USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Boylston > Centennial celebration of the incorporation of the town of Boylston, Massachusetts, August 18, 1886 > Part 4
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The Poet of the Day is a descendant of one of the honored families of Boylston, and I now have the pleasure and the honor of introducing William N. Davenport, Esq., of Marlborough. as Poet of the Day.
POEM.
I.
One hundred years of story and song, O'er the river of time have floated along, Freighted with cargoes of hopes and of fears, The smiles of affection and miseries' tears, To the ocean of ages, the isles of the past, Where all errors with charity's mantle o'ercast, Are hidden from sight 'neath the waves foaming crest And lie safely locked in oblivion's breast. A century's years have passed swiftly away, And sunk 'neath the vortex of nature's decay, Since our dear mother town, without hindrance or fear, Stepped out of its cradle and began its career. T'was a morning in March, the bleak air was chill, The cold winds of winter blew bitter and shrill, When the infant decided, with a will of its own, To forsake its fond parent and go it alone. Its mother objected, she said 'twas too small, That its castles of air would ingloriously fall, And that when despoiled of its infantile charms, 'Twould be glad to return to her sheltering arms. But Shrewsbury, like other good mothers we know, Was compelled to submit, and let the child go. Kind friends gathered round it, it flourished and grew, 'Neath the guidance of men who kept heaven in view. Who sought to establish without blemish or flaw, Our dear native Boylston, with virtue its law. The foundations of Church and of school they laid deep,
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That those who should follow, might gather and reap The harvest of blessings, that constantly fall From religion's pure fountains, and learning's proud halls. They were men of convictions, of true simple heart, With plain, homely logic, untainted by art, Who bent with a smile 'neath the chastening rod, And put their whole trust in a beneficent God. Plain yeomen were they-humble tillers of earth, With a patriot's love for the land of their birth. Determined to live in a land truly free, They defied the invader from over the sea. They shouldered the musket, the plowshare laid by, With a firm resolution to conquer or die. Then back to their homes, the fierce conflict ended, The life of the soldier in the farmer they blended. Ever ardent for liberty, simple and pure, The praise of the tyrants they could not endure. So when Pastor Morse endeavored to teach, And also to practice, as well as to preach, That to monarchs and kings allegiance was due, That to England's proud sway they should ever prove true, He was told in language emphatic, and plain, That should the offence be committed again, For his labors of love he must seek a new field, That upon this one point they never would yield. The pastor persisting, was soon banished hence, Where loyalist teachings would not give offence. They were men of stern lives, kind-hearted and true, They built for their children, they builded for you, And then to our keeping, the heritage left, Of none of its beauty, or grandeur bereft.
TI.
But 'tis a fact, none can dispute, A terse homely maxim, that none dare refute, That a child that disobeys its mother, Will come to grief sometime or other. Two and a score of years passed by, So swiftly do the moments fly,
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So short is life, the little span, That marks the pilgrimage of man, So brief the space between our birth, And our resting place in mother earth, That many of the little band Who guarded with protecting hand, The infant town on its natal day, Had passed from all earth's scenes away, Had gone to seek that just reward, Prepared for all who serve the Lord, Ere their Western brothers prayed the state, In the year of grace eighteen hundred eight, To carve from Boylston's teeming breast, A strip of land in the prosperous West, And cause the child to undergo, Some portion of its mother's woe : Thenceforth West Boylston graced the plain, Of Worcester County's fair domain.
III.
One hundred years of time's vast span, Outnumbering far, the years of man, Have sped since that auspicious morn, When our old mother town was born. What mighty changes these years have brought, What wonders Father Time hath wrought. Nations have risen since that day,
Have flourished, and have passed away. Monarchs have sought to stem the tide, Of Liberty's advancing stride, But everywhere beneath the sun, Wherever man his course has run, The Goddess rules far stronger now, Than when the crown first decked her brow. No more the serf shall bend the knee, The slave from all his fetters free Stands disenthralled, his slavery o'er, Nor longer knocks at freedom's door.
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The visions of our grandsires' dream Vanished before the age of steam. Around the world magnetic bands, Securely bound by faithful hands, All things proclaim of joy or woe, Borne onward by the electric flow. Science and art with each have vied, Inspired alike with honest pride, To onward press to greater things, To touch the chords whence knowledge springs, And 'neath their banners white unfurled, To bear its blessings through the world.
=
IV.
Oh ! pleasant scenes of early days, How changed thy walks in all their ways, How changed thy woods that graced the hills, And overhung thy sparkling rills. The woodman's axe has spared them not, Nor sacred held the wood-land grot, But ruthlessly in quest of gain, The monarchs of the wood hast slain. No more we hear the bugle horn, Rousing the County folk at morn, No more the dashing tally-ho, Through summer's heat and winter's snow, Speeds gaily down the village street, Behind the coursers strong and fleet. For now the sturdy iron horse, Through teeming valleys takes its course, While backward, from each towering hill, Its warnings echo loud and shrill. No more the Crier, strong and brown, With clanging bell goes up and down, Proclaiming in stentorian voice, That John, and Jane, have made their choice, And that next Sabbath they will be Bound fast in legal unity.
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V.
O change ! why dost thou thus destroy The varied scenes of childhood's joy ? Is it because the laws of fate Have long decreed their present state ? Or do you hope to better build Than those who first these acres tilled ? If such thy hope, oh, spare, I pray, And keep thy vandal hands away, Far from that humble woodside cot, To me that almost sacred spot, Where on a bright November morn, My infant eyes beheld life's dawn. Still let my heart about it twine, Like incense, round the sacred shrine.
VI.
Where are the faces that once we met ? The familiar forms we shall ne'er forget. The kindly friends of childhood's years, Who shared with us its joys and fears, As side by side, in the days of yore, We stored our minds with school-book lore, And thought to scale fame's lofty height, By learning how to read and write. The stones in yonder churchyard gray, Beneath the mournful pine trees' sway, Record that many, by a loving hand, Hlave been led from earth to the better land. The living are scattered far and wide, By mountain peak and ocean tide. Wherever fiickle fortune calls They seek for wealth in Mammon's halls. They burrow 'neath the fruitful ground, Where Nature's treasures most abound. They till the earth, they speed the train, They face the dangers of the main. In learning's halls they seek for fame,
-
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And strive to win an immortal name. From North to South, from East to West, Throughout our land by heaven blest, Where'er ambition leads the van, And fires and sways the heart of man, Old Boylston's sons in peace abide, With honor for their shield and guide. But still where'er their footsteps turn For the old town their hearts still yearn.
VII.
Our native town. We hail thee now And place the laurel on thy brow, And as your joyful birthday bells, The peans to thy glory swells, We stand uncovered at thy shrine, And round thy brows fresh garlands twine. Forsaking all the cares of life, Its busy scenes, its daily strife, We've come from factory, shop and farm, From cares that try and scenes that charm, From the marts of trade we've gathered here, To welcome thy one hundredth year. We've gathered from our several ways, To add the tribute of our praise, The homage of our song to pay To thee on thy Centennial Day. The Muses join, with loud acclaim, To swell the glory of thy name. The breezes catch the glad refrain, And send it echoing o'er the plain. Far o'er thy high majestic hills, Adown thy sparkling, rippling rills, On the Nashua's advancing wave, Through the quiet vales its waters lave, Past frowning rock and mossy dell, Past flowery mead, and wooded fell, All Nature adds its roundelays, To swell the measure of thy praise,
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VIII.
'Tis said that treasure once was hid Beneath thy green sward's coverlid. That treasure for which strong men sought, By thirst for gold and greed distraught ; Who, through the watches of the night, With naught to guide but the moon's pale light, Into thy bosom plunged the spade, Then upward through the glistening blade. And when at last they reached the pot, And spell-bound stood upon the spot, Upon their view an army broke, When mid the muskets din and smoke, The kettle slipped from off the bar, And sank into the depths afar. So may thy blessings, dearly bought, If through unholy impulse sought, If greed should seek, or avarice burn, From honor's course thy path to turn, Oh! cause them quick to disappear, And heap the earth-clods on their bier.
IX.
Go on, old town, to virtue true, With eagles' flight thy course pursue, And may thy sons and daughters be True to themselves, their God, and thee. On to the future take thy way, Refulgent as the orb of day. Onward old town, we love thee yet, Thy pleasant scenes we'll not forget, For thee our hearts shall ever yearn, To thee our fondest hopes will turn. And when at last life's fleeting breath Checked by the unseen hand of death, Our bark of Life, with sails all furled, Shall bear us to the better world, Here may we come and lie at rest,
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Within thy kind maternal breast. Go on! and may thy future be, Bright as the hopes we have for thee. Nor cloud, nor shadow overcast. Nor Summer's gale nor Winter's blast, Dispel the hopes that round thee twine, Of happiness, for thee and thine. Our prayers to heaven will still ascend, To keep and guide thee to the end.
AFTER-DINNER EXERCISES.
The after dinner exercises took place in the speakers' tent, and were opened with the " Poet and Peasant" overture by the band. The President then introduced Mr. George L. Wright, of Boylston. as toast-master, who made following remarks.
Mr. President :- It seems but proper and fitting in opening these post-prandial exercises that a few additional words of wel- come and congratulation should be expressed to the sons and daughters of the old town, and the descendants of Boylston fam- ilies, who have honored the occasion with their presence. It has been said that he who forgets not the place of his birth, and the trees whose fruit he plucked, and under whose shade he gamboled in the days of his youth. is not a stranger to the sweetest im- pressions of the human heart. It is especially gratifying to the present citizens of the town to welcome back so many of her former citizens ; natives, who after years of absence, have return- ed on this Centennial Day, which marks the close of the first cen- tury of the town's corporate existence to renew the associations of the past. to recall the memories of childhood. of youth, and of early manhood ; the days which of all the seasons of life cast the strongest impressions and leave the most delightful memories. We welcome you back to the old home, to these hills and valleys, to this heritage of the fathers, to this soil wherein repose the dust of parents and kindred, and made sacred by the tenderest asso- ciations of life. Many of you have gone out from the town and
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chosen homes in distant places ; nearly every State in the Union has her representative in this day's gathering. The noble record of Boylston's sons and daughters is a fitting illustration of the sturdy character of the town. Many there are who have adorned almost every walk and calling in life ; whose names and records have alike done honor to themselves, the old town and the com- munities in which they have been placed. Statesmen could be named whose voices have been heard, and whose influence has been felt in both the councils of State and Nation. Soldiers, whose bravery has been an honor to the citizen-soldiery of the Republic. Philanthropists and divines whose eloquence and pleadings in the causes of religion, temperance and humanity have been heard and felt in every quarter of the globe. The spot on which we are gathered teems with historic interest. In yon- der cemetery rest the early settlers of this town. On the com- mons, hard by, stood the ancient church and school-house, while scattered around it stand the houses which for the greater part of the century were the homes of the Boylston pastors-Morse, Fairbanks, Hooper, Cotton, Russell, Sanford and Bigelow. Every inch of ground is replete with christianizing and elevating influences and associations which have made Boylston what it has been. We are honored, in this day's services, with the pres- ence of representatives from the parent towns-Lancaster and Shrewsbury, as well as the entire Lancaster circle of towns. while the only daughter, West Boylston, completes the family circle. We greet you all with the kindliest of feelings and most cordial of greetings. At the Bi-Centennial Celebration of the old town of Lancaster in 1858, the following toast was offered to the town of Boylston :
" Boylston took to herself Shrewsbury's leg and ran away from her mother, but her industry and many virtues have done honor to herself and her parentage."
James Davenport, Esq., in replying for the town, closed his remarks with the following sentiment :
" As the two branches of the Nashaway which flowed sepa- rately all the way from Ashburnham on the north, and Holden on the south, at different distances until they arrived at Lancas- ter, did not leave the place until they had united into one, and
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flowed placidly together towards the Merrimac in an unbroken union ; so may this meeting have the effect to cement the good feelings of this great family until the Nashaway shall cease to flow." And this sentiment we now offer as Boylston's greeting upon its Centennial Day. I have the pleasure of offering as the first toast :
The day we celebrate. which welcomes back the sons and daughters of the old town. May this re-union cement anew our lore for the old home.
RESPONSE BY THE BAND,
which gave Bucallossi's " Hunting Scene."
The town of Boylston, although her growth has been small, her influence has been wide and her record good. May the second century, upon which she has now entered, prove as pros- perous as the first.
In offering this toast, the toast-master referred to the diffi- culty which the early settlers of Boylston encountered in their attempts to become a town, and which ended in their becoming the North Precinct of Shrewsbury ; and of the subsequent attempts, at last successful, in 1786. In calling for the response to this toast, he introduced a gentleman who had always been deeply identified with the highest interests of both church and town, who had served nearly forty years as one of the deacons of the church, and nearly as long as clerk of the parish : thirty-six years as Town Clerk ; who had twice served the town in the Gen- eral Court of the Commonwealth ; and who had been honored with nearly every office in the gift of the town - Deacon Henry H. Brigham.
REMARKS OF HENRY H. BRIGHAM, ESQ.
That the growth of the town has been small, the reasons are obvious. It is not because its inhabitants have not been prolific, as formerly there were many large families ; eight to fifteen chil-
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dren in a family were not uncommon. It was formerly the cus- tom that when a child was born a Note of Thanksgiving was put up in church on the following Sabbath for its safe delivery. There were two families of fifteen children each brought up at the same time. It was said to be alternately Andrew Bigelow, Benjamin Houghton ; Andrew Bigelow, Benjamin Houghton. We are a community ef agriculturists. We have no mechanical or other industries to retain our young people. As soon as they arrive at mature age they are obliged to seek employment else- where ; but we have the satisfaction of knowing that healthful influences have gone forth that are widespread and far reaching. Many of our young men have gone forth who occupy positions of influence and respectability in many of our large cities ; especi- ally may we make mention of our neighboring city of Worcester. Two of its Mayors were from this town. From the time of the first organization of the city government, nearly forty years ago, it has had its representatives from this town. Many of its enterpris- ing business men, Water Commissioner Chief Engineer of the Fire Department, and several of its most prominent Civil Engineers were from this town. Of the professionals, there has been a goodly number of ministers of the gospel, among whom may be mentioned Jonathan Longley, John Flagg, Jonathan Bigelow, Asahael Big- elow, Andrew Bigelow, D. D., William Whipple, Abijah Stowell, Willard Brigham. Of the Medical profession. Dr. John An- drews was physician of the town forty years. Two young men, graduates from Cambridge and New York Medical Colleges, were sent out last year, one to Rhode Island, the other to Pennsylva- nia. Of the legal profession there have been several ; a speci- men of which we have had in the delivery of the poem to-day. There have been many noble women, several of whom have be- come the wives of clergymen. Among them may be mentioned three from the Bush family, three from the Hooper family, two from Rev. Ward Cotton's family, one from the White family, one from the Kendall family, two from the Davenport families. There has been musical talent for which the town has been noted ; es- pecially in the line of descent from Deacon Levi Moore, who was leader of the singing at the time of deaconing the hymns nearly a century ago. It was said that all of his descendants were singers,
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and it has proved to be so, as they have been the leading singers in this town from that time to the present. One of the families who went to West Newton have for fifty years been the leading singers and musicians there. Two families, one of thirteen chil- dren, who removed to Ashland, have been the leading singers and organists in the several churches there for forty years. If we go to Springfield we find there one of the finest musical estab- lishments in that city kept by a young man from this town. If we go to the State of Ohio we find a noted Professor of Music there from this town. And so of many other places that might be mentioned. We are a temperance people, and are all prohi- bitionists. When called upon to vote whether intoxicating liquors shall be sold in town or not, the vote is an unanimous No. Fifty years ago there were three stores and a tavern where rum was sold, and everybody drank it. No fault was found with the seller ; but the person who got intoxicated was blamed be- cause he would drink so. Soon after that time the sale in all those places was voluntarily given up, and for forty years no rum has been sold in town, consequently very little of the effects of intoxicating drinks have been seen. If the record of the town, during the past century, has been good, may it be far better dur- ing the century upon which we now enter.
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the Old Bay State, the brightest star in the national constellation, whose government grants full security to every citizen. We greet her representa- tive here to-day.
HON. HENRY C. GREELEY,
of Clinton, Executive Committee for the Seventh District, re- sponded to this toast.
He returned thanks for the very complimentary allusion to the mother state, remarking that no child would go very far wrong who thought well of its parents and kept a good hold on the maternal apron strings. He brought congratulations from the state government, expressing great regard for the smaller towns and the work they were doing in sending forth men and
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women well developed physically and of great intellectual and moral strength. His words of counsel were that they " cherish the country school, and the old church of the fathers."
The early settlers of Boylston. We honor their dreds and cherish their memory. What they sowed in danger, hardship and privation their descendants reap in ease and prosperity.
Responses were made by Ezra Sawyer, of Worcester, for the Sawyer family, (the first settlers of Boylston) ; Rev. George S. Ball, of Upton, for the Ball family, and Wm. Fred Holcombe, M. D., of New York City, a grandson of Col. Jotham Bush, and great-great-grandson of John Bush, first of the name in Boylston, and who settled, in or about 1729, the homestead occupied by the family until about thirty years ago.
RESPONSE OF EZRA SAWYER, ESQ.
Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen :- 1 am glad to be here to-day to participate in the ceremonies of this Centennial Day. I am glad to look in the faces of the descendants of the early settlers of the good old town of Boylston. In responding to this toast I have but little to say of the Sawyer family. 1 cherish the memory of my ancestors, and we honor their deeds to-day. They certainly sowed in danger, hardship and privation. We can trace the Sawyer family back to three brothers who came from England and settled in this vicinity. One in Berlin, one in Sterling, one in Lancaster, my father's family came from the one who settled in Lancaster. They suffered much from the depredations and cruelties of the Indians. One of the family was shot while at work in the field with his brother, who was taken prisoner with another man, and taken to Canada. It was soon learned that they were mechanics and millwrights, by trade. They were offered their freedom if they would build them a saw- mill. They built the mill and were given their freedom, and then they came back to Lancaster. Thomas, son of this Elias Sawyer, came to the south part of Lancaster (which was soon set off with a part of Shrewsbury and incorporated as the town of
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Boylston), and built saw and grist mills which, for a long term of years, did a prosperous and flourishing business. These mills and their location has always borne the name of Sawyer's Mills, of which there is hardly anything left to trace where the mills stood. There are two houses left, one built by Thomas Sawyer, and one built by my father, Joseph S. Sawyer. There is in the chimney of the house built by Thomas Sawyer a stone on which is the date of its building. My father was a Clothier, so-called in those days, who had a mill for coloring. shearing and dressing home-spun and woven woolen cloth. I saw a coat a few years ago, the cloth of which he colored and dressed. The coat had then been worn more than twenty years, and it still was not in bad condition, showing how they sewed in those days. They sowed seed which pertained not only to the physical and outer man, but to the intellectual and spiritual. Some of the first work they did was to build and establish the church and the school. I can just remember when my father and mother joined the church over which Rev. Ward Cotton was pastor. My two older brothers, Caleb K. and Joseph S., with myself, were bap- tized at the same time. I never shall forget the feelings of awe and reverence that I felt when he laid his hand on my head, and ever afterwards I had great respect for him as a man of God and I thank God daily that my parents taught me when about to retire at night, to turn my thoughts to God in prayer, and I wish to testify that it has been a great help to me all my life. As to the reaping of what they sowed, there never was a time when the people of this town and country were so well housed, fed and clothed as they are to-day. There never was a time when such good care was taken of the sick, the insane, the orphan and the unfortunate as at the present time. There never was a time when there were such opportunities for education, culture and development in all that is good and true as now. Look at agri- culture, mechanics, and all the sciences, and see what progress is being made. Look at the accumulation of wealth. It is said that we are, as a nation, three millions richer at sunset than we are at sunrise every day. I will close by saying that with all this progress and these opportunities, there comes a fearful responsibility. May we be able to meet it.
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REMARKS OF REV. GEORGE S. BALL.
Mr. President :- I respond to that sentiment with some reluctance, because I am conscious of inability amid the altered circumstances of to-day, to do anything like justice to the charac- ters of the early settlers of our New England towns. To do this we need the genius of history with a power to become a part of that past, so as to set forth in its true light the dangers, hard- ships and privations of their lot. It is not alone to recall the one century since the incorporation of your town which is needed, but almost two. What do one hundred and seventy-five years signify of change here ? So wonderful that, if a descrip- tion could be true to their courage, fortitude, patience and energy,-to their hopes and fears, their loves and losses,-you would accuse one of romance or having just come from the peru - sal of the Arabian Nights of Entertainment from which he had borrowed coloring. The reality is full of romance. The young man and his bride gather up a few articles of necessity and strike out for many weary miles into a howling wilderness to make a home. Their faith in God and each other makes them strong for the long weary work. The cloud and sunshine fleck their lives as it will the delicately robed and gloved couple that start in life's work amid the advantages and prosperity of this later day of civilization and progress. We have no records, no key to unlock their inner lives save as the majority of these settlers expressed themselves in some public act or vote that told of their faith, hope and purpose for themselves or their posterity. News- paper reporters and reviewers were not then watching as with eagle eye from every hill-top for some fact or fiction to hurry it into print informing you, at the next issue, of matters about yourself and neighbors that were surely news. These settlers were not grumblers and faultfinders. They attended to their own business and found enough of it, and went on with their tasks, asking only what is present duty. Like all others who do God's will, they planted larger than they knew. In founding a town, they planted and nourished that germ of Democracy which has grown through great states into one of the great nationalities of the world. To-day we see no sign of their poverty, and yet they
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