History of Essex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. II, Part 209

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) ed
Publication date: 1888
Publisher: Philadelphia, J. W. Lewis & Co.
Number of Pages: 1672

USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > History of Essex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. II > Part 209

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Newburyport, have already been recorded in the pre- ceding account of that church, to whose interest the best years of his life have been devoted. There re- main now but a few events of his personal history to be mentioned.

Descended from a family which in every way possible had testified its devotion to its suffering mother-land, particularly during the desperate attempt made by the people of Ireland in 1798 for self-gov- ernment, Rev. Arthur J. Teeling was born in Dub- lin, Ireland, the 10th of December, 1844, and came to this country in the summer of 1847. From that time until his departure for college he lived in the imme- diate vicinity of Boston, attending there the public school-most of the time, the Chapman school, at East Boston-until he was twelve years of age, and then the Jesuits' school, which was at first on Hano- ver Street, Boston, afterwards at the corner of Port- land aud Traverse Streets. He remained there four years, and displayed an aptitude for learning that led to his being sent to the Lavelle University at Quebec, of which, at that time, the present Cardinal Tascher- eau was director. During his three years' stay at that institution he won for himself a high rank ju! scholarship.

The time for the choice of a profession having ar- rived, he determined-as those who had long known him had always expected-to prepare himself for the priesthood. In September, 1864, he accordingly entered the Provincial Seminary at Troy, which was that year opened, being one of a group of ten from the Boston diocese. This was the first group that en- tered the seminary, and of the number, Father Teel- Father Teeling's return in November, 1878, was ing is now the only survivor. Here, also, as at most enthusiastically welcomed, as may be seen from Quebec, he won the esteem and affection of his | the following extract from the Newburyport Herald,

fellow-students, not one of whom was ever in trouble or difficulty without being sure of the sympathy and, if possible, the assistance of Arthur Teeling.

His theological course completed, he was ordained June 6, 1868, by Bishop MeFarland, of Hartford, since deceased. ITis first Mass was celebrated the following Sunday at East Boston, where his parents then resided, after which he was sent for a few months as assistant to Rev. Father Sheridan, at that time the pastor of St. Vincent's Church, on Purchase Street, Boston, now pastor at Taunton, Mass. Toward the close of that year he was sent as assistant to Rev. John O'Brien, then pastor of St. Patrick's Church, Lowell, of whom he cherishes the most pleasant recollections. While in Lowell, Father Teeling, in addition to his other duties, was most active in organ- izing a Temperance Society, through which much good was accomplished. Ile remained there until his appointment to the pastorate of the Catholic Church at Newburyport.

The state of the church on his arrival in this city, in August, 1871, and his subsequent course, have already been recorded here, and we need not again refer to them.

Just before assuming the heavy task of freeing the church entirely from debt and consecrating it he took quite an extended trip to Europe, Egypt and the Holy Land. Ile sailed from New York early in April, 1878, going directly to Liverpool, thence to Paris and to Venice, whence he sailed to Alexandria, in Egypt, arriving there the 30th of May. At Alex- andria he was joined by his friend, Rev. John Swift, of Troy, New York, who had gone thither by way of California and the Pacific Ocean, they having agreed at parting, six months before, that they would meet there on that day. Together, they then visited the pyramids of Egypt; and going thence to the Holy Land, paid the homage of their devotions to the places rendered sacred by the life, suffering, death and resurrection of our Saviour; and only those who leave listened to the lectures several times since de- livered by both gentlemen on their travels there, can judge of the impression these venerated places made upon them. They then visited all the principal cities in Europe, and at Rome had an audience with the present Holy Father, Pope Leo XIII. They also went to the principal places in the British Isles. lre- land, in particular, was most extensively traveled by Father Teeling, who spent eight weeks there, leaving not one of its counties unvisited, and very few of even its most unimportant places, if one might judge by his intimate knowledge of every place there that can be mentioned. In a word, he made an exhaustive study of its condition, the knowledge of which has been since made excellent use of in connection with the present Irish national affairs in this country.

lated Thursday, November 7, 1878 :

"A WARM WELCOME TO FATHER TEELING.

"Certainly the most captions could not find any fault for lack of warmth or enthusiasm in the welcome extended to Father Teeling after his six months' absence in Europe, on his return home, at half past seven on Wednesday evening. Thousands assembled at the Eastern Depot, and it was with difficulty that the police could prevent a rush to greet Father Teeling as he alighted from the train. A grand procession Was then formed of all the Catholic societies and prominent citizens, all of whom carried torches, making quite a display ; and all along the line of march they were greeted with numerous displays of fire-works, en- pecially noticeable at the headquarters of the various societies. At t'ity Ilall the rush to get in was so great that one or two persons narrowly escaped being crushed, but the admirable management of Father Me- Nulty prevented anything of this sort in going ont. The exercise con- sisted in nn address of welcome by Rev. J. J. MeNulty, which was re- sponded to in a very felicitous strain by Father Tevling, who gave some account of his travels, particularly in the Iloly Land and in Rome, where he was empowered by the Pontiff, Leo XIII., to extend the Apostolic Benediction to the society at Newburyport. He also spoke of his trip through Ireland in a way that was most entertaining to his hearers, The meeting then broke up with cheers."

Of Father Teeling's many duties, there is none in which he is more interested than in the proper in- struction of the children of his parish. Convinced that education without religion is often but a mighty weapon for evil in the hands of those who, in after" years, may be strong to wield it against God and

1816

HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

country and mankind generally, there seems nothing he is unprepared to do, no sacrifice he is unwilling to make, to advance the interest of his school.

Hle is also much interested in the Irish question, and has taken a most active part in the present agita- tion of the subject by the people of the Irish race, and Jas been one of the public speakers at all the great ‹demonstrations connected with the movement, not only in this city, where he has organized and presided over them, but also in Boston and other places. While in general sympathy with all the Irish leaders, the single-heartedness and devotion of Michael Davitt have won his particular admiration ; and in few places was the " Father of the Land League " more enthusi- astically received than in Newburyport by Father Teeling and his people. Ile was much interested in the Parliamentary Fund collected in 1885, and as the Boston Pilot, dated March 20, 1885, says :

" The following letter from Father Teeling, the respected pastor of Newhuryport, tu Mr. John Boyle O' Reilly, tells its own honorable and @pretul story :

" NEWBURYPORT, MASS., March 15, 1885.

. MY DEAR FRIEND : By personal solicitation I have collected to the 1. - ont date $250 for the $5 Parliamentary Fund. I have on my list. 1. 4 subscriptions, fifty of the most prominent Protestant gentlemen of the city of Newburyport, city officials, bank officers, etc. My list thus f.u is composed of Protestant gentlemen only. Next Wednesday night >: Patrick's) I will put the question of subscription to the Parliamen- to Fund to the members of my own congregation, as on that evening n. arn to have an entertainment in unr hall for the benefit of the sinds. When I will have completed my work for the FS Parliamentary Fond, I will send you all the money and names. I think, from the present ontlook, that Newburyport will have the honor of paying for me member in the British House of Commons to advocate Home Rule,

" Yours very truly, "ARTHUR J. TEELING. "

It is not, however, in exclusively Irish or Catholic affairs that Father Teeling is interested. No one could be more American in love for country or in in- trrest in its welfare. Too public-spirited not to be interested in all public matters, he is no blind adher- ent of any plan or party, but endeavors always to stand himself, and to use his influence for the princi- ples and the men he considers purest, ablest and best. A most devoted Catholic, and intolerant of any interference in his own or his people's religious rights, he is nevertheless on the most friendly terms with his Protestant townspeople; and no public affair is considered complete unless participated in by Father Treling. He was one of the speakers at Newbury- port's two hundred and fiftieth anniversary, June 10, 1ss, he and Rev. Dr. Spaulding being the two gen- P'rmen to respond to the toast: "The Clergymen of : ( three towns." On that occasion Father Feeling was thus introduced by the presiding officer, Hon. John J. Currier :

- You are well aware that at the present time I m . tales of our it zons are earnest and devout members of the 1. mant thời chờich, We recognize the power and the influence of it's clergy, and I hay inviteth . Ros. A. J. Teeling, of the Church of the I ho colate Com pton, Newburyport, to speak of the work the clergy ·at church have majdishe J hel .'

The remarks that followed were very highly spoken

of, as was also his address at the Grant Memorial the August following. Father Teeling is a ready speaker, a strong and forcible writer, his style being terse and concise, and bespeaking mental strength, sound judg- ment and intelligence of thought. Firm and decided when decision is necessary, he has not fulfilled his many duties without having made enemies, to whose criticism, however, he appears wholly indifferent ; while at the same time his kind, genial disposition has won him many faithful and devoted friends.

ITis comprehension of the needs of the community is evinced by his membership in nearly every society here designed to ameliorate its ills or advance its interests ; such as the Humane Society, the Associa- tion for the Establishment of the Old Men's Home, the Corporation of Institution for Savings and several others. He is also a justice of the peace for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, having been so ap- pointed May 8, 1883, by Governor Benjamin F. Butler, after having been for several years previous justice of the peace for Essex County, through appointment of Governor Alexander H. Rice, May 2, 1876.

Concluding, as we commenced, by asserting that a true priest is best judged by the condition of his church, we quote as a summary of this imperfect sketch of the pastor of the Church of the Immaculate Conception, Newburyport, the following extract from a tribute to him that recently appeared in the New- buryport Germ :

" Apart from the labors of the school, the pulpit and the altar, Father Teeling has exercised a kindly care for all the families and persons in the parish of more than four thousand souls, and no other four thousand within our knowledge have so rapidly advanced in wealth, education and public positions and influence. He may well be proud of what he has done, and when invited to other fields reply : 'These are my people and from them I cannot be divided.' "

ALEXANDER CALDWELL.1

Alexander Caldwell, the senior member of the firm of A. & George J. Caldwell, is a well-known and highly- esteemed citizen of Newburyport, the city in which he was born,educated and lived all his days. When a Greek orator, in ancient times, was thrice asked to name the first essential element in eloquence, three times he replied-" action." If we were three times asked what was fundamental to individual brilliancy, virtue, and greatness, we should reply-a good ancestry. This we find with Alexander Caldwell. Ilis ancestors were Scotch-Irish, the Scotch predominating. They were simply born in Ireland, but were Scotch in their industry, frugality, bravery and religion. They were liberal in their ideas of government, as Calvinists ever are; and what theories we may cherish or abstract ideas we may entertain, America has had no better citizens from Europe, and bred none better at home, than the Scotch-Irish and their descendants. In the South they have been of the Andrew Jackson and John (. Calhonn stamp, men of strong minds and brave actions. In the North they have attained

1 By George J. L. Colly.

Alena Could well

1847

NEWBURYPORT.

eminence in war and peace, as have the Starkes, the other merchandise. Many persons are living who remember when the wharves for the whole length of Cilleys, the Butlers, the McNeals, the Millers and others. In the battles for liberty they have been the i the town were covered with molasses casks, which bravest, as Bunker Hill, Bennington and New Orleans can attest. They have felt the old Scotch blood swell- ing in their veins and pulsating at their hearts, and proved themselves worthy of the fathers who followed Wallace and Bruce to battle. The history of Calvin- ism has been the story of freedom. Right or wrong in their faith, the Calvinists have set limits to the au- thority of kings and to the power of priests. They have had no confessors, no liturgies and no pastors who were above the people.

From such a people, from over the ocean, came to America, in 1650, the ancestors of the Caldwell brothers. One of them, James, was born on the pas- sage, and the other, Alexander, was a child born after their arrival in this country. Their parents first set- Some two years before Alexander Caldwell died, in 1832, the business had passed into the hands of his son John, who was born in 1783, and had previously been a ship-master. He died in 1859, aged seventy- six, and the town lost one of its best citizens. He had quite a number of brothers, most of them engaged more or less in distilling. Joseph was a distiller at Ports- moutb, N. H. James, so recently deceased that many will remember him, was in dry-goods on State Street; Alexander, a distiller, at New Orleans, wealthy before the Rebellion, during which he died ; Abner, who was a distiller in Dover, N. 11., and later in trade and commerce on Ferry wharf; and William, for a time a merchant at New Orleans, and after with his brother-in-law, William Wheelwright, in South America. At one time two of those brothers were engaged in distilling at Norfolk, Va. They have followed the business of the first Alexander Caldwell in five states of the Union. They were such men as we have known them in this city, intelligent, upright, public-spirited, of good repute, some of them eminent for their piety, active in the Presbyterian and Congregational tled in Dunbarton, N.11., probably on the invitation of their kinsfolk, many ot whom settled in the valley of the Merrimac above us, where they founded towns, cleared farms and gave us Christian civilization in the place of the wilderness. In the course of time Alexander Caldwell drifted down to Newburyport, then one of the half-dozen chief towns of Massachu- setts, having much wealth and an extensive foreign and domestic trade. Indeed, the quarter of a century from 1785 was the golden age of Newburyport; and for the whole country above us to the Canada line this was their principal market, and this the point to which the youth of the interior migrated. Young Caldwell found employment in a distillery, in the manufacture of New England rum, which was then the common drink of the people. There was very little whisky, beer or ale, which have since been sub- stituted. Then everybody drank " new rum." The clergy, the magistrates, the deacons and the people drank it. The battles of the Revolution had been fought on it ; the great religious revivals sanctioned it. It was furnished in all the work-shops, on the farms, and on board the ships, at least twice a day ; , Churches, and more than usually particular in the

and on the visit of neighbors it was deemed a mark of respect to offer and to drink it. Still, there was no more drunkenness then than now, and no more people died from it, as it is the most healthy of the strong drinks in use. Be that as it will, Alexander Caldwell, the first of that name in the town, learned to distil it ; and built the distillery a century ago, which has been owned and operated by the Caldwells ever since. He died in 1832, at the age of eighty-five, full of years, having a good record for industry, sobriety and in- tegrity.

Up to about the time of his death this was a large industry in this town, as it was in the country at large. We had a great fleet of vessels running to and fro be- tween Newburyport and the West Indies-the English, French, Spanish and other islands. We were export- ing to them fish, lumber, provisions and agricultural products, and importing coffee, sugar, molasses and

largely went to the distilleries, which then numbered ten or a dozen, equal to the whole number of distil- leries in the United States now. To-day there is only one in Newburyport, eight in Massachusetts, and eleven in the whole country ; and those are not run- ning to one-half their producing capacity ; and of what is produced, one-half or more is exported chiefly to heathen lands, and two-thirds the other half is used for medicinal and mechanical purposes. Very little is used for a beverage. Over sixty-two million people do not drink one-halt as much, not one-quarter, as did the population of the country when there were six million. But we are considering now only its histori- cal relations.

training and education of their children. We call to mind the regular attendance at the Prospect Street Church of Captain John Caldwell and his liberality in parish contributions. His wife was a devout member of the church and his children were in their seats as regularly as their Scotch ancestors had been at church, back to the days of John Knox.

John Caldwell had five sons and one daughter. The daughter married into one of the first families of Worcester County. William W., the oldest son, is now an attaché of the Boston Press. He was prepared for college at Dummer Academy, graduated at Bowdoin College ; and has a creditable place among American poets. John G. Whittier declared him the best lyric poet in New England. Two volumes of his poetry have been published. Joseph is in business in Philadelphia John is a grocer in town ; and Alexander and George J. are of the third generation

1813

HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

at the old distillery, which has come down in the family and been operated by them for a hundred years, all that time maintaining the reputation of producing the best liquor of its kind in the United States. This, however, is partly, chiefly we suppose, owing to the water used in distillation. The banks of the Merrimac, on the south side, for a long dis- tance, are full of springs, the water tinctured by the substances through which it passes; and the well furnishing water is supplied by one of those springs. It is inexhaustible; so much so that a steam fire- engine makes little impression on it. This establish- ment, covering an acre of land, with a bonded ware- houve attached, is not only a source of wealth to it- proprietors, but is a valuable auxiliary to the national treasury. Its highest Federal tax bill was in 1873, when it paid over $300,000-more than a thousand dollars a day for every working day of that year.

But Alexander Caldwell, whose portrait is here given, now sixty-two years old, has not confined himself to one line of business. From his purse and by his personal influence he has invested and generously contributed for the public good-for the growth of the town. By him ships have been built and sailed, and most of the corporate industries have found in him a stockholder and director. We name cotton manufactures, paper manufactures, carpet manufac- tures, hat-making, the silver-ware business and others there have been, or are, of more or less note. He has been a busy man-twenty-five years a director of the Ocean Bank, not for himself, but that its op- erations might be useful to young men and encourage trade. His charities have been large and many. The deserving poor have found in him a friend, and needy ones had the benefits of his open hand. Ile has accumulated a large estate. The firm of Alexander & George J. Caldwell stands first on the list of tax-payers in Newburyport, and that is but a fraction of what they pay through the corporations and by investments beyond the limits of the city. He has a high personal character, unblemished for integrity in business, and his kindness, intelligence, and generosity give him a wide popularity.

GEORGE MONTGOMERY, M. D.

Montgomery is a name distinguished in English, Irish and American history. It is a family that has given to the world profound scholars, eminent states- men, brave warriors, and poets who have done honor to the age in which they lived and the language in which they wrote. Doctor Montgomery is in the same line of descent with General Richard Mont- gomery, who died on that memorable night of Decem ber 31. 1775, when he led an attack at the capture of the city of Quebec, and had victory within his reach, as, with his two aids, he fell before the only gun fired in defense at the second barrier to his progress into the city. An unfortunate place that for great military

chiefs. It was there that the gallant Montcalm fell in 1759, which lost an American empire to France ; there that the brave General Wolfe died in the hour of his triumph, and the joy of England was mingled with mourning at the cost of her victory ; and there that Montgomery died on the day of his country's greatest need of his services, at the opening of the war for independence. Three braver men seldom, if ever, led the armies of their respective countries.

Doctor (George Montgomery was born in Strafford, New Hampshire, in 1834, and is now in the prime of his days and at the meridian of his usefulness, having an extensive and lucrative professional practice in Newburyport. He sprung from one of the oldest settlers in New Hampshire, from the very first at Strafford. The Montgomerys went there and built their log cabin and cleared their farm in the depths of a wilderness gloom. Over the ocean waves they came to better their fortunes, seeking liberty, polit- ical and spiritual, under institutions of their own forming, elective and free, where the voice of the people should be the law. They made themselves a home amid the wildest solitudes of nature. They felled the forests with their own strong hands, their trusty shot-guns within reach; for the contest was with nature unsubdued and the savage foe untamed. Their energy, persistency and courage were all put to the severest test. Theirs was the toil of the field and the toil of battle-the protection of their crops and the protection of their hearths and home-roofs. Men and women shared common labors and common perils; these, with the hardships of climate and the newness of life upon a soil unbroken till then, impress- ing and moulding them and their children, made them heroic. Not a State of the Union has produced a better people than New Hampshire ; none more stable in opinion or more determined for their rights. This is especially true of those descended from the Scotch-Irish, and the Montgomerys are not the least among those families.

Dr. Montgomery was the son of John, born on the ancestral acres, where had before been bred men not unknown to fame-men of science and learning, who had filled most of the local or town offices and seen service in both branches of the Legislature. llis mother was Eliza, daughter of Joshua Otis, and from that union, Montgomery-Otis, came what might have been expected by hereditary descent, a precocious son, who, at the age of seven years, was admitted to the academy on Strafford Ridge. Then and there he commenced the study of Latin under that eminent preceptor, Dr. Abner Ham, whose fame as a scholar and teacher filled all the region round-about. Ac- cording to the custom of the times, academy students taught the public schools in the towns within easy distance during the long vacations in the winter, and thus we find George Montgomery, a lad of thirteen, teaching, and perhaps applying the rod- the emblem of authority-in a school of forty-two

Staus

1849

NEWBURYPORT.

pupils, some of them men grown, and giving the utmost satisfaction to all parties interested, so much so that he was retained for the next year's school.

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History of Essex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. II, Part 209

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) ed Publication date: 1888 Publisher: Philadelphia, J. W. Lewis & Co. Number of Pages: 1672

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) ed
Publication date: 1888
Publisher: Philadelphia, J. W. Lewis & Co.
Number of Pages: 1672