USA > Massachusetts > Franklin County > Ashfield > History of the town of Ashfield, Franklin County, Massachusetts from its settlement in 1742 to 1910 > Part 23
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Rev. Dr. Wm. P. Payne of Holden, a native of Ashfield, then delivered an Historical Address, which we hope to be able to publish. It was long and able. He said the first permanent settlement was made in 1741, by Richard Ellis, a smart, friend- less Irish boy. This place was first called Huntstown, in honor of Capt. Ephraim Hunt of Weymouth, to whom and company some of the land was given by the State for their military ser- vices. Its present name-changed at the date of incorporation -was probably suggested by the ash trees that thrive naturally here. The place curiously rises and falls in population. In 1761, there were nineteen families; 1n 1774 there were only twelve. In 1820, it had its largest population, near 1,800; now it is estimated at 1,300. Not less than five religious denominations have flourished here. At present, two Congregational and one Episcopal service are fully maintained. Once everybody went to church, and there was no respectability in staying at home. Now things have changed. The educational privileges of Ash- field have generally been good. Here Mary Lyon, of Mt. Holyoke seminary fame, attended school, and just over the Ashfield line, in the town of Buckland, she was born. Here, too, Alvan Clark, the great telescopic inventor, received his early impressions, Twenty-five ministers of the gospel can claim Ashfield as a birthplace-more than any other town in Franklin county-eight physicians, seven lawyers, thirteen ministers'
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wives, seven doctors' wives, one lawyer's wife, and one member of Congress. Thirty of the citizens have received a college education. This place was once noted for its distillation of essences, and is still for the manufacture of wooden wares. The first machine for planing boards on both sides at once, originated here.
At the close of the address there was music by the band, after which Rev. John Alden of Providence, R. I., another native, delivered a poem.
This closed the exercises at the grove and the procession formed and under escort of the band, marched to a large tent south of the east end of the Plain, where dinner was provided for six hundred, and all of the places were occupied. Divine blessing was invoked by Rev. Francis Williams of Connecticut. After the appetite was satisfied, Mr. Dawes, acting as toast- master, gave the following:
The sacred memory of our Fathers.
Responded to by the Band, with "Yankee Doodle."
The town of Ashfield-The only town of the name in the world. May she continue to raise ministers, and send messengers of peace and call-Porters to all parts of the earth.
Responded to by Rev. Chas. S. Porter of Boston. His was an eloquent, political, religious address of about half an hour, and was delivered with manly spirit and grace. His theme was "The value of a man, " and he showed by allusions both to America's greatest and meanest men, how usefulness depended on moral worth, and how what a man will do depends on what he is. He said that personal Christianity was the surest guaranty of national preservation, and that unless religion and education were cherished, the next centennial would find us in the black- ness of darkness. The war of the races, the Protestant with the papal, was predicted, and Lafayette quoted as saying to Wash- ington that if ever our government was overthrown it would be by the papacy. He complimented Mary Lyon and Alvan Clarke, the former the founder of Mount Holyoke Seminary, and the
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latter the greatest telescope maker in the world, as loeal pro- duets, and said it was enough for a town to produee either in a century.
The duties of patriotism paramount to those of party.
Responded to by Hon. Whiting Griswold of Greenfield.
The churches of Ashfield-Their flocks hail with pleasure the return of their first Shepherd.
Responded to by Rev. Dr. Shepard of Bristol, the fourth pastor of Ashfield. He stated that the greater part of his old floek was in the graveyard. His reminiscenees of the time he was pastor were very interesting.
A letter was then read from Alvan Clarke, regretting his inability to be present.
The following Hymn by a native of Ashfield, was then sung:
HYMN
Jehovah, Lord! Our Father's God, Adored be thy grace That 'mid these hills and mountains strong Gave us our dwelling place.
'Mid Summer's heat and Winter's cold
An endless round of toil, Fathers and sons have passed their years, Blest tillers of the soil.
Peace reigned, and plenteous harvests waved,
And learning's page shone bright;
Religion, too, her solace gave In sorrow's troubled night.
And when war brayed to war, we stood, To God and Country true; Our native breath is Freedom's air; All men should breathe it too.
Both despot and the slave alike These mountain heights disown; All must be free and loyal too, These templed hills among.
Witness, ye Heavens! Thou rolling sun! To God and Liberty! We consecrate these mountain homes, This birth-place of the Free.
May coming centuries forswear Both Slavery and the Sword, And all earth's swarming millions be The Freemen of the Lord.
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The oldest inhabitant-Her life is the only bridge left standing which spans the entire century.
Referring to Mrs. Eunice Forbes, who is 102 years, 9 months and 6 days of age. Three cheers were given with a will for the oldest inhabitant.
The Ashfield Smiths-A long ancestral line-Preserved on the ocean-Preserved in history-may the intelligence and moral worth of their characters be Preserved as a lesson for this and future generations.
Responded to by Dr. A. P. Phillips of Chautauqua County, New York, a descendant of them.
Our Representative in Congress-Faithful to his constituents, alike in State and National councils.
Hon. Wm. B. Washburn of this town, responded to the above in a very happy manner, speaking chiefly upon the events of the past few years, and the duties of the hour.
Our Soldiers-Crowns and honors belong to the gallant de- fenders of our country's flag. And for those martyred heroes who have gone down through the valley and the shadow of death from the pest prisons of the South, their names and memo- ries shall be held sacred and enshrined in the hearts of a free and grateful people.
Responded to by a patriotic song, "Tramp, Tramp," from the Simpson Brothers, Mrs. John B. Simpson, who is 81 years old, being with her whole family, five sons and two daughters, present. They had come home from Mississippi, New York, Wisconsin and Canada to be present at the celebration and met for the second time in thirty-three years.
The following poem by Mrs. Geo. C. Goodwin, was then read by Mr. Goodwin:
POEM
One hundred years ago, our hills Clad in their June day dress Smiled as if conscious of their own Exceeding loveliness; And brooks and rills leaped from the shade To meet the sun's caress.
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With sturdy blows the woodman's axe The slumbering echoes woke, And robins twittering to their mates, The dawn's gray stillness broke, While to the trees the whispering winds Their tender secrets spoke.
The wild rose and the fragrant fern Perfumed the summer air, And lent their wealth of bloom to crown The blushing maiden's hair, Who listened 'neath the sheltering trees ¡To her fond lover's prayer.
Sweet children's voices rippled then In careless, gushing mirth, And spring-like faces shed their light Around the humble hearth; While strong men lived and women loved As since the fair world's birth.
To-day the earth is just as fair As in that far-off June; The summer mornings fly as swift To meet the year's bright noon, And trees and birds and childish tongues Blend in as sweet a tune.
But where are those who lived and loved One hundred years ago, Who wrought with patient hands that we Might only plenty know? In nameless and forgotten graves Their bones are lying low.
Their names are lost, yet their fair deeds Live in the hearts of men, And on our history's proudest page Are writ with diamond pen; And still their foot-prints may be seen On meadow, hill and glen.
To break the harsh oppressor's chains, Those brave men fought and died; Their blood has mingled with our soil And stained our water's tide, And with our country's bravest sons They slumber side by side.
Our fathers toiled and fought to make A home for freemen brave; Our sons have given their precious lives That freemen's home to save, That o'er a land baptized in blood, Our honored flag may wave.
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They left for us a heritage Better than gold or lands; The memory of their faith and prayers The century's drifting sands Have not effaced; their incense still Strengthens our hearts and hands.
Long may our homes a shelter be For those who love the right; Long may the white-robed angel, Peace, Bathe them in purest light; And nevermore may war's foul breath Sweep o'er them with its blight.
All honor to the strong and true, Who from their labors rest, Whose brows now wear the victor's crowns, With those whom Christ has blessed; Long may our children keep their faith, An honored, rich bequest.
The Poet of the day.
Response by Rev. John Alden.
The Orator of the day-We congratulate ourselves that we have been to the Paines to secure a Paines-worthy address for this occasion.
Response by Dr. W. P. Paine.
The Christian philanthropists in the Army of our Union-Their name was legion, yet we gave them one Moor.
Responded to by Rev. J. F. Moors of Greenfield, in his usual happy and ready manner.
The delegation from the West-We welcome you here on this historic ground, alike sacred and dear to us all; and may your long journey be a type of the fraternal feelings which shall always exist between us.
Response by Sidney Smith of Greenfield, who is always ready and appropriate in his remarks.
Ashfield, her best productions.
Response by Rev. Francis Williams of Connecticut.
The memory of the late Hon. Elijah Paine.
Response by Rev. John C. Paine.
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Letters were read from Gov. Andrew, Alvan Clarke, and Hon. Francis Gillet, and the following parting hymn, by a native of Ashfield, sung:
PARTING HYMN
And now we are to sever,
We'll sing a song of praise; We meet again, no, never, In this our native place. Sweet, sweet has been our meeting,
Our farewells are not sad;
This day preserved in Mem'ry
Shall help to make life glad.
We'll take again our armor,
Rush to the thickest fight,
Stand firm each by the other,
Heaven's Palms and Crown's in sight.
And then put off the mortal, Conquerors thro' Him who died,
And meet again 'yond Jordan With all Heaven's glorified.
A tear for those who've fallen, And gone before to rest; They've fought life's battle bravely,
Equalled in all the best. We, we who have outlived them,
Will keep their mem'ries bright, Prolong their bold endeavor To re-enthrone the Right.
Dissolve this vast assembly,
Seek each his home again; Peace go with every exile, God keep all who remain. And for the sake of Jesus, Whose praise Creation fills, Oh! God of Israel bless Old Huntstown on the hills.
There were fireworks in the evening, and everything passed off in a very satisfactory manner, with the exception of a little confusion at the entrance to the dinner table.
Among the natives or former residents present, were Rev. Dr. Thomas Shepard of Bristol, R. I., Rev. John Alden of Providence, R. I., Rev. Dr. W. P. Paine, Rev. John C. Paine, Rev. C. S. Porter, Wells Porter, Esq., of Cleveland, Ohio, At- torney-at-Law, Rev. Francis Williams of Connecticut, Rev.
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Willard Brigham, Hon. H. L. Dawes, and Levi Cook, Esq., of Pittsfield, Chas. Baldwin and Augustus Knowlton of New York, Aaron Fuller, Edmund Bement, A. F. Ranney, J. H. Bassett, and Dr. H. B. Phillips of Central and Western New York, Nathan Loomis, Esq., of West Springfield, Alonzo Lilly and George C. Goodwin, Esqs., of Boston, Dr. Elbridge Simpson, and Joel T. Simpson, Esq., of Hudson, N. Y., Dr. F. Henry Simpson of Poughkeepsie, Frederic Simpson of Wisconsin, and Albert Simpson of Columbus, Miss. We also noticed Maj. Sylvester Smith of Hadley, General Howland of Conway, Judge Grennell of Greenfield, and other aged gentlemen.
Before the dinner hour several of the 34th boys arrived home and were received with cheers.
We give a few extracts from Rev. Dr. Wm. P. Paine's most excellent address. The strictly historical portions are omitted as they are given in Dr. Shepard's sketch, and in different parts of this book.
Natives, citizens, and former residents of good old Ashfield, we salute you; and more, also, we cordially greet those who, like yourself, Mr. President, are half natives, especially if it be their better half.
First of all, let us devoutly and gratefully recognize a benefi- cent Providence in the occasion which has brought us together. Some of us have been looking forward with lively interest for these many years to this day, and now by a merciful and watch- ful Providence we are permitted to enjoy the fervent desire of our throbbing hearts. But not all are here who once hoped to be, and whom we once hoped to meet, for before the century came to a close, they fell by the way. But, ye departed ones, ye are not forgotten to-day. We miss you, we hallow your memories. The departure of some of you excites the tenderest emotions of sympathizing and bleeding hearts. Concerning you the secret language of many of this multitude now is, "O if the deceased parent, the child, the husband, the wife, the brother, the sister, might have mingled with us in the social festivities of this day, what a sable cloud now hanging over the spirits would have been without form, and what a delightful charm would have been added to the occasion !" And ye reverend fathers, also, who lived and served in former generations, and who had no more expectation of meeting your children here
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to-day, than we now have of meeting ours at the expiration of another one hundred years-be assured that you are not forgotten, but are tenderly, honorably remembered. It is due you, that in these festivities you have a very large place in our memories, and hearts, and words. We discern your foot- steps all about us. Your plastic hands are visible on memo- rials of former years, which everywhere now attract special attention. You laid good foundations for our pleasant super- structures; you sowed precious seed, whose fruits your children have garnered up. This day is more hallowed on account of the past than of the present-of the dead than of the living.
While those honored sires who with a spirit so noble and self-sacrificing, bore the burden and heat of the day, are resting in silence, let us, who still are in the midst of the activities of a fleeting life, be careful to lay as good foundations, and leave as rich an inheritance to our successors, as our honored fathers have left for us.
A centennial celebration is a great occasion-great in memo- ries, great in instruction, great in pleasure, and it furnishes a store-house of great things to be remembered and rehearsed in years to come. Often will the children of this assembly speak, when they are old, to children who shall succeed them, of things said and done and felt this day. No individual enjoys but one such day. If an exception here and there could be found, it is so rare that it need not be taken into account. Comparatively few indeed are blest with a participation in the festivities of a single such memorial occasion. Through a beneficent Provi- dence, we are of the happy few; and we who are gathered here from our dispersions, are of one heart and one mind. We will be to-day at least, a band of loving brothers. If there has ever been, by misunderstanding or wrong, a feeling of alienation, it must now cease, or for one day at least be suspended. If there has ever, perchance, been a discordant string, the harps must now be attuned to the sweetest melody, for we are a band of brothers, and we will have the pleasure of esteeming and being esteemed, of loving and being loved.
Many of us have come home, and we wish now to tell our experience while absent from the place of our nativity and childhood. We did not go away because we did not love our homes and neighbors, and hills, and streams, and lakes and walks. All these were very dear, nevertheless we soon learned that we had underprized them. And as we have wandered about, and made new observations, and especially as we have grown a little
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older and harder to be pleased, we have been increasingly im- pressed that our good old native town, where we early slept and waked, babbled and frisked, and sat around the liberal old- fashioned fire-place, (what an institution that! shame on the little modern inventions to keep one warm) and heard then and there wonderful stories of wonderful things, and in childish innocency went to school and to church, this town, we say, is the finest on the face of the earth to make one feel free and easy and happy, for we have never felt since as before. We say without reserve that we have never found another place that has begun to do what this did to drive dull care away and paint bright visions of the future. In no other place have the skies appeared so bright, nor the sun so luminous, nor the moon so silvery, nor the stars so vocal, nor the hills so enchanting, nor a walk by the rippling brooks so much like a talk with those we love; no other groves have been filled with such music, no other birds have been clad with such beautiful plumage, and have sung so sweetly, no other friends have been so nearly perfect, and so warmly loved and so steadfastly remembered, and no other joys have been half so gushing and unmingled. This is the im- pression with which we live over the days and scenes of our early years in this beloved and never to be forgotten place, and under which we now have come home. Whosoever speaks evil of this dear spot, may know that he shall meet the withering protest of those jealous and ever fresh experiences of our childhood. The richest blessings ever rest upon thee, our dear and hallowed native town.
In performing the duty, on this first centennial celebration of the town, which I have the honor to have had assigned to me, I shall attempt to give something like a semi-historical address. Though the occasion permits but little detail of the annals of the century, it ought not to pass without as much reference as time will consistently furnish, to the condition and deeds of those to whose special instrumentality the town is indebted for its growth and prosperity. It is particularly pertinent that the earliest historical incidents of the place should be honored in our review. While there are some important things connected with the settlement of the town and the first years of its history, which are either entirely unknown or the authenticity of which is too vague and doubtful to constitute items of reliable history, yet in relation to the earliest years of the place, to its very be- ginning, there is much that is novel and pleasing, and instruc- tive, over which time has cast no veil, and from which the clearest records remove every doubt. Instead of referring, as I
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pass along, to sources from which incidents and information have been gathercd, I will here state that I am indebted chiefly, for the items presented, to the Proprietors' records and those of the town, and to a valuable manuscript prepared with much labor by Rev. Thomas Shepard, D.D., of Bristol, R. I., and formerly pastor of the Congregational church in this place. Your town clerk, Henry S. Ranney, Esq., by his studious and able attention to the past history of the place, has been of essential assistance. In this connection, I beg leave to say that in my judgment, the time has come when a history of the town should be prepared and published. Without further delay, let the fragments be gathered up, that nothing be lost.
Of the old meetinghouse which stood in what is now the ceme- tery on the Plain, he says:
It was used as a place of worship about forty-three years, till the year 1814. A few of us have very vivid recollections of the old structure. We associate with it very venerable and peculiar reminiscences. In making choice of the location there seemed to be a plan to make the structure inspire awe and fear, for it had a grave-yard on one side, a dense woods on two sides and the front peered out as if to keep a kind of grim watch over the transactions of men and especially the guilty. When turbulent children were told that if they did not mend their ways they would be shut up in the meeting house, it was quite enough. No one held out any longer in his perverseness. The idea of those days seemed to be that there was something too airy and fanciful in paint for the sanctuary of the Lord, so they were careful that nothing but nature's hue should adorn the house, either within or without. That the Sabbath day might not be disturbed by noise, no bell was used to gather together the assembly, and that there might be no temptation for those less sedate to ask for a bell, care was taken that no place should be provided for it to play in. Lest some of somniferous tempera- ment might be disposed to adjust themselves for a nap during service, (which was usually little short of two hours long) the most skillful men in devising uncomfortable pens and seats seemed to have been employed in building the house, and to have had most admirable success, and as if to teach the wor- shippers that the privileges of sanctuary service were worth a large amount of self-denial and suffering, not only was all arti- ficial heat carefully excluded from the good old house in winter, but large crevices were kept open on the north and west sides
-
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during the rigor of the season. That the boys might be taught to preserve a suitable degree of patience and quietness during the protracted services, when their bodies were half congealed, good and faithful tithing men, with stentorian voices and long poles, were stationed at convenient distances to preserve order, and it was no uncommon occurrence for the pulpit exercises to be suspended, while these grave officials walked their beat and put a squad of restless boys to rights. That the house might not be "daubed with untempered mortar," it was as destitute of plastering as of paint, and so it was ceiled from floor to roof, and overhead as underfoot, and boards of such dimensions! A boy would estimate them from four to six feet wide. Why, it would seem that it would require fully half a dozen trees, such as these forest trees now produce to make one such board. There are some here, I doubt not, who are now calling to mind some per- sonal experiences in purloining and appropriating to various uses this remarkable lumber, after the house ceased to be occupied as a place of worship, if not a little before, for it stood several years in a dilapidated state, disappearing by piecemeals, as each one had need. The octagonal and elaborately wrought sounding board was a marked feature of the house, doubtless occupying more of the thoughts of the curious, as to the fasten- ings and why it did not fall onto the minister's head, than did the sermon or any part of the service. But yet those days were not to be despised. They were fully as bright and halcyon as any that have succeeded. Every one was constant at church. There was no respectability in absenting one's self from meeting, or in any way desecrating the Sabbath. If one was seen passing, except in going to or from church, it almost certainly indicated sickness at home and that a messenger was bound for the doctor.
In this connection the name and labors of Rev. Alvan San- derson should again be honorably introduced. He was an ardent friend of the young, and was unwearied in his efforts to give them facilities for instruction. While yet actively engaged in pastoral services, which he did not suffer to be light, he was accustomed to gather the youth together for the purpose of teaching them personally, the rudiments of education. In some sections of the town he appointed evening schools for this purpose. The result was quite manifest in increasing desire and enthusiasm to obtain an extended education. When his labors ceased, by reason of his consumptive tendency, he put in operation, means, using his own funds chiefly, to establish an Academy in this place. He purchased a building on the hill near where the meeting house then stood, removed it to its
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present site, put it into a convenient form, (convenient for those days) and opened a grammar and classical school in the spring of 1816. Here the youth of the place at a mere nominal expense, might receive a good business education, and one preparatory. Many residents of this, and other towns, in the early and palmy days of the Institution, availed themselves of its privileges, and a speedy change in good order, intelligence and intellectual aspirations, was marked. Many were prepared for college who have served in the various professions, and in business with honor and success. The good influence of this enterprise has been quite manifest in the history of the town for the last half century. The Institution was incorporated in 1821, by the name of "Sanderson's Academy." The founder left a fund, which was increased by private subscription, and for some years the Institution had a glorious career, being through the whole year in successful operation. It now has many sons and daugh- ters ready to rise up and do it homage. We must not omit to mention that this is the place and the Academy where Mary Lyon received her first educational impressions and impulses. It was here that she first began to feel that there was a possi- bility of making her influence felt beyond the precincts of home. This fact she often subsequently affirmed. It is an honor of which any place should be proud, of giving form and influence to such a mind.
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