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Think you know Lexington’s history pretty well?
Okay, what renowned early Lexington resident fits the following description?
Okay, what renowned early Lexington resident fits the following description?
PART VII
This man was born in Pennsylvania and grew up on a farm. He attended Beaver College before moving to Boston.
Like many of his contemporaries, his business was in Boston, but he eventually moved to Lexington to live, no doubt taking advantage of the excellent railroad service at the time. His early success was as a wrestling promoter, including organizing events at Boston Garden. He even was a wrestler himself for a time, among other activities.
At one point he was the world middleweight champion.
Controversy surrounded him; an early indication is reflected in a lawsuit by an individual who claimed he was conned out of $2,300 in a fixed wrestling match. The claimant won.
His competitive nature came out in business, too, as he sought to outdo his rivals, driving at least one opponent to bankruptcy. Often called “The Brain”, it has been said, “He was a classy individual, and often mingled with political and civic leaders in Boston, for which he was provided a degree of protection.”
As a sideline to his Boston business activities, he purchased a horse race track in Lexington and became one of the original directors of the Foxboro Race Track.
He built a mansion in Lexington which still stands today.
Like many of his contemporaries, his business was in Boston, but he eventually moved to Lexington to live, no doubt taking advantage of the excellent railroad service at the time. His early success was as a wrestling promoter, including organizing events at Boston Garden. He even was a wrestler himself for a time, among other activities.
At one point he was the world middleweight champion.
Controversy surrounded him; an early indication is reflected in a lawsuit by an individual who claimed he was conned out of $2,300 in a fixed wrestling match. The claimant won.
His competitive nature came out in business, too, as he sought to outdo his rivals, driving at least one opponent to bankruptcy. Often called “The Brain”, it has been said, “He was a classy individual, and often mingled with political and civic leaders in Boston, for which he was provided a degree of protection.”
As a sideline to his Boston business activities, he purchased a horse race track in Lexington and became one of the original directors of the Foxboro Race Track.
He built a mansion in Lexington which still stands today.
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PART VI
Actually, this time, instead of Who Am I, it is more accurately Who Are We. Try to identify these important brothers in Lexington’s history.
Brother J was the fifth of six children born to a Lexington tavern-owner. J was a lieutenant in the U. S. Dragoons in 1807 and was commissioned in the infantry at the beginning of the War of 1812. Later, in 1820 he became the proprietor of his aging father’s tavern. "Specially endowed with the qualities of heart and manner which make up a
host under whose care it is a blessing to fall, he experienced the highest prosperity of tavern-keeping days until the railroad turned away the course of travellers.” In 1860, he drowned
while swimming in Somerville, Massachusetts. His obituary noted “He was a gentleman
of the old school, public-spirited, intelligent and courteous; he was honored
and respected by all…”
Brother E was the youngest of the six children. He was a prominent, wealthy and influential Boston banker and
merchant. He was instrumental in promoting the glass industry in Massachusetts. He helped establish the New England Glass Company of East Cambridge. He was a financial backer of the Boston and Sandwich Glass Company established in Sandwich in 1825. His offices were in the Old State House and he was a member of the Boston Athenaeum and the Park Street Church, as well as a founder of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions.
Brother J was the fifth of six children born to a Lexington tavern-owner. J was a lieutenant in the U. S. Dragoons in 1807 and was commissioned in the infantry at the beginning of the War of 1812. Later, in 1820 he became the proprietor of his aging father’s tavern. "Specially endowed with the qualities of heart and manner which make up a
host under whose care it is a blessing to fall, he experienced the highest prosperity of tavern-keeping days until the railroad turned away the course of travellers.” In 1860, he drowned
while swimming in Somerville, Massachusetts. His obituary noted “He was a gentleman
of the old school, public-spirited, intelligent and courteous; he was honored
and respected by all…”
Brother E was the youngest of the six children. He was a prominent, wealthy and influential Boston banker and
merchant. He was instrumental in promoting the glass industry in Massachusetts. He helped establish the New England Glass Company of East Cambridge. He was a financial backer of the Boston and Sandwich Glass Company established in Sandwich in 1825. His offices were in the Old State House and he was a member of the Boston Athenaeum and the Park Street Church, as well as a founder of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions.
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PART V
Excerpts from a letter written on April 19th, 1841 by an eyewitness to the 1775 battle and the re-interment of the men who died that day on Lexington Common.
“Lexington, April 19th, 1841…… My dear niece…… this day which is sixty-six years since the war began on the Common which I now can see from this window as here I sit writing, and can see, in my mind, just as plain, all the British Troops marching off the Common to Concord, and the whole scene,…..Aunt Crying and ringing her hands and helping Mother Dress the children…..and then Grandfather….sent down men with carts, took your Mother and all the children but ….me and Sally a Babe six months old……..Father, Mother with me and the Baby went to the Meeting House, there was the eight men that was killed….. all in Boxes made of four large Boards Nailed up and…..they were put into two horse carts and took into the grave yard where your Grandfather and some of the Neighbors had made a large trench, as near the Woods as possible and there we followed the bodies of those first slain, Father, Mother, I and the Baby, there I stood and there I saw them let down into the ground, it was a little rainey but we waited to see them Covered up with the Clods and then for fear the British should find them, my Father thought some of the men had best Cut some pine oak bows and spread them on their place of burial so that it looked like a heap of Brush.
Now…… only think that the hand who holds the pen to relate the above, did six years ago, see them same bodies gathered up, placed in a hansom Coffin with Urns, the names of the Eight men that was killed that Morn, and again buried in a hansome tomb made by the side of the Monument where they are now to remain until they are called by the Last Trumpett to take their Last Rest in Heaven.
The extraordinary circumstance that I should be the only one of this Family who should witness the first Burial of the first slain of the war between Great Britain and American and Be not only continued in Life but on the same spot of Earth and in the same house where the first Patriots in the Country was at that period……..
I think of so many things that I Gumble them up in such bad writing that you will have hard work to read, my hands tremble and my Eyes are very sore lately, do pray read with patience perhaps my last Letter for I am full of years and my two Last has caused me to wish to die (at times). But pray to live to see how the endless confusion of this Place will end.
(Signed) Your Aged Aunt ….. “
“Lexington, April 19th, 1841…… My dear niece…… this day which is sixty-six years since the war began on the Common which I now can see from this window as here I sit writing, and can see, in my mind, just as plain, all the British Troops marching off the Common to Concord, and the whole scene,…..Aunt Crying and ringing her hands and helping Mother Dress the children…..and then Grandfather….sent down men with carts, took your Mother and all the children but ….me and Sally a Babe six months old……..Father, Mother with me and the Baby went to the Meeting House, there was the eight men that was killed….. all in Boxes made of four large Boards Nailed up and…..they were put into two horse carts and took into the grave yard where your Grandfather and some of the Neighbors had made a large trench, as near the Woods as possible and there we followed the bodies of those first slain, Father, Mother, I and the Baby, there I stood and there I saw them let down into the ground, it was a little rainey but we waited to see them Covered up with the Clods and then for fear the British should find them, my Father thought some of the men had best Cut some pine oak bows and spread them on their place of burial so that it looked like a heap of Brush.
Now…… only think that the hand who holds the pen to relate the above, did six years ago, see them same bodies gathered up, placed in a hansom Coffin with Urns, the names of the Eight men that was killed that Morn, and again buried in a hansome tomb made by the side of the Monument where they are now to remain until they are called by the Last Trumpett to take their Last Rest in Heaven.
The extraordinary circumstance that I should be the only one of this Family who should witness the first Burial of the first slain of the war between Great Britain and American and Be not only continued in Life but on the same spot of Earth and in the same house where the first Patriots in the Country was at that period……..
I think of so many things that I Gumble them up in such bad writing that you will have hard work to read, my hands tremble and my Eyes are very sore lately, do pray read with patience perhaps my last Letter for I am full of years and my two Last has caused me to wish to die (at times). But pray to live to see how the endless confusion of this Place will end.
(Signed) Your Aged Aunt ….. “
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PART IV
An early Cambridge Farms/Lexington minister, he graduated Harvard College. A local committee was formed to “treatte” with him and it was decided that he would receive “four score pounds in money towards his settlement: ye one half in ye year ____ and ye other half in ye year ____”.
He would have been called “Bishop” and was highly regarded as a clergyman, often called upon to preach in other parishes and to conduct ordinations. He had a reputation for being a peacemaker and he was much admired for his geniality and wit.
He was often called upon to settle disputes. If two neighbors could not agree on their boundary, The Bishop walked the land with them, heard them out, then took a stake and drove it in the ground stating that was boundary line and that was the end of it.
In his time, it was customary for the minister to have elders to assist him. Two elders came to meet with him and he asked them if they knew what elders did? They said “no”. So he said that the younger elder was to brush down and harness the pastor’s horse when he wished to travel and the elder elder was to accompany the pastor on his trips and pay the expenses. They were taken aback and the subject of elders did not come up again.
When he died at the age of 81, his parishioners conducted an elaborate funeral service which cost the town over 200 pounds.
An early Cambridge Farms/Lexington minister, he graduated Harvard College. A local committee was formed to “treatte” with him and it was decided that he would receive “four score pounds in money towards his settlement: ye one half in ye year ____ and ye other half in ye year ____”.
He would have been called “Bishop” and was highly regarded as a clergyman, often called upon to preach in other parishes and to conduct ordinations. He had a reputation for being a peacemaker and he was much admired for his geniality and wit.
He was often called upon to settle disputes. If two neighbors could not agree on their boundary, The Bishop walked the land with them, heard them out, then took a stake and drove it in the ground stating that was boundary line and that was the end of it.
In his time, it was customary for the minister to have elders to assist him. Two elders came to meet with him and he asked them if they knew what elders did? They said “no”. So he said that the younger elder was to brush down and harness the pastor’s horse when he wished to travel and the elder elder was to accompany the pastor on his trips and pay the expenses. They were taken aback and the subject of elders did not come up again.
When he died at the age of 81, his parishioners conducted an elaborate funeral service which cost the town over 200 pounds.
Click here to see how you did!
PART III
Can you identify this important Lexington woman?
She was born in 1854 to a prominent Lexington family and became a “proud, intelligent, and independent woman, and one not easily daunted”.
She lived without “the presence of electricity, running water, modern plumbing and central heating………because she preferred it that way”.
When she inherited a life estate in the family homestead, it was crammed with possessions, much of which she distributed to the Essex Institute in Salem, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the Ipswich Historical Society and the Milwaukee Historical Society. She then met William Sumner Appleton. He had founded the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities (now Historic New England) and acquired the Fowler House in Danvers,
wanting to furnish it and exhibit the items as a museum. She wrote to him asking to visit “I should like to visit the place with the idea of seeing what its needs might be and if I could in any way contribute items”. She later contributed funds and some of her furniture and furnishings which Mr. Appleton said he would hold until he acquired another building. That new building is the Harrison Gray Otis House in Boston. Her stored artifacts plus more that she contributed over the years now reside there and in other Historic New England sites. er contributions totaled over 1500 items.
She owned another property which she turned over to the Town with certain
stipulations for its use, first among them to be used as a library.
Can you identify this important Lexington woman?
She was born in 1854 to a prominent Lexington family and became a “proud, intelligent, and independent woman, and one not easily daunted”.
She lived without “the presence of electricity, running water, modern plumbing and central heating………because she preferred it that way”.
When she inherited a life estate in the family homestead, it was crammed with possessions, much of which she distributed to the Essex Institute in Salem, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the Ipswich Historical Society and the Milwaukee Historical Society. She then met William Sumner Appleton. He had founded the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities (now Historic New England) and acquired the Fowler House in Danvers,
wanting to furnish it and exhibit the items as a museum. She wrote to him asking to visit “I should like to visit the place with the idea of seeing what its needs might be and if I could in any way contribute items”. She later contributed funds and some of her furniture and furnishings which Mr. Appleton said he would hold until he acquired another building. That new building is the Harrison Gray Otis House in Boston. Her stored artifacts plus more that she contributed over the years now reside there and in other Historic New England sites. er contributions totaled over 1500 items.
She owned another property which she turned over to the Town with certain
stipulations for its use, first among them to be used as a library.
PART II
Can you identify this noted Lexington minister (first hint)?
He began the Lexington part of his ministry in 1881, seeking to bring his parishioners “into a living relationship with their faith."
His church received several large bequests during his tenure. He questioned the value of these funds, concerned that they “kept the parishioners from assuming their rightful duty in supporting the work of the church.” Despite this thinking, part of the funds were used for more comfortable pews; as a local author said “so much for Puritan ethic”.
During his twenty-three years of service in Lexington, several church organizations were formed and a radical vote in 1890 mandated that the governing committee of the church shall consist of five members “two of whom shall be ladies.”
He was instrumental in founding the Lexington Historical Society and helped save the Hancock-Clarke House from destruction.
Upon his death, the Historical Society passed a resolution that said in part: "At the close of fifty years of devoted and successful ministry and of fruitful citizenship, at the golden milestone of a blessed married life, the Reverand has been translated, without pain, suffering or weakness, to another life... As a citizen he showed us, old and young, what true citizenship means. As an historian and speaker he taught us to appreciate the real greatness of what our fathers did, the high measure of our obligation to their heroism ...
“Recognizing these and many other noble and rare qualities in Mr. , we of the Lexington Historical Society desire to put on record our gratitude that this town, for twenty-three years, has been blessed with such a power for good as he.”
Can you identify this noted Lexington minister (first hint)?
He began the Lexington part of his ministry in 1881, seeking to bring his parishioners “into a living relationship with their faith."
His church received several large bequests during his tenure. He questioned the value of these funds, concerned that they “kept the parishioners from assuming their rightful duty in supporting the work of the church.” Despite this thinking, part of the funds were used for more comfortable pews; as a local author said “so much for Puritan ethic”.
During his twenty-three years of service in Lexington, several church organizations were formed and a radical vote in 1890 mandated that the governing committee of the church shall consist of five members “two of whom shall be ladies.”
He was instrumental in founding the Lexington Historical Society and helped save the Hancock-Clarke House from destruction.
Upon his death, the Historical Society passed a resolution that said in part: "At the close of fifty years of devoted and successful ministry and of fruitful citizenship, at the golden milestone of a blessed married life, the Reverand has been translated, without pain, suffering or weakness, to another life... As a citizen he showed us, old and young, what true citizenship means. As an historian and speaker he taught us to appreciate the real greatness of what our fathers did, the high measure of our obligation to their heroism ...
“Recognizing these and many other noble and rare qualities in Mr. , we of the Lexington Historical Society desire to put on record our gratitude that this town, for twenty-three years, has been blessed with such a power for good as he.”
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PART I
He was born in Cambridge on June 10, 1753. His family moved to Boston but later settled in Lexington “to escape the discomforts and dangers to which all patriotic residents of Boston were exposed.”
He was well-educated and smart, entering Harvard University at the age of fourteen. He commenced the study of medicine under Dr. Joseph Warren, major player in the Revolution.
He “caused his name to be enrolled among the minute-men of Lexington”. On that fateful day in April, he tended the sick at Dr. Warren’s in Boston, but later in the day came to Lexington to assist the wounded here.
He was at the Battle of Bunker Hill, serving beside Dr. Warren and continued his work as surgeon and physician throughout the War, becoming a close friend of General Lafayette, among others.
He then turned to politics, holding several offices both locally and nationally, including a stint as Governor of the Commonwealth.
He died during his second term as Governor and had requested that he be buried beside his mother in the Olde Burying Ground in Lexington. His monument carries a very long engraving including the words “He hastened to his country’s service on the eventful morning of the 19th of April, 1775 and here within the precincts hallowed by the blood which was shed that day, after an honorable and useful life, he rests in peace and hope, conformably to his last wish, by his mother’s side”.
