COLONEL JOHN ERVING.
The Erving family was one of the oldest and most respected families in Boston. Hon. John Erving, the father of the colonel, was one of the most eminent merchants in America, and was a member of the Council of Massachusetts for twenty years. The Hon. Robert C. Winthrop, his great-grandson, in a public address in 1845, thus refers to him: "A few dollars earned on a commencement day, by ferrying passengers over Charles River, when there was no bridge—shipped to Lisbon in the shape of fish, and from thence to London in the shape of fruit, and from thence brought home to be reinvested in fish, and to be re-entered upon the same triangular circuit of trade—laid the foundations of the largest fortunes of the day, a hundred years ago." Mr. Erving, by his wife Abigail, had a large family. He died in Boston in 1786, aged ninety-three.
Colonel John Erving, eldest son of the preceding, was born in Boston, June 26, 1727, was a colonel of the Boston regiment of militia, a warden of Trinity church. He graduated at Harvard University in 1747. In 1760 he signed the Boston Memorial, and was thus one of the fifty-eight who were the first men in America to array themselves against the officers of the Crown, but like many others that did not favor many acts of the government, he could not tolerate mob rule, and therefore threw his lot in on the side that represented law and authority.
When Hancock's sloop Liberty was seized for smuggling in 1768, by the commissioners, the fury of the mob became great. They fell upon the officers, several of whom barely escaped with their lives. Mr. Erving, besides having his sword broken, was beaten with clubs and sticks, and considerably wounded. He was not concerned with the seizure of the sloop.
MAJOR GENERAL SIR DAVID OCHTERLONY.
Born in Boston Feb. 12, 1758. There is erected in Calcutta a monument to him, which is one of the notable sights of that city. Died at Meerut, India in 1825.
In 1774 he was an addresser of Hutchinson, and the same year appointed mandamus councillor. On the evacuation of Boston, he and his family of nine persons accompanied the army to Halifax, and from there he went to England. In 1778 he was proscribed and banished. He died at Bath, England, June 17, 1816, aged eighty-nine. His wife, Maria Catherina (youngest daughter of Governor Shirley), with whom he lived sixty years, died a few months before him. A daughter of Mr. Erving married Governor Scott of the island of Dominica and died at that island February 13, 1768. His son, Dr. Shirley Erving, entered Harvard College in 1773, but his education was cut short by the Revolution. He became a prominent physician at Portland, Maine, and died at Boston in 1813, aged fifty-five. His widow survived him for many years. They left two sons and one daughter. The Erving mansion house was on Milk street, and was confiscated.
George Erving was a prominent merchant of Boston. He was one of the fifty-eight memorialists who were the first men in America to array themselves against the officers of the Crown, but he could not take part with the mobs in their lawless and brutal actions. He was an Addresser of Hutchinson in 1774, was proscribed under the Act of 1778, and his estate was confiscated under the Conspiracy Act of 1779. He went to Halifax with his family of five persons, and thence to England. He died in London in 1806 at the age of seventy. His wife was a daughter of General Isaac Royall of Medford.
CONFISCATED ESTATES BELONGING TO COLONEL JOHN ERVING AND TO WHOM SOLD.
To James Lloyd, May 4. 1787; Lib. 160, fol. 105; Land and buildings in Boston. Kilby St., formerly Mackerel Lane, E; heirs of John Erving deceased N; heirs of Samuel Hughes W.; Joseph Winthrop S.
To John Codman, Jr., July 2. 1787. Lib. 160, fol. 201; Land and messuage in Boston. Newbury St., W.; John Crosby N.; E. and N., John Soley E. and S., passage or alley S.——Land 14 A., in Walpole, road from Walpole to the sign of the Black Lamb in Stoughton N.; Nathaniel Preble S.E.; Philip Bardin S.W. and N.W.
To Nathaniel Appleton. Feb. 13, 1789; Lib. 164, fol. 149; Land, 14 A, in Walpole, road from Walpole to the sign of the Black Lamb in Stoughton N.; Nathaniel Preble S.E.; Philip Bardin S.W. and N.W.
To John Deming. May 6, 1789; Lib. 166, fol. 11; Land and messuage in Boston. Newbury St. W.; John Crosby N.; E. and N.; John Soley E. and S.; passage or alley S.