Part 38
After the close of the Revolution, Captain O’Brien continued for several years to reside in Newburyport. In command of his own vessels he visited many ports, American and foreign; including Philadelphia, the West Indies, Liverpool, London, France and Spain. During one of his visits in London, he purchased some long silk stockings, such as were worn by gentlemen at the time. On the voyage home he opened the package only to discover that he had paid for a lot of stocking legs, minus feet. Being in London a few months later, he made a second purchase of silk stockings in the same store where the first lot had been purchased. The English merchant did not recognize his customer. The price asked by the merchant was very low for the quality of stockings offered. Taking advantage of the low price asked, Captain O’Brien made a large purchase, and laid the pay, in gold, on the counter. Upon seeing the merchant about to take the stockings purchased, away, ostensibly to wrap them, Captain O’Brien took the purchase from the counter, remarking, as he did so: “Don’t trouble yourself, I’ll take them as they are”; and, to the great disgust of the tricky Englishman, O’Brien at once left the store with his purchase. The London merchant was outwitted by the Yankee customer; for he intended to repeat the dishonesty of the first transaction.
Captain John O’Brien was once challenged by a Frenchman to fight a duel; the Frenchman having for some reason taken offense. The challenge was accepted, and as the challenged party, Captain O’Brien chose as his weapon, a cannon; and in accordance with the rules of duelling, he was to have the first shot. Upon being informed of the weapon chosen by the visiting Yankee, the Frenchman, hitherto so brave, was terrified, and withdrew his challenge.
Having disposed of his cargo in a foreign port into which he had sailed, Captain O’Brien went on board his vessel with the proceeds of the sale, which was in gold. This he had placed in his capacious satin vest pocket. During his absence on shore the crew of his vessel had formed a plot to kill him when he came on board, and take from him, and divide among themselves, the large amount of money they knew he would have about his person. Captain O’Brien had no sooner stepped upon the deck of his vessel than one of the crew, chosen for the work, struck him on the head with a mauling spike. He fell, stunned, upon the deck. After taking from his vest pockets the gold, several of the mutinous crew threw the unconscious officer overboard. As he struck the water (this he subsequently related), he partially recovered consciousness; but down, down, down he went, until his feet touched bottom, when he gave an energetic spring upward, and soon reached the surface. Having fully recovered consciousness, he swam for his vessel, which was but a short distance away. While Captain O’Brien was in the water the crew had attempted to kill his brother, William, the first mate; but he had escaped from his would-be murderers by seeking shelter behind one of the big guns on board. Unseen by the crew, Captain O’Brien reached the deck of his vessel, and immediately seizing a mauling spike, he rushed into the midst of the mutineers, swinging the heavy instrument to the right and left with tremendous vigor. Supposing Captain O’Brien to be an apparition, as they took it for granted he had been drowned, the mutineers became so thoroughly affrighted that they tumbled almost headlong down the hatchway, hastily closing it after them. Captain O’Brien, with the assistance of the first mate, at once securely fastened the hatchway. He then went on shore and notified the civil authorities of the mutiny of the crew, and of their attempt upon his life, and that of his brother, William. The mutineers, twenty-five in number, were arrested, tried, convicted and sentenced to death. Through the intercession of Captain O’Brien, however, the sentence of death was changed to banishment to a desert island. “My grandfather, though so bold, was also tenderhearted,” said one of his descendants, “and could not bear to have so many lives taken, especially as some of the crew had, he believed, been dragged into the mutiny; so he interceded for them with the government, and obtained a commutation of the penalty.”
“One day while in Madrid,” I now quote the words of a descendant, “he (Captain O’Brien) visited a friend at his house; and when leaving, toward evening, to return to the ship (the harbor was several miles from the city), he was presented with a stout cane, an Irish shilelah, with the remark that he might find it useful sometime for self-defense. My grandfather accepted the cane, and, thanking his friend, went out to hire a hack which should take him to the port. He passed along a row of carriages, but no driver was willing to go out of the city at so late an hour, till he reached the very last man of all. When asked whether he would go, he glanced at the sun, now almost down, and intimated that he would. He was a suspicious looking fellow, whom one would not care to meet in a lonely place, but there was no choice. So he mounted the carriage and was driven off. My grandfather was said to have never known fear, and his courage stood him in good stead now. There was a partition between the two men. When they were well out of the city, in the open country, my grandfather observed the driver making a movement as if to get nearer to him. Watching his chance, just as the fellow raised his body, my grandfather planted his feet against the driver and pushed him off the seat on to the ground. Then instantly jumping out, Captain O’Brien stood directly over the prostrate and astonished driver, with his stout cudgel in his hand, and exclaimed: ‘Now, get on that seat, and drive me as I tell you, or I’ll knock your brains out!’ The wretch taken by surprise, and perceiving that he had fallen into formidable hands, dared not disobey. As the driver sprang to his seat, my grandfather instantly followed him, holding over him his shilelah, ready to execute his threat. When they reached the port, the sun was set. My grandfather jumped off the carriage, threw some money upon the ground and went aboard his ship.
“Some years after, he chanced to meet his friend, who expressed great surprise at seeing him. ‘What, are you alive, Captain! When I learned that you had left the city with that villain of a driver, I never expected to see you again. It is notorious that he has killed many persons under similar circumstances.’
“‘Thanks for your shilelah,’ said my grandfather, ‘which through a kind Providence saved me from death. I shall always cherish it as a memento of my friend, and for the good service it did me.’”
In the year 1820, Captain John O’Brien removed to Brunswick, Maine, where he had purchased about twenty acres of land. Upon a portion of this land he built a house, said to have been the finest in the place. Here, Captain O’Brien resolved to spend the remainder of his days in well-earned rest from a long, arduous and highly eventful public career.[27]
Another grandson of Captain O’Brien thus speaks of the latter’s home in Brunswick: “Without the slightest exaggeration I can say, that my grandfather’s place was a ‘glowing rose-garden of rapture,’ a paradise; and when its pearly gates now and then opened to let me in for a few days’ visit, I was perfectly happy. When the time came to leave, though I had a good home to go to, it was, I imagine, with some such feelings as Adam had when he turned his back upon Eden, only that I had this advantage over my unhappy progenitor, that I was not forbidden to return some happy day. What a halo about that spot, to my youthful imagination! There was no place like it in the world; how pleasant it lies in my memory, with a brightness that has never faded.”
During his residence in Brunswick, Captain O’Brien used occasionally to visit Machias, where his parents, and two brothers, Colonel Jeremiah, and Gideon, resided. On one of the visits to Machias a daughter accompanied him. As they were passing through a piece of dense, dark woods, many miles from a human habitation, a man climbed into the rear of the vehicle, for the purpose, evidently, of robbing Captain O’Brien. Doubtless the would-be robber thought an aged man, such as his prospective victim seemed to be, would be an easy case to deal with; but, as he soon ascertained, appearances are often deceiving. Placing the reins in the hands of his daughter, and instructing her to drive the horse at a rapid speed, he stood up in the vehicle, and, reaching round to the rear, he laid the whip on to the intruder with such great vigor that he jumped to the ground, and was soon left far behind.
While a resident of Brunswick, Captain O’Brien, through the intercession of Mr. Joseph Wheaton, a former Machias acquaintance, who then held a position under the Government, at Washington, was appointed postmaster.
Mr. Wheaton, who it should be said, took part in the capture of the “Margaretta,” thus writes Captain O’Brien, from Washington, with regard to his appointment, as postmaster, at Brunswick; the letter was written in 1823:
“I represented to him (Mr. Harris, of the House of Representatives) your ardent zeal for the country in your youth, your manly conduct in the affair you touched upon, relating to the Margaretta schooner and called to his recollection that in that action we became pirates, traitors and rebels, according to the laws of England at that time; that our success (established) the necessity of manly resistance everywhere or the consequences would have been more distressing than death—it would have been universal slavery to all the people; that Captain Moore was the first naval officer that fell in the Revolution; that your services had been uniform and of the highest manly character, and that you were now advanced in years and it would be most grateful to your feelings to receive some token that you were not refused a small favor.”[28]
[Illustration:
HON. JAMES M. GRAHAM.
Of Springfield, Ill.
Member of Congress from his state and an earnest member of the Society. ]
A grandson of the subject of this sketch thus describes the character of his grandfather: “... my maternal grandfather developed a character in which energy and decision were prominent qualities. It was said of him later in life, that he never knew what fear was; but though possessed of a strong will and prompt to exact obedience when in command, he had a calm and reasonable temper and a gentlemanly bearing which gained for him the respect and confidence of the community. He was not a man to trifle with, neither was he a man to stand in dread of. He was just and honorable in his treatment of others, and gentle to the young and helpless.”
A most touching story is related concerning the burial of Mrs. John O’Brien, with whom the captain had lived happily for nearly fifty years. On the day of the funeral, held at his home, he was seen standing at the foot of the flight of stairs, leading from their bedroom down into the front hallway, as if he was waiting for some one to come down. For several years it had been his custom, on Sunday morning, to thus stand, and wait for Mrs. O’Brien to come down, to accompany him to the house of worship in the village. For a moment, on the occasion above referred to, he seemed to have forgotten that his wife was to be buried, and he was watching for her to come down stairs to go with him, as usual, to the village church. When he awoke to the fact that his beloved wife was that day to be buried, he was well nigh overcome with grief. This was in 1826.
About six years later, on the 8th of May, 1832, Captain John O’Brien died. He was then 82 years of age. He was buried in Brunswick, where his remains now rest.
All honor to his memory!
* * * * *
The writer of this sketch wishes hereby to gratefully acknowledge his indebtedness to Heman W. Chaplin, Esq., of Boston, for no inconsiderable portion of the materials drawn from in its preparation.
THE DICKSON LETTERS.
In “The Dickson Letters,” compiled and edited by James O. Carr, Esq., of the Wilmington, N. C., bar, appears a comprehensive sketch of the Dickson family, and “An act to erect and establish an academy in the County of Duplin,” the text of the act being as follows:
Whereas, the establishing an academy in the said County for the education of Youth, will be attended with great advantages to the State in general and the County of Duplin in particular:
1. Be it therefore enacted by the General Assembly of North Carolina, and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the same, that Thomas Routledge, James Kenan, Joseph Dickson, Thomas Gray, William Dickson, David Dodd, John James, Israel Bordeaux and James Gillespie, Esquires, be and they are hereby constituted and appointed trustees with full power and authority to receive into their hands and possession all monies and other property which have been or hereafter may be subscribed for the purpose of erecting an academy on the lands lately purchased of Nicholas Hunter in said County, by name of Grove Academy; and the said trustees and their successors shall be able and capable in law to ask for and demand, receive and possess of the several subscribers all sums by them respectively subscribed, and in case of refusal of any of them to pay the same, to sue for and recover by
## action of debt or otherwise, in the name of the trustees, the sum
which such person so refusing shall have subscribed, in any jurisdiction having cognizance thereof; and the monies when collected and received, to be applied by the said trustees or a majority of them towards paying for the lands already contracted for, and erecting thereon a suitable and convenient house, to contract with and employ a tutor or tutors, and to perform every act or thing that they or a majority of them shall think necessary and expedient for the advancement of the said academy and the promotion of learning therein.
2. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, that the trustees hereinbefore mentioned, shall, previous to their entering on the execution of the trust reposed by this Act, give bond to the court of the County, payable to the Chairman and his successor, in the sum of One Thousand Pounds specie, with condition that they shall well and faithfully account for and apply all gifts, donations, bequests and monies which they may receive of and by virtue of this act for the purposes aforesaid.
3. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, that if any of the trustees by this Act appointed shall die, refuse to act or remove away that he cannot attend the duties of his appointment, the remaining trustees may appoint another in his stead, who shall exercise the same powers as trustees appointed by this Act: and when met together within the said County shall have power and authority to elect and constitute one or more tutor or tutors, and a treasurer, and also to make and ordain such rules and regulations, not repugnant to the laws of this State, for the well ordering of the students, their morals, studies and academical exercises, as to them shall seem meet; and to give certificates to such students as shall leave said academy, certifying their literary merit; in general they shall or may do all such things as are usually done by bodies corporate and politic, or such as may be necessary for the promotion of learning and virtue; and the said trustees, or a majority of them are hereby empowered, and shall have lawful authority to remove the tutor or tutors, treasurer or any of them if they shall find it necessary, and on the death, resignation or refusal to act of any of them, to appoint and elect others in the stead of those displaced, dead or refusing to act.
4. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, that the trustees by this Act appointed, or a majority of them, and their successors, shall meet annually on the first Friday of March in each and every year, or at any other time they may find more convenient, and elect a proper person out of their own body to preside for the term of one year, who may convene the trustees at any time he may find it necessary. Provided always that he shall give ten days previous notice of such meeting and that the President and Treasurer shall be chosen on the said first Friday of March unless in cases of unavoidable accidents.
5. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, that the treasurer of the said Board of Trustees shall enter into bond with sufficient security to the trustees, conditioned for the faithful discharge of the trust reposed in him by this Act, and that all monies and chattels that shall be in his hands, at the expiration of his office, shall be immediately paid into the hands of the succeeding treasurer; and every treasurer shall receive all monies, donations, gifts, bequests and charities that may belong or accrue to said Academy during his office, and at the expiration thereof shall account with the trustees or a majority of them for the same, and on refusal or neglect to pay and deliver as aforesaid, the same mode of recovering may be had against him as is or may be provided for the recovery of money from sheriffs or other public officers.
In his sketch of the Dickson Family the author says: Simon Dickson was born in England about the year 1607, or 1608. He was a stern English Puritan, an ardent adherent of Oliver Cromwell, and served faithfully as an officer in the Parliamentary army during that fierce struggle between Parliament and the King; his official rank, however, is unknown to us. After the Revolution was over, as a reward for his services, he received a grant of four hundred acres of valuable land within two miles of Dromore, in the county of Down, Ireland. Here he settled and had a numerous offspring, but the exact number of his children is unknown. At the restoration of Charles II, the land grants of the Cromwellian administration were annulled, and Simon Dickson became a tenant on the same land he had previously owned.
“Simon Dickson was the father of Joseph the first, who was the father of Joseph the second, who was the father of Michael, who was the father of John.” Joseph the second lived to be ninety-four years old, and Michael passed his eighty-fourth year.
John Dickson was born in Ireland about the year 1704 and died in Duplin County, North Carolina, on the 25th day of December, 1774, just at the beginning of the American Revolution. He emigrated from Ireland to the State of Pennsylvania in the year 1738 and settled in Chester County, where he resided several years and had two sons born to him, Michael and William. He then moved to Maryland, where he remained only a short while, and leaving there he came to Duplin County between 1740 and 1745. Upon his death in Duplin, in 1774, he left surviving him seven sons and one daughter, whose names are given in order of their age, as follows: Michael, William, Robert, Joseph, Alexander, Edward, James and Mary.
Michael Dickson moved to Georgia just before or after the Revolution, where it is said he has many descendants, though no definite information about them can be obtained.
William Dickson, the second son of John Dickson, and the writer of the Dickson Letters, was born in Pennsylvania about the year 1740, and came to Duplin County with his father when quite a small boy. Upon arriving at manhood he took an active part in public affairs and during Revolutionary times he was the foremost man in his county as a leader in civil affairs, while his compatriot, Colonel James Kenan, was at the head of all military operations. It is probable, almost certain, that he entered the army as a regular militiaman under Colonel Kenan, and served through the entire war. His educational advantages were very limited, and a family tradition tells us that his school days were comprised within a space of three months. Notwithstanding this, he was a man of broad ideas, mature judgment, and profound wisdom; and he discussed political affairs with an intuitive knowledge and foresight that were remarkable. His comments on the American form of government (then an untried theory) in his letter of 1790, his reasons why North Carolina adopted the federal constitution, his prediction that “the southern states will not receive equal benefit in the government with the northern states” and that the North would eventually demand the emancipation of slavery (and this written seventy years before the Civil War)—all these are ideas worthy of a statesman and found conception in no ordinary mind.
He was a man of wonderful native ability; but was modest to a fault, and seldom in his letters to his cousin in Ireland does he even refer to the services he rendered in the Revolution. Tradition has it that he was for forty-four successive years clerk of the court in Duplin County; but the writer has not examined the records for a verification of this tradition further than to find that he served in this capacity for quite a long time. He was a delegate to the first provincial congress, held at Newbern on the 25th of August, 1774; to the second provincial congress, held at Halifax on the 3rd of April, 1775; to the third provincial congress, held at Hillsboro on the 21st day of August, 1775; and to the fourth provincial congress, held at Halifax on the 12th of November, 1776, which framed North Carolina’s first constitution. He also represented Duplin in the House of Commons in 1795. It is told of him that when Cornwallis’ army marched through the county on its way from Wilmington to Virginia he concealed the records of the county in an iron pot in Goshen Swamp to prevent their destruction by the British. He died in 1820, an honored and highly respected citizen.
Robert Dickson, the third son of John Dickson, moved to Virginia at the close of the Revolution, but returned to Duplin about 1784, where he made his permanent home. He has many descendants in North Carolina, chiefly in Cumberland County. He was a justice of the peace for Duplin for a number of years, and served as a member of the House of Commons in 1777, 1784, 1785, 1786, 1787 and 1788.