John Erving Meets Phillis Wheatley

      Or Did He?

African slavery was a fact of life in Colonial Boston. Black house servants or dock workers were not notable. It is hard to believe that many of the wealthy class did not have a connection to the profitable trade in African lives. Many prominent New England families had ties to the plantations on the Caribbean islands or in the American south. If they did not have an ownership interest, they supplied them with processed fish that would not sell elsewhere. They imported their molasses or rum. Or they simply prospered from free enslaved labor at home.

So it was not remarkable when the child of six or seven, whose age was reportedly marked by her missing front teeth, was sold to the family of prominent taylor John Wheatley in 1761. They gave her the name of the ship that brought her from West Africa, the Phillis and, as was the custom, she used the surname of her enslaver when one was called for. The name her mother called her was forgotten. 

Even in her servitude, Phillis was recognized as a bright child. She loved to learn and was tutored by the children of the household. After mastering English, she learned to read "the classics" in Latin and Greek. She began to write poetry that reflected events of the time. Some of her verses, eulogies, were published in the newspapers.

Phillis Wheatley statue by Meredith Bergmann 2003, photo by the artist.(1)

The Wheatleys sought to publish her poems as a book, but who would believe the ability of a slave girl to produce such creative works?  Who would buy her book? Advertisements were placed in Boston papers for subscribers for a publication run, but it was not successful. No one in Boston wanted to take the risk of printing her book without assurances of a return. The Wheatleys took her to London where they found a more open group of investors, but not before convening a group of respected gentlemen in Boston to attest to her talents. The following introduction was printed in the front of her book of poetry, Poems of Various Subjects, Religious and Moral, the first work to be published by an African writing in America. 

We whose Names are under-written, do assure the World, that the Poems specified in the following Page, were (as we verily believe) written by Phillis, a young Negro Girl, who was but a few Years since, brought an uncultivated Barbarian from Africa, and has ever since been, and now is, under the Disadvantage of serving as a Slave in a Family in this Town. She has been examined by some of the best Judges, and is thought qualified to write them. 

His Excellency Thomas Hutchinson, Governor,

The Hon. Andrew Oliver, Lieutenant-Governor,

The Hon. Thomas Hubbard ,          The Rev. Charles Chauncy, D.D.

The Hon. John Erving,                    The Rev. Mather Byles, D.D.

The Hon. James Pitts,                    The Rev. Ed. Pemberton, D.D.

The Hon. Harrison Gray,                The Rev. Andrew Elliot, D.D.

The Hon. James Bowdoin,             The Rev. Samuel Cooper, D. D.

John Hancock, Esqr.                      The Rev Mr. Samuel Mather,

Joseph Green, Esqr.                      The Rev. Mr. John Moorhead,

Richard Carey, Esqr.                      Mr. John Wheatley, her Master

Did they refer to themselves as "some of the best Judges"? Or were they giving their names to attest to an examination by someone else? 

John Erving's inclusion in this group is another sign of his position in Boston's political scene of the eighteenth century. And John Wheatley was unabashedly "her Master."

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Notes: (1)   Boston's Women's Memorial, see the artist's information here.

         

The Woman Behind the Man

Abigail Phillips Erving (1702-1759)

Although John Erving had emigrated to Massachusetts Bay from Scotland's northern islands, his wife Abigail Phillips was native to Boston. She was born 26 April 1702 to John and Mary (Gross) Phillips.(1)  

This portrait of Abigail was painted by John Smibert about 1733(2), certainly commissioned by her husband. It hangs in the Smith College Museum of Art in Northampton, Massachusetts. Smibert was a popular portrait artist in Boston at that time, with a fashionable European style.

Abigail had married at 23 on the first of December 1725 in Boston.(3) They were married by Benjamin Colman of the Brattle Street Congregational Church. 

By 1733 Abigail would already have borne five children. By 1740 she would have five more. Does that stretch the limits of biology? A brief mention of a family artifact gives an insight into the norms of the time. Women of means could employ a wet nurse to provide for their infants. By avoiding lactation, the mother increased her chances of conceiving again soon after childbirth. In a letter from Abigail's grandson, George William Erving, to one of his nephews, he passes along a receipt from his grandmother "for the nursing her son George" in 1739.(4)  George Erving was born 23 December 1738, so the pieces fit together. Five shillings, two pence were paid to an unknown woman during George's first year. 

Thirteen months after George's birth, Abigail had her last child at 37. She had lost only one infant of her ten known births. It was not unusual at that time to use the name of a child who did not survive for a subsequent child. In this case her own name was given to two daughters. The second Abigail lived to adulthood.

Of course, a sea captain's long ocean voyages were not conducive to conceiving children, but this was clearly not an impediment for the Ervings.

The mariner John Erving was about 32 when they married. He would have spent the years since his arrival in Boston climbing the ladder of society before being able to make a "good" marriage. Money brought status, and the status of the Ervings continued to rise in the following years. They bought and sold property in Boston and further afield. In 1756 John and Abigail sold their home on Beacon Street to their daughter Elizabeth and her husband James Bowdoin.  Also in 1756 John began serving on the Provincial Council and was known by the title "Honorable." Their home on Marlboro Street was called a mansion and would have been fitting for one of the most prominent families of the time. What role did Abigail play in outfitting it?

When Abigail died in 1759, her youngest daughter was just 19. There would be many grandchildren to come whom she would not meet in this life. She did not experience the peak of John's social status, but neither did she experience the divisions that were to come as activities in Boston became the spark for revolution.

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Notes: (1) Boston births, 1701-1704 in "Town and City Clerks of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Vital and Town Records." Provo, UT: Holbrook Research Institute (Jay and Delene Holbrook), accessed online at Ancestry.com citing "Phillips, Abigail." 

            (2) Image accessed online from SCMA        

            (3)  Boston Marriages, 1725-1730 in "Town and City Clerks of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Vital and Town Records." Provo, UT: Holbrook Research Institute (Jay and Delene Holbrook), accessed online at Ancestry.com citing "John Erving" (transcribed 'Erwin').

            (4)  "Letter of Hon. G.W. Erving" with comments by Hon. Robert C. Winthrop, in Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society, 1889 - 1890, Second Series, Vol. 5, [Vol. 25 of continuous numbering] (1889 - 1890), p. 16, online at Jstor.

 

Cesar Erving

John Erving made his will on 20 August 1784, two years before he died. In the will, he remembered not only his children, but also gave undefined "Legacies" to the Hon. Oliver Wendell, Esq, one of his executors, his bookkeeper John Southack, his housekeeper Experience Bridge, Boston's Marine Society for the benefit of "poor widows and children of distressed seamen," Sarah Mccauley, "a servant maid in my house," and finally, "to my negro man Cesar."(1)

This entry in John Erving's account books from 1 March 1740/1 may illuminate how Caesar came to the Erving household.

It says, "Profit and Loss Pd to Thomas Gunter for a Negroe Boy Named Cesar which

I Bought of him some time ago for One hundred Pounds."(2)

We do not know if this is the same Cesar who was still in his household more than forty years later. We do not know when Cesar gained his freedom. Perhaps future research will reveal more details. After the Massachusetts Constitution was enacted in 1780, the premise that "all men are born free and equal" was tested in some noteworthy legal cases. Enslaved individuals were successful in proving their right to liberty in courts under this new constitution. The cases of Mum Bett in Berkshire County, and Quock Walker in Worcester County laid the legal ground for the final abolishment of slavery in Massachusetts around 1783.(3)

In the first Federal census taken in 1790 a Cesar Erving can be found residing in Boston as the head of a family of 8 under the category of "all other free people."(4)  It is notable that his household was enumerated entirely of non-white individuals. The family that follows him on the page is also composed of 6 "other free people" making up the household of Lancaster Hill. All other entries on this page that include "other free people" are in households headed by white men or women. Cesar and Lancaster lived with their families in their own dwelling units. The others (about 10 out of 120) are likely servants in white households.

On April 26 of 1791 King's Chapel records the baptism of two children of Cesar and Huldah Erving named Prince and Elizabeth. Below that record is another where Cesar was a "sponsor" or godparent of Cesar Cheever, son of Canterbury and Sarah Cheever. All three children are listed as infants. The only other category is "Adult" so their ages are unknown. King's Chapel, the first Anglican church in New England, struggled with membership during the Revolution, and became a Christian Unitarian church in 1787.

Cesar Erving's death at 62 is also listed in the King's Chapel records on 25 January 1795. This would have placed Cesar's birth around 1733. There are others with the modifier "Black man" who died in the previous year on that same page of records: Canterbury Cheever, 70, Cesar Lavoise, 54, Cesar Steward, 50, and John Conklin, 38. It is easy to see that Cesar was a popular name. If this is the same Cesar from the journal entry, he would have been just seven in 1740. The 100 pound price mentioned in the journal may have reflected a combination of transactions.

I will be looking for others who may have adopted the Erving surname by servitude, not by birth, as this research continues.

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Notes: (1)  Waters, Henry Fitz-Gilbert, "Genealogical Gleanings in England" Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1901, p.1244-6. 

           (2)   John Erving Journal, 1733-1745 (inclusive)" Baker Library Special Collections, Harvard Business School, online at Hollis.Harvard.edu.

           (3)  See the explanation under the Massachusetts Court System here

           (4)  United States 1790 Census. Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2014. (Original index: United States Census, 1790. FamilySearch, 2014.)          

            (5) “Boston, MA: Church Records, 1630-1895” The Records of the Churches of Boston. CD_ROM. Boston, Mass.: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2002. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2008.) citing "Cesar Erving" in King's Chapel baptisms.           

            (6)  “Boston, MA: Church Records, 1630-1895” The Records of the Churches of Boston. CD_ROM. Boston, Mass.: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2002. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2008.) citing "Cesar Erving" in King's Chapel deaths.

 Snapshot of 1752

John Erving began buying and selling property in Boston early in his career. What made him reach out 100 miles to the west to add to his holdings around 1752? He had cash to spare to make his payment to the Committee of the Great and General Court, the provincial government. By populating his family tree, we can see in what stage of life he was at that time. This record of his Masonic membership fills in some basic details.(1)

John Erving was approaching 60 years of age and had recently joined the St. John's Lodge in Boston. St. John's is the first duly constituted and chartered lodge of Freemasons in the Americas, founded at the Bunch of Grapes Tavern in 1733.(2)  Other lodges followed. The various rites of Freemasonry were very popular among Bostonians. Erving would have been rubbing elbows with members such as James Otis, and others from both sides of the political spectrum. The membership card above gives his  date and place of birth as 1693 in Kirkwell, Orkney, Scotland. The "remarks" tell us that in only four years he would rise to the rank of Master. 

At home, the next generation of Ervings was being groomed for their places in society. John's wife, Abigail Phillips, had borne four sons and six daughters, loosing only one, her namesake, in infancy. Their eldest son, John Erving, Jr, had completed his studies at Harvard and their second son, William, was studying there. John Jr. was in England (at least in 1750 when his Commencement would have taken place).(3) His sister, Elizabeth, had married at 17 to his Harvard roommate, James Bowdoin. Bowdoin would become the second Governor of the Commonwealth after the Revolution, while John Jr. would marry the daughter of the current Provincial Governor, William Shirley. Elizabeth and James Bowdoin had their second and final child in 1752. John and Abigail were grandparents.

In the next few years two sons would go to war: William and James; two daughters would marry war heroes: Abigail (the second daughter with this name) and Sarah. George and Ann would also make matches from within the upper crust of New England society. Daughter Mary remained at home.

In 1752 John Erving was well established in Boston. He served as Justice of the Peace, an important political position. 

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Notes: (1)  Image found at Ancestry.com

                  (2)   St. John's lodge history found here

                  (3)  Colonial Collegians, 1642-1774: Biographies of Those Who Attended American Colleges before the War for Independence. CD-ROM. Boston, Mass.: Massachusetts Historical Society : New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2005. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2008.). This publication is footnoted, and may lead to more useful documents.

 Learning About the Land

I'm a map person. I love the variety of historical information that can be found on old maps. I brought some map activities to our elementary school a few years ago to help familiarize the students with the shape and characteristics of our town. The undulating southern border is formed by the Millers River, in contrast with the man-made straight lines that divide us from Northfield to the north. There have been a few boundary adjustments since the land was mapped and subdivided. Orange and Warwick are our neighbors to the east. The Warwick line runs through the middle of Laurel Lake.

The map below is a retracing of a plan drawn by Joseph Metcalf in 1788. The present Town of Erving is west of the crease in the linen, and north of the river. The northern part of the Town of Wendell is mapped south of the river. All of the land was purchased by John Erving in 1751/2. The map was later drawn to divide his remaining property among his heirs.

Why did John Erving purchase "Lands North of Millers River containing Eleven Thousand and Sixteen Acres"?(1) Apparently, pure speculation. There is no evidence that he ever saw the property. There was value in the timber, but it had to be transported to market, and the flow of the Millers River would take it even farther from his enterprises in Boston. According to Thomas E. Sawin, as Pam Richardson relates in her 2015 history of Wendell, the land north of the river was "undisturbed forest" until 1800.(2)   Undeveloped land in western Massachusetts was 'money in the bank' for John Erving.

As the document below indicates, bringing in settlers was a condition of his separate purchase of the land south of the river, and John Erving immediately began selling that land. Before Wendell was incorporated in 1781, this land was known as part of Erving's Plantation or Ervinshire. "Road Town" referred to here is now Shutesbury, of which the northern portion became part of Wendell. If you look in "Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors of the Revolutionary War" you will find several whose residence is given as Ervingshire.(3)

In the 1980s, a Northfield historian named Rosa Johnston did significant work with the old deeds, discovering and recording which of John Erving's children or grandchildren had rights to specific lots after his death, as mapped by Metcalf. She traced them forward through several sales for historical context. Precipitated by their inheritance of the land, and likely by improvements to the road system, it was around the turn of the nineteenth century that the heirs began to sell the land and settlement began to occur north of the river. The Fifth Massachusetts Turnpike was incorporated in 1799, improving the east-west travel route that led from Boston to the Connecticut River. When the heirs began to liquidate the "unimproved land," soon after, the purchasers began to settle on the parcels. This area began to develop a community, first on the eastern side where a road led north to Northfield and south to Wendell. A tavern, a school, and mills were built on the river. 

The Shepherd brothers of Northampton, bought up a large number of the lots in 1817. We will get to their story later, along with the Whites, Alexanders, and Holtons who were early settlers.

As I reviewed Rosa Johnston's notes, I wanted to know who John Erving was in 1752. What was happening at that point in history? It didn't take long before I began populating his family tree and realized just how prominent he was in Boston in the mid-eighteenth century. Phil Johnson, another member of the Erving Historic Commission, joined me in the search. We started to feel like we were "drinking from a fire hose" when we began accumulating records. We discovered that boxes of family documents are archived at the Historical Societies in Boston and New York. We found mentions in published books and digitized documents online. Facts collected led to many more questions to answer.

We will share some of the discoveries, and questions, in future posts.

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Notes: (1) "Acts and Resolves" Legislative Records of the Council 1752/3, Chapter 142.

                  (2)   Richardson, Pamela, and Thomas E. Sawin, "Wendell Massachusetts: Its Settlers and Citizenry, 1752-1900" Pub. Amherst, MA: Off the Common Books, 2015, p. 20.

            (3)   View "Soldiers and Sailors" in the Mass. Archives here