Was a Printer and born in Boston, he served an apprenticeship with his brother Joseph. This family had no connection with the Charlestown Russells. In November, 1771, he commenced a political publication called "The Censor." It was printed in Marlboro Street, was a weekly publication, designed to defend the action of the government, and was supported by the loyalists. The articles were written with great abilityby Lieut. Gov. Oliver, Dr. Benjamin Church, and other loyalists. The first number reprinted from the Massachusetts Spy, the then famous letter of Joseph Greenleaf attacking Governor Hutchinson, and answered it with vehemence and spirit. In succeeding numbers the controversy was prolonged with increasing bitterness, and at last became intensely personal. The issue of Feb. 8, 1772, contained a recipe to make a modern patriot for the Colonies, especially for Massachusetts, as follows:
"Take of impudence, virulence and groundless abusequantum sufficit, atheism, deism and libitinismad libitum; false reports, well adapted and plausable lies, with groundless alarms,one hundred wt. avoirdupois; a malignant abuse of magistracy, a pusilanimous and diabolical contempt of divine revelation and all its abbettors,an equal quantity; honor and integrity not quitean atom; fraud, imposition, and hypocrisy, any proportion that may seem expedient; infuse therein the credulity of the peopleone thousand gallons, as amenstrumstir in thephrenzyof thetimes, and at the end of a year or two this judicious composition will probably bring forth a A***and Y***an O***and a M*****.""Probatum est I. N."
"Take of impudence, virulence and groundless abusequantum sufficit, atheism, deism and libitinismad libitum; false reports, well adapted and plausable lies, with groundless alarms,one hundred wt. avoirdupois; a malignant abuse of magistracy, a pusilanimous and diabolical contempt of divine revelation and all its abbettors,an equal quantity; honor and integrity not quitean atom; fraud, imposition, and hypocrisy, any proportion that may seem expedient; infuse therein the credulity of the peopleone thousand gallons, as amenstrumstir in thephrenzyof thetimes, and at the end of a year or two this judicious composition will probably bring forth a A***and Y***an O***and a M*****."
"Probatum est I. N."
The Censor not proving a success, Mr. Russell attempted to establish a newspaper at Salem, but that also failed. He returned to Boston, where he obtained support principally by printing and selling ballads, and small pamphlets. His wife was an active and industrious woman, who not only assisted him in printing, but sometimes wrote ballads on recent tragical events, which were published, and had frequently a considerable run. Ezekiel Russell died September 1796, aged fifty-two years. Joseph Russell, brother of Ezekiel, son of Benjamin and Elizabeth Russell, was born at Boston, 8 September, 1734, and died at St. John, New Brunswick, in 1808, aged 74 years.
The family of Sewall is traced to two brothers, Henry, and William Sewall, both Mayors of Coventry, England, Henry Sewall born about 1544, was a Linen Draper, Alderman of Coventry, Mayor in 1589 and 1606. Died 1628, aged 84. Buried in St. Michael's Church, Coventry. Married Margaret, eldest daughter of Avery Grazebrook.
Their son Henry Sewall, emigrated to New England in 1634. He came over "out of dislike to the English Hierarchy" and settled at Newbury. He died at Rowley in 1657, aged 81 years. Married Anne Hunt. They brought with them their son, Henry Sewall, born in Coventry, in 1614, died in 1700, aged 86. Married Jane Dummer in Newbury, 1646. He went back to England and resided for some years at Warwick. In 1659 he returned to New England, "his rents at Newbury coming to very little when remitted to England." His son Stephen was born at Badesly, England in 1657. He came to New England in 1661, settled at Salem and was a Major in the Indian wars. He died in 1725. Married Margaret,daughter of Rev. Jonathan Mitchell of Cambridge in 1682. They had an only son Jonathan, who was a merchant at Boston. He married Mary, sister of Edward Payne, of Boston. They had a son,
Judge Jonathan Sewall, the subject of this notice. He was born at Boston in 1728. Graduated at Harvard College in 1748, and was a teacher at Salem till 1756. He married Esther, daughter of Edmund Quincy, Esq., of Braintree, afterwards of Boston, and sister of Dorothy Quincy, wife of Governor Hancock, and of Elizabeth Quincy, wife of Samuel Sewall, of Boston, the father of Samuel Sewall, Chief Justice of Massachusetts. Jonathan Sewall studied law with Judge Chambers Russell, of Lincoln, commenced practice in his profession at Charlestown. He was an able and successful lawyer. He was Solicitor General, and his eloquence is represented as having been soft, smooth and insinuating, which gave him as much power over a jury as a lawyer ought ever to possess. At the death of Jeremy Gridley, he was appointed Attorney-General of Massachusetts, September, 1767. In 1768 he was appointed Judge of Admiralty for Nova Scotia. He went there twice in that capacity, and remained but a short period.
He was a gentleman and a scholar. He possessed a lively wit, a brilliant imagination, great subtlety of reasoning and an insinuating eloquence.
He was an intimate friend of John Adams, they studied together in Judge Russell's office, and afterwards, while attending court, they lived together, frequently slept in the same chamber, and often in the same bed, and besides the two young men were in constant correspondence.
He attempted to dissuade John Adams from attending the first Continental Congress, and it was in reply to his arguments, and as they walked on the Great Hill at Portland, that Adams used the memorable words, used so often afterwards in 1861 when the ordinance of secession was passed: "The die is now cast, I have now passed the Rubicon; sink or swim, live or die, survive or perish with my country, is my unalterable determination." They parted, and met no more until 1788. Adams, the Minister of the new republic at the Court of St. James, and the eloquent and gifted Sewall, true to the Empire, met in London. Adams laying aside all etiquette made a visit to his old friend and countryman, he said, "I ordered my servant to announce John Adams, I was instantly admitted, and both of us forgetting that we had ever been enemies, embraced each other as cordially as ever. I had two hours conversation with him in a most delightful freedom, upon a multitude of subjects." In the course of the interview, Mr. Sewall remarked that he had existed for the sake of his two children, that he had spared no pains or expense in their education and that he was going to Nova Scotia in hope of making some provision for them.
In 1774, he was an Addresser of Governor Hutchinson, and in September of that year his elegant home in Cambridge (which he rented from John Vassal, afterwards Washington's head-quarters, since occupiedby the poet Longfellow) was attacked by the mob and much injured. He fled to Boston to escape from the fury of the disunionists. He had ably vindicated the characters of Governors Bernard, Hutchinson and Oliver, he was esteemed an able writer, and a staunch loyalist. He was proscribed in the Conspirators Act of 1779. He resided chiefly in Bristol till 1788, for the education of his children, then he removed to St. John's, N. B., having been appointed Judge of Admiralty for Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. He immediately entered upon the duties of his office, which he held till his death, which occurred September 26, 1796, at the age of sixty-eight. His widow survived him, and removed to Montreal, where she died January 21, 1810.
Jonathan Sewall, son of the aforesaid, was born at Cambridge, 1766, was educated at Bristol, England, and afterwards resided at Quebec, where he occupied the offices of Solicitor and Attorney General and Judge of the Vice Admiralty Court, until 1808, when he was appointed Chief Justice of Lower Canada, which he resigned in 1838. For many years he was President of the Executive Council, and Speaker of the Legislative Council.
In 1832 he received the degree of Doctor of Law from Harvard College. He died at Quebec in 1840, aged seventy-three. His brother Stephen was Solicitor General of the same Province in 1810 and resided in Montreal. He died there of Asiatic cholera in the summer of 1832.
Samuel Sewallson of Henry Sewall and brother of Major Stephen Sewall, was the first chief justice of Massachusetts. This was the famous Sewall that sat in judgment upon the witches and afterwards repented it, who refused to sell an inch of his broad acres to the hated Episcopalians to build a church upon, who was one of the richest, most astute, sagacious, scholarly, bigoted and influential men of his day, who has left us in his Diary a transcript almost vivid in its conscientious faithfulness of that old time life, where he tells us of the courts he held, the drams he drank, the sermons he heard, the petty affairs of his own household and neighborhood, and where he advised with the governor touching matters of life and death. He married Hannah, the only child of John Hull, the mintmaster, who it is said gave her, on her marriage, a settlement in pine tree shillings equal to her weight. Hull owned a large farm of 350 acres in Longwood, Brookline, which descended to his son-in-law, and was known afterwards as Sewall's Farm.[267]
Samuel Sewall, son of the aforesaid, married Rebecca Dudley, a daughter of the governor. His son, Henry Sewall, born in 1719, died in 1771, was a gentleman much respected, and a lawyer of prominence. His son,
Samuel Sewall, the subject of this article, was born at Brookline, December 31, 1745. Graduated at Harvard College in 1761. He studied law and settled in Boston. His name occurs among the barristers and attorneys who addressed Governor Hutchinson in 1774, and in the Banishmentand Proscription Act in 1778, when his large estate which he had inherited from his ancestors, was confiscated. He went to England, and in 1776 was a member of the Loyalist Club, London. Two years later he was at Sidmouth, a "bathing town of mud walls and thatched roofs." In 1780 he was living in Bristol, and on the 19th of June amused himself loyally celebrating Clinton's success at Charleston in the discharge of a two-pounder in a private garden, and three days later was shot at by a highwayman and narrowly escaped with his life. Early in 1782 he was at Taunton, and at Sidmouth. He died at London, after one day's confinement to his room, May 6th, 1811, aged fifty-six years. He was unmarried.
LIST OF CONFISCATED ESTATES BELONGING TO SAMUEL SEWALL IN SUFFOLK COUNTY AND TO WHOM SOLD.
To Edward Kitchen, Wolcott, July 19, 1782; Lib. 135, fol. 113; Land 263 A. 1 qr., in Brookline, Thomas Aspinwall E.; marsh road to Charles River N E.; Charles River N.; Thomas Gardner and Moses Griggs S. and S.W.; Solomon Hill S. and S.E.——Land, 16 A. 3 qr., and half of house in Brookline on Sherburn Road and the marsh lane, bounded by Capt. Cook, Samuel Craft and Elisha Gardner.To John Heath. Nov. 12. 1782; Lib. 136, fol. 102; Land and buildings in Brookline. 9 A. 33 r., Sherburn Road S.E.; a town way N.E.; Mr. Aker N.W.; a town way S.W.——32 A. 3 r., Daniel White and the pound S.W.; road and Joseph Williams S.E.; Joshua Boylston and William Hyslop N.E.; Sherburn Road N.W.——18 A. 2 qr. 5 r., Samuel White N.W.; John Dean S.W. and S.; a town way S.E., said Dean N.E.; S.E. and S.; said town way E.; road N.E.——59 A. 3 qr. 4 r., Benjamin White and Dr. Winchester N.E.; Sarah Sharp S.W.; Samuel White and heirs of Justice White S.E.; Benjamin White N.E.; S.E. and N.E.; Sherburn Road N.E.——23 A. 3 qr. 33 r., Ebenezer Crafts and Caleb Gardner N.W.; said Gardner and Benjamin White S.W.; Moses White S.E.; Benjamin White and Moses White N.E.; Moses White S.E.: a town way N.E.—- 3 A. 28 r, Ebenezer Craft S.W.; S.E. and N.E.; the County line N.W.——8 A. 1 qr., 31 r., Daniel White N.W.; the County line S.W.; David Cook S.E.; heirs of Ebenezer Davis N.E.——5 A. 2 qr. 38 r., said Craft N.W.; saw mill meadow W.; William Heath S. and S.E.; Benjamin White and William Hammon N.E.——7 A. 2 qr., 32 r., Edward K. Walcott S. and W.; Benjamin White S.; William Acker S.E.; John Child E.; Charles River N.; Joseph Adams and Daniel White W.——4 A. 26 r., Moses White W., Esquire White, Ebenezer Craft and a creek S.; Nehemiah Davis and heirs of Caleb Denny S.E.; the marsh road N.To John Molineux, William Molineux, Aug. 11, 1783; Lib 139, fol. 153; Land and buildings in Boston, Newbury St. W.; Daniel Crosby, John Solely and heirs of Benjamin Church deceased S.; land late of Frederick William Geyer E.; Thomas Fairweather, Sampson Reed, John Homands and Edward Hollowday N.; said Sewall W.; N.; W. and N.To John McLane, Dec. 18, 1783; Lib. 140. fol. 207; Land and buildings in Boston, Newbury St. W.; said Sewall S.; E.; S. and E.; Edward Hollowday N.
To Edward Kitchen, Wolcott, July 19, 1782; Lib. 135, fol. 113; Land 263 A. 1 qr., in Brookline, Thomas Aspinwall E.; marsh road to Charles River N E.; Charles River N.; Thomas Gardner and Moses Griggs S. and S.W.; Solomon Hill S. and S.E.——Land, 16 A. 3 qr., and half of house in Brookline on Sherburn Road and the marsh lane, bounded by Capt. Cook, Samuel Craft and Elisha Gardner.
To John Heath. Nov. 12. 1782; Lib. 136, fol. 102; Land and buildings in Brookline. 9 A. 33 r., Sherburn Road S.E.; a town way N.E.; Mr. Aker N.W.; a town way S.W.——32 A. 3 r., Daniel White and the pound S.W.; road and Joseph Williams S.E.; Joshua Boylston and William Hyslop N.E.; Sherburn Road N.W.——18 A. 2 qr. 5 r., Samuel White N.W.; John Dean S.W. and S.; a town way S.E., said Dean N.E.; S.E. and S.; said town way E.; road N.E.——59 A. 3 qr. 4 r., Benjamin White and Dr. Winchester N.E.; Sarah Sharp S.W.; Samuel White and heirs of Justice White S.E.; Benjamin White N.E.; S.E. and N.E.; Sherburn Road N.E.——23 A. 3 qr. 33 r., Ebenezer Crafts and Caleb Gardner N.W.; said Gardner and Benjamin White S.W.; Moses White S.E.; Benjamin White and Moses White N.E.; Moses White S.E.: a town way N.E.—- 3 A. 28 r, Ebenezer Craft S.W.; S.E. and N.E.; the County line N.W.——8 A. 1 qr., 31 r., Daniel White N.W.; the County line S.W.; David Cook S.E.; heirs of Ebenezer Davis N.E.——5 A. 2 qr. 38 r., said Craft N.W.; saw mill meadow W.; William Heath S. and S.E.; Benjamin White and William Hammon N.E.——7 A. 2 qr., 32 r., Edward K. Walcott S. and W.; Benjamin White S.; William Acker S.E.; John Child E.; Charles River N.; Joseph Adams and Daniel White W.——4 A. 26 r., Moses White W., Esquire White, Ebenezer Craft and a creek S.; Nehemiah Davis and heirs of Caleb Denny S.E.; the marsh road N.
To John Molineux, William Molineux, Aug. 11, 1783; Lib 139, fol. 153; Land and buildings in Boston, Newbury St. W.; Daniel Crosby, John Solely and heirs of Benjamin Church deceased S.; land late of Frederick William Geyer E.; Thomas Fairweather, Sampson Reed, John Homands and Edward Hollowday N.; said Sewall W.; N.; W. and N.
To John McLane, Dec. 18, 1783; Lib. 140. fol. 207; Land and buildings in Boston, Newbury St. W.; said Sewall S.; E.; S. and E.; Edward Hollowday N.
William and Elizabeth Robie were inhabitants of Boston as early as 1689, when their son Thomas was born on March 20th of that year. He graduated at Harvard College in 1708, and died in 1729. He was tutor, librarian, and Fellow of the college. He published an account of a remarkable eclipse of the sun on Nov. 27, 1772, also in thePhilosophical Transactionsof the Royal Society, papers on the Alkaline Salts, and the Venom of Spiders (1720-24). The following extract from the diary ofPresident Leverett shows the estimation in which he was held. "It ought to be remembered that Mr. Robie was no small honor to Harvard College by his mathematical performances, and by his correspondence thereupon with Mr. Durham and other learned persons in those studies abroad." In mathematics and natural philosophy he was said to have no equal in New England.
His mother was Elizabeth Taylor, daughter of James Taylor, long treasurer of the Province.[268]He went to Salem and established himself in the practice of physic, and married a daughter of Major Stephen Sewall.
Thomas Robie, of Marblehead, was a son of the preceding Dr. Robie. He was a merchant, and married a daughter of the Rev. Simon Bradstreet, who was the great grandson of Gov. Bradstreet, called the Nestor of New England. Mr. Robie was a staunch loyalist, was an Addresser of Gov. Hutchinson, and thus brought upon himself and family the ire of the Revolutionists. They were obliged to leave the town and take refuge in Nova Scotia. Crowds of people collected on the wharf to witness their departure, and many irritating and insulting remarks were addressed to them concerning their Tory principles, and their conduct towards the Whigs. Provoked beyond endurance by these insulting taunts, Mrs. Robie retorted, as she seated herself in the boat that was to convey her to the ship: "I hope that I shall live to return, find this wicked rebellion crushed and see the streets of Marblehead run with rebel blood." The effect of this remark was electrical among the Revolutionists and only her sex prevented them from doing her person injury. But there were other loyalists in Marblehead who, if not so demonstrative, were not less sincere in this opinion. With fortitude and silence they bore the taunts and insults to which they were subjected, honestly believing that their friends and neighbors were engaged in a treasonable rebellion against their lawful sovereign.
Mr. Robie first went to Halifax, but afterwards to London, Feb. 5, 1776. He passed his time of exile mostly in Halifax, where one of his daughters married Jonathan Stearns, Esq., another refugee; another was married to Joseph Sewall, Esq., late treasurer of Massachusetts.
After the war was over some of the refugees attempted to return to their former homes. During the month of April, 1783, the town was thrown into a state of the greatest excitement by the return of Stephen Blaney, one of the loyalists. Rumors were prevalent that other refugees were also about to return, and on April 24 a town meeting was held, when it was voted that "All refugees who made their appearance in town were to be given six hours notice to leave, and any who remained beyond that time were to be taken into custody and shipped to the nearest port of Great Britain." Late one afternoon after this action of the town a vessel from the provinces arrived in the harbor. It was soon ascertained that the detested Robie family were on board, and, as the news spread through the town, the wharves were crowded with angry people, threateningvengeance upon them if they attempted to land. The dreadful wish uttered by Mrs. Robie at her departure still rankled in the minds of the people and they determined to give the Robies a significant reception. So great was the excitement that it was feared by many of the influential citizens that the unfortunate exiles might be injured and perhaps lose their lives at the hands of the infuriated populace. During the night, however, a party of gentlemen went on board of the schooner and removed them to a place of safety. They were landed in a distant part of the town and secreted for several days in a house belonging to one of the gentlemen. In the meantime urgent appeals were made to the magnanimity of the turbulent populace, and the excitement subsided.
Mr. Robie went into business again in a limited extent, and died at Salem about 1812, well esteemed and respected. The large brick mansion house of Thomas Robie is situated on Washington street, near the head of Darling street, Marblehead.
Samuel Bradstreet Robie, son of the above, of Halifax, was appointed solicitor-general of Nova Scotia in 1815, speaker of the house of of assembly in 1817, 1819-20, member of the council in 1824, and master of the rolls in 1825, and died at that city January, 1858, in his eighty-eighth year.
The origin of the name Marston, is the English of Marsius (Lat.) Marson (Ger.) and signifies warrior, being derived from Mars, the god of war.
John Marston, the first of this name to come to America came from Ormsby, Norfolk, England, to Salem, in 1637, when he was 22 years of age. He married Alice, surname unknown, on Aug. 4, 1640, and on June 2, 1641 was admitted freeman. He had ten children between 1641 and 1661. His occupation was that of carpenter. He was diligent and prosperous in his business, and at his death bequeathed to his children "his house and land, and some money." His sons were influential in town matters, and three were chosen representatives to the general court.
He died Dec. 19, 1681, and was buried in the Old Salem Burying Ground.
Benjamin Marston, the first of this name and lineage, was the fourth son of the preceding John Marston, and was born in Salem, Jan. 9, 1651. He was an active and enterprising merchant and carried on for many years an extensive and profitable business with the West Indies, Spain, Nova Scotia, and Southern Colonies. He owned two warehouses, and the wharves on which they stood, several vessels, Brigantines, Ketches, Shallops and Sloops. In the year 1700 he built a large and handsome brick dwelling house, the first brick house in Salem. It was built by George Cabot, a mason from Boston. Its location was afterwards occupiedby the Lee house on the corner of Essex and Crombie streets. Towards the close of his life, his estate suffered great losses, some of his vessels were lost at sea, some taken by the French and pirates, and others having lost all their crew by disease, or otherwise, "ye voiages were spiled." In June, 1719, he sailed with his son Benjamin, Jr., in "The good Briganteen Essex" from Salem to Ireland. His son wrote from Dublin, Nov. 6, 1719, to his mother announcing "the death of his father there, from the Small Pox, and that he was taken ill of the same distemper, the night he died, and that he had recovered and was not much marked."
Benjamin Marston, the second of this name, son of the preceding Benjamin Marston, was born in Salem, Feb. 24, 1697. He graduated from Harvard College in 1715. It appears after the death of his father he remained in Ireland, conducting all the business matters connected with the Essex, with a degree of energy and capacity not often found in a young man of 22 years of age. The voyage turned out to be much more profitable than was expected, and much of the property that had been sold or mortgaged by his father was redeemed.
He engaged in business at Salem as a merchant and gained a reputation among his fellow townsmen as a "man of honorable motives and strict integrity of character." He was chosen representative to the general court in 1727-28-29. Was High Sheriff of Essex till 1737, was Justice of General Session and Common Pleas Courts. In 1729 he married Elizabeth Winslow, daughter of Hon. Isaac Winslow of Marshfield. In 1740 he retired from business, and bought a large and valuable property at Manchester, known for many years as the Marston farm. Here he passed the remainder of his days, and died May 22, 1754, aged 57 years, leaving a large estate including the Great and Little Misery Islands, for which he had paid £516. 13.9. A part of the income of the island he left for the purpose of "Propagating the Gospel among the Indians."
Benjamin Marston, the third of this name, and family, and son of the preceding, was born in Salem, Sept. 30, 1730. He graduated at Harvard College in 1749. After leaving college he travelled in Europe and visited some other of the British colonies. He married Sarah Sweet, whose sister, Martha, married Col. Jeremiah Lee of Marblehead. After his marriage he "settled down" in Marblehead, where for many years he carried on a large and successful business as a merchant. He owned a store in King street, and other stores, and warehouses, and jointly with his partners, Jeremiah Lee and Robert Hooper, several large ships. He also owned a pleasant and commodious dwelling house, and much real estate, and other property in Marblehead and elsewhere. He was considered by his friends and neighbors as a man of pure life, and great integrity of character, active in business, energetic in public matters, hospitable and benevolent in private, a great reader and scholar, and fond of literary pursuits, always occupying one of the most respectable positions in society, and greatly esteemed by all who knew him. Here he continued to live for twenty years, actively engaged in business, and doing his duty towardshis town. He was chosen selectman, and overseer of the poor, thirteen times in fifteen years, fireward twelve times in fourteen years, assessor in 1760, moderator of town meetings, fourteen times in eight years, and occupied many other important offices of trust. After 1768, however, when the troubles which preceded the Revolution began to increase the confidence of the people, that were influenced by the Revolutionists, appear to have been withheld. They still chose him moderator of all town meetings, but he was not again appointed on any important committees. He was known to be "an uncompromising adherent to the lawful government of the British Colonies," but as he had violated no agreements, and never attempted to counteract the plans of the conspirators, though frequently and openly expressing his disapprobation of their violent proceedings, he was for some time unmolested. At an early period, however, he discovered the storm brewing, and as if apprehensive of future difficulties he began "to sell off some of his property."
Benjamin Marston was one of the Addressers of Governor Hutchinson, and thus incurred the displeasure of the Revolutionists. After this he was harshly and brutally treated by the "Sons of Liberty." In the year 1775, his home was mobbed by a MarbleheadCommittee, who without any legal authority, entered his doors, broke open his desk, embezzled his money, and notes, and carried off his books and accounts. He made his escape from the town with difficulty, the turbulent "Sons of Despotism" would have probably tarred and feathered him if he had come within their reach. He remained concealed among his friends for some time, till he could reach Boston and place himself under the protection of the British. A letter from Hon. Wm. Brown, who also had sought shelter in Boston, to his friend Judge Curwen, a fellow Loyalist, said "About 2 months ago, Mr. Marston came here by night from Col. Fowle's farm. He knows nothing about Salem. His wife died last summer."
After the evacuation of Boston he went to St. John, N. B., and then to Windsor, N. S., finally settling down at Halifax, and there engaging in trade and venturing to sea, he was taken prisoner and carried into Plymouth, and remained in duress in Boston until he was exchanged, and then went to Halifax. He returned to Boston after the peace in 1787, in the spring of which year he visited his friends in Plymouth, for the last time, and soon after embarked for London. His after life is best described in a letter to his sister, Mrs. Elizabeth Watson, of Plymouth, wife of William Watson, Esq., under date of London, March 19, 1792. He says: "I now sit down and write to you with satisfaction, for I have at length fairly waded thro theSlough of Despond. I am now landed on the opposite side and shall go on my way rejoicing, having once more emerged into active life. In fact, I am engaged to go with a large Company, who are going to make a Settlement on the Island Bulama, on the coast of Africa, as their Land Surveyor General on a pretty good lay. No expedition could have hit my taste and humor more exactly than this one promises to do. It is so of theRobinson Crusoekind, that I prefer it,vastly to any employment of equal emolument and of a more regular kind, that might have been offered to me in this country.
"You say you have mourned me asdead and buried. In truth, my dear Sister, I have been much worse off. I have for more than four years beenburyed alive. As to gratifying your wish in making my native country the residence of the remainder of my days, it is not at present in my power to do, for want of means. There is not remaining in my mind the least resentment to the Country because the party whose side I took in the late great Revolution, did not succeed, for I am now fully convinced. It is better for the world that they have not. I don't mean by this to pay any complements to the first instigators of our American Revolution, although it has been of such advantage to mankind, I should as soon think of erecting monuments to Judas Iscariot, Pontius Pilate and the Jewish Sanhedrim for betraying and crucifying the Lord of Life, because that event was so importantly and universally beneficial."
The expedition to Africa resulted disastrously, and Benjamin Marston died on the Island of Bulama of the African fever, on the 10th of August, 1792.
From the scanty materials which have been here brought together, will be sufficient to convince the reader that it was no personal consideration, no expectation of honors and rewards, or desire of rank and distinction, but simply from a deep conviction of duty, a clear sense of loyalty to the British crown, that he gave up everything that was dear to him, his "pleasant and spacious dwelling" house, with its "fine old garden for morning exercise," his cherished library, his "much property," his well-earned reputation as a merchant, a magistrate and a citizen, his relatives, friends, and native country, and become a refugee and a wanderer on the face of the earth, "without a place that he could command to lay his head," and those that bore his name, were more proud of it than if he left rank and honor and large possessions to his representatives. There were very few of those who embraced the cause of the Mother Country, in those trying times, that were led by more honorable, or disinterested motives, or are more deserving of remembrance than Benjamin Marston of Marblehead.
It appears from the registry in the Church of St. John, the parish church of Hackney, near London, that Enoch Lynde was married on the 25th of October, 1614, to Elizabeth Digbie, a descendant of Sir John Digby. Enoch Lynde resided in London, was a merchant engaged in foreign trade, and was for some years connected with the postal service between England and Holland. He died the 23rd of April, 1636, aged fifty years.
Simon Lynde, the third son of Enoch Lynde, was born in London in 1624. He engaged in mercantile pursuits, and went to Holland. In 1650 he came to New England, and in the following year married Hannah, a daughter of Mr. John Newgate. During the thirty years of his life in the colony, he was a person of prominence, and acquired large landed possessions, in Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island. In 1687 he was appointed one of the Justices of the Superior Court. He died 22nd Nov. 1687, possessed of a large estate, and many children, who survived him.
Benjamin Lynde, the sixth son of Simon, was born 22nd September, 1666. He records of himself that he was admitted to Harvard College on the 6th of September, 1682, by the Rev. Increase Mather, after having received his preparatory education under the famous grammar Master, Ezekiel Cheever, and received his first Degree in 1686. His father desired that he should complete his education in England. On 27th June, 1692, he sailed for England, and was admitted he says "for the study of Law, into the honorable Society of the Middle Temple, Oct. 18, 1692." "I was called to the Bar as Counsellor at Law in 1697, and received a commission under the great Seal, for King's Advocate, in the New Court of Admiralty, in New England, in the same year." He returned to America Dec. 24, 1697. On the 27 of April, 1699, he married Mary, daughter of Hon. William Browne of Salem. In 1712 he was appointed a Judge of the Superior Court, and in the following year a Councillor. On the resignation of Judge Sewall in 1728, he was made Chief Justice of the Province, which office he held at the time of his death, Jan. 28, 1745, in the 79th year of his age. The Boston Evening Post said of him, "Inflexible justice, unspotted integrity, affability, and humanity were ever conspicuous in him. He was a sincere friend, most affectionate in his relations, and the delight of all that were honored with his friendship and acquaintance." He left two sons, the younger, William, died unmarried, in 1752. His eldest son,
Benjamin Lynde, Jr.was born on the 5th of October, 1700. He graduated from Harvard College in 1718, and in 1721 he took his master's degree at Cambridge. He soon after received the appointment of Naval Officer for Salem. In 1734 he was appointed a special judge of the Court of Common Pleas, for Suffolk. In 1737 he was one of the agents in the settlement of the boundary line between New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Two years later he was made one of the Standing Judges of Common Pleas for Essex, and in 1745, the year of his father's death, he was raised to the Superior Bench of the Province. He was a member of the Council for many years, but declined a re-election in 1760, in consequence of the controversy that arose in that year between the House and Government as to the right of Judges to sit as Councillors. On the promotion of Chief Justice Hutchinson to the executive chair, in 1771, Judge Lynde was appointed to the place now vacant, and became Chief Justice of the Province. He resigned not many months after, pending the controversyrespecting the payment of judges' salaries by the town. He had now reached the age of 72, and "not being inclined to ride the Circuit longer" he accepted the more humble and less laborious position of Judge of Probate for Essex, which office he held until the breaking out of the Revolution, not many years before his death, which was occasioned by the kick from a horse, from the effects of which he did not recover, and he died Oct. 5th, 1781, aged 81 years. It was a remarkable coincidence that both father and son should have been Chief Justices of the Supreme Court, and occupied a seat on that bench, between them for nearly sixty years. The most important trial that took place during his judicial term was that of the so-called "Boston Massacre," where the soldiers fired on the mob in King street. At this trial Judge Lynde presided. It was a time of great political excitement, and the occasion was one that required the utmost firmness, and skill on the part of the judge, to ensure a just and impartial decision. These trials lasted several days, and, as has been said, "proceeded with care and patience, on the part of the Bench, and counsel, and both judges and jury seemed to have acted with all the impartiality that is exhibited in the most enlightened tribunals." "The result," says Judge Washburn, "is a proud memorial of the purity of the administration of justice in Massachusetts." Judge Lynde was noted for his learning, his liberality, and his public spirit. He was a diligent student of our Colonial history, and his diary, published by one of his descendants, Dr. F. E. Oliver, recalls names and events, that belong to the earlier years of the province, and records the daily life of persons holding official positions during a period with which many are not now familiar. He left three daughters, of whom Mary, the eldest, married Hon. Andrew Oliver, Jr., one of the Judges of the Court of Common Pleas for Essex; Hannah, who died unmarried and Lydia who married Rev. William Walter, the rector of Trinity Church of Boston.[269]Both of his sons-in-law being staunch loyalists.
Robert Paganwas a native of Glasgow, Scotland, was born in 1750 and came to Falmouth in 1769. From that time to the commencement of the war he carried on a large lumber business and ship building. The ships which were built were not generally employed in our trade, but with their cargoes sent to Europe and sold. Robert Pagan & Co. kept on the corner of King and Fore Streets, the largest stock of goods which was employed here before the war. He was a man of popular manners, and much beloved by the people. He early became involved in the controversies of the times, and abandoned his business and country soon after the burning of Falmouth by Mowatt. In his testimony before theClaim Commission he testified[270]"That he uniformly declared his sentiments in favor of Great Britain. Never submitted to join the rebels or to take no part with them." He early applied for leave to quit Casco Bay with the property belonging to himself and copartnery. This was refused him. In the month of February, 1776, he privately embarked his family on board a Brig he had in the harbor of Falmouth and sailed for Barbados. From that he went home. He afterwards carried on trade at New York and Penobscot, at the latter place he remained until the end of the war, when he removed to St. Andrews. Mr. Pagan was proscribed and banished. He settled at St. Andrews, N. B., in 1784, and became one of the principal men of Charlotte County. After serving the Crown as agent for lands in New Brunswick, and in superintending affairs connected with grants to Loyalists, he was in commission as a magistrate, as a Judge of a Court, and as Colonel in the militia, and, being a favorite among the freeholders of the county, was elected to the House of Assembly, and for several years was a leading member of that body. Judge Pagan died at St. Andrews, November 23, 1821 and Miriam, his widow, (a daughter of Jeremiah Pote), deceased at the same place January, 1828, aged 81. They were childless.
Thomas Pagan, brother to Robert Pagan. He was with his brother during the war, and at the peace went to St. John, New Brunswick; was one of the grantees of that city, and established himself there as a merchant. He removed to Halifax, and while absent in Scotland for the benefit of his health, died in 1804.
William Pagan, brother of Robert and Thomas, was with his brothers during the war, and at the peace settled in New Brunswick, and was a member of the House of Assembly and of the Council. His death occurred at Fredericton, March 12, 1819.
Edward Wyer came from Scotland. He was a tailor, and in 1658 married Elizabeth Johnson. He died May 3rd, 1693, aged 71 years. His son William was a sea captain, and married Eleanor Jennes, Oct. 26, 1701. He died Feb., 1749, aged 69 years.
David Wyer, son of William, was born at Charlestown, Feb. 24th, 1711. He also was a sea captain. Married Rebecca Russell, Feb. 2, 1738. He removed to Falmouth (Portland) and was an officer of the Customs there. All the officers of the revenue of that port were loyal except one, Thomas Child, who joined the Revolutionists. They all became refugees, and abandoned their country. During the military possession of the town by Thompson (before the burning of it by Captain Mowatt) he was required to give his presence before the Board of War as being a Tory.
David Wyer, Jr., son of the aforesaid David was born at Charlestown in 1741, and graduated at Harvard College in 1758. In 1762 he was admitted to the bar, and commenced the practice of law at Falmouth. On the testimony of other lawyers who practiced in Maine prior to the Revolution, it was said of Wyer, that "he was a high-minded stirling fellow of strong talents, an able and eloquent advocate, and extremely independent in his opinions and character." Without the regular appointment and commission of Attorney of the Crown, Mr. Wyer acted in that capacity when occasion required the services of such an officer in the Courts of Maine. He died in 1776 at Stroudwater, to which place he removed after the burning of Falmouth, at the age of thirty-five, of an epidemic which prevailed at that time, and which carried off many persons old and young. Mrs. Wyer, a niece of Hon. Thomas Russell and two children survived him. One of the latter married Captain Samuel Waite of Portland.
Thomas Wyer, brother of David Wyer, Jr., was born at Charlestown, June 15, 1744. Married Sarah Francis, March 8th, 1766 in Medford. He removed to Falmouth with his father, was also employed as an officer of the Customs. He lost £325 in real and personal estate by the burning of the town in 1775. He did all he could to support the government; he refused to serve in the rebel army, on which he was taken up and abused by the mob, and obliged to pay a fine. Was taken before the Provincial Congress at Watertown, and obliged to quit Falmouth in 1777 in an open boat with his father-in-law, Jeremiah Pote, in which they went to Nova Scotia. In 1778 he was proscribed and banished. In 1779 he was in New York and was commissioned as captain of an armed vessel, the brigantine "British Tar," 65 men. He was in command of this vessel for nine months, during which time he had two engagements with two rebel privateers at different times. He had a house and lot in Falmouth, which was confiscated, and a half interest in a cargo burned at Falmouth. In 1784, he went to St. Andrew, N. B., with other Loyalists, and continued there until his decease. He was an Agent of the British Government for settling and allotting lands to adherents of the Crown in the Revolution. The first Sheriff of Charlotte County, was a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas and Deputy Colonial Treasurer. In 1790 he went on a year's tour to Europe, and on his return became a merchant, and had extensive lumber interests. He died February 24th, 1824. He had a numerous family, was married three times, his first wife Sarah Francis of Medford, second Joanna Pote of Falmouth, third Mary Hunt, who died 25 October, 1801, aged 37. An only son survived him.
Thomas Wyer, Jr., a member of her Majesty's Council, Justice of the Common Pleas, member of the Board of Education, Commissioner of Wrecks, and Lieutenant-Colonel in the militia. He married Sarah, daughter of Thomas Tompkins, of St. Andrews, 24 March, 1808, and died at St. Andrews, December, 1848, aged sixty-nine.
William Potewas in Marblehead as early as 1688. He married Hannah Greenfield. His second wife was Ann Hooper, whom he married in 1689. His son William was born at Marblehead, 1690, who married, June 2, 1718, Dorothy Getchell.
Jeremiah Pote, son of the aforesaid, was born at Marblehead, Jan. 18, 1724. His father removed to Falmouth, now Portland, and died there. Jeremiah Pote became one of the principal merchants of the town, he owned and occupied one of the two principal wharves in that town previous to the Revolution. He transacted a large business and filled offices of trust and honor. In his testimony before the Claim Commission[271]"Claimt says He is a native of America. Lived at Falmouth, Casco Bay, when trouble broke out. He did everything in his power against the measure of the Rebels. He happened to be one of the selectmen at Falmouth, whose business it was to give notice of Town Meetings. Claimt refused to notify the meetings desired by the Rebels. In consequence of this he was persecuted. Was imprisoned several times. Had his things taken from him by force, so that he was forced to quit home, got to Nova Scotia, went in open boat. Went from Halifax to New York in 1778. Was employed by Admiral Gambin to pilot a vessel to New Hampshire, which was going with Sir Henry Clinton, Manisfestoes. The vessel was seized and the whole crew made prisoners and kept in prison during the winter. Went to Penobscot in 1780 to St. Andrews in the beginning of 1784."
In 1774 a public meeting was called to consider the state of public affairs, which he attended, but he desired that his dissent might be entered against a resolution relative to the Ministry and East India Company, which was introduced and passed.
In 1775, during the trouble with Captain Mowatt, which resulted in the burning of the town, in which he lost £1,000, he brought upon himself the vengeance of the Revolutionists, who under Thompson, assumed the government, and organized themselves into a board of war, and required him to contribute money and provisions, and to give a bond of £2,000 to appear at the Provincial Congress of Massachusetts, and give an account of his conduct. In 1778 he was proscribed and banished. After the peace he settled at St. Andrews at the mouth of the St. Croix river, the boundary line between Maine and New Brunswick, where he died November 23, 1796, aged seventy-one years. His son Robert, deceased at the same place November 8, 1794, at the age of twenty-five, and his daughter, Joanna, married Thomas Wyer, Jr., his widow Elizabeth Berry of Kittery, died December 24, 1809, aged seventy-nine.
John 1 Cutlercame from Spranston, two miles from north of Norwich, and about eight miles south of Hingham, in the County of Norfolk, England. His name first appears among the persecuted adherents of Rev. Robert Peck, A. M., of Hingham, who "sold their possessions for half their value, and named the place of their settlement after their natal town." He embarked, it is believed, in the Rose of Yarmouth, William Andrews, Jr., Master, which sailed on or about April 18, 1637. He was at Hingham by or a little after June 10th following, when land was assigned him. He came attended by his wife Mary, seven children, and one servant. He died the following year, which must have subjected his widow and children to great hardships. His third son,
Samuel 2 Cutler, was born in England in 1629, was of Marblehead in 1654, of Salem in 1655, of Topsfield and Hingham in 1671, and of Gloucester, March 17, 1693. In 1671 he as heir and attorney for his brothers and sisters, united with his mother in the sale of their patrimonial estate in Hingham. He was often called to settle and appraise estates. He died in 1700, 71 years of age. He had two sons and three daughters. His second eldest son,
Ebenezer 3 Cutler, was born at Salem in 1664, where he married Mary, daughter of Zacheray and Mary March. Mr. Cutler died about 1729 at Salem and the widow in 1734, the sale of the homestead being effected soon after, and the family removed from Salem. He had six children, four sons and two daughters. The eldest son,
Ebenezer 4 Cutler, was born in Salem, October 1, 1695. He was a farmer and brickmaker. He married May, daughter of William Stockwell, Oct. 16, 1732. He inherited the farm in Sutton, Mass., purchased of William Stockwell by his father, and on which he settled previous to 1728. It is said that three of his sons resided on this farm at one time, each occupying separate houses. He died in 1779, and had two daughters and five sons.
Ebenezer 5 Cutler, son of the aforesaid,[272]settled in the town of Oxford, Mass., as an inn keeper and trader. He married Miriam Eager, sister of his brother Zackeus' wife, and daughter of James Eager of Westboro, Mass., Nov. 24, 1764. Mrs. Cutler was a sister of Colonel Eager, who was a Loyalist and settled in Victory, Nova Scotia.
Before the commencement of hostilities he tried to be neutral, but when the tea troubles arose, he went quietly at night, and purchased a quantity of it, on the return with his supply a masked band interrupted him, took the tea from him and burnt it. That decided him, which side to take, and he became a staunch loyalist.
Ebenezer Cutler was a trader which caused him to travel considerably about the country, and being very independant and outspoken he soonhad many enemies among the Revolutionists, and a price was set on his capture. He had many narrow escapes before they got him. Once he was hidden in a farmhouse between the chimney and outer wall, most suffocated by smoke.
The Committee on Correspondence made charges against him, and sent him with the evidence of his misconduct to General Ward at Cambridge, the charges were as follows:
Northboro, May 17th, 1775.Sir:We the Committee of Correspondence of the Town of Northboro having taken into our custody Mr. Ebenezer Cutler, late of Groton, but now of this town, which from his conduct appears to us to be an avowed enemy of his Country, he has set at naught and despises all the Resolutions of the Continental and Provincial Congress, and also utterly refuses to act in any defence of his now perishing country whatever, and as he has from his past conduct, ever since we have been struggling for the Liberties of our Country appeared in the eyes of the Public to be aiding and abetting, in defeating the plans of the good people of this Province, and has been riding from one part of this province to the other, and in our opinion for no good design, we think it highly necessary to send him to the Council of war, to know whether he may (as he desires) have a pass to go into Boston: we also inclose the substance of two evidences concerning said Cutler.By order of the Committee of Correspondence,GILMAN BASS, Clerk.N. B. General Ward, we apprehend is well acquainted with the character and conduct of said Cutler.[273]
Northboro, May 17th, 1775.
Sir:
We the Committee of Correspondence of the Town of Northboro having taken into our custody Mr. Ebenezer Cutler, late of Groton, but now of this town, which from his conduct appears to us to be an avowed enemy of his Country, he has set at naught and despises all the Resolutions of the Continental and Provincial Congress, and also utterly refuses to act in any defence of his now perishing country whatever, and as he has from his past conduct, ever since we have been struggling for the Liberties of our Country appeared in the eyes of the Public to be aiding and abetting, in defeating the plans of the good people of this Province, and has been riding from one part of this province to the other, and in our opinion for no good design, we think it highly necessary to send him to the Council of war, to know whether he may (as he desires) have a pass to go into Boston: we also inclose the substance of two evidences concerning said Cutler.
By order of the Committee of Correspondence,
GILMAN BASS, Clerk.
N. B. General Ward, we apprehend is well acquainted with the character and conduct of said Cutler.[273]
His case was submitted to Congress, when it appeared that he had spoken "many things disrespectful of the Continental and Provincial Congress" that he had "acted against their resolves," had said that "he would assist Gage," had called such as signed the town-covenant or non-consumption agreement "dammed fools" etc., etc. A resolve to commit him to prison was refused a passage, and a resolve that he be allowed to join the British troops at Boston was also lost. But subsequently he was allowed to go into that town "without his effects." On the evacuation of Boston he accompanied the British Army to Halifax. He settled at Annapolis Royal, and with the money which the British government paid him in compensation for his losses, he established himself in business there. After his home in Oxford was broken up, his wife Miriam, and children, went to her mother, Mrs. Eager, in Worcester. His wife died there. Mrs. Eager was a strong Loyalist, one day a party of Rebels visitedher, and she sent them off by some ready quotations of scripture. She and her sons brought the family to Annapolis and then settled on a farm in Nisteaux.
After a few years Ebenezer Cutler went to England on a visit and there married Mary, daughter of Colonel Hicks, of the 70th Regiment. Two children were born in England and four in N. S. He was protonotary of the County of Annapolis, and was a zealous Episcopalian. He died there in 1831, quite aged. Mary, his widow, died at the same place in 1839. He was proscribed and banished in 1778, and his property was confiscated and inventoried April 5th, 1779. Aug. 3rd the judge appointed a commission to settle his estate. His first wife, Miriam, died at Northboro, Mass., and her estate was inventoried Sept. 10, 1784, amounting to £100. He had by her eight children.
Ebenezer 6 Cutler, son of the aforesaid, was born at Oxford, Mass. Aug. 27th, 1765. He was a student at Harvard at the commencement of hostilities, when he was obliged to leave. Opposite his name in the College archives, is the name "Traitor," which means just the opposite, that he was a Loyalist. He went to Nova Scotia with his father. He was an expert accountant, and crown land surveyor. Here he resided several years, but settled finally at Moncton. One day in going up the street, passing Mr. Wilmot's, he saw a very beautiful girl leaning over the gate, a visitor of Mrs. Wilmot, Olivia Dickson. It was a case of love at first sight. He met a friend a few minutes after and told him that he had just seen his wife that was to be. In due time they were married. On one of his voyages as supercargo, the vessel was taken by a Spanish privateer, off Jamaica. The captain recognized him as a Free Mason, gave him liberty, set him ashore at Port Antonio, where he obtained a mule, and crossed the mountains to Kingston where he took a vessel for Nova Scotia. He died in 1839. He had ten children, six daughters and four sons, the tenth child born was
Rebecca 7 Cutler, who married John Whitman of Annapolis whose ancestor came from Plymouth County, Mass., and settled in Nova Scotia previous to the Revolution. William Whitman of Boston and Clarence Whitman of New York are children of John Whitman and Rebecca Cutler.
Robert J. Dysart and Hugh Dysart, accountants of Boston, are descendants in the third generation from Ebenezer Cutler and Olivia Dickson.