Part 3

During the year 1641, Mr. Endecott was chosen Deputy-Governor, and was continued in office for the two succeeding years. He was also appointed one of a committee to dispose of all lands or other property belonging to the company at Cape Ann; and was commissioned by the Court, in conjunction with two others, Mr. Downing, the brother-in-law of Gov. Winthrop, and Mr. Hathorne, to procure the transcription of nineteen copies of the laws, liberties, and forms of oaths, and to subscribe them with their own hands, the Court having decreed that no copies should be considered authentic which were without their signatures.

In 1642, he was chosen one of the Corporation of Harvard College.

Passing over some minor things in the life of Governor Endecott, we arrive at the year 1644, when his increasing influence and popularity ensured his election as Governor, and Mr. Winthrop was chosen Deputy-Governor. The claim of Salem to be made the seat of government, was now again revived, and it would be fair to infer from his well-known attachment to the place, that the project met with his hearty coöperation. But the effort was not successful, and Boston still continued to be the capital. The Governor's salary was one hundred pounds.

During this year of his administration, improvements in the mode of transacting business in the Legislature were introduced. The Magistrates and Deputies, for the first time, now held their sessions apart, and it required the concurrence of both bodies, to make an act valid. The office of a speaker to the Deputies was also this year ordained, and filled by an Essex man, Mr. William Hathorne.

The conflicting claims of D'Aulney and La Tour, two Frenchmen at Acadia, which had produced considerable excitement, were finally settled during this year, by the government of France supporting the claim of D'Aulney. His deputy came to Boston, and concluded a treaty with Gov. Endecott, which was subsequently ratified by the Commissioners of the United Colonies of New England.

The year following, (1645) Mr. Endecott was succeeded as Governor by Mr. Dudley. Other offices of honor and trust, however, awaited him. He was this year appointed Sergeant Major-General of Massachusetts, the highest military office in the Colony. He had previously held a commission of Colonel in the first regiment formed in Salem, Saugus, Ipswich, and Newbury, in 1636, when John Winthrop, Jr., son of the Governor, was his Lieutenant-Colonel. He was also elected an Assistant, and one of the United Commissioners.

In 1648, he was continued an Assistant, Sergeant Major-General, and Commissioner for the Province.

Upon the death of Governor Winthrop, which took place on the 26th of March, 1649, at the age of 61, Mr. Endecott was again chosen Governor, to which office he was annually elected until the time of his death, with the exception of the years 1650 and 1654, when he held that of Deputy-Governor. This was an eventful period in the history of the Colony, as well as of the Mother Country. The violent death of Charles I., the usurpation of Cromwell, and the restoration of the Stuart family, took place while he was at the head of public affairs. The difficulties and perplexities of his situation during this period were very great. But all his public acts were marked with a moderation and wisdom which do honor to him as an experienced statesman. Had he possessed less integrity or firmness, had his mind been at all vacillating, the consequences might have been affectingly disastrous to the best interests of the Colony.

In the year 1652, under his administration, a mint was established in the Colony, for coining shillings, six-pences, and three-pences. No other of the American Colonies, it is believed, ever presumed to coin metal into money. Though unlawful, it was passed over by Cromwell and the Parliament, and continued after the Restoration, for more than twenty years.

About the year 1655, Gov. Endecott removed from Salem to Boston, upon the request of the General Court that he would do so, "if his own necessary occasions would permit." Although the reasonableness of this request must have been apparent to him, the step could not have been taken without strong feelings of repugnance. It must have been a severe struggle for him to have separated himself from the place of his adoption, towards which he had ever felt and exhibited the most ardent attachment. His residence in Boston was on the beautiful lot lately owned and occupied by Gardner Green, now Pemberton Square.[15]

Governor Endecott had now (1657) entered upon his seventieth year, with a shattered constitution, and health seriously impaired, as we learn by the following letter to Mr. John Leverett, the Colonial Agent in England.

SIR,

I cannot write unto you by a more faithful friend[16] than I have done, who is able at large, to relate to you how things in general stand here. And that doth save mee some labour which at this tyme is a favor to mee. For in the extremity of heate and after a long sickness, I am very faint; not fitt to doe any thing, yet I cannot but by these heartilie salute you in the Lord, giving you many thanks for what you sent me. For all good newes is welcome to us as you know full well. Yet I cannot for the present answer your expectations touching Road Island and Clarke and Holmes, but I have acquainted the rest of the Magistrates with your letter, who were already to gather up sufficient testimonie to prove what you spoke to the Protector, and enough to satisfy (we doubt not) your opponent, if he be a lover of truth. Only we would have the General Court act with us therein, which will not meet till September next, when I hope I shall procure a full answer to your former and last letters.

What the end is of that point of State to make the Protector King, I cannot fathom it; unless their proffering and his deniall thereof ingratiate him the more in the hearts of the people. The Lord in mercie guide all to his glory, and the good of those commonwealths over whom he hath sett him. If there be any opportunitie I pray you write mee a word about it, and other occurrences that may fall out. I cannot be sufficientlie thankefulle for what you wrote me last. Great motions there are in the world which the Lord direct and turn to his glorie, the overthrow of his enemies and the peace and welfare of his own people. Which is the prayer of Sir,

Your verie loveing friend and servant, JO: ENDECOTT.

Boston, the 29th 4th mo., (June,) 1657.

During the principal part of Gov. Endecott's administration, and particularly from 1655 to 1660, the Colony, "under his prudent and equal government," made rapid progress in all things necessary to its respectability and importance. Its population and wealth rapidly increased; its trade flourished; and its foreign intercourse became every day more widely extended. Free admission was allowed to vessels of all nations, and the importations of all commodities was subject to no incumbrance or restraint. The Colony took no notice of any act respecting navigation, or other laws made in England for the regulation of trade. They were never recognized as in force here, unless required by their own legislature.

In 1658, the Court granted Gov. Endecott, "for his great service, the fourth part of Block Island." At this time he was also elected President of the body of Colonial Commissioners. He now held the double office of Governor of Massachusetts and President of the United Colonies.

His conduct towards the aborigines, that much abused and injured people, was always marked with forbearance, lenity, and mildness. To his eldest son John, the Indians in 1660 gave a tract of land, which grant he applied to the Court to confirm. The Court declined taking such power on itself; but at the same time, however, it passed the highly complimentary resolve:

The Court, "considering the many kindnesses which were shown the Indians by our honored Governor in the infancy of these Plantations, for pacifying the Indians, tending to the common good of the Planters; and in consideration of which the Indians were moved to such a gratuity unto his son, do judge meet to give the petitioner four hundred acres of land."

Though Governor Endecott removed from Salem to Boston in 1655, yet neither he nor Mrs. Endecott removed their connection with the Salem church, until November, 1664. A large and brilliant comet made its appearance on the 17th of November of this year, and continued to the 4th of February following. It was the general belief of that period, that comets were omens of great evil. One appeared just before the death of that distinguished divine, the Rev. John Cotton; and the death at this time of their aged Governor, and the troubles with which the Colony met the next year from the King's Commissioners, Hutchinson informs us, tended to confirm the people in their opinion.

We are told that "old age and the infirmities thereof coming upon him, he fell asleep in the Lord on the 15th of March, 1665," at the age of 77, "and was with great honour and solemnity interred at Boston," on the 23rd of the same month. His death was easy and tranquil. Tradition has handed down the fact, that the "Chapel Burying-Ground" was the place of his interment. But the exact spot is not now known. No stone marks the resting-place of this intrepid Father of New England.[17] Yet his name alone will ever be a monument to his memory, more enduring than marble, and as imperishable as the granite hills of his adopted country.

Gov. Endecott came to this country in 1628, at the age of 40, and died in 1665, at the age of 77. During these thirty-seven years he was nearly all the time in public life, and for about seventeen years, or nearly half the whole period, he was Governor of the Colony. He was longer at the head of the administration than any other Governor of Massachusetts.

He was a man of highly respectable natural talents, good education, a zealous Puritan, a brave man, a decided patriotic republican, a friend of learning and religion, a lover of God and his country.

We frankly acknowledge that the conduct of Gov. Endecott in the religious intolerance of his day, may be considered a stain upon his escutcheon. Yet, while we admit that those severe measures which were adopted, especially when contrasted with the present unrestrained exercise of religious freedom in our country, were great blemishes on his administration, we think they certainly ought not to be regarded as such on his moral character. It was not the cause of religion alone, which was thought to be endangered by the dissemination and triumph of such principles as were then advanced; but the overthrow of all civil government was looked upon as the ultimate result. Besides, the _whole_ responsibility and obloquy of this dark page in our early history, should not be thrown upon him. True, he was the official organ through which was carried into effect the established laws of the Colony, and _vox populi_ was believed to be _vox Dei_. But so far as he was individually concerned, we think his motives were pure and elevated, and that all his actions were based upon principle. Without doubt he partook largely of the prevailing prejudices of the day; and the wild spirit of fanaticism found in him a strenuous and energetic opponent. But we hold that all men should be judged according to the light of the age in which they live, and the influences with which they are surrounded. In this dread of unlimited toleration he was not alone; it was the prevailing temper of the times, and the errors in this respect, in which he shared in common with the wise and good of his day, arose rather from an error in judgment than any obliquity of heart.

It has been remarked by a recent writer, that "Governor Endecott was undoubtedly the finest specimen to be found among our Governors of the genuine Puritan character,--of a quick temper, which the habit of military command had not softened,--of strong religious feelings, moulded on the sterner features of Calvinism; resolute to uphold with the sword what he received as gospel truth, and fearing no enemy so much as a gainsaying spirit." "He was a very virtuous gentleman," says Secretary Morton, "and was greatly beloved of the most, as he well deserved." "In his public and private relations," says the Annalist of Salem, "he was a man of unshaken integrity. _For my country and my God_, was the motto inscribed upon his motives, purposes, and deeds. That he had his imperfections, there is no doubt; but that he exhibited as few of them under his multiplied duties, as the most excellent men would in his situation, is equally correct. His many exertions for the prosperity of Salem, and his ardent attachment to it, should impress his name and worth upon the hearts of its inhabitants, so long as its existence continues."

Thus lived and thus died, one of the principal founders and firmest pillars of New England.

At his decease he left a widow and two sons. The elder son left no children;--the younger was a physician, and resided in Salem. He was twice married; and a family of five sons and five daughters survived him. His second wife was Elisabeth, daughter of Governor Winthrop, and widow of the Rev. Antipas Newman of Wenham.

There exists a perfect genealogy of the Governor's family, so far as relates to his descendants in New England. We hope to publish it in our next number.

The Governor, and all his descendants, to the third generation, (1724,) spelt their names _Endecott_; since then an _i_ has been substituted for the _e_ in the second syllable.

There is an original portrait of the Governor in possession of one of the family, taken the year he died. By this we learn that his countenance was open, energetic, and independent, possessing much individuality of expression, and in perfect harmony with the character of the man. According to the custom of the age, he wore mustaches, and a tuft of hair upon his chin. The miniature likeness which accompanies this Memoir was engraved from this portrait, and is considered an excellent resemblance, and was presented by the family to the New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, at their solicitation.

NOTE. The Charter posesssed by Gov. Endecott, and which is now in the Salem Athenæum, and the Charter possessed by Gov. Winthrop, and which is now in the State House, Boston, appear to be duplicate original Charters, provided for in the Charter itself, and neither of them copies. They are precisely alike in all respects--the same in phraseology and chirography, and the same in dates. Each Governor was elected and commissioned by the same Company, and by the same Colony, acted under the same Charter, with the same authority, and each alike entitled to the official designation of Governor, whether he was elected Governor by the Company in London, or by the Colony here, for both were elected Governor by each.

ORIGINAL COVENANT OF THE FIRST CHURCH IN SALEM.[18]

We Covenant with our Lord, and one with another; and we do bind ourselves in the presence of God, to walk together in all his ways, according as he is pleased to reveal himself unto us in his blessed word of truth; and do explicitly, in the name and fear of God, profess and protest to walk as followeth, through the power and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.

We avouch the Lord to be our God, and ourselves to be his people, in the truth and simplicity of our spirits.

We give ourselves to the Lord Jesus Christ, and the word of his grace, for the teaching, ruling, and sanctifying of us in matters of worship and conversation, resolving to cleave unto him alone for life and glory, and to reject all contrary ways, canons, and constitutions of men, in his worship.

We promise to walk with our brethren, with all watchfulness and tenderness, avoiding jealousies and suspicions, back-bitings, censurings, provokings, secret risings of spirit against them; but in all offences to follow the rule of our Lord Jesus, and to bear and forbear, give and forgive, as he hath taught us.

In public or private, we will willingly do nothing to the offence of the church; but will be willing to take advice for ourselves and ours, as occasion shall be presented.

We will not in the congregation be forward, either to show our own gifts and parts in speaking or scrupling, or there discover the weakness or failings of our brethren; but attend an orderly call thereunto, knowing how much the Lord may be dishonored, and his gospel and the profession of it slighted, by our distempers and weaknesses in public.

We bind ourselves to study the advancement of the gospel in all truth and peace, both in regard to those that are within or without; no way slighting our sister churches, but using their counsel as need shall be; not laying a stumbling-block before any, no, not the Indians, whose good we desire to promote; and so to converse as we may avoid the very appearance of evil.

We do hereby promise to carry ourselves in all lawful obedience to those that are over us, in Church or Commonwealth, knowing how well-pleasing it will be to the Lord, that they should have encouragement in their places, by our not grieving their spirits through our irregularities.

We resolve to approve ourselves to the Lord in our particular callings, shunning idleness as the bane of any state; nor will we deal hardly or oppressingly with any, wherein we are the Lord's stewards.

Promising also unto our best ability to teach our children and servants the knowledge of God, and of his will, that they may serve him also; and all this not by any strength of our own, but by the Lord Christ, whose blood we desire may sprinkle this our Covenant made in His Name.

HERALDRY.

In preparing this article we have consulted various writers on the subject of Heraldry, and not only selected our thoughts from theirs, but used their language when it appeared best adapted to our object. For a more full account of Heraldry in all its branches, we refer our readers to Guillim's Banner Displayed, Camden's British Remains, Kent's Grammar of Heraldry, Edmonson's Complete Body of Heraldry, Leigh's Accidence of Armorie, Playfair's British Baronetage, Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, Noble's History of the College of Arms, Lower's Curiosities of Heraldry, Dallaway's Inquiries, Newton's Display of Heraldry, Broun's Baronetage, Collins's Peerage of England, Betham's Baronetage of England, and the various Encyclopædias.

DEFINITION.

HERALDRY is the science of conventional distinctions impressed on shields, banners, and other military accoutrements; or it is the art of armory and blazoning, or the knowledge of what relates to the bearing of arms, and the laws and regulations appertaining thereto. Arms in heraldry are ensigns armorial or marks of honor borne upon shields, banners, and coats of mail, in order to distinction. The science of Heraldry consists particularly in the appropriation of figurative representations, designed, by suitable emblems, to exhibit the achievements of valor, the descent of hereditary honors, and the distinctions appertaining to nobility.

The Degrees of Honor existing in England in 1597, were nine; of which five were _noble_, as Gentleman, Esquire, Knight, Baron, and Lord; and four were _excellent_, as Earl, Marquess, Duke, and Prince.--The Degrees of Honor existing in the British nation in 1847 are eleven; namely, Gentleman, Esquire, Knight, Baron, Baronet, Lord, Viscount, Earl, Marquess, Duke, and Prince.

ORIGIN AND HISTORY.