Medford Historical Society Papers, Volume 2.

A business man of long ago.

By Helen T. Wild.

In 1662 Widow Mary Hall united with the church at Cambridge, Mass., and received land grants in that town.

Her son John bought lands in Medford in 1675, and the family has been represented there ever since.

The first mention of Hall on the Town Records is on page 1 of volume 1, dated 1678: ‘Goodman Hall, Jr., by money (for ammunition) 0-05-0.’

Goodman John Hall was chosen Constable in February, 1677, and the same year was elected Selectman.

Jan. 17, 1684, the first tax list on record has John Hall's name in the third place—Jonathan and Nathaniel Wade preceding him. In those days the leading men stood at the head of the list. Alphabetical order was never thought of.

In 1677 John Hall, Jr. took the oath of fidelity.

In 1687 his name appears on the tax list for the first time, being number twelve in a list of thirty-two.

The first John Hall died in 1701. In 1718 his son appears on the records as Mr. He held the title till his death. In 1724 the third John, as the head of the family, inherited the title. He was a distiller and was a pioneer in making Medford rum.

His younger brother, Andrew, born in 1698, was the father of Benjamin Hall.

Very early in life Andrew Hall developed a liking for land speculation. In 1721, when he was only twenty-three, we find records of his investments.

By 1740 he had acquired a great deal of land, which has stood in the family name till recent years.

In 1735 John Hall sold his still-house and the land whereon it stood ‘with all Rights Titles priviledges proffits and advantages water and water Springs [p. 77] and Heredittaments Thereof with All Appurtenances Thereunto belonging and all That is Thereon Standing and Growing and all that Ever Shall Grow Thereon’¹ to his brother Andrew Hall, trader.

In another deed, dated 1739, Andrew Hall is called ‘Boatman.’ He held the two titles because he was interested in trading with inland farmers, carrying their produce down river by boats or lighters, and returning with goods from ships arriving in Boston from foreign ports.

He died in 1750. He left five sons, Andrew, Benjamin, Richard, Isaac, and Ebenezer. All were prominent in Medford except Andrew, who settled in Boston in early life.

Benjamin Hall became a leading spirit in the business and civil affairs of the town.

The secret of his success is found in his own account of his life, which comes to us in his own handwriting.

When My Father Died I was a Little Over 19 Years of Age. I then began to Trade for Myself. I allways Made it my Rule to Comply with All My Engagements whether they were in My Favour or Not. I First Lett My Self to my Brother Andrew as Foreman of My Father's Distill House which he Hired of one Year and a Half, for which he gave me Eighty Pounds Lawfull Money.

After that I Hired itt for Eighteen Months which time on[e] Timothy Fitch was in Partnership with me soon after that the administrator of my Father's Estate sold itt at Vendue I purchased itt and Carried the same on for Fifty on[e] Years and then Quitted business.

He was also interested in other commercial ventures. He and his brother Ebenezer carried on a slaughtering establishment where about fourteen hundred head of cattle were killed every year.

The old building on the north bank of the Mystic [p. 78] where this work was done was standing until recent years.

The hides were delivered to Ebenezer, who was a tanner; the tallow to Benjamin, who made it into candles. The beef was readily disposed of to the inhabitants of the town and the traders and farmers who made Medford a rendezvous.

Until 1754 all the lands south of Mystic river and a large tract northwest of the village belonged to Charlestown.

The village on both sides of the river was called Mystic for convenience, but Medford was only a strip of land one mile wide by three in length, on the north bank.

On petition of the citizens of Medford, many of whom owned lands in the territory of Charlestown, Medford's boundaries were established by the General Court nearly as at present.

The most important change made since then was the setting off of a tract of land including what is known as ‘Symmes Corner,’ when Winchester was incorporated.

From 1754 to 1805 Medford was in the height of its prosperity as a commercial town.

In colonial times Cradock bridge, in Medford, was the only one connecting Boston with the country on the north. A ferry between Charlestown and Boston accommodated travellers, but no heavy merchandise was transported by it.

Goods arriving at Medford by teams from inland towns were transferred to Hall's lighters, and ‘boated’ down the river.

Benjamin Hall was certainly a monopolist, though the term was not common in his day.

The manufacture of rum necessitated barrels. A cooper's shop was the result. So, in the prime of life, Captain Hall, as he was called, was a distiller, a tallow chandler, a cooper, a ‘boatman,’ and a general trader. [p. 79]

Goods of all kinds, from thread lace to Russia iron, could be bought in Medford as cheaply as in Boston. There was only one store in the vicinity which approached Mr. Hall's in amount of business.

An inventory dated 1793 shows the variety of his stock:

49 bbls of Pearlash.
7760 lb. Butter.
48 casks flaxseed
150 hard hogsheads on four hoops.
17m hogsheads staves.
270 bbls. of beef.
102 bbls of pork.
800 hogsheads of lard.
285 gallons of wine.
138 gallons brandy.
1900 lb. Bohea tea.
2236 lb. Loaf Sugar.
310 rum barrels.
18m. 20d Nails.
471 lb. cotton wool.
2 boxes 100 ft. each 10 × 8 glass.
500 lb. salt petre.
220 lb. alspice.
371 gal. N. E. rum.
13 tons Russia iron.
2160 lb. German steel.
1500 lb. coffee.
70 hogsheads of salt.
15m boards.
4542 gal. Molasses.
2090 gal. N. E. rum.
14 cords wood.

The valuation of his stock in trade was £ 5,389 1s. 10d. In 1752 Benjamin Hall married Hepzibah Jones, of Concord, Mass. While serving on jury in that town he stopped at Major Jones's house. According to the custom of the time, the daughters of the house served the guests. Mr. Hall became very much pleased with Miss Hepzibah, and was more interested in paying than in attending court. At the end of his stay in Concord he asked the major for his daughter's hand. ‘I do not know you, young man,’ was the answer, ‘but I will inquire about you, and if you hear nothing from me in two weeks, you may come back.’

The two weeks passed with no message, and at the end young Hall promptly appeared, and was accepted. Two of his brothers, Richard and Ebenezer, followed his example, and took a bride from the Jones homestead. [p. 80]

All through the period of the Revolution, Benjamin Hall served as a Selectman in Medford—most of the time as chairman. He retired in 1785. At the March town meeting of that year it was ‘Voted, that the Thanks of the Town be given him for his long service in that station.’ In those days town officers received no salary.

He was made permanent moderator of town meeting in 1767, succeeding Col. Isaac Royall. The Tory affiliations of the latter were too well known to allow him to preside over assemblies which passed resolutions against the government.

Mr. Hall, who was a monopolist in civil as well as business affairs, was chosen representative to the General Court in 1770, succeeding Hon. Stephen Hall, and served until 1772. In 1774 he was made a member of the Provincial Congress and served until 1778.

When the tea ships came to Boston with their unwelcome freight, all the towns of the province were notified and took action. The town meeting held in Medford, Dec. 7, 1773, appointed Benjamin Hall chairman of a committee to draw up resolutions. They reported December 16, the day of the Boston Tea Party.

All the resolutions passed by the town of Medford previous to the Revolution were more conservative than those of many other towns. The leaders of the town belonged to the class which contained many Tories, and while they themselves were patriots, their intimate acquaintance with many who took the side of the king tempered their utterances.

Colonel Royall was much beloved by many of his townsmen, who knew his best qualities, his ever ready hospitality and generosity. Had he been of the sturdy stock of his friends, his fears would not have overcome his love for his adopted country. If the people of Medford had not grasped the idea of independence in 1773, neither had the leaders of the nation. The love of the colonists for the home land of their fathers died hard. [p. 81]

Sept. 25, 1774, Benjamin Hall was elected to attend the session of the General Court appointed by the governor for October 5. Although Gage countermanded his order, the colonists did not recognize his right to do so, and ninety men met on the appointed day. As no one appeared to administer oaths, they formed themselves into a Provincial Congress and adjourned to Concord. At the adjourned meeting, the Medford member was chosen one of the Committee of Supplies.

His business capacity and his large acquaintance with traders in and out of the province made it possible for him to collect large quantities of goods in his warehouses without arousing suspicion.

The commodities in which he dealt were just what the colonies needed in preparing for the impending struggle. Although he was obliged by ill health to withdraw from the committee in February, 1775, his account books show that he continued to act as its agent.

The warehouses on the Mystic river were a depot of supplies throughout the war. Powder in large quantities was collected there and ‘boated’ to the Castle or to Boston when needed.

In 1779 and 1780 sixteen tons of cannon balls were stored by Mr. Hall for eighteen months.

Large quantities of beef were packed by him in barrels made on the premises, and shipped in his lighters, for the use of the army.

In those days the soldiers considered rum as necessary as meat, and we infer that Medford contributed her share in supplying their demands.

In 1780 General Heath wrote, ‘Last night an alarming account from West Point of the scantiness of provisions and rum at that post.’ It seems to be with a feeling of relief that he continues, ‘A quantity of the latter is on the road to Springfield.’

In the third Provincial Congress Mr. Hall was chosen one of a committee to encourage the manufacture of saltpetre, and the next month was one of those [p. 82] appointed to countersign and number a new emission of continental bills, and also ‘to superintend the impression of said bills.’

The Board of Selectmen of Medford acted as the Committee of Safety during the first years of the war.

When the town was overrun by refugees from Boston and Charlestown Mr. Hall's hands were full trying to supply necessaries, and to send such families as he could to places of safety in the surrounding towns.

Among those whom the war drove out of Charlestown was a boy named Joseph Manning. Mr. Hall became much interested in him and took him into his employ. When Manning reached manhood his benefactor turned over to him and Benjamin Hall, Jr., a part of his varied business, and they formed the firm of Hall and Manning. They acquired property, and now representatives of the Manning family carry on the business, which is the outgrowth of the original firm of Hall and Manning, within a stone's throw of the spot where their ancestor began his business career.

Benjamin Hall's love for humanity was not confined to his countrymen. One night during the siege of Boston an English officer came out of Boston, disguised, to visit a sick friend.

He was recognized and pursued. Having had some acquaintance with Mr. Hall before hostilities began, he went to his house for refuge. His inquiry for the master of the house was answered by the intelligence that he was with the Committee of Safety in session within. The officer's heart sank, but he asked to see Mr. Hall in the entry. He told his story. There was no doubt of its truth. What should the patriot do? Should he open the parlor door and hand the Englishman over as a spy to the committee, or, for humanity's sake, protect an innocent man fleeing for his life? After a moment's thought he said, ‘Follow me,’ and leading the trembling officer to the garret, hid him away under the eaves until danger was over. [p. 83]

When English and Hessian officers were on parole in Medford, after Burgoyne's surrender, Mr. Hall received them as guests; but these acts of courtesy never caused any diminution in the confidence of his townsmen.

When the war began the town, which had suffered greatly by the enforcement of the Boston Port Bill, could hardly raise money enough for ordinary expenses. Bounty for the soldiers was not forthcoming except by loans.

Benjamin Hall was not niggardly at this time.

When men were called for to go to the relief of the army in Canada, in July, 1776, he was one of three who loaned the town money to pay bounty. When the amount borrowed did not prove enough, he added eleven pounds more as his share of extra bounty advanced by some seventy citizens. The next year he loaned £ 200 and the next £ 100.

The outlook for receiving either principal or interest was not encouraging. In looking over the town accounts one notices the patriotism of the town officers, who were generous with their loans but slow in pressing their claims for payment.

Beside the lighters on the river, Mr. Hall owned sloops which were engaged in coastwise and West Indian trade.

In 1803 he was a claimant against the British government for damages caused by the capture of the sloop Charles, Samuel Brooks, master, which was condemned in a Vice Admiralty Court in the West Indies in 1793.

Beside being a ship-owner, he was interested in other marine affairs. He assisted in fitting out privateers during the Revolution.

In 1784 Mr. Hall said, ‘When the war began I would not have exchanged property with any man in the country, but now I am worth nothing.’

His landed property remained, and when the war [p. 84] was over it furnished his capital as he manfully set to work to repair his fortunes.

Mrs. Hall died in 1790. In 1791 Mr. Hall married widow Mary Green, of Boston. The marriage contract made between them and Joseph Barrel, Esq., of Boston, ‘of the third part,’ is very quaint.

It provides that ‘In consideration of five shillings to the said Benjamin paid by the said Joseph the receipt whereof the said Benjamin doth hereby acknowledge, he the said Benjamin doth hereby grant, bargain sell convey and confirm unto the said Joseph the mansion house of the said Benjamin with the land, garden and buildings thereunto belonging all situate and lying in Medford aforesaid on the north side of the road leading from the bridge to Medford meeting-house, and all the household goods, implements and utensils which now are of and belonging to the Mansion House aforesaid, to have and to hold to the said Joseph, his executors and assigns in trust, to permit the said Benjamin during his life to use and enjoy the same and from and after his decease in trust to permit the said Mary during her remaining the widow of said Benjamin to use and enjoy the same.’ . . . ‘And he further covenants with the said Mary that in case she survives him, she shall have, occupy and improve to her own use all the liquors wines and provisions of every kind that at the time of his decease shall be within the mansion-house aforesaid, and shall and may use occupy and improve after his decease and during her natural life, one third part of his pew number twenty-six in the Meeting House aforesaid. And the said Mary in consideration of the foregoing settlement² covenants and provisions, hereby releases all her rights of dower and thirds in the estate of said Benjamin.’

Mr. Hall's mansion was on what is now High street. It was removed some years ago to make way for a new street which runs directly through the space occupied [p. 85] by the garden, and continues to Middlesex Fells. The house was two stories high, with a gambrel roof, and faced the south, with large square rooms on either side of the front entry. Back of the ‘east parlor’ was Mr. Hall's ‘counting-room,’ in which he transacted business after giving up active commercial life.

In the house could be found the heavy mahogany furniture, the brass fire-sets, the warming-pans, the rose blankets, the woolen coverlets, which, with stores of spotless linen, were the housekeeper's pride in those days. The solid silver tankards, the cream pot, the butter boats and porringers, the tiny teaspoons and sugar-tongs, would make a modern collector envious.

The house stood very near the street, but back of it, screened from the public gaze, was a beautiful garden containing nearly two acres of land.

It was laid out in terraces on the southern slope of Pasture hill. The plots were bordered with box, and contained vegetables, fruit, and flowers in profusion. At the highest point was a garden house,³ from which a beautiful view and pure air were assured even in the warmest weather. This garden was jealously guarded by its owner. A contract made with a gardener after Mr. Hall's death concludes as follows:

‘Also that he shall not admit any person into the Garden without the consent of Mrs. Hall. The roses are all for Mrs. Hall.’

Mr. Hall's brother Richard, ‘Hatter Hall’ as he was called, lived in the next house west, which is still standing on the westerly corner of Governor's avenue. Mr. Hall's own house was known after the death of Mrs. Hall as the Dr. Swan House.

Benjamin Hall was always interested in any improvement which would benefit his native town, and proportionately jealous of anything which would detract from it.

He was an earnest remonstrant against building [p. 86] Maiden and Chelsea bridges. The construction of Charlestown bridge had previously damaged the river transportation which had been Medford's pride.

The town was much excited over the project of a bridge at ‘Penny Ferry’ (Malden), and harsh words were said about the Charlestown people who favored it. Even the Rev. David Osgood⁴ was moved to indignation, and voiced the sentiments of his townsmen in a letter to a friend in Charlestown.

He wrote,

Almost ever since I saw you I have been so agitated about that execrable bridge at Penny Ferry, that law and divinity have both been obliged to stand whilst I have rallied all my powers to fight the bridge builders. . . . I do think it unpardonable in. . . . the . . . inhabitants of Charlestown who are abettors in this business.

After the danger and terror they were all in from the apprehension of a bridge at Lechmere Point . . . so immediately to turn upon us and appear so zealous for the destruction of Medford, is a conduct so base and ungenerous as nothing can palliate.

I shall be tempted when I preach again to take total depravity for my subject, though that be a doctrine of which I had begun to doubt till I had this recent proof of it.

It was a sad blow to Dr. Osgood, Mr. Hall, and others that Maj. Samuel Swan, their personal friend and a resident of Medford during the Revolution, should have been one of the chief advocates of this bridge. He always boasted that his chaise was the first to cross the bridge when it was open to travel. [p. 87]

Major Swan subsequently left Charlestown and made Medford his permanent home. He died there in 1825.

Chelsea bridge was built in 1801. The Selectmen of Medford, Benjamin Hall, and John Brooks⁵ were a committee who vainly opposed it.

Mr. Hall was zealous in prosecuting the building of Middlesex Canal, but was not in favor of extending it to Boston. He wrote, ‘In 1792 there was a petition preferred the General Court for liberty to make a Canal from Merrimack River into Medford River the Petitioners were Chiefly Inhabitants of Medford. When the Corporation Act Past there were twelve Person named in Said Act Eight of which was of Medford a Committee was appointed by the Corporation to Purchase Land in Chelmsford, Billerica & Wobourn and Stake Out the Same. One half of said Committee were allso of Medford and spent Many Days About itt att there Own Expense. . . . Itt is Very Evident that itt was not the Design of the Corporation to go Any further than Medford when the Corp. Act Past as itt then Fixtthe tol to Medford Bridge . . . itt is Presumed that the Corporation has not Fullfill'd there Part of the Act Untill they have Lockt the same in Medford River. . . there may be Sufficiency of water to go into Medford River by Locks and not Enough to Procede to Charlestown for these two years Past there has Not been water sufficient in the Canal After July Untill October and what has been we May Expect will take Place Again Sooner or later. itt is a Very great Misfortune for the Proprietors that they Proceded Any further than Medford before the Land was Purchased they Intended to have made use of.’

To connect the canal with ‘Medford River,’ as Mr. Hall calls it, he was the prime mover in building a ‘Branch Canal’ in 1807. This was mostly used in carrying ship timber to the various shipyards of Medford. It left the main canal at Mystic avenue. Benjamin, [p. 88] Ebenezer, and Dudley Hall⁶ were the directors. In two years (1807 to 1809) $256.98 were received for tolls. Jonathan Warner and John Jaquith were the keepers of the locks. The first dividend was declared in February, 809,—four dollars on a share of one hundred dollars.

In 1803 Benjamin Hall, John Brooks, Fitch Hall, Ebenezer Hall, 2d, and Samuel Buell⁷ were the petitioners to the Legislature to form the Medford Turnpike Association. This road was built east of Winter and Ploughed hills and presented a shorter route to Boston than the old road over Winter hill. The road was built and proved a great convenience to teamsters. It remained a turnpike until 1867, when it was laid out as a county road. Few old residents of Medford, to this day, call it by its modern name, ‘Mystic avenue.’ It is the ‘Turnpike’ to them and their children. When Col. Isaac Royall fled from Medford his estates were left in charge of Dr. Simon Tufts, the worthy physician of the town, who carefully rendered to the government all income arising from them. But in 1778 the whole property was confiscated. Probably through influence of his friends in Medford, who testified that his opposition to the government had never been active, the property was kept together, and at about the beginning of this century it was restored to the Royall family.

In 1804 Robert Fletcher, of Amherst, N. H., Samuel Dexter, of Roxbury, and Fitch Hall, son of Benjamin Hall, negotiated to purchase the Royall estate in Medford and Foxborough.

Before the sale was completed Robert Fletcher withdrew from the syndicate, assigning his share to Samuel Dexter and William H. Sumner.

Fitch Hall sold his share (one-third) to ‘Benjamin Hall of Medford, Esquire, Ebenezer Hall of the same place, [p. 89] Tanner, and Benjamin Hall junior of the same place, Merchant,’ for $24,000. The estate in Medford then consisted of ‘about five hundred twenty acres on the west side of Mystic River, about fifty acres north of the Great Brick Yard, and a Pew in the Meeting House in Medford.’

Bills of exchange were sent to London Oct. 21, 1805, and the deeds were passed from Henry Hutton and Elizabeth Royall Hutton to the ‘Proprietors of Royallville.’ The next year Benjamin Hall, Sr., bought out the other Medford gentlemen and owned one-third of the estate.

The Mansion House, gardens, and outbuildings were sold to William Welch for $13,000.

In 1808 the proprietors divided up the land. Much valuable property in the very heart of the town of Medford became the property of Mr. Hall, also pasture, marsh, and woodland.

One piece of land consisted of a block bounded by Main street, Swan street, and the river, except a lot sold to Nathan Wait by the syndicate, now occupied by his descendants, a lot owned by the heirs of James Tufts, still in possession of the family, and a small lot owned by John Bishop. The Admiral Vernon tavern stood on the southwest corner of this block.

The wood lot ‘back of the great brick yard,’⁸ containing forty acres, was sold for $447 to Rev. David Osgood. This was north of the present Fells parkway. It was bequeathed to the town by Dr. Osgood's daughter. The last years of Mr. Hall's life were saddened by the death of his oldest son, Benjamin. He had always been with his father in business, and in 1801 had become his successor.

He married Lucy Tufts, daughter of Dr. Simon Tufts, and took her, a bride, to the ‘Old Garrison House.’⁹ The young couple lived there nine years, [p. 90] and then removed (1786) to a new house built next to his father's. This mansion is still well preserved, and is a fine example of the architecture of its time. (Dr. Chandler's home.)

Simon Tufts, a wealthy merchant in the far East, who was a brother of Mrs. Hall, writing to his brotherin-law, gives a hint of the latter's character. In the eyes of a merchant prince the business carried on by young Hall seemed very small.

He writes: ‘You are doing business I should conceive not very profitably. . . . You are so attached to old houses, old works, and old places, that you would not like to relinquish—neither would it be proper, perhaps, as you have a family.’

Loving his own home, he was contented to remain the prop of his father's old age, and the bond between the two was unusually close.

Benjamin, Jr., died in 1807, and his son Dudley crept into his father's place in the grandfather's heart.

With the building of the bridges, and the continuation of Middlesex canal to Boston, the trade of Medford declined. Lightering, which for a century had been carried on with profit, was at an end. As the old business died, a new interest—ship-building¹⁰—sprang into being, and a new era began.

Benjamin Hall was a stanch Federalist. In fact, the whole town was unanimous in the support of that party.

In the campaigns between Jefferson and Adams, Medford went solidly for the Massachusetts man. Mr. Hall was a delegate to the electoral college which made John Adams president.

The personal popularity of Governor Brooks caused the town to follow his leadership in politics as long as he lived, but after his death, in 1825, the new element carried the popular vote against the old party.

Benjamin Hall did not live to see that day. He died Feb. 2, 1817, aged eighty-six. [p. 91]

His career as a public servant and private citizen, which extended over more than half a century, left an impress upon the town of his birth which has never been effaced.

[ ] town of Medford to SamL Brooks Treasr

To Samuel Brooks Treasurr

[p. 92]

The town of Medford, to Stephen Hall Treasurer Dr

[p. 93]