30 BULLETIN OF THE ESSEX INSTITUTE. 



eral of the United States, and of delegates to the Inter- 

 national Postal Congress, about to sit at Washington. 



Mr. EzraD. Hines, of Danvers, read an interesting and 

 instructive paper entitled, "Some Danvers Acres." After 

 a few introductory remarks, the speaker said that in early 

 times the measure of an acre of land was what a man and 

 a pair of oxen could plow over in a day. The acres that 

 Mr. Hines referred to in his lecture were located in Dan- 

 vers, as the title shows, and settled upon and improved by 

 the founder of the Putnam family, many of whose descend- 

 ants now live in the immediate neighborhood. He said 

 this family had produced man}'^ distinguished men, each 

 generation, down to the present time, furnishing its quota. 

 He paid a glowing tribute to Col. Timothy Pickering, 

 who at one time lived on and worked some of those 

 acres. He also referred to our townsman William A. 

 Lander, who for more than thirty years lived on one of 

 those farms, and greatly improved and beautified it by 

 setting out a large number of shade trees, some of which 

 were not natives of these parts, and they are still stand- 

 ing. He also spoke of the poet Whittier, as having lived 

 at Oak Knoll, a place built and improved by Mr. Lander, 

 so named from the fact that many beautiful oak trees grew 

 there. It was at Oak Knoll that Whittier wrote many of 

 his later poems. 



After the lecture Mr. Hines exhibited some photographs 

 of houses connected with these acres, one being the fine 

 old Putnam homestead which is still standing. 



Monday Evening, April 26, 1897. — Rev. John W. 

 Buckham, of the Crombie Street Church, was to have lec- 

 tured in Phunmer Hall, on "Old Time Salem Clergymen," 

 but at a late hour a note was received announcins: the ill- 

 ness of the speaker and no meeting was held. 



