USA > Massachusetts > Berkshire County > Lee > Lee : the centennial celebration and centennial history of the town of Lee, Mass. > Part 4
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
38
CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION.
Reunion, and expressed the hope that they would find it thoroughly enjoyable.
The President of the Day then said, that of course the graduates would be pleased to hear of the present condi- tion of the school, and he would call upon James W. Sutherland, one of the present members, to represent it. Mr. Sutherland made a handsome showing for the school, and his remarks were received with hearty applause.
Letters of regret were read from J. E. Bradley of Al- bany, N. Y., Judge Tourgee of North Carolina, and George F. Perkins of New York City. In the way of business, the following plan for a permanent organization was pre- sented by C. B. Bullard, and was unanimously adopted, together with the list of officers proposed :
CONSTITUTION OF THE LEE HIGH SCHOOL ALUMNI ASSOCIATION.
ARTICLE 1 .- This Association shall be called the Lee High School Reunion Association. Its object shall be to cultivate social intercourse among its members.
ART. 2 .- The officers of this Association shall be a President, five Vice-Presidents, a Secretary, a Treasurer, and an Executive Committee of nine, and shall be chosen annually.
ART. 3 .- All persons whose studies at the Lee Academy or High School have been completed, may become members of this Association by subscribing to the Constitution.
ART. 4 .- There shall be an Annual Meeting of the Association, at such time and place and with such exercises as the Executive Com- mittee may determine.
ART. 5 .- This Constitution may be amended by a two-thirds vote of the members present at any regular meeting.
The list of officers chosen under this Constitution was as follows : President, Wellington Smith ; Vice-Presidents, A. C. Sparks, E. H. Barlow, D. W. Allen, John Delaney, Charles May ; Secretary, S. V. Halsey ; Treasurer, H. C. Phelps; Executive Committee, C. H. Sabin, T. L. Foote,
e
0
0
S
f
t t t t
e 8 C
8
39
CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION.
B. H. Taintor, H. H. Garfield, Charles D. McCarthy, Mrs. A. C. Sparks, Mrs. G. F. Bradley, Mrs. William May, Miss Mary R. Hyde.
Dr. W. F. Holcombe of New York, called attention to the fact that the High School, while provided with able teachers, was not furnished with a philosophical appara- tus. Such teachers should have all available appliances to aid in their labors, and he offered to be one of twenty- five to give twenty-five dollars each for the purchase of apparatus. He made this offer, he said, because of the kindness shown him in this town, when he was a medical student here, especially by Mrs. T. A. Hall, wife of the Principal of the High School, and herself a teacher in the school. This generous offer of Dr. Holcombe drew out a response from our large-hearted citizen, Mr. Elizur Smith, who said he was not aware of the deficiency of the school in this respect, and promised to aid in remedying the de- fect, a promise he fully redeemed Centennial Day, by a donation of five hundred dollars. Thus happily ended Reunion Day, a fitting prelude to the Jubilee of the Cen- tennial.
CENTENNIAL DAY.
The morning of Centennial opened bright, and at an early hour the crowd began to assemble to witness the procession of fantastics, representing the aboriginal owners of the soil, and the costumes and customs of the first white settlers, mingled with some grotesque negroes and other characters, partly historical and partly fabulous. This part of the program the Committee were not re- sponsible for, but winked at it for the humor of the thing and the gratification of the multitude. Mr. H. N. Horton was master of these ceremonies, and the manner of their execution did great credit to his genius and executive ability in this line. It had been arranged that this pro- cession should move at 8 o'clock, and should be heralded
1
40
CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION.
by the ringing of all the bells in the village and the blowing of the steam-whistles of the several mills. The bells and whistles were on time, and made the hills to echo and re-echo with their clangor. Heading the parade was a detachment of special police.
Then came the Water Witch drum corps, followed by a troop of mounted Indian warriors. Succeeding these was a company of plantation darkies seated on a stu- pendous ox-cart, followed by a number of grotesque fig- ures on horseback, among them the Father of his Coun- try with his beloved Martha and the rotund Falstaff. Next in the procession, was a log cabin of the olden time, with the aged sire peaceably smoking his pipe, while his ancient companion plied the busy needles. Then came a collection of spinning wheels, worked by dames in the costumes of the past century. Another detachment of masked horsemen, of jolly negro minstrels, several wag- ons of old etc., with a pair of wagon wheels conspicu- ously labeled "The first wagon wheels used in town," brought up the rear. In front of Memorial Hall the pro- cession halted, on its course down Main street, and C. E. Tucker delivered an elaborate and highly-finished oration -bright, witty, and full of taking local hits.
At ten o'clock, the hour appointed for the literary ex- ercises of the day, the Congregational Church, with a seating capacity for twelve hundred, was filled as it was never filled before. Every seat was occupied and the aisles were crowded. Hon. Harrison Garfield presided and called the assembly to order, prefacing the exercises with the following introduction :
GREETING OF MR. GARFIELD.
Fellow Citizens, Ladies and Gentlemen :
The hour has arrived to which we have invited you to join with us in celebrating this hundredth anniversary of the incorporation of this town.
A
RESIDENCE OF H. GARFIELD.
41
CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION.
An act of the General Assembly of Massachusetts Bay, on the eighteenth day of October, 1777, was passed incorporating several grants of land that had been made to individuals and corporations, into the town of Lee, giving it a name, place and standing among the towns that surround us, the youngest of them all.
In view of the approaching Centennial of its incorporation, the inhabitants of the town, in town meeting assembled, in April, 1876, voted unanimously to notice, in an appropriate manner, this event, and to have collated and published an authentic history of the town, and chose a Committee of thirteen of its citizens to take in charge this matter.
In pursuance of these instructions of the town, the Committee entered upon their labors, and fortunately secured the Rev. Dr. Charles M. Hyde, a grandson of our late greatly beloved and long- time pastor, the Rev. Dr. Alvan Hyde, to engage in these labors. Mr. Hyde entered upon this work with much energy early in the year 1876, searching the records of this town and in the State Department at Boston, and in all places where scraps of information could be found, prosecuting his labors nearly to completion, up to February last, when he received an appointment from the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions to take charge of the Pacific Theological Institution, at the Sandwich Islands. It was expected that Dr. Hyde would give the Historical Address. The Committee, however, were brought to no extremity in thus being called to part with him, but fortunately secured the Hon. Franklin Chamberlin, of Hartford, Conn., who was a long-time resident of this town, to give this address.
This history is now nearly completed, and is in preparation for the press, and, when published, we believe will be an authentic history of this town.
These remarks I make that you may know what action the town has- taken in this matter, preliminary to engaging in the further exercises of this occasion, as set forth in the printed programs that have been distributed among the audience.
To you, former residents and descendants of former residents of Lee, many of whom have come long distances to be with us on this to us most interesting occasion, we tender our congratulations upon being with us, and can only say that our hearts and homes are open to you, and we hope you will make your stay with us as long as it shall be your pleasure to do so, and enjoy our hospitalities. 6
42
CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION.
At the close of Mr. Garfield's remarks, the Lee Cornet Band, under the direction of Capt. A. V. Shannon, played a greeting overture, and President Hopkins, of Williams College, led the assembly in prayer. The fol- lowing ode, by E. W. B. Canning, Esq., of Stockbridge, was then sung by the choir :
MR. CANNING'S ODE.
'Tis not the trump of war, Or noise of deadly fray, That summons from afar Old Berkshire's sons to-day ;
But peaceful hosts Rejoicing come, And songs of praise Displace the drum.
In hope and faith our sires, The precious seed to sow, Here lit their altar fires One hundred years ago.
With life and cheer The desert rang, And homes amid The forest sprang.
How hath the weak and small To wealth and honor grown ! How hath the least of all Become a mighty one !
So to the brave And good 'tis given, And toil obtains The smile of Heaven.
Ye exiles who afar Have sought another home, To greet the eastern star With willing feet ye've come.
M- BRA
RESIDENCE OF WILLIAM TAYLOR.
43
CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION.
The mother's call Ye still obey, And welcome glad She speaks to-day.
O, wander as we will O'er fairest scenes of earth, One place is dearest still- The spot that gave us birth.
No sky so bright, No fields so fair, No friends so dear As childhood's are.
May He whose banner led Our fathers in the past,
His constant blessing shed While centuries shall last.
And be these hills And vales the home Of thrift and peace Long years to come.
ADDRESS OF WELCOME BY HON. WILLIAM TAYLOR, OF LEE.
Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen :
When this town of Lee was incorporated, a century ago, not more than 150 persons resided within its limits, and nearly, or quite, half of its able-bodied men were in the Revolutionary army.
Dense forests covered most of its soil; few highways had been opened; bridges did not then span our streams ; the dwellings of the early settlers were rudely constructed, and rudely furnished, and all of the earlier town and religious meetings were held in the dwellings or barns of these settlers.
What changes in a hundred years ! Of the early fathers and moth- ers, not one remains. The same grand old mountains and hills encir- cle us, and the same valleys are spread beneath our feet, but now " the pastures are clothed with flocks, and the valleys, also, are covered over with corn." The same bright streams still "to the ocean run," but at the bidding of intelligent enterprise they now bring to us the hum and
44
CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION.
reward of well directed industry. Then no church edifice or school house had been erected here. Now the structures which you here see, speak for themselves.
And to these pioneer fathers, we are largely indebted for our present prosperity. Amid poverty and great privation, "in weakness which became strength," they patiently and perseveringly labored and prayed, and we have entered into the fruit of their labors. They opened the forests ; they cleared and cultivated these fields ; they trained up Christian households; they planted the Church and the school; and in Christian faith and hope, they laid deep and strong the foundations of our best institutions. Honor, everlasting honor, to their memory.
In reviewing the history of their faithful labors, we find the names of Yale and Ingersoll and Bradley; of Bassett and Thatcher and Foote, and others of like spirit, who wrought valiantly and faithfully, and with wise forecast, to secure privileges which have made us indeed a favored people. And in this good work, they were for more than forty years led by their sainted pastor of precious memory, Rev. Dr. Alvan Hyde, " whose record is on high."
We, the sons and daughters of Lee, should be grateful that so rich an inheritance is ours, and we should guard it well. Should we not lovingly commemorate the virtues and cherish the memory of these heroic, God-fearing fathers and mothers, and tread reverently the soil on which they labored and died; the soil of our birth and of their burial?
You, the returning children of Lee, may in yonder cemetery find a greater number of familiar names, than you will see of familiar faces, in our homes and in our streets ; but these revered ancestors still live in our memories and in the blessed influence of institutions of educa- tion and religion which they founded and fostered, and in the good example which they left to us. Thus, though dead, they yet speak to us. Nor is the influence of their example and their lives limited to the place of their labors. You have all felt more or less of its mould- ing power, and every community in which your lot has been cast, has been in some measure impressed by it.
And now, on this beautiful day, with the stars and stripes floating in the breeze, and all around us, in behalf of the Committee of Arrange- ments for celebrating this Centennial of the Incorporation of this town of Lee, and of all its citizens, I extend a cordial welcome to ALL who have come to aid and cheer us by their presence and by their kindly interest in these reunion services.
To you, our brother, the orator of the day, and to her, whom in life's younger days you here chose to be your partner for life, I extend a glad and hearty welcome.
45
CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION.
We rejoice that in our opening Invocation we were led by that pil - lar of strength to Williams College and the Church, Rev. Dr. Hopkins, to whom the town of Lee should be grateful for training her cultured sons who all love him as a father, at whose feet many educated men have sat, as did Paul at the feet of Gamaliel.
Under the date of September 26th, 1776, (one year before the incor- poration of the town,) we find the record of the first marriage which appears on the records of the town, to wit: that of "Capt. Josiah Yale to Ruth Tracey." We rejoice to see in this audience, a son of this first recorded marriage, our venerable former townsman, Mr. Jo- siah Yale, and his two daughters, and his grandchildren and great- grandchildren, thus presenting to us, in a goodly group, every link (from childhood up) of a living, present, close connection withi one of the earliest and best of the households of the town.
Returning sons and daughters of Lee, welcome, thrice welcome to you all! May God bless you, every one. We welcome you to this dear old home, around which cluster such tender memories. We wel- come you to this spot, made sacred by the fond remembrance of a fa- ther's love, of a mother's unceasing care, and of the affections of brothers and sisters. We welcome you to this your native soil, which is hallowed in holding the precious dust of loved ones who have gone before us to their everlasting rest. We cordially welcome you to our hearts, to the hospitality of our homes, and to all the festivities of this thanksgiving-day-not of a year, but of a century.
And we not only welcome, but thank you for coming from your widely scattered homes, to join us in this family gathering at the " Old Homestead," that we may here renew former friendships; that we may here join hands in mutual love ; that we may, from your own lips, learn of the way in which God has led you ; that we may here encourage and strengthen each other in all worthy endeavor; that we may, in this consecrated place, unite in thanks for mercies past, and in petition for blessings to us and to those who shall succeed us in all time to come. Bound to you, as we are, by the fond memories of early days, and by the ties of blood and of affection, we rejoice in your prosperity and honor.
Life passes rapidly away. We cannot again all meet on earth. May this reunion be to each of us a type and presage of an immortal union in that better land of eternal life, and light, and joy. There may we all, as members of the "household of faith," be greeted by the songs of angels, and by our Divine Master and Savior to a blessed "WELCOME HOME ! "
46
CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION.
RESPONSE BY HON. WILLIAM HYDE, OF WARE.
There is nothing more pleasant than a cordial welcome. To return to the home of our youth seems to be a natural desire. One of our sweetest poets who began in his boyhood to chant the smoothly flow- ing numbers of "Thanatopsis " near the sources of the Agawam, and in his early professional life on the banks of the Housatonic, sang of " Green River," and of "Monument Mountain," returns in his green old age to his paternal acres to bless the dwellers in that secluded mountain town, with the material for their mental and social culture. To those of us who went out from you in the morning of life, it is pleasant to feel that the place where we were born and reared is one to which we can refer with pride. We have never heard the question, "Can any good thing come out of her ?" Good things have been expected, and many good men and women have gone from Lee to bless all parts of the land and of the world. But the good did not all go. We see around us evidence that not all of the energy and enterprise has sought other fields. The new comers have perhaps more than made good your losses. We have watched your growth, and have rejoiced in your prosperity. The blessings of Heaven have been sought, and not in vain. The church has kept pace with your busi- ness enterprise. Your schools have been carefully watched. Your leading men have been on the side of good order and of the institutions of piety and religion. Few places can show a more healthy growth, or present a more cheerful and thrifty appearance.
My lot has been cast not far from you, and for fifty years my visits have been more than that number. The changes do not appear so great to me as to those who come back after a long absence. The first paper mill was built here the year of my birth. The slow process of dipping the mould in the pulp and laying each sheet on the felt was carefully watched by me when a boy. Twenty years ago, Lee was said to produce more paper than any other town in the United States. Other places may do more now. Your population has quad- rupled, and your business has done much more than that. It is not with your material thrift that the deepest interest is felt. We turn back to-day to the men who early came here and gave form and char- acter to society. Some of us seem to stand as connecting links between those men and the coming generations.
During the war of 1812, when the election of governor was on the first Monday in April, when the mud was deep and the snow banks prevented moving on wheels, I saw coming down Howk's hill by my father's house a venerable man seated in an arm-chair in a large
b
h
to
re 1
d
m m
F
hi TO
S b
se
47
CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION.
sleigh, drawn by two horses. His hair was white, he wore a cocked hat and gray overcoat, and leaned upon his staff for support as the sleigh was drawn across the bridge up to the front door of the church, where the town meetings were then held. Two' strong men, his grandsons, lifted the chair and its occupant from the sleigh and bore him up the broad aisle to the deacon's seat, where he deposited his vote for Caleb Strong for Governor. This must have been in 1814 or '15, when politics ran high between the Federals and Democrats. That man was William Ingersoll, the moderator of the first town meeting, chairman of the first Board of Selectmen, and of the "Com- mittee of Correspondence," the first Town Treasurer and Highway Surveyor, and whose name stands first as a member of the Congrega- tional Church, organized in 1780. His farm bordered on the Housa- tonic from the quarry on the Van Deusen farm, nearly around to South Lee. His house stood opposite the bend of the river, on the brow of the hill just east of the brick house of Mr. Langdon. He was the owner of about 1,000 acres of excellent land, and planted his seven sons, Moses, Aaron, David, Elijah, Jared, William, and Calvin, around him. His descendants of the sixth generation are here to-day, inheriting the blessings of a pious ancestry.
As Mr. Taylor has said, the first marriage recorded upon the town records is that of Capt. Josiah Yale and Ruth Tracey, September 26th, 1776. For twenty years he was selectman, and represented the town in the Legislature six years. Modest and retiring in his manners, his wisdom and discretion gave him great influence in the town and in the Church. He was a healer of difficulties, and to him was the town greatly indebted for the church building erected in 1800. His descendants of the fifth generation appear and are the same as the sixth of William Ingersoll. I name these two as representative men.
The town has been greatly blessed in its ministry. It does not become me to speak fully of the long and faithful services of Dr. Hyde. He came here at the age of 22, when there were but 21 males in the Church. The records show 110 additions in eighteen months, and more than 700 during his ministry. He feared God and loved this people. He was really the first one to act as pastor. The weekly conferences in the seven school districts in rotation, when he would propose a subject and ask each one present to express his views, and sum up the case himself, brought him in close connection with the people and gave him great power and influence. One who did not sympathize with him in his religious views once said to him that " Lee was Hyde bound." It was in the family that I have the most occasion to remember him. The morning and evening prayers, the
48
CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION.
Saturday evening Biblical and catechetical lessons and songs of praise, are among my most hallowed remembrances. There were . eleven of us children. We could all repeat the Assembly's Shorter Catechism, the questions being asked without a book and the slightest mistake corrected. A good man's influence is perpetuated after he is gone.
Of Dr. Gale I might speak more freely. His first pastorate of nine years was over my own church. He came to you with a rich experience, a love for his work, and for this people, which endured to the end. We were always fast friends, and counselled together in matters pertaining to Christ's kingdom to the time of his death. He has so recently passed away I will not enlarge. You have honored yourselves in honoring his memory. These pastors died in office, and their graves are with you.
In all the changes that have taken place here in fifty years, noth- ing is more marked than in the drinking customs of the people. I am not inclined to say, " The former days were better than these." I see progress all around. When Dr. Hyde was settled here in 1792, with a salary of sixty pounds, ($200,) to aid him in building a house, a subscription of thirty pounds was made payable in materials and labor. The first and largest sum, by the principal merchant, was fifteen shillings "in nails, glass or cider." In my boyhood, the use of intoxicating drinks was almost universal. There were seven taverns and as many stores that sold them in a population of 1,200. Cider-brandy distilleries were frequent. When the Berkshire Asso- ciation of thirty Congregational ministers was to meet here, I was sent to the store for two quarts of Santa Cruz and two quarts of Jamaica spirits, one dozen of pipes and two large papers of tobacco. The clergy used both spirits and tobacco. It was thought inhospita- ble not to offer them on all occasions. I have attended weddings, where "cider-brandy sling" came around in pint tumblers, from which all drank, the bride and groom first, then the minister. These customs were fearful. The church records will show repeated confessions of its members who were overcome. The American Temperance Society was formed in 1826. The ministers and leading men took hold of the work in earnest. The blessing of God followed. Many were saved whose feet had well nigh slipped. Are not these better days ? What minister or church member, or any other man, has any standing who indulges an appetite for strong drink ? Who that loves his fellow men will now sell it ?
I could indulge without limit in reminiscences that might be interesting, but I leave them for the orator and the historian.
-
49
CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION.
At the close of Mr. Hyde's address, the choir sang the following Anthem, prepared for the occasion by Miss P. A. Holder, formerly the Assistant Principal of the Lee High School :
On the dial of the ages, Marked by path of rolling years, See the hand majestic pointing Where a cycle full appears. Pause-its hour sublime is sounding From the minaret of Time, Answering bells in silver chorus Ringing out our Century's chime.
Circling on, the clear vibrations Through our peaceful valley sweep, While the listening, waiting mountains Echoing, give responses deep. Catch the strain in swelling choral, Roll the full, deep tide along; Raise our Century's lofty anthem On the voice of sacred song.
While the fathers sleep, their children Welcome this auspicious day, Live to see the light and glory Shining o'er the Century's way. Standing on this mount of vision, Wondrous things our eyes behold, Life grows nobler, richer, purer, Precious joys the years unfold.
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.