[p. 129]
The Cutter family and its connection with a tide mill in Medford.
by William R. Cutter, Librarian, Woburn, Mass.
John Cutter (of the fifth generation from
Richard Cutter), who was son of Gershom and
Anna (
Fillebrown)
Cutter, owned (probably hired) a tide mill in
Medford, afterwards occupied by his son
Gershom Cutter.
He was born in
Menotomy, in that part of
Cambridge now known as
Arlington, Mass., Sept. 26, 1737, and died in
Medford, where he long pursued the occupation of a miller, Oct. 16, 1788.
His wife, Rebecca Hill, whose mother was
Rebecca Cutter, and who herself was a granddaughter of
Dea.
John Cutter, of
Menotomy, died in
Medford, April 16, 1826.
The first three children of this couple were born at
Arlington, and the last seven were born in
Medford.
The first child, whose name was Rebecca, married
William Cutter, a descendant of
Ebenezer Cutter, a cousin of the Dea.
John Cutter above mentioned, whose wife was
Deacon Cutter's aunt.
This William resided in
Medford and
Boston, where he died July 27, 1800.
His widow died Aug. 2, 1852, aged eighty-seven, leaving children whose descendants were all of them well known in
Medford, under the names of
Sprague,
Foster, and
Cutter.
The son
John, of the above-named John, born at
Menotomy, July 26, 1770, married Mary, daughter of Stephen and Mary (
Hill)
Hall, of
Medford, his cousin, being a granddaughter of Zachariah and Mary (
Cutter)
Hill, of
Arlington.
This man, known as
Captain John Cutter, from his connection with the militia of
Medford, died in
Woburn, in that part known as
Winchester, Mass., Nov. 23, 1825.
His wife, who was born June 22, 1772, died Feb. 27, 1848.
He assumed the charge of his father's tide or grist mill when his father died.
His mother continued to occupy the old mill house for
[p. 130] some two or three years after her husband's death, and then John married and dwelt there himself.
He had quite a career as a miller in the
West Indies and
Canada, and really was quite an enterprising man. Not long after 1801 he built a wind-mill in
Medford for grinding grain.
At
Medford also he became one of the earliest fishermen on an extensive scale in the
Mystic river.
For this right, in 1803, he paid sixty-five dollars, the privilege being more particularly near the ‘
Dike’ or ‘Labor in Vain,’ and he often piloted vessels at this time between
Medford and
Boston.
He owned lighters and transported brick to the city, some of which are now seen in the buildings on Central wharf and
Doctor Sharp's (now Charles street) church.
In 1810, having purchased the grist mill of
Caleb Richardson, in
Woburn, latterly known as the
Cutter's mill, in
Cutter's village, in
Winchester, he built a new structure with two run of stone, which he improved and occupied until his death.
In 1817 he built a grist mill in North Chelsea run by tide water, which was occupied by his sons till the year 1830, when they sold the estate and removed to
Winchester.
Zachariah Cutter, a brother of the last-named John, carried on the old tide mill in
Medford for a number of years, and then went to
Milton, Mass., and engaged in the same business.
His death occurred in 1808.
Gershom Cutter, a brother of the above, after having had charge of the
North mills in
Boston, bought the old homestead mills in
Medford, and building a new grist and saw mill in 1810, continued in the same occupation till his death in
Medford, May 22, 1840.
His son Gershom carried on his father's mill until 1845, when he purchased the
Tufts mill on the
Medford turnpike (now Mystic avenue), rebuilt that structure, which had been destroyed by fire, and which was again burned and rebuilt while in his charge.
He was mainly engaged in the sawing of mahogany.
Other brothers of this family ran grist and saw mills elsewhere than in
Medford, and quite successfully.
[p. 131]
The ancestors of these Cutters were also noted millers at present
Arlington, but John of the fifth generation, with an account of whom we began this article, was the first of this name to begin the mill business in
Medford.
Few families have probably had so many millers in their family connection as the Cutters.
There is this record, which possesses some interest as illustrating the family occupation of the Cutters.
It refers to the first John we have mentioned: ‘Funeral,
Medford, 1788, Oct. 17—
Mr. John Cutter, the miller’—
The title to the Cutter tide mill in
Medford appears to be as follows, according to the published history of
Medford: In 1746 the tide mill near Sandy Bank was built, the first of its kind in that part of the town.
Its origin arose in articles of agreement between a number of citizens, owners of the land, and a number of other citizens who were the undertakers of the enterprise.
These articles were dated Feb. 20, 1746.
Certain procedure was necessary to complete the undertaking, such as giving lands, and opening a straight road from the market to the mill site, and building a stone bridge over
Gravelly creek for the mill's accommodation, the building of a dam, etc. The mill was to be ready for use before the last day of September, 1746.
It was successfully completed and answered well its purpose.
Timothy Waite, Jr., acquired possession at an early period in its history.
Seth Blodget bought it of him on March 9, 1761. Matthew Bridge followed
Blodget on Oct. 18, 1780.
Mr. Bridge disposed of it to the Bishops —John, Senior, and John, Junior—in 1783 and 1784, and
John Bishop, probably the junior, sold the whole to
Gershom Cutter, who was followed in ownership by Samuel Cutter,
George T. Goodwin, and
Joseph Manning.
These items regarding the Cutters differ a little from the statements of the preceding articles, which are based on facts received from descendants (mostly now deceased) of the
John Cutter who first occupied the mill before the year 1788.
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