Curiosities of History:
BOSTON
September Seventeenth,
1630-1880.
BY
WILLIAM W. WHEILDON.
SECOND EDITION.
| “Ringing clearly with a will What she was is Boston still.” —Whittier. |
BOSTON:
LEE AND SHEPARD, PUBLISHERS.
NEW YORK:
CHARLES T. DILLINGHAM.
1880.
Copyright, 1880,
By WILLIAM W. WHEILDON.
Author’s Address:
Box 229, Concord, Mass.
Franklin Press:
Rand, Avery, & Company,
117 Franklin Street,
Boston.
AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED
TO MY WIFE,
JULIET REBECCA WHEILDON,
IN COMMEMORATION OF THE
Fifty-first Year of our Married Life,
MAY 28, 1880.
WILLIAM W. WHEILDON.
INTRODUCTION.
It seems proper to say in offering this little volume to the public, thatno attempt has been made to exhaust the subjects of which the papersrespectively treat; but rather to enlarge upon matters of historicalinterest to Boston, which have been referred to only in a general way byhistorians and previous writers.—This idea rather than any determinationto select merely curious topics, has in a large measure influenced thewriter; and the endeavor has been to treat them freely and fairly, andpresent what may be new, or comparatively new, concerning them, from suchsources as are now accessible and have been open to the writer. It is not,however, intended to say that an impulse towards some curious matters ofhistory has not been indulged, and, indeed, considering the subjects andmaterials which presented themselves, could scarcely have been avoided,which was by no means desirable. Although it has been impertinently said,that “the most curious[Pg vi] thing to be found is a woman not curious,” wesubmit that curiosity is a quality not to be disparaged by wit or sarcasm,but is rather the germ and quality of progress in art and science andhistory.
It has been impossible to correct or qualify, or perhaps we might sayavoid, all the errors, mistakes, or contradictions, which have beenencountered in preparing these pages; and very possibly we may haveinadvertently added to the number. At all events, with our best endeavorsagainst being drawn into or multiplying errors, we lay no claim toinvulnerability in the matter of accuracy, or immaculacy in the way ofopinions; and we very sincerely add, if errors or mistakes have been madeand are found, we shall be glad to be apprised of them. There are errorsin our history which it is scarcely worth the while to attempt to correct,although they are not to be countenanced and should not be repeated.
A period of two hundred and fifty years since the settlement of the townincludes and covers a history of no ordinary character, involving progres