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WE S T C an a a n
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i
C a mbri dge, Jl l y 1 5 , 1 8 46
he th le ve
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C ome le v e t h y c re behi d thee
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Ch rl L w ll the se i or p stor simil r to t h se which h h s
u lly dd ssed to the ciety si ce g d i d mi t
h ve preve t d h i visi ti g th m It w s wri tt i h i ch my
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H ob rv d th t t h r w
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tr ditio of th C h bh,
LETTER
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71
C
i
Ls
THE S TO R Y O F AN O LD HO U S E
.
%i co
.
At 34 C h a m b er s S t ree t, Bos to n ,
2 3,
ag
%
H AN N AH BAR %ER O TIS ,
1 89 1 ,
75 ye a r s
ed
At 34 C h a m b
10,
e r
y
1 89 1 ,
a s
Ju n e
ers
.
S t ree t ,
M AR Y
S e p te m ber
O TIS ,
ag
ed
86
.
T
H ER E are m a n y perso n s n ow
l i vi n g to whom
34 Cham bers
Street has s t ood f or years as
”
%
th e H ouse Beautiful %and for their
s akes as well as because it s story i s u n iqu e in these days
an d bec aus e th e ligh t of t h e dear old wall s died out with Mary
O tis I am goin g t o write ab out it
This h ou s e was buil t i n th e y ear 1 80 0 by George Wash
i n gt on O tis of Scituat e wh o h ad com e to B o s ton t o see k his
fortun e H e was t he s on of J oshua O t is an d Mary Thaxter
Mary Thaxt er was th e daugh ter of Maj or Th axt er of Hing
ham a w o
man of rem arkable en ergy an d accom plishments
as strong a Tory as her father S h e was a woman of great
in tellectual st rength an d w ell kn ow n t hrough out th e east ern
part of the S tat e for her charmi ng conversation
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
.
.
,
,
.
,
.
m
4
S uch t own s a s H in gham Plym outh an d Barn s tabl e bore a
ve ry di ffere n t rel ation to B ost on in thos e days from that n ow
recogn ized Many of t he we a lthiest citizen s of the St at e re
si d ed i n th e farmin g town s and exercised a proportionat e i n
fl uen ce
The fi rst Josiah %
uin cy was n ot a Boston but a
Braintree m a n and th e O t i s e s of S cit uat e as well as th e
Thaxters of H ingh am were widely kn own N o n eed t o tel l
a New En glan d peopl e th at th e O t i s e s were s tron g pa t riots
sturdy in de fen ce of t h e i r righ ts %b ut M aj or Th axter wh o h ad
been an o fficer i n t h e royal a rm y gathere d th e draperies of
his bed in t o a g i l d ed crown and slept u nder it as long a s h e
l ived
Th e tester still s urvives t o auth enti cate th e story
Hi s d aughters however strong their o wn in herited Tory s e n
t i m en t s m igh t h ave been m arried m en o f t h e n ew regi m e
Th e older Sally w a s th e Wi fe of M aj or Pullin g an act ive
”
%
pat riot on e of th e Boston Tea Party and th e m an wh o
h un g ou t th e lant ern i n th e old Nort h C hurch as a signal for
Paul Revere Th ey lived un der the shadow of t he ch urch
at t h e N ort h En d an d Maj or Pullin g wa s im mediately s us
t
o
f
the
act
ec
e
d
p
H is h ouse wa s s earch ed b y th e British t r0 0 ps b ut h is
pl ucky wi fe hid him und er a win e butt in the cellar an d a ft er
th e un su cces sful search was over th e C ou pl e escaped i n a
sm all boat to N antasket B each H ere in a h ut M rs Pull
i n g s first child was b orn I n h er ol d age and s h e lived to
be over 9 0 s he was fo nd of relatin g th ese earl y ex o e ri e n c e s
I n h er fligh t s h e ha d tied various bulky pieces of silver around
h er waist u nder h er clot hin g a n d s h e would give an amu sin g
acco un t of th e effect h er s trange figure had up o n th e sailors
wh o helped h er into the boat
,
,
.
.
,
.
,
,
,
.
.
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
.
,
,
.
.
’
,
.
,
.
,
.
5
Mary Thaxter was m arried at sevent een to a h usband o nly
twenty two %an d wh en h er s on was bor n sh e was still youn g
en ough to in sis t upon his bein g n am ed George for t he king
J osh ua O tis was a great wag H e had been expelled from
n o t h alf so grave I feel sure
H arvard for s om e darin g caper
as m an y of th ose which dishon or its und ergrad uate s n ow a
day s
and before his wife was stron g e nough t o en ter th e
ol d church warm ed only b y a few coal s here and there in foot
furnaces he t ook t h e baby t o its christ en in g pro misin g that
it should receive th e n a me of George %h e %
ept his promi se
bu t h ad that of Washingt on added wh ich quite chan ged its
significan ce
%
J oshua O ti s who was a secon d cousin of Jam es O tis th e
”
”
%
a s a witty h and so m e m an
Patriot and Flam e of Fire w
but without e nergy or appli cat ion H is fam ily h ad al ways
been am ong the fi rst i n Scitua te %and aft er his m arriage h e
cont inu ed t o live on hi s estat e as a gen tlem an farmer, b ut
could do little for hi s children G eorge who was t he oldes t
s on cam e to Bost on t o pus h h i s o wn wa y at a very early age
H e was m arried before h e was twenty three an d bough t
land a n d b uilt a hou se b ef ore h e w a s twenty fi ve by his own
un as sisted efforts H e deeply fel t the wan t of a college ed u
cation To t hat every N e w England boy of condition then
felt him self entitled H e determ in ed that h is ow n ch ildren
sh ould have the very best All h is con n ectio n s had been
educated p eo pl e Mary Thaxter had four brot hers wh o were
physician s Dr Robert Thaxt er of Dorch est er was George s
ow n cousin as were al so Dr Gridley and Dr Ezekiel Thaxt er
and D r Benj ami n C ushin g s m oth er D r Frank Th om as of
-
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.
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,
,
,
-
-
/
,
,
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,
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,
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,
,
,
,
,
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,
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,
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-
,
s
-
s
,
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,
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’
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’
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,
6
S cit uat e
was a co usi n furth er rem oved I n South S cituate
there had been a D r O tis for three successive gen eratio n s
George O tis wa s b orn i n th e very m idst of the Revol uti on
in t he year 1 776 an d alt hough th e father was still living as a
ge n tlem an on th e ol d place at Scit uate th e so n could do
n othi n g bett er th an t o apprentice him sel f t o a carpen ter A s
every m em ber of t h e ol d Plym outh C ol ony had been required
to qual ify him self for m an ual labor of som e sort it i s n ot
l ikely that this w a s as heavy a cross as it would be to a n
ambitiou s young m an of t o day Wit h his com in g of age h e
b ecam e a builder or hous ewrigh t as it was the n called, a busi
n es s which in thos e d ays un ited the fun ction of t h e architect
and builder for all works n ot of a m on u m en tal or public
ch aract er H e built m a n y fi rs t clas s residen ces am on g others
several on the slope of Beacon S treet %and the house h e built
for him self when h e was twenty fi v e still sh ows t hat h e had
forgotten non e of th e tradition s of h is an cestry %uite early
i n life h e beca m e establish ed in t h e l u m ber business und er
th e fi rm n ame of O tis
Th axter t heir wharf being off Lev
and f or m any years in later life h e wa s S urveyor
e re t t Street %
General of L u m ber for th e city a n o ffice to which he was
appoi n ted by M ayor %
uin cy H e died in I 8 57
C hambers S treet has h ad a curious hi story George O tis
lived o n Pitt s Street when he fi rst m arried in 1 79 8 but s o
w ell had hi s int elligen ce and industry b een rewarded that h e
bought a bl ock of l a n d run ning from Cham bers Street n early to
North Russell Street where i n 1 8 0 0 he finished t his fi n e old
Chambers Street had
fash ion ed hous e with its large garden
been cut thro ugh t he ol d C hamb ers farm
N o 34 whic h
.
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,
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.
.
,
S cituat e wa s
.
.
e re t t
c ou s m
s
I
%
In
a
nt h
S c i tuate
o r ho u s ewrig ht a s it wa s th en c alle d a bus i
wh i ch in thos e d ay s u n ited t he f un ct i o n of t he a r c h i te c t
a t ti c a
n es s
a
build e r ,
‘
,
.
S tr e et
G e n era l
of
a nd
for ma n ,
L um b e r f or
the
yea r s
ci
ty
,
In
an
l a t er fl i fe
he wa s S urvey or
o ff i ce to whi c h he wa s
8
coc k St reet as if rising on tip to e to overlook th e shabby row
n ow built in i t s beau tiful front y ard
of o n e st ory shops
th e n reached sidewise t o C hambers S treet an d backward
toward s Green
Th e quai n t wooden ho us es were at las t re
placed by tidy brick blocks occupied at first by som e of ou r
b est fam ilie s n ow gen erally u sed as lodging house s and soon
perhaps to b e turn ed into o ffices
H ow m uch t he windows of No 34 h ave s een % S itting
behind t h eir V en etian blind s its i nm ates must o ften have
heard the exquisite voice of Martha Parker ech oing from
t he Opposit e h ou se a vo ice which perfec tly trai ned m ight
h ave rivalled th at of Jen ny Li nd
Twelve children were born to George O tis There were
nin e girls and t hree boy s Eight of these child ren belonged
to Abigail Cleverly of %
uin c y to whom he h ad been m arrie d
probably b y Dr H oward of the Wes t Ch urch i n 1 79 8
She
died in 1 8 1 6 and M r O t is was m arried a second t im e in 1 8 1 8
t o H an n ah Leavit t Waters by D r Coleman in H ingh am
By this secon d m arriage he h ad fo ur children T WO of the
girls di ed i n infan cy and th e second s on was l ost at sea at
t h e early age of t wenty nin e Seven girls lived t o m ore than
m iddle a ge in the h ouse where they were born and the
second wife died t here i n 1 8 80 at the age of n in ety t hree
O nly on e of th e girl s m arried and s h e whose sweet
Madon n a like fac e I w ell rem ember was m arried by Dr
Lowel l to Frederick William Greenleaf in 1 84 4 an d he dying
i n t he ol d house at t he early age of thirty is yet fam ous the
world o ver as the H arry Wadsworth of Edward Everett
H al e Perhaps s o short a life h a s n ever left s o deep a m ark
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23
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anni e t i o r.
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trui i t
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a
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shabby row
f
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t W muc h t he wi ndo ws of N o 34 h av e s e m i sl i t t i n g
Wa n d t he i r V en et ian blin d s i t s i n m a tes m ust oft en have
a
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,
the exqui s i t e vo rc e of Mart h a Pa rke r ech oing from
t h e o pposit e hou se a voic e whic h perfec tly trai ned m igh t
ha ve rivalled t ha t of J en n y Lind
Twelve children were b orn t o G e orge O ti a The re were
h eard
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d ie d i n
4 1 6 , a nd
12
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th e ear ly a ge of t We n t y IIi n e S e ven girl s l ived t o m or e tha n
m i d d l e a ge in t h e h ou s e where th e y wer e bu rn a n d t he
S eco n d wife die d t h er e i n 1 1 8 80 at the a ge of n e
w t wt hre e
O n ly on e of t h e gi r l s married and s he whu s e s we et
,
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.
9
O f two of t he son s I m u s t s a y a little m ore George Wash
He
i n gt o n Jr h is fath er s old est child was born in 1 80 0
was prepared for college by th e fam ous Master Staniford wh o
kept t h e bes t sch ool for both sexes at th e West En d George
entered H arvard whe n h e was only fourt een a n d graduat ed i n
1818
Am ong h i s classm ates were Sidn ey Bartl e tt Sam uel
Barre tt Tasker Swet t wh o m arried th e daugh t er O f J oseph
C o olidge and Dr Farley o f Brooklyn H e studied medicin e
with D r Joh n C Warren and in 1 8 2 1 sailed for Liverpoo l
which h e reach ed in twenty o n e days %H e studied in Londo n
an d Paris for nearly two years attending the l ect ures of D r
Abernethy and in 1 8 2 3 Opened an O ffi ce in B owdoin S qu are
H e wa s early con n ected wit h t he M assach uset ts Gen eral
H ospital and he an d Dr Wi n slow Lewis before the establi sh
m en t of th e Medical S ch ool at H arvard ope n ed a privat e class
for m edical studen t s w
hich in cluded O liver Wend ell H olm es
In 1 84 I h e was appointed superin tendent of the U n ited
S tate s Mari n e H ospit al i n C h els ea but was rem oved for
polit ical re asons i n 1 84 3 H e th en took a house in Chelsea
where h e rem ain ed unt il his d eath i n 1 8 7 2 At the beginning
of his career Dr O tis had a l a rge practice M uch was th en
expected Of a p hys IC Ia n who had be e n t o London an d Paris
I t was a privilege which few shared D r George had a h igh
reputation for learn ing and was said to be t h e best read m an
in h i s profession bu t he had inherit ed from J oshua O tis a
c ertain inertia with which hi s o wn fath er had probably sm all
sym pathy and m uc h preferred study to p ra c t l ce H e was a
skilful surgeon which sh oul d in th at early day have m a d e him
a ric h m an To the very last h e was a stockholder in the
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IO
B osto n A t h en mu m an d an o mn ivorous reader H e was
actively i ntereste d in the U nitarian C hu rch an d t h e settl e
m en t O f his c l assmate D r Barrett over t he Ch ambers Street
C hu rch was largely du e t o hi s influen ce
H e m arried later th an m ost m en Su san Mun roe born O f
an old Boston family an d left t wo daught ers n ow married in
Cal ifornia
George O tis was born in 1 80 0 his younges t bro th er J am es
a quarter Of a cen tury later in 1 8 26 O n e wa s th e Oldes t
th e oth er the you ngest Of th e l arge famil y at N o 34 Jam es
was christen ed by D r Charles Lowel l in t h e parlor of the
O l d h ouse
A ccord ing t o th e prevalen t custom D r Lowel l
brought M rs Lowell and t he young Jam es R ussel l wit h him
Th e wh ol e party stayed to t ea and t h e fut ure poet a n d dipl o
m at was m o un t ed in a high chair and arrayed i n a blue g i ng
”
h am tyer wh ic h his m ot her h ad brought i n her pocket
George h ad been educat ed ent irely at private sch ools %
Jam es wen t t hrough th e public which indicates a marked
change in t he habits of t h e co m m unity H e graduated fro m
th e B os to n H igh School at th e age of fifteen H is father
o ffered hi m a college course bu t h e was active and ambitious
and bent upon work
H e ent ered t h e well rem embered
c ounting roo m of C apt B enj amin Rich t h e day aft er hi s
gradu a tion
When C ap t Rich retired Jam e s becam e b oo k keeper for
M in ot
H ooper H ere h e becam e acquain ted with a frien d
of his em ployers C apt M a c on d ra y wh o having m ad e a
fortun e i n C hina had been l i vIn g 1n easy retirem e n t at D or
chester Whe n the gold fever broke ou t the capt ain had met
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12
U
n io n caus e H is bu s iness called hi m Ofte n to Ch in a and
Japa n and the hous e in Bosto n was decorated fro m raft er to
cellar wit h t he beautiful products of his j ourneyings H e l eft
s i x children still l iving in t h e State Of h is adoptio n
I t will b e seen that aft er t h e fath er s death in 1 8 57 the
fam ily at N O 34 was a very rem arkable on e th e widow and
five d aughters lived on i n th e old hom e O nly on e of t h e
sist ers had m arried %C arolin e wh o h ad married Frederick
Gree nleaf lived in Worcester a n d with her h er sister Ade
l in e b u t a few years later bot h Of th e m ret urned t o t h e hom e
stead an d even tually both d ied th ere t hus C arolin e was b orn
married and died in th e sam e hous e S h e s urvived her hu s
ban d t wenty tw o years dying i n 1 8 72
I n 1 8 6 0 l es s t han three years aft er th e fath er s death the
firs t break in the fam ily was caused by the deat h O f Sall y t h e
third daughter wh o passed away after a l ong an d m ost pain
ful illn ess born e with In sp i ring fortitude S he had be en f or
m an y years a teach er in the Wes t C hurch Su nday s chool
having a class of youn g ladies som e Of w h om st ill survive to
bear t est imony to h er con scientio us in struction and stri kin g
personal refi n em e nt A few m o nth s later sh e wa s followed
by Abby t h e Old es t daught er whose su m m on s was as sudden
as t hat Of h er sister had b een prolonged Th ese death s
made a profoun d ch ange i n th e fam ily life Bo th had been
am ong th e m ost high spirit ed Of the sisters and Abby in
especial h ad been t h e life Of th e fam ily She w a s m usical
and w itty and a favorite w ith peopl e of all ages O n e of
h er b right sayings is st ill often quoted : I n th e corn er O f
th e ent ry h a s long stood a t all eigh t day Willard cl ock %
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3
high up on a l edge on o n e side is kept it s key while on th e
corresp on din g l edge o n the other sid e is th e key Of t he
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family burial vault on t h e C ommon % Time an d Etern i ty
an d often sin ce t hen h ave these words
s h e called thes e k eys
com e back with star t li n g significan ce a s on e after an other of
th e fam ily has left tim e behind and passed Onward in to
etern ity
Whe n Mrs Otis di ed four si ngl e daught ers s u rv1v ed h er
Four years lat er Adel in e di ed suddenl y S he was a perso n
of beautiful characte r having an un u sual co mbin at ion of
great spirit and ready wit u n ited with rare gentleness and
warmth of a ffection
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ee t e s t w m ever
P er ver s e d e i e d h ous e h
Th e
sw
o
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an
F
at
ol d
a
e
,
ma te
”
.
She h a d been enti r el yd evot ed to C arolin e and her son ever
sin ce t h e death O f M r Green l eaf livin g with t hem i n Wo r
D r J oseph S argen t of Worcest er
c e s t er fo r m a n y years
s aid th at M rs Gr eenleaf s s on w as th e on l y ch ild of two
m ot h ers
alluding to Adelin e s m at ernal dev ot ion to hi m
Jan e wa s the youngest daugh t er S he had been the beauty
of the fam i ly and m uch given to society i n her earlier days
S heh ad a pleasant amiable dispo sition an d was passionately
fon d of flowers F or many years s h e d evoted h er sel f to the
failing stren gth O f her aged m other When Jane d ied i n
1 88 7 t here rem ained only H annah and Mary
O n e Of t h e most s t riking feat ure s Of t he famil y life for
more than n in ety y ears had been th e free hospitality which
contin ued unint errupt ed througho ut the lives of all th e
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i n mates They were peopl e Of lim ited m ean s They rarely
went anywhere an d shrank from visiting B ut n o peopl e
ever h ad m ore com pany M r O tis an d his wife were ex
t re m e l y h ospitabl e an d h is children followed the exampl e
Every on e wh o cam e t o th e h ou se m ust remain for a meal or
a visit Early in th e cen tury com pany was contin uous n ot
in th e way Of st at ed ent ertain m e n t s b ut cordially w elcom ed
in to the routin e o f family life Their o ut O f town relatives
a
were n u merous and N O 34 was t h e fam ily h eadquarters
fashion m ore con d ucive t o cordial an d en durin g friend ship
th an t h e m ore ceremonious i ntercourse of th e presen t d ay
N ever was t here m ore dainty h o usekeeping or m ore careful
”
%
coo ki n g Wh en at last t h e light wen t ou t and th e wh ol e
burden had lain for five years upon the shoulders O f a wom an
over eighty it would have b een di ffi cul t for the m ost critical
eye t o have fou nd a flaw
I had kn own the O t i s es well in my earl ier days We were
united in ou r d evotion t o D r Charl es Lowell and Elizabeth
H oward Bart ol We were un it ed in th e S at u rd ay class the
tea c hers meetings t h e Wednesday nigh t disc ussion s t h e
o l d sewin g circle th e Sunday school blessed by th e s a m t e d
presence O f H elen Lorin g an d superint e nded by her brot h er
B osto n s well known lawyer Later we were un ited a t M rs
Lorin g s house in work for th e Freedm en Pass ing th rough
Bost on i n th e S pring of 1 8 8 7 j ust aft er J ane s death I re
n e wed o ur broken i nt ercourse and for t he first time becam e
a n in m at e O f t he fam ily an d saw on ce m ore t h e orderly life
th e Open hearted w elcom e and th e seren e faithfuln ess th at
had dist inguish ed m any h ouseh old s fifty years a g o U nt il
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I
S
Mary s d eat h in S epte m ber 1 8 9 1 it remain ed my Bost on
home t he on e pl ace t o which I could go a s to a m other s
house without an i n vitation s ure of a wel com e I was th ere
in J une a l ittl e while before H a n n ah s death I n all t h e
nin ety ye ars of its o ccupation t h e Old house had rem ained
with out change As th e famil y di m inished i n n umbers sev
eral things m igh t h ave bee n don e t o m ake it m ore co n ven
%
it would
i e n t but Mary tho ugh t it was hardly worth whil e
”
n o t be wanted m uch lo n ger
With th at fatal ity so ofte n re
marked in similar cases a good deal wa s d o ne i n the spring
H ann ah h ad been ill all winter %a n e w hall bed
Of 9 1
room was fi tted u p o n t h e s am e floor as h er s un ny cham
ber O n t he second s tory a part it ion was take n away le a v
i ng a beautiful hall in which som e o f the O l d fashioned fur
w
The
windo
was
a
perfect
n i t u re was pre ttily di s layed
p
bower for a wistaria o f m any years growth fl u ng it s arm s
right an d left wavi ng long purple banners ou t he air And
m ore than all a handsom e n e w front d oor repl aced t hat
which h ad Opened an d sh ut for n inety years with cordial
g ood will
Thes e things H an nah n e vef Sa w She was free from pain
h appy and at rest but not able t o move about I shall never
forget the pleasure s h e t ook in th e vario us flowers t h at I
brought t o her in J un e That they cam e from th e gardens
o f ol d frien ds or well kn own person s such as Dr Hedge an d
t he H oll ands H oars an d Em erson s O f C oncord added t o
t heir attract ion s She was the least kn own O f her fam i ly
N O life m ore secl uded was ever led b ut n o woman was ever
m ore m odest sweet and disi nt erested Not a day of h er i n
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16
alid life w hich lasted for u pwards of twelve years bu t
cheered so m e other life an d h er own bu rden was n ever heavy
wh ile s h e could li ft the bu rd en of an ot her O n e day s h e fell
asleep an d n ever woke God spared h er all t he pain s he
wo uld have felt h ad sh e kn own sh e m ust l eave M ary al on e
I h urried back to rel ieve th e surviving s ister s press in g cares
Then I saw for the fi rst tim e what a foun tain O f ben e fi ce n ce
flowed fro m N O 34 Endeavo rin g t o shield Mary all I co uld
I kept myself i n the way of callers an d it was strange
%
how Impossibl e it s eemed to thos e acc us tomed to M iss
”
H an nah s bou nty t o believe that s h e wa s dead O n t he
dav of the fun eral I fou nd an Old col ored wom an breakfasting
in the ki tch en wh o had enj oyed t hat pl easure at H annah s
order every Wedn esday and S aturday for seven teen years %
N ever would H ann ah co nsen t that any on e should go em pty
”
away %an ol d fashion ed virtue worthy Of record A s w e
”
turned away fro m t he old C o m mo n b uryin g grou nd I felt
t h at Mary would not l ong s urvive h er S ister As we entered
th e house s h e paus ed for a m om en t be fore th e n ew fron t
”
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%
door :
H ann ah n ever s a w it she s aid % it was m ade f or
”
h er t o b e ca rri ed Mm ug k
As long as anythin g rem ain ed t o
be do ne Mary s strength held ou t but H an nah s lon g ill n ess
had b een a severe strain u pon her Day by day s h e took up
her O l d cares resum ed her reading late at night and S lept
she said like a baby
At last i t becam e n eces sary to cal l in a physician She
”
”
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had taken a littl e col d
sh e said % i t was n othing
On
Tuesday nigh t sh e gave her usual ord ers S he promised t o
stay in bed t h e n ext day becaus e th e d octor desired it
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I7
At eigh t o clock sh e t ook u p h er pen for th e last tim e an d in
th e beautiful clear script that M a ster S tani ford had taugh t
her and with a han d that did n ot trem ble recorded t he hour
wh en sh e had taken an d was n ex t t o t ake h er m edicin e
In a li ttl e over twen ty fou r hours s h e h ad j oin ed th e large
House Beau
co n gregation of h er kindred The light
tiful had gon e ou t %
I shrink from portrayin g such a character a s h ers and in
do i ng it I shall quote l argely f r om th e words of her s urviving
n ephew
H er outward life was very un eventful a n d rem arkabl e
f or it s even ness an d steadfast devotio n t o t h e d uties which
lay directly before h er To die in t h e house i n which s h e
was born eigh ty s i x years be fore in whi ch s h e had lived
with o ut i n t e rrupti on an d t o h ave had in that l ong life but
tw o clergym en i s surely a uniqu e experien ce i n t h e Boston of
t o d a y D r C harles Lowell baptized h er S he was th e firs t
child h e con secrat ed after he be cam e t he m ini ster of the West
C hurch Dr Bartol gat hered wild roses from h i s Man ches
ter farm t o b e laid on H ann ah s co ffi n an d Mary s h eart
throbbed wit h pl eas ure a s sh e read the words that cam e with
t h em
She had n ever gone ou t of th e St at e Th e male m e m
b ers of the famil y had t ravelle d widely but M ary and H an nah
wen t to Scituat e to s e e their gran dm other and th eir au nts
an d to Worcester to s ee th eir married sister It was th ey
who
kept the hom e
O f Mary h er Scit uate aunts used to
say that s h e n ever was a child
S h e h a d been born a littl e
”
wom an
She had a clas s in th e S un day school of the Wes t
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%
C hurch for thirt y seven years a n d u ndoubtedly would h ave
kept it t ill sh e died had not th e school bee n cl osed for wan t
O f pupil s B etween h er and h er last pupil t h ere was a stron g
A S a man of forty h e cam e t o h er f u neral
att ach ment
M ary had n o p ers on al am bitio n
W i th powers that would
h ave Open ed any way of life th at wom an ever e ntered s h e
as ked for n oth in g but t o be allowed t o fulfil th e n earest duty
S he was extr emely m odest an d was always ready t o defer to
the superior kn owl edge and ability Of others S he sho wed a
fin e deference t o the hum bles t claim made upon her and al l this
wit hout vitiating her own good j udgm ent which she steadi l y
retained and im parted if t h ere was n eed I n t h e sam e spirit
Of self s urren der S he gave up t he i n tell ectual p ursuits whi ch
were h er chief pl easure and for w hich her s uperior m en tal
qualities emin ently fitt ed h er f or t h e co m mon d uties which
pressed upo n her fro m famil y and n eig h bo rho od
Fro m th e tim e Of h er fat h er s death in 1 8 5 7 to th at of h er
t hirt y fo ur years after she practicall y m an aged th e
ow n
complicat ed affai r s of an estate whic h has n ever yet b een
divided keepi ng all t he acco unt s f or t h e eigh t h eirs b esid es
h er st ep m oth er receiving a n d disb ursing all th e inco me
att endin g to the let ti n g Of th e h ou ses and th e repairs At
t h e s am e ti me sh e kept th e h ouseh old accounts and took
charge Of t he h om e I n th e earlier d ays s h e was m antu a
m aker for h erself and h er sisters tri mmin g th eir bonn et s
and cutti ng an d fi ttin g th eir u nderc l othing U n til verV
recen tly sh e sat up u ntil on e o clock in t he m orning a n d
som eti mes l ater reading This was kw time after all t he
others were safe i n bed N one Of t h e m en ever n eeded a
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y ears ol d H er fam i ly were people of wealth and s ocial
i mportance H er father s step mo ther m arried t h e Rev Joh n
H an co ck O f Lexin gto n th e fath er of J oh n H an cock who
sign ed th e D ecl aration of I ndependence M ary Th axter
wen t Often t o th e Old H an cock H ous e o n Beacon H ill i n h er
yo uth an d all h er as sociation s were upl iftin g Mary O ti s was
n am ed for her grandmoth er and s eem s t o m e t o have i n h e r
B oth had Toryis m apart soun d
i t e d m any of her traits
j udgm en t an d s trong charact er M iss Nabby O tis one O f
George W O tis s S isters was a very accomplish ed woman
sh e was ed ucat ed at t h e D erby Academy i n H in gham t he
great fi nishing school of t h e Sou th Sh ore
B ut what ever th e i nfluences were beyon d th e best school s
that could be fo un d wh ich mat ured t h e characters and
imparted solid worth to th e O tis sisters certain it is that they
were a m o st un usual group O f women O n e O f th e m os t
strikin g traits in t h e whole family h a s been thei r united a ff ec
t ion and devotion t o each o th er with out a n y dist in ction o n
acco un t Of the secon d m arriage J an e an d J ames w
ere a s
dear t o th e Ol der o nes as th eir full brothers and sisters and
George an d M ary were as dear t o th em There never wa s a
breath Of j ealousy n or t he slight est quarrel N or did any
trying t rait in the a ged m ot her m ar th e s weet peace O f th e
ho usehold Th ey n ever i ndulged i n ill natured g ossip or
s cand al and I t hink thei r person al digni t y m ade th em c on
sider all s orts Of small talk ben eat h t hem N O o n e could
acc use the m of spreading st ories which h ad bet t er be s u p
pressed Th ey showed a rare discretio n in their c onversa
t ion which wa s th e m ore necessary as t hey h ad known s o
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21
well th e private history Of the older Boston fam ilies Th ey
were a n oble s et of wom en and of th em all M ary was th e
n oblest
Edwa rd Everett Hal e spoke f or us all at her funeral H is
”
affection f or Harr y Wadswort h m ade th e ho us e in which
he died s acred an d had Open ed th e m inist er s e y es t o th e
precio us fam il y life
Aft er Mary s d eath i t w as found t hat s h e had kept a
j o urnal f or m ore than sixty years and in i t s h e h ad
recorded the l ast S ic kn ess of every m ember Of h er family
an d had su mm ed up th e charact er Of each H ann ah s death
scarcely el even weeks preceding her own form ed n o exception
We fo un d also a folio Of m athem atical dem on stration s pre
pared wh e n s h e wa s only t h irt een for som e exh ibition at
%
Master S t a n i f ord s s chool Th e friend s of higher ed uca
tion will find n o g i rl of thirt een capabl e O f such work n ow
a days
N ot a faul t n or fail ure from o n e end t o the oth er of
its fifty pages H er h an dwritin g was always beautiful At
the age of th irtee n it was perfect I t migh t have been
C opperplat e s o steadily did her sere n e self possession compel
her p en
I n con n ection with t his remarkabl e fam il y th ere i s st ill
an oth er poin t worthy Of n otice N o o n e ever heard an y of
th e O t is family com plain Of poor servan ts % During the n i n ety
years that th e h o use h a s been occupied t here n ever was any
di ffi culty in fillin g the kitch en acceptabl y The ho use is Old
fashioned %wat er has still t o b e carried u p and down %with
th e ex cept ion of a fur n ace and gas it has ad m itted n o m odern
conveni ences H ow did it happe n that servant s ca m e Wi llingly
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22
t o work in it ? F i rs t because all the wom en of t h e h ouse
were good hous ekeepers and kn ew wh at t h ey had a righ t to
require %and s econ d becaus e h ere t he servants foun d fair
wages and a p e rm a n en t d om e Th e wom en came and stayed
un til they m arried Wh en they did so th ere was always a
Nort h Country cousin or sist er ready t o t ake th e vacan t pl ac e
a n d wh o cam e t o be fitted to h er work before th e O l d servant left
I n all m odern discus sion s O f t he s ervan t qu estion thi s m ost
im port an t po in t is left o ut Serva n ts can n ot be trai n ed o r
becom e warmly attached t o a family in s i x m on ths and t he
m odern practice is t o break up th e househ old every h al f
year Mary O tis ruled h er servan t s as a m o ther migh t
She kn ew wh at t h ey did wit h t h eir wages sh e watch ed over
th eir sh opping %s h e call e d them t o shar e every ho useh old
pleasure w hich they could com prehen d She wa s properly
fam iliar with all th eir ways knew their l overs and pet ted
their bab ies and upon this fam iliarity they n ever pres u m ed
D uring th e s a d days of last J un e and last Sept ember Old
married servant s cam e back an d shared th e cares which t he
fun eral arrangements m ade n ecessary and the y would accept
n o pay for th eir services
”
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Farewell O dear H ouse Bea utiful % B efore 1 8 9 2 h as
e nded t he stranger will si t within yo ur gates and t h e Old
cl oc k in the entry w hich for eigh ty s even years h a s tic ked to t h e
varyin g episodes of the family l ife will l ook on other faces
and s cen es I w ish it need n ot be Rat her would I t hat
you r con secrated t imbers vanished i n a chario t o f fi re
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C A R O LIN E H E AL EY
WA S H ING T O N Ja n
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1 2,
1 89 2 .
DA LL
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