Charles A. Nelson , A. M., Waltham, past, present and its industries, with an historical sketch of Watertown from its settlement in 1630 to the incorporation of Waltham, January 15, 1739.

March 19, 1627-8.

The history of these settlements, for the first decade after the landing of the Pilgrims on Cape Cod on the afternoon of the 11th of November, 1620, is a history of struggles and privations unparalleled in severity and extent, and ‘indured with a wonderfull patience.’ But notwithstanding the discouragements that beset the seekers for religious liberty while laying the foundations of their settlement at Plymouth, a more ambitious class were burning with zeal to found a commonwealth where political as well as religious liberty would be secured.

The fishing stations previously established by the merely speculative Adventurers for money-making purposes had proved failures; numbers of persons throughout the English realm were ‘disaffected to the rulers in church and state;’ and the time had come to take steps to secure a domain for a colony. On March 19, 1627-8, John Endicott and five associates, the new Dorchester Company, obtained from the Council for New England ‘a grant of lands extending from the Atlantic to the Western Ocean, and in width from a line running three miles north of the river Merrimac to a [10] line three miles south of the Charles.’ The former grant of the New England coast to the Earl of Warwick and others, six years before, was by them resigned to this company. Mr. Matthew Cradock, ‘a prudent and wealthy citizen of London,’ was the first governor chosen by the company, and ‘sworn in chancery’ March 23, 1628-9, Mr. Thomas Goffe being chosen and sworn deputy governor at the same time.

June 20th Endicott, commissioned as agent of the patentees, sailed with a small party to take charge for the new company of the old station at Naumkeag.¹ Those on the spot disputed their claim at first, but the matter was amicably adjusted ‘by the prudent moderation of Mr. Conant, agent before for the Dorchester merchants,’² and the place took the name of ‘Salem,’ the Hebrew name for peaceful.³ All told their numbers were ‘not much above fifty or sixty persons.’ From the Charlestown records it appears that an exploring party from this small colony began a settlement at Mishawum, now Charlestown, before the winter of this year set in.

The new Dorchester Company had been successful in procuring the grant of lands, but it had no corporate powers, therefore the Company was much enlarged, solicited and obtained a royal charter, March 4, 1628-9, creating the corporation known as the ‘Governor and Company of the Massachusetts Bay in New England.’ ‘But forasmuch as the publick affairs of the intended colony were like to be but ill managed at so great a distance, as was between the Massachusetts and London,’⁴ this company immediately organized a government for its colony,—placing their agent of the year before, Endicott, at the head as governor under the company, with seven persons to act as a council to him in connection with two additional to be chosen by the old planters,—prepared six vessels, and obtained a license from the Lord Treasurer for the embarkation of ‘eighty women and maids, twenty-fix [11] children, and three hundred men,⁵ with victuals, arms, and tools, and necessary apparel,’ and ‘one hundred and forty head of cattle and forty goats.’

Francis Higginson and Samuel Skelton were the two most prominent and influential of the ‘godly ministers’ provided by a committee of the company for this band of colonists.

Three of the vessels set sail in the early part of May, and arrived at Salem in June, the rest of the fleet soon following. Of their arrival Higginson wrote: ‘When we came first to Neihum-kek,⁶ we found about halfe a score Houses, and a faire House newly built for the Gouernour, we found also abundance of Corne planted by them, verie good and well likeing. And we brought with us about two hundred Passengers and Planters more, which by common consent of the old Planters were all combined together into one Body politicke, under the same Gouernour. There are in all of us both old and new Planters about three hundred, whereof two hundred of them are settled at Neihum-kek, now called Salem; and the rest have Planted themselves at Masathulets⁷ Bay, beginning to build a Towne there which we doe call Cherton, or Charles Towne.⁸ We that are Settled at Salem make what hast we can to build Houses, so that within a short time we shall have a faire Towne.’

On July 20th, a day set apart for fasting and prayer, Higginson and Skelton were respectively chosen teacher and pastor, and both were ordained with ‘simple solemnity,’ and on August 6th thirty persons assented to ‘a Confession of Faith and Church Covenant according to Scripture,’ drawn up by Mr. Higginson, of which each of the thirty received a copy. Governor Bradford of Plymouth had been invited to witness the organization of the church, and he, ‘and some others with him, coming by Sea, hindred by cross winds [12] that they could not be there at the beginning of the day, came into the Assembly afterward, and gave them the right hand of fellowship, wishing all prosperity and a blessed success unto such good beginnings.’⁹ Thus was organized the first church in the colony of Massachusetts Bay.

The next important action taken by the Massachusetts Company was to provide for transferring the charter and government of the company to New England, and this was determined upon August 29, 1629. The old officers resigned; and, on October 20th, John Winthrop was chosen Governor, with John Humphrey for Deputy-Governor, and eighteen others for Assistants. Humphrey's departure was delayed, and, March 23, 1629-30, at a Court kept aboard the Arbella, at South-Hampton, on the eve of embarkation, his place was supplied by Thomas Dudley, and several Assistants were chosen, in place of those who were not yet ready to sail to the new colony.

Active measures were taken at once to transport to the colony large accessions of men, women, children and supplies. Seventeen vessels in all, bearing about a thousand passengers, some from the West of England, but the larger part from the vicinity of London, came over before the winter of 1630. The expense of this equipment and transportation was £ 21,200.¹⁰

John Winthrop, writing to his wife ‘From aboard the Arbella,¹¹ riding at the Cowes, March 28, 1630,’ says: ‘We have only four ships ready, and some two or three Hollanders go along with us. [13] The rest of the fleet (being seven ships) will not be ready this sennight.... We are, in all our eleven ships, about seven hundred persons, passengers, and two hundred and forty cows, and about sixty horses. The ship which went from Plimouth¹² carried about one hundred and forty persons.’

On the 12th of June the Arbella arrived at Salem, the Jewell on the 13th, and several other vessels during the first week in July. On the 8th of July Winthrop records in his journal: ‘We kept a day of thanksgiving in all the plantations,’ ‘all the whole fleet being safely come to their port.’

The Mary & John, of 400 tons, Capt. Squeb, master, sailed from Plymouth March 20, 1629-30, bearing the assistants Edward Rossiter and Roger Ludlow, and about 140 others, ‘godly families and people from Devonshire, Dorsetshire, and Somersetshire,’ accompanied by two ministers, Revs. John Warham and John Maverick. On the 30th of May, ‘when we came to