USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Andover > Andover, Massachusetts : Proceedings at the celebration of the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the incorporation of the town, May 20, 1896 > Part 9
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13
And nobler still, the first in land, To write on high that God's command Was far above all classic lore, Or poets from Castalian shore.
O noble soul of Phillips name, To-day the whole world owns thy fame, While Phillips School is loved and blest ; Where'er men roam in east or west.
School, which for hundred years and more, Has opened wide and generous door To truth, when she was known by few, To learning old, and science new.
Whose walls have rung with echo loud, Great names of which the world is proud, Dear names, which whether far or near, Bring songs of love, and hope, and cheer.
So twine once more the ivy green, And once more wreathe the bay leaves sheen ; That town must never blush for shame, Which guardian is of Phillips fame.
IIO
ANDOVER, MASSACHUSETTS
And as the years have come and gone, Round Phillips School, so early born, Religion grave has made her seat, And school for maidens, fair and sweet,
Has risen at the foot of hill ; Fruit of the loving, generous will, Of one who to the Phillips kin In her low grave long years has been.
O, trio, blest, and good, and wise ! Pride in your fair fame never dies, For of your life the noblest part Springs deep from out the old town's heart.
And not alone these buildings high, Ring with great names and reach the sky; We sce grand faces in the street, By stream and grove their clear eyes meet.
Here rode the Father of his land, And gracious waved his courtly hand; Here to the plaudits of the crowd, The gallant Frenchman lowly bowed.
And parsons with their gowns and bands, And hour glass quaint to tell the sands, And women of heroic make, Who risked their all for love's sweet sake.
But why their titles now rehearse? Why praise their deeds in trembling verse ? The seed they sowed has flowered in worth, And "added beauty to the earth."
III
250TH ANNIVERSARY
Then once again, as long ago, when life with love was all aglow,
When men dwelt quiet at their ease,
And wealth was borne on every breeze,
Was heard a warning voice, "Not yet is freedom won ; And ne'er will be, while in this land, a single son Of mine is called a slave, is bought and sold, and made To work in fields and woods, and in rice swamps, unpaid ; Black he may be, or white, unknown, unlearned, or poor, But while in bondage one is held, your freedom is not sure. You have grown rich upon his toil; you softly live, While he is starved and cold. You must arise and give Such freedom as is yours; must break his heavy chains Though at the cost of death, and prisoners' lonely pains.
"Then raise once more, O sons of mine, My flag of heavenly blue ; Draw once again my shining blade, And hold it high in view. Then close your ranks, and waiting stand Till loud I call throughout the land."
They waited through the April days, When tidings swiftly flew That erring brothers in their rage Had fired on flag of blue, Had lifted sacrilegious hands And laid it low on Charleston sands.
Then freedom from her starry heights, Called loud the roll of fame, And swift as arrow from the bow, Came answer to the samc. Turn, comrades, turn, the old leaves o'er, And read the lofty names once more.
But read them low on bended knee, And humble tribute pay, They were the noblest in our town, Who heard the call that day. And who once more to deadly strife Bore high the names which shaped our life.
II2
ANDOVER, MASSACHUSETTS
No deed of theirs has ever shamed, Our proud and ancient town ; Their courage and their zeal, we count The jewels in her crown. And write their names on record high, And ne'er will let their memory die.
That roll of fame I careful scan, For name above the rest. For some more shining word or deed, To be by pen confest. But vainly scan, for every deed, Asks of our praise the highest meed.
Yet stay, there is a simple boy, Younger than those I see : Who often from our library wall, Turns serious eyes to me, Not braver he than comrades true, And not so strong or wise, And who my words would hear to-day With scarcely pleased surprise.
Who would, perhaps, have said aloud, " Our Captain was our pride, And my messmate the bravest man Who for the old flag died, While as for me, I loved my town, And heard my country call, But in the camp and on the field, Was boy amongst them all."
But just because he was a boy, Like those before me now, The brighter shines his hurried life, The aureole on his brow. "You are too young," the elders cried, Yet, when fresh summons came, Again upon the crowded list, Was Walter Raymond's name.
II3
250TH ANNIVERSARY
Lone was the home he left behind, But quick from field and tent, Came boyish letters, brief and plain, Begging that food be sent ; And like a boy bewailing oft, How slow and small his pay, And how for papers and for books He looked in vain each day.
" And how were all within the house ? How bloomed his mother's flowers ?" Ah, friends ! you think them trifles small, But then the boy was ours. More serious soon the letters grew, And simple as a child, He told how when 'twas time to fight, He knelt in thicket wild,
And asked his God to help him stand Firm in his ordered place ; And that he might not be afraid To meet his foeman's face. Low over to himself he said The collect for the day, And knew the Lord was by his side, Through all the fearful fray.
The summer brief was almost gone, When in one twilight sweet, A passing friend laid lightly down, Across his mother's feet, A letter, faded, crumpled, old, Which told how days before, Her boy upon a rapid raid Along the river shore,
Had captured been by rebel horde, And driven swift away ; But to what city, or what town, No man of them could say. No more than this, except that he Called loud to those behind ; To turn them sharp, and save the trap, To which he had been blind.
114
ANDOVER, MASSACHUSETTS
It was a brave and generous thing To do that fatal day, " But then you know," they only said, "That it was Walter's way." Then darkness like the blackest night, And silence like the tomb, Hid from their straining, aching hearts, The knowledge of his doom.
And that the tale was common then, More bitter made the grief, More keen the anguish of the home, Where hope gave no relief.
'Twas autumn first, and winter then, But when the tardy spring, Was sweet with leaves, and buds, and flowers, And songs the wild birds sing ; They heard, how in a prison pen, Ill, cold, and starved beside ; While bells rang loud for Christmas Day That brave young boy had died.
And heard as well, how urged to sell His honor, and be free, He answered with uplifted head, " The dead cart first for me." How begged to steal from scanty store, Of feebler men than he, The answer still had been the same, "That will not do for me, They do not teach, you see, their boys That way in my old town ; Just tell my father how I died ;" And smiling laid him down.
Our Christmas bells o'er fields of snow, He needed not to hear, For loud rang out the bells of Heaven As that pure soul drew near.
And boys, with clear eyes like his own, Who bear his name to-day, Who proudly march beneath the flag, Which o'er his soul had sway, Remember through all coming years; Whatever storms betide, How grandly for that starry flag, Young Walter Raymond died.
115
250TH ANNIVERSARY
THE BANQUET
Prof. Churchill, in welcoming the company at the begin- ning of the banquet, said :
Fellow Citizens : Let us congratulate ourselves that we are assembled in such goodly numbers on this day of brightness and beauty, to celebrate the quarter-millenial birthday of our dear old town. It is my pleasant duty and privilege to welcome, in your name, the invited guests of the day,- our distinguished chief magistrate and members of his staff who accompany him, our representa- tive in the national halls of Congress, the sons and daughters of Andover who come back to the old home as on some glad Thanks- giving festival, and other respected guests whom we have invited to share with us in the congratulations and the hopes of the hour ; one and all we bid you thrice welcome. Happy are we in the day itself, the " bridal of earth and sky ;" it is a day for the Doxology. I think we cannot better express the sentiment of our common heart than by uniting hearts and voices in that glorious old Doxology which our fathers sung; after which the Rev. Frank R. Shipman, pastor of the Old South Church, chaplain of the day, will invoke the divine presence and blessing.
The Doxology was then sung by the audience, led by the band; and grace was said by Chaplain Shipman.
After the banquet was finished, at 3.10 o'clock, Prof. Churchill rose and opened the speaking as follows :
Commemoration days like this, my fellow citizens, are to be cher- ished as the blossoms of century plants, so rare are they, so fragrant with the aroma of the past, so full of suggestive interest. The anni- versary itself carries its own enjoyment. What lineal son of our worthy sires is not quickened to his heart's depths as he thinks of kindred and ancestry? What citizen of Andover is not thrilled with pardonable pride as he realizes through the scenes and the events of the day his vital connection with the dangers and achievements of the days of long ago?
116
ANDOVER, MASSACHUSETTS
Time, in his advance of two centuries and a half, has cast behind him a deep shadow, covering many a name, many a scene, many an event, inseparably intermingled with the fortunes of the present and the hopes of the future. With Old Mortality, the wandering religious enthusiast of Scottish romance, we consider that we "are fulfilling a sacred duty while renewing to the eye of posterity the zeal and the sufferings of our forefathers." In this spirit of veneration for a brave and godly ancestry, we said to the orator of the day: "Take the anti- quarian's torch, penetrate the dark corners, search out the hidden things of our history, sweep the dust from honored names, tear away the moss from their deeds, retrace the fading lines, that we may have a distincter knowledge and a deeper appreciation of the beginnings of our goodly heritage." Most splendidly has he accomplished his noble task. Gratefully do we recognize the patient care and the consummate skill with which he has performed this pious duty to the past. We summoned the poet of the day, and bade her "with garland and with singing robes about her," to stir and touch our hearts with the romance that lies along the pathway of the centuries. Most impressively has she appealed to our hearts and imaginations, as she has sung to us of the saintly Ann Bradstreet, of the dauntless Martha Carrier, of the brave John Barker, and told how young Walter Raymond died.
And now, with the solemnities completed, we linger a little while around the family table, to engage in the interchange of thought and sentiment ; and in friendly talk catch glimpses of some of those side- lights which illumine the significance of our life and history as a good old New England town.
Instinctively, we all think first of our beloved Com- monwealth; and we gladly salute him who so honorably represents her as the executive head of the great State of which Andover is a component part. Let our first senti- ment, then, be The Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
It is with peculiar pride and pleasure that I present His Honor, Lieut. Gov. Roger Wolcott, Acting Governor of the State of Massachusetts.
ACTING GOVERNOR ROGER WOLCOTT
Mr. President, ladies and gentlemen of the historic town of Andover : I should be tempted to begin the informal words that I
II7
250TH ANNIVERSARY
shall speak to you to-day with a word of congratulation upon the peculiar splendor of this beautiful spring day, if it were not that I have thought that I detected at the lips of your reception committee, when I referred to that impressive subject of the weather, a sort of suggestion that it was no cause of peculiar congratulation to the people of Andover, because a day like this was nothing more than their just due.
It has been my privilege to attend many occasions of this com- memorative nature ; some of them marking, as this does, the close of a period in the history of a municipality, others commemorating the recurrence of the death of some noted individual or of the happening of some noted event ; and I have always found such occasions to pos- sess a peculiar interest to any son of the Commonwealth of Massa- chusetts. I believe that it is a holy and a pious duty to bring back to the minds of the young the fresh memory of these great events of the past. I believe that it does good to any son or daughter of the good old stock of New England to teach him anew the lesson of the suffer- ing and the endurance and the heroism of the men and women that have laid the foundation of this Commonwealth. I believe that to the mind of the son of the newest immigrant upon our shores, the latest arrival, who has come here loyally to cast in his lot with ours, that it is good for him to learn that he is throwing in his history and his contribution into the vast story of a great and a noble past.
It is true, and it is the pride of the Commonwealth that it is true, that many features of these local histories are similar. They all tell the story of the life of a municipality from its humble beginning when there was suffering and endurance, when there were no great differ- ences of wealth or position, although the parson and the squire always received the acknowledgment of their recognized position, but there were no extremes of great wealth or of squalid poverty. The story goes on through the long struggle with nature and the final fight with the Indians, and then it carries the story of the town or the city through the splendid period of the Revolution, and it brings it along through all the rapid development of this century, until we come down to that last bugle blast in defence of nationality and to wipe out the curse of slavery, and then, thank God, the story of that period of all the towns and all the cities of the Commonwealth, my friends, is very much the same. It is honorable to them all.
118
ANDOVER, MASSACHUSETTS
And yet, there are here and there these local differences that pre- vent the story from being monotonous. You take one group of towns skirting the Cape and running up to the rocky peak of Cape Ann, and you find that all down through their story there is the smell of salt water. You take another group of towns, and they crown our hills across the centre of the Commonwealth, until we come to the forests of Berkshire, and there you find the story of slow growth, in some cases, I regret to say, of a diminishing population ; and yet, there you know that from those hard and barren farms there come the brave young men and the virtuous girls that come down to our cities and make the very best element in our urban population.
Then you take the great cities that have grown up, because they have made their contribution to the wonderful industrial progress of the time, and you know that they are contributing to cheapen the products of man's labor and to make what are the luxuries of one gen- eration the necessities and the common possession of the next. And then there is the final group to which the town of Andover belongs ; Cambridge, with Harvard College ; Somerville, with Tufts ; Amherst ; way off in the corner of the State, Williams College, honored and beloved ; and then the towns that are famous because they have made academies that have made a name and a fame for themselves. And then in this presence how shall I speak upon Andover, with its old seat upon a hill, with its long story of public service of individuals and of families, with its high standard of learning and of poetry, its influ- ence stretching far beyond the limits of this Commonwealth, the torch lighted at its sacred altar borne beyond the boundaries of our State and carrying its gleam and its light well nigh around the world. Your orator to-day, in felicitous and eloquent words, has told the remarkable story of these two hundred and fifty years. The Commonwealth recog- nizes its debt to the town of Andover. It owes to it a part of its fame, and yet I need not remind you that the town of Andover owes much to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The summons of the State and of the nation in the late war was heard more willingly by the men of Andover, because it was brought here wafted on a breeze that had touched the summit of Bunker Hill, that had swept across Concord and Lexington, yes, that had brought a part of its influence and its inspiration from Plymouth Rock. And so it is true, also, that the men who during the last century nearly have honorably taught the
119
250TH ANNIVERSARY
young the best learning on yonder hill, learned and conscientious, devoted as these teachers may have been and were, their task was made somewhat easier to them because the atmosphere in which they lived quivered and hung like a benediction over a State that at one period-and I speak with almost literal truth-had within its boundaries all the prominent historians of the nation and all the poets of the first class and rank. And so I say, my friends, that the task of instructing the young, the task of teaching them something of the high love of letters and of learning, was made the easier to these men, because they taught on the soil of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
All these towns owe something to this beautiful figure of the State that rises about them and behind them, stretching out her hands in benediction, and with the love of a mother to all her children. They, too, are the bulwarks of the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth returns the debt of gratitude to them. She congratulates them, one and all, upon their contributions to the sum aggregate of her honora- ble and illustrious history. She congratulates them upon such an event as this. She bids them make their future, as she is confident they will, worthy of the past. She feels sure that, as in the past learned men have gone forth from Andover, that as in the past heroic defenders of the nation's honor have gone forth from the town of Andover, so in the future, whatever length of days may stretch in diminishing vista before the town of Andover, whether the future pathway of her progress be one bathed in the splendid sunlight of to-day, or whether dark and ominous clouds may shadow her path, she feels sure that the elements of manhood, the elements of womanhood that have made the history of Andover honorable and illustrious in the past, that these same elements of courage, patriotism, and high learning and good citizenship will always be found within this town in the future.
THE PRESIDENT : I give you as our next sentiment, The Public Service of the Nation. . Andover is quick to recognize the wisdom, zeal and efficiency with which her representative at the national capitol shares in the current legislation of the country. The representative of the sixth congressional district signally honors his Andover constitu- ency to-day by making a journey from Washington for the special purpose of participating in our celebration. You will gratefully welcome the Hon. William S. Knox, of Lawrence.
İ20
ANDOVER, MASSACHUSETTS
CONGRESSMAN WILLIAM S. KNOX
Mr. President, ladies and gentlemen : Enjoyable as this day is and has been out of doors, upon this beautiful site, where the fore- fathers planted the town of Andover, I am sure that our chief happiness has been in the old village church, as our thoughts have been directed back with a master-hand to the history of the events that have tran- spired here and the lives of the men that were spent here. And, when the orator said that he should leave to the orator of the three hundredth anniversary of Andover the duty of relating the history of this town in the civil war, I could but feel that the orator of that day will recount among the achievements of Andover the masterly oration which was delivered here upon its two hundred and fiftieth anniversary.
I am grateful, Mr. President, for the privilege of sharing in the festivities of to-day and for the inspiration to higher thought and ef- fort that comes to us all as we contemplate a long past, glorified with the virtues of piety and patriotism of a people who have come and gone within the limits of this historic town. And, as I was driving this morning upon the high ground, and could see the beautiful land- scape and the smoke and the chimneys of Lawrence, I thought, if only one of those sturdy sons of toil and devotion who has tilled these fields and through patience and sacrifice helped to start the onward march of freedom and progress that has crossed the continent could be per- mitted to revisit these scenes to-day, he would find conformation of field and hill and river, he could listen to the same enunciation of religious truth. But that would be all. Only the works and work of the Creator would have endured here unchanged. Through the old woodlands he could see the imprisoned steam force the freighted cars over their pathway of steel, and would be told that over those glitter- ing rails he could ride to the Pacific Ocean. In what was once the ancient village street, he could see the car laden with humanity pro- pelled by an unseen power, lighted from an unknown source, a mighty energy, yet so subtle that over the homely wire upon which he gazed would be passing written messages of men and the delicate modulations of the human voice. Should he direct his steps still within the limits of the old township to the banks of the familiar river, and after the sun was down see the countless light reflected upon its placid wave, and be told it was no illusion, no dream of the fancy, but that those vast structures before him were filled with machinery of
121
250TH ANNIVERSARY
marvellous mechanism, that under the guidance of the human hand tirelessly spun and wove the useful and beautiful fabrics of an ad- vanced civilization ; and finally, when told that Andover was a part of a nation of more than three millions of square miles, and that over that vast extent there floated but one flag, and under that flag every man was free, he could but return to his abode of bliss with increased joy.
In all this marvellous development of America, Andover has borne her full share, and now she represents, not the average intelli- gence, not the average of culture, but the highest intelligence, the consummation of culture. She typifies in herself the christian Com- monwealth. She illustrates the high character of citizenship that is fulfilled under a government founded upon the moral law. This high citizenship, which has been implanted in the new states of the west, must be the hope and reliance of the country in the future. Its mission is to preserve the traditions of the past, to educate her de- scendants and the vast throng of newcomers that reach our shores in the principles upon which this government was founded.
I remember to have read within a week in a sermon the declaration of the preacher that, while the American Bible Society placed in the right hand of every immigrant a copy of the Holy Scriptures, the United States government ought to place in his left hand a volume containing a copy of the Declaration of Independence, the constitution of the United States, and an article upon the spirit of our laws. I would add to that, let that volume contain a history of one of the early towns of New England, let it contain a history of Andover, that he might be learned in all that makes good citizenship, that he might behold the love of liberty that drove our fathers to these shores, the piety and devotion of their lives, their heroism and sacrifice, their courage and thrift, their patience and submission to law. That is the kind of education that promises most for this country in the future. More than that, it is the kind that is absolutely essential to our safety and welfare in the future, for it is the intelligence of the majority that must shape our course, no matter how cultured may be the minority.
Who can measure, then, the usefulness of this celebration to our common country, as the eloquent words which have been spoken, re- newing the events that have transpired here, and portraying the virtues of the men who founded this town, who passed their lives here,
[22
ANDOVER MASSACHUSETTS
are through the medium of the press placed in the hands of the American people. This day does not belong to Andover. It has be- come the property of the entire country. Who could count the youth that, as they read of it, will be inspired to a more profound study of the early history of this country and a better understanding of the principles upon which this government was founded, a clearer conception of the danger of any departure from them. Who can estimate the men that now careless or negligent in the discharge of political duty, shall be quickened to its more conscientious exercise, shall become imbued with the spirit of our laws, shall get a closer view of the genius of American freedom.
The light reflected from the history of Andover, as it has been portrayed by us today, will illumine, my friends, a pathway extending far into the future. The influence of New England as a numerical factor in the political movements of the day is small. Her lack of national resources, her distances from the source of supply or raw material, make it probable that her increase in number and in wealth will not keep pace in the future with that of the rest of the country ; but the power of her history, the store of the humble agricultural communities which had their beginnings here, will grow with the pass- ing years in the life of the republic. For the history and the story is of principle embodied in law, which is changeless with the flight of time, and which must be preserved as they were adopted here, if liberty and a free government are to endure upon this continent.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.