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Showing posts with label Trask. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Trask. Show all posts

Sunday, March 22, 2015

My Quaker ancestors: A Story of the Early Quaker Trials

There is a people not so rigid as others are at Boston and there are great desires among them after the Truth. Some there are, as I hear, convinced who meet in silence at a place called Salem."-Henry Fell (in a letter dated 1656) June 27, 1658 


Sketch from History of Salem Sidney Perley Phelps Farm

      It was a warm, sunny morning. Three men made their way through Salem Woods to a Quaker meeting at the farm of Nicolas and Hannah Phelps, tucked away some five miles from the Puritan meeting house. Robert Adams of Newbury, familiar with the road, carefully led two men, William Ledra and William Brend, welcomed missionaries from the Barbados.
     Hannah and Nicolas Phelps arranged the meeting for the same hour as the Puritan church service in order to dodge any interruptions, and they had good reasons. The Quaker group was already under the watchful eyes of local officials who warned them to return to the true church. William Hathorne had recently issued an order to his deputies: “You are required by virtue hereof, to search all suspicious houses for private meetings, and if they refuse to open the doors you are to break open the door down upon them, and return all names to ye Court.”
     The brilliant rays of sun grew stronger and warmer as Robert and the two missionaries approached the generous, open landscape of the Phelps farm. Robert Adams surveyed the copasetic surroundings and smiled wryly - this place was the perfect gathering spot for the followers of the Light, just far enough from Hathorne and his colleagues.
 

     However, William Hathorne was interrupted during Sunday service that morning with news of a “disorderly meeting taking place.” The agitated magistrate immediately dispatched Edmund Batter, James Underwood, and John Smith to the Phelps home to interrogate the offenders. He leaned into Batter with a hard, directive tone. “Clean out those heretics and bring them to me. But Batter, not all at once … Cage a few, summons the rest for court.”
     Heavy hooves pounded with authority as the determined constables made tracks toward the Phelps house. The tranquil energy of the group shifted as the herd of intruders grew closer. Margaret let out a terrified shriek when she heard the loud command from outside.
     “Break it down.” It was her husband, John Smith. The axe worked fast and the splintered door flung open. Batter entered first, followed by his fellow ferreters. John Smith lunged toward Hannah like a rabid animal, but she did not flinch.
     Stepping back, she said, “Pray ye, John, what right have you to be here and lose thy temper quick, or do you mean to spoil God’s worship?” Smith, bug-eyed with fury, began shouting obscenities. Everyone stood motionless, everyone except Hannah, whose fiery spirit could not resist a verbal assault.
     They plunged into a hot spurred argument, but Batter feared that if he did not gain control quickly, the others would engage. He grabbed John and asserted, “Save her for later, Smith. She will soon be shackled in body and mouth.”
     Smith’s heated state began to temper, and he scanned the room for Margaret. “Get home, woman," he commanded. "You disobey me and God … I may not fix your unlawful state.”
     Batter speedily confined the rest of the group and ordered them to line up outside. He then carefully chose whom he would haul in, following Hathorne’s instructions. He knew maintaining order mandated a delicate formula, so he took nineteen to the jail and let the rest go with a summons to appear in court in two days' time.
     While the constables broke up the meeting, Adams skillfully shuffled the two Williams out the back door and cautiously led them to the stalls. From there, they managed to vanish into the thick woods, but the ride back to Newbury did not take them down the same majestic path on which they arrived. Instead, Adams chose a dense growth of unmarked forest that provided a safe fortress for a brief time.
     Hathorne sent orders to Captain William Gerrish, the elected townsmen in Newbury, to search the home of Robert Adams in order to apprehend Leddra and Brend. Gerrish was an excellent candidate for the job; he already had the trust and favor of Adams
.

Grave of Robert Adams in Newbury MA from Life from the Roots Barbara Poole 

     William Gerrish made his way to the Adams' home with Reverend Timothy Farrell. He intended to resolve the situation amicably. Gerrish had a congenial history with Adams - their wives were friends, their children played together, and they shared a good working relationship, both in private and public office. Gerrish knew Adams favored the Quaker faith, and he was not the only one - several folks in Newbury were dissatisfied with public worship. Thomas Parker, the former minister, was forced to resign, and Newbury had not yet appointed a replacement.
     As Gerrish approached the home, the playful laughter of Adams’ children echoed from the front yard all the way to the meadow marsh. Gerrish spotted Hannah and Elizabeth sitting on lawn, arranging fresh cut wild flowers. Gerrish waved and both women smiled.
     Gerrish felt anxious; he never thought he would be visiting Adams under such unwelcome circumstances. However, Gerrish was not weak. He knew he had a duty to uphold the law. As the men stepped up to the entryway, Eleanor cheerfully greeted them and then called for her husband, who was in the back room with Leddra and Brend. Robert received them and introductions were made.
     Gerrish reached into his pocket for the dreaded documents. “Robert, I have a summons for William Leddra and William Brend to appear tomorrow in Salem. I promise no harm will come to anyone, but we will need to have the minister here ask them some questions.”
     “What questions do you have? Please sit and I will have Eleanor bring some refreshments,” replied Robert.
     “That would be most welcome, Robert, and Mr. Leddra and Mr. Brend, do you agree to…”
 

     Raising his hand, the irritated minister interrupted Gerrish. “This is official business. These two men are well known Quakers and have come here to defy our ways and our God!”
     Robert ordered the minister out immediately, telling Gerrish he could stay, but only to confer with his guests. Gerrish realized that Robert would not cooperate as fully as he had hoped. Leddra and Brend quickly announced they would leave town, but when they attempted to go in peace, Gerrish followed, pleading that no harm would befall them if they turned themselves in. Gerrish was not aware that the Salem constables had already surrounded the Adams' home - he was merely a means to trap these men.

The Sentencing
"The hat choketh because it telleth tales. It telleth what people are; it marketh men for separatists; it is a blowing a trumpet, and visibly crossing the world; and this, the fear of man cannot abide. My hat, is plain. Thine is adorned with ribbons and feathers. The only difference between our religions lies in the ornaments which have been added to thine." - George Fox, Quaker June 29, 1658 - John Gendry Tavern, Salem



          The court magistrates assigned that day were Simon Bradstreet, General Dan Dennison, and Major William Hathorne. The men and women apprehended and summonsed at the alleged Quaker meeting arrived at Gendry's Tavern to face charges. As they entered, Robert Lord, Clerk of Courts, announced, “Persons who had attended a meeting on the preceding Sabbath, at the residence of Nicholas Phelps, in Salem, are brought before this County Court.” The men filed in wearing their hats according to Quaker custom. Edmund Batter forcefully removed their headwear, not about to entertain their unorthodox notions of equality.
      Simon Bradstreet, anxious to interrogate the instigators, signaled Robert Lord to bring Brend and Leddra before him. Lord announced them: “William Brend and William Leddra, who belonged to the Island of Barbados, but had come from England, approach.”
     Bradstreet began his inquiry. “Why and what for do you come to these parts?”
      Brend stepped forward and answered, “To seek a Godly seed that the Lord required, and to make passage to New England with the encouragement that our mission should be prospered.”
      From the back of the room, one of the accused, Samuel Shaddock, stood up and asked, "How might you know a Quaker?"
     Bradstreet replied, “Thou art one for coming with thy hat on.”
Shaddock responded indignantly, "It was a horrible thing to make such cruel laws, to whip and cut off ears, to bore fiery rods through the tongue, simply for not putting off their hat.”
     Leddra humbly approached the bench and requested permission to address the court. “You seem to be convinced we are evil criminals. Perhaps you should send some of these magistrates to our meetings, so that they might hear and give account of what is done and spoken, rather than draw conclusions about that which you are unfamiliar with." 

      Judge Dennison responded, "If you meet together without an ordained minister and sit in silence, we may still conclude that you speak blasphemy, for men of the cloth are God's voice and chosen leaders.” Denninson motioned for Leddra to sit down. “Now, Mr. Lord, I wish to see Nicholas Phelps.”
     Nicholas stood up and cautiously stepped up to the bench. Bradstreet read his charges. “Nicolas Phelps, you are charged for siding with the Quakers, possessing written material that denies the God-elected magistrates and ministers, holding a forbidden meeting, and absenting yourself from the public ordinances.”
     Nicholas nodded.
     Bradstreet then asked, “Mr. Phelps, do you now openly profess yourself a Quaker, as you had removed your hat when you came in here?’
     Nicholas shook his head affirmatively.
     Bradstreet continued his line of questioning. “I have here a pamphlet found in your home, advocating this said heresy. Is it yours?”
     Nicholas nodded and replied, “If you prosecute me for keeping on my hat, could not you bring yourself to come and join us as William Leddra asked of you, so you may make a decision after you witness our worship?”
     Dennison broke in and responded, “As I told you all before, you and we are not able to live together, and at present, the power is in our hands, and therefore you must bend to our will!”
     Provided Southwick stood up and traced the row of magistrates with an outstretched finger, shouting, “You are nothing more than a band of merciless persecutors!”
      Denninson pounded his fist on the table, his face flushed with anger. After scanning the room, he belted out, “You Quakers bring forth blasphemies at your meetings, and for these transgressions, will incur punishments far beyond fines and fees, unless you renounce your heretic ways and return to the true church, or move out of this jurisdiction. The court will now deliberate and resume shortly to deliver your sentences." 

     When the court reconvened, not one of the accused chose to renounce their newfound faith. Therefore, Robert Lord read the sentences as prepared by the magistrates. William Brend and William Leddra were to be confined at the Boston Gaol. Nicholas Phelps was fined 40 shillings for defending a Quaker writing and for holding the meeting at his house. He was also whipped for wearing his hat in court and sentenced to the House of Corrections in Ipswich for an indefinite period.
     Joshua Buffam, Samuel Gaskin, Lawrence Southwick, Samuel Shaddock, and Josiah Southwick were fined for absence from public ordinance, whipped for wearing their hats in court, and sent to the Boston Gaol. Cassandra Southwick was sentenced with the five men under the same charges, with the exception of the wearing of a hat, and was also whipped. 

     Daniel Southwick, Edward Wharton, Anthony Needham, Robert Buffum, Thomas Bracket, Joseph Pope, Mary Trask, John Hill, Margaret Smith, Hannah Page, and Tasman Buffum were all fined 25 shillings for each absence from public ordinances.
     Provided Southwick was fined 20 shillings for her absences and put in the stocks for one day for charging the magistrates as persecutors. She would also pay 5 shillings to cover the cost of her punishment in the stocks.
     Several of the accused did not appear in court that day, including Robert Adams, Henry Trask, Hannah Phelps, Gertrude Pope, Anne Needham, and Hannah Gardner; however, they were all fined for their absences. Additionally, Adams was fined for harboring Brend and Leddra in his home. 


A few of the court documents and records: 
From Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, Volume 2 published on The University of Virginia site






Hannah Phelps hauled in for making statements against Higgenson. William Flint paid fine. Court 1658. 

From The Annals of Salem

 


Hannah Phelps is banished for attending Mary Dyer trial in 1659.
Phelps family connection with Hawthorne family Hawthorne in Salem
The earliest record of the Phelps family in Salem is when Eleanor Phelps married her second husband, Thomas Trusler. They were members of the first church of Salem in 1639. Trusler was in Salem by 1629 when a kiln for burning bricks and tiles was built, a business he operated until his death in 1654. Eleanor Trusler was taken to court, in April 1644, for her Gortonist opinions, saying "our teacher Mr. Norris taught the people lies."
Governor Winthrop was advised to bind her over to Boston Court as an example others might fear, lest "that heresiee doeth spread which at length may prove dangerous." At the Trusler trial, one Cassandra Southwick testified that Eleanor "did question the government ever since she came." 
Eleanor Trusler died in 1655, and her sons Henry and Nicholas Phelps inherited her farm in West Peabody, Massachusetts. The first meeting of the Friends (Quakers) was held in this house. Nicholas Phelps half of the house and lands were taken for the payment of fines. Batter, the treasurer, apparently turned it over to Nicholas brother, Henry, who owned the other half interest. Henry may have married Batter's sister. Henry sold the entire estate to Joseph Pope on 18 Jul 1664. Many years later, the place returned into the Phelps family and then remained in the family until Francis Phelps took the ancient house down in 1856.
    Brother of Henry and Nicholas, Edward Phelps married Elizabeth Adams, daughter of Robert Adams. They lived in Andover and granddaughter was part of the Salem Witch Trials see Sarah Phelps 

Quaker Cemetery, 1718, Essex Street at Pine Street, Salem, Massachusetts. It is adjacent to the former Quaker Meeting House.

Sunday, August 3, 2014

Quaker Persecutions Colonial New England by Lucius M Sargent

 From Dealings with the Dead Volume 1 By Lucius Manlius Sargent (June 25, 1786 – June 2, 1867) author, antiquarian, and temperance advocate. Son of Daniel Sargent and Mary Turner--great granddaughter of John Turner of Salem who built what would become known as "The House of the Seven Gables."
From No. LXII. (note some spelling is not correct, but recorded as written)
Draco, I think, would have been perfectly satisfied with some portions of the primitive, colonial and town legislation of Massachusetts. Hutchinson, I 436, quotes the following decree— "Captain Stone, for abusing Mr. Ludlow, and calling him Justass, is fined an hundred pounds, and prohibited coming within the patent, without the Governor's leave, upon pain of death." 

Hazard, Hist. Coll. I 630, has preserved a law against the Quakers, published in Boston, by beat of drum. It bears date Oct. 14th, 1656. The preamble is couched, in rather strong language—" Whereas there is a cursed sect of heretics lately risen up in the world, which are commonly called Quakers, who take upon them to be immediately sent of God," &c. The statute inflicts a fine of .£100 upon any person, who brings one of them into any harbor, creek, or cove, compels him to carry such Quaker away—the Quaker to be put in the house of correction, and severely whipped; no person to speak to him. £5 penalty, for importing, dispersing, or concealing any book, containing their "devilish opinions;" 40 shillings for maintaining such opinions. £4 for persisting. House of correction and banishment, for still persisting.
The poor Quakers gave our intolerant ancestors complete vexation. Hazard, II 589, gives an extract from a law, for the special punishment of two of these unhappy people, Peter Pierson and Judah Brown—" That they shall, by the constable of Boston, be forthwith taken out of the prison, and stripped from the girdle upwards, by the executioner, tied to the cart's tail, and whipped through the town, with twenty stripes; and then carried to Roxbury, and delivered to the constable there, who is also to tie them, or cause them to be tied, in like manner, to the cart's tail, and again whip them through the town with ten stripes; and then carried to Dedham, and delivered to the constable there, who is again, in like manner, to cause them to be tied to the cart's tail, and whipped, with ten stripes, through the town, and thence they are immediately to depart the jurisdiction, at their peril."
The legislative designation of the Quakers was Quaker rogues, heretics, accursed rantors, and vagabonds.
In 1657, according to Hutchinson, I 197, "an additional law was made, by which all persons were subjected to the penalty of 40 shillings, for every hour's entertainment, given to a known Quaker, and every Quaker, after the first conviction, if a man, was to lose an ear, and a second time the other; a woman, each time, to be severely whipped; and the third time, man or woman, to have their tongues bored through, with a red-hot iron." In 1658, 10 shillings fine were levied, on every person, present at a Quaker meeting, and £5 for speaking at such meeting. In October of that year, the punishment of death was decreed against all Quakers, returning into the Colony, after banishment. Bishop, in his "New England Judged," says, that the ears of Holden, Copeland, and Rous, three Quakers, were cut off in prison. June 1, 1660, Mary Dyer was hanged for returning, after banishment. Seven persons were fined, some of them .£10 apiece, for harboring, and Edward Wharton whipped, twenty stripes, for piloting the Quakers. Several persons were brought to trial—" for adhering to the cursed sect of Quakers, not disowning themselves to be such, refusing to give civit respect, leaving their families and relations, and running from place to place, vagabond-like." Daniel Gold and Robert Harper were sentenced to be whipped, and, with Alice Courland, Mary Scott, and Hope Clifford, banished, under pain of death. William Kingsmill, Margaret Smith, Mary Trask, and Provided Southwick were sentenced to be whipped, and Hannah Phelps admonished.
Sundry others were whipped and banished, that year. John Chamberlain came to trial, with his hat on, and refused to answer. The verdict of the jury, as recorded, was—" much inclining to the cursed opinions of the Quakers." Wendlock Christopherson was sentenced to death, but suffered to fly the jurisdiction. March 14, 1660.—William Ledea, "a cursed Quaker," was hanged. Some of these Quakers, I apprehend, were determined to exhibit the naked truth to our Puritan fathers. "Deborah Wilson," says Hutchinson, I 204, "went through the streets of Salem, naked as she came into the world, for which she was well whipped." At length, Sept. 9, 1661, an order came from the King, prohibiting the capital, and even corporal, punishment of the Quakers. 

Oct. 13, 1657.—Benedict Arnold, William Baulston, Randall Howldon, Arthur Fenner, and William Feild, the Government of Rhode Island, addressed a letter, on the subject of this persecution, to the General Court of Massachusetts, in reply to one, received from them. This letter is highly creditable to the good sense and discretion of the writers—" And as concerning these Quakers, (so called)" say they, "which are now among us, we have no law, whereby to punish any, for only declaring by words, dec., their minds and understandings concerning the things and ways of God, as to salvation and an eternal condition. And we moreover finde that in those places, where these people aforesaid, in this Coloney, are most of all suffered to declare themselves freely, and are only opposed by arguments in discourse, there they least of all desire to come; and we are informed they begin to loath this place, for that they arc not opposed by the civil authority, but with all patience and meekness are suffered to sayover their pretended revelations and admonitions, nor are they like or able to gain many here to their way; and surely we find that they delight to be persecuted by the civil powers, and when they are soe, they are like to gain more adherents by the conseyte of-their patient sufferings than by consent to their pernicious sayings." 
One is taken rather by surprise, upon meeting with such a sample of admirable common sense, in an adjoining Colony, and on such a subject, at that early day—so opposite withal to those principles of action, which prevailed in Massachusetts.
The laws of the Colony, enacted from year to year, were first collected together, and ratified by the General Court, in 1648. Hutchinson, I 437, says, "Mr. Bellingham of the magistrates, and Mr. Cotton of the clergy, had the greatest share in this work."



This code was framed, by Bellingham and Cotton, with a particular regard to Moses and the tables, and a singular piece of mosaic it was. "Murder, sodomy, witchcraft, arson, and rape of a child, under ten years of age," says Hutchinson, I 440, "were the only crimes made capital in the Colony, which were capital in England." Rape, in the general sense, not being a capital offense, by the Jewish law, was not made a capital offense, in the Colony, for many years. High treason is not even named. The worship of false gods, was punished with death, with an exception, in favor of the Indians, who were fined £5 a piece, for powowing.


Blasphemy and reproaching religion were capital offenses. Adultery with a married woman, whether the man were married or single, was punished with the death of both parties; but, if the woman were single, whether the man were married or single, it was not a capital offense, in either. Man-stealing was a capital offense. So was willful perjury, with intent to take away another's life. Cursing or smiting a parent, by a child over sixteen years of age, unless in self-defense, or provoked by cruelty, or having been " unchristianly neglected in its education," was a capital offense. A stubborn, rebellious son was punished with death. There was a conviction under this law; "but the offender," says Hutchinson, ibid. 442, "was rescued from the gallows, by the King's commissioners, in 1665." The return of a "cursed Quaker," or a Romish priest, after banishment, and the denial of either of the books, of the Old or New Testament, were punished with banishment or death, at the discretion of the court. The jurisdiction of the Colony was extended, by the code of Parson Cotton and Mr. Bellingham, over the ocean; for they decreed the same punishment, for the last-named offense, when committed upon the high seas, and the General Court ratified this law. Burglary, and theft, in a house, or in the fields, on the Lord's day, were, upon a third conviction, made capital crimes. The distinction, between grand and petty larceny, which was recognized in England, till 1827, 7th and 8th. Geo. IV., ch. 29, was abolished, by the code of Cotton and Bellingham, in 1648; and theft, without limitation of value, was made punishable, by fine or whipping, and restitution of treble value. In some cases, only double. Thus, ibid. 436, we have the following entry—" Josias Plaistowe, for stealing four baskets of corn from the Indians, is ordered to return them eight baskets, to be fined five pounds, and hereafter to be called by the name of Josias, and not Mr., as formerly he used to be."
This lenity, in regard to larceny, Mr. Cotton seems to have been willing to counterbalance, by a terrible severity, on some other occasions.
Mr. Hutchinson, ibid. 442, states, that he has seen the first drought of this code, in the hand-writing of Mr. Cotton, in which there are named six offenses, made punishable with death, all which are altered, in the hand of Gov. Winthrop, and the death penalty stricken out. The six offenses were—" Profaning the Lord's day, in a careless or scornful neglect or contempt thereof— Reviling the magistrates in the highest rank, viz., the Governor and Council—Defiling a woman espoused—Incest within the Leviticus degrees—The pollution, mentioned in Leviticus xx. 13 to 16—Lying with a maid in her father's house, and keeping secret, till she is married to another." Mr. Cotton would have punished all these offenses with death.
On the subject of divorce, the code of 1648 differed from that of the present day, with us, essentially. Adultery in the wife was held to be sufficient cause, for divorce a vinculo: "but male adultery," says Hutchinson, i. 445, " after some debate and consultation with the elders, was judged not sufficient." The principle, which directed their decision, was, doubtless, the same, referred to and recognized, by Lord Chancellor Eldon, in the House of Lords, in 1801, as reported by Mr. Twain, in his Memoirs, vol. I p. 383.

MORE ON L M SARGENT & his ancestors Visit the Sargent House Museum in Gloucester MA 
From Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society By Massachusetts Historical Society By Edward J Lowell

William Sargent, the great-grandfather of the subject of this notice, was born in England,1 being the son of William Sargent and Mary, his wife, whose maiden name was Epes. He was educated at Barbadoes, and moved to Gloucester in Massachusetts about the year 1678, where he acquired two acres of land on Eastern Point and built him a house.
William Sargent married, on the 21st of June, 1678, Mary, daughter of Peter Duncan, by whom he had thirteen children.' Of these the sixth was Epes Sargent, whose first wife's maiden name was Esther Macarty. Her seventh child was Daniel, born on the 18th of March, 1731, who married, on the 3d of February, 1763, Mary, daughter of the Hon. John Turner, of Salem. Below Mrs. Daniel Sargent (Mary Turner Sargent)



Daniel Sargent moved to Boston between 1770 and 1780, and occupied a store on Long Wharf, and a house in Atkinson Street (now Congress Street), near the corner of Cow Lane (now High Street). There is nothing now left in Boston to recall the old wooden houses such as this, with their gables toward the street, and their gardens where old-fashioned flowers filled the beds and where pear-trees shaded the rather ragged grass of the days when lawn-mowers were not invented. At the end of the garden was the summer-house, decorated in this case with a landscape by the hand of one of the children of the family, who had gone to England to study under Sir Benjamin West. But it must have been before this work of art was begun that, on the 25th of June, 1786, the subject of this notice, Lucius Manlius Sargent, was born. Here he lived until 1794, when the house was burnt down, and his father moved first to Fort Hill, and afterwards to the corner of Essex and Lincoln Streets.
Mr. Daniel Sargent must have been a rich man; for when he died in 1806, he left each of his six surviving children with at least a competency. He had been interested in the fisheries, and had had many dealings with the fishermen of the coast. After his death a package was found among his effects, with the following inscription: "Notes, due bills, and accounts against sundry persons along shore. Some of them may be got by suit or severe dunning: but the people are poor; most of them have had fisherman's luck. My children will do as they think best. Perhaps they will think with me, that it is best to burn the package entire." It is to the credit of Mr. Sargent's sons that they adopted his suggestion, and that all the contents of the package went into the fire. A list was first made of the evidences of debt thus destroyed, the amount exceeding thirty-two thousand dollars. The story of the occurrence and of the joy of one of the forgiven debtors is touchingly but anonymously told in the fifty-fifth number of "Dealings with the Dead."

 
Lucius Manlius Sargent went to several schools in Boston and its neighborhood, ending with the Phillips Academy at Exeter, where he remained about three years. He then entered Harvard College in the class that graduated in 1808. He left college, however, before finishing his course. He is described by a classmate as being at this time tall, handsomely proportioned, and very muscular, and as having a fine Roman cast of countenance. He was a good horseman, whether in the saddle or with the reins, a strong swimmer, and a good fencer with the broadsword. He was considered the best Latin scholar in college, and his witty sayings were quoted in his class.
After leaving college Mr. Sargent studied law in the office of Mr. Samuel Dexter. He was admitted to the bar on the 14th of March, 1815, but he never practiced. Mr. Sargent married, on the 3d of April, 1816, Mary, daughter of Mr. Barnabas Binney, of Philadelphia. By her he had three children, — Mary Turner, who died unmarried in 1841; Horace Binney, afterwards Colonel Sargent, who is still living; and Manlius, who died in infancy. Mrs. Sargent died in 1824, and in 1825 Mr. Sargent married Sarah Cutter Dunn, daughter of Mr. Samuel Dunn, of Boston. Her only child was Lucius Manlius Sargent, who served his country in the late Civil War, first as a surgeon, and then as a captain of cavalry, and who was mortally wounded at Weldon on the 9th of December, 1864.
Mr. Sargent was elected a member of the New England Historic, Genealogical Society in 1850, and a Resident Member of this Society in 1856. He died on the 2d of June, 1867, in the eighty-first year of his age. His widow, one son, and seven grandchildren survived him.
Mr. Sargent's numerous writings first appeared in newspapers and magazines, but several of them have been collected and published in more permanent forms. A volume of verse from his pen appeared in 1813, under the title of " Hubert and Ellen, with other Poems." The style is flowing, the versification good; and what is more rare, the poems are eminently readable.
About twenty years after the publication of these poems Mr. Sargent became deeply interested in the temperance reform. He delivered numerous addresses on the subject, several of which have been published. About temperance in drinking few persons deeply interested can speak temperately. The evils of drunkenness are so great that a warm-hearted or excitable man who observes them loses his head, and is almost necessarily drawn into exaggeration. Mr. Sargent did not wholly escape this danger; but his addresses were pointed, clear, and eloquent. He wrote, moreover, a series of temperance tales, which passed through several editions, and which were so well thought of that a hundred thousand copies of one of them was printed for distribution by a gentleman of New York.
But the papers which are most interesting to this Society, and to which Mr. Sargent probably owed his election here, form a series which appeared in the "Transcript" from 1847 or 1848 to 1856, and which was published in the latter year in two volumes, with the title " Dealings with the Dead by a Sexton of the Old School." The book is made up of a hundred and sixty articles, or essays, full of archaeology, criticism, and anecdote. The author was unfortunate in the character which he assumed, and we read altogether too much in his pages of tombs, graves, cremation, and undertakers. But with all this there is much that is interesting, much that is instructive. In spite of the lugubrious title, the style of the work is sufficiently lively. As is natural with a book made up of articles from a newspaper, it is better to dip into the "Dealings " than to undertake to read them consecutively.
WILLIAM SARGENT AND HIS DESCENDANTS
1. William Sargent, of Exeter, in England; m. Mary Epes; went from Exeter to Bridgetown, Barbadoes, and returned to England. His son,
2. William Sargent (called the second) born in Exeter, England, came to Gloucester previous to 1678, for he m. June 21, 1677, Mary, dau. of Peter Duncan and granddaughter of Samuel Symonds. She died Feb. 28, 1724, aged G6; he died before June, 1707. They had: 1. Fitz William, b. Jan. 6, 1678; d. Jan. 28, 1699.
2. Peter, . b. May 27, 1680; d. Feb. 11, 1724. 3. Mary, b. Dec. 29, 1681 ; m. Herrick, of Beverly. 4. Daniel, b. Oct. 31,-1685; d. July 20, 1713. Struck by lightning. 5. Jordan, b. Jan. 22,1687; d. 1689.
6. Epes, b. July 12, 1690; d. Dec. 6, 1762, aged 72. 7. Ann, b. 1692; d. Oct. 8, 1782; m. Nat. Ellery, Feb. 16, 1720 ; they had children and gr. children. 8. Andrew, b. Aug. 21, 1693. 9. Samuel, b. 1694; d. Oct. 11, 1699. 10. Fitz John, b. 1696 ; d. Jan. 20, 1697. 11. Machani, b. April 9, 1699; d. day of birth. 12. Jabez, b. Jan. 30. 1700, d. day after birth. 13. Fitz William, b. Oct. 21, 1701; d. in N. Hampshire, a "bachelor," D.S. 14. Winthrop, b. March 11, 1703.
There is much obscurity touching the birthplace of William Sargent, second. Mr. L. M. Sargent, in Ms diary (page 3), observes: "William Sargent, my great grandfather, was born in Gloucester, and married Mary Duncan, daughter of Peter Duncan, June 21, 1677, and her grandfather; Deputy Governor, performed the ceremony." If William were born in . Gloucester, it is singular that no trace of it can be found. How far the following anecdote may throw any light on the place of his nativity, the reader may judge:
"I have heard my eldest brother, Daniel, and my cousin, also much older than myself, Mr. Epes Sargent, speak of a tradition, which is extremely interesting, if true, and a very pleasant story, if false.
"William Sargent, my gr. gr. grandfather, having made his runaway match with Mary Epes, came over and settled in Gape Ann, i. e. Gloucester, Mass, having no intercourse with his family in England, who after many years, supposing him dead, gave the same name to another son, born in his absence. This other now came as mate of a brig to Cape Ann, and there met his brother. They are said to have met upon the shore, the older brother assisting to haul in the boat, as she came to land from the brig. As an Englishman he welcomed them from the old country. His interest was increased when he discovered the young man to be his fellow townsman. This led to more particular inquiries. 'Do you know an old man by the name of Sargent?' 'I have good reason to know him; he is my father.' 'Then you are my brother.'" [Diary, page 1.]





Col. Epes Sargent grandfather of L. M. Sargent. "I recollect," said an aged and respectable citizen of Gloucester, B. K. Hough, Esq. (to L. M. Sargent), " when a boy, of seeing your uncle Epes Sargent. He was a good friend to my widowed mother, and took two of my brothers aad brought them up. He died of smallpox in the old war."

  Paul Dudley Sargent entered the army of the Revolution, April, 1775, and continued therein about three years. He was present in several engagements, and was wounded at the battle of Bunker Hill. After leaving the army he resided in Salem, and engaged in navigation. In 1783 he removed to Boston and continued in the same business, but unsuccessfully; and meeting with heavy losses. he removed to Sullivan, Me. When the country was organized, he received, at one time, three commissions from Gov. Hancock—as Justice of the Peace, Judge of Probate, and Judge of the Court of Common Pleas. He was the first post-master in Sullivan, and held the office till he resigned in favor of his son. For above and other particulars, Mr. L. M. S. refers to a letter of June 2, 1845, from his granddaughter, Mrs. M. W. Wilkinson. He commanded a regiment in July, 1776, under Gen. Ward at Cambridge. [See Sparks's Washington, vol. iii. p. 456.]


Daniel Sargent (Epes,3 William,3 William1), b. March 18, 1731; m. Feb. 3, 17G3, by Rev. Mr. Barnard, to Mary, dau. of John and Mary Turner. They had seven children:
1. Daniel,5 b. Juno 15, 1764; d. April 2, 1842, aged 78.
2. Ignatius, b. Nov. 1, 1765; d. Jan. 18, 1821, aged 56.
3. John Turner, b. March 27, 1769: d. Feb. 10,1813, aged 44.
4. Henry, b. 1770; d. Feb. 21, 1845, aged 74.
5. Mary Osborne, b. Sept. 30, 1780; d. Sept. 12, 1761, aged 1.
6. Winthrop, b. Jan. 31, 1783 ; d. Jan. 11, 1808, aged 25.
7. Lucius Manlius,b. June 25, 1786; d. June 2, 1867. 
Lucius Manlius8 Sargent (Daniel Epes,3 William,3 William1), b. June 25, 1786; d. June 2, 1807; m. Mary Binney, dan. of Barnabas and Mary Binney, of Phila., April 3, 181G, by whom he had three children. She died Feb. 3, 1824.
1. Mary Turner, b. June 28, 1818; d. Aug. 2, 1811. 
2. Horace Binney, b. June 30, 1821.
3. Manlius, b. Jan. 27, 1824; d. July 3, 1825.
He m. second, Sarah Cutler, dau. of Samuel and Sarah Dunn, of Boston, July 14, 1825. 
She died Aug. 8,  1868. They had one child:
    1. Lucius Manlius, b. in Boston Sept. 15, 1820 a physician killed in battle 1864 


                                    "Camp near Falmouth, Va." by Lucius Manlius Sargent.

This drawing, from 1863, is part of a letter to Sargent's young son, George; he wrote, I shall try and get leave to come home one of these days. I hope you will be glad to see me when I come. If you are not glad, I shall be very sorry, I can tell you. I have not got anything to love here. All that I've got to love in this world is in Jamaica Plains.

Lucius Manlius Sargent JR (1826-1864) 1857 graduate of Harvard Medical School, was an accomplished draughtsman and was appointed the first artist of the Massachusetts General Hospital. At the beginning of the war, he became a surgeon with the 2nd Massachusetts Volunteers, then joined the 1st Massachusetts Cavalry in October, 1861, where he rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

                                                       Mrs. Lucius M Sargent


Saturday, January 25, 2014

History of Berry's Tavern Danvers MA

Now open under the same name see Berry Tavern





The tavern was first owned by John Porter, licensed to run an ordinary in 1748. His widow Aphia sold it to Colonel Jethro Putnam who operated  it from 1799-1803. Josiah Dodge, jr. managed it and in 1804 Ebenezer Berry, Sr. bought it.

"He kept an inn or tavern here until his death in 1843, and then the same came into possession of his son, Eben Gardiner Berry, and from him it passed to his descendants, who now own the same.  The old tavern was removed in parts when the present house was erected, and the hall part, that portion of the same which had been a part of the beautiful mansion erected on Folly Hill by William Browne, of Salem, about 1750, was also removed a short distance away and in the great fire of 1845 was burned, that fire which destroyed most of the buildings on both sides of that portion of Maple Street lying between Conant and Cherry streets. Many distinguished persons must have tarried here.


The hall of the old house was the portion of the " Browne Hall" already referred to. This hall was used on all state occasions. The officers of the militia at the May trainings had their headquarters here. The selectmen of the town met here, as did also Jordan Lodge of Masons, and here also were held the meetings of the Danvers Lyceum. Dr. Braman once delivered a very funny lecture in this hall, the subject of which was " Quackery." Many debates took place in the old hall. And it is said that here were held those dancing parties, at the mention of which old eyes kindle and limbs no longer sprightly beat time to the echoes of the darky Harry's fiddle, which still linger in their ears. Mr. Eben G. Berry conducted the house up to 1870, when he retired from active management. It was known as the Howard house by the management Edwin A. Southwick, who managed it up to the time of his death in 1895. Mr. Berry died the same year, and during the settlement of the Southwick and Berry estates, Mr. Littlefield managed the house. The present lessee, Mr. Brown, took possession in the latter part of 1896 Danvers Historical Society






Ebenezer Gardner Berry was a descendant from the early Newbury Ma and Rye Beach settlers. He was son of Ebenezer Berry and Ruth Peabody.


Eben married Sept. 12, 1831 1st Elizabeth Jaquith/Jaques Abbott, (b. November 8 1807) daughter of Asa Abbott and Judith Jaquith/Jaques 2nd Mrs. Sarah Page Nichols daughter of Abel Nichols


Eben G. Berry







From Mrs. Louisa Crowninshield Bacon Personal Reminiscences Of The Old Home At Danvers, Massachusetts:
 
"It must have been about 1848 that I first remember going to stay with Grandpa and Grandma Putnam, but afterwards the visit became annual. We went in the train to Salem, where we took the real old-fashioned stage-coach for Danvers. It was a very hot day in May, and I sat on the middle seat of the coach. This seat folded over to let in the more favored passengers who sat in the back seat, after which it was folded hack and a rather wide leather strap was fastened at the end with an iron pin, making a back for the occupants, but toohigh to be of any comfort to the very young, who could hardly reach it. We drove through Salem and South Danvers, passing the large house on one side of the road and the brick woolen mill on the other belonging to Richard Crowninshield. I think we passed the old Judge Collins house, as it was then called, then Danvers Plains and Mr. Berry's tavern, where we once passed a summer. Mr. Berry was much interested in my mother's collecting old-fashioned furniture and crockery. We still have in the family a fine old oak armchair, much carved, and some very beautiful old Chinese porcelain, highly decorated, that he found in Andover, I think. Then came a hawthorne hedge on the right side of the road, soon followed by a privet hedge which made one side of Grandpa's garden, when we turned into the yard and stopped at the front door, which was on the end of the house.
From Historical Collections of the Danvers Historical Society Volume 10
Dr. John H. Nichols expressed for himself, and for all the family, their appreciation of all the words spoken for the sake of honoring the memory of his father." An obituary notice in the Salem Evening News, immediately following his death, includes these paragraphs: "His was the unseen influence behind the events which culminated in the passing of the title of the present public park from Eben G. Berry to the Improvement Society. He plotted what is now known as 'Back Bay' for Mr. Berry, in 1895, and the arrangement of the street lines and lots made the utmost out of the desirable location.



From History of Essex County Volume 2  
The first meetingr of the stockholders of the Village Bank was held “ at Eben G. Berry's Tavern," on Friday April 22, 1836. Elias Putnam was chosen moderator and Moses Black, Jr., clerk. It was voted to accept the charter granted by the Legislature, and Elias Putnam, Jeremiah Stone and Eben Putnam were chosen to consider favorable locations for a banking-house. At adjournment, May 9th, the first board of directors were chosen, namely: John Page, Eben Putnam, Samuel Preston, John Perley, Elias Putnam, Daniel F. Putnam, Joseph Steams, Amos Sheldon, Moses Black, Jr., Samuel Putnam, Nathaniel Boardman, Frederick Perley. It was reported “ that lv‘leeper’s house and land on the corner could be purchased for $3000, and that it would be a favorable place for a Bank,” and later this estate was purchased for $2800. 

From Old Anti-Slavery Day Danvers Historical Society

A "DanVeis Female Anti-Slavery Society," of which Mrs. Isaac Winslow was chosen the President; Mrs. Richard Loring, Vice-President; Miss Harriet N. Webster, Corresponding Secretary; Miss Emily Winslow, daughter of Isaac Winslow, (Mrs. Emily W. Taylor, now of Germantown, Pa.), Recording Secretary, and Mrs. Elijah Upton, Treasurer; with Mrs. Eben Upton, Mrs. Amos Osborn, Mrs. Benjamin Hill, Mrs. Charles Northend, Mrs. Abel Nichols, and Mrs. John Morrison, as Councillors. The Society was evidently meant for the whole town and probably its sixty members represented the North Parish as well as the South. Mrs. Abel Nichols, not to mention others, was of North Danvers, and she and her husband were among the best of abolitionists. Their daughter, the late Mrs. Eben G. Berry, recalled with what fear and trembling she was wont, as a young girl, to circulate antislavery documents, and their nephew, Mr. Andrew Nichols, now of Danvers, son of Dr. Andrew Nichols, remembers how he used to be stoned in the streets for procuring subscribers to anti-slavery papers. But among the men of the place who were earnest for emancipation, there were—besides Isaac Winslow and Joseph Southwick—Mr. Abner Sanger, whom Frederick Douglass so deservedly hoaors in his eloquent letter; Eli F. Burnham, Amasa P. Blake* and Andrew Porter; and Dr. Andrew Nichols and Alonzo P. Phillips, both of whom were of the highest character and came to be prominent and influential members of the Liberty party.


Portrait of Levi Preston painted by Abel Nichols Danvers Archival Center
More Art on Abel Nichols Peabody Essex Institute



In the Danvers Archival Center a poem written by Eben “Milan [Murphy] and his wife Happy”

Monday, September 9, 2013

Surname Wilson of Salem and Danvers, Massachusetts

A Great Share from Heather Wilkinson Rojo and her blog, Nutfield Genealogy


Robert Wilson was born about 1630, and lived in Salem, Massachusetts.  It is unknown where he came from before he arrived in New England, and it is unknown when he arrived.  However, he left some very interesting, yet sad and sorrowful, records during his life. 

His first wife was Deborah Buffum, daughter of Robert Buffum and Tamosen Ward.  In 1662, as the mother of two infant children she professed to being a Quaker, which was dangerous in Puritan Salem, Massachusetts.  Not only that, she went naked to the Puritan meetinghouse to protest the “spiritual nakedness”.  She was sentenced to be tied to a cart and whipped until she came to her own house.
 
 
Daniel Rumball, the constable “was loathe to do it, but was ordered to do his duty.  Robert Wilson (it may be presumed in collusion with Rumball, though neither was a Quaker) followed after, clapping his hat sometimes between the whip and his wife’s back.”   (from the book The Peabody Story by John A. Wells, 1973, Essex Institute, Salem, MA, pages 136 -7)


Although kind hearted Robert Wilson helped his wife, she died soon after in 1668.  Robert remarried to Anna Trask, the widow of Joseph Perry Foster, in 1674. They had one child together before he was called to join the Essex County militia with Captain Thomas Lothrop to protect Deerfield, Massachusetts.  Seventy men, along with Robert Wilson, were killed at in a massacre at a brook near Deerfield on 18 September 1675.  Only seven or eight men escaped this massacre.  The brook was renamed “Bloody Brook”.

Bloody Brook Monument





From the Essex Quarterly Court Records, volume 6, leaf 19

Administration upon the estate of Robert Wilson, intestate, was granted 28, 4m, 1681 unto Ann, the relict, who brought in an inventory amounting to about 150 pounds, and whereas there is some legacy or something of an estate of Tamosen Buffum's which of right is to belong to Robert and Deborah, children of the deceased, the court ordered that Ann should pay out of this estate into the inventory, to Robert the eldest son 14 pounds, and to Deborah aforesaid, children by his first wife, and to Anna, John, Mary and Elizabeth children by Ann, 7 pounds each, at age or marriage, the house and land to stand bound by security.

If you look at the genealogy below, you will notice a lot of Robert Wilsons, and the Essex County records are full of even more Robert Wilsons.  How did I manage to figure out which Roberts belonged to what lines?  Not without help! I was at the New England Historic Genealogical Society library one day, and when I had trouble finding a book on the shelves the librarian, David Dearborn, asked me which surname I was researching.  When he heard I was looking for Salem, Massachusetts Wilsons he introduced me to a series of books written by researcher Ken Stevens of Walpole, New Hampshire.  Ken Stevens wrote all his books about Wilsons from all over New England.  I wrote to Mr. Stevens (it was before email) and he sent me all his research notes on the Salem Wilsons.  He had not included these particular Wilsons in a book yet.   He confirmed my line, too!   The NEHGS library has his papers on Wilson research in their manuscript collection.  Kenneth C. Stevens passed away in 2010.

My Wilson lineage (note the five Robert Wilsons and one Robert Wilson Wilkinson in the first eight generations!):

Generation 1:  Robert Wilson, born about 1630, died on 18 September 1675 in Deerfield, Massachusetts at the Bloody Brook Massacre; married first to Deborah Buffum, daughter of Robert Buffum and Tamosen Ward, on 12 August 1658 in Marblehead, Massachusetts.  She was born about 1639 and died about 1668 and had two children including Robert Wilson, Jr. (see below).  He married second to Anna Trask, daughter of Henry Trask and Mary Southwick, widow of Joseph Perry Foster, and had one child.

Generation 2: Robert Wilson, born about 1662, and died before 17 January 1717; married about 1685 to Elizabeth Cook, daughter of Isaac Cook and Elizabeth Buxton. Four children.  He is listed in his grandmother’s will (Tamosine Buffum, Essex County Probate #30139).  He was the first Wilson to own property near the Wilson Square area of what is now Peabody, Massachusetts.

Generation 3: Isaac Wilson, born about 1691; married Mary Stone, daughter of Samuel Stone and Mary Treadwell, on 9 January 1718 in Salem, Massachusetts. Six children. He was a carpenter.

Generation 4: Robert Wilson, born about 1724, died before 10 July 1782 in Danvers, Massachusetts (now Peabody); married to Elizabeth Southwick, daughter of John Southwick and Mary Trask on 26 May 1744 in Salem, Massachusetts. Four children.  He was a prominent potter who lived where Route 114 now crosses Route 128 in Peabody.  The Wilson family burial ground still exists there behind the Kappy’s Liquor Store.  The Wilsons were known for black pottery that can be seen on exhibit at the Peabody Historical Society.


Generation 5: Robert Wilson born about 1746 and died 4 June 1797 in Danvers (now Peabody); married on 23 March 1775 in Danvers to Sarah Felton, daughter of Malachi Felton and Abigail Jacobs.  Nine children.  He is buried at the Wilson burial ground, and Sarah was buried in 1836, forty years later, across the street at the Felton burial ground.

Generation 6: Robert Wilson, born 5 September 1776 in Danvers, died on 9 November 1803 in Danvers; married on 8 May 1800 to Mary Southwick, daughter of George Southwick and Sarah Platts.   Two children. Robert and Mary Wilson are buried at the Wilson burial ground.

Generation 7: Mercy F. Wilson, born 17 June 1803 in Peabody, died on 9 October 1883 in Peabody; married on 23 June 1829 in Danvers to Aaron Wilkinson, son of William Wilkinson and Mercy Nason, born in South Berwick, Maine on 22 February 1802, and died on 25 November 1879 in Peabody, Massachusetts. Eleven children.

Generation 8: Robert Wilson Wilkinson m. Phebe Cross Munroe

Generation 9: Albert Munroe Wilkinson m. Isabella Lyons Bill

Generation 10:  Donald Munroe Wilkinson m. Bertha Louise Roberts (my grandparents)
--------------------
This Wilson family has not been written up in any compiled genealogy or articles in any genealogical journals.  Ken Stevens had notes on this lineage, but had not finished his research on the other lines of the Salem/Danvers/Peabody Wilsons for a book or article.   Most of what I put together here was gleaned from vital records and probate.  There is a bit of information on the Wilson potters to be found in books on the subject, such as this excerpt fromEarly New England Potters and Their Wares by Lura Woodside Watkins, Harvard University Press, 1950, pages 65-66.

"The Wilsons were a prominent family of artisans.  Their homestead included the land near 141 Andover Street and eastward where 128 now crosses it.  The first two potting Wilsons were sons of Robert, a farmer.  They were Robert, known as Robert, Jr. who remained in Danvers, and Joseph, who went to Dedham and thence to Providence, Rhode Island.  When Robert, Jr., died in 1782, he left property worth 627 pounds, including six lots of land, his house, barn, potter's shop, and cornhouse, a riding chair, and a large personal estate.  He seems to have done well in his trade.  His son Robert, known as Robert 2d, and a younger son Job were potters.  By an order of the court, Robert 3d, as administrator of his father's estate, was obliged to sell a large part of the elder Robert's property to pay certain debts.  This was not done until April 9, 1793, when two thirds of the land and buildings, and an interest in the business was aquired by Isaac Wilson 3d.  He, too, was a craftsman in clay.  The three Wilsons ran the shop together for a time, but Robert 3d, and Job both passed away before 1800, while Robert's son Robert, who had worked but a short time as a potter, died three years later at the age of twenty-seven.  Upon Isaac's decease in 1809, this early pottery must have come to an end." 
For more information on the Wilson Burial Ground in Peabody, see this link: