USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > Boston > Gleanings from the records of the Boston Marine Society : through its first century, 1742 to 1842 > Part 12
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pore. Ay, and he is prepared for it. Calm, silent, imperturbable, he paces the deck, and gives his orders as though he trod the solid land. He scuds before the gale, and outrides the storm. It is an arduous and anxious life, and a life, too, of great excitement and responsibility, calling forth high moral power, great courage, firmness, and self-reliance.
In conclusion, Sir, let me give you,
The first Sea Captain-The bold fellow, who, with a few crooked boards nailed together, a stick standing upright, and a rag tied to it, first dared to venture out of the sight of land, and launched forth into the untried ocean.
Capt. THOMAS C. SMITH gave the following senti- ment :
Insurance Companies-Good ground tackling for private prop- erty.
Col. JOSEPH H. ADAMS, President of the New England Mutual Marine Insurance Company,. being present, we obtained from him the following, as his remarks, in responding to the above sentiment :
MR. PRESIDENT AND GENTLEMEN-I congratulate you, who have lived to see the one hundredth anniversary of this Society, and are able, with good health and joyful hearts, to meet together on this happy occasion.
The centennial anniversary is a very convenient stop- ping place in the passage of time. Having been thus long on a voyage, it furnishes a good opportunity to call all hands together and to take an observation ; to review the past and take a glance at the future. There is a pleasure in retrospection, where good deeds stand forth as beacons on the rocky shores of time, giving fresh
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vigor and new animation to the anxious mariner, direct- ing him in safety to his haven of rest.
This Society is well worthy its founders. Seamen are noted for their open-hearted charity ; their occupation, more than any other, teaches them to contemplate the uncertainty of property, the changes of fortune, and its only proper uses, as a means of happiness to each other, and for dispensing good when most needed. This Society may be reckoned among the most useful ; con- ceived in kindness, brought forth in benevolence, it is now in old age enjoying the full vigor of manhood, scattering its good seed in every direction.
It has not been my lot to have crossed the trackless ocean, but I see about me many who have looked danger in the face, contending with that vexed element.
All men set sail in fair weather ; but storms will arise, tempests will overtake the mariner. He sees first, the dark cloud gathering on the edge of the horizon; it rushes on with frightful fury ; all hands are called, the yards are manned, the sails are furled; it strikes the ship, she bends her stately form to the blast: another and another succeed ; she lies trembling on her beam ends, and hope being nearly fled, she begins to right, and struggling with the angry waves, she groans and labors beneath her heavy burden, now rising on the billow, then dashing into the foaming gulf as if never to rise again ; the thunders rolling overhead and the lightning flashing fast, the crew lashed to the deck to prevent being swept away and made food for fishes ; where is the stoutest heart that would not be appalled at such a scene? And then the thoughts of home, a fond wife, beloved children, whom, should this be the closing
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scene, and seal the book of fate, would be left, not only desolate but destitute. Of what worth to him, at that moment, appear all his laden treasures, what his bags of gold? Would not the recollection of the Marine Society afford more comfort than them all ?
Where, but in the bosom of a seamen should the first spark of charity be kindled? where would it burn more brightly than on the alter in his heart? Look at the unfortunate ship-master. He loses his ship and perhaps his reputation for skill; he seeks employment, but knowing no other trade, he seeks in vain; at length, despairing, he retires from out of sight, to his scanty home, finding, too late in life, that he is doomed to eat the bread of sorrow, salted with a poor man's tears. His former friends forsake him, they pass by on the other side, fearing his importunities, and say-alas ! poor fellow ! His occupation is gone. How it lights up his countenance when your committee call on him, with their small donation. He feels once more a man. How does the widow's heart leap for joy, on receipt of her quarterly stipend! It is a blessing to receive. but he who has the power with the heart to give, is doubly blessed. I will give you a sentiment :
Seamen - Pleasant breezes, a prosperous voyage, and happy arrival
"At that haven of rest, far away in the deep,
Where the leaves never fade, and the clouds never weep."
The following sentiment was then given by Captain JOSIAH STURGIS, of the revenue service :
The Yankee Sailor- Qualified by nature and education to control the deck, occupy the desk, or grace the pulpit.
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Rev. EDWARD T. TAYLOR responded to the senti- ment. He spoke feelingly of the immense good done by the Society, and depicted, in glowing colors, the many happy countenances he had seen from the effect of its charities. He described, feelingly and beautifully, a ship on her return voyage, having been dismasted, and her gallant commander consigned to the ocean, with the weed of the sea for his winding-sheet, a coral monument for his tombstone, while the finny inhabitants of the deep pass and repass, doing honor to the noble sailor. We regret our inability to give the whole of this gentle- man's remarks, and fear now that we have not done him justice.
By JOHN L. DIMMOCK, Esq. Our Absent Members - May prosperous gales waft them in safety to their homes, richly laden with the fruits of their industry.
By the PRESIDENT. The Mercantile Library Association - The seed, though recently planted, has produced sprouts vig- orous and healthy, promising a rich harvest.
Mr. THOMAS J. ALLEN, President of the Mercantile Library Association, responded in substance, as follows :
Mr. Chairman-I thank you, in behalf of our mem- bers, for this kind expression of your regard. As there may be those present who are unacquainted with the object of our Association, allow me briefly to state that it is composed of the merchants' clerks of our city, and has for its object, the moral and intellectual improve- ment of its members, by means of a library, reading- room, literary exercises during the winter season, and the formation of a cabinet of curiosities ; which last has re- cently been very considerably increased, by the addition of the valuable collection belonging to your Society ;
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and I am happy to have an opportunity to express to you our heartfelt thanks for your generous donation.
The time was, when a prejudice existed in the minds of some, against Associations of a similar character to ours, on the ground that reading and debating took young men from their business, and puffed them up with superficial knowledge ; and that " a little learning was a dangerous thing :" reasoning, perhaps, upon the same principle as the Dutchman, who, on being asked why he did not send his children to school, replied, " He went against this larning. He did teach his eldest son to write, and the first use he made of his knowledge was to forge his father's name !" But that time has gone by. It is our pride and glory that the ship-masters and mer- chants of Boston are celebrated all the world over, as much for their intelligence, as for their enterprise and liberality.
It appears to me, that this high reputation can in no way be more effectually sustained, than in the support of these literary institutions by the merchants and clerks of our city.
We live in an age of Associations. Where can you find a city which contains so many societies for intel- lectual cultivation, moral reform, and charitable pur- poses, as our own? And among them I know of none which has a worthier object than yours. For a hundred years you have gone on, unostentatiously but effectually, relieving the wants of the tempest-tossed mariner, and his suffering family ; and have either set him afloat once more upon the ocean wave, or provided him with a home, where he might spend his declining years in com- fort and repose.
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Without detaining you longer, allow me to offer the following sentiment :
The Boston Marine Society - May its ability ever keep pace with its disposition to relieve the wants of the distressed.
The following letter from JOHN P. BIGELOW, Esq., Secretary of State, was read from the Chair :
BOSTON, June 17th, 1842. To the Committee of the Boston Marine Society :
GENTLEMEN-I regret that my official engagements will deny me the pleasure of accepting your valued invitation. I feel that our beloved city owes a very great share of its reputation abroad, and prosperity at home, to the members of the Marine Society, and therefore look upon the Association as entitled to the especial respect and consideration of all who feel an interest in the char- acter and fortunes of Boston. Impressed with these convictions, I tender for your acceptance the accom- panying sentiment :
The 17th of Fune - Memorable as the day when the FLAG OF FREEDOM withstood the first great shock of war - a fitting anni- versary for those who have displayed that banner on the waves of every sea, and made known the institutions of liberty to the people of every land.
I am, gentlemen, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
JOHN P. BIGELOW.
A letter was also read from THOMAS DENNIE, Esq., a venerable member of the Society, containing an expression of his best wishes, and enclosing the follow- ing sentiment :
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May the funds of the Boston Marine Society for the benefit of the poor, ever prove adequate to meet the wants of all who may require their aid.
The following sentiment was given by the Chair :
The oldest active Member of the Boston Marine Society - RICH in the estimation of all who know him.
To this sentiment, BENJAMIN RICH, Esq. responded by the following :
American Ship Owners and Ship Masters - Prosperity and support to both, and a successful competition against foreigners.
By a Volunteer :
Boston Long Wharf- By " Degrand's last Report," we learn there is no end to it. .
Whereupon P. P. F. DEGRAND, Esq., rose and spoke as follows :
MR. PRESIDENT, and Gentlemen of the Society -
This kind allusion to my name, so kindly received by you, claims and receives my grateful acknowledgment. Methinks I hear the reverberating sound of the bustle of business on this truly Long wharf, re-echo away to the Rocky Mountains, and even beyond them. Methinks I read, in the book of futurity, that Boston is to be the heart and centre of the pulsation of trade of this immense continent.
Mr. President - The present is indeed a befitting occasion to contemplate the grand results of a chain of steam navigation, starting eastward from Boston. on the sea, to the three capitals of Europe, and thence penetrating through every part of that continent; and starting westward, from this metropolis, on the land, across the American empire, to India, and further
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onward, encircling the globe. In celebrating the birth- day of the Boston Marine Society, may we not indulge the belief that we are. in fact, celebrating the birth-day of this great system ?
Mr. President-In tracing cause and effect, we are struck with the persevering character of the first mem- bers of this Society, who began in r742, with only nine associates, and during the whole of the first year, received no accession of members, and the next year of only ten new members ; but, who, never despairing, Yankee-like, persevered until they have caused the influence of the Society to be felt throughout the nation and throughout the world.
It cannot be denied that such a Society, at such a central point, composed of such men. having for its object, at this early stage of the navigation of the country, the improvement of that navigation, and the relief of the distress of the mariner's widow and his fatherless children, must have contributed eminently in forming the character of the American seaman. Of that character I will now speak, and of its impress on the destiny of the country, both in peace and in war.
It is a singular coincidence that the anniversary of the birth-day of this Society (the 17th June) should also be the anniversary of the battle of Bunker Hill; of that great battle, which taught the American people that their fire was fatal to the enemy: and it is no less singular that the day ended, by the retreat of the American force, FOR THE WANT OF AMMUNITION ; which so forcibly reminds us that this want was supplied by the American seaman. It is known to you all that the battle of Bunker Hill, gloriously won
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several times throughout the day, was lost, at its close, for want of ammunition, and for no other cause. It is also well known to you that Gen. Washington had to resort to the expedient of carting barrels of sand, in view of the enemy, to Dorchester Heights, to make the British Commander believe that he had powder, when, in fact, he had it not. Can the nation then be too grateful to the American seaman, for the timely supply of ammunition, which his bravery took at sea from the enemy, and brought in, just at the moment of despair in the fate of the Revolution? Can the nation be too grateful for the then indispensable supply of cannon, muskets, swords, pistols, saddlery, shot, bullets, shells, sails, cables, anchors, blankets, shoes, sugar, coffee, hardware, cloths, and other articles, which the intre- pidity of the American seaman seized on the ocean, and brought into port, in aid of the wants of the country, during the darkest and most trying periods of the revolutionary war?
Mr. President-Not less glorious or useful to the country was the conduct of the American seaman, during the war of 1812-15. When the surrender of our northwestern army, without firing a gun, had covered the American name with shame, and the nation with gloom-who, more than the American seaman, con- tributed to change the scene, by the capture of the Guerriere - of the enemy's fleet on Lake Erie and Lake Champlain-and of many other vessels of war, and by the capture of upwards of two thousand of the enemy's merchant vessels? And this too done by "a few fir-built frigates, with a stripe of bunting at their head," contending, at fearful odds, against the then
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mistress of the ocean, with her thousand ships of war. And don't you recollect, Mr. President, that a New- England boy, a brother of one of your members, in command of the "True Blooded Yankee." was at that time the terror of the British Channel, causing insurance to rise occasionally to twenty-five per cent. on the very coast of England ?
Mr. President - Who, more than the American seaman, contributed to give us an honorable peace in 1815 : and to secure, thenceforth, respect to the Ameri- can flag? Who is it, that, more than the American seaman, has made in time of peace, the wants and the productions of every clime, tributary to the wealth and comfort of our farmers, manufacturers, merchants, and mechanics. and indeed of all our population? Who, more than the American seaman, has contributed to advance the great art of ship-building and seamanship, and has added more to the knowledge of previously unexplored portions of the globe? Who, more than the American seaman, has contributed to form the high character of the merchants of Salem, Boston, New Bed- ford, Nantucket, and other ports of the Union ?
Mr. President -The first introduction of steam navi- gation, in Great Britain, was that of steam packets between Holyhead and Ireland. Who do you suppose introduced it? It was a Nantucket sailor boy, then an officer in the British navy, and a member of Parliament. having just returned from a visit to his native country, during which he had been carried in a steamboat from New York city to Providence. R. I. It is from this germ of steam, (itself the offspring of Fulton's inven- tion. ) that has arisen the whole of the coastwise and
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ocean steam navigation, which now pervades every por- tion of the globe, and which is producing a complete revolution in the art of navigating the ocean, for the purposes both of peace and of war. Already the Euro- pean continent is awakening to its importance. Let us now resolve that our own government shall no longer neglect to give to the country the full benefit of this American invention. In time of war, we must be armed on this system, or be content, not only to abandon the ocean, but also to leave our whole seacoast to the tender mercy of the enemy. It is only by adopting this system and acting under it, for the conveyance of the mail on the ocean ; for revenue cutters ; for naval steam schools, and for squadrons of observation, that we can be pre- pared to command success in war, or (what is far prefer- able) to command a continuance of honorable peace.
Mr. President-For want of time, I must leave untold thousands of facts which rush on my mind, presenting the American seaman as a generous being, whose life is one of continual usefulness to the country. Allow me, then, to propose to you, in conclusion, the following sentiment :
The Boston Marine Society - The early pioneer, whose bea- con-light has led onward the welfare of the American people, and the glory of the American name, through peace - through prosperity - through adversity - through war - through revo- lution. May the country never forget, that to cherish the Amer- ican seaman is to cultivate a never-failing source of its pros- perity.
The Postmaster of Boston - If all our public servants are as faithful, we shall hear of no defaulters.
To the above, GEORGE WILLIAM GORDON, the post- master, briefly replied, and offered the following senti- ment :
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The Boston Marine Society - An anchor of hope and a bea- con-light of comfort to the sailor's widow and orphan children.
The Mariner's Guide, the Light-house - " A star on life's tremulous ocean." He, who has trimmed and kept burning these landmarks on our coast, is now present. May his can of oil never be empty.
Capt. WINSLOW LEWIS replied to the above, and offered the following sentiment :
The Benefactors of the Boston Marine Society-The gratitude of the widow and the fatherless will forever hallow the memory of the dead, and bless those who live to witness the good which their bounty has effected.
By JOHN L. DIMMOCK. - The Active Members of the Boston Marine Society - They are the working bees of the hive; by their toil the wants of the whole community are supplied.
By Capt. THOMAS MILTON, of Edgartown. Cape Cod-Al- though a barren, sandy soil, it has furnished Boston with numer- ous specimens of rare mental fruit.
The oldest Association in Boston, the Society of Merchant Tailors -Their tailor fathers did well, our Father Taylor does better.
The Treasurer of the Society - May our Lamb never want for Mint sauce.
The Master Mariners of New England - Always foremost to jeopardize their lives and fortunes for their country's honor.
The Sailor's Widow - Whatever becomes of the Captain, we shall always remember the Sailor's Mate.
The Boston Marine Society - Honorable for its antiquity, as it is benevolent to those of the distressed and honored families of those who have required its aid. May the Society ever exist, the pride of Boston, as it is composed of its sailor merchants.
The memory of William Starkey and his Associates, the found- ers of this Charitable Institution - The widows and the father- less will rise up and bless their memories.
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Those who were present on this glad occasion will often recur to it, in their progress through life, as one of great interest and enjoyment. The festal scenes were enlivened by several excellent songs, sung with much taste and effect by GEORGE H. ANDREWS, Esq. Indeed, good feelings, generous thoughts, mirth, wit, and humor, prevailed at the table, and caused old Time to glide quickly by. At an early hour, half-past seven o'clock, the company separated, pleased with themselves, each other, and the world. But as the sun sank calmly to rest beneath the clear western horizon, they could not repress a slight feeling of sadness, like the shadow of a cloud passing over a sunny landscape, that ere another cen- tennial celebration of the Society shall take place, not only all those who were present at the festival, but nearly all those who now inhabit the earth, will have passed away.
...
SURVIVING MEMBERS
of the
Celebration of 1842.
Marine Members.
Time of Joining.
Captain Eleazer E. Bradshaw, -
- August, IS21
Albert A. Burwell,
. . Henry Barber,
Nathaniel Barstow,
. . David Crocker, -
William Cushing,
John Devereux, -
.. Robert B. Forbes,
Nathaniel Hamblin, -
.. Osborn Howes, -
February, IS3S November, IS38 November, 1841
.. Eben Howes,
.. Frederick Howes, - November, 1841
.. Isaiah Knowles,
- May, IS3S
.. James Murdock,
December, 1840
. . John A. Paine, February, 1840
.. Thomas C. Smith, April, 1829
.. Thomas C. Stoddard, May, 1839
William Symmes, -
August, 1839
February, 1840 February, 1840 May, 1842 February, IS38 - February, IS38 February, IS33 December, 1827
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Surviving Members.
Honorary Members.
Charles Francis Adams,
C. J. F. Binney, Robert Farley,
Charles Grinnell,
Thomas Lamb, William Perkins, -
Francis G. Shaw,
Philo S. Shelton,
Henry Wainwright,
Time of Foining. August, 1830 May, 1839 December, 1841 February, 1839 March, 1829 March, 1841 February, 1837 August, 1839 1836
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