XXX

The Once Prominent Breed Family

Richard and John Breed Commodore John Shaw Morton's Point Rope-making.

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BENEZER BREED, who occupied the fine estate described in the preceding chapter, was a merchant whose bills of exchange on England were for a long period looked upon and purchased with great confidence. But there came a day when they were not honored, and the good name of the house was irretrievably lost. Its failure was occasioned by a large loss met at the time of the fire in Doctor Beecher's church on Hanover Street, December 31, 1829. In the cellar of that church was stored a large quantity of merchandise, principally French brandy, which had been consigned to Mr. Breed by his correspondents in England, and which was uninsured, as they claimed, by his negligence. The loss fell upon him. The claim was disputed and kept off a long while, but it had to be met at last, and it was large enough, taken in connection with some other losses, to shake the foundations and cause the ruin of a concern that had been looked upon as perfectly strong and secure.

The dealings of Mr. Breed in his successful days had been with England, the Mediterranean, and the East Indies, and his operations were of considerable magnitude. A place in his counting-room was thought to be very

desirable, and many young men, sons of prominent citizens of Charlestown, were sent there to receive a business education. Charles and Richard Devens, George A. Kettell, Isaac W. Smith, and James L. Thompson were among those who spent some years at the old store and office in Dock Square. Eben and John Breed were originally importers and dealers in hardware, and when this business was given up John had a large balance to his credit which was left in his brother's hands to be used in a new business. Richard Breed lived in Liverpool, England, and Eben made shipments of merchandise, and drew and sold bills of exchange on him. John had also a good deal of real-estate, the rents of which were collected by Eben and paid over from time to time as wanted. When the failure took place, the indebtedness of Eben to his brother John was very large, and the loss which he met was the cause of an estrangement between them which was never overcome. The relations between Richard and Eben Breed were also disturbed by an interference, real or imaginary, in an application for a discharge in bankruptcy in the English Court.

Ebenezer Breed continued to occupy the estate on Adams Street, but his property was gone and the assistance of his brothers was limited. He died in 1850, a poor man. He was another of the original proprietors of the Harvard Church, and a constant attendant at the same. He was a gentlemanly man in his appearance, but the expression of his face was marred somewhat by projecting front teeth. He was exceedingly neat in his dress, and his address was that of a man who felt that his position in the community was one of prominence and importance.

John Breed was a man of very different aspect. He was rough-looking and forbidding, and he moved along as if he had little sympathy with the world around him. He was connected with his brother in business, and could be seen sometimes at the counting-room in Boston, but the greater part of his time was spent on Belle or Breed's Island, sometimes called Hog Island, which he owned and made his home. His manner of living here was rude; and there was nothing connected with it that it will be well to remember. He was never married.

The island mentioned was in many respects an interesting place. On it were many fine trees, and it was cultivated successfully as a farm. Between it and a point in Chelsea, where the Revere Rubber Company's factory is now situated, there was a bridge built by Mr. Breed, the draw of which was kept hoisted for the greater part of the time. It was lowered when the old man left the island, and also on his return, but at no other time without special permission. On the island was a cave, dug into the bank, supported by solid stone walls and closed with iron doors, and in it were deposited at times large amounts of silver money - Spanish dollars — collected and used for the purchase of East India goods, placed here for safe-keeping while the vessels on which it was to be shipped were getting ready for sea. Breed had in his employ an old Indian, called Gossum, whose special duty it was to have an eye on this cave, and whose sleeping-place was near to it. John Breed died suddenly and unexpectedly, from indigestion or its effects. Word was immediately sent to his brother in Charlestown, and the next morning Mrs. Breed, accompanied by a well-known clergyman of the town, made a visit to the

Mr.

island, where they found the body of the old man, on his untidy bed, just as he had died, untouched by any human hands. On a table by the bedside were a pair of loaded horse-pistols, which his old housekeeper informed them were always kept there for defense, if need be, against intruders on the island. After the necessary arrangements for attention to the body had been made, a look over the premises for the proper care of the personal effects of the deceased was had, and many valuable articles found were taken away in the carriage which had conveyed the party to the island. Among these things was an iron box found in the cave referred to, which contained $5000 in silver money, which was handed over to the executor named in a will also found on the premises, in Mr. Breed's own handwriting, on half a sheet of foolscap paper. By the will the bulk of his property was given to his brother Richard, of Liverpool, England, and but little to his brother Ebenezer.

Commodore John Shaw of the United States Navy, who married Mary Breed, was the son of an English officer. He was born in Queen's County, Ireland, in 1773, and emigrated to this country with an elder brother in 1790, settling in Philadelphia. He adopted a sea

faring life, and in 1797 was master of a brig sailing to the West Indies. He was appointed a lieutenant in the navy, August, 1798, on the breaking out of hostilities with France. He was advanced rapidly in the naval service and had a very distinguished career. He had charge of the Navy Yard in Charlestown for some time, and afterwards resided in the old Russell mansion-house on the Square, the same building that in later years was

occupied as a hotel called the Mansion House, which was very popular under the management of Gorham Bigelow and Charles Stinson.

The old brick house on the corner of Chelsea and Bunker Hill streets was built by Ralph Richardson in 1803. It was occupied for many years by Russell Sanborn. During the war of 1812 it was used as barracks. An old citizen of the town, who died not long ago, told me that he remembered distinctly seeing one of the soldiers sitting at the window with a gag in his mouth so arranged as to cause much suffering. This was one of the modes of punishment at that time which would hardly be submitted to now.

At the end of the last century, and for thirty years or more from the beginning of this one, the ropemaking business was a very considerable industry in this part of the town. There were two ropewalks in operation — one running in from the turnpike (Chelsea Street) to the rear of the Tufts and Breed estates, and another farther down, from Morton Street (now Moulton Street) to Mystic River. The last named was the first established. Joseph Burton and Benjamin Gray were its original proprietors, in 1794. Then Joseph N. Howe carried it on for some time. He was the father of Samuel Gridley Howe, the distinguished philanthropist, the projector and successful manager of the Perkins Institution for the Blind. Jeffrey Richardson and Thomas Larrabee were at one time interested in this cordage-factory. It was afterwards purchased by Captain Benjamin Whipple, who, with his partner, Edward Adams, carried on a successful business here for many years. The other