and was buried in the old Malden burial-ground, as a costly grave-stone, cut in England, in good preservation in 1826 and very likely to this day, clearly showed. At the time of his death he had a large estate in lands, situated in Malden and Medford, which were held by his descendants for a very long period after. Among these descendants and the connections of the family by marriage, many eminent and noteworthy persons can be found.

Peter Tufts, one of the grandsons of the original settler, lived in Charlestown on what was formerly known as the Milk-row road. He was a carpenter by trade, but spent the greater part of his life in farming. He owned a very large tract of land, and leased farms to his sons when they were married and set up for themselves; and it has been said that he was considered by them, and especially by their wives, to be a very hard landlord. The reason given for this by one of his greatgrandchildren was that he intended by this sharpness to keep them in a course of industry, sobriety, and economy, habits which he himself had received from his father and grandfather.

One of the sons of this Peter was Nathan Tufts, by trade a cordwainer, but chiefly occupied as a farmer in Medford. He was the father of Daniel, Deacon Amos, and Nathan Tufts, who for the greater part of their lives were prominent citizens of the old town and among its leading business men. Daniel's residence was outside of the Neck. He was a brick-maker and farmer. He represented the town in the Legislature of 1811 and 1812, as a member of the House of Representatives. His sons were Daniel, junior, Gilbert, Charles, and Nathan.

Their

Daniel, junior, and Gilbert were tanners. tanneries and residences were within the peninsula. Daniel was a member of the Legislature from Charlestown in 1830, '32, and '33. He did considerable business for many years, but in advanced life he became very timid or over-cautious and so fell behind the times. He had a stock of sole-leather in the vats of his tannery on Main Street which remained there unsold for years. When a purchaser was ready to meet the price he had been asking, it was always time to advance, and he didn't live long enough to receive an offer he could accept. A kiln of bricks made for and belonging to him remained unsold until, in the accumulation of dust upon it, a willowtree took root and grew up to its full size, an object for curious observation and remark.

Gilbert Tufts was an able and successful business man. I have referred to him in a former article.

Nathan Tufts was a brick-maker and farmer living outside the Neck, just beyond the Lowell Railroad bridge which crosses Cambridge Street in Somerville. He was at one time a tanner. He was a correct and thrifty business man, a member of the Harvard Unitarian Society, and was constant in his attendance at that church. He was the father of the late Nathan Tufts, the grain-dealer whose place of business was on Warren Avenue, and who was accidentally killed by being crushed between a vessel and a belay-post on his wharf, October 20, 1887. Mr. Tufts, senior, like all his family, lived to a ripe old age, his death occurring August 1, 1872, when he was eighty-six years old. His father was eighty-five at the time of his death; his brother Daniel, ninety-two. Gilbert died July 7, 1850, aged seventy

two; and Charles, December 24, 1876, aged ninety

five.

Charles Tufts was a farmer and brick-maker, and a large land-owner in that part of Charlestown set off as Somerville when it was made a separate town. He was

a member of the First Universalist Society, and for many years his horse and carriage could be seen every Sunday in one of the sheds which formerly stood in the churchyard of that society, while, with his wife (he had no children), he was occupying his pew in the church. Both Mr. Tufts and his wife took great interest in the Universalist denomination, and he is widely known for his gift of Walnut Hill (now College Hill), and a large tract of land about it, to Tufts College. By this act he became the founder of that institution, which was named in his honor, and which was helped greatly in its progress to prominence by the generosity of another native of Charlestown, the late Dr. William J. Walker, who before his death and by bequest contributed $250,000 to its funds.

Here, perhaps, is a good opportunity to refer to a fact which the good people of old Charlestown have a right to be proud of. Five of the colleges in the land have been founded by and named for citizens of Charlestown : Harvard, in Cambridge, by John Harvard; Tufts, in Somerville and Medford, by Charles Tufts; Doane, in Crete, Nebraska, by Thomas Doane; Colby, in Waterville, Maine, by Gardner Colby; Carleton, in Northfield, Minnesota, by William Carleton. It will be well to refer to this again, as it is a fact that can hardly be paralleled by any other town.

MARCH 16, 1889.

XXVIII

The Tufts Family (continued)

Deacon Amos Tufts - Joseph F. Tufts Eliab P. Mackintire Nathan Tufts - A Famous Law-suit.

N the previous chapter I referred to the three brothers, Daniel, Deacon Amos, and Nathan Tufts, as important persons in the old town history, and Daniel and his descendants were especially spoken of.

Deacon Amos Tufts lived on the corner of Main and Bow streets, in a house built about 1800. The lot of land on which it stood was formerly a part of the estate of Isaiah Edes, who sold it to N. Trask, and he to Amos Tufts in 1796. The house was of wood, oblong-square in shape, one end on Main Street, the broadside on Bow Street, with the front door in the center looking directly up Middlegate Street and Town Hill, or Prescott and Harvard streets of the present day. It was a pleasantly situated, sunny, well-built house, an inviting-looking dwelling-place to passers-by. It was occupied by the deacon until his death, November 26, 1839, when he was seventy-seven years old.

Deacon Tufts may be spoken of as, for some years, the prominent man in the First Church; and he was recognized as one of the reliable Christians of the day. He was inclined to cling closely to old opinions and to be jealous of all proposed changes, but he was a faithful

sentinel in the cause which he had espoused. He was an exemplary and much respected citizen. He carried on an extensive business, for his time, as a blacksmith. His shop was in the rear of his house on Main Street, and the area between the two buildings was always a scene of industry. The shop was a brick building, three stories high, erected with the view of alteration at some time into a dwelling-house, which was afterwards done. The same building, now standing on the corner of Devens and Main streets, is the present residence of Dr. J. S. Whiting. The homestead which formerly stood in front of it was taken down when Bow Street was widened.

Joseph F. Tufts, the eldest son of the deacon, was the father of the present treasurer of the Warren Institution for Savings — a position which he himself filled for several years. Joseph was a man of much ability, a very systematic and excellent business man, and he held many important trusts. He was employed early in life by his uncle, Nathan Tufts, in his business of tanning, and he afterwards carried on an extensive business as a partner with Gilbert Tufts in a tannery on Main Street, near the Neck. He was interested in the schools of the town, and was for some years a member of the school committee. He was also an active and leading member of the Winthrop Church and Society.

One of the daughters of Deacon Amos Tufts was the wife of a very prominent citizen and business man, Deacon Eliab P. Mackintire-another of the original and most efficient members of the Winthrop Church. He did an extensive jobbing and retail business in dry goods for many years, in Charlestown, and was after