Anecdotes paint picture of a spirited history in New England Part 1

Captain J H Berry of Newbury, Massachusetts pressed charges of assault against Mary Bridges. (1822) Madame Bridges ran a “house of ill fame” in Marblehead and Berry was told on good authority he would receive a satisfactory, warm welcome. Berry did not get that lucky. Bridges stabbed him and he almost to bled to death in a snow bank. The police rescued Berry from his frosty condition and arrested Bridges. Bridges demanded a trial and told Judge French that Berry was “noisy and riotous” and got a little too demanding with her ladies. He could not take “NO” for an answer. She threatened harsh measures with him and asserted to take him out with her sword. Bridges testified that she booted him out the door with help from her sister and insisted that Berry must have received the wound trying to get back in through the window. She claimed she had placed a sword in the window for safety precautions. The judge was not buying Madam Bridges story and slapped her with a hefty fine and ordered her to pay Berry for his medical cost.

 
In 1862 The Newburyport Herald pleaded with Amesbury to “ferret out the dastardly and mean rascal” who robbed the celestial garden of poet John Greenleaf Whittier. The county was suffering a record fruit famine. The goblin thief plucked the poets blessed supply. Whittier’s luscious Bartlett pear tree was left barren. The Port editor was waging holy war on the “little imp, without wings.”

          Salem MA resident George Peckham was not aware that Polygamy was a serious offense. The “seven year itch” festering in his marriage to Mary Elizah Mundee needed some scratching. Peckham remedied it by taking another wife. It was not long before Mary got wind of this and turned him in to the authorities.

          Essex County’s Judge Russell was not humored by Peckham’s nonchalant response when he told the court it was a “spur of the moment” thing to marry Ms. Browne. Peckham landed two years in the state prison (1860) for his polygamist ways. 

 Lucy Lambert Hale, daughter of U. S. Senator John Parker Hale and Lucy Hill Lambert caused great scandal for her New England blue blood lines. The Newbury Hales and Rowley Lamberts were buzzing away when Ms. Lucy’s photo was found in the pocket of John Wilkes Booth when he captured and killed on April 26, 1865.

          Lucy's photo was just one of four other women. Booth was quite the piranha when it came to hooking in the ladies. His performance as Romeo had “caused ecstatic flutters from Chicago to Washington.” He was the George Clooney of the day. 

          A strange proclamation of love in a Valentines note came to Lucy from Booth in 1862. Booth’s allure worked on Lucy and soon she was admitted into the Booth Babes Club.    

          Lucy was a looker herself and had captured the hearts of many. Famous poets Oliver Wendall Holmes and William Chandler sang her praises. Robert Todd Lincoln, eldest son of President Lincoln and John Hay, Lincoln's assistant private secretary fancied her as well.

          However, when most were grieving Lincoln’s death, Lucy was mourning for her Booth. A New York Herald reporter wrote that Booth's fiancée, was "plunged in profound grief." John Hale must have used his influence to keep Lucy’s name out of the limelight. The Boston Herald noted, “she is slow to believe him guilty of this appalling crime," and sinks in deep sadness.

          Daniel J Hussey, a 21 year old Port local was left hung out to dry by a “strange lady friend” after a night of heavy petting and drinking. Hussey was found hanging from the window of an unoccupied house nearly frozen to death. He could not recall the events that led him into the position to which he was found. 

           A “maddened” bull escaped the slaughterhouse in Lynnfield. The great bull hunt was made up of police and over 50 local men armed with guns, pistols, and revolvers (1906)

          Although the bull terrorized hundreds until he was caught in Melrose Heights his main target was on selectmen George W Aboott. The Abbott family was big into butchery and the bull apparently had some scores to settle.  

  

 Charles Toothaker, a carriage maker for Sargent & Harlow Co. in Amesbury helped himself to some hot cloth from the factory and sold it in the city. He bought himself a one way ticket down South. (1855). Toothacker fell in love with Virginia and a rich plantation heiress. They were married within weeks. All seemed sweet until Constables Heath and Jones showed up. They tracked him down like blood hounds.
    The constables had Toothaker on the train to transport him north, but hundreds assembled at the depot and threatened to rescue him saying they were really Northern Abolitionist.
    The only way the Yanks could get Toothacker out was through the court. When Judge Riley was given the facts about the theft he ordered Toothacker to be sent back. This would be the last time he would pull the wool over any eyes

          John Baker Keyes, a Wolfe Tavern guest made some juicy headlines. (1918) The 63 year old millionaire tycoon loved the ladies, especially the young ones. But his other love for liquor often left him dry of dames and drunk with remorse.

          Keyes left the Wolfe to meet up with buddies for happy hour at the Harvard Club in Boston. Florence Girardin, a 19 year old Harvard Club elevator operator caught Keyes attention. According to the papers Keyes’ pals said it was love at first sight. Keyes was glowing and over martinis that afternoon he exclaimed: “She is the one for me!”

          After a few weeks of courting it was made public Keyes was taking his new elevator girl to the next level. Keyes proposed to Girardin and showered her with expensive gifts. Keyes’ sister Miriam Hollister, wife of U. S. District Judge Howard Hollister saw the smutty headline in the Society pages a few days later.

          Hollister was not keen on the idea of toasting her brother’s latest romance. She appointed guardian Edgar Stark, officer of the Union Savings Bank to oversee her brother’s affairs.

          Keyes went on a three week bender and by the end he started to become intolerant of the Port’s temperate ways. He arrived at Wolfe intoxicated and demanded a drink. The clerk reminded him it was a “dry” town, but Keyes grew more aggressive. He jumped over the counter and began swinging at the clerk who called in the fuzz. Keyes was taken in custody.  

          Port’s Charles W. Wells, Captain of the Watch told reporters Keyes was acting like a sailor away in some foreign port. Wells said a stint at the Parker House clearly showed Keyes’ erratic behavior.  In a drunken rage over a love affair gone bad he overflowed his bath tub and threw furniture out the window. He made good on the room damage, but left a trail of bad press.

          When the news of Keyes arrest was announced reporters surrounded Girardin like sharks. The feeding frenzy turned to the subject of the families attempt to sabotage the marriage plans. She said, her “family always bore a respectable name,” and “that Stark can not drag her through the mud.” Then, she screamed out: “How do I get to Newburyport! I must go to him!”

          Girardin hopped a cab with brother Earl to rescue her Romeo. However she was too late. While Keyes was passed out Stark checked him out of the Wolfe and escorted him back home to Cincinnati. For weeks she insisted he would return and marry her, but Keyes left his heartbroken elevator love at ground zero. 

         

 When “Bossy” Gillis had his gasoline station license suspended he was not spooked. He trotted past city hall officials and opened up shop with an announcement in the Newburyport Herald: “Ghost Town Horse Taxi—Bossy Gillis, Market Square. No OPA Regulations. Local call 25 cents. Inebriates Free.” (1944)  Middle Photo from Mary Baker Blog

          The Port’s “one armed bandit” case was nothing short of a free handout for Judge Vincent Kelleher. (1955) Charles W. G. Lamphrey thought he was pulling a fast one by hiding a slot machine in his gasoline shop. However, John Valli and George Perkins decided to steal the cash cow. They carted the machine down the street and were nabbed by some nosey neighbors.

          When the two convicts had their day in court they explained how they planned to break open the slot machine to get the coin. The judge let them out on bail, but hit Lamphrey with a huge fine. Sometimes justice comes through any means.

Dr Thomas Sparhawk Amesbury MA

Dr. Thomas Sparhawk  (1806–1874) was born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. He graduated from Dartmouth and received his medical degree fro Harvard When patients contacted him he did everything he could do to help them. From Legendary Locals of Amesbury By Margie Walker The Sparhawk School Amesbury Massachusetts. From History of Essex County 1874. The death of Dr. Thomas Sparhawk occurred at Newburyport, May 17th. He was a prominent and much beloved physician at Amesbury for many years, removing to the city a short time before his death. He freely gave to all in want, and was ever ready to aid suffering humanity, being truly the "poor man's doctor." A monument was erected over his grave by his friends and very properly inscribed " To the memory of our beloved physician."

From Genealogy Sparhawk Family

Dr. Thomas Sparhawk of Amesbury, was one of poet John Greenleaf Whittier's life-long friends. In a letter from Dr. Holmes he wrote: Whittier spoke to me most emphatically of my fellow-student and brother physician, the late Thomas Sparhawk, as one of the best men he ever knew. Dr. Sparhawk was a member of a very limited society of Christians, best known to many persons as the church which claimed the allegiance of that great philosopher and admirable man, Michael Faraday.

While gathering grapes in an arbor in this garden, in 1847, Mr. Whittier received a bullet wound in the cheek. Two boys were firing at a mark on the grounds of a neighbor, and this mark was near where Whittier stood, but on account of a high fence they did not see him. When the bullet struck him, he was concerned his mother should be alarmed by the accident that he said nothing, not even notifying the boys. He bound up his bleeding face in a handkerchief, and called on Dr. Sparhawk, who lived near.  As soon as the wound was dressed, he came home and gave his family their first notice of the accident. The boys had not then learned the result of their carelessness. The lad who fired the gun was named Philip Butler, and he has since acquired a high reputation as an artist. The painting representing the Haverhill homestead which is to be seen at the birthplace was executed by this artist. He tells of the kindness with which Whittier received his tearful confession. It was during the first days of the Mexican war, and some of the papers humorously commented upon it as a singular fact that the first blood drawn was from the veins of a Quaker who had so actively opposed entering upon that war.
From History of Amesbury by Joseph Merrill

Peaslee family Quaker Roots

The American family was founded in Massachusetts about 1635 and from there has spread to every state and territory in the Union. Many distinguished men have borne the name or inherited the blood through intermarriage. One of the latter is John Greenleaf Whittier, the poet. Two governors of New Hampshire have borne the name, a chief justice of the Massachusetts supreme court and several members of congress. Few men have attained higher honor in the medical profession than Dr. Edmund Randolph Peaslee 1814-1878, of New York City, while judges, clergymen, lawyers, physicians, educators, eminent business men and farmers may be named without number. The family furnished its full quota of soldiers to the revolutionary army (although many were Quakers), and in the "Anti Rent" war that raged in the counties of the Mohawk valley.  Provincial and State Papers, Volume 13

Thomas Peaslee was a strong, fearless leader and to his wise council and grim determination to never yield may be largely attributed the successful result of the strife in Schoharie county. See home picture above.

Whoever opens for examination the old book of town records of Haverhill, Massachusetts, will find on one of its first pages, "Joseph Peasley and Mary, Joseph, born September 9, 1641," and further search will disclose repeated mention of Joseph Peasley, father and son, through the records of three-quarters of a century. Joseph Peaslee, the emigrant ancestor, came to this country about 1635. Prior to the emigration he married, in Wales, Mary Johnson, daughter of a well-to-do farmer who lived near the river Severn, in the western part of England, near the Wales line. The first mention of Joseph Peaslee in Massachusetts is in the records of Newbury, in 1641. He took the freeman's oath, June 22, 1642. He was granted land in Haverhill, March 14, 1645, and subsequent allotments up to 1656. He was a farmer, eminently respectable, of strong character, a self-educated physician, and often mentioned in old records as a "preacher and gifted brother.'' His descendant, the poet John Greenleaf Whittier, speaks of him as the "brave confessor." He was a commissioner of claims and selectman of Haverhill, 1649-50-53. He removed from Haverhill to Salisbury, Massachusetts, to the part called Newtown, now Amesbury.

He was made a "townsman" there July 17, 1656, and granted land; later grants were made in 1657 and 1658. The inhabitants of "Newtown" neglected to attend church worship in the "Old Town" and failed to contribute to the support of the minister. They held meetings for worship in private houses, and having no minister. Joseph Peaslee and Thomas Macy officiated as such; this soon coming to the notice of the general court, who decreed that all the inhabitants of "New Town" should attend church in "Old Town" and also contribute to the support of the minister. All who did not obey were to be fined five shillings unless they had a reasonable excuse. Under the leadership of Peaslee and Macy the people did not heed the "decree" of the general court, nor did the leaders cease preaching although a special fine of five shillings was to be imposed on them for each offense. See Powow Preacher spats with Puritans

OLD GARRISON HOUSE (PEASLEE HOUSE)

In 1658 the general court ordered Joseph Peaslee and Thomas Macy to appear before the next term of said court to answer for their disobedience. This mandate was also unheeded, and Joseph Peaslee continued to preach, with the result that he was fined five shillings per week. While there is no evidence to show that Joseph Peaslee joined the Society of Friends, his friend, Thomas Macy, was prosecuted and fined for allowing four of that sect to take shelter in his house one rainy day for three-quarters of an hour. There was no society of "Friends" organized in New England prior to his death, the early comers being cruelly persecuted and sent back to England. Joseph was opposed to the Puritan church in his religious convictions, hence his disregard of the orders from the court to conform to the state church. He died December 5, 1660, leaving his wife, Mary, executrix of his estate that was appraised at three hundred and sixty-four pounds. In 1662 she was granted one hundred and eight acres of land in Salisbury. She died in Haverhill in 1694.

Children: Jane, married, December 10, 1646, John Davis, and settled at Oyster river. New Hampshire (now Durham). 2. Mary, married a lawyer, Joseph Whittier, and lived at Newbury. 3. Elizabeth, no record of her ever having married. 4. Sarah, married Thomas Barnard (2), April 12, 1664; lived at Amesbury. 5. Joseph.From Records--- Joseph Peasley Sen. died in 1660. Joseph Peasley Jr. was not of age in 1666. He was granted a "township '' in Amesbury in 1660, but lived in Haverhill after he became of age. November 1660: The last Will and Testament of Josef Peasly is that my debts shall be payedout of my Estate and the remainder estate----my debts being payed I doo give and bequeath unto Mary my wife During her life and I doo my daffter Sara all my hous and lands that I have at Salisbury and I doo give unto Josef my sonne all my land that I have upon the plain at Haverhil and doo give unto Josef my sonne all my medo ling in East medo at Haverhil and doo give unto Josef my sonne five shares of the common rites that doo belong to me on the plain. I doo give unto my daffter Elizabeth my fourty fower acres of upland ling westwards of Haverhil and doo give unto my dattfer Elizabeth fower acres and a half of medo ling in the---- at Haverhil and doo allso give my daffter Elizabeth fower of the common rites that doo belong to the plain and doo give unto daffter Jean fower shillings and to my daffter Mary Fower shillings. I doo give unto Sara Saier my grandchild my upland and medo ling in -----medo.
And I doo give unto my sonne Josef all the remainder of my land at Haverhil which is not herein disposed of. I doo allso make Mary my wiff my Soule executrer and doo allso leave Josef my sonne and the estate I have given him to my wiff to poss on till Josef my sonne be twenty years of age."

"Joseph Peaslee, called 'Junior', was but twelve years old when his father died. He and his family lived in the "eastern part of the town near the head of what is now (1977) East Broadway on the side towards the Merrimack River". The house he erected prior to 1675 on the County Bridge road This house became known as the "Peaslee Garrison" 790 East Broadway, Haverhill. It was used as a sort of armory at one time and was constructed with bricks imported from England. (An interesting sidenote is that Robert Hastings , the mason who built the house, had a daughter, Elisabeth, who later married Joseph's son, Joseph.) The house is 2 stories high and has 3 rooms upstairs and 3 rooms downstairs. A chimney is located at each end of the house. During King Philip's War the home was used as a garrison house where soldiers were stationed and people could flee if need be.

In 1692, he was granted "the privilege of erecting a sawmill at the head of east meadow river upon the stream by or near Brandy Row." The mill was built in 1693 and the site later became known as ‘Peaslees Mills’. A ‘Peaslee’ occupied it until 1860. Joseph sold 25% of the mill to Simon Wainwright in 1693/4 for 110 pounds.
'Junior' was said to have been a physician and was called 'Doctor'. He was known locally as a ‘physician’ who had much knowledge of herbs and roots and used them to aid people medically.The amount of property enumerated in his will would constitute a well-to-do man, even of today. He also had a second wife, a Mary Tucker, the widow of Stephen Davis. His daughter, Mary, became the grandmother of John Greenleaf Whittier, a famous American poet.

More info from William Richard Cutter Genealogical and Family History of Western New York: A Record of the Achievements of Her People in the Making of a Commonwealth and the Building of a Nation, Volume 1

Dr. Joseph Peaslee, was born at Haverhill, Massachusetts, September 9, 1646, died there March 21, 1734. Prior to his father's death in 1660 he was granted "Children's Land" and October 10, 1660, a "township," the latter a term used to indicate prospective rights. About 1673 he built his house in East Haverhill near "Rocks Bridge," spanning the Merrimac. using bricks brought from England. It was of two stories with a wing and was widely known as the "Peaslee Garrison House." The building is yet in a good state of repair, one of the landmarks of the Merrimac valley and of great interest to antiquarians. The house famed in prose and poetry was originally built by Dr. Peaslee as a refuge for women and children from the Indians, and was used as a garrison house in the French and Indian and King Philip's wars. The first Quaker meetings in that part of the country were held at this house, Dr. Peaslee becoming a convert and joining the meeting. This was in 1699 after the town had refused them the use of the meeting house. In 1687 he was chosen constable, having taken the oath of fidelity and allegiance in 1677.

In 1692 he was granted the privilege of erecting a sawmill. The mill was built the next year and for one hundred and fifty years thereafter was owned wholly or in part in the Peaslee name. He was a large landowner, by grants, inheritance and purchase. He was noted as a physician, was selectman of Haverhill, 1689-90 and in 1721 was again chosen constable.

He married, January 21, 1671, Ruth, born October 16, 1651, died November 5, 1723, daughter of Thomas and Eleanor M. Barnard. Her father, one of the first settlers of Amesbury, was killed by the Indians in 1677. Dr. Peaslee married (second) Widow Mary (Tucker) Davis, daughter of Morris and Elizabeth (Gill) Tucker, and widow of Stephen Davis. Children of first wife: 1. Mary, born July 14, 1672; married, May 24, 1694, Joseph Whittier, youngest son of Thomas and Ruth (Green) Whittier. Joseph and Mary are the great-grandparents of John Greenleaf Whittier, the poet. 2. Joseph, born July 19, 1674: married Elizabeth Hastings, and settled in Salem, New Hampshire. 3. Robert, born February 3, 1677; married (first) Alice Currier: (second) Ann Sargeant. He lived on the old homestead and was prominent in church and town. 4. John, of further mention. 5. Nathaniel, born June 25, 1682. He and Robert Peaslee were members of the famous "land syndicate" of four hundred members, whose transactions and lawsuits would fill many volumes; was for nine years a representative in the Massachusetts house of assembly and for many years held the highest office in the town of Haverhill. He married (first) Judith Kimball: (second) Mrs. Abraham Swan; (third) Mrs. Martha Hutchins. 6. Ruth, torn February 25, 1684. 7. Ebenezer, died young. 8. Sarah, born August 15, 1690.

John, fourth child and third son of Dr. Joseph (2) and Ruth (Barnard) Peaslee, was born in Haverhill, Massachusetts, February 25, 1679, died in Newton, New Hampshire, in 1752. He moved from Haverhill to Newton, New Hampshire, about 1715, settling in the southern part nf the town. The first "Friends meeting" in Newton was held in John Peaslee's home, later a meeting house was built, and a burying ground located near by. He and his numerous family were all members of the Newton meeting. He was a prominent man in town and church affairs and highly respected. He married (first), March 1, 1705, Mary Martin, at the house of Thomas Barnard, "where a meeting was held for the occasion." Mary was a daughter of John, son of George and Susanna (North) Martin. Susanna North Martin, after the death of her husband, George Martin, was arrested for witchcraft, April 30, 1692, tried at Salem, June 29, and executed July 19, 1692. The story of the grief and suffering of her daughter is told by Whittier in his poem "The Witch's Daughter." A full account of the trial is found in "Merrill's History of Amesbury." John Peaslee married (second), August 18, 1745, Mary Newbegin, a widow, of Hampton, New Hampshire, and a minister of the society of Friends.

Children of first wife: 1. Joseph, born March 7, 170—; married Martha Hoag; twelve children. 2. John, born December 9, 1707; married Lydia ;ten children. 3. Sarah, born February 30, 1708-09; married Peter Morrill. 4. Mary, married, August 1, 1745. Fliphalet Hoyte. 5. Jacob, born May 1, 1710: married Hulda Brown; one child. 6. Nathan, born September 20,1711; married Lydia Gove; nine children. 7. Ruth, born 1712. 8. David, born April 3, 1713; married Rachel Straw: eleven children. 9. Moses, born 1714: married Mary Gove; ten children. 10. James, born 1715; married Abigail Johnson; seven children, it. Ebenezer, the founder of the family in New York state. This large family all married and had children. Various records give names and dates of the birth of ninetyeight grandchildren, while the sons of John Peaslee had two hundred and eighty-four grandchildren. The daughters had twenty-nine children, but there is no record kept of their grandchildren.

Ebenezer, youngest child of John and Mary (Martin) Peaslee, was born about 1717. He settled first in Newton, New Hampshire, later removing to New York state, settling near Quaker Hill, Dutchess county, about four miles east of Pawling station on the Harlem railroad. Here, in the large Quaker burying ground, he is buried with his wife. His removal from the Hampton, New Hampshire, (Newton) meeting is shown by his removal  More info Harvard Quaker History

John B. Peaslee

Benjamin Dodge Peaslee Physician. Hillsborough Bridge born in Weare, New Hampshire, April 18, 1857, son of Robert and Persis Boardman (Dodge) Peaslee. He is a descendant of Joseph and Mary Peaslee, who came from England in 1638 and settled in Newbury, Massachusetts. He pursued his professional studies in the Boston University Medical School, in the Pulte Medical College, Cincinnati, Ohio, and in the New York Ophthalmic College and Hospital. In 1879, he began practice at Meredith, New Hampshire, and practiced for a time in Bradford and Concord, New Hampshire, and Melrose, Massachusetts. For two years he was Superintendent of the dry-goods house of Houghton & Dutton, Boston, Massachusetts. Owing to ill health, he was obliged to give up active practice and business life, and now resides in Hillsborough Hridge, and devotes his time to special work of the eye and ear, being obliged to spend" the winters in the South. He is a lover of fine horses and of all outdoor sports, especially trout fishing, and is well acquainted with all the brooks in the vicinity. He is a member of Melrose Club, of Melrose, Massachusetts, and of the New Hampshire Medical Society. He is a Mason, a member of Harmony Lodge No. 38, and of Woods Chapter No. 14. Royal Arch Masons. Dr. Peaslee was married February 11, 1880, to Alice M. Hammond, and June 1 1. 1889, to Hattie Dutton. He has one son: Karl Hammond Peaslee, born January 7, 1881.

Amos Peaslee

Haverhill History