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John Webb of Boston and Dracut (1611-1668): A Colonial Snapshot

Captain John Webb (right, with sword) leading convicted “heretic” Mary Dyer to the gallows on Boston Common in 1660.

John Webb of Boston and Dracut (1611-1668): A Colonial Snapshot

By Paul Marion

In his History of Dracut (1922), Silas Roger Coburn describes John Evered, also known by the surname Webb, as “the first white man to become a resident on the soil of Dracut, but not, as we have reason to believe, as a permanent settler, but as a speculator in the wild lands of the ‘Wildernesse.’ . . . His early home was in Marlborough, Wiltshire, England, and he was in Boston [by August 1635].”

    Much of the information that follows is taken from Coburn’s history and is offered here as a casual and general account of colonial-era dealings with native inhabitants during the decades of British rule long before the first talk among local people of American independence and revolution against the King of England.

     Source credit also to Donat H. Paquet’s Photographic History of Dracut, Massachusetts (1982), Rebecca A. Duda’s writings about Dracut in the Sun newspaper of Lowell, the William & Mary Dyer blog by Mary Barrett Dyer (2015), and the Wikipedia entry on John Evered (downloaded 3/6/2025) —PM

Dracut, Massachusetts, is the only place in America with that name, the origin being an estate in southwest England, Draycot Foliat, dating from 1086 at least, whose name combines two surnames. Found in Marlborough in Chiseldon Parish of Wiltshire County, Draycot Foliat is the ancestral home of Captain John Evered Webb, who, in 1665, acquired a large portion of the land that would be the colonial town from the Pennacook people who had survived there for centuries. The seller who signed a pivotal agreement was “Bess, wife of Nobb How,” a daughter of the legendary Pennacook leader Passaconaway, Child of the Bear.

Native peoples had been decimated by disease carried into their region by European explorers and settlers. From a population of perhaps 10,000, the tribes numbered some twenty-five hundred by 1631, the survivors of smallpox, flu, and diphtheria epidemics. By 1660, after relinquishing land claims and years of negotiating with white colonists to maintain peace, Passaconaway transferred leadership to his son, Wannalancit, and moved deeper into the northern wilderness. He may have lived to be more than one hundred years old, his burial place uncertain.

English reporters of the time had cast Passaconaway as a cross between a wiseman and a wizard, attributing to him tall-tale powers such as causing ice to burn in his hands, shaping green leaves from ashes, moving a rock with his eyes, and swimming underwater the width of the Merrimack River in one breath. In one account, tribesmen report seeing his spirit leave his dying body in a wooden sleigh covered in furs and pulled by a team of flying gray wolves.

John Webb paid the Indians one pound of tobacco and four yards of heavy cloth for a tract of land exceeding 1,000 acres, part of which he had sold illegally the year before to a pair of English settlers for cash and farm products worth four hundred English pounds. The sale encompassed land on the north side of the river, opposite the area called Middlesex Village close to today’s south campus of the University of Massachusetts in Lowell. Webb may have built a log cabin on what is now Old Ferry Road in Lowell, which would have been the first structure of white settlers.

Let’s review. Tobacco and cloth. Was it a swindle or did the Pennacooks think it was preposterous that the white-skinned people believed land could be held as private property? Take the tobacco and cloth now, they may have figured. These folks cannot be serious. They will never last in the forest.

Time check: Note that the Puritans, religious separatists from England, stepped ashore in what would be Plymouth, Massachusetts, in December 1620, after first making landfall at the fingertip of Cape Cod’s bent arm in the ocean: Provincetown now. This group or congregation was led by William Bradford, later a governor of Plymouth Colony. The Puritans, a strain of Protestantism, rejected the Church of England for not ridding itself of every aspect of the Roman Catholic Church, from which it had formally split in 1534 when Pope Clement VII in Rome denied merry old King Henry VIII’s request for an annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon so that he could marry Anne Boleyn. Fast forward to the upstarts who insisted on a purer form of Christian worship and their voyage to the New World, seen from the Old World, Europe. Boston dates from 1630 as the hub of a second colony on the coast, the Massachusetts Bay Colony, led by John Winthrop. The first English people in what would be Dracut came from Boston and Cape Ann just north, the Salem-Ipswich area.

Webb arrived with family on this side of the Atlantic in August 1635 in the middle of a hurricane that battered their ship carrying one hundred English emigrants. After riding out the storm off the New Hampshire coast, the ship reached Boston. Webb found work on ships and joined a Boston church. He married Mary Faireweather, a widow, and adopted her son—they then had a daughter of their own and moved to Braintree.

He ventured inland to the territory of native tribes (“ye Wildernesse on ye Northerne side of Merrimack River”), and in 1653 helped to establish a settlement, Chelmsford, named for an English town. He learned how to bargain with the native people. A military man and politician, Webb held the rank of ensign in the state militia, rising to captain, and served three years in the legislature, the General Court in Boston.

Notably, Webb was in charge of the execution of Mary Dyer in 1660, a Quaker who had protested her banishment from Boston. She insisted on her right to worship according to her conscience and returned. Like Anne Hutchinson in 1637, the critic of Puritan ministers who was banished but not killed, Dyer challenged the religious establishment. She was hung as a heretic on Boston Common.

In 1664, Webb gained control of seven hundred-and-fifty acres near Pawtucket Falls on the Merrimack, a “military land grant” from the colonial government. This brings him to Drawcutt (Dracut) and the land transactions described above.

Before his property dealings in future-Dracut, Captain Webb, a man in a hurry, had already owned property in Boston including the lot later occupied by the legendary Old Corner Bookstore and Ticknor and Fields publishers—and perhaps fitting for this character took his last breath in Boston in a dramatic or even literary fashion, considering the details provided by Silas Coburn:

“Rev. Samuel Danforth of Roxbury states as follows: ‘17^th 8^th month 1668 Mr John Webb alias Evered was drowned, catching a whale below the Castle. In coiling ye line inadvisedly he did it about his body thinking the whale had been dead, but suddenly She gave a Spring and drew him out of the boat. He being in the midst of the line but could not be recovered while he had any life.’”

Paul Marion © 2025

The Great Book Burn-a-Thon

The Great Book Burn-a-Thon

By David Daniel

“Welcome to Radio KTRD’s third annual Spring Book Burn-a-Thon! Bob Toole here, along with co-host Carly Kindler. We’re broadcasting all day to celebrate a great cultural tradition in our metro area. We know you’re as excited as us, so let’s get to the phones! Who do you have, Carly?”

“Right, Bob. Sugar’s on the line calling from Keegerstown. Go ahead, Sugar, what book are you suggesting for our bonfire?”

“Burn Herzog.”

“Sugar, Bob here. Her zog. That how you say it? Sounds evil. I haven’t read that one.”

“Neither have I.”

“I’m just checking Google here, Bob. Here it is—that one’s by Saul Bellow. Won a National Book Award . . . that’s suspicious right there. Gives a synopsis—umm, yadda, yadda . . . mmm, sounds kind of pointless.”

“So, thumbs up on that one, Sugar. Bring it on down. Let’s take another call, Carly.”

“Mike’s in a car. Go ahead, Mike.”

“Am I on?”

“Go ahead, Mike.”

“Yeah, I just wanna say about that last book, I damn sure ain’t read it either, but you don’t gotta get down into the hog wallow to know garbage. A dirty book by a dirty man is—”

“Or dirty woman. Let’s not be sexist about this.”

“—is all’s you got to know. Here’s one I wanna see toss’d on the fire. ‘Trout Fishing in America.’”

“That’s the title?”

“What it says here. Some guy named . . . Brautigan.”

“Brought a gun?”

“I’m tryna read what it says on the . . . ”

“Careful while you’re driving, Mike. Um, I don’t know that one. Some sort of fishing book, you say?”

“They wanted to make my son read it for school. I took a look—and pee-uu. I like to thrown it right in the trash if it wasn’t a schoolbook and I’da hadda pay.”

“That says a lot about you as a parent and citizen, Mike. You might consider running for school committee.”

“I just now decided, schoolbook or no, I’m bringing it on down for tonight’s fire.”

“Onto the pile it goes. Remember, listeners, you can take the fight right to the school board in your own town. It’s people standing up to smut that brings change. Isn’t that so, Carly?”

“Right, Bob. The school committee, the local library. That’s a good place to start. And if you get resistance—some of those library ladies can be pretty pesky—tell them they work for you. You pay their salaries. And it’s your right to free speech. Haul books right off the shelves if you have to to make your point.”

“Well—haha—I don’t know if that’s where I’d start, Carly, but at least make some noise.”

“Which is what the group sponsoring tonight’s bonfire is doing, Bob. They’re called ‘Moms for Others’ Sake’ and they’re not shy about sticking their noses in and looking out for all of us.”

“So, folks, if you’re just joining me and my co-host Carly Kindler, our goal’s to have a heap of books by nine p.m. That’s when we’ll light up. If you’re in the area, come on by! It’s family friendly fun. Meanwhile, listeners, you can phone or text us with requests.”

“When you think about it, Bob, books are more of a threat than guns.”

“Well you do hear that. Make the argument, Carly.”

“A criminal breaks in your house, are you going to stop them with a book?”

“Probably not. Unless it’s a big fat book. Haha. Or a boring one.”

“Meanwhile we’ve got texts and tweets here. I’ll just read some of the titles that’ve been  . . . uh, anything by J. K. Rowling. Tenderness by Robert Cormier. To Kill a Mockingbird. The Grapes of Wrath. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian by Alexi, is that how you say it? The Handmaid’s Tale. Any books by D.H. Lawrence. Any by Toni Morrison. Don’t know if that’s a man or a woman. Woman? Bob says woman. Okay. And this last one—Charlotte’s Web.”

“Hmm—I’m curious about that one, Carly. A children’s book, isn’t it?”

“Well, it is, but according to what it says here on the Moms for Others’ Sake ban list it’s heavy on death and it gets very sad—so maybe not appropriate for youngsters.”

“Okay, well. Food for thought.”

“Just to remind listeners, Bob, we’re broadcasting all day, and if we can get actual copies of some of these books tonight, so much the better. We’re gathering everything right out in the K-TRD studio parking lot where we’ll have the bonfire.”

“Someone was asking earlier, won’t burning filth just pollute the air? All I can say is it shouldn’t. A good righteous fire that burns really hot . . . haha. By the way, if listeners have got audiobooks or CDs, or even record albums—”

“Dating yourself, Bob. Just got another text message—The Catcher in the Rye.”

“That the one about the drunk ballplayer? LOL. I know the book. Read it in high school . . . I actually kind of liked it.”

“You’ve got a stronger stomach than I do, Bob. Anyway, it’s all fair game, folks. Bring them on by. We’ll see they get their due. Remember, we want this year’s event to be the biggest yet. And to that end, for anyone bringing along three or more books for the blaze we’ll be offering exciting prizes.”

“The phones are lighting up. Callers waiting to get on. We have city councilman Stappo on line one. A good day to you, sir.”

“Great to be on. I just want to pump this event for our community. What it gets down to, it gets down to who’s making our decisions for us. At the next council meeting I’ll be introducing a proposal to freeze funding for the city library.”

“Really? Wow. That’s uh . . . that’s thinking out-of-the-box, Councilman.”

“It’d save money, for starters. As it stands, we’re all paying for a library that not all of us use. If we make it a private business, well, there’s control over inventory. And, shoot, maybe it’d turn a profit.”

“Well, you’re always with the ideas, sir. Will you be there tonight?”

“Wouldn’t miss it. I’ll bring the marshmallows.”

“That’s councilman Gus Stappo, folks. And I want to give another plug for Mom’s for Others’ Sake—MOFOS—who are making sure that bad books don’t end up in the hands of good people. Carly’s signaling we’ve time for one more call.”

“Last one for this segment, Bob. Let’s go to Winnisburg. Howdy, caller . . . you’re on K-TRD!”

~*~

National Library Week is April 6-12

“In 2023, the American Library Association reported that the number of titles targeted at public libraries had increased more than 90 percent from a year prior, and 17 states – including Florida, Texas, and Connecticut – had seen more than 100 censorship attempts. A more recent report from the free expression-focused nonprofit PEN America notes that more than 4,000 unique titles have been banned across the country. The organization says that we’re in a moment of education censorship “unseen since the 1950s-era Red Scare.”

— From Boston Globe 3/11/25

At present, legislators in Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Indiana, and Texas are debating legal penalties against teachers and school librarians for discussing unapproved books.

Rhode Island is introducing a bill that would combat efforts to ban and censor books and punish teachers.

Lowell City Council in 1924

Lowell City Council in 1924 – (PIP #63)

– Louise Peloquin

Dick Howe’s weekly “Lowell Politics” post keeps us abreast of City Council meetings and local events.

Let’s peek into century-old City Council meetings. More in the coming weeks.

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L’Etoile – December 23, 1924

FAVORABLE TO A SPORTS STADIUM IN LOWELL

     The City Council adopts the report recommending building an athletics stadium – Veto of the Plain Street playground overridden, but not of the John L. Durkin ground – Exchange of compliments on the occasion of the year’s end.

——-

McNABB,  AS CITY TREASURER STAYS ON THE TABLE

——-

     Last night, the City Council overrode the Mayor’s veto on the question of a John. L. Durkin playground. The Council also adopted the recommendation to build an athletics stadium in Lowell. On the other hand, the Council refused to act on the name of John H. McNabb, submitted by the Mayor for the position of city treasurer. Finally, the Council closed 1924 with flowery rhetoric.

     Yesterday’s City Council was the year’s last, except for a possible special meeting before January 1st to discuss the Beaver Brook Bridge issue if the electorate commission finishes counting the number of petitioners hostile to this project.

     Most of the session dealt with congratulating the new District 5 counselor John P. O’Connell, with expressing condolences and finally with saluting the end of the year and welcoming in the new one.

     After counselor O’Connell took his oath of office, counselor Daly, president of the sub-committee named by the Council, reported that his committee recommended building a public stadium in Lowell. This resolution invites the Lowell representatives to the State House Legislature to present a bill to create a five-citizen committee responsible for the Lowell stadium construction proposal. The Council adopted this resolution.

     The Council then adopted, by 11 votes, the appropriation of $3000 for the purchase of a playground on Plain Street, something which the Mayor had vetoed  because it was too expensive. Counselors Fitzgerald, Genest, McFadden and O’Connell did not vote.

     On the question of the $18,000 for the John L. Durkin playground, the following six counsellors voted against: Chrétien, Daly, Fitzgerald, Genest, Hennessy and Lambert. As the Mayor had already vetoed, the vote was sufficient to prevent the appropriation to pass because only eight votes were in favor. Counselor O’Connell did not have the right to vote because he had not participated in the first round.

     Counselor Daly, seconded by O’Connell, proposed nominating John H. McNabb as city treasurer. The verbal vote was welcomed by a salvo of NO’s. Only five counselors- Chadwick, Chrétien, Day, Fitzgerald, and O’Connell – wanted to act on the McNabb nomination. The name was therefore left on the table.

     The session ended with City Council members ceasing insults, exchanging bouquets and reestablishing friendly relations. (1)

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1) Translation by Louise Peloquin.

Authoritarianism versus liberalism: a political memoir by Marjorie Arons-Barron

The entry below is being cross posted from Marjorie Arons-Barron’s own blog.

Free: Coming of Age at the End of History by Lea Ypi is the remarkable memoir of an Albanian girl, told in the first person starting when she was just seven years old. Ypi sees the world and her homeland through the perspective of her very complicated family.  Her grandmother, Nini, who lives with them, came from a family of inherited wealth who lost everything with changing Albanian governments.  Ypi’s father had Socialist leanings but was disillusioned under the dictatorship of Enver Hoxha. Her mother was impatient with ideology and at odds with her father. She only comes into her own after the Communist government loses control in 1990, and she rises to prominence in the opposition Democratic Socialist party by the mid 1990’s.

Lea discovers that, from her earliest years, her schoolteachers have been spewing propaganda, and her parents (always arguing) and grandmother have been lying to her about their family biography, their life as suspect intellectuals and her grandfather’s torture and imprisonment on political grounds. Her family has spoken in code, referring to political prisons as University A or University K.  The child is torn between believing her government lackey teacher and subtle but conflicting signals picked up from her reticent but cynical family.

It is, above all, a coming-of-age tale that takes us from the end of Enver Hoxha’s Stalinist-style dictatorship through the difficulties of embarking on market-based liberalism, which clearly doesn’t hold all the answers. Throughout the memoir, always seen through Lea Ypi’s eyes and family experience, is the question of what it means to be free?  How much does the family into which we are born shape our values and our understanding of history?

The memoir plays off the philosophy of political scientist Francis Fukuyama and his concept that over time, governments undergo a natural evolution, gravitating toward liberal democracy. It reminds one of Martin Luther King’s line about the arc of history bending toward justice.  Sadly, as history unfolds in the memoir (which came out in 2021), that anticipated “end of history,” is not realized. It is far from certain that most if not all nations come to recognize the benefits of leaving behind the isms including authoritarianism. Clearly, as we view the United States today, such enlightened civil society and civil discourse are far from inevitable.

Ypi’s story avoids getting mired in these philosophical and theoretical abstractions. Through her family, we are left to ponder what compromises are necessary to survival, and which trade-offs are insupportable from a moral perspective?  How do we navigate between right and wrong, and are right and wrong absolutes?  It is a really good read, well worth your time and the several literary awards bestowed upon it.