the reverend peter bulkeley - kouroo · 2015. 4. 4. · the rev. peter bulkeley, b.d. was of...

THE REVEREND PETER BULKELEY

“NARRATIVE HISTORY” AMOUNTS TO FABULATION, THE REAL STUFF BEING MERE CHRONOLOGY

Reverend Peter Bulkeley “Stack of the Artist of Kouroo” Project

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REVEREND PETER BULKELEY REVEREND PETER BULKELEY

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January 31, Thursday (1582, Old Style): Peter Bulkeley or Bulkley was born in the village of Woodhill or Odell on the River Ouse in North Bedfordshire, the son of the rector, Edward Bulkley, DD. After his ordination, in 1624, he would likewise become rector in this village in which he had been born. It would therefore be from his All Saint’s Church in Odell that he would lead a dissident flock in rebellion against the Church of England under Archbishop Laud in 1635, to a New World in which he would help found a new such village, Concord.1 What had happened was that there had been a “visitation,” in 1634, which had resulted in the suspension of the Reverend Bulkeley (Bedfordshire Magazine, ii, 30-2), for not being able to accept the Laudian discipline — “accounting them ceremonies superstitious,” this rural rector would neither don a surplice nor make the sign of the cross in baptism.

This village of Odell’s list of opinionated rectors stretched back through the centuries to a Robert of Dunton installed in 1220. At Cardinal Pole’s visitation in 1556, Rector Sir Oswald Butler had had to do public penance in All Saints and in St. Mary’s Church at Bedford, for having married. Another controversialist, William Dillingham, Latin poet, Doctor of Divinity and Master of Emanuel College, vice-chancellor of Cambridge University, would find a refuge in the rectory of Odell when opposition to him grew too strong, retiring there from 1672 until his death in 1689.

Only the earthworks remain in Odell of a medieval castle that once rose above the lazy River Ouse. The King’s Thanes of Saxon days had been landed gentry, some with large estates in several countries. The lands of

1583

1. The close relationship between Concord and Odell is alive, as in 1984 a large party from Concord visited Odell to rediscover their roots and to compare the lazy River Concord with the lazy River Ouse.

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Levenot, a thane of King Edward the Confessor, included a village then called Wahull.2 When the spoils had been shared after the battle of Hastings the title Baron of Odell had gone to Walter the Fleming, who presumably had come over with William the Conqueror and fought at Hastings (Bedfordshire Magazine, i, 269-71). Of the Norman lords of Odell Castle, this Walter’s great-great-grandson Simon would be a wild fellow involved in a raid on the abbey of Ramsey, who would side with the young Prince Henry in his revolt. Simon’s son would die in 1191 in Acre harbor while on crusade (by falling overboard). A later Walter would make pilgrimage to the shrine of St. James of Compostela at Santiago, and his son John would help Edward I against the rebellious Welsh princes and thus help decide “what should be done with David,” Prince Llewellyn’s brother whom they would hang, and then draw and quarter. —Well, this is all ancient history now, what is left being a mere mound of dirt.

The Rev. Peter Bulkeley, B.D. was of honorable and nobledescent. He was the tenth generation from Robert Bulkeley, Esq.one of the English Barons, who, in the reign of King John (whodied in 1216), was lord manor of Bulkeley in the county palatineof Chester.3 He was born at Woodhill, in Bedfordshire, January31, 1583. His father, the Rev. Edward Bulkeley, D.D., was afaithful minister of the gospel under whose direction his sonreceived a learned and religious education, suited to hisdistinguished rank. About the age of sixteen he was admitted amember of St. John’s College in Cambridge, England, of which hewas afterwards chosen fellow, and from which he received thedegree of Bachelor of Divinity. He succeeded his father in theministry in his native town and enjoyed his rich benefice andestate; where he was a zealous preacher of evangelical truthabout twenty years and, for the most part of the time, lived anunmolested non-conformist. At length, his preaching meeting withdistinguished success, and his church being very much increased,complaints were entered against him by Archbishop Laud and hewas silenced for his non-conformity to the requirements of theEnglish church. This circumstance induced him to emigrate to NewEngland where he might enjoy liberty of conscience. He arrivedin Cambridge in 1634 or 1635,4 and was the leader of thoseresolute men and self-denying Christians, who soon after “wentfurther up into the woods and settled the plantation atMusketaquid.” Here he expended most of his estate for thebenefit of his people; and after a laborious and useful life,died March 9, 1659 in his 77th year.Mr. Bulkeley was remarkable for his benevolence. He had many

2. Odell was originally called “Woad-hill” from the woad, a plant used as a dye and apparently cultivated in Saxon days and later. Loss of the initial letter did not occur until about 1500, and Wodell continued to alternate with Odell during the 16th Century, and even became Woodhill later, until Odell established itself. Within memory some of the older inhabitants still called it Woadle.3. The names of the lineal descendants from Robert Bulkeley furnished me by Charles Bulkeley, Esq., of New London, a great grandson of Gershom Bulkeley were, 1. William; 2. Robert; 3. Peter, who married Nicholaus Bird, of Haughton; 4. John, who married Andryne, daughter and heir to John Colley ,of Ward, and died 1450; 5. Hugh, who married Hellen Wilbriham, of Woodley; 6. Humphrey, who married Cyle, daughter and heir of John Mutten; 7. William, who married Beatryce, daughter and heir to William of Bulausdale; 8. Thomas, who married Elizabeth, daughter of Randell Grovenor; 9. Edward, D.D., of Woodhill, who married Olive Irlby, of Lincolnshire; 10. Peter, of Concord. He had two brothers, Nathaniel and Paul Bulkeley. The latter died Fellow of Queen’s College, Cambridge, England. From William, a brother of Peter, of the third generation, were also many ennobled descendants; among whom are recorded, in the Irish Peerage, seven Viscounts in succession. Other branches have been much distinguished. The mott adopted in the family coat of arms was “Nec lemere, nec timide,” — “Neither rashly nor timidly,” and contains a beautiful sentiment, characteristic of the eminent father of the American family.4. The Rev. Edward Bulkeley was admitted freeman May 6, 1635; and from the Cambridge records it seems probable that Mr. Bulkeley came to America in 1634.



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servants on whom, after they had lived with him several years,he bestowed farms, and then received others to be treated in alike benevolent manner. By great familiarity of manners he drewaround him persons of all ages; and his easy address, greatlearning, and eminent piety, rendered his society pleasing andprofitable to all. Persons seldom separated from his company,without having heard some remark calculated to impress the mindwith the importance of religion. Though sometimes sufferingunder bodily infirmities, he was distinguished for the holinessof his life, and a most scrupulous observance of the duties ofthe Christian ministry. He avoided all novelties in dress, andwore his hair short. Being strict in his own virtues, he wasoccasionally severe in censuring the follies of others. He wasconsidered as the father of his people, and “addressed asfather, prophet, or counsellor, by them and all the ministersof the country.” Had the scene of Mr. Bulkeley’s labors been inBoston, or its immediate vicinity, and not, as he expresses it,“shut up” in this remote spot, then of difficult access, hisname would have appeared more conspicuously in the publishedannals of the country. He was a thorough scholar; an elevated,devotional Christian; laborious in his profession; and, as apreacher, evangelical, faithful and of remarkably energetic,powerful and persuasive eloquence.He often wrote a series of sermons on a particular book orpassage of Scripture. One of these series on Zachariah ix. 11,was published as “the first-born of New England,” and passedthrough several editions. The edition before me bears thefollowing title: “The Gospel Covenant, or the Covenant of Graceopened; wherein are explained, 1. The difference between thecovenant of grace and covenant of works. 2. The differentadministration of the covenant before and since Christ. 3. Thebenefits and blessing of it. 4. The conditions. 5. Theproperties of it. Preached at Concord in New England by Rev.Peter Bulkeley, sometime fellow of Saint John’s College inCambridge, England. [Here follow quotations, Genesis xvii. 1-7and Isaiah lv. 3.] The second edition, much enlarged and correctby the author. And the chiefe heads of things (which was omittedin the former) distinguished into chapters. London, printed byMathew Simmins, dwelling in Aldersgate-Street, next door to theGolden Lion, 1651.” pp. xvi and 442, quarto. It was dedicated“to the church and congregation at Concord” and to his nephew,“the Rt. Hon. Oliver St. John, Lord Embassador extraordinaryfrom the Parliament of the Commonwealth of England to the Highand Mighty Lords, the States General of the United Provinces inthe Netherlands; and Lord Chief Justice at the Common Pleas.”It is a work of great merit for that age and considering thatit was “preached in the remote ends of the earth.” “The churchof God,” says the Rev. Mr. Shephard of Cambridge, “is bound tobless God for the holy, judicious and learned labours of thisaged, experienced and precious servant of Christ.” After readingthis book, President Stiles observes “He was a masterly reasonerin theology and equal to the first characters in all Christendom



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and in all ages.”Two of Mr. Bulkeley’s manuscripts are preserved in the libraryof the American Antiquarian Society. One contains answers toseveral theological questions, and is addressed to the Rev. Mr.Phillips of Watertown. The other is on the character andgovernment of the church. The following analysis is given at theclose of this work. Part I. “The visible church is: 1. For theefficient cause, called of God. 2. For the material cause, anumber of visible saints and believers in the judgment of man.3. For the formal cause, union by an explicate covenanttogether. 4. For the final cause, to set out God’s praises.”Part II. The churches’ government. 1. Is originally in thepeople’s hands. 2. Which people are to elect their own officers,teachers, elders, and deacons. 3. By which officers they are torule and govern - by admitting fit members, and by watching over,admonishing and casting out those that be bad.” This is a mostable defence of the Congregationalism in opposition toEpiscopacy; and touches with the author’s peculiar power andclearness, the ecclesiastical questions in discussion at thatperiod. I can scarcely resist an inclination to extract somepassages. Its publication entire is recommended to the Societyto whom it belongs.Mr. Bulkeley married, for his first wife, Jane, daughter of SirThomas Allen of Goldington, England, whose nephew was Lord Manorof London. By her he had nine sons and two daughters. Edward,Thomas (who married a daughter of the Rev. John Jones, removedto Fairfield, Connecticut, and died about 1652), John, Joseph,William and Richard are all the names I have seen mentioned. Helived eight years a widower and then married Grace, daughter ofSir Richard Chitwood, by whom he had three sons and one daughter,Gershom, Eleazer, Peter and Dorothy. His wife survived him andremoved to Connecticut a few years after his death.His will, dated February 26, 1659, appears in the MiddlesexRecords, in which he specifies legacies in books to his sons,Edward, John & Joseph, his cousin Samuel Hough and his nephewOliver St. John, “as a thankful acknowledgment of his kindnessand bounty towards me; his liberality having been a great helpand support unto me in these my lonely times and my struggles.”Legacies are also made to the widow of his son Thomas, deceased,and to this three youngest children, Eleazer, Peter and Dorothy;“and in case any of my children before named by me in this mywill, to whom I have bequeathed the legacies named, shall provedisobedient to their mother, or otherwise vicious and wicked,shall be wholly in the power of my said wife, their mother, todeal with them therein, as she herself in Christian wisdom shallthink meet, either to give their legacy or to keep it toherself.” He alludes to his “wasted estate, which is now verylittle in comparison of what it was when I came first to theseplaces,” having made great sacrifices in “the beginning of theseplantations.” and “Having little to leave to the children Godhath given me, and to my precious wife, whose unfeigned pietyand singular grace of God shining in her, doth deserve more than



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I can do for her.” The inventory of his estate amounted to £1302of which £123 was in books. He had previously given a part ofhis library and some other donations to Harvard College.The Rev. Edward Bulkeley succeeded his father in the ministerialcare of the church with an annual salary of £80. The duties ofhis office increasing with the growth of the town assistance wasjudged necessary and the Rev. Joseph Estabrook was ordained ashis colleague in 1667. His salary was also £80, of which £40 wasto be paid in money, and £40 in grain, - wheat to be estimatedat 5s., rye at 4s., and corn at 3s. per bushel.5

NOBODY COULD GUESS WHAT WOULD HAPPEN NEXT

5. Lemuel Shattuck’s 1835 A HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF CONCORD;.... Boston: Russell, Odiorne, and Company; Concord MA: John Stacy(On or about November 11, 1837 Henry Thoreau would indicate a familiarity with the contents of at least pages 2-3 and 6-9 of this historical study.)


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Robert Burton was elected a student (life fellow) of Christ Church (one of the colleges of Oxford University), and would live there the rest of his life.

1599

CHRIST CHURCH



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Peter Bulkeley was admitted at St John’s College of Cambridge University at the age of 16.

He would receive his father’s position in Odell and serve at that altar for two decades, through the favor of Lord Keifer William, Bishop of London. By a 1st wife, Jane Allen Bulkeley, daughter of Thomas Allen of Goldington, he would produce Edward Bulkeley, Thomas Bulkeley, Nathaniel Bulkeley (in 1618), George Bulkeley, Daniel Bulkeley, Jabez Bulkeley, and Joseph Bulkeley; then by a 2d wife, Grace Chetwood Bulkeley, daughter of Sir Richard Chetwood or Chetwoode, he would produce Gershom Bulkeley in 1636, Eleacer Bulkeley in 1638, Dorothy Bulkeley in 1640, and Peter Bulkeley in 1643.



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June 17, Friday (Old Style): Although we don’t know the exact day of his birth, on this day Edward Bulkeley (1), eldest son of the Reverend Peter Bulkeley (1), was being baptized at Odell in England.

DO I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION? GOOD.

1614


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In about this year, in England, John Clarke got married with Sarah Davis (1609-1691).

Edward Bulkeley, the eldest son of the Reverend Peter Bulkeley, had emigrated to the American colonies and in this year was admitted as a member of the First Church of Boston.

At the visitation of a Cardinal in this year, the rector at Odell, Peter Bulkeley, was suspended, because unable to accept the Laudian discipline and because he used neither a surplice nor the sign of the cross in baptism, “accounting them ceremonies superstitious” (see Bedfordshire Magazine, ii, 30-2). Peter had been born in the village and had succeeded his father as rector in 1624. The suspended rector would emigrate to New England and help to found the town of Concord, where he would become its first minister.

In this same year Oliver Cromwell discovered that the English government would not permit him to emigrate to Connecticut because he had, in 1629 or so, converted to Puritanism.

NO-ONE’S LIFE IS EVER NOT DRIVEN PRIMARILY BY HAPPENSTANCE

1634




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March 4, day (1634, Old Style): In the Bay colony, all residents of a town above 16 years of age who were not freemen were required to take an oath of fidelity.

March 22, day (1634, Old Style): Edward Bulkeley (1), who had emigrated to the American colony before his father the Reverend Peter Bulkeley (1), was admitted of Boston church on this day.

LIFE IS LIVED FORWARD BUT UNDERSTOOD BACKWARD?— NO, THAT’S GIVING TOO MUCH TO THE HISTORIAN’S STORIES.

LIFE ISN’T TO BE UNDERSTOOD EITHER FORWARD OR BACKWARD.

1635


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September 2, Sunday: The General Court, at its session at New-Town (Cambridge) on September 12th per the new Gregorian calendar, granted an inland town and parish site6 to be named Concord7 to a group of petitioners including “Mr. Buckly and ———— merchant, and about twelve more families,” by means of the following Act of Incorporation:

6. Town and parish would be equivalent for the first two centuries of its existence, until in 1834 the legislature would sever church and government, which severance would not become effective until 1856. Which is to say, it would not be until the year 1857 that the town government would desist from paying out of tax moneys various bills in support of the parish, such as the salaries of the minister and the organist.7. The redactive tradition is that the name either was an expression of the desired relation between the native Americans and the new settlers, or in hope that the two reverends in the town, Jones and Bulkeley, would be able to get along despite their differing theologically over one of the hot religious issues of the period. This interpretation is bolstered only by the fact that there is not an identifiable town in England named Concord, when other neighboring towns were borrowing names from the “old country.” No historical document now extant makes any claim as to why Concord was named Concord, or for that matter why the name is made to rhyme with “conquered.”

It is ordered that there shall be a plantation att Musketaquid, and that there shall be 6 myles of landsquare to belonge to it ; and that the inhabitants thereof shall have three yeares imunities from allpublic charges except trainings. Further that, when any that shall plant there, shall have occasionof carrying of goods thither, they shall repair to two of the nexte majistrates, where the teams are,whoe shall have power for a yeare to press draughts att reasonable rates, to be paid by the ownersof the goods, to transport their goods thither at seasonable tymes ; and the name of the place ischanged and here after to be called Concord.

PETER BULKELEY



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In all likelihood it was Simon Willard who set the four boundary stones at the corners of this Concord “6 myles of land square.” At that time there were no neighboring grants on any side of the square, Concord being the initial white settlement above tidewater. Later measurements show that Willard set his corner markers to delimit a square not six miles on a side, but six miles plus 142 rods on a side. (When Watertown would insist that its own grant, since it was specified as running eight miles toward the west, converged to a point north of Walden Pond, the General Court would issue an order on August 20, 1638, that these Watertown lines were to be extended only so far “as Concord bounds give leave.”)

On this very day the ship carrying the Reverends Thomas Shepard and John Jones sighted the land of their



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New World.8 (Since there were a total of five ministers and their families on board, I am presuming that this ship would have been the Susan and Ann with the Reverend Bulkeley also aboard and listing his age on the manifest as 50, but the Reverend Bulkeley could well have come on some other vessel arriving in the same year.) The story is that the Reverends Jones and Peter “Big Pray” Bulkeley would be naming their new plantation as they were, “Concord,” because at that time a controversy was raging over whether each congregation should be separate and self-governing on the model of the Plymouth congregation, or whether all congregations should be governed by an assembly of ministers as in Presbyterianism. Although Jones was favoring decentralization while Bulkeley was favoring centralization, they nevertheless were setting out to live “in concord” with one another. Well, at any rate, that’s the story.

8. How is it then, that the general court on the mainland had already made an award to a group of petitioners including “Mr. Buckly”? The answer is, the “Mr. Buckly” of this document was not the Reverend Peter, but was his grown son Edward Bulkeley who had been born and raised in Odell, England and had come over to America a year earlier to prepare the way. Presumably this Edward had already visited the site of Concord and verified that it was very similar to the site of Odell in England, in being low and marshy and on an exceedingly still stream like the lazy River Ouse. This Edward would, upon the father’s death, succeed as the reverend of Concord in 1660.

The name Walden was given to the pond very early,perhaps by [Major Simon] Willard in honor of the Minotfamily of Dorchester who came from Saffron Walden,England, or in honor of Major [Richard] Waldren,a contemporary of Willard who was also a trader withthe Indians. Some doubt has been cast on the derivationof the name from Saffron Walden because the Minots camelate to Concord (about 1686), but widow Rachel Biggs,who died in 1646, was one of the incorporatorsof Concord, with large holdings south of Walden.Her son John’s widow Mary Dossett Biggs was the secondwife of Captain John Minot, the pioneer of Dorchester,and father of Captain James Minot who moved to Concord.

HENRY’SRELATIVES

JOHN MINOT

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So far as it can be said that the town of Hingham MA had any legislative incorporation, it was incorporated on this day, as the twelfth such town in the Massachusetts Bay colony, after a number of white settlers had relocated there from other local towns: “The name of Barecove is changed and hereafter to be called Hingham.” We do not know the names of any of the initial white settlers in the area, or the dates on which they arrived, although there is still in existence a “list of the names of such persons as came out of the town of Hingham, and towns adjacent, in the County of Norfolk, in the Kingdom of England, into New England, and settled in Hingham” which leads us to believe that already in 1833 there were inhabitants, among them Ralph Smith, Nicholas Jacob and family, the weaver Thomas Lincoln, Edmund Hobart and wife from Hingham, and Thomas Hobart and family from Windham, in Norfolk, England, when in that year Theophilus Cushing, Edmund Hobart, Senior, Joshua Hobart, and Henry Gibbs of Hingham, England, all of whom eventually would relocate to Hingham, arrived in other towns of the Massachusetts Bay colony.

I here subjoin the names of those who settled or received grantsof land here, in the respective years mentioned. Possibly theremay be some names omitted, which have escaped my observation,and those of others inserted to whom lands were granted, but whonever settled here. The list is as perfect, however, as long,careful, and patient examination of public and private recordscall make it.In 1635, in addition to those before-mentioned (namely: JosephAndrews, Thomas Chubbuck, Henry Gibbs, Edmund Hobart, Sen.,Edmund Hobart, Jr., Joshua Hobart, Rev. Peter Hobart, ThomasHobart, Nicholas Jacob, Thomas Lincoln, weaver, Ralph Smith),were Jonas Austin, Nicholas Baker, Clement Bates, RichardBetscome, Benjamin Bozworth, William Buckland, James Cade,Anthony Cooper, John Cutler, John Farrow, Daniel Fop, JarviceGould, Wm. Hersey, Nicholas Hodsdin, Thos. Johnson, Andrew Lane,Wm. Large, Thomas Loring, George Ludkin, Jeremy Morse, WilliamNolton, John Otis, David Phippeny, John Palmer, John Porter,Henry Rust, John Smart, Francis Smith (or Smyth), John Strong,Henry Tuttil, William Walton, Thomas Andrews, William Arnall,George Bacon, Nathaniel Baker, Thomas Collier, George Lane,George Marsh, Abraham Martin, Nathaniel Peck, Richard Osborn,Thomas Wakely, Thomas Gill, Richard Ibrook, William Cockerum,William Cockerill, John Fearing, John Tucker.In 1636, John Beal, senior, Anthony Eames, Thomas Hammond,Joseph Hull, Richard Jones, Nicholas Lobdin, Richard Langer,John Leavitt, Thomas Lincoln, Jr., miller, Thomas Lincoln,cooper, Adam Mott, Thomas Minard, John Parker, George Russell,

If the name was not derived from that of some English

locality, ̂ Saffron Walden ̂ for instance ̂ perhaps I have

conjectured that ^who knows but it was called,

originally, Walled-in Pond.



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William Sprague, George Strange, Thomas Underwood, Samuel Ward,Ralph Woodward, John Winchester, William Walker.In 1637, Thomas Barnes, Josiah Cobbit, Thomas Chaffe, ThomasClapp, William Carlslye (or Carsly), Thomas Dimock, VintonDreuce, Thomas Hett, Thomas Joshlin, Aaron Ludkin, John Morrick,Thomas Nichols, Thomas Paynter, Edmund Pitts, Joseph Phippeny,Thomas Shave, Ralph Smith, Thomas Turner, John Tower, JosephUnderwood, William Ludkin, Jonathan Bozworth.

THE FUTURE IS MOST READILY PREDICTED IN RETROSPECT


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Gershom Bulkeley was born in Concord, son of the Reverend Peter Bulkeley. He would graduate from Harvard College in 1655 and would be ordained at New London about 1660. He would get married with Sarah Chauncy, daughter of the Reverend Dr. Chauncy, President of Harvard, on October 26, 1659, and the couple would have four sons:

— Peter, lost at sea— Bulkeley of New London— Edward, who married Dorothy Prescott of Concord and died at Weathersfield— John, who would graduate at Harvard College in 1699, and would become the first minister of Colchester,

Connecticut, father of the Hon. John Bulkeley, a physician and judge of the Supreme Court.

At what point did Concord adopt its town motto Quam Firma Res Concordia “Always Firm but Tranquil”?

(The classic author to whom many such sentenciae have been attributed is Publilius Syrus, a Syrian born in about 85BCE who was brought to Rome as a slave but there achieved his freedom through the composition of literary performances, dying in 43BCE. He probably wrote a good many of these sentenciae himself, and then after his death other similar maxims accreted. Who would it have been who accessed this classic material and derived a town motto for Concord, and when would this have happened? Other similar sentenciae that might have been chosen, but were not, were Ubi concordia, ibi victoria “Where there is unity, there is victory” and Ibi semper est victoria, ubi concordia est “There is always victory, where there is unity.” The motto selected for Massachusetts was Ense petit placidam sub libertate quietem “By the sword we seek peace, but peace only under liberty.”)

In this year the white settlers, intent of course upon interracial concord, met with members of the Massachuset band living in the area. Present were the Squaw Sachem (head of the group after the death of her first husband), her new husband Webcowat (Webbacowet?), the sagamore Tahattawan, Nimrod, Waban, Jehoiakim, Jethro, and Jethro’s son Jethro. From the point of view of the intrusives, this ceremony and payment of wampompeag and trade items did not have to do with title to the land, since that had come to them through the Royal Charter and the Massachusetts Legislature. From the point of view of the indigenes, what was being agreed to was that the intrusives were present in the area, since the hunting rights were what was important about the area and these hunting rights were not being negotiated except in the vicinity of the fish weir used during the annual run of alewives up the river.

1636



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William Hartwell (1) came to the part of Concord that is now Lincoln, according to a family tradition, from Kent in England. His 1st wife was named Jessie Hartwell, and there were children named Jonathan Hartwell (1) and Nathaniel Hartwell of whom we do not know the dates of birth or death or marriage. He was a quartermaster in the military service. He and one or the other of his two wives (he married again, to Susan Hartwell) would produce William Hartwell (2), born during 1638, John Hartwell (1), born on February 23, 1641, Mary Hartwell (1), born during 1643, Samuel Hartwell (1), born on March 26, 1645, Martha Hartwell, born on April 25, 1649, and Sarah Hartwell (1).

Professor Allen French has drawn the following sketch of the probable layout of the town at this point:

The place where the principal sachem lived was near Nahshawtuck(Lee’s) hill. Other lodges were south of the Great Meadows,above the South Bridge, and in various places along the bordersof the rivers, where planting, hunting, or fishing ground wasmost easily obtained. From these sources the Indians derivedtheir subsistence; and few places produced a supply more easilythan Musketaquid. South of Mr. Samuel Dennis’s are now seenlarge quantities of clamshells which are supposed to have beencollected by the Indians, as they feasted on that then muchfrequented spot. Across the vale, south of Capt. AnthonyWright’s, a long mound, or breast work is now visible, whichmight have been built to aid the hunter, though its object isunknown. Many hatchets, pipes, chisels, arrow-heads and otherrude specimens of their art, curiously wrought of stone, arestill frequently discovered near these spots, an evidence of theexistence and skill of the original inhabitants.The situation of the place, though then considered far in theinterior and accessible only with great difficulty, held outstrong inducements to form an English settlement, and early



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attracted the attention of the adventurous Pilgrims. Extensivemeadows, bordering on rivers and lying adjacent to uplandplains, have ever been favorite spots to new settlers; and thiswas peculiarly the character of Musketaquid. The Great Fields,extending from the Great Meadows on the north to the Boston roadsouth, and down the river considerably into the present limitsof Bedford, and up the river beyond Deacon Hubbard’s, and theextensive tract between the two rivers, contained largequantities of open land, which bore some resemblance to theprairies of the western country. These plains were annuallyburned or dug over, for the purposes of hunting or the rudeculture of corn.Forest trees or small shrubbery rarely opposed the immediate andeasy culture of the soil. And the open meadows, scattered alongthe borders of the small streams, as well as the great rivers,and in the solitary glens, then producing, it is said, evenlarger crops and of better quality, than they now do, promisedabundant support for all the necessary stock of the farm-yard.These advantages were early made known to the English emigrants.Traditionally authority asserts that the settlement was firstprojected in England. It is not improbable that this may havebeen partially true, and that William Wood, the author of “NewEngland’s Prospect,” and the first who mentions the originalname of the river or place, might have come here in 1633, andpromoted its settlement by his representations after his returnto England. It must have been effected, however, in conjunctionwith others who were residents in the colony. The plan of thesettlement was formed on a large scale and under the mostsanguine anticipations of success. Nearly all the first settlerswere emigrants directly from England; and a greater number oforiginal inhabitants removed, during the first fifteen yearsafter the settlement, to other towns in the colony, thanpermanently remained here. This sufficiently characterizes itas one of the “mother towns.” It was the first town settled inNew England above tide waters; and was in fact, as it was thenrepresented to be, “away up in the woods,” being bounded on allsides by Indian lands, and having the then remote towns ofCambridge and Watertown for its nearest neighbors.The uniform custom of the early settlers of Massachusetts colonywas first to obtain liberty of the government to commence a newsettlement, and afterwards to acquire a full title to the soilby purchase of the Indians. This title was never obtained byconquest. The first undertakers, as a preliminary step towardsthe settlement, had this town granted to them by the GeneralCourt, at its session at New-Town (Cambridge) September 2, 1635,under the following Act of Incorporation:

“It is ordered that there shall be a plantation attMusketaquid, and that there shall be six myles of landsquare to belonge to it; and that the inhabitantsthereof shall have three yeares imunities from allpublic charges except trainings. Further that, when anythat shall plant there, shall have occasion of carrying



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of goods thither, they shall repair to two of the nextemajistrates, where the teams are, whoe shall have powerfor a yeare to press draughts att reasonable rates, tobe paid by the owners of the goods, to transport theirgoods thither at seasonable tymes; and the name of theplace is changed hereafter to be called CONCORD.”

Governor Winthrop says that this grant was made “to Mr. Bucklyand ______ merchant, and about twelve more families, to begin atown.” This was undoubtedly the Reverend Peter Bulkeley; and themerchant intended, Major SIMON WILLARD, two distinguishedindividuals, who will be more particularly noticed in thesequel. The loss of early records renders it impossible toascertain who the twelve other families were. Their names may,however, be inferred from an account of early families, to begiven in this history. Others were soon after added; and on the6th of October, the Reverend John Jones and a large number ofsettlers, destined for the plantation arrived in BostonThe time from which the town should be free from immunities orpublic charges, mentioned in the act of incorporation, wascalculated from the October following. In 1636 the order topress carts was renewed for three years more. These peculiarprivileges were probably granted to the first settlers, as anencouragement in their hazardous enterprise. That legalauthority should be given to compel any person, at any time, tocarry goods through a wilderness untrodden by civilized man,appears singular to us, but was probably necessary then, as itwould have been difficult, if not impossible to hire them “atreasonable rates.” Though some privileges were granted toConcord, from its peculiarly remote situation, which werewithheld from other towns, it did not entirely escape censure.Being required to perform military duty, it was, in 1638, finedfive shillings for want of a pair of stocks and a watch-houseIn June, 1639, it had a similar fine imposed, and another for“not giving in a transcript of their lands.” In 1641, it wasagain fined “10 shillings for neglecting a watch and for non-appearance.” Such fines were imposed on several towns by theGeneral Court, pursuant to an act, passed June 7, 1636,providing that every town should keep a military watch and bewell supplied with ammunition, as a guard against the incursionsof unfriendly Indians.It does not appear from any sources of information extant, thatall the land, included in the incorporated limits, was purchasedof the Indians till some time after the settlement had begun,though a part of it might have been. Until May, 1637, no orderon the subject appears. The Court at that time gave “Concordliberty to purchase lande within their Limits of the Indians;to wit: Attawan and Squaw Sachem.” The land was accordinglyfairly purchased, and satisfactory compensation made; and August5, 1637, the Indian deed was deposited in the Secretary’s officein Boston. The Colony Records give the following account of this



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transaction.

“5th. 6mo. 1637.“Wibbacowett; Squaw Sachem; Tahattawants; Natanquatick,alias Old Man; Carte, alias Goodmand; did express theirconsent to the sale of the Weire at Concord over againstthe town; and all the planting-ground which hath beenformerly planted by the Indians, to the inhabitants ofConcord; of which there was a writing, with their markssubscribed given into court, expressing the price.”

Whether this transaction related to the whole town is uncertain.A tradition has been handed down that the purchase took placeunder a large oak, which was standing in front of the MiddlesexHotel within the memory of our oldest inhabitants, and called,after one of the original settlers, “Jethro’s tree”; and whichis said to have been used in early times as a belfry on whichthe town bell was hung.I have sought in vain for the Indian deed. It was probably lostvery early, since measures were taken in 1684, when the colonycharter was declared to be void, and the claims of Robert Masonto large portions of the country were asserted, to establish thelawful title, which the inhabitants of Concord had in theirsoil. The original petition was also lost.The following depositions, relating to the subject were taken,and are inserted in the Middlesex Records, and in the TownRecords, to answer the purpose of the original deed.

“The Testimony of William Buttrick, aged sixty-eightyears or thereabouts, sheweth; That about the year onethousand six hundred and thirty-six, there was anagreement made by some undertakers for the town sincecalled Concord, with some Indians, that had right untothe land then purchased of them for the Township. TheIndians’ names were Squaw Sachem, Tahattawan, sagamore,Nuttunkurta, and some other Indians that lived and werethen present at that place, and at that time; the tractof land being six miles square, the centre being aboutthe place where the meeting house now standeth. Thebargain was made and confirmed between the Englishundertakers and the Indians then present and concerned,to their good satisfaction on all hands.” – “7: 8: 84[7th Oct. 1684]. Sworn in court, Thomas Danforth.Entered in Register at Cambridge, Liber 9. page 105, byThomas Danforth.”

“The testimony of Richard Rice, aged 74 years,” like WilliamButtrick’s, is recorded in full immediately after it, andattested in the same manner.

“The deposition of Jehojakin, alias Mantatukwet, aChristian Indian of Natick, aged 70 years orthereabouts.“This deponent testifieth and saith, that about 50 yearssince he lived within the bounds of that place which is



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now called Concord, at the foot of an hill, namedNahshawtuck (Lee’s), now in the possession of Mr. HenryWoodis, and that he was present at a bargain made at thehouse of Mr. Peter Bulkeley (now Capt. TimothyWheeler’s, [this was between the houses of DanielShattuck, Esq. and Capt. John Stacy], between Mr. SimonWillard, Mr. John Jones, Mr. Spencer, and severalothers, in hehalfe of the Englishmen who were settlingupon the said town of Concord, and Squaw Sachem,Tahattawan, and Nimrod, Indians, which said Indians,according to their particular rights and interest, thensold a tract of land containing six miles square (thesaid house being accounted about the center), to thesaid English for a place to settle a town in; and he thesaid deponent saw said Willard and Spencer pay a parcellof Wampumpeage (Indian money curiously made of shellsstrung on strings and valued by the fathom at 5s),hatchets, hoes, knives, cotton cloth, and shirts, to thesaid Indians for the said tract of land. And inparticular perfectly remembers that Wibbacowett husbandto Squaw Sachem, received a suit of cotton cloth, anhat, a white linen band, shoes, stockings, and a greatcoat, upon account of said bargain. And in theconclusion, the said Indians declared themselvessatisfied, and told the Englishmen they were welcome.There were present also, at the said bargain, Waban,merchant; Thomas, his brother-in-law; Notawquatuchquaw;Tantumous, now called Jethro. – Taken upon oath the 20thof October, 1684, before Daniel Gookin, Sen.,Assistant, Thomas Danforth, Deputy Governor. Entered inthe Register at Cambridge, Lib. 9. page 100, 101; 20:8: 84 (20th Oct. 1684) by Thomas Danforth Rec’r.”

“The Deposition of Jethro, a Christian Indian of Natick,aged 70 years or thereabouts: “This deponent testifiethand saith, that about 50 years since, he dwelt atNashobah, near unto the place now called by the English- Concord; and that coming to said Concord was presentat the making a bargain (which was done at the house ofMr. Peter Bulkeley, which now Capt. Timothy Wheelerliveth in), between several Englishmen (in behalfe ofsuch as were settling said place) viz., Mr. SimonWillard, John Jones, Mr. Spencer and others, on the oneparty; and Squaw Sachem, Tahattawan, and Nimrod,Indians on the other party; and that the said Indians(according to their several rights) did then sell to thesaid English a certain tract of land containing sixmiles square (the said house being accounted about thecentre), to plant a town in; and that the said deponentdid see the said Willard and Spencer pay to the saidIndians for the said tract of land, a parcell ofWampumpeage [like Jehojakin’s testimony as far as “saidbargain”] and that after the bargain was concluded, Mr.



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Simon Willard, pointing to the four quarters of theworld, declared that they had bought three miles fromthat place, east, west, north, and south; and the saidIndians manifested their free consent thereunto. Therewere present at the making of the said bargain amongstother Indians, Waban, merchant; Thomas, his brother-in-law; Natawquatuckquaw; Jehojakin, who is yet living anddeposeth in like manner as above.”9

This was sworn to, attested, and recorded, like the preceding.The first settlement commenced in the fall of 1635, fifteenyears after the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth, and five yearsafter the settlement of Boston. The first houses were built onthe south side of the hill from the public square to Merriam’scorner; and the farm lots laid out, extending back from the roadacross the Great Fields and Great Meadows, and in front acrossthe meadows on Mill Brook. This spot was probably selectedbecause it contained land of easy tillage, and because itafforded the greatest facilities in constructing such temporarydwellings, as would shelter the inhabitants from the inclemencyof storms and winter.These huts were built by digging into the bank, driving postsinto the ground, and placing on them a covering of bark, brush-wood, or earth. The second year, houses were erected as far aswhere the south and north bridges now stand. This plantation,however, like others in the colony, was limited in its extent.In 1635, the General Court ordered that “no new building shouldbe built more than half a mile from the meeting-house in any newplantation.This order was probably passed for greater safety against theIndians, and appears to have been enforced in Concord abouteight years, after which the settlement began to be much moreextended.Many of the first settlers were men of acknowledged wealth,enterprise, talents, and education, in their native country.Several of nobel families. The Rev. Peter Bulkeley brought morethan 6,000 pounds sterling, the Hon. Thomas Flint, 4,000, andothers had very respectable estates. Many of them were men ofliterary attainments. Mr. Bulkeley became an author ofdistinguished celebrity. William Wood, if, as is probable, wasthe author of “New England’s Prospect,” was a man ofconsiderable intelligence and sagacity. But they were eminentlya religious people partaking largely of the spirit whichgoverned the companies that first landed at Plymouth, Salem andBoston. Having been persecuted in their native country, anddeprived of the liberty of worshipping God, and enjoying Hisordinances, agreeably to their views of Scripture and duty, theyaccounted no temporary suffering or sacrifices too great to beendured, in order to be restored to their natural rights, andto freedom from religious oppression. Though some were men of

9. The town received its name in 1635 and not as here stated, “since” 1636. If the purchase took place before the act of incorporation, Mr. John Jones could not have been present; if in 1636 - he was. These errors in the depositions, not materially affecting their importance, probably arose from their being given from memory.



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fortune and eminence, and from their infancy had beenunaccustomed to hardship, they cheerfully gave up all theirpersonal comforts, crossed the ocean, and planted themselves inthis lonely wilderness to endure suffering, for which nopecuniary compensation would have been adequate. No purpose ofworldly gain could have prompted so hazardous and expensive anenterprise. It was emphatically a religious community seeking aquiet resting-place for their religious enjoyments and religioushopes. The remark, in reference to the whole colony, that “Godsifted a whole nation that he might send choice grain over intothis wilderness,” (Lieut. Governor Stoughton’s ElectionSermon), might, with propriety, be applied to the resolute andpious fathers of this town. Though they came from various partsof England, they were united and had high hopes of happiness andreligious prosperity and emphatically lived in Concord.Nothing but the unexpected hardships, peculiar to theirsituation could have produced contrary but almost necessaryresults.10


MASSACHUSETTS BAY

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April 6, Thursday (Old Style): The Reverend Peter Bulkeley was chosen Teacher, and the Reverend John Jones was chosen Pastor, of the Church at Concord. (Peter Bulkeley’s salary would be £70 per year and he would continue for the remainder of his life, until 1659, and then his son and successor Edward Bulkeley’s salary would be £80 and his successor, the Reverend Joseph Estabrook, would also receive £80 although half of this would be paid in local produce.)

On the 6th of April, 1637, the church “kept a day of humiliation”at Cambridge, preparatory to the ordination, or installation ofMr. Bulkeley, whom they chose teacher, and of Mr. Jones, whomthey chose pastor. Delegates were present from most of thechurches in the colony to assist in this ordination; but, saysWinthrop, “the governor [Winthrop always referred to himself as“the governor”], and Mr. Cotton, and Mr. Wheelwright, and thetwo ruling elders of Boston, and the rest of that church whichwere of any note, did none of them come to this meeting. Thereason was conceived to be, because they counted these as legalpreachers and therefore would not give approbation to theirordination.” One of the delegates from Salem proposed a questionwhich led to the adoption of the following opinions. Such as hadbeen clergymen in England and received ordination in theestablished church by the bishop, were to be respected as havingthere legally sustained the office of ministers by the call ofthe people; and such ordination was considered valid here. Butfor receiving this ordination by the bishop they ought to humblethemselves, acknowledge their sin and repent. Having come tothis country, they should not consider themselves regularministers until called by another church. When thus elected,they were to be considered as ministers even before ordination.11

No man had a greater aversion to Episcopacy than Mr. Bulkeley,as his writings most fully show. There was, however, somedifference in opinion between him and some of the leading men

1637



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in the colony. He was supposed to attach too much importance togood works, though from his letters and treatise on the Covenantthe supposition appears to be without foundation. The ostensiblereason assigned for not giving approbation to his ordinationwas, that he was considered a legal preacher, - one who was for acovenant of works instead of a covenant of grace, or one who held to thedoctrines of the law in distinction from the doctrines of grace.The former were Legalists and the latter, Antinomians. Thediscussion of this question produced great excitement andalienation; and all classes of society joined in it.12 Itprobably influenced the gentlemen invited to this ordination. Ihave a long letter before me, written by Mr. Bulkeley before hisordination, to the Rev. Mr. Cotton of Boston, in which thissubject is discussed in his usual logical style. Its greatlength prevents it insertion here. In a postscript he says, “Ishould have acquainted you yesterday, that the ordination of the eldersof the church of Concord is to be on Wednesday come sevenight. It is to behere at New-Town. I pray take notice of it. If it be necessary togive any other notice to other persons, or in any other way, wewould not be wanting therein for avoiding of offence. And I havespoken also to Mr. Wilson.”13

11. Some historians, for whose opinion I have great respect, have asserted, that the first settlers of Massachusetts were Episcopalians. But this, as it seems to me, if true at all, can be so only in a very limited sense. The colonists regarded Episcopacy with abhorrence and looked with jealousy on the least appearance of propagating it in this American wilderness. They came here to get rid of Episcopacy; and if they did not cease to be Episcopalians when they refused to conform to the ceremonies of the “mother church,” when, it may be asked, did they cease to be Episcopalians? They lived Non-conformists in England, and were Congregationalists on their arrival in America. They acknowledge a respect to the church of England as their mother, but being free children they set up for themselves in ways of their own choosing - pure Congregationalists. Their ministers even considered it a sin to have received their ordination from such a mother. It might be equally proper to call a Congregationalist, who had chosen to adopt the peculiar ceremonies of the Baptist Church, a Congregationalist after he was really a Baptist; and in the same manner of any other change from one denomination to another.12. Neal, in his “History of New England,” informs us that this question was agitated even by the soldiers composing the army sent against the Pequots in 1636; and that they had to stop in the wilderness and settle the question, whether they were in a covenant of works or a covenant of grace, before they could proceed!13. Lemuel Shattuck’s 1835 A HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF CONCORD;.... Boston: Russell, Odiorne, and Company;

Concord MA: John Stacy(On or about November 11, 1837 Henry Thoreau would indicate a familiarity with the contents of at least pages 2-3 and 6-9 of this historical study.)

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May 27, Saturday (Old Style): The outcome of the election was that assistant governor John Winthrop replaced Henry Vane as Governor. It was well understood locally at the time that this political victory meant that the heresy of

Anne Hutchinson would not go unpunished, and that Boston would become in effect a theocracy.

Soon, Governor Winthrop would be shocked and horrified: when Mary Dyer gave birth, the infant was “a creature so horrible in its malformation as to bear only the slightest terrifying resemblance to mankind. Something such as only a nightmare in hell could conceive.” The infant seemed to have no skull! The Reverend John Cotton, offering the midwives, Mistress Hutchinson and Goody Hawkins, what was supposed to be a helping hand, buried the body secretly at night. Although this was in accordance with English common law it was in defiance of the theocratic rule of Governor Winthrop.

What could be secretly wrong with these people, that out of them would come such abomination? Thus in evaluating what happened in the Bay Colony to the Dyer family, one must bear in mind not only the Puritan prejudice against what was termed “levelling” in religion, but also the existence of essentialist superstitions. Bear in mind also that there may have also been at work a prejudice against the very name “Dyer,” as in “the stain on the dyer’s hand” — because this image has since time immemorial been a trope for “clearly evident contamination”:

What could be secretly wrong with this family, a cause not only for their deformed conception but also for their deformed conception of worship? Thus, when Mistress Hutchinson and those influenced by her were disenfranchised,14 William Dyer and Mary Dyer were among those who would relocate to Rhode Island.

14. The Reverend Peter Bulkeley of Concord and the Reverend Thomas Hooker were the two moderators of the synod which would ban this group in Boston.

October 26, 1853: Ah! the world is too much with us, and our whole soul is stained to what it worksin, like the dyer’s hand. A man had better starve at once than lose his innocence in the process of getting hisbread.

DYER OR DYRE



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THE FUTURE CAN BE EASILY PREDICTED IN RETROSPECT

Summer: The Jesuit order was founding its initial settlement of its own (what they were terming a “reduction”) in New France, 60 miles out of Québec, Hôtel Dieu at Sillery. Meanwhile, up the slow-flowing Musketaquid River from Boston Harbor on the Great Road up the Nashobah Valley to the native villages of what would become southern New Hampshire, at the site of an existing village and fishing weir, the 1st inland European settlement in New England was being established, and was being (re)named Concord (not on the map as yet except as Musketaquid, because the existing map had been drawn in 1634). Six square miles were to appearances being purchased for mere wampum, hatchets, hoes, knives, cotton cloth, and a suit of clothing by two ministers, the Reverends Peter “Big Pray” Bulkeley and John Jones, and a soldier/merchant, Major Simon Willard.

Town tradition has it that this ceremony took place under the large oak in which the town bell would be hung, to be referred to thereafter as “Jethro’s tree,” and this tree is supposed to have stood in front of what is now the Middlesex House. According to Volume I of the Suffolk Record of Deeds, No. 34, and from Chapter I of THE HISTORY OF CONCORD, MASSACHUSETTS, passim,

Among these first white settlers of Concord were John Miles and his first wife Sarah, fresh from England. At the time they were spelling their family’s name as “Myles.”


PETER BULKELEYSIMON WILLARD



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[I HAVE MISPLACED THIS REFERENCE] implies in Book II, Chapter III, pages 48-9 that there is a reason why the land around the white settlement called “Concord” was let go so cheap by its tribal owners: said land was actually not sold at all, but leased, and said lease was merely for a purpose, the raising of cattle — so that what the Christian sachem Nattahattawants was undertaking on behalf of his tribe in return for some wampum and a suit of clothing was merely that the members of his band would take care not to use the land in the vicinity of Concord town in such a manner as to harm any of the cows let loose there to graze by the white people. And if despite this any of the white people’s cows should be harmed, they of course pledged that they would provide appropriate compensation. The writing specifically does not say “we relinquish all rights and will go away,” or anything like that; in fact you don’t have to be a lawyer and you don’t have to be attired in a three-piece suit to see that what this piece of paper implies is quite the opposite:

Nattahattawants, in the year 1642, sold to Simon Willard, inbehalf of “Mr. Winthrop, Mr. Dudley, Mr. Nowell, and Mr.Alden,” a large tract of land upon both sides ConcordRiver. “Mr. Winthrop, our present governor, 1260 acres,Mr. Dudley, 1500 acres, on the S. E. side of the river,Mr. Nowell, 500 acres, and Mr. Allen, 500 acres, on theN. E. side of the river, and in consideration hereofthe said Simon giueth to the said Nattahattawants six fadomsof waompampege, one wastcoat, and one breeches, and thesaid Nattahattawants doth covenant and bind himself, thathee nor any other Indians shall set traps within thisground, so as any cattle might recieve hurt thereby,and what cattle shall recieve hurt by this meanes, heeshall be lyable to make it good.” [In the deed,Nattahattawants is called sachem of that land.]

Witnessed by The mark of ¤ NATTAHATTAWANTS.three whites. The mark of ¤ WINNIPIN, an Indianthat traded for him.

The name of this chief, as appears from documentscopied by Mr. Shattuck, was understood Tahattawan,Tahattawants, Attawan, Attawanee, and Ahatawanee. He was sachemof Musketaquid, since Concord, and a supporter andpropagator of Christianity among his people, and anhonest and upright man. The celebrated Waban marriedhis eldest daughter. John Tahattawan was his son, wholived at Nashobah, where he was chief ruler of thepraying Indians — a deserving Indian. He died about1670. His widow was daughter of John, sagamore ofPatucket, upon the Merrimack, who married Oonamog,another ruler of the praying Indians, of Marlborough.Her only son by Tahattawan was killed by some whiteruffians, who came upon them while in their wigwams,and his mother was badly wounded at the same time. Ofthis affair we shall have occasion elsewhere to be moreparticular. Naanashquaw, another daughter, marriedNaanishcow, called John Thomas, who died at Natick, aged110 years.



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The historical record with which Thoreau was familiarstated “I have sought in vain for the Indian deed” to the land of Concord.

The document in question had to be “reconstructed” by deposition in white court on October 7, 1684.

Had there ever actually been a title transaction by which the land of Concord passed

from the red people to the white people? –The white owners’ explanation

is uniformly taken with great seriousness by all the serious white historians, yet to my way of thinking, as a plausible explanation,

“I must somehow have misplaced my deed asI can’t seem to place my hands on it at this moment” ranks right up there with “the Devil made me do it,”

or perhaps with “the dog ate my homework,”or perhaps even with “Eat my shorts!”

On or about November 11, 1837 Thoreau would indicate a familiarity with the contents of at least pages 2-3 and 6-9 of Doctor Lemuel Shattuck’s A HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF CONCORD;..., which had recently appeared.



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February 12, Tuesday (1638, Old Style): The English purchased Wepawaug from the Paugussets (on August 22d the settlers would walk there from New Haven, and soon they would name their settlement Milford in honor of a mill William Fowler would erect there).

After the removal of Mr. Jones, the sole care of the church [inConcord] devolved on Mr. Bulkeley for the remaining fourteenyears of his life. At this time, according to Johnson, itcontained about seventy communicants; but none of itsproceedings have been transmitted to us. The following lettersof Mr. Bulkeley are deemed worthy of publication.

“To his dear and loving friend, Mr. Shepard, Pastor ofthe Church att [sic] Cambridge.“DEAR SR. — I hear the Lord hath so far strengthened you,as that you were the last Lord’s day at the assembly.The L. go on with the work of his goodness towards you.Being that now the Lord hath enabled you thus far, Idesire a word or two from you, what you judge concerningthe teacher in a congregation, whether theadministration of discipline and sacraments doe equallybelong unto him with the pastor, and whether he oughttherein equally to interest himself. I would also desireyou to add a word more concerning this, viz., what youmean by the execution of discipline, when youdistinguish it from the power. We have had speechsometimes concerning the churches’ power in matters ofdiscipline wherein you seemed to put the power itselfinto the hands of the church, but to reserve theexecution to the eldership. Here also I would see whatyou comprehend under the word execution. I would gladlyhear how the common affairs of the churches stand withyou. I am here shut up, and neither see nor hear.15

“Write me what you know. Let me alsoe understand whichway Mr. Phillips doth incline, whether towards you orotherwise; and which way Mr. Rogers is like to turn,whether to stay in these parts or goe into Coniticote[Connecticut]. I wrote to you not long agoe advising youto consider quid valent humeri. I know not whether youreceived that letter. “The Lord in mercy bless all ourlabours to his churches’ good. Remember my love to Mrs.Shepard with Mrs. Herlakenden. Grace be with you all.

“Yours in Christ Jesus, P. BULKELEY“Febr. 12, 1639.”16

1639

15. Mr. Bulkeley often laments his situation. In a letter to the Rev. Mr. Cotton, dated December 17, 1640, he says, “I lose much in this retired wilderness in which I live; but the Lord will at last lighten my candle. In the mean while’ help us with some of that which God hath imparted unto you.”

PETER BULKELEY



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June 2, Wednesday (Old Style): William Hunt, an English settler, became a freeman of Concord. His wife’s name was Elizabeth, and they had or would have four sons, Samuel Hunt, Nehemiah Hunt, Isaac Hunt, and William Hunt, and several daughters, of whom perhaps the youngest was Hannah Hunt. This family had evidently been preceded in Concord by William Hunt, Junior, who was already a freeman before his father (he also would die before his father). They purchased their land from the Reverend Peter Bulkeley, on and around Punkatasset Hill. Their homes would stand on what is now Monument Street, between the house that is now numbered #709 and the barn complex that now stands at #775.

In Concord, Thomas Flint and Simon Willard were again deputies and representatives to the General Court.

Friend John Ellis, Sr. became a freeman of Dedham MA.

WHAT I’M WRITING IS TRUE BUT NEVER MINDYOU CAN ALWAYS LIE TO YOURSELF


1641


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John Harrison, skilled ropemaker, brought his family from Salisbury, England to Boston on condition that he should have a monopoly on the manufacture of rope in the colony. He installed his “ropewalk” near the present site of South Station.

In his back yard in Boston, Captain Robert Keayne butchered a pig. Goody Sherman alleged that he had butchered one not belonging to him. The church elders, investigating the markings on a surviving sow, alleged that it was not Goody Sherman’s, while Captain Robert Keayne countercharged that Goody, whose husband was in London, was living in sin with a young merchant named George Story. Goody responded by filing charges of theft against Captain Keayne in Inferior Court but this court decided against her, awarding £23 to Keayne. George Story, alleging perjury in the Inferior Court, took the case to the Great and General Court.

Former Boston attorney Thomas Lechford’s PLAIN DEALING: OR, NEVVES FROM NEW-ENGLAND. A ſHORT VIEW OF NEW-ENGLANDS PRESENT GOVERNMENT, BOTH ECCLEſIAſTICALL AND CIVIL, COMPARED WITH THE ANCIENTLY-RECEIVED AND EſTABLIſHED GOVERNMENT OF ENGLAND, IN ſOME MATERIALL POINTS; FIT FOR THE GRAVEſT CONſIDERATION IN THEſE TIMES. (By Thomas Lechford of Clements Inne, in the County of Middleſex, Gent.; London: Printed by W.E. and I.G. for Nath: Butter, at the ſigne of the pyde Bull neere S. Auſtins gate).

In April, 1637, the miniſters who met at Concord for theordination of Mr. Bulkeley and Mr. Jones “reſolved that ſuch ashas been miniſters in England were lawful miniſters by the callof the people, notwithſtanding their acceptance of the call ofthe biſhops, etc., (for which they humbled themſelves,acknowledging it their ſin, etc.,) but being come hither, theyaccounted themſelves no miniſters, until they were called toanother church.”

CHANGE IS ETERNITY, STASIS A FIGMENT

1642




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Thomas Flint of Concord would be, until 1655, an Assistant and Counsellor.

Between this year and 1647, Benjamin Woodbridge, George Downing, John Bulkeley, William Hubbard, Samuel Bellingham, John Wilson, Henry Saltonstall, Tobias Barnard, Nathaniel Brewster, John Jones, Samuel Mather, Samuel Danforth, John Allin, John Oliver, Jeremiah Holland, William Ames, John Russell, Samuel Stow, James Ward, Robert Johnson, John Alcock, John Brock, George Stirk, Nathaniel White, Jonathan Mitchel, and others, would be graduating from Harvard College.

The Massachusetts Bay Colony continued to levy taxes:

A colony tax of £1,200 was assessed in 1640, £800 in 1642, £616in 1645, and another tax in 1676. The following table shows therelative proportions which a few of the towns paid.17

These difficulties hastened the settlement of other towns.About half of the original petitioners of Chelmsford werecitizens of Concord. All of them, however, did not removethither. Groton, Lancaster, and other towns, received some ofthe early inhabitants when they were settled.

July 28, Monday: The town of Concord found itself unable, or unwilling, to support two ministers:

The church [in Concord] was numerous soon after itsorganization, and continued some time in harmony.18 But theunexpected pecuniary difficulties of the town, occasioned by itspeculiar local situation and its condition at that time inducedmany to remove, which rendered it difficult for the remainderto support two ministers; Mr. Bulkeley’s salary as teacher being£70 per annum. Some difficulty arose in the church on thisaccount. The subject of a separation was often discussed; andon the 28th of July, 1642, “some of the elders went to Concord,

Towns 1640 1642 1645 1676

Boston £179 120 100 300

Cambridge 100 67 45 42

Charlestown 90 60 55 180

Watertown 90 55 41 45

Concord 50 25 15 34

Sudbury — 15 11 20




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being sent for by the church there to advise with them about themaintenance of their elders, etc. They found them wavering aboutremoval, not finding their plantation answerable to theirexpectation, and the maintenance of two elders too heavy aburden for them. The elder’s advice was that they shouldcontinue and wait upon God, and be helpful to their elders inlabor and what they could, and all to be ordered by the deacons,(whose office had not formerly been improved this way amongstthem,) and that the elders should be content with what means thechurch was able at present to afford them, and if either of themshould be called to some other place then to advise with otherchurches about their removal.19

The advice of this council was followed a short time; but aboutOctober, 1644, a separation took place and Mr. Jones removed toFairfield, Connecticut.20

September 23, Friday (Old Style): At the 1st graduation ceremony of Harvard College, nine BA degrees were granted, including one to William Hubbard who would become minister at Ipswich, and one to John Bulkeley, a son of the minister of Concord, the Reverend Peter Bulkeley, who would start out as a minister but become a physician.

JOHN BULKELEY, son of Rev. Peter Bulkeley, was in the first classof graduates [at Harvard College] in 1642. He returned toEngland and settled in the ministry at Fordham, but was ejectedin 1662. He afterwards lived at Wapping in London, where he

18. One case of discipline is mentioned by the Hon. James Savage in his valuable notes on Winthrop (vol i. page 289) of Ambrose Martin, who was fined £10, “and counselled to go to Mr. Mather to be instructed by him,” for calling the church covenant “a stinking carrion and a human invention,” and uttering some other impudent expressions. The following petition containing the original signatures of the first two pastors and several members of the church relates to him.“To the Honoured Court. The Petition of the church of Concord in behalfe of our brother Mr. Ambrose Martin.“Your humble petitioners do intreate, that whereas some years ago our said brother Mr. Martin was fined by the Court for some unadvised speeches uttered against the church-covenant, for which he was fined £10, and had to the value of £20 by distress taken from him, of which £20 there is one-halfe remayning in the hands of the country to this day, which £10 he cannot be persuaded to accept of unless he may have the whole restored to him (which we doe impute unto his infirmitye and weakness.) We now considering the great decay of his estate, and the necessityes (if not extremityes) which the familye is come unto, we entreat that his honored Court would please to pittye his necessitous condition, and remit unto him the whole fine which was layd upon him without which he cannot be perswaded to receive that which is due to him. Wherein if this honoured Court shall please to grant this our petition, we shall be bound to prayse God for your tender compassion toward this our poor brother. (Signed):

Peter Bulkeley, Luke Potter,John Jones, Joseph Wheeler,Richard Griffin, Thomas Foxe,Simon Willard, William Busse,Robert Merriam, Henry Farwell,Thomas Wheeler, James Hosmer,George Wheeler, John Graves.Robert Fletcher,

“The 5th of the 4th month, 1644. The case appears to the magestreates to be now past help through his own obstinacye; but for the overplus upon sale of the distresse he or his wife may have it when they will call for it. JO: ENDECOTT, Gov.”19. Winthrop, vol. ii. page 73.20. Lemuel Shattuck’s 1835 A HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF CONCORD;.... Boston: Russell, Odiorne, and Company;

Concord MA: John Stacy(On or about November 11, 1837 Henry Thoreau would indicate a familiarity with the contents of at least pages 2-3 and 6-9 of this historical study.)

PETER BULKELEY



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practised physic with good success. He died in 1689 aged 70.21

September 26, Monday (Old Style): The Reverend Peter Bulkeley of Concord wrote to the Reverend John Cotton of Boston:

“To his reverend and loving friend, Mr. Cotton, Teacherof the Church at Boston.“REVEREND IN THE L. — These are to desire you to conveythis letter inclosed in one of your own to Boston. I dorather send it to you, because I suppose those youcommit your letters to, will be careful of the delivery,and this letter concerns matters of some moment, inregard whereof I desire you to take the more notice ofit, and convey it by a safe hand. If the businessconcerning Virginia be finished, I desire to know howit stands; or if not finished, what is intended orthough upon. My wife hath bin ill ever since our cominghome, but now, I thank the Lord, begins to recover. Thisday she began to go down into the house. Remember herin your prayers, and us all. And so with both our lovesto yourself and Mrs. Cotton, I leave you with all yoursto the Lord’s rich goodness and grace, resting yoursever in him.

“Sept. 26, 1642 PET: BULKELEY.”22

21. Lemuel Shattuck’s 1835 A HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF CONCORD;.... Boston: Russell, Odiorne, and Company; Concord MA: John Stacy

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Summer: In the battle between the Covenant of Grace and the Covenant of Works, the Reverend Peter Bulkeley of Concord had been advocating works while his junior minister, the Reverend John Jones, had been advocating

good works, which was one fine reason why this junior pastor would need in this year to consolidate those parishioners whom he could influence, including two of the Reverend Bulkeley’s men, and move on. Only a limited amount of such theological disconcord could be tolerated. For instance, when John Hoar of Concord, son of Joanna Hincksman Hoare, was found guilty of having opinioned that “The blessing Master Bulkeley pronounced in dismissing the assembly in the Meeting House was no better than vain babbling,” he was fined £10, and when Dr. Reid of Concord was found guilty of having opinioned that he could “preach as well as Mr. Bulkeley, who was called by none but a company of blockheads who followed the plowtail,” and in addition mentioned as a physician of the body that the minister had kept one of his ailing patients standing far too long

1644



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during the administration of the Lord’s Supper, he was fined £20.



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The victory in the war against the Pequot having opened up the region termed Uncaway, one seventh of Concord’s citizens moved with their Reverend Jones justified by his good works to fairer fields near the port Quinnipac (New Haven) on Long Island Sound, and participated in the founding of Fairfield, Connecticut.

5th, 4th mo.: The case of church discipline of Ambrose Martin of Concord finally came to its culmination. This resident had termed the church covenant “a stinking carrion and a human invention,” and had made some other remarks along a similar line, and had been fined £10 “and counselled to go to Mr. Mather to be instructed by him,” but the attempt at discipline had not had its intended effect. The authorities at this point decided to attempt to ease themselves out of the situation:

“To the Honoured Court. The Petition of the church of Concordin behalfe of our brother Mr. Ambrose Martin.“Your humble petitioners do intreate, that whereas some yearsago our said brother Mr. Martin was fined by the Court for someunadvised speeches uttered against the church-covenant, forwhich he was fined £10, and had to the value of £20 by distresstaken from him, of which £20 there is one-halfe remayning in thehands of the country to this day, which £10 he cannot bepersuaded to accept of unless he may have the whole restored tohim (which we doe impute unto his infirmitye and weakness.) Wenow considering the great decay of his estate, and the



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necessityes (if not extremityes) which the familye is come unto,we entreat that his honored Court would please to pittye hisnecessitous condition, and remit unto him the whole fine whichwas layd upon him without which he cannot be perswaded to receivethat which is due to him. Wherein if this honoured Court shallplease to grant this our petition, we shall be bound to prayseGod for your tender compassion toward this our poor brother.(Signed):

Peter Bulkeley, Luke Potter, John Jones, Joseph Wheeler, Richard Griffin, Thomas Foxe, Simon Willard, William Busse,Robert Merriam, Henry Farwell,Thomas Wheeler, James Hosmer, George Wheeler, John Graves. Robert Fletcher,

“The 5th of the 4th month, 1644. The case appears to the magestreatesto be now past help through his own obstinacye; but for theoverplus upon sale of the distresse he or his wife may have itwhen they will call for it. Jo: Endecott, Gov.”

October: The white population of Concord, Massachusetts divided into two groups, and one group remained while the other departed for a fresh try, in Connecticut:

The advice of this council [the council which had met in Concordon July 28, 1642] was followed a short time; but about October,1644, a separation took place and Mr. Jones removed toFairfield, Connecticut. Mather gives the following account ofthis affair in his own peculiar style. Upon Mr. Bulkeley’s“pressing a piece of charity, disagreeable to the will of theruling elder, thee was occasioned an unhappy discord in thechurch of Concord; which was at last healed by their calling inthe help of a council, and the ruling elder’s [the Reverend JohnJones’s] abdication. Of the temptations which occurred on theseoccasions, Mr. Bulkeley [the Reverend Peter Bulkeley] would say,“he thereby came, 1. To know more of God. 2. To know more ofhimself. 3. To know more of men.” Peace being thus restored, thesmall things in the church there increased in the hands of theirfaithful Bulkeley, until he was translated into the regionswhich afford nothing but concord

the reverend peter bulkeley - kouroo · 2015. 4. 4. · the rev. peter bulkeley, b.d. was of...

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