Brattle Street "Tory Row" Walking Tour

Last Saturday I attended a "Tory Row" walking tour along Brattle Street in Cambridge hosted by the Cambridge Center for Adult Education and led by Boston historian Charles Bahne, author of The Complete Guide to Boston's Freedom Trail. The tour focused on mansion homes along Brattle Street that were owned by wealthy Cambridge Loyalists, also known as "Tories," citizens who were loyal to the British Crown at the outbreak of the American Revolution.

The tour began at the William Brattle House at 42 Brattle Street, which is now the main facility of the Cambridge Center for Adult Education. General Major William Brattle Jr. was a decorated military hero of the French and Indian War. Although he appeared to sympathize with the patriots he was a Loyalist, siding with the British Crown in the tensions leading up to the American Revolution. In August of 1774 Brattle wrote a letter to Thomas Gage, the Royal Governor of Massachusetts, informing him of the formation of local militias and the storing of gunpowder in local arsenals. Three days later Gage ordered three hundred soldiers to sail up the Mystic River to Charlestown to seize the gunpowder. The "Powder Alarm" enraged the citizens of Cambridge, who formed a rally of four thousand attendees on the Cambridge Common the next day to protest Gage's actions and to demand the resignation of three Loyalist members of the Mandamus Council appointed by the British Crown. One of the members, Lieutenant Governor Thomas Oliver, rode to Boston to prevent Governor Gage from sending soldiers in an attempt to suppress the crowd. Oliver returned to Cambridge, assuring the crowd that Gage would not employ military action in order to persuade the crowd to disperse peacefully. However, a hated tax collector, Benjamin Hallowell, rode past the crowd in his carriage, and a group of enraged citizens pursued his carriage. After these episodes William Brattle, as well other Cambridge Loyalists, left their Cambridge homes for safer lodgings in Boston. The Loyalists remained in Boston during the Siege of Boston in 1775-1776 and departed from Boston with the British soldiers on Evacuation Day, March 17, 1776.¹



The Henry Vassall House at 94 Brattle Street is named for its original owner, Henry Vassall, a wealthy Loyalist landowner and heir to his father's Jamaican plantation and trading interests. Henry Vassall died in 1769. His wife Penelope Royall Vassall vacated the home in 1775 with other Cambridge Loyalists. This home served as the medical headquarters of the Continental Army. Dr. Benjamin Church, a renowned Boston physician, was named by the Continental Congress as the Surgeon General of the Continental Army. Church was later revealed as a traitor to the Revolutionary cause and was held prisoner in this house until his exile from the American Colonies in 1778. ²



The Longfellow House-Washington Headquarters National Historical Site at 105 Brattle Street was built by John Vassall Jr., a Loyalist nephew of Henry Vassall. John Vassall Jr. married Elizabeth Oliver, the sister of Lieutenant Governor Thomas Oliver. The Vassall Family fled the house in 1774 after the "Powder Alarm" rally on Cambridge Common and the ensuing harsh treatment of Governor Oliver. General George Washington established his headquarters here during the Siege of Boston. Fireside poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow lived in this house from 1843 until his death in 1862. At Longfellow's 1843 marriage to Fanny Appleton her father, Nathan Appleton, gave the newly-married couple this house as a wedding gift. Longfellow's descendants lived in this home until 1950.³:



The Lechmere-Sewall-Riedesel House at 149 Brattle Street was originally the home of Richard Lechmere, proprietor of Lechmere Point in East Cambridge. The home was later owned by Jonathan Sewell, a Loyalist and the last Attorney General under British rule in Massachusetts. The Sewall family left Cambridge with other Loyalists after the "Powder Alarm" rally on Cambridge Common in September 1774. After the capture of British General John Burgoyne at the Battle of Saratoga Baron Von Riedesel, the leader of the German mercenaries, known as Hessians, lived in this house with his wife as prisoners of war. ⁴



The Hooper-Lee-Nichols house at 159 Brattle Street was built by Dr. Richard Hooper in 1685 and is the second oldest home in Cambridge. The home was later owned by Joseph Lee, a Loyalist Mandamus councillor and a founder of Christ Church. Lee resigned from the Mandamus Council and fled his home in September 1774 after the "Powder Alarm" rally on Cambridge Common. Subsequently the home of George Nichols the house became the headquarters of the Cambridge Historical Society in 1957.⁵



The Ruggles-Fayerweather house at 175 Brattle Street was owned by George Ruggles, a Loyalist who fled Cambridge in the 1770s and sold the house to Thomas Fayerweather. During the Siege of Boston the house was confiscated by the Continental Army and utilized as a hospital. The Fayerweathers moved to another home during the Siege of Boston and reclaimed their home after the British evacuation.⁶



The Thomas Oliver house at 33 Elmwood Avenue was built by Loyalist Thomas Oliver, the last lieutenant governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and a brother-in-law to John Vassall Jr. Oliver quieted the crowd during the "Powder Alarm" rally on Cambridge Common in September of 1774, but later that day his home was surrounded by patriots, demanding his resignation. The house was subsequently the home of Vice President Elbridge Gerry and was later owned by Fireside poet James Russell Lowell (1819-1891), a lifelong resident of the home. The house's location on 33 Elmwood Avenue was once a portion of Brattle Street.⁷



We also visited other historic homes along and near Brattle Street that were built after the American Revolution.

The Oliver Hastings House at 101 Brattle Street, adjacent to Longfellow-Washington Headquarters, was the home of local builder Oliver Hastings.



The Joseph Worcester House at 121 Brattle Street was the home of lexicographer Joseph Worcester, author of Worcester's Unabridged English Dictionary.



The "Wash Tub" Square homes of art scholar Denman Waldo Ross at 25 Craigie Street and the Eben Horsford House at 27 Craigie Street are magnificent examples of Victorian architecture.







The William Brewster House at 145 Brattle Street was the home of ornithologist William Brewster and was the original site of the Lechmere-Sewall-Riedesel House.



The Gardiner Hubbard House at 146 Brattle Street was owned by philanthropist Gardiner Greene Hubbard. Gardiner's daughter Mabel married famed inventor Alexander Graham Bell.



The Thomas Lee House at 153 Brattle Street was built in 1799 and is a fine example of Colonial architecture.



Charles Bahne also led the "Cambridge in 1775" walking tour in April. For information about this tour please visit my blog post Cambridge in 1775 Walking Tour. For additional information about classes and walks at the Cambridge Center for Adult Education please visit their website at https://www.ccae.org.

References:
¹Cambridge Historical Society, "Cambridge and the American Revolution: William Brattle House,", Brattle House (http://cambridgehistory.org/discover/Cambridge-Revolution/Brattle%20House.html: 09 May 2014). Cambridge Historical Society, "Cambridge and the American Revolution: Powder Alarm,", French and Indian War (http://cambridgehistory.org/discover/Cambridge-Revolution/Powder%20Alarm.html: 09 May 2014).
²Cambridge Historical Society, "Henry Vassall House,", Vassall House (http://cambridgehistory.org/discover/Cambridge-Revolution/Vassall%20House.html: 09 May 2014).
³Cambridge Historical Society, "Vassall-Craigie-Longfellow House,", Vassall-Craigie-Longfellow House (http://www.cambridgehistory.org/discover/Cambridge-Revolution/Longfellow%20House.html: 09 May 2014). "Henry Wadsworth Longfeollow - His Homes,", The Homes of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow(http://www.hwlongfellow.org/house_overview.shtml: 09 May 2014).
⁴Cambridge Historical Society, "Lechmere-Sewall-Riedesel House,", Lechmere-Sewell-Riedesel House (http://cambridgehistory.org/discover/Cambridge-Revolution/Riedesell%20House.html: 09 May 2014).
⁵Cambridge Historical Society, "Hooper-Lee-Nichols House,", Hooper-Lee-Nichols House (http://www.cambridgehistory.org/discover/Cambridge-Revolution/Hooper%20Lee%20Nichols%20House.html: 09 May 2014).
⁶Cambridge Historical Society, "Ruggles-Fayerweather House,", Ruggles-Fayerweather House (http://www.cambridgehistory.org/discover/Cambridge-Revolution/Ruggles-Fayerweather%20House.html: 09 May 2014).
⁷Cambridge Historical Society, "Elmwood,", Elmwood (http://www.cambridgehistory.org/discover/Cambridge-Revolution/Elmwood.html: 09 May 2014).

Remembering the Battle of the Wilderness - 150 Years Later

This week marks the sesquicentennial anniversary of the Battle of the Wilderness, the inaugural battle of General Ulysses S. Grant's Overland Campaign of 1864. Union General Grant planned his strategy to draw Confederate General Robert E. Lee out of his entrenched position along the Rapidan River onto open ground. On May 5, 1864, both armies met at a heavily wooded area known as the Wilderness, several miles northwest of the Chancellorsville intersection. A two-day battle raged along farmlands and woods, resulting in heavy casualties to both armies.





The Union forces stubbornly and successfully defended the intersection of the Orange Plank and Brock Roads, as loss of this vital crossroads would have divided the Union Army.



The Battle of the Wilderness was considered a brutal stalemate, but General Grant, unlike his predecessors, advanced rather than retreated after the battle. As Grant moved south along the Brock Road toward Spotsylvania his troops saluted him with cheers.

My second great-granduncle Oliver Bates served with the 20th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment at the Wilderness and was stationed with General Winfield S. Hancock's Second Corps in trenches along the Brock Road. The 20th Massachusetts suffered heavy casualties at the Wilderness, and Oliver was very fortunate to have survived this hellish fray. On May 7 he advanced toward Spotsylvania with the 20th Massachusetts.¹

For additional information about Oliver Bates and the 20th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment please visit http://20thmassregt150.blogspot.com.

References:
¹Compiled service record, Oliver S. Bates, Pvt., Co. A, 20th Massachusetts Infantry; Carded Records, Volunteer Organizations, Civil War; Records of the Adjutant General's Office, 1780s-1917, Record Group 94; National Archives, Washington, D.C.

St. Michael Cemetery Walking Tour

On Saturday I attended a brief walking tour of St. Michael Cemetery with a group of genealogy friends and colleagues from the Boston University Genealogy program. The tour of St. Michael Cemetery adjoined our tour of Forest Hills Cemetery, as the two cemeteries face each other across Walk Hill Street in the Forest Hills neighborhood of Boston.

St. Michael Cemetery was established in 1905 to serve the burial needs of the ever-growing Italian population of the Boston area. It was the deep wish of the Italian community to have a burial ground that preserved their cultural traditions.

We walked through the main gate of St. Michael and visited several of the beautiful memorial statues that adorn the cemetery. Each monument reveals the deep religious faith of the Italian community buried within its grounds.



I have many memories of visiting this cemetery during my childhood and adulthood, as my own dear grandparents Vincenzo and Antonetta are buried in this cemetery.

For additional information about St. Michael Cemetery please visit their website at http://www.stmichaelcemetery.com.

Forest Hills Cemetery Walking Tour

On Saturday I attended a walking tour of Forest Hills Cemetery with a group of genealogy friends and colleagues from the Boston University Genealogy program. Forest Hills is a garden cemetery, founded in 1848, situated along the "Emerald Necklace" green space parks of Boston. ¹ We began our tour at the main gate and visited the grave sites of many notable figures in American history on our two-hour tour.



Lysander Spooner (1808 - 1887) was a lawyer, Unitarian abolitionist and political philosopher. His American Letter Mail Company, which competed with the U.S. Post Office, was forced out of business by the U.S. Government.<sup>2

3</sup>

Forest Hills Cemetery is the final resting place of two iconic figures of the American Revolution, William Dawes (1745 -1799) and Major General Joseph Warren (1741 – 1775). Dawes was one of the midnight riders spreading the news of the arrival of the British Regulars through Cambridge, Arlington, and Lexington. Dawes was originally buried at King's Chapel Burying Ground in Boston, where a memorial stone marks his burial spot. In honoring Dawes' final wishes his remains were later reinterred in an unmarked grave in the May family plot next to his wife, Mehitable May Dawes (1751 - 1793).<sup>4

5</sup>

Major General Joseph Warren (1741 - 1775) was killed at the Battle of Bunker Hill on June 17, 1775 and was originally buried in the Granary Burial Ground in Boston. His remains were later removed to the Warren family plot on Mount Warren Avenue. <sup>6

7 8</sup>

Marshall Pinckney Wilder (1798 - 1886) was a noted horticulturalist and president of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society and the American Pomological Society. He donated his entire collection of greenhouse and garden plants to the Boston Public Garden.<sup>9

10</sup>

Sisters Anna Cabot Lowell (1808 - 1894) and Rebecca Amory Lowell (1794 - 1873) taught Sunday School at the First Church in Roxbury for fifty and forty years respectively.¹¹:

¹²

Henry A. S. Dearborn (1783 - 1851), noted horticulturalist and landscape designer, was the founder and designer of Mount Auburn Cemetery in 1831 and Forest Hills Cemetery in 1848. Dearborn chose Forest Hills for his final resting place. <sup>13

14 15</sup>

Printer Louis Prang (1824 – 1909) advanced the art of greeting cards through his contributions to the field of lithography.

¹⁶

Poet E. E. Cummings (1894 - 1962) and his wife Marion Morehouse Cummings (1906 - 1969) are buried in an inconspicuous lot near the gravestone of Cummings’ great-grandfather John Jones Clarke, the first mayor of Roxbury.<sup>17

18 19</sup>

Spiritualists Luther Colby (1814 - 1894), William Berry (1825 - 1862), and Charles H. Crowell(1826 - 1868), co-founders of the Banner of Light newspaper, are buried in adjacent plots.

^{20 21 22 23}

William Lloyd Garrison (1805 – 1879) was a noted journalist and social reformer who advanced the abolitionist movement as editor of the newspaper The Liberator. <sup>24

25</sup>

The spectacular Fireman’s Memorial was dedicated on June 13, 1909 to the memory of deceased firefighters of the Boston Fire Department.<sup>26

27</sup>

The Civil War Soldiers Monument by sculptor Martin Milmore was erected in 1867 in memory of the soldiers from Roxbury who died in the Civil War.

²⁸

A beautiful marble statue, by Sydney H. Morse, nicknamed "Little Gracie," adorns the grave of Grace Sherwood Allen (1876 - 1880), daughter of William and Emily Allen, who died of whooping cough prior to her fifth birthday.<sup>29

30</sup>

Andrew Carney (1794 - 1864) was a noted philanthropist of many social institutions to aid the sick and the underprivileged in greater Boston. Among his many contributions to social welfare is Carney Hospital in Dorchester, Boston College, and the Immaculate Conception Church in Boston's South End. <sup>31

32</sup>

The landscape of Forest Hills offers magnificent vistas, including these spectacular views from Mount Warren Avenue and of Lake Hibiscus in the heart of the cemetery.







Not to be outdone, the approach to the cemetery along Forest Hills Avenue affords scenic beauty.



Our wonderful tour guide Dee is a contributor to the Forest Hills Educational Trust blog. For additional information about Forest Hills Cemetery please visit the Forest Hills Cemetery website at http://www.foresthillscemetery.com and the Forest Hills Educational Trust blog at http://foresthillstrust.blogspot.com.

References:
¹"Forest Hills - A Special Place," About << Forest Hills Cemetery (http://www.foresthillscemetery.com/about/: 27 April 2014).
²"Lysander Spooner," Lysander Spooner - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lysander_Spooner: 27 April 2014).
³Forest Hills Cemetery (Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts), Lysander Spooner marker, Field of Ephron, photographed by Carol Swaine-Kuzel, 26 April 2014.
⁴The Freedom Trail Foundation, "King's Chapel Burying Ground," King's Chapel Burying Ground, Historic Cemetery, Kings Chapel Burying Ground Boston - TheFreedomTrail.org (http://www.thefreedomtrail.org/freedom-trail/kings-chapel-buring-ground.shtml: 27 April 2014).
⁵Forest Hills Cemetery, May Family plot, Walnut Avenue, photographed by Carol Swaine-Kuzel, 26 April 2014.
⁶The Freedom Trail Foundation, "King's Chapel Burying Ground," King's Chapel Burying Ground, Historic Cemetery, Kings Chapel Burying Ground Boston - TheFreedomTrail.org.
⁷Forest Hills Cemetery, Major General Joseph Warren marker, Mount Warren Avenue, photographed by Carol Swaine-Kuzel, 26 April 2014.
⁸Forest Hills Cemetery, Warren Family plot, Mount Warren Avenue, photographed by Carol Swaine-Kuzel, 26 April 2014.
⁹"Marshall Pinckney Wilder," Historic Forest Hills Cemetery (http://foresthillstrust.blogspot.com/2009/12/marshall-pinckney-wilder-1798-1886-was.html: 27 April 2014).
¹⁰Forest Hills Cemetery, Marshall Pinckney Wilder marker, Mount Warren Avenue, photographed by Carol Swaine-Kuzel, 26 April 2014.
¹¹Massachusetts Historical Society, "Collection Description," Lowell Family Papers, 1728-1898 (http://www.masshist.org/collection-guides/view/fa0285: 27 April 2014).
¹²Forest Hills Cemetery, Anna Cabot Lowell and Rebecca Amory Lowell markers, Laurel Path, photographed by Carol Swaine-Kuzel, 26 April 2014.
¹³ "September 2013," Historic Forest Hills Cemetery (http://foresthillstrust.blogspot.com/2013_09_01_archive.html: 27 April 2014).
¹⁴Forest Hills Cemetery, Henry A. S. Dearborn marker, Mount Dearborn, photographed by Carol Swaine-Kuzel, 26 April 2014.
¹⁵Forest Hills Cemetery, Dearborn Family monument, Mount Dearborn, photographed by Carol Swaine-Kuzel, 26 April 2014.
¹⁶Forest Hills Cemetery, Louis Prang marker, Mount Dearborn, photographed by Carol Swaine-Kuzel, 26 April 2014.
¹⁷ "e e cummings," Historic Forest Hills Cemetery: e e cummings (http://foresthillstrust.blogspot.com/2009/12/edward-estlin-cummings-more-popularly.html: 27 April 2014).
¹⁸Forest Hills Cemetery, E. E. Cummings marker, Althea Path, photographed by Carol Swaine-Kuzel, 26 April 2014.
¹⁹Forest Hills Cemetery, Marion Morehouse Cummings marker, Althea Path, photographed by Carol Swaine-Kuzel, 26 April 2014.
²⁰Forest Hills Cemetery, Luther Colby marker, Honeysuckle Path, photographed by Carol Swaine-Kuzel, 26 April 2014.
²¹Forest Hills Cemetery, William Berry marker, Honeysuckle Path, photographed by Carol Swaine-Kuzel, 26 April 2014.
²²Forest Hills Cemetery, Charles H. Crowell marker, Honeysuckle Path, photographed by Carol Swaine-Kuzel, 26 April 2014.
²³Forest Hills Cemetery, Spiritualists plot, Honeysuckle Path, photographed by Carol Swaine-Kuzel, 26 April 2014.
²⁴"He Who Would Be Heard," Historic Forest Hills Cemetery: He Who Would Be Heard (http://foresthillstrust.blogspot.com/2010/02/william-lloyd-garrison-1805-1879-was.html: 27 April 2014).
²⁵Forest Hills Cemetery, William Lloyd Garrison marker, Smilax Path, photographed by Carol Swaine-Kuzel, 26 April 2014.
²⁶"April 21, 2010," Historic Forest Hills Cemetery (http://foresthillstrust.blogspot.com/2010_04_01_archive.html: 27 April 2014).
²⁷Forest Hills Cemetery, Firemans'Memorial monument, Cypress and Poplar Avenues, photographed by Carol Swaine-Kuzel, 26 April 2014.
²⁸Forest Hills Cemetery, Civil War Soldiers monument, Poplar and Sycamore Avenues, photographed by Carol Swaine-Kuzel, 26 April 2014.
²⁹ "Little Grace Allen," Historic Forest Hills Cemetery: Little Grace Allen (http://foresthillstrust.blogspot.com/2010/02/little-grace-allen.html: 27 April 2014).
³⁰Forest Hills Cemetery, Grace Allen marker, Lobelia Path, photographed by Carol Swaine-Kuzel, 26 April 2014.
³¹"October 15, 2009," Historic Forest Hills Cemetery (http://foresthillstrust.blogspot.com/2009/10/andrew-carney-1794-1864-was-called-one.html: 27 April 2014).
³²Forest Hills Cemetery, Andrew Carney marker, Lake and Forest Avenues, photographed by Carol Swaine-Kuzel, 26 April 2014.