Chapter XXIV: Part II: Biographical Sketches (10)

JOHN VASSALL, the elder brother of William, was born in the West Indies Sept. 7, 1713, and graduated from Harvard college in 1732. In 1734 he married Elizabeth, the daughter of Lieut. Gov. Spencer Phips by whom he had four children, and later he married Lucy, the daughter of Jonathan Barren of Chelmsford by whom he had one child. He resided in Cambridge most of his life and died there November 27, 1747. December 30, 1741, John Vassall conveyed to his brother Henry (a planter who had married Penelope the daughter of Isaac Royal of Antigua), in consideration of L9050 over seven acres of land in Cambridge, with dwelling house, barn and outhouses. During the Revolution, no doubt, this house was the headquarters of the Surgeon-General and perhaps a hospital. Dr. Benjamin Church, after he was detected in correspondence with the enemy, was arrested here and confined to his quarters until trial, and left a record of his occupation of the house by his name, cut with a penknife on one of the doors of his chamber, which is still legible though since covered with several coats of paint.

After the death of John Vassall, his son, who was also known by the name of John, erected the house in Cambridge, which has since become famous through Washington's connection with it, as during the Revolution it was used as his headquarters, and afterwards it was the home of Prof. Henry W. Longfellow.

MAJOR JOHN VASSALL, the grandson of Leonard Vassall, was born in Cambridge, June 12, 1738, and graduated from Harvard College in 1757. He erected a beautiful edifice on the estate inherited from his father and occupied it until driven from it by the rage of the mob. The estate was confiscated in 1774 and he removed to Boston for protection, and in that city continued to dwell upon the estate adjoining that of his uncle, William Vassall, on Pemberton Hill, until 1776.

At the commencement of the Revolution he was obliged to flee with his family to England. He had large possessions in Cambridge, Boston and Dorchester,[193] all of which were confiscated and himself exiled, soon after he departed from home. He joined the British army in Halifax, and from there sailed to England. He died there suddenly, October 2, 1796. An obituary published in the "Gentleman's Magazine" said of him, "he had a very considerable property in America where he lived in princely style." Sometime after the disturbances took place, having taken a very active part and spared no expense to support the royal cause, he left his possessions there to the ravagers, and having fortunately very large estates in Jamaica, he came with his family to England. He carried his loyalty so far as not to use the family motto, "Soepe pro rege, semper pro republica."

[193] See p. 184 concerning his mansion in Dorchester.

In 1774 he had been addresser of Hutchinson and for this great offence to the mobs, he was driven from his home, his property was confiscated and he was exiled. During his residence in England, he seems to have lived near Bristol and died at Clifton. A part of the Jamaica grant was still in the family, and his several children inherited a competence. His wife Elizabeth, sister of Lieut.-Gov. Thomas Oliver, died at Clifton, in 1807. His children were John, who died at Lyndhurst, in the year 1800; Thomas Oliver, who died in England in 1807; Elizabeth; Robert Oliver, who became a member of the Council of Jamaica, and died at Abington Hall, in that island in 1827; a second Elizabeth, who married a Mr. Lemaistre and died at Cheltenham, in 1856; Leonard and Mary, who alone was born in England, who married Mr. Archer, and who with her only child, deceased, at Clifton, in 1806.

SPENCER THOMAS VASSALL, son of the aforesaid John Vassall, born at Cambridge, Mass., 1764. Entered the British Army as Ensign at the age of twelve years. He rose to the command of the 38th regiment, and was regarded as one of the bravest officers in the service. He was mortally wounded at the storming of Monte Video, in 1807. His remains were taken to England and buried in St. Paul's church, Bristol, where there is a monument to his memory. His son, Spencer Lambert Hunter, who died in 1846, was a Knight and a captain in the Royal Navy. His other son, Rawdon John Popham, was a colonel in the Royal Artillery. His youngest daughter Catherine married Thomas L. Marchant Saumerez, son of the admiral.

WILLIAM VASSALL, brother of Major John Vassall, was born in Jamaica, November 23, 1715, and graduated at Harvard College in 1733. In 1774 he was appointed Mandamus Councillor, but was not sworn. He was also sheriff of Middlesex County. He owned considerable property, and was the possessor of a fine estate near Bristol, R. I. He was prominent among the Loyalists of Boston, and was singled out early as an enemy to the Revolutionary cause. He was proscribed and banished and obliged to flee with his family to England. Mr. Vassall was for many years connected with King's Chapel, Boston, and in 1785 protested by proxy against the change in the Liturgy and the unauthorized ordination of James Freeman.

The confiscation of his estate gave rise to a singular suit. As the Federal Constitution was adopted, a State could be sued; and, at Mr. Vassall's instance, proceedings against Massachusetts were commenced in the court of the United States; and Hancock, who was governor, was summoned as defendant in the case; he however declined to appear, and soon after the eleventh amendment to the Constitution put an end to the right of Loyalists to test the validity of the Confiscation Acts of the Revolution. Mr. Vassall died at Battersea Rise, England, in 1800, aged eighty-five. He was upright, generous, and loving. Church and society lost in him an eager, zealous advocate, an upright Christian, of an honorable and unblemished reputation. His first wife, Ann Davis, bore him Sarah, four named William, two named Fanny, Francis, Lucretia, Henry and Catherine. His second wife, Margaret Hubbard, was the mother of Margaret, Ann, Charlotte, Leonard and Nathaniel. Each wife had twins. Nathaniel, the youngest son, a captain in the Royal Navy, died in London in 1832.

WILLIAM VASSALL, son of the preceding William Vassall, was born in Boston in 1753, and graduated at Harvard College in 1771. He was a Loyalist and went to England. He inherited the bulk of his father's property in the West Indies, which descended to his nephew, Rev. William Vassall, rector of Hardington, England, "but so burdened and deteriorated in consequence of emancipation of the slaves that it was not worth anything," and that gentleman declined to administer upon it. He died at the Weston House, near Totness, December 2, 1843. Ann, his widow, died at the same place October 1846, aged seventy-five years.

FLORENTINUS VASSALL was the son of William Vassall and a great-grandson of Samuel, to whose memory he erected the beautiful marble monument in King's Chapel, when he was in Boston in 1766. He was here again in 1775 and in that year went to England. He was born in Jamaica, and lived there the greater part of his life. He died in London in 1778.

Washington's headquarters during the siege of Boston afterwards known as the Craigle and Longfellow House.]

Of the immense domain fifteen miles wide on both sides of the Kennebec River, extending from the vicinity of Merry Meeting Bay to the southerly line of the town of Norridgwock, he was the owner of one twenty-fourth part. In his will, executed in 1776, he gave to his son Richard and to Richard's daughter, Elizabeth, life estate in these lands, and then devised them in entail to his male children. The bequest proved of little value to either. After the lapse of years the rights of Elizabeth and her son Henry were transferred separately to parties in Boston, to test the title which was claimed by squatters. Three of them were sued in the name of the son. The cases were carried up to the United States Supreme Court, where it was decided that during his mother's life, he could not maintain an action. After her decease, suit against one settler was renewed, but on intimation by the court that fifty years' possession was sufficient to presume a grant, or title without consideration, another point, namely, whether the right of the plaintiff to recover was barred by the statute of limitation. The defendant paid a small sum for the land he occupied, and each party his own costs. Thus in 1851 terminated litigation, which for a long time was the subject of great interest on the Kennebec, and elsewhere in Maine. This granddaughter Elizabeth was a remarkable woman. Those who knew her speak of her as brilliant and witty, as possessed of queenly grace of manner, as well informed, of wonderful tact, and of excellent sense. Her first husband was Sir Godfrey Webster, Bart. By this marriage she was the mother of Sir Godfrey Vassall Webster, Bart., who died in 1836, of Lieut-Col. Sir Henry Vassall Webster, K. T. S., of the British Army, who died in London in 1847, aged 54, and of Harriet, who married Admiral Sir Fleetwood B. Reynolds C. B. K. C. H., who died at Florence in 1849, leaving an only child, the wife of the son and heir of the Earl of Oxford. Another son, Charles Richard Fox, whose father was Lord Holland, married Mary Fitzclarence, second daughter of King William IV., and who, in 1845 was a colonel in the army, and aide-de-camp to Queen Victoria.

In 1797 Lady Webster married Lord Holland, who took by sign-manual the surname of Vassal which, however, was not assumed by his children. As Lady Holland, she was the mother of three children, who died young, of Henry Holland, who became at the death of his father, Lord Holland, of Mary Elizabeth, wife of Lord Lilford, and of Georgianna Anne who died in 1819.

The friendly feelings of Bonaparte towards Lady Holland, especially after the peace of Amiens, is well known, and that in return "for the many acts of kindness, which she had bestowed upon him" he left her a gold snuff box which had been presented to him by Pope Pius VI., containing a card with these words: "L'Empereur to Lady Holland, temoigne de satisfaction et d'estime." She died at London, in 1845, aged 75. Among her bequests were the income of an estate, about L1500 per annum, to Lord John Russell, for his life, and a legacy of L100 to Macaulay the historian.

"The Vassall family has ever been distinguished for enterprise, magnanimity, and noble bearing. If some of this name were not only often, but always, for their king it must be admitted that they made as great sacrifices to loyalty as did their forefathers to liberty."

The Vassals were connected by marriage and business dealings with the Olivers and Royalls. All three families had acquired great wealth in the West Indies, and although they lost their great possessions in New England, by the Confiscation Act, yet they were much better situated than their fellow sufferers as they retained their West Indian estates till they, too, became worthless, after the emancipation of the slaves.

LIST OF CONFISCATED ESTATES BELONGING TO JOHN VASSAL IN SUFFOLK COUNTY
AND TO WHOM SOLD.

To John Williams, Sept. 25. 1781; Lib. 133, fol. 110; Land 3 1-2
A., and buildings in Dorchester, the high road S. and W.; Ebenezer
and Lemuel Clap N.; Zebadiah Williams E.----1-2 A South of the
above, Mr. Jeffries E.; the high road on the other side.

To Isaiah Doane, Jan. 8, 1784; Lib. 141, fol. 2; Land and buildings
in Boston. Tremont St. E; heirs of John Jefferies deceased S.;
heirs of Jeremiah Allen deceased, William Vassall and heirs of
Joseph Sherburne W.; William Vassall and land of the old brick
church N.

GENERAL ISAAC ROYALL.

William Royall, the first member of this family of which there is anything definitely known, emigrated to Salem probably during the year of 1629. He had a grant of land there known as "Royall's side" or "Ryall's Neck." He married, at Boston or Malden, Phoebe Green. He was in Casco Bay as early as 1635. His house was built on the south side of what was afterwards known as Royall's River, near its mouth, in North Yarmouth. Here he lived until the troubles with the neighboring Indians, which induced him to remove to Dorchester in 1675, accompanied by his son William, who was born probably at the Casco settlement in 1640. He was a carpenter by occupation, and died in 1724, in the 85th year of his age, and is buried in the tomb built by his son Isaac in the Dorchester burying ground.

Isaac Royall, son of the aforesaid William, born probably at the settlement in Casco Bay about 1672. He early settled at Boston, and engaged in trade, making frequent voyages to Antigua and other West India islands. He married, according to Boston records, on July 1, 1697, Elizabeth, daughter of Asaph Eliot and grandniece of the apostle to the Indians of that name. His wife was the widow of one Oliver, probably of Dorchester.

For a period of forty years Isaac Royall was a resident of Antigua, although his frequent presence in Boston during that time is evinced by his signature to conveyances. His name first appears on the Suffolk records in a mortgage deed given by himself and wife on the 24th August, 1697, he then being styled a "merchant of Boston." His trading operations between 1704 and 1710 with the West Indies, proved the foundation of his fortune.

On December 26, 1732, he purchased of the heirs of Lieutenant Governor Usher the estate in Charlestown (Medford) containing about five hundred acres. The large Mansion house was built by Usher, but has since become widely known as the Royall Mansion. It was one of the finest and most pretentious residences of the time within the suburbs of Boston. It is described by a visitor at that time as "A fine Country Seat belonging to Mr. Isaac Royall, being one of the grandest in N. America." This mansion was greatly added to, and almost rebuilt by the wealthy West Indian planter. He petitioned the General Court in December, 1737, that he might not be taxed on the twenty-seven slaves which he brought with him from Antigua. "That he removed from Antigua with his family, and brought with him among other things, and chattels, a parcel of negroes, designed for his own use, and not any of them for merchandise."

Isaac Royall, the builder of this mansion, did not live long to enjoy his princely estate, dying in 1739, not long after its completion. His widow, who survived him eight years, died in this house, and was interred from Colonel Oliver's in Dorchester April 25, 1747. The pair share the same tomb in the old Dorchester burying place. His daughter Penelope married Colonel Henry Vassall of Cambridge in 1742. He died in 1769, and she died in Boston in 1800, aged 76.

GENERAL ISAAC ROYALL, a son, who was born in Antigua, probably in 1719, married Elizabeth McIntosh in 1738, but lived mostly in Boston. He became an extensive purchaser of lands in various parts of the State, and was one of the original proprietors of the township of Royalston in Worcester County. He was a member of the Artillery Company of Boston in 1750, was made a brigadier general in 1761, the first of that title among Americans. He was elected by the House a Councillor of the Province, and served in that office until 1774, completing twenty-three years of consecutive service.

Much has been written of this man's position at the time of the colonial disturbances in 1774. Possessed of large wealth, and the influence that riches and education carried with them, his course was watched by the people with intense anxiety. He was known to have much in common with the faithful band of Loyalists, who were gathered about Cambridge and Boston, yet he was still faithful to the people's church, and most of his family ties held him to the popular cause. A long letter, written by him to Lord Dartmouth, dated in January of 1774, exists in the archives of the Massachusetts Historical Society's Proceedings, 1873-1875, page 179. Harris says, "there can be no good reason for doubting the sincerity of his sympathy with the people, and although, when the time came to make a choice, he was prevailed upon to adhere to the side of the government, there is abundant evidence of his continued love towards New England and his desire to return and end his days here." How much harder was it then for a man in his position to make the great sacrifices he did, to give up his loved home and his property, all for the cause of his King.

He wrote to Lord Dartmouth, "I am conscious that in all public affairs I have made the honor of my king and the real Interests and Peace of my country the ultimate end of all my transactions. I am so to live in this world as that I may be happy in another, and no man more ardently wishes and earnestly prays to the God of Peace for the Restoration of those happy days, which formerly subsisted between us and our mother country than I do."

Three days before the battle of Lexington, Colonel Royall took his departure from Medford. He drove in his chariot, which was one of the few in this vicinity, to Boston, and never again returned.

The mansion itself was indeed one of the finest of colonial residences, standing, as it did, in the midst of elegant surroundings. In the front, or what is now the west side, was the paved court. Reaching farther west were the extensive gardens, opening from the courtyard, a broad path leading to the summer house. The slave quarters were at the south. The brick slave quarters have remained unchanged, and are the last visible relics of slavery in New England. The deep fireplace where the slaves prepared their food is still in place, and the roll of slaves has certainly been called in sight of Bunker Hill, though never upon its summit.

The interior woodwork of the house is beautifully carved, especially the drawing room, guest chamber, and staircase. The walls are panelled, and the carving on either side of the windows is very fine, that in the guest chamber being the most elaborate.

One interested in colonial architecture may wander for hours through this noble house, and yet feel that there is more to learn. The dark cellar, full of passages, the garret with its corners, and the secret staircase so often searched for, yet undiscovered, all furnish good material for imaginary pictures of the Revolutionary days of our ancestors.

The Royall mansion is now owned and occupied by "The Royall House Association" and is open for the public.

When Colonel Royall left his mansion he had prepared to take passage from Salem to Antigua, but, having gone into Boston, the Sunday previous to the battle of Lexington, and remained there until that affair occurred, he was, by the course of events, shut up in the town. He sailed for Halifax very soon, still intending, as he says, for Antigua, but on the arrival of his son-in-law. George Erving, and his daughter, with the troops from Boston, he was by them persuaded to sail for England, whither his other son-in-law, Sir William Pepperell, had preceded.

He was kind to his slaves, charitable to the poor and friendly to everybody.]

Upon his arrival in England, he exchanged visits with Governors Pownall, Bernard, and Hutchinson. Colonel Royall after the loss of some of his nearest relatives and of his own health, requested that he be allowed to return "home" to Medford and to be buried by the side of his wife, his father and mother, and the rest of his friends. He would fain have lived in amity with all men and with his king too, but the Revolution engulfed him. But he is not forgotten. He died in England 1781, his large hearted benevolence showed itself in many bequests to that country that had driven him forth and to which he was an alien. He bequeathed upwards of two thousand acres of land in Worcester County to found the first Law Professorship of Harvard University and his other bequests were numerous and liberal. He has a town (Royalston) in Massachusetts named for him, and is remembered with affection in the place of his former abode. His virtues and popularity at first saved his estate, as his name was not included with those of his sons-in-law, Sir William Pepperell and George Erving, in the "conspirators act," but on the representation of the selectmen of Medford "_that he went voluntarily to our enemies_" his property was taken under the confiscation act and forfeited. It was held by the State until 1805, when it was released by the Commonwealth, owing to the large bequests that Colonel Royall made to the public. It was then purchased by Robert Fletcher, who divided the estate up into house lots and sold them to various persons.

General Royall's mansion was the centre of great festivities, and the most noted families of Boston and vicinity were entertained there. He was noted for his hospitality and was always generous and charitable to the poor, and an excellent citizen. Brooks in his "History of Medford" says hospitality was almost a passion with him. No home in the Colony was more open to friends, no gentleman gave better dinners, or drank costlier wines. As a master he was kind to his slaves, charitable to the poor, and friendly to everybody.

He was a most accurate man and in his daily journal minutely described every visitor, topic, and incident and even descended to recording what slippers he wore and when he went to bed. Some one said in speaking of Colonel Isaac Royall, "it is not that he loved the colonies less but England more." Among his bequests was a legacy of plate to the first church of Medford, and legacies to the clergymen, and while a member of the House of Representatives, he presented the chandelier which adorned its hall.

After the departure of General Royall from his beautiful home, it was taken possession of by the rebels who came pouring into the environs of Boston and laid siege to same. Colonel, afterwards General, John Stark,[194] made the mansion his headquarters, and his New Hampshire troops pitched their camp in the adjacent grounds. It was afterwards occupied by General Lee, who took up his quarters in the mansion, whose echoing corridors suggested to his fancy the name of Hobgoblin Hall.

[194] General John Stark's brother Colonel William Stark, was a man of
great bravery and hardihood. Before the Revolution he was a much greater
man than his brother John. He commanded New England troops in the
capture of Ticonderoga, Crown Point, Louisburg and Quebec. In West's
picture, "The Death of Gen. Wolf," he is shown as holding Wolf in his
arms. William Stark remained loyal and became a colonel in the Royal
Army. He was killed from a fall from his horse at the battle of Long
Island.

Elizabeth, the wife of Isaac Royall, died at Medford, July, 1770, and was buried in the marble tomb in Dorchester. Their daughter Elizabeth, the wife of Sir William Pepperell, died at sea upon the voyage to England in 1775.[195]

[195] For an account of the Pepperell family see New Eng. Gen. Reg., xx.
4. Those descended from him comprise probably a hundred families holding
the highest social positions including dignitaries in church and state,
baronets, presidents of colleges, D. D's., and bishops, and others of
exalted rank, perhaps more numerous than can be found in any one family
in the British realms.

It is said that the male line of the Royalls has ceased to exist in Maine and Massachusetts. The writer knows not of a single living individual bearing the surname who has descended from the stock that in the beginning of the settlement was so vigorous, and promised to be so prolific. This statement will also apply to many other Loyalists' families that were driven from their homes at the commencement of the Revolution.

GENERAL WILLIAM BRATTLE.

Thomas Brattle, the forefather of the Brattle family that settled in Boston, was at his death accounted the wealthiest man in the Colony. Though we have no information concerning the family prior to the coming of Thomas Brattle to New England, it is only reasonable to believe that he was descended from an educated and intelligent line. Only four generations bearing the name existed here, and it is a notable circumstance that all the male representatives of those four generations were men of remarkable powers and distinguished abilities.

THOMAS BRATTLE was born about 1624, and was a merchant of Boston. He was a member of the Artillery Company and captain in the militia, and the commander of several expeditions against hostile Indians. He was one of the founders of the Old South Church. He married Elizabeth, the daughter of Captain William Tyng, by whom he had seven children. His death occurred in 1683.

THOMAS BRATTLE, the son of the former, was born in 1658, and was a graduate of Harvard College. He was a very intelligent man, and was treasurer of Harvard College for twenty-five years. He was one of the founders of the Brattle Street church, and gave an organ to the King's Chapel when it was rebuilt in 1710, the first organ used in Boston in a church. He was a steadfast opposer of the proceedings of the courts during the witchcraft delusion in 1692. He was a Fellow of the Royal Society, and died in 1713. President Ouincy says of him: "He was distinguished for his private benevolences and public usefulness."

WILLIAM BRATTLE graduated from Harvard college, and for over twenty years was pastor of the Cambridge church. He was also a member of the Royal Society of London.

WILLIAM BRATTLE, son of the former, was baptized by his father in 1706. He graduated from Harvard College in 1722, and was a member of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company. He was a theologian, and as a physician he was widely known, and no higher tribute to his eminence as a barrister need be sought than in the years 1736-7, when, only thirty years of age, he was elected by the House and Council to the office of Attorney General.

He possessed strong peculiarities, and Sabine says of him that "A man of most eminent talents and of greater eccentricities has seldom lived." He inherited a large and well invested property, and had ample means to cultivate those tastes to which, by his nature and education, he was inclined. He was for many years Major General of the Province, and afterwards Brigadier General. His large and beautifully situated house, which now exists in Cambridge, though greatly transformed, known as the "Old Brattle House" was the resort of the fashion and style of this section of the country. At the age of twenty-one he married Katherine, the daughter of Governor Gurdon Saltonstall. She died at Cambridge in 1752, and he married again in 1755, Mrs. Martha, widow of James Allen, and daughter of Thomas Fitch. General Brattle seems to have inherited from his father the same love for and interest in the welfare of his Alma Mater, which so characterized the beloved minister of the church in Cambridge. He was long one of her overseers, and in 1762 was appointed by the Council one of a committee for the erection of Hollis Hall, a task which was satisfactorily completed.

When the Revolution broke out in 1775, he was holding a very honorable office under the crown. Harris says he was "on terms of friendship with many of the regular army officers quartered in Boston and vicinity. His cultivated and refined tastes tending always to draw him to court, rather than plebeian society, were, no doubt, inducements for him to remain loyal. Certain it was, while studiously endeavoring to preserve friendly and peaceful relations with his townsmen and neighbors, he was openly opposed to their principles. He was an Addresser of Gen. Gage and approved of his plans, but at last public excitement reached such a height that he deemed it wise to withdraw from Cambridge, and leaving his house and property in the hands of his only daughter, Madame Wendell, at that time a widow, he quietly joined the Royal army in Boston, and at the evacuation in 1776, sailed with the forces to Halifax, where he died in October of the same year. It is said that his gravestone is still to be seen in the churchyard in that city." There is a portrait of William Brattle in the possession of his descendants, which was painted by Copley, being one of the first productions of that eminent artist. Of his nine children, only two lived to maturity, Katherine in whom the line but not the name was perpetuated, and Thomas.

Katherine was married to John Mico Wendell, a merchant of Boston, in 1752, who was of Dutch origin. After the death of her husband, Katherine removed to Cambridge and resided there until her death in 1821, at the age of nearly ninety-one years. The house was situated near the corner of what afterwards became Wendell street, and North ave. The Centinel of February 10, 1821, contained a memoir from which we gain some knowledge of her character.

"Descended from honorable families, she possessed the virtues and and maintained the honors of her ancestors.... During the war of the Revolution, both her talents and virtues were put to severe tests, and by her wisdom and discretion, her energy, and integrity, her benevolence, and charity, she conciliated the favor of men in power, civil and military; secured to herself personal respect, and rescued the paternal inheritance from the hazard of confiscation. It was by her means that the portion of the estate that fell to her brother Thomas, then in England, was in a like manner preserved.... Her contributions aided in the translation of the Bible into the languages of the East, and in the diffusion of Christian knowledge among the poor and destitute of our own country."

She had five children, but three of them died before reaching maturity. Governor James Sullivan, who knew Thomas Brattle well, wrote of him: "Major Brattle exercised a deep reverence for the principles of government, and was a cheerful subject of the laws. He respected men of science, as the richest ornament of their country. If he had ambition, it was to excel in acts of hospitality, benevolence, and charity. The dazzling splendor of heroes, and the achievements of political intrigues, passed unnoticed before him, but the character of the man of benevolence filled his heart with emotions of sympathy."... "In his death, the sick, the poor and the distressed have lost a liberal benefactor, politeness an ornament, and philanthropy one of its most discreet and generous supporters."

THOMAS BRATTLE, the youngest and only surviving son of General William and Katherine Saltonstall Brattle, was born at Cambridge in 1742. He graduated from Harvard College in 1760, and not long afterwards visited England and the Continent, for the double purpose of study and travel.

When the war broke out, he was still abroad, and being informed of the position taken by his father, he conceived to be the most prudent course to remain in England. While abroad he traveled over various parts of Great Britain, and made a tour through Holland and France, and was noticed by persons of distinction. Returning to London, he zealously and successfully labored to ameliorate the condition of his countrymen, who had been captured and were in prison. This restored to him his estates, for he was included in the Confiscation, Proscription and Banishment Act of 1778. He returned to America in 1779, and 1784 the enactments against him in Massachusetts were repealed, and he took possession of his patrimony. He found his mansion home at Cambridge had been thoroughly ransacked and damaged by the Continental troops, who had occupied it during the war. The neglected estate was restored to its former beauty, and improved by the erection of a green-house, probably one of the earliest known in this part of the country. He lived here for many years, and became well known for his charities. He died, universally lamented and beloved, on the seventh of February, 1801, and was laid to rest in the family tomb, the last of his name. He was never married.

The only descendants of General William and Katharine Saltonstall Brattle, are through their daughter Katherine, who married John Mico Wendell.

CONFISCATED ESTATE OF WILLIAM BRATTLE IN BOSTON, AND TO WHOM SOLD.

To James Allen, May 12, 1781; Lib. 132, fol. 202: Land and
buildings in Boston. Tremont St W.; John Rowe and Henry Caner, an
absentee, S.; Nathaniel Holmes E.; George Bethune N. and E.; John
Andrew and heirs of Samuel Pemberton deceased N.; Robert McElroy W.
and N.; passageway W. and W. [N.]

JOSEPH THOMPSON.

Joseph Thompson was the son of Joseph and Sarah (Bradshaw) Thompson, who were located in Medford as early as 1772, coming from Woburn, and descended from the same family as Sir Benjamin Thompson (Count Rumford). They lie buried side by side in the little burial ground on Salem street, Medford. Joseph, the subject of this sketch, was born May 16, 1734. He was married in Boston, 1759, to Rebecca Gallup, whom Isaac Royall refers to in his will as a kinswoman of his wife.

In addition to the double portion assigned to him out of his father's estate, he added to it from time to time by the purchase of several estates. His occupation is mentioned in the deeds as that of merchant. In June, 1775, news reached the Provincial Congress that the Ervings of Boston, had fitted out, under color of chartering to Thompson, a schooner of their own, to make a voyage to New Providence (Nassau, Bahama Islands), to procure "fruit, turtle and provisions of other kinds for the sustenance and feasting of those troops who are, as pirates and robbers, committing daily hostilities and depredations on the good people of this colony and all America." Congress therefore resolved that Captain Samuel McCobb, a member, "be immediately dispatched to Salem and Marblehead, to secure said Thompson, and prevent said vessel from going said voyage, and cause the said Thompson to be brought before this Congress." Thompson, however, escaped, and afterwards went to England. On June 3, 1780, on the petition of Rebecca Thompson, asking leave be granted her to rejoin her husband in England on the first convenient opportunity, and to also return again to this state, the General Court, and the committee of Inspection for Medford, were directed to see that she carried no letters nor papers that might be detrimental to this, or any of the United States of America.[196]

[196] Medford Historical Register, Vol. viii, p. 59.

James Prescott, Joseph Hosmer and Samuel Thatcher, Esq., were ordered to make sales of certain estates situated in the county of Middlesex, confiscated to the use of the government, belonging to Joseph Thompson, merchant. Six acres of salt marsh on Medford river were sold to Ebenezer Hall, Jr., for L70; a dwelling house and yard bounded south on the great road, to Thomas Patten for L295; 11/2 rods of land (part of the dower estate of his mother), with 3-16 of the dwelling house, 1-4 of an acre of mowing land, 20 rods of plow land, to Samuel Kidder for L24.15; a pew in the meeting house to Susanna Brooks, widow, for L10; 8 acres of land bounded south on the great road and west on Proprietor's Way, and situated near the Hay Market, to Jonathan Foster for L252. 10, and about 10 poles of land with a joiner's shop thereon, bounded north on the road to Malden, to Ebenezer Hall for L40.5, making a total of L692.5.

A Mr. Thompson died in England during the war, probably the same.

COLONEL JOHN ERVING.

The Erving family was one of the oldest and most respected families in Boston. Hon. John Erving, the father of the colonel, was one of the most eminent merchants in America, and was a member of the Council of Massachusetts for twenty years. The Hon. Robert C. Winthrop, his great-grandson, in a public address in 1845, thus refers to him: "A few dollars earned on a commencement day, by ferrying passengers over Charles River, when there was no bridge--shipped to Lisbon in the shape of fish, and from thence to London in the shape of fruit, and from thence brought home to be reinvested in fish, and to be re-entered upon the same triangular circuit of trade--laid the foundations of the largest fortunes of the day, a hundred years ago." Mr. Erving, by his wife Abigail, had a large family. He died in Boston in 1786, aged ninety-three.

COLONEL JOHN ERVING, eldest son of the preceding, was born in Boston, June 26, 1727, was a colonel of the Boston regiment of militia, a warden of Trinity church. He graduated at Harvard University in 1747. In 1760 he signed the Boston Memorial, and was thus one of the fifty-eight who were the first men in America to array themselves against the officers of the Crown, but like many others that did not favor many acts of the government, he could not tolerate mob rule, and therefore threw his lot in on the side that represented law and authority.

When Hancock's sloop Liberty was seized for smuggling in 1768, by the commissioners, the fury of the mob became great. They fell upon the officers, several of whom barely escaped with their lives. Mr. Erving, besides having his sword broken, was beaten with clubs and sticks, and considerably wounded. He was not concerned with the seizure of the sloop.

Born in Boston Feb. 12, 1758. There is erected in Calcutta a monument to him, which is one of the notable sights of that city. Died at Meerut, India in 1825.]

In 1774 he was an addresser of Hutchinson, and the same year appointed mandamus councillor. On the evacuation of Boston, he and his family of nine persons accompanied the army to Halifax, and from there he went to England. In 1778 he was proscribed and banished. He died at Bath, England, June 17, 1816, aged eighty-nine. His wife, Maria Catherina (youngest daughter of Governor Shirley), with whom he lived sixty years, died a few months before him. A daughter of Mr. Erving married Governor Scott of the island of Dominica and died at that island February 13, 1768. His son, Dr. Shirley Erving, entered Harvard College in 1773, but his education was cut short by the Revolution. He became a prominent physician at Portland, Maine, and died at Boston in 1813, aged fifty-five. His widow survived him for many years. They left two sons and one daughter. The Erving mansion house was on Milk street, and was confiscated.

GEORGE ERVING was a prominent merchant of Boston. He was one of the fifty-eight memorialists who were the first men in America to array themselves against the officers of the Crown, but he could not take part with the mobs in their lawless and brutal actions. He was an Addresser of Hutchinson in 1774, was proscribed under the Act of 1778, and his estate was confiscated under the Conspiracy Act of 1779. He went to Halifax with his family of five persons, and thence to England. He died in London in 1806 at the age of seventy. His wife was a daughter of General Isaac Royall of Medford.

CONFISCATED ESTATES BELONGING TO COLONEL JOHN ERVING AND TO
WHOM SOLD.

To James Lloyd, May 4. 1787; Lib. 160, fol. 105; Land and buildings
in Boston. Kilby St., formerly Mackerel Lane, E; heirs of John
Erving deceased N; heirs of Samuel Hughes W.; Joseph Winthrop S.

To John Codman, Jr., July 2. 1787. Lib. 160, fol. 201; Land and
messuage in Boston. Newbury St., W.; John Crosby N.; E. and N.,
John Soley E. and S., passage or alley S.----Land 14 A., in
Walpole, road from Walpole to the sign of the Black Lamb in
Stoughton N.; Nathaniel Preble S.E.; Philip Bardin S.W. and N.W.

To Nathaniel Appleton. Feb. 13, 1789; Lib. 164, fol. 149; Land, 14
A, in Walpole, road from Walpole to the sign of the Black Lamb in
Stoughton N.; Nathaniel Preble S.E.; Philip Bardin S.W. and N.W.

To John Deming. May 6, 1789; Lib. 166, fol. 11; Land and messuage
in Boston. Newbury St. W.; John Crosby N.; E. and N.; John Soley E.
and S.; passage or alley S.

MAJOR GENERAL SIR DAVID OCHTERLONY.

Captain David Ochterlony, the father of the subject of this memoir, was born in Forfarshire, Scotland, and was descended from one of the most ancient families in that country. In 1226 the land of "Othirlony" was exchanged by his ancestors for those of Kenney in Forfarshire possessed by the Abbey of Aberbrothock. Kenney had been bestowed on the Abbey by its founder, King William, the Lion King of Scotland.

David, was a captain in the merchant service, and resided for a while at Montrose. Boston was one of the many ports visited by him in his voyages. Five years after his first appearance in Boston, June 4, 1757, intention of marriage was published, to Katherine, daughter of Andrew Tyler of Boston, by his wife Miriam, a sister of Sir William Pepperell. On 27th of June, 1762, he purchased a brick house with about 1500 square feet of land on Back street, which at that time was that part of Salem street from Hanover to Prince street. Meanwhile three sons and daughter were born. The eldest of these, MAJOR GENERAL SIR DAVID OCHTERLONY born 12 Feb. 1758, who was to revive the name in a new locality. Captain Ochterlony, the father, continued his career as a mariner but a few years after locating in Boston, he died in 1765, at St. Vincent W. I. His widow went to England, where she married Sir Isaac Heard of London, Norroy and Garter King of Arms, and gentleman of the Red Rod, to the order of the Bath.

The son David was a scholar at the Latin School in Boston, when his father died. At the age of eighteen he entered the army and went to India, as a cadet, and in 1778 received an appointment as Ensign. In 1781 he was Quartermaster to the 71st Regiment of Foot. During the twenty years that succeeded, he was exposed to all the danger and fatigue of incessant service in the East. He attained the rank of Major in 1800 and of Lieutenant-Colonel in 1803, and Colonel in 1812. His commission of Major General bears date June 1, 1814. In 1817 he received the thanks of both Houses of Parliament. His health, after nearly fifty years of uninterrupted military duty in a tropical climate, became impaired and he resigned a political office in India with the intention of proceeding to Calcutta, and thence to England. This plan he did not live to execute. He died at Meerut in 1825, while there for a change of air. He was Deputy-Adjutant-General at the Battle of Delhi, after which he was sent as envoy to the Court of Sha Alum. For his conduct in the Nepaulese war, he was created a Knight Commander of the Bath and May 7, 1816, was made a baronet. After his death there was erected in Calcutta a monument to him, which is one of the notable signs of the city. Sir David never married. His title descended to Charles Metcalf Ochterlony, and was succeeded in it by his son, the present baronet, Sir David Ferguson Ochterlony. Gilbert Ochterlony, the second son of Captain David, died Jan. 16, 1780, aged 16, at the home of his step-father Isaac Heard, Esq., at the college of arms.[197] Alexander, the third son died in 1803, and Catherine in 1792.

[197] It was Sir Isaac Heard that took such pains in searching out the
pedigree of the Washington family.

Captain David's will, made at the time of his marriage, was probate March 7, 1766, and left everything to his wife Katrin, but his estate was not settled till after the peace. 1791, and then it was insolvent, the sum then obtained to close up the estate paid a dividend of only six and a half pence on the pound. The name of Ochterlony in New England became extinct.

JUDGE AUCHMUTY'S FAMILY.

Robert Auchmuty first of the American family of that name was descended from an ancient Scottish family, holding a barony in the north of that country. His father settled in England early in the eighteenth century, and Robert studied law at the Temple, London, and came to America and settled in Boston about the year 1700. He was a profound lawyer and possessed remarkable talents and wit, but when he was admitted to practice does not appear. He was in practice soon after 1719 and the profession owed much to his character and system and order which now began to distinguish its forms of practice. His talents were extraordinary, "Old Mr. Auchmuty says a contemporary would sit up all night at his bottle, yet argue to admiration next day, and was an admirable speaker." He was sent to England to settle a boundary dispute between Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island. His services were so valuable, that on December 1738, he received from the former a grant of two hundred acres of land. He was judge of the Court of Admiralty for New England from 1733 until 1747. While he was in England he advocated the expedition to Cape Breton in an ably written pamphlet published in 1744. This tract probably gave to the historian Smollett the erroneous impression that Auchmuty was the originator of that brilliant enterprise, the credit of which belongs to Governor Shirley.

Judge Auchmuty held his office until 1747 when he was superseded by Chambers Russell. His home was in Roxbury, Massachusetts, and many anecdotes of him have been handed down from generation to generation. He was "greatly respected and beloved in public and private life." His memory is held in high veneration by the bar in Massachusetts and his opinions are still respected.

Judge Auchmuty died in April, 1750, leaving several children. His daughter married Judge Pratt of New York and his son, Judge Robert Auchmuty, followed in his father's footstep, and became a noted lawyer in Massachusetts. Although he had not the advantage of a collegiate education he became an able lawyer. As an advocate he was eloquent and successful. "Among his contemporaries were Otis, Quincy, Hawley, and judges Paine, Sargent, Bradbury, R. Sewall, W. Cushing and Sullivan and though less learned than some of these he was employed in most of the important jury trials."

"It was when together with that class of lawyers above named that the profession owed the respectability which since his day has characterized the bar of Massachusetts."[198] He held the office of Advocate of the Court of Admiralty from August 2, 1762, until his appointment as judge, having been originally appointed in the place of Mr. Bollan, to hold the office during his absence. Chambers Russell was appointed in the place of the elder Auchmuty as judge of the Admiralty for Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island in 1747. He held the office until his death in 1767, and Robert Auchmuty, the younger, was appointed by the governor to fill his place. This was in April, but on the sixth of July he was duly commissioned as Judge of the Admiralty for all New England with a salary of L300 a year. His commission was received in March, 1760, when his salary was increased to L600 per annum. Judge Auchmuty continued to hold this office as long as the authority of the British was recognized, as he was a zealous Loyalist.

[198] Updike History of Narrangansett church.

Robert Auchmuty was one of the commissioners with Governor Wanton of Rhode Island, Samuel Horsemanden, Chief Justice of New York, Frederic Smythe, Chief Justice of New Jersey, and Peter Oliver, Chief Justice of Massachusetts, to inquire into the destruction of the Gaspee, in 1772.[199] He was a colleague of Adams and Quincy in defence of the British soldiers tried for participation in the "Boston Massacre."[200] He appeared once after his appointment in defence of Captain Preston and his soldiers, and his argument was described as so memorable and persuasive, "as almost to bear down the tide of prejudice against him, though it never swelled to a higher flood."

[199] See page 52 for description of same.

[200] Ibid. 45.

The Auchmuty house in Roxbury stands at the corner of Cliff and Washington Streets. It was build about 1761 by the younger Judge Auchmuty, who resided there until the outbreak of the revolution. Here as a convenient halting place between the Province House and the Governor's country seat at Jamaica Plain, and the Lieutenant Governor residence at Milton, met the crown officers to make plans to stem the rising tide of disloyalty and lawlessness of the mobs, and their secret leaders. Here Bernard Hutchinson Auchmuty, Hallowell, and Paxton discussed the proposed alterations in the charter, and the bringing over of British troops to preserve the peace. Letters of Judge Auchmuty to persons in England were sent to America with those of Governor Hutchinson by Franklin in 1773 and created much commotion.[201]

[201] See page 162.

At the Declaration of Independence in 1776 he left his native country and settled in England. At one period he was in very distressed circumstances. He never returned to the United States and his estate was confiscated. His mansion in Roxbury became the property of Governor Increase Sunmer and was occupied by him at the time of his decease. Auchmuty Lane was that part of Essex Street between Short and South Street in Boston. Robert Auchmuty died in London an exile from his native land in November, 1778.

On its evacuation by Washington; it was set on fire, it was saved by the summary execution of all incendaries by the British.]

HONORABLE JAMES AUCHMUTY, son of the elder Robert, was a storekeeper in the Engineer Department. At the peace he removed to Nova Scotia where he became an eminent lawyer, and was appointed judge. He had a son, a very gallant officer in the British Army, who was killed in the West Indies.