USA > New Hampshire > Hillsborough County > Brookline > Oration delivered at the centennial celebration, in Brookline, N.H., September 8, 1869 > Part 1
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ORATION DELIVERED AT THE CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION BROOKLINE, N. H., SEPT. 8, 1869 SAWTELLE
Gc 974.202 B79s 1771769
M. L.
REYNOLDS HISTORICAL GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01095 9465
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2015
https://archive.org/details/orationdelivered00sawt 0
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ORATION 3
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DELIVERED AT THE
Centennial Celebration,
IN . BROOKLINE, N. H.,
SEPTEMBER 8, 1869.
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By I. B. SAWTELLE.
SAW
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FITCHBURG, MASS: PRINTED AT THE FITCHBURG REVEILLE OFFICE. 1869.
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1771769
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Sawtelle, Ithamar Bard.
j F 842092 .78 Oration delivered at the centennial celebration, in Brook- line, N. H., September 8, 1869. By I. B. Sawtelle. Fitch- burg, Mass., Printed at the Fitchburg reveille office, 1869. 40 p. 21cm.
THELP CARD
1. Brookline, N. H .- Hist. -
1-7980 Revised
Recat 2912
Library of Congress
F44.B8S2 [r32c2]
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Centennial Celebration
OF THE INCORPORATION OF THE
Town of Brookline, 1
SEPTEMBER 8, 1869.
The Procession will be formed at 9 o'clock A. M., near the
1 1 Store of J. A. Hall & Brother.
ORDER OF PROCESSION.
Chief Marshal and Aids.
Brookline Band.
Committee of Arrangements.
The President of the Day, Orator, Poet, Chronicler and Chaplain,
Vice Presidents.
The Rev. Clergy, Invited Guests, Representatives.of the Press, and
others.
The Choir.
Citizens of Brookline.
THE NEWBERRY LIBRARY CHILASO
Citizens at Large.
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The Procession will be escorted by the Town's Soldiers in the late war to the Grove where the Order of Exercises will be as follows :
SoTHE Jo BWOT
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I. MUSIC. BY THE BAND. II. PRAYER.
UI. OD E.
BY MISS FANNIE D. PARKER. TUNE :- AMERICA. . Hail ! Brookline, home to thee,
Thy sons with joy we see Return to-day. From far and near they throng,
Friends who've been parted long,
Chanting thy praise with song And joyful lay.
One hundred years have fled,
Since first our fathers sped Their prayers to heaven ;
Asking that light sublime
O'er their dark paths might shine;
God heard ;- the gift divine To them was given.
Let us, their children, now
In adoration bow To God above.
Praising His mighty power,
Whose goodness deigned to shower
O'er them, in danger's hour, Protecting love.
And when an hundred years
Again-with hopes and fears, Have passed away ; May our descendants here, Our memories revere, Who greet with joy sincere, This festal day.
IV. ORATION.
By I. B. Sawtelle, Esq., a native of this town, now residing in Townsend, Mass.
V. OD E.
BY MRS. SARAH D. TARBELL. TUNE :- AUTUMN.
Welcome ! all-in gladness meeting,
Hail we our Centennial day !
Friends, long absent, joyful greeting Join in our exulting lay. While our voices sweetly blending, Swell the chorus loud and long, May our hearts to heaven ascending, Raise our Centenary song.
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Hoary heads, with honors laden, Manhood in the flush of pride, Aged matron, blooming maiden, Meet together, side by side. Cheerfully our footsteps gathering, On the soil our fathers trod, Peaceful blessings now imploring,
From our God-our father's God.
Though to-day we meet in gladness,
Back o'er distant years to roam,
Many hearts are filled with sadness,
Lingering near the early home. But, though death full oft hath taken Well known faces, we have loved,
Sweet the memories they awaken,
"Sweet the thought,-they rest above.
VI.
POEM.
BY ED. E. PARKER, A. B., Brookline.
VII. MUSIC BY THE BAND ..
VIII. CHRONICLES. BY REV. T. P. SAWIN, of Manchester.
IX.
HYMN.
BY MRS. SARAH B. LAWRENCE. TUNE :- ANTIOCH.
A hundred years ago to-day 1
Where wild beasts roamed at will,
The brave man's bold and fearless stroke,
As towering forests fell,
Silenced the Savage yell,
And on the deep grand stillness broke.
Rude homes arose, and wildness fled-
The fields with plenty smiled-
Blessings of peace distilled like dew,
While every man and child With busy hand beguiled
A life, so simple, free, and true.
So year by year, new mercies crowned
Those quiet homes and blest, So one by one, in silence passed To find a sweeter rest, Where toil, nor care molest, And noble life is crowned at last.
Our fathers' memory honored bel While here from far and wide, The sons and daughters willing come To land with honest pride, And view on every side Glad scenes that cheer our natal home.
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We boast a river flowing free, In busy service found Of "Tanapus" so smooth and bright, Where festive scenes abound, And echoing sports resonnd, Waking the hills to life and light !
Behold we now the bn: y streets !
Where tasteful dwellings are ! And school-rooms rich in proffered lore ! While pealing on the air, The church bells call to prayer-
To worship God-the God of yore.
Down, down, with swift and stealing tread
The circling years have run, And strown fresh benefits around. Our victories yearly won- The conquests well begun- We celebrate with joy ful sound !
After the exercises at the grove, the Procession will reform and proceed to the Tent to partake of the Centennial Dinner provided for the occasion by JAMES W. FESSENDEN. After the Dinner, there will be short speeches by citizens and natives of the town, inter- spersed with vocal and instrumental music.
OFFICERS OF THE DAY.
ALONZO BAILEY, ESQ., PRESIDENT.
VICE PRESIDENTS :
Capt. Franklin McDonald, Capt. Joseph Hall, Joseph Smith, Henry K. Kemp, Esq., William J. Smith, Esq., W. G. Shattuck.
Maj. W. W. Corey, Andrew Rockwood,
Alpheus Shattuck, Esq., James H. Hall, Esq., N. W. Colburn, Joseph Sawtelle,
J. A. HALL, ESQ., CHIEF MARSHAL.
AIDS :
William Wright, David S. Fessenden,
Edward T. Hall, Martin Rockwood.
COMMITTEE OF RECEPTION :
Benjamin Gould, Esq., Henry B. Stiles, Esq.,
Reuben Baldwin, Esq.
TOAST-MASTER : J. C. Parker.
SECRETARY : Charles A. Priest.
ALONZO BAILEY, ) JAMES H. HALL, W. W. COREY, HENRY K. KEMP, J. A. HALL.
Town Committee.
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The foregoing was the programme for the occasion. The man- ner in which it was carried out is thus described in the " Union Democrat" of Manchester, N. II. :
"The meeting had organized, and our first business was to find it. We were directed to a hill overlooking the beautiful village Ascending this we came to one of the rarest topographical phenom - ena we have ever seen. This conical hill is merely the shell of a circular basin set in its top, like an old fashioned mortar, for all the world. A handsome growth of oaks shaded the inner surface, and the Brookliners had adroitly availed themselves of this natural am- pitheatre, as the place of their literary festivities. Here we found upon one side a substantial and ample platform for the officers, speakers, reporters, band, choir, etc., and circling around it, within casy hearing, an audience of perhaps 3000 people. Nothing could possibly be more convenient and attractive."
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"The orator was I. B. Sawtelle, Esq., a native of Brookline, but now residing inTownsend, Mass. We have ample notes of the last half, but any abstract which our limits will allow, would not only be unsatisfactory to the reader but unjust to the speaker. Its topics were necessarily of local interest, but they were treated with con- summate skill and ability. The address embodied what may be called the domestic history of the town, political, religious and ma- terial, and must have cost a great deal of plodding research, and patient, unflagging industry. The citizens of Brookline, we are sure, are greatly indebted to Mr. Sawtelle for gathering up these frag- mentary records and traditions and putting them in convenient form for transmission to their posterity. Of course, this address will be published, and we predict that it will be accepted by the public as one of the very best of the current series."
" The Occasional Poem was by E. E. Parker, a Brooklinite just from Dartmouth. It will be remembered that he was the Centennial Poet of his Alma Mater, an honor which only rare poctic genius could hope to attain. Whatever laurels he may have won on that occa- sion-and they were many and still green-will receive a generous accession here. We hardly know which most to admire the skill of the poet or the wit of the humorist."
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" After the Poem came the Chronicles by Rev. T. P. Sawin of this city. This style of writing affords fine scope for quiet and ge- nial humor, and Mr.Sawin had embodied the ecclesiastical history of the Rabians in the quaint vernacular of the Mosaic period, when the first mishap of the occasion occurred. A cloud came up abruptly and threatened to empty its contents into the little basin occupied by the meeting. A few big pattering drops created an instant and enormous stampede, and the bugle essayed in vain to recall the scat- tered fugitives. So Mr. Sawin's ingenious and very acceptable pro- duction was " parted in the middle." "
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" There was a spontaneous and irrepressible movement to the big tent " stand not on the order of your going, but only go." Here was found one of the most elegant and appetizing "spreads" we ever saw. Plates were laid for some seven or eight hundred, and the daintiest connoisseur could scarcely have excelled the tout ensemble of this physical entertainment. The long tables, eight in number, were neatly covered, and loaded with the contributions of all elements and all latitudes. The seats were clean and safe-not- withstanding the suggestion of gun powder plots in the kegs upon which they were based. We venture to say, no better dinner was ever provided for a similar occasion, whether we regard quantity, quality, or style. Mr. James W. Fessenden of the Brookline Hotel was the caterer; and we cannot help saying just here, that his vi- ands were all the better for the skill with which they were served ; for his rich bouquets, and plump and luscious fruits had rivals in the fitting forms that moved among them."
The storm was so severe that it was impossible to hear and en- joy the sentiments read by the toast master. The rain beat on the tent so hard that the responses and specches could not be heard.
WELCOME ADDRESS
OF THE
PRESIDENT OF THE DAY, ALONZO BAILEY; ESQ.
My Townsmen and Friends : It becomes my pleasant duty to welcome you to that " feast of reason and flow of soul" that may be enjoyed on this occasion.
We meet here to-day to celebrate the 100th birth day of our good old Mother Brookline. I call her old, but she bears her age remarkably well and bids fair to survive the roll of time for many. centuries to come. .
It is good for children and friends to assemble under the old family roof to commemorate their parental birth day in social com- munion.
It is with something of the same feeling that we meet here to- day to look into familiar faces, to give one and another a cordial shake of the hand. It does us who live on the old familiar spot good to welcome our friends as they return from abroad, and we hope it does them no less good to come and unite with us in the festivities of the day.
We have no marked natural attractions, such as Mountains, Grottos or . Cataracts, nor any wonders of art to call our friends, but there has been to many and now are to some, objects of great interest.
New York City, the great metropolis of America, has its one Cooper's Institute. We can show you many Cooper's Institutes, where the coopers with their implements can outvie in noise the clamerous tongues of the Orators of the New York Institute.
The trees of our forests compare but feebly with their gigantic cousins near the Pacific coast, neither does our rough, hard soil compare with the deep, rich laden mines of the West, but it requires the energies and perseverance of the New England men to bring out and develop the resources of that country. And we claim a share of those men for Brookline.
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It is customary for Mechanics to exhibit a sign at their shops signifying what trade is carried on within. For instance, a shoema- ker hangs out a shoe, a watchmaker a watch at the window, and a cooper a heap of shavings at the door. And away up in Fran- conia Notch the Almighty has hung out the Man of the Mountain, signifying that in New Hampshire he makes men. Brookline, a sis- ter in the pleasant family of New Hampshire, claims as her most valuable production Men and Women, and she claims as healthy sons and as fair daughters as any sister in the State. Do you doubt it? Look around upon the audience before you and see if she is not right.
One hundred years have passed since the inauguration of this town. One hundred years, the most eventful that ever checkered the historian's page. One hundred years ago Brookline, with all the New England colonies acknowledged allegiance to King George III. and proudly boasted the best government in the world. But Old England in the majesty of her acknowledged power became oppressive to her colonial subjects. They rebelled.
Then came the war for Independence, and when her colonial subjects petitioned to that higher Power for aid in their struggle, they descried in the Heavens the emblem of Liberty and Equality for which they thanked God and took courage. And under the shade of the Star Spangled Banner they fought for their rights to a successful issue.
A territory now as large as all Europe owes its allegiance to that tri colored flag and this territory resounds throughout its vast extent with the industries of a Great Nation.
However small her territory, however few her people, Brook- line has ever rejoiced that she did her full share in obtaining her independence and in sustaining her Country's honor and her glori- ous institutions. On this day we are with united hearts thankful that peace reigns throughout this vast domain and that the future is so bright for Brookline and for America.
Once more in the name of my Townsmen I extend a welcome to all the sons of Brookline, whether native or adopted, and to all others assembled here to-day, I extend a hearty welcome, hoping your anticipations will be fully realized.
ORATION.
The changes occasioned by the lapse of time are replete with instruction. There never were any two periods, either before or since man's creation, that even the earth itself presented the same appearance. Continents have received new indentations ; ocean currents have taken new directions and islands have been thrown to the surface of mid ocean by those " wrecking fires which wait the archangels signal to dissolve the solid carth." The dominion of man ends where the ocean begins. He can erect no monument on its crested wave-can leave no vestige to mark the spot where the armaments of angry nations contended in mortal combat. The same unbroken anthem swells on ward from its deep abyss that greet- ed the morning stars "when first they sang o'er young creation's birth." But man, the mechanic, with instrument in hand has left his trace on the contour of the land by excavating hills, tunnelling mountains, felling forests and building cities. What a beautiful prospect there must have been from the summit of Monadnock two hundred years ago. Green mountain slopes -- green intervales- green forests from horizon to horizon; many beautiful lakes and small ponds glistened in the sun. Turning westward might have been seen flowing at intervals the placid waters of the Connecticut. The smoke just descried through the tree tops near the banks of the river, indicated the spot where the squaws were cultivating corn for the red man who was far away on the revengeful war path. On the North the unexplored spurs of the White mountains stood out in bold relief against the sky, as though they were performing picket duty for that mighty mountain range which has battled with the storms and tempests of ages. Towards the ocean this boundless prospect of green forests was unbroken till perchance the eye caught the hazy wreath of vapor which hovered near the coast of Massa-
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chusetts bay. How beautiful the forests that then covered these hills. What a panorama might have been seen at that time. Then all was natural save where the Indian had made his camp fires and planted his scanty allowance of corn. Then this whole region was the hunting grounds of the Indian. His council fires burned along the frontier of our infant settlements and none but our fathers would have dared to contend with these merciless savages. . More than a century ago our ancestors penetrated the then unbroken forest and commenced a settlement in this unpromising locality. It is to com- memorate the settlement of this town and in a proper manner to celebrate the 100th anniversary of our incorporation that has caus- ed this assembly. Why should we not celebrate this anniversary ? Although there may not be in the history of our town much that we can boast of, yet, there is as little, perhaps, as in most other places of equal advantages, to be ashamed of. I see those in this audi- ence who honor BROOKLINE as their birth place that have made them- selves homes elsewhere. Some of you are the business men of other towns. Some of you come from the bustle and excitement of city life, and some of you have come from distant lands where you have tried your fortunes, to look once more into the faces that were familiar to your childhood, to grasp the hands of your former play- mates. We bid you welcome to the pleasures and festivities of this occasion. May I not be permitted to say on your behalf, that, during all our wanderings, during the perplexities of business and the anxieties incident to this life, that we have turned from them all with pleasure to the sunny childhood we passed in this quiet little town ? Our native hills were mountains to us then. Then Tana- pus pond was superior to Lake Superior. Saint Peters church could not strike us with such awful solemnity as did the old meet- ing house on the hill, when after the invocations, the seats fell down to their places with a noise "like the voice of many waters." The district school where we struggled for the head of the class was our Alma Mater. In those days the 4th of July was celebrated "in ample form."" Nothing could exceed the pleasures enjoyed on the annual thanksgiving day. Beautiful are these childhood reminis-
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cences. We come here once more to exchange our friendly greet- ings, to turn to the pleasant associations of the past, to look once more on the natural scenery towards which we first formed an at- tachment, to notice the changes that time has wrought in the form and faces of those who were once our school mates.
The township of BROOKLINE has been constituted, at different times from no less than five distinct portions of territory ; each of which will require a description at this point. We would natural- ly suppose that there was vacant land enough in one body in this sterile, rockbound region from which so small a town as ours might have been carved ont. But it was reserved for this place to be made up of a part of Hollis *; a portion of " Groton West Parish," now Pepperell ; the north part of Townsend, and the south end of " The Mile Slip."
When the town of Raby was incorporated it was thus in part, described in the Charter : " Beginning at a stake and stones, in the south side line in the town of Hollis, which is also the province line, which stake stands about two miles due east from the south west course of said Hollis; thence running north by the needle across the said town to one other stake and stones, standing in the north side line of said Hollis; leaving the meeting house in the middle between this side line and the east side line of Hollis." Here we find a portion of territory from Hollis of a parallelogramic form, the short sides of which were about two miles long and the long sides co-extensive with the entire length of Hollis; equal to about ten square miles.
The phraseology of the charter, entirely superfluous so far as granting a valid title is concerned, " leaving the meeting house in the middle between this side line and the east side line of said Hollis" goes to show that the grantors or people who remained in the pa- rent town not only had a taste for symmetry and order, but that they appreciated their social and religious advantages. They felt per-
*Hollis was incorporated in 1746. The Indian name of Hollis was Nissitissit, which means in the Indian language "The place of two rivers." The two rivers alluded to were probably the Nashua, which runs across the southeast corner of the town, and the Nissitis- sit, which ran through the southwest corner of the town. The Nissitissit river took its name from the town of Nissitissit.
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haps that if these toils were unremitting, their taxes were burden- some, if they had " no goodly heritage" that certainly their "lines had fallen in pleasant places." Freedom of conscience and freedom of speech was the priceless boon sought by the settlers of our pleas- ant New England. A few years after the landing of the Plymouth settlers, men of a more venturesome and avaricious spirit explored the country around, and founded new plantations. The rich lands in the valley of the Merrimack then occupied by the Indians were much coveted by the English settlers soon after its discovery by Champlain. Its head lake to the Red Man was as beautiful as " the smile of the Great Spirit." The aborigines were dependant on their numerous fisheries on this river for much of their living. Their cornfields dotted the valleys of the Merrimack-the Nashua-the Souhegan, meanwhile the march of civilization pointed towards their pleasant valleys. In 1655, Chelmsford and Groton had settlements. On the 26th of October, 1673, in compliance with the petition of Thomas Brattle, Jonathan Tyng, Joseph Wheeler and twenty-three others, "The General Court held in Boston" granted a charter to the town of Dunstable of which Brookline was once the extreme western part. It may be pertinent to remark that Thomas Brattle, first grantee above, was a large land holder in what is now Dunsta- ble, Mass., and ever from the settlement of the boundary line be- tween New Hampshire and Massachusetts in 1741 up to 1837, the time the town of Dunstable was changed to Nashua, Dunstable, Mass., was commonly called "Brattles End, Dunstable." Jonathan Tyng also furnished a name for his part of Dunstable which is now Tyngsboro. The 'Township of Dunstable contained about two hun- dred square miles ; it was in the County of Middlesex. It included the towns of Nashua, Hudson, Hollis, Dunstable and Tyngsboro, be_ sides parts of the towns of Amherst, Milford, Merrimac, Litchfield ,
Londondery, Pelham, Pepperell, Townsend and Brooklinc. Its lines were perambulated in 1734. The northwest corner was a great pine near the Souhegan river on "Dram Cup Hill," in the northwest part of Milford. Its westerly line ran "due south" and passed "near the west end of Muscatanapus pond" in Brookline.
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Muscatanapus signifies in the Indian " The pond of the bears." The corner of Methuen and Dracut was its southeast corner. The south. west corner may be found in our town in a due south direction from "Dram Cup Hill" by the west end of Muscatanapus pond to a point about one inile distant from the state line. Its northeast cor- ner was at a great rock casterly of the month of the Souhegan river in the town of Londonderry. The east line of Mason granted by the Masonian proprietors in 1749 was parallel with the west line of Hollis, which line was the west line of " Old Dunstable" and one mile distant from the same. There was then a tract of land one mile wide, between these towns, running from the state line to the Sonhegan river which had never been embraced within the limits of any town. This narrow belt of land was known by the name of the " Mile slip" a part of which was merged in this town by the act of incorporation in 1769. The north end of " The Mile Slip" thus " left out in the cold," contained some brave and hardy settlers who furnished their quota of men for the revolutionary war. From the north end of the " Mile Slip," " Charlestown School Farm," " Duxbury Farm," a part of Amherst, a portion of Hollis, and a square mile from the northwest corner of Raby, Milford was made up and incorporated in 1794. From the beginning of the last een- tury to 1740 there were many bitter controversies concerning the Province line between New Hampshire and Massachusetts. There was at this time in the Colony a clique of land speculators and po- litical intriguers. They were enemies both of Governor Belcher and the settlers; their whole aim being personal aggrandisement. About 1738 John T. Mason, a relative of Capt. John Mason, ar- rived at majority. Owners of lands both in the province of New Hampshire and Massachusetts were exceedingly anxious about the fixing of this boundary line. The validity of the titles to these lands was the exciting topic, some claiming under Mason's grant and some from the " General Court' at Boston. Thus "great interests were at stake and strong passions excited." . Mason's grant from Plymouth Council in 1621 had for its northern boundary " The River Merrimack to the head waters thereof." In 1652 Massachu-
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setts sent Commissioners who had a retinue of Indian guides, to- gether with two surveyors, one of which was a student at Harvard College, to find the head waters of this river. They made a report to their government that the outlet of Winnepesaukie Lake in Lati- tude 43deg. 40min. 12sec. was the " northermost part" of Merri- mack river. The Colony of Massachusetts Bay by their General Court decided in 1652 that the extent of their northern line was " from the northermost part of the river Merrimack, and three miles more north, where it may be found, and thence upon a straight line, east and west to either sea." This was a line more liberal than the descendants of the settlers of Massachusetts colony were able to maintain. The impression was probably of those who made this boundary that the Merrimack river ran nearly cast. Finally on the 5th of March, 1740, this whole matter was settled by His Majesty in council. It was decided that " the northern boundary line of the province of Massachusetts be a line pursuing the course of the Mer- mack river at three miles distant on the north side thereof, begin- ning at the Atlantic ocean and ending at a point due north of Paw- tucket Falls ; and a straight line drawn from thence due west, till it meets with His Majesty's other governments. This boundary thus settled on the principles of good sense and sound judgment was very satisfactory to the province of New Hampshire. It gave about seven hundred and fifty square miles of land more to New Hampshire than was ever claimed by this province in which were twenty-eight townships already chartered and settled. In 1741 when this line was run it passed just south of their meeting house in Dunstable, leaving the meeting house in New Hampshire and the grave yard in Massachusetts. This was a source of much grief to its inhabitants and retarded the progress of the town considerably. Groton and Townsend both received grants of land in considera- tion for their dismemberment by the running of this new line. Ilol- lis then acquired from Groton and Townsend a tract of land about a mile wide, running the whole length of the town on its south side, the west end of which is now Brookline. In 1786 a portion of land three-fourths of a mile wide was taken from the town of Hol
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