USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Boxford > Town of Boxford : Town meeting records, 1857-1893 > Part 19
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CONCLUSION.
After this the chairman made no further for- mal Introduction of speakers, but Rev. Mr. KEN- DALL made an explanation regarding the old Holyoke house, and at some one's request, Mr. DANIEL WOOD, of West Boxford, the oldest cit- izen of the town, stood up to the view of the au- dience and said he was ninety-two years and six months of age,and that he had great cause of grat- itude to God. Mr. Wood looked like a man much younger. Prof. I. N. CARLETON, of Bradford, was also called out and made a nice little speech. Mr. Carleton is principal of Home and Day School for Boys in Bradford, and was formerly principal of the Normal School for Boys in Con- necticut. Choir and audience then united in singing " Auld Lang Syne," and the Rev. Mr. COGGIN pronounced a benediction.
This closed the formal exercises. On the green in front of the church and under the shadow of the trees, a basket picnic was then held, the au- dience lingering for some hours, partaking of re- freshments, listening to the music of the band, and some visiting the public library, which was open to inspection. At the dinner-table there was a great abundance of good food; and thé open-handed hospitality for which this town has always been distinguished, was very apparent and added much to the pleasure of the strangers gho were present. B
MR. COGGIN'S INTRODUCTION.
Mr. COGGIN then offered a few remarks by way of lutroducing the proceedings, saying that . though there had been no appropriation of money, yet it had been thought well to recognize the many memories of the town. He facetiously ob- served that the time when Boxford will become. a city seemed at present quite remote, but it will be well to remember that Boxford to-day has a population four times as large as at the time of its incorporation. He likewise alluded to the ex- cellent water power of the town and also to its match-factory, as one of its industries, taking occasion to observe humorously that there was a good field here for the enlargement of the match- making business, by the introduction of a kind of matches that had no friction, and this subject he commended to the consideration of the people. As illustrating the healthfulness of the town he said that no doctor could live here by exclusively town patronage; and, in illustration of Its peace. ful and law-abiding character, no lawyer could thrive by the employment to be found here. He said there was a literary and moral atmosphere pervading the town and that there were six res- ident clergymen (it was afterwards stated pri- vately that there were seven) in the town and al- so two or three lawyers and as mamy physicians among the summer residents. The town had never been wanting in patriotism, and eight of its citizens laid down their lives at Bunker Hill. At the conclusion of Mr. Coggin's remarks the band played " Nearer my God to Thee."
THE NEW ENGLAND TOWN.
The Rev. CHARLES L. HUBBARD, of West Boxford, was then introduced to speak on the subject, "The New England Town," and he made a very excellent address, considering these democratic municipalities not as the work of chance, but as the result of the prudence and wisdom of their founders. He traced the genius of self-government in the stock from which we sprung. In ine new world we reared a system founded upon civil as well as religious freedom. He contrasted our New England form of gov- ernment with that which prevails at the South and West, where the county and not the town is the territorial unit. Here in New England is to be found the nearest approach to democratic government to be found within the country. He quoted as the town maxim. "where the laws are administered there are they made," and also the words of John Adams, that "In' the towns of New England is the key of American history." The soul of democracy was in the formation of a civil body politic. The General Court gave to outlying districts the power of regulating their own affairs. He traced the evolution of the principle of representation, with the town meet- ing as an adjunct, all questions being admissible and every one having the right to bring them. He gave Mr. Perley, the historian, credit of bringing out valuable facts throwing light upon the his- tory of the town warrant, especially in the fact that formerly it was the duty of the constable to go around from house to house, notifying the people of the time of meeting and of the subjects that are to come up. The system that has come down to us embodies the same ideas that prevail- ed at the beginning. The lines of town and parish in the early days generally coincided. He made reference to the very pleasant relations that existed between West Boxford and Box- ford, which, though geographically as far apart as two towns, nevertheless are cemented by memories which they would not relinquish. He spoke of the schools and of the attention always given to that article in the warrant which re- lates to that subject. The town is a general edu- cator in the principles of self-government, and he considered the further possibilities of towns In the future in absorbing the new and danger- ous tendencies which are brought in by elements which have not been educated in the school which founded our present system. In laying down the democratic principles on which our system is built, the founders of the town of Box- ford did their part:
THE FIRST FIFTY YEARS.
SIDNEY PERLEY, Esq., author of the " His- tory of Boxford," was then called upon to say something about the history of the town during the period from the first settlement to its incor- poration. Mr. Perley said he believed it was in 3
January, 1876, that he first went i , Mr. Ancill i Dorman, the town clerk, to look over the records in search of " solid facts" for the town history. In that first period of 50 years of which he was to speak, Boxford was a dense wilderness. He then proceeded to speak of Indian trails, partic- ularly of one extending from Haverhill to Salem, through Georgetown, Boxford, Topsfield, etc. He spoke of the signing of the old deed by the Indians, in which "rum enough" was one of the essential considerations of the transfer. He passed in review some of the early settlers of the first half century, and gave some reflections upon their character, qualities and 'religious devotion. He spoke of the business of the place, the clear- ing of the forest undoubtedly being the first work. He spoke of the name giyen to the town, there being two Boxfords in England, about 48 far apart as the two parishes of this town. From one of these the Rowley minister came, and there is every reason to believe that the town was named in honor of his English dwelling place. Mr. Perley also reviewed the military history of Boxford, in relation to the French and Indian, and later wars. In the war of 1812 twenty mer were drafted, but he doubted if they went farther than Salem in the service, Boxford being a Federal place and not much in sympathy with the political ideas that they supposed to be at the bottom of that conflict - this last observa- tion not being in the speaker's words. There is a house in West Boxford from which no less than nine men went forth to the late war. The fol- lowing are the early settlers who were passed in review by Mr. Perley, and the places where they are known or supposed to have settled :-
EARLY SETTLERS.
Abraham Redington, 1645, settled at the Dan- lel S. Gillis place, (now " hotel Redington.")
Robert Andrews, 1656, settled below W. I. Smith's, almost to the Topsfield line on the Tops- field road.
John Cummings, 1658, settled near Israel Her- rick's.
Robert Stiles, 1659, settled at what is now Dea- con John K. Cole's.
Robert Ames, 1660, (the first settler in the West Parish) near the residence of the late Capt. Enoch Wood.
Joseph Bixby, 1661, settled at what is now Is- rael Herrick's on the Georgetown road.
William Foster, 1661, settled at the Dean An- drews place, near Solomon W. Howe's. He kept the first hotel in the town.
Robert Smith, 1661, who lived at the Nathaniel Smith place on the Topsfield road, where now nothing but a cellar remains. He was the an- cestor of Joseph Smith " the Mormon prophet."' Zaccheus Curtis, 1662, who resided in the woods about half a mile west of the residence of the late Francis Curtis.
Capt. John Peabody, 1663, settled at the resl- dence of the late Deacon Julius A. Palmer, on the Lawrence road.
. Samuel Symonds, 1663, who resided at the spot now known as "the Symonds cellar " in the south part of the town, near George W. Twitch- ell's.
THE BOXFORD CHURCHES.
The Rev. R. R. KENDALL followed Mr. Perley with a history of the First Church, finding it necessary, for lack of time, to abridge considera- bly the paper which he had prepared. In the course of what he said he called attention to the fact that the petition for township rights was in church and parish interests. He also alluded to the fact that the church at Topsfield was or- ganized in 1663, and that the first minister, Rev. Mr. Gilbert, accepted his call only on the condi- tion that Boxford would aid in his support. At the organization of the Boxford church eleven men took letters from the Topsfield church, ten women being the next to follow, and afterwards others. The special fact he endeavored to im- press was, that zeal for the house of God was the origin of the town of Boxford.
Rev. CALVIN E. PARK, of West Boxford, then read a concise history of the church in that part of the town, saying that Dec. 9, 1736, was kept as a day of fasting and prayer as preliminary to the formation of the church, which had no set creed at the beginning. He gave a succinct acount of the various ministers of the church.
TREATMENT REPORT February 2007
TOWN MEETINGS 1857-1893 BOXFORD, MA
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