-C 209 
 M4 W6 
 opy i 
 
 
 <^>. 
 
 Ueprintetl 
 
 ,YNW, MAI 
 
THE BELLS OF LYNN 
 
 A PAPER GIVEN BEFORE 
 
 THE LYNN HISTORICAL SOCIETY 
 
 DBCBMBBE lO, 1914 
 
 3Z 
 
 C. J. H. Woodbury, A. M., Sc. D., President 
 
 Reprinted from the Register of the Society, Volume XVIII 
 
 LYNN, MASS. 
 

 Gift 
 
 Author 
 
 MAY 20 I9i ? 
 
 ^ 
 
 ^ fo 
 
 ^* 
 
THE BELLS OF LYNN 
 
 By C. J. H. Woodbury, A. M., Sc. D., President, Lynn Historical Society, 
 December 10, 1914. 
 
 From time immemorial the impressive sounds of bells 
 have been used to stimulate communities among all races 
 sufficiently civilized to construct them ; both Christians and 
 pagans have alike used bells to awaken their people to 
 their various religious duties. 
 
 In the early centuries of the Christian era, messenger 
 runners (cursores) were used to call the faithful to prayer 
 at houses of worship. Later, trumpets, kettle-drums and 
 watchmen's rattles were used for the same purpose. 
 
 Pagans undoubtedly preceded Christians in the use of 
 bells as an adjunct to religious ceremonies. The use of 
 bells in Christian churches was initiated near the end of the 
 third century by St. Paulinus, Bishop of Nole, in Campania, 
 Italy, which gave the Latin name to a bell. 
 
 The first ringing of a church bell is naturally preceded 
 by ceremonies appropriate to the customs of the sect. In 
 churches of the Roman Catholic faith this blessing of the 
 bell is conducted with impressive ceremonies, being accom- 
 panied by a baptism in the church with a godfather and 
 godmother, and this baptism is reserved to a bishop. 
 
 ALARM BELLS 
 
 Bells serve at the tocsin of war, as was the case in the 
 recent declaration of war by Germany, where the ringing 
 of bells all over the empire summoned men to their military 
 posts. 
 
4 LYNN HISTORICAL SOCIETY 
 
 In England alarm bells are rung backwards, that is, 
 beginning with the largest and extending to the smallest, 
 giving an ascending scale of. tones. On the continent, I 
 understand that they have no such custom of signals at this 
 time, although it is said to have formerly prevailed, as it is 
 related that the tolling of the bells backward was the tocsin 
 the French first used as an alarm of fire and then for an 
 uprising of the people. In the French Revolution it was 
 the summons for a united attack against the Royalists. 
 
 After Constantinople was captured by the Turks under 
 Mohammed II, May 29, 1453, the conquerers forbade the 
 Christians to ring the bells in their churches, lest it should 
 be a signal for revolt. 
 
 Alarms of fire or invasion and public rejoicings are all 
 indicated by the ringing of bells. The fire alarm, by its 
 signals of numbers, is one of the examples of concrete 
 information conveyed by the ringing of bells, and one 
 curious bit of its history is that Professor Moses Farmer 
 had despaired of any opportunity to put his invention into 
 practice when the city of Boston, outside of all precedent, 
 and perhaps law, bought the local patent rights under 
 virtually a promoter's contract, which it holds to this day. 
 
 SIGNALLING BELLS 
 
 There is" a general use of bells of which but little pub- 
 licity has been made, especially in connection with light 
 ships and also light-houses, where submarine bells are 
 struck in foggy weather, with the numbers corresponding to 
 the signals of flashes from such lights ; water being so 
 superior to air as a conductor of sounds that these vibra- 
 tions of the submarine bells are caught by telephones placed 
 overboard from vessels and heard from far greater distances 
 than would be the case with the ringing of such bells in the 
 air. 
 
LYNN HISTORICAL SOCIETY 5 
 
 A higher degree of transmission of intelligence is 
 general throughout Africa, where the natives carve from 
 very hard tropical woods, gigantic square bells, about four 
 feet in height, in form like a magnified cowbell, and on 
 these they tap out, with the bell inverted, signals in a uni- 
 versal language which can be understood by various tribes 
 and heard in the quiet of evening for about five miles. 
 
 This universal language differs from their various dia- 
 lects and is comparable to our Arabic system of notation of 
 numbers or our method of musical writing in the extent to 
 which it is understood by those speaking different dialects. 
 African travelers, although they have never solved this 
 method of signalling, relate in their books many instances 
 of this method of communication. 
 
 But one of the most notable instances of this method 
 was that the fall of Gordon at Khartoum was known in the 
 bazaars of Cairo the next day and related to the Europeans, 
 who did not receive the information by couriers until about 
 a fortnight later. 
 
 CURFEW BELLS 
 
 The old time custom of the curfew at nine o'clock is 
 rapidly falling into disuse, not merely because people keep 
 later hours than was the case before the present develop- 
 ment of all types of artificial light, but also on account of 
 the more general use of watches and clocks. I understand 
 that the Second Universalist is the only Lynn church which 
 continues the hand rung curfew. 
 
 In my boyhood it was a frequent practice to go upon 
 High Rock, sometimes alone and sometimes with others, at 
 9 o'clock in the evening and listen to the curfews of the 
 five bells then in the city on the Second Universalist, the 
 First Baptist, the First Methodist, the East Baptist and St. 
 
6 LYNN HISTORICAL SOCIETY 
 
 Paul's meeting-houses, and the blending of these curfew 
 notes always made the trip to the rocky height impressive, 
 and the whole effect of these swinging bells was compar- 
 able to a peal. 
 
 THE USE OF BELLS FOR PUBLIC NOTIFICATION 
 
 Public bells in the olden times had an important 
 function in the dissemination of information of the time, as 
 well as summoning the people to their devotions, and before 
 the general use of bells the early New England churches 
 were equipped with various means of making a noise. The 
 drum was in general use and also a steel triangle, such as 
 is used at the piers of the Narrow Gauge ferry in time of 
 fog. There have also been references to horns made from 
 conch shells, and also to the use of the ram's horn, which 
 they adapted from the Jewish practice. 
 
 One of the uses of bells was that of the town crier, 
 which archaic custom is still preserved in a very few rural 
 communities. In Lynn the town crier for many years was 
 one Harvey Downing, who abounded in eccentricities which 
 made him a noted character on account of his tendency to 
 practical jokes, often of the rougher kind. His hand bell 
 is still preserved in another city, and it is hoped that it will 
 come into the ownership of this Society as a desirable relic 
 which served such an important function in the olden time. 
 
 The general use of watches is a result of the precision 
 of time necessary in railroad transportation, and there is 
 not the need which formerly existed for the church bell to 
 indicate the time, beyond the daily signal sent out from 
 astronomical observatories, which is repeated on the bells 
 and gives an opportunity for setting watches and clocks. 
 
 In the old countries, bells were used in functions of 
 royalty. They were tolled on the death of a monarch and 
 
LYNN HISTORICAL SOCIETY 7 
 
 pealed on the accession of the prince to the throne. "The 
 King is Dead ! Long Live the King ! " The occurrence 
 of the birth of a royal child was promulgated by the ring- 
 ing of bells, and its sex announced by an even number of 
 strokes for a prince and an odd number for a princess. 
 The bells pealed for royal weddings, and their clang gave 
 notice of public events. 
 
 In this democratic country, the bells rang on election 
 days as they now do on the Fourth of July. On both 
 occasions the regular bell ringers were reinforced by 
 enthusiastic boys, glad to unite in making a noise, and 
 innumerable stories are told of the mishaps from the inex- 
 perience of those who did not realize that there is a time to 
 let go, as well as a time to pull on a bell rope and when 
 the bell turned over they were quickly pulled up towards 
 the ceiling and more rapidly let down, sitting with such an 
 emphasis on the hard floor that the last state of that man 
 was generally worse than the first. 
 
 BELLS AS MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS 
 
 I believe that a bell is the only musical instrument 
 which produces a number of notes from a single act and this 
 volume of harmony with its far reaching effects, differing 
 according to the method of ringing, awakens varying 
 emotions in people over a larger expanse of territory than 
 any other instrument. 
 
 Some of the European bells are of such perfect pro- 
 portion and quality of bronze as to give very long vibra- 
 tions ; and as early as 1653, one of the old bell founders 
 declared that a bell should give a range of three octaves. 
 
 A bell must be in tune with itself before it can be used 
 to harmonize with other bells in the same belfry. The 
 fundamental note of a bell is determined by its diameter 
 
8 LYNN HISTORICAL SOCIETY 
 
 and the volume of sounds by its weight, but the quality or 
 timbre of its tone is based upon its shape, thickness and 
 alloy, all of these characteristics being dependent upon 
 trade secrets of the bell founders. 
 
 The sound of the bell is a blending of different notes, 
 owing to the differences in vibration of the various portions 
 of the bell in its different diameters, changing rapidly from 
 circular to oval forms, and also the more complex longitudi- 
 nal vibrations. The lowest note upon a bell is a relatively 
 weak one, known as the drone, above which is the princi- 
 pal tone, which gives the keynote of the bell, termed the 
 fundamental, and there are several overtones above that. 
 These various tones can be ascertained, not by striking the 
 bell, but by using some keyless instrument, as a violin or 
 slide trombone, near to the mouth of the bell and noting the 
 synchronous response of the bell to the various pitches of 
 the instrument. If these several notes on a bell are har- 
 monious in their relations to each other the bell is known 
 as being of a fine tone. If they are discordant, the dis- 
 sonance condemns the bell as being unpleasant in tone. 
 Some of these overtones are relatively weak, and a bell 
 which is discordant at short range may be harmonious when 
 heard from a distance beyond the reach of these harmonics. 
 
 Although the tone of a bell is dependent upon fixed 
 conditions, yet the effect of the ringing is due to widely 
 different conditions, among them being the extent to which 
 the sound may be muffled by restricted openings or blinds 
 surrounding the belfry ; another, the height of the bell, 
 permitting the sound to emerge from its mouth, and also 
 the method of its suspension, as a bell which is swung gives 
 very much finer results than those which are merely fixed 
 and rung by a hammer, as is the case when a bell is rung 
 by a fire alarm. 
 
LYNN HISTORICAL SOCIETY 9 
 
 The racking of a tower by the swinging of a bell is very 
 severe upon a structure, especially one of masonry, which 
 is less able to stand the transverse stresses than one of wood, 
 therefore these bell towers in the old country were generally 
 separated from the main edifice. In this country the uni- 
 versal use of timber in the old time structures permitted 
 bracing and the bell towers were a part of the edifice. 
 
 During the Centennial exhibition at Philadelphia in 
 1876, it was my fortune to meet Professor Widdows, the 
 carilloneur who rang the McShane chimes at noon, and 
 during my stay of a month at that exhibition, it was my 
 pactice to go up into the bell tower every noon and see him 
 play the chimes ; and then he was most courteous in giving 
 me information upon bells, their history, and methods of 
 operation. 
 
 VIBRATION OF BELLS 
 
 The construction of bells has been envolved from the 
 experience of centuries, and includes much that is empiri- 
 cal and is generally based on what was for years a collec- 
 tion of trade secrets. The sound of a bell depends upon 
 vibration rather than oscillation, and the difference between 
 the two is that an oscillation is based upon resultants of 
 forces outside of the moving body, one of which is generally 
 gravity, as is indicated by the forces used in swinging the 
 clapper which is brought back by its weight ; while in the 
 case of vibration, whether of the strings of a piano or violin 
 or any other musical instrument, one of these forces is 
 within the vibrating material by its molecular attraction 
 between the various particles. 
 
 In casting a bell, the earlier solidification of the thin 
 sides of the bell presents a resistance to the contraction of 
 the thicker edge and the top, and this places portions of 
 
IO LYNN HISTORICAL SOCIETY 
 
 the bell under great tensile stress which is as necessary for 
 its resonance as the tension on a piano wire or violin string. 
 
 An annealed bell would be as useless as one of lead. 
 
 The amount of this strain is indicated by the width of 
 the fissure in a cracked bell, which shows the amount 
 to which the metal was stretched. 
 
 In casting a bell, the best results in its resonance are 
 obtained when these internal stresses are as great as the 
 metal will stand without breaking when rung, but its 
 quality of tone, as stated, is based on the harmonious rela- 
 tion of the overtones to the fundamental note, and appears 
 to be dependent on following empirical precedents of 
 proportion. 
 
 In the construction of bells, various typical forms have 
 been modified into the proportions in general use. It is 
 considered by many that this process reached its height 
 three or four centuries ago, and that the copper of those 
 days, used in the alloy of tin and copper, was better suited 
 for a resonant bronze than that of to-day. 
 
 I believe that one of the reasons of the superiority of 
 old bells is the fact that they are as they came from the 
 mould, without removal of the foundry scale, which adds 
 to the strength of the casting. We have in the old Spanish 
 bell, known as Master King's schoolbell, shown here this 
 evening, an example of the beautiful resonance of a bell as 
 it came from the foundry, without any finish. 
 
 The other reason of the quality of very old bells is one 
 of natural selection. Those with too much internal stress 
 have cracked, and those with too little stress have probably 
 been condemned to the junk for their lack of resonance by 
 some critic in their succession of owners. 
 
 The existence of bells is largely maintained by the 
 fact that they are rung for but short duration, which gives 
 
LYNN HISTORICAL SOCIETY II 
 
 an opportunity for molecular rest ; no bell could withstand 
 continuous ringing. Many of the cracks in bells are the 
 result of long continued ringing in the enthusiasm of public 
 celebrations. 
 
 The attempts to repair the cracked bells do not result 
 in the restoration of the bell to its former condition, because 
 they do not reestablish the tension of the metal of the bell 
 as originally cast. In old times it was the custom to saw 
 or file the cracks in the bell so as to prevent the opposite 
 sides of the fissure from abraiding each other, and was to 
 that extent an amelioration. In later years the cracks of 
 bells have been frequently closed by the various methods 
 of autogenous welding, but those methods do not restore 
 the resonance of the bell for the reasons above stated. The 
 length of vibration of old bells cast in England is greater 
 than that of the modern American bells. Dr. Arthur H. 
 Nichols states that the fifth bell in the peal of Christ Church, 
 Boston, which was made in England, vibrates 80 seconds, 
 but he has never known a bell of American manufacture to 
 vibrate longer than 30 seconds. 
 
 As in a stringed instrument the pitch is lowered with 
 a greater length of string or wire and raised with a shorter 
 string or wire, as is readily noted on every piano-forte, so 
 in a bell the pitch can be lowered by lengthening the bot- 
 tom diameter, which increases the circumferences and 
 therefore the length of this vibrating portion, and it can be 
 raised by shortening the diameter, cutting away the metal 
 from the outside, but the change in the note is very small. 
 
 TUBULAR BELLS 
 
 The tubular bells, such as are in hall clocks and some 
 belfries, give one note each and can be tuned to a precision 
 impossible in an ordinary cast bell, whose exact pitch is a 
 
12 LYNN HISTORICAL SOCIETY 
 
 matter of chance, except that it can be slightly changed as 
 already stated. 
 
 The first tubular bells were made in 1857 by Harrison 
 of Conventry, England, who used steel tubes for the pur- 
 pose, and these were said to have been unsatisfactory in 
 the quality of their tone. The cast bronze tubular bells 
 made in this country are a marked improvement in the 
 quality of their tone and their accuracy of pitch when used 
 in chimes, but a tubular bell with all its merits is by reason 
 of its unity of tone a different instrument from the ordinary 
 cast bell. 
 
 PEALS, CHIMES AND CARILLONS 
 
 American practice is limited almost entirely to single 
 bells, but the greatest effect of bells is, of course, when 
 they are operated in harmonic combination ; and as the 
 various terms for groups of bells are frequently used inac- 
 curately, permit me to state that a peal consists of a few 
 bells in harmony with each other, so mounted that each can 
 be rung from its wheel and turned over in combinations of 
 sequences based upon the permutation of numbers, without 
 playing any tunes, and are very frequently placed upon an 
 open platform without any obstruction above the bell decks, 
 and this, with the deflection of the sound waves by varying 
 air currents of the wind, gives a constant variety to the 
 sounds, as in an yEolian harp. 
 
 A chime consists of bells primarily on the diatonic 
 scale of one octave or a little over, with a few sharps and 
 flats, so that tunes can be played upon them in several keys, 
 and such bells are hung stationary, and are played by ham- 
 mers operated either by hand or automatically. 
 
 The carillons exhibit the highest phase of bell making 
 and are tuned on a chromatic scale corresponding to the 
 
LYNN HISTORICAL SOCIETY 13 
 
 sharps and flats, as well as the natural notes of a piano, and 
 number from 24 to 60 bells. The construction of carillons 
 was highly developed in Europe 500 years ago and they 
 abound especially in parts of Belgium, Holland and France, 
 and a few in Germany. 
 
 Many of them have recently been injured by pro- 
 jectiles during the existing war, and it is considered that 
 these injuries are as irreparable as though the destruction 
 had been among a number of old violins. 
 
 These carillons in Europe are not owned by the 
 Church, but by the municipality in which they are placed. 
 Both chimes and carillons are rung either mechanically by 
 points placed upon a slowly revolving drum which engage 
 wires reaching to the bells and operate hammers which 
 strike on the outside of the bells, or by hand, playing the 
 keys which strike the clapper on the inside of the bell, and 
 the profession of carillonneur is at the present day almost a 
 lost art. 
 
 I understand that there are but two carillons in this 
 country, one in St. Joseph's Cathedral, Buffalo, consisting 
 of 43 bells, of which 20 were connected with a playing 
 drum, when I was in the belfry over 20 years ago, and more 
 than half of the bells were therefore useless. The priest 
 in charge could not give me much information about them. 
 There is another carillon at Notre Dame University in 
 Indiana, which is smaller than the one at Buffalo, having 
 32 bells, only 23 of which are connected with the drum. 
 
 Therefore as far as being in an operative condition, it 
 is within bounds of truth to state that there are not any 
 carillons in this country, as these are merely in the class of 
 large chimes, unless they have been brought to a condition 
 of full playing equipment since the time of my information. 
 
14 LYNN HISTORICAL SOCIETY 
 
 AMERICAN CHIMES 
 
 The first chime in this country was that of Christ 
 Church, installed in the North End of Boston in 1745, to 
 which this Society made a pilgrimage May 11, 1913. In 
 his younger days, the romantic Paul Revere was one of the 
 ringers, and the evidence of his interest in the subject is 
 shown by the fact that he established a bell foundry in 
 1792 on Lynn Street, now Commercial Street, Boston. He 
 imported a bell and also sent his son, JosephW., to England 
 to study the bells there. The bells in this country, with 
 very few exceptions, before that time had been imported, 
 and many of the earlier bells made by Paul Revere were 
 criticized in comparison with the English bells. His first 
 large bell was that on King's Chapel, Boston. The greater 
 Lynn had four of Paul Revere's bells, the Old Tunnel, the 
 First Methodist, the First Church at Reading and the High 
 School at Wakefield, which is the only one in active service, 
 and to all of which later reference will be made. The 
 difference in shapes of the Paul Revere bells was due to 
 a conflict in opinions on the subject with his son, Paul Jr., 
 which caused a reorganization of the firm. 
 
 Especially in their religious sense, bells have been the 
 subject of votive offerings, either by general subscriptions 
 or the gifts of the affluent, and in that connection it was a 
 custom to extend their beneficence by throwing silver coins 
 and silver plate into the crucible, which was done in the 
 case of one of the Lynn bells to be referred to later. It is 
 stated that silver does not give any improvement to the tone 
 of a bell, and the fact that it is not a detriment when used is 
 because there is not enough of the precious metal added to 
 the alloy to produce any effect on the resonance of the bell. 
 
 The remarkable effect of the ringing of bells in har- 
 
LYNN HISTORICAL SOCIETY 1 5 
 
 monious assemblage, whether by peals or in carillons, is so 
 well known and has been the inspiration of so much in 
 poetry and in prose that any remark on the subject would 
 be well nigh superfluous, but I cannot refrain from calling 
 attention to the calming effect of the ringing of bells upon 
 Napoleon and the impatience of that autocratic monarch 
 with those who did not share his sentiments in this respect. 
 It is related that on Christmas Eve, during the French 
 and German war of 1870 and 187 1, when the carillon at 
 St. Cloud, near Paris, pealed forth at midnight, "Peace on 
 Earth, Good Will toward Men," it caused a truce in the 
 firing, and the guns gave way to silence until the close of 
 the ringing, when one army and then the other broke out 
 in singing Christmas carols, each in its native language, for 
 about an hour, and this short space which had intruded 
 itself upon the hostilities then gave way to the resumption 
 of war. 
 
 POEMS ON LYNN BELLS 
 
 The bells of Lynn have been the subject of the follow- 
 ing sixteen poems, the first two of which were set to music 
 composed for the occasion. 
 
 Easter Chimes of St. Stephen's ; a carol by Rev. 
 Frank L. Norton, D. D., rector, music by E. K. Weston, 
 organist, sung at the Easter services, 1886, when the 
 chimes were first rung, published in Lynn Reporter, April 
 16, 1886. 
 
 The Merry, Merry Bells of Lynn, Miss Nellie Miles, 
 author and composer, which has been sung publicly for the 
 first time this evening by Miss Lyda Belle Marsh, with 
 Miss Miles at the piano. 
 
 Two poems by English authors : the poem on the 
 Bells of Lynn by John James Coulton of Lynn, Norfolk, 
 
1 6 LYNN HISTORICAL SOCIETY 
 
 England, read by George H. Chase at the celebration of 
 the 250th anniversary of the settlement, June 17, 1879, 
 published in the commemorative volume, page 67, and also 
 given in the Lynn Daily Item, September 2, 191 1; and 
 Bells of Lynn and Other Poems, by John R. Simms, 
 England. The first poem, which gives the title to the 
 book, states: "First published at Lynn, Mass., U. S. A., 
 1902." 
 
 The best known of these poems is The Bells of Lynn, 
 by Henry W. Longfellow, first published in the Atlantic 
 Monthly and later in the Lynn Daily Item, April 1, 191 1. 
 One of the criticisms made by a purist upon this poem was 
 that it should have been The Bell of Lynn, because of the 
 five bells in this city at that time, only the St. Paul's bell 
 could be heard at the summer residence of the author at 
 Nahant. 
 
 The other poems which have been found on the 
 subject are : 
 
 The Bells of Lynn, by Miss Annie E. Johnson of 
 Nahant. 
 
 Grandfather Buffum, by Dr. Benjamin Percival. 
 
 Stanzas Relating to North Common Street Church 
 and Bell, anonymous, Lynn Reporter, July, 1866. 
 
 The Bells of Lynn, by Mary Lowe, Lynn Daily Item, 
 August 17, 1 91 2. 
 
 St. Stephen's Chimes, by Raymond, Lynn Daily 
 Item, April 16, 1886. 
 
 St. Stephen's Chime, Joseph Warren Nye, Lynn 
 Transcript April 23, 1886. 
 
 The Silent Bell, by Arthur Lummus, referring to the 
 cracked Paul Revere bell on the First Methodist Church, 
 Lynn Daily Item, February, 1914. 
 
 The First Baptist Bell in Lynn, anonymous, Lynn 
 Transcript, 1869. Ascribed to Joseph Warren Nye. 
 
LYNN HISTORICAL SOCIETY 1 7 
 
 St. Stephen's Chime, by J. Warren Newhall, Lynn 
 Daily Item, April 22, 1886. 
 
 St. Paul's Bell, by John Frank Withey, formerly of 
 Lynn, but now of Los Angeles, California. 
 
 The Bells of Lynn, by Fred E. Weatherly. 
 
 Some of these poems were found in scrap books without 
 sufficient data to give the full citation. These poems have 
 all been copied to be filed with the manuscript of this paper, 
 and I would very much appreciate any further information 
 with copies of other poems. 
 
 THE BELLS OF GREATER LYNN 
 
 It appeared to be worth the while to present a state- 
 ment of the bells of Greater Lynn, some of them merely 
 for the record of their existence, but a few of them are con- 
 nected with a phase of our history in the civic and religious 
 development of the town in the growth of various sects 
 based upon the belief of individuals, and the sacrifices which 
 many made for the perpetuation of those lines of religious 
 activities. 
 
 As a whole these bells stand as records of development 
 of the town which have hitherto escaped a presentation 
 except through an occasional reference, and in this line it has 
 been the purpose to include the greater Lynn of the original 
 territory comprising the adjacent towns, which were fledged 
 in the following order : Reading (which includes Wake- 
 field), 1644; Lynnfield, 1814; Saugus, 1815 ; Swamp- 
 scott, 1852, and Nahant, 1853. 
 
 Although Cotton Mather stated that he could not cite 
 any authority for calling the edifice of a religious society a 
 church, as that term was limited to the ecclesiastical organ- 
 ization and did not extend to the edifice, yet in the follow- 
 ing citation of bells I have used without apology the ordinary 
 colloquial term of church for meetinghouse. 
 
l8 LYNN HISTORICAL SOCIETY 
 
 OBLIGATIONS FOR ASSISTANCE 
 
 In the preparation of the following portion of the paper, 
 with the various details of the history of the bells, I have 
 been obliged to rely upon many friends, and instead of 
 filling the text with their names, I will place them here, 
 with an expression of deep obligation for their responses, 
 which have rescued many facts which might otherwise have 
 escaped a permanent record. 
 
 The greater portion of these statements are made on 
 the basis of the recollection of someone or taken from notes 
 which have appeared in the local papers and in many 
 instances I have been obliged to judge between different 
 accounts. I confess to that feeling of gratitude which is 
 not merely a remembrance of favors past, but a lively sense 
 of favors to come, and ask for a continuation of contribu- 
 tions in the shape of corrections of any statements and more 
 especially the substitutions for any errors of omission, 
 which have been inevitable in the preparation of this paper. 
 
 I am especially indebted to the following people : 
 
 George F. Ames George S. Bliss 
 
 Arthur S. Ashton Harry P. Bosson, Reading 
 
 Horace H. Atherton, Jr., Charles A. Brown 
 
 Saugus Aaron R. Bunting, Swamp- 
 Luther Atwood scott 
 
 Hon. William L. Baird, Miss Ellen Mudge Burrill 
 
 Winchester, N. H. John Burrill 
 
 C. W. Balton, Lynnfield William S. Burrill 
 
 Solon Bancroft, Reading Rev. Daniel E. Burtner, 
 Hon. F. P. Bennett, Jr., D. D. 
 
 Saugus Mrs. J. A. Cain 
 
 George E. Bennett Miss Lillian Chandler 
 
 E. A. Bigelow, Boston Edward E. Chase 
 
LYNN HISTORICAL SOCIETY 
 
 J 9 
 
 J. D. H. Chester, Nahant 
 Rev. Patrick Colman, 
 
 Swampscott 
 Monsieur le Vicaire Charles 
 
 A. Cordier 
 John M. Danforth, Lynnfield 
 
 Center 
 Rev. Louis DeCormis, D.D., 
 
 Brookline 
 Rev. Ernest J. Dennen 
 Rev. Edward J. Dolan 
 Rev. William F. Dusseault 
 Mrs. Mary H. Fall 
 WorthingtonC. Ford, Boston 
 Samuel Gale, Cliftondale 
 Fred A. Gordon 
 Judge R. E. Harmon 
 Rev. A. E. Harriman, D. D. 
 Hon. Nathan Mortimer 
 
 Hawkes, Saugus 
 Charles F. Hawthorne 
 Charles E. Haywood 
 Mark W. Henry 
 Warren S. Hixon 
 D. W. Hoffness, Quincy 
 Miss H. Maria Hood 
 F. W. Howard 
 Oliver R. Howe 
 Miss Bertha L. Johnson, 
 
 Nahant 
 William B. Kelley 
 George Everett Lane 
 John S. Lawrence, Boston 
 
 Robert M. Lawrence, M. D., 
 Boston 
 
 Miss Caroline E. Lummus 
 
 Mrs. Lucinda Mudge Lum- 
 mus 
 
 John J. Mangan, M. D. 
 
 Charles E. Mann, Maiden 
 
 Moses Whitcher Mann, 
 West Medford 
 
 Charles H. Mansfield 
 
 Charles B. Marsh 
 
 George H. Martin 
 
 Miss Harriet R. Matthews 
 
 Dugald McKillop 
 
 Meneely Bell Co. , Troy, N.Y. 
 
 Frank Merriam, Boston 
 
 Mrs. Frances S. Moulton 
 
 Miss Mabelle M. Murkland 
 
 James E. Neill 
 
 Hon. George H. Newhall 
 
 Howard W. Newhall 
 
 Arthur H. Nichols, M. D., 
 Boston 
 
 Fred H. Nichols 
 
 Sylvester H. Nourse 
 
 William T. Oliver 
 
 Henry C. Orcutt 
 
 Monsieur le Cure Jean 
 Baptiste Parent 
 
 Starr Parsons 
 
 Henry W. Pelton, Lynnfield 
 
 Mrs. Annie S. Perkins, 
 Lynnfield Center 
 
20 LYNN HISTORICAL SOCIETY 
 
 Miss May W. Perkins, Miss Annie E. Stone 
 
 Nahant Ernest Stuart, Saugus 
 
 William E. Plummer, James W. Switzer 
 
 Swampscott Henry F. Tapley 
 
 William Popp, Saugus Rt. Rev. Mgr. Arthur J. 
 F. W. B. Pratt, Reading Teeling, D. D. 
 
 Charles F. Read, Boston Miss Alice C. Tuck 
 
 William B. Revere, Canton Turner Tanning Machinery 
 Otis B. Ruggles, Reading Co., Peabody 
 
 Mrs. Susan A. Smith, Rev. Martin J. Welch 
 
 Cliftondale Miss Annie E. Whittier 
 
 Curtis L. Sopher, M. D., Mrs. Alice Newhall Wilson 
 
 Wakefield Fred A. Wilson, Nahant 
 
 It is to be regretted that in several instances those con- 
 nected in official positions with some churches appeared to 
 have but little knowledge or care of the history of the bell 
 in their edifice, which represents one phase of devotion in 
 its operation, and whose history is generally based upon 
 the sacrificing contributions of many, and in some instances 
 the beneficence of those who are in positions to make such 
 contributions, as a reverential memorial to their parents or 
 to their church. In several cases all of the material facts 
 relative to the bells in certain churches have been obtained 
 from persons entirely outside of the parish. 
 
 BELLS IN LYNN 
 
 In the city of Lynn there are 51 religious edifices, on 
 which there are 26 bells. In the following detailed state- 
 ments relative to the different bells I have used the best 
 sources of information obtainable, which is for the most 
 part based upon the memory of individuals and in very few 
 instances something of contemporaneous record. 
 
LYNN HISTORICAL SOCIETY 21 
 
 Information which has come to me upon the cost of the 
 various bells has not been used as a measure upon which 
 to estimate the cost of substituting other bells at the present 
 day, as these amounts sometimes represent the cost of a 
 bell and in other instances include the cost of its trans- 
 portation to the meetinghouse and its being raised to the 
 belfry. In many instances it is diminished by the discount for 
 the junk value of the previous bell which was credited in the 
 transaction, but these figures, while they do not represent 
 the commercial price of a bell, are used as a measure of the 
 benevolence and the sacrifices of many whose efforts were 
 contributory to such a bell. 
 
 BROADWAY METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH 
 
 Largely through the influence of Rev. George W. 
 Mansfield and the generous act of one of the trustees of the 
 church, a bell weighing 1,500 pounds and cast in India- 
 napolis, Indiana, was purchased from Sears, Roebuck & 
 Co., of Chicago and was placed in the belfry of the church, 
 May 7, 1908, and rung for the first time on Sunday, May 
 12, 1908. 
 
 DYEHOUSE, WYOMA 
 
 The old dyehouse, on the Flax Pond side of the 
 causeway constituting the dam at the outlet of Sluice Pond, 
 and which gave the name of Dyehouse Village to the 
 portion of Lynn now known as Wyoma, had a bell. It is 
 related that many years ago, but within the memory of 
 those now living, some boys, in the spirit of hilarity, pro- 
 cured this bell one evening, and on being pursued by 
 members of the old hand fire engine company, whose 
 house was diagonally opposite on Broadway, they took the 
 bell into a boat on Sluice Pond, and as the pursuit con- 
 
22 LYNN HISTORICAL SOCIETY 
 
 tinued in other boats, they threw the bell overboard into 
 the pond, where it still remains. 
 
 EAST BAPTIST CHURCH 
 
 The bell and its predecessors have received reference 
 under the head of the First Universalist Church, the orig- 
 inal owners of that property. 
 
 FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH 
 
 The first meetinghouse of this society was the original 
 meetinghouse of the First Methodist Church, which was 
 the first of this sect in New England, and was bought and 
 moved from the east end of the Common to the westerly 
 end on Ash Street at the rear of the Mildred Range near 
 Market Square and on land purchased from the First Con- 
 gregational Society by this Baptist Society, May 25, 1815. 
 The building was afterwards used for a Grammar School 
 and with the land was sold to St. Mary's Roman Catholic 
 Parish, November 25, 1855, being the first of this sect in 
 Lynn. The building was enlarged and reconverted to 
 religious purposes, for which it was used until its destruc- 
 tion by fire, May 28, 1859. 
 
 The second meetinghouse, corner of Park and North 
 Common streets, was built and dedicated in February, 
 1833, and contained a clock and a bell. This clock was 
 purchased from Josiah Willard of Boston in 1835 and was 
 the first public clock in Lynn. 
 
 Little is known of this bell excepting that it was paid 
 for by the ladies of the congregation, who worked binding 
 shoes for this purpose, and it probably represented a greater 
 amount of personal self sacrifice than that of any bell in the 
 city. 
 
LYNN HISTORICAL SOCIETY 23 
 
 This clock and bell were not included in the sale of 
 the edifice in 1866 to Stephen Oliver, Jr., who removed 
 the bell tower, cut the building in two, and these two parts 
 were moved to the junction of Central Avenue and Wash- 
 ington Street, where they were joined together and the 
 building converted into a shoe factory. On account of the 
 reunion of the two parts of the building, the jokers of the 
 town gave Mr. Oliver, whose religious beliefs, if any, 
 should be classified as agnostic, considerable personal 
 trouble and embarrassment by the persistent story that he 
 had "joined the Baptist Church." 
 
 The bell and clock were moved into the third meeting- 
 house on the same site, corner North Common and Park 
 Streets, which was dedicated June 20, 1867. This spire 
 was blown over, penetrating the chapel and causing con- 
 siderable destruction to the building in a gale which occur- 
 red late in the afternoon of September 8, 1869. A new 
 spire was built, repairs made, and the church rededicated 
 October 8, 1870. The old bell survived this fall and was 
 replaced in the bell tower, as also was the clock, to which 
 considerable repairs were necessary. 
 
 This clock was replaced by another clock installed by 
 the E. Howard Clock Company, September 21, 1906, and 
 was paid for by the City of Lynn. 
 
 This bell was afterwards cracked and Warren S. 
 Hixon, who was at that time superintendent of the Sunday 
 School, passed around a subscription paper and raised 
 $300, which, with the help of the old bell, secured the 
 present bell, which was raised November 21, 1878, which 
 weighs about 2,800 pounds and whose fundamental note is 
 A. The bell bears the inscription : Holbrook, East 
 Medway, Mass., 1878. 
 
24 LYNN HISTORICAL SOCIETY 
 
 FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH 
 
 (Second Meetinghouse, Lynn Common) 
 
 As a part of the Puritan theocracy, the history of a 
 New England town centers around the church, as repre- 
 senting civic government and polemic religious contro- 
 versies. But little is known of the first meeting-house, except 
 that its site was at what is now known as 244 Summer 
 Street, being about 150 feet to the east of Shepard Street, 
 on the side of Summer Street toward the harbor. The 
 exact site of the building is the rear part of the main body 
 of the dwelling, which is placed upon the same foundations 
 as the original meetinghouse, which was later moved to 
 Harbor Street and thence to Sea Street, having been 
 changed into a tenement and afterwards burned. 
 
 The second meetinghouse was built on the Common, 
 to the west of the present flag pole. The hipped roof of 
 the building had a bell deck, which was flat in the middle 
 and covered with lead in 1699. The bell was in the open 
 on this roof for 69 years, and the bell rope did not come 
 down in the middle, but a little one side, reaching a small 
 enclosure about half the size of a pew, on the left hand 
 side of the middle aisle. This position of the bell ringer 
 contradicts the story that a lady's ribs were broken by the 
 protruding elbow of the bell ringer, if she was in the aisle 
 and the slave who was used as sexton was in his proper 
 place in the enclosure. 
 
 Although nothing is known of the origin of the bell, 
 the only reference to it is contained in the diary of Judge 
 Samuel Sewell, Collections Massachusetts Historical Soci- 
 ety, Volume IV, Fifth Series, page 352. 
 
 "November 10, 1691, council of churches meet at Lin. 
 . Had much adoe to prevail with the church to 
 
LYNN HISTORICAL SOCIETY 25 
 
 own us as a council, but they did do it at last; heard what 
 was to be said, drew up our advice by Mr. Cotton Mather : 
 Wherein all parties (were) blamed ; they accepted of it and 
 thank'd us heartily for our visiting them." 
 
 " Bell was rung both times before (we) went into (the) 
 meeting-house." 
 
 The manuscript of the diary of Cotton Mather is in 
 possession of the Massachusetts Historical Society, but this, 
 unfortunately, does not contain his diary for the year 1691, 
 the existence of which is not as yet known, as there is a 
 gap in the series from 1686 to 1692. There is not found 
 any further reference to the bell until 1699, when the 
 parish voted to send it to England in exchange for a new 
 one. 
 
 In 1771 the parish voted that "the ornament designed 
 by Mr. (Timothy) Walton as a belfry should be built," and 
 it was this addition upon the top of the building, covering 
 the old bell deck, which was conical and with an upright 
 rod upon which there were three balls of gilded wood, the 
 largest being about 18 inches in diameter, which gave to 
 the building its time-honored name of the " Old Tunnel." 
 
 The news of the Peace of Ghent, December 24, 1814, 
 and also of the Battle of New Orleans, which had been 
 fought about a month after that consummation of peace, 
 reached Lynn by a courier bound from Boston to Salem on 
 February 13, 181 5, and was announced by the ringing of this 
 bell, which was done with such long continued energy that 
 the bell was cracked. The bell was recast by Paul Revere 
 & Son, November 19, 1816, and is known on his stock 
 book as No. 171. It weighed 905 pounds and the clapper 
 weighed 24 pounds. 
 
 There is not on the parish records any vote or other 
 action indicating an order for this bell, or any action pre- 
 
26 LYNN HISTORICAL SOCIETY 
 
 liminary to the bell, although, as stated in the account of 
 the First Methodist Church, it is known from other sources 
 that the bell was selected by Amos Blanchard, the pre- 
 centor. 
 
 If the parish records do not contain anything in regard 
 to the ordering of the bell, they are replete for six years 
 with legislation upon paying for the bell, which reminds 
 one of -/Esop's fable of the mice voting to place a bell upon 
 the cat. The records of the various actions upon the bell> 
 although entirely clear, indicate that the account had sur- 
 vived the versatile Paul Revere four years, and at the time 
 of the final payment in 1822 of $198.18 to Joseph W. 
 Revere, the son of Paul Revere, in settlement, the total 
 cost of the bell was $499.18. The price of other bells 
 made by Paul Revere at about that date was 45 cents per 
 pound, and the cost of mounting and setting up was 
 generally $75, which in this case would bring the amount 
 to $482. The Treasurers' accounts for six years abound in 
 charges of sixpence, or nine cents, for letters which Mr. 
 Revere sent collect, and if these dunning letters could be 
 found they would undoubtedly be choice additions to any 
 autograph collections. 
 
 Neither do the parish records contain any reference to 
 the sale of the cracked old English bell of 1699, and I have 
 been informed that there is no reference to its being 
 credited as old bell metal on the books of Paul Revere. 
 It may be that the procrastination in settling the account 
 may have served its purpose in some compensation for 
 interest during these six years during which this trans- 
 action remained an open account. 
 
 This bell continued in service and the "Old Tunnel " 
 was moved to the corner of South Common and Commer- 
 cial Streets, April 11, 1827, by Capt. Joseph A. Lloyd, 
 
LYNN HISTORICAL SOCIETY 27 
 
 by means of ten yoke of oxen, driven by David Harwood* 
 The old belfry which gave its name to the "Tunnel" was 
 left on its side on the Common, sold at auction, April 23, 
 1827, and had an independent record of its own until 
 destroyed by fire 22 years later. 
 
 Among the numerous changes and enlargements of 
 the Old Tunnel was the construction of a new belfry, which 
 closely resembled that of the First Baptist Church diago- 
 nally opposite on the Common, and the Paul Revere bell 
 was elevated to these new surroundings. 
 
 The First Congregational Society built another church 
 in 1836, and the sale, on February 14, 1837, °f tne build- 
 ing, of which the " Old Tunnel " serves as the nucleus, 
 transfers the further history of its bell to that of the Second 
 Universalist Church. 
 
 FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH 
 
 (Corner South Common and Vine Streets) 
 
 When the frame meetinghouse on the present site on 
 the corner of Vine and South Common Streets was built 
 in 1836, a subscription for a bell was started, but they failed 
 to raise a sufficient amount. The matter was taken up anew 
 by the writer 42 years later for the present brick meeting- 
 house, which replaced the one which was burned December 
 25, 1870, when six of the original subscribers who were 
 then living honored their subscriptions, and also the son of 
 one and the widow of another paid the amounts which had 
 been subscribed. 
 
 This bell weighs 2,250 pounds and cost $640. It was 
 raised to the belfry March 28, 1878, but its ringing was 
 deferred until April 4, on the ocasion of a special service 
 which was held in the meetinghouse. It bears the inscrip- 
 tion : Cast by William Blake & Co., formerly H. N. 
 
28 LYNN HISTORICAL SOCIETY 
 
 Hooper & Co., Boston, Mass., A. D. 1878. Presented to 
 the First Church, Lynn, by the Sabbath School. 
 
 FIRST METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH 
 
 This bell was cast by Paul Revere & Son, November 
 15, 1816, and is known as No. 165 on Paul Revere's stock- 
 book. The weight of the bell is 1,004 pounds and the 
 tongue weighs 28 pounds. This bell was raised to its 
 position in the old meetinghouse by Daniel David Clark. 
 Both this bell and that of the First Congregational Church 
 in the Old Tunnel were selected by Amos Blanchard, a 
 musician in the army of the Revolution, and the precentor 
 of the Old Tunnel for many years, of whose correctness 
 of musical ear so many stories are rife that it is suspected 
 that he was one of the few who were gifted with that 
 delicacy of hearing known as absolute pitch. The note of 
 this bell was said to be B flat, but when tried by a tuning 
 fork was found to be nearly half a tone higher, or a very 
 little below B natural. 
 
 The Old Tunnel bell and this one were dedicated on 
 the same day, and there is a persistent tradition that the 
 occasion was accompanied by a dedication dinner, at 
 which the Methodist Society furnished the food and the 
 Orthodox the rum ; but there is nothing on the records of 
 the Treasurer of the First Church indicating the use of 
 any funds in that connection, whether for rum or any other 
 purpose, and I understand that there is nothing on the 
 Methodist account books to indicate expenditures for any 
 such feast. 
 
 This bell was paid for very largely by cordwainers in 
 the congregation, who made shoes for the benefit of the 
 bell fund, of which the original detailed statement is still in 
 existence. In the abstract the sales amounted to $462.38 ; 
 
LYNN HISTORICAL SOCIETY 29 
 
 the expenses, including charge for storage and commission, 
 $36.70, leaving a balance of $425.68, to which should be 
 added a credit for 70 pairs of unused shoes, $38.50, and 
 the balance of J. Mudge's account of bell money, $82.88, 
 making a total of $517.06. 
 
 At a meeting of the pew owners on April 29, 1822, it 
 was voted "that money which was signed for the bell, that 
 the overplus be appropriated to pay for the burying ground 
 fence, which the Society is owing for ; " and " to have a 
 committee of three to examine Benjamin Oliver and John 
 Mudge concerning the bell money." This last vote is 
 probably an equivalent of the present universal provision 
 for an audit, as the accounts submitted by John Mudge are 
 clearly stated in great detail and bear every evidence of 
 accuracy. 
 
 Capt. Joseph Mudge, a brother of this John Mudge, 
 "went privateering" in the War of 1812, bringing three 
 prizes into Lynn Harbor, one of which was a square rigged 
 ship, laden with ship timber from Canada, bound for 
 England. This timber was sold in Lynn at a very low 
 price, a part of it being used for the Second Church of this 
 Society, which is now Lee Hall. 
 
 At that time the Friends' meetinghouse was being 
 built, and these non-combatants very properly condemned 
 the use of the spoils of war for a house of God. Never- 
 theless, the contractor for that meetinghouse bought a lot 
 of this timber, with the stipulation that it should be 
 delivered between midnight and three o'clock in the morn- 
 ing. 
 
 This story of the use of captured ship timber had not 
 been forgotten in 1824, when it became necessary to lower 
 the bell deck and portions of the steeple 16 feet, on account 
 of the swaying produced by ringing the bell. 
 
30 LYNN HISTORICAL SOCIETY 
 
 When the old church was changed over into Lee Hall, 
 the bell was lowered and raised into its present position in 
 the new brick church of the Society, on February 15, 1879, 
 and dedicated on February 27, 1879. 
 
 June 11, 191 1, this bell was found to be cracked, and 
 the crack was filled by one of the autogenous welding 
 processes, but the position of the bell on its yoke was not 
 changed by turning the bell a quarter of the way around 
 and another crack formed by the extension of the old crack 
 occurred three months later, and the bell has been out of 
 commission since that time. 
 
 It would not be expected that a paper on the subject of 
 bells could contain any references to action of the members 
 of the Friends' Society in this respect, but several of them 
 were very actively engaged in tolling this bell December 
 2, 1859, when all of the church bells in the city were tolled 
 on the occasion of the hanging of John Brown, and this 
 incident is the foundation of the dramatic poem of Grand- 
 father Buffum, by Benjamin Percival, which has been cited 
 in this paper. 
 
 FIRST UNIVERSALIST CHURCH 
 
 (Union Street Edifice) 
 
 The original church on Union Street was built under 
 a contract, now in possession of the Lynn Historical Society, 
 written in 1834, but not executed until February 22, 1835. 
 The deed of the land bears date of September 13, 1834. 
 
 The first bell was installed in September, 1835, anc * 
 weighed 2,058 pounds. In July, 1841, this bell cracked 
 and a new piece was set in, but the repaired bell was not 
 satisfactory and a new bell was purchased of Henry N. 
 Hooper & Co. of Boston, October 29, 1841. This bell 
 weighed 1,874 pounds, the tongue weighed 35 pounds, the 
 
LYNN HISTORICAL SOCIETY 3 1 
 
 whole cost being $463.16, against which was a credit for 
 2,058 pounds in the heavier old bell of $370.44, leaving a 
 balance of $92.72, which was paid October 29 of that 
 year, the same date as the bill. 
 
 A third bell, cast by Henry N. Hooper & Co., weigh- 
 ing 1,798 pounds, was procured in 1866. 
 
 In 1836 a steeple clock with four dials, the gift of 
 citizens, was bought of Aaron Willard, Jr. of Boston, and 
 cost $312 and was paid for in full January 12, 1837. This 
 clock was made in 1835, an< ^ * s tne oldest public clock in 
 the city. The church was deeded by the First Universalist 
 Society to the Free Baptist Society, October 6, 187 1, to the 
 Deacons of the East Baptist Church, November 4, 1875, 
 and by them to the East Baptist Society, the present owner, 
 February 3, 1893. The clock and bell being obtained as 
 the result of general subscription, they were not included 
 in the deed, but were covered by a bill of sale. 
 
 The clock, like many house clocks of Aaron Willard 
 which are held so precious by their owners, is still in 
 service and complies with the guarantee of the maker, 
 made nearly eighty years ago ; although about fifty years 
 ago the clock deviated from the regularity of its course and a 
 person in that neighborhood who, like Mr. Partington, 
 "enjoyed bad health," and was afflicted with insomnia, 
 declared that it once caused the bell to ring 132 times at 
 midnight. Others of the community were agitated by the 
 supposition that it was an alarm of fire. The gale of 
 September 8, 1869, which overturned the spire of the First 
 Baptist Church, caused the tower of the First Universalist 
 Church to sway materially and in synchronism with the 
 tongue of the bell, acting as a pendulum swinging higher 
 and higher, like children pushing others at a swing, until 
 it caused this bell to ring continuously during the 
 remainder of the gale. 
 
32 LYNN HISTORICAL SOCIETY 
 
 FIRST UNIVERSALIST CHURCH 
 
 (Nahant Street Edifice) 
 
 In addition to the history of the succession of bells in 
 the original meetinghouse, own owned by the East Baptist 
 Church, it should be said that the present meetinghouse 
 contains a tubular chime, which is played from the key- 
 board of the organ, and is suited for direct application to 
 the music at the religious exercises in the Church ; but 
 these are not in the nature of public bells, excepting that 
 these chimes can be heard in the immediate vicinity. 
 
 THE JAPANESE BELL 
 
 At the time when Commodore Perry was making a 
 second visit from Hong Kong to Japan with his fleet to 
 receive the answer of the Mikado of Japan to the proposi- 
 tion of the President of the United States for a treaty, 
 Captain Clement P. Jayne, for many years a resident of 
 Lynn, was at Hong Kong, captain of the clipper ship Game- 
 cock, owned by Russell & Co., and he followed the fleet 
 to Japan, but Commodore Perry would not allow him to 
 enter port in advance of the consummation of the treaty, 
 and so he kept his vessel "off and on" outside of the port 
 until he heard the salutes announcing the opening of Japan 
 to the world, when he entered the port and was the first 
 American merchant ship to make an entry into Japan. 
 
 His many valuable curios and relics are in the houses 
 of numerous friends, but among them was perhaps nothing 
 of greater curiosity than a bell such as was used in a 
 Shinto Temple. 
 
 This bell differed very radically from those in use by 
 the western nations, being in form very much like a 
 modern projectile, cylindrical, and closing to a point at the 
 
LYNN HISTORICAL SOCIETY 33 
 
 top. It was a beautiful piece of bronze work, nearly three 
 feet high, having a light green patina and smoothly finished 
 with complicated ornamentations, which were divided into 
 sections by lines of projecting balls, over half an inch in 
 diameter and it was swung from the center of an archway 
 made of a pair of jawbones of a whale, separating the lawn 
 from the central walk in his garden at Captain Jayne's 
 residence, 82 Center Street. 
 
 This bell did not have any tongue, but was rung by 
 being struck with a padded stick, but we boys, in default 
 of that, used to fire pebbles to awaken the long continued 
 resonance of the bell. 
 
 After Captain Jayne had retired from the sea he was 
 in the service of the Boston & Maine Railroad, and later 
 was superintendent of the Sailors' Snug Harbor at Quincy. 
 He long survived his family at Lynn, but I have not been 
 successful in my endeavors to obtain further information 
 upon this bell. 
 
 LAKE SHORE PARK METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH 
 
 The bell on this church was presented by the Turner 
 Tanning Machinery Company of Peabody, many of whose 
 people were very much interested in this church. It was 
 first rung on Saturday, May 10, 1913, by Rev. Alonzo 
 Sanderson, who many years before was interested in the 
 bells at Trinity Methodist Episcopal Church at the extreme 
 western end of the city. 
 
 This is the oldest bell in service in any church in the 
 city, and weighs about 300 pounds. It came in a lot of 
 scrap metal, which was bought by the company about 1905 
 and was saved on account of its evident value for other pur- 
 poses, and was finally presented as above. It was raised 
 by William E. Winslow. 
 
34 LYNN HISTORICAL SOCIETY 
 
 Inscription : Cast by G. H. Holbrook, Medway, Mass., 
 
 1835- 
 
 THE LYNN ACADEMY BELL 
 
 The Lynn Academy occupied a building erected for 
 the purpose on the site now known as 170 South Common 
 Street, and was opened April 5, 1805, on which occasion a 
 bell was presented by Colonel James Robinson. 
 
 This James Robinson was born on February 27, 1757, 
 and died January 21, 1832. 
 
 He served in the Continental army as a private, accord- 
 ing to Sanderson. The contemporaneous obituary notice 
 calls him Captain, and Lewis refers to him as Colonel. He 
 lived on the northeast corner of Boston and Federal Streets, 
 and was the first postmaster on the establishment of a post- 
 office at Lynn in 1793. He was a member of the Legislature 
 from 1796 until 1802. 
 
 Dr. George H. Martin does not mention in his paper 
 on the Lynn Academy, James Robinson among incorpo- 
 rators or stockholders, and there does not appear to be any- 
 thing of record to indicate the cause of his marked interest 
 in the institution. 
 
 The Lynn Academy was without funded endowment 
 and this lack of reserve resources made it unequal to meet 
 conditions of financial stress and brought its mission to a 
 close ; and the higher education in the town was under- 
 taken by the Lynn High School, which was opened on 
 May 28, 1849, Jacob Batchelder, the last preceptor of the 
 academy, becoming the first principal of the high school. 
 
 The academy building was sold to Mark Healey and 
 moved on October 30, 1852, to Western Avenue, on the site 
 of the easterly corner of the tannery of Lucius Beebe & 
 Sons. In this place the first story was used for many 
 
LYNN HISTORICAL SOCIETY 35 
 
 years as a saloon by Benjamin Hitchings and the second 
 story as a billiard room. 
 
 It was later moved to Elm Street to about the site of 
 the residence of Edward D. Dearborn, being No. 24. 
 
 After a short time, its last removal took the building 
 to the corner of Center Street and Western Avenue, where 
 it was used as a paint shop by William L. Baird, now of 
 Winchester, N. H., until it was torn down a few years 
 ago. 
 
 During some of these mutations, the eagle, carved by 
 Samuel Mclntyre of Salem, which had surmounted the 
 cupola, was removed and placed on the ridgepole of 
 Trevitt Rhodes' barn on Boston Street, and after many 
 years it was kept in a storehouse on South Street, and 
 thence removed to the portico of this Society House. 
 
 The last positive information in regard to the bell is 
 that on March 12, 1856, a festival was given in Exchange 
 Hall in honor of Jacob Batchelder, who had resigned as 
 principal of the Lynn High School to take a similar 
 position in Salem. About 550 were present, mostly old 
 Lynn Academy pupils. 
 
 The eagle which formerly surmounted the cupola of 
 the Academy building was on the orchestra gallery 
 and below it hung the Academy bell which had been 
 obtained by George Huzzey Chase, and before the exer- 
 cises began the bell was rung as the signal for the entrance 
 of the party into the hall, as it had rung to call the pupils 
 of the Academy to their duties. This bell was later carried 
 in at least one Calithumpian procession on a Fourth of July 
 morning. This appears to end the positive information 
 which has been obtained relative to the bell. 
 
 It is the belief of a resident of that portion of the city 
 that it was stored in the Town Hall, which was situated on 
 
36 LYNN HISTORICAL SOCIETY 
 
 the site of the easterly portion of St. Stephen's Church, but 
 the city messenger of that date, who was then in his boy- 
 hood days, was thoroughly acquainted with all portions of 
 the building and declares that the bell was not in that build- 
 ing at the time of the fire, October 6, 1864. There are also 
 numerous other stories in regard to the disposition of the 
 bell, but I have been unable to find anything of a confirm- 
 atory nature. 
 
 As there are many residents who were living in Lynn 
 at that time, it is hoped that some of them will give informa- 
 tion relative to the further history of this bell, which was 
 the first in Lynn subsequent to the two English bells upon 
 the Old Tunnel. 
 
 LYNN CHESTNUT STREET ENGINE HOUSE 
 
 This bell is connected with the fire alarm and bears 
 the inscription : 
 
 Vickers Sons & Co., Limited, 
 
 Sheffield 
 
 Patent Cast Steel 
 
 1871. 
 
 LYNN CITY HALL BELL 
 
 This is the largest bell in the city, weighing 4,837 
 pounds, and was hoisted to its position by David H.Jacobs 
 of Boston, March 2, 1872. It bears the inscription: 
 
 Troy Bell Co., Jones & Co., 
 
 Troy, N. Y. 
 
 1872. 
 
 This bell is hung stationary and rung by strokes of the 
 fire alarm apparatus and also strikes the hours of the clock 
 installed by the E. Howard Clock Company in 1867. When 
 
LYNN HISTORICAL SOCIETY 37 
 
 the City Hall was built, it was planned that these clock dials 
 should be of glass and illuminated by gas jets on the 
 inside, but this was never carried into effect. In recent 
 years the dials were illuminated by an original method 
 invented by one of the city government, by which incan- 
 descent electric lights with reflectors illuminate the clock 
 dials at night, but the lights are not visible. This method 
 of illumination has since been adopted for many other 
 public clocks. 
 
 It is not considered that this bell gives that fullness of 
 tone which would have been obtained if it had been swung. 
 
 LYNN FEDERAL STREET FIRE ENGINE HOUSE 
 
 This building has a steel bell without inscription, 
 purchased in Cincinnati, Ohio, ten years ago, and is con- 
 nected with the fire alarm. 
 
 This is undoubtedly the oldest bell and of the rarest 
 type ever in Lynn, being an old Spanish bell formerly in 
 a South American convent, probably at Valparaiso, from 
 which it was taken by one of the crews of the Lynn 
 whaling fleet which docked at the Fox Hill Wharf, which 
 was built for this industry on the Saugus River at the east 
 side of Western Avenue. 
 
 The Lynn Whaling Company removed to Boston after 
 the Eastern Railroad bridge was built across the river, and 
 the wharf was used for many years by William M. Newhall, 
 dealer in coal and lumber, and is now dismantled. 
 
 The crews of these whalers were largely Lynn men 
 and on their return from voyages they related to the boys 
 of the town wondrous tales of adventure, especially their 
 
38 LYNN HISTORICAL SOCIETY 
 
 roistering at Hawaii, Valparaiso, Pernambuco and Bahia, 
 all of which were called by familiar nicknames. 
 
 These hilarities reached their climax the night before 
 sailing, when such souvenirs were gathered in as oppor- 
 tunity and the remissness of the police permitted. 
 
 This bell was brought back from one of these voyages 
 in one of the three vessels, two of whose paintings are on 
 the wall back of this platform, with the story that it was 
 obtained in a night foray on a convent ; and it should be 
 remembered that in those countries bells were not hung in 
 belfries, but in holes made in gable walls, which were 
 readily scaled by sailors. The bell remained on the wharf 
 but a short time, as Isaiah Breed, chairman of the trustees 
 of the Lynn Whaling Company, and a member of the first 
 board of directors of the Eastern Railroad Company, pre- 
 sented it to the railroad and it was placed in a cupola on the 
 top of the station in Lynn, and rang when the railroad 
 began operations, August 28, 1838; and they continued 
 the custom of ringing this bell ten minutes before the arrival 
 of trains during the next ten years, when the original depot 
 was sold and moved with its bell to what is now 63 New- 
 hall Street. 
 
 Its first use on this site was as a private school 
 kept by Miss Helen Attwill ; and then it became an 
 industrial pioneer as the first stitching shop in this city, 
 until this business was moved to more convenient quarters 
 in the shoe manufacturing district. It may be noted that 
 the new industry, now known as a stitching shop, had not 
 then received a name and the building was then known as 
 a shoe bindery. 
 
 About this time the bell was sold to the city, and the 
 building was moved over the land boundaries to 71 Saga- 
 more Street, where it was used first as a tenement and then 
 finally as a storehouse before it was torn down. 
 
LYNN HISTORICAL SOCIETY 39 
 
 The bell next appeared in the belfry of the Ward 
 Four grammar schoolhouse on School Street, which was 
 dedicated on June 25, 1853, where it was in use for many 
 years, during the principalships of Samuel W. King, B. 
 F. Morrison and Timothy G. Senter. 
 
 The people of the neighborhood, which had become 
 more densely populated, objected to the frequent ringing 
 of this bell and its use was discontinued, and it was after- 
 wards taken down and stored in the basement of the 
 schoolhouse. The next movement of this traveler occurred 
 when it was bought by Arthur S. Ashton and hung by him 
 on the roof of his shop in the yard of his father's home on 
 Essex Street, near Porter Street, and equipped with an 
 electric ringing attachment which struck at a quarter of 
 twelve each day for the benefit of the neighborhood. 
 
 When Mr. Ashton established his jewelry store on 
 Union Street, opposite Green Street, this bell was taken 
 dow r n and placed in the store as a curiosity. 
 
 When here it attracted the attention of William Stone, 
 who learned that it was the "Master King's schoolbell," 
 and bought the bell for its sentimental associations with his 
 boyhood days, when it summoned himself and his mates 
 to the sessions and intruded its sonorous authority to break 
 up the games at recess. 
 
 This bell weighs nearly 150 pounds, and its pitch was 
 determined a few days ago to be E flat by Miss Lillian 
 Chandler with her violin. 
 
 Samuel Warren King (born September 24, 1815, died 
 June 28, 1857) m ust have been a man of great force of 
 character to impress upon his pupils during his long term 
 of service the spirit of cooperation and loyalty, for the 
 organization known as Master King's Schoolboys con- 
 tinues to this day, and the veterans still meet at stated 
 
4° 
 
 LYNN HISTORICAL SOCIETY 
 
 times, and like the great Arnold of Rugby, " never forget 
 that they were boys." 
 
 William Stone gave this bell to Master King's School- 
 boys and it served as the oriflamme of the association as 
 being the only material commemoration of school days. 
 
 The association, being without any fixed headquarters, 
 gave this bell to the Lynn Historical Society in 1905, feel- 
 ing assured that in this custody it would be kept in per- 
 petuity. 
 
 If this medieval bronze, instead of being silent save to 
 emit its own notes in response to the blow of its clapper, 
 had been endowed with the power to make a record of its 
 experiences and to reveal them as a phonograph, what a 
 romance of history would be given ! Cast in a Spanish 
 foundry near enough to the middle ages to share in the 
 excellence of bell-founding when that craft was at its 
 height, and with unknown experiences in that country, 
 then mistress of the world, sent forth with the blessings of 
 the church to that new world which Columbus had given to 
 Castile and Aragon. Then in its convent gable it called 
 to their devotions the sisterhood consecrated to poverty, 
 chastity and obedience, only to fall from its lofty perch in 
 a two-fold sense by surreptitious acts to sound the watches 
 of an old time whaler. 
 
 In this town its tones were leading in their develop- 
 ment of much of the progress of the century. First it 
 shared in the railroad development, which recast our 
 methods of living ; then the manufacture of shoes, which 
 has replaced the cordwainer with all the economic changes 
 which this involved ; after that its part in primitive methods 
 of education, followed by the later development of the pub- 
 lic system, whose beneficent force as a bulwark of demo- 
 cratic government is like unto that vote of the Roman 
 
LYNN HISTORICAL SOCIETY 41 
 
 Senate, " to see that the republic suffers no harm ; " and 
 finally through its connection with electricity it became a 
 part of that science whose fundamentals verge upon the 
 unknown, but whose applications are most simple in the 
 reconstruction of methods of life. 
 
 But this bronze makes no disclosures of any of the 
 sphinx riddles of its career. 
 
 NORTH CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH 
 
 The bell was presented by Mrs. Miriam Whiton 
 Opdyke of New York, a sister of Rev. James Morris 
 Whiton, Ph. D., the first pastor of this church, in 1870; 
 cast by E. Holbrook & Son, East Medway, Mass. ; weight, 
 1,507 pounds; dominant note, G; cost nearly $600. 
 
 PICKERING SCHOOLHOUSE 
 
 This bell is now used only in connection with the city 
 fire alarm. The inscription on the bell is : 
 
 C. T. Robinson & Co. 
 
 Boston, Mass. 
 
 1889. 
 
 PINE GROVE CEMETERY BELL 
 
 The original Pine Grove Cemetery bell was a Louisi- 
 ana plantation bell captured at New Orleans, by the Federal 
 troops, under General B. F. Butler, during the Civil War, 
 and was dated 1853. It passed into the hands of Joseph 
 Moulton, a noted collector and antiquary of his day, who 
 mounted it on wheels and it was carried in street processions 
 in Lynn during the last part of the Civil War. Mr. Moulton 
 presented this bell to the trustees of Pine Grove Cemetery 
 and it was hung in the storehouse, which was destroyed 
 by fire in 191 1. 
 
42 LYNN HISTORICAL SOCIETY 
 
 The same year a new bell, weighing 150 pounds, was 
 purchased and hangs in the new storehouse and bears the 
 inscription : Meneely & Co., Troy, New York, 191 1. 
 
 ST. JEAN BAPTISTE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH 
 
 The bell on this church was given by the three parish 
 societies, cooperating together for the purpose : La Societe 
 St. Jean Baptiste, le Conseil Jacques Cartier and les 
 Artisans. The bell arrived November 26, 1903, and was 
 blessed by the Rt. Rev. Mgr. Paul Larocque, bishop of 
 Sherbrooke, Canada. It bears the following inscriptions, 
 surmounted by a cross : 
 
 Cantate Domino (Sing to the Lord) 
 
 A monogram 
 
 Pius Joannes Joseph 
 
 (Pius in honor of the Pope, Pius X, Johannes Joseph, the 
 
 given names of the late Archbishop Williams of Boston.) 
 
 J. Baptista Anna 
 (The first two being the given names of Reverend Pere 
 Jean Baptiste Parent, the Cure of the church, and the third 
 name for St. Anna, the patron saint of Canadian mothers.) 
 The weight of the bell is 1,500 pounds and its note F. 
 It was cast at the McShane Foundry, Baltimore, Md. 
 
 st. Joseph's roman catholic church 
 
 This bell was presented by Rev. J. C. Harrington, 
 who devoted to this purpose a testimonial given to him in 
 honor of his silver jubilee, or 25 years in the priesthood. 
 It was blessed with imposing ceremonies on Sunday, 
 August 30, 1896, the service being conducted by Rev. J. 
 C. Harrington, P. R., assisted by Fathers Patrick Colman 
 and E. J. Dolan. 
 
LYNN HISTORICAL SOCIETY 43 
 
 The bell was cast by the Blake Bell Company of 
 Boston, weighs nearly 3,200 pounds and is D natural in 
 pitch. The bell is 40 inches high and the yoke weighs 
 800 pounds and the tongue 50 pounds. It is rung by an 
 eight-foot wheel and is well mounted, so as to emit its 
 tones in a most satisfactory manner. On one side it bears 
 the inscription : 
 
 Blake Bell Co. 
 
 In Memory of the 
 
 Silver Jubilee of the Pastor, 
 
 Rev. J. C. Harrington, 
 
 June 3, 1896. 
 
 The other side bears the relief of a cross, the words, 
 
 Boston, Mass, 1896, with the seal of the trustees, and below, 
 
 St. Joseph's Church, Lynn, Mass. 
 
 (Polish Roman Catholic) 
 
 Two bells cast by Meneely & Co., Troy, N. Y. One 
 weighs 250 pounds and the other 530 pounds. Dedicated 
 July, 1910, and these inscriptions correct a very general 
 belief in the vicinity that these bells were made in Poland 
 and imported to this country at very great expense. 
 
 This church had its first bell, which weighed 800 
 pounds, in 1834, anc * also a clock bought from Mr. Willard 
 of New Bedford. This bell was considered insufficient, and 
 Richard Richards obtained subscriptions for the purchase 
 of a bell twice as heavy. This second bell was destroyed 
 in the fire which burned the church November 20, 1859, 
 and the third bell, whose fundamental note is E and 
 weighs 2,300 pounds, was procured in ten days. 
 
44 LYNN HISTORICAL SOCIETY 
 
 The committee entrusted with the purchase of this bell 
 was obliged to obtain one already made and selected this 
 one on account of its tone. It is evident from the inscrip- 
 tion that it was made for a Roman Catholic Church and 
 the committee in their desire for a prompt delivery waived 
 the defects in casting of the inscription and this purchase 
 enabled the founders to try again on the casting. None of 
 the committee are living, but a man who was sexton of a 
 church in the vicinity states that the bell was originally 
 cast for a chime, but was not used on account of the devia- 
 tion of its fundamental note from the desired pitch. 
 
 While the new church was being built, the present bell 
 was placed upon a temporary framework, which constituted 
 to that extent the only bell tower ever in Lynn. The bell 
 was installed in the new church in time to be rung at its 
 dedication August n, 1861. The inscription on this bell 
 is: Henry N. Hooper & Co., Boston, 1859; below which 
 is the following Latin stanza in Old English letters : 
 
 Laudamus te, benedicimus te, 
 Adoramus te, glorificamus te, 
 Gratias agimus tibi 
 Propter magnam gloriam tuam. 
 
 The casting, however, is very imperfect, and when it 
 was being made some of the letters and nearly the whole 
 of the third line in the mould were washed away by the 
 molten metal, but enough remains for its completion as 
 given above, which has been translated: 
 
 We praise Thee ! We bless Thee ! 
 We adore Thee ! We glorify Thee ! 
 We give thanks to Thee 
 For thy great glory. 
 
LYNN HISTORICAL SOCIETY 45 
 
 This is a paraphrase of the Gloria in an old mass, of 
 which a full exposition may be found in the Catholic 
 Encyclopedia, Volume VI, page 583, which is in the ref- 
 erence department of the Public Library. 
 
 This bell is noted as having been the one which 
 inspired Longfellow's poem, The Bells of Lynn. 
 
 st. Stephen's episcopal church 
 
 This chime of bells was cast by Clinton H. Meneely 
 & Son, Troy, N. Y., and first rung on Easter Sunday, 
 April 25, 1886. 
 
 In the tower on the first story is the following memo- 
 rial plate : The bells in this tower are placed there to 
 the glory of the Triune God and in sacred memory of the 
 Honorable Enoch Redington Mudge, by a grateful parish. 
 Laus Deo. 
 
 The chimes consist of ten bells, which cost $5,250 and 
 are as follows : 
 
 One : E flat, the people's bell, being furnished by over 
 600 subscribers ; cost $1,500, weight 3,030 pounds ; inscrip- 
 tion : St. Stephen's bell. Let all the people praise Thee. 
 
 Two : F, presented by friends of the rector. Cost 
 $1,000, weight 2,025 pounds; inscription: Rector's Bell, 
 Rev. Frank Louis Norton, D. D., Rector, 1866. Let 
 Thy priests be clothed with righteousness. 
 
 Three : G, presented by Honorable and Mrs. Josiah 
 Chase Bennett and George Edward Barnard ; cost $750, 
 weight 1,535 pounds; inscription: In Memoriam, Let 
 him that heareth say come. 
 
 Four : A flat, presented by the Sunday School and 
 Judge and Mrs. Rollin E. Harmon ; cost $600, weight 
 1,220 pounds; inscription : Suffer little children to come 
 unto me. 
 
46 LYNN HISTORICAL SOCIETY 
 
 Five : B flat, presented by Mr. and Mrs. Rollin Aaron 
 Spalding, in memory of their daughter Mary Jane ; 
 cost $400, weight 825 pounds ; inscription : Safe in God's 
 Nursery. 
 
 Six : C, presented by John Ambrose McArthur, 
 M. D. ; cost $250; weight 520 pounds. 
 
 Seven : D flat, presented by Charles Gooch Clark ; 
 cost $225 ; weight 465 pounds. 
 
 Eight : D, presented by Benjamin Cushing Mudge in 
 memory of his mother, Eliza Robinson Mudge ; cost 
 $200, weight 410 pounds ; inscription : Honor thy father 
 and thy mother. 
 
 Nine : E, presented by the Dorcas Chapter of St. 
 Stephen's Guild ; cost $175, weight 360 pounds ; inscrip- 
 tion : She seeketh wool and flax and worketh willingly 
 with her hands. 
 
 Ten: F, presented by the choristers; cost $150, 
 weight 310 pounds ; inscription : Gloria in Excelsis. 
 
 These chimes served as the inspiration of several 
 laudatory poems, and also developed criticisms which 
 became so general that the question of the harmony of the 
 chime was referred to a committee consisting of Messrs. 
 Thomas P. Nichols, Charles H. Aborn and William A. 
 Faulkner, who made a report which was considered to be 
 an endorsement of the chime as being in tune, and as far 
 as known, the question remains a closed incident to those 
 most concerned. 
 
 The statements relative to this report are based on 
 memory, as the original cannot be found. 
 
 SECOND UNIVERSALIST CHURCH 
 
 After 155 years, with the many changes in construc- 
 tion resulting from the wear and tear, the ravages of decay 
 
LYNN HISTORICAL SOCIETY 47 
 
 and the mutations of its many parish meetings, the 
 remnant of the Old Tunnel in its renewed and enlarged 
 form was sold on February 14, 1837, by the First Congre- 
 gational Society to the Second Christian Society, now 
 known as the Second Universalist Church, under which it 
 has thrived to this day. Much of the old frame in the loft, 
 which was cut from oak trees growing on the Common, can 
 be seen by those who will make the climb. 
 
 This move involved also that of the old Revere bell, 
 which did good service until broken by a fire alarm 
 hammer in 1878. It was recast at the expense of the City 
 of Lynn and raised November 20, 1878, and bears the 
 following inscription : 
 
 Cast by William Blake & Co., formerly E. N. 
 Hooper & Co., A. D. 1878, Boston, Mass. This bell 
 replaces one cast by Revere & Son, Boston, 1816. 
 
 The pitch of the bell is C sharp and that of the First 
 Baptist Church diagonally across the Common is the A 
 below, making the chord of a third. 
 
 When the news of the surrender of the Confederate 
 forces at Vicksburg under General Pemberton to the 
 Federal forces under General Grant reached Lynn early 
 one evening, the celebration assumed the most noisy and 
 intense character. 
 
 The sexton of the Universalist Church decided that it 
 should be kept within bounds, but the big boys acted in 
 advance, went up into the belfry and attached a clothesline 
 to the tongue of the bell, cast it out through the slats and 
 shook it until it reached the ground, and then in turn it 
 was passed up to those on the low flat roof of the adjacent 
 building. Soon the bell began to ring and the sexton could 
 not find the perpetrators either in the building or around it, 
 as the boys were sitting upon the middle of the roof adjoin- 
 
48 LYNN HISTORICAL SOCIETY 
 
 ing and could not be seen from the ground in the dark. 
 The report of the sexton was virtually that the bell was 
 ringing out of supernatural partriotism, a very proper con- 
 clusion when one reflects how many times the metal in that 
 bell had been rung in the French and Indian Wars, the 
 siege of Louisburg, the victories of the Revolution, coming 
 to grief from celebrating the close of the War of 181 2, and 
 if metal was ever endowed with animate action this appeared 
 to be a proper occasion. 
 
 TRINITY METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH 
 
 This was organized in 1857 as a mission chapel 
 of the First Congregational Church, under the name of 
 Tower Hill Chapel, and when it was enlarged in 1865, 
 Rev. Francis Holmes, colleague pastor of the First Con- 
 gregational Church, who had charge of the chapel, obtained 
 subscriptions to purchase the first bell, which was originally 
 on a plantation in Louisiana and used to call the slaves to 
 and from their work. This bell was captured by the 
 Federal troops under General Benjamin F. Butler during 
 the Civil War, brought north, and ultimately sold to the 
 subscribers of the Tower Hill Chapel fund. 
 
 When the Federal troops captured New Orleans in 
 May, 1862, they found a large collection of bells which 
 had been contributed by churches, schools, and plantations 
 all over the state to be cast into cannon for the Confederacy. 
 These were confiscated and sent to the North and sold at 
 public auction by the Federal Government. These bells 
 were generally bought by junk dealers and by them sold 
 to churches, towns and factories at bargain prices. 
 
 At the time they were the subject of a great deal of 
 comment, and several poems were written upon the subject. 
 The late Captain Daniel Eldredge endeavored to compile 
 
LYNN HISTORICAL SOCIETY 49 
 
 an account of these present bells, of which Lynn had the 
 above and also the one at Pine Grove Cemetery. 
 
 In the spring of 1872 this chapel was sold to the 
 Methodist denomination, first as a mission church and in 
 the following year reorganized under its present name. 
 
 In 1874 tn * s chapel was moved to Boston Street, near 
 the foot of Perley Street, and converted into a tenement, 
 and so stands to-day ; and an entirely new church was 
 built on the same site and dedicated January 13, 1875. 
 
 On this occasion a new bell was hung, which was 
 paid for by general subscription throughout the neighbor- 
 hood, amounting to $429. It was cast by William Blake 
 & Co., formerly H. N. Hooper & Co., of Boston, in 1876 
 and weighs 1,154 pounds. The old bell was broken up 
 and the metal used in the casting of the new one. In 
 accordance with the old superstition a large number of 
 silver coins were thrown into the crucible, as it was 
 believed that this mixture improved the tone of a bell. 
 The bell bears the inscription : Trinity M. E. Church, 
 founded A. D. 1873, Rev. A. Sanderson, pastor. Awake 
 to righteousness and sin not. 
 
 NAHANT, MASS. 
 
 There are four churches in Nahant, two of which are 
 equipped with bells. 
 
 NAHANT CHURCH, NAHANT 
 
 This is frequently called the Union Church. 
 
 The original edifice was erected in 1832, and in 1834 
 a bell weighing 455 pounds was hung in a tower detached 
 from the church building. This bell cost $131.49, which 
 was paid from the parish funds and without any outside 
 subscriptions. 
 
50 LYNN HISTORICAL SOCIETY 
 
 This building and the belfry tower were torn down in 
 1869 and the bell was rehung in the belfry of the new 
 church. Inscription : George H. Holbrook, East Medway, 
 Mass., 1834. 
 
 NAHANT INDEPENDENT METHODIST CHURCH, NAHANT 
 
 This bell was presented by Dr. William R. Lawrence 
 of Boston, September 28, 185 1. He had a summer resi- 
 dence at Nahant and built the first dwelling on Little 
 Nahant. 
 
 The cost of raising the bell, amounting to $40, was 
 defrayed by F. Tudor. The weight is 800 pounds. 
 Inscription: Henry N. Hooper & Company, Boston, 185 1. 
 Presented by Dr. William R. Lawrence to the Independent 
 Methodist Church at Nahant. 
 
 TOWN OF NAHANT 
 
 The Town of Nahant owns two bells for fire alarm 
 purposes, one being on the engine house in Nahant 
 proper, and the other on the engine house at Bass Point. 
 
 SWAMPSCOTT, MASS. 
 
 There are six churches in Swampscott, two of which 
 are equipped with bells. 
 
 FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH, SWAMPSCOTT 
 
 The original bell, owned by this Society, was installed 
 in 1846 and cast at the foundry of T. Robinson & Co., 
 successors to William Blake & Co., and was paid for by 
 subscriptions solicited by the pastor at that time, Rev. 
 Jonas B. Clarke. 
 
 This bell was sold to the town of North Easton when 
 this church, after remodeling, was presented with its pre- 
 
LYNN HISTORICAL SOCIETY 5 1 
 
 sent bell by the Phillips Brothers, Beach Bluff, Swamp- 
 scott. It weighs 3,100 pounds, cost $300 and bears the 
 inscription : The Phillips bell, presented by David K. 
 and Leonard H. Phillips, i< 
 
 st. john's roman catholic church, swampscott 
 
 This bell was a gift from Mr. and Mrs. William J. 
 Dooley of Boston, at that time summer residents of the 
 parish. It was cast by the Meneely Bell Co. of Troy, 
 N. Y., and cost $500 and weighs 1,850 pounds. It was 
 blessed in the sanctuary of the church, December 8, 1906, 
 by Rt. Rev. John J. Brady, auxiliary bishop of Boston, 
 and it bears the following inscription : Presented to St. 
 John's Church, Swampscott, Mass., by Mr. and Mrs. 
 William J. Dooley, Christmas, A. D. 1906. Patrick Col- 
 man, Rector. 
 
 Critics have stated that this bell is the most perfectly 
 toned bell in Greater Lynn. 
 
 SWAMPSCOTT TOWN HALL 
 
 The bell in the tower is used in connection with the 
 town clock and the fire alarm system and is rung on all 
 patriotic occasions, including the town meetings. It weighs 
 3,250 pounds and cost when mounted in its position in the 
 belfry, $778.35. It bears the inscription : William Blake 
 & Co., Boston, 1884. 
 
 OCEAN AVENUE FIRE ALARM, TOWN OF SWAMPSCOTT 
 
 Fire alarm station, Ocean Avenue. Bell weighs 790 
 pounds. Inscription: Meneely Bell Co., Troy, N. Y., 
 A. D. 1900. 
 
52 LYNN HISTORICAL SOCIETY 
 
 SAUGUS, MASS. 
 
 This town has seven churches, three of which are 
 equipped with bells. 
 
 CLIFTONDALE SCHOOL, CLIFTONDALE, SAUGUS 
 
 This bell was bought by the town, which appropriated 
 $600 for the purpose. Inscription : 
 
 Blake Bell Co., 
 Boston, Mass., 
 
 1895 
 
 FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH, CLIFTONDALE, 
 SAUGUS 
 
 This bell was presented by the late Charles H. Bond 
 who also contributed half the cost of the church, organ 
 and clock. The bell bears the inscription : 
 
 McShane Bell Foundry 
 
 Baltimore, Md. 
 
 1892 
 
 ESSEX STREET SCHOOLHOUSE, CLIFTONDALE, SAUGUS 
 
 The bell is also connected with the fire-alarm, as are 
 other school bells in Saugus. 
 Inscription on bell : 
 
 William N. Blake & Co. 
 
 Formerly H. N. Hooper & Co. 
 
 1886 
 
 LINCOLN AVENUE SCHOOLHOUSE, CLIFTONDALE, SAUGUS 
 
 This bell was purchased by subscription and with the 
 stipulation that the Methodist Society should have the 
 
LYNN HISTORICAL SOCIETY 53 
 
 privilege of using the bell to announce the services in their 
 church, which was near by. As the church has been 
 recently burned, the bell is now used only for school 
 purposes. The inscription on the bell is : 
 
 H. N. Hooper Co. 
 Boston 
 
 1877 
 
 METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, EAST SAUGUS 
 
 The money to purchase this bell was raised by an 
 organization of the ladies connected with this church, 
 called the Ladies' Bell Society, although the actual name 
 was the Church Improvement Society. They met fort- 
 nightly at each other's houses at i P. M., and during the 
 afternoon and evening bound shoes at five and six cents 
 per pair, and in the year 1850 they had $409 in the bank, 
 but it was not until 1855, when the old church had been 
 removed and a new church built on its site, that the bell 
 was placed in its position and rung at the dedication, 
 February 22, 1855. 
 
 This bell is also connected with a clock which was 
 presented to the church by the Honorable Horace H. 
 Atherton in honor of James Sylvester Oliver, Mrs. Hannah 
 Preston Atherton and Miss Edith Rutledge Atherton, as is 
 stated on a bronze tablet in the main entrance of the church. 
 This clock was started for the first time May 10, 1914. 
 
 MANSFIELD SCHOOL, EAST SAUGUS 
 
 Inscription on bell : 
 
 G. H. Holbrook 
 
 Medway 
 
 1838. 
 
54 LYNN HISTORICAL SOCIETY 
 
 FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH, SAUGUS CENTER 
 
 At the time of the dedication of this church, Septem- 
 ber 15, 1852, Rev. Levi Brigham, D. D., referred to the 
 contributions for the bell, which cost $300, and was given 
 by 47 donors, of which the pastor of the church was the 
 largest contributor, and they had received a vote of thanks 
 from the parish August 16, 1852, as the bell was finished 
 and delivered in advance of the time when it was required 
 for use in the new church as stated above. This bell was 
 cracked July 4, 1869, and recast in the following year. 
 
 The condition governing this gift was that if this 
 church ever changed its creed, the bell should pass to the 
 ownership of the Massachusetts Home Missionary Society 
 and by it be given to some other church of that faith. 
 Inscription : 
 
 Cast by William Blake & Co., 
 
 Formerly H. N. Hooper & Co., 
 
 Boston, A. D., 
 
 1870 
 
 LYNNFIELD, MASS. 
 
 Each of the two churches in this town is equipped 
 with a bell. 
 
 LYNNFIELD CENTRE 
 
 There is a bell belonging to the fire department on 
 the building of Chemical No. 2, a gift of the ladies of 
 South Lynnfield to the town. 
 
 ORTHODOX EVANGELICAL CHURCH, LYNNFIELD CENTER 
 
 This church was organized in 1849, and the bell 
 was placed in the belfry on November 26, 1852, weighs 
 
LYNN HISTORICAL SOCIETY 55 
 
 1,040 pounds and its dominant note is B flat. The money 
 was obtained by the ladies by popular subscription through 
 an organization known as the Ladies' Circle, Miss Anna 
 Bryant and Mrs. Catherine Perkins being the prime 
 movers. The town later conceded that the church owned 
 the bell, although the town paid for years for the ringing 
 of the curfew. This was the first bell in Lynnfield except 
 a small bell which was formerly upon the Hawkes Woolen 
 Mill at the outlet of Pillings Pond and the site of the 
 present Gerry's cider mill. The inscription is : 
 
 Cast by George H. Holbrook 
 
 East Medway, Mass. 
 
 1852 
 
 SECOND CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH, LYNNFIELD 
 
 This society was organized September 27, 1832, and 
 the bell was procured from the church at Wenham Square 
 and moved and raised by A. Newhall, June 22, 1866. 
 The expenses of transportation and raising the bell were 
 furnished by subscription among the townspeople. 
 Weight, 830 pounds ; inscription : 
 
 Cast by Henry N. Hooper & Co., 
 
 Boston, 
 
 1851 
 
 WAKEFIELD, MASS. 
 
 This town has four churches equipped with bells. 
 
 BAPTIST CHURCH, WAKEFIELD 
 
 Bell was installed in 1872 ; cast by Meneely Bell Co., 
 Troy, N. Y. ; dominant note, E flat. 
 
56 LYNN HISTORICAL SOCIETY 
 
 CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH, WAKEFIELD 
 
 The bell is made of cast steel and not of the bronze 
 generally used for bells. Its dominant note is F and the 
 timbre is harsh in tone. The inscription is : 
 
 Sheffield E. Riepel's Patent cast steel, 
 Naylor, Vickers & Co., 
 
 1859. 
 
 No. 992. 
 
 FIRST UNIVERSALIST CHURCH, WAKEFIELD 
 
 The bell strikes the hours for the town clock. Its 
 dominant note is G, and the weight of the bell is 1,819 
 pounds and that of the tongue 40 pounds. It was presented 
 by Solon O. Richardson, M. D., as stated below. The 
 inscription is as follows : Cast by Henry N. Hooper & 
 Co., Boston. Presented to the First Universalist Society 
 in South Reading, Mass., by Solon O. Richardson, M. D., 
 March 2, A. D. 1859. 
 
 GREENWOOD UNION CHURCH, WAKEFIELD 
 
 This bell is on a fire engine house, and is used in 
 part for church purposes. The inscription is as follows : 
 Cast by William Blake & Co., formerly H. N. Hooper 
 & Co., Boston, Mass., 1874. 
 
 WAKEFIELD HIGH SCHOOL, WAKEFIELD 
 
 This bell is No. 154 on the stock book of Paul Revere 
 and was cast by him for the First Parish Church, Septem- 
 ber 18, 1815. 
 
 The weight of this bell was given as 907 pounds, and it 
 is assumed that the Old Tunnel bell on Lynn Common 
 
LYNN HISTORICAL SOCIETY 57 
 
 (No. 171) was of duplicate pattern on account of the 
 coincidence in weight, which is entered on the stock book 
 as 905 pounds. 
 
 Dr. Arthur H. Nichols in his monograph upon the 
 Revere bells traces the history of this bell, which is the only 
 one of four cast at this foundry for the Greater Lynn 
 which still remains in service. 
 
 It was placed in the belfry of the First Parish Church, 
 for which it was cast, and when the church was remod- 
 elled in 1859 this bell was placed in the belfry of the Town 
 Hall, where it remained until that building was pulled down 
 in 1898, when the bell was hung upon the High School, 
 and is connected with the fire alarm apparatus. 
 
 The town is to celebrate the bell's centennial this year, 
 and it is proposed to take the bell from the High School 
 and install it in the tower of the Town Hall, whence it could 
 be heard for miles around. 
 
 The inscription is as follows : 
 
 Paul Revere & Son, 
 Boston, 1815. 
 
 READING, MASS. 
 
 Reading has six churches, two of which are now 
 equipped with bells, but through destruction by fire and 
 changes in the occupation of various meetinghouses, the 
 number to be considered is greater. 
 
 BETHESDA CHURCH, READING 
 
 This church separated from the First Congregational 
 Church, April 23, 1849, and the committee chose between 
 two bells which were offered by taking the one giving the 
 largest volume of tone. This bell weighs 1,934 pounds 
 
58 LYNN HISTORICAL SOCIETY 
 
 and cost $637.84 and was purchased by a vote of the parish 
 January 14, 1850. 
 
 FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH, READING 
 
 Reference has been made to the choice of the bell for 
 the Bethesda Church and when this Baptist Church was 
 seeking a bell, one of the committee interviewed the 
 Baptist Church Committee and urged them to secure the 
 rejected bell and place it in the Salem Street Baptist 
 Church. It was later removed to the new church of 
 the Society on Woburn Street. It was cracked by exces- 
 sive ringing on July 4, 1905, sold for old metal, and was 
 not renewed. 
 
 OLD SOUTH CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH, READING 
 
 The earliest bell in Reading was purchased from Paul 
 Revere and was the one noted on his stock book as No. 
 186, weighing 1,179 pounds and cast October 28, 1817. 
 This bell was not satisfactory and at a parish meeting held 
 March 16, 1823, it was voted that the assessors be a com- 
 mittee to alter the tongue of the bell. This change failed 
 to make the bell satisfactory, and in October, 1825, a 
 committee was chosen to procure a new one between the 
 limits of 800 and 1,000 pounds. 
 
 In March, 1826, the committee reported that they 
 had sold the old bell and procured a new bell weighing 
 1,004 pounds at an expense of $130. The result was 
 still unsatisfactory and the parish voted for a further 
 exchange and in March, 1827, the committee reported 
 that they had exchanged the bell for one weighing 1,557 
 pounds at a further expense of $208. 
 
 The ringing of this heavy bell threatened the stability 
 of the tower and on July 18, 1830, it was voted to dispose 
 
LYNN HISTORICAL SOCIETY 59 
 
 of this bell and to purchase a new one of 1,000 pounds, 
 which was done in 183 1. 
 
 There is not any information who was the maker of 
 any of these subsequent bells, but as there is not any 
 mention on the Paul Revere stock book, they were 
 undoubtedly procured from other parties. 
 
 The Old South Congregational Church reunited with 
 the Bethesda Church, February 25, 1886. 
 
 The whole story of the present bell in the Congre- 
 gational Church at Reading is told by the following 
 inscription : 
 
 Presented to the 
 
 Congregational Society 
 
 Reading, Mass. 
 
 by Miss L. A. Hopkins in joyful 
 
 memory of Mrs. Mary W. Pratt 
 
 A. D. 1910 
 
 "Let him that heareth say Come" 
 
 Founders Meneely Bell Company 
 
 Troy, N. Y. 
 
 OLD SOUTH METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, READING 
 
 The Methodist Society bought the meeting-house of 
 the Old South Congregational Parish at the time when the 
 Old South Church reunited with the Bethesda Church, and 
 the bell, weighing 1,224 pounds, bore the inscription : 
 
 Reading, Massachusetts, 
 October, 1906. 
 
 This bell was purchased by the Old South Methodist 
 Episcopal Society and interested citizens of the town for 
 the benefit of all. 
 
 This bell was destroyed in the fire which burned the 
 
60 LYNN HISTORICAL SOCIETY 
 
 meetinghouse December 9, 191 1 and a new bell weigh- 
 ing 1,555 pounds was placed in the new church and bears 
 the quite similar inscription : 
 
 Reading, Massachusetts, 
 A. D., 1912 
 
 This bell and clock was purchased by the Old South 
 Methodist Episcopal Society and interested citizens of the 
 town for the benefit of all. 
 
 CONCLUSION 
 
 This concludes the annals of all the facts which I 
 have been able to secure relative to the bells of the greater 
 Lynn. This compilation has been attended with many 
 difficulties because of the deficiency of recorded evidence, 
 even on parish records and files of contemporary news- 
 papers which have been carefully searched in Public 
 Libraries. The recollections of various persons have been 
 so conflicting in many instances that the above record has 
 been selected from some of many diverse statements. 
 
 It is sincerely hoped by the writer that this paper will 
 be the suggestion for compilations of the history of bells in 
 other towns, for the relation of church bells to religious 
 devotions and also the proper remembrance of the sacri- 
 fices or the beneficences of those to whom the adjacent 
 communities are indebted for bells are subjects of local 
 history which have rarely received due recognition. 
 
MAY 10 !Si5 
 
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
 022 211 868 
 
 
 \:':V*v>. 
 
 ■ 
 
 1 . V.iilr^.^.