Representative women of New England/Harriet N. Flint
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Harriet N. Flint
HARRIET NEWELL FLINT.— Mrs. Harriet N. Flint came of the good old Puritan stock that peopletl the shores of Massachusetts in the early days of the seventeenth century. She was the sixth child and third daughter of Thomas and Phebe (Cummings) Evans, and was born in South Reading, now Wakefield, Mass., August 29, 1815. She died in Wakefield, Decemlier 31, 1896, the last survivor of her father's family of nine children.
The house of her birth was a modest and ancient-looking domicile on the northerly side of Salem Street, which was many years ago removed to give place to the residence erected by her brother, Lucius B. Evans, and nf)W owned and occupied by his son, Harvey B. Evans.
Mrs. Flint on her father's side was descended from Nathaniel Evans, who with his father, Henry Evans, came from Wales about two and a half centuries ago, and .settleil in that part of Maiden afterward annexed to the town of Reading and now known as the village of Greenwood. On her mother's side Mrs. Flint was connected with some of the leading families of Woburn. The early life of Mrs. Flint was surrounded with good influences, and she was taught to cherish high ideals and to do good to others. Receivetl into the Baptist church at the age of sixteen, she remained steadfast in her faith during her long and active life. Her education was obtained in th(! public schools of her native town. Her eager mind and studious habits enabled her to accumulate a valuable store of information, which, united with her native connnon .sense and good judgment, carried her successfully through the varied experiences and responsibilities she was in later years called upon tf) meet.
In 1840 the subject of this sketch left her home to become the wife of Charles Frederick Flint, of North Reading, whose acquaintance she had made while teaching school in that village. Mr. Flint was a worthy representative of an old and honoraljle family, being a (k'-scendant in the sixth generation of Thomas Flint, an early settler at Salem Village, and a nephew of the Rev. Timothy Flint, of Lunenburg, a pioneer in American letters. He was brought up on the extensive farm of his father, gaining only a conunon-school eckication, and himself became an excellent farmer. A man of nmch force of character, with practical sa- gacity heightened by judicious reading and dili- gent improvement of the means within his reach, he gained influence and respect among his fellow-citizens. Ho added lands and money to his patrimony, and, when the Salem and Lowell Ra'.lroad was laid out through North Reading, his public spirit and private interest induced him to become a large subscriber to its capital stock. When the fate of the enterprise trembled in the Imlance, he put his shoulder to the wheel, and by his energy and means was largely instrumental in its successful launching and development. He became a director and the president of the corporation, while the enhancement in value of its stock added much to his fortune. Dying in the ma- turity of his powers, at the age of sixty years, from the results of an accidental fall, he be- queathed the bulk of his wealth to his wife, they having had no children. She was made executrix of the will.
Mrs. Flint in her bereavement and sorrow found herself thus unexpectedly confronted with important and pressing responsibilities, which she met with courage and resolution, as duties to be performed. Her well-trained fac- ulties and resources of mind and character en- abled her to assume and successfully fulfil all the requirements of her position. Her keen insight, her tact and energy, her thoughtful judgment, and great business capacity were wonderfully manifest in all the affairs that from this time entered into her life-work. These ciualities enabled her not only to hold undiminished the extensive estate left to her charge, but to more than double the original value of the property.
Not long after her husband's death Mrs. Flint returned to her native town, and made her home on an estate Mr. Flint had owned on Main Street. Here in a house beautifully lo- cated, overlooking Crystal J^ake and the cen- tral portions of Wakefield, she continued to re- side during the remaining years of her life. On this homestead farm she laid out a street, nam- ing it Charles Street, in remembrance of her husband. The estate consisted of twenty-four acres, including the sightly elevation known as "Hart's Hill," which with its picturesque sur- roundings has since the death of Mrs. Flint been acquired by the town by purchase as a public park, and will in time become a charming resort.
Though removed from North Reading, Mrs. Flint cherished a loving remembrance of the town as having been the birthplace and lifelong home of her husband, and because of her own personal and pleasant a.ssociations with the kindly and intelligent people of the old " North Precinct," as it was known in the early days, when Wakefield, Reading, and North Reading were united in one municipality.
On this town of her love Mrs. Flint bestowed her tangible blessings in a golden shower, not in any unconsidered and impulsive way, but only after calm forethought and deliberation, seeking to ascertain what gifts would be of greatest and most lasting value. The first re- sults of her kindly thoughtfulness were manifest in laying the foundation for a public library. By the provisions of her husband's will the sum of one thousand dollars was to be offered to the town of North Reading, the income thereof to be used in the purchase of medals for excel- lence in the public schools. The execution of this laudable jnu'pose having l)een found im- practicable, Mrs. Flint, with the willing co- operation of the town, turned this becjuest into a gift to form the nucleus of a public liljrary. To this gift she soon after added two thousanil dollars and later one thousaml dollars more, to be a permanent fund, the income of which should be amuially devoted "for the benefit of said library."
In accepting the gift, the town adopted the following resolutions: "Resolved, That we, as a town, hereby express to Mrs. Harriet N. Flint our grateful appreciation of the warm interest she has taken in the prosperity of our town, the culture of its citizens, and the edu- cation of our youth.
"Resolved, That we also gratefully recognize her interest in our welfare, as shown in her original gift of one thousand dollars to establish a library, and in adding to that gift two thousand dollars as a perpetual fund, to be known as the Flint Memorial Fund, the interest of which is to be yearly expended in adding to the Flint Library."
The year 1S75 was signalized by the crowning act of Mrs. Flint's consistent generosity in the gift to her adopted town of the commodious and comely structure since known as the Flint Memorial Hall. The edifice is pleasantly situated in the centre of the town, and admirably adapted to the uses for which it is designed. The first story contains the Flint Library and the municipal offices; the second story has a spacious, well-lighted hall, with a gallery and ante-rooms; and the upper floor, a large banquet room and other conveniences. At its dedication the Hon. George B. Loring, of Salem, delivered the principal address, followed by the Hon. Charles L. Flint and the Rev. Granville S. Abbott.
The munificent and opportune gifts already mentioned were not by any means the measure of Mrs. Flint's generosity to this favored town. It was her helping hand that lightened the burden of the war debt upon the tax-payers, that assisted struggling churches over hard places, and contributed to keep the roadways of the town in a superior condition. The high school, which the town was not by law required to maintain, would have long since ceased to be, had not Mrs. Flint again and again come to its support. By her will she gave to the town three thousand dollars, the income of which should be applied in caring for and improving the Memorial Hall, and she also made liberal bequests to the different churches.
The generous thoughts and sympathies of Mrs. Flint were not confined within narrow limits, nor her benefactions restricted to the domain and residents of North Reading. In Wakefield, the town of her earlier and later life, she was constantly active in plans and deeds for others' benefit. Every humane, philanthropic, or educational enterprise in the community enlisted her interest and concern, and, if her judgment approved, secured from her a substantial donation. She gave to the town for the support of the Beebe Town Library the sum of one thousand dollars, which the trustees set apart as the Flint Memorial Fund, the income only being used for the purchase of books. She manifested her friendship for the public schools, the fire department, and disabled soldiers and their families in substantial ways, contributed to the improvement of highways and establishment of drinking fountains, and helped the local religious societies in times of need. She was open to every call of charity and voice of distress, but her deepest sympathies, in her later years, were called forth and centred in the organization and operation of that noble charity, the Wakefield Home for Aged Women, incorporated in 1895. Her heart and mind and purse were in this beneficent movement from its beginning. Each year she delighted to give it an added impulse, and, dying, she bestowed upon it in her will an earnest, practical benediction in the sum of five thousand dollars, she having previously assisted its funds in an equal amount. She was made honorary president of the corporation. Many other ladies and gentlemen have, by their labors, counsel, gifts, and sacrifices, aided to make the Wakefield Home a blessed and highly prized institution of the town.
The last will and testament of Mrs. Flint clearly indicated that the benevolence, religious devotion, and public spirit that had actuated all the years of her widowhood burned brightly to the end of her days, as she bequeathed over one hundred thousand dollars to various religious and benevolent organizations. It is worthy of especial mention, as illustrating her fervent patriotism, that in her will she gave to the town of Wakefield in trust, with provisions for its ultimate application toward the erection of a soldiers' monument, the sum of ten thousand dollars, "such monument to be grand in itself, symmetrical in architecture, beautiful in design and finish, attended with solid and thorough workmanship, worthy of the brave men to whom we dedicate it."
Mrs. Flint had expressed a desire and purpose to give to the Massachusetts State Board of Metropolitan Park Commissioners the homestead and farm on which she lived, including "Hart's Hill," for uses of a public park, but the sudden prostration of her last illness prevented the carrying out of her gracious intent.
The innumerable acts of personal and unostentatious benevolence that characterized her daily life must be dismissed from this sketch with but a passing allusion. They are in a manner sacred from even a friendly pen. She sought not the praise of men.
Mrs. Flint was essentially a representative product of our New England civilization. Liberal, ungrudging, and wisely discriminating in her charities, her domestic life was distinguished by a simplicity, thrift, and independence, accompanied with a cordial hospitality, affording a true index to her character, and demonstrating her Puritan descent and training.
Such a woman as Mrs. Flint is a blessing to any community and an honor to humanity. Her memory will be cherished with grateful affection and genuine respect in the towns where her influence and good deeds have been best known and her personal qualities appreciated, while in the wider circle of those who have been told of her gracious character and noble philanthropy will her name be treasured with reverence and admiration.
In the little cemetery at North Reading, not many rods from the home once so dear to her, lies the body of Harriet N. Flint beside that of her husband.