USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Boylston > Centennial celebration of the incorporation of the town of Boylston, Massachusetts, August 18, 1886 > Part 7
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stole our march, as they did the County seat from Lancaster. They got a canal too, while we were talking about one. I saw in the Massachusetts Spy, one day, heavy head lines. " Port of Worcester," arrivals, so and so. One holiday I went on foot six miles to see the Worcester and Providence craft come into " Port." We returned in the mood of the inland party who, in the time of " Madison's War," made a trip to Boston to see the embargo on the harbor. I saw no steamboat, nor any other boat or craft, but Worcester was there in her ever-winning attitude. and ever since she built the great thoroughfare from the "Joe Bill road " to the Curtis farm (Adams Square), four rods wide. " all roads" in Worcester county " lead to Rome." That road was built for Boylston and the " regions beyond " to come to Worcester, not for Worcester to go thither, Did you ever come to any " cross roads" in Worcester county woods where the guideboard did not direct you to that winsome and receptive city ?
Well, the small towns have their uses. What would Wor- cester have been but for Boylston ? You may well take on some airs to-day, as you do. "The Heart of the Commonwealth" is waiting at your doors for more Mayors still, and I see several young men in the committees of to-day who will soon be ready. But I am thinking, Mr. President, of your noble mother, your seventy-five per cent. mother, dear old Shrewsbury. She forgot her birthday, and now she must wait. But you will have a good time when she invites you all home in 1927. Berlin had an occasion like yours, in kind, two years ago. Our good mother, Bolton, too, overslept her birthday. She will report on her one hundred and fiftieth two years hence. Ambitious Clinton can hardly wait to " tell the story of her birth." West Boylston has only twenty years to wait.
A recent history is entitled "The People of the United States." In working up a " Centennial Memorial" of Berlin families, I have traversed this whole region when Lancaster was frontier. No Westborough, no Northborough, no Shrewsbury, no Worcester, nor aught from Marlborough to Brookfield and Springfield. I am not more amazed at the steamboat, the iron horse, the telegraph, than I am at what the fathers, by toil, en- durance, patriotism and faith, wrought upon these forests in the
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planting of towns. But we are distressed at the scantiness of records. More than to all others are we indebted to the old " halfway covenant," in the baptism of children, for the origin of families. Over seven hundred names thus recorded in the first half century of Berlin, my native town, I shall always hold to infant baptism.
Personally, I would like to speak of many Boylston families. The ministry has been happily considered. My Brother Sanford was too modest for a man of his abilities. He was a classical scholar. Harvard college committed to him her students and gave him the authority of the Faculty. My Brother Bigelow, also gone, honored his town and calling. As a personal friend none knew him but to cherish his company and counsel. His benevolence made many hearts glad ; and who, that has known, shall ever forget the world's most eloquent orator-John B. Gougli, of Boylston ?
Worcester, the Heart of the Commonwealth, the town of Boylston greets her citizens upon this Centennial Day. May the associations of the occasion unite the two places in closer bonds of good-will and friendship.
In reading this toast the toast-master referred to the fact that scarcely any other town had furnished so many prominent citizens to the City of Worcester as Boylston. She includes among the list two ex-Mayors in the persons of the President and Marshal of this day ; Aldermen and members of the Com- mon Council, members of the School Board, of the Overseers of the Poor, a Chief Engineer of the Fire Department, a City Mar- shal, and a City Engineer. With all this array of men who have honored the town of their birth, and the city of their adoption, we feel that Boylston has a perfect right to ask Worcester men to assist in this days services.
RESPONSE BY HON. CHARLES B. PRATT,
ex-Mayor of Worcester, and Chief Marshal of the day.
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Mr. President :- I am doubly honored here to-day, and es" pecially do I feel the honor in being called upon to respond for the city of Worcester. We of that city are proud of everything that she contains ; proud of her institutions of learning and of charity ; proud of her enterprise and her wealth; proud of her municipal government and the management of all her depart- ments ; and particularly proud in being the center and metropo- lis of the grand old towns in the central county of the State. We feel that we are the focus from which emanates all the wis- dom and goodness that dominates and controls the outside world. I notice that Worcester people who go abroad never see any- thing nor learn anything during their absence, but always return with the unchanged conviction that Worcester is the greatest. the best, and the most beautiful city on the face of the earth.
But, Mr. President, whatever qualities Worcester may pos- sess to-day, we must remember that for those qualities she is indebted largely to the intelligence and character of the people by whom she has been surrounded. They have contributed the elements that have made her what she is, and from them she has drawn the most valuable constituents of her being. In the midst of a community like this, and subject to such influences. how could she fail of becoming what she has become-the model city of the Commonwealth.
One gentleman has said this afternoon, that the sign-boards in the county only proclaim the fact that all roads lead to Wor- cester. We in the city know that any road out of it is sure to lead us into some old town like this, where peace and quiet has been unbroken for a century, and where we may come with tired brain and overworked body for rest and refreshment. I have said that we are proud of our enterprise, but there are times in the midst of the whirl of business and advance, and ever-chang- ing improvement in the city, that a feeling of regret comes that the old land-marks have been removed, and that our familiar spots have become strange places. It is not so here. Boylston is to-day what she was when I first knew her, and it is a comfort and a consolation to those who have gone out into the busy world, to know that they can find the place of their childhood unchanged, and the home of their early days undisturbed.
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I am gratified that I have been able to take part in these proceedings to-day, in celebrating the one-hundredth anniversary of our town. May the happiness and prosperity with which she has been blessed in the past, continue with her in the future.
For nearly forty years this town was the residence of one of the most eloquent orators, most earnest workers and ablest advo- cates for temperance and humanity which the world has ever pro- duced-John B. Gough. We venerate his memory and shall keep in lasting remembrance his associations with this town. May his dying words ever be an incentive to the youth of this community to urge them forward in the paths of truth and virtue.
RESPONSE-DIRGE BY THE BAND.
To the memory of Ward Nicholas Boylston, the founder and benefactor of the town.
In response to this toast the following communication was read :
PROVIDENCE, August 16, 1886.
The family of the late Ward Nicholas Boylston regret that they can only express their gratitude to the town of Boylston for the kind remembrance of their ancestor, and their good wishes for the prosperity of the town.
For the family, C. W. PARSONS.
The following sentiment from Thomas White, Esq., of Brooklyn, N. Y., was received too late for announcement at the celebration :
The Town Meeting-the germ of our republican institu- tions-first organized for the government of the town of Boyl- ston by its inhabitants one hundred years ago ; a government
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based on the piety, patriotism, and educated intelligence of the people, the maintenance of those ancestral virtues, the surest guaranty of the prosperity of the town for one hundred years to come.
At five o'clock, the toast-master called for a vote of thanks to Hon. Phinehas Ball, the President of the Day, and Hon. Charles B. Pratt, the Chief Marshal, which was cordially re- sponded to. The President then declared the festivities at an end.
NOTES OF THE DAY.
THE DECORATIONS.
The decorations consisted of a very general display of bunt- ing and colors from the houses from the center, and in the im- mediate vicinity. Just at the junction of the Shrewsbury and Worcester roads, an arch spanned the street, gaily decorated with bunting and evergreen, and bearing on its face the words : " Boylston welcomes home her sons and daughters ;" and on the reverse : " Dear to the heart are the scenes of childhood ;" both sides also bearing the dates "1786, 1886." Close by, on the little triangular park, stood the old " Powder House," built in 1772, but in its substantial renovation and gay colors just put on, bear- ing little trace of its antiquity. Within it stood an old flint-lock. On the same park stood a large tent for the dinner, while across the street to the cast was another for the literary exercises. The residence of Henry V. Woods was decorated with bunting. tastefully arranged. John G. Warner had a large array of bunt_ ing and flags, covering the front of his house. Henry Bray dis- played a large flag. A. E. Waterman decorated his dwelling with bunting and small flags. L. P. Kendall had out a pleasing dis- play of colors and streamers. Henry White's house was prettily ornamented. Joseph M. Wright combined the trio of national colors, making a neat appearance. Fred Morey's house was decorated with bunting. B. C. Lane made a grand display at his house in flags and bunting. Jolin T. Andrews floated streamers and lines of flags from a staff. Daniel Marsh decorated with bunting, and floated a flag over the street. Deacon Brigham's
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house, and the homestead place of the late Stephen Flagg, were decorated with considerable taste. The church was decorated inside with flowers, and outside with flags and bunting. The Town Hall had like decorations, and across all the roads enter- ing the village were large flags.
THE COLLECTION OF RELICS.
In the Town Hall was a large collection of old relics. Among them we noticed a communion plate 140 years old ; some britannia cups 110 years old ; many old hats, pieces of clothing and army pieces and uniforms. There was a large collection from the Bigelow family. Andrew Bigelow had three sons who were ministers, and copies of their sermons, at least half a century old, have been preserved ; the collection also include a gourd bottle, made of a gourd which grew in 1778; it was uniquely decorated ; there was also a piece of linen made by the same family by hand, which is 130 years old, as well as some of the money with which Andrew Bigelow was paid when he was a Revolutionary soldier.
Among the old books was a copy of the Perpetual Laws of the Commonwealth from 1780 to 1789 ; a copy of the charter granted by Queen Mary to the inhabitants of the Province of Massachu- setts Bay in New England. A plough made in 1634 owned by Israel L. Barnes, and which has always been in the Barnes fam- ily ; an old chair, once the property of Judge Chandler ; a solid shot, about twelve pounds, fired in New Orleans in 1812: an old pair of scales, at least a century old ; a valise of Parson Cot- ton that is about ninety years old ; a compass, supposed to be the property of Robert Andrews, one of the first settlers, and has been in the Andrews family for over a century. There was a large amount of crockery, some of it very old.
MUSIC.
The music during the day was furnished by the Worcester Brass Band. A concert was given from the band stand on the common, from 8.30 to 9 A. M.
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SALUTES.
Salutes were fired at sunrise and at noon, by Battery B, M. V. M. An exhibition drill by the Battery took place at noon.
FIELD SPORTS.
The following is a list of the field sports engaged in at the Centennial Celebration of the town of Boylston, August 18, 1886, with names of winning parties.
From 10 A. M. to 12 M., a matched game of base-ball was played between a nine from Shrewsbury, and a nine from Saw- yer's Mills. The prize offered, a ball and bat, was won by the Sawyer's Mills nine.
From 1 P. M. to 4 P. M., foot race first, S. McQuoid ; second, C. Andrews.
Three-legged Race-First, S. McQuoid and W. Richardson; second, C. Andrews and F. Andrews.
Sack Race-First, A. Jeffrey ; second, O'Malia.
Hurdle Race-First, O'Malia ; second, C. Andrews.
Wheel-barrow Race-First, O'Malia ; second, S. Bartlett. Apple Race-First, D. Chase ; second, C. Mathews. Doughnut Race-First, A. Newton ; second, P. Kelley.
First prize on above races one dollar, second prize fifty cents.
The prize of five dollars for winning side on tug-of-war, was awarded to Fielding, W. Bates, C. Mathews, F. Cooley and G. Sule.
Three parties made unsuccessful attempts at climbing the greased pole. No prize was awarded.
CHARLES BRAY. C. W. MOORE. M. FLAGG, JR. · CHARLES CUTLER. G. A. HASTINGS.
Committee on Sports.
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The following letters were received :
[From John A. Davenport, Esq., of New York.]
833 BROADWAY, NEW YORK, Aug. 16, 1886.
HON. PHINEHAS BALL, President.
Dear Sir :- Learning from one of your county newspapers that the citizens of Boylston intend to celebrate the one hun- dredth anniversary of its existence, I had fully intended to be present *. But more recent events occurring to prevent my at- tendance, I take the liberty of sending to them, through you, my hearty congratulations.
" Though being to the manor born," I have not resided in my native town for over fifty years, nor visited it for over twenty years. But I have ever had a great reverence for my native town, the home of my ancestors, from my great grand parents, both maternal and paternal, down to my honored parents, all of whom, with seven brothers and sisters lie buried in one of your cemeteries, and by whose side I may hope to lie, admonished by my seventy years, in the very near future.
It may not be known to many of the citizens of Boylston that Eleazer, son of Capt. Richard Davenport, who landed from England with Governor Endicott in Salem, September 16, 1628, was granted by the then colonial state of Massachusetts, six hun- dred acres of land in this town, some of which is now occupied by Dr. F. B. Willard, Mr. Andrews, Mr. Daggett, and Mr. George L. Lamson. Some seventy acres of this land remained in the possession of his descendants until within a few years. My father, James Davenport, lived upon it for more than fifty years, being one of the foremost men of the town ; a magistrate for more than forty years, a leader in the cause of education, the first to form a Lyceum for the instruction of the young, the first to discard the use of alcoholic drinks and form the first tem- perance society in the town, and noted for his efforts in the cause of the abolition of slavery in the south ; chairman of the com- mittee which planned and caused the construction of your town
* Mr. Davenport was, through some change of circumstances, able to be present, and attended the celebration.
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hall, in the school-room of which I received a part of my early education, an intimate friend of the late Governors Lincoln and Davis, and Judge Merrick and other prominent men of your county.
In the remembrance of all these carly associations is it any wonder that I revere this, my native town ?
In conclusion, permit me to hope that the boundaries of this town may never again be lessened, that its population may be increased, and that they may ever be a prosperous, united and happy people.
Very truly, JOHN ADDINGTON DAVENPORT.
[From Caleb S. Crossman.]
VAN WEST, O., Aug. 13, 1886.
MESSRS. NATHANIEL L. KENDALL, JOSEPH M. WRIGHT, AND MON- TRAVILLE FLAGG, ESQRS, Com. on Invitations.
Gentlemen :- Your letter of invitation to me to come and join hands with you in celebrating the glorious Centennial Birth- day of my own, my native town-Boylston,-name always re- membered and revered, was duly received, and I cannot express to you, on paper, how deeply I regret the necessity of saying, " I cannot come." My health is such, and the weather is, and has been, so terribly hot (mercury up from 90° to 104° in the shade) I am advised that it would be too severe a tax upon my strength for me to venture on so long a journey, aside from the excite- ment attendant upon the so grand and happy occasion. I shall be with you in heart and spirit.
Thanking you for your kindly invitation, I am
Yours with high regard, C. S. CROSSMAN.
[From William J. White, Esq.]
WORCESTER, Aug. 6, 1886.
MR. NATHANIEL L. KENDALL,
Dear Sir :- I received a circular, a few days ago, from the Committee on Invitations to attend the Centennial Celebration to be held in Boylston on the 18th of this month.
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My advanced age and infirmities render it somewhat haz- ardous for me to be present on so exciting an occasion, so that it will be quite uncertain about my going. Yours very truly, 53 Prospect Street. WILLIAM J. WHITE.
The following telegram was received from the Centennial Committee of the Town of Phillipston, whose one hundredth anniversary was celebrated the same day :
PHILLIPSTON, MASS , Aug., 18, 1886.
TO THE CHAIRMAN OF THE CENTENNIAL COMMITTEE, BOYLSTON, MASS. :
Phillipston sends congratulations to Boylston on this the one hundredth anniversary of our towns, August 18. May pros- perity attend you in the future.
H. SANDERSON, Chairman Cen. Committee.
The following was sent in reply :
BOYLSTON, MASS., Aug. 18, 1886.
TO THE CENTENNIAL COMMITTEE, PHILLIPSTON :
Boylston sends thanks for the congratulations, and also sends her greetings to Phillipston on this the one hundredth anniversary of the town August 18th. Long may your children gather round you and greet you on your birthdays as circling centuries roll.
J. G. WARNER, Chairman Cen. Com.
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BOYLSTON'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION.
AUGUST 18, 1886. INCORPORATED MARCH 1, 1786.
'Twas winter when a town new-born The fathers hailed with loving pride ; We greet the century's bright'ning dawn Mid summer's pomp of waving corn, And wealthy harvests wide.
Here those who link the olden time With time that is rejoicing meet ; Here youthful hope and manly prime, Like bells diverse that tuneful chime, The gladsome tale repeat.
The children Boylston sent away To earn renown in broader spheres. Come back about her hearth to-day, And in her lap their trophies lay, With mirth, and love, and tears.
The anthems that we offer here Hold one sweet note of tender pain : One honored son doth not appear ; (Adopted, yet esteemed most dear), We wait for Gough in vain !
Behind we look and fondly trace The record that our sires have made ; And memory lends her tender grace To name and deed, to time and place,- A light that shall not fade.
We gaze through future vistas far We step beneath a broadening arch ; No limit shall our progress bar, Ours all the coming ages are,- The endless century-march.
CLARA L. SHATTUCK, Berlin.
-
n Centennial March.
NG MUSICA.
COMPOSED FOR THE OCCASION BY
HENRY T. BRAY,
A Native of the Town.
BOYLSTON CENTENNIAL MARCH.
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HISTORICAL NOTES.
MAJOR EZRA BEAMAN.
[The following brief biography and accompanying docu- ments are extracted from " A Sketch of the Life of Major Ezra Beaman," by Albert A. Lovell, first printed in the Proceedings of The Worcester Society of Antiquity, and since published in sepa- rate form by Franklin P. Rice, of Worcester.]
Ezra Beaman was born in Bolton, Mass., October 16, 1736. He was the son of Jabez Beaman, who having purchased a large tract of land in the westerly part of the town of Shrewsbury, favorably situated on both sides of the Nashua River, including some of the most fertile in that region, removed thence with his family in 1746. Jabez Beaman dying in 1757, the homestead came under the proprietorship of Ezra, the eldest son, where he resided until his death. In 1758 he married Persis, daughter of Cyprian Keyes, with whom he lived thirty years. She died No- vember 7th, 1788, at the age of 50 years. By this marriage he had six children. He afterwards married Mary, daughter of Richard Boylston, of Charlestown, who survived him.
It was a characteristic of Major Beaman that he was consti- tuted with an active and vigorous mind, combined with wonder- ful energy, decision, firmness and perseverance. Thus con- stituted he was constantly engaged in projects both of a public and private nature which accrued to his own emolument and to great and essential advantage to the whole community. His judgment was almost unerring, and his designs generally re- sulted in accordance with his expectations and desires. Such
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was the confidence reposed in him, and in such high estimation was he held by the people, not only of his own town, but of a large surrounding section, that whenever any project of a public nature bearing upon the well-being of the people at large was to be considered, he was at once consulted and generally in accord- ance with his expressed opinion either for or against, was the scheme adopted or rejected.
In 1764 he erected a dwelling-house on the tract purchased by his father, which he occupied until his death, and which his son, bearing the same name, continued to occupy for half a cen- tury later.
This house, in the thoroughness of its construction, its size and its architectural proportions, was probably unsurpassed by anything of its kind in the county. This was know as the Bea- man Tavern, and for a century was a typical Way-side Inn; and from it went out an influence which was felt, not only in its im- mediate vicinity but throughout a large extent of country.
The tavern of one hundred years ago, and even up to the time when the railroad superseded the stage and the team as a means of transportation for passengers and merchandise, especi- ally when its proprietor was a person of prominence and force, was a power in the community. During the days of the Revolu- tion the tavern was the resort of tories or patriots according to the political proclivities of the landlord, and here were schemes devised, either for or against the patriot cause according to the political character which it assumed. It was at the tavern where the people most frequently assembled either in a formal or informal manner to discuss, debate, devise and carry forward such plans and projects as from time to time occupied the atten- tion of the people. Its good cheer no doubt lent its aid, and who can tell what inspiration it imparted ? The influence of the Bea- man Tavern was decidedly in favor of the patriot cause and a favorite stopping place for soldiers on their way to and from the army, there to impart or receive the latest information in regard to events so rapidly transpiring.
Major Beaman was a true and ardent patriot. When the first encroachments of arbitrary power were beginning to be felt he was convinced that nothing short of forcible resistance would
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be of any avail, and during the struggle he was an active and un- flinching spirit in behalf of the liberties of the people. He was with the army near Boston in 1775," was present and took part in the action on Bunker Hill, and during the whole war was ac- tively engaged in whatever tended to the advancement of the cause. His time, his influence, his property, were devoted to the cause of colonial independence, making the pledge his own, of life, property and sacred honor.
The people of Shrewsbury manifested their confidence in him by repeatedly electing him a member of the Board of Select- men. He was thus chosen in 1766-69-70-71-72-73-76-79-84-85. We of this day can hardly realize the importance of the office of selectman of a town for the years immediately preceding and during the Revolution. The position seems to have implied but little, but in reality it implied much. In towns truc to the patriot cause it implied a lofty patriotism and an unyielding firmness, and was an office of the utmost importance and respon- sibility. Not only were the selectmen called upon to take care of the ordinary interests of the town, but much additional labor was required. The procuring of soldiers to fill requisitions for men, the raising of money and supplies of provisions, and cloth- ing for the army, the care of the families of soldiers, besides the carrying on of the war to a great extent on the part of the town. As was often the case the Committees of Safety and Correspond- ence were made up wholly or in part from their number. In ac- cordance with recommendations of the Provincial Congress, the town exercised largely legislative, executive and judicial func- tions; its votes were laws, its judgment as to whether a man was a patriot or a tory was final, and from the verdict of hostility there was no appeal ; and the selectmen and committees exe- cuted their decrees with spirit and firmness. By direction of the town they entered tories' houses, disarmed them, confined them
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