generation. Their impress was long seen in the manners and character
of the people. There was surely a goodly proportion of such men among
the first settlers of this neighborhood.

I come now to another class drawn along with and after the
preceding,--the permanent, substantial yeomanry with no capital but
their sturdy industry, doing hard work with their strong arms, and
striking the roots of the settlement down deep into the soil by mixing
their own labor with it. A glance at the map will be useful, at this
point, showing the general direction by which the farming population
advanced to the interior. All between the North and Cow House Rivers
was, as now, called North Fields, and is still for the most part a
farming territory. All north of Cow House River, westwardly to Reading
and eastwardly to the sea, was originally known as the "Farms" or
"Salem Farms." When the First Beverly Parish was set off in 1667, it
took from the "Farms" all east of Bass River. As Topsfield and other
townships were established, they were more or less encroached upon.
The "Farmers" as they were called, although unorganized, regarded
themselves as one community, having a common interest. The tide of
settlement flowed up the rivers and brooks, sought out the meadows,
and was drawn into the valleys among the hills.

John Porter, called "Farmer Porter," came with his sons from Hingham,
and bought up lands to the north of Duck or Crane River. His family
before long held among them more land, it is probable, than any other.
He served many years as deputy in the General Court, first from
Hingham and then from Salem. He is spoken of in the colonial records
of Massachusetts as "of good repute for piety, integrity, and estate."
The Barneys, Leaches, and others went eastwardly towards Bass River.
The Putnams followed up Beaver Brook to Beaver Dam, and spread out