USA > Connecticut > New London County > Lebanon > Historic Lebanon; highlights of an historic town > Part 7
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to the fact that Sir William belonged to the Church of England while Dr. Wheelock represented the somewhat dour Calvinism of the dissenters, the Congregationalists. He was not satisfied either with the stability of many of the boys after they went back to their own tribes. Then too, there was the fact that Yale College was lo- cated in the colony of Connecticut, also making demands for sup- port.
A decision was made with the consent of his advisors at home and abroad. He would move the school. He would have a school for the Indians as before, but he would also start a college for Eng- lish boys. After much dickering back and forth as to locations, for he was seeking the most advantageous offer financially as well as strategically, he chose to accept the proposals of Governor Went- worth of New Hampshire, who offered him valuable lands along the bank of the Connecticut River far north in the wilderness. With indomitable courage he set out, advanced in age, to travel the one hundred and seventy miles over rough roads, some almost im- possible. His biographer says nothing about the traditional barrel of rum, which has grown to three hundred barrels in the Dartmouth songs, but undoubtedly he was well fortified against the rigors of a northern winter.
The story of the struggle to fell trees, build shelters, erect the buildings for the college, is not part of this narrative. Suffice it to say, he overcame all difficulties, established his Indian school, and alongside it Dartmouth College, named in honor of his great benefactor, Earl Dartmouth. The Indian school did not long sur- vive, but the college goes on to greater and greater glory, carrying with it down through the centuries the name of its founder, Dr. Eleazer Wheelock, who dreamed his great dream in Lebanon and made it come true. He died on April 24, 1779.
The story of Dr. Wheelock is epitomized by the weather vane on the Baker Memorial Library at Dartmouth, a tall pine tree, the good doctor preaching, the traditional barrel of rum supporting his Bible, an Indian squatting before it. His spiritual resolve is preserved in his own words:
"And it is my purpose, by the grace of God, to leave nothing un- done within my power, which is suitable to be done, that this school of the prophets may be, and long continue to be, a pure fountain. And I do with my whole heart. WILL this my purpose to all my SUCCESSORS in the presidency of this seminary, to the latest posterity; and it is my last WILL, never to be revoked .
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(Courtesy Miss Mary A. Aiken)
Helet Them .
How Buckingham
Chapter 9 GOVERNOR BUCKINGHAM - CHRISTIAN STATESMAN
The roots of a family are always of interest whether we think of the historic lineage of a Lodge or the humble backgrounds of an Alfred Smith. They may be decisive factors in the generations to come or they may be detriments, but they usually indicate trends which sooner or later crop out.
William Alfred Buckingham, born May 28, 1804, came of good stock. The first of the name came over with Pastor Davenport to settle New Haven in 1637. Later he moved to Milford where he was one of "the seven pillars", the required number of men to es- tablish a church at that time. A son, Thomas, became the famous pastor of the church at Saybrook. He was one of the founders of Yale, which was originally established at Saybrook, and was one of the first teachers. He was also one of the moderators for the famous "Saybrook Synod", a decisive gathering in the history of Congre- gationalism.
Buckingham
Deacon Samuel B. Huntington, fifth in descent from this famous minister, father of William, was born in Saybrook. After his mar- riage he moved to Lebanon in 1803. He gave as his reasons for the choice of Lebanon, "I wanted a good farm, and then to be near the church, near the school, near the mill, and near the doctor." The mill and the doctor are no more but the church and the school are still with us.
Deacon Buckingham was a deeply religious man. He served his God and his church with the utmost devotion. His home came to be known as "The Minister's Tavern" because he was always entertaining ministers. He believed firmly in education, was active and liberal in helping to maintain the schools. After "Master Tis-
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dale" died and his school was closed, Deacon Buckingham was in- strumental in starting another school taught by a well qualified, college trained, teacher. Here his own children received much of their earlier education. He was a man of good business judgment, and built up a competence through his farm and from a fishing in- dustry which he established at Saybrook. He was liberal in his gifts towards public improvements, the church, Christian missions, and especially towards the poor, traits which were later to be found in his distinguished son.
William's mother was a woman of unusual alertness of mind, of unwearied activity, of unaffected modesty, of fine business judg- ment which her husband fully appreciated. She could ride any horse that any of the boys could ride. She had a deep love for folks. Her hospitality was unlimited, her generosity to the poor, the ill, unstinted. Her greatest desire for her children was that expressed in her words, "Well, whatever else you are, I want you to be Christians."
With such a background only a renegade could have failed to make some mark in life. But coupled with the influence of his home, the boy William was deeply impressed by the historic sig- nificance of his native place. To him the past was a living fact. Some of the Trumbulls and Williamses were still around. And there was the Trumbull tomb containing the remains of great per- sonages who had played a valiant part in the making of the history of a new nation. Deeply ingrained in him was a love for his nation, a love that found its fullest expression during the trying years of the Civil War, when, like Jonathan Trumbull, he guided the State of Connecticut through the labyrinth of that experience.
The boy William was a perfectly normal individual, full of en- ergy and life. He loved horses and was a superb horseman. When enlistment was required of every young man, he enlisted in a cavalry company in his native town rather than in Norwich, where he had recently moved, because he preferred to be with those he knew. Twice a year this troop would meet for exercises in their gorgeous uniforms of scarlet coats, white pantaloons, black bear skin caps with white plume feathers and red tips, and with horses suitably equipped. It must have been a gala day for every boy in Lebanon when this troop rode at full gallop around the Green firing off the heavy pistols which the men proudly bore.
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William A. Buckingham had a solid, substantial education though not an extensive one. After finishing the schools of Leb- anon he attended Bacon Academy in Colchester, then rated as one of the best schools in the nation. He planned first to be a surveyor but gave it up to teach for a year or two. Then he found his real vocation, that of a business man. He switched from the making of carpets to the founding of the Hayward Rubber Company, where he rapidly accumulated a fortune which he wisely invested in other business, never in anything where he could not have some say in the policies and principles of the company. He was soon recognized as one of the leading and one of the most astute business men of Norwich. His word was as good as his bond. Men and banks trusted him absolutely, a fact which was to be abundantly attested later when he became governor.
Mr. Buckingham was always interested in good government but not in politics as such. When the Whig Party died he became a Republican because he believed in the principles for which the party stood. He was honored by the city of Norwich by election to the office of Mayor for two terms.
The situation throughout the nation in 1858 was serious. Finan- cially it was in a panic. There was no national currency and the bills of one State might not be accepted in another. Specie pay- ment had been suspended throughout the country. A convention of financial men was called in Connecticut which Mr. Buckingham attended. His sagacity and insight won the respect of all those pres- ent, so much so that it seemed to them that he was the man to be nominated as the Republican candidate for governor. The Spring- field Republican, then one of the truly great newspapers of the country, commented on the nomination of this man in these words:
"Mr. William A. Buckingham, who is nominated for governor by the Republicans, is a leading, liberal citizen, and wealthy manu- facturer of Norwich. He has intelligence, integrity and practical ability, which is creditable to the party to have recognized in his nomination, and his election will be an honor to the State. The proportion of such men in our politics is only too small."
Mr. Buckingham was elected by a fair majority in the State which at that time was dominated in the cities at least, by the Dem- ocratic party. The Legislature became largely Republican in both branches. In his inaugural address he said, "Legislation should be such as will tend to check crime; bring to speedy justice the viola-
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tors of law; preserve the purity of the ballot-box; place in a desir- able position public institutions; lead citizens to feel a stronger at- tachment to the National Union; give the greatest liberty under the restraints of law; and lead to the enactments of such statutes only as are based upon the Divine Law." He faced the questions of finance and of the rising tide against slavery, taking his stand firmly on the absolute need of ridding the country of the curse of slavery.
The next year Governor Buckingham was renominated and re- elected in spite of heavy opposition from the cities with their Dem- ocratic majorities. Then came the nomination of Abraham Lincoln for the presidency. He had visited Connecticut as the guest of Gov- ernor Buckingham who introduced him to the State. Thus began a friendship that was to last all through the war until the President's untimely death. Lincoln came to have for the Connecticut gov- ernor somewhat the same deep attachment for and confidence in him as Washington had for Connecticut's other war governor, Jon- athan Trumbull.
Year after year the State of Connecticut returned Governor Buckingham to his high position. Once, when the Democrats sought to seize the election by importing hundreds of voters from New York to stuff the ballot boxes of Bridgeport, New Haven, Hart- ford, and other cities, he won by a margin of only five hundred votes. After that experience legislation was passed which made such practices impossible. Thereafter he won every election with increasing majorities until he finally declined a further nomination after eight strenuous years.
The years of the war saw a repetition of the years that Jonathan Trumbull was governor. Connecticut came to the fore, a State to be counted on in every emergency. At that time it had a population of less than half-a-million but it sent over fifty thousand men into service. Not a single man was drafted from Connecticut. The quotas were always filled by volunteers, a note-worthy fact due largely to the fine leadership which Governor Buckingham gave. Every regiment went to the front fully equipped at the expense of the State.
The confidence in Governor Buckingham was shown at the very first call to arms. The Legislature was not in session. Governor Buckingham, on the honor of his own name and responsibility, se- cured loans of two million dollars. Later the State authorized a
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loan of another two million dollars and placed it in the hands of the Governor to dispense as he saw fit. He spent a large part of his own fortune in meeting the needs of the men and of their families. It is doubtful if any man in public office had more confidence re- posed in him than had this native son of Lebanon. Once he visited one of the regiments, one of many visits to the war front and to Washington. When he turned to leave he said, "Well boys, is there anything else I can do for you?" One of the men spoke up and said, "If you can hurry up the paymaster we shall be obliged to you, for it is a long time since we have seen him." The Governor an- swered, "Certainly, I'll see what I can do about it." Before he left he had written his personal check for the amount due them.
Lebanon responded to the urgent requests of the Governor loyally. One hundred and six sons of Lebanon answered the call to arms. Twenty of these were war casualties. The town paid $24,436.89 for bounties, premiums, commutation and support of the families of the men at the front. Individuals in the town con- tributed another $14,300 for bounties to volunteers and substitutes.
After having served for eight hard years as governor of the State of Connecticut, Mr. Buckingham declined a further nomination. The State, however, refused to allow him to retire from public of- fice. In 1868 he was elected to the United States Senate for a term of six years, terminated shortly before the expiration of the term by his death. In the Senate he served with distinction and effective- ness. His great interest was in the welfare of the Indian for whom he did much as chairman of the Committee on Indian Affairs when there were selfish interests seeking to annihilate the Indian in order to appropriate his lands.
Haniel Long in his little book, "A Letter to St. Augustine", says, "When I meet a new person, I am on the lookout for signs of what he or she is loyal to. It is a preliminary clue to the sense of belonging, and hence of his or her humanity." Later he uses a good phrase, "loyalties are the home of the heart".
In the life story of both Governor Trumbull and Governor Buckingham we find that the central loyalty upon which depended all other loyalties was that of their Christian faith. Among the many tributes expressed at the time of the death of Governor Buck- ingham, which occurred on February 5, 1875, was one by Senator Howe of Wisconsin, speaking on the floor of the Senate. He said, "There is in this unbelieving generation a loud, if not a large ele-
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ment, desperate if not devilish, hoping nothing here and fearing nothing hereafter, which screams with derision of the Christian statesman! Standing by the grave of Governor Buckingham I must not forget to tell the world that he was what I have never dared pretend to be - a Christian statesman."
Undergirding the lives of both our great war governors was this unshakable faith in God, a faith which permitted no political chi- canery because of expediency, but always measured every act against a concept of the justice and the righteous judgment of God. Would we had more of the same in public office today! It has always been the hallmark of men who have stood the test of time.
Governor Buckingham inherited his deep faith from his father and his mother. But he made it his own. The old Meeting House in Lebanon with its able ministry, the studies under one or two of its pastors, laid a foundation of faith that stood by him in every adversity.
When he moved to Norwich to start his business career he im- mediately took his place in the life of the church. He taught in the Sunday School for forty years, a notable example for those who find easy excuses from such service today. He was one of the founders of the Broadway Congregational Church, later to be joined to form the United Congregational Church. He was an honored deacon of the church as was his father before him.
His benefactions were widely spread, not only among the poor, but to the churches and their organizations. He gave liberally to the old home church at Lebanon where he has a permanent mem- orial in the Buckingham Pastor's Library which he endowed that whoever might be the minister of that church might have funds with which to buy new books.
He took an active part in the world wide mission of the church, was a corporate member of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, president of the American Missionary Society, and president of the Western College and Educational Society. He was an ardent supporter and generous benefactor of the American Home Missionary Society which was busy helping new churches in the expanding western frontier. He gave very substantial aid to the Ripley Congregational Church of Treor, Iowa, which church in appreciation of that service, has given the money for a memorial pew in the restored old Meeting House of Lebanon.
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One of the honors which Governor Buckingham cherished most was his election as moderator for "The First Triennial Congrega- tional Council" at Boston in 1865. It is significant that a layman was chosen for this exceedingly important post. The Congregational churches of the world were represented though the main task of the Council was to face the responsibilities of reconstruction after the devastation of war. Governor Buckingham carried through his duties with a fairness that evoked the praise of the Council. He had before him the ablest men of the church, both clergy and laymen. Many intricate problems were faced. Governor Buckingham proved himself equal to the occasion. The resolution passed at the conclu- sion of the Council is worthy of record here.
"Resolved, That this council tenders its thanks to His Excel- lency, Governor Buckingham, our honored moderator, for the dig- nity, urbanity and courtesy with which he has presided over its deliberations, to which in part we ascribe the pleasant cordiality of feeling, unmarred by harshness, which has prevailed throughout its earnest discussions; and as a National Council, we express the satisfaction with which we are reminded by this assembly of the early days of our Puritan history, when the chief magistrates of the colonies were the servants of the churches, and the honors of the State were humbly laid at the foot of the cross."
In the Buckingham Pastor's Library hangs a splendid oil paint- ing of the Governor. His grave face, penetrating eyes, thoughtful gaze, look down upon the pastor as he works over his sermons as though to admonish him to be true to the faith. The portrait is less stern than the statue in his honor in the State Capitol. In the portrait you see the man, a man of faith, of insight, of wisdom, and of benevolence. Such was William A. Buckingham, a glorious son of historic old Lebanon. As inscribed upon his tombstone, "His courage was dauntless, his will inflexible, his devotion to duty su- preme, his faith in God absolute."
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Chapter 10 CONCLUSION
As stated in the preface, this little volume has not been in any sense a definitive history of Lebanon, only a few sketches of some of the highlights of an historic town. Much has been omitted that should have been included in a complete history.
The story of the various churches, past and present, should have been told; the North Parish, now Columbia, organized in 1720; Goshen, organized in 1729; Exeter, organized in 1773; the First Baptist Church, constituted in 1805; the "Christian Church", Lib- erty Hill, organized about 1810. Then there are the three quite recent additions of the Lutheran Church, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Jewish Synagogue. Exeter and Liberty Hill have joined with the First Congregational Church.
The sociological and political life of the town should find a place in a complete history. Changes have taken place since the early days when many different articles were manufactured here, when every stream turned the wheels of industry. Population changes have taken place. One needs only to read the names on the Honor Roll of the World Wars to recognize this fact. The school system has kept pace with changing developments in educa- tion, the sixteen little district schools giving way to a consolidated school. The Lyman Memorial High School has a history of its own worth recording, the realization of the dream of the Lyman family made possible by the gift of George W. Lyman, who bequeathed about sixty-two thousand dollars to the town for the establishment of a High School. A study should be made of the valued contribu- tions of other races to the life of the community, and of the effect of the influx of many who earn their livelihood elsewhere.
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(Courtesy of Connecticut Circle)
HOME OF GOVERNOR JONATHAN TRUMBULL, JR.
The second son of the famous War Time Governor, Jonathan Trumbull, Jr., made his residence in this house, built for him by his father, Governor Jonathan Trumbull. He was paymaster- general of the Northern Department of the National Army, private secretary and first aide-de-camp to General Washington. He was afterwards Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, United States Senator, and from 1798 to 1809 Governor of Con- necticut.
(From Connecticut Circle)
New
LYMAN MEMORIAL HIGH SCHOOL
This concluding chapter will serve to record a few miscellaneous items which ought not to be lost sight of as time goes on.
Mention has been made of the governors Lebanon has pro- duced. Jonathan Trumbull served as governor from 1769 to 1784, Jonathan Trumbull, Jr., from 1798 to 1809, Clark Bissell from 1847 to 1849, Joseph Trumbull from 1849 to 1850, and William Buck- ingham from 1858 to 1866. Thus Lebanon natives have occupied the governor's chair for a total of thirty-seven years. Nelson Dewey, another Lebanon native, was the first governor of the State of Wisconsin, serving from 1848 to 1852.
Lebanon has produced a vast number of leaders in all walks of life and in every profession. In his sermon on the 150th anniver- sary of the town, Rev. J. C. Nichols makes the statement: "Without much effort we can count up three hundred and forty-five minis- ters of the gospel whose parents lived in this town." He mentions many early missionaries who went forth from Lebanon to the far corners of the earth, including Samuel Kirkland, father of a for- mer president of Harvard College, Dr. Charles H. Wetmore, mis- sionary to the Sandwich Island, as they were then called, and Re- becca Williams, who went to Syria. There have been many others down to this day when we have a member of the First Congrega- tional Church of Lebanon and a native of the town, Miss Susan Armstrong, long a missionary in China.
Among the long list of those who have held high public office is the name of Prince Saunders, a colored man of Lebanon, at one time connected with Dartmouth College, who became minister from Haiti to Great Britain, and attorney-general of that govern- ment. Nor should the exceptional work of another Lebanon native, Charles D. Hine, first Commissioner of Education for the State of Connecticut, be passed over. He was a man of force and of vision. He did much to establish the rural schools of the State on an equal footing with the city schools. He was the son of Rev. Orlo D. Hine, pastor for thirty-one years of the First Congregational Church.
The story of the French deserter, whose grave is marked by a simple wooden cross on the side of the Exeter Road, has two ver- sions. The first is that the townspeople complained to Count Lau- zun about the French soldiers doing a little foraging on their own among the chicken yards and the pig pens of Lebanon. Their own scant fare may well have been in sharp contrast to the luxuries
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enjoyed by the officers over them. Count Lauzun, mindful of the many courtesies extended to the French by the people of Lebanon, resolved on stern measures. Some hussars, fearful of the conse- quences, deserted. One of the more prominent of these was re- captured, ordered court-martialed, and sentenced to death at sun- rise before the whole corps. The second version, probably much embellished, certainly much more romantic, is that the corps were ordered to remain in camp after sunset. One young soldier, pur- ported to have been of the nobility, had fallen in love with a local girl. He slipped out of camp to keep tryst with her, was discovered and sentenced to be shot. A later touch to this story came during the first World War. Lieutenant Louis Raymond Abel of Lebanon was killed in action in the Argonne Forest, France, September 27, 1918. It is recorded that he "by the supreme sacrifice paid Lebanon's debt of honor to the unknown French soldier buried in this town."
Lebanon has been a colonizing community. Two items of in- terest come from records copied by Mrs. C. H. Foster from a pam- phlet concerning the settling of Nova Scotia. One reads, "The first house erected on the present site of Bridgetown, a structure of wood and stone, cemented with mud, was built by a native of Lebanon, Connecticut, who was of Huegonot extraction." Evidently this was in 1763. The second item refers to the settlement of Port Williams. "On June 4, 1760, twenty-two vessels conveying 7,000 settlers from New London, Lebanon, Colchester, Lyme, Norwich, Killingsworth, Hebron, Saybrook, Stonington, Windham and Wind- sor in Eastern Connecticut made a landing here. Near the present village is the site of the French settlement 'Boudro Point'. The vil- lage was then named 'Terry Creek' after an early settler. In 1840 the name was changed to 'Port Williams', a native of Annapolis Royal who had distinguished himself in the British Expeditionary forces in Turkey." It is probable that these emigrants to Nova Scotia were attracted there by experiences during the French and English wars for the possession of Canada. Later many Tories fled to the safety of Nova Scotia. There are some sixteen or more towns bearing the name of Lebanon in the United States. Some of them, how many we do not know, were settled by men from Lebanon, Connecticut, as was Lebanon, New Hampshire. Many Lebanon families found their way into New Hampshire and Ver- mont, down into Pennsylvania, and out into the western states.
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Though this town has been small, it has left its mark far and wide across the face of the earth.
The Old Cemetery is a spot to visit. Here scores of men who served in the American Revolution lie buried. Here are to be found the graves of the early settlers. And here is the tomb of Jonathan Trumbull, of which Rv. Orlo D. Hine wrote: "Within this mau- soleum rest the sacred ashes of more of the illustrious dead than any other in the state, or perhaps the country." Within the tomb are the remains of the distinguished governor, his son, Joseph, his son, Jonathan, Jr., his son, David, his son-in-law, William Williams, all of whom played a vital part in the life of the colony, the state and the nation. With them rest the remains of their respective wives.
It has been impossible to ascertain the number of Lebanon men who served in the war of 1812. Some graves, however, in the cem- eteries of this town bear the markers for veterans of that war.
One Lebanon man served in the Spanish War of 1898. Forty Lebanon men served in the first World War. One, Lieutenant Louis Raymond Abel, died in France. In the second World War one hundred and twenty-eight Lebanon men participated. Gold stars mark the names of John Bunnel, Frank Cinemella, Anthony Musial, William Perarovic, Paul R. Spellacy, Robert M. Starr, and Leslie E. Stiles.
Yes, there is much left unwritten that should be written. May the day be not far distant when a truly adequate history of the Town of Lebanon shall be written, a history that shall perpetuate the story of the heroic days of the past and record the progress of the town from its beginnings to the present day.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The author is deeply appreciative of many kindnesses extended by individuals in contributions of material, photographs, cuts, and suggestions. He wishes to express his appreciation and thanks to the following:
Theodore Sizer, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut.
Lamont Moore, Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Con- necticut.
Harold G. Rugg, Dartmouth College Library, Hanover, New Hampshire.
Mrs. Natalie Walsh Whitcomb, Lebanon, Connecticut.
James Sherman Pitkin, New Haven, Connecticut.
Samuel H. Williams, Glastonbury, Connecticut.
Dr. George E. McClellan, Woodstock, Connecticut.
Charles C. Hemenway, Editor of the Hartford Times, Hartford, Connecticut.
Harry F. Morse, Editor of the Connecticut Circle, New London, Connecticut.
Marion A. Murphy, Librarian, School of Medicine, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri.
Mary A. Aiken, Norwich, Connecticut.
Sarah Abell, Town Clerk, Lebanon, Connecticut.
Rev. Howard C. Champe, First Congregational Church, Shelton, Connecticut.
Miss Lotta E. Hale, Hartford, Connecticut.
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