Alice Cogswell Bemis: A Sketch by a Friend

								

Cogswell. Among them was one spoken of as "Three hundred acres of land
at the further Chebokoe," which later was incorporated as a part of
Essex. Here in 1636 their permanent home was built, and here, covering a
period of over two hundred and fifty years, their descendants cultivated
the land. The Cogswells had brought with them several farm and household
servants, as well as valuable furniture, farming implements, and
considerable money. A log house was soon built, but the boxes containing
their many valuables were unopened until it was practicable for Mr.
Cogswell to build a frame house. A description of this remains, in which
we are told that it stood back from the highway, and was approached
through shrubbery and flowers. It is further said, that among the
treasures which were taken into the new home from the boxes were
several pieces of carved furniture, embroidered curtains, damask table
linen, and much silver plate; that there was a Turkish carpet, an
unusual treasure for those days, is well attested. Their descendants
still treasure relics of their ancestors, such as articles of personal
adornment, a quaint mirror, and an old clock.
John Cogswell was the third original settler in that part of Ipswich
which is now Essex. His piety, his intelligence, and his comparative
wealth gave him a leading position in the town and the church. His name
is often seen in the records of Ipswich and always with the prefix
"Mr.," which, in those days, was a title of honor given to only a few
who were gentlemen of distinction. He died November 29, 1669, aged
seventy-seven years. His funeral procession traversed a distance of five
miles to the old North graveyard of the First Church, under an escort of
armed men as a protection against a possible attack of Indians. Three
years later the body of Mrs. Cogswell was laid beside her husband's. The
record that remains of her is: "She was a woman of sterling qualities
and dearly loved by all who knew her." Their son, William Cogswell,
seems to have had many of his father's traits and was one of the most
influential citizens of that period. To him was due the establishment of
the parish and church and the building of the meeting-house; and when,
according to the quaint custom of those days, the seats in the
meeting-house were assigned, his wife was given the place by the
minister's wife, a mark of greatest distinction. Two of his grandsons
were men of note. Colonel Nathaniel Wade was an officer in the
Revolutionary army and a personal friend of Washington and Lafayette.
Another, the Rev. Abiel Holmes, father of Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes, was
a graduate of Yale, and received the degree of Doctor of Divinity from
Edinburgh. He was settled for many years over the First Church of
Cambridge.
One of the deeds of land made to their children was to their son William
"on the south side of Chebacco River." The variation in the spelling of