Medford City (part 5 of 14)

It is worthy of note, that Colonel Royal's name does not appear in either of the three lists of proscribed persons, although he was for twenty-two years a member of the Governor's Council. It is apparent that he loved his country and his friends ; and could he have been assured, at the outset, that the United States would secure their independence, and that he should be the undisturbed possessor of his beautiful country-seat in Medford, he would probably have taken side with his old friend, Dr. Tufts, and his young friend, Dr. Brooks, and given generously for the cause of freedom. But he was timid, and supposed, as such men generally did, that the entire army and navy of Great Britain would soon be here to burn, sink, and kill indiscriminately. His valor counselled him to run. But, be it recorded to the honor of the citizens of Medford, he was the only deserter. To carry on his farm after his departure, was found to be sometimes difficult ; for " the honest man's scythe refused to cut Tory grass, and his oxen would not plough Tory ground."

The town of Medford proceeded gently and wisely in taking possession of the estates of Tories and absentees. The order of Court, under which they acted, was passed April, 1776. "We find the following in our records : -

" Copy of the return made to the General Court, pursuant to a resolve of the Great and General Court passed last April, the Committee of Safety, &c, of the town of Medford have proceeded to take into their care the estates of sundry persons who are deemed inimical to the liberties of America, of which the following is a true account, viz. : -

" Of the estate belonging to Joseph Thompson, late of Medford : one piece pasture land, and one piece marsh, which have been leased to Richard Crees, one year, for £7. 4s. A shop, leased to William Gowen for 40s. per annum. Half a dwelling-house, leased to Jonathan Patten, one year, for £6. 13s. 4d. Two-seventh parts of the following house and lands, being his share of his mother's thirds, undivided and not leased : a piece of plough-land, half an acre ; a piece mowing-land, one acre ; a wood-lot, four acres ; one-third of half a dwelling-house. 197,650 unburned bricks,

Colonel Isaac Royal

1,886 feet pine boards, taken by the army, for which pay is promised. A pew in our meeting-house, not leased. Thirty-two dozen of tile, sold for £3. 4s.

" Of the estate belonging to one Clewly, in Halifax, left in the hands of Ichabod Jones, of Boston, his trustee : two pieces of land leased to Paul Wyman, one year, for £10.

Dr. Simon Tufts, that skilful physician and polished gentleman, was persuaded to accept the agency of Colonel Royal's affairs during an absence which was meant to be short. The breaking out of hostilities so near to him as Lexington was too much for the colonel's courage ; and, through very fear, he started for he knew not where. He arrived safely in Halifax, and there wrote his friend, Dr. Tufts, May, 1775, urging him to become his agent in taking care of his property. This the doctor declined, but afterwards accepted. From Halifax, Colonel Royal wrote to Dr. Tufts, under date of March 12, 1776, concerning certain sales of slaves. His directions were as follows : -

" Please to sell the following negroes : Stephen and George ; they each cost £60, sterling; and I would take £50, or even £15, apiece for them. Hagar cost £35, sterling; but I will take £30 for her. I gave for Mira £35, but will take £25. If Mr. Benjamin Hall will give the $100 for her which he offered, he may have her, it being a good place. As to Betsey, and her daughter Nancy, the former may tarry, or take her freedom, as she may choose ; and Nancy you may put out to some good family by the year."

" I shall leave North America with great reluctance ; but my health and business require it ; and I hope, through the goodness of God, if my life is spared, to be able to return again soon."

In August, 1777, Dr. Tufts had a letter from him, dated Kensington, England. Colonel Cary, who had married a lady from New York, occupied Colonel Royal's house in

1778. The house and farm were rented for ,£200. At a later period, when three gentlemen bought the entire estate on speculation, expecting to realize large fortunes by dividing the whole into lots, there was a valuation of the lots, and the sum total was $81,996.00. A few lots were sold; and the dreams of Croesus became those of Belisarius.

Colonel Royal's opinions and conduct respecting the struggles for independence subjected him to suspicion. The Committee of Safety, in Medford, felt called upon to examine into facts ; and the testimony offered, April 9, 1778, was as follows : -

" Simon Tufts, Esq., said he knew of nothing said Royal had said or done against the country ; but, on the contrary, he believed him to be a friend of the American cause. That said Royal being in Boston at and before the battle of Lexington, the confusion which that battle occasioned in the country made him afraid at that time and afterwards to return home ; and that said confusion, which prevailed in Boston, made him afraid to stay there ; accordingly he Went to Halifax, and from thence retired back into the country, and afterwards went to England. That, after said battle, said Royal sent him a letter of attorney, entreating him to take care of his estate here ; but he (said Tufts) declined it on account of his own business, and returned back said power. That, some time after, finding said Royal's estate in a wasting condition, he sent to said Royal, informing him that he would undertake the care of it ; and, some time after, he received a letter from said Royal, enclosing another power for that purpose, dated May 23, L775 ; upon which he undertook to act as his attorney. That he had since made said Royal no remittances of any of the rents or of the estate (agreeable to a promise he had made to a former Committee). That the State of Rhode Island having sequestered what of said Royal's estate lay within their jurisdiction, he had applied to the General Assembly there, and informed them of the letters he had received \ from said Royal, empowering him to take the care of his estate ; and that they, after examination made, delivered the said estate up to him ; and he has held it ever since, as attorney aforesaid.

" Mr. Peter Tufts declared, That, about a fortnight before Lexington battle, Colonel Royal told him that it would not do for us to resist Great Britain, for they were too strong for us, and would send over ten thousand Russians, who would subdue us ; and that, by his conversation, it appeared to him (the said Tufts) that said Royal was for surrendering up all to Great Britain, rather than make resistance.

"Mr. Samuel Winship declared, That, on Sunday before said battle, said Royal went in his* coach to Boston, and took with him. a pair of pistols and a carabine, but for what end he did not know, nor never heard ; that, at the same time, he left in his house two firearms, which Mr. Poor, some days after, carried to Watertown.

" Captain Isaac Hall declared, That, the winter before said battle, he went to settle accounts with said Royal, at his house ; and that said Royal 'showed him his arms and accoutrements (which were in very good order), and told him that he determined to stand for his country, &c.

" Mr. Billings said, That he heard Captain Jenks say, that, a day or two before said battle, Colonel Royal sent for him, and desired him to go to Salem, and procure him a passage to Antigua in a vessel bound there ; and that he (said Jenks) would have gone, but the battle prevented him."

" I doubt not you, and Mr. Hall, and the rest of my friends, will do all in your power to procure me liberty from the General Court to return home as soon as my health will admit of."

Mere fright should not be considered as constituting Toryism. A true Tory must have had a force of reason and sense of right wholly inconsistent with cowardice. Colonel Royal's force of mind was not sufficient to make him a strong enemy of any thing. He is mentioned in Curwen's letters ; and there Mr. George A. Ward speaks of him thus : -

" Hon. Isaac Royal, of Medford, was remarked by every one for his timidity ; he halted between two opinions, respecting the Revolution, until the cannonading at Lexington drove him to Newburyport, and then to Halifax ; and, after living some time in retirement, he embarked for Europe. He was a proscribed refugee ; and his estate, since that of Jacob Tidd, Esq., was confiscated. He died of small-pox, in England, October, 1781. His bounty laid the first professorship of law at Cambridge ; and a legacy of plate to the first church in Medford shows that hi% regard for his country was not weakened by distance nor seared by proscription. He bequeathed more than two thousand acres of land, in Granby and Royalton, in Worcester County, for the establishment of the aforesaid professorship. He was, for twenty-two years, a member of the Council. His virtues and popularity at first saved his estate, as his name was not included with those of his sons-in-law, Sir "William Pepperell and George Erving, in the ' Conspirator's Act;' but, on the representation of the Selectmen of Medford ' that he went voluntarily to our enemies,' his property was forfeited and taken under the Confiscation Act. He made bequests to Medford and Worcester, and legacies to the clergymen. While a member of the House of Representatives, he presented the chandelier which adorns its hall.

" George Erving, Esq., merchant, of Boston, who married one of Colonel Royal's daughters, was a refugee included in the ' Conspirator's Act.' He died in London, Jan. 16, 1806, aged 70.

" Colonel Royal was appointed one of the ' Mandamus Councillors' for this Province by his Majesty, Aug. 9, 179jU but he did not take the oath of office."

1743 : He gave Charlestown £100, which was used to build a parsonage. While Representative, he returned to the town treasury his salary. In 1745, he gave X80 to the school on Charlestown Neck.

By his will, he gave to Medford one hundred acres of land in Granby (South Hadley), "for the use and better support" of the common schools of the town. This Granby farm was sold, 1788, for one hundred dollars, to Mr. Richard Hall.

Generosity was native with him, and shone the salient feature of his character. He loved to give, and loved to speak of it, and loved the reputation of it. Hospitality, too, was almost a passion with him. No house in the Colony was more open to friends ; no gentleman gave better dinners, or drank costlier wines. As a master, he was kind to his slaves ; charitable to the poor, and friendly to everybody. He kept a daily journal, minutely descriptive of every visitor, topic, and incident, and even descended to recording what slippers he wore, how much tar-water he drank, and when he went to bed ! He was a strict observer of religious forms, and a generous supporter of Christian institutions. He was a Tory against his will. It was the frailty of his blood more than the fault of his judgment. Not that he loved the Colo- nies less, but that he feared England more. He wanted that unbending, hickory toughness which the times required. New England needed men who were as splinters from her own granite hills ; and he was not one of that type.

His gift of two thousand acres of land to Harvard College, to found a Professorship of Law, was by his last will. His words concerning his gift are : -

" To be appropriated towards the endowing a Professorship of Law in said College, or a Professorship of Physic or Anatomy, whichever the Corporation and Overseers of said College shall judge best for its benefit ; and they shall have full power to sell said lands, and put the money out to interest, the income whereof shall be lor the aforesaid purpose."

These funds were left to accumulate till 1815, when it was deemed expedient to establish a Professorship of Law. The next year, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, Hon. Isaac Parker, was elected, bearing the title, " Royall Professor of Law."

This learned and worthy man gave a course of lectures immediately; and, when thus brought in contact with college and legal education, he suggested the establishment of a « Law School at Cambridge." This recommendation was joyfully greeted ; and, in 1817, the law school was estab- ' lished. Thus Colonel Royal was indirectly an originator of that school. Professor Parker held office for eleven years, and, in 1827, resigned. Hon. Asahel Stearns (brother of Dr. Stearns, of Medford) was then chosen, 1817, and served acceptably till 1829, when John Hooker Ashman succeeded. He died, in office, in 1833 ; and, in 1834, Hon. Simon Greenleaf was chosen, and performed his duties with eminent success. He resigned in 1848, and was succeeded by Hon. Theophilus Parsons, who is now in office.

These distinguished jurisconsults have each paid a tribute of respect to the memory of Colonel Royal, of Medford, and have recognized him as the primal cause of the establishment of a permanent school for that second of sciences, junspru-

Colonel Isaac Royal was born, in the Island of Antigua, in 1719. The English had established themselves there as early as 1636. The father of our townsman, who gave his own Christian name to his son, possessed great wealth, and, turning his eyes to Massachusetts, purchased of Eliza- beth, widow of John Usher (Lieutenant-Governor), five hundred and four acres, three quarters, and twenty-three rods of land, for £10,350. Is. 9d., on the 26th December, 1732. The record runs thus : -

" This estate is bounded south-west on Menotomy Road ; west, on land of Nathaniel Tufts, Aaron Cleveland, and John Tufts ; east, on the river and salt marsh of Captain Samuel Brooks in part, and part on river and salt marsh now improved by Josiah Whittemore; and south-east, on land of said Whittemore, lying on both sides of Medfbrd or Mystic Road."

Colonel Royal came here with his family in 1738. He died in Medford on Thursday, June 7, 1739, in the forenoon, was buried in Medford on Saturday, 10th inst., and was carried, the same night, to Dorchester, and there " buried in his marble tomb." His wife died April 21, 1747, and was buried from Colonel Oliver's house, in Dorchester. The tomb is entire at this time. His son, who seemed also to inherit his father's title of colonel, fixed his residence in the house now standing, and which is yet called the "Royal House." It was built by Colonel Royal, into its present form, by enlarging the house built by Lieutenant-Governor Usher on that spot. A thick wall, running through its centre, shows the outer wall of the former building. Some diversities in the height of rooms indicate the same fact. Its exterior form is a copy of a nobleman's house in Antigua ; and its present owner, Mrs. Tidd, has carefully preserved the form given to it by Colonel Royal. It was at first within the limits of Charlestown ; and Colonel Royal was chosen Representative by that town nine years in succession, from 1743 to 1752. In 1752, he was promoted to a seat at the Council Board, and, for twenty-two years, performed his duties acceptably in that office.

When Harvard Hall was burnt, Jan. 24, 1764, and the entire library of the College destroyed, he contributed most generously for the purchase of another. The first mention of him in the Medford Records is May 8, 1754, when he was chosen Moderator in the town-meeting. For sixteen years, he was Chairman of the Board of Selectmen.

Colonel Isaac Royal

of his sons-in-law, Mr. George Erving and Sir William Pepperell, were not spared. But when it was subsequently testified that " he had gone voluntarily to our enemies," and his estates were therefore confiscated in 1778, he writes to Mr. Edmund Quincy, of Boston, 1779, complaining bitterly of this injustice, declaring that he had been prevented from returning to Medford solely by ill health. These acts of oppression, as viewed by him, did not weaken his attachment to this town ; for in his will, made in London in 1779, he bequeathed generously to the clergymen of Medford, to the church, and the schools. Many valuable tokens he left to friends in Boston and to the town of Worcester. _

His daughter Elizabeth, who married the second Sir William Pepperell, died on her passage to England, in 1775. Her husband died in London, in 1816, aged seventy.

Although Colonel Royal's property in Medford was confiscated in 1778, it was kept together, and well guarded by officers appointed by the Judge of Probate. By the act of 1777, the General Court empowered the Judge of Probate to nominate agents to take charge of the estates of absentees, with full power to keep and improve the same. Colonel Royal was an exception to the great body of royalists ; and, although the General Court dealt with his property as with that of a voluntary absentee, they nevertheless considered that it might be restored on his return to Medford. The laws which took effect on Colonel Royal were as follows : -

January, 1778 : " Resolved, To prevent any person from returning into this State, who left it as aforesaid, unless such return be by the leave of the General Court."

" April 30, 1778 : On petition of Simon Tufts. Resolved, That Simon Tufts, Esq., of Medford, be, and he hereby is, directed to deliver into the hands of the Committee of Correspondence, Inspection, &c, of the town of said Medford, all the estate of Isaac Royal, Esq., that he, the said Tufts, has in his hands, which he, the said Royal, left in the said town of Medford. And the said Committee of Medford are hereby directed to receive the same, and improve it in the best and most prudent manner they can agreeable to the resolves of this Court respecting absentees' estates.

" And it is also resolved, That the several Committees of Correspondence, Inspection, &c, of such towns and plantations within this State, are directed to take possession of any estate in each town or plantation respectively that belonged to the said Isaac Royal when he left this State. And all such persons holding possession of any such estate are hereby directed to deliver possession thereof to such Committees respectively. And said Committee are further

October, 1778 : The General Court order agents of estates of absentees to lay before them an account of all the property of such persons ; and, furthermore, resolve that none of the real estate shall be sold to pay their debts.

Feb. 1, 1779 : The General Court resolved that all moneys received from rent or sale of the land of absentees be put into the treasury of the State.

May 1, 1779 : The Court resolved to direct all agents to warn out the present possessors, and give possession to the new lessees of the State.

May, 1779 : The General Court appointed a Committee to sell at auction the confiscated estates of certain absentees. Sir William Pepperell, the son-in-law of Colonel Royal, is named in the list ; but Colonel Royal is not.

October, 1782 : The General Court resolved that the estates of absentees ought to be held to pay the just debts of said persons ; and therefore they order that the moneys received from the sale of such estates shall go to pay the creditors, deducting three per cent to the State for expenses.

Extract from the deed given by Henry Hutton and Elizabeth Royal Hutton, of England, to Mr. Robert Fletcher, of London, dated London, Feb. 25, 1806. It refers to the powers granted by the Legislature : -

" And whereas, by an act of the Legislature of Massachusetts, passed on or about the 31st January, 1805, it was enacted or resolved that the Hon. James Sullivan, Attorney-General of said Commonwealth, and the Hon. Christopher Gore, or the survivors of them, should be, and they were, thereby authorized to make and execute a deed of conveyance of the said lands, messuages, and tenements, formerly belonging to the said Isaac Royal, to the said Robert Fletcher, his heirs and assigns, in fee simple, in manner and form, as was provided, by the act passed on the 8th of March, 1792, entitled 'An act for providing a more easy and simple method than was then in use for barring estates in tail in lands, and for making the same liable for the payment of the debts of tenants in tail ; ' and that such deed, executed and acknowledged by the said James Sullivan and Christopher Gore, Esqrs., or the survivors of them, and recorded in the Registry of Deeds, in the Counties of Middlesex and Norfolk respectively, should be as good and sufficient in law, and should have the same force and effect, as though the same were made, executed, and acknowledged by Charles Henry Hutton, the eldest son of the said Henry Hutton and Elizabeth Royal, his wife, when of full age and in possession of the said premises.

" And that, for and notwithstanding any act, matter, or thing done by them, or either of them, they have good right and lawful authority to sell and convey the said houses, lands, tenements, pew, and hereditaments, with their appurtenances, unto and to the use ot the said Robert Fletcher, his heirs and assigns."

The deed was for "five hundred acres of the west side of Mystic River, with the mansion-house ; " for all which Mr. Fletcher agreed to pay X 16,000.

These legislative acts and public documents show that Colonel Royal's property in Medford was dealt with at last after the manner of other absentees ; that it came into legal possession of the State, and was put under the care of the Medford " Committee of Inspection," and all the rents and incomes paid into the treasury of the State. For twentyseven years it continued in this situation, when a petition or claim of the heirs of Colonel Royal was preferred lhe records of these details we have not been able to find ; but the final results are seen in the legislative grants of 1805.

We take leave of our townsman with the remark, that he was so generous a benefactor, so true a friend, so useful a citizen, and so good a Christian, that we forget he was a Tory, - if he was one. Happy would it be for the world, if at death every man could strike, as well as he did, the balance of this world's accounts.

Chapter Military History

1630 - The first tax levied on the inhabitants of Medford was the sum of £3, for the paying of two instructors m military tactics. The hostile Indians, and the more hostile wild animals, soon placed guns, swords, powder, and ball among the necessaries of life. To be "a good marksman became one of the first accomplishments.

"A musket (firelock or matchlock), a pair of bandoleers, a powder-pouch, with bullets, a sword, a belt, a worm, a scourer, a rest, and a knapsack. His pay 18s. a month, and diet, and pillage; and his town to provide him with a month's provisions ; viz., thirty pounds of biscuits, twelve of pork, twenty of beef, one half-bushel of pease or meal. The leader to receive 40s. per month. The towns to bear their share of the loss of arms. A list of the men and their arms to be handed in to the Court."

The men of Medford, Cambridge, and Charlestown formed one company. We can see exactly how one of our Medford soldiers looked in his military array in 1635. The bandoleer was a large leathern belt for supporting the gun. It passed over the right shoulder, and under the left arm. The two kinds of guns used by our fathers were called " firelock " and " matchlock." The first kind had a flint, which struck fire into the pan ; the second was without a flint, and therefore required a match to be applied to the powder.

" Ordered that, every first Friday in every month, there shall be a general training of them that inhabit Charlestown, Mistick, and the Newtown, at a convenient place about the Indian wigwams ; the training to begin at one of the clock in the afternoon."

"March 22, 1631: General Court. Ordered that every town within this jurisdiction shall, before the 5th of April next, take especial care that every person within their town (except magistrates and ministers), as well servants as others, be furnished with good and sufficient arms."

"March 4, 1635 : It is ordered that, from this day forward, the captains shall receive maintenance out of the treasury, and not from their companies."

"Nov. 20, 1637: It was ordered that training should be kept eight times in a year,* at the discretion of the chief officers. Magistrates and teaching elders are allowed each of them a man free from trainings ; and the deacons of the several churches are freed in like manner."

Military History

At this early period, none were allowed to vote for militaryofficers except freemen, and they " who have taken the oath of residents." Freemen had a right to vote in these elections, although they were not enrolled as members of the trainband. Officers must be freemen, since none others were eligible to offices in the State.

The captain was required to take oath. The fines gathered were to be expended in buying drum-heads for the company, and arms for poor men. Ship-carpenters, fishermen, and millers were excused from training. Millers were excused, because, in tending tide-mills, they were often obliged to be at work through the night.

In 1637, two hundred men, as warriors, were to be raised in Massachusetts. The following towns furnished numbers in proportion to their population: Boston, 26; Salem, 18; Saugus, 16 ; Ipswich, 17 ; Newbury, 8 ; Roxbury, 10 ; Hingham, 6 ; Meadford, 3.

Sept. 15, 1641: On this day began a "muster," which lasted two days : twelve hundred soldiers. And though there was " plenty of wine and strong beer," yet " no man drunk, no oath sworn, no quarrel, no hurt done." Can so much be said now 1

" It is agreed that the military commanders shall take order that the companies he trained, and some man, to be appointed by them, in each town, to exercise them."

tors belonged not only to the church militant, but also to the state militant. To show the extremest care of our first settlers on this very point, we need quote only the following order : -

"May 14, 1645: Ordered that all children within this jurisdiction, from ten to sixteen years of age, shall be instructed by some one of the officers of the band, or some other experienced soldier whom the chief officer shall appoint upon the usual training-days, in the exercise of arms, as small guns, half-pikes, bows and arrows, according to the discretion of said officer."

1647: "Persons unable to provide arms and equipments for militia duty, on account of poverty, if he be single, and under thirty years of age, shall be put to service, and earn them. Musqueteers, among their articles of equipment, are to have two fathoms of match.

"It is ordered that the Selectmen of every town within this jurisdiction shall, before the 24th of June, which shall be in the year 1 650, provide for every fifty soldiers in each town a barrel of good powder, one hundred and fifty pounds of musket bullets, and one-quarter of a hundred of match."

" In answer to the request of the inhabitants of Meadford, the Court judgeth it meet to grant their desire ; i. e., liberty to list themselves in the trainband of Cambridge, and be no longer compelled to travel unto Charlestown."

As several of Mr. Cradock's men were fined at different times for absence from training, we infer that the military exercises required by law were very strictly observed in Medford ; and how it could have been otherwise, after so many special laws and regulations, we do not see. It seemed a first necessity of their forest-life to protect themselves from the wily Indian and the hungry bear. These military preparations were not suspended for a century. As late as Aug. 4, 1718, the inhabitants of Medford voted £10 to buy powder for their defence against the Indians.

The powder and balls belonging to the town were not deposited always in the same place ; and, March. 3, 1746, " Voted that Captain Samuel Brooks shall have the keeping of the town's stock of ammunition."

1668: This year the Court took a step which was not popular. They resolved to exercise the power which they thought they possessed; viz., of nominating all the military officers. The taking away of " so considerable a part of their so long-enjoyed liberty " met with decided opposition ; and, when our Medford company was organized, the town did not allow the Court to nominate the officers.

Up to this time, we hear little of " musters ; " and we presume that large assemblies of soldiers at one place were not common. The military organization must necessarily have been very simple and limited at first ; and the idea of " divisions," " battalions," " regiments," as with us, must have been of a much later period.

One fact, however, is clear ; and that is, that these habitual preparations for defence and war gradually educated the colonists to that personal courage and military skill which rendered them so powerful in their war with Philip, and thus prepared them for achieving the victories of the Revolution. In 1675, they beat King Philip ; in 1775, they beat King George ; and, in 1875, they may beat all the kings of the earth.

This deep interest in military affairs made our forefathers wakefully anxious on the subject of the election of officers in the trainbands. It was an event in which every person in town, male and female, felt that his or her safety might be deeply concerned. The law carefully guarded the rights of the people in this act ; and, therefore, did not leave so important a trust to be conferred by the members of the company alone, but made it the duty of the whole town to choose the three commanding officers. On the first occasion, when this power was to be exercised by the whole town, the Selectmen issued a warrant for a meeting of all the inhabitants who had a right to vote. The warrant was dated May 18, 1781, and was issued " in the name of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, for the purpose of choosing militia officers, as set forth in the Militia Act." This was the sole business of the meeting. The result was as follows : -

It was customary for the newly elected officer, not only to " treat the company," but to treat everybody else who repaired to his house at the appointed time. These were deemed the occasions in which freedom was liberally interpreted. Meat and bread were provided for food ; but punch and flip were furnished in such overflowing abundance, that some visitors took many more steps in going home than in coming. It was expected, moreover, that the captain would treat his soldiers on parade-days. This item, added to other necessary expenses, made quite a draft on the chief officer's purse, as well as time. There are some conventional usages whose antiquity can be very safely assumed; and this of "treating the soldiers" is emphatically one. So late as our day it has continued ; and the temperance reformation has hardly yet arrested it.

Although we have recorded the organization of a military corps in 1781, whose officers were chosen by the town, according to the laws then existing, there were soldiers in Medford from 1630 to that time. What the exact rules and regulations respecting enlistment were in the middle of the seventeenth century, we cannot discover. There were composition companies ; and the associations were often accidental, according to contiguity of place. They in Medford, who were " watchers," were soldiers ; and the annual provision of town powder snows that the ammunition was used. There was a company of militia in Medford before the Revolution ; and, when troublesome times came, they were ready for duty. It was the eighth company in the first regiment of the first brigade of the third division. Seth Bullard was Captain ; William Burbeck, 1st Lieutenant ; and Ezekiel Plympton, 2d Lieutenant. It belonged to Colonel Thomas Gardner's regiment. In 1775, it was commanded by Captain Isaac Hall. "This company game out," says the Adjutant-General, "on the 19th of April, 1775, and were in service five days, and were undoubtedly in the battles of Lexington and Concord." The names of the men composing the company on that memorable occasion are all recorded on the muster-roll ; and they were all Medford men, as follows : -

Captain Isaac Hall made a report of his company to the heads of the department, Oct. 6, 1775, then stationed on Prospect Hill. He resigned, before the end of the year, for the purpose of taking command of another company ; and Lieutenant Caleb Brooks was chosen captain in his stead, and, as such, made a report, January 3, 1776.

The corps which Captain Isaac Hall commanded " was made up of men from Medford, Charlestown, Woburn, Maiden, Cambridge, and Stoneham, and were called the eight months' men." They enlisted for that time ; and, in addition to their pay, each one was to have a coat at the expiration of his enlistment. Eight of this company belonged to Medford ; and they were the following : Isaac Hall, Captain ; Caleb Brooks, Lieutenant. The privates were : Benjamin Floyd, James Wyman, Jonah Cutler, John Smith, William Bucknam, and Joseph Bond. The last named was discharged June 7, 1775 ; the rest served out the eight months, and were on the "coat roll," so called, - which fact secured a pension from the United States. Some took money instead of a coat. Some time afterwards, Captain Hall testified that Samuel Ingalls, one of his company, " has bin imprizoned in Cannedy, and hain't receeved no coat." This company was ordered by General Washington, in March, 1776, to be " marched from

The Medford militia, whose trainings we of latter days have witnessed, is mentioned for the first time in the " First Roster," in 1787 ; but, in the earlier and more confused records, there is recognition of a Medford company in 1781. The names of the officers are erased ! A vacuum then occurs. After this, the commanders of the company were as follows : -

Until this time, this company had belonged to the first regiment of the first brigade of the third division ; but now a new regiment, the fifth, was formed, and Medford, Charlestown, and Maiden composed it. The next captain of the Medford company was B,ufus Frost, chosen May 12, 1806. He resigned, and was discharged March 10, 1810. He was re-elected April 3, 1810, but he "refused to qualify." The next captains were : -

Whatever confusion may seem to belong to one or two of these records, could doubtless be rendered clear if it had been the custom to make prompt and accurate returns, and also to keep the rolls as methodically as they are at present. " Minute-men " were frequently organized, and no official registry made of them. Members of one company would join another for a single campaign of actual service, and, at their return, take their former places in the rank and file.

its charter, Captain John Sparrell was ordered to enroll its members in his company. He did so ; and, in that autumn, he appeared at a muster in Maiden with one hundred and ninety-six men, rank and file.

In 1797, a " general muster " took place in Concord, Middlesex County ; and it engaged the attention of the whole community. The war of the Revolution had made the management of regiments and divisions an easy thing ; and the soldier-feeling of '75 and '83 had not much abated. A gathering of several regiments, therefore, was a most joyous event in this community. Medford made it a town matter, and voted to pay each soldier two dollars, and to give each a half-pound of powder. These musters became the occasions of great dissipation. They seemed to be a mustering of all the evils of a community. " Egg-pop " was the favorite drink; and "wrestling," the "ring," "pawpaw," " hustling," and "wheel of fortune," the prevalent amusements. Intemperance, gambling, fisticuffs, ribaldry, theft, and noise were in the ascendant ; and the injury to youthful spectators was inconceivably great.

Medford Light Infantry

The members of this company petitioned the Governor and Council to be oi'ganized, as an independent corps, under the law of Nov. 29, 1785. As that law was very peculiar, and gave rights seemingly at variance to general military usage, it may be worth while to extract the two sections which contain the extraordinary provisions. They are as follows : -

" Be it therefore enacted, by the authority aforesaid, That when any Major-General, commander of a division of militia in this Commonwealth, shall certify to the Governor, that, in his opinion, it will be expedient, and for the good of the Commonwealth, that one or more companies of cadets, or other corps, should be raised, in his division, the Governor, with advice and consent of the Council, be, and he is hereby, authorized and empowered (if he judge expedient) to raise such cadet company, companies, or corps ; and, when any such company or corps shall be raised, they shall elect their officers in the same manner, and in the same proportion, as is provided for the election of officers of other companies and corps of militia in this Coramonweath ; and the officers so elected shall he commissioned by the Governor. Provided, always, that no such cadet company or corps shall be raised in any of said divisions, when, by means thereof, any of the standing companies within the same would be reduced to a less number than sixty privates.

" And be it further enacted, by the authority aforesaid, That the said companies or corps, when raised and organized, shall be under the command of the Major-General of the division in which they shall be respectively formed, and shall be subject to the rules and regulations that are already, or may hereafter be, provided by the Legislature, or the Commander-in-chief of the militia of this Commonwealth, for the general government of the militia."

It will be observed that these companies might be raised by the recommendation of the Major-General, and the officers and members composing them may be scattered in the different towns within the division. Cases occurred where the three superior officers lived in separate towns. On this account, these corps were called divisionary companies. Another peculiarity was, that they were subject to the order of the Major-General alone, and were never commanded by a Brigadier-General. They were not connected with any brigade, but took the place of a brigade ; and on the field, at a general review, they took the right, because they were commanded only by the Major-General. This right, or assumption, often caused trouble on great muster-days ; and once, when the Brigadier-General ordered the Medford Light Infantry to take the left, the Captain marched his company off the field, and returned to Medford without being reviewed. They maintained their cause, and never yielded their priority. The Weston Infantry was organized under the same law, but always gave precedence to the Medford on account of its greater age.

1789 : When General Washington made his visit at Cambridge, he was attracted by the superior appearance of the Medford company on parade, and took great pains to ask General Brooks what corps it was. He passed a high compliment on it.

There were many companies organized in the Commonwealth under the law ; some artillery, some cavalry, but generally infantry. On general review-days, the Major- General and his staff would ride and stop in front of a brigade, and there go through with their examinations and reviews : when they came to the Medford Light Infantry, they would all stop, and go through the same examinations and reviews which belonged to a brigade. This was any thing but agreeable to the reviewing officers and to the soldiers of the regular brigades. Few only of these companies remain in commission. The Boston and Salem Cadets are yet flourishing. In 1840, the question of the companies, organized under the law of 1785, taking the right of brigades, came up again, and was decided against the divisionary corps ; and they are now " subject to the rules and regulations that are already provided for the general government of the militia."

Major-General Brooks certified to the Governor, in 1786, that he thought it expedient that a divisionary corps should be raised in his division ; and, as the Medford Light Infantry had united in petitioning for organization, the petition was granted, and the organization took place Nov. 29, 1786. The choice of officers on that day resulted as follows : -

The office of Ensign was not deemed indispensable ; and none was chosen till May 3, 1791, when J. Bucknam was elected. The names of the commanders of this long-respected and efficient company are as follows : -

On the 11th of January, 1828, it resigned its commission, and has never been revived. For. the first twenty-five years of its existence, this company stood among the first for celerity and grace of drill-exercise and martial manoeuvre. It felt that it had a sort of brigade character to sustain ; and the

Brooks Phalanx

Sept. 22, 1841: Fifty-two citizens of Medford petitioned the Governor for a charter to establish a company of volunteer militia, to be attached to the fifth regiment of infantry, in the first brigade and third division of Massachusetts militia. This petition was granted ; and the company adopted the name of Brooks Phalanx, in honor of his late Excellency Governor Brooks.

Aug. 21, 1843 : The ladies of Medford presented the Phalanx with a beautiful standard. The ceremony took place before the meeting-house of the first parish, and was worthy the occasion.

Captain Blanchard having been promoted to the office of Lieutenant-Colonel, he resigned his office as commander of the Phalanx ; and, Nov. 13, 1844, James W. Brooks was chosen as his successor. In 1846, Captain Brooks was honorably discharged ; and, April 10, Charles Caldwell was elected Captain. After serving acceptably, he resigned ; and, May 9, 1849, Gilman Griffin was elected in his place. The last meeting held by the company was Dec. 18, 1849, when it was concluded to discontinue the organization, resign the charter, and return the standard to the ladies who gave it. The standard was placed in the Town Hall.

Lawrence Light Guard

This young and enthusiastic corps begins its military career under the most favorable auspices ; and every one wishes it prosperity. It is composed wholly of Medford men, and it will sustain a Medford reputation. It was organized Oct. 1, 1854 ; and its officers, chosen with unanimity, are as follows : -

The number, including rank and file, is sixty. Their first parade was Oct. 12, 1854, when they were exercised in firing at a target. They are Company E, Fifth Regiment Light Infantry.

There was a military manoeuvre designed and executed by Captain Thomas Pritchard, of Medford, while in command at New York, which deserves honorable mention. The English had taken possession of the city, Sept. 15, 1776, but were greatly annoyed by the American forces in its neighborhood. Captain Pritchard was personally known to some of the British officers, and he was remarkable for his celerity and skill in the war tactics. One day he had been making explorations with his company, when he came unexpectedly among a large force of British cavalry in a road. The English commander cried out to him, " Well, Pritchard, we've got you at last." " Not exactly," replied Pritchard ; and he immediately ordered his men to form across the road, and to prepare for a charge. The cavalry stopped. The wind was favorable to carry the smoke of Pritchard's fire directly among the enemy. The English commander felt that there must be great loss to him if he should open a fire, owing to the narrow defile and the adverse wind. He therefore stood still. To retreat, and also to gain time, was Pritchard's policy ; and he accomplished it thus : He walked behind his men, and touched every other one in the whole line, and then ordered those that he had touched to retreat backwards twenty steps. They did so, and there halted. This position kept each of his men in a fit order to fire or to charge, as might be necessary. As soon as this half had halted, he ordered the remaining half to retreat slowly in the same way ; to pass through the line, and retreat twenty steps behind the front rank. They did so successfully. The cavalry rushed forward, but did not fire. Pritchard's men understood the movement, and were not terrified at superior numbers. They continued to retreat in this unassailable and American fashion for nearly an hour, when the narrow road ended in a broken, rocky pasture. Now their destruction seemed certain. Captain Pritchard saw near him a ledge of rocks and a narrow pass. He resolved to get there if he could. But how could it be done ? The enemy had now come out, and nearly surrounded him. He formed his men into a hollow square, and ordered them to retreat sideways towards that narrow pass. They did so, each keeping his place, and presenting his bayonet to the foe. They reached the rock ; and there they must stop. With their backs to the precipice, and their face to the enemy, they must now surrender or die. They had resolved to try the chances of battle. The British had now come round them in such overwhelming numbers, that they felt desperate. Just as the British officer had ordered them to surrender, a detachment of American troops came suddenly upon them. The cavalry saw they themselves must be taken ; and they turned and fled. Major Brooks narrated to General Washington every particular of this victorious strategem ; and Washington said, " There is nothing in our military history yet that surpasses the ingenuity and fortitude of that manoeuvre." Captain Pritchard was very young, and a great favorite in the army ; and, when it became his turn to watch through the night, it was a common saying among the officers, " We can sleep soundly to-night ; Pritchard's out." He returned to Medi'ord after the war, resumed his trade of cooper, and died, June 8, 1795, aged forty -three.

Colonel Ebenezer Francis, son of Ebenezer Francis, was born in Medford, Dec. 22, 1743, on Thursday, and baptized on Christmas Day, the next Sunday. Living in Medford till his majority, he was studious to gain knowledge, and succeeded beyond most others. He moved to Beverly, and, in 1766, married Miss Judith Wood, by whom he had four daughters and one son. That son he named Ebenezer, who now resides in Boston, is nearly eighty years of age, and one of our most distinguished merchants.

Colonel Francis had three brothers, who became officers in the Revolutionary army, and did their native Medford credit Ebenezerwas commissioned as Captain by the Continental Congress, July 1, 1775 ; next year rose to the rank ot Colonel, and commanded a regiment on Dorchester Heights from August to December, 1776. Authorized by Congress, he raised the eleventh Massachusetts regiment and, in January 1777, marched at the head of it to Ticonderoga. Monday July 7, 1777, a skirmish took place between the eleventh MLachusetts regiment and the British, at Hubbardton near Whitehall, N.Y., in which Colonel Francis fell A piivate journal of Captain Greenleaf, now m the library of the Massachusetts Historical Society, says : -

"Colonel Francis first received a ball through his right arm; but still continued at the head of his troops till he received the fatal wound through his body, entering his right breast. He dropped on his face."

«No officer so noticed for his military accomplishments and regular life as he. His conduct in the held is spoken of in the highest terms of applause."

A British officer, who was in the battle of . Hnbbar dton, happened to be quartered as a prisoner in Medford He wrote a history of that battle ; and we make the following extracts, which relate to a Medford mother then living in her house at the West End. The officer says : -

« A few days since, walking out with some officer^ we stopped at a house to purchase vegetables. While the other officers were bargaining with the woman of the house, I observed an elderly woman SB? by the fire, who was continually eying us, and every now and then shedding a tear. Just as we were quitting the house she go" up, and, bursting into tears, said, < Gentlemen, will you Irt a poor distracted woman speak a word to you before you go? We as you must naturally imagine, were all astonished; and upon inquiring what she wanted, with the most poignant grief, and sobb hTas ?f her heart was on the point of breaking, asked if any of us knew her son, who was killed at the battle of Hubbardton, a Colonel Francis. Several of us informed her that we had seen him after he was dead. She then inquired about his pocket-book, and if any of his papers were safe, as some related to his estates and if any of

L soUiiers had got his watch; if *» Y° m "tinov " S remembrance of her dear, dear son, she should be happy. Captain Ferguson, of our regiment, who was of the party, told her, as to the

Colonel's papers and pocket-book, he was fearful lest they were lost or destroyed ; but, pulling a watch from his fob, said, ' There, good woman ; if that can make you happy, take it, and God bless you.' We were all much surprised, and unacquainted that he had made a purchase of it from a drum-boy. On seeing her son's watch, it is impossible to describe the joy and grief that were depicted in her countenance. I never, in all my life, beheld such a strength of passion. She kissed it ; looked unutterable gratitude at Captain Fergurson ; then kissed it again. Her feelings were inexpressible ; she knew not how to utter or show them. She would repay his kindness by kindness, but could only sob her thanks. Our feelings were lilted to an inexpressible height; we promised to send after the papers ; and I believe, at that moment, could have hazarded life itself to procure them."

John Francis, a brother of the Colonel, born in Medford Sept. 28, 1753, was Adjutant in the regiment commanded by his brother, and fought bravely at Hubbardton. He was in several battles during the six years of his service, and, at the capture of Burgoyne, was wounded. He died, July 30, 1822, in the sixty-ninth year of his age, in Beverly, the place of his residence. He was esteemed for his hospitality and cheerfulness.

Another gallant action by a Medford Sergeant, in the heat of the battle at White Plain, deserves a special record. Francis Tufts saw the standard-bearer fall : he flew to the spot, seized the standard, lifted it in the air, and rushed to the front rank of the line, and there marched forward, calling upon the men to follow. This was seen by General Washington. As soon as victory was won, the General asked Colonel Brooks the name of the young man, in his regiment, who achieved that noble act. He was told ; and there, on the stump of a tree, the General immediately wrote his commission of Adjutant.

Medford furnished its full quota of soldiers for the war of 1812, and shed its blood in sustaining the national cause. The following are the names of those who volunteered enlistment : John Gates, Zachariah Shed, Edmund Gates, Amos Hadley, Thomas Cutter, Jacob Waite, Samuel F. Jordan, Jonathan Tufts, jun., Randolph Richardson, Rehoboam Richardson, Miles Wilson, Joseph Peirce, John Lee, John Weatherspoon, John McClough, Stephen D. Bugsby, Robert Hall, Benjamin Symmes.

The first on the list still lives ; the others are dead. Edmund Gates was killed in the battle of Chippewa ; and Abiel It. Shed was killed in the sortie of Fort Erie, 1813.

One of the most signal sacrifices made by Medford to the cause of the country, in that war, was the death of Lieutenant John Brooks, son of General Brooks, who graduated at Harvard College in 1805, studied medicine with his father, and afterwards joined the army as an officer of marines. The personal beauty of young Brooks was a matter of remark in every company where he appeared. His courage was great ; and, by exposing himself in the hottest struggle of the fight, he was instantly killed by a cannon-ball, which struck him near the hip, and mangled him shockingly. This occurred in the famed battle on Lake Erie, Sept. 13, 1813, when Commodore Perry gained his brilliant victory over the English fleet.

The remains of Lieutenant Brooks were buried on an island in Lake Erie, and there remained until November, 1817, when they were removed to Fort Shelby, in the city of Detroit, Michigan. The " Detroit Gazette," of Nov. 7, 1817, has the following notice of the removal : -

" Funeral of Lieutenant John Brooks. - On Friday last, the remains of Lieutenant John Brooks, who fell in the battle on Lake Erie, were interred in the new burial-ground, upon the glacis of Fort Shelby, within the Military Reserve of this city. The ceremony was attended with military honors suited to the rank of the deceased.

" The body was escorted by a military corps, and preceded by the Rev. Messrs. Monteith and Larned. The pall was supported by six Lieutenants, with scarfs. Lieutenant-Colonel Smith, and the officers of the Fifth United States Regiment, followed as mourners, flanked by marshals. Then succeeded Major-General Macomb, Governor Cass, and the civil, judicial, and municipal officers of the territory and city, citizens and strangers, and the non-commissioned officers and soldiers of the army. The funeral service was performed by the Rev. Mr. Larned. The procession was solemn and sublime."

Dec. 17, 1836, Medford was called to part with another officer high in command in the army of the United States. Among the brave, there were none braver than Colonel Alexander Scammel Brooks, eldest son of General John Brooks. He was born in Medford, 1777, on the day of Burgoyne's surrender at Saratoga. He entered Harvard College in 1798, and left it in 1801. He preferred a sailor's life; but, when the embargo of 1808 was laid, he obtained a commission in the army, and held it till that restriction on commerce was removed. He then resumed marine life, and continued in it till the war of 1812, when he again received a commission as Captain in the United States army, and served through the war. So gallant was his conduct at the battle of Plattsburg, that he received a brevet as Major. He was retained in the army on the peace establishment, and commanded posts on the seaboard. In May, 1817, he married Miss Sarah Turner. In 1820, he was ordered to the command of Portland Harbor, where he remained seven years ; thence to Bellona Arsenal, on James River, Virginia, where he remained four years ; thence to Fort Independence, in Boston Harbor. He next came to Medford, and resided in the house of his late father till ordered to the command of the New York Harbor. In May, 1836, he was ordered, with his command, into the Cherokee country, to move the Indians. That duty performed, he went to Fort Moultrie, Charleston Harbor, South Carolina. Here he soon received orders to proceed immediately to Florida, and take command of the regiment of which he was Lieutenant-Colonel, and prosecute the war against the Indians, - a war abhorrent both to his principles and his feelings. He had a singular and unconquerable dislike of travelling by steam-power ; but here was a necessity ; and, almost for the first time in his life, he ventured on board a steamboat, the " Dolphin," bound for the Black Creek. The following account, published at the time in the " Jacksonville Courier," gives the sad sequel with touching particularity : -

" The United States steamer ' Dolphin,' from Charleston for St. Augustine, via Savannah and St. Mary's, was lost off the bar of St. John's River, on Saturday afternoon, Dec. 17, 1836, at half-past four in the afternoon. When within two miles of St. John's Bar, and she had taken two pilots on board, as the boat began to move, her boilers exploded, and, in an instant, she was a complete wreck. The bows and stern were separated, and the engine, &c, sank to the bottom. Mr. Donnelson was blown into the bows of the boat, much stunned. After the steam had cleared away, as soon as he could stand, he noticed Colonel Brooks just beside him, who laid lifeless, except one slight spasm ; after which, in an instant, the face turned purple. Mr. Donnelson thinks he was killed by the shock. Soon after this, Mr. Donnelson gained the stern, which was the largest part. Immediately afterwards, the bows sank, but soon rose again to the surface ; but Colonel Brooks was seen no more. Out of thirty-four persons, nineteen were saved, and fifteen were lost. The disaster was owing to the highly culpable negligence of the two engineers, who were both lost."

December 30, the body was recovered. His watch, filled with sand, was taken from his pocket, and sent to his family. A newspaper of St. Augustine gives the following particulars : -

" The body of the late lamented Colonel Brooks was found upon the beach, about thirty miles from this city, and brought here for interment on Thursday last. On Friday, the body was escorted to the grave by the St. Augustine Veterans and a company of volunteers, and followed by the United States officers at this post as principal mourners, the volunteer officers in the service of the United States, the United States troops, the Judge and officers of the Superior Court, the Mayor and Aldermen, and a large concourse of citizens. The burial service was read, at the grave, by the Rev. David Brown, of the Episcopal Church."

Chapter Vi Ecclesiastical History

The history of their church, in many of our earliest New England towns, was almost the history of their settlement. So early as 1634, our fathers procured a preacher, Mr. James Noyes, afterwards minister of Newbury. He was born in England in 1608, educated at Oxford, came to Boston in 1634, and "was immediately called to preach at Mistic, which he did for nearly one year. He was much beloved and respected, - a very holy and heavenly-minded man. He was a man of singular qualifications, a reaching and ready apprehension, and a most profound judgment. He was courageous in dangers, and still apt to believe the best, and made fair weather in a storm."

After he left Medford, the inhabitants received religious instructions from Rev. Mr. Wilson and Rev. Mr. Phillips ; for, in the tax for the support of these gentlemen, Medford paid its share assessed by the General Court. These preachers were paid by six towns, and doubtless considered Medford as belonging to their pastoral watch and Christian fold.

At this time, our fathers were troubled with the sect of the Antinomians , whose spiritual father was John Agricola, of Isleben. They were against the moral law, not only as a covenant of life, but as a rule of moral conduct. Mrs. Anne Hutchinson brought the controversy from England here in 1634. The Colonists went for the law, and were called Legalists. The heat on one side for the " covenant of grace," and on the other for the " covenant of works," caused politi- cal as well as ecclesiastical trouble. Vane headed the Antinomians, and Winthrop the Legalists. The synod at Newton, Au<*. 80, 1637, condemned the Antinomians ; and they were

The first inhabitants of Medford belonged to that class of hardy, intelligent, Christian adventurers called Puritans, who left their native England that they might here worship God and govern themselves according to the dictates oUneir own consciences, and here spread the truths of Christianity among the heathen. Nobler blood never flowed in human veins ; and we may rejoice that we are descended from warrior-saints, who dared to lead where any dared to follow, whose souls were sanctified by Christian faith, whose union illustrated the natural rights of man, and whose characters were made invincible by a spiritual heroism. That such a people would faithfully provide for the worship which they had sacrificed their native homes to enjoy, is most natural. That our forefathers so felt and so acted, is undoubtedly true; as it is also true that their scanty means and divided condition postponed the settlement of a minister, - a failure of duty which drew upon them prosecutions and fines. We therefore find additional cause for lamentation over the loss of our early records, which would have explained the tacts of their condition, and also proved to us how devotedly they attended public worship in the neighboring towns when they were not able to support a minister within their own borders. So soon as they could pay a clergyman, - yes, long before they could do it without extreme anxiety, - they made provision for their spiritual nurture and their growth in grace. Johnson, in his "Wonder-working Providence, says : -

Their wakefulness and zeal are proved, in the surviving records, by their unanimity in causing each person to contribute his share ; and their intelligence and justice appear in harmonizing differences which unhappily arose between them and one of their temporary teachers.

The " plantation " agreed to hire a preacher, who should supply them for six months or a year, and to pay him by individual subscriptions, while they allowed him to reside wherever his other engagements required. Tutors from Harvard College were hired for this purpose.

Oct. 21, 1658, our fathers kept a fast, " on account of God's judgments ; to wit, sickness in several families, unfavorable weather, and the appearance of that scourge, the Quakers."

1660 : At this time, the controversy about infant baptism afflicted our early Christians here ; and Mr. Thomas Gould's case, in Charlestown, caused great stir at Medford.

Mr. John Hancock, grandfather of the patriot of 1775, who preached here in 1692, consented to remain in the plantation ; and the town accordingly voted that " he shall be boarded at Mr. John Bradshaw's for the year ensuing, if he shall continue his ministry so long among us." The usual price of board was five shillings per week. In November, 1693, Mr. Hancock's ministrations ceased, and the town voted to apply to the government of Harvard College to supply them with a minister for the winter. The town enjoyed, for a considerable time, the ministerial services of Mr. Benjamin Colman (H. C. 1692).

May 13, 1695, the town gave Mr. Simon Bradstreet (H. C. 1693) an invitation to become their permanent pastor ; and the record is as follows : -

"Voted that Mr. Simon Bradstreet, for his encouragement to settle amongst us in the work of the gospel ministry, shall have £40 in money, for annuity, with his housing and firewood."

This call was not accepted. There were, at this time, only thirty-three male inhabitants who paid taxes on estates. Fifteen shillings was the common price paid, per sabbath, to " occasional preachers."

March 5, 1694 : Voted that the former subscription for the support of the minister should be continued, and that the board of the minister should be five shillings per week ; and, if any one refused to pay his share of this, then the Selectmen should " rate him according to his effects." The town's rate was " one penny in the pound, and twelve pence per head."

Ecclesiastical History

Supporting the ministry by an equal tax on all property was the settled policy of our fathers, though there had been objectors to the plan. So early as 1643, " one Briscoe, of "Watertown," says Winthrop, " wrote a book against it, wherein, besides his arguments, which were naught, he cast reproach on the elders and officers. He was fined ten pounds, and one of the publishers forty shillings."

Not successful in settling a minister, the town hired Mr. Benjamin Woodbridge, of Charlestown, to preach for six months ; and, as his engagements in Charlestown did not allow him to reside in Medford, the town passed the following vote, Dec. 5, 1698 : -

" Voted that Cotton Tufts be chosen and appointed to agree with Mr. Joseph Squire for his horse for Mr. Woodbridge, riding from Chaideston to Medford every Saturday, and from Medford to Charlestown every Monday ; allowing said Squire two shillings per journey for said horse, going and coming, well-shod for said journey. Mr. Woodbridge also to ride said Squire's horse to meeting on the sabbath-days when there shall be occasion."

As the history of this gentleman's ministerial connection with the town of Medford will let us into some clear knowledge, not only of the taste and temper of our ancestors, but of their faith and wisdom, we shall here give a few details.

Mr. Woodbridge was the son of Rev. John Woodbridge, of Andover. He was ordained, March 18, 1670, over the " Presbyterian party " in Windsor, Conn. He left Windsor, and preached at Bristol, B..I. He left Bristol, and preached at Kittery, Maine. In 1691, he resided in Portsmouth, N.H.X In 1698, he began to officiate in Medford.

The subject of the church and the ministry being the paramount topic in our early times, we may not wonder if we find in it traditional enthusiasm and Protestant Popery. Our fathers found some ministers to be mere church-clocks, for ticking the seconds and striking the hours ; but whether they found Mr. Woodbridge such a one, or a whip of fire, the following history will disclose.

He seemed to preach so acceptably, that movements were made to give him a call; and, March 28, 1698, the town voted that " Mr. Woodbridge, when legally settled amongst us in the work of the ministry, shall have forty pounds in money, fifteen cords of wood, and strangers' money, for annuity." " Strangers' money " meant the moneys paid by persons not legally ratable. The vote of March- 28 was not meant to be a legal call, but only a preliminary feeler for both parties. Matters were not hastened ; for not until Sept. 15, 1701, do we find two persons appointed by the town "to discourse with Mr. Woodbridge, and know his mind concerning settling in the town in the work of the ministry." Dec. 15, 1701, the town voted to give thirty pounds to Mr. Woodbridge, as encouragement to settle inMedford, but upon the condition that " he remain during his natural life ; but, if he saw cause to remove, then to return the said thirty pounds to the town again."

Nov. 26, 1700, the town voted to build a parsonage ; but, as some objections existed, it was deferred. The subject, however, was revived the next year, and a vote obtained for the erection ; but, on the passage of this resolution, the records say, that " Mr. Ebenezer Brooks and Samuel Brooks did then enter their dissent against raising money for building a house for the minister." After three attempts to get a satisfactory vote to build a house thirty-eight feet long and twenty-nine feet wide, the matter was indefinitely postponed. Mr. Woodbridge wished to settle as the minister, and therefore urged the building of a parsonage. His new entreaties resulted in a new plan ; which was to give Mr. Woodbridge thirty pounds, and let him build his house as he pleased. Accordingly, a " rate " was levied, and fortytwo names appear on the records, March 23, 1701. Here commenced a series of dissensions. The thirty pounds were paid to Mr. Woodbridge, and he began to build ; but, for what cause we cannot discover, the reverend gentleman had serious difficulties with his carpenters and some of his parishioners. These stimulated him and moved him to complaints, the natural results of which were mutual defences and angry recriminations. Mr. Woodbridge was called upon to give a receipt for the thirty pounds which had been paid him. He not only refused to give a receipt, but denied having received the money ; declined giving any account of it ; and, moreover, objected to referring the matter to the elders at Boston. His refusal of this reference betrays his Presbyterianism. A considerable time was wasted in this dubious and belligerent condition, when the town referred their case to impartial clergymen and elders of Boston ; and, May 2, 1704, they received the following letter : -

« The differences between Mr. Woodbridge and several of the good people of Medford have been laid before our consideration, and they appear unto us to be of a very uncomfortable aspect.

« Our advice having been asked, whether it be proper to proceed unto an immediate settlement of a church state, whilst the present uneasiness and alienation of minds remain uncured, we cannot but declare that it seems to us not desirable. We could rejoice if we had a more hopeful prospect of a right understanding and good establishment in Medford.

" If it appears hopeless to the discerning Christians in the place (whereof we at this distance make not ourselves the judges), it seems better for them to study the best methods of parting as lovingly and speedily as they can, than, by continuing longer together, and carrying on a controversy, to produce exasperations that may defeat all other attempts to come at a desirable settlement. (Signed)

The advice of these gentlemen, so full of wisdom and love, did not suit Mr. Woodbridge. Difficulties thickened, and the church seemed to have fallen into a " place where two seas

June 19, 1704, the town voted that what they had done about Mr. Woodbridge's settlement be null and void. This does not seem to have altered materially the relations of the parties ; for, Dec. 19, 1704, the town directed the Selectmen to make " a rate of forty pounds, and thirteen cords of wood, for Mr. Woodbridge's salary." What constituted a legal call of a minister, seems not to have been definitely understood. Some strenuously maintained that " it was not in the power of a town to dismiss their minister."

March 5, 1705, the town " voted that they would not proceed to settle Mr. Woodbridge as their minister." After this, the reverend gentleman resorted to a new mode of operation, aided, no doubt, by his few earnest friends. The explanation of all may be found in the following vote of the town at the time : -

Voted, "Whereas Mr. Woodbridge hath lately attempted the gathering a church in Medford, contrary to the respected advice of the elders in the neighborhood, though the whole procedure hath been highly irregular, and done without advice or respect of the inhabitants of the town, and without the countenance and concurrence of the neighbor churches ; and, if he continues among us after this manner, there will be a foundation laid for endless confusion and contention in this languishing town : for these and other such considerations, the town do declare themselves highly dissatisfied at Mi*. Woodbridge's late irregular attempts and actions about gathering a church, and do protest against his going on in the offensive way he is in, and do forbid his preaching any more in their public meeting-house."

Mr. Woodbridge now appealed to the " General Sessions of Peace " at Charlestown. Their reply was, that " Mr. Woodbridge is not a settled minister in Medford." Fourteen citizens immediately entered their protest against this decision. He next appealed to Governor Dudley and his Council ; and the result there was expressed in these words : " That Mr. Woodbridge should not preach till he had made acknowledgments to the aggrieved parties."

July, 1705: A council of six churches was called, "to convince of, and testify against, those evils which have obstructed the quiet and regular settlement and enjoyment of. all gospel ordinances in Medford." Rev. Joseph Easterbrook, of Concord, was Moderator. The Council censured both Mr. Woodbridge and the town of Medford. One of the censures of Mr. Woodbridge was, that " the steps which he took towards gathering a church, as to the time and under the circumstances, were very unadvised, and obstructive to the regular settlement and enjoyment of all gospel ordinances in that town."

We can imagine how much fireside conversation and deep feeling there must have been in the scattered farm-houses of Medford, while these unhappy differences had risen so high as to require the attention of the clergy, and even the interposition of the highest executive authority. Sadness and gloom settled upon the minds of our fathers. At such a time, they obeyed the dictates of a Christian prudence and a pious heart. They believed in prayer ; and therefore, on the 6th December, 1706, the Selectmen appointed a town fast, that all the inhabitants, with one heart and one mind, should unite in asking Gcjd to heal these divisions, and restore to them a true gospel peace.

Cool and right -hearted, as full of valor as of wisdom, the town was still tolerant, and referred their case to the " Court of Sessions at Cambridge," who appointed four persons to hear all the complaints on both sides, and then to recommend some mode of reconciliation, or to advise a peaceable separa- tion. After patient reviewal of the whole, they report, Nov. 28, 1707, that " the wound is incurable ; " and therefore advise a quiet withdrawal of Mr. Woodbridge, " the town paying him forty pounds, in bills of credit, in full of all demands ; also give him the strangers' money which has been collected during the last nine sabbaths ; and, furthermore, to offer to purchase his real estate for two hundred and seventy pounds." This decision, deemed by many as equitable and conciliatory, was somewhat modified by the highest tribunal, " the Great and General Court, held at Boston." May 26, 1708, this court voted " that Mr. Woodbridge is hereby declared to be no longer minister of Medford." Also voted, at the same time, " that this Court are directed speedily to procure and settle another minister ; and that this Court do advise Mr. Woodbridge by no means to discourage the coming and settlement of another minister among them." The first of these votes pleased a majority of the town ; the last displeased the whole ; and forthwith our Medford fathers, in the true spirit of congregational liberty, came together and resolved thus : " To petition the Court of Sessions that we may not have a minister imposed upon us ; but may have the liberty and privilege to choose our minister as other towns have, as the law directs."

It is not worth while to enter into details of small things. One specimen, occurring at this time, derives its importance from the fact that our fathers enlisted such men as Chief Justice Sewall in their troubles. The fact is as follows : -

" Sir, - In your account of disbursements, given to the town of Medford, at their meeting, Dec. 19, 1705, your first article is, 'The expenses upon land, house, fencing, &c, as appears from my book, £249. 8s. Id.' Now, the Committee desire to see the particulars by which that sum rises ; and, to that end, that you would meet them, or some of them, upon 'Change, presently after the Artillery Sei'mon, next Monday, where we may agree of a place of recess for this purpose.

So tenacious was the grasp of Mr. Woodbridge on the pulpit of Medford, and so devoted were some hearts to his cause, that, after all which had happened, we find the town, Dec. 6, 1708, voting thus : " That Mr. Woodbridge be invited to preach three months on a free contribution." This must have been nearly a tie vote, since thirteen members immediately enter their protest against it. This probably ended Mr. Woodbridge's connection with the church as its preacher ; for, in the next year, Mr. John Tufts is a favorite, and commended for settlement.

During the long and increasing dissension, which was now closed, it is apparent that the town took counsel of wisdom and charity. They wished to give Mr. Woodbridge every opportunity of righting himself before the community, the churches, and the government ; they apprehended the worldly and spiritual equity of the case ; and it is refreshing to read their vote upon it, in the following beautiful words : -

It is observable also with what serpent-like wisdom and dove-like harmlessness their advisers managed the case. They did not consider the contending parties as acids and alkalies, but as friends who desired reconciliation. After such a religious dissension, a parish would not be likely to unite very soon in the choice of another minister, unless there was that enlarged spirit of Christian compromise which requires more profound thought and a more expansive tolerance than the education of our ancestors had led them to attain or to cherish.

Mr. Woodbridge died in Medford, Jan. 15, 1710, after a residence of nearly ten years, aged sixty -five ; and, on the same day, with commendable promptitude and just liberality, the town voted ten pounds to defray the expenses of his funeral, - an act which proves that they would not let the sun go down upon their animosity.

"Thursday, 19th, Mr. "Woodbridge was buried. Mr. Parsons, of Maiden, preached the funeral sermon. Bearers : President (of College) ; Mr. Hobart, of Newton ; Mr. Brattle ; Mr. Bradstreet ; Mr. Parsons ; Mr. Ruggles, of Billericay. By reason that it was lecture-day, and Mr. Colman preached, and the wind very high and blustering, not one Boston minister was there."

Mr. Woodbridge seems not to have lost his ministerial standing during his troubles in Medford ; and we must leave to future disclosures some points which now appear equivocal.

It was now the object of the leading minds in the town to compose all differences as soon as possible ; but they found that the waves lash the shore after the wind that has raised them has ceased to blow. Resolved to enjoy the regular ministrations of the word and ordinances, the town passed the following vote, Feb. 17, 1709 : -

This vote showed two points : first, that they would not make the support of public worship to depend on the caprice or selfishness of the people ; and, second, that they resolved every one should pay according to his means.

April 11, 1711: "John Whitmore, sen., Samuel Brooks, and Stephen Hall, were chosen to see for a supply of preaching in Medford for the time aforesaid."

Mr. John Tufts, son of Mr. Peter Tufts, of Medford, proved so acceptable, that the town gave him an invitation, Nov. 12, 1711, to settle on a salary of fifty pounds and strangers' money.

" Sirs, - I have considered of the invitation which you, by your town's order, acquainted me they had given me, and also of the offer they had made for my encouragement to settle with them in the work of the ministry, for which I give them thanks ; and you may inform the town, I am not indisposed to serve the interests of Christ in this place, and should cheerfully undertake the dispensation and administration of the word and ordinances of God amongst them, but that the circumstances of the town at present are such that I cannot readily and so freely comply with their desire as is to be wished for ; but, however, if suitable means were speedily used, and proper attempts made, to satisfy those persons that are averse to my, or any other person's, settling in the work of the ministry in this place, and also if the town will allow me such a salary as I shall think sufficient for my maintenance, I know nothing to the contrary, but I may undertake the work of the ministry amongst them. My desire and prayer to the infinitely wise God for this people is, that he would incline and direct them to do that which will be most for God's glory and«their own peace and happiness, both in this and in the world to come. John Tufts."

The town also concluded to have a contribution each Sunday, and thus pay the minister at the end of the day ; and voted that each person should previously write down, on a rate-bill, what he will contribute each Sunday. The persons who gathered these contributions were appointed from among the most trustworthy of the congregation. The great watchfulness of our fathers in these money-matters is seen in a vote passed at this period (1709). It is as follows : -

" Voted to call Mr. John Whitmore to an account by what order he held out the contribution-box, and how he disposed of the money that was put therein."

March 6, 1710: Voted to apply to Mr. John Whiting, Fellow of Harvard College, to preach for three months. This gentleman refused ; and Mr. John Tufts was engaged for six months. At the end of this time, July 17, 1710, he engaged to supply the pulpit six months longer. The town now proposed a " free contribution," in connection with a " subscription," for the support of public worship.

Our fathers had a new source of alarm in the attempt to introduce English Episcopacy. They had not forgotten the persecutions of Archbishop Laud ; and they feared every thing from a church that was " a tool of the king." Excited, suspicious, unforgiving, and intolerant in this matter, they called the Episcopalian clergymen " Baal's priests ; " the unvarying service, " travelling round life-long in the same deep ruts ; " and the set prayers, " leeks, garlick, and trash."

In the Medford church, though there were differing opinions concerning particular preachers and concerning worldly prudentials, there was a true and steady purpose in all hearts to have a settled pastor and teacher ; and they all united piously to hold a town-fast on the last Wednesday of April, 1712. The record speaks of the day as one "to be solemnized as a day of fasting and prayer, to humble ourselves before God for those divisions and contentions that hath been so long prevailing among us, and obstructed the peaceable enjoyment of gospel ordinances." They agreed to meet immediately after the religious exercises of the fast, and to ask each man to bring, on a piece of paper, the name of the gentleman he should prefer as his minister, and, out of the three who had the highest number, to select one as the pastor. It proved that Mr. Amos Cheever, Mr. John Tufts, and Mr. Aaron Porter, were the candidates.

The lot finally fell on the last-named gentleman. How long he preached as a candidate, we do not know. The time must have been short ; for, on the 19th of May, 1712, the town voted, with most hopeful unanimity, to invite Mr. Aaron Porter to become their minister. His salary was to be fifty -five pounds, and to be increased two pounds annually until it reached seventy pounds. To this was added the strangers' money ; twenty cords of wood, or seven pounds. It was further provided, that if a part of Charlestown that lies next to Medford be annexed, then Mr. Porter's salary be raised ten pounds. It was further provided, that " the rates for Mr. Aaron Porter's salary be levied on polls and ratable estate, according to the rate of raising and levying the county tax."

Mr. Porter accepted this invitation, but demanded " one hundred pounds as a settlement." The gift of such a sum to a new pastor was customary, and the Medford church acceded. Not being rich, the town voted to ask the aid of sister churches in paying this sum, which we trust was cheerfully granted. At the same meeting, they passed the following vote : -

" That the Representative draw and prefer a petition to the General Court for some help as to maintenance and support of the ministry amongst us."

The questions concerning Congregationalism had elicited long discussion, and kindled some fire. Whether it meant a right in every church to elect and ordain its own officers, manage its own affairs, and maintain a pure worship ; or whether it meant that the State was the proper head of the church, and therefore should regulate faith and punish heresy, - our fathers took the first view, and declared for a free " independency," and acted accordingly.

February, 1713 ; and the town provided a " place for entertaining the reverend elders, messengers, ministers, and scholars who should be present on the occasion." The whole cost of the ordination was about sixteen pounds.

The law authorizing taxes on ratable inhabitants for the support of public worship bears date 1677. The early Independent or Congregational churches distinguished between pastor and teacher. The Cambridge platform of 1648 confines the pastor to exhortation, and the teacher to doctrine. Mr. Wilson, who owned land in Mistick, was pastor of the first church in Boston, while Mr. Cotton was its teacher. " Ruling elder " was an officer different from a pastor or teacher or deacon. His duty was " to attend to the admission of members, to ordain officers chosen by the church, to excommunicate obstinate offenders renounced by the church, and to restore penitents forgiven by the church," &c. The deacon's duty was " limited to the care of the temporal things of the church, the contribution of the saints," &c. In Medford, the useless distinction between pastor and teacher was laid aside, as was also the office of ruling elder. The earliest churches ordained the deacons ; and church-membership was an indispensable qualification for the freedom of the colony and the right of franchise. In the choice of a minister, the church nominated ; and then the society, without respect to church-membership, elected him on the republican principle of a majority-vote.

Rev. Aaron Porter

This gentleman was born, July 19, 1689, in Hadley, Massachusetts. His great-grandfather was John Porter, of Windsor, Connecticut. His grandfather, son of John, was Samuel Porter, who was one of the first settlers of Hadley, in 1659, and died in 1689, leaving seven children. His father was Samuel Porter, Esq., eldest son of the abovenamed Samuel. He was born in 1660 ; married Joanna, daughter of Aaron Cook, Esq., of Hadley ; was a gentleman of wealth and influence, extensively engaged in trade, and at one time High-Sheriff of the County. He died in the summer of 1722, aged sixty-two, leaving three sons and four daughters, all of whom are mentioned in his will. At the time he executed his will, Jan. 80, 1722, he knew not of the death of his son, Rev. Aaron Porter, though he had then been dead a week ; a striking proof of the difficulty of communicating intelligence.

The minister of Medford was the second son and the third child of the above Samuel, and was named Aaron, in honor of his grandfather Cook. He was graduated at Harvard College, 1708 ; previously to which he had joined himself to a society formed at college, May, 1706, that met weekly "for prayer and spiritual discourse."

Of his ordination at Medford, Chief Justice Samuel Sewall gives the following account in his diary. After mentioning a vehement, drifting storm of snow the day preceding, he writes : -

"Wednesday, Feb. 11, 1713: Mr. Aaron Porter is ordained pastor of the church at Meadford. Mr. Angier, of Watertown, gave the charge ; Mr. Hancock, of Lexington, the right hand of fellowship. The storm foregoing hindered my son Joseph (settled the same year over the Old South Church in Boston) from being there. Were many more people there than the meeting-house could hold."

In the autumn of the same year, Mr. Porter married Susanna, daughter of Major Stephen Sewall, Esq., of Salem, and a sister of Stephen Sewall (H. C, 1721), afterwards Chief Justice. Judge Samuel, her uncle, gives the following account of the wedding : -

"1713, Oct. 22: I go to Salem; visit Mrs. Epes, Colonel Hathorne. See Mr. Noyes marry Mr. Aaron Porter and Miss Susan Sewall at my brother's. Was a pretty deal of company present. Mr. Hirst and wife, Mr. Blowers (minister of Beverly), Mr. Prescot (minister of Danvers), Mr. Tuft, sen. (father of Rev. John Tufts, of Newbury), Madame Leverett (lady of Pres. Leverett), Foxcroft, Goff, Kitchen, Mr. Samuel Porter, father of the bridegroom, I should have said before. Many young gentlemen and gentlewomen. Mr. Noyes made a speech : said, Love was the sugar to sweeten every condition in the married relation. Prayed once. Did all very well. After the Sack-Posset (a common article of entertainment at weddings), sung the 45th Psalm from the 8th verse to the end, - five staves. I set it to Windsor tune. I had a very good turkey-leather Psalm-book, which I looked in, while Mr. Noyes read ; and then I gave it to the bridegroom, saying, ' I give you this Psalm-book in order to your perpetuating this song ; and I would have you pray that it may be an introduction to our singing with the choir above.' I lodged at Mr. Hirst's."

We may say a word, in passing, of these customs of our ancestors. The Psalm-book used on this occasion was the " New England Version, or Bay Psalm-book." The psalm was "deaconed." The portion sung was ten verses, C M. The first two lines were : -

The last verse, to which the Judge seems to allude in what he said to the bridegroom, as he presented the " turkeyleather Psalm-book," read thus : -

The tune selected seems to us a singular one for the occasion. " Windsor " is a proper tune for a funeral ; but, for a wedding, how dull! So thought not our ancestors. While they gloried in singing sprightly " York " or " St. David's " on Sunday, solemn "Windsor" or "Low Dutch" (Canterbury) was their frequent choice at weddings and other festal occasions.

Mr. and Mrs. Porter came to Medford immediately after their marriage, and lived happily together. They were highly esteemed by their uncle, Judge Sewall, who frequently called on them when going to Salem and Newbury. His diary says : -

" July 28, 1714 : According to my promise, I carried my daughter Hannah to Meadford, to visit Cousin Porter. In her mother's name, she presented her cousin with a red coat for her little Aaron, blue facing, for the sleeves galoon. Cost about 12s. 2c?. I carried her three oranges. Gave the nurse 2s., maid Is. Hannah gave the nurse Is. Got thither about one. Over the ferry before dark. 5s. for the calash. Mr. Porter went to Salem on Monday, and was not come home, though the sun scarce half an hour high, when came away. Laus Deo."

" May 19, 1712 : The town of Medford called me, Aaron Porter, to serve them in the work of the ministry ; which call (after serious and frequent application to the God of all grace) I accepted as a call from God.

" Feb. 11, 1713 : This day was set apart as a day of fasting and prayer, in order to separate or ordain me to the sacred office of a minister of the gospel. The reverend elders sent to assist in this solemn action were these following : scil., the Rev. Mr. Samuel Angier, of Watertown ; Mr. William Brattle, of Cambridge ; Mr. John Hancock, of Lexington ; Mr. Simon Bradstreet, of Charlestown ; Mr. John Fox, of Woburn ; and Mr. David Parsons, of Maiden ; all of whom (except the Rev. Mr. Wm. Brattle and Mr. John Fox, who at this time labored under bodily indispositions) were present, with other delegates of the churches.

"The reverend elders and messengers being assemhled at the house of Br. John Bradshaw, the first thing they did was the gathering a church ; which was done by a number of the brethren's signing to a covenant prepared for that purpose."

By a law of the General Court, passed March 3, 1686, each church must be recognized and approved by the magistrates soon after its organization ; otherwise its members cannot be admitted as freemen of the Commonwealth. The Medford church was so approved. Maiden was fined, in 1651, for settling a minister "without the consent of the neighboring churches or the allowance of the magistrates."