USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Manchester > History of the town of Manchester, Essex County, Massachusetts, 1645-1895 > Part 24
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This Volume fitly closes with the Addresses given on this memorable occasion. The briefer Addresses are given from the excellent stenographic reports of the Boston Journal.
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ADDRESS BY HENRY C. LEACH, ESQ., President of the Day.
Friends and Fellow-Citizens: Manchester is "at home " to- day. In her name and on behalf of the Committee of Arrange- ments I welcome most cordially every person within her borders.
For two hundred and fifty years Manchester has lived under a town government as a self-respecting, law-abiding commu- nity; holding fast to the principles which brought our fathers to these shores, proud of their Puritan ancestry and all that Puritanism stood for, in the contest between King and Parlia- ment that marked the earlier years of New England's settle- ment. She has been a loyal daughter of the Commonwealth, responding with patriotic alacrity to any call from the Su- preme Executive, the Governor, provided always that the Governor was the choice of a free people and not the repre- sentative of royal authority from over the sea.
The men who settled Manchester were representatives of the sturdy Independents who made the rank and file of Crom- well's army. They were not " forehanded," for the land and sea must yield them a living as the reward of hard work. The records do not disclose any man of special prominence in the learned professions. Law, theology and medicine seem to have been neglected, save as her people obeyed the first, with becoming humility illustrated the second, and accepted the latter as a mysterious dispensation of Providence.
The town has not produced many men with, using the old form, " a liberal education," but she has sent to all parts of the world a class of men highly educated in a " knowledge of men and things." The shipmasters of Manchester were worthy descendants of that class of men who, under Blake and Hawkins, made the navy of England famous.
Her sons commanded the ships of Derby, of Gray, of Pea- body, and of Ropes, and other sons were before the mast as sailors, competing in all ports of the world with the merchants of England.
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Manchester men were not wanting in the almost perpetual conflict between the whites and the Indians. You find them along the coast of Maine, pushing their way through the wil- derness to the St. Lawrence, where Sergeant Jacob Allen (whose great-grandson, Senator Galloup, sits on this platform) helped plant the flag of the colonies on the walls of Quebec.
The war of the Revolution found prompt and hearty sup- porters in Manchester, from the first sound of battle at Lex- ington down to the surrender at Yorktown. Maj. Eleazer Crafts of our town marched with his regiment to the support of Gates at Saratoga, and took part in that decisive conflict. (His grandson, Eleazer Crafts, is present to-day.) But the greater number of men from Manchester in that war were on the sea in the naval and privateer service. Two brothers, Eze- kiel and Benjamin Leach, First Lieutenant and sailing mas- ter on board a privateer, were captured and spent three long years at Dartmoor, enduring many hardships. There is a tra- dition that among the men who managed the boat which car- ried Washington and his fortunes over the Delaware on that stormy night was the late Mr. Daniel Kelham, well known to our older citizens.
As the nation enlarged its borders, the energetic and capa- ble young men of our town turned from the dangers and risks of a sailor's life to the equal risk and danger of the new and untried life to be found in the South and West. They were among the first to carry New England thrift and enterprise into the South and the West, beyond the Mississippi, and across the Rocky Mountains. In New Orleans, Memphis, St. Louis, as early as 1830 and 1834, your sons had established themselves in business life. As early as 1846, attached to the Rifle Regiment under Colonel Loring, our fellow-citizen, Wil- liam II. Tappan, had made the march across the plains and the mountains to Oregon, blazing a trail for the multitudes that have since followed.
Among the earliest emigrants to California were the men of this town. Some of them went on foot from the Missouri River to the Pacific coast, others made the long voyage by sail around Cape Horn. Capt. John Carter, the last survivor of the old ship masters, still living and honored among us to- day, commanded the brig Benjamin L. Allen, owned, officered,
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equipped and sailed by Manchester men in a voyage from Bos- ton to San Francisco.
Manchester contributed her best blood and brain in the building up of the states of California and Oregon. Among the first organized bands of emigrants from New England to Kansas was one led by Samuel F. Tappan, who did heroic ser- vice in the struggle to make Kansas a free state, and won mil- itary success in command of the First Colorado Cavalry during the War of the Rebellion.
Other Manchester men were active and prominent in the settlement of Kansas, Colorado, Montana, and other Western States. Many of them, with their descendants, are to-day active in the business and political life of those states.
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We recognize the changes which have come over the town. The little village by the sea, with its homogeneous population, has become metropolitan in its habits and cosmopolitan as to population. The primitive has given place to the modern. The "good old times " are only a tradition.
"You may build more stately habitations, but you cannot buy with gold the old associations." Unchanged and un- changeable is our love for the old town and the old associa- tions. Unchanged, also, is "old ocean's wild and solitary waste." "Just as creation's morn beheld her we behold her now."
And so long as the waves of ocean shall "dash them- selves to idle foam" upon your rock-bound shore, the sons and daughters of Manchester, at home and abroad, will be true to all that makes for the peace, prosperity, and happiness of this embryo city by the sea.
ADDRESSES AT THE COLLATION.
A. S. JEWETT, EsQ., Chairman of the Board of Selectmen.
Mr. President, ladies and gentlemen, and friends: We meet to-day to commemorate an event of great historic im- portance. In emphasizing this particular day, we claim no special patent. It is a custom, as old as the ages, among all
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races and conditions of men, to mark the epochs of their his- tory by exercises flattering to their local or national pride. The mind is fond of instituting comparisons, and passing in review the various stages of growth and development.
The life of a town never ceases to interest its true sons and daughters, wherever they may be located, or however situated. Let us picture in our minds William Jeffries, the early ex- plorer, silently threading his way, in his little shallop, down the coast, up the harbor, through the creek to the highest navigable point; thence disembarking, he selects a suitable spot for his habitation. Years roll by; the last trace of the humble cottage has disappeared long since, but upon the site of the lowly fisherman's home there now appears the stately mansion, fit residence for royalty.
Many will recall the appearance of our wharves fifty years or more ago, with all of their bustling activity, as the freighters from the neighboring city discharged their cargoes of assorted wares and brought the news from the outer world. The old stage coach, unfamiliar to the present generation, was once the centre of local news, and its welcome appearance stirred the lethargy of village life. Some of you have also been thinking of the changes that have come to pass in the indus- tries of the place. Years ago we were accustomed to boast of the many famous captains who carried our flag to every foreign shore, but of whom there now remains only a memory.
Others recall the first cabinet shop, located in a distant part of the town, and that it was by the energy of a descend- ant of one of the first settlers that the town became noted for the excellence of its work. A survey of the past is profitable if it can be used as a stepping stone to the future. It is the ever living present with which we have to deal. In the changed condition of affairs is it not wise to so adjust our- selves that we can make the most of every favorable opportu- nity ? While all about us signs of social discontent are apparent, have we not cause for thankfulness that one of our large-hearted citizens has manifested his interest in the town by the erection of an enduring granite structure, fit memorial of the noble dead, and also a repository of the world's best thought ? Ere long upon our Common there will be erected a beautiful fountain, a loving memorial to one whose benefac- tions were countless.
We welcome you again to the fullest enjoyment of our
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matchless seenery and unrivalled rockbound coast. Nature here lavishes her gifts with prodigal hands. "To him who in the love of nature holds communion with her visible forms she speaks a various language." We have here a heritage which cannot be invalidated. Why sigh for title deeds ? The truly artistie soul cannot be robbed of the boundless wealth which lavish nature presents to the view. In behalf of this good old town, radiant in its summer glory, I bid you welcome, thriee welcome, and may the memory of this day, with all its hallowed associations, be a helpful influenee and an inspiration for good for years to come.
The LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR, the Orator of the Day, on being called upon, made some most felicitous remarks upon the value of celebrations like the present in foster- ing public spirit, promoting acquaintance and good fellowship, and resulting in a larger life. The speech is omitted for want of room.
REV. D. F. LAMSON, Historian of the Town.
Mr. President: In view of the lateness of the hour and of the good things which we have already enjoyed, and of the other good things which are yet in store for us, I think I will omit some things that I intended to say at the outset with re- gard to the spirit of history, and you are at liberty to assume, if you choose, that this would have been the best part of my speech.
No one can rightly understand past times, or interpret rightly publie events, who is not acquainted with the way in which people lived, how they dressed and talked, what amuse- ments they had, what books they read, what was the daily atmosphere of their homes. It was with this principle in view, however poorly it may have been aeted upon, that the history of the town has been written.
Your historian is reminded on the present occasion of the contrast between the fare of which we have just partaken and that which was served on these shores two hundred and fifty years ago to-day. Whatever may have been the viands upon the tables of our forefathers, it is safe to say that there
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was a less elaborate spread; not but that our forefathers had something to eat usually, even though at times they might have been fain to suck of the abundance of the seas and of the treasures hid in the sands, for which they were duly grateful, and for which, with the self-consciousness of the age, they were careful duly to record their gratitude.
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But our forefathers had no doubt an advantage of us in one respect. If it be true, as is often implied, that plain living and high thinking are inseparable, why, then it follows that our forefathers were better off than we are; for they had plain living, and, ergo, they must have had high thinking, while we do not have plain living, and, ergo, we cannot have high thinking. If there is any fallacy in this reasoning, Mr. Presi- dent, I hope you will not be over-critical. The present occa- sion is not one in which too much should be expected of a man in the way of strict reasoning.
There is one other thing, that has taken the form of a query in my mind, and that is whether, after all, the difference between our modern civilization, on which we so much pride ourselves, and the civilization of a former age, was not some- what like the difference between our fare to-day and the fare of two hundred and fifty years ago; that is, that it consists, in part at least, in a more elaborate spread. I must confess, Mr. President, I feel unequal to settle this question. I must leave it to wiser heads than that of the historian. I have always found that it is a deal easier to ask questions than to answer them. But, speaking of the Puritans, whatever they may have been, with all their limitations, with all their foibles and their mistakes - and it is easy to exaggerate these things, and there are persons, I suppose, who find delight in secing spots on the face of the sun -we must acknowledge that they were men of great excellences, of excellences which their smail detractors are not able to appreciate or understand. When we think of them as clinging to these rugged shores, wresting a subsist- ence from the stormy seas, planting their dwellings in the dark and impenetrable forests, carrying on their daily work under the pressure of constant fear and anxiety and danger, "one hand on the mason's trowel and one on the soldier's
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sword," laying broad the foundations on which those who were to come after them were to build, sowing the seeds of harvests which other men were to reap, we cannot withhold from them the tribute of a sincere admiration and reverence.
RICHARD H. DANA, EsQ. Mr. Chairman, and Ladies and Gentlemen:
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It is perhaps a peculiar coincidence that my grandfather, who was the first summer resident, as it is called here, happens to be a descendant of no less than six of the summer residents on board the "Arbella," who one pleasant summer morning stayed here for an hour or two on their way to Salem, includ- ing among them Thomas Dudley, and one or two others of the distinguished persons who were on board of that vessel, Mr. Simon Bradstreet among the others.
But to come down to the fifty-one or fifty-two years ago when my grandfather was the first here, it seems a simple enough thing for us who are used to it to think of the con- dition of a New England town, but it is something so unique in the world at large that it might be worth while pausing for a moment to ask, What would be an English farming town of the size of Manchester in 1844 or 1845 ? Why, it would be a collection of tenant farms. This was a collection of land own- ers, owning their premises in fee simple, self-respecting, self- ruling men, educated, and composed largely of farmers and sea captains, and just beginning manufactures. Among them, as the pastor of the church - there was only one then, the Con- gregational Church - was Rev. Oliver A. Taylor, a man whose reputation spread far beyond this town, and my grandfather made a trip all the way from the end of the Cape, at Pigeon Cove, where he was then staying, to see Mr. Taylor; and it was Mr. Taylor, during the four or five years that my grandfather stayed at Pigeon Cove, that suggested his coming to this beautiful town and staying here. My grandfather then drove up and down, and hearing the sound of the surf, he said, " There must be a beach," and following up an old wood road he came to the spot which he afterwards selected.
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I think it has been one of the fortunate occasions that we have had now this two hundred and fiftieth anniversary, that we have all been brought together and to meet each other and to know each other and to form friendships, and may these friendships, as I will end by saying, may these friendships which we are forming here to-day always remain firm in this most beautiful spot on earth.
The PRESIDENT then announced that the hour had arrived for the Procession to start, and he would ask those speakers whom it was impossible to hear from at this time, to reserve their remarks until the next two hundred and fiftieth anniversary. At the suggestion of a gentleman in the Hall, these gentlemen were given " leave to print."
SERMON
BY REV. L. T. CHAMBERLAIN, D. D.
1 Sam. 7:12. " Then Samuel took a stone, and set it be- tween Mizpeh and Shen, and called the name of it Eben-ezer, saying, Hitherto hath the Lord helped us."
It was thus that public gratitude found expression, in the far-off days of Israel's struggling life. As you doubtless recall, there had been a hard-fought battle. The hazard had included the lives and fortunes of the chosen people. The national safety, the national exis- tence, had been at stake. Defeat would have appeared as the reversal of Jehovah's promise and the overthrow of Jehovah's decree. Yet, for a moment, as the battle was joined, suspense took the place of assurance. To mortal sight, the decisive issue trembled in the balance. Then came a divine assistance. God thundered from His holy height. The tide of hostile assault was turned back. Pursuing the discomfited enemy, the men of Israel went forth from Mizpeh in triumph.
What wonder that, following a victory so great, in view of a deliverance so signal, the memorial stone was set between Mizpeh and Shen, or, in terms of our lan- guage, between the watch-tower and the crag! How natural that the ascription of praise should be to HIim who had so manifestly given success !
Good friends, I trust that in our hearts, this morning, gratitude to God not only rises but also reigns. Surely, in the midst of these historic scenes, under a just sense of our indebtedness for mercies already vouchsafed, it is wholly fitting that we should ascribe our blessings to Him who is still a strong deliverer.
As, accordingly, the stone of thanksgiving is now set
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between our Mizpeh and our Shen, let it be understood that we thereby distinctly recognize that in the usual and lesser events of our history, as truly as in the greater and more unusual, in the quiet orderings of our lives, as veritably as in the more disturbed, an infinite power has both upheld and blessed.
And, by that token, what other people have such abundant cause for thanks! How long the period whose close we celebrate to-day! How romantic the interest of its early years ! Yet the record bears faithful witness. When this town was settled in 1645,-the inhabitants in that year, in memory of ancestral Manchester in England, having successfully petitioned that the name be changed from Jeffries' Creek,- the story of Plymouth across the Bay, was still passing from lip to lip. How, of the Pilgrim company landing there, almost half, including their loved and trusted leader, died within the first hundred days; six between the 31st of December and New Year's Day; eight in January, seventeen in February, thirteen in March; yet how, when the Mayflower re- turned on the 5th of April, not one of the colonists took passage homeward! John Endicott, with his Puritan associates, had been but seventeen years in Salem. John Winthrop, having first landed at Manchester, had begun his colonial service only fifteen years before. It was not long after the Pequot War, whose devastations had sent terror into every New England home. Boston was only fifteen years old. The settlements in Connecticut were all recent, and their union in an independent colonial government, was of only eight years' standing. To the southward, Jamestown, the first English colony in Amer- ica, was less than forty years old, and the tyranny of King James in turning Virginia into an appanage of the Crown, had occurred only a score of years before.
In those days, the slow ships that came with English
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news, brought word of the doings of the Long Parlia- ment ; of the battles of Edgehill, and Marston Moor, and Naseby; of Oliver Cromwell as Dictator, and of Charles I, beheaded at Whitehall. The tidings from France told of Louis XIII, and that Cardinal Richelieu, author, courtier, politician, who made French unity the incarna- tion of tyranny, and who built French glory on the quicksands of material conquest and religious fraud. In Sweden, the mourning for the great Gustavus Adolphus was comparatively recent. In Spain, ruled the ambitious Philip IV. In Central Europe, the Thirty Years' War was drawing to its close, imperious Wallenstein having fallen by the assassin's hand.
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Far from easy is it to reproduce, even in imagination, the external features of those primitive days. The situation seems meagre and harsh, when compared with the affluence of our own possessions. The contrast is like that between "the wicker hut and thatched roof" of Romulus, and the magnificence of the later Roman Empire; like that between the wandering Israel that crossed the Jordan with Joshua, and the nation which afterwards built Jerusalem's Temple, and held sway from the desert to the sea.
Yet the later magnificence is, in itself, a constant witness to the sagacity and fidelity with which our fore- fathers planned and wrought. Let dne allowance be made for the conditions which, in any case, would have favored the gathering of a vast population on these western shores; the spirit of adventure which was every- where abroad; the reaching out of the Oldl World after new dependencies; the general fertility of our soil; the variety of our climate; the commercial possibilities of our coast-line, our rivers, and our lakes; our exhaustless mineral resources, awaiting their discoverer; put all
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these into relationship with each other, and into the matchless combination which, united, they form; add thereto the essential qualities of the Anglo-Saxon race, so that one may aver that if the early settlers had failed in meeting the issue, others of their kin would in time have repaired the loss; yet it still remains not the less, but rather the more, manifest, that the early New Englanders performed their part with large and exceptional wisdom.
Certainly, in whatever else they failed, they were nobly successful in maintaining their faith in God, and in preserving their reverence for the Bible as God's holy word. In saying this, however, I am not asserting that the men of our early history were altogether, or even prevailingly, of the saintly type. It is evident that they had a prudent eye for thrift, and the record shows that they were far from being non-resistants. If the rod of Moses, which aforetime had budded and blossomed, seemed unavailing, they were more than ready, in a just cause, to wield the sword of Joshua or of Gideon. They believed in the God of battles. They sometimes proceeded to extremes in the repression, and in the punishment, of what to them seemed unscriptural and harmful. In their hands, the Church and the State were for a time, brought into perilous identity. The freedom which, at great price, they had purchased for them- selves, they were not always ready to accord to those who actively opposed them. Could they have said from the heart, -
" Think not that that which seemeth right to thec, Must needs be so to all men. Thou canst see Footprints of light upon the world's highway, Left there by Him who had not where to lay His lowly head,-the plainest nearest thec. There may be footprints which thou canst not see, Made plain by heaven's light to other men, - Jesus went many ways into Jerusalem,"-
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could they have said that sincerely, a still higher grace would have been conferred on both their practice and their faith. Yet they kept firm hold on many a divine and eternal reality. Their religion was to them a source of both purity and power.
This, at least, may safely be affirmed ; take out of the early history of this town, take out of the early history of New England, the distinctively religious ele- ment, the personal faith in God and the Bible, and you take out the force, the verve, the very life, of what is grandest in both achievement and ideal.
Along that line, accordingly, comes one of the serious lessons for us who celebrate the completion of our two hundred and fifty years.
But again, our forefathers held fast to the great doc- trine of the political rights of the individual, and of the corresponding duties of the individual to the govern- ment which affords a just protection. As we have already inferred, the founding of the New England col- onies was from an inspiration at once religious and civic. Read the open record, and there will be no room for doubt. The persecutions to the death, under bloody Mary; the tyrannical proceedings of the Star Chamber and Court of High Commission, under cruel Elizabeth ; the unrelenting intolerance of James I, and his advisers - all these were aimed at both religious and civil freedom.
What an ample condition-precedent for the genesis, by revolt, of civil as well as religions independence !
That our fathers were not always consistent with
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their political ideal, as they were not always consistent with their religious ideal, must be admitted. The stress of the situation; the almost infinite sacrifice at which they had purchased their own freedom; the bitter re- sentments of which human nature is always capable ; these considerations and forces sometimes carried them beyond the placidam quietem, -the peaceful, stable repose, - which their motto declared that they con- stantly sought. But, for all that, it remains that, in sincere reverence, they laid the foundation of whatever "liberty under law " we of to-day enjoy. There is not an element of truth, and scarce an expression of con- viction, in the immortal Declaration of Independence itself, which had not been announced beforehand, in colonial constitutions and bills of rights.
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