USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Lexington > History of the town of Lexington, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, from its first settlement to 1868, Volume I > Part 29
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59
We cannot, however, dismiss this masterly Address with- out saying that Mr. Everett gave a succinct statement of the causes of the American Revolution, passed a justly merited eulogy upon John Hancock and Samuel Adams, commended the able and patriotic efforts of Rev. Jonas Clarke, noticed the preparations made in Lexington to meet the crisis; and of the events which occurred on the Common on the 19th of April, 1775, said: -
265
FROM THE YEAR 1830 TO 1867
"Another general volley aimed with fatal precision, succeeds. . . . Several dropped, ... killed and wounded. Captain Parker now felt the necessity of directing his men to disperse; but it was not till several of them had returned the British fire, and some of them more than once, that this handful of brave men were driven from the field."
After the close of the exercises at the church, the proces- sion again formed, and moving around the enclosed battle- ground to the Monument, the sarcophagus was placed within the iron railing in a tomb of stone masonry, prepared to re- ceive it. Three volleys of musketry were then fired over the grave, and the procession moved on to the pavilion erected near the Monument House, where a collation was prepared.
Elias Phinney, Esq., Chairman of the Committee of Ar- rangements, presided at the table. On each side of the Presi- dent were the invited guests, including Lieutenant-Governor Armstrong and Aides, Orator and Chaplains, Daniel Web- ster, Judge Story, President Quincy, Attorney-General Austin, Adjutant-General Dearborn, and others.
The sentiments given on the occasion were responded to by the distinguished guests, who passed the highest eulogiums upon Lexington and her brave minute-men.
Lexington had been blessed in her historic association and in every department of her history. This had been particu- larly true of her parochial affairs. It is a lamentable fact that the spiritual concerns of a community, which should teach them forbearance and charity, have, in many, very many instances, been the cause of more disputes and heart-burnings and have produced more rancor and bitterness than almost anything else. Lexington, as we have seen, had been an excep- tion to this too general rule for almost a century and a half.
But alas, for human nature! offences will come. As soon as Lexington became a parish, the people took measures to create a parsonage or ministerial fund, which should secure to them the means of supporting, or rather aid them in supporting, the Gospel ministry. They purchased a quantity of land and set it apart for that purpose. The original cost of the land was but about $67, which was raised by a tax upon the parish. This land, or the avails of it, have been cherished with great fondness and managed with extreme care and fidelity. In 1817, an Act was obtained, incorporating certain persons as
266
HISTORY OF LEXINGTON
Trustees of the Ministerial Fund, whose accounts were audited annually by the town. This fund in 1830 amounted to the sum of $16,600, besides a quantity of land unsold.
In that year a portion of those who had worshipped at the church of the old parish formed themselves into a Baptist society, and subsequently a second Congregational society and a Universalist society were formed in the East Village.
In 1833 an article was inserted in the Warrant for March Meeting, which gave embodiment to the feeling which pre- vailed in the eastern section of the town: -
"To see if the town will move the Old Meeting-house, or build a new one in some central place, where there can be land procured to build out-buildings; or build a new one in the East Section of the town, & settle a Minister as Colleague with Rev. Charles Briggs to supply preaching in both Houses."
The same article was inserted in the Warrant for a meeting in August of that year; and though these Articles were voted down by decided majorities, the opposition were not discour- aged or disheartened. In October, 1834, they procured the insertion of an Article in the Warrant for a town meeting: -
"To see whether the Town will petition the Legislature of this Commonwealth, at the present session either to repeal the Act en- titled 'An act to encorporate the Trustees of the Lexington Minis- terial Fund' or so to modify the same that the equal rights to said fund and the profits resulting therefrom may be secured to all the inhabitants of said town agreeably to the intention of its Ancient Founders."
This article was voted down, 120 to 64.
At a meeting, June 1, 1835, an Article was inserted in the Warrant: -
"To see if the town will authorize the trustees of the Ministerial Fund to pay to a Committee chosen for that purpose one half the income of said funds towards the support of a Congregational min- ister to preach to that part of the first Congregational society who worship in the East Village."
This Article discloses the fact that those worshipping in the East Village still claim to be members of the old society and vote in their meetings. The town refused to act upon the Article.
This contest went on for years, and town meeting after
267
FROM THE YEAR 1830 TO 1867
town meeting was called for the express purpose of obtaining a portion of this fund. Not only those who resided in the East Village, but the Baptists and Universalists, who had formed societies, claimed a share of the fund; and in order to be more successful, they all retained their membership in the old parish.
From ill health, Rev. Mr. Briggs resigned his office as pastor, and Rev. Mr. Swett was invited to take his place. But this only gave a new opportunity for the disaffected to renew their demand for a portion of the fund. It would be tiresome to go through all the details of this strife. But one thing is certain, namely, that the income of the fund was the prize sought. Like the eager heirs of a large estate, they were will- ing to sacrifice the harmony of the community and the very object of all preaching in a scramble for the means to pay the preacher.
As was natural, the opposing parties, though they had no common sympathy for each other, would unite against the stronger party and paralyze their efforts. The old society could not hold a meeting, or settle a minister, or transact their ordinary parish business, without encountering the opposi- tion of those who, in a practical point of view, had no sym- pathy with the society, being alienated, either by doctrinal sentiments or sectional feelings, from the parish. In 1845 all parties became weary of the strife and came to a mutual un- derstanding, by which the income of the fund should be di- vided between the different religious societies on the basis of the taxable property held by the members of each society respectively.
Now that the contest is over, the fund divided on a wise basis, and most of those who took the lead in that unfortunate struggle passed off the stage, we can look upon this matter impartially, and hence learn wisdom from the foibles of those who have gone before us. The character of the town has suf- fered by this bitter controversy, the effects of which have hardly yet passed away. And here Lexington does not stand alone. Almost every town which has had any considerable fund has experienced a like contest and alienation of feeling growing out of it.
On the legal rights of the case there is no room for doubt. All such funds are the property, not of the town, but of the parish. The law of Massachusetts, as expounded by the
268
HISTORY OF LEXINGTON
courts, is clear. Every original township was a parish, and the two organizations, the Municipal and the Parochial, co- existed. When a bequest was made to the town, or when the town created a fund for the support of the minister, the property vested in the parish -the town being nothing but trustee for the parish. But the case of the Lexington Fund was still stronger. The land which formed the basis of this fund was bought and paid for by the parish, nearly twenty years before the town had a being. Consequently it belonged to the parish by as good a title as is known to the law. When, therefore, a person ceased to be a member of the parish, he ceased to be a joint owner of the fund. By leaving the parish he relinquished all right in and control over this parish prop- erty. While he remained in the parish he would have a right to vote; but being a member of a corporation, he must submit to the voice of the majority. If, therefore, those people who had formed themselves into a Baptist Society, or a Universalist Society, or who worshipped at the East Village, had left the old parish, they could have no legal claim upon the fund. But if they still belonged to the old parish, they were legally bound by a vote of the majority. So that at no time during this controversy were any of their legal rights infringed.
But they claimed that they had an equitable right to their share of the fund. This certainly deserves consideration. But on what was such a claim founded? On the original intent of those who created the fund? They designed it for the support of the ministry in their parish, and not in other rival societies which would tend to break down the parish for which they were providing. Did they base their claim in equity on the fact that they were members of the parish, and should have their share of the profits of the fund? If they were members of the parish, they were bound in law and equity to abide by the voice of the majority. Did those at the East Village claim a portion of the fund on the ground that they lived at a great distance from the meeting-house? It is a notorious fact that at the time the fund was created and the meeting-house built on the Common, there was a greater proportion of the inhabit- ants at the extreme eastern and other out-parts of the town- ship, as compared with the centre, than there was when they were urging their plea.
Besides, all pleas of right imply corresponding obligations
269
FROM THE YEAR 1830 TO 1867
and duties. Suppose the parish had been in debt for their meeting-house, or for the past salaries of their ministers, would these discontented persons have been willing to be taxed to pay that indebtedness? I apprehend that, under that state of things, they would have regarded it as an act of injustice to call upon them to help pay the old debt, contracted it may be before they were born, and would have shown their unwillingness by leaving the society. And further, was it act- ing on principles of moral equity to retain their legal mem- bership, that they might be able to vote themselves a portion of this fund, when, in fact, they were members of other so- cieties, which they were laboring to build up at the expense of the old parish? The facts in the case show that those who had formed rival societies had no claim in law or equity to any portion of the fund.
At the same time the old parish were unwise in resisting the application as long as they did. A little sober reflection should have taught them that the peace and harmony of the town was worth more in a civil, social, and religious point of view than a few hundred dollars of the Ministerial Fund. They should have seen earlier than they did that a deter- mined minority would be likely to succeed in the end; that it is a safe policy to soothe rather than exasperate an opposi- tion; and that it is wiser to bestow cheerfully than to wait and be compelled to yield reluctantly. Had they not brooded over this fund so long and cherished it with so much fondness, they might have seen that the tendency of a large fund is to paralyze rather than quicken religious feeling - the great object for which the Christian ministry was instituted. They acted discreetly at last in consenting to a division, and the only pity is that it was not done at an earlier day.
We would gladly have passed over this unfortunate page in the history of this otherwise peaceful town. But the impar- tial historian should record the unpleasant events which occur, as well as those which are more agreeable. It is from this presentation of light and shade that the spirit of the age may be seen, and the true character of individuals or com- munities may be known.
The Act of the Legislature, in 1845, providing for a dis- tribution of the income of the Ministerial Fund, was accepted by the town by a unanimous vote, March 31, 1845. Thus an
.
270
HISTORY OF LEXINGTON
end was put to that unpleasant and unprofitable contro- versy.1
When that remarkable man, Louis Kossuth, former Gov- ernor of Hungary, fled from his country to escape the bar- barity of Austria, and visited the United States, he was in- vited by the Governor of Massachusetts, at the request of the Legislature, to visit our Capital and become the guest of the State. He complied with the invitation, and during his so- journ in the State visited most of the principal cities and towns, where he was received and welcomed by thousands of the inhabitants. Being an exile from his native land and an ardent lover of free institutions, he would naturally desire to visit the birthplace of American Liberty. He was invited to Lexington. On the 11th of May, 1852, he left Boston, and taking West Cambridge in his route, he was escorted by the horsemen of that and the neighboring towns to the boundary of Lexington, where he was received by the Lexington Com- mittee and a large cavalcade. The procession then moved to Lexington Common, where a rostrum had been erected near the Monument and appropriately decorated. All sides of the Common were hung with flags, tastefully arranged; at the en- trance was the inscription - "WELCOME TO THE BIRTHPLACE OF AMERICAN LIBERTY." A large concourse of people had as- sembled at the Green, and the school-children were arranged along the walk, to greet Kossuth as he passed.
On reaching the platform, Kossuth was introduced by Colonel Isaac H. Wright to Hon. Charles Hudson, Chairman of the Lexington Committee, who addressed him as fol- lows: -
"GOVERNOR KOSSUTH, - As the organ of the citizens of Lexing- ton, I bid you a cordial welcome to this quiet and peaceful village. We are assembled here this morning to pay our honors and to tender our sympathy to one who, in other lands, has so nobly vin- dicated the rights of man against the encroachments of arbitrary and despotic power. Your advocacy of human rights, your devo- tion to the best interests of your beloved country, your labors for her welfare, and your suffering in her behalf, justly commend you to the friends of free institutions throughout the world. We rejoice
1 The controversy was reopened later, as is evidenced by a pamphlet, The Origin and Ownership of the Lexington Ministerial Fund, published in 1879; but the last echoes of this ancient feud seem now to have died away. Ed.
271
FROM THE YEAR 1830 TO 1867
in this opportunity of tendering to you our unfeigned regard, and to your bleeding country our kindest sympathy.
"We welcome you to this consecrated spot, on which was shed the first blood in that glorious struggle which made us a free and prosperous people, and gave us a name among the nations of the earth. But these blessings were dearly bought. This Green has been trampled by a foreign foe. Here our fathers met their op- pressors, and this unpretending stone tells the sad story of their fate. In yonder humble dwelling,1 our domestic exiles, the pro- scribed Hancock and Adams, sought a retreat, and, like the heroes in Grecian story, consulted the patriot priest on the safety of the Commonwealth.
"But a brighter day has dawned upon our country; and some of the sainted patriots who passed through those struggles, through that wilderness of dangers, and that Red sea of blood, are here to-day to partake of the blessings of this Canaan of rest.
"So may it be with your beloved country! Though a dark cloud overshadows her, its gilded margin betokens a brighter sky, and points to the bow of promise. Your country must ultimately be free. Austria and Russia may combine against her, but their efforts cannot prosper. Let these tyrants rely upon their fortresses and their armies - let their legions come up like the locusts of Egypt; but their trust is vain.
' Jove shakes the feeble props of human trust, And towers and armies levels with the dust.'
"I again welcome you to the birthplace of American liberty, and to all the hallowed associations which cluster around this place. I welcome you to the hearts of this people."
Kossuth in his reply, speaking of those who fell on Lexing- ton Common, on the 19th of April, 1775, said: -
"It is their sacrificed blood with which is written the preface of your nation's history. Their death was and ever will be the first bloody revelation of America's destiny, and Lexington the opening scene of a revolution, that is destined to change the character of human governments, and the condition of the human race." 2
1 The Clarke House, on Hancock Street.
2 Louis Kossuth was truly a wonderful man. A stranger in our country, and only self-taught in our language, and consequently unacquainted with our history, - he passed from place to place, speaking almost daily to large assemblies, in different localities, and displaying a knowledge of the local history of each place which would actually be instructive to the permanent inhabitants. The readiness with which he acquired a knowledge of our history, general and local, was surprising. He was, in fact, a man of remarkable talents. And when we consider the persecution he had suffered in his own country, the perseverance with which he pursued his efforts for her independence, we can easily excuse any extravagant theories into which he may
272
HISTORY OF LEXINGTON
After Kossuth had finished his remarks, he was introduced to Jonathan Harrington and Amariah Preston, both soldiers of the Revolution, and each of them ninety-four years of age, and to many others of our citizens, when he visited the old Clarke House. He then moved on to Concord, where he had another public reception, made a speech, and returned to Boston the same day.
On the 26th of March, 1854, Jonathan Harrington, the last survivor of the battle of Lexington, closed his earthly career, aged ninety-five years, eight months, and eighteen days. At his funeral a large concourse of people assembled, a military procession was formed, and the greatest respect was shown to the memory of one who in his early youth had sounded the shrill notes of liberty in the ears of foreign oppressors, and had lived to witness the happy fruits of that Revolution, in the opening scene of which he had participated.1
We enter now upon that part of our history which connects us with the mighty struggle to sustain our institutions. Many of the heroes of the Revolution had lived to see the fruit of their toils and sacrifices, in the prosperity of their country. They had seen the nation in her rapid march of improvement and civilization occupying a proud position among the nations of the earth - teaching the votaries of freedom throughout the civilized world that liberty is conducive to national prosper- ity and greatness. But these sainted patriots had passed off the stage, leaving a people enjoying greater blessings than had ever before fallen to the lot of any nation; and we, their descendants, born to this rich inheritance, had almost for- gotten the sacrifices through which this vast patrimony was purchased.
The present generation considered their freedom secure. They saw the nation moving forward with gigantic strides, and our flag respected in every part of the habitable earth; knowing we had nothing to fear from any foreign power and deeming the Union of the States perpetual, they had suffered the idea of military defence to pass almost into oblivion. They had heard the threats of dissolving the Union, but they
have fallen, and any impatience he may have manifested at what he regarded the backwardness of this country in entering into his visionary scheme of delivering Hungary from the yoke of Austria.
1 See Genealogy of the Harrington Family, 1st edition. Ed.
273
FROM THE YEAR 1830 TO 1867
regarded them as the idle vaunting of the reckless few, scarcely worthy of a moment's consideration. And when they saw a few factious leaders of a restless and disappointed minority quitting their seats in Congress for no other con- ceivable reason than that they were out-voted at the polls, they could not believe that they would dare to raise a parrici- dal hand against the country which bore them. Such was the confidence of the great mass of the people in the permanence of the Union, and in the love of country which prevailed even at the South, that they could hardly dream of taking up arms against their Southern brethren; fondly believing that decrees of secession, like paper blockades, would prove per- fectly harmless in the end. And it was not till the air rever- berated with the thunders of the artillery opened upon Fort Sumter that the mass of our people realized that there was any occasion for buckling on their armor in defence of their rights.
Fort Sumter was attacked on the 12th of April and taken possession of on the 14th. On the 15th of April, 1861, the President issued his proclamation, calling for troops. Several regiments in Massachusetts responded at once to the call. Though Lexington, like most of the country towns, had no organized company, several of our young men volunteered and enlisted in companies out of town which were under marching orders. An effort was made to raise a company in Lexington; but there being no manufacturing or other busi- ness to retain the young men in the place, it was found dif- ficult to obtain a full company in the town, and hence they united with a neighboring town, in the hope of gathering one. While this effort was being made, a town meeting was held, at which it was unanimously voted to appropriate the sum of four thousand dollars to aid the cause. A large committee was chosen to disburse the same, as far as might be necessary, to encourage enlistments, and to supply the wants of the families of those who should enter the service for the period of three months - that being the only term then required. Immediately after this appropriation, and before the com- pany was full, the President announced that no more three- months' men would be accepted; but that all volunteers must enlist for three years. In the mean time the State Legislature assembled and passed an Act confirming contracts already made by towns in aid of enlistments, and virtually prohibit-
274
HISTORY OF LEXINGTON
ing such appropriations in future. This changed the whole state of affairs; and the company, nearly filled, not choosing to offer themselves for a three years' service, the Committee felt constrained to confine their expenditures to the amount already contracted for. The sum actually expended for clothing, drill-officers, and for supplying the families of sol- diers in service amounted to about six hundred dollars; and the Committee in their Report, submitted to the town, say : -
"In view of the whole subject, the Committee believe that the money by them disbursed has, under the peculiar and exciting state of things, under which they were called to act, been expended in such a manner as to aid the great cause we all have at heart, by con- tributing to the confort of the gallant men who have entered the service and of the families they have left behind them."
Under the novel state of things existing at the breaking-out of the Rebellion, and with the patriotic enthusiasm of the people, it is not strange that errors were committed and un- wise expenditures made in very many cases; but the Town Records of Lexington show that while she had patriotism enough to make a generous appropriation to encourage men to enter the service, and to provide for the comfort of them and their families, she had at the same time wisdom and pru- dence sufficient to guide her emotions, and to expend no more than seemed to be conducive to those ends.
While some of our neighboring towns, at the commence- ment of the war, expended thousands of dollars in a way which they themselves, at a later period, saw to be fruitless, Lexington can look back upon her early expenditures with a conviction that they were judicious, and that the balance of the appropriation was more wisely and usefully applied at a later period than it could have been during the first six months of the war.
But the efforts of the town and the liberality of her citizens did not stop here. On the 2d of July, 1862, the people were called together, "To see what measures the town will adopt in relation to furnishing the Town's quota of Soldiers under the call of the President of the United States."
The people having convened, the following preamble and vote were adopted: -
"Whereas the present alarming state of the Country requires that
275
FROM THE YEAR 1830 TO 1867
large reinforcements should be sent forward without delay to sus- tain our gallant soldiers now in the field, and to put down the exist- ing unrighteous rebellion; and the devoted President of the United States in the discharge of his official duty, has made an appeal to the patriotism of the people, and the Governor of the Common- wealth, prompt to every such appeal, has designated the quota of men required of every town: - And whereas the Town of Lexington was the first to seal her devotion to freedom and equal rights in 1775, and the blood of her slaughtered citizens cries to us from the ground to sustain the cause in which they offered themselves a living sacrifice; and as every citizen is under the most sacred obligation to bear his share, if not in the perils, yet in the burdens and sacrifices of this righteous contest, and bound to encourage, support, and sustain those who obey their country's call, and man- fully enrol themselves in defence of our dearest rights and privi- leges, It is therefore, in open Town Meeting legally called for the purpose,
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.