characteristic energy, activity, and promptitude, it is probable that
he had begun to clear[i.56] it. In agriculture, as in every thing else,
he gave a decisive impulse. It is stated that he had a particular
design to attempt the culture of hemp. He introduced many implements of
labor, and started new methods of improvement. He disclosed to the
producer of agricultural growths the idea of raising what the land was
most capable of yielding in abundance, in greater quantities than were
needed for local consumption, and finding for the surplus an outside
market. He is allowed to have introduced the coasting and foreign trade
on an intelligent and organized basis, and to have promoted
ship-building and the export of the products of the forests and the
fields generally to the Southern plantations, the West Indies, and even
more distant points. If he had remained longer in the country, the
farming interests, and the settlers in what was afterwards called Salem
Village, within which his tract was situated, would have felt his great
influence. As it was, he undoubtedly did much to inspire a zeal for
improvement. His town residence was on the south-western corner of
Essex and Washington Street, then known as "Salem Corner," where the
office of the Horse-railroad Company now is. The lot was a quarter of
an acre. Roger Williams probably had resided there, and sold to Peters,
who was his successor in the ministry of the First Church, and whose
attorney sold it to Benjamin Felton, in 1659. The range of ground
included within what are now Washington, Essex, Summer, and Chestnut
Streets, and extending to the South River, as it was before any[i.57]
dam or mills had been erected over or across it, was a beautiful swell
of land, with sloping surfaces, intersected by a creek from near the
foot of Chestnut Street to its junction with the South River under the
present grade of Mill Street. To the south of the corner, occupied
successively by Roger Williams and Hugh Peters, Ralph Fogg, the Lady
Deborah Moody, George Corwin, Dr. George Emory, Thomas Ruck, Samuel
Skelton, Endicott, Pickering, Downing, and Hathorne, each had lots,
extending in order to the foot of what is now Phelps Street. Most, if
not all of them, had houses on their lots. Elder Sharp had what was
called "Sharp's Field," bordering on the north side of Essex Street,
extending from Washington to North Streets. His house was at the north
corner of Lynde and Washington Streets. Edmund Batter, Henry Cook, Dr.
Daniel Weld, Stephen Sewall, and Edward Norris, were afterwards on his
land. Hugh Peters also owned the lot, consisting of a quarter of an
acre, on the north-eastern corner of Essex and Washington Streets, now
occupied by what is known as Stearns's Building, and was preparing to
erect a house upon it when he was sent to England. His attorney sold
it, in 1652, to John Orne, the founder of the family of that name.
The daughter of Mr. Peters came over to America shortly after his
death, bringing with her her mother, who, for many years, had been
subject to derangement. They were kindly received; and some of his
property, particularly a valuable farm in the vicinity[i.58] of
Marblehead, which the daughter sold to the American ancestor of the
Devereux family, was recovered from the effect of his attainder. She
probably soon went back to England, where she spent her days. Papers on
file in the county court show that Elizabeth Barker, widow, "daughter
of Mr. Hugh Peters," was living, in March, 1702, in good health, at
Deptford, Kent, in the immediate vicinity of London, and had been
living there for about forty years.
In consequence, perhaps, of the intimate connection between Mr. Peters
and the family of John Winthrop, Jr., the name of the latter is to be
added to the cluster of eminent men who, at that time, were drawn to
reside in Salem. He was here, it is quite certain, from 1638 to 1641,
if not for a longer period. There are indications of his presence as
early as March of the former year, when he was appointed with Endicott
to administer the freeman's oath to his uncle Downing. On the 25th of
the next June, he had liberty to set up a salt-house at Royal Neck, on
the east side of Wooleston River. There he erected a dwelling-house and
other buildings, as appears by the depositions of sundry persons in a
land suit about thirty years afterwards, who state that they worked for
him, and were conversant with him there for several years. His first
experiments and enterprises in the salt-manufacture, which he
subsequently conducted on a very extensive scale in Connecticut, were
performed at Royal Neck. His daughter, the widow successively of
Antipas Newman and Zerubabel Endicott, in the suit just
men[i.59]tioned, recovered possession of that property, comprising
forty acres, with the buildings and improvements. In 1646, John
Winthrop, Jr., accompanied by a brother of Hugh Peters, Rev. Thomas
Peters from Cornwall in England, began a plantation at Pequot River;
and Trumbull, in his "History of Connecticut," says that "Mr. Thomas
Peters was the first minister of Saybrook." The fortunes and families
of Hugh Peters and John Winthrop, Jr., seem all along to have been
linked together.
Downing, Read, and Peters, three of the original planters of Salem
Farms, were drawn back to England and kept there by the engrossing
interest which the wonderful revolution then breaking out in that
kingdom could not but awaken in such minds as theirs. Here and
everywhere, a great check was given to the early progress of the
country by the turn of the tide which carried such men back to England,
and prevented others from coming over. If the Parliament had not
attempted to arrest the usurpations of the crown at that time, and the
Stuarts been suffered to establish an absolute monarchy, the eyes and
hearts of all free spirits would have remained fixed on America, and a
perpetual stream of emigration brought over, for generations and for
ever, thousands upon thousands of such men as came at the beginning.
The effects that would have been thus produced in America and in
England, in accelerating the progress of society here, and sinking it
into debasement there; and thereby upon the fortunes of mankind the
world[i.60] over, is a subject on which a meditative and philosophical
mind may well be exercised.
But, although these men were lost, others are worthy of being
enumerated, in forming an estimate of the elements that went to make
the character of the people, a chapter in whose history, of awful
import, we are preparing ourselves to explore.
Francis Weston was a leading man at the very beginning. In 1634, with
Roger Conant and John Holgrave, he represented Salem in the first House
of Deputies ever assembled. His land grant was some little distance to
the west of the meeting-house of the village. He must have been a
person of more than ordinary liberality of spirit; for he
discountenanced the intolerance of his age, and kept his mind open to
receive truth and light. He did not conceal his sympathy with those who
suffered for entertaining Antinomian sentiments. He was ordered to quit
the colony in 1638. For the same offence, his wife, who probably had
refused to go, was placed in the stocks "two hours at Boston and two at
Salem, on a lecture day." Weston, having ventured back, five years
afterwards, was put in irons, and imprisoned to hard labor. But, as he
stood to his principles, and there was danger to be apprehended from
his influence, he was again driven out of the colony.
Richard Waterman came over from England in 1629, recommended to
Governor Endicott by the governor and deputy in London. He was a noted
hunter. "His chief employment," says the letter introducing[i.61] him
to Endicott, "will be to get you good venison." A land grant was
assigned him near Davenport's Hill. But he, too, had a spirit that
resisted the severe and arbitrary policy of the times. He became a
dissenter from the prevalent creed, and sympathized with those who
suffered oppression. In 1664, he was brought before the court,
condemned to imprisonment, and finally banished. Weston and Waterman
subsequently were conspicuous in Rhode-Island affairs. While residing
in the village, the latter probably devoted himself to the opening of
his land, and the pursuit of game through the forests. I find but one
notice of him as connected with public affairs.
For some years, the settlements were necessarily confined to the shores
of bays or coves, and the banks of rivers. There were no
wheel-carriages of any kind, for transportation or travel, until
something like roads could be made; and that was the work of time. A
few horses had been imported; but it was long before they could be
raised to meet the general wants, or come much into use. Every thing
had to be water-borne. The only vehicles were boats or canoes, mostly
the latter. There were two kinds of canoes. Large white-pine logs were
scooped or hollowed out, and wrought into suitable shape, about two and
a half feet in breadth and twenty in length. These were often quite
convenient and serviceable, but not to be compared with the Indian
canoes, which were made of the bark of trees, wrought with great skill
into a beautiful shape. The birch canoe was an admirable
struc[i.62]ture, combining elements and principles which modern naval
architecture may well study to imitate. In lightness, rapidity, freedom
and ease of motion, it has not been, and cannot be, surpassed. Its
draft, even when bearing a considerable burden, was so slight, that it
would glide over the shallowest bars. It was strong, durable, and
easily kept in repair. Although dangerous to the highest degree under
an inexperienced and unskilful hand, no vessel has ever been safer when
managed by persons trained to its use. The cool and quick-sighted
Indian could guide it, with his exquisitely moulded paddle, in perfect
security, through whirling rapids and over heavy seas, around headlands
and across bays. The settlers early supplied themselves with canoes, by
which to thread the interior streams, and cross from shore to shore in
the harbors. One great advantage of the light canoe, before roads were
opened through the woods, was, that it could be unloaded, and borne on
the shoulders across the land, at any point, to another stream or lake,
thus cutting off long curves, and getting from river to river. The
lading would be transported in convenient parcels, the canoe launched,
loaded, and again be floated on its way. Canoes soon came into
universal use, particularly in this neighborhood. Wood, in his
"New-England's Prospect," speaking of Salem, says, "There be more
canowes in this town than in all the whole Patent, every household
having a water horse or two." It was so important for the public safety
to have them kept in good condition, that the town took the
matter[i.63] in hand. The quarterly court records have the following
entry under the date of June 27, 1636:—
"It was ordered and agreed, that all the canoes of the north side of
the town shall be brought the next second day, being the 4th day of the
5th month, about 9 o'clock, a.m., unto the cove of the common landing
place of the North River, by George Harris his house—And that all the
canoes of the south side are to be brought before the port-house in the
South River, at the same time, then and there to be viewed by J.
Holgrave, P. Palfrey, R. Waterman, R. Conant, P. Veren, or the greater
number of them. And that there shall be no canoe used (upon penalty, of
forty shillings, to the owner thereof) than such as the said surveyors
shall allow of and set their mark upon; and if any shall refuse or
neglect to bring their canoes to the said places at the time appointed,
they shall pay for said fault 10 shillings."
The names of the men associated with Waterman prove that he was ranked
among the chief citizens of the town. The austere manners of the age,
among communities like that established here; the exclusion, at that
time, by inexorable laws, of many forms of amusement; and the general
sombre aspect of society, kept down the natural exhilaration of life to
such a degree, that, when the pressure was occasionally removed, the
whole people bounded into the liveliest outbursts of glad excitement.
It was no doubt a gala day. Ceremony, sport, and festivity, in all
their forms, took full effect. The surveyors performed their functions
with the utmost display of authority, examined the canoes with the
gravest scrutiny, and affixed[i.64] their marks with all due formality.
A light, graceful, and most picturesque fleet swarmed, from all
directions, to the appointed rendezvous. The harbor glittered with the
flashing paddles, and was the scene of swift races and rival feats of
skill, displaying manly strength and agility. It must have been an
aquatic spectacle of rare gayety and beauty, not surpassed nor equalled
in some respects, when, more than a century afterwards, the "Grand
Turk" or the "Essex" frigate was launched, or when Commodore Forbes,
still later, swept into our peaceful waters with his boat flotilla. It
was the first Fourth of July ever celebrated in America.
Thomas Scruggs was an early inhabitant of Salem; often represented the
town as deputy in the General Court; was one of the judges of the local
court, and always recognized among the rulers of the town. In January,
1636, he received a grant of three hundred acres on the south-west
limits of its territory. The next month, an exchange took place, which
is thus recorded in the town-book of grants: "It was ordered, that,
whereas Mr. Scruggs had a farm of three hundred acres beyond Forest
River, and that Captain Trask had one of two hundred acres beyond Bass
River, and Captain Trask freely relinquishing his farm of two hundred
acres, it was granted unto Mr. Thomas Scruggs, and he thereupon freely
relinquished his farm of three hundred acres." This brought Scruggs
upon the Salem Farms, between Bass River and the great pond, Wenham
Lake. The real object in making this arrangement was to advance a
project which the lead[i.65]ing people of Salem at that time had much
at heart. They were very desirous to have the college established on
the tract relinquished by Scruggs. What would have been the effect of
placing it there, in the immediate neighborhood of the sea-shore, in
full view of the spacious bay, its promontories, islands, and
navigation, is a question on which we may speculate at our leisure. The
effort failed: Captain Trask and Mr. Scruggs had done all they could to
accomplish it, and gave their energies to the welfare of the community
in other directions. From the little that is recorded of Scruggs, it is
quite evident that he was an intelligent and valuable citizen. The
event that brought his career as a public man to a close proves that
his mind was enlightened, liberal, and independent; that he was in
advance of the times in which he lived. When the bitter and violent
persecution of the celebrated Anne Hutchinson, on account of her
Antinomian sentiments, took place, Mr. Scruggs disapproved and
denounced it. He gave his whole influence, earnestly and openly,
against such attempts to suppress freedom of inquiry and the rights of
conscience. He, with others in Salem, was proscribed, disarmed, and
deprived of his public functions. He appears to have been suffered to
remain unmolested on his estate, and died there in 1654. He had but one
child, Rachel; and the name, as derived from him, became extinct. The
inventory of his property is dated on the 24th of June of that year.
The items mentioned in it amount to £244. 10_s._ 2_d._
Consider[i.66]ing the rates of value at that time, it was a large
property. At the same date, an agreement is recorded by which his
widow, Margery, conveys to her son-in-law, John Raymond, all her real
estate, upon these conditions: She to have the use of her house during
her life, the bedding, and other "household stuff;" and he to pay her
five pounds "in hand," twenty pounds per annum, and five pounds "at the
hour of her death." This was an ample provision, in those times, for
her comfort while she lived, and for her funeral charges. I do not
remember to have found this last point arranged for, in such a form of
expression, in any other instance.
William Alford was an early settler. He was a member of the numerous
and wealthy society, or guild, of Skinners, in the city of London, and
probably came here with the view of establishing an extensive trade in
furs. He received accordingly, in 1636, a grant of two hundred acres,
including what was for some time called Alford's Hill, afterwards Long
Hill, now known as Cherry Hill. It is owned and occupied by R.P.
Waters, Esq. Alford sympathized in religious views with his neighbor
Scruggs, and with him was subjected to censure, and disarmed by order
of the General Court. He sold his lands to Henry Herrick, and left the
jurisdiction.
One of the most enlightened, and perhaps most accomplished, men among
the first inhabitants of Salem Village, was Townsend Bishop. He was
admitted a freeman in 1635. The next year, he appears on the list of
members of the Salem Church. He was one[i.67] of the judges of the
local court, and, almost without intermission from his first coming
here, a deputy to the General Court. In 1645, as his attention had been
led to the subject, he conceived doubts in reference to infant baptism;
and it was noticed that he did not bring forward a child, recently
born, to the rite. Although himself on the bench, and ever before the
object of popular favor and public honors, he was at once brought up,
and handed over for discipline. The next year, he sold his estates, and
probably removed elsewhere. He appears no more in our annals. Where he
went, I have not been able to learn. It is to be hoped that he found
somewhere a more congenial and tolerant abode. It is evident that he
could not breathe in an atmosphere of bigotry; and it was difficult to
find one free from the miasma in those days.
Five of the most valuable of the first settlers of the village—Weston,
Waterman, Scruggs, Alford, and Bishop—were thus early driven into
exile, or subdued to silence, by the stern policy on which the colony
was founded. It is an error to characterize this as religious bigotry.
It was not so much a theological as a political persecution. Its
apparent form was in reference to tenets of faith, but the policy was
deeper than this. Any attempt to make opposition to the existing
administration was treated with equal severity, whatever might be the
subject on which it ventured to display itself.
The men who sought this far-off "nook and corner of the world,"
crossing a tempestuous and dangerous[i.68] ocean, and landing on the
shores of a wilderness, leaving every thing, however dear and valuable,
behind, came to have a country and a social system for themselves and
of themselves alone. Their resolve was inexorable not to allow the
mother-country, or the whole outside world combined, to interfere with
them. And it was equally inexorable not to suffer dissent or any
discordant element to get foothold among them. Sir Christopher
Gardner's rank and title could not save him: he was not of the sort
they wanted, and they shipped him back. Roger Williams's virtues,
learning, apostolic piety, could not save him; and they drove him into
a wintry wilderness, hunting him beyond their borders. It was not so
much a question whether Baptists, Antinomians, or Quakers were right or
wrong, as a preformed determination not to have any dissentients of any
description among them. They had sacrificed all to find and to make a
country for themselves, and they meant to keep it to themselves. They
had gone out of everybody else's way, and they did not mean to let
anybody else come into their way. They did not understand the great
truth which Hugh Peters preached to Parliament, "Why," said he, "cannot
Christians differ, and yet be friends? All children should be fed,
though they have different faces and shapes: unity, not uniformity, is
the Christian word." They admitted no such notion as this. They thought
uniformity the only basis of unity. They meant to make and to keep this
a country after their own pattern, a Congregational, Puritan,
Cambridge-[i.69]Platform-man's country. The time has not yet come when
we can lift up clean hands against them. Two successive
chief-magistrates of the United States have opened the door and
signified to one-eighth part of our whole people, that it will be best
for them to walk out. So long as the doctrine is maintained that this
is the white man's country, or any man's, or any class or kind of men's
country, it becomes us to close our lips against denunciation of the
Fathers of New England because they tried to keep the country to
themselves. The sentiment or notion on which they acted, in whatever
form it appears, however high the station from which it emanates, or
however long it lasts in the world, is equally false and detestable in
all its shapes. It is a defiant rebellion against that law which
declares that "all nature's difference is all nature's peace;" that
there can be no harmony without variety of sound, no social unity
without unlimited freedom, and no true liberty where any are deprived
of equal rights; that differences ought to bring men together, rather
than keep them apart; and that the only government that can stand
against the shocks of time, and grow stronger and dearer to all its
people, is one that recognizes no differences of whatever kind among
them. The only consistent or solid foundation on which a republic or a
church can be built, is an absolute level, with no enclosures and no
exclusion.