USA > Massachusetts > Hampden County > West Springfield > Account of the centennial celebration of the town of West Springfield, Mass. : Wednesday, March 25th, 1874 : with the historical address of Thomas E. Vermilye the poem of Mrs. Ellen P. Champion, and other facts and speeches > Part 7
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" Remembrance oft shall haunt the shore,
" When Thames in Summer wreaths is drest,
" And oft suspend the dashing oar, "To bid his gentle spirit rest.
" And oft as ease and health retire " To breezy lawn, or forest deep,
" The friend shall view yon whitening spire,
" And mid the varied landscape weep.
EXTRACTS FROM SPEECHES AND LETTERS.
ONE of the gems of the occasion was a sparkling little speech from Mr. CHAN LAISUN (of Springfield for the present, but really of Shanghae, China), in return to the toast, "Our Chinese Cousins." He thanked the chairman for the honor, but he knew very little about West Springfield, and feared that a for- eigner would make a mull of our affairs. In 1653, when this part of the State was peopled by those who came from England, religious liberty was in great agitation ; the house of Stuart was trying to subvert it, and, for that reason, these men fled from their comfortable homes. They planted then in the wilderness that old Bay tree, whose influence spreads east and west, and even far beyond the ocean. Hampden county, West Spring- field-for the county is larger than the town, and in my land we always place the largest first,-the county of Hampden, you all know, was named after that great patriot, John Hampden ; and it has been the home of a spirit like his. I am happy to join with you in celebrating a hundred years, although in my own country I have often celebrated thousands. However, “ despise not the day of small things." All matters must begin. The number one has to add the numbers two and three, and so on, to make the thousands. I am happy to thank Massachusetts in your persons. It was from a Massachusetts lady I first learned the English language ; and little then could I think to stand here to give Massachusetts thanks. One hundred years ago, the ocean-separated countries of Asia were almost totally unknown ; you knew not whether celestials or savages dwelt there. But now the children of China, the celestials, have taken umbrage under the shadow of kind Massachusetts .- There was no speech more entirely enjoyed than this.
" The Memory of Dr. Joseph Lathrop" was briefly replied to by his great-grandson, WILLIAM LATHROP, of Newton, Mass.,
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who remarked that Rev. Dr. Vermilye had left him little to say in eulogy of his revered ancestor.
" Holyoke the yearling city, although she takes a large pro- portion of water from the nursing bottle, she appears to be mak- ing a healthy growth," called up Alderman HENRY A. CHASE, who said that notwithstanding the unanimous acceptance of the centennial committee's invitation by his city government, no other member was at the banquet, and, like Job's servants after the calamity, he could say, "And I only am escaped alone to tell thee." Before taking his seat, he gave a finely condensed picture of Holyoke's present prosperous condition and habits, and excused the absence of Mayor Pearsons and his associates, who had pressing business engagements.
D. B. MONTAGUE, of Springfield, exhibited the identical square and hammer used by his grandfather, Capt. Timothy Billings, in building the First Church on the hill, and said, the contract price for that building was one thousand four hundred dollars, and ten gallons of St. Croix rum, valued at about sixty dollars. No rum was used, but the money was finally divided among the workmen. Six to ten hands were employed on the building, and the contractor thought he made about four dollars a day. The price of board was then from one dollar and twenty-five cents, to one dollar and fifty cents per week. The Parish Com- mittee on building were Dr. Seth Lathrop, Justin Ely, Jr., Rug- gles Kent and Moses Ashley. There was sharp competition for the job, and Capt. Billings, who was then only twenty-eight years old, was thought by some not to have beard enough for so large a work. He replied that " skill and courage were more necessary than beard." This hammer was forged by a common blacksmith, and this iron square, made in the same way, was the first used in this part of the country. All carpenters used for framing, prior to that period, was a scribe rule and a ten foot pole. The job was commenced in the spring of 1800, and the building dedicated June 24, 1802. The story is told, that when the steeple was complete, and the vane which resembles a sturgeon, adjusted, some waggish men assembled at the tavern of Mr. Rufus Colton, in Ramapogue street, got a rich treat out of the landlord. They told him they had made a bet for the
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drinks, etc., to be paid when the bet was decided. This was perfectly satisfactory, and after all had partaken and repartaken he was told that one party bet that when the church steeple fell, the vane would go to the north, and the other party that it would go to the south. Landlord Colton doubtless enjoyed the joke as much as his company, for he was a jovial man. The bet is still unpaid, and both landlord and abettors now sleep be- neath the clods of the valley.
Dea. THOMAS TAYLOR, a wealthy farmer of Pittsfield, was an- other speaker. He said in substance: Mr. President, I left West Springfield in April, 1810, and found employment in the gun factory of Mr. Lemuel Pomeroy, of Pittsfield, at ten dollars per month and board. At the end of six months I took sixty dollars and a few clothes tied up in a handkerchief, and started on foot for my native town. I walked the entire distance, over forty miles, in a day, and handed over the money to my parents, reserving about twenty-five cents for my expenses back to Pitts- field. That was the way to make money once. My father and grandfather, natives of Tatham, both bore the name of Thomas Taylor. My mother was Clarissa Bagg, a daughter of Dea. John Bagg, and my love and recollections of her are now among the chiefest pleasures of my life. I was baptized by Dr. Lathrop at my father's house, the place now occupied by Mr. Elijah Sibley. My mother used to take me to church and place me on the pul- pit stairs during service ; whether because I was so good I am unable to say. This was in the old church, where over Dr. La- throp's head and mine, was suspended that awful looking trap they called a sounding-board. Dr. Lathrop was very venerable in appearance, and the children were wont to form in lines on either side of the road as he passed, to do him reverence. With his hat turned up on three sides, he would bow in recognition, and after he had passed, those were the happiest who could say " he bowed to me."
The speeches did not close till night, nor did the throng dis- perse till the band were summoned to play the departing march, after which it was reluctantly moved and voted that " this meet- ing do now adjourn for one hundred years."
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FROM A. A. WOOD, D. D.
LYONS, N. Y., FEB. 20, 1874.
MY DEAR MR. BAGG :- It would give me very great pleasure to be with you at the centennial celebration. But, as I have already written to you, this seems to be out of the question. I shall certainly be with you in thought and sympathy on that day, and I trust that the occasion will be everything that the most loyal child of West Springfield could desire. You will greatly miss some of the fathers of the town, who would have rejoiced had they lived to engage in such a commemorative service. Notably among these would have been Hon. Samuel
* * Lathrop, and Sewell White, Esq. *
Sewell White, " Uncle Sewell" as we loved to call him, was a walking magazine of facts and incidents in regard to the early history of the town. He had some fact to state, or some quaint story to tell, in regard to almost all the old houses and families. I think of these in this connection, but there are many others whose names and faces rise before me-good men and true.
May the day be auspicious, and all the services everything that could be desired. With fragrant memories, and good wishes,
I am, my dear sir, yours most truly,
A. A. WOOD.
P. S .- My two West Springfield boys, are Edward A. Wood, Geneva, N. Y., and Wm. L. Wood, Indianapolis, Indiana.
FROM HENRY M. FIELD, D. D., OF THE NEW YORK EVANGELIST. NEW YORK, March 20, 1874.
DEAR MR. BAGG :- It is a great temptation that you set be- fore me in the prospect of your centennial celebration, and my heart's desire is to come to the feast; but the very day ap- pointed for your village festival I am engaged here, so that I can only send you my best wishes for the blessed old town where we passed so many happy days. A place is always dear to us where we have been very happy ; and the four years that I was your pastor form a bright and sunny chapter in my life. Was there ever a cosier shelter for a new-married couple than that modest parsonage under the trees, over which the great elms bent in loving protection ? How often did we sit under their shade, book in hand, or talking with dear friends ; or stroll
FIE
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along the banks of your beautiful river at twilight ; or ride over the hills to hold meetings in the different districts of the town. It was then we tasted of your abundant hospitality. There is no fireside in the world more truly hospitable than that of a New England farmer, and when "the minister " comes nothing is too good for him. It seems to be Thanksgiving all the year round. Your people were indeed very, very kind to us, and their kindness will never be forgotten. Perhaps I fared better, coming after so many distinguished ministers, so that I inher-
ited the traditional reverence. Į have heard of troublesome parishes, and of crabbed old deacons, who vexed the life out of faithful ministers, but I know nothing of such from my own ex- perience. The first man who received me at West Springfield was good Deacon Merrick, and it made me sad, as I rode by his house last summer, to think that he was gone, and that I should see his face no more. There too was Deacon Smith, who always came to meeting, rain or shine, and whose prayers were so sim- ple and fervent they touched every heart ; and many others whose faces rise before me as I write, whom you miss in your assemblies. They are laid to rest in the yard by the Common, or by the church on the hill, where "the forefathers of the hamlet sleep."
You meet to celebrate the completion of a hundred years ! Where will you be a hundred years to come? Your children's children may live to see the day, but all who take part in this celebration will have passed from the earth. May it be that still, in that beautiful valley where it is your happiness to pass your lives, pleasant memories shall long linger among the trees, such as a good man could wish to leave behind. Few towns of New England have been favored with such a line of eminent preachers of the gospel. Remember their faithful teachings, and imitate their saintly examples ; so, if you never see another such day on earth, you may celebrate your next centennial in heaven.
Very affectionately your friend, and the friend of everybody in West Springfield,
HENRY M. FIELD.
FROM T. H. HAWKS, D. D.
MARIETTA, O., MARCH IO, 1874.
MR. J. N. BAGG,-Dear Sir : It was a matter of great regret to me that I could not attend the centennial celebration of the
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incorporation of West Springfield on the 25th ult. I remem- bered with delight the centennial anniversary of Dr. Lathrop's settlement, observed the year after my installation, and would gladly have participated in the recent festival, expecting a similar occasion of pleasure.
But better motives influenced me. To have been with you would have been to mingle with dear friends, and revive precious memories of the days when our field of labor and our home were in the goodly old town. There for six years we experienced the greatest kindness, were associated with noble Christian workers both in the church and in sister churches, and reveled in scenes of natural beauty which have been a joy to us ever since we left the place. A minister may go far, but rarely will he find so many causes of happiness in his place of work as we had in West Springfield. I should like to pay a tribute of reverence and love, to some who were with us then, but who have entered into rest. I do not forget however, that your festival was com- memorative of the incorporation of the town, and that such a tribute would rather befit a different occasion.
It is a peculiarity of New Englanders to love the places of their nativity with something of the warmth and devotion that characterize the Swiss and the Scotch. It is a work of filial love to gather together the fragments of history and put them in beautiful order, that as little as possible of the doings and sayings of their worthy ancestors may be lost. Their children will thank them for it, and so will some future historian.
West Springfield is fortunate in having one so able as Dr. Vermilye to put in permanent form some of the facts she would not have forgotten.
I feel much like a son writing of things that pertain to his mother and his childhood home ; for if I was not " to the manor born," I claim the privileges of an adopted son. Let me now tell you in few words how it has fared with us since we left West Springfield in the Spring of 1861.
Our home was in Cleveland, till May, 1868. There two child- ren were born to us ; we had three when we went from you. By the goodness of God all are living. In June, 1869, we came to this place, where I am pastor of the First Congregational Church.
We have occasion to thank God for His leading. But in every place, and as long as we may live, we shall praise Him
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for giving us the privilege of living and working in the good old town whose natal day, a hundred years ago, has been so worthily commemorated, and it shall be our prayer that on her churches and on all her people the choicest blessings of heaven may be bestowed. Yours truly,
T. H. HAWKS.
LETTER FROM E. B. FOSTER, D. D.
LOWELL, MASS., March 23, 1874.
MY DEAR MR. BAGG :- Your programme of the celebration, and your very kind invitation to be present at the Centennial, came duly to hand. I wish, with great desire, that I could be in West Springfield to-morrow, to join in memories, prophecies, hopes, congratulations, thanksgivings. Hardly a field which the Lord has planted will give so many outlooks into the past and the future, which will be instructive, quickening and precious.
It is impossible for me to be present. My people meet to- night to consult with regard to some plan of rest, which they propose to give me. I am well-nigh worn out, and have asked for a vacation of six months, or for an associate pastor. A visit to your family, and to the dear churches, and to the town, would be a great joy to me; but I am too much exhausted, and too sensitive to exposures, to allow me to take any journey in these bleak March airs.
You ask for some particulars of my own history. I was born in Hanover, N. H., May 26, 1813. My father's name was Rich- ard, my mother's Irene Burroughs. My maternal grandfather, Rev. Eden Burroughs, D. D., was for the first ten years of his ministerial life pastor of a Congregational church in Killingly, Conn., and for the last forty years of his life pastor of a Congre- gational church in Hanover, N. H. He was a life-long friend of President Wheelock, the founder of Dartmouth College, and for many years, as trustee and in the intimate fellowship of counsel, was associated with President Wheelock in the gov- ernment of the college. I graduated at Dartmouth College in 1837 ; studied two years at Andover Theological Seminary ; taught two years in academies in Pembroke, N. H., and Con- cord, N. H. I was married to Catherine, daughter of Deacon Orramel Pinneo, of Hanover, N. H., August 11, 1840. I was
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ordained pastor of the Congregational church, Henniker, N. H., August 17, 1841. I have also been settled as minister in Pel- ham, N. H., Lowell, Mass., and West Springfield, Mass. My eldest son, Addison Pinneo, now 32 years of age, is pastor of the Winnisimmet Congregational church in Chelsea, Mass. My eldest daughter, Emily, died aged 22, in West Springfield, Mass., Dec. 30, 1865, greatly beloved and greatly mourned. I have buried in their early childhood, just as the bud was begin- ning to break forth into mental and moral beauty, three sons- Charles, Edward and Bela. My youngest daughter, Nellie, is 17 years of age. I have published, on different subjects, twenty sermons and addresses. Through the gracious favor of a loving and guardian God, my pastorates have all been very happy, and I trust have not been without some fruits of blessing and of usefulness, in churches quickened and in souls converted.
Be assured, my dear Deacon Bagg, of my abiding gratitude to the dear old church of West Springfield, now working for Christ in two bands,-a living fountain from which richest streams of good have flowed. Be assured of the high honor and esteem in which I hold the men and women of the town, whose record has been one of integrity, enterprise, mental culture, generosity, noble progress. Be assured that my prayers will never cease for the large-minded and the large-hearted friends I found there, and for whose love and counsel I bless the Lord every day that I live.
With much love, and grateful remembrances to all,
Very affectionately yours, EDEN B. FOSTER.
FROM REV. HENRY M. GROUT.
CONCORD, March 18, 1874.
J. N. BAGG, EsQ .- My Dear Sir : It is with unfeigned regret that I find myself unable to accept your kind invitation to be present at the approaching "Centennial" of your beautiful and famous town, and take some part in its exercises. I comfort myself, however, with the thought, that in so large and distin- guished a company, my presence or absence could not much affect the interest of the occasion. A considerable portion of my last year at West Springfield was spent in looking up the early history of the Ancient Church upon the hill ; so that, al-
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though the last and youngest of all the pastors who have gone out from you, I came to feel myself on quite familiar terms with the early settlers. It struck me curiously, in tracing and iden- tifying some hundreds of names, that, with two or three excep- tions if I rightly remember, double Christian names made their appearance upon the records after the beginning of the present century. It was somewhere about that time that plain, substan- tial John and Sarah began to give place to the more fanciful and sentimental John Henry and Sarah Jane. We are not sure that this indicates any radical change in the character of the people, but pass the fact over to those philosophically inclined, as one worthy of their attention.
Among other discoveries we fancied we made, in connection with our historical researches, was the apparent mistake of those who imagine that there has been a decline in the church- going habits of our old New England towns. Such certainly has not been the case in West Springfield. Remembering that there are not fewer than twenty churches within the bounds of what was once the solitary First Parish-of what a goodly fam- ily is she the yet vigorous mother ;- it is evident that there at least, the excellent example of the fathers has not been forgot- ten. Then we observed, that, notwithstanding the frequent re- duction of its families by the formation of new societies, each succeeding half-century has witnessed yet more numerous ac- cessions to the original and mother church. Beginning with the year 1721, the first covered by existing records, three hun- dred and thirteen were added to its membership the first half- century, four hundred and forty-five the second, and six hundred and six the third. If, in these, and other respects, the course of improvement goes on in this way another half-century, so many of your scattered sons and daughters will desire to return to the delightful shade of your elms and maples, that there will be hardly room to receive them. I am with loyal spirit, and grate- ful memories, Very truly yours, HENRY M. GROUT.
FROM DEA. ELISHA ELDRIDGE.
ANN ARBOR, March 12, 1874.
GENTLEMEN :- As I cannot be present at the centennial cel- ebration on the 25th I will give you a few recollections.
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My father moved into West Springfield from Berlin, Ct., in 1790, during my infancy. Ministers and meeting-houses occu- pied more attention formerly than at present, and hence these are among my earliest recollections. The first meeting-house was situated near the middle of the Town Common. It was a square building, with doors on three sides. It had three roofs or stories, each story being smaller than the one below it, and the highest came to a point surmounted by an iron rod, which supported a huge sheet-iron vane. The inside of the house was built mostly of oak timber, including the pulpit. On the right of the pulpit, in the gallery, the treble singers sat. Opposite were the bass singers, while directly in front of the pulpit, the tenor and counter were seated. There was one seat in the gal- lery above all the rest occupied by the gentry or aristocracy. Dea. Pelatiah Bliss led the singing for a number of years, and afterwards Hon. Samuel Lathrop. Rev. Dr. Joseph Lathrop was a large, portly, venerable looking man, who preached in the same pulpit over sixty-four years, and until Dr. Sprague's set- tlement.
I recollect looking up into the old pulpit one Sabbath morn- ing and seeing a man that looked more like a straggler than a preacher. His hair looked as if it had not been combed for many days. This was Rev. Mr. Ballantine, of Westfield, who had made an exchange with Parson Lathrop. Timothy Billings, of Deerfield, contracted to build the meeting-house on the hill for one thousand four hundred dollars, and a suitable accompa- niment of good rum. The raising took place while a vessel was building on the Common, and the men there employed, assisted in raising the steeple. * * Yours truly,
ELISHA ELDRIDGE.
FROM ALONZO CHAPIN, M. D.
MANCHESTER, March, 24, 1874.
J. N. BAGG, Esq .- Dear Sir : I find myself, much to my re- gret, unable at the last, to be present at your centennial. I send my kind regards to all present, with the following senti- ment : "Our Alma Mater. Other scenes and other cares may divert us, but our early love we do not forget."
I will at some time try to tell you, as requested, of the Chapin family.
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Wishing you, as I have no doubt you will have, a very mem- orable occasion,
I am, yours truly,
A. CHAPIN.
FROM PROF. GEORGE E. DAY.
YALE COLLEGE, March 24, 1874. GENTLEMEN : Please accept my thanks for the invitation extended to me to attend the centennial celebration at West Springfield. It would give me great pleasure to be able to ac- cept it, but other engagements prevent.
Although not a son, I can claim to be a grandson of West Springfield. There my ancestors have lived for many genera- tions, and I shall always cherish a filial interest in all that con- cerns its prosperity.
It is not forgotten on this ground that one of your former pas- tors, the distinguished Dr. Lathrop, was called in 1793 to become Professor of Divinity in this College, and that the names of many natives of West Springfield appear upon its Triennial Catalogue.
In this list of graduates, the town is represented by two sons of the first minister, Rev. John Woodbridge, by his successor Rev. Samuel Hopkins and his son Samuel, by Dr. Lathrop who succeeded him and his son Hon. Samuel Lathrop, not to men- tion others among the living and the dead. May a true regard for education continue to characterize the town to the latest generation.
Respectfully yours, GEORGE E. DAY.
LETTER FROM N. T. LEONARD.
WESTFIELD, April 18, 1874.
J. N. BAGG, EsQ .- My Dear Sir: In accordance with your request that I should state the substance of my reminiscences in regard to the inhabitants of West Springfield, which the state of my health prevented my giving orally at the celebration, I would state: My father, Nathaniel Leonard, was a native of Sheffield ; of which town his father, bearing the same name, was one of the original proprietors. His mother was Sarah Flower, sister of Col. Samuel Flower and Mr. Timothy Flower.
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She died when my father was five years of age, and his father when he was but twelve. On the happening of the latter event, my father and one of his sisters were taken into the family of Major Jesse McIntire of Feeding Hills,-who was half brother of his father, and his wife's own sister of his mother,-where he remained from 1776 to about the time of the close of the Revo- lutionary war. Some incidents occurring during this time in- dicate the privations to which those living in that trying period voluntarily submitted, as well as their primitive modes of life.
Major McIntire had a good farm, and his house, which was the only one of brick in that era and vicinity, was some twenty feet square and a story-and-a-half in hight. This served the purpose for accommodation of at least six children, embracing the orphans and, it is my impression, Sarah [Ely], the grand- mother of my father, her first husband being Nathaniel Leonard, and after his death (the fashion of dissolution by divorce not then being introduced) she intermarried with Mr. William Mc- Www/ Intire. In this household the fare of the children was very plain. Sometimes when the pot had been boiled and the meat taken up, the liquor (thickened with flour or meal, the boiling process continued) served as one dish. At another time the liquor was made available by dipping bread into it and thus making toast. Bean porridge was another savory dish. The good aunt, of blessed memory, not only treated her orphaned sister's children as well as her own, but better; for while her boys sometimes refused the plain pies ordinarily prepared, when those of better flavor were served she was accustomed to give my father the largest piece, as a reward for having eaten what was set before him. He (Maj. McIntire) and his wife were ac- customed to sit beside each other, and to eat from the same plate at the table.
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