History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts - citizen hylbom blog

'Now while the Eartli's with beauteous VcnUire dy'd
And Flora paiuts the Meads iu all her Pride;
While laden Trees Pomouia's Bounty own.
And Ceres Treasures do the Fields adorn.
From the thick Smokes, aud noisy Town, O come,
And iu these Plains a while forget your Home.'
"The Peoplej among whom she liv'd the last
eight Years of her Life, both Old and Young liad
a Love and Veneration for her ; as a Person of the
strictest Virtue and undefil'd Religion. Her Lmo-
cence, Modesty, Ingenuity, and Devotion charni'd
all into an Admiration of her. And I question
whether there has been more Grief and Sorrow
shown at the Death of any private Person, by People
of all Ranks, to whom her Virtues were known
Mourning, for the Loss sustain'd by ourselves, not
for her, nor as others who have no Hope. For it
is beyond Doubt that she died in the Lord, and is
Blessed."
About 1737 Isaac Royall returned from An-
tigua, where he had gained a fortune, and estab-
lished himself at Medford. He died two years
later, leaving a son, Isaac, and a daughter, Pe-
nelope, who married Henry Vassall.
The son inherited a grand estate, and lived in
the house still known by his name,^ iu a style pro-
portionate to his wealth and standing. He was a
representative fromCharlestown from 174'3 to 175£,
was chosen a councillor in 1753, and afterwards
annually until 1774, when he was one of the Mandamus
Councillors. He was probably not a man
of strong nerve or decided opinions; certainly a
lover of the province in which he lived and had
been honored. Timidity seems to have caused
him to fly to Halifax and thence to England when
hostilities commenced liere. He always claimed
that he left intending only to go to Antigua for
his health. His propcty was, however, seques-
trated, and he never returned, dying in London in
1781. He left three daughters, married respec-
tively to Thomas Savel, Sir Wdliam Pepperell,
the younger, and George Erving, aud through
them has many descendants now iu England. By
his will he gave the town one hundred acres of
land in Granby in aid of the schools. He also
gave to Harvard College 2,000 acres in Granby
and Royalston, which gift was to endow a pro-
fessorship of law, physic, or anatomy, as might be
deemed best. Iu 1815 the Royall Professorship
of Law was accordingly established.
Brooks says (Ilis/oiy, p. 17S) that the house was built by
Isaac, Jr., and was an eulargemeat of the old house built bv
Jfhu Usher.
;
MEDFORD. 107
The Royall property in Medford was kept to-
gether, and it seems that in 1805 the legislature
gave a deed of the land to Robert Fletcher of Lon-
don, ami that the heirs sold their rights to him in
1806 for £16,000. Jacob Tidd, in 1810, bought
the estate.
In the first half of the last century :\[edford had
reason to be proud of the three sons of Peter Sec-
comb. These were Rev. John of Harvard, Massa-
chusetts, afterwards of Nova Scotia, whose clerical
position did not prevent him from giving utterance
to certain humorous compositions which make a
pleasing contrast to the bulk of our early litera-
ture. The best-known of these is a poem entitled
FalJier Abbey's Will, often reprinted. Another
son was Rev. Joseph Seccomb of Kingston, New
Hampshire, and the third was the faithful and diligent
town-clerk of Medford for many years, Thomas
Seccomb.
Prior to the Revolution tlie following graduates
are to be credited to \Iediord : Thomas, John,
Simon, Joshua, Simon, Cotton, Simon, and Cotton
Tufts, Aaron Porter, Ebenezer Turell, xVinmi C.
Cutter, William Whitmore, Samuel and Edward
Brooks, William Symmes, Samuel Angier, David
Osgood, John Bishop, and E^ihraim Hall. Since
that date the list has greatly increased, and still
grows.
The most distinguished citizen born in the town
was John Brooks, governor of Massachusetts for
seven years from 1816 to 1823. He was born in
Medford in 1752, his family being one of the most
numerous and prosperous of the original settlers
there. He was placed in charge of Dr. Simon
Tufts, a noted physician of the town, with whom
he studied medicine until he was twenty-one. He
then settled in Reading, where he married, but
abandoned his home at the beginning of the Revo-
lutionary War. He was in the fight following the
battle of Lexington, and joined the army besieging
Boston. He served throughout the war with great
credit, arriving at the rank of colonel. Later he
received the position of major-general in the state
militia. Returning to Medford when peace was
declared, he attained a prominent place as a phy-
sician, whilst political honors were also freely
bestowed upon him. The inscription upon his
monument sums up his character. " He was a
kind and skilful physician; a brave and prudent
officer ; a wise, firm and impartial magistrate ; a
true patriot, a good citizen and a faithful friend.
In his manners, he was a gentleman ; in morals.