Dec. 17, 1836, Medford was called to part with another officer high in command in the army of the United States. Among the brave, there were none braver than Colonel Alexander Scammel Brooks, eldest son of General John Brooks. He was born in Medford, 1777, on the day of Burgoyne's surrender at Saratoga. He entered Harvard College in 1798, and left it in 1801. He preferred a sailor's life; but, when the embargo of 1808 was laid, he obtained a commission in the army, and held it till that restriction on commerce was removed. He then resumed marine life, and continued in it till the war of 1812, when he again received a commission as Captain in the United States army, and served through the war. So gallant was his conduct at the battle of Plattsburg, that he received a brevet as Major. He was retained in the army on the peace establishment, and commanded. posts on the seaboard. In May, 1817, he married Miss Sarah Turner. In 1820, he was ordered to the command of Portland Harbor, where he remained seven years; thence to Bellona Arsenal, on James River, Virginia, where he remained four years; thence to Fort Independence, in Boston Harbor. He next came to Medford, and resided in the

house of his late father till ordered to the command of the New York Harbor. In May, 1836, he was ordered, with his command, into the Cherokee country, to move the Indians. That duty performed, he went to Fort Moultrie, Charleston Harbor, South Carolina. Here he soon received orders to proceed immediately to Florida, and take command of the regiment of which he was Lieutenant-Colonel, and prosecute the war against the Indians, a war abhorrent both to his principles and his feelings. He had a singular and unconquerable dislike of travelling by steam-power; but here was a necessity; and, almost for the first time in his life, he ventured on board a steamboat, the "Dolphin," bound for the Black Creek. The following account, published at the time in the "Jacksonville Courier," gives the sad sequel with touching particularity:

"The United States steamer' Dolphin,' from Charleston for St. Augustine, via Savannah and St. Mary's, was lost off the bar of St. John's River, on Saturday afternoon, Dec. 17, 1836, at half-past four in the afternoon. When within two miles of St. John's Bar, and she had taken two pilots on board, as the boat began to move, her boilers exploded, and, in an instant, she was a complete wreck. The bows and stern were separated, and the engine, &c., sank to the bottom. Mr. Donnelson was blown into the bows of the boat, much stunned. After the steam had cleared away, as soon as he could stand, he noticed Colonel Brooks just beside him, who laid lifeless, except one slight spasm; after which, in an instant, the face turned purple. Mr. Donnelson thinks he was killed by the shock. Soon after this, Mr. Donnelson gained the stern, which was the largest part. Immediately afterwards, the bows sank, but soon rose again to the surface; but Colonel Brooks was seen no more. Out of thirty-four persons, nineteen were saved, and fifteen were lost. The disaster was owing to the highly culpable negligence of the two engineers, who were both lost."

December 30, the body was recovered. His watch, filled with sand, was taken from his pocket, and sent to his family. A newspaper of St. Augustine gives the following particulars:

"The body of the late lamented Colonel Brooks was found upon the beach, about thirty miles from this city, and brought here for interment on Thursday last. On Friday, the body was escorted to the grave by the St. Augustine Veterans and a company of volunteers, and followed by the United States officers at this post as principal mourners, the volunteer officers in the service of the United States, the United States troops, the Judge and officers of

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the Superior Court, the Mayor and Aldermen, and a large concourse of citizens. The burial service was read, at the grave, by the Rev. David Brown, of the Episcopal Church."

Two years afterwards, his remains were brought to Medford, and deposited in the family tomb.

CHAPTER VI.

ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.

THE history of their church, in many of our earliest New England towns, was almost the history of their settlement. So early as 1634, our fathers procured a preacher, Mr. James Noyes, afterwards minister of Newbury. He was born in England in 1608, educated at Oxford, came to Boston in 1634, and "was immediately called to preach at Mistic, which he did for nearly one year. He was much beloved and respected, a very holy and heavenly-minded man. He was a man of singular qualifications, a reaching and ready apprehension, and a most profound judgment. He was courageous in dangers, and still apt to believe the best, and made fair weather in a storm."

After he left Medford, the inhabitants received religious instructions from Rev. Mr. Wilson and Rev. Mr. Phillips; for, in the tax for the support of these gentlemen, Medford paid its share assessed by the General Court. These preachers were paid by six towns, and doubtless considered Medford as belonging to their pastoral watch and Christian fold.

At this time, our fathers were troubled with the sect of the Antinomians, whose spiritual father was John Agricola, of Isleben. They were against the moral law, not only as a covenant of life, but as a rule of moral conduct. Mrs. Anne Hutchinson brought the controversy from England here in 1634. The Colonists went for the law, and were called Legalists. The heat on one side for the "covenant of grace,' and on the other for the "covenant of works," caused politi

cal as well as ecclesiastical trouble. Vane headed the Antinomians, and Winthrop the Legalists. The synod at Newton, Aug. 30, 1637, condemned the Antinomians; and they were banished.

The first inhabitants of Medford belonged to that class of hardy, intelligent, Christian adventurers called PURITANS, who left their native England that they might here worship God and govern themselves according to the dictates of their own consciences, and here spread the truths of Christianity among the heathen. Nobler blood never flowed in human veins; and we may rejoice that we are descended from warrior-saints, who dared to lead where any dared to follow, whose souls were sanctified by Christian faith, whose union illustrated the natural rights of man, and whose characters were made invincible by a spiritual heroism. That such a people would faithfully provide for the worship which they had sacrificed their native homes to enjoy, is most natural. That our forefathers so felt and so acted, is undoubtedly true; as it is also true that their scanty means and divided condition postponed the settlement of a minister, — a failure of duty which drew upon them prosecutions and fines. We therefore find additional cause for lamentation over the loss of our early records, which would have explained the facts of their condition, and also proved to us how devotedly they attended public worship in the neighboring towns when they were not able to support a minister within their own borders. So soon as they could pay a clergyman, yes, long before they could do it without extreme anxiety, they made provision for their spiritual nurture and their growth in grace.

Johnson, in his "Wonder-working Providence," says:

"It is as unnatural for a right New England man to live without an able ministry, as for a smith to work his iron without fire."

Their wakefulness and zeal are proved, in the surviving records, by their unanimity in causing each person to contribute his share; and their intelligence and justice appear in harmonizing differences which unhappily arose between them and one of their temporary teachers.

June 2, 1641: The General Court

say:

"It is desired that the elders would make a catechism for the instruction of youth in the grounds of religion."

This catechism found its way into every family of our

plantation. Thus the ideas of a true theocracy and a true democracy were here early imparted.

The "plantation" agreed to hire a preacher, who should supply them for six months or a year, and to pay him by individual subscriptions, while they allowed him to reside wherever his other engagements required. Tutors from Harvard College were hired for this purpose.

Oct. 21, 1658, our fathers kept a fast, " on account of God's judgments; to wit, sickness in several families, unfavorable weather, and the appearance of that scourge, the Quakers."

1660: At this time, the controversy about infant baptism afflicted our early Christians here; and Mr. Thomas Gould's case, in Charlestown, caused great stir at Medford.

Mr. John Hancock, grandfather of the patriot of 1775, who preached here in 1692, consented to remain in the plantation; and the town accordingly voted that "he shall be boarded at Mr. John Bradshaw's for the year ensuing, if he shall continue his ministry so long among us." The usual price of board was five shillings per week. In November, 1693, Mr. Hancock's ministrations ceased, and the town voted to apply to the government of Harvard College to supply them with a minister for the winter. The town enjoyed, for a considerable time, the ministerial services of Mr. Benjamin Colman (H. C. 1692).

May 13, 1695, the town gave Mr. Simon Bradstreet (H. C. 1693) an invitation to become their permanent pastor; and the record is as follows:

"Voted that Mr. Simon Bradstreet, for his encouragement to settle amongst us in the work of the gospel ministry, shall have £40 in money, for annuity, with his housing and firewood."

This call was not accepted. There were, at this time, only thirty-three male inhabitants who paid taxes on estates. Fifteen shillings was the common price paid, per sabbath, to "occasional preachers."

March 5, 1694: Voted that the former subscription for the support of the minister should be continued, and that the board of the minister should be five shillings per week; and, if any one refused to pay his share of this, then the Selectmen should "rate him according to his effects." The town's rate was one penny in the pound, and twelve pence per head."