USA > Connecticut > Litchfield County > Woodbury > History of ancient Woodbury, Connecticut : from the first Indian dead in 1659 to 1872, Vol. II > Part 15
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" Woodbury has produced more great and eminent men than any other town of equal size. Dr. Dwight, of Yale College, re- marked, that Hon. Nathaniel Smith's native talent was superior to that of any man he ever met. He had not his equal in this State -some say, not his equal or superior in New England.
" This has been a glorious celebration. Even our friend, Hon. Charles Chapman, of Hartford, comes here to share in the glory,
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trying to claim some relationship here. We had supposed he had popularity and glory enough in Hartford for any one man.
"But he labored very hard, as you have seen, to make out that he was the great-grandson of somebody in Woodbury! I do not know but he made it out, because he will make out anything he undertakes.
" But while listening to his spicy, eloquent, and able speech, I believe we should have been willing to adopt him as a grandson . At the next centennial celebration, they will probably be willing to adopt him as a son ! "
"The Historical address by William Cothren, your able historian, .was very learned, interesting, eloquent, and instructive. He is deserving of much credit, and has done immense service to the community, in giving us the History of Woodbury. It is an able work, and must have required much persevering research. It is read with deep interest by those away from Woodbury. Many lay it on their tables, next to their Bibles. It is read by those that are not descendats, with great interest. It is a very popular work among intelligent and literary men. Its interest will increase as time passes on. In fifty or one hundred years from this time, it will be read with tenfold more interest than now, even in Wood- bury. It will go down to generations yet unborn, and be consid- ered as one of the most interesting of histories, Cothren's name will be immortal-remembered as long as time shall endure. Many will rise up and call him blessed !
" Woodbury has sent forth more ministers than any other town within my knowledge. Nearly eighty heralds of the cross have descended from the loins of the first William Judson. Many of them have borne his honored surname, and many others have borne the honorable names of the female alliances. They have preached the Gospel far and wide, and their labors have been greatly blessed. None can estimate the great and good results which have arisen from the labors of the ministers who have gone out from Ancient Woodbury. Eternity alone can unfold them."
Very interesting letters were received from numerous sons and descendants of Woodbury, for the occasion, which, for want of time, could not be read, but they were all published with the pro- ceedings of the celebration. Among these contributors were, Hon. John Lorimer Graham, of New York, Hon. Charles J. Hill, of Ro- chester, N. Y., Hon. John Sherman, of Ohio, Hon. Royal R. Hinman,
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of Hartford, Rev. Samuel Fuller, D. D., Col. Henry Stoddard, of Dayton, Ohio, Hon. Thomas B. Butler, Chief Justice of Con- necticut, Col. John E. Hinman, of Utica, N. Y., Jonathan Knight, M. D., of New "Taven, Prof. Harvey P. Peet, of New York, Hon. Henry Booth, 01 Poughkeepsie, N. Y., Rev. Rufus Murray, of Detroit, Mich., Hon. Hiland Hall, ex-Gov. of Vermont.
CONCLUDING REMARKS.
The weather, during the two days devoted to the exercises, was clear, cool, and delightful. It was a general remark that Provi- dence seemed to smile on the celebration. The immense concourse of people exhibited very great interest in the proceedings, which never flagged during the extended exercises, and constant sittings of the two days. There was a generous and intelligent apprecia- tion of the intellectual feast prepared for them on this occasion, never excelled at any similar celebration. Although the labors of the Committee were severe and painful, beyond the comprhension of many, and might exceed the belief of all, yet its members felt fully compensated for all their pains and toil, by the expression of entire satisfaction and approbation, on the part of the people, which greeted them on every side. So far as we know, every hear- er, whose voice was heard, declared the celebration to have been an unbounded success.
On the Sabbath preceding the 4th, allusions to the approaching celebration were made in several of the Churches in town, and an appropriate welcome to the returned emigrants from the old town extended. In the First, or old Pioneer Congregational Church, the oldest by many years in this county, the pastor, Rev. Robert G. Williams, read a sermon, preached by Rev. Anthony Stoddard, its second minister, on the 6th of July, 1754, to the same Church, in presence of the levies, raised to march against Crown Point, in the old French War. The sermon was written on leaves about three inches square, and showed evident traces of the patriarchal age of one hundred and five years. The historical associations which clustered around it, the place, the identical man- uscript, the very presence in which we were assembled, listening to the same words which our fathers, who have been slumbering for generations in the old church-yard, heard on that occasion, so
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momentous to many hearts, wrought up the imagination to a tem- porary companionship with the silent shades of the spirit land. It was a fitting introduction to the exercises of the celebration, that was so soon to occur.
It was not a small matter to feed and shelter the vast multitude assembled at the celebration. But the most ample provision to meet the exigencies of the occasion had been made by the ladies. Tents had been prepared by the Committee, for each of the towns once included within the limits of Ancient Woodbury, " with en- signs flying," to direct the people to the proper places. There was also a tent appropriated to the use of invited guests from abroad. In these the multitudes united in a mammoth Antiqua- rian Pic-Nic. No price was demanded, but like the sunshine, all was free. But the antique pic-nic proper was celebrated beneath the deep blue sky, within the shade of some large apple-trees, spread on old tables, covered with pewter platters, wooden trenchers, pew- ter and wooden spoons, and all the antiquarian articles that had been preserved, and handed down to us from "former generations." The viands consisted of bean porridge, baked pork and beans, Indian pudding, hominy, rye and Indian bread, and numerous other primi- tive dishes. Mrs. N. B. Smith presided over the table arrangements for Woodbury, with that ease and grace for which she is so much distinguished, aided in the most effective manner by nearly all the other ladies of the town. In all the tents the tables groaned with abundance, and were set out with a taste in arrangement, and ex- cellence of viands, rarely equalled on any similar festive occasion. Great praise was awarded to the ladies for the indispensable aid they furnished at the joyous festival.
Among the many pleasing incidents of the celebration, was the reading of the beautiful and thrilling poem, in the preceding pages, of Mrs. Ann S. Stephens, a native of " Ancient Wood- bury." There was a soul, and an emotion, pervading the whole of the production, that showed the heart of the writer was in the subject ; and so striking was its effect on an audience wearied by the almost uninterupted exercises of ten hours, that when the reading was concluded, and the writer advanced to the front of the stand, and moved three cheers for the "Poetess of Ancient Woodbury," it was responded to by the great assemblage, with an enthusiasm which must have been grateful to the distinguished authoress, who was, at the moment, sitting quietly upon the stand.
An attempt was made to keep a Register of the names of all
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who attended the celebration, with a view to preservation. The request that every person would register his name, was announced from the stand. But owing to the great multitude, and to the fact that every moment was occupied with interesting public ex- ercises, very few complied with the request.
Among the distinguished persons in attendance, besides those already named, we noticed the following named persons ; and doubtless there were many others, whom we did not see in the crush and hurry of the occasion ;- Hon. John Boyd, of Winches- ter, Secretary of Connecticut ; Hon. Origen S. Seymour, of Litch- field, Judge of the Superior Court, with his son, Edward W. Sey- mour, Esq., ; Jonathan Knight, M. D., of New Haven, Professor in Yale College ; Hon. Ralph D. Smith, of Guilford, a native of Southbury ; Hon. William B. Wooster, of Birmingham; E. B. Cooke, Esq., Editor of the Waterbury American ; Rev. J. M. Wil- ley, of Waterbury ; Hon. Jndson W. Sherman, Member of Con- gress, of Angelica, N. Y .; Hon. Green Kendrick, of Waterbury ; Nathaniel A. Bacon, Esq., of New Haven ; William Nelson Blake- man, M. D., a distinguished physician of New York, and a native of Roxbury ; Charles Nettleton, Esq., of New York, a native of Washington ; Hon. Samuel G. Goodrich, of Southbury, late Con- sul at Paris, the well-known "Peter Parley ; " C. S. Trowbridge, Esq., of Auburn, N. Y. ; R. F. Trowbridge, Esq., of Syracuse, N, Y .; Rev. Charles W. Powell, of Middlebury ; Alexander Frazer. Esq., of New York; Rev. C. S. Sherman, of Naugatuck ; Rev. Abijah M. Calkin, of Cochecton, N. Y .; Rev. Ira Abbott, of South- bury ; Rev. Jason Atwater, of West Haven; Rev. J. K. Averill, of Plymouth ; Rev. E. Lyman, and Hon. Charles Adams, of Litch- field, Editor of the Litchfield Enquirer.
Among the venerable men of other days, we noticed on the stage, Capt. Judson Hurd, 85 years of age, so active and vigorous, that he had ridden on horseback in the morning, with his " lady love " of 72, on a pillion behind him. We also noticed Dea. Da- vid Punderson, of Washington, aged 86, Nathaniel Richardson, of Middlebury, aged 85, and Mr. William Summers, of the ripe age of nearly ninety years, a resident of Woodbury, and the old- est man in town.
The extended and efficient arrangements of the General Com- mittee, for providing strangers with accommodations and protec- tion, were thoroughly carried out. Perfect satisfaction and quiet reigned throughout the celebration. More than fifteen hundred
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visitors were lodged in the town the first night, and in the other towns of the ancient territory, at least twice that number. All the inhabitants threw open their doors, and from ten to seventy- five persons to a house found quarters for the night. Even our least opulent citizens displayed an anxiety to add to the general enjoyment of the occasion. As an instance, Mr. Harry H. Fox, who, certainly, is not much blessed with this world's goods, fed twenty-six persons, and lodged twelve. We have not yet heard of an individual who was not provided with reasonable accommo- dations.
A very pleasing feature in the " Antique Procession," not before noticed in these pages, was the fine turn-out of King Solomon's Lodge, No. 7, of Free and Accepted Masons, of Woodbury, in the splendid regalia of its mystic brotherhood. This is not only one of the oldest lodges west of Connecticut river, having received its first charter in 1765, from the Provincial Grand Lodge of the Colony of Massachusetts, but it has been one of the oldest and most respectable in the State, both for the number and character of its members. It was with becoming pride, that they joined in the antique portion of the proceedings of the festival, celebrating at once the antiquity of the town, and the establishment therein of their own ancient, benevolent, and honorable fraternity.
The music of the occasion was furnished by the New Milford Band, in a highly creditable and satisfactory manner. During the evening of the first day, it serenaded the orator of the day, and other residents connected with the active exercises of the occa- sion. In short, every part of the programme was well performed, and the whole celebration was pronounced by all present to be a perfect success. As it was the largest, so it was more perfect, in all its arrangements, than any similar celebration in this country.
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N
the 19th of July, 1865, King Solomon's Lodge, No. 7, of Free and Accepted Masons, celebrated the one hundredth anniversary of its organization.
At a meeting of sundry brethren of King Solomon's Lodge, held May 10, 1862, at the residence of the late Bro. Charles B. Phelps, assembled upon the invitation of Past Master Alonzo Norton Lewis, Past Master Charles H. Webb was called to the Chair, and A. N. Lewis appointed Secretary.
" On motion of Bro. Lewis, it was voted that a Committee be nominated to the Lodge. to take in hand the celebration of the approaching Centennial Anniversary of King Solomon's Lodge. The following brethren were appointed :-
" P. M. ALONZO NORTON LEWIS, | P. M. BENJAMIN DOOLITTLE, WILLIAM COTHREN, NATHANIEL SMITH,
JAMES HUNTINGTON,
Bro. G. PLATT CRANE.
CHARLES H. WEBB,
EXTRACT FROM RECORDS OF KING SOLOMON'S LODGE.
AUG. 15, A. D., 1862, A. L., 5862.
" A Communication from a meeting of Masons, nominating Bro's Lewis, Cothren, Huntington, Webb, Doolittle, Smith, and Crane, a Committee to arrange for the Celebration of the Centen- nial Anniversary of this Lodge, was received, the Committee appointed, and the Communication ordered on file."
The committee immediately entered on the performance of the duties of preparation for an event so interesting to the brethren, and, in due time, every thing was " made ready."
The appointed day, Wednesday, July 19, A. D., 1865, A. L., 5865, dawned bright and fair, as if Nature herself smiled npon the occasion.
At half past 10 o'clock, A. M., the procession was formed, under the direction of Past Master Benj. Doolittle, Chief Marshal,
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assisted by his Deputies, Bro's Eli Sperry and G. Eugene Betts, in the following
ORDER:
*
Marshal.
Marshal.
Two Tylers, with drawn Swords. Tompkins' Brass Band. Two Stewards, with White Rods. Monroe Lodge, Monroe. Eureka Lodge, No, 83, Bethel. George Washington Lodge, No. 82, Ansonia. Wooster Lodge, No. 79, New Haven. * Shepherd Lodge, No. 78, Naugatuck. Meridian Lodge, No. 77, Meriden. St. Andrews' Lodge, No. 54, West Winsted. Seneca Lodge, No. 55, Wolcottville. St. Luke's Lodge, No. 48, Kent.
* Morning Star Lodge, No. 47, Seymour. Harmony Lodge, No. 42, Waterbury.
* Rising Sun Lodge, No. 36, Washington. St. Peter's Lodge, No. 21, New Milford. Harmony Lodge, No. 20, New Britain. Federal Lodge, No. 17, Watertown. Frederick Lodge, No. 14, Plainville.
* St. Paul's Lodge, No. 11, Litchfield.
* King Solomon's Lodge, No. 7, Woodbury. St. John's Lodge, No. 3, Bridgeport. Hiram Lodge, No. 1, New Haven. Royal Arch Masons. Council Masons. Knight Templars.
A Junior Deacon . The Holy Writing's, A Senior Deacon. ( Square and Compasss,
The Worshipful Master of A Steward.
Marshal.
Å Steward. - King Solomon's Lodge.
1 Officers of the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge. The Clergy.
* Lodges marked by a star, were present as Lodges.
1 The following were present :- The M. W. Grand Master, Eli S. Quintard, o New Haven; Past Grand Master Howard B. Ensign, of New Haven ; Past Grand Master D. E. Bostwick, of Litchfield, and Grand Lecturer C. M. Hatch, of Bridgeport.
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The procession marched to the South Congregational Church, and entering in reverse order, when all were seated, the acting W. M., A. N. Lewis, introduced the Most Worshipful Eli S. Quintard, of New Haven, Grand Master of Masons in Connecti- cut, who took the Chair, when the following Order of Exercises was proceeded with :
I.
Ode by the Woodbury Mucisal Association, under the leader- ship of P. M. Trowbridge, Esq., and accompanied by Tompkins' Band.
II.
Reading of the Scriptures (1 Corinthians, xiii) by Rev. C. T. Woodruff, Rector of Christ Church, Ridgefield.
III.
Ode.
IV.
Prayer by Rev. John Purves, Rector of St. Paul's Church, Woodbury.
V.
Chant.
Past Master Alonzo Norton Lewis then delivered an eloquent and interesting address, from which we select a few passages, our limits forbidding more extended quotations :
" W. M. Officers and Brothers of King Solomon's Lodge :
"You stand, to-day, upon the hither coast of a seemingly boundless ocean. You strain your eyes, in vain, to catch one faint glimpse of the other shore. At last, as you are about to turn away in despair, a small boat heaves in sight. You gather around the weary voyager as he steps from his tempest-beaten craft, upon the strand, and anxiously inquire if he has brought any tidings or relics of those who have gone down upon the deep. The solitary navigator, who has crossed the trackless waste, exhibits a few moth-eaten books and MSS., and informs you that these are all that remain of the gallant mariners whose loss you deplore. To drop the figure; you, my brethren, are the anxious inquirers by the sea-side; the speaker is the 'weary
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voyager ' who has crossed the sea 'in search of that which was lost,' and returned not without tidings.
" An historical address furnishes but a narrow field for the flowers of rhetoric, or the graces of oratory. Facts, dates, rec- ords, names, and details are the wares of the historian. If I do not fatigue you in the story of my communings with the past-if I present you, in the brief period assigned me, with an epitome of the history of King Solomon's Lodge, from its foundation, one hundred years ago, to the present time, I shall have fulfilled the duty with which I was entrusted. Leaving, therefore, to my reverend brother, who is to follow, the more pleasing task of moving your hearts with the strains of eloquence, I set out at once upon the journey before me.
"King Solomon's Lodge was constituted upon the 17th of July, in the year of our Lord 1765, and of Masonry 5765. I hold in my hand the original charter, beautifully engrossed upon stamped paper, in the plain round hand of the olden time.
" To the uninitiated it may be proper to say, in explanation of the almost sacred reverence with which a mason regards his charter, that no lodge can be held without its presence at the place of meeting ; and if lost or destroyed as by fire, a dispensation must be obtained from the Grand Master before lodge-meetings can be again held. If revoked by the proper authority, the lodge ceases to exist until it is legully restored. The charter, there- fore, is most carefully preserved in the lodge archives.
" While the lodge was located in Waterbury, the regular com- munications (which is the masonic term for meetings) were holden monthly in the house now occupied by Bro. James Brown, then the residence of Capt. Geo. Nicholls. The hall was an upper room, running the whole length of the house, with 'gambrel- roof' and windows, it being a dancing-hall, such as were often found in the private residences of that day.
" Of the doings of the lodge, while it sat in Waterbury, we have no record, save the paper which I hold in my hand. It is the original draft of the ' Bye-Laws,' enacted and approved on Christ- mas Day, 1765, which I beg leave to read, as a relic of 'ye olden time.'
" At the period of which I am speaking (1765 to 1775) Wood- bury exceeded Waterbury in population and importance. After a few years it is probable that the members of the lodge, dwelling in the valley of the Pomperaug, began to outnumber those residing
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in Mattatuck, or Waterbury. The lodge was, therefore, in 1775 (or previously) removed to Woodbury, where the tabernacle has ever since rested. The names of Joseph Perry, James Raynolds, Hezekiah Thompson, and other of the Waterbury brethren, appear upon the records as in attendance upon lodge meetings, the weary distance of twelve miles through woods and swamps, over hills and streams, not being sufficient to keep from them the monthly reunion with the 'Sons of Light.'
" The Records from 1765 to 1775, are missing. In that valna- ble work, by a brother who sits before me to-day, the 'History of Ancient Woodbury,' we read, that 'all the records, except the charter, from its first organization to 1782, are no longer in exist- ence.' This paragraph was written in 1854. Three years later, .while 'searching among the rubbish' of the lodge-room, the speaker had the good fortune to discover this ancient record book, containing minutes of all the 'communications,' or meetings, from St. John's Day, Dec. 27, 1775, to Sept. 7, 1780. The first entry is as follows :
" Att a Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons held att the house of Br. Peter Gilchrist, in Woodbury, Dec. 27th, 1775,
PRESENT. R. W. Bro. JOSEPH PERRY, Master,
PETER GILCHRIST, Senior Warden,
MITCHELL LAMPSON, Junior "
DELUCENA BACKUS, Treasurer,
66 AARON MALLORY,
ZIMRY MOODY.
" The same evening the Lodge was Led to the Choyse of a Master for the year ensuing, when they unanimously mad choyse of R. W. Bro. Joseph Perry to fill the Chear.
" The Lodge likewise mad choyse of Bro. Peter Gilchrist, S. W., and Bro. Mitcheil Lampson, J. W., Bro. Delucena Backus, Sec., and Bro. Aaron Mallory, . Treas., very agrecable to the Lodge.
Expense of the night £0 11 0
Paid
"From 1775 to 1797, a period of twenty-two years, the lodge met in an 'upper room,' or ball-room of Peter Gilchrist's house, now the residence of Geo. B. Lewis, Esq. Bro. Gilchrist seems to have been a prominent mason, and was for many years Secre- tary of the lodge.
" In Oct., 1796, the lodge voted to remove to a room to be pre-
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pared for their use by Bro. David Tallman, in the house of widow Damaris Gilchrist, now the ball-room of Kelly's hotel.
"This room was finished in due time, with 'suitable pews for the Master and Wardens,' and the lodge voted Bros. Tallman and Fabrique a further allowance of 18 and 12 dollars respectively for ' stock extraordinary furnished.' Masonic tradition informs us that this hall was fitted up in magnificent style : Upon the ceiling over head, were delineated the 'starry decked heavens,' with the ' All-Seeing Eye,' and other emblems well known to the craft.
" Sept. 18th, 1823, the lodge removed to a new hall in the build- ing lately occupied by Bros. Chapin and Lathrop (more recently perverted into a barn by Bro. H. W. Shove) where the meetings were held for some fifteen years, when they again removed to the old lodge-room over Kelly's hotel, in 1837, where they continued to meet until the dedication of the present lodge edifice in 1839.
" Aug. 29th, 1838, at a regular communication of the lodge, it was voted 'that Bros. Benj. Doolittle, Chas. B. Phelps, Edwd. Hinman, and Edgar Botsford, be appointed a committee to obtain subscriptions to build a lodge room.' This committee reported at the next meeting that one could be built at a cost not to exceed the sum of $700. They were, therefore, instructed ' to commence the building when half the amount should be subscribed, in addi- tion to the existing funds of the lodge.' The money was raised by dividing the stock into shares of $10 each, some of which were taken by persons not members of the fraternity. For many years after, candidates for initiation paid their fees by purchasing the requisite number of shares at a low rate. In this way, and from the natural anxiety of the brethren to extinguish the out- standing shares, some were inducted into the mysteries of Mason- ry, who have since proved anything but ornaments to the lodge and institution. At last, in the year 1857, the last share and a half was cancelled, being held by our late Bro. Mitchell S. Mitch- ell, of New Haven.
" The new lodge edifice was solemnly dedicated to the 'Holy Saints John,' by the Grand officers, upon the festival of St. John the Baptist, 1839. The officers and brethren of King Solomon's Lodge, were present at the exercises, and many visiting brethren from other lodges. In the language of the records :
" The marshalls (which were Bros. W. H. Hunter and Bethel Castle) formed the procession, and proceeded to St. Paul's Church, to hear an oration by Rev. Bro. Burhanns, after which the procession formed and marched to Bro. Chas. S.
11
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Peck's, where the brethren partook of a sumptuous feast prepared for the occa - sion. After toasting, ' &c.,' and 'parting upon the level,' (it is to be hoped the latter phrase is not to be taken literally,) the lodge closed in due and ancient form.
HENRY A. HULI., Sec."
"Lodge meetings were anciently held on the Tuesday preceding the full of the moon, from five o'clock, P. M. to nine in the evening, from September to March, inclusive; and from six to nine the remainder of the year. At seven, or thereabouts, the lodge was ' called from labor to refreshment,' when a bounteous supper was served by the 'Boniface,' at whose inn the lodge was sitting. After supper followed toasts and masonic songs. Labor was resumed at about eight, and the lodge 'closed in peace and harmony' at nine. The meetings were held upon the week 'pre- ceding the full of the moon,' that the brethren who came from a distance might have light on their homeward ride.
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