Essex County, Massachusetts - Chapter with an unread heading (no. 45 of those read), 1888 (part 3 of 3)

While at Andover, the distinguished abolition lecturer, George Thompson, of England, visited Phillips' Academy aud lectured to the students on slavery. With his wonderful eloquence, wit and logic the students were charmed, and a large number of them became abolitionists and formed an anti-slavery society. The teachers were displeased at this action, and required the students to leave the anti-slavery society or the academy. Nearly one hundred of them, rather than to give up their principles and rights, left the school; some went into the anti-slavery field as lecturers, and others to institutions where freedom of thought and speech could be enjoyed. Young Rust, with several others, went to Canaan, N. H., where an academy had been established upon liberal principles, and where young men and women of color were allowed to enter and enjoy the advantages of culture. So bitter was the opposition to this school, because it extended its privileges alike to all without distinction of color, that the mandate went forth that it must be broken up, and the farmers in the vicinity, with a hundred yokes of oxen, drew the academy more than a mile out of town into the woods and broke up the school!

Wesleyan University, Middletown, Conn., where he was graduated in 1841, and received the degree of Master of Arts in 1844. In 1859 he received the honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity from the Wesleyan University at Delaware, Ohio. While in college he paid his expenses by teaching and lecturing winters. He was one of the first anti-slavery lecturers in Connecticut, and in New Haven County was mobbed repeatedly while delivering lectures against slavery. He aided the ladies in organizing the First Anti-Slavery Fair at Hartford, Conn., and published for that occasion "Freedom's Gift," an annual of anti-slaverj^ poems and prose. The great anti-slavery struggle reached its height as he came to his manhood, and he did valiant service in the good cause, and was a pioneer in the Methodist Episcopal Church in this grand conflict. In 1842 he was principal of Ellington School, Connecticut; in 1843, principal of Middletown High School. In 1844 he joined the New England Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and was stationed at Springfield, Mass.; in 1846 he was stationed at Worcester, Mass.

During the next five years Mr. Rust passed through one of the most interesting periods of his life. He originated and published the "American Pulpit," was transferred to the New Hampshire Conference, was principal of the New Hampshire Conference Seminary and Female College, and was elected State Commissioner of Common Schools for New Hampshire for three years. He delivered popular lectures on education all over the State, awakened the deepest interest in the schools, assailed with wit, sarcasm and invectives the miserable old school-houses, and did a grand work in introducing into New Hampshire good school-houses, teachers' institutes and an improved system of common-school education.

In 1859 Dr. Rust was transferred from the scenes of his early struggles and triumphs to the Cincinnati Conference. The name and character of the man preceded him in the West, and he was at once welcomed to active service in the leading enterprises of the church. He was four years president of the Wilberforce University, at Xenia, Ohio, after which he became pastor of Morris Chapel, Cincinnati, where he was elected president of the Wesleyan Female College, Cincinnati, where he remained until the old college was sold and vacated, and the school was suspended until the new college could be erected. He was corresponding secretary of the Western Freedmen's Aid Commission, and in connection with Bishops Clark and Walden, aided in the organization of the Freedmeii's Aid Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and for the last twenty years has been its corresponding secretary, and has discharged its duties with such marked efficiency and ability as to meet the highest commendation of the whole church. The society under the administration of

Dr. Rust, has established and sustained in central locations in the South thirty institutions of learning, styled seminaries, colleges or universities, for the training of teachers and preachers for the elevation of this long-neglected race, so lately admitted to all the rights and duties of American citizens. For the successful management of this important educational work, the subject of this sketch, by his deep, long, life interest in this people, his attainments as a scholar, his previous experience as an educator and shrewd business habits, was pre-eminently fitted, and the results achieved by this society have exceeded the highest anticipations of its friends.

Dr. Rust was successful as a pastor, a fine writer and an impressive preacher ; pre-eminent as an educator, possessing great power over the young of awakening them to high and noble purj^ose ; and there are but few men in this country who have aided in educating so many of her youth who now fill important positions in society and wield so great influence for Christ and the right. In his boyhood he espoused the cause of the slave, labored for his emancipation, and his mature life, attainments and ample means are consecrated t6 the preparation of this emancipated people for the appropriate discharge of the important duties imposed upon them by freedom, so that liberty may prove a blessing rather than a curt'e to them. As a Christian philanthropist, he has done his noblest work, and for this by a grateful people he will be held in remembrance.

The society is now, under the supervision of Dr. Rust, establishing a system of schools for the benefit of whites similar to what it has done for the colored people. Little Rock and Chattanooga Universities and ten seminaries as feeders have been established and superintended by the Freedman's Aid Society, and the venerable Dr. Rust still remains as the efiicient administrator of its affairs.

Col. Yorick G. Hurd, M.D.

Col. Hurd was the eldest son of Col. Smith and Mehitable (Emerson) Hurd, and was born in Lempster, Sullivan County, N. H., February 17, 1827.

In the early days of the settlement of the town of Lempster, Uzzel (or "Squire," as he was best known) and his brother, Shubael Hurd, made settlement.

Shubael and his wife coming on horseback from Connecticut to the farm, which is still retained in the family. He was the first deacon of the First Congregational Church, organized November 13, 1781, and was widely known as " Deacon Hurd."

As a fruit of the second marriage of Deacon Hurd with Mrs. Smith {nee Ames, and one of the Fisher Ames family), two sons were born, viz: Smith and Justus (physician).

The former husband of Mrs. Hurd was Robert Smith, of Pelerboro, N. H. (a brother of Judge Jeremiah Smith), to whom were born three sons, viz: Robert, Stephen and Jesse (physician) Smith.

Col. Smith Hurd was very prominent in town affairs, holding various offices of trust and responsibility with marked fidelity. He was captain of a Volunteer Eifle Company, which had quite a local reputation, and he was subsequently colonel of the Twenty-seventh Regiment, New Hampshire Militia.

Yorick G. Hurd, M.D., the eldest son of Col. Smith and Mehitable (Emerson) Hurd, was eminently a selfmade man, having in early life attended the District School, when three months of winter teaching was made to suffice for the year.

One term he attended the Hancock Literary and Scientific Institution, and was then employed as a teacher at Dublin, N. H., where he attracted the attention of that ripe scholar. Rev. L. W. Leonard, D.D., who invited him to his residence for study and rendered him every possible assistance.

By the advice of Dr. Leonard Mr. Hurd commenced the study of medicine with Dr. Albert Smith, of Peterboro, N. H., professor of Materia Medica and Therapeutics in Dartmouth College March, 1850, teaching the public Grammar School in the winter and the Pine Grove Academy in the spring and autumn for three years, attending one course of Medical Lectures at Woodstock, Vt., and two courses at Dartmouth, graduating November, 1853, proceeding immediately to Amesbury, Essex County, Mass., where he commenced the practice of medicine, soon securing a large and remunerative practice.

During his long residence here he was for several years a member of the school committee, and by his constant and untiring efforts materially aided in the establishment of the present high state of efficiency and success of the public schools of the town.

On the breaking out of the Civil War the military spirit, inherited from his father, caused him to enter fully into the spirit of the North, and in September, 1862, he was appointed post surgeon at Camp Lander, Wenham, Mass., and in December 8th following, was appointed surgeon of the Forty-eighth Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteers, following its fortunes to New Orleans, where he was assigned to the First Brigade, First Division of the Nineteenth Army Corps, where he remained until June 20, 1863, when by order of Gen. Auger, commanding the First Division, he was detached and sent to Baton Rouge, La., in charge of the division hospitals, and sick and wounded officers in quarters about Baton Rouge.

Returning home with the regiment at the expiration of its term of service. Dr. Hurd was reported to Surgeon General Dale, of this State, as being the best regimental surgeon in the division ; certain it is that his regiment had the smallest sick-list and the fewest deaths from disease of any in the corps to which it was attached.

The practice of his profession was resumed immediately on his return from the service of his country, and the various and responsible official positions to which he was successiveh^ chosen, attest to the high esteem in which he was held by the community.

In 1865 and again in 1866 he was chosen a member of the Massachusetts Senate, and in January, 1866, while a member of the Senate, was appointed superintendent of the Essex County House of Correction and Insane Asylum at Ipswich.

Immediately upon the assumption of the duties of the responsible position of superintendent of the house of correction he instituted such reforms in its management as secured a state of quiet and good order among those placed in his charge as had never been known in the previous history of the institution, which by his even-tempered management he was able to preserve so long as the institution was under his supervision.

His management of the insane soon attracted attention, and for many years he was the consulting authority in all parts of the country, and was often called in the courts as an expert in insane cases.

Dr. Hurd continued in the position of superintendent of these institutions until January, 1887, resigning his charge at the close of a service of twenty-one years

In 1867 he was appointed medical director of Division Ma-sachusetts Volunteer Militia, with the rank of colonel on the staff" of Major General Benjamin F. Butler, serving in that capacity eight years.

In April, 1874, he was appointed a member of the board of trustees of the " Manning School Fund," and on the decease of its president, Otis Kimball, Esq. in 1878, he was chosen his successor, a position which he still retains.

A gentleman whose knowledge of the care of this fund is not to be questioned says of Dr. Hurd : " Dr. Hurd brought to the councils of the board rare advisory and executive abilities, and has ever since discharged the duties of his trust with intelligence and fidelitJ^ Having in early years been a successful teacher, he has by his experience and by his friendly advice and co-operation, stimulated and encouraged the teachers, contributing thereby very largely to the success and usefulness of the school,"

He is at the present time a trustee of the Ipswich Savings Bank and a director of the Ipswich Gas-Light Company - offices which he has held since the date of the charter of these corporations.

Dr. Hurd was married to Mary Ann Twitchell, of Lempster, N. H., May 17, 1853, who died October 8, 1858. He was married again November 5, 1861, to Ruth Ann Brown, of Salisbury, Mass. They have no children as the result of marriage, but adopted one who has since married H. K. Dodge, of the firm of Dodge «& Spiller, of Ipswich.

Avilliam G. Brown

Says an old philosopher : " AH men, whatever their condition, who have done anything of value, ought to record the history of their lives." Eventful periods occur at rare intervals in the lives of men the most distinguished, but even in their more retired walks of private life, there are few whose lives are not marked by some vicissitudes of fortune, which, however trivial they may seem, are yet sufficient to excite great interest. The events which give the highest interest to biography are of a volatile and evanescent nature, and are soon forgotten. It is the part of the biographer to collect these passing events and fix them indelibly on the page of history, that succeeding generations may know how their predecessors lived, what ideas governed them, what trials and difficulties they encountered, and how they overcame them, and even their domestic relations ; for all these teach a lesson that will be serviceable, by pointing out what paths lead to success and what roads are to be avoided as leading to failure. There is none so humble that his life can fail to be an object of interest when viewed in the right light. How much more will this interest be enhanced when we contemplate the life of a man who, by his own heroic struggles, has hewn out his own pathway to success, and compelled the fates to grant him his reward. Most certainly one, who, entirely by his own effiirts, has attained affluence and social position, and through all the changing events of life has preserved his integrity unimpaired, is well deserving of the pen of the historian.

William Gray Brown, son of Jacob and Frances Quarles Brown, was born in Ipswich, January 27, 1830. His parents were both born in Ossipee, N. H., from which place they came to Ipswich, and made a permanent home. They had six children, four sons and two daughters. Three died in early childhood. One daughter, Mary F., a young girl of lovely disposition and of bright promise, died in 1846 at the age of fifteen years.

Jacob Franklin, the eldest, was educated in the public schools of Ipswich, and graduated at the State Normal School at Bridgewater, Mass. He had thus fitted himself to be an instructor of youth, and devoted his whole after-life to that vocation. He wrought well in this his chosen profession. His knowledge was exact, his discipline strict, his mode of imparting instruction clear and precise, and he soon gained a reputation which placed him in the front rank of able instructors. For a long series of years

Jacob Brown, the father, was a farmer, and in addition to his farming did considerable teaming about the village. William G. lived with him and worked for him, when not at school, and at an early age learned the need of industry and frugality, a lesson which he never forgot in after life. His educational privileges were limited to the schools of his native town, but in them he became thoroughly grounded in the elementary principles of a good English education.

In his fifteenth year he left school, and from that time till the present he has been hard at work, either for his father or for himself. At the time the first church was erected, in 1846, William G. Brown, then a mere youth, volunteered to assist in the work, and to him was assigned the duty of drawing the lumber from Salem, and for six consecutive days he drew from that city to Ipswich an enormous load each day, helping to load and unload, and taking the sole care of his horses.

"I well remember," said the subject of this sketch, "the first money I ever earned. It was ten cents paid me by Mr. James Fuller, for drawing home his grist from mill, when I was nine years old. The next was thirty cents earned in planting." These sums were not spent for notions, so dear to the boyish heart, but were deposited on interest, and have never been disturbed. To this principle of economy and the habit of saving and making money may be attributed much of his subsequent success. Hard work, prudence and foresight were the foundation-stones upon which he reared the superstructure of a successful business career. At the age of eleven years he commenced the sale of pastry, made by his mother, to the passengers on the trains that stopped near his father's house for water. One-half the money he gave to his mother, the other half was carefully saved and put away. At the age of eighteen his father gave him "his time," and he began life on his own account, supporting himself and every year adding something to his store. With i-ovae of the money he had earned in his various youthful business ventures he purchased a pair of horses and commenced, in a small way, the business of teaming and the letting of horses.

With a steadfast resolution not to go beyond his means, he worked until the increase of his business obliged him to add to his facilities, by purchasing more horses and by employing men to do what he himself could not do. His father was a pioneer in the ice business, and among the first who brought coal (Anthracite) into Ipswich. Both the ice business and coal business were then small, the markets being limited.

For many years he was the sole dealer in ice and coal. Jacob Brown died in 1863, and his son William G. succeeded to the business, and since that time he has constantly and continuously increased it. By close application to the principles laid down and the habits formed in early life, by constant and untiring labor, and by prompt attention to the necessities of the hour, he has established the most varied and the most extensive business in his native town. He deals in ice, cutting and storing annually about four thousand tons. He deals extensively in coal, handling from six to seven thousand tons every year, most of which is sold at retail. He still retains the farm where his father lived and where he was born, and carries it on. He is the owner of the ''Agawam House," a famous Ipswich hostelry. This house he has thoroughly repaired, renovated and enlarged, so that to-day it is an ornament to the town and a convenient and agreeable stopping-place for its guests.

At the stable in the rear of this house he conducts an extensive livery business. He employs many men in his various business operations. He is a large owner of real estate which brings him a good rental every month, and is the largest individual tax-payer in the town. By steady application, prompt decision, sound judgment, and carefully looking after everything personally, he has made all his business ventures profitable. He married Elizabeth M. Cogswell, daughter of Ebenezer and Elizabeth B., January 12, 1853.

Mrs. Brown proved a true help-meet to her husband. She is a bright clear-headed woman. Possessing both business tact and energy, she has ably assisted her husband by her advice and counsel, and with a capacity for business possessed by few women, she has made herself familiar with the immense business of her husband, and thus has been able to advise him intelligently. She is a woman of intellect, taste and judgment, she is vivacious and sociable, fond of her home, and a capital manager of her household.

William G. Brown has a generous, charitable disposition, free from every miserly taint. His hand is ever ready, and his purse ever open to assist and aid any one in suffering or want. He is never a harsh creditor, but always ready to extend to the deserving all possible leniency. His manners are kind and affable. He has never sought or accepted any official position, although repeatedly urged so to do by his fellow-townsmen, preferring to give his whole time to the interests of his constantly increasing business.

He enjoys the confidence and respect of the community in which he dwells, and is recognized as a representative business man and a prominent factor in the growth and prosj^erity of his native town.

ship "Planter," and settled in Ipswich in 1635, where he died in 1675, aged sixty-five years. His youngest son Timothy, born 1653 and died 1719, married Dorothy , by whom he had Patience, born

Stephen died 1725, leaving a son Allan, born 1718, who died 1804, leaving a son Allan, born 1763, who died 1843. He left a son Abraham, born 1793, who died 1861, who was the father of David, the subject of this sketch.

Abraham Perley was a farmer and dealer in cattle. He lived in Linebrook Parish, where he owned a large farm, and carried on an extensive business. David was educated in the jmblic schools and at Topsfield and Dummer Academies. He succeeded to his father's business, and owns the largest and best conducted farms in the western part of the town.

He married first Sophronia 0. Plummer, of Newbury, June 12, 1851, by whom he had one child, Oscar Wentworth, born March 3, 1853, who now resides in Lincoln, Nebraska. Mr. Perley's first wife died March 14, 1853. His second wife was Abigail Kent Stevens, of West Newbury, whom he married May 16, 1861. They had three children, namely :

David Sidney, born February 21, 1862. He married Annie L. Hart, of Ipswich, February 21, 1887, and resides on the old homestead with his father.

Eoscoe Damon, born August 11, 1864. He fitted for college at the Jpswich High School and Dummer Academy, and entered Dartmouth College at the fall term. 1887.

The mother of these children died June 19, 1879, aged fifty-three years. He married Lizzie, daughter of Nathaniel H. Lavalette, of Ipswich, October 18, 1880, by whom he has had three children, viz : Chester C, born November 13, 1881 ; Mabel A., born August 19, 1883; Bertha C, born December 18, 1886.

Mr. Perley has never sought or held any public office, but has devoted himself entirely to his business and has been very successful, both as a farmer and dealer in cattle.

David Tullar Perley

David Tullar Perley ^ was born in Linebrook Parish in Ipswich, January 17, 1824. He is of Puritan stock and a descendant in the seventh generation from Allan Perley, who came from London in the

Colonel Nathaniel Shatswell

Colonel Nathaniel Shatswell was born in Ipswich, Essex County, Mass., November 26, 1834. He was the son of John Shatswell and Anne Shatswell 7iee Lord. The name of his grandfather was Moses Shatswell, that of his grandmother Sarah Lord. His ancestors came from England in 1634, settling in Ipswich on High Street, building the old homestead, still owned by him. Here they have always lived, a sturdy race of thrifty farmers distinguished for their pluck and indomitable energy. All seem to have been imbued with a military spirit and each generation furnished its soldier. In all the campaigns and wars which the earlier settlers waged against the In- dians the name of Shatswell appears among the troops. The great-grandfather of Colonel Shatswell served with distinction in the American army during the Revolution. John Shatswell, his father, was captain of the Ipswich troop, a cavalry company attached to General Low's brigade of the militia of Essex County. The early life of Colonel Shatswell was passed on his father's farm, and did not differ from that of every farmer's son - working on the farm in the summer, attending school in the winter. He received the rudiments of his education at home under the instruction of his mother and afterwards was sent to "the old Pudding Street School" under the famous master, Jonathan Pressey. Subsequently, he attended the Latin grammar school. Leaving school, he remained with his father at work on the farm until the spring of 1855, when becoming a little tired of farming life and with the resistless curiosity of an energetic young man, wishing to see something of the world beyond the limits of his native village, he went to East Boston to live. Here he found employment in a planing-mill and remained two years. The old Shatswell military spirit began to stir within him, and in December, 1855, he joined the old Boston Fusiliers and continued his membership with this company until the breaking out of the War of the Rebellion. In the spring of 1857 he returned to Ipswich and since that time has resided, with the exception of the years spent in the service of the United States, at the old homestead on High Street. During the lifetime of his father he assisted him in the management of the farm and since his decease has had the exclusive control of it. When in April, 1861, news came that Sumter had been fired upon and war began the great tidal wave of patriotism that swept over the country reached Ipswich, and the historic old town not unmindful of her ancient renown at once proceeded to enlist and organize a company. Nathaniel Shatswell was one of the first to enlist and was chosen first lieutenant and commissioned May 14, 1861, by Governor John A. Andrew. June 24th the company left Ij^swich for Fort Warren, Boston Harbor, to join the Fourteenth Regiment Massachusetts Infantry. On July 5th the company was mustered into the service of the United States, and Lieutenant Shatswell was commissioned captain. The regiment remained at Fort Warren, drilling and learning the duties of a soldier, until August 4, 1861, when it was transferred to Washington, and went into camp at Kaloraraa. On the 12th of August the regiment was ordered to Fort Albany, across Long Bridge on the south side of the Potomac. Here it remained two years, doing duty in the fortifications around Washington, and guarding Long Bridge and other bridges across the Potomac. January 1, 1862, the regiment, by orders from the War Department, was changed from an infantry to a heavy artillery regiment, two additional companies were enlisted and the regiment was recruited to its maximum strength and was known as the First Regiment Massachusetts Heavy Artillery. In August, 1862, when General Banks was retreating down the Shenandoah Valley the regiment was hurried to the front and at Fairfax Court- House, Va., met the Union army in full retreat. Captain Shatswell led the advance. Halting his men across the turnpike he afforded an opportunity for the tired Union troops to reform in his rear and boldly charging with his own men he checked the advance of the enemy, and after a sharp skirmish saved a battery from capture which becoming demoralized early in the day, deserted their guns as soon as halted by the skirmish line. As a reward for these services the guns were assigned to the companies under the command of Captain Shatswell. Captain Shatswell was commissioned major December 31, 1862, and for the next year he was with his regiment continuously, building roads, guarding bridges, doing picket duty, drilling and exercising his men and making it one of the best disciplined and drilled regiments in the army. Returning to the fortifications around Washington Major Shatswell remained until May 15, 1864, when the regiment was ordered to the front, and started at once from Alexandria, Va., for Belle Plain with its full complement of twelve companies and each company with full ranks, marching from Belle Plain by way of Fredericksburg, May 18, 1864, it reported to General Meade near Spotsylvania. General Meade assigned the regiment to General R. 0. Tyler's division of heavy artillery, placing its Colonel, Thomas R. Fannalt, in command of the brigade. May 19th the brigade while supporting a battery on the extreme right of the Union lines.was exposed to a terrible fire from the rebel troops. Leading the advance Major Shatswell's regiment was engaged with Rhode's division of General Ewell's Corps. At the first fire the senior major of the regiment was killed and the command devolved upon Major Shatswell who, from that time till the close of the war, commanded the regiment. All through the terrible fight of that day Major Shatswell held the enemy in check until they were finally repulsed, and the supply train of General Grant, which was the objective point of General Ewell, was saved. In this engagement the regiment lost ninety-one killed and three hundred and four wounded. Major Shatswell was severely wounded in the head by a minnie ball which partially stunned him. He was taken to the rear, and his wound was dressed. Recovering consciousness he returned to the command of his regiment and remained until the retreat of the rebels at dark gave him an opportunity for rest. On the 2d and 3d of June, the major was engaged at Cold Harbor, successfully repelling five attacks made by the rebels on the regimental line of breast- works.

Crossing the James River on June 14th, Major Shatswell arrived at Petersburg in time to engage in the night attack on the rebel works June 16th ; during this engagement liis sword was shot away from his side. On June 18th, the major was ordered to charge the rebel lines in front of him. Driving in their picket-line he charged with his whole regiment, the enemy drawn up behind a sunken road, and succeeded in driving them from their position. While leading this charge Major Shatswell was struck in the side by a minnie ball, which prostrated him to the ground. Quickly regaining his horse, he continued to lead his men. After the enemy had been driven from his position the major examined his side and discovered what a narrow escape he had had. He found in the pocket of his blouse a small book tilled with papers and orders through which the ball had penetrated, lodging in the cover of the book against his side. The colonel has the book, papers and ball now in his possession. June 22d, while division officer of the day he was ordered to examine carei'ully the ground in front of his lines and ascertain if it was practicable to advance the picket line. He reported that it was practicable to advance a short distance. Eeceiving orders to advance five hundred yards he endeavored to carry out the orders. While doing this the rebels attacked his flank with three lines in echelon and drove him back. Many of his men were captured and he himself was only saved by the cover of a friendly thicket. At one time the rebel line passed all around him and he was nearly certain of being captured. Keeping closely under cover he remained concealed from nine o'clock in the morning until dark, when he succeeded in gaining the Union lines.

July 27th, the major led an attack at Deep Bottom, charging across an open field and relieving a battery. August 15th and 16th he was engaged in another battle at Deep Bottom. August 25th he was fighting on the Weldon Railroad. From that time till October he was in fort Alec Hays in front of Petersburg. He was at the battle of Poplar Spring Church, October 2d, in which his regiment lost heavily in killed and wounded. The battle at Boydton Plank Road, October 27th, was one of the most desperate of all the battles in which the colonel was engaged. The whole corps was cut oflf" from the rest of the army, and so near were the combatants to each other that each side alternately drew men through the fence that separated the two opposing forces, and made prisoners of them. In this battle the colonel performed one of the most difficult tactical movements which is ever attempted, and then only under the pressure of dire necessity, that is, to change front in line of battle while under fire. The colonel with keen military sagacity seized just the right moment to irisue the necessary orders, which were jjromptly executed, and the movement was a success, the rebel assault repulsed and the day won. Until the middle of December the colonel, with his regiment, was in the field continuously and constantly under fire. January 27, 1865, Major Shalswell was commissioned

In January, in consequence of a cold, contracted in a raid on the Weldon Railroad, which brought on a serious attack of rheumatism. Colonel Shatswell was granted leave of absence for sixty days, and came to Ipswich. He again reported for duty March, 5, 1865, and never left the regiment again until the expiration of its term of service. The rebels charged the Union lines for the last time March 25th. After that, until the surrender of General Lee at Appomatox, Colonel Shatswell was engaged in one continuous skirmish, closely following the retreating forces of General Lee, and was present when that general surrendered. Major Shatswell was breveted lieutenant-colonel and colonel for meritorious conduct on the field. Colonel Shatswell was mustered out, with his regiment, at Washington, August 16, 1865, and soon after returned to Ipswich, where he immediately resumed the occupation of farming. In April, 1869, Colonel Shatswell was appointed assistant superintendent of insane at the county institution, situated in Ipswich, and continues to hold that position at the present time.

In 1883 he was elected a member of the board of selectmen for the town of Ipswich and re-elected in 1884 and 1885. Colonel Shatswell is a member of John T. Heard Lodge, of F. & A. M., of which lodge he was W. M. five years. He is also a member of Washington Royal Arch Chapter and Winslow Lewis Commandery of Knight Templars, of Salem He is an active member of General James Appleton Post G. A. R. Colonel Shatswell was married, June 15, 1861, to Mary White Stone, and has two daughters, Fannie W. and Annis L. Shatswell. Colonel Shatswell is a man of indomitable will, cool, firm and with a wonderful powder of commanding men.

With steady courage, undismayed by repulse or defeat, under fire he never faltered, but was as calm and undisturbed as on dress parade. He carried the same characteristics into civil life. In the administration of affairs of the town and in his position as assistant superintendent of the county insane he was and is an able executive officer, far-seeing, skillful and well versed in the requirements of his position. Steady in his private attachments, his affection is warm and sincere ; open and social in his temper, his generosity is limited only by his means; with a lively and delicate sense of honor, neither public trust or private interest was ever betrayed by him. Intellectually strong and vigorous, he weighs carefully every matter, and is firm and tenacious in his opinions without obstinacy. He was a brilliant soldier, and he is an exemplary private citizen. Modest, quiet and unassuming in his demeanor, he has shown himself capable and efficient in every position he has been called upon to fill. In politics he is a staunch Republican without being a bitter partisan. In stature the colonel is rising six feet, his frame of

James Peatfield

James Peatfield was born in 1804, at Arnold, a small town three miles from Nottingham, England. He was the son of Joseph Peatfield, a man somewhat remarkable in his day. He was a bleacher by occupation, and carried on an extensive bleachery works at Arnold, doing work for the Nottingham spinners. Afterwards he came to the United States and was one of the first to engage in buying coal lands in Pennsylvania, having firm faith in the enormous coal-fields that were just then beginning to attract the attention of miners and capitalists. Mr. Peatfield did not live to realize the full extent of the immense resources of the Pennsylvania mines, or to see this gigantic industry assume the controlling interest in the United States. He did acquire a competency by his mining operations, and died at a ripe old age in St. Clair, Pennsylvania, where his remains now lie buried. Joseph Peatfield married Jane Spenser. She bore him five children, - Jamea the subject of this sketch. Mary afterwards married to Jabez Mann, Sandford, Joseph and John, all of whom came to the United States and settled at Ipswich. James Peatfield secured his early education at home, under his mother, and afterwards in the schools at Bulwell and Three Knights Bridge.

Playing as a boy or helping in his father's bleachery he early became familiar with machinery, and readily understood the principles which govern its construction. He, when a mere youth, showed a strong predilection lor mathematics, and even to this day has a strong love for them. He was bound as an apprentice to John Atherly, of Arnold, with whom he remained until his " coming of age," and thoroughly learned the building of lace and woolen machinery. In July, 1827, he came to the United States, lauding in New York city. That same month he journeyed to Ipswich, where he took up his residence, and has remained in this town ever since his first arrival. At this time the manufacture of lace was receiving much attention in this country, and at Ipswich were two factories wherein lace was manufactured, one situated on Hight Street and owned by the late Dr. Thomas Manning, and is the present mansion-house of Joseph Ross, Esq. ; the other was situated on what is now known as County Street, and is now used by S. F. Canney as a factory for the manufacture of boxes and as a planing mill. This latter was owned and operated by the Heards. When James Peatfield came to Ipswich he at once entered the emj)loy of the Heards, as machinist. He found the machinery then in use old and imperfect. All the machines had been brought from England and had been in use for a long time. Mr. Peatfield immediately went to work to repair these machines and to make improvements, and finally built a new machine, which was one of the first lace machines made in this country. This machine did the work so much better than the old machine, and with a large increase in its productive power that the business rapidly increased and bid fair to become one of the leading industries of the country. Afterwards a heavy tarifl'was laid on the raw material out of which the lace was manufactured, and this industry began to languish and at length died out entirely. Mr. Peatfield then turned his attention to other fields of manufactures, and in 1839 he invented and built a warp machine, and began the manufacture of woolen underclothing. This was the beginning of that immense business, the manufacture of woolens, which at the present time gives employment to many thousands of workmen and millions of capital, and to James Peatfield belongs the honor of being the first person to manufacture woolen underclothing in the United States. The goods were manufactured in the lace factory of the Heards', the lace machinery was removed and warp machines put in their place. The Ipswich River afforded ample water power to run the machinery, and the business was very successful. A ready sale was found for all the goods that could be manufactured. This mill continued to make woolen goods under the management of James Peatfield until the Heards moved into the stone mill farther up the river, where was greater water-power and increased facilities for manufacturing. Mr. Peatfield was transferred to this mill and continued here for several years, making, repairing and improving machinery. He devoted his time especially to the loom department. In 1842, in company with his brother Sandford, he built the brick mill on Washington Street, near the Boston and Maine Railroad Station, and continued the manufacture of woolen goods, hosiery and underclothing until 1877, when he retired from active labor in the mill to the quiet enjoyments of rural life. Mr. Peatfield always had a great fondness and aptness for mathematical studies, and has pursued them into the higher branches of pure mathematics, and even to this day, at the age of more than four-score years, nothing pleases him more than to find some difficult mathematical problem to solve or some mathematical puzzle to unravel. He at one time constructed a very ingenious labyrinth, which was the wonder and delight of all. He also made a most intricate puzzle which he calls the puzzle of the squares, which has proved a very difficult nut for mathematical scholars to crack. James Peatfield was always a great lover of horticulture. In 1846 he bought some seven acres more or less bounded by the Topsfield road and the Ipswich River, and planted a nursery in a part of this purchase. After leaving the building of machinery and the manufacture of woolens he devoted himself to the care of his nursery and the developing of his lands. He sold, from time to time, small portions of his original purchase to various parties for house lots, but he retained the part which he had planted as a nursery until 1885. Knowing alnnost every kind of fruit tree and plant, it has been his great pleasure to cultivate his garden and his orchard, and in the pure enjoyment of watching them thrive and grow, his latter days have passed in peace and quiet. Since 1885 he has not been engaged in any active business. October 2, 1834, he was married to Susan Heard, of Ipswich. Two daughters, - Hannah Moore and Margaret Fox - were born to them, and they are living at the present time. Mr. Peatfield, at the age of eightythree, has his mental faculties unimpaired. His memory is wonderfully retentive. He remembers every incident of his life, and can give the most minute details of every circumstance and event ofhis long life. He retains a strong interest in all the affairs of his adopted town, and is interested in every effort to advance its prosperity.

James Peatfield is a man of undoubted probity and honesty, liberal in every sense of the word and interested in every good work. Temperate in all things, simple in his habits, amiable in his disposition, quiet in his manner, conscientious and upright in all his dealings, genial and affectionate, his later years afford him the pleasant consciousness of a well-spent life.

Daniel Potter

Daniel Potter, one of Salem's most respected and honored citizens, was the second of thirteen children of Daniel and Eunice Fellows Potter, of Ipswich, and was born in that historic town on the 24th of March, 1800.

His earlier years were passed in his native town, and here, in his school-boy days, by persevering industry and attention to his studies, he laid the foundation for a life of usefulness and honor, worthy of emulation.

In April, 1815, he removed to Salem and became apprenticed as a blacksmith to David Safford, with whom he remained until he reached the age of twenty-two years, when he commenced in business for himself on Sewell Street, Salem, continuing uutil 1827, when he removed to Roxbury, Mass.

Two years later, ou the 29th of November, 1829, he returned to the city of Salem and took a shop on West Place ; he there pursued his trade until 1852 and with marked success.

The industry and integrity of character with which he pursued his business commended itself to the people, and he was repeatedly called to positions of honor and responsibility.

He was chosen a member of the Common Council fortheyearsl842, '43, '44, '45, '46, '48, '54, '65, '69, and "70, receiving the additional honor of being selected as its presiding officer for the years 1854' and '55.

The ability, faithfulness and dignity which he brought to the discharge of the duties of this high position in these years when to be a member of the

In 1852 retiring from his trade he was appointed to the very responsible position of deputy-sheriff of Essex County by High Sheriff Robinson of Marblehead, which position he continued without interruption to hold, by reappointments, until his resignation in January, 1887, rounding up thirty-five years of almost uninterrupted official life.

In politics a recognized Republican. As a citizen, an upright man, as an ofl3cial incorruptible. In social life, jovial and witty, and in all those characteristics which go to make up a man to be honored, respected and beloved by his fellows, a man of note.

On the 10th day of March, 1824, he was married to Dolly Newell, daughter of John and Hannah B. Ferguson, of Salem, a union which has been happily continued for more than three-score years.

Of thirteen children born to them one son and three daughters remain to honor and cheer them in their declining years, viz.: Daniel, Jr., resides in South Braintree ; Dolly Ann, married to Nathaniel Jackman, of Salem; Ellen, married to George H. Pousland, of Salem ; and Margaret F., who resides at home with her parents in Salem.

Wesley Kendall Bell

He was the second son of John and Betsej^ Kendall Bell, whose farm home was one of comfort and tiirift, so that Wesley, after attending the Common District School was sent for one term to Wilbraham (Mass.) Academy, and thence to Greenwich, R. I., where he was fitted for college.

He came to Ipswich in 1850, where he received an appointment as teacher in the Grammar School, in which position he remained for sixteen years, giving eminent satisfaction by his close application to the duties of the position, and retaining the resj^ect of all the pupils who were favored by being under his tuition.

At the town-meeting, in the sj^ring of 1865, he was chosen to the responsible position of town clerk, and the satisfactory manner in which he has performed his duties has assured his re-nomination and election in each succeeding year up to the present time.

In 1872 he was appointed by his excellency, Gov. Washburn, as a trial justice for the trial of criminal cases. The terms of appointment to this position are for three years, and so ably has the duty been performed that he has received four re- appointments to this important office.

In 1878 he was chosen treasurer and clerk of the Ipswich Gas-Light Company, which position he continues to occupy with great credit to himself and to the satisfaction of the corporation.

Mr. Bell is a cousin to the Hon. Charles H. Bell, of Exeter, N. H., the genial ex-governor of that State, and, like his relative, is in politics a positive Republican - reliable and true to his party - not the blind partisan, but the well-read, thinking man, able to defend and " give a reason for the faith which is within him."

Mr. Bell has taken an active interest in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and has held various ofKcial positions in the order. He is a member of Agawam Lodge, No. 52, Naumkeag Encampment, No. 13, and Canton Wildey, No. 2.

It would seem that Mr. Bell, while he has had the fortune to be much'in public life, has continued and still continues to have the full confidence of the people of our town.

Said a gentleman who had known of him from the time he first came among us, " For the citizen of good, sound, practical ability, of sterling integrity and undoubted character, his superior cannot be found." Said another, "For a man who has been upwards of thirty-sdx years in public life as a teacher, as a politician, as a judicial officer, while I am not of his political faith, I believe him to be the same honest, upright citizen as when he first made this place his home," - and these are but the faint expressions of esteem and confidence which are heard on every hand among the townspeople.

In these days it is a pleasure to note cases where after long terms of ofiicial life, the communities where men live are still ready to endorse them as faithful and honest in the discharge of responsibilities, and it is to be hoped that examples like this will be appreciated by the young and that his conduct may be emulated by them.