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HISTORY

NEWBURYPORT;

FROM THE EARLIEST SETTLEMENT OF THE COUNTRY
TO THE PRESENT TIME.
WITH A
BIOGRAPHICAL APPENDIX.

BY MRS. E. VALE SMITH.

NEWBURYPORT: 1854.

7>6H

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1854, by
E. VALE SMITH,
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of MassachUBetta.

F?M
W55" BS5 Clc)

PRESS OP DAMHELL AND MOOHE,
16 Devonshire Street.

PREFACE

As there are extant, two partial Histories of Newburyport, it may
perhaps be considered a presumptuous and superfluous work to add
another. But neither of the works alluded to, even aim to give a
complete history of Newburyport. Mr. Cushing's work, published
twenty-eight years ago, covers only a period of sixty-two years, from
1764 to 1826 — leaving one hundred and fifty years since the set
tlement of what is now called Newburyport, to be accounted for.
Mr. Coffin's " History of Ould Newbury," contains some direct, and
much incidental information concerning Newburyport; but treats
with exceeding brevity, periods of the greatest interest in the history
of the town ; and is also combined with much that has no particular
interest to citizens of Newburyport. It is therefore believed that
a History, which comprehends the whole period of time since the
occupation of the land by white settlers to the present — with only
so much of collateral history as shall suffice for a right under
standing of our own, is called for ; and if faithfully performed, will
not prove a useless addition to the literature of Essex County.
As a history of any place or people should contain within itself
every essential fact bearing upon the character or fortune of the
place or people described, — no matter how much other books contain
on the same subject — it may become necessary, in delineating the
progressive life of Newburyport, to narrate some things which to the

PREFACE.

¦ older inhabitants may appear trite and familiar, but which are nev
ertheless component parts of its history, and could not be excluded
without injuring the unity of the work. For the same reason we
shall introduce some brief description of the state of the surrounding
country, and even cross the seas to find the source of changes
which affected the happiness and destinies of our ancestors.
It will be readily perceived by the intelligent reader that the his
tory of a seaport town is essentially different from that of an inland
one : the latter has comparatively little connection with foreign
countries, while the former is continually affected by the policy as
sumed by even distant nations. This is peculiarly the case where
extensive commercial relations have been sustained, as in Newbury
port. And then circumstances demand of the historian who would
faithfully delineate the times, a somewhat extensive acquaintance
with the foreign policy of other nations, extending the area to be
explored, and increasing the labor of the writer, but furnishing for
the reader a variety of topics, the absence of which is apt to mark
with monotony the records of country towns, remote from all external
influences. The principal authorities consulted in the preparation of this work
have been Bancroft's History of the Colonization of the United
States ; the Massachusetts Historical Collections ; the Massachu
setts Historical and Genealogical Kegister ; Pitkin's Civil and
Political History of the United States ; Allen's and Warren's do. ;
Allison's and Russell's Histories of Europe ; White's History of New
England; Parish's do; Histories of Newbury, Lynn, Rowley, Ports
mouth, Plymouth ; Histories of the Indian Wars, and Naval Histories ;
National, State, County, Town, and City Records and files ; Custom
House, Church, and Society Books ; the Records of Incorporated
Institutions, Historical Sermons, and Addresses' ; private journals,
accounts, letters, and unpublished manuscripts ; legal proceedings,
deeds, affidavits, &c, together with the personal narrations of the
intelligent aged ; and nearly complete files of the newspapers pub
lished in Newburyport since 1778.

PREFACE.

For files of these papers, we are indebted to Capt. Richard Coffin,
of Newbury, and Messrs. Morse and Brewster, of the "Daily
Herald," of this city. We have also received particular assistance
through the courtesy of Dr. Shurtleff, of Boston, who placed in our
hands an early copy of the published " Records of the Governor and
Company of ye Massachusetts Bay;" and to Chas. Lowell, D. D ,
of Cambridge, Col. Samuel Swett, and Hon. Geo. Lunt of Boston,
for biographical, and other papers of value ; to E. Wood Perry, Esq.,
of New Orleans, for original letters of Washington, &c. ; to Eleazer
Johnson, Esq., (city clerk,) for assistance in examining Records ;
to Dr. D. S. Blake, for collection of statistics ; to Joshua Coffin, Esq.,
(author of the History of Ould Newbury,) for interesting facts as
certained since the publication of his book ; to many others also, we
are under obligations for similar favors. To publish the long list of
names of all the persons who have thus evinced their interest in this
work, would appear ostentatious from thoir number. We return
to all such friends our sincere thanks, assuring them we need no
printed memento to keep them in our grateful remembrance.
For the striking sketch of Judge Parsons, we are indebted to his
son, Prof. Theophilus Parsons, of Cambridge ; it is considered a very
striking likeness by those who well remember the original. Mr.
Milton, every one who ever saw him, will recognize at the first glance.
The View of Newburyport was originally published on the 30th of
November, 1774 ; it was " sold, framed, glazed, and colored by Ben.
Johnson and Geo. Searle," and " was taken from a point just above
the powder-house." (The powder-house then stood on the south
westerly side of Frog pond, near the old burying hill.) The Tonnage
Table will be found partially deficient during some few years ; the
Custom House records for that period are missing, which accounts
for the deficiency. Some typographical, and other errors, will be
found in the " Errata," at the close of the book.
Newburyport, Mass., June, 1854.

GENERAL INDEX.

Inteodtjction. ,
Period I. Settlement of Newbury, (now New
buryport,) - - - 1635-1764
Appendix to Period I.
Peeiod II. Incorporation of Newburyport, and
Revolutionary War,  1764-1783
Period III. Commercial Prosperity, - 1783-1806
Period IV. Successive disasters, Commercial Re
strictions—Fire—War, - - - 1807-1815
Period V. Peace, but not Prosperity, - - 1815-1835
Period VI. Resuscitation, Annexation, City Char
ter, - ... 1835-1854
Miscellany.Ecclesiastical Sketches.
Biographical Notices.

INTRODUCTION.

To write the History of a Town or City, resembles much the
work of a Biographer ; for though composed of numbers, these sepa
rate units, in their corporate capacity, form but a single figure ; they
have a physical structure which is their own, wants unfelt by others,
and means of enjoyment within themselves, in which the stranger
has.no part, except by courtesy or invitation. To write such a his
tory, then, while the subject is still alive and vigorous, is both a
perilous and delicate undertaking. It is hke selecting a single indi
vidual from his family connections, drawing his portrait, as he looks
to you, and then passing it around, among his own blood relations,
to be criticised by them, and recognized by himself — if that is
possible. It may appear to some an easy task to collect materials for. such
a work ; and to write upon a subject which is familiar in so many
of its aspects. But in many respects, it would be much easier to
write a history of the United States, than to select a single state,
or still more a single town. Ample material for the first is 'abeady
provided ; in the latter, much has still to be sought for : to carry out
the simile with which we commenced, it is both safer and rougher
work to sketch the public acts of a nation, than to select an indi
vidual, from out of a limited circle, for portraiture. Where large,
diffused, and heterogeneous masses are described, as they must be if
at all, with a bold pencil, and spread out on a wide canvas, which
does not admit of being examined minutely, the artist does not
*
1

2 • INTRODUCTION.
attempt to bring out the particular features of each, composing this
multitude, with that distinctness and truth which the miniature of a
friend, which is laid on the table for daily inspection, is expected
to possess.
In comprehensive works, which include in their descriptions great
varieties of scenes, time and actors, these subjects may be dealt
with in the mass in such general terms, that if they do not convey
the impression we think they should have done, still the treatment
is frequently too vague to admit of our entering a special plea
against it. We see a general family likeness, and are content ; not
expecting minute accuracy where breadth and coloring, light and
shadow, are the chief elements in the picture. In describing a
nation, if the recital is not flattering no one in particular feels
injured, deeming himself an exception ; but in describing a township,
every native feels himself an inseparable portion of it, and neces
sarily sharing in the character ascribed to it. If an error creeps
in, it is sure of detection too, for this corporate individual whom we
have undertaken to draw, is no common person ; though he may be
said to possess one soul, he has as many heads as a hydra — not so
fierce, or we should not have ventured, pen in hand, within his reach,
— but with the united judgment of so many brains, so much learn
ing, and so many memories, among them all the truth must be
known, and nothing less than the truth will serve them. With the
hundred eyes too of Argus, with which to see our short-comings, it
is gratifying to be able to record that he has Briarean hands, which
have been freely used to aid us.
The retrospective view which we have been obliged to take, in
arranging the earlier history of the town, combines much that is pic
turesque and romantic in its general aspect. Little more than two
centuries have elapsed, since the ground we now occupy was
covered with the primeval forest, which grew in hardy freedom
almost to the water's edge ; * slight to the eye of man would then
have been the tokens that these woods shielded living human beings,
or that the pure waters which rolled untamed from the snowy moun
tains of the North, till they met in its sober strength the broad arm
of the ocean, forbidding its farther wanderings, and betimes rolling
» * Mass. Hist. Coll. vol. 4.

INTRODUCTION. 3
it back to its sequestered sources, were ever the bearer of the birch
canoe, and the swarthy occupants of those frail, romantic barks. The
huts of the red man had already shrunk and decayed, as if in pre
scient comprehension that these tall oaks must be felled, to make the
white man's ships, and the haunt of the deer must be mown away
for the more useful, but less picturesque fold of the white man's
herds and flocks. A few poor and degenerate Indians, the last of
their race, wasted by the pestilence, and destroyed by the hand of
savage enmity, first shrunk from the presence, and then sought the
protection of the coming sovereigns of the land.
Little more than two hundred years ago, and while the solitude of
the southern banks of the Merrimac were almost unbroken by the
voice of savage or cultivated man, save here and there a solitary
and hardy pioneer who had erected his hut by the banks of this fruit
ful stream, — at such time the lonely stranger might have seen, a few
short miles to the south, on the bank of another river, a scene that
was destined to change all that he beheld, so that the Sachems of
Agawam, starting up from their resting-places, should no more rec
ognize the land of their fathers. On the banks of that other river
stood a party of wayfarers who had at last reached their journey's
destined end. They stood there on the ground which they now
called their own, — they stood there, after many perils of the land and
of the sea — they stood there with the sanction of the only church
which they reverenced — they stood there, men and women, with
their children, and their cattle, and their goods — to take possession
of the land and to subdue it.
How they fulfilled their destiny, we have only to look around us
and see to-day. That little band, sitting down by that silent stream,
soon taught its unfurrowed waters to labor for their sustenance ; the
tall trees were levelled with the earth, and sprang up anon in the
form of dwellings ; the hill-sides, bleak and cold in the early spring
time, were presently covered with the creatures which were to fur
nish the next year's raiment for that undaunted band. .And yet a
little while expanding in their strength, offshoots were seen,
stretching to the West and the North, and saying, " Make way, for
the place is too strait for us." A few more summers and a few
more snows, and the wrought and labored highways, radiating in

4 INTRODUCTION.
every direction, — the compact and substantial dwellings, and spir
and steeple pointing up to Heaven, told to the wandering Indian, i
accents not to be mistaken, that a people of another lineage an
another faith, were firmly planted on the soil once teeming with hi
hardy braves ; and that the Merrimac, in which he had been won
to spear the sturgeon, and on whose banks in winter's depths h
had tracked on snow-shoes the flying deer, was now to be spannei
into a highway by the builder's art ; and its lucid waters were des
tined to bear the treasures of four continents to its shores.
Two hundred and twenty years have passed, and all this and muci
more has been long accomplished.

PERIOD I.

THE SETTLEMENT AND GROWTH OF NEWBURY.
The Indians whom the first English settlers found in the territo
ry we now occupy, were of the Pawtucket nation. This tribe laid
claim to all the country lying between the Piscataqua river, and the
river Charles, and back, inland, to what is now Concord, New
Hampshire. They had one chieftain, who resided at his pleasure at
different places within this domain, called Nanapashemet (1630.)*
Under him were subordinate chiefs, called Sagamores, and the dis
trict lying between the Merrimac and Naumkeag rivers, and extend
ing to the present site of Andover, was under the particular rule of
a Sagamore, named Masconomo or Masconomnet, called by Winthrop
the Sagamore of Agawam, from which Ipswich received its first
name. But the Pawtuckets, though numbering at one time 3000
warriors, had been fearfully reduced by two dreadful scourges,
previous to any attempted settlement of Newbury. Towards the
eastward, on the banks of the Penobscot, lay their powerful and
warlike enemies, the Tarratines, who twenty years before had
overrun the entire country of the Pawtuckets ; leaving the land,
from the Penobscot to the Blue Hills, of Milton (the home of the
Massachusetts), strewed with the victims of their revenge ; thou
sands of unburied dead strewed the banks of every stream, and
* Previous to 1752 the year commenced in March, which was consequently
the first month, and February, which is now the second, was the 12th. Ten
days must be added to any date in the sixteenth century, and eleven days
in the seventeenth, to bring them up to the present style of reckoning.

6 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
polluted the free air of the primeval forests ; so much so, that the
plague which followed in the train of this calamity, went hke a
gleaner over the fields, gathering up the remnant which the arrow
and the tomahawk had left.
But though the Sagamore of Agawam escaped the scalping-knife,
and the more lingering death which had swept off the strength of
his followers, he was in no condition to contend with his ancient
foes, and gladly sought the protection of the Enghsh,* and thus was
prepared for our fathers, a peaceable and unobstructed possession
of their new homes.
The land itself, from its first discovery by the elder Cabot, (if we
reject the enticing Scandinavian and Welch legends,) was visited
successively by Gosnold and Martin Pring, in 1602-3 ; but the first
regular survey of this portion of the coast was made by the cele
brated Captain John Smith, the founder of Jamestown, who in
1614 made an expedition to the north-east, and on his return to
London, published an account of this part of the country, with a
map of the coast ; and the land itself nominally passed into the
possession of many hands before it was won by our ancestors for
themselves. In 1620, it was granted to Sir Fernando Georges and
others, in the name of the Grand Council of Plymouth, and under
this patent was first called New England, by royal authority.^ The
next year, this Council granted to one John Mason " all the land
from the river of Naumkeag (now Salem) to the mouth of the
Merrimac ; " and in 1622, this grant was extended to the Piscataqua.
Again the land was sold to another party ; the Council of Plymouth,
most of whom remained in England, sold " that part of New Eng
land which lies between three miles north of the Merrimac river and
three miles to the south of Charles river," to a company of six gen
tlemen, including John Endicott,t one of Salem's illustrious names.
This patent, it will be seen, infringed upon that already granted to
*On the 8th of March, 1634, " Maskanomet," (so written,) with four other
Sagamores, voluntarily submitted themselves to the government of Massachu
setts, and signed a document in which they also professed themselves willing to
be instructed in the Christian religion. — Colony Records, vol. 1.
In 1646 the General Court granted him special permission to have his gun
mended by a smith ; no smith being allowed to repair fire-arms for an Indian
without leave.
f Bancroft, vol. 1, chap. 9.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 7
Mason. But not content with its having been twice sold, the last
named company, some of whom remained in England, obtained in
1628 another charter from King Charles, re-confirming their patent
given by the Council of Plymouth, and obtaining in addition, the
right to exercise powers of government. This charter was in the
name of the " Governor and Company of Massachusetts Bay, in
New England." In this Charter, the Merrimac is designated as
" a great river, there [in New England] 'comonlie called Monomack
alias Merriemack." Under this charter, Endicott was appoint
ed de facto governor, but was speedily superseded by Winthrop.
At first, all the freemen under this charter were obliged to go to
Boston to vote,* but ere long the plan of sending representatives
was adopted, to the great relief of the colonists. Each settlement
having ten freemen, was entitled to a deputy. The Governor and
Council assumed jurisdiction over the Indians left within the terri
tory, as well as the white inhabitants. In 1631 we find that the
Sagamore of Agawam, the late lord of the land we occupy, was
forbidden by the General Court, to " enter any Englishman's house,
for a year, under penalty of ten beaver skins ; " which punishment
was inflicted, on account of his having, in some way, given affront
to his ancient enemies, the Tarratines ; and the- Governor probably
feared another irruption of that still unsubdued tribe. Yet, under
the noble Winthrop, no white man was permitted, with impunity, to
injure an Indian. A Mr. Josias Plaistow, having stolen four
pecks of corn from an Indian, was ordered by the Court to return
eight pecks ; and " to be hereafter called Josias, and not Mr. as
formerly he was ; " and though two kings had granted the land to
the emigrants from England, satisfaction was also made to the resi
dent Indians, as existing records show.
Nearly a hundred and ninety years after the first settler had
planted his cabin by the side of the Merrimac (in 1822), the bones
of an Indian, a tomahawk, an aboriginal stone pipe, and two whet
stones were found upon digging into a lot of ground, on Market
street ; the spot, when selected for burial, probably being chosen as
* On page 166, vol. 1, of the Records of the General Court, we find it re
corded, " that Newberry shall have liberty to stay so many of their freemen at
home, for the safety of their town, as they shall judge needful, and those who
are so stayed at home, shall send their voices by proxy."

8 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
a sequestered place, which the friends of the deceased fondly hoped
would forever conceal the remains from stranger eyes. The idea
was broached, at the time that these interesting relics were dis
covered, that the place had been used as a cemetery ; but had this
been the case, these would not have been solitary witnesses of the
long departed race.*
Whatever unsettled claims the descendants of Masconomo held,
to any portion of their original inheritance, were formally resigned,
by his grandchildren, by deeds given to the several towns then
existing within the limits of ancient Agawam. Among these was
Newbury. In behalf of himself and heirs, Samuel English, a
grandson of Masconomo, in 1701, in consideration of ten pounds
current money, paid him by the Selectmen of Newbury, confirmed
to them and their heirs forever, a " tract of land, ten thousand acres
more or less, containing the township of Newbury, being bounded
north and north-west by the river Merrimac, east by the sea, west
by Bradford line, and south by Rowley." The document in which
this transfer of ten thousand acres is made, in consideration of ten
pounds, is signed and sealed by the said heir of the " Earldom of
Agawam," witnessed by two Justices of the Peace, and dated Jan
uary 10th, 1701, just sixty-six years after the settlement of New
bury (Old Town) ; and at this time there was not above a score of
Indians in the place, and most of those which still survived, were in
an abject condition ; and the payment, therefore, of any considera
tion, must have been a matter of pure choice, and the ten pounds
paid by Newbury, a mere peace offering, to allay the impotent
complaints of this degenerate representative of the original lords of
the soil.
The part of Newbury first settled was the northern bank of the
Quascacunquen (now Parker) river ; which inclines us to the be
lief that the centennial deposit, at the mouth of the Merrimac, which
has occurred twice since that period, was then in unpromising exist
ence at the entrance of the river. Twice within the history of the
* Other mementoes of the race have been found in the lower part of the
town. Captain J. Woodell found a piece of an arrow-head in his field, and on
land which has probably been cultivated over two hundred years, is occasion
ally turned up some fragmentary witness of the existence of the departed
Pawtuckets.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 9
settlement of the southern shores of the Merrimac, have the envi
ous tides, receiving their direction from the point of Cape Ann,
endeavored to dam up the entrance to the harbor, by the formation
of large deposits of sand on the permanent bar ; dividing the water
into two indifferent channels. The process takes about a hundred
years; and these facts accord with the statement of an early
visitor* to this part of the country, who speaks of the Merrimac
as a " gallant river," but disparagingly adds, " the entrance to
which, though over a mile in breadth, and having two passages, is
barred with shoals of sand, and a sandy island lyeth against the
mouth."f That the " sandy island " was soon after washed away,
and one improved passage laid open to the adventurous mariner, is
certain. But the want of a good channel to the Merrimac in 1635,
was the turning-point which induced the first settlers of Newbury
to locate on the banks of the Quascacunquen ; for though a pastoral
people, they justified their choice by the conclusive argument that
the favored stream afforded a " safe and easy passage to vessels ; "
and Wood (before quoted) says of the Ipswich and Quascacun
quen rivers, " they have fair channels, in which vessels of fifty or
* Wm. Wood, who came to this country in 1629, and stayed four years ; when
he returned to England and published " New England's Prospect" (1634), and
the next year a map of this part of the coast. In 1636 he returned to this
country and settled in Lynn.
fin 1840 a new channel, a quarter of a mile wide, was opened through
Salisbury beach. At this time the sand had so accumulated on the bar, that
no large vessel could safely venture over with the wind from any point between
N. W. and N. E., it being almost certain that if she missed stays, the channel
being so narrow, she would go on shore on the north breaker, or Plum Island.
The new channel, had it continued, would have shortened the distance from the
bar to the town over a mile ; and it was proposed to secure it by artificial
means, but the hope of accomplishing this proved fallacious, and the shifting
sands were found as untamable as ever. Nearly as great changes took place
towards the close of the eighteenth century. The site of the fort which was built
on Plum Island, to protect the harbor during the Revolutionary war, would now,
by the changes in the channel, be found on the SaUsbury shore. In December,
1795, public notice was given to mariners making this harbor, that on account
of the shifting of the bar, the lights on Plum Island were moved so as to range
" W. by S., running in, and E. by N., going out." Between 1820 and 1826,
the north end of Plum Island wore away more than 600 feet, and persons were
then living who could recollect when vessels, drawing from six to seven feet,
could sail round Plum Island at low tide.

10 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
sixty tons may sail ; " evidently inferring that either of these rivers
was better adapted for the general purposes of navigation, than the
Merrimac. That the bar and general configuration of the approaches
to the Merrimac have materially altered, rather than that thesg
first explorers were so egregiously deceived, appears a reasonable
conclusion ; as within the remembrance of many now living, there
have been considerable alterations in the approaches to the
Merrimac, and we can scarcely speculate on the position of these
shifting sands two hundred and twenty years ago.
But though the first regular settlement was made in the neighbor
hood of the lower green, (Old Town,) yet we find that two years
earlier, (Sept. 3, 1633,) the General Court "granted liberty to
Mr. John Winthrop, Jr., and to his assigns, to set up a trucking
[trading] house, upon Merrimac river." And some time after, we
find an additional favor granted him, viz., the right to employ an
Indian* " to shoot at fowle ; " and we know from collateral testi
mony that as early as this, sturgeon was taken from the Merrimac,
pickled and shipped to England. The stray settlers who engaged in
this business, were not numerous enough, however, to excite the
jealousies of the organized companies and permanent settlers, who
followed in successive bands close upon them. The first of these,
coming with the sanction and approval of the General Court, removed
from the earlier settled Agawam, or Ipswich, in the spring of 1635,f
and consisted of twenty-three men, whose names are preserved, with
their famihes and servants ; the pastor with his people. A church
and a miniature democracy were combined in that httle company.
Following Plum Island river or sound till they entered the Quascacun
quen, they landed with their goods, and what five stock they could
transport, near where the bridge now crosses the familiar stream
called " Parker river." Between them and their friends at Aga
wam, lay the unbroken forest ; before them, and around them, the
unsubdued wilderness ; no roof welcomed them, no eye was there to
kindle at their coming, and to greet them. The home which they
•One of the early laws of the colony forbade the employment of any
Indian, or the sale to them of any fire-arms, except by consent of the General
Court. t"May 6th" in the Company books is recorded, "Newbury is allowed to
be a plantation."

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 11
here anticipated, they must first make. And resolutely they set to
work, unsheltered, till with their own hands they had felled the
primeval forest, and reared a temporary refuge from the evening
dews and the mid-day sun. This was soon accomplished, and in
the course of the ensuing summer months they were joined by many
additional emigrants. Newbury was incorporated, as soon as settled,
by the only Act of incorporation which she ever received, viz.,
the recognition, by the General Court, of her right to send deputies
to that body, which was done the first year of its settlement. No
less than sixteen vessels had arrived at the colony of " ye Massa
chusetts Bay " within three months of the first movement towards
Newbury ; all .freighted with liberty loving souls, attracted by the
fame of the free homes of Massachusetts, and a large number of
these came immediately to Newbury. The territorial limits of the
town were among the largest of any in the province ; it contained
about thirty thousand acres, of which, perhaps, two thousand were
covered with water, including the sea-shore at high water, rivers
and ponds. It measured thirteen miles in length, and six in breadth.
At this time, it was the policy of the colonial government to
encourage settlements to the eastward, in order to meet the designs
of the French, and, if possible, preoccupy all the lands north-east
of Salem ; the whole of the territory which King James had granted
to the Plymouth Company in 1606, having also been granted by
Francis I of France, to De Montes, three years before, in 1603.
Yet the French had but nominal possession of any" land south of
Cape Sable, though their boundary lines extended to the Penob
scot.* But the Governor of Massachusetts, dreading their influence,
and fearing they would prove bad neighbors, was anxious to extend
the English settlements as fast as possible in that direction. And it
was probably through this direct influence, that so many of the emi
grants of_1635 came to Newbury. Yet, in his desire to " prevent
the French Jesuites," Governor Winthrop was not unmindful of the_
character of the men whom he destined to occupy this part of the
province, as a barrier to French aggression. And thus, in conjunc
tion with the General Court, he not only forbade any to locate them
selves within the jurisdiction of Massachusetts without leave, but
* Bancroft's Hist. Colonization U. S. vol. 1, chap. 9.

— «— — HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
" mislikbg " some of those who had already settled at Agawam, he
forthwith ordered their removal.
The church of Newbury was first gathered under the wide
spread branches of an ancient oak, under whose shade stood the
faithful pastor, who had accompanied some of his Httle flock from
England. In the " open ayre," on or near the lower green, was the
first sermon preached within the limits of Newbury.*
In tracing the history of the New England towns, we almost inva
riably find the church to be the nucleus around which the future
town was to grow. This order of events would have followed nat
urally enough, without the assistance of any official interference.
The predominating motive, in the first settlers, being freedom of
worship for themselves, many of the larger companies bringing their
minister with them, it could scarcely fall out otherwise, but that
they would locate with direct reference to the maintenance of their
church fellowship ; depending on accessions from their friends, for
increase and the growth of pohtical influence. But this order of
settlement was systematically encouraged by the rulers of the
province, who granted no lands, nor sanctioned the removal of any
number of persons unless they were able and willing to " maintaine
ye ministrie among them."
The first object, after dividing the lands and apportioning the
common pasturage for the sheep and cattle, was to build a house for
the minister, and a " meeting-house." In the division of the land,
the general rule was observed, to grant a larger tract to those who
had property, and less to those who had none ; and though at the
first thought it appears an unreasonable and unjust mode of divi
sion, that the rich should have more granted them because they were
rich, and the poor had httle given them because they were poor, yet
there were many reasons which rendered this unequal appropriation
advantageous, if not absolutely necessary at that time, the principal
of which was, that there being but httle wealth among the* mass of
the colonists, it was desirable to offer inducements to the higher
classes to emigrate ; and as the colonial government had nothing else
to give, and had abundance of unoccupied land, this system of
appropriation might be considered the premium offered to those
having property in England, to unite their fortunes with their poorer
* Popkin's Hist. Sermon.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 13
brethren in the wilderness, and help build up the church of God in
this Western World. And though a strong religious sentiment was
the great motory power which moved forward the tide of emigration
in those days, yet it is not to be supposed that these grants in per
petuity of large tracts of land, were without their influence in decid
ing many to leave forever the land of their fathers. Neither should
they be charged with selfish or unworthy motives on this account.
A family reared in, and having many attachments to an old country,
with the physical comforts of a hfetime gathered around them, but
without much surplus wealth, would be exercising but ordinary pru
dence, if they secured to their families, in lieu of all this, a gift of
wild land, which in course of years would far exceed, in pecuniary
value, what they relinquished, but to attain which, they must
encounter the risks and privations of a long sea-voyage, and all the
hardships unavoidably connected with the settlement of a new coun
try. To induce, then, this class of the " godly sort," to emigrate,
fifty acres were given to each person who came at his own expense
to the colony ; and for every fifty pounds in money which he paid
into the common stock, he received two hundred acres of land.
Also, if any persons in England sent over, at their own expense, any
" sound healthy person," the same proportion of land was awarded
to them ; and in this way there became many owners of real estate
in Massachusetts, resident in England.
When the land came to be divided in Newbury, there was great
inequality in the grants to different persons forming the first parish ;
the largest grant being one thousand and eighty acres to Mr. Rich
ard Dummer ; while others received tracts varying in extent from
six hundred and thirty, which was the next largest, down to the four
acres for a house lot and right of pasturage, which was given for the
use of the poorest settler ; while the rich not unfrequently added
to their estates by purchase.
On the lower green was placed the first meeting-house, in which
met the first church of Newbury* with their first pastor, the Rev.
Thomas Parker ,f who continued with them in that relation for more
than a quarter of a century ; and connected with him as assistant and
teacher to the settlement, was Mr. James Noyes, his nephew.^
» Dr. PopMn's Sermon. f See Appendix to Period L
t See Appendix to Period I.

14 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
It is impossible to understand the state of early Newbury, without
a correct appreciation of the position assumed, and influence exerted
by this " antient divine." The practical union which existed
between these church organizations and the civil power of the
province,* involves the history of New England towns inextricably
with that of the dominant church, and neither can be unravelled
without the hght of the other. Scarcely had the town of Newbury
assumed shape and order, ere a difference of opinion arose between
the pastor and his people, upon some points of church government,
which afterwards broke out into open complaint and opposition, cre
ating contentions and dissensions, with brief intervals of truce only,
for more than twenty-five years, involving the parish as well as the
church ; injuriously affecting the organization of the military com
pany;! calling for the interference of the General Court, and
attracting the attention, and exciting the interest of all the churches
in the province ; giving tone to the entire population for nearly two
generations ; nor can its effects be said to have entirely ceased, down
to the present time.
We may as well here explain, that the mooted point between
pastor and people, was in regard to where lay the governing
power of the church. The pastor claimed that it lay in him ; the
church, or rather the dissentient party in the church, claimed that it
lay in them ; and despite the adjudication of the General Court, whose
aid was several times sought — the advice of ecclesiastical councils,
and continual endeavors to settle or compromise the difficulties, this
desirable object was not attained in the hfetime of the minister.
Death only could heal the divisions which had grown and rankled
for a quarter of a century.
With this brief explanation of the state of ecclesiastical affairs,
the reader will more clearly perceive the cause of many of the corpor
ate, as well as unofficial acts of the parish, and their subsequent
attempts to control and restrain the growth of new religious interests.
One of the first orders of the town of Newbury, was that no person
should be admitted as a resident, without the consent and approba-
* At this time no one could be chosen to any civil or military office who was
not a member of the church. — Colony Records, vol. 1.
fThe nomination of an individual proposed as Serjeant, was rejected on one
occasion, the reason being given, that he was " corrupt as regards the Lord's
'Supper."

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 15
tion of the town ; * and this on the same principle by which the
ruling powers excluded from the soil of Massachusetts, such per
sons as they deemed inimical to the peace and purity of the colony.
For some time, the town met en masse, to transact even the most
trifling business ; but this being found burdensome and troublesome,
from the frequency with which they were called together, the town
in 1636 chose seven men "to order the affairs of the town."
These performed duties similar to those of our modern selectmen,
and their successors, subsequently elected, were called by that name.
The selectmen had also some duties to perform which their
modern successors would hardly dare assume. By an order of the
General Court, they were authorized to examine children, or
apprentices, and if they found them ignorant, to admonish their
parents or masters, and if no improvement was made, they might,
with the consent of two magistrates, or the next County Court, place
them in the hands of .those who would instruct them better.
Two years after their settlement, the inhabitants of Newbury were
called upon to furnish their quota of men to join the forces being
raised against the Pequods, (spelled Pecoits in the early records,)
who were stirring up the Indians throughout New England, to a war
of extermination against the English. Eight Newbury men took
part in the expedition,! against the principal warrior now left —
Sassacus — and pursuing his scattered followers to Fairfield, fought
in the concluding battle of the Pequod war, effectually breaking up
this fearful alliance of the Indians, and from which may be dated
the utter prostration of the power of the Pequods in New England.
Though the Indians in the immediate vicinity of Newbury, were
exceedingly reduced in numbers and spirit, before the planting of
the first settlement on Parker river, yet our ancestors were by no
means exempt from all anxiety on their account. We find at this
time, that they contemplated building a fort ; and it was their
invariable practice to carry their guns to " meeting." The town
also passed a special order, that " every man going into the field to
work, should take his gun with him ; " and one adventurous man
* State paper of Gov. Barnard.
f It is related of these troops, and is quite in accordance with the spirit of the
men and times, that they halted on their way to Connecticut, to discuss the
question, " whether they were under a Covenant of Grace or Works." ,

16 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.'
proposing to place his house some little distance from the others, " on
the other side of the hill," the town voted that he be warned against
such presumption, but that if he persisted, and harm befell him, then
" his blood should be on his own head." These precautions were
probably not directed against those few Indians hving within the lim
its of old Agawam, but incursions were dreaded from more distant,
and less friendly tribes.
In regard to education, Newbury, though not at first maintaining
a parish schoolmaster, was better supplied in this respect than many
of the new settlements, both Mr. Parker and Mr. Noyes acting in this
capacity ; and ere long the annual election of a schoolmaster, with
suitable appropriation for his support, became a regular and promi
nent item in the business meetings of the town. A portion of the
" lands in common," was appropriated for his use ; and from the first
records, we find constant and particular provision made for the
" Latin Scholars." *
But though the education of all the youth was a fundamental
principle in the written and unwritten laws of the province, and
enlisted the deepest interest of the early emigrants, there is sufficient
evidence of a great scarcity of books among the mass of the people.
The county records, containing the valuation and settlement of es
tates, with minute enumerations of items of personal property, bring
this fact very clearly out. Many of the clergy had good, even valuable
libraries, but the " planters," as the yeomanry were then designated,
seem to have been contented with a very limited assortment. For
instance, among the items of personal property, we find belonging
to an estate valued at £ 318, "three bokes." What these were,
might be matter of interesting speculation, and we should without
hesitation have decided that the family Bible was one, had we not
previously discovered that that venerable rehc was separately
disposed of by will. In another account of personal property amount
ing to nearly £300, we find " bokes 14 s." and as in the next hne
there is an item, " a boy, £10, 5 s.f " we must, conclude that labor
* The town was, nevertheless, fined by the General Court, for not having a
" Latin School."
f This might be a boy who had been hired out by the " Company," for a term
of years, or perhaps sentenced as a slave by the General Court, for some
criminal act; no uncommon thing at this period. See vols. 1 and 2 of
Records Mass. Bav.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 17
was honored quite as much as lay literature among the planters.
The cost of books while they had to be imported from Europe, must
for many years have precluded the people from indulging extensively
in this luxury ; which indeed could not be expected to enter largely
into their expenditures, while so many articles of prime necessity to
security of life and bodily comfort, were still wanting.
Up to 1638, Newbury contained no visible means of correcting
offenders against the law. In this year, Mr. Edward Rawson was
appointed to "judge small causes in Newbury:" this included all
matters of less value than forty shiUings. But the General Court, it
appears, was not satisfied to trust to this, and to Newbury was
given a hmited time to provide a pair of stocks, in default of
which, to be fined five pounds. They were also fined six shillings
eight pence, and "enjoined to repair their defects" [in the
roads] before September.
About this time, settlements were begun on the north of the
Merrimac, at " Salsberry," [originally called Colchister,] and beyond,
at what is now Hampton,* and within another year, a ferry was
estabhshed'at Carr's Island, (in the neighborhood of the ship-yard
now occupied by Mr. Jackman,) which shows that the communica
tion between these later settlements, and those on the southern bank
of the river, must have been frequent and considerable. The popu
lation of Newbury was now tending to the "water-side," — that
portion of the town now included in Newburyport.
Until 1642, the people had been almost exclusively engaged in
husbandry ; the most of their property consisting of land, cattle,
goats and sheep. Almost every family had a flock of goats ; and
from the quantity of land laid out as "ox-commons," "sheep-walks,"
and pasturage for all the common kinds of live stock which required
grass, their number. must have been very great. But a resolve
having passed the House of Commons, with fair prospect of being
made a permanent measure by Parliament, exempting the exports and
imports of New England from taxation, an impulse was given to the
mercantile spirit, which produced not only an increased emigration
of the class of traders from England, but induced the wealthier and
* Records of Norfolk Co.

18 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
more enterprising, already here, to turn their attention to commerce.
Several English merchants came to Newbury, whom we find afler
wards engaged by the water-side, laying the foundation of that
extensive shipping interest, which subsequently placed Newburyport
among the principal importing towns of New England. Fishing in
the Merrimac was now a regular business, notwithstanding the
" sandy island which lyeth at the mouth."
Newbury had also grown in another direction, toward the west ;
and the first parish was fast losing her original prestige of pre
eminence, by the continual removal of the people farther north and
west, — a "sore distance from the meeting-house" — which said
meeting-house figures as conspicuously in the history of Newbury, as
the Constitution in the pohtical speeches of young patriots.
Plum Island was extensively used for many years as a winter
resort for cattle ; and from the value which the early settlers seemed
to place upon it, we should infer that it was somewhat more prolific
of herbage than we find it at the present day ; for, in a petition to
the General Court, the people of Newbury pray that Plum
Island may be granted " to their sole use," (and to the exclusion
of Rowly and Ipswich,) because that " in right it belongs to us,"
and also " to relieve our pinching necessities, without which, we see
no way to continue or subsist." Should any see fit thus to petition
now, we should think they hardly bid fair to " subsist " with it.
The Court soon after divided the Island between the three towns
(Oct. 17th, 1649).
Although freedom was the thought in the heart of every emigrant,
and " liberty " was ever in the speech of the first settlers of Massa- ,
chusetts, we, who are sometimes called their " degenerate descend
ants," can scarcely conceive how our forefathers submitted to the
continual pressure of authority over the daily habits, and even speech
of the people. The mode of wearing the hair, as it would seem a
matter which involved no question of morality, or good policy, but
one which might safely be left to the taste or judgment of the indi
vidual, was then made matter of serious import, both by the civil
rulers, and the still more potent condemnation of the clergy. A
testimony signed by Governor Endicott and seven or eight of his
Council, was published against wearing long hair, " after the manner

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 19
of ruffians, and barbarous Indians, and contrary to God's word,"
and by which paper, " they did manifest their dislike and detestation
of the wearing of long hair, as a thing uncivil." The paper con
cludes with an admonition to the elders " to see to it, that the mem
bers of the churches be not defiled therewith." The Rev. John
Elhot, the " apostle to the Indians," also declared that the wearing
of long hair was " an offence to godly Christians," and that all
who followed the custom " walked offensively." When it is remem
bered that a minister then possessed a degree of influence over the
feelings of the people unparalleled by any class of men in the pres
ent day, such condemnation of the practice was equivalent to an
authoritative order to desist. The 'origin of this prejudice of the
Puritans against lorig hair, may be traced to the contest between
the Cavaliers and Roundheads ; though they professed to found their
opposition to it on the word of revelation, yet it is plain, that when
the wearing of short hair by men became, as it did in England, in
the time of Charles the First, and the Protectorate, the symbol of a
party, — when the Cavaliers, who were also Papists, or favorable to
that party, nourished their flowing locks with undisguised satisfac
tion and pride, and the reformers of the day universally adopted the
opposite extreme, cutting their hair short, and of an equal length all
round, until they had earned the appellation of " Roundheads,"
which expressed not only Protestantism, but designated, also, the
straitest sect of that division of Christendom, — it is not surprising
that their descendants, who had been taught to look upon long and
elaborately dressed hair as a memento of the Stuarts, should hasten
to discourage the introduction of such vanities in this western retreat,
where they had hoped no " papistical ways " would be tolerated.
But not only was the mode of dressing the hair subjected to the
ordeal of judicial and ecclesiastical remonstrance, but the cost and
fashion of apparel fell also under the keen and searching eyes of
our worthy elders and magistrates of the olden time. A law was
passed at the General Court forbidding the use of lace upon any
garment, except " binding or small edging lace," * which might be
used on garments, or linen; graciously permitting people, however, to
" wear out their old garments," if ever so fine ; and adding go
the grievance of interference in matters of such purely personal
* Mass. Record's, vol. 1.

20 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
concern, invidious distinctions, by which persons owning a certain
amount of property were permitted to indulge in these, to others,
forbidden luxuries. This is the worst feature in these sumpt
uary laws, and the least in accordance with republican feeling, as it
tended powerfully to keep up and create castes, which, odious any
where, is more particularly injurious in small communities, where, of
all the members personally known to each other, some were selected
out, by judicial discrimination, for the reception of privileges ; as,
for instance, where the Court expressed " its utter detestation that
men of mean callings and condition should take upon them the
garb of gentlemen," or that women of the same rank should wear
silk or tiffany hoods, which, though allowable in persons of great
estate, they "judge intolerable in persons of such like condition."
A httle later, we find that three inhabitants of Newbury, " were
each presented for wearing a silk hood and scarf," but were dis
charged on proving that their husbands were worth two hundred
pounds. But one Joseph Swett's wife was fined ten shillings for
the same offence. Then, too, a continual surveillance was kept up
on the conduct of persons in their domestic affairs, and a degree of
interference was customary, which many now would " judge intolera
ble." Thus Aquilla Chase* and his wife " were presented for gath
ering pease on the Sabbath day." A due censorship of the tongue
was also observed. A seafaring man, on approaching in his ship,
having noticed that the flag displayed was destitute of a cross,
" spake to some on board the ship that we had not the king's colors,
but were all traitors and rebels ; " for which indiscreet remark, he
was arrested and committed to prison ; but was finally discharged,
on his signing a written confession that the expression had no founda
tion in truth, but proceeded only from " the rashness and distemper
* The descendants of the Chase family were' some eight years ago thrown
into a qui vive by the report that an immense fortune was left them by some
wealthy branch of the family in England. In January, 1846, six hundred of
them assembled from all parts of the country, at Newbury Town House, on
invitation of Joshua Coffin, Esq., where a collection was taken up among them
to defray the expenses of prosecuting the investigation of the claim ; and a
committee of five was appointed to carry out such measures as they might deem
expedient, to secure the money to the American heirs. The money has not
yet come !

HISTORY OF' NEWBURYPORT. 21
of his own brain."* Like all the people of that age around* them,
the characters of our ancestors partook of that inconsistency which
ever exists in transition periods, when the thought is before the habit,
and the shackles of past prejudices unlink but slowly, to admit the
new forms which must follow, but do not always accompany the
advance of mind.
But of all the arrangements for maintaining a rigid surveillance
over the habits of the people, perhaps none was so effectual, and
certainly none would be considered more offensive and oppressive
in these days, than the appointment of " tithingmen," a species of
guardianship to which our ancestors long submitted without mur
muring ; not, we believe, because insensible to the value of personal
liberty, but regarding it as necessary to the general well-being of
the State, the due preservation of morals, and the prevention of
heresies and religious eccentricities, tinctured, perhaps, with the
feeling that the supervisory power thus submitted to, was attainable
by themselves, and that those who one year admonished or rebuked
them, might the next be under the yoke of their rule.
The "tithingmen" were persons appointed by the selectmen to
have a general inspection and oversight over a Hmited number of
families, usually ten. It was their especial duty to see that all
the members of these designated families attended public worship
regularly, and to mark otherwise all violations of the Sabbath. In
the year 1679, fourteen "of these tithingmen were appointed in
Newbury,f which would show the number of famihes at thai; time to
be one hundred and forty ; and reckoning each family to contain five
persons, (and it would probably be more,) it would give a total pop
ulation of seven hundred, or over. This estimation is probably not
far from correct, as we find, by a list of the persons who took the
oath of allegiance, (being all males over sixteen years of age,) that
there were two hundred and thirty-six thus enrolled in the town of
Newbury in 1678.
The duties of tithingmen were gradually contracted to narrow er
and narrower limits, until their only duty was to.keep order among
the boys. Mr. Lewis says, in his history, that in the early times in
Lynn, the " tithingmen had a knob at one end of their long white
wands, and a fox's tail at the other ; when, if they perceived any of
* Colony Records. t Newbury Records, p. 295.

22 history of newburyport.
the men asleep in meeting, they would gently rap them on the head
with the knob ; but if any of the ladies were caught napping, they
drew the fox's tail hghtly over their face." Their usual insignia of
office was a long white wand.
In 1643, the province of Massachusetts was first divided into
counties ; but as the jurisdiction of the Court was then presumed to
include what is now the State of New Hampshire, there was one
county laid out, then called Norfolk,* which included Portsmouth,
Dover, and other towns now in that State. Essex County contained
" Salem, Lynn, Enon, (now Wenham,) Ipswich, Rowly, Newberri,
Gloucester, and Cochiawick " (now Andover) ; and about this time
the inhabitants of Newbury had become so scattered that a new
division of land was made three or four miles north of the old meeting
house, which was called the " laying out of the new town," the
southern boundary of which was Parker street, in Newbury. Mr.
Coffin says, " the exact limits of the new town cannot now be ascer
tained ; but it extended farther north and south than Newburyport
now [1845] does.
This " new town" we may consider as the date of Newburyport,
as a separate interest from Newbury, though the formal separation
did not take place till one hundred and twenty years afterwards.
But from this time we find the two sections arrayed in opposition to
each other, mainly because their interests being different, were not
so recognized, but the first parish long attempted to exercise a con
trol over those who had removed from the original precincts, though
quite inadequate to furnish them with the benefits which such
supremacy implied. The first serious trouble arose about the meet
ing-house ; some were for having the old one removed to a position
which would better accommodate those who had located farther
north and west, while others desired to build a new house, and
maintain their own minister at their own charge. The party in
* After New Hampshire was relieved from the jurisdiction of Massa
chusetts, the latter was still determined to have a Norfolk County within
her borders, and very absurdly located it in the southern part of the State; the
name Norfolk being derived from a northern county in England, and meaning
originally " North folk," in contradistinction to the " South folk," who likewise
manufactured Suffolk out of their location.— Records of Norfolk County.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 23
favor of removing the house obtained the order that it should be
transferred from the lower green nearly to its present site, " that
the people who had formed the new town might be encouraged to go
on and improve their lands." But to prevent any change, part of
the inhabitants of the " ould town" petitioned the General Court to
interfere and prevent the removal. The " new town" after a little
while prevailed, and a new house was built.
Although it might naturally be supposed that a people so deeply
imbued with the rehgious sentiment, and at the same time so widely
scattered from each other, — their dwellings, as in Newbury, being in
many instances six or seven miles distant from each other,* — would
incline to the practice of extempore rehgious meetings, and preach
ing, if it could be had. We find in reality, that no practice was
more systematically resisted by those in authority, than any depart
ure from the estabhshed mode of worship, nor any innovation more
promptly punished, than that of unlicensed preaching. " Wanton
Gospellers" were as certain of a seat in the stocks, or some equally
fashionable, condign punishment, as the thief or any other " con
temners of ye law." A positive order of the General Court forbade
any person exhorting the people on the Sabbath, except a regularly
ordained minister ; and a native of Newbury having expressed his
opinion that this law was inconsistent " with those principles of civil
and religious freedom on which Massachusetts was founded," he
was disfranchised, and fined twenty marks, for " defaming ye Gene
ral Court."
This case excited the jealous sympathy of some in the town, who
petitioned for the remission of the sentence, whereupon " eight of
the Newbury men" were bound over in a bond of ten pounds, for
their future good behavior, for having signed the petition, — a more
arbitrary sentence than that which they prayed against.
The same severity obtained against holding communications with
those suspected of heresy, most of the virulence being at this time
directed against the Quakers. An inhabitant of Salisbury, (who
had removed from Newbury) — Thomas Macy, whose adventures
have been so graphically described in Whittier's ballad on the
* At the time Newbury was settled, a general law of the province forbade
any one to- build a house " more than half a mile from ye meeting-house." It
was.found necessary to repeal this.

24 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
" Settlement of Nantucket," was prosecuted and fined for " enter
taining Quakers," though he affirmed " that they stayed not above
three quarters of an hour in the house, and that he had no
conversation with them, being ill in bed, but thinking they might
be Quakers, he desired them to pass on as soon as the violence
of the rain had ceased." But for this act of humanity in shel
tering three wayfarers from the storm, he could obtain no abate
ment of his sentence from the Court. These same Quakers were af
terwards arrested and hung in Boston.
But though our ancestors had many of the prejudices of the age,
they had, too, its virtues. Regarding a rehgious education as the
proper foundation " whereon the grace of God might be grafted, to
bis glory," the inhabitants of Newbury were ever ready to assist in
contributions to Harvard CoUege, and in the maintenance of other
institutions of learning, as they multiplied in the country. The
first graduate of Harvard was a native of Newbury, Benjamin
Woodbridge. The first intimation we have of a wharf or dock being built, on
the present site of Newburyport, is a grant of the town* to Captain
Paul White, of half an acre of land (in 1655,) near where the
Market House now stands, for the purpose, and on condition that he
build a dock and warehouse there. But an independent trader had
been before him ; one Watts had built a cellar in the vicinity, some
years before, and he may possibly have been one of those " Scot
tish or Irish gentlemen" to whom the General Court, seventeen
years before, gave hberty to " set down any where upon Merrimack,"
or he may have been one of the assigns of John Winthrop, Jr., who
had liberty to set up his " trucking house" the year before the above
liberal grant was made. At any rate, " Watts his sellar " was
referred to as a well-known site. His occupation- was probably
fishing or trading for fish, which was stored in the aforesaid " sel
lar ; " and which he had occupied long before there was any consid
erable tendency of the population to the water-side.
That there had been considerable fishing in the Merrimac! before
this time, is certain ; and some little traffic was carried on by
•Newbury Records, p. 121.
f In early times, before the river was enchained, and turned into the service
of our manufacturers, it abounded with fish — sturgeon, salmon, shad, &c.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 25
small vessels; but such exchanges of produce, thus made, were
obliged to be conveyed to and from the vessel in small boats, except
at full tide, when some of the smaller craft could unlade at a favora
ble point on the banks of the river. A brisk trade was now spring
ing up with some of the West India Islands ; sugars began to be
imported directly from them; while New England received from
them also tobacco, cotton, indigo, &c. Very httle of this was paid
for in money, but dried and pickled fish, timber, and beef, were
exchanged for these imports. This change in the nature of trade,
and the larger vessels and cargoes which might be expected to seek
a market here, probably suggested to Captain White, who must have
experienced the difficulty of landing goods on the Merrimac, the
increasing necessity of a wharf. It was built at the foot of Fish
street (now State) in 1656.
At this time there was no tavern in Newbury, but the town being
hable to a fine for not sustaining one, an " ordinary" was soon after
opened to the traveller, at the head of Marlborough street.
While the town was increasing in population and wealth, and new
avenues of trade were being opened, the inhabitants of the " old
town" were mainly absorbed in ecclesiastical troubles, arising from
the difference before referred to between the people and their min
ister. In 1664 the dissatisfaction of the people was expressed by a
reduction of their pastor's salary ; but this was 'again increased the
succeeding year, and no subsequent attempt was ever made to bring
him to terms by cutting off his supplies ; the opposing party con
tenting themselves thereafter with petitioning the General Court,
seeking the aid of ecclesiastical councils, and also, on some occasions,
exercising the equivocal right of admonishing, and finally, by vote,
suspending him from the exercise of his clerical prerogatives. They
did this on the ground that they were a majority of the church, and
were therefore the church itself; yet throughout this whole contro
versy, the pastor manfully maintained his position, and the people
their esteem and respect for him ; even the vote whereby he was
suspended by his mutinous flock, invited him to preach to them, as a
" gifted brother," if he pleased.* It shows that there must have
been much good in both parties ; and though the record of then:
* Dr. Popkin.

26 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
pubhc acts would lead to the conclusion that they were actuated by
a spirit of unmitigated wilfulness, there must have been good ster
ling qualities in each, which commended them to their opponents, or
this retention of kindly feeling towards each other would have been
impossible. The history of the " troubles at ye church in Neuber-
ri," is standing evidence how the best of men may be misled into
acts of tyranny, as well as unjustifiable usurpation, all the while
conscientiously believing that they are only contending for the truth,
for the truth's sake. But in this state of inquietude, the process
of " seating the meeting-house " * was one which occasioned some
httle confusion and irritation ; there were originally no pews built,
but only open seats, which it was soon found necessary to assign to
certain persons, on account of " divers complaints of confusions in
ye meeting-house," on account of persons " crowding into seats
already full." It was therefore ordered, that a hst of the names of
all attending the meeting should be drawn, men and women, and
their seats assigned them by the selectmen, which process was called
" seating the meeting-house." Afterwards a pew was built for the
minister's wife, and permission given to some young ladies to have a
pew built for themselves. This being looked upon as a piece of
insupportable pride, some young men broke into the meeting-house
one night, broke the chairs in the pew and committed other injuries,
the perpetrators of which outrage being afterwards discovered, were
duly punished. The children usually sat on long benches " adown
the ile," and tithingmen were employed to preserve order among
the boys, and see that they gave " due attention," to the long, two-
hour sermons. The architecture must in the first instance have
been decidedly primitive, as it was made one of the duties of the
individual who had the care of the meeting-house, not only " to have
the floor swept, and the day after to winge down the seats," but in
case any of the panes of glass became loosened, to nail them in
again-! The art of the glazier must have been held at a discount.
The minister's salary was usuaUy paid in produce.
The export of pickled sturgeon had become in 1674 a regular
and profitable branch of trade in Newbury ; some was transported
overland to Boston, and some found its way out of the country by
the smaU vessels engaged also in fishing on the Merrimac. I* was
* Dr. Popkin. f Cofiin.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 27
frequently exchanged for West India rum and molasses ; a keg of
sturgeon was worth from ten to twelve shUhngs, and one Daniel
Pierce is recorded to have given " fifteen kegs of sturgeon for a
smaU cask of rum, and a cask of molasses." But there were mo
nopolists in those days, as in the present, for a certain Wilham
Thomas petitions the General Court that he may be " hcensed to
boyle and sell sturgeon for the counties of Essex and Norfolk, being
aged and uncapable of any other way of subsistence," but was
" forestaUed and circumvented by others, who by hooke or crooke,
for strong liquors, or otherwise, procure the fish from the Indians
employed to, catch them, by the petitioner." Notwithstanding a
long array of qualifications for the business, which are enumerated
in the petition, and the intimation that he alone could put up stur
geon to the credit of the country, the waters of Essex and Norfolk
were left free to other adventurers.
The alarm excited throughout New England by the breaking out
of King Philip's war, exceeded that produced by any preceding
combination of the Indian tribes. An army of a thousand men was
at once placed under the command of Governor Winslow, and
requisitions were made on aU parts of the country, for men to with
stand this formidable alliance. With inconsiderable exceptions,
New England had been delivered from the terror of the hatchet and
the tomahawk, since the suppression of the Pequods. But this new
and powerful combination awoke not only the fears, but roused into
activity all the energies of rulers and people, and put them on
devising means of defence. This part of the country was consid
ered peculiarly exposed ; and the most prompt and energetic meas
ures were proposed by the General Court for its protection. Many
of the towns had petitioned for aid, and in consequence of their
representations, it was seriously proposed to buUd a waU, eight feet
high, to extend the whole distance from the Charles river to Concord
river, for the protection of Essex and Middlesex counties ; that thus
the people might be securely " environed from the rage and fury of
the enemy." The people of Newbury, however, did not acquiesce
in this project, but forwarded a representation to the Council, in
which, after stating that they had duly considered the proposed plan
of fortifying the Merrimac, " think it not feasible," nor calculated

28 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
to effect the desired object ; and suggest instead, a living wall,
consisting of a company of men who might " range to and fro."
They however ordered several houses to be garrisoned, and took all
reasonable precautionary measures to guard against a surprise.
From August 5th, 1675, to January 2d, 1676, sixty-seven men
from Newbury were drawn for the war, with forty-six horses and
forty days' provisions, — a large proportion for the number and means
of the town. Of the men taken from Newbury, three were kiUed
at the " battle of the fort," * in Rhode Island, and a fourth received
wounds of which he died shortly after his return home. The place
where this famous battl* was fought, was an elevated piece of ground,
of three or four acres, on which was placed the fort ; the level land
below being a hideous swamp some seven mUes from Narfagansett.
Five hundred wigwams were destroyed with the fort, which was
finaUy reduced by setting it on fire.
Scarcely had the excitement consequent upon the war with Philip,
been brought to a close by the death of that chieftain and the
capture of Annawon, than the town of Newbury was aU astir with a
new trouble. An enemy not less fatal, and more insidious, had entered
unperceived, — being in his nature invisible, — and whUe the General
Court sought to buUd up waUs of stone to keep out the wUd men of
the forest, and our good forefathers depended on their strong arms
and trusty muskets to defend their homes and httle ones from
danger, the unsuspected foe had entered, and fairly made a lodgment
in the town.
Perhaps it was from being so far from the " meeting-house," that
Satan ventured to make his first demonstrations palpable in the house
and person of Goody Morse. The reverend pastor who had led the
httle church of Newbury from England, after a series of tribulations
which would have exhausted the faith and patience of ordinary mor
tals, had gone to his rest, and no longer watched with jealous care
over the scattered members of his earthly flock. " The blessed
hght of Newberry," (Rev. James Noyes,) had long been extin
guished ; whUe the coUeague of the " antient divine" had not yet
attained to an order of sanctity comparable to his predecessors.
What an opportunity, then, during this spiritual breach in the primi
tive pastorate, for the exercise of Satan's favorite devices !
* Church's Hist, of the French and English Wars.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 29
In a low wooden house which stood over against the " frog pond,"
and on the highway, adown which an aged couple might sometimes be
seen riding, (the damejbehind her husband/on a piUionji) to the distant
meeting-house, and which whilom was occupied by one Goodman
Morse and his wife Elizabeth, strange things began to take place, for
which no visible cause could be assigned ; and ere long, the dread
ful thought began to be entertained, and whispered among the neigh
bors, that the old house was " bewitched." We can talk calmly of
these things now, for they mean httle or nothing to our ears ; the
subject inspires no supernatural dread, and no visions of jails and
hangman's ropes flit before our eyes when we talk of " being
bewitched." But when old Goody Morse and her faithful spouse
sat beneath the old elm trees that once sheltered her iU-fated door
from the summer sun, or when beside the open window the broad
frills of her cap were seen, and the noise of her spinning wheel
attracted the eyes and ears of the passers-by, it was indeed a fearful
thing that they whispered to one another, — "Goody Morse is
bewitched." How this terrible suspicion first feU upon the unfortunate woman,
who more than a century and a half ago occupied the old house,
which is now replaced by a neat block of modern buUdings, on the
corner of High and Market streets, we probably shaU never know ;
unless a certain young rogue, a grandson of hers, has left in some
unsearched corner, a written confession, which at some future time
shall be brought to light ; but wanting this, we must make use of
such information as the Court, and other records of the time afford.
The first official information that we find relating to this first and
only case of legaUy recognized witchcraft, in what is now Newbury
port, is a complaint entered against one Caleb PoweU, " for suspicion
of working with ye devil, to ye molesting of William Morse and his
famUy." It appears that this Powell had his suspicions that the
wonderful things which were said to have taken place in the " Morse
house," were partiaUy, if not wholly produced by the agency of a
young lad in the family, WiUiam Morse's grandson. For the pur
pose of verifying his suspicions, he stated that if he could have
the said lad with him, and another person, whom he named, he
thought he could ascertain the cause of their many and unaccount
able annoyances ; — meaning probably to show that the boy, being

80 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPOHT.
absent, the fiendish tricks ceased. But in his zeal for his friends, he
weU nigh found his own neck in the noose. On his own confession
of being thus able to solve the mystery of the assaults upon the peace
of Goodman Morse, he was arrested for having dealings in the
" black art," and was ordered to find bail in the sum of £20, or
stand committed for the same, WiUiam Morse coming under an
obligation to prosecute the complaint against PoweU at the next
term of the County Court, which was held at Ipswich.
The testimony against PoweU is about as clear as much of that
presented in the succeeding " witch cases " that subsequently
disfigured the early records of Massachusetts.* One John Badger
testified " that Caleb Powell said, ' that by astrologie and (he
thought) by astronomie too, that he could find out whether there
were diabolical means used about Morse's trouble.' " A brother of
WiUiam Morse declared on oath, " that being at his brother's house,
a piece of brick came down the chimney, — that he took it in his
hand, but that in a httle time it was gone from him, he could not tell
how, but quickly after the same piece of brick came down the
chimney again ; and presently, a hammer, which he had seen lying
on the floor but a few minutes before, came down the chimney too ;
and then a piece of wood a foot long," &c. But the chief witnesses
were WiUiam Morse and his wife. They testified, " that one Thurs
day night, being in bed, they heard a great noise upon the roof,
with sticks and stones, as if thrown against the house with great
violence ; but on getting up they found nobody, but on lying down
again, the same noises were repeated. * * * The next day, an
awl in the window was taken away, he knew not how, and came
down the chimney ; which on seeing he put into the cupboard, but
which mysteriously left its place, and again descended the chimney ; "
this was repeated several times, and then a basket followed the same
route. The sagacious man immediately placed a brick in the basket,
* The witch cases of Massachusetts have been bruited abroad, as though no
other civilized society had ever been chargeable with the same folly. An order
of the General Court, passed in May, 1648, will show whose lead the Massa
chusetts colonists followed in this matter. It is as follows : " The Court desire
the course to be taken here which hath been taken in England, for discovery of
witches, by watching them a certain time. It is ordered that the best and surest
way may forthwith be put in practice, to begin this night if it may be, being
the 18th of the 3d month."— Records of the Gov. and Com., of ye Mass. Bay.

BtBTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 31
to prevent its again violating the laws of gravitation by getting up
to the top of the chimney, " he knew not how," but aU was of no
avaU ; in a little whUe basket and brick disappeared, and made the
favorite witch's entrance to the room, through the fireplace, from
the chimney. The number of missiles that descended in this
unseemly manner was unaccountable. " Several nights," we copy
from the testimony, " a large hog was found in the house, though
the door had been locked on retiring ; the cattle in the barn were
untied, and the boy being sent out to see what was the matter, a
large frame of some kind feU down on him, and the deponents going
out to help him, when they came in, they found a cotton wheel
turned with the legs upward, and many things set upon it, and the
pots hanging over the fire, were dashing one against another, so that
they were obliged to be taken down." But these were trifles to
what followed.
Next, an andiron danced up and down, and finally into a pot over
the fire, and then the pot danced on to the table, voluntarUy turning
over, and spilling the contents ; then a tub turned. over ; and anon,
a tub of bread foUowed suit, came down from a shelf and turned a
somerset. Goody Morse trying to make her bed, " the clothes did
fly off many times, of themselves," — >at the same time a chest
opened and shut of its own accord, and the doors flew together.
But not only whue these afflicted ones were engaged in secular
affairs, did the evil spirits assault them ; WiUiam Morse says, " I
being at prayer, my head being covered with a cloth, a chair did
often times bow to me, and then strike me on the side," and his
wife coming out of another room, a wedge of iron was thrown at
her, " and a stone which hurt her much," and a shoe came down the
chimney and struck him a blow on the head. The concluding part of
this deposition, — the substance of which we have given, — throws
some hght on the cause, though it does not appear to have directed
the suspicions of those most concerned to the right source, though
William Morse says, farther on, " a mate of a ship coming often to
me, said he was much grieved for me, and that if I would let him
have the boy, but for one day, he would warrant me no more
trouble, * * * and the boy was with him until night, and I had
not any trouble since."

32 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
But with the return of the boy returned the trouble. Some
friends being in the house, " the earth in the chimney corner moved,
and scattered on them," and " somewhat hit William Morse a great
blow, but it was so swift that they could not teU what it was." Another
of the company was hit with an iron ladle ; and a Mr. Richardson
testified that " a board flew against his chair, and he heard a noise
in another room, which he supposed in all reason to be diabolical ! "
There were frequent " noises in another room," and outside of the
house ; sometimes it was "very dreadful." Spoons were thrown
off the table, the table itself thrown down, " inkhorne hid from
me, and the pen quite gone, spectacles thrown into the fire ; struck
a great blow in the poll ; the cat thrown at my wife, " and so on
and so forth. The old man undertaking to write down these mar
vellous things, before he could dry the writing, a hat was drawn
against the paper, but holding it fast, (which showed some courage
under the circumstances,) but part of it was blotted. This writing
was intended to be preserved, and the good people bethought them
to lay it in the Bible over night, lest it should be spirited away, and
indeed for one night it remained unmolested, but the next it disap
peared from between the sacred leaves, and was afterwards found
in a box. WiUiam Morse adds, apparently with the greatest sin
cerity, " do what I could, I could hardly keep my paper whUe
writing this relation, and this morning I was forced to forbear, so
many things constantly thrown at me."
How this bore against Caleb Powell, we do not very clearly see,
but a choice, and truly demonstrative bit of testimony, was produced
at the trial in March, (1680), one Sarah Hale* and Joseph
Mirick having testified that "Joseph Morse had often said in
their hearing, that if there were any wizards, Caleb Powell
was one ! ! "
But even this was not so much to the point as one that followed.
Mary Tucker, in her evidence, affirmed " that Caleb Powell said that
he, ' coming to WiUiam Morse's house, and the old man being at
prayer, he thought not fit to go in, but looking in at the window he
broke the enchantment, for he saw the boy play tricks, and among
the rest, fling the shoe at the old man's head.' "
* Ipswich Court Record.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 33
The Court could not decide exactly what amount of guilt rested
on the said PoweU, and determining to mete out as exact justice as
they could, they faUed to convict him of the charge upon which he
was arraigned, " of working by the devU to the molesting of
WUUam Morse and his famUy ; " but agreed that there was just
enough suspicion against him to oblige him to " bear his own shame
and the costs of prosecution ! ! " and with this equivocal acquittal,
he was fain to be content.
But the troubles in the Morse house waxed worse and worse, and
the people began to cast about to find who else might be the
guuty one. It seems never to have entered the minds of the suffer
ers, to investigate calmly and systematicaUy the cause of these
unwonted disturbances, but they placed them at once, and without hesi
tation, to the credit of supernatural, or rather diabolical workings ;
and having faUed to make a victim of Caleb PoweU, another must be
found — and who so hkely as Goody Morse ? — " some one must be
the witch!" — and for want of evidence against any one else, the
general suspicion was now directed against the poor woman.
The news had already reached Boston, that the invisible powers
of darkness were displaying their impish deahngs in Newbury. A '
general behef in the existence of such a crime as witchcraft prevailed,
not only among the poor and ignorant, but the learned and the educated,
whUe grave doctors of divinity sanctioned the behef, not only tacitly
by withholding aU rebuke, but actively by their pens, their preach
ing, and their presence at the trial of the unfortunate creatures
charged with this impossible crime. Is it strange, then, that the
unlearned and ignorant should zealously join in the hue and cry
which the clergy had sanctioned against " witches ? " Suspicion pro
duced almost as fatal effects as what in those days was deemed evi
dence ; the suspected persons were avoided as infected ; and thus
being left a prey to their own imaginations, half believing the ver
dict of their neighbors, and scarcely trusting their own senses, every
shght unusual circumstance made a deep impression on their over
wrought and fear-excited nervous systems ; until many were induced
in the end to beheve themselves guUty of the crime charged upon
them, though unconscious of originating or desiring communications
with the Prince of the Power of the Air.

34 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
In May of the same year in which Caleb PoweU was acquitted,
Elizabeth Morse was presented by the Grand Jury of Boston, " for
that she, not having the fear of God before her eyes, being insti
gated by the devU, had familiarity with the devU, contrary to the
peace of our Sovereign Lord the King, his crown and dignity, the
laws of God and of this jurisdiction." To this, the prisoner plead " not
guUty ; " but after a form of trial, the jury brought in a verdict
against her, and she was sentenced to be executed, witchcraft being
a capital crime.
The evidence on which Goody Morse was condemned, was of the
most trifling and absurd character ;* much of it consisting of inci
dents which had happened many years before, and were supposed by
the prisoner to have been forgotten, and acknowledged by the wit
nesses, in some cases, to have been all adjusted to their satisfaction
at the time. Of this class of evidence, was the testimony of James
Brown, who asserted " that sixteen years before, one George Wheeler
going out [to sea,] Elizabeth Morse said, ' she knew he would not
come in again."' Yet it was shown that the man had a good
voyage and returned safe, and the Morses had no knowledge that
'any such saying was laid up against them. Another, John MighUl,
who twelve years before had promised to do some work for the
Morses, and not doing it at the appointed time, "judged Goody
Morse to be angry," and losing some cattle soon after, thought
she had bewitched them. Zachariah Davis, living at Salisbury, had
promised to bring -Ehzabeth some " winges " when he came in town,
and forgetting to do so several times in succession, the said Ehzabeth
told him, " she wondered his memory should be so bad," and then on
going home, and into the barn where there were three calves, " one
of them fell a dancing and roaring, and was in such a condition as
was never calf before." On the creature's dam coming home at
night, however, these strange symptoms disappeared, but there was
no doubt in the mind of the testator, that the calf was bewitched by
Elizabeth Morse.
On other occasions it appears the unfortunate woman had visited
some sick neighbors, and having expressed a fear that a chUd
then very UI, would die, and its dying, they conceited she had
brought about its death. One woman, however, was more explicit,
* Boston Court Records. Book lettered " Witchcraft, " pp. 14-19.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. . 35
having declared some time before the arrest of Elizabeth Morse, that
she " saw the imp o' God go into said Morse's house." For this she
was prosecuted at the time, and denied having said it, but her testi
mony was received on the trial, and no doubt aided in the conviction
of the prisoner. Much more testimony, quite as conclusive, was
introduced, and Goody Morse was remanded to prison to await the
day of execution. But she had one friend left ; her husband did
not desert her, nor did he beheve her guUty of the crime charged
upon her.
He prepared a petition to the General Court, showing the incon
clusive nature of the testimony adduced, and affirming that for
himself and wife, " their consciences were clear of the knowledge
of any wickedness committed by them, which should cause the devU
so to trouble them beyond the common fraUties which afflict human
nature," and humbly acknowledging the sovereignty of God, who
had laid such afflictions on them.
After repeated petitions, the Court granted another hearing of
the case, and in the end Ehzabeth Morse was reprieved and finally
aUowed to return home, where after some years she died quietly in
her bed, leaving the impression upon those best able, from frequent
intercourse with her, to judge, that "her discourse was very
Christian," and "jesting upon God in Christ for salvation."
She uniformly denied the crime with which she had been charged,
and only blamed herself for some impatient and passionate speeches,
which she had made in prison, " on account of her suffering
wrongfully." And thus passed away the first and only case of witchcraft
judiciaUy dealt with in Newbury.
There are, however, people in Newburyport to-day, who remem
ber when a certain Madam Hooper was commonly called and treated
as a witch.* This woman came to Newbury about the year 1759-60,
and taught school for some time at the lower part of the town ; her
acquirements were considerable, and she obtained the honorable
appellation of "Dame," and afterwards, "Madam" Hpoper; her
appearance and dress were peculiar, which aided in the impression
of her diabohcal character. In person she was short and stout,
* The writer has heard more than one person firmly express the opimon that
she was a veritable witch.

36 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
having strongly marked features, with greenish grey eyes ; and,
moreover, possessed a perfect set of double teeth, which fact alone,
in the minds of the ignorant, invested her with a dubious and
hurtful character. She possessed an immense wardrobe when she
first came to the town, so that her garments lasted her to the end of
a long life, and she never changed the fashion of them ; so
that with dresses, after an antique model, and a deep cape bonnet
peculiar to herself, her form was recognized at a distance, and as
generaUy avoided. The chUdren learned to dread her ; especiaUy
as many of them saw their parents inclined to propitiate her, for
fear of her evU influence. From the knowledge she acquired con
cerning the neighborhood whUe she taught school, she was enabled
to make many shrewd guesses as to the authors of mischief, and on
other subjects, which sometimes startled her auditors by their truth ;
and from her skiU in physiognomy, she was enabled to guess at
more ; and thus first inspired the suspicion, and afterwards the con
viction, that she was a witch. Profiting by this superstition, which
her natural sagacity early led her to discover, she learned to throw
her remarks into short sibylhc sentences, which aided to keep up
the delusion. She visited where she pleased, none being willing to
offend her ; being often applied to for information, she scarcely ever
granted an answer but what was verified in the result, but on many
occasions she observed an impenetrable silence, (probably when she'
had no means of guessing, and did not chose to risk her reputation,)
for which she obtained an equal degree of credit among her dupes.
She was for years in the practice of fortune-telling, and
her fame in this department was second only to that of " MoU
Pitcher " at Lynn ; her house being the resort of many from the
surrounding country, as well as of the town, who were earnest to
learn their destiny from her unhaUowed hps. She hved to extreme
old age, dying at last in deep poverty and degradation, physical and
moral. Her " famUiar " was a black fowl, with its beak cut off square,
which gave an impish-human look to the creature, which was also
increased by its claws being cut away, leaving only the stumps ; on
which, however, it managed to walk. A very intelligent lady
informed the writer, that when a smaU chUd, she had seen Madam
Hooper confined for several hours to a chair by some person placing

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 37
two knitting needles in the form of a cross before her ! It is weU
known among the witch-wise that " no witch or wizard can pass over
a cross." It is evident Madam Hooper missed no opportunity of
deepening the infatuation of the people, by carefuUy conforming to
all that was expected of a " witch."
The usual form of an indictment for witchcraft was as follows :
* " Grand Juries' BUI vs. M  0 
Province of ye Massachusetts ) 'An Rex 
Bay, in N. E. Essex ss. )  Annoq Domini, 1680.
The juries for our Sovereign Lord the King present that

in the town of  , in the county of  , in the
town aforesaid, wickedly, mahciously and feloniously, on [date
givenj a covenant with the DevU did make, and signed the DevU's
Book, and took the DevU to be her God, and consented to serve and
worship him, and was Baptised by the DevU, and renounced her
former Christian Baptism, and promised to be the Devil's both body
and soul forever, and to serve him ; by which diabolical, covenant
by her made with the Devil she, the said  , is become
a most detestable witch, against the peace of our Sovereign Lord
the King, his crown and dignity, and the laws in that case made
and provided.
BUIa vera.  , Foreman.
Ponit se. Non Cul.
Though the principal wealth of Newbury was in their flocks and
herds, they were not unmindful of the httle commerce that was
springing up on the Merrimac ; and the General Court having
ordered that Boston and Salem only, were to be the lawful ports of
entry for the colony, the inhabitants of Newbury forwarded a peti
tion, praying " that some mete person might be appointed to receive
the entry of all vessels, and to act and do, according as the law
directs in that case." They complained that by being forced to go
to Salem, they were subjected to unnecessary delay and expense,
&c. Their petition was referred to the next General Court, but
Sir Edmund Andros arriving soon after, and changing the whole
administration of affairs,* it was probably not acted upon.
* Copied from an original bill against one Mary Osgood.

38 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
Another petition, from one portion of the inhabitants of Newbury
to the other and major part, met with no more satisfactory fate.
This was a petition from the people of the west end of the town,
that they might be permitted to " estabhsh the ministrie" among
themselves, build a new meeting-house, and of course cease to pay
the tax for the support of public worship, to the first parish. This
reasonable request was not comphed with, and was the source of
much contention for years after, and when they presented a sinular
petition to the General Court, the " old town" drew up a counter
petition against it.
Up to this time (1686) matters had gone on pretty smoothly,
between the town of Newbury and the general government of the
colony ; but with the advent of Sir Edmund Andros, a new danger
threatened — no less a matter than the appearance of a claimant to
the whole of the land lying between Salem river and the Merrimac,
of course including the whole of Newburyport. This royal propri
etary was Mr. Robert Mason, one of Andros's" CouncU, whose father,
Captain John Mason, it wUl be remembered, had received the grant
from the CouncU of Plymouth. In a letter to Sir Edmund Andros,
he says, speaking of the people whom he found settled upon his
lands : " I hope all things wUl go easy, so that I may have no
occasion of using the severities of the law against my tenants." We
do not find, however, that his claim was prosecuted with any rigor,
or to the distress of the inhabitants, except as the general adminis
tration of affairs partook of the tyrannical character of Andros.
Some attempt was made towards a new partition of the lands, but
as the people were not formally ejected, the old landmarks were
not lost, and the downfaU of Andros, in 1689, restored to the
original proprietors security for their endangered rights.
* A favorite point with Andros was the elevation of the Episcopal Church.
To give this body greater influence, he authorized their clergy to perform the
ceremony of marriage. Previous to his arrival, this power had resided in the
civil magistrates, the General Court sometimes appointing a particular person
to perform the ceremony, for parties designated by name. Edward Rawson,
Commissioner for Newbury, was the first person authorized to "join persons in
marriage" in that town, in virtue of his office. In 1642, Mr. Wm. Bellingham
was appointed to " see" and " record" marriages there.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 39
*We have to-day, one memorial, and that a very pleasant and
convenient one, of the brief reign of Andros over Massachusetts.
It was he who first granted to John March (1687) the right to
estabhsh a ferry to SaUsbury, within the present limits of Newbury
port; and which is still maintained, in nearly the same place,
with a simUar kind of conveyance. His government of the
province -was, however, the most arbitrary of any recorded in this
part of the country. Several persons in Newbury were fined and
imprisoned, for having uttered treasonable words against the Gov
ernor and CouncU ; and so exasperated were the people against him,
that on the first rumor of the abdication of King James, whose tool
he was, they seized upon his person and those of his principal advi
sers, placed them under guard, and restored the old officers of their
own choice, who had been thrust out to make room for his favorites,
on his first arrival. On hearing of the outbreak in Boston, many
went from Newbury, to participate in the general joy at the resto
ration of the old order of things, while but one of them reached
the metropohs in time to aid in the disposition and seizure of An
dros. This was Samuel Bartlett, who, it is said, " rode with such
haste, his sword traihng on the ground, that striking the stones as
he rode, he left a stream of fire behind him the whole way." This,
if not literally correct, shows the spirit which inspired him, and
pervaded the people, who loved to teU, and have so long preserved,
the tradition of this GUpin-hke ride of their ancestor.
The same year which witnessed the downfaU of Andros, followed
as it speedUy was by the proclamation of WUUam and Mary, wit
nessed too the end of that contention between the old-town and
west-end people of Newbury, which resulted in the buUding of a
new meeting-house by the latter, on that part of the plains which is
now occupied by the BeUvUle cemetery. It may seem somewhat
puerile to the reader of general history, to here find the affairs of
meeting-houses and such local items, mixed up with the graver
affairs of war and peace, of reigns and dynasties. But the history
of New England is unique, and that of her towns cannot be truly
given, if ecclesiastical matters are left out. The division of the
towns into parishes involved the pecuniary prosperity of the differ
ent sections, as every person was obliged to pay a tax for the
support of public worship ; while, if they maintained a minister

40 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
unauthorized, they had a double charge to bear ; and so if parishes
were multiplied unnecessarily, it impoverished the people, by the
cost of maintaining these separate organizations.
But the people were not permitted to be whoUy absorbed in local
affairs. Andros had left upon their hands another Indian war,
commonly caUed the French and Indian war. WhUe Governor, he
had undertaken an expedition to the east, against the Indians, at the
head of some seven or eight hundred men, and at first, by his ener
getic measures, overawed and reduced them to subjection ; but not
content with this, he invaded and robbed the house of Castine, a
Frenchman who had married the daughter of an Indian chief, and
who had great influence over aU the tribes bordering on the Penob
scot. Resenting this injury, Castine, by his representations, awoke
afresh the war spirit among the braves, and aU New England was
again on the alert to meet this double foe, for the French and
Indians were now firm allies. Commencing to the eastward, the
danger soon extended below the Merrimac ; again pubhc orders
were issued in Newbury, for every man to carry his arms with him
to the " meeting-house," to the fields, and wherever he might be
exposed, in going to and from his own house.
It was during this war that the Indians attacked the house of Mr.
John Brown, at Turkey HiU, the only instance on record of a fatal
incursion of the enemy into Newbury. It was in the eighth year
of the war (1695). The attack was made in the middle of the
afternoon, on the 7th of October ; the Indians having waited until
aU the adult male persons in the famUy had left the house, when
they commenced their cowardly assault by tomahawking a young
girl who stood in the doorway. Then, entering the house, they
seized and bound all the remaining persons, save one girl, who
managed to secrete herself. After plundering the house of every
thing valuable that they could carry away, they departed with their
captives, nine in number, aU women and children. The girl who
had so successfuUy concealed herself, immediately made her way
through the dense brushwood that then encumbered much of the
ground, ceasing not her flight till she reached Newburyport, giving
the alarm to aU she met. When she reached the town, her clothes
were actually torn into ribbons from the haste with which she had
fled from the scene of violence, through the- rough bushes which

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 41
vainly attempted to detain her. Information was immediately sent
by a swift messenger to Ipswich, to invoke the assistance of persons
there, to aid in intercepting and recapturing the enemy, and restoring
their unhappy captives. It was supposed they had taken a north
-westerly direction. Captain Stephen Greenleaf, with a party of
men, followed up the Merrimac, to prevent their escaping over the
river, which it was thought they might attempt to do. He was not
mistaken. After dark in the evening, a shot from the Indians, who
had concealed themselves in a gully, penetrated Captain Greenleaf s
wrist, by which wound he subsequently lost the use of his left hand.
After a brief rencounter, the Indians fled. Three escaped by taking
to a canoe, and two by the woods. The captives were aU recovered
and brought back but one, an infant, which the Indians had killed,
probably to prevent its cries leading to the detection of their hiding
place. Some of the others had been severely wounded, so that they
subsequently died from the effects of the injuries received. " The coat
which Captain Greenleaf wore in the pursuit is still preserved by his
descendants, and was, together with the buUet extracted from the
wound, exhibited by Ebenezer Moseley, Esq., on the occasion of the
celebration of the Second Centennial Anniversary of the settlement
of Newbury, in 1835." The coat was of moose or deer skin.
As the French had been the principal instigators of the war, the
Provincial Government determined to attack them in their own
possessions; and an expedition was accordingly planned against
Canada, the general command of which devolved upon Sir William
Phipps. There were at this time but three regiments in Essex
County ; but one of these joined the expedition, which resulted in
the capture of Port Royal, but faUed to reduce Quebec.
Notwithstanding the extraneous demands upon the revenue and
men of Newbury for the public service, the town was steadUy
progressing in wealth, population, and enterprise. The whole of
the land had been divided up to Artichoke river. It was estimated
that there were over five thousand sheep owned in Newbury. The
manufacture of boards, shingles, and buUding materials was carried
on ; grain and saw nulls multiplied. The land on the water side
was laid out, and ship-buUding commenced at the foot of Chandler's
lane, (afterwards King, now Federal street). Leather dressing

42 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
establishments were put in operation, and an extensive manufacture
of lime was carried on. The discovery of suitable stone for this
purpose was considered quite an event in the history of the town,
and it became necessary for the selectmen to regulate the use of
this valuable article.* Education, too, was not neglected. Thirty
pounds were paid by the town to a grammar school teacher, in
addition to the weekly sums paid by the parents of " Latin scholars,"
whUe two or three dames' schools were in being for the particular
instruction of girls. Two rehgious parishes, with their separate
ministers, were in existence, regular county courts were held,
military campanies were enroUed, and the whole aspect of the place
gave certain indication of the future importance it was destined to
attain. The different castes of society were still strictly maintained.
But eight or ten persons were distinguished by the title of Mr., whUe
but one Esq. was found in the hmits of Newbury, the usual appeUa-
tion being Cfoodman, except to such as were eminent for wealth or
education. Military titles, however, were not so scarce. There
were nineteen men bearing the several titles of Captain, Lieutenant
Ensign, &c. Deacons of course there were, and their titles ^were
never omitted.
But whUe peace thus blessed the labors of the land, the mariner
was exposed to peculiar and frightful dangers. Navigation was
exceedingly insecure. It was during this period, the last years of
the seventeenth century, that the famous pirate, Robert Kidd, and
the buccaneers, whom he originaUy undertook to subdue, infested
what was caUed the " Spanish main," the waters surrounding the
West India Islands ; but unintimidated by these dangers, as by
others which succeeded them, Newbury continued to build and fit
out vessels from the Merrimac, creating a trade which was profit
able enough to endure the loss of a vessel and cargo now and then,
without fatal injury to her merchants. *
That usual insignia of civUization, a jaU, was one of the latest
public edifices erected in Newbury. It was not tUl some years after
* Before its discovery, lime was made from oyster and other marine shells.
On the occasion of a large fire in Boston, and there being a scarcity of lime
in the city for the purpose of making mortar to rebuild with, several sloops
came up " little river " and laded with this limestone.

HISTORY OF -NEWBURYPORT. 43
the opening of the eighteenth century, that the town thought neces
sary to build one. With the new century too, came other changes.
Many of the streets now included in Newburyport* were successively
laid out, new school-houses were hired or built, a new grammar
school established at the head of Greenleaf 's lane, (afterwards
Fish, now State street,) and a new denominational interest, the
Episcopalian, formed, under rather singular circumstances.
After the second parish had effected their legal division from the
first, and buUt their meeting-house within what was called the west
precincts, on the " plains," (1689,) some of the people whose
dwellings lay remote, wished to have the meeting-house removed to
Pipe-stave HU1, or another buUt in that neighborhood ; and on its
location no compromise could be effected,-^- the one party being
resolved it should remain where it was, and the other being equaUy
determined it should be removed. Those in favor of the " meeting "
being at " Pipe-stave," proved the stronger party, and gained also
the decision of the General Court in their favor, to whom both
parties had appealed. But those of the " plains " were not so to be
put down ; they resolved to declare themselves Episcopahans,! and
thus insure the right to worship in the house which they had built,
but were forbidden to use after the decision of the majority of the
parish, " that there should be but one meeting-house, and that on
the hill."
Having announced to Governor Dudley their intention to adhere
to the Church, and having sent to the Bishop of London, to request
that he would send them a minister, they received the assurance
that they should not be compelled to pay taxes for the support of
the worship they had abandoned, and should be permitted to support
their own establishment unmolested. After some temporary arrange
ments for preaching, the Rev. Matthias Plant was settled over them,
and officiated in the little buUding, originally erected for a congrega
tional meeting-house, but which was dedicated under the name of
•
* These were laid out, not as streets are now, by the town, but by the pro
prietors of the land, and generally, for their own convenience. Thus we find the
streets first laid out generally bore the name of the sole or principal proprietor,
as "Greenleaf's" Lane, (now State street;) "Chandler's" Lane, (Federal
street;) "Muzzey's" Lane, (Marlborough street;) " Ordway's" Lane, (Sum
mer street,) &c. f See Sketch of P. E. Church.

44 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
"Queen Ann's Chapel." From this germ, grew the Episcopal
interest now established in Newburyport.
In the first quarter of this century, was the first attempt made to
introduce any variety of tunes in sacred music. Throughout aU New
England, five tunes had served the whole rehgious community;
these were York, Hackney, St. Mary's, Windsor, and Martyr's,
but in 1714 the Rev. John Tufts, of Newbury, ventured on the
hazardous experiment of pubhshing a book of psalm tunes, twenty-
eight in number. This innovation was stoutly resisted by many at
the time, who beheved that singing by the inspiration of grace was
infinitely better than by written notes. Indeed, so suspicious were
many of everything which they did not fully understand, that it
was unhesitatingly affirmed, " that fa sol la was but popery in dis
guise." The good people of Newbury, hke their cotemporaries
through the province, had an unmitigated horror of everything hke
prelacy. However, reason after a whUe prevaUed, and the twenty-
eight tunes were very generaUy adopted.
But perhaps the most influential domestic changes introduced,
were those connected with diet. Up to this time, two articles now
deemed necessaries of life, were almost unknown in Newbury;
neither potatoes nor tea formed part of the ordinary diet of the
people. Turnips had supphed the place of the former, and thin
gruel, cider, or water, that of the latter. Though not in common
use, potatoes were known to the first settlers of this colony, for we
find in a hst of articles to be shipped for the use of the " Company
of the Massachusetts Bay," among other plants, " seed-potatoes "
were enumerated. But they were long in finding favor with the
people ; they were at first planted cautiously, and in smaU quantities,
but finaUy almost superseded the use of turnips, except that the
latter were grown as fodder for cattle. By an item in an account
book of Col. Moses Titcomb, we find that in 1747, or about twenty-five
years after their general introduction here, they were worth as much
per bushel as corn. Tea quickly rose in high estimation, especiaUy
among the "women folk," whom it appears were not long in
discovering its social and exhUarating virtues; the first "tea-
parties " given were conducted on a novel plan, each lady carrying
her tea-cup, saucer, and spoon with her, whUe the husbands bewaUed
the infatuation which led their wives to expend the " enormous sums

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 45
of thirty or forty shUhngs on tea equipages." If they had only
foreseen, in addition to this extravagance, the troubles which tea was
destined to bring upon the Country, they would scarcely have per
mitted it to grow into a matter of commercial importance.
In 1725 was built the first meeting-house in what is now the
business centre of Newburyport. This was the Rev. John Lowel's,*
and stood in Market square. In 1754 this building was struck by
hghtning, and Benjamin Franklin, who was on a journey to the east
at the time, was in the town, and minutely examined the building
after the accident, as we learn from a letter of his, dated March,
1755, in which he rephes to a person who had inquired of him,
" what thickness of wire was necessary to conduct a large quantity
of lightning." He says : " Philadelphia, March, 1755.
* * * " In my late journey 1 saw an instance of a very great
quantity of hghtning conducted by a wire no bigger than a common
knitting needle. It was at Newbury, in New England, where the
spire of the church steeple, being 70 feet in height above the belfry,
was spht all to pieces, and thrown about the street in fragments.
From the bell down to the clock, placed in the steeple, 20 feet below
the bell, there was the small wire "above mentioned, which communi
cated the motion of the clock tothe hammer striking the hour on the
beU. * * * The clock wire was blown all to smoke, and smutted
the church wall, which it passed in a broad black track, and also the
ceUing under which it was carried. * *
" B. Franklin."
The town were now discussing the propriety of buUding a town-
house, and an almshouse, but deferred these matters " for a short
time," appointing, however, a committee to select a new site for a
school-house, and lay out a burying-ground. In accordance with
their instructions, the committee laid out the burying-ground back
of Frog Pond, and a town-house being shortly after built, part of it
was used as a school-room, the third formed parish (first in New
buryport) voting to add thirty pounds to the thirty raised by the
town, towards hiring another schoolmaster, and also voting to set
* See Hist. First Church, and Biographical Notice.

46 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
their school-house between Fish, (State) and Queen, (Market)
streets. The town-house was finally located on High, at the head
of Marlborough street; it was completed in 1735, and was occupied
for various purposes some forty-five years, when it was sold by the
town and passed into private hands.
During portions of the years 1735 and '36 a malignant and fatal
disease, caUed the throat distemper* appeared in Newbury ; it
extended its ravages through Massachusetts and New Hampshire,
and carried off immense numbers of children, whole families being
mown down in a few days.! The cause of this dreadful disease
was not clearly ascertained, but was attributed by some to the
immense number of caterpihars which had infested the country some
httle time before its appearance, and whose myriad carcasses, dying,
had affected the air. Of these caterpUlars a cotemporary writer
says : uMany thousand acres of thick woods had their leaves and
twigs of this year's growth entirely eaten up. They cleared off
every green thing, so that the trees were as naked as in the depths
of winter. They were larger than the common caterpUlar. No
river or pond could stop them. They would swim hke dogs, and
travelled in unaccountable armies. Cart and carriage wheels would
be dyed green from the numbers they crushed in their progress."
The sickness which foUowed this visitation commenced by the
river-side in Newbury, in September ; and by February, eighty-one
persons were buried from Chandler's lane, (Federal street) alone.
The disease was a virulent throat distemper.
Every year was now adding to the importance of that section of
the town emphaticaUy caUed the " water-side." They had always
had wants and interests of their own ; they now began to express
them loudly and distinctly, and to claim some of the rights and
privileges which their location had denied them. As usual, the
" meeting-house " was the first and most important difficulty.
Though a Congregational Church was located in Market Square,
which was by many in the town deemed sufficient for their accom
modation, some of the water-side people, wishing to worship in the
Episcopal form, " were UI content " to go as far as the plains to
* Parish's Hist. f J. Pearson's Journal.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 47
Queen Ann's Chapel, and therefore proposed to buUd a new church
nearer the present centre of the town. Joseph Atkins, Esq., and
the Rev. Matthias Plant, each agreed to give fifty pounds towards
buUding the new church, — St. Paul's. On the opening of the
church, an invitation was extended to Mr. Plant to preach on
alternate Sabbaths at St. Paul's ; but stiU wishing to maintain the
control of affairs, and retain the power in their own hands, they
became involved in contentions with their minister, and finally
demanded of him to deliver up the written invitation to preach to
them. Probably in virtue of his gift to the church, Mr. Plant felt
that he had a claim upon them, and constantly demanded an induc
tion into St. Paul's, which was long denied ; but the people finally
gave way, and he was legaUy inducted as their minister, and thus
continued till his death ; having in 1751 chosen Mr. Edward Bass
his assistant. Queen Ann's Chapel was deserted, went to decay,
and at last fell to the ground through sheer weakness.
In 1743, a new meeting-house was built on High street, just
below Federal, by persons who afterwards formed the first Presby
terian society in Newburyport ; and in 1744 the Quakers built a
meeting-house on High street (BellvUle,) but afterwards removed
their place of meeting to the neighborhood of Turkey Hill. Some
of their number were buried in a lot of land in the rear of the
westerly side of Washington street, between the raUroad crossing
and Boardman street ; this locality, with the immediate vicinage, was
formerly called " Quaker field," and in 1785, before Washington
street was laid out, Mr. John Tracy manufactured cordage in a rope
walk running from the httle graveyard towards the river.
Little business of interest was transacted by the town, beyond the
erection of a new jail on Federal street ; and towards the close
of the year, Captain Donahew* signalized himself by taking with a
smaU privateer, a French ship, loaded with three thousand quintals
of fish, and also a sloop containing live stock.
The principal subjects which occupied the attention of the people,
were war and religion. Proclamation had been made in Boston, early
in the summer of 1744, of war by Great Britain against the
* Mem. Col. Moses Titcomb.

48 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
French ; and the winter foUowing was one of unparaUeled mUitary
enthusiasm, excited by the expedition to Louisburg ; and rehgious
devotion inspired by the preaching of Whitfield. The war against
the French was not only regarded as the opportunity of renewedly
proving the old British prowess over their ancient enemies, but was
considered as a crusade against the papists ; and a victory over the
French, was a triumph of " the truth" over the " man of sin."
Scarcely a dissentient voice against the war was heard in Newbury,
and many men from this place assisted in the reduction of that
redoubted fortress. Among those who most signalized themselves,
belonging to Newbury, was the Rev. Samuel Moody, who attended
in the capacity of chaplain, but whose zeal would not permit him to
be content with his spiritual weapons, and he therefore carried a
hatchet, with which to cut down the images which he expected to
find in the Cathohc churches ; also* Major Titcomb, who did
efficient service in the siege. The last battery erected at the siege
of Louisburg, was called " Titcomb's battery," of which he had
the charge ; it had five forty-two pounders, and " did as great
execution as any." There was also Moses Coffin, who served his
country as " drummer and chaplain." (Probably there was a greater
demand for chaplains in that than in some subsequent wars, which
accounts for their doing double duty.)
As an evidence of the suspicion with which every thing having
any simUarity to popery was regarded, is the fact, that it was not
until the middle of this century, that the Scriptures were commonly
read in the Congregational churches on the Sabbath ; as this whole
some practice appeared to our wary ancestors, a dangerous imitation
of the Romish practice. The first society in Newburyport led the
way in introducing the practice in this vicinity.
In 1748 peace was restored between England and France, which
aUayed, without satisfying the mUitary spirit of the times, for
Louisburg, the scene of so much persevering labor, the trophy so
hardly won, was restored to the French. The work of the temporal
warriors was in part undone ; the great spiritual combatant of the
same period, Whitfield, had left an enduring monument in Newbury.
Under his influence, the first Presbyterian church was formed, by
* See Notice under date 1755.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 49
the withdrawal of nineteen persons from the first church, and thirty-
eight from the third, caUing the Rev. Jonathan Parsons to be their
minister. The spirit of progress which had shown itself among the water
side people, not only in matters of trade, commerce and secular
interests generally, but also in the formation of rehgious societies,
varying from the ancient models, had not invaded the more secluded
precincts of the second parish, (now in West Newbury,) for we
find them disciplining a brother in the church, for the foUowing
curious reason : " that from time to time, he asserts with the
greatest assurance, that ' all who weare wiggs,' unless they repent
of that particular sin before they die, wiU be damned." Now it
seems the pastor himself was guilty of this " particular sin," and
the said brother refused communion with the church whUe they
justified the pastor in his wearing an " extravagant superflues
wigg," which in the mind of this brother and many others, " was
altogether contrary to truth." And so important a matter has the
wearing of wigs and periwigs been adjudged, that some men,
eminent for learning and general intelligence, were persuaded that
the affliction of the second Indian war, was brought upon the people
of New England "as a judgment and testimony of God against
the wearing of periwiggs."
In 1755 peace was again broken with the French, and the war
spirit of our people, which had scarcely slumbered in the interval, was
once more fuUy aroused. The Rev. Mr. Lowell preached a stirring
sermon on the subject, in which he expressed his fuU approval of
the war, Colonel Moses Titcomb* and the men enlisted with him,
* Colonel Titcomb was third in descent from William Titcomb, one
of the original settlers in Newbury ; he was by trade a blacksmith, and a man
of gigantic strength. In 1747", by order of Brigadier General Waldo, he was
appointed to the command of the troops stationed at Falmouth, (now Portland,)
where he remained, with the exception of a few days' absence, from May till
October of that year. He was a member of the third church in Newbury,
(first in Newburyport,) and the pastor preached an eloquent funeral sermon on
the occasion of his death. In the 4th volume of Bancroft's Hist. U. S. p. 210,
a drawing is given of the battle ground where he fell. Titcomb's regiment is
represented on the right wing of the main army, but a short distance from the
shore of the lake. 4

50 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
then expecting to join the expedition to Crown Point, being present.
This campaign terminated his active and brave career. He was
slain at the battle of Lake George, being shot by an Indian, one of
a party who gained the flank of his regiment unperceived. He was
buried in the vicinity, but though diligent search has since been
made for his grave, all trace of it is lost. The poet, AUen, thus
refers to his death :
" There Titcomb fell, and Williams, hapless man !
Two dauntless chiefs who led our thundering van."
The war was popular with aU classes in Massachusetts, and when
later Niagara was taken, Ticonderoga reduced, and Quebec surren
dered to the victorious army of Wolfe, public demonstrations of joy
were manifested in Newbury, an ox was roasted, songs were sung, and
speeches made, indicative of the gratification of the people at the
result of the war ; and on the 29th of October, 1760, a day of
thanksgiving was appointed, on account of the complete triumph of
the British arms.
The buUding of a new town-house, which should also be used by
the County Court, was a weighty matter of discussion for some years.
One difficulty was about raising, tne money; but a more serious
obstacle arose in regard to its location, each section of the town
desiring that it should be placed most convenient to itself. The
County, on consideration of its partial occupancy by the Court,
agreed to give two hundred pounds towards its erection, but the
town did not accept the proposition ; and the " water-side people,"
without aid from the rest of the town, purchased a large lot of land
on the corner of State and Essex streets, and furnished the money
to erect the buUding. It was completed in 1762.

APPENDIX TO PEEIOD I

For a hundred and fifty year's after Newbury was settled, earth
quakes were common phenomena of the valley of the Merrimac,*
whUe several of these extended over a great part of New England.
These convulsions of nature appear for the last half century to have
diminished in number and violence. An early writer, speaking of
the shocks which occurred in* the seventeenth and part of the
eighteenth century, remarks that " some of them were very smaU ;
others passingly considerable, while others came with a very grate
and dreadful noise."!
The most remarkable of these occurred in 1638, 1727, and 1755.
On the first of June, 1638, a town meeting was being held in New
bury at the time of the shock. The record describes it in the following
words : " It pleased God to raise a vehement earthquake, which shook
the earth and the foundations of the house in a very violent manner,
to our great amazement and wonder ; wherefore taking notice of so
great and strange a hand of God's providence, we were desirous of
leaving it on record, to the view of after ages, to the intent that
they all might take notice of Almighty God, and fear His name."$
This was probably the first earthquake experienced by the white
settlers in Newbury, occurring, as it did, but three years after the
gathering of the little company on Parker river ; but they must, in
course of time, have become thoroughly seasoned to them. Nearly
* The Merrimac makes its entire course through rocks of the primitive
formation. The nearest and only point where rocks of the transition period
are found within this geological district, is ten miles south-west of the town, on
the turnpike.— See "Maclure's Geology U. S."
t Coffin. t Newbury Records, p. 19.

52 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
two hundred shocks of more or less violence are recorded as having
occurred in half as many years. That of October 29th, 1727, is
described at length by many writers. The Rev. Mr. Gookin, of
New Hampshire, says that " at Newbury and other towns on the
Merrimac river, the shock was greater than in other parts of Massa
chusetts, though no buildings were thrown down. Many seamen
approaching the coast, supposed their vessels to have struck upon a
shoal of loose baUast. The sea roared in an unusual manner, and
flashes of hght ran along the earth." Hutchinson says, "it
commenced about forty minutes after 10. The sky was serene, air
calm but sharp, and it came with a most amazing noise, hke to the
roaring of a chimney when on fire, (as some said,) only beyond
comparison greater. Others compared it to the noise of coaches on
pavements, and thought that of ten thousand together would not have
exceeded it. The noise was heard half a minute before the shock
began, which continued the space of a minute, tiU it reached its
height, and in one minute and a half more ended."
In the records of Queen Ann's Chapel, kept by Rev. Matthias
Plant, we find a fuU account of the successive commotions of the
earth, which foUowed the first great shock in October. From his
description it must have been very severe. Many chimneys were
thrown down, stone walls fell, springs destroyed, and others opened.
In several places the earth opened, leaving chasms a foot in width.
In the words of Mr. Plant, " it was a terrible, sudden, and amazing
earthquake. It continued very terrible by frequently bursting and
shocking our houses, sometimes breaking out with loud claps six
times or oftener in a day until Thursday, and then somewhat abated.
On Friday, in the evening, at midnight, and about break of day,
and on Saturday, there were three very loud claps ; also on the
Sabbath and Monday, though much abated in the noise and terror.
These claps continued with more or less violence till the 19th of
November. On the 17th of December, they were renewed.
A new spring was opened in a meadow, and in the lower 'grounds
several loads of white sand were thrown up." One account says of
this earthquake,* " it came with a dreadful roreing, as if it was thun
der, and then a pounce, like grate guns. * * * It shook down
* Coffin.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 53
briks, from ye abundance of chimnies. Knights and Toppans
[chimneys] feU. AU that was about ye house trembled. The first
night it broke out in more than ten places in ye town, in ye clay low
land, blowing up ye sand. In one place it blew out, as was judged,
twenty loads, and when it was cast on coals in ye night, it burned
like brimstone." Many persons were so much affrighted at the first
shock that they rushed from their houses into the street, and then
were in as great fear of being swallowed ahve. On the third of
January foUowing, the shocks commenced again. On one day suc
cessive bursts were said to have continued without cessation for half
an hour ; and succeeding shocks were continued at intervals until the
month of July.
That greater earthquake, of 1755, commenced in the early
morning of the 18th of November. As described by the annalist,
Holmes, " the first motion was like strong pulsations of the earth,
which threw the house upwards, and then came a peculiar tremor
which lasted half a minute, followed again by a quick vibration and
sudden jerks, the whole shock continuing about two minutes. AU
nature was stirred and affrighted. The brute creatures lowed and
ran to the barns for protection. The birds fluttered terrified in the
air. Dogs howled at their masters' doors. I walked out about
sunrise, and every face looked ghastly. In fine, some of our solid and
pious gentlemen had such an awe and gloom spread over their coun
tenances as would have checked the gay airs of the most intrepid."
This was the most violent earthquake that has ever been experi
enced on the Atlantic slope of the North American Continent. In
Boston and some other places considerable damage was done.
In tracing the history of these convulsive movements of the earth,
we cannot learn that there were any preceding monitions, atmo
spheric or otherwise, occurring with sufficient regularity to enable
us to form any theory in regard to them. They came unannounced,
in cold weather and hot, in drought and rain, summer and winter,
spring-time and harvest, night and day, at midnight and noon, at sunset
and at dawn. Yet it is remarkable that no person was killed, or
even seriously injured in Newbury, considering the frequency and
severity of these notable earthquakes. The only one which has
occurred in this vicinity within the recollection of the writer, was
that of November 27, 1852. The meteorological and tidal circum-

54 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
stances connected with it were accurately noted by the editor of the
Newburyport Herald. " The night was calm and stUl, with a hght
breeze to within a short time of the shock from the W. N. W., the
ground moist from a rain which had faUen the day previous, the
tide nearly at the fuU. The premonitory noise of an explosive
nature, and foUowed by a roaring as of fire in the chimney, occurred
at twenty-five minutes before 12, P. M. The shaking of the earth
did not correspond in violence with the loudness and long continuance
of the burst and roar," which stUl conveyed the impression of a fire
in the chimney. The shock lasted nearly two mmutes. To those
in the street it appeared to come from the north and pass off to the
south. Our own recollections of the shock are as foUows : First, a very
loud report, not hke " many grate guns," but hke one tremendous
large one ; then a crushing sound, as if the timbers overhead were
suddenly and irresistibly thrust together, and succeeding this,
several distinct revibratory motions, as if the house was on rockers
and was gently swayed backwards and forwards by the wind. The
time from the first explosion to the last motion of the earth, we
should judge to be fuU" two minutes.
The conjecture was made at the time of the occurrence, " that
possibly there might be some great cavern between the head of tide
water on the Merrimac and the ocean, which fiUs with subterranean
gases, and into which water is occasionaUy forced, producing the
concussion ; " this theory receiving additional weight, from the fact
that in the earthquakes recorded of late years, it has been found
that they generally occurred at high tide, not infrequently after a
freshet ; but as in the highest tides which have been experienced
here, there has been no subterranean commotions connected with
them, there must evidently be other concurring circumstances yet
unsuggested. It is worthy of remark, also, that some of the most serious, have
followed more terrific convulsions elsewhere. That of 1638 was
preceeded by that terrible eruption of Mount Etna, accompanied by
an earthquake by which the city of Euphemia, in Calabria, was
completely swallowed up and forever lost to the eyes of man.
That of 1727 was the most serious with which we have not
corresponding accounts from other section of the globe.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 55
That of 1755 was the ever memorable year of the destruction of
Lisbon, the annihUation of St. Ubes, &c.
About the time of the last, November, 1852, occurred that of
Valparaiso, S. A. Others near in time may be traced out.
It appears probable, therefore, that the cause of the more violent
is not indigenous to the country, but by some internal link, is
connected with the subterranean fires which have their home, and
spend their first shock, in more southern latitudes, though why
intermediate places have escaped, is matter of curious speculation.
It was not thought necessary to introduce these or other accounts
of the various earthquakes occurring in this vicinity, into the civil
and social history of the town, as they had no perceptible influence
on its character, neither deterring new settlers, nor producing any
permanent changes physical or moral, (unless we except the " great
awakening," which foUowed the earthquake of 1727.) We have
carefuUy sought for any indication of vegetation being affected by
these subterranean convulsions, but find none.
Though subject to these frightful phenomena, the early settlers of
Newbury had few other physical evils to endure, except such as are
inseparable to all newly settled countries. Unlike many other
portions of New England, they were exposed neither to the constant
ravages of the savage nor of wUd animals ; but once did the Indians
invade the township of Newbury, and then with but comparatively
trifling loss to what other settlements were called to endure. Of
beasts of prey we find no aUusion in the early records, except to a
few wolves. For some years the sheep had to be guarded at night
against these ; and it was customary for the selectmen to pay a
reward for the head of a wolf; sometimes offering rewards to such
as would shoot them. These animals appear to have had their haunts
principally on Plum Island, but their numbers could never have
been large, as from the first, cattle were pastured on the Island
without guard, being left aU winter to subsist as they might. We
hear, as might be expected, that some died of exposure, and some
became so wild that they could not be caught, and were shot ; but
if the wolves had existed in any considerable numbers, cattle could
not have been left there without protection.
Slavery, also, which was for some time an estabhshed institution
of this State, was so limited, in regard both to time and numbers

56 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
in Newbury, as to have had no material influence on the character
of the people. There does not appear to have been any particular
opposition to the introduction of negroes, or the use of Indian slaves
in Newbury. They were not largely imported, because the climate
and soil were unfavorable to the existence of such a class of persons.
Massachusetts never made as strenuous efforts to prevent the intro
duction of slavery, as did Virginia and Georgia. As late as 1755,
Newbury had but fifty slaves, aU told, negroes and Indians ; and
after that period, there is no proof that any new subjects were
introduced ; as these died off, the " peculiar institution" died out
top. Yet one free black was considered undesirable ; a negro
woman named Juniper, having come to Newbury, (1683,) the
selectmen desired her to leave, and finaUy appealed to the county to
rid them of her presence. After the incorporation of Newburyport,
some few slaves still remained ; one of these, a man named Caesar
Hendrick, brought an action against his master, Richard Greenleaf,
for holding him in bondage, and claiming £50 damages. Th8
plaintiff's counsel was John LoweU, Esq.,* of Newburyport, (after
wards Judge of the Supreme Court of Massachusetts.) The jury
awarded him £18 damages, which, with his freedom, was quite an
item to begin the world with. The next year, (1774,) a negro girl
was advertised for sale, the only notice of the kind we have found •
the owner probably thinking that the example of Caesar might prove
contagious, and that he had better get such dubious property off his
hands as soon as possible. In 1781 it was decided by the Supreme
Court of Massachusetts, then sitting in Worcester, that slavery was
abohshed by the adoption of the State Constitution.
The people of " Ould Newbury" stand somewhat in the relation of
civic parents to Newburyport, and undoubtedly exerted some influ
ence on the character of the place, though not so much as might
have been expected from their long legal union, because from the
very first, the water-side and agricultural districts had different
interests, and most pertinaciously defended them. But the connec
tion was quite intimate enough to justify our making special notice'
of some of the principal personages who have figured most conspicu
ously in Newbury, old town. But not wishing to extend this por-
* See Biographical Notice.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 57
tion of the work beyond what is absolutely necessary, we must omit
particular notice of the SewaUs and Dummers, of Webber the
mathematician, who died President of Harvard CoUege, of Eliphalet
Pearson, LL. D., who was for many years President of PhUlips
Academy at Andover, and afterwards Professor at Cambridge ; of
Christopher Toppan, M. A., a man of varied learning and deep
piety, who was for many years pastor of the first church in
Newbury ; and also, as his tombstone records, " skUled in , the
practice of physick and surgery ; " these, with many others, who
shed a permanent or temporary hght in Newbury, must in $iis place
give way to the still more influential names of Parker and Noyes,
whose influence, coming first and being longest continued, gave
character more than any others, to the early good fame of Newbury.
The Rev. Thomas Parker, born in 1595 in WUts,* England,
. prosecuted his theological studies in Ireland, under the celebrated
Doctor Usher. It not being safe for him (as a non-conformist) to
return to England, he retired for a while to HoUand, where the
Puritan refugees from England had already organized a church ; but
the times becoming more quiet, Mr. Parker returned to England,
and preached at Newbury (in England,) until 1634, when he came
to Massachusetts, and for a whUe took up his residence at Agawam,
(Ipswich ;) but as has been related in the first part of this work, he
accompanied the first party of emigrants from that place, who in
1635 came to the banks of the Quascacunquen river, which they '
named Newbury, as the name of their pastor's settlement in Eng
land ; and some years later rebaptized the stream by the name of
Parker, in honor of the subject of this notice. He was, soon after
his settlement here, joined by his nephew, the Rev. James Noyes,!
also a man of great theological learning, who had been associated
with him in England. These distinguished scholars, by their united
fame, were one of the principal causes of the rapid settlement of
Newbury. They hved in the same house, pursuing their studies
amicably together, and with the utmost diligence ; and disinterested
biographers have asserted, without hesitation, that at no subsequent
time has there been in this country or England, " such profound
* Parish and Morse's Hist, of New England.
f Mr. Parker and Mr. Noyes (spelled Noise in the Records,) were made
"freemen" at Boston, 3d September, 1634.

58 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
oriental scholars." Not only as writers and preachers, did these
eminent men diffuse among their parishioners and readers, the results
of their research, but they were in the constant practice of superin
tending the preliminary education of such young men as were
destined for Harvard College, which was estabhshed just one year
after the incorporation of Newbury. They were thus the means of
giving the first impulse towards a love of learning in many minds
distinguished in the annals of Massachusetts, not a few of whom
afterwards figured conspicuously as statesmen, and in the learned
professions in this and other states.
Mr. Parker, who was never married, was in the latter years of
his hfe afflicted with blindness, the result of incessant study ; but
this did not suspend, though it limited his labors. From his famU-
iarity with the Greek and Latin text-books, he could attend to
recitations as weU as if his sight had been perfect ; while his friends
and elder pupUs systematicaUy read to him, and wrote at his dicta-
' tion. He wrote much ; some of his sermons and other works were
pubhshed, but he left many more in manuscript, probably from his
inabUity to revise them ; they were left in the hands of the Noyes
famUy. Several of these were written in Hebrew, with which and
the Arabic he was also famihar. It is told, on good authority, that
on being criticised by certain persons, who came to investigate some
of his peculiar ecclesiastical opinions, he propounded questions to
them, successively in Latin, Greek and Hebrew, to which they
replied ; when, retreating to the Arabic, he found them unable to
foUow, and summarily refused to be judged by any but his " peers."
In the valuable hbrary of the Old South Church, Boston, is pre
served a work of his, entitled " Visions and Prophecies of Daniel,
expounded by Thomas Parker, of Newbury : printed in London,
1644." His great affliction, which none but a devoted student can
fuUy realize, was borne without complaint ; and when referred to,
he would pleasantly remark, " I expect the restoration of my sight
at the resurrection."
In the parish buUt up by him, there has been a long list of
distinguished pastors. Christopher Toppan, D. D., was succeeded
by John Tucker, D. D., one of the most acute controversialists of
the age, and many of whose works were published ; after him
came the Rev. Abraham Moor, who ranked high as a scholar,

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 59
and then followed one of the most splendid Greek scholars and
profound divines of the age, John SneUing Popkin, D. D., after
wards Professor at Harvard.*
Mr. Noyes pubUshed much more largely than Mr. Parker. He
was considered the most learned man of his time, and among his
descendants for many generations, were to be found the most
enlightened clergymen of the country. Two of his sons settled in
the ministry in Connecticut, and were eminently useful in their day
and generation. A descendant of his, the Rev. George Noyes, settled
in New York, has translated a portion of the Old Testament in a
manner that shows the love of oriental hterature has not yet died
out of the Noyes family.
*At the celebration in Newburyport, (1835,) of the Second Centennial
Anniversary of the settlement of Newbury, in the course of a speech made by
Colonel Samuel Sweet, of Boston, the speaker referred to the fact, that during
his whole term at the University, all three of the Professors, Webber, Pearson
and Tappan, were from Newbury.

PEEIOD II.

NEWBURYPORT.
Having now a commodious town-house in their midst, and buUt
by their own unaided efforts, having ministers and parish schools,*
forming a separate commercial and trading community, with interests
aU distinct from the husbandmen of Newbury, — in 1763 the
"water-side people" presented a petition to the General Court, to
be " set off from Newbury, and incorporated a town by themselves."
Two hundred and six persons signed the petition; the first five
names being WUliam Atkins, Daniel Farnham, Michael Dalton,
Thomas Woodbridge, and Patrick Tracy. Their real grievances
were numerous, and their petition set them forth in glowing colors ;
for there had grown up a deep-rooted jealousy between these different
sections of the town, and mutual suspicions of each other annually
widened the breach between them, insomuch that if the " water-side
people" proposed any measure in town meeting, it was pretty sure
of rejection by the farming population; whUe plans and motions
advocated by the latter, were ever suspected and thrust aside by the
former. The impossibihty of their continuing to act harmoniously
together was obvious. The next year the Court granted the petition
of the water-side people, and the town of Newburyport was duly
incorporated by the following Act :
* The records of the first religious society in Newburyport show that the
parish decided on the location of the schools, the master's salary, and in effect
sustained and managed the schools, with much other business which is now
usually assumed only by towns.

A Kortli-eaft View of the Town V barb our of ISTewburyfoTt

A. Tfie To-wm.Ho-nTe |B.TxreTim.a-cT< River | C.Rape'Walk|D, "Prog Pond | £. Salifburyl

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 61
"Anno Regni Regis Gfeorgii Tertii Quarto.
" An Act for erecting part of the Town of Newbury into a
new Town by the name of Newburyport :
" Be it enacted by the Governor, Council, and House of Repre
sentatives, That that part of the said town of Newbury, and the
inhabitants thereof, included within the following lines, viz. :
" Beginning at the Merrimac river, against the north-easterly
end of the town way, commonly caUed Cottle's Lane, and running
as the said Lane doth, on the eastwardly side of it, to the highway
commonly caUed the High street, and so westwardly as the said
highway runs, on the northwardly side thereof, till it comes to a
highway known by the name of Fish street, and thence south-
westwardly as the way goes, and on the eastwardly side thereof,
leading by Benjamin Moody's to a place called the West Indies,
until it intersects a straight line drawn from the south-westwardly
side of the highway, against Cottle's Lane, as aforesaid, to a rock in
the great pasture, near the dividing line between the third and fifth
parishes there, and so as the straight hne goes, untU it comes to the
dividing hne aforesaid, from thence as the said dividing hne runs, by
the said fifth parish down to Merrimac river, and thence along said
river to the place first mentioned, be, and hereby are constituted
and made a separate and distinct town by .the name of Newbury
port, vested and endowed with all the powers, privUeges, and immu
nities that the inhabitants of any of the towns within this province
do, or ought by law to enjoy. "Francis Bernard, Governor.
" The twenty-eighth day of January, one thousand seven hundred
and sixty-four, Anno Domini."
At the date of its incorporation, Newburyport contained nearly
twenty-three hundred inhabitants, (two thousand two hundred and
eighty-two,) and though the territory thus set off into a separate
township included but six hundred and forty-seven acres, much of
this was unimproved, the buUdings being principaUy concentrated
between the northern and southern limits on the river and the ridge
of land now known as High street. But within this small compass
might be found what was more important than large territorial
possessions — men of energy and enterprise, learning and general

62 HISTORY of newburyport.
intelligence, lovers of Uberty, noble specimens of moral integrity,
and examples of Christian principles. With these elements of
prosperity in the men, their position as a separate town was speedily
made to yield all its natural and attainable advantages. One of the
principal arguments urged in their petition for a separation from
Newbury, was that of not being sufficiently accommodated with
public schools. They had hence been obhged to maintain private
schools, not only at an unnecessary expense, but against the genius
of the times and people, whose feelings and opinions were all in favor
of the plan instituted throughout the province, of public schools
supported by the whole community, and for the benefit of the whole.
No sooner, therefore, were the " water-side people " by the Act of
Incorporation released from the burden of supporting schools, with
which on account of their location they could avaU themselves
to but a limited extent, and as they beheved, not in that measure
which was their rightful proportion, than they set about securing
good and substantial ones for themselves. At the first town meeting,
caUed by Daniel Farnham, Esq., held eleven days after the incorpo
ration of the town, a committee was appointed to take into consid
eration the whole matter of providing for the instruction of the
young, at the public expense ; to provide good and sufficient school-
houses, and the best masters that could be procured. From that
time to the present Newburyport has retained an unwavering interest
in the maintenance of good pubhc schools.
With all that was secured to them unmixed with the affairs of the
old town, all the municipal arrangements were readily and harmo
niously carried into effect and estabhshed ; but some subjects yet
remained to be adjusted with Newbury. By this division of the
original town, Newbury, which had formerly sent two representatives
to the General Court, now was allowed but one, and Newburyport
one. In regard to the public buildings which had been buUt at the
expense of the undivided town, the Newbury assessments for them
remaining, an adjustment was to be made, and if, after a settle
ment of the accounts, a balance remained in the treasury, New
buryport was to have a fair proportion; and if a deficiency was
found, the arrangement was that she should help pay the same.
Thus, too, if any of the town's poor who had temporarily removed
from Newbury came back, they were to be supported by the joint
resources of the towns.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 03
An act was passed in 1767, during the governorship of Francis
Bernard, in addition to those passed during the reign of William
and Mary, empowering the towns to dispose of any person whose
presence was undesirable, and who was not a native. The old act
ordained that any stranger who persisted in remaining in a town after
fourteen days' warning to leave, might be taken by a justice
of the peace, and so conveyed from constable to constable until he
reached the- town to which he originally belonged or where he last
resided. Among these poor were some French neutrals, whom Governor
Lawrence, of Nova Scotia, had sent to Newbury. About two thou
sand of them were quartered in different parts of Massachusetts,
during the war just closed. In 1767 several of these petitioned
the town to be returned to Canada. Their hearts yearned for the
sound of their native tongue, and the soU from which they had been
so ruthlessly torn. The number concerned in the petitions to New
buryport were three famihes, including some thirty persons. The
petitions, which are most pathetically worded, were granted, and
the weary-worn exiles furnished with money and supphes to reach
the homes of their kindred.
But experience proved that persons were sometimes to be found,
who had secured to themselves no regular settlement in any town of
the province, and the expense of conveying them away being great,
it was ordered " that the cost should be borne by the several coun
ties through which the person was carried, and that no one, by mere
residence, should obtain an inhabitancy, no matter how long they
remained in a town, unless they first expressed their wish to the
selectmen, and obtained the subsequent approbation of the inhabi
tants, at a general meeting of the town." Neither was the town
obliged to support a person or his famUy, if not thus approved,
unless in the case of apprentices. Attached to this Act is the
clause regarding the poor of Newbury.
The Court of Common Pleas, which had heretofore sat in New
bury, were in future to hold their sessions in Newburyport.
Scrupulous were the efforts made to secure an equitable partition
of aU the privUeges and expenses, formerly concentrated in Old
Newbury, and on nearly every subject were they effectual ; but on
the ownership of certain portions of land laid out as pubhc ways

64 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
and landings,* by the river-side and elsewhere, the matter was not
so promptly or easUy settled. Part of the land, which before the
division of the town, had been undivided or common, feU within the
limits of Newburyport.f These lands the town considered had come
under its exclusive jurisdiction, by the Act of Incorporation, but on
this question the proprietors of the undivided lands took issue, and
the conflicting claims of these persons and the town of Newbury
port, continued unadjusted for the tedious space of sixty-three years.
Particularly were the ways and landings, on the water-side, occa
sions of trouble. The proprietors of the adjoining lots had in many
instances seriously encroached upon them. By the report of a
committee appointed by the town to examine into the state of these
and other public lands, it appeared that a committee appointed by
the proprietors of undivided lands in Newbury, had let out certain
of these ways and landings, within the limits of Newburyport,
receiving the emolument arising from them, to the loss and detri
ment of the town.
The " water lots " had been first laid out in 1703-4, and their
division was perfectly completed some three or four years later.
There were two hundred and twenty-five of them, each one being
assigned to a particular proprietor ; the ways between them being left
for the pubhc convenience, for the landing of passengers, produce
from boats, ferry-ways, &c. These, the town considered, now
belonged to it exclusively, and the proprietors claimed that they still
belonged to them ; the progress of the dispute we shall have future
occasion to refer to.
Newburyport, (and when we speak of the town hereafter,
whether referring to a period anterior or subsequent to its incorpo
ration, we intend to designate it that portion of land now included
in its corporate hmits, in distinction from Newbury " old town,")
* The earliest wharves built were in the vicinity of the Market ; the first by
Captain Paul White in 1656 ; one by " Marchant Dole," in 1678 ; by Daniel
Davison and Stephen Greenleaf, in 1680; and still another by Mr. Greenleaf
in 1696. The wharf at the foot of Market street was built by Abiel Somerby
in 1731, and that at the foot of Marlborough street (then Muzzey's lane), by
Mr. Benjamin Lunt in 1767. Between the two latter points, wharves were
rapidly erected after the incorporation of the town.
¦j- One of the ship-yards was held by the town, and three pence a ton charged
for the privilege of building upon it.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 65
Newburyport then, had already established a good reputation for
ship-building ; this had been for years the staple business of the
town, giving employment to all those mechanical trades, whose
products or labor enter into the buUding or rigging of vessels, —
carpenters, blacksmiths, braziers, calkers, riggers, rope-makers,
painters, &c. Some two years after the incorporation of the town,
an individual counted in process of construction at one time, seven
ty-two vessels, reaching from the " Pierce farm" (now Pettingill's)
to Moggaridge's point, (now occupied as a ship-yard by Mr. Jack-
man) ; and there was another ship-yard stiU higher up, caUed " the
pasture." Besides supplying many merchants in England with vessels,
orders for lumber were as promptly responded to. Perhaps no single
circumstance shows more clearly the enterprise of the " water-side"
people, than the way in which orders for lumber were in several
instances answered. Instead of occupying vessels to carry what
would float by its own buoyancy, they secured the timber together
in the form of solid rafts, conforming them somewhat to the shape
of a ship, and leaving in the centre a small cavity, capable of
receiving a few men and some provisions, and having arranged with
considerable ingenuity the means of navigating them, adventurous
seamen enough were found to undertake the task of carrying them
to London. The passages made by these rare craft would hardly
compare with those of our modern clippers, but one of them is
reported in a London paper as having arrived after a passage of
twenty-six days ; as good a voyage as was ordinarily made seventy
years ago. Her commander was Captain Rose of this place.
Many vessels were buUt and fitted out, for owners in this town,
but the principal customers for Merrimac built ships, were the
British, who paid for them, sometimes whoUy, almost always in part,
with British manufactured goods, and the produce of the British
West India Islands. This, in turn, gave employment to retaU tra
ders here, Newburyport being the market town for aU the contig
uous country back, extending many mUes into New Hampshire —
Portsmouth and Salem being the nearest rival towns on either side.
Here concentrated the business of a large agricultural circle. In
summer, the wagons of the farmers might be seen wending their
several ways through Essex North, and from the " plantations,"
5

66 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
higher up the river, towards "the port," till they reached King or
Fish street, where their heavy and cumbrous loads were soon dis
posed of, in exchange for English calico and cutlery, or West India
molasses and sugar, which fiUed the warehouses of the Newburyport
merchants ; while in winter, on market days, the sound of the sleigh-
beUs scarcely ceased, for mUes along the roads, converging in the
town — many of these teams crossing the river on the ice, during
the long " cold spells," of which our fathers have kept the tradition,
with most marveUous accounts of their length and intensity ; while
here and there might be seen a large cavernous looking vehicle,
— now on runners, and then on wheels, (whichever was unemployed
being lashed to the wagon,) — the contents of which, the outside
would never indicate, and a glance within scarce tempt one to
enumerate. The primitive peddler, honored then with the more
respectable name of country trader, might here be seen fulfilling his
commissions, and buying on speculation various and incongruous
articles, to be transported to the inland village store, and resold to
such as were unable or did not choose to make the journey and their
own purchases.
The trade which showed the most animation, and seemed
destined to grow into the most profitable, was that carried on with
the French West India Islands ; for this trade, smaU vessels, not
requiring any very heavy capital, were the most suitable ; and such
could be built and fitted out, and sail too, without any risk from the
ominous sand-bar, which from time immemorial has lain hke a
couchant enemy at the mouth of the river, threatening ' detention
and damage to any of more than moderate dimensions, which pre
sumed to pass over it without due regard to the ebb and flow of the
resistless tides. With these islands, Newburyport, from the first
extensive settlement of the Merrimac, had maintained a constant
and profitable, and practicaUy unrestricted trade. The duties which
by the acts of trade, Great Britain had laid on the importation of
sugar and molasses from the French and Spanish Islands, had never
been systematically collected in Massachusetts;* this Governor
Bernard himself acknowledged, in his famous letters to the minis
try ; and thus, the beef and pork which cost our people but little
* Pitkin's Political and Civil History, vol. l,p. 160.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 67
to raise, and lumber and fish, which cost nothing but the labor of
procuring, were exchanged at St. Vincent or Martinico, for the
molasses, cotton, sugar, and indigo, with which England could, and
heartily desired to supply us from Barbadoes and Jamaica." Hence
her never-tiring jealousy was finally roused into a determination to
stop this Ulegal trade of her colonies. In the very year that New
buryport was incorporated, Lord Grenville declared his intention
of deriving a revenue from America, by internal taxes ; the duties on
molasses and Sugar were increased, and at the same time the inquisi
torial device was contrived, of making the British naval command
ers revenue officers ; obliging them to take the usual custom house
oaths, for the express purpose of enabling them to intercept Ameri
can vessels, and Stop the trade between the colonies and the French
West India Islands. Thus, at the outset of her independent career,
the commerce of Newburyport received a serious, though not a
fatal blow. Yet some seizures were made, of property owned in
the town, under these new regulations, under circumstances which
made the loss severely felt.
These arbitrary and unusual regulations, by which it was scarcely
possible longer to evade the burdensome duties laid on our West
Indian imports, aroused, as might have been expected, the deter
mined opposition of the people, not only of Massachusetts, but of aU
New England. At this time, too, a plan was maturing in Great
Britain, to change the entire structure of the colonial government ;
and which finally issued in an " Act for the better regulating of
his Majesty's Colonies in America," which was the prelude to the
grand drama of the Revolution. It was not, in all its odious features,
yet thrust upon the province of Massachusetts ; but as if to test
the temper of the people, the notorious Stamp Act was passed, a
fitting introduction to the scheme. In unison with the feelings of
the entire province, Newburyport declared its abhorrence of this
" very grievous measure ; "• and in a full town meeting, held in
September, 1765, instructed their Representative to the General
Court', Dudley Atkins, Esq., "to oppose all his influence to the
carrying out of the Stamp Act," and also, those other oppressive
regulations, burdening and obstructing trade. Believing the provin
cial charter of Massachusetts to be a confirmation of those constitu
tional rights secured to every British subject by the Great Charter

68 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
of Liberties, they declared their behef, and placed it on record,
that " these rights no man or body of men on earth has the least
right to infringe."* Growing eloquent upon the late attempt of
Parhament to deprive them of these rights, which they claimed to
have inherited from their ancestors, this record declares, "we
received these rights as descendants of those who were parties to
the Great Charter, and from those who possessed them, even before
that happy era, under the Alfreds and Edwards of immortal
name." Referring to their want of representation, they asked, " Are
we not treated as slaves, when our brethren and equals are excluded,
and we obhged to submit to a jurisdiction naturaUy foreign to us ? "
And again, in respect to the new laws promulgated by the Admiralty
Court, which was beheved to be in direct contravention of the
British Constitution, then regarded here, as in England, as the only
paUadium of Uberty, they designate the new code as an instru
ment in which " the laws of Justinian as a measure of right, and the
common law, the collected wisdom of the British nation for ages, are
not admitted, and where one man,f whose interest it is to condemn us
in aU cases, is to be our judge, both of law and fact."
With these intelligent views of the grounds of resistance, it is
not surprising that the town took vigorous measures to prevent the
enforcement of the Stamp Act, or that the Acts of Trade were,
whenever practicable, evaded. A pecuhar hardship connected with
the recent change in the administration of affairs, was that the
judges had power to order any particular case to be tried at any
other place than where the action was laid, so that no man felt any
security for a just and impartial trial. This, with many other odious
laws attempted to be forced on the colonies, was, so far as principle
was concerned, of quite as dangerous tendency as the Stamp Act ;
but the latter concentrated particularly the opposition of the people,
because it was felt universally and at once, as a tremendous burden,
because it interfered not on extraordinary occasions only, which a
man might avoid by sufficient circumspection, but it was present in
the daUy business, and was officiously intruded on the most common
affairs of life, as well as on the most interesting and important
* Town. Records, vol. 1.
•f Jonathan Sewall, an attorney at law. — Hist. Rev. ly M. Warren.j). 47.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 69
occasions. A piece of land could not be conveyed, unless the deed
was recorded on stamped paper ; a ship could not be cleared, a suit
could not be instituted, aor any action laid, not a marriage could be
contracted, nor legacy bequeathed, nor an orphan's guardianship
secured, unless stamped paper, veUum or parchment, was used in
recording the several writings, necessary to secure or prosecute
them. No writing was valid in law which did not bear on its face
the obnoxious stamp. The " Stamp Act" contains fifty-five clauses,
specifying some two hundred particular cases for which stamp duties
must be paid, varying in value from half a penny to six pounds.
Other articles besides paper, were subject to this onerous tax ;
playing cards and dice were stamped, the former at a cost of one
shilling for each pack, and the latter ten shillings a pair. The
lowest stamp tax enacted was for a half sheet of printed paper,
which was one half-penny, whUe any writing requiring the signature
of the Governor was £6. Any instrument on which was printed or
engrossed a donation or gratuity to any seminary of learning,
required a stamp costing £2; and the paper appointing any
individual to a pubhc office, was .taxed £4. In making a contract .
for payment, for the performance of labor, a tax of sixpence was
laid on every twenty shillings in fifty pounds, and a shilling on every
twenty above fifty. Thus the whole business of life was hampered,
the diffusion of intelhgence prevented, and even the social inter
course of friends obstructed, by the ubiquitous Stamp Act. No
wonder that it was met with one united verdict of execration, from all
America ; and that in view of it, the vote of the inhabitants of this
town condemning it, and their united request, " that no man in it
wUl accept the office of distributing the stamped papers, as he
regards the displeasure of the town," and that " they wUl deem the
person accepting of such office, an enemy of his country,"* was
considered sufficiently mUd. But with resolutions on paper, and
instructions to their legal representative, the more ardent spirits in
Newburyport were not content ; hke the people of Boston, they
were determined to root out every vestige of hope that the offensive
act should ever be executed. They hung the stamp distributor in
effigy, on a tree near the foot of Federal street, where it remained
*Town Eecords, vol. 1.

70 HISTORY OE NEWBURYPOB,!.
some forty-eight hours, (no one wishing or venturing to cut it down,)
when a bonfire was kindled beneath it, into which it was dropped,
amidst the derisive shouts of the mob. More dangerous and less
excusable, was the conduct of a gang of young men, who paraded
through the streets at night, seizing on individuals suspected of
favoring the execution of the act, and compelling them to join
in its condemnation, on the penalty of suffering personal violence.
The town endeavored to suppress these tumultuous and disorderly
proceedings, but. the spirit of violent resistance would not be laid by
any adjuration of the town officers ; and, this fit of enthusiasm was
allowed to burn out, consumed by its own heat. The Act was
passed in March, and was to have taken effect in November ; but so
thoroughly frightened were its friends by the demonstrations of the
few preceding months, that when November came, neither stamps
nor stamp distributors were to be found. The stamps had in many
instances been burned or otherwise destroyed; and the distributors,
unable to stem the torrent of contempt which was poured upon them,
were glad to retrieve their former standing in the estimation of their
fellow citizens, by resigning their appointments,, and washing their
hands of the whole matter ; and before the year came round, the
Act was formally repealed ; not a stamp was ever paid for or used,
that we can learn, in Newburyport.
The pubhc rejoicings on the arrival of the news of the repeal,
were as general and hearty as the manifestations of displeasure at
its passage. The town-house was illuminated, and six and a half
barrels of gunpowder were discharged from cannon, on the " upper
and lower long wharves," (now Patch's and Bartiett's,) . in honor
of the occasion. But as a specimen of the prudence mingled with
these municipal expenditures, it may be mentioned that the select
men " recommended the inhabitants not to iUuminate their houses, as
the town-house iUumination would be at the pubUc expense ! "
Little more than two years had now elapsed since Newburyport
had obtained a legal name ; and in this time arrangements had been
completed for the erection of one pubhc " grammar school," near
the centre of the town, in which Latin was taught, and two " writing
and arithmetic" schools, one at the north, and the other at the south
part of the town, the schools being taught in hired rooms until the
buildings were completed.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 71
Some progress had also been made in recovering the town's right to
portions of the disputed lands, that around Frog pond and " Burying
hill," being laid out by the selectmen ; the vicinity of the pond
being then adorned, if ornaments they could be considered, with a
powder house, windmUl, rope-walk and a potash factory; aU of
which are faithfuUy represented by a drawing made from a survey of
John Vinal, in February, 1766.* A quarantine was estabhshed during
the summer months, to keep epidemics out ; and three engine com
panies were organized to extinguish fires within the town. There
had been an engine maintained in Newburyport for twelve years
previously, by a private volunteer company ; the engine having been
kept in repair, and the house to contain it buUt, at the expense of
the" company; the funds being mainly contributed by merchants,
who had valuable property exposed to the risk of fire. In 1770 the
Honorable Tristram Dalton gave twenty pounds towards a new
engine, about to be provided by the town.
Some futUe attempts were made to procure a reunion with Newbury,
but the movement never met with much favor. On the first trial in
town meeting but fifty-two voted in the affirmative, while two hundred
and sixty-two voted against such a retrograde project. Four years
later a similar minority movement was as unsuccessful. Whether it
was this same uneasy party, we do not know ; but in 1772 a more
novel motion was introduced at a town meeting held in December,
namely : " to see if the town would alter the name to that of Port-
band ; " and at an adjourned meeting, held early in January, 1773,
this motion was voted in the affirmative. But the better sense
of the town came to its aid. This self-annihUating vote was left to
wither on the town books, without practical notice of its existence,
and the good old name of Newburyport, which had already attained
some littlp fame, was aUowed to go on and breathe again, and we
believe no subsequent attempts have been made upon its identity.
In 1774 the first stage-coach in the country, drawn by four horses,
was established here by Mr. Ezra Lunt,f connecting Newburyport
with Boston, via Salem, leaving Boston and Newburyport on
alternate days, thus making three trips a week. A stage drawn by
two horses, and carrying only three passengers, had been estabhshed
* See Town Records, vol. 1. f See Biographical Notice.

72 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
in Portsmouth some years before, making a regular stop, and taking
up passengers in this town for its destination, going and returning.
It was some two years later before an insurance office * (and that
a private one) was opened in Newburyport, but the following copy
of a pohcy issued in Boston, (also by a private firm,) shows the variety
of perils which vessels were protected against by these private
companies. The policy commences in the form of many such
ancient documents, "In the name of God, Amen." The vessel
insured was a brigantine, " to go to Scarborough, and any or aU of
the West India Islands, and back to Newburyport," in which voyage
it was to be protected against the " seas, men-of-war, fire, enemies,
pirates, rows, thieves, jettisons, [throwing goods over to lighten the
ship in a tempest,] letters of mart and counter-mart, surprisals,
takings at sea, arrests, restraints, and detainments of all kings,
princes, and people, of what nation, condition, or quality soever,
barratry of masters and marriners."
The form of contract in the ancient style, for buUding vessels, was
also a little curious, as the foUowing copy from an original one drawn
twenty-three years before the "incorporation of Newburyport, shows:
" Articles of Agreement, concluded on this Thirtieth day of
November, in the Fifteenth year of the reign of George the Second,
King of Great Britain, &c, Anno Domini, One Thousand Seven
Hundred and Forty-One, between Samuel Moggaridge,! of Newbury,
in the County of Essex, in the Province of the Massachusetts Bay, on
the one part, and Witter CummingsJ and Benjamine Harris on the
other, in the town of Newbury, aforesaid," &c.
The contract then goes on to specify the proportions of the vessel,
thickness of plank, &c, to be completed " according to the true
intent and meaning of these presents mentioned and unmentioned ; "
the said Cummings and Harris to find and provide " aU the iron-work
naUs, pitch, tar, turpentine, and oakum ; " the vessel to be launched
* There were no insurance companies incorporated till after the Revolution,
| Samuel Moggaridge owned the ship-yard now occupied by Mr. Jackman.
To the Misses Moggaridge, who still reside on the spot, we are indebted for the
original contract, written over one hundred and twelve years ago, and also .for
many local items of interest.
I He resided in England. See Journal of Stephen Cross in the Biographical
Notices.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 73
on or by a certain specified day, " to the liking and satisfaction " of
said Cummings and Harris, for which they agree to pay " Three
hundred pounds in cash, three hundred pounds by orders on good
shops in Boston, two-thirds money ; four hundred pounds by orders
up the river for timber and plank, ten barrels of flour, fifty pounds'
weight of loaf sugar, one Bagg of cotton wool, one hundred bushels
of corn in the spring ; one hhd. of Rum, one hundred weight of
cheese ; the remaining part to be drawn out of the said Cummings
& Harris' shop." To this contract, as duly witnessed, the par
ties severaUy bound themselves in the sum of "Three thousand
pounds lawful money of New England, to be paid by the defective
party."* By a social incident that occurred about this time, we find that
there was some prejudice already existing in regard to the use of
foreign tea. A party of young ladies who had met at the house of
the Rev. Jonathan Parsons, partook of a drjnk caUed " Uberty tea,"
which was made from an herb which grew in the vicinity, and was
thought to resemble Bohea in flavor. Thus their patriotism did not
demand any very severe self-denial. More questionable was the
form in which some of the male citizens displayed theirs. A man
having been suspected of giving information to the revenue officers
concerning the introduction of some goods on which the duties had
not been paid, was seized by a self-authorized party of men, who first
placed him in the stocks, then tarred and feathered, and committed
other violence upon him. But these and other manifestations of
feeling were but the faint mutterings before the approaching storm,
which was destined to rend a continent from the grasp of a foreign
. tyrant. The whole country was becoming seriously alarmed at the formid
able encroachments which were daUy made on their chartered
rights ; and amid the gathering darkness of colonial affairs the only
glimmering light was that which indicated a disposition among the
people to unite for their common safety. The various towns through
out Massachusetts, perceiving the necessity of establishing some
* The money named in the contract, to be paid for the labor, was " Old
Tenor " currency, and worth nothing like its nominal value.

74 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
common ground on which they could aU stand, and amid the perplex
ities of the times anxious to secure the counsels and sympathies of
each other, established " Committees of Correspondence and Safety,"
who were particularly charged with the duty of devising measures
to prevent farther- encroachments on their rights, and means for
regaining what had been already lost. In answer to a letter from
Boston, Newburyport, in September, 1768, sent an individual, on
behalf of the town, to confer with the Committee of the Province
there, to ascertain "the best means of securing the peace and safety
of the inhabitants of Massachusetts." Among other measures
proposed was that of " non-importation ; " the merchants agreeing
not to import any goods from Great Britain or her dependencies
whUe the existing onerous duties remained. These duties were
exceedingly heavy, and levied on those articles which the Americans
had not yet attempted, or were not permitted to manufacture ; glass,
paper, pasteboard, white and red lead, aU kinds of painters' colors,
tea, &c. They were aU afterwards repealed except the latter. To
the plan of non-importation Newburyport agreed ; though in doing
so she perhaps sacrificed more than any other seaport town in
Massachusetts ; for, as has been remarked, her staple business was
ship-buUding, principaUy to British orders, and for which payment
was made in British goods, and by faUing in with the non
importation agreement, she effectuaUy strangled a very flourishing
business, whUe she had not, hke many other towns, any considerable
amount of capital invested in other pursuits as a resource upon
which to fall back in these troublous times. September 4, 1769,
the town passed a vote denouncing aU importers of British
goods as " enemies to the hberties of the country," and expressed
the determination to " pursue aU constitutional measures to compel
them to desist." •
Yet, in some instances, they had by vote aUowed individuals to
build vessels already contracted for to English houses, with permission
to receive payment as before agreed, in British goods ; but afterwards,
suspecting that this privUege was abused, and made a cover to the
illicit introduction of goods, not only to the subversion of those
principles expressed by the town, but to the manifest injury of those
who voluntarUy and honestly abstained, a strict inquiry was instituted,
and a committee appointed to ascertain the facts in the case, and

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 75
where any such dishonorable course had been pursued, the committee
were empowered to receive the goods thus introduced, and to store
them, till such times as the duties complained of should be removed ;
and if any one would not promise to abstain in future, the matter
was to be laid before the town, in general meeting assembled, and
" their names published to the world, that they might he known as
pests of society and enemies to the country."* The town also
appointed persons to make out fists containing the names of aU the
inhabitants who would agree not to use any foreign tea ; and also
the names of those who refused to enter into such an agreement,
with particular orders to see that those who gave their names to the
measure scrupulously fulfilled the terms.
In December, 1773, a standing committee of safety was appointed,
and the town publicly expressed its determination " to prevent the
landing of any tea whUe the tax upon it remained," and so far as it
was possible to prevent it, to insure that none should be sold or used
in the town. A systematic surveUlance was kept up, and tea was
contraband through the .voluntary decision of the community. On
the heels of this came the announcement of the Boston Port BUI ;
and Newburyport, with ready liberahty f voted two hundred pounds
of lawful money, to be. sent for the benefit of any indigent persons
in Boston who were suffering from that measure. This sum was
raised by "an assessment upon aU the legal voters in town, in
proportion to their property ; any one to have the liberty of refusing
payment if he. pleased;" and at the same sitting, it was unani
mously resolved, " that this town wUl stand by the results of the
Congress," (then sitting in PhUadelphia,) " even if it be to the
stopping of aU trade."
On the anniversary of the " Boston Massacre," this year, (1774,)
which occurred on the 5th of March, four years before, " the. event
was celebrated hi Newburyport by every true son of liberty. The
day was ushered in by the tolling of beUs. At eleven o'clock a
discourse was preached by the Rev. Jonathan Parsons at the First
Presbyterian meeting-house, and in the evening the beUs were tolled
again." %
* Town Records. fTown Records, Aug. 3, 1774. $ Essex Journal.

76 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
During this year, too, the ground in the vicinity of Frog pond was
ordered by the town to " be leveUed for a training field," the first
material improvement made in that vicinity.
But while attention was divided by the events now transpiring in
the metropohs of the province, and the great issues before the
Continental Congress, the people of Newburyport did not suffer their
vigUance to relax in watching and guarding agamst the infringement
of their own resolutions. In a volume of the " Essex Journal and
Merrimac Packet," published in Newburyport in 1774, we find the
foUowing paragraphs, which show the determined spirit which
prevailed :
" July 20. We have it from good authority, that a ship with a
number of chests of tea on board, is hourly expected to arrive at
this place. It is to be hoped that this town, who were the first in
the province that appeared determined in resisting the detested Bos
ton Port BUI, by hauling up aU their shipping, wiU not suffer their
honor to be eclipsed, by tamely suffering that pohtical plague, tea,
to be introduced at this time," &c.
And again,
" In Salem, last week, while a party were engaged drinking tea,
an enraged buU dashed at the windows, and then entered the room,
overturning the table, and causing considerable damage." " Thus,"
remarks the editor, " even dumb creation exert themselves in action,
in opposing the endeavors to enslave this free people."
And here another :
" Near a training field at Charlestown, a bag of tea was accident
aUy stumbled upon, which was carried directly to the troops, a fire
buUt around it, and immediately consumed, when it was suggested
that more was probably secreted in the vicinity ; search was made,
and enough was found to fiU a large hogshead ; it was immediately
surrounded with fagots, and martyred, to the infinite satisfaction of
the large company assembled to witness the execution. A gentle
man from Newburyport was present, and actively assisted in the
destruction of this national contraband ; there was nearly five hun
dred weight consumed." And the editor expresses the hope, that-
" we shaU soon be entirely rid of this troublesome commodity, which
keeps the whole continent in a ferment."

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 77
An individual who Uved some mUes up the river, had been sus
pected of introducing a small quantity of tea, for his own use. He
thus rephes in the " Essex Journal," (of September 30,) to the
rumors against his patriotism :
" It is invidiously suggested, among other things, that I beat and
abused my negro, for teUing the truth, and because he • would not
lie in my favor ; and that I have sold him at a great distance, to
prevent a discovery about some tea.
" I therefore do hereby on my honour declare, that I have not
within one year last past, brought up river, in my boat, so much as
one ounce of tea, and that I brought up in her, on said ' Fast day,'
two casks of nails, and one of sugar, and nothing more ; and that
I never heard of my negro's having reported that those casks did
contain tea, tiU after he ran away, and I had engaged to seU him ;
and that I sold the said negro for his notorious lying, and other
faults, for which I was unwilling to give due correction, which if it
had been applied, would have reformed him."
The year 1774*, was prolific of devices by the British Parliament
leading to irreconcilable difficulties with the colonies. For some
time past, the people of Boston particularly, but also those in every
port of entry in Massachusetts, including Newburyport, had been
brought into frequent coUisions with the revenue officers, and the
general opposition which was manifested to the payment of the new
duties, convinced the ministry, aided as they were in their conclu
sions by the representations of Governor Hutchinson, that there was
something vitaUy wrong in the temper of the New England colo
nists, especiaUy those of Massachusetts. With the idea, then, of
accomplishing a thorough and permanent reformation of the " evUs "
which encouraged this rebellious disposition, Pariiament passed, in
the early part of this year, an act totaUy subverting their early
charter rights, and many of those privUeges confirmed to them by
WUUam and Mary.
* During this year an attempt was made to move " forefather's rock," at
Plymouth, for the purpose of placing it in the public square, and raising a lib
erty pole upon it. From some undiscovered cause, the rock mysteriously split
in two, which was " enthusiastically received as an omen of the separation
of the countries."

78 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
The foUowing are the principal points of the BiU " for the better
regulating the Government of the Province of the Massachusetts
Bay," -amr which caUed forth a storm of indignant remonstrance,
and determined resistance on the part of the people.
First, this bill deprived the people of aU voice in the choice of the
Governor and CouncU, who were henceforth to be appointed by his
Majesty's commission, under the seal of Great Britain ; the act
affirming, " that the persons heretofore elected by the people to this
office, had been of such a character as to weaken the attachment of
his Majesty's weU-disposed Subjects ; and to encourage the ill-dis
posed among them, to proceed even to acts of resistance, as hath actu
ally taken place in the town of Boston."
Secondly, it gave to this royally appointed Governor, or in his ab
sence, the Lieutenant Governor, the right to appoint the judges of the
Inferior Courts, and of the Common Pleas ; the attorney general,
sheriffs, provosts, marshals, &c. ; and also, upon vacancies occurring
among the judges of the Supreme Court, the Governor, without the
consent of his own councU, even, might fill those vacancies with
creatures of his own choice.
" To remedy the abuses, consequent upon town meetings,"
freely conducted, it was decreed that the inhabitants might meet
once a year, for the choice of selectmen and some other town officers,
but ordained " that no other matter should be treated of at such
meetings ; for that a great abuse has heretofore been made, of the
power of calling such meetings ; and the inhabitants have been mis
led, to treat upon matters of the most general concern ; and to pass
many dangerous and unwarrantable 'resolves." On this account, no
town meeting was to be held, (except for the bare election of town
officers,) without a written permission from the Governor.
The right granted in the time of Wilham and Mary, for
the inhabitants to choose persons as jurymen, was taken away, and
all jurymen, grand and petty, were returnable to the sheriff only —
the creature of the royal Governor's appointment thus insuring, in
every case between the Government and the people, a packed jury,
ready to express the will of the Governor. And as if this was not
enough, it was further ordained, " that on motion of either of the
parties, a cause or action might be tried in any other county than
that where the action was first brought." AU this, and much more

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 79
of the same nature was enforced by fines and penalties, laying the
whole province at the complete mercy of the Governor and his
minions. In view of these dangerous innovations, a town meeting was caUed
in August, and it was unanimously voted, in answer to a proposal
from the Committee of Safety, at Marblehead, " That in the opinion
of this Town, the situation of our public affairs claim the attention
of every true friend to his country, and demand an exertion of their
utmost abUities, to preserve it from that infamy and ruin that now
stare us in the face ; wherefore, we do most earnestly concur in the
proposal for a county meeting, and accordingly appoint Tristram
Dalton, Esq., Mr. Jonathan Jackson, Capt. Jonathan Greenleaf,
Messrs. Stephen Cross and John Broomfield, a committee on the part
of this town, to meet with the committees of the other towns in this
county, when and where shall be judged most convenient, in order
that they may irom time to time deliberate, propose and pursue all
such measures as may have the most probable tendency to serve the
interests of the community, in this time of difficulty and danger ;
this committee to continue until the further order of this town, and
to have a reasonable aUowance for their services.
" Voted, nem. con.
" Attest, ) Stephen Sewall, Town Clerk."
A true Copy, )
The delegates appointed by Newburyport to meet with those from
other towns in the County of Essex, met at Ipswich, on the 6th and
7th of September.
Among the final resolves, were the foUowing :
Resolved, " That the Act of Parliament, entitled, ' An Act for
the better regulating the Government of the Province of the Massa
chusetts Bay, in New England,' being a most dangerous infraction
of our constitutional and charter rights, and tending to a total sub
version of the government of the province, and destruction of our
liberties ; and having been with uncommon zeal, with arbitrary exer
tions, and mUitary violence attempted to be carried into execution ;
and this zeal, these exertions, and this violence stUl continuing : —
from the sacred regard, the inviolable attachment we owe to those
rights which are essential to, and distinguish us as Englishmen and
freemen ; and from a tender concern for the peace of this country,

80 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
we are bound to pursue all reasonable measures, by which any
attempts to enforce immediate obedience to that Act, may be
defeated. " That the judges, justices and other civil officers in this county,
appointed agreeable to the charter and the laws of the province, are
the only civU officers in the county whom we may lawfully obey.
That no authority whatever can remove those officers, except that
which is constituted pursuant to the charter and those laws. That
it is the duty of these officers to continue in the execution of their
respective trusts, as if the afore-mentioned Act of Parliament had
never been made. And that, whUe they thus continue, untainted by
any official misconduct, in conformity to said Act, we witt vigorously
support them therein, to the utmost of our power, indemnify them
in their persons and property, and to their lawful doings yield a
ready obedience."
It having been intimated, that the next Court to be held in New
buryport would not be permitted to sit, it was resolved, by the dele
gates of Essex County, who met at Ipswich, " that aU the judges
and other officers held their commissions agreeably to the charter and
the laws of the province," and therefore ought to be sustained by
the county : — that it was the duty of the officers to continue their
functions the same as if the late Act of Parhament had never passed,
and that whUe they continue " untainted by any official misconduct,
the county will support them." And the people of Newburyport
fulfilled their part of the above resolve at a town meeting held Sept.
28, Jonathan Greenleaf being Moderator. It was Voted, that " the
determination of the county delegates, expressed in their late meeting
at Ipswich, ought to be adhered to, and the Court supported in the
exercise of their constitutional authority, and accordingly we wUl, as
far as is in our power, support them. But if any officers of the
Court presume to act under the new and oppressive regulations, they
must cease to expect support from us."
The Court was held, and the county and town resolutions carried
out by the people, as confidently as if those addresses had been legal
legislative acts. One Nathan Brown, of Newburyport, having ac
cepted a commission as under-sheriff, grounded on the late offensive
Act of Parliament, was waited upon by the committee of the town, and
informed that he had thus incurred the displeasure of his feUow

HISTORY OF NEAVBURYPORT. 81
citizens, made a formal and public renunciation of his commission,
promising in future to maintain the old charter privUeges, and in no
case to accept an office from the new administration.
The foUowing Committee of Safety and Correspondence were
appointed by the town, on the 23d September, 1774 :
Honorable Benjamin Greenleaf, Captain Jonathan Greenleaf,
Patrick Tracy, Esquire, Dr. Micajah Sawyer,
Dr. John Sprague, Mr. David Moody,
WUUam Atkins, Esquire, ^ Mr. John Bromfield,
Captain James Hudson, Mr. John Stone,
Mr. Edmund Bartlett, Major WilUam Coffin,
Mr. Ralph Cross, Jr., Captain Thomas Thomas,
Tristram Dalton, Esquire, Captain Joseph Huse,
Mr. Edward Harris, Captain Samuel Batchelor,
Mr. Enoch Titcomb, Jr., Mr. Moses NoweU,
Captain Jacob Boardman, Mr. Jonathan Jackson,
Mr. WiUiam Teel, Mr. Richard Titcomb,
Mr. Samuel Tufts, Mr. John Herbert,
Captain Moses Rogers, Mr. Moses Frazier,
Mr. Jonathan Marsh, Captain Nicholas Tracy,
The people were now preparing in earnest for the coming struggle,
and were providing themselves with arms and ammunition ; the
Committee of Safety of Newburyport reported in November,
" that the people throughout the town were well suppUed with arms,
and those few who were deficient were resolved immediately to
obtain them." About this time, too, the town was divided into mili
tary fines. Every male over sixteen years of age was required to
appear " complete in arms and ammunition," either under officers
commanding independent companies, or in one of the four existing
companies belonging to the town. These were required to* meet for
practice in the mUitary art, such persons only to be excepted whom
the field officer " judged unfit or unable." And on a hst of the
names thus organized into mUitary companies being presented, and
it being discovered that some few had not enrolled themselves, the
selectmen were authorized to go around to every man thus insensible
or indifferent to the fate of the country, and ask him his reason for
such neglect. 6

82 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
Among the independent companies formed was one by the Marine
Society of Newburyport, then but two years old, and consisting of
seventy-six persons, who formed themselves into a company called
the Independent Marine Company, with Captain James Hudson as
their commander. Their colors were expressive not only of their
profession, but combined the insignia of the State, and their senti
ments in regard to war ; the standard being a blue anchor on a red
field, supported by a pine tree and olive branch. One exceUent rule
they adopted, viz., that every neglect of duty by an officer' should
be subject to double the penalty imposed on a private.
During the winter the town was thoroughly canvassed, and every
man capable of bearing arms was enroUed in one of the regular or
independent companies.
Early in the spring of 1775, the town raised and provided for the
pay of a number of minute-men, promising to give those who would
serve, " as much as any other town in the county, for the time spent
in practice."
Anticipating that in the event of war, which they appear now to
have seen plainly approaching, attempts might be made by the
enemy to enter the harbor and attack the town, a project was
brought forward, and soon carried into effect, of obstructing the
navigation of the river by sinking piers in the channel. The town
wisely determined, however, " not to obstruct the whole passage,"
but to place the piers in such a way that it would be difficult for
strangers to find the passage, whUe the town's people, famUiar with
the channel, might be able to make their way in safety. A smaU
vessel, with a suitable number of men, was also stationed near these
sunken piers, to give information to and pUot in friends, as well as
to sound the alarm on any appearance of an enemy, or " to prevent
any strangers sounding the river."
The niomber of piers sunk, was three, about twelve feet square.
A fort was also built on the SaUsbury shore, caUed " Fort Merrimac,"
and shortly after another on Plum Island. These harbor defences cost
£2,433, 8s. 2£d.
A building in which to commence the manufacture of saltpetre,
was also erected, the town voting to procure, (September 28,) the
Mowing items, with which to furnish it, which, no doubt, the

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. oo
manufacturers of saltpetre, if any such ever look over this page,
witt duly appreciate, viz. :
" 1 dozen molasses hogsheads.
1 " half barrel tubs.
J " trays.
¦^ " thin iron shovels.
i " paUs
Bricks and setting the kettles."
The buUding was placed in the position which the old potash
house formerly occupied near Frog pond.
At the same time, a resolve was passed, " that those persons who
shaU violate the resolves of the Continental Congress, respecting the
unnecessary use of gunpowder, shaU have their names pubhshed in
the newspapers, as enemies to their country."
By the spring of 1775, the town was put into a state of thorough
preparation for war, the Committee of Safety had divided the whoie
town into four military districts, having their alarm posts, &c. The
first district included aU that part of the town below Federal street ;
the second, the portion between Federal and State ; the third
between State and Market; the fourth aU above Market. The
harbor was protected as before described ; mUitary stores and even
provisions were laid up ; heavy cannon purchased ; arms provided
for such as wished to enlist in the Provincial service, and needed
such assistance ; and arrangements were made for supplying their
families during their absence, and the Committee of Safety were
authorized to incur " any expense which the safety of the town or
county required."
Up to the time when these warlike preparations commenced, the
annual expenses of the town had been about seven hundred and fifty
pounds ; this year fifteen hundred pounds were voted at a town
meeting held in September; and this sum, which then appeared
monstrous, afterwards sunk into perfect insignificance, beside those
which were freely voted to sustain the burdens of the war. And
though on the first meeting of the Continental Congress at PhUa-
delphia, Newburyport had sent a representation to that body,
setting forth the interests which she had at stake in the concerns of
trade and commerce, and suggesting conciliatory measures, yet, no
sooner did the safety and honor of the country appear to demand

84 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
the sacrifice of her trade, by armed resistance to the impositions of
Great Britain, than she cheerfuUy acquiesced, and anticipating the
actual result of those deliberations, before they were determined on
by the authors, as early as May, it was resolved, in a full town
meeting, " that if the Honorable Congress should, for the safety of
the United Colonies, declare them Independent of the Kingdom of
Great Britain, this town wUl, with their lives and fortunes, support
them in the measure." .
But though so jealous for the national honor, and so willing to help
maintain it, local' and every-day affairs were not overlooked or
slighted, but received as diligent attention as if aU had been
peaceful without. In laying out and improving the streets, in the
ordering of the schools, and in aU those municipal regulations, on
which the peace, order, and intelligence of any community rest,
the town had made commendable progress ; but its business was
wellnigh destroyed, at least, made no advance for the next
succeeding seven or eight years. In addition to the public schools,
many private ones, particularly for girls, were maintained, nor was
any town school suspended, during the long and trying struggle of
the Revolution.
The following extract from the Essex Journal of AprU 6, 1774,
shows that Newburyport was ready to go as far as any in procuring
desirable reforms :
" Last Thursday, there arrived in this town Mr. Wm. Goddard,
who brought letters from the Committee of Correspondence of Bos
ton, to the Committee in this town, upon the important and interest
ing affair of establishing Post Offices and Post Riders, upon a more
constitutional plan than the edicts of a despotic British Parhament.
The inhabitants assembled and voted, nem. con., that if the other
provinces came into the measure, they would afford aU the aid and
assistance in their power."
In the spring came the news of the seizure of the public stores at
Concord by the British troops, or " regulars," as those stationed in
Boston were generaUy called, and the battle of Lexington ; and tra
dition informs us of an amusing and ludicrous event, that occurred a
day or two after the latter affair. A town meeting was assembled,

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 85
and the minister of the first parish, Mr. Carey, was just about
opening it with prayer, when an individual rushed in, bearing aU the
marks of real alarm in his countenance, covered with dust, his
apparel disordered, and, shouting, " Turn out ! turn out ! for God's
sake turn out, or you will aU be kitted ; the regulars are coming,
cutting and slashing aU before them ! ! " The assembly of, course
were thrown into the utmost confusion ; the minister's prayer was
stayed ; some rushed tumultuously out of the house, whUe to those
who retained their equanimity sufficiently to make an inquiry, the
only answer vouchsafed by the breathless messenger was, "that
they [the British troops] were now at Ipswich, cutting and slashing
aU before them," and either unable or unwUling to give any farther
information, he disappeared from the town-house, no one could teU
how, leaving the worst to be conjectured by his startled auditors.
Unarmed as they were, and not knowing but the " regulars " were
already entering the town, each one made for his own home, anxious
to secure the safety of his famUy. Many, by the time they reached
their homes, had sufficiently recovered from their fright to take only
prudent precautions against the threatened danger ; wibile others,
considering it a hoax, refused to do anything tiU they should find
out the origin of the story ; while others stiU, began seriously to
barricade and fortify their houses as best they might, resolving to
sell their lives dearly, if attacked. But among that numerous class
of persons who are ever startled from their propriety on the first
sound of an unexpected danger, the ensuing scenes were ridiculous
enough. Men and boys might be seen running through the streets,
answering the inquiries of "What is the matter?" with the same
reply which the messenger, Mr. Ebenezer Todd, had brought from
Rowley, with the addition, that " by this time, they are at Old Town
Bridge." Presently the streets leading from the town were
sprinkled with pedestrians, and vehicles containing chUdren and
goods, to be saved from the rage of the terrible "regulars." One
old lady, we are told, anxious to save her gold, took in her hand, as
she supposed, the leathern bag containing it ; when, after running
several miles, and sitting down by the wayside to gather strength to
renew her flight, she discovered, to her infinite dismay, that she had
taken the wrong bag, and ha*d burdened herself with a lot of leaden
weights ; whUe, as Mr. Coffin relates, another woman " took up a

86 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
cat, which had crept unnoticed into a cradle, and carried it a long
distance, not discovering her mistake till she sat down on the steps
of the BellevUle meeting-house to nurse the supposed chUd ; " her
horror may be imagined, when she discovered that she had left her
chUd to the'pitUess swords of the " regulars." These terror-stricken
ones, as they fled, told the news to others, and they in turn to thpse
a few miles on, the story being ever the same, " that the regulars
weje close behind, cutting and slashing aU before them." The
fright extended to HaverhiU, and was finaUy aUayed by the arrival
of a reUable witness from Ipswich, who on learning the state of
affairs, rode over with extraordinary speed to undeceive the people.
But of all the self-deceived and deceiving retaUers of this imaginary
onslaught, none quite equalled the delusion of a gentleman, who, being
stopped by a neighbor as he rode,/ furiously through Tappan's lane,
and solicited for information, as to " whether any one had been
killed," repUed, "Why, I've rode over more than twenty dead
bodies this morning! " What the state of his mind was, to imagine
such a monstrous fiction as this, it is needless to ask. The origin of
this report has never been ascertained ; it appeared simultaneously,
in various parts of the country, east of Boston ; and the most rea
sonable conjecture is, that the British started it, by agents at desig
nated spots, to test the spirits and courage of the people.
But if they gathered any comfort from the result here, it was of
short duration ; for a company had already marched from Newbury
port to Lexington, having proceeded thither on the first intelligence
of the skirmish there, leaving the town at 11 o'clock at night, that
no time might be lost in offering their assistance.
It was now perceived that peace was impossible ; General Gage
with his troops was already invested in Boston, and the ministers
from the pulpits joined their persuasions to the general voice of the
town, and treated their hearers to patriotic and pohtical addresses,
as weU as dispensing rehgious instruction. The Rev. Jonathan
Parsons having made an appeal at the close of one of his sermons,
in which he caUed on his hearers to form volunteer companies, and
invited those to walk out into the broad aisle who would do so, Mr.
Ezra Lunt was the first to come forward ; others followed, and a
volunteer company was immediately formed, with Ezra Lunt as

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 87
Captain. His was the first volunteer company formed for the pur
pose of joining the continental army. On the 9th of May ensuing,
this company was provided with accoutrements by the town; and
that they used them right weU, Bunker HiU soon after witnessed.
One of our native poets,* a relative of Captain Lunt, has weU
described the enthusiasm which inspired these first volunteers in
defence of American liberty :
" They left the plough in the corn,
They left the steer in the yoke,
And away from mother and child that morn,
And the maiden's first kiss they broke.
In the shower of the deadly shot,
In the lurid van of the war,
Sternly they stood — but they answered not
To the hireling's wild hurrah.
But still as the brooding storm,
Ere it dashes ocean to foam ;
The strength of the free was in every arm,
And every heart on its home.
Of their pleasant homes they thought,
They prayed to their fathers' God ;
But forward they went, till their dear blood bought
The broad, free land they trod."
From the original enlisting papers of Colonel Benjamin Perkins,
his muster-rolls, bUls, letters, &c, we learn the names of the offi
cers and men who accompanied him to Bunker HiU ; and also that
many of the same afterwards reenlisted the following December,
and were with him on Long Islandf and White Plains, remaining
attached to Washington's army during the ensuing summer. The
*Hon. George Lunt, late of Newburyport, now of Boston.
•f While in camp on Long Island, an incident occurred, showing, the regard
which Captain Perkins had for the members of his company. An inferior offi
cer, belonging to another regiment, had beaten and abused a man bearing th»
curious name of Newport Rhode Island, who was enlisted in Newburyport in
December, 1775. Captain Perkins having failed in the effort to induce the
officer to make some reparation; confined him to his tent, and wrote to' Briga
dier General Green, to know what course should be pursued, " that the soldier
might have justice done him." The letter is dated July 11, 1776. In his
muster-roll for this year, opposite the name of one Caleb Blood is written —
" lost on Long Island, through neglect."

88 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
commission under which Captain Perkins led his men on the 17th of
June is dated at Watertown, May 19th, 1775, and is signed by
Joseph Warren, President. His company were mostly enhsted some
ten days before. The following are the names of the company :
Benjamin Perkins, Captain.
Joseph Whittemore, 1st Lieutenant.
Stephen Jenkins, 2d Lieutenant.
WiUiam Stickney, Ensign.
Samuel Foster, 1st Sergeant.
Amos Pearson, 2d Sergeant.
* Thomas Frothingham, 3d Sergeant.
Thomas Wescomb, 4th Sergeant.
John Brazier, Drummer.
Richard Hale, Drummer.
Isaac Howard, Fifer.
John West Folsom, Fifer.

Privates.

Jonathan Carter,
Edward Swain,
Jeremiah Smith,
Moses Wickes,
Benjamin E. Knapp,
Benjamin Perkins,
Moses Pidgeon,
Daniel Pike,
Edmund Rogers,
Nathaniel Godfrey,
Thomas Boardman,
Samuel Coffin,
Zebulon Titcomb,
Joseph Somersby,
Samuel Harris,
Jacob Knapp,
John Cook,
Thomas Wyatt,
Abraham Toppan,

PhUip Johnston,
Isaac Frothingham,
John DUaway,
Charles Jarvis,
Stephen Wyatt,
John Kettle,
Josiah Teal,
Paul Stevens,
Joseph Davis,
Thomas MerrUl,
Benjamin Eaton,
Joseph Stickney,
WUliam Conor,
Solomon Aubin,
Joseph Somersby 2d,
Nicholas Titcomb,
SUas Parker,
Moses Carr,
Amos Hale,

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 89
John Brett, Make Peace Colby,*
Jonathan Norton,! Jacob Foss,
Moses Newman, Jacob Willard,
Thomas Haynes, Simeon Noyes,
Aaron Davis, Patrick Tracy,
Abiel Kent, William Page,
Joseph Mitchell, Benjamin Cotton,
Patrick Harrington, Daniel Lane,
Joseph Noyes, Shadrick Ireland,
Charles Butler, Daniel Somersby,
John Coffin, Benjamin H. Toppan,
Joseph Knight, Benjamin McClanning,
John Murray, Michael Titcomb,
Joseph Pettingell, WUUam EUiot,
Samuel Nelson. :£
On the morning of the 17th June, when Captain Perkins reached
Charlestown neck with his men, he found it was commanded by the
shot from the Glasgow, man-of-war, and also by two floating batteries,
which kept up a heavy cross fire on the American troops, who
attempted to pass. Finding it growing rather warm, he threw away
his wig,§ ordered his men to foUow in smgle file, and made the
passage without loss. From a pamphlet pubUshed by Colonel
Samuel Swett || of Boston, (son of the late Doctor J. Barnard Swett,
of Newburyport,) we learn that three of this company were wounded,
and as two of these, and one of Frye's regiment, belonging to
Newburyport, were caUed upon to give some evidence concerning the
* Make Peace Colby, in direct contravention to his name, afterwards " enlisted
for the war."
t Jonathan Norton, was wounded so that he soon after died of his wounds.
% Samuel Nelson was slain in the battle.
§ Among Captain Perkins's papers, we find one marked, " Loss sustained in
the late battle on Bunker's Hill, on the 17th June, 1775, in Benjamin Perkins's
company," in which is enumerated, two men, one on the ground, and one of
his wounds, six guns, seven bayonets, two cartridge boxes, two cutlasses, one
drum, one fife, one hat and one handkerchief; the wig, we suppose, being an
optional sacrifice, was not put into the bill.
|| Historical and Topographical Sketch of Bunker Hill Battle, with a Plan."

yU HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
conduct of General Putnam in that battle, and thus incidentally state
the position of their respective companies on the ground, we have
made a few extracts, bearing on this point and their conduct
there. Philip Bagley, weU known as the deputy sheriff of Newburyport
for over thirty years, was attached to Frye's regiment. He says,
" Went over night ; fought at the breastwork tiU-they turned the
corner of the raU fence, and began to rake the whole breastwork,
* * * the shot were very thick."
Colonel Joseph Whitmore, of Newburyport, was first Lieutenant
in Captain Perkins's Company, and belonged to Little's regiment ; he
stated, before Ebenezer Mosely, Esquire, that " he went with part of
his company down to the left of the redoubt, near some trees which
were standing, and there received the attack." On the retreat,
Colonel Whitmore was wounded in the thigh, at the very moment Gen
eral Warren fell, and was within six feet of him. He further stated
that knowing General Putnam weU, he said to him, " General, shan't
we raUy again ? " and that Putnam replied, " Yes, as soon as we
can ; are you wounded ? " Colonel Whitmore's Ufe was only saved
by his being carried off the field on the back of a companion.
Philip Johnson, of Newburyport, of the same company, also
stated before Mr. Mosely, — " Was at the rail fence ; whUe there, just
before the action began, saw General Putnam on horseback; very
near him, and distinctly heard him say, ' Men, you know you are all-
good marksmen, you can take a squirrel from the taUest tree. Don't
fire tUl you see the whites of their eyes.' Immediately after the first
retreat of the British, General Putnam rode up and said, ' Men, you
have done well, but next time you wUl do better ; aim at the officers.''
* * The baUs were flying as thick as peas."
Mr. Amos Pearson, serjeant of the same company, afterwards a
commissioned officer, and lieutenant in the campaign of 1777, was
also wounded in the arm on the retreat. He had but one cartridge
left, and not liking to have it lost, turned round to discharge' it at a
troop of grenadiers, who were in pursuit, but as, he raised his arm to
ram down the charge, he received a shot which disabled him from
discharging his own piece, and barely escaped with his life. Of the
regiment to which Captain Perkins belonged, seven were kiUed and
twenty-three wounded.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. lJl
•Colonel Wade, of Ipswich, (Treasurer of Essex County,) a
Captain in Little's regiment, says : " I was at the rail fence. * *
One of our cannon, deserted by CaUender, was fired a number of
times, very near me. Two men in our regiment, Halliday and
Dutton, of Newburyport, fired one. of the cannon three or four
times, and "hurrahed very loud." * * *
In the report made 'to Congress, by the " Committee for Massachu
setts," reference is also incidentaUy made to these companies, which
were included in the Essex troops ; the report says, " the. artillery
advanced towards the open space between the breastwork and rail
fence ; this ground was defended by some brave Essex troops, covered
only by scattered trees. With resolution and deadly aim, they
poured the most destructive voUies on the enemy. The [enemy's]
cannon, however, turned the breastwork, enfiladed the fine, and sent
the balls through the open gateway or, sallyport, directly into the
redoubt ; under cover of which, the troops at the breastwork were
cpmpeUed to retire."
Captain Ezra Lunt's company, was ordered up to cover, the
retreat of these exhausted; troops, whose, ammunition was now aU
expended. His company did good service, and with aid of others
forming this devoted rear-guard, effectuaUy kept the enemy at bay
tiU the retreat was accompUshed, but many of them were kttled or
wounded. The detatchment under Arnold destined, to the siege of Quebec,
encamped here for several days, awaiting the transports which were
to convey them to the Kennebec. Here an addition was made to
their numbers. Among others who joined them was the Rev. Samuel
Spring, (aftewards pastor of the third rehgious society in
Newburyport,) who accompanied, the expedition in the capacity, of
chaplain. Of the detachment, — three companies, — the riflemen
bivouacked aMh-e, head of , Rolf s lane, (now Green street in New
bury,) and the others obtained uge of the roperwalks in, the town, as
barracks . for the, time they remained > here ; they, embarked on. the
morning of the ..,19th. September,* in some ten or eleven transports
for the mouth of the. Kennebec,
* Mr. Henry, of, Pennsylvania, who has published a journal of this expedi
tion, makes the day of sailing . the 18th ; other historical and all the local evidence
settles it on the 19th September.

92 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
General Arnold was entertained while here by Messrs. Nathaniel
Tracy and Tristram Dalton, whose mansions were well accustomed
to the presence of distinguished guests.
Joseph Weare, of Needham, Massachusetts, who accompanied the
expedition and kept a journal of the events connected with it, says :
" September 15, 1775. This morning marched briskly along, and
got into Newburyport at eight o'clock at night, where we were to
make a stay for some 'days.
"16th. — In Newburyport, waiting for the vessel's getting .ready
to carry us to Kennebec.
" 17th. — This day had a grand review, and our men appear well
and in good spirits, and we had the praise of hundreds of spectators
who were sorry to see so many brave fellows going to be sacrificed
for their country.
[Mr. Weare's modesty, it wUl be perceived, did not lead him to
the suppression of the truth, though decked in compliments.]
"18th. — Had orders to embark in the evening. Our fleet
consisted of eleven satt of vessels, sloops, and schooners. Our num
ber of troops consisted of one thousand three hundred men — eleven
companies of musketmen, and three of riflemen. We aU embarked
this evening, and lay in the river all night.
"19th. — Early this morning weighed anchor with a pleasant
gale, our colors flying, drums and fifes a playing."
From the dissolution of the Assembly by Governor Gage (June,
1775) to July of the next year, Massachusetts was without any
legally constituted government, and was for five years without a
Governor ; yet there was neither anarchy nor crime in her borders.
The people spontaneously and voluntarily conformed to all those
rules of right in their intercourse with each other, that constitute the
practical well-being of a state. The whole province being divided
into townships, these Httle democracies met from time to time, and
transacted such business as the public exigencies required. The
whole legislative power was vested in their Provincial Congress, which
met at Concord and other places, and in the Committees of Safety
appointed by the towns ;* yet these had no powers to enforce any of
* In May, of this year, Michael Hodge was sworn in as Town Clerk by the
Selectmen, " there being no Justice of the Peace in the town."— Town Records,
May 6th, 1776. '

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 93
their resolves or orders. They could only "recommend;" yet to
the honor of the people be it said, these recommendations, frequently
involving heavy taxes of time and money, were cheerfully sustained,
and carried out with alacrity. The world does not present such
another instance of a large province remaining for such a length of
time without executive officers, and retaining of its own accord, and
by its own inherent sense of propriety, perfect order, and as good
security to Ufe and property as could be found in any other country
of Christendom, perhaps better. In these honorable character
istics Newburyport participated. They taxed themselves for all the
purposes of town or county expenditures recommended by those
temporarily entrusted with the oversight of affairs, and met the
requisitions of the Provincial, as they did afterwards the Continental
Congress, with cheerful promptitude ; and received the news that
the latter had declared the United States free and independent, not
only with acquiescence, but enthusiasm. The Declaration of Inde
pendence was read in aU the meeting-houses, (August llth,) and
the Town Clerk evinced his satisfaction at the measure, by recording,
under date of September 2d, 1776, this endorsement to the caU for
the meeting :
" This meeting was Ulegal, because the venire for calling it was in
the name of the British tyrant, whose name all America justly
execrates. (Signed) Nicholas Pike.*"
A House of Representatives had been chosen in July, in
accordance with writs issued in the name and on the responsibility of
James Warren, the President of the Provincial Congress, and Boston
being still in the hands of Gage and the British troops, they were
summoned to meet at Watertown. In October, Newburyport
instructed her delegates to this House to use their influence there
to procure the draft of a Constitution or form of government for the
State, which should be submitted to the people for their approbation
before passing to enactment. When this Constitution was presented
to the people, it was found to be grossly defective, and was rejected,
measures being taken to procure another.
* See Biographical Notice.

94 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
Several of the towns in the County of Essex appomted delegates
to meet in Convention at Ipswich, to consider of the amendments
necessary for the State Constitution, or rather to make the draft for
a new one. To this Convention Theophilus Parsons* was a delegate,
and was placed on a committee to draft a report on the subject,
which was afterwards published under the title of the Essex Result,
and had an immense influence on the pubhc mind. This paper was
not a mere synopsis of what was needed by Massachusetts at that
particular time, but with a comprehensive prescience embodied all
those great general principles afterwards incorporated in the best
drawn Constitutions of the separate or united States. The true
elements of republicanism, divested of all that was visionary or imprac
ticable, were here portrayed in terse and vigorous language ; and
though containing some few sentiments introduced for the satisfaction
of the other members of the committee, it remains an honorable
memento of the power and genius of the Newburyport delegate ; and
at the time produced a more extensive influence than any pubhcation
touching the proposed Constitution. A year and a half later,
Mr. Parsons labored efficiently in procuring the adoption of that
Constitution of Massachusetts which received the assent of the
majority of the people. And again, in 1778, when the plan prepared
by Congress for the confederation of the States was presented,
Newburyport instructed her representatives to give their voices for
it ; in this, as in every other measure for the public good during
this trying period, giving their influence, men, and money freely to
the cause.
At this time requisitions upon the towns were frequent for men to
join the continental army. At one time (August, 1777) Newbury
port was required to raise one-sixth of her men capable of bearing
arms, for the continental service. Of course there were many draft
ed out under these orders who could UI afford to leave their business
for the pay then given by the State or Congress, and whose famihes
must in consequence be left unprovided for. The town therefore
voted on this and many subsequent occasions, an additional bounty
to such as would enlist. The necessity for this, and also for main
taining the famines of those whose usual support was taken away,
* See Biographical Notice.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 95
added immensely to the expenses of the town during the war. On
this occasion the town voted to pay seven pounds ten shilUngs per
month additional bounty to each man who enlisted, and also "to
assist as much as they can in furnishing provisions for the army."
So unanimous were the people of this vicinity in their support of
the Declaration of Independence, that notwithstanding the vigUance
of the Committee of Safety, who with the aid of the community,
must have detected any symptoms of disaffection, we find that only
two persons were ever proceeded against under the act for securing
this and other States " against danger from internal enemies."
Their names were Daniel BaUey and John Anderson, and may be
found in the Town Records under date of June 16th, 1777.
An act having been passed by the Provincial Government, regu
lating the price of provisions, imported goods, labor, &c, it was
recommended by the selectmen, in conjunction with the Committee
of Safety, " that those gentlemen who have on hand stocks of West
India goods, imported before the regulating act went into effect,
should seU them to the people at reasonable prices ; charging, as
nearly as they can, in accordance with the abUity to pay of those
that stand in need."
Since the difficulties attending importation, and the frequent
demands on the country for provisions for the army, prices had risen
to an exorbitant height, and this act,, regulating the price of goods,
was intended to prevent monopoly among speculators, who by their
combinations, and forestalling of the markets, added to the already
heavy burdens of the people. But capital cannot thus be controUed ;
and of aU the acts passed by the chosen representatives of the peo
ple, none was so totally ineffective as this. People sold; as they
could afford to sell, and customers bought as they had the means to
buy. As might have been expected, the act regulating the price of
articles of daUy use and consumption, became practiCaUy a dead
letter ; though, to insure its execution, the importer was required to
dehver to the retaU trader, a bttl of the original cost, by which he
might see that no Ulegal profit was taken ; whUe the retaUer, in turn,
was required to limit his advance to twenty per cent, on the pound,
and to dehver to his customers a biU of the original cost, or to show
the same, if requested to do so. But people would rather give away

96 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
a whole pound than lose a fraction in the way of trade, and not only
were the heavy assessments voted by the town met with prompti
tude, but many persons contributed, in addition, articles, of clothing,
arms, &c, to help equip the men drafted out for the continental
army. In Mr. Daniel Balche's Journal for 1777, we find an ac
count of some articles, thus contributed by him, for the benefit
of a company of thirty-three persons, drafted for two months' service
at Providence ; he says : " I sent one gun and bayonet, five blankets,
one knapsack, and one cartridge box."
In another place, the estimated value of these articles are set
down at £5, 6s., 6d.
This Journal also confirms the collateral testimony, that additional
money was frequently raised from private sources, and in the
religious societies. Under date of November, 1777, we find the
following memorandum:
We* raised by contribution for the widows and soldiers' wives, &c,
£62, 16s., 9id.
The Church [St. Paul's] raised £18, 2s., 9£d.
At Mr. Spring's Parish, £44, 2s.
At Parson's Parish, 16th, £68, 15s., lid.
Total, £193, 16s., 8|d.
In 1778 the town paid to Jacob Khun ten shillings, for spending
two days and a half in collecting blankets for the army.
Horses were also given up by their owners for the use of the
army ; of several of these we have seen the written evidence ; and
the depreciated state of the currency is told in the appraisal of these
animals. Colonel Edward Wigglesworth'sf was valued at £1000,
and others still higher.
For the arms and other accoutrements supphed by the town to
the volunteer companies, receipts were received, and the promise of
reimbursement, if not returned at the expiration of the war ; but
many were lost, and the rnen were frequently unable to make good
their value. The following is a specimen of such agreements, and
is preserved in the files of the town, endorsed on the back,
" Receipt for Guns for Captain Titcomb's Company, July, 1780."
* Probably Mr. Cary's Society, of which he was a member.
f For an interesting account of Colonel Wigglesworth's revolutionary ser
vices, see Biographical Notice.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 97
" We the subscribers do acknowledge to have received, respect
ively, this fourth day of July, 1780, of the town of Newburyport,
a good French firelock, with a bayonet compleat, which we promise
and engage to return in good order to said town, at the expiration
of our service, or pay to the said town the sum of £100 lawful
money." Here follow the names of forty-two men.
This company were paid by the town for three and five months'
service at West Point and Rhode Island.
Barnabas Edmonds received £2, 17s., " for warring nine days
and a half, from the year '75 to '78."
An endorsement on the back of this bUl explains this extensive
" warring" of said Edmonds to have been only " trainings."
Among the bills on the town, we find one " for sheets, for band
ages, for the campaign of 1778."
By the enlisting paper, containing the names of «the volunteers
from this town, for the State service in Rhode Island, in July, 1781,
we learn that they agreed to provide themselves with " musket,
blanket and accoutrements."
Occasionally, arms delivered by the town were returned.
Jacob WUlard, of Captain Perkins's Company, who was supphed
with a gun in 1775, returned it to the town two years after.
Short supplies, by the commissariat of the United States, obliged
the towns to make up the deficiency, and trust to future payment.
Newburyport, not possessing any large agricultural district, was
not always able to supply the demands of the provincial and conti
nental armies, for provisions. In some instances these requisitions
were met by the offer of their equivalent in money, and in others
the town was obliged to purchase from other towns, for the purpose
of complying. Contractors in Portsmouth furnished to the town part
of the quota of beef required of Newburyport, for the use of the army.
In an account of Jonathan Call's (town clerk) " for supplying the
famUies of sundry old continental soldiers, in 1778," we find a great
preponderance of " pork and molasses." Such a town account may
have fallen at some time into the -hands of the enemy, which origi
nated the slander, firmly believed to this day, in' some parts of the
British provinces, that " these delectable articles were usually eaten
together by the Yankees " !

98 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
During the first year of the war, enlistments being made for but
short periods, discharged and newly enlisted soldiers were continu-
aUy traversing the country, returning from, or going to join, the
main divisions of the army ; and as the pay of the continental sol
diers was continually in arrear, from the inability of Congress to
meet the demands on the treasury, it would often happen that
wounded and destitute soldiers, thus discharged, became burdens
on the towns in their route towards home. Among the bills on file
belonging to the town of Newburyport, we find one against the
town of York, for the temporary support of one Paul Preble, who
belonged to Colonel Wigglesworth's regiment when stationed at
Ticonderoga in 1776, "for nursing, necessary supplies, and carry
ing him home." The town was reimbursed by the selectmen of Mr.
Preble's native place, in the sum of £2, 16s., 6d.
A bundle of receipts from poor continental soldiers, who were
thus assisted with money to make their way home, is superscribed
by the town clerk of Newburyport in 1780, as foUows : " Receipts
for money advanced to sundry continental soldiers, to be paid by the
United States, when we can get it."
Among those drafted in 1777, from this town, was a company in
August, who was joined by Lieut. Amos Pearson, whose gaUant con
duct at Bunker HiU we have before noticed ; from the journal
which he kept, we find that he was actively engaged during the
whole campaign, and participated in the action which preceded the
surrender of General Burgoyne.
Having left Newburyport on the 23dof August, he marched for
twenty successive, days without halting for any rest except at night ;
sleeping sometimes in the woods, sometimes in a barn, and sometimes
in a log-house, when he encamped at sunset within ten miles of
Gate's army. Here he received orders to join the army with his
company, before he slept, and resuming their march through Sea-
brook, Ct., they crossed the liver, and joined the army at 3 o'clock
in the .morning.. Soon after he was sent out with a scouting party,
and brought in thirty prisoners ; and five days after, assisted in the
memorable engagement of the 7th of October, of which he says :
" The field-pieces began at four o'clock, and the musketry at five —
very hot some of the time — drove the enemy within the lines, kttled,
wounded and took a great number of them, and ten field-pieces."

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 99
It witt be remembered that a number of skirmishes took place be
tween the troops of Gates and Burgoyne, preceding the capture of
the latter. This engagement of the 7th of October, which Lieut. Pear
son modestly states in two or three lines, was a battle of the greatest
importance, and one in which the greatest bravery was displayed on
both sides ; night terminated the conflict, but the advantage was
with the Americans. The enemy retreating to the heights of Sara
toga, step by step they were pursued and finaUy surrounded, pris
oners were made daily, and having no hope of escape, the whole
army, for which had been arranged such grand exploits, surrendered.
The Journal says, " At 12 o'clock, the General (Burgoyne,) marched
into our lines, and in the afternoon, all their troops, after laying
down their arms, supposed to be six thousand in the whole." From
this campaign, Lieut. Pearson brought home a fine English musket
from the mass laid down by Burgoyne's troops, which still remains,
with some other trophies of the war, in the hands of his family.
On the 23d, Lieut. Pearson marched with a fatigue party to Still
water after the enemy's wounded, and on his return, was ordered to
draw three days' provisions and follow the regiment down the
river. After a tedious march and exposure in open boats, during a
soaking rain, wading through creeks and over flats, he reached
White Plains on the llth of November, and there encamped, but not
to rest. Several false alarms called out his party, in consequence of
which he went to Tarrytown and New Rochelle with his men, taking
on these expeditions a few of the enemy's men, and bringing them
into camp. But once, in the course of the Journal, does Lieut.
Pearson intimate that he indulged in any but the ordinary fare of the
army. On Sunday, November 30th, on his return home, he records
the unusual treat of dining " on fresh pork steaks, mince pie and
cheese," and then marched 19 mUes and put up at Bedford;" For the
next seven days successively, he marched, on an average, nearly
twenty-seven miles, and arrived at Newburyport, the 9th of Decem
ber, having been absent nearly four months, and like thousands of
our worthy continentalers, quietly resumed his business, (that of a
house carpenter,) the very next day after his arrival. He lived
to the age of 90. Such was our citizen soldiery of the Revolution.
During the winter of 1777-8, some eighty non-commissioned offi
cers and privates formed themselves into a company under Capt.

100 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
Thomas Thomas, and in July, following, armed only with muskets,
marched as volunteers in the expedition to Rhode Island, the garri
sons of which had been in possession of the British since 1776.
WhUe on their march to Rhode Island they received from the State,
two 4 lb. field-pieces ; which, after the peace, (17©3,)'were~ex^
changed for two' brass six-pounders. Various exchanges were made,
till in 1844 the company received those they now possess. This
volunteer corps was the basis of the Artillery Company (now Cush
ing Guard,) still existing in Newburyport.
The expedition to Rhode Island, faUed, as it will be remembered,
for want of the anticipated cooperation of the Count d' Estaing ;
yet this company, uninfected by the despair which induced so many *
of Sullivan's army to move off as soon as they learned of the fail
ure of the fleet, continued in service to the end of the campaign.
In the midst of these troubles, when requisitions were constantly
being made for men and provisions, by the Continental Congress
and the General Court, the school interests and the schoolmasters
were not neglected. It was during this period that a standing
school committee, to be elected annually, was established, and in
April (1780) we find a vote recorded, " that the schoolmasters' sal
aries be raised in proportion to the rise of mechanics' wages, taking
their salary in 1774 to be the standard." The town also, by ac
cepting of the school committee's report, granted the scholars two
whole weeks for vacation, and Saturday afternoons,^ but no public
days. But the old master who had taught school for so many successive
years, Master SewaU, was growing old. Through a long life he
had taught, — and, ever since the separation of the towns, in New
buryport, — and had sent forth numerous successive classes, which
witnessed to his efficiency, by their own. The old man was first
awakened to the fact that other people were so short-sighted as to
imagine he needed any assistance in his duties, by the appointment
of an usher " to aid Master Sewall in the South school." This was
* Allen's Hist. Am. Rev.
tNottillSeptember>1782, were they allowed Thursday afternoons, after
wards changed to "Wednesday.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 101
a division of his former empire, that he could ill brook, but he bore
with it for some months, unwilling to desert the scene to which he had
become so perfectly habituated. By the appointment of an assistant,
it was hoped that he would be induced to resign ; but he seems in this'
respect to have resembled his great cotemporary, Franklin, in the
latter part, if not the whole of his maxim on that subject — " never
to sohcit an office, and never to resign one." So, after waiting a
reasonable time, the sceptre was taken from his unwiUing hands and
transferred to his usher and successor, Mr. Norton. But what was
the old man to do now ? he felt uneasy and restless ; accustomed to
the drowsy hum of conning tasks, and the sight of rows of urchins
at their desks, he could not sit quietly at home, stripped of his usual
employment, or betake himself to other occupation. He opened a
school in his own house, where at least he might have the privUege
of teaching those whom otherwise the town rejected. A regulation
concerning the schools provided " that none should be admitted to
the town sohools, unless they could read plainly in words of two
syllables, without spelling." Such were, however, permitted to go
to Master SewaU, the town aUowing him a small stipend, more in'the
form of a pensioner, it would seem, than as a teacher. Master
Sewall was a man of unexceptionable character, as a teacher faith
ful, as long as his powers pf mind continued unimpaired ; upright
in all that related to his fellow-men, and a consistent Christian ; sys
tematic and thorough in his discipline, without severity, he had the
love, as well as the respect of his scholars. He had too a rich vain
of humor in his composition, which rendered him an entertaining
companion. Writing on one occasion to a friend in England, de
scribing among other things his school, he said "it was in an
exceedingly flourishing condition, as he had in it a million and
eighty-three scholars ! " In a postcript, it appeared in explanation,
that the name of one of the boys was MUlion.
When speaking of schools, however, previous to this time and for
many years after, we must be understood as referring to boys'
schools only. So far as the education of females by the town was
concerned, they were sadly deficient. As late as 1790, a proposi
tion to provide schools for girls, was put aside without action by the
town, and deferred for another year ; and when they did set about
the work, it is curious to note of how httle consequence they

102 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
considered it, as compared with the provision to be made for boys.
First, three or four schools were suggested for girls between five
and nine years of age, which were to be furnished with " dames to
learn them good manners, and proper decency of behavior ;" these
were the essentials, but in addition, they were to be taught spell
ing and reading, sufficient to be able to read the Bible ; and if the
parents desired it, " needlework and knitting ; " the sessions of the
schools to be but six months, from April to October. It is to be
feared that in the interval, their stock of " behavior," as well as
spelhng, must have become wellnigh exhausted. But a movement
having been made by some of the larger souls, on behalf of the
girls, and a petition being presented to the town, that some arrange
ment might be made for the instruction of girls over nine years of
age, the town graciously voted, in March, 1792, that during the sum
mer months, " when the boys in the schools had diminished," that
the master should receive girls for instruction in Grammar and
Reading, " after the dismission of the boys, for one hour and a
half." And even to this poor privilege there were limitations, — no
person paying a tax for over £300 was permitted to send his
daughters to these supplementary schools.
The younger girls and boys were afterwards taught together ; the
schools being somewhat on the plan of our present Mixed Primary
Schools. But the scheme for the larger girls did not work well for .
the boys — so it was given up. The masters were directed, "not to
teach females again, and to keep the usual time." As late as 1804,
we find the female children, over nine, a great burden on the hands
of the school committee and the town. The device in that year, was
not much superior to that of earlier times. In answer to another
petition, from eleven persons, that this class of girls might be taught
by the town arithmetic and writing, four girls' schools were estab
lished, to be kept six months in the year, from 6 to 8 o'clock, in the
morning, and on Thursday afternoons ; so that in addition to their
other accomplishments, they were now in a fair way of being taught
early rising. It was left to a comparatively recent period, and
another generation, to do themselves and the town the honor of es
tablishing female schools in Newburyport, which will favorably com
pare with the best in the State. But it was not till 1836 that the
school committee even recommended "that one female grammar
school be kept through the year."

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 103
In May of 1780 occurred that memorable dark day which ex
tended its heavy shadows from Casco Bay in Maine, to Danbury in
Connecticut, and was observed much farther south. The continu
ance and intensity of this darkness, was a phenomenon which was
not accounted for at the time, and has never since received a satis
factory solution. For some days previously, the air had been unu
sually thick, and the sun consequently somewhat obscured, but not
sufficiently so to create alarm. On the morning of this long re
membered day, the sun rose as usual, but became gradually overcast,
the clouds were observed to rise fast, and hurriedly to crowd toward
the east, a little northerly. In this vicinity some thick woods were
on fire, the smoke from which, rising, and mingling with the clouds,
produced a most gloomy effect, and though there was but little wind
at this time, the impression was, that a hurricane was about to burst
upon the town ; whUe some, ever looking for supernatural evils,
were overcome with fears, lest the consummation of aU things was
at hand. At 11 o'clock, the darkness thickened, and from twelve
to one o'clock, at mid-day, it was so intensely dark, that some' men,
who were working on a ship, at the lower yard, sent for lanterns, by
which they might be* able to continue at work ; the contractors having
more dread of breaking their word in regard to the day of its com
pletion, than they had of the gathering blackness. Candles were
generally lighted through the town, and the feathered race retired
to their usual roosts, whUe occasionally a cock, with mistaken self-
sufficiency, announced the break of day, as here and there a gleam
of light penetrated the surrounding gloom. The sky was not con
tinuously black ; a glimmer of hght was discernible at the horizon,
and at times the sky assumed a reddish-yellow tinge ; the darkness
however, continued into the night until about 12 o'clock, when
a wind from the north-west drove away the clouds/ and the next
morning, man and nature revived once more under the cheering
beams of the unclouded sun.
But darker than the dark day, was the transaction which a few
months later sulhed the page of Ameriean History for 1780. The
traitor Arnold, the following September, consummated his intended
treachery by flight from West Point ; an incident that we should not
have introduced into this volume, had it not so happened that in the

104 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
barge which conveyed him to the British ship " Vulture," were two
members of Capt. Richard Titcomb's company, enlisted in New
buryport the preceding July.
The pay roll of this company shows a list of sixty-one names, in
cluding the officers, and among them are Samuel Pillsbury and John
Brown, who were, at the time of Arnold's escape, on duty at the
barge. After having reached the deck of the " Vulture," and had
a brief interview with the officers on board, the arch-traitor turned
to the bargemen, and said, " My lads, I have quitted the rebel army,
and joined the standard of his Britannic Majesty ; if you will join me,
I will make Sergeants and Corporals of you all." But his infamous
offer had no influence on the honest patriots in the barge, — but two,
British deserters* remained with him. That neither one of Capt.
Titcomb's men was seduced by his offers, is proved by the pay roll,f
which shows them to have been honorably discharged at West Point,
. October 9th of the same year.
In 1780 the continental money had driven nearly all the gold
and silver out of circulation ; and these notes depreciated so fast,
prices rising in consequence, that the whole monetary affairs of the
country were disarranged, and in speaking df any given sums
appropriated by the town at this period, it is necessary to distinguish
between the money employed, whether coin or bills. In tho
payment of bounties, the town was frequently obliged to guarantee
the payment in silver or gold, the continental money having depre
ciated so much as to become almost valueless. $ An eloquent writer §
says, " that in some parts of the country, a month's pay for a
soldier would not buy a bushel of wheat for his family ; and the pay
of a colonel would scarcely find oats for his horse."
Thus when we find the town voting to raise " sixty thousand pounds
for the current expenses of the year," || and that " three hundred
pounds per month, (additional to the State's pay,) be given each
*" Revolutionary Annals," p. 473. " Warren's Hist. Am. Rev.," Vol. 2, p.
269. f A copy of which we have in our possession.
JAs an illustration, the Marine Society of Newburyport, by a vote in
November, 1780, agreed that members should pay for their monthly dues,
"eight dollars in paper, or eight pence in hard money."
§ Ramsay. || Town Records, June 12, 1780.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 105
man who will enlist for three months," and that four hundred and
fifty pounds be advanced to every such person ; and a few weeks
later, voting to raise by assessment on the poUs and estates of the
inhabitants, seventy-five thousand pounds; 'and again in October
another town tax of seventy-five thousand pounds ; at the same time,
authorizing the treasurer to hire a sum " not more than one hundred
thousand pounds," — we are not tb conclude that these appropriations
were of the value which such figures would indicate at the present
day. By consulting the " scale of depreciation," for any particular
year, the value of the continental money,* as compared with gold or
sUver, may readily be found. Still these taxes, when paid in paper,
were onerous enough, and show, if anything can, that the resistance
of the people to taxation, was not from love of money, but from
principle. Great Britain never taxed the people of America to a
fraction of the extent to which they afterwards taxed themselves.
Newburyport early engaged in privateering, by which for awhile,
her merchants retrieved the losses they had voluntarUy encountered
by agreeing to the Non-importation Act, by which their staple busi
ness of building ships for the British was destroyed. But eventuaUy,
little was gained, the size of the vessels being ill adapted to cope
with the heavy ships of the British navy. Many of them, after
successful and daring cruises, were finally captured ; while many
more became a prey to the elements. The clearances of twenty-two
vessels are recorded as having left Newburyport, with a thousand or
more men who never returned, and of whose fate we are still ignorant ;
probably many of them were wrecked, or foundered at sea ; but it
is highly probable that some of them were burned or wantonly sunk
by the British cruisers, not deeming them of sufficient consequence,
or perhaps being unable to record their names. This was done in
some instances we know, and may account for the silence and
mystery which still hang over the final fate of hundreds of these
brave feUows.
* The continental bills were of the size of half anjordinary bank bill of the
present day, being nearly square, and were of various denominations, commonly
from one to thirty dollars, several values being used that are now discarded ; as
six, eight, &c. They were mostly impressed with some appropriate motto in
Latin, as, " The oppressed rise." " By perseverance we conquer." " In thee,
Lord, have I trusted." After the return to a better currency, it was not unusual
to see a handful of these bills given to children to play with.

106 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
Of this unfortunate class was the " Yankee Hero," a privateer
of about eighteen guns, commanded by James Tracy, for some time
successful ; but on one of her cruises she encountered the British
frigate Milford, a heavy vessel, much too superior in force to have
been voluntarily engaged. Captain Tracy was forced into this
action by the mistaken opinions and earnest wishes of his officers,
who on observing the MUford at a distance, took her to be a Jamaica'
merchantman, and obstinately insisted on giving chase, against the
opinion of Captain Tracey, who recognized the vessel as the Milford.
But failing to convince his officers, at their earnest entreaties he
consented to make sail for her, and when the frigate in her true
colors was revealed to the satisfaction of all, it was too late to
retreat; and notwithstanding her immense superiority, Captain
Tracy engaged her, and fought desperately for two hours before he
surrendered. On being exchanged, and returning home, he was furnished with
another privateer of the same name; and of twenty guns, manned
with one hundred and seventy men, including some fifty young
volunteers from the first families of Newburyport and vicinity.
She sailed from the port, and vessel, officers, nor crew, were ever
heard of more.
Another of these unfortunate privateers was the "America,"
(belonging to Joseph Marquand,) which was lost on her second
cruise, no tidings of her or any of her crew having ever been
received. In this vessel was lost Cutting Lunt,* one of the released
prisoners from the Old Mill Prison.
The first privateer fitted out in the United States, sailed from this
port, and was owned by Nathaniel Tracy, Esq., (a relative of
Captain James Tracy of the " Yankee Hero,") the first of whose
fleet satted in August, 1775. From that time to 1783, Mr. Tracy
was the principal owner of 110 merchant vessels, having an aggre
gate tonnage of 15,660, which with their cargoes were valued at
$2,733,300. Twenty-three of the above vessels were letters-of-
marque, and mounted 298 carriage guns, and registered 1,618 men.
Of this 110 sail, but 13 were left at the end of the war, aU the rest
were taken by the enemy or lost. During this same period, Mr.
* See Biographical sketch of the Lunt family.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 107
Tracy was also the principal owner of 24 cruising ships, the com
bined tonnage of which was 6,330, carrying 340 guns, six, nine and
twelvepounders,andnavigatedby2,800men. Whenitis considered
that these were in addition to the letter-of-marque vessels, it exhibits
Mr. Tracy rather as a naval, than a " merchant prince." But of these
24 cruisers, only one remained at the close of the war. But they
had not been idle, nor were they ignobly surrendered. These ships
captured from the enemy 120 saU, amounting to 23,360 tons ;
which, with their cargoes, were sold for three million nine hundred
and fifty thousand specie dollars ; — (one hundred and sixty-seven
thousand two hundred and nineteen dollars, Mr. Tracy devoted to
the army, and other public demands ;) — and with these prizes were
taken 2,225 men, prisoners of war.*
Many of these privateers were vessels of smaU burden and but
poorly armed- ; yet, judging of the spirit which animated their crews
by those of whom record or tradition has preserved accounts, we
may judge their valor was worthy of being displayed on broader
decks. The master of one of the first which sailed from the Merri
mac, the " Game Cock," a sloop of about twenty-five tons, and
carrying only four swivels, in accordance with the usual practice of
the times, (not yet totaUy discontinued,) before putting to sea sent
up a note to be read from the pulpit, asking the prayers of the church
that he " might be preserved in his attempt to scour the coast of our
unnatural enemies!"! Yet this, with others still smaller and less
fully armed, made some notable captures, principally of merchant
vessels ; but these, being generally armed, were often formidable
antagonists. The first prize brought into Newburyport was the
British brig Sukey, of ninety tons, bound to Boston with provisions.
She was taken by the privateer Washington. The second was a
transport, and its capture was one of the most daring achievements
of this period. The circumstances were as foUows :
The ship " Friends," Captain Bowie, of London, bound to Boston
with provisions to the British army there, having got out of her course,
* The above account is taken from a memorial addressed to Congress, by a
gentleman who was part owner and concerned with Mr. Tracy. It was pub
lished at the time of the application to Congress, in the New York papers, and
re-published in the Newburyport Herald, December 4, 182G.
| Coffin.

108 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
appeared on the morning of January 15th off the "Bar," tacking
on and off as if uncertain of her position. Her manoeuvres being
noticed by several gentlemen of Newburyport, they rightly conjee-
tured that she had lost her bearings, and immediately planned a scheme
for her capture. Arming themselves, and taking three whale-boats,
they proceeded down the river under the command of Captain Offin
Boardman, who, on the boats arriving within speaking distance,
hailed the ship, inquiring " where she was bound," and " where she
hailed from." The Captain replied, "From London, bound to
Boston," and then asked what land it was in sight, and where the
boats came from. Mr. Boardman replied, "We are from Boston;
do you want a pilot ? " and his offer being accepted by the unsus
picious stranger, the ship was hove to, and Captain Boardman soon
stood on the quarter deck of the " Friends." He carried no arms
in sight, and after shaking hands with the Captain, entered into
conversation with him, asking the news from London, &c, while his
companions from the three boats, seventeen in all, quietly mounted
the ship's gangway, and now stood guard by the same. Seeing
they were all ready, Captain Boardman threw off his assumed char
acter of pilot, and to the astonishment and chagrin of the late
master, ordered the EngHsh flag to be struck, and neither crew nor
commander making any resistance, the order was instantly executed.
The ship had four carriage guns, and a crew of about the same num
ber as the captors, but taken wholly by surprise, and at the moment
unprepared, they fell an easy prey to the shrewd management of
the little party; though it must be confessed that three boats in
company, containing seventeen men, might reasonably have been
suspected of carrying others than pilots. The names of this party
have not all been preserved ; but in addition to Captain Boardman,
we have learned that 'Mr. William Bartlett, Enoch Hale, John
Coombs, Joseph Stanwood, Gideon Woodell, Johnson and Cutting
Lunt, were of the number.
Thus by a stratagem the morality of which one of the party
afterwards seriously questioned,* a valuable ship and cargo was
secured, and in the course of a few hours brought up to the wharf,
when she was found to contain fifty-two chaldrons of coal, eighty-
* William Bartlett, Esq. See Biographical Notice.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 109
six butts and thirty hogsheads of porter, twenty hogsheads of vinegar,
and sixteen hogsheads of sourkrout, besides live stock, for which
the British troops in Boston were at that moment suffering.
The capture about this time of several vessels laden with sup
plies for the troops in Boston, was the occasion of much distress to
the army there. The country people of the suburbs could not be
induced to supply them at any price, their patriotism rising superior
to every temptation, except in a few instances, and thus their only
dependence was on supplies from abroad, and when these were cut
off their case became desperate, and no doubt precipitated the evac
uation of the city.
Among the small privateers was the " General Ward," Captain
William Russell, which with about a dozen men, with a musket apiece,
and one not very heavy swivel, captured, two brigs and a schooner.
Having such a smaU crew, Captain RusseU could spare but two
men to put on board the schooner, which was unfortunately retaken,
but the brigs were brought safely into town.
October 30, 1778, William Springer, with Joseph and Samuel
Brookings, officers of the private armed schooner " Hornet," sent to
the care of the selectmen of Newburyport four Frenchmen whom
they had taken from on board the English brigantine Success, bound
to the Gulf of St. Lawrence. These Frenchmen had been taken by
the " Success " from on board a ship coming from Spain to the
United States, they having at the time a permit from the State of
Massachusetts to go to St. John's and return. They were not, of
course, considered prisoners of war.
The privateer schooner Hawk, Captain Lee, (commonly caUed
" Jack Lee,") in 1778 captured and sent in, among other prizes, an
Enghsh brig from Oporto, bound to England, loaded with wine, a
large amount of specie dollars, bullion, and gold dust. The prize
was anchored at Greenleaf 's wharf, and when the officers were going
on shore, some of the gold was found to be missing, and several of
the sailors were imprisoned on the charge of embezzling it ; but were
subsequently released from the charge, though the gold was
not found. Long and frequent searches were instituted in the
neighborhood of the wharf, but without success, and the lost gold was
almost forgotten. But forty-two years after, in June of 1820,

110 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
a boy, searching in the dock for a lost eel-pot, hooked up a bag of
gold weighing eighteen ounces, the only portion ever recovered of
this long-lost treasure.
The " Hibernia," of Newburyport, Captain John O'Brien, was
very successful in her first cruise, capturing three brigs, a ship, and
two schooners in less than four weeks after she saUed. In this cruise
she met with a sixteen-gun ship, with which she had an engagement
which lasted nearly two hours, but from which she finally escaped
with the loss of but three men and some wounded.
Many interesting incidents connected with naval adventurers from
this port are preserved in a journal kept by Captain Moses Brown,*
who in August, 1778, started on a cruise in the privateer " General
Arnold." Captain Brown had but recently returned from one of
his many mercantile voyages, and " finding the country all in arms,
unloaded and took off her upper decks, and put eighteen six-pounders
on her, fitting her for a privateer." On this cruise he says : " The
first gun that was fired burst,! and kitted or wounded all my officers ;
returned to Newburyport again, proved my guns, and burst four
more of them ; got new ones, and sailed again in August ; cruised
three months and took a brig, which was retaken, and returned in
November." The journal continues : " In February I saUed on a third cruise
in the General Arnold. After cruising four months, taking several
prizes, and fighting some warm battles, I was captured in June by
His Majesty's ship Experiment, of fifty guns, Sir James Wallace
commander." When Captain Brown was received on the deck of
* See Biographical Notice.
f By this accident an Irishman on board was severely wounded, and believing
his injury to be fatal, he sent word to Captain Brown that he wished to speak to
him. Captain Brown went below to ascertain what his request might be, when the
man told him that he knew he was going to die, and begged that he might not
be "thrown overboard like a dog, but might have prayers read over him."
Captain Brown, after failing to inspire him with any hope that he would recover,
assented to his request, saying, " Very well, Mr.  shall read prayers for
you." " No, faith," says the man, " thin I'll not die ! Mr.  shall never
read prayers over me." Captain Brown then promised he would read them
himself, when a gleam of satisfaction stole over the features of the honest
Hibernian, as he exclaimed, " God bless ye Captain! thin I'll die directly!"

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. Ill
the Experiment by Sir James Wallace, he was asked by this British
officer " if he was the captain of that rebel ship," when Captain
Brown rephed, "I was very lately — you are now," at the same
time offering Sir James Wallace his sword ; when Sir James, struck
with his manly reply and noble appearance, refused to take it, saying,
" I never take a sword from a brave man ! " Afterwards, inviting
Captain Brown into his cabin, and entering into conversation over a
glass of wine on the affairs of the two countries, Sir James proposed
a toast — " George the Third, and the Royal FamUy ! " It was
rather hard to take, but Captain Brown swallowed it without remark,
when Sir James called on him for another, thinking, probably, from
his acquiescence in the first, that he would offer something in the
same strain. But rising with 'dignity, and unawed by his position
as a prisoner, Captain Brown gave in return, " George Washington,
the Commander-in-chief of the American forces ! " The glass,
which Sir James had raised to his lips, was set down again, as he
asked, " Do you mean to insult me, sir, in my own ship, by proposing
the name of that arch-rebel ? " " No," replied Captain Brown, " if
there was any insult, it was by your giving George the Third, which,
however, I did not hesitate to drink, though you must have known it
could not have been agreeable to me, who at this moment am a guest,
though a prisoner." Sir James, perceiving that if there was any
wrong, or breach of etiquette, he had led the way in it, like an
honorable man, suppressed his anger, and actuaUy drank to the health
of the " arch-rebel," Washington. Being carried by the Experi
ment into Madeira, Captain Brown was from thence sent to Savannah,
in Georgia, where he was for sometime confined on board a prison-
ship, but was exchanged, and in November returned to Newburyport.
The following account of some particulars of this cruise, before
his capture, will not be read without interest. It is from the journal
of Thomas Greely, one of the officers of the Arnold. Under date
of March 28, 1779, being off St. Michael's, he says : ,
" Sunday, at 6, A. M., bore S. S. E. Distant nine or ten miles,
saw a sail under St. Michael's, which gave us chase. At 10 she
came up with us, and proved to be the British ship " Gregson," a
Liverpool privateer, mounting twenty twelve-pounders and one hun
dred and eighty men. After an action of two hours and fifteen minutes,
she sheered off and made sail ; but we could not come up with her, as

112 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
our spars, rigging, and sails were much cut up ; her loss unknown,
but from appearance it must have been deplorable indeed." [She
lost her first lieutenant and seventeen men killed, and a number
wounded, as was afterwards pubUshed in an English newspaper, which
stated " that she had the battle with a rebel frigate of thirty-two guns,
and beat her off!!"] * * * "April 4th, took the ship 'WUUam,'
Captain John Gregory, from Gibraltar, bound to New York ; put
Mr. Samuel Robinson on board as prize-master. AprU 19th,
anchored in Corunna, in Spain, refitting till May 19th ; at 9, A.
M., saUed from Corunna. May 20th, off Cape Finisterre S. W.
eight leagues. At 6, A. M., saw a sail and gave chase. Came up
with her at 8, A. M. She proved to be the ship Nanny, of Liverpool,
Thomas Beynon, master, mounting sixteen six-pounders. After an
action of an hour she struck, but having many shot between wind
and water, she soon after sunk ; we having our fore-yard cut away,
and the mainmast and rigging much damaged. May 29th, put
Captain Beynon and two other prisoners on board a Spanish brig
bound for Cadiz. May 30th, took the brig. Despatch, from Antigua
for Oporto. Put Samuel Burbank in prize-master, and sent her to
Corunna. June 1st, took a snow,* laden with fish, from Newfound
land, for Oporto, called the ' George,'  Wilhcot, master. June
4th, Friday, was captured by His Britannic Majesty's ship, Experi
ment, fifty guns, Sir James WaUace, commander. So ends our
cruise. Thomas Greely, Sailing Master."
The following is the other side of the story, relating to the capture
of the Nanny, being a copy of a letter from Captain Thomas Beynon
to his owners, dated Cadiz, June 2, 1779 :
" The following are the particulars of an engagement we had with
the General Arnold, Captain Moses Brown, of eighteen six-pounders,
and one hundred men, on the 20th of May, off Cape Finisterre.
Saw a ship in chase of us, and being resolved to know her weight
of mstal before I gave up your property, I prepared to make the
best defence I could. Between 8 and 9 o'clock he came alongside
with American colors, and three fire-pots out, one on each fore-yard
* Snows being almost obsolete, we may be excused for describing them.
They were vessels equipped with two masts, resembling the main and fore-masts
of a ship, and a third small mast, just abaft the mainmast, carrying a try-sail.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 113
arm, and one at his jib-boom end. Hailed and told me to haul down
my colors. I desired him to begin and blaze away, for I was deter
mined to know his force before I gave up to him. The battle began
and lasted two hours, our ships being close together, having
only room to keep clear of each other. Our guns told well on both
sides. We were soon left destitute of rigging and sails, as I engaged
under topsails and jib. We were shattered below and aloft. I got
the Nanny before the wind and fought an hour that way, one pump
going tiU we had seven feet of water in the hold. I thought it then
almost time to give up the battle, as our ship was a long time in
recovering her sallies, and began to be water-logged. We were so
close that I told him I had struck, and hauled down my colors. The
privateer was in a shattered condition ; his fore-yard shot away in
the slings and lying on her forecastle, and a piece out of his main
mast, so that he could make no sail till it was fixed ; aU his_ running
rigging entirely gone, and a great part of his shrouds and back-stays.
None of his saUs escaped except his mainsail. By the time we were
all out of the Nanny, the water was up to her lower deck. When
Captain Browtf heard the number of men I had, he asked me ' what
I meant by engaging him so long.' I told him I was then his
prisoner, and hoped he would not call me to any account for what I
had done before the colors were hauled down. He said he approved
of all I had done, and treated my officers and myself like gentlemen,
and my people as his own. There was then a fleet in sight, and
three ships in chase of the privateer. She was so much disabled, a
frigate soon came up with her, which proved a French convoy of
sixty-eight sail, under eight saU of the line, besides frigates outward
bound, steering about S. W. I had only two men wounded with
splinters. The cook, I beheve, was drowned, as he never came on
board the privateer. Nothing was saved but the ensign, and that
full of holes ; for we received sixty dozen musket cartridges from
their marines by their own account, besides some from their tops.
The privateer had six men wounded, and is the same that fought the
Gregson, of Liverpool. I was put -on board a Spanish brig, and
arrived at Cadiz on the 2d June. Thomas Beynon."
But it was not only in vessels of their own construction, and
under Newburyport officers, that the young men of this vicinity
8

114 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
were found fighting the battles of their country. With Paul Jones
and other naval heroes, volunteers from Newburyport might be
found on almost every wave-crest of the ocean.
We find, by the journal of Thomas Greely, who sailed with
Captain Brown in the " Arnold," that he was afterwards with J.
Paul Jones at the time of his engagement with a British ship of
thirty guns, Captain John Grey commanding. (Jones's vessel carried
but twenty guns.) The extract relating to this action is as follows :
" Moderate breeze at S. and smooth sea, all sail set. Saw a
large ship to the westward, bearing down upon us; we took her to
be a British ship. She came up with us in four hours, and fired a
broadside, which cut away our mizzenmast and killed four men ; we
returned it again and fought tUl the blood ran out of their scuppers ;
she then struck her colors, after four hours' engagement. We had
fourteen.men killed and seven wounded ; the British had forty kiUed
and seventeen wounded. All hands employed in throwing the dead
overboard and cleaning up the blood ; took a reef in the mainsail
and bore away for Baltimore, with our prize in company.
"Thomas Greely."
The date of this engagement is not given, nor the name of the
prize. But whUe some of our fellow citizens were bravely fighting the
enemy on the lakes, some on the ocean and some on land, there
were many, unfortunate in their first encounters with the enemy,
wasting away their lives in the English prisons and prison-ships.
Of this class, were the entire crews of two privateers from New
buryport. These were the brig " Dalton," (fitted out by Stephen
Hooper,) and the brigantine " Fancy ; " many of these men spending
between two and three years in the famous " Old Mill Prison," in
Plymouth, England. Among the crew of the former, was a youth
named Charles Herbert, a native of Newburyport, not 19 years old
at the time of his capture, who through all the disadvantages of the
scenes through which he passed managed -to keep a nearly dauy
record of the events. He was. restored to liberty, with others, after
an imprisonment of nearly three years, by the efforts of Benjamin
Franklin, then in France, who negotiated an exchange of prisoners.
After the peace, Mr. Herbert carried on the business of a blockmaker
on the Upper Long Wharf (Patch's,) in this place, where he

history of newburyport.

115

continued to reside till his death in 1808. His journal has been
pubUshed, and from it we have taken copious extracts, relating to
the treatment of the prisoners, facts, and referring to many well
known citizens of Newburyport.*
The following is a list of the prisoners taken in the Dalton,
belonging to Newburyport, and committed to Mill Prison, Ply
mouth, England, June, 1777 :

Captain Eleazer Johnston, J

Joseph Rocklief,

1st Lieutenant Ant. Knapp, J

William Shuckford, **

2d Lieutenant John Buntin,

John Key, %

Daniel Lunt, J

John Barrenger, %

Alexander Ross, %

 Stickney,

Offin Boardman, %

Joseph Poor,

Moses Cross,

Nathaniel Warner,

Thomas Cluston, %

Josiah George,

Cutting Lunt, ^[

Moses Merril,

Wym'd Bradbury,

Jacob True,

Henry Lunt, ^[

John George, .

Samuel Cutler, %

Richard Lunt,

Francis Little,

Ebenezer Brown,

Joseph AsuUer, %

Paul Noyes,

Joseph Brewster, ^[

Joseph Plummer,

Nathaniel Wyer, %

Reuben Tucker,

John Knowlton, ||

John Smith,

Charles Herbert, **

Henry Smith,

Joseph Choat, **

Ebenezer Edwards, **

Thomas Bailey, **

Jonathan Whitmore, §

Nathaniel Bailey, *[[

Edward Spooner, §

Benjamin Carr, **

Daniel Cottle, f

Samuel Woodbridge, •

Ebenezer Hunt, f

In the brigantine Fancy, taken August 7th, 1777, and remaining
in the MU1 Prison, February 7th, 1779, were
Captain John Lee, % John Bickford,
Daniel Lane, WUUam White.
* See Biographical Notice.
+ Dead. % Escaped. § Joined English man-of-war.
|| Died, or escaped before committed to prison.
f Sailed with Paul Jones. ** Sailed in the Alliance.

116 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
One historian says that the ship Warren from this port, Captain
Timothy Newman, was taken by the English at this time, and that
her captain, with forty-seven of his crew, died on ship-board. This
could hardly be, as the Warren, which Captain Newman commanded,
was not built till 1799, and consequently was not captured in 1777
or 1780, and the captain, as we shall show, did not die in England ;
there was a schooner Warren, taken in 1777, but she belonged to
Salem, and her master's name was John Ravel ; he did not die, but
escaped. We have fortunately the history of the Warren, Captain Newman,
from Dr. Parke, the surgeon of the ship, who was attached to her
during the whole of the time she remained in the United States
service. Dr. Parke says :
'¦' The ship Warren was buUt at Salisbury, under the inspection of
Capt. Nicholas Johnson, of Newburyport,*and was launched on the
26th of September, 1799, and was taken immediately to Newbury
port, to be fitted for sea. Captain Timothy Newman (who was a
released Algerine captive) was appointed commander. I received
my commission on the 3d of October, and forthwith joined the ship.
We left Newburyport for Boston on the 24th of November, to receive
her guns, stores, &c, and sailed for Havana on the 31st of December.
A few days after, we heard the melancholy news of the death of
Washington. Arrived at Havana in January, 1800, and sailed for
Vera Cruz the ensuing June. From Vera Cruz we came back to
Havana, where we anchored the 15th of August, 1800, and on the
afternoon of the same day Captain Newman died.
" A Mr. Knapp, of Newburyport, was her 2d Lieutenant, and Mr.
Jos. Whitmore, of Newburyport, was her SaUing Master.
" We returned to Boston, and the ' Warren ' was fitted for a second
cruise, under Captain Jas. Barron. On the return from this cruise,
Mr. Jefferson was President, and the Warren was ordered to be sold,
and having had enough of the navy, I resigned. There is another
Warren now in the navy."
From a journal kept on board the brigantine Vengeance, of New
buryport, Captain Wingate Newman, a privateer of some 350 or 400
tons, carrying 20 guns, which sailed on a cruise in the summer of
1778, we are enabled to make the following extracts ; the writer was

• history of newburyport. 117
Mr. Samuel Nye, a surgeon on board the Vengeance. It is princi
pally interesting, as it relates to the capture of many officers and
persons of political importance, whose exchange was the means of
restoring many Americans to hberty.
" Sept. 17. — Lat. 49. Discovered a sail at 9 A. M., bearing E.
N. E., 4 le'agues distance ; at 3 P. M. got within cannon shot of her ;
gave her two or three bow chasers, and received as many stern
chasers from her ; soon after which she hauled up her courses, and
gave a broadside ; but her guns being light, the shot did not reach ;
she then endeavored to get away by making saU again, but found it
impracticable ; she again lay to till we. got within pistol shot of her,
and then gave us another broadside, which was returned on our part,
and to such purpose as to oblige her to strike at once, after having
one man kUled, and six wounded. She proved to be the ship ' Har
riot-Packet,' of 16 three-pounders, and 45 men, Sampson Sprague
Commander, bound from Falmouth to New York, out fifteen days.
Took the people on board our brig, and sent a prize-master and people
on board the ship. * * * * * * *
" Sept. 21st. — Lat. about 49. Discovered ourselves within a league
of a sail ; at 7 A. M., came up with and engaged her. She fought
bravely fifteen or twenty minutes, and then struck, after having two
of her people killed, and four or five wounded ; one of them so badly
I was obhged to amputate his leg. The « prize proved to be the
c Eagle-Packet,' a snow,  Spence, commander ; from New York
to Falmouth ; out twenty-eight days, mounting twelve three-pounders,
and having forty-three men, beside the following passengers : Col.
Howard, of the 1st Regiment Guards, killed in the engagement ;
Col. McDonald, 71st Regiment Highlanders ; Col. Anstruther ; Col.
Stevens, of the Guards ; Maj. Barcley ; Maj. Forbes ; and the
Hon. Maj. (afterwards Lord) Charles Cathcart, Capt. of the Athol,
Highlanders, and 2d Major of Lord Cathcart's legion, and brother
to Lord Cathcart ; Mr. Slopor, cornet of horse, two sergeants, three
or four servants, and Miss Jane Marsh. On board were some dry
goods, besides plate and cash to a considerable amount. Got the pris
oners on board our brig, and sent Mr. Thomas Newman, prize-master,
and a gang of our people aboard, to repair her rigging. *
* * We had no person hurt, except Captain Newman, who
received a musket ball in the thigh; wound not dangerous."

118 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
In the summer of 1779, the British having undertaken to estab
lish a military post on the Penobscot, an attempt was made to prevent
them, by sending a fleet, of such vessels as could be secured for the
purpose, and a considerable number of men to the site. A schooner,
the " Shark," was provisioned here in June for this service, and
many men from Newburyport and the immediate vicinity, joined the
expedition. The disastrous result is well known. A powerful British
fleet appeared soon after the American vessels had entered the
river, -which completely defeated them. The officers abandoned their
ships, and hundreds of the unfortunate men, sick and destitute, were
found struggling through the then unbroken wUds of Maine, towards
home. Some, natives of other towns, reached Newburyport in a
wretched condition ; and large supplies were made and forwarded by
the town, " for the defeated army, and seamen of the eastward,"
while the stragglers who reached here were hospitably provided with
necessary supplies, and money to enable them to reach their homes.
Two of these men, "driven," as they expressed it,' " from Penobscot in
distress," received from the town treasury £30 each.
Some came by land, others by water ; part of Col. Jackson's regi
ment (of Portsmouth) which was supposed to be lost, or taken
prisoners, finally reached Newburyport by water ; and an express was
hired, at the expense of the town, to go to Portsmouth and inform
the colonel of their safety.
Other towns also furnished natives of Newburyport, who belonged
to the expedition, with entertainment ; the town of Falmouth pre
sented a bttl to Newburyport " for provisions for people returning
from Pernopskot."
A statement made, by Captain Micajah Lunt, of this town, who
joined this expedition, shows that if the officers were to blame in
their management, some of the men, at least, were of the same un
daunted stamp as those who, more fortunate, conquered the enemy
they went to meet. Mr. Lunt says :*
" In the war of the Revolution, in the year 1779, 1 shipped in
Newburyport on board the armed ship Vengeance, commanded by
Thomas Thomas, in the expedition to Penobscot, which ship was
driven up the river by the British fleet, and with others in the
expedition, was burnt by order of the Commodore, to prevent them
* Papers of the late Wm. Woart, Esq.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 119
falling into the hands of the British ; their crews took to the woods,

and on foot found their way back to the province of Massachusetts.
At my return, I again shipped on board the armed brig Pallas,
commanded by WUUam Knapp, from which vessel I was transferred
to one of her prizes, a British ship, from Newfoundland bound to
Lisbon, John Stone, of this town, prize-master. After having posses
sion of her thirty days, we were taken by an Enghsh privateer
schooner, from the Gut of Canso, which schooner had possession of
the prize twenty days, when we were retaken by a French 74 gun
ship and frigate, and carried into Cadiz in Spain, where I was liber
ated ; when I shipped on board the American armed ship ' Count
d'Estaing,' commanded by Captain Proctor of Marblehead, (since
dead ;) on our passage from Cadiz, when out thirty days, the Count
d'Estaing was captured by two Enghsh letters-de-marque from
Liverpool, called the ' Viper * and the ' Dick,' and carried to the
island of St. Kitts, and [I was] thrown into prison, where after a
lapse of about sixty days, I escaped from prison in company with
Captain Green Pearson of this town, (since dead,) and got over to
the island of St. Eustatia, where we shipped on board the armed
brig ' Tom,' commanded by John Lee, of Newburyport, (since dead)
bound to Newburyport. After being out ten or fifteen days, we
were taken by the British frigate Guadaloupe and carried to New
York, and myself, with others, thrown onboard the ' Hunter ' prison
ship ; on board of which, I was on the memorable dark day, 19th
May, 1780 ; from which I was exchanged and put on board a cartel
ship, and sent to Boston, from whence I immediately returned to New
buryport, and shipped on board the private armed ship ' Intrepid,'
commanded by Moses Brown, carrying twenty twelve-pound guns on
the gun deck. From Newburyport we sailed to Boston, where we
made up our crew of one hundred and twenty men ; thence s%ailed
on a cruise, and went to L'Orient in France, where the ship was
coppered and had a spar deck [put on.] We then took on board a
cargo of ammunition and munitions of war, and sailed thence for
the United States, and got into Baltimore, where, soon after our
arrival, the cargo was discharged. I remained in the ship till the
peace of 1783, when the ship was sold in the Island of Cuba. This
ship was owned by Messrs. John and Nathaniel Tracy of this town,
both since dead, and also her commander, Captain Moses Brown."

120 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
No attack having been attempted on the town, the selectmen were
this year (1779,) authorized to sell the military stores accumulated
here, and also all the cannon but two six-pounders. The piers
which had been sunken in the river at an early period of the war,
were not kept in repair, and gradually breaking up the timbers,
floated ashore or out to sea, as the tides chanced to carry them.
The men were withdrawn from Plum Island, (except three, who
remained to take charge of the fort,) in the general anticipation that
the negotiations going on would result in a treaty of peace ; the
warlike spirit gradually became less prominent, though drafts were
supplied, as before, for the continental army. The treasurer was
still authorized to receive in payment of taxes, " the dead conti
nental money,"* which he was afterwards authorized to exchange
for specie, at the rate of three for one, if he could make so good a
bargain. In 1779 we have the first intimation of the town's improving the
streets by planting trees. March 9th, Nathaniel Tracy was empow
ered to plant trees on High street, where the old rope-walk stood.f
The town, under all the disadvantages of the times, continued to
grow, and in 1781 the inconvenience arising from want of suitable
buUding lots, induced several public-spirited gentlemen owning land
in the vicinity, to give to the town " sufficient to lay out a regular,
handsome street, four rods wide, half way between Fish and Queen
streets," and thus Green street originated. The names of the
donors were Nathaniel Tracy, Benjamin Greenleaf, Enoch, Joshua
and Richard Titcomb, Stephen SewaU, Stephen and Mary Hooper,
Nathaniel, Parker A., Stephen A., and Nathaniel Jr. Atkinson,
and the guardians of the heirs of Benjamin Frothingham.
Ever afive to the value of the fisheries, the town in 1782 directed
their* representatives to the General Court, to procure an appUca-
tion to be made to Congress, " that they would give positive orders
and instructions to their commissioners for negotiating a peace, to
make the right of the United States to the Fisheries, an indispensable
article of treaty."-^.
* As late as 1786, " two hundred and seventy old continental dollars " were
reported as being in the Town Treasury. — Town Records.
•f Near Frog pond.
Jin 1787, "fish reeves," equivalent to our modern "inspectors," were
appointed by the town.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 121
When the peace came, and money resumed its natural value, we
find that the town made provision, in some instances at least, to pay
the debts they had incurred for the expenses of the war, " by giving
the real value of the money borrowed, though the securities were
given after the depreciation of the money."
For the eight years reckoning from the Battle of Lexington to the
Proclamation of Peace, Newburyport raised for the extraordinary
expenses of the town, the payment of bounties, and providing for
all those exigencies that were dependent on the war, the enormous
sum of £504,500. The usual current expenses of the town per
annum, previous to the outbreak of hostilities, had been but £750,
making (for the eight years) £498,500 to be set down as war
expenses, — in dollars, 2,492,500; £17,000 or $85,000 are
specified as having been raised in gold or silver, and as some of the
debts were also paid in coin, it is impossible to determine exactly
what the real cost was ; but when we consider that much was also
done in providing provisions for the army, and clothing for soldiers,
the sum becomes, considering the size and abUity of the town, truly
enormous. The war had interfered with but one ecclesiastical interest in the
town ; the Congregational and Presbyterian societies remained
intact, during the momentous pohtical change through which the
country had passed, but the Episcopal church was placed in a new
and somewhat embarrassing position. During the war the parish
connected with St. Paul's church, had sympathized with their
countrymen, but the minister had, as far as was safe and practicable,
stood aloof from the controversy, and showed a reluctance to assist
the Revolutionary party, which* subjected him on one occasion, at
least, to the insults of the populace. His parishioners obliged him
to omit reading the prayers for the king, but did not and could not
succeed in making him pray for the " rebels." On public fast days
appointed by the Provincial Government, and when in accordance
with official requests, seconded by his parishioners, he felt obhged to
open his church, and even to have coUections taken up in aid of the
Revolutionary soldiers, he ever failed to add a word of persuasion,
* See Biographical Notice.

122 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
or to express any sympathy with the patriot cause. On one occa
sion, when desired to preach a sermon and have a collection taken
up, " to aid in procuring clothing for the continental soldiers," he
did indeed preach, but on some general subject, making no allusion
to the particular object for which the congregation was convened.
The collection was nevertheless made, and was not, we know, the
only one which was taken in the church for similar purposes. His
moderation and general estimable character, however, preserved to
him, through these trying scenes, the respect and love of the best
and most liberal part of the community ; and on the close of the
war he became identified with the American interest.
The Society in London under whose patronage he had been,
declared his loyalty necessarily tainted by the fact that he remained
in Newburyport! — a town, as they conceived, preeminently repub
lican.* But the church in America was in a pecuhar position ; it
had no civil head. Up to the period of the Declaration of Inde
pendence, it had remained an integral part of the Church of England,
the church in Newburyport belonging to the Diocese of the Bishop
of London. When, therefore, civilly dissevered, its organization
was incomplete, being destitute of that order in the ministry by
which holy orders were conveyed in regular succession. Candidates
for the ministry of the church had hitherto proceeded to England
for ordination, being there first ordained deacons, and then priests ;
but this was a process which could not be expected to continue.
The whole difficulty was eventually removed by sending a minister
of the church, Dr. Seabury, of Connecticut, to England to be
consecrated as a bishop. This ordinance he received from the hands
of the non-juring bishops of Scotland ; and subsequently Dr. White,
of Pennsylvania, and Dr. Madison, of Virginia, were consecrated by
the Most Reverend John Moore, Archbishop of Canterbury; and
thus the Protestant Episcopal Church in America rejoiced in the
behef that the true Apostolic Succession was completed, and that
the American Church was regularly organized, with power to transmit,
through their newly made bishops, the priestly dignities to succeeding
candidates. The minister at St. Paul's Church, in this town, was
soon after consecrated, the first Bishop of Massachusetts.
* Appendix to the " Frontier Missionary."

PERIOD III

COMMERCIAL PROSPERITY.

With the return of peace business revived, and in place of the
privateers which for the last seven years had been the most profita
ble shipping afloat, the merchantman was again built and rigged, and
water craft of aU sizes and capacity, speedily left the Merrimac for
the. East and West Indies and Europe.* Two years before the close
of the war the tonnage of Newburyport was but 7,176. Seven years
after, it had grown to 11,870, an increase of some sixty per cent.,
and was daUy increasing. With the revival of foreign trade, busi
ness of all kinds was awakened to a new Ufe. The artisan and
mechanic resumed their tools, and putting aside the old muskets and
rifles with which they had marched from Bunker HiU to the Jerseys,
and from the Jerseys to Savannah, now wrought with as hearty a
good-wiU with the plane, at the anvU, and the < bench. As our first
fleet of merchantmen returned, and money became plenty, the retatt
traders launched out into unwonted investments, and Cornhill and
King street again displayed English goods, and retaU traders without
fear invited their customers even to the purchase of tea.
But it was some time before the debts incurred by the town in
sustaining the war were paid ; and though internal improvements,
such as repairing and improving the public property, grading streets,
* Captain Nicholas Johnson, of Newburyport, commander of the ship
" Count de Grasse," was the first to display the " stars and stripes " from the
masthead of his vessel, in the river Thames.

124 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
«
and erecting new buildings, were projected and discussed, the most
expensive of these were deferred until provision was made for the
payment of the town debt. The place had long since been divested
of all signs of royalty in the decorations of public buildings and
business insignia. Only one of this nature, the sign of the " Wolfe
Tavern," by some accident escaped ; and this was afterwards the
cause of severe denunciations by the newspaper press, which declared
its existence " in the very centre of the place to be an insult to the
inhabitants of this truly republican town." * Effectual means were.
also taken to eradicate everything savoring of royalty from tne'
names of the streets. King street was changed to Federal, and
Queen to Market, Fish to State, &c.
Considering that the fortification of the harbor had proved a
protection to the surrounding country, as well as to Newburyport,
the latter petitioned the General Court (1785) to be reimbursed in
the sums thus expended, instructing their Representatives "if
objection was made on the ground that other towns assisted in raising
these works, that in case an appropriation was made* for their relief,
to guarantee for Newburyport, that the due share of those towns
should be paid over. (Amesbury and Salisbury' assisted) in just
proportion, according to what they had given."
These works were a fort on Salisbury shore, and another on Plum
Island, a floating battery, a barge, and several gun carriages ; the
whole expense, as set forth in the petition, being £2,433 8s. 2^d.;
and as these works had been authorized and recommended by a
committee employed by the General Court, as thus providing a safe
harbor for vessels belonging to Boston, (then in the hands of the
British,) and the maritime towns on the coast, it was reasonably
supposed that the State would, on the return of peace, make good
the cost. This had already been done in regard to some other
places, but Newburyport was not destined to a speedy adjustment of
the account.
Both the Federal Government and the State's were exceedingly
perplexed by the fatture of their many plans for extinguishing the
pubhc debts after the war. The paper money had served the
purpose of its emission, but the ill effects of this necessary evil were
* Essex Journal.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 125
not so easily disposed of. In addition to its own tendency to depre
ciation, it was counterfeited by the cart-load by the orders of
General Clinton, in New York, on the suggestion of Lord George
Germaine, and sent through the country, for the purpose of driving
Congress from continuing this expedient to support the expenses of
the war ; and thus, when the danger from British arms was over,
new dangers arose to the Federal Union from the difficulty of appor
tioning the amount of the pubhc debt to be assumed and paid by the
several States. To Massachusetts was assigned a larger proportion
than to any of the States, except Virginia, yet she was prepared
to do her part;* but New York refusing her assent to the plan, it
was given up, and the States were left to devise such means for the
extinguishment of their own debts as they could ; while Congress
borrowed money in Europe to pay the interest on foreign loans, and
sold out the domestic debt for about a tenth of its nominal value. f
In this juncture of affairs, when the honor of Massachusetts was
at stake, and the General Court was tempted by some of its less
scrupulous members to repudiation, Newburyport took a noble stand
in behalf of maintaining inviolate the faith of the State. In May,
1786, the town approved by vote of an address prepared to their
Representatives, in which the hope is expressed " that injustice may
never be confounded with policy in Massachusetts." A plan was also
devised in this address for reducing the debt of the State, the
principal features of which were, after making provision for the sup
port of the necessary officers in the Commonwealth, first " to raise a
sum, of that species of security caUed final settlements, on some
proportion to the sum with which Massachusetts is charged by the
United States, whereby the State may be relieved from its annual
interest, bearing as it does a high proportion to the current value of
the principal, and its whole ability be thus left to operate with greater
* Honorable Tristram Dalton, of the United States Senate, under date of
August 3, 1790, writes to Mr. Michael Hodge, of this town, "Miss Assumption,
you will have been informed, was raised, and seems pretty well. I shall have to
fight to-morrow in Senate about Madam Molasses, as some of the southern mem
bers want to load her with more duties than I think she can walk with." [Pri
vate letters of this period show as strong sectional feeling as has ever been
displayed since.]
f Pitkin's History.

126 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
freedom for the discharge of its other obligations, which might be
effected by sinking annually of its capital debt £100,000 until it
appreciated to par, when its interest might be diminished by easy
reduction." Without transcribing the expressions of opinion in regard to
enlarging the powers of Congress, or " the pecuhar embarrassment"
which the town felt (as they might be considered " as pleading for
themselves as a community"), they represented, in conclusion,
that in the valuation of the State, " though a respectable commercial
town, they were not among the greatest in population or property,
but by their prompt attention to the pubhc interest, they had
been involved in extraordinary expenses which had never been
settled." Finally, in this noble address, they say to their Repre
sentatives, " We charge you to regard the Constitution and laws of
this Commonwealth with a religious solemnity and carefulness, as
your constituents esteem them invaluable possessions."
We find, however, a year later, that : one of the printers at least,
in Newburyport, Mr. John Mycall, editor of the Essex Journal, did
not consider one of the laws adopted about this time as an " inval
uable possession." ' This was the Massachusetts Stamp Act, passed
July 2, 1785. In their efforts to raise a revenue for the payment
of the public debt, the State invented a system of internal duties,
and a revenue was raised by placing a tax on papers, advertisements,
blank, legal, and some other books, and other articles.* This stamp
duty on papers was. very generally resented. Some newspapers
were suspended, (the Boston Continental Journal was one,) and
various devices were used by others to evade the tax, especially on
advertisements. Mr. Mycall, in an editorial under date of January
4, 1786, says : " The journals of other States come to us filled with
advertisements ; but on account of the Stamp Act, herej we cannot
advertise our own goods, though I have for sale Bibles and Testa
ments, -primers, almanacs, stationery, and many other useful things,
and also an excellent ' Moral Discourse,' the price of which being
only eight pence will not afford profit enough for paying the
[advertising] tax ! "
* The duty was seventeen per cent, on blank books, twelve and a half on
primers, psalm books, &c, and for an advertisement of twelve lines or less,
(allowing but eight words to a line,) sixpence ; for twenty lines or less, one
shilling.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 127
So great was the prejudice against the duty on papers, that the
law authorizing it was soon repealed. It reminded the people too
strongly of that against which they had battled in the colonial times,
and they would more cheerfully have paid a double tax on anything
else, than a very moderate one for stamped paper.
The heavy taxations, which followed for several years after the war,
produced in the middle and western counties of the State, an insur
rection, commonly known as " Shay's Rebellion," from the name of
the individual who headed the insurgents.
By a record on the town books, we find that a company from this
town joined the expedition against Shay, the town having voted,
March, 1789, " to grant to the soldiers that went against Shay, a sum
sufficient to make up their pay to 48 shiUings a month."
The company thus drafted, was commanded by Capt. Ezra Lunt,
(the same that was at Bunker HU1.)
" I very well remember," says a cotemporary and relative,* " seeing
this company paraded, the day they took up their march, being at the
head of Church lane, (Market street,) and directly opposite to Bishop
Bass's church. Captain Lunt, just before marching, made a very
suitable and soldier-like address to his officers and men, on this novel
and unexpected service ; enforcing in set terms the necessity of
military discipline, and due obedience to those who were in lawful au
thority over them. The whole company responded to the address in
loud and cheerful huzzas. The word ' Forward — march ' was given,
but before they had reached a great distance, they got the news that
the rebels had dispersed, much to the satisfaction of all, for a cam
paign in a civil war was not fully liked."
How far they went, is not stated by the narrator, but the following
certificate, with the record above quoted, indicates that either then
or subsequently, they were absent on this expedition a considerable
time, but we find no evidence of their coming into collision witii the
insurgents: i..vX">
"This certifies, that the 752 cartridges and 100 flints,, received
from the Selectmen of Newburyport, were delivered out to the soldiers
of my company, at different times, during the expedition against the
insurgents ; and that two camp-kettles were lost in the '.same service.
" Ezra Lunt, Captain.
" Newburyport, 22d Oct., 1787."
* Henry Lunt, Esq., of Boston.

128 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
As another evidence of the sentiments of the people of Newbury
port, in regard to this riotous resistance, to the properly constituted
authorities, may be mentioned the vote thrown in the town for the
two candidates for Governor, in 1786, Bowdoin and Hancock : the
latter, the inflexible enemy of the insurgents, received 189 votes ;
while Bowdoin, who was considered comparatively favorable to them,
received but 96. The entire County of Essex gave 1800 for Han
cock, which was a majority of 1000 over Bowdoin ; though the latter
carried the State.
This insurrection showed the value, and the weak points of the
militia, which was, for long after the war, relied on as the great
defence of the country. In this State, (1787) it consisted of nine di
visions, of which the Essex companies were the second ; in each divi
sion there were to be four (in some cases five) artillery companies, and
two cavalry ; they were to be raised by order of the Governor, with the
advice and consent of his Council, but the enlistments were voluntary.
Authority was also given, by the Act passed in November, 1786, for
the formation of cadet companies, " if this could be done without
reducing the mUitia companies to less than sixty privates." So im
portant was the thorough organization of the militia then considered,
that it was by special Act provided, " that if any individual was
unable to procure proper equipments for himself, the town was to
provide them ; parents, masters, and guardians, to do the same for
minors under their care."
Additional acts to secure efficiency were from time to time added.
Six years later, it was made incumbent on every town, to be constantly
provided with 64 lbs. of good gunpowder, 100 lbs. of musket balls,
100 flints, and 3 tin or iron camp-kettles, for every 64 soldiers in
the militia of such town ; and a proportionate supply of the articles
named, for a greater or less number. It was the duty of the Brigade
Inspector, to present any town to the Grand Jury which was not thus
provided. We shall hereafter show that the mUitia of Newburyport
held a high rank in the State.
During the year 1787, there occurred a curious, and by no means
agreeable instance of the impertinence of some of the British officials,
for it can hardly be supposed the government sanctioned such a
proceeding. On the 30th of July, there were put on shore at New-

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 129
buryport, twenty men and fourteen women, in a perfectly destitute
condition, who either could not or would not give any account of
themselves ; and who were supposed to be British convicts. They
proved to be part of a company of one hundred persons, who had been
landed at different points on the coast, between Machias and this town.
They were brought in a brig or snow, commanded by a Capt. ElUot.
They were temporarily provided for by the Selectmen, who, August
1st, wrote to Governor Hancock, to inquire what disposition should
be made of them. The State relieved the town, by assuming the
disposition of the unwelcome visitants.
Newburypprt was made a port of entry, under the Federal Con
stitution, by the action of Congress, in 1789, which divided the whole
coast into Districts, assigning the ports of entry and dehvery to be
included in each. Newburyport was made a District,* to which was
annexed the towns of Salisbury, Amesbury and Haverhill, as ports
of delivery. The Hon. Tristram Dalton, Senator frpm this place,
endeavored to secure the addition of Ipswich to this District, until
satisfied that the people there much preferred to be commerciaUy
annexed to Salem.
In this session of Congress was also mooted the question of assum
ing the charge of the Plum Island Ughts ; but this was for some
time delayed by the difficulty experienced in inducing the State to
consent to their cession, with the land on which they stood, to the
Federal Government.
An unwarrantable jealousy existed on the part of the States, lest
the national Government might abuse the power, if a foothold of any
description were permitted them, within the several Commonwealths.
* Letters of Hon- Tristram Dalton, of the TJ. S. Senate, and B. Goodhue,
Representative to the Congress of 1789, to M. Hodge, Clerk of the town of
Newburyport. B. Goodhue writes from Philadelphia, July 5, 1789 : "As soon
as we have got through the business necessary to set the Government agoing,
we shall have a recess. The harbors, ports, &c, of the United States are put
into Districts ; — in each District is to be a port of entry, and to which is annexed
several ports of delivery. For instance, Newburyport is a District, to which is
annexed Salisbury, Amesbury and Haverhill as places of delivery, and a Col
lector, Naval Officer and Surveyor is to reside at Newburyport. Tristram Dalton
proposed Ipswich to belong to Newburyport, but Mr. Choat wrote him, that it
would be more agreeable for the people there to go to Salem."

130 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
Mr. Dalton, writing from the seat of Government, in regard to these
lights, January 31, 1790, says :— " The property in the light-houses
must be vested in the United States before August next, or they will
be liable to be overlooked, and I know some influential people in
Boston are not favorable to the navigation of Merrimac river ; " and
he further urges the necessity, on the people of Newburyport, of
securing from the State Legislature the right to cede the light-houses
on Plum Island, at an " early period, so that when the next Congress
met, they might be found as an established charge on the Govern-'
ment ; " but he adds, " I believe there are people in Massachusetts,
who would rather stand by and witness the total destruction of our
commerce, than yield one foot of Massachusetts soU to the Federal
Government. But if Massachusetts does not cede the Ught-houses,
they wUl have to be maintained at the cost of the merchants ; for
the country people will not assist."
The right of cession, so important to the navigation of the Merri
mac, was granted by the State Legislature early in 17,90. Previous
to their cession, they had been maintained by private enterprise. In
September, 1787, the town granted " aU the right that it has the
power to grant, to Mr. Wm. Bartlett and others, to appoint a man to
hve in, and take care of the fort and hghts on Plum Island, at the
expense of the said petitioners." * In a printed notice the next year,
to seamen, giving directions about making these lights, the informa
tion is incidentaUy given, that there was at that time, " 7 feet of wate r
on the shoal part of the bar, at low tide, and more than 11 feet at
half tide."
In this year, an Act was passed by the General Court, regulating
pilotage for Newburyport. It was found that the general Act, for
the ports of the Commonwealth, was in some respects inapplicable to
this town ; and the following provisions were accordingly made : —
" First, that no person should take any vessel in or out of the Mer
rimac river, drawing 9 or more than 9 feet of water, (except coasters
and fishing vessels,!) without obtaining a commission or branch as a
* Before the lights were erected, a flag-staff assisted to guide the mariner on
his approach to the harbor.
•f These were probably excepted because they were all American vessels,
frequently owned, wholly, or in part, by the men that sailed them, and were of
small burden.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 131
pUot. The branch, or commission, was to be granted by the Gov
ernor and CouncU, only on the appUcant producing a certificate of
capacity, signed by the clerk of the " Merrimac Marine Society of
Newburyport," in behalf of a majority of its members. A pUot thus
authorized, was also obUged to deposit with the Treasurer of the
Commonwealth, £100, as security that he would relinquish his branch
whenever required by the Governor to do so, on a representation, of
a majority of the Marine Society, that he had become disqualified.
Any unauthorized person, attempting to bring in a vessel, was hable
to an action for damages, if any ensued.
The pttots of Newburyport were originally confined to prescribed
Umits, outside of which no ship-master was obUged to accept of their
services ; these Umits were from Newbury bar to Jebacca, from
Jebacca to Halhbut point ; from Halhbut point to the Isles of Shoals ;
from Isles of Shoals to Rye Beach.
But this defining of their bounds was found to be productive of
ill consequences. Captains and owners had their favorite pilots ;
and if one offered whom they did not wish, or whom they were ordered
not to take, they had only to lay outside of these limits until the one
came whom they desired to patronize. Thus some were deprived of
their due share of business, and though risking their hves, perhaps,
in beating out to reach a vessel, might, on offering their services, be
refused. This, it was feared, would superinduce more caution in
putting out after vessels, among those who were doubtful of being
accepted ; and the Marine Society, considering the risk to which
property was thus exposed, made the effort, and succeeded, (in 1847,)
in getting a law passed, " obliging any ship or vessel, requiring the
aid of a pUot, to receive the first person offering his services, and
holding a branch for the port into which the vessel is bound, whether
he be within his District or not ; and if such pUot, so offering his
services, shaU not be received, and the master or commander shall
afterwards receive another pilot, the first pUot offering shaUbe entitled
to receive full pilotage for the draught of water such vessel may
draw."* In the fall of 1789, Washington, then recently elected to the
Presidential chair, conceiving it his duty to become as fully acquainted
* General Laws and Resolves for Massachusetts, 1847, Chap. 279, p. 20.

132 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
as possible with the country over which he had been caUed to preside,
availed himself of the first interim of public duties, to make a tour
through those States with which he was least acquainted. On his way
through Massachusetts to New Hampshire, he visited this town on
Friday, the 1st November, remaining until Saturday morning.
The Hon. Tristram Dalton, who was on his way home, but
awaiting the President's arrival in Boston, thus writes to his friend
and relative, Mr. Michael Hodge, at that time Town Clerk of
Newburyport :
"I wiU advise you, when he [Washington] expects to be in New
buryport, and wish you would let me know what is proposed to be
done, with you, on his account. If any public house, and suitable
accommodations could be provided, it would be well. * * * I
Would offer my house to him, if the furniture was not out, and if I
had any servants. I have not, and I know it to be the wish of the
President, not to stop at private houses. * * * The appearance
of the militia in the County of Essex, and of the 2d Regiment* in
particular, must be very agreeable to him. To arrange the militia
of the United States, is an important object with him ; and better
examples he cannot meet with than in the County of Essex." * * *
Every preparation was made to give the first President a worthy
reception. The Hon. Tristram Dalton, and Major General Titcomb,
with other distinguished gentlemen from Newburyport, had met and
accompanied him from Ipswich, with an escort of two companies of
cavalry. On approaching the boundaries of the town, the cortege
was met (on High street, near Bromfield,) by the Militia, and Artil
lery Companies of Newburyport, the procession which was to escort
him through the town, and a company of young men, who had pre
pared an Ode of Welcome! to the Chief Magistrate of the country.
* This included the Newburyport Companies.
t He comes ! he comes ! The Hero comes !
Sound, sound your trumpets, beat your drums ;
From port to port let cannons roar,
He 's welcome to New England's shore.
Welcome, welcome, welcome, welcome,
Welcome to New England's shore !
Prepare ! prepare ! your songs prepare ;
Loud, loudly rend the echoing air ;

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 133
After the firing of a Federal salute by the ArtiUery Company, this
Ode was sung, and proved an affecting, as it was a novel feature, in
the receptions given to the President, on his tour. Washington was
moved even to tears by this unexpected and interesting mode of
welcome ; additional effect being given to the words, by the accom
paniment of the mUitary, and other instrumental music, appropriately
joining in the sentiments expressed.
The procession embraced, in addition to the mUitary, aU the town
officers, professional men, manufacturers, tradesmen, sea captains and
mariners, with aU the chUdren of the pubhc schools,* each having a
quUl in his hand. The procession conducted the President through
High to State street, to the mansion of Nathaniel Tracy, Esq.,!
where ihe remained through the day and evening. On his arrival
there, he was greeted with an Address, written by John Quincy
Adams,! *° which he made the foUowing reply :
" Gentlemen, the demonstrations of respect and affection which
you are pleased to pay to an individual, whose highest pretension is
to rank as your fellow citizen, are of a nature too distinguished not
to claim the warmest return that gratitude can make.
In visiting the town of Newburyport, I have obeyed a
favorite inclination, and I am much gratified by the indulgence. In
expressing a sincere wish for its prosperity, and the happiness of its
inhabitants, I do but justice to my own sentiments, and their merits."
In the evening, a, feu dejoie was fired by the mUitia companies ;
and a display of fireworks terminated the pubUc demonstrations of
joy felt by the community, at the privUege of entertaining so iUus-
trious a guest.
Washington had entered the town over the Parker river bridge,
advancing through Newbury, old town, to High street ; on leaving
From pole to pole his praise resound,
For Virtue is with Glory crowned.
Virtue, virtue, virtue, virtue,
Virtue is with Glory crowned. Essex Jour., N. H., 'Packet.
* These contained boys only ; there were 420 in the procession. Female
public schools were not established at this time.
f Now known as the Prince House, nearly opposite Temple street.
t See Biographical Notice.

134 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
the next morning, he was escorted as far as the boundary fine of New
Hampshire, where he was met by the Chief Magistrate of that State,
General Sullivan, and four companies of hght horse. The Marine
Society of Newburyport had prepared a beautiful barge, in which
the President was carried across the Merrimac from a point opposite
Amesbury. During the year 1793 an inoculating hospital for the small-pox was
estabhshed. This fatal practice of taking the virus directly from
a person who had the disease, and inserting it into the system of
a healthy person, has fortunately been totally abandoned, and super
seded by the safer practice of vaccination. But it was, up to
the close of the last century, quite common ; and on the appearance of
the small-pox in Newburyport, a hospital was buUt in the common
pasture, for the express purpose of inoculating for the disease.
Formerly the inhabitants who chose to be thus inoculated, had
resorted to other places for the purpose.* In Mr. Daniel Balch's
Journal we find this entry: " May 15, 1777, Hannah went to Mar
blehead to take ye small pox ; " and " 16th, Daniel come home ; 17
June, B  B  's wife came home."
Much alarm was felt in the town on its first appearance ; indeed,
no one in these days can realize the terror which the approach of
this disease then caused. The strictest regulations were enforced,
and no one was permitted to remain in the town who had it. With
out discrimination they were carried to the hospital, and heavy fines
were inflicted for privately inoculating, or concealing the fact that
a person had the disease. The report having at one time got abroad,
that the disease was in the town, the selectmen felt constrained
to publish weekly bulletins of its progress. A circular letter
which was received from the authorities of New York, desiring
this town to take measures, "by quarantining vessels from the
south," against the spread of the yellow fever, with the request that
the same might be published in " the neighboring. States where there
are printing presses," did not create so much excitement as did the
rumor that a case of small-pox had actually occurred.
The brig Stark had appeared in the harbor some time previously,
and it was rumored through the town that a man on board had the
* A " pest house " had been previously erected on Plum Island for victims
of the small-pox, but was not voluntarily resorted to for inoculation.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 135
small-pox. Orders were immediately issued to the constable, Mr.
James Kettle, who .also acted as health officer, " to prevent the
vessel coming up to town, and to allow no one to leave it for any
other place than Plum Island, untU he was satisfied that they neither
had the disease, nor would .convey it to others;" and if, after his
examination, any of the crew did come up to town, they were
to be officially visited for eighteen days successively, to see if any
symptoms of the disease appeared. The vessel was partly laden
with cotton and dry goods. The cotton was ordered to be "buried
in the sand seven days," and the piece goods "well aired." The
written return of the constable shows that he thoroughly entered into
the spirit of his instructions. He says " that he found the man well,
but sent him to Plum Island to be cleansed ; that the brig had been
washed and smoked a long time before she came into the harbor ;
but notwithstanding, he smoked her again from stem to stern, and
washed her cabin with vinegar, and had taken everything out from
both cabin and steerage, and smoked and aired them well ; " and he
adds, as well he might, " and I am very certain that she may come
to town to-morrow with all safety."
When the hospital was buUt, so great was the alarm of the .people,
and so complete their faith in inoculation, that there were soon
more apphcants for admission than there was room to accommodate
them. Under these circumstances, the physician, Charles Coffin,
Jr., was directed to exercise no discrimination in the admission of
patients, but "to choose them by lot," with this humane provision
only, that " families were not to be separated." But being once
within the terrible precincts of the hospital, it was no very easy
thing to get out ; for the strictest surveUlance was kept up over the
whole premises, lest the contagion should be carried away. Among
the rules and regulations of the establishment, it was ordered, that
"no patient should leave the hospital without being thoroughly
smoked and cleansed;" the latter process included bathing in
strong vinegar ; the hair was to be cut off, and no article of clothing
whatever, not even shoes, which had been used in the hospital, was
to be worn away. This was enforced by a penalty of ten dollars.
No visitor might enter without leave, under a fine of eight doUars,
and no conversation was allowed between a visitor and patient unless
the former placed himself " to the windward " of the latter, under a

136 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
penalty of one dollar. Let it not be supposed that these visitors
were admitted into the building. No ! lines were drawn at a
considerable distance from the house, called the "inner" and
" outer " lines ; the latter sixteen and a half feet distant from the
former, and no nearer than this could any visitor approach to see
his friend. If one brought an inmate of this dismal abode any little
article for the gratification of his palate, he was not allowed to hand
it to him, but must place it " on the Cuter Une " to be taken up after
he was gone a safe distance from the spot. Without this boundary,
too, were placed all the supplies for the hospital. A guard was
stationed to keep off cattle, and if a dog or cat unwittingly invaded
the fatal Circle, it experienced the same fate as was adjudged to
the intruders on Mount Sinai, — instant death. The hospital was
kept open during the fall, winter, and succeeding spring months.
AppUcants gradually diminished, the disease disappeared, and the
buUding was deserted. But during the panic produced by the
prevalence of the disease, the selectmen of Newburyport and New
bury jointly agreed " to erect two smoke-houses, and to appoint
suitable persons to attend them, for the purpose of smoldng travellers
and goods coming from infected places ; one to be near Oldtown
bridge, and the other at Thorlo's bridge ; and that no one should
escape, a gate was placed across the road, to be opened only when
the sesame of perfect purity from all contagious disorders was satis
factorily proved.
When the French Revolution broke out, in 1792, followed, by the
deposition of the royal famUy, and the decapitation of the king,
arousing aU monarchial Europe, and arraying them against the new
Republic, all eyes in France were turned towards the United States
for sympathy and aid. The first had been freely given by aU classes
at the commencement of the struggle ; but the anarchy, excesses,
cruelties, and enormities which followed each other in quick
succession, soon detached the majority of the humane and order-
loving portion of the community from her cause, while others who
deprecated these immediate bad results, still hoped that she would
purify herself from these stains, and acquire a name worthy to stand
beside her elder sister among the Republics, which it was confi
dently hoped, by the friends of liberty, were about to be estabhshed.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 137
With the view of attaching the United States to their interests in a
political alliance, negotiations were early commenced by France,
though a commercial treaty was the ostensible object.
Hitherto there had been but one acknowledged party in the United
States, that of Republicans ; but at this epoch the incipient parties
included under the general names of Federalists and Democrats,
began to assume distinctness ; the leading member of the former
being Mr. HamUton, and of the latter, Mr. Jefferson. The imme
diate cause of open differences in the Cabinet was the appearance of
citizen Genet as Minister to the United States from France. Wash
ington having decided on maintaining the neutrality of our Govern
ment, every effort, honorable and dishonorable, was used by Franee
to effect a change, first in the views of the leading men at the seat
of Government, and then to detach the people from the Adminis
tration, and set them in array against the President and his measures,
and to create a popular influence in favor of an alhance, offensive as
weU as defensive, with France.
The National Convention, immediately after their declaration of
war against Great-Britain, had passed a decree, opening French ports
in the East and West Indies, and granting other special privUeges to
the United States, for the double purpose of crippling Great Britain,
by throwing the carrying trade into our hands, and as a bait to the
Government of the United States to form the desired treaty. By
the eleventh article of the treaty of 1778, between France and the
United States, the reciprocal guaranty of the possessions of the two
nations was stipulated ; — the United States thus guaranteeing to
France her possessions in the West Indies. These possessions were
now in danger; but the United States could not fulfil this clause in
her treaty with France, without breaking her " treaty of peace and
amity" with England. To increase the difficulty, citizen Genet was
commissioned to make the observance of this article in the treaty
with France, " a sine qua non of their free commerce with the
West Indies."* Thus the United States was in the threefold dUemma,
of either fatting to fulfil this clause, renewing war with England, or
losing the commerce of the French West India Islands, and other
advantages, which it was in the power of France to withhold or
* Pitkin's Civil and Political History.

138 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
bestow. What the result might have been, had the negotiations been
conducted, on the part of France, with delicacy and tact, it is impos
sible now to determine. But the pro tempore ruling powers of
that country appeared to consider that the United States were under
imperative obligations to render their assistance ; and worse, pre
sented their demands in such terms, that the manner would have
precluded a favorable consideration, had the request been reasonable
and well timed. Every expedient was resorted to, by citizen Genet,
to embarrass the Government, and following his instructions, he de
manded the immediate payment of the whole of the loan due France,
though the time set for the several payments had not expired. The
French Minister also claimed the right of arming vessels in our
ports, and enlisting American seamen to cruise against nations with
whom the United States were at peace. This was resisted by Wash
ington ; but for a long time unsuccessfully. Prizes were taken by
French vessels, and actually sold in ports of the United States. It
is not necessary to enumerate here, all the offensive and dangerous
proceedings of M. Genet up to the time of his recaU ; but suffice it
to say, he had so far influenced a portion of the people, who
were inclined to favor his views from a romantic kind of gratitude to
France, — forgetting that it was the murdered king, and not his violent
dethroners, who had assisted us, — that they openly condemned the
policy of Washington, in regard to maintaining the neutrality of the
country. But this feeling was much allayed by the disclosures which
were subsequently made, of the base arts used by the emissaries of
France ; especially in the project which they had set on foot, for form
ing an alliance among the people at the south-west, bordering on the
Mississippi, urging them to throw off their allegiance to the Govern
ment, and estabhsh an independent one by French aid. But though
it was generally conceded that the demands of France, as presented,
were inadmissible, yet the political parties, formed at the time, re
tained for many years after the bias they then received; the
Federalists being supposed to favor the interests of Great Britain in
our foreign policy, and the Democrats that of France. Without an
intimate knowledge of the pohtical phases of this period, it is impos
sible to have a right understanding of those causes which gave such
intensity and bitterness to the recriminations of the two great parties
which in after years struggled for supremacy under these names ;

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 139
till the issues, so important at the time of their formation, gave way
to the interests awakened by new times and different circumstances.
The influence which the French party had obtained, even in Con
gress, is shown by the refusal of the House of Representatives to
vote the necessary supphes for carrying Mr. Jay's treaty with
England into effect. This delay was productive of so much uncer
tainty, — jeopardizing, it was beheved by many, even the existence of
the Federal Union, — that in many parts of the country, serious alarm
was felt. Newburyport, with many other towns, held pubhc meetings,
to enable the citizens to express their opinions on this aspect of
national affairs. We find the foUowing notice of their action in the
newspaper of the day :
" On Saturday afternoon, [April 6th,] the inhabitants assembled
at the town-house, with no other notice than twice ringing of the
bells, in larger numbers thanhas been known for many years, to decide
on measures, proper to be taken at this important crisis of our
national affairs ; and with only one dissentient voice, agreed to present
a petition to the House of Representatives, praying that the treaty
concluded between Great Britain and the United States may be
carried into operation ; wbich they consider essential to preserve the
faith, honor and interest of our young and rising Repubhc." — Essex
Journal, (1796.)
A Committee was appointed, to obtain subscribers to this petition,
and upwards of four hundred names were secured in a few hours.
But the troubles which involved Great Britain, and the confusion
which reigned in nearly every State of Continental Europe, at this
time, threw an immense carrying trade into our hands ; American
shipping found protection in the Texel, and the Empress Catharine
had already granted us the freedom of the Baltic ; a brisk trade was
opened with the Enghsh, French, Spanish and Dutch possessions, and
for a season, unchecked prosperity was the reward of maritime en
terprise ; and the town, content with this, readtty agreed to abide by
the Proclamation of Washington, forbidding the fitting out of armed
vessels in aid of either nations (1793). But though on the whole,
the town gained immensely from her foreign trade, for the next
twenty years, great annoyances, and many heavy losses were expe
rienced by individuals, from the effect of decrees of the belligerent
powers, affecting neutral vessels, of which we shall furnish ample

140 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
evidence as we proceed. For not only did Great Britain claim the
right of search, for the ostensible purpose of recovering Enghsh
deserters, or British subjects * but in the exercise of this disputed
right, frequent seizures were made, of what she called " enemy's
goods," — viz., goods shipped from the port of some nation, :(as the
French,) with whom she was at war ; and on various pretexts, both
cargo and vessel were frequently confiscated, or otherwise subjected
to such delay, loss and injury, as absorbed the whole profits of the
voyage. In addition to these insults and injuries from Great Britain,
the French, irritated at the neglect of the Government of the United
States to renew and enforce that part of the treaty which secured to
them their West Indian possessions ; and feeling themselves aggrieved
at the refusal of the United States to form an alliance with them ;
and farther, complaining that we allowed the English to take French
goods out of our ships, thus permitting a great injury to France,' —
adopted retaUatory measures, and French privateers made a prey
of our merchantmen, because they- had previously been robbed by
the English.
In 1793, the alhed powers, in order more completely to crush
France, adopted the extraordinary measure of endeavoring to starve]
her into submission, and for this purpose agreed among themselves
not only to aUow no exportation of corn, grain, salt meat, or other
provisions to France, but they mutually engaged to unite all <their
efforts, to prevent neutral nations from supplying her, directly or
indirectly. The Empress Catharine also requested the King of
Sweden not to aUow his ships of war to take under convoy, merchant
men destined for France. Thus, on every side, a net was being
drawn, to entangle our commerce. The Government of the United
States remonstrated through its Ministers, but without avaU. And,
as if this league was not enough, American commerce and American
seamen were suddenly and unexpectedly exposed to a new and worse
danger. For some years, a state of war had existed between Portugal and
Algiers, and during this period, Portugal, by a powerful fleet, had
* Capt Goodhue, of Newburyport, lost all his men by impressment, at Leo-
gane, March 28, 1796.
f Vide Alison's Europe : " Convention between Great Britain and Russia."

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 141
confined the piratical cruisers of the Dey, to the Mediterranean ;
and American vessels, in full security, navigated the Atlantic, on the
borders of Spain and Portugal. But in September, 1793, a truce
was concluded between the Dey and the latter power, and the whole
of the Algerine fleet was suddenly let loose, to prey upon the com
merce of the ocean ; and thus a new element of destruction was
added to the selfishness of the Northern powers, and the revengeful
pohcy of France, against which our merchantmen were totally un
prepared. The history of European Cabinets is the narrative of fluctuations
in our commercial prosperity. A treaty could neither be made, nor
disregarded, but the ebb of the wave, which threw it on the world,
bore on its retirement, a page of the annals, of profit or loss, of the
merchants in Newburyport ; and affairs which, upon a cursory view,
might appear to have no relation to our interests, were often vitally
connected with it. The correspondence of ship-masters, belonging
to this port, at this period, and for long after, would abundantly con
firm this statement, if collateral, historical proof were wanting.
Thus, a master of a schooner, writing from Martinico, to this town,
under date of March 20th, 1794, says : " We are continuaUy
insulted and abused by the British ; the Commodore says, ' all Amer
ican property here wiU be confiscated ; ' my schooner is unloaded,
stripped and plundered of everything. Nineteen American saU here
have been Ubelled ; seven of them were lashed together, and
drifted ashore, and stove to pieces."*
Another master reports " that on leaving Guadeloupe he was
boarded by an English privateer, but that she was retaken bj a
French privateer, who took possession of aU the English sailors ; "
and on April 29th, arrived in this town, Captain T. Adams, from St.
Martin's ; he had been taken by a British frigate and carried to
Barbadoes, where he was tried (under the new neutrality laws,)
and acquitted, but not until he had paid three hundred pounds
charges. The following is a Hst of some of the vessels belonging to
Newburyport, which were thus unceremoniously seized upon and
carried to the West Indies, up to September, 1794.
* Impartial Herald, 1794.

142

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.

Masters.

Owners.

*" Ship Russell,

I. Young,

Wm. Bartlett.

Brig Beaver,

N. Pierce,

J. Greenleaf.

" Betsy,

J. Wiley,

Peter Le Breton.

" Dolphin,

E. Knapp,

Samuel Knapp.

" Essex,

Wm. Brown,

A. Davenport.

" Mary,

M. Pearson,

Joshua Carter.

" Margaret,

J. Dalton,

O'Brien & Pike.

" Nancy,

R. Adams,

WiUiam Coombs.

" PoUy,

H. Goodhue,

J. Stanwood.

" Stark,

J. Holland,

WiUiam Coombs.

" William,

. W. Trow,

W. Bartlett.

Schooner Fox,

T. Adams,

Wm. & PhU. Coombs.

" Flora,

T. Follansbee,

S. Howard.

" Hope,

D. Farley,

T. Brown.

SaUy,

Noyes,

Smith, Pettingell & S,
Coffin.

" Speedwell,

A. Rejan,

Bayley, O'Brien & Pike.

" Two Brothers,

B. Colby,

D. Richards.

Sloop Mary,

J. WeUs,

Smith & PettingeU.

" Polly,

W. Milberry,

Gage & Balch.

" Sally,

G. Colby,

Joseph Wadleigh & Co."

The foUowing paragraph from the Essex Journal of August 7th,
partly explains the cause of their detention.
" Yesterday Captains Tappan and Trow, arrived here from the
West Indies ; they were both taken by the British privateers, and
carried into St. Christopher's, where they underwent an examination,
but it appearing that the former had not any French property on
board, he was released. On board Captain Trow's [vessel] seventy
hogsheads of sugar were seized, which Captain Tappan claimed as
his property, but the claim appearing to them to be without founda
tion, it is detained for trial at their next maritime court."
The following extract from a letter written by Captain Moses
Brown, of the schooner Hannah, dated Bermuda, October 28, 1795,
is evidence of the slight grounds on which many of these seizures
were made. The " Hannah " was hbeUed at the same time.
" I have heard the trial of the brig Sally, of Boston, and of a
ship belonging to Charleston, which gives me reason to beUeve, that
they want only suspicion in their own favor, to condemn any vessel,

* Morning Star of September 2, 1794.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 143
as the king's attorney was pleased to declare on the trial of the
SaUy, ' that any of the [British] armed vessels have a right to
take any vessels they meet with at sea, and call them French
property tUl some person comes forward and proves to the captor's
satisfaction, the contrary.' * * They say, ' till the Admiral's
proclamation is revoked, they have a right to condemn all vessels
from Guadeloupe, even though he was gone to England with his
ships, much more whUe he is lying at Martinico, or Antigua.' His
Majesty's ordering a dock yard to be built here, raises some of their
expectations very high. Indeed, they have even the vanity to say
that ' the situation of this island is such, that they don't doubt it
wUl be so fortified in fifty years, that every vessel passing from
America to the West Indies, will be obliged to call here for a
passport //' "
These outrageous proceedings did not escape the notice of our
Government, as wUl appear by the following note, addressed to the
Collector, of Newburyport ; but the protection was rather prospective
than immediate.
, Department of State, March 25, 1796.
" Sir : — The newspapers frequently give accounts of impressments
of American seamen, and of other outrages committed upon our
citizens by British ships-of-war. But however well founded these
relations may be, yet other documents wUl be required whenever
reparation for these wrongs shaU be demanded. I am therefore
directed by the President of the United. States, to endeavor to
obtain correct information on this subject, verified by the oaths of
the informants. Such of these as shall enter the port of Newbury
port, will fall under your notice, and I must request you to have
their depositions taken at the public expense, in a most fair and
impartial manner before a notary pubUc, and transmitted from time
to time to this office. I am respectfully, Sir,
" Your obedient servant,
"Timothy Pickering."
But while the United States authorities were calling for the evi
dence of damages, the seizures went on, as the following extract of
a letter from Captain Wyatt St. Barbe, of this port, to the Marine
Insurance Company here, will show. It is dated Teneriffe, March
22, 1796. Captain St. Barbe says :

144 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
" Having left the Elbe on the 5th of February, on the 25th saw
a large ship in the south-west quarter apparently in distress, and
made for her ; she proved to be a British transport, with troops on
board, bound to the West Indies ; she was leaking badly ; her name
was the ' Isabell,' Captain Potter, who came aboard and requested
me to see him to Corunna, or Lisbon. I told him my ship was
chartered at a very high rate, and my voyage would be much injured
by turning back, but that I would see him safe to the Western
Islands, Madeira, or the Canaries, with which he seemed to be satis
fied, and said that he would send to the commander of the troops,
[in the transport,] for his approbation ; but instead, he sent him
word that my ship and cargo was French and Dutch property,* and
requested assistance to seize me as a prize. An armed party soon
came on board and drove my supercargo, chief mate, and eight of
my sattors into his boat, at the point of the bayonet, and sent them on
board the Isabell, before even having seen my papers, manning my
ship from his with an addition of fourteen soldiers and two officers.
The next day, Captain Potter said ' he should take us to Lisbon,
and send us from there to Barbadoes.' Having examined aU the
ship's papers, and my private ones, breaking open boxes and taking
out what he pleased, he took every means to corrupt my saUors,
trying to induce them to swear that the ship is either Dutch or
French property, keeping my men on bread and water, and the car
penter in irons. This is a fine reward for having saved the lives of
near three hundred of His Britannic Majesty's subjects. * * *
I am confident if justice takes place on our arrival at Barbadoes, I
shaU be acquitted with honor, not having a single paper or anything
else aboard of my ship, that can gainsay or contradict what I have
always professed myself to be, and what you have always known me
to be, a citizen of the United States. It is peculiarly aggravating
to me to know that most of my cargo will be ruined before a decision
takes place."
The brig Friendship, of Newburyport, Captain Harris, was taken
and carried into Barbadoes, the officers and crew turned ashore
without clothes or money, the whole of which was taken from them.
On applying for a smaU portion of their own to procure necessary
*The Batavian Republic was at this time in the French interest.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 145
suppfies, they were answered that " His Majesty needed it to pay
the troops before they went to the siege of Martinique ! "
Some of the vessels thus captured, were sent to other ports than where
they were bound, where their Cargoes were seized and confiscated,
or bought, when not' condemned, on such terms as the captors chose
to dictate. This -was the case with the brig PoUy, Captain Cushing,
who was boarded when three leagues distant from Fort PelUcan, by
the sloop Repubhcan, Captain Pomey, who ordered him into port,
the sloop's pUot carrying him into the harbor of Cape Francois.
Here Captain Cushing was conducted out of the vessel by a guard
of soldiers, to the presence of the general in command, to whom he
showed the manifest of his cargo, for which he was offered less than
the cost, the commandant saying " he should not leave port on '
any other conditions." His cargo was perishing and he was obUged
to comply, and delivered it up to the Government on the 1st of
September, to be paid for in coffee, sugar, and molasses in thirty-five
days ; but having waited until the 10th of November, he was put
off twenty-five days longer, and at the end of that period, told
" that the American captains " (many from other ports being there
in the same dttemma,) " were to be paid in rotation ; " and Captain
Cushing, finding that his turn would not come for some four or five
months, and Uttle chance of prompt payment even then, his vessel
being on expense aU the time, concluded not to wait ; but before
leaving, prepared a protest to present to the Government ; but this
was not received, and the only official evidence that he could obtain,
that he had not wttfuUy sacrificed his cargo, was a certificate to that
effect from the American Consul at St. Croix.
Many American captains were long detained at Barbadoes, and
when permission was given them to leave, and they reached the
ports where their vessels had been sent, if anything was saved, much
of the profits of the voyage was lost by the delay and expense
attending the recovery. In a Ust of American vessels sold at pubUc
auction at Ddminica in March, 1794, we find the " brig PoUy, of
Newburyport, for one hundred and sixty joes," (a Portuguese coin
worth eight doUars.)
These were condemned on the ground of having broken the
blockade. Even the mulatto commandant, Le Point, then in temporary
10

146 HISTORY OF- NEWBURYPORT.
authority at L'Accahye, under the sanction of Great Britain, and
with the aid of a British privateer brig, presumed to arrest and
detain American merchantmen, seizing upon the officers and crews,
as incendiary " Republicans."* To this privateer brig, Le Point
made frequent and pompous visits, and having on one occasion made
a signal from her for a smaU boat to take him on shore, (he having
previously ordered the return of his own,) and none of the vessels
in the harbor complying with the signal, he arrested ten American
captains, whom he confined in a jaU where there were over thirty
negroes, and there kept them twenty-four hours without food or
drink, until they paid twelve dollars apiece for jail fees. This Le
Point had received his commission from Governor WilUamson, of
Jamaica. The names of the captains belonging to Newburyport,
who were subjected to this insult, were John HoUand of the brig
Nancy, Nicholas Pierce, EUjah Mayhew, and Ant. Knapp.
But the fate of our citizens who were so unfortunate as to faU into
the hands of the Algerines, was much more to be commiserated.
They were not only robbed of everything, but were at once reduced
to a state of chattel slavery, without hope of release except as their
countrymen might choose to seek their ransom. The foUowing is the
substance of a letter from Captain Timothy Newman, one of these
victims, to his father, Dr. John Newman, in this town, dated March
12, 1794 :
" On the 18th of October, I was captured by an Algerine corsair,
and stripped of everything. On arriving at Algiers I was conducted
to the Dey's house, and in the morning was sent to the slaves'
bagnio, and there received an iron shackle round my leg and a chain
of twenty pounds, and three loaves of coarse bread for twenty-four
hours, and some water, and was immediately put to hard labor. My
situation is so deplorable that to mention but a smaU part would
require much longer time than I am allowed. I wish you to make this
known to Payne Wingate and Benjamin Goodhue,! *ho I trust wUl
do everything they can to procure my release."
* That is, French " Jacobins," inimical to the authority of Great Britain
over the island.
f Member of Congress.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 147
In a Hst of ten American vessels taken by the Algerines during
the latter part of the year 1793, was the brig Polly, Captain
Michael Smith, of Newburyport.
The fate of these wretched men excited intense sympathy in all
classes of the community ; an appeal in their behalf was made in
this town, which was read from the pulpits of the various churches
on the Sabbath preceding the general Thanksgiving, and contribu
tions were taken up to aid in ransoming them,* but the Dey,
persuaded that the Government would ultimately redeem them, at
an exorbitant price, and Congress being unwilling to encourage their
piracy by stimulating and rewarding their avarice, the negotiations
for their release were not concluded until 1796.
The following extract is from a letter of Captain Michael Smith,
of this town, dated " Algeirs, September 9th," 1796, and addressed
to a gentleman here : " We have all been hberated from slavery,
and now only wait for a vessel which is to take us to Philadelphia,
where I expect to arrive about December. * * * AU here from
Newburyport are weU."
Among these captives was Mr.  BaUey, son of Samuel
BaUey of this town, but bis ransom came too late ; he died from the
effects of his cruel servitude before reaching his home.
. But the profits arising from successful voyages were so great, and
the number of vessels which managed to escape from the comphcated
perils of the times was so large, that though we omit aU mention of
numbers of similar cases, the commercial prosperity of the town was
unchecked by these high-handed outrages on our commerce. In
1790 there were owned here but six ships, forty-five brigantines,
thirty-nine schooners, and twenty-eight sloops, with an aggregate
tonnage of 11,870. About a dozen years later, the shipping of this
port was estimated at 30,000 tons.
While our seamen in foreign ports and on the highway of the
ocean were encountering perils that the saUor of to-day knows
nothing about, save as the faithful page of history, or the glowing
tales of romance have preserved them for his instruction and enter
tainment, the dweUers on the land were rapidly advancing in their
* One gentleman, Whose name we have not learned, gave $4000, " enough to
redeem a master or supercargo."

148 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
several departments, and internal improvements foUowed, if they did
not quite keep pace with the enterprise of our mariners.
On turning to the Town Records for 1796, we are pleasantly
surprised at the change in the currency. "Exeunt pounds and enter
dollars ! " is the natural exclamation, as we see, for the-first time, this
insignia of American Independence used in the estimates of the
annual town expenses. There had been, previous to the introduction
of the continental bUls, but one other considerable change in the
currency of Massachusetts ; the Enghsh money being in common
circulation from the first settlement of the country, except during a
period of forty-eight years, from 1702 to 1750, when a paper
currency was introduced into New England by the Colonial Govern
ment, bearing on the face of the bUls the promise of future redemp
tion, which promises were met, like those of the Continental Congress,
only with new emissions. The consequences were the same, though
the necessities of the case were not. The money which is now
known as " old tenor," sunk in value so as to compare with coin,
which was distinguished as "lawful money" in Massachusetts,
7| to. 1; in some other parts of New England even lower.
The "old tenor" currency was a monetary invention, introduced
to meet the expenses of the French war ; and in 1750 Parhament
reimbursed Massachusetts for her exertions during that war by
sending over a large sum of money, aU in sttver. With this specie,"
Governor Hutchinson proposed to redeem the bUls of credit, which
was done, and "old tenor" bUls became an Ulegal tender; and
so determined was Massachusetts to root out every vestige of this
deceptive currency, that it was subsequently enacted "that no
person could commence a suit at law, or be eligible to any office of
honor or profit, without taking oath that he " had taken no paper*
money since 1750." *
* One Joseph Green, of Boston, wrote a somewhat celebrated dirge, set to
the tune of Chevy Chace, " On the death of Mr. Old Tenor," in which he
shows the good which "Old Tenor" had done in his life, and lugubriously
laments over his death. The baUad is of some length ; we extract but a verse
or two " Led on by him, our soldiers bold
Against the foe advance ;
And took, in spite of wet and cold,
Strong Cape Breton from France.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 119
Commerce,, rehgion, and education were the staple objects of
sohcitude at this period, and by the foUowing extract it wUl be seen
that we have not overrated the early interest of Newburyport in the
education of the young :
"By a late visitation of the selectmen and school committee of
this town to the pubhc schools, it appears that there are about nine
hundred chUdren now educating at the expense of the town. Not
withstanding the smattness of this town when compared with Boston,
there are two more public schools here than there are in that place.
Such is the opinion of the inhabitants of this town with regard to the
necessity of well educating the rising generation, that they cheerfully
support nine pubhc, and several private schools." — Essex Journal,
Newburyport^ 1793.
One of the most important rights, affecting personal liberty,
was obtained by Newburyport during the year 1794. This was
procured by the passage of an act incorporating the several reUgious
societies then existing, and enlarging the Uberty of the individual by
permitting him to attend what place of worship he chose, without
being hable to be taxed for the support of a ministry with which he
had no sympathy. It seems almost incredible that the descendants
of the PUgrims in Newburyport never acquired this essential of
religious Uberty till more than a century after their settlement here ;
yet such is the fact. The evil effects of its delay are amply exem
plified in the early history of the churches in this town.* By this
act no person was to be taxed in more than one parish, and in
that which he attended; and only to be taxed so long as
he thus attended, every person being required to give notice, in
writing, of his intention to withdraw from the society with which he
" The merchants, too, — those topping folks,
To him owe all their riches ;
Their ruffles, lace, and scarlet cloaks,
And eke their velvet breeches.
* # * * * * *
" In Senate he like Csesar fell,
Pierced through with many a wound;
He sunk, ah ! doleful tale to tell,
» The members sitting round ! "
* See Sketch of First Presbyterian Church.

150 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
had been in the habit of worshipping ; his attendance being deemed
proof of membership. It was still, however, presumed by the law,
that every person must attend some place of public worship, and pay
a tax to some society. The presumption was founded on the consid
eration that the pubhc recognition of the Christian refigion was a
pubUc benefit, and a means of insuring the peace of the community
and the permanency of our pohtical institutions. It was therefore
argued, that for a pubhc benefit of which every individual was a
recipient, whether he attended on preaching or not, each should pay
a due proportion of the cost.
It was not tUl 1834 that the Legislature of Massachusetts passed
an act distinctly releasing any from the UabiUty to pay taxes for the
support of reUgious worship. By the " Act relating to Parishes and
Rehgious Freedom," passed in April, 1834, it is provided by Section
2, that " No person shaU hereafter be made a member of any parish
or religious society, so as to be hable for a tax therein for the support
of pubhc worship, or other parish charges, without his express consent,
first had and obtained."
The passage of an act bestowing only so much reUgious freedom as
that of 1794, tended greatly to harmonize the ecclesiastical affairs
of the town, as the records of the various parishes abundantly prove.
As the progress of the community was towards a perfect freedom,
— yet indeed unattained, but drawing nearer with each succeeding
year, — we find some spicy bits of evidence, that the ladies of New
buryport were resolved not to be behind the times ; among others, an
amusing account is given, in a number of the Impartial Herald, for
February, 1795, of the celebration of Washington's birthday, by the
ladies ; on which occasion we find the foUowing democratic and pro
gressive toasts offered :
"Marie Charlotte CordS* — May each of Columbia's daughter be
ready, like her, to sacrifice her hfe to Liberty."
And again :
"The Fair Patriots of America— -May they never faU to assert
their Independence, which Nature equally dispenses."
How many participated in this pubhc demonstration, is not men
tioned. * The assassin of Marat.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 151
Not only were the spiritual and mental needs of the community
thus freely catered for, but the selectmen, evidently convinced that
the people under their paternal guardianship, needed sound and
good physical aUment, as weU as spiritual, passed the foUowing order
respecting the weight and quahty of bread, to the confounding of
aU dishonest bakers, if any such there were : lb. oz.
" Two-penny white loaf to weigh 8
Four-penny " " " " 1
Six-penny " " " « 18
Biscuit of one penny each, 4
Biscuit of two pence each, ' 8
Four-penny brown loaf, three-
quarters wheat, and one-
quarter rye meal, 1 8
Four-penny brown loaf, not more
than hah7 Indian meal, 2
" The bakers in town are required to mark their bread, which they
bake for sale, with the first letters of their Christian names, and with
the first and last letters of their surnames.
All that is made of different grain, or proportion from this assize,
must be seized."
" By order of the Selectmen,
"August 22, 1796. Enoch Titcomb, Town Clerk."
Several by-laws were also passed about this time, for the security
of the town against fire. Indeed, from the frequency with which
reference was made to this subject, in the municipal government of
the town, it would appear that our ancestors had a faithful presen
timent, that " Fire " would at last write " Ichabod " on the fame of
Newburyport, and extinguish, as it did, the aspirations of a whole
generation. AU the glory of the past being covered by the ever
brooding shadow of that dire calamity.
With a view to preventing accidental fires, it was forbidden any
person to smoke a pipe or cigar in any of the streets or aUeys of the
town, on the wharves, or any place where danger could possibly exist ;
and a fire having occurred at Pine Island,* in December, it was
* Three or four miles from the town.

152 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
thereupon voted, in town meeting, " that a night watch of ten per
sons be appointed, to continue untU May," the watch to be sustained
by the citizens in due rotation, in alphabetical order. It was also
recommended to the inhabitants, " to keep a barrel of water in their
houses, impregnated with marine salt, pot or pearl ashes, alum or
copperas, to put out fires; and at the engine houses the firemen
were requested to keep a butt of the same on wheels."
Conduits had been previously sunk by order of the selectmen.
People were forbidden to carry fire through the streets, " except in a
safe, close-covered vessel,"* and the inhabitants were requested "to
leave open a shutter in the rooms where they usuaUy kept a fire at
night, that the watchmen might see if the fire kindled up, and give
due notice."
Some of the regulations intended to preserve the town from this
species of calamity were almost ludicrous. In 1794 the town by
vote seriously recommended the inhabitants, in case of fire, to " take
their buckets with them, and to fill them at the most convenient
place, so as to be ready when they came to the fire to assist in
quenching the flames." How many mUes a person was "recom
mended " to run with a bucket of water is not laid down ; but another
order exemplifies, if nothing else, the honesty of the people. "Ml
carpenters, and such as use axes in their business," were requested,
on alarm of fire, to take them with them, the town engaging, if they
were lost, to make good the value. We would by no means infer
that the morality of the moderns has depreciated ; but we do think,
did such a custom obtain now, the city would be obUged to keep on
hand an ample supply of new axes to restore those which would
inevitably be lost at every fire.
The due " area of freedom" for dogs was also allotted, and is thus
naively hmited by an order of the selectmen some years later : " From
the 1st of January to the 31st of December, no dog shall go at
large except he be confined by a chain or rope of not greater. length
than ten feet."
Manufacturing was yet, an untried experiment to the capitalist;
but we find that as early as 1793 a woollen factory was projected
*When wood was the only fuel, neighbors often borrowed "a coal of fire"
to kindle with.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 153
here, and in 1794, incorporated, raised, and carried on under the
auspices of gentlemen in this town. Water being then the principal
power for the movement of comphcated' machinery, a site for the
buUding was purchased on Parker river, in what is now the parish of
Byfield. This pioneer company was subjected to all the trials and
losses which ever beset the introduction of a new manufacture, involve
ing the use of comphcated and imperfect machinery ; yet the records
of the first thirteen years' existence of this company. (the first incorpo
rated for the manufacture of wooUen in the United States) show
a spirit of enterprise and perseverance which nothing but the adverse
pohcy of the country could have overcome.
By the act of incorporation, the company was permitted to hold, prop
erty, real and personal, to the amount of eighteen thousand pounds.
The land was bought of a Mr. Moody, who had previously improved
the " Newbury fatts " by the erection of a grist mill. There were
at first one hundred and twenty shares. These were afterwards
increased to two hundred, and were aU bought by Newburyport
capitahsts, with but one or two exceptions, Mr. WUUam Bartlett
taking twenty shares. The next year a petition was presented to
the Legislature to exempt the property and the workmen employed in
the factory from taxation ; but this was not granted, so far as appears
by the books. We find on them a long array of assessments, but no
dividends ; and in 1798 it was voted by the directors to carry on
the mUl " if laborers could be procured for one-eighth less than the
year preceding," which does not indicate a great surplus revenue.
The process of manufacturing was a great curiosity. SlatersvUle was
then but in embryo, and LoweU and Lawrence were yet to be heard
of. So many strangers visited the factory from motives of curiosity,
that a small charge for admission was made.
In 1797 the company again petitioned the Legislature for aid, but
nothing effectual was done. The goods on hand were sold off at
auction, and money was obliged to be hired to pay the laborers.
Thus they dragged on some six or seven years longer, when the
affairs of the company were wound up, and the factory and other
property sold, Mr. Bartlett buying out the original holders, and
seUing out to an Englishman, who continued to. manufacture broad
cloth and flannel till 1806. Some cotton cloth was also made in this
factory, which sold for seventy-five cents a yard.

154 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
AU the machinery used in the estabhshment was made in New
buryport by Messrs. Guppy & Armstrong, and the original cost of
the entire concern was $50,000. In 1822 it was sold (additional
buUdings having been erected) for $22,000, and in 1846 it was
again sold for $4,350. The main buUding has for many years been
used as a bedstead factory.
Coeval with this enterprise, was that of clearing the Merrimac
from the obstructions which interfered with inland navigation ; the
particular object at this time being to render the river passable for
boats and rafts below the Pawtucket falls. The first serious obstruc
tion to vessels, was the rapids, caUed " Mitchell's eddy," between
Bradford and HaverhiU. Much of the lumber then used in this
vicinity, was brought down the river on rafts, so constructed as to
pass all the falls except those by Amoskeag and Pawtucket ; but
boats were not. safe where rafts freely passed. Several towns on the
river united in this project, Newburyport subscribing in the first
instance, between twelve and thirteen hundred doUars, and, as the
committee reported, " with a prospect of getting more." But its
importance was not fully realized, and the scheme faUed of effectual
support. In the summer of 1796 a malignant fever broke out in the town,
a disease then practicaUy unknown to the members of the medical
faculty here, but which was very simttar to, if not identical with, the
yeUow fever of the South. It first appeared in a house on Water
street, at the foot of Independent, and was supposed by some to
have originated on the spot to which it was for some time confined,
none taking it but such as had visited there, or received it from
those who had ; the more probable conjecture was, that it was
brought in a vessel from the West Indies. But whatever was its
origin, great alarm was reasonably excited, and many persons fled from
the town, in which fifty-five, including the most eminent physician in
the place,* died, before the ravages of the disease ceased. It disap
peared with the frost, and has never since revisited the town in an
epidemic form.
The next year, when PhUadelphia was suffering from a simUar
J. Barnard Sweet. See Biographical Notice.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 155
scourge, Newburyport sent on a contribution of six hundred dollars
for the suffering poor of that city. But local affairs were not long
permitted to engross the attention of the citizens.
The Government of the United States, finding that no treaty
obUgations were observed by France, that our vessels were embar
goed in French ports, and that their cruisers and privateers were
annually sweeping off millions of American property, were at last
aroused to defensive measures ; letters-of-marque were issued, and the
basis of a navy for the protection of American interests was planned.
The brothers Stephen and Ralph Cross buUt here, to the order of the
State, the frigates " Hancock," " Boston," and " Protector," and
Mr. Orlando MerrUl* buUt for the General Government the brig
" Pickering." In the measures of the Government Newburyport warmly sympa
thized, and though aware that they might be again caUed upon to make
great sacrifices of their personal interests, if a declaration of war
should follow, they did not hesitate to come forward, and by pubUc
action, express their approval of this late preparation for resistance
to French aggression. An address was forwarded to the President,
in which, after expressing their confidence in the administration, and
their surprise at the arbitrary and unfriendly spirit of the French,
and their indignation at the utter want of justice and continued dis
position to repel all concttiatory measures, they say, " The inhabitants
of this town duly appreciate the blessings of peace and neutrality,
but they wUl never complain at the loss of those blessings, when
constrained to sacrifice them to the honor, the dignity, and the
essential interests of their country." To this address a prompt
reply was returned by President Adams, in which he remarks : " The
address of the inhabitants of the ancient, populous and wealthy town
of Newburyport, passed without a dissentient voice, as certified by
* Mr. Merrill, who is stiU living, (April, 1854,) was then a young man and
without property, but had already established such a character for industry
and integrity, that a friend " of different politics," as he is proud to remember,
(Mr. Lowell Parsons,) voluntarily assumed the bond of $10,000, required by
flie Government, that the brig should be completed in ninety days ; which was
accomplished,' and an enlisting rendezvous opened, for seamen to man her, in
July, 1798. Mr. MerriU is now 94 years of age ; one of the many natives of
Newburyport over/owr-score and ten years.

156 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
your selectmen, and presented to me by your representative in
Congress, Mr. Bartlett,* does me great honor ;* * * * and the
solemn pledge of your lives and fortunes to support the measures of
the legislature and administration, are all the assurances which the
best of Governments could desire from the best of citizens."
A number of the more wealthy citizens, anxious to serve, the
Government, made the proposition to Congress through their repre
sentative, the Hon. BaUey Bartlett,! to build and equip for the
United States, a ship of three hundred and fifty-five tons, mounting
twenty six-pound cannon ; agreeing not to accept any other compen
sation than the interest of six per cent, per annum, and a final
reimbursement of the net cost, " at the convenience of the Govern
ment." This, at a time when the treasury was low and beset with
calls, was considered a very generous offer. It was accepted, and
'the vessel was buUt, under the direction of Mr. WUUam Hackett, in
the short space of seventy-five days. She was named the " Merri-
mac,"$ and launched on the 12th of October. Her commander was
Captain Moses Brown, (the same who commanded the privateer
"Arnold" during the Revolutionary war,) and was soon after
ordered to Guadeloupe, " to look after French privateers." In the
West Indies she gave a good account of herself, as may be seen on
referring to the biographical notice of her commander. A cotem-
porary writer says of her, " The Merrimac was the first and
best vessel of her size, furnished on loan to the Government, and
was buUt at a much less expense than any other buUt for the Gov
ernment. She was employed in the United States service about
five years ; unttt, in accordance with Mr. Jefferson's plan, the navy
was reduced ; when she was sold under the name of the Monticello,
for the merchant service, and was soon after wrecked on Cape Cod.
At this time merchant vessels occasionally went armed, as appears
from the following letter, written by Captain Brown (of the U. S.
ship f" Merrimac ") to Mr. William Bartlett, the owner of the ship
referred to.
* Hon. BaUey Bartlett, of Haverhill.
•fThe Committee who addressed him, were WUUam Bartlett, WUUam
Coombs, Dudley A. Tyng, Moses Brown, WiUiam P. Johnson, Nicholas John
son, WUUam Faris, Ebenezer Stacker, Samuel A. Otis, Jr.
% See Biographical notice of Moses Brown, U. S. N., for further particulars
of the " Merrimac."

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 157
" August 20, 1799.
" I suppose you have heard of the fate of your ship Rose, but
perhaps not particulars ; the enclosed Ust is an authentic account of
the kUled and wounded. Captain Chase behaved with the greatest
bravery and conduct, but at last was overpowered and boarded.
The Rose was taken the beginning of the present month (August)
by the privateer L'Egypt Conquise, and after a brave defence of
one hour and a half, was obliged to submit to superior force ; the
mate and two men being kitted, and Captain Chase and fifteen others
wounded, two severely. The privateer was huUed very dangerously
before Captain Chase was wounded."
This ship, with her cargo, was one of the most valuable- that ever
sailed from Newburyport to the West Indies.
With the close of the eighteenth century, the guiding spirit of
the early days of the Republic, the leader of her armies, the chief
of her councUs, having Uved to see the Federal Union, which he so
much loved, cohsohdated on his own principles, and having seen a
successor imbued with his own pohcy, elevated to the office he
had so weU fitted and so nobly resigned, — George Washington, whose
fame has now become the heritage of the Anglo-Saxon race, calmly
and peacefully closed his senses on all earthly scenes, and bewaUing
their own loss, a continent was in mourning.
In unison with the feeUngs of the whole community, all business
was suspended in Newburyport on the day appointed for the public
services on the occasion of the death of Washington.
A procession was formed in Market Square, which proceeded to
the Rev. Mr. Dana's meeting-house, where the eulogy appointed for
the oocasion, was delivered by Mr. Thomas (afterwards Robert
Treaf) Paine, prayer being offered by the Right Rev. Bishop
Bass. Many were present who weU remembered bis visit to the
town, and who took part in welcoming him on that joyful occasion ;
and theirs, with thousands of others through the land, was a
personal sorrow. Mounting badges were worn by both ladies and
gentlemen, many wearing also the Perkins medal.* The Masonic
* This was designed by the celebrated Jacob Perkins, of Newburyport. On
one side of it was a likeness of the first President, encircled with a wreath,

158 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
Association of St. Peter's Lodge took a prominent part in the cere
monies of the day. In George Washington the Order had lost a
brother. With 1800, there appears on the stage a new generation of poli
ticians ; not that the men of the Revolution were all defunct, but
their opinions and pohtical predeUctions were no longer considered
infallible by the younger aspirants for pohtical honors ; yet in New
buryport, the principles of Washington and Adams maintained their
ascendency, and the new party, baffled (in Essex County,) on the
election of Governor Bowdoin, successor to Hancock, stigmatized
the chque, most prominent among the Federal leaders, as the
"Essex Junto." In the pohtical history of Massachusetts, this
chque for years exerted an influence large indeed, but absurdly
exaggerated by their opponents. Among the most active members
of the Junto were prominent citizens of Newburyport, — men who
from their learning and personal weight of character it was not easy
to overthrow ; among them was TheophUus Parsons, (Judge,) John
Lowell, (Judge,) Rev. Thomas Cary, Jonathan Jackson, Nathaniel
Tracy, WUUam Coombs, Esqrs. &c. ; and with these of Newbury
port, were associated the most active Federalists of the county.
The older citizens of Newburyport wUl well remember the animosity
which the " Essex Junto " excited among the increasing Democracy
of the State.
Various material improvements were also projected : the mall by
Frog pond was reduced to shape and seemUness, by the Uberal aid
and generous exertions of Captain Edmund Bartlett, to whose honor
a writer in the " Impartial Herald," endued with more gratitude
than poetical genius, perpetrates a piece of rhyme, which describes
the now clear and beautiful pond, as a " stagnant pool, across which
scuds the social duck;" and attempting a daguerreotype of the
surrounding scenery, locates a lottery-ticket office on the side oppo
site the graveyard, and designates the gun-house by a subhme aUu
sion to the place where ,
" The sleeping ordnance lays,
That welcomed Washington ! ! "
around which was imprinted the words, " He is in glory, the world in tears."
On the reverse, were the dates of the prominent events of his Ufe.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 159
Indeed the local poetry of the past, as exhibited in the columns of
the newspapers, is not of a style to excite much regret that so much
of it has been consigned to obhvion ; as a specimen, read the foUowing
verse, one of many simUar, on the death of Governor Hancock, pub
Ushed in the " Herald."
" Yes, aU must yield to Death's remorseless rage ;
Creation's brow shall wrinkle up with age ;
Time shall remove the keystone of the sky,
Heaven's roof shaU fall — but ah ! must Hancock die ? "
The coasting trade, as weU as the foreign, was both extensive and
profitable at this period, and though many of the vessels owned in
Newburyport were of smaU size, and a great proportion registered
as schooners, yet these, and even sloops, often carried very valuable
cargoes. The freight that now loads down our raUroad trains, was
then principaUy brought into port by coasters. Sloops not unfre
quently brought in cargoes valued at from eighty to one hundred
thousand doUars. From the 14th of AprU to the 14th of May,
1805, one month, there were imported by citizens of Newburyport,
goods to the value of eight hundred thousand doUars. The sloop
"Blue Bird," a coaster between here and Boston, laden with
Enghsh goods, polished hardware, fancy dry goods, West India
goods, dry fish, wooUens, books, paper, &c, in October, 1805, got
ashore on North point, and though subsequently hauled up on Plum
Island, but a small portion of her cargo, which was valued at ninety
thousand doUars, was saved.*
* A few days after the disaster, a number of advertisements relating to the
calamity, appeared in the Newburyport Herald, of which the following are
specimens :
 &  present their ingenuous thanks to those whose prompt and per
severing exertions rescued their property from loss, on board the sloop Blue
Bird stranded on the 8th inst. October, 1805."
 proffers thanks to the gentlemen who so generously attended to save
his property, whUe absent, from total destruction, in the late calamitous event ;
he likewise tenders his acknowledgments to those ladies who assisted in washing
and drying his goods, to preserve the same from ultimate ruin. October, 1805.
The editor of the Herald apologizes " for the bad appearance of the paper,
much of which was soaked with salt water on board the Blue Bird." The
paper containing the apology, is an irrefragable witness to the truth of it.

160 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
Of salt alone thefe was imported by Newburyport in one year,
1806, one hundred and thirty-three thousand eight hundred and five
bushels. Much of it was probably used in salting cod fish whieh
was exported.
With 1800, and the elevation of Napoleon, French depredations
on our commerce were shortly renewed, but our Government
endeavored to have them cancel some of the old scores before
beginning a new account. At a meeting held in Newburyport, .in
1802, of the " sufferers by French spoliations previous to 1800,"
Josiah Smith, E. Stocker, and S. A. Otis, were chosen a committee
to receive aU claims of Newburyport and neighboring towns against
the French Government. The world knows how they have been
paid. The claim of the nation was $20,000,000, and the amount
brought in by citizens of Newburyport and vicinity, was $682,608.05.
The number of vessels confiscated in whole or in part, with their
cargoes, or detained to loss and injury, was 8 ships, 35 brigs, 27
schooners and four sloops;* seventy-four ship masters being thus
* Of this Ust the following were never subjected to adjudication, but were
piratically plundered without even a form of trial :
Brig Vulture, with her cargo on board, was detained at Bordeaux from
August, 1793, to April, 1794, and then released ; claim for $3,928 expenses.
Schooner Peggy and Polly — property to the amount of $1,230 taken out of
the vessel while in port, without adjudication.
Schooner SpeedweU— loss $3,200, not subjected to adjudication, but seized by
an armed force at Cape Francois.
Schooner Eagle — $5,650 — captured July 27, 1798, by French privateer.
Democrat, not subjected to any legal adjudication, but carried to Curacoa and
proceeds distributed among the captors.
Brig Vulture — $6,756 — captured and burned with her cargo of lumber at
sea, by a French government ship.-
Schooner Three Friends— $8,800— captured by French privateer Patriot,
cargo taken out and disposed of among the captors — manner not known.
Schooner Belisarius— $3000— property taken by force and retained by the
authorities at Cape Francois, without compensation.
Schooner Unity— $6,120— not subjected to adjudication, but detained and
property taken out at Hispaniola for the government, without any compensation.
Schooner Industry— $2,500— not subjected to adjudication, but taken forcibly
by an officer in port.
Schooner Sally— $7,521— captured by French privateer LTmporte, of Cay
enne, and burned at sea, without being carried in for trial.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 161
injuriously interrupted in the prosecution of their voyages. The
whole number of claimants whose names appear on behalf of them
selves and others, is about ninety. One of our citizens, the late
WiUiam Bartlett, Esq., was interested in these and subsequent
claims on the French Government, to the amount of some one hun
dred and sixty-nine thousand dollars. The following memorandum
of one or two vessels (from the original records) will give an idea
of the form of recording the claims : " Brig Edmund, owned by
WUUam Bartlett — William Chase, master — captured by two French
privateers, October 13th, 1798 — was recaptured by the master, but
subjected to adjudication. Loss $1,355.23. The claim is made
for loss sustained in the capture and expenses.
" The schooner Dolphin, John Pearson and others, owners, Thomas
Buntin, master, captured by French privateer, Bon Mere. May 26
and 29, 1800, subjugated to adjudication at Guadeloupe, and then
condemned. Loss of vessel, on cargo and freight, $7,500. The
vessel and cargo, wholly American, was first captured by a French
privateer called the Phoenix, and ordered to Guadeloupe ; but recap-
Schooner SpeedweU — $3,053 — not subjected to trial, but property taken out
by the government at Cape Francois.
Brig Banger — $5000 — not subjected to adjudication, was bound for Guade.
loupe, with a cargo of provisions, fish and lumber — was boarded near the land
by a French privateer, who under pretence of piloting her in, put a prize-
master and crew on board.
Brig Anna — $2,336 — .not subjected to adjudication, but salvage paid.
Brig Mehitable — $2,184 — not subjected to adjudication, but salvage paid.
Brig Dove — $723 — robbed at sea, May, 1800, by a French privateer.
Brig Peter — $3,600 — not adjudicated — loss by four months' detention in port.
Brig Betsey — $6,976 — nor subjected to adjudication.
Brig Tryall — $15,596 — was bound to the West Indies, with a cargo of pro
visions and lumber — captured, a few days after saUing, by a French privateer,
carried into port, and without adjudication, plundered.
Brig Minerva — $3,424 — captured by a French privateer, and not subjected
to adjudication. Sloop Hero — $2,696 — property taken out by the government at St. Domingo,
for public use, and receipted for by the authorities, but no compensation made.
There are several others in the list which were never subjected to adjudica
tion, and in many other cases there was no adjudication which came to the
knowledge of the claimants. 11

162 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
tured by master and people, and again captured by French privateer
and carried into Guadeloupe, and condemned there.
" Schooner Union, Micajah Lunt, owner and master, captured by
French privateer, L'Experience ; subjected to adjudication at Basse
terre, Guadeloupe, and condemned; loss $800, property of the
claimant, an American citizen."
But under Napoleon, it was not France only, but likewise aU her
satellites who were employed to entrap our property. Denmark,
while under the dictation of France, became as expert as her teachers
in wresting money from American shipmasters. The ship Wash
ington, Captain Joseph Brown, of this town, was carried into Copen
hagen, on suspicion of being an English vessel in disguise. She
wes clearly proved to be American, and her cargo legal ; yet the
kind of justice administered may be learned from the foUowing copy
of the decree of the court :
" Decree. — The ship Washington, Utigated in this case, is hereby
restored ; yet so that the captain, Joseph Brown, shall pay to the
privateer, Captain Ronne, as a compensation for the expenses caused
to the latter for bringing in the said vessel, two thousand rix
dollars, Danish currency, and pay the court prizes, due to the
prize court ! For the rest, the costs of the process are annulled.
The right of the custom house for the sound toll, not paid by the said
ship on her preceding voyage, is reserved, the present owners seeking ¦
a remedy against the real persons concerned.
" Signed and sealed by the proper authority, February 12, 1812."
Vessels bound to Holland were equally liable to capture, nor was
southern Europe a safer haven.
Captain Tucker, of the ship " WiUiam," wrote to his owners here :
" I was captured on the last of April, 1808, by a Spanish privateer,
who took four of my best men out of the ship, and sent a prize-
master and eight men on board, ordering the ship to Malaga. Next
day an Enghsh privateer came up with them, and after ah engage
ment of. an hour and a half, the Spaniard struck, and Captain
Tucker, with his vessel, was taken into Gibraltar."
Captain Buntin wrote to his owners from Gibraltar, May 7, 1808,
stating that after being taken by the French, on attempting to pass
through the straits, he, with his crew, endeavored to retake the
vessel, but did not succeed, several of his men being wounded.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 163
After being plundered by the French, they were recaptured by the
Enghsh, and carried into Gibraltar, from whence he intended to
proceed to London with the first convoy sailing.
Nor was the British navy less voracious in its appetite for
American vessels, (though occasionaUy relieving them from the
French,) as we purpose to show in the next succeeding pages. In
the Newburyport Herald of October 30, 1800, Governor Lincoln
gives notice of fifty-one American seamen who had been impressed
on board British ships, and could not get released without their
friends forwarded certificates of citizenship. Two of these, John
Tucker and William Pearson, hailed from Newburyport.
The ship Huntress, Captain Chase, on her first voyage, August 1,
1807, was taken and carried into Yarmouth by the British frigate
Amethyst. The pretext was " that the greater part of the cargo was
the produce of an- enemy's colony, and though purchased by the
present owners in the United States, that fact did not neutralize
their right to make the seizure." This was new ground to take, as
the vessels before condemned had brought the goods in the same
bottom in which they were exported.
But not only on the high seas were seizures made of men and
property ; no mercy was shown in circumstances which ought to have
excited the sympathy of barbarians. The brig Peace, of this place,
Captain Edward Swain, was wrecked on the Cat Keys in a severe
storm, by which several other American vessels also got ashore.
His Britannic Majesty's schooner De Couvert, Lieutenant Boys,
impressed several of the men, and on Captain Swain applying for
their release, Lieutenant Boys insolently declared that " he intended
to impress two men out of each crew, from the vessels wrecked there,
and one out of every four belonging to an American ship." One of
the most inexcusable instances of cruelty was that exercised upon
Captain Isaac Bridges, of Newburyport, who was shot by the fire
from a British cutter, on his refusal to risk his hfe in a smaU boat,
on a rough sea, for the purpose- of carrying his papers for exam
ination on board of the cutter. The following account of the trans
action is preserved :
" Isaac Bridges, master of the brig Hannah, of Newburyport,
made the following deposition before John Street, Vice Consul for
the United States at the Island of Fayal:

164 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
" ' I sailed from Newburyport on the 13th of March, in the said
brig Hannah, sound and stanch, loaded with American produce and
other articles not prohibited by any treaty between the belligerent
powers. Nothing particular occurred till the 30th of March, when
I observed a vessel at the stern, a heavy sea running. A short time
after, the vessel fired a gun to leeward. I immediately showed the
American colors, and took in sail to let her come up, and then found
the vessel was an English cutter. Her captain hailed me and ordered
me to send the boat on board ; but the sea being turbulent, I
observed the boat was too small, and not knowing how to Swim, I
Would not trust myself in it ; and that if he wished to search the brig,
he must come to it at his own perU. The captain then threatened
to firej which I told him to do and be d — d, as I knew the treaty
between England and the United States. Soon after, said Cutter
fired several muskets, and then came round the Hannah and fired
muskets and great guns, and the third time that she fired, I received
two very severe wounds, and my life being in danger in consequence,
I have desired the Consul to take this protest against the barbarous
proceeding of the captain of said cutter, the " Providence," of
London, the captain's name being Phillip Le Roux.' "
Captain Bridges died of his wounds, after hngering nineteen days
in great suffering. The above deposition was signed by the Consul,
mate, and four mariners.
But robbery and murder, under the more specious terms, but no
less intolerable facts, of " adjudication " and " right of search," were
not the only injuries and indignities imposed on " the nation without
a navy," as ours might be then justly designated ; as is too plainly
proved, by the following affidavit of Captain Horton, of Newbury
port, which he made before the Mayor of Philadelphia, respecting
his treatment by the Governor of Surinam, he being at the time in
the port of Paramaribo :
"Being loaded and ready for sea, I repaired to the Custom House
for my clearance, but was informed that my certificate would not be
signed, unless I took on board two negroes, (criminals,) who were
under condemnation of banishment. I waited on the Governor, and
explained to him the difficulty it would bring me into in America, if
I should take them, and refused. He told me < then I must remain

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 165
where I was.' I then went to the American Consul, and desired
him to take my protest, for that I would abandon my vessel, This
he persuaded me not to do, and advised me to see the Governor
again. I called at nine in the morning, but was refused an interview
with him, by his secretary, who informed me that ' if I had come
about the. negroes, there was no alternative ; I must take them.'
I then asked for a written statement, showing that they were placed
on board my vessel, by the Governor's authority, against my wUl",
and that I received nothing for their passage ; this was at first
refused, but at last they consented, and gave me the certificate,
[which was signed P. H. Spieing, Senator and Fiscal.] I was
also informed that special orders would be sent down to the officer
of the fort, at Bram's Point, to see that the criminals were on board
when I passed, and to fire on any boat that should leave the vessel,
or attempt to land, after I passed the fort.
"J. Havens Horton,
" Master of schooner JuUen, of Newburyport.
" Sworn, July 15, 1805. Matthew Lawler, Mayor"
The schooner Farmer, Captain Wilson, coming from Martinioo,
was taken by the Enghsh privateer Success, mounting two guns,
and manned by Guinea negroes. Captain Wilson says : " The
English commander declared I was a dead prize, and ordered me to
give up my papers, which I refused. But detaining us till the next
day, he overhauled my papers, and then ordered us to Nevis;
where, after paying expenses, we were cleared. The excuse he
gave for taking us was, we had too much property for the cargo to
be American."
A. gentleman writing from London, May, 1806, thus describes
the mode of proceeding in regard to American vessls brought to
English ports for adjudication, being captured on their way tp
HoUand :
" When a vessel is brought in, on suspicion, from the United
States, att her letters are forwarded, by the captors, to Doctor's
Commons, [the courts of law] where they are indiscriminately
opened ; those necessary, or of importance to the trial, are preserved,
whUe others are left open to the inspection of visitors. Thus
family secrets are exposed, and letters designed solely for the eye

166 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
of intimate friendship, are subjected to the ridicule of strangers ;
many are attracted to their examination by mere curiosity, and
others by baser motives."
SimUar indignities — impressment, confiscations, and every species
of spoliation — were the risks to be encountered by masters, ship
owners, and shipping merchants, with but brief intervals of unmo
lested ocean traffic, from the peace of 1783 to the more permanent
and real peace of 1814. Notices hke the foUowing were of frequent
occurrence in the journals of those times : " Portland, 1812.
* " Impressed, from on board schooner Humphrey, on the voyage
from Martinico to Charleston, Robert Masters and Joseph Safford.
They saUed from Newburyport in December last. Any person
duly authorized may receive their clothes, &c, by application to
Samuel Chandler."
As late as 1842, a sailor advertises in the Newburyport Herald
for an " old ship-mate, whom he desired to share a fortune with."
Fifty years before, in 1792, he had been pressed out of an Ameri
can ship in such cruel haste, that he had not time to ask the address
of his favorite companion.
If the question is asked, Why did our people submit to these out
rages, why did not our merchantmen all go armed and prepared to
retaliate ? the reply is that Government discountenanced this ; and
with all their indigenous love of personal Uberty, the Americans are
emphatically a law-abiding people. Respect for the Government
could alone have prevented the general arming of our merchantmen
at this period.
As early as January 1st, 1805, a bUl was passed by Congress,
forbidding armed vessels to leave the United States, and if any
such left, not specially permitted, and having a regular clearance,
the vessel was subject to forfeiture, and the captain to imprison
ment ; and to add to the stringency of the law, it was farther
provided, that if any vessel thus armed, in rencounter with vessels
of any nation " with whom the United States were at peace,
should commit any deed which in the United States was deemed
* Herald, AprU 12, 1808.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 167
felony or murder, it should be so considered if committed on the
high seas." And as the United States, as a nation, was " at peace "
with Great Britain, France, and her pro tempore dependencies, our
mariners were effectuaUy prevented from defending themselves, or
retahating on their principal oppressors. It was the pohcy of the
then existing Government to maintain peace by avoiding collisions,
rather than by asserting rights ; but finally, measures were adopted
with a view, to punish the aggressors ; which- in their practical
effects, did more damage to the commerce of the Eastern States than
all the confiscations of England and the continental powers combined.
The first of this series of restrictive acts was the Embargo Act,
in 1807, by which vessels were forbidden to go to any foreign port
whatever. For contravention of this act, the owners and shippers
were hable to a suit for double the value of the vessel and cargo,
and the master to a fine of not less than $1000 for every offence ;
and his oath was henceforth inadmissible before any collector of
the United States.
Thus both the export and import trade were killed at one blow.
Even owners of whalers and fishing vessels, were required to give
bonds, in four times the value of their vessels, that they would not
go to any foreign port. For disregard of the act, the vessel was
liable to forfeiture, and all concerned in it to a fine of from $1000
to $20,000. This apparent severity to the fishers,* was excused
on the ground that they would be used as a cover to an Ulegal
trade. The record of so many mercantile annoyances, would leave the
impression, if not counterbalanced by other facts, that this, the
third period in the history of Newburyport, was one of unexampled
mercanttte disasters ; but the fact remains, that during this period
the town increased rapidly in wealth and population,! mainly from
the extensive and profitable commerce carried on ; large fortunes
* There had cleared for the Labrador fisheries this year, before the passage
of the Embargo Act, vessels having an aggregate tonnage of 4,407.
Beckoning one man to every nine tons, the l general rule, this would give
490 men engaged in the fisheries, saUing from this port in that season.
fin 1801, Newburyport was the third town as regards population, in Massa
chusetts ; only Boston and Salem exceeding her, and no other approaching to
the same number, except Nantucket.

168 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
were made, and general comfort and competence prevailed. By
referring to the tonnage table, it will be seen that from the year
1795 to 1806, twelve years, there was the enormous amount of
253,521-27 tons of shipping employed in Newburyport. In 1802,
the duties on imports amounted to $200,695. Iii 1805 there
belonged to the port, forty-one ships, sixty-two brigs, two snows, two
barques and sixty-six schooners, with sloops and other small craft.
And not only was wealth pouring in upon our merchants ; the
social and intellectual condition of the town, partook of this pros
perity, several valuable libraries were collected and sustained, which
helped to keep alive the intellectual activities of the people ; whUe
the debating societies became schools of elocution for the young
men whose names afterwards adorned the senate, the pulpit and the
bar. The County Court House, now standing, was erected in 1805, at
the joint expense of the town and county ; the former occupying it
only for the annual town meetings, and one of the lower rooms for a
girls' summer school. In 1834 the county bought out the interest
of the town, and much improved the interior of the house.
During the last year, (1853,) the Court House has undergone
extensive alterations, the figure of " Justice " has been removed,
and the entire exterior of the house modernized, and finished with
mastic cement of a dark brown color. The alterations cost $12,400,
and the new furnishing of the rooms brought the total expense of
the improvements up to more than $13,000. It is now the best in
the county, nor is it exceUed by any in the State.
Since 1782 the town has made many efforts to procure a sitting
of the Supreme Court in this place, but hitherto without success.
It was advocated in 1782, at the time a bUl was introduced into
the General Court, for removing the Supreme Judicial Court from
Ipswich to Salem, on the ground, " that from the increase of com
merce, suits connected with commerce and navigation would neces
sarily increase, while real suits would become comparatively scarce."
In 1820 it was voted in a town meeting, to petition the General
Court that a term of the Supreme Court might be held here.
In 1821, the selectmen were appointed a committee to corre
spond with the other towns in the county, to procure their concurrence

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 169
in petitioning that a term of the Supreme Court be held here.
Nearly similar measures were adopted in 1824 and 1835 ; and at
other times, until the unsuccessful apphcation to the Legislature
of 1854.
The Plum Island turnpike and bridge were also built in 1805 ;
and we may imagine the difficulties which beset the pleasure-seekers
who sought Plum Island's " sea-girt shores," before this desirable
enterprise was carried into effect. Before the bridge was buUt, a
primitive kind of ferriage was established, in the shape of a large
flat-bottomed boat, which safely conveyed man and horse and the
various et cetera essential to a Plum Island party, across the river
at high tide ; but wo betide the loiterers who arrived too late to take it
, at the fuU, for then a small boat only, could take foot passengers
across, whUe animals or other cumbrous articles, must even wait for
the next rising of the tide. About building this bridge there
was the usual opposition to be encountered ; a petition of the pro
prietors of salt-marsh, on Plum Island, was presented against it. It
was not however interrupted, but was opened to the public in
August, 1806.
A proposal was made, about this time, to fill up the flats below
South street, and thus make several acres of land ; a project which
promised more for the improvement of the harbor, than any other ;
but the necessities of that time not being so great as the
increased size of modern ships has made them, the advantages of
this project were overlooked, and the plan faUed to be acted upon,
— perhaps for the reason, that many of the heaviest capitalists were
involved, at this period, in completing the turnpike road to Boston ;
a heavy work, and one which deserved better remuneration than it
received. But it was not only on works of internal improvement, that energy,
time, and money, were expended ; the records of the various
churches and benevolent societies show the exercise of a praise
worthy liberahty, corresponding with the state of the town ; as an
instance of which, it may be mentioned that a coUection of nine hun
dred and fifty dollars was taken up in August, 1806, at one time,
" to aid in printing the Bible in the Indian languages."

170 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
One of the most pleasing charitable institutions was instituted in
1803 ; namely, the establishment of an asylum for female orphans.
The original fund procured by subscription was about fifteen hundred
dollars. During the first twenty years of its existence, this associa
tion provided for over fifty orphan girls. This society has since
died out.
Newburyport was among the first towns which opened subscrip
tions to build a National Washington Monument, and Uberah sums
were subscribed here in 1802 ; and so sanguine were her citizens,
of a hearty response on this subject, that they decided no one should
give more than ten dollars, and if more than enough was coUected,
(throughout the country,) which was then thought probable, it was
agreed to devote it to building a National University ! Perhaps one
of the most convincing proofs of the advance of society, was the
steadily increasing support given to the permanent newspaper
estabhshed here, which the editor did not faU, at regular intervals,
to announce ; the subscription hst and improvements in the paper,
keeping pace with each other. To avoid being tedious we have not
always introduced into the text the exact time and other data, con
cerning some works of public improvement or enterprise. These wUl
all be found under their appropriate heads in the MisceUany and
Chronological Index, to which we refer the reader ; by refer
ence to which, it will be found that most of the successful enter
prises of the. town, were conducted to completion during either the
third or sixth epoch of its history.
Several branches of business flourishing through this period have
since died out. Ten or twelve distilleries* and a brewing establish
ment)- gave employment to a large number of persons ; while the
manufacture of cordage was one of the most important interests
dependent on our mercantile success ; sugar refining was also a
profitable business, and in the manufacture of gold beads and silver
buckles, large capitals were invested, and combs and horn buttons
were made in considerable quantities ; the comb business is revived
(1853) in Newburyport.
* In the procession which escorted Washington on his entrance to Newbury
port through the town, the " distiUers " marched as a distinct body.
t Kobert Laird's beer, porter and ale, were famed throughout the country.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 171
In this era flourished the great inventor, Jacob Perkins,* and
Timothy Palmer ; to the latter, Newburyport is much indebted for
the regularity of the streets and the improvements of the public
grounds and ways. Under his directing genius, the MaU began to
assume shape and symmetry, and Market square was laid out;
encumbrances and encroachments speedily vanished from the high
ways over which he presided.
In 1796, Mr. Palmer received a patent for " improvement in the
construction of timber bridges." The principal bridges on the
Kennebec, Piscataqua, Connecticut and Merrimac rivers, including
the Essex Merrimac bridge, were built upon his models, as was also
the bridge across the SchuylkiU, at Philadelphia. Mr. Adams, in
his "Annals of Portsmouth," says of the Piscataqua bridge : " This
arch was constructed by Timothy Palmer, Esq., of Newburyport, on
a model entirely new, and does him great credit for his skill in
architecture." But the greatest contrast between the present time and the social
era that passed away with the first decade of the nineteenth century,
was the degree of style and fashion observed by the wealthy. Every
family of any pretension kept their family carriage, footman, and
coachman; and ladies their own saddle-horses. The deep wine-
cellars under some of the old mansions broadly hint of the stores of
Port and Burgundy, which once filled their now dreary depths, whUe
vessel after vessel, arriving direct with rich silks, velvets, and laces
from France, enabled our grandmothers to appear in costumes which
would awaken the envy of many a modern belle. A spacious assembly
room, with elegantly furnished drawing rooms connected, then stood
in Temple street, at which the belles of seventy years ago displayed
their charms and accomphshments. The town never presented
so gay an appearance as it did for twenty-five years after the peace
of 1783. A wedding cortege of that time is thus described by a
cotemporary :
" The bride and bridegroom arrived yesterday. Mr.  's splen
did new carriage was drawn by six white horses. They had four
outriders, and aU the horses were decked with white favors. His
footmen and coachmen are put into new Uveries," t &c.
* See Biographical Notice. f From a private letter.

172 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
• The very different style of living from that which now prevails, is
observable in the advertisements of that period. Among the
"wants " we frequently find " Wanted, a handsome span of carriage
horses ; " " Wanted, a porter — ^ a gardener, who understands hot
house plants — aman to wait at table," &c One teacher gives
"private lessons in all the fashionable dances;" another teaches
"the broadsword exercise," &c, while the frequent festivals held
among the Masonic fraternity and other bodies, evince a deter
mination to enjoy Ufe and diffuse wealth, which would now be looked
upon with the severest criticism. But Ufe was not aU consumed in
light amusements, though social intercourse was somewhat freer,
and the interchange of social hospitahties was more frequent than is
now customary. The leaders who gave tone to society in this era
were men of unusual talent and force of character, and the public
partook, to some extent, of their tastes, if we may judge from the
character of the books pubUshed and sold here by any one of the
firms then in business. The booksellers' advertisements during this
period show a more classical selection than can now be found in State
street. There appear to have been concentrated here more means
of enjoyment, both physical and intellectual, than have since been
attainable this side of Boston. Quite a number of famtties had their
town and winter residences. The beautiful estates of Dalton* and
Hooper were the pride of Essex county, while the liberality and
hospitaUty of the citizens were proverbial.
All public gatherings were managed on a like liberal scale. Ordi
nations of ministers were not then, as now, concluded with an address,
an anthem, and a tumbler of cold water. The physical man was as well '
entertained as the mental. The expenses of Rev. Thomas Cary's
ordination were .£35 18s. 2|d., and some coming later than he, saw
as liberal provisions made for the guests of the day. At funerals,
also, entertainment was provided for all who attended. Liquors and
* The estate now occupied by Dr. Bobinson, in Newbury, and then caUed
" Spring HU1," from the numerous springs which stiU vivify its summit, was
once owned by Mr. Dalton, and used by him as a summer residence. In the
Impartial Herald, of July, 1794, we find the foUowing notice :
" The Hon. Tristram Dalton, lady, and suite, arrived in this town on the
5th instant from the seat of government, and proceeded next day to bis seat at
Spring Hill."

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 173
more sohd refreshments were freely consumed, whUe gloves and
scarfs were alwavs given to the near friends of the deceased —
sometimes to the whole company assembled.
With the incoming of the nineteenth century, garments more in
conformity with present fashions took precedence of three-cornered
hats, long coats with immense pocket folds and cuffs, but without
coUars, in which the men of the eighteenth century prided them
selves, with their buttons of pure sUver, or plated, of the size of
a half doUar, presenting a great superfluity of coat and waistcoat
when contrasted with the short nether garments, ycleped " breeches,"
or"smaU clothes,'-' which reached only to the knee, being there
fastened with large sUver buckles, which ornament was also used in
fastening the straps of shoes. The gentlemen quite equaUed the
ladies at this period in the amount of finery, and the brilliancy of
colors in which they indulged. A hght blue coat, with large fancy
buttons, a white satin embroidered waistcoat, red velvet breeches,
sttk stockings, and buckled shoes, with a neckcloth, or scarf of
finely embroidered cambric, or figured stuff, the ends hanging
loose the better to show the work, and liberal bosom and wrist-
ruffles, (the latter usuaUy fastened with gold or silver buckles,) was
considered a proper evening dress for a gentleman of any pretension
to fashion. The clergy and many other gentlemen commonly wore
black silk stockings, and others contented themselves with grey
wooUen. The boots had a broad fold of white leather turned over
the top, with tassels dangling from either side. The clergy
frequently wore silk or stuff gowns, and powdered wigs. The ladies
usuaUy wore black sUk or satin bonnets, long waisted and narrow
skirted dresses for the street, with long tight sleeves ; and in the
house, sleeves reaching to the elbow, finished with an immensely
broad frill; high heeled shoes; and always, when in fuU dress,
carried a profusely ornamented fan. The excessively long waists,
toward the close of this period, were exchanged for extremely short
ones ; so short, that the belt, or waist, was inhumanly contrived to
come at the broadest part of the chest. But no fashion of dress
was so permanent as other customs chnging to particular eras.
Anciently, as now, fashions were changed more or less extensively
every few years, though certain broad characteristics remained long
enough to give a specific character to the costuming of the eighteenth
century.

174 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
But not only in dress and social customs do we find a marked
difference ; the whole style of architecture has changed since then.
The large three-story square houses on High, State, Green, and a
few other streets, with their commodious carriage ways, and large
garden lots, are the most permanent and impressive remains of our
commercial prosperity. But these capacious dweUings have no modern
successors. They look down upon a new age, and a comparatively
diminutive style of building ; neat and comfortable enough, but with
contracted surroundings, and on a scale which suggests smaU means,
and which is devoid of all imposing architectural effect. But with
all the profuseness of expenditure among the wealthier class, we do
not find that the laboring people were depressed, or suffered any
abridgment of comforts, as is sometimes the case where a single
class is found thus eminent in wealth and luxury. All classes
participated in the prosperity which the business enterprise of our
merchants imparted to the place. All might find employment who
would work, and the labor market partook of the general buoyancy.
If the humbler classes suffered in any sense from the rapid influx of
wealth to the mercanttte community, it was in the example of profu
sion which the latter exhibited, and which the former were thus
tempted to imitate ; particularly in the free use of liquor, the most
insidious and ruinous taste which can be engrafted on society, espe
ciaUy to those of moderate and uncertain incomes. When a change
came in the fortunes of the town, it was hard for these to reconcUe
new facts with old habits ; and though there was much to admire in
the age we are leaving, perhaps, on the whole, there is not so much
to regret. Modern improvements have dispensed with the necessity
of many things which went to make up the grandeur of those old
times ; and the wider diffusion, and greater equalization of wealth,
compensate for the pleasing pageantry of the past, while the
increased attention to female education is a step forward worth all
that is left behind.
With the closing up of our great and profitable foreign commerce,
closed the life of an eccentric individual, who has forced himself into
the annals of the town, and to whom we must therefore give a passing
notice. Timothy Dexter has obtained a somewhat unenviable noto
riety, but more fortunate than most of his honorable and learned

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 175
cotemporaries, has found a biographer and artist * to preserve his
memory and liniaments to the posterity which he courted. " Lord
Timothy Dexter," whatever were his faults, was a pecuniary bene
factor of the town, and also, for a long series of years, held an office
in it, viz., " Informer of Deer ! " and we have therefore not thought
it out of place to introduce him here. He has generally been con
sidered a fool, with a sUght mixture of the knave ; but nearly every
act of his apparent foUy may be traced to one overpowering passion,
uncontroUed by any natural or cultivated taste, though combined
with considerable shrewdness : this passion was vanity ; so in
ordinate, as to lead him into aU sorts of absurdities. To be an ob
ject of attention to the present, and of remembrance to succeeding
generations, in his adopted town, was the central idea of his Ufe,
around which all others revolved, and were subordinate. That he
succeeded in his aim, is proof of his knowledge of human nature : —
where one person expresses an interest in the Ufe and writings of
Theophttus Parsons, and men approaching him in worth and talents,
a hundred make inquiries after his Lordship, " Timothy Dexter."
To be sure, the regard of that fraction of society who are discrimin
ate in their admiration, is worth more to a man of mind, than the
" incense of a world of fools ; " but Mr. Dexter was not very scrupu
lous as to whence the incense rose, if he only had enough of it ;
and this he attained.
The town office which he held had no duties annexed to it, as no
deer were ever known to have been seen in Newburyport, after its
incorporation ; and the town probably bestowed it on him, merely as
a gratification in return for some of his gifts, — a return which cost
them nothing. That he was hberal, is amply proved by his do
nations to the town and other bodies ; and if his ruUng passion,
vanity, had a share in these, that does not entirely derogate from
their value, as he certainly might have found less exceptionable
modes of displaying it; and the benefit was as great to the re
cipients, as if there had been no admixture of this feeling in the mind
of the giver.
In the oft-repeated story, told generaUy to exempUfy his folly,
namely, that of sending a cargo of warming-pans and woollen mittens
* S. L. Enapp.

176 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
to the West Indies, which turned out a profitable speculation, — the
warming-pans being bought for ladles, to be used on the sugar es
tates in the straining of syrup, and the mittens sold at a heavy ad
vance to a vessel bound to the Baltic, — we see no evidence of folly,
but rather shrewd management, and cunning reticence to cover it ;
as it cannot possibly be supposed, that with vessels constantly ar
riving at Newburyport from the West Indies, and with cargoes from
the North of Europe, he did not know that the one was a warm
. country and the other cold. No doubt, he knew the use to which
his warming-pans were to be appUed, before they left the wharf, and
as the West Indies were a kind of half-way house, in which vessels
from aU parts of Europe were in the habit of seeking a market, the
mittens were as prudently destined as the other part of his venture.
His building his own tomb in his garden, and undergoing the
process of a mock funeral, with the subsequent abuse of his wife, for
not weeping during the solemn farce, was an ebulhtion of vanity,
carried out in unique style, certainly, but not very different in its
nature from cases constantly occurring around us, but which excite
no astonishment, from their very frequency. And if Timothy Dexter
stood on the highway and scattered sUver coins to the ' boys who
would salute him with the title of " Lord," wherein did he differ,
except in the mode, from those to be found in every town, who,
by weU-timed obeisance to the rabble, whom in their hearts they
spurn, yield the silver of their honeyed tones to the interests of the
"dear people" who they believe in their hearts can be bought to do
them reverence ?
As a man of capital, Dexter was always ready to embark in any
enterprise that would benefit the town. When it was proposed to
build the Essex Merrimac Bridge, he bought over a hundred shares.
At his own expense, he filled up a large hollow in the road below
his mansion, which it was the proper business of the town to keep in
repair ; calling forth from the travelling pubhc, and the town, their
thanks for this service. He offered also to pave the whole of High
street, if the town would consent that it should be caUed by his
name — "Dexter street," — .cheap enough for so expensive and
valuable a work ; but his generous offer was not accepted, and High
street remains unpaved to this day. A very liberal offer of his, to
" construct a brick market house," when the town was without

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 177
one, was also rejected, though the only objectionable condition
was that it should be called " Dexter Hall."
He presented to the Harris street church $333.33 to procure a
bell, and a similar sum was gratuitously bestowed on St. Paul's
church.* During the distress occasioned by the first embargo, the town
acknowledged the receipt of $2000, given by the wUl of Mr. Dex
ter, " for the benefit of such of the poor of the town, as are most
necessitous, and who are not in the work-house ; " the interest on
which, was to be distributed annually by the overseers of the poor.
Timothy Dexter's vices were profanity, a want of veracity, and
irreverence, while his execrable taste, led him into such vicious dis
plays as were calculated to have an injurious effect, especially upon
the young. His mansion, and surrounding estate, — a fine house, and
large garden, on High street, — were for many years disfigured with a
profusion of painted wooden images, of men and beasts. Three of
these remained, for a long time after his death, on the porch of the
front door. But these, with all that remained elsewhere, have been
since consigned to their proper place — the flames ; and the mansion,
after having been occupied for some time as a hotel, has fortunately
passed into the hands of a gentlemant whose good taste has re
deemed it from every objectionable feature left with it by the
original proprietor.
In addition to his other devices, Timothy Dexter employed for
years a poet laureate, whose jingling rhymes, J in praise of his •
* Impartial Herald. t E. G. Kelly, Esq.
{The following verses wiU serve as a specimen : —
" Lord Dexter like King Solomon,
Hath Gold and Silver by the ton,
And bells to churches he hath given,
To worship the great King of Heaven."
After describing the mansion, he proceeds :
" Four lions stand to guard the door,
With mouths wide open to devour
All enemies who dare oppose
Lord Dexter or his shady groves.
* # * *
The images around him stand,
For they were made by his command ;
Looking to see Lord Dexter come,
With fixed eyes they see'him home."
12

178 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
patron, were quite in keeping with the character he was paid to
eulogize. As a final effort for posthumous fame, Dexter turned author, and
wrote a smaU book, entitled " A Pickle for the Knowing Ones," a
mass of words, without arrangement of ideas, or any attempt at
grammatical construction, or in compliance with any acknowledged
mode of orthography ; and for the matter of punctuation, he omitted
all points through the body of the work, and had several pages of
punctuation marks printed separately, and bound with the book,
observing " that each reader might put them in where he pleased."
Timothy Dexter was not a native of Newburyport ; he was born in
Maiden, Massachusetts, 1743. He made much of his property by
buying up continental notes when they were at a low point of
depreciation, and selhng when the prospect of redemption had
enhanced their value. He died unregretted, (as he had Uved
without the respect of the community,) October 26, 1806.

PERIOD IV.

SUCCESSIVE DISASTERS, COMMERCIAL RESTRIC
TIONS, FIRE, WAR.
Affairs between the United States and Great Britain were fast
drawing to a crisis, which was by no means retarded by the unprovoked
attack of the British ship-of-war Leopard, on the American frigate
Chesapeake, off the coast of Virginia ; in which affair some Ameri
cans were killed. A committee of correspondence, in Norfolk,
addressed a letter to the selectmen of this town on the subject ;
and a spirited meeting was held, at which the foUowing, and other
sinnlar resolutions, were passed unanimously :
" Resolved, That we consider the attack made upon the United
States frigate Chesapeake, by the British ship-of-war Leopard, a
violation of our national rights, and an insult on our national
dignity, no less humiliating than unwarrantable.
" Resolved, That the conduct of our brethren at Norfolk, before
orders from Government could be obtained,* was truly spirited and
patriotic, and that the selectmen be requested to return a respectful
answer to their communication, with a copy of the proceedings of
this meeting."
Since 1793, American shipping had been exposed to the cross
fires of French and English guns ; it was now to be scuttled by
friendly hands, by way of preserving it from the enemy. President
Jefferson, having found that the Embargo Act of 1807 was success-
* The people of Norfolk had agreed to enforce the suspension of all inter
course between the British squadron, then lying off the coast, forbidding any
one to furnish them with provisions or water ; and had established a committee
of correspondence, to inform aU the seaport towns of these proceedings.

180 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
fully evaded under various feints, put forth additional acts, first
restricting, and then forbidding the coasting trade. This latter
exited the deadhest hostUity of the great majority of the New
England people, and the frequent supplements to the act served to
keep them in a constant state of irritation. About the 4th of July,
1808, the following effusion appeared in the Newburyport Herald,
which shows that whatever kind of produce was embargoed, poetry
was not. " Our ships aU in motion, once whitened the ocean ;
They sailed and returned with a cargo :
Now doomed to decay, they have fallen a prey
To Jefferson — worms — and embargo.
What a fuss we have made about rights and free trade,
And vow'd that we'd not let our share go ;
Now we can't for our souls, bring a hake from the Shoals,
'Tis a breach of the twentieth embargo ! "
Some captains during the first embargo, after procuring a clear
ance for some domestic port, on getting out to sea, concealed the
names of their vessels, and run for the West Indies ; several of
them were " driven by stress of weather into Nassau," where, says
a cotemporary, " the carpenters were so expert and generous, that
they repaired them in an extraordinary short space of time, and at
scarcely no expense ! ! " Other vessels had been reported to the
officers of the Customs as having on board more than was entered
on their manifest. One suspected, was chased out of the Merrimac
by the revenue officers, accompanied by some twenty volunteers,
and on examination was found to contain a large quantity of pork,
flour, butter, lard and tobacco, which the books of the Custom
House knew nothing of. It was on account of these numerous
evasions, that the coasting trade, which successfully covered them,
was laid under interdict.
But when a law is felt to be in direct contravention of the
rights and prosperity of a people, and also that it is not pro
ductive of the result it professes to aim at, human nature rebels
at its enforcement, and but faintly, if at all condemns its infraction ;
smuggling, therefore, became an illegality which no one was
ashamed to confess having participated in, after the danger was over.
One of the worst social effects of these restrictions on commerce

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 181
was the driving of American seamen into foreign ships ; there was
at one time, two hundred* American seamen at St. Andrews, N. B.,
seeking employment. The utter stagnation of business is told, in
the difference between the value of exports from Massachusetts in
1806 and in 1813. Li the former year it was $21,199,243, in the
latter $1,807,923, a diminution of tiventy millions of dollars ! f A
reference to the table of the " Inspection of mackerel " will show
its effect on the fisheries. Under these circumstances, it is not
strange that Newburyport, whose interest was so deeply involved,
should address the President (May, 1808) with representations
of the ruin which was hanging over the town, asking for some
alleviating measures to be adopted; seizing upon the favorable
aspect which affairs in Spain and Portugal had taken, to urge the
safety and profit of permitting a trade with those nations, and their
colonies ; and that the answer of the President, declaring it " not
prudent to change the measures adopted," should lead some to con
ceive a violent prejudice against his entire administration.
On the first anniversary of the passage of the Embargo Act, the
day was observed in Newburyport by the tolling of beUs and the
firing of minute-guns, that signal of extreme distress ; the flags
hung at half mast, and a procession of sailors was formed, who
marched under muffled drums with crape on their arms, accompanied
by a dismantled ship, on a cart body drawn by horses, and bearing
a flag on which was inscribed " Death to Commerce." A young
man, attired hke an old sailor, stood on the quarter deck with a glass
in his hand, as if about to take an observation; whUe a painted
motto was exhibited, inquiring " Which way shaU I steer 1 " the " old
sailor " occasionally throwing the lead, as if to take soundings.
When the cortege arrived opposite the old custom house, an address
was made by this individual, reflecting rather severely on the cause
which occasioned the procession.
Having found the remonstrance to the President unavailing, the
* Herald, 1808.
f A merchant here, having more time than business on his hands, made the
foUowing calculation of the loss to New England, while the shipping was thus
laid up. " The total tonnage being 450,000, the loss by embargo is $1 0,800,000
annually ; each day it is $29,529, and each hour $1,232.

182 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
town (January 12, 1809,) next addressed the State Legislature to
interpose what means they constitutionally could, to guard the people
of the commonwealth from what they deemed unjustifiable, absurd,
unnecessary and ruinous restrictions.*
What increased the dissatisfaction of the people of New England
generally, with the course of the administration, was the fact that
though the French had offered as great provocations, and committed
as many violations on our flag, (except in the matter of impress
ment,) as the British, yet the latter were the principal objects of
retaliation in the policy of the President ; and here appeared con
spicuously, the character impressed upon the two political parties at
the epoch of their formation, which has been elucidated in the
remarks on the course of citizen Genet in this country.
One effect of the long-continued embargo, was the contrivance of
devices for effecting sales of produce and other goods, without
ostensibly violating the act. Vessels in the coasting trade no sooner
got to sea, no matter to what port in the United States they were
bound, than they met with " head winds," " continued and violent
gales," " sprung a mast," or " started a butt," and were obliged
to put into some of the West India Islands, " in great distress, and
very much to the prejudice of their owners " — of course ! ! A few
were able to make Passamaquoddy, " while many more," says a
cotemporary writer " passed-by-quoddy, and got safe to Hahfax,
or Bermuda." Indeed, throughout the war, more or less successful
efforts were made to send provisions to the north-eastern frontier
for sale in the provinces.
During this period, the farmers suffered nearly as much as the
merchants ; their surplus crops were wasted for want of a market,
and deep and general distress prevailed. The foUowing scale of
prices, will show the depressiomof the agricultural interest after the
passage of the act which went into effect in 1808 :
1807. 1808.
Corn, $1.00 $ .66
Wheat, 1.75 1.00
%e, 1.35 .75
* To the acceptance of this address there were but ten dissentient voices in a
full town meeting.— See Town Records.

1807.

.1808.

$15.00 a 18.00

$7.00

.20 a .22

.08 a

.10

.06 a .14

.03 a

.07

4.66 a 5.50

3.50

10.50 a 12.00

6.00 a

7.50

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 18£
Hay,Butter, Cheese,
Wood,
Boards,
A considerable business had been carried on in this town, in the
distillation of whiskey ; but now there were no means of exporting
the whiskey, and consequently the distiller would not buy the
farmer's rye. Another valuable article of export was salt pork ; but
the farmer's stock of swine had become valueless, unless to eat the
rye which the distiller did not want !
In the spring of 1809, President Madison signed a bill, passed
by Congress, so far mitigating the burdens on commerce as to admit
of foreign vessels, belonging to nations with whom the United States
were at amity, loading in our ports. But this relief was of short
duration. In the faU the embargo was repealed, but a substitute,
entitled the Non Intercourse Act,* was passed, which prohibited all
trade with Great Britain and France, the countries with which a
profitable commerce might, notwithstanding aU the obstructions in
the way, have been indirectly secured. The Non Intercourse Act
led to negotiations on the part of Great Britain, which resulted in
the release of such of the men impressed as could be fuUy proved
to be native Americans. And in 1810, France repealed her conti
nental decrees, and the restrictions upon our intercourse with that
nation were removed. A treaty had also been made with an agent
of the British government, by wbich the Orders in CouncU were
repealed ; but this act of their minister was repudiated by the
* WhUe the Non Intercourse Act was in force, many evasions were attempted,
which led, in some instances, to ludicrous scenes between the revenue officers
and real or pretended smugglers. One suspected craft being boarded, the
captain, after considerable parley, confessed to the officer that he had a few
" dry goods" packed away, under an ostensible cargo of potatoes.. The officer
immediately set his gang to work hauUng them out, working zealously himself
in the cause, expecting to make a grand seizure of EngUsh calico. After
working several hours, they came to a small box of 'dried herrings ; the only
dry goods to be seen ; the chagrin of the officer may be better imagined than
described.

184 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
British Government. By a Report of the Secretary of State, it
was found that between October 1, 1807, and March 31, 1809, four
hundred and sixty-two men had been taken out of American vessels
and impressed by the British. Of this number, however, but two
hundred and thirtyffive exhibited proofs of American citizenship,
though no doubt many others were fully entitled to our protection ;
of the whole number taken, two hundred and eighty-seven were, in
March, 1810, ordered to be discharged. And in return for this late
act of justice, intercourse was again restored with Great Britain.
The impetus which was given to the shipping interest in New
buryport by this change in public affairs, is sufficiently indicated by
the number of vessels built here in 1810, viz. : twenty-one ships,
thirteen brigs, and one schooner, a total of 12,000 tons, all but
seven being owned in this district. Had peace continued, the
prosperity of Newburyport would apparently have been placed
upon such a basis, as that the memorable disaster of the succeeding
year would have had but a temporary effect in depressing her renewed
elasticity. Yet the perils of her merchants and seamen in this
brief interval of restored intercourse with the two most prominent
of their oppressors, were by no means completely removed.
Not only was Denmark made the complete tool of France, but
American vessels, having passed the form of trial in their courts,
and, as we have seen in the case of Captain Brown, of the ship
Washington, paid their own costs, were still liable to be seized by
French privateers, who were perpetually watching on the coast for
such prey. Captain H. Parsons, of the schooner Dolly, of New
buryport, writes to his owners in this town, from Tonningen,
November, 1810 : " The Danes have ordered the clearance of
American vessels, but have no power to protect them if the French
brmg them back. I am in a very critical situation, in jeopardy of
French privateers if I go out, and may be taken by the authorities
if I remain at anchor."
The next year matters grew worse in that direction. Captain
Wheelwright, of Newburyport, whose vessel was condemned in
1811, was but one of one hundred and thirteen American ship
masters carried into- Kiel, Norway, and Denmark. The expense
of clearing many of these vessels was enormous ; the brig Hannah,
Captain Dennis, of Newburyport, was taken into a port of Norway,

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 185
and her expenses, including lawyers' fees and some well-directed
gifts to secure a favorable judgment, amounted to 20,000 rix
dollars.* But these were partial losses, felt directly only by the persons
immediately concerned in the property seized,; a more, extensive
and disastrous calamity was in store for those citizens whose property
and interests were all on land. During the spring of 1811, several
inconsiderable fires had excited the alarm and increased the watch
fulness of the citizens; yet despite all their efforts to detect the
incendiary, a fire was again announced on the evening of the 31st
of May, which soon progressed to such an extent as to be totally
beyond the control of the firemen, assisted as they were by the entire
body of the citizens, and many of the inhabitants from neighboring
towns. Even many women, during the progress of the fire, were
seen standing in the ranks, passing buckets of water ; while many
others as opportunely and usefully occupied themselves with bringing
refreshments to the exhausted men. From a pamphlet f issued a
short time after the fire, we draw, substantially, the account of the
origin and progress of the flames.
The fire broke out about half past nine o'clock in the evening,
an hour when a large proportion of the inhabitants had already
retired for the night. And as the ominous cry of "Fire!"
resounded through the streets,, it broke upon the stillness of the
evening air, and renewed the alarms which had become frequent,
from incipient fires discovered and timely extinguished, during the
last few weeks ; and the belief gained ground that a determined
effort was making, from some unknown enemy, to fire the town.
The spot selected by the incendiary was that which had several
times before been fired, probably by the same reckless hands ; this
was an old stable, unoccupied at the time, situated on Inn street,
then called Mechanics' row.
When discovered, the building, was already enveloped in flames,
and the frame being light and dry, it was irretrievably devoted to
destruction, the fire spreading on either side, but principally towards
Market square and State street ; consuming, in a few hours, every
* Herald. t B7 W. & J. Gilman. Second Edition, Revised.

186 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
building between Pleasant street and the alley leading to Inn street,
and both sides of State street ; and from this point to the Market,
baffling successfully the desperate efforts of the firemen and assisting
citizens. On Essex street, the destruction extended only to the
house of Captain James Kettle ; but in Middle street, gathering
fresh strength, the devouring element marched with giant strides
the whole length of the street to Fair, on the north-east side, and
to within a few rods of it, on the upper. On Liberty street, it
reached to within one house of Independent street, and on Water
street extended to Cushing's wharf, sweeping off every buUding
within this circle, the whole of Centre street being laid in ashes ;
including a range of buildings on Ferry wharf, and a row of stores
between Wood's wharf and the Market, the wharf itself being
burned ; thus clearing a tract of sixteen and a half acres, in the
most compactly built and densely populated part of the town, and
containing a large proportion of the most valuable property in it.
Nearly two hundred and fifty buUdings were thus totaUy and
suddenly consumed, including almost every dry goods store, four
printing offices, the Custom House,* surveyors' office, post office,
two insurance offices, the " Union " and the " Phoenix," the Baptist
meeting-house, four attorneys' offices, four book stores, (the loss of
one of these was $30,000,) and also the Town Library.
Blunt's building, a massive structure four stories high, and the
Phoenix buUding, for awhile seemed to present an effectual barrier
to the farther progress of the flames ; but by a sudden change of
the wind they were carried directly upon these immense pttes, which
were soon involved in the general calamity.
" State street at this time presented a spectacle most terribly sub
lime! The wind, soon after it changed, blew with increased
violence, and these buUdings, which were much the highest in the
street, threw the fire in awful columns high into the air, the flames
extending in one continued sheet of fire across the spacious area ! "
* An irretrievable loss was that of the Custom House Records up to the
date of the fire.
' By this fire, George Peabody, Esq., (the well known banker in London,)
then a clerk in his brother's store in this town, was thrown out of employ
ment, and the next year removed from the place. He is nephew to General
John Peabody, formerly a well known merchant of Newburyport.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 187
The large brick meeting-house in Liberty street, belonging to the
Baptist Society, in which many had deposited their shop goods,
furniture, and other property, as a place of safety, was reached by
the flames, and with its now valuable contents, utterly consumed.
At two o'clock in the morning of June 1st, the fire seemed to rage
with new and irresistible fury, and it was feared, at this time, that
the whole town would be laid in ashes. Everything was done to
stay the progress of the flames, which inteUigent and persevering
efforts could devise, but with very limited success. But about four
o'clock, the intensity of the fire abated, and by six, the immediate
danger of its further extension was over.
The scene has been represented as terrificaUy subfime. Gather
ing clouds of smoke obscured the bright clear moon, which shone out
upon the origin of the fire, as if wttling to lend its aid to expose the
concealed perpetrators. The air, at first darkened with heavy
volumes of smoke, was ere long reddened with the lurid glare of the
flames, now rising from a hundred buUdings : while the physical
destruction going on, was a tame and indifferent sight, compared
with the pathos of the scene, as family after family were driven with
their Uttle ones into the streets, shelterless and homeless. The
rapidity with which the flames spread, and the shifting of the wind,
which brought the flames in hot haste upon many buildings which
had been considered safe from their approach, greatly enhanced the
perplexity of the flying inhabitants, who were thus prevented from
removing the property they had deemed out of the reach of danger.
Such a mass of burning material had the apparent effect of chang
ing the season of the year ; persons, unless under the pressure of
excitement, such as the scene naturally produced, could hardly have
borne to walk the streets where the fire was raging ; the air was
like that of a furnace, and the light hke the glare of the summer's
sun. All nature seemed to sympathize with the scene. The birds,
attracted by the Ught, and suffocated by the heat and smoke, dropped
powerless into the burning ruins ; the terrified and bewttdered cattle
made night hideous by their unearthly looings, while the sudden
crash of falling timbers, and the roaring sound of a hundred chimneys,
was Ukened only to the subterranean commotions which precede
volcanic eruptions, whUe the flying fire, borne about in showers by
the wind, helped to sustain the idea.

188 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
The loss was estimated at about a million of dollars; the
greatest misfortune being, that the calamity came at a period when
our citizens could do but little to re-create that of which they had
been so suddenly and unexpectedly deprived.
Over ninety families were on the first of June houseless, many of
them reduced at once, by this calamity, from affluence to poverty.
The light of the fire was seen at an immense distance,* and in addition
to the more immediate assistance received from Salisbury and
Amesbury, numbers from Rowley, Ipswich, Danvers, Beverly, Haver
hill, Topsfield, Bradford, and even Salem, were shortly on the spot,
with the laudable intention of rendering aid, and relieving our
eitizens ; a guard of gentlemen from the latter town kept a watch
over the scattered property of the inhabitants during the night of
the 1st of June. Measures were immediately taken by the select
men, assisted by a committee of the most able citizens, to devise
means of relief for such as were in immediate want. A depot was at
once established in a buUding of Captain William Russell's, that had
fortunately escaped the flames, on Market square, where provisions
and other donations were received, and disbursed to the destitute.
But no sooner was the news of the calamity disseminated abroad,
than the most prompt and Uberal contributions were made in the
neighboring towns and cities, and some more distant parts of the
country. Boston headed the list with the munificent gift of
$24,315.25 ; Salem followed with $10,000, besides contributions
of clothing; Charlestown gave $l,744.55,t while many smaller
places gave as largely in proportion to their means. Among the
contributors, were the towns of Hingham, Waltham, Marlborough,
Brighton, Attleborough (the latter to assist in rebuilding the Baptist
church), and Medford. Dr. Spring, then pastor of the North
church, made a tour to the South, travelling as far as Virginia, for
the purpose of soliciting funds. Philadelphia responded nobly,
appointing twenty committees to canvass the city, and solicit sub
scriptions, which resulted in raising for the sufferers here $13,000.
Part of this was also appropriated to the express purpose of rebuilding
*It was distinctly seen at Amherst, N. H., and at Attleborough, Mass., thirty
miles beyond Boston.
t Of this, $150 was from the firemen there, to their brethren here.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 189
the Baptist church ; the Rev. Mr. Peak, the pastor, having also
visited the city, and successfully urged the necessities of that society.
A Moravian Society in Pennsylvania added sixty dollars to the
funds forwarded from that State.
One of the most pleasant and useful contributions was made by
the Shaker communities of Enfield and Canterbury, N. H., wbich
consisted of five wagon loads of furniture, bedding, clothing and
food, well selected, and possessing, therefore, more than their
intrinsic value to the persons whose daily and hourly wants were
thus opportunely supplied. On their way to Newburyport, the
person having these goods in charge, was solicited to sell some arti
cles ; the reply was characteristic, and prevented a repetition of the
request : " These goods are not for sale, friend, but if thou art a suf
ferer, take freely what thou needest."
Nor should the hberality of our own citizens to their more unfor
tunate neighbors remain unrecorded. Mr. William Bartlett gave
three thousand dollars, and Mr. Moses Brown fifteen hundred dollars,
while others-of less fortune contributed as their means permitted.
Subsequently Newburyport had an opportunity of repaying, in
part, this debt of humanity, to other sufferers by fire. What they
could, they rendered to Portsmouth in 1813, when a fire of almost
equal extent as that which made a ruin of Newburyport, desolated
that pleasant town. This fire occurred on the 22d of December,
and the Portsmouth AnnaUst says : " Many citizens of Newburyport
and other towns hastened to our assistance ; Newburyport detached
eighty or ninety men, who guarded the town the succeeding night.
A gentleman from Newburyport, in search of objects of distress,
entered a house involved in flames, and at great hazard of his own
life, rescued a child whom he heard crying for its mother, and
brought it to a place of safety." In 1815, (July 28,) on the occa
sion of a destructive five in Petersburg, Va., nearly seven hundred
doUars were collected here, and forwarded for the sufferers. In
October, 1823, between five and six hundred doUars were collected
in town, for the sufferers by fire in Wiscasset, and Alna, Maine.
In 1830, over three hundred doUars were contributed by seven of
the churches, for the town of Gloucester ; and in 1831, nearly two
hundred doUars were given by three of the churches to FayetteviUe.
In 1835, about three hundred and fifty dollars were made up for

190 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
Charlestown ; and to Fall River, in 1843, Newburyport gave in
money, clothing, &c, nearly one thousand dollars ; and to Nan
tucket, in August, 1846, over eleven hundred dollars, and six boxes
of clothing. But it was not within the abUity of Newburyport to
give as largely as she had received, or as she would have done, had
not this untimely blight fallen upon her fortunes.
An unfortunate but perhaps necessary rule, was observed in the
distribution of the money thus generously contributed by the country
and our own citizens. No person received any appropriation who
had property remaining of the value of five thousand doUars. This
looked reasonable, and was perhaps as satisfactory a rule of pro-
ceedure as could be adopted at the time. Yet looking back from
our present stand-point, with aU the results of that disastrous year
before us; we cannot doubt that had the whole amount of money
thus collected, been loaned to some half dozen of the most enter
prising business men, possessing five thousand dollars or upwards,
and by thus adding to their capital, encouraging them to renew busi
ness and inspiring them with the hope of eventually making good
their losses, it would have been better for the town, and better for
the poorer class who received it, by enabling these capitalists to give
them profitable and permanent employment long after the pittance
supphed them was exhausted ; instead, as the event proved,
creating a class who just managed to live on the remnant of the
property they had saved, but with no surplus which they dared risk
in the most inviting speculations. ¦
To this class is Newburyport principally indebted for that blight
which appeared to settle on every subsequent effort to retrieve her
misfortunes. These fell into the habit of condemning or discour
aging every plan that involved any outlay of capital, or in which
were any elements of risk, and thus exerted a depressing influence
on the more ambitious and enterprising. The class was by no means
small ; and those acquainted with the history of the town for the
twenty years subsequent to the " great fire," wUl acknowledge
the truth of this .picture. Newburyport has been from that time,
almost without cessation, the prolific exporter of young men. How
else do we account for the great number of Newburyport youth
annually exUed, and scattered over the Union in ehgible and profit
able situations, — from Boston to New Orleans, and from New York

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 191
to the Mississippi ? True, the restrictions upon commerce, and the
war which foUowed, had their share in producing this effect ; but other
towns, similarly situated, recovered in a few years the business then
lost. And somewhat later, the increased obstructions upon the river
bar, with the larger class of vessels demanded by the freighting
trade, were obstacles serious and potent ; but either or aU of these
combined, would not so permanently and thoroughly have depressed
the community, had a majority of them retained the spirit of enter
prise which they once .possessed.
The selectmen offered a reward of one "thousand dollars for the
discovery of the incendiary who had set the fire on the 31st of
May, and the town appointed a committee, for the express purpose
of ferreting out the miscreant, but both faUed, and the perpetrator
remained undiscovered. A lad was arrested in July, who confessed
to setting two or three barns on fire, but persisted in denying all
knowledge of the origin of the " great fire."
In the mean time, the affair of the Little Belt and its fatal encounter
with the United States frigate President, prepared the minds
of at least the southern section of the Union, for war ; and it was
immediately seized upon by the British as an excuse for new captures.
The brig Hannah, Captain Dennis of Newburyport, from Christian-
sand, for Russia, was seized by the British sloop-of-war Fawn, and
sent into Yarmouth, England, and the " Alert," of Newburyport,
Captain WUUam Nichols, from Bordeaux, was boarded by the British
man-of-war, Semiramis, soon after leaving port ; several hands were
put in her, and she was ordered to Plymouth. But Captain Nichols
was not disposed to submit without an effort to save his vessel ; when
off Ushant, he with his men rose on the British seamen, and regained
possession of the brig ; they battened down four of the men, and sent
the rest adrift in the joUy boat. But unluckUy the " Alert " was
soon after faUen in with by the British man-of-war, Vestal, Captain
Berkley, and though Captain Nichols assured the EngUsh com
mander " that he had been boarded by the Semiramis," Captain
Berkley's suspicions were excited that all was not right, and he
determined to carry them into Portsmouth. Captain Nichols, finding
that there was no escape, acknowledged the whole story, and the
men in the hold were set at liberty. •

192 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
These are but single specimens out of large numbers of similar
occurrences. ' These continued depredations and insults called forth
another embargo act of ninety days' duration, and finally a declaration
of war against Great Britain ; a declaration which the town of New
buryport, in common with the major part of New England, vehemently
opposed, and to sustain which they perseveringly refused to do one
particle more than their constitutional obligations imposed,; forming
in this a strong contrast to their conduct in the Revolutionary war,
when the extremity of ability was the only Umit to their exertions.
The ground of opposition to the war was principally this : that they
believed the wrongs complained of might have been redressed by
other means, and also, that equal-handed justice required, that if an
appeal in defence of our commercial rights was made to arms, that
these should be directed against France as well as England. From
the former, we had endured, and were still submitting to, the grossest
violations of the laws of nations. Napoleon, in addition to his Berlin
and Milan decrees, had lately issued orders authorizing French
armed vessels to bum or sink any vessels pretending to be NEUTRAL,*
laden with any of the produce of England or her colonies, if they
could not otherwise be brought in. In consequence of this decree,
a large number of American vessels were destroyed or detained in
the northern ports of Europe. At one time eighteen vessels were
forty days at Elsineur, not daring to leave, as the authorities in.
Denmark could insure them no protection at any distance over four
mUes from the coast. France being an ally of Denmark was the
excuse offered to our minister, Mr. Erving, when he remon
strated. Thus, with equal aggravations on the part of France, which
were permitted to pass with present impunity, our people felt that
there was no greater need for war with Great Britain, but that if
negotiations were ample means of remedy in the one case, they
might be in the other ; and when, too, the disparity of our naval force,
as compared with that of England, was considered, it is not surprising
that even the heroes of the Revolution should have some fears of
the result of a contest with Great Britain on what was then her own
element, as the coming conflict they saw must be.
Great. Britain, at the moment when Madison declared war against
* * Alison's Europe.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 193
her, had a naval establishment of 254 ships of the line, 247*frigates,
183 brigs, besides cutters, armed yachts, and fire-ships, making a
total of 1,042 vessels ; * whUe the United States could boast of but
10 frigates, 10 sloops, and 165 gun-boats, smaU affairs at best.
A public fast was proclaimed in Massachusetts by the Governor,
and the inhabitants of Newburyport appointed a committee, consisting
of Messrs. Jeremiah Nelson, John Pierpont, f Joseph Dana, WUUam
Bartlett, and WUUam Farris, to prepare an address to the Legis
lature. In this address, which was adopted at a fuU town meeting,
they say, after expressing their opinion of the impolicy of the war,
" We wish, therefore, firmly and decidedly to express to your Excel
lency and CouncU, that, under your command, we are ready to
march for the purposes expressed in the Constitution, namely, ' to
suppress insurrection, to repel invasion, and to enforce the laws ; '
and we will march under no other. * * Some of us were
born — and we have aU lived — freemen. Our soil we wUl defend,
but without the command of our lawful captain, [the Governor, as
commander-in-chief of the militia,] conscripts or not conscripts, we
will never stir an inch."
This was in anticipation of the requisitions to be made on the town
to form the army proposed by the President. It was the general
resolution of the people not to go out of Massachusetts to fight in
this war. The address continues : " Should a tide from the south
and west [referring to the war spirit in those sections] overwhelm
us to sweep us away, it must rise higher than our mountains. Should
civU 'commotion arise to destroy us, it must tear us from the bottom
of our valleys ; for rather than that our blood should mingle with the
St. Lawrence, or cement the walls of Quebec, every valley shall be
the pass of Thermopylae, and every height a Bunker HiU."
At a town meeting the ensuing February, a memorial was adopted,
addressed to the Legislature, in which the memorialists say : " We
are caUed, in common with our fellow-citizens of the Eastern States,
to consider whether the Republic stUl exists, or whether in the
government under whose oppression we now suffer, we have any
rights, privUeges, and interests, worth a struggle to maintain.
* Steel's List for July, 1811.
f Reverend John Pierpont, of Boston, then a resident of Newburyport.
13

194 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
Thousands of our hardy and intrepid mariners have been compelled
to quit their country and seek employment in foreign nations. The
debt already incurred exceeds the whole debt of the United States
at the close of the Revolutionary war. The late act interdicting
commerce between citizens of the same State, thereby depriving
the people of necessary supplies, violates the Constitution, vests
despotic power in the President, and raises up petty despots in every
seaport. It imposes wanton restraints which are calculated to irritate
to resistance, or to make slaves of us all.
" We therefore pray your Honorable Body to devise constitutional
means to restore bur right of intercourse by water; and we, the
people of Newburyport, solemnly pledge ourselves to your Honorable
Body and our fellow-citizens, to support with our lives and fortunes
such measures as shall be adopted by you for the redress of our
grievances, and in defence of our rights, and to be prepared at a
moment's warning to obey the call of duty and our country."
With these sentiments, we are not surprised to find that the town
subsequently refused to pay the soldiers drafted for the war any
additional bounty to induce their voluntary enhstment. Many of
the Federalists were even opposed to the fitting out of privateers,
the only way in which the town might reasonably hope to turn the
war to profit. But aU were not of this opinion, and the summer of
1812 saw quite a fleet of vessels cleared from Newburyport, " bound
on a'cruise."
One of the most successful of these privateers was the brig
Decatur, Captain WilUam Nichols, formerly master of the Alert,
taken by the Vestal and carried into Portsmouth. On the 25th of
July he took the brig " Elizabeth," and also captured the British
barque, "Duke of Savoy," which he brought to Newburyport.
Starting on a new cruise the 4th of August, he took, on the 23d, the
brig " Thomas," in ballast, two guns and thirty men ; on the 26th,
the " Devonshire," laden with fish and ott ; on the same day, the
" Concord," on board which he put twenty prisoners, and ordered
her to Halifax, as a cartel ; on the 30th, took the brig " Hope," in
ballast — took out the men and burnt her; same day, took the
" WUUam and Charlotte," with five hundred tons of oak timber, on
account of British government. She was armed, mounting four six-
pounders ; ordered her to Newburyport. September 1st, fell in with

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 195
the St. Thomas, of a homeward bound fleet of nineteen saU, under
convoy of an eighteen-gun brig ; captured the ship " Diana, mount
ing ten nine and twelve-pounders, and having a cargo of rum, sugar,
and coffee ; ordered her to Newburyport. Same day took the brig
" Fame," * with a cargo of rum and sugar ; ordered her to Newbury
port. September 6th, fell in with ship Commerce,  Watts , master,
from Demarara to Glasgow ; cargo, rum, sugar, cotton, and coffee,
carrying fourteen nine and six-pounders, and armed with small arms.
Commenced an action which continued about twenty-five minutes,
when she struck, with the loss of her captain and three men killed
and two wounded; her masts, rigging, and huU much injured;
ordered her to Newburyport.
In the course of this cruise, the Decatur had been to within a few
leagues of the English channel, had been absent but two months, and
brought home fifty-four prisoners, among them two masters and two
mates, who were admitted to parole : the men were imprisoned, for
safe keeping, but every indulgence compatible with their safety was
granted them, by order of the collector of the port.
In a subsequent cruise, the Decatur took the ship Neptune, Capt.
Oldham, of and from London, bound to Rio, with brandy, wine,
watch-cases, jewelry and dry goods, and sent her into Portland, to
which place, a pUot from this port went to bring her in.
We have heard the extraordinary success of Captain Nichols
ascribed to a peculiar and original mode of naval tactics which he
adopted ; the first rule of which was, when engaged with a a ship,
to order some trusty men, good marksmen, to " keep the helm of the
enemy clear." The helmsmen thus being successively picked off, the
men became afraid to take up the fated position, and the vessels thus
becoming unmanageable, more readily fell a prey to their shrewd and
brave antagonist.
The Decatur was finaUy captured by the British frigate Surprise,
of thirty-eight guns ; anew vessel, Sir Thomas Cochrane commander,
the Decatur being her first prize. She fired during the action, forty
small arms, and seventeen eighteen-pound shot, killing one man and
wounding several ; Mr. J. Foot, of this town, having a leg shot away.
*,This kand the ship Diana were retaken by the British after the Decatur
left them.

196 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
Captain Nichols had just before his capture taken three prizes, two
of which he sent to France to be sold, and one home.
The Decatur was carried into Barbadoes, January, 1813, where
there was already a large number of American prisoners. Here
Captain Nichols was admitted to parole, until the " Vestal " arrived
at Bermuda, when he was recognized by her commander as the
recaptor of the " Alert," and through Captain Berkley's influence,
he was arrested and placed in close custody, on board a prison-ship,
where, to the eternal infamy of Berkley, he was confined in a
pen or cage, built on the quarter-deck, but seven feet long, and five
wide, for the space of thirty-four days, without being allowed commu
nication with any one, except his guard. On the 23d of AprU, he
was, without previous notice, removed to the Tribune Frigate, which
soon after sailed to the leeward islands, to join a convoy for England,
where he was detained a prisoner some months, when he was ex
changed, and came to Boston in the ship " Saratoga " in September.
The only reason assigned for the unusual and cruel treatment of
Captain Nichols, was one which was most honorable to him — his
having retaken the Alert, and his subsequent activity during the
war. (He took in all twenty-eight prizes). Nothing daunted by
the fortune of war which had made him for so many months an exile
and a prisoner, Captain Nichols saUed in another privateer, called
the Harpy, which also did good service. After a cruise of twenty-
one days, she arrived at Portsmouth, laden with bale goods, which
she had taken out of a ship belonging to a convoy dispersed on the
Banks, which ship she manned out. On this cruise, she also took
three others, two transport ships, one of them carrying twenty guns,
the other unarmed, laden with brandy, flour, bread and dry goods,
took her cargo, and manned her out; the other was a schooner in
ballast, Captain Bass, late of the "Liverpool-Packet" which was
burnt. The Harpy brought in sixty-five prisoners, among whom was
a major general, and other officers. She was twice chased by
British frigates, but outsatted them. Her prize cargo was estimated
to be worth $300,000. If success is any evidence of skUl or
bravery, Captain Nichols could have had few equals among the pri
vateer commanders of that or any other period.
Privateering not being so universally approved in this, as in the
Revolutionary war, there was not the same freedom of narration in

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 197
the pubUc prints, of the success of privateers ; some left this port
under other professions, but we have the names of several which
were fitted out here with the avowed purpose of taking whatever
they could find. The schooner Yankee, Captain Stanwood, saUed
in the summer of 1812, and on her second cruise, with Captain
PUlsbury, was captured in October, and sent into Barbadoes, where
the crew were confined on board of a prison-ship, exceedingly
crowded and uncomfortable, but, as appears by a letter, written
by one of the prisoners, dated March 10th, they were not stinted
in food, as were those in some other prisons — their aUowance
being for twenty-four hours, " half a pound of good bread, half a
pound of salt beef or pork, one pound of sweet potatoes, and as much
water as they could drink." There was in all nearly six hundred
American prisoners at Barbadoes. Some of them, feeling themselves
neglected by the United States Government, shipped on board British
vessels, hoping thus to get an opportunity of returning home. The
•crews of the Decatur and Yankee were returned in the cartel ship
Providence, July 30th, 1813.
The Manhattan was the first privateer fitted out in Newburyport ;
she saUed in the summer of 1812 ; she took no prizes. The first
letter-of-marque was the Argus, Captain Harry Parsons ; she sailed
in March, 1813 ; she took three prizes, the first by stratagem. It
being night, Captain Parsons hatted a vessel, which proved to be the
London-Packet, and informed her master, that they had fallen in
with the United States ship Argus, and ordered the English flag to
be struck ; the order was immediately comphed with, and the prize
secured. The next prize was the brig Atlantic, which they manned
out, but which they lost, she being retaken. The prisoners from
this and the third prize were brought into Boston. The letter-of-
marque, Antelope, which saUed in December, 1814, made no prizes ;
she was sold into the merchant service, and was cast away on
Tuckanuck beach. The prizes taken, with the exception of those
brought in by Captain WiUiam Nichols, were few, and not of great
value, and the accounts have not been accurately preserved ; even
the Custom House records of this period are missing ; but all the
losses were faithfuUy chronicled in the " Herald," the publisher of
which was opposed to the war.
The foUowing are some of the captures made of vessels belonging

198 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
to this port, or commanded by Newburyport men. The ship
Moriarty, Captain Stickney, and the brig Jordan ; the sloop
Fame, Captain Eaton, having a cargo of fish, was taken off the
coast of Labrador ; the schooner James was captured, her cables
and anchors taken out, and then released; the ship BellevUle,
Captain Goodwin, and the brig Eos, Captain Samuel Nichols, were
detained in England; the ship AbigaU, Captain Johnson, was
taken and carried into Hahfax in November ; the ship Essex
was taken and sent into Gibraltar about the 1st of January,
1813 ; the privateer Bunker Hill, Captain Boddily, was taken,
but escaped with the aid of the privateer RetaUation. In May
of this year, 'the cartel ship Robinson, Captain Potter, brought
home Captains John Wells of the brig Leader (or Leander,)
Goodwin of the ship Belleville, . Samuel Nichols and John H. Tit
comb of the brig Eos, Thomas Buntin of the brig America, and
several others belonging to Newburyport. The schooner Two
Brothers, Captain Lovett, was captured, but released after a
detention of a few hours.
In 1814, the Tenedos, a British man-of-war, captured a boat
belonging to Captain John Pearson, with her cargo, and turned her
into a tender, but afterwards gave her up. Mr. Richard P. Coffin
was taken by a barge from the British ship Leander, and detained
four hours and then released ; the lieutenant of the Leander telling
him that it was not the intention of the British to molest this part of
the coast. In June of this year, Captain Lufkin, of the schooner
Ann and Ehzabeth, was returned from Bermuda, whither he had
been carried the December previous. A pilot boat of Captain
John Somerby's was taken and made a tender to the British frigate
Nymph. Other captures of more or less value were made, and
two natives of Newburyport, prisoners of war, confined in Dart
mouth Prison, died there, as is shown by an official Ust of/' deaths
in the prison from 1813-15 ; " their names were Joseph Liickey and
Joseph Perkins.
In September of 1813, was launched from Merrill's ship-yard, in
this town, the United States sloop-of-war Wasp,* named probably
* In several naval histories which we have examined, the " Wasp " is repre
sented as belonging to Portsmouth. Willaisd's History of the United States

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 199
in honor of the United States sloop of that name, whose gallant
action with the " FroUc " had made her a favorite with the sup
porters of the war, and which was captured immediately after that
engagement by the seventy-four gun ship the Poictiers.
The buttder of the " Wasp," Mr. Orlando MerrUl, still lives in
this city, and is the same who built the United States ship Pick
ering, in 1789. The eighty-second anniversary of Washington's
birthday, February, 1814, was celebrated by a baU on board the
Wasp, then lying in the Merrimac, shortly before she sailed on her
first cruise. During the short time she was in service she was
remarkably successful ; and what makes her actions particularly
interesting, is the fact that her crew, when they saUed from this port,
were almost to a man " green hands," and their average age was
but twenty-three years. That they were not very experienced
seamen is clear, from the fact that nearly the whole crew were sea
sick for the first week out. Yet in three months and five days she
captured and destroyed twelve British merchant vessels and their
cargoes ; the thirteenth was sent into port. In addition to these
exploits, her memorable actions with the Reindeer and Avon attest
to the valor of her crew. Up to the close of the latter engagement
she met with no considerable loss ; her bows, of soUd oak, like the
timbers of the old Constitution, proved impenetrable to the shot of
the Reindeer. The fate of the Wasp was for some time involved in
mystery, but it finally became certain that she went down at sea,
after a severe engagement with a British frigate, during the night
on or about the first of September, 1814. On that day she encoun
tered a convoy of ten sail, in charge of the " Armada," a seventy-
four gun ship, and in the evening discovered four vessels on
her bows, two on each side, and successively encountered two of
them. The first struck after a severe engagement, but the second
came up and prevented the Wasp getting possession of her prize. A
few days after, a British frigate had an encounter with an American
vessel, the name of which they could not tell, but which must have
also leaves the same erroneous impression. An English paper, printed in
1814, in recording the action with the Avon, makes the same mistake ; which
may have arisen from the fact that the Wasp went to Portsmouth to complete
her stores before saiUng on her cruise, but does not altogether exonerate the
naval historians referred to from the charge of Carelessness.

200 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
been the Wasp, as there was no other United States vessel cruising in
that vicinity at the time. The engagement took place towards
evening, it being calm weather, but in the morning the British
frigate alone remained to tell the tale ; which makes it certain that
the gallant Uttle sloop fought till quite disabled, and then feU off
and sunk with aU her crew. Two years after, when all hope of
hearing tidings from her gallant commander or daring men was past,
a government agent came to Newburyport to distribute to the heirs
of her deceased officers and crew, $50,000 prize money, and twelve
months' wages, which was due them when the Wasp was lost.
In the summer of 1812, political divisions had so far widened,
that the 4th of July was separately celebrated by the two parties, —
the " peace" party, under the name of " Disciples of Washington,"
and the " war " party, or Democrats. On the 10th of July, the
latter party met under a call to " Republican citizens," and passed
resolutions sustaining the war ; * while the sole instance of pubhc
approval accorded to the brave men who carried out the designs of
the Government, on the field or the ocean, by the FederaUsts, was
the vote of the Washington Benevolent Society, expressing admira
tion of the conduct of Captain Isaac HuU; and even this was
mingled with depreciatory remarks on the cause for which he fought,
and lamentations that such bravery was so misappUed.
A careful reticence pervades the columns of the leading news
paper of Newburyport, (which was opposed to the Administration,)
during this period, of the doings of the Democratic party in the
town, practically ignoring their existence, though they possessed
considerable strength in the first year of the war, as is shown by
the votes thrown for Governor in 1812. But the next year, when
Timothy Pickering was chosen Presidential elector, in Essex north,
the "peace. ticket," was carried by 696, to 136 for the "war"
candidate. For greater security, some owners of American merchant vessels,
asked and obtained licenses from the British, which protected them
from seizure by the armed vessels of that power. The British naval
force afloat, was often glad to be supplied with fresh provisions, &c,
by our coasters, and for this and other objects granted these protective
* Salem Register.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.

201

licenses ; but in accepting them, a new peril was encountered. A
vessel belonging to Newburyport, the ship Aurora, having one of
these licenses, was taken by a New York privateer, and sent into
Rhode Island, where she was condemned by the decision of Judge
Howell, of that district, on the ground " that by accepting a British
license, she had denationalized herself." Upon hearing this
decision, one individual belonging to this port, destroyed his license,
and was within a few hours seized by a British cruiser and detained
because he had none. Thus vessels of small capacity were effec
tually prevented from venturing out to sea ; the coasting business
was cut up, root and branch.
In the winter of 1813-14, aU the Newburyport coasters in Boston
were hauled up and stripped, the coUector refusing to give them a
clearance. Up to the 14th of February, 1814, there were but two
arrivals at this port. Dry goods and other articles of quick consump
tion, were brought from Boston principally by wagons,. of which a
regular freighting line was established, their arrival and departure
being duly chronicled by the jocose editor of the Herald, in the form
of " ship news," being duly headed " arrivals," " clearances," and
" disasters," &c.
In obedience to general orders issued to the mUitia of the State,
alarm posts were estabhshed in the town, at which the companies
were to assemble on the prospect of any immediate danger, and in
case of invasion, those nearest were to toU a bell ; on which the
mUitia men were to appear, perfectly armed and equipped. One of
these alarm posts was in Essex street, opposite where the selectmen's
room then was. Many British armed vessels were from time to
time seen hovering on our coast, and one, the Majestic, a razee, con
tinued watching at the harbor for some time before the Wasp put to
sea, and whUe she was lying at Horton's wharf, where she had for
company, two of Jefferson's gun-boats,* numbers Eighty-one and
Eighty-three. It was supposed that the Majestic had in view, the
capture of the Wasp and these boats, but she finaUy made off with
out crossing the bar. It was rumored in town that she had landed
a party of thirty men at Plum Island, and tried to bribe the keeper
* Built by Stephen Coffin, of this town. They carried one long twenty-four
pounder, a twelve-pound carronade, and were calculated for sixteen men.

202 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
of the lights to pUot her up to town, but if there was any truth in
the story, the effort was a faUure.
An eastern coaster was soon after chased into the river by a
British privateer, (on the llth of September,) but the guns at
Plum Island fort being brought to bear on her, she sheered off with
out accomplishing her object.
A respectable force was stationed at Plum Island, the Washing
ton Light Guards volunteering for this service, in place of the
drafted guard, where they maintained regular camp exercises ; the
Newburyport regiment of mUitia, was also actively employed. The
disposition to organize for the defence of the town was universal,
whUe the citizens were almost as unanimous not to engage in
aggressive expeditions. One hundred and twenty citizens who were
exempt by age from mihtary service, organized themselves into an
independent infantry company, under Captain Ab. Wheelwright, and
Lieutenant Amos Pearson.
The firemen, also, who were legaUy exempt, formed themselves
into two companies of sixty or seventy men each, and armed and
equipped, offered their services to the town ; they were under the
command of Captains Benjamin Lord and Eliphalet Brown. Other
exempts under forty-five, enhsted in Captain Perkins's company,
having chosen for Lieutenants, Nicholas Johnson, Jr., and Ebenezer
Moseley, Esq. The list of one company, afterwards designated as
the Silver Greys, embraced the names of one hundred and ten indi
viduals, a large proportion being men of wealth and standing in the
community. They met for military exercise once a week, each
member being provided with " a good musket, bayonet and belt,
cartridge-box, and twenty-four pounds of ball cartridges made to his
musket." An observatory, furnished with a telescope, was erected on the
high ground called Lunt's hUl, near the head of South street, for
the purpose of watching the movements of vessels off the coast.
The fire companies were for a time posted on Plum Island turnpike,
near the bridge, where they erected a temporary battery, intending
to defend the passage to the town, if a landing was effected on Plum
Island, but fortunately no such attempt was made. Indeed, it
seemed the pohcy of the British to spare New England, on account
of her opposition to the war, and to expend their strength at the

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 203
south, where it was more ardently supported. It was thought pru
dent, however, to associate a large committee with the selectmen, to
devise and carry out proper measures of preparation for attack and
defence. The following are the names of the committee :
WUUam Bartlett, Esq., Captain Mich. Titcomb, Jr.,
Mr. Abner Wood, Major Abram Perkins,
Captain Thomas M. Clark, Colonel Ebenezer Moseley,
Captain Nich. Johnson, Mr. Joseph WiUiams,
Mr. Jacob Gerrish, Captain WilUam Russell.
It will not do to omit all mention of another company, formed
during this period, most of whom, it is believed, outhved their attach
ment to it. This was the " Sea Fencibles," and was composed princi
paUy of shipmasters, and others who had been thrown out of
employment, and otherwise pecuniarily injured by the war and the
previous restrictive pohcy of the Administration ; they were, in every
sense, a perfect specimen of the pure New England FederaUsm of
1814, and adopted a flag, which told as plainly as bunting could,
their sentiments ; bearing as it did on its field, the insignia of but five
States. They took their turn in performing fatigue duty at Plum
Island, to which place they were accompanied in October, by the
selectmen and the committee of defence, where they planted their
standard, naming the station "Fort Phillip" in honor of the
Lieutenant Governor, when a New England salute was fired, (five
guns,) and an address from the parapet of the fort was made, by
Captain Thomas Cary. The standard borne by this company, was
presented to them by the ladies of Newburyport. A gun-house
erected for their use, afterwards passed into the hands of the New
buryport Artillery Company.
Ordnance and musket had been furnished to the town by the
State, the batteries on Plum Island and Plum Island turnpike had
been erected under the direction of State officers. After the peace
the ordnance and muskets were returned to Boston, and the buUdings,
utensUs, &c, sold at auction, and the proceeds paid over to the
agent of the Board of War.* The fort on Plum Island was soon
after washed away.
In the summer of 1814, when the news of Napoleon's abdication
* Town Records.

204 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
was received, the success of the aUies was celebrated in Newbury
port by displays of flags on the shipping, the ringing of aU the
bells in the town, (except that belonging to Mr. GUes's* meeting
house, the second Presbyterian,) and the firing of a grand royal
French salute of twenty-one guns, and at sunset a New England
salute of five guns. The Town Hall, Observatory, and other
buildings, were brilUantly illuminated in the evening, and trans
parencies, with appropriate mottoes, were exhibited ; and aU the
demonstrations of joy manifested which usuaUy accompany welcome
public news. There were many who dissented from the propriety
of these proceedings, but they attempted no public counter
movement. * Some wicked wit suggested that it " was not sound, which was the reason
of its not playing an accompaniment to the majority." But Mr. GUes was
too consistent in his political opinions to sanction what he did not approve,
though standing alone among the clergy here in his support of the Admin
istration. From the Salem Register, we learn that " on the Fourth of July, 1809, the
Rev. Mr. Giles, of Newburyport, delivered an oration before the Democrats of
Salem, who subsequently presented to him a handsome service of plate."

PEEIOD Y.

PEACE, BUT NOT PROSPERITY.
On the proclamation of peace between Great Britain and the
United States, extravagant were the rejoicings in Newburyport ;
the public buUdings and many private ones were illuminated, flags'
again floated from the mast-head of the vessels,* a Federal
salute was once more heard from the eighteen-pounders of the
" Sea Fencibles," and on some of the pubhc buUdings the united
flags of the United States and England were seen.
But with the return of peace did not reappear the anticipated
prosperity. Taxes were heavy, and duties were laid on so many
articles of domestic manufacture, for the purpose of raising a
revenue, as to make the risk of manufacturing great, and the certain
profits smaU. And though Newburyport despatched the first ship
to Calcutta which saUed from the United States after the peace,
which ship (the Indus) brought home the first news of her arrival
out,f the omen of successful rivalship fatted ; the days of her
commercial prosperity were apparently numbered.
The success of the alhes in Europe, though celebrated by the
Federal party in Newburyport as a pubUc blessing, was in fact one
of the fatal blows given to the prosperity of the town. WhUe the
Great Agitator reigned unchecked in Europe, his mania for
* On the shipping which was hauled up during the war, inverted tar barrels or
kegs were placed over the tops of the masts, to protect them from the weather ;
these were facetiously and sarcasticaUy called by the saUors " Madison's night
caps." f Newburyport Herald.

206 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
annihilating the commerce of Great Britain, and the measures he
took for carrying that object into effect, threw aU the advantages
of his gigantic plan, called the " continental system," into our
hands ; and if the risk to our commerce, under his unjustifiable
decrees, was great, the profits, in the long run, were much
greater. Hence, on the restoration of the Bourbons to the
throne of France, and consequent peace between England and the
Continent, the maritime nations of the east resumed their natural
rights on the highways of the ocean, and in the proportion with
which they thus availed themselves, was our own share diminished,
and our monopoly of the profits entirely broken up.
There was no longer room for the growth of all our Atlantic
seaports, and the shipping business naturally concentrated to a few
points ; Boston, New York and New Orleans were hereafter to be
the great marts of foreign exchange. What Newburyport and the
smaUer seaports retained, must now be secured by force of enter
prise and determination, not favoring circumstances. Reasons
have been elsewhere offered in these pages for the failure of
Newburyport at this critical juncture ; she stood stUl, and saw
her old trade dying out, with but feeble efforts to resuscitate it.
The result was its irretrievable loss.
We would not imply that all was surrendered without a struggle,
but the fortunes of the great capitahsts, with a few exceptions, had
been swallowed up by the sea, devoured by the fire, or decayed by
inaction during war; and enterprises which would once have
secured the sympathies and aid of hundreds, were now left to
languish in the hands, and hang as a dead weight on the energies
and purses, of those who stUl looked for the renovation of the town.
One of the first projects was to secure the aid of the Government
in erecting piers and beacons, for the greater safety of the naviga
tion of the river ; and for the purpose, a petition was presented to
the State Legislature for leave to cede the land to the United
States. The piers were built, but foreign vessels were not thus to
be baited to our wharves.
Looking in another direction, up the river, it was seen by some
of our shrewdest merchants, that a valuable inland trade might be
secured, were the obstructions to. its free navigation removed or

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 207
avoided, by turning its blue waters into a canal. In times past,
at favorable seasons of the year, much timber and firewood had
found its way to Newburyport on rafts down the river ; and why, if
navigation was made easy and secure, should not country produce
reach us by the same means ? The most feasible plan seemed a
canal ; and for the purpose of securing this, Messrs. Wm. Bartlett,
Moses Brown and John PettengiU obtained an Act of Incorporation,
in the spring of 1816, as " Proprietors of an Association for
Clearing and Locking the Falls in the river Merrimac." For several
years they dragged along this enterprise by the strength of their
names and means, and subscriptions were obtained in aid of the
object to a considerable amount. At one time there was $80,000
subscribed, but they were not sustained with the energy and
determined perseverance of which the project was worthy. The
Middlesex canal drew the favor of the Legislature from the object,
and directed a large portion of the inland trade to Boston, which
Nature intended should be ours.
If this work had been carried out as proposed, through Rock
ingham County, New Hampshire, to Concord, and by way of Exeter
river connecting with Portsmouth, passing, as it would on the first
named section of the route, through Chester, Candia, AUenstown
and Deerfield, a well-timbered country, the whole difficulty after
wards experienced by the town in procuring supphes of wood
required by our ship-builders, and even for fuel, would have been
avoided, and a cheap and direct supply have been always attainable.
This scarcity of fuel is indicated in the many votes of the town,
that wood coasters, who were deterred from entering our harbor by
reason of the cost of pilotage, should have this tax on their profits
reduced, by the town paying the pilots " six cents per cord for every
cord brought over the bar." *
But there was stUl another resource which promised a reasonable
reward to adventure, — the Fisheries. When the first colonists at
Plymouth, (1620,) sought a patent from King James, one argument
they used was, the profit which would accrue to the crown from
the prosecution of the fisheries. In the early records of the
" Company of Massachusetts Bay," we find that " fishermen "
* Town Records.

208 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
were one of the very few classes of persons exempt from "training."
When the treaty of peace was under consideration in 1783, Massa
chusetts desired no peace which would not secure to the United
States the freedom of the fishing grounds. In token of their
determination always to maintain their right to them, they affixed
the image of a cod to the walls of the State House, which stUl
remains. In the winter of 1816-17, the Mercantile Company* of New
buryport was formed for the purpose of prosecuting the bank
fishery, and in the spring of 1817 the company fitted out their first
vessels in this comparatively new business. It was rather a poor
year for fish, yet after paying the interest of the fund, $50,000,
the net profits were estimated at about twelve per cent. ; making
the income for the year, on the capital employed, eighteen per cent.
The number of satt employed in this business was sixty, aU schooners,
with the exception of one brig and four sloops, making an aggregate
tonnage of 2,874 ; the largest of these vessels was the Despatch,
of 118 tons, and the smallest, the Black Bird, of only 8 tons.
The fisheries have remained a permanent interest of Newbury
port; yet, for some years they have not been very profitable,
for the reasons that the fish are diminishing on their old
haunts, making good fares more uncertain ; and within two or
three years there has been a reluctance to engage in them, on
account of liabUity to interruption from British cruisers. But the
most powerful inducement to abandon the business, is the fact, that
that interpretation of the bounty laws which refuses a bounty on
any fish but cod, has obtained here.
During the war a direct tax was laid on various articles, for the
purpose of raising a revenue, but which fell so heavUy on the
industrial interests of the country as to paralyze manufacturing
interests, and produce a complete stagnation in trade. Heavy
duties were laid on carriages, and to save this tax, many persons
unhinged their vehicles; but this experiment did not save them
from the duty being levied. RetaU dealers in wines, spirits and
foreign merchandise, were forced to pay a Ucense tax, the amount
* Private and independent enterprise had been before them in this business.
See " Tonnage Table.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 209
«
of the tax being proportioned to the number of inhabitants to the
square mile in which the store licensed was located. For a district
containing over one hundred families, the "retailer's license tax"
was twenty-five doUars.
From April 13th, 1815, duties were laid oh an immense variety
of goods ; there were taxes on nearly all articles of luxury, and
licenses were required for the conduct of many branches of business
hitherto unrestricted. There was a duty on iron, candles, hats, •
umbreUas, parasols, paper, playing and visiting cards, saddles,
bridles, boots, beer, porter, and distilled spirits, cigars, Snuff, tanned
and dressed leather ; land was taxed? chaises were taxed, gold and
sUver ware, &c. These taxes it was found exceedingly difficult to
collect. On the 6th of August, 1817, there were pubUshed the
names of one hundred and ninety-five persons in this town who
refused or had neglected to pay the duties levied, and on whose
estates attachments were laid for the same ; additional Usts were
from time to time given, until the most objectionable duties were
removed, and a change in the mode of collection authorized, (1823.)
The summer of 1817 was enlivened by the visit of President
Monroe. At a town meeting held in June, a Committee of Recep
tion was appointed, of which Ebenezer Mosely, Esq., was chairman.
The town of Newbury was invited to unite in the reception
ceremonies. The arrangements were made for the reception of the
President, on Thursday, the 10th of July, but some untoward delay
prevented his arrival until the foUowing Saturday. A deputation
of the field and staff officers went as far as Ipswich to meet
him, while an escort of cavalry, under Colonel Jeremiah Coleman,
the Honorable Bailey Bartlett, Sheriff of Essex County, and suite,
the Committee of Arrangements, with a concourse of citizens in
carriages, awaited his arrival on the lower green, (Old Town.)
Here the President was briefly addressed by Colonel Mosely, in
behalf of the town, when the procession proceeded through Newbury
to High street. On reaching the Newburyport line, then South
street,* the President was saluted by a peal of bells, and the " roar
* The name of this street has recently been changed to Bromfield, in honor
of John Bromfield, Esq., who left $10,000 to the town, for the purpose
of " improving and ornamenting the streets by settingout shade trees," &c. In
14

210 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
of -cannon from Captain Coffin's well discipUned corps of artillery."
A multitude of citizens had gathered at this point, and his welcome
Was most enthusiastic. The procession moved up High street to the
mall, where the Washington Light Infantry company, under Captain
Balch, awaited 'the procession. Here the President passed under a
civic arch, decorated with flowers, and along each side, were
arranged, forming a Uving avenue, one thousand eight hundred and
fifty chUdren, chiefly puptts of the public schools of the town and
vicinity. From the front of the Court House, hung a flag which
had been borne in the battles of the Revolution. The President
was then conducted to the " Wolfe Tavern," where a dinner was
provided. Here was another concourse of people, and being fairly
within the town, and its guest, another address was made to the
President by the chairman of the Committee of Arrangements. At
the dinner, General Swift presided, and many distinguished guests
were present, among whom were General Dearborn, Brigadier Gen
eral MUler, General Brickett, Commodore Bainbridge,  Mason
and suite, Doctor Waterhouse, clergymen, and others. During
the dinner, a portrait painter procured, unseen, the opportunity of
sketching the President as he sat at table, and secured of him an
excellent and most life-like portrait. After dinner, the President
proceeded, without escort, to New Hampshire.
Those whose, memories can carry them back to the winter of
1816-17, will not fail to recollect the excitement occasioned by the
rumored highway robbery and assault committed upon the person of
Major Elijah P. Goodrich, an individual belonging to Maine, then
residing near the Essex Merrimac bridge. From the condition in
which the major was found, stripped, mutUated, and deprived of
his senses, it was readily believed that a most outrageous and
dangerous crime had been committed on the pubhc highway. On
recovering his reason, the major stated, "that he had just reached
the brow of the hill, on the south-westerly side of the chain-bridge,
when he was beset by three men, pulled from his horse, dragged
over a fence into a field, and there beaten and robbed of every
thing valuable in his possession." A pistol-shot wound was found
March, 1851, a committee of five persons was appointed " to receive and ex
pend the interest of the donation, according to the will of the donor."

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 211
on the left hand, and his arm was stabbed with a knife " taken,"
as he said, " from his own pocket." The community was greatly
excited by the additions to and reiterations of Goodrich's story,
especially as an attempt had been made, the same night, to break
open a store on Cornhill. The major offered a reward of $300 for
the discovery of the robbers and assassins. But the town speedtty
filled up a subscription paper, by which a reward of $1,000 was
offered for the detection of the villains ; and the advice was
pubhcly given that " until this gang of desperadoes was arrested,
citizens, necessarily out in the evening, should go armed; and the
proposal was made to double the number of watchmen employed by
the town. Several persons were arrested on suspicion, but nothing
was proved against them. As inquiries multiplied upon the major,
and it became necessary to particularize, he stated, " that while
being robbed, he counterfeited death, Falstaff fashion, for fear of
meeting with the reality, until two of them had quitted him and
gone to some distance, when he suddenly and valiantly sprung upon
the other, and overpowered him for a time, but that finally this third
man escaped." At last, the major so far forgot the consistency
necessary to fiction, as to accuse a worthy and upright citizen of
the town, and a personal friend of his own, of aiding and abetting
in the robbery. '
During the examination which foUowed, among the other efforts
used to solve this mysterious affair, an appliance of the Dark Ages
was brought into use. . Search was made far and near for some
one skilled in the use of the divining rod. And now behold !- in
the nineteenth century, and in the State of Massachusetts, a scene
that should have been reserved for the Middle Ages, and some dark
corner of the earth, where the light of science had never penetrated !
A Uttle, withered old mail, ycleped a wizard, armed with a twig of
witchhazel, with the mystic OBI* wound on the larger end, was
actuaUy seen traversing the highways of Essex north, and seeking,
under supernal and infernal guidance, the buried gold which the
credulous stUl believed these obhvious robbers had concealed some
where in the neighborhood of the bridge. But the charm would
not work, the rod would not dip, and the treasure remained
undiscovered, as still did the robbers.
* *A piece of leather dipped in the ashes of a witch.

212 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
And thus, after months of excitement and alarm to the timid,
having exhausted legal and supernatural means for the discovery
of the perpetrators of this high-handed outrage, the conviction
forced itself on the minds of the community, that no robbery had
been committed, no assault perpetrated, and that Major Ehjah P.
Goodrich was but the synonyme for treachery, imposture and
swindler. The man had thus robbed and mutilated himself for the
sake of avoiding some pecuniary obhgations, and for months
managed to deceive and impose on the public, and keep the proof,
if not the suspicion, of the deed from himself. It is needless to
add that he soon removed from this part of the country, carrying
with him nothing but the contempt and execration of the community
he had so shamefully abused.
In 1820 a convention was called for revising the Constitution of
Massachusetts ; the delegates from Newburyport were the Hon. S.
S. WUde,* Hon. WiUiam B. Banister, Rev. John Andrews, Dr.
Nathan Noyes, William Bartlett, Esq., and James Prince, Esq., all
FederaUsts but Dr. Noyes and Mr. Prince, who were designated
Republicans. One of the most important amendments proposed at
this convention, was a plan for enlarging the freedom of the indi
vidual, by a change in the management of religious bodies and paro
chial affairs. But some unacceptable clause in the drawing of the
amendment, caused it to be rejected by the people ; and the fuU
freedom they sought was not attained until 1834. In the same
way, various other desirable propositions were lost, because linked
with something which was not wanted. The people prpved to have
very dear ideas of their own political needs, and no conglomerate
substitute, in Ueu of the substance they desired, prepared by
interested leaders, could find acceptance with them. This conven
tion sat fifty-six days.
When the town, nineteen years later, was caUed to vote on an
amendment to the Constitution of the State, removing the " property
qualification" for voters for Senators, the yeas were given, 206 to 6
nays, showing a state of feeling in the community, highly liberal,
and practically Democratic. * Hon. Judge Wilde, now of Boston.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 213
This year Maine was created a State, and admitted into the
Union. The province of Maine had been purchased by the Massa
chusetts colony in 1677, of Sir Fernando Georges, for £1,250 ; it
had thus remained, under the jurisdiction of Massachusetts, until
this time. A reservation of certain lands was, however, made by
Massachusetts, the claims to which have but recently been extin
guished. The sale of Maine lands, was a permanent source of
income applied to the increase of the State School fund.
A new phase of the town was now exhibited : the era of rapidly
acquiring was past, and that of smaU savings was introduced ;
economy was now the watchword of the town, which had previously
been the centre of extended and munificent liberality. To save was
become a cardinal virtue, since to make was become an impossible
one. One permanent and valuable institution arose out of this pros
tration of hope and ambition, the Savings Bank, which was first
opened to the pubhc on Wednesday, the 5th of AprU, 1820 ; the
doors remained open but one hour between twelve and one, during
which time twenty-four persons deposited four hundred and sixty-
five doUars ; the deposits being principally made by mechanics,
laborers, domestics, and for minors. The next week there was
deposited by twenty-five persons, one thousand three hundred and
seventeen dollars ; one mechanic brought two hundred dollars, mostly
in change, which he had saved little by little, and which had been
lying an unproductive hoard upon his hands. The number of
depositors and the amount placed in the institution, have gradually
increased, until the trustees have at their disposal over one million
of dollars. The value of such an institution cannot be overrated.
Its existence has proved the turning-point in the character of many
individuals and families, who have thus been enabled to preserve,
not only the money there deposited, which would otherwise have been
absorbed in unnecessary, and scarcely observable expenses, but of
greater consequence still, it has encouraged habits of temperance
and frugality among that class to whom these virtues are of the
first necessity in shielding them from self-induced, and therefore
degrading poverty. The Savings Institution of Newburyport was
estabhshed rather as a benevolent undertaking, than with any view
to profits by the originators, which result is indeed excluded by their

214 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
own by-laws ; which provide, " that none of the trustees shall
receive any compensation for their services," no salary being
attached to any office, but that of " treasurer, or such other officer
as may be found necessary."
In 1854 was incorporated the " Newburyport Five Cent Savings
Bank," which extends the principles of the "Savings Bank," by
offering facilities to chUdren, to deposit for safe keeping the small
sum of half a dime, and putting upon interest all deposits amounting
to three dollars. The President of this institution is J. B. Morse,
Esq. ; Secretary, Rev. D. P. Pike.
Newburyport has always made good provision for its ^poor. In
1816-17, so comfortable were the quarters for the town's poor found,
that many idle and vicious persons chose rather to remain depend
ent and well fed, in the Alms House, than to make the necessary
exertion to support themselves ; and the expenses of this depart
ment becoming thus exceedingly burdensome, a committee was ap
pointed in 1817 to ascertain what measures could be adopted to
reduce them. In the winter of this year there were in the Alms
House one hundred and three persons, and in other houses owned
by the town, fifty-one who were partially supported, and one hun
dred and fifty other families who received occasional supplies of fuel,
&c. Of the number in the Alms House, fourteen were above seventy
years of age, seven were idiots, or partially insane persons, twenty-
four were chUdren, and thirty-three foreigners and transient persons ;
twenty-five of the number were intemperate, or otherwise suffering
from vice. In view of these facts, the committee suggested that a
distinction should be made, and a more rigorous discipline adopted
towards those who were criminal rather than unfortunate.
Spinning had already been introduced into the women's depart
ment ; and the men were now variously employed in working on a
farm and vegetable garden belonging to the town ; and at times upon
repairing the streets and highways. The introduction of this system
had the desired effect of sifting out the idle and unworthy from the
unfortunate poor, without detracting from the usual comforts of the
latter. In March, 1821, the town voted to erect for the better accommo
dation of the poor, a " three-story brick building on the south-

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 215
easterly side of the old house," at an estimated cost of from twenty
to twenty-five thousand doUars, which vote was carried out in the
subsequent erection of the buUding, appropriated to their use at the
present time.
The next year the shambles of the itinerant butchers, which had
occupied the space in the Market square, left vacant by the removal
of the old meeting-house of the first church, were removed, and the
present brick market-house was buUt, the haU of which, before the
seats were put in, was occupied as a chair factory'.
The " Navigation Law," which went into effect this year, (1820,)
restricting vessels from bringing the produce of the British colonies
to ports of the United States, or taking cargoes from here,* very
injuriously affected our shipping interest, as many vessels were
engaged in the eastern trade, while the exorbitant duties imposed
by France, and some other of the continental nations, on American
goods and tonnage, tended greatly to depress maritime enterprise.
France followed this mistaken policy to such an absurd length, that
it amounted to an entire prohibition of intercourse. In September
of 1820, the ship Jane, Captain John M. MUtimore, of Newbury
port, arrived at Bordeaux from Norfolk, and found, on arrival there,
a new tonnage duty of eighteen dollars per ton,] to have paid which,
would have consumed the value of the vessel and her cargo. Cap
tain MUtimore took the wise, prompt, and decisive step of proceeding
at once to Paris, and applying to the American Consul, and Mr.
Albert GaUatin, then our Minister at the Court of St. Cloud, repre
senting to them the unfortunate position his vessel was in. Mr.
Gallatin, though despairing of' success, took up the subject, and laid
the case before the Government. A favorable reply was received,
and the duty in this case removed, and afterwards modified.
* The origin of the custom, prevalent in many parts of New England, of
eating salt fish for dinner every Saturday, is traced to these restrictions upon
exports. The fish that was formerly destined to the West Indies, was system-
aticaUy and patriotically consumed for the benefit of the fishermen.*
\ Commercial Reading Room News Book, November, 1820.

216 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
In 1821, Judges Thatcher* and Wilde were appointed by the
town a committee to report on the expediency of introducing the
Lancasterian, or monitorial system of teaching into the pubhc schools.
Their recommendation in favor of the experiment was, during the
next year, carried into execution, reducing the four male writing
schools to two Lancasterian schools. The friends of this system
were at the commencement .peculiarly fortunate in the teachers
selected to carry out the new plan ; and much of the success was
fairly attributable to the tact and extraordinary exertions of " Master
Coolidge," f an experienced and devoted teacher; but with the
introduction of new men, the monitorial system began to fail, and
graduaUy fell into decadence, and in the course of a few years
the advocates of the system found but slight support, and a gradual
return to the old plan excited no united opposition. It was customary
in these Lancasterian schools to give rewards to the best scholars.
In the town expenses for the year 1825 J is this item: " Seventy-
three dollars for rewards for Lancasterian scholars."
To show that capitalists were not quite idle during this depressed
period of the town's history, there may be instanced the building of
the Newburyport bridge, crossing the Merrimac from the foot of
Summer street to the Salisbury shore, for which a charter was
obtained in 1826, and which was opened for travel on the 1st Septem
ber, 1827. The cost of its erection was $70,000, the stock being
divided into one thousand shares. Its construction was opposed by
those interested in the Essex Merrimac bridge, as it was anticipated
that it would largely divert travel from the latter. The efforts of
its opponents were as ineffectual as their fears were prophetic. The
Newburyport bridge saved to travellers from Hampton, Portsmouth,
* Hon. George Thatcher, a native of Biddeford, Maine, who resided in
Newburyport for several years.
¦f Town Records.
X An African School, for colored children, was at this time supported. The
few colored chUdren now in the town are taught in the common public schools,
being also eUgible candidates for the " Putnam Free School," no distinction
being observed on account of color. This class of the population has greatly
diminished. A locaUty in the neighborhood of the old burying hUl, where a
number of colored famuies reside, and which was formerly more populous, is
still called " Guinea."

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 217
and the eastward, a circuitous ride of some three mUes, landing
them in the business centre of Newburyport, instead of three miles
north of it. The first year the tolls amounted to $2,783.53, and
the next year they nearly doubled, being $4,358.05. The present
rate of tolls is equal to six per cent, on shares of $43 par value.
A factory for the production of hosiery* was also established about
this time, (1825.) It kept in operation twenty looms, making from
two to three hundred pair of stockings per week, and employing from
forty to fifty operatives, chiefly females.
In 1827, Edmund Bartlett, Esq., established a lace school, which
contained at one time ninety pupils, who were first instructed in
working lace, and then employed in its production, — a very oppor
tune enterprise, when so few sources were open to female labor.
While the style of lace wrought continued in fashion, this employ
ment went far towards supporting many indigent families.
Just after the termination of the Greek Revolution,' 1830, an
association was formed in this place for the purpose of establishing
schools in Greece. A primary school was commenced in Athens,
from funds raised by the " Richmond Circle," and at a fair held in
May, 1833, six hundred and fifty-nine doUars were raised in aid of
this cause.
From time to time various plans were devised for mitigating the
evUs arising from an indiscriminate sale of spirituous liquors in the
town. One of the most novel plans was suggested in 1820, by a
committee appointed by the town, "to consider the abuses of the
liquor licenses," appointed at the request of Moses Brown' and
others, ©n inquiry, the committee found that many poor persons,
who had received clothing and other supphes from the town, were
in the habit of exchanging these for liquor, and that some minors
had actually committed thefts for the sake of obtaining the means
of maintaining their credit at the bars of the retail liquor dealers.
Under these circumstances, finding the poor-tax . of the town thus
improperly increased, and vice directly generated, the committee
*In 1830 the American Institute awarded a diploma for hosiery made at
this factory, and exhibited at the fair of that institution, held in New York in
November. This concern, with the machinery, was sold at auction in 1833.

218 HISTORY OE NEWBURYPORT.
recommended, " that the selectmen make out a list of all the common
drunkards in the town, and have their names posted up in every
shop licensed to seU liquor," with the explioit understanding that the
license should be taken away if they furnished any such persons or
youth with liquor.
For several successive years after the organization of the Wash
ington Total Abstinence Society, the town granted them the free use
of Market Hall for public meetings, on Sabbath evenings ; and in
various other ways facUitated the movements of the temperance
societies formed in the place, regarding the diffusion of temperance
principles as a direct exterminator of poverty and idleness.
The winter of 1820-21 was remarkable for the intensity and
endurance of the cold. The Merrimac was frozen over to Black
Rocks, and the vessels in the river were blockaded as effectuaUy as
if an armament opposed their egress. On the 26th of January, the
temperature by different thermometers in town varied from 18° to
20° below zero. A memorandum, entered in the journal of William
G. White, Esq., reads: "The river has been closed for two days.
This day, January 26th, (Friday,) multitudes have passed and
repassed. One team of two yokes of cattle brought over a load of
wood ; others with hay, &c. You may travel with safety from
HaverhUl and above, down to the light-houses, [on Plum Island,]
and so over to Black Rocks. This is the first time the river has
been so completely closed since 1780." The opportunity was taken
to measure the width of the river from two points. From the lower
part of Ferry-way wharf to SaUsbury shore, at low-water mark, the
distance was found to be seventy-two rods ; and from Brown's wharf
to the opposite shore, ninety rods. Much damage was done by the
cold. Many fruit trees were split by the frost, and several cattle,
during the night, were frozen to death. For eleven weeks there was
excellent sleighing ; when, during the first week in February, a sudden
change in the weather took place, with rain and thaw. The mer
cury rose to 50°, making a difference of sixty-eight degrees in one
week. In August of 1824, the town was called to participate in the
general joy which pervaded the nation on the return of La Fayette

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 219
to this country. At a town meeting held August 23d, the selectmen,
with ten other gentlemen, were appointed a committee to make
arrangements for his reception on his expected visit to the town.
The usual mUitary escort was provided, and much the same order of
arrangements prepared as in the reception of Washington and
Monroe ; but La Fayette's entrance occurring in the evening, and
during a shower of rain, necessitated changes to suit the time and
circumstances. The General made his entry, like his Ulustrious
predecessors, Washington and President Monroe, over the Parker
river bridge, and thence, through Oldtown, to High street, where he
was saluted with national honors by the military, a signal-gun being
fired from the summit of Oldtown Hill, informing the inhabitants of
Newburyport of his arrival at the boundaries of the town, and as a
timely intimation for them to illuminate their dwellings.
James Prince, Esq., who now occupied the house formerly owned
by Nathaniel Tracy, Esq., the host of President Washington on the
occasion of his visit, now offered the use of the same mansion to
General La Fayette and his suite. The pleasure of the coincidence
was increased from the fact that the same chamber which Washington
occupied, with the bed and other furniture, had been retained in the
mansion when it changed proprietors, and was now offered for the
repose of La Fayette.
In the morning, an hour after breakfast was devoted by the
General to the reception of company, among whom he had the
pleasure of welcoming an old companion-in-arms, Daniel Foster,
Esq., to whom the General had presented a sword when the former
held the rank of Serjeant in La Fayette's Select Corps of Infantry,
during the war of the Revolution.
A procession had been planned for the mOrning, which, on account
of the unfavorable state of the weather, was abandoned ; though the
schools were paraded "the first fair day" after the General's
departure. The meals were prepared, and the tables arranged for the town's
distinguished guest, by Mr. Prince Stetson, who kept a hotel on the
corner of State and Temple streets. His son Charles, (now of the
widely reputed firm of " Coleman & Stetson," proprietors of the
Astor House, New York,) a lad of thirteen, acted as valet de cham-
bre to the General.

220 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
The settlement of the " Massachusetts claims " was long a subject
of engrossing interest among the politicians of the day. The claims,
thus designated, were demands on the General Government for
reimbursement of certain moneys expended during the war of 1812,
in the payment of soldiers, and defence of the State. These claims
by Massachusetts were resisted on the part of the Government, oh
the ground that the Governor of the Commonwealth, Caleb Strong,
had assumed the position " that the mUitia' could not be called out
without the consent of the Chief Executive of the State, with the
advice and consent of the Council;" and farther, that if consent-
was thus given, " they should bo commanded by none other than
State officers, excepting, always, the President of the United States."
This position was sustained by the town of Newburyport in their
several addresses to the Governor and Council in 1812 ; while the
Secretary of War peremptorily declared, that unless the militia of
Massachusetts was put under United States officers, the Government
would pay none of the expenses incurred by the State ; and on this
question, issue was subsequently taken.
During the Presidency of James Monroe , the attention of Congress
was particularly called to these claims, and a distmction was
attempted to be made between the services of militia " patriot
ically and spontaneously rendered," and those which were not, by
designating particularly the services of the Fifth Division of the
Massachusetts Mihtia as of the former character. The President,
also, in his message to Congress, February, 1824, recommended
payment for " services actually rendered," but on the untenable
ground that "the present Executive [Eustis] had abandoned the
principle assumed by Strong, and therefore the Government could
consistently settle the claims ; " thus making their payment depend
ent, not on the justice or injustice of the demand, but on the shade
of political opinion entertained by the Governor who happened for
the moment to occupy the chair of state. Of these claims, a portion
was due to citizens of Newburyport. The whole amount claimed
was about $400,000, of which $227,176.48 were admitted by the
Secretary of War, in 1837, to be properly vouched, but none of
which, up to this day, (1854,) has been paid.
The militia, the object of so much solicitude during the early

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 221
history of the country, had long been falhng into disrepute ; a sys
tem adapted to the period of its organization, (1792,) when the
population was comparatively small, the country sparsely settled, and
the danger of invasion by no means remote, was an unwieldy, imprac
ticable and unnecessary body forty years later,, when the population
had increased to some fourteen milhons, the Government was
firmly established, and the danger from foreign aggression reduced
to its minimum. True, the militia system had been revised and
patched up at intervals, but fundamental objections remained to it.
One of these was the immense number of men which it assumed to
hold in service ; and also the number of days appointed for training,
which being sufficient to prove expensive and burdensome, were also
felt to be inadequate to the professed object in view, viz., the acquisi
tion of a perfect knowledge of military tactics. The greater inherent
evil, however, was the destruction of military ardor and the true mili
tary spirit, which were extinguished by the system latterly adopted,
of accepting a small annual tax, in Ueu of actual service ; thus vir
tually exempting the wealthier portion of the community, and by
inference degrading the militia, by filling its ranks with men from
that class of society who felt even a small money tax to be a
burden, but who yet paid a heavier one by the consumption of their
time in musters and trainings. The musters themselves were
deemed by many, as so many occasions of ministering to vice and
immorality, by the inducements to intemperance and other excesses,
frequently indulged in by the crowds attracted together at these
annual displays.
Originally, the miUtia men had been required to provide their
own equipments, but in 1808 this ground was abandoned, and the
National Government undertook to furnish them ; but the appro
priations were so inadequate as to amount to a mere trifle, when
divided among the States. Massachusetts then provided by law?
(1810,) that the several towns should furnish them, first, to such
as were unable to procure them for themselves, and then success
ively to those to whom the tax was inconveniently great. The
fund from which these equipments were furnished was derived from
the taxes imposed upon certain conditional exempts. This fund
had accumulated- so fast in Newburyport, where unusual dttigence
was exercised in exacting it, that in 1819, the selectmen wrote to

222 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
the Adjutant General of the Commonwealth " to know what they
should do with it ; having already in store six times as many arms
as were demanded for the use of the companies here." The
Adjutant General, WUUam H. Sumner, in replying, advised that
the money be expended in procuring " uniforms for the men, and
everything necessary for their comfort and convenience."
A proposition was agitated at this time to divide the County of
Essex, so as to cut off the -southern portion, and unite several of
the river towns in a new county, to be called " Merrimac." Had
this been carried out several years earher, the company formed for
the purpose of " clearing the Merrimac," and rendering it nav
igable, very possibly might not have been crushed out of existence,
by the success of the Middlesex canal, as all these river towns
would then have had a united, in place of a divided, interest.
Every change in the men and measures of the town, each new
era of prosperity or depression, was marked with the execution of
some work, or the broaching of some project, best adapted to that
particular epoch. Thus, the calm which enveloped in an enervating
atmosphere, and effectually shrouded the speculative eyes of enter
prise, was a time favorable to patient dehberation, and to the
adjustment of small but complicated affairs. For sixty-two years
had the claims of the " proprietors of common and undivided lands "
been perpetuaUy thrust in the way of the town, when any plan for
the improvement of the public ways or lands was suggested. Did
the town grant leave for a new wharf to be built, or did the select
men undertake to lay out a new landing, or a more convenient road
to burying hill, or common pasture, there was almost certain to
arise some unwelcome proprietary claim, interfering with and
delaying, if not eventually preventing, the completion of the work.
And as the number of proprietors was largely increased by time,
some having become such by purchase, while heirs had multiplied
on the number of original grantees, new perplexities were each year
added to the past.
In 1826, were happily terminated these conflicting claims, which
had for more than half a century marred the executive action of
the town. These endlessly recurring controversies between the

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 223
town and the " proprietors' committee," were finally terminated by
the latter giving to the town a deed of all the lands claimed by
them, within the hmits of Newburyport, for the sum of $1,200.
The right to prosecute these claims, on the part of the proprietors,
was a natural right, as well as a legal one ; . yet were they some
times vexatiously, and often inopportunely, insisted upon, and their
permanent extinguishment reheved the town from many embarrass
ments in which it had become involved while these claims were
unsettled,* and which, once canceUed, cleared away all legal
obstructions to comprehensive plans of improvement.
The same year a survey of the harbor was made by Lieutenant
Colonel John Anderson, of the United States Topographical En
gineers; and in 1829, Congress appropriated $30,000 for the
purpose of constructing a breakwater, which it was believed would
materially deepen the water on the bar and improve the harbor.
The work was commenced the same year, but it was found that an
additional appropriation would be required, and the work was not
completed unttt 1831, and unfortunately did not prove of so much
benefit as was anticipated. This structure was nineteen hundred
feet long, bearing north-west across the mouth of Plum Island river.
It was aUowed to go to decay ; nearly the last remains of it being
dispersed in the gale of 1851.
In 1832, the Police Court was estabhshed in Newburyport. In
1852, (when the city charter was granted,) the existence of the
Pohce Court was confirmed, and an additional act passed for its
" better establishment."
The whaling business at one time promised to become a perma
nent interest of Newburyport. In 1833, three ships, the Merrimac,
Navy, and Adeline, were engaged in the business, employing a
hundred men or more ; and the next year, another ship was added
to the little fleet. The first efforts of the several whaling companies
were successful, but some temporary discouragements arising, the
enterprise was abandoned, and the fortunes which were finally
..* In 1826, the proprietors endeavored to eject the town from the Market
House, claiming the land on which it stood.

224 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
made in the whale fishery, went to buUd up the prosperity of other
towns. The fur seal fishery was also prosecuted by citizens of Newbury
port for some years ; but that has also been abandoned.
The principal manufactures and mechanical employments followed
during this period, in addition to those dependent on the shipping
interest, such as rope-making, which in 1825 produced cordage
to the amount of $70,000 annually ; there might be enumerated,
tanning, morocco-dressing, to the amount of 10,000 skins anhuaUy,
wool-pulling, the manufacture of gold and silver articles, particu
larly beads, thimbles, and silver spoons ; these latter were produced
to the amount of from $40,000 to $50,000 annually. The hat
business employed a capital of $17,000, ten manufacturers
being engaged in the production of fur and plated hats ; while
combs to the value of $183,000 were annually produced. Chairs *
were made in large quantities, while hoisery, yarn, cotton, batting,
lace, and other manual and mechanical products, gave variety to
the interests concentrated here. Printing and publishing were
also more extensively carried on than since modern facihties for
travelling have brought us within two hours' reach of the metropolis.
Chaises, to the number of one hundred per annum, were made for
many years.
In 1834, there were 'twenty-eight ships, - twenty-six brigs, one
hundred and forty-five schooners, four barques, and four sloops, in
the District of Newburyport, and nearly all owned here.
Two hundred years had rolled away since " Newbury was
allowed to be a plantation ; " her " twenty-three freemen " had grown
to many thousands ; two new towns had been taken from her terri
tory (Newburyport and West Newbury ;) and as the descendants
of those early pioneers exulted in the present blessings of spiritual
and civil freedom, and saw themselves surrounded with every source
of prosperity and happiness which usually falls to the lot of
humanity, their hearts swelled with gratitude to those who had
* Of chairs there were made about two hundred per day, not painted. The
comb factory employed from thirty to forty hands. Manufacture of tobacco
about twenty hands.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 225
broken the wUderness and tamed the ruggedness of nature, that
their children might be reared in a pure faith on a free soil.
As the Second Centennial Anniversary* of the settlement of New
bury drew near, the feeling arose spontaneously and simultaneously,
in the hearts of the people, to celebrate, by appropriate ceremonies,
an event so important and interesting. Citizens of Newburyport
met for consultation, and appointed the 26th of May for a public
celebration, inviting Newbury and West Newbury to participate.
A spacious pavihon was erected, on rising ground, near the New
bury Town House, (now the Brown High School buUding,) and
extensive preparations were made for the reception of friends from
abroad, as well as the citizens generally.
At sunrise on the. appointed day a salute of twenty-four guns was
fired. At ten o'clock a procession was formed at the Newbury Town
House, which was escorted by the Boston Brigade Band, Newbury
port Artillery Company, and Byfield Rifle Company. After
marching through the principal streets, they repaired to the Pleas
ant Street Church, where an address was delivered by Hon. Caleb
Cushing. An ode and a hymn, written for the occasion by Hon.
George Lunt, of Boston, were sung, and on the conclusion of the
exercises at the church, the company retired to the pavUion, where
dinner was provided for seven hundred persons. Among the par
ticipants in the celebration was Lieut. Gov. Armstrong, Hon.
Messrs. Edward Everett, PhilUps, Cushing and Lunt, Colonel Win
throp, (a lineal descendant of Governor Winthrop,) and Col. Swett,
of Boston, Col. S. L. Knapp, Judge White of Salem, Gov. William
Plummer of New Hampshire, the Hon. Levi Cutter, Mayor of
Portland, Nehemiah Cleveland, Preceptor of Dummer Academy,
with other distinguished men. The speeches and sentiments fol
lowing the dinner were of a high order ; many interesting reminis
cences of the olden times carried back the mind of the listener,
through intervening centuries, till they rested on that prolific source
of aU which they had met to commemorate, — the little company in
the Mayflower, which, under a guiding Providence, had founded the
State, under whose broad segis they were then assembled. Every
* The First Centennial Anniversary was celebrated on the premises of Col.
Joseph Coffin, an ancestor of Joshua Coffin, Esq., of Newbury.
15

226 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
heart beat responsive to the words of the poet of the day, as
expressed in his paean to the heroes of
THE MAYFLOWER.
" Sweet as the honored name
Their storm-tossed shallop bore ;
The memory of our fathers' fame,
And green for evermore.
Peace to their hallowed graves,
That consecrate the ground,
Where first a refuge from the waves
Their pilgrim footsteps found.
What mortal sighs and tears
Swelled on that wintry sod !
How cast they all their cares and fears,
And every hope on God !
And wild as winds, that sweep
Along the savage shore,
Rose thoughts of homes beyond the deep,
Their pleasant homes no more.
But grander visions greet
Their prophet-Ughted eyes,
They trod the world beneath their feet,
And marched to join the skies.
Triumphant over earth,
Faith, that their spirits fed,
Beamed, like a gem of priceless worth,
On each uplifted head.
No flaming sign they sought
To light their venturous road,
They owned the unseen Hand that wrought,
And in His strength abode.
But to their soul's desire,. —
Though dark to mortal view, -r—
The daUy cloud and mighty fire
Shone, clear as Jacob knew.
Vain doubt, and fear, and care,
The desert and the flood, —
They knew the God they served was there,
And in His name they stood.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 227
Thoughts more than human great,
Came to their spirits' call ;
And thus they buUt the stable State,
In Him their hope, their all.
And far as rolls the swell
Of Time's returnless sea,
Where empires rise and nations dwell,
Their pilgrim fame shall be ! " *
So unwitting was the company to break off the renewed inter
course with long separated friends, which this celebration had called
together, that those in the pavilion did not disperse unttt the
last rays of the setting sun warned them of the absolute necessity
of bringing their festivities to a close.
In the evening the ladies of the town gave a tea-party at Wash
ington Hall, the waUs of which were covered with paintings,
engravings, mirrors, and flowers, giving to it an exceedingly ani
mated and pleasing appearance ; some ancient furniture was also
procured, and to make the illusion as complete as possible, some
young ladies occupied the antique chairs, arrayed in the costumes of
a hundred and fifty years ago. Among the paintings of interest
exhibited, was a portrait of Colonel Moses Titcomb, who fell at the
battle of Lake George, in 1775 ; and relics of Captain Stephen
Greenleaf, who was shot by a party of Indians in 1695.f
One of the permanent results of this celebration was the forma
tion of a " Society for the Relief of Aged Females." The ladies
who procured subscriptions for getting up the tea-party, having a
small surplus above expenses, decided to make it the nucleus of a
fund for assisting aged females in depressed circumstances ; and the
formation of the above society was the result of that determination.
In 1839 Mr. WUUam Gordan, a native of Norway, resident in
Newburyport, bequeathed the society nine hundred dollars, the
whole of his estate. * Subsequent bequests have added to its perma
nent fund. The first of May (1854) was observed as a " May
day festival " for the benefit cf this society, when nearly eight hun
dred dollars were added to its treasury.
* " Lyric Poems," by Hon. George Lunt, 1854. f See page 41.

PERIOD YI

RESUSCITATION, ANNEXATION, CITY CHARTER.
The revival of enterprise in Newburyport, its increase in popula
tion, and the gradual breaking up of the stereotyped complaints,
that " Newburyport plans were especially distasteful to Providence,"
are mainly attributable to the introduction of the cotton manufacture,
though the first estabhshed mill (the " Essex," in 1834,) failed to
bring heavy dividends to the first stockholders. But since the
erection of the Bartlett MiUs, in 1838, followed in quick succession
by the James, Globe, and Ocean, a new impetus was given to the
whole business of the town, which gradually began to change its
outward appearance, with the influx of a large floating population.
State street, the principal rendezvous of the dry goods merchants,
doffed its old exterior of small windows, carefully curtained, lest
the sun or customers should see the goods intended for sale, and in
their place appeared large plate glass, granite fronts, and a liberal
display of colors, in cheerful contrast to the old secretive style of
doing business.
The addition of several hundred to the population in so short a
time, tended to modify the exclusiveness of old established castes
in society, which forty years of comparative inertia had produced,
and strangers received a readier admission to guarded circles, as
they became more numerous. Business was also revivified. The
fifteen hundred added to the manufacturing population are aU
consumers, and brought in their train an increase of retail traders ;
whUe other concurring events favored that elasticity of the pubhc
mind which opens the way to public improvements and municipal
prosperity. Among these was the distribution of the surplus

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 229
revenue, the opening of the Eastern Railroad to Newburyport, the
change in regard to public sentiment on female education, • the
temperance reformation, the maturity of the Putnam School fund,
the opening of the Magnetic Telegraph line, the Newburyport
RaUroad, &c.
The Washingtonian temperance movement commenced in the
winter of 1841, and the " Washington Total Abstinence Society "
was formed in May of that year. A general interest on the subject
pervaded the community ; during the first six months of the existence
of the society, over eight hundred doUars were paid into the
treasury, and the number of shops where spirituous liquors were
sold was reduced from eighty to twenty, in less than one year, by
moral means alone. A female temperance society was formed in
June, called the Martha Washington Society, members of which
circulated a " pledge against all that would intoxicate " through the
town, and obtained in a few weeks eleven hundred signatures,
raising also the sum of two hundred and eighty-two dollars the first
year of their efforts. Part of the funds raised by these temper
ance societies, with large .quantities of clothing, was appropriated
to the relief of families who had been reduced to poverty by the
intemperance of their natural protectors.
Four years later a division of the Sons of Temperance was
formed in the town, the " Merrimac Division, No. 11." Its object
being to connect the usual objects of temperance societies with a
system of benefits to members in case of sickness, or of death in
their families. It is to some extent a secret society.
In 1836, the national treasury of the United States was over
flowing. The revenue for some years past had so largely exceeded
the expenses, that it was resolved to relieve the treasury by
distributing a portion of the fund thus accumulated to the several
States, -and on the 1st of January, 1837, $36,000,000 was thus
disposed of, each State receiving a sum proportioned to their elec
toral representation ; and to Massachusetts the sum of $1,784,231
was awarded. This the State distributed to the several cities and
towns, by a rule of division which gave to Newburyport nearly
$15,000. The disposal of this money was a stock subject of
discussion in the town meetings, for some six years, before its
appropriation was finally agreed upon.

230 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
On the 10th of July, 1837, the town voted " not to receive their
portion of the surplus revenue ; " but on the 31st of the same
month, they reconsidered that determination, concluded to accept
it, and appointed Mr. Moses Merrill as the agent to receive it. On
the 27th of September it was voted " to loan the money just
received, to the Commonwealth, at five per cent, interest, and apply
the income to the payment of the poll taxes." This vote was par
tially carried into effect, and the town treasurer received the
certificate of the Commonwealth for the sum, which was exactly
$14,843. The next proposition was to recall the money and dis
tribute it per capita ; but this was beheved by many to involve
insuperable difficulties, and its legality was at once questioned;
neither did it meet the approbation of the majority of the town, who
desired to see it applied to some permanent and public use. A vote
was however procured at a meeting held on the 15th of November,
1838, to recall the money from the hands of the State Treasurer, to
whom it had been committed, and to make the proposed distribu
tion, " each individual to give his receipt to the town for the same."
Before this could be carried into execution, some citizens, opposed
to the measure, applied for an injunction, which was granted by the
Supreme Judicial Court, which effectually restrained the execution
of the vote of November 15th.
At a meeting held December 24th, all preceding votes were
reconsidered, and the town treasurer was directed to procure legal
advice on the subject. In the mean time, various propositions were
made ; such as to loan the money at a nominal rate of interest, to
all the inhabitants who might apply for it, and a more reasonable
one, to lend it at a low rate to such as could offer good security ;
neither of which! propositions prevailed. In the spring of 1843, the
agent holding the money (Mr. Merrill,) died, and the executors
transferred it to the town treasury, and on the 1st of June it was
finally appropriated as follows :
To the School Department, $5,000
To the Fire Department, 5,000
Balance, for repairs of highways and other property of the town.*
A motion to reconsider this vote was lost, 177 to 91,. and the
* Including a brick barn for the Poor Department.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 231
selectmen were directed to " expend the money during the financial
year, as soon as possible after the removal of the injunction could
be obtained."
The injunction was procured on the ground that " the town had
no right to appropriate the surplus revenue to any other purposes
than such for which they might lawfully raise money in their cor
porate capacity ; " and a distribution, or general and unsecured
loan to individuals, was therefore accounted illegal.
During the winter of 1840, a public appeal was made for funds to
complete the Bunker Hill Monument, and extensive arrangements
were made to hold a fair at Quincy HaU, in Boston, to aid in the
object. The appeal met with a very general response. A meeting
was held at Market Hall, in this town, July 24th, and a committee
of gentlemen and ladies was appointed to procure aid for the " fair,"
and in September, four hundred and fifty dollars in money and arti
cles were contributed.
The late Miss Lucy Hooper, of Newburyport, wrote a poetical
answer to the appeal, of which the following is an extract :
" We are coming 1 we are comirig !
We have heard the thrilling call ;
We are coming from the hill-side —
We are coming from the hall !
* * * * * *
We are coming ! we are coming !
High thoughts our bosoms fill ;
One watchword wakens every heart —
The name of Bunker Hill !
There Freedom's fire was lighted,
And its flame was broad and high,
Till a wakened and a rescued land
Sent up its battle-cry !
' Old Massachusetts ! ' dOst thou need,
To gem thy ' lordly crown,'
Aught richer than that battle-field,
Which tells pf thy renown ?
Home of the PUgrim Sires, who crossed"
The waste and trackless sea !
Was it not meet that on thy soil-
The first brave strife should be V

232 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
Dear to thy chUdren in thy home,
Dear to thine exUes far,
To Freedom's sons, in every age,
It shines a beacon star !
#***#¦
We are coming ! we are coming !
That thy martyrs, brave and free,
In the record of the future
Shall e'er be Hnked with thee ;
That upon thy glory never
One dimming shade may fall,
We are coming from the hiU-side —
We are coming from the hall ! "
In 1838, two female winter schools were established. In 1840,
'41, and '42, several new school-houses were built, some of the
schools, up to this time, having occupied hired buildings ; and in
March of 1842, the town voted to establish a Female High School,
the building for which was erected in a central part of the town, at
a cost of $7,000. It was opened for the reception of puptts in
December, 1843.
When the principal of the Brown Fund had increased to $15,000,
the income was applied to the enlargement and support of the Centre
Male Grammar School, which was thereafter designated as the
" Brown High School."
When the "Putnam Fund" came into use, the town voted a
special committee to confer with the trustees on the subject of
employing the funds in strict accordance with the intentions of the
testator. The material point in question was, " whether' Mr. Putnam
designed, by his bequest, to include the instruction of females," and
the numerous discussions of this mooted point were at last brought
to a termination by a reference of the language in the wUl to the
decision of the Supreme Court. It was decided that " youth " might
include both sexes, — the position maintained by the trustees.
By the Annual Legislative Report for 1837, it appears that the
valuation of Newburyport for this year was $2,165,667.
The value of imports was $63,335 ; the value of exports, $61,698 ;
the duty on imports was $23,912; the gross revenue derived,

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 233
$16,960.85 ; the expenses of coUection, $10,960.85, and the net
revenue, $6,513.29.
The receptacles for the dead, up to 1842, were the " old burying
hills ; " the one directly back of Frog pond, and the other lying a
few rods to the south of it ; the cemetery attached to the Belleville
parish, where were buried the first deceased members of Queen
Ann's chapel ; the ground belonging to the first parish in Newbury,
and a smaU graveyard attached to St. Paul's church, on High street.
The old burying hills had now become densely populated, and the
ancient boundaries for the dead grew too narrow for the wants of the
town. From the location of the first named, a thickly settled neigh
borhood was exposed, with every breeze from the west, to the air
wafted over these acres of mouldering bones ; and it became a
question of some importance, how and where to enlarge the bounda
ries of the several graveyards, or whether it were better to conse
crate new.
In accordance with the latter opinion, a company of gentlemen
purchased a lot of land on the south-easterly side of the turnpike,
which was covered with a fine growth of oak trees, and which was
consecrated in the summer of 1842 ; the company having been
incorporated as that of the " Oak HiU Cemetery Company."
The plan for laying out the grounds was well devised for forming
a beautiful and appropriate home for the dead ; and the neatness,
beauty and taste of the enclosures, monuments and shrubbery, with
the profusion of summer flowers which bloom within most of the
lots, evince a refined and cultivated taste in the individual proprietors,
which makes it compare favorably with larger and more celebrated
cemeteries. An addition has recently been made to the land
enclosed, and the whole now contains about seven acres ; about half
of which has been sold in lots varying in size and form, and nearly
all are fenced and otherwise decorated.
The extension of the Eastern RaUroad to Newburyport in 1840,
infused new Ufe into the place. The locale of its route through the
town, gave rise to much animated discussion in the business
meetings of that period. A route was very near being adopted, which
would have carried the road through Frog pond on the westerly side

234 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
of the Court House ; but this was happily overruled, leaving this
beautiful little sheet of water* unpolluted by the smoke and ashes
of the steam engine.
In April, the Directors of the Railroad purchased of the Direc
tors of the Newburyport bridge, the right to erect on their piers, a
suitable structure for the passage of their trains ; for which right
they paid eight thousand dollars, contracting at the same time, to
" keep in repair and maintain in good condition forever, at their own
cost and expense, every part of the bridge and structure, including
the piers and abutments, excepting the first or lower floor," which
the Directors of the Newburyport bridge agreed to keep in repair.
The charter of the Eastern Railroad Company made it incumbent
upon them, to construct a draw in the bridge, of thirty- eight feet in
width at the channel of the river, and to change such location if the
channel should alter. By a representation on the subject brought
before the town by one of our enterprising ship-builders in 1845, an
examination was had of the width of the draw, when it was found
to be but thirty-six feet ten inches. A committee was appointed in
behalf of the town, to bring the subject before the Legislature,
which eventuated in the widening of the draw considerably beyond
that at first required by the charter, so as to admit of the passage.
of the largest class of ships, which are built on the river, above the
bridge. Since the opening of the Eastern RaUroad, the comparative amount
of travel between the several towns on the route between Boston
and Portsmouth is decidedly in favor of Newburyport. The first
year that it was opened, there were 19,673 passengers ; in 1847,
the annual number had increased to 46,203, the increase of travel
being more than that of any other town on the route. In 1850,
after the opening of the Newburyport Railroad, which to some extent
diverted the travel to the Boston and Maine Road, the three highest
towns on the route stood thus: Newburyport 43,022, Salem 19,236,
Portsmouth 17,640, leaving Newburyport far ahead of any other.
These figures relate to single tickets, and do not include season
tickets, which would vary the comparative result as regards Salem.
* The pond contains, by measurement, 3,700,000 gallons of water.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 235
The Company have within the last year erected a new brick depot,
at a cost, including the land adjoining, of $30,000.
The magnetic telegraph was first used in Newburyport, on
Christmas day, 1847, when the compliments of the season passed
over the wires, between the Mayor of Boston, and the selectmen of
the town.
A small company was raised here in 1847, to join the Massachu
setts regiment ordered to Mexico. Of this regiment Caleb Cushing
was appointed Colonel. Previous to his departure a number of
ladies, desiring to present him with a memorial of their regard, sub
scribed some three hundred doUars for the purpose ; when Colonel
Cushing suggested that the sum raised should be appropriated to
the more comfortable outfit of the troops placed under his command,
declining to receive any more valuable token from his friends, than a
plain gold ring. This suggestion was acquiesced in by the ladies,
and a public presentation ceremony took place on the 9th of Feb
ruary, at Market Hall, a young lady presenting the ring with a brief
address, which was happily and eloquently responded to by the
recipient, the whole affair passing off with considerable eclat, and
to the great satisfaction of aU engaged in it.*
Captain Albert Pike, (formerly of Newburyport) of the Ar
kansas cavalry, distinguished himself in this war, particularly at
Buena Vista; General Taylor making honorable mention of him,
three times in his dispatches from that place. Captain Pike is now
a practising lawyer at Little Rock, Arkansas, and was for some time
editor of a Whig paper there, but he is best known to the literary
world as a poet, and as author of the " Prose Sketches." The New
York Express says " his poetical description of the battle of Buena
Vista gives the best and most inteUigible description of the scene
which has been published. We give a verse or two as a specimen
of the life and spirit of the piece.
" From the Kio Grande's waters to the icy lakes of Maine,
Let aU exult, for we have met the enemy again.
Beneath their stern old mountains, we have met them in their pride,
And roUed from Buena Vista back, the battle's bloody tide.

* Many ladies decUned to unite in this demonstration, on account of their
disapprobation of the war, which was not popular in Massachusetts.

236 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
StiU suddenly the cannon roared, but died away at last,
And o'er the dead and dying, came the evening shadows fast.
And then above the mountains, rose the cold moon's sUver shield,
And patiently and pityingly, looked down upon the field.
And stiU our glorious banner waves, unstained by flight or shame,
And the Mexicans among their hills, shall tremble at our name ;
Do honor unto those that stood — disgrace to those that fled,
And everlasting glory to the brave and gallant dead."
During the same season came over the water the cry of the
famine-stricken millions of Ireland, and immediate measures were
taken for raising money, provisions, &c, for their relief. At a
meeting held at Market Hall on the 18th February, Hon. Henry W.
Kinsman in the chair,, a committee of fifteen was appointed to collect
funds for the purpose, and the clergy were invited to call the atten
tion of the people to the subject from their pulpits. Captain Micajah
Lunt was appointed treasurer, and Messrs. John Wood and WilUam
Ashby, to receive donations of food or clothing. A few days after,
a meeting of ladies was held in the vestry of the Temple street
church to aid in the object. Committees of collection were appointed,
who thoroughly canvassed the town, calling at almost every house
and soliciting donations. The result of these efforts was, the coUec-
tion of $2,002.07, of which some $400 were taken up in the churches.
Over $1000 were collected by the gentlemen's committee, and the
remainder, between five and six hundred dollars, by the ladies, who
also collected ten large cases of clothing, of the estimated value of
five hundred dollars. The money was expended for corn, and, with
the clothing, was shipped from Boston, being consigned to the
" Friends' Irish Relief Association of Dublin."
The next year, in the fall and winter of 1848-9, the excitement
consequent on the discovery of gold in California, produced similar
effects here to what it wrought in other portions of the country.
Probably a larger proportion of young men left Newburyport for the'
gold regions, than from many other towns of the same size, perhaps
from the hereditary habit of emigration. Quite a number of vessels"
were put up here for the Pacific coast, whUe by far the larger pro
portion of adventurers from Newburyport sailed from Boston or New
York.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 237
The first vessel which left our wharves for California was the brig
"Ark," and religious ceremonies were observed on the occasion of
her departure, an address being made by the Rev. John Emerson,
and prayers being offered in the presence of a large concourse of
spectators assembled on the wharf. The effect of the gold higera
on Newburyport has proved by no means beneficial. It not only
carried off a large number of active and enterprising young men,
most of whom carried all their property with them, but it unsettled
the character of many who remained ; their otherwise determined
prospects and intentions being changed by this unexpected episode in
in the openings of business, they were induced to relax their energies
in the occupations they were already engaged in, from the uncertainty
of continuing in them. The damage in this respect, — the depre
ciation of business energy among those who remained, — was greater
than the pecuniary value directly abstracted from the town. The
majority of those who left Newburyport have not returned. Of
those who have, none have added largely to the taxable property of
the place. A few, and but a few, have more than made good their
original draft on the town.
In November, 1850, some six months before the "Annexation
Act" passed, there were in Newburyport 9,572 inhabitants, of which
1,362 were of foreign birth ; 1,927 families, and 1,431 dweUing
houses. One hundred and sixty-eight deaths had occurred during
the year.
When the town of Newburyport was set off from Newbury, the
dividing fines were very injudiciously drawn, leaving, as they did,
on the river side, both to the north and south of Newburyport, and
on the westerly side of High street, a population daily, increasing,
whose interests were aU essentially united to those of Newburyport,
but whom the act of incorporation assigned to Newbury. The
consequence was, that successive attempts were made from that
time until the object was attained, to have these portions annexed to
Newburyport. In May of the same year in which the town was incorporated,
Newburyport voted a petition to the General Court to "have their
Umits and bounds enlarged." In 1794 a committee was appointed

238 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
to prepare a petition to the General Court " to enlarge the bounds
of the town."
In 1821 the matter received a large share of attention, and was
the occasion of long and earnest discussions in " town meeting ; "
but the advocates of enlargement could not. harmonize on the exact
boundaries to be desired; one party desiring the annexation of
only the more southern and south-easterly part of the town, including
the Plum Island turnpike, and the other wishing to include Belle-
vUle. The subject was dropped at this time, only to be taken up
again in 1827, when a unanimous vote was given in favor of a
petition, praying for the annexation of a part of Newbury, including
" the ridge." But this also was barren of results. In January,
1835, the town accepted a report, drawn up by a committee ap
pointed for the purpose, recommending the reunion of Newbury
with Newburyport. But at an adjourned meeting, this project,
after a full discussion, was rejected.
At a town meeting held in January, 1833, it was voted to accept
a certain portion of Newbury, which a committee appointed by the
Legislature had indicated as proper to be annexed to Newburyport,
" if it could be done without expense." And at a full meeting on
the 21st of the same month, it was voted by a large majority to
accept " that part of Newbury which had petitioned to be set off,"
unconditionally. But the union was not then effected.
In 1843, Ebenezer Wheelwright, Esq., of Newbury, and others,
petitioned the Legislature to set off apart of Newbury, and annex it
to Newburyport, and this town voted to accept the portion desig
nated in his petition, if that was granted. But the division was
not made, the consummation was not yet.
In 1846, a vote of the town was again obtained " to unite the
towns, if Newbury should agree to do so," and otherwise, that it
was expedient to annex the contiguous portions, " including the
Ridge, Belleville, and Joppa, so called." And the Hon. Henry W.
Kinsman, John Porter, Esq., and J. B. Swazey, Esq., were ap
pointed a committee to appear before the "committee of the
Legislature on towns," and urge forward the measure. This was
the commencement of that last series of efforts which eventuated in
the annexation to Newburyport of those portions of Newbury
described in the act passed April 16th, 1851.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 239
Other ineffective votes have at times been taken and reconsidered
on this subject. To quote them all would be a tedious repetition.
A permanent cause of variance between the " water-side " people
and the farmers of Newbury, might be found in the fact that the
farmers were inclined to place a high tax on personal property, most
of which was to be found in what is now Newburyport, while the
" water-side people," who were stUl legally united to Newbury, were
disposed to place the higher tax on land, which would bring the
main burden on the farmers.
The experiment of steam on the Merrimac has been tried with
but limited success.* The steamer Decatur, (1846,) ran some time
as a regular packet between here and Boston ; whUe the steamers
Sarah, California, Merrimac, Ohio,- Lawrence, C. B. Stevens, and
Narragansett, ran transiently to HaverhUl and intermediate places
on the river, making also frequent excursions out to sea, to Plum
Island, the Isles of Shoals, &c. Some of these boats did exceed
ingly well for a limited period, during the summer months, but profits
could be very nearly graduated by the thermometrical scale. While
the weather continued pleasant for excursions, an extensive patron
age might be rehed on ; beyond that period, the preference for travel
into the interior was by land carriage.
At the Annual March meeting in 1850, it was voted by the town,
to erect a new Town Hall, " at a cost not exceeding thirty thousand
dollars," and a committee was appointed to procure a suitable plan.
The location of the Hall was decided by a very smaU majority, 116
voting in favor of its present site, and 108 against it. The plan for
the HaU, draughted by Captain Frederic J. Coffin, was accepted, and
*"Yet a permanent steam-tug, owned here and always ready for use, to briDg
vessels over the bar, with a railroad terminating at one of the wharves, (of
which there is now a prospect,) could scarcely fail of remunerating the owners.
It would take time to become profitable ; but without some such arrangement,
Newburyport cannot materially increase her commerce. It is the employment
of steam which has enabled the merchants of New Orleans to overcome the
natural obstacles to the entrance of that harbor ; the " bar " at New Orleans,
is intrinsically as bad as that of Newburyport, yet it has not been permitted to
impede the growth of the place.

240 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
the comerrstone of the buUding was laid with appropriate ceremo
nies on the 4th of July next ensuing, and was opened to the public
on the 4th of March, 1851.
The opening of the Newburyport RaUroad, on which ground was
first broken January 15th, 1849, was the attainment of a point,
which has occupied, at intervals, the mind, of the thinking part of
the business men for half a century, only that the preceding gen
eration had in mind a canal, while the present, mOre fortunate in
their instruments, avail themselves of steam. The object to be
attained, was direct intercourse with the interior; the beneficial
results have exceeded the general anticipation, and require only
to be extended to the water's edge, to transcend the expectations of
the most sanguine.
The first week's travel (commencing May 23, 1850,) in which
the road was opened to the pubhc, there were but 526 passengers,
the second week there were 679, the three months preceding January
1st, 1852, there were 15,440. Since the extension of the road to
Bradford and Haverhill, uniting it with the Boston and Maine Road,
the business has steadily increased, for both freight and passengers.
Leave was granted by the Legislature of 1854 to extend this
road to the water-side.
The Newburyport fishing fleet suffered severely in the terrible
gale on the night of October 5th, 1851, at Prince Edward's Island ;
eighteen vessels being lost, and over twenty men. An unusuaUy
large fleet had been fitted out this year, and the greater destruction
to vessels from this port, was ascribed to the fact that at the com
mencement of the storm, they were nearly all fishing in company,
and near the shore ; yet to one of this number, a native of New
buryport, is to be ascribed the preservation of many vessels and
lives, during the storm. Captain Benjamin SmaU, of the new
schooner " General Cushing," which was noted as the fastest saUer
in the bay that year, at the imminent hazard of his own safety, ran
into Cascumpec harbor, and placed a light upon the buoy, leaving
two of his crew to tend it ; then taking in tow the schooner Mary, of
this port, a comparatively dull saUer, with this encumbrance ran
ahead of most of the fleet and came safely to anchor. By this con-

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 241
siderate, prompt and noble conduct, many disasters were prevented,
and many Uves were probably saved ; as it was towards evening when
the storm came on, and it was dangerous running into harbor without
these hghts, quite a number of vessels which otherwise would not
have ventured to make the attempt, avaUed themselves of the signal
thus timely arranged for them, and made a safe harbor.
The names of the vessels lost belonging to this port were the
Atlantic, Blossom,
Enterprise, Forrest,
Franklin, GentUe,
H. Ingram, Index,
Lucinda, M. Scotchburn,
Ocean, Spray,
Statesman,* TraveUer,*
Ruby, . Duroc,
Vulture, Actor.*
The " Native American " lost one man, and with the " James,"
" Fulton," and others, was badly damaged ; others of our fishing
fleet were subsequently lost the same season.
The list of fishing vessels from the District of Newburyport, this
year, was officiaUy given at 90 vessels, with a total of 6,012 tons
and employing 985 men. The valuation of the vessels with their
outfits was estimated at $211,900.
MACKEREL INSPECTED IN NEWBURYPORT,
FROM 1804 TO 1853.

1804

Barrels. 20

1811

Barrels. 40

1805

1,600

1812

140

1806

120

1813

214

1807

76

1814

361

1808

1815

728

1809

20

1816

2,270

1810

57

1817

2,716

* These lost their entire crews ; the

Statesman had ten men

the others six

or eight.

16

_42

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.

Barrels.

Barrels.

1818

6,301

1836

21,463

1819

15,138

1837

15,126

1820

11,231

1838

13,025

1821

12,117

1839

8,584

1822

16,166

1840

5,809

1823

13,797

1841

7,227

1824

17,479

1842

7,092

1825

23,848

1843

5,361

1826

19,110

1844

7,009

1827

21,831

1845

11,061

1828

26,390

1846

18,814

1829

22,193

1847

23,353

1830

26,196

1848

26,294

1831

36,000

1849

16,980

1832

21,164

1850

22,929

1833

19,873

1851

21,202

1834

27,773

1852

11,806

1835

22,291

1'853

10,500

The expenses of the town for the five years preceding the act
of annexation had averaged $25,000 annually.
At the annual meeting in March, 1851, $26,830.00 were appro
priated as follows :
For support of schools, including interest on
the Brown fund and State School fund, -
Repairs of Highways, -
Support of the Poor, -
Expenses of Fire Department, -
Services, Sextons and Constables, -
Assessors, --____
Overseers of Poor, -
Treasurer and Collector, -
Incidental expenses, including Town Watch,
Interest on Town Debt, -
BuUding Culverts, _____
Paying heirs of late Perley Tenny, for land
taken for extension of Fair street,
Celebrating Fourth of July next, - . -
Discount on Taxes, -
Abatement on Taxes, -

$9,200.00 800.00
6,500.00 1,200.00 200.00 200.00
150.00300.00
2,300.003,300.00 200.00 80.00
600.00
1,500.00 300.00

$26,830.00

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 243
At a meeting held in AprU, the following additional sums were
voted, in view of the increased expenses which would attend on the
annexation of part of Newbury, viz. :
Added for support of Schools, - $2,300.00
Added for support of Poor, - 2,000.00
Fire Department, including pay of Engineer, - 250.00
Highways, ------ 1,000.00
Incidentals, - - 450.00

$6,000.00
Making a total of $32,000.
The following is a copy of the Act of Annexation :
. COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS :
IN THE YEAR ONE THOUSAND EIGHT HUNDRED AND FIFTY-ONE.
An Act to Annex apart of the town of Newbury to the town
of Newburyport.
Be it enacted, by the Senate and House of Representatives, in
General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as
follows : —
Section 1. So much of the town of Newbury, in the County of
Essex, as Ues within the foUowing named fines, to wit : beginning
at the northerly boundary of Newburyport, on the Merrimac river,
thence running by the Newbury line in the said river to the line of
West Newbury, at the mouth of Artichoke river, thence up the
said last named river, and through the middle thereof about five
hundred and seventy-two rods and twenty-two links, to a place on
the said stream known as the " New Log," thence south twenty-five
degrees, east about three hundred and sixty rods to the most east
erly corner of West Newbury, thence in a direct fine north-easterly
to the westerly corner of Newburyport, thence by the hne of
Newburyport to the southerly side of a stream caUed Little River,
thence by the southerly side of the said last mentioned stream to
the south-easterly side of the road at Clark's bridge, so caUed,
thence on a straight fine to an elm tree, near the Newburyport
turnpike, on land of Daniel Coleman, southerly of said Coleman's
house, thence to the northerly side pf Marlborough street, on High

244 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
street, thence to the most southerly bend of the Plum Island turn
pike, thence on a straight line to the ocean, four rods southerly of
the light-keeper's house on Plum Island, thence by the ocean to
Salisbury line, thence by the line of Salisbury to Newburyport,
with all the inhabitants and estates thereon, is hereby set off from
the town of Newbury and annexed to the town of Newburyport ;
and the said inhabitants shall hereafter be considered inhabitants of
Newburyport, and shall enjoy all the rights and privileges, and be
subject to all the duties and liabilities of the inhabitants of the said
town. Provided, however, that for the purpose of electing the
Representatives to the General Court, to which the said town of
Newbury is entitled until the next decennial census shall be taken,
in pursuance of the thirteenth article of amendments to the Constitu
tion, the said territory shall remain and continue to be a part of the
town of Newbury, and the inhabitants resident therein, shall be
entitled to vote in the choice of such Representatives, and shall be
eligible to the office of Representative in the town of Newbury, in
the same manner as if this act had not been passed.
Sec 2. The said inhabitants and estates so set off shall be Uable
to pay all taxes that may have been legaUy assessed on them by
the town of Newbury, in the same manner as if this act had not been
passed, and the town of Newburyport shall be holden to pay their
just and equitable [share] of the debts of Newbury, and shall also
be entitled to receive their just and equitable portion of all the
property owned by the town of Newbury, the said proportions to
be ascertained by the taxes paid by the inhabitants, and upon the
property assessed in the part set off and the part remaining the
past year.
Sec. 3. The said towns of Newbury and Newburyport shall be
respectively liable for the support of all persons who now do or
shall hereafter stand in need of relief, as paupers, whose settle
ments were gained by or derived from a residence on their
respective territories. Provided that nothing in this act shall affect
any agreement heretofore made between the towns of Newbury
and Newburyport for the support of paupers. •
Sec 4. In case the said towns shall not agree on a division
of property, debts, paupers, and aU other existing town liabilities,
the Court of Common Pleas for the County of Essex, shall upon the

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 245
petition of either of the said towns, appoint three competent and
disinterested persons to hear the parties and award thereon, and
their award, accepted by the Court, shall be final. Provided, how
ever, that unttt the division of the said property as aforesaid, the
same shall be and remain under the control of the town of New
bury, and the inhabitants of Newbury may hold their town meetings
in the town house as heretofore.
Sec 5. The selectmen of Newburyport shall annually, fourteen
days at least before the second Monday of November, furnish the
selectmen of Newbury, a correct list, so far as may be ascertained
from the records of the town of Newburyport, or any of its officers,
of all persons resident on the territory hereby set off, who shall
be- entitled to vote for Representatives as aforesaid in Newbury ; and
for every neglect by the said selectmen, so to furnish such Ust, the
town of Newburyport shaU forfeit the sum of one hundred doUars ;
and for the making of any false return in respect to any part of
such list, shall forfeit the sum of twenty dollars for every name in
respect to which a false return shall have been made, to be recovered
in the same manner as is provided by the fourth section of the third
chapter of the Revised Statutes, in respect to penalties for neglect
or false returns of collectors of towns.
Sec 6. The said towns of Newbury and Newburyport may
at town meetings, duly notified within seven days after the passage
of this act, grant and vote such sums of money as they may respect
ively judge necessary, for aU purposes authorized by law, and
reconsider, modify and change any votes on that subject passed at
their annual meeting the present year.
Sec 7. This Act shaU take effect from and after its passage.
House of Representatives. AprU 16, 1851.
Passed to be enacted. N. P. Banks, Jr., Speaker.
In Senate. AprU 17, 1851,
Passed to be enacted. Henry Wilson, President.
April 17, 1851. Approved.
GEORGE S. BOUTWELL.

246 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
That the annexation of so large a portion of Newbury, was not
quite palatable to all the inhabitants of that ancient town, we may
infer from the following notice, which appeared in the Daily Herald
of May 6th, 1851.
" The Annual Town meeting of what is left of Newbury ;> stands
adjourned to Monday, May 12th, 2 P. M., at the Town House, now
in Newburyport. " Joshua Coffin, Town Clerk."
The said " town house," has within a few months been fitted up
for the reception of the Brown High School, and is so improved by
paint, green bhnds, a steeple and ornamental work, as to present'
quite an attractive object to travellers on the turnpike ; so completely
metamorphosed is the buUding, that the sight of it will scarcely
recaU any future regretful associations in the minds of our neigh
bors of Newbury, for nothing but its location can remind them of
the use to which it was devoted when in their hands.
By the Act of Annexation the territory of Newburyport was
increased from the httle patch of six hundred and forty-seven acres
to between six and seven thousand ; leaving Newbury, however,
nearly or quite twice as much land, but only about eighteen hun
dred inhabitants. It took about two-thirds of her population
and property, bringing the population of Newburyport from 9,534
up to 12,866, (1852 ;) extending its water front from the chain
bridge (" Essex Merrimac ") on the north, to Plum Bush bridge on
the Plum Island turnpike to the south, and on High street from the
chain bridge to Marlborough street, and taking in a considerable
agricultural district on the west and north-west, and including
within its limits the light-houses on Plum Island, but leaving the
hotel stUl in Newbury, the dividing hne which is run straight from
the corner of Marlborough street to the ocean, striking the island
on the north side of the Plum Island hotel.
At the first town meeting held after the passage of the annexa
tion act, (April 24th,) the Moderator, Hon. Henry W. Kinsman, in
a few brief and happy remarks, welcomed the new citizens to a par
ticipation in the pubhc affairs of the town, most of whom had long
been sociaUy united with it ; to which address Moses Pettingell,
Esq., replied on behalf of the newly admitted citizens. At the

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 247
same meeting, it was voted to apply for a city charter, and a com
mittee, consisting of Hon. Caleb Cushing, Hon. Henry W. Kinsman,
Messrs. Joseph Roberts, E. S. WilUams, Joshua Hale, Samuel
PhUUps, Thomas Huse, E. F. Stone, Henry Frothingham and Moses
Davenport, were chosen to present the petition, which was granted
without delay, the act of incorporation being dated on the ensuing
24th of May.
By this charter, it was provided (Sec. 3,) that the selectmen
should, as soon as might be after the passage of the act, and its
acceptance by the people, proceed to divide the city into Six
wards; the wards to contain, as nearly as practicable, an equal
number of inhabitants, the same to be subject to revisal once in five
years. The second Monday of December is appointed (Sec. 6,) for the
election of city officers ; the mayor to receive no compensation for
his services, (Sec. 7.) All the powers formerly vested in the
selectmen, devolve on the mayor and aldermen ; particularly are
they required to comply with the duties of the selectmen, ,as pre
scribed in the fifth section of the Act of Annexation, which obUges
them to furnish Newbury with a list pf all the persons in the terri
tory then annexed, who are entitled to vote for Representatives.
The custody of aU trust funds, hitherto in the care of the selectmen,
is also confided to them. The sittings of the Board of Aldermen
and Common CouncU are made pubUc, except when engaged in
executive business. To the City CouncU is especiaUy committed the
care of the city treasury ; " to see that no money is drawn unless
legally appropriated," having also the general care and manage
ment of the city property ; concerning aU of which, they are to
pubhsh an annual account for the use of the inhabitants, (Sec. 8.)
Section 9 provides that no person shaU be eh'gible to any office the
emoluments of which are paid out of the city treasury, while a
member of the Board of Aldermen or Common CouncU. Section
12 confirms the act of 1830, estabhshing the fire department of
Newburyport. Section 18 provides that the name of every person
voted for, for County, State, and United States officer, shall be
written out at length in the several Waird Records, with the number
of votes cast for each.
General meetings of the citizens may still be held " to obtain

248 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
redress of grievances, consult upon the pubhc good, and to give
instruction's to their Representatives," (Sec. 20.) Any breach of
a by-law of the city may be prosecuted before the Pofice Court, the
decision of the Court being subject to appeal to the Court of Common
Pleas, (Sec. 22.) By Section 26, the Legislature reserved, to
themselves the right to alter or amend the charter whenever they
deemed it expedient. ,
For the purpose of organizing the City Government, and putting it
in operation, in the first instance, the 23d section of the Act directed
" that the selectmen then in office, should, within thirty days after its
acceptance by the people, issue their warrants for catting meetmgs of
the citizens, for the purpose of choosing, in the several wards, the
officers necessary to its complete organization," and by providing
that at these primary meetings, " any legal voter might call the
citizens to order until a warden was chosen."
AU records, papers, and muniments of property in the hands of
town officers were (Sec. 24,) directed to be transferred by them to
the City Clerk.
On Tuesday, June 3, 1851, the inhabitants gave in their votes on
the acceptance of the city charter. The whole number of votes cast
was 594 : in favor of the charter, 484 ; agamst it, 110. A clear
majority in its favor of 374.
At the election for city officers, held immediately after, the
following persons were chosen :
Mayor, — Honorable Caleb Cushing.
ALDERMEN :
Ward 1. — Thomas Huse. Ward 4. — Nathaniel Horton.
2. — John Porter. 5. — John M. Cooper.
3. — Moses Davenport. 6. — Joseph Roberts.
common council:
Ward 1.— Zaccheus P. Thurlo, Ward 3.— Isaac H. Boardman,
John Woodwell, Charles J. Brockway
George W. Knight. Moses Hale.
Ward 2. — PhilUp Johnson, Ward 4. — PhUlip K. Hill,
Frederic Knight, WUUam C. Balch,
Jacob Stone. Eben F. Stone.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 249
Ward 5 . — Albert Russell, Ward 6 . — John Currier,
Jacob Horton, John Colby,
Jacob Hale. Joseph Newell.
In the First Ward there were 2,153 inhabitants ; in the Second,
2,173 ; in the Third, 2,137 ; in the Fourth, 1,946 ; in the Fifth,
2,234 ; in the Sixth, 2,223.
According to the ward lists, there were 1,980 voters, of whom
892 lived north of State street, and 888 south of it.
There were (1851) 113 persons in the Almshouse, Newburyport
taking, with the portion of territory annexed, about two-thirds of the
poor of Newbury.
The City Government was regularly organized on the 24th of June,
at the City Hall, in the presence of some three or four hundred
spectators. Nathaniel Horton, Esq., the chairman of the late Board
of Selectmen, stated the object of the meeting. Prayer was offered
by the Reverend B. I. Lane. The oath was administered to the
Mayor elect by J, Cook, Esq. The Mayor then administered the
oath to the Aldermen and Common CouncU, and afterwards addressed
both bodies in a brief but appropriate speech. The Aldermen were
organized by the election of Eleazer Johnson, Esq., as City Clerk ;
and the Common CouncU, by the choice of Eben F. Stone as
President, and Edward BurriU, Esq., Clerk ; and, on joint ballot,
Jonathan Coolidge, Esq., was chosen Treasurer and Collector.
Among the ordinances passed by the new City Government were
the following :
An Ordinance (No. 14)
To Establish the City Arms and Seal.
Be it ordained, &c, as follows :
Section 1. The Arms of the City shall be the foUowing, to wit :
Quarterly, first, two light-houses, in the distance a ship under full
sail ; second, a steam-mUl ; third, a ship on the stocks ; and
fourth, (the seal of Newbury, in England,*) on a mount three domed
* Newbury, in England, is a large market town in' the hundreds* of Fair-
cross, on the banks of the river Kennet, near the road from London to Bath,
and fifty-six nules from Hyde Park corner. It was incorporated in 1586 by
* The "hundreds " in English law, is that part of a shire or county consisting of
ten tithings, or ten times ten households.

250

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.

towers, on each a pennon, crest, a mural coronet surmounted by
two hands conjoined ; supporters, two female figures, that on the
dexter side representing America, that on the sinister, Massachu
setts ; scroU, Terra Marique.
Sec 2. The seal of the city shall bear as a device, the shield,
crest, and scroll of the arms of the city, with the legend " City of
Newburyport, A. D. MDCCCLI".

The expenses of the city for the first year of its existence,
reckoning from March 1st, 1851, to March 1st, 1852, was
$41,459.58, including $1,474.31 for furnishing the new City Hall,
and $984.30 for the celebration of the 4th of July.
Queen Elizabeth, who had visited it the year before. Two battles were fought
near this town between Charles I and the Parliamentary troops in 1643-4.
At the time of taking the Norman survey, 1086, it was a town of considerable
consequence, and bore the Saxon name of Uluritone, which was probably a
corruption of Ulwardetone, from Ulward, who possessed it in the reign of Ed
ward the Confessor. The name was changed to Newbury by the Earls of
Perch, who built a castle there which they called Newbury, about the close of
the twelfth century ; and the town was thereafter called by the name of the castle.
In 1216, Thomas, the Earl of Perch, died, and the Bishop of Chalons, a Nor
man, became his heir, an'd he sold the manor of Newbury to William Marshall)
Earl of Pembroke. Uluritone had once belonged to an ancestor of the Bishop's
before it-passed into the hands of the Perches ; this ancestor was Ernulfus de
Hesden, also a Norman, who probably received it direct from William the
Conqueror, as in Doomsday book it is recorded as belonging to him. There
were then in it fifty-one houses, which paid a quit-rent to the feudal lord.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 251
The present School Department embraces twenty-seven schools,
taught by thirty-eight teachers, — seven males and thirty-one
females, — and consists of the Brown High School, having a male
principal and female assistant ; the Female High School, having a male
principal and two female assistants ; five male grammar schools, two
of which have female assistants ; five female grammar schools,
taught by female teachers, as are aU the primary schools, of which
there are five male, five female, and four for both sexes. There is
also a school centrally situated, styled " intermediate," for boys of
a somewhat higher grade than primary, but not ranking with the
grammar ; this has also a female teacher.
The estimates for the school department for the year 1854 are
$12,000. The number of children and youth in the schools at
the close of the year 1853, was 1,865.
The assessors' valuation, for 1853, was $5,655,000 ; real estate,
$2,780,000; personal property, $2,875,000. The State tax was
$2,787 ; County tax, $5,227.76.
THE PUTNAM FREE SCHOOL
Was founded by the wiU * of the late OUver Putnam, a merchant
of Newburyport, who " devised the residue of all his property,"
after making provision for his nearest relatives, " for the establish
ment and support of a free English school in Newburyport," his
native place. The principal was to accumulate until it amounted
to $50,000, when it was to be invested by the trustees as a
permanent fund, only the interest on which was to be used for the
establishment and support of the school. In 1847-8, the buUding
for the school was erected, and WiUiam W. Wells, A. M., late
instructor in Phillips Academy, Andover, was engaged as princi
pal, with two assistants. By a provision in the wiU of Mr. Putnam,
" instruction in the dead languages " is forbidden ; but a thorough
mathematical and scientific course, with the study of the French
language is secured. This legacy was left in no contracted spirit ;
its benefits are extended as freely to the natives of other towns as
* Hon. S. Rand and Caleb Cushing, of Newburyport, and Mr. Aaron Bald
win, of Boston, were named executors.

252 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
to this, and many of the students belong to other towns, and other
States. The school, which was opened April 12th, 1848, is weU supplied
with phUosophical apparatus, and every facttity for the experimental
study of natural phUosophy and chemistry. The number of scholars
is about 120, including both sexes.
THE NEWBURYPORT FIRE DEPARTMENT
Was established by an act of the Legislature in 1830, and con
sists of a Chief Engineer and six assistants; having in charge
(1854,) eight engines and one hook and ladder company. The
whole force of the Department averages about four hundred men.
The late Dr. Eben Hale, of this city, gave (October 24, 1846,)
one hundred dollars as a permanent fund to the Fire Department, to
which PhiUp Johnson, Esq., added fifty dollars, (April 21, 1852,)
and the Newburyport Mutual Fire Insurance Company added one
hundred doUars in June of the same year.
There are fourteen reservoirs in the city, with hydrants at suit
able places for the extinguishment of fires ; part of these reservoirs
are filled with water, led by pipes from Frog pond ; they contain from
one to two hundred hogsheads each.
Gas was introduced into the city in 1852, the Newburyport Gas
Company being incorporated in September of that year. Pipes are
now laid through the following streets : Water, Merrimac, Liberty,
State, Pleasant, Harris, Washington, Congress, Kent, Strong, Park,
High, — some four mUes in aU. The City Hall, six cotton mills,
and about two hundred stores and dwellings are now lighted by gas.*
In January, 1854, this company made their second semiannual
dividend of three per cent, for the year passed, having during that
time also expended in street drains, and service pipes, some four per
cent, from their earnings.
*No longer ago than 1827, the editor of the Newburyport Herald wrote as
follows : " In New York, many buildings are lighted by means of pipes, with
the flame produced from the oleaginous gas, procured from a distillation of pit-
coal. The gas is set on fire as it escapes from the orifice of an aperture, not
more than one-thirtieth of an inch in diameter, and burns till the gas is
consumed ! ! "

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 253
Though perhaps a greater number of societies and associations,
benevolent and reUgious, exist in Newburyport now than at any
former period; yet some have been suffered to die out, which were
better calculated to influence character, than any later substitutes.
Of this class are the Debating Societies and Library Associations.
The Newburyport Debating Society was instituted in 1821, and
continued to flourish for a number of years.
At the same time, there was in existence the Athenseum, and the
Franklin Library Association, the former instituted in 1810 and the
latter in 1812 ; both continued for many years, but both are now
extinct, the books in the Athenaeum ' being sold at auction in
1849. In the hst of incorporated and other societies, will be found
a long array of fossil literary associations.
The Newburyport Lyceum succeeded to some of these, but the
exercise of listening is far behind active participation in the stimu
lus of thought, and the growth of inteUect ; and is a very inefficient
substitute for well-directed debating societies, or well-selected and
well-read libraries.
The. Lyceum was instituted in the winter of 1829-30. The lec
tures were first given at the Town HaU, until Market HaU was
fitted up for the use of the Society : and so popular did they
become, that for a while two courses of lectures were sustained,
the meetings of the second association, designated Institute, being •
held in Academy or Lyceum Hall, on High street ; (the buUding
has since been altered into a private dweUing;) and subsequently
it became necessary to dispose of the tickets of admission by a
species of lottery, no hall in the town being large enough to
accommodate the numbers who wished to attend, until the present
City Hall was built.
Two abortive attempts have been made within a few years to
establish a public library in this city, but the foundation stone for
this goodly enterprise is yet to be laid ; and the honor of founding
such an institute is stiU in reserve for some liberal soul, who may
thus ihdehbly impress his name on the memory, and inspire gratitude
in the hearts of the present or future generations in Newburyport.
There have been at different periods, thirty-four periodical publi
cations issued in Newburyport. Here was established in 1832, the
first daily paper in the county ; and the city in 1853 supported two

254 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
dailies, the second established in 1849, no other city or town in the
county, not even Salem or Lynn, yet (AprU, 18*54,) boasting a daUy
paper. The foUowing is believed to be a correct Ust of the papers and
other periodicals printed here since 1773 :
Essex Journal and New Hampshire Packet, (Republican,) by
Thomas & Tinges, Ezra Lunt, John Mycall and others ; first pub
Ushed December 4th, 1773
Impartial Herald, (Fed.) Blunt & March, 1793
Morning Star, Tucker & Robinson, 1794
Political Gazette, Barret & Farley, 1796
Merrimac Gazette, Caleb Cross, 1803
Repertory, (Whig,) John Park, (transferred to Boston,) 1804
Political Calender, (Dem.) Caleb Cross, 1805
Merrimack Magazine, W. & J. GUman, 1805
Merrimack Miscellany, (Lit.) WUUam B. AUen, 1805
Newburyport Gazette, (Dem.) Benjamin Edes, 1806
Statesman, (Dem.) Joseph Gleason, 1809
Independent Whig, Nathaniel H. Wright, 1810
Churchman's Repository, (transferred to Boston,) James .
Morse, D.D., editor, 1820
Northern Chronicle, (Dem.) Herman Ladd, 1824
Essex Courant, (Neutral,) Isaac Knapp, 1825
Free Press, (Anti-Slavery,) WUham Lloyd Garrison, 1826
Newburyport Advertiser, Joseph H. Buckingham, 1830
Daily Herald, (Whig,) E. W. AUen & Son, (J. B.
Morse associated in October,) 1832
The Times, (Dem.) Hiram Tozer & D. W. O'Brien, 1832
Monthly Paper, (Religious,) Hiram Tozer, 1833
People's Advocate, (Dem.) B. E. Hale, 1833
Essex (North') Register, (Relig.) Hiram Tozer, 1834
Watchtower, Hiram Tozer, 1837
Merrimac Journal, (Dem.) Hiram Tozer, 1842
Newburyport Courier, (Whig,) Clark & Whitten, 1844
Newburyport Advertiser, (Dem.) Huse, Bragdon & Co. 1845
Daily Courier, (Whig,) Whitten & Hale, 1846
Essex County Constellation, (Lit.) John S. Foster, 1846
Watchtower, (ReUg.) H. A. Woodman, 1847
Christian Herald, Elijah Shaw & D. P. Pike, 1847

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 255
Mirror and Casket, (Lit.) Joseph Hunt, 1848
Broadway Emporium, (Adv.) Moses Sweetzer,. 1848
Daily Evening Union, (Dem. F. S.) and Weekly Union,
Huse, Nason & Bragdon, 1849
Herald of Gospel Liberty, (Christian Bap. Association,) 1851
Saturday Evening Union, (Lit.) W. H. Huse, publisher,
Mrs. E. Vale Smith, editor, 1854
The first number of the "Essex Journal, and Merrimack Packet :
Or, the Massachusetts and New Hampshire General Advertiser," *
which was the whole of its original title, was issued on the 4th of
December, 1773. It was printed by Isaiah Thomas and Henry
Walter Tinges, in King street, opposite the Rev. Jonathan Parsons's
meeting-house. Mr. Thomas was the proprietor. The history of
this indefatigable and most successful specimen of self-made men, is
exceedingly interesting. He never was in a school as a puptt. At
six years of age he was apprenticed to a printer of ballads, in Boston,
and by working at the trade, and by his own efforts, learned to read,
and afterwards taught himself to write ; and with these meagre
advantages for learning, at the age of seventeen he established and
took sole charge of a paper in the British Provinces ; where, however,
his republican principles were not rehshed, and he left. In 1773,
he commenced the paper alluded to, in Newburyport ; since which
time, the town has never been without one or more newspapers.
Within a year, Mr. Thomas sold out his share in the paper to Mr.
(afterwards Captain) Ezra Lunt, who, two years later, transferred
it to Mr. John MycaU, in whose hands it remained for many years,
the title undergoing various alterations. Mr. Tinges withdrew about
six months after Mr. Mycall became principal proprietor. Mr.
Thomas was afterwards connected with the Massachusetts Spy ; and
after having expended large sums in benevolent and literary enter
prises, — having lived an eventful and useful Ufe, — this unaided and
unschooled boy became the projector and sustainer of that invaluable
association, the American Antiquarian Society. An author of repu
tation, and a public benefactor of the State, he left in legacies, a
fortune of some fifty thousand doUars, besides donating to Harvard Col
lege and other literary institutions, books, and other benefices, to a very
* History of Printing in America, vol. 2.

256 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
considerable amount. The bulk of his property went to the Antiqua
rian Society at .Worcester. Such was the father of newspaper
printing in Newburyport.
While in the hands of Messrs. Tinges & Lunt, Mr. Thomas, who
had removed to Boston, furnished the foreign news for the Journal.
On the breaking out of the Revolution, Mr. Lunt joined the Conti
nental army, and Mr. Tinges and Mr. John MycaU continued the
pubhcation of the paper unttt, in 1776, the latter became sole propri
etor and editor. The original subscription book of Mr. Mycall's
contains 707 names distributed through the province of Maine, New
Hampshire, and Essex north; but with no circulation south of
Salem. The paper while in his hands was conducted with great
abUity. The Newburyport Herald, which is the successor to the Impartial
Herald, has now been estabhshed over sixty years. The first
printer and proprietor of the Impartial Herald was Mr. Edmund
Blunt, author of the " Coast PUot," now a veteran of over four
score years, but retaining all the vigor of inteUect and business
enterprise which distinguished him whUe a citizen of Newburyport.
As an apprentice to Mr. John Mycall, then editor of the Essex
Journal, Mr. Blunt remained here from the spring of 1783 to 1791,
when, after an absence of three years in Boston, he returned to New
buryport and commenced the publication of the Impartial Herald,*
with but seventy subscribers, which he surrendered at the end of
two years with seven hundred. He now commenced writing the
"American Coast PUot," and printed several editions here, amount
ing to 20,000 copies, employing in his printing office and bindery,f
from twelve to twenty men and boys.
Mr. Blunt having succeeded so well with his Coast Pilot, next
pubUshed an edition of the Practical Navigator, founded on the work
* The press on which the Herald was first printed originally belonged to
Benjamin Franklin, of whom Mr. Blunt bought it for forty dollars. It is now
owned by Ben. Perley Poore, Esq., of West Newbury, and formed an inter
esting feature in the procession of the Fourth of July Celebration in Newbury
port in 1852.
t The first bookbinder and bookseller in Newburyport was Bulkeley Emer
son, who commenced the business in 1 760. He had no competitors in the busi
ness of binding till 1775. He was also postmaster for many years.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 257
of John Hamilton Moore. The first two editions did not run well,
and in the third, Mr. Blunt introduced the name of N. Bow-
ditch, who had previously made many corrections on the English
work. Armed with this nautical authority, Mr. Blunt took a copy
of his book to England, and sold it for two hundred guineas, where
it was republished under the title of "Kirby's Navigator." He then
returned to Newburyport and completed his American edition.
While in this town, Mr. Blunt printed 25,000 copies of the Naviga
tor, 15,000 copies of Walsh's Arithmetic, besides many other
works, and an almost innumerable quantity of sermons, which it was
so much the fashion in those days to print. He also first printed
that " unimitated and inimitable " work of Lord Timothy Dexter,*
" with whom," says Mr. Blunt in a letter addressed to the writer, under
date of October 4, 1853, " in his own summer-house, on his coffin,
decorated with decanters, &c, I have taken many a glass of wine,
with a company of cavalry to which I then belonged."
Mr. Blunt removed from Newburyport in 1810, but left, in his
building on State street, an unfinished edition of his Practical Navi
gator, the concluding sheets for which, were forwarded from New
York, where he had taken up his residence. These were unfortu
nately consumed in the " great fire " of the next year.
Mr. Angier March was the next principal editor of the Herald until
1801. He was a violent Federalist. Other individuals had tempo
rary charge of the paper, but the next permanent editor was E. W.
Allen, Esq., who conducted it with marked ability for nearly thirty
years. While enumerating the worthy men and good citizens
who have contributed to give to Newburyport that best wealth of
any community, its good name, it would be wrong to omit particular
mention of Ephraim W. Allen. Mr. Allen, as the conductor of
the " Newburyport Herald," was, for a third of a century, identified
with the history of the town, sympathizing in its good and ill fortune,
laboring to promote its interests, and anxious to acquit himself, not
only as a faithful chronicler of the times, but as an earnest, efficient
advocate of all such principles and measures as he believed to be
conducive to the prosperity of the community to which he was bound
by his interests and affections.
* " A Pickle for the Knowing Ones."
17

258 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
Mr. Allen was born in Attleborough, Bristol County, Massachu-
' setts, April 9, 1779. His father, a substantial and respected farmer,
served his country as an officer in the army, in the war of the Revo
lution. At the age of fourteen, the son was placed in the printing
office of Thomas & Manning, in Boston, the senior of the firm being
the celebrated Isaiah Thomas ; and the junior, a printer and publisher
who stood in high repute with the craft in the early part of the cen
tury. Among his fellow craftsmen and more intimate friends, were
several young men who afterwards reached stations which brought
them conspicuously and honorably before the public. Among these
was the late Hon. Samuel T. Armstrong, who was, at one time,
Lieutenant Governor of the Commonwealth. Having served out his
time faithfuUy and well, young Allen went forth to seek opportu
nities of advancement in his profession, as well as the means of an
independent support. Newburyport, then enjoying its fullest meas
ure of commercial prosperity, was an attractive point to a young man
just embarking in life, and hither he came in the year 1801. At
that time,- having nothing to rely upon beyond his knowledge of his
art, and his own energies, he entered the office of the Herald, then
owned by Edmund M. Blunt, as a journeyman printer. He remained
in that situation but 'a very short time. Mr. Blunt being wttling to
sell his estabhshment, Mr. Allen purchased it in connection with Mr.
Jeremy Stickney, a young man who afterwards became a well known
supercargo and shipmaster of this port, and the paper was published
in the name of AUen & .Stickney. Mr. ¦ Stickney's health faihng,
his share of the paper was purchased by Mr. Barnard. The firm of
AUen & Barnard was but of short duration, Mr Barnard going out,
and the whole estabhshment becoming the property of Mr. Allen.
Subsequently, Mr. Allen, having formed a partnership with his
brother, William B. Allen, commenced tho business of booksellers
and publishers, under the name of WUUam B. Allen & Co. This
once widely known firm was extensively engaged in the publication
of standard works, including editions of the Bible, theological,
ecclesiastical, medical, and school books. The times were not then
propitious for an undertaking of that nature in the locality selected
by them, and on the scale on which it had been projected by these
enterprising brothers, and the business was finally relinquished ;
but, owing to highly prudent management, without serious loss.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 259
The energy, assiduity, and intelligence brought to this enterprise,
had they been exerted under more favorable circumstances, could
hardly have faUed to secure those rich rewards which have so
deservedly crowned the efforts of many of the more recent Ameri
can publishers.
At the close of his bookselling operations, Mr. Allen repurchased
the Herald, with which he had parted when he entered on his other
engagements, and continued the publication of that paper to the
year 1834.
In the days of his early career, Mr. Allen was the printer, the
editor, and the carrier of his paper. In those times the communi
cation with Boston was so slow, that not unfrequently, when important
events were pending, Mr. AUen would prepare his paper for press
on the day previous to its publication, and then proceed on
horseback to Boston, return with what news was to be found there,
put it in type, work off the sheets with his own hand, and then
distribute them himself to his subscribers.
In the long period of thirty years, for the greater part of which
he was at the head of a public journal, he so conducted the press
under his control, as to secure the approbation and support of the
community with which he was identified. Successive newspaper
enterprises were set on foot with a view to the supplanting of
his paper, all of which, however, failed, without seriously affecting
the prosperity of the " old Herald ;" opposition of this kind never
disturbed him. He met it coolly and good-humoredly ; for he felt
himself too firmly anchored in the good-wiU of his feUow citizens to
fear the consequences of such rivalry. His journal, in the hands
of himself and judiciously chosen associates in the editorial depart
ment, in part moulding and in part reflecting the predominant
sentiment of the community by which it was sustained, -_- never
perversely bent on ignoring those permanent changes in public
opinion, without deference to which no journal can ever be either
successful or practically useful, but wisely conforming itself to
those changes, — has always kept itself fairly "up with the times,"
whUe cautious of committing itself to the support' of mere specious
novelties. It is a journal with which, looking at its past history,
and no less to its present exceUent management, this community
may feel, upon the whole, well satisfied. To-day, few journals in

260 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
our country, no matter what their pretensions or how wide their
fame, contain more weighty matter than the well-considered edito
rials and salutary selections of the Newburyport Herald.
In 1827, Mr. Allen embarked in the fur seal fishery, and in
company with other enterprising citizens, continued for some years
to send vessels round Cape Horn, to cruise among the seal islands
in the Pacific ocean. In 1834, Mr. Allen's connection with the
Herald finally ceased. From that time forward, he busied himself
in mercantile operations and the care of his property. In 1837, he
visited Missouri, where he remained nearly a year, with some
expectation of making that State his permanent home ; and after
wards twice revisited it, the last time in 1845. Under President
Harrison's administration, he received an appointment in the
Newburyport Custom House, which he resigned after Mr. Polk
came into office. The succeeding year brought to a sudden termi
nation his busy, active, and useful life. After an acute illness of
only a short duration, he breathed his last on the 9th of March,
1846, aged 68. He died universally lamented by that community
whose fortunes he had shared for nearly half a century, and was
followed to the grave by mourning relatives who keenly felt their
loss. Mr. Allen was married in 1804, to Dorothy, youngest daughter
of Captain William Stickney, by whom he had nine chUdren, three
of whom died in infancy. The remaining six, five sons and one
daughter, (the latter the wife of our fellow-citizen, William H.
Brewster,) still survive him. Mrs. Allen deceased in 1842, much
regretted by an attached circle of friends, who loved her for her
warmth of heart, conscientious feelings, and Christian hfe.
Mr. Allen had many excellences of character. Active in his
habits, of a buoyant disposition, and public-spirited, he bore a
cheerful share in the social movements around him. Military, fire,
and other friendly or mutual encouragement and aid associations,
found in him, during the years of his more vigorous manhood, a
ready and active participant. He was always a regular attendant
on religious worship. In middle Ufe, he became impressed with a
new sense of his religious obligations, and in 1832 united himself
to the church under the pastoral care of Rev. Dr. Dimmick, in
which communion he remained till death ; exhibiting, in a consistent

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 261
Christian walk and conversation, the evidences of a sincere and
warm attachment to the faith which he professed. The domestic
ties were strongly wound round his heart. That kindliness of dispo
sition which made him so good a friend) was accompanied by a
parental tenderness, wbich made him one of the most affectionate
of fathers. The best interests, the permanent welfare, the true
happiness of his children, for time and for eternity, were with him
objects of a sohcitude which never slumbered. Without extra
ordinary gifts of genius, he had that sober good sense and cautious
judgment, which, combined, as they were in him, with an enterprising
temper and alacrity and dihgence in all undertakings, are not
unfrequently a better possession than the most striking endowments
of nature. Intelligent, active, persevering, temperate and frugal,
with moderated desires and duly regulated ambition, loving the
picture of an improving, well-ordered society, kindly disposed
towards man, and reverencing his Maker, Mr. Allen was a fair type
of that invaluable class of men without which no community or
nation can either make progress or secure the desired measure of
. strength, steadiness or stability. To his chUdren and his fellow-
townsmen he left the best of legacies, the memory of a blameless,
useful and well-spent life.
In October, 1832, the present senior editor of the Herald, J. B.
Morse, Esq., was associated in the pubhcation of the Daily Herald.
(Up to this time it had been published semi-weekly.) In 1834, it
passed into the hands of Messrs. Morse & Brewster, with whom it
remains to the present time, 1854.
A large number of apprentices in the Herald office have become
successful editors ; among these was the editor of the "Free Press,"
Wm. Lloyd Garrison, Esq., better known as the editor of the Boston
"Liberator," who is a native of Newburyport, and learned the
printing business in the Herald office, when in the hands of the
late Ephraim S. AUen, Esq. In 1827, we find the name of Mr.
Garrison enrolled as a member of the Newburyport Artillery
Company. Mr. Coffin, the " Boston Bard," was another of these
apprentices. The Newburyport Advertiser, the predecessor of the Daily
Evening Union, is the only Democratic paper which has success
fully competed for any length of time with the Herald. On the 1st

262 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
of January, 1854, the Union was merged into the Daily Herald,
and a weekly paper, entitled the Saturday Evening Union, was
established the ensuing February.
The Broadway Emporium was started as an advertising medium
by its publisher, and distributed gratuitously. It was one of the
first of this class of papers printed in Massachusetts.
SHIP-BUILDING IN NEWBURYPORT.
When ship-building was first commenced on the Merrimac, is not
positively ascertained, but as early as 1680 this place exported a
ship-builder. A Mr. Duncan Stewart and his sons went from New
bury to Rowley, and built the first vessel ever constructed there.
This veteran builder was a fine type of the class whom he represented.
He lived to the age of one hundred years.
In 1741, we find Mr. Samuel Moggaridge engaged in ship-buUding
on the spot now occupied by Mr. George W. Jackman ; but who
had filled up the intervening half century since Duncan Stewart's
day, we do not know. But that there were others who immediately
preceded Mr. Moggaridge, we learn from incidental references in-
papers belonging to his descendants ; and among his cotemporaries
was Mr. Ralph Cross, a native of Ipswich, born in 1706, who early
removed to Newbury and commenced ship-building here. His yard
was that which is now occupied by Titcomb & Lunt as a mast-yard.
His sons, Stephen* and Ralph, succeeded him in the business.
Mr. Orlando B. Merrill buUt over sixty sail of vessels, among
which was the ship Pickering in 1798, and the sloop Wasp for the
United States in 1813.
Some controversy has arisen relative to the origin of the ship
models now in use. The invention has been claimed by some of the
oldest New York builders, but after proper investigation it has been
awarded to Orlando B. Merrill, Esq., of this city, who is now living,
at the age of ninety-four years, and made the first water line model,
on the plan now in use, in the year 1794 ; previous to that time,
there were used only skeleton models, composed of pieces showing
the ribs, &c, of the ship.
" At a stated meeting of the New York Historical Society, held
at its rooms in the University of the city of New York, on Tuesday
* See Biographical Notice.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 263
evening, June 7, 1853, Mr. De Peyster presented the original ship
model, made by the inventor, Orlando B. Merrill, of Belleville,*
Mass., in 1794, now ninety-four years of age. The model was given
to David Ogden, of New York, in February, 1853, who presented it
to the New York Historical Society.
" Extract from the minutes.
"Andrew Warner, Recording Secretary..
"January 25, 1854."
Mr. Woodell, grandfather of Captain J. Woodell, built on the
spot which the latter now devotes to the same purpose, fifty-two sail
of vessels, from the year 1763 to 1773. His son, in connection with
Mr. Hale, the firm of " Woodell & Hale," from the close of the
war in 1783 to 1790, built ten satt.
Since 1800, Captain J. Woodell, formerly in partnership with
his father, has built about ninety satt of schooners, from 50 to 320
tons burden.
The Woodell family have therefore built a total of one hundred
and fifty-two vessels.
Mr. Elias Jackman was a noted ship-builder from the year
1790 to 1833, and built a great number of vessels during that
period. Mr. Joseph Jackman commenced buUding in 1822, and between
that period and 1829 he buUt several ships, brigs and schooners.
Stephen Jackman, Jr., between 1830 and 1848 built some thirty
sail of vessels, ships, brigs, and schooners, and also two steamers,
(the Ohio and Decatur.) Of the brigs which he buUt, thirteen were
to the order of the late John N. Cushing, of this city.
George W. Jackman, Jr., since 1849 (to 1853) has bunt four
ships, four barques and one schooner. The ships being from 720
to 1,100 tons.
Mr. Elisha Briggs, who formerly occupied the ship-yard now
owned by Mr. J. Currier, built from 1807 to 1837, seventeen ships,
thirteen brigs and ten schooners.
Mr. Joseph Coffin has built since 1810, nine ships, eight barques,
three brigs and thirteen schooners.
* Belleville is a part of Newburyport, where the ship-building is chiefly
carried on, and is not, as strangers to the locality Would suppose from the above
extract, a separate township or municipality.

264 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
Messrs "Currier & Townsend" from 1843 to 1853, built
twenty-three ships, two brigs, eight barques, one schooner, and one
steamboat. The ships buUt by this firm have varied from 700
to 1,667 tons burden.
Mr. William Currier, between 1840 and 1842, built two ships
and five barques. With the building of some of the latter was con
cerned Mr. Donald McKay (now of East Boston.)
Mr. John Currier, Jr., has been extensively engaged in this
business for over twenty years. Since 1831 (to 1853) he has built
forty-two vessels, viz., thirty-seven ships and five barques, several of
the ships being over 900 tons, twenty-one of them being from 600
to 800 tons. In 1847 a steam mill was erected in his ship-yard to
facihtate the preparation of timber.
In addition to these buttders there have been Messrs. WiUiam
Gerrish, Jonathan Greenleaf,  Woodbridge, (who occupied
what was calledHhe " middle ship-yard,")  Horton,  Dut-
ton, Stephen Coffin and others. Mr. S. Coffin built here in 1813
two of Jefferson's gun-boats. Currier & McKay* built here the
Ashburton; and Pickett & McKay the St. George, and John R.
Skiddy. In 1852 the total tonnage of Newburyport was 29,403 which is
9000 greater than that employed in Salem. Of this amount there
were employed in the coasting trade 1,549 ; in the cod, 4,946 ; and in
the mackerel fishery 2,628. The number of foreign vessels arriving
during the year was 95. There were built here during the year
8 ships, 6 schooners, and a steamboat of 6,137 tons, more than were
built by any other town in the county.
The buUding of cUppers for the New York market is a large and <
profitable branch of the ship-building interest.
During the year 1853 nineteen vessels of different sizes, were
buUt upon the river, measuring 10,758 tons. The following are the
names, tonnage, builders, and owners :
Ship Highflyer, 1200 tons, by Currier & Townsend, for D.
Ogden and others, New York.
Yacht Ocean Bride, 50 tons, by Lowell & Sons, Salisbury, for D.
Childs and others, Lynn. * Now of East Boston.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 265
Yacht Golden Eagle, 50 tons, by E. P. Lunt, for George Per
kins and others.
Barque Naiad Queen, 315 tons, by Manson & Fernald, for James
Blood and others.
Barque WUdfire, 315 tons, by S. McKay, of Amesbury, owned
in Boston.
Schooner John and Frank, 88 tons, by Bickford & Son, Sahsbury,
on their own account.
Ship Guiding Star, 900 tons, by John Currier, for Moses Daven
port and others.
Yacht Wild Ranger, 45 tons, by E. P. Lunt, for Benjamin Lunt.
Ship Constitution, 1200 tons, by Currier & Townsend, for Messrs.
Buntin and others.
Schooner Tekoa, 150 tons, by Joseph Coffin, and owned by the
same. Schooner WiUiam H. Fitts, 58 tons, by WUUam H. Fitts, SaUs
bury, for himself.
Ship Whistler, 900 tons, by George W. Jackman, Jr., and owned
in Boston.
Schooner Spray, 40 tons, by D, LoweU, Salisbury, owned in Lynn.
Ship John N. Cushing, 650 tons, by John Currier, for J. N. &
WilUam Cushing.
Ship Jabez Snow, 1,200 tons, by Currier & Townsend, for Jabez
Snow and others, Boston.
Yacht Daniel C. Baker, 50 tons, by Daniel Lowell, Salisbury,
owned in Lynn.
Ship Dreadnaught, 1,400 tons, by Currier & Townsend, for D.
Ogden and others, New York.
Ship Starr King, 1,100 tons, by George W. Jackman, Jr., for the
buUder, and parties in Boston.
Ship Volant, 900 tons, by John Currier, for Captain Micajah
Lunt and the builder.
Schooner Fearless, 140 tons, by Manson & Fernald, owned in
Plymouth. If it is thought by any that we have devoted too much space to
the shipping interest, it must be remembered that it was this, and this
alone, which gave Newburyport aU her early reputation, and on it,
in a great measure, has always depended the prosperity of the place.

266

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.

TONNAGE TABLE.

Permanent

Enrolled in thf

Employed in

Employed

Employed in
the Whale
Fisheries.

Total'
Tonnage.

DATE.

Registered vessels.

Coasting and
Fisheries.

Coasting Trade.

in the
Fisheries.

Tons. 95ths

TONS, 9.5IHS.

TONS, i)5THS

TONS, 95THS

TONS, y5THS.

17941795
1796

14,819-54

2,461-39

2,005-60

455-71

17,280-93
16,179-48
3,959-56
3,328-49
631- 7
20,129- 9
1797
16,290-18
4,614- 1
4,256-48
354-19
20,904-19
1798
13,747-44
5,107-40
4,521-73
585-62
18,854-84
1799
15,414-16
2,761-73
2,447-47
314-26
18,175-89
1800
15,412-67
3,504-55
3,244-28
260-27
18,917-27
1801
13,348-23
3,717-92
3,072-41
645- 6
17,065-70
1802
14,614-60
3,784-64
2,516-61
1,268- 3
18,399-29
1803
16,351-42
• 4,367-19
2,765-34
1,601-80
20,715-60
1804
19,834-94
3,806-46
2,000- 2
1,806-44
23,641-45
1805
24,019-47
4,314- 6
1,603-69
2,710-42
28,333-53
1806
25,291-32
4,422-17
1,641-75
2,580-33
29,713-49
1807
26,799-16
4,998- 1
1.162-91
3,886- 5
31,789-17
1808
22,191-15
7,963-61
4,847-35
3,116-26
30,154-76
1809
29,571-54
4,820
2,733-68
2,086-27
34,391-54
1810
29,897- 6
5,398-47
3,889-77
1,508-65
35,296-28
1811
17,359-12
5,983-42
3,921- 9
2,062-35
23,342-54
1812
18131814
15,670-72
7,262-39
6,795-10
667-29
22,933-16
13,571-50
6,785-60
5,908-17
877-43
20,357-15
1815
15,003-62
6,995-25
5,849-53
1,045-65
21,99.9-22
1816
16,331-21
7,170-65
23,501-86
1817
15,464-46
8,716-33
24,180-79
1818
15,281-80
9,516-37
25,798-22
1819
14,893-35
10,335-37
.
25,229-72
1820
8,786-35
2,323-14
11,109-49
1821
10,071-14
984- 4
10,155-18
1822
9,481-41
10,525-51
20,006-92
1823
9,519-88
10,951-41
20,471-34
1824
9,168-32
11,706-92
20,875-29
1825
8,309-92
12,048-54
20,357-76
1826
9,844-58
12,986-36
22,880-94
1827
10,778-75
13,622-37
24,401-17
1828
12,280-62
14,707-49
9,114-88
5,592-56
26,988-16
1829
11,215-78
7,398-83
35-11
7,363-72
18,614-66
1830
9,714-44
6,862-98
1,004 60
,5,880-38
, V
16,677-47
1831
10,487-65
7,172-23
793
6,378-25
17,659-88
1832
11,854
8,277-90
988-9
7,289-81
20,131-90
1833
12,166-11
9,368-86
638-4
8,781-82
21,535- 2
1834
14,699- 9
8,632-88
2,251-61
6,381-27
23,302- 2
1835
14,510-85
10,693-62
25,204-52
1836
12,059-30
10,205-24
3,759-15
6,446- 1
1,440-20
22,264-54
1837
11,473-38
10,604-59
4,064-48
6,540-11
685-38
22,078- 2'
1838
10,640-66
9,908-52
2,198-62
7,709-85
329 35
20,549-23
1839
13,172-50
10,048-73
3,084-54
6,964-19
413 65
23,231-28
1840
14,591-73
9,373-34
4,424- 5
5,033-28
23,965-12
1841
14,286-44
5,392-84
4,435-11
4,496-19
23,217-74
1842
15,648-19
5,392-84
1,376-63
4,026-12
21,041- 8
1843
14,362- 4
5,324-29
2,551-84
2,772-40
19,686-33
1844
16,162-65
4,910-55
766-21
4,144-24
21,073-75
1845
16,586-32
5,396-69
2,025-36
3,371-23
21,952-91
1846
16,451- 8
5,865- 6
2,071-91
3,789-10
22,406-14
1847
18,038-42
7,144-44
2,557-93
4,586-46
25,182-86
1848
21,314-45
7,658-55
1,303-85
6,354-65
28,973- 5
1849
17,720-82
7,289-87
2,646-48
4,643-39
25,010-74
1850
16,213-57
7,048-29
494-27
6,554- 2
23,261-86
1851
18,766-11
7,940-69
495-29
7,435-40
26,706-80
1852
19,349-71
9,503-10
4,754-61
5,209-94
27,852-81
1853
22,025-14
9,598-78
4,664-27
4,29 1-1 1
31,623-92
HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 267
Ship-buUding, the manufacture of cotton cloth, fishing and shoe-
making, are the occupations which employ the greatest number of
hands in Newburyport, but the two latter are very frequently com
bined in the same person, many men who go to sea in the summer
employing the winter months at the bench.
The manufacture of organs has been carried to great perfection
in this place by Mr. Joseph Atley, who has buUt in all thirty-four
organs, some of large size. Mr. Richard Morse was formerly
engaged in the business, and built the organ in the Prospect street
church. On the 1st of January, the comb-making business was com
menced by Lucian A. Emory & Co., on Fair street, who employ
fifty hands, and are doing a business of $50,000 per annum.
The population of Newburyport was,

In 1764

2,282

In 1830

6,741

1790

4,837

1840

7,161

1800

5,946

1850

9,534

1810

7,634

1851

12,866

1820

6,852

TOPOGRAPHICAL DESCRIPTION OF NEWBURYPORT.
Newburyport, as now defined, lies on the southern bank of the
Merrimac river. The closely built portion of it extends some
three miles in length, and less than a quarter of a mtte in width ;
this narrow parallelogram gradually ascending from the river to
High street, or " the Ridge." The streets are regularly laid out,
running from the ridge to the river, and crossed by transverse ways
at nearly right angles, with some few exceptions. The place is
noted for its cleanliness, the general appearance of thrift and
comfort among its inhabitants, and the number and beauty of the
trees which adorn the streets.
Back of " the Ridge " lies an agricultural district, which may be
reached from any part of the town in fifteen minutes ; while the
river, lying at its feet, gives to it that vitaUty and spirit which
characterize a seaport town. Towards the north, a part of the
town, caUed BellevUle, concentrates the ship-building interest.
Here are four ship-yards, three large and one smaUer ; the products of
whicn may new be found in every quarter of the globe. In the

268 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
central portion of the town are. gathered the merchants and retail
traders, the City HaU, Banks, Market House, &c, and through it
runs the raUroad, penetrating the ridge by a tunnel, and being
carried by a bridge, elevated some twenty-five feet, across Merrimac
street, and leading thence directly across the river, over which,
many times a day, rushes the screaming locomotive. Towards the
southerly part of the town, we find the fishermen, many of whom
in winter work at shoemaking. And here too is one of the primi
tive ship-yards,* long dedicated to the exclusive production of
schooners. This section of the town owns to the common appellation
of " Joppa ; " and leading directly from this, in a south-easterly
direction, is the Plum Island turnpike, which by a bridge connects
the island to the main land, at a distance of nearly two miles from
the southern extremity of Water street. Hence, the inhabitants of
Newburyport have within the compass of a moderate walk, the
choice of turning to the green fields, with the West Newbury hills
forming a background to the picture ; to tho inland river scenery,
over which presides the " bald summit of old Powow ; " or to the
dashing waves of the free Atlantic, which spend their unobstructed
strength on the yielding shores of Plum Island ; while interspersed
everywhere over the town, rise the church spire and the school-
house, and those emblems of industry, the cotton factories, which
pour out into the streets some six times a day, their fifteen hundred
well-paid and well-cared-for operatives. A few rods distant from
the southern extremity of the thickly settled part of the town, is
" Pettmgett's," formerly " Pierce's " farm, upon which stands an
ancient stone house, built about 1660 or 1670,f used in the early
days of Newbury to store the town's powder ; a portion of which
on one occasion exploded and blew out a side of the house, lodging
a woman, a negro slave of Mr. Pierce's, bed and aU, in the branches
of a large apple tree. From the Pierce family who occupied this
estate, is descerided Franklin Pierice, President of the United
States ; Benjamin Pierce, of Hillsborough, being descended from
Benjamin Pierce of Newbury, who is buried in Byfield Parish,
Newbury, and, if we may believe his epitaph, Uke his descendant, a
" pUlar i' th' State he was."
* Captain J. Wooilwell's. See " Ship-building."
fCoffin.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 269
Following up the street, along the water-side, the southern half of
which is called Water street, and the northern Merrimac street ;
commencing at the southern extremity, the following varieties of
business may be observed, with many others which we have not
space to enumerate. At the starting-point is located tho gas fac
tory, which, with its iron arms, diffuses its light through all parts of
the town ; from which, following up Water street, through " Joppa,"
we find the shore lined with small boats and nets, which latter may
often be seen drying in the sun ; while on vacant lots to the left, in
the latter part of summer, it is not uncommon to see the fish-flakes
reared, and the cod, which the fishermen have brought home ready
salted, spread out to dry, preparatory to packing. Attached to
many of the houses in this vicinity are small workshops, which in
winter are occupied by groups of four, six, or eight shoemakers,
busily plying awl and thread, while they watch for the opening
spring, which will lead many of them to the " banks " and the
" Labrador," in pursuit of the mackerel and cod. In this vicinity,
and both above and below it, for some distance, the shore consists of
flats, which are only deeply covered with water at full tide. From
this position, perhaps one or more pilot boats may be seen putting
out after some ship or barque, whose white saUs may be discerned
on looking down the harbor, between Salisbury point and Plum
Island, standing up to the bar, where, if she is a stranger, she must
wait for a guide.
Above Bromfield street, anciently the southern limits of New
buryport, the wharves jut out in quick succession, one after another,
into the stream, and fishing schooners, coasters, West India traders,
eastern vessels, with wood from the Provinces, fill up the docks.
To the left stands the James cotton null ; and at little less than a
mUe from our starting-place, we come to Lunt's mast-yard, where
the long pine timbers are shaped into spars and masts for the
schooners we have passed, and the ships which we shall come to,
and for others which may never see the Merrimac. Not far from
here are the boat-builders, Orne & Rolfe, and Pickett, the latter of
whom, in 1846, built a splendid thirty-oared barge for the Govern
ment, to be used in the war with Mexico.
Nearly opposite to them is Huse's cigar factory ; and in this
vicinity are found the importers of West India goods, coal, lumber,

270 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
and grain ; and a little farther on, we approach the Custom House,
a substantial granite building, which contains not one square foot of
wood-work from the ceUar to the cupola ; and just beyond, is the
primitive ferry-way established by Andros, where now, as then, the
Merrimac may be crossed in the style of our ancestors a century
and a half ago, the traveller being rowed across at a nominal price,
and at a pace which gives ample opportunity to examine all the
beauties of the harbor, the river, and the Salisbury shore with which
it connects. Above this a few rods, we leave Water street, which terminates
in Market square — an open space into which leads the central busi
ness street, (State street,) and at a few rods from the foot of which,
stands the Market House. From the north side of Market square,
the water street is continued under ihe name of Merrimac
street. Walking on in this direction, we have, on Brown's wharf,
the iron foundry, and then pass the machine-shop of Mr. Lesley, the
marble-yard of Mr. Ira Davis ; and a httle beyond the railroad
bridge, the distiUery of Mr. Caldwell.* The first ship-yard we
approach, is that of Messrs. Manson & Fernald ; then comes a
tannery, which business has been carried on on the same spot nearly
ever since the " water-side " was settled. Soon appear the black
smith shops, the adjuncts to the larger ship-yards. Here we shall
probably see several clippers on the stocks in various degrees of
progress, and perhaps a steamboat building. Passing the several
ship-yards, the road leads directly to the " Chain bridge," (the Essex
Merrimac,) which crosses the river at little more than four miles
above the gas factory.
Parallel with the water-side street, and at little less than a quar
ter of a mile from it, runs High street, where the " retired merchants
most do congregate ; " and at a central point on its line, on the west
erly side, is situated the "Bartlett Mall," an enclosed piece of ground
on the centre of which stands the County Court House, and at either
end, a brick school-house. ' Back of the Mall lies a beautiful pond,
surrounded with terrace walks, elevated from twenty to forty feet
above its level. The general appearance of this vicinity is extremely
pleasing and picturesque, the effect being heightened by an ancient
*Mr. Caldwell makes about five hundred hogsheads of rum per annum.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 271
burying Ml lying just beyond its westerly limits. Between High and
Water streets, the upper ship-yard and the gas factory, is contained
the mass of the population of the city.
" The avenue known as High street, in this city, is remarkable for
its location, extent, and beauty. Many portions of it not only afford
an extensive view of the scenery for ten miles in the surrounding
country, the full extent Of the handsomest portion of the city, and the
numerous private residences, gardens, lawns, and landscapes, but it
commands a most beautiful marine panoramic view of our coast from
the Isles of Shoals to Cape Ann, including Plum Island and the
harbor. The location of this street is the admiration of strangers
from all parts of the country. The many tasty dwellings located
along its entire length, extending a distance of over six miles, from
Parker river to Chain bridge, its winding way through Belleville and
Newbury, together with the beautiful foliage intermingled with the
waving elms, the sturdy oak, and the majestic forest trees of a
century's growth, arching their spreading branches in luxuriant
grandeur, united with songs of the forest birds, and enlivened by
fragrant aromatic breezes constantly sweeping their course from
hundreds of highly cultivated exotic plants and gardens on either
side, cooled by refreshing air from the ocean, contribute to make this
avenue of our city a delightful promenade and fashionable retreat
during the summer season. The number of shade trees on High street,
embracing that portion within the limits of Newburyport, (from the
' Three Roads ' on the north, to Marlborough street on the south,)
is eleven hundred and forty-seven."*
The chmate of Newburyport, though variable, is healthy for most
constitutions, excepting that class disposed to bronchial or pulmo
nary complaints. The town is subject to no epidemic diseases, and
the cholera has never effected a lodgment here.
One cause of the salubrity of the place, is the exceUent water
which is found here. The soil is gravelly, and with the exception
of the wells nearest to the river, the springs are peculiarly pure.
Those near the mouth of the river contain a large proportion of the
muriates and nitrates of lime and soda, which are, however, princi
pally objectionable, when conducted through lead pipes. On the
* Herald.

272 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
higher parts of the town the water has been found to contain only
7Jj£ grains of soluble and insoluble matter, to a gallon of water,
(the gaUon containing 56,000 grains,) and is composed of the fol
lowing substances : Chromate of lime 2.24 grains, carbonate of
lime 1.10, sulphate of lime 0.48, nitrate of soda, 1.40, muriate of
soda 1.51, sulphate of soda 0.41, silicia and potash 0.14 ; total
7.28 grains.
The number of persons who attain to an unusual age in Newbury
port is remarkable. Of twenty-three funerals attended by one
clergyman in the town, from 1846 to 1848, the combined ages of
eleven of the subjects, amounted to 844£ years. In 1810, there
were of the deaths occurring, ten men between eighty and ninety,
eleven women about eighty, and two past ninety. In the fall of 1853,
at the funeral of an aged lady, the sum of the united ages of four per
sons in one carriage, was three hundred and twenty-five years ; the
addition of another relative, still living, would have made the sum
total of their ages, over four hundred years. At the present writing
(1854,) there are quite a number of persons near, and several over
ninety years of age, in the city.
In the section of Newburyport known as BelleviUe Parish,
(between Artichoke river and Oakland street,) there have not been
less than eleven persons over eighty years of age since the year
1839, and during this interval the number over eighty, has varied
from eleven to seventeen. The average of population in this section
of the-city, during this time, has been about 1000. There is also
a large number of citizens embraced in this parish, who might be
considered " aged," but who have not as yet reached the mark of
fourscore. Nor is it only length of years to which we can point ; many of
those reaching extreme old age, retaining their strength and facul
ties beyoiM the common term of nature. Mrs. Mary Toppan, who
died in 1383 at the age of 105 years, retained all her faculties of
mind to the last, and suffered no peculiar bodily infirmity, except
loss of sight, which was not ascribed to her length of days. Mr. T.
A. Coffin, at the age of eighty, walked from Newburyport to Hamp
ton Depot, then rode fourteen miles and visited the beach, walked
over and examined the state of his farm, and returned in the cars to
Newburyport the same evening, exhibiting no unusual signs of

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 273
fatigue. Deacon Ezekiel Prince,* a native of Newburyport, died
in Boston, January, 1852, at the age of ninety-two. When eighty
years of age he painted the outside of his own house ; at the age of
ninety, being in Charlestown, he walked to the top of the Bunker
Hill Monument, a feat greatly more exhausting than a walk of many
miles on level ground.
Deacon Henry Merrill, who deceased April 3d, 1844, at the
advanced age of ninety-three, had filled the office of Deacon in the
First Baptist Church, for a period of nearly forty years ; and though
residing a distance of three and a half miles from the meeting-house,
he was never absent from public worship a single Sabbath for twenty
years, and, tiU the age of eighty-three, when he had the misfortune
to break his leg, had never been confined to the house by sickness
a single day in his life.
We might add pages Of similar instances of strength, health and
longevity, but the specimens selected must suffice.
PLUM ISLAND.
There is no native of Newburyport, and scarcely a stranger who has
visited our city in the summer season, who does not retain vivid recol
lections of this fantastic strip of sand. To the minds of most, its asso
ciations are of the social gatherings of friends, of sea-side picnics with
home companions and stranger guests; the eye recalls the sandy
beach dotted with tents ; the cloth spread on the clean yellow sand,
surrounded with groups of young men and maidens, old men and
children, the complacent pastor and the grave deacon, all enjoying
together a day of unrestrained mirth and healthful recreation ; some
indulging in the exuberance of their wild delight amid the waves
that roll their white crests to the feet of the more timid watchers,
and qthers preparing the gondola for a return home, knocking away
the poles that support the tents, or packing up the fragments of the
feast preparatory to stowing them in the carriage, wagon or boat,
*Mr. Prince was the son of the Rev. Mr. Prince, (a blind preacher,) whose
remains lie beside Whitfield's in the vault of the Federal Street Church ; and
was brother to James Prince, for many years Collector of Newburyport. The
late Dr. Sidney A. Doan, of New York, belonged to this family, being a grand
son of James Prince, Esq., the latter gentleman entertained La Fayette on his
visit to this town. 18

274 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
that is waiting to carry the party home, just as the sun is settmg
behind the western hills.
Thousands remember just such scenes as these when they think
of Plum Island; but there is another picture, with darker shades,
which comes between the eye and heart at the mention of Plum Island.
There are some to whom that name recalls a dark, stormy night —
the heavy moaning of the sea — a bark vainly striving to clear the
breakers — blinding snow — a slippery deck — stiff and glazed ropes —
hoarse commands that the cruel winds seize and carry far away from
the ear of the saUor — ' a crash of tons of falling water beating in the
hatches — shrieks which no man heard, and ghastly corpses on the
deceitful, shifting sands, and the great ocean cemetery, still holding
in awful silence the lost bodies of the dead.
When the north-east wind blows, and the misty fog, which has
left its home in the Bay of Fundy, and travelled down the coast,
shrouding from sight the breakers and the bar, and dimming the
warning harbor lights, — when the drizzling rain turns to the fierce
tempest, and the deep roar of the Atlantic can be heard like mournful
dirges in the streets, — then the citizens of Newburyport think of
Plum Island, and speculate on the probabttity that a vessel may even
then be vainly struggling amid the breakers. If in the day-time, one
and another, and here and there a party, put on their thickest coats,
and stoutest boots, and speed away to Plum Island, to see the storm
in its majesty, and to rescue its victims, if any such there are, that
may be reached.
In December, 1839, occurred one of these terrible storms. On
the 15th, there had been a very high tide, which had overflowed the
wharves on the river-side, and covered the eastern end of Plum
Island with water, so that for some hours the keeper could not get
to the lights, a lake having formed between his dwelhng-house and
the light-houses. The hotel nearer the bridge was also surrounded
with water, while sandhiUs twenty feet high were washed away, and
others formed, the eastern shore being reduced by the action of the
waves, many rods. On the 24th, there was a recurrence of the
storm, and during the night, a brig of some three hundred tons, the
Pocahontas, struck, and was discovered early in the morning, but in
such a situation that nothing could be done for the relief of the
wretched men who still clung to the wreck. Those on board in whom

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 275
life remained, could see the excited but impotent spectators on the
shore, whUe the latter gazed with useless sympathy upon the strugglers
in this terrible conflict of the elements. The surf was such that no
boat could possibly Uve in it, and those in the brig were too distant
to throw lines on shore, if the wind had not been enlisted against
such a means of deUverance. The bodies of several of the crew
were afterwards found on the beach at some distance from the brig,
with the small boat lying near, showing that these had attempted
thus to escape, but perished by the very means taken to preserve
their Uves. These probably left the brig before dayhght, and
perhaps before she struck. Seven bodies of the crew were recovered,
besides the captain and first mate.*
One man who was seen before nine in the morning on the bowsprit,
retained that critical position until near twelve, when a heavy sea
washed away him and his support, and he was lost in full sight of
scores of spectators. To make his case the more sad, it was but a
few minutes after this catastrophe that the brig was washed upon the
beach, so that it was readUy boarded from the shore. One man was
found lashed to the vessel with life not extinct when first discovered,
but so exhausted that he ceased to breathe without being able to
make an inteUigible sign. The sea had beaten over him so fiercely
and continuously, that his clothes were almost entirely washed off of
him. StiU the unpitying storm beat on. The ice was driven in from the
flats to the wharves, and pUed up on the lower part of Water street.
* The poet must have had a very similar scene in mind when writing :
" Seven sailors went sailing out into the East ;
Into the East as the sun went down ;
Each thought of the woman that loved him the best,
And the children were watching them out of the town.
For men must work, and women must weep,
Though the harbor bar be moaning.
« ' * * * * *
Seven corpses lay on the shining sand —
On the shining sand when the tide went down ;
And the women are weeping and wringing their hands,
For those who will never come back to the town.
For men must work, and women must weep ;
And there 's little to earn, and many to keep,
Though the harbor bar be moaning." KlNseiEY, (Altered.

276 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
The light-houses were at one time considered in danger, as the water
flowed above the blockings on which they were placed, even at an
hour which should have been low tide. Of one hundred and thirty
vessels in port, forty-one were more or less injured ; and one, the
schooner Panama, was sunk at her wharf.
When, after several days, it became almost certain that no more
bodies would be discovered, the stranger corpses were borne into the
broad aisle of the South church — the American ensign thrown over
the coffins, — the bells tolled, — and amid a concourse of two thousand
five hundred people, solemn prayer was offered over these human
waifs, untimely thrown upon our shores. But they were not all
strangers. One lay there, the master of the vessel, whose name
and lineage and features were familiar to many in that crowded
sanctuary. Young Captain Cook, and the first officer, also named
Cook, were the only ones recognized that day. The others were
borne by the hands of strangers to the old burying hill, while the
bells tolled solemnly, and the drooping flags hung at half-mast from
the vessels at their moorings ; and on that ancient hill-side now stands
a neat monument over the spot which humanity offered for their
repose. Other wrecks have there been before and since December, 1839 ;
but none the circumstances of which were more indeUbly impressed
upon the mind, especially of those who participated in these funeral
services. On Christmas day, 1850, was discovered on the snow-covered
beach, the frozen body of a young man, belonging to the schooner
Argus, wrecked a day or two before. He was quite young, not
more than 19 or 20, and had evidently reached the shore alive, but
benumbed with cold, and exhausted with his efforts to reach the
shore, had laid down in a posture of repose, but it was to a rest
which knew no earthly waking. He was discovered by a Mr.
Johnson, of Rowley, and brought up to town by S. T. Payson, Esq.
The corpse, decently arrayed for the grave, with another of the
same crew, subsequently found on the beach by Mr. T. G. Dodge,
was buried from the same church whence the crew of the Po
cahontas had been carried to their last resting place. Of the
crew of the Argus, five perished; two were washed off the vessel
and not recovered. It is supposed the two found on the beach

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 277
attempted to swim on shore. One was not accounted for ; the
captain only was saved.
Four months and a half later, on the 15th of April, 1851, com
menced another storm which is now fresh in the recoUection of aU,
but which is recorded as not without interest for the future. On
Monday, the slowly gathering, but thick easterly mist, announced
the coming of a storm ; the mist in a few hours turned to a steady
rain, accompanied by a heavy gale ; on Tuesday greatly increasing
in violence ; and by Wednesday morning, it proved one of the most
severe ever experienced in this vicinity. It was the more fearful,
as coming on an unusually high course of tides, which rendered
every additional impetus, dangerous and destructive. At Wednes
day noon, the tide was higher than at any other previously recorded,
except perhaps one which occurred exactly a hundred years ago, in
1753, when during a violent E.N.E. storm of snow, the tide rose, to
an unprecedented height ; so much so that in a corn-rmU situated
on Parker river, some six or seven mUes from the sea-shore, the
tide flowed in to the depth of twenty-three inches on the floor.* It
was twenty-two inches higher than in the gale of December, 1839,
and thirteen inches higher than at any subsequent time. The
wharves were covered with water from one to four feet, which also
forced its way into the warehouses on the wharves, and filled the
cellars on the lower side of Water street. During Tuesday night,
the watchmen employed at the ship-yards, found a quantity of
timber floating off, and much was lost before aid could be procured
to save the remainder. In the morning, and towards high tide,
several hundred cords of wood and lumber floated from the
wharves, and went adrift. The wharves themselves were many
of them badly damaged ; the lower long wharf to the amount of
some $1,200.
Many vessels were badly chafed by beating against each other
and the docks, and some broke adrift. The Essex mill, which is
situated on the water-side, above the bridge, had its engine and
boiler-house nearly filled with water,t and the waste-house was
thrown over and forced from its place. As high up as Hale's
wharf, the spray was thrown against the windows of the second
* Family Record of Mr. John Pearson. f Daily Herald.

278 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
stories of houses on the upper side of the street ; while below South
street, the river broke in waves over the whole line of the road to
Plum Island ; and the spray was carried to the tops of the houses
on the upper side of Water street. A number of workshops and
outbuildings were grasped by the advancing waters, and borne off
in triumph, only to be cast back again, shattered and in fragments,
by the next returning wave. A view of the scene the next day,
made the destruction appear quite as impressive as during the
violence of the storm. The road was torn up, and impassable for
horses or carriages, strewn with wood and timber and fragments of
buildings which the angry waves had left, as if in contempt for
their worthlessness, and which they had only rent to atoms to show
their own prowess. Many famtties on the lower side of the street,
fearing for the foundations of their dwelhngs, had temporarily
abandoned them, and spent the night with hospitable neighbors ;
whUe many had removed some of their more frail and valuable
pieces of furniture, and for days after might be seen carrying. them
back to their still undemolished homes. When within the town the
resistless tides had so completely pronounced their ascendency, it
may well be imagined that Plum Island presented a still more
desolate aspect. On Wednesday noon, Plum Island bridge was
covered with water and quite impassable ; but previous to the
highest rising of the tide, two of our citizens, Messrs. T. G. Dodge
and 0. Rundlett, impressed with the idea that a vessel was lying off
Plum Island, and that it was possible they might be of use to the
endangered crew, had made their way to the island at about
half-past ten in the morning ; and there, lying to, outside of the
breakers, was a brig, which it was evident could not long withstand
the sea, which was forcing her on to the beach. Messrs. Dodge
and Rundlett made for the " Relief Hut, No. 1 ; " a house erected
shortly before by Captain Nicholas Brown and others, for the
purpose of affording temporary shelter to shipwrecked mariners,
and also for those who ventured to their assistance; the latter
needing occasional shelter from the fury of the storms, and the
means of making a fire, to enable them to be of much assistance to
those threatened with destruction. The vessel now in sight was
not far from the house, and presently the watchers saw her main-
saU give way ; control over her was lost, and they knew she must

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 279
soon strike. They had not long to wait ; she struck almost as soon
as they came opposite to her, on a reef about two hundred yards
from the shore, and about half a mile below the rehef house, and
between that and the Emerson rocks. The crew could plainly see
their unknown friends on the shore, and by signal communicated
with them, the brig gradually beating up the beach. Many and
persevering efforts were made to secure a line which the crew
endeavored to throw on shore from the brig, but, undiscouraged,
Messrs. Dodge and Rundlett remained in the surf nearly three
hours before this was accomplished. A little before one o'clock,
they were joined by Mr. Lufkin, who resided on the island, some
two miles below the wreck, who with a hired man came to their
assistance. An hour's more toil and the rope was at last secured,
and the Captain and crew, with a single- passenger, nine persons
in aU, were thus, by the humane and persevering efforts of these
men, rescued from their perilous situation. Too much credit cannot
be given to those who thus exposed themselves to wet and cold, and
exhausting endeavors to rescue the imperilled strangers. The brig
proved to be the Primrose, Captain Bokman, with a cargo of coal,
from Pictou bound to Boston. The Captain had not been able to
take an observation for several days, and supposed himself in Boston
Bay, till he discovered the breakers at his feet. She lay imbedded
in the sand till the ensuing July, when she was towed off, having
had her cargo taken out by the steamer C. B. Stevens, then running
on the river between Newburyport and HaverhiU.
The damage caused by this storm along the wharves and among
the shipping, could not have been less than twenty thousand dollars,
while the injury to the Plum Island turnpike and bridge was only
repaired at a cost of about four thousand doUars. The sea at one
time broke completely over the island, in some parts, leaving lakes
and ponds in unwonted places when the storm subsided.
Communication on the Eastern Railroad was interrupted on the
morning of the 16th and 17th, by the washing away of a portion of
the road by the Rowley marshes, and during Wednesday a large
number of persons came over the Georgetown RaUroad to see the
ravages which the storm was making along the shore. Indeed, so
exciting was the scene along the lower part of Water street, that
the streets leading to it were thronged with groups of interested

280 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
persons and spectators, among whom were probably two or three
hundred ladies, who participated, despite of wind and weather, in
enjoying the fascinating excitement of the scene.
The Plum Island Bridge and Turnpike Company was incorporated
in 1805, with a capital of $25,000, divided into 500 shares. In
1837, $20 was assessed on each share, and in 1851, $10 per share.
The bridge has been twice washed away ; in 1851, as related above,
and in 1832, when it remained unbuilt for the next succeeding five
years, but was rebuUt in 1837 at a cost of $13,000. In 1818 and
at other periods it has been very seriously damaged.
In 1808 a whirlwind passed over the northern end of Plum Island,
throwing over the Ught-houses and leaving them stretched out like
dead sentinels, not side by side as might naturally be expected, but
in opposite directions, as if they had fallen in deadly conflict with
each other.
Plum Island bears north and south, and is between eight and
nine miles in length, and less then a mile in width ; the northern
half of it was originally owned by the town of Newbury ; but in
1827 it was bought of the " Proprietors' Committee on undivided
lands in Newbury," by Moses PettingeU, Esq., of Newburyport, for
the sum of $600 ; in whose possession this portion still remains.
The southern part of the island belongs to Ipswich and Rowley, and
contains a few dwelling-houses and farms ; but the northern part is
entirely composed of sand, which is thrown by the wind into hillocks
of various heights and forms, and on the eastern shore is continuaUy
the sport of the Atlantic billows, which change its outline from year
to year, making its shores, a new study, to the lover of nature,
who might here revel in one of her wUdest and most fantastic forms,
an ever new delight.
Besides the smaU beach plum, which originally gave name to tho
island, the juniper bush, and a coarse species of grass which is found
in patches sometimes of several acres in extent, there are few other
plants to be found indigenous to the soil, except the "prunus litto-
ralis, (of Bigelow,) the Hudsonia tomentosa, bearing a smaU yellow
flower, the Convallaria stellata, the lathyrus maritimus (of Bigelow,)
and the armaria pebloides* discovered R. S. Spofford, M. D., of
Newburyport." * Cushing's Hist. Newburyport

MISCELLANY.

INSURANCE COMPANIES.
The only Insurance Company now in operation in Newburyport,
is the "Newburyport Mutual Fire Insurance Company" incor
porated in 1829, of which John Balch, Esq., is President, and J. J.
Knapp, Esq., Secretary.
There has been a large number of private insurance companies
here, but few incorporated, Boston Companies usuatty keeping
agents here. The following incomplete list is all that we have been
able to ascertain regarding them.
In 1776, there appeared in the Essex Journal, a notice of the first
insurance office opened in Newburyport.
In 1784, a private insurance office was opened by Michael Hodge,
Esq., on the site now occupied by Messrs. T. H. & A. W. Lord.
In 1798, another private office was opened by Mr. John Balch at
a place called " The Hole in the Wall," at the foot of Green street.
In June, 1799j was incorporated the Marine Insurance Company,
" to continue until 1819." Ebenezer Stocker, President.
An office caUed the "Newburyport Marine Insurance" was
opened in 1802.
In 1803, the " Merrimac Marine and Fire Insurance Company,
was incorporated (February 15,) " to continue till 1823." John
Pearson, President.
An insurance office was opened by Mr. Joseph Balch, in 1803.
The Union Marine and Fire Insurance Company, of which Stephen
HoUand was President,, was kept (in 1806,) over the store now
occupied.by Mr. John Chamberlain, in Market Square.
The Newburyport Marine Insurance Company was kept by Mr.
John Porter on State street in 1810.

282 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT,
The Merrimac Insurance Company, of which Jeremiah Nelson was
President, was in operation in 1815.
In 1817, a private insurance office was opened by the late Seth
Sweetzer, Esq., over the store now occupied by Mr. Joseph
Goodhue, Market Square.
Mr. Cushing in his History mentions another incorporated com
pany, the "Phoenix" prior to 1826, (date of incorporation not
given.) An office was opened on Water street, (date not known,) the
Secretary of which was " Master Clannin."
The Merchants' Insurance Company (date of opening not known,)
dissolved in 1836, having lost heavUy, but paying up aU their debts
and interest.
The Essex Marine Insurance Company had at risk in 1840 over
$170,000.
BANKS. '
The Banks now doing business in Newburyport are the Merchants' ,
the Mechanics' and the Ocean.
There have been three banking institutions incorporated under the
name of the " Newburyport Bank," and one called the "Merrimac
Bank." This latter was incorporated June 25th, 1795, to go into
operation the ensuing 1st of July, the charter to hold until July 1st,
1805. Of this, William Bartlett was President, and Joseph Cutler,
Cashier. The next incorporated was the Newburyport Bank, March 8th,
1803, Dudley A. Tyng, President, and William W. Prout, Cashier.
With this institution was united the Merrimac Bank, (on the expira
tion of its charter in 1805,) the concern being carried on under
the name of the " Newburyport Bank," the charter of which, was
to continue till the first Monday in October, 18 12, with a capital of
of $550,000, WUliam Bartlett being President, and Samuel Mulli-
ken, Cashier.
On the expiration of the charter in 1812, a new Act of Incor
poration was obtained for the " Newburyport Bank" with a capital
of $210,000. The charter to hold till the first Monday in October,
1831. (This was succeeded by the "Merchants' Bank.")
The last named " Newburyport Bank " was incorporated in 1836,

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 283
and in no way connected with the preceding. It had a capital of
$100,000; Stephen W. Marston, President. During the disastrous
money crisis of 1837-9, it became embarrassed, and finaUy sus
pended payment in 1841. In 1845 its affairs were wound up, the
Bank redeeming in full every bill in circulation.
The Mechanics' Bank, of Newburyport, was incorporated in
1813. Its most active projector was James Prince, Esq., who
with Messrs. John O'Brien, William Russell, Joshua Little, WUliam
•Davis, Abraham WiUiams, John Brickett, James Horton and Gil
man Frothingham, was named in the act of incorporation. The
company had a capital stock of $200,000, which has remained without
change from the commencement of its operations. The number of
shares is 2000, of $100 each. John Pettingell was its first
President, and continued in that office until 1828. Moses Daven
port, Esq., has recently been elected President, in place of the
late John Wood, Esq.
The Merchants' Bank, of Newburyport, was incorporated
March 18,1831. Messrs. "William Bartlett, John WUls, John
Wood, Robert Jenkins, John N. Cushing, Benjamin Hale, William
Balch, Stephen TUton, Henry Johnson, Amos Noyes, David Noyes,
Henry Frothingham, Samuel Nichols, Eleazer Johnson, Edmund
Swett, and others," being named in the act of incorporation.
Capital, $225,000. Captain John Wills was elected President, and
Mr. Samuel Mulliken, who had been for many years Cashier of the
Newburyport Bank, was elected Cashier. The Bank commenced
business June 6, 1831, and in October of the next year, the Presi
dent, Captain Wills, declined a reelection to the Presidency, and
was succeeded by Henry Johnson, Esq., who held the office for
twenty-one years, until October, 1853, when he resigned, and Hon.
Micajah Lunt was chosen to succeed him.
In 1833 the capital stock of this bank was increased $75,000,
bringing it up to $300,000, the par value of the shares remaining
as at its organization ($50).
In 1844 it was, however, reduced $90,000, leaving it at $210,000,
at which it has since remained. The par value of the shares was
then also reduced to $35.

284 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
The Merchants' Bank arose on the ashes of the old Newburyport
Bank, whose charter expired by limitation, October, 1831, the
office, real estate, &c, being purchased and still occupied by the
officers of the Merchants'. In 1851, the veteran Cashier of
the bank, Samuel MuUiken, Esq., having attained the age of 82
years, resigned his office, and Mr. Gyles P. Stone was elected his
successor. The Ocean Bank, of Newburyport, was incorporated March 20,
1833. The persons named in the act were John Wills, first Presi
dent of the Merchants' Bank, William Davis, Seth Clark, of
Salisbury, PhiUip Johnson, Henry Frothingham, Jacob W. Pierce,
Richard Stone and Henry Titcomb, Jr. The original capital was
$200,000, but in 1844, the capital was reduced to $100,000, at
which it remains. The number of shares was 2,000, of par
value, $50 each ; the average number of stockholders being 250.
Captain John Wills was the prime mover in getting up the Ocean
Bank, and was its first President, which office is now filled by
WiUiam Stone, Esq.
The average dividend before the reduction of capital was four
per cent, per annum, since which time it has been ten per cent.
INSTITUTION FOR SAVINGS.
Office, comer of State and Essex streets. Incorporated in 1820.
Micajah Lunt, President; John Harrod, Treasurer ; Richard Stone,
Secretary. On deposit (1853) over $1,000,000.
Among the By-Laws are the following. " No deposit received
less than one dollar, and no sum less than three dollars shall be put
on interest."
" Office hours from 9 A. M. to 1 P. M., and from 2\ P. M. until
4 P. M., excepting Saturday afternoon and public holidays."
"Dividends payable on the fourth Wednesday of AprU and
October ; dividends not called for, added to the principal of the
depositor and placed on interest."
" No interest paid on sums drawn before the regular period for
declaring dividends, which is the third Wednesday in AprU and
October, nor on any sum which has not been on deposit three
months."

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 285
" At the end of every five years, the net profits of the Institu
tion are added to the capital of all depositors, whose deposits amount
to three dollars and upwards."
" Money can 'be withdrawn on any day during office hours, except
on the third Wednesdays of January, April, July and October ;
but no sum less than one dollar can at any time be withdrawn.
" The Trustees may by vote of the majority return the amount
of all or any of the deposits, or divide the property among the
depositors in their proper proportions, by giving three months'
notice." This is the legal provision for dissolving the Institution ; so that
in this extremity, which there is no reason whatever to anticipate,
the depositor is ensured against loss.
ESSEX STEAM MILL.
The Essex Steam Mill was incorporated, in 1834, with a capital
stock of $100,000 ; par value of shares $5,000, the number of
shares, 200. The present officers are George Gardener, Presi
dent; James Reed, Treasurer ; William C. Balch, Agent.
BARTLETT STEAM MILLS.
This Company owns two buildings, situated on land adjoining
Pleasant and Inn streets. Company incorporated in 1837. Capital
stock $350,000. Number of shares 700, of par value $500
each. Sheetings and shirtings (of No. 40) are manufactured to
the amount of 2,000,000 yards per year. The number of hands
employed average 400. Spindles 18,080, looms 391. In one of
the buUdings the engine is of 100 horse power, and in the other
but 70.
This company was originally incorporated as the " Wessacumcon
Mills," and the principal projectors of it were Messrs. Ebenezer
Moseley, Richard S. Spofford, M. D., John Chickering, Samuel T.
De Ford, PhUlip Johnson, William Ashby and T. M. Clark. The
capital stock was originally divided into 350 shares, of $1,000
each. The present division of stock was made in May, 1845. The
annual meeting of stockholders is held in May. Eben. Stone,
Treasurer. The name of the Mills was changed in 1840.

286 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.

JAMES STEAM MILL*

Situated on Water street, foot of Charles : was incorporated Janu
ary 28, 1842, with a capital of $250,000. The building is 312 feet
long, 50 feet wide, and four stories high, employing 17,000 spindles,
and 356 looms. The engine is rated at 180 horse power. The mill
produces annually, of fine shirtings and sheetings, (of about No. 40,)
a little over 2,000,000 of yards ; consuming 590,000 pounds, or
1,300 bales of cotton, and some 1,300 tons of coal ; number of hands
employed, 325, of whom two-thirds are females.
This enterprise originated with several persons, principally at the
south part of the town, among whom were Messrs Phillip Johnson,
Mark Symonds, Robert Bayley, Charles T. James, Ralph and Thomas
Huse, J. T. Loring, Albert Wood, and Samuel Brookings, and the
heirs of the late WilUam Bartlett, Sen., who subscribed at once half
of the original amount with which it was at first proposed to com
mence operations, ($30,000,) and subsequently added to this sum.
Some Boston capital was drawn in, which justified the enlargement
of the mill, and stock was paid in to the amount of its present capital,
which was divided into 2,500 shares 'of $100 dollars each.
The annual meeting of stockholders is held on the third Monday
in February. Charles J. Brockway, Treasurer.
GLOBE STEAM MILL.
Situated on "Federal street, near Water : incorporated March,
1845 : capital of $320,000, having 800 shares of par value, $400
each : manufactures jeans and printing cloths, producing 4,000,000
yards annually, and employing 100 males, and 275 females. The
engine is rated at 230 horse power ; spindles in operation, 13,392, and
looms, 384, consuming annually 1,600 tons of coal, and 704,000
pounds of cotton. The building is 320 feet long, and 50 feet wide ;
four stories high.
* Before the machinery was put into the upper stories of this mill, a room
was selected as the most commodious in town, in which the Hon. Daniel Web
ster addressed the citizens of Newburyport, prior to the fall elections of 1844,
(November 7.) The weave-room was capable of seating 5000 people.
Water is introduced into this mill from a pond lying beyond the cemetery, on
the southerly side of the turnpike.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 287
The prime originators of this company were Messrs. John Porter,
James Reed, Charles H. Coffin, John Balch, and Mark Symonds.
The original capital stock was but $200,000 ; but in 1846, the com
pany made 400 new shares, of value, $200 each, thus increasing
the capital stock $120,000.
Annual meeting of stockholders, second Monday in May. John
Porter, Treasurer. OCEAN STEAM MILL.
Situated on the corner of Kent and Monroe streets : was incor
porated in 1845, with a capital stock of $160,000, divided into 400
shares, of $400 each. The product is principally printing cloth, of
which 2,000,000 yards are made annually. The number of hands
employed is 170, of which 60 are males ; number of spindles, 8,784 ;
looms, 208, consuming 850 bales of cotton, and 900 tons of coal per
year ; engine 120 horse power.
The principal originators of this mill were Messrs. WiUiam C.
Balch, Frederick J. Coffin, James Reed, Benjamin Saunders.
Annual meeting of stockholders, first Monday in May. James
Reed, Treasurer. NEWBURYPORT BRIDGE COMPANY.
Chartered in 1826 : present Board of Directors, (1853,) Joseph
Johnson, President; William Balch, Prescott Spalding, Josiah
French ; John Porter, Clerk and Treasurer.
ESSEX MERRIMAC BRIDGE.
Incorporated, 1792; charter expires in 1862. Micajah Lunt,
President ; Ebenezer Stone, Treasurer and Clerk.
CUSTOM HOUSE.
Collector of Customs, (1854,) James Blood ; Deputy Collector,
Thomas W. Burnham ; Naval Officer, Nicholas Brown ; Surveyor,
Nathaniel Jackson ; Ganger, George W. Hill ; Weigher and Meas
urer, Enoch Hale, Jr.; Inspector, Charles Peabody; Boatman,
Joseph LoweU.

288 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.

MILITARY COMPANIES.

The " Newburyport Artillery " Company was organized in
1778. The -first officers were Thomas Thomas, Captain; David
Coates, Captain Lieutenant ; Michael Hodge, First Lieutenant ;
Samuel Newhall, Second Lieutenant.
In 1794, by the union of this company with one in Amesbury, a
battalion was formed, and subsequently a company belonging to
Andover was annexed to this battahon. Since 1820, the company
have performed camp duty in several towns in this State and New
Hampshire. This company are governed by a written constitution, regulating
terms of membership, the choice of officers, specifying the duties of
the several officers, &c. The 19th Article is one which might be
copied with advantage by associations other than military. We give
it entire :
"Article 19. Every member shall keep by him a copy of these
Articles, which he shall produce at the meeting in October, on pen
alty of twelve and a half cents."
This is well calculated to keep members to the point in debate.
The 20th Article shuts the door on frivolous or ill-natured motions
to reconsider. It reads :
" No vote passed by the company shall be repealed or reconsidered,
unless there be a greater number present than when the same was
adopted, and unless by a majority of the whole company."
In 1844 the name of the company was changed to that of the
Washington Light Guard. In 1852 this name was exchanged for
that of the " Cushing Guard." Their motto, adopted at their
seventy-fifth anniversary, (February, 1853,) is " Prepare for War,
but pray for Peace."
December, 1853, the City Government voted to purchase the gun
house, by Frog pond, for an armory, for the use of the Cushing
Guard. In 1800 the " Washington Light Infantry Company" was formed
under Captain Abraham Perkins, Lieutenant Charles Jackson," and
* Now Judge Jackson, of Boston.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 289
Ensign Nicholas Tracy. Their motto was, " He led the fathers, and
inspires the sons." In 1813 this ccmpany performed guard duty at
Plum Island. In 1817 the company was dissolved, but re-formed
the next year. In the journal of William G. White. Esq., we find
the following record under date of May, 1 834 : " The Washington
Light Infantry of this town, broke up last March, so that now there
is only the Artillery Company that have a uniform in this town."
This dissolution was final.MASONIC LODGES, ETC.
Masonry was introduced into America, according to Masonic
Chronology, July 30th, 5733,* when a Lodge was formed in Boston,
by virtue of a commission from the then Grand Master in England.
The Massachusetts Grand Lodge was established in Boston, Decem
ber 27, 5769, and descended by Masonic transmission, from the
Grand Master of Scotland. On the 19th of June, 5792, a Grand
Masonic Union was formed by these two Grand Lodges, and all dis
tinctions between ancient and modern Masons was abolished. The
Lodges of Massachusetts, were divided into twelve Districts, each
having a District Deputy Grand Master. The Lodges of Newbury
port belonged to the second District ; these were :
St. John's, chartered in 1766, St. Peter's in 1772 and St. Mark's
in 1803.
In 1790 a Royal Arch Chapter was established in Newbury
port, and in 1795 an Encampment of Knights Templars was
instituted. About 5825 a Consistory was established here which
had the power of conferring all the highest degrees of Masonry.
In the decline of Masonry throughout the country, some twenty-
seven years since, the several bodies here participated; but the
Order reckoned as its members, during its ascendency, the names of
some of the most intelligent, worthy and pious members of the
community, including many of the clergy. For many years the
Grand Royal Arch Chapter held their Annual meetings alternately
at Boston and Newburyport, many of the highest officers belonging
to the latter town.
* To reduce this to common time, call the 5 a 1 ; thus, 5733 Masonic time
will be 1733, A. D. 19

290 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
St. Mark's Lodge is stUl sustained, and another, the St. John's,
which had surrendered its charter, has recently received it again,
and is now in operation. ODD FELLOWS.
The Quascacunquen Lodge, (No. 39,) was instituted in Newbury
port, March 7th, 1844 ; the charter being granted to Messrs. E. S.
Stearns, George Emery, John Poole, S. K. Gilman, and C. A.
Somerby. Among the terms of membership, it is provided* that " the candi
date shall be a believer in a Supreme Being, Creator, Preserver and
Governor of all things. He shall not be under twenty-one years of
age. He shall be a man of good moral character,
having some respectable known means of support, and exempt from
all infirmities which may prevent his gaining a livelihood.
No person shall be admitted a member of this Lodge over fifty years
of age, (except by card,) or paying annually one dollar extra over
the usual fees.
" The initiation fee is ten dollars, and two dollars for each degree.
* * In addition, every member pays to the general fund of the
Lodge seventy-five cents per quarter. * * There are two funds
connected with the Lodge, the ' widows and orphans' fund,' which
consists of specific contributions and donations, with all fines and
forfeitures, and the interest of all funds invested by the Trustees.
The 'general fund' consists of all moneys not belonging to the
widows and orphans' fund. The Lodge pays out annually between
six and seven hundred dollars. Benefits, in case of sickness of a
member, or death in his family, are graduated and paid according
to the degree which he has attained, and consequently in proportion
to the fees paid in by him. The punctual attendance of officers, at
the regular or special meetings, is enforced by a fine for absence.
" No smoking or refreshments except water, are allowed in the
Lodge rooms."
The number of members rose, soon after the organization of the
Lodge, to about three hundred ; it is now something less than that.
The Merrimac Encampment, (No. 7,) was formed under a charter
* « Constitution and Bye-Laws of Q. L., I. O. O. F."

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 291
from the Grand Encampment of Massachusetts, granted to E. S.
Stearns, George Emery, P. K. HUls, T, H. Lovel, Gilbert Watson,
Dexter Dana, and John Huse. Average number of members, forty.
THE MARINE SOCIETY.
The origin of the Marine Society of Newburyport, which has for
so long a period exerted a beneficent influence on the mercantile
interests of the town, is to be found in the voluntary association of
six individuals, who met on the 5th of November, 1772, and agreed
to form an association for the purpose of better securing the interests
of shipmasters, obtaining information relative to the navigation of
this vicinity, and forming a fund for the assistance of decayed ship
masters or their famihes ; the latter part of their work was com
menced by depositing with their Secretary and Treasurer, Michael
Hodge, Esq., a guinea apiece for the purpose. On the 13th of the
same month their numbers had increased to seventy, and a code of
By-laws was adopted, which involved in substance these points :
That members should consist only of persons who were, or had been
shipmasters, except in extraordinary cases. That captains in com
mand of a vessel should pay a certain sum per month to the funds,
for the time they were absent, but that in case of shipwreck, cap
ture,* or other misfortune, they might be excused from this tax, and,
if the case required it, assistance to himself or famUy should be
rendered. In case of the death of a member of the Society, his
widowf or children should be assisted, if necessary, according to the
means of the Society ; that any person guilty of any notorious crime
or vice, should be excluded from the Society and its benefits ; that
members in the practice of their profession should be careful in their
observations of the variations of the needle, soundings, courses and
distances, and of all remarkable things about the coast, and com
municate in writing to the Society, such observations as he had made
and deemed serviceable to the community.
In 1779 a committee appointed by the Society made a survey of
* In 1779 a large proportion of the members were excused on account of
having been captured by the enemy.
f Many widows have been wholly or in part supported by this Society, and
several orphans educated and maintained at their expense.

292 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
the Breaking Rock — a ledge about half a mile long, in the vicinity
of Great Boar's Head, and lying about a mile from the shore. The
danger to vessels from this ledge, which was covered at high tide,
had been fatally experienced by many coasters. The report of the
Society's committee gave such directions in regard to the navigation
of this part of the coast as to make it thereafter safe. To their
consideration, as combining the best nautical knowledge of the coast,
was submitted a book of sailing directions, with the bearings and
distance of headlands, &c, by Captain Furlong, which book was the
foundation of that which has since grown into such repute as the
American Coast PUot, afterwards published by Edmund Blunt, Esq.
The amount disbursed by the Society in charity has exceeded
$20,000, and they are now paying annuaUy $900 to the widows of
deceased members. The par value of the funds and buUding is
rising of $23,000. The charter of incorporation was obtained in
1777. The nucleus of a cabinet of curiosities was gathered, but
the decline of the shipping interest here has prevented any consid
erable enlargement. The buUding owned by the Society is on State
street. Captain Joseph P. Russel, who had been a member of the Society
for twenty-eight years, donated to it $2,000.
The Merrimac Humane Society was instituted for the purpose
of extending inquiries, coUecting facts, and aiding in the rescue or
resuscitation of persons subject to accidents, particularly drowning.
They were stimulated to this from the frequent occurrence of acci
dents on the Merrimac, and deaths by shipwreck, and otherwise, at
Plum Island.
The persons named in the act of incorporation, (March 7, 1804,)
are Micajah Sawyer, M. D., Dudley A. Tyng, and Ebenezer Stocker,
Esqs., Dr. Nathaniel Bradstreet, William Woart, Rev. Thomas Cary,
Rev. Samuel Spring, Rev. John Andrews, Rev. Daniel Dana,
Rev. Isaac Smith, WUUam Coombs, and Nicholas Johnston, Esqs.,
Dr. Nathaniel Saltonstall, Dr. Samuel Nye, and Rev. Joseph Dana,
D. D.
This Society erected three huts on Plum Island, and published
printed directions to mariners how to find them if cast ashore on the
island. They also provided signal colors and lights, which were

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 293
placed in the care of the keeper of the light-houses, with suitable
directions for use in case of vessels approaching under dangerous
circumstances. Grappling irons, inflaters, fumigaters, and electrical machines,
were also kept on hand by the Society, for the purpose of facilitating
the recovery of persons taken from the water and exposed to death.
The Society still survives, but the houses erected on Plum Island
were long since destroyed by the malicious or reckless frequenters
of the island.* They lasted, however, quite a number of years.
The present officers of the Society are Hon. Dennis Condry, Pres
ident; Francis Todd, Esq., Vice President ; Ebenezer Moseley, Esq.,
Corresponding Secretary; Moses PettingUl, Recording Secretary;
Captain Paul Simpson, (deceased 1854,) Treasurer; Rev. Daniel
Dana, D. D., R. S. Spofford, M. D., Hon. Ebenezer Moseley, Ed
ward S. Rand, Captain Francis Todd, Hon. Dennis Condry, Hon.
Henry Johnson, Captain Charles Hodge, John Harrod, Esq., Moses
PettengiU, Esq., Ebenezer Stedman, Esq., Trustees.
Mr. William Coombs, named in the act of incorporation, was one
of the Vice Presidents of the Society, and was awarded a gold medal
by the trustees for his heroic act in saving a child of Mr. Paul
Plummer, who had fallen from a raft into a depth of water between
six and seven feet, near Coombs's wharf. Mr. Coombs, though then
seventy-six years of age, immediately leaped into the water, and
succeeded hi rescuing the boy.
Mr. Coombs was for many years President of the Marine Society
of Newburyport ; was a Representative to the State Legislature ; a
Trustee of Dummer Academy; a founder of the Massachusetts
Society for promoting, Christian Knowledge, &c, &c. From an
early age he followed the maritime profession, till near the age of
* In 1851 was erected a new relief hut, differently situated from those
erected by the Humane Society, being five miles from the hotel,, and about
three-fourths of a mile north-west of Emerson's Rocks, and but one hundred
and fifty yards from the shore. This house is kept provided with dry fuel,
matches, and straw bedding, with two good lanterns, (a donation from Mrs.
Moses Emory ;) Captain J. Small, who resides on the Island, having charge of
the hut and its contents, lighting the warning-lamps in heavy weather. Since
the erection of this hut, there have been three wrecks near it

294 HISTORY of newburyport:
forty. His last voyage was performed in the year 1775, and was
undertaken just before the commencement of hostilities, for the pur
pose of obtaining from the island of Guadeloupe a supply of arms
and ammunition, such as he knew would be needed in the coming
contest. The voyage was eminently a patriotic one, involving the
risk of personal danger, if intercepted, and he surrendered his cargo
to the town authorities on his return without any stipulated recom
pense. He died May 28, 1814, aged 78. A funeral sermon, from
which the above facts are derived, was preached by his son-in-law,
Dr. Daniel Dana, then pastor of the First Presbyterian Church, and
was published by request of that body.
HOWARD BENEVOLENT SOCIETY.
Instituted in 1818. Its object is to relieve the necessitous
poor of the town. It has a fund, and has always been well sus
tained ; annual collections are made in the various churches of the
city, to aid the funds of this Society, either on " Thanksgiving day,"
or the Sabbath immediately preceding or following it.
GENERAL CHARITABLE SOCIETY.
The Charitable Society of Newburyport and vicinity, was organ
ized Feb. 12, 1850, Mrs. N. B. Medberry being chosen First
Directress, and Mrs. W. H. Wells, Secretary.
Its object is to extend aid to the. suffering poor of the city, who
are not otherwise provided for. To effect this perfectly, the city is
divided into districts, each of which is under the particular charge
of a committee, consisting of three ladies.
In cases demanding immediate help, this Society furnish direct
assistance, in furnishing clothes, food and, money; but the great
point to which the efforts of the Society are directed, is to put those
needing aid in a position to help themselves, and to rescue the
chUdren of the poor from ignorance, idleness and vice ; to elevate
the mass, by inspiring them with courage to seek the improvement
of their condition, and to help them to do it.
*
THE NEWBURYPORT MEDICAL ASSOCIATION
Was formed in 1818, for the purpose of promoting harmony
among the regular members of the medical profession; avaihng

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 295
themselves of each other's experience, and the discouragement of
empiricism in all its forms. The members have been Chas. Coffin,
John Bond, Ohver Prescott, Nath'l Bradstreet, Nathan Noyes,
Lawrence Sprague, Richard S. Spofford, Jona. G. Johnson, Sam'l
W. Wyman, Henry C. Perkins, Josiah Atkinson, Enoch Cross, E.
P. Grosvernor, J. H. Sawyer.
The eight last named are now in practice.
Numerous associations, religious, benevolent, &c, connected with
particular denominations or parishes, and more or less local and
limited in their character, exist, which we have not thought neces
sary to allude to, they not being sufficiently extended in their
influence to give character to the place.
DUMMER ACADEMY.
Though situated in the parish of Byfield, Newbury has been the
resort of Newburyport youth, from its first institution to the present
time ; and is therefore properly placed among those educational
influences which have given character to the young men of this
town. It was founded by WUUam Dummer, Lieutenant Governor
of the Province of Massachusetts, who at his decease devised his
whole estate in Newbury, for the endowment of a free grammar
school, and the erection of a school-house. The estate consisted of
a farm, upon which the school-house was buUt. It was first opened
in 1763 — just one year before the incorporation of Newburyport.
The execution of the wUl was originally committed to Nathaniel
Dummer, Thomas Foxcraft, and Charles Chauncey ; but in 1782,
the latter gentleman being the only executor living, the Legislature
appointed a Board of Trustees to manage the Fund, and the follow
ing gentlemen were incorporated as " Trustees of Dummer Acad
emy : " — Jeremiah PoweU, Benj. Greenleaf, Jonathan Greenleaf,
Rev. Joseph Willard, (President of Harvard College), Rev. Charles
Chauncey, Rev. Moses Parsons, Rev. John Tucker, Rev. Thomas
Cary, Samuel Moody, (the Preceptor,) WUliam PoweU, Dr. Micajah
Sawyer, Dummer Jewett, Samuel Osgood, Nathaniel Tracy, and
Richard Dummer, — nearly all Newburyport men. Their successors
have continued to have the control of the Academy.
Dummer has always ranked high as a classical school, and during

296 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
the first half century of its existence, there were constantly more
applicants for admission than could be accommodated, Mr. Samuel
Moody's fame as a teacher greatly assisting the reputation of the
Academy. He was succeeded by Rev. Isaac Smith, Dr. Benjamin
Allen, Rev. Abiel Abbott, Hon. Samuel Adams, Nehemiah Cleave-
land, and others. Mr. Cleaveland took charge as Preceptor in 1821,
and continued in that office untU 1840, when he resigned. In the
autumn of 1848, there was a general gathering of the " Sons of
Dummer," a dinner was had, speeches were made, and a silver
pitcher, suitably inscribed; was presented to Mr. Cleaveland, the
teacher to whom most of this generation are indebted for their
kindly remembrances of Dummer.
In 1822 an Association was formed among the graduates of
Dummer, for the purpose of cultivating and preserving their early
friendships, originating in this institution ; and also to accumulate a
fund for the establishment of prize scholarships. The " Sons of
Dummer," as the association was called, embraced many citizens of
Newburyport, and among those most interested in its formation, we
find the names of Hon. Dudley Atkins Tyng, LL. D., of this town,
who was for many years President, as were afterward Hon. Nathan
Noyes, M. D., Hon. Jeremiah Nelson, and Hon. E. S. Rand. Mr.
Rand resigned his office in 1845. Dr. J. G. Johnson is the present
head of this association. ECCLESIASTICAL SKETCHES.
The ecclesiastical history of this place and vicinity presents some
peculiar features, which can best be shown in a general sketch of
the successive churches formed, and their connection with each other
and their parent root, the First Church in Newbury. This was for
sixty-three years the only church in Newbury.* In 1698 a church
in what is now West Newbury, was organized with the Rev. Samuel
Belcher as the minister. This church, like several subsequently
formed, violently tore itself away from the parent stock, after having
* A small Baptist church was organized in 1682, but being few in numbers,
and of small means, no minister was settled among them, nor is there any evi
dence extant that any of the ordinances were observed by this ephemeral
church, lt died ere it reached maturity.

HISTORY OE NEWBURYPORT. 297
for a long series of years sought for a peaceable and honorable
dismission from the First Church, from whose meeting-house many of
them were resident a distance of six or seven miles. This meeting
house was built on the " plains." Subsequently a difficulty arose
among themselves about its removal, wbich resulted in the formation
of an Episcopal church, the parent of St. Paul's.
With these, the community, though Uly accommodated, were
obliged to be content untU 1725, when the Third Congregational
church was formed, (now worshipping in Pleasant street,) by those
who found it inconvenient to meet with the other parishes, or were
" not edified " by the ministry of their respective pastors. The
formation of this church was considered as objectionable and as
unnecessary by those already estabhshed, as was the formation of
the second and the offshoot of Queen Ann's chapel. Yet notwith
standing the difficulty they experienced in procuring a separate
organization, they, in their turn, became spiritual monopolists, and
in conjunction with the First Church in Newbury endeavored to
prevent the formation of the First Presbyterian Society ; * refusing,
to that end, to give a regular dismission to thirty-eight of their
number, who withdrew during the ministry of their first pastor, Mr.
Lowell, for the purpose of uniting with the Presbyterians. They
were, however, received by the latter, who were mostly dissentients
from the Rev. Christopher Toppan.f The Third Rehgious Society
in Newburyport (Titcomb street) was a branch from the first, which
settled the Rev. Thomas Cary simultaneously with the selection of
Mr. Marsh as the pastor of the third. This separation was per
fectly amicable, a pleasant variety in the retrospect already taken.
The Fourth Church (Temple street) was not so fortunate in its
first establishment. Its original members consisted of individuals
who withdrew from the ministry of the Rev. Mr. Murray, of the
* A vote of the church, passed December 21, 1763, reads thus : "Inasmuch
as they profess themselves Presbyterians, we will by no means encourage their
being empowered, [to act as a separate parish,] but leave the matter to the
General Court.
¦j- From the Toppan family of Newbury, descended the late Senator Toppan
of Ohio, and the well-known brothers Arthur and Lewis Tappan, of New
York. Several branches of the family have substituted Tappan for the original
orthography of the name.

298 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
Presbyterian church, for the purpose of settling the Rev. Charles
W. Milton among them as their minister. For some time they met
in a private house for worship, and in 1793 renounced the govern
ment of the Presbyterian church, and soon after erected a
meeting-house, formed an independent Congregational church and
secured the services of Mr. Milton as their pastor. A few years
later the Presbyterian Society was again divided by a schism in its
members, the occasion being a difference of opinion in regard to the
settlement of a minister ; the majority deciding in favor of Rev. Dr.
Dana, and the minority withdrawing for the purpose of organizing
a second Presbyterian church, under the pastoral care of the Rev.
J. Boddily, who was installed in June, 1797, in the house where the
same church now worships, (Harris street.) This last division left
the Federal street church in a somewhat perplexed condition ; the
clerk and treasurer both being of the minority party, the First
Presbyterian Church was left " without records, files or funds."
The church files were subsequently restored by the courtesy of the
Rev. John GUes, the successor of Mr. Boddily. The dissentients in
this instance had proposed some compromise measures, which were,
not accepted, but after the first period of excitement, the most
friendly relations were maintained between these churches of the
same order. In the bosom of the Second Presbyterian Society,
originated the movement which resulted in the formation of the
Whitfield Congregational Church.
Neither the Baptist nor Methodist churches are necessarily Unked
with the preceding, and their history will be found under their
appropriate heads.
The Roman Cathohc denomination also comes late in the eccle
siastical history of the town, (1843,) and is not of native growth ;
and though it has risen within the short space of ten years to the
number of fifteen hundred souls, it exhibits all the features of an
exotic. Its members being almost exclusively of foreign birth, no
appreciable loss or gain, numerically considered, has taken place
between this church and the Protestant sects with which it is sur
rounded. The denomination has been exceedingly fortunate in the
resident pastors of the church, whose influence has been most
judiciously exercised in all matters pertaining to good neighborhood
and good citizenship.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 299
The Sabbath schools now usually attached to the several churches
were first established here in 1817. The chUdren were then gath
ered indiscriminately from all parts of the town, and collected into
one school, which was held in the Court House. Subsequently
other schools of a similar character were commenced at the southern
and northern extremities of the town, which were continued until
the plan was adopted of appending them to the various churches
as they now exist. In 1830, an infant Sabbath school was taught
in Bartlett's buUding, at the foot of Market street.
The Protestant Episcopal Church, the present representative
of which is St. Paul's, originated in Newbury about the year 1712.
The following appear to have been the circumstances which led to
the organization of the Church. The inhabitants of what was called
the West precinct of Newbury were divided among themselves as
to the location of their meeting-house, the district being so widely,
though not thickly settled, as to render it impossible that att could
be accommodated, by having the meeting-house near their own
dwellings. At a meeting of the parish, it was finally voted to have
the meeting-house on Pipe Stave. Hill, while a respectable minority
refused to coincide with this vote, and proceeded to the erection of
a building for the better accommodation of themselves and famUies,
on what is called the Plains, where the original parish meeting-house
stood. Had they been allowed unmolested to procure and settle a
minister, it is probable they would have chosen one of the prevailing
denomination ; but the stronger party at the HU1 persisted in taxing
them for the support of the minister there, the Rev. Mr. Belcher,
which naturally led the people at the plains to look about them and
See what legal redress remained to them under these circumstances.
Retaining the name of the Congregational denomination, there was
none ; the law expressly providing that the majority of the parish
might decide on the location of the meeting-house, and that every
person in the parish should be taxed for the support of the same ;
but the alternative was presented, of declaring for some other form
of church government, when they might hope to be exempt from
this onerous taxation, from which they had petitioned time and again
to be released. The result was that twenty-two of the residents
at the plains, declared themselves for the Church of England —

300 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
being satisfied that in making this change, they should sacrifice
none of those evangelical principles which they had been taught to
revere. From the frequent petitions sent to the General Court,
these parish difficulties were well known in Boston, and Dr. Cole
man, then of the Brattle street church in that town, addressed a
letter on the subject to Dr. Kennet, Bishop of Peterborough, Nov.
17, 1712, in which he declares that " these persons (the dissentients)
seek only to save their tax, and are utterly ignorant of the church
they declare for." This statement appears perfectly gratuitous,
and made rather in that kind of " pet " which he felt at the result
of the difficulties in Newbury, and which he endeavored to affix
upon the. dissentients. There existed no reason why they should be
" utterly ignorant," while there were many why they should be
well-informed. The very troubles which afflicted the parish, were a
means of turning their attention to the forms, discipline and faith of
other churches, and the supposition that the materials of information
were not to be found among them is absurd. Many of them were emi
grants or immediate descendants of emigrants from England,* and, as
persons of ordinary inteUigence, could not fail to be acquainted with its
faith and formula. As early as l|ll they had enjoyed for a season
the ministry of the Rev. M. Lampton, through whom they must, if not
before, have been made acquainted with the tenets of the Church.
In an answer which Governor Dudley makes to one of their petitions,
to be released from the payment of taxes, for the support of a public
worship in which they did not participate, we find that a Mr. Harris
from Boston, a minister of the Church of England, preached for
them occasionally after Mr. Lampton left, and until a minister could
be sent to them from England. Governor Dudley gave it as his
opinion, and desire, that the Episcopalians should not be taxed by
*From the Puritans arriving first, and giving a name to Plymouth Colony,
a confused idea seems to have arisen — and prevails even in the minds of some
historians, that all the early emigrants were Puritans — which is far from correct :
many who had followed the first settlers of Plymouth, had been members, and
retained an affectionate interest in the Church of England. Even of that
Puritanic band, including Francis Higginson, (an ancestor of Rev. T. Went
worth Higginson, late of this town), Bancroft says: — "They did not say
'Farewell, Babylon! farewell, Rome! but Farewell, dear England!'"
1 vol. p. 347.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 301
the second parish ; but it was not until July of 1722, nearly twelve
years later, that official power effectually interfered for their protec
tion, and legal freedom insured them in the unmolested maintenance
of their chosen form of worship. The Rev. Henry Lucas arrived
from England, and took charge of the parish, in the summer of
1715 ; and was succeeded, after his death, which occurred in August,
1720, by the Rev. Matthias Plant, (in 1722.) Att now went on
harmoniously for a few years, until the " water-side people "pro
posed to build a church nearer to the business centre of the town,
which awakened a prophetic apprehension among the original
founders, that the two churches could not be maintained, and that
Queen Ann's Chapel — the church on the plains — would .suffer by
this rival. The frame of St. Paul's was, however, raised in 1738,
principally by the joint efforts of the Rev. Mr. Plant and a layman,
Joseph Atkins, Esq., who each gave fifty pounds towards it. It was
noj; used for public service till 1740. Immediately a difficulty
arose, from the circumstance of two congregations with but one
minister, which was for a while aUayed by Mr. Plant officiating
alternately at both churches, and was afterwards more satisfactorily
adjusted, by his consenting to hire an assistant, Mr. Edward Bass,
with whose help constant services might be performed at both places.
But this arrangement did not secure all the harmony desirable, and
subsequently an altercation arose between the proprietors of St.
Paul's and Mr. Plant, the occasion of which was as follows : The
proprietors claimed the right of receiving into or excluding from
the pulpit any minister whom they chose ; whUe Mr. Plant insisted,
in accordance with the usage of the Church of England, that he
should have the control of the pulpit. This controversy was not
adjusted until 1751, when the proprietors yielded, and Mr. Plant
was regularly inducted into the Rectorship of St. Paul's. He
enjoyed the fruits of his triumph but two years ; he deceased AprU
2d, 1753, and was succeeded by his late assistant, Mr. Bass,
who continued to officiate once a month in Queen Ann's Chapel,
until 1766, when public service in that building was abandoned, part
of the congregation uniting with, St. Paul's, and others returning to
the congregational form which their fathers had abandoned. Thus
deserted, the edifice went to decay, and finally fell down through
feebleness and the weight of years. The bell, which had been

302 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
presented to the church by the Bishop of London, now hangs in the
belfry of the Belleville meeting-house. St. Paul's was rebuUt in
1800, the corner-stone being laid on the 22d of May, with Masonic
ceremonies, by the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts.
The Rev. James Morse, D. D., succeeded Bishop Bass in the
Rectorship of St. Paul's, and remained in this office tiU his death in
1842, a period of thirty-nine years. He was devotedly attached
to the Church, and was a gentleman much esteemed in aU the rela
tions of life. He was a native of Newburyport, and graduated at
Harvard in 1800. He was succeeded by Messrs. J. S. Davenport
and E. A. Washburn. The present rector is Rev. WUUam Horton.
The First Church in Newburyport was the third in Newbury,
being organized in 1725, and the Rev. John Lowell settled as pastor
the year succeeding ; its history is one of peculiar interest, pre
senting in its early records, the simple idea of a primitive church,
intent only on fulfilling their appointed work of making themselves
and the world better.
As early as 1726, we find organized within the church, a volun
tary association of twenty-four persons, who having taken " into
serious consideration the decaying and languishing state of religion,"
subscribed their names to six articles, by which they agreed to meet
once a month, " none to absent themselves unless on some extra
ordinary occasion ; and first to redress in themselves and fami
lies any irregularities, and next to admonish their neighbors of the
same." EspeciaUy were their efforts to be directed to the observ
ance of the Sabbath, and finally to meet deputations once in three
months from the other churches, (if they would send any,) to con
sult upon the interests of religion and morality. Under date of
January 2, 1727, they voted to request the " honorable justice to see
that the ferrymen in and about Newbury, carry no one over the
ferries on the Lord's day," and a month later agreed to a measure
much neglected by the churches in these latter days, namely, " to
visit the young communicants of the church, and endeavor to coun
sel and advise them to continue in the sincere practice of those
duties that are incumbent on them by their public profession of
Christ." And in pursuance of their desire to assist their brethren in dim-

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 303
culties, they appointed a committee on one occasion, " to converse
withe ye wife of  concerning the disturbance she gives
him, when he .is going to perform famUy prayers." In regard to
the ferrymen, either the "honorable justice" did not comply with
their request, or the ferrymen were impervious to argument, for a
Uttle later we find them directing one of their number "to inform
ye ferrymen that they carry no person on ye Lord's day, except on
extraordinary occasions." Three of their number were also appointed
to the duty of going " to ye tavern by ye water-side," and there to
read the law of the province, respecting " the order required to be
kept in their houses." Requesting also the constable " to walk ye
streets after the evening exercise is over on the Lord's day, that the
Sabbath may not be prophaned."
After the arrival of Mr. Whitfield and the drawing away a por
tion of the church by the young preacher Adams,* it was deter
mined, " upon consideration of the difficulties of the present day, in
respect of religion in this place, and particularly of the divisions
that have lately arisen among us," &c, that a day of fasting be
appointed. But the evil spirit of schism was not cast out, and the
breach rather widened than contracted, and peace was not restored
until the seceding members were received into the communion of
the Presbyterian church.
When the first parish in Newburyport was set off, in accordance
with their repeated request, by the General Court in 1735, the com
mon law of the province gave the Society a legal supervision over
the precinct thus divided from the first and second parishes in New
bury. The dividing line between the first parish in Newbury, and
the one thus established, was Federal street. The new parish, in
accordance with their privileges, sustained schools and transacted
much other business which would now be left to the management of
the town, or city. Their first pastor, the Rev. John LoweU, con
tinued their minister till his death in 1 767. He was succeeded by
the Rev. Thomas Cary in 1768, who performed the pastoral office
for twenty years, when the Rev. John Andrews was settled with him
as a colleague, and succeeded him as sole pastor on his death in 1808.
The present meeting-house which this Society occupies on Pleasant
* See account of First Presbyterian Church.

304 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
street, and which is a model of architectural beauty, was erected in
1801. The Society had previously worshipped in a church standing
in what is now Market Square, and which was removed, (being
much decayed,) soon* after the Society abandoned it. The Rev.
John Andrews, D. D., continued his ministry during forty-two years.
He resigned his office in May, 1830, " welcoming his successor
(Rev. T. B. Fox,) as his friend, and gracefully retiring from the
pulpit to the pew, an example of Christian humility as rare as it was
dignified." In an appendix to the ordination sermon preached by Charles
Lowell, D. D., of Cambridge, on the settlement of Mr. Fox, we find
the report of the Committee appointed by the CouncU called on that
occasion ; they say the dissolution of the connection between the late
pastor and the people " was mutual, harmonious and honorable to
both parties ; * * and that they should be doing themselves, and
the friends of Dr. Andrews injustice, if they did not express their
sincere and entire respect and esteem for his character ; for his
exemplary life, for his assiduous and conscientious ministry and
eminently Christian deportment towards the Society." Mr. Andrews
died August 17, 1845, aged 81, leaving a large circle of mourning
friends, including many outside of his parish relations. He was a
native of Hingham, and graduated at Harvard in 1786. The suc
cessors of Mr. Fox, have been T. W. Higginson and Charles Bowen.
The First Presbyterian Church was formed on the 3d of
January, 1746, by nineteen persons who had formally withdrawn
from the first parish in Newbury. These, with others, had met for
worship for more than two years previously, in a small building
erected on High street, (then called Norfolk,) below Federal, a
young graduate of Harvard University, Joseph Adams, offici
ating as their pastor. This whole movement for a separate religious
establishment, was strenuously resisted by the pastor and church of
the first parish, who designated their proceedings as " irregular and
disorderly." By the advice of Whitfield, the new church (" the
Separatists," as they were called by those who remained attached
to the previously existing societies) extended an invitation to the Rev.
Jonathan Parsons to become their pastor. The consummation of
this connection was also opposed by the pastor of the Third Church

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 305
in Newbury, but without success ; and he was accordingly installed
on the 19th of March, in the same year.
The form of installation was certainly original and unique. The
services having been commenced by the singing of a hymn, Mr.
Parsons, having mentioned the reasons against his settlement, made
a final proposition to the assembled church, to see if they still wished
him to remain as their pastor. The # vote was taken by the clerk,
and passad unanimously in the affirmative. The pastor elect then
said, " In the presence of God and these witnesses, I take this
people to be my people ; " and the clerk rephed, speaking in the
name of the rest, " In the presence of God and these witnesses, we
take this man to be our minister." .Mr. Parsons then went on and
preached the sermon he had prepared, no other ceremonies what
ever (except prayer) being observed. The first platform agreed
upon by the church was designed to be but temporary ; though
containing the main features of Presbyterianism, the church was
not yet united to a Presbytery, but was styled " independent."
They had experienced great and unwarrantable difficulties in exer
cising their right of withdrawal from the first parish, which made
them regard Congregationalism, seeing it as they did sustained by
the favor of the civU power, with any thing but friendly feehngs.
On the 7th of AprU succeeding the installation of Mr. Parsons, they
completed the organization of tho church, by the choice of six
ruling elders, and in the following September, voted to unite with
the Presbytery of Boston ; retaining, however, the right to choose
their" elders annually. Though now recognized as a " regular Pres
byterian Church," — their numbers being also largely augmented by
a considerable body who subsequently withdrew from the third
parish, and others, — the first and third parishes still insisted on the
right to tax them, for the support of public worship in those places ;
and' their petitions to the Legislature, to be released from the pay
ment of taxes, as laid on them by the previously existing societies,
were met by remonstrances from these bodies, and their petitions
were again and again denied. Thus for a long time the members,
of the Presbyterian society had a double burden to sustain ; the
law compelling them to pay taxes far the maintenance of the
churches from which they had withdrawn, and their own choice;
20

306 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
and engagements demanding the support of their own church
and pastor.
Shirley, who was then Governor of Massachusetts, was rather
favorably inchned to the petitioners, and in one instance, at least,
commended their request to the especial attention of the General
Court. But other counsels prevaUed ; the representations of their
opponents, who hesitated not to impute unworthy motives to them,
gained credit, and the rights of conscience were sacrificed to ancient
prejudice, apparently founded on the maxim that "might makes
right." Some of the oppressed band absolutely refused to pay the
tax laid by the first parish, preferring to spend their days in prison,
to submitting to what they beheved an unjust demand. To make
their case more intolerable, by contrast, they saw the' Episcopalian,
the Baptist, and the Quaker, released from these very taxes from
which the Legislature denied them exemption. The excuse offered
by the Congregationalists for the extreme measures pursued towards
the Presbyterians was, that the " parish property was pledged for
the support of the parish minister," and of course if any consid
erable number refused to pay their proportion, the burden fell
heavier on those that remained. This was true, and a mitigating
circumstance in their favor ; but they sought no accommodation,
and would listen to no compromise, nor take measures for the future
release of those who desired another form of worship ; constantly .
denying the right of any to differ from themselves. But if the one
party was tenacious and grasping, the other was as determined never
quietly to yield the inalienable rights of conscience. The Presby
terian society actually entertained the idea of presenting their case
to George II and his Council, and only desisted, from the consider
ation that such a step might endanger the Charter of Massachusetts,
by invoking the interference of the king. It had, however, one
beneficial effect ; the Legislature, finding that they had already
written to the Attorney General of England, and fearing the effects
of their application, granted them some concessions, — unwillingly
and ungraciously enough, — but still concessions of right, so that a
stepping-stone was prepared for obtaining others. But it was not
till 1794, more than forty years afterwards, that they were finally
and legally released, by a General Act, bestowing ecclesiastical
freedom on the town from paying taxes to the Congregational
interest.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 307
We have been favored with an examination of the original records
of these seceding brethren from 1745 to 1795, and they certainly
exhibit, during the period of their first trials, a pure desire for the
restoration of the vitalizing truths of the gospel, from which, they
believed, "there was a warping as originally adhered to," in the
Congregational churches. Formally repudiating Armenianism and
Antinomianism, they embraced anew the peculiar doctrines of the
Reformation, as based on the Confession of Faith and Larger Cate
chism adopted by the Assembly of Divines at Westminster.
By these records it appears that from the organization of the
church to 1793 inclusive there were 461 members admitted, an
annual average gain of fifty.
The history of the First Presbyterian Society, as illustrating the
progress of correct opinions on religious freedom, is one of the most
instructive which the records of the State have preserved, which
induced us to give it more space than our limits will well warrant.
The meeting-house now occupied by this Society was erected in
1756. In this house of worship is a remarkably fine whispering gallery ;
we know of none which compares with it, save that of St. Paul's in
London, which this fully equals. Here also are preserved the bones
of Whitfield.*
The pastors of the church have been Jonathan Parsons, John
Murray, Daniel Dana, D.D. , Samuel P. Williams, John Proudfit,
D. D., Jonathan F. Stearns, and the present Rev. A. G. Vermilye.
The second is included in the Biographical Sketches.
The Religious Society now known as the Belleville Congre
gational Society, and which was incorporated in 1808, under the
name of the " Fourth Religious Society " in Newbury, was set off
as a separate parish in 1761, as the fifth in Newbury. Its forma
tion was opposed by the second (now first in West Newbury) and
third (now first in Newburyport) parishes. Incipient measures were
taken to raise a meeting-house as early as November, 1761 ; the
parish occupying the deserted building called Queen Ann's Chapel,
until this was accomplished (1763). The Rev. Oliver Noble
* See Biographical Notice, "Whitfield."

308 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
(August, 1762) accepted a unanimous caU of the parish to settle
with them as their minister ; he had previously preached to them in.
the old chapel on the plains. Mr. Noble continued with the parish,
to the mutual satisfaction of both parties, until about the years
1773-4. In December of the later year, we find the parish voting
that " it appears to us that near one third part of the poUs and
estates are gone over to the Church of England ; " and " that the
state of the parish has much altered since the settlement of Mr.
Noble." A committee was appointed at this meeting (December
13,) to " confer with Mr. Noble and acquaint him with the facts."
And at an adjourned meeting, it was voted that the committee
" farther acquaint Mr. Noble with the state of the parish, and that
his proposals was not hke to answer any good end." He however
continued to preach to them until 1784, when the connection ceased :
and the parish remained without a settled minister until 1808.
" In the spring of 1808, a number of individuals belonging to the
parish met for prayerful consultation, on the subject of organizing
a church, and after several solemn conferences agreed to form
themselves into a Christian church, by dedicating themselves to
God in a church state, and by obedience to the ordinances of the
Gospel." A mutual covenant was signed, and at a meeting of
the church (April 2) it was voted, " that they unite with the parish
in extending an invitation to the Rev. James MUtimore to settle
with them in the work Of the ministry."
Mr. MUtimore was installed on the 27th of April, since which
period internal harmony has distinguished the church, and its inter
course with the neighboring churches has been eminently pleasant
and peaceful. Mr. MUtimore preached to f%e Society for nearly a
quarter of a century, and untU he retired from the labors of the
pulpit. He was succeeded by the Rev. J. C. March, who continued
with them as their pastor until his decease in September, 1846.
Mr. March was a native of Newburyport. His successor is the
present pastor, Rev. Daniel T. Fisk. By a division of Newbury in
1819, this parish became the " Second."
In 1816, the old meeting-house was Struck by hghtning (April 1)
and entirely consumed ; nothing being saved but the cushions, books,
and lower window frames. The only fire-engine avattable was
smaU, not possessing sufficient force to throw water, of which but

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 309
httle could be obtained, on the belfrey.* The present buUding
stands on the site occupied by the old one, and its general style of
architecture is the same.
The Second Congregational Church was formed in 1768.
The Society was incorporated as the " Third Rehgious Society of
Newburyport." Its origin was altogether a pleasant episode in the
ecclesiastical history of the town ; the persons proposing to form it
having withdrawn from the First Society in consequence of a dif
ference of opinion as to some of the important doctrines of
Christianity, which the two candidates in view of the First Society
entertained. The disagreement was unattended with any of that
excitement which had marked the separation of some of the earher
churches, and as evidence of the amicable feeling which prevaUed,
we may note a vote of the First Church (January 18, 1768,)
whereby they agreed to divide the church plate and stock between
the seceding and remaining brethren. The First Church settled
the candidate of their choice, Rev. Thomas Cary, and the Second
Church (October 19, 1768,) theirs, the Rev. Christopher Bridges
Marsh, the latter recognizing the Orthodox platform, so called,
and' the Society concurring unanimously in the choice of the church.
Mr. Marsh died December 3, 1773, and the church was for the
next four years without a settled pastor, when the Rev. Samuel
Spring was invited to preach to 'them as a candidate. His answer
to the first request of the church is dated " Ticonderoga, August
12th," in which he declines the invitation of the church, as incom
patible with his engagements as chaplain in the army. On the
conclusion of this engagement, he accepted the renewed request of
the church, and was ordained its pastor in August, 1777, which
relation he sustained till his death, which occurred March 4th, 1819,
a period of nearly forty-two years. Dr. Spring was a man of fine
talents, devoted piety, and untiring activity.!
The present pastor, Rev. Luther F. Dimmick, D. D., was ordained
by the unanimous voice of the Church and Society, December 8th,
1819. * Newburyport Herald.
f His son, the Rev. Gardiner Spring, D. D., is the oldest settled pastor in the
city of New York.

310 HISTORY OP NEWBURYPORT.
The first meeting-house was dedicated in September, 1768,
standing nearly on the site of the present building, which was
erected in 1827. *
The Fourth Religious Society was incorporated in 1794.
The church was formed principally by dissentients from the ministry
of the Rev. John Murray, then pastor of the First Presbyterian
Society. The withdrawing members met for some time at a private
house, (Mr. Anthony Morse's,) in Milk street, the town refusing the
use of the Town House for the purpose. The present house of
worship was raised in 1793. " Yesterday," says the Essex Journal
of June 12th, " the frame of a meeting-house sixty-seven feet by
sixty, was raised in Temple street. It is designed for a handsome
edifice, and, on the plan of the new meeting-house in Boston, it is to
have two steeples in front. Previously to entering on the business,
the throne of grace was pathetically addressed by the Rev. Mr.
Milton, in the presence of a large number of spectators, after which
the workmen engaged spiritedly in the laborious undertaking, which
they accomplished without any accident intervening, to lessen the
pleasure of the day, excepting, a fall which Mr. William Davis of
this town met with, though he is likely to do well, notwithstanding he
fell between thirty and forty feet."
The first pastor of the church was the Rev. Charles W. Milton,
who was installed into that office on the 20th of March, 1794, and con
tinued with them till his death, a period of forty-three years. He
was succeeded by the present pastor, Rev. Randolph Campbell.
The interior of the house was remodelled in 1845, making it one
of the most neat, convenient and beautiful in the city.
Mrs. Margaret Atwood, who left a sum of $1,500 for various
charitable purposes, left some small legacies to this Society.
The Second Presbyterian Church was organized by the Pres
bytery of Londonderry, October 29th, 1795, with thirty-three mem
bers ; these individuals had withdrawn from the First Presbyterian
church, being dissatisfied with the settlement over that body of the
Rev. Daniel Dana, D.D. The Society was incorporated November
24th, 1796. The first pastor was the Rev. John Boddily, of Bristol,
England, and a graduate of Lady Huntingdon's College. He was

.HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. " 311
instaUed June 28th, 1797. On his death, which occurred Novem
ber 4th, 1802, he was succeeded by the Rev. John Giles, also of
England, who occupied the pastoral office for twenty-one years, when
declining health obliged him to relinquish its duties. In 1824 the
Society, without the concurrence of the church, called as their min
ister, the Rev. William Ford, who was instaUed by the aid of a
Congregational Council, August llth. He remained but little over
two years. In 1825 the Rev. Dr. Dana, who was then at London
derry, (President of Dartmouth College,) accepted an invitation to
this church, the original members of which, thirty years before, had
seceded from the First Presbyterian church on account of his settle
ment. In 1845, just twenty years from the date of his settlement,
Dr. Dana was at his own request released from the pastoral charge,
the Presbytery of Newburyport being called in to advise on the
occasion. On July 15th, 1846, the Rev. W. W. Eells, of the Presbytery of
Baltimore, was unanimously caUed as pastor by the Church and
Society. The church having apphed for, and been again received,
(November 18,) under the care of the Presbytery of Londonderry,
Mr. EeUs was installed as pastor by that body. This church was
based and now stands on the strictest Calvinistic platform of faith.
The Baptist Church of Christ in Newbury and Newburyport,
was formed under many difficulties, and in the face of obstacles that
would have disheartened less persevering or less conscientious per
sons. They had not the same kind of difficulties to encounter as had
obstructed the growth and prosperity of some of the earlier churches
of this vicinity ; they had no legal hindrances, such as beset the
Congregational and Presbyterian interests, but a more formidable
opposition was to be met in the prejudices of the times and place.
The denomination was new to this vicinity ; there was no Baptist
church in this or the neighboring township of Newbury. Some
attempt was made by a few individuals as early as 1681 to form a
church on these peculiar principles in Newbury, and they even went
so far as to apply for assistance to the first church in Boston, who
assented to their organization, but they were too few in numbers to
maintain a separate existence.
Tbe peculiarities of this denomination forced themselves, there-

12 ¦ HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
fore, with all the intensity of novelty, on the settled habits and opin
ions of the community in which they were now to be first broached
in a practical form. After some preliminary meetings held in May,
1804, a school-house at the south part of the town, then within the
Newbury line, was procured for the use of the Society, and Mr.
Joshua Chase preached the first sermon to a Baptist Society in this
vicinity on the Sabbath of July 22d, 1804. The first persons ever
baptized in Newburyport, were Stephen Goodwin, David Burbank,
Benjamin Goodwin, Bart. Hurd, John Flood, Nathaniel Pettingell,
and Mrs. Rebecca Dormon, on Sunday the 14th October, 1804.
The church was not regularly organized until the 2d of May,
1805. The young Ucentiate preacher, Joshua Chase, having in the
mean time received ordination, continued with them as their minis
ter, until the engagement of the Rev. John Peak in the fall of 1805.
Meetings were alternately held at the above named school-house (in
Marlborough street,) and at a building on the plains, until Mr. Peak
made it a condition of his permanent settlement among them, that
he should preach in some central place in Newburyport. Previous
to the erection of their meeting-house in Liberty street, 4he Society
met for worship in a building called the " Tabernacle," situated on
Temple street. In 1809 the Society took possession of the new
brick meeting-house, which they had erected at the cost of over
sixteen thousand dollars ; but of which they were destined soon to
be deprived by a calamity which involved the surrounding neighbor
hood in ruins. Inl811 the " great fire " consumed the house raised
with such great exertion and toU, and after a seven years' struggle, the
Society were thrown back, in a pecuniary sense, to their first starting-
point. Their pastor, Mr. Peak, immediately set out on a collecting tour,
and by great exertions on his part, and the generosity of the com
munities which he visited, obtained a sufficient sum to rebuild a
place for public worship. But now came the question of selecting
a site for the new house, opinions being divided according to the
residence of the members, as they were located north or south ; and
so vehement were those at the south part of the town in their desire
to: have the house located there, that they held ex parte meetings,
declared themselves the church, cited the Rev. J. Peak to appear
before them and resign his office of solicitor of funds, and on his

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 313
neglecting their citation, proceeded to the extremity of excommuni
cating him from the Christian privileges of the church ; all of which
proceedings were disallowed and disapproved by a councU subse
quently called to settle the difficulties which had arisen, and assist
in healing the lamentable divisions in the church. The council
agreed " on approving the conduct of the pastor, and sustaining the
course he had pursued."
The pastor and Deacon Henry Merrill had already purchased the
lot of land on which the meeting-house is now situated, on Congress
street, and the house of worship there was occupied by the Society
in 1812, having met for worship in the interim at the Court House.
The seceding party met together in "Joppa " for a year or two, with
Mr. Nathan Ames as their preacher ; but, unable to maintain visi
bility, the organization which was deemed irregular was dropped.
Thirteen of these individuals were formally excluded, for their disor
derly proceedings, by the parent church. The meeting-house has
been enlarged, and otherwise improved, "since its erection.
Mr. Peak's successor, in 1818, was Rev. Hosea Wheeler, since
which period, the following persons have occupied the pastoral office :
Messrs. Nathaniel WUliams, WilUam B. Jacobs, Jonathan Aldrich,
Albert N. Arnold, (who resigned for the purpose of connecting him
self with a mission established in Greece,) and Nicholas Medberry.
Rev. I. B. Lane is the present pastor.
First Methodist Episcopal Church. The Methodist interest
was commenced in Newbury, (now Newburyport,) in the year
1819, under the preaching and labors of the Rev. John Adams,*
a member of the New England Annual Conference of the Metho
dist Episcopal Church. Up to 1825, this place was connected
with the Salisbury Conference, when it was made a station under
the charge of Mr. Adams; the advent of Methodism into New
buryport was marked with much excitement, and not a httle oppo
sition. A "revival of religion" which accompanied the labors
of Mr. Adams, and which exceeded in extent and interest any
* Familiarly called " Reformation John ; " his life has recently been pub
lished, (1854,) in two volumes, and is principally autobiographical. He appears
by this work to have had considerable psychological power, and to have been
very conscious of it. He was eminently successful in his professional labors.

314 history of newburyport.
movement in the churches in this town since the days of Whitfield,
elicited no sympathy from the existing churches ; though many of the
converts subsequently became members of them.
In the faU of 1825 a meeting-house was built on Adelphia street,
the Society having formerly met in a school-house on Marlborough
street. In 1826 the Rev. B. Othman was appointed to the station, but
removed the next year to the Second Methodist Episcopal church in
Newburyport, which was organized in 1827.
In 1831, the Rev. Le Roy Sunderland,* was appointed preacher ;
under his labors, a considerable revival of religion took place, the
Missionary, Bible, Tract, Sabbath School and Benevolent (Temper
ance) Societies, were formed in the church, and a Sabbath School
Library was collected.
The frequent change of pastors in the Methodist denomination,
has prevented our obtaining a list of them.
The Methodist Episcopal Church of Newburyport was regu
larly organized by the Rev. B. Othman, June 20th, 1827. On the
same day the meeting-house situated in Liberty street, and buUt under
the superintendence of Mr. Othman, was dedicated. The original
members were fifteen persons, formerly members of the Methodist
Episcopal church in Newbury. The church made permanent and
satisfactory progress during the six succeeding years of its exist
ence, having in that time received an addition to their number of
one hundred and fourteen. In the seventh year of their organiza
tion, being 1834, a "Four Days' Meeting" was appointed, when so
great was the interest manifested, and so numerous the tokens of an
awakening among the people to the interests of religion, that the
meetings were continued twenty successive days, and fifty evenings,
without other interruption than the regular meeting of the classes
on one evening of each week. During this protracted meeting, one
hundred and fifty were admitted as probationers into the church.
* Mr. Sunderland subsequently withdrew from the Methodist Episcopal con
nection, removed to New York, became the publisher of a paper, and has since
become extensively known as a psychological lecturer. He now resides in
Boston.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 315
The faith and discipline of the church correspond with that gener
ally adopted by the Methodist Episcopal denomination in the United
States. The seventh pastor of the church, Rev. Jacob Sanborn, has writ
ten on page 90 of the Church Records, this sensible suggestion,
over a list of the funerals in the Society during the year 1836 : " I
judge it might be well for the preachers in this station to make
an entry in this book of the funerals they attend, as it would be
useful at tn*e end of the year to call the attention of the congrega
tion to the ravages of death, or in a sermon on the first Sabbath in
the year."
The First Universalist Society was organized on the 26th
December, 1834, by the following persons associated for that
purpose : Messrs. John B. Greely, Austin George, Daniel W.
Bailey, Albert Thompson, Gideon E. Leighton, William H. George,
Richard Bartlett, and Stephen Kent, Jr.
The meeting-house was dedicated in 1840, but the recognition
of the church did not take place until November 16, 1842. The
recognition services were performed by the Rev. Sylvanus Cobb.
The following gentlemen have been the settled pastors of the
Society, the last of whom now sustains that office : Revs. William M.
Fernald, Darius Forbes, Edwin A. Eaton, James Shrigley, A. R.
Abbot, Daniel M. Reed.
The Christian Church was organized May 7, 1840, by a
mutual covenant of ten persons, who met at a private residence,
" and after prayer, and solemn dedication to God, covenanted to
take the Holy Scriptures, especially the last will and testament of
Jesus Christ, as the rule of their faith and practice," and were then
acknowledged by Elder Daniel P. Pike, their first, only, and present
minister, as a properly constituted Church. The commencement of
this interest was at BeUeville, Newbury, in 1838, when Mr. Pike,
then minister of the Christian Church at Salisbury point, com
menced holding evening meetings in BeUeville, which were continued
weekly until January, 1840, when meetings were commenced at a
central location in Newburyport. In April, 1840, a room on
Brown's square was obtained, and dedicated to the public worship

316 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
of God. In November, 1840, " a Presbytery form of government
was adopted by this church, consisting of the pastor, three ruling
elders, three deacons, six deaconesses, and a church clerk." The
next year a Congregational form of government was adopted. The
church is now included in the Rockingham Congregational Con
ference. The church requires the adoption of strict temperance principles,
by aU its members ; and refuses all feUowship with slaveholders.
In 1844-5 the neat and commodious building which* the church
now occupies, was erected. The present number of members is
about 300.
Roman Catholic. The first church organization of the Catholic
denomination in Newburyport, was in May, 1843. There was then
no church edifice erected, and this was deemed a missionary field.
The first building occupied as a church, was the vestry of the
Federal street church, which was removed to Charles street, where
it was fitted up for temporary service. This station was occasionally
visited by the Rev. William Clanaran, of Dover, N. H., and in May
of 1848, the Rev. John O'Brien was appointed Resident Pastor of
the church. He was shortly succeeded by the present pastor, Rev.
Henry Lennon.
On the 27th of April, 1852, the corner-stone of a new church edi
fice was laid, in the presence of the Bishop, some twenty priests, and
an immense concourse of people ; the ensuing 17th of March the
building was dedicated under the title of the Church of the Im
maculate Conception. The style of architecture is decorated
Gothic, and the interior is finished in an appropriate and pleasing
correspondence with the exterior plan of the house.
The congregation numbers some fifteen hundred, including
chUdren. The church has on the average between 750 and 800
communicants, and a Sabbath school is maintained during the
greater part of the year. Many of the usual attendants upon this
church reside out of town, in West Newbury, Salisbury, &c. ;
some come even from Amesbury, the congregation gathering from
all the contiguous country within walking distance.
" The fee-simple of the church property is vested in the Bishop
of the Diocese for the CathoUcs of Newburyport and vicinity."

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 317
The Green Street Baptist Church was organized on the 17th
of May, 1846, by sixty-seven persons who withdrew from the First
Baptist Church. The Rev. N. Medberry was installed as pastor on
the 16th of June next ensuing. The church met for pubhc worship in
the Washington and Market Halls, until the erection of the neat
and picturesque building, which the Society now occupy, in Green
street, and which was dedicated on the Wth of February, 1848.
On December 23d, 1852, Mr. Medberry resigned the pastoral
office, and tho Rev. John G. Richardson was chosen as his successor,
and instaUed September 8th, 1853.
Second Advent Church. Organized December, 1848, under
the pastoral care of Elder John Pearson, Jr.
The origin of this church may be traced to the winter of 1841-2,
when the doctrine of the speedy Second Advent of Christ was
preached here by Rev. Charles Fitch, Miller, and others. A con
siderable number of persons embraced the views presented, and
united for the purpose of public worship, and their meetings were
sustained until the latter part of the year 1844 ; at which time, in
consequence of the passing of the specified date for the fulfilment
of the great event for which they looked, and other adventitious
circumstances, their meetings were discontinued; but in 1848 they
again reunited, and have since maintained a distinct church organ
ization. Connected with the church are a Sabbath school, Bible class,
&c. Their present place of worship is Washington HaU, on the
corner of State and Essex streets.
The peculiarities of their faith are the following :
" That there are but two advents, or appearings of the Saviour to>
this earth, and that both are personal and visible.
" That there will be a literal resurrection of the dead.
" That only those who are Christ's will be raised at his coming.
" That there wUl be a thousand years between the resurrection of
the righteous and the wicked.
" That the reward promised the saints will be given at the second
comjng of Christ.
****** *
" That this earth renewed will be the saints' inheritance.
" That the Scriptures do not teach the world's conversion.

318 HISTORY of newburyport.
" That the Scriptures do not reveal the specific time of Christ's
second coming, but do reveal events intimately connected with it, —
making it the privilege and duty of the church to know when the
advent Is near.
" That the grand object of the Christian's hope is the Second
Personal Advent of the Lord Jesus Christ."
On all other doctrines the church conform to those usually desig
nated evangelical. *
The Whitfield Congregational Church was organized Janu
ary 1st, 1850. Stated preaching had been maintained in the
Market Hall by the friends of this new interest for some fifteen
months previously ; the Rev. John E. Emerson, a native of this
town, and a recent graduate of Princeton Theological Seminary,
officiating. Mr. Emerson was ordained as pastor on the 1st of
January, 1850, but died in little more than a year after his settle
ment, on the 24th of March, 1851. He was succeeded by the
present pastor, Rev. Samuel J. Spalding, on the 30th of June of
the same year. The edifice on State street, in which the church
now worship, was erected the next year, and was dedicated March
2d, 1852.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

When approaching the Biographical Department of this work, we
felt that our labors were drawing to a rapid close, and that a few
paragraphs would suffice to enumerate the most distinguished natives
of Newburyport ; but investigation quickly dispelled the illusion.
Materials and subjects crowded upon our hands, until it was evident
that to do justice to but a portion of the departed worthies of the
town, would require a large volume of itself, and could in no satis
factory manner be sketched in a mere appendix at the close of a
History. But it was too late to alter the plan of the work, and
though we have endeavored to select those characters for limning
which seemed most calculated to interest the reader, and inspire
the young of this community to • an imitation of the virtues and
heroism of their ancestors, we have been compelled to omit a large
list who might worthily have been included in these brief notices.
There is ample margin for the biographer who delights in the por
trayal of genius, to fill up the account at some future time.
[We understand that Joshua Coffin, Esq., author of the History
of " Ould Newbury," has been collecting materials for this purpose,
and designs to complete a full biographical work ere long. If he
carries his intention into execution, we shall expect to see thorough
justice done to the many distinguished men of this vicinity.]
It is to Newburyport that the heads of the professional depart
ments have come for judges, divines, and physicians — for men of
science and of mercantile sagacity ; for of brave soldiers and
distinguished civilians, Newburyport has more than supplied her
share ; and if these few pages have the effect of awakening the
ambition of the young, and inducing any of them to aim at equalling,

320 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
if they may not hope to excel, the integrity, industry, courage,
learning and piety of the names here recorded, we shall feel amply
rewarded for the time and labor expended in collecting these brief
remains of their useful and brilliant Uves.
It has been well remarked by the author of the " American
Biography," * from whom we have made copious extracts, " that
though the Revolution has incalculably increased and diffused the
happiness of the people, yet before that time there was found in
many parts of New England a degree of mental cultivation, a
refinement and dignity of manners, and a liberal hospitality in the
intercourse of society, which has not since, to say the least, been
surpassed." And the" writer justly adds, " the town of Newbury
port once furnished a remarkable illustration of the truth of this
observation; it having given to New England some of its most
intelligent and distinguished jurists, merchants, and literary men.
Several of these had formed associations of friendship at Harvard,
and four members of one class, though not natives of the town,
chose Newburyport as their residence, believing that in no part of
the United States was an enlightened social intercourse better sus
tained or more rationally enjoyed, or a more frank and generous
hospitahty exhibited towards strangers."
THEOPHILUS PARSONS.
Probably no individual aided so much in attracting foreign talent
to Newburyport, and giving tone to what already existed there, as
Theophilus Parsons, whose perfect features the skUl of Stuart
has preserved to us ; but who was the laborious artist of his own
fame, as all who aspire to usefulness in hfe, or to a name which their
countrymen " will not wUlingly let die," must be.
Theophilus Parsons was the third son of the Rev. Moses Par
sons, of Byfield parish, Newbury. He was born the 24th of
February, 1750. He was early placed at Dummer Academy, of
which the celebrated "Master Moody" was then principal, and to
whom Parsons was greatly indebted for the early development and
right direction of his originally great powers of mind ; and though
Master Moody was not a native of Newburyport, yet as most of the
* Samuel L. Knapp.

jiictf

07U

from a. Sketc~h-V Stuart.
S.W Chandler JLBr-o Littv. Bos- ton

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 321
Newburyport youth destined for the University, at this period, passed
under his moulding hand, and he thus left upon them ineffaceable
influences, it wUl not be deemed out of place to give him a passing
notice here, especially as Judge Parsons ever retained for him the
greatest respect. Master Moody was a thorough scholar, and
required thoroughness in his pupils ; he was also a man of extensive
and varied information, and had some eccentricities too. He was
a bachelor, and perhaps therefore took the more interest in his
scholars, whom he regarded as his children, and in whose future
success and fame he took an intense interest, which neither separa
tion, time nor distance abated. It is easy to see how such a man
would impress his character upon his pupils, and' how much harder
he would labor for their perfection than one whose only motive to
exertion was pecuniary profit, or even his own reputation as a
teacher. Master Moody lived to a good old age, but it was in his
prime that he ranked among his pupils TheophUus Parsons, upon
whom he was frequently heard to bestow his highest eulogy. From
Dummer Academy young Parsons entered Harvard College, where
he graduated in 1769 ; he then entered as a law student with The
ophilus Bradbury,* and in 1777 commenced practice in Newburyport,
having already obtained the reputation of a " young man of great
talent, and remarkable acquirements." It was at this interesting
epoch that the Legislature of Massachusetts formed the Constitution
which they submitted to the people for their consideration. It con
tained many defects, and a general movement was made to prevent
its adoption, in which Essex County took the lead ; and Mr. Par
sons was elected as a delegate to meet with gentlemen from the
other towns of the County at Ipswich. Here he was placed on a
committee to prepare a report on the subject, and he then drafted
the famous paper known as the " Essex Result."
In 1779-80 a convention was called for the purpose of drafting a
new Constitution, and to this body Mr. Parsons was also a delegate,
and one of the most active and influential members.
In 1789 the Massachusetts Convention met in Boston, to consult
upon the adoption of the Federal Constitution, then submitted to the
several States for their adhesion. In this convention met a host of
* See Biographical Notice.
21

322 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
distinguished statesmen, and to this body Mr. Parsons was also a
delegate, and here too he met in counsel and argument, one of his
distinguished pupils, Rufus King, the only individual who at that
time rivalled him in this vicinity in learning and talent. Parsons
came to the convention with serious apprehensions as to the result,
but fully determined to exert his utmost strength to secure its adop
tion ; learning, wit, satire and argument combined, made his influ
ence preeminent, as his genius deserved that it should be. One
of the members, a clergyman, having remarked " that no angel pre
sided at the formation of the instrument, for that the name of God was
not in it," Parsons reminded him that by the same rule of judg
ment there was no divinity in one of the books of the Old Testa
ment, referring the astonished clergyman to the book of Esther,
which contains no mention of the name of Deity. A large share of
the effort which secured the final majority in favor of the adoption
of the Constitution may fairly be attributed to Mr. Parsons.
In 1806, Chief Justice Dana resigned his office, and general
expectation was turned to Mr. Parsons, (who had some time pre
viously moved to Boston,) as his successor. The judges were not
unwilling to profit by his profound knowledge of law, and the whole
of the intelligent community desired to see him at the head of the
judiciary. But his practice at this time was extensive, and its emolu
ments were lucrative ; his income was probably from six to ten thou
sand dollars a year, and the salary of the chief justice was then but
twenty-five hundred dollars ; and those who were most anxious for
his professional advancement, felt hardly prepared to ask him to
make this immense pecuniary sacrifice. He was, however, nomi
nated by Governor Strong, and accepted the appointment ; but not
without arguments in return, on the insufficiency of the judges'
salaries, so convincing and unanswerable, that the Governor in his
next message to the Legislature, recommended " that a permanent
and respectable compensation" be granted them, which resulted in
placing these salaries on their present footing.
When he came to the bench there had been much done, but there
was still much left to do, and he set about making a thorough reform ;
the docket was crowded with cases, and the method of despatching
the business slow. To finish the business of the term, he roused
parties and counsel to extraordinary exertions of vigilance and punc-

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 323
tuaUty, and at all times, his mind moved with such rapidity, and his
despatch of business was so unequaUed, as to excite both the mur
murs and applause of clients and lawyers, as their different interests
were affected by this new and energetic administration. Deahng
with a man whose biography rightly told would fiU volumes, and yet
compelled to condense it within a few pages, we feel that we can
scarcely give any just idea of Judge Parsons within our assigned
limits.* In person he was nearly six feet high, stout even to corpulency,
heavy yet dignified ; his features bold and striking ; forehead high,
but its effect was sadly marred by a very ill-looking wig, which was
not always fashionably made nor carefully worn ; sometimes after a
season of deep mental occupation, awaking the mirth of his friends,
by the wry and disordered appearance of this inelegant appendage.
His eyes, " blue tinged with hazel grey," were deep set, and in
repose looked sunken, but when excited, sparkled and burned with a
pecuhar lustre. Happy in his domestic connections, he shared in
the amusements and directed the studies of his chUdren, with the
fondness and solicitude of a man who had no great official responsi
bilities weighing upon him. Wit sparkled in his conversation, yet
no one would imagine from reading his written opinions, that he ever
indulged in this, to him natural propensity. His memory was won
derfully tenacious, — not of that desultory sort which is sometimes
found where the judgment is weak, but was as orderly as it was com
prehensive. He seemed to have the same control over his thoughts as
a strict disciplinarian has over his men ; " they came, retired, con
centrated, scattered, were condensed in column, or extended in line
at his bidding." His great power of- instantly arranging or
embodying his thoughts, made his decisions appear at times almost
like intuition. And the imagination, a faculty which is rarely com
bined, in much power, with such qualities of mind as he possessed,
was yet in him sometimes warm, and always prolific. In his profes-
* We have the fact on good authority, that on one occasion Hamilton sought
out Parsons for the sake of a personal interview, having heard much of his
reputation, and being disposed to believe his talents exaggerated. He had the
desired interview, and was accosted by a friend on his return, with the query,
" Well, and how did you find Parsons ? " " How did I find him ? why I found
him cut and dried for everything," replied the now satisfied examiner.

324 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
sional practice, he had none of that coldness and indifference which
mark so many men of intellect. To the poor and those in a humble
condition of life, he was ever kind and ready with his advice, to
refieve them from their difficulties. If they and their cause were
honest, he never delayed assistance to calculate the chances of
remuneration. He was never known to take a fee from a min
ister of the gospel, no matter to what sect he belonged. He was
a firm believer in the Christian rehgion, and as he approached the
confines of old age, his love for the study of mathematics and divin
ity increased. He lived neither too long nor died prematurely, but
when his labors had done good service to his country, and his wide
spread fame had settled down on a permanent and abiding basis,
he died, October 13, 1813, at the age of sixty-three, with a reputa
tion as a judge and a lawyer, unequalled in New England, and
unexcelled by any jurist in the United States.
During his residence in Newburyport, Mr. Parsons had in his
office, as students of law, three young men of eminence, two of whom
afterwards exceeded him in being the recipients of more public
honors, though none surpassed him in vigor of mind or literary attain
ments : these were John Quincy Adams, Rufus King, and Robert
Treat Paine.
The Ufe of the sixth President of the United States, who for
several years participated in the social Ufe of Newburyport, is too
well known to need particular notice here, and perhaps should not
occupy the room which might be devoted to natives of Newburyport,
or more permanent residents ; yet it is pleasant to know that late in
life he retained a lively interest in the* town, with which, as he
expressed himself on a public occasion, "many of the most pleasing
recollections of his youth were associated." That he also enter
tained a respect for its citizens, is evidenced by his selecting from
among the many Americans there, a gentleman from this town,* to
be the bearer of his official despatches to the Government of the
United States, during his residence as American Minister at St.
Petersburg, in 1813.
When Washington visited the town in 1789, Mr. Adams prepared
* Captain Nathaniel Jackson.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 325
the reception address ; and his much admired poem, entitled the
" Vision," was written in Newburyport in 1792 ; the animated
description which he these gives of nine different female characters,
are portraits, which he drew from life, of some of his young friends
and acquaintance here.
Rufus King, a native of Scarborough, Maine, spent many years
in Newburyport and vicinity, first as a pupil of Master Moody, at
Dummer Academy, and afterwards as a student of law with Mr.
Parsons, — as a practitioner at the bar, and also as Representative
to the General Court. Rufus King graduated at Harvard, with the
first honors of the class of 1777, which was considered an excellent
one. He was not only first in mathematics, the languages and
oratory, but took the lead in every athletic sport, running, jumping
and swimming. He was a fine specimen of the benefit of a sound
body with a large mind. Before entering on the study of the law,
Mr. King was appointed aid to General Sullivan, during his cam
paign in Rhode Island. On being admitted to the bar, in 1780, he
rose rapidly in the public favor, and was sobn after chosen as Repre
sentative from Newburyport to the Legislature, where he sponta
neously took the position of a leader.
Having distinguished himself in the Convention of 1787, he soon
after removed to New York, from which time his history is identified
with that of his country. In 1784 he was sent to Congress, and
took a high stand there, as he had done in the Legislature of the
Commonwealth. In the Senate, during the warm discussions
respecting the British treaty, he took the side of Washington and
HamUton. Having successively filled various honorable pubUc
offices, being for some years Minister to the Court of St. James, he
on his return in 1803, made a visit to Newburyport, where he was
complimented with a public entertainment. "It was a joyous
occasion ; the friends of his youth were around him ; a thousand
reminiscences were awakened ; the old were glad to renew their
acquaintance with him, and the young to catch a glimpse of the
man whom their fathers had dehghted to honor." He died at Long
Island in 1827, aged 72. While in this town, Rufus King was one
of the Wardens of St. Paul's Church.

326 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
Robert Treat Paine, son of the signer of the Declaration of
Independence, of the same name, pursued his study of law in the
office of Theophilus Parsons, at Newburyport, and while in that
town, (January, 1800,) pronounced his brilliant " Eulogy upon
Washington," on the occasion of public funeral services being
observed, on the intelligence of the death of the latter.
His baptismal name was Thomas, and it was after this period that
he applied to the Legislature to be relieved from it, not wishing to
be confounded with the author of the Age of Reason. He spent
several years in Newburyport ; but attained more reputation as a
poet than a lawyer. His genius was certainly of a high order, and
his imagination prolific. His talents commanded admiration, and
his wit excited merriment and delight ; he was bold in his views,
quick at retort; and sometimes fearfuUy sarcastic.
His principal literary efforts are the " Invention of Letters,"
" Adams and Liberty," the " Ruling Passion," with some minor
poems, and the " Steeds of Apollo," which was his last and best
production. Samuel L. Knapp, LL. D., a native of Newburyport,. and a gradu
ate of Dartmouth College, and afterwards a student at law with Judge
Parsons, and subsequently a practising lawyer in Newburyport, was
particularly distinguished as a belles-lettres scholar, and wrote on
various subjects ; some works of fiction, and many fugitive articles
of merit, with others of permanent interest, as his "American
Biography." He removed from Newburyport to Boston, and while
there, edited the Boston Galaxy, and for a whUe the Commercial
Gazette. He also spent some time at Wasjiington, as editor of the
National Journal ; then removed to New York, and edited the Com
mercial Advertiser of that city.
As a writer Mr. Knapp was easy and graceful, but with too great
a tendency to the highly ornate ; in his biographical sketches,
aUowing too much sway to the personal admiration and feelings of
friendship which he felt for many of his subjects, yet conveying
distinct and permanent ideas of the men he would portray. He
was the hfe of every social circle in which he mingled, his con
versational talents partaking of the brUliancy and grace of his
writings ; but his practical failure in making life what it should have

HISTORY QF NEWBURYPORT. 327
been to one of his talents, arose from his careless business habits,
which not unfrequently brought him in contact with the sheriff and
the debtor's jatt. Here, like greater genius before him, he amused
and employed himself with his pen. WhUe in Newburyport jail
he wrote, and pubhshed (in 1817) a fictitious journal, descriptive, of
a tour through New England, and which he ascribed in the title-page
to " Marshal Soult." In this book some of the peculiar traits of
Newburyport are drawn with a free hand. He died at Hopkinton
Springs, in July, 1838.
Nicholas Pike, author of the arithmetic which bears his name,
was a graduate of Harvard College, and principal of the grammar
school in Newburyport for many years. His treatise on Arithmetic,
with an appendix of Algebra and Conic Sections, kept its place in
the pubhc, schools of New England until displaced by the production
of another resident and teacher in Newburyport — Master Walsh.
Mr. Pike was also for many years a justice of the peace, and the
rigid discipline he had exercised in the school-room, prepared him
to visit with severity the petty trespasses subjected to his decisions.
" He was," says the biographer Knapp, "ready in the classics, and
seldom took a book to hear his pupils recite." He could boast of
many excellent scholars who had received the rudiments of a classi
cal education under his care — a proof that he was himself well
grounded in the same branches of learning.
He died December 9th, 1819, aged 76. Mr. Pike's was the first
original arithmetic published in the United States, as appears from
the following letter of President Washington, addressed to the
author. Mount Vernon, June 20th, 1788.
Sir : — I request you will accept my best thanks for your polite
letter of the 1st of January, (which did not get to my hand till
yesterday) and also for the copy of your " System of Arithmetic,"
which you were pleased to present to me.
The handsome manner in which that work is printed, and the
elegant manner in which it is bound, are pleasing proofs of the pro
gress which the arts are making in this country. But I should do
violence to my own feehngs if I suppressed an acknowledgment of

328 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
the belief that the work itself is calculated to be equaUy useful and
honorable to the United States.
It is but right, however, to apprise you that diffident of my own
decision, the favorable opinion I entertain of your performance is
founded rather on the explicit and ample testimony 0I" gentlemen
confessedly possessed of great mathematical knowledge, than on the
partial and incompetent attention I have been able to pay to it
myself. But I must be permitted to remark that the subject in my
estimation holds a higher rank in the literary scale than you are
disposed to aUow. The science of figures, to a certain degree, is
not only indispensably requisite in every walk of civUized fife, but
the investigation of mathematical truths accustoms the mind to
method and correctness in reasoning, and is an employment pecu
liarly worthy of rational beings. In a cloudy state of existence,
where so many things appear precarious to the bewildered research,
it is here that the rational faculties find a firm foundation to rest
upon. From the high ground of mathematical and phttosophical
demonstration, we are insensibly led to far nobler speculations and
sublime meditations.
I hope and trust that the work will ultimately prove not less
profitable than reputable to yourself. It seems to have been con
ceded on all hands, that such a system was much wanted. Its
merits being estabhshed by the approbation of competent judges,
I flatter myself that the idea of its being an American production,
and the first of the kind Which has appeared, will induce every
patriotic and Uberal character to give it all the countenance and
patronage in his power. In all events, you may rest assured that
as no person takes more interest in the encouragement of American
genius, so no one wiU be more highly gratified with the success of
your ingenious, arduous and useful undertaking, than he who has the
pleasure to subscribe himself, with esteem and regard,
Sir, your most obedient and very humble servant,
G. Washington.
Nicholas Pike, Esq. REV. JOHN LOWELL.
The LoweU famtty, who are of Welch origin, and early settlers of
Newbury, are eminently worthy of a more extensive notice than our
Umits will permit us to give.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 329
Four of the LoweU famUy have been Fellows of the Corporation
of Harvard, viz., Judge John Lowell, his son, John LoweU, LL. D.,
Charles Lowell, D. D., (now of Cambridge,) and John A. Lowell,
Esq., of Boston. And to one of them, John LoweU, Jr., (who died
in 1825,) is Boston indebted for the foundation of the " Lowell
Institute of that city."
The Rev. John Lowell, for forty-two years pastor of the First
Church in Newburyport, was a divine of large scholarly attain
ments, extensive reading, and of a UberaUty of mind unusual
to the period in which his professional duties were exercised. A
portion of his library is now in possession of Dr. Charles Lowell, of
Cambridge, and the value and nature of the works, show a refined
taste and an enlarged and hbefal mind. In addition to the Greek
and Latin, with which all persons regularly trained for the ministry
were supposed to be acquainted, Mr. Lowell was famihar with the
French tongue, and from the range of his reading, was probably
acquainted with some other modern languages. Nor was it in hter
ature alone that this UberaUty of mind was apparent. It was only
during the controversy which divided his church, that human nature,
aided by the spirit and legislation of the times, betrayed him into
anything like Uliberality. The prevailing tone of his mind was to
an enlightened Catholicism.
On the first appearance of a revival of religion among his people,
he encouraged it both by extra labors himself, and by freely inviting
others to occupy his pulpit. It was not until, in his judgment,
things were tending to excess, and that persons whom he deemed
unsuitable, and in whom he had not confidence, were. thrust upon
him as co-laborers, that he paused, and resisted — not the divine
¦work. — but the self-appointed workers and the manner in which it
was attempted to be performed. His theological sentiments appear
to have beCn independent and orthodox, so far as the orthodoxy of
the day corresponded with New Testament Christianity. He was
not strictly a Calvinist, neither was he an Armenian, Arian or
Socinian ; he was not tied to any formula of man's making, was
neither a zealot nor a bigot, beUeving as the highest authority had
taught him, " that secret things belong to God;" and he was willing
to leave their interpretation to Him, and to be content to square
his conduct by what he believed the written word taught. The

330 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
following fact is illustrative of his general disposition to maintain
the individual rights of conscience. Before the middle of the last
century, a council was called to consider the expediency of dis
missing Mr. Barnard, third minister of the Second Church in
Newbury, now First in W. Newbury. Its expediency was deter
mined on, and the question occurred on giving him a recommendation
as a minister. To this one of the council objected, "unless it
should be ascertained, on inquiry, that Mr. Barnard was a believer
in the doctrine of the Trinity." Mr. Lowell rose, with much
emotion, and addressing the moderator, said, " If that question is
put, sir, I shall leave the room, and take no more part in this
council." The question was not put.
Mr. Lowell occupied the second house on the right hand
side of Temple street, entering from State street; on a panel
over the fireplace of the sitting-room was a painting repre
senting a meeting of ministers, who were seated around a table, on
which was represented a bowl and a tobacco dish, and bearing
above, this motto, in Latin, " In essentials, united ; in non-essentials,
liberty; in all things, charity." This panel was purchased by
James Russell Lowell, Esq., the well-known poet, of Cambridge,
a great grandson of the Rev. Dr. Lowell, in whose possession it stUl
remains. Mr. Lowell died in 1767. He left one son, the subject
of the next notice.
John Lowell, LL. D., A. A. S., S. P. A., son of the Rev.
John Lowell, was born in Newbury, June 17, 1743, (Old Style,)
and graduated at Harvard CoUege in 1760, and applied himself to
the study of law. He very soon rose to great eminence in the
profession, growing in public esteem and the affections of his
acquaintance as he advanced into life. The integrity of his char
acter always secured him the confidence of those who admired his
ability. In 1776 he removed from Newburyport to Boston ; was
there chosen representative to the General Court, and one of the
twelve delegates to the Convention which framed the Constitution
for the Commonwealth, where he was distinguished for his knowledge
and eloquence. Being one of the committee who drew the plan, he
was fully prepared for the subject whenever taking part in debate.
In 1781 he was chosen a member of Congress, and in 1782 was

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 331
appointed by that body one of the three Judges of the Court of
Appeals — a tribunal established by Congress for the trial of all
appeals from the Courts of Admiralty of the several States. When
the Federal Government was estabhshed, he was appointed by Wash
ington Judge of the District Court in Massachusetts. He remained
in that office till the new organization of the Federal judiciary in
1801, when he was appointed Chief Justice of the Circuit Court,
for the first Circuit, which included the district of Maine, New
Hampshire, Massachusetts and Rhode Island. In the discharge of
that office he continued unttt the repeal of that act in 1802.
On the bench, Judge Lowell appeared with pecuhar and engaging
lustre. With the most condescending and obhging manners, he
ever maintained the dignity of his station. In critical causes he
was mature and deliberate in making up a judgment, and his quick
apprehension and facility for discrimination- enabled him to give
despatch to ordinary business. People of different pohtical senti
ments had the same persuasion of his knowledge and impartiahty ;
and those against whom judgment was given, were disposed to con
fide in its equity and legaUty. Had the act been continued
which established the Circuit Courts, he would have had a wider
sphere for his usefulness, and the exercise of his talents.
On retiring from public business, he actively engaged in Uterary
and benevolent associations. He was interested in agriculture,
gardening, botany, and other branches of natural history.
He first originated the subscription for a professorship of Natural
History, at the University, and was among the most generous sub
scribers. He was always a great friend to Harvard CoUege, and
his mind was actively employed in devising means for its prosperity.
When there was a vacancy in the Corporation in 1784, he was
elected one of that Board, and for eighteen years was an attentive,
firm and judicious member. The critical state of the public funds
during this period, caused some doubtful and anxious expectations,
and required of the members of the Corporation pecuhar watchful
ness over the property they had in trust. Mr. LoweU acquainted
himself with the interests and circumstances of the College, and its
treasury was especially benefited by his discreet and active
exertions. He was one of the most active in forwarding the plan in 1780,

332 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
for establishing an Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the Society
elected him one of its counseUors. They had also such a sense of
his Uterary merits, that they chose him, with a unanimous vote, to
deliver an oration when President Bowdoin died. This oration was
pubhshed in one of the volumes of the Academy. Mr. LoweU was
the author of that clause in the Massachusetts Bill of Rights, which
forever excluded slavery from the soU of this Commonwealth.
Among those who studied law with Mr. Lowell, was Thomas
Dawes, afterwards Judge of the Supreme Court of Massachusetts,
and Christopher Gore, Governor of Massachusetts, and Harrison
Gray Otis,* of Boston.
Mr. Otis, writing on the character of his legal instructor, but a
few years since, says :
" Had that excellent person been a native of Virginia, his life
would have been written and emblazoned, by pens qualified to
eulogize departed worth and talent ; and his name would have been
classed with those of her Henrys, Marshalls, Wythes, and other
eminent lawyers. * * My personal acquaintance with him com
menced in 1783, when I entered his office as a student ; he was
then at the head of the profession in Suffolk, to which eminence he
rapidly attained after removing to Boston from Essex County, where
he made his debut, and practised with a constantly rising reputation.
I first saw him, as well as I remember, at Cambridge, whUe I was a
student at Harvard College ; he, with Mr. Theophilus Parsons,
appeared there as counsel for a Mr. W  , a substantial, and
until then, a quite respectable farmer, charged with murdering his
wife by poison. It was a trial which at that period of paucity of
crime, thrilled the whole community with astonishment and horror.

* Mr. Otis, who was later advanced in life when he commenced his legal
studies than the others, gave to Mr. Gore this reason for studying law.
" That he at first studied divinity, and commenced preaching, and that having
on one occasion supplied a vacant pulpit, in the neighborhood of Boston,
preaching twice upon the Sabbath, he was waited upon on Monday morning
by a deacon of the church, who asked him what he should pay him for his
services. '0,1 don't know,' replied Mr. Otis, ' give me what they are worth.'
The deacon gravely handed him a pistareen. Thinking if two sermons were
worth but that, he had better turn to some other profession, he abandoned
theology, and turned his attention to law."

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 333
This was probably the first occasion which established the preemi
nence of these gentlemen in the estimation of the whole State.
Their ordinary circuit, before this time, being principally limited to
Suffolk and Essex, in the latter of which Parsons still resided.
Their claim to this precedence was never afterwards disputed, and
they were regarded as par nobile fratrum. Professional rivals they
sometimes were, but always friends.
In stature, Judge Lowell reached, I should think, about five feet
ten inches ; he was inclined to corpulency, his gait rapid, even
hurried, his conversation animated and ardent. He appeared to
strangers, at first, to speak too much ex cathedra ; but he was free
from all propensity to brow-beat or show ill-humor. On the con
trary, he was the mirror of benevolence, which beamed in, and made
attractive, a countenance not remarkable for symmetry of feature or
beauty; and his companionable talents, never displayed at the
expense of dignity, made him the delight of the society in which he
moved. His private character was irreproachable — his honesty and
moderation proverbial. * * * * * He had always something
pleasant to say to the young ; and his demeanor towards the bar
and witnesses was kind and courteous.
His general health during the time of my intimacy with him, was
good, though occasionally inclined to a maladie imaginaire, an ordi
nary symptom of ardent temperament and ethereal genius. Of his
last few years I lost the run, from my constant absence from home,
but I know that no One ever Uved more beloved, or died more
lamented." Chief Justice Parker thus refers to Judge Lowell, in his remarks
on the death ' of Theophilus Parsons : " At that early period of his
(Parson's) life, his more formidable rival, and most frequent com
petitor, was the accomplished lawyer and scholar, the late Judge
Lowell. It was the highest intellectual treat to see these great men
contending for victory in the judicial forum."
Judge Lowell was three times married, though he and Mr. Jack
son,* his college chum, on leaving college, determined to keep
bachelor's hall together, and forswear the state matrimonial. But
Cupid outwitted them, and shot a fatal shaft at each of their hearts
* See Notice of Hon. Jonathan Jackson.

334 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
at the same time, and they were both married on the same evening,
in Salem, — Mr. Lowell to Miss Higginson, daughter of Stephen H.
Higginson, Esq. ; and after her death he married Miss Susanna
Cabot, of Salem, daughter of Francis Cabot, Esq. ; and lastly he was
united to Mrs. Rebecca Tyng, widow of James Tyng, Esq., and
daughter of Hon. Judge James Russell, of Charlestown.
John Lowell, LL. D., a son of Judge Lowell, was born in
Newburyport, October 6th, 1769. He was fitted for college under
the tuition of Dr. Eliphalet Pearson, of Newbury, at Andover
Academy. He ranked high as a scholar, and having graduated
with honor at Harvard College, was admitted to the bar before he
had completed his twentieth year ; and " instead of lingering through
a long and scant novitiate, advanced almost at a step into full,
laborious, and lucrative practice." His health failing in 1803, he
visited England, and though this was perfectly restored by
travel, he never returned to the bar ; having acquired a competent
fortune by his professional labors at an age, thirty-four, when most
lawyers are but beginning to be known. During the war of 1812,
he wrote constantly for the pubhc, on the side of the Federal party.
His political pamphlets, in two octavo volumes, are now in the
library of Harvard University. When the Unitarian controversy
broke out, he published various pamphlets which had a marked
bearing on the points at issue ; the one entitled " An inquiry into
the right to change the Ecclesiastical Constitution of the Congre
gational Churches of Massachusetts," in aU probabUity, says Dr.
Greenwood, " contributed to put a stop to the proposed plan for an
arbitrary consociation of churches."
From 1810 to 1822 he was a member of the Corporation of Har
vard, and was Overseer of the University for several years. Mr.
Lowell filled other honorable pubhc offices, and gave his influence to
many valuable associations connected with the welfare of his native
State, which our limits will not permit us to enumerate ; but one
trait of his character we cannot forbear to notice, which was his
benevolence. His private charities were large, and his constant
practice of assisting, with his valuable legal advice, parties in
indigent circumstances, was a kind of charity which drew largely
on that most valuable commodity of a business man, time.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 335
But his money was also freely given. One who had been his
almoner for thirteen years, and who during Mr. Lowell's life had
been forbidden to mention them, says, " The sum which was placed
at my disposal was to be expended in wood for the poor. I was
requested to relieve any case of suffering, for want of fuel, which
might come under my notice. At my own request for some speci
fied hmit, he named a certain annual sum, desiring me, however,
to exceed it without scruple, if I should find occasion for more.
But in no year did I find occasion for so much, using the circum
spection which I felt bound to use." In addressing a letter to this
individual, Mr. Lowell says, " There is no variety of physical
distress, for which my heart suffers more than that produced by
cold. * * I have always thought that this particular mode of
relieving distress was the most unexceptionable, and in our climate
the most imperative. With this opinion, I have never failed to con
tribute when asked by the Howard Benevolent Society, nor have I
ever refused an individual ¦ application for the same object ; but
these opportunities have been too unfrequent to satisfy my sense of
duty." * He therefore selected an almoner to seek out objects of
charity. The winter of 1839 Mr. Lowell spent in the West Indies, to
which climate he had been recommended for the relief of a painful
disorder. He returned with improved health, but his constitution
remained enfeebled. He died suddenly, while reading a daily
paper, at his house in Boston, expiring, apparently without suffermg,
on the 12th of March, 1840.
Francis C. Lowell, also a son of Judge Lowell, was born in
Newburyport, AprU, 1775. His name is indettbly connected with
the manufacturing interests of New England, in the name of the
City of Lowell, formerly a part of Chelmsford, which is derived
from him.
" It was owing to his genius and apphcation, aided by the talents
and skill of his relative, Patrick Tracy Jackson, of Newburyport,
and by the mechanical skttl of that profound but unpretending
mechanician, Paul Moody, also of Newburyport, that the country
* Funeral Sermon, by F. W. P. Greenwood, D. D,

33.6 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
is indebted for the first estabhshment which satisfied our most
intelligent citizens that the business of mtthng could be engaged in
with .safety and success." *
When the mUls at Waltham, put into operation by these sons of
Newburyport, carried every part of the manufactory of cotton
goods to a complete and finished state,f the nulls at SlatersvUle were
only spinning.
The particulars of the introduction of the manufacture of cotton
at Waltham and Lowell, in which Mr. Lowell was so deeply inter
ested, will be found in the sketch of Patrick Tracy Jackson, the
friend and brother-in-law of Mr. Lowell. It is noticeable that F. C.
Lowell and Chas. (Judge) Jackson $ were chums at college, as
their fathers were before them. Their college friendship was
cemented by the marriage of Mr. Lowell with a sister of Mr.
Jackson. " Mr. Lowell died in 1817 at the age of forty-two, satisfied that
he had succeeded in his object, and that the cotton manufacture would
form the basis of the future permanent prosperity of New England.
"He had been mainly instrumental in procuring from Congress in
1816, the estabhshment of the minimum duty on cotton cloth, an
idea which originated with him.§ It is not surprising that he felt
great satisfaction at the result of his labors, for elsewhere, vice and
poverty have followed in the train of manufactures, but these wise
and patriotic men (Lowell and P. T. Jackson,) foresaw and guarded
against the evtt."
By the erection of boarding houses at the expense, and under the
control of the factory, putting at the head of them matrons of tried
character, and allowing no boarders to be received except the female
operatives of the mUl ; by stringent regulations for the government
of these houses, — by all these precautions, they gained the confidence
of the rural population, who were no longer afraid to trust their
daughters in a manufacturing town. A supply was thus obtained of
respectable girls, and these, from pride of character, as well as prin
ciple, have taken care to exclude all others. Other advantages have
*Boston Chronicle, 1816, and Massachusetts Observer, 1816.
f Hunt's Merchants' Magazine, 1848. X See Notice of Jackson Family.
§ Hunt's Merchants' Magazine.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 3j37
followed from this good foundation ; persons were found willing to
become operatives from that Class in comfortable circumstances,
among whom the mental powers had been developed, and this moral
connection, with mental efficiency, has essentially helped to decide
the question of our rivalry with England in the manufacture of
cotton. To Mr. Lowell may be fairly attributed all that is pecu-
Uarly good in the factory system of New England.
The Hon. Jonathan Jackson, who belonged to the Revolutionary
era, was " a man of whom the world knew much, but knew too Uttle."
As a patriot he combined the qualities which form the estimable
citizen, and rendered him useful as a statesman. He took an early
and zealous part in the Revolution, and devoted much of his time to
the pubhc service. His zeal for civU liberty in the early part of his
life was enthusiastic, but his penetrating mind early suspected
danger from pure Democratic institutions, and he was anxious to have
such modifications made in our National Constitution as would secure
the permanence as well as the fulness of our hberties. The views
which he entertained on this subject, may be known by the draft of
a Constitution prepared by delegates fromxthe county of Essex, in
forming which, Mr. Jackson bore a considerable share. Before the
adoption by the State of the Federal Constitution, Mr. Jackson
pubUshed a pamphlet on the subject, replete with understanding,
foresight and patriotism, approving of the Constitution, to which, and
to the policy of Washington, he remaiued firmly and invariably
attached. If he was distinguished from his pohtical friends in any
point, it was in the dread and detestation in which he held the power
and intrigues of France, a sentiment which he imbibed during his
service in the old Revolutionary Congress, of which he was an
honored member, and where he was witness and conversant with the
dishonorable intrigues and manoeuvres of the French Cabinet. But
useful as he was to the State in his pubhc capacity, the beautiful
symmetry and integrity of his private hfe, his urbanity and refine
ment, his inteUectual endowments, and his moral purity, over
shadowed and eclipsed his public reputation. As the beau ideal of
a gentleman, he retained the supremacy among that galaxy of
worthies which formed the intellectual and social life of Newbury
port. He was a member of the Continental Congress in 1780,
22

338 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
Marshal of the District of Massachusetts under Washington, first
Inspector and afterwards Supervisor of the Internal Revenue,
Treasurer of the Commonwealth for five years, and at the time of
his death was Treasurer of Harvard College.
Mr. Jackson was truly a " gentleman of the old school." Dr.
Charles LoweU of Cambridge, says of him, " I knew him well, and
was permitted to be with him the last night of his hfe, and on the
Sabbath after his death, preached an affectionate tribute to his
memory, from the passage, ' Thy friend, and thy father's friend,
forsake not.' He was eminently worthy of any honor that could be
paid him." His wife was a Miss Barnard of Salem.
His eldest son, Charles Jackson, born in 1775, in Newburyport,
graduated at Cambridge, and having studied law under his erudite
and learned townsman, Theophilus Parsons, commenced practice in
his native town. He rapidly rose to distinction at the bar, and
having removed to Boston, was, on the death of Theodore Sedgwick,
made Judge of the Supreme Court of Massachusetts. His untiring
devotion to his professional duties seriously impared his health, and
he made in 1823-4 a visit to England ; Jacob Perkins was then
interesting the scientific classes in Great Britain, with his numerous
and important inventions, and Mr. Jackson was hatted by another
class, the jurists and statesmen of the times, as a man of equal,
though of very different genius. A gentleman writing to an indi
vidual in this town from London, at the time of Mr. Jackson's visit,
says : " Two of your townsmen now fill the public eye of England, and
are the subjects of public and private conversation, even to the exclu
sion of all other topics in the beau monde." But it is not yet time to
write the biography of Judge Jackson, of Boston, nor that of his
brother Dr. James. Jackson, of equal reputation in the medical pro
fession in the metropohs, and who was the second son of the Hon.
Jonathan Jackson.
Patrick Tracy Jackson was born at Newburyport, August 14th,
1780. He was the youngest son of the Hon. Jonathan Jackson.
He received his early education in the pubhc schools of his native
town, and afterwards at Dummer Academy. When about fifteen
years of age he was apprenticed to Mr. Wm. Bartlett. In this new

history of newburyport. 339
position, which with the aristocratic notions of that day, might have
been regarded by some youths as derogatory, young Patrick took
especial care to prove to his master that he had not been educated
to view anything as disgraceful which it was his duty to do. He
took pride in throwing himself into the midst of the labor and re-
sponsibUity of the business. In so doing he gratified a love of
activity and usefulness which belonged to his character, at the same
time that he satisfied his sense of duty. And yet, while thus ready
to work, he did not lose his keen relish for the enjoyments of youth ;
and would often, after a day of intense bodily labor, be foremost in
the amusements of the social circle in the evening.
He soon secured the esteem and confidence of Mr. Bartlett, who
entrusted to him, when under twenty years of age, a cargo of mer
chandise for St. Thomas, with authority to take the command of
the vessel from the captain if he should see occasion. After his
return from this voyage, which he successfully conducted, an oppor
tunity offered for a more extended enterprise. His brother, Captain
Henry Jackson, who was about six years older than himself, and to
whom he was warmly attached, was on the point of sailing for
Madras and Calcutta, and offered to take Patrick with him as a
captain's clerk. The offer was a tempting one ; it would open to
him a branch of commerce in which his master, Bartlett, had not
been engaged, but which was at that time one of great profit. An
obstacle however interposed ; our young apprentice was not of age,
and the* indentures gave to his master the use of his services untU
that period. With great UberaUty, Mr. Bartlett, on being informed
of the circumstances, relinquished his claim.
It was very nearly the first day of the present century when Mr.
Jackson commenced his career as a free man. Already famUiar
with many things pertaining to a sea life, he occupied his time on
board ship in acquiring a knowledge of navigation and seamanship.
On his return from this voyage, he took charge of a ship and cargo
in the India trade, which he completed successfully, estabfishing his
reputation for correctness and the faithful performance of everything
entrusted to his care. He made two subsequent voyages to India,
and on the last, was at the Cape of Good Hope, when it was taken
by the English, in 1806. This detained him and disarranged his
mercantile plans ; he formed new ones there, and did not return
home till 1808.

340 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
He now entered into mercantile business in Boston; his long
acquaintance with the India trade eminently fitted him for that
branch of business ; and he had the support and invaluable counsels
of his brother-in-law, Francis C. LoweU. He. entered largely into
business, and his credit was unbounded. By the failure of another
house in 1811, his credit became involved ; it was expected he
would fail ; he called a meeting of his creditors and made a lucid
exposition of his affairs, and showed that if allowed to manage them
his own way, all the difficulties might be overcome. So admirably
had his accounts been kept, and so completely did he show himself
to be master of his business, that the appeal was irresistible ; he
was allowed to go on, and the event justified the confidence reposed
in him. Within a year all the embarrassments passed away*, and
he continued in the India and Havana trade till the breaking out of
the war in 1812.
At this period, Mr. F. C. Lowell had just returned from a pro
longed visit to England and Scotland, where he had conceived the
idea that the cotton manufacture, then almost monopolized by Great
Britain, might be advantageously prosecuted here. We could
obtain the raw material cheaper than they, and the character. of
our population, educated, moral, and enterprising, could not fail,
Mr. Lowell believed, to secure success, though England had the
advantage of cheap labor, improved machinery, and reputation.
Mr. Lowell determined to bring his views to the test of experiment,
and he offered Mr. Jackson a share in the enterprise. The diffi
culties to be encountered were enormous ; the state of war prevented
their procuring models, or even books or drawings of machinery,
from England ; everything, even to the tools to work with, must be,
as it were, reinvented. But undiscouraged by any obstacles, Mr.
Jackson entered heartily into the project.
The first object was to invent a power loom, and unacquainted as
they were with machinery, they set about the solution of a problem
that had baffled the most ingenious mechanicians. In England the
power loom had been invented by a clergyman ; why not here by a
merchant? After numerous experiments and failures, they suc
ceeded, in the faU of 1812, in producing a model which they thought
so well of as to set about making preparations for putting up a mill
for the weaving of cotton cloth. .

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 341
It was now necessary to procure the assistance of a practical
mechanic, and they had the good fortune to secure the services of
Mr. Paul Moody, of Newburyport, afterwards well known as the
head of the machine shop at Lowell. They found, as might natur
ally be expected, many defects in their model loom ; but these were
gradually remedied. The project hitherto had been exclusively for
a weaving mill, to do by power what had before been done en
tirely by hand. But it was soon ascertained, by inquiry, that it
would be more economical to spin the twist than to buy it, and they
put up a mill for about 1700 spindles, which was completed late in
1813. It will probably strike the reader with some astonishment to be
told that this mill, still in operation at Waltham, (1848) was pro
bably the first one in the world that combined all the operations
necessary for converting the raw cotton into finished cloth. Such
appears to be the fact from all that we can learn on the subject.
The mills in this country, Slater's, for example, in Rhode Island,
were spinning mUls only, and in England, though the power loom
had been introduced, it was used in separate establishments, by
persons who bought, as the hand weavers had always . done, their
twist of the spinners. Great difficulty was at first experienced at
Waltham for the want of proper preparation (sizing) for the warps.
They procured a drawing of Horrick's dressing machine, from Eng
land, which, with some essential improvements, they adopted,
producing that now used in LoweU and elsewhere. But no method
was indicated in this drawing for sending the threads from the
bobbins on to the beam, and to supply this deficiency, Mr. Moody
invented the ingenious machine called the " warper." Having ob
tained these, there was no further difficulty in weaving by power
looms. There was still, however, a deficiency in the preparation
for spinning ; they had obtained from England a description of what
was then caUed a bobbin and fly, or jack-frame, for spinning roving ;
from this, Mr. Lowell and Mr. Moody produced our present double-
speeder. The motions of this machine were very complicated, and
required nice mathematical calculations ; without them, Mr. Moody's
ingenuity, great as it was, would have been at fault. These were
supplied by Mr. LoweU. Many years afterwards, and after Mr.
LoweU's death, when the patent for the speeder had been infringed,

342 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
the late Dr. Bowditch was requested to examine them, that he might
appear as a witness at the trial. He expressed his admiration of the
mathematical power they evinced, adding " that there were some
corrections introduced that he had not supposed any man familiar
with but himself."
There was, also, originally great waste and expense in winding
the thread for filling, or weft from the bobbin on to the quills, for the
shuttle. To obviate this, Mr. Moody invented the machine known
as the filling-throstle. In 1813, Messrs. Lowell and Jackson asso
ciated themselves with other intelligent merchants of Boston, and
obtained a charter under the name of the " Boston Manufacturing
Company," with a capital of $100,000. The machinery they used
is substantiaUy the same as that employed now ; minor improvements
have been, and will continue to be made.
After the death of Mr. Lowell, in 1817, Mr. Jackson gave up his
mercantUe pursuits and devoted himself to the manufacturing busi
ness ; boldly venturing on experiments and an expansion of the
business, in the erection of successive mills, which others hesitated
to commence. In 1821, he conceived the idea of possessing himself
of the whole power of the Merrimac at Chelmsford, by the purchase
of the Pawtucket canal ; and aware of the necessity of secrecy, in
order to secure it at a reasonable price, he undertook it single
handed. It was necessary to purchase not only all the canal stock,
but the farms on both sides of the river which controlled the water
power ; and it was not till he had accomplished all that was mate
rial for his purpose, that he offered a share in the project to a few
of his former colleagues.
Such was the beginning of Lowell, a city which was named in
honor of his friend, and which he lived to see, as it were, completed.
In 1825 that portion of Chelmsford which he had purchased and
built up, was incorporated under the name of Lowell.
Everything which he had undertaken being now settled on a per
manent basis, and the manufacture carried on by gentlemen subse
quently associated with him, under the name of the Merrimac Manu
facturing Company, Mr. Jackson resigned his agency of the factory
at Waltham, (remaining however, a director in that, and the new
company at. Lowell,) intending to retire partiaUy from business.
Butleiflure^id not suit dhim,> and this -interval of comparative Test

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 343
was of short duration. Mr. Moody had recently introduced some
important improvements in machinery, and a new company was got
up, (the Appleton,) of which he was appointed treasurer and agent,
and as successive companies were formed, his presence and advice
seemed indispensable at Lowell ; he was appealed to by all parties
as a man of sound judgment, and as occupying a historical position
in regard to the cotton manufacture, which none others pretended to.
In 1830, Mr. Jackson, in unison with Mr. Boott, entered into the
then untried project of obtaining a charter for a railroad in New
England ; and with respect to the road itself nearly everything was
to be learned. Mr. Stephenson's experiments in England, on the
Liverpool and Manchester railroad, helped to give the Legislature
confidence in the undertaking. Mr. Jackson 'established a corre
spondence with the most distinguished engineers in this country and
Europe, and he deliberately and satisfactorily solved the doubts of
his own mind and those of others, before- he commenced the work.
The road was graded for a double track, and every measure adopted
shows clearly that Mr. Jackson foresaw the extension and' capabili
ties of the railroad. Few can realize the moral firmness required
to carry on this work ; shareholders were restless under increased
assessments and delayed income. It is not too much to say that no
one in Boston but Mr. Jackson could at that time have commanded
the confidence necessary to pursue the work so dehberately and
thoroughly. The road was opened in 1835. Its success is too weU
known to require recapitulation here. Subsequently, Mr. Jackson
formed a new company for the extensive purchase of Boston flats,
to make land for the accommodation of the RaUroad Company ; and
after the death of Mr. Boott, (in 1837,) he assumed the manage
ment of the Locks and Canal Company, which he brought up from
an exceedingly depreciated condition, so that when the affairs of the
Company were wound up, the stockholders received of capital stock
$1,600 a share. The briUiant issue of this business greatly
enhanced Mr. Jackson's previous reputation, and no great public
enterprises were brought forward without the sanction of his opinion.
During the last years of his life, he was treasurer and agent of the
Great FaUs Manufacturing Company in Somersworth.
He died at his seaside residence at Beverly, September 12, 1847,
from an attack of dysentery against whjcj^his overwrought consti-

344 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
tution had no power of resistance, and he sank after a short illness.
It had not been generally known in Boston that he was unwell, and
the news of his death was received as a public calamity. The spon
taneous expressions of regret and grief that burst forth from every
mouth, were a most touching testimonial to his virtues as well as to
his talents.* TRISTRAM DALTON.
Prominent among the gentlemen of the Revolutionary era was the
Hon. Tristram Dalton, who at the early age of seventeen,
received the degree of Bachelor of Arts at Harvard University.
After finishing his collegiate course he studied law as an accom
plishment, his ample fortune not requiring him to practise it as a
profession. His father, Michael Dalton, was an eminent merchant of
Newburyport, and his son was for several years actively engage'd in
commercial pursuits, but was not engrossed by them ; his taste for
agricultural pursuits and letters being gratified by the possession of
beautiful and valuable country estates, which he delighted to culti
vate ; while a library, rich in ancient and modern authors, was his
favorite and frequent retreat. As eminent for piety as mental
endowments, the_ Episcopal church of which he was a member .shared
in his large and generous Uberality. For several years he was called
to fill some of the most dignified and responsible offices in the Com
monwealth. He was a representative from his native town, Speaker
of the House of Representatives, a member of the Senate and also
a Senator of the United States in the First Congress after the adop
tion of the Federal Constitution. After the seat of Government
was removed to Washington, Mr. Dalton for a time took up his resi
dence there, where he had the misfortune, by the baseness of a per
son connected with him in business, to lose nearly the whole of his
property. A vessel which was conveying his movable property to the Dis
trict of Columbia, was also cast away, putting the finishing stroke
to a series of disastrous losses ; and thus, after living sixty years
in affluence, he was suddenly reduced to a state of comparative pov
erty. But he was neither daunted nor overcome by this late reverse ;
he soon after returned to New England, and accepted the office of
* Hunt's Merchants' Magazine.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 345
Surveyor of the Port of Boston and Charlestown,* having been
repeatedly offered a choice of respectable offices by the National
Government, whose members appreciated his worth and sympathized
in his misfortunes. He was for some time collector of the direct
tax in Essex County.
Mr. Dalton had lived on terms of intimate friendship with the
four first Presidents of the United States. " Washington honored
him with his confidence and regard," as did also his Ulustrious class
mate, John Adams. Yet like all genuine gentlemen, he could take
an affectionate interest in his dependants, and the poor, black or
white. He was kind and considerate to his servants, of whom, at
one time, he had a large retinue. In the old graveyard back of
Frog pond, may now be seen a stone with this inscription : " To
Pompey, a faithful servant, erected by Tristram Dalton."
Mr. Dalton died in Boston, June, 1817, aged 79, and his
remains were brought to his native town for burial. He was interred
in the burying ground attached to St. Paul's church, of which
Society he was, while resident here, a warden.
In figure, Mr. Dalton was tall and finely formed, and added to
great personal beauty, the most graceful and accomplished manners.
He was a diligent and accomplished scholar, standing high in his
class at college, which was a distinguished one, none having
exceeded, if indeed equalled it, in furnishing to the world such a
number of eminent men.
Theophilus Bradbury, eminent as a Judge of the Supreme
Court of Massachusetts, was born in Newbury (now Newburyport)
in 1739. Having graduated at Harvard CoUege at the age of eigh
teen, he then studied law, and commenced the practice in Falmouth,
Me., where he had as a student, TheophUus Parsons — a name which
subsequently outshone that of his teacher. During the war, (in
1779,) he returned to Newburyport, where his professional and
other qualifications subsequently kept him continually in pubUc life.
He was a member of Congress from his native district, during the
Presidency of Washington. About six years before his death,
which occurred in 1803, he was appointed to a vacant judgeship in
the Supreme Court of Massachusetts.
¦ * American Biography

346 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
Oliver Putnam, the founder of the Putnam School in New
buryport, was born in that place in 1778. He received only a
common school education, and was early placed in the store of
Messrs. Faris & Stocker to learn the mercantile business. After
accumulating a handsome competence through his success in com
merce, he endeavored to make up for his early deficiency in educa
tion, by a systematic course of reading and study. No doubt the
sense of loss which he experienced, for want of early culture,
induced him to lay the foundation of the noble Free School which
bears his name. He was something of a traveller, having visited
many parts of Europe, as well as distant parts of his own country.
He suffered much from UI health, was never married, and died in
Boston on the 12th of July, 1826, at the age of forty-seven.
Hon. Jonathan Greenleaf, a native of Newburyport, was a
nephew of Benjamin Greenleaf, who had been a Representative in
the General Court, and filled various offices of confidence and con
sideration in the town, and who deceased at an advanced age
in 1783.
Mr. Greenleaf was brought up to the business of a ship-builder ;
the class to which he belonged was here, as in aU the seaport towns
of that period, exceedingly influential ; they were the pioneers in
every act of opposition,* and produced, if we except the printers,
more remarkable men than those of any. mechanical class. The
ship-yard which he occupied while in business, was situated between
Bartlett's and Johnson's wharves. Mr. Greenleaf was placed on
the first Committee of Correspondence and Safety appointed in
Newburyport, and was for many years a Representative from this
town to the General Court. He was a man "gifted with fine
natural talents, and a peculiar tact for public business." In
politics he was associated with Judge Parsons, and the powerful
clique designated as the Essex Junto ; and what his great cotempo
raries devised, his was the skill to carry into effect, by persuasions
that overcame foes, and made him the reliance of his friends. From
his great success in circumventing and persuading his political
-opponents, he received the appellation of "old silver tongue,"
* The first caucuses held in Boston were by the ship-builders.— Hist, of the
Arts,-p. 315. ¦.-¦-.":- •  .

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 347
which to those who knew him, was no equivocal compliment, —
expressing the perfection of persuasive oratory, whUe his principles
were firm as the granite rock.
He lived to the age of eighty-four, a great portion of which time was
spent in public life, and in the service of Newburyport.*
His cousin, Benjamin Greenleaf, also a nephew of the one first
named, was a member of the Executive CouncU of Massachusetts
during the Revolution, and was also chosen to various honorable
offices in the town of Newburyport. After the adoption of the
State Constitution, he was chosen Senator. He was for many years
Judge of Probate for Essex County, and was also a Chief Justice of
the Court of Common Pleas.
The late head of the Law School at Cambridge, Professor Simon
Greenleaf, was a native of Newbury, (now Newburyport,) and
connected by consanguinity with many families here. He was a
descendant of Hon. Jonathan Greenleaf, and a grandson of the
Rev. Jonathan Parsons, the first minister of the first Presbyterian
church — both men of mark ; and was cousin to the present
respected City Clerk of Newburyport, Eleazer Johnson, Esq., and
Dr. Jonathan G. Johnson.
Simon Greenleaf was born December 5th, 1783, and was edu
cated at the Latin School in Newburyport, then kept by " Master
Walsh," author of " Walsh's Mercantile Arithmetic." At the age of
eighteen he entered on the study of the law, in New Gloucester, Me.,
in which State he commenced practice. Mr. Greenleaf received
the honorary degree of Master of Arts at Bowdoin College, in 1817,
and that of Doctor of Laws at Harvard, in 1834, (the year of his
removal to Cambridge,) and the same degree at Amherst, the next
year. He was appointed Royal Professor of Law in Harvard Uni
versity, as successor to Professor Ashmun, in 1834, which office he
filled two years, when he was appointed to the chair of the Dane
Professorship — a worthy successor to the chair — made vacant
by the death of Judge Story. In consequence of ill health, he
resigned this chair in 1848, when he was honored with the title of
Emeritus Professor of Law in the University.
* The town passed in 1782 a vote of thanks to Mr. Greenleaf, " for. his long
and faithful services," as their Representative to the General Court.

348 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
" As an instructor he was greatly beloved, and his lectures and
teachings were clear, distinct and practical. His connection with
the Law School marked a season in its history of great prosperity.
Indeed, it is greatly owing to the influence of his instructions, joined
with those of his illustrious associates, that this department of the
University has attained to its present state of prosperity. His mind
had been carefully trained to habits of patient thought, and he was
eminently fitted, by the discipline through which he had passed, to
lead those who sought his instruction into the mysteries of the
department over which he was caUed to preside. As a counsellor
he was clear, safe and practical. His advice was always character
ized by a weight of common sense as well as legal skill, which was
sufficient to secure confidence while it gave direction. As a man,
he possessed a weight of character, which insured for him the esteem
of all who enjoyed his society or came within the circle of his influ
ence. Affable, polite, courteous, frank, and liberal minded, he
secured the confidence of his fellow citizens and neighbors, who
sincerely mourned his loss as that of a good man." *
He died on Thursday, October 6th, 1853.
To this family of Greenleafs, belong the Rev. Jonathan Green
leaf, settled in Brooklyn, N. Y., and the Principal of the Brooklyn
High School, Alfred Greenleaf, A. M.
Nathaniel Tracy, a distinguished merchant previous to, and
during the Revolutionary war, was born at Newbury, afterwards
Newburyport, about the year 1749. He was the son of Patrick
Tracy, who was an opulent merchant in that place, and having a
proper view of life, gave his sons the best education the country
afforded. Nathaniel graduated atHarvard College in 1769, and com
menced business in his native town in company with Jonathan Jack
son, an accomplished gentleman and thorough merchant. The
house was prosperous, and extended its concerns to a wonderful
magnitude for that day.* During the war of 1775 his privateers
were for several years numerous and successful. He was generous
and patriotic, and assisted the Government with money and articles
of clothing, and other necessaries for carrying on the war. He
* Cambridge Chronicle, October, 1853. f See page 106.

HISTORY of newburyport; 349
Uved in a most magnificent style, having several country seats or
large farms, with elegant summer houses and fine fish-ponds, and aU
those matters of convenience and taste that a British nobleman might
think necessary to his rank and happiness. His horses were of
the choicest kind, and his coaches of the most splendid make. He
expended as if fortune would be always propitious. But in the last
years of the war, the enemy had grown wise and sent a large pro
portion of small frigates and heavy gun brigs, and swept the Ameri
can privateers from the ocean. The Government failed to pay him ;
his debtors, who were numerous, had encountered similar difficulties,
and in 1786 he was minus some millions of dollars. He was a gen
tleman of poUshed manners and fine taste. In looking upon his
houses and works of amusement at the present time, when most of
them are in a state of decay, you still see the hand of taste in every
thing he did. Does not some of the surplus revenue of our country
belong to those who brought their property to the shrine of their
country in the hour of darkness and peril, and threw it down at the
altar as a free-will offering to secure our liberty and independence ?
Such men saved the nation, — must they be forgotten?
William Bartlett, for half a century a prominent merchant of
Newburyport, was born in that( place, January 31, 1748. He
received in early life no more education than the common schools of
the town then afforded ; but what he lacked in school education, was
made up to him in the possession of a large share of common sense,
a qualification which is an excellent substitute for book-learning, as well
as auxiliary to it, especially for the successful prosecution of business.
Mr. Bartlett was distinguished for prudence and industry during the
period of his apprenticeship ; * a period of life at which too many
young men act as if they had no responsibUities ; and at the close of
this period, at the age of twenty-one, he had accumulated sufficient,
by the sale of small articles, to purchase a share in a vessel then
going to sea, on what proved a successful voyage ; and this sum,
earned by extraordinary dUigence, and saved by equal prudence,
proved the germ of his great future wealth. His active mercantUe
Ufe continued for more than fifty years ; and during a period when
* Mr. Bartlett long preserved a lap-stone, which he was wont to call the
" foundation stone " of his great fortune.

350 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
our commerce was a continual prey to the belligerent powers of
Europe, by 'some of whom, France particularly, Mr. Bartlett was a
heavy loser. Yet despite these drawbacks wealth flowed in upon
him, so that having enjoyed the pleasure of giving away many
thousands of dollars while living, he stUl left ample fortunes to the
surviving members of his family, besides bequests to religious insti
tutions. As a citizen of Newburyport, Mr. Bartlett was ever ready
to devise and execute plans for its essential prosperity ; and at a
time when temperance, as now understood, was almost unheard of,
he exerted his influence both by personal example and arrangements
for those in his employ, to eradicate the evils of habitual indulgence
in spirituous liquors. All the great benevolent and Christian asso
ciations of the day met with his cordial support. He was a friend to
Foreign Missions, to the Bible and Tract Societies, to Associations
for Education, &c. His favorite object on which he seemed to
•delight to lavish the accumulations of a long life, was. the Theologi
cal Seminary at Andover. Like his townsman, Moses Brown, Esq.,
he was one of the associate founders of that Institution, and in his
first gift bestowed an equal gratuity with him, $10,000, to which,
soon after, another $10,000 was added. But his beneficence did
not stop here ; not a want of the Seminary could be named but Mr.
Bartlett stood ready to step forward and supply it. The " com
modious chapel and convenient hall,"* provided for the students, are
lasting mementos of his generosity to this institution, whUe no small
part of the select and valuable library, may be traced to the same
.source. - His religious opinions were in accordance with the strict Calvin
ism which he made the basis of his donations, should be taught
at Andover ; to- them he was decidedly and inflexibly attached ; he
reverenced the Sabbath, and was punctual in his observance of the
public services of the day. In the First Presbyterian church where
he worshipped, stands a beautiful and costly cenotaph, erected to
the memory of Whitfield by his ardent admirer, Mr. Bartlett.
In a vote of the Board of Trustees of Andover Theological Semi
nary, passed in April, 1841, Mr. Bartlett is designated as the
" most generous and long continued benefactor " of the Institution.
* Dr. Dana's Sermon, deUvered before the Trustees, Board of Visitors, and
students at Andover, April 19, 1841. • ¦  

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 351
Having laid the foundation of his fortunes with the labor of his
own hands, and having to the latest period of his life retained those
habits of thrift and untiring industry which marked his early career,
Mr. Bartlett was ever the uncompromising enemy of idleness and
extravagance. The dilatory and inaccurate habits of many of the
laboring classes, numbers of whom were constantly employed by him,
excited his strong disapprobation, and it was matter of conscience
with him to exact under all circumstances, a strict fulfilment of his
orders, and to expect from the poor as well as rich, a prompt com
pliance with contracts to which he was a party. In this he fre--
quently did a lasting service to individuals by instilling and encour
aging correct business habits ; but this is a kind of benefit which
rarely excites gratitude in the recipient. He was discriminate in
his generosity, preferring to help those who had a disposition to help
themselves, sometimes sacrificing a valuable consideration for this
purpose. Thus when young Patrick Tracy Jackson, (late of Bos
ton,) who was an apprentice of his, had an opportunity of bettering
his prospects by going to India, Mr. Bartlett freely released him
from the residue of his apprenticeship. The subsequent success
of young Jackson justified his judgment in this case.
There was something in Mr. Bartlett's mode of giving and
exacting, which reminds us of Harry Percy, (King Henry IV, Act
III, Scene I,) when mapping out England with his co-revolutionist,
Glendower, cavilling closely enough on a bargain, but ready to
" give thrice so much land to any well-deserving friend."- It was
these strongly marked mental qualities, of which exacting justice
was the most prominent feature, which controlled his religious faith,
making it impossible for him to be anything in creed but a Calvinist.
Mr. Bartlett was a man of iron frame, as well as nerve, and lived
to the advanced age of ninety-three.
Brigadier General John Boye was born in Newburyport in
1764, and at the age of twenty-two was appointed an ensign in the 2d
American Regiment ; the army being disbanded soon after, he was
appointed (by John Hancock) lieutenant of a company in Boston.
But panting for active service, and his country having no demands
upon him, he determined upon an Oriental experience, and pro
vided with highly flattering letters of recommendation to the

352 history of newburyport.
English Consul residing at the Court of Madras, Lieutenant Boyd
sailed for India in 1788, being then but twenty-four years of age.
He was formally presented to His Highness, the Nizam, an ally of
England, who committed to his command a troop of infantry of
1000 men. The war in progress was that destructive one waged
against; Tippoo Sultan ; in the course of which he was once taken
prisoner. He continued in the English service in India many
years, but returned to his native country in time to engage in the
war of 1812. He was appointed a Brigadier General in the United
States service by President Madison, and commanded a detachment
of 1,500 men at the battle of Williamsburg, U.C., in the fall of 1813,
and subsequently at the defence of Fort George and the battle of
Tippecanoe ; in all of which engagements he distmguished himself
by his courage and knowledge of military tactics. Under Presi
dent Jackson, he was appointed Naval Officer of the Port of Boston,
but survived the appointment only a few months. He died October
4th, 1830.
Captain Moses Brown, U. S. N. Born January 23, 1742, at
SaUsbury, immediately opposite Newburyport, with which latter
place he was identified from the age of fifteen years, when he was
apprenticed to Captain William Coffin, with whom he made his first
voyage, and with whom he remained untU his majority, and in whose
employ he first took command of a vessel.
When only sixteen, he, in the course of his profession, made a
voyage to Louisburg, and was present at its surrender ; and during the
months he remained there probably acquired his first knowledge of
gunnery, and the tactics of naval warfare, which afterwards ren
dered him so formidable an antagonist on the water. At the age of
eighteen he was promoted to the responsible office of mate, though
still an apprentice, and the next year saUed in the schooner Phoebe,
with Captain Robinson, in His Majesty's service, for Halifax. On
arriving there, they found that the fleet which they had expected
to join had already sailed for New York, to which place they
followed them. Here, having taken on board a company of Frazier's
Highlanders, they saUed in company with the fleet for the West
Indies. But being separated from the convoy during a gale, they
feU in with two French privateers, both of whom they engaged and

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 353
beat off, with the loss of their lieutenant and seven men, the
captain and several others wounded ; Mr. Brown receiving a gun
shot wound in his arm above the elbow, a wound which confined him
for two months in the hospital at Guadeloupe, where the Phoebe put
in two days after the engagement. On rejoining his vessel, which had
taken in troops for the capture of Martinique, he sailed for that
port, but the schooner springing one of her masts, was considered
as unfit for the service, and Mr. Brown returned to Newburyport,
after a disastrous voyage, and an absence of sixteen months.
In 1764 he married, and on his next voyage was taken sick at
sea with the small-pox, and was laid out for dead ; the ship's com
pany were assembled, and the supposed corpse placed on the sailor's
coffin — the board and tarred sheet — preparatory to committing
his body to the waves. But the preparations were premature ; the
captain was satisfied that life was not extinct, and interfered to
prevent his being launched overboard ; by his orders he was again
carried below to his berth, where, contrary to the expectations of
the crew, he revived, and finally recovered ; thus narrowly escaping
a premature burial.
In 1767, he took command of the schooner Phoebe, and after
wards a vessel for his old master, Captain Coffin- The perfectly
good understanding which always subsisted between them is ample
evidence of the skill and faithfulness of the boy Moses Brown as
well as the man. In Captain Coffin's employ he continued tUl a son
of his owner wished to take the vessel, when Captain Brown relin
quished it to him. In a voyage which he made to the West Indies,
in 1773, his vessel sprang aleak, and he was obliged to take to his
boat; the schooner sank in about thirty minutes after she was
abandoned. After being tossed about on the ocean with his crew
for seven days, he was relieved from his perUous situation by a
vessel from Philadelphia (Captain May) bound to St. Croix, where
he was safely landed. From thence he took passage for Rhode
Island, but on his voyage home was cast away on Sanquish Beach,
where, he says in his journal, " I took my land tacks and arrived
home January, 1774.
After making a long freighting voyage, and on his return putting
into Philadelphia, he took a sulky from there to return home by
23

354 HISTORY OE< NEWBURYPORT.
land ; but, saUor-like, did not succeed so well with land craft ; he
overturned the sulky, dislocating his right shoulder.
In AprU, 1777, he took command of the brig "Hannah," and
sailed for the West Indies, but the second day out he was captured
by the British frigate Diamond, of thirty-two guns, and was placed on
board a prison-ship stationed at Rhode Island, where he remained
until July. On his return home, he took command of the ship
General Arnold, but a conspiracy being discovered among the crew,
who designed to take possession of the ship and carry her to Hali
fax, the men were arrested and committed to prison, and Captain
Brown altered his ship to a privateer of eighteen six-pounders ;
then shipping a new crew, he sailed on a cruise, and after capturing
one brig, returned.* He afterwards commanded the ship Intrepid,
of twenty twelve-pounders, and the Hercules ; but the particulars
of his successes in these vessels we have not obtained, nor of the
letter-of-marque ship of twenty-two guns to which he was commis
sioned by Samuel Huntington, President of United States Congress
in February, 1781.
In 1798, he was appointed to the command of the " Merrimac,"f
mounting twenty ninerpounders, and eight six-pounders, 460 tons
burden, and rated by her builders as a sloop-of-war. In the Navy
Department she was rated as a twenty-four. In the latter part of
the year she saUed on her first cruise to the West Indies, and joined
the squadron under Commodore Barry. Returning once to renew his
crew, Captain Brown remained abroad until the peace, during which
time he captured the large brig Brilliante, of sixteen guns, and the
Magiciene, of fourteen guns and one hundred and twenty-eight
men, and the Phoenix, and Le Bonaparte, each of fourteen guns and
one hundred and twenty-eight men ; besides recapturing many
American and British vessels which had been made prizes of by the
French. It is to be regretted that Captain ' Brown's extreme modesty pre
vented his recording the particulars of his numerous brUliant
achievements ; the memory of many of them has passed away
with the brave participators in them, and it is now impossible to
* For account of his next cruise in the Arnold, see page 110.
| See page 156.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 355
recover the account. In regard to the capture of the Brilhante,
we have the testimony of Mr. Benjamin Whitmore, of Portland.
He says, in a letter addressed to Colonel S. Sweet, of Boston, " I
was a midshipman on board the Merrimac, and find, after looking
into my journal, that in addition to several others, the brig Brilliante
was captured by our ship. She was one of a banditti which made
a descent on the island of Curacoa, at a time when the French and
Dutch were at amity." This piratical fleet, twelve or thirteen in
number, took Outra Banda, on the west side of the river, and plun
dered the inhabitants. " Our ship," continues Mr. Whitmore, " with
the Petapsco, was ordered there, and on our appearance at the
island, they all cut and run, but before they reached Guadeloupe,
whence they sailed, we captured the Brilhante. * * Captain Brown
was a brave man, and a good discipUnarian, but exhibited much good
feeling for the crew under his charge, and was much respected by
all his subordinates."
As an evidence that his crew were equally attached to him, the
fact may be stated, that a sailor in the West Indies wished to enter
in the Merrimac, and his Captain made tne proposition of an
exchange of men with Captain Brown, who consented, but upon
questioning the crew, not one could be found wUling to quit the ship,
though he would thus have the prospect of a speedy return home.
Captain Brown acted as Commodore of the naval force which
relieved Curacoa and expelled the French from that island.
Notwithstanding his services, and the respect in which he was held
by the community of which he was a citizen, as well as by the officers
of the naval service, Captain Brown was dismissed from office by
President Jefferson, with many other brave men, after the peace ;
and he was obliged again to resort to mercantile voyages for his
support. After forty-seven years of unremitting toU on the ocean,
having fought in the early and later battles of the country, having
been shipwrecked in his mercantile adventures, and twice a prisoner
to the British, he was on the 2d of January, 1804, in the vicinity of.
Martha's Vineyard, whUe on a voyage home, seized with apoplexy,
and died suddenly at the age of sixty-two. His remains were com
mitted to the keeping of the ocean, on which so great a portion of
his life had been passed.
Captain Brown was exceedingly averse to the then common pun-

356 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
ishment of flogging in the Navy, and never, except when it was abso
lutely unavoidable from the emergency of the case, resorted to it. He
was equally remarkable for his efforts to inculcate temperate habits
among his crew ; and the perfect neatness and order of his ship were
the subject of common remark. He was in the constant practice of
periodically fumigating and cleansing his ship when in sickly ports,
by the application of vinegar and lime juice, and the benefit of this
he found in an almost total exemption from sickness among his crew,
when others were suffering fearfully at the West Indies from the
prevalence of yellow fever.
Colonel Edward Wigglesworth, a native of Ipswich, was a
descendant of Rev. Michael Wigglesworth, a famous divine, and
author of the " Day of Doom." In early life he removed to New
buryport, where he resided, with brief intermissions, till his death.
Mr. Wigglesworth was a man of liberal education, having graduated
at Harvard University in 1761,* and subsequently entered into
mercantile business, in the employ of Messrs. Jackson & Tracy,
part of the time as shipmaster.
In June, 1776, Mr. Wigglesworth received a commission from the
" Council of the Massachusetts Bay in New England," appointing
him colonel of a regiment to be raised for the service of the Con
tinent, in the Counties of Essex, York and Cumberland ; (the two
latter are now included in the State of Maine.) This is dated
Watertown, June 24th, 1776. In November of the same year his
commission was renewed by the authority of the Congress, and is
signed by the President, John Hancock.
Under the first, Colonel Wigglesworth had led his men to the
army under the command of Major General Gates, and received
from him the following instructions, in regard to joining the httle fleet
on Lake Champlain, from which it will be seen that Colonel Wig-
glesworth's character had gone before him, and that he was favorably
known to General Gates by reputation, if not personally.
" Instructions to Colonel Wigglesworth, going on board the fleet of
the United States on Lake Champlain.
" The character which I have constantly heard of you as an
* Boston Gazette, 1825.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 357
experienced, active and determined officer, has induced me to
in trust the important post of third in command, on this lake to you,
in preference to any other person. I have not a doubt that your
conduct will justify the idea I have formed.
" The Hon. Brigadier General Arnold has the first command of
the fleet. General Waterbury has the second. Your conduct is to
be governed by the orders you may receive from them. You will
go on board the Royal Savage schooner, or such other vessel as
General Arnold shall direct. You wUl command a division of the
fleet ; and if by any misfortune your two superiors shall be taken off,
the command of the whole by that means devolves on you. You
will then take their instructions, and act conformable to them, or to
the exigencies of affairs.
" I need not tell you that in going down to the fleet it will be
proper to keep the middle of the lake, to avoid going on shore, and
to be as expeditious as possible ; your own good sense and experience
wiU dictate every thing of this kind.
" On your joining the fleet your are to show these instructions to
General Arnold, and receive his orders.
" Wishing you success, happiness and victory, and commending
you to the protection of Heaven, " Horatio Gates, Major General.
" Given at Head Quarters, Ticonderoga, this 6th day of Septem
ber, 1776."
From a journal which Colonel Wigglesworth kept, from his first
connection with the fleet until the disbandment of his regiment in
December, we have been enabled to make the following extracts : it
will be recollected that the little American armament destined to the
defence of lakes Champlain and George was long awaiting the
British force, which finally appeared in such strength upon those
waters. " On the llth of October," Colonel Wigglesworth writes, " the
guard boats gave the alarm that the enemy's fleet was in sight, coming
down the lake ; at half past nine, General Arnold ordered me into
the yawl to go to the windward and observe their motions ; returned
at ten and informed him that they were round the island of Valcour.
In half an hour they began to fire upon the Royal Savage, which had
gone to land, for at my return the three galleys and two schooners

358 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
were under sail standing across the lake, between the island and the
main. * * * The enemy came on with one ship of eighteen
twelve-pounders, two schooners of sixteen guns each, one bomb and
a floating battery of twenty-two brass twelve and twenty-four
pounders, and eighteen flat-bottomed boats carrying each one
eighteen or twenty- four pounder, besides howitzers ; when there
ensued a most terrible fire without the least intermission till half past
five, P. M., when the enemy drew off. Our fleet received consid
erable damage, and we had about fifty killed and wounded. * *
Upon consultation with Generals Arnold and Waterbury, I was
ordered to get under way as soon as it was dark, and show a light
astern for the gondolas, in order to retreat up the lake as fast as
possible. It being calm, we rode out clear of the enemy, without
being discovered. * * * On Saturday 12th, I was up with
Schuyler's Island, and came to anchor under Ligoni's Point to wait
for the fleet, stop our leaks, and secure our mainmast, which was
split in two."
The shattered remains of the little fleet joined him at sunset Sat
urday evening.
" On Sunday 13th," the journal continues, " at nine o'clock Gen
eral Arnold sent his boat aboard to desire me to lie by for the fleet,
which I did, by stretching across the lake. At ten, A. M., the enemy
began to fire upon the two galleys in the rear, (near Split or Cloven
Rock.*) I soon discovered that the Washington galley, in which was
General Waterbury, had struck, and that General Arnold was
engaged with the ship and two schooners, and that he could not get
clear. I thought it my duty to make sail and endeavor to save the
Trumbull galley if possible. About one o'clock General Arnold
run his galley ashore, with four other gondolas, and blew them all up."
This exploit of Arnold's is considered by some historians as the
most brUliant and masterly of his many brave and daring feats ;
that he saved his men in the presence of such a superior force, even
at the sacrifice of his vessels, was regarded as evidence of extraor
dinary generalship, yet in the face of this very foe Colonel Wiggles
worth, brought off his own vessel, the Hospital sloop, the schooner
Revenge, and a gondola. * Allen's History of the Revolution.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 359
He says, " We double manned our oars and made all the satt we
could, and by throwing over our ballast got off clear. * * As the
lee cutter was missing, we supposed her taken, which, with one gon
dola and the Washington, was all the enemy got possession of. *
* * Arrived at Ticonderoga at sunset, went ashore, waited on
Gates, and informed him of our affairs, and that I believed General
Arnold would be in in the morning, which he accordingly was."
Here, it will be remembered, the Americans employed themselves
in constructing a boom across the lake, in superintending which
Colonel Wigglesworth was actively engaged ; and here they waited
in expectation of another attack from the enemy, the size and
condition of their fleet forbidding any aggressive movement.
" November 7th. Received orders to prepare to go to St. John's
with a flag of truce, and set out at five o'clock, with Lieutenant
Evans and a Frenchman, prisoners. Landed at Crown Point.
" 8th. It rained aU day and I encamped three mUes below Split
Rock. " 9th. Between Valcour Island and the main, saw tho ship, (proba
bly the Inflexible,) and went aboard to deliver our prisoners, but were
detained prisoners ourselves."
Colonel Wigglesworth was thus, though bearing a flag of truce,
detained untU the 16th inst., when he was released, and returned to
Ticonderoga on the morning of the 17th, and the next day, in com
pany with Generals Gates, Arnold and Brickett, set out for Fort
George, on their way to Albany, where he arrived on the evening of
the 21st. To keep Albany from falling into the hands of the
enemy, was now the great desideratum, as the possession of this
post would give them an almost uninterrupted communication from
Canada to New York, thus separating the Eastern from the Middle
States. Here Colonel Wigglesworth expected orders to send his
regiment home, but an entry in his. journal, under date of November
30, shows the state of discipline in the army at that time, and is
characteristic of the men.
" Paid off the men — expected orders to send them home — but
they went without leave."
Colonel Wigglesworth soon after returned to Newburyport, and
recruited another company during the winter of 1777, as we learn
by a letter written on the 3d of December, by General Gates,

360 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
requesting Colonel Wigglesworth to rendezvous his regiment " on the
new establishment," at Concord, Massachusetts, by the 1st of
January, 1777. But such was the distress of the times, that
recruits could not easily be raised, or, if raised, equipped ; and on
the 22,d of February we find Major General Heath, in consequence
of express orders from General Washington, requesting Colonel
Wigglesworth to march with the men he had already obtained, and
not to wait for a full company ; and the rendezvous now appointed
was Ticonderoga.
Of this winter's campaign, and following, we find no jour
nal extant, but from other evidence we have learned that he was at
the battle of Monmouth, where, as at all other times, he acquitted
himself to the perfect satisfaction of the Commander-in-Chief. Of
the estimation in which he was held by Washington, we have suffi
cient official proof.
The loss of Forts Montgomery and Clinton on the Hudson, which
were surrendered by Governor Clinton, appeared to demand an offi
cial inquiry; and by an order issued from his Head Quarters at
Valley Forge, in 1778, (March 17th,) General Washington
appointed Colonel Wigglesworth one of a Court of Inquiry, to be
held at Peekskill, in April. The other members of the Court, were
Major General Alexander MacDougaU and Brigadier General Jedi-
diah Huntingdon. Of this Court of Inquiry, Colonel Wigglesworth
was President, as we find by another letter of Washington, dated
10th June, 1778, and addressed to " Colonel Edward Wigglesworth,*
President of a Court of Inquiry," in which some suggestions are
made as to the mode of obtaining Colonel Green's evidence.
During the winter of 1779, Colonel Wigglesworth apphed to the
Commander-in-Chief for leave to resign. Washington rephes, under
date of 26th February :
* " I have referred your. letter for leave to resign, to Con
gress ; as soon as I receive their determination I shall transmit it,
* For this, with all the other official documents, and the journal, we are
indebted to Colonel Wigglesworth's daughter, Mrs. Dole of this town, and
another relative, E. Wood Perry, Esq., of New Orleans.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 361
and should it be accepted, accompany it with testimonials of
your services, however Imay regret the loss of a valuable officer.
" I am, sir,
" Your very humble servant,
" George Washington.
" Colonel Wigglesworth."
On the 10th of March, 1779, Congress passed the foUowing
resolve :
" Resolved, That Colonel Wigglesworth's resignation be accepted,
and that General Washington give him such a certificate of his past
services as he shall have merited."
In accordance with this resolve, General Washington furnished
Colonel Wigglesworth with the following official certificate :
" I certify that Edward Wigglesworth, Esq., hath served in the
army of the United States of America, with the rank of Colonel,
commanding a Regiment belonging to the State of Massachusetts
Bay, and that he uniformly supported the character of an attentive,
brave and patriotic officer.
" Given under my hand, at Head Quarters, Middle Brook, this
19th day of March, 1779. " George Washington."
Accompanying this we find another friendly and unofficial letter
of General Washington, addressed to his late officer.
" Head Quarters, Middle Brook, 19th of March, 1779.
" Sir : I yesterday received the enclosed resolve of Congress,
accepting your resignation, and directing me to give you a certificate
of your services, which I also enclose. I hope your success in the
line of hfe you are about to pursue, wUl fully compensate for the
losses you have sustained in the service of your country, and am,
sir, " Your most obedient servant,
, " George Washington."
But Colonel Wigglesworth's pecuniary prospects were already
ruined by his devotion to his country. On the complete organiza
tion of the Federal Government, he was appointed by Washington
CoUector for the Port of Newburyport, which office he retained
until ill health unfitted him for its duties.

362 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
In his old age he received a pension from the Government, through
the personal friendship of President Monroe, who was serving as a
Lieutenant Colonel in the army in the Jerseys, when Mr. Wiggles
worth held the rank of full Colonel over the same troops.
Captain Ezra Lunt was a native of Newburyport, and raised
the first volunteer company enrolled in the town for the purpose of
joining the Continental army. Previous to the outbreak of the
Revolution, in 1774, he commenced running the first four horse stage
coach* hne between this place and Boston, and was also editoriaUy
connected with the paper started by Isaiah Thomas.
His company, (which consisted of sixty men,) being the senior of
all others in the town, of course took rank of them all. He was
subsequently promoted to the rank of Major, and was Commissary
to that part of the Continental army in Little's Regiment. They
left Newburyport on the 10th of May, 1775, and on the 12th
arrived at Cambridge, where they remained attached to the army
until the' 16th of June, when they went to Charlestown, and
intrenched on a hill beyond Bunker's. WhUe they were securing
their position a regular fire was kept up from the enemy's ships and
from Copps hiU. On the 17th they were engaged in the glorious
battle of that day. Mr. Lunt was afterwards at the battle of Mon
mouth and through the Jerseys ; he stood very near when General
Washington rode up to meet General Lee, in that most memorable
disorderly retreat, and heard distinctly the words of both,f and says
that Washington, in a quick but dignified style, said, " General Lee,
why this disorderly retreat, sir ? " and that Lee in a passionate
manner rejoined, " By G-d, sir, American soldiers can't fight Brit
ish grenadiers." Washington, most justly provoked at this, retorted
with equal warmth, exclaiming with emphasis, at the utmost stretch
* Who was Mr. Lunt's successor in this business we do not know ; but about
1794 Mr. Jacob Hale and sons ran a four horse coach between the towns, and
cnntinued the business till the Eastern Stage Company was formed. The late
Benjamin Hale, of this city, drove the first coach which ever entered the East
ern Stage-yard in Boston. In 1826 this Company had thirty-five coaches
and twelve chaises — all the vehicles for the Company being constructed in
Newburyport. f From Narrative of Henry Lunt, Esq,, of Boston.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 363
of his voice, "By G-d, sir, they can fight any soldiers upon the
face of the earth ;" and that he then immediately gave the order to
the army to " face right about, and not turn their backs, on the
enemy;" which orders run instantly like a flash of lightning
through the whole line. The result was victory and honor, instead of
disgrace to the Continental troops.
Captain Lunt was also stationed at FishkUl, near the head quar
ters of General Washington, in the spring of 1781. Here his
brother Henry, after leaving the service of Paul Jones, called on his
way home from Philadelphia to visit him. It was four years since
they had seen each other.
The late Governor Eustis, who was a surgeon in the Continental
army, was weU acquainted with Captain Ezra Lunt, and said that he
was esteemed a good officer.
Just after the war, Mr. Lunt opened a tavern in Federal street,
and the " Recommendation," which innholders were then obliged to
have, is preserved in the Massachusetts Records of the day. At
the period of Shay's rebellion, he was, with a drafted company,
ordered to march to the scene of insurrection. About a year later,
Captain Lunt moved to Ohio, upon the Miami, to take up the land
granted for mUitary services. He deceased about 1803.
He had been a much respected member of the Rev. Mr. Parson's
church ; was possessed of an excellent voice, and for some years
led the singing at his meeting-house ; his temper was of rather an
impatient quahty — more quick to discern the faults of others than
to feel his own.
His personal appearance was manly and comely ; he was about
five feet nine inches high, of a soldier-like deportment, with ruddy
complexion, light brown hair. He was much esteemed by aU the
members of his company.
The following facts connected with Henry Lunt are principally
derived from a written narrative of his son, (stiU Uving,) who
remarks as follows : " I was personally acquainted with some on
board the Dalton ; among them was a Mr. Paul Noyes, Samuel
Cutler, and Mr. John [Charles] Herbert, afterwards a block-maker
on the Upper Long wharf, Newburyport." As corroborative of
Mr. Herbert's journal, and of the career of Captain Moses Brown,

364 history of newburyport.
and Ulustrative of the spirit which animated him and them, we have
not hesitated to add the narrative of Henry Lunt, Jr., to notices
already given to the men of the Revolution.
Henry Lunt was the youngest brother of Ezra Lunt. In the
autumn of 1776, he embarked in the privateer Dalton, commanded
by Captain Eleazer Johnson. She was fitted out by Stephen Hooper,
a wealthy citizen of the town.
The Dalton was captured by a British man-of-war the December
following, and her officers and crew thrown into Mill Prison, where
Mr. Lunt remained over two years, suffering the greatest possible
privations. His peculiar rigorous treatment was in consequence of
his twice having made the attempt to escape. On one of these
occasions he received a severe wound in his thigh, in trying to force
himself through the grating of the prison sewer ; being caught, he
was put into the " black hole," where his wound receiving no atten
tion, mortified so that the flesh was obliged to be cut away, and the
bone scraped. He finaUy obtained his release by a cartel nego
tiated by Benjamin Frankhn, then in France ; where Mr. Lunt
went on obtaining his Uberty, which was in the spring of 1779, and
soon after, he entered on board the ship Bon Homme Richard, which
was then fitting out at L' Orient, under the command of J. Paul
Jones. He entered as a midshipman, but was speedily promoted to
the station of second lieutenant, and continued in that capacity
under Commodore Jones in all his cruises in the Bon Homme
Richard, and afterwards in the ship Alliance, of which Jones sub
sequently took command ; and later, in the ship Ariel, which left
France for PhUadelphia in 1781, where she arrived in February of
that year. On the passage, the Ariel had a severe engagement
with a British ship of superior force ; and Jones always spoke in
terms of high praise of the conduct of his young officers during that
action. " In the spring Mr. Lunt left Philadelphia for his native place,
Newburyport* at which time Commodore Jones tendered to him an
* In the Narrative of Henry Lunt, Jr., he speaks of his father as a " native
of Newburyport." Mr. Coffin speaks of him as a native of Newbury. The
seeming discrepancy is reconciled by recurring to the fact that Newburyport
was not incorporated until Henry Lunt was about ten years old.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 365
open letter of recommendation. Upon his arrival home, after an
unbroken absence of four years and seven months in the service of
his country," he entered as first lieutenant of the ship Intrepid,
a new vessel, pierced for twenty guns, fitted out by Nathaniel
Tracy, Esq., and commanded by Captain Moses Brown. The In
trepid was a letter-of-marque ship, and bound on a cruise against
the common enemy. She was built by the celebrated Hackett, who
also built the Alliance.
It was soon after the Intrepid saUed that Commodore Jones came
to Newburyport to inquire for his second lieutenant, Mr, Lunt,
wishing that he might again enter the Government service with him in
a new seventy-four gun ship then building for Jones at Portsmouth,
and expressed his regret at not finding him. The ship Intrepid was
absent about a year and a half with good success, when she was
sold at Havana, after having safely brought from L' Orient to Balti
more, a cargo valued at half a million of dollars. Mr. Lunt then
returned to Newburyport and entered as master into the merchant
service, in the employ of Mr. Tracy, and subsequently other prom
inent merchants of the place.
The following is copied from the original letter which Jones gave
to Mr. Lunt :
" The bearer hereof, Mr. Henry Lunt, has served under my com
mand on board the Continental ship Bon Homme Richard. He was
first employed by me as a midshipman at L'Orient, in the summer
of 1779. He had been released from an English prison by a cartel.
I soon promoted him to the station of a second lieutenant, and he
continued with me in that ship as such, and was afterwards with me
in the ship Alliance from the Texel to France, and also from thence
with me in the ship Ariel to this port, as second lieutenant. Mr.
Lunt has been with me in many trying circumstances, and has
always behaved like a good officer, for which he has my best wishes.
He had not the good fortune to be on board at the time of the
engagement with the Serapis till the close of the action. He is
included in the vote of thanks which I have been honored with
by the Congress since my return to this country.
" Given under my hand at Philadelphia, May, 1781.
" Chevalier Paul Jones*."

366 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
Some naval historians have inadvertently included Henry Lunt
in their condemnation of those subordinate officers who failed to
support Paul Jones in his engagement with the Serapis, because he
was unfortunately absent when the engagement commenced.
How he came to be absent during the fight was thus : " Some
time before the engagement, and when none was expected, he with
a number of picked men was ordered into a pilot-boat to reconnoitre
some merchant vessels far in the offing ; while absent on this duty,
the Serapis and those with her hove in sight, and Jones immedi
ately bore away for them, not waiting for the return of the boat,
(in which there were fifteen or sixteen men,) but making a signal
for her return. When the boat came up, the cannonading was in
full blast from all the vessels ; the only thing left for those unfor
tunately in the boat, was to wait for a lull, and save themselves for
use at the critical moment of expected surrender, as they did, just
as it was altercating which was victor and which was vanquished.
Particularly opportune was the assistance of the pilot-boat's crew, as
they were reliable men, while there were many prisoners and others
untrustworthy, who needed to be looked after at the time of the
surrender." Cooper (Vol. 4, p. 200,) thus speaks of the closing scene of the
engagement. " By this time, Mr. Lunt, the 2d Lieutenant, who had
been absent in the pilot-boat, had got alongside and was on board
the prize. To this officer Mr. Dale (the 1st Lieutenant,) now con
signed the charge of the Serapis, the cable was cut and the ship
followed the Richard as ordered. Although the protracted and
bloody contest had now ended, neither the dangers nor the labors of
the victors were over. The Richard was both sinking and on fire ;
the flames had extended so as to menace the magazine, while the
pumps in constant use, could barely keep the water at the same
level. In this manner did the night of the battle pass, contending
with the flames till the 24th. The following night and morning of the
Succeeding day, about 10, the Bon Homme Richard wallowed heavy,
gave a roll and settled into the sea, bows foremost."
In the year 1800, at New London, Mr. Henry Lunt of Boston,
son of Lieutenant Lunt, met Lieutenant (then Captain) Dale, who
remarked to him, " Well, my young friend, your father and I have
been/in many trying situations together ; he always did his duty weU,
and was a good officer."

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 367
But all doubt on this subject must be set at rest by the fact that
though Commodore Jones publicly charged some of the commanders
with « keeping back," he never uttered a word of complaint against
his young Ueutenants, Henry and Cutting Lunt, but always spoke in
favor of them. On the occasion when he meditated a descent upon
the town of Leithe, he was overruled by the other commanders in the
squadron; but he says emphatically, "My young lieutenants on
board the Bon Homme Richard, gave to this plan their hearty
assent." The solution of the conduct of the insubordinate captains lay in
their jealousy of the Commodore, whom they could not bear to see
bearing off all the honors. Mr. Henry Lunt was accustomed to say
" they hated Jones, and misrepresented him because he knew more
than aU of them together." In the early naval history of this
country we find a degree of insubordination in the navy, perfectly
incompatible with proper discipline on shipboard.
Mr. Lunt's affidavit was made use of against the Captain of the
Alliance, " for firing into the Richard while lashed to the Serapis,
disobedience of orders,. &e."
The following is an extract from an affidavit made by the late
Moses Davenport, Esq., before a justice of the peace in this town,
and which was taken for the purpose of securing the pension to
Lieutenant Lunt's widow :
* * " Said John Paul Jones called on me and made inquiry
after the said Lunt. On being informed that he was absent by sea,
Captain Jones expressed great regret. He stated that he was then
on his way to Portsmouth, in New Hampshire, on business for the
Government, respecting a large ship of seventy-four guns, then, as
I understood him, about to be built there ; that his object in making
inquiry at that time for Captain Lunt, was to ascertain whether the
Government might not avail themselves of his services. He spoke
of him in his service on board the Bon Homme Richard, and
remarked that he should prefer him as an officer in the service, to
any he had ever known. * " Moses Davenport.
" Newburyport, October 4th, 1838."
Captain Brown was wont to say that Mr. Lunt was " one of the
best seamen and officers he had known," and his experience was by

368 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
no means limited. After the peace, Mr. Lunt saUed as commander
for Mr. Tracy, while the latter continued in business, and afterwards
for Messrs. Brown & Bartlett, Faris & Stocker, and others, making
some twenty-five voyages as commander ; in all, about sixty.
After Mr. Lunt returned from his cruises in the Intrepid, he
became a member of St. John's Lodge, when Stephen Hooper was
the presiding officer. " Many of its members," says the narrator,
" I recollect seeing in their processions ; among them was Bishop
Bass, Nathaniel and John Tracy, Dr. J. B. Swett, Colonel Wiggles
worth, Captain Moses Brown, Eleazer Johnson, (Captain of the
Dalton,) Joseph and Samuel Cutler, General Titcomb, &c. After
this he became a member of the Marine Society of Newburyport,
composed only of sea-captains. Among the members of this Soci
ety was Captain William Coombs, (whose memory, for his virtues,
should always be venerated,) Eleazer Johnson, Nicholas Johnson,
Moses Brown, Abraham Wheelwright, WUUam P. Johnson ; a more
worthy association of shipmasters could not be mentioned."
The widow of Mr. Henry Lunt received a pension from Govern
ment, and the claim made by her for prize money was admitted,
agreeably to the muster-roll adjustment, made up at the Marine
Department in France, in 1784, under the advice and direction of
Commodore Jones, who placed against Mr. Lunt's name the same
sum as was paid the highest grade of officers, except the Com
mander. Mr. Lunt died in 1805. He was a lineal descendant of
Henry Lunt, one of the original grantees of Newbury. His wife
was also descended from one of these original grantees — Henry
Short. The land then allotted to him (1635) has descended in
unbroken inheritance, (these 200 years,) and is now owned by
his posterity of the same name. Mr. Lunt's early education was
scanty, but he possessed himself of much useful knowledge, partic
ularly what was necessary to make a complete shipmaster, and he
spoke French with facility. There is a miniature of Henry Lunt,
painted by Peel, in PhUadelphia, He and Paul Jones were so
nearly of a size, being of medium height, that their clothes would
suit each other.
The pension to Henry Lunt's widow to the time of her decease,
(1838,) was received by their son, to the amount of $1,435.60.
The amount due him for prize money from the captures made

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 369
while Jones commanded the squadron, in the Bon Homme Richard,
was fr.4,089 12 5. But of this, only $387.40 was paid, (though
the fuU sum was admitted,) because the " Prize Fund," so caUed,
failed, the sum named being aU that was left, at the time of the
application, in the hands of the auditor.
Daniel Lunt, the second brother, was previous to the Revolution
master of the brig Lively, of Newburyport, and is honorably men
tioned in an article, pubUshed by request of the town authorities
in the Essex Journal, April 19, 1776. In this year he also embarked
in the privateer Dalton, and was fellow-prisoner with his brother
Henry in Mill Prison. After the peace he saUed as commander
for David Coates, of this town. He died in 1787.
Cutting Lunt (second cousin to the brothers Ezra, Daniel and
Henry,) while third acting lieutenant of the Bon Homme Richard,
whUe in pursuit of a boat's crew which had deserted, was enveloped
in a dense fog and lost sight of. It is supposed that the men forci
bly carried the boat ashore and landed, and that Cutting Lunt was
returned to Mill Prison, from which he had escaped. After much
suffering, he returned to his native place, Newburyport, before the
war was ended, and made a short cruise in a privateer called the
" America," belonging to Joseph Marquand. On her second cruise,
the America was lost and never heard of more ; Cutting Lunt
being on board, was of course also lost, and no more heard from.
His heirs received the prize money due him.
Captain William Farris, a native of Belfast, Ireland, but a
resident of Massachusetts from the age of twelve years, and long a
citizen of Newburyport, early engaged as an officer in the navy of
the United States when the war of the Revolution called on every
man to make his election between Uberty and slavery. Mr. Farris
joined the American army in that glorious, though romantic expe
dition, under Arnold and Montgomery, against Quebec, and was
employed by the former in many responsible stations. He had
committed to him the care of the supplies, and of sundry vessels,
together with the command of the schooner IsabeUa, a transport
for supplies to the troops then stationed at Montreal, where he
24

370 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
remained till the middle of June, when the expedition being aban
doned, he obtained passports from Colonel Burr and returned home.
In the same year, he joined the frigate Boston, at Newburyport,
as midshipman, and made a cruise in her, and afterwards served
the American cause in the Hancock, and subsequently as lieutenant
and commander of several privateers, until the peace. He was
more than once captured, and experienced all the sufferings of a
rigorous confinement on board the prison-ships of the enemy.
1 At the close of the war, having been for a brief period in the
employ of those weU-known merchants, Jackson and Tracy, he
commenced his mercanttte career under the firm of Farris &
Stocker.* Mr. Farris was for some time President of the Marine
Insurance Company of Newburyport, and for several successive
years represented the town in the Legislature of the State, and so
much to the approbation of his constituents; that his unsought
resignation, induced by the approaching infirmities of age, alone
put a period to his public services in this capacity. He died at the
age of eighty-four, leaving an unsullied reputation as a man and an
officer. John Barnard Swett, M. M. S. S., who commenced practice
as a physician and surgeon in Newburyport in 1780, was born in
Marblehead, 1752, but was descended from John Swett, one of the
ninety-one original grantees of Newbury, who was admitted to the
freedom of the Massachusetts Colony as early as the 18th of May,
1642.* Dr. Swett graduated at Harvard in 1767, and was destined by
his guardian, the Rev. John Barnard, of Marblehead, for the min
istry; but about the time of his receiving his degree he was
accidentally present at the post mortem examination of some persons
who had come to a violent death ; and was so interested that it fixed
his choice of a profession, and he determined to study surgery ; for
which purpose he went to Edinburgh, where he remained three years
under the instruction of Dr. WUUam Cullen, enjoying the" best
society which the Uterary capital of Scotland could afford, particu-
* It was with this firm that Oliver Putnam, the founder of the " Putnam
Free School," received his mercantile education.
t Vide pamphlet entitled " Mementos of the Swett Family," p. 6.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 371
larly that of Mr. Hume and Dr. Robertson. He afterwards perfected
his medical education by attending on the hospitals of France and
England, and returned to America in 1778, where he joined the
American army, under Sullivan, as a surgeon, at the time of the
expedition to Rhode Island, and was in the tent with one of the
General's aids, John S. Sherburn, Esq., when a cannon ball took off
the leg of the latter. Dr. Swett's name is included in the order
book of General Sullivan under date of September 27, 1778, in
which the commander-in-chief takes the opportunity "to return
his most sincere and cordial thanks for the unwearied care and
attention which the surgeons paid to the wounded of the army,"
and to whose " unparalleled exertions and skill " is ascribed the
preservation of many valuable lives and brave officers, whose wounds
must otherwise have proved fatal.
Dr. Swett was the next year in the disastrous expedition to
Penobscot, and when the army was disbanded and left officerless,
with his surgical instruments in his knapsack, he travelled over
fifty miles, through an unbroken wilderness, to the settlements on
the Kennebec, and from thence he came to Newburyport, to which
place he was invited by several of the leading men in the town, to
some of whom he was also allied by birth. Here he rose rapidly
in his profession, and soon surrounded himself with a large circle of
admiring friends. He was eminently social in his temperament,
which greatly facilitated his professional progress. He was a mem
ber of the Masonic Fraternity, whose convivial habits suited his
ardent disposition. Through his influence, mainly, the first Encamp
ment of Knights Templars was formed in the United States. He
was a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences,
and for several years Corresponding Secretary of the Massachusetts
Medical Society.
In the summer of 1796, when our town was visited by the then
unknown disease to this vicinity, yeUow fever, Dr. Swett exposed
himself without reservation to its maUgnant influences ; to him many
of the suffering looked for rehef, and no personal consideration of
safety could induce him to desert them in this extremity. He was
constantly caUed among the victims of this terrible disease ; and
with fidelity exerted att the resources within his reach for their
rehef. The consequence was, he himself took the disease, which

372 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
was neither thoroughly understood by himself nor other physicians
then here, and died — a martyr to his professional duties. He left
a wife, daughter of Hon. WiUiam Bourne, and four sons, to share
with the town and his native place the deep grief experienced at
his loss.
Right Rev. Edward Bass, D. D., the first Bishop of Massachu
setts, was a native of Dorchester j* Massachusetts, and received his
coUegiate education at Harvard University, which he entered at the
age of thirteen, and where he graduated in 1744. After leaving
college, and while pursuing his theological studies, he was much of
the time engaged in teaching. He was for some time connected
with the Congregational denomination, and accepted a license to
preach from them. But becoming dissatisfied with this connection,
he turned his attention to the church to which he subsequently con
formed, and was in 1751 chosen by Mr. Plant, then minister of the
church, as his assistant. The next year he visited England, for the
purpose of Episcopal ordination, which he obtained, and soon after
returned to Newburyport, under the patronage of the Society for
Propagating the Gospel in Foreign Parts. Here, on the death of
Mr. Plant, in 1753, he succeeded to the Rectorship of St. Paul's.
On the breaking out of the Revolution, Mr. Bass, in common
with the Episcopal clergy of that day, was called upon to make his
election between the ecclesiastical authority which he had been
accustomed to revere, and his country, which claimed his talents, and
his influence. Eminently a man of peace, Mr. Bass would, in this
controversy, have been wUlingly overlooked, and allowed quietly to
proceed with his accustomed duties, without taking a decisive stand
on either side, though disposed, according to his own account, to.
favor the royal cause. Appointed to his office by the Society in
London, he must doubtless have felt himself under pecuhar obliga
tions, which were not laid upon the rest of the community. But he
was not permitted to indulge his predilections in quietude ; the
question with him soon assumed a practical shape. English prayer
books were in the hands of his parishioners, but the request soon
* On being asked why he left Dorchester, he replied, ".The brooks there are
not large enough for bass to swim in."

history of newburyport. 373
came, " that he should omit the prayers for the king ; " then came
" Fast days," appointed by the Provincial Congress, which he dared
not omit to observe, and lastly came the Declaration of Independ
ence, 'which he was required to read in the church. What could
our loyal minister do under these circumstances ? We wUl let him
teU his own story. He had been accused to the Society in London
of having " favored the rebeUion." The following is an extract
from his reply, dated December 29th, 1783 :
" That I showed a readiness to keep all the Congress fasts,
as Dr. Morice hath been informed, is not true. I complied with much
reluctance. It is indeed true that I did generally open my church
on those days, but not in consequence of orders, or demands, from
any rebel authority whatever, none of whose papers I ever once
read in church, but at the earnest request of my parishioners, who
represented it to me, as the only probable way of saving the church
from destruction, while people in general were in such a frenzy."
But his disclaimers were not satisfactory to the Society in Lon
don, several persons having represented to them that Mr. Bass had
favored the rebellion, and the climax of the argument against him
was, his remaining in Newburyport ! The Secretary of the Venera
ble Society says, (January, 1782,) in reply to one who had tried to
convince them of Mr. Bass's loyalty, " If Mr. Bass had been truly
loyal, I can't see how it was possible for him to stay at Newbury
port, a place so much infavdr of the other part." *
Fortunately for the church worshipping at St. Paul's, the argu
ments of his enemies prevaUed, and the London Society refused him
all further aid, and he was thus thrown on the generosity of his
parishioners, who, rightly estimating his valuable qualities as a man,
a scholar and a divine, gave him at once their cordial support ;
willingly forgetting his disposition to pray for the king, and his neg
lect of the provincial fasts. Six years later, in 1789, the degree of
D. D. was conferred on Mr. Bass by the University of Pennsylvania ;
and in 1796 Dr. Bass was elected Bishop of Massachusetts, (being
the first person who attained to that office in this State,) and was
consecrated by Bishop White, at Philadelphia. He retained his
* Appendix to the " Frontier Missionary," by Rev. William S. Bartlett.

374 history of newburyport.
connection with St. Paul's church, Newburyport, for fifty-one years.
- He died in 1803, aged 77.
REV. GEORGE WHITFIELD.
Of the Rev. George Whitfield, who exerted so great and per
manent an influence in Newburyport, we do not design to speak at
length, as his memoirs may readily be obtained by aU interested in
the detaUs of his eventful hfe.
He preached for the first time in Newbury, (now Newburyport,)
September 30th, 1740 — then a young man about twenty-six years
of age. He delivered his first sermon in the old meeting-house
belonging to the First Society, (Rev. J. Lowell's,) then standing in
Market square. Having made a brief visit to the District of Maine,
he returned here, and preached again, with his usual extraordinary
effect; and from this time forward, made frequent, and several
lengthy visits to Newburyport. The week previous to his death, he
preached four times in Portsmouth, N. H., and on the Saturday
afternoon at Exeter, and then rode to Newburyport, where he
expected to preach on the Sabbath. But it was ordered otherwise.
His violent exertions brought on a paroxysm of asthma, a complaint
to which he was subject, and he died early on the ensuing Sabbath
morning, September 30th, 1770 — just thirty years from the date of
his first visit to the town. ,
His death excited much interest throughout the country. When
the ' news of his decease reached Portsmouth, where he had so
recently preached, the bells were tolled from eleven o'clock A. M.,
to near sunset.*
The house where he died is situated on the lower side of School
street, the second from the church, where his tomb was built and his
bones stiU rest ; they being placed in a vault under the pulpit of the
First Presbyterian church, in which he had usually preached when
in this town, and which was mainly brought into existence through
his influence.
Mr. Whitfield's friends in England were exceedingly anxious that
his remains should be returned to his native place for interment ;
and some years subsequent, an individual having visited his tomb,
* Annals of Portsmouth.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 375
abstracted from the coffin the bones of the right arm, which has
since caused the remains to be guarded with the strictest vigUance.
In September, 1849, the pastor of the First Presbyterian church,
Rev. Jonathan Stearns, received from England a mysterious box,
which on opening he found to contain the lost members, accompanied
by a letter, satisfactorily explaining how they came mto the writer's
possession, and vindicating the genuineness of the restoration. In
the presence of the Session and Elders of the church, the stray
bones were restored to their proper place in the coffin ; from which
there is little chance of their again escaping.
Rev. John Murray, the second pastor of the First Presbyterian
Church in Newburyport, was a native of Ireland, but received his
education at Edinburgh, removing to this country after obtaining his
license to preach. He was first settled at Booth Bay, from which
place, he was sent as a delegate to the Provincial Congress in 1775,
which met in that year at Watertown. He was at one time Presi
dent pro tern, of that body, and also acting Secretary, and was also
while a member, Chairman of the Committee for reporting rules and
orders for Congress ; and his reports bear evidence of his thorough
acquaintance with Parliamentary usage. The basis of these reports
are still preserved in the rules observed in the Legislature of the
Commonwealth. It was during the Revolutionary war (1781) that
Mr. Murray removed to Newburyport, and was instaUed as the suc
cessor of Jonathan Parsons. At the peace in 1783, he published
a statistical sermon, showing the expenses of the war to Great
Britain, which he had laboriously and skilfully arranged, and printed
in tabular form. Statistical works were not then so common as they
have since become, and this was considered at the time a very won
derful performance. Mr. Murray was an orator of no ordinary
abUities, and was particularly eloquent when portraying the terrors
of eternal punishment, in which, in accordance with the tenets of
the denomination to which he belonged, he was a firm believer. We
have heard an attendant on his ministry, relate that when a chUd,
his blood had run cold through his veins and his Uttle limbs trembled
as he listened to the terrible denunciations dealt out by the fervent
and excited preacher. Mr. Murray was at the zenith of his fame
when the celebrated John Murray was preaching the new theme,

376 HISTORY OF newburyport.
(to American ears,) the doctrine of universal salvation. To distin
guish these eminent theologians, the adherents of the latter bestowed
upon them the definitive appellations of Salvation and Damnation
Murray. At that period the preacher in Newburyport had the
popular side of the argument.
On one occasion, when visiting one of the pubhc schools, and, as
was the wont of the clergy in those days, examining the scholars in
the Bible and Catechism, a little fellow who had a taste for drawing
liknesses, made an excellent sketch of the reverend gentleman's
face on a blank leaf in his Testament ; the irregularity was reported
to the master, and the boy called out to receive correction for
" drawing pictures in school," when Mr. Murray took the book from
the boy's hand, and was quite astonished to find an exceUent Ukeness
of himself, gown and wig included. He interfered to save the boy
from punishment, and subsequently interested himself in having him
placed under the instruction of a portrait painter.
Mr. Murray died in 1793, leaving a widow, the daughter of
Colonel Lithgowe of Maine. He was almost idolized by a large por
tion of his parishioners, but from some irregularity in his ordination
papers, involving an imputation of his veracity, he never met with
that cordial reception amOng the clerical fraternity of the town to
which his talents and social qualities entitled him.
The Rev. Charles William Milton was born in London, in
1767, on the 29th of November. He was one of the protege's of
Lady Selina Huntingdon, by whose munificence many young men
were educated for the Christian ministry. Soon after his ordination
he came to the British Provinces to preach, and from there was
invited to Newburyport by the Rev. John Murray, then pastor of
the First Presbyterian Society in this town, who probably httle
anticipated the result of his invitation. A portion of Mr. Murray's
flock became so interested in the young preacher, that they withdrew
from the Presbyterian connection, and formed a party under Mr.
MUton, subsequently uniting to form the Fourth Rehgious Society,
with him as their pastor. He was installed into this office March 20th,
1791, and continued to preach to them forty-three years.
Mr. MUton's fame has been spread abroad by the eccentricities of
his character ; but beneath these there was a substantial substratum

Trom a Fainting ~by Cole
SWChrwllarSBr-a lv£h- Barton-

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 377
of good natural, sense and fervent piety. His style of preaching
was earnest, energetic, and subject to impassioned flights of oratory,
not unfrequently dealing in original, totally unexpected, and
grotesque illustrations, which indelibly imprinted the thing to be
remembered, on the minds of his hearers. Like most of the
preachers of that day, he dealt liberally in the discussions of
doctrinal points in his preaching ; and in his treatment of these there
was no temporizing. He expressed his convictions, which were evan
gelical, in a manner at once lucid and decided.
His ideas of preaching were somewhat exclusive. The modern
fashion of introducing social and political themes into the Sabbath
day services, appeared to him an impropriety, and a swerving from
.the true intent of the gospel ordinance of preaching. Towards the
close of his ministry the discussions of slavery and temperance
began to invade the church, and, as he thought, were made paramount
to the inculcation of harmonious Christian doctrine. To one who
inopportunely pressed one of these subjects upon him, and urged
him to use his influence " as a Christian minister," he rather tartly,
but with much truth, replied, " When I first came here, the business
of a Christian minister was to preach the gospel and to save souls ;
now it is all rum and niggers." Yet he was not apt to deceive
himself with professions of godliness without good evidence in the
hfe. On one occasion, at a convention of ministers, where each gave
some account of the state of their respective churches, and many
had unhesitatingly spoken of the addition to their churches, as so
many souls saved from perdition, Mr. MUton being caUed on, rose
and remarked, " The present year  persons have professed
religion in my parish ; the Lord only knows whether they have got
it or not."
He was apt to express his feehngs without circumlocution, and
sometimes curtly ; as when a young graduate having preached in
his pulpit during ' the morning and afternoon service, — discourses
which he deemed devoid of aU pith and substance, — he on rising to
give out the notices, said with great emphasis, " There wUl be a
meeting here this evening, at early candlelight. I shall preach
MYSELF." Mr. MUton was unfortunate in his domestic relations, his wife
being neither remarkable for spirituality nor amiabUity of temper ;

378 history of newburyport.
his hfe-long journey through, his feet were pierced- with the thorns
that grow in a disunited household. This circumstance not unfre
quently placed him in positions unfavorable to the exercise of those
hospitable, friendly and neighborly offices to which his disposition
would have prompted, had domestic sympathy permitted, and also
helped to develop that brusque manner of speaking, not originally
mingled with acerbity. Yet those who were intimately acquainted
with him never doubted his piety, though strangers were often more
impressed with his oddities. An individual who had been fully
aware of his domestic trials, on hearing of his death, immediately
exclaimed, " What a change ! — from pitching skUlets, to handling
harps." And this was the general feeling of the community.
In person he was short and stout, his features (as may be seen in ¦
the engraving,) strongly marked; and he wore his hair, which was
black, in long, thick curls around his neck. A peculiar hat which he
at one time wore, with a long overcoat reaching almost to his heels,
with a capacious waistcoat and knee breeches, presented a tout
ensemble which was not inaptly compared to the "Jack of Clubs."
Indeed, he was so commonly called "Jack," that many persons who
knew him for years, supposed his name to be John. He died sud
denly and unexpectedly, though he had been ill and confined to his
bed for some weeks, on the 1st of May, 1837, aged 70, leaving
one son and three daughters. His eldest daughter, named Selina in
honor of his benefactress, the Countess of Huntingdon, died young.
Jacob Perkins was born at Newburyport, July 9th, 1766, being
descended from one of the first settlers of Ipswich. He early
showed traits of that mechanical genius which distinguished him in
after life. At twelve years of age he was apprenticed to a gold
smith, a Mr. Davis, of Newburyport, who died when young Perkins
had been with him but three years, which circumstance, though it
deprived him of much instruction he would otherwise have received,
furnished an opportunity for the exercise of something nobler than
genius — a self-denial and generosity, rare, and perhaps unequaUed,
in one of his age. He was but fifteen, yet the widow and children
of Mr. Davis looked to him as the means of their support ; and he
did not disappoint them. Relinquishing the opportunity. Providence
had thrown in his way of shortening by six years bis term of service,
he nobly devoted himself to the interests of his late master's family,

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 379
carried on the business successfully and profitably, giving up all of
its emoluments to their support. The principal articles manufac
tured were gold beads and shoe-buckles. For these latter, Perkins
discovered a new mode of plating, by which he made as good an
article, at a less price than they could be imported for. And now
commenced that long series of inventions which has linked the
name of Perkins with so many articles of ornament and utility.
Before the adoption of the Federal Constitution, each State issued
its own coin ; die-making was then a new art in America, but at the
age of twenty-one, Jacob Perkins, on account of his improvement
in dies, and his skill in executing, was employed by the Government
in the issue of copper coin, an office in which several older and
more experienced men had failed. Three years later he invented a
machine for cutting and heading nails by one simple operation. But
this, which deserved and promised a speedy arid abundant reward,
was the means of reducing the young inventor to the brink of
pecuniary ruin. He formed a copartnership with a couple of
designing adventurers, who succeeded in securing to themselves the
first and only profits of the factory they established, and finally left
the country, and their debts, to be paid by their unsuspecting,
because perfectly honest, partner. By the assistance of friends,
however, the creditors were pacified, and the business recommenced
under better auspices.
Mr. Perkins's next important invention was a check-plate for the
purpose of preventing the possibility of counterfeiting bank biUs.
So valuable was this considered that the Legislature passed a law
making Mr. Perkins's stereotype plate the only legal plate on which
to print bank bUls for this Commonwealth. Very few attempts were
ever made to counterfeit them, and none were successful, no
indictment having been made for an imitation of this plate, though
counterfeiting in other States was peculiarly successful during this
period. But perhaps his discovery of the compressibihty of water was
the most valuable result of bis researches. And this led him
to the invention of the bathometer, an instrument with which
to measure the depth of water ; and another, peculiarly interesting
to the nautical man, the pleometer, by which the exact velocity of a
vessel through the water may be ascertained. A mere enumera-

380 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
tion of Mr. Perkins's inventions and improvements would occupy
more space than we have to give ; they are fortunately preserved
in various works accessible to the curious in such matters.
Perkins was a man of compact and athletic frame, and descended
from a family of remarkable longevity. That he by his enthusiasm
sometimes deceived himself, may be true, but never did he wilfully
or intentionaUy impose upon the ignorance of others ; but like so
many of the class of inventive geniuses, let shp, through want of
sufficient care, the opportunity of profiting pecuniarily by many of
his inventions ; which were thus greedily snatched up and appro
priated by others. But of this he never complained; a more
unselfish man does not grace the list of our biographical annals. He
left Newburyport in 1816, and resided for some time in Philadelphia,
from whence he went to England, where his inventive talents met
with more encouragement and profitable employment. He was
recognized there by the title of the " American Inventor." He
died in London, at the house of his son, in Regent's Square, on the
llth of July, 1849, aged 84. " \ i
The names of Stephen and Ralph Cross were eminent among
the active men in the town for many years after its incorporation.
Stephen was the first selectman chosen by the town.* When about
twenty-five years of age, he was employed by the (colonial) Gov
ernment to assist in the construction of a flotilla for the lakes,
(1756,) and was taken by the French at the siege of Fort Oswego,
when he was carried prisoner to France.
Both he and Ralph were ship-buUders, and conjointly buUt for
the State the frigates Hancock, Boston, and Protector. They were
both members of the Committee of Safety and Correspondence, and
were actively engaged in pubhc affairs during the Revolutionary
war. Stephen died in 1809, aged 78.
Ralph, born in 1738, was a captain in the mUitia, and joined the
northern army in 1777. He joined the camp at Stillwater on the
14th of October, and was in the battle which preceded the surrender
of Burgoyne, and was early engaged in the action. After the
peace, he was made a Brigadier General, and filled other honorable
offices. He died in 1800. * See Town Records.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 381
From the original journal which Stephen Cross kept, we learn
that the following persons accompanied him to Fort Oswego, under
contract to buUd vessels there for the Government, viz. : James Bagley
(or Bayley), Benjamin Chandler, Joseph Goodhue, Jesse Worces
ter, Matthew PettengUl, PhiUip Stanwood, Ebenezer Swazy, John
Wyett, Abner Dole, Paul Currier, John Mitchell, John Nowell,
Joseph Wormwell, WilUam Coombs, Moses Cross, Robert Mitchell,
and PhiUip Coombs ; the two last named were uncles of Stephen
Cross, and Moses Cross was also a relative. They were employed
for some time on the Mohawk river, making boats, in which to trans
port provisions to Fort Oswego, (on the eastern shore of Lake Onta
rio,) and accompanied an expedition thither, reaching the fort on
the 14th of May, 1756. Here they commenced buUding vessels
for the fleet. Being continually* annoyed by hostile Indians hover
ing round, and subject to incursions of small parties of them, while
engaged in cutting timber, in the woods, many were kUled or taken
prisoners while thus engaged. On the 24th of May, it being a very
dark night, the Indians attacked the fort, but after some hard
fighting, were repulsed. A drunken soldier who had laid out in the
woods over night, came into the fort in the morning without his
scalp ; but could give no account of how he lOst it ! In, August, a
French fleet was collected on the lake, and on the 12th kept up
a continual fire on Fort Ontario, (this was a secondary kind of fort,
which helped to protect the main fort, Oswego,') which was aban
doned the next day. A little fort, a short distance from the others,
buUt so badly as to be called Fort Rascal, answered for a temporary
shelter for a few hours ; but on the 14th, the French fire told with
such effect on Oswego, (the commandant, Colonel Mercer, being
killed,) that the besieged were reduced to capitulate, and no better
terms could be obtained than the unconditional surrender of the fort,
aU the garrison (including the carpenters,) to be prisoners of war.
On the 19th of August the men were embarked in small boats,
to be sent to Quebec. On the passage, one of the Newbury men,
Chandler, died ; and whUe encamped at Montreal, Jesse Worcester
died. The rest reached Quebec, where they were placed in stone
barracks, at the north-west part of the city. Here they remained
for some weeks. On the 29th of September, three Newbury men,
Stephen Hunt, John Blake and. John Platts, with others, were

382 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
drafted out and sent to England. On the 14th of October, the
Newbury carpenters were drafted out and sent to France ; one
hundred and forty-four men being crowded into a small vessel, of
about 500 tons.
Mr. Cross graphically describes this voyage, complaining only of
the company into which they were thrust. They were kept short
of provisions and closely confined ; but for this latter he says, " we
could not blame them, for we had determined to rise on them, if any
opportunity occurred promising success." But seventy of the soldiers
were of Shirley's regiment, enlisted at the South, and Mr. Cross
judged from their conduct, were transported British convicts. The
Newbury carpenters, with some other New Englanders, refused to
associate with them, dividing the ship's steerage into two compart
ments, and not suffering a soldier to cross the line. In all their diffi
culties, in which appeal 4was made to the officers, Mr. Cross says,
" we had the advantage, for uncle PhUlip Coombs could speak French
well, and none of the soldiers could."
On November 14 they landed at Brest, and were from thence,
after some detention, removed to Dijon. All through their journey,
and in the last named prison, the Newbury men begged the privi
lege of their guard, to be allowed to have separate quarters from
those disorderly soldiers at night ; " their conduct being such," says
the journal, " that there was no sympathy between us, though we
were fellow sufferers." WhUe in prison, Mr. Cross wrote to Mr.
Witter Cummings,* in England, (who had a business partner in
Newbury,) for whom his father, Mr. Ralph Cross, had buUt many
vessels, for money to aid them in buying food, as they were kept
extremely short on the government allowance. " Most of us being
personally known to Mr. Cummings," says the narrator, "I thought
he would be the most likely of any one to help us."
At Dijon a fatal sickness broke out among the prisoners. On
December 30th, Mr. WiUiam Coombs went to the hospital sick ; then
in succession Joseph Goodhue, Moses Cross, Joseph Bagley, John
Wyett, Mr. PhUlip Coombs, and Robert Mitchell, and on the 22d
of January, Mr. Cross arid Paul Currier went together. The first
thing the narrator saw on entering the hospital, was a man turning
* See page 72.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 383
off. the cloth from a body, to show to an attendant that the individual
was dead, and this corpse, to. his grief and horror, he found was
his uncle Phillip Coombs ; and his record of his feelings at this
sight, is a touching testimonial to the beautiful character of the
deceased, "to whom," says the journalist, "I looked up as to a
father, for advice in all things."
On being removed to the ward room, which he and Mr. Currier
were to occupy, he found there his relative, Moses Cross, in a vio
lent fever, and quite senseless.
Here the journal ceases, Mr. Cross's illness probably preventing
his writing more. That he recovered, was returned to his native
country, and did good service to his native town, the early records
of Newburyport amply witness ; while the records of the First Pres
byterian church, of which he was a member, also testify to his
liberality, and the interest which he felt in all that pertained to the
prosperity of the " Old South."
Charles Herbert, son of John Herbert, of Newburyport, was
taken prisoner on the capture of the privateer Dalton, by the Brit
ish man-of-war Reasonable, on the 24th of December,* 1776. The
crew were carried immediately to England, and kept on board prison
ships for some months, till sickness broke out among .them, when
they were removed to the hospital, and those that recovered were
then transported to the Old Mill Prison at Plymouth. From a jour
nal kept by Mr. Herbert, from the 15th of November, when the
Dalton saUed from Newburyport, we learn that the crew were all
tried for treason, and committed to prison to take their trial at some
future time. During the whole period of their incarceration, the
government aUowance of food was so short, that rats were caught
and eaten, snails picked out of the walls of the prison yard and
boiled for food, and on one occasion, a dog belonging to some of the
officials was kttled, cooked, and eaten by these starving men. Some
of them, among whom was Mr. Herbert, immediately set to work
making ladles, boxes and other small wooden things, for sale to vis
itors, Mr. Herbert having first persuaded a carpenter who came to
see them to furnish him with wood for the purpose. By this occu-
* See page 114.

384 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
pation the journahst made enough money to clothe himself comfort
ably, buy some books, — (he learnt navigation whUe in prison,) — and
to assist others who were less fortunate or competent than himself.
Reports frequently came to them of disasters to the American
arms, but Mr. Herbert steadfastly refused to beUeve that his country
could ever be conquered ; and on the 4th of July, 1778, having
then been over eighteen months in prison, the crew of the Dalton,
with others, celebrated the anniversary of the Declaration of Inde
pendence, by making miniature American flags for their hats, with
patriotic inscriptions attached, mustering in the prison yard, drawing
up in thirteen divisions, and giving thirteen cheers, and then aU
uniting heartily in the same. They also heard, whtte there, of the
capture of Burgoyne, and celebrated the anniversary of that event.
But there were some few, whom Mr. Herbert calls " chiefly incon
siderate youths," who, for the sake of getting out of prison,
petitioned to go on board His Britannic Majesty's ships of war.
Whereupon it was decided to draw up a Declaration of AUegiance to
the American Congress, and to renewedly phght their mutual faith,
never to desert the patriot cause. This Mr. Herbert signed, as did a
majority of the others. The whole of this journal is exceedingly inter
esting, but the press of other matter forbids our making extracts
from it, which is the less to be regretted, as it is in print, and may
therefore be easily procured.* Mr. Herbert was finally released,
and went to France, where he shipped with J. Paul Jone% in the
Alliance, and continued in his service until August, 1780, when he
returned to Newburyport, having been absent nearly four years,
and between two and three years a prisoner.
Enoch Titcomb, a native of this town, and a descendant of
WUUam Titcomb, one of the first settlers of Newbury served as a
brigade major under General Sullivan, during the campaign in Rhode
Island ; after the peace he held various town offices, and was subse
quently Representative and Senator during a long term of years.
He deceased in 1814 at the age of 62.
Jonathan Titcomb, the first naval officer in this District,
(appointed by Washington in 1789,) also commanded a regiment of
* Published by —  Pierce, Boston.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 385
mUitia in the expedition to Rhode Island, and attained the rank of
brigadier general. He was a member of the Convention for forming
the State Constitution, and was a member of the first General Court
held in Boston after its evacuation by the British.
Others, whom our limited space obliges us briefly to enumerate,
wUl prove valuable material for the future biographer ; among whom
stands prominently Dudley A. Tyng, LL. D., who in 1795 was
appointed by Washington, CoUector for the District of Newburyport.
He was a man of strong mind, eminently practical and benevolent.
WhUe CoUector, his attention was drawn to the condition of the
Isle of Shoals, by the supposition of the people there, that they were
attached to his district, and he took active measures, (in connection
with other benevolent individuals) to renovate the condition of the
inhabitants. The Rev. Stephen A. Tyng, Rector of St. George's
church in New York, is his son, and was born in Newburyport, as were
also the Rev. Charles Coffin, President of GreenvUle CoUege, Ten
nessee ; Amos PettengiU, tutor of Yale College ; WiUiam Boyde,
the poet, and Samuel H. Parsons, son of the Rev. Jonathan P.
Parsons, who was a major general of the Revolutionary army and
an aid to Washington, by whom he was subsequently appointed Gov
ernor of the North-west territory ; Stephen Hooper, son of Stephen
Hooper, a distinguished merchant of Newburyport, and a graduate
of Harvard College, who at the early age of twenty-five was chosen
Representative to the General Court; Micajah Sawyer, D. D.,
Michael Hodge, Dr. Francis Vergenis, Moses Brown, Esq., an
eminent merchant, founder of the Brown Grammar School in New
buryport, and an associate founder of Andover Theological Seminary,
and others.
Among the Uving we may mention three Professors of Harvard
University, Theophilus Parsons, Cornehus C. Felton, and George
R. Noyes ; also Leonard Woods, Jr., President of Bowdoin CoUege,
and Benjamin Hale, President of Geneva CoUege. The names even,
of the clergymen, teachers and editors throughout the country, who
belong to Newburyport, would make too long a Ust for our limits ;
whUe the business men, who like Stetson of New York, WUUam
Wheelwright in ChUi, Dr. Joseph Whitmore in Peru, and Gunnison
on the Amazon, with others of like enterprise, scattered over the
25

386 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
face of the earth, will show that the past generation have left worthy
successors who claim Newburyport as their birthplace.
Of writers Newburyport can produce fair specimens in different
departments of literature : as a jurist, the Attorney General of the
United States, Hon. Caleb Cushing ; as a Polemical writer, Daniel
Dana, D. D. ; as a poet, Hon. George Lunt ; as a translator, Rev.
Thomas Tracy, whose versions of the German have received the
meed of praise from critical linguists ; while others of more or less
note may be found in other departments of hterature.
On reviewing our biographical list we are struck with the marked
difference between the men and women of Newburyport. Compara
tively few women natives of, and educated in Newburyport, have
attained any literary distinction. ' The contrast is remarkable, and
the cause equally obvious. The history of the public schools is the
sufficient explanation. Until within the last dozen years, no female
was liberally educated by the town. And the provisions for educa
tion by a town are unequivocal evidence of the state of the public
sentiment in it, which was, until this recent period, adverse to the
liberal education of females'. The natural consequence was the
almost entire absence of literary talent among the female portion of
the community. We meet with evidence continuaUy, of the exist
ence of women whose natural talents evidently fitted them to take
the first place in intellectual circles, but their minds were not so
quickened by suitable instruction as to dare utterance ; this they
were forbidden by the leaden atmosphere which surrounded and
restricted them to a lower strata in the intellectual world, than was
accorded to their sons and brothers, their mental gifts being
aUowed to rust out in the monotony of a circumscribed life, and a
narrow circle of ideas. And so, generation after generation of these
" mute, inglorious " Sapphos have passed away and left not a trace
behind. Of the few who have broken through the trammels of
fashion, and devoted themselves to hterature, we shall make brief
mention. And while recording the fact of the paucity of literary
females, we may justly add another, — that though the tone of public
opinion was depressing to any efforts of this kind, the social, moral,
and benevolent character of the women of Newburyport, stands
intrinsically and comparatively high ; women of sound sense, pohshed

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 387
manners and Christian lives, have successively adorned the domestic
circle, and the next, if not the present generation, bid fair to obliter
ate all those mental inequalities which have heretofore resulted from
inadequate educational facUities.
Miss Hannah Gould is by far the most popular authoress that
Newburyport has produced, but her pen is still active and prolific,
and needs no eulogy from ours. The late Miss Anna Cabot Lowell,
a daughter of Judge Lowell of Newburyport, was a woman of fine
talents, and both a poetical and prose writer. Mrs. George Lee
(now of Boston,) a daughter of Drw Micajah Sawyer of this place,
has also given to the world some volumes, few in number, but of
meritorious design and well executed. The late Miss Lucy Hooper,
daughter of Joseph Hooper, Esq., of Newburyport, was a poetess
of rare merit, whose early death (in her twenty-fifth year) blighted
the hopes of a large circle of friends who anticipated much from her
pen when her early gifts should have ripened into maturity. Her prose
writings were collected in two volumes, and her " Poetical Remains "
form one volume of large size. This contains many poems of much
merit ; one, on the Daughter of Herodias, was included in Mr. Bry
ant's collection of " American Poetry."
Lucy Hooper was born in Newburyport in February, 1816. Her
father was a highly respectable merchant, who yet found leisure from
the cares and anxieties of business, to devote some portion of his
time to literature ; he was a person of considerable cultivation, and
a justifiable pride in the early indications which his daughter gave
of unusual ability, made it his most grateful occupation to superin
tend her education. The opportunities afforded her were eagerly
improved, so that it became necessary to restrain her inclination for
study, rather than by any means to incite her to mental application.
But she was apparently unconscious of her own powers, and hke
many a chUd of genius who has early sunk into, a " laurel crowned
tomb," was always of a fragile constitution and of delicate health.
When she was about fifteen years of age the family removed to
Brooklyn, New York, but Lucy always retained a passionate love
for her native town, and frequent visits to it helped to keep alive
the associations formed in her early youth. Many of her poems
have reference to scenes and persons in Newburyport. The Merri
mac was ever "the bright river of her heart," and St. Paul's

388 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
church, where her early religious impressions were received, was the
shrine to which her memory turned as the birthplace of her reli
gious faith, and Dr. Morse was the ideal Rector which no after
observation or wider experience could dim or supplant. Shortly
after taking up her residence at Brooklyn, Miss Hooper became an
occasional contributor to the columns of the " Long Island Star,"
under the simple initials of L. H., and these contributions were
greatly admired and widely copied. Her style was pure and her dic
tion strong, while her copiousness of language was much augmented
by her knowledge of the Latin, French, and Spanish languages, and
her extensive historical readings, and acquaintance with classic
English literature, placed her early productions in the same rank
with efforts of much more mature minds. In 1840 she published a
volume which met with wide acceptance, entitled " Scenes from Real
Life," and about the same time received a prize for an Essay upon
Domestic Happiness. These were subjects calculated to draw forth
her best efforts, for all her characteristics were eminently womanly.
Genuine maidenly modesty shone in every word and deed. To her
own home, and to her familiar friends, her memory is hallowed by a
thousand thoughts which no language can convey.
She had been a contributor to the " New Yorker," and during
her last illness was engaged in preparing a work for the press, en
titled the " Poetry of Flowers," which did not appear until after
her decease. She had also projected and partly prepared a volume of
Tales and Essays, and another of ReUgious and Moral Stories for
the young. Her fatal complaint was consumption. She died on
the 1st of August, 1841.
Mrs. Ann E. Porter, a pleasant writer for youth, whose " Letters
to a Young Mother " have recently been pubhshed, is a native of
Newburyport, and sister of the late Rev. John E. Emerson.
Mrs. Jane Greenleaf, whose memoirs have recently been com
piled and published by her daughter, was a woman of superior
natural gifts ; but these were diverted by outward circumstances
from taking a purely literary form, and were turned almost exclu
sively into benevolent and religious directions, as was that of the
subject of the next paragraph.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 389
Mary B. Crocker, wife of Rev Wm. Crocker, of Newburyport,
was a devoted missionary of the Baptist Board, who in civilized and
heathen lands was equally the devoted servant of Christ, and a
bright intellectual ornament of the circles which were favored with
her presence.

CHRONOLOGICAL INDEX

North East Massachusetts first visited by Cabot, 1497
" " " " " " Gosnold, 1602
" " " " " " Martin Pring, 1603
" " " " " " Captain John
Smith, 1614
Pawtuckets overrun by Tarratines and Pequods, 1615
Destructive epidemic sickness among Indians, 1617
Sale of territory to a company of six gentlemen, 1628
Merrimac visited by Wood, author of N. E. Prospect, 1630-4
Newbury settled on Quascacunquen river, 1635
First record (extant) of selectmen chosen in Newbury, 1636
Pequod war, 1637
Rowley incorporated, part of which had belonged to
Newbury, 1639
Salisbury, on the north side of the Merrimac, settled, 1639
New land laid out by Newbury, including what is now
township of West Newbury, 1642
Massachusetts divided into counties, 1643
" New town," or what is now Newburyport, laid out, 1644
Southerly part of Water street laid out, 1644
Plum Island divided by the General Court, to Ipswich
two-fifths, Newbury two-fifths, Rowley one-fifth, 1649
Curious Sumptuary Laws against dress by General
Court, 1651
First wharf built in Newburyport, 1656
King Philip's war, 1675

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 391
Case of witchcraft, 1680
Sir Edmund Andros arrives in New England, 1686
Newburyport ferry across the Merrimac established, 1687
Newbury lands claimed by Robert Mason, 1687
William and Mary proclaimed. " 1688
French and Indian, or Castine's war, 1688
Fatal attack of Indians on John Brown's famUy, 1695
Limestone discovered in Newbury, (kiln buUt foot of
Muzzey's lane,) 1697
Name of Quascacunquen river changed to Parker, " 1697
Remarkably mild winter, 1700
Old Tenor currency introduced, 1702
Water lots laid out, 1703-4
Byfield parish incorporated, 1710
Unusual quantity of snow fell in winter, 1717
Aurora Borealis first seen in New England, 1719
Cottle's lane (Bromfield street) laid out, 1719
Potatoes and tea came into use about 1719
Unusual high tide, 1723
Sebastian Ralle, the French ally of the Norfidgewock
Indians, killed by Lieut. Jaques, of Newbury,
(his death closed the war,) 1724
First meeting-house raised in Newburyport, 1725
Newbury town-house built on High street, near head of
Marlborough street, 1731
Great destruction of vegetation by caterpttlers, 1735
Fatal throat distemper prevatted, 1735-6
Boundary line settled between New Hampshire and
Massachusetts, 1737
Rev. George Whitfield arrived, 1740
Unusual high and destructive tides this year, October, 1743
Expedition to Louisburg, 1744-5
Peace with the French, (by treaty of Aix la ChapeUe,) 1748
Old Tenor currency made Ulegal, 1750
The First Church in Newburyport vote to have the
Scriptures read in public on the Sabbath, 1750
Expedition to Crown Point, 1755
Fifty slaves in Newbury, including Indians and negroes, 1755

392 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
Twenty-five Quakers in Newbury, 1755
A Fire Engine imported from London, by Michael Dal
ton and others, 1761
Town-house built corner of State and Essex streets, 1762
First general census of the Province of Massachusetts
taken 1763
Dummer Academy opened, 1763
Newbury voted, October 20th, that they were opposed
to the division of the town, 1763
Newburwort Incorporated, January 28th, 1764
First town meeting, February 8th, 10 A. M., 1764
Three schools for boys estabhshed, March, 1764
Daniel Farnham, first Representative to General Court, 1764
Town resent Stamp Act, September, 1765
DistUlery set up in Newburyport, 1767
Town agrees to the non-importation of EngUsh goods, 1769
First Newspaper in Newburyport, 1773
Committee of Correspondence appointed December 16, 1773
Permanent Committee of Correspondence and Safety
appointed September, 1774
Tea excluded from the town by general consent, 1774
Minute-men raised by town, March, 1775
Company march for Lexington, at midnight, AprU 19, 1775
" Ipswich fright," April 21, 1775
Newburyport companies join in the battle of Bunker
HiU, June 17th, * 1775
Two Representatives sent to General Court at Water-
town, July, 1775
Town grant leave to Eb. Morrison to set up a pottery
kiln, north-west side of Burying Hill, March, 1775
Fort buUt on SaUsbury shore and Plum Island, 1775
Saltpetre factory estabhshed, September, 1775
Arnold's detachment for Canada bivouac in Newbury
port, 16th of September ; embark the 19th, 1775
Census of the Province of Massachusetts taken, 1776
Town of Newburyport anticipate the Declaration of
Independence, and approve May 31, 1776
Declaration of Independence read in the meeting
houses, August 11, 1776

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 393
Town raise in August one-sixth of all her able-bodied
men for the Continental army, I777
Mourning garments and entertainments at funerals very
generally discarded. I777
Town approve the Confederation of the States, Jan
uary 12, 1778
Town propose County convention to consider the pro
posed Constitution for the State, March, 1778
The " Essex Result," a powerful political pamphlet by
Theophilus Parsons, pubhshed, 1778
The proposed State Constitution rejected, June, 1778
Trees first set out by order of the town, 1779
School committee " to serve through the year " first
chosen, 1780
Town approve Massachusetts Declaration of Rights,
May 15, 1780
Accept State Constitution, but appoint special delegates
to procure amendments, May, 1780
Dark day, May 19th, 1780
Green street laid out, land given by private individuals, 1781
BeUs ordered to be rung at 1 P. M. and 9 P. M., 1781
Engine companies exempt from training, except in
" alarm-bands," 1781
Town instruct their Representatives to Congress, Jan
uary 7th, to make right to the fisheries an in
dispensable article in the treaty of peace, 1782
Vote of thanks of the town to Jonathan Greenleaf, for
long and faithful services as a Representative, 1782
Union and Fair streets laid out, 1782
Vote of thanks for pubhc services to Nathaniel Tracy,
May 13, and to Tristram Dalton, May 16, 1783
Two beacons erected on Plum Island, 1783
Orange street laid out, 1783
Rufus King, Representative from Newburyport to Gen
eral Court, July, 1783
Exceeding high tide, November, 1784
General Jonathan Titcomb, Naval Officer for the Port, 1784
Town petitions General Court to be reimbursed for
expenses incurred in defending harbor, May 13, 1785

394 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
Massachusetts Stamp Act passed, 1785
River frozen over, April 13, 1785
Laird & Ferguson's Brewery opened in fall, 1785
Ezra Lunt heads a company against Shay's men, 1786
Name of Fish street altered to State, May, 1787
Town grant leave to William Bartlett to appoint a man
to live in the fort on Plum Island, and take
care of the lights, 1787
A great spinning match held in AprU, at house of
Rev. J. Murray, 1787
Federal Constitution approved by the town, September, 1787
Westerly wind prevailed, with but four brief interrup
tions, from November 30, 1787, to March 20, 1788
Kent street laid out, • 1788
Name of King street changed to Federal, March, 1789
Tristram Dalton elected to U. S. Senate, and Benja
min Goodhue to House of Representatives for
this District, . 1789
Washington visits Newburyport, October 31, 1789
Stephen Cross, Collector for Port, Jonathan Titcomb,
Naval Officer, Michael Hodge, Surveyor, 1790
Burying ground by Frog Pond enlarged, 1790
Dames' schools for young female children estabUshed
by town, 1791
A canal from north side of Merrimac river to Hamp
ton, N. H., opened in summer, 1791
Town of Newbury remonstrated against erection of
Essex Merrimac Bridge, January, 1792
Town again petition General Court, (as per May 13,
1785,) 1792
Essex Merrimac Bridge opened to pubhc, November, 1792
Names of streets first put up by order of town, 1793
PubUc stocks removed, 1793
SmaU-pox hospital built in Common pasture, 1793
Town by vote (August) support neutraUty of U. S., 1793
New work-house buUt, 1793-4
WooUen factory incorporated, machinery all made in
Newburyport, I794

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 395
Embargo of thirty days ordered by Congress, approved
by town, May, ! ' -^04
Newburyport Library in operation, I794
By-laws passed by town against smoking in the
streets ; and forbidding owners of water fowl
to allow them to frequent Frog pond, 1794
Conduits sunk by town, 170,4
Act passed incorporating the several rehgious societies
then existing in the town, viz. : Rev. Thomas
Carey's, Rev. J. Murray's, Rev. Sam'l Spring's,
Rev. C. W. Milton's, Rev. Edward Bass's, and
amending the mode of taxation, 1794
State survey of Newburyport ordered and taken, 1794
An organ placed in the church in Market square, 1794
Great change took place in the harbor bar, 1795
Pleasant, Harris, Broad and Essex streets laid out, 1795
Brick school-house at southerly end of MaU, buUt 1796
Fatal malignant fever prevailed, summer and fall, 1796
Lime, Beck, Ship and Spring streets laid out, 1797
Night watch appointed, I797
Town present patriotic address to President on difficul
ties with France, I797
Citizens of Newburyport propose to buUd a ship for
United States, June 1st. She was completed,
named Merrimac, and launched October 12, 1798
United States brig Pickering buUt in Newburyport, 1798
Proprietors sue town for right in Frog pond and land
adjoining, 1799
Washington dies December 14, 1799. Funeral cere
monies observed in Newburyport, eulogy by
Robert T. Paine, January 2d, 1800
Timothy Palmer appointed surveyor of highways, 1800
Captain Edmund Bartlett gave fourteen hundred dollars
to improve the Mall, which then received the
name of " Bartlett Mall," 1800
Town, with the aid of voluntary contributions, purchased
the land on which Rev. T. Carey's church stood,
(now Market square,) for $8,000, 1800

396 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
Essex Junto excites pohtical animosity, 1800
Market square laid out, 1800
Four stages employed (on a daily line,) between Bos
ton and Newburyport, 1800
Circulating Library in operation with fifteen hundred
volumes, 1800
Washington street laid out, 1800
Rope-walk in South street struck by hghtning, July, 1800
Pubhc bathing-house opened, 1800
A Rehgious Library established, 1800
Mackerel fishing commenced about 1800
Labrador fishery commenced by Newburyport vessels
about 1799-1800
Travel suspended with Boston eight days, in March, on
account of deep snow, 1802
Town of Newbury instruct their Representative to op
pose a charter for Newburyport turnpike and
Newburyport bridge, asked for by New
buryport, 1802
The road from Newburyport fine to Essex Merrimac
bridge, laid out and completed by town of New
bury, 1802
"Spring and Roberts streets laid out, 1802
Vaccination introduced, 1803
Active Fire Society organized, 1803
Stone jaU built, 1803-4
Stage line estabUshed with Haverhill, 1803
PubUc entertainment to Rufus King, September, 1804
Destructive storm, October, , 1804
Female Charitable Society incorporated, 1805
Court House on Mall buUt, 1805
Drought of thirty days, July and August, 1805
Newburyport Social Library instituted, 1805
Newburyport turnpike opened for public travel, 1805 <
Charter street laid out, 1805*
Plum Island turnpike and bridge open to the public,
July> 1805
Newburyport Academy incorporated, 1807

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 397
Town purchase the County's right in old Court House 1807
Town corresponds with Norfolk, Virginia, on affair of
Chesapeake and Leopard, July, 1807
Ninety men raised in anticipation of war, by order of
the President, 1807
Embargo, December 29, 1807
Newburyport Mechanic Association formed, 1807
Additional Acts of Embargo, in winter, 1 808
Town petition President United States to suspend Em
bargo, August, 1808
Light-houses on Plum Island blown down by violent
tornado, June, 1808
Remarkably hot Sunday, July 17, 1808
Another address to President United States on Embar
go, October, 1808
Judge Livermore, Representative to Congress, 1808
Dr. Spring preached (Thanksgiving) against Embargo,
December, I808
Anniversary of first Embargo derisively celebrated,
December, I808
Town memorialize State Legislature on distressed state
of the country, January, 1809
Soup houses for relief of poor established in winter 1809
Merrimac Bible Society instituted, 1809
Embargo repealed ; Non-Intercouse Act substituted,
March, 180^
Upper story added to school-house, south end of MaU, 1809
Old wooden Town House, corner of State and Essex
streets, torn down, May, 18°9
Brick Town House built on same site, 1810
Committee appointed to see that aU inhabitants are vac-
cinated, lglQ
Athenaeum incorporated, _
Essex Merrimac bridge rebuUt, being the first m New
England, with chain draw, *°j
Town propose compromise measures with Proprietors, 1810
Great fire, May 31,

398 , HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
Act passed by Legislature against erecting wooden
buildings over ten feet high, June, 1811
Brick block on State and Inn streets, and south west-
¦ erly side Market square, buUt in faU, 1811
An Act for appointing Constables in Newburyport,
passed in June, 1811
Town petition for repeal of law against wooden buUdings, 1812
Association of Disciples of Washington, or Washington
Benevolent Society formed, 1812
Another Embargo Act, to hold for ninety days, April 4, 1812
War declared, June 18, 1812
Public fast appointed by Governor Strong, July, 1812
Town address Governor and Conncil on the war,
June 25, 1812
" Republican Citizens " hold public meeting, and express
sentiments in favor of the war, July, 1812
Franklin Library instituted, 1812
Town memorialize Legislature on situation of country,
February, 1813
Observatory erected on Lunt's Hill, near head of Brom-
field street, July, 1813
Citizens organize for defence of town, summer, 1813
Extensive repudiation of mourning garments and expen
sive funerals, 1813
Temporary fort erected on Plum Island, summer, 1813
Selectmen give notice that a hearse is provided for use
of town, 1813
British ships of war lying off the harbor, November, 1813
United States sloop-of-war Wasp, built, and launched
September 18, 1813
Embargo Act in December, to continue (unless peace
was concluded,) till 1815, 1813
Alarm posts established, 1814
Public mumiaations and ringing of beUs on abdication
of Napoleon, June 17, 1814
Merrimack Military Society, organized August, 1814
The New England States unite in general thanksgiving,
December 1, 1814

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. * 399
Direct tax difficult to collect, 1814'
Pulic rejoicings on news of peace with Great Britain,
February 14, 1815
Five missionaries ordained, (June) and four sailed for
Ceylon and Calcutta, in September, in brig
Dryade, viz. : Messrs. Poor, Richards, Bardwell
and Meigs, . 1815
Cool summer, 1815
Thespian Club formed, December, 1816
President Monroe visited town June 12, 1817
Society for " emigrating West " formed, 1817
Sabbath School and Tract Societies formed, 1817
Fishing company started winter of 1817
Cold Friday, January 13, . 1818
Howard Benevolent Society formed, 1818
West Newbury incorporated, 1819
Methodism introduced, 1819
Stoves introduced into meeting-houses about 1819
Convention to amend State Constitution, 1820
Linnean Society instituted, 1820
Merrimac Mission and Translation Society formed. T.
M. Clark, President, 1820
Maine separated from Massachusetts and admitted to
the Union, 1820
Piratical fleet appear in Bahama channel and greatly
annoy our commerce for several years, 1820
Stephen M. Clark, of Newburyport, aged 17, executed
in Salem for arson, May 10, 1821
Intensely cold January 24-26, 1821
Newburyport Debating Society get up Fourth of July
celebration, 1822
Marine Bible Society formed, 1822
Society for promoting religious welfare of the Isles of
Shoals formed, 1822
Market Hall built, 1823
Town pay the pUotage of foreign wood coasters, 1823
Vote of thanks by the town " to Mr. John Porter, for
unprecedented energy in cottecting the taxes," 1824

400 'HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
LaFayette visits the town August 31, 1824
JaU empty, May 31, 1825
National Independence not celebrated July 4th, 1825
A lottery got up to aid Canal project, December 2d, 1825
Two circulating libraries open, 1826
Peace Society in operation, 1826
The town petition for a bank to assist Canal project, 1826
Fifitieth Anniversary of American Independence cele
brated with unusual splendor, and a Eulogy
pronounced on Adams and Jefferson by Caleb
Cushing, July 4th, 1826
Proprietors seek to eject town from Market House, 1826
Cushing's History of Newburyport published August, 1826
Proprietary claims extinguished, 1826
Special survey of harbor ordered by United States
completed, 1827
Mozart Society formed, 1827
Jonathan Gage brought a suit against the Assessor of
the Fourth Religious Society for the recovery
of his parish tax ; plaintiff sustained by Supreme
Court on ground that there existed no written
form of membership, in spring, 1827
Harriet Livermore, (daughter of Judge Livermore, of
Newburyport,) preached at Tammany Hall in
New York, 1827
Water temporarily deepened on the bar, 1827
Newburyport Bridge opened to public, September 7, 1827
Newburyport Lyceum established, 1829-30
A breakwater built by order of Congress, (1828,) not
completed tUl 1831
Brown Grammar and town Latin schools united, forming
the present male Brown High School, 1832
PubUc fast in view of approach of cholera, June, 1832
Daily Herald commenced, 1832
Coal coming into general use, 1832
Richmond Circle organized (to support schools in
Greece,) 1832
Collections made for Cape de Verde sufferers, 1832

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 401
Meeting of citizens to express anti-nulhfication senti
ments, I832
WUUam Lloyd Garrison refused opportunity of speak
ing on slavery in Newburyport, 1832
A library of three hundred and ninety volumes coUected
for use of male High School, 1832
Henry Page found dead in his shop in Liberty street,
having been twice stabbed, January 13, 1832
Town vote that the law forbidding the erection of
wooden buUdings over ten feet high " is preju
dicial to the interests of the town," and ought
to be repealed, 1832
Plum Island Bridge washed away, 1832
Committee appointed to organize new Fire Department,
March, 1833
Town ordered beUs to be rung at sunrise, 1833
Margaret Atwood's legacy to necessitous poor, out of
the almshouse, received by selectmen, 1833
Petition presented to Congress to rebuUd Plum Island
Bridge, 1833
Old " beacon oak " on High street, feU down Sunday,
July 21, 1833
Whaling Company formed, 1833
Newburyport Horticultural Society Exhibition, Sep
tember, 1833
John Quincy Adams revisits Newburyport, 1833
Town (majority in meeting,) request selectmen not to
grant retaU Uquor Ucenses, 1833
Act conferring full reUgious freedom, April 1, 1834
Meeting of Essex County Freemasons, at Topsfield,
September, to consult on expediency of surren-
ing their charters, 1834
"A safe " procured for the safe-keeping of the Town
Records, 1834
Washington Light Infantry -disbanded March, 1834
Considerable emigration to Texas from Newburyport,
in spring, 18^5
26

402 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
Celebration of " Second Centennial Anniversary of set
tlement of Newbury," observed in Newbury
port, May 26, 1835
Society for Relief of Aged Females organized, 1835
Cotton manufacture introduced, 1835
Museum opened, 1835
Granite Custom House built, 1835
Steamboat excursions on Merrimac river, summer, 1835
Wm. Wheelwright, of Newburyport, obtains exclusive
right to the steam navigation of ports and rivers
of Chili, 1835
Bill introduced to Legislature to incorporate Newbury
port Silk Company, 1835
ReUef Act for mackerel fishers passed Congress, 1835
Great shifting of the " bar," 1837
Plum Island bridge rebuUt, 1837
Bartlett's wooUen yarn, cotton batting, and wicking fac
tory, foot of Market street, burned; November, 1837
Tithing-men dispensed with, 1837
Surplus revenue received, 1837
Centre Female Grammar School continued through
the year, 1837-8
Plum Island Lights rebuilt, 1838
Notifications for town meetings advertised in the Herald,
instead of being " nailed on the First Parish
meeting-house," 1839
Water brought in pipes from Frog pond to Brown's
square, 1839
Great storms, December 15th, 24th and 30th, 1839
Property qualification for Senatorial voters abolished, 1840
Lyceum Institute (academy for young ladies) opened, 1840
Winter female schools estabhshed, 1840
Music by band on the MaU, summer evenings, 1840
New channel opened through Salisbury beach, Decem
ber, 1840
County convention held, and pubUc dinner given to Hon.
Caleb Cushing, Webster, and other distmguished
men present. J. Q. Adams sent a toast. A

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 403
soire'e was given in the evening to some three
thousand persons, in the faU of 1840
Eastern RaUroad opened to Newburyport, June 16, 1840
Funeral ceremonies observed for the late President Har
rison, May 3, 1841
CoUections made for sufferers by storm at Rockport,
November, amounting to $288.43, 1841
Oak HU1 Cemetery laid out, consecrated July 21, 1842
Surplus revenue appropriated, June 1st, 1843
Explosion of steam-botter in Wormsted's patent cordage
factory, between Bromfield and Marlborough
streets ; one man kiUed, another dangerously
wounded, October 19, 1843
Semi-Centennial Anniversary of the ordination of Rev.
Dr. Dana observed by rehgious services at Fed
eral street church, and social gathering of his
friends in the evening, November 19, 1844
Newburyport Museum closed, 1845
Coffin's History of " Ould Newbury, West Newbury,
and Newburyport," pubUshed, 1845
Steamers on the Merrimac in summer, 1846
War with Mexico, 1846
First Directory of Newburyport pubhshed, containing
2162 names, 1846
Houses first numbered, 1847
Collections for Ireland, winter, 1847
Magnetic Telegraph office opened December 25, 1847
BeUs toUed, flags at half-mast, for death of J. Q. Ad
ams, February 26, 1848
Athenaeum Library sold and dispersed, 1849
" Father Matthew " in town, September, 1849
Newburyport RaUroad opened to Georgetown, May 22, 1850
Corner-stone of the Town HaU (present City Hall) laid
July 4th, 1850
A man named Cutler mobbed for pubhshing a state
ment " that many mackerel fishermen took out
papers for the cod fishery, to secure the bounty,"
November 26, 1850

404 HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT.
" Bromfield fund " income applied to improvement of
streets, 1851
Part of Newbury annexed to Newburyport, April 16, 1851
Annual March meeting held in new Town HaU, 1851
City Government organized June 24, 1851
North Essex Horticultural Society, WUiam Ashby,
President, organized October, 1852
Union Mutual Marine Insurance Company, incorporated
April 10, I. H. Boardman, President, J. J.
Knapp, Secretary, 1852
EARTHQUAKES.
Earthquakes have occurred in Newburyport and the immediate
vicinity, in the foUowing years :
1638, June 1st, P. M., (fair day.)
1643, March, early morning.
1663, January, February, and July.
1685, February 8th, Sabbath, P. M.
1727, October, November, and December.
1728, January, at intervals till May.
1729, March, September, October, and November.
1730, February, April, July, August, November and December.
1731, January, March, May, July, August, and October.
1733, October 19th.
1734, January, October, and November.
1735, February 2d, 6 P. M.
1736, February, July, October, and November.
1737, February and December.
1741, January.
1742, March and September.
1743, August.
1744, May and June.
1747, January and December.
1755, November 18, and December 19.
1756, March.
1760, February.
1768, January and June.
1770, February 24th, snow-storm.

HISTORY OF NEWBURYPORT. 405

1779, December.
1780, November, midnight.
1783, November.
1786, January and December.
1810, November.
1817, October 5th, Sunday.
1846, August 25th, at 5 A. M.
1852, November 27th, night.

ALPHABETICAL INDEX

Agawam, 5, 10.
Andros, Sir Edmund, 38, 39.
Architecture, alteration of style, 174.
Annexation, proposals for, 237,
Annexation, Act of, 243, 246.
Andrews, Rev. John, 304.
Adams, J. Quincy, 324.
Adams, " Reformation John," 313.
Anniversary, Second Centennial, 224-227.
Arnold in Newburyport, 91, 92.
Act regulating prices of goods, 95.
Act for "Better Regulation of Province," 67.
Allen, Ephraim W., 257.
Bar harbor, 9, 239.
Books, scarcity of, 16.
Belleville Congregational Society, 307; parish, 272.
Brown family attacked by Indians, 40.
Burying grounds, 233.
Boston Port Bill, 76.
Boston Massacre, 75.
Bill for better regulation of Province of Massachusetts, 78.
Bunker Hill, 87-91 ; monument, 231.
Brown, Capt. Moses, U. S. N. 110, 111, 112, 352.
Brown, Moses, 217, 385.
Bass, Bishop Edward, 121, 372.
Bread, size regulated, 151.
Bartlett, William, 349, 153.
Bartlett, Edmund, 158.
Bridges, 171, 216, 234.
Banks, 213, 282.
Bromfield, John, 209.
Blunt, Edmund M., 256.
Bradbury, Judge Theophilus, 345.

ALPHABETICAL INDEX. 4Q7

Boyd, Brig. Gen. John, 351.
Benjamin Franklin, letter of, 45.
Breakwater erected, 223.
Charter of King Charles, 7.
Court House, 168.
Court, Police, established, 223.
Church, 1st, of Newbury, 12, 13, 58.
" 2d " » 43.
" 3d » « 45.
" Protestant Episcopal, 299.
" 1st Congregational in Newburyport, 302.
" 2d " " « ' 309.
" 1st Presbyterian " " 304.
" 2d « « " 310.
" Belleville Congregational, 307.
" 4th " 310.
" Roman Catholic, 316.
" Second Advent, 317.
" Christian, 315.
" Baptist, 1st, 311.
" " 2d, 317.
Methodist Episcopal, 1st, 313.
Methodist Episcopal, 2d, 314.
Universalist, 315.
Whitfield Congregational, 318.
Chase, Aquilla, 20.
Cattle in Newbury, 17.
Cemetery, 233.
Charitable Society, (General) 294,
Coffin, Joshua, 319; Rev. Charles, 385.
Caterpillars, plague of, 46.
Captures, 197.
Coombs, William, 293.
Common Pleas, Court of, 63.
Committees of Correspondence and Safety, 75, 81.
Constitution, adoption of State, 94.
Congress, Provincial, 93 ; Continental, 83.
Continental money, description of, 105; depreciation of, 104.
Canal project, 207.
Contributions for soldiers' families, 96.
Contributions, benevolent, 169, 189, 217.
Coolidge, "Master," 216.
Cushing, Hon. Caleb, 235, 248.
Cold, intense, 218.
California emigration, 236.

408 ALPHABETICAL INDEX.
City expenses, 250.
City Hall, 239.
City Charter, 247 ; ordinances, 249 ; officers, 248.
City Arms, 250.
Cross, Stephen and Ralph, 155, 380.
Coach stage started, 71.
Convention at Ipswich, 94.
Convention, State, (1820) 212.
Currency, change in, 148.
Dummer Richard, 13. Academy, 295.
Donahew, Capt., 47.
Duties on goods, 209.
Dark day, 103.
Debt, public, 125.
Dalton, Hon. Tristram, 71, 129, 344 ; letter from, concerning President Wash
ington, 132.
Democrats, 137, 200.
Denmark molests our commerce, 162.
Dexter Timothy, 174-178.
Distilling, 170.
Dress, 173 ; laws regulating, 19.
Emigrants, early character of, 13, 18.
Education, 16.
Expedition to Lake George, 50 ; Louisburg, 48 ; Penobscot, 118 ; Rhode Island,
100.
Episcopal Church, 121, 299.
Earthquakes, 51-55 ; list of, 404.
Essex County, 22.
Essex Junto, 158.
Exports, 65, 183, 232.
Embargo, 167, 180 ; derisive celebration of, 181.
Ecclesiastical sketches, 296.
Factory, first woollen incorporated, 153.
Fast, 193.
Farris, Capt. William, 369.
Fisheries, 208 ; whale, 223 ; loss of fishing fleet, 240.
Fishing, 224.
French settlement, 11. '•'"'
French neutrals, 63.
French aggressions, 192.
French presumption and influence, 136-139, 192.
France, defensive measures against, 155.
Ferries, 17.
Franklin, Benjamin, letter of, 45.
Fort Merrimao, 82.

ALPHABETICAL INDEX. 409
Fort on Plum Island, 82.
Fort Phillip, 203.
Fire Department, 252.
Federalists, 137, 200.
Fire, "great," 185-191.
Fire, by-laws to prevent, 151, 152.
Fever, epidemic, 154.
Grantees of Newbury, 13.
Great Britain, aggressions of, 143, 163.
Greenleaf, Capt. Steph., 41 ; Prof. Simon, 247 ; Hon. Jonathan, 80, 346.
Gunpowder, unnecessary use of, 83.
Gas, 252.
Garrison, Wm. Lloyd, 261.
Gates, Gen. Horatio, letter of, 357.
Green street, donors of land, 120.
Hodge, Michael, 385.
Howard Benevolent Society, 294.
Hair, orders against long, 19.
Hooper, Stephen, 385; Lucy, 231, 387.
Hooper, Madam, 35.
Herbert, Charles, 114, 383.
High street, 271.
Hosiery manufactured, 217.
Hodge, Michael, 92.
Indians, 5-8, 10, 15.
Independence, Declaration of, anticipated, 84.
Independence, Declaration of, read in meeting houses, 93.
Indictment, witch, 37.
Incorporation of religious societies, 149.
Ipswich fright, 84.
Insurance Companies, 72.
Insurance policy, (ancient,) 72.
Inoculation for small-pox, 134.
Inoculation, regulations of hospital for, 185.
Impressment of seamen, 163, 166,
Internal improvements projected, 206.
Imports, 159, 232.
Ireland, relief for, 236.
Jones, John Paul, 114; letter of, 365.
Jackson Family, 337-344 ; Hon. Jonathan, Judge Charles, Dr. James, Patrick T.
Johnson, Capt. Micholas, 123.
King, Rufus, 325.
Knapp, Samuel Lorenzo, LL. D., 826.
Land, division of, 12-13.
Lands, undivided, 64.

410 ALPHABETICAL INDEX.
Lightning, damage by, 45.
Louisburg, siege of, 48.
Lexington, 86.
Lunt, Ezra (Capt), 86, 127, 362.
Lunt, Henry, 363 ; Cutting, 369 ; Daniel, 369.
Lunt, Micajah, 118.
La Fayette, visit of, 218.
Lowell family, 330-337 ; Rev. John, Judge John, John, LL. D., Francis C.
Lace School, 217.
Lyceum, 253.
Libraries, 168, 253.
Longevity, instances of, 272.
Limestone discovered, 42.
Masonic Lodges, 289.
Merrimac river, 8-10; clearing, 154 ; frozen, 218.
Mycall John, 126, 256.
Mason, Robert, claim of 38.
Masconomo, 5, 6, 8.
Massachusetts divided into counties, 22.
Massachusetts, claims, 220.
Meeting-houses, 13, 23 ; at Pipe Stave Hill, 43 ; Quaker, 47.
Meeting-house, seating the, 26.
Macy, Thomas, 23.
Morse house, 29.
Monroe, President, visit of, 209.
Mob, 69.
Militia, 128.
Military division of town, 83.
Military companies, 81, 82, 99, 288.
Merrimac, ship, 156.
Merrimac Humane Society, 292.
Medical Association, 294.
Merrill, Orlando B., 155, 199.
Maine, State of, divided from Massachusetts, 213.
Market square, 215 ; Hall, 215.
Manufactures, 224, 228.
Murray, Rev. John, 375.
Milton, Rev. Charles W., 376.
Moody, "Master," 320.
Mills, cotton, 228, 285.
Mackerel inspected, 241, 242.
Marine Society, 82, 291.
Newbury settled, 10; incorporated, 11
Newbury, eminent men of, 57, 58.
Noyes, Rev. James, 13.

ALPHABETICAL INDEX. 41 1

Norfolk street, 304.
Norfolk County, 22.
Norfolk, Va., correspondence with, 179.
Newburyport incorporated, 60, 61.
Newburyport made port of entry, 129.
Newburyport, general description of, 267.
Newburyport, population of, 61, 267, 237.
Newburyport, salubrity of, 271.
Newburyport, boundaries enlarged, votes for, 237.
Newburyport, city government organized, 249.
Newburyport, distinguished men of, 385.
Newburyport, women of, 386.
Nichols, Capt. William, 191, 194, 196
Navy, British, 193.
Napoleon, injurious measures of, 192.
Napoleon, rejoicings at abdication of, 203.
Navigation act, 215.
Non-importation, 74.
Non-intercourse, 183.
Newspapers, 254.
Odd Fellows, 290.
Old Tenor currency, 148.
Old Tenor, death of, (poetry,) 148, 149.
Observatory erected, 202.
Plum Island, general description of, 273.
Plum Island, eighteen lights, 130 ; turnpike, 169.
Parker, Rev. Thomas, 13, 57.
Parsons, Theophilus, 94, 320.
Parsons, Rev. Jonathan, 86 ; Samuel H., 385.
Parker river, 57.
Puritans, 300.
Parishes, religious, 39.
Post Office, 84.
Pettingell, Amos, 385.
Pierce's farm, 268.
Political Parties, 137.
Pond, frog, 234, 270.
Plant, Rev. Matthias, 43, 301.
Presbyterianism,297; 1st Church, 304 ; 2d Church, 310.
Proprietary claims, 64 ; extinguished, 222.
Piers sunk, 82 ; built, 106.
Perkins, Capt. Benjamin, 87.
Perkins, Jacob, 378.
Pearson, Amos, 98, 99.
Privateering, 105, 197.

412 ALPHABETICAL INDEX.
Privateers, Dalton, 114.
Prisoners, American, list of in Mill Prison, 115.
Prisoners, American, in Algiers, 147.
Peace of 1783,123.
Peace of 1814, 205.
Pilotage, regulations for Newburyport, 131.
Pilotage, town pay that of wood coasters, 207.
Pilots, limits for Newburyport, 131.
Pickering, United States ship, built, 155.
Palmer, Timothy, 171.
Poetry, 159.
Poor, town's, 62, 63, 214.
Putnam, Oliver, 346; School, 251.
Pike, Capt. Albert, 235.
Paine, Robert Treat, 326.
Pike, Nicholas, 93, 327.
Preaching, unlicensed, 23.
Potatoes introduced, 44.
Periodicals published, 254.
Quascacunquen river, 10.
Quascacunquen lodge, 290.
Quakers, 24 ; Quaker field, 47.
Quebec, rejoicings on surrender of, 50.
Queen Ann's chapel, 301.
Revolution, American, 84-121.
Revolution, French, 136.
RebeUion, Shay's, 127.
Republican party, 137.
Religious Freedom, 149.
Robbery, sham, 210.
Revenue surplus, 229.
Railroads, Eastern, 233 ; Newburyport, 240.
Rawson, Edward, 17.
Seating the meetinghouse, 26.
Seizures of vessels, 140-146, 160, 161, 162, 163,165.
Sagamores, 5.
Selectmen, 15.
Schools, 16, 62, 84, 149, 232; Female, 101 ; Lancasterian, 216 ; African, 216.
Slavery, 55 ; extinct in Massachusetts, 56.
Stocks, town fined in default of having, 17.
Ship-building and principal ship-builders, 262.
Shipping, 65, 224.
Stetson, Mr. Prince and Charles A., 219.
Sturgeon in Merrimac, 26.
Streets laid out, 43.

ALPHABETICAL INDEX. 413
Stamp Act-(British)— its several specifications, 67-70.
Stamp Act— (Mass.) — « « « 12g
Supreme Court, attempts to secure sitting of, 168.
Sewall, "Master," 100.
Small-pox, dread of, 134-136.
Swett, Dr. J. Barnard, 370.
Smuggling, 180.
Silver Greys, 202.
Sea Fencibles, 203.
Steam navigation, 239.
Social manners, 171, 172.
Storms, 240, 274, 277.
Spring, Rev. Dr., 91.
Sawyer, Dr. Micajah, 385.
Trees planted, 120.
Town expenses, 242.
Towns, residents of, to be approved by general consent, 63.
Tonnage table, 266.
Tithingmen, 21.
Titles, 42.
Tunes, variety of introduced, 44.
Tea, introduction of, 44, 75, 77.
Tax on tea, 74 ; tax, direct, 208.
Tea, smuggling of, 76, 77.
Throat distemper, epidemic, 46.
Transport, capture of, 108.
Tides, high, 274, 277.
Titcomb, Col. Moses, 48 ; Enoch, 384 ; Jonathan, 384.
Tories, 95.
Tracy, Nathaniel, 106, 348.
Time, computation of changed, 5.
Temperance, 217, 229.
Telegraph, magnetic, 235.
Town House built, 50.
Town Hall, 239.
Thomas, Isaiah, 255.
Turnpikes, Newburyport, 169 ; Plum Island, 169.
TyDg, Dudley A., (Judge,) 156. 385.
United States, adoption of Constitution by Mass., 94 ; prejudice against ceding
land to, 129.
United States vessels built, 155-156.
Yellow or "malignant fever," great fatality from, 154.
Vergenis, Dr. Francis, 385.
Vessels, list of taken by British, in 1794, 142.
Valuation of Newburyport, 232, 251.

414 ALPHABETICAL INDEX.
Winthrop, Governor, 11 ; John, 10.
War, Pequod, 15.
" King Phillip's, 27.
" Castine's, or French and Indian, 40.
" Revolutionary, 86-121 ; expenses of, 121.
" with Great Britain, (1812,) 192-203.
" with Mexico, 235.
Wolves, 55.
Wigs, 49.
Witchcraft, 28-37.
"Water-side" interests, 60, 2 3 9.
Wharves, 24, 64.
West India trade, 66.
Whitfield, Rev. George, 48, 374.
Water lots laid out, 64.
Washington, visit of, 132, 133; monument to, 170 ; death of, 157 ; letters of
to Col. Ed. Wigglesworth, 361 ; to N. Pike, 327.
Wrecks, 159, 274, 276.
Wasp, U. S. sloop, 198.
Water, analysis of, 272.
Walsh, "Master," 347.
Wigglesworth, Col. Edward, 356.
West Point, Richard Titcomb's Company at, 104.

ERRATA.

Page 22, foot note should not be credited to County Records .
" 28, third line from bottom, read odor for order.
" 64, second line from bottom, read omit it.
" 177, in note f, for Esq., read M. D.
" 198, for Capt. "Wells, read Wills.
" 214, ninth line from top, for three, read one.
" 216, for Summer street, read Strong.
" 267, for Atley, read Alley.
" 268, fifth line from foot, for Pierice, read Pierce.
" 303, thirteenth line from foot, read 1725 for 1735.
" 281, the Union Mutual Marine was accidentally omitted in list of Insurance
Offices. [See Chronological Index.]

2.^vftetr.?3

3 9002