USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Proceedings of the Worcester Society of Antiquity, for the year 1881-1882 > Part 31
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In his diary he notes the most common events, side by side with allusions to the most grave matters : "I shook out my things ; paid 5e at the gate ; went to -'s and talked about baptism ; talked about Moral Agency ; read a newspaper ; the grey mare got out of the pasture," and the like. April 13, 1791, he writes, "Ordination at Oxford ; Mr. Emmons' sermon at the ordination very disagreeable." His diary is quite full of weather notes, and his tobacco-box seems to have been his thermometer. On March 8, 1802, he records, "my tobacco froze in my box last night," and this entry occurs of five nights in a single week.
About this time he was writing something which he alludes to frequently as "My System," probably a system of theology, and he enters its completion May 26, 1802. June 4th he"agreed with Greenleaf to print my book,-set it at 28 per 1000, Strike it off 48 per token." Subsequently he decided to print it at 48 6ª bound and lettered. It was a volume of about 264 pp. and sold by subscription. It appears from various entries that this book was not "My System." I infer that he kept up his college studies during his ministerial life from his apparent familiarity with the Greek text of the New Testament, and from an entry, May 28, 1802 .- "I calculated on the motion of the earth and the comet." His closeness in pecuniary matters is illustrated by numerous entries. Nov. 13, 1797, he "settled about a steer, 198, lacking ? penny :" and April 25, 1804, "I paid to Mrs. Sibley 38 for making my coat, and one penny over, which is to go to- wards the breeches." Accurate accountants may feel relieved to know that he records the re-payment of this "one penny over," June 8th of the same year.
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There is abundant evidence that he was a man of broad cul- ture for his time and station in life, but he has left traces which modern readers would declare to be superstitious. Thus under date of Jan. 5, 1799, he writes :
"Last night extreme cold ; I came to Burrage's ; the pump got froze ; we tried all day to thaw it out ; at night I found the spine lose from the box, the lower pin-hole clear the upper pin and a nail is in ; but it can't be concieved how it should be so : but it must be supernatural."
Again, March 9, 1800, he was taken sick and was ill until June. He writes :
"The first Monday in June I had Rev'd Messrs. Emerson of Conway, Stone of Douglas, Mills of Sutton and Bailey of Ward, to spend a season of devotion with me. Since this I have uni- formly grown better with some little checks by the way, but I think I may justly consider it that God has answered our pray'rs."
He found much comfort in a dream of Mrs. Joseph Bond, recorded Jan. 23, 1794 :
"She dreamed of my being in the fire-place, the chimney, even the stones all on fire, and I not in the least burnt."
It would be easy to continue these sketches to an indefinite length, and even to print the entire mass of manuscript included in his diary would not be without antiquarian interest, but I have given as much of the old-time minister as time will allow. I have not attempted the disquisitions of the historian, nor the inferences and arguments of the biographer. My work has been rather to compile from a great mass of material enough of the words of the old-time minister to present him, in his own proper person, to modern ears, with as little else as is possible in a connected narrative. Had he lived with such experiences, in modern times, his trials and troubles would have found record in the daily and the religious press ; as it is his few printed books, which are already well nigh lost sight of, and the annals of our Society are likely to be the only record of his life.
The following are the published writings of Mr. Chaplin, so far as is known :-
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"Treatise on Church Government, being a Narrative of the late Troubles and Transactions in the Church in Bolton, Mass. Remarks on Mr. Adams' Sermon Aug. 26, 1772, with (Il. ) some Remarks on an Account in the Boston Evening Post Dec. 28, 1772, of the Dismission of a Minister in Grafton, and (III. ) On Councils, with an Essay on Ministers Negativing the Votes of the Church-By a Neighbor: pp. 37: Boston 1773.
A Second Treatise on Church Government. Reply to Adams' Answer, &c. 12º : Boston, 1773.
The Civil State Compared to Rivers-A Discourse in the Second Parish of Sutton Mass., Jan. 17, 1773, the day prece- ding Town Meeting to consider and act upon the Letter from Boston, 12º : Boston, 1773.
The Godly Fathers and a Defence of Their people-A ser- mon Delivered April 19, 1772, at Uxbridge, on the Death of Rev. Nathan Webb : Boston, 1773.
Result of an Ecclsiastical Council ; 1793.
A Treatise on the Nature and Importane of the Sacrament- 12° Worcester: 1802.
Modern Pharisaism Illustrated and Proved, by Timothy Truth Esq., To which is Annexed A Concise Review of Elisha Andrews' Brief Reply to Bickerstaff's Short Epistle to the Bap- tists : By Christopher Duntaxet LL. D. : Sutton, 1811."
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The meeting for July falling on the 4th, was by adjournment held on the 5th. Phinehas Bates Jr. Esq. of Boston was elected a Corresponding Member, and Charles W. Rice of Worcester was elected to active membership.
The President announced the names of members assigned to the new Department of Military History .*
Mr Daniel Seagrave exhibited a mortar brought over in the Mayflower, by Elder William Brewster, and now owned by Mr. Joseph Brewster Knox of Worcester. It is deposited with the Society for safe keeping.
The third annual excursion of the Worcester So- ciety of Antiquity on Saturday, July 8th, found a happy selection in the beautiful historic town of Lei- cester, one of the oldest "Academy Towns" of New England which, unlike many of the villages of the former period, retains its old characteristics, with such infusion and increase from the enterprise of the present day, that it is progressive, well kept, with all its former prestige unimpaired.
The purpose of these summer excursions does not altogether dismiss the idea of pleasure hunting, but when among other delightful adjuncts are found pre-
* See "Departments of Work" for 1882.
ACADEMY AND OTHER PUBLIC BUILDINGS, LEICESTER, MASS.
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sented historic features of interest situated in their own locality and from originals, the success is sure to be complete. This was eminently the case with the visit to Leicester.
Its ease of access from Worcester met the con- venience of many members, by making it a half-day programme, and at 1 P. M. the fully loaded barges left the Society's rooms on Foster street and in less than hour the party were safely landed on Leicester Hill where an unexpected surprise awaited them in a thoroughly complete organization of the citizens for their reception and entertainment. A commit- tee, among them Rev. Messrs. Coolidge and May, Messrs. C. C. Denny, Charles A. Denny, Joseph Murdock, Dr. H. P. Wakefield, L. D. Thurston, H. L. Watson and Parkman Denny were in attendance, with numerous ladies, and the Society found them- selves at once at home and among friends.
By an exercise of excellent skill and zeal there had been assembled in Memorial Hall a very notably excellent collection of antiquities, household treas- ures and relics of the past from the old-time homes, or through other ownerships from first possessors, which was of exceeding interest. The committee cannot forego a brief recount of some of these, the following being of especial interest:
A large oil painting-a view of Worcester from Denny Hill, painted in 1800 by Ralph Earle, who was born in Leicester in 1751, and was the grand- son of the first Ralph, one of the original colony.
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He was a pupil of Benjamin West, and a member of the Royal Academy of London. The picture has the spire of the Old South Church and the tower of the Court House in view, while Shrewsbury meeting- house is in the distant east. A set of tiny silver tea- spoons, made by Thomas Earle for Ruth Sargent, who married Col. William Henshaw in 1762. A pewter platter, belonging to Mrs. John Taylor in 1748, who kept a tavern where Dexter Knight's house now stands; the tavern was burned in 1767, and this "piece of plate" was saved. David Hen- shaw's shoes, and shoes worn by Mrs. Buckminster of Rutland, wife of the parson, in 1780, were curious relics. The gun carried by Col. William Henshaw when he went to Cambridge at the outbreak of the Revolution was also shown. It is related that Gen. Washington was so much pleased with the weapon that he wanted one like it, and Thomas Earle of Cherry Valley made one which he carried, on foot, to New York, to deliver. He was disappointed at his reception, the General being very busy, and only hastily glancing at the gun, ordered it to be paid for. Later, on learning of Mr. Earle's care in mak- ing the gun, and his long journey to deliver it, the General wrote him a handsome letter of thanks.
The old lock of the Leicester Bank, a ponderous piece of machinery, and an equally aged padlock with a concealed keyhole, were eagerly .examined. Tiles from the house of Col. William Henshaw, built in 1770, and shoes of 1772 were shown, also a quan-
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tity of the manuscripts of Rev. Ebenezer Parkman, first minister at Westborough, 1721, the writing of which is so fine as to need a glass for reading by modern eyes. His music book, in manuscript, was also shown. It is about 1} by 3 inches in size, and is a marvel of clear and distinct work with the pen. The following lines, painted on the first town clock, are also of interest :
"I serve ye here with all my might ; I tell the hour by day and night. Therefore warning take of me, And serve thy God as I serve thec !"
The largest and most valuable portion of this dis- play was contributed by Miss H. E. Henshaw, and illustrated the career of her grandfather, Col. Wm. Henshaw, of Revolutionary fame, who was Adjutant General of the Massachusetts forces under General Ward for about nine months. His grand-daughter, Miss H. E. Henshaw, has three volumes of his offi- cial records and order books, including the orders relative to the battle of Bunker Hill. One of these has been published by the Mass. Historical Society. She also has his journal of the expedition to Canada, in the French war.
Several aged people were present, and seemed much interested in the visit and in the objects of the Society. Among these was Mr. Baldwin Watts, 83 years of age; he has a sister, ten years older, still living in the town.
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Memorial Hall and its fine collection of books, well kept and well used, received the highest con- mendation, and greatly honors this excellent com- munity. After an hour of informal examination and investigation Rev. Mr. Coolidge made an address of welcome.
He said the town is not one of the old towns, al- though it has celebrated its one hundred and fiftieth anniversary. Other towns have passed their two hundredth anniversary, and thereby leave Leicester quite juvenile. Here the Towtaid Indians roamed, here are many interesting relics of the Revolution. The town held its first meeting a year before the first was held in Worcester, and was ready to act when the first call to arms was issued. Here was one of the concealed depots of ammunition during the war. Col. William Henshaw of Leicester was Adjutant General of the Massachusetts forces under General Ward for nine months after General Washington took command of the army. We have here his or- der-books covering most of the time; also the musket he carried to Boston, and his diary kept during the campaign to Canada in the French, war in 1759.' He exhibited Col. Henshaw's commission as Lieu- tenant in the French war; a list of his company who marched with him from Leicester to Canada: also the list of members of Capt. Whiting's detachment and Col. Ruggles' battalion of the same date; Col. Henshaw's commission as Adjutant of the Massachu- setts forces &c. Mr. Coolidge also exhibited the
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records of the early proprietors of the town in sev- eral thick volumes; an indenture of apprenticeship, 1747; some licenses issued to hotel keepers, with the accompanying oaths of allegiance to the state and the United states; a bill of lading in the schooner Delight, bound to Antiqua, Gaudeloupe, and various other curious ancient matter.
Ellery B. Crane Esq., President of the Society of Antiquity, responded in a happy manner, expressing the Society's grateful appreciation of the generisity displayed by so many interested citizens of Leicester.
Before the company were seated in the hall their number was largely increased by the arrival of numerous prominent Worcester citizens and their ladies, making the full delegation .from our city a notably large one. Among these gentlemen were his Honor, Mayor E. B. Stoddard, a former pupil of Leicester Academy, and A. P. Marble Esq. Superin- tendent of the Worcester schools, also Manning Leonard Esq. and B. A. Leonard of Southbridge.
Deacon C. C. Denny of Leicester then read a brief historical sketch of the town. It was purchased by nine gentlemen of Roxbury, whose records are still preserved, and were exhibited. The first settle- ment was in 1714. The first burial place was in the rear of the first meeting house, and the bottom of a coffin, from this burial ground, was shown. In 1765, Benj. Tucker deeded a burial place to a company of citizens, which was called "the old burial place." Daniel Denny, who came here in 1716, left money
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for another burial place, near the meeting house. This was the fifth public burial ground laid out in the town. In Leicester, in 1830, only 237 people were taxed, the valuation being $286,000; in 1880 there there were 505 tax payers, and the valuation was 992,000; only 17 of the owners of real estate in 1830, or their descendants, had possession of it fifty years after that date, and only five farms in the town are owned or occupied by the descendants of those who occupied them one hundred years ago. In 1830 four persons only of foreign birth were taxed for real estate; in 1880 there were 165. Fifty years ago 17 families of the name of Earle were taxed here; now there is but one.
Hon. E. B. Stoddard, Mayor of Worcester was called out, and made a pleasant address, alluding to his membership with Leicester Academy 35 years ago, and spoke tenderly of the influence of the Rev. Dr. Nelson, upon the character of the town. He said the relics exhibited here to-day indicate how much of value and interest may be saved by any one, if only pains are taken. Every one can recall matters occurring in early life, relics and records of which are already lost, because no care was taken to preserve them. Local societies like this one are very valuable, and he expressed satisfaction in its prosperity, and pleasure at its cordial reception in Leicester. He intimated that such an interesting occasion would bear to be repeated.
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Hon. Clark Jillson, ex-Mayor of Worcester, and ex-President of the Society, spoke of his satisfaction in being present on such a delightful occasion, and alluded to the many choice relics on exhibition, and to the importance of their preservation. He also alluded to the notable generosity of the citizens of Leicester, in making such ample provision for the entertainment of the Society.
During his remarks he called attention to a name upon one of the Memorial Tablets, erected by the town in memory of Leicester's patriotic soldiers who died in defence of a Nation's life during the rebellion of 1861. Hiram Streeter was his schoolmate and friend, and when the town was struggling to fill its quota he went to Worcester with a determination to enlist as a private in the 57th Regiment. He there called upon his old friend who questioned the pro- priety of his leaving his family and home without further consideration. His reply was, "I have deci- ded that it is my duty to defend my country if I die in so doing." Leicester is honored in perpetuating the memory of her soldiers.
Albert P. Marble PH. D., Superintendent of the Worcester schools, spoke of the influence of acade- mies in the scheme of public education, and felt sure that academies and high schools are both needed. He also congratulated the Leicester people on their excellent educational facilities.
Mr. W. S. Wood, Superintendent of schools in Seymour, Ind., was called upon, and expressed his
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pleasure in the gathering, which he said was impos- sible in the West, where a man who has lived in a place five years is considered an old settler.
Mr. George Sumner, Vice-President of the Society, was introduced and made appropriate remarks upon the object of the meeting and its success.
Dr. Wakefield made a very pleasant speech and gave an interesting sketch of the topography of the town, and of the common land in the centre, which was originally five acres. He also gave some sug- gestions in regard to the earlier meeting-houses, and school buildings.
General A. B. R. Sprague, Sheriff of Worcester County, made a brief but interesting speech, expres- sing his pleasure at the gathering, and his interest in the Society and its work. He alluded to the later history of Leicester, and to its contributions to the army of the Union, and urged that all historical material be carefully cherished and preserved.
One feature of greatest interest in the day was the Leicester Academy, the structure being then in a well advanced and thorough stage of repairs and re- fitting for the new era of its existence, since success- fully entered upon. This work was examined with much interest by the visitors, and they were highly delighted in listening to a charming historical sketch of the Academy, prepared for the occasion, by Rev. Samuel May of Leicester, as follows:
LEICESTER ACADEMY.
BY REV. SAMUEL MAY.
Leicester Academy may be fairly called "an ancient seat of learning,"-if there can be ought ancient in so young a country as ours,-and so a proper subject for a "Society of Antiquity" to consider. In two years from this time it will complete a cen - tury of existence. During that century it has filled a large place in educating the youth of the "Heart of the Commonwealth," as Worcester County has long been called, and indeed a much larger area. It is the oldest Academy in the State away from the seaboard. Only Dummer Academy in Byfield, founded in 1756, and Phillips Academy in Andover, founded in 1777, are its seniors. Its educational position and repute have always. compared favorably with those well known seminaries, and with Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire ; and the work it has done has been of a like character with theirs, with the addi- tion that it has from the beginning done this work for both young men and young women.
At the close of our revolutionary war, the means of popular education in Massachusetts, which had always been scant, had become reduced to a low point. To those who thoughtfully reflected on the future of the young country, which henceforth must cease to look to the "mother country" for professional and educational guides, the prospect was dark. Something must be done to meet this radical deficiency, and there was no time to be lost. The new state had indeed the best material to build upon and to build with a population for the most part of unmixed Anglo-Saxon descent, moulded by the influences of a peculiar religious training and tried in the school of stern con- test with hardships and adversity. The churches and pulpits
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had always been powerful educating influences. The minister, who was chosen by the town in concurrence with the church, was invariably an educated man, and could always be depended upon to aid every impulse and effort towards good learning. But the poverty of the means and resourses for schooling of any kind, was appalling. Harvard College, the only college in the State, gave a respectable preparation to a small number of young men designed for the three learned professions of the time : two or three academies struggled to hold their own; the common schools were few for the need, kept for short periods, taught by persons usually of good native sense and gifts, but of very limited training, poorly paid, and mostly compelled to resort to other labors also for a maintenance. Such, as we are obliged to conclude from the recorded history of the time, was the state of things in this vicinity at the period spoken of-the close of the war of 1776-1783 ; in spite of all which, there existed a prevailing sturdy good sense and a degree of intelligence, which must always challenge admiration and often excite surprise.
No school of advanced education existed in Worcester Coun- ty,-unless Lancaster may be an exception,-until Leicester Academy was founded. And its foundations were not laid by Leicester hands, although Leicester hands were not backward in the up-building. In the brief time allowed for the sketch, I attempt little more than an outline-imperfect at that-of what the late Governor Washburn, a native and a most loyal sou of of this town, has furnished for us in his History of Leicester Academy.
Colonel Ebenezer Crafts of Sturbridge,-born in Pomfret, Conn .- was the real founder of Leicester Academy. Before the war broke out, with foresight, he had raised and organized a company of cavalry ; with which, as its captain, he joined the army at Cambridge in 1775. He continued in active service near Boston, until the place was evacuated by the British army in March, 1776. When the war closed, in 1783, he turned his at- tention, with characteristic promptness, to the correction of the evil of which he had long been aware, namely, the low state of education among the people all about him, which had been made worse by the inevitable effect of an exhausting war of seven
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years' continuance. The purpose of establishing an Academy had long been maturing in his mind. He enlisted his friend, Col. Jacob Davis of Charlton, in the scheme ; and an estate with a good building upon it in the centre of Leicester, being then for sale, they bought it in the Spring of 1783 at public auction for the sum of £515 158 ; and, after some delays, they obtained an act of incorporation, and made a free gift of the estate, for the purposes of an Academy, to the trustees .named in the incorporating act, who were gentlemen of Sturbridge, Charlton, Leicester, Worcester, Spencer, Brookfield, and Brim-' field. A portrait of Col. Crafts hangs in the Academy Hall.
The building thus purchased, and devoted thenceforth to the purposes of education, had belonged to Mr. Aaron Lopez, a wealthy Jew merchant of Newport, R. I., who had retreated with his family to Leicester, at the outbreak of the war, and remain- ed here until near its close. He had purchased an acre of land of what is now the south-easterly portion of our common, and erected, close upon the present main road, a two-story building of wood, of unusual size and appearance, for the two-fold pur- pose of a residence and a store. Gov. Washburn describes the building, partly from recollection, as about 75 feet feet in length on the street, and as having six rooms on the lower floor, three in front, three in the rear. Rev. Dr. Pierce of Brookline, (H. U. 1793, who died 1849) a preceptor here 1793-1795, de- seribed it as "an oblong, barrack-looking building." The cen- tre front-room was much the largest, and was the Jew mer- chant's store-house. These rooms were not over seven and a half feet high. and the two corner ones were small. Neverthe- less here, for some twenty years, Leicester Academy was kept, amidst inconveniences and drawbacks such as would be deemed intolerable now. Here faithful instructors discharged their high office with zeal and dilligence, and here many young men and women laid the foundation of future success and honor, and in many cases of eminence. Little or no change was made in the building to adapt it to school uses. The store, or centre room, became the "commons" or eating room, and the place for all exercises of declamation and the like. The corner rooms were the school rooms, the south-west being for the classical depart-
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ment, the south-east for the English. Rev. Dr. Pierce, writing his reminiscences, says : "Over the Latin (or classical) school was a chamber, in which the principal and myself occupied the same bed, for the two years we were together. Not only so, when a college friend was to pass the night with us, we all three slept together."
Before the school could be opened, indeed before it could get its incorporation, it was made obligatory on its founders to raise the sum of One Thousand pounds (about $3300.), exclusive of the real estate, for its endowment.
Immediate appeal for the sum was made. Gov. Washburn says, "It found general favor in the County, and enlisted the zeal and active sympathy of many of its prominent citizens." "Among these" he says "was the late Isaiah Thomas Esq., the publisher and proprietor of the Massachusetts Spy, who rendered efficient aid by the influence of that paper." The Spy of Nov. 6, 1783, announced that "there would soon be opened at Leices- ter, an Academy for the purpose of promoting the sciences," and an appeal was made "to the people of this large county to exert themselves to second the endeavors of those gentlemen who have laid this generous and laudable plan for public educa- tion." It was further stated that "this academy will be opened in that large and elegant house lately occupied by Mr. Aaron Lopez, a situation particularly advantageous for this purpose." In a subsequent paper, an appeal was made, "to set on foot a subscription, through the county at least, in favor of our infant academy." One minister of the County, Rev. Joseph Buck- minster of Rutland, preached upon the subject, and in his dis- course, "on Thanksgiving day of that year. addressed his con- gregation, in strong terms, upon the importance of lending their aid to the proposed institution." His remarks were published in the Spy. Was it an accidental coincidence. that, long years after Mr. Buckminster made this thoughtful appeal, the largest contribution which the Academy had ever received came from a native son of Rutland, (James Smith Esq.) or was it indeed another verification of the promise. given to every true and dis- interested worker that
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