Medford City (part 9 of 14)

Who were delegated for this singular supervisory duty in Medford, or how much our ship-carpenters relished it, we are not told. May 29, 1644, the General Court proposed the formation of a company of ship-builders, " with power to regulate the building of ships, and to make such orders and laws amongst themselves as may conduce to the public good.

Mystic River, having no fatal shoals or rocks within it, permits the passage of an empty ship of twenty-five hundred tons at the highest tides. If we can suppose a sea-serpent to have started from Charlestown for a visit to the country, and a small stream of tide-water to have followed him in his explorations, we can imagine him thus marking out by his many and sudden windings the course of our river from Boston Bay to the Pond, - rendering it thus serpentine in order to present the best accommodations to the greatest number of ship-builders. Where can a little river be found that will afford convenient sites for ten large ship-yards within one mile's distance ? When, in one of these yards, we have seen from one to three vessels on the stocks at the same time, and have listened to that well-known, busy hum that comes from the boring of augers, the cutting of saws, and the driving of bolts, we have felt that a more glorious exhibition of human industry could nowhere be witnessed. To the gentlemen who have been at the head of this great enterprise, Medford is deeply indebted. Since the first of them came, real estate has more than doubled in the town ; and land which was sold for thirty or fifty dollars an acre has since been sold for two or five hundred per acre. The names of Magoun, Turner, Lapham, Sprague, James, Fuller, Rogers, Stetson, Waterman, Ewell, Curtis, Foster, Taylor, and others, will be held in grateful remembrance for many generations.

Mr. Calvin Turner was esteemed as one of the most skilful and accurate draughtsmen, as well as one of the most faithful builders, in New England. His yard was opposite Cross Street. He came to Medford in 1804, and rapidly acquired reputation by his genius and fidelity.

Mr. George Bryant Lapham was among the earliest comers connected with ship-building here. By patient industry, sound judgment, and unobtrusive merit, he won confidence, and commanded respect. Of others we should be glad to speak, did our limits allow.

Of the pioneer in this eventful movement of ship-building, we may take the liberty of stating a few facts, as they belong to the history of the town.

Thatcher Magoun, Esq., was born in Pembroke, Mass., June 17, 1775, - that red-letter day in Freedom's calendar. He early chose the trade of a ship-carpenter, and served his time with Mr. Enos Briggs, at Salem, where he worked five years. He was fond of being in the " mould-room," and soon showed good reasons for his predilection. From Salem, he went to Mr. Barker's yard, in Charlestown (the present Navy Yard), where he worked and studied two years, and assisted in modelling. There he made the model of the first vessel he built, which was the " Mount iEtna," of Medford. In 1802, he began to look about him for a place in which he might safely begin, on his own account, the business which was the darling choice of his life. An accident, so called in the world's language, led him, one pleasant day, on a stroll upon "Winter Hill ; and, standing on one of those mounds of earth thrown up by our patriot soldiers, probably on the day he was born, for a rampart, he took a calm survey of Mystic River as the tide gave its full outline. At this moment came into mind the thought that here was a good place to build ships. But many things were to be ascertained about it. How deep is the water at high tide ? Are there any rocks or shoals in the bed of the stream ? Can timber be readily got in the neighborhood ? and can land be bought at a fair price ? These were inquiries which rushed through his young soul, and he felt that they must be answered. As his eye was searching river and woods, he saw the two masts of a schooner, which was lying at one of the distil-house wharves, in Medford. He immediately started for her. This was his first visit to Medford. He reached the schooner; and his eager question to the captain was, " How much water do you draw?" Answer, "Ten feet." « What's your tonnage ? " Answer, " One hundred and twenty tons." "Do you go up and down the river often ? " " Yes, I bring wood for this distillery." "Are there any large rocks or bad shoals in the bed of the river ? " " No, it's all clear." " How deep is the water generally at high tide ? " "I guess from fifteen to twenty feet." " Do you think an empty ship of three hundred tons could float down the river ? " " Oh, yes." After this conversation, he silently concluded to make the trial. He found intelligent and affluent citizens in Medford who were ready to aid him ; but he told them " he could not afford to be helped." A young man thus afraid of debts would be likely to succeed without foreign aid. Young Magoun thus illustrated the common remark, that, where fathers do every thing for their sons, the sons do nothing for themselves ; and, where fathers can do nothing for their sons, the sons do every thing for themselves ; making the difference between the giant and the dwarf. Some advised his beginning to build above the bridge. He accordingly examined the bed of the river, and the depth of the water at low tide, by fording and wading ; and thus decided not to fix himself there. He then weighed the reasons for preferring other places, till he finally concluded in favor of the spot where he first settled, and where all his ships have been built. His convictions being firm, that the river could float any vessel he might build, that the neighborhood could furnish an ample supply of oak timber, and that the site he had chosen could be purchased at a moderate price, he made an offer, which was accepted. Thus 1802 saw laid the first keel of that fleet of ocean merchant ships whose sails have shaded every sea and bay on the navigable globe. Honor to him to whom honor is due ! Mr. Magoun lives to see his favorite science and art carried to new triumphs ; and, resting in the affluence that follows his labor, may he long enjoy that respect and gratitude which society loves to give to its real benefactors !

Burlington, Lexington, Stoneham, Andover, and their adjoining towns. Mr. Magoun's first purchase of it was trees standing in what is now Winchester. He gave six dollars per ton : the seller was to cut and deliver it. It was more difficult to get the white-oak plank. When the Middlesex Canal was opened, a supply came through that channel ; and large rafts were floated into the river through a side lock, which was near the entrance of Medford Turnpike. With our first builders, their price per ton for building was twentyfive dollars ; but they furnished only the wood and labor, - every thing else was furnished by the owner. The best oak plank can yet be procured, though at an advanced price. The " southern hard pine " is more used than ever as a substitute, because it is so cut into long plank as to make less work to the builder. The materials for building at Medford may all be procured at a rate which will allow as favorable terms as at any other place, especially when the comparative rent of yards is included. If the water in the river had been deep enough for the large ships of the present day, the yards above the bridge would never have been abandoned.

The increase of size in our Medford ships has been gradual. The " Columbiana," built in 1837, was the first of six hundred tons ; and the " Ocean Express," the first of two thousand tons. The ship " Shooting Star " was the first clipper built here ; and the " George Peabody," the first vessel that passed the bridges on Mystic River, after the draws had been widened according to the direction of the Legislature.

The Rev. A. R. Baker preached a sermon on ship-building, in 1846, to which is appended a " register of vessels built in Medford." He says, " I have enrolled them so as to present the year of their construction, their description and name, the yard in which they were built, the name of their respective builders and first owners, the residence of the latter, the tonnage of each vessel, the amount of tonnage, and the value of the vessels built here, estimating the hull, spars, and blocks of each at forty-five dollars per ton." The register has been brought down, for this history, from 1846 to 1855.

From this register, it appears that five hundred and thirteen vessels have been built in Medford between the beginning of the present century and the year 1855, with .an aggregate of two hundred and thirty-two thousand two hun- dred and six tons ; and at a cost, according to the above estimate, of ten millions four hundred and forty-nine thousand two hundred and seventy dollars. The greatest number constructed in any one yard is one hundred and eighty -five ; and, in any single year, thirty. That year was 1845.

" The tonnage of the vessels built here in that year," says Mr. Baker, " was nine thousand seven hundred and twelve tons ; and their aggregate, as they left our yards, about tialf a million of dollars. The shortest space in which a vessel was ever built in the town was twenty-six days. Her name was < The Avon,' a ship of four hundred tons, which, with two others built here about the same period, served as privateers in the last war with the mother country. In the five years preceding April 1, 1837, sixty vessels were built in this town, which employed two hundred thirty-nine workmen, and of which the measurement was twenty-four thousand one hundred and ninety-five tons, and the value one million one hundred and twelve thousand nine hundred and seventy dollars. All those constructed in the count/, except eleven, were built here. The value of these sixty was about one-sixth of all the shipping built in the Commonweal^ during the same period. In the year preceding April 1, 1845, twenty-four ships were launched here, which employed two hundred and fifty men, whose tonnage was nine thousand six hundred and sixty, and whose value was half a million of dollars. In that year, one-quarter of the ship-builders in the Commonwealth were employed in this town, and built nearly one-quarter of the ships constructed in the State, one-third of the tonnage, and one-half the value of the whole. From this result, so creditable to our town, it appears that a given number of workmen here build larger and more valuable vessels than those which are commonly constructed in other parts of the Commonwealth.

" Of these vessels, two merit a special notice. The first was framed and put together in the oldest yard in the town ; then taken dowa, transported to Boston, and put on board the ' Thaddeus,' commanded by a gentleman of this village, who carried out with it the first missionaries to the Sandwich Islands, where it laid the foundation for this useful art. The other is the 'Falcon,' by the same builder, in 1817, - the most remarkable vessel that ever floated in our river, famed not for any wonderful beauty or perfectness of construction. Others may have sailed swifter, and been finer models ; but, in one important respect, this vessel surpassed all before it, - and we trust that no others will ever have an opporr tunity to rival it, - it was the first vessel built in this town without rum. Previously, the keel was laid, and each part of the work accomplished, by the stimulus of ardent spirit. Each vessel was profanely christened with rum. He who first took this noble stand in the cause of temperance, in that day when all was drunkenness around, deserves our thanks, and ought to be encouraged in every good work by the result of that effort. The resolution was formed on a bright autumnal morning, as the only means of preserving the virtue of several apprentices, and at first called forth ridicule and reproach. No rum ! no rum ! ! Avas written by these young devotees of Bacchus on every clapboard of the workshop, on each timber and chip in the yard. Some refused to work ; others cursed and swore. But firmness gave opportunity for reflection, which, in a few, approved the decision, whose number increased, till, in two years, they became the majority, and, in five, drove the monster from every yard, - a result in which we heartily rejoice."

The sermon gives a religious aspect to ship-building. It may symbolize human life. The wood and metals of which a hull is composed come from the earth ; and in that ship's body are represented the mind of the moulder, the skill' of the architect, the hand of the carpenter, the smith, and the calker : and these most important parts are so blended as to attract least notice ; while the labors of the sailmaker and the rigger, the taste of the carver, and the coloring of the painter, catch the eye and charm the mind. The hour of launching is the hour of its birth. The anxiety of the builder then has its parallel elsewhere. It goes an infant to its new life to begin its world-journey. How important that it should be well found! How important that its compass, like a good conscience, should be ever in order ; that its pilots and mariners should be ever quick for duty ; and, above all, that its lading should be such, that, like virtue, it will secure wealth to its owner in the distant market ! So, in this voyage of human life, if we rrut good works on board and wait the wind, if we take for our chart the word of God and are faithful to its heavenly bearings, we shall safely pass the dangers of the sea, as we sail towards that port of death to which all gales drive us ; and, having cast that anchor which can never be weighed, we shall find a safe moorage in the haven of eternal peace.

The ships of our day and of our town have borne the missionaries of the cross, with their printing-presses and Bibles, to the heathen of benighted lands ; and the ancient prediction seems here in one sense fulfilled. Historic truth, without any violation of language, may now say of Medford what the prophet Ezekiel says of Tyrus : " The ships of Tarshish did sing of thee in thy market ; and thou wast replenished and made very glorious in the midst of the seas."

Ship-Buildixg

our beautiful village; how many comfortable dwellings it has reared, how many thousands of human beings it has fed, how many children it has taught, how many homes it has blessed, and how much suffering it has soothed ; when we also consider that the ships which have gone from us are busy in honorable trade, bringing comforts and wealth to their various owners, extending the knowledge and securities of commerce, defending us in war, and promoting Christian brotherhood in peace ; when we sum up these domestic benefactions and these foreign bounties, we are moved to a devout acknowledgment of the wisdom and care of God.

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Register Of Vessels Built In Medford

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To Medford belongs the honor of establishing the first fisheries in " London's Plantation of Massachusetts Bay." Careful and costly preparations for this business were made in England, in 1629, by Mr. Cradock, who believed it the most promising investment then offered from the New World. In the company's " first general letter," under date of April IT, 1629, is indicated a course of trade which was to be pursued by the Medford fishermen. It is thus : -

'; TVe have sent five weigh of salt in the ' TVhelpe,' and ten weigh in the ' Talbot.' If there be shallops to be had to fish withal, and the season of the year fit, pray let the fishermen (of which we send six from Dorchester), together with some of the ship's company, endeavor to take fish ; and let it be well saved with the said salt, and packed up in hogsheads ; and send it home by the ' Talbot ' or < Lion's Whelpe.' "

" TTe send salt, lines, hooks, knives, boots, &cc, for the fishermen, desiring our men may be employed in harbor, or upon the Bank. If you send ships to fish on the Bank, and expect them not to return again to the plantation, &c."

By this it appears that those vessels which had caught a cargo of fish " on the Bank " were expected to take them thence to London. Sept. 3, 1635, the General Court chose a committee of six " for setting forward and managing a fishing trade." That fishing was profitable, we have the following early record: "Thirty -five ships sailed this year (1622) from the west of England, and two from London, to fish on the New England coasts ; and made profitable voyages." Through the instrumentality of our fishing interest, the General Court passed the following order. May 22, 1639 : " For further encouragement of men to set upon fishing, it is ordered, that such ships and vessels and other stock as shall be properly employed and adventured in taking, making, and transporting of fish according to the course of fishing voyages, and the fish itself, shall be exempt, for seven years from henceforth, from all country charges." To show how minute was the fostering care of our fathers on this point, we have the following order of June 2, 1641: "It is ordered that fishermen shall have their fish for bait at the same rate that others have at the wears, and be first served." " The property of Governor Cradock, invested at Medford for fishing and other purposes," was large. Mr. Savage says, " He maintained a small plantation for fishing at Mistick, in the present bounds of Maiden, opposite to Winthrop's farm, at Ten Hills." Complaint was made by our fishermen of a law, passed by Plymouth Colony, which laid a tax of five shillings on "every share of fish" caught by strangers "at the Cape." From all that we can gather, we conclude that Mr. Cradock had invested as much as fifteen thousand dollars, Avhich in various trade here must have made Medford a thriving and populous plantation for an infant settlement. The fishing business continued for fifteen or twenty years, but with less and less profit to Mr. Cradock. It was finally abandoned as a failure ; and afterwards the river-fishing alone claimed attention.

That Mystic River, as a resort for fish, was early known and greatly valued, appears from many testimonies. In Josselyn's account of his two voyages to New England (1638) we have the following record : " The river Mistick runs through the right side of the town (Charlestown), and, by its near approach to Charles River in one place, makes a very narrow neck, where stands most part of the town. The market-place, not far from the water-side, is surrounded with houses." In Mystic River were " bass, shad, alewives, frost-fish, and smelts." Josselyn says, " "We will return to Charlestown again, where the river Mistick runs on the north side of the town (that is, the right side, as before said), where, on the north-west side, is the town of Mistick, three miles from Charlestown, a league and a half by water, - a scattered village. At the head of this river are great and spacious ponds, full of alewives in the spring-time ; the notedest place for this sort of fish." This quotation from Josselyn, while it goes to prove that bass, shad, and alewives were no strangers in our rivers, shows likewise that the population of our town was then settled chiefly between the two brick houses now standing, and that the place was called Mistick. The " Wear " or Fishing Dam in Medford was at the outlet of the Pond ; and, as our river was " the notedest place " for fish in the early days of our plantation, we presume that the " seine, being a net sent to fish with," was the first seine ever drawn in its waters, and the first drawn on this continent. This was probably in 1631 ; and the first draught was doubtless an event of liveliest interest, of raw wonder, and exceeding joy. If any web or filament of that pioneer "seine" had come down to us, it would be fitting for the town, in the year 1881, to parade it as the banner, and under it to unite in celebrating the fifth fishermen's jubilee on the river. June 6, 1639 : " It is ordered that all wears shall be set open from the last day of the week, at noon, till the second day in the morning."

Johnson, in his "Wonder-working Providence," says, " The Lord is pleased to provide for them great store of fish in the spring-time, and especially alewives, about the bigness of a herring. Many thousands of these they use to put under their Indian corn."

Had Mr. Cradock's letters to his agents in Medford been preserved, we should certainly have in them a complete history of the fishing establishment he maintained here, and probably a comparative estimate of sea and river fishing. The introduction of the drag-net, in 1631, when Mystic River was full of fish, was an example that would be followed more and more, as proper seines could be knit and easy markets secured. The narrowness of the river, the steepness of its banks, its freedom from rocks, and its many convenient landing-places, rendered net-fishing easy and cheap. It settled down into a regular business, and any one had a right to pursue it. We have no account of the intermittent run of. certain fish, as witnesssd in our time ; but presume it may not have been so remarkable then, when dams and waterwheels had not impeded or frightened the finny adventurers, or when filth and poisons had not made their highways dangerous. We think it will be found that several species of fish will have periodic returns to places which they have left for many years.

Acts of legislation have not been wanting by our town or State ; but the fish care nothing about votes. The first mention of specific action by the town, as such, is dated Jan. 18, 1768, when it was voted " to petition the General Court concerning the fishery in this town."

" An act to prevent the destruction of fish called shad and alewives in Mystic River, so called, within the towns of Cambridge, Charlestown, and Medford, and for repealing all laws heretofore made for that purpose.

" Whereas the fishery in Mystic River, in the county of Middlesex, if properly regulated, will be of great public utility, as it serves to promote the cod-fishery, and is also of advantage to the particular towns through which the river runs, affording, in some measure, subsistence and support to the inhabitants thereof, and is therefore necessary to be preserved," &c.

The act provides that each of the three towns is empowered to choose a committee for the preservation of fish, whose duty it shall be to keep out of the river all obstructions to the free ingress of the fish. The act grants to Cambridge the right to fish, within the limits of that town, on Monday, Tuesday, and Friday ; and to Charlestown and Medford the right of fishing, within the limits of those towns, on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, - from the first of March to the last day of June. Penalty for each violation of the law, three pounds. In this act, the right of each inhabitant to fish is recognized and secured. If persons from other towns should either stop or catch fish in this river, they shall each be fined three pounds for every such offence ; and the committee shall have power to arrest them, and sell their seines, dragnets, marsh-nets, baskets, or any other implements used by them. " This act to be in use five years, and no longer."

Immediately on the passage of this act, the town proceeded, April 2, 1798, to a new step, indicated in the following vote : " Voted that the town will let out their fishinggrounds to the highest bidder the present year." While this vote was based upon the original right of the town to the fisheries within its borders, some minor questions arose, which led the inhabitants, at the same meeting, to choose a committee to inquire into the rights of the town to the fishing-grounds. The result was, that, Jan. 21, 1803, the town " voted that a petition be presented to the General Court, at their present session, to enable the town to let out the right of taking fish in Mystic River, within the limits of the town."

The Legislature granted the petition ; and Medford then divided the fishing districts thus : " First, from Charlestown and Maiden line to Medford Bridge ; second, from the bridge to the beach opposite James Tufts's barn; third, from the above-named beach to the Charlestown line westerly."

Among the earliest fishermen were John Cutter, Jonathan Tufts, and Benjamin Teel. In 1803, Cutter paid sixty-five dollars, Tufts thirteen dollars, and Teel thirteen dollars, for the right of fishing.

John Cutter fished near the " Dike," or "Labor in Vain ; " Isaac Tufts fished from the Bridge to Rock Hill ; and Captain Samuel Teel and his nephew, from Rock Hill to the Pond. The names of the fishermen are seldom given in the records. Charles, Simon, and Seth Tufts are there. In 1812, the fishermen paid one hundred dollars for the right. The average, for twenty years, has been two hundred and fifty dollars.

In accordance with the decision of the Legislature, the town voted, March 14, 1803, to sell their right of fishing in Mystic River. It was sold for ninety-one dollars, at public auction. The next year it was sold, in the same manner, for one hundred and six dollars : and this equitable mode of disposing of it became established ; and the premium offered continued for several years to increase.

The vote of the town was generally thus, as in March 1, 182-1 : " Voted that the selectmen be appointed a committee to dispose of the privilege of taking shad and alewives within the limits of said town the ensuing season." In 1855, Joseph L. Wheeler bought the " upper reach," from Marble Brook to the Pond, for $27.50 per annum ; and James Rogers bought the " lower reach," from Marble Brook to the eastern border of the town, for $122.50 per annum. The annual sales have lately been less than $200.

The shad and alewives were abundant till 1815 or 1820, when they began gradually to withhold their visits. A writer says, that, about the year 1800, it was common to take fifteen hundred shad annually at " Little River " (near Fresh Pond); but that, in 1852, there was not one taken; and that, proportionally, a similar statement might be made concerning alewives.

is therefore attributed to the terrific noises made by railroad cars, as they cross the Mystic at Charlestown. The largest number of alewives taken by one draught from Mystic River was in 1844 ; and they counted some few more than fiftyeight thousand ! We once saw taken, by one draught from this river, shad sufficient to fill six horse-carts. In Mystic Biver the bass have wholly disappeared ; though there are those living who remember to have seen them plenty, and some of them weighing more than thirty pounds.

In 1776, a negro, named Prince, was at work on the bank of the river, opposite the shallow where the ford was, a few rods above the bridge, when he saw an enormous bass swimming very slowly up the river. The tide was inconveniently low for the bass, but conveniently low for the negro. Plunge went Prince for the fish, and caught him ! No sooner was he out of water than a desperate spring, such as fishes can give, released him from his captor ; and back he falls into his native element. Quick as a steel-trap, Prince springs upon him again, and again clutches him and lifts him up. The fish struggles ; and Prince and fish fall together. Again Prince rises, with his prize in his arms, and then brings him ashore. It weighed sixty-five pounds. Prince thought that such a wonderful fish should be presented to the commander of the American forces then stationed on Winter Hill. His master thought so too. Accordingly, Prince dressed himself in his best clothes, and, taking the fish in a cart, presented it to the commander, and told the history of its capture ; and the commander gave him six cents !

The shad, of late years, have not been abundant ; only forty or fifty taken during a season. The number of alewives has also greatly diminished ; and the town receives about one hundred and fifty dollars by selling its right of fishing through the year. Smelts continue to make their annual spring visit in undiminished numbers ; and when, for noblest ends, they stealthily enter our creeks and little streams, they are watched by the hungry boys, who, for sport or profit, drive them into their scoop-nets by dozens. In this town, they do not let enough escape to keep the race alive ; and if, in all other towns, they were so destroyed, this beautiful and delicious fish would become extinct among us. The greatest draught - by a certain nameless boy, fifty years ago - numbered sixty-three. They were taken from Marble, or Meetinghouse, Brook.

In Mystic Pond, there are few fish at present. The freshwater perch, which appear in the sun like a fragment of a rainbow shooting through the water, are the most numerous. The bream are not uncommon ; but their size is very small. The tomcod come to winter there, and are easily taken thus : Some ten or twelve of them gather about a small stone, very near the shore, and each makes its nose to touch the stone. The fisherman sees this unfrightened family circle quietly reposing ; and he suddenly and strongly strikes the ice with an axe, directly over the unsuspecting group. The blow stuns the fish ; and he quickly cuts a hole, and takes them all out ! Of minnows there are scarcely any, owing to the presence of that fresh-water shark, the pickerel. Eels are taken in winter by means of forked irons, thrust into the mud through holes in the ice ; and smelts are taken at the same time, in the river near Charlestown, by means of the common hook.

Oyster-fishing is another branch of trade carried on from Mystic River. In the early settlement of our town, oysters were extensively used as food, and they were easily taken. They so far abounded in that part of the river which is now between our turnpike river-wall and Maiden Bridge that they obstructed navigation. Mr. Wood, speaking, in 1633, of these hinderances, has these words : " Ships, without either ballast or lading, may float down this (Mystic) river; otherwise, the oyster-bank would hinder them, which crosseth the channel." This oyster-bank is one of those unfortunate institutions whose fate it has been to be often "run upon," and on which the " draughts " have been so much greater than the " deposits " that it long ago became bankrupt ; yet, like an honest tradesman, it has never despaired ; and, within our memory, has made some good fat dividends. In 1770, the sludge from the distilleries was supposed to have poisoned these shell-fish.

Lobsters have not frequented our river in great numbers ; but, in 1854, they came up in large companies as far as Chelsea Bridge ; and, in the warm month of October, more than two thousand, of prime quality, were taken from that bridge !

The names of all the fishermen in Medforcl cannot be recovered ; but, among them, there have been men of that great energy which secures success.

The fish found their market chiefly in Boston ; and were sometimes cured, and sent in barrels to the Southern States, as food for slaves, or to the West Indies for common con- sumption. Many were smoked, after the manner of herring, and eaten in New England ; many more were used as bait for cod-fishing on the Banks. Alewives, in early times, were sometimes used as manure; and shad were salted in tubs, and eaten in the winter.

The income from these fisheries may not have been very large, unless we count the support which fish furnished as food ; and, in such case, we apprehend the income was great indeed. They gave a needed and most welcome variety in that brief list of eatables with which our fathers were wont to be contented.

In 1829, by the enterprise of Mr. John Bishop, the business of mackerel-fishing was attempted. Some of the finest schooners from the fleets of Hingham were purchased, and fitted out in amplest order. Three schooners were built in Medford for this service. But, before two years had elapsed, it was found impossible to compete with Plymouth, Hingham, Gloucester, and Boston. In these places, barrels and salt were cheaper than at Medford, and the common market more accessible, especially in winter.

Medford Crackers

He who introduces a better kind of bread than was ever known before is entitled to honor for his ingenuity, and to gratitude for his beneficence. The individual richly deserving both these is Con vers Francis, Esq., the first manufacturer of the Medford crackers. Mr. Francis served his apprenticeship to the baking business with Captain Ebenezer Hall, in Medford. After acting as his foreman for some years, he set up for himself in West Cambridge (then called Menotomy), where he remained two years, when Captain Hall came to him, and proposed to him to return to Medford, and take his bakehouse and business, and carry it on for himself. This he agreed to do. Thus Mr. Francis, in 1797, found himself in Medford, doing a good business in the place of his master. In that business he continued till 1818, without intermission, and accumulated a comfortable property. He early gave the energies of an active mind to the invention of a new kind of cracker. He well knew that the quality of the flour demanded his first scrutiny ,- and so skilful had he become in the examination of that article, that he cared nothing about its marks or popularity. He would tell the true price in a few moments, and was never known to select a bad barrel. In the manufacture of his bread, every component part was personally examined, and every rule most scrupulously complied with. There was a severe exactness in each particular, that helped greatly in securing the final success. Mr. Francis produced a cracker which was considered as more tasteful and healthy than any heretofore invented. Every year increased his reputation, and widened his business ; and, as early as 1805, Medford crackers were known through the country, and frequently sent to foreign lands. The writer of this was walking in a street of London in 1834, and saw, at a shop-window, the following sign : " Medford crackers." This bread deserved all the fame it acquired ; for never had there been any so good, and we think there is now none better. It required great labor ; and all the work was done by hand. Each cracker was nearly double the size of those now made ; and the dough was kneaded, rolled, weighed, pricked, marked, and tossed into the oven, by hand. Now all these are done by machinery. The labor of making a barrel of flour into crackers cost then nine dollars, and now about three dollars. This bread was called crackers, because one of them would crack into two equal parts. One piece of dough was rolled out just thick enough to enable it to swell up with the internal steam generated by baking on the hot brick-floor of the oven ; and holes enough were pricked into the dough to allow a part of the steam to escape, and so leave the mass split into two equal parts, adhering mostly by the edges.

The deleterious mixtures called bread, which we now often use, are the cause, we apprehend, of some of our chronic diseases. If the General Court would legislate properly on the great and vital subject of bread, a good inconceivably great and durable would result to society. If some bakers, without designing it, are administering mineral or vegetable poisons by their bread, cake, and pastry, what pleasing reflections must now belong to Mr. Francis, in his old age, as he counts up the years in which he fed thousands daily with bread wholly nutritive, and always palatable !

Distillation

This was a branch of trade held in high repute by our ancestors, and some of the most intelligent and pious of our Medford citizens engaged in it ; but none grew rich from it. It was not uncommon, in the first century of our settlement, for private families to have a " still," by which they supplied themselves with alcoholic liquors ; and not to offer a visitor " something to drink " was a flagrant breach of hospitality. It may have been during one of Rev. Dr. Byles's many visits in Medford that the following dialogue occurred. The lady at whose house he was calling asked him to step into her kitchen, and see her new still; and, having assured him of its extraordinary powers, the doctor replied, " Well, madam, if it be so remarkable, I wish you would do a job for me with it." "With all my heart, sir : what shall I do for you?" " Why, still my wife's tongue."

When the first distillery was built in Medford, cannot be ascertained with precision ; but the evidence is mostly in favor of Andrew Hall (1735). The spot he selected is that which Mr. Lawrence now occupies ; and the building was of wood. This spot was chosen chiefly for the reason that a most copious spring of peculiarly good water issues from the earth at that place. The great reputation obtained by the Medford rum is owing to the singular properties of this spring. Other distillers, therefore, in different parts of New England, put the name of Medford on their barrels. He died just as his eldest son, Benjamin, had reached his majority. This son stepped into his father's place, and carried on the business.

There is a tradition that a man named Blanchard, who had connections in Maiden, was the first who set up a distillery in Medford. It was upon the south side of the river, on the first lot east of the bridge. It was afterwards used by Hezekiah Blanchard, the inn-holder, who distilled anise-seed, snake-root, clove-water, &c. These drinks were afterwards produced in large quantities in Medford. In 1777, Medford rum sold at 3s. lOof. a gallon, by the barrel ; 4s. 6d. by the single gallon.

After the Maiden distiller had invested his little all in molasses, and occupied every vat, and was beginning to prosper, there rose a tide so high as to overflow all his vats with salt water. This catastrophe ruined him as entirely as it did his rum. "With much of the Anglo-Saxon courage, he kept his spirits up, and looked to his Maiden friends to aid him. They consented to do so ; and Captain John Dexter, Captain Harnden, and Mr. John Bucknam, joined him in building the second distillery, which, in our day, is converted partly into a store, and partly into a shelter for the locomotive of the Medford Branch Railroad. After this time, Mr. John Bishop built a distillery on the opposite side of the road, in Ship Street, nearer to the river ; and Mr. Benjamin Hall, in 1797, took down the one which his father had built of wood, and replaced it with the one of brick which is now used. This enlargement of the business, together with the high reputation justly acquired by the manufacturers in Medford, gave employment to many men in many ways.

The business has been carried on by Messrs. Andrew Hall, Benjamin Hall, John Bishop, Nathaniel Hall, Fitch Tufts, Joseph Swan, Hall and Manning, and Joseph Hall. It is now prosecuted only by Mr. Daniel Lawrence. It was never a profitable branch of trade ; and, till 1830, it ruined many persons who entered it. Since the " temperance reformation," it has yielded great profits to the few who pursue it.

The business demanded a larger investment of capital than any other manufacturing interest within the town. Agents were employed to purchase molasses in the West Indies ; and schooners of the largest tonnage were often seen unlading at wharves on the borders of which the distilleries stood.

Soon after 1830, all the distilleries but one were discontinued, and three of the buildings were demolished. In 1849, the efforts of temperance societies had so far influenced public opinion and the general habits as to diminish the use of rum to an extent almost fatal to the manufacturers of it. But about that time commenced an active demand for alcohol, as a component part of the " burning fluid " now so generally used ; and this demand rather increases. The present war in Europe has greatly augmented the consumption of rum ; and so brisk is the demand, that now, for the first time within thirty years, new distilleries are being established, not only in the United States, but in Cuba and other West India islands.

This name was applied to a freighting business, carried on extensively through Mystic River, between Medford and Boston. The craft generally used were sloops ranging from fifty to one hundred tons' burden. They were introduced for the transportation of bricks, and afforded the only mode of transfer before Charlestown Bridge was built. Mystic River, to our fathers, was bridge, turnpike, and railroad. When adventurers settle in a forest, it is the first wisdom to fix themselves near a river ; because a river is an easy highway, always kept in good repair, and free from all taxation. The business of lightering employed many men ; and the inhabitants at first used these sloops as passenger-packets to Boston and Salem. So important had become this mode of conveyance for bricks, merchandise, and people, that, when a petition was started for permission to build Charlestown Bridge, Medford opposed it with unanimity and zeal, " because it would destroy the lightering business." The result was much as our citizens had foretold : bricks soon began to be carried by oxen in carts ; thus saving both the loading and unloading in the sloop, where many were necessarily broken.

The labor of lightering was very hard ; for, at times, it became necessary for men to walk on the banks, and thus tow the sloop by means of long ropes. This toil was often undertaken in the night, and during stormy weather. Wood and bark were freighted from Maine, and rock weed from Boston Harbor. A business that was suspended during two or three months of each year, on account of ice, was not attractive to those who wished steady employment, and was not likely therefore to secure the best laborers.

The building of a mill required more iron and stone work than our fathers in Medford were at first prepared to carry through : they therefore adopted the Indian's mill ; which was a rock hollowed out in the shape of a half-globe, and a stone pestle. The mortar held half a bushel, and the pestle weighed forty or fifty pounds. A small, flexible tree was bent down, and the pestle so tied to its top as to keep it sus- pended immediately over the mortar. When the pestle was set in motion, the elastic spring of the tree would continue its blows on the grain for a minute or more.

They found a mill driven by wind cheaper than one driven by water : nevertheless, the water-power here was sufficient, and so convenient that it soon became serviceable. April 20, 1659 : Thomas Broughton sold to Edward Collins, for six hundred and fifty pounds, " his two water-mills, which he built in Mistick River." They were then occupied by Thomas Eames.

There was a mill a short distance below the Wear Bridge ; but who built it, and how long it stood, we have not been able to discover. The place is yet occupied. In 1660, Edward Collins conveyed a " gristmill on the Menotomy side " to Thomas Danforth, Thomas Brooks, and Timothy Wheeler. This mill was previously occupied by Richard Cooke.

There was a mill at- the place now called the "Bower," about one mile north of the meeting-house of the first parish, carried by the water of Marble Brook. The banks, race, canal, and cellar are yet traceable. This was used for grinding grain and sawing timber. It was on land now owned bv Mr. Dudley Hall.

The remains of another water-mill are still visible on land now owned by Mr. W. A. Russell, near the north-west border of the town. It was carried by the water of Whitmore Brook. This mill must have been among the earliest in Medford.

The first action of the town respecting mills was May 30, 1698, and the record reads thus : " Put to vote, whether the inhabitants of Medford will petition the General Court for liberty to build a gristmill on the river, near and above Mistick Bridge. Voted in the affirmative." This was not successful ; nor was the following, - Nov. 26, 1700: "Whether the town will petition the General Court for liberty to build a corn-mill in their town, at Gravelly Bank, near Mistick Bridge. This was voted in the affirmative."

When the circular stone windmill, now standing on Quarry- Hill, in Somerville, was built, the inhabitants of Medford carried their grain there. Before the Revolution, the mill was converted into a powder-house, and has been used as such to our day.

1730 : Mr. John Albree built a mill upon his own land, on a branch of Marble Brook. It stood about six rods west of Purchase Street, on land now owned by Mr. P. C. Hall, where it joins the land of Mr. B. L. Swan. The supply of was small, as the present banks indicate. There he, and his only son Joseph, Move cloth by water, prepared wool for spinning, and had lathes for tinning wood. His house, of two stories, which he built, stood about six rods north-east from his mill. The mill stood more than forty rears, and was once used for the manufacture of pomatum and starch.

1746: This year the tidemill, near Sandy Bank, was built ; and it was the first of the kind in that part of the town. As it is now standing, ir may be worth while to state a few facts touching its origin. Articles of agreement were concluded, Feb. 20. 1746, between Richard Sprague, cooper, Samuel Page, yeoman, Simon Tufts, Esq., physician, John Willis, yeoman, Stephen Hall, trader, Stephen Bradshaw, veoman, Simon .Bradshaw, leather-dresser, and Benjamin Parker, blacksmith, on the one part, all of Medford, and owners of land ; and, on the other part, Stephen Hall, Samuel Page, and Stephen Willis, of Medford, husbandmen, and Benjamin Parker, of Charlestown, housewright, as undertakers. They, of the first part, give the portions of land thev own lvin^ between the market and Cross Street, on condition that they, of the second part, will open a straight road, two rods wide, from the market to Cross Street, and build a stone bridge over Gravelly Creek. This was introductory to building the tidemill. Benjamin Parker gave the land on which the mill was built, - thirty-one feet long, and twentyfive wide. John "Willis and Benjamin Parker gave liberty to the undertakers to cut a ditch from Gravelly Creek to the mill, and to build a dam. Dr. Tufts, John Willis. Samuel Page, Thomas Oakes, and Xathaniel Hall, bind themselves never to obstruct the free flow of water to the mill. The undertakers then bind themselves " to erect a good gristmill on the spot of land above mentioned ; and said mill shall be ready to go at or before the last day of September next." As guaranty for each party, they '-' brad themselves in the penal sum of five hundred pounds."

The mill was completed, and answered its purpose. It afterwards came into the possession of Timothv Waite, jun. He sold it to Seth Blodget, March 9, 1761. "Mr. Blodget sold it to Matthew Bridge, Oct. IS, 1780. Mr. Bridge sold one half of it to John Bishop, April 7 . 17 s-3 : and sold the other half to John Bishop, jun., April 29. 1784. John Bishop sold

Middlesex Canal

This mill has had various fortunes, and, by turns, has done all sorts of work. Whether it has been most successful in grinding grain or mustard-seeds or paints, or in sawing mahogany and turning wood, we know not.

The mills of Baconville are mentioned under the head of manufactures. They had at first a checkered fortune, as devoted to clothing and fulling, as saw and grist mills, as screw-factory, foundery, door and sash, leather, and snuff factories. To their present owners they would have been very profitable, if frequent fires had not consumed them.

This" was the first canal in Xew England, if not the first in the Xew World, which was opened under a charter derived from a legislature, with tolls regulated by law. The enterprising citizens of Medford were among the first movers of the project, and the steadiest helpers of the work. It contributed so much to the wealth of our town, by inducing ship-builders to settle and work among us, that a notice of it belongs to our records.

I find the following statistics in an " Historical Sketch of the Middlesex Canal," gathered by their faithful agent, Caleb Eddy, Esq., and dated 1843 : -

" In the month of May, 1793, a number of gentlemen associated ' for opening a canal from the waters of the Merrimac, by Concord River, or in some other way, through the waters of Mystic River, to the town of Boston.' There were present at this meeting the Hon. James Sullivan, Benjamin Hall, Willis Hall, Ebenezer Hall, Jonathan Porter, Loammi Baldwin, Ebenezer Hall, jun., Andrew Hall, and Samuel Swan, Esq.

" After organizing, by the choice of Benjamin Hall as chairman, and Samuel Swan as clerk, ' the Hon. James Sullivan, Loammi Baldwin, and Captain Ebenezer Hall, were chosen a committee to attend the General Court, in order to obtain an act of incorpora- tion, w^th suitable powers relating to the premises.' In conformity with this vote, a petition was presented to the General Court, and a charter obtained ('incorporating James Sullivan, Esq., and others, by the name of the Proprietors of the Middlesex Canal'), bearing date June 22, 1793 ; and on the same day was signed by his excellency John Hancock, Governor of the Commonwealth.

" By this charter, the proprietors were authorized to lay assessments, from time to time, as might be required for the construction of said canal. At the first meeting of the proprietors, after the choice of James Sullivan as moderator, and Samuel Swan as clerk, the following votes were passed ; viz., ' That the Hon. James Sullivan, Hon. James Winthrop, and Christopher Gore, Esq., be a committee to arrange the business of the meeting, which they reported in the following order : -

" ' Voted that the business of the corporation be transacted by a committee, annually elected, consisting of thirteen directors, who shall choose their president and vice-president out of their own number.

" ' Voted that the Hon. James Sullivan, Loammi Baldwin, Esq., the Hon. Thomas Russell, Hon. James Winthrop, Christopher Gore, Esq., Joseph Barrell, Esq., Andrew Cragie, Esq., Hon. John Brooks, Captain Ebenezer Hall, Jonathan Porter, Esq., Ebenezer Storer, Esq., Caleb Swan, and Samuel Jaques, be directors for pursuing the business of the canal for the present year.'

" ' Voted that the Hon. James Sullivan be president ; Loammi Baldwin, Esq., first vice-president ; and Hon. John Brooks, second vice-president.'

"The board of directors being duly organized, the next duty was to commence ' the necessary surveys of the most eligible route between Medford River and Chelmsford, by the Concord River.' Here the committee were met by an almost insurmountable difficulty : the science of civil-engineering was almost unknown to any one in this part of the country. They were, however, determined to persevere ; and appointed Mr. Samuel Thompson, of Woburn, who began his work, and proceeded from Medford River, at a place near the location of the present lock, and followed up the river to Mystic Pond, through the pond and Symmes's River, to Horn Pond in Woburn, and through said pond to the head thereof. Meeting here bars they could neither let down nor remove, they went back to Richardson's Mill, on Symmes's River, and passed up the valley, through the east part of Woburn, to Wilmington, and found an easy and very regular ascent until they reached Concord River ; a distance travelled, as the surveyor says, ' from Medford Bridge to the Billerica Bridge, about twenty three miles ; and the ascent he found to be, from Medford River to the Concord, sixty-eight and one-half feet.' The actual elevation, when afterwards surveyed by a prac- tical engineer, was found to be one hundred and four feet. By the original survey from Billerica to Chelmsford, the surveyor says, ' The water we estimate in the Merrimac at sixteen and one-half feet above that at Billerica Bridge, and the distance six miles ; ' when, in fact, tne water at Billerica Bridge is about twenty-five feet above the Merrimac at Chelmsford. This report shows one of the many difficulties the directors had to contend with for the want of requisite scientific knowledge.

" On the first day of March, the directors passed a vote, appointing Loammi Baldwin, Esq., to ' repair to Philadelphia, and endeavor to obtain Mr. "Weston's (an English engineer) assistance in conducting the canal. If he cannot come, then that he endeavor to obtain some other person who shall be recommended by Mr. Weston; and that said agent be authorized to write to Europe for some suitable person for the undertaking, if none can be found elsewhere.' Col. Baldwin made a lengthy and able report on the twelfth day of May, 1794. Among other things, he says he has engaged Mr. Weston to make the survey of the route in the month of June, and closes his report as follows : ' I consider the prospects before us, in this undertaking, much more flattering in respect to the execution of the work, in proportion to the extent, than any I have seen in the Southern States, the Washington Canal excepted.' About the 15th of July, Mr. Weston arrived ; and a committee, consisting of Loammi Baldwin and Samuel Jaques, was appointed ' to attend him during his survey and observations relating to the canal.' The survey was completed, and a full report made by Mr. Weston, on the second day of August, 1794. Agents were immediately appointed to carry on the work, to commence at Billerica Mills, on Concord River, and first complete the level to the Merrimac, at North Chelmsford. The season having so far advanced, but little could be done until the next spring, except purchasing materials and making contracts for future operations. The work was prosecuted with great caution, from the commencement to the year 1803, at which time it was so far completed as to be navigable from the Merrimac to Charles River ; but delays and great expense were incurred for many years, owing to imperfections in the banks and other parts of the work ; and about the whole income was expended in additions, alterations, and repairs ; and no dividend could be, or was, declared until Feb. 1, 1819 !

The charter allowed assessments to be laid, from time to time, until the works should be completed, and all the debts of the corporation fully and justly paid. One hundred assessments were laid : the first on the first day of January, 1794; the last on the first day of September, 1817 ; amounting, with interest added to Feb. 1, 1819 (the date of first dividend), to fourteen hundred and fifty-five dollars and tiventy-five cents on each share ; making the whole cost of the canal eleven hundred and sixty-four thousand two hundred dollars. There have been paid in dividends, from the year 18 19 to the present year (1843), five hundred and four dollars on each share (averaging $20.16 per annum) ; an interest on the cost of about one and thirtynine one -hundredths of one per cent per annum. From the year 1819 to the time the Lowell Railroad went into operation, the receipts regularly increased, so that the dividends arose from ten to thirty dollars per share; and no doubt, in a few years, without competition, they would have given a handsome interest on the original cost. The year that road went into full operation, the receipts of the canal were reduced one-third; when the Nashua and Lowell Road went into operation, they were reduced another third. Those of the last year and the present will not be sufficient to cover the expenditures for repairs and current expenses. The future has but a gloomy prospect. For the past twenty years, and during the time I have had the management of the canal, I can truly say, the directors have spared no pains or expense in keeping it in perfect order for use ; and the public have derived great advantage from this water communication, in the transportation of timber (for shipbuilding) and other heavy lumber, as well as wood and merchandise generally. The inventions and ingenuity of man are ever onward ; and a new, cheap, and more expeditious mode of transportation by steam-power has been devised, which seems destined to destroy that which was once considered invulnerable. What is to be done? Improvements in mechanics and the arts will go on, while man has mind. If the eanal cannot put out the fire of the locomotive, it may be made to stop the ravages of that element in the city of Boston, should the proprietors, after mature consideration, deem it for their interest so to devote it. The canal was brought into existence by the aid and assistance of the Legislature ; and by their power it has received a hard blow. There is yet vitality ; and the same power that created and has nearly destroyed it can resuscitate and give to it a valuable existence for the future. I trust, upon a respectful and proper representation of the condition of your interests as they exist at the present time, and the past great exertions of the proprietors to serve the public faithfully, together with the immense sacrifices that have been made, the Legislature will be disposed to view the case as one of equity, and render every aid in their power to preserve and make it more valuable than heretofore. I know of but one way in which the canal can be of much value to the public, and those who now hold an interest therein ; viz., by changing a part of it from one public use to another. Discontinue the levels from the Charles River to Woburn upper locks, and from Billerica Mills to the Merrimac River; in the whole, a distance of over fourteen miles. The remaining part, from the Concord River to Woburn upper locks, may then be used as an aqueduct, similar to those in France and other European countries. From Woburn, the water may be conveyed in thirty-inch iron pipes, for the supply of the city of Boston, the towns of Charlestown, and East Cambridge."

In another part of the "Sketch," the author thus touches on "xedLbject, -indemnity for damages arising from the construction of rival public accommodation : -

"The construction of the Middlesex Canal was »^^^ ing to its proprietors. It was bnilt m good toMj"" %%£Z eondncted wi!h a strict regard ,0 pubhc; accomm ^J^? he Lowell Railroad charter was petitioned for, the , ; canal respectfully remonstrated against the gran thereof unless it XI contain aVi-«u for some reasonable mdemmty to them

In 1851, it was thought best by the proprietors " to surrender the charter, wind up the concern, sell he property, and divide the proceeds." In 1852, it was sold a auction, £ sections ! and they who owned laud upon its borders were, n mo t ca es, the purchasers. The process of filling rt up commenced so soon, and has been prosecuted so diligently, that all traces of this full artery have, in many sections, wholly disappeared ; but we truly hope that the solid stone bridge, built by the Hon. Peter C. Brooks, to span it, and which has been for a quarter of a century a most picturesque object in the distance, will be allowed to remain in memoriam, - a gravestone to mark where the highway of waters lies buried.

Two " single locks " were found necessary in Medford, - one on the north bank of Mystic River, almost contiguous to the Lowell Railroad track, in West Medford ; and the other near the entrance of Medford Turnpike. This last was a " side lock," used for transferring ship-timber from the canal to the river.

There were benefits and pleasures incidental to the current of these waters through Medford which after-generations must lose. Dry and sandy soils, contiguous to the canal, became signally fertile by its irrigations and filterings ; hedges and shrubbery on its sides became doubly beautiful. It furnished soft water to hundreds of families; it tempted the laborer and the boys to enjoy the luxury of a bath ; it invited the young of both sexes to sit and angle for perch and bream ; and it presented to the skater the smoothest ice between its sheltering banks.

Currency

To understand the currency used by our Medford ancestors, is to understand much of their habits and customs ; for the mediums of exchange and barter, whatever they be, exert a magical influence over the labors, wishes, and attachments of society. Whatever has been prescribed by legislative authority, or adopted by general usage, as a medium of exchange, may be denominated currency. The substances adopted as a standard of value have been very various in different ages and countries. In ancient times, in Italy and Greece^ the standard was cattle, sometimes leather ; in Europe, a silver nail, iron bars, tin plates ; in India, shells ; in Africa, bricks and beads ; in Mexico, maize and cocoa ; in the West Indies, sugar ; in Newfoundland, dried cod ; in Virginia, tobacco : and, among the Indians, wampum.

In this last article, and in peltry, our ancestors traded much with the aboriginal inhabitants. "Wampum was a belt formed of shells, black and white. " The white," says Roger Williams, " were made of the stock, or stem, of the periwinkle, when all the shell is broken off; and, of this sort, six of their small beads, which they make with holes to string their bracelets, are current with the English for a penny. The second is black, inclining to blue, which is made of the shell of a fish, which some English call hens-poquahock ; and, of this sort, three make an English penny. One fathom of this, their stringed money, is worth five shillings."

" It is ordered, for trial till the next court, that all passable or payable peage henceforth shall be entire, without breaches, both the white and black, without deforming spots, suitably strung in eight known parcels, - one penny, threepence, twelvepence, five shillings, in white ; twopence, sixpence, two shillings and sixpence, and ten shillings, in black."

Medford paid its share towards the support of Rev. Messrs. Patricke and Underhill ; and, Sept. 7, 163©, " it is ordered that Mr. Patricke and Mr. Underhill shall have allowed them, for half a year's provision, two hogsheads of meal, four bushels of malt, ten pounds of powder, and lead to make shot ; also house-room provided for them, and fifteen pounds twelve shillings in money to make other provision from the time they begin to keep house." These records show how the Pilgrims managed their currency : -

Silver was exceedingly scarce at the time Medford was settled ; hence the necessity of adopting some other standards of value. All accounts were kept in the pounds, shillings, pence, and farthings of the mother country. For more than

" It is ordered that corn shall pass for payment of all debts, at the usual rate it is sold for, except money or beaver be expressly named."

Oct. 3, 1633 : " It is agreed that the best sort of laborers shall not take above eighteen-pence a day, if they diet themselves ; and not above eightpence a day, if they have diet found them. Further, it is ordered that all workmen shall work the whole day, allowing convenient time for food and rest."

Nov. 8, 1G33 : " Ordered that no persons shall sell to any of the inhabitants within this jurisdiction any provision, clothing, tools, or other commodities, above the rate of fourpence in a shilling more than the same cost, or might be bought for ready money, in England."

Sept. 3, 1634 : " No person that keeps an ordinary shall take above sixpence a meal for a person ; and not above one penny for an ale-quart of beer, out of meal-time."

March 4, 1635: "Ordered that musket-bullets, of a full bore, shall pass currently for a farthing apiece, provided that no man be compelled to take above twelvepence at a time of them."

The legal premium allowed for the loan of currency was eight per cent, and so continued for a short time after the second charter. These facts and laws l'eveal to us the everyday calculations, and many of the social habits, of our Medford ancestors ; and, in the absence of town-records, serve as authentic data from which we can write the history of their cares and labors, their sacrifices and prosperity. They found it difficult to pay the wages of their workmen and servants. Even such men as Governor Winthrop were hard pressed in this way. He illustrates the severities of the common lot in these words : -

" I may report a passage between one Rowley and his servant. The master, being forced to sell a pair of his oxen to pay his servant his wages, told his servant he could keep him no longer, not knowing how to pay him next year. The servant answered him, he could serve him for more of his cattle. But what shall I do (saith the master) when all my cattle are gone? The servant replied, ' You shall then serve me ; and so you may have your cattle

It was natural enough that such extremities as these should awaken the public mind to some modes of permanent relief; and they did suggest the establishment of a mint at Boston. May 31, 1652 : The General Court ordered, that, "from and after the 1st of September next, and no longer, the money hereafter appointed and expressed shall be the current money of this Commonwealth, and no other, unless English (except the receivers consent thereunto)." Thus 1652 saw our fathers coining money without the consent of the Icing, to whom alone belonged the constitutional right of so doing.

The building erected for the mint was sixteen feet square and ten feet high. Such an edifice surely could not deserve the sneer of that adage, " Twelve pence laid out on the purse, and only six in it."

One effect of introducing a New-England coinage was to change the custom of computing in Old-England currency ; for, in the London market, the American coin sank at a rate of one-quarter below theirs.

The device on the die was as follows : " A double ring on either side, with this inscription, Massachusetts, and a tree in the centre, on the one side ; and New England, and the year of our Lord, on the other side" This was called the "pinetree currency ; " and it was in use for more than a hundred years. The pine-tree was a favorite emblem with our fathers. It expressed to them something un-English, and something durable. When independence was declared, Massachusetts (April 11, 1776) put it on her State flag, and fought the battle of Bunker Hill under its ancestral encouragements. It gave place only to the thirteen stripes.

When Thomas Temple, Esq., went to London, in May, 1662, and was introduced to the king, he presented his majesty with specimens of our coins. Seeing a tree on one of them, Charles inquired, " What sort of a tree is that ? " Mr. Temple immediately replied, " It is the royal oak, which preserved your majesty's life." The answer conciliated the unbotanical king, and induced him to grant Mr. Temple what he asked.

The mint was suppressed by James II. ; and thereupon, in 1686, our Massachusetts patriots began to move in the establishment of a bank; and, on Sept. 18 of that year, President Dudley and council granted liberty to certain directors "to issue bills, on security of real and personal estate." These continued but three years. Dec. 10, 1690, the General Court established a provincial bank, and issued paper-money to the amount of seven thousand pounds, in bills from five shillings to five pounds. This paper-currency continued in use till 1750. These paper-bills, soon after their issue, fell in value at least one-third. The government tried to remedy this evil by allowing five per cent advance on the specie and par value of the bills in all public payments. This restored them to par for about twenty years. They were called " old charter bills." June 8, 1693, the General Court changed the rate of interest from eight per cent to six.

So common had become the vicious habit of clipping gold and silver money, that the government issued a proclamation, March 3, 1705, " that no money shall pass by tale but what is of due weight." Almost every family had a pair of scales to weigh the gold and silver they took.

The two crusades against Canada, about this time, forced the colonies to issue " bills of credit," to pay the soldiers. These lost credit, and somewhat depreciated ; and here was another embarrassment suffered by our fathers. December, 1724, Judge Sewall says, " The diminution of the value of the bills of public credit is the cause of much oppression in the Province." Colden says (1728), "Our paper-currency has gradually lost its credit, so as at present sixteen shillings is but sufficient to purchase an ounce of silver." Governor Beleher says (1733), " Sixteen shillings in these bills will not purchase five shillings lawful money."

Lawful money, as distinguished from old tenor, is first mentioned in the Medford records, May 17, 1750. The town voted, May 21, 1751, to give Mr. Turell, as salary for that year, £73. 6s. 8d. (lawful money), which was equal to £550 (old tenor). In 1754, voted to give him £80 (lawful money), which was equal to £600 (old tenor).

It is not easy, in our day of plenty and power, to estimate those perplexities and fears, of our fathers which came from an empty treasury, a defenceless country, and an embarrassed trade. To show how very slowly they must have gathered money, we give a table of prices of such productions as were taken for rates at the treasury. Good merchantable beef, £3 a barrel ; do. pork, £5. 10s. ; winter wheat, 8s. ; summer, 7s. ; barley, 6s. ; rye, 6s. ; Indian corn, 4s. ; oats, 2s. 6d. a bushel. Flax, Is. 4d. ; hemp, 9d. ; beeswax, 2s. Qd. a pound. Peas, clear of bugs, 9s. a bushel. Sweet firkin butter, I2d. ; a pound. Merchantable dry codfish, £1. 10s. a quintal. Mackerel, £1. 10s. ; oil, £2. 10s. a barrel. Whalebone, six

We can but faintly conceive the embarrassments which our ancestors here must have encountered from the fluctuating prices of their products ; especially when, as in 1740, there were circulating in Massachusetts public bills of four provinces, at 29s. for an ounce of silver. New tenor of Massachusetts at 6s. 8c?., but current at 9s. 8c?. oz. of silver. Connecticut new tenor at 8s., and Rhode Island new tenor at 6s. 9c?. Our fathers, under these circumstances, must have been good mathematicians to have understood this occult chemistry of trade.

July 30, 1781 : Medford voted "to raise £100 in specie, in lieu of the £400 raised on the 29th of June last." This would seem to imply that £100 specie was worth £400 of New-England money. Aug. 20, 1781: "Voted to raise £450 /tare? money, instead of the £1,300 paper money, voted in May last."

It is not necessary to trace further the currency of the Province, or to show the effects of the issue of " continental money," or the " sword-in-hand " money, of 1775, or the influence of the Stamp Act, and the subsequent oppressions of the crown upon the trade, comfort, or hopes of our fathers. The currency of the country, from its settlement to the present time, pertains as much to the town of Medford as to any other town. It makes part and parcel of its history. It influenced every family's labor, and shaped the town's laws. May 12, 1791, the town voted to sell the "old continental money" then in the treasury for the most they could get for it. We have given these details, that our readers may see how the fathers and mothers, the brothers and sisters, of the olden time were obliged to think, calculate, and act, in their pecuniary intercourse with their neighbors and public functionaries. Trading and shopping then were very different operations from what they are now. The word pay was used to denote whatever was employed as currency or medium of exchange. Suppose a farmer went to buy a pair of oxen, howwould the colloquy proceed ? Somewhat thus : - Neighbor A. : "I want to buy your two-year-old steers : what do you ask for them ? " "I will sell ; but what's jour pay ? " Answer: "Flax at Is. 4c?., butter at 12c?., winter wheat at 8s., and the rest in paper at 17s. per ounce of silver." This is satisfactory; and so they trade. A dialogue between two merchants, in the purchase of a ship, would be something like this : - Mr. S. : " What will you take for your bark ' Columbus ' ? " Mr. T. : " You know that depends on the pay." Mr. S. : " My pay is, double-johns at £4. 16s., moidores at o6s., pistoles at 22s., the rest in old-tenor bills at the rate of 45s. for 6s. of specie, and middle tenors at lis. 3d. for 6s." Mr. T. : " Well, that's all right ; and you may have her for £237, - pay down." So the bargain closes. When a boy went to buy a penknife, whose cash price was 12c/., the following conversation ensued : - Boy : " I want a good penknife, sir." Shopkeeper :# " Is your pay ready?" "Yes, sir." " What is it ? " " It's pay" " Well, then, the price is 24c?." The boy then asks, " What will it be in pay as money?" Answer: " 16c?." "What will it be in hard money ? " " 12c?." If a young lady went to purchase a dress, and, having looked and chosen, she asked the price, she was answered by the usual question, " What's your pay ? " She answers : " Pai% in pillar-pieces at 6s. each, part in e pieces-ofeight ' at 4s. 6c?., and the rest in cobb money at 6s. 8c?. ounce."

These were every-day occurrences. What would the farmmers and merchants, the boys and girls, of our day think, if they could not make a purchase without all this bewildering mixture of prices ?

When dollars came into common use, all calculations were simplified. The sign ($) used to express dollars was composed of two letters, U. S., signifying United States. The S was first written ; and then over its face the U was drawn, thus $. Our present currency consists of paper-bills of $1,000, 500, 100, 50, 20, 10, 5, 3, 2, 1. Gold, $40, 20, 10, 5, 3, 2|, 1. Silver, $1, 50c, 25, 10, 5, 3. Copper, one cent.

We take leave of the currency of our ancestors which prevailed in Medford, and which has taught us so much about them, with a few lines, in which some unknown disciple of Thalia has uttered his financial joy (1750) : -

" And now, Old Tenor, fare you well ; No more such tattered rags we'll tell. Now dollars pass, and are made free ; It is a year of jubilee. Let us, therefore, good husbands be ; And good old times we soon shall sec."

The first inhabitants of Medforcl, bringing with them the common usage of England with respect to poll and property taxation, adopted the rules which they had followed in their native country. The records of our Colonial General Courts, under Governor Endicott, before the arrival of Governor Winthrop, are lost, and therefore the rates of taxation from 1628 to 1633 cannot be ascertained ; yet they may be presumed from the subsequent rates which were soon after established with respect to church and state expenses. The first rule enacted by the Legislature was in 1646. This was twenty -pence a poll, and one penny on a pound, for the State. Sterling was the currency till 1652, when the " pine-tree " coin, called New England currency, was introduced. This new coin was six shillings and eightpence less than the English pound sterling, and was so made to keep it in the country.

The earliest payments were made in money ; but afterwards the Province agreed to take beaver, grain, pease, cattle, fish, lumber, &c. This was called country pay, and also called specie : this last word retained its early meaning till within seventy or eighty years of our time. After the " Province bills of credit " were introduced, country pay for Province taxes ceased in 1694.

As Charles I., by his charter of March 4, 1629, released the Pilgrims from " all taxes, subsidies, and customs, in New England," our fathers had no taxes but what were necessary in their own borders.

" It is ordered that there shall be collected and levied by distress, out of the several plantations, for the maintenance of Mr. Patricke and Mr. Vnderhill, the sum of fifty pounds ; viz., out of Charlton, seven pounds ; Boston, eleven pounds ; Dorchester, seven pounds ; Rocksbury, five pounds ; Watertown, eleven pounds ; Meadford, three pounds ; Salem, three pounds ; Wessaguscus, two pounds ; Nantascett, one pound."

Indian tribes. In Nov. SO, 1630, the same court levied a tax of sixty pounds, to pay the two public preachers, Rev. George Phillips and Rev. John Wilson ; and the places and sums were as follow : " Boston, twenty pounds ; Charlton, ten pounds ; Rocksbury, six pounds ; Meadford, three pounds ; Winnett-semett, one pound."

Feb. 3, 1632, the same court levied a tax of sixty pounds, to make a palisade for the defence of Newton, that town having been chosen as the seat of government. To this tax, twelve towns contributed; and Meadford paid three pounds.

In March 4, 1633, another levy was made to pay military teachers ; and here Meadford again paid three pounds. Thus our town seems to have taken its place with contiguous plantations in bearing its proportion of the public burdens. The levy, in each place, was made by the officers of said - plantation or town; and the following order, from the general government, attests to the ideas of right universally existing: -

" 1634, May 14 : It is further ordered, that, in all rates and public charges, the towns shall have respect to levy every man according to his estate, and with consideration of all other his abilities whatsoever, and not according to the number of his persons " ["or the individuals of his family].

"1636, March 3 : For explanation of an order made at the General Court, in May, 1634, it is ordered, that hereafter all men shall be rated, in all rates, for their whole ability, wheresoever it lies."

The diversity in the several years was owing to accidental occurrences, such as supporting the expedition against the Pequods; also for service-money, to prevent the effort in England to withdraw the charter of Massachusetts, and to liquidate charges in London.

" It is ordered, that, in payment, silver plate shall pass at five shillings the ounce ; good old Indian corn, growing here, being clean and merchantable, at five shillings the bushel ; summer wheat, at seven shillings the bushel ; rye, at six shillings and eightpence the bushel ; and, for horses, mares, cows, goats, and hogs, there is a committee appointed to value them under their worth, rather than above their worth."

At this time ( 1644), Medford began to pay its tax to Harvard College. Each family was required to send one peck of corn annually, for the support of poor students.

The above data show how heavily or lightly Medford was taxed during the first ten years of its history. The grants of land made, in 1634, by the General Court, to Rev. Mr. Wilson, of Boston, Mathew Cradock, Esq., of London, and Mr. J. Nowell, were exempted from taxation ; and, as some of them laid within the limits of Medford, it made this town an exception. In the records of the General Court, April 4, 1641, we find the following : -

" It is ordered, that all farms that are within the bounds of any town shall be of the town in which they lye, except Meadford." "Meadford declared apecidiar town, Oct. 15, 1684."

While it was right in the General Court to make gifts of land, tax-free, to such distinguished benefactors of the Province, it deprived Medford of so much annual income as said districts would have paid. No complaint was made on this account ; and our fathers struggled through nobly, notwithstanding their small means, and yet smaller numbers. The above record of taxes tells a tale of deep interest. We can see how a handful of first settlers, in a wilderness district, wrho could only pay three pounds towards a provincial tax, must live from year to year. Fed by what they could raise from their own lands, and clothed by what they could weave in their own looms, their cares must have been uniform, pressing, and material. Bound together in a common lot and a common danger, they must have been well acquainted with each other, and must have passed much time in friendly consultation for the common good. With these elements before us, it will be easy for every one to imagine what our earliest settlers could not do, and what they could ; and thus see their habits, actions, and hopes.

After these inferences from the taxes of Medford, during the first ten years of its history, we can proceed to gauge its growth in succeeding years by the same media.

" At a Court of Elections at Boston the 14th of the third month, 1645, the levy upon the towns of the Province was £616. 15s. ; and Medford's amount was £7."

There were three kinds of taxes, - province, county, and town. The first tax-bills of Massachusetts Colony, which were made out by counties, began October, 1659 ; and, in these, the tax of " Meadford " was far lower than that of any adjoining town.

To show a town-tax at this period, and also the names most frequently occurring in the town's records, we here insert "a rate made by the selectmen, May 16, 1701, for defraying town-charges ; namely, for the deputy, and the laying in of ammunition ; and for fetching and carrying Mr. Woodbridge, and the entertaining of him."

The warrant issued to the constable empowered that functionary "to distrain the goods or chattels of any person or persons who refuse to pay ; and in case there be no goods or chattels, then he is to seize the body of any person who refuses, and commit him to the county jail."

To show what taxes were assessed for, it will be interesting to see a record of the entire debts of the town of Medford, April 19, 1710. It is as follows : -

Due to Captain Peter Tufts, John Francis, Ebenezer Brooks, and Samuel "Wade, 5s. per man, - paid to Mrs. Bradstreet, for nursing Rachel Blanchard ..100 Due to Ebenezer Brooks, for actions entered in court .020 For taking a copy out of the records, &c, about John

For pocket expenses, in tending court three days ... 0 3 0 Due to Thomas Willis, for sweeping meeting-house, 1709 0 15 0 Due to Mr. Samuel Wade, for John Man's diet eleven

To show the relative amount and distribution of property among the inhabitants, the following record of taxes paid by each is here inserted : -

"Sept. 20, 1711 : This list is a county rate that was made and perfected by the assessors, in obedience to a warrant from James Taylor, gent., treasurer, for the levying a tax on polls and estate, both real and personal."

History Of Medford

To judge accurately of taxes paid by our ancestors after 1710, it is needful to know the rate of depreciation in the " Province bills," which were taken in payment for taxes. In 1710, one ounce of silver was equal to 8s. of these bills; in 1722, 14s. ; in 1732, 19s. ; in 1742, 28s. ; and in 1752, 60s.

In July 20, 1720, the General Court ordered, that taxes might be paid in live-stock and merchandise, instead of money ; and, from 1720 to 1750, live-stock in Medford was valued, on an average, as follows : Oxen, four years old, X2 each ; horses, three years old, X2 ; bulls and cows, three years old, XI 10s.; swine, above one year old, 8*. each; sheep and goats, 3s. each.

In those towns which had vessels, a decked vessel was valued, for taxation, at XI. 10s. per ton; and undecked vessels [Medford lighters], at XI per ton. Stock in trade was valued at one-quarter of its worth ; male Indian and negro slaves, at X15 each ; female, at X10.

To show a list of tax-payers in 1730, and their relative rates, the following town-tax for £50 - the half-yearly pay of Rev. Ebenezer Turell - is inserted : -

June 5, 1753, the General Court laid a tax on coaches, chariots, chaises, calashes, and riding-chairs. Medford, in 1754, had 1 chariot, 7 chaises, and 31 chairs. Cambridge, during the same time, had 9 chaises and 36 chairs. Woburn had 2 chaises and 9 chairs. Maiden had 2 chaises and 20 chairs.

During the revolutionary struggle, debts were accumulated to vast amounts ; and, on the 26th February, 1781, the Legislature stated, that =£950,000, specie value, were needed to meet the annual current expenditures, ,£320,000 of which were to be discharged by taxes. At such a time, when parsimony would have been crime, as timidity would have been treason, our patriotic ancestors marched nobly forward, as their prompt payment of the following taxes testify. In 1781, Medford paid £1,177. 10s. ; in 1786, £1,016. 5s. ; in 1791, £88. 6s. lid. Eatable polls in Medford (1784) were 223.

The inhabitants occupied one hundred and thirty-six houses, which were valued at $74,032.80 ; making an average value of $544 each. The town valuation of all other property was $160,116.60. Taxes were assessed on 4,603 acres of land.

These tables of taxes prove how Medford, from small beginnings, gradually increased in numbers and wealth. There was never any sudden development of its resources, but a steadily increasing use of its natural advantages. Its march, became more and more rapid as we approach the nineteenth century, when its increase and prosperity were equal to any town in the State.

As the records of the first forty years of the town are lost, we have hunted in every crevice and corner to find representative facts belonging to that period ; and, after availing of each fragmentary tradition, we have fixed on the taxes assessed by the General Court and county, as indicating with most precision the ability and condition of the earliest settlers ; and, having discovered their ability and condition, it is not difficult to imagine their labors, habits, and advancement. We have thus taken the taxes as our lighthouse, to guide us along the unmapped coast of our new settlement.

In the record of taxes, one occasionally finds strange facts. Here is one : " June 27, 1695. As an unusual requisition, females who earned a livelihood were taxed each two shil-

Map. Post-Office

In our town-records we find the following notices side by side : " May 5, 1750 : Voted to abate Thomas Brooks, jun.'s rates (£4. 13s. old tenor), he being not of age." " Voted to abate Lieutenant Stephen Hall's rates for his head (£3. 5s., old tenor), he being very old." In our earliest history, when the inhabitants had raised a certain sum in advance, two men, Nathan Lyon and Roger Scott, who had contributed their share, soon after moved out of town. At the next town-meeting, it was unanimously voted to refund to these men what they had paid.

Oct. 13, 1853 : The town voted to authorize the selectmen to treat with Mr. Henry F. Walling, of Boston, concerning a complete map of Medford. This skilful engineer engaged to furnish one for $750. It is now just finished ; and must give entire satisfaction, both as to its accuracy and beauty. Its size is thirty by thirty-seven inches, and its scale eight inches to a mile. It shows the entire town at one glance ; while it gives correctly the topography, the hills, woods, streams, ponds, streets, mills, stores, dwellings, churches, &c. ; it gives the names of each householder in the place of his residence ; it represents all the real estate of the town, and shows the number of square feet in each lot. This last fact will enable the assessors to apportion the tax more justly than they otherwise could, and will guide commissioners in laying out roads. The map is accompanied by eleven other maps or sections, on a scale of two hundred feet to an inch, on sheets of twenty-six to thirty-nine inches, and are bound together in an atlas. Should a copy of this map be preserved through two hundred years, it would then probably show that not even one lot of land would be possessed by any descendants of its present owner.

Post-Office

blished in Medford was in September, 1797. The first office was on the spot now occupied by the town-house. The postmasters have been as follows : -

A post-office was established in West Medford in 1853, and its daily mail is an increasing benefit to a growing village. The first postmaster was James M. Sanford; the second, Thaddeus A. Baldwin ; and the third, the present one, is Franklin Patch.

For more than a hundred years, all the land travel to Boston from Maine, from the eastern parts of New Hampshire, and the north-eastern parts of Massachusetts, passed through Medford ; and its distance from Boston made it a convenient stopping-place for travelling traders. Hence the need of public-houses. No town in the State, of its size, had so many in number, or better in quality ; and they were all placed conveniently on the great thoroughfare.

In early times, no one could " keep tavern " without a special license from the court. The form was as follows : "Nathaniel Pierce, of Medford, is permitted to sell liquors unto such sober-minded neighbors as he shall think meet, so as he sell not less than the quantity of a gallon at a time to one person, and not in smaller quantities by retail to the occasioning of drunkenness."

The first tavern of which we have any record was built by Major Jonathan Wade, about 1690, and kept by Nathaniel Pierce. It stood a few rods south of the bridge, on the corner of Main and Short Streets, and, for more than a century, offered its accommodations to the public. It was bought by Colonel Royal, and had on its sign a representation of Admi- ral Vernon. Its owner wished to let it ; and his advertisement, dated Dec. 26, 1743, reads thus : " Any persons beforehanded, so as to lay in a good stock of liquors and other necessaries for a tavern, may meet with proper encouragement from Isaac Royal, Esq." Accompanying the above was this notice : " A person has a handsome mourning-coach, with a pair of good horses, to let out to any funeral, at ten shillings, old tenor, each funeral." -This house acquired great popularity, especially when kept by Roger Billings, in 1775. It was afterwards kept by Mr. James Tufts and Son. It became a private dwelling about half a century ago, and so continued till its destruction by fire, Nov. 21, 1850.