Memorials of Mary Wilder White : a century ago in New England

Preface

"I^TEARLY thirty years ago, at the request of Jl^I my aunt, Mrs. William Dwight, I assisted her in preparing a memorial of her mother by making selections from her letters, while she supplied the connecting narrative. It was intended for the descendants only; but even for them it has been of little use, being in manuscript, so that it now seems desirable to have it printed ; and I feel that the story of my grandmother's life, with its brave and buoyant spirit, its warm affections and intellectual delights, and its intense religious faith, may help those who are living through the joys and sorrows of our own time.

A friend, writing after her death, to her little daughter, said of her, "She was beautiful, her person small and delicate, her eyes were blue and had a sweet expression, her teeth were white and regular, her smile most lovely, — but of this beauty she seemed unconscious ; her thoughts were not given to her own charms of mind or person, but to the merits or the wants of others. Her powers of mind, and information on all subjects worthy of attention, were as uncommon as the beauty of her person, and a modest sweetness gave a charm to everything she said or did." Another friend wrote of her as "that wonderful being who fascinates all hearts."

During her short life she passed through experi-

PREFACE

ences of unusual interest and through strange trials. When only seventeen years old she became engaged to Antoine Van Schalkwyck, a young West Indian planter, who was exiled from his home in Guadeloupe during the years following the French Revolution. After many vicissitudes and anxieties they were married in 1801, when she was twenty years old, and not long after sailed for Guadeloupe. They arrived at an unfortunate moment : the island was in a state of insurrection, a mulatto having just been put in the place of the French Commandant, and there was general distrust and terror. Yellow fever was raging violently, and in three weeks from the day they landed her idolized brother, who had accompanied her on account of her husband's ill-health, died of the fever. Three weeks later her husband died, leaving her alone in a foreign land. A few days after this a plot of the negroes to massacre all the white inhabitants was discovered, only a few hours before it was to take place, and she had to fly to a neighbouring island. There she stayed for many months, until troops arrived from France and, after a hard struggle, put down the insurrection and restored order. She was desperately ill herself with yellow fever and a succession of other illnesses, and it was a year before she could return to her friends.

The years from 1802 to 1807 were spent in her mother's home in Concord, Massachusetts. Her life was enriched by friendships with Miss Mary Moody Emerson, Miss Susan Cabot Lowell, and others who

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PREFACE

like herself were stirred by the intellectual and spiritual influences of that period, which has been called the New England Renaissance; and her letters are full of references to the books which they were reading, as well as to the subjects of thought and feeling which interested them. Her marriage to Daniel Appleton White, in 1807, transferred her home to Newburyport, where she died after a happy married life of only four years.

" It is not growing like a tree In bulk, doth make man better be ; Or standing long an oak, three hundred year, To fall a log at last, dry, bald, and sere ! A lily of a day

Is fairer far in May, »

Although it fall and die that night, — It was the plant and flower of Light. In small proportions we just beauties see ; And in short measures life may perfect be."

Mary Wilder Tileston.

Boston, October, 1903.

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Early recollections of Mrs. Dwight, xvii — description of Mrs. Hurd, xviii-xx pp. xvii-xx

CHAPTER I 1780-1796 — Lancaster and Concord: Childhood

Birth and parentage, 1 — death of brothers and sister, 1 — death of her father, Dr. Wilder, 2, 3 — Henry Wilder, 4 — Flagg family, 5, 6 — Gershom Flagg, 7 — Hannah Flagg, 8; her letter, 9; death, 10 — Mary, or Polly, Flagg (Mrs. Josiah Wilder), 11; her poems, 11-13; letter about Maiy Wilder, 13 ; and from her at nine years old, 14 — Mrs. Wilder's second marriage, to Dr. Hurd, and removal to Concord, 15 — the ideal stepmother, 15, 16 — anecdote, Betty, Dr. Hurd's characteristics, 17, 18 — Ruth Hurd, 18, 19 — Mary Wilder's song, 19 — education, 20. pp. 1-20

CHAPTER II 1796-1801 — Concord: Youth

Letter to Ruth Hurd, on sensibility, 21 — Dr. Jacob Bigelow's recollections, 23, 24 — Mrs. Radcliffe's novels, 24 — letter to E. Bigelow, on balls, 24 — engagement to Mr. Van Schalkwyck, 26 — account of him and of M. Blanchet, 26, 27 — letters from Baron Van Schalkwyck, 28 — from Mary Wilder to Mr. Van Schalkwyck, 29— to M. Blanchet, 32, 33 — from H. Wilder, 34 — Henry Wilder not allowed to go to college, 35 — letters from M. Blanchet, 36 , 37 — illness of Mr. Van Schalkwyck, 38; and marriage to Mary Wilder, 39 — letter from Madame Courcelle, 39-41 — from H. Wilder to Mr. Van Schalkwyck, 41 ; and reply, 42 — they sail for Guadeloupe, 44. pp. 21-44

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CHAPTER III October-December, 1 801 — Guadeloupe

Letters describing voyage and arrival from H. Wilder, 45, and Mary Van Schalkwyck, 47, — insurrection just taken place, 45, 46, 50, 51 — death of H. Wilder, from yellow fever, 53 — letter of his sister to Rev. Mr. Ripley, 53-55 — her tributes to the memory of her brother, 55-59 — illness and death of Mr. Van Schalkwyck, 6l — plot of negroes to massacre all the whites, 62 — newspaper account of it, 63, 64 — flight to a neighbouring island, 62. pp. 45-65

CHAPTER IV January-October, 1802 — Guadeloupe

Attack of yellow fever, 67 — arrival of troops from France, 76 — skirmishes and battles, 78, 85, 87 — letter from Mrs. Hurd, 79-82 — obituaries of H. Wilder, 83, and Mr. Van Schalkwyck, 84 — incendiary fires, 86, 88, 90 — success of French troops, 87 — fever, 91 — return to Concord, 94 — accounts of yellow fever at that period, 95, 96. pp. 66-96

CHAPTER V October-December, 1802 — Concord

Home in Concord, 97 — Miss Ann Bromfield, 98-100; letters to her, 100 — to Grace Hurd, 101 — to unknown address, on balm-of-Gilead tree and H. Wilder, 102, 103 — account of Mr. Frisbie, 103-106 — letter from D. A. White to Professor Norton, 104-106 — from Mary Van Schalkwyck to Mr. Frisbie, on melancholy, 106 — Mr. Rockwood, 107 — Mr. Samuel Hoar, 108,. pp. 97-108

CHAPTER VI 1803 — Concord: Letters to Friends; Miss Mary Emerson

To Mr. Rockwood, on woman's abilities, 109-111 — account of Miss Mary Moody Emerson by Miss Hoar, 112-117; and others,

1 17-120 — letters by Mrs. Samuel Ripley, 118, 119 — letters from M. Van Schalkwyck to A. Bromfield, on sensibility, 124; on love of nature, 127; on Ossian, 138; on Cowper, 139; on low spirits, 1 46 ; on Klopstock, 147; on conversation and correspondence, 149 — about Dr. Ripley, 125 — to Sarah Ripley, on death of Dr. Wilder, 126 — to M. M. Emerson, on friendship, 128-131 — defending a friend, 131 — first letter to Mrs. Lee, 132 ; her reply, 133 ; to Mrs. Lee, on Florian, 135 ; on Sully, 137 ; weather and health, 142 ; on the "British Spy," 150 — from Mrs. Lee, about society, 139-141 — to Mr. Rockwood, on fashionable follies, 136 — talk by Mr. Frisbie, on Mrs. Radclifte's novels, 141 — to R. Hurd, on pointing out faults, 144; and on conversation, 145 — letter to Mr. Rockwood, about the Moravians, 151, 152 — records of inner life, 154-156 — prayer, 156. pp. 109-156

CHAPTER VII 1804 — Concord: Letters to Friends

Prayer, by Mrs. Hurd, 157 — letters from M. Van Schalkwyck to Mr. Rockwood, on winter and love of money, 159-161 — to A. Bromfield, on New Year's day, l6l ; on a journey from Charlestown, 164 — from Sally Hurd, about an escort, 162 — account of Miss Susan Lowell, 166-168 — journal, 168-173 — letter about Milton, 174 — to Ruth Hurd, on men and women, 177; the wall-flower, 180; on humility, 194; on Buckminster, 201 — letter from Ruth Hurd, 200 — to Sarah Ripley, on writing, sweet flowers, etc., 183-185 — to Rev. Wm. Emerson, 186 — contributions to the "Monthly Anthology," 186-191 — letter on early death, 191 — playful letter to Mr. Rockwood, 193 — to Susan Lowell, on autumn, 197 — prayer, 204. pp. 157-205

CHAPTER VIII 1805 — Concord: Letters to Friends

To Mrs. Lee, on stage-coach journey from Lancaster, 206; on Euler, 213 — to A. Bromfield, on fraternal affection, 209; on Mrs.

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Klopstock, 211 ; on Charming., 218; on a golden elm tree, 219 — to S. Lowell, on the Moravians, 210; on the country and the theatre, 212 — to Benjamin Hurd, on the French, and religious duties, 2 13-2 16 — diary, 217,218 — first mention of Daniel Appleton White, 220 — letter to Mr. Rogers, on dejection, 221.

pp. 206-223 CHAPTER IX

1806 — Concord: Engagement to D. A. White

Letter to Mrs. Lee, on accession of fortune, 224 — to Ann Bromfield, on Mr. Hoar, 225; on "Lay of the Last Minstrel," 248 — to S. Lowell, on Mr. Frisbie, 226, 228 — to S. Lowell, R. Hurd, and A. Bromfield, on the illness of Betsy Hurd, 229, 230, 232, 233, 234 ; and death of Betsy Hurd, 234, 235, 236 — lost in the woods, 238 — engagement of Ruth Hurd, 239 — death of Grandfather Thompson, 239 — diary, 241, 249-251 — letter from S. Ripley to M. M. Emerson, about first meeting of D. A. White and M. Van Schalkwyck, 243 — M. M. Emerson, on Niagara, 245 — illness in Charlestown, 247 — Benjamin Hurd's illness, 239, 249; death, 252 — engagement to D. A. White, 251 pp. 224-252

CHAPTER X January-May, 1807 — Concord: Engagement

Correspondence with Daniel Appleton White, 253-310 — sympathy in sorrow, 254 — death of B. Hurd, 255, 256, 257 — journal, 258, 259 — Saurin's sermons, 26l — "Rasselas," 265, 266 — letter from Mr. Frisbie, 269 — journey in snow-storm, 270 — lung-fever, 274 — good morning, 283 — Lavater and social silence, 285, 288 — Dr. Ratcliffe, on colds, 287 — on causing pain and anxiety, 290, 291 — dedication to God, 276, 292 — finding a house, 295 — house-furnishing, 298, 299, 309 — visit in Charlestown, 300-310 — sincerity, 300 — holy communion, 302, 305 — on temporary homes, 303 — rainy drive, 304 — manifestation of affection, 306 — busy with a mantua-maker, 308 — voice and smile, 309 — return to Concord, for marriage, 309. pp. 253-310

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CHAPTER XI May-December, 1807 — Newburyport

Marriage to D. A. White, and removal to Newburyport, 311 — letter from Miss Bromfield, 312 — sitting up for company, 312, 313 — Mrs. Eliot in Boston, 313 — Mrs. Susan Newton, 313 — Grandmother Atkins, 314, 315, 31 6, 318 — Mrs. Searle, 314, 315

— Miss Fanny Seale, 315; her letter describing Mrs. White, 315

— Margaret Searle, on Mr. White, 319- pp. 311-321

Chapter XII

Letter from Mrs. Hurd, on the Democrats, 322 — birth, 323, illness, 326, 327, and death, 327, of first child — thunder-storm, 324 — bad times, 326 — visit to Concord, 328-331 — maternal affection, 323, 324. pp. 322-331

Chapter XIII

Removal to State Street, 332 — letter to Mary H. Eliot, 332 — to Margaret Searle, 333 — birth of second daughter, 334 — Sally Hurd's illness, 335, 336; death, 337 — letter to F. Searle, on love of nature, 336 — to D. A. White, "bubble, bubble," 338— to F. Searle, on Mrs. Grant and baby speech, 339, 340.

Chapter XIV

Letter to Ruth Hurd, on dancing, 341 — Mrs. Hurd's philosophy, 343; and on Democrats, 344, 345, 347 — a green bonnet, 346 — hemorrhage of the lungs, 346 — letter of Dr. S. Johnson, 348 — birth of third daughter, 349. pp. 341-349

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CHAPTER XV 1811 — Newburyport : Illness and Death

Letters to and from her husband, in Massachusetts Senate, 350-375: the bed an altar, 351; Democratic machinations, 352, 353, 362, 363; the actor Cooke, 352, 355, 357; sermons of Channing, 355, 359; imperfect devotions, 357; dangers of theatre, 357; very severe snow-storm, 359-362 — increased illness, 366 — letters by Miss Emerson, 372, 373 — last letter from D. A. White, 375 — the great Newburyport fire, 376-378 — calmness and serenity in danger, 377 — general vaccination in Concord, 379 — last hours, 379 — from Miss Bromfield's diary, 379-381 — tribute and poem by Fanny Searle, 382, 383; by Sarah Searle, 384, 385; by Margaret Searle, 385 — obituary from the "Port-Folio," 385-388 — epitaph, 388 — death of Mrs. Hurd, 389- pp. 350-389

Appendix

The Wilder Genealogy, 391— The Flagg Genealogy, 391, 392 — The White Genealogy, 392, 393 — List of books read by the subject of this memorial, 393-395. pp. 391-395

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LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Silhouette of Mary Wilder White. 1807 Facing title-page

Portrait of James Flagg, attributed to Smibert. 1744 (?) Facing p. 5

Portrait of Gershom Flagg, painted by Robert Feke. 1746 (?)

Facing p. 7 Portrait of Hannah Flagg, painted by Robert Feke. 174-6 (?)

Facing p. 8 Portrait of Mary (Polly) Flagg, attributed to Blackburn. 1753

Facing p. 1 1 House of Dr. Hurd, Concord, Massachusetts, from water-colour sketch by Henry Wilder. 1801 Facing p. 97

Facsimile of handwriting Facing p. 133

Silhouette of Daniel Appleton White. 1807 Facing p. 242

Silhouette of Mary Wilder White. 1808 Facing p. 324

Silhouette of Mrs. Polly Hurd. 1810 Facing p. 348

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MY mother died when I was but two years old, yet such was her hold upon my affections during the short period she was with me that the void created by her death was at once filled by her memory. My earliest recollection is of being lifted on to her bed, where I was often permitted to he beside her during the lingering illness which preceded her death. Another recollection which haunted my childhood is before me now. I see the darkened room, the mysterious casket, my father's face and figure as he stood near it, the gloom upon the countenances of all present, the appearance of the uncle who held me up in his arms that I might see the face of her with whom "death had made his darkness beautiful." My father has told me that, after one look, I was taken from the room, apparently in an agony of grief and fear; but of that I have no recollection, while my mother's face, "as it had been the face of an angel," was then deeply imprinted on my memory, to bless me throughout my fife.

My father's first object, after my mother's death, seemed to be to give, as far as possible, to the two daughters who survived her an idea of her character. In our earliest years, as in later ones, he was in the habit of talking of her to us as of a superior being. When we reached the ages of six and seven he began to read to us from her letters. Other friends,

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who cherished her memory, attempted to describe to us her beautiful person and manners. All that was said of her, as well as her own writings, harmonized with the image I had of her in my heart, and helped to make her a living presence there.

My mother's mother lived till I was twelve years old, giving to her "dear little girls," as she called the children of her "beloved Mary," a mother's love. Her life was interwoven with that of my mother, whose death, she said, "broke the last tie that bound her to earth." Their memories are inseparably blended in my mind, claiming an equal tribute of affection and respect. Among the most interesting recollections of my childhood are the visits my sister and I, driving with our father in the traditional one-horse chaise, made to our grandmother, in Concord.

Although at the time I first remember her she must have been not more than sixty-five years old, she was, to my young eyes, venerable in appearance — made more so, doubtless, by the close cap of white muslin, with band of black ribbon, and the severely plain black dress and white inside handkerchief, which was the costume of the period for ladies advanced in years. I have a silhouette taken of her at sixty which recalls, not only the dress, but also her head and face. She had lost her voice, years before, through severe illness, and spoke only in a whisper. Her manner was gentle and affectionate, with a tinge of sadness. In looking back

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upon her, after an interval of more than half a century, my principal recollection is of the extreme tenderness with which she always welcomed and parted from us. I was too young to appreciate her character, but all that I remember of her accords with my father's high estimate of her worth, and with that of others who knew her intimately and are well qualified to describe her justly. "Pure at heart and sound in head," they represent her. "The finest character I ever knew," says one who, for years, enjoyed her friendship and confidence. Another, the last remaining niece, writes to me of her: " Your grandmother was, indeed, a woman of uncommon mind, and, under many sorrows, of great self-control." Strong religious faith, under the vicissitudes of life, was conspicuous in her as it was in my mother. Their habit of tracing every circumstance of their lives directly to God enabled them to enter fully into the spirit of the Psalms, and supplied them, as it did David of old, with a continual flood of devotional feeling. Indeed, as I have pored over their papers, now yellowed by time, I have felt that St. Paul's "dearly beloved son Timothy" had not, in "the faith which dwelt in his grandmother Lois, and his mother Eunice," a more precious legacy than that which my grandmother and mother have bequeathed to their children and children's children.

Nearly all of those who knew them personally have passed away. Only a few remain who love to

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speak of my grandmother's disinterested kindness and hospitality, and who kindle, in their old age, as they recall the charm and power of my mother's influence over them in their youth. But we are not wholly dependent upon the recollections of friends for our knowledge of what they were. Fortunately for us, they lived in the age of letter- writing, — "the old familiar letters, for the absence of which neither biography nor memoir will ever quite make up." Many of my mother's letters, and some, not less valued, of my grandmother's, have been preserved. With the exception of those of my mother's which were written while she was in the West Indies, and which contain events of unusual interest, these letters are valuable, mainly, as illustrating the minds and characters of the writers, and furnishing the means of perpetuating their memories, which should not be permitted to die. If with these letters I am enabled to prepare a memorial of them which shall tend to awaken the love and reverence of their descendants, I shall have accomplished the object I have at heart.

Elizabeth Amelia Dwight.

Brookline, 1875.

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Chapter I 1780-1796 Childhood : Lancaster And Concord

MY mother's maiden name was Mary Wilder. She was the daughter of Dr. Josiah Wilder, of Lancaster, Massachusetts. 1 He was born on May 27, 1744, graduated at Yale College in 1767, and became a physician. He settled first in Boston, and then in Lancaster, where he was an active citizen, influential in town affairs, and an ardent patriot. On August 28, 1774, he married Mary Flagg, daughter of Gershom and Hannah (Pitson) Flagg. Their children were:

This list of births and deaths tells a sad story of bereavement. When my grandmother's third child was only ten days old, her oldest child died (of scarlet fever, as I have been told), sixteen days later her baby died, and two days later her last remaining child. She herself was ill with the fever, and ap-

1 See Wilder Genealogy in Appendix.

MARY WILDER WHITE [itso-itm

parently died. The undertaker, when about to lay her in the coffin, thought he saw signs of life, and summoned her husband. She was resuscitated, but never regained her voice fully, being able only to whisper.

My grandfather died in Lancaster, December 20, 1788, at the age of forty-four. The little that I know of him is quickly told. I have an extract from a letter, written evidently in 1780, before my mother's birth, by my grandmother's youngest sister, Grizzel Apthorp Flagg (afterwards Mrs. Gould), to a relative in Rhode Island, in which she gives an account of various members of the family. Of my grandmother she says: "My sister Polly is married to a doctor, as worthy a man as now lives. In a partner she is one of the happiest of women, but of the bitter cup of affliction she has drank often, and in large draughts. She has been the mother of four smiling babes, but has been deprived of all by that hand that has an undoubted right to take when He pleases. She lost three in seventeen days, — one aged three years, one of seventeen months, and one of one month, — and in a year after, one of three weeks. But she and her companion say, ' The Lord gave ; the Lord hath taken away,' and I believe they are careful to add, 'Blessed be the name of the Lord.' Such patterns of resignation, were you to see them, you would think were not often to be found."

The view here given of my grandfather's Christian faith and resignation is the same that I find in the following extract from one of my mother's letters, to whom addressed does not appear. The letter is dated Concord, June 29, 1803. She says: "I witnessed at a very early age the power of religion, not only in enabling man to sustain misfortune, but to meet death undaunted. My father was in the meridian of life, his prospects flattering, his situation agreeable. He had a virtuous and affectionate wife, a son whose opening childhood promised everything good and lovely, and a daughter whose extreme youth demanded all his paternal care, when he was attacked by a consumption. Soon convinced his disorder was remediless, he relinquished the idea of recovery, and then was the triumph of Christianity. Assured that all events are conducted by Infinite Wisdom and Goodness, he cheerfully submitted to the disposal of Him who cannot err. He arranged his affairs, he marked the spot where he wished his body might repose, and, convinced that the Almighty is ' the Father of the fatherless and the widow's God and Judge,' he committed us to His care, and then awaited the approach of death with a sublime serenity which had more the air of triumph than of dread. O my father, what gave thy sun this glorious setting, what enabled thee to quit life so cheerfully, when it was so pleasant to thyself, so desirable to thy family! Thine own words instruct me, — 'a calm conscience, a reliance on thy God, and a bright hope of an eternity of progressive virtue and happiness.'"

MARY WILDER WHITE [itso-itw

This tribute of my mother's to my grandfather has given me, from childhood, a tender interest in his memory, which was fostered by my father. At an early age my sister and I were taught to repeat my grandfather's words, as here quoted by my mother. I remember, too, when we were quite little girls, as we were returning from Springfield, where we had been visiting, to our home in Salem (a journey which, taken in a private conveyance, then occupied several days), he went out of the direct route to pass through Lancaster, that we might see our mother's birthplace, where she lived the first nine years of her life, and where our grandfather Wilder was "the beloved physician."

Henry Wilder, the only son of my grandfather who survived him, more than fulfilled the promise in opening childhood of which my mother speaks in the letter already quoted. Mrs. Rapallo, a niece of my grandmother, and daughter of Mrs. Gould, says of my grandmother's family: "Looking back into the past with a desire to record some of my early impressions, my first recollections of them in my childhood are not very distinct. I have only the faint recollection of the vision of a youth more beautiful than anything I had ever seen, — he was called Henry. I saw him only once, but I never lost the memory of that face." From other sources it is evident that his mind and character were correspondent to his face. My mother loved him with all the enthusiasm of her nature. His early death, under circumstances peculiarly distressing to her, was the sorrow which overshadowed the remaining years of her life. Her letters and manuscripts show with what devotion she cherished his memory.

In the same letter from which I have just quoted, Mrs. Rapallo speaks of my mother as "one whom, in childhood, I thought nearer to perfection than any other human being, and whose loveliness, after fourscore years passed away, is fresh in memory."

My grandmother was born October 25, 1750, the sixth child of Gershom and Hannah Flagg. Gershom Flagg was born in Boston, April 20, 1705. 1 In 1730 he married Lydia Callender.

His second marriage, to Hannah Pitson, the mother of all his children, took place on January 4, 1737. They had seven children, three sons and four daughters. Their first child, Ebenezer, died young. Their next child, James, a merchant, settled in Gardiner, Maine, in 1762, but afterwards removed to Boston, and died in the West Indies, of yellow fever, unmarried, in 1775. After his death, a tract of land belonging to him, on the Kennebec, near Norridgewock, fifteen miles long by half a mile wide, was sold for the small sum of nineteen pounds, five shillings. The next child, Hannah, married the Hon. Joseph North, and settled in Hallowell, Maine. Gershom, the third son, also settled in Maine, and died in May, 1802.

The fifth child was Elizabeth, who married, first,

1 See Flagg Genealogy in Appendix.

MARY WILDER WHITE [itomtw

Henry Wells (a brother of the wife of the patriot Samuel Adams), and, afterwards, the Rev. Jacob Bigelow of Sudbury.

My grandmother, who survived Mr. and Mrs. Bigelow only a few years, wrote of their death, which occurred in 1817, as follows: "The death of Mr. and Mrs. Bigelow, and that of their two sons, has made a breach in Sudbury which casts a gloom over the town. The earnest desire of my brother and sister was that they might not long be separated. It was granted, and if a life of practical piety could give them happiness, they undoubtedly have it." Their son, Dr. Jacob Bigelow, has added lustre to the name of his parents, fulfilling the prediction of my mother, who, when he was yet young and undeveloped, said of him, "He will take the front rank in whatsoever profession he enters, and become a distinguished man."

My grandmother, who, though named Mary, was called, after the fashion of the day, Polly, was next in age to her sister Elizabeth, between whom and herself, Dr. Bigelow has told me, a great affection and intimacy existed.

The youngest child of this family was Grizzel Apthorp Flagg, from whose letter we have quoted. She married Captain Benjamin Gould of the army, and was the mother, among other children, of Benjamin Apthorp Gould, of the Boston Latin School, and of Hannah F. Gould, the poetess. She died January 19, 1827, aged seventy-three years. To her

1 I

7/ 7 youngest child. Mrs. Rapallo, and to Dr. Bigelow, I am indebted for recollections of the past.

From family records, it appears that my great-grandfather, Gershom Flagg, was an architect by profession. He was employed at the rebuilding of Fort Richmond on the Kennebec in 1740, and went with Governor Pownal to the Penobscot in 1759, as a contractor in constructing Fort Pownal. He was a proprietor in the Plymouth Company, and lands in Augusta, Maine, were assigned to him in the distribution. On the lot in Augusta a compact part of the city was afterwards built. The lands on the Kennebec developed enough in his lifetime to make him wealthy for the times. It is to be inferred that he was a freemason, from the squares and compasses on the head-stone of his grave in the Granary Burying-ground, in Boston. At the time of his death he had large possessions in real estate in Boston, including a homestead of many acres, with extensive garden, richly cultivated. This was his home until a short time before his death, when he removed with his family to the town of Harvard, in order to be out of the way of danger to them when the anticipated hostilities between this and the mother country should break out. In Harvard he occupied the house belonging to Henry Bromfield, Esquire. This house is described by Dr. Slade, in his account of the Bromfield family, as "situated amidst avenues of lofty elms, of venerable appearance, with gambrel roof, and quaint chimneys, suggestive of home comforts."

MARY WILDER WHITE [nso-me

Mrs. Rapallo, in giving me her recollections of the past, says, "Some time after the removal of the family to Harvard my grandfather went to Boston on business. He said to a friend, when he retired at night, that he did not feel very well, and, in the morning, he was found dead in his bed." From other sources, I learn that "he died suddenly at Brattle Tavern in School St. on the 23rd of March, 1771, aged sixty-six."