USA > New Hampshire > Rockingham County > Atkinson > An address before the alumni of Atkinson (N.H.) Academy, August 24, 1887 > Part 2
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THE LOTTERY AND THE NEW BUILDING.
It was a popular thing to raise money in those days, for good purposes, by lottery. While the new Academy was in process of erection, a grant was obtained from the General Court to raise $2,000
* His first wife was Polly Hasseltine, sister to Deacon John Hasseltine, of Bradford, and aunt of the first Mrs. Judson.
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ADDRESS.
by a lottery. An elaborate scheme was printed with this title: " A list of prizes drawn in the third class of Atkinson Academy. Numbers which have no figures annexed to them are prizes of four dollars each." Parson Peabody went to Boston to get permission of the General Court to sell tickets in Massachusetts. His expenses were $16.45 - were charged to the building account. The mission was a failure. The petition was voted leave to withdraw. Another scheme by Stephen, the pastor's son, was more successful. His object was to buy a shovel and tongs for the schoolhouse. "Nichols got the first prize and Parson Peabody the next."
The Academy was raised on the 12th day of May, 1803. Mr. Peabody offered prayer. " Got done about sundown." " Gave three cheers." The building was completed the same season, and its cost was $3,100. Of this large sum more than two thousand dollars was a debt. The generous Preceptor Vose assumed one eighth, and Parson Peabody, true to his nature, became responsible for the remainder, and he struggled with the debt with uncomplain- ing heart till his death. The account of the building committee is preserved, and this item among the charges stands as commentary on the times : " Cash paid Moses Atwood for rum, $50.73."
The land for the new building was donated by the widow of Enoch Knight. The location was well chosen. The edifice is still a monument to the generosity of the men who reared it, and an ornament to the noble eminence which overlooks the broad and beautiful valley of the Merrimack. The size of the house is thirty-four by sixty feet. The arrangement is convenient and its architecture is creditable.
THE NEW ERA.
Better facilities led to enlargement of the school, and to a still broader range of study. Its rank became high among the academies of New England, and this rank has been ever maintained. The times have changed, the builders have been taken from their labors, they sleep in the little church-yard near by, but their work goes on. Other men have entered into their places, and have faithfully cared for the institution which came to them as a sacred trust from the former generation.
Many names might be here spoken, but it would be quite un-
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ADDRESS.
pardonable not to mention the labors of one who labored for this object with rare wisdom and energy, and devotion. Rev. Jesse Page received his early classical training in this Academy, and to it he gave much of the best labor of his valuable life. He had largest hope for its future. He enlisted many friends in its behalf. He knew the roll of the alumni by heart, and he loved them all. We seem to feel his presence among us to-day. If it were possible for him to speak to us, the words of his warm welcome would give full utterance to the kindly salutations which our beloved Alma Mater would speak to us all.
THE PERMANENT FUND.
The Permanent Fund is small. A few sons of Atkinson have remembered their Alma Mater with gifts of grateful love. James Atwood, a native of the town, has given $1,000, and Almon Z. Barton $500. Rev. Joseph B. Felt, D. D., left a legacy of $2,000 and added to the library. Quincy Tufts, one of the early pupils, left a legacy of $2,000. Mr. William Johnson, an old resident of the town, who died in 1880 at the age of nearly ninety-three years, gave a prospective bequest of about $11,000.
These gifts of the past are suggestive of the still larger gifts which may soon come as the offering of affection to this noble school, entering with hope and promise the second century of her life. The sons of Atkinson have made a name in every profession, they have labored successfully in every industry. They fill honor- able offices, share the burdens of this active, earnest time, and wear with becoming modesty the honors they have achieved.
We mention with honest pride the names of Levi Woodbury ; Governor Kent, of Maine; Professor Brown, of Dartmouth College ; Gen. James Wilson; Judge White; President Hale, of Hobart College ; and Benjamin Greenleaf, of mathematical fame. The roll of honor includes the names of honored clergymen, Kimball, and Gilman, and Gilbert, and Cogswell, and Page, and Tolman, and many others living and dead. The name of Cogswell has graced every profession, the Clarkes have gained enviable names, the Mer- rills, and Tappans, and Peabodys, and Atwoods, and Todds, and the names of Page, and Cranch, and Webster must ever abide in the memory ; and the men of later years whose presence gladdens us
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ADDRESS.
to-day have attained honorable places and given promise of large things in time to come. We rejoice that the sons of Atkinson are not all dead. We celebrate to-day not only the glory of days that are gone. This noble mother looks out upon the green fields and clustering villages in the broad landscape, and imagination stretches beyond the distant horizon to behold the on-going of industries, the successful industry of life, in which the sons of Atkinson are doing honest labor and gaining rich rewards.
Among these later men are many names to be cherished with affection, whose past gifts, and larger promises, are the hope for time to come. Happy the loving mother that can mention the names of Nichols, and Marsh, and Taylor, and Clarke, and Todd, as her living children, who will care for her as she passes over the line of an hundred years on the way to still greater renown.
Sons and daughters of Atkinson, we celebrate the noble history of the past, we gather the names of those who have made them- selves immortal in the memories of men, we drop a tear at the re- membrance of those whose voices were once familiar in these classic heights, and we turn with hope and strong expectation to the coming years.
A charming picture rises before us as we seem to see the new buildings that shall rise in faultless architecture to crown this second hill and furnish dormitory and library and classic halls for the increasing number of youth who shall come, as in these generations past, to gain the principles of virtue and knowledge, which give strength and grace to character, and add true dignity, and honor, and nobility to life. The years grow golden as the centuries go on. New avenues for useful labor are opening; the coming century grows grander in its hope and promise. May the smiles of Heaven rest on our Alma Mater, and in the future, as in the past, may she be preserved as the help of all that is noble and true, the inspira- tion of all that is high and holy - a perpetual blessing in all the coming years.
APPENDIX.
ORIGINAL BOARD OF TRUSTEES.
The GOVERNOR and COUNCIL of State, ex officio.
HON. NATHANIEL PEABODY.
REV. STEPHEN PEABODY.
PETER CLEMENT.
BENJAMIN STONE.
DR. WILLIAM COGSWELL.
REV. GILES MERRILL.
EZEKIEL GILE.
HON. JOHN CALFE.
JAMES MCGREGOR.
Died or Resigned.
Elected.
Benjamin Stone .
1808
Rev. Gyles Merrill
1803
James McGregor
1804
Peter Clement . 1810
Rev. Stephen Peabody
1818
Nathaniel Peabody, M. D. .
1815
John Calfe
1810
Ezekiel Gile
1828
William Cogswell
1803
1803. William K. Atkinson
1821
1803. James Noyes
1821
1804. Samuel N. Little
1816
1808. Rev. John Kelly
1842
1810. John True
1825
1810. Rev. Joshua Dodge
1829
2
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APPENDIX.
1815. Oliver Knight 1816
1816. William Page
1841
1816. William Cogswell, M. D.
1831
1818. John Vose 1840
1821. Nathaniel Clark .
1836
1821. Benjamin Walker
1829
1825. Rev. William Balch
1834
1828. Job Dow
1849
1829. Jeremiah Poor
1839
1829. Joseph Knight .
1842
1831. Joseph B. Cogswell
1850
1835. Rev. Abijah Cross
1848
1836. Rev. William Cogswell
1850
1839. I. B. Hovey, M. D. .
1875
1841. N. K. Kelly, M. D.
1869
1842. Rev. D. T. Kimball
1853
1842. William Noyes .
1847
1844. Rev. Jesse Page
1883
1848. Bailey Knight
1859
1850. Benjamin Greenleaf
1864
1851. M. G. J. Emery
1882
1855. James R. Nichols
1885
1859. William C. Todd
1863
1863. Rev. T. C. Pratt
1871
1865. Cornelius Walker
1875
1866. Greenleaf Clarke
1869. William C. Todd
1871. Hiram Smart
1875
1875. John J. Marsh
1875. Rev. Joseph Kimball .
1877. Gyles Merrill
1882. William Cogswell, M. D.
1884. Mary A. Page
1885. Hon. Levi Taylor
1850
1849. Rev. J. M. C. Bartley
1849. George Cogswell, M. D.
1850. Francis Cogswell ;
1854
1856. Rev. Charles Tenney
1863
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APPENDIX.
PRECEPTORS.
The following notices of persons, as preceptors of Atkinson Acad- emy, are mostly contained in the valuable history of this town, by the Rev. William Cogswell, D. D .:
Moses Leavitt Neal, of Londonderry ; H. C. 1785 ; Attorney ; Clerk of the House of Representatives of General Court ; Register of Deeds of Strafford county ; lived at Dover and elsewhere ; died 1829, aged 62.
Daniel Hardy, of Pelham ; D. C. 1789 ; Tutor ; Instructor ; was a distinguished linguist ; died in Pelham, 1833.
Samuel Moody, of Newbury (Byfield Parish), Mass .; D. C. 1790 ; lived in Hallowell, Me. ; deceased 1832, aged 67.
Silas Dinsmore, of Windham ; D. C. 1791 ; Col. Commandant of a station in Mississippi Territory ; Indian Agent and Surveyor of lands for the United States; Collector of the Port at Mobile ; died at Bellevue, Boone county, Ky., August 17, 1847, aged 80.
Stephen Peabody Webster, of Haverhill, Mass .; H. C. 1792; was the first person that entered college from the Academy ; Clerk of the Courts of Grafton county ; Representative ; Senator ; Coun- selor ; taught the academy at Haverhill, N. H .; lived and died there, 1841.
John Vose, of Bedford ; D. C. 1795 ; Preceptor of Pembroke Academy ; Representative and Senator in General Court ; author of several addresses and two works on Astronomy ; lived in Atkinson, and died there April 3, 1840, aged 73. He was a most worthy man, a devoted Christian, and an excellent Instructor.
Moses Dow, of Atkinson ; D. C. 1796; Clergyman ; settled at Beverly, Mass., and York, Me .; died in Plaistow, in 1837, aged 66. John Vose, of Bedford. See above.
William Cogswell, of Atkinson; D. C. 1811; Preceptor of Hampton Academy ; Clergyman ; settled at Dedham, Mass. ; Secre- tary of the American Education Society ; Professor in Dartmouth College ; President, and Professor in Gilmanton Theological Semi- nary ; died April 18, 1850, aged 62.
John Vose, of Bedford. See above.
Francis Vose, of Claremont ; D. C. 1817 ; Preceptor at Hampton,
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APPENDIX.
Newburyport, and Topsfield ; lived in Pembroke, 1850; died 1851, aged 62.
Jacob Cummings, of Thetford, Vt .; D. C. 1819 ; Preceptor at Hampton ; Clergyman ; settled at Stratham, Southborough, Mass., Hillsborough, N. H., and Exeter.
Stephen Farley, of Hollis ; D. C. 1804 ; Clergyman ; settled at Claremont ; lived in Amesbury, Mass., 1850; died 1851, aged 71.
Enoch Hale, of Alstead ; did not receive a degree at college, but was a man of science ; teacher in various places ; died in Atkinson.
John Kelly, of Plaistow ; A. C. 1825 ; taught a female academy in Derry ; Attorney.
Joseph Peckham, of Westminster, Mass .; A. C. 1837; Clergy- man ; settled in Kingston, Mass.
James Allen Taylor, of Granby, Mass .; A. C. 1839 ; died at Atkinson, 1842, aged 28.
Benjamin A. Spaulding, of Billerica, Mass .; H. C. 1840; a Mis- sionary in Iowa.
Malachi Bullard, of Medway; D. C. 1841; Clergyman ; settled in Winchendon, Mass. ; died 1849, aged 31.
John Wason Ray, of Auburn ; D. C. 1843; Teacher in Man- chester.
Edward Hanford Greeley, of Claremont ; D. C. 1845 ; Clergy- man ; 1850, settled at Haverhill, N. H.
Joseph Garland, of Hampton ; B. C. 1844. He has been for some years a physician in Gloucester, Mass.
Charles Darwin Fitch, of Greenfield ; D. C. 1837 ; Teacher at the South and elsewhere ; 1850, Assistant Teacher at Phillips Academy, Andover, Mass.
William Cleaves Todd, of Atkinson ; D. C. 1844. He was the Principal of the female High School in Newburyport, Mass. Mem- ber of New Hampshire Legislature.
Chase Prescott Parsons, of Gilmanton; D. C. 1853; Preceptor of Gilmanton Academy, and Teacher at Evansville, Ind.
John Webster Dodge, of Newburyport ; A. C. 1857; Clergyman.
Justin White Spaulding, of Plainfield, N. H .; D. C. 1847 ; was Preceptor of Bradford Academy, Vt., and of Myrickville Academy, Taunton, Mass.
Nathan Barrows, Hartford, Conn., W. R. C. 1850.
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APPENDIX.
Bela Dyer, H. C. S. Q. French, H. C. William E. Bunten, D. C. 1860.
Bartlett H. Weston, D. C. 1864. E. C. Allen, Mad. U. 1844.
Maurice P. White, A. C. 1875. John V. Hazen, D. C. 1875.
C. D. Tenney, D. C. 1878.
B. H. Weston, D. C. 1864.
T. B. Rice, D. C. 1875.
PRECEPTRESSES OF ATKINSON ACADEMY.
Abigail Hayes, Mary Hayes, Priscilla Manning, Mary Johnson, Julia Cogswell, Hannah Pearson Cogswell, Mary Coker, Elizabeth Quincy Vose, Elizabeth Page, Mary Knight, Ann Poor Little, Lucy S. Ray, Martha Vose, Martha Spaulding, Lucy Taylor, Lydia Bailey, Sarah G. Hitchcock, Sarah W. Emerson, Priscilla Vose, A. N. Dav- enport, Harriet N. Lane, Sarah Ann Kelley, Mary Poor, E. V. E. Spaulding, Mary C. French, Mrs. G. P. Dow, Augusta Robinson, Mrs. E. C. Allen, Miss M. S. James, Miss S. E. Page.
CENTENNIAL EXERCISES.
The centennial of Atkinson Academy was celebrated on Wednes- day, Aug. 24, 1887, by a gathering of its graduates of both sexes on the familiar hill, in response to invitations issued by the trustees. The day was rainy and cheerless, but in spite of it there was a large assemblage. The hour of meeting had been set at 10 o'clock, and it had been intended to march in procession under the marshalship of George P. Dow, of Atkinson, from the Academy to the Congre- gational church, where the formal exercises were to occur. The storm interfered with this plan, and the earlier morning was spent in the renewal of old acquaintances. At 11 o'clock the Hon. Greenleaf Clarke, president of the board of trustees, called those present to order in the old school-room, and welcomed them in the following words :
COL. CLARKE'S ADDRESS.
Ladies and Gentlemen, - We have met here to-day to celebrate the one hundredth anniversary of Atkinson Academy ; and in be- half of the trustees I welcome all the alumni of this institution, and cordially invite you to join with us on this joyful occasion to talk over our school days, and what this institution has done for us and our friends and the community in which we dwell. I also welcome those guests of friends whom I see here, who are interested with us in this day and occasion, and I trust they will also participate with us in the pleasures of the day. The persons who planned and started this Academy one hundred years ago were bold, far-seeing men. In this little town, with small means themselves, and with but small towns surrounding from which to draw, it must have been a great sacrifice of time and money to accomplish it, and no other motive but that of regard for the community in which they dwelt, and their posterity, impelled them to do it. Again, I bid you all welcome.
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CENTENNIAL EXERCISES.
An anthem was then rendered by a quartette, consisting of Miss Ab- bie Chandler, of Haverhill, soprano; Mrs. Benjamin F. Gilbert, of Boston, alto; Mr. Joseph K. Harris, of Haverhill, basso; and Mr. T. B. Rice, of Atkinson, tenor ; with Mr. B. F. Gilbert, of Boston, as organist. All of these had at some time been connected with Atkinson.
A portion of Scripture was then read by the Rev. - Fitts, of - - -, and prayer was offered by the Rev. Lyman Whiting, of Cambridge, Mass.
The quartette then sang another selection, after which the orator of the day, Dr. William Cogswell, of Bradford, Mass., a grandson of one of the founders of the Academy, delivered the address. The address occupied a little over an hour, and at its conclusion the assembly adjourned to the tent that had been pitched on the lawn, and in which over four hundred persons sat down to dinner, H. C. Tanner, of Haverhill, being the caterer. Grace was said by the Rev. A. C. Swain, of Atkinson. The Haverhill City Band rendered occasional selections.
Dinner finished, the president of the day announced that the expected toastmaster, Col. John B. Clarke, of Manchester, N. H., was unable to be present, and he would therefore call on Dr. William Cogswell to fill the vacancy. The latter announced the toasts, which, with the responses, are given below :
The State of New Hampshire : May she have reason to be as proud of her children in the future as in the past.
Response, in the absence of Governor Sawyer, by the Hon. Na- thaniel H. Clark, of Plaistow, N. H., one of the Governor's Council.
MR. CLARK'S RESPONSE.
Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen, - Governor Sawyer regrets very much that he is not able to be present with us here to-day, but public business prevents, so we must take the will for the deed. It affords me much pleasure to be here and meet so many distinguished persons, and to celebrate the anniversary of this ancient institution, - an institution which has done so much for the cause of education, and which has sent out so many to participate in the active duties of life. For aught I know, Atkinson Academy is represented in every
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CENTENNIAL EXERCISES.
State in this Union ; and so far as I know, its representatives all occupy high and honorable positions in society.
Mr. President, before me here to-day are nearly all the professions and industrial pursuits of life represented. I see the farmer, the mechanic, the business man, teachers and superintendents of schools, doctors, ministers, judges, and an ex-governor of our State. I also see one who came very near being our present governor, -Col. Thomas Cogswell, of Gilmanton. He lacked only a few votes, and I have no doubt, had he been on the right side in politics, he would have occupied that position long ago. I very distinctly remember when Isaac William Smith and myself first entered Atkinson Acad- emy. We were small boys then ; it is more than fifty years ago. I also remember that Smith was a very much better scholar than I; so much so that I became discouraged and dropped out, while he per- severed and went on. The result is, he now occupies the high posi- tion of judge of our supreme court, while I occupy that of a com- mon farmer. Thus you see, if one wishes to occupy a high position in life, he must work for it; it does not come by mere chance. Under our republican form of government no one has a right to be- come an heir to the throne, but every one has the right to be the equal of the other, provided he can be. But I must not take up the time here to-day. I close with the following sentiment :
Atkinson Academy : May it long live and prosper, and may it be handed down to generations yet unborn, that they may receive the same blessings and privileges that we have received.
This toast was replied to by the Hon. Benjamin F. Prescott, of Epping, ex-governor of New Hampshire.
EX-GOVERNOR PRESCOTT'S RESPONSE.
Mr. President, - I thank you for the compliment of being called upon to say a word at this festivity. I very much regret that His Excellency Governor Sawyer was unable to be present and speak for the State, but one of his advisers, Councillor N. H. Clark, has ably filled his place and given us a good speech. I feel that every mo- ment I occupy belongs to some one in this large gathering who has been connected with this institution. It was not my privilege to be a pupil here. My academic studies were pursued nearer my home,
25
CENTENNIAL EXERCISES.
at Phillips Academy, at Exeter. I had knowledge, however, of this institution, and availed myself of the next best thing, and secured for my companion through life a native of this town and an alumnus of this Academy. I think her training here must have been admi- rable, and nothing on the part of her instructors was omitted, and the discipline she received here has been administered to me with prudence but with earnestness.
New Hampshire takes great pride in her literary institutions, and has from our earliest history as a State. In proportion to our pop- ulation and area I think we have more academies (some with im- mense and others with liberal endowments, and all with generous patronage) than any other State in the Union. I have been much pleased with the exercises here to-day, and am gratified to see such a large gathering of good-looking, earnest women and men. The old Academy has just reason to be proud of her alumni. Being an outsider, I will say that I hope the friends of this ancient seminary of learning, now as old as our federal constitution, will, from this one hundredth anniversary, strengthen it with the necessary means for its successful continuance. It ought to have an immediate en- dowment of fifty thousand dollars, and there is power enough in this meeting, if brought to bear, to secure that amount. Too much can not be done for the education of the people. The success and per- manence of our republic depend entirely upon that. This institu- tion has in the past done excellent work, and has made an honorable record, and let it in the future be equipped to do even better and greater work than in the past.
Atkinson Academy: One of the pioneers in New England educa- tion and the first to offer equal educational privileges to women.
Response by the Hon. James W. Patterson, of Hanover, N. H., state superintendent of public instruction.
MR. PATTERSON'S RESPONSE.
Mr. President, - I confess that I have been surprised to see the number of people here to-day, for certainly if, as your orator said this morning, the foundations of this institution were laid in good old New England rum and whiskey, we have celebrated its centen- nial to-day in water enough to effectually drown out all intoxicants.
26
*
CENTENNIAL EXERCISES.
I have noticed here to-day, too, an enormous quantity of bald- headed and gray-haired old men, whose presence I am only able to account for when I remember that Atkinson is celebrated for its healthful qualities, and the story is told that they had to send to Boston for the corpse when they wanted to dedicate the first cemetery. I don't know that I should have been here if Mr. Todd had not asked me to come as his representative, he being obliged to be absent on account of his legislative duties. I am not an alumnus of the Academy, but simply acting as a substitute for one. There is one error in the address of your orator which I must men- tion. Exeter was not the first institution of the sort in New Hampshire. The Academy at Windham was organized before Exeter. Atkinson was third in the operation, and not third in its charter. Old Cotton Mather said that the Puritans came over to this country on account of the low estate of learning in the old country ; and certainly they did their best to elevate the estate of learning here in America. In 1647 free schools were instituted in the State of Massachusetts, and at that time New Hampshire was a part of Massachusetts ; and the first law passed by New Hamp- shire after its separation from the parent State was that relating to the establishment of schools in every township which had fifty householders, and in every township which had one hundred house- holders the establishment of grammar schools where Latin and Greek should be taught. The men of the generation after the Revolution were, owing to the necessities of that perilous time, less intelligent, less educated than their fathers, and it was their realization of this fact which caused the establishment of academies. Then, in the cycle of time came a period when, owing to the establishment of high schools, academies became unpopular, but now once more they are taking their proper position in the educational system. Another glorious thing about this Academy is that the ladies are being educated with the boys, for women bring not only great intellectual power, but also their own purity of soul and gentleness of spirit into the school life. And now let me say a word for the new school law of New Hampshire and its effects. Although we have spent $10,338.34 less than the year before, we have been enabled to pay individual teachers more and we have had 5,553 weeks more schooling; and, judging from these facts and figures,
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CENTENNIAL EXERCISES.
the new law has proved a great success. I close, hoping that the future of Atkinson Academy may be on a par with its past, and that future speakers can say as truthfully as I, that representatives of Old Atkinson always led their class in college.
Parson Peabody : One of the founders of the Academy, a man of wisdom, power, and generosity ; to him more than to all others was Atkinson Academy indebted for its existence and prosperity·
Response by Mr. Harry Ernest Peabody, of Princeton, Me., his great- grandson.
MR. PEABODY'S RESPONSE.
There is no need of recalling to your minds the deeds of Parson Peabody, for you have heard of these this morning; you see the results of them about you ; indeed, such a centennial as this could probably never have occurred, and we should not be here, were it not for the untiring zeal and patient work of Parson Peabody and his friends a hundred years ago. Of his deeds, then, I need not speak. Not what he did, but what he was, is that of which I would speak to-day.
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