RONALD STERNE WILKINSON 1969 © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ABSTRACT JOHN WINTHROP, JR. AND THE ORIGINS OF AMERICAN CHEMISTRY BY Ronald Sterne Wilkinson John Winthrop, Jr. was the first scientist of im- portance in the English colonies. Son of the founder of the Massachusetts-Bay Colony and governor of his own colony of Connecticut, he was a significant and impressive politi- cian and man of business who somehow found time to engage in a number of scientific pursuits and correspond with many of the leading investigators of his time. WinthrOp became a charter member of the Royal Society of London, contributing papers both to its meetings and the PhiIOSOphi- cal Transactions. WinthrOp's main scientific activity was in the various areas of chemistry. His collection of chemical books, only part of a much greater general library, rivalled the best of European efforts. Little is actually known about his alchemical eXperiments except that he was con— ducting them over some time. There is, however, good evidence that he was the original author of an important group of alchemical treatises eventually published under Ronald Sterne Wilkinson the pseudonym of "Eirenaeus Philalethes," no matter how these tracts were modified or augmented by later contributors. To fulfill the needs of New England's settlers, WinthrOp gave much attention to the practical applications of chemistry. He accepted the Paracelsian compromise in medicine, but reacted to Helmont's influence, and leaned heavily toward chemical remedies. Most of his prescriptions were prepared with his own hands, and many of his remedies were dispensed free to the poor. His skill and kindly bed- side manner soon made him New England's foremost physician. The founder of American industrial chemistry, WinthrOp used processes familiar from observation and reading. He travelled through New England, locating and assaying its mineral wealth. His attempts to produce such substances as iron, salt, graphite, dyes and saltpeter were not always successful, and the vast exploitation of resources that he envisioned was perhaps beyond the cap- ability of a capital-poor group of colonies, but these efforts are worth study as they were moulded to a great extent by the factors that shaped the American experience. JOHN WINTHROP, JR. AND THE ORIGINS OF AMERICAN CHEMISTRY BY Ronald Sterne Wilkinson A THESIS Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY 1969 I r. 3‘ /b ‘ I)" .IQ/ {3 f o ‘J Copyright by RONALD STERNE WILKINSON 1969 PREFACE This thesis had its origin almost exactly ten years ago. It began with an interest in Puritan science stimu- lated by the lectures of Dr. John Cary, then a member of the History Department, Michigan State University. My first examination of John Winthrop, Jr.'s chemical activities was an undergraduate honors paper written under Dr. Cary's di- rection. The problems left unanswered by that effort took me to England in the summer of 1960, and again for the academic year 1965-66. Ten years of peripatetic research have led to the present work, and have left me with many obligations impossible to repay. I can at least mention some of the many friends who have helped along the way. Much of my debt is due to helpful librarians at Harvard University, Yale University, the American Antiqua- rian Society, the Boston Medical Library, the University of Sheffield, University College (London), the Institute for Historical Research (London), the British Museum, the Bodleian Library (Oxford), the New York Public Library, the Wellcome Historical Medical Library (London), the Royal Society of London, the Bibliothéque Nationale, and Michigan State University. In this vein, special thanks are due to ii Miss Sylvia Hilton of the New York Society Library and Miss Gertrude Annan of the New York Academy of Medicine. All scholars who have worked with the Winthrop Papers at the Massachusetts Historical Society must be grateful for the help of Dr. Malcolm Freiberg, the Society's Editor of Publications. He and his successive assistants, Mrs. Evelyn Nolen and Mrs. Martha Saxton, have cheerfully and adroitly answered my numerous queries, and have made my visits to the Society more than pleasant. I am especially grateful for a Fulbright-Hays grant for the academic year 1965-66, and to the faculty of the Department of the History and Philosophy of Science, University College (London), who contributed some of the ideas of this thesis. Dr. William Smeaton directed my re— search during that year, and became a special friend. Dr. Walter Pagel, dgygn of the historians of iatrochemistry, gave me access to both his library and the fertile reaches of his mind. Mr. Charles Webster and the late Mr. J. W. Hamilton-Jones helped me with their specialized knowledge. I owe a special debt to Mr. Desmond Geoghegan, who has recently retired from his long editorship of Ambix, for a correspondence of six years that has added much to my knowledge of alchemy and alchemical authors. Another valued correspondent has been Dr. Robert Black III, who exchanged ideas with me while preparing his recently pub- lished biography of John WinthrOp, Jr. Despite a deadline iii for completion of his book, he took the time to write long and helpful letters, which are greatly appreciated. My final thanks are to my major professor, Dr. Gilman Ostrander, now at the University of Missouri, St. Louis. Not the least of his contributions was the constant mental stimulation that resulted in the completion of a long effort. Ann Arbor, Michigan. Thanksgiving, 1968 iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page INTRODUCTION 0 O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 1 PART ONE: THE ORIGINS OF AMERICAN CHEMISTRY Chapter I. WINTHROP'S ORIGINS . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 II. FIRST ENTERPRISES IN NEW ENGLAND . . . . . 35 III. SECOND RETURN TO ENGLAND AND EUROPE . . . . 60 IV. THE IRONWORKS AT BRAINTREE . . . . . . . . 89 V. LEADER, CHILD AND STARKEY . . . . . . . . . 111 VI. DEPARTURE AND BENEDICTION . . . . . . . . . 135 VII. MR. WINTHROP OF CONNECTICUT . . . . . . . . 155 VIII. HERMES CHRISTIANUS . . . . . . . . . . . . 185 IX. IRON AT NEW HAVEN . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216 X. ADVENTURE IN GRAPHITE . . . . . . . . . . . 238 XI. GOVERNOR OF CONNECTICUT . . . . . . . . . . 261 XII. FELLOW OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY: I . . . . . . 284 XIII. FELLOW OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY: II . . . . . . 309 XIV. LAST YEARS, DEATH AND REPUTATION . . . . . 325 PART TWO: THE PROBLEM OF THE IDENTITY OF EIRENAEUS PHILALETHES INTRODUCTION 0 O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 3 5 8 Chapter XV. THE APPEARANCE OF THE PHILALETHES TRACTS XVI. THE WORKS OF EIRENAEUS PHILALETHES . . . HUI. THE IDENTITY OF EIRENAEUS PHILALETHES . APPENDIX 0 O O I O O ‘ O O O O O O O O O O O O O BIBLIOGRAPHY O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 0 vi Page 361 386 409 429 461 INTRODUCTION Fifty years ago, George Lyman Kittredge lamented the fact that no one had "paid serious attention to the aflchemical studies of the early New Englanders,"1 and, not very surprisingly, this continued to be the case in the émcades that followed. Knowledge of Puritan scientific efforts was slow in developing because of a general mis- Lmderstanding of the nature of American Puritan achievement kmfore the studies of Morison, Murdock and Shipton in the ckmade 1926-1936.2 And, although a chapter in Morison's IMritan Pronaos (1936) called the attention of historians to the fertile and untilled field of early New England science, it was not until Perry Miller's brilliant insight into The New England Mind (1939-1953) that the rationale for Puritan scientific efforts was articulated. lGeorge Lyman Kittredge, "Dr. Robert Child the Remonstrant," Colonial Society of Massachusetts Publica- tions XXI (Transactions, 1919), 123. 2Four seminal works in the reevaluation of Puri- tanism were Kenneth B. Murdock, Increase Mather (Cambridge, Mass., 1926); Samuel E. Morison, Builders of the Bay Colony (Boston, 1930); Clifford K. Shipton, "The New England Clergy in the 'Glacial Age'," Colonial Society of Massachu- setts Publications XXXII (Transactions, 1933), 24-54, and Samuel E. Morison, The Puritan Pronaos (New York, 1936). 1 Rather than being hostile to new scientific devel- Opments, it now became evident that the greater part of the Puritan intelligentsia welcomed new discoveries because they demonstrated in no uncertain manner the power and glory of God, who was the first cause of a universe that ran according to unvarying law, and contained, as Cotton Mather exclaimed in pious wonder when he looked through his micro- scope, "Animals of which many Hundreds would not Aequal a Grain of Sand." Thus did New England's outstanding clergy- men study the new science as an act of piety and an affirmation of faith. When Cotton Mather stated that science was "no Ememy, but a mighty and wondrous Incentive to Religion," and when he praised Isaac Newton as the "most Victorious Asserter of an Infinite GOD,"3 he was by no means desert— ihg the faith of the founders. The universe of Newton was nwre awe-inspiring by far than that of Aristotle and the Ibripatetic philOSOphers, and awe was what Mather and the EMritans sought for their God. The welcome which was accorded the scientific revolution in New England is now well known. Yet all this (fid not begin with Cotton Mather. There was scientific inquiry from the beginning of settlement. New England's feunders conceived the world in Aristotelian terms, and ‘— 3Quoted by Perry Miller, The New England Mind II (Cambridge, Mass., 1953), 440—1. just as it was to Aristotle, the observation of nature was strongly rooted in their philOSOphy. Natural theology helped the process, and scientific investigation was advo- cated by the traditional Puritan writers as a necessary complement to Biblical revelation.4 Of course this was not a wholly American phenomenon, and the intellectual pro- clivity of the Puritan mind led its followers, whether in London or Boston, into the latest scientific reading. The warm reception accorded to the experimental philOSOphy was indirectly a characteristic of the Puritan's quest for illustration, not proof, of the wonder of conception and creation. Yet the various areas of seventeenth-century chem- istry were accepted in New England not principally because they were part of the grand scientific demonstration of de's glory, but because they served practical and useful ends as well. Since the days of the querulous Paracelsus, the chemical remedies he had introduced into medical prac- 'fice had steadily made headway, until at the time of the feunding of New England, iatrochemistry or chemical medi- <flne had become the chief role of chemical research. Late in the sixteenth century, English practitioners Cf medicine had accepted what Allen Debus has called the "Paracelsian compromise," admitting chemical remedies into E 4Perry Miller, The New England Mind I (Cambridge, Mass., 1939), 211. the pharmacopoeia on the same basis as herbal medications.5 Not until the mid—seventeenth century was there any serious disruption of this settlement. When trouble came, it was be- cause of the popularity of the views of Johann Baptista van Helmont, who criticized the herbal and animal remedies of the "Galenists," or more traditional physicians who repudiated chemical medicines. The wide distribution of Helmont's works led to the rise of chemical practitioners who attempted to purge the pharmaCOpoeia of older (and often less virulent) medicines. The confrontation was perhaps most violent in Lon- don. It was reflected in New England, for some physicians adOpted a greater reliance upon chemical preparations. Two more traditional uses of chemistry reached New Emgland in the earliest days of colonization. Since ancient times, man had used chemical processes in the exploitation cm natural resources. The production of metals, salt, glass, swap, saltpeter (for gunpowder) and dyes all involved re- mfiions that are included today in the realm of industrial (memistry. The very success of colonization demanded self- Emfficiency and the mastery of some basic skills of indus- trial chemistry, yet a paradox was created due to the lack CE capital for industrial schemes, and the lack of interest Mmen more basic needs of creating a living from the wilder- ness occupied the hands and minds of even the more prosperous colonists. 5Allen Debus, The English Paracelsians (London, 1965). A more esoteric function of chemistry was in the traditional belief in alchemy. As long as men accepted the basic scheme of Aristotle, with its four transmutable elements of which all things were composed, the basic con- cepts of alchemy were possible. Although sometimes dis- missed as a fraud and imposture, alchemical research was a real and honest pursuit before the chemical revolution of the late eighteenth century. The ancient belief that metals "matured" in the earth, and were gradually changed from less "perfect" forms such as mercury, c0pper, lead, tin and iron into silver and gold, led to the search for methods of accelerating the work of nature in the labora- tory. The challenge of discovering the "Philos0phers' Stone," "elixir" or curative "medicine" which would accom- gflish transmutation was enlivened by the belief that the nwstical agent would also prolong life and cure all diseases. The humanitarian level was part of a religious one, for the "purification" of metals was thought to be symbolic of Eispiritual purification of man, enabled by the Christian religion. This level of "spiritual alchemy" is illustrated kw the work of the seventeenth-century sect known as the Rosicrucians, and is reflected in much of alchemical literature, which continually stresses the need of Chris- tian faith for success in the quest for metallic transmutation. The alchemists, who knew little of the true nature of chemical change, believed that by physically simulating the properties of metals, they were effecting transmuta- tion. Their methods were clothed in the deepest secrecy, and when trusted to print, they were stated in a symbolic language that has caused no end of perplexity to students of the history of chemistry.6 Alchemical secrecy was thought necessary because of the nature of unregenerated man. If the method of artificial production of precious metals was made public, it could be used by unscrupulous individuals for frankly unscrupulous ends. Thus the pro- cess had to be withheld until the world was ready for it. The tradition of alchemical success, or adeptship, was a closely guarded secret, passed on from master to pupil, and could only be gained from printed sources by experi- ment and the illumination gained through the Christian . . 7 religion. Many seventeenth-century chemists combined these various areas of research in their total activity. Robert Emyle and Isaac Newton, both central figures in the scien— tific revolution, believed in the truth of alchemy, and k 6The problem of alchemy is a subject too vast to (fiscuss intensively here. An excellent introduction is John Read, Prelude to Chemistry: An Outline of Alchemy, its Literature and Relationships, 2nd ed. (London, 1939). mlalchemicallanguage, Maurice P. Crosland, Historical @dies in the Language of Chemistry (London, 1962) is fmlpful. The Iatest work on the alchemical period is Robert P. Multhauf, The Origins of Chemistry (New York, 1967). 7The process is discussed by Arthur E. Waite, The Secret Tradition in Alchemy (London, 1926). cmnducted experiments to discover the PhiloSOphers' Stone. Paracelsus and Helmont kept the belief in alchemy alive, mwlsuggested the possibility of an "Alkahest," or univer- mfl.solvent, which occupied the minds of those seventeenth- cmntury chemists who did not realize that such a compound cxmld not be contained in any vessel. Also perpetuating the traditional belief in alchemy was Johann Rudolf Glauber, an influential mid-seventeenth cxmtury chemist who set up a laboratory at Amsterdam. mflmont purged iatrochemistry of much of its mysticism (although he certainly left a lot), and Glauber gave dem- records remain there to document his attendance. More Satisfactory evidence is available concerning WinthrOp's Secondary education at the King Edward VI School, Bury St. Edmunds, and his admission to Trinity College, Dublin at the age of sixteen.2 \ 2Black, Winthrop, 12-18. 13 When WinthrOp arrived at Dublin in 1622, the cur- riculum of the College was essentially medieval and Scho- lastic. The 'scientific revolution,‘ still in its infancy, fwd made no more progress at recently-founded Trinity than at Oxford or Cambridge. WinthrOp did not stay long enough at Dublin to read Aristotelian natural philosophy, which rm would have done in his third year,3 but there is evidence that the origins of his library may be traced to his college days.4 There is no trace of the scientific interests that vmuld play such a large part in Winthrop's life until some time after his departure from Trinity. He stayed in resi- dence less than two years, returning to Groton in 1624 and proceeding from there to London, where he was admitted to the Inner Temple on 28 February 1624/5. Although Winthrop was not an enthusiastic student of law, his residence in the Inner Temple was of great im- portance, for it was in London that his interest in chemistry began. WinthrOp's uncle and aunt, Thomas and Priscilla Fones, kept an apothecary shop in the Old Bailey, and the young student was a frequent and curious visitor there. It was, perhaps, from Uncle Fones that Winthrop learned the .h 3An excellent study of Trinity in Winthrop's time and after is Constantia Maxwell, A History of Trinity Col- lege, Dublin, 1591-1892 (Dublin, 1946). 4John Winthrop, Sr., Groton, to JW jr., 31 August 1622; WP I, 272 and subsequent letters. l4 bmflc processes of preparing medicines, to which he would nfimrn in later years. At least he gained an introduction Unthe techniques of the apothecary during his visits to tMashOp with the sign of the Three Fawns, and if Fones' saxm.was at all typical, it included chemical medicines mswell as herbal simples. The future proved Winthrop's \dSitS to be of dual consequence, for his first wife was Unbe his cousin Martha, the youngest daughter of Thomas Fones. Of equal or greater import to Winthrop's chemical career was his friendship with Edward Howes, a fellow stu- Cbnt in the Inner Temple. Howes is a shadowy figure about “mom little is known other than what he revealed about fumself in his many letters to Winthrop. While studying law, Howes served as clerk to another of Winthrop's uncles, the London attorney Emmanuel Downing. Later he appears to have taken holy orders. In 1644 he was master in the Rat— cliffe Free School, London. When his Short Arithmetick was published in 1659, he was rector of Goldanger in Essex.5 It was through his close association with Edward Howes that Winthrop was introduced to both the physical processes and the spiritual aspect of alchemy. The Winthrop Papers sug- gest that the two friends were fellow seekers of the Philosopher's Stone during John Jr.'s residence in London. 5There is an account of Howes in the Dictionary of National Biography (hereafter cited as DNB) that summarizes virtually aII the facts known about him. 15 Despite the diversions of London and his experi- mmfis with Howes, Winthrop was afflicted once more with Hmarestlessness that brought an end to his college years. madecided to give up the study of law, and in 1627 he mflhed permission from his father (then an attorney author- imflito practice before the Court of Wards and Liveries) U>seek more exciting adventure than the perusal of digests mklbriefs. Through the influence of Emmanuel Downing's knother, he secured a place aboard the man-of-war 222.523 EEEEJ and participated as captain's secretary in Bucking- haMs abortive eXpedition to La Rochelle, thus gaining a (fistaste for war that would cause him to avoid it at all cause thereafter. Yet even this excursion into futile belligerency has not without profit, for during the expedition Winthrop met two remarkable men who would become scientific corres- gmndents. These were the prolific inventor Cornelis Drebbel, credited by his champions for the development of numerous devices from the submarine to the thermometer, and his son- in-law Abram Kuffler, both of whom served as explosives advisors to Buckingham during his efforts to relieve the Huguenots.6 Drebbel's correspondence with Winthrop existed 6L. E. Harris, The Two Netherlanders (Cambridge, 1961), 194-99. Drebbel's correspondence with Winthrop has not been found. His chemical activities are discussed by James R. Partington, A History of Chemistry II (London, 1961), 321-4. 16 as late as the 17405, and was among a group of letters that Winthrop's grandson John took to England. These papers, principally correspondence between John Winthrop, Jr. and noted scientists, seem to have been lost when cuandson John died in England in 1747.7 This circumstance amcounts for the fact that so many scientific letters known to have been written to or by Winthrop are now missing from the WinthrOp Papers. Luckily we have at least some guide to Winthrop's 'flost" correspondence. When his grandson emigrated to Emgland with a selection from the scientific letters, he kmcame intimate with several members of the Royal Society and soon became a Fellow, largely on his grandfather's reputation.8 Cromwell Mortimer, secretary of the Society, dedicated the fortieth volume of the Philosophical Trans- actions to this WinthrOp, mentioning the names of eighty- two of his grandfather's correspondents. Their letters were still extant, and Mortimer had himself read many of 9 them. The implications of the "lost" correspondence will be discussed in the course of this study. 7Ronald S. Wilkinson, "The Alchemical Library of John WinthrOp, Jr., and his Descendants in Colonial Ameri- ca," Ambix XI (February, 1963), 45-6. 8Raymond P. Stearns, "John Winthrop (1681-1747) and his Gifts to the Royal Society," Colonial Society of Massa- chusetts Publications XLII (Transactions, 1954), 206-32. 9Cromwell Mortimer, dedication to Vol. XL, Philo- SOphical Transactions of the Royal Society of London (Lon- don, 1741), A verso, hereafter cited as Mortimer. 17 Back in Groton for the winter of 1627-8, Winthrop resumed his friendship with Howes, who in a letter of 22 January 1627/8 promised to "praye for our prosperous pro- ceedings," undoubtedly alchemical in nature, "which God graunt to his glorye and our comforte."10 Howes included an interesting alchemical diagram,ll indicating the Christ- philosopher's stone parallel, the central position of the stone in the alchemical mystery, and its spiritual signifi- cance ("vna clauis ad Omnia"), as well as the symbolical nature of the alchemical quest ("via ad Indos et Indos"), and other mottoes of mystical significance. To visit Howes and escape the tedium of life at Groton, Winthrop went to London in the spring of 1628, and while there seized an opportunity to tour the Mediterranean on a Levant Company merchantman. He explored Leghorn, Pisa, Florence, Constantinople, Venice, Padua and Amsterdam before returning to England in the late summer of 1629. The Winthrop Papers do not indicate which of Winthrop's chemical books were purchased on his first European tour. There are several books in Italian in the reconstructed Winthrop chemical library, described in an appendix below.12 loEdward Howes, London, to JW jr., 22 January 1627/8; w_13 I, 375. 11It is reproduced ibid. 12Appendix, Nos. 1, 54, 82, 83, 236 and 261. l was printed at London, and 54 is dated by Winthrop "1631." 18 Vfinthrop never again visited Italy after the tour of 1E28—9, although the books could have been purchased 'Umough the usual means at a later date. If WinthrOp made any scientific contacts on the Continent at this mnly date, they have not come to light.13 During Winthrop's European tour, the royal patent fin the Massachusetts-Bay Company was issued, and on 26 August 1629, two weeks after Winthrop's arrival in London, Ids father signed at Cambridge the agreement to remove the mmpany and its charter to New England. On 20 October the eflder WinthrOp was elected Governor, and in April 1630 he mfiled from Southampton with the Company fleet in the van- muud of the "Great Migration," leaving his eldest son be- }und to dispose of the family lands and help manage the (Emmany's business in England. Despite numerous activities in his father's be- half, Winthrop found ample time in 1630-1 to study alchemy. There was a letter in late March 1630 from Howes, who dis- CMSsed alchemical color changes and observed that "numquam in balneo Mariel4 puto petram [i.e. the philosopher's stone] lavare, quia niger nigrior nigro Albissimum « [silver] habet, 13In a letter to the author from Vienna, 27 July 1963, Harold Jantz mentions "the alchemical advice the French embassador [sic] at Constantinople gave to young Winthrop," but I have—not verified this reference. l4"balneo Marie" is the bain marie or Mary's bath, a device used in chemical Operations (and still in restau- rant kitchens) in which substances are kept warm in a water-bath at almost boiling temperature. e. 19 15 ride non ride nisi solus." The earliest signed and cuted books traceable to the WinthrOp library are pur- dumes of 1631. The most interesting of these is a c0py aprollonius Pergeus' gpg£a_(Venice, 1537), bearing the sflgnature of the eminent alchemist and astrologer "Joannes 16. Below is [meus:.Anglus: 1549" on its title. vfihthrOp's name and the date 1631, as well as his earliest 'wnified use of Dee's 'hieroglyphic monad,’ which Winthrop mklhis descendants were to use as a bookmark, presumably swmbolizing their pursuit of the alchemical quest. The curious composite of the alchemical symbols fin mercury, gold and silver was described by Dee in his flgms Hieroglyphica (Antwerp, 1564), a book that Winthrop 17 Winthrop's admiration of Dee led seems to have owned. ‘UDthe adOption of the 'monad,‘ so conspicuous on the titles Ofnmny of his alchemical books, but the precise provenance Cfi'the Dee volume is not as certain. In fact, nine of Win- ‘Uuop's books are tentatively traceable to Dee's library. hladdition to the Pergeus--certain1y acquired in 1631--two bear WinthrOp's dates of 1640, and seven are not dated at k 15Edward Howes, London, to JW jr., 23° 31 March 1630; WP II, 227. 16Appendix, No. 11. 17Appendix, No. 59. 20 all.18 It is not certain whether these were acquired at the same time, or, as is more probable, Winthrop sought and purchased volumes from the Dee library over a number of years. The two books bearing acquisition dates of 1640 contain important notations concerning the Dee volumes. [finthrOp's c0pies of Paracelsus' Baderbfichlin (Alsace, l9 1562), heavily annotated by Dee, and Paracelsus' Dag Imch Meteororvm (Cologne, 1566), with many of Dee's anno- tations including a drawing of a still, contain essentially similar provenance notes in WinthrOp's hand. In the latter Vfihthr0p stated that "I have divers bookes both printed & mmm manuscript yt came out of his [Dee's] study, in them rm hath likewise written both his name & notes: for wch they are farre the more precious."20 It is not known how WinthrOp acquired these books. Ikmording to Cromwell Mortimer, he corresponded with both JdnlDee's son Arthur and one "Jo. Dee, Jun.," probably ArUuu”s son John.21 Among the volumes in the Winthrop 18Besides the Apollonius, these are Appendix, Nos. 65. 167, 199, 200, 214, 251, 261 and 273. 19Appendix, No. 199. 20Appendix, No. 200. Mortimer, A verso. The letters no longer remain. Arthur Dee was an alchemist; N. A. Figurovski, "The Al- Chemist and Physician Arthur Dee," Ambix XIII (February, 1965), 35-51. His son John was a RuSSia merchant, born in 1619. 21 chemical library is a copy of Arthur Dee's Fasciculus (memicus [Paris, 1629], bearing an inscription by the mnhor: "Non est in medico semper leuctur vt Ageo, Inter- "22 This mmlMedica plus valet arte mala. Arthurus Dee. kxmk may well have been presented to WinthrOp by Arthur 1km, but no other evidence has been found to solve the gucblems of WinthrOp's relationship with the Dee family, the origin of his use of the "hieroglyphic monad," and the provenance of his books from the Dee library.23 Rather than joining his father in America, Winthrop nught well have remained in England to pursue his scienti- fic studies. His commitment to chemical research was well deve10ped, and he had begun to assemble what would soon be a fine library. His correspondence with Edward Howes hints at an interest in mathematics, and his curiosity about astronomy had led him to exchange letters with the great 24 Jehann Kepler. With such pursuits in mind, Boston could lardly have seemed as attractive as London. Yet Winthrop's unrespondence does not betray any serious doubts about the Wi-Sdom of his eventual decision to join in his father's \ 22Appendix, No. 58. 3Figurovski, "Arthur Dee," has accounted for Dee's r'eeidence in Russia from 1621 to 1635. It is unlikely that WI-nthr0p would have contacted Dee in Moscow. Dee might lave dedicated the c0py to Winthrop after his return to E”filgland in 1635, which was probably the case (he did not (he until 1651). l 4Mortimer, A verso. The Kepler letters are no onger extant. 22 emterprise. He would later complain that "we are heere asueh dead to the world in this wildernesse,"25 but such Ummghts were only occasional, and from the beginning his afljtude toward the New England settlement was highly op— timistic. The choice was made; Winthrop and his bride, mxmin Martha Fones, prepared for the long sea voyage to Massachusetts . Winthrop procured ample apparatus to continue his chemical experiments in New England. From John Steward, Jr. "at the Signe of the Princes Armes in Leaden hall," lmapurchased chemical glassware and other equipment. The invoice, which remains in the WinthrOp Papers, is of great interest as it is in fact an inventory of what would be the first chemical laboratory in the English colonies. The assortment of alembic parts, retorts, funnels, basins mmlreceivers, the "morter and pessell" and "calsining Potts,"*were chosen with the various aims of seventeenth- century chemistry in mind. The "cupping glasses" indicate VfinthrOp's belief in the occasional necessity for phlebotomy or'blood-letting as a curative aid, and show that he en- viSioned a possible medical practice which he did not ac3tually undertake seriously until some years later.26 \ 1 25JW jr., Hartford, to Samuel Hartlib, 16 December 659; Massachusetts Historical Society Proceedings(here- after cited as proc.) LXXII (1957-60), 38-9. f l 26The bill of John Steward, Jr. is reproduced as glows; prices are in pounds, Shillings, and pence: Bought 0 John Steward Junior at the Signe of the Princes Armes in 23 On a page of one of WinthrOp's accountbooks ap- gmars an undated list of more material either obtained gnior to the voyage or slightly earlier; among these sup- ;flies are aurum foliatum [gold foil], spiritus vini [ethyl aflcohol], aqua fortis [nitric acid], Hungary vitriol [either mnmer or ferrous sulphate],27 and sulphur. Such apparatus m5"crusibles," lenses, "small glasses made by the lampe" 28 mkla "brasse belloues" are mentioned. Other chemicals nmst have been taken, but do not appear in the fragmentary Ieaden hall streite as follows Imps. An Infernall glasse 0 3 0 2 midle glasse baysons O l 6 l greate Receauer O 3 O 2 small glasse baysons O l 0 l greate boult head 0 2 0 5 glasse funnells 0 l 6 4 gallon Bodyes 0 8 O 12 halfe pt. glasses 0 1 O 4 pottle Bodyes O 6 0 3 ds. of Vialls 0 2 0 7 small Bodyes 0 3 6 1 ds. of marmelaites O 2 0 1 gallon Retort 0 2 O l morter and pessell 0 5 0 7 small Retorts 0 3 6 4 ds. of Jam glasses 0 4 0 2 pottle Retorts 0 2 6 6 nest of melting potts 0 l O 1 quart Retort 0 0 8 6 round melting potts O 3 0 1 gallon head 0 3 0 12 calsining potts 0 4 O 1-pottle head 0 2 0 6 Earthen Retorts 0 3 0 1-quart head 0 1 4 2 greate Juggs O 3 4 4 Small hears 0 4 O 3 ds. of Thum glasses 0 2 0 20 Wt. boult heads 0 10 0 l midle peece 0 1 0 l-Wt. Ovall O l 0 2 cupping glasses 0 0 6 3 Parting glasses 0 2 6 2 sewgar chest 0 4 8 2 greate glasse a basket 0 0 8 baysons o 3 o 5 2 13 III, 45-6. 27The confusion is discussed by Crosland, Histori- 291 Studies, 84. 28The list is in WP III, 5. 24 fifipping notes. There was, however, a barrel of "chimical lxmkes," the nucleus of Winthrop's chemical library.29 Winthrop and his wife arrived at Boston in November land and settled in the frame house erected by the elder wnmhrop for his family. It was there that America's first dumdcal laboratory was constructed. Soon thereafter a letter arrived from Edward Howes, announcing that he had "amfld.all" and meant to follow his friend to America. His sfidver and gold were offered to WinthrOp for alchemical ex- periments, along with a quantity of books.30 For some reason, however, Howes never took passage. He remained in Emgland to become a very useful contact for both colonial and personal affairs. Winthrop requested numerous books hxmlHowes and from Francis Kirby, a friend and London merchant who forwarded supplies to the Massachusetts-Bay Cblony and kept private accounts with individual settlers. Ifirby also furnished chemicals and apparatus to Winthrop as they were needed.31 The nature of Winthrop's early chemical experiments 1“ Massachusetts is not known, but there are many references toalchemical procedures in Howes' letters to Winthrop. \ 293113 III, 1. 30Edward Howes, London, to JW jr., 9 November 1631; "LP III. 54-5. 3lHis invoices are found in WP III, passim. 25 DiMarch 1631/2 Howes had "not yet attained to the per- fection of the medicine,‘ quite probably referring to rus alchemical efforts. He lamented the loss of his fifiend Elizabeth Winthrop (John Jr.'s wife's sister, and unawidow of his brother Henry) who had assisted him in the experiments before she emigrated to Boston in 1631.32 Later in 1632 Howes reported on the progress of the experiments; "Caput corui vidi, Lac Virginis quoque vidi, finem denique non ausim videre, Notitia misterij datur, potestas tamen operationis non datur mihi." The story is a common one in alchemical literature. Howes was given only part of the "secret" and was able to pro- gress through only two of the familiar color-changes in the process of transmutation, the "crow's head" (black) and "Virgin's milk" (white).33 While Howes was pursuing the elusive Stone, WinthrOp has engaged in the responsibilities of political office in aYoung settlement. In March, 1631/2 he had been elected a'magistrate of the Bay Colony, and was sitting as Assis- tant in the General Court, beginning the political career rm would follow for the rest of his life. His chemical interests were at the same time being channeled towards Here utilitarian ends. In an effort to produce some of \ 32Edward Howes, London, to JW jr., 7 March 1631/2; W2 III, 66—70 33Edward Howes, London to JW jr., ca. July 1632; 'LPIII, 85. — 26 the commodities badly needed by the colonists, WinthrOp mes soon importing materials for soap-making from Francis Idrby, as well as substances that suggest other projects. A note to himself on the superscription leaf of aletter from Kirby received on 17 September 1632, re- manded WinthrOp to order "Sandever or Sal alcali" in "34 'Terrells,‘ and "a barrell of SOpe ashes, which he re- quested from Kirby on the 24th October and received in June 1633, along with a quantity of "stone blewinge," a tumdredweight of sulphur for the manufacture of gunpowder, mfiismall quantities of c0pper and tin, for either al- chemical or metallurigcal experimentation.35 The correspondence shows that while Winthrop was familiar with alchemical literature and had at least some knowledge of iatrochemistry, he had little actual experi- ence in industrial chemistry. He may or may not have read editions of the three standard treatises on the subject, \enoccio Biringuccio's De la Pirotechnia (lst ed. 1540), Georg Bauer or Agricola's De re Metallica (lst ed. 1556) and Lazarus Ercker's Beschreibfing Allerfurnemisten Mineralis- 9222_§rtzt und Bergwercksarten (lst ed. 1574). Copies have not been found in his reconstructed library, but this does \ 34William Kirby, London, to JW jr., 22 June 1632; VLPIII, 83. 35William Kirby, London, to JW jr., 26 March 1633; 12 III, 117-18. 27 ret mean that he did not own them. (Samuel Hartlib gave tum a c0py of Ercker and, perhaps, an Agricola some years 6 later, but these are now lost.)3 When he was actually required to order chemicals for industrial processes, he was not always able to tell them apart by sight--as he ad- mdtted in a letter of 13 June 1633 to Kirby.37 Kirby had not been able to obtain the requested soap- ashes ("ther ar none come of late yeares out of the east, they lxfihge now out of vse with the sope-boylers who vse only Emmashes"38), and he informed Winthrop that he was sending "soda" (sodium carbonate, Na CO3, lOHZO) instead. Winthrop 2 unfld.not distinguish the soda from the sandiver, which he red.undoubtedly ordered as a flux for his metallurgical Operations.39 In a later letter, Kirby took the blame on himself for not marking the casks; "for I did presume you k 36As shown by Winthrop's letter to Hartlib of 16 Eecember 1659, discussed in ch. XI. 37The letter has been lost, but its existence is Emoven by William Kirby, London, to JW jr., 26 February 1633/4; we III, 151. 38William Kirby, London, to JW jr., 26 March 1633; LP III, 116. , 39Sandiver or "glass-gall," an alkaline mixture ‘flueh floated to the surface during the manufacture of glass,was widely employed in metallurgical operations as afluX; Georgius Agricola, De Re Metallica, ed. Herbert andLou Hoover (London, 1912), 235 ff., and by Lazarus Ikeker, Treatise on Ores and Assaying (a translation of 'Ue:Egighreibung_Allerffirnemisten Mifieralischen Ertzt), ed. G. Sisco and C.V§. Smith (Chicago, 1951), 178 ff. 28 knew them. . .the hardest to be knowne I suppose was the smda and sandiuer. . .all things else ar well knowen to most men. "40 Apparently Winthrop had to wait for ten.months afiter receipt of his chemicals before he knew which was 41 (The sandiver, with amasoda, and could make his soap. its alkali content, would have given him a lesser grade ci'cleanser had he used it by mistake.) According to the traditional method of soap-boiling with which Winthrop was familiar, soap-ashes were placed in containers and moistened. They were then covered with unslaked lime, which Winthrop could prepare from native material,42 and left to 'work.' The mixture was then agitated and water was added. The alkali solution or 'lixivium' was run off as soon as its specific gravity was high enough to float an egg. A weaker solution was then obtained through adding mere water. The second solution was boiled with animal fat or oil, usually tallow, until a soap-curd was formed. The stronger lixivium was added and boiling was continued until the curd thickened and became compact. If the curd \ . 40William Kirby, London, to JW jr., 26 February 1633/4; W_P III, 151. 41Kirby's letter, through delay of shipping, did nOt-eXp1ain the difference until ten months after the materials had arrived. 42It was obtained by calcining limestone or shells. 29 'aeted sweet, more lixivium was added, and if an alkali ‘uete was noticed, more fat was placed in the boiler to tee up the excess lixivium. The soap was then removed and stored until dry enough to pack into barrels. The product would have been 'soft soap,’ common in Northern Europe and England, but Winthrop's use of soda (which was treated with water and unslaked lime to prepare the lixivium) indicates that the first soap to be manu- factured in New England was the modern hard variety that had previously been imported into northern Europe and Emgland from the Mediterranean countries where the soda Iflant was grown. The production of hard soap from soda and fat, which was comparatively recent and still uncommon in England, never did develop in New England, where soap ashes were soon produced for the manufacture of old-fashioned soft potassium soap.43 It is interesting to note that Win- throp could have obtained glass by fusing his soda with sand, but that does not seem to have been his purpose. There is no record of the manufacture of glass in New Eng- land until the Salem works were opened in 1638. The fact that Winthrop imported only sulfur and not saltpetre for the manufacture of gunpowder shows that in 43F. W. Gibbs, "Invention in Chemical Industries," in Singer, Holmyard and Hall, eds., A History of Technology III (Oxford, 1957), 704-5, where the soft-soap process is described, and F. Sherwood Taylor, A History of Industrial Chemistry (London, 1957), 133. 30 unz some success had already been attained in the produc- tion of saltpetre. The third ingredient, charcoal, was cfi'course readily obtainable.44 Winthrop, Sr. had carried a.process for saltpetre (potassium nitrate, KNO3) to New England with him in 1630, but it concerned only the crystal- lization of the salt from its 'liquor,’45 and he advised his son to bring saltpetre with him in 1631.46 The first production of saltpetre in New England must have been by the method used in EurOpe and England until comparatively recent times. Organic deposits con- taining nitrates were collected from farmyards, stables, cellars, outhouses and similar localities. The salt was obtained by packing vats with alternating layers of nitrate- impregnated earth, wood ashes and lime, and running water through them. In the elder WinthrOp's process, the re- sulting liquor was concentrated to a syrup by boiling, and drained through wood ashes and straw into shallow pans where it was allowed to crystallize. For use in gunpowder, the raw saltpetre was recrystallized several times to remove impurities which caused it to deliquesce. 44Its production from wood is described by E. N. Hartley, Ironworks on the Saugus (Norman, Okla., 1957), 169-71. 45WP II, 279. 280 is a recipe for gunpowder. 46John WinthrOp, Sr., Boston, to JW jr., 28 March 1631; wg III, 21. 47F. Sherwood Taylor and Charles Singer, "Pre- scientific Industrial Chemistry," in Singer, Holmyard, 31 Nitre-beds after the EurOpean type may have been mnetructed in New England as a direct attempt to manufac- ture 'saltpetre-earth.‘ These barrow-like mounds, illus- trated by Ercker, were built of dung and porous earth, and were 'watered' with urine and the contents of chamber-pots.48 The production of saltpetre does not appear in public rec- ords until some time later, however, when Boston built a saltpetre-house in the jail yard (presumably to be 'watered' and worked by the prisoners)49 and Concord attempted "breed- ing" the material.50 Winthrop's importation of sandiver in 1633 indicates that he was already at work assaying metallic ores, but his correspondence gives no further details. Historians are familiar with early Puritan hopes of finding extensive deposits of precious metals in the rocky terrain of New England, a dream as old as the earliest Elizabethan coloni- zation prOpaganda. Many Puritans, including Roger Williams, believed with WinthrOp that the New England hills would Hall and Williams, A History of Technolo II, 370-1. See also Taylor, Industrial Chemistry, 110- . Excellent ac- counts of saltpetre-making are given by Agricola, De Re Metallica, 561-4, and Ercker, Treatise, 291-310. 48Taylor, Industrial Chemistry, 110. 49William B. Weeden, Economic and Social History of New England (Boston, 1890), I, 171. SOIbid. 32 ynfld precious mineral wealth, and long after the first fhury of excitement over the possibility of finding gold amisilver had subsided in disappointment, Winthrop searched the back trails and hills for eXploitable ores. By the time Winthrop's shipment of chemicals arrived from Kirby, soon after two cases of chemical glass— ware and a c0py of the catalogue of the latest Frankfurt 51 the young magistrate had been obliged to put book mart, his experiments aside temporarily. In the face of French threats from Acadia, Winthrop's father recommended a new settlement at Agawam (now Ipswich), thirty miles north of the Bay. John, Jr. was chosen to lead the expedition, which probably left Boston in March, 1633. Shortly before his departure, Winthrop received a letter from his alchemical friend Edward Howes, who wrote of "the famous and farre renouned English man of our Tymes Dr. [Robert] Fludd," the Oxford alchemist and mystic whose works were currently so much in demand in England.52 Howes reminded Winthrop of Fludd's book "in defence of the weapon salue," written before Winthrop emigrated to New England (Fludd's controversy with William Foster over the weapon- salve of Paracelsus resulted in Dr. Fludds answer to 51William Kirby, London, to JW jr., 25 November 1632, WP III, 98. 52Fludd is discussed by Partington, History, II, 324-7, and J. B. Craven, Doctor Robert Fludd (Kirkwall, 1902). 33 M.Foster, or, the squeezing of Parson Foster's Sponge, Hendon, 1631])53, but insisted "that is nothinge" in com- perison with Fludd's other works, "which are all folio bookes, and full of brasse peices, the like I neuer sawe, for engines, fortificacions [i.e. to defend the truth of alchemy], and a touch of all Opperatiue workes."54 Howes had just purchased a set of Fludd's lavishly illustrated Macrocosmi and Microcosmi (Frankfurt, 1619-29), containing the whole of the author's system (derived from alchemical, astrological, Paracelsian, kabbalistic and Neo- gflatonic sources), and szas his Opinion that neither "the titles, nor my penn, is not able to expresse, what is in those bookes, as they are, noe more then you in a map of a sheete of paper, can exactly describe the riuers, creeks, hills, dales, fruite, beasts, fishes and all other things of your contrie; for I thinke it almost impossible for man to add vnto his macrocosme and microcosme, except it be it be illustration or comment, and that hardly too." Winthrop's friend added the information that Fludd's works were exceedingly hard to obtain in London; "his bookes are so bought Vp beyond sea, we can gett none brought ouer. Fetherston,55 the Latine warehowse, nor all 53Partington, History, II, 325. 54"opperatiue workes"; steps in the preparation of the Stone. 55A London bookseller. 34 Lumen, could within this month [November 1632] shewe these all together to be sould." WinthrOp was urged to gnocure a set immediately, for Howes conjectured that mdthin the year the price would rise to ten pounds. A manuscript list of Fludd titles followed.56 Soon after receiving Howes' letter, WinthrOp em— barked with his men and rounded Cape Ann on his journey northward to clear ground for the frontier village of Agawam. 56Edward Howes, London, to JW jr., 24 November CHAPTER II FIRST ENTERPRISES IN NEW ENGLAND Construction at Agawam was well under way by the autumn of 1633. The prospect of a downeast winter in a half-finished village was not attractive to Winthrop, but he was now filled with ideas for the commercial future of Agawam. And, there were the usual letters from Edward Howes and Francis Kirby to brighten the cold season. One message from Howes contained the news that "Sir Hugh Platts Engine that you and I haue bin often hammeringe about, to boyle in wooden vessels is now come to light, and I hOpe wil be with you as soone as this letter."1 The 'engine' devised by the English inventor Hugh 2 had been announced in his Jewell House of Art and Plat Nature (London, 1594) as "A Vessell of Wood, to brew or boile in." According to Plat, his "artificiall Salamander" was resistant to fire, would last for twenty years, and lEdward Howes, London, to JW jr., 5 August 1633, WP III, 134. 2An excellent review of Plat's scientific activi- ties is found in the DNB. 35 36 mes much cheaper than a metal kettle.3 Yet the process mes not given, nor was it revealed in A new, cheape and delicate Fire of Cole-balles (London, 1603), where the wooden kettle was described further.4 Howes and his em- ;fleyer Emmanuel Downing had learned the fireproofing process, a kettle had been constructed, and the two had "tryed it in our Parlor." Howes explained to Winthrop that "it will doe verie well, but it being in its infancie, had need of such mature Mathematitians as your selfe to bringe it to perfect proportion and strength."5 Apparently only a model or small example of the device was sent. Winthrop's uncle Downing gave more information in a later letter. He had shipped the kettle "for breweinge or boylinge salt or SOpe etc." to the Winthrops, and had since commissioned a better one which Richard Saltonstall6 was forwarding to Massachusetts. Downing had "seene the tryall of it here both with seacoale and Charcoales," 3Hugh Plat, The Jewell House of Art and Nature (London, 1594), book 2, 70-1. 4Hugh Plat, A new, cheape and delicate Fire of Cole-balles (London, 1603), [21-9T. 5Edward Howes, London, to JW jr., 5 August 1633; WP III, 134. Howes refers to Winthrop's early but unsus- tained interest in mathematics. 6Richard Saltonstall had accompanied Winthrop, Sr. to New England in the Arbella, and had since returned to England; DNB. 7Emmanuel Downing, London, to JW jr., 13 August 1633; WP III, 136-7. 37 mmlHowes hOped in a letter of the same day that New Eng- land, having an abundance of wood, would find the Plat kettle useful.8 John WinthrOp, Jr. makes no reference to the two 'wooden salamanders' in his surviving correspon- dence, and it is not known to what use they were put in the industrial development of the colony. Presumably they were of more use than Downing's idea to work Winthrop's metallurgical bellows by means of a "dogg in a wheele"; even dutiful Howes admitted that "the fire needs not a constant blowinge, but a blowinge by fitts, as in black smyths and gold[s]myth workes; sometymes faster sometymes slower, which a dogg will not, nor can not doe."9 The winter and spring of 1633-34 were not without incident. While Winthrop envisioned industries in Agawam (whose economy was eventually based on cows, clams and cod, not chemical productions), his wife found herself pregnant, and his father was turned out of the governorship by the 'popular party,‘ bent on wider participation in governmental powers. The elder Winthrop would soon be governor again, but the first 'democratic revolution' in Massachusetts foreshadowed future events.10 8Edward Howes, London, to JW jr., 13 August 1633; WP III, 137. 91bid. loBlack, Winthop, 72-4. 38 Amid these distractions, a welcome box of books arrived at Agawam for John WinthrOp, Jr. From Howes, it was marked with the alchemical symbol for mercury, and contained many titles that Winthrop had requested. In the box were four books of chemical interest. There was a work on the 'universal medicine' of the alchemists, Petrus Galatinus' De arcanis catholicae veritatis, and a volume on the preparation of the philosopher's stone, Mercurius Redi- vivus (probably the edition of Frankfurt, 1630) by the 11 Neither have been found Bristol alchemist Samuel Norton. among Winthrop's surviving books. Also in the packet for WinthrOp was a c0py of Philip Gruling's Florilegium Chymi- cum (Leipzig, 1631), certainly the one now at the New York Academy of Medicine.12 There was also a set described by Howes in the covering letter as "Dr. Fludd Macrocosme in 2 volumes 1. 10. 0," apparently the portion of Winthrop's collection of Robert Fludd's works now at the New York . . l3 Soc1ety Library. Howes eXplained in his letter that he had searched diligently for the books, and could purchase no more of Winthrop's requests until the next mart. Fludd was mentioned llJohn Ferguson, Bibliotheca Chemica, 2nd ed. (Lon- don, 1954), II, 142, hereafter cited as Ferguson. 12Appendix, No. 127. 13Appendix, Nos. 91, 95. 39 once more; he was "of farr more esteeme beyond sea then 14 at home." His Integrvm morborvm mysterivm sive Medicinae Catholicae (Frankfurt, 1631) was available, and WinthrOp may have ordered it from Howes, for the book is now at the NYAM.15 The Winthrop Papers do not reveal when the most interesting volume of all those sent by Howes was received. Winthrop's c0py of The Compovnd of Alchymy (London, 1591) by the English monk and alchemist George Ripley, is in- scribed by Howes: What we thinke sure: God often stayes And finds for things undreamt of wayes thus did this succede to mee Edw Howes And soe I hope it shall to thee Joh Winthr. The book, now at Yale, is of great import because of the problem of authorship of the Eirenaeus Philalethes tracts. If, as suggested below, Winthrop was connected with the commentaries on Ripley's works later collected as Ripley Reviv'd (London, 1678), the Howes-Winthrop copy of Ripley gains considerable historical interest. It is heavily annotated in an unknown hand, and was probably so received by Winthrop.l6 Another book was certainly presented to l4Edward Howes, London, to JW jr., 29 March 1634; E III, 159. 15Appendix, No. 89. 16Appendix, No. 227. 4O WinthrOp by Howes. Winthrop's copy of Heinrich Nollius' Natvrae Sanctvarium (Frankfurt, 1619) is inscribed "Liber E Howes et Amicorum suorum," and "vale viveg quiesce et ama H.N.," all in Howes' hand.17 In the late summer or early autumn of 1634, tragedy struck the WinthrOp family. John, Jr.'s wife Martha died, apparently in childbirth, and the infant was taken too. Within a matter of weeks the bereaved husband was at sea on his way to England, ostensibly to promote further emi- gration and otherwise serve the interests of the Bay Colony (whose charter was in danger of regulation or cancellation by the Privy Council)18, but surely also to escape from that suddenly quiet household in Agawam and find solace among the intellectual pleasures of London. To climax an unusually tempestuous voyage, Win— throp's ship was gale-driven to the port of Galway, con- siderably north of its destination. This unexpected visit to Ireland gave him the opportunity to become acquainted with the English entrepreneur Sir Charles Coote, who was mining and smelting Irish iron ore on an extensive scale. A MS. in Winthrop's hand and endorsed by him "Sir Charles Coote discourse about Ironston[e] in Ireland" is probably l7Appendix, No. 188. 18Black, WinthrOp, 77—8. 41 a record of their conversation.19 The account was later used by WinthrOp in planning his own iron enterprise in New England, and will be discussed in that context. After visiting a number of nonconformists resident in Ireland, and calling on his old Trinity College tutor Joshua Hoyle, Winthrop proceeded into England to continue his appeals for immigration and confer with his uncle Emmanuel Downing, who was busy (with the assistance of his clerk, Edward Howes) defending the Massachusetts char- 20 The reunion with Howes was a ter against its enemies. happy one. The two friends visited a reputed member of the mysterious Rosicrucian order, one Dr. Euer or Ever, who may have been identical with the "Dr. Everard, Ox[pp.]" listed by Cromwell Mortimer as one of Winthrop's corres- 21 pondents. The three discussed alchemical theories, but as Howes later explained to WinthrOp, the doctor had "some 22 and he was preiudicate conceipt of one of vs, or both," not very communicative. A more fruitful contact was made when Winthrop called on the brothers Abraham and Johann Sibertus Kuffler 19mg IV, 363-5. 20Black, Winthrop, 84-5. 21Mortimer, A verso. 22Edward Howes, London, to JW jr., 21 August 1635; mil: III, 206. 42 to renew the acquaintance surely made during the Bucking- ham expedition to La Rochelle. The Kufflers' father-in- law Cornelis Drebbel had died in 1633, and the brothers were operating the family dye-works at Stratford-by—Bow, exploiting Drebbel's discovery of tin-mordant dyeing with cochineal,23 and making a financial success of the venture for the first time.24 The visit resulted in a valuable acquisition for Winthrop's library, a volume still preserved in the Win- throp collection at the New York Society Library. It contains two works by the probably mythical alchemist Basil Valentine, De occulta philosophia (Leipzig, 1603) and Von den Natfirlichen vnd Vbernatfirlichen Dingen (Leipzig, 1624). On a blank fly WinthrOp has noted that "This was once the booke of that famous philosopher & naturalist Cornel: Drebbell, wh. he Usually carried wt him in his pockett and after his death was given me by his sonne in law Mr Abram Keffler."25 The volume, which would long remind Winthrop of his former correspondent Drebbel, is of great value from having passed through the hands of three interesting figures in seventeenth-century chemistry. 23Partington, History, II, 324. 24Harris, The Two Netherlanders, 218. 25Appendix, Nos. 24, 27. 43 While Winthrop pursued his scientific interests, added to his library and recruited settlers and support for the Bay Colony from an England uneasy over Charles I's first writ for the collection of 'ship money' and slowly moving toward civil war, he somehow became involved with the influential group dominated by Viscount Saye and Sele and Baron Brooke. These men, who were laying plans for a Puritan colony on the Connecticut River in New Eng- land, were impressed by Winthrop's manner, connections and knowledge of the American plantations.26 They ended by offering him a one-year term as first governor of the pro- jected colony. The day after he married his second wife-- Elizabeth Reade, stepdaughter of the noted Puritan minister, Hugh Peter--Winthrop accepted the Connecticut commission. With a new wife and a new commitment to leadership in the Puritan migration, Winthrop prepared to return to New England in July. Two ships, the Abigail and Defence, carried the group of some two hundred that he had assembled for the Bay Colony. The emigrants ranged from farmers and artisans to such distinguished nonconformists as Hugh Peter, Thomas Shepard and the young Henry Vane.27 Winthrop reached Boston harbor with his recruits in October 1635, just less than a year after his departure for England, and k 26Black, Winthrop, 85—7. 27Black, Winthrop, 88-90. 44 just in time to witness the trial and subsequent banish- ment pronounced upon Roger Williams. Although an advance guard was sent to the Connecti- cut River in November to guard against possible retaliation by the Dutch, who had first explored the region, Winthrop was not able to depart until late in March 1635/6. (One of his pre-colonization problems was a group of settlers from the Plymouth Colony, established on the river, which finally agreed to accept his leadership.) During the preparations for his expedition, Winthrop received a letter from Howes which must have been his only contact with chem- ical research during that busy time. Recalling their visit earlier in the year, Howes reported that he had "bin 2 or 3 tymes since with the Dr. [Euer or Ever]" and could get "but small satisfaccion" about the alchemical information WinthrOp had sought, pre- sumably because of the prejudice mentioned previously; yet Howes noted that "he seemed verie free to me, only in the maine he was misticall. this he said that when the will of God is you shall knowe what you desire, it will come with such a light, that it will make a harmonie amonge all your authors, causing them sweetly to agree, and putt you for euer after out of doubt and question." Evidently Winthrop had written Howes about his concern over a traditional problem in alchemy, the dis- agreement of various authors about the correct way of 45 preparing the Stone and accomplishing transmutation.28 The Doctor's answer was similarly traditional, and could have afforded Winthrop little satisfaction (no more, at least, than it helped myriads of frustrated alchemists before him). Even Winthrop's curiosity about the Rosicrucians was to remain unrequited, for Howes admitted that "To discerne the fratres scientiae I cannot as yet learne of him."29 Winthrop was no stranger to the settlement of frontier outposts, and his experience at Agawam had given him the practical knowledge he needed in Connecticut. On 1 April 1636 his ship (which was the Blessing of the Bay, the first to be constructed in Massachusetts), entered the mouth of the Connecticut River from Long Island Sound and deposited her passengers and goods at the site of the new settlement, first called Pasbeshauke but later renamed Saybrook in honor of the promoters. The village was duly constructed despite the problem of inadequate supply, and the threat of conflict in the Connecticut Valley between Massachusetts and Plymouth settlers on one hand, and Pequot Indians and Englishmen on the other.30 Yet Winthrop's connection with the settlement proved to be of short duration. Learning of the birth of 28Read, Prelude, Chapter III. 29Edward Howes, London, to JW jr., 21 August 1635; we III, 206. 30Black, Winthrop, 91-8. 46 his first child at Boston, he left Saybrook and never re- turned during his tenure as governor, thus committing the only act of his life that one could seriously question.31 In September 1636 he appeared again at the Massachusetts Court of Assistants, of which he was stillaimember. Re- united with his wife and having seen his daughter Betty for the first time, he took up residence once more at Aqawam, now rechristened Ipswich. The autumn was a momen- tous one, for in 1636 the General Court voted to establish a college at Newtown, later Cambridge. And in November there was word from Howes again, written in his curious style that fits so well into the alchemical tradition.32 It may be assumed that when writing of the 'North- west Passage,‘ exploration and a projected route to the Indies, Howes was discussing his admitted geographical interests in his letters to Winthrop. It is quite true that Howes was curious about the quest for an actual north- west passage to the Orient, even to the extent of sending Winthrop books on the subject,33 but it is obvious that he also employed this quest in an allegorical sense to sym- bolize his search for the Philos0pher's Stone, with its 31Black, Winthrop, 99. 32Edward Howes, London, to JW jr., 4 August 1636; 33As in November 1632 (WP III, 94) and June 1633 (WP III, 131). 47 attendant lures and snares. His alchemical diagram of an earlier period with its 'via ad Indos et Indos' is evidence,34 as is the letter mentioned above. Howes claimed that he could not "discouer into terram incognitam, but I haue had a kenn of it shewed vnto me. the way to it is (for the most parte) horrible and fearefull, the daingers none worse, to them that are destinati filij;35 somtymes I am trauelling that way but the Lord knowes when I shall gett thither, soe many flattering foes are still in the way to preuent me, and diuerte my course." The interesting symbolism, which would very well have appeared in an alchemical text, continues: "I thinke I haue spoken with some that haue bin there. I am informed that the land lyeth where the sunn riseth,36 and extendeth it selfe southward, the northerne peOple doe account it noe better than a wildernes; and the spies that they haue sent out to discouer and View it, haue reported as much: for they knew it was in vaine to reporte better of it. Deare frind I desire with all my harte that I might write plainer to you but in discouering [i.e. revealing] the misterie I may diminish its maiestie, and giue occasion 34WP I, 375. 35i.e. adepti, those having knowledge of the philo- sopher's stone. 36Another allegorical reference to the East, or Indies. 48 to the prophane to abuse it if it should fall into vnworthie hands."37 Thus was Howes led by the dictates of alchemical secrecy to conceal the nature of his progress even from Winthrop, although the text of his letter indi- cates that he had not reached his goal. Although comparatively few letters to WinthrOp remain from the years 1637-8, there is at least some evi- dence that he was continuing his chemical exPeriments. There was a message, now lost, to Abraham Kuffler in January 1636/7, requesting various materials. Francis Kirby wrote Winthrop on 10 April 1637 that he had given the letter to Kuffler and had "receiu[e]d the glasses and the water from him." Kirby had packed the goods and de- livered them to the Hector, a ship bound for New England, duly making one of the officers "acquainted with the nature of the water [probably a mineral acid] and the danger of it."38 During the Antinomian controversy that troubled the Bay Colony in 1637-8, Winthrop was busy acquiring land and making himself so useful to the citizens of Ipswich that when it was rumored that he would leave the town to take command of the fort at Boston Harbor, fifty-seven leading 37Edward Howes, London, to JW jr., 4 August 1636; WP III, 290-1. 38William Kirby, London, to JW jr., 10 April 1637; III, 385. (8 49 inhabitants sent a petition to Governor Winthrop, asking that his son be allowed to remain in Ipswich.39 The younger WinthrOp remained, but only for a while. In the spring of 1638 he embarked upon a venture that would necessitate his frequent absence from village affairs. On 25 June of that year he received permission to set up saltworks at Ryall- Side, then part of Salem but now within the precincts of Beverly.40 The problem of salt supply was a relatively minor but still significant concern in seventeenth-century New England. It was, of course, possible to import salt from England and Europe, but the product was costly; England herself was partially dependent upon southern European salt until the discovery of rock salt in Cheshire in 1690.41 The founders of New England had done their best to encourage local production of salt,42 but their plans had not borne 39mg; III, 432-3. 40Salem Town Records; Essex Inst. Hist. Colls. IX (1869), 70-1. 41Williams Haynes, American Chemical Industry: Back- grounds and Beginnings (New York, 1954), I, 55; J. Leander BishOp, A History of American Manufactures from 1608 to 1860 (Philadelphia, I864), I, 282. 42The first production of salt in New England was at the Piscataqua settlement (now Dover, N.H.) in 1632; Weeden, History, I, 91. The Plymouth colony unsuccessfully experimente With saltmaking in 1624; William Bradford, Of Plimoth Plantation (ed. Boston, 1898), 203-4. On 2 MarcH— 1628/9 the Massachusetts-Bay Company, still in England, 50 fruit, and bills of lading for ships bound to Massachusetts in the migration period frequently mention salt as part of the cargo.43 John WinthrOp, Jr. had been interested in salt production as early as 1636, for on 6 March 1636/7 his aunt Lucy Downing wrote from London that she would "be very glad to hear to your good sucses in your salt work"; she and the English relatives would "indeuer to prouide a stoke 44 Nothing to share with you, if you pleas to acsept vs." more is known of Winthrop's project until the grant of 1638. The Salem fathers granted WinthrOp land enough to pasture two cows, as well as wood for his salt-making discussed the problem of salt-making and decided "that com[m]oddetty should bee reserued for the generall stocks benefitt; yeet wth this p[ro]uise, that aney planter or brother of the Comp[any] should haue as much as he might aney way haue occasyon to make vsse of, at as cheape rate as themselues cowld make it; p[ro]uided, if the Comp[any] bee not sufficiently p[ro]uided for themselffs, then p[er]- ticuler men may haue liberty to make for there owne eXpence & vsse aney way, but not to transporte nor sell"; Records of the Governor and Company of the Massachusetts Ba , ed. Nathaniel B. ShurtIeff (hereafter cited as Mass. Bay Egg- ords), I (1853), 28. One Thomas Graves, of Gravesend, Kent, "beeinge a man experienced in iron workes, in salt workes, in measuring & surveyinge of lands, & in fortiffi- cacons, in lead, copp[er], & allam [alum] mynes, etc." was engaged to supervise these Operations; Mass. Bay Records, I, 30, 32-3. Although Graves emigrated to the Bay CoIony and appears often in its records, he did not fulfill his expectations as chemical engineer. A tailor named Fitt [l] was allowed to set up saltworks at Charlestown in 1637; Weeden, History, I, 168. 43WP, II, III, passim. 44Lucy Downing, London, to JW jr., 6 March 1636/7; [IE III, 369. 51 process,45 evidently upon earlier recommendation by his father, as an entry of 22 January 1637/8 indicates. The salthouse was completed in the early summer of 1638 on the point at the present junction of the Bass and Danvers 46 Rivers. The extent of the land granted to Winthrop, juxtaposed upon modern tOpography, is well shown by Calvin Pierce in his excellent regional study;47 he also repro- duces a contemporary (1677) map of the point, showing a 48 Years later, more precise location of the building. when ownership of the land was in dispute, the carpenter who had built WinthrOp's house49 testified that he "kept a familie there a Considerable time,"50 and it is apparent from the testimony that the dwelling was an "improvement 51 of" the salthouse which apparently preceded it. In his 45Salem Town Records, 70-1. 6Now in Beverly, Mass. 47Calvin P. Pierce, Ryal Side from Early Days of Salem Colony (Cambridge, Mass., 1931), 36-48, discusses the grant to Winthrop and subsequent litigation over its Ownership. The extent of WinthrOp's land is shown on Pierce's map, Opp. p. 174. 48Ibid., opp. p. 38. 49Nathaniel Pickman; Sidney Perley, The History of Salem (Salem, 1924-6), II, 15. 50Pierce, Ryal Side, 39. Sllbid. 52 History of Salem, Sidney Perley asserts that the house was probably gone before 1670. Yet the land, which was granted to WinthrOp on 19 August 1639 ("a little neck of land ad- ioyninge to the salthowse built by the said Mr WinthrOp contayninge about 16 acres or thereabouts, more or lesse. lying betweene a coue wch is on the north side of his said howse")52 was known for at least a hundred years as 'Salt- house neck' or 'Salthouse point,‘ then as 'Salt'us point' and in the twentieth century as 'Salter's point.‘53 Although the location of Winthrop's salt-making process may be established with some precision, the length of his residence at Salem is not as easily determined, due to the slim MS. evidence of his activities between 1638 and 1641. He was still living at Ipswich in October 1638,54 and was probably commuting occasionally to the salthouse, which was actually manned by an employee, the Salem brick- layer Robert Hebard (ca. 1615-1684).55 Winthrop does not seem to have actually moved to Salem until the early spring of 1639, when he decided to supervise matters more closely. 52Salem Town Records, 90. 53Perley, History, II, 17. 54See a letter to him from Hugh Peter, 30 Septem- ber 1638; WP IV, 63; JW jr. [Ipswich], to Margaret WinthrOp, [October 1638?]; WP IV, 68-9; Stephen Bachiler, n.p., to JW Jr., 9 October 1638; WP_IV, 69-70. 55For Hebard see Perley, History, II, 15. 53 An undated letter, almost certainly from that month, was written "from the Salthouse" to his wife, who had been sent to stay with his father and stepmother at Boston. John, Jr. had been ill; he could "get noe garden inclosed, nor digged," and was looking forward to a visit from his wife.56 He and Hebard apparently lived and worked 57 together during this period. In May he wrote his father from Salem to thank him for caring for his wife, whom he hoped would be able to "returne" soon.58 Yet Winthrop occasiOnally left the saltworks. He was at Ipswich late in August or early in September, and he attended the General Court held at Boston in September, 1639.59 He had determined by this time to stay and see the salt-making project through to success (as noted above, the land on which the house stood was granted to him in August), and he seems to have taken his wife to Salem with him on a more permanent basis after the September court.6O 56JW jr., Salem, to Elizabeth Winthrop, [April 1639?]; WP_IV, 108. 57The period is surely that testified to by Hebard in March 1677; Pierce, Ryal Side, 40. One William Bennett also worked for WinthrOp as carpenter; ibid. 58JW jr. [Salem], to John Winthrop, Sr., [May 1639?]; WP IV, 117-18. 59Ezekiel Rogers, [Boston?], to JW jr., [September 1639?]; WB_IV, 139. 60George Fenwick, "Conecticutt," to JW jr., 13 Sep- tember 1639; WP IV, 140-1. 54 On 20 November 1639 Winthrop wrote from Salem to an acquaint- ance he had made during his Continental tour of a decade 61 The inter- earlier, the Oriental scholar Jacobus Golius. esting Latin letter mentions John, Jr.'s various scientific interests. He eXplained that he was a diligent student of the Hermetic philOSOphy, "qua de superiorum et inferiorum Harmonia docemur, vt optime nosti." He was currently pur- suing inventions required by the Bay Colony (ad varias etiam vertor inventiones, pro vt coloniae conditio exigit). The salt works were mentioned; he was seeking a brief way to make salt from sea water (Jam compendium in salinis quaero, ad salem ex aqua marina faciendum).62 WinthrOp was certainly headquartered in Salem as late as January 1640/l, when he visited his pregnant wife, who was again staying with his father's family in Boston,63 and it would seem that he lived at the salt works until shortly before his departure for England in the summer of 1641. His residence in Salem was no exile, for there was the pleasant company of his uncle and aunt Downing, who had emigrated to that part of the colony in 1638. Winthrop and his employee Hebard also enjoyed frequent visits by the 61For Golius see WP IV, 155. 62JW jr., Salem, to Jacobus Golius, 20 November 1639; WP IV, 155-6. 63Lucy Downing, [Salem], to JW jr., 28 January 1640/ 1; WP IV, 115-16. 55 versatile Hugh Peter, whose ideas for deve10ping the Salem fishing industry would have benefitted from a ready supply of salt. And, there were the usual letters from English friends. Howes reported in the spring of 1639 that he had been unable to find the books requested by Winthrop. He inserted a bit of 'spiritual alchemy'; "one booke were enough,if you could come by it. its written within and without, its calld by many names, but it is not knowne by the names, but to those that have the nature thereof; to giue you the name and nature in a word its The booke of life (et est elixir vitae), where you may read all within you and all without you."64 Later in the year Winthrop received a reply to a letter he had written to the dyer Abraham Kuffler. The German knew that his friend was "desirous to heare of [my] prosseeding in Alchimielzl all my proseeding therin is lost by reason of my longe sicknes so that I am now beeginning agayne. . . . I now onely fol- low die[ing] of scarrlett in which I haue so much to doe that I ca[n] follow nothing elles."65 More alchemical 'information' came from Howes in a letter of February 1639/40. After a not-too-lucid 64Edward Howes, London, to JW jr., 14 April 1639; WP IV, 115-16. 65Abraham Kuffler, London, to JW jr., 12 June 1639; IV, 122. l8 56 discussion of unity and diversity, the mystic volunteered that "Phoenix illa admiranda sola semper existit. there- fore while a man and she is two, he shall neuer see her."66 He added some remarks about the Rosicrucians; "the Arabian Philos[Opher] I writt to you of.67 he was styled among vs Dr. Lyon, the best of all the [Rosicrucians]68 that euer I mett with all, farre beyond Dr. Euer; they that are of his straine are knowing men; they pretend to liue in free light, they honor God and doe good to the peOple among whome they liue, and I conceiue you are in the right that they had theire Learninge from Arabia. But they come much shorte of the people that haue theire learninge from heauen, 69 Howes' doubt of from God, from the Sonn of his Loue." the ultimate knowledge of the Rosicrucians, who were gen- erally thought to be adepti in the 1630's, is as interesting as Winthrop's theory that Arabia was the source of their knowledge. The exact nature of Winthrop's process for making salt does not appear in his correspondence. It is likely 66The phoenix, a miraculous bird, is here used as a symbol of ultimate attainment, or realization of the secret of the philosophers. 67It is not clear to whom Howes refers. 68Represented in the original by symbols. 69Edward Howes, London, to JW jr., 25 February 1639/40; fl IV, 202-3. 57 that he at least experimented with the simplest way of ex- traction from sea water, in which the water was run or pumped into shallow ponds or terraces, to be evaporated by the sun.70 WinthrOp toyed with variations on this theme for many years, but it was not really suited to the climate of Massachusetts. The boiling method was more appropriate, hence the necessity of a salthouse and wood for fuel. The seventeenth-century procedure of boiling salt was more complex than would be supposed. Winthrop may have used wooden pans at first, due to the acute shortage of iron objects in Massachusetts;71 perhaps Hugh Plat's 'wooden salamander,‘ so much commended by Downing, was adapted for use. The usual method, practised in England and Europe for many years, was to boil the sea water in shallow pans of iron, either forged or constructed by riveting together iron plates. Joints were filled with strong cement to pre- 72 vent leakage. In the illustrated description of salt- making in Agricola's De Re Metallica (1556), the bottom of 70The classic process is described by Agricola, De Re Metallica, 546. The method was used extensively in warmer climates. 71Dunn, Puritans and Yankees, 84, argues that wooden pans were probably used, but the only evidence he cites is the correspondence about the Plat invention. It is not known what sort of pans Winthrop used. 72Agricola, De Re Metallica, 549-50; William Brown- rigg, The Art of Making Common Salt (London, 1748), 52-3. 58 the pan was shown to be fastened by hooks to wooden beams laid across posts which projected above the pan as it was supported on the furnace. The beams kept the pans from sagging, and William Brownrigg reported the method still in use in England about 1748.73 Sea water was pumped or conveyed into cisterns, in which suspended sand was allowed to settle. The water was then boiled, and as the fire was stronger beneath the cen- ter of the pan, any remaining sand was driven to the four corners. While boiling, the brine was clarified with egg- white, and the thick scum of impurities was skimmed off as it rose to the surface. In his Natural History of Stafford- snirg_(1686), Robert Plot explained that English saltmakers used a procedure mentioned by Agricola; to aid crystalliza- tion they poured in "about the quantity of a gnarp of the strongest and stalest Al§_they can get, which cornes [i.e. crystallizes] it greater or smaller according to the degree 74 of its staleness." As the salt crystallized, it was shovelled out of the pans and placed in conical wicker bas- kets called 'barrows,' in which it was allowed to drain, and later to dry.75 73Ibid., 53. 74Robert Plot, The Natural History of Stafford- shire (Oxford, 1686), 94. 7SAgricola, De Re Metallica, 552; Plot, Stafford- shire, 94. 59 Whether from sheer boredom, want of extensive suc- cess, or the attraction of other projects to be detailed in the next chapter, Winthrop abandoned his salt-making enterprise before leaving for England in 1641. He would later participate in some of the numerous attempts to pro- duce a steady supply of salt for New England. His interest in Salem waned; a search of the town records has unearthed no evidence to show that he was ever really connected with the first American glassworks, established there in 1638,76 although he must have been at least sympathetically con- cerned with its foundation and temporary success. The immediate fate of the salthouse is unclear, but WinthrOp's change in interest is well documented. Aided and abetted by a new friend, he was to turn to a more romantic area of industrial chemistry. 76Weeden, History, I, 169. CHAPTER III SECOND RETURN TO ENGLAND AND EUROPE During or soon after Winthrop's efforts to produce salt at Salem, he met a young and interesting English phy- sician whose activities would be of continuing importance to the early history of chemistry in New England. Robert Child (1613-53/4 or 1654), a Kentish man, was born into a respected and well-to-do landed family.1 He entered Bene't (now Corpus Christi) College, Cambridge as a pensioner in 1628, was graduated A.B. in 1631/2 and 2 A.M. in 1635. In May 1635 he entered Leyden University as a student of medicine, but actually passed his examina- tions for the degree of M.D. at Padua in 1638.3 At some lKittredge, "Child," 4. His father was John Child, prObably of Northfleet. More biographical information is ' given by G. H. Turnbull, "Robert Child," Colonial Society of Massachusetts Publications XXXVIII (Transactions, 1947- 51), 21-53. 2Kittredge, "Child," 4. 3A5 determined by Kittredge, Ibid., 5, fn. 3. 60 61 time thereafter, although the date is uncertain, Child paid his first visit to New England.4 Edward Winslow later explained that at Child's "first coming to New-England he brought letters commenda- tory, found good acceptation by reason thereof with the best; fals upon a dilligent survey of the whole Countrey, and painefully travells on foot from Plantation to Plan- tation; takes notice of the Havens, situation, strength, Churches, Townes, number of Inhabitants, and when he had finished this toylesome taske, returnes againe for Eng- land, being able to give a better account then any of the 5 Child almost certainly saw Countrey in that respect." Winthrop for the first time during his pre-l64l visit to New England. Kittredge has suggested that the acquaint- ance may have dated from Winthrop's trip to England in 6 1634-5 or even 1631, but there is no evidence at all to support these early dates. 4Thomas Hutchinson, who had access to much manu- script material now lost, stated that Child arrived in the Bay Colony soon after his medical studies, as he had "just before come from Padua"; The History of the Colony and Pro- vince of Massachusetts-Bay, ed. Lawrence Shaw Mayo (Cam- bridge, Mass., 1936), I, 125. But Hutchinson may not have known that Child was in the colony before 1641. As he was back in England early in 1641, the 'walking tour' could not have been taken after the warm seasons of 1640, and we may assume that he was in New England during 1640 at least. 5Edward Winslow, New-Englands Salamander (London, 1647), 7-8, describes Childrs visits. 6 Kittredge, "Child," 7. 62 Child had returned to England by early 1641, and had gained at least an introduction by that time to the circle of Samuel Hartlib, whose interest in the improve- ment of agriculture and husbandry coincided so closely with his own.7 Hartlib's story has never been told in de- tail, despite the efforts of the late George Turnbull to illuminate facets of his diverse character.8 A German by birth, he may have been in England as early as 1621, and was a permanent resident after 1628.9 Turnbull has at least outlined Hartlib's various philanthrOpic, educa- tional and religious projects, including his long quest to obtain aid for Protestant exiles from the Thirty Years' War . His scientific efforts deserve much more study. Hartlib's circle of acquaintances investigated topics ranging from scientific agriculture and husbandry to alchemy and physics; the "Invisible College," as Robert Boyle later 7For Hartlib see G. H. Turnbull, Hartlib, Dpry and Comenius (London, 1947); Wilkinson, "Hartlib Papers"; Doug- Ias McKie, "The Origins and Foundation of the Royal Society of London," in Harold Hartley, ed., Thengal Society: Its Origins and Founders (London, 1960), 1-37; Henry Dircks, A Biographical Memoir of Samuel Hartlib (London, 1865); G. H. Turnbull, Samuel Hartlib (London, 1920), and R. F. Young, Comenius in England (Oxford, 1932). 8Turnbull died while arranging Hartlib's papers for future study. 9Turnbull, Hartlib, Dury and Comenius, 15 ff. 63 named the group, was one of the direct ancestors of the Royal Society of London. Hartlib himself served as a universal intelligencer; like Henry Oldenburg after him, and Martin Mersenne in France, he was a veritable clearing- house of scientific information. His correspondence was enormous, and he kept a fascinating daybook (the "Ephem- erides") which has fortunately been preserved. Hartlib's correspondence and journal, now at the University of Shef- field, afford a long and interesting look into the daily 10 activities of seventeenth-century science. His publica- tions, mostly on husbandry, are similarly valuable.ll Child's entrée to the group seems to have been effected by Hartlib's friend, the mathematician and natural 12 Child first appears in the "Ephem- philosopher John Pell. rides" in the early spring of 1641; Hartlib recorded Pell's information that "Dr Child of New-Engl [and] hase many 10The Hartlib Papers have been deposited at the University of Sheffield by their owner, Lord Delamere, to whom I am grateful for permission to examine them. There are seventy-two bundles of papers. Some of these contain Hartlib's "Ephemerides," or daybook, now being edited by Charles Webster of the University of Leeds. Citations to the "Ephemerides" refer to the tentative page numbers assigned by Turnbull. Citations to the correspondence re- fer to the bundle number (Roman numerals), followed by order of placement within the bundle, such as XXXVI, 2. 11 Turnbull, Hartlib, Dury and Comenius, lists them; 12Pell is discussed in the DNB. 64 desiderata and thoughts esp[ecially] about the Exercises of Children how to keepe them in continual imploiment."13 The Doctor had apparently just returned from Massachusetts. The first extant letter from Child to Winthrop is not dated but may be assigned by internal evidence to May 1641. He had received a message from Winthrop requesting alchemical and other books, and had "inquired at most of the bookbinders shOps in London," but could "scarce find one of them." He had seen "two peeces" by the French al- chemist Pierre Jean Fabre, "viz. Alchymista Christianus et Hercules Chymicus," but bought neither because he thought them "of no great value." However, he promised to loan Winthrop both titles from his own library "to peruse," along with Fabre's Abrege des secrets.l4 There are five of Fabre's works now attributable to the WinthrOp library, but only one of these, Hercules Piochymicus, is mentioned by Child. There are no indications in its pages of his ownership.15 In his letter, Child explained that he was sending to France for another Winthrop request, "Della Brosse." 13Hartlib, "Ephemerides," undated entry [Spring 1641], 82' 14The books mentioned by Child are Fabre's Alch m- istics Christianus (Toulouse, 1632); Hercules Piochymicus YToulouse, 1634), and L'Abrege des Secrets Chymiques (Paris, 1636). 15Appendix, No. 77. 65 Guy de la Brosse, De la natvre, vertv, et vtilité des plantes (Paris, 1628) is now among the Winthrop books at the NYAM, and it is possible that the work (which contains 16 who a section devoted to chemistry) was sent to Child, thought it "an excellent booke," and noted that it was not then in his own library. Also ordered from France were "Burgravius workes," which WinthrOp had requested. The WinthrOp collection at the NYSL includes two titles by the alchemist and mystic Johann Ernst Burggrav, Biolychnium seu cherna (Franekerae, 1611), a rather questionable account of a lamp using an extract of human blood as fuel, which burns as long as the 'donor' lives, and Achilles panoplos (Amsterdam, 1612), a more traditional alchemical treatise.l7 Neither book is inscribed by Child. The English doctor indicated that he was sending from his own library "Dr. Dauisons workes," probably refer- ring to William Davisson's PhilOSOphia Pyrotechnica (Paris, 1635), the course of lectures by the well-known Scot who occupied the first chair of chemistry in Paris and perhaps 18 in Europe. The book is now at the NYAM, but no manuscript evidence links it to Child. A similar problem is "Rochas 16Appendix, No. 147. 17Appendix, Nos. 40-1. 18John Read, Humour and Humanism in Chemistry (London, 1947), 88-92. 66 des eaus minerals," certainly Henry de Rochas' Traicté des observations novvelles et vraye cognoissance des eavx min- eralles (Paris, 1634), now at the NYAM.19 These books, which show the evidence of WinthrOp family ownership, may be safely ascribed to Child's donation, as he does not seem to have inscribed those books purchased at Winthrop's re- quest, probably as WinthrOp was paying for at least some of them. Child also reported sending a COpy of "Arca aperta in High Dutch [German]," which he wished WinthrOp "to keepe." This was Johann Grasshoff's Arca aperta, which 20 existed in a German version at least as early as 1617, but has not been found in the various segments of the Win- thrOp library. Child gave his best wishes to a number of influential Bay settlers whom he had met during the pre- 1641 journey, including Winthrop senior, John Cotton and Hugh Peter. He intended, if he had the leisure, "to goe to Burdeau [Bordeaux], from thence to Tholouse to salute Faber, to procure vines and a vigneron, who can likewise manage silkewormes, if it be possible." As Fabre is listed by Cromwell Mortimer as one of Winthrop's correspondents, if is reasonable to suppose that Child (who did indeed go into France, remaining for an entire 'vintage' to study 19Appendix, No. 232. 20Ferguson, I, 340. 67 the production of wine)21 may have effected the introduc- tion. No Fabre-Winthrop letters survive, but Mortimer testifies to their guondam existence. The most significant portion of Child's letter of May 1641 is an enclosed list of "Libri Chymici, quos pos- sideo su[n]t." The inventory, discovered by Charles Browne in 1921, mentions one hundred and twelve titles in German, Italian, French, English and Latin.22 Child's interesting collection included such traditional alchemical authors as 'Bacon,‘ Flamel, Gratarolo, Ripley, Sendivogius and von Suchten, as well as works with a more modern approach, such as those of Libavius. Industrial chemistry is represented by Agricola, Plattes and Cesalpinus, and many of the works deal with medicine, such as Jacobus Primerosius' The anti- moniall cup twice cast (London, 1640). All the works are not "libri Chymici," and several manuscripts are listed. Although Galen is present, the great preponderance of iatrochemical authors indicates that in medical matters, Child was most likely a follower of Paracelsus as early as 1641. (Of course Helmont's major works had not yet appeared.) The 'short-title' list of books has been in- terpreted to a great extent by Willam J. Wilson.23 21Samuel Hartlib, Legacy of Husbandry, 3rd ed. (London, 1655), 148. 22The list is printed in WP IX, 334-8. 23William J. Wilson, "Robert Child's Chemical Book List of 1641," Journal of Chemical Education XX (March, 1943), 123-9. 68 In his letter of May 1641, Child indicated that any of the books on the list were Winthrop's if he desired them. The generous offer has created a problem for stu- dents of WinthrOp's library. Many of the listed titles can be traced to WinthrOp family ownership,24 but in only one case do we know that a Winthrop volume actually came from Child's library. John, Jr.'s copy of Alexander von Suchten's Antimonii Mysteria Gemina (Leipzig, 1604) is in- 25 scribed "Rob Child his book 1636" and is without doubt ° 26 the "Suchtenii de 3 " in Child's book list. Another Winthrop volume, Nicholas Barnaud's Triga Chemica (Leyden, 1599), contains marginalia that may be in Child's hand, but the work is not on the Child list. It may have been a later gift.27 At any rate, Child had been so impressed by WinthrOp's love of chemistry and related topics that the two would remain lifelong friends. And, while Child was discussing his ideas on education, chemistry and hus- bandry with members of the Hartlib circle, Winthrop had undertaken a pair of projects that would soon bring him 24 . . Appendix, pa551m. 25Appendix, No. 255. 26 It appears there as item '9' [recte 11]; W3 IV, 335. 27Appendix, No. 19. 69 to England once more, reunite him with his friend Child, and pave his way to inclusion within Hartlib's coterie. Since Winthrop's emigration in 1631 he had peri- patetically sought to exploit the mineral wealth of New England. Due to the pressing nature of his involvement in colonial government, nothing serious had come of his hOpes except the manufacture of salt at Salem. Yet his prospecting trips continued, and by early 1641 he had de- Cided to undertake several mining ventures. Massachusetts was experiencing a severe depression due to the decline in the influx of specie from England, where civil war was about to erupt;28 and Winthrop hoped to diversify New England's economy through his metallurgical knowledge. Robert Child wrote that he would "helpe forward the digging 29 and the of some good mine" if Winthrop had found any, General Court encouraged such efforts by an enactment of 2 June 1641, which ordered that "whosoever shalbee at the charge for discovery of any mine w[i]thin this iurisdiction shall enioy the same, w[i]th a fit portion of land to the same, for 21 years to their . . . use; & after that time expired, this Court shall have power to allot so much of benefit thereof to publike use as they shall thinke equall, 28Black, Winthrop, 109-10. 29 IV, 334. Robert Child, n.p., to JW jr., [May 1641]; WR 70 & that such p[er]sons shall have liberty hearby to purchase the interest of any of the Indians in such lands where such mines shalbee found, p[ro]vided that they shall not enter any mans p[ro]priety w[i]thout the owners leave."3O One of Winthrop's aims was the exploitation of a deposit of graphite, far in the interior of Massachusetts, near the present location of Sturbridge. It had been dis- covered as early as 1633 by a party led by John Oldham, who had returned from a successful trading venture with some "black lead, whereof the Indians told him there was a whole rock."3l Winthrop must have located the graphite by the summer of 1641, for he was seeking investors in a mine before August of that year.32 The 'black lead,‘ from whence our 'lead pencils' derive their name, was a rare commodity in the mid-seventeenth century. Before 1779 it was confused with molybdenum sulphide and other minerals that gave a black streak,33 but we know that WinthrOp's deposit was true graphite from the later history of the mine. Until the discovery of the Sturbridge mine (the 30Mass. Bay Records, I, 326. 31WinthrOp, History, I, 108. 32Thomas Fowle, n.p., to JW jr., 30 September 1642; EQ_IV, 355. Winthrop left for England in August. 33Partington, History, III, 216-l7. 71 native place-name was 'Tantiusques'), the only source of graphite was the Borrowdale mine in Cumberland, England. True graphite was not known at all until this de- posit was Opened in 1564,34 but it was soon exported to EurOpe where it was put to immediate use by artists and draftsmen.35 As early as 1565 Konrad Gesner described its use in a primitive sort of 'pencil,’ and Camden men- tioned the mine in his Britannia (London, 1586).37 Cesal- 38 pinus gave a description of graphite in 1595, terming it "Flanders stone" as it was imported into Italy from England through the Low Countries. Early seventeenth-century ref- 39 erences are more frequent, but at the time of discovery 34Eric H. Voice, "The History of the Manufacture of Pencils," Newcomen Society Transactions XXVII (1949-51), 132. 35Ibid. 36Konrad Gesner, De Rervm Fossilium, Lapidvm et Gemmarvm (Tiguri, 1565), 104-5. An illustration of the stylus is on p. 105; "Stylus inferius depictus, ad scrib- endum factus est, plumbi cuiusdam (factitij puto, quod aliquos Stimmi Anglicum vocare audio) genere, in mucronem derasi, in manubrium ligneum inserto." 37Quoted by Voice, "Pencils," 133. 38Andreas Cesalpinus, De Metallicis Libri Tres (Rome, 1595), 186-7. 39Voice, "Pencils," 133. In his Lvdvs Literarivs: Or, The Grammar Schoole (London, 1612), John Brimley advised his readers to annotate their books "with a pensil of black lead: for that you may rub out againe when you will, with the crums of new wheate bread." The 'pensil' is described in the margin as "blacke lead thrust into a quill"; 47. 72 of American graphite, the Cumberland mine was still supply- ing all of Europe; indeed, it continued to do so until the latter half of the nineteenth century.40 The history of Winthrop's deposit has lain in great obscurity until the present decade; despite several references to it in Ameri- can publications, English and EurOpean scholars do not seem to know of it at all. The standard history of the pencil does not mention it, despite the author's learned research into EurOpean sources; Eric Voice suggests that the Cum- berland graphite mine was the only known source until the nineteenth century.41 Winthrop was not at all certain of the true compo- sition of his 'black lead' (Karl Wilhelm Scheele showed it to be a form of carbon in 1779), but he thought that it might be marketable. Moreover, it was associated with ores that seemed to contain silver, and Winthrop had not yet relinquished the hope that deposits of precious metals might be found in New England. The graphite deposit would have to be exploited, but by the summer of 1641 a much greater project was taking 0Thomas Robinson, An Essay towards a Natural His- tory of Westmorland and Cumberland (London, 1709), 75-6; John Postlethwaite, Mines and Mining in the English Lake District (Whitehaven, Eng., 1913), 111-14; C. Ainsworth Mitchell, "Black-lead Pencils and their Pigments in Writ- ing," Jour. Soc. Chem. Ind., Transactions XXXVIII (1919), 384. 41Voice, "Pencils," 135. 73 shape in Winthrop's mind. During his explorations of the New England seaboard he had noticed several deposits of 'bog-iron,’ ore that we call limonite (2Fe203-3H20). In the seventeenth century there were ponds in coastal Massa- chusetts that deposited large quantities of iron oxide. (It was later proven, as estimated by William B. Weeden, that a single pond could produce 100 to 600 tons of ore a year, which would yield 25% or more of crude iron.42) Win- throp was especially interested in an area near Braintree that was especially rich in the spongy ore, and decided to mine it if possible.43 The Massachusetts bog ore was simi- lar to that found in Ireland,44 and limonite had long been exploited in the weald of Sussex.45 Winthrop knew of both enterprises, and had doubtless read the classic account of iron-making in Agricola's De re metallica. He had con- versed with Sir Charles Coote on the prOper was to erect 46 an ironworks. Yet, as E. N. Hartley points out in his 42Weeden, History, I, 192. 43WP 31, 425. 44Ibid., 426. 45H. R. Schubert, History of the British Iron and §$eel Industryfrom c. 450 B.C. to A.D. 1775 (London, 1957), passim. Schubert's exemplary study is the finest and most detailed on its subject. 4633 IV, 363-5. 74 entrepreneurial history of the Massachusetts iron enter- prises, WinthrOp never considered himself an expert in the practical art of ironmaking, and acted from the first as a promoter rather than an ironmaster.47 Fortified by the encouragement given by the Gen- eral Court to his projected mining schemes, Winthrop had yet to find the necessary capital: The task was not easy, due to the severe financial depression of Massachusetts, and it was finally decided to seek aid in England. On 3 August 1641 John, Jr., left Boston harbor in the company of three colonial agents, including his wife's stepfather Hugh Peter, who were bound to England to promote the in- terests of Massachusetts and Parliament.48 Thus began WinthrOp's second return to his home country, which would prove of great importance to the development of his chemical ideas, and direct him toward the pursuit of medicine. By the end of September, Winthrop and his mineral specimens were in Bristol en route to London. But the manuscript sources fail us here, and almost nothing is known of his activities until the spring or early summer of 1642. He surely met Dr. Robert Child and discussed ¥ 47E. N. Hartley, Ironworks on the Saugus (Norman, Okla., 1957), 51-2. 48The 'colonial agents' are discussed by Black, WinthrOp, lllff. 75 plans for the ironworks and graphite mine with him. Just as certainly Child introduced WinthrOp to his new friend Samuel Hartlib, who later recalled the rich samples of ore that were shown him.49 WinthrOp's discussions with Hartlib and the members of his circle, who were pursuing interests similar to his own, must have had no small impact, for Hartlib and Winthrop remained fast friends until the Ger- man's death in 1662. But the country was on the brink of civil war, and WinthrOp felt that, for the time at least, his energies could best be directed towards a Continental journey. His immediate purpose is unclear, but Robert Black's sugges- tion that he sought intellectual stimulation is probably 50 In the late summer of 1642 he was in close to the mark. Hamburg, a city crowded with refugees from the Thirty Years' War. There he met the physician Johannes Tanckmarus, a mystic who had been censured in Lubeck for following the leadership of Jacob Boehme.51 Tanckmarus would become an occasional, if irregular, correspondent. He took an immediate interest in Winthrop (addressing him as "Clarissimo Viro.... Amico meo unicé dilecto" in a letter of 28 October 164252) and 49Hartlib, "Ephemerides," 42-42,7, undated entry [1656]. 50 . Black, Winthrop, 113. 51For Tanckmarus see WP IV, 361, fn.l. 52 Johannes Tanckmarus, Hamburg, to JW jr., 28 Octo- ber 1642; WP IV, 361-2. 76 may have helped to influence him toward the study of medicine.53 From Hamburg WinthrOp proceeded into the Low Coun- tries, sending his chest ahead by sea to Amsterdam. The ship which carried it was seized by a Flemish vessel out of Dunkirk, and WinthrOp lost much of his clothing as well as a number of books and manuscripts that he had purchased at Hamburg. Later he wrote to Samuel Hartlib about the loss of the books, which he "most prised... and amongst them a manuscript of [the English alchemist] Sir Thomas Norton De motu perpetuo; which was of his owne hand writ— ing. it was in Latine, and had beene formerly in the pos- session of famous Dr. [John] Dee."54 Winthrop's loss weighed heavily, but enough good company was found in Amsterdam to put him in good spirits once more. He met the Kuffler brothers, recently arrived from England; they had given up the dye works after the outbreak of the First Civil War. And, there were other chemists in Amsterdam. Winthrop became intimate with the alchemist Augustinus Petraeus, about whom little is known 53Whether or not Winthrop went to the Continent to study medicine, he became a student en route. 54JW jr., Hartford, to Samuel Hartlib, 16 December 1659; Proc. LXXII, 37. 55Harris, The Two Netherlanders, 218; Black, Win- thrOp, 114. 77 except the few facts mentioned in his later letters.56 There was also the German chemist Johann Morian, an emi- grant from the wars who was a close friend and correspondent of Hartlib, and a co-worker in his philanthropic schemes.57 Moreover, through Morian, WinthrOp met the German Johann Rudolf Glauber in Amsterdam.58 A virtually unknown member of the eXpatriate circle who had published nothing in 1642, Glauber would soon become one of the most famous chemists 59 of the seventeenth century. Both Child and Hartlib would recommend his works to Winthrop, not knowing that the two had met before Glauber's sudden rise to fame.60 An equally interesting acquaintance was the Czech educator Johannes Amos Comenius.61 There has been a great 56Some facts of Petraeus' life are given in WP IV, 368, fn. l. 57Morian is mentioned frequently in Turnbull, Hartlib, Dury and Comenius. Many of his letters to Hart- lib are at Sheffield. 58JW jr., Hartford, to Samuel Hartlib, 16 December 1659; Proc. LXXII, 39. 59Glauber's chemical works are discussed by Parting- 60His first published work did not appear until 1646; ibid., 344. 61Comenius or Komensky has had a number of biogra- phers. His relationship to Hartlib's thought is best seen in Turnbull, Hartlib, Dury and Comenius, and Young, Comenius. 78 deal of conjecture about WinthrOp's precise relationship with Comenius. Cotton Mather suggested in 1702 and again in 1726 that WinthrOp offered the presidency of Harvard College to the Czech.62 In his Magnalia Christi Americana (London, 1702), Mather stated that the offer was made by Winthrop during "his travels through the low countries,"63 and Albert Matthews has shown that the incident, if it ever took place, probably occurred during Winthrop's jour- ney of 1641-3.64 The matter of the Harvard College presi- dency is seen in a new light if Comenius' scientific interests are considered. It is well known that Comenius visited England from September 1641 (when WinthrOp also arrived) to 21 June 1642, when he left for the Netherlands. While in London at the invitation of Samuel Hartlib, Comenius hOped to establish a Baconian college for scien- tific research as outlined in his Via Lucis (1641).66 62The problem is discussed by Albert Mathews, "Comenius and Harvard College," Colonial Society of Massa- chusetts Publications XXI (Transactions, 1919), 146-90. 63Cotton Mather, Ma nalia_Christi Americana (Lon- don, 1702), ed. Hartford, I853, II, 14. 64Matthews, "Comenius and Harvard College," 164-7. His suggestion that Winthrop and Comenius might have travelled together from London to the Low Countries (he does not account for JW jr.'s visit to Hamburg) is purely conjectural.) 5Young, Comenius, 16. 66Ibid., passim; Turnbull, Hartlib, Dury and Comenius, 349-70. 65 79 His ill luck at the venture was perhaps character- istic of his life, but at any rate he and WinthrOp must have met (as significant 'recent arrivals') in London, through the agency of Samuel Hartlib, and again at Amster- dam, if Mather (who is often wanting in accuracy) may be trusted. Surely Comenius' plan for a Baconian academy would have appealed greatly to WinthrOp, as would the fact that while in Amsterdam, the Czech was preparing his ghygif cae ad lumen divinum Synopsis (Amsterdam, 1643), outlining his views on physics and chemistry. Comenius accepted the possibility of transmutation of the Aristotelian elements, and drew his ideas from a range of authors including Aris- totle, Bacon, Paracelsus and Libavius. His system encom- passed the Paracelsian principles of salt, sulphur and mercury.67 A Baconian with a penchant for alchemy and a systematized philOSOphy of education would have been a fitting companion for Winthrop in New England, as well as an eminently fitted president of Harvard College, and it is no wonder that Winthrop tendered the offer (if the story be true), and still less wonder that he cultivated the company of Comenius and corresponded with him after- wards, as testified by Cromwell Mortimer.68 67Johannes Comenius, Physicae ad lumen divinum S no sis (Amsterdam, 1643). The book is discussed by Partington, History, II, 423. 68Mortimer, A verso. 80 The six emigrés thrown together in Amsterdam--the brothers Kuffler, who had escaped the English conflict; their countrymen Moraien and Petraeus, seeking asylum from the devastation of Germany; the wandering visionary Comenius, and Winthrop, the "student of physique," were bound together by their mutual search for the benefits to be gained from chemical research. All of these men were, in their way, typical of the intellectual revolution of the seventeenth century, and Winthrop would not be in such stimulating company as theirs again until his final visit to England, when he participated in the affairs of the Royal Society of London. Yet during the conversations at Amsterdam, which must have ranged in tOpics from chemical medicine to dye- ing processes and alchemical procedures, Winthrop's mind turned once more to the central reason for his journey from New England. He told his friends about the iron and graphite deposits and his hopes of exploiting them, and left the Kufflers at the Hague with promises of future communication.69 When Winthrop visited the Spanish Netherlands late in 1642 to search for his stolen trunk, he gained little 69Johann Comenius, Physicae ad lumen divinum S no sis (Amsterdam, 1643). The book is discussed by Partington, History, II, 423. 81 satisfaction at Brussels and Dunkirk.70 At the latter city he recovered one of his manuscripts, but the remainder of the trunk's contents was lost. Hartley speculated as to whether WinthrOp visited the Walloon country at this timejland Black pointed out that "the Duchy of Brabant was renowned for the sophistication of its iron idustry, and it is significant that WinthrOp later endeavored to intro- duce in America an 'indirect' refining process in every essential similar to the practice of the Spanish Netherlands.72 Black's statement is true, and it is quite possible that WinthrOp may have visited the Walloon iron country, but he need not have learned the indirect process there, for it had been used in England for a hundred and fifty years. The older direct process, in which wrought iron was made directly from the ore by smelting in a "bloomery" or hearth, had been supplemented by the more sophisticated method. A blast furnace was used for smelting, and the resulting cast iron was transformed into wrought iron by 70William Boswell, The Hague, to Henry de Vic, 1 November 1642; WP IV, 362—3; and JW jr.'s letter to Hart- lib, 16 Dec. 1659, cited in fn. 54. 71Hartley, Ironworks, 56. 72Black, Winthrop, 115. 82 the "Walloon method" of heating and hammering.73 As shall be seen, Winthrop initiated the latter method at his iron- works, but his English workers were familiar with the process, and no direct influence from the Low Countries was necessary. WinthrOp returned to England from EurOpe in January 1642/3 and at once resumed his task of raising support for his Massachusetts iron venture. Aided by Robert Child, Emmanuel Downing and Hugh Peter,74 he found the necessary capital, and "The Company of Undertakers of the Ironworks in New England" was formed as a private joint-stock company (not a corporation), in the way so painstakingly detailed in Hartley's entrepreneurial study. Hartley has traced the.identities and backgrounds of the various investors, and his data need not be reviewed here.75 Winthrop's success at raising capital was probably due as much to certain other factors as to his personality, persuasiveness and good connections. It was obvious to promoters of industry and investors alike that the British iron industry was in dangerous straits. There was an ever-increasing demand for iron products, especially now 73Hartley, Ironworks, 11—12. 74Downing and Peter, both in London, introduced Winthrop to prospective investors and assisted with legal details; see for example WP IV, 371-2. 75Hartley, Ironworks, 56—58 and his Ch. 4. 83 that a civil war of uncertain length had begun in earnest. At the same time, England's forests were being rapidly consumed to provide charcoal for smelting. As early as 1558 legislation had forbidden cutting of trees for char- coal in some areas, and in 1584 an act was passed for the preservation of timber in Sussex, Surrey and Kent, counties 76 especially affected by the infant iron industry. The dwindling supply of timber led several investigators to experiment with coal as a replacement for charcoal in the smelting process. A patent for the utilization of coal was given in 1611 to Simon Sturtevant, who explained in his Metallica (London, 1612) that charcoal was "best for vse, but by reason of scarcity it is growne very deare in our country."77 Sturtevant advocated the use of coal in the production of lead, tin, copper, brass and glass as well as iron, but he did not explain his processes in the work, and in 1613 his privileges were transferred to John Rovenzon, who had helped to obtain the original patent. Rovenzon produced little more than a pamphlet titled A Treatise of Metallica (London, 1613). After his failure, unsuccessful attempts were made at Lambeth and Bath. 76John Percy, Metallurgy: Iron and Steel (London, 1864), 879. 77Simon Sturtevant, Metallica. Or The Treatise of Metallica (London, 1612), 105. 84 In 1619 Dud Dudley, who had been called from Oxford to look after his father's ironworks in Worcestershire, evolved the first successful pit-coal smelting process to be used in England, and was producing three tons per week by the end of that year. His subsequent setbacks by flood, riot and the jealousy of rival ironmasters were documented in Dud Dudley's Mettallum Martis (London, 1665), and in the 16405 charcoal was still being used in increasing quantities. (The problem of smelting iron with pit-coal was not fully solved until Abraham Darby's efforts in 1735.)78 Thus the situation was somewhat critical when Winthrop made his proposals in 1642-3, and prospective investors could not help but be impressed by descriptions of seemingly limitless American forests in which vast quantities of charcoal could be produced to smelt the iron needed by an eager local market. It is not known whether WinthrOp was so optimistic as to suggest the eventual ex- port of iron from Massachusetts to England, but he may have discussed the possibility. It is not at all surprising that Winthrop did not continue Dud Dudley's experiments. The use of coal was, after all, an expedient determined by necessity, and even 78Dudley (who is discussed in the DNB) wrote the Mettallum Martis to gain redress of the vaEiEus wrongs done him. The work is factual and interesting, although David Musket, Papers on Iron and Steel (London, 1840), 41, questions some of Dudley's data. 85 Dudley would have admitted in 1643 that New England's tim- ber supply precluded the need for pit-coal, especially as charcoal produced a better product at the time. Once the problem of capital was solved, Winthrop had to assemble materials and hire professional ironworkers. He was assisted by Child and Joshua Foote, a prominent member of the Company of Ironmongers who had already helped to set up ironworks in County Clare, Ireland. The task was not easy, as it was difficult to induce experienced men to emigrate, and equipment was not readily available. While the search went on, WinthrOp devoted as much time as pos- sible to widening his circle of friends. He was undoubtedly assisted by his new friend Samuel Hartlib who, upon hearing of the loss of Winthrop's chest, gave him from his own library a set of the works of Johann 79 One of Agricola to replace those seized by the pirates. Agricola's volumes, the second part of Commentariorum . . . in Johannis Poppii Chymische Medecin (Leipzig, 1639), is now among Winthrop's books at the New York Society Library, but the evidence indicates that other works by Agricola were once present in the Winthrop collection. The author (not to be confused with Agricola the metallurgist) was a follower of Paracelsus who wrote on chemical medicine and 79JW jr., Hartford, to Samuel Hartlib, 16 December 1659; Proc. LXXII, 37. 86 alchemy; the remaining volume of the Hartlib gift contains iatrochemical processes and related material.80 Hartlib may have introduced WinthrOp to a colorful personality who would become an intimate scientific friend. It was most likely in early 1643 that WinthOp met Sir Kenelm Digby, adventurer, courtier, pirate, alchemist, future founding member of the Royal Society of London, and friend of Rene Descartes. Digby's fabulous and varied career was at its height in 1643; during his imprisonment 81 at Winchester House (where Winthrop seems to have visited him) he was at work on his encyclopedic Two treatises, pub- lished at Paris in 1644. The first treatise, on the nature of bodies, is of considerable interest to historians of science as it contains the first extensive treatment of Harvey's views on the circulation of the blood to appear in English, as well as a discussion of embryology (Digby sided with the epigenesists rather than the preformationists), and much material on chemistry and physics. Digby was among the more credulous of the alchemists, but in many ways--such as the breadth and variety of his interests-—he was much 80Appendix, No. 3. 81Digby had been imprisoned following his return to England after killing a French courtier in a duel. A good account of his life is R. T. Petersson, Sir Kenelm Di b (London, 1956). His scientific work is discussed By John Fulton, "Sir Kenelm Digby, F.R.S.," in Hartley, ed., The Royal Society, 199-210. 87 like WinthrOp, and the two found much in common besides chemistry. Digby's letters, which will be mentioned be- low, offered much solace to WinthrOp in the relative iso- lation of his later years in New England. Two welcome letters were received by Winthrop in the early spring of 1643, both from his new chemical ac- quaintances in Europe. Augustinus Petraeus, then in The Hague, sent his own regards with those of the Kufflers and a Dr. Haberfeld, whom Winthrop seems to have met in Holland; he later used Haberfeld's medical prescriptions.82 Tanckmarus sent brief but warm greetings from Hamburg, with a lament for the troubled times in England.83 By the middle of May, 1643, WinthrOp was prepar- ing to return to New England and embark upon his iron enterprise. Joshua Foote eXplained in a letter of 20 May that he had procured at least six men and a boy, but that three had already run away and the rest needed watching until safely aboard ship.84 Neither Foote nor Child could locate a workman sufficiently experienced to operate the 82Augustinus Petraeus, The Hague, to JW jr., 1 March 1642/3; WP IV, 368-9. For Winthrop's use of Haber- feld's prescriptions see Ch. XI, fn. 9. 83Johannes Tanckmarus, Hamburg, to JW jr., 27 March 1643; WP IV, 372. 84Joshua Foote, London, to JW jr., 20 May 1643; EB IV, 424-50 88 furnace, and stones for lining the structure were not to be had; they would have to be sent later. Despite these inconveniences, WinthrOp decided to sail on the An Cleeve of London during the last week of May. Bidding goodbye to Robert Child at Gravesend, he saw supplies and men safely aboard. Then, tragedy struck. As Winthrop later explained in a petition for redress di- rected to Parliament, the ship lay "many daies" waiting to be cleared. Then, when she was just under sail, she was "stopped and hindered" by a customs official named Robinson. Due to this detention the An Cleeve was kept by a sudden adverse wind from entering the open sea for six weeks, and the ship did not reach Boston until fourteen weeks after embarkation. By this time the "many workmen [and] servants," as well as Winthrop himself, were "dan— gerously sick of feavors," and the men "were not fitt for any labor or imployment when they came ashore." It was too near winter to begin work on the iron enterprise, and Winthrop explained in his petition that he was "forced to keepe his workmen and servants at great wages and charge."85 WinthrOp's claim for "above 1000 li," if ever presented,- does not seem to have been honored, and establishment of the ironworks had to be postponed. 85Petition of JW jr. to Parliament; WP IV, 424-5. CHAPTER IV THE IRONWORKS AT BRAINTREE If Winthrop and his ironworkers were unable to construct their furnaces, wheel and hammer before the win- ter of 1644-5 made outdoor work impossible, at least they surveyed the various iron deposits that had been found, to determine the most favorable site. Winthrop had dis- cussed a deposit near Braintree, some ten miles SSE of Boston, with the undertakers. In a report to them, prob- ably drafted late in 1644, he explained that "Although this place at Braintrele] (wherof we have had consultation for the setting Vp of the Ironworke) was principally in my thoughts (in respect of the Ironstone) both before I went into England and since my last arrivall heere, for the fittest and most convenient place for the first setting Vp of an Iron works, yet being a worke of consequence, I conceived it necessaryto have other places searched and this place [i.e. at Braintree] well viewed, and considered of by the workemen, both for the vre [ore] and the conven- iency of waters for furnass and forge, and woods for supply of coales for both workes."1 lwp 217.: 425-6. 89 9O WinthrOp's highly interesting account informed the investors that he and the workmen had finally recovered their health. "I tooke them along with me to search in such parts of the country as by information from others or upon veiw, had probability of good Ironston. We went first to braintre and so towards Plimoth, and at Greensharbour2 we found of the same sort of Ironston that was at Braintre, but could not perceive that it lay in any other but loose stones; and being among very thick woods in a swa[m]ppy ground." Having returned from the journey, Winthrop "went with the miner to Richman Iland,3 and viewed all the parts betweene that and the massachusett,4 it having beene af- firmed confidently that both at Pascataway5 and Agamenticus6 there was Ironston and great store." Winthrop had heard that samples of this ore had been sent to Bristol and Lon- don, where it was assayed.7 2Green Harbor, on the South Shore, east of Marsh- field, Mass. 3Richmond Island, off Cape Elizabeth, Maine. 4The Massachusetts Bay. 5Piscataqua, or Dover, New Hampshire. 6Now York, Maine. 7w_1_>_ IV, 425. 91 He was also informed that there was good ore at Saco8 and Blackpoint,9 and upon arrival "saw some stones that certainly doe conteine Iron in them but in the Judge- ment of the miner are but poore of Iron and doubtfull how they will worke none of our workemen having seene ever such before." Moreover, this area was sparsely settled, and labor would be very eXpensive and hard to procure. The workmen had viewed another site, "about 30 miles west- ward Vp in the country," which had the same sort of ore as at Braintree, "but noe appearance of quantity (though great probabilitie)."10 The ore at Braintree, WinthrOp reported, was the same as that called "Bogge" [limonite] in Ireland; "we have tried of it since we came over from divers places, and the finer hath made good Iron out of it divers tymes." The deposit at Greensharbour was bog iron, as were those at Nashaway,ll Cohasset,12 Woburn,l3 and many other places. 8 Saco, Maine. 9Black Point, on the Maine coast. l°_w_1_>_ IV, 426. 11 Now Lancaster, Mass. len the Mass. coast, east of Hingham. 13Now a northern suburb of Boston, west of the for- mer Lynn deposits. 92 However, the largest deposit was at Braintree, "according to the Judgement of the workmen, who Vpon search affirme that it lieth like a veine (which is not in the other places) and that there is likelihood of ynough for a fur- nasse for 20 yeares." Although Boston had offered to set aside 3000 acres for the use of the ironworks if it were constructed within her jurisdiction, some of the land at Braintree would have to be purchased from individuals. WinthrOp therefore asked the investors for advice: should he begin operations in "some of those remote places" where free land could be had, or at Braintree? He explained that "if the former be thought best: then there must be a beginning in way of plantation, houses must be first built[,] workmen of all sorts must be carried from these parts and plant themselves there, great store of draft cattle must be provided and the greatest part of our stock expended in such occations before we begin." If, however, Braintree were chosen, "we shall have workmen of all sorts more plenty and neere at hand[,] teemes [i.e. teams] for carriage may be hired[,] housing for our workmen conveniently neere to be hired and wood ynough for present to be procured neere by purchase." Winthrop con- cluded that "necessity seemes to drive vs to accept of this place," and a more cogent argument could hardly have been stated.14 14w; IV, 426. 93 While Winthrop and his men were surveying possible sites for ironworks, five tons of stone for lining the furnace and stack arrived at Boston, with a covering let- ter from Robert Child. Winthrop's friend had not yet been able to hire a bloomery man, and was hoping to get "those knaues" punished who defected from the ironworkers' group. He wished to know what progress had been made on the gra- phite mine (actually Winthrop had not yet had the time to attend to it), and mentioned a chemical book, Pierre Jean Fabre's L'Abrege des Secrets Chymiques (Paris, 1636), which he had promised to send WinthrOp from England several years previously.15 The book would give WinthrOp his "de- sire," presumably alchemical, but Fabre's "preparacions" were "too laborious for any man breathing." Child hOped to come to New England himself in the spring of 1644 to assist in the iron enterprise.16 Three months later Joshua Foote reported that a bloomery Operator was still not to be had. Little hope was entertained for the future, for Foote suggested that "you must Joyne all your workmans hedes togather and see to breed Vpe blo[o]m[e]ries[;] a smith aftre a lettell t[e]aching will make a blomer man."l7 15The offer had been made in Robert Child, n.p., to JW jr., [May 1641]; WE IV, 333. 16Robert Child, Gravesend, to JW jr., 27 June 1643; WP_IV, 395-6. He did not arrive in New England until 1645. 17Joshua Foote, London, to JW jr., 20 September 1643; WP IV, 415-16. 94 If WinthrOp received orders from the undertakers concerning the ironworks site, they do not remain. It is more likely that he proceeded on his own initiative and decided to begin work at the Braintree deposit. On 19 January 1643/4, at a Boston town meeting, Winthrop and his associates were granted 3000 acres of "the com[m]on land at Braintry, for the encouragement of an iron worke, 18 The acreage was to be set up about Monotocot River." "to be layd out in the Land next adjoyning and most conven- ient for their said Iron worke, by the direction of the select Townsmen." A grant of 1500 acres was given by the town of Dorchester at a later time. The land actually containing the ore deposit had already been granted to a settler, and had to be purchased. The conditions were in- teresting; 200 acres were obtained from Edward Hutchinson of Boston, "For which he was to be paid one hundred pounds in Iron by the said vndertakers so soone as it was produced in any quantity by the Iron workes." Edward, a merchant, was related to Richard Hutchinson of London, who seems to have held an interest in the land, as according to WinthrOp he "did consent to putt it in as an adventure to the Iron workes, for which mr. Edward Hutchenson had liberty to 18"Boston Records, 1634—1660," Second Report of the Record Commissioners of the City of Boston (Boston, 1881), 77. 19The Dorchester grant is mentioned in a letter of Emmanuel Downing, London, to JW jr., 25 February 1644/5; 95 consider which he would take till he could write to mr. 20 The offer was taken, Hutchenson of London about it." and the Hutchinson family continued its association with Massachusetts iron for some years.21 The first iron furnace in New England was built on the land purchased from the Hutchinsons. I have not been able to locate the original transaction, but a later affidavit drawn up by WinthrOp and dated 6 August 1649 gives all the particulars except the date of original transfer. The exact site has been identified by archaeo- logical evidence;22 it is now within Hall Cemetery, West Quincy. There was still a problem of capital. Winthrop brought about 21000 from England,23 but he actively sought additional investors in Massachusetts. Despite the generous attitude of various governmental agencies, little local help was obtained except the grants of land by Boston and Dorchester. In his Journal, WinthrOp's father explained that his son "had moved the [Massachusetts general] court for some encouragement to be given the undertakers, and zowg_v, 359. 21Hartley, Ironworks, 249, 251, 261. 221bid., 108. 23The estimate is given by his father; WinthrOp, Journal, II, 222. 96 for the court to join in carrying on the work, etc. The business was well approved by the court, as a thing much conducing to the good of the country, but we had no stock in the treasury to give furtherance to it, only some two or three private persons joined in it."24 Actually there were five 'private' investors from New England, not counting Winthrop. An account of William Osborne, WinthrOp's ironworks clerk, shows that up to 7 December 1644 he had received, besides the original capi- tal subscribed by the London undertakers, over £189 more from WinthrOp, as well as a total of approximately £173 from William Tyng and Henry Webb, Boston merchants, a "mr. 25 26 and Robert Sedgwick: founder of the Ancient and Honourable Artillery Company.27 Welles of Roxbury," a "Mr. Huise," And, if the General Court was unable to furnish money, it could at least grant a monoply to the undertakers. This was done on 7 March 1643/4. WinthrOp and his associates 24Ibid. 25Identified by Hartley, Ironworks, 104, as the Rev. Thomas Weld or his brother. ' 26Hartley, Ironworks, 104, suggests that he was Joshua Howes, nephew and attorney to Joshua Foote of London. 27William Osborne, "Acounts of disbursements at the Furncace to the 7 of december 1644," WP IV, 498-9. 97 were given "the sole priviledge" of making iron, provided that "after two yeares they make sufficient for the countrys use." Winthrop had requested the use of land at other sites, and this was granted, provided he took "not above six places," and within "ten years set up an iron furnace [and?] forge in each of the places, & not a blomery only."28 (Apparently the Court wished to ensure that wrought iron was produced for the colonist's needs, and not cast iron only.) In his Journal, Winthrop's father illuminates some of the more frustrating answers to the petition (which has been lost, and the requests of the undertakers are not given in the monOpoly). The adventurers were to have "three miles square in every place to them and their heirs, and freedom from public charges, trainings, etc."29 In the spring of 1644, WinthrOp and his men began work on the furnace. Although little physical evidence remains, we know that the indirect process was intended, and some idea may be gained from contemporary sources of what WinthrOp's furnace was like. Quite probably it was very similar to the Lynn furnace erected by Richard Leader in 1646-7 and recently reconstructed after extensive re- search. The thesis of similarity is very plausible, for 28Mass. Bay Records, II, 61-2. 29WinthrOp, Journal, II, 223. 98 Winthrop and Leader were friends who had drawn from the same English ironmaking sources, although Leader's ex- perience was of a more practical nature. The seventeenth-century blast furnace was a rela— tively simple structure. Winthrop's may have had the shape of a truncated pyramid, and was certainly constructed of locally quarried stone, mostly granite. The furnace cavity and stack were lined with the blocks that Robert Child sent from England. These would have been refractory sandstone. Between the inner structure and the pyramidal exterior was a layer of rubble and sand, to allow for ex- pansion and contraction of the working cavity. The whole was perhaps strengthened by a pair of inner walls. At the bottom of the furnace cavity was the crucible in which the molten iron collected. The furnace was 'charged' or loaded yia_the charging bridge, constructed of roughly hewn timber. The heat of the fire was heightened by large leather and wood bellows, which were driven by a water wheel. For this reason the furnace had to be near a source of moving water. (The Braintree creek which turned Winthrop's wheel is known as "Furnace Brook" to this day.) Molten metal was 'tapped' or released from the furnace from an opening to the crucible, and was allowed to run into molds, where it solidified into "pigs" or "sows" of cast iron, depending on the size of the mold. More technical details of the seventeenth-century furnace are explained 99 by Hartley in his description of Leader's Lynn works,3o al- though it must be remembered that the Leader furnace was 'reconstructed' with more reference to descriptions in contemporary sources than to archaeological evidence, which was mostly lacking. The ironmaking process used in the Winthrop fur- nace may be described with some certainty. Limonite was removed from the "vein" (presumably a dried swamp) with picks and shovels, and broken into pieces of suitable size. The second ingredient was charcoal, prepared in stacks by the collier according to a specialized and precise method described by Hartley.31 Also needed was a flux to help reduce the iron. Limestone and cinder were standard fluxes, but these were not to be had at Braintree. The later Lynn furnace used a gabbro [pyroxenite] as flux by combining it with bog iron in the ratio of 40% flux to 60% ore, but there is no evidence that this method was used at Brain- tree. In fact we do not know what WinthrOp used as flux. Seashells may have been utilized as in later New England ironmaking ventures, for they were readily available and, due to their lime content, worked reasonably well. The new furnace was started by firing the crucible with a small amount of charcoal. According to Robert Plot's 30Hartley, Ironworks, ch. 9. 31Hartley, Ironworks, 169-71. 100 Natural History of Staffordshire (Oxford, 1686), a new furnace was heated for a week to season it.32 Layers of fuel, ore and flux--in that order--were fed into the top of the furnace from the charging bridge; Hartley estimates in discussing later furnaces that 265 bushels of charcoal and three tons Of bog ore were needed to make a ton of 33 Plot explains that by means Of the bellows the iron. fire was "made so intense, that after 3 days time the metall will begin to run, still after increasing, till at length in fourteenights [gig] time they can run a S23. and Eiflflé once in 12 hours."34 In full operation and belching flames, the WinthrOp furnace must have furnished a fearsome spectacle to local settlers and Indians. In his Irelands Natvrall History (London, 1652), Gerard Boate wrote of the Irish furnaces that the tOp of the stack was not covered, "but Open all over; so that the flame, when the furnace is kindled, ris— ing through the same without any hindrance, may be seen a great way off in the night, and in the midst of the dark- ness maketh a terrible shew to travellers, who do not "35 know what it is. Boate explained that "the Furnace 32Plot, History of Staffordshire, 160. 33Hartley, Ironworks, 174. 34Plot, History of Staffordshire, 161-2. 35Gerard Boate, Irelands Natvrall History (London, 1652), 131. 101 being once kindled, is never suffered to go out, but is continually kept a burning. . . .936 Fuel, ore and flux were added as consumed, and heat was adjusted by altering the speed of the bellows. This was done by damming the brook and regulating the flow of water through a sluice. Slag was periodically removed from the furnace and dumped.- According to Boate, the molten iron was seldom tapped at shorter intervals than twelve hours, nor longer than twenty-four. A furrow was made from the crucible Opening to the mold, and "as soon as the furnace is Opened, the molten Iron runneth very suddenly and forcibly, being to look on like unto a stream or current of fire. It re- maineth a long time hot, but doth presently loose its liquidness and redness, turning into a hard and stiff mass, which masses are called Sowes by the workmen."37 The "cast iron" produced by the furnace could be melted and made into pots, kettles and numerous other necessities. In the indirect process plant envisioned by WinthrOp and the undertakers, much of the cast iron would be reheated in a forge and beaten by water—powered hammers 38 into wrought iron. The evidence clearly indicates that 361bid. 37Ibid., 138-9. 38The process is explained by Hartley, Ironworks, 176-9. 102 this stage was never reached at Braintree under Winthrop's management. The furnace was completed by November 1644, but the works was in bad financial straits. Although not spelled out in the records, there were probably several contributing causes. Sufficient local capital failed to materialize during "hard timesw furnace construction in- volved more outlay and time than expected, and workers had to be paid even though the furnace was not yet producing iron for sale. By the spring of 1645 some iron had been made, but the capital was eXpended, and in May the undertakers once more appealed to the General Court. No financial aid was forthcoming, but the Court agreed to give "speedy notice" of the situation to each town in its jurisdiction, in hOpes that private investors would come forward. The Court re- ported that "ye iron worke" was "very successfull, (both in ye richnes of ye ore & ye goodnes of ye iron,) & like to be of great benefit to ye whole country." Between 91200 and 31500 were already laid out in the construction of the furnace. A "good quantity of mine, coale, & wood" was on hand, and "some tuns" of "sowe iron" had been cast, "& some oth[e]r things in readines for ye forge." Yet 31500 was needed "to finish ye forge, &c, w[hilch wilbe accepted in mony, beaver, wheate, coales, or any such com[m]odities as will satisfy ye workemen." No adventurer was to put in less than £100, "but divers may 103 ioyne togeath[e]r to make up yt sum[m]e, so it come und[e]r one name." Payments were to be paid to Henry Webbe at Boston, "yt ye worke may go on spedily."39 Even as this appeal was being made, WinthrOp was preparing to give up his role in the iron enterprise and turn its management over to the new representative of the English undertakers, Richard Leader, who would arrive in midsummer. Steps toward the decision had been several. Winthrop was not happy about the problems caused by insuf- ficient capital, but there was a more pressing concern. Recent writers, such as Bailyn, who have mentioned the Braintree enterprise have noticed the essential cross- purposes between the English investors and the General Court. The latter was, of course, concerned with the well— being Of the colony. The Court saw the iron enterprise as a useful public service which, if successful, would furnish needed iron to the settlers, thereby helping to achieve self-sufficiency and lessening the financial drain to England. The English investors were interested in personal profit, no more, and were not at all concerned with the worries of the General Court.40 39Mass. Bay Records,II 103—4. oBernard Bailyn, The New England Merchants in the Seventeenth Century (Cambridge, Mass., 1955): 65. See also Dunn, Puritans and Yankees, 88, fn. 17, and Black, Win- thrOp, 122. 104 The resulting conflict was extremely distasteful to Winthrop. He naturally sided with those who considered the well-being of Massachusetts, and he was himself an impor- tant figure in the Court. His position as 'representative' of the English undertakers became more and more uncomfort- able as strain increased between the two viewpoints. In November 1644 the Court had made its position quite clear. The monopoly of the previous March was altered considerably. The undertakers were given three years only "for ye per- fecting of their worke & furnishing of ye country wth all sorts of barr iron." We may read into this the concern of the Court over the slow progress of the works, and an in- sistence on supply of wrought as well as cast iron to local customers. Moreover, the new conditions were made contin- gent upon "ye liberty of ye planters, or any of ye inhabi- tants in ye iurisdiction, to become adverturers with ye und[e]rtakers" to the extent of 3100 a person (hence the further appeal of the following May, mentioned above). Also, the adventurers should "wth all expedition Plrolsecute ye wOrk to good p[erlfection, as well ye finery & forge as ye furnace, wch is already set up,41 yt so ye country may be furnished wth [all] sorts of barr yron for their use." The previous grants and immunities were re- Peated, with the additional proviso that "in all ye places ‘1 41This is the earliest evidence of the completion of WinthrOp's furnace. 105 w[he]r an yron work is set up remote from church or congre- gation, unto wch they cannot conveniently come, the und[e]r- tak[e]rs wilbe pleased to p[ro]vide some good meanes whereby their fami[lies] may be instructed in ye knowledg of God."42 Apart from a concern over the religious instruction of the ironworkers (who were not, presumably, of the godly sort), the intent of the Court was clear. The easiest way to see that the interests of the colony were insured was to encourage further colonial investment and increase colonial control. (Thus the May, 1645 appeal to the towns was a fur- ther step in this direction, as well as an effort to raise money for a forge.) Perhaps the most unkind blow Of all was an attempt at price control; bar iron, when produced, was to be sold "und[e]r ye rate of 20£ p[er] tunne."43 Sides were becoming sharply drawn, and sometime in NOvember, WinthrOp decided to free himself from the over— seas undertakers. Emmanuel Downing, en route to England, Was instructed to inform them that Winthrop wished to be replaced.44 But before this could be done, the London in- vestors acted on their own behalf. They were far from Pleased by WinthrOp's management of the works. With little knowledge of conditions existing in New England, such as \ 42Mass. Bay Records, II, 81-2. 43Ibid. 44 Emmanuel Downing, London, to JW jr., 25 February 1644/5; WE V, 7. 106 high wages, they could not understand how so much capital had been expended with so little apparent gain. They were angered at Winthrop's purchase of the Hutchinson land, and had decided to replace him with a more experienced manager, Richard Leader. When Downing arrived in London, he consulted with the undertakers and wrote to WinthrOp about the situation. "When I perceiued," he explained, "they were resolved Vpon him; and that yt would be noe advantage to you for me to haue expressed my dislike of theire way herein, but haue putt more Jeolosies into their heads of you; and when they asked me what I thought thereof, I answeared that you had travayled from East to West from North to South sparing noe Costs or paynes. . . wherein you haue deserved well from them, and that there wilbe great neede of your helpe though they send one never soe sufficient for the worke, whereto they replyed that they resolved to satisfie you for the tyme past, and to desire your assistance for tyme to come." Downing assured the assembly that Leader's arrival would be welcome to Winthrop, who had asked to be relieved. Leader, who was present, "told them that he would not medle with any vndertaking of theire busines" without Winthrop's "free Consent and Contentment," and in the end, as Downing explained, "wee concluded of a lettre to be sent vnto you vnder all our hands in way of thankfulnes and engagement to give you satisfaction."45 4SIbid. 107 Thus the matter was concluded in the most painless way for all concerned. Winthrop, chafing under a task which had unexpectedly become a trying exercise in fund- raising and diplomacy, was granted his wish. The under— takers were satisfied, from their vieWpoint at least, of better management. The contest with the General Court would continue, but Winthrop would be little involved in the controversy.46 He would, in fact, become close friends with Leader, who would in turn become a significant figure in New England chemistry. WinthrOp could now turn his attention to several other projects that had been maturing in his mind. One was a mining venture much grander in conception than the Braintree enterprise, to be attempted without the distaste- ful drawbacks of London capital. An undated petition to the General Court, which may be assigned with some certainty to late 1644 or 1645, is interesting enough to quote in full: [John WinthrOp Junior] Humbly sheweth that whereas these plantacions much abounding with rockie hills the nurceries of mynes and mineralls may prob- ablie conteyne not only the most necessarie mynes of Iron (which some with much Cost and Difficultyes haue attempted, and in a good measure accomplished to the great benefitt of these plantacions) but alsoe with mynes of lead, tynne, COpper, and other metalls noe lesse profitable to the Countrye, which requires the assistance of manie ingenious heads hands and full purces, minerall matters being slow in growth and heavy in managing, And all necessaries as men skilfull 46It is detailed by Hartley, Ironworks, ch. 7. 108 in finding mynes, contriving watercourses[,] stamping mills, ingens for drawing water, refynings, washings etc. being to be procured from farr with much chardge and the vent verie hasardous in all places, espetiellie here where hands require more then ordinarie incouradge- ment, and the vaynes of these metalls hardly to be found espetiallie in wildernesses, because for the most parte they are imbowelled deepe in their mother earth and often passe through places even impenitrable; Your peticoner therefore being desirous to promote the publique good in this and to incouradge all men that are willing to spend their tyme and hasard their stockes and labours in these minerall afayres; (the speediest wayes as he supposeth to advance staple Co- modityes) he humblie entreates that libertie may be graunted to him and his assignes to search for these mynes in all places within this Jurisdiction, and the same being found, to digg and cary away and dispose thereof for the best advantage; And that your peticoner may haue libertie to make wayes and watercourses and to cutt wood for building and coaling, likewise to digg stone, earth, sand etc. in land impropriated giving full satisfaction to the prOprietours as three indifferent men shall award, one to be chosen by your peticoner or his assignees the other by the owner of the land the third by the Court; and soe the land to be confirmed to him and his assignes[.] And that the stock may be free from all publique charges and the labourers freed as in the graunt to the Ironworks with other freedoms, Monopolies only excepted, which he desier not[.] And lastly if he shall fynde any myne in wast land, that then the same with the land adioyning necessarie for the works be graunted to him his heires and assignees, and when there shalbe a plantation advanced thereon, that then the preveleges of a plantacion may be graunted to them[.] And he shall accept of any person within this Jurisdic- tion that desires to adventure in this Discovery and prosecuting for these mynes and mineralls so as he putt in his adventure within six moneths after the grant hereof provideg7yt be not lesse then fifty poundes in one mans name. Some degree of frustration over the Braintree en- terprise can be read between the lines of Winthrop's 47w; IV, 422-3. 109 petition, such as his estimate of [his own] "Cost and Dif- ficultyes," which (righteously enough) had resulted in "great benefitt," even though the project, still lacking a forge, had been only "a good measure accomplished." He had found through sad experience that "minerall matters" were "slow in growth and heavy in managing." The curious fact about the petition is that no notice of it appears in the records of the General Court, and it is not mentioned elsewhere in the Winthrop Papers. As the first comprehen- sive prOposal to exploit the various mineral resources of New England, the petition is of some importance, and it should have gained at least some notice. A possible answer is that WinthrOp's prOposal was never formally presented to the Court, whether through dis- appointment about the Braintree affair, or realization that the Court might be reluctant to sanction such a far- reaching project when the fate of Winthrop's ironworks still hung in the balance. A third possibility lies in Winthrop's habit of envisioning useful schemes, and either losing interest in them or turning their management over to others-—a trait that had become apparent long before his thirty-ninth year, in such matters as the Ipswich and Saybrook plantations, the Salem saltworks, and other pro- 48 jects not discussed here. Although other factors 48The theme is treated by Black, Winthrop, through- out his biography. 110 influenced WinthrOp's 'retirement' from the Braintree en- terprise, loss of interest cannot be ruled out entirely as a cause. Whether they were to be carried through or not, projects always filled Winthrop's mind. In fact, his "Discovery and prosecuting" of "mynes and mineralls" would continue for almost the rest of his life. As he waited for the arrival Of Richard Leader and Robert Child49 from London, two enterprises were foremost in his mind. There was the graphite mine, to be discussed in the next chapter. And, as early as May 1644, the Court had granted him permission for a project that would eventually trans- form him from Massachusetts magistrate to Connecticut governor. One of the deposits of iron ore tried by Win- thrOp in his travels was in the Pequot country of southern Connecticut, and he now had official leave "to make a plantation in the said . . . Country," as well as to "lay 50 The Court did out a convenient place for iron works." not realize how far-reaching the implications of their decision would be. 49Child intended to come to New England with Emmanuel Downing, then in London on Business; WP V, 6. 50Mass. Bay Records, II, 71. CHAPTER V LEADER, CHILD AND STARKEY As early as the autumn of 1644, when the furnace at Braintree was nearing completion, WinthrOp was taking active steps to exploit the graphite deposit south of the present location of Sturbridge, Massachusetts. He sent the Cambridge printer Stephen Daye at the head of a pros- pecting expedition no Tantiusques, with orders to contact the local Indians, ascertain the degree of their friendli- ness, and secure a deed to the region if possible. In the company of Thomas King and Richard Smith, Daye reached Tantiusques and began to collect samples of the graphite-bearing rock. The Indians of the region were friendly, if somewhat suspicious Of the Englishmens' motives. By the first week in October, the party was short of supplies, and a request for aid was sent north to William Pynchon, magistrate at the Springfield settlement. Not only did Pynchon send provisions to the prospectors, but he was able to assure the Indians of Daye's good purposes, and inform the party of a second vein of graphite five or 111 112 six miles south of Tantiusques, within the present limits of Connecticut.1 After some negotiations, Daye secured a deed in Winthrop's name from the local sachem to an area of land "ten miles round about" the Tantiusques deposit, conven— iently including the second vein reported by Pynchon.2 But Winthrop seems to have doubted the validity of the grant; in November he secured a further deed from the actual Indian owner of the land.3 Two days later, the General Court somewhat belatedly awarded WinthrOp an Eng- lish title to "ye hill at Tantousq[ues], about 60 miles westward, in which the black leade is, and liberty to purchase some land there of the Indians."4 On 27 November 1644 Thomas King signed an agree- ment with Winthrop to "speedily goe Vp with other men to be hired by himselfe" and dig graphite. King was to have "the rate of fourty shillings for every Tunne to be paid him when he hath digged Vp twenty tunnes of good marchant- able blacklead, and put it into a house safe from the Indians." Careful directions were given by Winthrop; King 1William Pynchon, Springfield, to Stephen Daye, 8 October 1644; WP IV, 495-6. 2The deed is printed in E2 IV, 496. 3Ibid. 4Mass. Bay Records, II, 82. 113 should begin by "digging a trench from the lower part of the hill or the descent thereof, and carry[ing] the same trench into the hill, that the water may be therby Issued from the Vaines of the blacklead." The second deposit was to be mined at the cheapest rate possible, and if King found it "easier to worke then that at Tantiusques," he was to inform Winthrop speedily.5 And, in a final fit of legality, still another deed was drawn up between Winthrop and the Indians of the Tan- tiusques region, making it quite clear that Winthrop was to have "All the Black Lead Mines and all other Places of Mines and Minerals" in the specified area.6 Meanwhile, samples of graphite from Tantiusques were taken by Emmanuel Downing when he left for England in the winter of 1644/5-- the journey during which he met with the undertakers to discuss WinthrOp's retirement from the Braintree ironworks. Also with Downing went a letter about the graphite mine for Robert Child, outlining Winthrop's hOpe that the Tantiusques hill also contained deposits of silver. Once arrived in England, Downing wrote WinthrOp that he had sent some of the "black leade" into "France and the lowe Countryes" for trial, and would "know what to doe" when he had heard from his contacts in those places.7 SPE-IV, 497. 6E?- V, 4.5. 7Emmanuel Downing, London, to JW jr., 25 February 1644/5; WP V, 6. 114 Winthrop's brother Stephen, also in England, added the in- formation that "We are Inquiring a Chapman for your black lead."8 Some of the graphite went to Robert Child, who sent Winthrop a long and interesting letter in return. Child explained his hope to come to New England later in the season, and renewed an offer made when Win- throp was in England, to provide a fourth of the cost of the graphite mine. Indeed, he might settle at Tantiusques if it pleased him, but he warned WinthrOp "not to bestow much cost as yet on the place flattering yourselfe with vaine hOpe of ( [silver] in those parts." Referring to WinthrOp's letter, Child pointed out that he had confused graphite with bismuth when searching his library for refer- ences to the material; "I haue Read your discourse concern- ing black FL[lead], but in my iudgment, you are very much mistaken to thinke blackffi, bismuthum or plumbum cinereum for bismuthum or plumbum cinereum is nothing else but mar— chasita Stannia, in English Tinglasse, and is found in many places of Germany, and hath Q ous [sulphurous] and § all [mercuriall] parts in it, all volatile, as you may read in all [Andreas] Libauius workes, Esp. in his Chapt. 8Stephen WinthrOp, London, to JW jr., 1 March 1644/5; wiv, 13. 115 10 but de Bismutho,9 and likewise in [Johann] Schroder, blacke lead is only found in England, and that only in Cumberland,11 as you may read in Mr. [William] Camden, who cannot tell what to call it in Latine,12 and further, this blacker), hath not Q ous or é all parts, and will hardly calcine or be altered by the fire as you, I beleeue, know eXperimentally." Although he might have known from his authors that bismuth sublimes easily, while his graphite did not, Win- thrOp can be excused for succumbing to the general confusion in the terminology of the various '1eads.‘ Agricola had 9Libavius discussed bismuth in his Alchemia (Frank- furt, 1597 and later eds.), and Commentationvm Metallicarvm (Frankfurt, 1597); see Partington, History, II, ch. 7. Child seems to have owned both Of these books; see Wilson, "Child's Book List," nos. 46 and 51. loJohann SchrOder, Pharmacopoeia Medico-Chymica (Ulm, 1641; 2nd ed., 1644). The editor of the Winthro Papers incorrectly identifies him as Wilhelm Schroder. 11Ch. 3 traces this belief. 12William Camden, Britannia, tr. Philemon Holland (London, 1610) is the English translation. Child refers F0 the following statement: "Heere [in Cumberland] also 13 Commonly found that minerall kind of earth or hardned glittering stone (we cal it Black-lead) with which painters 959 to draw their lin[e]s & make pictures of one colour in their first draughts: which whether it bee Pni itis or Melanteria, spoken of by Dioscorides, or Ochre, a kind of earthso burnt with heat, that it becommeth blacke, or wh9ther it were unknown unto the old writer, I cannot cer— 72;nly averre, and let others for me search it out"; 116 Agricola had described bismuth (plumbum cinereum, ash- colored lead),13 and it was thought by some to be a sort of lead as late as the eighteenth century.14 Tin was called plumbum candidum (glistening lead) by Agricola15 l6 and plumbum stridens (creaking lead) by Geber. There was plumbum album (lead carbonate, or variously, acetate)17 and a bewildering array of "leads" with English names, of which "black lead" was one. Child continued his unusually informed discussion of graphite: "My iudgment is that its prOperly cald Creta nigra, seu ochra, so [Andreas] Cesalpinus seems to call it in the End of his 9th Chapter18 and [Gabriello] Fallopius likewise,19 for it agrees with Earths or Chalks rather l3Agricola, De Re Metallica, 110, 433—7. 14Mary E. Weeks, Discovery of the Elements, 6th ed. (Easton, Pa., 1956), 105. 15Agricola, De Re Metallica, llO. l6Crosland, Historical Studies, 96. 17Ibid., 70. l8Cesalpinus, De Metallicis; "Pictores quoque suos cretas habent: Candidas quidem Paraetonium Melinum, & terram Eretriam, omnes a loco.appellatas. Rubras autem quas Rubricas vocant: Habent & cretam viridem, & nigram, sed diligentius eas exquiramus, quae medicis inseruiunt," pp. 28-9. This is probably the passage meant by Child. 19Gabriello Falloppius, De Medicatis Aqvis atque Egssilibus (Venice, 1564; 2nd ed. 1569). The book was in Child's library but was incorrectly identified by Wilson, "Child's Book List," no. 78. 117 then with metalls, for its neither fusible nor malleable, neither hath it Q or § ality in it, as all metalls haue,20 neither is it any signe of «bas appears by our mine in Cumberland, where the veine is aboue 50 fathome deepe, and yet not any signe of (. I inquired of Hannoides the Hun- garian about it, who saith he neuer saw any mine of it in Germany but all is brought out of England, and is called with them Swartz Bley, according to our English name." Child supposed correctly that "the Ancients did not knowe it, for there cannot any light be drawne from their workes. Indeed Cesalpine seemes to make this and bysmuthum the same, but he speakes but faintly with puto, and fortasse,21 and indeed he was but a speculative man, proffessour in Rome, whose authority I little Regard: I am vnwilling to beate you out of your great hOpes; may I hOpe I shall not discourage you from digging lustily about it, for the commodity as I haue tould you, wisely managed, will maintaine it selfe, but pray let not out too much cost till you haue more certainty Then as yet you haue." He promised to "be active in the busines, to the vttermost of my power, when I come ouer."22 20For the sulphur-mercury theory of metallic com- position, see Read, Prelude, 24 ff. 21That is, he was not sure, and was speculating. Child refers to a passage in De Metallicis, 186-7. 22Robert Child, Gravesend, to JW jr., 1 March 1644/5; w_13 v, 10-12. 118 Yet despite Child's quite understandable doubt, WinthrOp was correct; some of the rock samples collected by Stephen Daye at Tantiusques contained a small amount of silver. Emmanuel Downing reported on 5 May 1645 that Richard Leader had assayed the "leade oare" and "fyndes yt to be a silver Myne."23 More details were sent in June by one Richard Hill of London, who made an "exact tryall" of a sample from "that mine of black Lead" and found "abowtt 12£i worth per Tunne in siluer." Hill explained to WinthrOp that "if it yealded any Lead mettle itt would bee somthing like, but as itt is, it is only to bee gathered by Quicksiluer as I conceaue. If I had had a quantety of 4 or 5 hundred waight, For with les I cannot well make a tryall how a quantety may produce." With the welcome report, Hill sent a "little bar- rell" containing chemical supplies that WinthrOp needed-- "one glas head Fitt For your pott to still with," and "one 24 teast in an Iron scarnall and some maribone ashes in tow bages to make COpples or teasts to try mettles with,25 and some Sandiuer the vse of which is to helpe to gather any 23Emmanuel Downing, London, to JW jr., 5 May 1645; w_r;v, 21. 24A "teast," or cupel, was a small flat circular porous vessel with a shallow depression in the middle, made of pounded bone ashes pressed into shape by a mold, and used in assaying gold or silver with lead. 25 . COpples are cupels. "Maribone" ashes are mar- rOwbone, or bone ashes. 119 mettle to a head in mixing itt with itt to melt26 and some small melting pots If yow can tell how to make vse of them." Hill had spoken to Downing about the mine, and offered to "spend some paines on itt" if WinthrOp thought it "likely to come to any thing."27 When Robert Child actually assayed the ore himself, he too found it to contain silver. Years later he wrote that his "friend Mr. E; hOped that this material had been Plumbago Cisalpini, which he also calleth Mater Argenti.28 But I suppose in this particular he was mistaken, yet upon Examination we found pure silver amongst it, which by cal- culation might amount to 152. per tun, though the black lead sent me, was found onely on the surface of the earth."29 These reports by Leader, Hill and Child, all of whom had a SOphisticated knowledge of assaying, leave little doubt that there was a silver content in Winthrop's samples; 26Sandiver was widely used as a flux by refiners Of metals. 27Richard Hill, London, to JW jr., 16 June 1645; WE‘V, 28-9. For Hill see WP V, 28, fn. 2 and 29, fn. 1. He may have been the friend—Of Downing's who was to come to New England with him and "make a plantation" by Win- throp's mine. He is discussed in Emmanuel Downing, London, to JW jr., 5 May 1645; wg_v, 22. 28Child refers to WinthrOp's letter containing the "discourse concerning black lead," discussed above. The passage about plumbago in the De Metallicis is Lib. III, cap. XXII. 29[Robert Child]: "An Answer to the Animadversor," in Hartlib, Legacy of Husbandry, 133—4. 120 Robert Black was thus mistaken in casting doubt on "the contemporary state of the metallurgical arts."30 Graphite does not contain silver as an impurity, but it can be associated with minerals that do. William Smeaton has suggested that Winthrop's specimen was molybdenite (molyb- denum sulphide, M082), occurring in gneiss in rocky areas of the Northeast. Molybdenite can contain silver, and was indistinguishable from graphite in the seventeenth century. Samples of molybdenite may well have been picked up or quarried by Day and his party, and mixed in with true graphite.31 Despite the warm English interest generated by WinthrOp's Tantiusque samples, the mine was not worked immediately. Child gives us what may be one of the rea- sons: the graphite appeared not to be of good quality. Graphite, he explained, had four uses, "first to make black-lead pens for Mathematicians, &c. 2. For Painters 32 and Limners. 3. For those that work in COpper to make their hammer go glib. And lastly, if any great pieces be found, which is rare in Cumberland Mine, to make Combes 30Black, Winthro , 126, doubts that the samples contained silver. He does not cite Child's statement in Hartlib's Legacy. 31My correspondence with Massachusetts geologists has not settled the question. 32A limner was originally an illuminator of manu- scripts, but in Winthrop's time he was a water-color painter. 121 of them, because they discolour gray hairs, and make black hair of a Raven-like, or glittering blacknesse, much desired in Italy, Spain, &c." WinthrOp, wrote Child, "sent divers pieces to me, that I might enquire of some Qgtgh_Merchants what price it bare in.Holland, and how much might be vendible, which accordingly I did, and also showed it to the two Gentle- men above named,33 who were very inquisitive where I had it, and how much might be procured thereof, and desired that I would leave one of the greater pieces with them, that they might try it which I did; and the next morning enquiring again what they said to my black lead; they told me it was nothing worth, because it would not endure the Saw, they hOping, as I after found to have had enough for to have furnished Eur0pe with black Combs, which are very rare and dear, a small one usually sold at twenty or thirty shillings."34 The "Gentlemen" were "Master Bolton and Master Bret, who live in Cornhil nigh the Exchange, and sell. Colours." They were among the owners of the Cumberland graphite mine, "who once in seven years dig as much as they think convenient to serve, not to glut the Market, 35 and then close the Mine up again." (The curious practice 33Bolton and Bret, identified in the next paragraph. 34[Child], "An Answer," 133. 351bid., 132. 122 was legalized by Parliament in the eighteenth century, due to the increasing demand for English graphite and the 36) Messrs. Bol- dwindling supply Of the Cumberland mine. ton and Bret may have willingly underrated Winthrop's graphite mine to secure their own "natural" monOpoly, but the fact remains that they did not try to buy out Win- throp's rights or secure an agreement, and Child seems to have accepted their unfavorable analysis as a correct and honest one. Undoubtedly the report was relayed to Winthrop, perhaps in person, as Child was at Deal on 23rd June 1645, preparing to take ship for New England; Hugh Peter wrote to WinthrOp from there of "that honest man who will bee of exceeding great vse if the Country know how to improue him, indeed he is very very vsefull. I pray let vs not I play tricks with such men by our ielousyes [i.e. mistrust 37 or suspicion (of motives)]." It is not known when Child 36In 1683, John Pettus noted that the mine was opened "but once in seven years (I suppose the reason is, least they should dig more than they can vend)"; Fleta Minor (London, 1683). Voice, "Pencils," notes that in the eighteenth century the septenary Opening was strictly kept. In 1753 Parliament passed an act confirming the practice and imposing penalties for pilfering and unauthorized prospecting. 37Hugh Peter, Deal to JW jr., 23 June 1645; WP_V, 30—1. Peter's reference to "ielousyes" may refer to sus- picions engendered by Child's close inspection of the colony during his former visit. 123 arrived in New England, but he was there before the last of September, when he purchased land at Saco in Maine.38 Child's presence did nothing to help the graphite enterprise. The negative reports from England were dis- couraging, but more concrete reasons delayed eXploitation of the "black lead." As WinthrOp later explained, he could not hire men to stay in that wilderness "exept a plantation were neere." Moreover, capital was lacking. WinthrOp needed "a good stocke" that could be "well for- borne a yeare or 2," and such money was not forthcoming.39 Although Child kept urging WinthrOp to mine his graphite, Tantiusques was left as it was until some years later. At some time during the summer of 1645, Richard Leader arrived to take over management of the ironworks. Leader, formerly a London merchant in the Irish trade who had "skill in mynes, and tryall of mettalls," had agreed to serve the undertakers for seven years in return for a yearly salary of £100, transportation for his household, 40 and a house and land in Massachusetts. Leader may have 38The documents are cited by Kittredge, "Child," 16, fn. 4. 39JW jr., Pequot, to Robert Child, 23 March 1648/9; W_l_>_V, 324. 40 Emmanuel Downing, London, to JW jr., 25 February 1644/5; WP_V, 6—7. Hartley, Ironworks, 117-19, reviews what little is known of Leader's early life. Hartley did not know where Leader obtained his mining experience, but 124 come over with Child, although there is no evidence that he did. He brought with him a friendly request from the undertakers, in which Winthrop was asked to turn over the company's affairs and give Leader "help and assistance."41 Leader was in New England by September,42 and his first task was to build a forge at Braintree. This was at least partially completed by November; Winthrop recorded on the fourth of December that, returning from a trip to the Pequot country Of Connecticut, he "passed over monotaquid [river] at twilight" and "came by the direction Of the noise of the falls to the forge."43 The Monatiquot River site was some distance from the Furnace Brook works, but Leader had seen what WinthrOp had not the experience to know, that Furnace Brook could not furnish enough water-power to run a wheel prOperly. At least that is what the evidence indicates, for as Hart- ley points out, whatever preparations WinthrOp had made Emmanuel Downing to JW jr., 5 May 1645, WP V, 21-2 gives the answer; "he was formerly imployed in Ireland about mynes." 41The document, dated 4 June 1645, is WP V, 27. It is signed by nine undertakers, including Robert Child. 42As witnessed by a transaction in Suffolk Deeds, ed. W. B. Trask et a1. (Boston, 1880-1906),_T, 62. 43Travel diary of JW jr., WP V, 54. On his way to Connecticut he passed Tantiusques (via tantiusques ad mineram plumbaginis scriptorii), 51. 125 for his forge were pretty certainly on Furnace Brook.44 Thus the pig iron from the furnace had to be transported overland to the new forge. That in itself would not have been too discouraging, but the Braintree site had other handicaps; the furnace wheel could hardly have been turned satisfactorily either, and there were already signs that the supply of ore was not enough for long-range production. SO Leader, probably with Winthrop's help, searched for another site. By December 1645 a likely spot was found, ten miles north Of Boston where the road to Salem crossed the Saugus River. Nearby bogs contained limonite in large quantities, water power was ample, and wood was available for charcoal. The river was navigable at high tide, and there were towns close by to furnish labor. Hartley claims that Winthrop had overlooked the site in O I 4 his earlier survey, 5 but the Boston-Salem route was very familiar to him, as was all the surrounding country, and it seems quite impossible that WinthrOp could have ignored the extensive bog-iron deposits only a few miles north of Boston on the main road. More likely he grouped the bogs among the miscellaneous North Shore deposits (generally described in his report) as he thought the Braintree vein to be more profitable. 44Hartley, Ironworks, 115. 45Ibid., 123. 126 Leader's eXplOitation of the Saugus River deposits, and the 'restoration' of the buildings constructed there, has been recounted by several authors and does not need repeating here.46 Present visitors to the Saugus recon- struction, which is an admirable and instructive product of patient research, must however be reminded that this in no way is "America's first ironworks," for even if we re- strict "America" to North America, Leader's plant was pre- 47 and Braintree, ceded by ironworks at Jamestown, Virginia Massachusetts. Despite the eventual success of his ironworks on the Saugus, chronicled so ably by Hartley, Leader did not abandon the entire Braintree enterprise. Evidently it was not worthwhile to continue use of the furnace, for very little ore was left; Robert Child wrote WinthrOp in March 1646/7 that "after another blowing, we shall quit, "48 not finding mine there. But the Braintree forge con— tinued to work until after 1665, and the furnace was still standing in March 1670, although the fate Of both is some- what of a mystery.49 46See especially ibid., ch. 7 et seq. 47Ibid., ch. 2. 48 w_g_ v, 140. Robert Child, Boston, to JW jr., 15 March 1646/7; 49Hartley, Ironworks, 266-7. 127 While Leader was furnishing the first steady local supply of iron to the Bay Colony, Dr. Child was working closely by his side, and living in Leader's house at Bos- ton.50 But Massachusetts was not entirely congenial to Child's temperament and beliefs. He wrote a long letter to Samuel Hartlib on 24 December 1645 that outlined his thoughts. He observed that the "country abounds with min- erals, esp. Iron stone. we have discovered about 10 or 12 severall sorts . . . [which he had sent to London] and other stones, which promise better things, and I hOpe; will not deceive us, though yet we have made no experience of them. I doubt not (by the grace of God) but we shall prosper in Iron works, and make plenty of iron spedily." Yet there were drawbacks; "all things would pros- per in this place, if they would give liberty of conscience, otherwise I expect nothing to thrive." Child explained Massachusetts' various problems, from religious intolerance to high taxes, enforced military service and cold winters, concluding that "truly I cannot doe anything cheerefully here, till things be better ordered in Church and Common- wealth."51 Thus was laid the background for the famous Remonstrance of 1646, while Child helped WinthrOp and Leader exploit the mineral wealth of Massachusetts. 50 48 above. 51Robert Child, Boston, to Samuel Hartlib, 24 Decem- ber 1645; Hartlib Papers, XXXIX, 2e. As testified by his letter to JW jr. cited in fn. 128 Child's crusade against the New England Way has been discussed and debated by numerous modern historians from Marvin and Palfrey to Morgan, who has summed up the Hatter neatly; "if discontent with either church or state in Massachusetts was at all wide, Child and his associates were giving it a chance for expression in an appeal to the 52 rising power of Parliament." The story of the presenta- tion of the Remonstrance in May 1646, its eventual hearing in November, Child's large fine, and the government's re- fusal to allow him to depart for England to present his Case to Parliament, has all been told in great detail by 53 WinthrOp, as Black has pointed out, very Kittredge. neatly avoided the matter in his role as magistrate, much as he escaped taking part in the dispensation of vengeance in: Mrs. Hutchinson. So well did WinthrOp handle the epi- Sode that he and the Doctor remained warm friends. In fact, by the time that Child's fine was levied, vVinthrop was on Long Island Sound, engaged in his new (Halonization project. He left for the Pequot country about October 22 or 23, and for months was busy in setting 11p his new habitation on Fisher's Island.54 By March 1646/7 he was sending samples of local mineral deposits to ¥ 52Morgan, Puritan Dilemma, 200. 53Kittredge, "Child," 1-146. 54Black, Winthrop, 133 ff. 129 Child, then a virtual prisoner in Boston. The situation was a touchy one, for Winthrop senior was instrumental in Child's detention, and Child referred to the matter in an understandably sarcastic way when answering the younger Winthrop. The Doctor reported that the "metalline sand" Winthrop had sent "perhaps may prove Iron." He had not yet tried it with his magnet, but would welcome a ton or two to test in the furnace at Lynn. DeSpite his confine- ment to the Boston area, Child still managed to keep an active hand in the furnace; here we may suppose that his penchant for metallurgy and concern for the material needs Of the settlers were paramount rather than any concern about the wishes of the General Court for self—sufficiency. He informed WinthrOp that "we haue cast this winter some tuns of pots which prove exceeding good, likewise mortars[,] stoves, Skillets." The furnace was to be closed down after another "blowing" (as noted above, because of the lack of ore. It would seem that Child and Winthrop had also attempted a glass-making enterprise, for Child had a "de- sir to set the glassemen on work," if Winthrop could only "acquire a little of the Clay of long Iland." Child pitied the poor glass-workers, who were "honest and ingenuous," and hOped that Winthrop would be able to get a ton or two 130 of clay from the neighboring Dutch.55 Although very little is known about the venture, a stray entry in the Massachu- setts records indicates who the glassmen probably were. John and Ananias Conklin petitioned the General Court in October 1645 to be freed from a previous engagement in order to join any glassmaker "such as will carry on ye worke effectually."56 NO further glass enterprises appear in the Court or Boston records for the next few years, so that the Conklins were quite probably out of their chosen work. Child wrote to WinthrOp again in May to remind him (If the need for clay, and report that "our Iron works as yet bring vs noe considerable profit." He was waiting for rtelief from England in the matter of the Remonstrance fine, tuntil which he supposed he should remain in his "ould IKDdging in the prison."57 Nothing more was said of the glassworks, and these few records are all we have of it. Inle enterprise, if ever undertaken, was an early but not a pioneer one. The first New England glassworks was founded at Salem in 1638, and as has been noted above, Winthrop was not associated with it. The vicissitudes Of the Salem \ 55Robert Child, Boston, to JW jr., 15 March 1646/7; E v, 140-1. 56Mass. Bay Records II, 137; III, 48. ‘7 57Robert Child, Boston, to JW jr., 14 May 1647; WP ' 160. — 131 industry have not been closely examined, 8 and it is pos- sible that the unemployed Conklins were victims of that fluctuation of fortunes. The Salem glassworks continued to Operate——at least relatively--until 1670, when it- ceased production for lack of capital.59 During the years discussed in this chapter (1644- 47), Winthrop acted as 'chemical tutor' to the young Ber- mudan George Stirk or Starkey, whose interesting career has been traced elsewhere.60 Starkey had already develOped a lively interest in experimental science when he was sent tx: New England for his education. Under the elder Win- tflirop's care, he entered Harvard College in 1643, at the age of sixteen . In one of his later books Starkey stated that "In tJie Year of our Lord 1644," he "first began the studie of Sagemical Philosophie."61 His interest may have been 58The Salem town records give at least some infor- ma tion. 59Weeden, History, I, 171. 60Ronald S. Wilkinson, "George Starkey, Physician ‘alldi.Alchemist," Ambix XI (October, 1963), 121-52; "The PIli‘oblem of the Identity of Eirenaeus Philalethes," Ambix {511 (February, 1964), 24-43. See also George H. TurnEuIl, <3£eorge Stirk, Philosopher by Fire," Colonial Society of MEi-ssachusetts Publications.XXXVIII (Transactions, 1947-51), 2~19-51. t. 61George Starkey, Pyrotechny Asserted and Illus- 1:Eitzed (London, 1558), 76. He confirmed the date in.A §Efl§3§i§gSconrge (London, 1664), 6-7, 132 inspired by President Dunster's course in Aristotelian physics, which contained at least some chemistry, but Starkey soon went beyond Dunster's brief references. He later explained that "so good Grounds invited me, and so good Incouragement confirmed me, that from that time to this . . . I never repented my time bestowed."62 Doubt- less the "good Incouragement" was provided by John Winthrop, Jr., from whom he borrowed books, apparatus and chemicals. (In fact, before the arrival of Child and Leader, Winthrop was the only person in Massachusetts from whom Starkey could have received help in his chemical studies.) Starkey rejected much of the Peripatetic philosphy taught at Harvard, and having decided on medicine as a career, eagerly devoured the iatrochemical books in Win- thrOp's library. He met Child and Leader, and soon became fast friends with both. Upon graduation from Harvard in 1646 he began an intensive period of iatrochemical study: Wherefore as many experiments as I could try I tryed, and took nothing upon any mans trust, so as to build any thing on it, or to draw any conclusions from it: I invented many sorts of Furnaces, procured what Glasses were possible, with all manner Of Sim- ples, Mineral and Metalline especially (which I most esteemed) in these I spent my time for several years, and I may say without boasting, that if ever any in the world were an infatigable prosecutor of experi- ments, I was one.6 62Starkey, Pyrotechny, 76. 63George Starkey, Natures Explication and Helmont's Vindication (London, 1657), 35-6. 133 Starkey's research was made more difficult when WinthrOp left for the Pequot country in the fall of 1646. His plight was eXplained in a letter to his 'tutor,‘ writ- ten some time later. He requested antimony and mercury, glassware and "Chemical bookes," especially the Theatrum Chemicum (Strassburg, 1613-22), Jean d'Espagnet's Enchiri- dion Physicae Restitutae (Paris, 1638, and Helmont's De febribus and De lithiasi, apparently referring to Winthrop's COpy of Opuscula Medica Inaudita (Cologne, 1644). Mention- ing Winthrop's professed love for him, and hOping for a continuance of their friendship, Starkey noted that he had constructed a furnace, "very exquisitely," but needed glasses and chemicals.64 Starkey was actually practising medicine as early as 1647, and he soon built up a large practice in Boston.65 He prepared his own medicines, while spending sums of money on alchemical experiments and in pursuit of the Paracelsian alkahest, or universal solvent.66 Perhaps through the urg- ing of Robert Child, he emigrated to England in 1650 and gained a wide reputation as alchemist and Helmontian physi- cian. In the latter role, he entered the lists of the fierce battle between the chemical and traditional 64George Starkey, [Boston?], to JW jr., 2 August 1648; WP V, 241-2. 65Wilkinson, "Starkey," 126-7. 66Hartlib, "Ephemerides," K-L7, 11 December 1650. 134 practitioners that erupted in the 1650s, and published a number of fierce attacks against the "Galenists." Starkey died during the Great Plague of 1665, having been among those brave physicians who stayed in 67 One aspect of his Eng- London to combat the epidemic. lish activity will be discussed in the second part Of this study, for his relationship with John Winthrop, Jr. led to the publication of a number of interesting and important alchemical tracts, supposedly written by the anonymous adept "Eirenaeus Philalethes." 67Wilkinson, "Starkey," 128-52. CHAPTER VI DEPARTURE AND BENEDICTION Despite Winthrop's continuing interest in the af- fairs Of the Massachusetts-Bay Colony after his departure for Connecticut in October 1646, both his loyalties and future lay in the new colony to the north of Long Island Sound. Delightful as the company of Child, Leader and Starkey must have been, Winthrop's adventuresome spirit caused him to leave their society much as he had left his scientific acquaintances in Holland, Germany and England to return to the Bay. There is no question of a falling- Out among the members of the "first American chemical society," for as Kittredge (writing of other events) hu- morously observed in terms that all New England historians will understand, "Winthrop was an uncommonly charming per- son and never quarrelled with anybody, even with Samuel Gorton."l WinthrOp's seeming isolation in Connecticut was instigated by frequent communications with Old and new friends. The disillusioned Dr. Robert Child left for 1Kittredge, "Child," 92. 135 136 England, probably before September 1647,2 offering to in- vest in Winthrop's graphite mine if the Remonstrance fine were remitted. WinthrOp kept in active touch with the workings Of the mine on the Saugus, and in March 1647/8 received the thanks of the undertakers for assisting Leader; some of the workers had been unruly, and WinthrOp had contributed to their "regulacion," whatever that might have included.3 The summer of 1648 brought another of Dr. Child's long and informative letters. Child conveyed the French process for extracting rosin from pitch-pine, and revealed that had he not "quarrelld" in New England, he "should haue bin willing to haue ventured an 100 1; or two Vpon your mine [of graphite]," but would not "haue any thing to doe with that Country hereafter" unless his fine was re- mitted. Yet he was "not so offended with the Country" that he would not be reconciled, "knowing to doe good for Evill is Christianlike etc." WinthrOp was told about a number of recent chemi- cal books, "as Panchymicum Fabri, in 2 volu," i.e. Pierre Jean Fabre's Panchymici seu Anatomiae Totius Universi (Toulouse, 1646), and his "propugnaculum Alchymie." the 2Kittredge thought that Child left before 12 Sep- tember 1647, when JW jr. arranged to pay a sum due him to Richard Leader; ibid., 63; WP V, 181. 137 Propugnaculum Alchymiae (Toulouse, 1645). Neither of the works have been found in the reconstructed WinthrOp chemi- cal library. Child also mentioned "one Glauberus in high dutch an excellent Chymist with diverse rare and new things, a freind of mine is translating it." This was Johann Rudolf Glauber, the remarkable German chemist whom WinthrOp had met at Amsterdam in 1642. His first published work was on the medical efficacy of potable gold, De Auri Tinctura sive Auro Potabili Vero (Amsterdam, 1646). His Furni Novi Philosophici began to appear at Amsterdam in 1646, and this revolutionary book on furnaces and their products made his initial reputation. In 1648 Glauber took a house in Amsterdam and began demonstrating the prep- aration of chemical medicines, thus divesting iatrochemistry of much of its mystery, and exercising a lasting influence on his scientific contemporaries, including the practical members of the Hartlib Circle to which Child belonged.4 Glauber's concentration on practice rather than theory eventually endeared him to Winthrop. There are twenty-five of the German's titles in the reconstituted Winthrop library, and although the letters are now miss- 5 ing, Winthrop seems to have corresponded with Glauber. The friend Of Child's who was translating Glauber's work 4Wilkinson, "Hartlib Papers," 56-7. 5 b ' Mortimer, A verso. 138 (undoubtedly the Furni Novi Philosophici) would seem to be John French. Although French's translation of the Egrni did not appear until 1651 (52333 1652),6 it was the first English edition, and the fact that French was Child's close friend would surely secure the identification.7 Child's letter contained other valuable chemical news. He reported that "Helmonts works are by this time finished at Amsterdam being 5 large 4tos." The great iatrochemist had died in 1644, and his son Francis Mercurius had put together the Ortus Medicinae, which finally ap- peared at Amsterdam in 1648. Child could hardly have seen the work yet, for although it was in quarto, it was one thick volume, not five.8 WinthrOp was already familiar with Helmont's earlier publications, and as has been noted above, may have corresponded with him before his death.9 The Opuscula Medica Inaudita (Cologne, 1644) Helmont's major medical work published in his lifetime, was already 6Partington, History, II, 345; Denis I. Duveen, Bibliotheca Alchemica et Chemica, 2nd ed. (London, 1965), 252, hereafter cited as Duveen; Ferguson, I, 324. A trans- lation of Glauber's work on potable gold was included by French. 7French dedicated his translation, Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa's Three Books of Occult Philosophy (London, 1651), to Child. 8Partington, History, II, 213. 9 . Mortimer, A verso. 139 in the WinthrOp library.10 The author's modification of Paracelsian iatrochemistry and criticism of Galenic medi- cines would have a great impact on seventeenth-century chemistry and medicine, which was not yet fully felt in 1648. Helmont's influence tended to break down the "Para- celsian compromise" reached between Galenists and propo- nents of chemical medicine in the late sixteenth century. Child had much alchemical news for Winthrop. He "had letters from a freind in Scotland, who hath perfected Helmonts menstruum [i.e. dissolvent] and made many excel- lent experiments by it for transmutacion. he did send a sheet writen to me of all of them, and some things else, but the ship was cast away, and his freind who brought these things, hardly eschaped with life. I dayly expect to heare from him or else I resolve to see him if peace continue betwixt the 2 Kingdomes which is much to be 11 We would like to know more of Child's corres— feared." pondent in Scotland, but nothing else remains to identify him. If Child heard from him again, there is no record of his revelations. Child had heard from several informants "that the Emperour Of Germany hath found a secret to turne K into Q loGeorge Starkey, [Boston?] to JW jr., 2 August 1648; WP V, 241-2. 11The Second Civil War was under way, and Charles I had signed his "Engagement" with the Scots on 26 December 1647. The Scots did not actually cross the border until July 1648. 140 by the which he pays his Army. The Duke of Holstein is turned a great Chymist." The story of Ferdinand III, emperor of Germany, is one of the classic alchemical nar- ratives. In January 1648 one Johann von Richthausen ac- complished a transmutation before the Emperor at Prague. By means of a grain of red powder, supposed to be the philOSOpher's stone, three pounds of mercury were trans- formed into a somewhat lesser weight of gold. Ferdinand had a medal coined from the alchemical gold, and the story soon spread over EurOpe, to be repeated in many works on alchemy.12 As for the 'Duke Of Holstein,‘ he was Fred- erick III of Holstein-Gottorp (d. 1659), who did indeed develOp an interest in chemistry--and, according to Crom- well Mortimer, became one of Winthrop's correspondents. He is the "Fred. Princeps Holsatiae & D[ominus] Slesvic" mentioned by Mortimer in Volume 40 of the Philosophical Transactions, but unfortunately the correspondence is lost. Winthrop seems to have written to him after reading such reports as that of Dr. Child.l3 Perhaps Child's most interesting bit Of information was that "Some say (that haue good intelligence) that Helia Artista is borne. I saw letters that came to a learned Dr. from the Fratres R.C. [i.e. the Rosicrucians] to that 12The story is retold by Kittredge, "Child," 130-1. l3Mortimer, A verso. 141 purpose, but he is not of our nacion." Elias the Artist was the "adeptus" who was to appear and show alchemists the answer to their search for the true Philosopher's Stone. His advent was an old Jewish tradition that had become part of alchemical lore, and was repeated by such writers as Paracelsus.l4 In his learned work on the Rosicrucians, Arthur Waite suggests that the Order was regarded by many 15 but that was not what Child's as a "corporate Elias," Rosicrucian "letters" had in mind. The numerous supposed transmutations on the Continent had led to rumors of Elias' coming. The "learned Dr." could not have been the most famous English Rosicrucian "Dr.," Robert Fludd, for he had died eleven years previously. Maybe the Rosicrucian friend of Edward Howes, Dr. Euer or Ever, was Child's informant.l6 During the Second Civil War, Child was living at Hogsdon, Kent and conducting chemical experiments at the house of a Dr. Garbet, who was also a friend of Winthrop's, remembering his love to him in Child's letter. Garbet "hath not bin idle, these many yeares," presumably since 1643, when Winthrop last departed from England, yet Child 14Paracelsus discussed Elias in his treatise EE~ mineralibus; see Arthur E. Waite, The Brotherhood of the Rosy Cross (London,'1924), 241, and Kittredge, "Child," 131-2 0 15Waite, Brotherhood, 242. 16Euer has been discussed in Ch. II above; see Edward Howes, London, to JW jr., 21 August 1635; WE III, 206. 142 could not see that "he had done much in this great busines" [? of transmutation]. As for Child, he planned to finish his experiments at Garbet's and settle down as a country 17 Al- physician in Kent, "being almost weary of rambling." though he did not know it then, events would take quite another turn. Among WinthrOp's correspondents during the early years of the Pequot settlement (which would in 1648/9 be 8 was one William Berkeley, named New London, Connecticut)1 a wealthy merchant of the Bermudas. Berkeley visited Boston in 1647,19 apparently to press payment of a debt due him,20 but perhaps also to get away from his wife, who was quite distracted over his departure and failure to com- municate with her.21 Berkeley was interested in alchemy. He met Win- throp during one of the latter's visits to Boston, and began 17Robert Child, Gravesend, to JW jr., 13 May 1648; EB v, 221-3. 18Black, Winthrop, 150. 19Patrick COpeland, Bermudas, to John Winthrop, Sr., 31 September 1647; WP V, 184. 20The complicated situation is discussed by William Reyner in a letter from the Bermudas to John WinthrOp, Sr., g3. June 1648; WP‘V, 224-7. 21Copeland wrote of Mrs. Berkeley's distress; see fn. 19 above. Thomas Turnor, Bermudas, to John WinthrOp, Sr., 10 June 1648, WP V, 228, asked the elder WinthrOp to persuade Berkeley tS—return. 143 a series of experiments there which may or may not have been due to Winthrop's advice. At any rate WinthrOp pro- mised to loan the budding chemist some of his chemical glassware (which had been moved to Pequot, although some of his books remained at his Ten Hills estate north of Boston). In June 1648 Berkeley wrote WinthrOp at Pequot to request the glasses, so his experiments could continue "for your and my one [own] farther satisfaction."22 So impressed was Berkeley by his new acquaintance's scientific attainments that he urged WinthrOp to accompany him on his return to the Bermudas. Upon not receiving the glassware Berkeley wrote in a more urgent manner two weeks later, explaining that "for feare I should haue bine disapoynted I haue hired an Indian to bring the Glasses by whome I would request you to send them." The Bermudan asked WinthrOp to write his father at Boston and remind him of three pounds of mercury that he had promised Berkeley, and made his offer once more; "I doe excedingly desyre to inioy your company at our Iland and doe intend to prouide for your accommodation, vnless I 23 heare to the Contrary." But Winthrop seemingly thought I little of Berkeley and his presumptuous requests. He 22William Berkeley, Boston, to JW jr., 12 June 1648; WP V, 229. 23William Berkeley, Boston, to JW jr., 25 June 144 wrote on the superscription leaf of the letter: "I pray you hold your peace and speake no more vnlesse you speake with more sence then that is hold your peace." Neverthe- less, there was further correspondence. Later in the year Berkeley sent Winthrop some "marcarry," either mercury he had extracted from ores gathered in the Bermudas, or more likely the 'SOphic mercury' he had develOped in his search for the alchemical secret. Much later, in 1654/5, Berkeley wrote to Winthrop seeking "smale bolt heads."24 Berkeley could not induce WinthrOp to accompany him to the Bermudas, but he had better luck with another chemist and metallurgist. A week after Berkeley's last letter, Winthrop senior wrote his son that the merchant had "gotten old white to goe with him. he hathe made him so large pro— "25 This was mises, as wee cannot dissuade him from it. William White, a contentious individual who had come to New England to assist in the ironworks. He had wide ex- perience in the English mining districts, and according to his own account, had "tryed most of the min[e]s in Der- 26 besharre [Derbyshire] with a bloome harth." He had set 24Humphrey Atherton, Dorchester, to JW jr., 30 October 1648; WP V, 273; William White, Warwick, R.I., to JW jr., 14 February 1654/5; W. 19. 150. 25John Winthrop, Sr., [Boston], to JW jr., 3 July 1648; WE‘V, 235. 26William White, Boston, to John WinthrOp, Sr., 24 July 1648; W_I_>_ v, 239-40. 145 up an apparatus for distilling at London,27 and was an innovator and technician of no mean prowess, as a list of "Mr Whites Inventions" in the Hartlib Papers shows. According to this account, White was capable of "stoues stills or any other furnaces for the use of phisi- tians Chimists and Apothecaris" as well as others, "sauing much fire and alsoe time." He had perfected a metal "jugg" that would "hold aquafortis,"28 and could prepare melting pots, chemical glassware, bellows, and a host of other de- vices for the use of chemists, goldsmiths, craftsmen and husbandmen. Among these were a "horizontall windmill," a "newe deuised ploughe," and an oven lately constructed "for the Kings use" that would "in 24 ours bake bread for a 1000 men," yet be so portable as to "followe the Army foote for foote." Among other things promised was a new method for salt works and "Good ways to Calcine & smelt all sorts of oars or mettalls."29 Obviously this was a man New England could use. Robert Child promised White five shillings a day as well as two cows, and free use of house and land for himself 27William White, Spanish Point, Barbados, to Robert Child, 8 May 1649; Hartlib Papers, XV, viiia. 28Aqua fortis was nitric acid, HNO3. The chemical attacks metals. 29Hartlib Papers, LXIII, xii. 146 and his children if he would emigrate to Massachusetts.30 But by the time White arrived (before 7 January 1646/7),31 Child was in the midst of his troubles with the government of Massachusetts-Bay, and the promises made to him were 32 not fulfilled. Despite this, he had encouragement from Child and both WinthrOps, father and son. But his querulous nature caused him to run afoul of numerous New Englanders.33 He felt that his wife was being persecuted, and shopkeepers were supposedly cheating him. Moreover, he was not satis- fied with the value of country pay, and the winter was too cold. But his chief cause for complaint was his running quarrel with Richard Leader. White's self-importance led him to take exception to many of his employer's procedures. According to White, Leader could do very little that was right. White was dedicated to the direct or bloomery process, while Leader (and WinthrOp before him) pursued the indirect.34 Moreover, 30As eXplained in White's letter, fn. 26 above. 31James Savage, A Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New EngIand (Boston, 1861), IV, . 32William White, Boston, to John WinthrOp, Sr., 33Ibid. 34Hartley, Ironworks, 132—3, observes that White's idea was followed unknowingly by exploiters of Massachu— setts iron after Leader. 147 White had much more practical experience at mining than Leader or anyone else in New England, and he resented Leader's pre-eminence. The final blow came when (as White charged), "mr leader & his wife did disparidge me telling peOple that I say somthinge but performe just nothinge."35 Leader was a kindly and sensible man, and his estimate (considering the impression the historian receives from White's letters) was probably a just one. Although George Starkey subsidized White after his 36 the insulted man-of-all- final disagreement with Leader, trades was only too happy to leave with Berkeley for the Bermudas. Once aboard ship, he wrote Winthrop senior of 37 White his troubles and reasons for leaving the Bay. seems to have prospered in the Bermudas under Berkeley's patronage. He wrote Dr. Child in the spring of 1649 that he had been exploring the mineral wealth of the islands and had "some hope of a myne." He was employed in distill- ing rose water, but wanted the variety of stills he had at London. He was making bricks from a red earth he had found, which when burned emitted an odor "as if it had been Synaber [cinnabar, HgS] & it filled my head with 35William White, Spanish Point, Barbados, to Robert Child, 8 May 1649; Hartlib Papers, XV, viiia. 36Ibid. 37William White, Boston, to John WinthrOp, Sr., 24 July 1648; WP‘V, 239-40. 148 foums [fumes] just like mercurie." There was also news about Berkeley, who "hath a faire house & great store of provisions . . . the is about the greate worke [i.e. transmutation] & doth praktice phisicke & is the Cheefest [? physician]38 in the Iland." Berkeley wanted Child to emigrate to the Bermudas, where he would have "good entertainment"; if he came he should "bringe some Chimycall glases" and clay to make crucibles. White's dislike of the Bay had not lessened with time; he would "not be in newe Ingland againe for the best house in boston," and might "live to see mr leader in london." White always mentioned WinthrOp with respect, along with his father, Emmanuel Downing and John Endicott, all of whom "sawe that I brought things to passe that I took in hand."39 And so favorably did Child impress him that White offered, upon the death of his wife, to "place out all my children and travel with you till I dye."40 Greater love hath no man! Yet the charming Child inspired such loyalty, as did Winthrop, who could not quarrel with the quarrelsome White any more than he could with Samuel Gorton. In fact, White would eventually return to the New England he so despised, work for WinthrOp, and die there.41 38My addition. 39William White, Spanish Point, Barbados, to Robert Child, 8 May 1649; Hartlib Papers, XV, viiia.. 40Ibid. 41Wg_v, 239, fn. 1. 149 Even Emmanuel Downing, who had hitherto taken an ixuiirect part in Winthrop's ventures, was stimulated by the widespread chemical activities of the 1640's to attempt a mmme active rélg. He decided in the summer of 1648 to set up a distillery at Salem for the limited production of alcohol, and requested Winthrop to send "by the first safe conveyance," a "lymbeck [alembic] with the price," which he would remit "in strong water."42 Winthrop obliged, and in September Downing reported that he was "fullie furnished" for his "stilling buisnes," having also some books on the subject.43 Winthrop senior wrote the next day that "your Vnckle is now beginning to distil," adding the information that "mr [John] Endecott hath founde a Copper mine in his owne grounde, mr. Leader hath tryed it. The Furnace [at Lynn] runnes 8 tun per weeke, and their barre Iron is as good as Spanish."44 Leader had succeeded in his mission, and Massachusetts was finally producing its own iron in appreciable volume. Downing's wife Lucy provided an amusing aside on the distilling venture, writing Winthrop that the alcohol Emmanuel Downing, [Salem], to JW jr., 20 June 1648; WP V, 230-1. 43Emmanuel Downing, Salem, to JW jr., 29 September 1648; WB_V, 260-1. 44John Winthrop, Sr., [Boston], to JW jr., 30 September 1648; WI: v, 261-2. 150 'wnight be pritty strong but that all the rye was eaten Vp afilebst before the Indian [crop] was gathered. could you knit teach vs to kern rye out of the sea watter, that inuen- tion I question not would quicklye make the still vapor as far'as pecoite [Pequot], and the Indians I beleeu would like that smoake very well for the english hear haue but 2 objections against it, one its too dear 2 not enough of it. cure those, and wee might all haue implayment enough at Salem to make lickquors, and as it is wee could haue Custome ten times more then pay."45 Emmanuel Downing re- ported, somewhat more laconically, that he had "wrought in stilling these 3 moneths. the water I mak is desired more and rather then the best spirits they bring from London."46 Winthrop's own activities in 1648 (besides the Pequot colonization, which took most of his time), can only be inferred from his correspondence. The iron mine, which was a primary motive for settlement, did not mate- rialize. Yet Winthrop still took active interest in metallurgy. Hugh Peter's brother Thomas sent him "2 stones of lead, thought to haue silver in them" all the way from Falmouth, England, and promised to subject "a tin stone" 4SLucy Downing, Salem, to JW jr., 1? December 1649; wiv, 290-1. 46Emmanuel Downing, Salem, to JW jr., 17 December 1648; le, 289-90. 151 to his analysis.47 Similarly, Jonathan Brewster, a Con- necticut Indian trader who would some years later develOp an interest in alchemy under WinthrOp's tutelage,48 sent his future instructor some "siluer ower" from Rhode Island, hoping to follow with "a tounne or 2" in the spring if 49 Brewster had assayed the ore himself, and thought it good.50 WinthrOp found it profitable. Winthrop kept at least a nominal interest in the ironworks at Lynn,51 and kept in close touch with his friend Richard Leader, who by 1648 had begun his series of dis- agreements with the Undertakers that would eventually lead to his return to England. Leader wrote in August to borrow k 47Thomas Peters, Falmouth, to JW jr., 26 June 1648; WP V, 233-4. 48 Brewster was the eldest son of William Brewster, one of the founders of the Plymouth Colony. Jonathan ar- rived on the Fortune in 1621. In June 1636 he was in com- mand of the PIymouth trading house on the Connecticut River. He was trading among the Indians in 1650, and died in August 1659; Savage, Genealogical Dictionary, I, 244-5; Public Records Of the Colony of Connecticut, ed. J. H. TrumbuIl (Hartford, 1850, hereafter cited as Conn. Records, I, 209; John A. Goodwin, The Pilgrim Republic (Boston, 1888), passim; letter from Malcolm Freiberg to the author, 6 September 1968. 49Jonathan Brewster, "Rode Iland," to JW jr., 2 December 1648; WP_V, 286. 50Jonathan Brewster, "Rod Iland," to JW jr., 1 December 1648; WP V, 286. 51Ironworks documents continue to appear in the Winthrop Papers, such as the testimonies of John Palmer, WP_V, 257, and Caleb Seaman, WP V, 257-8. 152 four or five pounds of metallic mercury "to trie some stones," eXplaining that the Company had sent over one Dawes "to take an account of things; and to give them satisfaction" about the condition of the ironworks. The problems leading up to this crisis have been discussed by Hartley.52 Leader was disturbed over the turn of events, and was "resolved they shall provide them an other Agent, except a more cleere vnderstanding cann be maine- tained."53 Leader temporarily won the contest--Dawes re- turned tO England a month laterS4--but the victory was short-lived, for, as will be seen, Leader soon found it necessary to leave the Company. Evidently Winthrop envisioned a salt works in 1647/8, for he negotiated with the Massachusetts General Court for the purpose. He rejected the prOpositions of a group of merchants for revitalization of the salt in- dustry at Salem, being committed to the new colony.55 In 52Hartley, Ironworks, Ch. 7. 52Richard Leader, [Lynn], to JW jr., 21 August 1648; WP, V, 248. 54John Winthrop, Sr., [Boston], to JW jr., 30 September 1648; WE, V, 261-2. 55At the March 1647/8 meeting of the Court, JW jr., who was to make salt "out of meer salt watr, for the use of the country," was to be paid partially in wheat, which would be collected as a tax; Mass. Bay Records, II, 229. The Salem prOposals are mentioned by Emmanuel Downing, [Salem], to JW jr., 13 June 1648; WP_V, 230. 153 In June Emmanuel Downing wrote him that "I hope you will not loose [any] tyme in erecting a salt worke there [i.e. 56 And at Pequot;] you neede not feare vent here for yt." in December, Downing reported that "mr. Leder hath cast your pans," indicating that a boiling process in cast-iron pans was anticipated. Winthrop's old salt pan (most likely from the Salem enterprises) was to be sent on to him in the spring, to the discomfiture of the North Shore merchants, whose offer to Winthrop was reiterated.57 In March 1648/9 Winthrop learned that his answer to Robert Child's letter of the previous spring had mis- carried. He wrote again to ask for the various books mentioned in Child's letter, and reported that he had "done nothing yet about the [graphite] mine, because of the difficulty in the begining exept a plantation were neere, or a good stocke that can be well forborne a yeare or 2, which because of your departure I have not once minded to raise by other adventure."58 Just a few days after the answer to Child was written, an Indian runner informed Winthrop Of the passing 56Emmanuel Downing, [Salem], to JW jr., 20 June 1648; WP V, 230-1. 57Emmanuel Downing, [Salem], to JW jr., l7 Decem- 58 WP V, 324. JW jr., Pequot, to Robert Child, 23 March 1648/9; 154 of an, era in the Massachusetts-Bay Colony. His father, the Governor, had died on the 26th of March, and his last real link with the Massachusetts-Bay Colony was severed. CHAPTER VII MR. WINTHROP OF CONNECTICUT When John WinthrOp, Jr. returned tO New London after his father's funeral, he was in a sense a freer man. Since coming to Massachusetts in 1631, he had lived in the Puritan founder's shadow, a son rather than a leader in his own right. Although he had demonstrated qualities of leadership in such projects as the colonization of Ipswich, Saybrook and now the Pequot settlement, he had hardly been an outstanding magistrate in Massachusetts. His catholi- City Of interests and changeable turn of mind had bred in him a tendency to leave things unfinished. WinthrOp was forty-three in 1649, a gentle, genial and well-liked scholar, best known to his scientific cor- respondents for his interest in chemistry and metallurgy, land'his zeal as a collector of books; even in 1649 he had by'far the largest library in the New England colonies, land probably the largest in British America. His course in life seemed fixed. Few would have guessed that he was to embark on a career of public service that would raise him to the governorship Of Connecticut--a position he Would hold for almost twenty years, until his death, and 155 156 udiich would allow him less and less time for scientific guirsuits. And, there was little indication in 1649 that Winthrop, who had read and collected medical books but ruad.never utilized them, would undertake a remarkably wide pnractice which was to make him an almost legendary figure 111 the history of American medicine, the most beloved (and probably the busiest) physician in New England. But these things were long in working out. Now, in 1649, he was not even a freeman of Connecticut,1 and he was just about to begin his commitment to medicine. His predilection for Chemistry, which would later cause him to introduce iatro- Chemical remedies (some Of his own invention) into his Inedical repertoire, was still confined to industrial devel- Opment and alchemical research. As his hundreds of alchemical books testify, John Jr. read virtually every author whose works he could obtain. Practically all the alchemical classics are present in the reconstructed Winthrop library, as well as a host of lesser lights. From Geber to Flamel, from Alphonso of Portugal to George Ripley, WinthrOp pored over the contradictions and veiled descriptions of his writers. It is not known ‘vhat course his own experiments took; if he kept as careful records of them as he later did of his medical prescriptions, ¥ Winthrop was made a freeman by the Connecticut General Court on 16 May 1650; Black, WinthrOp, 151-2 dis- cusses his "transfer of allegiance." 157 true accounts have not been found. His correspondence is siJnilarly silent, telling only that he was pursuing the saune quest for the Stone as had the authors of the books he: treasured. Winthrop's library alone earns him a place <15 importance among seventeenth-century students of the Phermetic art. His may well have been one of the largest (fliemical libraries Of the age. Statistics are meager, kNIt in ten years of searching inventories, no larger pri- 'vate collection has been found.2 The shelves of chemical books (which, as I have suggested elsewhere, must surely add another dimension to the Puritan mind3) were fast at- taining their eventual fullness in 1649. Similarly, WinthrOp's correspondence had increased to large prOportions by this watershed year. Most of it dealt with the business matters and daily concerns of a hard-working colonial gentleman, but even through the busy ._ first years of the settlement at Nekaondon, even when there was little time for it, the scientific letters Continued. His old friend Tanckmarus wrote from Hamburg in September, and if there was little chemical news in the Latin letter, at least WinthrOp was introduced to a new V 2Even John Dee's collection was inferior to the ‘flinthrop library. Continental collections were probably larger, but statistics are lacking. 3Wilkinson, "The Alchemical Library," 51. 158 and interesting correspondent, the Hamburg physician, teacher and collector of natural curiosities, Paul Mar- quart Schlegel. This genial scholar wrote to solicit botanical and zoological specimens to enhance his museum and botanical garden, enclosing his message in that of Tanckmarus.4 Both letters were sent in a packet by John Doggett senior, an English merchant resident at Hamburg, who added his own information about Tanckmarus and Schlegel.5 By the time these letters arrived, Winthrop had embarked on a new phase in his scientific career. In the year 1649, he began the serious practice of medicine. This turn of events, although coincident with his father's death, was caused rather by the consequences of his removal to Connecticut, and originated in necessity more than any other factor. The peculiar situation of medicine in seventeenth- Century New England has been Observed from several direc- tions. During the more than one hundred years between the urbane, witty and altogether agreeable beginnings made by Oliver Wendell Holmes, to the latest conclusions of Richard Shryock, medical historians have pointed out a number of ¥¥ 4Johannes Tanckmarus, Hamburg, to JW jr., 10/20 September 1649; WP V, 367-8; Paul Marquart Schlegel, Ham— burg, to JW jr.,—IO/ZO September 1649; WP V, 364-7. For Schlegel see WP V, 364, fn. 1. 5John Doggett, Sr., Hamburg, to JW jr., 25 Septem- 159 facts that bear on Winthrop's seemingly sudden penchant for the healing art.6 In fact, WinthrOp was urged into medical practice as much by the responsibility of his position as by any inclination he had toward 'physic.‘ There was an acute lack of trained physicians in the seventeenth-century English colonies. Perhaps Bein- field was overstating the matter when he suggested that "the difficult New England existence offered to a success- ful English practitioner little inducement to abandon his more abundant life for the struggle in the . . . unculti- vated wilderness,"7 for wilderness though most of it was, 6Oliver Wendell Holmes, "The Medical Profession in Massachusetts," in Medical Essays (Boston, 1891), 312-69, is still one of theibest studies.. Henry R. Viets, A Brief History of Medicine in Massachusetts (Boston, 1930), con- tains much useful information. Maurice B. Gordon, Aescula- pius Comes to the Colonies (Ventnor, N.J., 1949), is not always accurate but is useful. Malcolm S. Beinfield, "The Early New England Doctor: an Adaptation to a Provincial Environment," Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine XV (Octo- ber, 1942), 99-132 and (December, 1952), 271-88, is con- ceptually excellent.. Whitfield J. Bell, Jr., "Medical Practice in Colonial America," Bulletin of the History of Medicine XXXI (September-October 1957), 442-53, and Daniel J. Boorstin, The Americans: The Colonial Experience (New York, 1958), Part Eight, are overall treatments with data on seventeenth-century New England medicine. Boorstin, pp. 401-5, gives a very useful selected bibliography of colonial medicine. Richard H. Shryock's publications are legion; Medicine and Society in America 1660-1860 (New York, 1960) is his latest synthesis. The "standard" history of Ameri- can medicine, in lieu of a much-needed modern treatment, is still Francis R. Packard's History of Medicine in the United States (latest ed., New York, 1963). 7Beinfield, "New England Doctor," 101. 160 the Puritans had an uncanny knack for quickly 'cultivating' the settled parts of New England, with printed book and intellectual discourse as well as hoe and plow. Yet, most towns faced the continuous problem of getting and keeping good physicians.8 It is true that there were medical practitioners in New England as early 9 and as Samuel Fuller's arrival on the Mayflower in 1620, Holmes found 134 practitioners listed in Savage's Genealog- ical Dictionary of settlers before 1692 and their descend- 10 ants to the third generation. Although there were ten practitioners in Boston in 1720, only one Of them had a medical degree,11 and the situation in 1650 was incompar- ably worse. Even unlettered, self-styled physicians were few, and most Of these were men of very little training in any formal sense. Shryock has wisely said that "it might clarify matters if, for the period before 1765, we ceased 12 to speak of American 'physicians' altogether." In fact 8Bell, "Medical practice," 442-44; Beinfield, "New England Doctor," Part II. 9Thomas F. Harrington, "Dr. Samuel Fuller of the Mayflower," Johns HOpkins Hospital Bulletin XIV (1903), 263-70 is poor history, but it provides some information about Fuller. loHolmes, "Medical Profession," 316. 11Bell, "Medical Practice," 444. 12Shryock, Medicine and Society, 10. 161 the early Colonial 'doctors' (for all of them were so called, despite their usual lack of formal degree) were quite unlike their British counterparts, as they combined the traditional roles of physician, surgeon and apothecary, so rigidly separated in the old country.13 Their hospitals were wherever they practised, for real hospitals did not appear until more than a century after the first settle- ments.14 Training by apprenticeship was common, and even encouraged.15 It was not wholly a bad thing, for through apprenticeship the clinical factor was introduced into medical training, and the apprentice probably gained twice as much in a practical sense by following his master on the daily rounds than by a more formal (and less clinical) education that was largely beside the point anyway, two hundred years before the germ theory of disease. Lisencing of practitioners was uncommon in seven- teenth-century New England, and when it was done, it was usually after the 'candidate' had proven his competence in 16 actual practice for some time. There were no minimum standards at all, at least in the period when WinthrOp 13Boorstin, Colonial Experience, Part Eight; Shryock, Medicine and Society, 10. 14Ibid., 22. 15Beinfield, "New England Doctor," 105-6. 16£§i§,, 279; Shryock, Medicine and Society, 12. 162 began his practice, unless we take in account a Massachu- setts law of 1649 which provided that "Chirurgions, Mid- wives, Physitians or others" were forbidden to "exercise, or put forth any act contrary to the known approved Rules Of Art," or use violence against their patients. Even this mild legislation was tempered with the provise that the law was "not intended to discourage any from all lawful use of their skill, but rather to incourage and direct 17 them in the right use thereof." Thus the way was left Open for charlatanism, which was seen as early as the Massachusetts scurvy-water episode of 1631.18 Even honest practitioners could hardly make a living through medicine alone, for the scarcity of medical men was not matched by a corresponding guarantee of income for those willing to emigrate. Payment in produce was common, as cash was generally scarce in the seventeenth century, and (as everywhere) the peOple who generally needed the most medical 19 The constant aid were those least able to pay for it. complaint of the seventeenth-century New England physician was inability to collect debts except in court,20 and a 17Mass. Bay Records II, 278. 18Mass. Bay Records I, 83. 19Bell, "Medical Practice," 446 ff. 0 U U G . U a Phy31c1ans' suits are often found in colonial records. 163 situation was created in which, as Beinfield has stated, the "physician as a separate entity was indeed rare." Many 'doctors' were actually supported by public funds, and some earned a living through farming, real estate, or the sale of merchandise.2.l Giles Firmin of Ipswich was a case in point. He wrote the elder Winthrop in 1639 that "the gaines of Phy- sick will not finde mee with bread," and he was considering emigration to a new plantation; he was "strongely sett Vpon to studye DiuinIiltie. my studyes else must bee lost: for 22 The combination of medi- Physick is but a meane helpe." cine and divinity was not accidental, for a minister could make a living in Puritan New England, if many medical prac- titioners could not. Thus it was for two reasons that ministers took over the duties of physicians; lack of trained practitioners, and inability to support one's self through medicine alone. Ministers (some of whom might have pre- ferred to be doctors) served, perhaps as the only 'intellec- tuals' in the community, as both medical and religious advisers to the congregation. Thus was born (or reborn) what Cotton Mather termed the "Angelic Conjunction," the minister acting as healer to 21Beinfield, "New England Doctor," 101. 22Giles Firmin, Ipswich, to John Winthrop, Sr., 26 December 1639; WP_IV, 163-4. 164 the body as well as the spirit. In the Magnalia he re- minded his readers that this was only a return to an earlier state of things, "as indeed it is well known that, until two hundred years ago, physick in England was no profession distinct from divinity; and accordingly princes had the same persons to be their physicians and their confessors."23 Mather's knowledge of medical history was somewhat idyllic (although well informed about the discoveries of contem- porary medicine, he still subscribed to the 'declining ages' theory of history), yet his ideas fit well enough into his concept of the 'return to purity' that was the City on a Hill Of New England. He felt, as did his fellow ministers, that the “Angelic Conjunction" was a responsibility and duty as well. As the Puritan ministry stepped in to fill the void created by the lack of qualified medical practitioners, so did the magistracy. A good example of the amateur governor-physician was WinthrOp's own father, who visited the sick and dispensed medicine when necessary. The Win- thrOp Papers occasionally mention his remedies, and show that as his son was to do, he adhered to the 'Paracelsian compromise' between Galenical and chemical remedies outlined 24 in the Introduction. He used such herbal simples as black 23Mather, Magnalia, I, 475, 493. 24Debus, English Paracelsians, 49-81. 165 hellebore, St. John's wort, cinquefoil and fennel,25 as well as native New England plants and substances of mythi- cal virtue such as "unicorn's horn" [narwhal 'horn'] and Bezoar stone.26 On the chemical side, he seems to have introduced the purging "antimonial cup" to New England,27 and employed 28 COpperas, saltpeter and "emplastrum Paracelsi." In fact the son learned more than a little iatrochemistry from the father, as in a letter of 1638 wherein Winthrop, Jr. was advised that for the fluxe there is no better medicine then the [antimonial] Cuppe vsed 2 or 3 times: and in case Of 29 suddain torments a Clyster of a quart of water boyled to a pint which with the quantity of 2 or 3 nuttmeggs of Salt- 30 peeter boiled in it will give present ease." There were 25WinthrOp, Sr. applied to the London physician Ed. Stafford for medical advice, and Stafford returned a most interesting MS. of remedies. It is reprinted with Oliver Wendell Holmes' commentary in Proc. V, 379-99. 26John Endecott, n.p., to John WinthrOp, Sr., EE- January 1635/36; WP III, 221-2. 27The cup is mentioned in John Winthrop, Sr.'s cor— respondence as early as 1637 (WP III, 378) although there is no indirect proof of one beifig in his possession until 1638. The device is discussed by John W. Farlow, "The Antimonial Cup of the Seventeenth Century," Proc. LX, 150- 60. The cup, well known as an iatrochemical remedy in England, reacted with the wine contained in it. 28John Winthrop, Sr., [Boston], to JW jr., 12 Decem- ber 1634; WP III, 178; John WinthrOp, Sr., [Boston], to JW jr., 4 11er 1636; W3, 245. 29A Clyster was an enema. 30 W_P_ IV, 3. John WinthrOp, Sr., [Boston], to JW jr., ca. 1638, 166 a mortar and pestle, three syringes and two trepanning 31 and John Cot- knives in the elder WinthrOp's inventory, ton (not, as Beinfield suggested, Cotton Mather32) praised him as a "Helpe for our Bodies by Physick, for our Estates by Eéflfu33 When John Winthrop, Jr. established his settlement in the Pequot country of Connecticut, he found himself in even a worse situation than his father and the first magis- trates of Massachusetts-Bay; for some time there was no one except himself to dispense medicine in a wide area around New London.34 One gets the idea from the sudden extent of Winthrop's medical correspondence that he must have been the only practitioner in the whole of Connecticut, but this was not the case. There were others during the first years of his practice, and a brief survey of their activities shows not only how well they fit into the colonial mold, but how much need there was for an additional 'physician' of Winthrop's wide reading and imagination. There was Nicholas Augur, who appears in the rec- ords of the New Haven colony as early as 1643, and may well 31Inventory of John Winthrop, Sr.'s Estate, WP‘V, 333-6. 32Beinfield, "New England Doctor," 122. 33As cited by Mather, Magnalia, I, 131. 341 have been able to locate no other practitioner in New London during Winthrop's residence there. 167 have been the only practitioner in Hooker's settlement for some time. Augur made frequent appearances in court to collect his medical fees, which had to be supplemented 35 Thomas Lord, a schoolmaster who had been by trading. brought before the Connecticut General Court in 1648 for "selling Lead to an Indian," was granted in 1652 a yearly salary of fifteen pounds from "the Country" for "setting of bones and otherwise, as at all times occassions and necessityes may or shall require." In addition he was allowed private fees (which were set by the Court) for visits in Hartford, Windsor, Wethersfield, Farmington and Mattabeseck.36 Jasper Gunn, who removed from Roxbury to Hartford 23. 1646, was eventually freed from training, watching and 37 warding "during his practise of phissicke." But he had to augment his income by selling and repairing metalware.38 John Pratt of Salem moved to Hartford in 1637 but was un- happy there. Winthrop senior recalled that Pratt "had good practice and wanted nothing. But he had been long discontented, because his employment was not so profitable 35Beinfield, "New England Doctor," 273-5, discusses Augur. 36Conn. Records I, 167, 234, 259. 37Ibid., I, 298. 38Gordon, Aesculapius, 189. 168 to himself as he desired, and it is like he feared lest 39 Pratt left he should fall into want in his Old age." for the Continent in 1644, long before the younger Win- thrOp's removal to Pequot, but was lost in a shipwreck. Bryan (Bray) Rossiter moved from Dorchester, Mass. to Windsor, Conn. in 1639, was subsequently admitted to practice by the General Court upon the testimonial of three witnesses including Thomas Hooker,40 and eventually settled at Guilford where he built up a large practice. Yet although he was more successful than most, his name appears in the Connecticut records more than once as plaintiff in suits for recovery of debt. Winthrop was not driven by the necessity of making a living, as were his fellow Connecticut practitioners. He was moderately wealthy, and could if necessary dispense his medical aid gratis. He had read widely in medical theory and practice, if his reconstructed library (which contains an enormous variety of medical authors, in variety from Galen and Hippocrates to Paracelsus and Helmont) is any index to his knowledge in 1649. 39Winthrop, Journal, II, 249; Beinfield, "New Eng- land Doctor," 121. 40Rossiter is discussed by Walter R. Steiner, "Some Early AutOpsies in the United States," Johns Hopkins Hospi- tal Bulletin XIV (1903), 201-3. See also R. D. Smuth, "Dr. Bryan (or Bray) Rossiter of Guilford, Conn., and his De- scendants," New England Historical and Genealogical Register LV (1901), 149-54. 169 In fact he had all the qualities necessary for an ideally successful practice in colonial New England; inde- pendent means, the prestige Of the magic WinthrOp name, access to his own reference library, and what was most im- portant, a human 'bedside manner' that enabled him to treat Indians as well as magistrates and be loved by both. What he lacked in formal training, he soon made up by reading and clinical experience. Winthrop started by treating his own colonists for their varied ailments, but as word of his success spread among the Connecticut towns, he began to receive requests for medical advice by seventeenth-century New England's several substitutes for "mail.” These letters, which would in future years make up a large percentage of his corres- pondence, arrived slowly at first. Late in 1649 Roger Williams asked for a little of WinthrOp's "powder" for an ill neighbor,41 and in January 1649/50 there was a request from Winthrop's niece Martha Johanna Lyon, who lived at Stamford, Connecticut. She had been receiving white copperas [hydrated Fe203. 3803] for treatment of a sore from Winthrop senior, but now sought it from the younger Winthrop, or "any thing else that you know of that may be good for me in that respect."42 By 41Roger Williams, Narragansett, to JW jr., 10 Novem- ber 1649; WE V, 376-7. 42Martha Johanna Lyon, Stamford, to JW jr., 23 January 1649/50; Proc. 2nd ser., VI, 14-15. 170 the next month he was sending chemical medicines to Hart- ford, from whence William Gibbons wrote to thank him "for the powder."43 And so it continued. As WinthrOp's medical practice was beginning, he received a significant letter from his favorite friend in England. Dr. Child wrote in August 1650 in answer to a message of WinthrOp's, now lost. He was happy to hear that WinthrOp had read Helmont's works, and ventured his Opinion of them; "though they conteyne many good thinges, yet they fall very short of the expectation which the world had of him, and truly he hath extracted most out of Paracel- sus He bein[g] as easy to be vnderstood as this man:44 as for some wonderfull medicaments which he in his former 45 bookes promiseth, In these workes noe mention is made of them yet all his workes are compleately set forth as he 46 left them: his son liveth at Lovayne [Louvain], a man of 47 a very meane ingenuity." Child's comments are interesting, 43William Gibbons, Hartford, to JW jr., 22 February 1649/50; W. 13. 89. 4Paracelsus was notoriously difficult to under- stand; Child suggests a similar problem with Helmont. 45In Helmont's quscula Medica Inaudita (Cologne, 1644 and later eds.) 46Child refers to the Ortus Medicinae (Amsterdam, 1648). 47Francis Mercurius van Helmont, who edited his father's works; see Partington, History, II, 242-3. 171 considering the controversy over Helmont's worth which was just beginning in Europe and England. Apparently forgetting that he had informed Winthrop once before, Child told of "a famous Chymist in Germany named Glauber, who hath written a very excellent booke about all sort of Chymicall things, but at this time a booke is not to be had. he promiseth to Inlarge it in the second edition, which is dayly expected." (The second edition Of the Egrmi_appeared in 1651, soon followed by John French's translation into English.)48 Child also mentioned "One Rulingius . . . likewise come forth in Dutch [i.e. German, or 'High Dutch']," perhaps referring to Grfilingius or Philip Grfiling, several of whose works were in print at the middle of the seventeenth century.49 There was more news of new books. "One [Thomas] Vaughan an Ingenuous young man hat written AnthrOpOSOphia, and is printing Phi[lOSOphi]o Adami[c]a." Vaughan's works on spiritual alchemy were just then causing a stir in the Hartlib circle, to which Child belonged;50 he referred here to Anthroposophia Theomagica (London, 1650) and Magia Adamica (London, 1650). Regarding the former, if Winthrop saw it 48Partington, History, 344-5. 49Ferguson, I, 350. 50His name is mentioned in Hartlib's "Ephemerides" for the period. 172 he was to tell Child "what the metaphysicall subiect is, which is the great question now amongst vs [the Hartlib circle] which is the perfection of all things." Also, Cornel[ius] Agrippa de Occultla] Phi[losophi]o" was "com- ing forth in English, and Sendivogius." Child's friend John French was translating Agrippa's pOpular book on natural magic, which would appear as Three Books of Occult Philosophy (London, 1651), with a dedication to Child him- self.51 French's edition of the Polish alchemist Sendivo- gius was printed in 1650 as A New Light of Alchymie. Both titles are among the WinthrOp books at NYSL and Yale, and it is possible that Winthrop looked out for them after reading Child's letter. Once more Child expressed his interest in the black lead mine, and was sorry that WinthrOp had not yet worked 51The dedication is to "my most honorable, and no less learned Friend, Robert Childe, Doctor of Physick." It is very interesting biographically. French states that "it is not in vain that you have compassed Sea and Land, for thereby you have made a Proselyte, not of another, but of your self, by being converted from vulgar, and irrational incredulities to the rational embracing of the sublime, Her- meticall, and Theomagicall truths. You are skilled in the one as if Hermes had been your Tutor; have insight in the other, as if A ri a your Master. Many transmarine Philos- ophers which we onEy read, you have conversed with; many Countries, rarities, and antiquities, which we have only heard of, and admire, you have seen. . . . You left no stone unturned, that turning thereof might conduce to the dis- covery Of what was Occult, and worth to be known." French mentioned one "Doctor Charlet" as Child's companion on his travels, but I have not identified him. Presumably Walter Charleton (see DNB) is not meant. 173 it, "yt we might know certaynely what it conteyneth." He was "more than halfe weaned from New-England, by their discourtesye," yet if his fine were returned, he "would adventure it" with Winthrop and perhaps return to New Eng- land.52 But that was not to be. Child emigrated to Ire- land in the following year. In fact, this may have been his last letter to Winthrop before his death in 1654, as no further correspondence has been found. Winthrop did not even know of Child's death until Samuel Hartlib noti- fied him of it in 1661, seven years after the fact. Apparently there was no quarrel, for in his letter Hartlib described Child as "a singular lever Of your Person," pre- sumably to the end.53 It is hard to imagine what caused the estrangement between these fast comrades. Seemingly the fault for not writing was Winthrop's, for Child's last letters to Hartlib from Ireland show a willingness to com- municate with his old friends, some of whom, he thought, had forgotten him.54 If WinthrOp may not have answered Child's letter, he continued to communicate in Latin with his European 52Robert Child, Gravesend, to JW jr., 26 August 1650; Massachusetts Historical Society Collections (here- after cited as Colls.), 5th ser., I, 161-4. 53Samuel Hartlib, Westminster, to JW jr., 3 Septem- ber 1661; Proc. XVI, 213. 54There may well have been other letters which do not survive now. 174 friends. Greetings were sent to Tanckmarus and gifts to Schlegel in November 1650 and July 1651. The latter were forwarded in answer to his request of 1649, and more "natural curiosities" of the usual seventeenth-century sort; a seahorse (which Winthrop described as "piscis curio- sum conchatilis genus cum cauda aculeata longa et multis pedibus et forma similis equi pedis, ideo vocamus anglice Horsfish"), a flying fish, a rattlesnake skin, ears of Imize or Indian corn, and the horns of a stag. Due to the uncertainties of shipping, the specimens did not arrive in Hamburg until 1651/2, and in the meantime WinthrOp had sent a further shipment including the skin of . 5 a gray fox and more ears of maize. 5 When Schlegel opened his barrel he was most pleased, and returned thanks to Win- throp, explaining that he could send rare chemical, medical or historical books from Germany, as well as metallic speci- mens, at Winthrop's request.56 The letter was forwarded by John Doggett senior, who added much information about Schlegel. He had "many beasts and fowles," a "garden with diverse strangle] plants, which this climate will permit to grow here," but not many minerals (in which Winthrop was interested), although Schlegel "professeth Paraceltian as well as Galens Arte of Phisick."57 55JW jr., Pequot, to Paul Marquart Schlegel, 27 December 1651; W. 5. 10. 56Paul Marquart Schlegel, Hamburg, to JW jr., 30 January 1651/2; W. 18. 70. 175 By 1650 the Pequot settlement was securely estab- lished, and as Winthrop was technically holding no public Offices at all, he was able to devote more time to indus- trial chemistry and metallurgy. True to his nature, he envisioned several extensive schemes which, if doomed to fail for lack of capital, were prophetic despite their failure. Among the WinthrOp Papers is a proposal to the merchants of Boston, In John, Jr.'s hand and generally assigned to 1650, concerning the production of saltpeter. His idea was the formation of an industrial stock company, to the amount of £3,000 or £4,000 and if possible £20,000 "or more," in order to "advance the traffick of the country." As saltpeter was imported in large quanti- ties by "England Holland Portugall and other parts," it seemed a reasonable staple. Winthrop agreed to manufacture saltpeter on a large scale if the merchants could raise 58 but even if they the capital for the works and labor, agreed in principle with his proposal, the money was not available, and the idea did not bear fruit. If he could not produce saltpeter in his spare moments, WinthrOp could prospect-for minerals.. On 13 May 1651 he wrote the deputy governor, Edward Hopkins, that "there hath become earnest motions to mee, from some well willers to the Com[m]on good, to make some search and S7John Doggett, Sr., Hamburg, to JW jr., 3 February 1651/2; W. 12. 133. 176 tryall for mettalls in this Country, and there is hope that there might bee a stock gathered for that purpose, if there were incouragements from the seuerall Jurissdic- tions [i.e. the various governments in the Connecticut regionl." Therefore Winthrop was presenting a prOposition to the General Court. He did not know nor had "heard of any mynes or mettalls" within the jurisdiction of the Court, for he had "not yet made any search, but only pro- pound it for incouragement to any that will bee adventurers and joine in the vndertaking of such a designe." He explained to Hopkins that a [joint-stock?] en- terprise was already under way in Massachusetts, where he had found two deposits of lead ore, one at Lynn and the other at "Nuberry" [Newbury], but "that at Lynn being chalenged by the Towne and so neare the Iron worke, that takes Vp all the wood, that it cannott bee wrought there; and the Towne hath beene at charge for the finding of the veine, but it cannot bee found, and so they are discouraged, for it was onely loose peeces that wee found." This aside is virtually all the information we have about Winthrop's attempts to mine lead in 1651.58 As for the prOposal to search for minerals in Connecticut, Winthrop did "not much desire to haue any thinge put in [the document] about gold and siluer, yet if it be put in, it may incourage some."59 58W. 5. 9. 59 JW jr., Pequot, to Edward HOpkins, 13 May 1651; Conn. Records I, 222-3. 177 The romantic hope of the original settlers to find precious metals had faded. Winthrop's petition to the Connecticut General Court, enclosed in the lettertx>Hopkins and read at the session of 15 May 1651, is interesting enough to quote in full: Whereas J:W: with any other persons that will ad- venture doth intend to bestow some tyme, and charge to search for the discovery of some mines, and mineralls, Of lead tin COpper whereas there are probabilities in this Rocky Country amongst the mountaines, and stony hills or mines, and of most all mineralls: the des- covery whereof wilbe for the great benifitt of the country, in raising a staple commoditie as lead copper tinne etc. which though commonly produced with great charge yet proved great benifitt to any common wealth where they are atteined, and whereas J.W. doth intend to be at charge and adventure for the search, and dis- covery of such mines and mineralls for the incouragement of any whereof and of any that shall adventure with the said J.W. in the said business[;] It is therefore ordered by this court that if the said J.W. shall discover any mines of lead tinne or copper or any other mineralls of vitriall antimony Bismuth blaclead allom ston salt, or any other salt spring, and shall sett Vp any workes or furnaces for the foundeing, melting, or working of any such mettalls, or mineralls within threle] yeares after the discovery thereof, that then the said J.W. his heires associates partners, or assignes shall enioy any such mine, or mines with the land, and woods etc. for the maintenance of coles workemen and necessary meanes for carrying on of such workes within 2 or 3 miles of the said mines, provided it be not within the bounds of any60 townes already setled, or any particular mans property. Tedious as Winthrop's legal style might have been, the document is important as being among his petitions which, if actively supported, would have marked the first 60Winthrop's draft of the document is W. 5. 204. A somewhat abbreviated version appears in Conn. Records I, 223. 178 sustained governmental support of science in the English colonies. Winthrop's petitions to the Massachusetts Bay and Connecticut governments prOposed helpful (and, as we now know, attainable) supports to the economy which were, in a colonial sense but not from Winthrop's transatlantic view, ahead of their time. In a semi-independent economic unit such as New England had become, where survival was more important than speculation and more necessary uses of capital eclipsed Winthrop's comparatively vast schemes, rejection by investors of his proposed survey of the mineral wealth Of New England was not surprising. The fait accompli was not realized until two enturies later. The Court granted his petition, but no capital was forthcoming. Although money was not available for exploitation Of what he might find, Winthrop set out to explore the mineral wealth of Connecticut. One of his collections, made in a stream near New London, proved many years later to be an unknown substance, from which a new element was isolated. The story is not yet complete, and it forms a chapter in chemical discovery that reaches far beyond the seventeenth century. SO much has been written on the subject that it must be examined in detail. On 26 November 1801, the English chemist Charles Hatchett read a paper before the Royal Society of London in which he announced the discovery of a new element. He explained that in the previous summer, 179 when examining and arranging mineral specimens in the British Museum, he observed "a small specimen of a dark- coloured heavy substance" which attracted his attention. He conducted experiments on the ore [columbite], and de- termined that it contained a new metal which he named columbium,61 presumably because the specimen came from New England. Hatchett explained its provenance. "Upon referring to Sir Hans Sloane's catalogue, I found that this specimen was only described as 'a very heavy black stone, with golden streaks,‘ which proved to be yellow mica; and it appeared, that it had been sent, with various specimens of iron ores, to Sir Hans Sloane, by Mr. WinthrOp, of Massa- chusetts." Hatchett wrote that the place of origin was scarcely legible in the catalogue but that it seemed to be an Indian name, "Nautneauge." Thus began a mystery that has occupied writers to the present day. WinthrOp's grandson, John WinthrOp (1681- 1747), was a friend of Sloane (1660-1753), the noted col- lector and president of the Royal Society whose specimens 61Charles Hatchett, "An Analysis of a mineral Sub- stance from North America, containing a Metal hitherto un- known," PhiloSOphical Transactions of the Royal Society of 'London (hereafter cited as Phil. Trans.) XCI (1802), 49-66. Columbium was not actually isolated until C. W. Blomstrand reduced niobium chloride in 1864; Weeks, Discovery, 343. 180 and books formed the nucleus of the British Museum. Sloane's catalogue of his minerals, which Hatchett consulted, ap- pears to read under No. 2029, "from Nautneauge. From Mr. Winthrop." Yet as Mary E. Weeks pointed out, tradition associates the specimen not with Winthrop's grandson but with WinthrOp himself, who was supposed to have discovered the mineral in a spring near his home at New London. She reviewed the mass of often-conflicting evidence by writers on columbite after Hatchett, and concluded that "it seems impossible to prove conclusively whether columbite was dis— covered by John WinthrOp the Younger, first governor of Connecticut, and bequeathed to his grandson . . .*or whether it was originally discovered by the grandson."62 There matters rested until Raymond P. Stearns' re- search into the circumstances of the gifts given by Win- throp's grandson to the Royal Society.63 From an analysis of documents in the Society's archives, Stearns established that "obviously many, perhaps all" of the minerals and other natural curiosities given to the Society in 1734 by the younger Winthrop were appropriated eventually by Sloane for his own collection, "together with some specimens gleaned from the Society's ill-kept Repository, including, perhaps, some of the gifts presented to the Society by the 621bid., 380. 63Stearns, "John WinthrOp and his Gifts," 206-32. 181 elder WinthrOp in the 1660's." Stearns concluded that as both Sloane's collection and the remainder of the Society's Repository were united in the British Museum, "it appears impossible now to separate the items and associate them accurately with their respective original donors."64 But more can be said. Although he was hardly con- clusive on the point, Stearns provided evidence strongly indicating that John Winthrop, Jr. was the discoverer of columbite. First, he pointed out that the grandson's gift to the Society in 1734 was most likely from his grand- 65 Thus whoever gave father's collection of curiosities. the mineral--Winthr0p or his grandson-~John Winthrop, Jr. was probably the collector. The locality of "Nautneauge" would seem to be the deciding factor. Stearns suggested that "Sloane drew upon seventeenth-century sources" when he described the speci- 66 men in his catalogue, and he suggested that the word in question is obviously Nameauge, which was (by various spellings), the Indian name by which New London was known by its inhabitants until the later name became official in 67 1658. Nameauge and Pequot were the semi-official names 64Ibid., 230. 651bid., 229. 661bid., 231. 67The name, its meaning, and the adoption of "New London" are all discussed by Frances M. Caulkins, Histor of New London (New London, 1895), ch. VIII. Stearns, "John Winthrop and his Gifts," 231, noted the identity of names. 182 of the settlement all during WinthrOp, Jr.'s residence there (he left just before the change to New London) and it would have been natural for him to label a mineral as from Nameauge or Pequot. At the same time, his grandson would hardly have used an ancient name for the settlement he knew as New London. It would appear that Sloane trans- cribed data ultimately derived from John Winthrop, Jr.'s hand, and that the founder of the Pequot settlement was the discoverer of the mineral examined much later by Charles Hatchett. As for the spring associated with the tradition, it still existed at the end of the eighteenth century. In 1805 Samuel L. Mitchell's Medical Repositoryreported find- ing that Hatchett's columbite "was taken from a spring of water in the town of New London, in the State of Connecti- cut. The fountain is near the house in which Governor Winthrop [John, Jr.] used to live, and is about three miles distant from the margin of salt water, at the head of the harbour. . . . By the politeness of Francis B. WinthrOp, Esq., of New York, the manuscript papers of his ancestor (JW jr.'s grandson] relative to this place and to the min- erals he carried to Hans Sloane, have been sent to the Historical Society of Massachusetts."68 68"Place where the ore of columbium was found," Medical Repository II (1805), 437. The location of Win- thrOp's home is given by Caulkins, New London, 90-1. 183 These papers (which presumably would settle the 69 question) cannot be found now. But Francis B. WinthrOp recalled the spring in 1803, writing to his brother that it was "about three miles from the sea,"70 and presumably this Winthrop71 communicated the information to Mitchill, also a resident of New York City. Although columbite is found today at other places in New England, there is no known deposit near New London, and Winthrop's specimen may well have been left behind by a retreating glacier. The heavy black mineral which seemed unusual to Winthrop's experienced eye was not the only specimen col- lected in southeastern Connecticut. The detailed list of several hundred minerals given to the Royal Society of 1734 by Winthrop's grandson probably includes many of these, but provenance data are missing.72 Nor did WinthrOp lose interest in the Lynn ironworks, even though his friend Richard Leader left the company's employ in 1650 after 69Martha P. Saxton, Boston, to the author, 13 May 1968. 70Francis E. WinthrOp, New York, to Thomas L. Win- throp, 10 September 1803; W. 30a, detached. 71There is a biographical sketch of him in Mayo, Winthrop Family, 200-5, which differentiates him from the many other Francis Bayards in the family. 72The list is given by Stearns, "John WinthrOp and his Gifts," 216-26. 184 constant disagreement with the undertakers.73 Winthrop began a systematic search for iron-bearing ores in Connec- ticut, and a letter from William Osborne, clerk of the Bay ironworks, reveals that the 'sachem of Pequot' was consider- ing taking some samples to England for assay late in 1651.74 But momentous things were taking place that year which would direct the later course of Winthrop's life. Requests for medical advice were becoming more and more frequent, and in May 1651 Winthrop was made a magistrate (assistant) of the Connecticut General Court, his first step towards the governor's chair.75 73Hartley, Ironworks, 134 ff. gives the details. Leader returned to England But was soon back in Boston with plans for a sawmill in Maine. 74William Osborne, [Lynn], to JW jr., 27 June 1651; w. 16. 41. 75Conn. Records I, 218. CHAPTER VIII HERMES CHRISTIANUS In 1651 Winthrop's correspondence began to assume a decided medical character. A letter from William Peck, barber of New Haven, set the tone: "I haueing h[e]ard of your Compashon and Redynes to help the sick and afflicted: doe macke bold to present the Case and affliction of my wife," who was suffering from pain and swelling in her ab- domen, as well as a whole catalogue of other ailments.1 Peck's introduction sums up the situation. By this time Winthrop was known as one of the more learned men in the American colonies, which indeed he was. He was thus pre- vailed upon for medical advice which his good nature could hardly refuse.. His patients almost immediately came from the highest and the lowest levels of Puritan.society. An early request was from John Haynes, governor of the river settlements of Connecticut, to undertake the care of his wife, who suffered from fits and pains in her side. Win- throp took the case, and treated Mrs. Haynes for some lWilliam Peck, New Haven, to JW jr., 15 September 1651; W. 16. 92. 185 186 time.2 Other Hartford patients were William Goodwin's wife and daughter, who had relief from Winthrop's medica- tion.3 He soon had his first patient in Stratford, John Young, whose wife was hanged as a witch. Young suffered from pleurisy and extraordinary perspiration, and his skin "strip[p]eth all of[f] from head to feet." He lost nails and hair as well, and WinthrOp must have searched his medical works for the diagnosis.4 By the spring of 1652 the letters were flowing in. Robert Bond, of Easthampton, Long Island, thanked Winthr0p for the successful treatment of his whole family, and sent "a fire pann and payre of tongues [tongs]" in lieu of money, the first of many recorded payments "in kind" that Winthrop would receive, when he accepted payment at all.5 His prow- ess was soon known in Long Island, for Bond's neighbors sought aid for their children,6 and in the next month a request came from Southold.7 2John Haynes, Hartford, to JW jr., 19 November 1651; 4 Colls. VII, 455; 10 January 1651/2; 4 Colls. VII, 456. 3William Goodwin, Hartford, to JW jr., 16 December 1651; 4 Colls. VII, 46-7. 4Undated "Description of the disease of one John yong," [1652?], W. 20. 114. 5Robert Bond, Easthampton, to JW jr., 8 March 1651/2; Boston Medical Library. 6Robert Bond, Easthampton, to JW jr., 10 March 1651/2; Boston Medical Library. 7Henry Whitney, Southold, to JW jr., 22 April 1652; Boston Medical Library. 187 Winthrop was soon in need of medicaments, for al- though at least some medicines were available in Boston, there was little variety, and the individual practitioner was left to his own ingenuity. There was of course no 'pharmac0poeia' of local medicinal plants, animals and mineral substances, and one would not be published for over two hundred years. WinthrOp had to rely on European texts and his own observation for compounding remedies from local substances, and he obtained what he could from outside his settlement. Horse-radish (Radicula armoracia L.) was a favorite stimulant and stomachic in the seven- teenth century, and this was the first plant he requested from outside the New London area; John Haynes, who had evidently obtained roots from Europe, sent some from Hartford.8 As early as 1652, patients were tavelling relatively long distances to WinthrOp's plantation for medical advice; Edward Wigglesworth of New Haven (father of Michael, author of "The Day of Doom") queried whether he should ride the distance to New London in July.9 There were complaints of fits, pains, agues, headaches, pleurisies, fainting and 8John Haynes, Hartford, to JW jr., [ca. May 1652,] 4 Colls. VII, 361-3. Although now an introduced plant that has 'escaped' into our flora, horseradish was still a kitchen-garden import in the seventeenth century. 9Edward Wigglesworth, New Haven, to JW jr., 18 July 1652; 3 Colls. IX, 296-7. 188 other miscellaneous problems from all parts of Connecticut. WinthrOp prescribed various medications only known by rather vaguely-worded descriptions in letters of thanks; powders, cordials and diet-drinks are mentioned, but as his prescription records are only extant from 1656/7 to 1669, the composition of these medicines can only be in- ferred. Luckily there is an occasional letter from WinthrOp to a patient, that gives some idea of his medical theory during the early years of practice. In November 1652 Richard Odell, of Southampton, Long Island, wrote to Win- thrOp about his child's palsy,10 and Winthrop returned the following advice: ' I received your letter abouy 2 daies since wherin you desire directions concerning your child, which in- deed is very.uncertaine to doe in the absence of the party, it being difficult to find out the true cause and seat of the originall of such dissease by the most diligent and curious observation, where the patient is dayly present; for though by your discription I judge it to be a palsy, yet the cause of that diseas is often very differing for in some it is through too much drinesse in some too much moisture in some the cause is in the Nerves of the third conjugation of the brainefl sometymes in other nerves, in others it hath its originall in the marrow of the back bone[.] This seemes to be that kind which we call Hemiplegia-where one halfe of the spinall marrow is affected, or 10Richard Odell, Southampton, to JW jr., 16 Novem- ber 1652; Boston Medical Library. 11In the seventeenth century, ten pairs (conjuga- tions of cerebral nerves were believed to originate in the brain. 12Thus causing paralysis in one side of the body. 189 (which is often in others, and makes me doubt it may be so in this child, by reason of the suddainnesse, wherwith she was stroken) it may come from a light ap0plexye (a stronger ApOplexye is commonly present death). 3 This lighter kind of Apoplexy strikes sud- dainly and leaves commonly onne side without sence or motion, and after continueth it wholy paraliticall; it may also come from some thick flegme.stopping the influence and distribution of the vitall spiritts in the nerves, which may also cause that suddaine apOp- lecticall stupor. The cure depends upon the knowledge of the right cause, and not only that but the constant and due aplication of such things as may conduce there- to, which is difficult to doe at a distance. I am not provided of things alwaies ready for such cures that are Usuall to be had ready made in other places at the Apothecaries, and am forced to prepare things my selfe in such cases where any neighbours doe want helpe and therfore am not able to send you many things that might be needfull and I suppose it would be as uselesse to prescribe you such receipts as phisitians commend in these cases, which I know it is not probable any of them to be had with you; if the child were neere me I might doe mine indeavour to provide such things as I could heare make my selfe and see to the due admini- stration thereof, otherwise I account it an hOpelesse [task? word omitted] to direct for the cure of so dan- gerous a disease, wherin the best meanes often faile of helpe: some generall things that may be helpfull in all kinds of those diseases I shall mention. There is a Coldnesse commonly accompanes this disease, what ever other cause be[;] therfore warmeth by aplication of hares or Fox Furre (which is also specificall to para- liticall distempers) or in want therof Racoones or lambs, or swannes or such as can be had: also artifi- ciall meanes of heat, by hott clothes hott trenchers. or brickes wraped up in cloths aplied to the place most bennummd also oyntments of hott chimicall oyles, as of rosmary tyme origanum 4 also oyle of castor mixed with a greater quantaty of oyle of wormes, and Fox grease, or for want of those with Fox grease alone: or which l3Winthrop's meaning is clear, if his transcription of the letter (the document is a COpy) is not. 14 . . . . . . Origanum lS oregano. Its mediCinal Virtues are dis- cussed by John Gerarde, The Herball, ed. T. Johnson (London, 1636), 665-9. 190 is counted very efficatious the Balsam of Guido15 if you have any, (it is an ordinary knowne oyntment) though at_present I have none of it, but have sent you an other oyntment instead thereof, with which, or with any of the other if they be too be had anoynt the whole backe bone as hott as can be endured and that side that is affected twice a day covering it presently with hott clothes. Also the aplying of cupping glasses to the heads of the muskles. They must be such glasses as have very narrow mouths, and must be aplied without scarification, and with a great, and quick flame but must not continue on long, as in other cases, but be often reiterated and a plaister of colophony frankin- cense and rosin with the pouder of Bayberries, these mixed with as much melisett plaister all melted to- gether and made into a plaister, and aplied to the places after the cupping glasses.16 Also some bathes wherin the decoction of Betony rosmary sage17 in a quantaty of sweete sacke or muskadell,18 but better the spiritts of those herbes, and other hott-herbes mixed with it; but speciall care must be in the using of a bath least it overcome the patient or too much 15Balsam of Guido was composed of myrrh, Peruvian balsam, amber and other "resins,“ distilled in Venice tur- pentine and water. 16Colophony was made by boiling fir resin or dis- tilling it; William Salmon, Pharmacopoeia Londinensis (London, 1707), 161. The frankincense of the ancients was olibanum, the resin of the Boswellia serrata, an Indian conifer. Later the term was applied to the resin of the spruce fir; George Wood and Franklin Bache, The Dispensa- tory of the United States of America (Philadelphia, 1839), 478, 515: Gerarde, Herball, 1435-6. WinthrOp's "rosin" was fir resin. Bayherries had many medicinal virtues; Gerard, Herball, l406[recte 1408]. "Melisett plaister" was compounded of clover juice, oil, wax, resin and turpen- tine; Gerarde, Harball, 1206. Winthrop here recommends the use of a cupping or bloodletting glass without scarification, to serve as a counter-irritant; see OED, cupping, sub-heading for dry—cupping. l7Gerarde described the medical virtues of betony, rosemary and sage; Herball, 714, 1292, 764. 18 Muskadell here means muscatel wine. 191 relax the nerves, by being too long in it or too hott aplied: I use in such cases a bath of mineral spiritts, which I find both safe and effectuall in many cases comming neere the virtue of the naturall bathes, which must be used immediately after it is prepared, therfore I never prepare it but as it is used, nor cannot con- trive a way to supply you with it so farre of[f]: I commend also to be Used inwardly the decoction of Guaicum, and sassaparilla19 also some drops of the spirit of rosmary in beere if it may be had, or in want of it Rosemary boyled in broth and taken often. A vomitt, in some kind of such disease is usefull but not in every kind. An Issue20 on the contrary arme or legge as the nature of the disease appeares if most upward in the legge if most downwards in the arme: may be usefull, but if she be of a very spare body it will not be good: this is what I can for present advise. Winthrop's advocacy of the traditional Galenic qualities (hot, cold, dry and moist), so well illustrated by Oliver Wendell Holmes,22 was as natural for the seven- teenth century as the prescription of such animal remedies as fox fur and various sorts of fats. Herbal remedies pre- dominated in this particular letter, as they did in medical 19WinthrOp's copy of Paracelsus' Baderbfichlin (Appendix, No. 199) informed him about the medicinal value of baths. A long discussion of guaiacum is found in Wood and Bache, Dispensatory, 339-43, and Gerarde devotes a chapter to it; Herball, 1611-12. WinthrOp's sarsaparilla was probably the root of the Peruvian bindweed (Gerarde, Herball, 859-61), rather than the North American wild sar- sapariIla, Aralia nudicaulis. 20An issue was an incision made to cause a dis- charge (OED). 21JW jr., Pequot, to Richard Odell, 27 November 1652; Boston Medical Library. 22Holmes, "Medical Profession," 318-19. 192 practice until the twentieth century. Winthrop's "chimicall oyles," obtained in this case from herbs by chemical pro- cesses, were still "Galenical" remedies in the great spec- trum that made up the Paracelsian compromise. Yet Winthrop often prescribed chemical medicaments for his patients. Like the other remedies, these were com- pounded in his laboratory at New London, sometimes from substances of his own composition, but more often from chemi- cals obtained at some trouble and expense from England and EurOpe. (There is, for example, a statement in German from one Martin Kregier, dated 14 May 1652, for sixteen pounds and a shilling remaining due from WinthrOp for a shipment 3 Sometimes ingredi- of "salvitrii" [sal vitriol, FeSO4].2 ents could be had closer to home; in 1654 John Pynchon of Hartfordwas able to send conserve of roses in a "gally pot," china root, and fine seed pearls, but red coral, cyclamen and scabious were not to be had..24 23Martin Kreiger, n.p., to JW jr., 14 May 1652; W. 14. 106. 24John Pynchon, Hartford, to JW jr., 26 July 1654; W. 16. 131. The preparation of conserve of roses is des— cribed by Gerarde; Herball, 1264-5. China root was highly prized in the seventeenth century; Wood and Bache, Dis en- satory, 505; Gerarde, Herball, 1617-19. Pearls were held to have many medicinal virtues; Salmon, Pharmacopoeia, 414- 15. Coral was a pOpular seventeenth-century remedy. Nicho- las Lemery, A Course of Chymistry (London, 1698), 340-8, devotes a chapter to it and its preparations. Coral was mentioned in the U.S. Dispensatory as late as Wood and Bache, 1138. The principal ingredient of coral was CaCO3, which 193 Fortunately a large fragment of Winthrop's medical records has been preserved, and more than his correspon- dence--which is as vague about the nature of remedies as that of physicians before and after him--these prescriptions give a clear picture of his attitude toward the renewed controversy between the iatrochemists and traditionalists taking place in the second half of his lifetime. WinthrOp was brought up in the spirit of the "Paracelsian compromise" of the Elizabethans, when, as Debus has written, "the occult aspects of Paracelsian thought were rejected while the new remedies were eagerly adopted, provided they proved their 25 Just as each English physician had to strike his worth." own balance between chemical and Galenical remedies, so did Winthrop. He began active practice after the publication of Helmont's works, at the beginning of the 'chemical contro- versy' in seventeenth-century England, and it is not sur- prising to find that his 'balance' was weighted heavily on the chemical side. The sources of Winthrop's particular compromise are complex. The Appendix shows that most of the significant documents of iatrochemistry were in the WinthrOp library, from Paracelsus and his editors to effervesced in the stomach. Cyclamen, or more commonly sowbread, is discussed by Gerarde, Herball, 843-6. He also differentiates the species of scabious, 719-25. 25Debus, English Paracelsians, 175. 194 "Basil Valentine," von Suchten, Libavius (l6 entires), Helmont and Glauber (25 entries). The exact date of acquisition of each volume is not known, and it is certain that Winthrop did not add all the books to the library 26 himself, but certainly he was using chemical remedies from the beginning of his practice, as his father had done years before.27 Yet he retained the Galenical theory of disease, rejecting that of Paracelsus, and the traditional Galenical authors are as well represented in his recon- structed library as are their remedies in his prescription records.28 These remain only for the years 1656/7 to 1669, but correspondence from 1650-1656 suggests that there was almost no change in the character of Winthrop's prescrip- tions throughout his medical career. The two large volumes of his medical records at the Massachusetts Historical 26Few of the books show proof of his ownership, but he did not usually mark his books unless they were of special significance, such as when they were from the library of a noted person; see the Appendix below. 27At least from the early days of colonization, as has been noted above. 28Several editions of Galen himself have been dis- covered among the Winthrop books at the New York Academy of Medicine; De vsvgpartivm corporis hvmani (Leyden, 1550) and Les six principaux livres de la therapevtiqve (Lyons, 1558). Many of’the traditional works of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries are present at the NYAM and New York Society Library. 195 Society29 indicate that Winthrop's most frequently pre- scribed 'remedies' were antimony sulphide, Sb283 (called simply "antimony" in the seventeenth century, as compared to "regulus of antimony" which was the impure element)30, and nitre or potassium nitrate, KNO3.31 These two purga- tives (or rather their symbols) occur again and again in WinthrOp's records, along with reports of how they bene- fited patients by "vomits" and "stools." The two chemicals accounted for somewhat less than half of his total prescriptions, and were sometimes dis- pensed in a downright wholesale manner. On 14 March 1658/9, WinthrOp treated fifteen patients, mostly children. Sb2S3 was prescribed for all but one, who received nitre.32 It must be said in WinthrOp's behalf that despite his obvious acceptance of the arguments put forth in his COpy of Basil Valentine's Triumphal Chariot of Antimony, there was usually much greater variety than this.33 29Winthrop 20a (1656/7-1660) and 20b (1660-1669). Through the kindness of Malcolm Freiberg I have been fur- nished with a film of these volumes. The records are written in Winthrop's "private" hand, often almost illegible and fre- quently using abbreviations and symbols. 3oCrosland, Historical Studies, 109. 31Nitre is discussed ibid., 98-9, 106. Lemery, Chymistry, 363, gives the seventeenth-century virtues of nitre, and identifies Winthrop's symbol for it in his "Ex- plication of Chymical Characters." 32w. 20a. 148. 33There are three editions of the work in the recon- structed Winthrop family library, but only one of them (Appendix, No. 26) could have belonged to JW jr. 196 Antimony sulphide was prescribed in doses of up to ten or more grains for adults; a "Sucking Child" received one'grain.34 It was administered for a wide range of ills, from diarrhea and sore eyes to ague and ringworm. Nitre was a similar panacea, prescribed for toothache and swelling of the gums (for which it was held in the mouth)35 to stomach ache, difficulty in voiding urine and a host of other complaints. Winthrop sometimes recommended doses of twenty grains of nitre, which like other white powders was often "rubified" or "viridated" to change its color. Both chem- icals were taken in many ways, such as with sugar or marma- lade, in eye waters or enemas, mixed with other chemicals or herbal remedies, and were even made up into suppositories with butter.36 WinthrOp sometimes combined his two favorite reme- dies. In doing so, he developed a purgative which has received much attention from earlier writers on his medical practice, who have seldom failed to mention the red powder that Winthrop and his descendants called "rubila." Refer— ences to rubila occur now and then in the Winthrop cor- respondence, but its composition was unknown until Oliver 34W. 20a. 48. 35w. 20b. 772, 775. 36w. 20a. 268. 197 Wendell Holmes found directions for its preparation in the bound Medical Records.37 Unfortunately Holmes did not cite the page number of his discovery, but a search of the Medical Records revealed the entry under the date of 23 March 1663/4. In chemical symbols, Winthrop indicated that four grains of antimony sulphide were to be combined with twenty grains of nitre and a little 'salt of tin' [an acetate],38 "making rubila."39 Holmes wrongly identified Winthrop's antimonial symbol as indicating diaphoretic an— timony [a mixture of animony oxide and potassium antimonate], and subsequent writers from Steiner to Black have perpetuated the error.40 In the early 19203 an attempt was made to corrobo- rate Holmes' discovery by chemical microanalysis of a red- dish stain on the margin of one of WinthrOp's letters.41 37Holmes, "Medical Profession," 335. 38Although modern "tin-salt" is hydrous stannous chloride, SnCl , 2H 0, the seventeenth-century "salt of tin" was the agetat . Its preparation is described by Lomery, Chymistry, 110—12. Crosland, Historical Studies, 108, observes that "salts" of metals included’acetates and sulphates in the seventeenth century. 39 W. 20a. 547. 4ODiaphoretic antimony (a mixture of antimony oxide and potassium antimonate) was widely used in the seventeenth century, but the chemical symbol for antimony indicated the sulphide, Sb 3. Morison, Builders, 286, made the correct identificaticzm . —_— 411 am grateful to Malcolm Freiberg and Martha Sax- ton for their search in the Massachusetts Historical Society files for the relevant correspondence. 198 At the request of historian of chemistry C. A. Browne, the Cornell University chemist E. M. Chamot examined the stained paper and found traces of Sb28342 and NaNO3 (another kind of "nitre" in the seventeenth century,43 which Winthrop may have used interchangeably with KNO3), as well as other par- tially identifiable substances. Chamot informed Browne that a tin salt was possibly present, but his test was in- conclusive and he did not choose to list it as among the 44 Nevertheless it would seem that ingredients of the stain. the essential composition of rubila was that recorded by WinthrOp in the entry that was reported, partially errone- ously, by Holmes. Investigators have generally overemphasized the place of rubila in Winthrop's pharmaceutical repertoire. Steiner's characterization of rubila as "the best known remedy WinthrOp put up and dispensed"45 is somewhat deceptive, 42Chamot stated that "I feel quite sure that in this particular prescription, Dr. Holmes was wrong--it did not contain diaphoretic antimony, but sulphuretted antimony (Sb S ] which I believe was even more commonly employed by pra titioners of the 17th and early 18th centuries"; E. M Chamot, Ithaca, N.Y., to C. A. Browne, 5 February 1923, original in Mass. Hist. Soc. 43Although the name nitre was applied to KNO in the seventeenth century, ancient nitre (nitrum) was somegimes NaNO , and the two were confused until well into the eigh- teen€h century; Crosland, Historical Studies, 98-9. 44See fn. 42 above. 45Walter R. Steiner, "Governor John Winthrop, Jr. of Connecticut, as a Physician," Johns HOpkins Hospital Bulletin XIV (1903), 201. 199 as compared to such other remedies as its two main consti- tuents, there are exceedingly few prescriptions of rubila in the Medical Records. Dunn called rubila "the sovereign 46 WinthrOp medicine for curing almost anything," and Black wrote of the "all-purpose nostrum" that supposedly gained 47 These statements seem to be based par- fame ianurOpe. tially on the assumptions of Steiner, whose research was based on published letters and who thought that prescriptions of simpler purgatives were actually those of rubila,48 and partially on the later fame of rubila as dispensed by John, Jr.'s descendants, who seem to have used the compound prep- aration much more frequently than the simple ingredients of Sb283 and nitre. Winthrop did depend frequently on rubila toward the end of his life, and the medicine was developed into some- what of a family tradition by his son Wait and grandson John. There are many references to the rubified powder in Wait's letters to his brother Fitz-John, including the direction that "rubila be taken at the beginning of any illness."49 An exchange of letters in 1718 between the 46Dunn, Puritans and Yankees, 82. 47 Black, WinthrOp, 170. 48Steiner, "Winthrop," 301. 49Wait WinthrOp, Boston, to Fitz-John WinthrOp, 2 October 1682; V Colls. VIII, 429. 200 aged Increase Mather and WinthrOp's grandson John gives us one indication of Winthrop's high estimation of rubila during old age, between the close of the extant Medical Records in 1669 and his death in 1676. Mather wrote that he "had the honor to be inti- mately acquainted with yo[u]r honourable father [Wait] and grandfather [John, Jr.]. They designed that excellent powder they called rubila should be a publick benefit. I understand yt many persons in Boston have found much bene- fit by it, and I havebin desired to write to yo[u]rselfe & to desire that you would send a considerable quantity of it to Madam Winthrop, yo[u]r honorable mother,50 for the relief of such as the Lord shall please to bless it for yir health. Madam Winthrop never spoke to me ye least word about it, not have I seen her of a long time; but be- cause of her name & yt she has been used to distribute it, I suppose her to be ye most suteable person to be entrusted. It is a principle of charity to my neighbours yt has in- duced me to write these lines."51 Winthrop answered that he was honored to know that his forbears were remembered with such respect; "I bless God that he still makes use of me to prepare & give away o[u]r rubila to the sick & to all that aske it. My honrd 50Katharine Winthrop; Mayo, Winthrop Family, 107. 51Increase Mather, Boston, to John WinthrOp, F.R.S. 23 June 1718; VI Colls. V, 380-1. 201 rellative, Mad. W., who has had of it from me since my honrd fathers decease, may still have of it whenever she pleases to command me."52 Evidence of a family tradition is inescapable, but John, Jr.'s exact part in it will continue to be an evasive one. Steiner's suggestions that "something was purposely omitted" when sending rubila for use, and that Winthrop might have "chose the night 53 are with- season as he could then prepare it in secrecy" out foundation. Winthrop used numerous antimonial medicines in his practice. Among at least six other preparations were cro— 0 I I I 5 I I 0 O cus antimonii, an exysulphide; 4 cerussa antimonii, a dia- phoretic (the nitrate) prepared from metallic antimony and 55 56 nitric acid; white antimony (3 alba), the oxide Sb203; sulphur auratum antimonii (an acetate);57 and antimony of 52John WinthrOp, F.R.S., New London, to Increase Mather, 2 July 1718; VI Colls. V, 381. 53Steiner, "Winthrop," 301. 54'Crocus' was a color-term for yellow. Lemery, Chymistry, 274, gives its preparation and virtues. 55Its preparation is described by John Quincy, Pharmacopoeia Officinalis & Extemporanea: Or, A Compleat English Dispensatory (London, 1749), II, 103. See also Henry Watts, A Dictionary of Chemistry I (London, 1863), 328. * 56James C. Booth, The Encyclopedia of Chemistry (Philadelphia, 1852), 957. 57 II, 100-1. Lemery, Chymistry, 263; Quincy, Pharmacopoeia, 202 58 All copper (d cuprea), copper antimonate, Cu20, Sb205. these substances were, of course, subject to the general condemnation of antimonial preparations in later centuries; they were harsh in their action and quite dangerous if not used in moderation. Yet WinthrOp's immense success as a physician shows that he was able to convince his patients that although ob- viously they had taken something that did not agree with them, at least the end result was beneficial. Undoubtedly in the great age of English iatrochemistry during which WinthrOp practised, there was considerable abuse of chemi- cal medications. Yet Winthrop dispensed with care, and his purgatives and diaphoretics probably did more actual good than harm, despite the general misdirection of medi- cine in the era before the germ theory of disease. Even Oliver Wendell Holmes, living in an age that reacted against strong chemical medicines, admitted that Winthrop's favorite nitre was "a pretty safe medicine in moderate doses, and one not likely to keep the good Governor awake at night, thinking whether it might not kill, if it did not cure."59 The Medical Records give evidence that Winthrop used many other chemical remedies, some of great interest. Among these were sal prunellae, prepared from KNO3 and 58Watts, Dictionary, I, 325. 59Holmes, "Medical Profession," 332. 203 accounted by some as having a better effect than nitre, although WinthrOp certainly preferred the latter;60 alum 1 [aluminum potassium sulphate]6 and the medication "burnt alum" prepared from it;62 63 the old iatrochemical standby 64 sal ammoniac [NH Cl]; blue vitriol [CuSO and white 4 4] vitriol [ZnSO4165, as well as a "distillation of vitriol"66; 67 and 69 several preparations of iron, such as aqua martis the metal itself;68 mercury dulcis or calomel [HgCl]; flowers of sulphur70 and balsam sulphuris.71 WinthrOp used 60Sal prunella is discussed by Lemery, Chymistry, 365—7 0 61Ibid., 433-5. GZIbid. 63Ibido ' 383-40 64Lemery explains the generic term 'vitriol' and the various vitriols; 408-32. 651bid., 409-10. 6611511, 418-25. 67Ibid., 156. 681bid., 153. 69Ibid., 213. The derivation of the name is given by Crosland, Historical Studies, 77. 70Lemery, Chymistry, 437. 71Quincy, Pharmacopoeia, II, 25. 204 several chemical plasters, especially emplastrum de minio72 74 and emplastrum sulphuris,73 but also emplastrum diapalmae 75 On one hand, common salt76 and emplastrum oxycroceum. (sometimes viridated) found a place in his prescriptions, while on the other, the noble metal gold was administered in doses of as much as ten grains.77 WinthrOp's chemical powders were put up and sent in paper packets of different colors, so that they could be told apart easily. White, printed, blue and brown papers were used for differing medications,78 and as early as 1653 Mrs. Ephraim Child requested Winthrop to send her "a parcel of . . . physick, deuided into portions for young & ould,"79 indicating that he further simplified 72The plaster was compounded of red lead, olive oil and vinegar; ibid., II, 315. 73Winthrop made the plaster of flowers of sulphur, turpentine, wax, and possibly myrrh and camphor; ibid., II, 319. 74Ibid., II, 315. 751bid. 76Common salt and its derivatives are discussed by Lemery, Chymistry, ch. XV. 77As gold was the most "perfect" metal, so it was held to have curative powers, a belief that waned in the seventeenth century; Lemery, Chymistry, 70ff. 78W. 20b. 824. 79Ephraim Child, Watertown, to JW jr., 23 May 1653; 5 Colls. l, 167. 205 matters by making up "ready doses" of varying size. The ill-tasting packets were opened as needed and their con- tents were forced down with varying degrees of willingness. We can sympathize with the statement of John Davenport, minister of New Haven: "My wife tooke but halfe of one of the papers, but could not beare the tast of it, & is dis- couraged from taking any more. I perceive that some speech with your selfe would best satisfie her; but if Gods provi- dence puttes a barr in the way, we are called to submit thereunto."80 Yet Winthrop's medicines were usually taken grate- fully, and even so traditionally querulous a character as Samuel Gorton expressed thanks in a letter that occupies twenty-two printed pages of the old Winthrop Papers. Gor- ton expressed wonder that "a thing so little in quantity, so little in sent, so little in taste, and so little to sence in Operation, should beget and bring forth such efects."81 William Leete of New Haven commented humorously on the action of Winthrop's purgatives with their "vomits and stools," linking their success to the corresponding jealousy of other practitioners, in this case the local 80John Davenport, New Haven, to JW jr., 10 July 1667; 4 Colls. VII, 531. 81Samuel Gorton, Warwick, to JW jr., 21 October 1674; 4 C0118. VII, 605. 206 physician Brian Rossiter;82 "My wife entreats some more of your phisick, although shee feareth it to haue very con- trary operations in Mr. Rossiters stomach."83 If Winthrop's reputation has come down to us as a chemical practitioner, we must remember that he prescribed herbal remedies almost as frequently. Winthrop paid close attention to the writings of the iatrochemists, but as did most forward-looking physicians of his time, he depended heavily on preparations made from plants, and, at times, animal substances. One of his favorite prescriptions was the stimu- lant and diaphoretic, guaiacum, prepared from the tree E. officinale, imported from the West Indies since the early 84 Spanish explorations. His use of china root, cyclamen, oregano, sarsaparilla and scabious has been mentioned. Others were the ancient enula (elecampane), prepared by 85 decocting the root, and betula, the birch-tree, of which 86 various preparations were made. WinthrOp found medicinal 82Discussed in ch. VII above. 83William Leete, Guilford, to JW jr., 11 April 1661; 4 Colls. VII, 548. 84See fn. 19 above. 85Wood and Bache, Dispensatory, 369; Gerarde, Herb- all, 792-4. 86Wood and Bache, Dispensatory, 1124; Gerarde, Herball, 1478. 207 uses for the American species of birch, despite the meager usage in European practice.87 A host of others included parsley,88 verbena,89 wormwood,90 elder leaves,91 unguent of elder,92 raisins,93 terebinth or turpentine,94 anise,95 96 97 horseradish,98 senna,99 saffron or crocus, aloes, 87Gerarde, Herball, 1478. 88Gerarde, Herball, 1013-14. 89Gerarde, Herball, 778. Its magical virtues are discussed by C.J.S. Thompson, Magic and Healing (London, 1947), 100-1. 90Gerarde, Herball, 1095-8. 91Gerarde, Herball, 1421-4. 92Wood and Bache, Dispensatory, 597. 93Gerarde, Herball, 877. 94Gerarde, Herball, 1433-5. 95Gerarde, Herball, 1034-5. 96Gerarde, Herball, 151. 97Gerarde, Herball, 507-9. 98Gerarde, Herball, 240-2. 99Gerarde, Herball, 1297-9. 208 nutmeg,100 rhubarb,lOl ointment of tobacco,102 betony,103 104 105 agrimony and mugwort. Winthrop also used such traditional herbal remedies as 33991106 licorice,107 great dock root,108 fennel,109 jalap,110 conserve of roses,111 and coriander.112 He prescribed a curious "syrup of baked turnips,"113 and had looGerarde, Herball, 1536-8. 101Gerarde, Herball, 293-6. 102Gerarde, Herball, 360-1, gives a recipe for an ointment of tobacco. Winthrop's was probably made of tobacco and lard. 103See fn. 17 above. 104Gerarde, Herball, 712-13. 105Gerarde, Herball, 1103-5. 106See fn. 17 above. 107Gerarde, Herball, 1301-3. 108Docks are discussed by Gerarde, Herball, 386-92. WinthrOp probably used Rumex britannica L., native to both England and New England. 109Gerarde, Herball, 1031-2. 110Gerarde, Herball, 872-4. lllSee fn. 24 above. 112Gerarde, Herball, 1011—13. 113Gerarde claimed that after being baked, the turnip "drieth, and ingendreth lesse winde," 232. 209 good results from emplastrum de resina,114 as well as de- 116 coction of plantain seed,115 oil and spirit of spike, 117 118 119 120 I I 121 wormseed, rosemary, mastic, camomile, and galls. Often the more ill-tasting extracts would, as were the chemicals, be sweetened with sugar or honey. Winthrop's medicines were frequently taken in that Puritan favorite, beer; at one time he recorded prescribing "wormwood steeped in beere, & somtymes a sma[ll] spoonfull of juice of elder leaves in beere,"122 and other concoctions in beer appear in the Medical Records. Winthrop used laudanum, which in the seventeenth century was a general term for extracts of Opium in wine, water or occasionally alcohol. His nepenthe, 114This common adhesive plaster is described by Wood and Bache, Dispensatory, 869. 115Gerarde, Herball, 419-21. 116Spike, or French lavender (Lavendula spica) was distilled to produce a fragrant essential oil. 117Gerarde, Herball, 1101. 118See fn. 17 above. 119Gerarde, Herball, 1432-3. 120Gerarde, Herball, 754-8. 121Gerarde, Herball, 1348-9. Galls are caused by insects, but are here incIuded with herbal remedies as they are pathological products of plants. 122W. 20b. 812. 210 a drink that induced sleep, may have been an Opiate as well. Animal remedies still played a great part in the seventeenth-century pharmaCOpoeia. Two Of WinthrOp's more frequently prescribed medications were powdered coral 123 and ivory, and he Often mixed the two in a "magistery." . . 124 Oculi cancrorum, or 'crab's eyes,’ were dispensed, as 125 cornu cervi or hartshorn,126 kermes,127 128 ambergris,129 and castor,130 bezoar,131 were amber, spermaceti, 123John Pechey, A plain Introduction to the Art of Physick (London, 1697), 208, and Salmon, PharmaCOpoeia, 124 . . . Oculi cancrorum, despite their name, were con- cretions Of CaCO found within the crawfish; Quincy, Pharmacopoeia, I, 95; Wood and Bache, Dispensatory, 145-6. 125Lemery, Chymistry, 453-62. 126Lemery, Chymistry, 733-6. 127Winthrop's kermes was not "kermes mineral," Sb S3 (Crosland, Historical Studies, 71) but a coccid in- segt from Southern Europe, widely used in medicine; Salmon, Pharmacopoeia, 181. 128Wood and Bache, Dispensatory, 194-5. 129Salmon, Pharmacopoeia, 398-400. 130Pechey, Introduction, 205; Quincy, Pharmacopoeia, I, 79. The Oil was Obtained from the beaver, Castor fiber. 131These calculi are discussed by A. C. Wootton, Chronicles Of Pharmacy (London, 1910), II, 15-19. 211 132 and, as has been seen, pearls. The Medi- 'millipedes,‘ cal Records do not show that Winthrop ever used animal remedies made from dung or urine, more repugnant to our minds than they were to those of the seventeenth century; nor did he prescribe the curious preparations of mummy, blood, man's skull or 'divine water' that make relatively sensational reading for the chronicler Of pharmaceutical 133 history. There are few instances of venesection in the Medical Records, but Winthrop did use the traditional leech,134 and sometimes (as in the letter to Richard Odell given in full above) he advocated bloodletting.135 If Winthrop's remedies do not strike the modern reader (raised in an age of antibiotics and other wonder drugs) as especially effectual, they were at least the best available to the seventeenth-century practitioner, and most of the herbal medicines that Winthrop used were still highly regarded in the nineteenth century. At least as important to his patients was Winthrop's gentle, kindly and selfless manner. John Bishop of Stamford 132Their virtues are praised by Pechey, Introduction, 223. Normally sowbugs were used, not millipedes in the modern sense. 133Wootton, Chronicles, II, 1-31; Pechey, Introduc- tion, 199-226; Salmon, Pharmacopoeia, 189-269. 134Nicholas Augur, New Haven, to JW jr., 1? June 1653; W. 10. 81. 135See fn. 17 above. 212 wrote to him: "you are caried with a delight of doing good 136 and the comment was and lay out your selfe that way"; a typical one. Winthrop kept patients in his home for as much as a year at a time, and when he accepted payment at all it was just as Often "in kind," from whale-Oil to flour. The lowly Indian was a frequent visitor to Winthrop's dispensing-room, and two letters of 1652/3 give much in- sight into his sympathy for the poorer elements Of society, which was characteristic of his practice from the beginning. William Andrews of Hartford sent his daughter to stay with the WinthrOps for treatment during the winter of 1652/3, and upon hearing that she was cured and could return home, the parents wrote that they could not pay "as it is meet we should and desire wee could, desiring the Lord to reward the labour of love you have showed to our daughter and our selves in hir and many others that have stood in need of your help."137 Ministers sought help for their poor parish- ioners from Winthrop; Abraham Pierson of Branford wrote that "The poore man for whom you sent the physicall receipts doth desire in an ample manner as may bee exprest, and as he can conceive to give yow thanks for that yow had compassion on him in his misery."138 136 W. 11. 11. 137William Andrews, Hartford, to JW jr., 11 March 1652/3; Boston Medical Library. 138Abraham Pierson, Branford, to JW jr., 29 January 1652/3; W. 16. 107. John BishOp, Stamford, to JW jr., 2 March 1656/7; 213 Some of Winthrop's friends thought that he was ex- ceeding the limits of charity and should be recompensed by some authority. In 1653 Samuel Stone of Hartford wrote to Richard Blinman of New London that "it will be an insuf- ferable burden to him, vnlesse some way be taken to preuent it. It is euident to me, that if poore men want physick, and are not able some way or other to make allowanc[,] The towne where they line must supply them."139 But Winthrop himself was not of this persuasion. In his chapter on WinthrOp in the Magnalia (titled, aptly enough, Hermes Christianus, or the Christian Physician), Cotton Mather wrote of his "noble medicines, which he most charitably and generously gave away upon all occasions; insomuch that where-ever he came, still the diseased flocked about him, as if the healing angel of Bethesda had appeared in the place; and so many were the EEEEE which he wrought, and the liygg that he saved, that if 140 Scanderbeg might boast Of his having slain in his time two thousand men with his own hands, this worthy person might have made a far more desirable boast of his having in his time healed more than so many thousands."141 139Samuel Stone, Hartford, to JW jr., 12 June 1653; W. 18. 147. 14o"Scanderbeg" was George Castriota (14032-68), Albanian chief and national hero, who temporarily gained Albania her independence from the Turkish Empire. 141Mather, Magnalia, I, 159. 214 Occasionally requests appear among Winthrop's let- ters such as that of Matthew Allyn, representing "many that haue willd me so to doe," and hoping that Winthrop would "consider of our want of the presence of such a one as your selfe to liue at hartford, whare you will haue more opertunitye to emproue your abilityes to greater ad— 142 uantage." In the autumn of 1654, Theophilus Eaton de- sired Winthrop to winter in New Haven, "which would be "143 So it went; while towns very acceptable to very many. vied for Winthrop's presence, hopeful youngsters wished to study under him. Such a one was Joseph Noyes, recommended by his relative Thomas Parker as "a lusty yong ladd, not at all rude or disorderly . . . very fitt as I COnceaue for Chymicall workes." Parker, a resident of Newbury, felt that "phisitions are lothe to disclose theyr secrets, and therefore I am not so forward to dispose of him hereabout, But because I heare, that you make not your gaine of the art, and that you haue a singular gift that way[,] there- fore I thought that you might be willing to leaue your skill after you."144 142Matthew Allyn, Windsor, to JW jr., 1 March 1653/4; W. 10. 63. 143TheOphilus Eaton, New Haven, to JW jr., l6 Octo- ber 1654; 4 Colls. VII, 471-2. 144Thomas Parker, Newbury, to JW jr., 27 October 1656; w. 16. 77. 215 Winthrop's pursuit of medicine quickly became qne of the most satisfying (and time-consuming) of his many interests. In becoming New England's "Hermes Christianus" he added a third major seventeenth-century use for chemis- try to his already well-developed penchants for alchemy and the exploitation of natural resources. His rising position in the government of Connecticut would soon re- strict the time that he was able to give to all three. CHAPTER IX IRON AT NEW HAVEN Winthrop's correspondence shows that he engaged in a period Of varied and Often unsuccessful chemical activity during the years following his elevation to the Connecticut magistracy, coincident with the growth of his medical practice as outlined in the last chapter. In April 1653 he received the melancholy news that his friend Schlegel was dead, and later in the year his own daughter Mary was buried.1 But in between his careful letters to those seeking medical advice, he had a number of new schemes to occupy his mind. These included hOpes for the production of iron and salt in southern Connecticut; indigo and potash would soon be added to the list. WinthrOp had written to Emmanuel Downing, request- ing him to look for the Old salt pan that was presumably left behind at the Salem works in 1641. The salt house had fallen down some time since, and the wreckage had mostly been carried away for boards;2 but after some search the 1John Doggett, Jr., London, to JW jr., 28 April 1653; W. 12. 133; Black, Winthrop, 171. 2John Friend, Salem, to JW jr., 9 March 1653/4; w. 13. 72. 216 217 pan was located. Downing thought it "not worth the double loading and unloading" necessary to ship it to the Pequot settlement.3 There would be further correspondence about the salt pan. Meanwhile, in March 1652/3 Winthrop pro- cured a town grant from the Pequot colony to further an idea that was as old as his first plans for settlement; he was authorized to excavate and use any materials necessary for the mining and processing of iron.4 As so many of WinthrOp's schemes, the New London iron works was never to pass the planning stage. Similarly unsuccessful was Winthrop's idea for producing indigo dye. Trials had already been made in Salem before Emmanuel Downing wrote his thoughts to Win- thrOp in 1653/4; "you know here growes a weed verie plentifullie in these parts which produceth indico as good as that which comes from the East Indyes, being farr better then the west Indy indico, wee can perceive noe difference betwene the weed which growes here and that of Barbados but only in the colour of the flowers." Downing explained that "Some haue mad[e] tryall of it here, but with much more labour then there needs, for after they had steeped 3Emmanuel Downing, Salem, to JW jr., 15 March 1652/3; 4 Colls. VI, 80. Downing had previously written JW jr. of the "good store of salt" made at Lynn, Massachusetts; "they prepare their liquor in woodden pans as I am informed." 4 C0118. VI, 78. 4New London Records, 1651-1660, 39-40. 218 it in water, they beated with staves vntill it thickned, whereas an instrument made like a west-country churne would with ease effect yt." Uncle Downing suggested that "If the weed growes there as it doth here you may make a buisines of it to good account, if [it] growes not there or not see plenti- fullie as to maynteyne a worke, you may easily procure seed from Barbados or hence to begynne the buisines." Downing's friends had been experimenting on the wild indi- go, Baptisia tinctoria L., which still grows naturally in New England. As indigo had been imported as a dyestuff at least as early as 1639,6 a native industry might have been distinctly profitable. But the Baptisias, or "false indigos," produce a poor grade of dye not at all equal to Downing's brave description.7 As Weeden wisely Observed, "it is always thus easy for colonists to err in estimating new products."8 Yet with his usual enthusiasm, Winthrop searched for an approved process for extracting indigo, and 5Emmanuel Downing, Salem, to JW jr., 13 March 1653/4; 6Weeden, History, I, 142. 7Asa Gray, A Handbook of the Flowerin Plants and Ferns of the Central and Northeastern Unite States, ed. B. L. Robinson and M. L. Fernald (New York, 1908), 505- 6. 8Weeden, History, I, 194. 219 undoubtedly looked that summer for the plant itself. In the Papers is a sheet in Winthrop's hand titled "The re- ceipt for making of Indigo," which reads as follows: 1 or 2 houres after the herb is cutt, lay it in a fatt,9 presse it downe hard with a beame over cross barres that aire may come to it till it worke & raise the barrs, let it lye 24 houres, then fill the fatt halfe full of water till the weede rott in the water, vsually in 24 houres, then fill the fatt full. SO lett it stand vntill it come to a coulor within 3 daies tyme[;] the weede vnrotted take out [and] lett the rest stand 24 houres more then stirre it that it may all runne out into an other fatt: then beate it & poure it in & out with bucketts & that incessantly, till it come to one perfect coulor, lett it then set- tle, make then a tap to draw forth all the thin water, then take vp the bottom remaining into baggs that will hold 5 pound weight, made of strong canvasse with an hoope on the tOp, & then a stick acrosse, by which hang it in a house & save the droppings, which will make a good Coulor (so the first drawne water a reas- onable coulor)[;] in an houres tyme the water will all dropp out of the bagge, then take the remaining Indico into boxes, in which lay the Indico some 3 fingers thick, which set in the sunne & let them candy (else in an oven or stove to dry temperately not in hast,) then whilest it is drying slice it with a knife.10 It is not known where Winthrop Obtained his process for indigo, but it is possible that he took Downing's hint and sought advice from Barbados; this is substantiated by a note at the end of the document suggesting that cotton also was "like to grow" in Connecticut, for two of Barbados' four main export crops were cotton and the product Of the 11 true indigo plant, Indigofera tinctoria L. Winthrop's 9. i.e. a barrel or cask. 10The document is printed in 4 Colls. VI, 82-3. 11Alan Burns, History of the British West Indies (New York, 1965), 226. 220 process was essentially the same as other accounts of the preparation of indigo in the seventeenth century.12 The essential chemistry is simple. The desired indigotin is insoluble in water; fermentation of the plant produces the soluble and colorless indoxyl; subsequent exposure to air oxidizes the indoxyl and produces indigotin again, which precipitates.l3 If Winthrop experimented with the local indigo, or imported the tropical plant from Barbados, no records Of the results remain. An infant indigo industry did not flower in New England, and similar attempts at exploiting Baptisia tinctoria were never very successful. The true 12Compare Samuel Clarke's account in A True, and Faithful Account of the Four Chiefest Plantations of the English in America (London, 16707? "This herb, when its cut, is put into a Cistern, and pressed down with stones, then covered over with water, where it remains till the substance of the herb is gone into the water: then its drawn forth into another Cistern, and laboured with staves till it be like Batter, then they let it seeth, and so scum Off the water two or three times, till nothing but a thick substance remains, which taking forth, they spread on a cloath, dry it in the Sun, then make it into balls"; Part II, pp. 7-8. F. W. Gibbs, "Invention in Chemical In- dustries," in Charles Singer, et al., A History of Tech- nology III (Oxford, 1957), reproduces on p. 693 an in- teresting plate of a trOpical indigo manufactory, originally from Pierre Pomet, Histoire générale des drogues (Paris, 1694), 152. The process as depicted is much like Winthrop's. l3F. Sherwood Taylor and Charles Singer, "Pre- Scientific Industrial Chemistry," in Charles Singer, et al., A History of Technology II (Oxford, 1956), explain the chemistry of the traditional indigo process, 364-5. 221 indigo was, of course, introduced into more southern set- tlements with great commercial success.14 WinthrOp's scheme for the production of potash on Fisher's Island came a little closer to fruition. As early as December 1653 he was urging settlers in-the Connecticut coastal towns to save their wood ashes, and evidently plans were under way to collect them regularly with a sailing vessel. Robert Plum Of Milford replied that he was already contacting his neighbors; "it wilbe the best way to have a litle house by the watersyde to put them in for many com- playne they have noe place to save them." If a shed could be built, Plum would gather all the ashes in the town every two weeks or less, carrying them from the shed to the ves- sel when Winthrop sent for them.15 14South Carolina's indigo industry began in the early 17405 through the efforts of Eliza Lucas, whose father sent her seeds of the true indigo plant from Anti- gua. By 1750 indigo was a valuable export. Miss Lucas married Charles Pinckney, who conducted experiments on the local wild indigo, JW jr.'s I. tinctoria. It was less pro- ductive than the West Indian plant, which was adopted. Indigo was grown to a lesser extent in Georgia, beginning in the 17405. The imported indigo seed grew well on the same land that supported cotton, but was Of poorer quality than when grown in the West Indies, and could not be har- vested as Often. Harriett H. Ravenel, Eliza Pinckney (New York, 1902); David D. Wallace, South Carolina, A Short His- tor (Columbia, S.C., 1961), 189-91; David Ramsay, Histor of South Carolina (ed. Newberry, S.C., 1858), II, lI8-I9; Iiévor R. Reese, Colonial Georgia (Athens, Ga., 1963), 130-1. 15Robert Plum, Milford, to JW jr., 21 December 1653; W. 16. 119. 222 Several letters to Winthrop from the prosperous Boston merchant Thomas Broughton mention the projected 16 Fisher's Island plant, but curiously enough it then drops out of history as another Winthrop project which did not see the light. The reason is uncertain. His hopes for making potash in 1653 are understandable; the chemical 3 With a little Na2CO3; century colonists, anything that resulted from the boiling, evaporation and calcination of wood-ashes in pots)17 was 18 (mostly KZCO to the seventeenth- used extensively in the manufacture of glass and soap. 16Thomas Broughton, Boston, to JW jr., 12 August 1654; W. 11. 53; 16 August 1654; W. 11. 53. WinthrOp had written for and received a lost letter from Emmanuel Down- ing on the manufacture of potash, mentioned in Downing, Salem, to JW jr., 13 March 1653/4; 4 Colls. VI, 81-2. 17Theodore J. Kreps, "Vicissitudes of the American Potash Industry," Journal of Economic and Business History III (1930-1), 635-6. As fireps explains, wood ashes were normally processed in the summer months. They were wetted with water, worked until thoroughly damp, and then lixi- viated in a vessel with hot water. The liquor was drained Off and evaporated in iron pots (which gave the product its name). Evaporation took some care, so that the potash did not burn. The resulting product was calcined until the organic materials were mostly burned away; 633-4. 18Taylor and Singer, "Pre-Scientific Industrial Chemistry," 354, and Gibbs, "Invention in Chemical Indus- tries," 698-705. Gibbs discusses the use of potash in making glass and soap, and reproduces an illustration of a potash manufactory. C. A. Browne, "Historical Notes upon the Domestic Potash Industry in Early Colonial and Later Times," Journal of Chemical Education III (July, 1926), 749-56, gives little infOrmation about the seven- teenth century. 223 Potash had been prepared in New England as early as 1631,19 but it seems to have been largely imported from England in the 16505. Great Britain normally traded with Russia for potash but during the seventeenth century this exchange was cut off, causing a rapid increase from €12 per ton in 1620 to £50 per ton in 1650. A ready market in New England would have been assured for a native product. In 1662 Winthrop presented a paper to the Royal Society of London on the preparation of potash, presumably in New England.20 The text has not survived; perhaps it would have told of the fate of the Fisher's Island enterprise. Despite the unsuccessful resolution of these pro- jects, Winthrop was in a flurry of activity in the winter Of 1654/5. Iron was still uppermost in his mind. John Winton, finer at the Lynn works, wrote in January of the rumor that Winthrop was to "sett up an Iron worke." Vin- ton reported that his 'contract' to work at Lynn would expire in June, and he would then be available for WinthrOp's service. At the same time he recommended the smith William Curtis.21 19Weeden, History, I, 168. 20Thomas Birch, The History Of the Royal Sociery of London (London, 1756-7), I, 102. The sudden rise in the cost of potash is discussed by Browne, "Historical Notes," 749. 21John Vinton, "Hammersmith," to JW jr., 25 Jan- uary 1654/5; W. 19. 102. 224 In February the man-of-all-trades William White, who had been living in the Bermudas since his quarrel with Richard Leader and departure from Massachusetts in 1648, was once more in New England--perhaps at Winthrop's request. He wrote from Rhode Island of his "full intent" to live near Winthrop, and mentioned a previous account he had written "of mynes: of pott ashe: of stilling: of bakinge: of stoves for winter. Stoves for swetting the sicke a Rome waye: of salt works and baking biskett: and many other things. . . . I will keep my selfe unsetled till I heare from you."22 The letter was sent along with one of the same date from Roger Williams, saying that he was thinking of employing White to build a new bridge at Provi- dence, for "It is said he hath skill in most works." Later that year the quarrelsome old fellow was in Winthrop's employ.23 In the spring of 1655 WinthrOp was casting about for likely areas for iron mining. A party consisting of Richard Harvey, Thomas Skidmore and John Wilcoxson reported that according to Winthrop's direction they had "bin search- ing for iron stone that lay commodiously near a river," and had "found some store of rock mine upon Paquanack river 22William White, Warwick, to JW jr., 14 February 1654/5; W. 19. 150. 23Robert Williams, Providence, to JW jr., 14 February 1654/5; W. 2. 122. 225 about four miles from Stratford."24 But Winthrop's chief interest had been directed to the bogs that lay about New Haven. Since the summer of 1654 the leaders of New Haven had been urging Winthrop to settle there,25 and his dis- covery of limonite in the area was causing him to give serious thought to the proposals. As early as 12 March 1654/5, the influential New Haven magistrate and merchant Stephen Goodyear requested at town meeting that "if any knew of any Iron-stone aboute this Towne, they would make it knowne, that now Mr Winthrop is here he may be gotten to judg[e] of it, and if it proue right, and that an Iron mill might be set vp here it would _be a great advantage to the Towne."26 Winthrop's visit set a favorable chain of events in motion. In September, Richard Leader (then Operating his sawmill in Maine)27 sent information about a furnace hearth,28 and actual construction began in the autumn of 24Richard Harvie, Tho. Scydmore and John Willcock- son, Stratford, to JW jr., 22 May 1655 25Black, Winthrop, 173. 26New Haven Town Records, ed. F. B. Dexter, I (New Haven, 1917), 235. A rather fragmentary biography of Goodyear is given in an anonymous "Historical Sketch of Stephen Goodyear," New Haven Colony Historical Society Papers I (1877), 155-72. 27Hartley, Ironworks, 137. 28Richard Leader, Piscataway, to JW jr., 12 Septem- ber 1655; W. 14. 127. 226 1655. By 29 October Goodyear, who had hired twenty men for the job, had "the Damm" in "some forwardnes." He reported to Winthrop that work on the furnace would begin in the spring, and that the total cost Of the enterprise should be about £2000.29 At the New Haven town meeting of 12 November, residents were Officially informed of the plans for the ironworks "beyond the farmes at Stony riuer, wch is con- ceaued will be for a publique good." Goodyear explained to the assemblage that "Mr Winthrop & himselfe did intend to cary it on, only he desired now to know what the Towne desired in it." There was a debate, and although no one volunteered to contribute capital, "diuers spake that they would giue some worke toward the makeing the damm." A total Of about 140 man—days of labor was volunteered.30 Meanwhile Winthrop, who was debating whether or not to leave his Pequot settlement and move the family to New Haven, decided to postpone removal until at least the spring. Goodyear was unhappy to hear of the decision,31 but continued construction of the dam. Another town meeting 29Stephen Goodyear, [New Haven], to JW jr., 29 October 1655; W. 13. 114. A further progress report was made on 3 November; W. 13. 114. 30New Haven Town Records, I, 260. 31Stephen Goodyear, New Haven, to JW jr., 18 Novem- ber 1655; W. 13. 114. 227 was called to consider the raising Of capital (which few cared to subscribe) and labor, as "sundrie who ingaged to work last Court haue not performed, though others haue." Finally, "all the Towne voted to giue a full libertie for ye Iron-workes to goe on & also for wood, water, Iron-ston, oare, shells for lime, or what else is necessary for that worke," as long as private land was unmolested. The neighboring town of Branford, within whose limits part of the ironworks site lay, was invited to do the same.32 The New Haven general court had already decreed that "the per- sons and estates constantly and onely imployed" in the ironworks would be freed from paying rates.33 All that was needed was Winthrop. Theophilus Eaton wrote in January 1655/6 that the project "doe much want both incouragement, and direction from your self."34 Yet Winthrop was unable as yet to free himself from the entreaties Of his fellow settlers at Pequot, and his part of the business arrangements had to be conducted by message and during occasional visits to New Haven. The town of Branford eventually agreed to furnish three-eighths of the 32New Haven Town Records, I, 260-1. 33Records Of the Colony or Jurisdiction of New Haven, ed.-C. J. Hoadly (Hartford, 1858), 149. 34TheOphilus Eaton, New Haven, to JW jr., 4 January 1655/6; W. 3. 137. 228 necessaries for the furnace,35 but trouble arose over projected division of the spoils. The original arrangement was that ownership of the works was to be partitioned four ways, with equal shares belonging to WinthrOp, Goodyear, the combined New. Haven investors and the combined Branford investors.36 Yet some of the Branford participants were not at all satisfied with so much control in the hands of others. The Branford men not only swayed some New Haven investors to demand more control, but they sent a delegation to Goodyear's construction site to help supervise the work. In January 1655/6 Goodyear requested Winthrop's immediate direction. He had hired more workers--some Frenchmen from New York--and part of the dam was complete. He had been carrying out the plans the two had made, but "Brain- ford den[y]ing my present agreement with you they came one [i.e. on] vpon the worke without consulting with your selfe or mee your Agent."37 35Branford Town Records, I, 44, as cited by Isabel M. Calder, The New Haven Colony (New Haven, 1935), 158. 36See the discussion in Hartley, Ironworks, 282-3. 37Stephen Goodyear, [New Haven], to JW jr., 4 January 1655/6; W. 13. 117. Goodyear's reference to him- self as WinthrOp's agent refers to the fact that most of the money invested so far was Winthrop's; see Hartley, Ironworks, 282. 229 John Davenport wrote on the same day that the "hast" which Branford "made in the iron-buisenes" was due to "an hurry of Temptation, because they did not first consult yourself about the termes, whereupon they should proceeds, and the order wherein yt all might be carryed on, to your satisfaction, who, by right, should order the wholl buise- nes to your owne content." Davenport explained that Bran- ford's precipitate action "drew on sundry of ours also [i.e. New Haven investors] into the fellowship with them, in the same disorder. But I am persuaded that your coming will set all in a right way."38 The conflict was resolved by two agreements drawn up in February. These were signed by Goodyear, represent- ing himself and Winthrop, and by John Cooper and Jasper Crane, representing the investors of New Haven and Branford respectively. As Winthrop had discovered the site, fur- nished most of the cost so far, and secured privileges for the enterprise, he was to be allowed a fourth. The other investors would finish the work at their cost. Winthr0p was not to share in the first yield of the furnace, but 39 afterwards would be given his fourth. This curious settlement seems to have satisfied all concerned, for there 38John Davenport, New Haven, to JW jr., 4 January 1655/6; American Antiquarian Society. 39w. 13. 115. 230 was no more serious disagreement. A further document was drawn up to settle ownership of the forge when erected; it too was to be "divided" four ways, and the proviso was added that two years after it was in Operation, either Branford or New Haven could build a forge for themselves. In the spring of 1656 further steps were taken by the town and colonial governments of New Haven to support the ironworks. In May a collier arrived to prepare char- coal for the Operation, and the town granted him twelve acres "Vpon a peece of land lying betwixt the great pond and the beauour meddow. . . aboute two miles from ye Iron worke." He was to keep the land only "if the Iron worke go on, and hee stay three yeares in the worke." The col- lier was also to "attend all ye Orders of the Towne," which retained all mineral rights tO the land! Rumors about the dubious character of ironworkers had penetrated to New Haven, the godliest of all the Puritan colonies, and the town wished to have as close control as possible over these necessary but really unwelcome emigrants.41 A measure enacted by the New Haven General Court helped to safeguard the rather shaky financial future of the ironworks in an interesting way. If an undertaker in the business was in debt, and a creditor seized his share 40w. 13. 115. 41New Haven Town Records, I, 279. 40 231 in the ironworks, the creditor was required to keep the money in ths business, and "carry on the said part in all respects as the first adventurer, till the debt be paide by the produce that shall arise out Of the same."42 Yet the ironworks was not progressing at all well in the fall of 1656. Construction had been under way for almost a year, and only the dam was finished. Work had not started on the furnace and forge when Winthrop and his family finally arrived in New Haven to take up residence in one Of the finest houses in the town, next door to that of his friend, the minister John Davenport.43 WinthrOp had retained his prOperty at the Pequot settlement and Fisher's Island, and there is some doubt as to whether he meant to stay permanently in as strict and repressive an area as New Haven, which could not appeal in most respects to his liberal temperament. But the ironworks held his interest, and he quickly set about plans for the furnace, envisioning the same indirect process used at Lynn. The dam had been constructed at the south end of what is now Lake Saltonstall, across the outlet Of the lake into the stream leading to Farm River, which in turn poured into Long Island Sound. The locality is easily found on a modern map; it is now within the limits of East Haven, just 42Records of the Colony . . . of New Haven, 173. 43Black, WinthrOp, 175-6. 232 by the Old road (U.S. 1) from New Haven to Branford. Win- throp's plan was to convey ore by boat from the Quinnipiac River bogs north Of New Haven (now in North Haven) down to the Sound and up Farm River to the furnace, which would be Operated by the water power provided by damming the lake.44 Something must have been done about the furnace by April, for William Paine, a major investor in the Lynn works, wrote Winthrop that he hoped there had been a "full trial" already. He was willing to purchase all the iron WinthrOp could produce, in the form of sows, "for if you haue no workmen to work it in to bar iron, I supose you wil sel it as it is, and if you wil sel it in the sow at such rates as we may doe anie good in it, here [in Boston] are workmen here wil by it, and work it out." Paine was willing to set up a forge at his own cost, if he could be assured of a supply of cast iron from New Haven.45 But problems were legion. Capital was scanty, and WinthrOp could not procure suitable hearth stones. Moreover, there was a momentous event in May that would curtail WinthrOp's personal attention to the ironworks, and require his removal from New Haven to Hartford. On 44New Haven's historian Edward Atwater seems to have been the first to work out the route; History of the Colony of New Haven (New Haven, 1881), 224. The date 1665 in his line 19 is a typographical error for 1655. 45William Paine, [Boston?], to JW jr., 6 April 233 21 May 1657 the colony of Connecticut, which Winthrop served as magistrate, chose him governor. The motivations behind this unexpected act have been discussed by Black, Dunn and Calder.46 Winthrop must have been as surprised as those leading citizens of New Haven who thought that they had secured his presence, and it took some persuasion from the Connecticut General Court before he belatedly took over the reins of government in December.47 New Haven was dismayed, and the ironworks investors were disconsolate. In August Goodyear wrote that he had purchased a vessel from the Dutch to transport bog ore to the furnace, and that a trial was expected soon.48 Yet Goodyear was now so unsure about the future of the enter- prise that a few days later, in a fit of despondency, he petitioned the New Haven town meeting for "libertie to sell his part in the Iron-worke, wch the Towne was not willing to, except it be to such as they shall approve of."49 Goodyear was thus left with management of the works, amid a near rebellion Of new Scots workers who were threaten- ing to leave unless they were furnished with hats, stockings 46Black, Winthrop, 177; Dunn, Puritans and Yankees, 77-8; Calder, New Haven Colony, 159. 47Black, Winthrop, 178. 48Stephen Goodyear, [New Haven], to JW jr., 12 August 1657; W. 13. 116. 49New Haven Town Records, I, 321. 234 and other clothing.50 He took a sample of the bog ore to Boston, where the Lynn furnace expert Roger Tyler pro- nounced it, "very meane" and likely to "produce but very poorly,"51 Nevertheless Goodyear was determined to make a trial, and soon he was on his way to England, evidently to secure more capital and procure some good hearth stones. The stones were eventually sent, but Goodyear died in Eng- land some time before October 1658, still in possession of his share of the ironworks.52 Upon Goodyear's departure for England, the Rev. Abraham Pierson of Branford seems to have become Winthrop's representative at the ironworks. He also wrote Winthrop for hats and stockings for the rebellious workers, report- ing that the New Haven investors had voted to fire them, but "we are resolved to Keep the Scotchmen that when we have a substantiall and suitable hearth we may make the more lasting blast."53 Due to his residence in Hartford and increasing duties as governor, Winthrop decided to lease his share 50Stephen Goodyear, [New Haven], to JW jr., 12 August 1657; W. 13. 116. 51Stephen Goodyear, New Haven, to JW jr., 27 Septem- ber 1657; W. 13. 116. 52New Haven Town Records I, 376. 53Abraham Pierson, Branford, to JW jr., n.d., W. 13. 116. 235 Of the ironworks to the two Boston entrepreneurs, William Paine and Thomas Clarke. The lease was for seven years, and New Haven was once more dismayed. There was a vigorous debate at the town meeting Of 14 November 1657, and the consensus was that "The grant was first made by the Towne Vpon publique respects to bring trade, but if Mr. Winthrop may put of[f] his [share], Mr. Goody[ea]r may his, and so may the rest wch haue adventured in it, and so the trade may be caried to other places, and a disorderly company of worke men brought in here, wch may be much annoyanc to the 54 There was however little that New Haven could Towne." do, as the conveyance was a legal one. The wealthy Paine and Clarke brought needed capi- tal into the business. By March 1657/8 Paine had purchased hearth stones and sent Roger Tyler to view the site. He hoped that Goodman Post, who was evidently building the furnace, would make haste "with them stons, that soe he may mack a blast this spring," and "a full trial of the mine may be made." Tyler had assured Paine that with de- livery Of the stones, Post could "mack a blast" after ten 55 or twelve weeks. The two merchants wished to get the New Haven and Branford concessions to the ironworks on a 54New Haven Town Records, I, 330-1. 55William Paine, Boston, to JW jr., 9 March 1657/8; 4 Colls. VII, 404-5. 236 more definite and legal basis, and sent their wishes to Winthrop as owner; "Theis things conserne vs but for a time, your selfe for continuance."56 It was soon Obvious even to New Haven that Paine and Clarke had brought more than money into the faltering enterprise. Good business sense had been lacking, and of this they had plenty. New Haven grudgingly accepted their part in the business, not without a last rejoinder that the privileges were "intended & granted for the good of New-Hauen & Brainford. . . wch in whole or in a great meas- ure they are like to be depriued Of if any part of it be alienated, either to strangers or others out Of this Juris- diction." Any further sales or leases of shares had to be approved by the town.57 Yet even money and good business sense could not solve all the problems faced by the New Haven ironworks. The hearth stones purchased by Paine were of a poor grade, and when the stones Obtained by Goodyear arrived from Eng- land, those too were unsuitable. John Davenport wrote in the fall of 1658 that a new source was being investigated; "there are good stones at Quarry-Hill, 20 miles from Lon- don," which might be had at twenty shillings a ton. 56William Paine and Thomas Clarke, Boston, to JW jr., 29 March 1658; 4 Colls. VII, 405-6. 57New Haven Town Records, 1, 349. 237 Davenport hoped that "these stones may be procured, & sent by the first shipp in the spring."58 Winthrop took little part in the problems that further delayed completion of the furnace,59 except that Paine (who died in 1660) and Clarke were unable to give him a return on his investment. The ironworks did not turn out its first metal until almost seven years after construction began. In June 1663, Davenport joyously wrote Winthrop that "The freshest newes here, & that which is, e re vestra, is, that they have bene blowing, at the iron worke, and have runne, from the last 6th day to this 2d day [of the week], 5 sowes of iron, which are commended for very good; & this night, its thought, they will run another; & begin to morrow to make pots." Davenport added an old complaint; "The worke is hopeful, but the workemen are thought to be very chargeable, & froward."60 The works continued to produce, if in a desultory fashion, until long after WinthrOp's death.61 58John Davenport, New Haven, to JW jr., 18 Novem- ber 1658; 4 Colls. VII, 500. 59They are discussed by Hartley, Ironworks, 286. 60John Davenport, New Haven, to JW jr., 22 June 1663; 4 C0113. VII, 524. 61Hartley, Ironworks, 286-89. CHAPTER X ADVENTURE IN GRAPHITE During his last years as magistrate and first years as governor of Connecticut,1 when plans for the New Haven ironworks were maturing and medical practice was taking up an increasing share of his time, Winthrop somehow found the moments necessary to engage in several other activities of a chemical nature. His correspondence with transmarine chemists was continued. One of the more flattering letters in the Winthrop Papers is from Sir Kenelm Digby, the courtier-adventurer-alchemist whom Winthrop had met and visibly impressed during one of his residences in England.2 Writing in 1654/5, Digby claimed to "retaine faith- fully the respect j haue euer had for you since j haue had the happinesse to be acquainted with your great worth. I hoped that att my coming into England,3 j should have had 1Black, WinthrOp, chapters 12-13. 2As has been seen, their meeting had probably been in 1642 or 1643. 3Over a year previously, Digby had returned to Eng- land after the end Of a banishment decreed by the Council of State in 1649. 238 239 the comfort of finding you here: which j assure you would haue swelled in a very high measure all the other blessings that God Almighty hath welcomed me home withall." Digby hOped that "it will not be long before this Iland, your natiue country, do enioy your much desired presence. I pray for it hartily. And j am confident that your great iudgement and noble desire of doing the most good tO man- 'kinde that you may (which is the high principle that ought to gouerne our outward actions) will prompt you to make as much hast hither as you can." Digby touched on a point that must have given Win- throp frequent thought; "Where you are, is tOO scanty a stage for you to remaine too long Vpon. It was a well chosen one, when there were inconueniencies for your fix- ing Vpon this. But now that all is here as you could wish; all that know you, do expect of you that you should exer- cise your vertues where they may be of most aduantage to the world, and where you may do most good to most men. If j durst be so bold, j would adde my earnest prayres to the other stronger considerations, and beg of you to delay no further time in making your owne country happy by returning to it."4 Winthrop answered that his duties to a numerous family required his presence in New England, and inquired 4Sir Kenelm Digby, London, to JW jr., 31 January 1654/5; 3 Colls. X, 5-6. 240 about Old chemical friends such as the Kufflers.5 Digby replied from Paris with an interesting scientific letter, in which he discussed the luminescent 'Bologna stone' which he had transported in quantity into France; "after it hath bin some months out of the earth, it looseth its attractiue force of light."6 He reported new developments in the telescope, claimed to have introduced "Peruvian bark" or cinchona to France,7 commended the work Of Helmont, and gave Winthrop several medical recipes; one of these was a sympathetic remedy for the ague (malaria) in which the patient's nail clippings were placed in a bag around a live eel's neck. "The eele will dye, and the patient will recouer." Winthrop seems never to have used the method.8 Another interesting exchange of letters took place much closer to home. The Connecticut settler and Indian agent Jonathan Brewster was among the group seeking Winthrop's 5Winthrop's letter has been lost, but its content is inferred from Digby's reply. 6The "Bologna stone," a native barium sulphate (BaSO ), was discussed by many authors in the seventeenth centu y. They are mentioned by E. Newton Harvey, A His- tory of Luminescence (Philadelphia, 1957), 306-20. 7Cinchona, which contains quinine, was according to tradition introduced to Europe by the Countess of Chin- chon, wife of a Viceroy of Peru, in 1640. It was sold by the Jesuits at an enormous price and was known in England as early as the 16505; Wood and Bache, Dispensatory, 230. 8Sir Kenelm Digby, Paris, to JW jr., 26 January 1655/6; 3 Colls. X, 15-18. 241 return from New Haven to southeastern Connecticut; he claimed in January 1656/7 that "Wee, & the whole Towne & Church wantes you. We are as naked without you, yea, in- deed wee are as a body without a head, & that we might inioye your presence. I feare (kxl sees us not worthy of such a blessing." Brewster knew more meaningful arguments; he had "therefor stirred the Townesmen to grant you what encouragement they can afford you to set vp a forge here, which if you please here to settle, may be one meanes to bringe you backe againe."9 But more important to Winthrop than the vague prospect of a forge in the frontier community Of New Lon- don was the fact that Brewster had suddenly developed a penchant for alchemy in that winter. He had been borrow- ing alchemical books from Winthrop's library, and his com- ments are significant enough to quote extensively. In January 1656/7 he discussed Winthrop's copy of Artephius' Secret Booke (London, 1624), collected with Nicolas Flamel's Exposition of the Hieroglyphicall Figures and Joannes Pontanus' Epistola (Ferguson, II, 212): I am much obliged vnto your Worshipp that at last you were myndfull of me, & sent the bOke . . . by which I have gott much satisfaction & some further light. . . . The booke it selfe gives such light as I wonder that wise & learned men fyndes it not. My worke [i.e. his alchemical process] goes on very well as can be desyred. The many synes giuen in this booke 9Jonathan Brewster, Moheken, Conn., to JW jr., 14 January 1656/7; 4 Colls. VII, 73. 242 I really fynd trew, from the begining to this present; also some Opperationes I see now, as formerly, which before I vnderstode not, now I doe by Artephiui' booke, as the head Of the Crowe, Vergines milke, &c., 0 but espetially the 2d worke (which is most difficult) is now mad plaine, as also in the tyme, wherein I was deceaued, for now I vnderstand that it is farr longer tyme then I thought of, all which, with many other particulars, I shall imparte, when it pleaseth God to bring vs together. Brewster had perused the various contributions to the little volume’for he remarked that The first figure in Fflamonell doth plainly re- semblle the first ingredience [ingredient]: what it is, & from whence it comes, & how gotten; as there you may plainly see sett forth by 2 resemblances held in a mans hand: ffor the confectiones there named, is a delusyon, for they are but the operationes of the worke, after some tyme sett, as the scume of the Red Sea, which is the Vergines milke vppon the tOpp of the vessell, white. Red Sea is the sunn & mone 3 calcinated, & brought & reduced into water minerall,l4 which in some tyme & most of the wholle tyme is red. 2dly., The ffatt of mercurial wynd, that is the ffatt or quintecence of sunn & mone, earth & water, drawen 10The crow's head (black) was one of the supposed color changes that took place during the preparation of the PhilOSOphers' Stone. These colors are discussed by Read, Prelude, 145-48. For Virgin's milk see ibid., 157. 11The "second work," or step in the preparation of the Stone, varies among authors, who often enumerate twelve steps; Read, Prelude, l36ff. Solution was Often the second work. 12Alchemical authors varied greatly in the length of time necessary to prepare the Stone. 13The sun and moon were male and female principles, Often equated with gold and silver; Read, Prelude, 102-3. 14Red was another of the necessary color changes. 243 out from them both, & flyes aloft & bore Vp by the Opperation of our Mercury,15 that is our fyer, which is our aier or winde. Also for the threefold vessell, there ar three, without which three cannot be done: the one for the first mas . . . out of which comes sunne & mone, earth & water; and the other 2 for our Mercurie or fyer ardent, which cannot be prepared without 2 ves- Sels; which fyer is three, as Artephus, 203 page. First, the fyer of the lampe. 2., the fyer of ashes. 31y, the fyer against natuer. 16 It is hard to escape the fact that Brewster's com- mentary is as vague in terminology and adept in circumlo— cution as are the authors he endeavors to 'interpret.' Yet the document is quite unique among the very few seventeenth- century American discussions of alchemical authors. The first [fire] is geometrically to be putt to the first masse, that is sunn & mone; the 2. is fyer, augmented, strenthened to a more fervent, yet moderat temperate heate; and the 3: is the fyer of fyer, that is the sec[r]ett fyer drawen Vp, being the quintescenlce] Of the sunn & mone, with the other mercuriall water ioyned with & tougeather, which fyers are & doth con- tain the whole mistery of the worke; & indede such;a mistery that if you had the first ingredience, & the proportion of each, yet all were nothing, if you had not thf certain tymes & seasons of the planetts & synes, 8 when to giue more or lesse of this fyer, namely, a hott & drye, a cold & moist fyer, which you must vse 15"our Mercury" refers to sophic mercury, or the philosophers' mercury, a necessary material in the prep- aration of the Stone. It was not the same as common mer- cury; Read, Prelude, 103. 16The threefold vessel was the athanor, or philo- sophical furnace; Read, Prelude, 152 and plate 22. 17Alchemical "fires" were not always to be under- stood in the literal sense. Read, Prelude, 143-5 discusses the problem. 18Alchemy was closely linked to astrology by many authors; Read, Prelude, 95-101. 244 in the mercuriall water, before it comes to blacke, & after into white, and then red,19 which is onely done by these fyers; which when you practise you will easily se & perceive, that you shall stand amased & admyre at the great & admirablle wisdom & power of our great God, that can produce such a wonderfull, effica- tious, powerfull thing as this is, to convert all metallick bodyes to its owne matter natuer, which may well be called a first essence. Thus, as Brewster makes clearer in following pas- sages, he thought that he had attained the secret Of trans- mutation. The "Stone" or "elixir" was his; at least some of the traditional color changes had been Observed, and it was only a matter of time before he should reach the culmination of his quest: I may say with Artephus, 200: page, it is of a worke soe easy & short, fitter for women & yong chil- dren then sage & grave men; but these thinges I write to your Worshipp, onely to giue a hinte Of them to your selfe, who may command more of me by word of mouth. . . ._I thanks the Lord I vnderstand the matter perfectly in the sayd booke, yet I could desyre to haue it againe, 12 monthes hence, for about that tyme I shall haue occasion to pervse, when as I come to the second working, which is most dificult, which will be some 3 or [4] months before the perfect white, and afterwardes, as Artephus sayth, I may burne my bokes, for, as he sayth, it is one regiment, as well for the red as for the white. Yet Brewster lived in constant fear of Indian up- risings, which would disrupt his work; "The Lord in mearcy give me life to see the end of.it. I feare nothing soe much as warres with our Indians about vs, who stands ready to 19Read, Prelude, 145-8. 20Metals were related by a common essence, hence they could be "purified" until gold was reached. 245 encounter with the Vpland Indians. What saffety I shall haue amongest them I knowe not, & to remove I cannot. I will rest Vppon God, & lett him doe with me as seemes him good; onely I intreate you giue me what intelligence you haue of any danger approching."21 On the last Of January Brewster sent another let- ter to Winthrop, which further detailed the curious situa- tion. He was in even greater fear of death at the hands of Indians, and asked WinthrOp to send powder and shot to store against an attack. Yet he refused to retreat to a safer place because he could not move his alchemical appa- ratus as it "should so vnsettlle the body. by removing sunn & moone out of their setled places, that there would then be noe other working." Brewster's position was frustrating, for he 'knew' that if he remained and was not killed, he would succeed: "You may marvell why I should giue any light to others in this thing befor I haue perfected my owne. This knowe, that my worke being trew thus farr, by all their writinges,22 it cannot faylle; which, if you had the knowledg Of the practicall parte, you would confess the same with me; for if, first, the body be desolved into water minerall, all 21Jonathan Brewster, Moheken, to JW jr., 14 January 1656/7; 4 Colls. VII, 72-5. 22i.e. the books he had borrowed from JW jr. 246 all the ingrediences thereof, that then this water soe drawen forth putrifye & turnes blacke, you cannot misse if you would, except you should breake your glasse." Brewster explained that he "was wholy ignorant Of the tyme of perfection, which made me runne into error, exspecting, & giuing out a shorte tyme, when as inded I speake it to you, it is 5 yeares, wanting two months, befor the red Elixer by perfected, and 4 yeares before the white,23 soe that my worke will be yet till December next, befor the coullers bee, & 5 monthes after before the white apeare; and after the white stands a working till perfected by the hott fyerey imbibitiones, one whole year after till 24 September." He highly commended the three part volume sent him by Winthrop,25 "which gaue me such light in the second worke,26 as I should not readily haue found out, by studdy. Also & espetially how to worke the Elixer, fitt for medicine, & healing of all maladyes, which is cleane another waye of working then we hold formerly. Also, a light giuen, how to desolve any hard substance into the Elixer, which is also another worke. And many other thinges, 23For the duration of the alchemical work see Read, Prelude, 153-4. 24September 1658, according to Brewster's calculations. 25The compilation of Artophius, Flamel and Pontanus (1624), mentioned above. 26Perhaps solution; see fn. 11 above. 247 which in Ribley I could not fynd out." (Apparently Winthrop had previously loaned Brewster his copy Of George Ripley's Compound of Alchymy_[London. 1591], now at Yale.)27 Writ- ing of the volume containing Artephius, Brewster commented that "More workes of the same, I would gladly see." Brewster was now more than confident of his al- chemical learning. "for Sir, see it is, that any booke of this subiect, I can vnderstand it, thoughe never soe darkly written, hauing both knowledg & experience of the world, that now easily I may vnderstand their envious car- iadges to hyde it."28 Yet he was sure of death, and pro- mised to "shortly write all the whole worke in a few wordes, plainly, which may be done in 20 lines," and leave it in his house secured in a chest where Winthrop might find it. Winthrop, upon discovery of the paper and culmi- nation Of the process, was to look after Brewster's wife 29 In June 1657 Brewster was able to write 31 and children. that "My glasses3O yet sprospers," but nothing remains 27Appendix, No. 227. 28Brewster refers here to alchemical secrecy, which he has practiced himself in quantity. 29Jonathan Brewster, Moheken, to JW jr., 31 January 30i.e. his alchemical apparatus. 31Jonathan Brewster, Pequot, to JW jr., 28 June 1657; 4 Colls. VII, 83. 248 in the WinthrOp Papers to indicate the results of the al- chemical experiments. The aged Brewster died in 1659, apparently in his bed.32 Quite probably, like most al- chemists, he attributed his failure to the same cause as that relied upon by practitioners of magic; a slip in the procedure, rather than an invalid theory.33 At any rate, the extant Brewster-Winthrop correspondence provides an unique and highly significant insight into alchemical re- search On the seventeenth-century American frontier. During his efforts to promote the production of iron at New Haven, WinthrOp kept the necessity of a salt supply in mind. In 1655 he inquired once more about the apparatus in Salem, which had never been forwarded by Downing. Amos Richardson of Boston replied that he would "take some order to have your saltpans conveyed to Boston, that so they may not misse the first Opportunitie Of coming to you," adding that "We are here in very great want of salt."34 Some months later, in January 1655/6, Richard Leader decided to leave his New England lumber enterprise and "goe set on the makeing of salte at the Barrbados."35 324 Colls. VII, 66. 33 I I I I I The same reason 15 invoked for failures in solen- tific experiments today. 34Amos Richardson, Boston, to JW jr., 28 October 1655; W. 17. 103. 35Richard Leader, Boston, to JW jr., 26 January 1655/6; W. 14. 126. 249 Winthrop gave his friend the latest process he had in mind, a design for sun-induced evaporation in Open ponds. Winthrop drew up an agreement with Leader and his partner Thomas Broughton, wherein they promised to remain silent about the process, which was designed as an improve- ment upon the usual sun-evaporation method described long before by Agricola.36 Winthrop called it a "better shorter and Cheaper way then hath bin formerly used by any," and the two incipient salt-makers were to forfeit £20,000 if they divulged it.37 A letter of Leader to Winthrop from the Barbados records the failure of the enterprise, but reveals how the system was constructed. Leader reported that he had laid out £600 in making "a sett of ponds, in number five, being one lower then the other 6 inches, to the end the water might passe from one to the other by little sluces afixed to them for that end; four Of the said ponds were for the hightening of the water into pickle [i.e. the con- centration Of the salt solution by evaporation], the other for corn[in]g the salte that shall be ripened by the other, ponds [i.e. crystallizing the 'pickle,‘ in the general way suggested by Agricola]; for I see cleerly that a small pond will serve to corne the salte that great quantities of ground will heighten." 36Agricola, De Re Metallica, 546-7. 372 Proc. III, 194. 250 Leader explained that he had filled his ponds "and set them at worke," soon finding "salt in my corneing pond, and there being water in all the rest heightening to com in successively, so that every day wee should have raked salte." But then the rains came and the project was washed out. Moreover, "the windmill shafte being rotten & broke, being by that meanes deprived to raise water1x>the ponds," and nothing more could be done at present. (The use of a windmill for raising the water was evidently one Of the keys to Winthrop's secret method.)38 Soon after Leader be- came ill and was forced to leave the Barbados, bringing an end to the salt scheme.39 In May 1656 the Massachusetts General Court, due to the scarcity and high cost Of salt, granted Winthrop a twenty-one year monopoly to produce it "after his new way." NO other person was to make salt "after his manner" with- out Winthrop's license. The method was described only as one "never before devised or practised," which "none be- fore hath knowne or vsed."40 38Richard Leader, Barbados, to JW jr., 16 January 1659/50; 2 Proc. III, 194-6. The word "corne" (crystal- lize) is given the meaningless reading "coine" in the transcription. 39Richard Leader, Barbados, to JW jr., 14 August 1660; 2 Proc. III, 196-7. Leader returned to Maine, and this seems to be his last letter to Winthrop. He died in 1661. 40Mass. Bay Records, III, 400. 251 Yet when Winthrop did make salt some time there- EIfter, it was at Fisher's Island in Long Island Sound, ssouth of the Pequot settlement and far from the jurisdic- t:ion of Massachusetts. Apparently he did not use the ssun-evaporation process, for William White wrote from the IIsland in July 1656 that he would make bricks and a brick <3ven "till panns can be had."41 The pans, or at least one (of them, were being made by the Boston blacksmith Henry IKemble. An agreement of 1656 remains among Winthrop's {papers by which Kemble was to construct a six by eight :Eoot metal salt pan for forty shillings.42 NO further rec- <3rds of'the Fisher's Island enterprise have survived, and :it too must be listed among WinthrOp's unsuccessful speculations . While Winthrop was envisioning production of pot- ash, indigo, iron and salt in Connecticut, he turned his attention once more to the property at Tantiusques, where the deposit of graphite still lay unexploited. Stephen IDay, who had played a major part in the first serious ex- ‘ploration of the area, visited the site again in the spring of 1655, in the company of Robert Sanderson. He reported once more the probability Of a "good minreall," and wrote 41William White, Fisher's Island, to JW jr., 26 July 1656; W. 19. 150. 42w. 14. 91. 252 VVinthrop that Simon Eyre and Dr. John Clarke, both of Bos- ‘ton, were interested in forming a partnership to raise the capital . 43 A sample of the graphite was once more sent to IEngland, this time to the London merchant David Yale, who :reported after consultation that "some Off it [was] good ‘vist. soft and large peeces, other Off it bad vizt. hard (and Flinty which cannott bee cut nor wrought." Yale was sufficiently impressed that he hoped to buy half of the Inine and assist in its exploitation.44 But Winthrop let «out the contract for actual digging of the graphite to IWatthew Griswold.ofSaybrook, who was to mine for ten years .at his own cost and not to remove over one hundred tons jyearly. The latter stipulation is reminiscent of the operation of the English mine in Cumberland, which was Opened only at stipulated intervals in order to keep the price of graphite high.45 Griswold was to have one-third of the graphite and other minerals he found for his own use, but the other two-thirds were to be sold as Winthrop's share.46 An agreement was made with David Yale and his 43Stephen Day, Cambridge, to JW jr., 29 May 1655; W. 12. 116. 44David Yale, London, to JW jr., 14 January 1656/7; Yale University. 45As has been noted in ch. V above; see fn. 36. 46Covenant between JW jr. and Matthew Griswold; American Antiquarian Society. 253 partner William Clarke that they would be sold the entire proceeds of the mine for a period of three years at £20 per ton.47 At this point the Griswold agreement seems to have failed through non-performance, and Winthrop let out an unknown part of the graphite mine to William Paine and Thomas Clarke, who were also subsidizing his share in the New Haven iron enterprise. Apparently the two merchants supplied only the capital, and Winthrop Was to supervise the Operation, either in person or through an agent. By the fall Of 1657 men were at work at the mine, and in Jan- uary 1657/8 Paine wrote that he was happy to hear that they were well, "and are doing somthing. It wil be verie wel if you can find out a good way to bring it [the graphite] to the water side, and I doe think it ware good for you, as you say, to send or goe to se what thay doe."48 Paine wrote about the graphite mine again in 49 and at the end of the month he and Clark informed March, WinthrOp that when "Matthew Grissel [Griswold] comes vnto the Blacke Lead mine, if hee bee willinge still to digge it 47Covenant between JW jr., William Clark and David Yale; American Antiquarian Society. 48William Paine, Boston, to JW jr., 26 Jan. 1657/8; 4 Colls. VII, 403. 49William Paine, Boston, to JW jr., 9 March 1657/8; 4 Colls. VII, 404-5. 254 Vpon thirdes, & to let us haue his parte of Leade, wee will allow him, as wee doe for yours, but forgett not it is soe essensiall for the incoredgeinge the worke; namely that the leade bee keepte together; shuld he refuse that, to let us haue his thirde, then let it rest as it is, & wee shall continue [our?] workemen as haue maide enterance. If there shuld bee any neede of our speakeinge with Math. Grissel, then aduise him to come vnto us from the workes; it is but two dayes jurney to Boston." Evidently Griswold, attempting to make a late start, was being shunted aside. The two merchants advised that "ffor the caredge of the leade to the water side, Rich: Ffellowes is very willinge to ingage; first, by goeinge a turne or two vpon tryall, & after to goe Vpon more serten price; wee conseiue hee is fited for horses, & shall leaue him to your selfe for con- clution, which wee desior you wold hasten, conseiueinge it will doe best to tracke the way before the weades bee grone high."SO Winthrop seems not to have attended to these mat- ters to the satisfaction of Paine and Clarke, and their next letter was a comparatively sharp one. The famous New England transition from godly rule of the magistrates to the influence Of merchant wealth was well under way, and it was already possible in 1658 for a merchant to chastise a colonial governor. 50William Paine and Thomas Clarke, Boston, to JW jr., 29 March 1658; 4 Colls. VII, 405-7. 255 Paine reported that already the workmen would "stay no longer" in a place so removed from the amenities of civilization; WinthrOp had not reported his progress and apparently had not visited the mine at all, "wich caused me to wonder you should soe much necklect youer owne bis- nes: and seing we hard nothing that you had donn about the carage of it, we haue now let the carage of what is diged to Richard Philis, for now is the time to git it donn, or not at al . . . here is a ship to goe for Ingland about 6 weks hence, by wich we would send as much of it as we can git caried and brought hather." Paine outlined the great cost Of having the graphite carried by land and water from Tantiusques to London.51 Winthrop answered that he had engaged a number of carts to carry the graphite from the mine to the nearest water (the Quinebaug, which emptied into the Pequot, was deemed unsatisfactory, and the ore was to be taken to the Connecticut--almost thirty miles away--and transported to Hartford). Paine replied that barrels must be provided for the ore, and more workmen had to be sent to replace the 52 two at hand who were determined to leave. Either WinthrOp 51William Paine, Boston, to JW jr., 13 April 1658; 52William Paine, Boston, to JW jr., 11 May 1658; 4 Colls. VII, 408. 256 or the merchants had requested advice from England as to how the graphite should be marketed (despite the contract with Yale and Clarke), and they were informed that the largest and choicest pieces should be sent to England where they would fetch £8 per hundredweight (many times Yale's Offer), whereas the ordinary sort would be worth £3 per hundredweight in Holland, and the smallest pieces and dust would bring but twenty shillings for the same measure.53 The information may well have been conveyed by John Davenport, who cited the same figures in a letter of 3 June 1658 which warned Winthrop against Yale: "this intimation may be Of use to you . . . to prevent some loss you might sustaine by those that will, probably, be trading with you for the lead, knowing of what esteeme it is in London, & concealing it from your selfe, for theyre owne advantage."54 Winthrop was faced with both the unpleasant news of a bad bargain and Paine's report Of a revolt among the 55 workers at the mine, but the latter seems to have been settled by a new contract with Edward Messinger and Woolston 53Walter Elford, n.p., to William Addis, [ca. 3 June 1658], COpy in JW jr.'s hand, W. 13. 28. 54John Davenport, New Haven, to JW jr., 3 June 55William Paine, n.p. to JW jr., 22 June 1658; 4 Colls. v11, 409. 257 Brockway, who agreed to dig twenty tons yearly (the amount was reaching decidedly smaller prOportions) if that much could be raised "by such labor and endeavor by fire and other means as is usuall." The two were to carry the graphite to the Connecticut River, where Paine and Clarke would pay them 910 per txni at the waterside56 and by August work was progressing well. Two or three tons had been excavated and there was a "great heap of small Lead." The graphite was being carried away to the river, but tools were badly needed, especially hammers and a windlass.57 Matters had improved little when WinthrOp wrote his son Fitz on the twelfth of September. David Yale had fallen out with William Clarke,58 and had refused to accept his bills. NO graphite had yet come from Connecticut to Boston. Some had been unearthed, "but not so much as they expected, it being very difficult to gett out of ye rocks, wch they are forced to breake wth fires, their rocks being very hard and not to be entered further than ye fire maketh way, so as ye charge hath beene so greate in digging of it that I am like to have no profit by ye same."59 56Contract for work at Tantiusques, dated 7 July 1658; American Antiquarian Society. 57William Deines, Blackhall, to JW jr., 6 August 1658; W. 12. 123. 58See fn. 47 above. 59JW jr., Boston, to Fitz-John WinthrOp, 12 Septem- ber 1658; 5 Colls. VIII, 49-50. 258 At the end Of September Winthrop was informed by his representative, William Deines, that two Irishmen from Boston had been hired at the mine, one at 55 and the lother at 50 shillings a month. (In a decade when laborers «earned ten pounds a year on the coast,60 this salary rate