THE
HISTORY OF ROWLEY,
ANCIENTLY INCLUDING
BRADFORD,
BOXFORD, AND
FROM
THE YEAR 1639 TO THE PRESENT TIME.
By THOMAS GAGE.
WITH AN
ADDRESS,
DELIVERED
SEPTEMBER 5, 1839,
AT THE
CELEBRATIOX OF THE SECOND CENTENIAL
ANNIVERSARY
OF ITS
SETTLEMENT.
By REV.
JAMES BRADFORD.
FERDINAND ANDREW'VS.
1840.
Entered
according to Act of Congress, in the year 1840, by
THOMAS GAGE,
in the
Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts.
Electronic Version Prepared by
Dr. Ted
Hildebrandt 3/12/2002
FOLS0M,
WELLS, AND THURSTON,
PRINTERS
TO THE UNIVERSITY.
PREFACE.
THE early history of every town furnishes
many
incidents worth preserving. Some of
them may be
uninteresting to strangers; but to
native
inhabitants, descendants of the Pilgrim
Fathers,
they all have an interest. To preserve
such facts
and incidents as are supposed to be
more
particularly interesting to the descendants
of the first
settlers of the ancient town of
ley, is the
object of the following pages.
The 5th day of September, 1839, having
been
set apart,
in pursuance of a vote of the town, for
the purpose
of celebrating the second centennial
anniversary
of its settlement, such material facts
were
collected, as were judged proper to be in-
corporated
into addresses to be delivered on the
occasion. The address, by the Rev. Mr. Brad-
ford, (which
makes a part of this volume,) and
another by
Thomas E. Payson, Esquire, were
delivered,
the latter of which related to the civil
history of
the town, which it was very desirable
to have
printed, and a request was accordingly
iv PREFACE.
made for
this purpose, with which Mr. Payson
did not
think best to comply.*
There having been much information
collected
at that
time, and since, relating to the early his-
tory of the
place, it was the wish of the inhab-
itants of
the town that something, in addition to
the Address
of Mr. Bradford, might be published;
and they
having, by vote, granted to the Com-
piler of the
ensuing sheets the exclusive right of
publishing
this work, he, with diffidence in his
ability for
undertaking it, consented to comply
with their
desires.
It may, perhaps, be proper to add, that,
in its
compilation,
the records and files of ancient pa-
pers, of the
Colonial, Provincial, and State Gov-
ernments of
registry of
deeds and of probate, records of the
towns,
parishes, churches, and societies of an-
cient
Rowley, have all been examined with as
much care
and attention as time would permit;
as also the
works of various ancient historians,
as Winthrop,
Johnson, Hubbard, Mather, Lech-
ford,
Josselyn, Massachusetts Historical Collec-
tions, with
other ancient and modern works.
* The
following communication is his reply to the request.
"
"To
Willard Holbrook, Thomas Gage, and Joshua Jewett.
"Gentlemen, -- The expression of your
thanks for my address
on the 5th
ultimo, has been received, together with your polite request
for a copy
for publication. Please accept my thanks
for the same;
but I must
respectfully decline having the address published.
"Yours, &c. THOMAS E. PAYSON."
PREFACE. v
Having thus done what he could to bring
out
from the
rubbish of years, the historical memen-
tos of his
native place, he now presents the col-
lection of
them, with his sincere desire, that it
may not be
unacceptable to his townsmen and
friends, and
that it may, in some measure, be, to
the present
and succeeding generations, as an
eminence,
from which they may be enabled to
look back
upon the generations of their ances-
tors, who
have already acted their parts upon
life's
stage; -- even to that time, when the ven-
erable
were engaged
in erecting log-houses for their
shelter from
the storm, in the midst of the then
dense forest
which covered the ground, where
the pleasant
Before we proceed to the work it is
thought
best to
notice some of the measures adopted by
the town,
relative to their Centennial Celebra-
tion, and
also to annex thereto the order of
exercises
for that celebration.
At a meeting of the inhabitants, held
April
2, 1839, it
was voted, That they will set apart
some day,
during the present year, for the pur-
pose of
celebrating the second centennial anni-
versary of
the settlement of the town; and that
the Rev.
Willard Holbrook, Joshua Jewett, Thom-
as Gage,
Thomas Payson, Amos Saunders, Thom-
vi PREFACE.
as How
Daniel N. Prime, Edward Smith, Rich-
ard Kimball,
Benjamin H. Smith, Oliver Blackin-
ton, and
Nathaniel Mighill, be a committee, with
instructions,
to respectfully invite the inhabitants
of
us until
lately,) to join with us in the celebration,
requesting
them to appoint a committee of their
own
citizens, to join with the committee of this
town in
making all necessary arrangements for
the
celebration; and as the towns of
and Boxford
were originally a part of Rowley,
to invite
the inhabitants of those towns, also, to
join in the
celebration. The committee were
further
instructed to compile, or cause to be
compiled
from early history, from the records of
the State,
county, and town, and from the rec-
ords of the
several ancient churches, once or
now
belonging to the town of
all other
available sources, all such matters and
facts,
connected with the settlement and history
of the town,
as they may think proper; and to
procure some
suitable person, to select there-
from such
material matters and facts as he may
deem most
interesting and suitable to be incor-
porated into
an address, to be by him delivered
on the
occasion. The committee were instruct-
ed to
appoint a day for the celebration, and to
make all
necessary arrangements for the occa-
sion. They subsequently appointed Thursday,
PREFACE. vii
the 5th day
of September for the celebration, and
invited the
Rev. James Bradford, of
and Thomas
E. Payson, Esquire, of
deliver each
an address on that day. They ac-
cepted the
invitation, and performed the duty as-
signed them.
ORDER OF EXERCISES.
1. VOLUNTARY.
By the Band.
2. ANTHEM.
" Praise the Lord." -- COMER.
3. READING OF THE SCRIPTURE.
BY REV. ISAAC BRAMAN.
[From a Bible printed in 1611.]
4. SINGING.
BY THE CHOIR.
[A portion
of the 107th Psalm, as turned into metre, and
set to a
tune in a singing-book printed in 1604.
To be
read, line
by line, as by Deacons in days of yore.
The
reading by
Deacon JOSHUA JEWETT.]
1 Give thanks unto the Lord our God,
for gracious is hee :
And that his mercie hath no ende,
all mortall men may see.
2 Such as the Lord redeemed hath,
with thanks should praise his name;
and show how they fro --
foes were freed,
and how he wrought the same.
viii PREFACE.
3 Hee gathered them foorth of the lands,
that lay so far about :
From East to West, fro -- North to South,
His hand did find them out.
7 And by that way that was most right,
Hee led them like a guide :
That they might to a citie goe,
and there also abide.
37 That they may sow their pleasant land,
and
vineyards also plant:
To yeeld them fruit of
such encrease,
as none may seem to want.
38 They multiply exceedingly,
the Lord doth bless them so ;
Who doth also their brute beasts make,
numbers great to grow.
5. PRAYER.
BY REV. WILLARD HOLBROOK.
6. ORIGINAL ODE.
BY DANIEL N. PRIME, OF ROWLEY.
Supreme, eternal God,
Who sits enthroned above,
By whose Almighty power,
The wheels of nature move;
Oh! wilt Thou deign this day to hear,
Our grateful song and humble prayer.
When in the days old,
The fathers of our race
From persecution fled,
To seek a resting place;
Where they in peace might worship Thee,
From cruel priests and tyrants free.
PREFACE. ix
Then Thy protecting hand
Did guide them safely o'er,
Whilst they the ocean crossed,
To this then desert shore;
And
Safely arrived on freedom's land.
Two hundred times our earth
Has run its annual round,
Since on this pleasant plain,
A safe retreat they found;
And on this spot a church did raise,
And dedicate it to Thy praise.
And ever since that hour,
Here have Thy temples stood,
Here have our fathers met,
To praise the living God!
Whose boundless power and matchless grace,
Created and sustains our race.
And now may we their sons,
While in thy courts this day,
With grateful hearts adore,
With contrite spirits pray;
That He who was our fathers' friend,
Their children here would still defend.
Through future ages may
Our sons and daughters join,
With cheerful heart and
voice,
In worship so divine;
Here Lord remain and bless our race,
Through every age till time shall cease.
7.
ECCLESIASTICAL ADDRESS.
BY REV. JAMES BRADFORD, OF