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Chapter 8: Education.
Religion, and love of liberty, brought our pilgrim ancestors to
Medford; and as these principles sprang in them from intelligence and virtue, so they revealed to them the need of intelligence and virtue in their offspring.
To educate, therefore, was to legislate for the future.
The establishment of schools, during the first years of their residence, was an impossibility; and, consequently, domestic instruction was the only alternative.
The
Bible and Primer were the reading-books.
In those towns or plantations where a clergyman could be supported, he usually occupied much of his time in teaching the young; and it was common for boys to be received into the minister's family to be prepared for college.
Those pastors who had been silenced in
England, and who came here to minister to the scattered flocks in the wilderness, were men of strong thought and sound scholarship; and they kept up the standard of education.
From the necessities of their condition, however, it is apparent that the children of our ancestors must have been scantily taught, and their grandchildren still greater sufferers; for learning follows wealth.
The first movement for the establishment of schools took place under the administration of
Governor Prence; and, at his suggestion, the following order was passed in the
Colony Court, 1663 :--
It is proposed by the Court unto the several townships in this jurisdiction, as a thing they ought to take into their serious consideration, that some course may be taken, that in every town there may be a schoolmaster set up, to train up children in reading and writing.
In 1670, the Court did freely give and grant all such profits as might or should accrue annually to the Colony for fishing with a net or seines at Cape Cod for mackerel, bass, or herrings, to be improved for and towards a free school, in some town in this jurisdiction, for the training up of youth in literature, for the good and benefit of posterity,--provided a beginning be made within one year after said grant.
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The occupants of the
Medford plantation, being few and poor, secured instruction to their children by domestic teaching, and by using the schools of the neighboring towns.
Towards the support of those schools, they were required by law to contribute; and that they were benefited by them, is apparent from the fact, that all the persons who appear, through a series of years, as officers in the town, were well educated.
The leading idea of emigration to this country, and the spirit of the age, would not allow them to neglect education.
They provided for it in a way that did not require public record at the time.
In 1701, the penalty imposed by the Legislature upon towns for neglecting to provide grammar schools was twenty pounds. It was required that “the schoolmaster should be appointed by the ministers of the town and the ministers of the two next adjacent towns, or any two of them, by certificates under their hands.”
These early resolves concerning schools and education indubitably prove two things: first, that our Puritan Fathers believed that the establishment of schools was a duty they owed to justice and humanity, to freedom and religion; and, second, that they had resolved that these schools should be free.
Here, then, was a new idea introduced to the world,--
free schools! And, from free schools and congregational churches, what could result but
republicanism? They held our republic as the.acorn holds the oak. It is important to state that free schools originated in
Massachusetts.
In 1671,
Sir William Berkeley, first
Governor of
Virginia, writes to the king thus:--
I thank God there are no free schools nor printing-presses here, and I trust there will not be this hundred years; for learning breeds up heresies and sects and all abominations.
God save us from both!
Now look at
Massachusetts.
The Rev. John Robinson, before the Pilgrims left
Leyden, charged them to build churches, establish schools, and read the
Bible without sectarian prejudice.
He said, “I am convinced that God has more light yet to break forth out of his holy word.
Receive such light gladly.”
Our fathers acted on this wise,
Christian, and republican advice, and engaged
Philemon Purmount “to teach the children; for which he was to be paid thirty acres of ground by the public authorities.”
How
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accordant this with that noble resolve of
New England, to establish a college, “to the end that good learning may not be buried in the graves of our fathers” ! It is cheering to read in the early records of
Medford, when a special town-meeting was called for this only purpose,--viz., “to see if the town will have a school kept for three months,” --to find every voter in favor of it, and, at the end of this vote, appending these immortal words,--“and this School shall be free.”
Here we have, in short compass, the different beginnings and opposite policies of two settlements: the one anathematizing free schools and
printing-presses; the other doing all it can for free inquiry, universal culture, and progressive truth.
The natural result of one system is to overrun a state with slavery, darken it with ignorance, pinch it with poverty, and curse it with irreligion; the natural result of the other is to fill a state with freemen, to enlighten it with knowledge, to expand it with wealth, and to bless with Christianity.
We should never cease to thank God that our ancestors, though surrounded by savage foes and doomed to poverty and self-denial, laid deep the foundations of that system of common schools which is now the nursery of intelligence, the basis of virtue, the pledge of freedom, and the hope of the world.
The course of instruction was narrow and partial.
Each hungry child got a crust; but no one had a full meal.
The
New England Primer was the first book, the Spelling-book the second, and the Psalter the last.
Arithmetic and writing found special attention; grammar and geography were thought less needful.
The school was opened and closed with reading the Scriptures and the offerings of prayer.
The hours were from nine to twelve o'clock, and from one to four.
Thursday and Saturday afternoons were vacations.
For the next fifty years, the inhabitants of
Medford supported their schools at as cheap a rate as they could, because their means were not abundant.
The spirit was willing, but the flesh was weak.
The Rev. Mr. Porter acted as private teacher, and doubtless rendered great help to the cause of education.
1700:
Neal says, “Hardly a child of nine or ten years old, throughout the whole country, but can read and write, and say his catechism.”
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Nov. 30, 1719, a special meeting was held, “to see if a school shall be established for four months. Voted in the affirmative.
Also voted that the town will allow
Mr. Davison three pounds money for keeping the school the time above said, and also to diet him for the town.”
Heretofore, schools had been kept in private houses; but, Feb. 22, 1720, it was voted to build a schoolhouse.
Dec. 12, 1720: Two schools proposed and organized for the first time; one for the west end, and the other for the east.
Mr. Caleb Brooks was engaged to keep the west school for three months, at two pounds per month;
Mr. Henry Davison the east, at the same price.
In these ways, primary instruction was provided for. Although, in their votes, they used the word “established,” it could not be strictly true; for there was no school
established, as we understand the term.
Money raised for schools was not at first put among the town charges, but raised as a separate tax. Schools were any thing but perennial; they could hardly be dignified with the title of semi-annual, and sometimes almost deserved the sobriquet of ephemeral.
At first they were kept in a central “angle,” or “squadron,” which meant
district; the next improvement was to keep a third of the time in one extremity, a third in the opposite, and a third in the centre.
Sometimes the money raised for the support of the school was divided according to the number of polls, and sometimes according to the number of children.
The church and the school were, with our fathers, the alpha and omega of town policy.
“Oct. 5, 1730: Voted to build a new schoolhouse.”
Same day: “Voted to set up a reading and writing school for six months.”
March 11, 1771: “Voted to build the schoolhouse upon the land behind the meeting-house, on the north-west corner of the land.”
1776: Voted that the master instruct girls two hours after the boys are dismissed.
By a traditional blindness, we charitably presume it must have been, our early fathers did not see that females required and deserved instruction equally with males; we therefore find the first provisions for primary schools confined to boys.
As light broke in, they allowed girls to attend the public school two hours per day; and it was not until April 5, 1790, that the question was formally considered.
On that day, a
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committee was chosen to inquire “if it be expedient for girls to attend the master's school.”
The committee wisely recommended the affirmative; whereupon, at the next town-meeting, it was voted “that girls have liberty to attend the master-school during three summer months.”
“ June 20, 1794: Voted that females attend the master-school separately, from the 1st of May to the 1st of October, four hours each day; and that the boys attend four hours each day,--Thursday and Saturday afternoons being vacations.”
No one was admitted under seven years of age, nor unless he could read and spell.
Woman, as the first instructor of man, needs a double portion of culture; and, when we starve the mother, we curse the cradle.
The course of study was, for the most part, meagre and impoverishing.
The healthy curiosity of the mind was fed on the dryest husks of grammar, arithmetic, spelling, and reading.
Whatever could be turned to pecuniary gain was the great object in the selection of studies.
Webster's Spelling-book, American Preceptor, Young
Lady's Accidence,
Pike's Arithmetic, and
Morse's Geography, were the mines out of which pupils were commanded to dig the golden ores of all useful knowledge.
The books were made with very slight apprehension of a child's mode of thought.
They seemed to take for granted that the pupil knew the very things they proposed to teach him. They abounded with rules, without giving any instruction concerning the principles out of which the rules rose.
It was somewhat like lecturing on optics to the blind, or on music to the deaf.
May 5, 1795: On this day, the town voted to build a brick schoolhouse behind the meeting-house.
They agreed “to give
William Woodbridge two hundred and twenty pounds, with the old schoolhouse, to build it.”
This house consisted of one large room, sufficient for sixty or seventy children, and was arranged after the newest models, and furnished with green blinds.
On the north side sat the girls, and on the south the boys, constantly tempting each other to laugh and play.
March 1, 1802: “Voted that the ‘Royal’ donation be appropriated to pay the schooling of poor children, as last year.”
May 6, 1805: Voted to procure a lot for a schoolhouse near Gravelly Bridge.
Voted “to choose a committee to look out a piece of land at the west end of the town, procure materials (for a schoolhouse), and report their doings at March meeting.”
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March 7, 1807: Voted to enlarge the schoolhouse, and dig a well.
After this was done, the girls and boys were taught in separate rooms.
Until this time there had been but one public free school in the town; and this was all that was then deemed necessary.
It was taught by an accomplished master through the year.
After this time, two schools were not too many, and the town cheerfully sustained them.
No provision had been made for what are now called “primary schools;” and therefore every parent was obliged to pay for the schooling of his children until they had reached the age of seven, when they could lawfully enter the grammar school.
So late as 1813, children under seven years of age were, by vote, prohibited from entering the grammar schools.
The “dame schools,” or, as they were often called, the “marm schools,” were numerous.
Some vestal dames, whom it would not be profanation to call “sacred,” and who never seemed young to their pupils, continued, through many years, to teach the young their first steps on the high and perilous ladder of learning.
With what fidelity they administered the accustomed kisses, alphabet, and birch, some of us can never forget.
Twelve cents per week, paid on each Monday morning, secured to each pupil an abundance of motherly care, useful knowledge, and salutary discipline.
Our town rejoiced in a “Marm
Betty.”
After all, these schools were more important to society than the march of armies or the sailing of fleets; for they laid well the first foundation-stones of that immortal edifice,--human character.
Since 1799, a law had existed in the town, pledging it to pay for the instruction of poor children at the dame schools.
Whittling seems native to
New England boys.
March 7, 1808, the town voted to repair the seats and benches in the schoolhouse.
In 1817, female teachers for the female department were preferred.
They taught through six months only.
In 1818, when
Medford had two hundred and two families, the expenses of the schools were as follows :--
| Master for one year, at $20 per month | $240 |
| Board for the same, at $3 per week | 156 |
| Master four months, at $20 per month | 80 |
| Board for the same, at $3 per week | 52 |
| Three female teachers twenty-five weeks each, at $4 | 300 |
| Rent for schoolhouses for female schools | 45 |
| | |
| | $873 |
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April 7, 1823: Voted to build a new schoolhouse “on the front line of the burying-place.”
Nov. 1, 1824: Voted to divide the town into two districts, to be called
Eastern and
Western; and the $1,200, voted this year for the support of the schools, was to be divided equally between the districts.
In 1825, the number of children in
Medford, under fourteen years of age, was 525; and the thickening of population in new places made it necessary to multiply schoolhouses, and scatter them over the whole territory.
1829: Voted to build a schoolhouse, of wood, in the west part of the town.
This was placed on the
Woburn Road, on land bought of Jonathan Brooks,
Esq. In 1831, it was removed and placed near the alms-house, on land belonging to the town.
1833: Voted to build a schoolhouse in the eastern district, the cost not to exceed four hundred dollars.
The primary schools were taught by females, but not continued through the winter.
March 3, “1834: Voted that the school-committee be directed so to arrange the town-schools that the girls shall enjoy equal privileges therein with the boys throughout the year.”
This tardy justice to the female sex was not peculiar to
Medford; and we are now amazed that Anglo-
Saxon men, living in a free commonwealth and professing the
Christian religion, should have needed two hundred years to convince them that girls have an equal right with boys to all physical, intellectual, and moral development.
The new interest awakened in the cause of elementary instruction, by the friends of common schools, produced its effects readily in
Medford; and, in 1835, the town chose a committee “to inquire how proper education might be more extensively and effectually promoted in the town.”
In this year a new schoolhouse was ordered,--the land and building to cost eight hundred dollars.
March 2, 1835: The town appointed a committee to “inquire into the best methods of conducting public schools.”
This vote shows that the efforts of the school-reformers of previous years had not been lost on
Medford.
Among these early friends of a better system was a talented son of
Medford,
Mr. William Channing Woodbridge, who received from his father a knowledge and love of school-teaching, and who, as editor of the “Annals of Education,” labored successfully
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for the great cause.
His “Modern School Geography and
Atlas” are proofs of his ability and enthusiasm; and we deeply regret that all our efforts to learn more of his history and labors have been so unsuccessful.
He is an honorary member of the
Geographical Societies of
Paris,
Frankfort, and
Berlin.
If another son of
Medford has labored long and spent much for common schools, is it necessary that it should be noticed in this history?
The writer of this has maintained, that, under the circumstances, it is not necessary; but he has at last been syllogized into the belief, that what was publicly done by a son of
Medford towards the “education-revival” of 1835-7 belongs to the history of the town, and cannot be omitted without violating the rule followed in all other cases in town histories.
Silenced rather than convinced, he yields to the wishes of those he has no right to disregard; and, omitting all details, he consents only to the republication of a letter which first appeared in the
Plymouth newspaper, Oct. 4, 1845, and was copied in the “Common School Journal.”
The introductory remarks of the editor will sufficiently explain the facts.
Materials for a history of Massachusetts schools.
The communications in our former numbers, respecting the Bridgewater Normal School and the late annual address before the pupils, have induced a friend of
Mr. Brooks to write him, and ask about his first movements in the Old Colony.
He reluctantly yielded to write an account; but, as it connects itself so closely with the cause of education in our Commonwealth, we think our readers may be glad to see it.--
Old Colony Memorial.
My dear Sir,--You ask me to print my address delivered at
Bridgewater before the Normal School.
I thank you for the compliment implied in such a request; but, my friend, the time has passed for such a necessity.
Our battle with ignorance and prejudice has been fought in the Old Colony, and the victory is ours; and there had better not be any parade of the old soldiers quite yet. Some educational antiquary, in his pardonable weakness, may show my lectures fifty years hence, as they sometimes show old cannon.
They are fast growing into the sear and
yellow leaf: so pray excuse me.
You ask about the educational movements in the Old Colony with which I was connected.
The story is very short, and to most persons must be very uninteresting.
While in
Europe, in 1833, I became interested in the Prussian system of education.
I sought every occasion to enlarge my
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knowledge of its nature and action.
A good opportunity came to me without my seeking it. The
King of
Prussia had sent
Dr. Julius, of
Hamburg, to this country, for the purpose of collecting information concerning our prisons, hospitals, schools, &c. I happened to meet the doctor in a literary party in
London, and he asked me to become his room-mate on board ship.
I did so, and for forty-one days was with him listening to his descriptions of German and Prussian systems of instruction.
I was resolved to attempt the introduction of several parts of the system into the
United States.
I formed my plan, and commenced operations by a public announcement, and an address at
Hingham.
I found some who understood and appreciated my views, and I worked on with a new convert's zeal.
In 1835, I wrote and published; but few read, and fewer still felt any interest.
I was considered a dreamer, who wished to fill our republican commonwealth with monarchial institutions.
There were some amusing caricatures of me published, to ridicule my labors.
These did me more good than harm.
I worked with precious few encouragements.
I occupied Thanksgiving Day of 1835 in advocating, in a public address, my plan for Normal Schools.
I took my stand upon this Prussian maxim,
“As is the teacher, so is the school.”
I thought the whole philosophy was summed up in that single phrase;
and I think so still. I accordingly wrote all my lectures with reference to the establishment of Normal Schools.
I now began to lecture before lyceums and conventions, and had many stormy debates, and a wonderful scarcity of compliments.
The noise and dust of battle began at last to bring many to the
comitia, until we got quite a respectable
campus martius. I thought there was one place where I could rely on intelligence and patriotism; and there I resolved to go. I accordingly published in the newspapers, that a convention would be gathered at
Plymouth, in court-week, “to discuss the expediency of establishing a Normal School in the Old Colony.”
The friends of common schools assembled, and a private room held us all!
But soon the truth spread; and my friends in
Hingham and
Plymouth came up generously to the work.
We felt that the two great ideas of the
church and the schoolhouse, which our
Pilgrim Fathers brought to this shore, were to be carried out, and ever trusted in God they would.
But this narrative is growing too long.
In a few words, then, let me add, that I found conventions to be the best missionaries of the truth; and I gathered them in
Plymouth,
Duxbury, New Bedford,
Bridgewater,
Kingston,
Hanover,
Hanson, &c. The Old Colony was ready to take the lead; and we began with petitions and memorials to the Legislature, all recommending the establishment of Normal Schools.
How many hundred pages I wrote on this subject, during 1834-6, I dare not say. It was
the subject of my thoughts and prayers.
The wisdom of the Prussian scheme recommended itself to the reflecting; and, as I had studied it, I was
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invited to lecture in each of the
New England States.
I went to
Portsmouth,
Concord,
Nashua, and
Keene, N. H.; to
Providence and
Newport, R. I.; to
Hartford, Conn.; to New York,
New Jersey,
Pennsylvania.
I went through our own State, holding conventions at the large central towns.
All this time I seemed to have little real success.
I began to despair.
I returned, after two years of excessive toil, to my professional duties, concluding that the time had not yet come for this great movement.
One evening, in January, 1837, I was sitting reading to my family, when a letter was brought me from the friends of education in the Massachusetts Legislature, asking me to lecture on my hobby subject before that body.
I was electrified with joy. The whole heavens to my eye seemed now filled with rainbows.
January 18th came, and the hall of the House of Representatives was perfectly full.
I gave an account of the
Prussian system; and they asked if I would lecture again.
I consented, and, the next evening, endeavored to show
how far the Prussian system could be safely adopted in the United States.
Here my immediate connection with the cause may be said to stop; for one of my auditors,
the Hon. Edmund Dwight, after this, took the matter into his hands, and did for it all a patriot could ask. He gave $10,000 for the establishment of Normal Schools, on condition the
State would give as much.
This happily settled the matter.
A “ Board of Education” was established, and they found the man exactly suited to the office of Secretary; and at
Worcester, Aug. 25, 1837, I had the satisfaction of congratulating the American Institute, in a public address, on the realization of wishes which they had for years cherished.
Mr. Mann entered upon his labors that day; and the results are gladdening the whole country.
May God still smile on this cause of causes, until schools shall cover the whole world with
knowledge, and Christianity shall fill it with
love!
My friend, do not misinterpret my letter by supposing that I originated these ideas.
Oh, no!
They were picked up by me in
Europe.
There had been an attempt at a teachers' seminary at
Lancaster; and the American Institute, unknown to me, had discussed the subject before I was a member; and the idea was not a new one.
All I did was to bring it from
Europe with me, and talk about it, and write about it, until the Old Colony adopted it. I hope the many early friends I had there will believe me when I say, that, without their generous and steady co-operation, I should have failed in my plans.
The
Normal Schools are of Prussian origin; but let us not mourn on that account.
The beautiful fountain of
Arethusa sank under the ground in
Greece, and re-appeared in
Sicily; but I have never read that the Sicilians mourned for the appearance of that foreign blessing among them.
Bespeaking your patient forbearance under this epistolary infliction, I am, as ever, yours, truly,
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In 1837, voted to continue the primary schools through the year.
To show how promptly our town took the form and pressure of the times, we need only state the appropriations annually made for the support of the schools; and, beginning with 1832, they stand thus:--
| For 1832 | $1,200 |
| For 1833 | 1,400 |
| For 1834 | 1,500 |
| For 1836 | 2,250 |
| For 1837 | 2,500 |
| For 1838 | $2,700 |
| For 1840 | 3,000 |
| For 1842 | 3,200 |
| For 1850 | 4,309 |
| For 1854 | 7,169 |
It will take but little arithmetic to prove that here was an increase in appropriations, within ten years, beyond all former precedents, and beyond the ratio of increase in numbers or wealth in the town.
Medford partook so fully of the new enthusiasm for the improvement of its schools, that in 1853 it stood twelfth on the list of towns in the county, and twenty-fifth in the
Commonwealth; paying, at that time, $6.04.7 per head for each child in town between the ages of five and fifteen.
1840: The age at which pupils were admitted to the primary schools was four years; and they could not remain in the grammar schools after they were sixteen.
April 3, 1843: Voted to build a schoolhouse, in High Street, upon land bought of
John Howe.
This house was to be sixty feet by forty; three stories high; of wood, with brick basement; and its cost limited to $4,500,--to be called the
High School.
The Course of Study in the High School shall embrace four years, and be as follows:--
| class 4. |
| 1. | Review of preparatory studies, using the text-books authorized in the Grammar Schools. |
| 2. | English Grammar, to the completion of Syntax and Prosody, including Rules of Versification and Analysis, and their exemplification. |
| 3. | Ancient and Physical Geography. | To be pursued conjointly, and by the same geographical divisions. |
| 4. | Worcester's General History. |
| 5. | Algebra, to succeed Arithmetic. |
| 6. | Hitchcock's Book-keeping--3 lessons a week. |
| 7. | French Language.
2 lessons a week. |
| class 3. |
| 1. | Algebra and book-keeping completed; after which,-- |
| 2. | Legendre's Geometry. |
| 3. | Whately's or Blair's Rhetoric, with Syntactical and Prosodiacal Exercises, and exemplifications of Rhetorical Rules in Reading and other Lessons. |
| 4. | Bayard's Constitution of the United States. |
| 5. | Gray's or Parker's Natural Philosophy. |
| 6. | French Language, continued. |
| 7. | Drawing,--two lessons a week. |
| class 2. |
| 1. | Davis's Trigonometry, with its applications to Surveying, Navigation, Mensuration, &c. |
| 2. | French Language, continued. |
| 3. | Drawing, continued. |
| 4. | Natural Philosophy, completed. |
| 5. | Olmstead's or Norton's Astronomy. |
| 6. | Wayland's Moral Philosophy. |
| 7. | Paley's Natural Theology. |
| 8. | Physiology, commenced. |
| 9. | Cleveland's Compendium of English Literature. |
| The Spanish, Italian, or German Languages may be commenced by such pupils as in the judgment of the master have acquired a competent knowledge of the French. |
| class 1. |
| 1. | Modern Languages, continued. |
| 2. | Intellectual Philosophy. |
| 3. | Astronomy in its higher departments. | Either of them at option of pupil, with aprobation of master. |
| 4. | Whately's Logic. |
| 5. | Mechanic's Engineering and higher Mathematics. |
| 6. | Botany. |
| 7. | Geology, or Natural History, generally. |
| 8. | Chemistry. |
| 9. | Physiology, completed. |
| The several classes shall also have exercises in English Composition and Declamation. |
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May 12, 1849: Voted that both the schools at the
West End shall be “annual schools.”
March 4, 1850: Voted to build a schoolhouse on the south side of the river.
March 7, 1853: For support of schools, $5,400. Same day, voted to build a new schoolhouse in Salem Street.
March 10, 1851: Voted to build a schoolhouse in the west part of the town, and that $2,000 be appropriated for said purpose.
The inhabitants of West Medford, desirous of having a
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schoolhouse more ample in its dimensions and more classic in its appearance than the town's appropriation would procure, cheerfully united in adding to it, by subscription, the sum of nine hundred dollars. This sum was raised by residents of the “West End;” and they who were most able to give, gave with abounding liberality.
The building committee were
Messrs. Charles Caldwell,
J. B. Hatch, and
J. M. Usher; and they spared no pains in procuring a skilful draughtsman.
Mr. George A. Caldwell was the master-builder.
On the 6th of August, 1851, the corner-stone was laid with appropriate religious and literary exercises.
Edward Brooks,
Esq., presided, and made the opening remarks.
Prayer was offered by
Rev. E. K. Fuller; and then an original poem was spoken by a pupil, followed with short speeches by neighbors and friends.
The house is placed between Irving and Brooks Streets, on the hill, where pure air comes from the heavens, and pure water from the earth,--the one securing a healthy ventilation, and the other as healthy a digestion.
On the 22d of December, 1851, a day chosen in honor of the
Pilgrim Fathers who landed at
Plymouth, the house was dedicated.
The company was numerous, and the enthusiasm great.
Prayers were offered by
Rev. Dr. Ballou, the senior pastor in the town; and the dedicatory address was delivered by the writer of this history, and afterwards published by request.
An original poem, strikingly adapted to the occasion, was recited by a lad eight years old. Before the crowd separated, the chairman proposed from the committee that the school should be called the
Brooks School.
This was voted by acclamation; and thus ended our literary festival.
We wish it were in our power to name the teachers of our public schools, who have filled their high and sacred office through many years with such distinguished fidelity and success.
Usage forbids this; but let every such teacher be assured that he has a reward infinitely higher than the applause of men.
There were twelve female and four male teachers employed by the town in 1854.
The schools are reported as in excellent condition.
The following abstract of the monthly reports of the teachers embraces the whole of the year 1854:--
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| schools. | Whole No. of different scholars. | Average number. | Average Attendance. | No.
of Tardinesses. | No.
of Dismissions. | No.
of Days' Absence. | No.
of Corporal Punishments. |
| High School | 70 | 62 | 60 | 4 | 322 | 423 | 2 |
| Centre Grammar School | 85 | 68 | 62 | 271 | 62 | 1055 | 46 |
| Everett Grammar School | 102 | 81 | 77 | 324 | 225 | 1479 | 9 |
| Brooks Primary School | 56 | 44 | 35 | 317 | 148 | 769 | 95 |
| Union-street Primary School | 53 | 44 | 39 | 201 | 64 | 903 | 129 |
| Everett Primary School | 57 | 50 | 46 | 726 | 362 | 1081 | 339 |
| Salem-street Primary School | 46 | 43 | 39 | 391 | 101 | 998 | 193 |
| Park-street Primary School | 50 | 46 | 42 | 617 | 273 | 736 | 407 |
| Union-street Alphabet School | 72 | 59 | 50 | 1032 | 75 | 1768 | 263 |
| Everett Alphabet School | 70 | 53 | 47 | 154 | 180 | 1267 | 204 |
| Salem-street Alphabet School | 65 | 60 | 49 | 620 | 72 | 1798 | 266 |
| Parks-street Alphabet School | 72 | 58 | 49 | 384 | 103 | 1418 | 428 |
| 1Brooks Alphabet School | 26 | 26 | 20 | 87 | 16 | 112 | 8 |
| Totals | 824 | 694 | 615 | 5128 | 2003 | 13,807 | 2389 |
| total expenses from Feb. 15, 1854, to Feb. 15, 1855. |
| For salaries of teachers | $5,490.64 |
| Fuel | 616,45 |
| For repairs and incidental expenses | 1,031.73 |
| | |
| | $7,138.82 |
Academies.
Medford has been famous for its excellent private schools.
So early as 1790,
Mr. William Woodbridge opened one for young ladies and boys, providing board in his own family for many who came from
Boston and other places.
He seemed to have discovered, what is now so commonly known, that the surest way of having a select and full school was to ask the highest price.
At first he met with some success in teaching, but more in salary, and educated several of the first females of the
State.
His academy was kept in the house formerly occupied by
Colonel Royal.
At one time he had ninety-six girls and forty-two boys.
His sister was associated with him, and one male teacher.
He had no objection to inflict corporal punishment on females!
He was greatly given to wild speculations in trade, and seemed to carry something of this spirit into his schoolroom.
He had no system of teaching, and let any
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pupil read from any book he pleased.
Such teaching would not secure long patronage; and
Mr. Woodbridge relinquished school-keeping for baking, and failed also in that business, in
Charlestown.
He then moved to
Connecticut; and we lose sight of him.
Mr. Joseph Wyman, of
Woburn, who had kept the public school in
Medford, built the house now owned by the Bigelow family, and there opened a private school for boys and girls.
He taught only a few years.
Mrs. Susanna Rawson succeeded
Mr. Wyman, and opened a boarding-school for girls in the house which had been occupied by him. She was a lady of uncommon attainments, apt in teaching, and able to govern.
Her school deserved its high popularity; and that its numbers were great, may be inferred from the following vote of the town:--
“ May 12, 1800: Voted that the second and third seats in the women's side-gallery in the meeting-house be allowed
Mrs. Rawson, for herself and scholars; and that she be allowed to put doors and locks on them.”
This lady was quite an authoress; and one of her novels had extensive circulation.
Mrs. Newton succeeded
Mrs. Rawson, occupying the same house from 1803 to 1806.
She was a native of
Rhode Island, and sister of
Gilbert Stuart, the painter.
Her success was so great at one time that she had sixty pupils, some of whom were foreigners, and many of them from neighboring States.
Some of her pupils became distinguished ladies in
New England.
She removed to
Boston, and continued her school there.
Dr. Luther Steams (H. C. 1791) opened a classical school, first for girls, and afterwards for boys and girls, in his house, which fronted the entrance of Medford turnpike. This was a boarding-school; and but a few children of
Medford attended it.
Dr. Stearns had been tutor of Latin at
Cambridge, and ever showed a preference for that language.
His school was filled with children from the first families of
New England, with now and then a sprinkling of French and Spanish blood.
A kinder heart never beat in human bosom; so kind and tolerant as to forbid that imperial rule and uncompromising decision so needful for a troop of boys.
He prepared many young men for college; and some of us who are of the number remember with delight his mildness and generosity.
Dr. John Hosmer opened a private academy, for boys,
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about the year 1806, and, by persevering fidelity, gained reputation.
He built the large house on Forest Street lately occupied as a boarding-house, and superintended the amusements as well as the studies of his boarders.
He was not one of those of whom it is said,
Tanto buon, che val niente. He was perhaps less of a scholar than a disciplinarian; yet he made skilful mathematicians and accomplished linguists, because he made students.
He taught his pupils the force of this sentence:
Sic volo; sic jubeo; stat pro ratione voluntas. He was neither severe nor unreasonable; for, under a soldier's sternness, there nestled something of a lover's good-will.
Miss Ann Rose, of
London, opened a day-school, for girls, in May, 1811; and, in November, 1812, she, and
Miss Hannah Swan, of
Medford, converted it into a boarding-school, and soon found their house filled with young ladies from the best families in the
State.
The good influences of this academy can hardly be over-stated.
Uniting extensive literary accomplishments with the highest moral qualifications, these ladies performed their legislative and executive duties with dignity and quietness, and labored to give that instruction which develops all the powers for health, usefulness, and station.
They have lived to receive showers of blessings from grateful pupils.
Fide et amore.
Mr. John Angier (H. C. 1821) opened a boarding-school, for boys and girls, May 1, 1821, and took the same house which
Dr. Hosmer had formerly used.
Having already acquired a reputation as teacher, and being as highly esteemed as he was well known in
Medford, his success came early and copiously.
He devoted his whole mind and time to his duties, and had a crowded school as testimony to his fidelity and usefulness.
For twenty years his school grew in popularity; and there was general regret when his health compelled him to resign it in 1841.
During his teaching, he had five hundred new scholars; some remained seven years with him. Among his pupils, he counts
Chief Justice Gilchrist, of
New Hampshire; and
Justice Benjamin R. Curtis, of the Supreme Court of the
United States.
The many of both sexes whom he has sent forth rejoicing in the way of knowledge and virtue will ever remember him with deepest gratitude.
Fideli certa merces.
The private boarding-school for young ladies, taught for
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twenty-four years, with signal success, by
Miss Eliza Bradbury, was deservedly ranked among the most useful seminaries within the neighborhood of
Boston.
Devoting herself to the most substantial and important branches of education, she produced the most durable and happy results.
Her pupils were mostly from other towns, and several of them from the most elevated families.
Fortiter, fideliter, feliciter.
Other private schools, less extensive in numbers and of shorter duration, have done their share in the good work, and been a credit to the town.
For more than half a century, the excellent schools of
Medford have presented a strong inducement for strangers to settle among us. Courtesy forbids me to designate by name that private classical school taught by a well-tried and successful instructor; and those private boarding and day-schools for young ladies, which have had such auroral beginnings.
“May they have unbroken success!”
Medford literary Institute.
This interesting society was formed, March 10, 1853, by several intelligent and enterprising young men, for their advancement in literature.
They began well, and have proceeded with enthusiasm.
At their anniversary exhibitions, the
Town Hall is always crowded.
Forti et fideli nihil difficile.
Medford social library.
This excellent institution was established about 1825, and has been silently doing its good work ever since.
Turell Tufts,
Esq., bequeathed to it five hundred dollars, the interest of which must be expended annually for the purchase of valuable books.
The constitution says, “The design of the society is to form a collection of books strictly useful, promotive of piety and good morals, and for the diffusion of valuable information.
Books of a light and unedifying character shall not be admitted.”
Price of a share, one dollar; annual tax, fifty cents. Each proprietor may take out two volumes at a time.
“Any person, by paying ten dollars or more at one time, may become an honorary member for life, entitled to take out books as a shareholder, but without tax or assessment.”
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The selection of books, thus far, has been marked with scholarly taste and Christian principle; and, should the town adopt this library, and enlarge it to meet the wants of the entire population, and make it free to all, it would be a benefaction of inconceivable value.
West Medford lyceum and library Association
was established by the zeal of
Mr. T. P. Smith, and was incorporated in 1852.
Mystic Hall, built by him, has been used for lyceum lectures and similar purposes.
Valuable books, contributed at first by distinguished individuals from abroad and by neighbors, laid the proper foundation for a useful and free library.
Sunday-School libraries.
Each of the religious societies in
Medford has expended money freely for the purchase of books suited to children.
The libraries contain, on an average, three hundred volumes; and the books are selected with judgment and taste.
Additions of new books are made every six months; and the older books are often given to destitute schools in the country.
Teachers' libraries.
The commentaries and histories which explain the
Sacred Scriptures are gathered into libraries for the free use of the Sunday-school teachers, and are also used as manuals in the
Bible classes.
Lyceum Lectures.
These seem to have become an institution.
Where societies have not been formed, for the purpose of securing lecturers, towns have taken up the duty, and large annual subscriptions have been made.
Thus the ablest scholars have been brought before the community, and have instructed and charmed thousands by their learning and eloquence.
Medford early adopted the prevalent system; and, for several years, has enjoyed, through the winter, a weekly lecture from the circle of favorite orators.
The
Town Hall has been filled, and the most friendly feelings promoted.
As each itinerant
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lecturer prepares but one address in a year, he selects the most engrossing topic; and then, with great study, condenses into one hour all the philosophy, wit, and pathos he can command.
The pyrotechnic batteries of thought are loaded with surpassing skill.
The consequence is, that the assembly is kept at the highest point of intellectual excitement during the time of the address.
Thus an extraordinary standard of public speaking is erected, which the Sunday congregation applies with fatal injustice to the one hundred and six sermons which the stated preacher is annually compelled to bring before the same audience.
Instrumentalities for further education are needed in
Medford.
A town-library would be of exceeding value to thousands, who cannot buy, and will not borrow the standard works they wish to read.
Wherever such libraries have been established, they have created a taste for study, have brought the rich and poor together, have worn away sectional and sectarian asperities, and united a town in the noblest aims.
What can be wiser than to bring the best results of the maturest minds within the reach of the inquisitive youth the
Christian philanthropist, of the ambitious mechanic or the pious mother?
A deepening moral responsibility rests on Christian republics.
We are addressed on every side by emphatic voices.
Our Pilgrim ancestors, from the
Rock of Plymouth, call to us from the invisible past, and command us to follow up the two great principles of the
church. and
schoolhouse which they have bequeathed to us in trust.
So, too, from the invisible future, do coming generations call to us, ere they arrive, beseeching us to provide for them that instruction which shall make them equal to all the demands of an advanced civilization.
Shall we be deaf to the commands of our fathers, or the prayers of our children?
Tufts College.
This is the first college on this continent, or in the world, which has been created by the combined efforts, and controlled by the exclusive agency, of the denomination called Universalists.
It intends to take the motto of the age,--
Onward, upward. It begins under the most favoring auspices,
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and will aim at the highest results.
Medford looks upon it as an object of peculiar interest within its borders.
The selection of president and professors is a fortunate one; and, believing that the denomination will be true to itself, we can anticipate numbers of intelligent and virtuous young men, who, in their old age, will look back with gratitude and joy to the happy and prosperous years they spent at Tufts College in
Medford.
Year after year, under the divine guidance and blessing, may this nursery of learning and virtue send forth those who shall hasten the coming of universal light, universal liberty, and universal love!
The following account has been kindly furnished us by the president:--
Tufts College originated in a movement among Universalists in the
United States, who felt it important that the denomination to which they belong should take a more active part in the cause of liberal education.
Some ten years ago, a number of them met in convention, at New York, to adopt measures for establishing a college.
For this purpose they ordered a subscription to be opened for $100,000, as the
minimum sum. The enterprise, however, was delayed for some years.
At length another meeting of the convention was held, at which
the Rev. O. A. Skinner, now of
Boston, was appointed agent to obtain and collect the subscription.
In the summer of 1851, he gave notice that the amount of $100.000 was subscribed; and a meeting of the subscribers was held in
Boston on the 16th and 17th of September of that year.
The trustees chosen at this meeting selected
Walnut Hill, near the line between
Medford and
Somerville, for the site of the college.
To this selection they were in some measure influenced by the offer of twenty acres of land on the summit, by
Charles Tufts,
Esq., of
Somerville, and also by the offer of adjoining lots by two public-spirited gentlemen of
Medford.
In gratitude for a munificent donation by
Mr. Tufts, the name, Tufts College, was adopted.
In the spring of 1852, a college charter was granted by the Legislature of this Commonwealth.
Under the provisions of this charter, a board of sixteen trustees was subsequently chosen, of which
Mr. Oliver Dean, M. D., of
Boston, is president.
In July, 1852,
Rev. Thomas J. Sawyer, D. D., of New York, was elected, by the trustees, president of the college; but, he declining to accept the office on the terms proposed,
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Rev. Hosea Ballou, 2d, D. D., of
Medford, was chosen, in May, 1853, to fill the vacancy.
The corner-stone of the present college-edifice was laid, in form, on the 19th of July, 1853, after an able address, delivered on the spot, by
Rev. A. A. Miner, of
Boston.
The building was finished in the spring of 1854.
Mr. S. F. Bryant was the architect.
It is a plain structure, of brick, one hundred feet by sixty feet, and sixty feet high, containing a chapel forty feet by thirty-three feet, and a library-room forty feet by twenty-two feet, besides recitation-rooms, lecture-rooms, society-rooms, offices, &c., but no dormitories': these last will be provided in a boarding-house which is to be erected next summer.
The course of instruction in Tufts College extends through four years, and is, in general, the same as that of other
New England colleges.
With the regular academical course, however, it is designed to connect other branches, as soon as the academical course shall have been carried into thorough operation.
A few students are accommodated, for the present year, in the college-building; but the institution will not be regularly opened till about the 1st of September, 1855.
Trustees.
Oliver Dean, M. D.,
President;
Rev. Thomas Whittemore,
Vice-President;
Rev. Otis A. Skinner, A. M.,
Secretary;
Benjamin B. Mussey,
Esq.,
Treasurer of the
College;
Hon. Israel Washburn, jun.,
Orono, Me.;
Rev. Calvin Gardner,
Waterville, Me.;
Rev. Thomas J. Greenwood,
Dover, N. H.;
Rev. L. C. Browne,
Hudson, N. Y.;
Rev. Eli Ballou,
Montpelier, Vt.;
Silvanus Packard,
Esq.,
Boston, Mass.;
Rev. Hosea Ballou, 2d, D. D.,
Medford, Mass.;
Timothy Cotting,
Esq.,
Medford, Mass.;
Hon. Richard Frothingham, jun.,
Charlestown, Mass.;
Phineas T. Barnum,
Esq.,
Bridgeport, Conn.;
Thomas Crane,
Esq., New York City;
Charles Rogers,
Esq.,
Philadelphia, Pa.
Faculty.
President, Hosea Ballou, 2d, D. D.,
Professor of History and of Intellectual Philosophy;
John P. Marshall, A. M.,
Professor of Mathematics and of Physical Science;
William P. Drew, A. B.,
Professor of Ancient Languages and of Classical Literature;
Benjamin F. Tweed, A. M.,
Professor of Rhetoric, Logic, and English Literature;
Enoch C. Rolfe, M. D.,
Professor of Physiology and Hygiene;--------,
Professor of Moral Science and of
Political Economy;--------,
Professor of Modern Languages.
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Admission to the regular College course.
Applicants for admission must produce certificates of their good moral character.
If they come from other colleges, certificates also of their regular dismission therefrom are required.
For admission to the
Freshman Class, an examination must be well sustained in the following studies:--
Latin: Virgil's Bucolics, Georgics, and six books of the Aeneid; Caesar's Commentaries, or Sallust; Cicero's Select Orations (Folsom's or Johnson's edition); Andrews's and Stoddard's Latin Grammar, including Prosody; Arnold's Latin Prose Composition, to the Dative.
Greek: Felton's or Jacob's Greek Reader (or four books of Homer's Iliad, with three books of Xenophon's Anabasis); Sophocles', Crosby's, or Kuhner's Greek Grammar, including Prosody; Arnold's Greek Prose Composition, to the Moods; Writing of Greek Accents.
Mathematics: Arithmetic; Smyth's Algebra, to Equations of the Second Degree.
History: Modern Geography; Worcester's Ancient Geography; Goodrich's History of the United States.
For admission to an advanced class, an examination must be well sustained, both in these studies and in the studies through which such class shall have already passed.
No person can be admitted after the beginning of the
Senior Year.
Examinations for admission will be held on the day after the Commencement, and on the Tuesday preceding the beginning of the
Fall Term.
The examinations will begin at eight o'clock, A. M., on each of these days.
Before his admission, every candidate must give a bond of $200, with two sureties, to pay all his college bills.
To be admitted to an advanced standing, he must also pay, or secure the payment of, one-half of the tuition which shall have accrued in the previous years and terms of the regular course, unless he comes from another college; provided that, if he be admitted at the beginning of the
Senior Year, the tuition of the
Junior Year shall be the only arrears required of him.
Partial Courses of Study.--Persons who do not enter for a college degree, and who produce certificates of their good moral character, may be received to such studies, in any class, as they shall, on examination, be found qualified to pursue with profit; and they may continue therein at their pleasure, on condition of obeying the laws of the college, and paying one-third more than the regular tuition for the time they remain.
Course of study.
Freshman class.--
First Term.--Latin:
Lincoln's Livy; Zumpt's Grammar, for reference; Roman Antiquities;
Arnold's Latin Prose Composition.
Greek:
Felton's
Greek Historians; Grecian Antiquities;
Arnold's Greek Prose Composition.
Mathematics:
Smyth's Algebra.
History:
Weber's Outlines, to the “MacEDONIANdonian period;” Age of
Themistocles,
Pericles, and Aleibiades, in
Smith's History of
Greece.
Rhetoric:
English Grammar; Elocution;
Murdock and
Russell's Orthophony; Declamations.
Second Term.--Latin: Livy, continued;
Lincoln's Horace, Odes and Epodes;
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Latin Metres; Latin Prose Composition.
Greek:
Homer's Odyssey; Greek Prose Composition.
Mathematics: Algebra, continued; Euclid, five books.
History:
Weber, continued to the end of “Ancient history;” Roman Commonwealth.
Natural Theology:
Paley's. Rhetoric:
English Grammar, and Orthophony, continued; Themes; Declamations.
Sophomore class.--
First Term.--Latin: Horace's Satires and Epistles;
Cicero de Amicitia; Writing Latin.
Greek:
Demosthenes' Olinthiacs and Philippics; Buttmann's and Kuhner's Grammars, for reference; Writing
Greek.
Mathematics: Euclid, continued;
Smyth's Plane Trigonometry; Surveying; Navigation.
History:
Weber, continued to the end of the “
Middle Ages;”
Hallam's
Middle Ages.
Revealed Religion:
Paley's Evidences.
Rhetoric: Elocution; Themes; Declamations.
Second Term.--Latin:
Cicero de Officiis; Writing Latin.
Greek:
Aristophanes' Clouds; Greek Metres Writing
Greek.
Mathematics:
Smyth's Calculus; Spherical Trigonometry.
History:
Weber, continued to the “Colonization of
America;”
Sismondi's Italian Republics; English Commonwealth.
Physiology:
Hooker's, with Lectures.
Rhetoric:
Day's Rhetoric; Elocution; Themes; Declamations.
Junior class.--
First Term.--Latin: Juvenal's Satires; Latin Translations.
Greek:
Aeschylus' Septem contra Thebas; Greek Translations.
Physics:
Olmsted's Mechanics.
History:
Weber, continued to the “
French Revolution;”
French Revolution of 1789.
Moral Science:
Alexander's. Rhetoric: Themes; Declamations.
Elective Studies.--
French: Fasquelle's Exercises; Saintine's Picciola.
Mathematics:
Davies's Analytical Geometry.
Natural History: Lectures.
Second Term.--Physics:
Olmsted's Astronomy.
History:
Weber, concluded.
Intellectual Philosophy:
Wayland's. Rhetoric:
Whately's Logic; Themes; Original Declamations.
Hygiene: Lectures.
Elective Studies.--Latin:
Tacitus'
Germania and
Agricola; Latin Translations.
Greek:
Thucydides; Greek Translations.
French: Collot's Chefs d'oeuvre Dramatiques.
Italian:
Ollendorff's Grammar;
La Gerusalemme Liberata.
Mathematics:
Bridge's Conic Sections.
Senior class.--
First Term.--Physics: Chemistry, with Lectures.
Intellectual Philosophy:
Wayland's.
Political Economy:
Wayland's. Rhetoric:
Whately's Logic; Themes; Forensics; Original Declamations.
Elective Studies.--Latin:
Terence's Andria; Translations from
Greek into Latin.
Greek:
Sophocles'
Antigone; Translations from Latin into
Greek.
German:
Adler's Ollendorff and Reader.
Mathematics:
Davis's Linear Perspective.
Second Term.--Physics: Mineralogy and Geology, with Lectures.
Political Economy:
Wayland's. Natural and Revealed Religion:
Butler's Analogy.
Rhetoric: Lectures on the
English Language and Literature; Themes; Declamations.
Elective Studies.--Latin:
Cicero pro Cluentio.
Greek:
Demosthenes de Corona.
German:
Schiller's Thirty Years War; Gothe's Iphigenia.
Spanish:
Ollendorff's Grammar; Novelas Españolas.
Mathematics:
Davies's Shades and Shadows.
Public College Exercises.--A public examination of all the classes will be held, during not less than four days, immediately before the end of each term.
There will also be, in each term, a public exhibition; for which parts will be assigned to members of the
Junior and Senior Classes, according to their general scale of merit.
Religious Observances.--All resident under-graduates, resident students in partial courses, and resident officers of instruction, are required to attend morning and evening prayers, and the reading of the Scriptures, in the chapel.
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They are also required to attend public worship on Sundays, and on days of the annual Thanksgiving and Fast, at such places as the Faculty may appoint; provided always that the parents or guardians may, at the beginning of the college-year, appoint the place of public worship for those who are under age; and that those who are of age may, at that time, choose the place for themselves, and report it to the Faculty.
A biblical exercise is held every Saturday evening, which the members of all the classes have the privilege of attending.
Terms, Vacations, and Commencement.--The academical year is divided into two terms.
The first term of the academical year begins six weeks after the second Wednesday of July, and ends on the second Wednesday of January.
The second term begins six weeks after the second Wednesday of January, and ends on the second Wednesday of July.
At the end of each term, there is a vacation of six weeks. There are vacations also from the Tuesday evening next before the annual Thanksgiving till the following Monday evening, on Christmas Day, on the day of the annual Fast, on Wednesday and Thursday of Anniversary Week, and on the Fourth of July.
The public Commencement is held on the second Wednesday of July.
Expenses.
| Tuition | $35.00 a year. |
| Room-rent | from $10.00 to 15.00 a year. |
| Use of Library | 5.00 a year. |
| Board, not including washing and fuel | 2.50 a week. |
| Students, who choose, board themselves. |
Students who keep schools may be absent from college, on that duty, for a period not exceeding thirteen weeks, including the winter vacation; they continuing their studies the mean while.
Graduates.
List of persons, born in
Medford or once resident there, who have received collegiate degrees:--
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Medford once had eight under-graduates, at the same time, in Harvard College.
Physicians.
For many years the inhabitants of
Medford employed the physicians of the neighboring towns; and there was small need of medicine where all had simple diet, fresh air, and moderate labor.
As early as 1720, two doctors appear in the town records,--
Dr. Oliver Noyce and
Dr. Ebenezer Nutting.
The first died in 1721; and the second is not found in the records but a year or two afterwards.
Of these two practitioners, not being graduates, nothing has been discovered concerning them.
The name of
Dr. John Bishop appears on the tax-bills of 1726-7, and then vanishes.
Dr. Simon Tufts, son of Peter, born in
Medford, Jan. 31, 1700, died here, Jan. 31, 1747.
He graduated at Harvard College in 1724.
He pursued his medical studies under all the advantages which nearness to
Boston could give, and became distinguished in his profession.
He is called doctor in
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the town records, May, 1724.
The college at that time had not commenced the giving of medical degrees.
He is called “the first physician of
Medford.”
During a short residence with his townsman and relative,
Rev. John Tufts, at
Newbury, he connected himself with the church there, and was recommended by that church to the one in
Medford, May, 1734.
To show how much he labored, how well he succeeded, and how truly he was loved, we quote here the following brief and discriminating notice of him which appeared in the public papers immediately after his death:--
On the 31st of January, died here, of a convulsive asthma, and this day was decently buried,
Simon Tufts,
Esq., having just completed his forty-seventh year.
He was a gentleman well descended and liberally educated.
He was the youngest son of
Captain Peter Tufts, of this town, by his second wife, who was daughter of
the Rev. Seaborn Cotton, of
Hampton.
He took his degrees at Harvard College in the years 1724 and 1727.
He early applied himself to the study of physic, and soon became eminent in that profession.
He was honored with three commissions,--one for the peace, in the year 1733; another for a special justice, in 1741; and a third for justice of the quorum, 1743; and was very faithful and useful in these offices.
He was a man of substantial religion, and exhibited the virtues of the
Christian in all relations, stations, and conditions.
The removal of such an excellent person (in these degenerate times) calls for lamentation and supplication.
Psalm XII. 1: “Help,
Lord; for the godly man ceaseth; for the faithful fail from among the children of men.”
He has left a sorrowful widow, and seven children,--four sons, and three daughters.
One hundred and eight years having passed since his death, little more can now be collected concerning him. They who knew him testify that his practice was very extensive,--reaching even to
Haverhill and
Newbury; that he enjoyed the respect and affection of all who knew him; that the country mourned his loss; and that funeral sermons were preached at
Medford,
Boston,
Charlestown, and
Cambridge.
He was often called to visit the sick at Harvard College; and, though not rich himself, never demanded fees except from rich students.
It is indicative of the industry and economy of that age, that, while his oldest son,
Simon, was at college, his father placed him in the family of
Mr. Foxcraft, the
County Register of Deeds, that he might pay for his board by writing in the office.
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Dr. John Thomas was a medical student under his care, and, at the commencement of the Revolution, commanded at
Dorchester Heights, and afterwards at
Ticonderoga, where he died of the smallpox.
The following lines were from the pen of his son,
Dr. Cotton Tufts, of
Weymouth :--
Upon the death of my honored father, Simon Tufts, Esq., who died suddenly, Jan. 31, 1747, in the evening.
Death seized, and snatched my tender father hence,
To live enthroned in happiness immense.
Religion, grace, and truth possessed his soul;
And heaven-born love he breathed from pole to pole.
His grateful country owned his signal worth,
And gave him public life in civil birth.
A friend to all mankind; true to every cause,
Where bound by virtue or his country's laws.
Sweet peace he loved, and peace he oft prolonged
When jarring parties wished themselves revenged.
To vice, the wretch would tell his just disdain:
He ne'er the sword of justice held in vain.
The poor he fed; their wants he oft supplied:
The rich and poor, for health, on him relied.
The church and public spread around his grave
Tears: these could ne'er their friend and patron save.
Had tears from this event the husband dear,
The best of fathers, friend, relation near,
Detained, he still had blessed our loving sight,
Nor had we seen the sorrows of that night.
Methinks I hear some blissful seraph say:--
‘Mark well, my friend, the
strait, the
shining way:
that is the path thy Christian neighbor trod,--
The path that ends in happiness and God.’
Rev. Dr. Colman, of
Boston, in his sermon, preached at
Medford, April 6, 1735, after the death of his daughter,
Mrs. Jane Turell, speaks thus of
Dr. Tufts: “I leave a grateful record of my particular obligation to the pious and
beloved physician of the town, who, to and even beyond his power, has always ministered
gratis to the pastor and his family.
The
Lord show kindness to the house of his servant!”
1725, he built the house, which yet stands, on the southeast corner of Forest and Main Streets, in the market, fronting the bridge; and it well represents the second style of building adopted by our ancestors.
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Two sons of
Dr. Tufts,
Simon and Cotton, studied medicine.
Simon, the eldest, finished his three years of preparation with his father just before that father's death.
The inhabitants of
Medford were anxious to have this promising young man become their physician, and invited him to the office; which he accepted.
Entering upon his practice with confidence and reputation given in advance, as if his father had bequeathed to him his knowledge and experience, he had only to answer the expectations of his friends.
He did this, and more.
He was born Jan. 16, 1727, and graduated at Harvard College in 1744.
At his father's death he had not attained his majority.
The care of his mother and her six children devolved, in great measure, on him. Encouraged by friends at home, and having the promise of aid in his medical practice from
Dr. Brattle, of
Cambridge, he took courage.
His mild yet truthful character commanded the respect, while it won the affection, of all. His classmates considered him a ripe Latin scholar, and a boon companion.
He had the talent of agreeableness.
He received from his father the old-fashioned habits of urbanity, which he observed with a sort of religious strictness.
No one passed him unnoticed.
It was his custom to lift his hat to each one he met, no matter what the age or color.
It was said he wore out two hats where other gentlemen wore out one.
His example was so attractive and so uniform that he moulded the manners of the town.
It was in this school that his pupil,
John Brooks, caught the last finish of dignity and grace for which he was signalized.
Aug. 30, 1770, he received from the king the commission of justice of the peace, signed by
Governor Hutchinson.
Dr. Tufts had the entire practice of
Medford, and was frequently called into the neighboring towns.
When the question of Independence came up, he took side for it with warmth, and devoted himself to the wounded soldiers, who were brought here after the
battle of Bunker Hill.
He was the most intimate friend of
Colonel Royal, who appointed him the sole agent of his large estate ; and it was by the skilful and manly conduct of
Dr. Tufts that the confiscation of the colonel's property was deferred.
In municipal affairs he took a lively interest, and served the town in some important offices, notwithstanding his professional engagements.
When quite a young man, November, 1745, he made his public profession of Christianity, and lived consistently therewith.
In
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his speculative opinions, he inclined to what was then called Arminianism.
He was so interested in the virtuous character and thirst for knowledge of young
John Brooks that he almost adopted him as a son. He took his pupil under a written indenture, as an apprentice for seven years, to learn the science and practice of medicine; and the teacher was as faithful as the pupil was ambitious.
He put him to a classical school, took him into his family, directed his studies in medicine, and at length invited him to
Medford, and resigned to him his practice.
To show the standing which
Dr. Tufts had as a scholar, we need only mention that he was one of the first in the
State who felt the need of a medical society; and he was called to the first meeting for consummating the plan, which meeting took place on the third Monday in March, 1765, at
Gardner's tavern, on Boston Neck.
Of those who have been members of that distinguished society,
Dr. Tufts's name stands the second, in the order of time, on the college catalogue.
A fall from his horse brought on bleeding of the lungs; and he died Dec. 31, 1786, aged sixty, leaving a property of £ 2,676. 1s. 3d.
On the tombstone of these two physicians we read the following: “Both eminent in their profession; just towards man, and devout towards God.”
It is worthy of record, that one medical pupil of the father, and another medical pupil of the son, became distinguished officers in the revolutionary army.
Dr. Cotton Tufts, born 1732, brother of the above, graduated at Harvard College 1749; studied medicine with his brother; settled in
Weymouth; became the chosen friend and agent of
Hon. John Adams; was elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; a vice-president and president of the
Massachusetts Medical Society.
He died in 1815, revered for his Christian piety, beloved for his extensive usefulness, and admired for his common sense.
Dr. Aaron Putnam, who married Rebecca Hall, daughter of Aaron Hall, of
Medford, May 9, 1780, lived in this town ten years; but his medical practice was so limited that he removed to
Charlestown, and formed a partnership with
Messrs. Morse and
Woodbridge, in the baking business.
In this he was not successful.
He died in
Charlestown.
Dr. John Brooks had not the advantages of a collegiate education; but this fact stimulated him to make up for it by extraordinary application.
The consequence was a self-made
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man of the highest type.
After completing his medical studies with
Dr. Tufts, he settled in Reading, and went thence to the army.
After the Revolution, the people of
Medford called him, as by acclamation, to become their physician.
He accepted; and here through a long life he had no competitor, and witnessed only an increase of business and popularity.
It was common for him to ride, in his practice, as far as
Andover,
Lynn,
Watertown, and
Boston.
He received the honorary degree of master of arts, in 1787, from Harvard and Yale Colleges.
From
Harvard he received the degree of doctor of medicine in 1810, and that of doctor of laws in 1817.
Dr. Luther Stearns, who came to
Medford as a teacher, occasionally practised as a physician; but his duties to his school presented obstacles to his wide employment in medical duties, and he finally relinquished the profession.
His very acute sensibilities must have made him most acceptable in a sick-chamber; while in surgical cases they may have been a hinderance.
On the election of
Dr. Brooks to the office of governor, he resigned his medical practice to his pupil and friend,--
Dr. Daniel Swan, of
Medford,--who graduated at Harvard College in 1803.
He first entered on practice at
Brighton, in 1808, where for eight years he had all the success he anticipated.
He was invited by the inhabitants of
Medford, in 1816, to become their physician; and, having obeyed the call, he has practised nearly forty years as the established physician of the place.
Very early he turned his attention to homoeopathy; and, as soon as he could procure the books to examine it scientifically, he became a convert to its principles.
His practice did not much diminish on this account; and he may be said almost to have carried the town with him to his new faith.
He thinks his success has been much greater under the new system.
As he has withdrawn from general practice on account of age, it would seem affectation to suppress here what is every day repeated in the street,--namely, that everybody respects and loves him, and calls him the “good Samaritan.”
A graphic writer says of him in print, “His beneficent career is so interwoven with each thread of his existence, that it will be impossible to do him justice until the dead rise and give their account.”
Dr. David Osgood (H. C. 1813), born in
Medford, selected
Boston as his home; and, first as an allopathic, and then
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(after a visit to
Dr. Hahnemann in
Europe) as a homoeopathic practitioner, has held a high rank.
He is a member of the
Massachusetts Medical Society.
Dr. Samuel Gregg, born in
New Boston, N. H., came to
Medford and commenced practice in 1826, and for fourteen years pursued the allopathic system of cure.
By a visit to
Dr. Vandenburg, in New York, he became acquainted with the homoeopathic system, and has since used none other.
For the last few years he has been a most successful practitioner in
Boston, where he has resided.
Dr. Milton Fuller, who has practised acceptably in
Medford and the neighboring towns for the last twelve years, on the homoeopathic system, has just removed to
Boston.
Of the present physicians of the town, now in full practice, and justly esteemed by all who know them, the usual rules of courtesy forbid us to speak.
Drs.
Bemis and
Dorr practise on the allopathic system.
In reviewing the last century and a quarter, we find that the terms of service with four physicians have filled up this long period!
Medford certainly has not been given to change; and was ever town more favored in its physicians?
They were men of medical science, of practical skill, of quick sensibility, and irreproachable morals.
How steady and powerful the beneficent action of such Christian professors amid the most trying scenes of human life!
What so disgusting as a profane and licentious physician?
There are some noble scholars in the medical profession who maintain that there are very small advances made in therapeutic science, compared with those in kindred branches.
They are awaking to the demands of the age; and the happiest results will in due time follow.
Lawyers.
The number of lawyers resident in
Medford has been very small,--the quarrelling propensities of the people smaller still.
Office business has been the chief source of emolument.
Hon. Timothy Bigelow came from
Groton, to reside in
Medford, in 1808; but he relied on the whole county for business, and had as much as, perhaps more than, any other lawyer.
Standing so eminently at the bar, he accumulated a fortune by his indefatigable labors.
As a senator, a member of the Executive Council, a representative, and speaker
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of the
House, he was placed among the most efficient and accomplished.
For many years he represented
Medford in the General Court; and during the whole time he filled the speaker's chair with signal success.
He was a member of the American Academy.
He was a professor of Christianity, and a constant attendant on public worship.
He died May, 1821, aged fifty-four.
Abner Bartlett,
Esq., whose name first appears on the town records in 1808, was born in
Plymouth, and graduated at Harvard College 1799.
He preferred not to appear as an advocate before a jury.
His taste led him to the unostentatious duties of a legal life; and for forty years he attended acceptably to all that
Medford needed.
As a representative, legal adviser, town officer, and justice of the peace, he was as faithful to duty as is the needle to the pole.
He belonged to the working-men, but was one of the “
festina lente” school.
He loved human law much; but he loved the divine law more.
No one distinguished more clearly between things that differ, and no one more heartily approved those that were excellent.
Truthfulness was interwoven with every fibre of his soul; and he was for reform in its best sense.
He did not
Crook the pregnant hinges of his knee,
That thrift might follow fawning.
Among the inhabitants of
Medford, there has not probably been a man who has served the town in so many and responsible offices as this gentleman.
He was not made for a leader; he had not that kind of force, but left the race to those who coveted the laurels.
He was a faithful member of the church, and all but revelled in spiritual disquisitions.
As a neighbor he was most friendly, as a critic most caustic, and as a wit most ready.
He died Sept. 3, 1850, aged seventy-four.
Omne tulit punctum qui miscuit utile dulci.
Jonathan Porter,
Esq., born in
Medford, devoted the energies of a strong mind and a ripe scholarship to the science of law; and, while his health allowed, he practised his profession in
Boston.
For many years past he has been an invalid, confined to his house; but he has been, nevertheless, a diligent student in literature and the classics.
He has entertained sickness as he would entertain an angel, and has hallowed all his sufferings by a meek submission.
Sanford B. Perry,
Esq., has taken the place of
Mr. Bartlett,
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and has already been elected a member of the Senate of Massachusetts.
May it be long before his name can come under the care of the historian.
A similar wish we may express for
Thomas S. Harlow,
Esq., who is a permanent and valuable resident in
Medford, but attends to his professional business in
Boston.
Public characters.
Medford has furnished its share of public characters, who have done it honor; and they include a governor,
lieutenant-governor, councillors, senators,
representatives, clergymen, physicians, lawyers, authors, two professors in colleges, a mayor of
Boston, and military commanders in the army and navy of the
United States.
We may be allowed to signalize our ladies, who have been called to public stations.
Two have represented the country, as wives of ministers, at the Court of St. James; and another has written and published more perhaps than any other female in the
United States.
Authors.
The following list of printed works contains all that have come to our knowledge.
Names in the order of graduation:--
Her literary productions are noticed elsewhere.
Sermons.
| On the Annual and National Thanksgiving | 1783 |
| At the Installation of Rev. Peter Thatcher, in Brattle-street Church, Boston | 1785 |
| Before the Ancient and Honorable Artillery, in Boston | 1788 |
| At Ordination of Rev. N. Thayer, in Lancaster | 1793 |
| On the Annual Thanksgiving | 1794 |
| On the Day of the National Thanksgiving | 1795 |
| On the Death of a Child, killed by a Gun | 1797 |
| Before the Annual Convention of the Congregational Ministers of Massachusetts | 1798 |
| At the Ordination of Rev. Leonard Woods, at Newbury | 1798 |
| The Devil let Loose; or, the Woe occasioned by his wrathful Appearance,--a Sermon on Fast Day | 1799 |
| On the Death of General Washington | 1799 |
| Dudlean Lecture; Validity of Presbyterian Ordination,--delivered in the Chapel of Harvard College | 1802 |
| At the Funeral of Rev. Joseph Roby, at Lynn | 1803 |
| The Validity of Baptism by Sprinkling, and the Right of Infants to that Ordinance | 1804 |
| On Family Religion | 1808 |
| At the Annual Election | 1809 |
| At the University in Cambridge | 1810 |
| A Solemn Protest against the late Declaration of War | 1812 |
| At the Ordination of the Rev. Convers Francis, in Watertown | 1819 |
| Volume of Sermons, pp. 469 | 1824 |
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Samuel Hall.
He was born in
Medford, November, 1740, and served his apprenticeship, at the printing-business, with his uncle,
Daniel Fowle, of
Portsmouth.
He began business in 1763, at
Newport, R. I., in company with
Anne Franklin.
He left
Newport in March, 1768, and opened a printing-office in
Salem in April, and commenced the publication of the “Essex Gazette,” Aug. 2 of that year.
In 1772, he admitted his brother Ebenezer as partner in trade; and the firm was Samuel and Ebenezer Hall.
They remained in
Salem until May, 1775, when they removed to
Cambridge, and printed in Stoughton Hall.
Their paper was then called “
New England chronicle and Salem Gazette.”
Ebenezer was born in
Medford, September, 1749, and died in February, 1776, aged twenty-seven.
He learned the art of printing from his brother.
He was a good workman, a steady young man, and promised to be an able editor.
After the death of Ebenezer, his brother Samuel removed to
Boston, and remained there till 1781, when he returned to
Salem, and, on Thursday, Oct. 17, 1781, published the “Salem Gazette.”
The last sheet of this paper which he issued was on Thursday, Nov. 22, 1785.
After this, he removed to
Boston; and on Monday, Nov. 26, of that month, he issued the first sheet of the “
Massachusetts Gazette.”
He died Oct. 30, 1807, aged sixty-seven.
He was an able
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writer, and an impartial editor; a very industrious man, and a friendly neighbor; a true American patriot, and a humble, pious
Christian.
| The Portrait, a Political Poem | 1812 |
| Airs of Palestine, a Religious Poem | 1816 |
| Sermon, “What think ye of Christ?”
| 1823 |
| Sermon, “Knowledge is power,” --Annual Fast | 1827 |
| Sermon occasioned by the Death, at Sea, of Rev. Dr. Holley, his immediate Predecessor | 1827 |
| Sermon before the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company | 1828 |
| Sermon, The Object of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ | 1828 |
| Sermon preached at Northfield, Mass., Feb. 27, 1828, at the Ordination of Mr. Samuel Presbury | 1828 |
| Sermon, “New heavens and a New earth” | 1830 |
| Sermon, “The fashion of this World passeth away” | 1830 |
| Sermon, The Garden of Graves | 1832 |
| Sermon, The Great Salvation | 1833 |
| Sermon, Ephesian Letters | 1833 |
| Sermon preached at Northfield, Mass., March 8, at the Ordination of Mr. Oliver C. Everett | 1837 |
| Sermon, Angelic Ministrations | 1837 |
| Address to the Congregation, at the Installation of Mr. Henry A. Miles, at Lowell | 1836 |
| Sermon, The Moral Rule of Political Action | 1839 |
| Sermon, The Reformer and the Conservative | 1839 |
| Sermon, Annual Fast | 1840 |
| The Airs of Palestine, and other Poems,--a volume of Miscellaneous Poems | 1840 |
| Sermon, “I have lost my children, and am Desolate” | 1841 |
| Sermon, “The Prophets,--do they live for ever?”
| 1842 |
| Sermon, The Covenant with Judas | 1842 |
| Sermon, “Man dieth, and wasteth away” | 1843 |
| Charge, at the Installation of Rev. John T. Sargent, at Somerville, Feb. 18, 1846 | 1846 |
| Sermon, “Despise not the little ones” | 1850 |
| The American First Class Book | 1823 |
| The National Reader | 1827 |
These were followed by “The introduction to the
National Reader,” “The young Reader,” and “The little Learner.”
1854, “The New Reader” was compiled, and “The American first class Book,” and “The National Reader” revised.
Between 1838 and 1845,
Mr. Pierpont published numerous documents, in pamphlet form, which make up his part of “The Hollis-street controversy.”
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Modern School Geography and
Atlas, eleventh edition.
Annals of Education, editor.
Woodbridge and
Willard's Geography; accompanied by an Atlas, Physical and Political, for the Use of the
Higher Classes.
This gentleman has published a large octavo volume, describing his travels in
Europe, and several sermons, and very valuable reports respecting the ministry to the poor in
Boston.
Of the much that he has written so well, we regret that no catalogue of his printed works could be procured.
| A Sermon at the Ordination of Rev. Benjamin Kent as Associate Pastor with Rev. John Allyn, D. D., Duxbury | 1826 |
| On Experimental Religion | 1827 |
| Errors in Education: a Discourse at the Anniversary of the Derby Academy, in Hingham, May 21 | 1828 |
| Address delivered on the Fourth of July, 1828, at Watertown, &c. | 1828 |
| A Discourse before the Middlesex Bible Society, in Bedford | 1828 |
| An Historical Sketch of Watertown, Mass., from the first Settlement of the Town to the Close of its Second Century | 1830 |
| Sermon on the Presence of God with the Good Man. | |
| A Sermon at the Ordination of the Rev. Oliver Stearns over the Second Congregational Society in Northampton | 1831 |
| Sermon on the Value of enlightened Views of Religion | 1831 |
| The Christian Charge described by the Apostle Peter | 1832 |
| Discourse at Plymouth, Mass., Dec. 22 | 1832 |
| Sermon on Love to Christ. | |
| Sermon on Grace as connected with Salvation. | |
| Christianity a purely internal Principle. | |
| Christ the Way to God. | |
| “The dust to earth, the Spirit to God” | 1833 |
| A Dudlean Lecture before the University of Cambridge, May 8, 1833,--Popery and kindred Principles unfriendly to the Improvement of Man | 1833 |
| Three Discourses (printed together) in Watertown; two on leaving the Old Meeting-house, and one at the Dedication of the New | 1836 |
| The Life of John Eliot, the Apostle to the Indians,--vol.
v. in Sparks's American Biography | 1836 |
| “The death of the aged” | 1841 |
| The Life of Sebastian Rasle, Missionary to the Indians,--vol.
VII., new series, of Sparks's American Biography | 1845 |
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In the “Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society” are the following papers:--
The following articles in the “Christian disciple,” new series:--
On the Use of the Word
Mystery, vol.
II.; Remarks on Matt.
XXVIII. 19, vol.
III.; The Gospel a New Creation, vol.
IV.; Obituary Notice of
Rev. Dr. Osgood, vol.
IV.
The following articles in the “Christian Examiner:” --
Reason and Faith, vol.
III.; Article on Dr. Robert South's Discourses, vol IV.; Article on
Dr. Paley's Life and Writings, vol.
v.; Article on
Dr. Young's Library of Old English Prose Writers, vol.
VI., new series; Article on
Crombie's Natural Theology, vol.
VII., new series; Article on
Reinhard's Plans and Memoirs, &c., vol.
VIII., new series.
In the “American Monthly Review,” the following:--
In the “
Unitarian advocate:” --
On Isaiah LXIV. 6; The Friendship of the World.
In the “Scriptural Interpreter:” --
In the “
Juvenile Miscellany,” edited by
Mrs. Child, the following:--
Several Translations from
Herder, at different times; several Illustrations of Scripture, at different times.
| Right Hand of Fellowship at the Ordination of Rev. Charles Brooks, in Hingham | 1821 |
| The Address to the Phi Beta Kappa Society | 1829 |
| Obituary Notice of Rev. Dr. Foster, of Brighton | 1829 |
| Address to the Society at the Ordination of Rev. T. B. Fox, Newburyport | 1831 |
| Charge at the Installation of Rev. Edward B. Hall, Providence, R. I. | 1832 |
| Address to the Society at the Ordination of Rev. John Pierpont, jun., Lynn | 1843 |
| Obituary Notice of Rev. Samuel Ripley | 1847 |
| Address to the Society at the Ordination of Rev. Horatio Stebbins, in Fitchburg | 1851 |
| Obituary Notice of Miss Eliza Townsend | 1854 |
| Mrs. Lydia Maria child. |
| Hobomok, an Indian Story | 1824 |
| Rebels, a Tale of the Revolution | 1825 |
| Juvenile Miscellany, 16 vols., edited | from 1826 to 1834 |
| The Girl's Own Book | 1831 |
| The Mother's Book | 1831 |
| The Oasis, an Antislavery Annual | 1833 |
| Appeal in behalf of the Africans | 1833 |
| History of Women, 2 vols. | 1835 |
| Philothea, a Grecian Romance | 1836 |
| Letters from New York, 2 vols. | 1843-4 |
| Fact and Fiction | 1845 |
| Flowers for Children, 3 vols. | 1845-6 |
| Life of Isaac T. Hopper | 1853 |
| The Progress of Religious Ideas through successive Ages, 3 vols. | 1855 |
| Rev. Hosea Ballou. |
| Contributions to the Universalist Magazine | 1819-28 |
| A Sermon delivered at Roxbury, January | 1822 |
| A Sermon delivered at the Installation of the Rev. Thomas G. Farnsworth, in Haverhill, Mass., April 12 | 1826 |
| The Ancient History of Universalism, from the time of the Apostles to its Condemnation in the Fifth General Council, A. D. 553; with an Appendix, tracing the Doctrine down to the Era of the Reformation | 1829 |
| Articles in the “Universalist Expositor” | 1830-40 |
| Reply to Tract No. 224 of the American Tract Society | 1833 |
| Introduction to an American edition of the History of the Crusades against the Albigenses in the Thirteenth Century, by J. C. L. Sismondi | 1833 |
| A Collection of Psalms and Hymns for the Use of Universalist Societies and Families | 1839 |
| Articles in the “Universalist Quarterly and General Review” | 1844-55 |
| A few Contributions to Religious Newspapers. | |
| Rev. Charles Brooks. |
| Perils of Truth in Controversy | 1820 |
| Address before Hingham Peace Society | 1821 |
| Address before Scituate Temperance Society | 1822 |
| Family Prayer-book,--17th edition, 1853; 1st edition | 1822 |
| Annual Address before Old Colony Peace Society | 1823 |
| Account of St. Thome Christians | 1823 |
| Abstract of the History of the Jews | 1824 |
| Description of the Jewish Festivals | 1824 |
| Daily Monitor,--Reflections for each Day in the Year | 1828 |
| New Year's Sermon on Procrastination | 1830 |
| Prayers for Young Persons | 1831 |
| Biography of Eminent Men and Women, 2 vols. | 1832 |
| Visit to Vaucluse, France | 1833 |
| Visit to Mount Vesuvius during an Eruption, February | 1834 |
| Leaves from a Journal,--Carnival and Holy Week at Rome | 1835 |
| Discourse at the Funeral of Rev. Jacob Flint, Cohasset | 1835 |
| Prussian System of Education, &c.,--Lectures delivered before the Legislatures of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Connecticut | 1836 |
| History of Preaching in New England | 1836 |
| Oration at Quincy, July 4 | 1837 |
| Normal Schools,--Lecture before American Institute of Instruction, at Worcester | 1837 |
| System of Education in Holland,--Introductory Lecture before the American Institute of Instruction, at Lowell | 1838 |
| “Letters of a foreign Correspondent;” being Communications from Europe, on Science, Natural History, Education, Pauperism, Fine Arts, and Religion | 1838-44 |
| Artesian Wells,--Account of the first one at Paris, France | 1841 |
| Parisian Linguist,--an easy Method of obtaining a true Pronunciation of French | 1842 |
| American School of Fine Arts,--a Speech made in Rome, Italy, Feb. 22 | 1843 |
| Remarks at Annual Meeting of the American Unitarian Association | 1844 |
| Natural History,--A Lecture before the American Institute of Instruction, at Portland | 1844 |
| Protestantism in France, Christian Examiner | 1844 |
| Christian in his Closet,--Volume of Prayers for Individuals; 2d edition | 1845 |
| Superintendence of the Boston Schools | 1845 |
| Improvisations of Italy,--Account of Rosa Taddei, as witnessed at Rome in 1843 | 1845 |
| Annual Report of the School Committee of Boston | 1846 |
| Remarks on Education, Peace, and Labor, in Europe, 2d ed. | 1846 |
| Elementary Course of Natural History,--Ornithology | 1847 |
| Account of Richfield Springs, New York | 1847 |
| Ride through the Gulf, Green Mountains, October | 1847 |
| Four Annual Reports of the Sunday-school Society: 1.
On the Evils existing; 2.
On the Remedies; 3.
On the Family; 4.
Statistics of Schools in United States | 1847-50 |
| Plan of a Farm-school for City Boys | 1849 |
| Sermon on the Cholera, Greenfield | 1849 |
| Concluding Lecture,--American Institute of Instruction; On the Duties of Legislatures,--at Montpelier, Vt. | 1849 |
| Address at Dedication of Brooks Schoolhouse | 1851 |
| Sanatory Survey of the State, Christian Examiner | 1851 |
| On Marriage of First Cousins | 1852 |
| History of Medford | 1855 |
| Contributions to Silliman's Journal; Journals of Education in Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, New York, and Ohio; North American Review; Knickerbocker; Graham's Magazine; Friend of Peace; Christian Citizen; Colonization Tracts; Christian Examiner; Unitarian Miscellany; Monthly Religious Magazine. | |
| Rev. William H. Furness. |
| Remarks on the Four Gospels | 1836 |
| Jesus and his Biographers | 1838 |
| The Spirit of the Pilgrims; an Oration delivered before the Society of the Sons of New England of Philadelphia, Dec. 22 | 1846 |
| Derby Academy Lecture,--Doing before Believing | 1847 |
| An Address delivered before the Art Union of Philadelphia | 1848 |
| Mirror of Nature, translated from the German of G. H. Schubert | 1849 |
| Gems of German Verse; containing the Song of the Bell, and other Translations by various hands | 1851 |
| A History of Jesus, 2d edition, with Introduction and Notes | 1853 |
| Domestic Worship. | |
| Discourses | 1855 |
| The Kingdom of Heaven, an Ordination Sermon at Somerville, Mass. | |
| Faith in Christ, Ordination of Mr. Hodges at Barre, Mass. | |
| Rev. Edward B. Hall. |
| A Sketch of the Life and Character of the Hon. Samuel Howe, from the Christian Examiner | 1828 |
| A Sermon on Fear as a Religious Principle | 1832 |
| A Sermon on Old Age | 1835 |
| Two Discourses, comprising a History of the First Congregational Church in Providence, after the Close of a Century from the Formation of the Church, with an Appendix | 1836 |
| The Temperance Reform, from the “Christian Examiner,” March | 1840 |
| Discourse on the National Fast, after the Death of President Harrison | 1841 |
| Discourse on the Death of William E. Channing, D. D. | 1842 |
| Christians forbidden to fight.
Address before the Rhode Island Peace Society | 1844 |
| Discourse in behalf of the Children's Friend Society | 1845 |
| The Punishment of Death, from the North American Review | 1845 |
| The Value of a Man; a Discourse occasioned by the Death of Henry Wheaton | 1848 |
| Memoir of Mary L. Ware, wife of Henry Ware, jun | 1853 |
| The Spirit of Truth; a Discourse at the Dedication of the new Divinity Hall, in the Meadville Theological School, Pa. | 1854 |
| The Scriptural Doctrine of Good Works. | |
| What is it to be a Unitarian? | |
| The Atonement. | |
| No Professed Religion. | |
| The Life and Times of John Howland; a Discourse delivered before the Rhode Island Historical Society. | |
| Rev. Caleb Stetson. |
| An Oration delivered at Lexington, July 4 | 1825 |
| A Sermon preached before the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company, June 7 | 1830 |
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Tracts of the
American Unitarian Association:
The Apostle
Paul a Unitarian; Piety at Home; Domestic Worship.
Articles in the “Christian Examiner:” --
The Temperance Movement;
Harriet Martineau's Society in
America; The Word,--Exposition of John i.;
Margaret Fuller's Summer on the
Lakes; The Log Cabin.
Articles in the “
Unitarian advocate:” --
The Saviour's Temptation in the
Wilderness; The Saviour's Agony in the
Garden.
| A Sermon on the Burning of the Ursuline Convent | 1834 |
| Address to the Society in New Bedford, at the Ordination of Joseph Angier | 1835 |
| Two Discourses preached to the First Congregational Society in Medford; one on leaving the Old Church, and one at the Dedication of the New | 1839 |
| Intuition of God; a Sermon | 1840 |
| Sermon on the State of the Country | 1842 |
| Sermon on the Principle of Reform, preached at the Ordination of John Pierpont, jun., January | 1843 |
| Address to the Society in Somerville, at the Ordination of John T. Sargent | 1846 |
| Rev. Nathaniel Hall. |
| Two Discourses preached on the Sunday after Ordination | 1835 |
| A Sermon preached on the Sunday after the Resignation of Rev. Dr. Harris as Colleague Pastor | 1836 |
| An Address at the Funeral of Rev. T. M. Harris, D. D. | 1842 |
| A Sermon at the Ordination of Rev. Hiram Withington, Leominster, Mass. | 1844 |
| A Sermon occasioned by the Death of Mrs. John Howe, and others | 1844 |
| A Sermon on doing justly | 1845 |
| A Sermon on the Death of Children | 1845 |
| A Sermon at the Ordination of Rev. Frank P. Appleton, Danvers, Mass. | 1846 |
| A Sermon on the Limits of Civil Obedience | 1851 |
| A Sermon commemorative of the Life and Services of Robert Thaxter, M. D. | 1852 |
| A Sermon on the Death of Mr. James Pierce | 1853 |
| A Sermon preached at West Cambridge after the Death of Rev. James F. Brown | 1853 |
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This lady, daughter of
Rev. Benjamin Colman, D. D., was born in
Boston, Feb. 25, 1708; was married to
Rev. Ebenezer Turell, of
Medford, Aug. 11, 1726; joined the church, Oct. 29, 1727; and died March 26, 1735.
She had three children, all of whom died early.
Some further notice of this talented, accomplished, and Christian lady is required at our hands; and we gladly rely on the statements contained in
Two sermons, preached at Medford, April 6, 1735, by Benjamin Colman; and
Memoirs of her life and death, by Ebenezer Turell.
Before her second year was completed, she could speak distinctly, knew her letters, and could relate many stories out of the Scriptures to the satisfaction and pleasure of the most judicious.
I have heard that Governor Dudley, with other wise and polite gentlemen, have placed her on a table, and, sitting around it, owned themselves diverted with her stories.
Before she was four years old (so strong and tenacious was her memory), she could say the greater part of the Assembly's Catechism, many of the Psalms, some hundred lines of the best poetry, read distinctly, and make pertinent remarks on many things she read.
Her father devoted himself to her education.
She inherited a poetic talent; and some verses written by her, in the beginning of her eleventh year, show its cultivation.
In her youthful diary we find the following:--
1. Thank God for my immortal soul, and that reason and understanding which distinguish me from the lower creation.
2. For my birth in a Christian country, in a land of light, where the true God and Jesus Christ are known.
3. For pious and honorable parents, whereby I am favored beyond many others.
4. For faithful and godly ministers, who are from time to time showing me the way of salvation.
5. For a polite as well as Christian education.
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6. For restraining grace, that I have been withheld from more open and gross violations of God's holy laws.
Before her marriage, she laid down the following rules:--
1. I will admit the addresses of no person who is not descended of pious and creditable parents.
2. Who has not the character of a strict moralist,--sober, temperate, just, and honest.
3. Diligent in his business, and prudent in matters.
4. Fixed in his religion, a constant attender on the public worship, and who appears not in God's house with the gravity becoming a Christian.
5. Of a sweet and agreeable temper; for if he be owner of all the former good qualifications, and fails here, my life will be still uncomfortable.
These rules governed her in her choice.
She had that elasticity of mind and buoyancy of heart which belonged to her nervous, bilious temperament.
Capable of the tenderest emotions, and being a ready lover of beauty and virtue, it was not strange that she should be interested in a young gentleman whom she had seen so much at her father's house, and whom that father had taught her to respect.
Her rolling black eye had often telegraphed to his heart; and
Mr. Turell was not so much surprised as delighted to receive the following anonymous letter:--
Sir,--You are to me the most agreeable person in the world;
and I should think myself very happy if Providence should order it as I desire; but, sir, I must conceal my name, fearing you should expose me; and if you do not incline to find me out, I must submit to my hard fate; but if you comply with my desire, I am your obliged friend.
“Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.”
Love's polarity in this letter-missive was not to be mistaken; and the consequence of it was the marriage above recorded; and a happy marriage it was. She loved to love.
The following letter from
Dr. Colman to his daughter is pleasant proof of domestic joy:--
My Dear,--Your letter of the 9th of this month was exceedingly pleasant to me and to your mother, wherein you express your great contentment in the kind disposals of
Providence respecting you. No worldly thing can rejoice us more than your happiness in
Mr. Turell, and his in you. You will emulate his tender regards to you and his incomparable good temper; and, learning of
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him, return the same to him, that he may have as rich a blessing in you as you have in him.
Mr. Turell will direct you in renewing your espousals to
Christ at his table.
Delay not this duty, but join yourself to that church and people of God who (you say) are so full of good — will and love to you. Give yourself first to the
Lord, and then unto them by the will of God.
It was her custom, after her marriage, to study and write.
She made poetry her recreation.
Her husband says of her,--
What greatly contributed to increase her knowledge in divinity, history, physic, controversy, as well as poetry, was her attentive hearing most that I read upon those heads through the long evenings of the winters as we sat together.
Her letters to her father were full of that sweet, filial reverence which ancient manners promoted more than modern.
She sends him a pressing invitation, in verse, to visit her in the happy manse at
Medford.
Her residence then was on the spot now occupied by the house of Misses Elizabeth and Lucy Ann Brooks,--the spot on which this history has been written.
In imitation of Horace, she recounts the reasons for his coming.
The poem is too long to be extracted here; so we give only a part:--
From the soft shades and from the balmy sweets
Of Medford's flowery vales and green retreats,
Your absent Delia to her father sends,
And prays to see him ere the summer ends.
Now, while the earth's with beauteous verdure dyed,
And Flora paints the meads in all her pride;
While laden trees Pomonia's bounty own,
And Ceres' treasures do the fields adorn;
From the thick smokes and noisy town, oh, come,
And in these plains a while forget your home.
But though rich dainties never spread my board,
Nor my cool vaults Calabrian wines afford;
Yet what is neat and wholesome I can spread,--
My good, fat bacon, and our homely bread,
With which my healthful family is fed;
Milk from the cow, and butter newly churned;
And new, fresh cheese, with curds and cream just turned.
For a dessert, upon my table's seen
The golden apple and the melon green:
The blushing peach and glossy plum there lies,
And, with the mandrake, tempt your hands and eyes.
This I can give; and if you'll here repair,
To slake your thirst, a cask of autumn beer,
Reserved on purpose for your drinking here.
No stately beds my humble roof adorn,
Of costly purple, by carved panthers borne;
Nor can I boast Arabia's rich perfumes,
Diffusing odors through our stately rooms.
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For me no fair Egyptian plies the loom;
But my fine linen all is made at home.
Though I no down or tapestry can spread,
A clean, soft pillow shall suppport your head,
Filled with the wool from off my tender sheep,
On which with ease and safety you may sleep.
The nightingale shall lull you to your rest,
And all be calm and still as is your breast.
In writing to her only sister, in 1728, she says,--
You have now just passed your childhood, and are arrived at that stage of life which is most exposed to snares and temptations.
Put away all childish things.
Behave yourself womanly and like a Christian to all with whom you converse.
Indulge not a passionate or fretful temper, much less a haughty or insulting carriage, towards the meanest servant in the family.
Be obliging, and modest, and humble; so shall you deserve and have the esteem of everybody.
Be thankful to, and pray for, them that are so kind as to admonish you. Be contented. Wish not yourself in another's place, or that you had another's liberty.
Before the birth of her first child, she was in low spirits, and wrote in sad tone to her father; to which he made the following reply:--
My Dear,--I thank you for your letter of yesterday, but am sorry you pine so after me, and seem so melancholy.
You have reason to be glad and rejoice in the
Lord.
Fear not as to soul or body, but trust in his salvation.
I find myself easier in hearing from you, though I see you not. You are always on my heart and mind; and you are in the hand of a gracious and faithful God.
I send you a fine present of two oranges,--all we have; and a piece of chocolate.
Don't hanker after any thing.
Get above that womanish fancy; but yet speak, if you crave.
When the ground is dry, and the weather warm, I shall hope to make a visit to you. The meanwhile, we must meet daily, as you say, which is the best meeting of all, before the throne of grace.
Your loving father,
This letter shows, among other things, that a journey from
Boston to
Medford was an event which must be postponed till the “weather is warm, and the ground dry.”
Such a reason sounds strange now, when there are twenty separate opportunities in each day of going to and coming from
Boston in public conveyances.
After the birth of her first child (still-born),
Mrs. Turell writes thus:--
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Born to the grave ere it had seen the light,
Or with one smile had cheered my longing sight.
The second child (
Clark Thomas) lived only eleven days. She thus writes of him:--
Ten days I hold him in my joyful arms,
And feast my eyes upon his youthful charms;
But then the king of terrors does advance
To pierce its bosom with his iron lance.
Its soul released, upward it takes its flight,
Oh, never more below to bless my sight!
Farewell, sweet babe!
I hope to meet above,
And there with you sing our Redeemer's love!
Sensibility, benevolence, and devotion were salient traits in
Mrs. Turell's character.
Her husband says of her, “Some unhappy affairs in
Medford, in the years 1729-30, produced many prayers and tears from her.”
He says elsewhere, “It was her practice to read the
Bible out in course once in a year; the book of Psalms much oftener; besides many chapters and a multitude of verses, which she kept turned down in a Bible which she had been the owner and reader of more than twenty years.”
Again he says, “When she apprehended she received injuries, silence and tears were her highest resentments.”
The Rev. John Adams writes, after her death, a long letter in verse to
Mr. Turell.
We give here a few lines:--
Why hangs such sorrow on your pensive brow?
Say, Turell, why the tears so freely flow?
If you lament the lovely partner fled,
In vain you heave the sigh, or rivers shed;
Nor eloquence can soothe, nor virtue awe,
Nor force repel the power of Nature's law.
Nature had shed upon her ample mind
Its various gifts, which Art had well refined.
Few were her words, but close, and weighty too:
We could not blame, but grieved they were so few.
Nor was she vain, nor stained with those neglects
In which too learned females lose their sex.
The tender ties of nuptial life she graced,
And all the mother to the child expressed.
The best of daughters in her carriage shown,
She felt the friend, and charmed the weeping town.
E'en now the flowing numbers left behind
Reflect the features of her virtuous mind;
Nor yet, of all the nymphs that grace the plain,
Has one appeared to sing so sweet a strain.
But most Devotion did its power diffuse,--
Soul of her soul, the spirit of her Muse.
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This lady was certainly a polished stone in the temple of the
Lord.
She inherited a most fragile frame, an exquisite sensibility, and a poetic taste.
Under peculiar circumstances, the ebbs and flows of feeling were uncontrollable; but the deep-laid principles of Christian faith and pious trust sustained and delivered her. There was in her a childlike transparency of soul, and a deep well of love, which made her the admiration and blessing of all with whom she lived.
She was a model wife for a minister, as he was a model husband; and the tribute he has left to her affection, usefulness, and piety, is alike honorable to both.
The death of
Mrs. Turell brought deep and lasting sorrow to the heart of her aged father.
He had lived in her life, and was now ready to die her death.
Family afflictions had been few with him. He says, “For six and twenty years there had been no death in my family!”
In speaking of the two sermons preached after the death of
Mrs. Turell, he says, “I now make the dedication of both,--first, to the beloved children of my own flock and town; and
then to the beloved people of
Medford, to whom I gave away no small part of the light of my eyes in the day I married her to their pastor.”
