USA > Connecticut > Litchfield County > Litchfield County centennial celebration > Part 12
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But, ladies and gentlemen, I should do great injustice to my own feelings, if I failed to speak of Litchfield as it now is. I know that no one has gone out from this County, who does not feel most deeply his obligations to Litchfield ; and every returning emigrant, who has traveled, as I have done for the last few days, in different parts of the County, looking at the monuments of the past, enjoying the beautiful prospect every where presented to the eye, and admiring the beneficent changes that enterprise and industry have accomplished, must feel that he has much more reason to be proud of you than you have of him. For I believe there is not to be found, any where within the same extent of country, more real happiness and true comfort, than in the County of Litchfield. The neat looking farm-houses, the well cultivated farms, the beautiful stock scattered upon the hill-side, the moun- tains cultivated to their very tops, and the vallies vocal with the hum of industry, present a picture so beautiful, that it seems the realization of a poet's dream. The very streams dance gaily along, as if rejoicing in their successful labors at the water- wheel. Here property seems to be enjoyed by its possessor- not squandered in extravagance-nor its use denied by parsimo- ny. Here are neither the extremes of wealth or poverty ; but competence, health, thrift and happiness ; the just and sure re- ward of industry and virtue every where abound. And then, to pass from these scenes into the presence of such an assemblage of intellect and intelligence as I see before me, I may well ask, where else on the habitable globe, except among such a popula- tion, can so much happiness be found ?
Though the New England emigrant marries abroad, his influ- ence is still felt in forming our national character. But he more frequently comes back and takes a New England wife to his home in the West. Who can estimate the value, to the community in which she lives, of such a wife and such a mother ? I have no occasion here, in this assemblage, to enlarge upon the virtues and graces of the women of New England.
I have often had reason to be proud of the emigrant sons of Connecticut, and never to blush for them. A few years ago, a Page came to all the members of the National House of Represen- tatives at Washington, and asked them to write down their names, and ages, and the places of their birth. I was gratified to find
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that nine of the members from the State of New York, were born in Connecticut. I have had a right, sir, to be proud'of the sons of Connecticut when I have found them every where dis- tinguished as much for their integrity and industry, as for their intelligence and success in life. They are prominent alike in the cabinet and in the field,-in arts and in commerce,-in the halls of science, and in the various departments of literature.
But, Mr. President, while I speak thus proudly and truly of Litchfield-of Connecticut-of New England, -let me say a kind word for the State of my adoption. We love our native State with a feeling like our love for parents ; it is mixed with profound respect and veneration. But the love for the State of our adoption is like that we feel for our wives and our children. We are part of it, and our highest pleasure is to advance its pro- gress and promote its interests. Sir, I have a right to be proud of the great State of New York, -first in population, in wealth, in commerce, in means of internal communication, and in all the elements of greatness. She may well claim the distinguished appellation of the "Empire State." But while she moves majes- tically on, under her glorious motto, "excelsior," and looks confi- dently forward to the high destiny in store for her country and her race, she seeks for no glory, she will rejoice in no elevation that is not shared by her sisters of the confederacy.
SPEECH OF HON. F. A. TALLMADGE.
HON. FREDERICK A. TALLMADGE, Recorder of the City of New York, a native of Litchfield, being next called, addressed the audience as fol- lows :
MR. CHAIRMAN :--
HAVING but just arrived in the village of my nativity, I did not anticipate being called upon to address you, and I assure you that I should much have preferred being a silent listener, to being a speaker upon this occasion.
But, sir, since I have been placed upon the stand by the kind partiality of my fellow citizens, it appears to be expected that I should say something to you ; and indeed how could I be silent when amidst the hills and valleys that surround the place of my nativity ?
The very trees that adorn your streets, and the residences of our fathers, appear like old friends, and recall the pleasures and sports of childhood. I sec myself surrounded by many who in my youth, I thought venerable, and I thank God that they are still spared to participate in the festivities of this day, and as cvidences of the salubrity of your climate.
Gentlemen who have preceded me have spoken with just en- thusiasm of the political institutions of good old Connecticut, and of the laws applicable to our common schools ; they no doubt deserve all the laudation that they have received ; but, Mr. Pres- ident, when I cast my eye at that old school house where I was taught my alphabet, when in a warm afternoon I sat upon a bench without any support to my back, witli one eye almost closed with fatigue, and my intellect was aroused and brightened by the ap- plication of my master's ratan, I confess that my reminiscences are not of any agreeable character ; and when I come to Litch-
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field and cast my eye at that old school house, I look upon it with any other feeling than that of pleasure. I am the more im- pressed with this feeling when I see upon this stand, that Rev. gentleman, (Rev. Dr. Robbins,) who taught me my Latin and Greek, and whose exhortations to me, when I had been derelict in my studies, are quite fresh in my recollection. I look upon him indeed with veneration for his patient efforts to instruct me, and reverence him as the last of the "white tops."-(Referring to the white top boots worn by the Rev. Dr.)-Laughter.
But I have no doubt that the public schools have been useful, and so have been many such gentlemen as Dr. Robbins, who have prepared us to be placed under the care of the distinguished President of Yale College who has honored this occasion by his presence.
But, Mr. Chairman, why have we not reason to be proud of a County which has presented the great State of New York some of its most distinguished sons ; which has, indeed, sent its chil- dren into every State of this glorious Union, and thereby diffused those principles of honor and morality, which our forefathers instilled into their youthful bosoms ? Proud am I that the dis- tinguished Senator from New York, Mr. Dickinson, whom I am proud to call my friend-imbibed his first principles, and received the first rudiments of his education amongst the hills of Litchfield ; and I have no doubt, Mr. President, that the enviable elevation that he has attained, has been attributable to your com- mon schools, and especially to the free use of the birch and rat- an, that he experienced in his youthful days.
[MR. DICKINSON. I had a fair chance afterwards, when I was a teacher, and I paid off the old score.] Laughter.
MR. TALLMADGE. I have no doubt of that, but to recur to Litchfield and its sons.
I see with pride and pleasure on your platform, another dis- tinguished son of our County, the Hon. A. J. Parker, who, with three others, natives of this County, occupy seats upon the bench of the Supreme Court, of your sister State, New York.
Sir, how could it be otherwise, when they sprung from the soil that is consecrated by the memories of the Wolcotts, a Kirby, a Reeves, a Tracy, a Gould, an Allen, and many others equally distinguished, whose names and whose characters would afford
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me a delightful theme for remark-gentlemen whose influence was not limited to our native State, but whose wisdom and char- acters aided much in controlling the destinies of our common country, and in establishing that happy government under which this nation is attaining such an enviable position among the nations of the earth. But, Mr. Chairman, when alluding to some of those individuals who have been so much distinguished in the history of our County, it will not be regarded as invidious if I allude to one who will be remembered by some of you, and whose excellence of character must be known to all : I allude to the Rev. Mr. Champion, whose venerable appearance is deeply impressed upon my youthful recollection ; short in stature, with a head adorned by a massive wig, a countenance that indicated that sincerity and purity of purpose, that characterized his clerical conduct in life ; during the revolutionary war, this ven- crable pastor presided over the flock that worshiped in yonder church, and I shall be pardoned -in relating an incident which was given to me by my venerable father, (Col. Tallmadge,) illustrative of that fervent zeal and stirring patriotism, that char- acterized the clergy of Connecticut, during that momentous struggle.
It was at that period of the revolution, when the whole country was in a state of great alarm, in anticipation of the arrival of Cornwallis, with a formidable army upon our shores, my father was passing through Litchfield with a regiment of Cavalry ; they attended church on the Sabbath, when the reverend divine ad- dressed the God of battles thus : " Oh Lord, we view with terror and dismay, the approach of the enemies of thy holy religion ; wilt thou send storm and tempest, and scatter them to the utter- most parts of the earth ; but, peradventure, should any escape thy vengeance, collect them together again, Oh Lord, as in the hollow of thy hand, and let thy lightnings play upon them."
This was the patriotic feeling that inspired our forefathers, and this spirit, which the Clergy of New England breathed from their pulpits, contributed largely to secure that independence which we now so richly enjoy :- blessed be their memories !
Mr. Chairman,-while participating in the festivities of this day, while recurring to the scenes of our youth, and while many
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of us, who have strayed far from our native hills, are permitted to reeall those scenes, and look upon those hills again, it is pleasur- able indeed, but that pleasure is commingled with some sad thoughts. In the meridian of life, I return to you almost a stranger here. When I east my eyes about this vast assembly, how little am I known to you, and how few of you are known to me ; although born but a short distance from this very spot, I look about, and enquire, where are the ashes of my ancestry, and family connexions whom I left here ? all deposited in yonder churchyard. Where are those distinguished citizens and excel- lent neighbors, that constituted a society in this County, of which their descendants can ever speak with pride and pleasure ? They, too, are in the silent tomb. It is pleasant to refer to their memories. It is sad to know that we cannot recall them.
I will elose, Mr. Chairman, with the expression of the hope, that, while the canvas that covers us this day will soon decay, may we meet again at the next Centennial Celebration, and that you may preside over us.
SPEECH OF DAVID BUELL, ESQ.
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MR. BUELL, of Troy, N. Y., a native of Litchfield, was requested by the Chair to address the audience, and made a few remarks to the follow- ing effect.
MR. PRESIDENT :-
I feel much embarrassed at your unexpected call upon me to address this assembly at so late an hour, and after the topics most appropriate to the occasion have been effectually used up by the series of addresses which have enchained the attention of this assembly for the last two days. What can he do, who comes after the King ? Indeed, I find myself too much affected in my spirits by what I have witnessed since I came here, and by the recollections of my earlier years, to attempt to interest you by any thing which I could say.
Standing within a few rods of the spot where I was born, after having been a truant from the village of my nativity for fifty-four years, and surrounded by natives of the same town and County, I find myself amidst strange faces ;- men and women of Litchfield, but of another generation. I look around this large assembly, to find some of the countenances which were once so familiar, and whose looks are so vividly impressed on my memory. I have recognized but two individuals, among the present residents of Litchfield, who resided here in 1797, when my father's family removed from this town. Many of the descendants of those who then resided here, still occupy these hills, and many objects remain, which forcibly recall the scenes of childhood to my recollection.
Most of the dwellings of the families who resided in the village at the period of my removal, yet remain, and bring to my remem-
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brance the names and looks and characters of those who then occupied them.
At the head of the North street stands the mansion then occu- pied by the Catlin family. A few rods south, and on the west side of the street, stands the mansion which belonged to Andrew Ad- ams, then Chief Justice of the Superior Court. The dwelling next south, was the residence of Lynde Lord, who long filled the office of Sheriff of the County. The next dwelling south of Sheriff Lord's, was the residence of the Misses Pierce-still the abode of the venerable and much respected lady who founded the Litchfield Female Seminary, which, although one of the earliest institutions for the education of females, was long and widely celebrated. Few, if any female seminaries, have been better con- ducted, and more successful in elevating the standard of female education in our country- I doubt not that many ladies in this assembly could bear their testimony to the excellence of this pio- neer seminary. Next south, stands the dwelling in which Dr. Daniel Sheldon resided, who long held a very high rank among the physicians of this State. A few rods further south, I recog- nize the mansion of Gen. Uriah Tracy, and which, at a later pe- riod, became the residence of the late Judge Gould. Of the eminence of the former as a lawyer and statesman, and of the lat- ter as a profound jurist, it can not be necessary to speak in this place. The next house south, was the residence of Col. Benja- min Tallmadge, a distinguished officer of the Revolution, and long an influential Representative in Congress. Nearly opposite to the mansion of Col. Tallmadge, was that of Julius Deming, for many years a successful and honorable merchant. The house next south of the Square, on the west side of the street, was the residence of Major Seymour, another veteran of the Revolution. A few rods further south, stands the venerable mansion, long occupied by Tapping Reeve, a great and good man, the founder of the Litchfield Law School, long celebrated through our land. Nearly opposite to the mansion of Judge Reeve, was that of the Wolcotts, father and son ; and a few rods below, was that of Ephraim Kirby.
The names of all whom I have mentioned must be familiar to a Litchfield audience, even of another generation. I confine my remarks to reminiscences of the village, then called, "Town Hill."
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I left the County at too carly an age, to have been much acquainted in other towns. Town Hill always charmed all who beheld it, by its beautiful native scenery, and was greatly distinguished for the high intellectual and moral character of its inhabitants.
The admirable Addresses and Poem to which this gratified assembly have been listening, have brought to the recollection of the old, and the knowledge of the young, the names of many, both in the village and through the County, whose memory will be cherished by the generations who will occupy these hills when other centuries shall have rolled away. But, Mr. President, I forbear to trespass further upon ground already so well occupied.
SPEECH OF EDWARD TOMPKINS, ESQ.
THE President next introduced EDWARD TOMPKINS, Esq., of Bingham- ton, N. Y., whose parents were natives of Watertown.
MR. PRESIDENT, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN :-
I NEED not say to any business man here, that there can be no greater embarrassment in life, than to be unexpectedly, and with empty pockets, called upon with a sight-draft. That hap- pens to be my case now ; and the embarrassment which the draft now made upon me causes, is aggravated beyond measure by the fact, that, sitting here since yesterday morning, I have learned that I can neither beg nor borrow any thing with which to pay it. Every thing that would be appropriate here, has been already spread before you. Would I go for incidents to the history of Litchfield County ? The distinguished jurist who, yesterday, so cloquently bound us, has told us all, and I must repeat, not half so well, a twice-told tale. Would I seck with wit, or fancy, to amuse and instruct you ? The brilliant Poet, whom we honor and revere with every fibre of our Litchfield hearts, has exhausted the language, and the whole vocabulary of wit was here used up by him forever! (Laughter.) Would I go further on; and in the domestic relations, so dear to our hearts, so fondly prized, find aught with which, for a moment, I could hope to enlist your attention ? The truthful, courageous, heroic divine, who has this morning illustrated them here so well, has again made me bankrupt, and the draft which I would so wish to honor, must yet be protested, unless I can find somno claim upon your indulgence that will induce you to release mne now. I think I have found it.
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Each of the gentlemen who have addressed you, is a son of Litchfield : and while the relation is a very dear one, let me tell you that good old mother Litchfield, as they affectionately call her, has yet a dearer. It is a principle in human nature, which we all discover very early in life, and which, as our children grow up around us, we usually see developed in a still more striking manner, that however stern parents may be with their own children, they are, invariably, quite indulgent enough to their grand-children. Applying that principle here, I incur no hazard in assuming, that however severe old Litchfield may have been with her children, yet when she comes to her grand- children, she will spoil them, every one. That is my position now ; I am one of, and speak for the grandchildren; and I claim here, and now, the fullest measure of indulgence, which our good old grandmother can bestow. The principle upon which I now rely so confidently, was taught me when on my first visit, in childhood, to my Litchfield grandmother ; she sweetened the new milk she gave me, when had it been for her own children, she would have churned it before she would have let them taste it ; and the lesson I then learned, has stood me in good stead this day.
I would not, willingly, disturb the harmony that prevails here, by any personal grief, yet there has been one occurrence of which I am compelled to complain. I listened yesterday afternoon, with as broad and open-mouthed an interest as any one of you here ; and how was I, beyond measure, astonished, when the reverend gentle- man-he who has filled the earth with melodies which we could almost fancy, would be sung in heaven-who has shown us that he, like the divine alluded to this morning, can unite two worlds on earth, who charmed us by his brilliant wit, and melted us with his cloquence ; when he, a stranger as I supposed to me and to my household, actually painted, at full length before you, and before all Litchfield, feature by feature-even to the color of her hair and of her eyes-saying nothing of the unpardonable allusion to the color of a portion of her dress, upon which none but the most heterodox of divines would ever have ventured ;- my own Yankee wife. (Laughter.) Think of my surprise-three hundred miles from home, thus unexpectedly to encounter such
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a picture ! Would the gentleman tell me that it was only a general picture ? That is the way Clergymen always escape, when their general sketches become so personal, that every body applies them ! (Laughter. ) I had not supposed the reverend gentleman was acquainted with her; and I should have been proud beyond measure, if he had come openly, when I was at home, to have welcomed him there. It may be, he has never been there ; (Laughter.) Yet an idea suggests itself to me which, I am afraid, will convince you and me that there is, at least, some doubt about it. There are no two persons, it is said, who look exactly alike. If this be true, it follows that no one descrip- tion will exactly describe them, and inasmuch as I know that this is true, in every line and letter, the reverend gentleman stands convicted beyond the hope of escape, of having resorted to per- sonalities in the portrait he has painted before you. (Great laughter. ) I can only say that I am not, naturally, distrustful, or suspicious ; and I hope, in the ways of Providence, if ull is right, (laughter,) that the reverend Gentleman may yet be led to cross my threshold, and that I may have the pleasure, and the honor, of introducing to him the original of the portrait he has so brightly and beautifully drawn.
But, ladies and gentlemen, this is not the tone in which I should address you now. Thoughts of too much moment press upon us,-interests as extensive as our lives. We all feel deeply, that while we have listened, till we can afford to spare the repeti- tion, to eulogiums upon our lofty hills and bracing atmosphere, we have not heard enough, even, to satisfy our cravings of the domestic relations, the rich social worth which has made Litchfield County what it is. It has been said, over and over, and cannot be too often repeated, that it is these that liave made the great men of Litchfield; these that have sent her sons abroad to be crowned with honors and to fill the high places of our land, to explore every recess of creation and return laden with the trophies of their peaceful victories, only to lay them in triumph at the fect of their common mother. But when we look around us to deter- mine-and our attention has been already called to it-what it is to which Litchfield County owes the great results her sons have accomplished, we find we must go back to the dead to seek it ; and
becomes us, not sadly-not sorrowfully-but triumphantly, to
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keep them ever before us, and to recall them from the graves where they are buried. The dead of Litchfield County! That mighty army! Oh think of it, of the host innumerable that would be called forth here and now, if the graves where the sons of Litch- field lie buried could give up their dead. Oh think of the mighty lessons they have taught-the mighty labors they have wrought ! The dead of Litchfield! Lost, yet found forever,- absent, yet present now and always,-dead, but living in that glorious life, which, commencing on the confines of time, spreads onward and ever onward, through the endless ages of eternity.
SPEECH OF GEORGE W. HOLLEY, ESQ.
GEORGE W. HOLLEY, Esq., of Niagara Falls, a native of Salisbury, was introduced to the meeting and said :-
MR. PRESIDENT, LADIES, AND GENTLEMEN :-
IF the gentleman who last addressed you was in danger of bankruptcy, on account of being compelled to repeat a twico told tale,-if he was a two story, I am a three story bankrupt ; for there is nothing to be said, appropriate to the occasion, which has not already been well said. But before proceeding to address you, in a more serious strain, permit me to follow the high exam- ple already set, and relate to you an anecdote. When I was a boy I went to see a menagerie. The whole menagerie consisted of an elephant, who was exhibited upon a barn floor. Among those who came to see him, was a tall, lean, wiry, six foot Yan- kee, who soon became particularly interested in the animal. After walking around him with his hands in his pantaloons pock- ets, and scrutinizing him closely, and remarking that he was "the curioustest critter that ever he seen," he began to ply the keeper with questions about him. After getting through with his color, his thick hide, his big legs, and his "queer feet," which " didn't have shoes on 'em like a hos," and "wasn't split up like a cow's," he came at last to the trunk, which the keeper told him he used mainly as a weapon of defence. "Weapon!" said Jonathan ; "weapon ! I shouldn't think it was good for any thing for sich use. Why, it's a limber thing, he can't du any thing with it." The result of the parley was, that Jonathan wanted to hold the elephant by the trunk, and the keeper was willing he should try the experiment. Accordingly, the keeper
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kept the elephant quiet, while Jonathan got his trunk under his left arm, seized his own coat collar with his left hand, and put his right arm around the big post next to the "big bay." After Jonathan got himself fairly fixed and settled in his hold, he told the keeper to "let his eritter go." After getting the spectators all into one corner of the barn, the keeper stepped aside and told the elephant to take care of himself :- whereupon, he proeceded to give his trunk a twist and a jerk, and Jonathan went across the barn-as a big boy near me said-"all sorts of ends fust- wards." But with one particular end he struck the little barn- door, knocked it off the hinges and rolled nearly across the barn- yard. Being, fortunately, but little hurt, he got up, and while brushing off the straw and dirt from his vest and pants, (for his coat was all torn off him,) he exelaimed : "Well, I swow, he is putty stout !"
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