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DANVERS. -- FIRST SETTLERS. -- HOME OF COLONEL JEREMIAH PAGE. -- OFFICE OF GOVERNOR THOMAS GAGE. -- FAMILY RECOLLECTIONS OF THE LAST GOVERNOR UNDER THE CROWN. -- ORIGIN OF LUCY LARCOM'S POEM, "A GAMBREL ROOF." THE LEXINGTON ALARM. -- BURIAL OF DANVERS HEROES KILLED AT MENOTOMY, APRIL 19, 1775. -- THE BELL TAVERN

      My stroll about Danvers in quest of hearthstones on which glow the embers of Revolutionary days was most abundantly rewarded. In fact, I found many homes in this locality where the family possession has not been broken from the early days of the Colonial period of our history. Essex County is remarkably favored in this particular. The name of Governor Endicott calls our attention to the very beginning of the settlement of Salem, and the origin of the Colony of Massachusetts Bay in 1628. Danvers was formerly known as Salem Village, and includes the Endicott grant.
      Wisely directed, I made my way to the Page house in the centre of Danvers. So well kept is

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this home of the Page family that I at first thought I must have mistaken the direction; but a glance upward revealed the old-fashioned gambrel roof, so pleasantly described by Miss Lucy Larcom, and I was fully assured that I had reached the desired house. I was at once given a welcome

[Photo- "Colonel Jeremiah Page Home, Danvers"]

by Miss Annie L. Page, the present owner and occupant, and by her supplied with the unquestionable data to which I now invite the attention of my readers.
      "This house was built by my grandfather, Colonel Jeremiah Page, about the year 1750, and has always been in our family possession. Here my grandparents spent the greater part of their lives;

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my father, John Page, was born here; and it is still my home. To be sure, there have been some alterations and additions from time to time; but the same roof-tree has sheltered the three generations, and we have sat by the same hearth-stone. The beautiful spreading elms in front of the house were planted by Jeremiah Page about one hundred and fifty years ago. Scores of his descendants have enjoyed their gracious shade, and been led to believe with Emerson, 'God's greatest thought in nature is a tree.'" Jeremiah Page, the builder of this well-kept house, was the pioneer of brickmaking in Danvers. He was born in Medford in 1722, and when about twenty-one years of age was invited by Mr. Daniel Andrews to work the clay-pits of Danvers. In this way he began the manufacture of bricks, which he continued to the close of his life in 1806.
      Among his large contracts was that of supplying the bricks for Fort William at Salem, in 1794. The young brickmaker married the only daughter of Mr. Andrews, who is the heroine of the teaparty represented in "A Gambrel Roof." Here Jeremiah Page and Sarah Andrews began their married life, and for a century and a half the Pages have made a record most creditable to the town.
      Jeremiah Page early in life acted the part of a patriot, and possessing peculiar qualifications for leadership was put in military authority in the

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Province. He was commissioned as captain of the militia in the year 1773. This was when the rumblings of the Revolution were all about them, and it required decision of character to fulfil the duties of the office. April 27, 1774, he was ordered to take his company to Trask's Hill in Salem for military exercise. Up to this time the majority of the commissioned officers of the first Essex regiment were in sympathy with the government. Among these Colonel William Brown, a member of the Council Board, refused to resign in accordance with request, and so the subordinate officers withdrew. Then was held a meeting of the members of the Alarm and Training Bands of the third company of Danvers, when Jeremiah Page was chosen as captain. This act was indorsed by a popular vote, despite the order from the government officials.
      It was at this time that the new governor and Captain-general, Thomas Gage, made his appearance in the Province of Massachusetts Bay, and early announced to the Council and gentlemen of the House of Representatives that after the first of June the seat of government would be transferred to Salem; and consequently, on May 28, he adjourned them to meet there on June 7. This order was in anticipation of the closing of the port of Boston on June 1. It was necessary that the king's agent should be near the seat of government, and the demonstration in Boston on the

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first day of the enforcement of the Port Bill may have hastened his removal. On the following day the royal governor was driven to Danvers, and here established his official residence. To be located a little distance out in the country was the custom with the officers, and Danvers at the

[Photo- "Governor Gage's Office"]

beginning of June offered great natural attractions. Then, too, it was the residence of Dr. Samuel Holton, one of the Council. But the country home, with its attractions, was too far out; and the royal governor applied to Jeremiah Page for a room in his house to serve him as an office. Having taken up his abode in the town in a perfectly peaceable manner, this privilege

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was not denied him, and the south front room was set off to his use.
      Miss Page told me that her father had often from the windows of this room enjoyed looking at the harbor filled with sail, and this view may have influenced the governor in the selection of his office.
      The room, with its present attractions, is a vivid reminder of the summer of 1774, when the last English governor who served the country transacted the king's business and smoked his pipe within its walls. As this dignified tenant sat in his office with sympathizing officials, he had little thought that his landlord was dividing the time between his brick-yard and the patriot cause; for even then Captain Page was attending secret meetings with other patriots, where there was plotting against the king and Parliament.
      To one accustomed to hear nothing but evil of the king's troops while quartered in and about Boston, it is a relief to gather from the lips of Danvers people some of their ancestors' personal experiences with the soldiers while quartered in the town and loitering about the highways. "The conduct of the royal troops is said to have been very exemplary; and grandfather enjoyed the company of Governor Gage, although he was not in sympathy with him or the cause which he was here to maintain." Another family report, perhaps somewhat biassed, is, "The governor was as pretty a man in the house as I ever saw."

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      Mrs. Fowler, a daughter of Archelaus Putnam of Danversport, added her testimony, which is kept as a family tradition.
      "In September, 1774, I was in an orchard gathering apples when on looking up, I saw two English officers, one of whom commenced climbing over the fence. The other, seeing that I was alarmed, said to him, 'Wait till the girl goes away; do not frighten her by entering the orchard yet.'"
      A thrifty farmer whom I chanced to meet and engage in conversation when driving his stock of cows to the barn, said, "Yes, them soldiers used to relieve our folks of the trouble of milking the cows, though unfortunately for the owners, they appropriated the milk to their own use; but no one could wonder at it. Here they were loafing about with little or nothing to do. I wonder they didn't do a good many more tricks."
      Seven of these British soldiers died while encamped here, from July 21 to September 5; and their unmarked graves are still pointed out in a field on the south side of Sylvan Street. Perhaps they thus escaped a more bloody death on the following 19th of April.
      It has been thought that Governor Gage provided either a whole or part of the furnishings of this room to suit his own liking, and that in his somewhat hasty departure he failed to take his chairs, which remained in the house for a long

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time, and were known as "Governor Gage's chairs." They had green flag seats, and, being but little prized, were sold at auction after the death of Captain Page.
      Curiosity prompted me to ask this member of the Page family for the authenticity of the tea-party story, to which the genial lady replied, "It

[Photo- "Page Garret, Danvers"]

was on my grandfather's return from one of the meetings with his patriot friends that he told grandmother he had promised to have no more tea used in his house, and that she must not have any made. One day soon after, when he was away from home, two friends came in to spend the afternoon, as was the good old custom. The temptation, with plenty of tea in the house, was too great.

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Grandmother told her visitors what grandfather had commanded; but as he had said in and not upon the house, she thought they could enjoy this tea without disobeying him, and they slyly went up and enjoyed some on the roof."
      This little ruse, so cunningly executed by Mrs. Page, was lost to the family by the death of the good woman, which occurred within a year before it was prudent to reveal any secrets of this nature. "It is apparent that grandmother was the only member of the family who had a part in the tea-drinking, and it was many years before the secret was revealed which furnished the impulse for writing the well-known centennial poem."

"A GAMBREL ROOF," AND HOW THE SECRET WAS MADE KNOWN.

      "IT was some time between the years 1845 and 50 that a friend of my mother came to make her a visit. She had recently come to Danvers to live, and had never been in our house before. She begged to go up on the roof, and see the place of the secret tea-drinking, which we now heard of for the first time. Her mother was one of the tea-drinkers, and she had often heard her tell the experience. The return to Danvers had recalled the incident to her mind, in which we were very much interested. I told the story to Miss Larcom, who often visited us, and in 1875,

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when the centennial anniversaries were noticed as they came around, she wrote a poem upon the tea-drinking, of course making liberal use of poetic license."
      It seems that afternoon teas were then in order; and Mrs. Page is represented as remonstrating against the decree of her husband, saying, --

"'I've asked a friend or two to sup, And not to offer them a cup Would be a sting'y shame.'"

      To which Captain Page replies, --

"'Wife; I have promised, so must you, None shall drink tea inside my house, Your gossip elsewhere must carouse.'"

      The lady courtesied low, --

"'Husband, your word is law,' she said, But archly turned her well-set head With roguish poise toward this old roof, Soon as she heard his martial hoof Along the highway go."

      The poem then goes on with a description of preparations for the tea-party, the arrival of guests, and the ascent to the novel place selected for the meal. Having reached the elevation, Mrs. Page remarks, --

"'A goodly prospect, as I said, You here may see before you spread. Upon a house is not within it; But now we must not waste a minute, Neighbors, sit down to tea.'

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How madam then her ruse explained, What mirth arose as sunset waned In the close covert of these trees No leaf told the reporter breeze;    But when the twilight fell, And hoof-beats rang down Salem road, And up the yard the colonel strode, No soul besides the dame and Dill Stirred in the mansion dim and still,    The game was played out well. Let whoso chooses settle blame Betwixt the colonel and his dame Or dame and country. That the view Is from the house-top fine, is true."

      It was while sitting by the hearth-stone in Colonel Page's large armchair, where Governor Gage was wont to sit in meditation, and where his opponents also sat, with the shadow of the second generation upon the wall, that I heard from the lips of the third generation the story of the family's experience on the 19th of April, 1775, --
      "On the receipt of the alarm, my grandfather made haste to rally his men, and they were early on the road to intercept the enemy. His company was one of three of Danvers militia belonging to the Essex Regiment, under the superior command of Colonel Timothy Pickering of Salem. There were in grandfather's company thirty-seven officers and men. In obedience to the orders of a superior officer, grandfather and a part of his men were not in the thickest of the fight at Menotomy; but his eldest son, my Uncle Samuel, had

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a very different experience to report. His father had told him that morning before the start that he must stay at home and take care of his mother. His youthful blood was hot. He had seen Governor Gage walk in and out of this house as if he were here in possession, had watched the movements of the troops which came to town to protect him in his royal authority, and he could not be dissuaded from going. He and other Danvers men stationed themselves in the yard of Jason Russell.[1] In this yard were many bundles of shingles, indicating that the proprietor was about to shingle his house. With these they made a sort of barricade, and inside of the enclosure they prepared to attack the British soldiers. When the main column came down the highway, they began firing without thought of the flanking party, and from this they were great sufferers. As Uncle Samuel was driving a cartridge into his gun, he broke his wooden ramrod, and turning to Perley Putnam, asked him to lend his. At that instant a ball from the rear guard of the British shot Putnam dead. When they saw they were discovered and surrounded, they made a desperate struggle for life, and some of them escaped unharmed, Uncle Samuel being one of the more fortunate ones.
      Danvers had eight companies which responded to the Lexington alarm. They numbered fully


[1] See "Beneath Old Roof Trees" for house and story.

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three hundred men; but we should bear in mind that the Danvers of 1775 was a very large town, including, besides the present town known by that name, that now set off as Peabody. With the exception of the militia already mentioned, these companies were minute-men and Alarm Lists organized by the authority of the Congress in anticipation of the difficulty. Some of these companies seemed to be made up with regard to the neighborly associations of the members. The messenger apparently first aroused the people of the south part of the town, now Peabody, whence it was carried with great rapidity throughout the entire territory, and a response was immediately made. "From field and mill, from farm and shop, from parsonage and humble dwelling," they set forth to their country's defence: --

"Swift as the summons came they left The plough, mid furrow, standing still, The half-ground corn-grist in the mill, The spade in earth, the axe in cleft. They went where duty seemed to call, They scarcely asked the reason why; They only knew they could but die, And death was not the worst of all."

      It was Samuel Epes's[1] company that suffered the most. They belonged in the south part of


[1] For Captain Epes's first service in the Revolution, see page 18 of "Beneath Old Roof Trees."

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the town. When the alarm was given, Captain Epes made haste to Salem, and obtained from his Colonel permission to march in advance of his regiment. They made the journey to Menotomy, sixteen miles, in four hours. Gideon Foster, later general, who had been a member of this company, appeared in the capacity of captain over a portion of Epes's men, acting as a separate company; but the brave acts of these squads cannot be well separated; five of the young men were killed.
      The other losses were from Captain Israel Hutchinson's company, which numbered fifty-three officers and privates. They were from Danversport and Beverly. Two were killed, and some were wounded. Joseph Bell was taken prisoner and carried to Boston, and kept on an English frigate for two months. At the expiration of two days the Danvers men returned to their homes, to mingle their tears with those who were saddened by the day's experience. The bodies of the slain were taken to their homes, and later interred with appropriate ceremonies; those belonging to Israel Hutchinson's company being first taken to his house, which stood until a recent date where the railway station is now located at Danversport.
      Israel Hutchinson was nearly fifty years of age at the opening of the Revolution, and had repeatedly proved his bravery by fighting for the king. He fought at Lake George and Ticonderoga in 1758. In the following year was with Wolfe when

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he scaled the Heights of Abraham, and routed the French under Montcalm. Thus, with age and experience on his side, he entered the service of the patriots to the credit of his native town. He was early in the Revolution raised to the rank of a colonel. He was in the siege of Boston, and after the evacuation occupied Fort Hill, and was sent to New York in the following October. He was afterwards in command of Fort Lee and Fort Washington, and crossed the Delaware with Washington in his retreat through New Jersey, and received the approbation of the father of his country. His love of country was manifested after the war in faithful service in the Legislature of his State and in many positions of honor and trust.
      As Danvers was not on the enemy's line of march, there was no great haste to bury the dead, so the ordinary funeral rites were observed. Two companies from Salem performed escort duty. "With reversed arms, muffled drums, and measured steps, they led the long procession. On the way they were met by a band of soldiers from Newburyport, Salisbury, and Amesbury, marching to join the army besieging Boston. These formed in single ranks on each side of the road, and the mournful procession passed between them. After the bodies were deposited, three volleys were fired over their graves, but they could not rouse the slumberers. No din of resounding arms, no alarms of war, no convulsions of nature, can disturb them. Nothing

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but the voice of the archangel and the trump of God --
'Can reach the peaceful sleepers there.'"
      Thus Danvers lost seven of her strong, promising young men, one-seventh of the whole number of the Americans slain that day, the largest number of any town, with the exception of Lexington. A monument to their memory was erected in 1835, on the sixtieth anniversary of the battle. An address was made by General Foster, one of the survivors of the battle, of whom there were nineteen in attendance.

[Photo- monument]

      The inscription is as follows. On the east side: --

BATTLE OF LEXINGTON, APRIL 19, 1775.

SAMUEL COOK, AGED 33 YEARS; BENJ. DALAND, 25; GEORGE SOUTHWICK, 25; JOTHAM WEBB, 22; HENRY JACOBS, 22; EBENR. GOLDTHWAIT, 22; PERLEY PUTNAM, 21;
CITIZENS OF DANVERS FELL ON THAT DAY.

Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori.

(It is sweet and honorable to die for one's country.)
      On the reverse side: --

ERECTED BY CITIZENS OF DANVERS ON THE 60TH ANNIVERSARY, 1835.
      By the subsequent division of the town, this monument is to be seen in Peabody. The granite

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shaft seems hardly in keeping with its present surroundings, but more in harmony with the buildings seen on that square sixty years ago. Prominent among them was the Old Bell Tavern, so called from the wooden representation of a bell which hung from the sign-post. On this was inscribed: --

I'll toll you in, if you have need,
And feed you well, and bid you speed.
      The house was formerly a place of common resort, being on the great thoroughfare from the east and north to Boston. Here the Salem Regiment, under Colonel Timothy Pickering, halted for refreshment on their march to Bunker Hill on the 17th of June, 1775. Their delay aroused Mrs. Anna Endicott, a patriotic woman, to reprimand the colonel in her characteristic manner, "Why on earth don't you march? Don't you hear the guns in Charlestown?"
      "This was the place for the villagers to learn the news of passing events, for every traveller was expected to furnish his quota. It was the village exchange, where prices and every-day gossip were discussed, and the public affairs of the Colonies and the mother country settled. Here, too, on Sunday the more remote villagers dismounted from their horses at the old block, and walked to the meetinghouse; again to return, after the two hours' sermon, and partake, in a snug corner, of a dinner from

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their well-filled saddle-bags. This was also the place where the people met to celebrate public events.
      "The loyal neighbors here collected to mourn the demise of the good Queen Anne, and rejoice in the accession of the first George. His departure and the rise of his son George II. were here commemorated over the same bowl of punch. George III. was also welcomed with a zeal that was only equalled by that with which they drank confusion to his ministers. The odious Stamp Act and all Parliament taxes on the Colonies were patriotically denounced." In fact, all the various acts of the town of Danvers were freely discussed in this house, which is still remembered by the old people.
      "Nothing created a greater disturbance there than the tea-meeting of May 28, 1770, when Dr. Amos Putnam was moderator, and a committee was chosen ` upon ye public grievance as to ye duty on tea.' Besides agreeing to the non-importation Act, it was also voted not to drink foreign tea, or to allow their families to indulge in the beverage until the act of Parliament imposing a duty upon it was repealed, etc. (cases of sickness excepted). A committee was chosen to carry copies of these votes to every household. All persons who refused to sign these copies were to be branded as enemies to the liberties of the people, and their names were to be registered accord-

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ingly. Any one detected selling tea was to be branded as a Tory, and given a ride on a rail. The keeper of the tavern, Isaac Wilson, was convicted, but reprieved from his sentence by furnishing the villagers with an ample bucket of punch, and publicly repeating a couplet prepared for him." We can hardly appreciate the condition of society, when a proud landlord is forced to bow his high head, and repeat, --

I, Isaac Wilson, a Tory be, I, Isaac Wilson, I sells tea.

      But

"A man convinced against his will Is of the same opinion still;"

and I am inclined to the belief that the Danvers landlord was of that class.
      Leaving the site of the Bell Tavern and the old burying-ground near by, where sleep the brave who died for their country in 1775, I invite my readers to seek out with me homes that still exist, as when grandsires of the present owners gathered their families about the same hearth-stones, and there by the light of the pine torch or tallow dip taught lessons of true patriotism.

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