USA > Massachusetts > Bristol County > Rehoboth > Historic Rehoboth: record of the dedication of Goff memorial hall, May 10th, A.D. 1886 > Part 7
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9
That wrought in love, so skillfully, This goodly building planned.
Sacred may it forever be To all, in age or youth, Who seek to find within its walls The precious germs of truth. May wisdom's golden grains abound To 'nrich this ancient town; God of our fathers, let thy love Each day and labor crown.
The heart goes back to other days When by yon river's side We played, who now are growing grey, Yet view this work with pride; May we, when time shall be no more, Join with the ransomed throng. Where naught our perfect joy shall mar In an unbroken song.
The impressive dedication exercises of the morning ended with the benediction.
INTERMISSION.
At the close, the large concourse of people passed from the hall and assembled in social groups, some in the anti- quarian room, some in the library, and more out on the ample lawn. One of the articles added to the library that day was a fine revolving book case, presented by Mr. Gustavus B. Peck. An early call to dinner met a ready response, and hundreds of guests passsed down into the
93
HISTORIC REHOBOTH.
cool, dry and well lighted basement, where a most excel- lent dinner of salads, cakes, ices, fruit, etc., was waiting. After dinner the speakers and invited guests were gath- ered on the lawn and faced the dread instrument of the photographer. Gathering strength from numbers, not a man forsook his post. The narrator will leave the com- pany to their postprandial diversions, and again turn his attention to biography. As Rev. Mr. Tilton's directive power was the alpha and omega of the dedication pro- gramme, his biography may be appropriately inserted here as the connecting link between the morning and afternoon exercises.
REV. GEORGE HENRY TILTON, A. M.
Rev. George Henry Tilton, A. M., son of William Wells and Sarah Ann (Morrill) Tilton, was born in Nashua, N. H., January 31, 1845. Soon after, his parents moved to Concord, N. H., and still later to Hopkinton, where most of his childhood was spent. Besides the district schools, he attended the Contoocook and Hopkinton academics and spent one term at the Rumford Grammar school in Concord, where he enjoyed the faithful instruc- tion of Mr. James W. Webster. He fitted for college at Williston seminary, Easthampton, graduating in 1866. He graduated from Amherst College in 1870, and from Andover Theological Seminary in 1873. Was ordained at Hopkinton, N. H., June 4, 1873. Afterward he en- joyed a course in medicine in New York city. In 1874 he organized the Central Congregational Church at Attle- boro Falls, and remained with the church until the dedi- cation of the new church edifice in May, 1875. Preached at Wolfboro, N. H., from the autumn of 1875 to the summer of 1877, during which period there was an exten,
94
HISTORIC REHOBOTH.
sive revival of religion in the town. On account of ex- haustion from overwork he left Wolfboro, and spent several months in rest.
He began his very successful pastorate at Rehoboth in October, 1877, whither he moved January 1, 1878. After preaching five years, he was installed over the Congrega- tional Church November 2, 1882. His pastorate has been one of marked success and unusual harmony. In public affairs he has shown the interest of a whole hearted man and a public spirited citizen - not the least of his enter- prises being the building of the Memorial Hall. In a speech that follows a deserved tribute is paid him by one best qualified to speak. He was married June 6, 1876, to Ella Minerva, daughter of Thomas Stanley and Minerva Wheaton (Freeman) Mann, of Attleboro Falls, Mass. They have three children.
Afternoon Exercises.
But neither the epicurean delights of the dinner, the wonderful and various treasurers of the antiquarian room, nor the charms of pleasant converse and companionship made people forget the hour of the afternoon exercises. The hall was filled as in the morning, a decrease of num- bers being shown rather in an increased comfort among the audience than by vacant seats. The speakers, like the victims designed in olden time to amuse the Roman populace, were on exhibition upon the platform. In introducing the afternoon programme, Mr. Whitman Chase, of Harvard College, read the appropriate poem here appended :
[Whitman Chase, anthor of the poem of the afternoon. is the son of Capt. Whitman and Mehitable D. Chase, and was born in North Dighton October 27, 1867. He graduated from Bristol Academy. Tann" ton, and entered Harvard College without conditions at the age of seven- tren. He takes great interest in literary studies, and has already shown marked ability in that direction.]
LINES ON THE DEDICATION OF GOFF'S MEMORIAL HALL.
Though prosy praters ridicule The poet's product and his rhythmic rule, And vote to him the lowest place In arts which benefit our race. A man of care and thoughtful mind,
9C
HISTORIC REHOBOTHI.
If he should study deep, would find How much the gift of rhyming tends To aid and cheer and teach, and lends A harmony, a condiment, to season life, And gives a respite in its eager strife.
From earliest times the usage came, Since David dared the Lord proclaim; Since Homer lived, and Sappho's lyre Inflamed the Grecian heart with fire; Since Norland Skalds their sages sang, Since Welsh and Scottish ballads rang Thronghont their native hills, imparting power To warriors in the needful honr. Since then, whene'er a work of note The assembled public gather to promote, Or column raised, or victory won, Or public edifice begun, Straightway the poet summons up his skill To charni or sicken, or to cure or kill: This enstom prompts, nor worth of ryhme, To dare intrude upon your time.
Who, since the last revolving year Has run its course, has chanced to hear Rehoboth named, but failed to hear the hall? Already part and parcel of the all, We meet to dedicate in formal way, A source of pride this offering of to-day. Pride? Yes, for thongh you take a large amount In well-tilled farms, or lengthy bank account. Enlightment a worthier canse can show, And public spirit more pretension know. What good can wholly selfish breathing give? For merely to exist is half to live: And half to live is not to live at all; A rather faulty logie yon may call Sneh reasoning, still, must you not confess It does a little truth express?
Accomplishment is reached at last. Enjoyment comes, the labor's past ; This day's momentons deed will crown An epoch in the annals of the town, And seasons hence you'll hear your townsmen say,
97
HISTORIC REHOBOTH.
When calling up some old occurrence laid away In blank forgetfulness: " It happened in the fall Of 'S5, the year they built the hall.
Here let me leave the nsnal road Of travel to relate an episode : One day in sore perplex, Minerva came To grimy Vulean's drear abode of flame, With troubled brow the aged man bespoke And thus essayed assistance to invoke- " Alas, that Jove assigned to me The care and weal of human destiny; It grieves me much to see men raise, Huge towers of stone in other's praise, And strive to build, with precious means and moil, A useful work which scarce requites their toil. Now lend your aid, some well-wrought plan devise To show these mortals where their error lies, And thus employ your wisdom, learned of years, To loose my cares and cease my flow of tears."
Long pondered Vulcan o'er his art, Long sought the wished for service to impart,
Till many an age of short enduring man Had seen the day, and passed its earthly span; Until he gained the precious prize he sought,
Until he reared with matchless labor fraught, Upon a solid fundament of stone, A structure not for ornament alone,
Though made with beauty, and with art combined,
But still suggestive, useful, fitting, well designed, And high relieved upon the outward wall, lle wrote the legend, " Goff 's Memorial Hall."
PRESENTATION OF REV. MR. TILTON'S PORTRAIT.
After the adjournment of the morning session a member of the committee of arrangement sought a private inter- view with Dr. Taylor, and communicated the fact that, entirely unbeknown to Mr. Tilton, an excellent likeness of him had been procured by several of his friends, which they proposed to have presented early in the ex- ercises in the afternoon, and they desired him to render
98
HISTORIC REHOBOTH.
the appropriate service. Matters were arranged accord- ingly. At the conclusion of the poem, Mr. Tilton, the moderator, was requested to suspend for a little the regular order of exercises that a brief statement might be made by another. The portrait in the meantime had quietly been brought in closely veiled. Dr. Taylor re- quested the covering to be removed in the presence of the audience, and accompanied the transaction with a brief address to the unconscious victim of the embarrass- ing surprise :
MY DEAR SIR :-- In the profession we are called to serve, one of the most pleasing and gratifying rewards of our labor is derived from these expressions of gratitude and fond esteem which we are permitted from time to time to receive. Burdens are rendered easy, labors light, as hearts of affection respond so cordially to earnest en- deavors for their good. These sacred fountains of abid- ing joy are opened to the ministry as no where else. In his walks of usefulness the person of the pastor becomes at length associated with the most hallowed things in the sanctuary and the home, and his countenance as the bene- diction of an angel of God, and everywhere there springs up a strong desire to retain the sacred image.
And so it comes to pass that I have this pleasant sur- prise for you, and it suits well my spirit of revenge to return your own methods when you made me wonder and weep as the results of your generous deeds were revealed. Behold this picture ! What say you to its fidelity to the original ? Can you see yourself as others see you ?
Your friends think the likeness excellent. They hope it will seem perfect in your own eyes. It is not so much a treasure for to-day as for future times. Those who are about you now prefer the living, abiding original. But
HISTORIC REHOBOTH.
when you will not be here, and the story of your work is told to the children, how happy they will be to point to this canvass and say there is the likeness of the good man. Please accept this token of their loving regard, and let it adorn the walls of this Memorial Hall, where your abundant and successful labors are so manifest, and may the memory of this tender scene. and this so appro- priate transaction, remain with you as a source of abiding joy through all days.
Mr. Tilton in response said : If I am expected to reply to this speech I shall disappoint you. If I have ever been taken by surprise it is now. I don't know what I can say, my heart is so touched by this token of your affection. I will not attempt to make a speech ; I will only say from my heart I thank you, and may God bless you always.
MR. DAVID A. WALDRON'S TRIBUTE.
Mr. David A. Waldron, President of the Barrington Historic Antiquarian Society, being called upon, spoke of the influence which such a society and such a building would have in years to come, not only upon the inhabi- tants of the good old town of Rehoboth, but as a pebble cast into the sea causes its pulse to beat until its vibra- tions reached the shores of other lands, so other com- munities would be blessed by this enterprise. His own town had already been provoked to good works by the example set them by this society, through whose efforts we see such results to-day.
A little more than a year ago, in driving through this village, he met the President of your Society, who in- vited him to visit the antiquarian room, then located in a building near by -not such an imposing edifice as we find here to-day - but it made such an impression upon
160
HISTORIC REHOBOTH.
his mind of the magnitude of the work which had been inaugrated that soon after measures were taken to organ- nize a society in Barrington, and in recognition of the debt for the example thus set they have seen fit to make the Rev. George H. Tilton, President of the Rehoboth Society, an honorary member of the Society in Barrington. He presented Mr. Tilton with a finely engraved certificate of membership, properly signed, bearing the State arms, a picture of the building which the Society hope soon to have erected, drawn by the same architects who made the plans for the "Goff Memorial," and also the significant seal of the Society.
Mr. Tilton then resumed his duties as chairman, and with grateful compliment and in fitting terms presented the speakers of the afternoon. As the time was limited all spoke briefly and without notes. Their addresses ap- pear in the order in which they were given:
RESPONSE OF GEN. OLNEY ARNOLD.
I received a notice from my friend Mr. Goff - ny young friend I should have said - a week ago and the pro- gramme gave me a great deal of pleasure. The number of distinguished names upon it assured me that it would be an intellectual feast, and I have realized it to the full- est extent of my anticipations. It also gave me another pleasure and that was, that I was relieved from the anxiety that I might have felt at the bare possibility of being called upon to say something on the occasion. My personal friends in Pawtucket know that for a few years past, on occasions like this, I have armed myself with a doggeral poem, and when the time came I read it, and I have never been called upon by the same parties a second time. I have never tried it here and I greatly regret that I am without that weapon of defense. Mr. Chairman, it
101
HISTORIC REHOBOTHI.
was very kind of you, I know, to call upon me after the distinguished and cultured gentlemen who have spoken to-day, so much to the satisfaction of all.
ADDRESS BY EDGAR PERRY.
I wish, first of all, to thank your President for intro. ducing me as "a native of Rehoboth." In this presence and on this occasion who could ask a higher enco- mium: ? True, his reference to my adoption by another municipality disturbed me for a moment, until I reflected that Attleborough is a daughter of Rehoboth, and that I, therefore, had simply changed from a son to a grandson-a relationship which many have proved brings them just as near the grand-dame's heart.
And yet with all the honors which accrue to the origi- nal household to-day, we of Attleborough, Cumberland, old Seekonk and Swansea, have no apology to offer for the daughters' estates. We hold rather that Attleborough's hundred jewelery firms ; Cumberland's daily product of 150,000 yards of cloth ; the var:ed industries of Paw- tucket -to the chiefest of which this Memorial owes so much - together with the thriving business at Rumford, and the prosperous husbandry of Seekonk and Swansea, do not rival each other nor the mother town, but together contribute to that honor which to-day covers in benedic- tion all the original boundaries of the ancient colony. Our interests are those of a common household, reciprocal and interdependent.
So, in imagination, we may consider ourselves at a grand family reunion. The maternal township of Rehoboth, with eye undimned and natural force unabated, receives here at the old homestead, which some of her many sons remain to till, the four daughters whom she married to brave and
102
HISTORIC REHOBOTHI.
virtuous citizenship years ago. All are still young, and with their large families are present to-day in festive mood and holiday attire.
One has driven hither in her own equipage behind a dashing span of greys. Even a casual glance shows that both carriage and horses have been selected with an appreciative eye. Her dress tells us she is no stranger in Gotham, and her speech that she has ready intercourse with the Hub. She sinks gracefully into the easy chair procured expressly for this occasion, with the unconscious air of one who is used to the good things of life at home. With a loving, generous smile, which rejoices in the evi- dent prosperity of her kindred, she asks after the health of the household. The book she selects from the centre table evinces a taste for good reading, and she joins the conversation in a way that shows wide information and a practical shrewdness which marks her as her mother's own child. In a spirit more of loyalty to the handicraft of her sons than of any weak, personal vanity, she has adorned herself with bracelets, ear-drops, pins and rings, and, as she sees her Puritan mother viewing the finery with a suggestion of reproach, she rises and gives her a hearty " smack," and, with a twinkle in her eye that dis- arms the satire, says :
" Jewels are baubles: 'tis a sin To care for such unfruitful things: One good sized diamond in a pin- Some, not so large, in rings- A ruby and a pearl or so. Will do for me ;- I laugh at show!"
The daughter from the neighboring estate disregards diamonds, but we hasten to say from no sense of poverty. for she has a Diamond Hill on her premises. But when a mere girl she evinced a fondness for machinery, and used
103
HISTORIC REHOBOTHI.
always to spin the flax and wool for the household. And when she married and settled over by the Blackstone, she quickly saw the benefits of applying water power to weaving, and now her Lonsdale mills make cloth for the whole country. She may notice with satisfaction that the granite posts by the roadside came from her own quarries, and the horse shoe over the door from her forges at Valley Falls. She is a quiet, industrious body, and, possibly busy in designing some new fabric, takes very little share in the conversation until the labor question is broached. Then she shows she has decided opinions and can make them heard and felt. We can believe her sentiments voice the family respect for honest industry, and
" Haply from them the toiler, bent Above his forge or plow, may gain A manlier spirit of content. And feel that life is wisest spent Where the strong working hand makes strong the working brain."
Tall and fair, but with the glow of rustic health in her cheek, comes the western daughter, who wins the partial welcome due the youngest child. She is no stranger at the old homestead, for, like the mother, she is wedded to husbandry, and together they often discuss the mysteries of the dairy and the prospects of the garden. Located nearer the centre of trade, she does a flourishing business in all kinds of farm products, and, though not a few of her sons have become wealthy, the tenor of her house- hold refutes the proverb " That plain living and high thinking are no more." She is a model farmer's wife, her only variation from her mother's cooking being the sub- stitution of Rumford " Bread Preparation" for potato yeast. And she says she uses that just to patronize "the boys." Industrious, intelligent and devoted, she is typical of the town-
104
HISTORIC REHOBOTHI.
" In whose neat homesteads woman holds With modest case, her equal place, And wears upon her tranquil face
The look of one who, merging not Her selfhood in another will, Is love's and duty's handmaid still."
First to come and last to leave is the eldest daughter - one whose enterprises in copper coinage and ship build- ing won her a competence long ago. We can almost imagine that she has taken upon herself the burden of entertainment to-day, and will trust no one else to bake the shad for dinner. She has just come in, plump and jovial, to say they'll be cooked in half an hour, and, with- out stopping to roll down her sleeves, kisses "the girls " all round, and asks the grandchildren out to the pantry for doughnuts ! Free handed in hospitality, diligent in busi- ness, patriotic in war and constant in the faith, this elder municipal sister and daughter happily lives and thrives -
* With Earth and Ocean reconciled *
Under the walls Where swells and falls The Bay's deep breast at intervals.
But enough of metaphor. From our town's past so honorable, and present so benign, we turn a questioning eye on the future. And we do it with confidence, for " The best of prophets of the Future is the Past," " And in to-day already walks to-morrow."
There is no reason to despond over Rehoboth's indus- trial future. Situated as it is, with main lines of railroad on every side, and no portion of it more than an hour's ride from some station, it offers facilities that half the farmers in New England might envy. With the growing municipalities about her - Attleborough on the north,
105
HISTORIC REHOBOTH.
Taunton on the east, Fall River toward the south and Providence ever coming nearer on the west - there is no reason why a Rehoboth young man should hold his herit- age lightly. And what a heritage it is! Acres which a resolute and self-denying 'incestry redeemed from barbar- ism and defended oftimes with their blood ; homes which have been brightened by the births, gladdened by the weddings, and hallowed by the deaths of seven genera- tions ; walls, which if they could speak, might tell us how costly was the sowing and how careful has been the hus- bandry of this our nation to this day. "A heritage, it seems to me, a king might wish to hold in fee."
It is for us this day, with no weak sentiment, but with resolute purpose, to be consecratad to the work which other generations have left us to perform. And whether as readers we learn from history's page the story which other men have wrought out, often in poverty, often in tears, often by the fitful glimmer of a midnight lamp ; or whether as journalists we strive to catch and hold the present by the "art preservative," it is for us all here this day to remember that-
" Life is a sheet of paper white. Whereon each one of us may write His word or two and then comes night.
Greatly begin ; and though thou have time But for a line, be that sublime: Not failure, but low aim is crime."
REV. E. G. PORTER OF LEXINGTON.
MR. PRESIDENT :- When I received the invitation of your committee to attend these exercises, I was uncertain whether I should be able to accept it. Remembering, however, a pleasant visit which I had here three years
100
HISTORIC REHOBOTH.
ago, when I gave a lyceum lecture in the church, I re- called the fact that I had on that occasion taken upon myself to advocate with some earnestness the possibility of organizing in your town a collection of local antiquities, which I felt sure would have great historical interest. I had a long consultation with Mr. Tilton upon this subject, and, perhaps, I gave him some encouragement to hope that a memorial building might be obtained at no very distant day. Having committed myself to such an enter- prise before it had been even talked about much by others, I could not refuse the kind request to come and bring a word of congratulation on the completion of this beautiful edifice, which I am delighted to find so well adapted to meet the various important uses for which it was built. I do not know what provision the town is to make for its new library, but if your experience is any- thing like ours in Lexington, it will not be long before it will be the most popular thing in the town. We began in 1868 with only a handful of books and a very small fund. After a while, it was proposed that the dog tax be appropriated for the purchase of books. This was will- ingly granted, perhaps because nobody knew exactly how much the dog tax was. It was not much, to be sure, then, but it has gone on increasing - thanks to the dog craze -- and now it amounts to several hundred dollars a year, a very handsome fund for our library which now has, I am happy to say, ten thousand .volumes in its catalogue. I have not seen any dogs in Rehoboth yet, but I presume there are some, and I advise you to cultivate them more and more and give the library the benefit of the tax. And if perchance any one should object to the barking, tell him that every bark means a book and he will complain no longer.
107
HISTORIC REHOBOTHI.
Your collection of relics, so well placed and labelled, is a surprise to us all. I can see that some one has been very industrious, and I can well imagine who it is. But you have not exhausted the resources of this grand old town in this direction. There are many treasures stowed away in garrets, in old chests and drawers, which are yet to see the light. Hunt for them. Bring them out from their hiding places and make them tell their story - and a wonderful story it will be - of the days long gone by. Few towns in New England are as rich as yours in ma- terials of this kind. Make the most of them. They will constitute no small part of your fame. They will serve to educate your children and inspire them with patriotic zeal to maintain the high character and honorable achieve- ments which have been the glory of the town.
I was thinking, in coming over from Attleboro, what an advantage it is to be ten miles from a railroad. You can live here in peace, as your fathers did, without being disturbed by the screech of the locomotive and the per- petual din of passing trains. I have several friends who are suffering from nervous prostration. They have tried various places without permanent benefit. Evidently the trouble has been that they could not get away from rail- roads. I shall advise them all to move to Rehoboth, where I feel sure they would gain rapidly under the favorable and unique influences of the place. And if I could follow my own inclinations I would come too and enjoy the rational life which one could lead here, breathing the un- tainted air, revelling in your delicious farm products, and (think of it) driving in all directions without having to cross a railroad ! This is a luxury, citizens of Rehoboth, which I fear you do not fully appreciate. When the world finds it out, there will be a great demand for real estate all about here, especially in the vicinity of this
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.