in 1779, that Captain John O’Brien removed to Newburyport,
Massachusetts; and his brothers, Dennis and Joseph, soon after followed
him to the same village in Newbury township. In Newburyport, the three
brothers jointly engaged in mercantile and commercial pursuits.
On the 21st of September, 1779, Captain John O’Brien and Miss Hannah
Tappan, daughter of Richard Tappan, were united in marriage. They had
first met during a previous visit of Captain O’Brien to Newburyport. It
is said that Miss Tappan was at first attracted to Captain O’Brien
because of what she had heard of his highly meritorious connection with
the capture of the “Margaretta”; in her eyes he was, therefore, a hero.
In Newburyport, Captain and Mrs. O’Brien moved in the best society of
the place; his reputation as a prominent character in connection with
the Revolution, and his upright, manly bearing, opening to him the
avenues of entrance to society. As a full-dressed gentleman of the
period, he is said to have made a very fine appearance. One of Captain
John O’Brien’s descendants, a grandson, thus speaks of his ancestor: “In
the olden times, when my grandfather was in his prime, his ships visited
the Indies, and the rich owners lived in stately mansions and made a
great display of style in dress and manner. The gentlemen of fashion
almost outdid the ladies in the neatness of their attire. I have in my
possession some articles of dress worn by my grandfather when he lived
in Newbury; they answer to the description given by the historians of
the time of the brilliant appearance which a full-dressed gentleman must
have made in a social party. A long blue coat, with ample pockets and
silver buttons; a white satin vest, of capacious dimensions; velvet
breeches reaching to the knees and fastened there by silver buckles;
silk stockings and buckled shoes; ruffles in the bosom, and at the
wrists, and a richly embroidered scarf around the neck—all this gorgeous
array presents a striking contrast to the studied simplicity of a
gentleman’s dress in our day. Later in life, my grandfather laid off
some of this finery; but he retained his ‘small clothes’ and knee
buckles and silk stockings to the last.
During the summer of 1780, Captain John O’Brien and his brother Joseph
built in Newburyport a vessel intended for the privateer service. She
was named the “Hannibal,” and was to carry twenty-four guns and have a
crew of one hundred and thirty men. On her first cruise, to Port au
Prince, San Domingo, she was commanded by Captain John O’Brien; he
captured several important British prizes.
After the capture of the “Hannibal,” while in command of Captain
Jeremiah O’Brien, by the British,[26] late in 1780 or early in 1781,
Captain John O’Brien and a few others built in Newburyport another
vessel for the privateer service, which was named the “Hibernia.” She
was a small vessel, but a splendid sailer. The “Hibernia” carried six
three-pound guns. Of this vessel Captain John O’Brien took command
(Captain Jeremiah O’Brien was then on board the prison ship Jersey, at
Wallabout Bay). Captain John O’Brien inflicted great damage upon British
shipping with the “Hibernia.” On his first cruise, which lasted less
than four weeks, he captured three brigs, a ship and two schooners from
the enemy. During this cruise O’Brien met with a sixteen-gun British
ship of war, with which he engaged in a fight lasting nearly two hours.
From this evidently unequal encounter he escaped with the loss of three
killed and several wounded. One of the wounded men on board the
“Hibernia” had an arm shattered by a cannon-shot from the enemy. The
surgeon on board, instead of proceeding to amputate the arm, stood
trembling, afraid to undertake the operation. The wounded man was
rapidly bleeding to death. Captain O’Brien drew his pistol, and,
pointing it at the surgeon, said: “Do your duty, sir, or I’ll blow your
brains out!” The arm was speedily amputated, and the man’s life was
thereby saved.
As a result of a subsequent cruise in the “Hibernia,” Captain John
O’Brien brought into Newburyport eleven British merchant vessels, all
richly laden, out of a fleet of twelve with which he had fallen in off
the mouth of the Narrows, below New York.
Captain O’Brien, while cruising in the vicinity of New York, espied a
large vessel which he supposed was a British merchantman, and he at once
“bore down” upon the craft. Upon ascertaining that the vessel was a
British man-of-war, O’Brien immediately crowded on all sail, and,
suddenly altering the course of the “Hibernia,” ran from the enemy’s
vessel. The British man-of-war pursued the “Hibernia,” and as the former
was the faster sailer, she was rapidly gaining on the American
privateer. It was then nearly dusk. As soon as darkness settled down
upon the water, O’Brien ballasted a hogshead, set firmly in one side of
it a pole, at the top of which he placed a large, lighted lantern.
Lowering the hogshead into the water, O’Brien ordered an anchor cast;
the fog, by this time being so dense that the “Hibernia” could not be
discerned by the British man-of-war. The heavy muffled sound of booming
cannon was soon heard on board the American privateer. It proved to be
the enemy furiously bombarding the floating hogshead, which had been
taken by the British commander for the “Hibernia.” At length silence
reigned. When morning broke, the British man-of-war was nowhere to be
seen; the commanding officer no doubt congratulating himself upon the
destruction of O’Brien’s vessel.
“It has been said,” remarks a Machias friend of Captain O’Brien, “and is
doubtless in the main true, that the proceeds of the sales of the
vessels and cargoes captured by Captain John O’Brien during the
Revolution, contributed to the foundation of the fortunes of many of the
residents of Newburyport, into which they were brought.” Captain
O’Brien, upon delivering the captured prizes at the wharves or out in
the harbor, would say: “Here, boys, you take care of these, and I’ll go
out for more.” He evidently did not care so much for money as he did for
the opportunity of seeing the British flag come down.
“He had a heart as big as an ox,” is the estimate of Captain O’Brien
given by those well qualified to judge in the matter.
Of the home of Captain John O’Brien, in Newburyport, a granddaughter
says, in some papers left by her at her decease:
“Most of my childhood and youth was spent in the house of my maternal
grandfather. I loved my own home, my little flower bed, my dog, my
brothers; I reverenced my father almost to idolatry, and doted on my
sweet, indulgent mother, but I recollect no such expansion of feeling
as I always experienced at my grandfather’s. There was a life and a
movement in the family, a freedom just within the bounds of license,
and an overflowing joyfulness which suited my buoyant and eager
temper. His residence was in a large and pleasant seaport town in
Massachusetts; the dwelling, a handsome three-story house, stood on a
little eminence, withdrawn from the public road, and commanding from
the upper windows a delightful view of the town, the surrounding
country, and the distant sea.
“The house, in front, and at the ends appeared square, but on reaching
the rear it was perceived that the ends projected perhaps twenty feet
beyond the main body, leaving a deep recess which looked a little like
the interior court in eastern dwellings. This was a cool and shady
spot, the grass growing thick and green under foot, and all around the
three enclosed sides of the house, immense bushes of roses, white and
red, rich and fragrant enough for Paradise, climbed almost to the
chamber windows. Through the centre ran a narrow gravel-walk to a door
which opened opposite the large front entrance, and this arrangement
gave in summer a delightful draft, and made this little court one of
the pleasantest of retreats. A wooden platform, perhaps five feet
wide, ran the whole length of the rear, and here, in a sunny day, lay
old Bravo, that wondrous dog, who had gone through almost as many
adventures as his master, basking in the warm beams. Here, too, in a
warm afternoon, sat Uncle Joseph, that pleasantest of granduncles, in
his morning gown, with his pipe in his mouth, ready with his joke for
every passerby. I have good cause to remember him, for I was his pet
and plaything, and was teased and indulged for his amusement more than
was good for my temper.”
After the close of the Revolution, Captain O’Brien continued for several
years to reside in Newburyport. In command of his own vessels he visited
many ports, American and foreign; including Philadelphia, the West
Indies, Liverpool, London, France and Spain. During one of his visits in
London, he purchased some long silk stockings, such as were worn by
gentlemen at the time. On the voyage home he opened the package only to
discover that he had paid for a lot of stocking legs, minus feet. Being
in London a few months later, he made a second purchase of silk
stockings in the same store where the first lot had been purchased. The
English merchant did not recognize his customer. The price asked by the
merchant was very low for the quality of stockings offered. Taking
advantage of the low price asked, Captain O’Brien made a large purchase,
and laid the pay, in gold, on the counter. Upon seeing the merchant
about to take the stockings purchased, away, ostensibly to wrap them,
Captain O’Brien took the purchase from the counter, remarking, as he did
so: “Don’t trouble yourself, I’ll take them as they are”; and, to the
great disgust of the tricky Englishman, O’Brien at once left the store
with his purchase. The London merchant was outwitted by the Yankee
customer; for he intended to repeat the dishonesty of the first
transaction.
Captain John O’Brien was once challenged by a Frenchman to fight a duel;
the Frenchman having for some reason taken offense. The challenge was
accepted, and as the challenged party, Captain O’Brien chose as his
weapon, a cannon; and in accordance with the rules of duelling, he was
to have the first shot. Upon being informed of the weapon chosen by the
visiting Yankee, the Frenchman, hitherto so brave, was terrified, and
withdrew his challenge.
Having disposed of his cargo in a foreign port into which he had sailed,
Captain O’Brien went on board his vessel with the proceeds of the sale,
which was in gold. This he had placed in his capacious satin vest
pocket. During his absence on shore the crew of his vessel had formed a
plot to kill him when he came on board, and take from him, and divide
among themselves, the large amount of money they knew he would have
about his person. Captain O’Brien had no sooner stepped upon the deck of
his vessel than one of the crew, chosen for the work, struck him on the
head with a mauling spike. He fell, stunned, upon the deck. After taking
from his vest pockets the gold, several of the mutinous crew threw the
unconscious officer overboard. As he struck the water (this he
subsequently related), he partially recovered consciousness; but down,
down, down he went, until his feet touched bottom, when he gave an
energetic spring upward, and soon reached the surface. Having fully
recovered consciousness, he swam for his vessel, which was but a short
distance away. While Captain O’Brien was in the water the crew had
attempted to kill his brother, William, the first mate; but he had
escaped from his would-be murderers by seeking shelter behind one of the
big guns on board. Unseen by the crew, Captain O’Brien reached the deck
of his vessel, and immediately seizing a mauling spike, he rushed into
the midst of the mutineers, swinging the heavy instrument to the right
and left with tremendous vigor. Supposing Captain O’Brien to be an
apparition, as they took it for granted he had been drowned, the
mutineers became so thoroughly affrighted that they tumbled almost
headlong down the hatchway, hastily closing it after them. Captain
O’Brien, with the assistance of the first mate, at once securely
fastened the hatchway. He then went on shore and notified the civil
authorities of the mutiny of the crew, and of their attempt upon his
life, and that of his brother, William. The mutineers, twenty-five in
number, were arrested, tried, convicted and sentenced to death. Through
the intercession of Captain O’Brien, however, the sentence of death was
changed to banishment to a desert island. “My grandfather, though so
bold, was also tenderhearted,” said one of his descendants, “and could
not bear to have so many lives taken, especially as some of the crew
had, he believed, been dragged into the mutiny; so he interceded for
them with the government, and obtained a commutation of the penalty.”
“One day while in Madrid,” I now quote the words of a descendant, “he
(Captain O’Brien) visited a friend at his house; and when leaving,
toward evening, to return to the ship (the harbor was several miles from
the city), he was presented with a stout cane, an Irish shilelah, with
the remark that he might find it useful sometime for self-defense. My
grandfather accepted the cane, and, thanking his friend, went out to
hire a hack which should take him to the port. He passed along a row of
carriages, but no driver was willing to go out of the city at so late an
hour, till he reached the very last man of all. When asked whether he
would go, he glanced at the sun, now almost down, and intimated that he
would. He was a suspicious looking fellow, whom one would not care to
meet in a lonely place, but there was no choice. So he mounted the
carriage and was driven off. My grandfather was said to have never known
fear, and his courage stood him in good stead now. There was a partition
between the two men. When they were well out of the city, in the open
country, my grandfather observed the driver making a movement as if to
get nearer to him. Watching his chance, just as the fellow raised his
body, my grandfather planted his feet against the driver and pushed him
off the seat on to the ground. Then instantly jumping out, Captain
O’Brien stood directly over the prostrate and astonished driver, with
his stout cudgel in his hand, and exclaimed: ‘Now, get on that seat, and
drive me as I tell you, or I’ll knock your brains out!’ The wretch taken
by surprise, and perceiving that he had fallen into formidable hands,
dared not disobey. As the driver sprang to his seat, my grandfather
instantly followed him, holding over him his shilelah, ready to execute
his threat. When they reached the port, the sun was set. My grandfather
jumped off the carriage, threw some money upon the ground and went
aboard his ship.
“Some years after, he chanced to meet his friend, who expressed great
surprise at seeing him. ‘What, are you alive, Captain! When I learned
that you had left the city with that villain of a driver, I never
expected to see you again. It is notorious that he has killed many
persons under similar circumstances.’
“‘Thanks for your shilelah,’ said my grandfather, ‘which through a kind
Providence saved me from death. I shall always cherish it as a memento
of my friend, and for the good service it did me.’”
In the year 1820, Captain John O’Brien removed to Brunswick, Maine,
where he had purchased about twenty acres of land. Upon a portion of
this land he built a house, said to have been the finest in the place.
Here, Captain O’Brien resolved to spend the remainder of his days in
well-earned rest from a long, arduous and highly eventful public
career.[27]
Another grandson of Captain O’Brien thus speaks of the latter’s home in
Brunswick: “Without the slightest exaggeration I can say, that my
grandfather’s place was a ‘glowing rose-garden of rapture,’ a paradise;
and when its pearly gates now and then opened to let me in for a few
days’ visit, I was perfectly happy. When the time came to leave, though
I had a good home to go to, it was, I imagine, with some such feelings
as Adam had when he turned his back upon Eden, only that I had this
advantage over my unhappy progenitor, that I was not forbidden to return
some happy day. What a halo about that spot, to my youthful imagination!
There was no place like it in the world; how pleasant it lies in my
memory, with a brightness that has never faded.”
During his residence in Brunswick, Captain O’Brien used occasionally to
visit Machias, where his parents, and two brothers, Colonel Jeremiah,
and Gideon, resided. On one of the visits to Machias a daughter
accompanied him. As they were passing through a piece of dense, dark
woods, many miles from a human habitation, a man climbed into the rear
of the vehicle, for the purpose, evidently, of robbing Captain O’Brien.
Doubtless the would-be robber thought an aged man, such as his
prospective victim seemed to be, would be an easy case to deal with;
but, as he soon ascertained, appearances are often deceiving. Placing
the reins in the hands of his daughter, and instructing her to drive the
horse at a rapid speed, he stood up in the vehicle, and, reaching round
to the rear, he laid the whip on to the intruder with such great vigor
that he jumped to the ground, and was soon left far behind.
While a resident of Brunswick, Captain O’Brien, through the intercession
of Mr. Joseph Wheaton, a former Machias acquaintance, who then held a
position under the Government, at Washington, was appointed postmaster.
Mr. Wheaton, who it should be said, took part in the capture of the
“Margaretta,” thus writes Captain O’Brien, from Washington, with regard
to his appointment, as postmaster, at Brunswick; the letter was written
in 1823:
“I represented to him (Mr. Harris, of the House of Representatives) your
ardent zeal for the country in your youth, your manly conduct in the
affair you touched upon, relating to the Margaretta schooner and called
to his recollection that in that action we became pirates, traitors and
rebels, according to the laws of England at that time; that our success
(established) the necessity of manly resistance everywhere or the
consequences would have been more distressing than death—it would have
been universal slavery to all the people; that Captain Moore was the
first naval officer that fell in the Revolution; that your services had
been uniform and of the highest manly character, and that you were now
advanced in years and it would be most grateful to your feelings to
receive some token that you were not refused a small favor.”[28]
[Illustration:
HON. JAMES M. GRAHAM.
Of Springfield, Ill.
Member of Congress from his state and an earnest member of the
Society.
]
A grandson of the subject of this sketch thus describes the character of
his grandfather: “... my maternal grandfather developed a character in
which energy and decision were prominent qualities. It was said of him
later in life, that he never knew what fear was; but though possessed of
a strong will and prompt to exact obedience when in command, he had a
calm and reasonable temper and a gentlemanly bearing which gained for
him the respect and confidence of the community. He was not a man to
trifle with, neither was he a man to stand in dread of. He was just and
honorable in his treatment of others, and gentle to the young and
helpless.”
A most touching story is related concerning the burial of Mrs. John
O’Brien, with whom the captain had lived happily for nearly fifty years.
On the day of the funeral, held at his home, he was seen standing at the
foot of the flight of stairs, leading from their bedroom down into the
front hallway, as if he was waiting for some one to come down. For
several years it had been his custom, on Sunday morning, to thus stand,
and wait for Mrs. O’Brien to come down, to accompany him to the house of
worship in the village. For a moment, on the occasion above referred to,
he seemed to have forgotten that his wife was to be buried, and he was
watching for her to come down stairs to go with him, as usual, to the
village church. When he awoke to the fact that his beloved wife was that
day to be buried, he was well nigh overcome with grief. This was in
1826.
About six years later, on the 8th of May, 1832, Captain John O’Brien
died. He was then 82 years of age. He was buried in Brunswick, where his
remains now rest.
All honor to his memory!
* * * * *
The writer of this sketch wishes hereby to gratefully acknowledge his
indebtedness to Heman W. Chaplin, Esq., of Boston, for no inconsiderable
portion of the materials drawn from in its preparation.
THE DICKSON LETTERS.
In “The Dickson Letters,” compiled and edited by James O. Carr, Esq., of
the Wilmington, N. C., bar, appears a comprehensive sketch of the
Dickson family, and “An act to erect and establish an academy in the
County of Duplin,” the text of the act being as follows:
Whereas, the establishing an academy in the said County for the
education of Youth, will be attended with great advantages to the
State in general and the County of Duplin in particular:
1. Be it therefore enacted by the General Assembly of North Carolina,
and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the same, that Thomas
Routledge, James Kenan, Joseph Dickson, Thomas Gray, William Dickson,
David Dodd, John James, Israel Bordeaux and James Gillespie, Esquires,
be and they are hereby constituted and appointed trustees with full
power and authority to receive into their hands and possession all
monies and other property which have been or hereafter may be
subscribed for the purpose of erecting an academy on the lands lately
purchased of Nicholas Hunter in said County, by name of Grove Academy;
and the said trustees and their successors shall be able and capable
in law to ask for and demand, receive and possess of the several
subscribers all sums by them respectively subscribed, and in case of
refusal of any of them to pay the same, to sue for and recover by
action of debt or otherwise, in the name of the trustees, the sum
which such person so refusing shall have subscribed, in any
jurisdiction having cognizance thereof; and the monies when collected
and received, to be applied by the said trustees or a majority of them
towards paying for the lands already contracted for, and erecting
thereon a suitable and convenient house, to contract with and employ a
tutor or tutors, and to perform every act or thing that they or a
majority of them shall think necessary and expedient for the
advancement of the said academy and the promotion of learning therein.
2. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, that the
trustees hereinbefore mentioned, shall, previous to their entering on
the execution of the trust reposed by this Act, give bond to the court
of the County, payable to the Chairman and his successor, in the sum
of One Thousand Pounds specie, with condition that they shall well and
faithfully account for and apply all gifts, donations, bequests and
monies which they may receive of and by virtue of this act for the
purposes aforesaid.
3. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, that if any
of the trustees by this Act appointed shall die, refuse to act or
remove away that he cannot attend the duties of his appointment, the
remaining trustees may appoint another in his stead, who shall
exercise the same powers as trustees appointed by this Act: and when
met together within the said County shall have power and authority to
elect and constitute one or more tutor or tutors, and a treasurer, and
also to make and ordain such rules and regulations, not repugnant to
the laws of this State, for the well ordering of the students, their
morals, studies and academical exercises, as to them shall seem meet;
and to give certificates to such students as shall leave said academy,
certifying their literary merit; in general they shall or may do all
such things as are usually done by bodies corporate and politic, or
such as may be necessary for the promotion of learning and virtue; and
the said trustees, or a majority of them are hereby empowered, and
shall have lawful authority to remove the tutor or tutors, treasurer
or any of them if they shall find it necessary, and on the death,
resignation or refusal to act of any of them, to appoint and elect
others in the stead of those displaced, dead or refusing to act.