USA > Massachusetts > Plymouth County > Middleborough > Celebration of the two-hundredth anniversary of the incorporation of Middleborough, Massachusetts, October 3, 1869 > Part 3
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with them in their slender vessel over the trackless ocean in the most in- clement season of the year, to a new home, the barren fields and the inhos- pitable natives made anything but inviting to their famishing, sick and dying people.
What, I ask you, were the first thoughts of that people on their arrival on our shores ? Prayer for mercies received, and for their deliverance from great dangers ; and then compact, - the social compact, written and signed in the cabin of the Mayflower - the first written constitution the world ever knew, - the charter by themselves enacted, which bound to respect others, to govern themselves, and above all things to live a godly life, lov- ing each other, and trusting in the God of their fathers, who also proved to them a good God, delivering them from total destruction and guiding them finally to a home, where they and their descendants should practise those virtues and inculcate those doctrines which should build up the great- est and the freest nation on the earth, a resting-place for the oppressed of all people of all nations, complexions and tongues. Such, I say, were those whom you and I feel proud to-day in calling ancestors. Such were the fathers of this soil, and such, I trust, will always be their descendants.
Middleborough - Well may her citizens be made proud and happy by a comparison of this day, 1869, with the day we celebrate, 1669.
Responded to by John Eddy, Esq., of Providence, a native of Middleborough.
Mr. President, - In responding to your call, I will endeavor to bring my remarks within the limits of a good sermon, which is said to resemble a kiss, each requiring two heads and an application. My first ancestor in the Old Colony was Samuel Eddy, the son of William, who was a noncon- formist clergyman of Cranbrook, in the county of Kent, in England. IIe emigrated, in company with his brother John, in 1629, and arrived at Ply- mouth in November of that year, having sailed from Boxted in the good brig Harvest. In 1662 he, in company with twenty-five others, purchased of Sachem Wampatuck a large portion of the lands comprised in the old town of Middleborough. Soon after he built one of the first houses ever erected by the whites in Middleborough, on that portion of the lands which fell to him in the division. From that day to the present hour, the Eddy family in the easterly part of the town have resided on those lands so purchased, and can trace back their titles to the aforesaid Sachem. Thus it has been that the name has been closely identified with the history of this grand old town from a period seven years anterior to its birthday as a corporation to the present time. I am also informed by Professor Charles Walter Eddy, of Oxford University, that the English branch of the family have been dur- ing all the interim, and are now, in possession of the old estate from which Samuel and John Eddy emigrated in 1029. I think, therefore, it can be safely inferred that in philosophy they were not peripatetics.
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Obadiah Eddy, the son of Samuel, was living in his house, situated a few steps in the rear of the present location of the barn of the late Hon, Zech- ariah Eddy, when Philip's war broke out in 1675. There were then but twenty families in the town, and all of their residences were burnt by the Indians according to his testimony. After the war was over he returned from Plymouth, whither he had fled, and rebuilt his dwelling near where his first one was located. He is said to have planted near his house those two immensely large pear trees, which but recently were in bearing. And I have heard my grandfather say that he had made from the pears of these two trees in one year forty-five barrels of perry, although the pears that grew upon them were scarcely larger than one's thumb.
My grandmothers have figured also in the history of the Old Colony, as the records show. . On one occasion Elizabeth, the wife of Samuel, was introduced to the Governor and assistants - by the sheriff- on account of having committed no less an offence than hanging out some linen on the Lord's day. She was fined two shillings, which, however, was graciously remitted for good cause shown. And again she was brought before the Governor and assistants for having travelled from Plymouth to Boston on the Lord's day. It fully appeared in the testimony that a Mrs. Saffin was very ill, and not expecting to recover sent for Elizabeth, anxiously desiring to see her before her death. The Governor (who in those days attended most faithfully to his duties) thought that he saw not a sufficient excuse, but nevertheless contented himself with an admonition.
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It was one of my grandmothers, sir, who heard the pigs squealing of a night when her husband was absent from home, and suspecting the cause, took down the old King's arm that hung over the spacious fireplace, and loading it with good judgment, stole out into the darkness, and suc- ceeded in discharging its contents into the breast of one of the largest bears that ever infested this town. If you will compare the heroism of the women of Middleborough two hundred years ago with their daughters now before me, which one of you all have bagged bigger game, or shown a better title to woman's rights ?
I fear, sir, that there was a taint of Wall street upon some of my ances- tors, on account of their having dabbled in joint stock enterprises; for it is recorded that as early as the year 1632, Samuel Eddy was the owner of four shares in the black heifer. Taking these last two statements into ac- count, you may draw your own conclusions whether in their operations they were bulls or bears.
I might, Mr. President, further illustrate the heroism of my forefathers, but I am admonished that he who boasts of his ancestry thereby acknowl- edges that the progeny have degenerated. I think, however, you will be compelled to acknowledge that by this recital you have been somewhat edified.
When Philip's war was over, Captain Church, who has been eulogized by the orator of the day, was a colonial hero. Of him there are many inter- esting incidents related by our fathers which ought to be preserved. In his day practical joking was more in vogue than at the present time. On
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one occasion he called upon Mr. Sturtevant, the grandfather of the late Dr. George Sturtevant, and as he entered the house he left his trusty mus- ket in the entry. Mr. Sturtevant, entering soon after, recognized the gun as belonging to the Captain, whereupon he drew from it the charge of shot which it contained and went in to chat with the gallant hunter. When he was about leaving, Sturtevant proposed to give him a shot at his flock of turkeys, at a certain distance, for one dollar. The proposition was ac- cepted, the distance paced off, the turkeys congregated, and Chureli blazed away, but not a feather was disturbed. Church suspected thie cause. A year or two after, a similar scene occurred, but the Captain had taken the precaution before entering Sturtevant's house to double-load his musket, and, when he drew bead, thirteen turkeys paid the forfeit, to the great as- tonishment of Mr. Sturtevant.
There are many good stories and sketches of the lives and customs of our fathers which I hope to see collected; and I venture the assertion that one of the most readable of books could be manufactured out of that re- markable individuality which illustrates the history of our town. Of John Paddock alone, who was a descendant of one of the twenty-six purchasers of Middleborough, a most interesting chapter might be written.
I am admonished, sir, that I am occupying too much time, and I conclude with this sentiment.
Our Mothers - To their heroism, devotion, self-sacrifice and Christian faith and patience are we mostly indebted for the civil and religious privi- leges and blessings which we enjoy.
The old Ministers of Middleborough - Identified with the people, and serving successive generations, their works do follow them.
Responded to by Rev. C. W. Wood, of Campello, a native of Middleborough.
. Mr. President, - The history of any of our New England towns which should omit to notice its ministers, would indeed be very incomplete. Though not many particular acts or traits of character of the early minis- ters of Middleborough have been preserved, yet these may be quite well understood from what is known of other towns of the Old Colony and the Commonwealth. In early times the morals and customs of society were in a great measure under the guidance of the clergyman. Great respect was paid to his opinions, and almost reverence given to his person. Such provision was made by law for his support, and such enactments passed to give him authority in his office, as to secure to him permanence and inde- pendence. Middleborough was incorporated with the proviso that a com- petency of land be reserved for a minister. It was enacted that every town provide a house for its minister, and that the county court take meas- ures that all deficiencies of salary be supplied. It would seem that so far as temporalities are concerned, the minister of the olden time might pur-
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sue his work with comfort and case. It can be readily imagined how com- fortable would be the minister of the present day, if the government would take such good care of him as it once did of his predecessors in office, and would furnish him with a convenient house and a sufficient quantity of land, and would charge the courts to see to it that all deficiencies In ministers' salaries should be supplied.
The law and the customs of society then conceded to the minister a large share of dignity and honor. It was enacted that repeated contempt shown to a regular preacher and his doctrine should be punished by a fine or by the exposure of the offender two hours openly upon a block or stool four feet high upon a public meeting day, wearing upon his breast the words, "An open and obstinate contemner of God's holy ordinances."
Upon the sabbath, after the people had assembled in the house of wor- ship, the minister was waited upon by an officer and escorted to the pulpit, as the sheriff escorts the judge to the court house. As he entered, the con- gregation arose, and remained standing until he had reached the pulpit and had taken his seat. At the close of the service the same ceremony was observed.
The dress of the clergyman of olden time had a tendency to inspire re- spect in the minds, especially of young persons. With his broad coat sup- plied with capacious pockets, with his ample vest reaching nearly to the knees, with his long stockings and high shoes, with his flowing wig and cocked hat, the minister, especially on horserback, was a sight to behold. It is said that a newly arrived son of the Emerald Isle, who had had some- thing to do with the courts of his native land, and stood in mortal fear of the judges, seeing one of these New England ministers approaching, took to his heels, and came running into his house, exclaiming, "The judges are coming. I just saw one of them, with a wig as big as a ship." One, speaking of the dignified appearance of a certain clergyman, said, "He looks like an ambassador of a great King."
The minister, thus honored and revered, exercised great authority in his parish. He interested himself in the welfare of his people in every respect. He saw that schools were properly conducted, that the public house was kept orderly, that industry and thrift were promoted, and that the morals of the people, especially of the young, were guarded. "Jolin," said a preacher from his pulpit in an adjoining town, to a disorderly boy, "Come to my house to-morrow morning at 8 o'clock." And at the appointed hour John appeared at the door of the parsonage to receive a merited reprimand, for neither John nor his parents would fail to respect a command from the minister so publicly given.
A minister in a town not far from this, perplexed by the inattention of his hearers, in the midst of his sermon took his hat and deliberately walked out of the house to his home; nor would he resume his preaching until his people had apologized for their listlessness, and promised better atten- tion in the future.
A preacher in one of our country parishes, in a New Year's sermon having stated that the marriages had been few in number the preceding year,
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turned to the young men, to whom seats were assigned in one of the gal- leries, and exclaimed, " This will never do ! Young men, young men ! you are expected to do your duty !"
It may perhaps be thought that the clergyman of olden time was always of a sedate and solemn countenance, and ever diffusing an air of gloom about him; but this is a great mistake. No class of persons were of a more cheerful spirit; none met their friends with a more genial face, or enjoyed more heartily social life. Many of them interested themselves in the amusements of the people, and believed in muscular Christianity as fully as any of the present day. It is said that in a town not far from this, wrestling was a very common amusement. Upon the ordination of a. new minister, many of the people were very desirous to have the question set- tled whether the minister or the doctor would come out the better in a wrestling-match. They were requested to settle the championship on the village green, but the modesty of the minister induced him to decline such a public exhibition. He however took occasion to invite the doctor to ride with him, and when they reached a retired place where a few persons, who had an inkling of what was going on, had met, proposed that then and there the matter be decided. The result was, as the story goes, that the doctor was thrown and put over the fence, to the great satisfaction of the minister's friends. It is told of one of the distinguished ministers of New England, and who has been falsely represented as possessing a very stern and forbidding temper, that in fact he was of such a mild and gentle spirit that the insane were often sent, at their own request, to reside with him, and were very much relieved by his sagacity and gentleness.
The ministers of the olden time exerted a great influence upon the intel- lectual character of the people, from the interest they ever took in the cause of education. Through the efforts of a single clergyman in a retired part of Massachusetts, thirty youth of his parish were trained for profes- sional life. In one of our smallest towns about one hundred students were prepared for college in the minister's study. Another pastor fitted for col- lege about the same number, among whom were some of the most distin- . guished men of our country. Another pastor saw, out of one hundred and sixty-two of his scholars, thirty entering the learned profess'ons. These are but illustrations of the influence which has gone forth from the pastor's study of New England.
The minister of the olden time was distinguished for his patriotism. The patriotic eloquence of Patrick Henry is to be largely attributed to the eloquent preacher he was accustomed to hear in his early days. It is ad- mitted that in the war of tho revolution it was very much through the in- fluence of the clergy that men were made valiant in resisting encroachments upon the rights of man. To them is to be attributed, in a great measure, its commencement and its happy termination.
A recruiting officer came into one of our towns, and having labored with no success to raise volunteers, asked the minister what more could be done. The pastor appointed a meeting on sabbath evening, and preached from the text, "Cursed be he that withholdeth his sword from blood." Before the
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assembly retired to their homes, forty persons gave in their names as vol- unteers.
The historian of Pittsfield says that the sermons of the minister were among the chief instruments in giving the town that proud position which it holds in revolutionary story. When the alarm was given of Burgoyne's approach, and volunteers started hastily for action, the minister was with them riding in his old sulky, " going to war in his chariot, like the heroes of classic and scriptural story," and when the battle commenced he not only stimulated the soldies by his words, but took the musket, and by their side did what he could to gain for them victory.
So marked were the efforts of the clergy in the carly struggles for inde- pendence, that legislative bodies and others in authority publicly acknowl- edged the obligations of the country to the ministers as friends of liberty. As we remember the fathers to-day, we will not forget the minister of carly times, to whose wisdom, learning and piety we owe so much. They labored, and we have entered into their labors.
Our Pilgrim Fathers - With the gospel in their hearts, with the sword in one hand and the spade in the other, they planted institutions which have ever borne blessings to their descendants.
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Responded to by Gen. E. W. Pierce, of Freetown, who, as he had not anticipated being called upon, said, as he arose, that his feelings were like those of the boy who, at the school exhibition, could not answer the question proposed to him by the examining committee, and with an air of injured innocence replied, that was not the ques- tion of the lesson that he had learned or prepared himself to answer. He said that history showed conclusively that the pilgrim fathers devoted a great deal of their time to preaching, praying, and fighting ; and although in many things he was not a great ad- mirer of the pilgrim fathers, believing them to have had faults, - but these faults were of the age in which they lived rather than their faults as a people. Yet they had virtues, many virtues wor- thy of commendation ; and among these was, that they honestly believed that they were doing right, even when practising their most egregious errors. He was glad that all of the pilgrim spirit had not fled, as we have most ample proof afforded us here to-day ; and said that not only much of their spirit remained, but many of their customs continue to be practiced, customs that with them arose from an exigency that has long since ceased to exist, it being that manner of seating a religious congregation with the men and boys next the pew door or entrance of the seat, pew or slip, that
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grew out of their necessity for being always ready to act on the defensive against the hostile Indian. Those were the days when the words of the hymn, " Oh watch, and fight, and pray," were big with practical meaning.
" Oft did the harvest to their sickle yield,- Their furrow oft the stubborn glebe has broke. How jocund did they drive their team a-field ; How bowed the woods beneath their sturdy stroke."
Of the many happy gatherings, pleasant seasons and joyful occa- sions in which it has been the fortune of the people of Middlebor- ough and her children to participate, to us it has been reserved to join in the festivity of its bi-centennial celebration ; and now in my mind's eye I am carried back to one of these, viz., that, when the people of this time-honored town were assembled to offer thanks- giving and praise for a mighty deliverance the country had just re- ceived from the yoke of Great Britian, and celebrate the crowning glory of the success of their arms on the battlefield at Yorktown, Virginia. The speaker then drew from his pocket a smoky and tattered paper, being an original letter, and read as follows :
LETTER ADDRESSED TO COL. JOHN NELSON, MIDDLEBOROUGH.
MIDDLEBOROUGII, 17 Novem., 1781.
DEAR COLO. : Last Thursday's paper gave us an account from His Excel- lency, Gen'l Washington, and Congress, of the complete surrender of Corn- wallis and the troops under his command; a long wished for period. Now we have no reason to doubt or suspect it. In consequence of which this is to desire you to come next Monday afternoon and see us, that we may join our generous hearts in festival of triumph and joy, while we usher in the scene with the crack of thirteen guns to the honor of the states, and give a toast to our worthy brethren who have with such a becoming ardor pressed forward with undaunted bravery, till they have completed the glo- rious work whereby peace may not only be restored to us, brt extended. from pole to pole. At the same time let all the glory be given to that Om- nipotent Being who crowns our arms with such signal success.
Be kind enough to take Doctor Mont'y and Capt. Shaw, or any others you may please to nominate, with you, by which means we shall make the lis- tening groves and murmuring rivulets, and the rebounding echoes of the neighboring villages, join to propagate the din. By this we shall show to the world we have yet in our breasts hearts of free men that will disdain to let the brave exploits of our noble sons sink down in everlasting forgetful- ness, and buried in oblivion unnoticed. By this we shall show that the arms of America have prospered, and will prosper, and that we mean to
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brand with everlasting infamy those who dare oppose us on our way, and thus insult the gods with infidelity. .
I am, in haste, with sentiments of esteem, Yours obsequiously,
JAMES SPROAT.
The speaker closed with the sentiment, -
The honored and honorable memory of that people whose God is the Lord.
The Pilgrim Mothers - By their power at the old hearthstones, for vir- tue, for liberty and for heaven, they still live, the true exemplars of woman's rights.
The president here said, I extend a cordial invitation to any lady present who may choose to respond to this sentiment. No one ris- ing, he called on Judge Russell, who spoke substantially as follows :
Mr. President, - I hoped that some good daughter of Middleborough would have responded to that sentiment; but I am proud to be a substitute in such a cause, and I have only to say that the right of woman to eu- counter danger and to bear suffering for truth was never questioned. When in the course of a few years our conservative objections have all been over- borne; when the rampant radicalism of a reckless age shall have decided that the most intelligent and best educated women in America may be trusted to vote as well as the stranger ignorant of our laws, our customs and our language, just dumped upon the wharf at New York, and claiming citizenship on the strength of a forged naturalization paper, - even then woman will have not attained a power so grand as has been accorded to her in the earliest ages. De Quincy, writing of Joan of Arc, doubts (heretic that he is) whether woman has the power to write like Shakspeare, or com- pose like Mozart, inquiring (sophist as he is) why, if she can, she never has done so. But he admits that she can do one thing more grandly than man. Her prerogative is to suffer nobly. From the Roman amphitheatre and the Roman catacombs; from the fires of Smithfield; from the rock of Plym- outh, the spirits of martyred women have borne witness to the truth, and have shown the strength of woman's faith. Their example has taught the race ; their inspiration has elevated our laws ; they have ennobled the life of the world. The mothers and daughters among those whom we commem- orate to-day shared amply the grand privilege of women. But the noblest and grandest illustration of woman's right to suffer was shown to the world when Mary stood beside the cross.
The Grand Army of the Republic - Historic with the memory of many a victory and disaster in defence of our common country, bound together by
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brotherly ties to protect and sustain the families of their fallen comrades ; we venerate the dead, we love to lionor the living.
Responded to by A. T. Wales, of Middleborough.
Mr.' President, Ladies and Gentlemen, - I feel that it is presumptuous in me to attempt to respond to this sentiment, and especially when I look around upon my comrades here and see some who bear upon their persons the scars of that conflict which resulted in the salvation of the nation, and others who held positions of rank iu that gallant army of the union, any of whom could more fittingly respond for the Grand Army of the Republic. But since it has fallen upon me to stand in this position, I suppose I must say " the fates are just," and as a good soldier I must not refuse to do mny duty.
Coming together, my friends, to-day, to celebrate the two hundredth an- niversary of the town's incorporation, and looking back to the early days of our colonial history, when these foundation principles of government and society were planted here, although the seed was small we cannot fail to follow its growth in each successive stage, and witness the effect of those first principles in carrying us safely through the crisis of each generation, from 1669 to 1869. The determined, unflinching support of these princi- ples which on this continent created a new era in human affairs, had caused many a conflict in the legislation and government of the country, until at last, when victory after victory had perched upon its banner, its antagonistic principle in our government, resolving to rule or ruin, resorted to a conflict of arms, and when the tocsin of war was sounded, when open rebellion was stalking through the land, the same self-sacrificing devotion to principle was exhibited which sustained the pilgrims of Plymouth in their attempt to plant fair freedom's tree upon our sterile coast, which nerved thelr arms to defend themselves against a savage foe, and at a later day was exhibited by their descendants in spurning the aggressions and encroachments of the mother country until, appealing to the supreme judge of the world for the rectitude of their intentions, they struck for and achieved the independence of the nation.
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