USA > Massachusetts > The Massachusetts Society of the Sons of the American Revolution with the National and State Constitutions 1893 > Part 12
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The third speaker was the Rev. Grindall Reynolds, of Concord, who dwelt briefly on the lessons of the day, and said that the prosperity, intelligence, and self-respect shown by the people who watched the mock battle to- day was wrought out by the men who fought at the bridge one hundred and nineteen years ago.
The Hon. Mellen Chamberlain spoke substantially as follows :
It is a great privilege, as I gratefully think, to join with the Sons of the American Revolution, though not of their number, in the celebration of the 19th of April, 1775. That was indeed
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a notable day ; a day forever memorable by events of great im- port to that age and people, and which seems likely to affect the political condition of no inconsiderable part of the human race. It was neither unexpected nor unprepared for. The Provin- cial Congress, adjourned from Salem, met at Concord, October II, 1774. That body-the ablest political body, as I think, that ever sat in Massachusetts - met the impending crisis with a prescience, wisdom, and practical skill never surpassed and seldom equalled by any similar body of men known to me. Among its members were Hancock, Adams, the Warrens, Hawley, Gerry, Paine, and many others, among whom were those afterward distinguished in the field, in legislative bodies, or in the highest executive offices. And this Provincial Congress, here in the winter of 1774-5, devised those measures which, mainly through the influence of Adams, Gerry, Hancock, and Paine, were adopted the next spring by the Continental Congress at Philadelphia ; and I think it no exaggeration to say that what was done in the little town of Concord made possible what was done on the wider theatre of continental affairs. This is apparent to every one who reads the journals of both bodies. And so I think this edifice in which the Provincial Congress sat, and in which we are now sitting, - sacred alike to liberty and religion, - where the foundation of independence was laid, should be no less dear, to New England at least, than that hall in Phila- delphia in which independence was declared July 4, 1776.
Of the events of April 19, 1775, I need say but little. They have passed into history. Every year they are recounted in our public journals, and are now household words. I ask rather what these events meant for the colonists at the time ; what they have since meant, and what they may mean for future ages? On the first question I have some direct, authentic intelligence, derived from an actor in those scenes. When intelligence of the affair at Lexington on the morning of the 19th reached Danvers, the minute-men there, under the lead of Capt. Gideon Foster, made that memorable march, or run, rather, of sixteen miles in four hours. They struck Percy's flying column at West Cambridge. Brave, but incautious in flanking the redcoats, they were flanked themselves, and badly pinched, leaving seven dead, two wounded, and one missing. Among those who escaped was Levi Preston, afterward Captain Preston. When I was about twenty-one, and Captain Preston about ninety-one, I inter-
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viewed him in his own house as to what he did and thought sixty-seven years before, on the 19th of April, 1775, and now fifty-two years later, I make my report, a little belated, perhaps, but I trust not too late for the morning papers. With an assur- ance passing even that of the modern interviewer, I began : " Captain Preston, what made you go to the Concord fight?" The old man, bowed with the weight of fourscore years and ten, raised himself upright, and turning to me said : " What did I go for? " - " Yes," I replied. " My histories all tell me you men of the Revolution took up arms against 'intolerable oppres- sion.' What was it?"-" Oppression ? I didn't feel any that I know of." -" Were you not oppressed by the Stamp Act?" - " I never saw any stamps, and I always understood that none were ever sold." -" Well, what about the tea tax?" -" Tea tax? I never drank a drop of the stuff ; the boys threw it all overboard." -" But I suppose you had been reading Harrington, Sidney, and Locke about the eternal principles of liberty "? - " I never heard of those men. The only books we had were the Bible, the catechism, Watts's psalms and hymns, and the almanac." - " Well, then, what was the matter? And what did you mean in going to the fight?" -"Young man, what we meant in fight- ing the British was this : We always had been free, and we meant to be free always."
And that, gentlemen, is the ultimate philosophy of the Ameri- can Revolution. It correctly assigns the underlying, pervasive cause ; it explains and accounts for the uprising of the whole country, with its varied interests, from Maine to Georgia. Doubtless there were subsidiary causes affecting localities and interests, especially the sea-coast and commercial towns. But the yeomanry of the interior felt none of these grievances, and yet they were among the first to resist the British pretensions. The 19th of April, 1775, was indeed a notable day in the progress of national autonomy and representative government. Other days come and go. Their sun rises and hastens to its setting. But on the 19th of April, 1775, no second sun will ever rise. Its sun once risen will never set. It still rides high and clear. Its prescribed arc is not over the visible firmament, but over the ages.
Mr. Curtis Guild, Jr., a descendant of the Revolution, was the last speaker, and supported Collector Warren
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as to the nature of the lesson which he drew from the memories of the day. He said in part :
Our forefathers freed us from the tyranny of England, our fathers freed us from the curse of slavery, but if we are to pre- serve the liberties which they obtained for us, it must depend entirely upon the personal virtue and patriotism of every citizen of this republic. Many people believe their whole duty is done when they have paid their taxes and cast their ballots. We are not called upon to sacrifice our lives : we are called upon daily to sacrifice something of our leisure and pleasure, and something of the triumphs of literary and social advancement, that we may keep unstained the liberties handed down to us. A substitution of indirect legislation for the direct legislation of the town- meeting is a convenience that carries with it the threat of dan- ger. A large part of the people seem to think the selection of those representatives depends, not on the people, but on poli- ticians, and that the function of the people consists simply in choosing between the various party candidates on election day. It is the duty of every American citizen to be a politician, and see to it that he takes not simply an intelligent but an active share in the government of the American republic. We can aid our country by the destruction of corrupt candidates, by sweep- ing down corrupt Legislatures, and seeing to it that we have an honest ballot. What we need is not so much public criticism as private action.
Mr. Luther Conant, of Acton, showed a number of in- teresting relics and made a pithy explanatory address. Mr. James G. Buttrick, of Lowell, a lineal descendant of Major John Buttrick, who "fired the shot heard round the world," exhibited the gun from which came that shot. The thanks of the Society were then unanimously given to the speakers and President Barrett, and thus came to an end the largest and most enthusiastic meeting of the Society.
At the meeting of the managers on May 10, the resig- nation of Mr. Archibald M. Howe was presented, and accepted. Mr. William B. Clarke was chosen to fill the vacancy. Messrs. Bent, Brown, and Kimball were
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appointed a Committee of Publication for the ensuing year, and the committee was authorized to prepare an appendix to the book of the Society. The president, registrar, and historian were appointed the Committee on Applications. The president, registrar, and secretary were chosen a committee to consider the best method of introducing the marker of Revolutionary graves, with discretionary powers. Eleven gentlemen were elected members of the Society.
At a meeting of the managers on June 15, the historian and secretary were appointed a special press committee, and it was voted that they furnish extracts from the con- stitutions of the S. A. R. and S. R., showing the qualifi- cations of members derived from collateral and direct descent. The offer of the National Society to present a silver medal to the best essayist on Revolutionary history in the principal colleges of the country was laid on the table. Forty candidates were elected to the Society.
At a meeting of the managers on July 19, it was voted to print five hundred copies of an article communicated to the " Boston Transcript," on the qualifications of can- didates to membership in the S. A. R. and S. R. The article, in the form of a letter, is as follows :
Many erroneous statements having been made concerning the qualifications of candidates for admission to the societies of the " Sons of the American Revolution," and the "Sons of the Rev- olution," particularly to the effect that admission to the former society is possible by what is called collateral descent, the Board of Managers of the "Sons of the American Revolution " have determined to publish the articles of the constitutions of the two societies relating to membership. These articles are taken from the authorized publications of the societies. Article III. of the constitution of the " National Society of the Sons of the Ameri- can Revolution," as adopted at the national congress at Chicago, June 16, 1893, provides that any man twenty-one years of age and over shall be eligible to membership, "who is the lineal descendant of an ancestor who rendered actual service in the
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cause of American independence," as soldier, sailor, etc. Arti- cle IV. provides that the national society shall embrace all the members of the State societies. In accordance with this pro- vision and similar provisions in the original constitution of the society, every member of the Massachusetts Society from its organization in 1889 is the lineal descendant of a Revolutionary patriot, as may be seen from an inspection of the Society's book, published in 1893, with a list of members and the military records of their ancestors.
Article II. of the By-Laws of the Massachusetts Society of the " Sons of the Revolution," also published by a committee in 1893, provides that any male person above the age of twenty- one years shall be eligible to membership "who is descended from an ancestor who assisted in establishing American inde- pendence, etc., provided (further) that when there shall be no surviving issue in direct lineal succession from an officer, soldier, or sailor, etc., the claim of eligibility shall descend and be limited to one representative at a time in the nearest collateral line o descent from such propositus, etc., and no other descendants in collateral lines shall be admitted in right of any services what- ever."
The Board of Managers of the "Sons of the American Revo- lution " are content to place these articles side by side in refu- tation of any statements that eligibility by collateral descent, as it is called, is recognized in the election of its members.
It was voted that the Society suggest to the Art Com- mission of the City of Boston the desirability of remov- ing the monument erected to the memory of the victims of the " Boston Massacre," now on the Common, to the Granary Burying-Ground, where their remains lie, as its most appropriate place; it was also voted to send a copy of this vote to the secretary of the Art Commission, and to the newspapers for publication. Eleven candi- dates were admitted to membership.
At the meeting of the managers on September 21, it was voted that the semi-annual meeting, or " fall field-day," be held at Plymouth on October 19. Twenty-two candi- dates were admitted to membership.
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MEMBERSHIP ROLL FROM OCTOBER, 1893.
ADAMS, CHARLES CLARK, BOSTON.
Great-grandson of JOHN ADAMS ; served to the credit of the third precinct of Brookfield, June 30, 1778; credited with two-thirds month's service, August I, 1778, ordered by Captain Hamilton, at Brookfield, " to go to Widow Jones's, Worcester, 12 o'clock, pro- vided with arms, ammunition, and rations for three days, and there to rendezvous, from thence to march, August 6, or pay a fine; " in service from the town of Medway at various times from April 19, 1775 ; at Bos- ton, September 23, 1778, to January 1, 1779 (Rev. Rolls, iv., 59} ; lii., 49a).
ADAMS, CHARLES ELISHA, LOWELL.
Great-grandson of SMITH ADAMS, of Newton, (1757-1812) ; private in Captain Fuller's Newton com- pany, which marched from that town and was in the battles of Lexington and Concord; private in Captain Peirce's company, of Waltham, Colonel Brooks's regi- ment of guards, at Cambridge, February 3, 1778 (v. Jackson's "History of Newton," 337).
ANDREW, HENRY HERSEY, UNION, WEST VA.
Great-great-grandson of THOMAS HEARSEY (Hersey), of Hingham (1734- ) ; captain of the first Hingham company, Colonel Lovell's Second Suffolk Regiment, commissioned April 4, 1776; marched to Dorchester Heights (Rev. Rolls, xliii., 203 ; xx., 5; xxviii., 108).
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AUSTIN, ARTHUR EVERETT, BOSTON.
Great-grandson of MOSES AUSTIN, of Lebanon, New Hampshire ; private for one year from June, 1775, in Captain Woodbury's company, Colonel Stark's regi- ment; private in Captain Bancroft's company, Colonel Jackson's Massachusetts regiment, for nine months, from June, 1776; a pensioner (certificate of the Pen- sion Bureau).
BAILEY, ALVIN RICHARDS, NEWTON.
Great-grandson of EBENEZER BATTLE, of Ded- ham; captain of the Fourth Parish company of that town at the Lexington alarm, and served thirteen days ; captain in Colonel McIntosh's regiment, March, 1776, in taking possession and fortifying Dorchester Heights ; captain of the Eighth Company of Colonel McIntosh's First Suffolk Regiment, May 10, 1776; served at Castle Island from December II to 30, 1776; captain in Colonel Titcomb's regiment at Providence, Rhode Island, from May 8 to June 8, 1777; served with Colonel McIntosh's regiment from March 23 to April 5, 1778, and marched to Roxbury by order of the Council; commissioned captain of the Eighth Company, First Suffolk Regiment, July 2, 1778; on duty guard- ing stores in and near Watertown in July, 1778; served with Lieutenant-Colonel Pierce's regiment at Tiverton, Rhode Island, from May 7 to July 1, 1779; commis- sioned second major of Colonel McIntosh's First Suffolk Regiment, April 1, 1780 (Rev. Rolls, xi., 241 ; xvii., 77; xxviii., 39, 115; xxv., 41 ; i., 45, 81, 93 ; xvii., 51, 34; XXV., 151 ; ccxxvi., 498).
BALCH, JOHN KIRBY PERRY, LYONS, IOWA.
Great - grandson of THOMAS STICKNEY, of Bradford (1734-1808); lieutenant of Captain Gage's company, which marched on the Lexington alarm, seven days' service; lieutenant of the same company, Colonel Frye's regiment, at Bunker Hill; in service in
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Captain Eaton's company, Colonel Johnson's regiment, between August 5 and December 12, 1777; com- manded his company at the battle of Bennington, where he was wounded; Committee of Safety, 1778, and of a committee to hire men and settle with sol- diers from 1778 to 1781 (Rev. Rolls, xxviii., 12, 107 ; xxvii., 171, 200; xix., 81/2 ; xviii., 255 ; xii., 106; cxlvi., 123).
Great - grandson of NATHANIEL BALCH, of Bradford (1737- ); active as a Son of Liberty, and one of those who dined at Liberty Tree, Dorchester, August 14, 1769 (v. Proceedings Mass. Hist. Society, 1869-70, ii., p. 140).
BEMIS, ALONZO AMASA, SPENCER.
Great-grandson of AMASA BEMIS, of Spencer (1757-1842) ; private in Captain Walcott's company, of Spencer, at the Lexington alarm, twelve days' service ; private in Captain Cowles's company, Colonel Wood- bridge's regiment, September 30, 1775 ; sergeant of Captain Earle's company, Colonel Keyes's regiment, at Camp Providence, December 31, 1777; sergeant of the same company, July 9, 1777, to January, 1778, at Providence, five months, twenty-five days (Rev. Rolls, xiii., 170; lvi., 168; xix., 15, 153-4).
Great-grandson of ROBERT WATSON, of Spencer ; private in Captain Mason's company, Colonel Warner's regiment, which marched at the Lexington alarm, fourteen days' service (Rev. Rolls, xii., 188).
Great-grandson of SAMUEL WATSON, of Leices- ter ; sergeant of Captain Washburn's company, Colonel Ward's regiment, which marched at the Lexington alarm, twenty-two days' service; sergeant of Captain Loring Lincoln's company, Lieut .- Colonel Flagg's regiment, which marched on the Bennington alarm, five days' service (Rev. Rolls, xiii., 154; xxx., 199; xxi., 34; xx., 220).
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BENT, ALLEN HERBERT, BOSTON.
Great-grandson of SAMUEL BENT, of Sudbury (1755-1833) ; a minute-man at Concord fight, serving one month thereafter; private in a Sudbury company on an alarm, twenty-six days, from February 4, 1776 (Rev. Rolls, xii., 8; lii., 36).
Great-grandson of JONAS BRECK, of Sherborn (1758-1822) ; private in Captain Winch's company ; three months, twenty-five days, from August 16, 1777 ; private in Captain Ellis's company, fourteen days, from August 3, 1778 (Rev. Rolls, ii., i .; xxiv., 24, 138).
Great-grandson of DAVID COMEE, of Lexington (1744-1826) ; was present at the battle, unattached ; private in Captain Dana's Westminster company at Roxbury, March 4, 1776; private in Captain Sawyer's company from December, 1776, to February, 1777; private in Captain Jackson's company at the Benning- ton alarm, August 22, 1777; private in Captain Car- ter's company from September 7 to December 29, 1777 (Rev. Rolls, xviii., 31, 47; xxvi., 419; iii., 176.)
BENT, SAMUEL ARTHUR, BROOKLINE.
(Supplementary Application.)
Great-grandson of JOSEPH BARRETT, of Mason, New Hampshire (1745-1831); member of the Pro- vincial Congress at Exeter, 1775 ; member of the Com- mittee of Inspection, 1775, 1776; selectman, 1775, 1781; town treasurer, 1780, 1781; representative, 1780; captain of the trainband in 1776, 1777; marched his company to reënforce General St. Clair at Ticonderoga in 1777, and was in service fourteen days when his company, with others, was ordered home to prepare for General Stark's expedition, in which he was a private in Captain Goss's company, Colonel Nichols's regiment; and was at Bennington (N.H. Rolls, ii., 81, 211 ; v. " History of Mason ").
Great-grandson of OLIVER WATSON, Jr., of Spencer (1743-1826) ; private in Captain Carroll's
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company, Colonel Whiting's regiment of Worcester County militia, November 2, 1776, one month, four days; in the same company and regiment, May 26, two months, fourteen days; in the same company and regiment, December 3; corporal in Captain Prouty's company, Colonel Denny's regiment, which marched to reënforce the northern army from September 27 to October 18, 1777; private in Captain White's com- pany, Colonel Denny's regiment, August 21, 1777, which marched to Hadley on an alarm, two days' service; lieutenant in the Worcester County militia (v. "History of Spencer ; " Rev. Rolls, iv., 31 ; xviii., II, 35, 39; xxii., 82 ; xxiv., 121).
Great-great-grandson of OLIVER WATSON, Sr., of Spencer (1718-1804); member of the third Pro- vincial Congress, 1775 ; selectman eleven years, in- cluding 1775 ; first representative from Spencer to the General Court, 1776-80; member of the Committee of Correspondence, 1774, 1775 ("History of Spencer," passim).
BIGELOW, MELVILLE MADISON, CAMBRIDGE.
Great-grandson of JOSEPH ENOS, of Hopkinton, Rhode Island (1758-1835) ; a lieutenant in the Rev- olution ; his widow was a pensioner.
Great-great-grandson of JABEZ BIGELOW, of Weston (1726- ), who, having no sons of suitable age for the war, loaned a large part of his (for the time) considerable estate to aid in carrying on the Revolution, taking Continental scrip in payment after the war.
BLACKWELL, JAMES DE RUYTER, BOSTON.
Great-grandson of JOSEPH BLACKWELL, of Virginia (1750- ); major in the commissary de- partment of Virginia in the Revolution; he received a grant of land in Kentucky (v. Hayden's “ Virginia Genealogies ").
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Great-grandson of ELIAS EDMANDS, an officer in Marshall's artillery regiment.
BLANCHARD, LUKE, WEST ACTON.
Grandson of CALVIN BLANCHARD, of Acton (1754-1801); private in Captain Davis's Acton com- pany at Concord fight; assisted in building the fortifi- cations, and was present at Bunker Hill; served through the war (Rev. Rolls, xiii., 156; Histories of Boxboro' and Acton).
BLOOD, ROBERT ALLEN, BOSTON.
Great-grandson of SIMEON BLOOD, of Hollis, New Hampshire ; private in Captain Goss's company, Colonel Nichols's regiment, of Stark's brigade ; marched at the Bennington alarm, July 20, 1777; enlisted for two years, March 1, 1778, in Captain Rowell's com- pany, Colonel Lovewell's regiment, of the Continental Army (N.H. Rolls, i., 631 ; ii., 209, 614; iii., 689).
BODGE, GEORGE MADISON, LEOMINSTER.
Great-grandson of BENJAMIN BODGE, of New Marblehead, Maine (1756- ); private in Captain Knight's company of Lieutenant-Colonel Noyes's Cum- berland County regiment, which met at Falmouth to defend the town from an attack, November 17, 1775, by Captain Mowat, of the British navy, who sailed into Casco Bay with a small fleet, and burned the greater part of the town (now Portland) ; the regiment de- fended the surrounding country from the invasion of Captain Mowat and his marines, who effected a landing the next day, under cover of the ships' guns, and destroyed that part of the town not already burned (Rev. Rolls, xxxvi., 115 ; Thomas S. Smith's " Histori- cal Discourse," July 4, 1839).
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BOLTON, CHARLES KNOWLES, BROOKLINE. (Amended Application.)
Great-great-grandson of TIMOTHY BOLTON, of Shirley ; private in Captain Wood's company, Colonel Baldwin's Twenty-sixth Regiment, March, 1776; was in New York in June of that year, and at Van Schaick's Island June 14, 1777 ; private in Captain Smith's com- pany, Colonel Bigelow's regiment, two months, seven- teen days; was at Valley Forge from December, 1777, to February, 1778 ; private in Captain Lawrence's com- pany, Colonel Poor's regiment, at Fort Clinton, from July 31 to September I, and at West Point until Oc- tober I (Rev. Rolls, xlviii., 321, 419, 426, 435 ; lviii., 4, 9).
BOWMAN, GEORGE ERNEST, WELLESLEY.
Great-great-grandson of JOSHUA BOWMAN, of Cambridge (1747-1780) ; a captain of dragoons in the Continental Army, and was killed, being shot from his horse, at Charleston, South Carolina, March 30, 1780 (v. Bond's " History of Watertown ").
Great-great-grandson of SAMUEL JOHNSON, of Andover; Committee of Circumspection, 1774; of Inspection and Correspondence, 1775; colonel of the Fourth Essex Regiment; commanded the attack on Fort Independence, September 17, 1777; was at Still- water and the surrender of Burgoyne (v. Bailey's " History of Andover ").
Great-great-grandson of JOSEPH NORTH, of Augusta, Maine; member of the Provincial Congress from Gardinerstown, Maine, 1774-5; colonel of the Second Lincoln County Militia Regiment, February 14, 1776 (v. North's " History of Augusta ").
BOYDEN, ELBRIDGE, WORCESTER. (Amended Application.)
Son of AMOS BOYDEN, of Sturbridge; private in Captain Batchelder's company, Colonel Wood's regi-
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ment, for six months, from January, 1778; private in Captain Hammond's company, Colonel Davis's regi- ment, nine months, from July 6, 1779; marched to Springfield ; private in Colonel Greaton's Third Regi- ment of the Continental Army from January I to Decem- ber 31, 1780; enlisted November 3, 1779, for the war ; was at West Point January 25, 1781 (Rev. Rolls, xli., 352a ; xlii., 65 ; x., 135 ; xxix., 71 ; lxvi., 151 ; liii., 228).
BOYDEN, MASON AMOS, WORCESTER.
Grandson of AMOS BOYDEN, of Sturbridge. (v. Elbridge Boyden.)
BRADISH, JOHN QUINCY, NEW YORK CITY. (Supplementary Application.)
Great-grandson of JOEL HAYES, of Salmon Brook, Connecticut (1728- ) ; Committee of Corre- spondence for the relief of Boston, 1774; lieutenant in the Revolutionary Army ; marched at the Bennington alarm in 1777; inspector of provisions, 1780; in service in New York (v. Records of Simsbury; Conn. Rev. Rolls, xxviii., 631; " History of George Hayes and his Descendants," 22).
BRETT, HARRY IRA, BOSTON.
Great-grandson of AMIZA BRETT, of Bridge- water (1762-1842); private in the Tenth Company of the Plymouth County regiment; on service in Rhode Island one month, fifteen days, in 1778; private in Captain Packard's company, Major Cary's regiment, on the Rhode Island alarm, July 30, 1780, three days' service (Rev. Rolls, lii., 104; iii., 64).
Great-great-grandson of SIMEON BRETT, of Bridgewater ; private in Captain Hayden's company, Colonel Thomas's regiment, sixty-one days, from Sep- tember 1, 1775, in camp at Roxbury; private in Cap- tain Hayden's company, Colonel Thomas's regiment, October 6, 1775 ; performed tours of duty in the Tenth
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