USA > Massachusetts > Plymouth County > West Bridgewater > Proceedings of the 250th anniversary of Old Bridgewater, Mass. at West Bridgewater, Massachusetts, June 13, 1906 > Part 10
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The County of Plymouth.
The County of Plymouth-With the exception of Jamestown, the scene of the oldest successful English settlement in America. Her early settlers dealt justly with the native Indians, and she has ever been the abode of an industrious and law-abiding people.
Responded to by Hon. Walter H. Faunce, of Kingston.
To treat of the history of Plymouth County in the five minutes allowed by our toastmaster would require a greater speed than that of an automobile, the driver of which is expect- ing each instant to be held up by an officer with watch in hand, and know he deserves to be arrested. And more espe- cially if we are to include even a slight account of the magnani- mous and just conduct vouchsafed to a race now almost extinct.
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Plymouth County is the oldest of triplets born on the second day of June, 1685, and if its life were to be measured by some modern sentiments it would have long since passed its usefulness, having been in existence nearly three and one-half times the sixty years limit.
As her soil and climate give the fruit and vegetables a peculiar character of richness and flavor so do they impart to the people a peculiar character. And when we speak of the County we must include its people.
And it is with pleasure that we can look back upon a long line of able men and women that originated in this County, able and scholarly tho' the years of school life were few and the system of uniformity and grades were unknown. There was a certain elasticity and freedom in the method of teaching which tended to cultivate self-reliance and personal effort, and to encourage individuality of thought and action and that individu- uality has been stamped upon the records of the County, the State and Nation. They had a wealth of health which a king cannot buy nor even the manager or vice-president of a modern trust company.
The County has furnished a major general for the army, a commodore and two admirals for the navy, governors for this and other States, congressmen of marked ability, a statesman of world wide notoriety and judges for our courts, all of that pecu- liar richness of character. A notable instance is that of the family of Israel Washburn, a descendant of John Washburn, the first Secretary of the Council of Plymouth, whose seven sons furnished governors for three States, a member of congress for four States and two United States ministers to foreign countries.
The great West is teeming with the descendants of men and women who emigrated from this County and who are help- ing to develop the enormous resources of a land practically unknown in 1685, and our "far flung" sea coast line from Hull to Mattapoisett is dotted over with the houses of those descen- dants who seek new inspiration each year from the spot where landed their ancestors from the Mayflower, the Ann, the For- tune and other vessels of later date.
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In all these two hundred and twenty-one years, not enumer- ating the present incumbents of office-there have been but seventeen sheriffs, eleven judges of probate, thirteen registers of probate, eight registers of deeds, twelve clerks of the courts and six county treasurers, and during all that time there has been no charge of dishonesty, graft or bribery.
What better evidence can there be that this County has ever been the abode of an "industrious and law abiding people." Let us be as careful in our future official duties as have been our predecessors, that we may not be disturbed by the echoes of the present day distrust, nor be obliged to use the language of our present speaker of the house of representatives when he says, "I do not need to tell you that some of our representa- tives are not probably to be fully trusted," but rather quote his other words and say "the citizenship of the County is neither dishonest nor impure, but as lofty in its aims as your high hills, as pure in its desires as the mountain streams."
The County of Bristol.
The County of Bristol-It shares with us the history and traditions of the Old Colony, and we welcome today its distinguished representative.
Responded to by Hon. William E. Fuller of Taunton.
Mr. Toastmaster, Ladies and Gentlemen :- It is my pleasant duty to bring to old mother Bridgewater and her pros- perous progeny the greetings of Bristol County. I felicitate you upon her good old age-her excellent health-her youthful looks-her respectable family.
I speak at a disadvantage. If I were representing Taunton I could put on airs of your big brother and say we are older than you. We celebrated our quarter millennial seventeen years ago.
But Bristol County is your junior by twenty-nine years. You set up house keeping in your own home in 1656. Bristol
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County did not get into business on its own account till 1685. This is your festival and if there is any justification for Bristol County sharing it with you, it lies in the fact that for sixty-five years the Bridgewaters and all the towns in Bristol County were members of the same household. We are swarms from the same Plymouth hive.
Till 1685 the General Court of Plymouth Colony exercised the exclusive powers of government, legislative, executive and judicial, and the public records were kept at Plymouth. In that year, for the more convenient administration of justice, it divided its territory into three judicial districts, respectively named the County of Plymouth, the County of Barnstable, the County of Bristol. It established a county court in each County with full jurisdiction in all matters of law, equity, probate and admiralty.
It is significant of what the fathers thought of a too easy separation of husband and wife that they retained exclusive jurisdiction of divorce in the General Court at Plymouth. That act of legislation was important and enduring. How great was its benefit to Bristol County we may appreciate, remembering how different then were the facilities for travel and communi- cation from those of today. No railways, no frequent mails, no electric wires, but most happily for them no automobiles. A long wearisome day's journey lay between the nearest town in Bristol County and the courts and records at Plymouth. Think what it would be at this day to travel fifty-two miles over a sandy road, to record a deed, to register a will, to testify as a witness or serve as a juror.
Parson Emery in one of his books narrates an amusing incident of those times. The local magistrate of the town was empowered to try persons accused of some minor offences. A dweller in Taunton became the victim of his justice. He was convicted of disturbing the peace and dignity of the town and sentenced to receive a certain number of stripes at the public whipping post. The punishment had to be officially adminis- tered at Plymouth The culprit accepted the inevitable, and starting on foot and alone early the next morning and carrying with him the sentence of the magistrate, he arrived at Plymouth
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by the middle of the day, received the punishment that fitted the crime, and returned to Taunton the same night bringing the certificate of execution with him.
Soon after the establishment of the counties the colonial governments were abolished, and when the new charters were issued all the territory of the Plymouth Colony was made a part of His Majesty's Province of the Massachusetts Bay. A hundred years later, through another transformation that followed the revolution, we emerged into the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. But the counties with their boundary lines and jurisdictional objects as established by the General Court of Plymouth Colony survived all these mutations of the Superior Government, and remain without important changes to the present day.
Our Only City.
The City of Brockton-formerly the North Parish of Ancient Bridgewater, now one of the most prosperous municipalities of the Commonwealth.
Responded to by His Honor the Mayor, Frederick O. Bradford of Brockton.
The rise and progress of the only city in Plymouth County seems remarkable when we consider its lack of natural advant- ages, and we cannot fail to recognize the indomitable pluck and perseverance with which its citizens met the task set before them ; that they have succeeded in building a city beautiful and creditable to themselves, to the County and to the State shows the stamina of which they are made and reflects credit upon them and their ancestry.
Early in the history of Bridgewater, the North Parish showed an independent spirit and a desire to set up a govern- ment of its own, that it might work out its own destiny. As was but natural, parental authority was against any such move,
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believing that it would be better that all should remain under one town government. After repeated attempts to be set apart by herself, permission was obtained from the legislature and in 1821 a town form of government was organized. Her growth was slow for many years and she struggled on much the same as any town in the Old Colony, her inhabitants carrying on diverse manufacturing interests and following agricultural pursuits.
From the year 1870, when her population had reached 8,007, and valuation $3,443,780, she began to make rapid pro- gress, so that in the year 1880 she decided to cast off the town form of government and applied to the legislature for a charter as a city. At this time the population was 13,602 ; valuation $6,252,413. From that time to the present she has made still greater progress, as the following statistics show :
YEAR.
POPULATION.
1 890
27,294
VALUATION. $17,477,846.50
1 900
40,063
27,868,799.20
1905
47,794
32,095,279.70
1906% *Estimated.
50,000
34,000,000.00
While these figures show the marvelous growth and expan- sion of our city, it also speaks volumes for the business ability of the manufacturer and skill of our shoeworkers, which has made it possible to rise to the leading place in the shoe indus- try, and for the past year to show the largest percentage of increase of factory product of any city or town in the common- wealth, and next to the largest increase in population of any city in the State.
The executive of the city who is held responsible for the business and good conduct of its citizens, fully appreciates the , benefits of arbitration as applied in our city in relation to labor controversies that are bound to arise in a manufacturing city ; through its workings strikes and lockouts are relegated to the rear, and our citizens are enabled to pursue their usual vocations pending the final settlement of any controversy that may arise, the manufacturer is enabled to supply his customers' orders on time, better feeling prevails and more harmony exists in the
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community. We are deeply indebted to that distinguished gentleman of our city, the Hon. William L. Douglas, ex-Gover- nor of the Commonwealth, and father of the arbitration law of Massachusetts, for his labors in behalf of this measure, and for the solution of one of the very important phases of the indus- trial situation as it exists today. As her industrial and financial progress has been marvelous, so have her political views and ideas been such as to draw the attention of those outside of her borders. Notwithstanding these diverse views as expressed by her voters, she stands the peer of any munici- pality in the land for honesty in her public officials and in the administration of her public affairs and devotion of her citizens to the interests of Brockton and to the development of her greater possibilities. Composed largely of men of optimistic views, she has steadily progressed towards a larger and broader condition, getting knowledge by the experiences of the past ; satisfied with the present, she looks to the future with confi- dence and with a heart full of faith in the destiny of the Greater Brockton.
Our Neighboring Towns.
Our Neighboring Towns-Some of them are a part of our original territory, and all of them look with friendly interest upon our growth and prosperity.
Responded to by Rev. Charles E. Beals of Cambridge, formerly of Stoughton.
If I am to speak of the Stoughton of two hundred and fifty years ago my task is an easy one. A prize was once offered for the best essay on "A Scientific Descripton of the Varieties of Snakes in Ireland." The prize paper was brief ; it read thus : "There are no snakes in Ireland." There was no Stoughton until seventy years after Bridgewater was incor- porated.
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On the 22d of December, 1726, a part of Dorchester was set off as Stoughton. The new town was named in honor of Lieutenant-Governor William Stoughton, who in his famous election sermon of 1668, in describing the makers of New Eng- land, uttered these memorable words : "God sifted a whole nation that he might send choice wheat into the wilderness."
Stoughton has been generous with its territory. In 1733, in 1737, and again in 1780, portions were annexed to Dedham. In 1765 a part was established as Stoughtonham which after- wards became the town of Sharon and a part of Foxboro. To Sharon it again ceded land in 1792 and also in 1864, and in 1793 contributed more territory to Foxboro. Canton was carved in 1797. In 1798, a part of Stoughton was annexed to Bridgewater. In 1888, East Stoughton was established as Avon.
The Stoughton of today has several things to link it directly with the past. Indian Lane is inhabited by a group of people in whose veins flows some of the blood of the old Ponka- poag tribe of Indians, among whom the Apostle Eliot labored.
The York neighborhood, lying on the border between Stoughton and Canton, and including York pond, was settled by families from York, Maine, whose homes had been sacked and burned by the Indians. Among these refugees was John Wentworth, the son of Elder William Wentworth, the progenitor of the Wentworths of America.
The Old Stoughton Musical Society enjoys the distinction of being the oldest musical organization in the country. For this reason, and by its rendering of the old-time music, it attracted not a little attention at the Chicago World's Fair. The town seal bears a harp in honor of this society.
The Stoughton Grenadiers constitute a unique, semi-mili- tary, social organization, tracing their history back to the early days when they were a military body. Every year they hold a field-day, drilling on the old church green. On one occasion, decades ago, when the troopers were tired from much marching, their ingenious commander hit upon an original method of rest- ing them. Forming them in single file he marched them round and round in a circle, with the colors and officers inside, closing
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the circle towards the centre, until the men marched breast to back, locking step. Then, halting them, he gave the command, "Company, Rest !" at which command, according to his instructions, the men all sat down in each other's laps. This maneouvre is perpetuated to the present day, to the great amusement to the spectators.
Stoughton has contributed its quota to the educational, political and industrial life of the nation. Edward L. and Henry L. Pierce were sons of Col. Jesse Pierce of Stoughton. Dr. Elmer H. Capen, the revered president of Tufts College, was also a Stoughton boy. Mrs. Alice Gray Teele, for many years a successful and beloved teacher in the Cambridge public schools, and now the executive head of that great philanthropic institution which is not a charity, the Franklin Square House, of Boston, was also Stoughton-born and bred. Scores of others might be named if time permitted.
The same blood flows in the families of Bridgewater and Stoughton, just as the Taunton river, which rises in Stoughton, flows through Bridgewater. For example, the distinguished president of the Old Bridgewater Historial Society, Dr. Loring W. Puffer, is, I believe a Stoughtonian by birth, and a descen- dant of Lieut. John Puffer, who settled in Stoughton, dying there in 1750. We have also given you Philip Reynolds, Mace Gay, Mrs. A. T. Jones, and many others. I happen to be familiar with my own, patronymic, having been at work, at odd moments, for more. ten years, compiling a Beal genealogy. Deacon Joseph Beals, the "Mountain Miller" of Plainfield, Massachusetts, and Rev. Oliver Beale, who, it is said on good authority, did more than any other man to plant Methodism in Maine, were both born in Bridgewater, and were collaterally related to the Stoughton families of that name. They are fair samples of the choice spirited, sturdy, fearless men in the ranks of the common people, who, with strong common sense, unswerving integrity, and loyal devotion to their best ideals, have helped to make our national life strong and enduring.
In Revolutionary days-"the times that tried men's souls" -Bridgewater and Stoughton vied with each other in pouring out their best blood in the cause of liberty. Among Stougton's
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most distinguished soldiers were Col. Benjamin Gill, who com- manded a regiment at the surrender of Burgoyne, and Gen. Richard Gridley, who was with Wolfe at Quebec, and who planned the artillery defences of Bunker Hill. Both of these war captains lived in that part of Stoughton which is now Canton.
So, too, during the great Civil War, the men of Stoughton marched shoulder to shoulder with the men of Bridgewater, sharing hardships and braving death together, in Fletcher Webster's 12th Mass. Infantry, or, perchance, in the Old Bridgewater Dragoons, which entered the U. S. cavalry service.
Thus did our fathers dare and do, facing and solving the problems of their day with fortitude and self sacrifice. Worthy sires were they indeed. And if we, their sons, are to be worthy of such sires, we, too, must meet the problems of our day with a like spirit. Our ancestors were pioneers. They did pioneer work, and pioneer work always is hard work, and sometimes is dangerous work. They did their work faithfully and well. In some respects since the future grows out of the present just as the present grew out of the past, the work committed to us is likewise pioneer work, though in a form different from theirs. We are entering a new and distinct epoch in world history. As Americans we are about to tread where no nation yet has trodden. We are confronted with conditions which compel us to readjust and reorganize our business activities, rewrite our laws, and recast our institutions.
I have implicit faith that the God of our fathers will be our God, guiding us in the evolution of new and more equitable and more satisfactory relations between man and man, and between class and class, until America's great president's noble ideals shall be realized-"A square deal for all," and "all up together." I have faith, too, in the American people, that they will neither flinch nor fail, but, animated by the memory of their redoubt- able forefathers, go forward, and ever forward, at whatever cost to themselves, until they shall consummate that democracy which was initiated by a God-fearing, liberty-loving ancestry in tears and blood.
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The Deborah Sampson Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution and the Old Colony Chapter, Sons of the American Revolution.
"The Deborah Sampson Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution" and the "Old Colony Chapter, Sons of the American Revolution."-Two kindred organizations that have done much to perpetuate the memories of that brave and patriotic period in our national life, and save from oblivion the names and the deeds of its actors.
Responded to by Mrs. G. O. Jenkins, Regent, of Whitman.
After listening to the eloquence of the distinguished orators who have preceded me, eminent expounders of the law, educators, physicians, ministers of the gospel, and clear-headed men of business, one might say with the psalmist, with slight variation, 'What is woman that thou callest upon her, and the daughter of woman that thou art mindful of her.' But if to any organization of women should be accorded the honor of appearing upon this program, it is eminently fitting that Deborah Sampson chapter should be so favored. For who in this assembly does not know the story of our own Jeanne d'Arc of modern history; how in the neighboring town of Middleboro, going out from her humble home to the friendly seclusion of the nearby grove, she patiently and persistently plied her needle through all her leisure hours, making a suit of men's attire. Her labor accomplished, clad in her unfamiliar garb, she walked most of the way, by night to avoid discovery, to Bos- ton. Thence she proceeded to Worcester, where she enlisted in the Continental army. For 18 months she marched and bravely fought side by side and shoulder to shoulder with her companions-in-arms, enduring privation, suffering and toil, ford- ing treacherous rivers and exposed to wintry blasts, fired with love of country, of liberty, of independence. Deborah Samp- son chapter, D. A. R., for what does it stand?
It stands for the perpetuation of the memory of those who fought for and achieved American independence. It stands for the preservation of documents and relics of historic value. It stands for unswerving loyalty to these principles who have made our nation second to none. Two weeks ago it was my
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privilege to attend the Memorial day exercises in one of the public schools in my own town. As I listened to the program, replete with patriotic sentiments, closing with the recitation in concert by the scholars of Lincoln's address at Gettysburg, and as shading their bright young eyes they reverently saluted the flag draped above the platform, unbidden tears welled in my eyes. And I thought what a glorious opportunity is open for the D. A. R. to place before these young minds lofty ideals of patriotic service, to train them and especially the little strangers who are coming to our shores in so great numbers with foreign language, foreign customs, foreign morals, so to teach them that they may grow up to be useful, loyal, law-abiding citizens of this glorious country of ours. May Deborah Sampson chap- ter, D. A. R., ever prove faithful to her trust.
Responded to by Hon. I. N. Nutter of East Bridgewater.
I am pleased to respond in behalf of Old Colony Chapter, Sons of the American Revolution. The history of Old Bridge- water would be incomplete without recounting the part taken by her sons in that great contest, which secured for the American people civil liberty, and the right of self-government. Patriots from Old Bridgewater took part in nearly every conflict from Bunker Hill to Yorktown, and many of her soldiers laid down their lives on the altar of liberty.
Descendants of the settlers of Bridgewater were among the first to join the continental army after the conflict commenced at Lexington and Concord, and the old town continued to furnish its quota until the close of the contest in 1782. After the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorkton a squad of men under charge of Lieut. Clift of Bridgewater were detailed to remove the massive chain stretched across the Hudson River at West Point, to prevent the vessels of the British fleet from ascending the river.
The descendants of these soldiers and patriots are earn- estly striving to emulate their example and hand down to future generations a record of their noble deeds. In behalf of Old
Mrs G.O. Jenkins
Mrs L.P. Gurney
Mrs.G. M.Webber
I. N.Nutter
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Colony Chapter, I congratulate the committee in charge of this celebration upon the great success which has attended their efforts.
Responded to by Dr. C. E. Lovell of Whitman.
I congratulate myself upon the opportunity which this occasion affords, of attending a celebration upon such a spot as this. There is power in historic association. We celebrate today an event, separated from us by two hundred and fifty years. I am glad the ancestors of so many good people came over in the Mayflower. . I am sometimes disposed to think she must have made a good many trips, but I am pleased that they are so numerous. Nothing prevents my having had an ancestor on the Mayflower but my veracity. The Mayflower continues sailing, transformed into a Brockton canal boat, a dude train, or even an electric baggage car. She is landing many pilgrims in many portions of our country. Wherever men and women have gone with the spirit of the brave settlers of this town to found new communities there has been a new landing of the Mayflower. So long as the spirit of her passengers abides in her sons, so long as the sons of the Revolutionary sires keep alive the flame those patriots kindled, our land is safe. We have come here today that by another spark this sacred flame within us may burn with a brighter glow. With confidence in law, in education, in liberty and morality, we dedicate ourselves anew to these principles.
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The Ousamequin Club of Bridgewater.
It seeks to perpetuate an historic name, and disseminate learning among the people.
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