USA > Massachusetts > Berkshire County > Pittsfield > The history of Pittsfield (Berkshire County), Massachusetts, from the year 1800 to the year 1876 > Part 39
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On the green, between the church and the Old Elm, a beauti- ful triumphal arch had been erected ; bearing in the center of the front the salutation, WELCOME LA FAYETTE, and on the sides, the names of the American battle-fields upon which he had most dis- tinguished himself. Above the arch hung a well-proportioned national flag, forty-seven feet long, which the ladies of the village had made that morning, and which had been suspended, by Mr. Levi Beebe, from the top of the Old Elm, where, in the favoring breeze of the day, it floated with imposing effect.1
General La Fayette, accompanied by the committee, passed between two columns of citizens and soldiery, to the arch, under which he was addressed, by Hon. Jonathan Allen, in a few con- prehensive and striking remarks; to which he replied with much feeling, expressing his reciprocation of their affection, and a deep sense of the unequaled honor bestowed upon him. He then pro- ceeded through two lines of school-children to the church, where he was addressed by Professor Batchelder, of the Medical College, in behalf of the ladies of Berkshire, who filled the house to over- flowing. The Sun's report states that " the brilliant display of
1 The arch was built by Messrs. B. F. Hays and Charles S. Francis.
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the beauty and elegance of Berkshire females evidently made a deep impression on the general;" and it may be so, for the Berk- shire ladies of that era were widely noted for their loveliness. But, whatever may have been the effect of the spectacle upon the general, who had seen a good many lovely women in his day, from Marie Antoinette down, he certainly addressed those pres. ent in a very affectionate and complimentary tone. He was here also introduced to many of the clergy and to a number of revolutionary veterans, several of whom had been his companions in arms.
He then returned to the coffee-house, escorted by the Berkshire Greys-a favorite military company commanded by Capt. Daniel B. Bush -" the citizens crowding upon the procession, anxious to behold, and, all who could, ' to touch the hem of his garment ;' among them some of the leaders of the Shakers, who, contrary to their custom, approached the august personage with their hats in hand." 1
At the hotel, a sumptuous dinner had been prepared ; the hall and tables being decorated with evergreens and flowers, mingled with paintings and standards " some of great elegance, which attracted the particular notice of the general and suite, and the admiration of all."
" A blessing was invoked by Rev. Dr. Griffin, president of Williams College, in his usual exalted style ; and the closing bene- diction was made by Rev. Mr. Bailey, in a very appropriate and elegant manner, with a solemn allusion to the recent catastrophe on the Ohio." 2
A number of toasts were given ; among them, the following by Colonel Danforth : "Our beloved guest, General La Fayette ; the companion in arms of Washington, Greene, Gates and other brave officers of the revolutionary army."
The General responded with the following sentiment : "The citizens of Berkshire, and the people of Pittsfield-may they con- tinue to enjoy, more and more, the benefits of their industry, and the fruits of their republican institutions."
The General's son, George Washington La Fayette, gave as a
1 Sun's report.
2 The sinking of the steamer Mechanic, by which General La Fayette lost his baggage, including some very valuable mementos-which were, however, subsequently recovered-and came near losing liis life.
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toast - "The American constellation ; the political lighthouse of the world."
M. Le Vasseur, offered -" A free press, the centinel of lib- erty."
General La Fayette, being on his way to Boston and Charles- town, where he was to assist at the laying of the corner-stone of Bunker Hill monument on the 17th of June, could be detained no longer, and took his leave, accompanied by an escort, and attended by the sheriff of the county to the Hampshire line.
The publication of Doctor Rush's essay concerning the effects of alcohol upon the human system, in 1789, undoubtedly enlight- ened the public mind upon that subject, and, for a time at least, in some degree checked the excessive use of ardent spirits. Under its influence temperance-societies were organized in vari- ous parts of the county ; but the only one in Berkshire of which we have knowledge was formed at Adams, in 1789.1 The pledges conformed to the theory of Doctor Rush that, while distilled liquors, uncombined with other ingredients were ruinous to both soul and body, punch, the cheaper flip,2 wine, beer, and cider were not only harmless, but beneficial.
When the Massachusetts Society for the Suppression of Intem- perance was formed in 1813, it was on the same basis, and it did little but observe an anniversary and listen to a sermon ; after which preacher and hearers would repair to tables richly laden with wine.
In 1806, Rev. Ebenezer Porter of Washington, Conn., excited a deep interest among the clergy and people of that section, by a sermon upon the evils of intemperance. Under the influence of this sermon a committee was appointed by the Litchfield Associa- tion of Congregational Ministers, to inquire what remedy could be found for the great evil of the day. After deliberating until 1811, they reported that they could find none; when, on motion of Rev. Lyman Beecher, they were discharged, and a new com- mittee appointed, Mr. Beecher being chairman. This was quite
1 Berkshire Chronicle, March 4, 1789.
2 So completely have old customs passed away, that it may be necessary to explain that flip-the usual Sunday drink, on returning from church, and in Pittsfield, at the tavern, between the services-was made of small beer and a glass of spirits, with sugar and nutmeg, made hot by plunging a heated poker into the mug. It was considered a proper beverage for ladies.
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a different body from its predecessor, and it promptly reported that a remedy could be found in the agreement of all good Chris- tian people no longer to use spirituous drinks. The idea was scouted as impracticable ; but it proved seed that in after years bore good fruit.
In the winter of 1811-12, Rev. Heman Humphrey preached several sermons to his people in Fairfield, in which he practically took the ground of total abstinence from all that can intoxicate ; and, much by his influence, the consociation of Fairfield county excluded all spirituous liquors from their own meetings, and in 1812 published an able appeal to the public against the drinking usages of the day; the joint production of Mr. Humphrey and Rev. Roswell Swan of Norwalk.
When Mr. Humphrey removed to Pittsfield in 1817, his inter- est in the great cause did not diminish, but, before making any special effort in its behalf, in the state of feeling which then existed upon this subject, he deemed it best to thoroughly heal the breach which existed in the church-to do the work which, at that moment, he was specially called to do. The closing years of his pastorate were absorbed in the conduct of the great revival by which they were distinguished, and whose results seemed to him to afford the surest basis for all moral reforms, and so to be preferred before them in effort. And thus, although, no doubt, earnest words upon the subject fell from his lips, both in public and in private, he left the town without having made upon it any recognizable impression as an advocate of temperance.
His immediate successors manifested no marked interest in the reform, and seem to have felt none, other than as good men every- where had their attention gradually aroused to the public and common danger from the prevailing habits of intemperance. The press, in Pittsfield, was in advance of the pulpit in this mat- ter, and its columns contained frequent warnings and appeals. It was also introduced into the orations upon the fourth of July ; and the speakers at the anniversaries of the Agricultural Society dwelt with much earnestness and force upon the harm done to the farmer and his work by the practice of dram-drinking. Indeed, some of the most striking pictures, we have, of the evil, are con- tained in these addresses ; and they affect us the more powerfully that, in general, they are not given in the language of the moral- ist or of the professed reformer, but in a practical tone, which
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convinces us how deeply the practice was affecting the business- life of the community.
Still, in all these efforts, there was a certain want of well-defined purpose. The speakers and writers addressed themselves to the task of deepening the sense of an acknowledged danger and evil, with the hope of thus persuading to a restraint in the amount or the character of potations, which they did not dare wholly to condemn. And yet experience had taught them to feel, in the midst of their best efforts, that the hope which prompted them oftenest proved illusory; that the means they were using were altogether inadequate to the great ends they sought to compass.
In the meantime, in a few earnest minds, faith in total absti- nence as the only effectual barrier to the flood of intemperance continued to grow ; and, in the year 1826, the movement in that direction received a great accession of strength from the organiza- tion of the American Temperance Society, and by the publication of some admirable sermons and essays, which set the new doctrine before the country in so favorable a light, that it was taken up everywhere by eloquent tongues and spread through the country like wild-fire; so that in 1831 there were three thousand Total Abstinence Societies, with three hundred thousand members.
The first movement for a temperance-society in Pittsfield,1 was about the first of January, 1828, when the citizens met at the town-house, to consider the expediency of forming an organization for the suppression of intemperance. The meeting was fully attended, Rev. Eliakim Phelps presiding, and Luther Washburn, Esq., being secretary. After a spirited discussion, it was resolved that a society ought to be formed as soon as possible; and the fol- lowing gentlemen were appointed a committee to take the prelim- inary measures to that end : Joseph Merrick, Rev. Augustus Beach, Edward A. Newton, Henry K. Strong and Henry Hub- bard.
Rev. Mr. Beach was the leading spirit in this movement; and
1 " Moral Societies," theoretically for the suppression of every species of vice, were common in New England in the early years of the century, and one was formed in Pittsfield in 1814. But in Berkshire, at least, the efforts of these societies were directed almost exclusively to the enforcement of the laws against Sabbath-breaking; and, in all their troubled existence, they did not accomplish so much towards that end as the religious revival of 1822 did in one year.
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among his most zealous coadjutors, were Captain Merrick and Messrs. Charles Francis and B. F. Hays, all of whom went from man to man throughout the town, entreating all to sign the pledge.
Mr. Beach, an able speaker, and by temperament an exceed- ingly ardent and ultra reformer, was, in the discussions which attended the formation of the society, the leading advocate of the extreme doctrines of total abstinence, which some of his associates on the committee were not yet prepared to accept. All, however, except Mr. Newton, did finally accede to them ; Rev. Mr. Tappan, a man of a very high order of intellect, who had recently come to Pittsfield with strong opinions against the new doctrines, being, according to tradition, among those whose opinions were reversed by an address of Mr. Beach at an evening-meeting.
We find no record of the organization of this society ; nor any mention of it in the public prints, after the preliminary meet- ing, until May, 1828, when the secretary, Samuel A. Danforth, announced a monthly meeting with an address by Henry Hub- bard, in the south lecture-room. Persons now living have, how- ever, a vivid recollection of frequent meetings in the lecture-room, with eloquent speaking and very affecting scenes in connection with the signing of the pledge. Among the speakers were all the clergy of the town, George N. Briggs, then of Lanesboro, Col. Henry W. Dwight, of Stockbridge, Henry K. Strong, and others whose names are not remembered.
The society increased rapidly, and its strong influence, as well as that of the general temperance-sentiment which was spreading through the country, soon began to be apparent. At the election in May, 1828, the town of Pittsfield voted, almost unanimously, that it "disapproved the practice of treating at representative- elections ; " and, said the Argus, " the representatives-elect went home that night, for the first time for many years, without paying for their honors with rum."
On the 10th of November, 1828, a " highly respectable " meet- ing of citizens, Rev. Henry P. Tappan presiding, unanimously resolved that it was their wish, that the merchants and others vending and retailing ardent spirits, in the town, should altogether refrain from doing so as soon as it was practicable. The meeting also voted to publish its proceedings in the newspapers, and appointed Jason Clapp, Henry Hubbard and Calvin Martin to
50
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communicate its sentiments to the merchants. The latter held a meeting to consider the request and passed the following resolu- tions :
Resolved, That in common with our fellow-citizens of whatever 'employment, we deprecate the present excessive use of ardent spirits.
Resolved, That we are disposed to adopt every measure for the sup- pression of intemperance which may be just and proper.
Resolved, That, in our opinion, the suppression of vice, of whatever description, especially under a free government can only be effected through the medium of moral principle and public feeling. Therefore, while we are willing to meet the feelings of our customers on this sub- ject, we deem it both impolitie and improper, as a class of business, to enter into any combination for the coercive regulation of their opinions or habits.
Resolved, That we cordially approve the institution of the State Soci- ety for the Suppression of Intemperance, and rely much upon the moral influence of its operations.
Resolved, That we will so regulate our trade in this article as to check, as much as possible, the evils consequent upon it.
These proceedings were published in the newspapers, signed by Deacon Josiah Bissell, as chairman, and James Buel, as secretary. Messrs. Bissell and Co., however, a few days afterwards, pub- lished an advertisement in which, after quoting the last resolution of the series, they say : "Wishing to carry into effect this resolu- tion, and being satisfied that this branch of trade, with its attend- ant consequences, is neither pleasant or profitable ; and, believing our customers generally will approbate the measure, we have determined that from and after this day, we will not sell ardent spirits except for medicinal uses."
Messrs. Buel and Colt also, who had done the most extensive business in this line in the town, totally abandoned it, and most of the other merchants within a few years followed their example.
The reform soon extended to the suppression of the manufac- ture of ardent spirits, which were no longer distilled, at least upon a large scale.
Of course, in such a state of public sentiment as these proceed- ings indicate, the old public and social drinking-customs, in a great measure disappeared. Neither wine or spirits were, as a rule, any longer offered to the visitor on casual or formal calls ; nor was it the general practice to provide them at private parties, the better class of public balls, or at public dinners. The propor-
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tion of those who totally abstained from alcoholic beverages of every class, and those who occasionally, or habitually, indulged in their use, was nearly reversed from what it had been previous to 1828. Within ten years from that date, although there was still a large amount of ardent spirits consumed, the greatest moral revolution that the town has ever known, was effected.1
Since 1838, Pittsfield has shared with the rest of the common- wealth the vicissitudes of the temperance-reformation ; without any very marked local peculiarities, except such as are incident to a large increase of wealth, and the addition of new and foreign elements to its population. It has had the ordinary succession of temperance-organizations with their several characteristic developments : The Washingtonians in 1841, a tent of the Recha- bites in 1846, a lodge of the Sons of Temperance in 1848, and in the same year its first address by John B. Gongh, resulting in an earnest movement by the citizens. In 1867, the Mount Sinai Lodge of Good Templars, and the George N. Briggs Temple of Honor were instituted. The Mount Hope Lodge, composed of colored members of the same order, was formed in 1871; and the Noble Lodge in 1874. All the bodies of Good Templars con- tinue to flourish ; but the earlier organizations had each only an existence of a few years. The Pittsfield Catholic Total Absti- nence and Benevolent Society, was organized in February, 1874, through the efforts of Rev. Thomas Smith, then assistant-pastor of St. Joseph's church, and has had a remarkable influence in checking the prevalence of intemperance. Its pledge is founded upon the extreme doctrines of total abstinence; but it approves only moral suasion for their advancement. It gives a stated amount of aid to sick members and at their death pays a funeral benefit of twenty dollars, besides providing a High Requiem Mass.
One of the most vividly remembered of the minor events in the history of the town was the explosion of the public powder-mag- azine in July, 1838. This building was located, with singular disregard to public safety, in the north-east corner of the old burial-ground near the center of the village; and, at the time of the explosion contained about seven hundred pounds of gunpow- der ; of which four hundred pounds, intended for use in testing the
1 See chapter xviii.
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arms manufactured at Lemuel Pomeroy's armory, was owned by the United States government, and the remainder by various mer- chants.
For several months previous to the explosion the inhabitants of the village had been annoyed by the nocturnal misdemeanors of disorderly young men. Gates were unhinged, signs removed, fences defaced, and other like petty crimes were endured with little resistance by those who suffered from them. Finally, the artillery-pieces belonging to the state were frequently taken out of their house and discharged at dead of night, while the firing of muskets and smaller arms was incessant night after night. Emboldened by the neglect of efficient measures to bring them to justice, the authors of these disturbances, sometime pre- vious to the fourth of July, stole both the cannon and secreted them until, on the night of the seventh of July, one of them was planted in the earth in front of the house of Lemuel Pome- roy, and after being loaded to the muzzle was discharged, ruining the piece and inflicting considerable injury upon the house of Mr. Pomeroy and that opposite to it.
Proceeding to more dangerous practices, the disturbers of the peace several times entered the magazine, by means of false keys, and obtained considerable quantities of gunpowder.
Now, at last, active measures were taken to bring them to jus- tice ; and, at the request of Mr. Pomeroy, the Adjutant-General ordered the artillery pieces to Boston. Provoked by this threat- ened interruption of their discreditable exploits, they threw out menaces to which little attention was paid, that the magazine should be exploded. Even their previous recklessness had not prepared the magistrates or the people to believe that they would perpetrate an act fraught with such danger to life and property, and likely to bring swift and extreme punishment upon themselves. No wateln was therefore set over the exposed property, or any other measures of precaution taken. On the night of the 12th of July, however, the threats were put in execution, and at half- past eleven o'clock, the magazine was exploded, the great mass of gunpowder contained in it having been fired by a slow-match.
By remarkable good fortune no loss of life ensued; but the destruction of property was very great. The house owned by Nelson Strong, situated on Fenn street, very near the magazine, was a perfect wreck. Windows, doors, and whatever else could
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be loosened by the explosion were thrown upon the beds where the family were sleeping. Every piece of crockery in the house was broken. On the opposite side of Fenn strect, the house of Mr. Henry Callender was much injured in a similar way, and a brick was thrown entirely through it. The brick school-house on the corner of Pearl and Fenn streets, and a neighboring house lost their windows. The dwelling-house of James Warriner on East street, James H. Dunham on North street, the Medical Institu- tion, the town-hall, the Congregational and Baptist churches suf- fered severely. Some twenty other buildings suffered considera- bly, but chiefly from the breakage of glass.
Intense excitement prevailed on the following morning, and at a large meeting of the citizens, after speeches such as the occa- sion would naturally call out, a committee, of which Edward A. Newton was chairman, was appointed to bring the authors of the outrage to justice. The selectmen also offered a reward of two hundred dollars for their conviction. The committee reported on the 19th of July, that they were " engaged in a course of investi- gations and suits which promised to bring the guilty parties to justice." But, nevertheless, and although several young men con- nected with highly respectable families were generally believed to be implicated, no one was ever convicted.
CHAPTER XVIII.
PROMINENT CITIZENS.
[1812-1860.]
Thomas Melville-Henry Clinton Brown - William C. Jarvis - Samuel M. Mckay-Thomas Barnard Strong-Henry Hubbard-Edward A. Newton- Ezekiel R. Colt-Nathan Willis-Dr. Robert Campbell-Dr. John Milton Brewster-Solomon L. Russell-Berkshire hotel and incidents.
S YEVERAL of the gentlemen who were mentioned as leading citizens of the town during the early part of the nineteenth century, continued in active life, generally with increasing influ- ence, for many years afterwards. Dr. H. H. Childs, Capt. Jona- than Allen, Lemuel Pomeroy, the Campbells, the Colts, and others maintained their position in political life and in town-affairs, with little or no variation in the characteristics which distinguished them in carlier life, while many of their associates of their own generation disappeared from the field ; and all of the generation which antedated the century. But the vacancies were filled by men, who, if they did not answer in all respects the description of the earlier Pittsfield fathers, possessed much of their energy and vigor with all their love for the town, while, as a rule, they surpassed them in liberal culture.
Among those who came in especially in connection with the war, were Thomas Melville, Jr., and Henry C. Brown.
Major Melville was the son of Major Thomas Melville, of the Boston Tea-Party, an officer of reputation in the revolutionary war. The senior Major Melville lived to a good old age, and the cocked hat and small clothes, which he continued to wear to the end of his days, were probably the last relics of the costume of the revolution which attracted the admiration of the new genera- tion on Boston streets. Towards the close of the last century, his son and namesake, then about seventeen years old, sailed for
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France, where he eventually became a banker at Paris. Here he resided during the stormy closing years of the republic, and the scarcely less stirring era of the consulate and the first empire, until within a year or two of Napoleon's abdication.
In his position as banker, and as an American citizen of pol- ished manners, he had every opportunity to observe Parisian society, and to become acquainted with the leading persons in French politics as well as commerce. Of an enterprising and sanguine temperament, Major Melville engaged in various tempt- ing ventures, for which the wars then convulsing the continent, gave frequent opportunity. And naturally he shared in many fluctuations. Eventually such reverses overtook him, that after an absence of twenty-one years, he returned to his father's roof, bringing with him a wife and two young children ; for he had pre- viously married at Paris, a Spanish lady of rare beauty.
Shortly after his return home, the war of 1812 broke out, and he received the appointment of commissary with the rank of Major, and was stationed at Pittsfield. Of his career in that position, and in others of a more or less public character, an account is given in the proper connection.
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