USA > Massachusetts > Plymouth County > Bridgewater > Celebration of the two-hundredth anniversary of the incorporation of Bridgewater, Massachusetts, at West Bridgewater, June 3, 1856 > Part 6
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Those days of toil and peril, when, In faith and love that conquered fear, They bought the fields of savage men, And reared their homes and altars here.
To thee their daily vows were paid ; To thee their hearts and lives were given ; And, by thy guidance and thine aid, They trod their pilgrim-path to heaven.
Rich is the heritage we claim, Whom thou hast made their favored heirs, - Their cherished faith, their honest fame, Their love, their counsels, and their prayers.
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They left us freedom, honor, truth : Oh, may these rich bequests descend From sire to son, from age to youth, And bless our land till time shall end !
So, as successive centuries roll, When we shall long have passed away, Here may our sons, with heart and soul, Still hail Bridgewater's natal day.
A Benediction was pronounced by Rev. BAALIS SANFORD, of East Bridgewater.
A recess of twenty minutes was taken, when a procession was formed, of persons holding tickets for the dinner, in the same order as the procession of the morning, and marched to the pavilion erected on the easterly side of the main street, between the houses of William Copeland and Jonas Leonard, where J. B. Smith, of Boston, had provided one of his excellent dinners for a thousand persons. A
blessing was invoked by the venerable Dr. KEN- DALL, of Plymouth. After those who sat at the tables had partaken of the bountiful refreshments which had been laid before them, thanks were re- turned by Rev. Dr. EDSON, of Lowell.
Hon. JOHN A. SHAW, the President of the day, then delivered the following Address : -
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FELLOW-CITIZENS AND DESCENDANTS OF THE GOOD OLD TOWN OF BRIDGEWATER, -
The pleasant duty has been assigned me of bidding you welcome on this festal occasion. I gladly bid you a hearty welcome to this festive board, to the intellectual repast, and to all the hallowed associations of this auspicious day. It is a great, a joyous day, which brings together so many of us at the old family homestead, in this loveliest month of all the year, when Nature is putting on her beau- tiful garments, and decking herself in flowers.
Ladies, you are especially welcome ; for it would be dark around our hearth-stone without the light of woman's smile. We hail your presence at this board as the companion and equal of man. Nothing truly good or great ever has been or can be effected without the aid of woman. She was the helpmate of our fathers : she cheered them in their toils and privations at the same time that she shared them.
Though many of us are now in each other's presence for the first time, we are not strangers to each other, but brothers and sisters of one and the same household. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, a common bond unites us as the mem- bers of one great family ; for we all cherish in common a grateful remembrance of our pious ancestors, whose presence hallowed these regions two hundred years ago. We embalm alike in our hearts the recollection of their toils, their pri- vations, and their dangers ; of their stern integrity, and strict purity of life. We reverence alike their unfaltering trust in God; their indomitable perseverance; and their determined purpose to enjoy liberty of conscience, and trans- mit the same to posterity. While cherishing these precious reminiscences of our pious forefathers, we are not strangers to each other, but brethren of one heart and of one spirit.
In welcoming you, ladies and gentlemen, to a participa- tion in this day's services, we cannot point you to any localities in our neighborhood which are renowned in the
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world's history. No great battle-fields, on which the fate of nations has been decided, are near us. We can direct your admiring gaze to no Bunker Hill, no Heights of Dorchester. But look around, and you will see the fields on which have been achieved the no less glorious triumphs of peace, - fields which, generations ago, were cleared of their primeval forest growth and cultivated by the hands of men of whom the Old World was not worthy ; men of whom it was said, that "God sifted a whole nation to obtain precious seed for sowing this Western World." To such men, and their im- mediate successors, we can look back as our progenitors ; and, when our eyes rest on these scenes of their labors, it is a grateful reflection that these territories were fairly pur- chased of their aboriginal possessors, and freely granted by them to our fathers. Not far from the place where we are now assembled, you can read the humble memorials of these men, where rest their mortal remains : -
" Their name, their years, spelt by the unlettered Muse, The place of fame and elegy supply ; And many a holy text around she strews, That teach the rustic moralist to die."
In setting apart this day for the commemoration of those good men who first settled the ancient town, we express our gratitude to our Father in heaven for having given us an ancestry to whom we can ever look back with reverence. The " Memoir of Plymouth Colony,"* when speaking of Bridgewater as it was in 1692, remarks, that " the founda- tion was laid for a population, which subsequently has been distinguished for correct moral habits, enterprise, industry, and learning." From another source t we have the following record, made a hundred and thirty-nine years ago, in these words : " The New-English Bridgewater has been a town favored of God. It was planted a noble vine. The first
· Francis Baylies.
t Increase and Cotton Mather.
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planters of it were a set of people who made religion their main interest, and it became their glory."
Although the names of our ancestors are not emblazoned on the rolls of fame, they gave the first direction and im- pulse to a community, which, from their days to the present time, has been steadily moving onward with the onward march of this noble Commonwealth, of this mighty nation. Though they were not themselves of those whom the world calls great, the example of their virtues, and the spirit they bequeathed to their posterity, have raised up not a few among their descendants, whose names will live on the page of history, and whose services will be felt and appreciated, long after their frail bodies shall have mouldered into dust. In confirmation of this, I will remind you of Fisher Ames, the enlightened and pure-hearted statesman, whose eloquent tongue uttered the accents of an angel with an angel's power.
Two gentlemen * are now living, descendants of Bridge- water, who have been the chief magistrates of this Common- wealth; one of whom, as you know, has done us the honor of being our orator to-day, and to whose eloquent words we have listened with deepest interest. Also there are now present at this board our venerable Chief Justice, and another venerable man, the late Chief Justice of the State of Maine, likewise descendants t of the ancient town. Of the five ex-members of Congress now residing within our borders, four of whom honor us with their presence to-day, two were born in the old town, one of whom has also recently been our Lieutenant-Governor.# Three members of the present Congress are among her descendants. § And one of the beautiful odes which have moved our hearts to-day reminds us that there are those || among her sons who can -
" Wake to ecstasy the living lyre."
* Marcus Morton and Emory Washburn.
+ Lemuel Shaw and Ezekiel Whitman.
# John Reed. § The Washburns. || W. C. Bryant.
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Such was the prosperity of the ancient Bridgewater under the wise counsels of its early settlers, that it contained, one hundred years ago, a population of thirty-seven hundred ; a greater number of inhabitants to the square mile, at that early day, than two-thirds of the States of this Union have at the present time, old Virginia being one of them. Our population is now approaching fourfold what it then was ; for which increase we are principally indebted to North Bridgewater, which has at the present time as numerous a population as the whole of the old town had when it was divided in 1821. The population is now towards two hun- dred to the square mile; considerably greater than the average of our populous Commonwealth, the most com- pactly peopled State in the Union. Indeed, but few countries of Europe have as many inhabitants to the square mile as the territory about us ; and this with no extraordinary natural advantages, but by only heeding the lessons of those who have gone before us, - men who bequeathed in their example the virtues of industry, frugality, and perseverance, the fear of God, and respect for the rights of man.
It is not in a boastful spirit that we speak of the pros- perity which this day surrounds us, but, we trust, in the spirit of gratitude to that beneficent Being, from whose free bounty comes every thing which gladdens our sojourn upon earth, - every thing that gives us the hope of immortality beyond it. We should be the unworthy descendants of those good men of whom this day vividly reminds us, could we assemble in the midst of all that blesses life, and not be mindful of those religious hopes and aspirations which brought our Pilgrim Fathers across the broad Atlantic ; which encouraged and cheered them on to encounter the perils and hardships of an unknown shore, a boundless wilderness, and a race of savage men, and without which we should be but little better than insects of a day.
Descendants of the ancient Bridgewater, and you who now inhabit her territory, we know from authentic records
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what the condition of the region round about was two hundred years ago. We also know that this district of country was prosperous and comparatively wealthy and popu- lous one hundred years ago. Our eyes see and our hearts feel what it is to-day. But who can lift the veil which covers the future from our view ? Who can look down the long vista to 1956, and describe to us the Bridgewaters of that day ? Who can inform us respecting the men and women who will assemble on the 3d of June in that year to do honor to the memory of their ancestors ?
Though the reality is wisely concealed from all but Him who sees the end from the beginning, we cannot doubt that a glorious destiny is in reserve for those who are to follow us. The history of the world declares the onward and upward course of man, notwithstanding he sometimes re- lapses. Auspicious omens cheer us on, though clouds sometimes darken the horizon. And, though wrong and outrage may triumph for a season, there is a Power which causes even "the wrath of man to praise him." Though we are not prophets, we are taught by those who were, that the human race was placed on earth for a far nobler state of society than the world has ever seen ; that the religion of the Saviour will yet enlighten and elevate all nations. We know that his prayer must yet be answered, and God's " will be done on earth as it is in heaven."
What revolutions, what convulsions, what reverses, may precede the promised age, or when its full-orbed splendor shall illuminate the world, it is not ours to know. It is enough for us to be assured, that the Sun of Righteousness will, at some future day, shed his beams on every land, and that the love of God and man will be the controlling spirit of our race. And just so far as this spirit becomes the rule of action, just so far, and no farther, will earth become a paradise. For what is man without morals ? What are morals without religious principle ?
Let our countrymen but give heed to the declaration of
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our political father, that "the preservation of our Union is of infinite moment both to our collective and individual happiness, and that we ought to frown indignantly upon every attempt to alienate one portion of our country from the rest ; " let them believe with him, that "religion and morality are indispensable supports of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity ; " let such in- structions as these words of him, who was " first in the hearts of his countrymen," but guide the conduct of the people of these United States, - and the century on which we are entering to-day will witness a progress no less wonderful than the last, as regards both our nation, our State, and our neighborhood.
But I must forbear, and keep you back no longer from the intellectual repast which the eloquent men whom I see around me are prepared to set before you.
I have only to say again, Welcome, thrice welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the hallowed associations and all the enjoy- ments of this Second Centennial Day of Bridgewater.
BENJAMIN W. HARRIS, Esq., the Toastmaster, then announced the regular sentiments as follows : -
1. " The Two Hundredth Anniversary of the Incorporation of Bridgewater - The children of the ancient town are assembled from the north and the south, the east and the west, to do honor to their parent; and may their days be long in the land, according to the promise !"
To this sentiment, Hon. EZEKIEL WHITMAN, of East Bridgewater, made the following remarks :-
MR. PRESIDENT, - I presume I am called upon, on the present occasion, on account of my being an octogenarian, and, therefore, as being able to carry my recollection back to a remote period.
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I spent my youthful days, principally, till twenty-three years of age, in the good old town of Bridgewater ; after- wards I resided in Maine till within a few years past ; and I can say with the celebrated Goldsmith, that -
" In all my wanderings through this world of care, In all my griefs, - and God has given my share, - I still had hopes, my latest hours to crown, Amidst these humble bowers to lay me down; To husband out life's taper to the close, And keep the flame from wasting by repose. And as a hare, whom hounds and horns pursue, Pants to the place from whence at first she flew, I still had hopes, my long vexations past, Here to return, and die at home at last."
And, now, here I am, free to breathe my native air on my own ground.
My distinct recollections reach no further back than the close of the revolutionary war. I well remember seeing the disbanded soldiers returning, after the close of it ; and I well remember quite a number of aged and venerable men in my neighborhood at that time, who, without doubt, retained the manners, customs, and modes of thinking, of a remote ancestry. There were, besides, four clergymen - one in each of the four parishes - in the ancient town, whose ministry, of sixty years' duration each, was drawing to a close.
Till the close of the revolutionary war, and for some years thereafter, it is not probable that there had been much change in the condition of our forefathers. They were a staid and conservative race. Novelties were looked upon by them with distrust. They were plain and homespun in every thing. Ostentation was far from being a charac- teristic among them. Each felt safe in treading in the steps of his father before him.
The dwellings of those days were without paint, inside and out ; and the churches were in a similar predicament. The furniture of their dwellings was of the simplest kind, though
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often convenient and comfortable : sofas, stuffed-back and cushion-seated chairs, and carpets, were unknown to them. In their houses you would find -
" The whitewashed wall, the nicely sanded floor," -
and perhaps -
" The varnished clock that clicked behind the door; The hearth, except when winter chilled the day, With aspin-boughs, and flowers and fennel gay."
And in some instances, perhaps, --
" The broken teacups, wisely kept for show, Ranged o'er the chimney, glistened in a row."
And as for music, there was the good old spinning-wheel to be heard in every dwelling, which was suggestive of much that was delightful. It indicated industry and thrift, and gave promise of comfortable clothing ; and, what was much better, it was a healthful exercise for the young females : it developed and fortified their energies, gave them fresh- ness and florid beauty, and fitted them to become desirable companions and housewives. Instead of this healthful music, we now have the sickening piano, suggestive of nothing but effeminacy, luxury, and the want of better employment. Our grandmothers were the manufacturers, almost wholly, of the cloth used in their families : of course, they were accustomed to labor, and were real helpmates.
Our ancestors, at the conclusion of the great contest con- firming our independence as a nation, having exhausted much of their means in securing that object, were, in some measure, in destitute circumstances. Their circulating me- dium was reduced almost to nothing. Their paper-money had proved utterly worthless ; and it was with much diffi- culty that specie could be procured to pay their taxes. And those who were in debt found it almost impossible to meet their engagements : economy and frugality, therefore, were, in all their operations, quite indispensable.
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I have before remarked, that our ancestors were a plain, homespun people : they were not rich, and scarcely any of them were poor. Their condition was that of medio- crity and equality ; so much so, that some of the wags in the neighboring towns, who were inclined to be witty, charac- terized them by saying, that in Bridgewater there was nei- ther a poor man nor a rich one, a wise man nor a fool.
Our ancestors were, moreover, remarkable for their uni- formity and fixedness in matters of religion. During the ministration of the four pastors before alluded to, all within the limits of each parish attended at the same church. It is not known, that, in those days, there was a single dissentient ; and the four ministers could freely interchange with each other. People in those days had not begun to split hairs about matters in regard to which no mortal in this life can arrive to any degree of certainty.
There was in those days, in each of the four parishes, as in Goldsmith's favorite village, -
" The never-failing brook, the busy mill, The decent church that topped the neighboring hill."
There was also, in each parish, the good man, of whom he says, -
" A man he was to all the country dear, And passing rich with forty pounds a year: Remote from towns he ran his godly race, Nor e'er had changed, nor wished to change, his place. Unskilful he to fawn, or seek for power, By doctrines fashioned to the varying hour; Far other aims his heart had learned to prize, - More bent to raise the wretched than to rise. And as a bird each fond endearment tries To tempt its new-fledged offspring to the skies, He tried each art, reproved each dull delay, Allured to brighter worlds, and led the way."
There was also, in each of the parishes, the place -
" Where gray-beard mirth and smiling toil retired; Where village statesmen talked with looks profound, And news much older than their ale went round."
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It may, however, have been flip, or good old cider, that went round, instead of ale, in our ancestors' days. Whoever reads Goldsmith's " Deserted Village " will find much that will strikingly apply to the condition of our forefathers.
Our ancestors had another source of enjoyment, in their almost perfect freedom from lawless intrusion. Scarcely any one, in those days, thought it necessary to fasten his doors, and much less his windows, on retiring for the night. Each sat under his own vine and his own fig-tree, and had none to molest or make him afraid.
Thus we see that our ancestors were not without their sources of enjoyment. Their almost perfect equality, so con- ducive to familiar and unrestrained sociability ; their undis- turbed unanimity in matters of religion ; their freedom from fear of the disorderly or thievish midnight intruder ; their facilities for obtaining the wholesome comforts of life, with- out the deteriorating annoyances of luxury, - all seem to have conspired to make their lot as happy as is attainable in this life.
Notwithstanding all which, we are naturally prone to feli- citate ourselves in contrasting our condition with theirs. We find our domiciles and churches everywhere glistening inside and out with paint ; our furniture of the most costly kind, consisting of mahogany, black walnut, or rosewood, - heavy, massive, and almost immovable ; sofas, ottomans, secretaries, and rich cabinet-wares, too numerous to be mentioned ; with woollen carpets, rugs, brass fire-sets, and splendid vehi- cles for transportation. With these our eyes are dazzled, and our imaginations are led astray.
But let us pause, and consider what is really conducive to enjoyment. Who dares now to retire for the night, without fastening his doors and windows ? How much of equality of condition is to be met with, so conducive to good fellowship ? How is it with regard to religious fellowship ? Till the close of the last century, no clergyman was ever settled in either of the four parishes, with one solitary exception, that did not
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spend his days there. How has it been since ? In the old East Parish, now town of East Bridgewater, since the com- mencement of the present century there have been settled no less than six ministers, five of whom are now living ; and there are now in the same town, formerly the East Parish, three other societies, neither of the ministers of which can agree on an exchange with either of the others. And in the other towns, comprising the other parishes of ancient Bridgewater, it is understood that there is, and has been, at least an approxi- mation to the same state of things. Let these considerations cause us to pause, and consider how much, if at all, our con- dition, as conducive to true enjoyment, is to be preferred, on the whole, to that of our ancestors.
There is, however, one particular in which we may fairly rejoice in a real improvement upon what they enjoyed. Wheeled carriages, for the transportation of persons, they can scarcely be said to have had any. A few, and they were very few, elderly people had rickety old chaises to convey them to meeting. Wagons for the purpose are of recent invention. The horse, saddle, and pillion afforded almost the only means, except when there was sleighing, for the transportation of persons ; and such was the case nearly to the close of the last century.
One more quotation from Goldsmith, and this garrulity of an old man shall be brought to a close, at least for the pre- sent : -
" Thus fares the land, by luxury betrayed, In nature's simplest charms at first arrayed ; But, verging to decline, its splendors rise, Its vistas strike, its palaces surprise."
May this vaticination never be verified in either of the Bridgewaters, though their splendors should continue to rise, their vistas strike, their palaces surprise.
2. " The Commonwealth of Massachusetts. - May her glory shine as bright in the preservation of liberty, independence, and union, as in the struggles for their acquisi- tion ! "
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Response by the Band.
3. " The Chief Justice of Massachusetts. - He reads upon the tablets of our quiet churchyard the memorials of his ancestors : on the tablets of our hearts he may read our welcome to the descendant."
Hon. LEMUEL SHAW, of Boston, responded sub- stantially as follows : -
MR. PRESIDENT, - For the very kind and significant terms in which you and the very large and respectable assembly here present have noticed myself, as a descendant of a respectable ancestry, I pray you to accept the expression of my heartfelt and sincere thanks. My gratitude for this kind and respectful notice is not the less sincere and personal, when I consider, as I cannot fail to do, that that marked expression of affectionate regard is, to a certain extent, in- fluenced by the honorable and responsible office which I hold in the judiciary of the Commonwealth.
So far as my observation and experience have gone, - and they have been pretty extensive, - I think I may say with truth, that, if there be any one sentiment general, strong, and predominant, amongst the thoughtful and considerate people of Massachusetts, it is an earnest desire to establish and maintain, at all times and under all circumstances, an able, faithful, and impartial administration of justice. Cor- responding with this highly salutary principle, I have never failed to observe a general disposition among the people to cherish and express a feeling of affectionate and respectful regard to all those who have held high judicial offices, and who have performed the duties of such offices with a reason- able degree of capacity and fidelity.
We are reminded, sir, by the historical reminiscences so vividly brought to our notice to-day, what indeed we well knew before, that Bridgewater was founded, and commenced her career of advancement and improvement, under the
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government of the old colony of Plymouth, which became annexed to Massachusetts by the Province Charter of 1692. But although Massachusetts was then comparatively a large community, and the colony of Plymouth a small one, I believe I may say, with truth, that we were not received as a dependency or subordinate community, but were admitted at once to the free participation and enjoyment of all the benefits of the enlarged common government. And I hesitate not to say, that, before and since this union, the inhabitants of the old colony - by military services in defence of the country, by public services in church and state - have done their fair share in advancing the common good and enhancing the common reputation ; and I rejoice in adding my belief, that they have received their full share of all the honors and dis- tinctions which it has been in the power of the common parent to bestow. Here, sir, in a sort of family meeting, where nothing is intended to go beyond our own circle, I hope it may not be regarded unwarrantable vanity in alluding to a circumstance calculated to do honor to the land of our birth. May I therefore be pardoned in mentioning, that, soon after I was appointed to the judicial office which I now hold, there was a centennial celebration at Worcester to com- memorate the establishment of courts in that county, at which the judges of the Supreme Judicial Court, then in session there, attended to do honor to the occasion ? Some one there called attention to the fact, - and so it was, -that, of the four judges of which the Supreme Judicial Court was then composed, three were natives of the old colony.
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