USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Braintree > Centennial celebration at Braintree, Mass., July 4, 1876 > Part 6
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first blood in the cause of American liberty; and in the great struggle which ensued, no State contributed more lavishly of men and means to the common cause.
The commonwealth which gave to the country such statesmen and orators as Samuel Adams and John Adams, Hancock, Otis, and the elder Quincy, and which holds within its borders the historic battle- fields of Concord, Lexington, and Bunker Hill, may well exult on this day. If her children did not " celebrate it with thanksgiving, with festivity, with bonfires and illuminations," if on this centennial anni- versary, of all others, we did not " shed tears, copious, gushing tears of exultation, of gratitude, and of joy," we should be recreant to the great trust committed to us by our fathers, and unworthy of the pre- cious blessings which we have inherited from them. In every possible demonstration of rejoicing Massachusetts should be foremost on this day.
But while, as citizens of a common country and of our beloved com- monwealth, we participate in the general rejoicing, there is a special purpose which brings us together here. It was only twenty years after the landing of the Pilgrims at Plymouth Rock that Braintree became a town.
Its first settlers were among the most influential men in the colony. In the events which preceded and accompanied the struggle for inde- pendence, its citizens were among the foremost ; and I am told that the records of no town in the commonwealth were more full and com- plete during that most interesting period.
In the subsequent war of 1812, and in that terrible struggle for national existence in our own time, her sons fully sustained the ancient reputation of their native town.
In whatever was necessary to advance the general weal, she has borne her part most faithfully. And yet of the early history of this town, of the men who were famous in its councils, and of their deeds which contributed to its renown, we of this generation know comparatively little.
We have come to listen to that story, as yet untold. That it will be faithfully and instructively portrayed by our townsman, the orator of the occasion, I need not assure you.
And as, with gratitude and pride, we learn what our fathers accom- plished, not only for us but for the country and the world, we shall receive new strength for the present, new hope and inspiration for the future.
A pleasant duty yet remains to me. At different periods of her history Braintree has been shorn of large pieces of her territory upon the north and south, which have been incorporated as independent towns, and in the course of events the children have outgrown the mother; yet she contemplates their prosperity to-day with a feeling
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in which envy has no share. The staid matron also boasts a grand- child of tender years! 1 As was fit and proper on this thanksgiving day, she extended a cordial invitation to all the family to assemble in the old homestead, and to unite with her in these festivities. Affection- ately and cordially. as becomes dutiful children, they have responded, but have excused themselves by reason of festive gatherings at their own family boards. We regret their absence exceedingly, but in your name, I send to them all cordial salutations. In whatever of pride and satisfaction may result from a contemplation of the carly history of the original town, we claim to be admitted, as we cheerfully admit them, to a full participation. And to those who, from near or far, have been drawn here to-day by affection for their birthplace, or by an- cestral ties, I extend a hearty greeting. Welcome all ! The old mother opens wide her doors to-day and welcomes home her wander- ing children. With high hopes and resolute purpose she crosses the threshold of the new century.
It is not perhaps known to all of you that the Declaration of Inde- pendence was not signed by the members of the Continental Congress until Aug. 2. although the signatures of the president and secretary were appended to it JJuly 4, the resolution with which the instrument concluded having been adopted two days before. As soon as the document had received the signatures of the president and secretary, it was ordered that it be printed, and a copy sent to each State, and that it be proclaimed at the head of the army. July 17 the Executive Council, in Boston, passed an order that copies be sent to every town ; that it should be read by the ministers from every pulpit, and by them transmitted to the town clerk, who was required to enter it at large upon the town records.
I hold in my hands the copy then made upon the Braintree records, in a clear, bold hand, by Ebenezer Thayer, the town clerk, who had been recently elected to that office as successor of Elisha Niles, deceased.
Methinks I see that sturdy town clerk, as, with hand in which there was not the slightest sign of trembling, and with a heart, we may be sure, which was a stranger to fear, he transcribed that immortal document. From the leading part which he took in public affairs at that time, we know that he was a worthy associate of those men who had pledged . their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor" in defence of liberty.
The president concluded by introducing Samued A. Bates, Esq .. the present town clerk, who read the Declaration from the original records.
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Following this was music by the Braintree Band. Hon. F. A. Hobart was then introduced as the orator of the day, and proceeded to pronounce his oration, at the close of which the choir sung the "Ode on Science," and a poem by Asa T. Pratt, Esq., followed.
The services, which had been throughout of a most inter- esting character, were concluded by the singing of "Old Hundred," in which the audience joined, and with the bene- diction pronounced by Rev. E. M. Taylor, of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Braintree. A fine display of fireworks on the Common, in the evening, attracted a large crowd, and brought to a close a remarkably busy and interesting day for old Braintree.
Numerous letters were received by the committee in re- sponse to invitations, all of which we should be glad to print did space permit. A few of them are appended.
LETTERS.
QUINCY, 22 June, 1876. E. HAYWARD AND OTHERS, BRAINTREE:
Gentlemen, - I should be very happy to accept your friendly invita- tion to be present at your celebration of the 4th of July, were it not that I had been so hasty as to engage myself elsewhere. I have prom- ised to address the citizens of Taunton on the same day. .
Very truly yours,
CHARLES FRANCIS ADAMS.
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
WASHINGTON, D. C., July 1, 1876.
DEAR SIRS, - I have received your esteemed favor inviting me to be present at the Centennial celebration at Braintree. It will not be possible for me to be with you on that occasion, which I am sure will
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be a most interesting one. There is no town in the commonwealth which can celebrate that day with a more just pride in her history, or with a more hopeful prospect for the future, than Braintree. She gave to the cause of national independence some of its noblest defend- ers, whose names and deeds will not only be rehearsed by her sons, but will be on that day upon the lips of every patriot throughout the Republic. She has in every crisis of the nation been foremost among the supporters of its life and honor, and after having given two splen- did daughters to the old commonwealth, she still remains one of the foremost, and is provided with all the conditions of a most prosperous future. And, my dear sirs, proud in being the son of such a town, and anxious to express most strongly my most earnest desire for her future success, I will say: " May her future success be equal to her past merits, and the spirit of 1776 and 1876 be the spirit of her sons through all coming centuries." Regretting that I cannot be with you, and appreciating your kind consideration, I am,
Yours truly,
CHARLES P. THOMPSON.
ELIAS HAYWARD, ESQ., AND OTHERS, Committee.
RANDOLPH, June 17, 1876.
DEAR SIR, - Your polite official and personal invitation to attend the Centennial celebration of old Braintree on the coming " Fourth " was duly received, and would be most gratefully accepted, had not Mother Braintree's second daughter, the " South Precinct," concluded at the youthful age of more than fourscore to " go alone " on the one hundredth birthday of National Independence, and with modest efforts in " procession, music, oration, decoration, and fireworks," strive to keep alive grateful memories of the fathers of our old town, who, in their well-remembered predictions of the future, fell far short of the blessings enjoyed by their descendants in the glorious land of our in- heritance. Confident that, in the orations with which Braintree and her children are to be favored, much will be found to inspire to renewed effort in behalf of our whole country, the writer is equally sure that the occasion will bring to us stores of historic matter both profitable and interesting.
With best wishes for the success of your celebration, believe me,
Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
SETH TURNER.
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RANDOLPH, June 30, 1876.
GENTLEMEN, - Your cordial invitation to be present at the Centen- nial celebration at Braintree, July 4, 1876, is received. Nothing would gratify my feelings more than to accept your complimentary invitation, but the fact that a celebration of like character comes off in " Ye Old South Precinct," renders my acceptance somewhat inconsistent. I regard with great respect and veneration the old town of Braintree and its people, and why should I not? having personally known most of the generation that last passed away, and many of those who now occupy their places; but more than all, I venerate it from the fact that my paternal ancestor as early as 1675 adopted Braintree as his home, and to the present time, a period of more than two hundred years, his descendants have remained upon the old homestead; and wherever one of the name is found in this country, he proudly hails old Braintree as the birthplace of his ancestor.
I congratulate our old mother on this Centennial occasion, that she enjoys so great prosperity, happy in all her surroundings; that she one hundred years ago contributed so largely to the independence of these United States, through the great ability and statesmanship of her distinguished sons. I congratulate her on the success of her two children, Quincy and Randolph; though comparatively young, being but little over fourscore years, permanently settled within her ancient domain, a sober, religious, and industrious people. May the descend- ants of the present generation of old Braintree, who, I doubt not, will celebrate the two hundredth anniversary of American Independence at the next centennial in 1976, find the old lady as healthy, wealthy, and wise as we find her to-day. One word for myself, in the language of another: -
"I, though the humblest and homeliest one, Feel the natural pride of a dutiful son; And esteem it to-day the profoundest of joys That, not less than yourselves, I am one of her boys."
Very respectfully your obedient servant,
ELIAS HAYWARD, JOSEPHUS SHAW, SAMUEL A. BATES, AND OTHERS, Committee.
BRADFORD L WALES
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WINCHESTER, MASS., June 22, 1876.
TO THE COMMITTEE OF THE TOWN OF BRAINTREE ON THE CEN- TENNIAL CELEBRATION, JULY 4, 1876:
Gentlemen, - It would afford me much pleasure to unite with you and the citizens of Braintree at the approaching celebration of the One Hundredth Anniversary of our National Independence.
Though not, strictly speaking, a native of Braintree, my ancestors, in several lines, have dwelt there from the settlement of New Eng- land till now. The names of Adams, Allen, Bass, Faxon, French, Hayden, Holbrook, Penniman, Thayer, and White, I recognize as of my carly ancestry, and old Braintree -including Quincy and Ran- dolph -as their home. The word Braintree, when I see it in print, never fails to awaken tender emotions in my breast. During six years or more, Braintree was my home. In the cemetery, in the " Iron Works District," now repose the mortal remains of my grand- parents. my parents, and those of my much-beloved eldest son, my eldest sister also.
Braintree is therefore to me peculiarly honored and dear. I thank the committee for their kind invitation to be present on so interesting and cherished an occasion. But it will be utterly out of my power. During the last four years, I have been confined to my home, and most of the time to my chamber, by painful and incurable illness. I have been unable to visit the house of God, or to receive company, or to attend to any worldly business. I have resigned all my earthly cares to the hands of my wife and son, and am, in respect to business, a mere wreck. I am now seventy-five years and some months old; and though my pen is almost constantly employed, I am looking for a speedy departure from this world.
I trust the citizens of Braintree will have a good time. I must ask the committee to send me whatever may be printed on the subject, particularly the Address and Oration.
Yon know I take a lively interest in the early history of our country.
The Proceedings of the 250th Anniversary of the Permanent Settle- ment of Weymouth, with the Historical Address, by Hon. Charles Francis Adams, Jr., were kindly sent to me by Mr. Adams, who had kindly consulted me on " Old Spain " some time previous, while pre- paring the Address.
I called on John Adams, his honored great-grandfather, in 1826, about a month before he died. He recognized our relationship. My father's mother was an Adams. Said he, " I have known your family these fourscore years." I received my name in remembrance of him.
With great respect, yours,
JOHN ADAMS VINTON.
God bless old Braintree!
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MILTON, July, 1876.
ELIAS HAYWARD, ESQ., AND OTHERS, COMMITTEE:
Gentlemen, - Please accept my thanks for the invitation to your Centennial celebration, although other arrangements debar me from the pleasure of being present, which I the more regret for the reason that your ancient town has most intimately associated its name and renown with the annals of American Independence.
The President of the Convention, which in the earliest hour of the struggle, the 9th of September, 1774, adopted the memorable resolves written and reported by Joseph Warren, which bid defiance to the vengeance of Great Britain, and which on their approval a few days after, at the opening of the Continental Congress, were declared to be " nothing short of a declaration of independency, without room for retreut," was Joseph Palmer, of Braintree.
His name, and that of Col. Ebenezer Thayer, of Braintree, were associated also with that of Major-General Joseph Warren, as a com- mittee to sound the note of alarm and remonstrance against the forti- fications on Boston Neck.
At the time when Charles Carroll signed the Declaration of Indepen- dence, some one suggested at the moment that there was another person of that name, and that the act involved the peril of their lives, when he forthwith added " of Carrollton."
Had such occasion existed, old Braintree, the birthplace of Hancock and John Adams, would have seen her name emblazoned with that of her illustrious sons upon the same imperishable record.
But local allusions must give place and converge to-day in the re- splendent rays which reflect the centennial glories of the Republic. At this evening hour we may but repeat the words of John Adams, uttered at the time of the Declaration, its century of prophecy fulfilled.
" But the day is past." " The most memorable epoch in the history of America; to be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great an- niversary festival, commemorated as the day of deliverance by solemn acts of devotion to Almighty God, from one end of the continent to the other, from this time forward forevermore."
In our offerings of gratitude on this centennial era, we may not forget our obligations to those from other lands, who, in the days of darkness and distress, so generously contributed of their treasures, and by their army and navy, and the valor of their sons, aided the patriot fathers in their achievements in the day of battle. Washington and Lafayette; the closing scenes of Yorktown in October, 1781; the final victory that twined double garlands around the banners of France and America.
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France. - Amid the stern vicissitudes of her national history, this anniversary sends greeting to the hero of Magenta to-day, that for- saking the paths of empire by the sword of conquest, and clad in the panoply of a kindred faith, she marched onward to the surer triumphs of a nobler civilization.
Very respectfully, NATH'L F. SAFFORD.
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APPENDIX.
APPENDIX A.
IN the appendix is matter culled mostly from the ancient records of Braintree. Where allusion is made in the address to what may be considered controverted points, I have thought it proper, in bottom notes and appendix, to give the authorities on which the statements were made.
F. A. H.
APPENDIX A. - NOTE 2.
POPULATION, 1875.
Males.
Females.
Total.
Braintree
.
1,999
2,157
4,156
Quincy
·
4,598
4,557
9.155
Randolph
2,033
2,031
4,064
Holbrook,
862
864
1,726
19,101
APPENDIX A. - NOTE 3.
VALUATION, 1875.
Personal Property.
. Real Estate.
Braintree
$732,550
$2,036,950
Quincy
·
1,736,475
5,577,550
Randolph
619,390
1,441,840
Holbrook
200,070
738.570
$2,288,485
$9,794,910
2,288.485
Total .
$12,083,395
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APPENDIX A. - NOTE 4.
The population of Braintree at different intervals since 1800 is thus exhibited : -
In 1800 .
1,285
In 1850
2,969
In 1~10 .
1,251
In 1860
3,468
In 1-20 .
1,466
In 1865 3,725
In 1×30 .
1.758
In 1870 . 3,948
In 1×40 .
2,168
In 1875
4,156
In isto the valuation was : -
Personal
8668.950
Real
$1,313,840
APPENDIX A. - NOTE 5.
From Massachusetts Industrial Statistics of 1875.
Products, etc.
Braintree
Randolph.
Quincy.
Holbrook.
Manufactures : -
Number of establishments
43
140
116
33
Value of goods made
81.724.306 81.301.570 82,137.047
$1.049.796
Value of stock used
$1.104.215
8800,198
88834,424
$707,135
Capital invested.
8648.883
$207,631
$1,036,598
$229,000
Persons employed .
929
851
1,421
285
Agriculture, including domes- tie manufacture
$101,222
$51.250
$128,160
$11,480
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APPENDIX B. - NOTE 1.
The Rev. W. P. Lunt. in an appendix to his " Anniversary Sermons," quotes from Epham's " Life of Vane" the noble reply made by Vane when, after he had been condemned to death, he was told that by submission to the king his life might be saved. " If the king," said Vane, "does not think himself more concerned for his honor and word than I for my life, let lin take it. Nay, I declare that I value my life less in a good cause than the king can do his promise. He is so sufficiently obliged to spare my life that it Is fitter for him to do it than for me to seek it."
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APPENDIX B. - NOTE 2.
NAME OF TOWN.
Just how the name of Braintree came to be adopted will probably never be known to the satisfaction of all; but for the sake of those who may be interested in the matter, I give the various suggestions that have been made by those who have examined the subject.
Mr. Lunt, on page 41 of his " Anniversary Sermons," says : "The name of the new town, Braintree, was doubtless derived from the Braintree company already mentioned, which in 1632 had begun to sit down here, and removed hence to Newtown, afterwards Cambridge. This company came from Braintree, in Essex County, England. The celebrated Mr. Hooker, who the next year came over and found them at Newtown, had been their minister before they left England. Among the names of that company, as given in the history of Cambridge, several occur that are at the present day familiar in this vicinity ; and in order to account for the name of Braintree being given to this town, we may either adopt the sug- gestion that has been made by high authority, that this company remained here and did not go to Newtown, or if we think the historical evidence conclusive for their removal, we may suppose that several of them returned hither, when, a few years after, they of Newtown made complaint to the General Court for want of room, and when the great body of the company, together with their pastor, emigrated to Connecticut River, and laid the foundation of Hartford. It is certainly what we should expect, that some place among the new settlements should bear the name of a company that had for their minister so celebrated a man as Hooker; and what place more likely to receive the appellation than that which offered the first resting- place to these pilgrims after their arrival in New England?"
From the appendix to Mr. Lunt's sermons, page 66, I take this extract : " Hon. John Quincy Adams gives it as his opinion that the Braintree. com- pany, mentioned by Winthrop in 1632 as having begun to settle at Moun Wollaston, did not remove to Newtown, or at least remained, most of them, where they had begun to settle, and that it was at their solicitation that the name of Braintree, the place in England whence they came, was given to the town." To controvert these opinions, we have the high authority of Hon. C. F. Adams, who asks, "How came it (the name) to be adopted? A sat- isfactory answer to the question is not easy. The topic has been a good deal discussed by competent persons, but without leading to any positive result. On the one side, it has been maintained that out of the company of emigrants from the town of Braintree, in the county of Essex, England, who came under the direction of Mr. Hooker in the year 1632, and who began to settle at Mount Wollaston, a large portion remained, notwith- standing the order of the General Court to remove to Newtown, and from these might naturally have come the name of their former home; but this conjecture is in conflict with the evidence, for it is very certain that what
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purports to have been the whole company did obey the order to remove to Newton (present Cambridge), and that the names of forty-five of them are preserved in the records of that place. Most of these people ultimately removed with Mr. Hooker to the Connecticut River, and founded the set- tlement of Hartford. From this circumstance it has been inferred by others that a few, unwilling to make so distant a removal, may have accepted allotments (just theu freely made) of the lands at Mount Wollas- ton, and have come back here to settle. Here, again, there is no positive evidence to sustain this conjecture. The number of these stragglers could at best have been but small. They must have come, if at all, by the year 1635 : but the allotment to the great majority of the settlers likely to deter- mine the character of the town took place in 1638 and 1639. In the choice of a name, it seems reasonable to suppose that the will of the mass of the real inhabitants would be respected. It was from them, I think, the town must have got the name. It was mainly from them that the draft was subsequently made of the colony which removed at a later period from Braintree to found the town of Chelmsford. Now. Chelmsford is the name of the shire-town of Essex County in England. It is only eleven miles from Braintree, and is the place where Rev. Mr. Hooker had been settled. It seems to me, therefore, reasonable to suppose that the same influence which prevailed in naming the one town in 1640 prevailed in naming the other in 1655." In attempting to find the connection, Mr. AAdams says, "It is just here that the proof completely fails. No such connection or identity has or can be now established. The first accounts appear the most reliable and sensible." Whitney's " Quincy," after reciting the act incorporating Braintree, says, " The name, according to all accounts, was given to it from a town of the same name in England." Whitney says, " This was the common practice with those who were engaged in the first settlement of the country."
An anecdote is told of the first minister of Boston, that when the Bosto- nians, who came from a town of that name in England, wrote home invit- ing their minister to join them, he first answered, " I will come, brethren, on condition the place is called Boston"; and it was so, nor is it at all to be wondered at. Their thoughts naturally turned back to the delightful land they had left forever, and it was but in consonance with the best feel- ings of the heart to wish to preserve, though it were but in name, some memories of the spot which was known to them as the scene of their child- hood, the dwelling-place of their relatives, where stood the tombs and where rested the bones of their kindred and friends. This would seem to be sufficient reason why the Braintree company, " who by all accounts did sit down at Mount Wollaston," gave the name to the settlement, and being altogether the most conspicuous fact occurring in its history, it would be natural that it should make a permanent impression. Though the colony itself may all have left, the name remained to the locality, as did the name of Captain Wollaston after he left, and with much more reason.
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