Military History. 219 



strength of character and one of the most distinguished citizens 

 the town has had. In 1641 he was a member of the Ancient and 

 Honorable Artillery company, — then a military organization, — 

 was a deputy more than twenty-live times, serving with Allen, 

 Lieutenant Flouchin of Boston, — who, according to the custom of 

 the time, on several occasions served on behalf of Hingham, — and 

 with other prominent citizens. In 1670 he was on a committee 

 to revise the laws, and in 1673 was chosen to audit tbe accounts 

 of the treasurer of the colony. In 1672 Captain Hobart and Lieu- 

 tenant Fisher presented their report upon the boundary line 

 between the colonies of Massachusetts Bay and Plymouth which 

 they had been appointed commissioners to determine. In 1674 

 he was speaker of the House of Deputies. He was frequently a 

 selectman and held other town oihees. Besides holding the posi- 

 tion of commander of the military of Hingham during: manv years 

 when unwearied vigilance, strict discipline, and constant prepara- 

 tion were of the first importance to the welfare and preservation 

 of the town, — for it must be remembered that suspicion, fear, 

 and at times open war succeeded the defeat of the Pequods, and 

 that at no time was the danger of destruction absent from the 

 minds of the colonists, — Captain Hobart is said to have com- 

 manded a company in active service in Philip's War. His house 

 lot was on Main Street and included the spot upon which stands the 

 Old Meeting-house, and here, in 1682, after having been Hingham's 

 chief officer for nearly thirty years, he died full of honors, at the 

 age of sixty -seven vears. Notwithstanding the uneasiness sue- 

 ceeding the Pequod War, peace generally prevailed between the 

 colonists and the Indians for a quarter of a century thereafter ; 

 settlements multiplied and the older towns not only grew in num- 

 bers, but began to prosper with the development of agriculture, 

 the pursuits of the fisheries, the birth of manufactures, the trade 

 in lumber, and the commerce which was already springing up 

 with the West India islands. In the general prosperity Hingham 

 shared, although her growth was not rapid, and, as has been said, 

 the military and ecclesiastical dissensions at one time led to a 

 serious loss in population, and consequent injury to the material 

 advance. 



The soil was however fair and in many places rich, and its suc- 

 cessful cultivation led to the rapid increase in the number and 

 area of the " planting fields " which were granted from time to 

 time. Our almost circular harbor surrounded and protected on 

 all sides by hills clothed with a noble growth of oak, pine, and 

 cedar, and guarded at its entrance by the three beautiful islands 

 which like faithful sentinels stood as bulwarks against the storms 

 of the open ocean, early turned attention to Hingham as an 

 advantageous point for the construction of craft of various de- 

 scription and size, and the development of a prosperous foreign 

 trade. 



