"The History of Lynn including Nahant"
by Alonzo Lewis, - The Lynn Bard

Transcribed and submitted
by Shaun Cook

To help transcribe or submit information, please e-mail Shaun Cook.

Chapter VII

Thomas Dexter claims Nahant - Pirate's Glen - Iron Company prosecuted - Hatborue's case of Slander -
Order respecting Shoes - Wampanoag War - Wenepoykin dies - Life of Rev. Stephen Whiting -
Petition of soldiers in the Indian War - 1657 to 1687.

Thus he hath lost his lande soe broad
Both hill and holt and moor and fenne,
All but a poore and lonesome lodge
That stood far off in a lonely glenne.
HEIRE OF LYNNE.

     Having purchased Nahant of the Indian Sagamore, for a suit of clothes, Thomas Dexter was not disposed to sit down in unconcern, when the town made known their intention of dividing it into lots for the benefit of all the people. At a town meeting held February 24, 1657, the following order was taken: 'It was voted that Nahant should be laid out in planting lotts, and every householder should have equal in the dividing of it, noe man more than another; and every person to clear his lot of wood in six years, and he or they that do not clear their lotts of the wood, shall pay fifty shillings for the towne's use. Alsoe every householder is to have his and their lotts for seaven years, and it is to be laid down for a pasture for the towne; and in the seventh, every one that hath improved his lott by planting, shall then, that is in the seventh year, sow their lott with English corne; and in every acre of land as they improve, they shall, with their English corne, sow one bushel of English hay seed, and soe proportionable to all the land that is improved, a bushel of hay seed to one acre of land, and it is to be remembered, that no person is to raise any kind of building at all; and for laying out this land there is chosen Francis Ingals, Henry Collins, James Axee, Adam Hawckes, Lieut. Thomas Marshall, John Hathorne, Andrew Mansfield.' - Mass. Archives.
     This record is valuable, as it exhibits several interesting particulars. It shows that the purchase of Nahant by Mr. Dexter was not considered valid - it exhibits the most impartial specimen of practical democracy in this country, the lots being apportioned to each householder equally, 'noe man more than another' - it furnishes an explanation of the cause and manner of Nahant being so entirely cleared of the beautiful wood which once grew upon it - and it shows that Nahant was early planted with English corn, that is, with wheat. On the passing of this order, Mr. Dexter commenced a suit against the town for occupying it. The people held a town meeting, in which they appointed Thomas Laighton, George Keysar, Robert Coats, and Joseph Armitage, a committee to defend their right.  On the third of June, the following depositions were given.
     1. 'Edward Ireson, aged 57 yeares or there abouts, sworne, saith, that liveing with Mr. Thomas Dexter, I carried the fencing stuffe which master Dexter sett up to fence in Nahant, his part with the rest of the Inhabitants, and being and living with mr. Dexter, I never heard him say a word of his buying of Nahant, but only his interest in Nahant for his fencing with the rest of the inhabitants; this was about 25 yeares since, and after this fence was sett up at nahant, all the new comers were to give two shillings sixpence a head or a piece vnto the setters up of the fence or inhabitants, and some of Salem brought Cattell alsoe to nahant, which were to give soe.'
     2. 'The Testimony of Samuel Whiting, senior: of the Towne of Linne, Saith, that Mr. Humphries did desire that mr. Eaton and his company might: not only buy Nahant, but the whole Towne of Linne, and that mr. Cobbet and he and others of the Towne went to mr. Eaton to offer both to him, and to commit themselves to the providence of God, and at that time there was none that laid claim to or pleaded any interest in nahant, Save the town, and at that time farmer Dexter lived in the Towne of Linne.' The person to whom Lynn was thus offered for sale, was Theophilus Eaton, afterward governor of Connecticut. He came to Boston June 26, 1637, and went to New Haven in August of the same year.
     3. 'The Deposition of Daniel Salmon, aged about 45 yeares, saith, that he being master Humphreye's servant, and about 23 yeares agon, there being wolves in nahant, commanded that the whole traine band goe to drive them out, because it did belong to the whole towne, and farmer Dexter's men being then at training, went with the rest.'
     4. 'This I Joseph Armitage, aged 57 or there abouts, doe testifie, that about fifteen or sixteen yeares agoe, wee had a generall towne meeting in Lin, at that meeting there was much discourse about nahant; the men that did first fence at nahant and by an act of generall court did apprehend by fencing that nahant was theires, myself by purchase haveing a part therein, after much agitation in the meeting, and by persuasion of mr. Cobbit, they that then did plead a right by fencing, did yield up all their right freely to the Inhabitants of the Towne, of which Thomas Dexter, senior, was one.'
     5. 'We, George Sagomore and the Sagomore of Agawam, doe testify that Duke William, so called did sell all Nahant unto ffarmer Dexter for a suite of Cloathes, which cloathes ffarmer Dexter had again, and gave vnto Duke William, so called 2 or 3 coates for it again.' This deposition was signed with an S, as the mark of Masconomotd; and with a bow and arrow, as the mark of Winnepurkitt.
     6. 'This I, Christopher Linsie doe testifie; that Thomas Dexter bought Nahant of Blacke Will, or Duke William, and employed me to fence part of it, when I lived with Thomas Dexter .'
     7. 'I, John Legg, aged 47 years or thereabouts, doe testifie, that when I was Mr. Humphrey's servant, there came unto my master's house one Blacke Will, as wee call him, an Indian, with a compleate Suit on his backe, I asked him where he had that suit, he said he had it of ffarmer Dexter, and he had sould him Nahant for it.'
     Other depositions were given by Richard Walker, Edward Holyoke, George Farr, William Dixey, William Witter, John Ramsdell, John Hedge, and William Harcher. The court decided in favor of the defendants, and Mr. Dexter appealed to the Court of Assistants, who confirmed the judgement. Mr. Dexter was afterward granted liberty to tap the pitch pine trees on Nahant, as he had done before, for the purpose of making tar.
     A vessel owned by Captain Thomas Wiggin, of Portsmouth was wrecked on the Long Beach, and the sails, masts, anchor, &c. purchased by Thomas Wheeler, on the third of June.
     Sagamore Wenepoykin petitioned the General Court, on the twenty-first of May, that he might possess some land, formerly owned by his brother, called Powder Horn Hill, in Chelsea. He was referred to the county court.

     1658.   At the Court of Assistants, on the thirteenth of May, the towns of Lynn, Reading, and Chelsea, received permission to raise a troop of horse.
     At the Quarterly Court, on the twenty-ninth of June, Lieutenant Thomas Marshall was authorized to perform the ceremony of marriage, and to take testimony in civil cases.
     This year there was a great earthquake in New England, connected with which is the following story.
     Some time previous, on one pleasant evening, a little after sunset, a small vessel was seen to anchor near the mouth of Saugus river. A boat was presently lowered from her side, into which four men descended, and moved up the river a considerable distance, when they landed, and proceeded directly into the woods. They had been noticed by only a few individuals; but in those early times, when the people were surrounded by danger, and easily susceptible of alarm, such an incident was well calculated to awaken suspicion, and in the course of the evening the intelligence was conveyed to many houses. In the morning, the people naturally directed their eyes towards the shore, in search of the strange vessel - but she was gone, and no trace could be found either of her or her singular crew. It was afterward ascertained that, on that morning, one of the men at the Iron Works, on going into the foundry, discovered a paper, on which was written, that if a quantity of shackles, handcuffs, hatchets, and other articles of iron manufacture, were made and deposited, with secresy, in a certain place in the woods, which was particularly designated, an amount of silver, to their full value, would be found in their place. The articles were made in a few days, and placed in conformity with the directions. On the next morning they were gone, and the money was found according to the promise; but though a watch had been kept, no vessel was seen. Some months afterward, the four men returned, and selected one of the most secluded and romantic spots in the woods of Saugus, for their abode. The place of their retreat was a deep narrow valley, shut in on two sides by high hills and craggy precipitous rocks, and shrouded on the others by thick pines, hemlocks, and cedars, between which there was only one small spot to which the rays of the sun at noon could penetrate. On climbing up the rude and almost perpendicular steps of the rock on the eastern side, the eye could command a full view of the bay on the south, and a prospect of a considerable portion of the surrounding country. The place of their retreat has ever since been called the Pirates' Glen, and they could not have selected a spot on the coast for many miles, more favorable for the purposes both of concealment and observation. Even at this day, when the neighborhood has become thickly peopled, it is still a lonely and desolate place, and probably not one in a hundred of the inhabitants has ever descended into its silent and gloomy recess. There the pirates built a small hut, made a garden, and dug a well, the appearance of which is still visible. It has been supposed that they buried money; but though people have dug there, and in several other places, none has ever been found. After residing there some time, their retreat became known, and one of the king's cruisers appeared on the coast. They were traced to the glen, and three of them were taken and carried to England, where it is probable they were executed. The other, whose name was Thomas Veal, escaped to a rock in the woods, about two miles to the north, in which was a spacious cavern, where the pirates had previously deposited some of their plunder. There the fugitive fixed his residence, and practised the trade of a shoemaker, occasionally coming down to the village to obtain articles of sustenance. He continued his residence till the great earthquake this year, when the top of the rock was loosened, and crushed down into the mouth of the cavern, enclosing the unfortunate inmate, in its unyielding prison. It has ever since been called the Pirate's Dungeon.

     1659.   A road was laid out from Lynn to Marblehead, over the Swampscot beaches, on the fifth of July. In reference to the part between Ocean street and King's Beach, the Committee say, 'it has been a country highway thirty and odd years, to the knowledge of many of us.'
     At the Quarterly Court, on the twenty-ninth of November, 'Thomas Marshall, of Lynn, is alowed by this court, to sell stronge water to trauillers, and also other meet provisions.'
     The General Court had passed some very severe laws against the people called Friends or Quakers, forbidding any even to admit them into their houses, under a penalty of forty shillings an hour. Mr. Zacheus Gould had offended against this order, for which he was arraigned by the Court. On the 25th of Novembbr, 'the deputies having heard of what Zacheus Gould hath alleged in Court, in reference to his entertainment of Quakers, do think it meet that the rigor of the law, in that case provided, be exercised upon him, but considering his ingenious confession, and profession of his ignorance of the law; and he also having long attended the Court, do judge that he shall only be admonished for his offence by the governor, and so be dismissed the court, and all with reference to the consent of our honored magistrates hereto.' This decision of the deputies was sent to the magistrates, and returned with this endorsement: 'The magistrates consent not thereto.' So it is probable that Mr. Gould was compelled to pay his fine.
     The Court this year enacted that the festival of Christmas should not be observed, under a penalty of five shillings.

     1660.   Mr. Adam Hawkes commenced a suit, in June, against Oliver Purchis, agent for the Iron Company, for damage by overflowing his land. The following papers relating to this subject, were found in the files of the Quarterly Court.
     'The deposition of Joseph Jenks, senior, saith, that having conference with adam hawkes about the great dam at the Iron works at Lin, he complayned that he suffered great damage by the water flowing his ground. I answered him, I thought you had satisfaction for all from the old companie he said he had from the old company, and further saith not.'
     'This I, Charles Phillopes do testifie, that I, keepeing of the watter at the Irone Workes, since Mr. Porchas came there, Mr. Porchas did att all times charge me to keepe the watter Lowe, that it might not damage Mr. Hawkes, which I did, and had much ill will of the workmen for the same.'
      Others testified that the lands had been much overflowed. Francis Hutchinson said, that the water had been raised so high, that the bridge before Mr. Hawkes' house had several times been broken up, and 'the peces of tember raised up and Made Sweme.' John Knight and Thomas Wellman were appointed to ascertain the damage. They stated that the corn had been 'Much Spoilled,' and the wells 'sometimes ffloted; that the English grass had been much damaged, and the tobacco lands much injured, ' in laying them so Coulld.' They judged the damage to be 'the ualloation of ten pounds a yeere.'

     1 6 6 1.    'At a Generall Towne Meetinge, the 30th of December, 1661, vpon the request of Daniell Salmon for some land, in regard he was a soldier att the Pequid warrs, and it was ordered by vote that Ensign John ffuller, Allen Breed, senior, and Richard Johnson, should vew the land adjoyninge to his house lott, and to giue report of it vnto the next towne meetinge.'

     1662.    Mr. William Longley prosecuted the town, for not laying out to him forty acres of land, according to the division of 1638. The case was defended by John Hathorne and Henry Collins. In March, the Court decided that he should have the forty acres of land or forty pounds in money.
     On the thirteenth of May, the boundary line between Lynn and Boston was marked. It ran 'from the middle of Bride's brooke, where the foot path now goeth.' This line has since become the boundary between Saugus and Chelsea.
     For the first time since the organization of the general government in 1634, the town of Lynn sent no representative.

     1663.    On the evening of January twenty-sixth, there was an earthquake.
     Mr. John Hathorne complained to the church at Lynn, that Andrew Mansfield and William Longley had given false testimony in the recent land case, for which they were censured. They appealed to the county court, accusing Mr. Hathorne of slander, of which he was found guilty, and sentenced to pay a fine of L10, and make a public acknowledgment in the meeting-house at Lynn; or else to pay L20 and costs.  On the fourth of April, the court directed the following letter to the church at Lynn.
     'Reverend and loving friends and brethren: We understand that John Hathorne hath accused Andrew Mansfield and William Longley in the church of Lynn, for giving a false testimony against himself and Henry Collins, at the court of Ipswich, in March this was 12 month, and for which the said Mansfield and Longley stand convicted in the church, and finding themselves aggrieved thereat, hath brought their complaint against the said Hathorne in several actions of slander, which hath had a full and impartial hearing, and due examination, and by the verdict of the jury the said Hathorne is found guilty. Now because it is much to be desired that contrary judgments in one and the same case may be prevented, if possibly it may be attained, and one power strive not to clash against the other, we thought it expedient, before we give judgment in the case, to commend the same to the serious consideration and further examination of the church. We doubt not but that there hath been even more than a few both in the words and carriage of all the parties concerned, (though not the crime alleged), which if it may please God to put into their hearts to see and own so as may give the church opportunity and cause to change their mind and reverse their censures, so far as concerns the particular case in question, we hope it will be acceptable to God, satisfactory to ourselves and others, and the beginning of their own peace and quiet, the disturbance whereof hitherto we are very sensible of, and shall at all times be ready to afford them our best relief, as we may have opportunity or cognizance thereof. Had you been pleased, before your final conclusion, to have given us the grounds of your offence, we should kindly have resented such a request, and probably much of your trouble might have been prevented. We have deferred giving judgment in this case till the next session of this Court to see what effect this our motion may have with them. Now the God of peace and wisdom give them understanding in all things, and guide them to such conclusions, in this and all other causes of concernment, as may be agreeable to his will, and conducing to your peace and welfare. So pray your friends and brethren.
     By order of the County Court, at Ipswich,
                            ROBERT LORD, Clerk.

     To this letter Mr. Whiting made the following reply, on the fourth of May.
     'Honored and beloved in the God of love: We have received your letter, which you have been pleased to send to us, wherein we perceive how tender you are of our peace, and how wisely careful you declare yourselves to be in preventing any clash that might arise between the civil and ecclesiastical powers, for which we desire to return thanks from our hearts to God and unto you concerning the matter you signify to us; what your pleasure is that we should attend unto, we in all humility of mind and desirous of peace, have been willing to prove the parties concerned, to see what errors they would see and own; and for his part that complained to us, he doth acknowledge his uncomely speeches and carriage both unto the marshal, he being the court's officer, and also to brethren in the church, in the agitation of the matter, and doth condemn himself for sin in it, but for the other parties that stand convicted, they either do not see or will not acknowledge any error concerning their testimony, which we judge they ought. Wherefore we humbly present you with these few lines, not doubting but they will be pleasing to God and acceptable to you, whatever hath been suggested to yourselves by others that bear not good will to the peace of our church; we are sure of this, and our consciences bear us witness, that we have done nothing in opposition to you, or to cast any reflection upon your court proceedings, but have justified you all along in what you have done, Secundum Allegata et probata, (according as they were alleged and proved) in all our church agitations, which our adversaries can tell, if they would witness; but by reason of this, that some of our brethren did swear contrary oaths, we thought it our duty upon complaint made to us to search who they were that swore truly and who did falsify their oath, and after much debate and dispute on Sunday days about this matter, we did judge those two men faulty, which in conscience we dare not go back from, they continuing as they do to this day. Could we discern any token of these men's repentance, for this that they are, especially one of them, censured in the church for, we should cheerfully take off the censures; but inasmuch as they justify themselves, and tell us if it were to do again they would do it, and lift up their crests in high language and come to such animosities from the jury's verdict, we desire the honored court would not count us transgressors if we do not recede from what we have done. Especially considering what disturbers they have been to us; especially one of them, for these several years. Now, therefore, honored and dear sirs, seeing by what we have done we have gone in our own way as a church in the search after sin, we hope the court will be tender of us and of him that comnplained to us on that account, and if we humbly crave that it be not grievous to you that we humbly tell you that in our judgment the discipline of these churches must fall; and if so, of what sad consequence it will be, we leave it to those that are wiser than ourselves to judge, for this case being new and never acted before in this country, doth not only reflecton our church but on all the churches in the country; for if delinquents that are censured in churches, shall be countenanced by authority, against the church in their acting in a just way, we humbly put it to the consideration of the court, whether there will not be a wide door opened to Erastianisme, (Thomas Erastus, in 1647, during the civil wars in England, contended that the Church had no power to censure or decree. This term was termed Erastianism.) which we hope all of us do abhor from our hearts. Now the God of peace himself give the country, courts and church peace always by all means; grace be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen.
     'Dated the 4th, 3d, 1663, with the consent and vote of the church.
                                                                     SAMUEL WHITING.'

     On the next day, the Court replied as follows:
     Reverend and beloved, We are very sorry our endeavors have not produced that effect we hoped and desired, but seem to have been interpreted contrary to our intentions, (and, we conceive, our words,) as an encroachment and destructive to the right and power of the churches. We have been taught, and do verily believe, the civil and ecclesiastical power may very well consist, and that no cause is so purely ecclesiastical, but the civil power may in its way deal therein. We are far from thinking the churches have no power but what is derived from the christian magistrates, or that the civil magistrate hath ecclesiastical powers, yet may, and ought, the matter so requiring, take cognizance and give judgment in solving a case, not in a church but civil way. We suppose we have kept much within these bounds in the case that hath been before us, and that our opinion and practice herein hath been as clear from Erastianisme, as some men's assertions have been from the opposite error, and the declared judgments of our congregational divines. In that point, we own and desire so to regulate our proceedings accordingly. The God of order guide all our ministrations to his glory, and the peace and edification of his people.
     'By order and unanimous consent of the County Court, sitting at Ipswich, May 5th, 1663, p. me.
                                                                                                            ROBERT LORD, Clerk.'

     1664.    On the twenty-eighth of June, Theophilus Bayley was licensed to keep a public house. (Q. C. Files.)
     This year the wheat is first mentioned to have been blasted. (Hubbard.) and little has been raised on the sea-coast of New England since.
     A public fast was appointed on account of dissensions and troubles.
     In November, a comet appeared, and continued visible till February.

     1665.    On the twenty-seventh of June, Thomas Laighton, Oliver Purchis, and John Fuller, were appointed commissioners to try small causes.
     On the twenty-ninth of November, Mr. Joseph Jenks was admonished by the Salem court, for not attending public worship.

     1666.    Mr. Andrew Mansfield was chosen town recorder.
     On the seventh of December, the General Court assembled for religious consultation and prayer, in which Mr. Whiting and Mr. Cobbet sustained a part.

     1667.    At the Quarterly Court, on the twenty-sixth of June, Nathariel Kertland, John Witt, and Ephraim Hall, were presented, 'for prophaining the Lord's Day, By Going to William Craft's house, in time of publike exercise, (they both being at meeting,) and Drinkeing of his sider, and Rosteing his Aples, without eyther the consent or knowledge of him or his wife.'
     Mr. Joseph Jenks presented a petition to the General Court for aid to commence a wire manufactory, but did not receive sufficient encouragement.

     1668.   The ministers of the several towns assembled in Boston, on the fifteenth of April, to hold a public disputation with the Baptists. Mr. Whiting and Mr. Cobbet were among the principal.
     On the thirteenth of June, Robert Page, of Boston, was presented for 'setinge saille from Nahant, in his boate, being Loaden with wood, thereby Profaining the Lord's daye.'
     Land on the north side the Common was this year sold for L4 an acre; and good salt marsh, L1.10.

     1669.   On the twenty-ninth of April, the boundary line between Lynn and Salem was defined. It ran from the west end of Brown's pond, in Danvers, 'to a noated Spring,' now called Mineral Spring; thence to 'Chip Bridge,' on the little brook which runs out near the house of John Phillips, to the sea shore.

     1670.    The Court ordered, that the lands of deceased persons might be sold for the payment of debts. Before this, if a person died in debt, his land was secure. The method of conveyance was by 'turfe and twig;' that is, the seller gave a turf from the ground and a twig from a tree, into the hands of the buyer, as a token of relinquishment.

     1671.    On the eighteenth of January, there was a great snow storm, in which there was much thunder and lightning.
     The following memorandum is copied from the leaf of a Bible. May 22. 'A very awful thunder, and a very great storm of wind and hail, especially at Dorchester town, so that it broke many glass windows at the meeting-bouse.'
     Mr. Samuel Bennet prosecuted Mr. John Gifford, the former agent of the Iron Works, and attached property to the amount of L400, for labor performed for the company. On the twenty-seventh of June, the following testimony was given:
     'John Paule aged about forty-five years, sworne, saith, that living with Mr. Samuel Bennett, upon or about the time that the Iron Works were seased by Capt. Savage, in the year 53 as I take it, for I lived ther several years, and my constant imployment was to repaire carts, coale carts, mine carts, and other working materials for his teemes, for he keept 4 or 5 teemes, and sometimes 6 teemes, and he had the most teemes the last yeare of the Iron Works, when they were seased, and my master Bennet did yearly yearne a vast sum from the said Iron Works, for he commonly yearned forty or fifty shillings a daye for the former time, and the year 53, as aforesaid, for he had five or six teemes goeing generally every faire day." (Salem Q. C. files.)
     The Iron Works for several years were carried on with vigor, and furnished most of the iron used in the colony. But the want of ready money on the part of the purchasers, and the great freedom with which the company construed the liberal privileges of the Court, caused their failure. The owners of the lands which had been injured, commenced several suits against them, and at last hired a person to cut away the flood gates and destroy the works. This was done in the night, when the pond was full. The dam was high, and just below it, on the left, stood the house of Mac Callum More Downing. The water rushed out, and flowed into the house, without disturbing the inhabitants, who were asleep in a chamber. In the morning, Mrs. Downing found a fine live fish flouncing in her oven. The works were much injured, and the depredator fled to Penobscot.
     The suits against the Iron Works were protracted for more than twenty years. Mr. Hubbard says that 'instead of drawing out bars of iron for the country's use, there was hammered out nothing but contention and law suits.' The works were continued, though on a smaller scale, for more than one hundred years from their establishment. But they have long been discontinued, and nothing now is to be seen of them, except the heaps of scoria, nearly overgrown with grass, and called the 'Cinder Banks.'

     1672.   Mr. Daniel Salmon attached the property of the town, to the value of forty pounds, for not laying out the land granted to him in 1661. On the twenty-seventh of June, the Quarterly Court required the town to give him about six acres, near his house.

     1673.    On the eighteenth of June, a new road was laid out from Lynn to Marblehead, on the north of the former road. It is now called Essex street.
     The second inhabitant of Nahant, of whom we find any mention, was Robert Coats. He probably lived there as a fisherman and shepherd; and left before he married Mary Hodgkin, which was December 29, 1682. He had six sons and three daughters. After he left, there appears no inhabitant until 1690.

     1674.    Some of the inhabitants of Salem attempted to form a new church, and engaged Mr. Charles Nicholet for their minister; but their design being opposed, they came to Lynn to complete it. Mr. Rogers, Minister of Ipswich, wrote a letter to Mr. Phillips, Minister of Rowley, requesting him to assist in preventing the accomplishment. This letter was handed to Major Dennison, who subjoined the following approbation: 'Sir, Though I know nothing of what is above written, I cannot but approve the same in all respects.' On Sunday, the eleventh of December, the delegates from the churches of Boston, Woburn, Malden, and Lynn, with the governor, John Leverett, assembled at Lynn, and formed a council. They chose the Rev. John Oxenbridge, of Boston, moderator, and agreed that the new church should be formed. Afterward, the delegates of the churches of Salem, Ipswich, and Rowley, arrived; when the vote of the council was reconsidered, and decided in the negative. In the curious church records of Rowley, it is said that 'This work was begun without a sermon, which is not usuall. There was also a breaking out into laughter, by a great part of the congregation, at a speech of Mr. Batters, that he did not approve of what Major Hathorne had spoken. Such carriage was never known on a first day, that I know of.' After the frustration of this design, Mr. Nicholet went to England.

     1675.   This year we find mention made, in the records of the Society of Friends, of the sufferings of that people, in consequence of their refusal to pay parish taxes. In reference to George Oaks, who appears to be one of the first who embraced the doctrines of George Fox, in Lynn, is the following record: 'Taken away for the priest, Samuel Whiting, one cow, valued at L3.' Others afterward suffered for refusing to perform military duty, or to pay church rates, by having their cattle, corn, hay, and domestic furniture taken away.
     On the twenty-ninth of August, there was 'a very great wind and rain, that blew down and twisted many trees.' -Bible leaf.
     The year 1675 is memorable for the commencement of the great war of Pometacom, called king Philip, Sachem of the Wampanoag Indians, in Plymouth county and Rhode Island, just one hundred years before the war of the Independence of the United States. Pometacom was a son of Massasoit, but was more warlike than his father. Perhaps he had more cause to be so. As we have received the history of this war only from the pens of white men, it is probable that some incidents that might serve to illustrate its origin, have been passed unnoticed. It commenced in June, and some of the eastern tribes united with the Wampanoags. One of the causes of their offence, was an outrage offered by some sailors to the wife and child of Squando, sagamore of Saco. Meeting them in a canoe, and having heard that young Indians could swim naturally, they overturned the frail bark. The insulted mother dived and brought up her child, but it died soon after.
     The military company in Lynn, at this time, was commanded by Captain Thomas Marshall, Lieutenant Oliver Purchis, and Ensign John Fuller. The troops from Massachusetts, which went against the Indians, were commanded by Major Samuel Appleton.
     Fifteen men were impressed at Lynn, by order of the Court, on the thirtieth of November, in addition to those who had been previously detached. Their names were Thomas Baker, Robert Driver, Job Farrington, Samuel Graves, Isaac Hart, Nicholas Hitchens, Daniel Hitchens, John Lindsey, Jonathan Locke, Charles Phillips, Samuel Rhodes, Henry Stacey, Samuel Tarbox, Andrew Townsend, and Isaac Wellman.
     On the ninteenth of December, says the Bible Leaf, there was 'a dreadful fight with the Indians.' This was the great swamp fight, at South Kingston, R. I., when eighty white men, and more than three hundred Indians, were killed. Mr. Ephraim Newhall, of Lynn, was one of the slain.
     Wenepoykin, the sagamore of Lynn, who had never been in deep friendship with the whites, went and united with Pometacom. He probably had some causes of offence which have been left unrecorded. Indeed, the thousand little insults, which the men of his race have ever been in the habit of receiving from white men, and which must have been felt by his proud mind, might have been sufficient cause for his conduct. As a poetess has well said -
          Small slights, contempt, neglect, unmixed with hate,
          Make up in number what they want in weight.

     Two of the descendants of Nanapashemet, whose names were Quanapaug and Quanapohit, living on Deer Island, had become Christians by the names of James and Thomas. These united with the whites, and became spies for them, for which they were to have L5 each; for which cause the Wampanoag sachem offered a reward for their death, but they survived the war. Several anecdotes of their cunning are preserved by Mr. Drake. At one time, when they were taking him to Pometacom, Quanapaug escaped by his skill. Quanapohit, also, came accidentally upon six of his armed enemies, whom he put to flight, and plundered their wigwam, by turning round and beckoning, as if he were calling his company.

     1676.   The war with the Indians was prosecuted by both parties with the most determined vigor and cruelty. Many towns were burnt, and many of the inhabitants put to death. Great numbers of the Indians also were killed, and those who were taken prisoners were most cruelly sold for slaves to the West Indies, against the earnest entreaties of some of the principal officers. At last, Philip was pursued to a swamp, near his residence, at Mount Hope, and killed, on the morning of Saturday, the twelfth of August. After his death Annawon, Tispaquin, and others of his chiefs and warriors, submitted themselves, on the promise that their lives would be spared; but they were unmercifully put to death. From the expressions of some of them, it is probable that they did not wish to survive the destruction of their nation.
     Thus fell Philip, the last groat king of the Wampanoags, - the last formidable enemy of the English. Like Sassacus, he foresaw the destruction of his nation; but he was at first friendly to the white people, and wept when he heard that some of them had been killed. The pen of the historian will do justice to his patriotism, and the harp of the poet will eulogize him in strains of immortality.

        Tradition, legend, tune, and song,
          Shall many an age that wail prolong;
          Still from the sire the son shall hear
          Of that stern strife and carnage drear.

     Wenepoykin, who had joined with the Wampanoags, was taken prisoner, and sold as a slave to Barbadoes. He returned in 1684, at the end of eight years, and died at the house of his relative, James Muminquash, at the age of 68 years. The testimony of Tokowampate and Waban, given October 7, 1686, and preserved in Essex Registry of Deeds, declares, that 'Sagamore George, when he came from Barbadoes, lived some time, and died at the house of James Rumneymarsh.' The old chief, who had ruled in freedom over more than half the state of Massachusetts, returned from his slavery, sad and broken-hearted, to die in a lone wigwam, in the forest of Natick, in the presence of his sister Yawata.
     A law had been passed, prohibiting the friendly Indians from going more than one mile from their own wigwams. On the twenty-fifth of October, the Court agreed that they might go out to gather 'chesnuts and other nuts in the wilderness,' if two white men went with each company, whose charges were to be paid by the Indians.
     The injuries which the Indians received in the early history of our country, cannot now be repaired; but the opportunity is afforded for our national government to manifest its high sense of magnanimity and justice, and to evince to the world that republics are not unmindful of honor and right, by redressing any wrongs which the existing red men have received, and by providing for their welfare, in a manner becoming a great and powerful nation, which has received its extensive domains from a, people who are now wandering as fugitives in the land of their fathers. Such conduct, it may reasonably be expected, will receive the approbation of heaven; and it cannot be supposed, that He who watches the fall of the sparrow, will regard its neglect with indifference.
     The leaf of the Bible says, there was 'a great sickness this year.'

     1677.    The following letter was addressed by Mr. Whiting to Increase Mather, October 1, 1677.
     'Reverend and Dear Cousin. I acknowledge myself much engaged, as to God for all his mercies, so to yourself for your indefatigable labors, both in our church here, and in your writings, which of your love you have sent to me from time to time; and especially for your late book which you sent to me, wherein you have outdone any that I have seen upon that subject. Go on, dear cousin, and the Lord prosper your endeavors for the glory of his great name, and the good of many souls. And let me beg one request of you, that you would set pen to paper in writing an history of New England, since the coming of our chief men hither; which you may do, by conferring with Mr. Higginson, and some of the first planters in Salem, and in other places; which I hope you may easily accomplish, having by your diligence and search found out so much history concerning the Pequot war. And the rather let me entreat this favor of you, because it hath not been hitherto done by any in a polite and scholar like way; which if it were so done would glad the hearts of the Lord's people, and turn to your great account in the last and great day of the Lord Jesus. Thus commending my love to you and your loving consort, with thanks to you for your kindness to me and my son, when we were last with you at your house, beseeching the Lord to bless you and all yours, not knowing how shortly I must put off this earthly tabernacle, I rest,
               SAMUEL WHITING.'
     At this time, there was but one Post Office in Massachusetts, which was at Boston. On the third of December, the Court of Assistants appointed John Hayward Postmaster for the whole colony.
     On Thanksgiving day, the fourth of December, happened one of the greatest storms ever known in New England. It blew down many houses and many trees.

     1678.   This year, Samuel Appleton, Jr., took possession of the Iron Works, by a grant in the will of William Payne, of Boston. On the ninth of June, Thomas Savage prosecuted an old mortgage which he held on the property, and Samuel Waite testifies, 'There is land, rated at Three Thousand acres of Iron Mill land.' In 1679, Mr. Appleton had possession of three fourths of the Iron Works, valued at L1500. The law suits respecting the Iron Works were protracted to a tedious length, and papers enough are preserved in the Massachusetts archives, respecting them, to form a volume.
     The Selectmen, or, as they were called, 'the Seven Prudential men,' this year, were Thomas Laighton, Richard Walker, Andrew Mansfield, William Bassett, Nathaniel Kertland, John Burrill, and Ralph King. The price of corn was two shillings a bushel.
     The first meetinghouse of the Society of Friends, says an old record of one of their members, 'was raised on Wolf Hill,' where their meetinghouse now stands.
     The people of Reading petitioned the General Court, on the third of October, that the alewives might be permitted to come up to Reading Pond, as before; that they might find no obstruction at the Iron Works, but 'come up freely into our ponds, where they have their natural breeding place;' which was granted.
     Thomas Dexter, Jr., and Captain James Oliver, administrators to the estate of Thomas Dexter, prosecuted the town of Lynn, on the twenty-sixth of November, at Boston, for the recovery of Nahant. The jury decided in favor of the town. This was a review of the case decided September 1, 1657, against Mr. Dexter.

     1679.    In the number of the early ministers of New England, there were few who deserved a higher celebrity, for the purity of their character, and the fervor of their piety, than the Rev. Samuel Whiting. His name has been frequently overlooked by biographers, and little known and estimated even in his own parish. He has no stone erected to his memory, and the very place where he was buried is known only to a few.

          Dust long outlasts the storied stone,
          But thou - thy very dust is gone.

     This is another instance of the truth of the observation, that men are indebted to the poet and the historian for their remembrance to after ages. An honorable memorial of the deserving dead is one of the rewards of goodness, and the very desire of remembrance is itself a virtue. We naturally love the idea that we are remembered by others, and that our names will be known beyond the circle of those with whom we shared the endearments of friendship. It is sweet to think that we have not altogether lived in vain; to persuade ourselves that we have conferred some slight benefit on the world, and that posterity will repay the pleasing debt by mentioning our names with expressions of regard. It is not vanity, it is not ambition; it is a pure love of mankind, an exalting sense of right, that twines itself around every virtuous and noble mind, raising it above the enjoyment of worldliness, and making us wish to prolong our existence in the memory of the good.
     Rev. Samuel Whiting was born at Boston, in Lincolnshire, England, on the twentieth of November, 1597. His father, Mr. John Whiting, was mayor of that city in 1600; and his brother John obtained the same office in 1625. Having completed his studies in the school of his birthplace, young Samuel entered the university at Cambridge; where he had for his classmate, his cousin, Anthony Tuckney, afterward Master of St. John's College, with whom he commenced a friendship, which was not quenched by the waters of the Atlantic. He received impressions of piety at an early age, and loved to indulge his meditations in the retired walks of Emanuel College. He entered college in 1613, took his first degree in 1616, and his second in 1620. Having received orders in the Church of England, he became chaplain in a family consisting of five ladies and two knights, Sir Nathaniel Bacon and Sir Roger Townsend, with whom he resided three years. He then went to old Lynn, where he spent three years more, a colleague with Mr. Price. While at that place, complaints were made to the Bishop of Norwich, of his nonconformity in administering the services of the church, on which he removed to Skirbick, one mile from old Boston. There the complaints were renewed, on which he determined to sell his possessions and embark for America. He remarked, 'I am going into the wilderness, to sacrifice unto the Lord, and I will not leave a hoof behind me.' The beauty, piety, and harmony of the church, in our own time, induce us to wonder why a pious man should have objected to her services. But the church, at that period demanded more than is now required; and the dissenters, by their repugnance to those ceremonies and requisitions which were excessive, were driven to revolt against those forms which were really judicious.
     Mr. Whiting sailed from England in the beginning of April, 1636, and arrived at Boston on the twenty-sixth of May. He was very sick on his passage, during which he preached but one sermon. He observed that he would 'much rather have undergone six weeks imprisonment for a good cause, than six weeks of such terrible sea sickness.' He came to Lynn in June, and was installed on the eighth of November, at the age of thirty-nine. He was admitted to the privileges of a freeman on the seventeenth of December. His residence was nearly opposite the meetinghouse, in Shepard street. He had a walk in his orchard, in which he used to indulge his habit of meditation; and some who frequently saw him walking there, remarked, 'There does our dear pastor walk with God every day.' An anecdote related of him, will serve to illustrate his character. In one of his excursions to a neighboring town, he stopped at a tavern, where a company were revelling. As he passed their door, he thus addressed them: 'Friends, if you are sure that your sins are pardoned, you may be wisely merry.' He is reputed to have been a man of good learning, and an excellent Hebrew scholar. In 1649, he delivered a Latin oration at Cambridge, a copy of which is preserved in the Library of the Massachusetts Historical Society. He employed much of his leisure in reading history; and he could scarcely have chosen a study more indicative of the seriousness and solidity of his mind. He possessed great command over his passions, was extremely mild and affable in his deportment, and his countenance was generally illumined by a smile. He was chosen moderator in several ecclesiastical councils, and appears to have been generally respected. In his preaching, he was ardent and devoted; but he was less disposed to frighten his hearers by wild and boisterous efforts, than to win them to virtue by mild and persuasive eloquence.
     In the latter part of his life, Mr. Whiting was afflicted by a complication of disorders, and endured many hours of most excruciating pain. But his patience was inexhaustible, and his strength enabled him to continue the performance of the public services till a very advanced age, in which he was assisted by his youngest son, Joseph. A short time before his death, he presented to the General Court a claim for five hundred acres of land, which he had by deed of gift, from his brother-in-law, Mr. Richard Westland, an alderman of Boston, in England, who had loaned money to the colony of Massachusetts. As the claim had been some time due, the Court allowed him six hundred acres. He made his will on the twenty-fifth of February, 1679. He commences thus: 'After my committing of my dear flock unto the tender care of that great and good Shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ.' He gave his son Samuel, at Billerica, his house and four hundred acres of land at Dunstable, valued at L362, and fourteen acres of marsh at Lynn.  He remembered his son John, at Leverton, in England, and his daugthers, at Roxbury and Topsfield, and bequeathed his dwellinghouse, orchard, and eight acres of marsh, at Lynn, to his son Joseph. His money and plate amounted to L77.2.; and his whole estate to L570.15.6. He died on the eleventh of December, 1679, at the age of eighty-two; having preached at Lynn forty-three years.
     The death of Mr. Whiting called forth the following elegy from the pen of Mr. Benjamin Thompson, a schoolmaster, born at Braintree, and the first native American poet.

          UPON THE VERY LEARNED SAMUEL WHITING.

             Mount, FAME, the glorious chariot of the sun!
          Through the world's cirque, all you, her heralds, run,
          And let this great saint's merits be revealed,
          Which during life he studiously concealed.
          Cite all the Levites, fetch the sons of art,
          In these our dolors to sustain a part;
          Warn all that value worth, and every one
          Within their eyes to bring a Helicon;
          For in this single person we have lost
          More riches than an India has engrost.

             When Wilson, that plerophory of love,
          Did from our banks up to his centre move,
          Rare Whiting quotes Columbus on this coast,
          Producing gems of which a king might boast.
          More splendid far than ever Aaron wore,
          Within his breast this sacred father bore,
          Sound doctrine, Urim, in his holy cell,
          And all perfections, Thummim, there did dwell.
          His holy vesture was his innocence;
          His speech, embroideries of curious sense.
          Such awful gravity this doctor used,
          As if an angel every word infused;
          No turgent style, but Asiatic lore;
          Conduits were almost full, seldom run o'er
          The banks of time - come visit when you will,
          The streams of nectar were descending still.
          Much like semtemfluous Nilus, rising so,
          He watered Christians round, and made them grow.
          His modest whispers, could the conscience reach,
          As well as whirlwinds, which some others preach.
          No Boanerges, yet could touch the heart,
          And clench his doctrine with the meekest art.
          His learning and his language might become
          A province not inferior to Rome.
          Glorious was Europe's heaven, when such as these,
          Stars of his size, shone in each diocese.

             Who writ'st the fathers' lives, either make room,
          Or with his name begin your second tome.
          Aged Polycarp, deep Origen, and such,
          Whose worth your quills, your wits not then enrich;
          Lactantius, Cyprian, Basil, too, the great,
          Quaint Jerorne Austin, of the foremost seat,
          With Ambrose, and more of the highest class
          In Christ's great school, with honor I let pass,
          And humbly pay my debt to Whiting's ghost,
          Of whom both Englands may with reason boast.
          Nations for men of lesser worth have strove
          To have the fame, and in transports of love
          Built temples, or fixed statues of pure gold,
          And their vast worth to after ages told.
          His modesty forbade so fair a tomb,
          Who in ten thousand hearts obtained a room.

             What sweet composure in his angel face!
          What soft affections! melting gleams of grace!
          How mildly pleasant! by his closed lips
          Rhetoric's bright body suffers an eclipse.
          Should half his sentences be fairly numbered,
          And weighed in wisdom's scales, 'twould spoil a Lombard,
          And churches' homilies but homily be,
          If, venerable Whiting, set by thee.
          Profoundest judgment, with a meekness rare,
          Preferred him to the moderator's chair,
          Where, like truth's champion, with his piercing eye,
          He silenced errors, and bade Hectors fly.
          Soft answers quell hot passions, ne'er too soft,
          Where solid judgment is enthroned aloft.
          Church doctors are my witnesses, that here
          Affections always keep their proper sphere
          Without those wilder eccentricities,
          Which spot the fairest fields of men most wise.
          In pleasant places fall that people's line,
          Who have but shadows of men thus divine;
          Much more their presence, and heaven piercing prayers,
          Thus many years to mind our soul affairs.

             The poorest soil oft has the richest mine!
          This weighty ore, poor Lynn, was lately thine.
          O, wondrous mercy! but this glorious light
          Hath left thee in the terrors of the night.
          New England, didst thou know this mighty one,
          His weight and worth, thou'dst think thyself undone.
          One of thy golden chariots, which among
          The clergy rendered thee a thousand strong;
          One who for learning, wisdom, grace, and years,
          Among the Levites, hath not many peers;
          One, yet with God, a kind of heavenly band,
          Who did whole regiments of woes withstand;
          One that prevailed with heaven; one greatly mist
          On earth, he gained of Christ whate'er he list;
          One of a world, who was both born and bred
          At wisdom's feet, hard by the fountain's head.
          The loss of such a one would fetch a tear
          From Niobe herself, if she were here.
          What qualifies our grief, centres in this;
          Be our loss ne'er so great, the gain is his.

     The following epitaph has been applied to him by Mr. Mather.
          In Christo vixi morior, vivoque, Whitingus;
          Do sordes morti, cetera, O Christe, tibi, do.

          In Christ I lived and died, and yet I live;
          My dust to earth, my soul to Christ, I give.

     Mr. Whiting published the following pamphlets and books.
     1. A Latin Oration, delivered at Cambridge, on Commencement day, 1649.
     2. A Sermon, preached before the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company, at Boston, 1660.
     3. 'A Discourse of the Last Judgment, or Short Notes upon Matthew 25, from verse 31 to the end of the chapter, concerning the Judgment to come, and our preparation to stand before the great Judge of quick and dead; which are of sweetest comfort to the elect sheep, and a most dreadful amazement and terror to reprobate goats.' Cambridge, 1664, 12mo. 160 pages.
     4. 'Abraham's Humble Intercession for Sodom, and the Lord's Gracious Answer in Concession thereto.'  Cambridge, 1666, 12mo. 349 pages. From this work the following extracts are taken.
     'What is it to draw nigh to God in prayer? It is not to come with loud expressions, when we pray before Him. Loud crying in the ears of God, is not to draw near to God. They are nearer to God, that silently whisper in His ears and tell Him what they want, and what they would have of Him. They have the King's ear, not that call loudest, but those that speak softly to him, as those of the council and bed chamber. So they are nearest God, and have His ear most, that speak softly to Him in prayer.
     'In what manner are we to draw nigh to God in prayer? In sincerity, with a true heart. Truth is the Christian soldier's girdle. We must be true at all times; much more, when we fall upon our knees and pray before the Lord.
     'We, in this country, have left our near relations, brothers, sisters, fathers' houses, nearest and dearest friends; but if we can get nearer to God here, He will be instead of all, more than all to us. He hath the fulness of all the sweetest relations bound up in Him. We may take that out of God, that we forsook in father, mother, brother, sister, and friend, that hath been as near and dear as our own soul.
     'Even among the most wicked sinners, there may be found some righteous; some corn among the chaff - some jewels among the sands - some pearls among a multitude of shells.
     'Who hath made England to differ from other nations, that more jewels are found there than elsewhere? or what hath that Island that it hath not received? The East and West Indies yield their gold, and pearl, and sweet spices; but I know where the golden, spicy, fragrant Christians be - England hath yielded these. Yet not England, but the grace of God, that hath been ever with them. We see what hope we may have concerning New England; though we do not deserve to be named the same day with our dear mother.'
     In enumerating the evils with which the people of New England were obliged to contend, he says, it is cause 'for humiliation, that our sins have exposed us to live among such wicked sinners,' with whom he ranks 'Atheists and Quakers.'
     Mr. Whiting married two wives in England. By his first wife he had three children. Two of them were sons, who, with their mother, died in England. The other was a daughter, who came with her father to America, and married Mr. Thomas Weld, of Roxbury.
     His second wife was Elizabeth St. John of Bedfordshire, to whom he was married in 1630. She was a daughter of Oliver St. John, Chief Justice of England in the time of Oliver Cromwell. She came to Lynn with her husband, and died on the third of March, 1677, aged 72 years. She was a woman of uncommon piety, seriousness, and discretion; and not only assisted her husband in writing his sermons, but by her care and prudence relieved him from all attention to temporal concerns. By her he had six children; four sons and two daughters. One daughter married the Rev. Jeremiah Hobart of Topsfield; and one son and one daughter died at Lynn. The other three sons received an education at Cambridge.
     1. Rev. Samuel Whiting, Jr., was born in England, 1633. He studied with his father, at Lynn, and graduated at Cambridge, in 1653. He was ordained minister of Billerica, 11 November, 1663; preached the Artillery Election Sermon, in 1682; and died 28 February, 1713, aged 79 years. The name of his wife was Dorcas, and he had ten children. 1. Elizabeth. 2. Samuel. 3. Rev. John, minister at Lancaster; where he was killed by the Indians, 11 September, 1697, at the age of 33. 4. Oliver. 5. Dorothy. 6. Joseph. 7. James. 8. Eunice. 9. Benjamin. 10. Benjamin, again.
     2. Rev. John Whiting, graduated at Cambridge, in 1653. He returned to England, became a minister of the Church, and died at Leverton, in Lincolnshire, October 11, 1689, very extensively respected.
     3. Rev. Joseph Whiting, graduated in 1661. He was ordained at Lynn, 6 October, 1680, and soon after removed to Southampton, on Long Island. He married Sarah Danforth, of Cambridge, daughter of Thomas Danforth, Deputy Governor. He had six children, born at Lynn. 1. Samuel, born 3 July, 1674. 2. Joseph, born 22 November, 1675. 3. Joseph, born 8 May, 1677. 4. Thomas, born 20 May, 1678. 5. Joseph, born 14 January 1680. 6. John, born 20 January 1681. All except the first and sixth, died within a few weeks of their birth.
     Of the descendants of Mr. Whiting, now living, are the Rev. Samuel Whiting, minister at Billerica; and Henry Whiting, a major in the service of the United States, and author of a beautiful little Indian tale, entitled Ontwa, or the Son of the Forest.

     1680.    On the sixth of October, Mr. Jeremiah Shepard was ordained pastor, and Mr. Joseph Whiting teacher, of the church at Lynn.
     On the eighteenth of November, a very remarkable comet made its appearance, and continued about two months. The train was thirty degrees in length, very broad and bright, and nearly attained the zenith. A memorandum, on a Bible leaf, thus remarks: 'A blazing star, at its greatest height, to my apprehension, terrible to behold.' It was regarded by most people with fear, as the sign of some great calamity. This was the comet on which Sir Isaac Newton made his interesting observations. While the party, who were predominent in religious affairs, were noting every misfortune which befell those of a different opinion, as the judgments of God; they, on the other hand, regarded the earthquakes, the comets, and the blighting of the wheat, as manifestations of his displeasure against their persecutors.
     Dr. Philip Read, of Lynn, complained to the court, at Salem, of Mrs. Margaret Gifford, as being a witch. She was a respectable woman, and wife of Mr. John Gifford, formerly agent for the Iron Works. The complainant said, 'he verily believed that she was a witch, for there were some things which could not be accounted for by natural causes.' Mrs. Gifford gave no regard to her summons, and the Court very prudently suspended their inquiries.
     ' We present the wife of John Davis, of Lynn, for breaking her husband's head with a quart pot."  Essex Court Rec.

     1681.    In town meeting, on the second of March, the people voted, that Mr. Shepard should be allowed eighty pounds, lawful money, a year, for his salary; one third of which was to be paid in money, and the other two thirds in articles of domestic production at stipulated prices. Besides the salary, a contribution was to be kept open.

     1682.   The meetinghouse was this year removed from Shepard street to the centre of the common, and rebuilt. It was fifty feet long, and forty-four wide. It had folding doors on three sides, without porches. The top of each door was formed into two semicircular arches. The windows consisted of small diamond panes set in sashes of lead. The floor was at first supplied with seats; and pews were afterward separately set up by individuals, as they obtained permission of the town. By this means the interior came at length to present a singular appearance. Some of the pews were large, and some small; some square, and some oblong; some with seats on three sides, and some with a seat on one side; some with small oak panels, and some with large pine ones; and most of them were surmounted by a little balustrade, with small columns, of various patterns, according to the taste of the proprietors. Most of the square pews had a chair in the centre, for the comfort of the old lady or gentleman, the master or mistress of the family, by whom it was occupied. One pew, occupied by black people, was elevated above the stairs in one corner, near to the ceiling.  The galleries were extended on three sides, supported by six oak columns, and guarded by a turned balustrade. They were ascended by two flights of stairs, one in each corner, on the south side. The pulpit was on the north side, and sufficiently large to contain ten persons. The top of the room was unceiled for many years, and exhibited enormous beams of oak, traversing the roof in all directions. The light from the diamond windows in the gables shining down upon the great oak beams, presented quite a picturesque appearance. The roof presented four pediments; and was surmounted by a cupola, with a roof in the form of an inverted tunnel. It had a small bell, which was rung by a rope descending in the centre of the room. The town meetings continued to be held in this house till 1806. A sketch of this building, drawn before its form was changed, may be seen on page 99.

     1683.    This year, the heirs of Major Thomas Savage sold the six hundred acres, called Hammersmith, or the lands of the Iron Works, to Samuel Appleton, who thus became possessed of the whole property. In 1688, he sold the whole to James Taylor, of Boston, who was the last proprietor of the Iron Works of whom I have found any record. They probably ceased operations about this time.

     1684.   A letter written at Haverhill, this year, by N. Saltonstall, to the captain of a militia company, thus proceeds: 'I have orders, also, to require you to provide a flight of colors for your foot company, the ground field or flight whereof is to be green, with a red cross in a white field in the angle, according to the ancient custom of our own English nation, and the English plantations in North America, and our own practice in our ships. This was the American standard, till the stripes and stars were introduced, in 1776.

     1685.   The following singular deposition is transcribed from the files of the Quarterly Court, and is dated July 1, 1685:
     'The deposition of Joseph Farr, and John Burrill, junior, testifieth and saith, that they being at the house of Francis Burrill, and there being some difference betwixt Francis Burrill and Benjamin Farr, and we abovesaid understanding that the said Benjamin Farr had been a suitor to Elizabeth Burrill, the daughter of Francis Burrill, and he was something troubled that Benjamin had been so long from his daughter, and the said Francis Burrill told the said Benjamin Farr that if he had more love to his marsh, or to any estate of his, than to his daughter, he should not go into his house; for he should be left to his liberty; he should not be engaged to any thing more than he was freely willing to give his daughter, if he had her; and this was about two days before they was married.'
     At a town meeting, on the first of December, the people voted, that no inhabitant should cut any green tree upon the common lands, which was less than one foot in diameter.
     The following petition of some of the inhabitants of Lynn, for a remuneration of their services in the Wampanoag war, was presented this year.
     'To the Honoured Governor and Company, the General Court of the Massachusetts Bay, that is to be assembled the 27 May, 1685, the humble petition of several inhabitants of Lynn, who were sold, impressed, and sent forth for the service of the country, that was with the Indians in the long march in the Nipmugg country, and the fight at the fort in Narragansett, humbly showeth, That your petitioners did, in obedience unto the authority which God hath set over them, and love to their country, leave their deare relations, some of us our dear wives and children, which we would have gladly remained at home, and the bond of love and duty would have bound us to choose rather soe to have done considering the season and time of the year, when that hard service was to be performed. But your petitioners left what was dear to them, and preferred the publique weal above the private enjoyments, and did cleave thereunto, and exposed ourselves to the difficulties and hardships of the winter, as well as the dangers of that cruel warr, with consideration to the enemy. What our hardships and difficulties were is well known to some of your worships, being our honoured magistrates, as also what mercy it was from the Lord, who alone preserved us, and gave us our lives for a prey, by leading us through such imminent dangers, whereby the Lord gave us to see many of our dear friends lose their blood and life, which might have been our case, but that God soe disposed toward us deliverance and strength to returne to our homes, which we desire to remember and acknowledge to his most glorious praise. But yet, we take the boldnes to signifie to this honored Court, how that service was noe whitt to our particular outward advantage, but to the contrary, much to our disadvantage. Had we had the liberty of staying at home, as our neighbors had, though we had paid double rates, it would have been to our advantage, as indeed we did pay our properties by our estates in the publick rates to the utmost bounds. Notwithstanding all, yet we humbly conceive, that by the suppression of the enemy which God of his great mercy vouchsafed, wee poor soldiers and servants to the country were instruments to procure much land, which we doubt not shall and will be improved, by the prudence of this honored Court, unto people that need most especially. And we, your poor petitioners, are divers of us in need of land, for want whereof some of us are forced upon considerations of departing this Colony and Government, to seek accommodations whereby the better to maintaine the charge in our families, with our wives and children, and to leave unto them, when the Lord shall take us away by death, which we must expect. And divers of us have reason to fear our days may be much shortened by our hard service in the war, from the pains and aches of our bodies, that we feel in our bones and sinews, and lameness thereby taking hold of us much, especially at the spring and fall, whereby we are hindered and disabled of that ability for our labour which we constantly had, through the mercy of God, before, that served in the warrs. Now, your poore petitioners are hopeful this honored Court will be moved with consideration and some respect to the poor soldiery, and particularly to us, that make bold to prefer our petition, humbly to crave, that we, whose names are hereunto subscribed, may be so graciously considered by this honored Court as to grant us some good tracks of land in the Nipmugg country, where we may find a place for a township, that we, your petitioners, and our posterity may live in the same colony where our fathers did, and left us, and probably many of those who went fellow soldiers in the war may be provided for, and their children also, in the portion of conquered lands their fathers fought for. Your petitioners think it is but a very reasonable request, which will be no way offensive to this honored Court, which, if they shall please to grant unto your petitioners, it will not only be satisfaction to their spirits for their service already done, but be a future obligation to them and theirs after them for future service, and ever to pray.' This petition was signed by twenty-five inhabitants of Lynn, whose names were: William Bassett, John Farrington, Nathaniel Ballard, Timothy Breed, Jonathan Locke, Daniel Johnson, Widow Hathorne, Samuel Tarbox, Samuel Graves, John Edmunds, Samuel Johnson, Daniel Golt, Joseph Hawkes, Andrew Townsend, John Davis, Joseph Collins, Samuel Mower, Robert Potter, senior, Joseph Mansfield, Robert Driver, John Richards, John Lindsey, Philip Kertland, Joseph Breed, Henry Rhodes. It was also signed by sixteen persons of other towns. On the third of June, the Court granted them a tract of land in Worcester county, eight miles square, on condition that thirty families, with an orthodox minister, should settle there within four years.

     1686.   Mr. Oliver Purchis was chosen Town Clerk.
     'A great and terrible drouth, mostly in the 4th month, and continued in the 5th month, with but little rain; but the 18th, being the Sabbath, we had a sweet rain.'
     James Quonopeowit and David Kunkskawmushat, descendants of Nanapashemet, sold a lot of land on the west side of the Iron Works' pond, on the 28th of July, to Daniel Hitchings.

     1687.   At a town meeting on the 15th of February, 'the town voted the Selectmen be a committee to look after encroached lands, or highways, from Francis Burrill's barn to the gate that is by Timothy Breed's, or parcels of land in places least prejudicial to the town, and make good sale of any of them on the Town's behalf, for money to pay the Indians at the time appointed, and the necessary charges of that affair.'
     On the 16th of February, Captain Thomas Marshall exchanged with the town his right in Edward's meadow; and the town, at the request of Mr. Shepard, made a grant of it to the ministry.
     Mr. Shepard kept the school several months this winter. Education, with the children of the early settlers, was a matter of convenience, rather than accomplishment. I have seen the signatures of several hundreds of the first settlers, and have fax similes of many, and they are quite as good as an equal number of signatures taken at random at the present day. But in clearing the forest, and obtaining a subsistence, they had little leisure for their children to spend in study; and a month or two in winter, under the care of the minister, was the principal oppurtunity which they had to obtain the little learning requisite for their future life. The consequence was, that the generations succeeding the early settlers, from 1650 to 1790, were generally less learned than the first settlers, or than those who have lived since the Revolution.

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