USA > Maine > Oxford County > Waterford > The history of Waterford, Oxford County, Maine, comprising Historical address, by Henry P. Warren; record of families, by Rev. William Warren, D.D.; centennial proceedings, by Samuel Warren, esq > Part 17
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Long before the appointed hour all the high ways and by- paths leading to Waterford Flat presented a scene such as the oldest denizens of the town had never witnessed; a moving throng of carriages filled with eager faces, and pedes- trians, all pressing to the common rendezvous. With hearts swelling proudly for the old mother, we saw that the sons and the daughters were there. Old age, with sprightly tread, and children with happy faces, grandmothers and grandsires with whitened locks, sturdy manhood, young men and maidens, all were come to do honor to the homes of their youth.
Conspicuously from various points the national banner flung out its graceful folds, and as the crowd beneath swayed to and fro on the beautiful common, each heart, lifted above obstreperous mirth to the dignity of silent joyousness an- swers, the scene was one to be witnessed and never forgotten.
At the appointed hour came the call of the president to order, and the exercises commenced with a grand overture by the band.
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Mr. A. S. Kimball, the president of the day, gave a neat and appropriate address of welcome, as follows :
Fellow Citizens :
We meet to-day for the purpose of celebrating the one hun- dredth anniversary of the settlement of this good old town. We feel that it is well for us that we are here. The heavens smile benignly upon us. Our fields are laden with abundant harvests. Our hillsides lift their heads above us, crowned with their luxuriant foliage, as if in praise to the great Author of heaven and earth, for the many blessings which we enjoy.
One hundred years ago all these broad fields and pastures, as far as the vision extends, were one vast forest. The footprint of civilization had left no imprint thereon. Here the massive trees of the forest spread out their giant branches, shielding the rich verdure beneath from the rays of the summer sun. The silence was unbroken, save by the murmuring waters, the chirp of birds, the footfall of the deer, or the occasional tramp of the red man, who held undisputed sway over all this extensive do- main. But a change came. One solitary man penetrated the then unbroken solitude, and erected a cabin within the wilder- ness. After a time others came within our limits, and the sound of the axe re-echoed over from clearing to clearing. The settlers' cabins multiplied, and the primeval growth, which had with- stood the storms and tempests of centuries, disappeared. Since which, our hills and valleys have been developed into fruitful fields, now seen upon every hand, and our villages teeming with the different industries, have sprung up.
The sons and daughters of Waterford have located them- selves in almost every land and clime within the pale of civili- zation, and I have yet to learn that they have ever betrayed their trust, or been unfaithful to the principles of virtue and integrity, which characterized the early settlers of this town; hence I bid you all a cordial welcome home; you who are the
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children of Waterford; you who have ever resided here; and to all who have come to assist us in appropriately celebrating this most important epoch in the history of the town of Wa- terford, I extend a most cordial welcome. And while we think and speak of those who have gone before, let us, their descend- ants, ever keep in remembrance the example furnished by the fathers and mothers who steadily toiled on through adversity and prosperity, as their works abundantly show. Truly, they have furnished us with a lofty standard, by which to try our- selves. Let us therefore renew our pledges of fidelity to their memory, as we gather around this centennial altar, that our works may serve as a footprint in the sands of time to those who in the untold generations to come, shall gather up the un- finished work we have begun.
Again I bid you all a cordial welcome home, and thank you for coming to assist us in performing the services of the day.
Prayer was offered by the chaplain, Rev. A. J. Smith. From the choir broke forth the cheering strains of "Home Again," and as its pleasing numbers swelled forth and were caught up by the vast assemblage, many a heart thrilled in response.
Mr. Henry P. Warren then gave the historical address, and as the scenes and incidents of past days were vividly recalled by the speaker, and musty records were made to give up their treasures, the interest of the large con- course of people was manifest. As the dim outlines of a past age came out in bold relief, and events and passages of former times were vividly portrayed, with many of which some present were familiar, or perhaps bore a part, the in- terest grew into the most wrapt attention. No attempt will be made to outline it, as the address itself makes up the vol-
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ume of the preceding pages. Nor will the reader understand that it was given except in brief.
After the address and a voluntary by the band, dinner was announced by the President, and a cordial invitation was ex- tended to all. The divine blessing having been invoked by Rev. David Garland of Bethel, the audience, as fast as they could be seated, repaired to the tables, where a sumptuous dinner was served upon the grounds as stated above. As in a grand but quiet scene upon the plains of Judea, outside the village, and upon its border, the bold mountain craggs looking down in the rear, the multitude sat down, " by companies," "and did eat and were filled." A festive scene is one of participation, and not for description ; and if the hilarious but orderly cheer which prevailed might be used in judgment, the dinner was enjoyed.
The number dined can only be approximated. But if we remember that the tables had been arranged for some eight- een hundred people, and in the estimation of those in charge, they were filled from two to three times, some idea of the number present may be formed. Large as was the number, there was enough for all, and food remained upon the tables for other thousands. Of this part of the programme a re- porter says : "The most complete order prevailed during this most difficult part of the performance, and the admira- ble manner of serving the vast multitudes evinced a com- plete and masterly organization of forces."
After dinner, as the seats were being rapidly filled, a fear- ful accident occurred, and two persons were badly but not fatally injured. A vicious horse had broken loose, and dragging a heavy piece of timber, rushed furiously over the seats and among the gathering audience, causing a terrible panic; yet, as if by miracle, only the two persons named
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above were seriously injured. Order having been restored, the exercises of the afternoon commenced with a salutatory by the band, and in response to sentiments offered by the president, it was pleasantly and profitably spent in listening to addresses by numerous speakers, nearly all of whom were natives of Waterford. The large area of well-filled seats, with eager and attentive faces, gave ample assurance that the exercises, interspersed with excellent music, were en- joyed.
The first sentiment, offered by the president, was :
The Fathers and Mothers of Waterford. Response by Rev. WILLIAM WARREN, D.D., of Gorham, Me.
Mr. President : Some one has said that this seemed to him like the funeral of the old century. It seems to me to be rather the resurrection of the old century. To-day the past of this town comes up before us in joyous review. Those early historical scenes, the sacrifices and sufferings accompanying them, have been set before our view in order and in fresh light, and have been given a new life. Those men and women who made this town what it is, whom we have known personally, or through dim tradition, have in a sense revived to our view and acquaintance to-day. They live again and are with us in a sense in these our festivities. We greet them, we take them by the hand, as it were, on this commemorative occasion. Yes, fathers and mothers, with all the heart we welcome you back to the scenes of life, to our fellowships and our festivities on this centennial occasion.
The obsequies of the past ? No, rather its resurrection on this hundredth birthday of the town! How little there is of us that death can arrest or the grave can hold! There are things stronger than death. The triumph of the grave is brief. All
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that is truly noble hath immortality. It is the privilege of all in life to do that which outlives life; to build characters and forecast destinies which death itself cannot destroy.
This occasion leads to the reviving and renewing of forgot- ten scenes. Here we review the noble acts and imperishable virtues that gave early character to this town. These do not perish, they are robed in immortality. We register them upon tablets that cannot fade on this commemorative occasion.
But I am expected to speak particularly of the original fami- lies of Waterford ; and perhaps, because, though a son and a grandson of first settlers here, I am an old man and yet the twilight of my own recollections but touches the vanishing of theirs. It is pleasant for me to speak of those early families that so impressed my childhood and youth, and left upon the town their likeness and image. They still survive in the char- acter they gave to Waterford. We dwell on their memory with pleasure ; let this day help to make it imperishable.
I do not claim that those pioneers of the town were perfect, that they wholly escaped the temptations and habits of their time. But sir, I only wonder that their faults were so few; that they withstood wrong influences so well; and that so few of them fell into vice and dishonor. How little they had to do with and how scanty were their privileges!
We care to make no ungrateful records to-day. It is not the shaded leaf or blotted ledger that stands open before us. It is the brighter pages of honorable history of successful life on which we have to dwell; the review of noble courage, of rare self-denial, of manly aspirations, rising often to inspira- tions ; these are before us now and impel us to put the cen- tury properly and honorably upon the calendar of time.
We recall with pride the hardihood and privations of those fathers and mothers, who faced danger, forced obstacles and impossibilities well-nigh in this then unbroken wilderness. We call to mind the sacrifices they made in leaving pleasant homes,
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and their comparatively easy life; exchanging safety for peril, society for solitude, and competence, it may be, for the rude- ness and sacrifices of pioneer life. How I used to marvel at my mother's story of leaving her old home in Massachusetts, the beauties of Prospect Hill on the one hand, and charming Plum Island on the other, for this cold and dreary wilderness of Wa- terford ; nor the emotions I felt, half a century afterward, when I stood for the first time, on a thanksgiving morning, upon that same enchanted Prospect Hill (near the foot of which she had lived), overlooking the town and distant Plum Island, gateway to the sea, and remembered that dear mother, who left all this fifty years before for a wilderness home! But God gave the heart and the hope and the nerve! Those fathers and moth- ers came here under the inspiration of a noble manhood and womanhood. They built for themselves houses and homes, rude of course; felled the forests, turning it into fields and farms, and planted institutions as well as vineyards for them- selves and for us. Can we forget them ? How can we but ad- mire them ?
And what vicariousness of skill and service they brought with them! A brave old lady whose husband was out in two wars, whom the bullets did not hit, was often both physician and nurse. And how did the mothers and fathers rejoice in her presence and skill. It was a day when little had to stand for much ; when a few had to do the work of many, and com- mon sense to serve often for science and professional skill.
In a more personal glance at these root-families, I pass by the Warrens, but not so properly the Greens; Thomas, out in the French and Revolutionary wars, a hero in many battles. He came here early to help conquer the wilderness. He came with his large family of sons and daughters, all of whom set- tled near him. He and wife (the lady just referred to), lived to a great age, and were loved and honored of all to the end.
His old neighbor in Rowley, Captain Stephen Jewett, soon
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followed and became his neighbor here. He brought his large family of sons and daughters, who settled around him. He was keen of perception, delighted in debate, especially for doctrine, as his noted controversy with his minister shows.
And then the Chaplins, Daniel and David, the latter a teach- er, versed in Greek, mighty in the scriptures, and skilled in va- rious mechanisms. The former, grave, steadfast and useful ; serving the town variously, as did his son Daniel after him.
And the Saunders's, Joshua, Ezekiel, Samuel and Humphrey, brothers from the same old seed town ; they were men of sober life, upright and honest-lovers of order and truth. The above men were all from the same parish in Massachusetts, giving the name of Rowley to North Waterford. Neighbors to these; were General Sawin, Benjamin Proctor, and others more re- cent, who helped to subdue this harder portion of the town, and to make it perhaps the more thrifty and prosperous in the end. These were men not to be omitted.
And then the Plummers; Jonathan, free in manners, as from all guile; of sturdy common sense, which gave him (and quite to his credit), the title of "Judge"; and Samuel, enterprising and prosperous; useful in town business, the church chorister, set- tling his large family around him; and Josiah, of good habits and life. These gave the neighborhood north of the Flat its name.
And the Horrs; Philip, the first to move into town with his family ; his sons, Isaac, Abraham, and John (deacon), were like their father, peaceable and exemplary citizens.
In West Waterford, were the Houghtons. Major Jonathan. his sons, Abel, Henry, and Cyrus, were in military life ; Jon- athan was Representative, and both he and Henry were dea- cons ; Josiah was a clergyman, and Lewis a physician.
Let me speak of the Hales. Oliver once led the town in wealth ; Benjamin was noted as the town tailor; Israel reared his large family where Capt. Thomas Swan now lives.
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And then the Stones; Jonathan, Moses, Solomon, Oliver, Joel, and David, all useful men and good citizens, taking their share in town business, and in giving it character and prosperity
The Browns also. Thaddeus, of sharp intellect and instincts, of strong memory and will, was largely successful in business. Daniel, his son, was long in trade here, and was in both branch- es of the Legislature; Levi, his brother and partner, command- ed a battalion of cavalry, and was useful in town affairs. Wil- liam was brother and neighbor to Thaddeus. He afterward kept public house on the Flat. Jabez and Thaddeus, sons of Thaddeus, senior, have kept alive the historical traditions of the town.
And lastly, the Hamlins, having for names the four conti- nents (as far as these went), Eleazer, fond of history and soci- ety, often in town business, and thrice in the Legislature ; Han- nibal, major, in the militia, and high sheriff of the county, of large influence and capacity ; Africa, often and early intrusted with town affairs. Dr. Cyrus, father of Vice-President Ham- lin, settled in Paris. This family of Hamlins did much to give early character and strength to the town.
I have glanced at these original families in groups mostly. But there are individual names of special honor, that have been alluded to in the Address, with others upon which I cannot now dwell, as Longley, Baker, Monroe, Farrar, Cross, Rice, Gerry.
I name the men, you notice, but the women are equally de- serving, and were largely influential in their families, in the rearing of noble sons and daughters.
But how little can one do in this hurried way to give a true impression of those early families. It is happy that they were made of material that constitutes strong and prosperous com- munities. They grew in mental and moral strength by means of the school-house and the sanctuary. Toil was their pastime,
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business and self-denial, their vocation, and honorable dealing, their fixed habit.
Mr. President, we are reaping the harvest of such sowing. And it is fitting now that we set up our stone at this opening of the new century, upon which we will inscribe our grateful memory of those fathers and mothers, and will write with a reverent hand and heart for ourselves, Thus far the Lord has helped us !
The sons and daughters of Waterford now residents of other
States and Countries. Responded to by Rev. Dr. CYRUS HAMLIN, of Robert College, Constantinople, Turkey.
Fellow Citizens of Waterford :
After so many long years of absence, I rejoice to meet you once more on the shores of time; and I esteem it an honor . to be called upon to speak to you on behalf of those who, like myself, have been called to dwell and to do life's work in other states and foreign lands. We return to our old home always to find it more beautiful, more attractive than ever. In the prosecution of my work, I have had the opportunity to see something of the most celebrated places in Europe, with re- gard to natural scenery. What can one find in Switzerland more beautiful than our native town, with its hills and charm- ing lakes, which would be in the highest degree poetical, if we did not call them " ponds."
In the autumn of 1834, I climbed one morning the hill at my right, in company with the poet Longfellow. In looking down upon that beautiful sheet of water and its surroundings, after mentioning this and that place in Switzerland of which it re- minded him, he added, " Indeed this is Switzerland."
I believe the more we travel in foreign lands, the more " our hearts untraveled" will return to the beautiful hills and vales and lakes, to testify that God has indeed given us " a goodly
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heritage," in full harmony with the character of the men and women whom we venerate as our fathers and mothers.
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But you will naturally expect me to speak of the foreign work in which the sons and daughters of Waterford have been engaged. The emigration from this town into almost every state of the union has been so great that I will not attempt to follow it. Those whom you have thus sent forth have ob- tained and are still holding posts of honor and usefulness, and some of them are here to salute you and to speak for them- selves on this centennial day.
To foreign peoples, as missionaries, you have sent four. This number may be far less than your duty, but it is far greater than the average. Many towns of the state have not sent one; and but very few have sent more than one. Of these four, one was a teacher among the North American Indians, one a teacher in India, one a missionary and teacher in Turkey, and one a mis- sionary and an able translator of the scriptures in India.
Now I am sure you have done well to remember those dis- tant peoples in their darkness and degradation by sending to them some of your sons and daughters. We are always hear- ing from certain persons that " charity should begin at home," and I always fear that with such it stays at home. About its beginning I do not know. Our christian faith began at Jeru- salem and then went forth into all the world. That which be- gins right never stays.
As you have made a beginning in this grace, go on unto per- fection ; and let your sentiments, your feelings and your princi- ples of christian charity embrace the world. This is Christ- like and truly noble.
But I have been told that I shall be expected to say some- thing to you, my neighbors and fellow townsmen, with regard to my personal work abroad. I left this country in 1838, and for twenty-two years was a missionary of the American Board
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in Constantinople, and for about twenty years, was principal of the " Bebec Seminary."
In 1860, I entered upon the work of founding an American college on the Bosphorus, now known as Robert College, from Christopher R. Robert of New York, who has supplied nearly all the funds, about $200,000. This college is the first of those missionary colleges which are now crowning the missionary work wherever it has been successful. Into that institution are gathered nearly two hundred students of many races, of many languages, and of many religions ; for Turkey is composed, not of a people, but of many peoples-fragments of the old Roman Empire. All these youth, of whatever race, language or faith, study the English language and the Christian Scriptures. These forces, a common language, a common education, and a common Bible, are mighty forces with which to assail the old fortresses of Oriental error and darkness and superstition. Nothing can stand before them. These educated youth will ere long fill places of trust and power. The old, the unchange- able East is changing. The old is passing away, the new is coming in. The human mind, throughout all those unevangel- ized regions, seems to be growing weary of the old forms of su- perstition and oppression, and from the Isles of Greece to the Isles of Japan, over the broad continent of Asia, it is waking up and stretching forth after some better mode of life, and of social and of religious organization. "The whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now, waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God." The Turkish Em- pire feels this great and divine movement in every part. The Bible is going forth in all its languages to all its peoples. The Koran is losing its power. The decayed and corrupt chris- tianity of the East is reviving. Schools are becoming better, and more numerous. The press is sending forth the newspaper into all the land, evangelical churches are widely established the gospel is freely preached, and surely a new era has dawned upon the Empire. Whether false religion will expire without
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a bloody struggle, is one of the unknown things of the future, to be left to the all-controlling providence of God. I do not feel that I could have done any better work elsewhere, that I could have been more useful or more happy in any other situa- tion, than I have been in Turkey. Of the great work accom- plished there, I have done a very insignificant part, but what has been done will live forever.
I have come home for the special work of obtaining an en- dowment for the college. That accomplished, I shall return, gladly, joyfully, to my work; not that I love my native land less, but that Eastern land more.
The Clergy of Waterford. Responded to by REV. DELANO PERRY, of the Methodist church, South Waterford. We are not favored with a copy of this address.
The Medical Profession. Responded to by DR. THOMAS H. GAGE, of Worcester, Mass., with address and original poem.
Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen:
I ought to be, and I am, deeply sensible of the kindness and courtesy to myself personally which is expressed in your greet- ing. It is pleasant after long absence to return and greet once more some of the faces which were familiar in my youth, and to find that I am not myself entirely forgotten.
You have made complimentary allusion to the representation by this town in the medical profession. For the very small share in that compliment, which I can appropriate to myself, I thank you; but I thank you much more on behalf of those others, born and educated here, who have gone out from the place to achieve eminence and success in that noble calling, and whose absence here to-day is a matter of regret and disappoint- ment to us all. I thank you too, still more, on behalf of that great memory to which you and others have kindly and repeat- 22
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edly alluded to-day, and which, of course, for me personally overshadows all other memories of the occasion.
But it is not my purpose to make a speech. I do wish, how- ever; to express my deep sense of gratitude to those good citizens of this beautiful town, who conceived the idea and plan of this pleasant reunion, and who have labored so suc- cessfully to carry it out. I know that their labors and anx- ieties in connection with it have been great, and I sincerely trust that their reward may be great also; not only in present pleasure but in grateful memories for them and their successors forever.
Unable to contribute anything more substantial in aid of the enterprise, will you allow me to offer an imperfect but grateful tribute in verse ?
No great event of world-wide fame We celebrate to-day ; No proud historic field can claim The honors that we pay.
The fact we here commemorate Will scarce detain us long, Or much afford, of good or great, For eulogy or song.
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