USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Framingham > History of Framingham, Massachusetts, early known as Danforth's Farms, 1640-1880; with a genealogical register > Part 45
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He did not conceal his apprehension that the merging of the Academy into a Town High School might have a tendency to lower its grade, and thus neutralize its higher functions, and limit instead of extending its influence. And while he did not fail to see and acknowledge the advantages which followed the more general extension of its privileges, and the equalization of the burdens of tuition, he deplored any steps that tended to a letting down of the requirements of admission, or trenched on the original measure of scholarship. He could never be made to see the wisdom of sacrificing what he regarded the higher demands of mental and moral culture to the lower demands of a well filled school register. It was natural that he should compare the old with the new -the days of the best prosperity of the Academy when it was the only resource for a higher education open to our people, and so fully met those requirements - with the school when it had taken on a more popular character and was besieged by a crowd of aspirants for its honors. And it is not strange that he continued to regard it as an open question, whether the Town High School, with its ever-changing supervision, and its accommodating standard of admission, and generali- zation of studies, can fully supply the place of a chartered institution, with its more permanent supervision, and individuality of instruction, and the inspiration and stimulus which attend the harder-to-be-won prizes of learning. Certain it is, that a school is answering its best ends, when its honors are possibilities to be gained only by self-denial and exertion, rather than certainties coming in due course.
But with all his conservatism, he believed in progress ; and when changes were demanded by the common voice of intelligent men, he
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·cheerfully acquiesced and took hold earnestly to make the new plan a success.
His maxims of education were in keeping with his general character. A one-sided boy or girl was in his view as real a deformity as a one-sided man or woman. A rounded and strong character, and vigorous mental growth, and a well-balanced judgment, were held in high esteem by him ; and any system of education which developed one faculty or part of our nature at the expense of another part, was condemned as essentially defective. He regarded every plan defective which failed to provide for the careful training and development of all the mental powers ; and that teacher only received his approval who understood the nature and relations of the sciences taught, and who was painstaking and successful in awakening the pupil's thought, and in laying a sure ground-work in principles and elements.
He had no faith in the modern idea of forcing the education of chil- dren ; nor in shortening the natural term of boyhood and girlhood. He could not believe that the experience of enlightened nations had made a mistake when it placed the limit of minority at 21, instead of 14. His shrewd remark was : - To hurry boys forward into the place of mature manhood, is to spoil them for children, and does not make men of them.
Col. Edgell was elected a member of the board of trustees of Fram- ingham Academy Sept. 7, 1825, and continued to hold the office till May 19, 1852, when in accordance with an act of the General Court, the Academy was merged in a Town High School, and the board relinquished its rights and duties to the school committee -of which he was for several years a member. He was chosen treasurer of the board and of its several Funds, May 21, 1828, and held the office by re-election till 1852. And his genial way of dispensing the income of the "Trowbridge Fund," which, by the terms of the bequest was annually applied to aid young men belonging to Framingham in their preparation for college, made it seem not so much an act of charity as of real good-will. Indeed his interest in the young was a marked feature of his character, and was the outgrowth of genuine sympathy and thoughtful regard. His heart was a deep well of tenderness and affection ; and a child could draw from it without measure.
THE LIBRARY. - Col. Edgell foresaw and appreciated the advantages of a large and wisely selected Library, which should be open to all classes, as a means of elevating the taste and enlarging the sphere of knowledge of our people.
As early as 1815, in connection with Rev. Messrs. Kellogg and Train, Josiah Adams, Esq., Col. Jonas Clayes, Jesse Haven, Rufus Brewer, the Misses Fanny and Eliza Buckminster, and others, he helped to found the Social Library, which flourished for fifteen years, and had upon its
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shelves about 600 volumes. He was also a shareholder in the Lyceum Library, established in 1834, and in its successor the Framingham Library, which was merged in the present Town Library.
As early as 1845, Col. Edgell conceived the idea of founding from his- abundant means, a Free Public Library and Art Gallery. As an initia- tory step, he, in connection with Hon. Lorenzo Sabine, Messrs. I. S. Wheeler, Benj. Yeaton and others, got up The Reading Club, organized Jan. 11, 1851, of which he was chosen president. The specific object was, by a yearly assessment of $5, to fit up a room for reading and con- versation, where would be found the leading literary and scientific periodicals. The ultimate purpose was to adorn the room with choice paintings and engravings, which might at the proper time be transferred to the contemplated Art Gallery. After several years of study and in- quiry, he embodied his ideas in a paper, drawn up by his own hand, which was put in legal form and duly executed as his Last Will. After giving $3,000 to the cemetery which bears his name, and making ample provision for his wife and other relatives, he bequeathed the balance of his estate to the Town of Framingham, in trust, to be expended as fol- lows : one-third in the erection of a fire proof building, to be constructed of brick, stone or iron, of not less than two stories in height, plain in style, but of ample dimensions to contain suitable rooms for a Library, Art Gallery, etc. The remaining two-thirds was to be invested, and held in Trust by the town forever ; one-half of the income to be expended annually in the purchase of books and works of art; and the other half to be used for the care of the building, and to defray the cost of a course of lectures, which should be free to all. It was stipulated that these lectures should be upon literary and scientific subjects - sectarian and political themes being wholly excluded. He also enjoined upon the town that in the selection of Trustees, the rule of fitness only should be considered ; that the Board should fairly represent the different reli- gious societies, and the two political parties.
Col. Edgell's project was unknown to the public ; and as the move- ment, started in 1854 by Hon. James W. Clark, Messrs. George Phipps, Charles Upham, Francis Jaques and others, which resulted in the estab- lishment of a Town Library, Apr. 9, 1855, did not conflict with his plans for a Library Building and Art Gallery, he gave it his approval, though from a knowledge of the relation in which he might by death, be at any time placed, he took no active part in the work. He was, however, a deeply interested observer, and used what influence he could with pro- priety, that the movement might have a broad and firm basis, and be conducted in a spirit of unpartisan liberality, so that when his intended bequests should become available, no essential change of plan or spirit would be necessary; but that the Town could go forward in the use of
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its newly acquired means, to add to foundations already well laid. But his purpose - cherished as a father cherishes a favorite child who is to perpetuate his name- was frustrated (undesignedly) by the action of the Town, which voted, April, 1871, "to erect a Memorial Hall and Library building." Perhaps to have disclosed his intended plan, as pro- vided for in his Will, would have prevented the action of the town ; but his delicate sense of fitness, and shrinking from whatever could be con- strued into ostentation, kept him silent. The first Will was destroyed, and another executed, by which the town was made residuary legatee of his estate. The clause in the Will by which the town receives and holds this legacy, is as follows :
ITEM TENTH.
All the rest, residue and remainder of my property of every kind, real, personal and mixed, remaining at the decease of my said wife, and not dis- posed of by this will, I hereby give, bequeath and devise unto the inhabit- ants of the Town of Framingham and their successors forever; they to have and to hold the same in trust for the purpose hereafter named, but upon the conditions and subject to the restrictions herein named, as a fund, to be known as, and called the Edgell Library Fund. Said fund shall remain . in the hands of the Treasurer of said Town, or such other person or per- sons as said inhabitants may elect for that purpose, he or they giving bonds as directed in item seventh [satisfactory to the Selectmen of said Town]. And said fund shall be invested in the same manner as directed in item seventh [shall be invested in first mortgages on real estate in this Common- wealth, in amounts not exceeding sixty per cent of the value of the estate pledged, or in loans to any town or county in said Commonwealth, or in the bonds of the same, or of said Commonwealth, or any New England State, or of the United States, or in the stock of any railroad company incorporated under the authority of said Commonwealth, paying to its stock- holders six per cent per annum, and whose capital is actually paid in, and whose road is subject to no mortgage or pledge]; and the income there- of shall be expended as follows, to wit: First, not less than one-third of the net income of said fund shall be expended annually, by the Trustees of the Free Public Library, now located in the Centre village of said Fram- ingham, in purchasing books for the same. The remaining two-thirds of the net income of said fund shall be expended by said Trustees in purchas- ing books for the use of said library, or works of art suitable to adorn the hall or library room in said Centre village, wherein said Library may here- after be kept and maintained, or in defraying the expense of taking care of the same. The foregoing bequest is made upon and subject to the follow- ing express conditions, to wit : First, no part of the income of said fund shall ever be expended for the support of any library or library building, or for the purchase of books or works of art for the use of any library except such as shall be located in said Centre village. Second, no part of the principal of said fund shall ever be expended. And in case any part of said principal should be lost, then no part of the income thereof shall thereafter
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be expended until said fund, by accumulation or otherwise, shall have been restored to its original amount. And the Treasurer of said Town, or such person or persons as may have the charge of said Cemetery and Library Funds, shall annually, at some legal meeting of the inhabitants of said Town, submit for their consideration a written report of the condition of said funds, the amount of the same, how invested, the amount of income derived there- from, and to whom the same may have been paid ; and they shall also pay over, semi-annually, to the Trustees of said cemetery, the net income of said Cemetery Fund, and to the Trustees of said library, the net income of said Library Fund, excepting as herein restricted in case of loss ; and the Trustees of said cemetery and said library shall in like manner report the amounts received by them, respectively, from the income of said funds, and the purposes for which the same may have been expended.
The amount received by the town, as residuary legatee, under the provisions of the will above quoted, is $47,000.
As already intimated, Col. Edgell took an active part in establishing the Cemetery which bears his name [see ante, p. 373]. In addition to some lands lying adjacent to the original purchases, he bequeathed the sum of $10,000, to be expended by the Trustees in the erection of a stone building within the grounds, to be known as the Edgell Memorial Chapel, to be used for funeral purposes only ; and the further sum of $10,000 to be held as a fund, the income to be expended in keeping the donor's lot in good condition ; in the repair and insurance of the Chapel, and in caring for the lots of such deceased persons as have left no relatives to keep the same in proper repair.
Col. Edgell was the originator of the Framingham Savings Bank, and its president from its organization Mar. 10, 1846, till 1871, when failing health admonished him that his time for responsible labor was ended. He was an original stockholder in the Framingham Bank ; was a director for many years, and president from 1863 to 1870.
As a business man, Col. E. was sagacious, conservative, and honest. In the management of property, as in every thing else, he " made haste slowly." He took care of the interests and estates of others, as if they were his own; and of his own, as if it was a sacred trust. Few men among us have been more often honored with important trusts -in the settlement of estates of deceased persons, guardianships, and the manage- ment of private and public funds ; and none have proved more faithful. He was wont to say, that no man is worthy of confidence who will not use the same judgment and economy and exactness in doing another's business, as in doing his own. It is believed the assertion can be safely made, that he never violated his own maxim. If he found abuses that had crept into the administration of public office, or any pernicious adjunct clinging traditionally to the methods of public business, he did
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not hesitate to correct the abuse and cut off the excrescence. Imme- morial usage had established the custom in this town, that when an order was drawn on the town treasurer, the receiver and the officers should repair to the tavern and "treat." Col. E. promptly put a stop to the practice. And when it is considered that this happened in 1825, when social morality sanctioned the custom, the stand taken by the new treas- urer evinced both principle and courage.
Col. Edgell held by election most of the more important town offices. He was selectman, twelve years ; town treasurer, thirty years ; represen- tative to the General Court, eight years. He was justice of the peace for a long term of years, and presided at the trial of a great number of cases. He was a good adviser, in a wide range of questions - not a uni- versal genius, for it never hurt his pride to say, "I don't know enough about that subject to give an opinion." Perhaps he had less wisdom in matters involving abstract principles, and more in practical transactions between man and man, and business plans and ventures. He had large caution, and thus was saved from the peril of hasty judgments, which men of bolder natures and quicker intellects are apt to fall into. But his superiority as an adviser lay in the fact that, instead of giving his own opinion, he helped the party seeking advice to form an opinion for him- self, by drawing from him all the circumstances of the case, the inherent difficulties and advantages, as well as the special reasons for and against a given course, and his own means and ability to use the advantages and overcome the difficulties ; so that the questioner found himself in possession of all the elements of a wise decision. A bare opinion, based only on general considerations, may have about as much value as a guideboard at the cross-roads, with a stiff index-finger pointing the direc- tion, but not telling the distance.
Col. Edgell was an ambitious man, and prized highly the confidence and respect of his fellow-men ; but he claimed this respect and confi- dence, for what he was, and what he did; and he respected himself, for the same reason. To make a show, and a noise in the world, was in his view a poor realization of the true end and real glory of humanity. The witness of an approving conscience was worth more to him than public adulation ; and instead of the buzz of street applause, he strove for that abiding sense of rectitude of intention, which one can carry home with him, and that does not disturb one's slumbers. In a word, the inner spring of his life is indicated in that clause of his Will, where he modestly directs that a tablet shall be inserted in the Memorial Chapel to be erected in the Cemetery, " with my name cut thereon, and with such other brief inscription as shall declare my faith in God, and my love for my fellow-men."
His was emphatically the power of character; the power of right
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intention and uprightness ; the power which wholeness, and purity, and honor have to repel whatever is debasing and wicked, and to attract whatever is noble and ennobling. He was a just man and true ; aiming always to do unto others as he would have others do to him. Rev. Mr. Robbins, his former pastor, writes : " Of his religious life, it may be said, he was a man of earnest, sincere, but retiring piety. Wholly unostenta- tious - yet his convictions were deep, and his trust unshaken. Ever tolerant of the beliefs of others - while yet he held firmly to the faith he had adopted. I remember him with great respect, as one who strove according to the measure of his ability, to walk humbly before God, and to fulfil all righteousness."
GEORGE PHIPPS.
THE subject of this brief memorial was born at Rice's End in Fram- ingham, in the house known as the Lawson Rice (late Hardy) place, April 13, 1802, and died in his native town Feb. 19, 1876.
When about twenty-one years old, Mr. Phipps went to Boston and engaged in the provision business which he carried on successfully for several years. From there he went to Utica, N.Y., and was engaged for three or four years in packing pork. This was before there were any railroads in that section and his goods were sent to market by canal. From Utica he went to Cincinnati, where he carried on the same busi- ness for some three or four years. He then returned to Boston and spent a few years, occasionally engaging in some venture but having no permanent business.
In 1844, he returned to Framingham, having purchased of Dr. Oliver Dean, what was known as the Levi Eaton place, in the Centre village, where he spent the rest of his days. At this date he had accumulated an estate worth about $40,000. It is said that for the first few years of his residence here he suffered severely from homesickness -the quiet life of our village forming so strong a contrast with the bustle and risks of the western cities.
But he soon found a congenial place in financial affairs ; was chosen a trustee of the Framingham Savings Bank, and a director in the National Bank, which offices he continued to hold by annual re-election till his death, - only he was promoted to the presidency of the Savings Bank. For a single year- 1868 - he represented the town in the Legisla- ture ; but he preferred the more limited though not less active sphere of his village labors, and declined a renomination. He was the treasurer of the town for eighteen years, managing its finances with the greatest dis-
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George Phipps.
cretion and fidelity. He was a member of the board of trustees of the Town Library, and at one time contributed $500 for the purchase of books. And when the Memorial Hall was erected for the accommoda- tion of the library, he gave $3,000 in payment for the bronze statue of " The Soldier " which adorns its grounds.
To those who knew him best, Mr. Phipps was a living illustration of Pope's familiar line -" An honest man's the noblest work of God." Certain peculiarities of speech and manner made him generally known in the community where he resided ; but those who took these peculiar- ities for the real man could have had no acquaintance with the nobility of his character in the strength and beauty of its inward fibre.
A few years since he made a donation to the town of $10,000 ; pro- viding that the annual income from this sum should be given to the deserving poor in such amounts and at such times as would do them the most good. Taking upon himself the duties of almoner of this charity during the rest of his lifetime, he set the example of a kindly and judi- cious distribution of the funds which he had so generously devoted to the aged, the sick and the unfortunate. To this amount he added in stocks and cash the sum of $10,000, so that his charity, known as the " Phipps Poor Fund," now stands at $20,000, the annual income of which is distributed by the selectmen to the deserving poor, who have homes of their own. As further evidence of his sympathy for the unfor- tunate, he gave by his will the sum of $15,000 to the Old Men's Home, and $15,000 to the Old Ladies' Home of Boston.
" But this list of charities is by no means an adequate representation of the beneficence of George Phipps. To those who knew his generous devotion to the Union cause in the times that tried men's souls, the statue of the soldier which he gave to the memorial hall has a signifi- cance which few who now gaze on it would ever read therein. For they remember his readiness at all times to help on the good work of recruit- ing and equipping the regiments which the Government was calling for. The sacrifices of that hour of trial he fully shared with others of his patriotic townsmen.
And the ' Phipps Poor Fund ' gives no more than a hint of his con- stant generosity to the poor and needy, a life-long course of practical beneficence in which the left hand was often ignorant of what the right was doing.
It is characteristic of but few men to really act as if they had a partner- ship in the welfare of those around them ; but George Phipps thorough- ly accepted the Christian doctrine that 'we are all members of one another,' and his works of benevolence and deeds of kindness were prompted by this conviction. The selfish and cynical, whose judgment of others was but a reflection of themselves, might say that their wealthy
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townsman only gave away what he could not carry with him beyond the grave. But those who had divined the real secret of Mr. Phipps's char- acter knew how completely disinterested was his every action. When a man offers his aid, even to the extent of hundreds of thousands of dollars, to a neighbor whom he thinks to be in a financial strait ; when the common talk which this man indulges in with those who know him best is not the gossip of an envious and uncharitable spirit, but the ear- nest expression of his anxiety lest some townsman (a mere acquaint- ance, perhaps) should fail in business, or make a poor bargain, or meet with unnecessary losses ; when again and again the ready money is offered to the young tradesman or the poor farmer ; when among the things he leaves behind ' because he cannot carry them with him when he dies ' are notes which he has permitted to become outlawed, - when such deeds as these mark a man's earthly career, may we not point with pride to such an example and say, ' Here was one who lived and wrought as if the law of Christ were something better than a glittering generality to be admired from afar - who even made that law the law of his daily living ' ?
But the period through which we are now passing brings out the rare integrity of George Phipps with even clearer radiance than his wise philanthropy. His honesty was not that of policy, but of settled prin- ciple. He could not betray a trust, or in handling others' gold let so much as a grain of its dust cleave to his fingers. As administrator of large estates, his fidelity extended to the minutest details. No careless keeping of accounts ever marked his records. No institution or cor- poration of which he was a director or a stockholder could reap the slightest advantage from his possession of trust funds. The National Bank in this town, in whose business he was largely interested, was never enriched from the town's funds so long as Mr. Phipps was the town treasurer, not even by the benefit of a day's deposit, when the treasurer might have well pleaded his own private duties as an excuse for not mak- ing the deposit. The moneys received from the town must be put at once upon interest, so that when the account should be rendered in, his master, the great public, 'might receive his own with usury.'
Such upright and downright honesty as this is a virtue greatly needing a revival to-day. It is a Roman virtue characteristic of the men whom history has crowned for the clearness with which they saw the leading obligation of man's fellowship in a State, and the fidelity with which they discharged every private and public trust." -[Rev. H. G. Spaulding.]
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