from The Peabody Story by John Wells
photo of map, p. 46 (Wells added the typed info “Col. Thomas Reed 300 Acre Grant 1626 to
Perley’s Map of Brooksby, 1700)
LAND GRANTS & EARLY SETTLERS (p. 43 - 47)
The early settlers all were given land grants by the selectmen of old Salem in an effort to
develop the wilderness, which is now the City of Peabody. Several of these early grants
remained in the same families for many generations.
Those same families would be amazed to see in recent years (The Peabody Story was
published in 1972) the large sums of money spent for acreage in the city of Peabody. The grant
to Colonel Thomas Reed of 300 acres serves as an excellent example. In 1955 the Northshore
Shopping Center acquired 200 acres of that grant, paying around $550,000. In 1962, Allied
Stores sold 35 acres of the same grant to the North Shore Garden Apartments at $15,000 per
acre.
COLONEL THOMAS REED – NOW NORTHSHORE SHOPPING CENTER
In 1636 Colonel Thomas Reed1 was granted 300 acres of land in Peabody. This grant
ran from Wilson Square to Cross Street, just beyond the Northshore Shopping Center, and
along Cross and Prospect streets to Proctor’s Brook, then back along the brook to Endicott
Street, then up Endicott to Wiilson Square. This grant also included land on the north side of
Andover Street, and Reed’s Hill (now known as Buxton’s Hill). The area of this grant is now the
most valuable in the city of Peabody, as it includes the Northshore Shopping Center, the North
Shore Garden Apartments, the Peabody Municipal Electric Light Plant, and the Osborn Heights
section of homes.
Colonel Reed had a flair for military life and was in the regiment from the North Shore
that took part in the Pequot Indian War2. He later commanded a company during this early
Indian uprising. With the outbreak of the Civil War in England3, when Cromwell4 and his
followers overthrew King Charles, Colonel Reed returned to England and commanded a
regiment. His mother was the second wife of the Reverend Hugh Peter5, and his sister was the
second wife of John Winthrop, Jr.6, who was the son of Governor John Winthrop7 of the
Massachusetts Colony.
The Reed family held this large grant until 1701, when Daniel Epes8, the famous
schoolmaster of Salem, bought it from Samuel Reed, son of Colonel Reed. It appears from the
early deeds that a house was located on this grant prior to 1661. The Reed family had returned
to England, and rented the property to various tenants. Daniel Epes sold part of the land to
1
"Thomas Read - Genealogy.com." 2010. 18 Aug. 2014
<http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/r/e/e/Peter-A-Reed/WEBSITE-0001/UHP-0063.html>
2
"1637 The Pequot War - The Society of Colonial Wars in ..." 18 Aug. 2014
<http://www.colonialwarsct.org/1637.htm>
3
"BBC - History: Civil War and Revolution." 2006. 18 Aug. 2014
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/civil_war_revolution/>
4
"The Oliver Cromwell website." 2002. 18 Aug. 2014 <http://www.olivercromwell.org/>
5
"Hugh Peter (English minister) -- Encyclopedia Britannica." 2008. 18 Aug. 2014
<http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/453620/Hugh-Peter>
6
"John Winthrop, Jr. - Connecticut State Library." 2002. 18 Aug. 2014
<http://www.cslib.org/gov/winthropj.htm>
7
"John Winthrop (American colonial governor ... - Britannica." 2008. 18 Aug. 2014
<http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/645737/John-Winthrop>
8 “Daniel Epes” The Diary of William Bentley D.D. Pastor of the East Church, Salem.
http://bit.ly/1BuQFTw
some of the early settlers in this area, one of whom was John Buxton, who in 1704 acquired the
famous hill now known as Buxton’s Hill. From the top in 1775 the flames of Charlestown
burning in the battle of Bunker Hill were seen.
EPES FAMILY
The Epes family were prominent in the early history of Peabody. They built two
dwellings on the early grant, one beneath two elm trees at the end of Buttonwood Lane, now the
site of the North Shore Garden apartments. This house built between 1702 and 1714, was
moved to 154 Washington Street in 1891. It was built for Colonel Daniel Epes, Jr., son of the
old schoolmaster. Another house was added nearby according to the deeds previous to 1764.
This was possibly part of the present house on Andover Street, later considerable enlarged
when it served as Elias Haskett Derby9’s summer home. The Epes family were members of the
first South Congregational Church in 1711 when it was formed in Peabody.
Captain Daniel Epes, son of the colonel and third of that name, was elected a State
Representative from the town and served as the first town clerk for Peabody and Danvers
following their separation from Salem in 1752. He resided in the house on Andover Street and
married the daughter of Reverend Benjamin Prescott10, first minister of the South Church.
Captain Epes died in Peabody in 1773 and was buried at the Prescott cemetery on Tremont
Street. The original Epes or Danvers sweeting apple tree was planted on the farm in 1702.
DERBY FARM
The house and large acreage were sold to Elias Haskett Derby in 1776 by Major Samuel
11
Epes and his uncle John Epes. Major Epes was one of the officers who led the militia and
minuteman from Peabody to the Battle of Lexington in 1775.
During the Derby ownership, large sums of money were spent on the property. The
house on Andover Street was extensively enlarged, beautiful McIntire carvings were
incorporated, wall paper brought over from France, and balusters and stair rails from England.
On the top floor, slave quarters were located during the Derby ownership. A Dutch gardener
was hired for the farm which contained large orchards, conservatories were installed, seed
imported, mulberry trees planted, and a flock of merino sheep imported at a cost of $30,000.
Another feature of the property in 1793 was a summer house12 designed by Samuel
McIntire13. It was two stories in height, surmounted by a farm lad on the top. It was at the
summer house that a luckless maiden, Hannah Whittemore, fleeing from a proffered kiss and
after a breathless chase through the garden, dashed into the summer house, and slammed the
9
"Elias Hasket Derby - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." 2006. 18 Aug. 2014
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elias_Hasket_Derby>
10
"South Congregational Church || History." 2009. 18 Aug. 2014
<http://www.southchurch.net/history.htm>
11
"The Diary of William Bentley," 18 Aug. 2014 <http://books.google.com/books?id=u3o_0lf7R8C&pg=PA65&lpg=PA65&dq=Major+Samuel+Epes&source=bl&ots=lUVI0O776h&sig=NqpU2F1tFL4
aeaQR1vdQwnY6VM0>
12
"The Derby Summer House - Glen Magna Farms, Danvers MA." 2014. 18 Aug. 2014
<http://www.glenmagnafarms.org/the-derby-summer-house/4584356441>
13
"PEM | Samuel McIntire: Carving an American Style Microsite." 2009. 18 Aug. 2014
<http://www.pem.org/sites/mcintire/>
door on her ardent lover. Finding no bolt to secure the door, she jumped out of the rear window,
laming herself for life. The kiss would have done her less damage, and she remained a maiden
the rest of her life. Originally, the summer house sat upon the ground and had no doors, but
later latticed doors were added for protection. The summer house remained on the old Derby
farm until 1901, when it was moved to the estate of William C. Endicott14 in Danvers.
There was a huge barn on the farm designed by McIntire erected around 1798. This
was taken down in 1925 and moved to Watertown, where it was re-erected by the Society for
Preservation of New England Antiquities. It was originally part of a warehouse on Derby Wharf,
and moved to the Derby Farm in Peabody.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DERBY FARM
In the period that the farm was owned in its glory and excellent description of it was
recorded by Eliza Southgate in 1802. The following excerpts from her letter reveal the pleasant
estate it was at that time:
“In the afternoon rode out to Hasket Derby’s farm about three miles from Salem. A most
delightful place, the gardens superior to any that I have seen of the kind, cherries in perfection.
We really feasted. There are three divisions in the garden, and you pass from the lower one to
the upper thro’ several arches rising one above the other. From the lower gate you have a fine
perspective of the whole range rising gradually till the sight is terminated by a hermitage. The
summer house in the center has an arch thro’ it with doors on each side, which open into little
apartments, and one of these opens to a staircase, by which you ascend to a square room, the
whole size of the building. It has a fine airy appearance, and commands a view of the whole
garden. Two large chestnut trees on each side almost shade it from the view when seen
from the sides. The air from the windows is always pure and cool, and the eye wanders with
delight
over the beautiful landscape below so variegated with the charms of nature. The
room is ornamented with some Chinese figures and seems calculated for serenity and peace.
We returned to the house which was neat and handsome, thence to the green house
where we saw oranges and lemons in perfection, on one orange tree there were green ones,
ripes ones, and blossoms. Every plant and shrub which was beautiful and rare was collected
here and I looked around in astonishment and delight. At the upper end of the garden
was a
beautiful arbor formed of a mound of turf, and ‘twas surrounded by a thick row of
poplar trees
which branched out quite to the bottom and so close together that you
could not see thro’.
‘Twas a most charming place, and I know not how long we would
have stayed, had we not been summoned to tea.”
(Eliza Southgate was visiting John Derby’s in Salem at the time of her visit to the Derby Farm,
and her later was dated July 6, 1802).
Miss Southgate also told of a visit to the hermitage at the end of the garden, a little hut in
which was seated a venerable old man holding a prayer book.
The original grant was re-divided after the death of Elias Haskett Derby in 1799 who left
the estate that exceeded a million dollars, the largest fortune in the United States in that
century. The area now owned by the Northshore Shopping Center and apartments was willed
14
Carnegie, MCEC. "Endicott Family Papers, 1612-1958." 2003. <http://www.masshist.org/collectionguides/view/fa0021>
to Derby’s daughter Elizabeth, who was married to Captain Nathaniel West15. The Derby
residence, summer house, and other buildings with sixty-three acres was bought from the heir
by his son General E. H. Derby. The story of the Wests and the famed Oak Hill estate will be
found elsewhere is this volume. (p. 271-273 - see below)
General Derby sold the sixty-three acres and buildings to George Crowinshield16,
following his death it was left to his daughter Mary Crowninshield, who married William P.
Endicott17. She leased the farm and house on Andover Street to Stiles Winchester. In 1828, a
Rumford Roaster was put into the dining room and their up to recent years. In 1832, the
property was sold to Amos King, and in 1848 to Kendall Osborn. It remained partly in the
Osborn family until 1926 when the Osborn Heights housing development was undertaken. The
residence today is utilized as apartments.
On the original Reed grant was established the first tan vat by John Burton in 1661, the
first dye house by John Slapp in 1700, and the first pottery by Jonathan Kettelle in 1731.
OAK HILL ESTATE - NOW NORTHSHORE SHOPPING CENTER (p. 271-273)
As mentioned under the land grants, this was part of the early land grant to Colonel
Thomas Reed in 1636. It was acquired by Daniel Epes, the famous school teacher in Salem, in
1701, and then by Elias Haskett Derby in 1776.
When Elian Haskett Derby died in 1799, he left an estate that exceeded a million dollars,
the largest fortune listed in the United States in that century. The large farm in Peabody was
divided; the area now owned by the Northshore Shopping Center and the Northshore Garden
Apartments went to his daughter, Elizabeth, who was married to Captain Nathaniel West.
Upon the site of the present shopping center, the Wests, about 1800, built the beautiful
Oak Hill18 mansion. It was described as one of the most magnificent homes of that period, at
the time of its construction one of the most notable ever erected, and was designed by a
celebrated English architect. Originally, it was much larger than the views of it show. A few
years after the death of Mrs. West, two sections were cut off and moved to 34 Chestnut Street,
Salem, where they were incorporated into the house still standing there today.
All through the Oak Hill mansion were examples of the famous carvings of Samuel
McIntire. The first description of the estate is recorded by the Reverend William Bentley, who
visited the Wests in October of 1801:
“Through the great pasture we passed to the house erected by Mr. West, and executed
in the taste and under the direction of his wife, the eldest daughter of the late E. H. Derby. Its
front eastward commands a most extensive prospect. The house in front is of two stories with
four equal rooms. The apartments are finished in as good order as any I have seen. The
furniture was rich but never violated the chastity of correct taste. The family of Esq. Collins
15
"Captain Nathaniel West | Museum of Fine Arts, Boston." 2012. 18 Aug. 2014
<http://www.mfa.org/collections/object/captain-nathaniel-west-32797>
16
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crowninshield_family
17
"Biography of William P. Endicott, pages 672/673. History of ..." 2008. 18 Aug. 2014
<http://www.ingenweb.org/indekalb/dcibp/dcbio/1914/endicott-william.p.txt>
18
http://www.peabodylibrary.org/history/oakhill.html
joined us to enjoy the rich beauties which multiplied around us. The pictures were excellent.
The paper and linen hangings were superb. The Mirrors were large and gave full view of
everyone who passed, and were intended for the house in Town, but were exchanged as those
or this Seat were too large. The markee Bed was preferred to the full bed for its simplicity. It
was surmounted by a golden eagle. The work of the room was finished by the needle of Mrs.
West. The back part of the house combines every convenience belonging to the farm house of
the elegant Country seat. We could not enumerate the beauties we saw.”
DIVORCE OF THE WESTS
Just two years after his visit to the Wests’, Dr. Bentley stated in his diary that Elizabeth
Derby West, after a long quarrel had left her husband, and had taken up lodgings in Salem;
sadly she become the “make game of public spleen”.
In 1806, when the case was to be brought to trial, Dr. Bentley stated that Mrs. West had
fallen in love with her husband wonderfully, and had now as wonderfully, eloped, and sued for
divorce.
Mrs. West was described as having the rigid temper of her father (E. H. Derb) and the
vanity of her mother, who was a Crowningshield, and contrary to the will of her father and
friends had persisted in marrying West. She was aided in the trial by her brother, General E. H.
Derby, who had a private quarrel with West to avenge. At the trial Bentley stated that Mrs. West
displayed all the sweepings of the Brothels of Boston, and all the vile wretches of Salem,
Marblehead, Cape Ann, etc. in order to prove the incontinency of Captain West.
The divorce was granted and Mrs. West was given the farm and real estate in Peabody
plus $3,000 a year. Dr. Bentley revealed that Mrs. West was capable to the uptmost malignity,
and her brother, General E. H. Derby, had added a malicious prosecution. Captain West’s
behavior was more honorable, and he remained in public favor.
In 1814 Elizabeth Derby West19 died at her farm in Peabody at the age of 52. Since her
divorce she had told her tale all over New England, and according to the Reverend Bentley lived
in many public places, had been the sport of the thoughtless, without any fault but her lack of
discretion. She was a woman of understanding, guiltless of all the low voices but those of
defamation,
She had spent her last years at her estate in Peabody which she had decorated and
furnished. Her estate was 100,000 pounds, a considerable sum for that period, and was
distributed among her children. Her plate was elegant and vast according to Bentley.
Mrs. West was buried in a manner different from the customs of that period, and similar
to the way she had lived. The body was brought from Peabody in the local hearse, and was
followed by seven coaches and two chaises. Only the relatives and minister attended the
funeral, and she was buried in the Derby family tomb in Salem. Before her death she had
refused to be buried with her ancestors, and several tales surrounded her for refusing the family
tomb. At the last moment she gave her approval.
Captain Nathaniel West, her husband, was born in Salem in 1756 and died in 1851. His
career was in commerce and he pursued it with success until he amassed a large fortune. He
was described as being of fine figure and of majestic mien and gait. Following Mrs. West’s
19
"Derby Sampler - Dwight-Derby House." 2012. 18 Aug. 2014
<http://dwightderbyhouse.org/museum/derby-sampler/>
death, Oak Hill became the property of her children, and later of her former husband, Captain
West. It remained in the West family until 1850.
ROGERS FAMILY (p. 274-276)
The Rogers family acquired the property from the West’s in 1850,and the first of that
illustrious family to occupy the estate was Richard C. Rogers, who married Elizabeth Pickman in
1847. He was listed with the “Rich Men” of Massachusetts. The last of that family to occupy
Oak Hill were Mr. & Mrs. Jacob C. Rogers. It was during the Rogers ownership of this estate,
that the name Oak Hill was given to it. Large sums of money were expended on the grounds
and property, and this estate was described in HISTORIC HOMES OF NEW ENGLAND by
Mary Northend during the Rogers ownership.
The name “Oak Hill20” derived from a great oak tree, notable for its symmetry and height,
located to the left of the tree-lined avenue that led to the house. The house was in the center of
well laid out grounds, far back from the road, at the front a wide stretch of lawn interspersed with
trees. The main avenue that started from the stone gate on Andover Street was lined on both
sides by magnificent trees, many of which were planted at the time the house was built in 1800.
There were also scattered through the estate catalpa trees, weeping mulberry, and other
species. The greatest feature of the grounds was a large lotus pond that contained many
varieties of the Egyptian lotus21; at times over one hundred of those blossoms opened at once.
At the rear of the house was a lily pond that included the Cape Cod lily, blue, pink and white.
The entire grounds covered an area of 200 acres, laid out at the front and sides in lawns
resembling those of England. The rear consisted of a background of flowers, and beyond were
extensive grain fields and vegetable gardens.
The furniture in the beautiful house contained rare pieces of Hepplewhite, Sheraton, and
Chippendale. Practically all of those pieces of furniture were heirlooms that descended from
generation to generation in the Rogers family.
There were many famous paintings throughout the house. One over the fireplace,
“Saturday Evening”, was by Michael Felice Corne, an artist who came to this area in one of
Derby’s ships. This painting is a copy of William Redmore Biggs’, exhibited at the Royal
Academy in London in 1792. Another of Corne’s paintingins called “Sunday Morning” was over
the mantel in the parlor. Both can be seen today at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, as well
as three of the McIntyre rooms from the Oak Hill mansion.
20
21
http://digitalcommons.salemstate.edu/essex_lithographs/19/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egyptian_water_lily
Saturday Evening
Sunday Morning
http://americangallery.wordpress.com/2010/10/05/michele-felice-corne-1752-1845/
Of the Rogers family that resided at Oak Hill, perhaps the most noted was Jacob C.
Rogers. He was the son of Richard and Sarah (Cronwinshield) Rogers born in 1828. When a
young man he had a business connection with J. B. Glover & Co. of Boston, brokers in East
Indian merchandise. He remained with the firm until the early 1870’s.
Mr. Rogers married Elizabeth P. Peabody, the daughter of Colonel Francis Peabody22.
In the 1870’s he became a partner of Junius Spencer Morgan & Co. The company was the
successor of George Peabody & Co. In 1854, George Peabody took in as a partner Junius
Morgan.
Jacob C. Rogers remained in London as a partner of Morgan until 1879, when retired
and st. joseph junioratealliedsreturned to the United States. Re-locating in Boston, he was the
agent and attorney for the J.S. Morgan Co. of London, and also for what later because J.
Pierpoint Morgan & Co. of New York. He was associated with the Morgans up to the time of his
22
"History of Essex County, Massachusetts: With Biographical ..." 18 Aug. 2014
<http://books.google.com/books?id=15Q6AQAAIAAJ&pg=PA230&lpg=PA230&dq=colonel+francis+peabo
dy&source=bl&ots=qeaaoTsH87&sig=P9J21MWIPRrq8ONll465X-24BLw>
death. Thus the city of Peabody had a relationship with the House of Morgan through its
illustrious son, George Peabody, who founded it, and through Jacob Rogers.
Old timers recall the days when J. Pierpont Morgan would arrived on a special train in
Peabody, and then was driven to the Oak Hill estate of Jacob Rogers. Many people were
employed each season on the huge farm that was a part of this estate.
In 1921, upon the death of Mrs. Elizabeth Rogers in her 93rd year, the Rogers
ownership of this property came to a close. The following is part of a tribute paid to her in the
BOSTON TRANSCRIPT.
“With quiet dignity characteristic of her, Mrs. Rogers has passed from this world
mourned by a host of ‘all sorts and conditions of men,’ her friends, who loved and admired her.
Mrs. Rogers was one of the last of a vanishing age. Rogers was one of the last of a vanishing
age. Not in our time and perhaps in no future time, will there be and Grand Dame who, with the
tradition of heredity and of a period before the march of democracy, will live with elegance and
exquisite refinement, yet with a certain simplicity and far reaching hospitality.”
The Oak Hill estate was sold to the Xaxier Brothers23 College then located in Virginia,
and the St. Joseph Juniorate was established at the Rogers estate on November 28, 1922.
Prior to the sale of the property to the Juniorate, part of the interior finished, designed by
McIntire was sold to the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. In the spring of 1955, Allied Stores of
New York24 acquired the property, and subsequently was erected the North Shore Shopping
Center.
The Oak Hill mansion was torn down in August 1956; for several weeks previous, the
work of McIntire such as the staircase, mantels, large arches and doors, was removed. Some
of these pieces were given by Allied Stories to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.
They became part of a special wing dedicated to early American architecture. Others were
incorporated into the Jordan Marsh store in Peabody. These included four exterior columns and
a McIntire door and frame.
23
"Xaverian Brothers - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." 2004. 18 Aug. 2014
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xaverian_Brothers>
24
"Allied Stores - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." 2006. 18 Aug. 2014
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allied_Stores>