USA > Massachusetts > Franklin County > Conway > Celebration of the hundredth anniversary of the incorporation of Conway, Massachusetts : at Conway, June 19th, 1867 : including a historical address by Rev. Charles B. Rice poem by Harvey Rice oration by William Howland and the other exercises of the occasion > Part 11
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ters are like their great grandmothers, for Conway was always conservative. The people are not easily turned about. I made one or two attempts of that kind myself, but soon learned that if anything new was to be introduced, it must be a manifest improve- ment. This was no place to try experiments.
Our historian, this morning, alluded to one of these failures. Some of us thought that the pleasant village beyond the church, sometimes known as South Village, but usually by a less euphon- ious name, deserved a better designation. So, with prolonged conference and cogitation, we studied up a name which seemed to be "just the thing." It was graceful and brief, and had its historical significance. In order that it might be launched upon its course with the greater success, we kept the name secret till the fitting time. Then, I think, it was on the fourth of July, we had a gathering of the children, and music, and a procession to the hill overlooking the village. There we had speeches, and an ode, written for the occasion ; and so with fitting formalities, the name that we expected should become historical, the name " Church Green" was announced in the midst of cheers and re- joicing. But I was grieved to notice a few days after, that when I was talking with the best friends of the new name, if they said " Church Green," it was with a smile, but if they were in down- right earnest, they said-the less euphonious name. And now, as I understand, " Church Green " is almost forgotten, and the old name holds undisputed sway. Another fact illustrating the conservative character of Conway occurs to my mind now. A. new comer into town, on attending the church noticed that the people turned around and faced the choir during singing. This, he thought, was disrespectful to the minister. After setting his neighbors the example of facing the minister a few Sabbaths, one of his neighbors said to him, on leaving the church, " You will find it pretty hard to turn this congregation round."
Mr. President :- I believe I have confined myself to the sub- ject assigned me. From the known conservative character of this people, I am warranted in believing that the great grand- daughters are very much like their great grandmothers.
The Daughters of Conway .- First and foremost in all deeds of benevolent enter- prise. To resist their appeals, requires more nerve, if possible, than to resist the fascinating power of their personal charms.
Prof. E. S. SNELL of Amherst College, whose wife was a native of Conway, briefly responded to this sentiment, bearing his testi- mony both from observation and experience, to the excellent char- acter of Conway girls, and to their efficiency and success as teachers, wives and mothers. He thought Conway had furnish- ed ministers and other professional men with some of the best wives in the country. She had good reason to be proud of her daughters.
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Our distinguished guest and recent townsman from the " Hub:"-He has overcome all obstacles through assurance, insurance and finance, and is always in advance. Success has been his motto and fortune his friend, whether using turbine wheels in South River, or controling propellers in Long Island Sound. Unlike many other Generals, he has always retained command of his own forces.
Gen. JAMES S. WHITNEY, the gentleman (a former resident of Conway, ) designed to be complimented by this sentiment be- ing absent, Dr. E. D. HAMILTON was called upon to respond.
He expressed regret, that the audience were obliged to accept of a substitute so very incompetent to fill the void occasioned by the absence of the Gen. Nevertheless he felt happy to bear testimony to the obligations, which the citizens of Conway owed to Gen. Whitney for the starting and successful development of the various enterprises by which he contributed so greatly to the prosperity of the town during the seventeen years of his resi- dence with us. In the building up of a manufactory, which un- der his own management was highly successful, but which pass- ing into other hands, struggled through a period of disasters from fire, and business misfortunes, till it has come into the hands of the present enterprising owners, the Messrs. Tucker & Cook, where it is flourishing more successfully than ever. In origin- ating the idea of a Mutual Insurance Company, for which he ob- tained an act of incorporation, and carried, with the help of oth- ers into successful operation,-till it now affords protection against fire to nearly four millions of property in the various towns in the Commonwealth. He was a prime mover and princi- pal agent in procuring the establishment here of a Bank, which has contributed much to the prosperity of the town. In the building of our Academy, (which has now become a public High School,) he was zealously active and a liberal contributor to its funds-and in various other enterprises of which it is not necessa- ry here to speak, he bore an active and prominent part. He was moreover honored at sundry times with an election to the Legis- lature and to the convention for revising the constitution of the State. And since his removal from our town he has filled with honor to himself various offices of trust and responsibility under the national government ; and had he been permitted to have been present with us, as he designed, on this joyous occasion, the citizens of Conway would have tendered him their most earnest and cordial greetings.
The Legal Profession .- A product, for the development of which the soil of Conway was always too poor ; but many such plants have been propagated here, which, on being transplanted to a richer and more congenial carth-bed made rapid growth, and expanded to large and beautiful proportions.
WILLIAM WHITNEY, Esq. of New York, responded. His recol- lections of the town were all of a youthful character, as he left when he was yet a boy. He suspected that he was called up more to be looked at than to be heard, and they would think that the best part of his speech would be when he got through. In
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his youthful days he had a a greatreverence for lawyers, and used to think that the head of Squire Clark contained more wisdom than all other heads. He alluded to a somewhat sarcastic remark about lawyers, that their first object was to " get on," next, to " get honor," and last to " get honest." The lesson which Con- way teaches to her sons is, to reverse the order of that arrange- · ment. The people of Conway were in the habit of living in such brotherly love, that a lawyer could not live among them, but had to be transplanted to some other locality in order to succeed. New England sent out to the world men, and could answer in the language of the Roman matron, " These are my jewels." So it was with Conway, so with Franklin County. She had not wealth, but she was the mother of heroes. It is by reason of the sons of New England, that the country is advancing in all that makes her good and great. Her soil, her noble mountains, her varied scenery and rich landscapes, and her climate, all teach in- dustry, fidelity, morality and religion.
On motion of Rev. Charles B. Rice, the audience here rose and gave three cheers for " Nathaniel Boyden, a native of Conway, the true Union man, of North Carolina," who maintained his principles boldly and unwaveringly through the whole of the late rebellion.
The Business Men from Conway, who in other fields of enterprise have achieved fame and fortune .- They furnish demonstrative evidence of the truth of the principles in which they were educated, viz., industry, frugality and temperance.
Rev. ROBERT CRAWFORD, D. D., responded to this sentiment, and spoke of the business habits and sound principles of Conway men, as illustrated by several who did business in North Adams while he was resident there.
The present business interests of' Conway.
Responded to by Rev. J. J. TOWNSEND, pastor of the Baptist Church.
Mr. President :- I did not come here to make a speech. In- deed, it was not expected that I should speak ; but my friend, Mr. Tucker, who was appointed to respond to this sentiment, has just now requested me to appear as a substitute for him. The manufacturing interests of Conway, it is true, are not so various, as in many other places. But we may surely claim for this de- partment of our industrial pursuits, that it does its work well. While the busy hum of spindles, and the sprightly steps of at -. tendants indicate the energy which characterizes the varied de- partments of these interests, so that the hungry are fed, the naked clothed, and the disconsolate made happy, the work of our man- ufacturers is not confined to mill and operatives. Schools are made more inviting, and churches more effective in their work, and houses of worship better filled. There is beauty and
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power in a symmetrical character, wherever found ;- whether' wandering in heathen wilds and bearing blessings as he goes, or in the dens of vice in large cities, secking out the vile and the forsaken, or, with an increasing abundance at his disposal, he is employed in educating the masses to habits of industry and vir- tue, and omitting not, in his increasing gains, the mental and moral improvement of the individuals employed, giving all to feel that they are men.
We note with gladness the acquisitions of the past. We gaze and wonder as we behold the monuments reared by the hand of industry and still commemorative of the power of industry. The orator might warm with his theme, and the poet, in flights of fancy, with his beautiful delineations, enchain the multitude that listen, and even invoke our own tribute of just appreciation ; but for our manufacturers we claim more than graced the Spartan an- nals or decorated Grecian greatness, the employment of our greatest industrial pursuits, our manufacturing interests, for the development of an energetic, noble, and Christian manhood.
The Gospel .- A two edged sword, efficient when wielded by the hand of a val- iant soldier of the cross.
Responded to by Rev. M. G. WHEELER, a former pastor of the Congregational Church. He spoke of the pleasure with which he remembered his former residence in this place, and of the in- fluence which the gospel had exerted here in forming character and strengthening principle. He was ready to say amen to every sentiment which tended to fix in our minds the moral reputation of Conway. He then alluded to the improvement in church archi- tecture since his residence here, and spoke of the old Congrega- tional church edifice as tasking a minister's power to the utmost to make himself heard in it. He said that his own health be- came seriously impaired in consequence of the effort required to make his voice fill a house so ill adapted to public speaking. When it was proposed to erect a new meeting-house, the project was strongly opposed by one of the prominent officers of the church ; but soon after, the good man having occasion to speak in the house himself at a Sabbath School celebration, found so much difficulty in making his voice heard, that he withdrew his opposition, and entered cordially into the arrangements for crect- ing a new house that would not kill ministers. When the ques- tion came up where the new house should be placed, there was much division of opinion, and for a time the harmony of the so- ciety was seriously threatened. But at length a compromise was effected, and all, or nearly all agreed to have the new house plac- ed on the spot where it now stands. An equal difference of views, in some communities, would probably have produced a permanent rapture.
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We honor our living heroes.
This sentiment was responded to by Mr. S. H. LINCOLN of Plain- field, as follows :
Mr. President :- I am happy to be here to-day to mingle in the hearty congratulations and festivities of this occasion. This will stand in history as one of Conway's brightest days,-a day of jubilee, when nought but kind words are spoken, a kind wel- come given to all, and kind feelings, by all reciprocated. This is the day when sons and daughters return to the parental roof, and parents and children embrace each other in the arms of affection.
To the good people of Conway let me say, I am most happy to be one of your guests, happy to meet all, but especially happy to meet my brother soldiers. Many bright anticipations, deferred during the bloody strife, have been realized, as others, I under- stand, are soon to be .*
We meet to-day, brother soldiers, as first we met on old Camp Brigham, true friends as we marched to the sound of the bugle. True friends, did I say ? Why should we not be ? We have la- bored and slept, we have marched and fought together, we have hungered and thirsted together, we have often sung and prayed together, and as some had fallen by death-hail or disease, we have mingled our'tears together. The country ought to feel proud of the mothers of Conway, who have borne such sons, " the flower of the church and the town," who responded so cheerfully to our country's call, and in every emergency proved themselves " true as steel."
But, beloved, while we live to come back to home and friends again, we would not forget the fallen heroes, who are sleeping their last sleep on the hill-tops, the hill-sides, and in deep ravines. They sleep amid the cane-brakes, and in the cotton-fields by the rice-swamps and in the pineries, and under the live oaks, where southern moss hangs in rich festoons around their graves. They sleep. under the branches, where the "night-watch," the "mel- low horn," and the " mocking-bird " sing their morning and eve- ning hymns. They sleep where the white and sweet orange jes- samines and the white bell flowers of the beautiful magnolia shed their sweet perfume, and where the palmetto casts its shadows. They sleep in vine-clad graves, where the myrtle twines and the hawthorne blossoms. They sleep by the bridle-path, and wherev- er our gallant army have marched. They sleep in rivers broad and deep ; for how many a noble craft, heavily freighted, has gone to the river's bed ! They sleep amid the weeds and coral of the deep blue sea.
My brothers, as we live, let us so live, that when we no more shall march on battle fields where slaughtered thousands lic and where the soil is enriched by the blood of the noble and the
*Alluding to a happy marriage anticipated on the coming day,
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brave, we may pitch our tents on the banks of the "River of Life," where clashing steel and cannon's angry roar where screaming bombshells and dying groans are no more heard.
The memory of the Fallen Heroes in the war of the late Rebellion .- Imperishably em- balmed in the hearts of the living generation. May it be transmitted in a suitably imperishable monument to the generations of the future.
Responded to by the Band playing a Dirge.
The May Flower .- That precious bark from Leyden, laden with the hopes of a great race, some of whose descendants are among the honored inhabitants of Con- way.
Responded to by WILLIAM HOWLAND, Esq. of Lynn, a descend- ant of John Howland who came over from England in the May Flower. Hle spoke of the perseverance, courage and fidelity to principle, which marked those noble men and women, who landed at Plymouth in 1620. He had often thought what would have been the effect on the character of their posterity if the Pilgrims had landed on the coast of one of the Southern States, instead of the sterile shores of New England. Had such been the case, the whole history of our country would probably have been different from what it is now. The hardihood, resolution, and energy which marked the Pilgrims, were fostered by the circumstances in which they were placed and the influences which surrounded thein. And the character and habits of subsequent generations were, in a great degree, moulded by those circumstances and in- fluences. And thus, partly through the example of their ances- tors, and partly through other influences, physical, social and moral, the sons of New England had become strongly marked by self-reliance, independence, adherence to principle, and that firmness of purpose, which "will either find a way or make one."
Conway Rice .- Tall in the sheaf, fair in the hull, and sound in the kernel, (Col.)
Responded to by Col. AUSTIN RICE of Conway. After acknowl- edging the compliment which the sentiment contained, he spoke of the interest that the carly settlers had in the matter of subsist- ence beyond what is felt now. It was a serious question to them what they should cat. They had to work for their living. Out of the necessity of the case, in part, there grew the habit of dili- gence in labor. Industry, rather than any of the other peculiarities that had been referred to, was the most marked char- acteristic of the early inhabitants of Conway. There were few idlers among them. They had no cight-hour or ten-hour law. They worked from morning till sunset, and milked their cow, if they had any, after work was done. He expressed a fear that the present tendency was to depart too far from their habits of labor- ious application, and concluded by recommending to the younger people, that they should all be ready to enter upon some useful work, and determine to be diligent in it.
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Robert Hamilton .- One of the first settlers of Conway; a man of magnificent proportions, said to have weighed 400 pounds. He is represented here to-day by his great grandson, Edward Hamilton, Esq. of Boston.
Responded to by EDWARD HAMILTON, EsQ., of Boston.
Mr. President: I do not know why I am called on to respond to a toast in memory of my great-grandfather when he has so many other descendants present abler to do justice to his memory, un- less it be to show how ourrace is deteriorating. But sir, I assure you it is not without sensibility that I stand once more on the soil of old Conway the home and burial place of so many of my ancestors and relatives.
Robert Hamilton who was one of the first settlers of Conway, was one of those men, who, with a brave heart, and stalwart arm, came here to settle in the wilderness and clear for himself and his children a home ; how well he performed his part in the early settlement of the town is a matter of history ; his children have been respected as some of the most valued citizens of this town.
Of one thing I am certain: no one can deny that my ancestors and relatives both in Conway and Deerfield have physiced more of the citizens of those towns than have the relatives of any other person. My grandfather, Dr. William Hamilton, his broth- er the lamented Dr. George Washington Hamilton, and your res- pected fellow citizen, Dr. E. Darwin Hamilton, here present, were all of the medical profession.
My grandfather, Dr. William Hamilton, died in the midst of a useful life at the early age of 39 years, no man of his generation was more honored or beloved.
For myself sir, I am a cross between Conway and Deerfield, my mother was a native of Deerfield; I recollect her often tell- ing an incident which occurred when she was a girl, which I will relate to illustrate the influence of my grandfather.
The old town of Deerfield had a cannon taken from the French and Indians ; as new towns were formed out of the territory of Deerfield, they claimed ownership in part in the old cannon, and on public days there were frequent contests between Deerfield and the neighboring towns, for the possession of it. On one of these occasions the cannon was missing from Deerfield, and early in the morning its echoes were heard from Conway ; the young men of Deerfield mustered in battle array, mounted and armed, and in military order marched to Conway to recapture the can- non or perish in the attempt ; the men of Conway equally stern in the resolve to keep the trophy, at least for that day, had drag- ged it into the public tavern, and, fully armed, had barricaded the windows and doors ; the Deerfield men surrounded the house and demanded the surrender of the cannon, their request was re- fused, they then gave the besieged five minutes to deliver the cannon, at the end of which time unless it was delivered, they proposed to attack the citadel ; before that time arrived however,
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Dr. William Hamilton rode up and asked the cause of the excite- ment, and when informed asked for time to enter the house and see the Conway men, which request was granted ; and the result was that the cannon was delivered up ; the Deerfield men agree- ing not to fire it within their town limits ; on their return to the village of Deerfield the women and maidens lined the street, and strewed flowers and green branches before the victorious braves; and in the evening they celebrated the event by a grand ball in the hall of the Deerfield Hotel.
Mr. President, after a residence of fourteen years in the town of Taunton, my father returned to his native town, and with his brother Benjamin F. Hamilton and others, established the first Factory for the manufacture of Cotton cloth ever started in this place. I recollect be purchased all the water power on the river from the bridge for several miles up stream, for the sum of five hundred dollars.
Sir, I am glad to be with you to-day to add my tribute of re- spect to the memory of those who have gone before us, and to en- courage those who are to come after us to emulate the virtues of the founders of this beautiful town; I am glad to once again greet so many friends and relatives here on this occasion, and es- pecially my grandmother's brother, Arimiah Thwing, the oldest man in Conway ; a more honest man never lived, he is an honored son of a revolutionary sire who was one of the first settlers of Conway.
Mr. President, I have enjoyed myself so well to-day, that I give notice of my intention to be present at the next celebration, one hundred years hence.
The name of Billings .- Honored among the ancients, and abundantly sustained in-reputation by the great grand children.
Responded to by CHARLES H. BILLINGS of Troy, N. Y., as fol- lows : .
" The name of Billings, honored amongst the ancients, its reputation is abund- antly sustained by the great-grandchildren."
Mr. President :- Ladies and Gentlemen, "Speech is silver, Silence is Gold," but the sentiment just offered calls me out, and you must be content with the cheaper metal. I thank you Sir for this kind and complimentary allusion, to my family and name.
I can heartily say it is good to be here-to meet with you as a child on our Mother's birth-day-gathered as we are from all parts of the land to look upon these hills so fresh and green. When has dear old Conway ever looked younger than to-day ? although a century old counted in years. On yonder hill where stand the poplar trees like sentinels keeping watch over the sa- cred spot our family so long enjoyed and loved as their home, and from whence parents and grandparents passed peacefully in- to their rest. I early learned to respect and venerate age, and
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on this anniversary so full of interest to us Conwayians, our Mother commands our love and respect. I feel truly grateful for this opportunity of gathering with you amid scenes so dear and hallowed, meeting these friends of blood and friends of time, to mingle our congratulations and wish our mother "many re- turns of to-day."
I did not come here to speak, I hurried away from the care and. confusion of business to sit with you in my native air, the green earth beneath us, the blue sky above us, these grand old hills on every side. And let us mutually thank God, that here in this moral atmosphere we had our birth and education. Let us re- member the Fathers with gratitude for the Church and School house we enjoyed from childhood, they established for us.
Physiologists tell us that in every seven years we undergo an entire change. It is now more than seven years since I left you, and while it is true that I stand here physically changed, I clasp my hand upon a heart beating as warmly and kindly in sympathy with all that pertains to the best interests of my native village as when my home was with you. As long as life lasts Conway will be my " Mecca," and thither I shall delight to make my pil- grimage as often as possible. Of the thousand faces gathered here, many are familiar, some are changed. Youth has turned into manhood, time has changed us all somewhat, with its weight of cares and trials.
In the clear sunlight of to-day's pleasure, there is mingled with many of us, the shadow of sorrow and change. We miss many familiar faces we were accustomed to meet in the years long past, " gone to the bourne whence no traveller returns."
In my own family how great the changes.
" O Time and change ! How strange it seems, with so much gone Of life and love to still live on ; Ah, brother! only I and thou Are left of all that cirele now .-- The dear home faces whereupon That fitful firelight paled and shone, Hence forward, listen as we will, The voices of that hearth are still ; Look where we may, the wide carth o'er, Those lighted faces smile no more ; Yet Love will dream and Faith will trust, (Since He who knows our need is just,) That somehow, somewhere, meet we must.
So fragrant are these memories of our ancestry, beloved and honored, that I love to hold them up, and I would learn the les- son their lives and examples have so aptly taught. I deem it fit- ting that we who survive should offer a tribute of gratitude. And we cannot feel that they are far from us to-day, "Since near at need the angels are."
I cannot close without offering to you my old friends and neighbors the need of praise you so richly deserve. We whose homes are scattered in all the States, thank you for this occasion,
شامل- المبتورة
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for this hearty welcome home. You who have labored so enthu- siastically to make this celebration a success may well be proud to-day
For this stirring music, this bountiful repast, let me thank you from the heart.
And now farewell.
With trusting hearts let us go forth to duty, and when another Centennial comes round and children's children gather in our stead, may we all be found safe within the eternal home which knows no time or change.
At the close of his remarks Mr. B. and his brother H. W. Billings, Esq. of Conway, sung the " Old Fireside."
The Clark Family .- A name worthy to be remembered for the high moral worth of those who have borne it, as well as for the eminent success in business enter- prises of some who have gone from us, and for the distinction in prominent walks of life which they have attained.
HON. W. GRISWOLD of Greenfield, who married a daughter of the late Freeman Clark of Bath, Maine, a native of Conway, re- sponded. He remarked that by some mistake or oversight in his early education, he never attended Dea. Clary's school ; and so he did the next best thing, by marrying a Conway girl. He said the Clarks were a name of which Conway might well be proud. Some of thein had attained to an eminence in professional and business life, which was an honor to any town. He then paid a brief tribute to the memory of his father-in-law, Freeman Clark, lately deceased. He remarked that his life was eminently suc- cessful. Leaving Conway a poor boy, by his industry, persever- ance and integrity, he placed himself among the leading, success- ful, business men of the city where he lived, and where he died.
But the crowning excellence of his life was his simple. pure humble, Christian character. It was this which guided and con- trolled all his actions. His benevolence and kindness to the poor were proverbial, and many were those whom he had befriended in life, who were stricken with sorrow at his death. In short, his whole life proved that the truest success, even in this world, is that which is built upon the principles of the Gospel.
The seed raised in Conway and sown elsewhere .- It has taken deep Root and will yield a glorious crop for the harvest of time.
Responded to by Rev. EDWARD ROOT of Westerly, R. I., a na- tive of Conway, as follows :
Mr. President :- The remark of our friend Mr. Whitney, about "getting on," "getting honor," and "getting honest " re- minds me of a brief address to one of the literary societies of Yale College by Dr. Lyman Beecher. He quoted the advice of an Indian at a funeral " out west," who, being called upon to say something, could only get out, "I advise you all to go home and be honest." " Young gentlemen " said Dr. B., " I advise
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you all to be honest. If you intend to be ministers, be honest ; study only for the truth. If you become doctors, be honest. If you become lawyers, be honest. I believe there CAN be such a thing as an honest lawyer. But if you are to be politicians, the Lord have mercy on you !"
I believe in honesty first, and then " getting on " and " get- ting honor " will take care of themselves.
It is quite late and I will only allude to Dea. Clary's commend- ation of his pupils, which we have just heard. Such commenda- tion from such a man cannot fail to be grateful to us. We are just beginning the second century in the history of this town. The delightful scenes of this day will soon be over, and this large company will be scattered never to meet again on earth. But we shall meet again with that great company which no man can num- ber, at the final day. Let us all so live that we may gain from the lips of the Judge a far higher commendation "Well done."
The memory of Cyrus Rice, the first settler of the town of Conway. He is represent- ed here in the person of a grandson.
In response to the sentiment last offered, MR. RICE said, he did not know, until so informed on yesterday, that to him belonged the distinguished honor of being a grandson of the first settler in Conway.
He stated he had not the opportunity, when a child, of acquir- ing any very definite knowledge in regard to his ancestors, for the reason that his mother died when he was but four years of age. In consequence of this sad event-sad for him-he had the misfortune to be placed here and there in different families, who took very little interest in his early education or welfare. He could hardly say, therefore, that he had been brought up at all, but like Topsy, supposed he "growed." He had been taught, however, that all mankind descended from Adam, and this was about all he knew of his ancestry. He was still in doubt, whether his descent from the first man, or from the first settler in Conway, was the greater honor. "Be this as it may," said he, "fifty years have now elapsed since he ceased to be a resident of Conway ; yet he still felt proud of his native town and of its enterprising sons and fair daughters. He believed his grandfather must have been a man of unusual courage and en- terprise to have led the way into an unbroken wilderness. And doubtless, he was " a heavenly-minded" man, for he set- tled on an exceedingly high hill. If he could return to earth, and join us on this festive occasion, what think you would be his surprise to behold the marvelous changes which a century has wrought. May his memory ever be honored as one, who manfully encountered the hardships of a pioneer-life. And let us trust that he is numbered "among the just made perfect "-a settler in the Better Land.
" We stand to-day as it were," said Mr. Rice, " between two centuries-two vast ocean billows of time, one of which has bro-
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ken on the shores of eternity, and now sends backs its broken ripples laden with many pleasant memories ; while the other is majestically advancing toward us in the distance, fringed with the light of many pleasing hopes and anticipations. It is in the record of the past, that we may, to some extent, at least, read the unwritten record of the future. And may the record of Con- way for the next century, when written, be a brilliant one, wor- thy of a still nobler manhood."
In conclusion, Mr. Rice expressed his sincere thanks to all his friends in Conway for the cordial welcome they had given him, and for their kind and generous hospitalities.
E. P. BURNHAM, Esq. of Saco, Me., was then called on by the President to make some remarks, he having formerly been a law- yer in Conway, though for only a short time.
His remarks were in substance as follows :- I resided in Con- way only about six months during a part of 1850 and 1851, and have not since been in the town until the present occasion. Hav- ing received an invitation from the Committee, I have come from Maine to attend your Centennial, and am much pleased that I have done so. I miss many of the old faces, and see many new ones. Though not a " Son of Conway," I claim, as a "Son of Maine" to be a grandson of Massachusetts. Until 1820, Maine was a part of your Commonwealth. The names of many of the towns in Maine were given in honor of Massachusetts' worthies. I will instance Hancock, Bowdoin, Sumner, Strong, Brooks, War- ren, Sedgwick, Otis, Cushing, Phillips, Elliot and Dexter. A gentleman, now living in my own town, represented the town in the General Court, priorto the separation. Maine is closely con- nected with Massachusetts in business relations. May her peo- ple ever be united with those of the Mother State in the bond of friendship.
. Here the public exercises of the occasion closed.
The best of order prevailed through the day. Not an instance of drunkenness, quarrelling or rowdyism occurred ; and it was remarked by several persons that they had not heard a profane word from the lips of any one in the course of the day. A serene and chastened gladsomeness seemed to be the prevailing feeling among the multitude who were present, ; a state of feeling natu- rally prompted by the blending of the tender and the joyous as- sociations which the occasion suggested.
In the evening there was a social gathering of the citizens and natives of Conway at the Town Hall. Here some hours were pleasantly spent in cordial and unembarrassed interchange of thought and feeling, in mutual congratulations and sympathies, and in the renewal of old acquaintances and the formation of new ones. It was a delightful season, and will be long remembered by many.
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And thus closed the first centennial celebration of the incorpo- ration of Conway. May the second and all succeeding celebra- tions be equally happy, and equally marked by order, decorum, and generous kindness, and by full and heartfelt recognition of obligation to God, and of dependence on an all-sufficient Saviour. And may God in mercy grant to us who shared in these pleasant exercises, reminiscences, and congratulations,
That, when the dial-plate of Time Marks nineteen hundred sixty-seven, Then, in a purer, holier clime, We all may sing the songs of Heaven.
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F 844185.2
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