USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Medfield > Town annual reports of Medfield 1890-1898 > Part 5
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As, then, we consecrate this ground to the keeping of the graves of the children beside those of the fathers, let us join in a conse- cration likewise of ourselves to service in the spirit of the fathers, that our lives, like theirs, bring forth the grace of full fruition.
" Thanatopsis " was given in recitation by Miss Rosa S. Allen.
The PRESIDENT .- I present to you him, our guest, who, with other brave sons of Medfield, sustained her honor on the field of war; - Mr. George M. Fiske, of Auburndale.
ADDRESS OF MR. GEORGE M. FISKE, OF AUBURNDALE.
Mr. President and Friends,- It is many years since I have seen the piece of ground which you are adding to the cemetery, but
67
I remember it well, having often passed over it when a boy; and, remembering it, I can readily believe that, under your care, it will become at no distant day a most beautiful spot.
But for some reason the old cemetery seems to me the most prominent figure in the ceremonies of to-day, speaking to us with a pathetic though silent eloquence, and especially in its character of a typical New England country cemetery, the resting-place of men and women who were typical early New England characters.
Medfield always was, to a great extent, a farming community ; and the old cemetery early became populous with all that was mortal of farmers and farmers' wives, and farmers' sons and daughters. And we can well imagine that they were laid away, as your historian has intimated, with very little of display or parade, - one here, the next by his side, then the next in rows, just as they passed away. I suppose you can go into the old cemetery to-day, as I know you could a few years ago, and see rows upon rows of these graves, with the rude headstones leaning this way or that, or sinking out of sight in the earth, the graves covered with wild grass, and weeds and brambles,- desolate, forlorn, neglected, for- gotten. And yet those neglected graves, and tens of thousands of equally neglected graves in the old cemeteries throughout New England, contain the bones of men and women who in the early days of New England and American history wrought out here a " body politic," so to speak, the moral force of which was greater than that of any edict issued by any monarch of the Old World. The right arm of that body politic was the church, the left arm was the school, each entirely independent of the other, the right hand not knowing what the left was doing, perhaps, but each necessary to and supplementing the other, like the two piston-rods of an engine, acting in concert to drive the load along the track up on to the highest levels of human attainment.
Notice that I have called the church the right hand, and the school the left.
The New England idea was ever to emphasize and push to the front the moral side of human nature,- not the spiritual and relig- ious side particularly, but all those qualities of the heart which make for honor, honesty, integrity, industry, love of justice, and patriotism. The intellectual was secondary, though important, the left hand, so to speak. If their sons and daughters could read, write, and cipher as far as the rule of three, it was enough. And
68
so, pursuing the even tenor of their way, they wrought out the New England idea of life and its duties ; and, as this nation grew, this idea radiated from these hills, and has been the standard which has led us to some of the highest summits of our national great- ness. How different is life in New England to-day from what it was one hundred and fifty and two hundred years ago, especially in our cities, which are growing in power every day ! and, when the cities of this land become so strong as to control the policy of the nation, then God help the country! There all is bustle and rush and crowd and scrabble and pull and push and get and keep. How different from the quiet and grandly successful lives of the sturdy New England yeomanry of two hundred years ago !
But how can we say that the lives of these whose bones rest in these neglected and forgotten graves were successful lives? What is success ? One of the greatest mistakes which the world is mak- ing to-day, and ever has made, is in the homage which it pays to smartness, and in the belief that through the intellectual abilities of men is to come to them the greatest good. Young human nature is particularly liable to make that mistake. Youth is nat- urally attracted by what appears upon the surface. It notes with eager interest the ability of the lawyer in pleading cases which makes his name famous, and brings to him the best paying busi- ness ; the shrewdness and foresight of the merchant in buying and selling goods which yield him large profits; the skill of the stock speculator in so manipulating the market as to inflate the prices of stocks he has to sell and depress those which he wishes to buy. And, in its innocence and ignorance, youth thinks that all this is success ; and so it happens that we see the greater part of many a life spent in the pursuit of that which, in itself, can never satisfy us nor bring us happiness or peace. Our observation is constantly teaching us this lesson. Take two notable examples. First, the case of Abraham Lincoln. There is no one whose memory is dearer to the hearts of the American people than that of Lincoln. Why is this ? Is it because he was President of the United States, and carried us so grandly through great national dangers? Not altogether. It is especially because of the nobility of his soul ; because he was a plain, straightforward, consistent Christian man. Now, another case of the opposite kind : years ago, a certain man became interested in stock speculation. He put his whole soul into Wall Street. He succeeded. Oh, yes, he succeeded in making a
69
great deal of money. He bent all his energies in that direction. He obtained control of this railroad system, then of that. He elbowed his fellow-men to the right and to the left, or, if it suited his purpose, he trampled them beneath his feet. But when that man died, as he did one day, the whole nation breathed easier, and thinking men said, "Thank God that he is dead !" for they recognized in the great money power held by one man a danger to popular rights.
The old cemetery teaches us, and no part more forcibly and eloquently than the part containing the neglected graves, that true success in life does not consist in the abundance of this world's goods which we may possess, or in making our names famous through any intellectual ability which we may display, but rather in the cultivation within ourselves of these noble qualities of the heart and the soul which will enable us best to meet and bear the ills of this life which are sure to come to us, which will secure for us the love and sympathy of our fellow-men, and which will enable us to look forward to the life to come with hope, and not with fear. Some words of Longfellow, in one of his later poems, have oc- curred to me; and they may not be inappropriate for this occa- sion : -
"To-day, we make the poet's words our own, And utter them in plaintive undertone. Nor to the living only be they said, But to the other living, called the dead, Whose dear paternal images appear, Not wrapped in gloom, but robed in sunshine here, Whose simple lives, complete and without flaw, Were part and parcel of great Nature's law ; Who said not to their Lord, as if afraid, Here is thy talent in a napkin laid, But labored in their sphere as those who live In the delight that work alone can give. Peace be to them,- eternal peace and rest, And the fulfilment of the great behest : Ye have been faithful over a few things, Over ten cities shall ye rule as kings."
The PRESIDENT .- And yet another Medfield boy is here; and with the fire of a youth he has never lost he loves his native town ; - Mr. Nathaniel T. Allen, of West Newton.
70
ADDRESS OF MR. NATHANIEL T. ALLEN, OF WEST NEWTON.
Mr. President and Fellow-citizens of Medfield,-I deem it an honor to be invited to address you this afternoon.
I say " fellow-citizens " advisedly ; for, though it is over forty years since I left Medfield for a residence in Newton, thus severing the legal title to citizenship, in spirit the connection has never been severed. In this sense, I can truly say "fellow-citizens." And why should not Medfield claim precedence in my affections ? Six generations of my immediate ancestors here lived and died ; while members of nine generations, in an unbroken line, have their bodies resting in yonder burial-ground. All my associations and memories, from the earliest childhood, connected with this town are pleasant. Its fields, its woods, meadows, river, brooks, and even its stone walls, have their legends, connecting the present with the past. This is as it should be. If only the homes are made happy and healthful, where each member is taught to cheer- fully sacrifice self for the good of others and of all, they will remain a constant source of loving remembrance for all time. Such, I judge, has been the happy and fortunate experience with most of us, daughters and sons of this ancient town.
All of history, ancient and modern, written and symbolic, is proof that the tender love and regard for the dead and their earthly remains is coexistent with humanity, distinguishing man from the lower animals. From prehistoric times to the present, there have been three principal methods practised by which the bodies of the dead are disposed of ; namely, embalming, cremat- ing, and burying. The ancient Egyptians believed that, after death, the inviolable preservation of the body was essential to the corporeal resurrection of the "justified " dead. They believed that, after death and the separation of the soul from the body, the soul wandered about for a period varying from three thousand to ten thousand years, and that the body, meanwhile, must be guarded from corruption and every danger. Hence the art of embalming ; that is, preserving the bodies from corruption by impregnating the same with spices, etc. Hence, also, the huge pyramids, the secret pit, and the subterranean labyrinth, where the mummies were placed for safety.
My friend, Mr. John W. Carter of West Newton, who has lately returned from extended travels in the East, visited one of those
71
labyrinthine cemeteries, which is forty-five miles in length, and estimated to contain one hundred million mummies. The cost for embalming varied from $1,200 for a king, $500 to $800 for a noble, to $10 each for the common people.
Cremating, or burning the bodies, was the general practice of the ancient nations, except in Egypt, where the bodies were em- balmed, Judea, where they were placed in sepulchres, and China, where they were buried, as with us, in the earth. The Jews used cremation, however, in the Vale of Tophet, when a plague came. Thus the Jews of Germany, Spain, and Portugal welcome the revival of cremation at the present time.
The Romans constructed columbaria (sepulchral chambers), with numerous niches in the walls, to receive the cinerary urns contain- ing the ashes of the cremated. There are numerous columbaria just outside the walls of Rome, which are visited by travellers at the present time. Yet even these remains were not allowed within the city's limits, for sanitary reasons. Science shows that burn- ing merely does quickly what putrefaction takes a long time to do.
The belief of the early Christians in the resurrection caused those in Rome to resort to burial. They therefore sought land outside the city for this purpose, and, with the government's sanction, con- structed in the soft tufa rock underlying the surface the famous subterranean cemeteries called the " Catacombs," where their kin- dred were buried. The Christian world, with rare exception, has practised burial both in Europe and America to the present time. Many eminent men in Europe, physicians and scientists, now urge cremation as preferable to burial, on sanitary grounds. My friends, Dr. Dio Lewis, Dr. Charles Winslow, and Madame Urbino left injunctions with their friends to cremate their bodies, which was done. The objection to cremation (concerning the resurrec- tion of the body) was disposed of when good Lord Shaftesbury asked, "What, in such a case, would become of the blessed mar- tyrs ?" Whether cremation is ultimately adopted in Europe or not, it seems clear that for generations there will be no pressing need of its adoption here as a sanitary measure, except, possibly, in some cities with their great and rapidly increasing population. In Europe, they feel an interest in this subject which in America can hardly be appreciated. Where for near two thousand years, as in Europe, Christians have tenderly buried and cared for the mortal remains of friends, it is readily seen what an extended area
a
72
would be entirely covered with graves. It is a common custom in Germany, Switzerland, and some other European countries to use the same field for interment after fourteen years from the pre- vious burial, as I witnessed in several countries. Here we feel no such limitations, with land in abundance and sparse population, especially in our rural districts.
In Boston, the need of additional ground for burial was felt as a pressing necessity, when in 1830, under the lead of the late Dr. Jacob Bigelow, the territory known as Mt. Auburn, one hundred acres, was purchased of Mr. George W. Brimmer by the Massa- chusetts Horticultural Society for $6,000. This beautiful site was surveyed and laid out, and dedicated as a cemetery Sept. 24, 1831.
This was the first rural cemetery in Massachusetts or the coun- try. It is worthy of note that our fellow-townswoman, the re- nowned historian, the late Hannah Adams, was the first occupant of Mt. Auburn. I presume that others in the audience besides myself remember this remarkable woman, who died about fifty years ago.
The idea of having the resting-place for the dead more comely and attractive found a sympathetic response in all parts of the country, so that, within a few years following Mt. Auburn's open- ing, scarcely a city or town of any size could be found whose inhabitants had not moved in the same direction. It is some forty years since the citizens of Medfield enlarged and to some extent beautified the old burial-ground. I well remember driving to Brighton for shade and other trees from Winchester's nurseries, which were planted in the cemetery; and with my cousin, the late John Quincy Adams, we planted willows on the east edge of the pond by the cemetery, cutting the same from the willows on the turn- pike. By the present extensive addition, you, citizens of Medfield, have, with great liberality and commendable public spirit, presented to the present and succeeding generations the opportunity of devel- oping one of the most picturesque and beautiful rural cemeteries in the State. It will exert its full share in attracting people of culture, education, and character to make their home with you; for next to your educational (church and school) and your social advan- tages rank fine streets and the well-kept cemetery, in their influ- ence with strangers to come and take up their abode in good old Medfield.
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I congratulate you, Mr. President, gentlemen of the committee, and the citizens, upon securing such ample and beautiful grounds.
The President introduced Mr. George R. Chase, of Medfield.
ADDRESS OF MR. GEORGE R. CHASE.
Mr. President,- My duties have been exceedingly light in the matter which has drawn us together to-day. Happening to be chosen moderator of the town meeting, acting upon my best judg- ment, in accordance with a vote of the town, I appointed the com- mittee that has completed its labors. I have in no way done or tried to do the work of the committee. My responsibility could not cease with the appointment. With your success and achieve- ment I am satisfied. Had you failed to act, or taken such action as to disappoint the public expectation and desire, I should nec- essarily have suffered annoyance and criticism. In your success I will claim only an indirect and small share.
When Andrew Jackson was President, he issued an important State paper which was prepared by his private secretary. A few days after the paper was issued, the President asked his secretary what the public said of the document. The secretary did not wish to tell. After being pressed very hard, he said, "They say it is a good paper, but you didn't write it." "What of that?" said Jack- son : " I found the man who did."
The beauty of the site which you selected is, in my opinion, beyond dispute. This is not merely my own opinion, but I happen to know that George Inness, the eminent landscape painter, considered it the most beautiful parcel of land of which he knew. He tried to buy a portion of it, with the intention of erecting a dwelling for himself.
At the beginning of a great battle, an English general said to his troops, "England expects every man to do his duty." On that occasion every man did do his duty, and the battle was won. So, too, the average citizen of a New England town has duties. Let every man do his duty, and the result will be a pleasant and happy town in which to live. What are some of those duties ? They do not end with the payment of your tax bill. They begin there. The town meeting is a prominent feature of our form of government. Let the citizen attend the meeting to watch the
74
progress of business. Upon every question, if his ideas have not already been expressed by another, let him give his own. If briefly, so much the better. Let him vote freely as he pleases, then abide the will of the majority and go home, not to grumble, but to support the town officials by his silence, his sympathy, his advice, if asked.
Every citizen has an interest in the choice of proper town officers. The aim should be to secure the best men. It is the duty of such men to take the responsibility. It is your duty and mine to give our officers unfaltering moral support in every effort to enforce law and order in our streets and public places, in their efforts to provide good schools and excellent roads, and in keep- ing in repair and improving such a cemetery as ours. Medfield expects every man to do his duty.
The President read the following letters : -
Dear Sir,- Your kind invitation was duly received.
Will you please extend to the Committee my regrets that I shall be unable to be present at the dedication of the addition to the cemetery, as well as an addi- tion to your already beautiful village ?
Other arrangements will not permit of my ever enjoying its use ; but I hope to admire and appreciate the Committee's good taste and judgment.
Respectfully, . GRANVILLE F. BAILEY.
NEW YORK, Feb. 20, 1890.
FRAMINGHAM, Feb. 19, 1890.
MR. LOVELL:
Dear Sir,- Yours in behalf Committee, with invitation to attend your dedi- catory exercises in Chenery Hall, is at hand.
Sickness in my family will prevent my acceptance.
Thanking you and your Committee for your kind remembrance, I am
Truly yours,
MOSES ELLIS.
Doxology to the tune of "Old Hundred" was sung, and the benediction pronounced by Rev. G. W. Lawrence.
240th ANNUAL REPORT
OF THE
TOWN OFFICERS OF MEDFIELD For the Year ending January 31, 1891.
CONTENTS.
LIST OF TOWN OFFICERS
TREASURER'S REPORT
24 2 4
SELECTMEN'S REPORT
5
REPORT OF ENGINEERS
17
COLLECTOR'S REPORT
18
REPORT OF THE OVERSEERS OF THE POOR
19
TOWN CLERK'S REPORT
22
REPORT OF THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE
25
REPORT OF TRUSTEES OF SCHOOL FUND
31
REPORT OF CEMETERY COMMITTEE
32
STREET SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT
33
REPORT OF TRUSTEES OF THE PUBLIC LIBRARY
35
WARRANT FOR THE ANNUAL TOWN MEETING
37
BOSTON GEORGE H. ELLIS, 14I FRANKLIN STREET 1891
, TOWN OFFICERS FOR 1890.
Town Clerk. STILLMAN J. SPEAR.
Selectmen.
GEO. W. KINGSBURY. GEO. W. BRUCE. HENRY M. PARKER.
Assessors.
WM. F. GUILD. ALONZO B. PARKER. WM. P. HEWINS.
Treasurer. RALPH A. BATTELLE.
Collector of Taxes. RALPH A. BATTELLE.
Board of Health.
JOHN H. RICHARDSON. JAMES M. HEWINS.
ARTHUR MITCHELL.
School Committee.
JAMES HEWINS,
Term expires 1891.
STILLMAN J. SPEAR,
66 66 1892.
JOSEPH A. ALLEN,
66 1893.
Overseers of the Poor.
HERBERT W. HUTSON. JOSEPH E. ALLEN. WM. RYAN.
Constables.
GEO. A. MORSE. BENNETT WILSON. HERMAN G. CROSBY.
Trustees of School Fund.
HAMLET WIGHT. JOSEPH H. BAKER. RALPH A. BATTELLE.
Trustees of the Public Library.
JOHN H. RICHARDSON, Term expires 1891.
STILLMAN J. SPEAR,
1891.
EDWIN V. MITCHELL,
1892.
WILLIAM S. TILDEN,
1892.
JAMES M. HEWINS,
J. HERBERT BAKER,
Cemetery Committee.
WM. P. HEWINS. A. B. PARKER.
66
66 1893.
1893.
E. V. MITCHELL.
3
Sexton. ALONZO B. PARKER.
Field Drivers.
WM. J. COX.
HERBERT W. BABCOCK.
FREDERICK M. SMITH.
GEO. W. GAMBELL.
LEWELLEN J. CLARK.
FRED. W. ABELL.
ALPHONSO L. ALLEN.
JOHN G. ASHLEY.
TIMOTHY F. KENNEDY.
HENRY M. CLARK.
JAMES BUNTIN. JOHN WEBB.
Auditor. ALBERT A. LOVELL.
Pound Keeper. GEORGE D. HAMANT.
APPOINTED BY SELECTMEN.
Fire Engineers.
JOSEPH W. PAGE. WM. F. HARDING. WM. E. FALES.
Weigher.
THOMAS L. BARNEY.
Measurer of Wood and Bark and Sealer of Weights and Measures. THOMAS L. BARNEY.
Board of Registrars. N. F. HARDING (appointed to fill va- cancy of H. F. Bullard, resigned), WILLIAM C. ALLEN, .
Term expires 1891.
66
1892.
JOHN G. HUTSON, S. J. SPEAR, ex officio.
66 1893.
Fence Viewers.
RALPH A. BATTELLE. FRANCIS D. HAMANT. WM. P. HEWINS.
Superintendent of Streets. HENRY M. PARKER.
Special Police.
Bennett Wilson was appointed a special officer for the prosecu- tion of all illegal sales of liquors in town for the ensuing year. And all the funds subject to the order of the Selectmen for that purpose were placed at his disposal.
WM. M. GRANT.
J. B. HALE.
Dr.
R. A. BATTELLE, Treasurer, IN ACCOUNT WITH THE TOWN OF MEDFIELD.
Cr.
To Cash in Treasury, Feb. 1, 1890, .
$1,613.48
By Cash paid on account of Schools : Teaching,
$2,936.95
Cash on Tax for 1889 in full,
1,606.67
Fuel, Care, Supplies, and Repairs,
1,046.33
Interest on Tax for 1889,
65.31
Highways and Bridges,
2,851 72
Cash on Tax for 1890, .
12,100.00
Support of Poor,
.
1,935.42
Interest on Town School Fund,
206.01
Town House,
411.91
Income of Mass. School Fund,
160.97
Fire Department,
539.94
Corporation Tax, 1890,
272.66
Aid to Indigent Soldiers,
180.00
National Bank Tax, 1890,
576.82
Public Library, .
673.60
State Aid, Chap. 279, S. 1889,
108.00
Borrowed Money,
3,500.00
Borrowed Money,
3,000.00
Taxes, Interest, and Abatements,
2,416.89
Rent of Stores,
460.68
Town Officers, ·
757.91
Rent of Hall,
226.50
Dog Licenses,
246.98
Interest on Bank Deposit,
9.25
Pedlers', Auctioneers', Druggists', and Billiard Licenses,
II.00
Board of John E. Bullard,
131.96
Board of L. M. Richards,
130.92
Brewster, for Aid to Mrs. Small,
.
54.00
School Committee, Proceeds of Entertainment,
50.00
School Committee, for Tuition for James Tisdale,
23.75
Discount on Printing for Public Library,
25.99
Legacy for Public Library,
500.00
Bound Posts,
2.00
Sales at Town Farm,
779.44
$22,362.39
$22,362.39
MEDFIELD, January 31, 1891.
Examined and found correct.
R. A. BATTELLE, Treasurer. ALBERT A. LOVELL, Auditor.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
50.00
On Account of Cemetery,
628.97
Cash in Treasury, .
3,825.43
-
.
General Expenses,
607.32
Memorial Day,
·
.
.
.
SELECTMEN'S REPORT.
The Selectmen of Medfield respectfully present the Annual Report of the finances of the town for the year ending Jan. 31, 1891 :-
PAYMENTS BY THE TREASURER.
SCHOOL TEACHERS.
Paid Mr. E. F. De Normandie,
$450.00
Mr. A. P. Wagg, .
44.74
Mr. Edwin H. Whitehill,
402.60
Miss Lucetta Colby,
200.00
Miss Edith Hewins,
200.00
Miss Edith L. Winn,
225.00
Miss Carrie A. Smith,
200.00
Mrs. M. B. A. Dunn,
400.00
Mrs. Susan M. Chase,
400.00
Miss A. M. Dorr,
400.00
Town of Norfolk, Schooling for Hagerty Children, 14.61
$2,936.95
Due the schools Feb. 1, 1890,
$239.23
Income from State School Fund,
160.97
Income from Town School Fund,
206.01
Appropriation of the town,
3,000.00
$3,606.21
Expended for teaching,
2,936.95
Due schools Feb. 1, 1891,
. $669.26
6
FUEL, CARE, AND SUPPLIES OF THE SCHOOLS. Paid Charles McGrory, sawing and splitting wood, N. School-house, .
$7.50
Charles Turner, care of C. School-house, 269.00
Charles Turner, cleaning C. School-house, · 9.65
Charles Turner, extra work and disinfectants, 2.96
Edgar A. Sherman, care of N. School-house,
9.00
Edgar A. Sherman, cutting up wood, N. School-
house, 2.00
Willie Sherman, care of N. School-house, 18.75
Mrs. E. A. Phelps, care of S. School-house,
28.50
Mrs. E. A. Phelps, cleaning S. School-house,
2.00
Blood Bros., 7,960 lbs. coal, C. School-house,
24.88
Hartford Inspection Insurance Co., insurance on
boiler at C. School-house, 62.50
Boston School Supply Co.,
9.62
Harper & Bros., supplies,
3.64
Charles H. Kilborn, supplies,
14.25
Ginn & Co., supplies, .
2.00
D. C. Heath & Co., supplies,
1.69
J. L. Hammett, supplies,
.90
George S. Perry, supplies,
6.00
Ivison, Blakeman & Co., supplies,
3.62
Samuel Ward & Co., supplies,
5.25
Thompson, Brown & Co., supplies,
6.00
James Hewins, agent for school supplies,
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