Various

“ To the north extended a wild, unbroken wilderness to the French frontier in Canada. Through this vast region, now overflowing with happy homes, wandered small bands of Indians intent on the chase, or the surprise of their rivals, the white trappers and hunters.
A large section of this country, fifty miles in width, was opened for peaceful settlement by the bravery of Captain John Lovewell and the company under his command. In this view their acts become more important than those of a mere scouting party, and demand, and have received, an acknowledged place in New-England history. ”

“ The elm was often honored by the presence of Washington, who, it is said, had a platform built among the branches, where, we may suppose, he used to ponder over the plans of the campaign. The Continental army, born within the shade of the old tree, overflowing the Common, converted Cambridge into a fortified camp. Here, too, the flag of thirteen stripes for the first time swung to the breeze.
These were the palmy days of the elm. When the tide of war set away from New England, the Washington Elm fell into unmerited neglect. The struggling patriots had no time for sentiment ”

“ Leaving the membership awhile, let us cross the sea to Wales to find their future pastor and teacher—John Myles.
Wales had been the asylum for the persecuted and oppressed for many centuries. There freedom of religious thought was tolerated, and from thence sprung three men of unusual vigor and power: Roger Williams, Oliver Cromwell, and John Myles. About the year 1645, the Baptists in that country who had previously been scattered and connected with other churches, began to unite in the formation of separate churches, under their own pastors. ”

“ Alexander Hamilton Rice, a son of Thomas Rice, Esq., a well-known manufacturer of paper, was born in Newton Lower Falls, Massachusetts, August 30, 1818. He received his early education in the public schools of his native town and in the academies of the Reverend Daniel Kimball, of Needham, and Mr. Seth Davis, of Newton, a famous teacher in his day, who is still living, in vigorous health, at the venerable age of ninety-seven years. As a boy, young Rice was cheery, affectionate, and thoughtful, and a favorite among his companions. His earliest ambition was to become a Boston merchant. ”

“ All through the colonial period the civil affairs of the community were intimately connected with the interests of the church; and ecclesiastical history, when church and State were united, and the minister was the greatest man of the parish, becomes of importance.
As early as 1640, in the church of Boston, "a motion was made by such as have farms at Rumney Marsh, that our Brother Oliver may be sent to instruct our servants, and to be a help to them, because they cannot many times come hither, nor sometimes to Lynn, and sometimes no where at all." ”

“ Great events which mark epochs in history, bestow an imperishable dignity even upon the meanest objects with which they are associated. When Washington drew his sword beneath the branches, the great elm, thus distinguished above its fellows, passed at once into history, henceforward to be known as the Washington Elm. ”

“ The dwellers in old Rehoboth were the nearest white neighbors of Roger Williams and his band at Providence. The Reverend Samuel Newman was the pastor of the church in this ancient town, having removed with the first settlers from Weymouth in 1643. Learned, godly, and hospitable, as he was, he had not reached the "height of that great argument" concerning human freedom; and while he cherished kindly feelings toward the dwellers at Providence, he evidently feared the introduction of their sentiments among his people. ”

“ Then followed the period of the Commonwealth under Cromwell, and then the Restoration, when "there arose up a new king over Egypt, who knew not Joseph." The Act of Uniformity, passed in 1662, under the sanction of Charles II, though a fatal blow at the purity and piety of the English Church, was a royal blessing to the cause of religion in America. Two thousand bravely conscientious men, who feared God more than the decrees of Pope, King, or Parliament, were driven from their livings and from the kingdom. ”

“ Cheever's is in the possession of the Massachusetts Historical Society. It is a book six by eight inches in size, of about four hundred pages, all well filled with Latin dissertations, with occasionally a mathematical figure drawn. One turns over the old leaves with affectionate interest, even if the matter written upon them is beyond his comprehension. It certainly is a pleasure to read on one of them the date May 18, 1664.
Verily, New England should treasure the memory of Ezekiel Cheever, the man who called himself "Schoolmaster," for she owes much to him. ”

“ Nicholas Tanner, Obadiah Brown, John Thomas, and others, accompanied Mr. Myles in his exile from Swansea, Wales. The first that is known of them in America was the formation of a Baptist church at the house of John Butterworth in Rehoboth, whose residence is said to have been near the Cove in the western part of the present town of East Providence. Mr. Myles and his followers had probably learned at Boston, or at Plymouth, of the treatment offered to Holmes and his party, ten years before, and his sympathies led him to seek out and unite the elements which persecution had scattered. ”

“ Plymouth, liberal already, has grown more lenient towards church offenders in matters of conscience. Mr. John Brown, a citizen of Rehoboth, and one of the magistrates, has presented before the Court his scruples at the expediency of coercing the people to support the ministry, and has offered to pay from his own property the taxes of all those of his townsmen who may refuse their support of the ministry. This was in 1665. Massachusetts Bay has tried to correct the errors of her sister colony on the subject of toleration, and has in turn been rebuked by her example. ”

“ In nomine Domini Amen, I Ezekiel Cheever of the Towne of Boston in the County of Suffolk in New England, Schoolmaster, living through great mercy in good health and understanding wonderfull in my age, do make and ordain this as my last Will & Testament as Followeth: I give up my soule to God my Father in Jesus Christ, my body to the earth to be buried in a decent manner according to my desires in hope of a Blessed part in ye first resurrection & glorious kingdom of Christ on earth a thousand years. ”

“ Another celebrated industry of Chelsea is the manufacture of the Low tiles, for household decoration. John G. Low, son of the pioneer merchant, is the artist who has created this class of goods, and he has succeeded in producing a tile of special artistic value. His work surpasses anything of the kind made in the world, and finds a market wherever works of art and beauty are appreciated. ”

“ Governor Andrew used to say that whenever he needed information from Washington, and prompt action, he always wrote to the representative of the third district.
At home Mr. Rice has filled many positions of prominence in business and social life. He was for some years president of the board of trade, and of the National Sailors' Home. He was president of the great Peace Jubilee, held in Boston in 1869, the most remarkable musical entertainment ever held in America, embracing an orchestra of twelve hundred instruments, and a chorus of twenty thousand voices. ”

“ Situated as it is on navigable waters, with an extensive waterfront, near to the metropolis of New England, and already the site of many important industries, prosperity awaits it. Time alone can tell whether, like its namesake in the Mother-Country, it becomes absorbed in the neighboring and growing city, or develops into a great manufacturing suburb, like Newark and Patterson. ”

“ Governor Bellingham died in 1672, at the age of eighty, and, although a lawyer and a good man, left behind him a will which gave rise to litigation that continued for over a century. As this instrument affects every title in Chelsea, it becomes of public interest. He bequeathed the [109] estate of Winnisimmet to trustees, to be devoted to the support of his widow, his son, and his two nieces, during their lives, after which it was to be used to build a meeting-house, support a minister, and educate a limited number of young men for the ministry. ”

“ The public buildings are commodious and ornamental. Churches of pleasing architecture, of many religious denominations, appropriate school buildings and good schools, spacious and elegant private mansions, a well-organized fire and police department, a public library, low death-rate, and good morals, serve to make the city of Chelsea a very desirable place for those seeking a quiet home in a law-abiding municipality. ”

“ Mr. Moore was a native of Bolton, Massachusetts, where he was born on January 5, 1785. He graduated at Harvard College in the class of 1806, and studied law at Groton with the Honorable Timothy Bigelow, and after his admission to the bar settled here as a lawyer. His office was on the site of the north end of Gerrish's block, and it was here that the post-office was kept. During his administration the average income from the office was about thirty-three dollars, for the quarter. In the summer of 1815, Mr. Moore resigned the position and removed to Boston. ”

“ God as being most abominable and loathsome to our souls and utterly inconsistent with that Christian Charity which declare men to be Christ's Disciples. Indeed further declaring in that as Union in Christ is the sole ground of our Communion, each with other, So we are ready to accept of, Receive too and hold Communion with all such as by a judgment of Charity we conceive to be fellow-members with us in our head Christ Jesus tho Differing from us in Such Controversial Points as are not absolutely and essencially necessary to salvation. ”

“ For a score of years following, the settlers were harassed by the proprietors of the soil under the Masonian Claim, until, in 1759, a compromise was effected, and Pembroke was incorporated.
In 1774, a new township in the District of Maine, was granted, by the General Court of Massachusetts, to the "proprietors of Suncook," to recompense them for their losses. The township was called Sambrook, and embraced the present towns of Lovell and New Sweden; it was located in the neighborhood of the battle-field, where, a half century before, so many brave lives had been sacrificed. ”

“ In 1832, John Low built the first store, at the corner of Broadway and Everett Avenue, and was the pioneer merchant of the city. The newcomers, known to the older inhabitants as "roosters," settled principally in the neighborhood of the landing. So many came, that in 1840 there were in the town twenty-three hundred and ninety inhabitants. In 1832, the omnibus, "North Ender," commenced running from Chelsea Ferry landing to Boylston Market; the fare was twelve and one-half cents. The "Governor Brooks," the first 'bus in Boston, had been running about a week before. ”

“ Extravagant claims have been made with regard to its age, but it is extremely improbable that any tree of this species has ever rounded out its third century. Under favorable conditions, the growth of the elm is very rapid, a single century sometimes sufficing to develop a tree larger than the Washington Elm.
When Governor Winthrop and Lieutenant-Governor Dudley, in 1630, rode along the banks of the Charles in quest of a suitable site for the capital of their colony, it is barely possible the great elm was in being. ”

“ Around this centre of influence sprang up several branch churches, and pastors were raised up to care for them. Mr. Myles soon became the leader of his denomination in Wales, and in 1651 he was sent as the representative of all the Baptist churches in Wales to the Baptist ministers' meeting, at Glazier's Hall, London, with a letter, giving an account of the peace, union, and increase of the work. As a preacher and worker he [93] had no equal in that country, and his zeal enabled him to establish many new churches in his native land. ”

“ ALEXANDER HAMILTON RICE, LL.D. By Daniel B. Hagar, Ph.D. [Principal of the State Normal School, Salem.]
Massachusetts merchants have been among the most prominent men in the nation through all periods of its history. From the days of John Hancock down to the present time they have often been called by their fellow-citizens to discharge the duties of the highest public offices. Hancock was the first governor of the State. In the list of his successors, the merchants who have distinguished themselves by honorable and successful administrations occupy prominent places. ”

“ After over a century of outlying dependence, and forced attendance in all weathers at the churches in Boston, the good people of Winnisimmet, Rumney Marsh, and Pullen Point, having demonstrated their willingness and ability to support a minister, petitioned for and obtained the privileges of a new parish and township, named Chelsea.3 Rumney Marsh is now known as Revere, and Pullen Point as Winthrop. ”

“ Half-way up the side of the hill stands the Soldiers' Home, where many scarred veterans of the Union army find a safe haven, cared for by those who appreciate their struggles in their country's cause. ”

“ The worthy magistrates of Plymouth have not told us how these few Baptist brethren "disturbed the peace" of quiet old Rehoboth. Good old Rehoboth, that roomy place, was not big enough to contain this church of seven members, and we have to-day to thank the spirit of Newman and the order of Plymouth Court for the handful of seed-corn, which they cast upon the waters, which here took root [94] and has brought forth the fruits of a sixty-fold growth. ”

“ Sheltered from the winds of the Atlantic by the outlying towns of Revere and Winthrop, and that section of the metropolis known as East Boston, Chelsea occupies a peninsula, once called Winnisimmet, fronting on the Mystic River and its two tributaries, the Island End and Chelsea Rivers. ”