Hingham Town (part 3 of 9)

And no persons except such as are above mentioned and described, shall on any pretence be ever admitted to the said School, unless the number of female scholars in the said School be less than thirty, or the number of males less than forty, in either of which cases, the said Trustees, their survivors or successors, may admit such a number as shall increase the number of female scholars to thirty, and the number of male to forty ; preference forever to be given to such poor Orphans whose guardians or patrons shall request their admittance.

And the aforesaid grant, release and confirmation is on this further trust, that the said Trustees, their survivors or successors, appropriate to the use of the scholars aforesaid, the two largest rooms in the dwellinghouse standing on the land aforesaid, fronting westerly on the road ; the lower room for the use of the males, the upper for the use of the females. But if the said rooms or either, at the time of the said Sarah's decease,, shall be unfit or shall afterwards become so through age or any accidents, or shall be totally destroyed, they shall out of the rents and profits aforesaid, rebuild or repair the same, as the case may be, upon the same place if possible, and if not, then they shall provide some other convenient place, provided the same be always central to the said north parish, as near as may be.

And the aforesaid grant, release and confirmation is on this further trust, that the said Trustees, their survivors or successors, annually, after said Sarah's decease, appoint some able minister of the Gospel to deliver in the said north parish, a sermon to the said scholars, for the purpose of inculcating such principles as are suited to form the mind to virtue ; for which, from the rents and profits aforesaid, he shall receive the sum of six pounds lawful money.

And the aforesaid grant, release and confirmation is on this further trust, that out of the rents and profits aforesaid, the said Trustees, their survivors or successors, always keep the buildings aforesaid and the fences on the land in good repair, and discharge all taxes that may be assessed thereon ; and after such repairs are made, taxes discharged, and all charges that may accrue in the execution of the several trusts aforesaid are paid, the said Trustees, their survivors or successors, shall pay the residue, if the whole should be found necessary, to the Preceptor and Mistress aforesaid, at such times, and in such proportion to each, as said Trustees, their survivors or successors, shall find necessary and convenient ; and if any money shall then be found remaining from the rents and profits aforesaid, the same are to be loaned on interest upon good security, at the discretion of the said Trustees, their survivors or successors, and the interest thereof appropriated to such uses and purposes, as in the opinion of said Trustees, their survivors or successors, will most contribute to the interest and most promote the end and design of instituting and founding the School aforesaid.

And further, it shall forever be the duty of said Trustees, their survivors or successors, in case either the said Preceptor or the said Mistress misbehave in the aforesaid employments, or become unequal to their discharge through age, sickness or any infirmity of body or mind, to remove them or either of them, and appoint others in their stead, and so do from time to time, as often as any Preceptor or Mistress shall decease, misbehave, or become unfit as aforesaid ; and also dismiss any scholar of either sex from said School who shall conduct him or herself with impropriety so as to infringe the rules of the School.

And the aforesaid grant, release and confirmation is on this further trust, that whenever one of the said Trustees shall decease, that then the survivors of them shall convey the premises to a new Trustee, such as they shall elect, to hold to him and his heirs, to the use of such new Trustee and the surviving Trustees, their heirs and assigns upon the trusts before mentioned ; and so from time to time as often as any one Trustee shall decease.

Provided, however, that never more than four of said Trustees belong to, or be inhabitants of said Hingham. And provided also, that in case either of the aforenamed Trustees should decease before the said Sarah, that then the said uses to the new Trustee, and surviving Trustees be limited to take place not until, but immediately after the decease of the said Sarah.

It is however further agreed by all the parties to these presents, that in case the said Sarah should, in her life time, release to the said Trustees her estate for life in the premises, that then the said Trustees shall be immediately seized thereof to the uses, trusts, intents and purposes aforesaid, in as full and as ample a manner as if the said Sarah had in fact deceased.

And to the intent that the trusts aforesaid may the more effectually be carried into execution, and that the said School and its funds, of which it may now or hereafter be possessed, may be placed upon a firmer basis, it is further agreed by and between all the parties to these presents, and the aforesaid grant, release and confirmation is also on this further trust and confidence, that the said Trustees, their survivors or successors, shall, within one year from the day of the date of these presents, apply to and obtain from the Legislature of this said Commonwealth, an act, incorporating them, or their survivors or successors, to be appointed as aforesaid, into a body politic by the name of the Trustees of Derby School, whereby all the lands and buildings aforesaid, with all their privileges, easements and appurtenances, shall be confirmed to the said Trustees in their corporate capacity, and to their successors in trust forever, for the use and purposes, and upon the trusts, which in this said Deed of Lease and Release are mentioned, expressed and declared ; and also enabling them, the said Trustees, to receive by gift, grant, bequest or otherwise, any other lands, tenements or other estate, real or personal, to be appropriated according to trusts, intent and design herein before expressed, and further, to do everything whatsoever necessary to carry the trusts aforesaid into execution, according to the true meaning of the same.

Provided always, nevertheless, and it is hereby declared and agreed, by and between all the parties to these presents, and it is their true intent and meaning that it shall and may be lawful for the said Sarah on this condition, but on this only ; that if the aforesaid Trustees, their survivors or successors, do not, within the term aforesaid, obtain an Act of Incorporation as aforesaid, at any time during her natural life, at her free will and pleasure, by any writing or writings under her hand and seal, attested by two or more credible witnesses, or by her last will and testament in writing, to be by her signed, sealed and published in the presence of three or more credible witnesses, to revoke, alter, or make void, all and every, and any of the use or uses, estate or estates, trust or trusts hereinbefore limited or declared of or concerning the land and buildings aforesaid, and by the same or any other writing or writings to limit, declare or appoint any new use or uses, trust or trusts of and concerning the same or any parts thereof, whereof such revocations shall be made : and so from time to time as often as she shall think fit, anything herein contained to the contrary notwithstanding.

In Witness whereof, the parties to these presents have hereunto interchangeably set their hands and seals, the day and year first above written.

In accordance with the condition in the foregoing deed, the Trustees obtained from the General Court the following Act, which was passed Nov. 11, 1784: -

An Act for establishing a School in the North Parish of Hingham, by the name of the Derby School, and for appointing and incorporating Trustees of the said School.

WHEREAS the education of youth has ever been considered by the wise and good as an object of the highest consequence to the safety and happiness of a free people : - And whereas Sarah Derby of Hingham, in the county of Suffolk, Widow, on the 21st of October last past, by a Deed of Lease and Release of that date, legally executed, gave, granted and conveyed to the Rev. Ebenezer Gay, and others therein named, and to their heirs, a certain piece of land with the buildings thereon, situate in the north parish of the said Hingham, and in the said Deed described, to the use and upon the trust, that the rents and profits thereon be appropriated forever to the support of a School in the said north parish of Hingham, for the instruction of such youth in such arts, languages and branches of science as are particularly mentioned, enumerated and described in the said Deed : - And whereas the execution of the generous and important design of instituting the said School will be attended with great embarrassments, unless, by an act of incorporation, the Trustees mentioned in the said Deed, and their successors, shall be authorized to commence and prosecute actions at law, and transact such other matters in their corporate capacity as the interest of the said School shall require :

Sec. 1. Be it therefore enacted, by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, that there be, and there hereby is established, in the north parish of Hingham, in the county of Suffolk, a School by the name of Derby School, for the promotion of virtue and instruction of such youth of each sex in such arts, languages and branches of science, as are respectively and severally mentioned, enumerated and described by a Deed of Lease and Release, made and executed on the twenty-first day of October last past, by and between Sarah Derby, of Hingham aforesaid, Widow, on the one part, and the Rev. Ebenezer Gay, the Rev. Daniel Shute, John Thaxter, Esq., the Hon. Benjamin Lincoln, Esq., all of the said Hingham ; the Hon. Cotton Tufts, of Weymouth and the Hon. Richard Cranch, of Braintree, both in the said county of Suffolk, Esqrs. ; the Hon. William

Cushing and the Hon. Nathan Cdshing, both of Scituate, in the county of Plymouth, Esqrs. ; John Thaxter, of Haverhill, in the County of Essex, Esq. ; and Benjamin Lincoln, of Boston, in the said county of Suffolk, Gentleman, on the other part.

Sec. 2. Be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That the aforementioned Ebenezer Gat, Daniel Shute, John Thaxter, Benjamin Lincoln, Cotton Tcfts, Richard Cranch, William Cushing, Nathan Cushing, John Thaxter, and Benjamin Lincoln, be, and they hereby are nominated and appointed Trustees of the said School, and they are hereby incorporated into a body politic, by the name of The Trustees of Derby School, and they and their successors shall be and continue a body politic and corporate, by the same name forever.

Sec. 3. Be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That all the lands and buildings which by the afore-mentioned Deed of Lease and Release, were given, granted and conveyed by the afore-mentioned Sarah Derby, unto the said Ebenezer Gay, Daniel Shute, John Thaxter, Benjamin Lincoln, Cotton Tufts, Richard Cranch, William Cushing, Nathan Cushing, John Thaxter and Benjamin Lincoln, and to their heirs, be, and they hereby are confirmed to the said Ebenezer Gay and others last named and to their successors, as Trustees of Derby School forever, for the uses, intents and purposes, and upon the trusts which in the said Deed of Lease and Release, are expressed ; and the Trustees aforesaid, their successors, and the officers of the said School, are hereby required, in conducting the concerns thereof, and in all matters relating thereto, to regulate themselves comformably to the true design and intention of the said Sarah Derby, as expressed in the Deed abovementioned.

Sec. 4. Be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That the said Trustees and their successors shall have one common Seal, which they may make use of in any cause or business that relates to the said office of Trustees of the said School ; and they shall have power and authority to break, change and renew the said Seal from time to time, as they shall see fit, and they may sue, and be sued in all actions real, personal and mixed, and prosecute and defend the same to final judgment and execution, by tbe name of the Trustees of Derby School.

Sec. 5. Be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That the said Ebenezer Gay and others, the Trustees aforesaid, and their successors, the longest livers and survivors of them, be the true and sole visitors, Trustees, and governors of the said Derby School, in perpetual succession forever to be continued in the way and manner hereafter specified, with full power and authority to elect a President, Secretary and Treasurer, and such officers of the said School as they shall judge necessary and convenient ; and to make and ordain such laws, rules and orders, for the good government of the said School, as to them, the Trustees, governors, and visitors aforesaid, and their successors, shall from time to time, according to the various occasions and circumstances, seem most fit and requisite ; all of which shall be observed by the officers, scholars and servants of the said School, upon the penalties therein contained.

Sec. 6. Be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That the number of the said Trustees and their successors, shall not at any one time, be more than eleven nor less than nine, five of whom shall constitute a quorum for transacting business ; and a major part of the members present shall decide all questions that shall come before them ; that the principal Preceptor for the time being shall be ever one of them ; that a major part shall be laymen and respectable freeholders of this Commonwealth, and never more than four of the Trustees or their successors shall belong to, or be inhabitants of, the town of Hingham afore-mentioned.

Sec. 7. Be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That as often as one or more of the Trustees of Derby School shall die or resign, or, in the judgment of the major part of the said Trustees, be rendered, by age or otherwise, incapable of discharging the duties of his office, then and so often, the Trustees then surviving and remaining, or the major part of them, shall elect one or more persons to supply the vacancy or vacancies.

Sec. 8. Be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That the Trustees aforesaid, and their successors be, and they hereby are, rendered capable in law to take and receive by gift, grant, devise, bequest, or otherwise, any lands, tenements, or other estate real and personal, provided that the annual income of the said real estate shall not exceed the sum of three hundred pounds, and the annual income of the said personal estate shall not exceed the sum of seven hundred pounds ; both sums to be valued in silver at the rate of six shillings and eight pence by the ounce ; to have and to hold the same to them, the said Trustees and their successors, on such terms, and under such provisions and limitations, as may be expressed in any deed or instrument of conveyance to them made. Provided always, that neither the said Trustees nor their successors, shall ever hereafter receive any grant or donation, the condition whereof shall require them or any others concerned, to act in any respect counter to the design of the afore-mentioned Sarah Derby, as expressed in the aforementioned Deed, or any prior donation ; and all Deeds and instruments which the said Trustees may lawfully make, shall, when made in the name of the said Trustees, and signed and delivered by the Treasurer and sealed with the common seal, bind the said Trustees and their successors, and be valid in law.

Sec. 9. Be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That the aforesaid Trustees shall have full power and authority to determine at what times and places their meetings shall be holden ; and upon the manner of notifying the Trustees to convene at such meetings ; and also upon the method of electing or removing Trustees ; and the said Trustees shall have full power and authority to ascertain and prescribe, from time to time, the powers and duties of their several officers, and to fix and ascertain the tenures of their respective offices.

Sec. 10. Be it, further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That Samuel Niles, Esq., be, and he hereby is authorized and empowered to fix the time and place for holding the first meeting of the said Trustees, and to certify them thereof.

Madam Derby's will was dated June 30, 1789, and a codicil to the same was dated June 4, 1790. She died, as is previously stated, June 17, 1790. The portions of the will and codicil relating to the Derby School are here given : -

I, Sarah Derby, of Hingham, in the county of Suffolk, Widow, this thirtieth day of June, in the year of our Lord seventeen hundred and eighty-nine, do make and ordain this my last will and testament. . . .

Thirdly. - I bequeath to the Trustees of Derby School twenty-five hundred pounds, in Massachusetts State Notes, in trust however, that they forever appropriate the interest thereof to the use of the Preceptor of the said School for the time being.

And I bequeath to the said Trustees the sum of seven hundred pounds in silver money, in trust, that they rest the same in such good securities on interest, as they shall determine best, and forever appropriate the interest thereof to the use of the Mistress of said School for the time being. . . .

Nineteenthly. - I bequeath to the Trustees of Derby School one hundred pounds in trust, that they rest the same in such good securities on interest as they shall determine best, and forever appropriate the interest thereof to the use and benefit of the Minister of the First Parish in Hingham, in consideration of his preaching a Lecture every year in the month of April, suitable for the youth.

Twentiethly. - The residue of my estate real and personal, I give to the Trustees of Derby School, in trust, that they rest the same in such good securities, on interest, as they shall determine best ; the income of which is to be appropriated to the following purposes. In the first place, to the support of Phebe, a negro woman now living with me, during her natural life. The care of said Phebe I recommend to the Rev. Daniel Shute, and it is my will that the said Daniel shall receive, from time to time, such sum or sums of the aforesaid income, as he and two others of the Trustees shall judge necessary for her comfortable support. And the remainder of said income to be appropriated forever to the repairs of the buildings and fences thereon, to clothing and supplying with school books, such poor scholars in this town, as shall be admitted into said School, as the Trustees in their wisdom shall think fit objects of this charity ; and also for the promotion of the good of said School in the manner they shall determine.

Twenty-second. - I hereby constitute Joseph Andrews and Caleb Thaxter, both of Hingham aforesaid, Executors of this my last will and testament, to which I have set my hand and seal the day and year first above mentioned.

Be it known to all men by these presents, that I, Sarah Derby, of Hingham, in the county of Suffolk, Widow, have made and declared my last will and testament in writing, bearing date June the thirtieth, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty-nine. I, the said Sarah, by this Codicil, do ratify and confirm my said last will and testament with the following provisions, viz :

First. - That whereas, in the Deed of Lease and Release given to the Trustees of Derby School, I have made provision for a sermon to be preached annually to the youth of said School, it is my will that the nineteenth article of the above will and testament, inasmuch as it is superseded by said provision, be null and void.

Secondly. - That all the estate, real and personal, which in the above will I have given to the Trustees of Derby School, to be by them appropriated to various purposes therein mentioned, be on this condition, viz : That said Trustees shall within one year after my decease, in their corporate capacities, make application to the Legislature of this Commonwealth, that they may have the liberty, in future, of filling up such vacancies as shall from time to time take place in their body, from any part of this State without limitation or restriction. But if they should neglect to comply with this condition ; or if the rents and incomes of said funds or estate shall ever for the space of two years together, cease to be appropriated to the purposes for which they were intended, then it is my will that said funds or estate go to the President and Fellows of Harvard College, in trust however, that they forever appropriate the interest thereof to the support of the Professor of Anatomy and Physic.

Thirdly. - It is my will that, from the income of the aforesaid funds, proper entertainment be made for the Trustees at their several meetings.

It is my will that said Trustees do forever relinquish the privilege which by virtue of the Deed of Lease and Release, they possess as Trustees, of sending each of them two scholars, one of each sex to Derby School ; and my will is that this Codicil be considered as part of my last will and testament, and that all things therein contained be faithfully performed, and as fully in every respect as if the same were so declared in my said last will and testament. In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal this fourth day of June, in the year of our Lord seventeen hundred and ninety.

Will and Testament in presence of us, who signed our names in presence of the Testatrix and of each other ; the interlineation of the word " School " being first made, and the word "together."

Received of Messr." Joseph Andrews & Caleb Thaxter, Executors of the Last Will & Testament of Mrs. Sarah Derby deceased, the following securities for the purposes specified in said Will : -

Massachusetts State notes - twenty-six hundred and twenty-seven pounds, fourteen shillings and three pence - twenty-five hundred, the interest therefrom, to be for the support of the Preceptor of Derby School, the interest of said notes paid up to August lBt 1788.

Continental Loan Office Certificates - seven hundred dollars, the interest paid up to December 31st 1784. Eight hundred and twenty-five dollars in Hardy's Indents. Two thousand three pounds, five shillings & ten pence in private notes of hand, seven hundred pounds, the interest arising therefrom to be for the support of the Preceptress of Derby School, fiftyeight pounds, nine shillings & seven pence interest due on said notes. Also a clock for the use of said school, with the picture of said deceased, and sundry articles of furniture found in said House designed for the School House, the whole by appraisement thirty-one pounds, eight shillings. I do hereby acknowledge that I have received the foregoing securities and articles, and that I have received for the Trustees the possession of the Real Estate, consisting of about half an acre of Land, more or less, bounded southerly on the land conveyed to the Trustees of Derby School, westerly & northerly on the highway, easterly on the land of the Heirs of Elisha Leavitt, deceased, with all the buildings thereon, consisting of two dwellinghouses, a shop, and outhouses, also a small Barn standing on the Town's land, separated from the land aforesaid by the highway in the northerly bounds thereof; all which the said Sarah Derby gave to the Trustees of Derby School as Residuary Legatees for the purposes specified in said Will.

Further received of Joseph Andrews & Caleb Thaxter, Executors of the last Will and Testament of Mr! Sarah Derby deceased, four hundred and twenty-three pounds twelve shillings and one penny in private notes of hand the interest included. Also two hundred and twentyfive dollars in old Continental money.

By the deed of Madam Derby the trustees acquired about one quarter of an acre of land which lay south of " other land of said Sarah, and separated therefrom by a picked fence," and as residuary legatees under her will, about half an acre lying between the former piece and the highway, now known as South Street. Upon the quarter-acre lot was a large dwelling-house, standing upon the same spot as that upon which the present Academy building stands, and it was in this that the school was first kept. This building was taken down in 1818. In the rear of the lot against the bank, which is in the line of the Cemetery, stood another building, occupied by several families. It was two stories in front and one in the rear. This building was subsequently sold, and moved to the street now known as West Street, but is not now standing. The buildings upon the half-acre lot and across South Street are described in the foregoing receipt of the treasurer of the Trustees. These, with the land, were sold in several different parcels at different times between 1800 and 1818.

It must be borne in mind that the street in front of the Academy was very much changed in 1831. Previously to this date, the street separated into two ways, one " over the hill " on the side of the Academy grounds, and one " under the hill " in front of the land now owned by Mr. Henry C. Harding, the westerly line of the street being much nearer Mr. Harding's house than at present. Between these two ways were buildings, and it was upon this declivity that the first meeting-house was erected and the early settlers were buried.

" I can just remember the old Academy building. . . . The new edifice was erected in 1818, and before it was a row of flourishing sycamores, or buttonwood-trees, shutting out with their thick and lofty branches the view of the street and forming no mean academic grove. They were said to have been planted and nurtured by Madam Derby's own hand. Little could she have dreamed of the early fate that was to overtake these fine trees, struck suddenly down by an epidemic disease, the origin of which is still disputed, and still remains in doubt, though considered by many as the work of an insect. . . . None of the present race of scholars can remember the hill directly in front of the Academy, on which, at that time, stood two small one-story buildings. One of them was the town schoolhouse, very different, both externally and internally, from the commodious structures of the present day. . . . It was located in dangerous proximity to another school, so that, as might be expected, the two were in almost a perpetual state of war, especially during snowballing time, when pitched battles were of daily occurrence. . . . The other building was occupied by Mr. Thomas Loud, as a hatter's shop and postoffice, and by Mr. Samuel Norton, as a watchmaker's shop. The window at which he sat for so many years looked out upon the Broad Bridge, or down town, and before it stood a large Balm-of-Gilead tree. A high railing separated Mr. Norton from the intruding boys, who were fond of going in and enjoying his witticisms, shrewd remarks, and questions, which they were often puzzled to answer. The distance from the shop to his father's house, at the foot of the hill, was the extent of Mr. Norton's travels, and no man probably ever pursued a more unvaried, noiseless, and peaceful life. He was a man of uncommon natural ability, and had he enjoyed the same advantages, it was thought he would have been as distinguished as his brother, the late Professor Andrews Norton, who, as a Biblical scholar, ranked second to none the country has ever produced. . . . The hill was soon after dug down and levelled to its present condition. The workmen found a large quantity of bones, the remains of the early settlers of the town, who had been buried there. . . . Another building still standing is intimately associated with the history of the Academy, and was one of the institutions of that day. This was Mr. Theodore Cushing's shop, which supplied more than one generation with pencils, pens, writing-books, nuts, candy, and gingerbread. Another small shop was kept in the end of Mr. Elisha Cushing's house, nearest to the Academy, by Miss Abigail Thaxter, and another by Miss Lydia Loring, in the house now occupied by Mr. Caleb B. Marsh. Such was the Academy and its surroundings, when I first knew it, say from thirty to thirty -five years ago."

" The foundation of the building was about five feet above the level of the street, with a dilapidated fence on a line with it on the upper edge of a grass bank, inside of which was a row of large buttonwood-trees. The great change in front, since that time, by taking down the hill, makes a vast difference in appearance."

The first meeting of the Trustees was held, according to the records, Dec. 22, 1784. The first business transacted was the -choice of officers. William Cushing was chosen President, Benjamin Lincoln, Jr., Secretary, and John Thaxter, Treasurer.

Meetings were held from time to time at which no business of great importance was transacted further than to keep the organization alive, and for the election of Trustees to fill vacancies, until after the death of Madam Derby in 1790.

Aug. 26, 1790, a committee of the Trustees was appointed to draw up a petition to be presented to the General Court at its next session, agreeably to a requisition in the codicil of the late Mrs. Derby's will.

The Trustees, having received their legacies from Madam Derby's executor, took the preliminary steps towards opening the school by passing the following votes : -

" Voted, That Mr. Lincoln be paid one hundred pounds lawful money as his salary, for the services of the first year, his salary to commence at the time of the opening of the school.

" Voted, To choose by ballot a person to preach a sermon before the trustees and the school on the first Tuesday in April next, at half-past two o'clock p.m. ; and the Rev. Dr. Shute was chosen."

April 5, 1791, a sermon was preached by Dr. Shute ; the school was formally opened, and at a meeting later in the same month a preceptress was chosen.

The accounts of the treasurer show that Dr. Shute was paid <£6 " for preaching a sermon at the opening of the school;" The preceptor and preceptress were each paid their salaries for the quarter beginning in April, 1791.

There is no satisfactory information as to the number of scholars at the opening of the school, for it was not until 1831 that the Trustees required the teachers to keep a list of scholars. A list of male scholars from 1793 to 1797 gives 115 names. Another list of male scholars, from 1810 to 1826, gives 272 names. The larger portion of these were from Hingham, but many were from other towns in Massachusetts and other States. There were also several Spaniards, probably from Cuba, among the number. It is not important to give the exact number of pupils in attendance during the many years of the existence of the school. The membership has varied with the varying popularity of the teachers from about thirty to eighty, both males and females being included in this enumeration.

The long delay of the town in establishing a High School, which was opened in 1872, caused this school to be the one where, up to that time, almost every boy who was fitted for college in Hingham received much of his classical education, and where nearly all who received any other education than the common schools could give them obtained it. Practically a free school to those from Hingham, who can doubt that Madam Derby, in establishing it, is to be reckoned as one of the benefactors of the town ? Undoubtedly, the fact that the town had the benefit of this school delayed a compliance with the law requiring a High School to be kept, and several unsuccessful attempts were made to devise some plan by which the Academy should serve such a purpose ; but whether this delay was wise or not, it is a fact of history that for over eighty years the town enjoyed the benefits of a higher education through the munificence of Madam Derby. Let that just tribute -be paid to her memory. Whatever the future of the school may be, the past is secure, and many a generation will owe its inherited intellectual advancement to the seed sown in the minds of its ancestors within the walls of Derby Academy.

Besides obtaining the Act of Incorporation, the Trustees had occasion to present petitions to the General Court for further legislation, and all further Acts and Resolves relating to the institution are here 2,iven.

Sept. 15, 1790, in the Senate. " Petition of the Trustees of the Derby School for authority to fill such vacancies as may from time to time take place in their body from any part of the State, without limitation or restriction.

This application being made, the terms of the codicil were complied with, but there seems to have been no further action at the next session of the General Court.

On the petition of Benjamin Lincoln, Esq., and Christopher Gore, Esq., two of the Trustees of the Derby School in Hingham ; and it appearing that the estate hereinafter mentioned is not returned for the valuation of that town : -

Resolved, That all and singular the lands, buildings, and personal estate, within the said town of Hingham, the income whereof is by a certain deed, and by the last will of the late Mrs. Sarah Derby, appropriated to the use and support of said Derby School, are, and shall remain, during such appropriation, wholly discharged of all public taxes : and the assessors of the said town shall govern themselves accordingly.

" Ordered, That the secretary be, and hereby is, directed to cause the report of a committee of both houses on the subject of grants of land to sundry academies within this Commonwealth, to be printed with the resolves which shall pass the General Court at the present session.

" And be it further ordered, That the grants of land specified in said report shall be made to the trustees of any association within the respective counties mentioned in said report, where there is no academy at present instituted, who shall first make application to the General Court for that purpose ; provided, they produce evidence that the sum required in said report is secured to the use of such institution ; and provided, that the place contemplated for the situation of the academy be approved of by the legislature."

The " Report on the Subject of Academies at Large, Feb. 27, 1797," speaks of " Derby School, which serves all the general purposes of an academy." This report, said to have been written by Nathan Dane, of Beverly, recommends " half a township of six miles square, of the unappropriated lands in the district of Maine, to be granted to each academy having secured to it the private funds of towns and individual donors."

of the school to have it an incorporated academy, which might secure a grant of land in Maine. Accordingly we find them with commendable promptness, voting on April 4, 1797, " that General Lincoln be appointed a committee to apply to the General Court in behalf of the trustees, that the style of the Derby School may be changed to that of the Derby Academy, and that it may be entitled to all the privileges which are granted to academies."

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, that the School established in the North Parish in Hingham, by the name of Derby School, by an Act entitled " An Act for establishing a School in the North Parish in Hingham, by the name of Derby School, and for appointing and incorporating Trustees of said School," passed the eleventh day of November, in the year of our Lord seventeen hundred and eighty-four, be, and hereby is made and erected into an Academy ; and the Trustees named and incorporated in the Act aforesaid, and their successors forever, shall be bound to perform all the duties required in said Act, of the Trustees of Derby School, and may sue and be sued, and shall hold, enjoy, and exercise all the interests, rights, privileges, and immunities which were, or might have been held, enjoyed, and exercised by, and were secured to, the Trustees of the said School by the aforesaid Act, in the same manner, and to all intents and purposes as they would have, had not the said School been erected into an Academy.

On the petition of Benjamin Lincoln, Esq., in behalf of the Trustees of the Derby Academy, in the town of Hingham, praying for the grant of a township of land for the use of said Academy.

Resolved, That there be, and hereby is granted to the Trustees of the Derby Academy, in the town of Hingham, and their successors, one half township of land of six miles square, for said Academy, to be laid out or assigned by the agents or committee for the sale of Eastern lands, in some of the unappropriated lands in the district of Maine, belonging to this Commonwealth, excepting the ten townships lately purchased of the Penobscot Indians, with the reservations and conditions of settlement which have been usually made in cases of similar grants, which tract the said Trustees are hereby empowered to use, sell, or dispose of as they may think most for the interest and benefit of that institution.

An Act in addition to an Act, entitled, "An Act to erect Derby School in the North Parish of Hingham, into an Academy, by the name of Derby Academy."

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives, in General Court assembled, and by authority of the same, That so much of the sixth section of an act, passed on the eleventh day of November, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty-four, entitled " An Act for establishing a School in the North Parish of Hingham, by the name of the Derby School," and for appointing and incorporating Trustees of the said school, as provides that the principal preceptor of the said school, for the time being, shall always be one of the said Trustees, be, and the same is hereby repealed.

Following the records of the Trustees, we are reminded that physical grace, as well as development of the mind, was recognized as a feature in society to be cultivated ; for on April 1, 1794, it was

" Voted, That the Preceptor be authorized to dispense with the attendance at the school, two hours in each week, of such children, whose parents or guardians may desire it in writing, that they may learn the art of dancing, provided, that such absence from the Derby School does not interrupt their improvement there, and so long as this indulgence shall not interfere with the general welfare of the school."

For many years after the opening of the school the male and female departments were entirely distinct. The first building was said to have been built under the supervision of Madam Derby, but whether it was for this express purpose is not known. As early as 1805 the Trustees took action looking towards the erection of a new building " as soon as the state of the funds will admit," and Nov. 12, 1817, it was

" Voted, That the committee be instructed to build the new Academy near the place of the present, and nearly on the plan which has been exhibited to the Trustees ; that they study economy, and make such variations and improvements as they, after due deliberation, and consulting disinterested gentlemen, may think proper.

"May 20, 1818, Voted, That all the buildings now owned by the Trustees of the Derby Academy be taken down and the materials disposed of to the best advantage of said Trustees.

" Voted, That the committee for the erection of the new Academy be empowered to make a passage on the south front of the Academy, for entrance into the school, or any other arrangement which they shall think proper.

" Voted, That the projection of the new Academy be so constructed that a bell may be placed in it, and that said Academy be painted once and the trimmings twice."

"Nov. 8, 1820, Voted, That Martin Lincoln, Esq., be empowered to procure a bell, weighing about one hundred and fifty pounds, and cause the same to be hung on the Academy.

"Nov. 10, 1841, Voted, That the female department be suspended until March 1, for the purpose of making the above alterations [new seats and a new floor].

"November, 1843, Voted, That on and after the 1st of June next the male school be discontinued to Dec. 1, and that the treasurer be authorized to make arrangements for the necessary repairs on and about the building.

"June 4, 1849, Voted, That the present vacation be extended to Monday, the 11th instant, in order that a doorway uniting the two schools may be opened in the partition-wall dividing them."

The above vote seems to have been the first definite move towards uniting the two departments into one school, which it will appear was effected not long afterwards.

"May 19, 1852, Voted, That the schools be closed for one quarter, in order that the following repairs and alterations in the building be made, viz. : Throwing the two school-rooms into one and enlarged by including the back entries therein ; enlarging the lower entries so as to give more room for the garments of the scholars to be hung, and for other needful improvements ; and placing a furnace in the cellar for warming the school-rooms ; and any other incidental improvements that may suggest themselves to the standing committee.

" May 18, 1864, Voted, That the treasurer be authorized to purchase of Messrs. Chickering, on the terms proposed by them, the piano now in use in the Academy.

This last vote marks the date of a new departure in the Academy ; for, at the meeting of June 20, 1883, the matter of a preparatory department was referred to a committee, with power to establish the same if they thought proper. This department was established and it was designed to receive, under the supervision of the Trustees and the Preceptor, pupils at a younger age than could be admitted to the Academy itself, upon payment of a tuition fee. After passing satisfactory examinations the scholars in this department are admitted to the Academy. At the beginning of the fall term of 1885 still younger pupils were received, and the school is virtually a primary school connected with the

The above votes mark all the substantial alterations which have been made in the school-buildings, and indicate many of the changes in the school itself.

On April 5, 1791, the day of the opening of the school, the Trustees appointed Hon. Richard Couch and Hon. Cotton Tufts a committee for the purpose of providing a seal for the Trustees.

Seal Of Derby Academy, Hingham

The absence of any public halls for public meetings of all kinds, until recent years, called the Academy into use frequently, - both the old building and the new. More than one religious society held meetings there before the erection of their meetinghouses. The building erected in 1818 gave the north part of the town the only hall of any considerable size until the erection of Loring Hall, in 1852, and it was the usual place for lectures, meetings, and social gatherings.

The Trustees, in 1821, voted to let the hall of the Academy to the town of Hingham for the purpose of holding town-meetings at $8.00 a meeting, or at $30.00 a year, the town making good all extra damage. Previously the town-meetings had most frequently been held in the meeting-house of the First Parish. Several private schools were kept in the lower story of the Academy at different times, and in more recent years a room has been occupied by the Second Social Library.

The Derby School and Academy have at times occupied a prominent place in the discussions of the town-meetings, and on more than one occasion action has been taken by the town leading to conferences with the trustees, sometimes of a friendly character, and sometimes, more especially in the earlier years, tempered with ill-feeling.

As early as the March meeting of 1794, a committee was appointed by the town to " examine the privileges the town and parish are entitled to in the Derby School, and whether they are deprived of any privilege which by Mrs. Derby's will, lease, or charter they are entitled to in said school ; and they are to consider what further steps are necessary to be taken respecting the matter." This committee made a report at the following " April meeting." The report recites at length the privileges to which the parish and town are entitled, and states that the " parish and town have not had the benefit that was designed them by the donor of said school." The reasons for the above conclusion are given, which amount in substance to the impression that, while the school was designed as a charity for the benefit of the poor,, it was really being conducted in such a manner as to deter poor people from sending their children to it, and that the regulations adopted by the trustees served " only those in affluence and objects of trustee charity, to the exclusion of those in moderate circumstances." The same committee was appointed " to wait upon the Trustees and confer with them about the regulations " of the school. The Trustees made answer and the whole matter was disposed of at the March meeting of 1795, when it was voted to dismiss the article in the warrant respecting the report of the committee on the Derby School.

In 1821 a complaint to the Trustees was made by a committee of the town concerning the teachers and the place in which the annual lecture was delivered. There was a reply by the Trustees, in which they defended themselves and the teachers. This called forth a spirited rejoinder from the town's committee, and the controversy was terminated by the Trustees voting to take no further action. This discussion was so much flavored with the heated prejudices of the time that it would serve no good purpose of history to dwell at length upon it, and it is only alluded to for a record of the fact. The later intercourse between the town and the Trustees was of a more amicable nature.

The town being required to maintain a High School, two unsuccessful attempts were made to devise some plan by which the Academy should serve this purpose and thus, in the interest of economy, secure to the town the advantage of its funds.

The first attempt was made in 1855, when, at a town-meeting in April, the whole subject of the schools in Hingham was referred to a committee, authorizing them " to confer with the Trustees of Derby Academy with a view to ascertain whether that institution can be made in any way to answer the purpose of a High School for the town." The Trustees were desirous of meeting the wishes of the town so far as it was in their power to do so. " They did not feel authorized, however, to make such a change in the character and ^management of the institution as that proposed, without first obtaining the opinion of counsel, learned in the law, respecting their legal powers and duties under the deed of trust and will of Mrs. Derby and the act of the legislature by which they were incorporated. They therefore consulted Hon. John M. Williams, and obtained from him a written opinion, the substance of which is as follows. The question pro- posed to Judge Williams was this : ' Can the Trustees either by their own authority, or by virtue of any judicial or legislative interference, depart from the specified directions of the trust, so far as to accommodate the Academy to the requisitions of the law respecting a High School ? ' The question was thoroughly investigated and an elaborate opinion was given. [This opinion was printed by the Trustees.] The conclusion arrived at was, that the Trustees cannot, either by their own authority, or aided by judicial or legislative interposition, lawfully depart from the specified directions of the trust. The result is, therefore, that the Trustees cannot relinquish the control of the institution to the town, or delegate their powers to the school committee or any other body of men. The Academy must continue to be managed by a board of Trustees, chosen, as vacancies occur, by the remaining members thereof." A report by the committee was submitted to the town in March, 1856, and this attempt to utilize the Academy failed.

A second effort to accomplish the same object, in a somewhat different way, was made in 1870. The Trustees met the town authorities in a friendly and liberal spirit, and were desirous of taking any consistent action which would bring the Academy into " harmony and concert with the town schools." An elaborate report was made to the town in March, 1871, but this second attempt also failed.

In justice to the Trustees, it must be said that they placed no further obstacles in the way of securing to the town the direct benefit of their trust-funds than the legal restrictions imposed upon them compelled. Whether we look at the question from the standpoint of the Academy or the town, we are forced to the conclusion that it is a public misfortune that no successful result followed these attempts, which engaged the careful thought of many of our most intelligent citizens.

The annual sermon to the scholars, for which Madam Derby made provision in her deed of lease and release, has been delivered annually since the opening of the school. It soon became known as the " Derby Lecture." The day of its delivery has also been the occasion of the annual exhibition of the scholars. For many years it was a gala day in the annals of the town. The scholars, teachers, and trustees marched in procession to the place of the delivery of the lecture, and many will recall the white dresses of the girls and the white trousers of the boys, which was the uniform dress until quite recent years. Throngs of people lined the streets as the procession passed. The Rev. Jacob Norton, of Weymouth, in his diary, under date of April 2, 1793, on which day he delivered the lecture, says, " Between eighty and ninety youth belonging to the school, of both sexes, preceded the trustees, in procession to the meeting-house." The services were held in the meeting-house of the First Parish from the beginning until 1807. In that year, owing to the unhappy differences which had arisen between the religious societies in the north part of the town, the Trustees voted " that the lecture, the present year, be held in the Academy: " and in 1808 they voted " that the lecture be held in the New North Meeting-House," since which time the services have been held in that house, except in the year 1890 when they were held in the Meeting-House of the First Parish, as the New North Meeting-House was then undergoing repairs.

Whatever became of the original portrait of Madam Derby, which she desired by her will should be placed in the Derby School, no one can tell. The portrait now in the Academy is a copy. The following extracts from the " Hingham Gazette " show by what means it was obtained. In the paper of May 22, 1835, it is stated that " after the Derby lecture on Wednesday the pupils of the Academy held a fair in the hall ; the object of which was to procure funds to enable them to obtain a copy of the portrait of Madam Derby, the founder of the institution. The receipts were $124.80." And in the paper of June 12, 1835, " We learn that the young ladies of Derby Academy have determined to apply the proceeds of their late fair to obtain a copy of the portrait of the founder of the institution, and we are pleased also that they have selected so accomplished an artist as Mr. Osgood to execute the work." The artist was Samuel Stillman Osgood.

The portrait of Dr. Hersey, now in the Academy, is also a copy. The " Hingham Patriot " in its issue of May 14, 1847, contains a notice of a social meeting on the evening of Lecture Day, and says, " The surplus funds are to be devoted to obtain a full portrait of Dr. Hersey, the real founder of the Academy." On May 24, 1848, the Trustees " Voted, That the original painting of Dr. Hersey be presented to Widow Jonathan R. Russell, of Milton, a copy thereof being now in the possession of the Trustees."

The Preceptors of the Derby School and Academy have generally been gentlemen of scholarly attainments and of classical training. It is difficult to make special mention of individuals, but as Academies were more marked institutions in the early part of the century than in the latter years, so the Preceptors were more marked men. Their terms of service were as a rule longer than now. For the past forty years they have usually been young men spending a few years after their college graduation in acquiring means for pursuing professional studies, although in some instances they have been men who have made teaching their profession.

The first Preceptor, Mr. Abner Lincoln, selected by Madam Derby herself, was a man admirably adapted to the position. It has been said of him, " Many of his pupils recollect with grateful feelings the amiable qualities, the happy faculty of teaching, and the perseverance with which he devoted himself to the promotion of their good. The connection of teacher and pupil is often productive of agreeable associations in after life, and frequently a tie of friendship is formed between them, which is separated only bydeath. Mr. Lincoln could number among his numerous pupils many who retained a strong feeling of personal regard for him, and from whom he received the most friendly memorials of their esteem." He continued in the office for fifteen years.

For Rev. Daniel Kimball, who for seventeen years and a half taught the school, his pupils retained an amount of veneration and respect which mark him as a successful preceptor.

On Dec. 23, 1790, the final payment was made by the executors of the will of Madam Derby to the Trustees ; and on July 1, 1791, a committee reported that the personal property in the hands of the treasurer was as follows : -

After the sale of a portion of the real estate, a statement, in July, 1800, shows the amount of personal property to have been $23,741.29. The sale of lands in Maine, granted to the Trustees in 1803, still further increased the personal property.

Private Schools

Any enumeration of the private schools in Hingham would be very imperfect, since they have been subjects only of incidental record or personal recollection.

Among the buildings of the town, however, well known and often spoken of, was Willard Academy. This was upon Main Street, between the Old Meeting-house and the present dwellinghouse of Mr. Henry Siders. It was built in 1831 by an association of thirteen gentlemen for the special purpose of providing accommodations for the private school kept by Rev. Samuel Willard, D. D., and Mr. Luther B. Lincoln. The building may be seen at the left of one of the engravings of the Old Meeting-house drawn by Mr. William Hudson. According to the records of the proprietors, it seems to have been occupied for private schools some six or seven years, after which it was occupied for mechanical and mercantile purposes. The records of the proprietors end in 1841. The Hingham Patriot gives the following account of the burning of the building : -

"Last Monday evening [Jan. 18, 1847], at 10 o'clock p. m., Willard Hall was burned. It was owned by J. Baker & Sons and Capt. Barnabas Lincoln, and was occupied, in the lower story as a box factory, planing, sawing, and turning steam-mill, by Capt. Job S. Whiton, and in the upper as a weaving-room connected with the establishment of Baker & Sons. The building in the rear, owned and occupied by J. Baker & Sons, used to twist their long cords in, was also consumed. The houses of Mr. Siders and Mr. Marsh were in great danger, also the Old Meeting-house."

Some of the persons who kept schools in this building were Messrs. Willard and Lincoln, Mr. Claudius Bradford, Miss Harriet Topliff, Misses Martha Ann and Mary H. Lincoln, and Miss Deborah H. Wilder.

The building originally built for an engine house on South Street, a few rods west of Thaxter's Bridge, was occupied for some thirty years, beginning about 1851, for a private school, and the number of children who began their education there is very large. The ladies who taught there or in the immediate vicinity successfully and successively were Lucy P. Scarborough, M. Adelaide Price, Adeline Whiton, and Elizabeth D. Bronsdon.

Among others who have kept private schools in Hingham may be mentioned as worthy of notice, Mrs. Butler, from about 1797 to 1800 ; Misses Elizabeth and Margaret Cushing, for many years in the early part of this century, their school being a boarding-school of considerable renown, for young ladies from out of town ; Mr. Winslow Turner, about 1827 to 1828 ; Miss Sophia Cushing about 1830 and later ; and in more recent years, Miss Mabel Hobart, in the north part of the town ; Miss Mary W. Bates at Hingham Centre ; and Mrs. J. W. Dukes of the " Keble School."

Many others are equally worthy of notice, but the writer is unable to gather anything more than scattered and fragmentary accounts of them, and they must live in the memories and traditions of the town only.

The influence of these private schools must not be underestimated. They have played an important part in the early education of our children, and it is a matter of regret that no perfect record of them can be handed down.

Benjamin Franklin says that the Philadelphia Library Company, which he was largely instrumental in founding in 1730, was the " mother of all the North American subscription libraries. These libraries have improved the general conversation of the Americans, made the common tradesmen and farmers as intelligent as most gentlemen from other countries, and perhaps have contributed in some degree to the stand so generally made throughout the colonies in defence of their privileges."

Aside from the college libraries and those connected with institutions of learning and instruction, the chief means of literary culture open to our people in Massachusetts a hundred or more years ago were a social library at Salem, one at Leominster, two at Hingham, and one at Andover.

The object of these social or association libraries was to procure for each member the advantage of a number of books such as only the owners of large private libraries could enjoy.

The establishment of free public libraries has in many towns diminished the need for the social libraries, and Hingham is no exception to the prevailing tendency of recent years, when " many social libraries which had sometimes been flourishing, but more frequently had languished, were merged into the new, more permanent town libraries, where private benevolence co-operated with town legislation to make a substantial basis for these popular institutions."

The First Social Library was formed in 1771, and was located at Hingham Centre. It continued in operation until the opening of the Hingham Public Library in 1869. The proprietors then gave their collection of books to the Public Library, and most of them, together with the records, were burned in the fire of Jan. 3, 1879.

The Second Social Library was formed in 1773. According to the first page of its records, which are presumed to be from its foundation, it was established " for the Promotion of Knowledge, Religion, and Virtue, - the three grand Ornaments of human

Both of these libraries were small as compared with collections of the present day, but the books were well selected for the purposes of miscellaneous reading rather than for reference.

Other small libraries have existed in town from time to time, such as masonic, circulating, agricultural, and Sunday School libraries, and all have served to elevate the tone of Society and disseminate information. They have been valuable aids to the general education of the community through many generations.

The Hingham Public Library

But valuable as these early and smaller libraries were in their day and generation, the founding of the Hingham Public Library presents itself to our notice as a more important and permanent benefit to the town. Its history has been told in two printed pamphlets and there is little need of extended remarks upon its usefulness beyond a record of the facts herewith presented.

In pursuance of a design long entertained by Hon. Albert Fearing of establishing a Free Library for the use of the inhabitants of his native town, he purchased, in 1868, two adjoining lots of land situated on Main street, which were deemed by him eligible for a suitable location for the Library, and caused to be erected thereon a beautiful and commodious edifice for its reception, and conveniently furnished for the purposes of such an institution. He also made provision for opening the Library to the public as soon as practicable, paying the salary of the Librarian to March 1, 1870, and providing a fund for its maintenance of five thousand dollars. The aggregate of expenditures by Mr. Fearing, for the purposesbefore mentioned, exceed the sum of twenty-one thousand dollars.

On the Fourth (Fifth) of July, 1869, the building for the Library was publicly dedicated to the objects of its erection by an eloquent address delivered by Hon. Thomas Russell, and other appropriate ceremonies, with strong demonstrations of public interest.

On the same day, a deed of the property was delivered by Mr. Fearing to Trustees selected by him to carry out his designs. The following were the Trustees then selected, viz. : Calvin Lincoln, Solomon Lincoln, Ezra Stephenson, Fearing Burr, Jonathan Tilson, Henry W. Jones, Quincy Bicknell, George Hersey, Junior, Elijah Shute, Amasa Whiting, William Fearing 2d, Arthur Lincoln, and Lincoln Fearing, all of Hingham, and David Whiton and Thomas T. Bouve, of Boston.

The deed is in trust, for the purpose of carrying into effect the designs of the founder of the Library, as set forth in indentures which accompanied it, and which were duly executed by the parties thereto, and by which the several persons named as Trustees accepted the trust.

The Deed and Indentures are laid before the town herewith for information. Authentic copies of both instruments will be lodged with the Town Clerk as soon as they are printed.

Books for the Library were contributed by the proprietors of other social libraries, associations, institutions, and individuals, including the founder. The Library now contains upwards of four thousand volumes of books in the various departments of science, history, art, and literature, with many works for consultation and reference, which are regarded as of great value to the community. Since the Library was opened, it has been enriched by numerous and valuable donations of books and works of art. The Smithsonian Institution has honored us by the gift of the entire series of their publications for the Library. And we have the assurance of other donations of books from persons, not residents of the Town, but who take a deep interest in its welfare.

It is a subject of congratulation that the value of the Library has been justly appreciated by the citizens who have availed themselves of its privileges. Hundreds have taken tickets for books, from all sections of the town, even from the most extreme parts. The exact number of tickets taken during the eight months for which the Library has been opened, has been six hundred and seventy, and the number of volumes taken from the Library during the same period, has been nine thousand five hundred.

its origin for the information of the inhabitants, and that a proper record may be made of this noble benefaction, and such other action be had thereon as the Town may think appropriate upon a transaction which constitutes so interesting a feature in its history.

Whereas a communication has this day been received by the inhabitants of the Town of Hingham, in town-meeting assembled, from the Trustees of the Public Library, founded by the Honorable Albert Fearing for the use and benefit of the inhabitants of said town, therefore,

Resolved, That in this munificent gift, the inhabitants of the Town of Hingham recognize another instance of the repeated acts of liberality of Mr. Fearing to contribute of his means for the improvement and benefit of the community in which he was born, and where his earlier years were spent, and where in his advanced life he has again taken up his residence, bringing the labors of an industrious and successful life to share the cares and burdens of our civil community with his fellow-townsmen ; and in accepting this gift we gratefully tender our thanks to Mr. Fearing for this generous benefaction to his fellow-citizens, cherishing the belief that this is but the commencement of an institution which will confer incalculable advantages, not only upon the present but upon all future generations.

Resolved, That the communication of the Trustees be entered on the records of the Town, and that a copy of these resolutions be sent to Mr. Fearing and the Trustees.

The Trustees of the Hingham Public Library respectfully represent that in order to give to the citizens of the Town the greatest advantages of the Library, and to maintain it in full efficiency according to the design of its founder, an appropriation of five hundred dollars would be eminently useful, and indispensable in order to make its advantages as available as 'the highest interests of the community require.

The facts connected with the history of the Library have been laid before the Town and the Trustees beg leave to refer to them as evidence of the character and objects of the institution. The Trustees therefore ask the Town to make such an appropriation for the maintenance and support of the Public Library as may increase its efficiency and usefulness.

At said meeting, after the foregoing communication had been read, it was voted that the sum of five hundred dollars be granted to the Trustees for the purposes set forth in their communication.

Deed

In consideration of one dollar and other good and valuable considerations to me paid by Calvin Lincoln, Solomon Lincoln, Ezra Stephenson, Fearing Burr, Jonathan Tilson, Henry W. Jones, Quincy Bicknell, George Hersey, Junior, Elijah Shute, Amasa Whiting, William Fearing 2d, Arthur Lincoln, and Lincoln Fearing, all of said Hingham, and David Whiton and Thomas T. Bouve, both of Boston, in the County of Suffolk and Commonwealth aforesaid, Trustees under an Indenture made by and between the parties hereto and of even date herewith, the receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged, do hereby convey, remise, release and forever quit claim unto the said Calvin Lincoln, Solomon Lincoln, Ezra Stephenson, Fearing Burr, Jonathan Tilson, Henry W. Jones, Quincy Bicknell, George Hersey, Junior, Elijah Shute, Amasa Whiting, William Fearing 2d, Arthur Lincoln, Lincoln Fearing, David Whiton, and Thomas T. Bouve, Trustees as aforesaid, the following described real estate situated on Main street, in said Hingham, and bounded and described as follows, viz. : -

Beginning at a point on the Easterly side of Main Street, bearing North nine degrees West from the North-Westerly corner of the underpinning of the dwelling-house of Abner L. Leavitt, and distant therefrom two rods twenty-one and one-fourth links, thence from said point running Northerly on Main Street seven rods sixteen and a half links, then turning and running Easterly on the highway one rod and three links, then turning and running on Middle Street seven rods four links and a half to a way forty feet wide, then turning and running Westerly on said way four rods and eight links to the point of departure on Main Street, with the Building thereon ; the premises being the same which were conveyed to the said Albert Fearing in two parts, viz. : one part thereof by John Leavitt, by deed dated June 2, 1868, and recorded in the Plymouth Registry of Deeds, Book 352, page 84, and the other part thereof by Abner L. Leavitt, by deed dated July 18, 1868, and recorded as aforesaid, Book 352, pages 84 and 85.

To have and to hold the above released premises, with all the privileges and appurtenances to the same belonging, to the said Calvin Lincoln, Solomon Lincoln, Ezra Stephenson, Fearing Burr, Jonathan Tilson, Henry W. Jones, Quincy Bicknell, George Hersey, Junior, Elijah Shute, Amasa Whiting, William Fearing, 2d, Arthur Lincoln, and Lincoln Fearing, David Whiton, and Thomas T. Bouve, and the survivors and the survivor of them, and the heirs and assigns of such survivor, but to the uses and upon the trusts as in said Indenture is set forth.

And I, the said Albert Fearing, for myself and my heirs, executors, and administrators, do covenant with the said Calvin Lincoln, Solomon Lincoln, Ezra Stephenson, Fearing Burr, Jonathan Tilson, Henry W. Jones, Quincy Bicknell, George Hersey, Junior, Elijah Shute, Amasa Whiting, William Fearing, 2d, Arthur Lincoln, Lincoln Fearing, David Whiton and Thomas T. Bouve, their heirs and assigns that the premises are free from all incumbrances made or suffered by me, and that I will, and my heirs, executors, and administrators shall warrant and defend the same to the said Calvin Lincoln, Solomon Lincoln, Ezra Stephenson, Fearing Burr, Jonathan Tilson, Henry W. Jones, Quincy Bicknell, George Hersey, Junior, Elijah Shute, Amasa Whiting, William Fearing, 2d, Arthur Lincoln, Lincoln Fearing, David Whiton, and Thomas T. Bouve, their heirs and assigns forever, against the lawful claims and demands of all persons claiming by, through, or under me, but against none other.

In witness whereof, I, the said Albert Fearing and Catharine C. Fearing, wife of said Albert Fearing, who joins in this deed in token of her release of all right and title of or to both dower and homestead in the granted premises, have hereunto set our hands and seals this fifteenth day of June, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine.

Indenture

This Indenture, in two parts, made this fifteenth day of June, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, by and between Albert Fearing, of Hingham, in the County of Plymouth, and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Merchant, of the first part, and Calvin Lincoln, Solomon Lincoln, Ezra Stephenson, Fearing Burr, Jonathan Tilson, Henry W. Jones, Quincy Bicknell, George Hersey, Junior, Elijah Shute, Amasa Whiting, William Fearing, 2d, Arthur Lincoln, and Lincoln Fearing, all of said Hingham, and David Whiton and Thomas T. Bouve, both of Boston, in the County of Suffolk, and Commonwealth aforesaid, of the second part,

Witnesseth, That whereas the said Albert Fearing is desirous of founding a Library for the use of the inhabitants of the said Town of Hingham, to be called the Hingham Public Library, and has requested the persons, parties of the second part, to act as Trustees thereof, and has by his deed of even date herewith conveyed to them certain land situated in said Hingham, with the building which he has caused to be erected thereon, and has also transferred and paid over to them five six per cent first mortgage bonds of the Union Pacific Railroad Company, of one thousand dollars each, interest and principal payable in gold* ($5,000) to have and to hold to them and their successors to and for the following uses and purposes, viz. : -

First. To collect the income of said personal estate and also of the real estate if any part of the same is leased or occupied so as to produce any income, and after paying the necessary expenses, to apply said income as hereinafter provided.

Second. To apply the income aforesaid to the repair and preservation of the Library Building, to the enlargement and rebuilding of the same, if deemed necessary by the Trustees, to the care of the grounds about the same, to the payment of premiums of insurance on said Building, Library, and Furniture therein, to the purchase of furniture for the same and repairs thereof, to the purchase of such books, maps, charts, pamphlets, periodicals, and other publications as the trustees may think proper for the Library, and to any other expenditures which they may deem a proper charge upon the fund.

Third. The said Trustees shall have full power to make by-laws for their own government, and also such Rules and Regulations for the use, management, preservation, and increase of the Library as they may deem suitable, and to change the same from time to time, also to appoint a Librarian and such other officers and agents as they may think best.

Fourth. Upon the death or resignation of any one of the Trustees, a majority of the surviving Trustees shall elect some suitable person to fill the vacancy, and the person so elected shall be a Trustee with all the powers of trustees hereinbefore named. If, however, upon the death or resignation of any Trustee, a majority of the surviving Trustees shall vote that it is inexpedient to fill such vacancy, they may omit to do so, but may at any time afterwards reconsider such vote and fill such vacancy ; provided, however, that in no case shall the number of Trustees be less than ten nor more than fifteen.

Fifth. The said Trustees may, at any time they see fit, and if they deem it expedient, apply to the legislature for an act of incorporation and may transfer to said corporation the real and personal estate of which the fund may then consist, including the Library and Furniture. The Trustees shall be under no obligation to apply for such an act, and neither the Trustees nor such corporation, if established, shall sell the said real estate, nor purchase nor erect a building elsewhere, unless the same becomes absolutely necessary in the judgment of and by a formal vote of not less than three-fourths of the whole number of Trustees.

Sixth. It shall be the duty of the Trustees to keep the funds committed to them safely invested, and they shall have the power to change the investments thereof from time to time as they may deem expedient.

Now, in consideration of the premises, the said persons, parties of the second part, hereby signify and declare their acceptance of the real and

* On the delivery of the deed and indenture, Mr. Fearing paid to the Trustees Five Thousand Dollars in cash, which was accepted in lieu of the Bonds before mentioned.

personal estate aforesaid, including the Library and Furniture, and do hereby engage to hold and manage the same upon the trusts and for the uses hereinbefore mentioned.

At a special meeting of the Trustees, held May 10, 1871, a communication was received from Hon. Albert Fearing, announcing a Gift, in addition to his previous donations, of the sum of Ten Thousand Dollars, to be added to the Trust Funds of the Library, for the purpose of enlarging its usefulness, and upon the terms set forth in his communication, which was as follows : -

Hingham Public Library

Whereas, I Albert Fearing, of Hingham, in the County of Plymouth, and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, by my deed, dated the fifteenth day of June, in the year one thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, conveyed certain land and the building thereon, situated in said Hingham, and more particularly described in said deed, to Calvin Lincoln and others, Trustees therein named, for the purposes of a Library for the Inhabitants of said Hingham, to be called the Hingham Public Library ; and whereas, I, the said Albert Fearing, paid to said Trustees the sum of Five Thousand Dollars in money, in addition to the gift of land and building, for the uses, support and maintenance of said Library, according to the provisions of Indentures between the said Fearing and Calvin Lincoln and others, Trustees therein named, which Indentures bear even date with said deed and are to be construed in connection therewith ; and now being desirous of increasing the means of said Trustees for enlarging the usefulness of said Library, I have this day paid to William Fearing, 2d, Treasurer of said Trustees, the sum of Ten Thousand Dollars, to be by them used and applied for the same purposes to which, by the Indentures aforesaid, my original gift of the sum of Five Thousand Dollars was required to be used and applied by them, and also upon these further requests and considerations.

The town of Hingham having granted the sum of Five Hundred Dollars for two successive years for the maintenance and support of the Library, and the Inhabitants of said town having, in town meeting assembled, expressed by formal vote their approval of the objects which I had in view in the establishment of a Library for their use, I request as follows : -

First. That the Trustees in filling any future vacancy or vacancies in the Board of Trustees, shall, at their discretion, select for such vacancy or vacancies whenever they determine to fill the same, ^according to the provisions of the Indentures aforesaid, the person or persons who may at the time of filling the said vacancy or vacancies, be Town Clerk or Town Treasurer of Hingham, if either or both of them are not at the time members of the Board of Trustees.

Second. I also request the Trustees to permit as an act of courtesy and good neighborhood, the Inhabitants of the adjoining towns of Hull, Cohasset, Scituate, South Scituate, Abington, and Weymouth, to visit the Library for the purposes of reference, reading, study, and consultation of the books therein, in conformity to the rules and regulations of the Trustees. I make this request with the hope that the value of Public Libraries may be better known and appreciated, and especially that their useful influence may be extended to all those towns with which the inhabitants of Hingham have the most friendly associations.

Voted, That the Trustees accept with gratitude the munificent gift of the sum of Ten Thousand Dollars by Hon. Albert Fearing, to be added to their funds for the purposes and upon the conditions set forth in his communication ; and that it will be their desire and intention so to administer the affairs of the Library as to conform to his wishes, and to promote the highest interests of the community for whose benefit this noble benefaction was conferred.

Voted, That the Secretary be directed to communicate a copy of the foregoing vote to Hon. Mr. Fearing, and to express the grateful acknowledgments of the Trustees for his numerous and large donations and expenditures to establish and improve the Library, which in the aggregate exceed the sum of Thirty-one Thousand Dollars.

In addition to his previous gifts, Mr. Fearing made further provision for the uses of the Library, at his death in 1875, by a legacy in his will of $10,000, making the entire amount of his expenditures and donations exceed the sum of $41,000.

An Act To Incorporate The Hingham Public Library

Section 1. Calvin Lincoln, Solomon Lincoln, Ezra Stephenson, Fearing Burr, Jonathan Tilson, Quincy Bicknell, George Hersey, William Fearing, 2d, Elijah Shute, Amasa Whiting, David Whiton, Arthur Lincoln, Thomas S. [T.] Bouve, Albert Fearing, Lincoln Fearing, their associates and successors, are hereby made a corporation by the name of the Hingham Public Library, for the purpose of maintaining a public library in Hingham ; with all the powers and privileges, and subject to all the duties, restrictions and liabilities set forth in all general laws which now are or hereafter may be in force applicable to such corporations.

Sect. 2. Said corporation may hold real and personal estate for the purposes aforesaid to an amount not exceeding one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, exclusive of books, papers, collections in natural history, and works of art.

Sect. 3. The members of said corporation shall not be less than ten or more than fifteen in number, and all vacancies occurring therein may be filled at such times and in such manner as the corporation may determine.

Sect. 4. Said corporation may receive and hold for the purposes aforesaid, any grants, donations, or bequests, under such conditions and rules as may be prescribed in such grants, donations, or bequests ; provided, the same are not inconsistent with the provisions of law.

Sect. 5. Said corporation shall have power to adopt proper regulations for the use and management of the Library, and so long as it shall allow the inhabitants of Hingham free access to and use of its library, said town may annually appropriate and pay to said corporation money to aid in supporting the same.

From the purchase of books through the gift of Mr. Fearing, and from donations by other public-spirited citizens several thousand volumes were collected together. The building and its contents, including the early records of the Trustees, were totally destroyed by fire January 3, 1879. The present more commodious building was immediately erected upon the same site, and opened to the public April 5, 1880. Its shelves are well filled with standard literature, books of reference, and popular works.

dollars for the purchase of books, by Ebed L. Ripley, E. Waters Burr, John R. Brewer, and Charles B. Barnes ; the fitting and furnishing of an art gallery by the late Aniasa Whiting ; a mineralogical collection, consisting of a general collection of minerals of the world, a geological collection, embracing specimens of all the rocks of Hingham, and a paleontological collection, all by Thomas T. Bouve\

The architect of the first Public Library building was Nathaniel J. Bradlee, and of the second, Carl Fehmer. Both buildings were built by Justin Ripley.

Manufactures And Commerce By George Lincoln

The first notice of the establishment of a corn-mill in Hingham is in 1643, when on June 12 of that year Anthony Eames, Samuel Ward, and Bozoan Allen had leave from the town to set up a cornmill near the cove. In November, 1645, Gowan Wilson was removed from the office of miller. There are on record numerous conveyances of mill sites and privileges near the cove, the dates of which extend from the early days of the settlement of the town to recent years. The present mill at the Cove, operated by Benjamin Andrews, represents the location of one of these mills ; the other stood nearly in the rear of the blacksmith's shop now occupied by Daniel Hickey, on North Street, near the Mill Pond.

Mills were undoubtedly erected at Strait's Pond soon after 1679, when on the 17th of May of that year permission was " granted to certain petitioners, inhabitants of Hull, and others of Hingham, as may see fit to join them, to erect a Dam and Mill at the Straits Pond." From 1700 to 1725 there were many transfers of ownership among the dishing families in Hingham of " the Grist Mill and Saw Mill, with the upland, meadow, and housing thereunto belonging, lying partly in Hingham and partly in Hull." These mills passed through various ownerships, and tradition says that the grist-mill at Strait's Pond was in operation until it was destroyed by fire about 1800, and that the mill house, which stood at the corner of Jerusalem Road and Hull Street, was removed soon after the fire, and became the westerly end of the old Lincoln House on Jerusalem Road.

There was formerly a small mill for grinding corn on the stream above Cushing's Bridge, which had a history dating back before the Revolution, and covering a period of some sixty years or more. It was erected by Captains Stephen and Peter Cushing, and at the close of its career was owned by the late Deacon Ned Cushing, the youngest son of Captain Peter. It was for many years in charge of Daniel Burrell, a well-known "miller" and resident of this locality. The last person employed at this mill was the late Cornelius Lincoln, Sr., who died in 1883 at the age of ninetythree years. It was demolished prior to 1820.

Thomas Andrews and Joshua Bate were the proprietors of a saw-mill in the second precinct of the town (Cohasset), probably at or near Gannett's Corner. The tax lists for the year 1737 show that Thomas Andrews and Joshua Bate were each taxed for one half a saw-mill, and Aaron Pratt was afterwards the proprietor of one half a saw-mill in this locality. In 1737 Isaac Lincoln was taxed for one half a corn-mill at Cohasset, and in 1754 Isaac Lincoln and his brother Jacob were taxed as the owners of this mill. Twenty-five years previously it was taxed to Mordecai Lincoln, the father of Isaac and Jacob.

There was a saw-mill at Saw-mill Pond (now known as Triphammer Pond) at the commencement of the last century. The exact date of its erection, however, is uncertain ; but as Matthew Cushing, the original proprietor, who was born 1665 and died 1715, was the owner of a large estate, I conclude that the mill was established shortly before 1700. Boards, clapboards, and shingles were prepared here for market from trees grown in the vicinity, and the property was improved for the same or similar purposes, and in the same locality, for many years. Jacob Cushing, the oldest son of Matthew, came next into possession, and in the town rates for 1737 he is taxed for "1 sawmill, £ 6-00-00." His son Jacob and grandson Jacob were probably the successive owners or part owners of this mill, which was destroyed by fire about the year 1823. A new mill was afterwards erected on the same spot, probably by Benjamin Thomas, Sr., for the manufacture of ship-chandlery work, including windlasses, etc. Reuben Thomas and Moses Jones carried on the business, and to facilitate production a trip-hammer was purchased for the mill ; hence the present name of " Trip-hammer Pond," from which source the power for this industry was acquired. The mill building has since been sold and removed. It is now a farm building on Union Street.

The mill at Shingle-mill Pond (next above Trip-hammer Pond) was probably erected by Isaac Cushing at or about 1800. It i& recorded in Suffolk Deeds, vol. cxcii., p. 253, that, Oct. 8, 1799, Charles Cushing sold to his brother Isaac his privilege in the old mill stream, etc. Charles and Isaac were sons of Jacob and grandsons of Matthew, previously mentioned as the early proprietor of the mill at Saw-mill Pond. John Leavitt, who married Isaac Cushing's daughter Sally, afterwards occupied the older part of this mill as a grist-mill : but at the time box-making was a prominent industry here, the work at the mill was principally sawing shingles, box-bottoms, and headings for hoop-boxes. More recently, John and Thomas Leavitt, sons of John, manufactured ships' pumps and other articles of marine merchandise. Thomas J. Leavitt, the present occupant of the old mill, is still engaged in the pursuits followed by his father and grandfather.

A saw- mill, formerly known as the Stockbridge Mill, on or near Union Street, is still in working order near the boundary line between Hingham and Norwell.

Capt. John Jacob was the owner of a saw-mill and a fulling-mill on Crooked Meadow River, South Hingham, at a very early period of our history. At his decease, in 1693, his sons Peter and Samuel came into possession ; but another change of ownership took place shortly after, owing to the decease of Samuel in 1695. Capt. Theophilus dishing followed the Jacobs as proprietor of the sawmill, and afterwards added to his purchase by erecting a grist-mill on his ten-acre lot at what is now Cushing's Pond. His tax on the saw-mill in 1737 was <£10 ; in 1752 it was for a saw-mill £2, for a grist-mill X10. These mills at Cushing's Pond continued in the ownership of the last-named family until about 1850, and were owned successively by Captain Theophilus, Brigadier-General Theophilus, and Colonel Washington Cushing. Robert D. Gardner was the last person permanently employed here as " miller."

Early in the last century Capt. Abel Cushing was the owner of a fulling-mill and other buildings connected therewith for the fulling and dyeing of cloth at " Fulling-mill Pond," on South Pleasant Street. He was an older brother of Capt. Theophilus Cushing, previously mentioned as the proprietor of a saw-mill and grist-mill. Abel served an apprenticeship with Peter Jacob, the clothier and fuller, and subsequently married his daughter Mary, so that the mill business at the south part of the town was, for a while, virtually controlled by the members of one family. Abel died in 1750, and was succeeded by his son Abel, who, however, survived his father but a few years. In 1764 Benjamin Lincoln, Jr., as guardian of Hannah, daughter of the late Abel Cushing, made a transfer of her portion of this property. May 23, 1778, Hannah Cushing, widow, conveyed to Colonel David Cushing her interest in the fulling-mill and pond, with half an acre of land. Among the later transfers are the following : Oct. 7, 1785, David Cushing, of Hingham, "gentleman," conveys to " my son David Cushing, Jr., clothier, my clothiers shop and all the tools thereunto belonging, with the Fulling Mill and pond and Dam, with all the land it flows round or over when it is full of water, and the brook below running from the said mill. Also the fulling mill standing at Beechwood River so called, with the whole stream through my land, and a privilege to pass to and from said mill over my land with teams." In 1792, David Cushing, Jr., makes a conveyance of his mills to his brother Hosea Cushing.

Laban Cushing, a son of Hosea, was the last owner and occupant of the one prominent building left of this mill property to carry on the business for which it was originally intended. It finally became a factory for the manufacture of shoe-pegs, and was destroyed by fire March 7, 1845.

May 27, 1703. Agreement by Thomas Andrews, Daniel Lincoln, Aaron Pratt, Gershom Ewell, Mordecai Lincoln, Josiah Litchfield, Jr., and Thomas James, reciting that they had entered into an agreement to set up a forge or iron works upon a stream in Thomas Andrews's lot in the third division in Conahasset ; and, sensible that they shall have occasion to make use of some of hisland, do appoint Captain Chitenton and Lieutenant Briggs, both of Scituate, and Samuel Thaxter, of Hingham, to award the difference in value of said Andrews's land that the referees have viewed upon the day of the date hereof, being Gershom Ewell'sand Daniel Lincoln's land lying adjoining said Andrews's on the southeast side of the said stream or river, called " Ganits River," in the third division, etc. There were also iron works on the stream above Pratt's mill in Cohasset.

Jan. 13, 1703-1. Agreement reciting that Thomas Andrews, Daniel Lincoln, Thomas James, Aaron Pratt, all of Hingham, and Mordecai Lincoln, Gershom Ewell, and Josiah Litchfield, Jr., of Scituate, have a piece of land in common amongst them in the third division upon which they have erected a dam across a stream in the same ; also iron works and other buildings, also a dwelling-house on a piece of land Mordecai Lincoln aforesaid gave to< the owners of said works, to be held in joint tenancy for twenty years, to do what the major part of the said owners of the property shall think fit, etc. The iron works here referred to appear to have been taxed in Hingham for a number of years after the elates previously given.

In December, 1828, the building at Thomas's Pond, in Weir River, containing the furnace for the casting of iron ware, belonging to Benjamin Thomas, was consumed by fire. The building was nearly new, having been built but a few years (after 1824), and the loss was a serious one to the owner as well as to the town. Another and much larger building was erected in the same locality soon after by Mr. Thomas, and the business was greatly increased.