USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > History of Norfolk County, Massachusetts, with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men > Part 46
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There were probably a great many churches in New England where the old system of rote singing went out at last by some such compromise as in this case.
We might give other interesting passages from this address, but these will suffice as examples of Dr. Alden's manner, and with these we conclude our article.
The following address was delivered at the funeral service by Rev. John C. Labaree, pastor :
" A patriarch among us has fallen. He has died in a good old age, an old man, and full of years, and is gathered to his fathers. We have long regarded him as a venerable man. Yet we are surprised to find how far back we are carried by this one extended life. It covers a period longer than that of our Amer- ican Republic. When Dr. Alden was born the first President of the United States had not been inaugurated, nor the Federal Constitution ratified.
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HISTORY OF NORFOLK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.
"For those primitive times the circumstances of his early life were very favorable. His childhood was largely spent in the noble old mansion of his father's, which till lately formed so familiar a landmark in our town. His education was carefully attended to. He passed from stage to stage in his studies till he returned to his native village to take up the profession of his father, and unfold that strong and striking character which now stands before us in its completeness.
"By nature our honored friend was richly endowed. He would have been a man of mark in whatever calling in life he might have chosen. His mind was clear and acute, broad and masculine; his perceptions were quick, his judgment discrimi- nating, his will strong. To nature's gifts he added a careful and rigorous discipline of his powers. The material which Providence gave him was faithfully improved. His habits of thought were excellent; his study of a subject was systematic and searching; his cross-questioning worthy of a trained law- yer. He went to the heart of a matter and brought his mind to a decision he did not often have to reverse. His improvement of time, his methods of investigation, his orderly and patient arrangement of knowledge, his readiness in recalling what he wished to use, his conscientious care in reaching a conclusion, furnish a fine model for young men, whether in business or literary pursuits.
" But his mental powers were not those to which our friend gave the most interested attention. His mind was directed at an early period to the claims of religion. Always respectful to the subject, he came at last face to face with the personal duty of repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. It was a serious hour, a bitter struggle,-one to which he re- ferred, not often, but always with very tender feelings. At that time, as he believed, he learned a lesson, never to be forgotten, of human depravity and divine grace. Ilis long and unalter- able devotion to the Saviour and the teachings of Scripture bear witness to the genuineness of the change he had experienced. He united with this church in 1816, at the age of twenty-eight years. From that period the enlargement of Christ's kingdom in the world was the object to which he devoted his talents. His whole life confirmed the interest with which he sang the hymn.
' I love Thy Kingdom, Lord.'
"The church of Christ was to Dr. Alden as a citadel which he was appointed to aid in strengthening and defending. He thoroughly studied its necessities. Its weak points and its grand strategic points were well understood by him. The call for defensive and aggressive warfare he heartily responded to. He loved the work. Nothing else in life was of so much account to him.
" He perceived that if the church of God is to prosper, the ut- most care must be paid to the family. By counsel and example he impressed this principle. His own home he sought to make a model Christian home. Its hours of prayer and praise he loved, and held sacred from every interruption. With him it was a strong point that family worship should not be merely formal, but interesting and instructive. And he was accus- tomed, with great plainness and tenderness, to encourage Chris- tian parents to special fidelity in all the duties of household piety. He also felt the need of some method of religious in- struction additional to that generally enjoyed in the family. And the suggestion of the modern Sabbath-school was, therefore, cordially welcomed by him. In 1819 he organized the school in this church. For thirty-nine years he continued its superin- tendent, and then as a teacher held his place for a score of years longer.
higher education. That the church should pay most careful attention to her future pastors and teachers and educated men was to him self-evident. He entered into the study of meth- ods of education with his accustomed energy and thoroughness. And he was thus introduced to one of the most important spheres of influence which Providence called him to fill. His services as a member of the Board of Trustees of Phillips Academy and the Theological Seminary at Andover, and of Amherst College, are by the nature of the case but little known to the world. They will be alluded to by one especially qualified to speak of them. But we know something of the intelligence and fatherly solici- tude with which he followed young men through school, college, and seminary. The day of " prayer for colleges" was always an occasion of much interest in the Randolph Church, and one to which our friend was ever ready to contribute stirring words and fervent prayers that the Lord of the harvest would send forth laborers into his harvest. He had a peculiarly kind feel- ing for young men who had chosen his own profession. From his wide professional experience he had seen how great are the opportunities for good open to the Christian physician.
" Young ministers were sure of a welcome to his home and heart. He entered into their plans with zest. Were they to remain in New England, or to plant new churches in the grow- ing West, or to seek yet more distant fields of labor among hea- then nations, he followed them all with love and prayer. Their trials, their reverses, their progress were watched by him with intelligent sympathy as he studied the missionary reports of the day. These organs of home and foreign work have had few more constant and appreciative readers for the past fifty years.
"The Home Missionary Society and the American Board were objects of his special interest. He gave efficient aid in or- ganizing and maintaining among the churches of the Norfolk Conference the Palestine Missionary Society formed in 1820, one of the earliest auxiliaries of the Board.
" Meanwhile his own home church was never neglected by reason of his many broader fields of influence. He gave to it the energy and enthusiasm of his young manhood, and for sixty years it has been strengthened by his counsels and example and prayers. He loved the sanctuary, and all the ordinances and meetings of the church. Long professional rides were often necessary before services, and again after services were over, but they were always timed so as to give him the calm enjoyment of the house of God. His seat vacant, signified to all that some case was very critical. And for years after he was wholly deprived of sight one of the greatest comforts in his affliction, and which he would not readily forego, was to be led to his familiar seat in the church twice every Sabbath day. The silent influence of such an example has reached many hearts. Those who did not believe as he did, yet cherished a silent re- spect for his fidelity to his convictions and his strength of pur- pose.
"By the members of the church, it is not invidious to say, no one of their number was regarded with so great veneration and affection as Dr. Alden. Few were so well qualified to advise and encourage. He possessed a rare knowledge of the Bible, an ex- tensive and accurate acquaintance with theology, a profound personal experience of religious truth, a deep insight into hu- man nature; adding to these attainments his wide intercourse with men, his relation to many societies and institutions, and his rich endowments of mind and heart, and we see that he was fitted in an unusual manner to guide and instruct the church. Many an anxious inquirer has he wisely directed to the Saviour | they were seeking. Christian friends, beset with temptations
" From the home and the Sabbath-school Dr. Alden followed . or perplexed with doubts, have often found in him the safe and with special interest the youth who entered on a course of . sympathizing counselor they needed. His visits as "the be-
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loved physician" were doubly prized by numerous families to whom he was enabled to bring peace of mind as well as healing of the body.
" In his earlier days Dr., Alden did hard but very useful work as a pioneer in the cause of truth. He was an earnest advocate of foreign missions when the subject was but little understood. He introduced the Sabbath-school when there was much preju- dice against it. He was an outspoken friend of total abstinence when such a position was extremely unpopular. He aided many a good cause in in its infancy and weakness, which has now grown strong in the hearts of the people. He found them feeble, he has left them vigorous. Their progress gave him great sat- isfaction. He could see that the world has grown better since first he knew it, and he rejoiced. He did not, indeed, indorse every modern idea of professed reformers; some of them he stoutly refused to accept; yet he spoke of them with charity. Instead of the characteristics which often come with age, he seemed to us to grow more gentle and mellow. He was clothed with increasing wisdom and grace. His words fell with more love and tenderness, and all felt that he was ripening for his home above."
Hon. Alpheus Hardy, of Boston, delivered the fol- lowing remarks at the funeral service :
" In the death of Dr. Alden a strong and vigorous light has ceased to burn on earth. Its rays were not confined to this town or to this vicinity; it was far-reaching, healthful, and helpful in all its influence.
" It is now nearly thirty years since I first made Dr. Alden's acquaintance. I was invited by his friend and my friend, the late Rev. William A. Stearns, president of Amherst College, to take a seat as one of the trustees of that institution. Trained as I had been to a business life, I hesitated to accept the po- sition, to step within the circle of Christian education, and might not, had not Dr. Alden so kindly and so encouragingly taken me by the hand and given me a warm welcome. We were at once made colleagues on the finance committee, and thus I began to know of his fidelity and conscientious dis- charge of his duty. There as at Andover, where we were similarly connected on the Phillips Academy board of trus- tees, he was scrupulously exact in the discharge of every duty. It was not enough that the treasurer reported sundry funds as in hand, but he must see them, and verify every item. He did not accept the position as trustee for the small honor such an election conferred, but to attend the meetings promptly and meet every varied duty as work he had assumed and that must be accomplished. His judgment was sound and leading. His differed from others, were given with manly courtesy. At Andover, where I met him most frequently, he was ever faith- ful, shrinking from no toil. Those old rusty ledgers bear his marks of fidelity ; he pored over them as conscientiously as over his Bible.
"The Academy, no less than the Seminary, shared his care; his thoughts were for the boys as well as for the more ad- vanced students. He realized that within their ranks were those who were to fill our pulpits, to be our legislators, and exert an influence in the world; in the true spirit of the found- ers of that school he would have their hearts cultivated, while the head was educated, and would have religion and education go hand in hand.
" It has been reported by the press that he had resigned his position as trustee at Andover ; true, but his resignation was not accepted. The board of trustees appreciated his services too highly, and respected him too much to sever his relations; they would have him die as he did in the harness.
"For a professional man he had, largely, business habits, habits of exactness, application, fidelity, frugality, the condi- tions of success. His views of Christian duty were as broad as the Gospel plan ; he drank of its living fountain. He was alive to the elevation and salvation of men in all lands and all climes. I have rarely met a man whose whole being was so permeated with the idea of loyalty to duty. This one thing I must do, and do well, was his constant aim. The tenor of his life was ex- pressed in the spirit of the beautiful hymn, commencing,
"' A charge to keep I have- A God to glorify.'"
ALEXANDER E. DU BOIS.
Alexander Edson Du Bois was born in Braintree, Vt., March 22, 1801, and was the second child of Joseph and Polly (Spear) Du Bois. Joseph Du Bois was the son of a ship-carpenter of Huguenot descent, and was born in Providence, R. I., Aug. 1, 1775. He was educated as a physician, and practiced his pro- fession for many years in Vermont with marked suc- cess. Polly Spear was born in Randolph, Mass., Aug. 7, 1778, and was the daughter of Jacob Spear, who, with others of his townspeople, settled in Vermont while his daughter was very young.
At the beginning of this century our New England villages did not afford the facilities for education which they now do, so that the subject of this sketch had very limited opportunities during his boyhood of gaining knowledge from books. He often worked for the neighboring farmers, and took pleasure in thus being able to add to the family income, as the pro- fession of a country physician was far from lucrative when a fee for a visit was only twenty-five cents, and . patients were widely scattered over the hills. At the age of twenty-one he came to Randolph, Mass., and entered the store of Turner & Tolman as clerk. Mr. Du Bois won the confidence of his employers, and in a few years entered into partnership with Col. Royal himself with good success. He was honest and just in his dealings, and gained for himself a well-deserved reputation as an upright man in every relation of life.
firmness was tempered with kindness. His opinions, if they | Turner, and still later carried on the same business
His good judgment and deep interest in all that concerned the welfare of the town made him an ex- cellent citizen. His townsmen's appreciation of these qualities was shown by his election as a member of important committees chosen to advise on questions relating to the varied interests of the town. Mr. Du Bois was one of the committee appointed in 1833 to provide for the establishment of the Randolph Acad- emy, also a member of the committee which presented to the Legislature in 1835 a petition of the citizens to have a bank incorporated in the town. For some
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years he was a fire warden, and was always much in- terested in the laying out of new streets, and in what- ever else tended to promote the growth and prosperity of Randolph. He was made deputy sheriff of Nor- folk County in 1839, and held the office a number of years, and also received a commission as justice of the peace. Mr. Du Bois was one of the directors of the Norfolk Mutual Fire Insurance Company. In 1825 he became a Free Mason, and afterwards held various offices in the lodge of which he was a member.
Notwithstanding the limitations of his youth, he by self-education became a man of more than ordi- nary attainments, and his advice and assistance was much sought in the settlement of estates and in other legal matters. His keen sense of justice and clear insight into human nature, together with his strong persuasive powers, made him an excellent arbiter, and he was often called upon to adjust difficulties between individuals. Mr. Du Bois took a deep interest in young men struggling to establish themselves in busi- ness, and was ever willing to give them assistance. His kind and sympathetic nature led him to listen to the needs of the poor, and they found in him a gen- erous helper.
At the age of forty-three he united with the Bap- tist Church in Randolph, and was ever an active and consistent member of that body. He contributed lib- erally to the support of the gospel in his own town, as well as to the cause of home and foreign missions and other objects of Christian benevolence. Ever cherishing a deep love for his early home, the Baptist Church in his native town, by his exertions, was re- paired and occupied after having been closed for a number of years.
Mr. Du Bois was married Oct. 18, 1827, to Ellen R. Tucker, daughter of James and Betsey (Withing- ton) Tucker, of Stoughton, Mass. Their children were George E., born Feb. 24, 1829, and Joseph N., born Sept. 4, 1832. George E. Du Bois was married Nov. 25, 1856, to Clara P. Fowler, of Danvers, Mass., and died Nov. 3, 1859, leaving one child, Ellen T. Du Bois. For many years he was a boot and shoe commission merchant in Boston. He led an upright, Christian life, respected and beloved by all who knew him. Joseph N. Du Bois died, unmarried, May 6, 1867. He was also in the shoe business, and was kind and generous in his nature, his genial disposition winning for him many friends.
Mr. Du Bois died Oct. 19, 1862, after an illness of a few days. His hope in Jesus was a sustaining power in his last hours.
CHAPTER XIX.1
COHASSET.
Pioneer History-Reference to Hingham-Heirs of the Sachem Chickatabut-Deed from the Indians, July 4, 1665-The Pioneers : Beal, Cushing, James, Lincoln, Tower, Sutton, Bates, Kent, Nichols, Orcutt, Pratt, Stoddard-The First Settlement-Its Location-Derivation of Name of Town- Incorporation of Parish-Little Hingham-The Church- Petition for Incorporation of Town-Opposed by Hingham- Town Incorporated, April 26, 1770-Early Votes concerning Schools-Votes concerning the Revolution-Cohasset's Rep- resentative at the Boston Tea-Party-Maj. James Stod- dard-War of 1812-Shipwrecks, etc.
IT is a natural and praiseworthy feeling that leads the good men and women of New England to cele- brate the day that marks the birth of each town, to repeat the names of their fathers, and to trace the steps by which each little independent community has risen from the poverty and weakness of former times to the wealth, prosperity, and comfort of the present. The town government is the foundation of the State; attendance on town-meeting and perform- ance of town duties are precious training to the peo- ple ; and the New England youth who has wandered to the ends of the earth in search of fame or fortune looks forward to the day when he shall cast anchor near the old homestead, and hopes that, at last, his dust shall mingle with the dust of his kindred.
One hundred years ago your fathers met within these walls to receive the charter and to organize the town of Cohasset. The careful antiquarian may remind me that the word "district," instead of " town," was used in the act of the General Court, for the reason that Cohasset was still joined with Hingham in the choice of representative. But in performing municipal duties, and in bearing munici- pal burdens, in the care of roads, of the poor and of schools, in sharing the counsels of the State, and in upholding the arm of the nation, Cohasset has always shown herself to be every inch a town. And if any lingering doubts remain in your minds as to the style of your loved municipality, you will be glad to know that in 1786 it was enacted that all districts incor- porated before 1777 should be, to all intents and pur- poses, towns.
The history of the founders of Cohasset begins long before this date. For they were also among the founders of Hingham. On Sept. 18 (O. S.), 1635, Peter Hobart and twenty-nine others drew lots for homesteads, and thus organized that settlement, which
1 The following chapter was contributed by Hon. Thomas Russell, being an address delivered by him at the Centennial Anniversary of the town of Cohasset, May 7, 1870.
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had been begun two years before by a few of Mr. Hobart's townsmen from England. These earliest set- tlers bore the names of Hobart, Jacobs, Smith, and Cushing. Peter Hobart came, with his friends, from Hingham, in Norfolk County, and, like many of the early settlers, they gave to the new town the name of their old home. In his diary we read this record : " 1635, June 8 .- I, with my wife & 4 children came safely to New England June ye 8, 1635, forever prazed be the God of Heaven, my God & King." Mr. Ho- bart was a man of learning, of ability, and of zeal,-a good specimen of the strong men who, in poverty and in danger, laid the foundations of the American Em- pire.
In the early annals of your parent town we find much to remind us of their hardships. We read of bounties given for wolf-scalps ; of the meeting-house surrounded by palisades as a protection against sud- den attack ; of John Jacob slain by Indians in his wheat-field, in April, 1676; of five dwelling-houses burned during King Philip's war. Such was the welcome of your fathers to these shores. Such were the perils they gladly bore for their faith.
The horrors of King Philip's war have often been sketched. The flames that were kindled at Swanzey and Dartmouth rolled all over the land: the best blood of the youth was poured out in the meadows of Deerfield, by Turner's Falls, and in the swamps of Rhode Island. No town, no home, no man, was safe. | Yorktown, and to that greater day when another Wonderful was the devotion that, unaided and alone, man of Hingham descent proclaimed that slavery in | America was forever at an end. endured the fearful conflict.
As an illustration of the sacrifices of our ancestors, | we read that the public debt of the neighboring colony of Plymouth far exceeded the whole amount of personal property in that colony. Well may the historian feel pride in recording the fact that this debt was paid, principal and interest,-paid just as it had been agreed to be paid. Our fathers never dreamed of repudiation. And this contract-keeping people found favor with a covenant-keeping God.
Such thoughts bring us into the more immediate presence of our fathers. Well for us if we could act as in that presence and be animated by their spirit.
The militia excitement of 1644 and 1645 fills a large space in the annals of Massachusetts Bay, and for seven years disturbed the peace of Hingham. The origin of this trouble was the election of militia cap- tain, and the question involved was the right of the people to choose for themselves, without the control of the magistrates. Mr. Hobart's course was objected to by Deputy Governor Winthrop as tending to " mere democracy." He and his associates were fined for their turbulent opposition to the court. These fines were resisted, and for this resistance Mr. Hobart was once more dealt with by the court. And when, at a great wedding of a Hingham man, Mr. Hobart was invited to preach in Boston, he was forbidden by the magistrate, because, among other reasons, " he was a bold man, and would speak his mind." The people stood by their pastor, paid his fines, and held him always in higher esteem.
It is an honorable record for his many descendants to read of their ancestor, that, two hundred and twenty-five years ago, his views tended to pure dem- ocracy, and that, being a bold man, he would speak his mind. Such assertions of equal rights as he made helped to forward the day when a brave son of Hingham should receive the sword of Cornwallis at
We lose our patience as we read the story of this contest. We smile at the superstitious bigotry of Winthrop, who finds a Providential interposition when some Hingham men made light of the colony's fast, and, attempting to take a raft to Boston, were delayed a month by bad weather. But while we criticsie and smile, we should remember that Hobart and his friends were believed to threaten the powers of the rulers of the province, and that such threats imperiled the right of self-government. We know, also, that they were dreaded because they troubled the churches, and those who troubled the churches were believed to endanger souls. On both sides we find error, on both sides sincerity,-the great manly virtue from which all virtue springs. There have been men of gentler disposition than Peter Hobart, of more enlightened views than Governor Winthrop, of more refined taste, of more graceful speech than any of the Pilgrim Fathers ; but those men have no New England for their monument.
This flourishing town was greatly disturbed by the question of militia elections, and by a quarrel about the location of the second meeting-house. This quarrel I pass by as more interesting to the people of that day than to this generation. What interests us most is, that the meeting-house was finally built in 1681, and that it now stands,-the oldest church edi- fice in the United States, containing beams that were in the first meeting-house,-fragrant with old memories. We love to believe that some of the earliest comers to Massachusetts Bay have worshiped in this venerable structure, and to know that the first- Besides this internal strife, your fathers were con- born of the Pilgrims may have sat within its walls. 'stantly in danger from the savages and from the
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