USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Ipswich > The celebration of the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the town of Ipswich, Massachusetts, August 16, 1844 > Part 1
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Gc 974.402 Ip6ipi 1779158
M.
REYNOLDS HISTORICAL GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01068 0970
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2015
https://archive.org/details/celebrationoftwo00ipsw_0
THE
CELEBRATION
OF THE 250ch TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY
OF TIIE INCORPORATION
OF THE
TOWN OF
IPSWICH
MASSACHUSETTS
AUGUST 16, 1884
BOSTON LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY 1884
1779158
F
8444
.4
Ipswich, Mass.
The celebration of the two hundred and fiftieth anni- versary of the incorporation of the town of Ipswich, Mas- sachusetts, August 16, 1884. Boston, Little, Brown and company, 1884.
vi, 12; p., 1 1., (31-149 p. 1 illus., plates (1 fold.) ports. 24}en.
Historical address: The evolution of a New England town, by Rev. John C. Kimball, p. 25-60.
1. Ipswich, Mass .- Ilist. 1. Kimball, John Calvin, 1832-
Library of Congress ( (32(1) F74.1616
1-11451
1
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ที่
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
INTRODUCTION.
PAGE
PROCEEDINGS AT THE ANNUAL TOWN-MEETING . 3
PROCEEDINGS AT THE ADJOURNED TOWN-MEETING 4
APPOINTMENT OF SUB-COMMITTEES, ETC. 4 THE PROCESSION 6
ORDER OF EXERCISES AT THE TENT
8
EXERCISES AT THIE TENT.
ADDRESS OF HON. GEORGE HASKELL, PRESIDENT OF THE DAY 9
ORIGINAL IIYMN BY THE REV. J. P. COWLES 12
PRAYER BY THE REV. TEMPLE CUTLER 13
POEM BY THE REV. J. O. KNOWLES, D.D. 16
ILISTORICAL ADDRESS BY THE REV. JOHN C. KIMBALL 25
POEM, " MOTHER IPSWICH " 61
ORIGINAL HIYMIN BY THE REV. J. O. KNOWLES, D.D. 64
THE DINNER.
REMARKS OF THE PRESIDENT . 67 REMARKS OF THE TOAST-MASTER, THE REV. T. FRANK WATERS . GS
ADDRESS OF GOVERNOR ROBINSON 69
LETTER FROM THE HION. ROBERT C. WINTHROP 75
ADDRESS OF THE HON. LEVERETT SALTONSTALL 76
ADDRESS OF THE REV. E. B. PALMER . 80
ADDRESS OF DR. DANIEL DENISON SLADE 84
REMARKS OF THE IION. C. A. SAYWARD
S7
vi
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
PAGE
REMARKS OF RICHARD S. SPOFFORD, EsQ. 90
POEM BY HARRIET PRESCOTT SPOFFORD 90
REMARKS OF MAJOR BEN : PERLEY POORE 93
REMARKS OF THE REV. GEORGE LEEDS, D.D. 95
LETTER FROM THE POET WHITTIER 98
ADDRESS OF THE HON. GEORGE B. LORING . 99
ADDRESS OF R. H. MANNING, ESQ. . 108
REMARKS OF THE REV. JOHN C. KIMBALL 113
REMARKS OF THE HON. EBEN F. STONE 114
ADDRESS OF COLONEL LUTHER CALDWELL 118
REMARKS OF THE REV. R. S. RUST. 120
ADDRESS OF MR. FRANCIS R. APPLETON 121
LETTER FROM THE MAYOR OF IPSWICH, ENGLAND 123
TELEGRAM FROM IPSWICH, ENGLAND 124
ADDRESS OF THE HON. S. H. PHILLIPS 124
TELEGRAM TO IPSWICH, ENGLAND 130
CLOSING EXERCISE .
131
SELECTIONS FROM CORRESPONDENCE.
LETTER FROM THE HON. JAMES G. BLAINE 133
LETTER FROM THE HON. W. W. DUDLEY 133
LETTER FROM REV. EDMUND F. SLAFTER . 134
LETTER FROM THOMAS MORONG, ESQ. 135
LETTER FROM S. L. CALDWELL, EsQ. 135
LETTER FROM THE HION. CHARLES LEVI WOODBURY 137
LIST OF INVITED GUESTS 139
THE CHOIR 145
DESCRIPTION OF IIELIOTYPES
147
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
-
PAGE
JOHN WINTHROP, JR.
Frontispiece
THE WINTHROP-BURNHAM HOUSE
. Next to Frontispiece
PUBLIC LIBRARY, POST OFFICE, AND METHODIST CHURCHI .
5
FIRST CHURCH, SOLDIERS' MONUMENT, AND GREEN
8
SOUTH CHURCH AND GREEN
S
IPSWICH, FROM HEARTBREAK HILL
25
VIEW FROM GREEN-STREET BRIDGE
67
THE HOWARD HOUSE
67
MR. RICHARD SALTONSTALL'S HOUSE, BUILT IN 1635 .
76
MEETING-HOUSES
80
COLONEL NATHANIEL WADE AND COLONEL JOSEPH HODGKINS .
88
THE MANNING SCHOOL
109
REV. THOMAS COBBETT'S HOUSE
118
THE DODGE HOUSE
118
CHOATE BRIDGE, BUILT 1764
148
1
١
John Winthrop
GOVERNOR JOHN WINTHROP THE YOUNGER.
.
JOHN WINTHROP, JR.
(FRONTISPIECE. )
JOHN WINTHROP, JR., eldest son of the Governor of Massachu- setts, born Feb. 12, 1606, was educated at Trinity College, Dublin, and a barrister of the Inner Temple. In 1631 he followed his father to New England, founded Ipswich, Mass., in 1632, was commissioned Governor of "Connecticut Plantation" in 1635, founded New London in 1645, was elected Governor of Connecti- cut in 1657, and obtained from the crown in 1661 the charter uniting the Connecticut and New Haven Colonies, continuing gov- ernor for nearly seventeen years. His public duties obliged him repeatedly to visit England, and during his residence there he became widely known as an accomplished scholar; was one of the early members of the Royal Society, and the friend and correspond- ent of the leading natural philosophers of that period. He also took a very active interest in the study of medicine, and practised extensively and gratuitously among his New England neighbors. The journal of Governor Winthrop the elder mentions that his son John possessed in Boston, in 1640, a library of more than a thou- sand volumes. Some three hundred of these books can still be identified, and bear testimony to the learning and broad intellec- tual tastes of their original possessor. He died in Boston, April 5, 1676, aged seventy, and was buried with his father in King's Chapel graveyard. By his first wife (his cousin Martha Fones) he left no issue. By his second wife (Elizabeth, daughter of Edmund Reade of Wickford County, Essex, and step-daughter of the celebrated Hugh Peter) he left two sons, Fitz-John and Wait, and five daughters, - Elizabeth, wife of Rev. Antipas Newman, and afterward of Zerubbabel Endicott ; Lucy, wife of Major Edward Palmes ; Margaret, wife of John Curwin ; Martha, wife of Richard Wharton ; and Anne, second wife of Judge John Richards.
His first wife was buried in Ipswich, and his eldest son, Fitz- John Winthrop, afterwards Governor of Connecticut, was born there. - From the Winthrop Papers. Collections of the Massachu- setts Historical Society.
CELEBRATION
OF THE
TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY i OF
THE TOWN OF IPSWICHI. P
44 .
INTRODUCTION.
A T the Annual Town-Meeting, held in the Town HIall, Monday, March 5, 1883, the Hon. CHARLES A. SAYWARD, moderator, called the atten- tion of the meeting to the fact that the two hun- dred and fiftieth anniversary of the incorporation of the town would occur on the 16th of August, 1884, and suggested that measures should be adopted for its proper celebration. The suggestion was favorably received; and, upon motion of the Ilon. FREDERIC WILLCOMB, it was voted that a com- mittee to take the matter in charge should be named by the moderator. He appointed -
Hon. FREDERIC WILLCOMB, Mr. JOSEPH ROSS, Mr. THOMAS HI. LORD, Mr. G. W. COBURN,
Mr. PHILIP E. CLARKE, Mr. GEORGE E. FARLEY, Mr. D. FULLER APPLETON, Mr. JOHN HEARD,
who were approved by the meeting; and, upon fur- ther motion of Mr. Willcomb, the moderator was added to the number.
The Committee shortly after organized, electing Hon. C. A. SAYWARD chairman, and Mr. GEORGE E. FARLEY secretary.
4
THE TOWN OF IPSWICH.
At an adjourned town-meeting, held Monday, April 7, 1884, the Committee requested that the sum of one thousand dollars should be appropriated for the expenses of the occasion. The sanction of the State Legislature having been obtained, the appropriation was promptly voted. It was further voted that the selectmen of the town, Mr. NATHANIEL R. FARLEY, chairman, Col. NATHANIEL SHATSWELL, and Mr. ALBERT S. BROWN, should be joined to the committee.
From this time forward the Committee held fre- quent meetings, and arranged sub-committees to attend to various matters of detail .. They invited .. e HIon. GEORGE HASKELL to assume the duties of president of the day, the Rev. JOHN C. KIMBALL to deliver the oration, and the Rev. T. FRANK WATERS to act as toast-master. Col. NATHANIEL SHATSWELL was appointed chief marshal.
It was originally intended that the exercises should be held in the Town Hall; but, as it was feared this would be insufficient to accommodate the number expected, a tent was erected for the purpose on the green near the First Church. Another tent was erected for the dinner, which was served in a very handsome manner by Mr. DOOLING from Boston. The ladies of Ipswich contributed the flowers. The number seated at dinner was about one thousand, the invited guests occupying two tables raised above the others, at one of which presided the president of the day, the Hon. GEORGE HASKELL, and at the other, the chairman of the committee, the Hon. C.
ve
5
INTRODUCTION.
A. SAYWARD. Music was furnished by the GERMANIA BAND from Boston, and by the LYNN BRASS BAND. The chorus, of over fifty voices, was under the di- rection of Mr. ARTHUR S. KIMBALL, a native of Ipswich, but now of Oberlin, Ohio.
The Town Hall, Post Office, Odd Fellows' Hall, Manning School, and Public Library, and the resi- dences of the townspeople generally, were handsome- ly decorated, and the town altogether presented a most attractive appearance. The weather was all that could be desired.
Salutes of thirty-eight guns cach were fired by BATTERY C, Light Artillery, of Lynn, from Town Ilill, at sunrise, noon, and sunset. A brilliant dis- play of fireworks in the evening, accompanied by music from the bands, closed the proceedings of the day.
The Committee charged with this compilation desire to express their thanks to Mr. ROBERT C. WINTHROP, Jr., of Boston, and to Mr. ROBERT WIN- THROP of New York, for their kind aid. The last- named gentleman is the owner of the original portrait from which the heliotype that fronts this volume was taken.
They also thank the Rev. AUGUSTINE CALDWELL and Mr. ARTHUR W. Dow, proprietors of the Ipswich Antiquarian Papers, for the prints of the old Ipswich churches, and of Colonels Wade and Hodgkins.
They further offer their grateful acknowledgments to Dr. HENRY WHEATLAND, President of the Essex Institute, for much valuable assistance.
6
THE TOWN OF IPSWICHI.
THE PROCESSION.
AT nine A.M., upon the arrival of his Excellency the Governor, and Staff, the Lieutenant-Governor, and many of the invited guests, the procession was formed at the Eastern Railroad Station as follows: -
Chief Marshal, Col. NATHANIEL SHATSWELL. Chief of Staff, CHARLES W. BAMFORD. Aids,
WALTER E. LORD.
CHARLES HASKELL.
LYMAN HT. DANIELS.
ELISHA N. BROWN.
FRED. G. ROSS. SAMUEL G. BRACKETT.
ALBERT P. JORDAN.
CHARLES W. BLAKE.
EDWARD F. BROWN.
WAYLAND W. WAITE.
ALLAN W. BROWN.
LAWRENCE MCKAY.
WILLIAM A. STONE.
DANIEL B. BURNHAM.
CURTIS DAMON.
JOHN I. SULLIVAN.
WILLARD F. KINSMAN. Germania Band of Boston, 25 pieces.
General Appleton Post, 128, Grand Army of the Republic, 100 men. Commander, LUTHER WAIT.
JOHN D. BILLINGS and Staff, Department Commander Grand Army of the Republic.
O. HI. P. Sargent Post, 152, of Essex, 40 men. Commander, TIMOTHY ANDREWS.
Agawam Lodge, 52 I. O. O. F., 56 men. Noble Grand, AUGUSTINE H. PLOUFF : Marshal, WILLIAM P. ROSS.
Ipswich Mutual Benefit Society, 50 men. CHARLES OLSEN, President ; NATHANIEL L. CLARK, Conductor. Lynn Brass Band, 25 pieces, under Drum Major COLCORD. SYLVANUS F. CANNEY, Chief Engineer Ipswich Fire Department. Assistants : EDWARD W. CHOATE, MOSES SPILLER, ERASTUS CLARKE, Jr.
-
7
THE PROCESSION.
Marblehead Drum Corps.
Warren Engine and Hose Company, 40 men. GEORGE P. SMITH, Foremau.
Barnicoat Engine Company, 50 men. STEPHEN BAKER, Foreman. Danvers Drum Corps.
Sutton Hook and Ladder Company, 40 men. NATHANIEL ARCHIER, Foreman. Washington Blues, in barge.
Carriage with four horses, containing his Excellency Governor ROBINSON, Adjutant-General S. DALTON, and NATHANIEL R. FARLEY, Chairman Ipswich Selectmen.
Carriage containing Lieutenant-Governor AMIEs and members of the Governor's Staff.
Carriages containing Veterans of the G. A. R., Veteran Odd Fellows, Veteran Soldiers and Sailors, Survivors of the Denison Light Infantry, and THOMAS SMITH, only sur- vivor in Ipswich of the war of 1812. ;
Carriage containing Rev. JOHN C. KIMBALL, orator of the day, and Mrs. KIMBALL.
Carriage containing old Ipswich townsmen : Mr. EZEKIEL PEABODY, aged 96; Mr. JEREMIAH S. PERKINS, aged 87, and Mr. I. PULSIFER (now of Salem).
Carriages with Selectmen and Town Officers of Ipswich. Carriages with invited guests. ROUTE OF THE PROCESSION.
Market to Depot Square; countermarch, - Market to Central Street, Central to Mineral, Mineral to Gravel, Gravel to High, up High Street to Harris Square ; countermarch, -down High to East Street, East to Cross Street, Cross to Summer Street, Summer to Water Street, Water to Green Street, Green to Cross Street, Cross to Summer Street, Sum- mer to Main Street, Main to Soldier's Monument, thence by Green to County Street, County to School Street, to Linden Street, to South Main Street, through South Main to the tent appropriated to the exercises of the day, where it was dismissed.
ORDER OF EXERCISES AT THIE TENT.
I. MUSIC. GERMANIA BAND.
Il. INTRODUCTORY ADDRESS. HON. GEORGE HASKELL, PRESIDENT OF THE DAY.
III. READING OF THE SCRIPTURES. (PSALMS XVIX. AND C.) REV. CHARLES T. JOHNSON.
IV. ORIGINAL HYMN. TUNE, " MERIBAR." REV. J. P. COWLES.
V. PRAYER. REV. TEMPLE CUTLER.
VI. POEM. MRS. ILARRIET PRESCOTT SPOFFORD.
VII. ANTHEM: "PRAISE THE LORD."
VIII. ADDRESS. REV. JOIN C. KIMBALL.
IX. MUSIC. LYNN BRASS BAND.
X. POEM: "MOTHER IPSWICH." BY ONE OF BER GRANDCHILDREN. READ BY ROLAND COTTON SMITH.
XI. ORIGINAL HYMN. TUNE, "ST. ANN." REV. J. O. KNOWLES, D.D.
XII. DOXOLOGY. TO BE SUNG BY THE AUDIENCE, ACCOMPANIED BY THE BAND.
XIII. BENEDICTION.
NOTE. - It will be observed that the exercises did not exactly follow the programme.
١٠٠
EXERCISES AT THIE TENT.
T IIE exercises at the tent began with music by the GERMANIA BAND, after which the Presi- dent of the Day made the following introductory address : -
ADDRESS OF HION. GEORGE ILASKELL, PRESIDENT OF THE DAY.
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, - Two hundred and fifty years ago this day, the Court of Assistants, which at that time con- stituted the government of the Massachusetts Colony, passed an order that " Agawam shall be called Ipswitch ; " and from that date and event we reckon our existence as a town. We have met to-day, in commemoration of that event, to refresh and strengthen the memory of the circumstances and the events attending the settlement of the town, and of the character and work of the men engaged in that undertaking. The beauty of this location and the fertility of the soil allured settlers here several years before the act of incorpo- ration, and before any grant of the land was made or author- ized; for we find in the colonial records, as early as 1630, -- on the 7th of September, the same day on which it was ordered that " Trimountain should be called Boston," - the Court of Assistants also issued an order " that a warrant shall be presently sent to Agawam to command those that are planted there forthwith to come away." Who were then planted here, and whether they left or not, are matters of
10
you
THE TOWN OF IPSWICHI.
uncertainty ; but, a few years later, a number of the most prominent men of the Colony came to this town to reside. They had grants of land - house-lots, town-lots, as they were called - for the erection of residences, planting-lots of about six acres near by, and a larger extent of agricultural or farm- ing land farther away. Several of them built residences in the town ; but, after the lapse of a few years, some of them removed from the town, and sold their lands here. A few, however, who moved away, retained their lands, which have descended to some branch of their families, and are held to-day, in many instances, by the descendants of the first grantee. Those who remained here gave their attention to the cultivation of the soil, and agriculture became, and for two hundred years continued to be, the principal business of the town. These early settlers were men of good education, for that period. They knew the value of education, and at once provided for the instruction of their children. They understood their rights, and were among the first in the country to assert those rights against the encroachments of the crown. They comprehended their duties as citizens, and no interest of church or town suffered by their neglect. They recognized their obligations to a rightful government, and met all the requisitions upon them for men and means which the exigencies of the Colony often made necessary. Living upon their lands, they were in a measure secluded from much of the rest of the busy world ; but upon those estates they enjoyed all the highest blessings of human life, -- health, peace, plenty, and contentment. But such quiet lives were not adapted to all times and to all temperaments; and many young men of every generation, natives of the town, moved away in quest of fame or fortune. We have no reason to complain of their departure. They generally bore with them cultivated intel- lects and good morals ; and many of them became centres of widespread and beneficial influence in their new homes, and thus brought honor upon their native town. The people of this town have always felt much interest in those families that have moved from them, and have taken pride in the
11
ADDRESS OF HON. GEORGE HASKELL.
prominence they have attained in the business and profes- sional cireles of larger communities ; and we are glad, very glad, to meet on this occasion representatives of so many of those families that moved from our borders in earlier or in later times. We trust they will find in the incidents of this day - in what they shall see and hear of the town, its origin and progress, its people, its natural beauties and institutions- something to increase and strengthen their interest in the town, in its history and future. It is one of the peculiar advantages of a celebration of this kind, that it calls these wanderers home ; that it strengthens and quickens the mem- ories that cluster around the home of their childhood; that it excites an interest in the localities and scenes in which their ancestors lived and labored, and strengthens their affec- tion for their native land. Love of home begets love of country ; and it is well, by such a celebration as this, to strengthen the attachment of every son and daughter of the land to their old ancestral home ; so that, wherever they may wander over the earth, they will turn to it with fond recollee- tion, and come back to it in after-life to revive the memories of the past, and to renew the associations and ties of their childhood and youth.
During the long existence of the town, and since many of these families moved from her borders, there have, of course, been some changes here; but much remains as it was in the times of our ancestors. Enough remains unchanged, we think, to make the town interesting to their descendants. Many of these dwellings they built and occupied. The fields they planted and tilled are all around us. Their graves are here. Sires and sons of successive generations rest on yon- der hillside. We walk to-day in the paths our fathers trod; we drink at the fountains from which they drank ; we gather around the hearthstones which they laid; and Nature here wears her primitive beauty still, unspoiled by the hands of man. From these surrounding hilltops we have the same grand and beautiful prospect which they beheld: on one side the ocean, always sublime, the islands, the long line of
12
THE TOWN OF IPSWICHI.
shore, and the distant headlands; on the other side a wide and varied prospect of hill and valley, field and forest, and the little streams glistening among the overhanging branches and tall groves, - a view which must have filled their hearts . with gladness when they first looked upon it as their land of promise, and which is spread before our sight to-day as our inheritance from them.
Your attention is, now asked to the reading of select portions of Scripture by the Rev. CHARLES T. JOHNSON, of this town.
Rev. Mr. JOHNSON read Psalms XCIX. and C.
PRESIDENT HASKELL. - An original hymn, by Rev. J. P. COWLES of this town, will now be sung.
The hymn was sung to the tune of " Meribah," and was as follows : -
AN ORIGINAL HYMN.
I LOVE the land that gave me birth : What lovelier spot can be on earth Than where I first drew breath ? I love the ashes of my sires ; Fresh will I keep their altar-fires Until I sleep in death.
Hail, solemn Puritanie shore ! All hail, thine everlasting roar Of deep Atlantic born ! Can other rock with that compete, Where stepped those blessed Pilgrim feet That cold December morn ?
Henceforth thy ragged rocks are fair, New England, yea, beyond compare ; One sanctifies them all : Thy hills are crowned with yeomen bold ; Their thews of strength thy rights enfold As with a granite wall.
13
PRAYER BY REV. TEMPLE CUTLER.
This is our cradle, here our graves :
Where is the recreant soul that craves A Paris, or a Rome ? Brave Peregrine ! the first that said,
" Here I was christened, here I wed, And this shall be my home."
Young star of empire, hold thy way ; None talk to thee of cold decay, Or calculate thine age ; None speculate with curious eyes
And base delight on thy demise, Or spell thy latest page.
Foes of my country, think, beware ! Touch not the ark beloved where Her pledge of union lies : Her band of stars shall not decline,
Her heroes never cease to shine Clear in the upper skies.
PRESIDENT HASKELL. - Prayer will now be offered by the Rev. TEMPLE CUTLER of Essex.
The Rev. TEMPLE CUTLER invoked the divine bless- ing as follows : -
PRAYER.
O Thou whose name is Jehovah, who alone art most high over all the earth, who wast the God of our fathers, and didst promise unto them to be a God unto their children and children's children, until the remotest generations, to them that fear Thee and keep Thy commandments, we desire to come before Thee with gratitude for all Thy infinite love and mercy shown toward us, and in humble penitence for our many transgressions. We blush, O God, at the remembrance of the sins that have been committed in the sight of such infinite goodness ; but we rejoice at the gracious word that comes from Thee, through the mouth of Thy prophet, that,
--
14
THE TOWN OF IPSWICH.
though our sins be as scarlet, Thou canst make them white as snow. We beseech Thee, O Lord, to wash us thoroughly from our iniquity, and to cleanse us from our sins; for we acknowledge our transgression, and our sin is before Thee. Be Thou merciful unto our unrighteousness ; and our sins and our iniquities do Thou remember no more. Through Jesus Christ our Lord.
We render thanks unto Thee, O God, for those gracious providences which have crowned our day with those civil and religious privileges which we enjoy ; for a government founded upon the eternal principle of righteousness and truth as discovered in thy Holy Word; for the faithful ad- ministration of the laws of our land, whereby are secured unto us all those individual privileges consistent with the association of free, independent agents in a body politic; for the spirit of intelligence that pervades the masses of our people ; for our schools and colleges, and all our seminaries of learning ; for our churches and the faithful ministration of all the holy offices of our blessed religion. We thank Thee that Thou didst endow the fathers with that spirit of wisdom that enabled them to lay firm and deep the founda- tions of all these inestimable blessings.
We beseech Thee, O Lord, that Thou wilt grant unto us grace that we may discharge the high trusts worthily that have been transmitted unto us. Standing here to-day upon this ground hallowed by the footsteps of our Puritan Fathers, we pray that Thou wilt inspire us with a portion of their heroism, that we may meet the conflict that awaits us in the advancing of those principles which they so clearly enunci- ated and so firmly established. O God, may not these insti- tutions which we love so dearly pass into unworthy hands ! Grant, we beseech Thee, our Father, that we may transmit them to our children, perfected and established by the wis- dom which Thou shall grant unto us.
We beseech Thee, O Lord, that Thou wilt give a special blessing upon all the exercises of this day, - this day when we look back over a quarter of a thousand years of history,
15
PRAYER BY REV. TEMPLE CUTLER.
and rehearse the deeds of our fathers. We thank Thee, O Lord, for the holy men, and good men, and true men, that have laid the foundations of this government in the days gone by. We thank Thee for all that we enjoy through them. We pray, heavenly Father, that Thy blessing may rest upon this town, upon all the descendants of those Pil- grim Fathers. We thank Thee, O Lord, for these schools that have been here established, and these seminaries, from which have gone forth, not only the sons and daughters of Ipswich, but the sons and daughters of other towns, to exert their influence upon the world, and to establish firmly the great principles of truth and liberty as they have received them by these firesides and in these schools.
O Lord, now we beseech Thee that Thou wilt bless this gathering. Bless every utterance that may be made here. Be with our servant who shall speak unto us of the history of this town. We beseech Thee that Thy blessing shall rest upon every word that shall be spoken in this gathering. Wilt Thou remember, and kindly wilt Thou regard, those friends and neighbors who have come here this day to cele- brate this two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the founda- tion of this town. O Lord, grant that we may go down from this place with our hearts inspired with a holy zeal, with firm and true patriotism, with a holy ambition and a strong endeavor to make our lives useful, and that they may be full of service for the generations which are to come, and may rise up and call us blessed, as we call the fathers blessed who have gone before us. And the glory we will give to Thee, the Father, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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