Norfolk County, Massachusetts - Chapter 4: The First Settlements, 1918

Chapter 4: The First Settlements

Upon the death of Queen Elizabeth, James I ascended the English throne. At that time there were four religious organizations in existence in England. First, the Church of England, which had the sanction and support of the British Government and its King; Second, the Separatists (later known as the Pilgrims), who refused to affiliate in any way with the Church of England, or to acknowledge the authority of the state church ; Third, the Puritans, or Nonconformists, who differed from the Anglican Church only in their disregard of certain ritualistic rites and observances ; and Fourth, the Roman Catholics, who in some parts of the country formed the prevailing religious power. The religious situation in England at the close of the Sixteenth Century wielded an important influence upon the early settlement of North America.

Twice before becoming king - in 1581 and again in 1590 - James I had openly professed a sincere belief in the teachings of John Knox and the Puritans. On April 3, 1603, when about to leave Scotland for his coronation, he gave thanks publicly in the kirk, declaring that "As God has promoted me to greater power, it is my duty to establish religion and take away corruption in both England and Scotland." This public and apparently fearless public utterance gave great encouragement to the Puritans. But they soon learned that James was not sincere. In his address to Parliament in 1604, he pronounced the Puritans to be "a sect insufferable in a well governed commonwealth." Three-fourths of the members of the House of Commons sympathized with the Puritans, and they were not slow in showing by their actions that the insolence of the king had awakened the indignation of the Nonconformists. The attitude of the House of Commons led James to say in a letter written about this time: "I would rather live like a hermit than be a king over such a people as the pack of Puritans are that overrule the lower house." His motto seemed to be "No bishop, no king." In July, 1604, he issued a proclamation in which he declared that he wanted only "one doctrine, one discipline, one religion, in substance and in ceremony," and ordered "all curates and lecturers to conform strictly to the rubrics of the prayer book, on pain of deprivation."

Not long after this proclamation was promulgated, James confidently asserted that he would make all dissenters conform to the ceremonies of the Church of

England, or he would harry them out of the country. And that was exactly what happened. Large numbers of the Separatists refused to conform and left their native land to find refuge in Holland. It was at this time that they took the name of Pilgrims. For several years a congregation of the Pilgrims was located at Leyden, under the pastoral guidance of Rev. John Robinson, who has been spoken of as "the most learned, polished and modest spirit that ever separated from the Church of England."

Immigration To America

In February, 1619, the Pilgrims in Holland sent agents to England to obtain a patent to land in America. After considerable delay a patent was issued in the name of John Wincob. The original document has been lost and, so far as known, there are no copies in existence. It is believed that it covered certain territory that now lies within the State of New York. As soon as the patent had been obtained, the Pilgrims began making their preparations for emigrating, but more than a year elapsed before the first company was ready. The delay in completing their preparations caused radical changes in their original plans for planting a colony in the New World. Another agency in altering their plans was the

Great Patent For New England

On luly 23, 1620, Sir Thomas Coventry was ordered to prepare a new patent for the Plymouth Company for the king's royal signature. The result was the "Great Patent for New England," signed by King James and conveying to forty of his subjects "all that part of North America extending from the fortieth to the forty-eigth degree of north latitude, and between these parallels from the Atlantic to the Pacific."

The company of forty, which included some of the most wealthy and powerful of England's nobility, was known as "The Council established at Plymouth, in the County of Devon, for the Planting, Ruling, Ordering and Governing New England in America." The Great Patent did not pass the seals until November 3, 1620.

The Mayflower

While the Great Patent was pending, those of the Pilgrims who had decided to try their fortunes in America made everything ready for their departure. The "Speedwell" of 60 tons was chartered in Holland, and the "Mayflower" of 180 tons was chartered in England for the voyage. The two vessels started on August 13, 1620, but the Speedwell sprang a leak and was forced to put in at Dartmouth for repairs, the Mayflower waiting until her sister ship could be put in condition. After a few days another start was made, but again the Speedwell began to leak and the two ships put in at Plymouth, where on August 21st the Speedwell was condemned as unseaworthy. On September 6, 1620, the Mayflower, with 1 01 persons on board, left Plymouth and on November 9th the immigrants sighted the cliffs of Cape Cod.

The Compact

Before effecting a landing and choosing a site for their settlement, the men on board assembled in the cabin of the Mayflower and drew up the following agreement or compact :

"In the name of God, Amen. We whose names are under written, the loyal subjects of our dread sovereign, King James, by the Grace of God, of Great Britain and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, &c, having undertaken, for the glory of God and the advancement of the Christian faith, and the honor of our King and country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the northern parts of Virginia, do, by these presents, solemnly and mutually, in the presence of God and one another, covenant and combine ourselves together unto a civil body politic, for our better ordering and preservation and furtherance of the ends aforesaid ; and by virtue hereof to enact, constitute and frame such just and equal laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions and offices, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general good of the colony ; unto which we promise all due submission and obedience.

"In witness whereof we have hereunto subscribed our names, at Cape Cod, the nth of November, in the year of the reign of our sovereign lord, King James, of England, France and Ireland, the 18th, and of Scotland the 54th, A. D. 1620."

This compact was signed by every man on board and for ten years it was the only constitution or organic law of the Plymouth colony. On the day that it was signed a party of fifteen men, well armed, was set ashore at Long Point to explore the coast and select a location for the proposed plantation. This was followed by several similar exploring parties until December n, 1620, when they landed at Plymouth. A fort and storehouse were built and land was allotted to the several families. The white man had at last gained a permanent footing in New England.

The Weston Colony

In July, 1622, Thomas Weston, a merchant of London, sent out two ships - the "Charity" of 100 tons and the "Swan" of 30 tons, with fifty or sixty men, to establish a colony. The following month the ships arrived at Plymouth, where a majority of the men lived at the expense of the Pilgrims while the Swan went along the coast to seek a suitable location for a settlement. The men were not of a type to win the confidence and respect of the Pilgrims. A few of them were honest, but most of them were "rude and profane fellows," and none was fitted by training or experience to develop a new country.

After a few weeks the Swan returned to Plymouth and reported in favor of a place called Wessagusset (also written Wessaguscus), about twenty-five miles north of Plymouth, in what is now the Town of Weymouth, Norfolk County. In October, after buildings had been erected for the use of those who remained as colonists, the Charity returned to England, leaving a supply of provisions sufficient to last the colony through the winter. But they were without a competent leader, inexperienced in the work of building up a settlement in a wilderness, with' no settled habits of industry, and the supply of provisions was soon exhausted, after which they applied to their neighbors at Plymouth for assistance. Finding the people of Plymouth almost as destitute as they were themselves, they proposed to the Pilgrims to furnish the Swan to visit some of the Indian villages along the coast and procure a supply of corn. Governor Bradford, with a few men and the friendly Indian, Squanto, took the vessel and went to a place called Monamoycke (now Chatham), where he obtained eight hogsheads of corn and some beans.

Past experience had taught the men of Wessagusset nothing, it seems, for they soon wasted their share of the corn and beans. Some of them worked for the Indians to get food, some stole from the natives, and a few actually died of starvation. In their idleness they incurred the displeasure of Wituwamat, a minor chief of the Massachusett Indians, who threatened to destroy the colony. They appealed to the Pilgrims for protection and Miles Standish - the only man in New England with previous military experience - was sent on March 23, 1623, with a few men, to settle the difficulty. The Indians also flocked to Wessagusset and for a little while trouble seemed imminent. Inviting Wituwamat, Pecksuot and two other Indian leaders into a room, ostensibly for a parley, the door was closed upon a signal from Standish and the Indians were assaulted. Three of them were killed in the room and the other one was taken out and hanged. The death of their leaders demoralized the Indians, who fled, and Standish returned to Plymouth. A few of Weston's men went with him and the others went on board the Swan and sailed away.

Robert Gorges

In December, 1622, Robert Gorges received from the Plymouth Council a grant of land in Massachusetts, with "all shores and coasts for ten English miles in a straight line toward the northeast." In other words, his grant lay north of the Pilgrims' colony and extended along the coast for ten miles. Robert was the youngest son of Sir Ferdinando Gorges, and soon after receiving the above mentioned grant he was appointed lieutenant-general of the country.

In the latter part of August, or early in September, 1623, Robert Gorges, accompanied by Rev. William Morrell and a number of colonists, some of whom brought their families, arrived in Massachusetts Bay. After selecting his ten miles of coast line, to which his grant gave him title, he established his colony at Wessagusset, where Weston had attempted to plant a settlement the year before. This was the second permanent colony to be established in Massachusetts. It was located within the present limits of Norfolk County, and a more detailed history of it is given in the chapter on the Town of Weymouth.

The Dorchester Company

Early in 1623 a patent was obtained by Robert Cushman and Edward Winslow, "for themselves and associates," to a tract of land on Cape Ann where a fishing station was established. A little later the Dorchester Company was organized and a plantation opened, which for the first year was under the management of John Tilly and Thomas Gardner. They were succeeded by Robert Conant, who in 1626 removed the plantation to Naumkeag (now Salem), hoping

"that in following times it might prove a receptacle for such as, upon account of religious views, would be willing to begin a foreign plantation in this part of the world."

After the removal of the colony to Naumkeag, the Dorchester Company was dissolved, and Rev. John White, who has been called "the father of the colony at Cape Ann," undertook to get a new patent to lands bordering upon Massachusetts Bay. In the meantime King James had died and was succeeded in March, 1625, by his son, Charles I, who followed his royal father in political and religious matters. Through Mr. White's influence, a number of London merchants subscribed for stock in the enterprise, and, when a sufficient amount of stock had been subscribed to make a good showing, application was made for a patent.

The Massachusetts Company

On March 19, 1628, a patent was granted to Sir Henry Rosewell, Sir John Young, Thomas Southcote, John Humphrey, John Endicott and Simon Whetcomb as the Massachusetts Company, embracing "that part of New England lying between three miles to the north of the Merrimac and three miles to the south of the Charles River, and of every part thereof in the Massachusetts Bay; and in the length between the described breadth, from the Atlantic Ocean to the South Sea."

One of the first acts of the new company was to select John Endicott, "a Puritan of the sternest mould," to conduct a party of emigrants to the Conant settlement at Naumkeag "to carry on the plantation of the Dorchester agents and to make way for the settlement of another colony in the Massachusetts." Endicott and his family, with about forty or fifty colonists, embarked at Weymouth, England, on the good ship "Abigail" in the latter part of June, 1628, and on the 6th of September arrived safely at Naumkeag.

In May, 1629, they sent three ships - the "Talbot," 300 tons, Capt. Thomas Beecher; the "George Bonaventure," 300 tons, Capt. Thomas Coxe ; and the "Lion's Whelp," 120 tons, master not known, with about two hundred planters to join the colony under Endicott. They arrived at Naumkeag late in June, bringing the news that they were soon to be followed by three other ships bringing additional colonists. John Endicott was elected governor, and a council of thirteen, of which the governor was one, was chosen to control the affairs of the colony. In June, 1629, a second colony was established under the auspices of the Massachusetts Company at Charlestown.

Transfer Of The Charter

Up to this time the company and the colony had been separate, the former in England making rules and regulations for the latter in America. Among the Puritans was a deep-seated idea that those who left England and came to America should be given the privilege to establish such government as they desired - "to form a new state, as fully to all intents and purposes, as if they had been in a state of nature and were making their first entrance into cizilized society."

They therefore sought to have the charter transferred to America and finally succeeded, the transfer being made on August 28, 1629. Prior to the transfer,

Matthew Cradock had been governor of the company and John Endicott of the colony. By the transfer of the charter the company and the colony were blended under one governor. John Winthrop was the "first governor chosen by the freemen of the colony within its limits under the charter after its transfer."

At The Close Of 163O

During the year 1630 seventeen ships, carrying about fifteen hundred persons, arrived from the mother country. By the close of that year, just a decade after the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth, at least a dozen settlements had been established in Massachusetts, to wit: Plymouth, Wessagusset (now Weymouth), Watertown, Mount Wollaston, Mattapan (now Dorchester), Salem, Lynn, New Town (now Cambridge), Charlestown, Noddle's Island (now East Boston), Roxbury and Shawmut (now Boston). Some of these settlements were situated within the present borders of Norfolk County, and their history is given in connection with that of the town in which they are located.