Ο VII The Thompson Homestead Timothy Thompson and his Family. N the corner of Cordis Street and Back Lane (now Warren Street) was a lot of land on which, a little beyond the center from Cordis Street, stood an old-fashioned dwelling-house, painted yellow. It was two stories high on the front, and one in the rear, the pitch of the roof on that side running farther down than on the front. The house was surrounded with shrubbery and fruit-trees, among them an abundance of quincebushes, the blossoms of which are so charming to the eye in spring, and the fruit, skillfully preserved, so important an item in the make-up of an old-time teatable. Near the house was a well, for years a blessing to the neighborhood, for the water was very pure, and many were the buckets that were filled from the spout of the old pump, the handle of which was almost constantly in motion. At an earlier date, an old oaken bucket hung in the well, which, with a sweep, did the work afterwards facilitated by the pump. And here it may not be out of place to allude to a fact of some interest in a recollection of the old town, — namely, that Samuel Woodworth, the author of "The old oaken bucket, the iron-bound bucket, The moss-covered bucket that hung in the well,” was for some time a clerk with Commodore John Downes, in the Navy Yard, and a resident of Charles town. From the windows of the old house, before the laying out of Cordis and Pleasant streets, the occupants could look out upon green fields running up from Back Lane to the battle-field, or watch the cattle as they were grazing in the pastures of Captain Cordis, John Hay, and others. Later on, the laying out of lots, the construction of streets, the erection of buildings, the march of improvement, were open to their view, and the growing importance of the town must have been a pleasant theme for them to dwell upon. He was The house to which we have referred was originally the carpenter-shop of Timothy Thompson, a descendant of James Thompson, "who, early in 1630, when he was thirty-seven years old, joined the large company of about fifteen hundred persons who, under the lead of Governor Winthrop, landed on the shores of New England during that eventful year." James Thompson, therefore, was one of the first settlers of Charlestown. admitted to membership in the First Church in August, 1633, and in the following December was made a freeman of the town. He had planting-grounds in 1635–’36, and soon came into possession of considerable of an estate in lands, which he no doubt cultivated and used as a yeoman or farmer. He soon, with others, pushed his way into what was then a wilderness, and fixed his home in that part of Charlestown which in 1642 was cut off and incorporated as a distinct municipality under the name of Woburn. Timothy Thompson, whose home and shop on Back Lane we have referred to, was born in Woburn, but came to Charlestown some time before 1773, as he was taxed that year. On January 3, 1775, he was married to Mary Frothingham, daughter of Joseph Frothingham, chaise-maker, whose residence then was on the Main Street about where the Clapp estate is now situated. Mr. Thompson was a sergeant in the military company of the town, commanded by Captain Josiah Harris, and was with that company at the battle of Bunker Hill. Just before his marriage he had built a house for Seth Sweetser, the old school-master, a part of which he occupied. This house was on Main Street, near Town Hill, not far from the present junction of Harvard and Main streets. The stone building occupied now as a furniture-store may cover a part of the same land on which the little house was erected. When the final settlement for building the house was made, there was an understanding in regard to its future ownership, and three years' rent in advance was paid by Mr. Thompson to Mr. Sweetser. Here then the newly married couple were established and happy in their first home. this promising beginning was not to last long. But On the 19th of April, 1775, the young wife was spending the day at her father's house, and news of the fight at Lexington and Concord was received while she was there. Her father came home in the afternoon to inform the family that the British soldiers were on their way back in confusion, that it was unsafe for the women and children to remain in town, and that arrangements had been made for their removal. He told his daughter that her husband was too much engaged to see her, that she could go to her own house, but must gather up speedily what little she could take away; and when she did leave she had with her only what could be taken in a small bag. Everything else was abandoned, even the pot of beans and a few loaves of bread in the oven, and a quarter of veal hanging in the cellar-way. There was great hurrying at the ferry-way at the Neck where the river was to be crossed (where Malden Bridge now stands), and before they got started one of the party, a young man, was killed by a shot from the musket of one of the returning soldiers. The family were safely landed on the other side of the river, and were taken to a place of safety in the country. They had left their homes never to return to them again, the battle of Bunker Hill and the burning of the town taking place soon after. When the force of the shock at the destruction of their property had been spent, many of the inhabitants of the town returned to rebuild, and among them came Mr. Thompson, with his wife and his first child, Joseph, who had been born in Woburn. He purchased a lot of land on Main Street, near one belonging to his father-inlaw, Joseph Frothingham, with whom he temporarily resided. This lot of land was situated where Thompson Street now meets Main Street. On it he put a building in which was one finished room for his residence, the rest being occupied as a shop. In that room his second son, Timothy, was born, February 24, 1777, the first male child born in Charlestown after the battle of Bunker Hill. Not long after, Mr. Thompson enlarged his lot by a new purchase, and, to make room for a new house which he contemplated building, the shop was removed from Main Street to Back Lane, and was placed upon a lot of land there which he afterwards bought. The shop was transformed into a dwelling-house, one room at a time, and was his residence until 1794, when the new house on Main Street was completed, into which some time during that year he removed. The house on Back Lane was that described at the beginning of this article, and it was the birthplace of all his children but Joseph, the eldest, who was born in Woburn, and Benjamin, the youngest, who first saw the light in the Main Street house in 1798. Joseph, the first-born of the family, lived but seven years, from September 12, 1775, till April 5, 1782. Timothy, Samuel, Abraham Rand, Joseph 2d, Mary (Mrs. Richard Frothingham), Lydia, Susannah (Mrs. William Sawyer), and Thomas Miller were born, as we have said, in the building removed from Main Street to Back Lane. Of one of these children, Samuel, we said something in our last notice of Cordis Street. The others lived and died in Charlestown, some of them being very prominent in its affairs. We shall say more of them hereafter. Thomas Miller died in Boston. The house which took the place of the shop on Main Street was the residence of Timothy Thompson, senior, from the time it was built, in 1796, until his death, February 4, 1834, when he was eighty-four years old. It still stands on the corner of Thompson Street, and was occupied for many years as an apothecary's shop by the late William B. Morse. It was an oblong house, with its end on the street, and with a little garden in front, part of which, some time after the death of the old gentleman, was covered by a one-story, flat-roofed building, the same now occupied by D. J. Hart & Co.'s provision |