USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Marlborough > History of the town of Marlborough, Middlesex county, Massachusetts, from its first settlement in 1657 to 1861; with a brief sketch of the town of Northborough, a genealogy of the families in Marlborough to 1800 > Part 50
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Surely our Fathers, the primitive settlers and founders of our fair and beautiful heritage, who have bequeathed to us blessings and im- munities far greater than any other people ever possessed or enjoyed, are worthy to be had in everlasting remembrance. The Fathers, the first settlers of this town, were men of no ordinary stamp. They were, most of them, men of good education and of sterling common sense ; they were, many of them, men of true piety. And if we are now, Mr. President, the freest and happiest people in the world, we owe this enviable distinction more to the prayers which they offered up, to the
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laws which they enacted, to the institutions which they founded, than to all other human means. The three grand pillars upon which they erected our free government, are religion, education, and public virtue. The first town meeting called after the incorporation of Southborough as a town, was convened for the purpose of " procuring a minister of good conversation, to preach God's word." This meeting was held August 14, 1727. And thec hief business of sundry other meetings was to devise ways and means to build a meeting-house. Money to build a meeting-house, and for the payment of a preacher, was promptly raised. The alacrity and self-denial displayed by the Fathers, in that day of small things, is truly surprising. It was not a small affair to build a meeting-house, forty feet wide by fifty feet long, and twenty- four feet stud, in 1727-8 ; but they did it cheerfully, and thus they laid the foundations of their civil, social, domestic and political life, upon the word of God. They procured " a minister of good conver- sation, to preach to them and their children."
I find, Sir, from an examination of the town records, that the prin- cipal expenses which the town incurred for a number of years, after its incorporation, were for the support of religion and its institutions. And I find that the great sacrifices of the people in this connec- tion were cheerfully borne ; for they felt that religion was the basis of all true prosperity, both for this and the future life. "God loveth a cheerful giver." They gave, they labored, and sacrificed freely and cheerfully, and the blessing of God was upon them and theirs.
Mr. President, if people are disposed to complain of their contribu- tions to the cause of religion and good morals in these days, as being onerous, they should be ashamed when they think of the severe and persevering sacrifices made by the first fathers and mothers of Marl- borough, and her worthy daughters. But if there were any sacrifices which they made, which paid compound interest, they were those which they made in building upon the only true Foundation-stone, which supports all the prosperity of the family, the town, the county, the state, and the nation. Mr. President, we are called to build upon foundations which our puny hands have not laid. Men and women of other days, of giant strength, of religious principle, and of unblenching fortitude and perseverance-men and women imbued with unwaver- ing confidence in God, and of an ardent love for civil and religious liberty, laid the foundations of all the greatness and prosperity over which we this day rejoice. And the fabric which they reared, may be likened to some gothic pile which the skill and caprice of later ages have been employed to adorn, but which is indebted to them for none of its noble pillars, mighty arches, and massive strength. It still reposes upon its own deep foundations, and has lost as much, at least in simplicity and majesty, by our attempts to improve it, as it
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has gained in taste and elegance. We inherit the lands which the Fathers cleared. We send our children to the schools and colleges which they founded. live under the laws which they enacted, and enjoy the liberties which they achieved. Make up this day an inventory of your paternal inheritance, and acknowledge with gratitude what God hath wrought for the people in two centuries.
Mr. President, I find that the fathers and mothers of Southborough were not unmindful of the fundamental canse of education. From the record, I learn that the town was indicted in 1732, because they did not maintain a schoolmaster ; also. for not providing sealed weights and measures ; and further, because they did not possess a pair of stocks ! Now, Mr. President. I think their delinquencies may have been to their eredit ; for, in the first place, they all behaved so well, that they did not need a pair of stocks; and in the second place, they were doubtless so honest in their dealings with one another, that they could dispense with sealed weights and measures ; and as to the lack of a schoolmaster, they were living in the strength of the abundant intellectual nourishment, drawn from the paps of their good old mother, Marlborough.
But, Mr. President, as soon as the strain upon their resources for the building of a meeting-house, and providing for the preaching of the gospel, and some other pressing necessities, relaxed, they promptly made provision for the education of the rising generation in all " good learning." Within the space of five years, the educational apparatus was in full blast, and Timothy Johnson was appointed their first teacher, and Samuel Bellows, the second-names that should have been inscribed on the town banner to-day, and ever preserved as sacred in her annals. Next to the sanctuary and its ordinances, the fathers and mothers placed the school-house, and the cause it represented. Yea, they were inseparable, in their view. They paid constant atten- tion to the religious and intellectual education of their children. They instructed, warned, exhorted, reproved, and when necessary applied the rod of correction, with singular fidelity ; parents governed then, and the children obeyed. In short, they made it the grand object of their lives, not so much to lay up riches for their offspring, as to make them affluent in all those virtues which fitted them to become good and useful citizens, ornaments to society, blessings to themselves, their country, and the world. And I am happy to be able to state, that the sons and daughters of Southborough, of the present generation, are emulating, in some respects, the zeal of the first fathers and mothers of the town in this cause. Find me a parallel, in this glorious old Bay State, to what they have done within four years past. Five school- houses, elegant and commodious, with all modern appliances, have been crected, and a noble building for a high school, beautifully fitted up
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for its exalted mission, has been presented to the town by a munificent citizen. Add to this, that, within about the same time, some thirteen thousand dollars have been expended, by a few of her liberal citizens, for the erection of a beautiful sanctuary and its fixtures, and I think we may say, that there is hope that Southborough will yet take a proud position among the daughters of Marlborough, and send out her light and influence to bless and make glad our land. And, Mr. President, I have not forgotten to add, that we have a town library of rising two thousand volumes, bearing the name of its hon- ored founder, and which, if properly managed, may be a great bless- ing to the population of the town, and especially to the young. May the individual who founded it, live a thousand years ; and he will be remembered, when Southborough celebrates her three hundredth anniversary, yea, her thousandth.
But, Mr. President, I wish to say another thing about the fathers and mothers of Southborough. They were the steady friends, the active promoters, and the fearless champions of civil liberty. Read the inscription npon our town banner. It conveys to us the instruc- tions voted in town meeting, to be given to their representative to the General Court, and by him presented to said Court : " That you would, in the most effectual and loyal manner, firmly assert and lawfully maintain the inherent rights of the province, that posterity may know, that if we must be slaves, we do not choose by our own acts to destroy ourselves, and willingly entail slavery on them." And, Mr. President, we compose in part that posterity, and we do know this day, and recognize with grateful hearts, that the fathers and mothers of South- borough nobly acted for us. The crisis came ! The tocsin sounded the alarm over the hills and valleys, and none more prompt to buckle on the harness ! See that band of fifty-six men, armed and equipped, and hastening-whither ?- first to the house of God, to breathe out a solemn prayer to the Most High, for his blessing upon their efforts to defend their chartered privileges from arbitrary encroachments. Hav- ing recognized their dependence upon the Divine blessing, whither hasten they now, with hearts strengthened and fortified by the Divine benediction ? To Concord! To do battle with their brethren in arms, against their tyrants, and to pursue the fleeing enemy to his lair, under the ominous shadow of Bunker Hill ! Tell me not, that they were not the ready and fearless champions of civil liberty. Tell me not, that they were not, every one of them, patriots and heroes, who deserve to be had in everlasting remembrance-who could peril life, and prop- erty, yea all, for liberty for themselves and us who here this day are reaping the full benefits of their perils, sufferings and sacrifices. The daughter dwelling in the South, was worthy of the dear old mother, dwelling in the North ; and may she never disgrace her noble ancestry
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by recreaney to God, to liberty, or humanity. Good laws and insti- tutions we have, but they will not reform us, if reformation begin not at home. Let us ever remember, that virtuously educated, and well disciplined families, lie at the foundation of all our future progress and true prosperity. A community is just what its component families make it, vigorous, self-governing and prosperous, or else sunk in im- becility, the creature of oppression, and enslaved by vice. The deep seat of the strength of any community, or nation, is to be found in its Christian homes ; not in the Saxon blood that may flow in its veins ; not in the busy commerce of her rivers or coasts; not in her mineral treasures ; not in her fertile valleys, that wave their golden harvests. No, Mr. President, other nations have possessed all these advantages, but have failed for want of Christian homes.
As we gaze upon the groups of happy children and youth who grace this festal day, may the spirit of our first fathers aud mothers be breathed into our hearts, and the holy purpose be formed there, that to perpetuate and enhance the blessings of civil and religious liberty, we will henceforth labor and work for the virtuous education of our children. They are our jewels and our hope. In the language of one of our most illustrious educators, who has just been followed to his honored grave, by thousands of appreciating countrymen, "God has written on man, in letters not to be mistaken,-This being is made to be educated. Without an education, he is a savage. By its aid he may be exalted to a station but little lower than that of the angels." The virtuous education of our children, the support of moral and religious institutions, the framing of good laws, and the prompt and faithful execution of them,-to these fundamental points, may the minds and hearts of all our citizens be directed. Thus may the true glory and prosperity of the towns of this state, and nation, be advanced and perpetuated.
4. Northborough, our only Grandchild-Worthy, as such, to be regarded with especial favor by her venerable Grandmother.
Responded to by GEORGE C. DAVIS, Esq., of Northborough, who spoke as follows :
Mr. President :
I thank you for this honor; and in behalf of my native town, I thank you for the kind words in which you have been pleased to notice us. Sir, I regret that circumstances have prevented the attend- ance of a gentleman whom we expected to reply to any sentiment you might be pleased to offer to Northborough-a gentleman to whom all
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would have listened with pleasure. By the record, we are indeed the grandchild of Marlborough, and the child of Westborough ; but, Sir, I presume it is no new thing to you, that in modern philosophy the child may be the father of the parent.
Sir, our Fathers have made the record that Northborough was set- tled anterior to the mother town, to whom she was a precinct until 1766, when she received an act of incorporation under the present name. Northborough was originally a part of the great Cow Common, which has been alluded to by the orator of the day. And the early records of our good old Marlborough grandfathers further say, that they "voted " that our territory "should remain a perpetual cow common for the use of this town, never to be altered without the con- sent of all the inhabitants and proprietors, at a full town meeting ; except four-score acres of upland the town hath reserved within the aforesaid tract of land, to accommodate some such desirable persons as need may require and the town may accept."
Mr. President, the native delegation from our borough have cer- tainly cause for much self-gratulation, when we meet with you on this two hundredth anniversary of the incorporation of our beloved old homestead, to be able to come before you, and claim that by the family record, we are descended from " desirable persons." And, Sir, if this is true, may we not claim too-and without subjecting ourselves to the charge of egotism-that we have given to our country brave and patriotic men ; to our State, an upright Judge, an " honest " Governor and distinguished United States Senator ; to Congress, able Repre- sentatives ; to Christianity, pious and devoted missionaries and minis- ters of the gospel; to suffering humanity, skillful physicians. And from us have gone out distinguished lawyers, peace-loving magistrates, eminent merchants, successful manufacturers, thrifty and " desirable " farmers and mechanics.
Mr. President, The inhabitants of our little borough, with some aid from this ancient town, were among the first to establish the great cotton and woolen manufacturing of New England, single mills of which have now outgrown the capacity of any water power within our borders. And, Sir, as early as 1768, my honored grandfather was sent for to come and establish leather manufacturing within our pre- cinet ; a single germ from this ancient establishment has covered your verdant hills with happy cottages and busy shops.
In educational matters we have endeavored not to fall far behind the times. Our public schools have been in good standing. We have maintained a lyceum for thirty-two consecutive years, before which a series of lectures of high order has been delivered, by many of the most eminent lecturers of the age. We have sent to the State Normal schools more than thirty pupils, who have gone out to all parts of the
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land-many of whom are still successfully engaged as teachers-and in all things, Mr. President, Northborough has endeavored to prove herself worthy of her honorable ancestry.
Mr. President, allow me again to thank you for your very kind and flattering sentiment ; and in return, to propose :-
Good old Grandmother Marlborough .- Although she has now passed her two hundredth year, yet by her culture, her thrift, and her indus- try, she shows no signs of dotage.
5. The Early Clergy of Marlborough and the Marlborough Association.
This sentiment called forth the following response from Rev. JOSEPH ALLEN, D. D., of Northborough.
Mr. President :
I have not much to say, for very little is known of the first minister of this ancient town. Rev. William Brimsmead, we are told, began to preach in Marlborough in 1660, just two hundred years ago. He afterwards preached as a candidate in the still more ancient town of Plymouth, where he was invited to settle. He declined the offer, and returned to Marlborough, where he was ordained in 1666, and where he remained till his death, in 1701.
He may have been, as we have no doubt he was, a good man and a faithful and devoted minister ; but, in failing to comply with the Apos- tolie injunetion, that " a bishop should be the husband of one wife," we do not think he consulted his own welfare, or that of his people. As for himself, in the growing infirmities of age, he had neither wife nor children to care for him, and so his people very considerately, and much to their credit, voted, as the record says, "to procure a place to remove their minister to, and to provide him a nurse." His house stood on the west side of the beautiful eminence, from which we have just retired, on the very borders of the Indian plantation of Ockoocangansett, and near the site of the old meeting-house. Mr. Brimsmead was buried in the old cemetery in the east village, and an unlettered stone marks the spot where he was laid.
Mr. President, I wish I could call up and place before you, and clothe with the habiliments of life, the faded images of the venerable men referred to in the sentiment to which I am called upon to respond, " the angels of the seven churches," who, in 1725, one hundred and thirty-five years ago, formed the first ecclesiastical association west of Cambridge-if I mistake not, the second ministerial association in
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the American Colonies. Of this goodly company, Robert Breck, of Marlborough, the immediate successor of William Brimsmead, was " facile princeps," the recognized head, to whom his brethren readily accorded the highest place.
Mr. Breck was a native of Dorchester, a graduate of Harvard College of the class of 1700, and his ministry of twenty-six years was to his own flock and to the neighboring churches a perpetual benedic- tion. He came here in the freshness of youth, being only twenty-two years of age at the time of his ordination ; and his death, in the very midst of his usefulness and fame, in the forty-ninth year of his age, was regarded as a public calamity. Some of his descendants have risen to distinguished honor, and some of them are now present, and can, if called upon, speak for themselves.
Mr. President, I should like to speak of the associates of Mr. Breck, the ministers of the neighboring towns, and to pay to each due honor. But I must content myself with the bare mention of their names. There was Prentice, of Lancaster, three of whose daughters married clergymen iu Worcester County. There was Gardner, of Stow, the father of honored sons and daughters. There was Loring, of Sudbury ; and Swift, of Framingham ; and Parkman, of Westboro'; and Cushing, of Shrewsbury ; names once familiar as household words in all this region, and preserved by their descendants of succeeding generations ; names honored in their day, and intimately associated with the intellectual and religious culture, the social char- acter, and, I may add, the material prosperity of the towns of which they were so long the spiritual teachers and guides.
For it should be considered, that, at that period of our history, the clergy held a more commanding position than is now accorded to them, or than they choose to occupy. They formed, indeed, a sort of aristocracy ; their families interchanged social visits ; and intermar- riages between the sons and daughters of clergymen, were events of frequent occurrence. Many of them were men of superior talents, and all of them had received the best culture that the country afforded.
Like the judiciary of this Commonwealth, the clergy held their office for life ; and the disruption of the ministerial tie was a rare occurrence, and was looked upon very much in the same light as the dissolution of the marriage bond. The minister was somewhat of an autocrat within his own domain ; and a ministerial association was an ecclesiastical court, before which matters pertaining to the church, and even questions of a secular nature, were brought for adjudica- tion.
The seven whom I have named, with those who subsequently were associated with them, thirty-eight in all, have seen the last of earth,
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and have, at the bidding of the Master, as we trust, "gone up higher." Half a century ago, and somewhat later, a few of the number, venerable men, the relics of a former generation, might have been seen in the College yard on Commencement day, standing in groups, or walking to and fro with a dignified air, seeking out old classmates and College acquaintances, and forming a very pleasing picture of the olden times. I remember them well ; their erect forms, their quaint costume, their silver or gold-headed canes, their polished silver or steel buckles, for the instep or the knee, their snow-white bush wigs, surmounted by the three-cornered, broad-brimmed, low- crowned hat, their long-waisted coats and vests, and shortened nether- garments, unsupported by the ingenious contrivances of modern art- all these are fresh in my remembrance as though they were things of yesterday.
Of some eight or ten of the members of the old Marlborough Association, I retain a very distinct recollection. With five of the number I occasionally interchanged ministerial labors, and several of them I regarded as personal friends. One of this number I had, till very recently, hoped to meet on this occasion ; an occasion which he had looked forward to with deep interest, and in the exercises of which he was expected to take a part. But Heaven ordered it other- wise ; and it becomes us to bow with perfect submission to the divine decree. Peace to the memory of a good man, a respected citizen, a kind neighbor, a faithful friend, a sincere Christian,-Rev. SYLVESTER F. BUCKLIN, of Marlborough ; and peace to the memory of the early clergy of Marlborough and their worthy associates, the ministers of the neighboring churches, who have ceased from their mortal labors, and whose works do follow them.
6. The Legislature of Massachusetts .- Ever mindful of our material interests, yet never forgetful of our personal rights and liberties.
7. The Ancient Order of Free and Accepted Masons.
This sentiment was appropriately responded to by FRANCIS C. WHISTON, Esq., of Framingham, who exhibited an apron worn by Lafayette at the laying of the Corner Stone of Bun- ker Hill Monument, on the 17th of June, 1825.
8. The Founders of Marlborough, true to the old Saxon motto,-" Personal Liberty the antecedent, National Glory the consequent."
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The Hon. Mr. ALBEE responded as follows :
Sir, if it be deemed appropriate to call on me to respond to this sentiment, because I chanced to be chairman on the part of the Senate, of a legislative committee, and in that capacity reported the Personal Liberty Bill, and used, I am willing to admit, what little influenee I possessed to make it the law of Massachusetts ; let me say, that neither myself nor any other individual can claim much credit to himself for the principles embodied in that law. For, Sir, that law is but the summing up of the liberty-loving instincts of the stock from which we sprung.
The text you have given me, seems to imply that our immediate as well as distant ancestors labored to enlarge the cirele of individual rights. Is this implication true ? I think it is.
Other tribes, and families, and nations of the human race, have sought national greatness at the expense of individual liberty. The Greeks, for instance, beat back the invading hosts of Persia, and ren- dered the little territory of Attica and the Peloponnessus more famous than all the rest of the ancient world. But here, the state was every thing, the individual was nothing. On the very day in which Leon- idas, with his "bold three hundred," stood at the pass of Thermopylæ, the Spartan father must give up his child, if healthy and well-formed, to the public nurses, to be brought up as an instrument merely to enhance the glory of the state ; and the Spartan mother must sacrifice her offspring, if weakly and sickly, to the wolves of the wild; and the Spartan hero and sage must take their meals at public tables, some- what less daintily furnished, I trust, than these have been, to which we have just paid our respects, as the substantials consisted of barley bread and black broth, and the desert of black broth and barley bread.
Again, the pyramids of Egypt are no more the monuments of na- tional greatness than of individual servitude.
The Celtic Highlander,-and one nation is a type in some respects of the whole family of Celtic nations,-the Celtic Highlander, I say, would stand by his clan and fight for his chieftain, though that chief- tain had onee and again set his heavy foot upon his individual neck.
But not so with the Teutonic stock, and especially with the Anglo- Saxon branch of it, from which we take our origin. This race has ever been remarkably tenacious of individual rights, personal liberty, untrammeled thought, freedom of speech and freedom of the press, since there has been a press. And, by the way, the invention of the art of printing was made by individuals of this stock.
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