USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Dedham > Proceedings at the celebration of the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the incorporation of the town of Dedham, Massachusetts, September 21, 1886 > Part 2
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250TH ANNIVERSARY.
Company of Continentals, 50 strong, under command of Captain DANIEL R. BECKFORD, Lieuts. SMITH and PARTRIDGE.
Honorary Staff Officers of Continentals.
J. H. GRIGGS, Adjutant ; S. G. BENT, Ensign, 73 years old, carrying the old Pine-Tree Standard ; RICHARD MACKINTOSH, HENRY T. MCCLEARN, FRANK M. BAILEY. SAMUEL J. J. WATSON, F. J. BINGHAM, C. L. COTTON.
FIRST FLOAT. - First Inhabitants. 1630. Wigwam surrounded by pine branches and shocks of Indian corn. Original inhabitants, savages, personated by CHAUNCEY S. CHURCHILL, as Big Chief ; H. L. WARDLE, C. F. Foss, E. E. NORRIS, F. E. CLAPP, HENRY S. BAKER.
SECOND FLOAT. - The coming of the First Settlers from Water- town to Dedham in 1635, represented as coming by boat. The first settlers were correctly personated by MARTIN HANSON and his son JOHN, two daughters, Misses MARIA and DELIA, and Misses ANNIE and BERTHA KIESSLING, Miss ANNIE MCGEE, and HERMAN WEBER.
THIRD FLOAT. - A House in 1636. Log-cabin, covered with spoils of the early backwoods days in shape of fox, raccoon, skunk, and other skins. Characters : Settler, personated by HENRY CHAM- BERLAIN ; his wife, at spinning-wheel, Miss DOLLY WALE.
FOURTH FLOAT. - Capture of Indian Chief POMHAM in Dedham Woods, July 25, 1676. POMHAM personated by DANIEL R. BECK- FORD, Jr .; Indians, by R. J. FITZGERALD, C. E. LUCE, JOSEPH C. McMANUS, W. M. MATTA ; Puritans, by FRED. E. ROBINSON, as Captain, FRANK GREEN, GEORGE CARTWRIGHT, JAMES KELTIE, VICTOR REEVE.
FIFTH FLOAT. - Capture of a Royal Governor by a Dedham man, April 19, 1689. Royal Governor, Sir EDMUND ANDROS, person- ated by CHARLES H. J. KIMBALL ; his page, by R. W. WALKER ; DANIEL FISHER, who captured him, by H. K. WHITE, Jr. ; and his men by A. H. and E. A. WATSON, R. CARTWRIGHT, F. H. WRIGHT, DANIEL MCDONALD.
SIXTH FLOAT. - Guarding Wife and Children to Church in 1690. Scene, winter; place, woodland. Characters : Settler, IRVING DONLEY, armed with old flintlock ; his son, GEORGE PAUL, also armed ; his wife, Miss MARY C. ELLIS; his daughter, little Miss EMMA DONLEY.
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THE TOWN OF DEDHAM.
SEVENTII FLOAT. - Minute-man, 1775. Personated by EDWARD J. KEELAN, who, with one hand on the plough and the other on his musket, presented a correct and striking picture of New England's hardy and courageous sons, ready at a moment's notice to hasten forth to do and die for American Liberty, - witness Concord, Lex- ington, Bunker Hill. The musket Mr. KEELAN carried is a his- torical relic, an old flintlock of 1779. This tableau was awarded much applause along the line of march.
EIGHTH FLOAT. - Husking-party in 1826. A merry party busily at work husking the golden ears of corn. Personated by ANDREW WHEELER, as grandfather ; JAKE, his son, WILLIAM PARKER; Mrs. M. A. NICHOLS, as grandmother; Misses LINEY WHEELER, MILLIE KREIS, GUSSIE GRAYDON, MINNIE FITZGERALD, and Masters EDWARD WILLCUTT, HERBERT CROSBY, HARRY CHAM- BERLAIN, EDDIE WELCH, and little WILLIE WHEELER, as grand- children.
NINTH FLOAT. - Old Father Time and the Seasons. Characters : Old Father Time, PHILIP J. WIELAND; Spring, Miss LOTTIE WIELAND; Summer, JULIUS DELMUTH ; Autumn, KARL WAG- NER; Winter, Miss MINNIE ZIKENDRATH.
TENTH. - Old Stage-coach.
ELEVENTH. - Modern Tally-ho. The Boston and Providence Citi- zens' Stage-coach Company ; TIMOTHY GAY, President; THOMAS P. BROWN, Agent. Personated by members of the Boston Cham- ber of Commerce.
TWELFTH. - J E. SMITH riding a fat Ox. Mr. SMITH'S oxmanship was much admired by the spectators along the route.
FIFTH DIVISION.
Color Green.
Chief of Staff, JOHN WARDLE, JR. Staff. CHARLES W. TUCKER.
B. F. COPELAND.
R. S. CLISBY. SAMUEL C. FRENCH.
LAWRENCE W. FEENEY, Color-Bearer.
This Division was composed of the Trade exhibits of the town, and was in line as follows : -
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250TH ANNIVERSARY.
West Dedham Grange, No. 133, four-horse team driven by JOHN ROGERS, containing old-fashioned farming implements as used by the hardy toilers of Dedham in 1636, and those now in use in 1886 ; over and among which were arranged grains in sheaves, and vegetables.
B. F. COPELAND, a team loaded down with the products of plant, vine, and tree, with JOHN SULLIVAN as driver.
Merchants' Woollen Mills - HARDING, COLBY, & Co., owners ; TIMO- THY O'CALLAGHAN, Agent - made a very fine display in two teams. First team, four horses, EDGAR DEAN, driver, contained a loom, with AUGUST DANNER, who has had an experience of thirty-three years at the loom, - a weaver at the mills in East Dedham since 1853. On the front seat with its owner, SAMUEL ROBINSON, was a live sheep, and arranged about the team were the products made from the fleecy coat of that most useful animal, from the time it leaves its back until it becomes cloth. The second team, P. HOWE, driver, contained cloth cased ready for the market.
NATHANIEL MORSE, two teams : one loaded with the several kinds of fertilizers of which he is agent, JOHN McGEE, driver ; the other filled with bales of pressed hay and bags of grain, W. NEL- SON, driver.
CHARLES FRENCH, a four-horse team, load of wood decorated with American flags, R. J. BUCHANAN, driver.
AMORY FISHER, three teams, representing his business of coal, grain, and ice-dealer ; established in 1854.
Franklin Square Market made an excellent showing of meats, vege- tables, and fruits.
T. F. O'NEIL made a handsome display of groceries, tastefully arranged.
S. A. TUTTLE made a display of his business as veterinary surgeon.
W. C. FULLER, a team-load of house-moving implements. Team neatly decorated with flowers ; H. T. PLACE, driver.
G. W. FRENCH, load of wood, decorated with National colors, with a horse and saw on top as a suggestive hint; WILLIAM ELLSWORTH, driver.
PHILANDER ALLEN exhibited a four-horse load of marble monuments and gravestones ; while in the rear of the team workman THOMAS DONNELLY showed how marble-cutting was done.
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THE TOWN OF DEDHAM.
J. LYNAS made a fine display of horse-blankets and harnesses.
CARL P. E. ZIEGLER made an excellent showing, in a handsomely decorated team, of carriage mats and robes, harnesses, and up- holstery articles.
WILLIAM BAKER exhibited his business of whip-manufacturer in a team uniquely arranged ; A. W. FINNEY, driver.
G. A. FRENCH made an exhibit of his business as a grocer ; G. E. BONNEY, driver.
M. KEELAN, hardware-dealer, made a good showing of stoves.
F. C. WEEKS exhibited a load of provisions.
MARSHALL, the expressman, with horse and team decorated with magenta plumes, and LEWIS J. HOUGHTON, the veteran, twenty-one years in the business, as driver, made a good showing of how business is done in modern times.
WALLIS WHITING, assisted by THOMAS PROCTOR, Jr., and Master WITHINGTON, as Puritans, showed how cider was made in 1636.
W. S. MACOMBER exhibited a wagon-load of furniture and carpets.
J. E. SMITH represented his business of provision-dealer.
C. F. MACOMBER exhibited a neatly arranged load of carpenter's tools, paints, etc.
CHARLES WINSCHMAN, in a prettily decorated team, showed how cigars were made. FRANK THIEL assisted him.
GODING BROTHERS made a good display of grain in bags in two teams. Each pyramid of bags was surmounted by a small ever- green tree.
C. S. CHURCHILL had two teams in line ; one with a load of bricks in barrels, the other with coal.
MORIS GREENHOOD, in a neatly decorated team, advertised his busi- ness as a clothing-dealer.
P. B. GAFFNEY ended the division with a team-load of live-stock, representing his business as a butcher and marketman. The team was separated into three pens, containing respectively a big hog, a calf, and a pair of lambs, of which J. F. MORAN had charge.
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250TH ANNIVERSARY.
At precisely 12 o'clock the procession arrived on the Church Green, where the Governor and staff and invited guests reviewed it from the band-stand on the Green, the marshals being drawn up near the stand. At this hour the chimes were rung upon the Episcopal Church, and a national salute was fired.
At 12.30, the review being over, the procession was dismissed, and the Governor and guests entered the church.
At 11.30 the galleries of the church had been opened to ladies, and upon the arrival of the pro- cession and the entry of the Governor and guests to the church the building was crowded to its utmost capacity, and presented a most brilliant appearance. The pulpit had been elaborately decorated with plants, flowers, and evergreen, and upon a platform in front sat the Governor and staff ; the Orator of the Day, ERASTUS WORTHINGTON; the President, THOMAS L. WAKEFIELD; President TIMOTHY DWIGHT, of Yale College, Hon. JOHN D. LONG, Dr. GEORGE E. ELLIS, and other invited guests.
SERVICES IN THE CHURCH.
I. ORGAN VOLUNTARY. BY CHARLES J. CAPEN.
II. ORIGINAL ODE AND VERSES.
BY FREDERIC J. STIMSON. Music composed by ARTHUR W. THAYER.1
ATHWART the way our fathers laid The summer sunlight falls ; The elms our fathers set still shade The road, 'twixt church and pasture made ; The stones their ploughshares first uplaid Still lie in mossy walls.
Down from the western hills our own Still, roaming river runs, Content in Dedham's arms alone To lie, and mirror spire and stone ; The robin to our fathers known, Still sings for us, their sons.
1 For the music, see pages 199-204.
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250TH ANNIVERSARY.
Strophe.
For the fulness of earth, For the light of the sky, For their death, for our birth, For the heritage high Born of the word of light, Won by the deed of might, Saved by the sowing of sight ; For the light in the eyes and the love in the hearts of men that brings Men to be brave in war and true in the love of all things ; Glory of deed that is past, Safety of State that is fast, Hope that is now and shall last ; For the flower and the fruit, For the eye and the word, For the tree and its root, For the sleep of the sword, - We praise thee, our Lord.
The harvest falls from broader fields, The waning woods are few ; Food for the world their homestead yields, All earth's oppressed their shelter shields, A nation's nerved arm now wields The truth that first they knew.
Be not alone a harvest won Of gold, from labored hours ; Undo not what their hands have done, Nor bind with wealth they sought to shun ; Still ring the bells at set of sun, - Our fathers' God, and ours.
Antistrophe.
From sins of the few, From crimes of the many, From prophets untrue, From rule of the penny ;
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THE TOWN OF DEDHAM.
Crime, that ignorance frees ; Lust, that is born of ease ; Hate, that is born of these ; From the curse of false lights, and worship of earth, and then Doubt, and forgetting of God, and death of the soul in men ; Wealth, that is easy won, Freedom, too soon undone, Malice, that masks the sun ; From conflict of class, From rage falsely stirred, From greed of who has,
From death of thy word, - Deliver us, Lord.
III. PRAYER.
BY REV. JOSEPH B. SEABURY.
O LORD God of Hosts, Ruler of nations and of men, we adore Thee as our father's God. Obedient to Thy voice, we "remember the days of old." With devout gratitude for Thy present favor, "we ask for the old paths."
We bless Thee for our honored heritage, for the simple virtues, the ripe wisdom, the kindly graces, the spiritual fortitude that distinguished our fathers. We would not be unmindful of the trials through which they passed, loyal to an unerring conscience. Grant that we may have power to discern the deep principles for which they suffered banishment from native land, that they might rear on a free soil the enduring monument of justice to personal convic-
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250TH ANNIVERSARY.
tion, liberty to fellow-men, and "the honor that is due unto Thy name."
We remember with self-distrust their fealty to the cause of education, that the school and the church were made to grow together, the pledge and promise of an intelligent Christian common- wealth.
We give Thee thanks for their valiant rebuke of injustice at the hands of the mother-country, for that patriotic response which met the appeal to arms for the assertion of independence, when the white-haired veteran and the youthful volunteer stood side by side in the heat of battle. We thank Thee for that holy impulse which suddenly transformed the patriot civilian into the patriot soldier.
We bless Thee for the unrecorded fidelity of our ancestors, for the faithful but tranquil labor of the husbandman, who, from year to year sowed the seed in springtime and reaped the harvest in autumn, - they whose memory is chronicled in simple epitaph; for the industrious mother who taught her sons and daughters with tender and patient affection, that she might present them in mature life, an honor to their station, "meet for the Master's use."
We devoutly recall that this rich patrimony of sterling worth has come down to us in unbroken continuity, that we are closely and intimately re- lated to the early past. Thou hast taught us in
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THE TOWN OF DEDHAM.
Thy servants, our fathers, that " The Lord's portion is His people."
We would not seek to patronize their virtues. We sit humbly at their feet. We cherish the soil that tabernacles their dust. We would memorialize their deeds in lives of filial devotion to humanity, truth, and God. May the joyous commemorations of this day inspire us to strengthen the things that remain, bind us more closely together in charity and hope, that we may grow thereby into the like- ness of Him who died and rose again, their Saviour and ours, in whose name we pray. AMEN.
Mr. Seabury concluded with the Lord's prayer, in which many of those present joined.
IV. ADDRESS OF THE PRESIDING OFFICER.
HON. THOMAS L. WAKEFIELD.
FELLOW-CITIZENS, - We have assembled in com- memoration of the Two Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary of the incorporation of the Dedham of 1636. This ancient town was not limited to the boundaries of this our present municipality, but included within its limits the present towns of Dedham, Medfield, Wrentham, Medway, Needham, Bellingham, Walpole, Franklin, Dover, Norwood, Norfolk, Wellesley, Millis, and parts of Sherborn,
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250TH ANNIVERSARY.
Natick, Foxborough, Hyde Park, and the city of Boston. We, who are honored by retaining the old name, welcome you all, sons and daughters of the ancient Dedham, back to the old hearthstone, to join with us in this celebration. We unitedly bid a hearty welcome to your Excellency, the Chief Magistrate of the Commonwealth, and to all others in authority; to all invited guests; to all veterans of the several Grand Army Corps; to all military and civil organizations; and to all other good citi- zens who have come up hither to honor us with their presence and participate with us in the cele- bration of this interesting anniversary.
On Sept. 10 (old style), 1636, the General Court granted to nineteen persons the land forming ancient Dedham for the purpose of making a settlement, - a common plantation. These nineteen persons were the sole proprietors of these common lands, subject to any claims of the Indians who inhabited them, until they admitted associates.
They adopted a town covenant, or constitution, as we might call it, by which they were governed, and under which others, upon strict examination as to fitness, were admitted as inhabitants of the town, by signing the covenant binding them to fulfil its provisions. Subsequently the Indian titles were extinguished by equitable contract with Philip, the Sagamore, and the Sachems Chicatabot, Josias, Nehoiden, and Magus, whereupon their title became absolute.
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THE TOWN OF DEDHAM.
The proprietors of this then infant township increased in numbers by constant additions from without; defended their rude but happy homes from the attacks of the hostile and treacherous Indians by whom they were surrounded; intro- duced the arts of industry and civilization; and with sturdy hands, year by year, turned the forests into fruitful fields, and caused the wilderness to blossom as the rose.
When these first inhabitants came to this place, there were no general laws in the colony to regulate their intercourse and protect their lives and in- terests. They were a law unto themselves. As was said by a worthy historian of the town : " They formed a civil society out of its first simple ele- ments." This society originated in a compact; the laws derived their force from the consent of the people. This, with other similar settlements, " was the beginning of the American system of government."
These little communities of Pilgrims, imbued with the idea of religious liberty in their native country, thus began in this then wilderness land to lay the foundations of a democratic civil government, upon which has been reared this grand superstructure of a free and independent republic. With pious care in establishing schools for the education of the children, and churches with devoted teachers and ministers of the gospel for their spiritual instruc- tion, under the fostering care of the Colonial and
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250TH ANNIVERSARY.
39
subsequently the State governments, this little com- munity has grown from infancy to mature age.
We meet on this occasion to celebrate its birth- day with mutual congratulations, and to recount the virtues and heroic deeds of the fathers. In the felicitous language of the orator upon the two hun- dredth birthday of the town, which may well be repeated as often as this birthday celebration occurs, permit me to say: "Citizens of Dedham, you will find in your history much to gratify your just pride, much to excite honorable emulation. By intelligent and godly ancestors was this town planted ; by a manly and virtuous race has it been nourished and sustained. Its sons have fought the battles of their country; they have led in its coun- cils. At no time, in no manner, have they failed to contribute an honorable share of the talent, the patriotism, the domestic virtues, which created and have built up this great Republic."
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V. ORIGINAL HYMN.
BY REV. SETH C. BEACH. TUNE- " Dedham."
To Him who formed the rolling spheres And guides them on their way, The circle of a thousand years Is but as yesterday.
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THE TOWN OF DEDHAM.
Secure in His eternal might Our fathers braved the sea, And founded here in truth and right An empire of the free.
He made the few and weak His care, And gave their seed increase ; He listened to His children's prayer, And led them on to peace.
As unto them, thou God of grace, Still be from age to age ; Still grant the favor of Thy face, And bless our heritage.
VI.
HISTORICAL ADDRESS.
BY ERASTUS WORTHINGTON.
WE mark to-day the lapse of two hundred and fifty years since the name of Dedham was given to the plantation begun here in 1635. It is the name- day of the town, rather than its birthday, that we celebrate. The actual settlement was gradually made by successive steps, which may be distinctly traced by existing records. In May, 1635, leave was given by the General Court for the inhabitants of Watertown to remove whither they pleased, pro- vided they continued under the government.1 On the 3d of September, 1635, the Court ordered a plantation to be settled about two miles above the
1 Mass. Col_ Rec., vol. i. p. 148.
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250TH ANNIVERSARY.
falls of Charles River, on the northeast side, with land on both sides of the river, to be laid out as the Court should appoint thereafter.1 The language of this order clearly implies that an exploration had already been made. According to Governor Winthrop, the town was begun in September, 1635.2 The town record of births began in the same year. In the succeeding March the Court appointed com- missioners to set out the bounds of the new planta- tion,3 who made a report April 13, 1636.4 There is no existing record of any meeting of the settlers here until Aug. 18, 1636. Finally, on the fifth day of September, 1636, at a meeting of nineteen per- sons, the petition was signed for the enlargement and confirmation of the grant of the previous year. The Town Covenant had already been drawn up, and had been signed by the petitioners. On the 8th of September, according to the General Court records,5 or on the 10th of September, according to our town records, the order was passed which gave to the plantation the name of Dedham, with lands not before granted to any town or person, on the east- erly and southerly side of the river, and an addi- tional grant of five miles square on the other side of the river. In this brief and informal order are comprised all the corporate powers with which the town was ever specially invested. To borrow the
1 Mass. Col. Rec., vol. i. p. 159.
3 Mass. Col. Rec., vol. i. p. 169.
5 Ibid., vol. i. p. 180.
2 Winthrop, vol. i. p. 167.
4 Ibid., p. 175.
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THE TOWN OF DEDHAM.
words of an old legal definition, the " invisible and immortal " corporation then created under the name of Dedham has now existed for two hundred and fifty years, without any essential change in its civil constitution. The old town still preserves its cor- porate identity and its name. In outward conditions great changes have been wrought. Fifteen other towns now occupy territory included within the original grants, beside that portion within the limits of Boston. Political revolutions have changed the Colony to the Province, and the Province to the Commonwealth. The union between church and town, for two hundred years an inherent part of its legal constitution, has been dissolved. Eight gen- erations of men have been born, have lived and died here. But the town government, protected by the just limitations of legislative authority on the one hand, and giving to the people the right to manage and direct its civil administration on the other, has retained its hold of life with a wonderful tenacity. The Dedham of 1636 and of 1886 are one and the same by historic continuity, however they may be sep- arated by time. Let us then first congratulate the old town that two hundred and fifty years have not so diminished the vigor of her corporate life, that she may not look hopefully forward to another century ; and may we not appropriately ascribe to her the words of the refrain in Tennyson's familiar song, -
" For men may come, and men may go, But I go on forever."
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250TH ANNIVERSARY.
Dedham was not among the more conspicuous towns of the Massachusetts Colony. It never gained the prestige of the college town, nor the importance of the maritime towns. No dramatic event is associated with its name. It never expe- rienced the horrors of an Indian attack, nor was it a battle-field in the opening scenes of the Revolu- tion ; but it was one of the first two inland towns, - the other being Concord, - and they were coeval in their settlement.1 It was a Puritan town of the best type, founded by men of intelligence, foresight, and enterprise, admirably organized, and favored by a wise administration of its affairs from its very beginning. In its full, continuous, and well-pre- served records we find clearly exhibited the leading ideas of the Colonists, as well as a rare aptitude for public affairs. In the great crises of colonial his- tory its quotas of men and money were not far behind the leading towns, and there was scarcely a period for two hundred years when Dedham did not furnish some man of more than a local renown for the public service. While therefore its history may be wanting in those thrilling events which arrest the attention of the world, yet it is one which must command the respect and admiration of thoughtful men; and for us who are " native here, and to the manner born," it has an unceasing interest, even in its repetition. Surely on such a commemorative occasion as this, we cannot forbear
1 Mass. Col. Rec., vol. i. p. 148.
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THE TOWN OF DEDHAM
to review some chapters of that history, and per- chance we may find some new grounds to cherish the memory of the men who have lived here before us.
The Colony of Massachusetts Bay had a distinct and independent origin, differing in many respects from that of the Plymouth Colony, although the two are frequently confounded by popular writers, and even by some historians. They were planted by men of different antecedents, holding different rela- tions to the Established Church; and before coming to New England, there was no agreement or con- nection between them. The Pilgrim was a Sepa- ratist ; the Puritan was a Non-conformist. Here in New England the two Colonies were frequently united for their common defence, and by their simi- larity and proximity the people were gradually drawn together; yet there continued to be some essential differences between them until the con- solidation under the provincial charter in 1692. The Massachusetts Company, formed in England in 1623, was at first a stock company, organized only for commercial ventures. The Massachusetts coast was then well known to navigators. Before Columbus saw the mainland of America, the Cabots had discovered the continent, and had sailed along the coast from Newfoundland to North Carolina. In 1614 Captain John Smith had explored the coast, and made his well-known map on which the name of New England first appeared, and our river re-
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