Milton Town (part 1 of 2)

Milton Town

For six years after the arrival in Massachusetts Bay of Governor Winthrop, with the charter, in 1630, and the great accompanying emigration connected with this movement, all the territory comprised within the present borders of Milton remained a part of the undivided lands of the colony, and during this period three gentlemen, who were doubtless members or stockholders of the company before they left England, - lIsrael Stoughton, John Glover, and William Hutchinson, - selected a part of the Jand dividends to which they were entitled within our limits. probably attracted by certain natural advantages which belonged to the locality, - the water-falls in the river, the convenience for ship-building offered by the tidewaters, an abundant supply of ship-timber, and, above Stoughton and Glover were prominent men in the Dorchester

Mr. Stoughton selected one hundred and sixty acres of land connected with the lower falls, including nearly the whole of Milton Hill, and the front on the river to the bend, where the ship-yard of Mr. Briggs was located. Nearly all this property continued in him and his heirs for more than twenty

1 The following chapter was contributed by Mr. James M. Robbins, being an address delivered by him June 11, 1862. The original address is here presented in a condensed form, to adapt it to our work.--Eprror.

| Indian wars in Connecticut and Rhode Island. In | 1644 he left his family and embarked for England, | where he died the following year, the colonel of a | Parliamentary regiment engaged in the great revolu- | tion of that day.

Mr. Glover selected a lot directly south of Milton Hill, of one hundred and eighty acres, on the flat fronting on the northwest by the brook, and south- | east on the centre line of the town, where he laid out | a farm, and after the annexation of this territory to Dorchester, built a house near where the brook reaches the road by Mr. Davis'. This farm was occupied many years by his agent or tenant, Nicholas Wood, until it was sold in 1654 by the heirs to Robert Vose. Mr. Glover, besides employing himself. much in commerce, was often representative for | Dorchester, and many years assistant or councilor. | Capt. Johnson describes him as a plain, sincere, godly | man, strong for the truth, and of good abilities. His | name is frequently mentioned as attending the meetings of the company in London before the emigration. | He left several sons, and his posterity is numerous in New England now.

Mr. William Hutchinson belonged to the Lincolnshire company, who came with Rev. Mr. Cotton and settled at Boston. Mount Wollaston, or Braintree, was early ceded to the town of Boston, with a view of supplying the inhabitants of the peninsula with | Mr. Hutchinson laid out a large tract, doubtless supposing it to be within the Braintree line, but when a survey was | made in laying out the towns of Braintree and Dor- | chester, a large part of Hutchinson's lot was found to fall within the line of the latter town; in fact, in- | cluded the whole east corner of the town of Milton, | The title, however, was confirmed to him, including all the land east of Gulliver's brook to the present Quincy line, and was sold in 1656 by his son, Capt. Edward | Hutchinson, to Anthony Gulliver, Stephen Kinsley, | and Henry Crane. Mr. Hutchinson's career in Massachusetts was very | soon terminated through the proceedings instituted by the colony and clergy against his wife, Ann Hutchbesides a large tract within the Braintree line.

inson, upon the charge of heresy, of which she and some of her adherents were convicted, by a synod held at Cambridge, and banished from the colony. Edward, the son of William Hutchinson, soon re- | turned to Boston, and spent a long life as a most active and useful citizen in Massachusetts, and was finally killed in the service of the colony at Brookfield, in Philip's war, 1676, in command of a cavalry corps. His posterity made a figure for four generations, in almost every post, civil and military, in the colony. Governor Hutchinson, his great-grandson, was long connected with the town.

In 1636 the town of Dorchester obtained a grant of nearly the whole territory now comprising the town of Milton, which was the first of a liberal series of grants made by the colony to that important town. This movement was the signal for the commencement of the actual occupation and settlement of Milton, and the twenty-five years which passed, during the connection with Dorchester until the independent establishment of the town, sufficed to collect about thirty families, with which the town's separate career began. It was usual, in occupying new territory at that time, to obtain a release of the Indian title from their chiefs; and accordingly, in October, 1636, the Neponset Sagamore Cutshamoquin, for twenty-eight fathoms of wampum conveys, for the use of the Dorchester plantation, all the land south of Neponset to the Blue Hills, to Richard Collicot (town corporations not then created), reserving certain lands which Mr. Collicot's name appears among the early inhabitants of Dorchester, and he is mentioned as a licensed furdealer, which occupation seems to have brought him early into intimate relations with the native Indians. He obtained a lot of one hundred and twenty acres at Unquety (doubtless the Pratt farm), and built there a house, perhaps the first dwelling in the town. He seems to have been a most active and useful man, - selectman and deputy for the town of Dorchester, officer of the artillery company, member of the Synod at Cambridge; at one time trading with the settlements in Maine, now aiding Governor Endicott

Eliot in collecting the Indians for religious service at the falls, - an energetic, ubiquitous man, whose permanent residence it is difficult to fix, but his~connection with our settlement is traced during fifty years. He was trustee of our meeting-house fund in 1664. He died at Boston, 1686.

John Holman procured a grant of one hundred and ten acres adjoining Collicot (the Rowe farm), and settled there very early, and the property remained in his family nearly a century. The Stoughton and Hutchinson lots occupied all the northeast

| front of the town, excepting the space between Gulliver's Brook and a line crossing the road near the Swift house, which space was divided into three lots, fronting on the marshes, - the first or north lot, of one hundred and twenty acres, occupied by William Daniels, who built his house near the Foye land with Stoughton, and became a major in his regiment; the third lot, of fourteen acres, fronting on Gulliver's Creek, laid out for Bray Wilkins, a Dorchester man, who was licensed in 1638 to keep a ferry across Neponset, to facilitate the intercourse between Boston and Mount Wollaston before the roads were made.

favored by Cromwell, for their early sympathy and co-operation in the revolution, while all the other colonies, adhering to the Stuarts, were punished with restrictions and embarrassments. An exemption from duties, and free trade with all the world, was permitted to Massachusetts, and this stimulated the business of ship-building. Several persons of this calling took up their residence here, in the east part of the town, such as William Salisbury, Anthony Newton, Walter Morey, and others. It is probable they were occupied in building small vessels (of thirty or forty tons) called shallops, much used about the bay in fishing and coasting trade, and they undoubtedly used the head of the tide on Gulliver's Creek, where the town still owns the landing, as such craft could easily be floated out at spring tides, and that location was more convenient to get the timber than the banks of the river. The residence of these persons was mainly in that vicinity.

At this period the principal occupants of the place were located in the eastern section of the town, and the latter part of the time they were exempted from contributing to the support of the Dorchester Church, by reason of having provided themselves with religious instruction in conjunction with some persons from Braintree. No record exists of their place of worship or who taught them. It is probable that Stephen Kinsley - who was ordained with much formality as a ruling elder at Braintree in 1653, and had moved on to the Hutchinson purchase - first officiated in that place, which was the only public service held in the town until the erection of the first meeting-house, in 1671, built on the land set apart and appropriated to that purpose by Robert Vose on a part of his farm (near Mr. Barnard's). Mr. Kinsley had been an

1 On Sept. 24, 1653, at a meeting of the Commissioners of the United Colonies, holden at Boston, recorded, - " Having learned that the wife of William Daniels hath, for three years past, bestowed much of her time in teaching several Indians to read, think fit to allow her £12 for the time past; and to encourage her to continue the same course, that more of the Indians may be taught by her, think fit to allow her £3 more beforehand, towards another year." inhabitant and representative of Braintree several years before he moved here, and he was the first representative of Milton. The petition for incorporation was drawn by him, and is among the archives of the

"The elders continued to be consulted in every affair of importance as long as the charter continued. The share they had in temporal affairs added to the weight they had acquired from their spiritual employments, and they were in high esteem." *

There were a few scattered farms in other parts of the town. Samuel Wadsworth, a young man, son of a Plymouth pilgrim, moved here from Duxbury, and selected a large lot running from the centre of the town, to the southeast line, a mile or more from any other inhabitant. John Fenno, of Dorchester, occupied a lot near the burying-ground. Robert Badcock occupied a large lot between the river and the brook, next to Mr. Vose. All the west portion of the town was run out into lots, about sixteen hundred and fifty, and divided among the inhabitants of Dorchester, magistrates and ministers receiving large lots, and persons of less note small strips a mile long and hardly wide enough to build acorn-barn upon. Of these, the Brush Hill lots were first occupied, but there is no sufficient evidence of the presence of inhabitants there before the incorporation.

The main landing-place on the river was originally designed by Mr. Stoughton to have been fixed where Mr. Brigg's ship-yard was located, but was changed to its present site, near the falls, on petition of John Gill, in 1658. Four hundred acres of land in the on a large tract of land at Punkapog, granted to them by the town of Dorchester, at the urgent solicitation of Mr. Eliot, who regarded the movement as essential to their welfare.

is unsupported by any record, and is entirely conjectural with myself. In 1643, John Winthrop, J?., eame from England, and brought one thousand pounds' worth of stock and divers workmen to begin He had formed in England a company for this purpose. The General Court of Masan iron-work.

works were completed. The town of Boston was greatly interested in the undertaking, and the location of the works at Braintree was encouraged by a grant of three thousand acres of land, still belonging to Boston, at that place. This tract is the same land which was purchased seventy years afterwards, in 1711, by Manasseh Tucker, Samuel Miller, and John Wadsworth, of Milton, and divided by the court between Braintree and Milton at that time. The fifteen hundred acres attached to our jurisdiction forms the present Scotch Woods settlement. the largest stockholders of this iron company, residing in London, viz., John Beex and Robert Rich, chartered a large ship, bound to Jamaica, to touch at Boston and land there two hundred and seventy-two Scotch prisoners taken from a lot of eight thousand prisoners captured by Cromwell, Sept. 3, 1650, at the battle of Dunbar. The ship arrived at Boston in May, 1651, and landed the prisoners consigned to

" The Scots whom God delivered into your hands at Dunbar, and whereof sundry were sent hither, we have been desirous to make their yoke easy. diseases have not wanted physic and chirurgy. They have not been sold for slaves to perpetual servitude, but for six or eight years, as we do our own, and he that bought the most of them, I believe, buildeth houses for them, for every four an house, layeth some acres of land thereto, which he giveth them as their own, requiring three days in the week to work for him thus originated the name, Scotch Woods, ever since attached to the spot. This supposition is confirmed by an act of the General Court, A.D. 1652, ordering may have been employed in cutting wood or collect- The result of this operation was that after a large outlay of capital it was found that every pound of iron made cost more than two pounds imported from Europe; the company failed, the sheriff seized their effects, and their daborers were dispersed and mixed up with the general population of the country. The land was probably a conditional grant, and reverted to the town of Boston, from which corporation our townsmen bought it.

The records of the town for nearly eight years from the beginning are missing, excepting that of a few births. Two years after the organization, Robert Vose made a deed of eight acres of land (for a meetno . . 7 1 ing bog-ore for the iron company.

in the town. No church organization was formed here till 1678, but the principal inhabitants were members of the Dorchester and Braintree churches. Of these eighteen persons eight have descendants still among us, and these families have inhabited the town during its whole existence, viz.: Robert Vose, is added to the above list of trustees in the interval from 1664 to 1674. Many of the lots in the western part of the town were soon occupied, especially

We infer from these circumstances that Beex and Rich, for themselves or the company, thinking to get some income from their land, which without laborers was unproductive and inconvertible, embarked in this speculation, and the mode of disposing of the prisoners mentioned by Cotton was only a form necessary to satisfy the public mind in the matter, and the men were employed on this land belonging to the freighters of the ship in the way described in this letter; and

Robert Tucker, who had resided more than twenty years at Weymouth, came and purchased several adjoining lots. He brought a family of four sons and three daughters ; his oldest son twenty-two years of

Thomas Swift, son of T. Swift, of Dorchester, married the only daughter of Mr. Vose, and is supposed | to have occupied a part of the Glover farm, conveyed to him by his father-in-law.

Ten years passed from the date of the incorporation before a new meeting-house was built, the small accommodation for worship in the eastern part of the town being made to suffice. Mr. Joseph Emerson | officiated as the first minister for several years, under adverse circumstances part of the time. Great diffi- | culty existed in the currency. The whole town, and a part of the adjoining town of Braintree, with all their zeal for religious instrnction, could not raisefifty-three pounds, or one hundred and seventy-five dollars, per annum, the stipulated salary. Mr. Emerson, who at first was passed about from one parishioner to another, made shift to live without embarrassment, but venturing to marry the daughter of the Rev. Edward Bulkly, of Concord, and establish a house of his own, '" the country pay," as it was called, in which he received most of his dues, compelled him to open a running account with every man in the parish. Misunderstandings ensued, rendering his position disagreeable, and he accepted an invitation to settle at Mendon, and left the town in 1669.

ing engagements elsewhere, although it must be confessed we did receive some encouragement from the Now, in 1660, all this | is over; the king is restored again, and some active and examine all grievances and correct all abuses. We had coined money without authority, encroaching on the king's privilege; we had prohibited the exer- | cise of all forms of worship except our own, especially that of the English Church, and would not allow the privileges of citizenship except to professors of a certain creed; and then we had sheltered certain regicides, who had compassed the death of the king's | father, and had committed various other misde- | meanors.

qualification of voters, promising to make no more pine-tree shillings, and making a sham effort to arrest the regicides, the commissioners went home, and the colony retained for a time longer the charter. This result, so earnestly hoped for, was aided greatly by sundry ship-loads of masts and other presents to the king. The great benefit to the colony was the extension of the right of suffrage, which till then had been confined to a small part of the community ; and the consent of the colony to tolerate in the future the service of the English Church, had the beneficial effect of so far liberalizing the colonial government that no further prosecutions against other sects as heretical were enforced. The extreme rigor which characterized the first years of the colony was in some degree mitigated when our town commenced its corporate existence.

Now commences a great struggle, which threatens the very existence of the colony, - Philip's Indian war. Philip, a name given by the English to the second son of Massasoit, the sachem of the Pokanoket Indians, with whom the Plymouth Pilgrims entertained such friendly relations, was now at the head of the tribe living at Mount Hope, - a restless, ambitious person, and possessed of much ability. He entertained the opinion that the English would soon control the whole country and destroy the native population, and conceived the idea that by the united action of all the native tribes they might be resisted or driven away. He cautiously enlisted the co-operation of most of the other tribes of New England in his plan. 'The matter was communicated to the authorities by one of Mr. Eliot's praying Indians of Natick.

All New England was aroused. The Indians had acquired great skill in the use of fire-arms, and the number of fighting men among them was supposed Philip appeared with a large force near Swanzey. But the

_ hope of detaching some of the tribes from the alliance induced the government to send Capt. Edward Hutchinson with a company of horse to Brookfield, to ne- Hutchinson had a farm at Marlborough, and was personally known to the chiefs of this tribe, and they designated him as a person they would treat with. By appointment he, with a part of his men, went to meet them in a wood or swamp, where a large body of Indians were con- Hutchinson and sixteen of his men were He was carried down to Marlcealed. shot, mostly dead. borough, and died a day or two after.

The Neponset Indians at Punkapog did not appear to belong to the conspiracy; but, to make matters sure, the men of the tribe were all placed under the command of Quartermaster Thomas Swift, and removed first to Long Island in Boston harbor, and afterwards brought up to Milton. Maj. Gookin, in his Indian History, says that Mr. Eliot and himself met every other week, in the winter of 1676, among the Punkapog Indians, who were brought | from Long Island and placed near Brush Hill, in Milton, under the care of Quartermaster Swift. They |

The great interest to Milton in this affair arose from the death of Capt. Wadsworth and _ several Samuel Wadsyoung men belonging to the town.

Duxbury, and spent most of his adult life here. was an active, intelligent person, named in the Dorchester records before the incorporation of Milton, was always occupied with the affairs of the plantation and the town, zealous in church matters and the | military organization, frequently chosen selectman and representative, and also a justice to settle small causes. In the war of 1675-76 he was appointed captain of a company raised in this vicinity, partly in Milton, to serve the colony. Brookline, was his lieutenant. In April, 1676, he was ordered to move with his company to Marlborough, to relieve Capt. Brocklebank, of Rowley, supposed to be in peril at that place. Wadsworth and his company arrived safe and unmolested. On the 21st of April news came to him that the Indians were burning the houses at Sudbury, the adjoining town. Wadsworth started with his company of he pursued them into a swamp, when suddenly, from all directions, emerged a cloud of savages, greatly outnumbering his force. He secured a retreat toa neighboring hill, which he successfully defended four hours, with the loss of five men only. His ammunition was expended. The Indians set fire to the wood,

Sharpe, Brocklebank, and sixty-five men met their Fifteen only escaped to tell the tale The names of his Milton companions are not preserved. Capt. Wadsworth left five sons, all of whom were respectable men. His youngest son, Benjamin, became president of Harvard College, and erected a monument to his father, at Sudbury, which was renewed, in 1852, by the State.

The war ended in August, 1676, with the death of Philip by the hand of one of his own men. The Indians had previously met defeat in every direction. Some of the leaders were executed at Boston; many prisoners were sent to the West India Islands and sold as slaves, and those who escaped fled to tribes in the West.

purchase of the Glover farm in 1654; he was then past middle life, and his three children already of adult age. We have no means of knowing his antecedents. His whole career here exhibits him as a public-spirited man, who had brought up his children with care, and who spared no efforts to establish our Mr. Tucker family were doubtless born in that place. He came to Milton about the time of the incorporation, and purchased several of the lots laid out and drawn by the inhabitants of Dorchester at Brush Hill. selected by Mr. Vose as one of the trustees of the

1 Robert Tucker was at Weymouth about the time that town was incorporated, in 1635, and is believed to have accompanied a certain association which came to New England about that time with the Rev. Mr. Hull, from the town of Weymouth, in Dorsetshire, giving that name to Wessagusset. This conjecture is strengthened by the fact that several prominent families of John Tucker, a resident of Weymouth, represented the borough of corder of the town. He was held in much esteem by his neighbors. He left a large family of four sons and four daughters, and his character and education

Benjamin Wadsworth, youngest son of Capt. Samuel Wadsworth, was born at Milton in 1669, graduated at Harvard in 1690, studied for the ministry, settled at the First Church in Boston in 1696, and,

Joseph Belcher, son of Joseph and Rebecca (Gill) Belcher, was born at Milton in 1668. He inherited a large property from his grandfather, John Gill, when he was fifteen years of age, was educated for the ministry, ordained and settled at Dedham in 1693, where he officiated thirty years with much satisfaction, and died in 1723. His family of two sons and three daughters returned to Milton, and for a time occupied their paternal estate at Milton Hill (the Hutchinson property). The eldest son, Joseph, graduated at college in 1717, lived here in 1734, and was selectmman of the town. Their property at Milton Hill was sold about 1740 to Thomas Hutchinson, and the residue of the Stoughton purchase, being the village property, was sold to Jeremiah Smith in 1741. The family left the town at that time.

Cotton Mather preached Mr. Belcher's funeral sermon. He calls him "a tree of righteousness, who had all the fruits of the Holy Spirit growing upon them. Among the articles of his piety was conspicuous, well-

' John Wadsworth, son of Deacon John and Elizabeth Wadsworth, of Milton, born in 1703, graduated at Harvard College the Bishop of London as deacon and priest, received in 1723, studied for the ministry, and was ordained at Canterbury, Conn., Sept. 3, ;1729. Middleborough, separated from his parish, and returned to Milton in 1742, which was his principal residence until his 1766.

governed speech, and the management of the tongue, with which he prevented what the ancients consid- - ered as making half the sins of our lives, a gentlemanly temper and carriage, with a sweetness of disposition which was a varnish upon these virtues, and added more lustre unto them.' As a preacher he was greatly admired and followed.

Oxenbridge Thatcher, the eldest son of Rev. Peter Thatcher, was born at Milton in 1681, educated for college by his father, entered at Harvard before the age of fourteen, and graduated in 1698. He is said a few times, changed his calling, and engaged in trade at Boston, where he lived some twenty-five years, and was occasionally representative of that town. After his father's death he returned to Milton, and occupied his place on Thatcher's plain some forty years. He represented Milton occasionally, and died here in 1772, at the advanced age of ninety-one years. He is better known as the father of an eminent son, Oxenbridge Thatcher, the distinguished lawyer and patriot, who died at Boston in 1767, at the early age of forty-five years.

John Swift wag the oldest son of Deacon Thomas Swift. He was born here in 1679, graduated at Harvard in 1697, and was settled as minister at Framingham, where he died, after a long service, in 1745.

Mr. Peter Thatcher, the second son of our minister, was born in 1688, graduated at Harvard College in 1706, and, after studying the clerical profession, was ordained and settled in Middleborough in 1709, and continued there thirty-five years, until his death, in 1744. Rev. Thomas Prince, of the Old South Church, published his life, as an example of zeal and success as a revival preacher.

Dr. Ebenezer Miller was the second son of Samuel at Milton Hall in 1703, was prepared for college by Mr. Thatcher, and graduated at Harvard: in 1722. He commenced the study of divinity at once, and soon manifested a bias for the A few gentlemen at

Episcopal form of worship. Braintree, with similar tendencies, proposed to establish a church there, having assurances of aid from England for the furtherance of this project. For this purpose Mr. Miller was encouraged to proceed to England and procure Episcopal ordination (no Episcopal organization existing here). He was ordained by the degrees of Master of Arts from the University of Oxford in 1727 and Doctor of Theology in 1747, and was appointed missionary to Braintree by the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts.

and continued there until his death, thirty-six years afterwards. Many persons of that persuasion in the neighboring towns attended his ministrations. It is believed he was the first native of the Puritan colony authorized to preach under the Episcopal form.

early from Dorchester to Rehoboth, and during the Indian war, in 1676, to have left the latter place. Mr. Samuel Miller first appeared in Milton about 1688, possibly led hither by the attractions of Miss Rebecca Belcher, with a nice jointure of sixty acres

Deacon Manasseh, the youngest son of Robert Tucker, was about fifty-seven years of age at the time of the purchase, and continued to reside at the old homestead at Brush Hill till his death, in 1743, aged The Miller family are supposed to have emigrated _ at that time (the house stood where Mr. Dudley's residence now is, and was taken down some fifty years ago), and there his numerous family were born. He was afterwards, in 1711, one of the Scotch Woods erty continued in the family until the Revolution, when, in 1776, Stephen Miller, of the third generation, a much respected inhabitant of our town, joined the royalist party and emigrated to the province of years, and died in 1817, aged ninety-one. numerous descendants, who are still among the most respectable inhabitants of that province. was the one now owned by Dr. Palmer.

Allusion has already been made to the acquisition of the Blue Hill lands, in 1711, by the purchase, from the town of Boston, of three thousand acres reverted to that town from breach of condition. grantees were Manasseh Tucker, Samuel Miller, and John Wadsworth, all of Milton. The court refused to annex the whole purchase to Milton, but decreed that it should be divided as to jurisdiction between the towns of Braintree and Milton, fifteen hundred acres to each. ;

In addition to the foregoing, a large tract of land (doubtless a part of the new grant made to Dorchester in 1637), containing, perhaps, one thousand acres, bounded on the southeast by the Blue Hill River, and northwest by the old Milton line, was passed into our limits by consent of the town of Dorchester. This latter piece contains Houghton's pond, and all the lands within our borders above the stone monument near the late Thomas Hunt's house.

By these acquisitions, in 1712-13, the area of the town was extended about two thousand five hundred acres, nearly one-third of its present surface.

eighty-nine years; but his eldest son, Capt. Samuel, then about twenty-six years old, laid out a farm, and moved very soon to the new purchase. The same was done by young Samuel Miller, as already related, and one of Deacon Wadsworth's sons occupied the lot next adjoining the old Wadsworth property. The remainder was soon sold to other persons, and has ever since formed an important section of the town.

We have now, 1730, reached a new era in our history, - the ordination of another minister, the building of a new meeting-house, and a considerable accession to our taxable property by the settlement amovg us of sundry persons of wealth and importance from the neighboring town of Boston.

The Rey. John Taylor, after preaching several months, was invited to settle here, and was ordained on the 13th of November, 1728. Mr. Foxcroft, of the Old South Church, Boston, preached the ordination sermon, which is in print.

Mr. Taylor was born in Boston in 1704, and was the son of Mr. John Taylor, who came to Boston from Wales in the latter part of the seventeenth century. Mr. Taylor, the elder, married Ann Winslow, the daughter of Edward Winslow, of the Pilgrim family. (She survived her son, and died in Milton in 1775, at the advanced age of ninety-five years.) Shortly after the birth of the Rev. Mr. Taylor, his parents removed to the island of Jamaica, where they had four more children, viz.: Col. William Taylor, whose descendants are still with us, and three daughters. Mr. Taylor, the father, died in Jamaica, and his widow, with her young family, returned to her native country. She educated her son John at Har vard College, where he graduated in 1721, in the class with Dr. Charles Chauncy, with whom he kept up an intimate friendship until his death. Two years after his settlement here he married Elizabeth, the daughter of Rev. Nathaniel Rogers, of Portsmouth, Mrs. Taylor died in 1735, at the early age of twenty-seven years, and some years afterwards Mr. Taylor married the sister of his first wife, Miss Dorothy Rogers, who survived her husband. Mr. Taylor left three sons and one daughter, Mrs. Ann Gilman, of Exeter.

ton records, are, - John, born in 1731; Nathaniel, born in 1734; William, born in 1735; and Ann, his only daughter, born in 1732, married Nicholas Gilman, of Exeter, State treasurer of New Hampshire, parents of Governor John Taylor Gilman, Nicholas Gilman, of the United States Senate from 1805 to

The new inhabitants referred the Governor of the province, Jonathan Belcher; the provincial treasurer, Mr. Foye; Col. Joseph Gooch, James Smith, Thomas Hutchinson, and others. I presume this movement was caused in a great degree by the uncertain condition of the Massachusetts currency, which rendered real estate investments de- The Indian wars, and more sirable for capitalists. particularly the wars with our French neighbors, who possessed the present British provinces of Nova Scotia and Canada, - wars precipitated upon the New England colonies by the complications of Huropean politics rather than any direct cause of quarrel between the contending parties, - had involved the province in great indebtedness, which was followed by the usual expedients of paper promises. The precious metals had entirely vanished, and the whole scription of the wedding. His father died in 1717, having been many years member of the Council, and Jonathan is immediately chosen to fill his place, inherits his fortune, and invests largely in lands in Western Massachusetts and Connecticut. About the year 1727 he purchased a considerable landed property here of Thomas Holman and Samuel Kinsley Soon after this he was sent to England, as agent of the province, to adjust

In his absence occurred the death of Governor Burnet, at Boston; and Belcher, being in London, obtained the appointment of Governor of Massachusetts, and arrived at Boston His administration continued eleven years, and needs no comment, as it is a part of the provincial history. He soon began his improvements here, built his house, and laid out his grounds, much under the supervision of Col.

of servants and equipages, and entertaining much company from abroad.' His public duties prevented him from spending much time here, and the management of his property devolved mainly upon his son pect of further depreciation was in full view. None of these parties continue among us by their posterity at the present day, but their improvements are still rich merchant of Boston, was born there in 1681. He was educated with care, and graduated at Harvard College in 1699. chief hope of his father, after leaving college he trav- eled abroad, and spent six years in visiting various parts of Kurope, and during this time made the acquaintance of a young Hanoverian prince, who afterwards became king of England as George II., a circumstance which influenced Belcher's subsequent fortunes.' He came home, and busied himself' in his father's mercantile operations. In 1706 he married the daughter of William Partridge, Lieutenant- Governor of the provinces of Massachusetts and New Hampshire, who then resided at Piscataqua, now

1 At this time he formed an intimacy with Dr. Isaac Watts, the poet, with whom he kept up a continued correspondence till the death of the latter, in 1748.

Governor Belcher was removed from his office in 1741, principally by the influence of a powerful party, known as the Land Bank projectors, whose schemes of ten or twelve years. He was the founder and promoter of Princeton University in that State, and President Burr preached his funeral sermon, wherein his virtues are highly exalted, and his valuable services in relation to the institution fully stated. His son Andrew continued in occupation of the family

2 Governor Belcher seems to have had no dislike to a little parade, although he is usually described as a very humble Christian gentleman. He came from England in the ' Blandford" frigate, his expected arrival having previously been announced, and great preparations made at Boston for his reception. Dr. Isaac Watts, the poet, an intimate friend of Belcher, wrote an ode of some ten verses on the occasion, which was printed in the News-Letter. I recollect two lines of them, which I saw in a newspaper many years ago.

"The Governour's Negro Juba haying absented himself, it is desired whoever may find him would convey him home. He had on when he went away a Gold laced Hat, a Cinnamon coloured Coat, with large flat brass Buttons, and cuffed with red Cloth, a dark coloured Waste-coat edged with a worsted Lace, leather Breeches, yarn Stockings, a pair of trimmed Pumps, with a very large pair of flowered Brass Buckles." property in Milton many years, and often represented the town in the Legislature; he died here in 1771." In 1776 the Belcher house was burned. It was then occupied by the two Mrs. Belchers, - the Governor's widow, an elderly lady, and Andrew's widow, much younger, - both without children. They took refuge during the winter with their friend, Mrs. Forbes, then living at Brush Hill. Madam B. died soon after, and the younger lady returned to England. The estate then passed into the hands of John Rowe, Esq., a large capitalist of Boston.

Mr. William Foye bought his property here of the Daniels family, in 1728. He was a native of Boston, son of a Huguenot Frenchman, was about fifty years of age when he came here, and had before employed himself in commerce.

ing part of Governor Belcher's term. He died here about 1759, at an advanced age, leaving a widow and daughter, both of whom lived to a great age; also a son William, noticed among the college graduates.

Mr. Foye's granddaughter, Miss Mary Cooper. Col. Joseph Gooch came to Milton, from Braintree, about the year 1740. He bought land of the Miller lived here some thirty years. him I have seen is in the diary of President John Adams (no friend of Gooch, certainly), being part of a letter written to Jonathan Mason. Gooch," he writes, 'a native, I believe, of Boston, had a considerable property, and was reputed to be very rich. He had been educated at the Temple, in

1 His second son, Jonathan, graduated at Harvard College in 1728, went to England and studied law at the Temple, resided some years in England, and afterwards served as Governor and chief justice of Nova Scotia, where he died in 1776.

tion, both in military and civil departments. He interceded with the favorites of Governor Shirley, in this place, to procure him the commission of colonel in the regiment of militia, and an election for representative of the town in the General Court. He promised to build a steeple to their church at his own expense. Assiduous importunity was employed with the Governor to procure him the command of the regiment, but this could not be obtained without cashiering the colonel then in possession. Col. John had been nearly twenty years Speaker of the House, and many years member of the Council, and was as much esteemed and respected as any man in the Province. He was not only an experienced and venerated statesman, but a man of letters, taste, and sense. Governor Shirley was prevailed on, with great difficulty, to perform the operation of dismissing so faithful a servant of the public, and adopting one of so equivocal a character, and he said, some years afterwards, that nothing he had ever done in his administration had given him so much pain as removing so venerable a magistrate and officer as Col. Quincy. But the church party had insisted upon it so peremptorily that he could not avoid it, - probably he dreaded their remonstrances to the Archbishop of Canterbury. These facts were current at the time Gooch was appointed colonel and Quincy dismissed.

Thomas Hutchinson, the last provincial Governor of Massachusetts, was long an inhabitant of Milton, and, until the political storm which preceded the Revolution began, was held in great esteem by all his He was the son of Col. Thomas Hutchinson, a rich merchant of Boston, of great liberality and public spirit, and many years of the Council. Thomas (2d) was born in 1711, was carefully educated, and graduated at Harvard in 1727. At first he employed himself in mercantile business, but soon wearied of this pursuit, and betook himself He was first chosen a member of the House of Representatives in the year 1737, and selectman of Boston in 1738. About this time, 1739, his father died, leaving him an am- He had married Miss Margaret Sand- In 1740 he was employed to go to England upon public business three of which he filled the Speaker's chair. He was distinguished for eloquence and industry in the House, and soon acquired extensive influence. He was appointed chief justice of the colony and Lieutenant-Governor. Governor Bernard left the colony in 1769, and the duties of Governor then devolved upon Mr. Hutchinson. He received the commission of Governor the following year, and held this office until 1774, when he embarked for England, leaving his native land forever.

the house now occupied by the Russell family, and resided there a large part of the time for thirty years. He was very fond of rural pursuits, especially gardening, and, being active in his habits, was often seen helping his gardener in removing plants and grafting trees, and his social habits led him into friendly relations with most of the inhabitants. After.the mob invaded his house in Boston, in 1765, he spent most of his time here.

Among his personal effects, confiscated and taken from his house on Milton Hill, which were conveyed to Col. Taylor's barn and sold publicly, were foand a from England, three years after he left here, wherein he says, " I have advantages here beyond most of the Americans, but I prefer nata/e solum to all other, and yet hope I may settle peaceably again at Unquety Hill. I hope to live to see not only my Milton neighbors, but the people of the province in general, convinced that I have ever sincerely aimed at their true interest, ete."

James Smith bought, in 1734, of the heirs of Samuel Trescott, George Sumner, and others, several tracts of land at Brush Hill, adjoining the Dorchester Church lands, and built his house (the same now occupied by J. M. Robbins), and made many expen- Smith was a large capitalist of Boston, at that time about forty-six years of age, and had made great additions to his fortune by the business of refining sugar. His sugar-house stood next below Brattle Street Church, in Boston, and was the building occupied by Dalrymple's regiment in 1769 and 1770, known in history as Smith's or Murray's barracks, whence Capt. Preston's company proceeded to State Street at the massacre of March 5th. He lived at Brush Hill most of the time for thirty-five years. His wife, who survived him, was Miss Elizabeth Murray, a Scotch lady of the Philiphaugh family in Selkirkshire. He died in 1769. Drake, in his " History of Boston," has the following notice: "On the 3d of August, Mr. James Smith died at his seat at Brush Hill, Milton, at the were sold by the finder to the State of Massachusetts for fifty pounds, and now are bound in several large folio volumes at the State-House (said to been discovered by the purchaser of some feather beds, in which they were concealed).

Governor Hutchinson was accused of grasping and monopolizing public offices; but his nomination as chief justice was made at the solicitation of most of the prominent lawyers of the province, and his judicial career was highly successful, as he had, it was said, a remarkable power in clearly stating cases to finer in Boston, and his remains were brought into town and buried from the house of James Murray, Esq., in Queen Street." In the Boston Gazette of Feb. 4, 1769, is the following: " Last Thursday was married at Brush Hill (seat of James Smith, Esq.), in Milton, Rev. Jno. Forbes, of St. Augustine, to Miss Dolly Murray, daughter of Hon. James Murray, Ksq., of Boston." Mr. Murray was the brother of Mrs. Smith, and resided some thirty years in Carolina as a planter, and was a member of the Council the commission of Governor, on account of the approaching troubles, and finally yielded to the solicitations of the ministry, who kept the place vacant, waiting his decision.

surviving daughters, afterwards Mrs. Forbes and Mrs. KE. H. Robbins. Mr. Smith gave his whole property to his widow, who married Mr. Ralph Inman, of Cambridge, in 1771, on which oceasion she gave her Milton prop-

Oxenbridge Thatcher, Jr., who has already been alluded to, in speaking of his father, merits further notice. Born at Milton in 1720, he graduated at Harvard College in 1738, and studied law with Jeremiah Gridley, attorney-general of the province ; estaba ee lished himself at Boston, and rose to distinction in his profession very soon. He was gentle in his manners, but very eloquent. and was one of the early movers in the Revolutionary struggle, although his life ended before his views were

Samuel Swift, second son of Col. Samuel Swift, of Milton, was born here in 1715; graduated at Cambridge in 1735, and many years practiced law in Boston. President Adams speaks of him often in his diary. He says, in 1766, "' Spent the evening at Sam. Adams' very socially with brother Swift." Again, in 1812, in a letter to William Wirt, who was writing the life of Patrick Henry, he says, " Among the illustrious men who were agents in the Revolution must be remembered the name of Samuel Swift." He died at Boston, in 1775, I believe unmarried.

Nathaniel Tucker, youngest son of Capt. Samuel Tucker, of Scotch Woods, was born there in 1725, and graduated at Harvard in 1744. He studied for the ministry, and settled in New Jersey, where he married, and very early died, in 1748. He had a posthumous son, Nathaniel, born in 1748, who, with his mother, came to Massachusetts not long after. The widow became the wife of Samuel Davenport, of

Boston in 1716, was graduated at Harvard in 1735, went to Nova Scotia before his father's death, where his relative, Jonathan Belcher, afterwards chief justice, was settled. He became colonel of militia, and provost-marshal of Halifax, which office he held twenty-two years. He died there in 1771.

Joseph Gooch, the only son of Col. Gooch, was born in 1728, and graduated in 1747. After his father's death, Dr. Pierce says, he moved to Vermont, where he devoted his life to agricultural pursuits, and died there in 1811, aged eighty-three.

which circumstance occasioned an entire change in his career. He applied himself to study, entered college at an advanced standing, and graduated in 1737. Robert Auchmuty, the eminent judge and admiralty lawyer, befriended him, instructed him in his profes- He soon rose to eminence, and took the first rank in his

He figured in law and politics about John Adams, in describing the court before whom was argued the case of " Writs of Assistance," by Otis and Thatcher, thus describes Pratt: '" In a corner of the room must be placed wit, sense, imagination, genius, pathos, reason, prudence, eloquence, learning, science, and immense reading, hung by the shoulders on two crutches, covered with a cloth great-coat, in the person of Mr. Pratt." of New York, where his consummate ability secured him the esteem of all parties. He died there in 1763, aged fifty-four. In 1755 he purchased one hundred and fifty acres of land at Milton Hill, and erected the house recently taken down by Mr. Brooks. His short and busy life left little time to enjoy his Milton property. His only child, Isabella, married Samuel Welles, of Boston, whose family held the property some seventy years.

very eventful era of Massachusetts history, and the occurrences of that time essentially affected this town. It embraced the Seven Years' war, known with us as the old French war, ending in the treaty of Paris in 1763. Then followed the long agitation preceding the Revolution, which ended by the occurrence at Lexington, the Fort Sumter of the Revolution. Then the long and bloody struggle, which ended at the treaty of Versailles in 1783, acknowledging the national independence, followed by the period of exhaustion of five years, which preceded the adoption great family of civilized nations. During this period of thirty years the town added nothing to its material wealth and very little to its population, the whole in- There the town. ning held large tracts of unoccupied lands in the western counties of Worcester, Hampshire, and Berkshire, made large grants to soldiers and to the heirs of those fallen in the Indian and French wars, and also large These regions were filled up by made upon our population by the wars with the French. Massachusetts was regarded by England as a sort of Switzerland, where men were raised to fight the battles of others. Levies of five or six thousand members among the victims of these struggles. When Governor Bernard called for a levy of six thousand men to accompany Lord Howe to Ticonderoga in 1758, a country representative is reported efits derived to Great Britain from the loyalty of the Colonies, and from the efforts of this Province in particular, which, for more than a century past, has been wading in blood and laden with the expenses of repelling the common enemy, without which efforts Great Britain at this day would have no Colonies to defend." concerns. exhibited by the colonies in the recent struggle showed that the child had attained adult age, and might set up for himself. It was not altogether the small stamp tax upon deeds and bills of exchange, nor three pence a pound duty on tea, that occasioned the discontent. There were deeper causes than these at work, although they furnished our orators with fine materials for agitation. A long list of grievances was embodied in the famous Suffoik Resolutions, adopted in a county convention holden at Milton, in the house of Daniel Vose, Sept. 9, 1774, said to have been drawn up by Dr. Joseph Warren.

enough are forthcoming, and the provincial treasurer can furnish paper promises without stint. Joseph Vose was chosen colonel of this district militia regiment in November, 1774. On the 27th of May, 1775, after the affair at Lexington, Col. Vose collects, in Milton and Dorchester, a posse of fifty or sixty men, rushes down the harbor and burns the lighthouse, destroying all the hay at Nantasket and on the islands, much to the annoyance of Gen. Gage, who, besides twelve regiments of soldiers, had some thousands of horses to feed in the town, entirely surrounded by provincial troops.

Col. Vose was soon appointed lieutenant-colonel in the Twenty-fifth (Greaton's) Regiment, employed in the siege of Boston till the evacuation of the town He was then ordered to Canada, under Gen. Thomas, where the year was passed. In the spring of 1777 his regiment joined Washington's army in New Jersey. Col. Vose returned home sick, in charge of the surgeon's mate, and after some weeks, having entirely recovered, returned to the army, and

Col. Vose served faithfully all the war, was present at the siege of Yorktown and the surrender of Cornwallis, October, 1781, and in the corps of Lafayette, who writes to Washington in commendation of Col. After the peace he returned home, exchanged the sword for the plow-

Col. Vose had three brothers in the army. His younger brother, Elijah, attained the rank of lieutenant-colonel, and served during the war with credit.

The military spirit of Col. Vose has been revived in the two succeeding generations of his family. Col. Josiah H. Vose, his youngest son, entered the United States army before the war of 1812, and after a creditable military career of thirty-four years, died in command of his regiment at New Orleans, in 1845, at the age of sixty-one years. Edwin Vose Sumner, son of Elisha and Nancy (Vose) Sumner, grandson of Col. Joseph Vose, was a major-general during the late rebellion ; was born in 1796, spent his early youth in Milton, entered the army in 1819. He rendered bril-

Job Sumner, son of Seth Sumner, of Brush Hill, was an undergraduate of Harvard College in 1775. When the operations of the university were disturbed by the presence of Washington's army at Cambridge, "he laid aside his books and procured a lieutenant's commission in Col. Bond's regiment, and remained in the army through the war. He had attained the rank of major at the peace, and continued in the military service of the general government until his death, in 1794, which took place on board a packet-ship from Charleston to New York, where he was buried with much ceremony by the Freemasons, of which fraternity he was a prominent member, and also of the Cincinnati Society. memory may be seen in Trinity churchyard, Broadway, New York. He was grandfather of the late Senator Sumner.

and sometimes more. Seventeen young men belonging to the town graduated at Harvard College during the last fifty years of | They all became respectable |

John Miller, son of Samuel Miller, Jr.,and Rebecca (Minot) Miller, of Milton; born at Milton in 1733; graduated at Harvard College in 1752; minister of Brunswick, Me., 1762. He died on a visit to Boston, Jan. 25, 1789, traveling for his health.

of the Revolution, and filled the office of judge of probate for Hampshire County many years, until He was a member, from Milton, of the convention which formed the Constitution of Massachusetts in 1779 and 1780.

Edward Hutchinson Robbins, eldest son of Rev. Nathaniel Robbins, was born at Milton, Feb. 19, 1758, where he passed his childhood. He was benefited by the instructions of Dr. Jeremy Belknap, who taught school at Milton two years after leaving col- He was partially fitted for college by Dr. Lemuel Hayward, who also kept a grammar school some time at Milton. He entered college in 1771, in his spectably in 1775, occupying a room with his townsman, Thomas Thatcher, afterwards minister of Dedham, with whom he continued an intimacy until the death of the latter in 1813. The last year of his college life was somewhat interrupted by the affairs at Lexington and Charlestown. After leaving college he kept school at Dorchester for a year. In 1776 caster, and commenced the study of the law. He remained a year at Lancaster, and in 1777 removed to Bridgewater, and continued his studies with Oakes

Josiah Badcock, son of Nathan Badcock, was born at Milton in 1752; graduated at Harvard in 1772; settled at Andover, N. H.; ordination in 1783; sermon by Rev. B. Wadsworth. Died in 1851. He retired from the desk twenty years before his death, and lived quietly on his farm.

Samuel Henshaw, son of Samuel, Jr.,and Waitstill Henshaw, was born at Milton in 1754; graduated at Harvard College, 1773 ; married Sarah, daughter of Nathaniel Swift, 1777. he subsequently married a daughter of the Rev. John Hunt, of the Old South Church. Mr. studied for the ministry at first, but relinquished that calling, and removed to Northampton about the close at Milton. sent his native town in the convention which formed the He was the youngest member of this body, which contained nearly all the prominent men of the State, many of whom were his friends through much of his afterlife. He continued the practice of law at Milton till 1785, during four years of which time he represented the town in the Legislature. He enjoyed the confidence of the community, and his professional business increased so much that he removed his office to Boston, where all the courts of law for this sectionwere then held. In November, 1785, he married Miss Elizabeth Murray, who had been a resident of Milton for some years previously, and purchased the Gooe estate at Milton Hill, where he resided nearly twenty years, till he removed to Brush Hill in 1805, which became his residence for the remainder of his life. His habits were active, and he began to weary of the confinement of professional life, and soon employed himself much with other pursuits. He was among the early purchasers of the commonwealth's lands in Maine, and was much occupied in settling and improving the lands, a subject of great interest to him all his life. In 1792 he was again chosen to represent the town of Milton in the Legislature, and continued to be re-elected ten years in succession, in nine of which he occupied the Speaker's chair. How well he performed the duties and sustained the honor of that station is too well known to need any mention. His extraordinary exercise of memory and promptness in recollecting the persons and character of the members in the duties of appointment, his knowledge of parliamentary rules, and the local interests of the commonwealth, became proverbial, and were a great facility to the public business. During this period much of his time was employed in other public He was one of the commissioners for build-

Senate, but the county of Essex urged the necessity of a practical merchant for the place, and the Senate made choice of Mr. Goodhue, a merchant of Salem, whereupon Mr. Robbins at once withdrew his name.

He was frequently employed in the service of the State in responsible places, such as mewber of the Board of War in 1812, commissioner for treating with the Eastern Indians, and for the management of Hastern lands, and filled the place of judge of probate for Norfolk County some seventeen or eighteen years. He never sought public office, and never occupied any place of profit, but was often selected for places requiring judgment and integrity by the appointing power. property, and faithfully executed many responsible trusts, but left no wealth behind. He belonged to the Federal school in politics, but was no zealous partisan ; firm in opinion, prudent in action, endowed

Rufus Badcock, son of George and Ruth Badcock, born at Milton in 1755; graduated at Harvard College in 1775. His death occurred in a Southern State, where he was employed in teaching, in 1793.

Thomas Thatcher, son of Oxenbridge Thatcher, was born at Milton in 1757, and graduated at Cambridge in 1775. He was settled at West Dedham, and died in 1813, aged fifty-six. He was an eccentric man, of studious habits, unmarried, lived a retired life within his own parish, and was somewhat occupied in teaching. He was a member of the State convention to discuss the United States Constitution. He and his colleague, Fisher Ames, represented Dedham. 'This instrument, now regarded as the sheetanchor of our liberties, balanced in a state of uncertainty in the convention many weeks, and finally, in a House of three hundred and fifty-five, was adopted by the small majority of nineteen votes only.

Jesse Tucker, son of Jeremiah Tucker and his wife Mary (Wadsworth) Tucker, was born at Milton in 1758; graduated at Harvard College, 1778, and studied medicine with his kinsman, Dr. John War- He served with Capt. Manly as a surgeon in a public armed ship, was attacked by fever on the cruise, of religion and education, long a member of the Milton Church and of various associations for the diffusion of gospel truths. 'To his personal efforts was mainly due the establishment of the academy in his native town. In his domestic relations the cheerful kindness of his nature was especially conspicuous. His death, which occurred Dee. 29, 1829, at the age of seventy-two, was greatly lamented by his friends and neighbors.

Jeremiah 8. Boies, son of Capt. James Boies, of Milton, born in 1762; graduated at Harvard College, 1783; was occupied in his father's business of papermaking ; married Miss Hannah Clark in 1785. His father died in 1798, aged ninety-six, and bequeathed a handsome estate to his son. Mr. Boies became one of the earliest cotton manufacturers of Massachusetts,

Nathaniel Johnson Robbins, second son of Rev. Nathaniel Robbins, was born at Milton in 1766, and graduated at Harvard College in 1784. He occupied his short life in commercial pursuits, traveling much abroad, and died at Milton in 1799, aged thirty-three, from the effects of a liver disease contracted in the British West Indies. person, and left a lasting impression upon the memory

John Murray Forbes was the son of Rev. John Forbes, a Scotch clergyman, who was stationed at St. Augustine while the colony of Florida was in pos- Mr. Forbes, the father, was married at Milton in 1769, to Miss Dorothy Murray, the daughter of James Murray,

Esq. J. Murray Forbes was born at St. Augustine, - and came to Milton with his mother in 1773 ; was fitted for college by Dr. Samuel Kendall, of Weston ; graduated in 1787 in the class with John Q. Adams | and James Lloyd; studied law with John Sprague, | of Lancaster, and Pliny Merrick, of Brookfield, and began his professional career at Northfield in 1791. Afterwards he moved to Boston, and, associated with C. P. Phelps, practiced law in 1794-95. He was employed to go to France on business in 1796, and - spent most of his life abroad ; received the appoint- | ment of consul to Hamburg, 1801; chargé d'affaires at Copenhagen, 1810; minister to Buenos Ayres, 1820, and remained there till his death, in 1831. He

He was a gentleman of fine quali- | ties, and his protracted residence in foreign countries was held a great privation by numerous friends at | home.

Solomon Vose, son of Col. Joseph Vose, was born | at Milton in 1768, and graduated at Harvard College | in 1787; studied law with Hon. Levi Lincoln, of Worcester, and commenced practice at Northfield, - Franklin Co., which town he frequently represented - in the State Legislature, and in 1805 he removed to Augusta, Me., where he died, much respected, in > 1809. |

Roger Vose, son of Robert Vose, of Milton, born | in 1763, and graduated at Harvard College; studied | law, and settled at Walpole, N. H., where he was in | practice many years. He served two terms as member - of Congress from that district. His death occurred | in 1841, when seventy-eight years of age.

Charles Pinckney Sumner, son of Job Sumner, - was born at Milton in 1776; graduated at Harvard in 1796; studied law, and practiced his profession in He served fifteen or twenty years as sheriff of the county of Suffolk, and died in

Her records are filled with the noble sentiments of her citizens, ever fired with the most patriotic ardor ; ever ready to show their faith by their works, and to let their light shine before men. 'They were pioneers in the cause of freedom. Other communities might hesitate, the men of Milton never !

'' He was narrow-minded, self-willed, jealous of his royal prerogative, and envious of others' greatness, resenting all difference from his wishes on any public measure as a personal offense against the King."

June 9, 1756, war was declared against England by Louis XV. the Seven Years' war, and known on this continent as the French and Indian war, ended Feb. 10, 1763.

March 10, 1764, Grenville, then Secretary of State, proposed to pay a portion of the expenses of the war then closed by taxation of the American colonies.

October 24th of that year (1765) our forefathers assembled, and the following record of their doings on that day, we think, needs no further explanation :

"At a Town Meeting legally warned and heid at Milton on thursday the 24" day of October 1765. 1* William Tucker Esq was chosen Moderator. 2" 'ly, the question was put whether the Town would instruct their present Representative respecting the Stamp Act, and it past in the affirmative. Voted: to choose a Committee to draw up instructions, Accordingly, Doct Sam! Gardner Dea Benjamin Wadsworth, and Lieut Jazaniah Tucker, were chosen, who withdrew and after a short time returned with the following Instructions, which the Town Unanimously Accepted, and voted that they be recorded in the Towns book, and an Attested Copy thereof be by the Town Clerk delivered to Stephen Miller Esq. our present Representative."

War Of The Revolution By H. B. Martin

BY H. B. MARTIN. Few are the towns in which can be gleaned more interesting history in regard to matters relating to the Revolutionary period than in the town of Milton.

| stances to which this Country must be soon reduced by the execution of the Stamp Act unless by some means relieved: we think proper in the present distressed conjunction of affairs to give you the following Instructions,

{st That you promote and readily join in representing our Grievances to the King and Parliament in a suitable manner, and if Redress may be easily obtained it will be most acceptable to us; yet as the distress threatened must (if not prevented,) bring Slavery and Ruin, we expect you to promote and consequences what it will. justice of a tax where we are not Represented, the sum that even the Distributors of the Stamps would have for their trouble, according to the best calculation that has been made, would be insupportable for us to pay in addition to our Annual Expenses and the great Debis that we have contracted in the could have even been heard by our Agent, we can't suppose that such an Immoderate Tax would have been laid on us, if it had been just to lay any: but if British Subjects in America are and may not be allowed Trial by their own Peers, which by this Act we understand is the ease, they are as Distant from the Liberty of Englishmen as are the Slaves in Turkey.

Offenders may be found out and brought to justice, and that restitution may be made by them and their Accomplices, if they have Estates sufficient, to the persons who have suffered by them. and we could wish that persons who desire to conceal such Offenders were obliged to make satisfaction in their stead, and if there are not Laws already Sufficient for Restraining such Disorderly persons we desire that you use your endeavors that

Majesties Subjects in this Province, may have their Lives and properties secured, if they may be thought worth securing after the Stamp Act takes place.

"3rdly, We expect that you Enquire by what Authority or whose advice it was that the Public money was appropriated for Raising Soldiers, without the consent and in absence of the General Court." gated ; sworn officials were subjected to great indignities, insulted in every way possible (some tarred and feathered, and hung in effigy); the mob sacked and destroyed private houses and pillaged them.

"Milton Oct 2224 1766., At a meeting of the Freeholders, and other Inhabitants of the Town of Milton, qualified as the Voted: Whereas the Inhabitants of this Town have taken under consideration the clause in the warrant, respecting the sufferers in the Month of August 1765, in the Town of Boston.

"With the utmost Abhorance of any such Unjustifyable Proceedings by persons unknown, committed on the property of divers of our fellow subjects, a loss too much for any Individuals to bear in Civil Society, and it not being in their power to prevent ; - In Dutyfull respect to his Majesties Request, in Humanity and Generosity towards those Gentlemen who have suffered, that on the Application of such Sufferers to the General Assembly in a parliamentary way, the Representative of that such Losses be made up and paid out of the Public Treasury, and that those persons who were Aiding and Assisting in Destroying the Property of Individuals in the Town of Boston, in the year 1765, Contrary to Law and Equity, should be brought to Justice, and Suffer accordingly."

August, 1768, the merchants and traders of Boston entered into an agreement not to import goods from Great Britain after Jan. 1, 1770, and made a further

Consequently exports from England fell off to such an extent that English merchants were seriously injured. Lord North, perceiving this, proposed the removal of duties from all articles except tea.

Oct. 4, 1769, a town-meeting was held in Boston, when was promulgated that noted document prepared by Samuel Adams, entitled an '' Appeal to the World," wherein he says, '' We should yet be glad that the ancient and happy union between Great Britain and this country might be restored, but our rights are invaded, and until the Revenue Acts are A// repealed, the cause of our just complaints cannot be removed."

"Voted: that the Thanks of this Town be given to the Merchants and Gentlemen of the Town of Boston, who have exerted themselves in so Spirited a manner for the Preservation of the Liberties of America ; - That this Town will Exert their Utmost Endeavor to Support those Gentlemen while exercising their feeble efforts, (so called by their Enemies) to Preserve the Liberties of this Province; That this Town will never Purchase of; or have any Communication with, those persons that Import goods contrary to the Agreement of Merchants of the Town of Boston, until they have given full Satisfaction to those merchants and gentlemen that they have treated with so much Indignity; That this Town will prevent, (to the utmost of their power) the use of India Tea, Discountenancing its use in any one (except where it may be thought necessary for Health,) until the Revenue Acts, so much and so justly complained of shall be Repealed." the people of the province, and contrary not only to the charter, but to the fundamental principles of common law, among which was one making the salaries of the Governor and the judges to depend upon | a royal stipend, the inhabitants of the town of Boston held a town-meeting in the fall of that year (1772), and after passing resolves respecting the grievances under which they suffered, the patriot leader, Sam. Adams, stood up and made that celebrated motion which it was said " gave visible shape to the American revolution." The record says, - nists, and of this province in particular, as men and Christians, and as subjects; and to communicate and publish the same to the several towns, and to the world, as the sense of this town, with the infringements and violations thereof that have been made."

The motion passed by a nearly unanimous vote; a committee was appointed; the work to be done was divided between them; Adams was appointed to prepare a statement of the rights of the colonists; Warren, of the several violations of those rights; and Church was to draft a letter to the other towns.

'"* At a meeting of the freeholders and other inhabitants of the town of Milton, on Monday, the 4th day of January, 1773: 1st, the town made choice of Capt. Lemuel Bent for their moderator; 2dly, voted, to adjourn the meeting to Friday, the 8th instant.

a committee of five men to draw up instructions to give their representative; accordingly, Mr. John Adams, Col. William Taylor, Dr. Samuel Gardner, Capt. David Rawson, and Mr. Daniel Vose were chosen for said purpose.

" At a town-meeting in Milton, upon adjournment from Friday, the 8th day of January, 1773, to Thursday, the 14th instant, the committee chosen on the 8th instant to draw up instructions to their representative report as follows, viz.:

"Sir: We have heard read the Letter of Correspondence from the Town of Boston, with their proceedings, and find many Grievances there justly complained of; too many to be enumerated here; but recommend that Pamphlet to your perusal.

" Whoever seriously considers the conduct of Administration, both at home and here, can hardly Entertain a Doubt, that a plan is formed to subvert this Constitution: First, the British Parliament making an act to raise a Revenue without the consent of the people by themselves or their Representatives, is a Grievance of the first magnitude.

"Again: the great difference made between the trial of Subjects here and at home, in the ' Act for securing his Majesties dock yards, and other Naval stores,' is a very great Grievance.

that they be made as Independent as possible of the Crown and the people ; and furthermore we recommend and Enjoin you, to use your Interest and Influence in the House of Representatives as far as is consistent with the Rights of this people, to Petition his Majesty, &c. to remove all Grievances we labor under, and in the mean time in all our Difficulties and distresses, we depend upon your steadiness, prudence and Firmness: and that you give not up one jot or tittle of our Rights, but dispute every

We now come to the year 1774; every peaceable method known or thought of had been tried to induce Great Britain to give the colonies their just rights; their love for the mother-country was still warm in their breasts; they hated the thought of separation ; the glory of Britain was their glory, but they could not, would not, be her abject slaves. Still in their hearts lingered a remembrance of the Britain of the olden time, and a hope that justice might yet be done. And so the people of Milton once more met, resolved once again to try and obtain relief for the wrongs under which they suffered ; once more in a lawful way to state their grievances and to scek redress ; peacea-

And here is the record of their doings; a record which needs not the encomium of any man, for it is a record the masterly drawing of which it may truthfully be said that it may have been equaled, but never was excelled.

Philadelphia, and two months previous to the passage of the famous " Suffolk Resolves," clearly showing, as was before stated, that in freedom's cause the men of Milton were pioneers.

"Voted: To choose a Committee of five persons to consider and determine upon some proper measures for this Town to come into respecting the situation of public affairs, and that said Committee be enjoined to set forthwith, and report as soon as may be.

"Voted: That said Committee be chosen by a written Vote: accordingly Capt David Rawson, Mr Ralph Houghton, Amariah Blake, Mr Oliver Vose, and Dea Joseph Clap were chosen as said Committee.

'A paper was read wherein the late General Court recommend to this town to raise, collect, and pay to the Hon. Thomas Cushing, of Boston, the sum of £1 18s. 10d. as their proportion of the sum of five hundred pounds, according to the last province tax, to enable the committee for this province - who are to erate and determine upon proper measures to be by them recommended to the colonies for the recovery and establishment of their just rights and liberties, and the restoration of union and harmony between

"We the Inhabitants of Milton, acknowledge George the Third to be our rightful Monarch; we feelingly Declare ourselves to be his true and loyal Subjects, and next to the Horrors of Slavery, we detest the thought of being separated from our Parent State: we have been wont to glory in our connexions with our Mother Country; our Hearts have been ever warm with filial affection, and we are ready and willing on all proper occasions to spend our Blood and Treasure in defence of his Majesties Crown and Dignity : - and we are Equally ready and willing to spend our ALL, in Defending our own religious and civil Liberties when invaded by any human Power ;

" We have been taught from our Mothers breasts, that our Freedom is a Jewell of Inestimable Value; that 'one day, one hour, of Virtuous Liberty, is worth a whole Eternity of Bondage ;' that Free Government supposes that the conduct of affairs

"Accordingly we claim a right, especially in times of Public Trial, freely to speak against and Zealously to oppose any Measures, by whomsoever adopted, which are aimed at the Destruction of our Constitutional Liberties; which alter our good and ancient Usages, and which are designed to make us Slaves, for such measures are base and wicked, and ought to be resisted.

"The Destruction of a free Constitution of Government though men see or fancy many defects in it, (whatever they design or pretend,) ought not to be thought of without horror, for the design is in itself unjust, since it is romantic to suppose it legal : it cannot be prosecuted without the most wicked means, nor accomplished but with the present ruin of Liberty, religious as well as civil, and whoever will thoroughly consider in what degree mankind are really influenced by reason, and in what degree by custom, may be convinced that the state of human affairs does not even admit an equivalent for the mischief of setting things afloat, and the dangers of parting with those Se-

** But in defiance of the Laws of God and society: in direct Violation of Sacred Compact, the British Parliament have assumed a power to alter and destroy our free Constitution of Civil Government, and to introduce any species of oppression

: eis ° : | when assumed by any set of men, unless they have infinite Wis- Great Britain and the colonies - to discharge the im- | zi Oe eae : ee dom to direct, and infinite Goodness to stimulate them to a righteous conduct is a dictate of common-sense, and whether these are predicable of the present British Parliament let God's intelligent creation judge ! - And being clearly of opinion that to withstand such Assumed Power, and to oppose in a regular way the Oppressive measures which are carrying into execution by such Power, is a Duty we owe to God, to ourselves, and to unborn millions ; -

"We therefore RESOLVE, that we will unite with our 3rethren, 'The Sons of Freedom in America,' in any proper measures that may be adopted to defeat the late cruel and oppressive Acts of the British Parliament respecting America, and this Distressed Province in particular: to extirpate the idea of Tyranizing which is so fondly fostered in the bosoms of those in power, and to secure to ourselves and to Posterity our invaluable Rights and Priviledges, as it is the most Peaceful, but as Committees from the several | Colonies on this Continent are soon to meet and ' to deliberate and determine upon some wise and proper measures for the recovery and Establishment' of American Liberties; and as we doubt not but the Wisdom of America will fix upon such right- | eous measures as will Eventually prove not only the Salvation | of this Extensive Continent, but also the Permanent Dignity of © Great Britain,

"We therefore RESOLVE, to commit our cause under God, to them, and to adopt such Righteous measures as shall be by them recommended to the Colonies as necessary to regain and | secure our free Constitution of Government.

"We return our sincere thanks to the Town of Boston for their indefatigable and noble Exertions in the cause of Freedom : and beg them still to watch upon the walls of our Jeru- | salem, and not to be weary in well doing.

"Voted: That said Report be read paragraph by paragraph, and the accepting or not accepting each paragraph to be put to vote separate; accordingly said report was read, and each and

"Voted: That Capt David Rawson, Col William Taylor, Dr Samuel Gardner, Amariah Blake, and Mr Ralph Houghton, bea Committee to correspond with the Committees of Correspondence in the Towns through this Province and through America, as Occasion may require.

"Voted, That the Committee send a letter to the Committee of Correspondence for Boston, thanking them for their Public spirit, and noble Zeal for the weal of America.

"Voted, That the Town Clerk send an attested copy of the transactions of this Town respecting Public affairs to the Committee of Correspondence for Boston."

With this record the space in this work allotted to Milton is full, which we regret, as the next record in chronological order would be an account of the passage of the famous " Suffolk Resolves."

These resolves, drawn up and presented by Gen. Joseph Warren, were read several times, and unanimously adopted, paragraph by paragraph, at a convention of delegates of every town and district in the county of Suffolk (embracing at that time the territory now known as the county of Norfolk), held at the house of Mr. Daniel Vose, in Milton, on Sept. 9, 1774. They were forwarded to the Continental Congress then in session at Philadelphia, upon receipt of which, Sept. 18, 1774, they were then read, creating the wildest enthusiasm. (For copy of these resolves, see Frothingham's "' Life of Warren.) Many other items of interest relating to Milton in the Revolutionary era could be adduced did space allow.

Chapter Lxiyv

Ecclesiastical History - The First Congregational Society - The First Evangelical Society - The Second Evangelical Society - Lower Mills Baptist Church.

eighteen trustees, probably every church member or freeman in the town," and eight years later (1672) a meeting-house had been built, during the incumbency of Rey. Thomas Mighill, of Rowley, whose eight years of service closed here in 1677, and he settled That early church building," of which no known trace remains, stood not far from here, near where Mr. William P. Blanchard now resides, corner of Centre Street and Vose's Lane.

Previously to its erection, religious services had been held in the eastern part of the town, under the conduct of Rey. Joseph Emerson. the currency worse than it is to-day, and poor Mr. Emerson, not " passing rich"' on fifty-three pounds - or one hundred and seventy-five dollars

"At a town meeting the last day of September 1670 it was agreed by the towne vote that ther should be a convenient meeting-house for the townes use built neare about Goodman Vose his loked barre, & also that the old meeting house should be repaired to meet in this Winter and Seargeant Blake, Seargeant Rob'. Badcock, Seargeant Sam. Wadsworth, Thom Swift, Antony Golliford and Robert Tucker was chosen by the towne to see the old house repaired as soon as they can and tu geat the new one built in one yeers time if they can."

The following votes show how the cost of the new meetinghouse was provided for: '' Upon a training-day the 224 of Oct. 1670 it was agreed by a vote of the Train Band and several other that were present that 6 acres of the Town Land should be Cleared of the Tim and wood to By nails & Glass for the new meeting-house."

The meeting-house was to be paid for by the proceeds of the wood from the above six acres. The town levied a rate of (fifty pounds) £50 towards the erection of the building. Each man could pay his share of that rate by cutting and hauling a portion of the wood to the town landing. Laid on the town landing it was reckoned at one shilling and three pencea cord! On Jan. 10, 1670/1, the town voted that if the 6 acres wood do not suffice to pay for the meeting-house, so much more shall be allowed out of the land "as will pay all the Rats for that building." which his people were too poor to raise, " made shift to live without embarrassment" by being " passed about from one parishioner to another," his marriage, difficulties arose, and, called to Mendon, he left the town in 1669. Not until the 24th of . > - : ae 7 fe April, 1678, was a church organized. The '" principal inhabitants were members of the Dorchester or Braintree Churches." But on that day, solemn services being held in the meeting-house at Dorchester, Governor Leverett being present, but the rain and snow keeping away many of the magistrates, " by the edging our owne unworthynesse, of such a priviledge, or of y® Least of god's mercys, & likewise acknowledging our owne disability, to keep Covenant, with God, or to performe any spirituall duty, w° hee calleth us unto, unlesse, y° Lord Jesus doe inable, thereunto, by his spirit dwelling in us. Doe, In y® name of Christ Jesus our Lord, & in trust & confidence of his free grace assisting us: Freely Covenant & bind our selues, solemnly, in y® presence of God hims. his holy Angells, & all his servants here present, y* wee will by his Grace assisting, Indeavour constantly to. walk together as a right ordered, Congregation of Christ, according to all y® holy rules of a Church body: rightly Established, so farre as wee doe already know it to be our duty ; Or shall further vnderstand it out of gods holy word: Promising first & aboue all, to give up ourselues & our ofspring unto y® Lord, God father son, & Holy-Ghost, y® only true and liueing God, & to Cleave unto him as our cheife & only Good, and unto

The names to this covenant are Anthony Newton, member of Dorchester Church; Robert Tucker, member of Weymouth Church; William Blacke, member of Dorchester Church ; Thomas Swift, member of Dorchester Church ; George Sumner, member of Dorchester Church ; Thomas Holman, admitted by covenant; Ebenezer Clap, member of Dorchester Church ; Edward Blacke, member of Second Church, Boston ; George Lion, admitted by covenant ; James Tucker, admitted by covenant; Ephraim Tucker, admitted by covenant; Manassah Tucker, admitted by covenant.

For about two years they gathered around Rev. Samuel Mann, of Wrentham, driven thence by the Indian war, and afterwards returning to his people. Then came their own first minister, ' the never-to-beforgotten" Peter Thacher, of whom, fifty years later, Cotton Mather says, "The precious flock at Milton obtained this gift of our ascended Saviour." Sixand-forty years, from 1681 to 1727, he labored here, and "made his flight' hence to "the comfortable poseing, unto y® utmost of our chh power y* Contrary. And | the same authority, "he fed his flock with two serlastly wee doe hereby Covenant & promise, to further unto y¢ tion, by mutuall Instruction, reprehension, Exhortation, Consolation, & spirituall watchfulnesse, over one another, for good; & to be subject in & for y® Lord, to all y° Administrations & Censures, of y® Chh, soe far as y® same shall be guides according to ye Rules of gods most holy word in a way of order peace & vnion; with all promising to walk orderly in a way of fellowshipe, & Communion with all y® Chhs of Christ among us according to Rule. yt y® Lord may be one & his name one in all y® Chhs.

seventy-seventh year. A man he was of uncommon gifts and acquirements, descendant and progenitor of a race of ministers, - '' his grandfather was an eminent preacher at Old Sarum,' - and well fitted for the central position of influence assigned at that time in Massachusetts to the minister. He seems to have been physician to his people's bedies as well as to their souls, spending, Says Cotton Mather, "in medicines, it may be some scores of pounds, and a great part of his yearly salary, which he freely bestowed ' ay, it may be,

He for years preached to the Indians at Punkapaug, "a monthly lecture, & furnished himself with skill in their Sesquipedalian language," says Cotton Mather, 'that he might be able to do it." 'On y° Lord's days," says lecture. "He often gave his presence at the private meetings of his neighbors, who met in course at one another's houses for agreeable devotions. Among these he took a special cognizance of, and had a special affection to, the societies of his dear YOUNG MEN, and always manifested a very great joy to see his children walking in the truth ; and as great a care that they might none of them in which the long services of worship and fast, ordination and council, were held, sometimes lasting, especially those of ordination and installation, through a large part of the day, - no hint of the solitariness, © rudeness, and danger of the ways through which the > brave worshipers thronged to the house of public worship, on foot, on horseback; in wet weather, in | ox-carts; on snow-shoes or sledges in winter; and - whose very difficulty enhanced the sweetness and preciousness of the service and society of the house of God. for college, not a few of whom made a mark 'in the history of New England. How he could stand it Mather answers by referring to bis " travels" and " the exercise, than which the medicina gymnastica never prescribed a better. Thus, our ancient Peter held out so well, that even when he was old, he could gird So Peter perhaps the poorest of Milton's present dwellers would eall hard, but so richly and faithfully that, as Cotton Mather says, he and his people '"' were so far from

" Lamentabie animosityes & divisions,''* as this fine brave soul calls them, had caused him to hesitate about accepting the "unanimous, frequent & affectionate calls' which the Milton people gave him, and reappear. A new and larger meeting-house was needed, and where to put it was a disputed question, - not finally settled till after many town-meetings and The town no

| = _ the time of his death, twelve years later (1727), he had _admitted two hundred and fifty-three. The Lord's | Supper was administered by him for the first time here* in 1681, June 19th, to "about fourscore communicants." This would imply a pretty large con- In the same period, on the other hand, he had "attended the departure of all the founders " most of them long-lived men and bequeathing longevity to their children, and, better than that, a character and quality simple, strong, and _ serviceable. The new church was not built till the year after his death. It stood near the road, in front of the spot now occupied by this Milton Church. Its size was fifty feet by forty, and twenty-eight high, with a belfry, in which the townmeeting of April 3, 1729, voted to place "a bel" to weigh three and one-half hundred-weight " orose"' (three hundred and ninety-two pounds), the expense to be raised by "supscription." The sound of that little '"'church-going bell" might well be as modest and diffident as that of the gentle and beloved parson John Taylor's voice, whose tones floated up into its vibrations. The town voted him liberty to cut timber in the ministerial land* - of which it had two hundred acres set apart for the support of the ministry, etc. - to build him a house; also that he shall have first choice of a place to build a pew for the ministry in the new meeting-house, and that his pew be built by the town. It was further voted that those _ who "draw pus shall sit in them themselves with so many of their family as conveniently can sit with them, and the rest of their family to be seated with the rest of the town."

_ In that meeting-house Mr. Taylor labored through the most of his ministry. Ordained Nov. 13, 1728, he died Jan. 26, 1749-50, "after above twenty-one years eminent service in y° ministerial office in y* Town of Milton." His strength _ seems to have lain in his gentleness and worth rather than in self-assertion. A man apparently of real-eul- _ ture, by his contemporaries held " remarkable for his high rank in the republick of letters," he is described by Dr. Chauncy as "an agreeable, pleasant companion, and a friend that might be depended upon," but so shrinking that he would seldom preach from home, and would allow nothing of his to appear in print.

Mr. Thacher's private diary by Mr. McKean. He adds that the second celebration of the Lord's Supper took place July 24th, after five weeks, and the third September 4th, after six weeks.

£ The town records of Oct. 21, 1728, contain a vote in townmeeting '' that there should be wood cut in y® land needful for fire at Mr. Taylor's ordination." For what purpose this fire

At his death Dr. Chauncy, by his orders, committed all his papers to the flames. him as "rather an agreeable than a great man, rather pretty and delicate in his sentiments and expressions than strong and nervous. not the strongest. Few were more universally beloved while they lived, and lamented when dead among those of their acquaintance." |

During his ministry Deacon Manasseh Tucker, the last of the original twelve who founded the church, died, April 9, 1743. The church took the occasion, that earlier generation having passed away, on the sixty-fifth anniversary of its formation, to renew their " Coy' with God & one another, which They did accordingly,' says Parson Taylor, '" April 24", when the members of the C"® Male & Female manifested their Consent to their Fathers Cov' by standing up while I read It over with a small Variation as the Change of Circumstances required."

A long and honorable service was his, - rundeath, May 19, 1795, - a period heaving with the agitations of the Revolution. Mr. Robbins was a patriot. At the battle of Lexington, fought when he was fifty years of age, two of his brothers were in He seems to have been eminently a man of affairs, and in 1788 was sent by the town to the convention which adopted the five hundred pounds, or two hundred and fifty dollars, per annum, and twenty-five cords of wood. bought land and built him a house and gradually acquired a considerable farm, - now owned by Col. H. S. Russell, - which doubtless was a faithful friend to him, as well as an abode of hospitality to many others in those distressful days. Then he showed rare tact putes. refused to call any man master on earth, or to sacrifice truth to prevailing opinions, however conducive to popularity, to consideration, and consequence. Such candor and liberal principles were the more deserving such a spirit and temper were not common." So, in preaching, "plain and pathetick ;" in prayer, apt and easy ; in charity, so large and just that he would not allow even the good in bad men to be forgotten ;