 of his wife laid down on the bed. As he showed signs of 
 distress, mother called other members of the family and a 
 doctor was sent for. But before the physician could arrive or 
 the clock mark the half hour, father left us and was gathered 
 in peace unto his people, " in a full age, like as a shock of 
 corn Cometh in in its season." 
 
APPENDICES. 
 
 APPENDIX I. 
 
 SPECIMENS OF THE ACCOUNTS IN THE LEDGER OE 
 JONATHAN HODGES, Jr. 
 
 THE FOLLOWING ABBREVIATIONS APPEAR IN THE ACCOUNTS. 
 
 B = black. 
 
 Bar and Barskin = bearskin 
 
 cloth. 
 Botg = bottle green. 
 Cam = camwood color, 
 dy = dyeing, 
 f = fustic color, 
 fu = fulling, 
 lamn = lambskin cloth. 
 
 led = lead color. 
 
 In =: london brown. 
 
 Insm = london smoke color. 
 
 N blue = navy blue. 
 
 o g = olive green. 
 
 pres = pressing. 
 
 sh = shearing. 
 
 sh twice = shearing on both sides. 
 
 sinament = cinnamon color. 
 
308 
 
 APPENDIX I. 
 
 A. SAMPLE PAGES. 
 
 [Page 28, left band or Debit side.] 
 
 July 
 
 April 
 June 
 July 
 
 November 
 
 January 
 March 
 
 November 
 
 June 
 December 
 
 January 
 
 March 3d 
 
 March 12 
 
 1787 Ebenezer Wetherell Debter to 
 
 
 
 
 Jonathan Hodges Jr 
 
 
 
 
 for making a pair of shoes for Zephaniah . £ 
 
 00 
 
 02 
 
 08 
 
 more for a lyme hogshed .... 
 
 00 
 
 02 
 
 00 
 
 1788 for my hors to ride to tanton [Taunton] 
 
 00 
 
 01 
 
 00 
 
 1787 for an ox yoake 
 
 00 
 
 02 
 
 00 
 
 1788 for dy green tenterd : 3 : yds of Cloth . 
 
 00 
 
 01 
 
 03 
 
 more for thirty sheets of writing paper 
 
 00 
 
 01 
 
 03 
 
 1788 for pres : 4 : yds of Cloth 
 
 00 
 
 00 
 
 08 
 
 more for fu dy 1" sh jires 6)-q yds of Cloth 
 
 00 
 
 08 
 
 02 
 
 1788 for one pound & half of Redwood & a 
 
 
 
 
 quarter of allom 
 
 00 
 
 00 
 
 09 
 
 more for pres : 12)^ yds of Cloth . 
 
 00 
 
 02 
 
 01 
 
 1789 for fu Barskin : .5 : yds of Cloth . 
 
 00 
 
 02 
 
 01 
 
 1789 for fu dy sh : 5 : yds of Cloth 
 
 00 
 
 03 
 
 09 
 
 more for dy B : PjK Pounds of yarn 
 
 00 
 
 00 
 
 10 
 
 1788 By your Varbiel ordier paid to Noah 
 
 
 
 
 wiswall 
 
 00 
 
 01 
 
 00 
 
 1788 By my Varbiel ordier Jonathan Hodges 2d 
 
 
 
 
 made a pair of shoes for Zephaniah 
 
 00 
 
 03 
 
 00 
 
 1789 for dy green one pound of yarn 
 
 00 
 
 00 
 
 09 
 
 1789 for fu sh twice pres 4^-^ yds of Cloth 
 
 00 
 
 03 
 
 02 
 
 more for pres an old skirt 4^^ yds of Cloth . 
 
 00 
 
 00 
 
 09 
 
 more for fu Barskin 10^4 yds of Cloth . 
 
 00 
 
 04 
 
 05 
 
 1790 for fu dy sh ,51^ yds of Cloth . 
 
 00 
 
 04 
 
 02 
 
 more for pres 4}.^ yds of Cloth 
 
 00 
 
 00 
 
 09 
 
 more for fu sh pres 2)3 yds of Cloth 
 
 00 
 
 01 
 
 05 
 
 1790 This Day we the subscribers Reckoned 
 
 
 
 
 and Ballanced all Book accompts and found 
 
 
 
 
 Due to Ebenezer Wetherell one shilling 
 
 
 
 
 and six pence as witness our hands 
 
 
 
 
 Jonathan Hodges Jr 
 
 
 
 
 Ebenezek wetherell 
 
 
 
 
 1790 Ebenezer Wetherell Debter 
 
 
 
 
 to Jonathan Hodges Jr 
 
 
 
 
 for Colouring green 1^^ pound of yarn 
 
 00 
 
 00 
 
 11 
 
 more for Colouring B 4 i^ounds of yarn 
 
 00 
 
 01 
 
 08 
 
 [Continued on page 310.] 
 
LEDGER OF JONATHAN HODGES, JR. 
 
 309 
 
 May 
 
 September 
 October 
 
 December 
 October 
 
 October 8 
 Decemb 
 April 
 May 12 
 Novem 14 
 
 April 6 
 Novem 10 
 
 March 29 
 
 April 17 
 
 June 28 
 October 17 
 April 11 
 April 14 
 June 14 
 Novem 29 
 
 [Page 29, right hand or Credit side.] 
 
 1788 Ebenezer Wetherell Credet 
 
 for : ll^-a Pounds of Raggs 
 1788 to : 28 feet of white oake planck . 
 1788 for : 5 pounds & ten ounces of Raggs 
 
 1788 for Zephaniah one day making hay 
 
 1789 to 3 quarts of sope .... 
 
 1790 Ebenezer Wetherell Credet to 
 
 one Days worck. .... 
 
 1790 to 4)2 Bushals of ashis [ashes] 
 
 1790 to 4 pounds of sope greace 
 
 1791 to 10 quarts of Sope 
 
 1791 to your Self and oxin one day to plow 
 1791 to 16 gallons of Sope 
 
 1791 to Spinning 
 
 1792 to 29 quarts of sope 
 1792 to 10 gallons of Sope 
 
 1793 Then we the Subscribers Reckoned and 
 Ballanced all Book accompts Even to this 
 date as witness our hands 
 
 Ebenezer Wethebei-l 
 Jonathan Hodges Jr 
 
 1793 Ebenezer Wetherell Credet 
 
 to 18 gallons of Sope . 
 1793 By your son Eber one day to ho 
 
 1793 By your waggon to providence 
 
 1794 By (3 gallons & 2 quarts of Sope 
 1794 By 14 gallons of Sope 
 
 1794 By Eber about ■'ii of a day hoing 
 1794 By 5 gallons of Sope 
 
 SOO 
 
 15 
 
 [Page 29 of Ledger, additional Debits, continued on Credit side.] 
 
 Novem 11 
 
 Decem 23 
 
 Feb 2d 
 
 march 5 
 October 1 
 Decem 7 
 Decem 3d 
 
 1791 Mr Eber Wetherells Accompts 
 Continued for fu lamn G14 yds of Cloth 
 
 1791 for pres 314 yds of Cloth 
 
 1792 for fu dy green Bayz [baize] 2|o yds of 
 Cloth 
 
 1792 for fu lamn 714 yds of Cloth . 
 
 1792 for pres one old skirt .... 
 
 1792 for fu sh pres 6}.2 yds of Cloth 
 
 1792 for dy green pres 6% yds of Cloth 
 
 [Continued on page 311.] 
 
310 
 
 APPENDIX I. 
 
 [Page 28, left baud or Debit side continued.] 
 
 May 12 1790 for sole letlier for one pair of womans 
 
 shoes 
 
 May 31th 1790 to Cash 
 
 July S 1790 for my hors to Providence 
 
 oct 1790 for fu sh pres 2}^ yds of Cloth 
 
 1790 for a pair of flat irons 
 Novem 24 1790 for pres 10 yds of Cloth 
 Decern 27 ' 1790 for fu sh pres 4% yds of Cloth 
 Jan 7 1791 for pres an old gound 
 Mai'ch 8 1791 for my hors to tantone . 
 March 29 1791 for dy pres one old Cloke 
 June 1791 for my hors to plow at wedeing among 
 
 Corn 7 acors 
 
 June 22 1791 for my hors to i^low among Corn at half 
 
 hilling 4I0 acors .... 
 
 June 29 1791 for my hors to plow about 4 acors 
 
 July 20 1791 for my hors to [plow] 4 ^^ acors among 
 
 Corn 
 
 1791 By James French .... 
 
 Novem 14 1791 to Cash 
 
 august 18 1791 for pres 10 yds of Cloth . 
 
 Continued upon the next leaf. 
 
 00 
 
 01 
 
 00 
 
 02 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 [For lack of space on the Debit side, the remaining Debits in this 
 account were written on the Credit side. See pages 309 and 311.] 
 
LEDGER OF JOXATIIAN HODGES, Jli. 
 
 311 
 
 [Page 29, right liand or Credit side, Debit accounts continued.] 
 
 June 
 
 1793 Ebenezer Wetlierell Debter 
 
 
 
 
 
 for my hors to plow among Corn : 1 1.< acor 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 July 1 
 
 1793 for making a pair of Shoes for your wife 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 8 
 
 Novem 13 
 
 1793 for a tea Cittle [kettle] .... 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 8 
 
 Nov em 4 
 
 1793 for dy green 2'}^^ pounds of yarn 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 8 
 
 Novem 11 
 
 1793 for dy green & pres 3>4 yds of Cloth 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 Decern 3 
 
 1793 for fu Bar 2% yds of Cloth . 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 Decern 19 
 
 1793 for new lethering your Bellows 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 Decern 20 
 
 1793 for fu dy f sh & pres 7 yds of Cloth 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 10 
 
 Jan 6 
 
 1794 for dy B Z% pounds of yarn . 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 Jan 8 
 
 1794 for dy green % of a pound of yarn 
 
 
 
 
 
 G 
 
 Jan 18 
 
 1794 for dy B & pres 3 pair of gloves . 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 April 1 
 
 1794 for fu dy o g sh & pres 5)4 yds of Cloth 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 3 
 
 June 4 
 
 1794 for my hors to tanton .... 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 June 24 
 
 for my hors to plow about 2 acers among Corn 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 4 
 
 Novem 3 
 
 1794 for fu Bar 6 yds of Cloth 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 6 
 
 Decem 6 
 
 1794 for fu dy Cinamon & pres 3 yds of Cloth 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 Decern 17 
 
 1794 for fu dy f sh & pres 7^0 yds of Cloth , 
 
 
 
 7 
 
 6 
 
 Decem 26 
 
 1794 for pres 8 yds of Cloth .... 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 4 
 
 
 2 
 
 6 
 
 4 
 
 December 29 
 
 1794 this day we the subscribers Reckoned & 
 Ballanced all Book accorapts even to this 
 date 
 as witness our hands 
 
 Ebenezer Witherell 
 Jonathan Hodges Jr 
 
 
 
 
312 
 
 APPENDIX I. 
 
 May- 
 an gust 19 
 October 22 
 
 AN ACCOUNT WITH A FURRIER AND HATTER 
 
 1803 Mr Elias Fisher of tannton Dr 
 
 for furr ........£ 
 
 for two bariels of Cider ..... 
 
 for half a cord of wood 
 
 September 5 1806 for Cash 
 
 June 27 ■ 1807 for two bariels of Syder 
 
 I for one musquash Skin 
 December 7 j for fu dy B & pres 5^^ yds of Cloth 
 August 14 1809 for one load of wood 
 May 18tli 1811 for one mink Skin . 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 16 
 
 
 
 
 
 9 
 
 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 6 
 
 2 
 
 12 
 
 6 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 9 
 
 
 
 
 4 , 10 1 6 
 
 Decemr 28 
 
 October 1 
 March 6 
 
 C. AN ACCOUNT WITH A SEAMSTRESS. 
 
 1797 Sally Stanley Dr 
 
 for sh dy 1" & pres 83^ yds of Cloth 
 
 1799 for my hors b}4 Milds . 
 
 1800 for Cash .... 
 
 June 10 1801 for dy 1" old habbit 
 
 May 18 1802 for sh dy 1" & pres 1 1.^ yd 
 
 September 9 for dy B & stifned one Silk gown 
 December 6tH 1806 for Cash .... 
 
 The above accompt is Settled 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 9 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 9 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 10 
 
 10 
 
LEDGER OF JONATHAN HODGES, JR. 
 
 313 
 
 B. AN ACCOUNT WITH A FURRIER AND HATTER. 
 
 June Stli 
 
 august 19 
 august 7 
 
 Mr Elias Fisher 
 By a felt hat for my Jonathan 
 By a Caster hat for my Self . 
 1804 By two felt liats for boyes 
 
 Cr 
 
 June 27 1807 by one felt hat for my Self 
 
 ct by three felt hats for my Boyes 
 July 4th !by Dresing a hat 
 
 May 18 [1811 by one boyes hat 
 
 November 25 1812 by one boyes hat 
 
 . £ 
 
 1 4 
 
 6 
 
 . 
 
 1 119 
 
 
 
 • 
 
 9 
 
 
 
 
 2 ! 12 
 
 6 
 
 
 7 
 
 6 
 
 
 113 
 
 6 
 
 
 1 5 
 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 
 ; 6 
 
 
 
 4 i 10 6 
 
 
 C. AN ACCOUNT WITH A SEAMSTRESS. 
 
 
 
 
 
 1798 Sally Stanley Cr 
 
 
 
 
 
 By 4>.< days labour £ 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 March 6 
 
 1800 By 3 Days labour 
 
 1802 By Cuting out one pair of trowser for ^ 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 6 
 
 July 31 
 
 
 
 
 
 thos Morey & making one pair for my > 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 self ) 
 
 
 
 
 March 10 
 
 1803 By cuting out my overalls 
 
 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 April 27 
 
 By 3 days labour 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 6 
 
 January 
 
 1804 by 2 days labour 
 
 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 July 30 
 
 1805 by making a wescoat at my house 
 
 1806 the Above accompt is Settled 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 December 6th 
 
 
 
 10 
 
 10 
 
 
 
314 
 
 APPENDIX I. 
 
 ». AN ACCOUNT WITH A DOCTOR. 
 
 Novem 20 
 
 Novem 29 
 October 26 
 October 29 
 Novem 16 
 
 t 1797 Doctor Daniel Parker Dr 
 
 for fu dy l" & pres 21^ yds of Cloth 
 
 I for fu dy 1" & pres 0^4 yds of Cloth 
 
 I for dy In &, pres one old Cloke 
 1798 for pres old stuf 7 yds of Cloth 
 for fu & Carding Bed blanketing lo^i^ yds 
 for fu dy 1" & pres 4^:^ yds of Cloth 
 for fu dy l" & pres a skirt 23^4 yds of Cloth 
 
 Novem 21 ! 1798 the above accompt is settled By a receipt 
 
 Feb 19 
 
 Novera 21 
 
 October 28 
 
 february 8 
 
 June 17 
 
 february 10th 
 
 June 30tii 
 
 1797 Doctor Daniel Parker Cr 
 By one visit . . . . . . . £' 
 
 By one Bushal of Corn of Arunah Smith 
 
 1798 By Cash 
 
 the above accompt is Settled By a receipt 
 
 Dr 
 
 1805 Dr Daniel Parker 
 for fu dy Green & pres 4% yds of Cloth 
 for dy yallow 7 lb & 6 ounces of yarn . 
 for dy green yarn 13 lb & 6 ounces 
 
 & for dy o g 1^^ lb of yarn . . . . 
 
 1806 for fu dy N blue sh & pres 13i^ yds of 
 Cloth 
 
 1811 for cash . 
 Settled 
 
 1806 Dr Daniel Parker Cr 
 
 By 4 yds of thick Cloth at 8/ ... 
 
 1808 by capt Thomas Danforth 18)^ lb of ) 
 Sole lether at 25 cents per lb . . I 
 
 Settled 
 
 2 
 
 4 
 
 18 
 
 17 
 
 7 
 
 18 
 
 
 19 
 
 12 
 
 7 
 
 19 
 
Septemr 25 
 
 Feb 19 
 Feb 19 
 
 LEDGER OF JONATHAN HODGES, JR. 
 
 Cr 
 
 315 
 
 1795 Doct Daniel Tarker 
 By one visit to my mother .... 
 
 1796 By one order upon hezekiah Tucker 
 
 1796 this Day the above acconipt was Settled 
 By a resate 
 
 D 
 
 c 
 
 1 
 
 — 
 
 3 
 
 75 
 
 4 
 
 75 
 
 June 20 
 
 July 30 
 Septemr Qth 
 
 Septemr 13 
 
 October 3d 
 October 8 
 October 10 
 October 19 
 October 20 
 
 October Id 
 
 October 3d 
 
 E. AN ACCOUNT WITH AN APPRENTICE. 
 
 1804 Thomas Morey Dr 
 
 for 7 yds of cotton & one scein of thread — -\ 
 taken up on accompt at Thos & Asa > , 
 Danforths ......) 
 
 for one pair of shoes ..... 
 
 for linning [linen] at Thos & A Dauforth 
 Stoar ........ 
 
 for mending your Shoes .... 
 
 for paying Asa Arnold 
 
 for Cash ........ 
 
 for discount with Thos & Asa Danforth 
 
 for Stock & mending your Shoes . 
 
 for Cash 
 
 for Cash 
 
 & for board about 2 wekes .... 
 
 for Cash ........ 
 
 1804 Thomas Morey Cr 
 
 By three Months and half labour at iiiS.SO pr 
 month ........£ 
 
 By one days labour ..... 
 
 By one days labour 
 
 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 11 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 8 
 
 1 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 12 
 
 3 
 
 12 
 
 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 9 
 
 2 
 
 8 
 
 18 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 9 
 
 2 
 
 August 15 
 Novem 4 
 Nov em 29 
 
 F. AN ACCOUNT WITH A COUNTRY STORE. 
 1793 Fobes & Tucker Dr 
 
 By Cash 
 
 By Lieut Elisha Cobbs order 
 
 1793 By Peter Carpinter 
 
 1793 for dy green 43^4 pounds of yarn 
 
 1793 for fu dy 1" & pres 7 yds of Cloth 
 
 1 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 11 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 5 
 
316 
 
 APPENDIX I. 
 
 Decern 14 
 Jan 27 
 March 24 
 June 16 
 January 5 
 Jan 31 
 
 January 31 
 
 1793 for dy Botg an old Josey ... 
 
 1794 for Derius Drakes order ... 
 1794 for Capt Israel Trows order ... 
 
 1794 By Jacob Shaws order .... 
 
 1795 for fu dy green & pres 7% yds of Cloth 
 1795 By discount with Lt Morey ... 
 & By a due Bill given up ... . 
 
 1795 This day Mr Thomas fobes [and] I 
 Settled our accompts By Resates 
 
 I 1793 Fobes & Tucker Credet 
 
 By ^^ & 17 pounds of iron .... 1 
 
 April 3d 1793 to goods 
 
 April 10 1793 to one gallon of melasses . . . ^ 
 
 April 15 1793 to 7 pounds of flour .... 
 
 October 2d 1793 By Si^ yds of linning [linen] at 3s : 4d 
 
 pr yd 
 
 Novemr 2 1793 By 3 pounds of Shugger ... 
 
 & By i.T pound of Chocolate . . . .0 
 Decern 2d 1793 By half pound of tea . . . . i 
 
 & By one Duzzun of Biskett . . . .0 
 Jan 7 1794 By one Duzzin of Bisketts . . • | 
 
 Jan 27 1794 By one pound of Reasons [raisins] . j 
 
 & By one arthon [earthen] pot . . . ' 
 
 & By li^^yd of Callaco : 
 
 Feb 4 1794 By 2 quarts of wine . . . • j 
 
 & By 2 Duzzun of Bisketts . . . .0 
 
 Feb. 19 1794 By 4 plates ^ 
 
 March 4 1794 By one gallon of molases . . . 
 
 & By 5 pounds of Shogger .... 
 
 March 24 1794 By 2 Duzzun of Biskets . . .0 
 
 & By one Sling | 
 
 June 10 1794 By K a pound of tea . . . .0 
 
 & By one Duzzun of Biskets . . . .0 
 June 27 1794 By 3 pounds of Shogger . . .10 
 
 July 16 1794 By one pair of Shoes for Rebecka 
 
 French 
 
 august 26 1794 By 3 pair of heeles . . . .0 
 
 Novem Id 1794 By half a bushal of Salt . . . ,0 
 Novem 11 1794 By a black lether Pockett Boock . .0 
 
 & By 4 squirs [squares] of Glais [glass] . i 
 Jan 1795 By one pound of Reasons & one ounce 
 
 of Snuf 
 
 c*C' By a due Bill ten shillings . . • M^ 
 
 [5:8:1] \~^ 
 
APPENDIX II. 
 
 BARTER PRICES IN NORTON, 1790 TO 1810, AS QUOTED 
 IN THE LEDGER OF JONATHAN HODGES, Jr. 
 
 Allspice, per lb., 
 Alum, per lb.. 
 Apples, per bu., 
 Ashes, per bu.. 
 Beans, per bu.. 
 Beef, per lb.. 
 Biscuit, per doz., 
 Board, per week, 
 Boots, per pair, 
 Brandy, per gal.. 
 Buckwheat, per bu 
 Butter, per lb., 
 Camwood, per lb.. 
 Charcoal, per bu.. 
 Cheese, per lb.. 
 Chintz, per yd.. 
 Chocolate, per lb.. 
 Cider, per barrel, 
 Cinnamon, per oz.. 
 Codfish, 
 Coffee, per lb., 
 Copperas, per lb.. 
 Corn, per bu., 
 Eggs, per doz,, 
 Flax, per lb.. 
 Flour, per lb., 
 Fustic, per lb.. 
 Gin, per quart. 
 Ginger, per lb., 
 
 56 cts 
 
 8>^ to 121.^ cts 
 
 16;^ to 33^ cts 
 
 $1.00 to $2.00 
 
 4 to 9 cts 
 
 13 to 22>^ cts 
 
 $0.87>^ to 11.34 
 
 13.00 to $5.50 
 
 $1.50 to $1.78 
 
 50 cts 
 
 10 to 25 cts 
 
 20 cts 
 
 5 to 71^ cts 
 
 8I3 to 14 cts 
 
 64 to 72 cts 
 
 20 to 44 cts 
 
 $0.50 to $3.00 
 
 81-^ cts 
 
 3 to 5 cts 
 
 191^ to 37 cts 
 
 514 to 8i'3 cts 
 
 $0.50 to $1.00 
 
 83^ cts 
 
 8% to 16% cts 
 
 S]4 to 8}4 cts 
 
 5 >i to 8}4 cts 
 
 $0.29 to $1.00 
 
 22 cts 
 
 Handkerchiefs, flag, 
 large, 
 linen, 
 muslin, 
 pocket, 
 silk, 
 
 Hats, castor, 
 
 " felt. 
 Honey, per lb.. 
 Indigo, per lb., $1 
 
 Ink, per cake. 
 Ink-powder, per paper. 
 Iron, per lb., 
 Lime, per bushel. 
 Logwood, per lb.. 
 Mink skin. 
 Molasses, per gal., 
 Muskrat skin. 
 Mutton, per lb.. 
 Nails, per M, 4d, 
 
 6d, 
 
 8d, 
 " " lOd, 
 " 20d, 
 Oats, per bu., 
 Onions, per bu.. 
 Potatoes, per bu 
 Pork, per lb., 
 
 17) 
 
 97 cts 
 
 50 cts 
 
 50 cts 
 
 86 cts 
 
 18 cts 
 
 $0,331^ 
 
 to $1.50 
 
 $6.50 
 
 $0.75 to $1.25 
 
 11 to 162^ cts 
 
 $1.50 to $4.67 
 
 121^ cts 
 
 93./ cts 
 
 7 cts 
 
 $0.75 to $1.00 
 
 3 to 81'^ cts 
 
 12i.i cts 
 
 39 to 83>3' cts 
 
 14 cts 
 
 2X to 7 cts 
 
 30 to 47 cts 
 
 39 to 58 cts 
 
 $0.8313^ to $1..30 1^ 
 
 $0.75 to $1.50 
 
 $1.67 to $3.33 
 
 25 to 66% cts 
 
 $1.00 
 
 , 19 1^ to 50 cts 
 
 S}i to 16% cts 
 
318 
 
 APPENDIX II. 
 
 Rags, per lb, 
 Raisins, per lb., 
 Redwood, per lb., 
 Rice, per lb.. 
 Rosin, per lb., 
 Rum, per gal.. 
 Rye, per bu.. 
 Shells, per lb.. 
 Shoes, per pair, 
 
 '■'■ for horses, 
 Shoeing horses all 
 
 Snuff, 
 
 Soap, soft, per gal. 
 Spinning, per yd., 
 Sugar, per lb., 
 
 IX to 2 cts 
 12 1^ to 25 cts 
 
 10 to 123^ cts 
 4 to 7 cts 
 
 9X cts 
 
 $0.47 to $1.78 
 
 $0,662^ to $1.50 
 
 25 cts 
 
 10.79 to $1.83 
 
 each, 28 cts 
 
 round, fl.l7 
 
 to fl.33 
 
 11 to 22 cts 
 51^ to 8 1^3 cts 
 
 11 to 333^3 cts 
 
 Tallow, per lb., 
 Tea, per lb.. 
 Tea, hyson, per lb. 
 Tobacco, per lb.. 
 Turnips, per bu., 
 Veal, per lb., 
 Verdigris, per oz.. 
 Vinegar, per gal.. 
 
 10 to 20 cts 
 
 40 to 75 cts 
 
 $1.11 
 
 11 cts 
 
 16;^ to 50 cts 
 
 3>2 to Q}4 cts 
 
 8)4 cts 
 
 12;^ to 33 >3 cts 
 
 Wages, per day, men. 
 
 women 
 Watches, 
 
 Weaving, per yard, 
 Wheat, per bu., 
 Wine, per gal., 
 
 $0.41?^ 
 to $1.00 
 , 10 to 28 cts 
 $15 to $28 
 4 to 12 >^ cts 
 $1.67 
 .1.11 to $2.00 
 
 Writing paper, per sheet, 
 
 /3 
 
 Ct 
 
APPENDIX III. 
 
 COPIES OF TAX NOTIFICATIONS AND WAEKANTS, 
 FKOM THE PAPERS OF JONATHAN HODGES, JUNIOR. 
 
 1. NOTIFICATION TO THE ASSESSORS OF A TO^YN APPROPRIATION. 
 
 To the Assessors of Norton Gentlemen 
 at a Leagul school Meeting of the third Southern Destrict in Norton 
 holden on Tusday December the 2*^ 1800 
 
 Voted one hundred and Eighty Dollars to build a School House in s'^ 
 Destrict 
 
 Likewise Voted that s*^ sum should be raised on the rateble pools 
 [polls] and Estates of the inhabetents of s<i Destrict and Lands and 
 other property Lieble to be Taxed in s'^ District. 
 
 r Clark 
 Luther Lincoln •) of s^ 
 
 ( Destrict 
 
 2. warrant by the assessors to a constable. 
 
 Bristol Ss To Jonathan Hodges one of the Constables of the Town 
 of Norton within the County of Bristol Greeting 
 
 In the Name of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts you are required 
 to Levy and Collect of the Several Persons Named in the List here- 
 with Committed unto you each one his respective proportion therein 
 Set down of the Sum total of Such List it Being three Hundred & 
 Sixteen Dollars & fifty five cents your proportion of one Thousand 
 Dollars Voted and agreed upon by the Inhabitants of the Town of 
 Norton at an adjournment of the annual Meeting on May 6"' 1797 
 for Supporting the Poor and other Necessary Charges of s<^ Town and 
 you are to transmit and pay in the Same unto Silas Cobb Esq^ Treas- 
 urer of the Town of Norton 
 
 or to his Successor in that ofiice and to Complete and make up an 
 account of your Collections of the whole Sum on or before the first 
 
 (319) 
 
320 APPENDIX III. 
 
 day of October next and if any Person Shall refuse or Neglect to 
 pay the Sum he is assessed in the s^ List to distrain the Goods or 
 Chattels of Such person to the value thereof and the distress so taken 
 to Keep for the Space of four days at the Cost and Charge of the 
 owner and if he Shall not pay the Sum so assessed within the S"^ four 
 days then you are to Sell at Public Vendue the distress so taken for 
 the payment thereof with Charges first Giving forty eight hours No- 
 tice of Such Sale by Posting up Advertisement thereof in Some Public 
 l^lace in the Town and the overplus arising by Such Sale if any there 
 be besides the Sum assessed and the Necessary Charges of taking and 
 keeping the distress you are immeadeately to restore to the owner 
 and for want of Goods and Chattels whereon to make distress (be- 
 sides tools or implements Necessary for his trade or occupation, 
 Beast of the Plough Necessary for the Cultivation of his improved 
 Land, Arms, utensils for House Keeping Necessary for upholding 
 Life bedding and apparel Necessary for himself and Family) for the 
 Space of Twelve days you are to take the Body of Such person So 
 refuseing or Neglecting and him Commit unto the Common Gaol of 
 the County there to remain until he pays the Same or Such part 
 there of as Shall not be abated by the Assessors for the time being or 
 the Court of General Sessions of the peace for the Said County 
 Given under our hands and Seals by Virtue of a Warrant from the 
 Selectmen of the Town of Norton 
 
 Sep*^ 13*^ 1797 Joshua Pond ^ assessors 
 
 Noah Clapp ( of 
 Brian Hall \ Norton 
 
 3. A VTARRANT TO THE TREASURER TO COLLECT FROM THE 
 
 CONSTABLES THEIR PROPORTIONS OF A TAX LEVY, AND 
 
 TO REMIT CERTAIN FORMER TAX ASSESSMENTS. 
 
 Bristol Ss To M"" Benjamin Person South Precinct treasurer of the 
 
 Town of norton within the County of Bristol Greeting 
 
 These are to order you to Demand Kequire Recover and Receive 
 
 s d 
 of Constable Samuel morey the Sum of . . . JE40 - 8-10 
 
 of Constable Samuel Newcomb the Sum of . . 31-11-2 
 
 It Being a tax or Assesment Granted and agreed on 72-0-0 
 
 at a Legal meeting of the Freeholders and other Inhabitants of the 
 South Precinct of the Town of norton Regurlerly assembled on mun- 
 
TAX WARRANTS. 321 
 
 day the 29 Day of noveniber 17G2 and the Assessors of sd precinct 
 have Dileuered to Sd constables True and perfect Rate lists with 
 Lawfull warreuts from the assessors of Said precinct Impowering 
 Said Constables to gather and collect the aboue Said Sums and pay it 
 to you or to your Sucksessor in Sd office at or before the first Day of 
 march next after the Date hereof, And you are hereby ordered to pay 
 out of the aboue Sd money to the Reuerend mr Joseph Palmer for his 
 Sallerey For the year 1762 the sum of Sixty six pound thirteen Shill- 
 ings And four pence at on or before the first day of march next 1763 
 and the Seueral Sums following you are to pay as soon as you can git 
 the money uiz 
 
 s d 
 
 To ephraim Lane 2'J the Sum of £2 - 4 - 9 for gath- > „^ s d q 
 
 r £2 -4-9-0 
 ering the Precinct Rate 1761 . . . . > 
 
 s d 
 And to sd Lane the Sum of - 2 - 6 for peter Aldriges > a_2_ f_o 
 Precinct Rate when sd Lane was constable . > 
 
 s d 
 And to Andrew Hodges the Sum of 2 - 11 for Benj'^ } n_9_i-|_o 
 
 Willises precinct Rate when sd hodges was constable ^ 
 And noted to giue John Martin his precinct Rate (_ n_Q_ r_n 
 
 The year when Ephraim Lane 2*^ was constable 
 
 s d 
 
 } 
 
 And Uoted to Andrew Hodges 2-11 for Jotham Bas- ) 0-''>-ll-0 
 sets Precinct Rate when sd Hodges was constable > 
 
 And what Remains over and aboue the aboue sd Sums 3'ou are To 
 keep in your hands till further order Dated in Norton february the 
 first Day 1763 
 
 Thomas Morey 
 
 Comitte 
 of the 
 South 
 
 DAVID Williams \ P^^^^°^* 
 
 of the Town 
 
 of Norton 
 
APPENDIX IV. 
 
 FINANCIAL EXTEACTS FROM THE JOURNAL OF A. D. H. 
 
 A. STIMSON & HODGES. 
 ABSTRACT FROM ACCOUNT OF STOCK. 
 
 STear ending 
 
 Capital. 
 
 stock of 
 
 Net Profit after deducting 
 
 Feb. 
 
 Merchandise. 
 
 store and family expenses. 
 
 1823 
 
 $1,200.00 
 
 
 
 1824 
 
 2,446.85 
 
 $2,291.40 
 
 $882.63 
 
 1825 
 
 3,461.72 
 
 3,314.17 
 
 994.17 
 
 1826 
 
 4,490.29 
 
 4,613.79 
 
 1,028.57 
 
 1827 
 
 5,580.25 
 
 8,045.81 
 
 1,089.96 
 
 1828 
 
 8,319.03 
 
 9,810.46 
 
 2,738.78 
 
 1829 
 
 11,064.-58 
 
 8,290.33 
 
 2,745.55 
 
 1830 
 
 13,129.82 
 
 6,959.11 
 
 2,065.24 
 
 1831 
 
 13,580.25 
 
 9,449.66 
 
 3, 601.. 36 
 
 1832 
 
 15,781.36 
 
 11,369.48 
 
 5,476.48 or 6,632.90t 
 
 18.33 
 
 15,601.85 
 
 9,878.94 
 
 5,093.99 
 
 1834 
 
 18,189.04 
 
 14,070.35 
 
 6,486.97 
 
 1835 
 
 21,7.39.83 
 
 16,070.15 
 
 7,632.88 or 8,282.86t 
 
 1836 
 
 24,116.37 
 
 19,145.38 
 
 8,657.87 
 
 1837 
 
 24,960.93 
 
 22,360.09 
 
 10,009.69 or 10,295.02t 
 
 1838 
 
 22,505.17* 
 
 18,656.47 
 
 3,792.88 or 5,022.40t 
 
 1839 
 
 22,799..32 
 
 16,-341.97 
 
 4,0.38.92 
 
 1840 
 
 24,981.23 
 
 13,688.26 
 
 5,403.18 or 6,942.21t 
 
 1841 
 
 29,515.97 
 
 13,860.53 
 
 4,874.74 
 
 1842 
 
 27,765.27 
 
 13,980.47 
 
 4,310.03 
 
 * Diminution of Capital and Profits was caused by the panic of 1837. 
 t It is uncertain which of these figures is to be taken. 
 
 ( 322 ) 
 
FINANCIAL EXTRACTS. 
 
 323 
 
 ANNUAL PERSONAL AND FAMILY EXPENSES 
 FOR 31 YEARS ENDING IN FEBRUARY. 
 
 During apprenticeship: 
 
 1817 $50.00 and board. 
 
 1818 75.00 
 
 1819 156.00 
 
 1820 83.00 
 
 1821 81.67 
 
 1822 109.00 
 
 1823 123.00 
 In business: 
 
 1824 279.76 
 
 1825 337.96 
 
 1826 457.81 
 
 1827 471.00 
 Married Oct. 15, 1827 
 
 includiuor uniform and watch. 
 
 1828 
 1829 
 1830 
 1831 
 1832 
 1833 
 1834 
 1835 
 1836 
 1837 
 1838 
 1839 
 1840 
 1841 
 1842 
 1843 
 1844 
 1845 
 1846 
 
 535.54 
 1,221.93, including about S500 for furniture. 
 
 839.95 
 
 848.30 
 
 979.36 (3 in the family) 
 1,219.81 
 
 1,083.25 (4 in the family) 
 1,320.09 
 1,376.64 
 1,429.43 
 1,804.76 (5 in the family) including about $170 for furniture etc. 
 
 2,272.95 " " S560 
 
 1,924.02 (6 in the family) " " $330 
 
 2,041.64 " " 
 
 2,230.05 " " 
 
 1,910.78 
 
 1,800.00 (7 in the family) 
 1,972..58 
 
 2,176.00 including about $170 for furniture etc. 
 
 The family left Providence for Boston July 2, 1846. 
 1847 2,266.04 (8 in the family) 
 
APPENDIX V. 
 
 PKOYIDENCE COTILLIOI^ PAKTIES, 1824-1826, 
 FROM THE PAPERS OF A. D. H. 
 
 A. YOUNG GENTLEMEN WHO ATTENDED. 
 
 Andrews, Theodore. 
 
 Arnold, George C. 
 
 Brown, William W. [Mentioned several times in the account of the 
 Dorr War.] 
 
 Buffum, Horace. Manager. Married in Providence, Oct. 3, 1826, 
 Mary E. Page. 
 
 Burrough, William. Died in Providence, Feb. 3, 1867, in his 68th 
 year. 
 
 Cady, Isaac H. Died in Providence, April 16, 1867; was in the book 
 business; lived in New York a number of years. 
 
 Carpenter, F. W. 
 " Henry. 
 
 Cartee, Cornelius S. A. B. Brown University, 1825; married in Prov- 
 idence, April 6, 1829, Sarah P. Jenckes; M. D. 
 Harvard, 1849 ; lived in Providence, Peoria, 
 111., Dowlestown, Penn.; librarian of Public 
 Library, Charlestown, Mass., 1872 [to 1885 ; 
 died in Charlestown, Dec. 23, 1885.] 
 
 Clarke, William Y. 
 
 Clifford, John Henry. Born in Providence, Jan'y 6, 1809; A. B. 
 Brown University, 1827; Governor of Massa- 
 chusetts; died in New Bedford, Mass., Jany 1, 
 1876. 
 
 Dunn, William. 
 
 Dyer, Albert Field. Married in Providence, March 12, 1826, Amy 
 Ann Ellis. 
 
 Farmer, William. 
 
 (324) 
 
PROVIDENCE COTILLION PARTIES. 
 
 325 
 
 Faruum, Heury. Son of Royal; died iu Philadelphia, Dec. 18, 1855 
 aged 53. 
 
 Gladding, Henry G. Married in Providence, Oct. 14, 1829, Frances 
 C. Hurlburt. 
 
 Haile, George C. 
 
 Hallett, George W. Married in Providence, May 18, 1829, Louisa 
 Branch; the second Colonel of the Providence 
 Horse Guards. 
 
 Hodges, Almon D. Manarjer. 
 
 Jackson, George W. Died in Providence, Oct. 15, 1860, aged 55. 
 " James A. Died in Providence, June 4, 1845, aged .38. 
 
 Mason, Coomer E. Died in Providence, Jan'y 1, 185.3. 
 
 Mason, Earl P. Member of the Providence Horse Guards, 1842- 
 1844; married Ann Larcher; died in Provi- 
 dence, Sept. 21, 1876, in his 73d year. 
 
 Mauran, Nathaniel S. 
 
 Morse, Nathan Tingley. Died in Providence, Aug. 30, 1869, aged 69. 
 
 Mudge, Solomon Hinckley. Married in Providence, Oct. 16, 1826, 
 Susan H. Dodge; I acted as groomsman, and 
 we gave them a serenade, two buglers; Cap- 
 tain of militia in Providence and Colonel in 
 Maine; resided in Portland, Me., a number of 
 years; died in New Orleans, March 22, 1860, 
 aged about 58. 
 Died in Charleston, S. C, 1838. 
 Secretary & Treasurer. Married in Providence, 
 Oct. 23, 1827, Harriet Bullock. 
 Manager. Married in Providence, July 25, 1855, 
 Mary Whitaker; died in Providence, Sept. 15, 
 1871, in his 67th year. 
 Married in Providence, Sept. 29, 1828, Amelia S. 
 Townsend ; died in Baltimore, Md., Septem- 
 ber, 1875, aged about 67. 
 
 Page, George W. 
 Pearce, Edward. 
 
 Peck, Allen O. 
 
 Porter, Charles. 
 
 Pratt, William, 
 lihodes, Peleg A. 
 Spooner, Joshua, 
 
 Died in Providence, Nov. 13, 1852, aged 49. 
 Married iu Providence, 1831, Ann C. Noyes; died 
 in Providence, Oct. 20, 1869, aged 85. 
 Stimson, John Jones. Of Stimson & Hodges; born June 11, 1798 ; 
 married in Norton, Mass., Oct. 23, 1828, Abi- 
 gail Morton Clarke, daughter of Rev. Pitt 
 Clarke; Captain of Providence Light Infantry, 
 etc.; died in Providence, Jan'y 20, 1860. 
 
326 
 
 APPENDIX V. 
 
 Tyler, . 
 
 Weeden, Enos H. 
 
 Died in Providence, April 6, 1873, aged 70. 
 
 YOUNG LADIES WHO ATTENDED. 
 
 Aborn, Sarah A. Married June 1.3, 1827, Amory Chapin, who was 
 married four times, and who died in Provi- 
 dence, Oct. 4, 184.5, in his 44th year. 
 
 Andrews, ISTancy. 
 Billings, Mary. 
 Branch, Caroline M. 
 
 Laura. 
 Louisa. 
 
 Married Dec. 5, 18.32, George W. Rhodes; she 
 died in Providence, Oct. 3, 1874; he died in 
 South Providence, Jan'y 27, 1866, in his .57th 
 year. 
 
 Bullock, Harriet. 
 
 Martha. 
 
 Married May 18, 1829, George W. Hallett; she died 
 
 in Providence, March 3, 1875. 
 Married Oct. 23, 1827, Edward Pearce. 
 Burrough, Ann Frances. 
 
 " Lucy A. Married .July 3, 1832, Joseph A. Dike. 
 
 Comstock, Catherine. Married in New York city, Oct. 29, 1832, 
 Benjamin W. Comstock; he died Nov. 4, 1850, 
 in his 42d year, on a voyage to Panama. 
 Married in Providence, Oct. 15, 1827, Almon D. 
 Hodges; she died in Roxbury, Mass., Aug. 29, 
 1849; buried in the North Burying Ground, 
 Providence. 
 Married in Providence, Feb. 1, 1826, Enoch W. 
 Clarke; she died Feb. 6, 1878, aged 71 yrs., 
 10 mos., 6 days; he died in Philadelphia in 
 1856, aged 53. 
 Married Oct. 16, 1826, Solomon H. Mudge. 
 Daughter of Cyrus; married March 12, 1826, 
 Albert F. Dyer. 
 Married in Providence, Nov. 7, 1827, Amos D. 
 Smith; she died in Providence, Jan'y 30, 1835. 
 Died unmarried in Taunton, Mass., May 18, 1850, 
 aged about 54. 
 " Harriet Sprague. Married a Smith. 
 Gladding, Miss. 
 
 Dodge, Sarah. 
 
 " Susan H. 
 Ellis, Amy Ann. 
 
 Franklin, Sarah A. 
 
 Gilbert, Hannah P. 
 
PROVIDENCE COTILLION PARTIES. 
 
 327 
 
 Susan W. 
 
 Jenckes, Sarah P. 
 
 Graves, Emma. 
 
 Hurlburt, Frances C. Married Oct. 14, 1829, Henry G. Gladding. 
 
 Jackson, Mary Brown. Married Jany 28, 1830, James G. Anthony; 
 she died in Providence, Oct. 29, 1873, in her 
 69th year; he died in Anthony, R. I., Sept. 16, 
 
 1861, aged 54. 
 Married in Providence, June 24, 1828, Dr. David 
 
 B. Slack; she died in Providence, May 4, 1868, 
 aged 60 yrs. 2 mos. ; he died in Providence, 
 June 27, 1871, in his 74th year. 
 Married April 6, 1829, Cornelius S. Cartee; she 
 was buried in Providence, May 9, 1831. 
 Jestram, Mary. Died unmarried, in Fruit Hill, R. I., Dec. 29, 1861, 
 
 in her 54th year. 
 Jones, May Caroline. Married in Providence, July 3, 1834, Joseph 
 Knowles. 
 [Daughter of John M., born in Providence May 8, 
 1808.] Married in Providence, 1831, Joshua 
 Spooner. 
 Married Oct. 3, 1826, Horace Buffum. 
 Married in Providence, Dec. 11, 1827, William P. 
 Bullock; she died in Providence, Sept. 15, 
 18.36, aged 29; he died in Providence, Dec. 21, 
 
 1862, aged 57. 
 Married in Providence, May 9, 1827, Esek Aid- 
 rich, Jr. ; she died in Providence, July 29, 
 1872, aged 67; he died in Providence, May 24, 
 1869, in his 74"^ year. 
 
 Smith, Mary. 
 
 Soule, Eliza. Married in Providence, Jan'y 14, 1830, George A. 
 Rhodes. 
 
 Stillwell, Frances. Born in Providence Jan'y 13, 1807; married in 
 Providence, Aug. 20, 1829, James N. Olney; 
 resided later in Brooklyn, JSf. Y., and San Fran- 
 cisco and Oakland, Cal.; she died in San Rafael, 
 Cal., Jan'y 1, 1875. Col. Jas. N. Olney served 
 in the Dorr War, and commanded one of the 
 companies of the famous San Francisco Vigi- 
 lance Committee of 1856. 
 " Mary. Born in Providence May 4, 1805; married in Provi- 
 dence, Oct. 18, 1827, Edward Gratton. 
 
 Noyes, Ann C. 
 
 Page, Mary R. 
 Pearce, Sarah. 
 
 Peck, Mary Spurr. 
 
328 APPENDIX V. 
 
 Thornton, Louisa. Married in Providence, Aug. 9, 1827, Henry W. 
 
 Lotlirop; he died in Providence, Oct. 6, 1874, 
 
 in his 73d year. 
 Thurber, Mary. Married Cyrus Dyer; she died in Providence, Aug. 
 
 6, 1876, aged about 70; he died in Providence, 
 
 March 22, 1864, aged 67. 
 " Mary C. Married in Providence, Nov. 21, 1832, Ira B. 
 
 Winsor; lie died in Providence, March 4, 1877, 
 
 in his 73d year. 
 Townsend, Amelia S. Married Sept. 29, 1828, Charles Porter. 
 Ware, Clarissa. 
 Williams, Abby. Married Albert Gooding [Goodwin ?]. 
 
 c. copy of the caterer's bill for the season of 1824-5. 
 Cotillion Party 
 
 To Peter S. Minard Dr. 
 
 Dec. sot's 1824. To use of my hall one night |;6.00 
 
 To 12 Bottles Wine 12.00 
 
 To Cake &c for 66 Persons 17.50 
 
 To Cake Caried in to the Drawing room .50 
 
 To Cash Paid for Cariages 9.00 
 
 Jany 13"', 1825. To use of my hall 6.00 
 
 To 12 Bottles of Wine 12.00 
 
 To 5 Bottles of Wine & Brandy Extra 5.00 
 
 To Cake Pies &c for 74 Persons 19.60 
 
 To 4 tumblers Broke .67 
 
 To Cake & pies in the Chamber .75 
 
 To Cash Paid to Buglelar [bugler] 4.00 
 
 To Cash for Cariages 9.00 
 
 Jany 27'", 1825. To Cash Paid to Buglelar 3.00 
 
 To 12 Bottles wine 12.00 
 
 To use of my hall 6.00 
 
 To Cake &c for 70 Persons 17.50 
 
 To Bottles Brandy Extra 2.00 
 
 To Cash Paid for Cariages 9.00 
 To four tumblers Broke and 
 
 one paine of Glass Broke .84 
 
 To Cash Paid for 2 packs of cards 0.50 
 
COTILLION PARTIES IX PROVIDENCE. 329 
 
 Feby 10"' 1825. To use of my hall 6.00 
 
 To 1-2 Bottles AViue 12.00 
 
 To 4 Bottles Brandy 4.00 
 
 To Cake &c for 90 Persons 21.50 
 
 To 6 tumblers Broke 1.00 
 
 To cash Paid Jeukes 28.00 
 
 To cash Paid Brown 20.00 
 
 To cash Paid Sutton 20.00 
 
 To cash Paid Smith 12.00 
 
 To cash Paid Capron 5.00 
 
 To cash Paid for Carias^es 9.00 
 
 S201.26 
 
 D. COPY OF A LETTER. 
 
 At a Meeting of the " Providence 
 Cotillion Party " it was voted that the Surjilus funds in the hands of 
 the Secretary, being Eleven Dollars and fifty Cents, be Presented to 
 the Dorcas Society, in compliance with which I hand you the amount 
 herewith. 
 
 Respectfully 
 To Mrs. J. B. Wood A. D. Hodges 
 
 First Directress of the Sec^ 
 
 Dorcas Society. 
 
 Providence 13 Feb'y 1826. 
 
APPENDIX VI. 
 
 WASHINGTON BANK DATA. 
 
 Original Charter granted February 25, 1825. 
 
 Became a National Bank January 1, 1865. 
 
 Went into voluntary liquidation February 20, 1902. 
 
 Original capital, ^500,000; increased to 1750,000 in 1854. 
 
 PROMINENT ORIGINAL SHAREHOLDERS AND THEIR HOLDINGS. 
 
 Shares 
 
 Davis, Charles 50 
 
 Derby, Elias H. 8 
 
 Doggett, Samuel 2 
 
 Dorr, Samuel 12 
 
 Dudley, David 12 
 
 Everett, Aaron 8 
 
 Everett, Moses 8 
 
 Everett, Otis 12 
 
 Fay, Windsor 60 
 
 Felton, Luther 4 
 
 Fisher, Oliver 10 
 
 French, Benjamin V. 38 
 
 French & Weld 60 
 
 Fuller, Henry H. 8 
 
 Gardner, Samuel J. 4 
 
 Gilbert, Benjamin J. 6 
 
 Gill, Perez 4 
 
 Goddard, Jonathan 8 
 
 Gray, Francis C. 20 
 
 Hayden, William, Jr. 4 
 
 Hay ward, George 16 
 
 Head, Joseph 20 
 
 Hendley, James 4 
 330) 
 
 
 Shares 
 
 Adams & Amory 
 
 5 
 
 Andrews, Justin 
 
 2 
 
 Atkins, Benjamin 
 
 3 
 
 Balch, Joseph 
 
 6 
 
 Baldwin, Aaron 
 
 40 
 
 Ball & Davis 
 
 12 
 
 Ballou, Hosea 
 
 2 
 
 Baxter, David, Jr. 
 
 64 
 
 Boylston Fire and Marine 
 
 
 Insurance Co. 
 
 3000 
 
 Bracket, Lemuel 
 
 2 
 
 Bradlee, John W. 
 
 
 
 Bradlee, Samuel 
 
 12 
 
 Brewer, Thomas 
 
 41 
 
 Brown, John I. 
 
 4 
 
 Bugbee, Edward 
 
 4 
 
 Bullard, Lewis 
 
 4 
 
 Carter, Thomas 
 
 5 
 
 Champney, O. W. 
 
 12 
 
 Child, Stephen 
 
 2 
 
 Columbian Lodge, The 
 
 6 
 
 Cooke, Josiah P. 
 
 86 
 
 Crackbon & Howe 
 
 16 
 
 ( 
 
WASHINGTON BANK DATA. 
 
 331 
 
 Shares 
 
 Holbrook, Henry J. 
 
 4 
 
 Hovey, Henry & Co. 
 
 IG 
 
 Hunting, Thomas 
 
 20 
 
 Ireland, Jonathan 
 
 2 
 
 Johnson, Samuel 
 
 8 
 
 Lamson, John A. 
 
 8 
 
 Loring, Barnabas T. 
 
 4 
 
 Lovering, Joseph 
 
 12 
 
 Lowell, John, Jr. 
 
 2 
 
 Macomber, Howard & Sawin 
 
 12 
 
 Marett, Philip 
 
 12 
 
 Marsh, Bela 
 
 2 
 
 Mass. Hospital Life Ins. Co. 
 
 10 
 
 May, Perrin 
 
 12 
 
 Messenger, Daniel 
 
 4 
 
 Moseley, D. C. 
 
 4 
 
 Nevers, B. M. 
 
 2 
 
 Parker, John 
 
 20 
 
 Parker, John, Jr. 
 
 8 
 
 Parker, Peter 
 
 4 
 
 Payson, Perrin 
 
 8 
 
 Perkins, Rufus 
 
 4 
 
 Perry, John & Son 
 
 6 
 
 Piper, Solomon 
 
 4 
 
 Prescott, Edward 
 
 4 
 
 Preston, Elisha 
 
 4 
 
 Price, Henry & Co. 
 
 12 
 
 Provident Inst'n for Savings 
 
 
 in the Town of Boston 
 
 50 
 
 Shares 
 
 Eice, .John P. 4 
 
 Sharp, Edward 8 
 
 Shaw, Lemuel 32 
 
 Simmons, D. A. 6 
 
 Sprague, G. I. 8 
 
 Stearns, Jonathan P. 20 
 
 Stedman, Josiah 30 
 
 Stedman, W. M. 12 
 
 Stevens, Benjamin 24 
 
 Thompson, John 36 
 
 Thorndike, Israel P. 8 
 
 Tilden, Thomas 12 
 
 Topliff, Samuel 6 
 
 Townsend, J. P. 6 
 
 Vose, Ebeuezer & Co. 12 
 
 Vose, Josiah 10 
 
 Wainwright, Henry 4 
 
 Wales, Ebenezer 4 
 
 Weld, Daniel 40 
 
 Welles, John 12 
 
 West, Benjamin 8 
 
 White, Warren 6 
 
 Whitney, Josiah & Co. 6 
 
 WiUiams, J. D. & M. 84 
 
 Williams, Thomas 16 
 
 Worthington, Francis 8 
 
 Worthington, William 4 
 
 Wyman, William 8 
 
 PRESIDENTS. 
 
 Aaron Baldwin, elected March 23, 1825; resigned Nov, 0, 1850. 
 Almon D. Hodges " Nov. 6, 1850; died Sept. 27, 1878. 
 Eben Bacon " Sept. 28, 1878; resigned Jan'y 7, 1896. 
 
 C. MiNOT Weld " Jan'y 7, 1896; bank ceased business Feb. 
 
 20, 1902. 
 
 cashiers. 
 
 Henry Jacques elected April 9, 1825; resigned Oct. 4, 1825. 
 
 Daniel A. SiGOURNEY " Oct. 4, 1825; " Oct. 21,1853. 
 
532 
 
 APPENDIX YI. 
 
 Charles A. Putnam elected Oct. 21, 1853; resigned Dec. 26, lSf)2. 
 William H. Brackktt " Dec. 26, lS(i2; " Nov. 15, 1895. 
 
 Francis A. Low " Nov. 15, 1895; served to the end in 
 
 1902. 
 
 DIRECTORS. 
 
 Anthony, S. Reed 
 Atkins, T. G. 
 Bacon, Eben 
 Bacon, Francis 
 Balcii, Joseph W. 
 Baldwin, Aaron 
 Bradlee, Samuel 
 Brewer, Thomas 
 Browne, Edward I. 
 Chapin, Henry B. 
 Cooke, Josiah P. 
 Curtis, Caleb A. 
 Davis, Charles 
 Dutton, George D. 
 Emmons, John L. 
 Fay, Windsor 
 Fisher, Oliver 
 Fisher, Warren 
 Fowle, Parker 
 Greene, Henry A. 
 Hodges, Almon D. 
 Hooper, James R. 
 Inches, John C. 
 Jackson, Francis 
 
 1901- 
 1838- 
 1861- 
 1845- 
 1854- 
 1825- 
 1825, 1830, 
 1825- 
 1879- 
 1891- 
 1825- 
 1884- 
 182.5- 
 1850- 
 1850- 
 1825- 
 1826- 
 1845- 
 1840- 
 1872- 
 1850- 
 1891- 
 1886- 
 1832- 
 
 1902 
 1840 
 1902 
 1877 
 1877 
 1850 
 1831 
 1837 
 1901 
 1902 
 I860 
 1900 
 1838 
 1857 
 1857 
 1843 
 1829 
 1846 
 1852 
 1890 
 1878 
 1901 
 1893 
 1839 
 
 Lambert, William B. 
 Lincoln, William 
 Loring, Barnabas T. 
 Levering, Edward 
 Lyman, George T. 
 Mackey, William 
 Mixter, George 
 Moseley, Flavel 
 Prendergast, James M. 
 Price, Henry 
 Saltonstall, Richard M. 
 Simes, Joseph S. 
 Simes, William 
 Sprague, Edwin L. 
 Stan wood, Eben C. 
 Stedman, Josiah 
 Thacher, Charles 
 Thompson, John 
 Tucker, Alanson 
 Weld, C. Minot 
 Weld, Daniel 
 Williams, John D. 
 Williams, Moses 
 
 BOOKKEEPERS. 
 
 Joshua Child, 1825 to 1832. 
 
 J. A. Richards, 1833 to 1845. 
 
 James H. Champney, 1846 to Jan'y 18, 1887. 
 
 La Prelate H. Turner, May 3, 1887 to Jan'y 4, 1898. 
 
 John A. Easton, Jan'y 4, 1898 to the end in 1902. 
 
 GENERAL ASSISTANT. 
 La Prelate H. Turner, Jan'y 4 to Oct. 1, 1898. 
 
 ASSISTANT BOOKKEEPERS. 
 
 Amory G. Hodges, 1875 to 1878. 
 
 John A. Easton, Feb. 1, 1897 to Jan'y 4, 1898. 
 
 Benjamin F. Wessels, 1900 to the end in 1902. 
 
 1891-1902 
 18.50-1854 
 1829-1831 
 1901-1902 
 1848-1857 
 1861-1865 
 1898-1902 
 1842-1851 
 1887-1902 
 1825-1829 
 1894-1902 
 1878-1874 
 1884-1890 
 1886-1890 
 1861-186H 
 1825-1867 
 182.5-1827 
 1825-1837 
 1850-1881 
 1890-1902 
 1825-1833 
 1901-1902 
 1825-1867 
 
WASHINGTON BANK DATA. 333 
 
 TEr.L7':KS. 
 John J. Soreu, 1825 to 1847. 
 Charles A. Putnam, 1848 to 1858. 
 Caleb A. Atkins, 1854 and 1855. 
 
 I'AY1N(t telleus. 
 George F. Dodge, March 7, 1856 to 1857. 
 Francis A. Low, 1857 to Nov. 15, 1895. 
 Sanford L. Treadwell, Nov. 15, 1895 to the end in 1902. 
 
 HEC^EIVIiNTG TELLEUS. 
 Francis A. Low, 185(5 and 1857. 
 Thomas M. Button, 1857 and 1858. 
 Benjamin C. Vickery, 1858 and 1859. 
 La Prelate H, Turner, 1860 to May 23, 1887. 
 Sanford L. Treadwell, May 23, 1887 to Nov. 15, 1,S95. 
 George F. Low, Nov. 15, 1895 to the end in 1902. 
 
 DISCOUNT CLERKS. 
 William Townsend Hodges, May 15, 1854 to July 1862. 
 William H. Townsend (acting), winter of 1856-7. 
 John J. Eddy, August 1862 to Dec. 3, 1868. 
 Sanford L. Treadwell, Dec. 3, 1868 to Nov. 15, 1895. 
 John A. Hunneman, Nov. 15, 1895 to the end in 1902. 
 
 :\rESSENGERS. 
 
 styled originally Messenger and Porter, afterwards Messenger and Col- 
 lecting Clerk. 
 
 Jeremy Drake, 1825 to 1831. 
 
 S. T. Goss, 1832 to 1834. 
 
 James H. Champney, Aug. 24, 1834 to 1845. 
 
 Charles A. Putnam, 1846 to 1847. 
 
 J. W. Gushing, 1848 to 1853. 
 
 Henry Kellogg, 1854 to 1895. 
 
 Samuel C. Payson, 1896 to 1899. 
 
 Benjamin W. Newhall, 1900 to 1901. 
 
 Fred F. Ford, 1901 to 1902. 
 
 CLERKS. 
 
 John A. Hunneman, 1887 to 1895. 
 Charles H. Kilham, 1891. 
 George F. Low, 1893 to 1895. 
 Benjamin W. Newhall, 1899. 
 Fred F. Ford, 1900. 
 Edward Johnson, 1901 to 1902. 
 
334 
 
 1826 April 
 Oct. 
 
 1827 April 
 Oct. 
 
 1828 April 
 Oct. 
 
 1829 April 
 Oct. 
 
 1830 April 
 Oct. 
 
 1831 April 
 Oct. 
 
 1832 April 
 Oct. 
 
 1833 April 
 Oct. 
 
 1834 April 
 Oct. 
 
 1835 April 
 Oct. 
 
 1836 April 
 Oct. 
 
 1837 April 
 Oct. 
 
 1838 April 
 Oct. 
 
 1839 April 
 Oct. 
 
 1840 April 
 Oct. 
 
 1841 April 
 Oct. 
 
 1842 April 
 Oct. 
 
 1843 April 
 Oct. 
 
 1844 April 
 Oct. 
 
 1845 April 
 Oct. 
 
 1846 April 
 Oct. 
 
 1847 April 
 Oct. 
 
 
 APPENDIX VT. 
 
 
 
 DIVIDENDS PAID (per 0611 
 
 t.). 
 
 
 4 
 
 1848 
 
 Apri 
 
 1 3>^ 
 
 1870 
 
 April 1 
 
 b 
 
 
 Oct. 
 
 1 3 
 
 
 Oct. 1 
 
 O 
 
 1849 
 
 Apri 
 
 1 3 
 
 1871 
 
 April 1 
 
 
 
 
 Oct. 
 
 1 o 
 
 
 Oct. 1 
 
 o 
 
 1850 
 
 Apri 
 
 I 1 3 
 
 1872 
 
 April 1 
 
 3 
 
 
 Oct. 
 
 1 3 
 
 
 Oct. 1 
 
 2 
 
 1851 
 
 Apri 
 
 1 o 
 
 1873 
 
 April 1 
 
 1>2 
 
 
 Oct. 
 
 1 3 
 
 
 Oct. 1 
 
 1>^ 
 
 1852 
 
 Apri 
 
 1 3>,i 
 
 1874 
 
 April 1 
 
 2M 
 
 
 Oct. 
 
 1 3 
 
 
 Oct. 1 
 
 2)^ 
 
 1853 
 
 Apri 
 
 1 3 
 
 1875 
 
 April 1 
 
 2 
 
 
 Oct. 
 
 1 m 
 
 
 Oct. 1 
 
 '^% 
 
 1854 
 
 Apri 
 
 { 1 4 
 
 1876 
 
 April 1 
 
 2 V. 
 
 
 Oct. 
 
 1 4 
 
 
 Oct. 1 
 
 2^ 
 
 1855 
 
 Apri 
 
 1 -i'A 
 
 1877 
 
 April 1 
 
 2^4 
 
 
 Oct. 
 
 1 ^i 
 
 
 Oct. 1 
 
 2)4 
 
 1856 
 
 Apri 
 
 1 W^ 
 
 1878 
 
 April 1 
 
 2% 
 
 
 Oct. 
 
 1 31^2 
 
 
 Oct. 1 
 
 3 
 
 1857 
 
 Apri 
 
 1 4 
 
 1879 
 
 April 1 
 
 3 
 
 
 Oct. 
 
 1 ^% 
 
 
 Oct. 1 
 
 2^1 
 
 1858 
 
 Apri 
 
 1 3% 
 
 1880 
 
 April 1 
 
 3 
 
 
 Oct. 
 
 1 3>2- 
 
 
 Oct. 1 
 
 1>2 
 
 1859 
 
 Apri 
 
 1 4 
 
 1881 
 
 April 1 
 
 2 
 
 
 Oct. 
 
 1 4 
 
 
 Oct. 1 
 
 2 
 
 1860 
 
 Apri 
 
 1 3 
 
 1882 
 
 April 1 
 
 2 ^'2 
 
 
 Oct. 
 
 1 3 
 
 
 Oct. 1 
 
 '•> 
 
 1861 
 
 Apri 
 
 1 3 
 
 1883 
 
 April 1 
 
 3 
 
 
 Oct. 
 
 i o 
 
 
 Oct. 1 
 
 2 
 
 1862 
 
 Apri 
 
 1 3 
 
 1884 
 
 April 1 
 
 2% 
 
 
 Oct. 
 
 1 3 
 
 
 Oct. 1 
 
 2^ 
 
 1863 
 
 Apri 
 
 1 3)^ 
 
 1885 
 
 April 1 
 
 2^ 
 
 
 Oct. 
 
 1 31^ 
 
 
 Oct. 1 
 
 2 
 
 1864 
 
 Apri 
 
 1 4 
 
 1886 
 
 April 1 
 
 2^ 
 
 
 Oct. 
 
 1 4 
 
 
 Oct. 1 
 
 1>^ 
 
 1865 
 
 Apri 
 
 1 6 
 
 1887 
 
 April 1 
 
 2 
 
 
 Oct. 
 
 1 () 
 
 
 Oct. 1 
 
 1^ 
 
 1866 
 
 Apri 
 
 1 6 
 
 1888 
 
 April 1 
 
 2 
 
 
 Oct. 
 
 1 6 
 
 
 Oct. 1 
 
 2>^ 
 
 1867 
 
 Apri 
 
 1 6 
 
 1889 
 
 April 1 
 
 3 
 
 
 Oct. 
 
 1 6 
 
 
 Oct. ] 
 
 3 
 
 1868 
 
 April 
 
 1 6 
 
 1890 
 
 April 1 
 
 3 
 
 
 Oct. 
 
 1 () 
 
 
 Oct. 1 
 
 3 
 
 1869 
 
 Apri 
 
 1 6 
 
 1891 
 
 April 1 
 
 'i'A 
 
 
 Oct. 
 
 1 6 
 
 
 Oct. 1 
 
 3 
 
 2>^ 
 
 2)^ 
 
 2M 
 
 2>6 
 2 
 
 2>e^ 
 3 
 3 
 3 
 
 2>2 
 
 23<^ 
 2% 
 
 ^A 
 ^% 
 
 2% 
 
WASHINGTON BANK DATA. 
 
 1892 April 1 
 Oct. 1 
 
 1893 April 1 
 Oct. 1 
 
 1894 April 1 
 Oct. 1 
 
 1895 April 1 
 Oct. 1 
 
 2 ' o 
 2' .' 
 
 1896 April 1 
 Oct. 1 
 
 1897 April 1 
 Oct. 1 
 
 1898 April 1 
 Oct. 1 
 
 2 '.< 
 
 1899 April 1 
 Oct. 1 
 
 1900 April 1 
 Oct. 1 
 
 1901 April 1 
 Oct. 1 
 
 / AVKRAGE ANNUAI, DIVIDEND, 
 
 1825 to 1850 inclusive 5 per cent. 
 
 jj \ 8.7 " " exclusive of taxes. 
 / 9.0 " " inclusive " 
 1879 to 1895 '• 5.3 " " 
 
 189U to 1901 " 4.6 " 
 
 1851 to 1878 
 
 2'., 
 
 2'., 
 
 2ii< 
 
 
 
 
 SURPLUSES. 
 
 
 
 
 1851 Oct. 1 
 
 ■^8,000 
 
 1873 
 
 April 1 
 
 |;273,546 
 
 1887 
 
 Oct. 
 
 1 $298,944 
 
 1854 Oct. 1 
 
 40,239 
 
 
 Oct. 1 
 
 274,363 
 
 1888 
 
 April 
 
 300,00(1 
 
 1855 Oct. 1 
 
 50,317 
 
 1874 
 
 April 1 
 
 274,564 
 
 
 Oct. 
 
 [ 310,060 
 
 1850 Oct. 1 
 
 57,000 
 
 
 Oct. 1 
 
 269,807 
 
 1889 
 
 April 
 
 I 310,224 
 
 1857 April 1 
 
 65,000 
 
 1875 
 
 April 1 
 
 268,038 
 
 
 Oct. ] 
 
 I 302,635 
 
 1861 April 1 
 
 43,305 
 
 
 Oct. 1 
 
 267,664 
 
 1890 
 
 April ] 
 
 I 306,377 
 
 Oct. 1 
 
 30,087 
 
 1876 
 
 April 1 
 
 307,245 
 
 
 Oct. 
 
 L 312,160 
 
 1862 April 1 
 
 35,303 
 
 
 Oct. 1 
 
 288,938 
 
 1891 
 
 April 
 
 L 321,087 
 
 Oct. 1 
 
 39,774 
 
 1877 
 
 April 1 
 
 285,061 
 
 
 Oct. ] 
 
 I 324,562 
 
 1863 April 1 
 
 54,730 
 
 
 Oct. 1 
 
 280,043 
 
 1892 
 
 April ] 
 
 I 326,-598 
 
 Oct. 1 
 
 70,000 
 
 1878 
 
 April 1 
 
 272,060 
 
 
 Oct. 
 
 309,034 
 
 1864 April 1 
 
 80,000 
 
 
 Oct. 1 
 
 261,038 
 
 1893 
 
 April 
 
 1 303,186 
 
 Oct. 1 
 
 90,428 
 
 1879 
 
 April 1 
 
 272,571 
 
 
 Oct. 
 
 I 306,367 
 
 1865 April 1 
 
 144,780 
 
 
 Oct. 1 
 
 270,782 
 
 1894 
 
 April 
 
 I 278,698 
 
 Oct. 1 
 
 167,275 
 
 1880 
 
 April 1 
 
 274,192 
 
 
 Oct. 
 
 I 277,860 
 
 1866 April 1 
 
 175,686 
 
 
 Oct. 1 
 
 279,097 
 
 1895 
 
 April 
 
 I 278,046 
 
 Oct. 1 
 
 187,758 
 
 1881 
 
 April 1 
 
 277,087 
 
 
 Oct. 
 
 275,744 
 
 1867 April 1 
 
 191,261 
 
 
 Oct. 1 
 
 292,528 
 
 1896 
 
 April 
 
 I 281.231 
 
 Oct. 1 
 
 204,817 
 
 1882 
 
 April 1 
 
 274,089 
 
 
 Oct. 
 
 I 290,920 
 
 1868 April 1 
 
 209,683 
 
 
 Oct. 1 
 
 273,999 
 
 1897 
 
 April ] 
 
 L 293,681 
 
 Oct. 1 
 
 220,587 
 
 1883 
 
 April 1 
 
 271,683 
 
 
 Oct. ] 
 
 1 298,041 
 
 1869 April 1 
 
 231,927 
 
 
 Oct. 1 
 
 271,934 
 
 1898 
 
 April ] 
 
 I 303,862 
 
 Oct. 1 
 
 237,786 
 
 1884 
 
 April 1 
 
 271,459 
 
 
 Oct. ] 
 
 I 319,160 
 
 1870 April 1 
 
 245,417 
 
 
 Oct. 1 
 
 271,520 
 
 1899 
 
 April ] 
 
 L 319,321 
 
 Oct. 1 
 
 247,755 
 
 1885 
 
 April 1 
 
 268,914 
 
 
 Oct. ] 
 
 L 315,853 
 
 1871 April 1 
 
 247,878 
 
 
 Oct. 1 
 
 267,615 
 
 1900 
 
 April ] 
 
 I 331,069 
 
 Oct. 1 
 
 253,532 
 
 1886 
 
 April 1 
 
 2r>6,379 
 
 
 Oct. 
 
 L .348,690 
 
 1872 April 1 
 
 2.54,208 
 
 
 Oct. 1 
 
 261,241 
 
 1901 
 
 April 
 
 1 360,649 
 
 Oct. 1 
 
 260,667 
 
 1887 
 
 April 1 
 
 261,691 
 
 
 Oct. 
 
 I 374,901 
 
inr> 
 
 APPENDIX VT. 
 
 HIGHEST AND LOWEST STOCK IMMCKS. 
 
 Lowest 
 
 100 
 
 100* 
 
 98 
 
 102* 
 
 95 
 100 
 107* 
 101 
 
 95 
 
 95 
 
 lOOlg^ 
 100 
 105 
 112 
 119 
 121 
 180 
 1331^ 
 135 
 134% 
 135 
 140 
 138 
 1353^ 
 
 Year 
 
 Highest 
 
 Lowest 
 
 Year 
 
 Highest I 
 
 1820 
 
 104 
 
 100 
 
 1852 
 
 106 
 
 1827 
 
 105 
 
 102 i. 
 
 1853 
 
 105 
 
 1828 
 
 1041. 
 
 101 ^e 
 
 1854 
 
 104 
 
 1829 
 
 104 
 
 101 
 
 1855 
 
 106 
 
 1830 
 
 10(5 
 
 lOOJi 
 
 1856 
 
 1051. 
 
 1831 
 
 105/. 
 
 1013/ 
 
 1857 
 
 108 ~ 
 
 1832 
 
 103 ' 
 
 100 
 
 1858 
 
 110 
 
 1833 
 
 103 
 
 100 
 
 1859 
 
 112 
 
 1834 
 
 102io 
 
 100 
 
 1860 
 
 112 
 
 1835 
 
 105 
 
 102 
 
 1861 
 
 109 
 
 1830 
 
 103 
 
 9() 
 
 1862 
 
 104}^ 
 
 1837 
 
 102 
 
 02 
 
 1863 
 
 W4]4 
 
 1838 
 
 96 
 
 5)1 ^2 
 
 1864 
 
 V2h% 
 
 1839 
 
 90 
 
 91 
 
 1865 
 
 125 
 
 1840 
 
 91 
 
 90 
 
 1866 
 
 126 
 
 1841 
 
 93 
 
 88>. 
 
 1867 
 
 128 
 
 1842 
 
 91 lo 
 
 84 
 
 1868 
 
 137)^^ 
 
 1843 
 
 89 
 
 m4 
 
 1869 
 
 144 >e 
 
 1844 
 
 90 
 
 83 
 
 1870 
 
 144 
 
 1845 
 
 100 
 
 90 
 
 1871 
 
 150 
 
 1846 
 
 98 ,t.. 
 
 93 
 
 1872 
 
 148f. 
 
 1847 
 
 98 
 
 97 >^ 
 
 1873 
 
 146 
 
 1848 
 
 93 
 
 88 
 
 1874 
 
 152 
 
 1849 
 
 96). J 
 
 90 
 
 1875 
 
 1511. 
 
 1850 
 
 lOOto 
 
 94 
 
 1876 
 
 147 
 
 1851 
 
 104 
 
 98* 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 « 
 
 Ex-dividend. 
 
 Yea r 
 
 Highest 
 
 Ijowest 
 
 1877 
 
 140 
 
 130 
 
 1878 
 
 131 
 
 .120 
 
 1879 
 
 135 
 
 121 
 
 1880 
 
 140)8^ 
 
 132 
 
 1881 
 
 141^,/ 
 
 137 
 
 1882 
 
 139^ 
 
 127^8 
 
 1883 
 
 133 
 
 125 
 
 1884 
 
 134 
 
 ]27 
 
 1885 
 
 1353^ 
 
 129>4 
 
 1S86 
 
 135 
 
 122K 
 
 1887 
 
 128 
 
 120% 
 
 1888 
 
 123 
 
 in^o 
 
 1889 
 
 12718 
 
 122^ 
 
 1890 
 
 I2914 
 
 121 
 
 1891 
 
 125 
 
 115 
 
 1892 
 
 117!. 
 
 111 
 
 1893 
 
 111% 
 
 1001^ 
 
 1894 
 
 111 
 
 101 
 
 1895 
 
 110'^ 
 
 107 
 
 1896 
 
 106K 
 
 100 
 
 1897 
 
 100,1.' 
 
 97>8- 
 
 1898 
 
 11914 
 
 100% 
 
 1899 
 
 12314 
 
 119 
 
 1900 
 
 121 
 
 103 
 
 1901 
 
 I35I0 
 
 107 
 
INDEX OF NAMES. 
 
 Aborn, Sarah A. 326 
 Adams & Amory 330 
 
 John Qiiincy 28, 177 
 Alden, Francis 125 
 John 19 
 Priscilla 19 
 
 Aldrich, 142 
 
 Esek 122, 327 
 Isaac 70, 71 
 
 Mary Spurr (Peck) 327 
 Aldridge, Peter 321 
 Allen, G. W. 199 
 James 19 
 Lewis 73 
 Lydia 17() 
 Otis 82 
 Philip J. 230 
 Zachariah 145, 157, 185 
 Ames, (Gen.) 185 
 Samuel 122, 182, 207 
 
 Amory, 86 
 
 Andrew, John A. 294, 295, 297-299 
 Andrews, Justin 330 
 Mary 20 
 l^ancy 326 
 Theodore 324 
 W. T. 260 
 Angell, Job 151 
 Anthony, Burrington 183, 188 
 Henry B. 175, 226 
 James G. 327 
 
 Mary Brown (Jackson) 327 
 S. Reed 332 
 Appleyard, Artliur E. 264 
 
 Arnold, Asa 57, 70, 315 
 Benedict 63 
 David 70, 71 
 Elizabeth 212 
 George C. 324 
 George H. 48, 60 
 Joseph H. 199 
 Nancy 70, 71 
 Polly 70 
 S. 71 
 
 Samuel G. 172, 173 
 Atkins, Benjamin 330 
 Caleb A. 333 
 T. G. 332 
 Avery, John 26 
 Bacon, Daniel Carpenter 263 
 Desire Taylor (Gorham) 2(i3 
 Eben 247, 262, 263, 331. 332 
 Francis 229, 247, 332 
 
 Bagg, 142 
 
 Baker, Allen 173 
 Balch, Joseph, 247, 330 
 
 Joseph W. 332 
 Balcom, Benjamin 97 
 Baldwin, Aaron 229, 245-247, 249- 
 252, 330-332 
 Aaron Charles 252 
 Betsey Esther (Marett) 252 
 Elizabeth Adelaide 252 
 Enoch 251 
 Sybil (Knapp) 251 
 Balkcom, James 63 
 Ball & Davis 330 
 Ballou, ITosoa 330 
 
338 
 
 INDEX OF NAMES. 
 
 Barber, G. C. 219 
 Barnes, ( Mrs.) 100 
 
 1. (Mr.) 100 
 
 I. (Mrs.) 100 
 Barnett, Thomas 220 
 Barney, H. E. 151 
 
 Thomas 20 
 Barrett, George (Mrs.) 88 
 Bartlett, John II. 160 
 Bassett, 147 
 
 Jotham .321 
 Bateman, (Capt.) 204 
 Bates, Benjamin E. 260 
 Baxter, Daniel 245 
 
 David 330 
 Baylies, Francis 177 
 
 H. 44 
 
 Bernard, 100 
 
 Billings, Mary 326 
 Black, (Mrs.) 143 
 Blair, Francis P. 149 
 Blake, Joseph M. 20(i 
 
 Mary 93 
 
 Thomas 93 
 Blodget, Leonard 188 
 Bolingbroke, (Lord) 134 
 Bonnycastle, J. C. 219 
 Booth, Edwin 88 
 
 Junius Brutus 88, 145 
 Bosworth, Alfred 207 
 Bowen, 113 
 
 (Col.) 157 
 
 Ephraim 154 
 
 Hannah 212 
 
 Henry 167-170, 193, 206 
 
 Peddy 117 
 
 William 117 
 
 Boylston, 201 
 
 Bracket, Lemuel 330 
 Brackett, Gorliam 231 
 
 Louisa 86 
 
 W. H. (Mrs.) 86 
 
 William H. 86, 247, 332 
 Bradford, William 266 
 Bradlee, .lohn W. 330 
 
 Bradlee, Samuel 246, 330, 332 
 Braman, (Master) 84 
 
 Daniel 32 
 
 I. 71 
 
 Thomas, Jr. 66-69 
 Bramhall, William 260 
 Branch, Caroline M. 326 
 
 Laura 326 
 
 Louisa 325, 326 
 
 Stephen 122 
 Bray, John 100 
 
 Brewer, Thomas 245, 246, 330, 332 
 Bridge, Gridley 97 
 Brigham, Elisha it Co. 134 
 Brooks, John 111 
 Brown, 329 
 
 Anna 212 
 
 Chad 212 
 
 David 178 
 
 James 212 
 
 John 123, 212 
 
 John Carter 172 
 
 John I. 330 
 
 Joseph 212 
 
 Mary (Harris) 212 
 
 Moses 212 
 
 Nicholas 212 
 
 William W. 182. 186, 189, 104, 
 199, 324 
 Brown & Ives 172 
 Browne, Edward I. 247, 332 
 Buchanan, James 271 
 Buckingham, Jos. T. 114, 163 
 Buffum, Horace 324, 327 
 
 Mary R. (Page) 324, 327 
 Bugbee, Edward 330 
 Bullard, Lewis 330 
 
 Samuel P. 215 
 Bullock, Harriet 325, 326 
 
 Kent 78 
 
 Sarah (Pearce) 327 
 
 William P. 327 
 Burdick, Isaac 70 
 Burgess, Tristram 89 
 Burke, Edmund 205 
 
INDEX OF NAMES. 
 
 339 
 
 Burrill, James 89 
 Burrough, Anu Frances ;!2(') 
 
 Lucy A. ?,2(> 
 
 William 324 
 Butler, Benjamin F. 149 
 Cady, Isaac H. 160, 324 
 Cahoone, Stephen 206 
 Calvin, John 279 
 Cameron, Bill 189 
 
 Capron, 329 
 
 Cardwell, 284 
 
 Carlisle, Edward 15;") 
 Carpenter, Earl 16-> 
 
 F. W. 324 
 
 Henry 324 
 
 Peter 315 
 Carrington, (Gen.) 184 
 Cartee, Cornelius S. 150, 151, 100, 
 324, 327 
 
 Samuel 151 
 
 Sarah P. (Jenckes) 324, 327 
 Carter, Thomas 330 
 Case, James B. (Mi-s). 94 
 
 Laura L. (Williams) 94 
 Cass, Lewis 149, 237 
 Caswell, Sarah (Hodges) 48 
 Chace, John Barnet 89 
 Chamberlain, Wm. E. 107 
 Champney, James H. 229, 247-249, 
 oo2, ooo 
 
 James Wells 249 
 
 John 249 
 
 Lydia (Howe) 249 
 
 O. W. 330 
 
 Sarah Elizabeth (Wells) 249 
 Chapin, Amory 173, 326 
 
 Henry B. 332 
 
 Sarah A. (Aborn) 32ti 
 
 Chappotin, 125 
 
 Chase, Salmon P. 259 
 Cheney, Martin 208 
 Child, Joshua 247, 332 
 
 Stephen 330 
 Church, John 166 
 Clapp, Noah 320 
 
 Clark, Enoch W. (Mrs.) 120 
 
 Isaac 98 
 
 Joseph W. 120 
 
 Sarah Dodge 120 
 Clarke, Abigail Morton 325 
 
 Enoch W. 120, 326 
 
 George F. 40, 42 
 
 Pitt 36, .37, 43, .57, 68, 73, 84, 211 , 
 325 
 
 Sarah (Dodge) 120, 326 
 
 Thomas 25 
 
 William Y. 324 
 Clay, Henry 272 
 Cleaveland, Chauncy F. 192 
 
 (Dr.) 208, 209 
 Clifford, (Mayor) 162 
 
 Joiin Henry 324 
 Cobb, 82 
 
 Elias 74 
 
 Ellsha 315 
 
 Silas 40, 319 
 Coburn, Marcus 151 
 Colfax, (Schuyler) 41 
 Comstock. (Mrs.) 91 
 
 Anna (Brown) 212 
 
 Benjamin 212, 216 
 
 Benjamin W. 326 
 
 Catherine 211, 326 
 
 Elizabeth (Arnold) 212 
 
 Esther (Jenckes) 212 
 
 Hannah (Bowen) 212 
 
 Jeremiah 212 
 
 John 212 
 
 Martha 148, 211-213, 215, 238, 326 
 
 Mary (Winsor) 212 
 
 Sally Brown 212 
 
 Samuel 211, 212 
 
 William 128, 211 
 
 Conway, 88, 100 
 
 Cooke, Josiah P. 229, 245-247, 330, 
 
 332 
 Cooper, 88 
 
 Thomas A. 100 
 
 Copeland, 70 
 
 Corey, Barney 94 
 
340 
 
 INDEX OF NAMES. 
 
 Crackbon & Howe, 880 
 Grossman, Charles L. 70, 71 
 
 Elisha 78 
 Cummings, Amos 107 
 Curtis, Caleb A. 332 
 Cushing, Elizabeth Adelaide (Bald- 
 win) 252 
 
 James 107 
 
 James W. 229, 333 
 
 Thomas 252 
 Cutting, William E. 151 
 Dall, William 245 
 Dallas, George M. 270 
 Danforth, Asa 60, 84, 85, 315 
 
 Benjamin 138 
 
 Edward K. 72 
 
 Henry 143 
 
 Mary J. 72 
 
 Samuel 19, 28, 143 
 
 Sarah 28 
 
 Thomas 31, 40, 42, 77, 83, 99, 314, 
 815 
 
 Thomas M. 72, 78 
 Davis, Charles 246, 330, 332 
 
 J. Amory 233 
 Day, Daniel 218 
 De Russey J. 219 
 De Wolf, (Gen.) 190 
 
 Mark Anthony 204, 205 
 Dean, George 118 
 
 Eichard 55 
 Dearborn, (Gen.) 109 
 
 Henry 106 
 Derby, Elias H. 330 
 Desi^eau, (Capt.) 187 
 Dexter, Ebenezer Knight 182 
 
 Samuel 184 
 Dickerman, William A. ]07 
 
 Dickson, 100 
 
 Dike, Joseph A. 326 
 
 Lucy A. (Burrough) 326 
 Dimon, Byron 206 
 Dockray, Caesar 87 
 Dodge, George F. 333 
 
 Sarah 120. 326 
 
 Dodge, Susan H. 325, 326 
 Doggett, Samuel 330 
 Donnison, Wm. 27 
 Dorr, Lydia (Allen) 176 
 
 Samuel 330 
 
 Sullivan 176, 203, 208 
 
 Thomas Wilson 123, 1.52, 172, 
 176, 178, 180-198, 195, 196, 198, 
 208, 205-210 
 Drake, Darius 316 
 
 Jeremy 338 
 Draper, Nehemiah S. 154 
 Drummond, 87, 88 
 
 (Mrs.) 87, 88 
 Dudley, D. 98, 94, 131 
 
 David 330 
 Duff, (Mrs.) 88 
 Duncan, Alexander 172, 173 
 Dunlap, Molly 129 
 Dunn, William 324 
 Dunnell, Thomas L. 173 
 Durfee, Ann Chaloner 2()6 
 
 (Judge) 207 
 Dutton, George D. 229, 382 
 
 Thomas M. 333 
 Dyer, Albert Field 160, 324, 32(i 
 
 Amy Ann (Ellis) 324, .32() 
 
 Cyrus 828 
 
 Elisha 145 
 
 Mary (Thurber) 828 
 Easton, John A. 247, 382 
 Edes, Henry 154,211, 223 
 Eddy, John J. 333 
 
 Maria 221 
 
 Richard E. 151 
 Edwards, George 57 
 Eliot, John 19 
 Ellis, 125 
 
 Amy Ann 824, 326 
 
 Cyrus 826 
 
 George E. 168 
 Emmons, John L. 98, 211, 226-229 
 
 332 
 Emmons Sz Weld 226. 228 
 Eustis, William 158 
 
INDEX OF NA]\rES. 
 
 341 
 
 Everett, Aaron ^oO 
 
 Edward 28 
 
 Moses 330 
 
 Otis 330 
 Fabyan, George 173 
 Farley, Frederick A. 223, 224 
 Farmer, William 324 
 Farnum, Henry 325 
 
 Eoyal 325 
 Farrel, John 107 
 Farrelly, P. A. 219 
 Fay, Windsor 245, 246, 330, 332 
 Felton, Luther 330 
 Fenner, James 157, 162, 165, 167, 
 
 168, 170, 205, 206 
 Fenno, William 106, 107 
 Field, 134 
 
 (Capt.) 166 
 
 Harriet S. 134 
 
 James 132 
 Field & Fobes 132 
 Fillmore, Millard 271, 272 
 
 Finn, 100 
 
 Fish, Eliza Ann (Ghxzior) 267 
 
 Henry H. 155 
 Fisher, Elias 312, 313 
 
 Oliver 330, 332 
 
 Warren 332 
 Flagg, John F. B. 151 
 Fobes, George \V. 132, 133 
 
 Thomas 316 
 Fobes & Tucker, 315, 316 
 Ford, Fred, F. 333 
 Foster, Peddy 65 
 Fowle, Parker, 220, 332 
 Foye, William 24 
 Franklin, Benjamin 237 
 
 Sarah A. 326 
 Freeman, (Mrs.) S3 
 
 Sanforth 83 
 Fremont, John (;. 271 
 French, B. F. 131 
 
 Benjamin V. 245, 330 
 
 Hannah Weld (Williams) 03 
 
 James 310 
 
 French, Jonathan 93, 131 
 
 Kebecka 316 
 French & Weld, 245, 330 
 Frieze, Jacob 175 
 Frost, Hezekiah 266 
 Fuller, 125 
 
 Henry H. 330 
 Gardner, Grace 233, 241 
 
 Samuel J. 330 
 Gilbert, Benjamin J. 330 
 
 George 85, 8(i, 90, 92, 98, 101, 111, 
 112, 144 
 
 Hannah 87 
 
 Hannah P. 320 
 
 Harriet Sprague 326 
 
 John 45 
 
 (Mrs.) George 86, 87 
 
 Gilchrist, 138 
 
 Giles, John 173 
 Gill, Perez 330 
 (iladding, (Miss) 326 
 
 Frances C. (Hurlburt) 325, 327 
 
 Henry G. 325, 327 
 Glazier, Araery 266 
 
 Ann Chaloner (Durfee) 266 
 
 Calvin 266 
 
 Eliza Ann 267 
 
 Jane Hudson 266 
 
 John 266 
 
 Lydia (Pierce) 266 
 Goddard, Jonathan 330 
 Goldschmidt, Otto 243 
 Gooding, Abby (Williams) 328 
 
 Albert 328 
 Gorham, Desire Taylor 263 
 
 Jabez 122 
 Goss, S. T. 333 
 Gould, John 128, 129 
 Graapner, Charles 147 
 (irant, Ulysses S. 41, 237 
 (irant ife Stone 134 
 Gratton, Edward 327 
 
 Mary (Stillwell) 327 
 Graves, Emma 327 
 Gray, Francis C. 330 
 
342 
 
 INDEX OF NAMES. 
 
 Crreen, Alphonso 199 
 
 John 102 
 Greene, Albert C. 122 
 
 Albert G. 155 
 
 Henry A. 332 
 
 Joseph C. 151 
 Greenwood, W. F. P. 93 
 Grey, (Lord) 276 
 Grieve, David 90 
 Grindall, Edmund 19 
 naile, George C. 325 
 Hale, Nathan 113, 114 
 Hall, Brian 320 
 
 Charles B. 256 
 
 Edward Brooks 224 
 
 Isaac 86 
 Hallett, George W. 153, 172, 173, 
 194, 205, 325, 326 
 
 Louisa (Branch) 325, 326 
 Hansen, Edward K. 151 
 Harding, Harriet N. 242 
 Harrington, Ephraim 102-105 
 Harris, Charles F. 197 
 
 Mary 212 
 Harrison, William 274 
 Haskell, S. 249 
 Hatch, Israel 125 
 Haven, Franklin 259, 260 
 Hayden, William 330 
 Ilayward, George 330 
 Head, Joseph 330 
 Heard, Nathan 119 
 Heard & Estabrooks, 1 19 
 Hedges, see Hodges 
 Hendley, James 330 
 Herbert, Louis 219 
 Heth, Henry 219 
 Hill, Isaac 149 
 
 W. H. 219 
 Hills, Harry 96 
 Hix, Dudley 153 
 Hodges, Abigail (Sanford) 22 
 
 Almon Danforth, Jr. 216, 231, 299 
 
 Amory Glazier 2(»7, 332 
 
 Andrew 321 
 
 Hodges, Bradford 204 
 Carroll 242 
 Danforth Comstock 86, 153. 216, 
 
 223, 233 
 Edward Carroll 86, 267 
 Francis Oluey 216, 231, 2.33, 268 
 Frederick Stimson 216, 231, 273, 
 
 296 
 George 73 
 George Foster 216, 219, 231, 293- 
 
 295 
 Henry 20, 21 
 Henry C. 50 
 James 32 
 Jane 86 
 Jane Hudson ((xlazier) [Leonard] 
 
 266 
 John 20 
 
 Jonathan, Jr. 25-28, 30-35, 40, 43, 
 45, 48, 51-58, 61-63, 307-309, 
 311, 313, 317, 319 
 Jonathan, Sr. 25-28, 32, 34, 42, 44- 
 
 48, 60, 65, 80, 84, 1.58 
 Joseph 21, 22, 57, 58 
 Lurana W. (Lane) 72 
 Martha 86 
 Martha (Comstock) 211-214, 216, 
 
 233, 326 
 Mary (Andrews) 20 
 Newton S. 65, 70-72, 77, 78, 80, 
 
 81, 91 
 Rufus 45, 54, 55 
 Sarah (Danforth) 28, 34 
 William 20, 275 
 
 William Townsend 216, 231, 233, 
 296-298, 333 
 Hodges & Emmons 226-228 
 Hodges, Emmons & Weld 226-228 
 Ilolbrook, Henry J. 331 
 Holley, Horace 92 
 Holman, Ralph W. 231 
 Homer, Benjamin P. 109 
 Hooper, James R. 332 
 Iloppin, William W. 173 
 Horton, Mary 70, 71, 140 
 
INDEX OF NAMES. 
 
 J43 
 
 Horton, Sanford 157 
 Hosmer, (Miss) 286 
 Hovey, Henry & Co. ool 
 Howe, Lyclia 249 
 Howell, John 153 
 Howland, John 150 
 Huggeford, Henry A. 107 
 Hunneman, John A. 33o 
 Hunter, William 154 
 Hunting, Thomas 245, 331 
 
 Huntingdon, 143 
 
 Huntington, Ralph 107 
 Hurlburt, Frances C. 325, 
 Huss, John 277 
 Hutchins, Shubael 122 
 Inches, John C. 332 
 Ingraham tt Greene, 57 
 Ireland, Jonathan 331 
 Ives, Moses B. 172, 173 
 
 Robert H. 172 
 Jackson, Andrew 149 
 Francis 332 
 George W. 325 
 James A. 153, 325 
 Mary Brown 327 
 Susan W. 327 
 Jac(iues, Henry 247, 249, 3; 
 Jenckes, Esther 212 
 Patience (Sprague) 212 
 Sarah P. 324, 327 
 William 212 
 
 Jenkes, 329 
 
 Jestram, Mary 327 
 Jewett, (Sergt.-Major) 200 
 Johnson, Edward 333 
 
 Samuel 331 
 Jones, May Caroline 327 
 
 William 89 
 Joslen, Henry 4(), 47 
 Josling, see Joslen 
 Kean, Edmund 88, 99, 100, 
 Keep, Jolin C. 197 
 Kellogg, Henry 249, 2."j3, 33 
 Kelton, Phebe tlti 
 Kemble, 100 
 
 145 
 
 Kemble, Fanny 88 
 Kendall, Amos 149 
 
 Henry L. 173 
 Kennedy, Cora 293 
 Kidder, Peabody & Co. 2(55 
 Kilbourne, George O. 50 
 Kilham, Charles II. 333 
 
 Kilner, 100 
 
 Kimball, Moses 88 
 King, (Col.) 199 
 
 Samuel Ward 169, 184, 192, 193, 
 205, 296 
 Knapp, Josiah 245 
 
 Sybil 251 
 Knight, Nehemiah R. 89 
 Knowles, Joseph 327 
 
 May Caroline (Jones) 327 
 La Pistori, (Capt.) 277, 281 
 Lafayette, (Gen.) 156-161 
 Lamb, Thomas 259, 260 
 Lambert, William B. 332 
 Lamson, John A. 331 
 Lane, Lurana W. 72 
 Lanes, Ephraim 321 
 
 Lang, 151 
 
 Larcher, Ann 325 
 Lawrence, Samuel C. 294 
 Leonard, Ephraim 25 
 
 George 38, 39, 4S 
 
 Creorge, Jr. 25 
 
 Gustavus 266 
 
 Henry 38 
 
 James 38 
 
 Jane Frances 267, 268, 279 
 
 Jane Hudson (Glazier) 266 
 Lewis, William B. 149 
 Lincoln, Abraham 290 
 
 Almira 132 
 
 Luther 319 
 
 M. Ill 
 
 Minor S. 86, 87, 98 
 
 William 229, 332 
 Lind, Jenny 243 
 Lodge, G. Henry 93, 94 
 
 Mary E. (Williams) 93 
 
344 
 
 INDEX OF NAMES. 
 
 Loring, Barnabas T. 331, 382 
 Lothrop, Henry W. 328 
 
 Louisa (Thornton) 328 
 
 Samuel Kirkland 23H 
 Lovering, Edward 332 
 
 Joseph 331 
 Low, Francis A. 247, 332, 333 
 
 George F. 333 
 Lowell, James Russell 237 
 
 John 331 
 Luther, Seth 178 
 Lyman, George T. 229, 332 
 
 Lynfield, 99 
 
 Lyon, Danforth, 151 
 
 John 151 
 Mackey, William 332 
 Macomber, Howard it Saw in 331 
 Macready, — — 88 
 Makepeace, Betsey 31 
 
 David 41 
 
 Isaac 45 
 Manton, Eobert 302 
 Marett, Betsey Esther 252 
 
 Philip 331 
 Marsh, Bela 331 
 
 John 106, 107, 112 
 Martin, John 321 
 
 Josiah H. 182, 194, 199 
 Mason, Ann (Lai-cher) 325 
 
 Coomer E. 325 
 
 Earl P. 325 
 Mauran, Nathaniel S. 325 
 Mawney, John 154 
 Maxwell, Noble 200 
 May, George 95 
 
 Perrin 331 
 Mayo, John 19 
 McCabe, Ann 80 
 McLean, John 237 
 McNeill, William Gibbs 199, 200 
 Mears, Catherine M. (Raymond) G4 
 
 Elijah G4 
 Mehaffy, C. O. 292 
 Merry, Robert Davis Coolidge 93 
 
 Sarah Ann (Williams) 93 
 
 Messenger, Daniel 331 
 Metcalf, Betsey 31 
 
 Nat. 178 
 
 Thomas S. 91 
 Miller, Lewis L. 194 
 Minard, Peter S. 148, 328 
 Mitchell, William 178 
 Mixter, George 332 
 Moffit, Orson 173 
 Monroe, James 87 
 Morey, 34. 
 
 (Dr.) 84 
 
 George 101 
 
 Nicholas 20 
 
 Samuel 320 
 
 Thomas 35, 75, 139, 315, 31(3, 321 
 Morgan, William 213 
 Morse, Nathaniel Tiugley 325 
 Moseley, D. C. 331 
 
 Flavel, 229, 332 
 Mudge, Solomon Hinckley KiO, 325, 
 326 
 
 Susan Dodge 120 
 
 Susan H. (Dodge) 325, 326 
 Needham, John 124, 125 
 Nesbit, Ancel F. 230 
 Nestell, Christian M. 165 
 Nevers, B. M, 331 
 
 Isaac 107 
 Newcomb, Samuel 320 
 
 Silvester 41 
 Newhall, Benjamin W. 333 
 Nightingale, (Col.) 182 
 Nims, Nelson E. 174 
 Noyes, Ann C. 325, 327 
 
 John M. 327 
 
 Moses 151 
 Oakes, Abel 185 
 Okie, Abraham H. 230 
 Olney, Frances (Stillwell) 211, 327 
 
 James M. 204 
 
 James N. 152, 153, 211, 327 
 
 Stephen 157 
 Page, Benjamin 154 
 
 George W. 325 
 
TiSDKX OF NAMKS. 
 
 345 
 
 Page, Mavy K. o'24, o27 
 Paige, Frederick A. 227, 228 
 
 George 227 
 Palmer, George 44 
 
 Joseph 321 
 Palmerston, (Lord) 27() 
 Parker, Daniel 3o, 314, 315 
 John 331 
 John, Jr. 331 
 Luther 102 
 Peter 331 
 
 yamuel H. 106, 108 
 Patten, William S. 155 
 Payson, Perrin 331 
 
 Samuel C. 333 
 Peabody, George & Co. 270 
 Pearce, Edward 325, 320 
 Harriet (Bullock) 325,327 
 Sarah 327 
 Peck, Allen O. 153, 325 
 Mary Spurr 327 
 Mary (Whitaker) 325 
 Peckham, Samuel W. 197 
 Peirce, George 152 
 Perkins, Rufus 331 
 Perry, Alvin 72 
 John & Son 231 
 Lemuel 110 
 Marshall S. 164, 242 
 Person, Benjamin 320 
 Phillips, John 109 
 William 111, 261 
 Pickering, David 155 
 Pierce, Lydia 266 
 Pierpont, John 92 
 Piper, Solomon 331 
 Pitman, John H. 153 
 John T. 173 
 
 Polley, 125 
 
 Pond, (Capt.) 197, 198 
 
 Joshua 320 
 Porter, A. 292 
 
 Amelia S. (Towusend) 211, 
 
 328 
 Charles 211, 325, 328 
 
 Porter, Fitz John 109, 219 
 Powell, (Mrs.) 88, 100 
 Powers, Mike 95 
 Pownall, Thomas 25 
 
 Pratt. 133 
 
 William 325 
 Prendergast, James M. 332 
 Prescott, Edward 331 
 Preston, Elisha 331 
 Price, Henry 246, 332 
 Henry &, Co. 331 
 
 Proctor, 80 
 
 Putnam, Charles A. 247, 332, 
 Charles P. 229 
 George 236 
 Stephen 140 
 Pyne, Louisa F. 274 
 
 Susan 274 
 Quigley, William II. 250 
 Quincy, Josiah 124, 159 
 Quirk, Margaret 86 
 
 Randall, 147 
 
 Raymond, Catherine M. 64 
 
 Ephraim 55, 64 
 Reill, (Lieut.) 183 
 Rhett, Thomas G. 219 
 Rhodes, Caroline M. (Braucli 
 Eliza (Soule) 327 
 George A. 327 
 George W. 326 
 James T. 122 
 Peleg A. 326 
 Rice, John P. 331 
 Richard, Lawrence 178 
 Richards, J. A. 247, 332 
 Richardson, (Adjt.) 107 
 Robinson, Enoch 63 
 Rodman, Elizabeth 264 
 Rogers & Sons 275 
 Savols, John A, 106, 107 
 Savels <Si Reynolds 105 
 Saltonstall, Richard M. 332 
 Sanford, Abigail 22 
 Scott, Walter 285 
 Winfield 271, 272 
 
 )326 
 
346 
 
 INDEX OF N A:\FKS. 
 
 Searle, Nathaniel 89 
 Sellers & Pennock 145 
 Shannon, (Capt.) 28(» 
 Sharp, Edward 331 
 
 James 104 
 Shaw, Jacob 3UJ 
 
 Lemuel 331 
 
 Oliver 150, 151 
 Sheldon, William 122 
 Shelly, Charles J. 197 
 Shields, H. L. 219 
 Shurtleff, N. B. 94 
 Sigourney, Daniel A. 229, 247, 331 
 Simes, Joseph S. 332 
 
 William 332 
 Simmons, D. A. 331 
 Sissou, B., (Mrs.) 242 
 
 Skinner, 132 
 
 Slack, (Col.) 125 
 
 David B. 327 
 
 Susan W. (Jackson) 327 
 Smith, 326, 329 
 
 Amos D. 155, 173, 204, 320 
 
 Arunah 314 
 
 Daniel 85 
 
 (Gen.) 205 
 
 Harriet Spraguc (Gilbert) 320 
 
 James Y. 122 
 
 John 212 
 
 Mary 327 
 
 Samuel I. 155 
 
 Sarah A. (P'ranklin) 32r> 
 
 Turpin 154 
 
 William Ileury 152 
 Soren, John J. 333 
 Soule, Eliza 327 
 Spooner, Ann C. (Noyes) 325, 327 
 
 Joshua 325, 327 
 Sprague, Charles 159 
 
 Edwin li. 332 
 
 (;. I. 331 
 
 Patience 212 
 Spnrgeon, Charles II. 270 
 Stall, Isaac 45 
 
 William 44 
 
 Stanley, Sally 35, 312, 313 
 Stanwood, Eben C. 332 
 Stead, Thomas J. 173 
 Stearns, Jonathan P. 245, 331 
 Stedman, John B. 198, 199 
 
 Josiah 229, 240, 247, 331, 332 
 
 W. M. 331 
 Stevens, Benjamin 331 
 Stiles, Fred. B. G. 299 
 Stillwell, Frances 211, 327 
 
 Mary 327 
 Stimson, Abigail Morton (Clarke) 
 325 
 
 John Jones 80, 87, 98, 111-1 J3, 
 110, 211, 220, 325 
 Stimson it Hodges 113, 110, 118, 
 119, 123, 127, 144, 140, 185, 220, 
 227, 322, 325 
 Stimson & Paige 227 
 Stone, Dexter 134 
 
 (Miss) 131 
 Street, Nicholas 19 
 Sumner, Charles 271 
 
 Increase 20 
 Sutton, — — 329 
 Swan, AVm. B. 199 
 Sweet, Joseph 184 
 Taber, Oliver E. 122 
 Taft, George 215 
 
 Read 125 
 Talcott, N. P. 218 
 Taney, Koger B. 149 
 Taylor, Zachary 237 
 Thacher, Charles 245, 240, 332 
 Thackeray, William Makepeace 
 284 
 
 Thaxter, 147 
 
 Thayer, Sylvanus 218 
 Thompson, John 245, 240, 331, 332 
 Thorndike, Israel P. 331 
 Tliornton, Louisa 328 
 Thurber, Isaac 122 
 
 Mary 211, 328 
 Mary C. 328 
 Tilden, Thomas 331 
 
INDEX OF NAMES. 
 
 347 
 
 TJllingliast, William J. 178 
 Tingley, Samuel 152 
 
 Sylvaniis 150, 152 
 Tobey, (Dr.) 15)4 
 Tolhurst, William II. 50 
 Tompson, William 19 
 Topliff, Samuel 331 
 Townsend, Amelia S. 211, 325, 328 
 
 J. P. 331 
 
 William H. 150, 238, 241, 333 
 Tveadwell, Sanford L. 248, 333 
 Tree, Ellen 88 
 Trow, Benjamin 42 
 
 Israel 31G 
 Tucker, A. & W. M. 2(51 
 
 Alanson 229, 247, 332 
 
 Benajah 45, 74 
 
 Hezekiah 315 
 
 W. M. 261 
 Tuckerman, John 147 
 Turner, La Prelate U. 247, 332. 333 
 Tyler, John 162, 182 
 
 John S. 107-109, 326 
 Updike, Wilkins 207 
 Van Buren, D. T. 219 
 
 Martin 237 
 Vanderbilt, Cornelius 127 
 
 Jacob 127 
 Vickery, Benjamin C. 333 
 Victoria ((Jueen) 276 
 Visner, Martin 276 
 
 Volum, 69 
 
 Von Weber, 275 
 
 Vose, Ebenezer it Co. 331 
 
 Josiah 331 
 Wade, Edward E. 173 
 Wadsworth, John A. 173 
 Wainwright, Henry 331 
 Waldo, Daniel 143 
 Wales, Ebenezer 33 1 
 Walker, Eleazer 56, 85, 139 
 
 H. 60 
 (Mrs.) 140 
 Wallack, 88 
 
 James William lOU, 145 
 
 Wallack, Lester 145 
 Walley, Samuel II. 259 
 Walsh, Mike 192, 197 
 Ware, Clarissa 328 
 
 Leander M. 152 
 Warlield, Sarah 225 
 Warner, Oliver 294, 295, 297-299 
 Warren, William 100 
 Washington, George 41 
 Waterman, Kufus 122 
 Wayland, Francis 156, 194 
 Webster, Daniel 161-164, 237, 272 
 Weeden, Enos 11. 326 
 Weld, Christopher Minot247. 261, 
 331, 332 
 
 Daniel 94, 99, 246, 331, 332 
 
 Elizabeth (Rodman) 264 
 
 Francis Minot 264 
 
 Hannah 92 
 
 John D. 226-228 
 
 T. B. J. 219 
 Welles, John 331 
 Wells, Sarah Elizabetli 219 
 Wessels, Benjamin F. 332 
 West, Benjamin 331 
 Wetherel, John 20 
 Wetherell, Ebenezer 308. 309. 31 1 
 Wheaton, F. L. 153 
 
 Laban 39, 85 
 
 Laban M. 110 
 Wheeler, (Col.) 188, 190 
 Wheeler * Wilson 270 
 Wheelock, Godfrey 119 
 Wheldon, Capt. 238 
 Whipple, John 89 
 
 William B. 173 
 Whitaker, Josiah 154 
 
 Mary 325 
 White, J. A. 2(il 
 
 Nicholas 20 
 
 Warren 33 1 
 Whitmore, Charles (). 2(ii) 
 AVhitney, John 107 
 
 Josiah & Co. 331 
 Willard, Ilezekiali 182 
 
348 
 
 INDEX OF NAMES. 
 
 Williams, Abby ;;28 
 Caroline E. 1)2, m 
 David 321 
 David Weld !t2 
 (Jeorge Foster 92 
 Ilajinah Weld 92, 'X, 
 Hannah (Weld) 92 
 Jason 147 
 
 John D. 90-94, 96, lo4, ;!;]2 
 John D. & M. 90-92, 98, 112, 158, 
 
 :!31 
 Laura L. 94 
 Mary (Blake) 9;J 
 Mary Elizabeth 92, 9:', 
 Moses 90-94, 164, 174, 229, 246, 
 
 247, 332 
 Moses Blake 93, 174 
 Roger 212 
 Sarah Ann 92, 9:5 
 Thomas 20, 331 
 
 Williamson, 134 
 
 Willis, Benjamin 321 
 Wilson, John 19 
 
 Winchester, 139 
 
 Windsliip, Charles M. 241 
 Winslow, A Imira 86, 303 
 
 John 303 
 Winsor, Ira B. 328 
 
 Mary 212 
 
 Mary C. (Thurber) 328 
 
 Kobert 265 
 Wiswall, Noah 308 
 Wood, J. B. (Mrs.) 329 
 Woodbury, Levi 149 
 Woodward, Dr. 75 
 
 Molly 65 
 Worth, (Major) 106 
 Worthington, Francis 331 
 
 William 331 
 Wyman, William 331 
 
INDEX OF SUBJECTS. 
 
 Adams, John Q.. Letter of 28 
 Albany, X. Y., 1>]5, 137, 140, 141, 
 218, 219; Rockwell's Mansion 
 House 140; State House 140 
 Albemarle (Steamer) 134 
 Anti-Masonic excitement 214 
 Association for Suppression of 
 
 Counterfeiting 254, 256 
 Attleborough 82, 119, 124-126 
 Barter prices in 1790-1819, 317, 318 
 Blackstone Canal 171 
 Boston: Ancient and Honorable 
 Artillery 95; Boylston Insurance 
 Co. 249, 330; Boylston Market 
 249; Brattle Street Church 23(5; 
 Brigade Band 1H2; Cadets 162, 
 163; Cathedral of the Holy Cross 
 93; City Guards, formed 105, 
 their uniform and drills 109, 
 ball at the Marlboro Hotel 110, 
 parades 109, 159, 238; Cochitu- 
 ate water celebration 237, 238; 
 Columbian Museum 99; Earth- 
 quake 231; Exchange Coffee 
 House 159; Executions in 95; 
 Federal Street Theatre 99, 100; 
 First Church in 19, 20; Green 
 stores 94; Handel and Haydn 
 Society 99; Hollis Street Church 
 92; Lafayette Hotel 249; Lan- 
 cers 163; New England Galaxy 
 99, 114; Reception to Lafayette 
 159-161; Residence of J. D. Wil- 
 liams 93, 94 ; Residence of Moses 
 
 Williams 94: Second Church in 
 19; "Sliver Heels" 104, 105; Suf- 
 folk Light Inf'y 105; Theatres 
 88, 99, 100; United States Hotel 
 231, 243; Weekly Messenger 113, 
 114; Winslow Blues 107. (See 
 also Roxbury.) 
 
 Braintree, First Church in 19 
 
 Brooklyn, X. Y., 131, 134; City 
 Hall 135; Xavy Yard 134; Tread- 
 mill 135; Waterloo (harden 135 
 
 Brown University 38, 66, 68, 156, 
 160, 162, 185 
 
 Bunker Hill Celebrations 160-164 
 
 Canton viaduct 126 
 
 Chancellor Livingston (Steamer) 
 135 
 
 Cholera and its ravages 241 
 
 Clarke, Pitt, Theological opinions 
 of 36 
 
 Cold Friday in Xew England 74 
 
 Dedham 124, 125; Turnpike 124 
 
 Domestic life in old Xew England 
 17. (See Xorton.) 
 
 Dorr fans 208 
 
 Dorr War, 121, 175-210, its causes 
 176-181, its leaders 179, organi- 
 zation of the " Foundry Legisla- 
 ture" 181, Pres. Tyler asked to 
 interfere 182, militia called out 
 182, 184, first offensive move- 
 ment 183, State Arsenal threat- 
 ened 185, 188, attack on frustra- 
 ted 188. Dorr escapes 190, Gov. 
 
350 
 
 INDEX OF SUBJECTS. 
 
 King offers a reward for his cap- 
 ture 192, City (Tiiard regiment 
 organized 194, troubles renewed 
 195, camp on Acote's Hill 196, 
 arrival of recruits 196, 197, a 
 leader captured 197, tried and 
 sentenced 198, disposition of 
 State troops 199, the marcli to 
 Chepachet 200, a zealous senti- 
 nel 201, 202, insurgents' fort cap- 
 tured 202. llight of Dorr 20;], 
 excitement subsides 20-J, Dorr 
 seeks to return to Rhode Island 
 206, threatened with arrest 206, 
 returns, is arrested and impris- 
 oned 207, his prison life 208, 209. 
 discharged 209, dies in obscurity 
 210 
 Earthquakes in Xew England 2ol 
 Eclipse of the Sun, in 1806, 74 
 Everett, Edward, Letter to 2S 
 Fairfield, Conn., 129 
 Fire-fly (Steamer) 87 
 Frankford Arsenal lo2 
 Franklin (seventy-four) l:]4 
 P'ulliag Mill, described 48-51; its 
 
 operation 50-53 
 Goose brook 46, (50 
 Harvard College 19, 38, 39, 23(i 
 Hodges, Almon I)., Ancestry 19- 
 22; Ancestry of his first wife 
 211-213; Ancestry of his second 
 wife 266; Birth 29; Boyhood days 
 and school reminiscences 64- 
 83; ''Old Jenny" 81, 82; Som- 
 nambulic experience 75: Two 
 run-aways 75, 76; Apprentice 
 days 84; Takes a position with 
 the Messrs. Williams in Boston 
 91; Business life, early, in Bos- 
 ton 90; Sugar exploit 96; His 
 first marriage. Providence 211; 
 Wedding tour 215, 216; His 
 .second marriage 266; Business 
 life in Providence 116-126, 144, 
 
 146; Providence Co-partnership 
 111-113; Dissolved 226, 227; Bus- 
 iness life in Boston 226-228; 
 Washington Bank 245-265, 330- 
 336, becomes its President 228, 
 resigns 262; His first grand- 
 child 300; Closing years 301-305 ; 
 As remembered by his children 
 13, 15; Morning greetings 14; 
 Tommy Red and Johnny Green 
 15; Characteristic traits 221-223, 
 252, 254, 269, 291: Begins a diary 
 96; Duties of a Chief Marshal 
 291; Interest in Genealogy 268; 
 President of the N. E. Historic- 
 Genealogical Society 61, 268; In- 
 terview with an ex-banker 223; 
 Interview with a " Friend '" 194, 
 195; Church affiliations 223, 224, 
 236; Religious views 304; Musi- 
 cal tastes 149-152; Hears Jenny 
 Lind, 243; Political offices 121, 
 122; Political preferences 237, 
 271, 272; Attends Whig conven- 
 tions in Boston 163, 164; On 
 committee to consider libera- 
 tion of Dorr 207; Death 305; 
 Death of his first wife 229, 241, 
 242; Death of his step-daughter 
 268; Death of his youngest son 
 268; Home in Providence 216, 
 230; Family life in Pi-ovidence 
 211-225; Household expenses in 
 Providence 224, 225; Home in 
 Roxbury 13-15, 232-23(), 243; re- 
 opened 267: Home (summer) in 
 Portsmouth, R. I. ;!02, 303; Col- 
 ored servants 224, 225; Military 
 service in Boston 102-105; Aids 
 in forming the City Guard 105; 
 Military service in Rhode Island 
 165-174, 189, 194, 105, 199, 204; 
 Attitude in the Civil War 289- 
 292; xiids in forming Roxbury 
 Horse Guards 290, its comman- 
 
INDEX OF srjJ.IKCTS. 
 
 351 
 
 der 174, 290, 291; Four sons 
 serve in tlie Civil War 292-300; 
 Military commissions 108-170, 
 291; Declines commission as 
 Colonel and Brigadier-General 
 Mass. Militia 174; Amusements 
 99; Cambridge horse race 97; 
 Cotillion parties in Providence 
 148. 324-329; Describes a race 
 115; Garden-plot in Ifoxbury 
 234, 235 ; Holiday excursions 217- 
 221; Law case in Lanesboro 142: 
 Poetic effusion 114; Prevents a 
 robbery 96; Reminiscences of 
 Actors 99, 100. 145; Thanksgiv- 
 ing festivals 2(39; Journeys: on 
 a Hudson river steamboat 136, 
 137, to Saratoga 138, 139, to 
 Xew York, Philadelphia and 
 return 128-143, to Boston in 
 advance of Lafayette 158, to 
 West Point 218, 219, to Nia- 
 gara Falls 219, 220, to White 
 Mountains 243, 244, to Europe 
 274-288, itinerary 286, 288, vari- 
 ous 272, 273; Walks from Bos- 
 ton to Providence 101 
 
 Hodges, Martha, Birth 211, an- 
 cestry 211-213, wedding 211, her 
 character 214, 215, her mother 
 212-214, death 229, 241, 242 
 
 Hodges, George Foster, Service in 
 the Civil War 293, commissions 
 294, 295; Tribute to his memory 
 293 
 
 Hodges, Jane H., Ancestry 266; 
 Birth 267; Marriage 267; Char- 
 acter 267-269. 
 
 Hodges, Jonathan, Jr., Birth 25. 
 death 84 ; Extracts from his Ledg- 
 ers 54, 55, 308-318; His dye-stuffs 
 51-53; His fulling mill 51-53, 79; 
 His residence 58. 60; Household 
 furniture 60, 61; Military ser- 
 vice 26: Personal effects 57, 61, 
 
 62; Kcsignatiou ul commission 
 27; Revolutionary service 25, 57, 
 58, 63 
 
 Hodges, Jonathan, Sr., Badge of 
 office 22; Commission 25: Con- 
 fession of 22, 23; Specimens of 
 his Ledger accounts 46, 47 
 
 Hodges, Jonathan, 3d, An ingen- 
 ious mechanic 28 
 
 Hodges. Major Joseph, Silver- 
 hilted sword 21 
 
 Hodges. William T., Service in the 
 Civil War 296. commissions 297. 
 298, falls in battle at High 
 Bridge 296 
 
 Hodges Light Guard 29(i 
 
 Holiday customs 95 
 
 Home-guards in the Civil War 291 
 
 Iron-smelting industries 38 
 
 Jackson's Kitchen Cabinet 149 
 
 Lafayette, Gen'l, Visit to Xew En- 
 gland 156-161 
 
 Legislator (Steamer) 134 
 
 Leonard, George, Characteristics 
 of 38 
 
 Lexington (Steamer) 127 
 
 Louisburg, Cape Breton 21 
 
 Mansfield 82, 85; Band 82 
 
 May Day processions 13 
 
 Meti'opolitan Street Railroad 13, 
 270 
 
 Mexican War 2:17 
 
 Middlesex Canal 95 
 
 Militia trainings 82, 83 
 
 Xew England Historic Genealogi- 
 cal Society 268, 301 
 
 Xew London, Conn., 127: Turn- 
 pike 127 
 
 Xew York city 123-127; Castle 
 Garden 130; Chatham Garden 
 Theatre 131; Hell-gate 130 
 
 Xorton 21, 22, 25, 28-47, 57-60. 82, 
 91,99, 101, 117,317-321: Artillery 
 Co. 110; Barter prices 1790-1810, 
 317-318; Business metliods in 
 
352 
 
 INDEX OF SUBJECTS. 
 
 32, 'S3; Country holiday customs 
 S2, 83; Gilbert Tavern 85; 
 Household fabrics 30, 31: Iron 
 ore and nail-making 31, 32; Life 
 and customs in 29-35; Meeting- 
 house 41, 42, 57; Militia compa- 
 nies 45, 57, 58, 110; Products 30- 
 35; Prominent citizens in 38-41, 
 57; Public buildings in 41-43; 
 Schools and teachers 64-72, ;i01; 
 School text-books 67, (58; School 
 discipline 69 ; School exhibitions 
 68, 70-72; Tax notification and 
 warrants 319, 320; AVitch 41 
 Old New England customs 30-35; 
 Cost of pi-ovisions 33; Costume 
 35; Favorite colors of dyei-s 35; 
 Money and wages 32, 33; Panta- 
 loons, Fashions in 35; Riding 
 costumes of women 35; Social 
 position 40, 41 ; Straw-bonnets, 
 making of 31 
 Pawtucket receives Lafayette 157 
 Philadelphia 118, 132-134; Peale's 
 Museum 134; Pratt's Garden 133 
 Presidential election 1856, 274 
 Providence, R. L, 31, 85-92, 98, 101, 
 110-125, 144-157, 160, 162; Aeo- 
 lian Society 150; Athenaeum 
 156; Benevolent Cong'l Church 
 89; Cadets 160, 182, 184, 185, 200; 
 City Guard regiment organized 
 194, service in the Dorr War 194, 
 196, 200, 202, 204, 205; Cotillion 
 parties 148, 324-329, gentlemen 
 who attended 324-326, ladies 
 who attended 326-328, caterer's 
 bill 328, 329, surplus funds 329; 
 Dexter Trainiug-tield 182. 187; 
 Dorcas Society 148; Earthquake 
 231: Federal Hill 183, 188, 190; 
 First Baptist Church 144, 211, 
 212; First Cong'l Church 154, 
 216, 224; Fourth of July celebra- 
 tions 153-156; (Jlobe Tavern 157 ; 
 
 Horse Guards 162, 170, 173, 191, 
 227, chartered 172, 290, first offi- 
 cers 173; Hydraulion Fire Com- 
 pany 145; India Point 126; La- 
 fayette's visit 156, 157; Library 
 156; Light Infantry 119, 120, 147, 
 162, 166, 171, 182, 186, 189, 238; 
 Marine Artillery 182, 185, 195; 
 Miss Eddy's school 221; Mutual 
 Fire Society 147; Philharmonic 
 Society and its Concerts 150, 151 ; 
 "Pig and Whistle" Club 149; 
 Railroads 128 ; Rhode Island 
 Association of Economical and 
 Odd Fellows 153; Social amuse- 
 ments 147, 148; State election 
 89; Steamboats 127; screw pro- 
 peller, first trip of 90; Theatre 
 87 ; Visit of Pres. Monroe 87 ; 
 Washington Hall 148; Washing- 
 ton's Birthday 153; Weybosset 
 Bank 120. (See also the Uorr 
 War.) 
 
 Providence (Steamer) 127 
 
 "Prox" explained 206 
 
 Roxbury 13, 94, 101, 100, 122, 124, 
 125, 158, 232, 233, 235, 241-243, 
 249, 266-270, 290, 291, 302; Brin- 
 ley Place 106; Bugbee's Tavern 
 101 ; Changes of value in Real 
 Estate 232; Faxon's Hill 106; 
 First Church in 19, 236; Horse 
 Guards 174, 290, 291 ; Tommy's 
 Rocks 13, 235 
 
 San Francisco in 1849, 238, 239 
 
 Snow-storm of 1867, 301, 302 
 
 Stage-routes 123-127 
 
 Stimson it Hodges, Abstract from 
 books 322 
 
 Suspension of specie payments 118, 
 257, 262 
 
 Taunton, 19-21, 28, 60, 77, 92, 101, 
 120; Mormon Camp Meeting 164; 
 Neck of Land Burying Ground 
 in 21 
 
INDEX OF SUBJECTS. 
 
 Walpole 101, 124, 125; Clapp's 
 Tavern 215 ; Fuller's Tavern 158 ; 
 Polley's Tavern 1(30 
 
 Washington Bank 245-2()5, estab- 
 lished 245, directors and other 
 officers 246, 247, its building 
 
 250, removes to State street 
 
 251, salaries 253, joins Clearing 
 House 25(), increases capital 256, 
 locations occupied 256, 257, in 
 panic of 1857. 257, suspends spe- 
 cie payments 258, 259, resump- 
 tion 258, 263, changes to national 
 system 246, 260, 261, holdings of 
 stockholders 260, 261, charter 
 temporarily revived 261, the fire 
 
 of 1872, 261, 2()2, panic of 1873, 
 262, presidents 262-2(54, goes into 
 liquidation 264, 2(55, prominent 
 original shareholders 330, 331, 
 officers from foundation 331- 
 333, dividends paid, 334, 335, 
 surpluses 335, 336. 
 
 Washington, D. C, 85, 121, 292 
 
 West Point 137, 218 
 
 West Point Cadets visit Boston 
 106, 107, 110; Ball at West Point 
 218, 219 
 
 Wheaton, Laban, Character of 39, 
 40; Founder of Wheaton Female 
 Seminary 40 
 
 Yale College 38 
 
H 77 78 
 
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