History Of The Town Of Medford, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, From Its First Settlement, In 1630, To The Present Time, 1855.

Charles Brooks...

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Preface

In writing this History, it has been my wish to secure Medford such territory in time as its acres are territory in space. The gathering of these annals has been too long delayed. Time, moth, and rust have done their fatal work on many valuable materials; and some gentlemen, who felt a deep interest in their native town, have died without leaving any manuscript testimonies. When the history of New England shall be written, the true data will be drawn from the records of its towns. Now, therefore

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1 Name And Location

Medford, a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, lies in 42° 25′ 14″ 42, north latitude, and 71° 07′ 14″ 32, west longitude. It is about Five miles N. N. W. from the State House in Boston; and about Four miles N. W. by N. from Bunker-Hill Monument. It borders on Somerville, West Cambridge, Winchester, Stoneham, Melrose, and Malden. It received the name of Meadford from the adventurers who arrived at Salem, in May, 1630, and came thence to settle here in June. When these First comers marked th

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2 Medford Records

The oldest town-records extant are in a book Fifteen inches long, Six wide, and One thick. It is bound in parchment, and was tied together by leathern strings. Its First Twenty-five or Thirty pages are gone; and the First Thirty pages of the present volume are all loose and detached from their place, and may very easily be lost. The First record is as follows:— “The First Monday of February, in the year of our Lord, 1674. At a meeting of the inhabitants of Meadford, Mr. Nathaniel Wade was chosen

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3 Civil History

When the Europeans took possession of North America, by the right of discovery, their entry of lands, countries, and continents was deemed by them as legal ownership for their sovereign. The discoveries of John and Sebastian Cabot, Bartholomew Gosnold, and others, were understood to give to James I., of England, the coasts and country of New England. The king accordingly claimed, in the Eighteenth year of his reign, the entire continent between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. In that same year,

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4 Political History

Medford takes a rich share in the political honors of the country. At an early date, it expressed its determination to preserve inviolate the rights and privileges secured to the colony by the charter of 1629. When the Four colonies of Plymouth, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Haven united, May 19, 1643, under the name of “The United Colonies of New England,” their politics and patriotism seem to expand together. This fraternal bond was especially strengthened in our ancestors' hearts, when,

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5 Military History

1630: The First tax levied on the inhabitants of Medford was the sum of £ 3, for the paying of Two instructors in military tactics. The hostile Indians, and the more hostile wild animals, soon placed guns, swords, powder, and ball among the necessaries of life. To be “A good marksman” became One of the First accomplishments. The legal equipment of a soldier was as follows:— A musket (firelock or matchlock), a pair of bandoleers, a powder-pouch, with bullets, a sword, a belt, a worm, a scourer, a

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6: Ecclesiastical History Aaron Porter

The history of their church, in many of our earliest New England towns, was almost the history of their settlement. So early as 1634, our fathers procured a preacher, Mr. James Noyes, afterwards minister of Newbury. He was born in England in 1608, educated at Oxford, came to Boston in 1634, and “Was immediately called to preach at Mistic, which he did for nearly One year. He was much beloved and respected,— a very holy and heavenly-minded man. He was a man of singular qualifications, a reaching

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7: Ecclesiastical History (Continued) First Parish

After the death of Dr. Osgood, the eyes of so many were turned upon The Rev. Andrew Bigelow, that the Committee engaged him, March 25, 1823, to preach as a candidate. On the 5th of May in that year, the town voted to invite him to become their minister. Yeas, 95; nays, 70. Salary, Eight hundred dollars. May 7, the church met; his Excellency John Brooks, Chairman. Voted “To concur with the town in giving The Rev. Andrew Bigelow a call to settle over them in the gospel ministry.”Yeas, 20; nays, 3.

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8: Education Academies

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

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9: Public Buildings First Meeting-House

During the First years of their residence in Medford, our pious ancestors were not sufficiently numerous and rich to support a minister of the gospel; hence they joined the churches of Cambridge, Charlestown, Watertown, Woburn, and Malden. That they had preaching in the town at funerals and baptisms, is most probable; but the loss of our earliest records prevents our stating any specific action on the subject till about 1690, when the desire to build a meeting-house became strong and effectual.

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10: Trade Manufactures

Medford having for its friend the richest merchant belonging to the “Company” of the Massachusetts Plantation, its trade was great at First. Oct. 16, 1629: The General Court ordered “That the company's joint stock shall have the trade of beaver and all other furs in those parts, solely, for the term of Seven years from this day.” May 18, 1631: “It is ordered that every plantation within the limits of this patent shall, before the last day of June next, provide common weights and measures, which

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11: Currency Taxes

To understand the currency used by our Medford ancestors, is to understand much of their habits and customs; for the mediums of exchange and barter, whatever they be, exert a magical influence over the labors, wishes, and attachments of society. Whatever has been prescribed by legislative authority, or adopted by general usage, as a medium of exchange, may be denominated Currency. The substances adopted as a standard of value have been very various in different ages and countries. In ancient tim

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12: Crimes And Punishments Slavery

We trust, that, for the honor of Medford, records under this head will not be found numerous. We must tell the whole truth, let honor or infamy be the consequence; and we regret to learn that our plantation was so soon the scene of a mortal strife. In the Colony records, we thus read, Sept. 28, 1630: “A jury of Fifteen were impanelled, concerning the death of Austen Bratcher” (Bradshaw). “Austen Bratcher, dying lately at Mr. Cradock's plantation, was viewed before his burial by divers persons. T

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13: Population Manners And Customs

It is supposed that Medford, during the First Ten years of its settlement, was quite populous; but the withdrawal of Mr. Cradock's men left it small. Another circumstance which operated unfavorably for the settlement of the town was the few large landholders. Mr. Cradock's heirs sold lots of a Thousand acres to individuals, who kept possession of them; and thus excluded those enterprising and laborious farmers who were the best settlers in those days. Medford could fill up only so fast as these

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14: Fire-Department Societies

The First action of the town relating to fires was May 12, 1760, when it was voted that Two fire-hooks be provided for the use of the town. March 7, 1763: Voted to raise £ 26. 13s. 4d. for procuring a fire-engine, if the rest can be obtained by subscription. Hon. Isaac Royal, Stephen Hall, Esq., and Captain Seth Blodget, were chosen a committee to procure the engine and receive the subscriptions. This resulted in the purchase of an engine called the “Grasshopper,” which was placed near the marke

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15: Historical Items

July 28, 1629.— Mr. Joseph Bradshaw was present this day, as One of the assistants, at the sitting of the court in London. 1630.— The fleet that brought over Governor Winthrop and the First settlers of Medford was nautically organized. The history says, “Articles of consortship were drawn between the captain and mariners: The Arbella to be the admiral; the Talbot to be the Vice-admiral; the Ambrose, the Rear-admiral.”The Arbella was named in honor of Mrs. Johnson, the wife of One of the “Five un

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Letter

In closing the history of One of the oldest towns of Massachusetts, we are naturally led to the inquiry, How will the condition of those born here Two hundred years after us compare with that of those born here Two hundred years before us? Standing between these Two extremes, our hearts become moved with a parental regard towards children who will live as far from us in the future as our fathers did in the past. Had we a telegraph for time, as we have One for space, we would gladly send forward

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Family Of Albree

We can trace this Medford family to Nassau, in the Island of New Providence, the capital of the Bahamas. In 1672, the English government sent Mr. Collingworth to superintend the settlement of that island and its chief city by Englishmen. The attempt succeeded but imperfectly; because the coasts were infested with pirates, and the Spanish were moved by jealousy to check English power. Mr. Collingworth, after a few years, resigned his office in despair; and the government appointed Mr. Clark gover

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Addenda

All the dates of births, &c., recorded in the First volume of the town-records, being all previous to the year 1718, have been incorporated in the preceding Register. The Second volume, covering the period between the years 1718 and 1809, contains many dates of which the limits of this work forbid the insertion. For the assistance of any who may have traced their genealogy to a Medford stock, a list is here inserted of the names not previously mentioned, which are to be found in the Second v

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Corrigenda

Note.— The compiler desires to offer his thanks to the following gentlemen for valuable aid in pursuing his investigations: to Dr. Booth and Dean Dudley, Esq., for the Tufts; to Rev. A. H. Quint, for the Halls; to T. B. Wyman, Jun., for the Wymans, and others; and, finally, to Hon. James Savage, for very many facts and corrections throughout the whole extent of this Register. Boston, Oct. 8, 1855....

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Index

Academies, 291. Adams, 42, 231, 323. Albree family, 499. Albree, 103, 334, 393, 483, 507, 508, 536. Alms-houses, 347. Andrews, 41. Angier family, 501. Angier, 36, 110, 213, 231. Apple, Baldwin, 19. Auld, 48. Authors, 310. Avey, 43. Baldwin, 19, 20. Ballard family, 501. Baptist Society, 271. Bellevue, 54. Berry, 36, 43. Betts, 37. Bigelow, 249, 308. Birdue family, 501. Bishop family, 501. Bishop, 36, 49, 54, 95, 110, 336. Blanchard family, 502. Blanchard, 36. Blaney, 44. Boylston, 506. Bradbury,

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