THE AND SKETCHES OF The Last Two Huodred and Seyenty-fourYears BY SETH BRYANT. BOSTON, MASS. 1894. CONTENTS. Introduction ------ j Bryant and Mitchell Families ... 4-6 Orr Family ------ 6-I1 Story of Massasoit ..... 11-12 Shoes for the Army ----- 13-14 Army Incidents ------ 14-15 The New Church ----- 16-17 Sword of Miles Standish - IJ Discovery of Corn ----- JS Original grant, Brockton and Bridgeivater 18 Where Trade Began ----- ig-22 Shay's Rebellion ----- 22-23 Story Told by a Russian Prince - - 23-23 Communication from Boston Herald - 25 Incidents ------- 26-32 LUTHER C. PARKER & Co., Printers, LYNN. Introduction. The first purpose of this little book is to give some account of the Mitchell, Bryant and Orr families, with some incidents of interest in the records of the Ply­ mouth colony and later events concerning the author's personal recollections and matters pertaining to the town of Bridgewater and its surroundings. Another object: As one who has lived and been in business under the different systems of tariff which have governed our country, I wish to add my efforts to those of the steadfast body of Americans who strive for the only true principle of business intercourse, free trade. The old war cry was " Free trade and sailors' rights," but now we want free trade and the people's rights. If we can have everything which goes into a shoe free we can make shoes here as low or lower than any place in the world. The more shoes we export the more people we can keep at work here, and we want to keep our men and women at work. The reason why we cannot export more goods is, the government will not allow us to bring back more for them. I publish my little family history to let the world see what a few families could do under the old free trade system. Their lives show that they loved their country and their neighbor and did all they could for both. I think their history will be of benefit to the world. What other articles I have added have all been in that direction. I am doing everything I can to keep our people at work here at home. SETH BRYANT. ASHMONT, BOSTON, MASS., February, 1894. BRYANT AND MITCHELL FAMILIES. The Bryant and Mitchell Families. Experience Mitchell arrived in the ship Ann in 1623, and was called one of the Pilgrims. He lived in Ply­ mouth awhile, then went to Duxbury, and finally to Joppa Village, East Bridgewater, Mass. One of his grandsons, Col. Edward, ( a colonel in those days knew how to pick his flint) son of Edward 4th, married Elizabeth, daughter of Elisha Cushing of Hingham, in 1738. They had twelve children, Ed­ ward, in 1739, Cushing in 1740; [The latter married Jennet, the daughter of the Hon. Hugh Orr, and they had four children, named Nahum, Alice, Jennet, and Hannah; Nahum married the daughter of Geuei^t Lazell; Alice married Deacon William Harris; Jen­ net married Daniel Bryant; and Hannah married Hon. Ezekiel Whitman.] Elizabeth in 1742, Alice in 1744, Elisha in 1746, John in 1748, William in 1750, Bradford in 1752, Mary in 1754, Celia in 1757, Sarah in 1759, Bela in 1761. Elizabeth, the wife of Col. Edward Mitchell, died in 1799, aged 85 years. One of the descendents was killed at Fairhaven going into the fort in King Philip's war. Bradford Mitchell, son of Edward 4th, was one of the vol­ unteer militia at the conquest of Burgoyne. Another BRYANT AND MITCHELL FAMILIES. 5 one died at Uxbridge, ioo years of age. Hon. Na­ hum Mitchell, son of Cushing, was a member of Congress. Hon. B. W. Harris, grandson of Deacon William Harris, was also a member of Congress afterwards. Daniel Bryant was the son of Capt. Seth Bryant, of Halifax. I have the papers showing where he cleared a vessel at the Boston Custom House under King George Third, in 1770. A coat of arms was borne by Sir Guy Bryant, one of the noble knights of the most honorable or­ der of the Garter, in the time of King Edward Third. He was also the chief means, under the said king, of obtaining the charter of privilege and freedom of His Majesty's forest of Dean, in the County of Gloucester, for the benefit of the inhab­ itants of the said forest. One of his descendents came to North Bridgewater, and from there moved to Cummington, where William Cullen Bryant, the the poet, was born. The Hon. Ezekiel Whitman was a representative to Congress from the district of Maine, and pre­ sented the petition of Maine to come into the Union as a new state, but the South had a petition for Missouri also, and proposed to have them brought in together, but Whitman protested against it, and said: "If I cannot have Maine come in without 6 BRYANT MITCHELL AND ORR FAMILIES. bringing in a slave state, I will not have it come in at all," and neither came in that session. His protest is on the Congressional Record. Nahum Mitchell was a member of Congress from the old Plymouth district. The writer, of this book, Seth Bryant, ninety-three years of age at this time (February, 1894;, is the oldest man in the shoe and leather trade now liv­ ing, and is of the fifth generation from Experience Mitchell. The Orr Family. Hon. Hugh Orr, (son of Robert Orr of Lochwinnioch, Shire of Renfrew, Scotland,) was born January 2nd, 1715. Came to America June 7th, 1740, and settled in East Bridgewater, and married Mary, daughter of Captain Jonathan Bass, August 24th, 1742; and had Robert 1745 ; Jennet 1748 ; Mary 1750; Susanna 1752 ; Jane 1755 ; Bethiah 1757; Margaret 1758 ; Bathsheba 1761 ; Matilda 1763 ; Hugh 1766. He died December 6th, 1798, aged 82. His wife July 27th, 1804. Jennet married Cushing Mitchell 1765; Mary married Stephen Whitman 1767; Susanna married Doctor Josiah Otis 1772; Bethiah married Anthony Winslow Clift 1777; Bathsheba married Solomon Inglee of Halifax, 1783; and died 1833. Margaret died single THE ORR FAMILY. 7 1S37, aged 79- Cushing Mitchell, son of Colonel Edward, married Jennet, daughter of Hon. Hugh Orr, 1765, and had Alice 1767: Nahum 1769; Jennet 1771. His wife died 1774, aged 26. Alice married Deacon William Harris 1778. Jennet married Daniel Bryant, son of Capt. Seth Bryant of Halifax, 1789. Captain Seth Bryant commanded a vessel which was cleared at the Boston Custom House in the reign of George the III. Nahum married Nabby, daughter of General Sylvanus Lazell, 1794. Daniel Bryant, (son of Seth of Halifax) married Jennet daughter of Cushing Mitchell, 1789, and first resided in Watertown, afterwards at Stroudwater in Maine, and finally settled in East Bridgewater, and had Seth, Mary, Jennet, Alice, Abby M. and Dorcas. Seth married Maria, daughter of Charles Keen, and lives in Boston. She died 1839, agetl 35- The first cannon that was ever made in the United States was cast by Hon. Hugh Orr in 1775 at East Bridgewater, near Joppa, on the Matfield river. A branch of the Old Colony railway now passes just be­ low the place. Hugh Orr was the son of Robert Orr of Lochwinnioch, Shire of Renfrew, Scotland, and was born January 2, 1715. He came to America June 7, 1740, at the age of 35, landing in Boston, and was by trade a whitesmith, and excelled in the making of keen- edged tools. 8 THE ORR FAMILY. Hearing that a man named Keith made scythes at East Bridgewater, he concluded to go there, and as there were no conveyances in those days, he must, I suppose, have walked all the way, arriving there just before dark. He called on Mr. Keith, who kindly re­ ceived him and invited him to spend the night with him. Mr. Keith became very much interested in the young man, and carried him down to his scythe factory and introduced him to his workmen, saying, "Here is a young man from Scotland who can make any kind of an edge tool." Mr Orr said : "Yes, I can. If you will let me have that little forge and that leather apron I will make you a razor." Mr. Keith ordered a workman to give him a piece of iron, and the latter threw the young whitesmith an old iron skillet handle. Orr took it up without saying a word and went to work on it. He worked it over and made his razor, and put it on to one of the stones where they were grinding the scythes. When he finished it up, he handed it to Mr. Keith and said : " Now, I want you to try it." Mr. Keith did try it, and it worked so well the workmen took their hats off to Orr. He was a very superior man, and there was where his fame began. He soon became acquainted with Mary Bass, daugh­ ter of Captain Jonathan Bass. The captain and his THE ORR FAMILY. 9 wife objected to the match and refused to allow him to see her any more. Then he asked Captain Bass his reasons. The captain said he had three : One was that they were both too young ; the second, he was poor ; the third, he was a foreigner. Mr. Orr answered: "We are both growing older every day, and I do not always expect to be poor; and as to being a foreigner, I am not to blame for that." Captain Bass sent Mary away to Boston. Not long after Mr. Orr came riding down and jumped off his horse and threw the reins over the post, and went in to see Captain Bass and his wife, and said : "I have been to see Mary; she is very well." The old captain answered, "If that is your way, we may as well with­ draw our objections to the match," and they were married.