USA > Connecticut > Hartford County > Suffield > Celebration of the bi-centennial anniversary of the town of Suffield, Conn. : Wednesday, Oct. 12, 1870 > Part 4
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monument will arise, on whose imperishable stone shall be en- graven, side by side, the names of those who fell in the war to establish the independence of our country, and the names of those who, in the late war, fell fighting for its preservation.
A glance at the industrial history of Suffield reveals many curious and interesting facts. At one time ship-building was quite extensively carried on along the river border. Many persons are known to have been engaged in it, and many vessels are known to have been launched. But no records remain sufficient to indicate the full extent of the business. Considerable quan- tities of iron were annually wrought into a variety of man- ufactured products. Nearly all farming utensils, and many of the implements required in the mechanical trades, were made in the shops of our blacksmiths. And in Boston Neck was located an establishment that turned out four or five thousand shovels annually. Turpentine was gathered as an article of commerce, oil manufactured from the seed of flax, and spirit- uous liquors brewed or distilled in large quantities. Salmon, as well as shad, were caught in great numbers from the river, and were frequently a drug in the market. Many persons em- barked their capital in the indigo trade, and went long jour- neys through the Southern States to collect the article for com- merec. Others engaged in the fur business with an energy and scope that reflected credit on the enterprise of the town. In our earlier history an inferior quality of carthen-ware was made here, and subsequently wooden-ware of various descrip- tious was manufactured. We have had cotton-mills and nu- merous tanneries. We have had carding-mills and fulling- mills. We have been able to boast of saddlers and coopers, of tailors and hatters. Once Suffield had her printing-press and pub- lished books, papers, and pamphlets. Once the stranger within her gates would not have been perplexed to find a house of public entertainment, for the time has been when Suffield had ten or twelve taverns in active operation. Previous to the last half- century every farm-house was a manufactory, in which were produced, with laborious and cunning industry, the textile fab- ries for the household. In one year more than five thousand
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yards of woolen cloth were thus manufactured. At the same time twenty or twenty-five thousand pounds of flax were yearly required for domestic consumption.
The more we study the industries of the last century, the more evident it becomes that the people were far in advance of the present century in enterprise and public spirit. Suffield was then a business centre for the surrounding country, ranking nearly on an equality with Hartford in wealth, population, and business activity. Now she has fallen into comparative insig- nificance. Formerly the capital and energies of her people were so employed as to build up the town and promote the prosperity of all its citizens. On the other hand, we now behold that cap- ital transferred to distant cities and states, and invested in com - mercial and business enterprises that do not develop the town or yield any general advantage to our own community. If we have had a reason for this in the past, the long-deferred estab- lishment of railroad communication has removed it. And now the present generation has the opportunity and the means to establish successful manufactures and other branches of busi- ness that shall start the town in a new career of prosperity.
Two law schools have at different times been conducted in Suffield, one by General Lyman, and one by the Honorable Gideon Granger. At these schools many distinguished mem- bers of the bar in this and surrounding counties received their legal instruction. In the carly part of the present century, Suffield possessed five practicing lawyers, a circumstance which would seem to indicate a high degree of prosperity.
Suffield has given birth to many eminent men. She has pro- duced two Postmaster Generals# of the United States, four members of Congress, one Major General, one Governor of Connecticut, two Governors of Vermont, two Governors of Pennsylvania, one Governor of Ohio, two Judges of the Su- preme Court of Ohio, one Judge of the Supreme Court of Ver- mont, and one District Judge of the United States. To-day her sons are scattered throughout the country. Many of them have achieved substantial success in business or professional life, and many of them occupy distinguished positions of re-
* Sce note at close of this article.
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sponsibility and trust in the national, state, and municipal gov ernments of the country. .
Thus far I have endeavored to sketch our outward and ma- terial progress from the foundation of the town to the close of the last century. And now a brief comparison of the condition of our people in the present and in the past, in respect to some of the more important elements of life and character, may not be uninteresting.
The most superficial glance at our history shows beyond question that in material wealth and comforts, in the develop- ment of the powers and resources of nature, in the multiplica- tion of mechanical inventions, in facilities of communication and travel, in all physical surroundings of whatever nature, we have attained a vast superiority over our ancestors. There have been great changes and revolutions, and they have resulted in an apparent progress. But has there been a real and a true progress ? Ilave we attained a nobler development of charac- ter ? Do we live more perfect and more Christian lives? Do we exhibit a higher standard of manhood and womanhood ? For a progress which does not produce these results, which does not enlarge, enrich, and ennoble man in the essential and immor- tal elements of his nature, is false and delusive. While, therefore, we have taken such immense strides in the outward and mate- rial circumstances of life, it becomes very pertinent for us to enquire whether we are also more manly and more womanly, whether we are distinguished by a superior moral, religious, and intellectual development. To answer these questions will in- volve a more critical examination of our history in its bearings upon our interior life and character.
And first a preliminary enquiry as to our physical nature. The common impression, especially. among the older inhabi- tants is, that we have sadly degenerated in this respect. But this impression, so far as it is confined to our elders, may readily be accounted for. As men grow old they lose strength, vigor, and vivacity. The arm becomes feeble and the step uncertain. Feats of agility and strength that were once performed with case, become difficult or impossible. And in consequence of this 7
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condition of weakness and imbecility, their impressions of the world around them are modified and distorted into a conformity with their own individual states and experiences. The change which they imagine has taken place in the world without, has really taken place in themselves. But while this reasoning may account for the impressions of old men, it does not definitely answer the enquiry we have raised, whether in point of fact we have degenerated physically. In respect to direct physical power, to mere brute force, we undoubtedly have. But while we admit this against ourselves, the force of the admission is destroyed by the following considerations : First, the degree of physical power is no measure of physical excellence. A person of inferior stature and strength may be just as manly, may ac- complish just as extensive and noble results in life, and may as completely fulfill the ends of human existence, as if possessed of the most gigantic bodily powers. And again we have so de- veloped and applied the powers and forces of nature, and ren- dered them subservient to our interests and obedient to our commands, that great physical powers are hardly useful and no longer necessary to man. In all departments of industry, in agriculture, in the mechanical trades, in manufactures, in com- merce, we can, with a given number of men, and in a given time, by the aid of modern appliances, accomplish vastly greater results than could our ancestors a hundred years ago. Every day and on every hand we give exhibitions of power which would fill our fathers with speechless amazement. Great phys- ical strength, therefore, we do not need, and the lack of it is not a reproach. In regard to physical endurance and hardi- hood, and ability to withstand exposure, privation, and fatigue, the experiences of every day around us, and especially the his- tory of the late war, prove that we are fully equal if not supe. rior to our predecessors. Moreover, in all civilized countries the average duration of human life is slowly increasing. There is no evidence which indicates that Suffield is an exception to the general rule. With life prolonged, with equal bodily en- durance, with strength sufficient to meet the demands of our present civilization, and with less vital energy absorbed in mus. cular growth and activity, we may safely assert that we are physically better fitted than were our fathers before us to
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achieve material success in the world, and far better qualified to gain the higher ends of a true human life.
I pass next to the subject of education. It will be remem- bered that at the very first meeting of the committee appointed to superintend the affairs of the plantation, hield in January, 1671, an allotment of forty acres of land was set apart for the "Support and maintenance of a School, to continue and be Im- proved for and to that use forever, without any alienation there- from." At the first town meeting of Suffield, held in 1682, a Mr. Trowbridge was invited to teach school in Suffield, but there is no evidence that he ever came. In 1693 the town voted to use its utmost endeavor to procure a schoolmaster " to teach children and youth to read, write, and cypher." A lit- tle later in the same year it was decided to locate the school at the most convenient place on High street. But it was not until May, 1696, twenty-six years after the foundation of the town, that a school was actually begun. Mr. Anthony Austin, though not without some misgiving, undertook the vocation of teacher, receiving a salary of twenty pounds per year. In 1703 the first school-house was erected, near the church on the green, and the dimensions were twenty feet long, sixteen feet wide, and six feet high. In 1740 the school was held in West Suffield, such a proportion of the time as its rates bore to the rates of the whole town. Soon after a school was regularly taught in the west parish. At this period the schools were under the management of the ecclesiastical societies, of which there were how two, the cast and the west. Under their supervision the town was divided into districts, the east parish in 1763, and the west parish somewhat earlier. Reading, writing, and arithmetic made up the curriculum of the pioneer schools, but gradually one branch after another has been introduced, until now it is quite possible to obtain at our common schools what would, in the early times, have been regarded as a liberal education. The foundation and development of the Connecticut Literary Insti- tution in the present century has conferred upon Suffield supe- rior facilities for education and culture. It is possible to-day to obtain a better education within the limits of our own town than could have been had a century ago at Yale or Harvard. There can be no doubt but that the standard of education and scholarship exhibited by the present generation is far in advance
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of that exhibited in the last century. If a doubt exists, it will be dispelled by perusing the documents and records that have come down to us from that time. In an examination of one of these documents we almost uniformly observe that there is no system in the use of capitals, which are distributed promis- cuously over the page, without regard to parts of speech or em- phasis of words; that no standard of orthography is observed, the same word being frequently spelled in a variety of ways on the same page, and words of the same pronunciation, but of dif- ferent orthography and import, being often erroneously and sometimes absurdly interchanged; and finally, that there are most glaring mistakes and deficiencies in grammar and rhetoric. When we consider that these old manuscripts were many of them written by the prominent men of the time, it becomes quite impossible to conceive the low degree of culture exhibited by the average citizen. But we are not to suppose that our an- cestors were as inferior to us in intellectual power, activity, and acumen as they were in the culture derived from schools and books. It is certain that our advancement in these respects has not kept pace with the multiplication and improvement of our facilities, and whether we have advanced at all may be a ques- tion-for power, originality, and scope of intellect do not de- pend so much upon artificial training as upon the primary con- stitution of the individual and the practical experiences of his life. But when we consider that we are now better educated, that we possess a wider range of facts and experience, that facts excite reflection and reflection reason-when we consider that the condition of society is now more favorable to intellectual growth by reason of its greater compactness and increased facil- ities of intercommunication-when we consider that less vitality. and strength, and time are required to meet the physical de. mands of our present mode of life-when we consider these circumstances, and many others which might be enumerated, we seem warranted in the conclusion that we not only possess now more extensive, more varied, and more accurate knowledge, and more thorough and more liberal education, but that we also ex- hibit more acute and more profond intellectual powers.
In respect to the comparative state of morals in Suffield in the present and in the past, we have very imperfect data from
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which to judge. But judging from these data, the plain con- · clusion is that in nearly all respects we can show a commenda. ble improvement. . In the last century intoxicating liquors were openly and freely used by the leading men of the place. They were accounted as among the necessaries of life. In 1749, at a society meeting, the church voted "that the committee should provide Rhum, Cyder, and Beer for Raising the new meeting house, at their discretion." This vote indicates the state of feel- ing on the subject, and is a fair sample of the ancient customs in this respect. At all extra occasions where men came to. gether for co-operative labor, and in all the severer tasks of the farmer and mechanic, spirituous liquors were a matter of course. Social gatherings, even of ministers, were not complete without their presence. The free and unrestricted use of this dangerous beverage produced its natural results. The moral vigor of the community was relaxed and the moral judgment impaired. In- temperance itself was regarded more as an innocent misfortune than as a moral degradation, for which the individual is strictly accountable. To day, not only do we witness less intemperance, but the open use of alcoholic liquors is regarded as a stigma and disgrace.
In business and the business relations of men, there is un- doubtedly less of sham and imposition, less of duplicity and deception and chicanery, than in any preceding age of our his- tory, in proportion to the number and wealth of the inhab- itants. And in that higher field of morality, in that morality which is positive and aggressive, and which exhibits itself in the practice of charity and benevolence, and in the promotion of all good and noble works and enterprises, there are to-day as high an average and as bright examples as any age of the past can boast.
The vices of the present day are ever before us, impressing themselves on the thoughts and imagination, while those of the past are unknown or forgotten. Moreover, when we look back over our own lives we shall find that we are inclined to remem- ber the good and to forget the bad, to remember the joys and to forget the sorrows. And what is true of the individual may be truc of the race or of a community. As a people, we are prone both to magnify the noble and valiant deeds of our fathers, and
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also to forget or palliate their faults and vices. Our impressions, therefore, as to morals and the course they have taken in the progress of the town, are not to be trusted. Careful investiga- tion is necessary to a safe and correct opinion, and such inves- tigation will confirm the view that we are progressing, and are progressing in the right direction.
Passing now to the field of music and art, and to the refine. ments and accomplishments of life, we find them to be almost entirely the growth of the present century. But our ancestors may be pardoned for their deficiencies in this respect. They were pioneers in a new world and a ruder age than the present. All the tendencies of their situation were towards the develop- ment of rude physical characters. Theirs was an unceasing and imperative struggle for mere subsistence, without the pos- sibility of turning aside to cultivate the amenities of life.
Music in the early part of our history was almost totally neglected. Indeed, the Puritans regarded it with distrust and hostility, and would not for many years permit it in religious worship. Being neglected, therefore, from lack of opportunity and inclination, and distrusted out of principle, it could make but slow progress. It is mainly in the last half or quarter of a century that it has been cultivated and promoted in this town. Now almost every family has its musical instrument, and almost every child has some opportunity for musical instrue- tion. Painting and drawing have lately begun to attract at tention, and Suffield has already prodneed some artists, who are laboring with credit and success. The acquisition of all these accomplishments should be publicly encouraged, for they not only minister to the finer attributes of our nature, but are of both direct and indirect practical utility.
In the architecture of private and public buildings there have been great changes. The last century was the period of low houses, with large rooms, timbered ceilings, high roof's, and projecting stories. In their construction and finish the object sought was not, except in rare instances, to produce a pleasing effect upon the taste and imagination, but simply to secure pro- tection from the inelemencies of the weather and provide ac- commodations for physical living.
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To day we possess private residences and public buildings that are an ornament and credit to the town. Every year more and more attention is being given to the style and finish of pri- vate dwellings, and to the character of their surroundings and appointments. It should be remembered that the object of a home is not merely physical comfort, not simply to furnish a convenient and safe resort to rest and refresh the body; it should, in its architecture and surroundings, respond to the in- tellectual and æsthetic qualities of the mind. It should be a place where the higher and nobler attributes of man, his im- mortal attributes, shall find true expression, and where they shall be improved and inspired.
In this brief survey of our history, and in this imperfect com- parison of the civilization of Suffield in the past with that in the present, it has been my aim to present the truth. And while I have endeavored to give full credit and prominence to the noble deeds and sacrifices of our fathers, I have not shrunk from exposing their imperfections and vices. And now I think we may safely conclude that in all the essential elements of char- acter, in all that goes to make up true manhood and woman- hood, the present age has attained a decided superiority. But in this claim there is no detraction from the merit of our fathers, and nothing inconsistent with an obligation to venerate their memory. If they could look down upon us to-day, no ascriptions of praise from our lips, and no services commemo- rative of their lives, would afford them so much pleasure and satisfaction as to behold us, their descendants and their children, far advanced beyond the condition in which they lived, to be- hold us prosperous and happy in our outward circumstances, and strong, and noble, and upright in character. These are the very results for which they labored, the objects for which they prayed, and hoped, and sacrificed. In doubt and darkness, in weariness and peril, in privation and suffering, our fathers planted the seed of our present civilization ; in peace and pros- perity, in the midst of all happy, and inspiring, and propitious circumstances, we are reaping the glorious results. When I
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think over the first hundred years of their history, of the hard, toilsome, rugged lives they lead, hedged in on every side by vast and pathless forests, destitute of all the comforts and refine. ments of life, condemned to one unbroken, monotonous routine of manual labor, with no books or papers, or intellectual ad- vantages, and when I think how freely and bountifully we en- joy the fruits of all their hardships, and struggles, and priva- tions, their story touches my heart with an infinite pathos, these places that were once familiar with their presence are made for- ever sacred by the consecration of their lives, and the graves where their bones are crumbling into dust become shrines where my soul goes up to worship, and where my heart pours out its richest libations.
But it is fitting for us on this occasion to remember that there is a present and a future as well as a past. A hundred years from to-day we may fairly presume our descendants will be gathered on this spot and engaged in similar festivities. The circum- stances under which they shall meet may depend very much upon us. It is possible for us to be largely instrumental in shaping the history of the town for the next century. It is possible, also, for us so to live that we shall simply bridge the space from one generation to another, exerting no perceptible influence and leaving no impress behind us. During the first forty or fifty years of the present century our people were too conserva- tive. The public spirit of the eighteenth century seemed to have departed, leaving behind a narrow, selfish, short-sighted policy that proved fatal to the best interests of the town. For forty years the town actually declined in population, and in the ratio of the increase of wealth. "When it was sought to locate the United States Armory here, our fathers, by their opposition and indifference, defeated the endeavor. When the Hartford and Springfield railroad was surveyed through the town, a storm of hostility was raised that drove it to the other side of the river. Had the armory and railroad been secured, as they might have been by proper exertion, who can tell how different
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would have been our history, and how different the condition of our meeting here to-day. It is impossible, as we review the past, to suppress a feeling of pain and indignation when we observe how the town has been robbed of a magnificent his- tory. But dismissing all vain regrets and resentments, let us turn from the past, which we are powerless to retrieve, to the present, which is always ours to improve, and to the future, which is ours to shape and control. Great and unusual oppor- tunities are within the grasp of this generation, opportunities which if rightly improved will inaugurate a new era in our his- tory. Let the errors and shortcomings of our fathers teach us wisdom. Let all internal dissensions and jealousies be sac- rificed to one united and controlling purpose, to promote the welfare of our town. Let a generous public spirit be fostered which shall look beyond all merely private and present inter- ests to grand results in the future, even in the future which we shall never live to see. Let us have that sublime faith and pa- tience, and devotion, that shall enable us to plant, and labor, and sacrifice, when we know that posterity, and posterity only, can reap the harvest. Let us go from these memorial services and labor with such wisdom, such patience, such large-hearted and far-reaching purpose for the prosperity of this town and the welfare of its people that when all these petty jealousies and controversies that now excite us, and all these petty schemes of selfish and temporal aggrandizement shall have been buried in eternal oblivion, and when all these fortunes which we are la- boring so hard to amass shall have been scattered to the winds of heaven, our works shall yet survive to benefit and to bless the town, and our names yet live in the grateful hearts of pos- terity, and so that when our descendants shall gather here after the lapse of another century, our generation shall be venerated as pre-eminent among the benefactors of Suffield.
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